Circle Journal Journies

On Friday night I picked up the first of nine Circle Journals that I will working on in the coming months and it started me thinking of the journey that my Circle Journal will be taking.

You might want to know what a "Circle Journal" is - it is a small scrapbook (at least in our case) that you start, set a theme and then pass along to the next member of your Circle Journal group. Once you do the title page, and the first two-page layout, the rest of the scrapbook is in other people's hands, for them to make their contributions, while you are making yours in their Circle Journal.

There are ten people in our group - so each book will be added to by nine other people before we have our own book back in our hands at the end of April.

We now have a list of the themes for each of the books and they are as varied as the people participating in the journal group. Everything from "Amazing Teachers" to "Quirks" and a number of things in between.

My first journal is a truly amazing book with a fabulous presentation - the theme is "Where in the world" and it is all about where you would like to go, where you dream about going - anywhere in the world. The book comes complete in a matching decorated box to go with the first couple of pages for Africa.

I have been thinking really hard on what I wanted to include for my two-page contribution - I think that I will be putting in "Holland in Tulip Time" as my addition to the journal.

I have not thought about Holland in the springtime for many years - it is definately on my life 'to do' list. I am glad to have this opportunity to revisit this dream.

I am looking forward to the journey through other people's Circle Journals too and as each changeover time happens - the books will be more facinating to read.......

Classes for October & November

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving is over (I have the turkey leftovers to prove it), and Halloween is coming up quickly - I guess that, very shortly, it will be downhill to Christmas!

So, here is my class schedule for the rest of October:

Monday, October 15th from 6:30 p.m. @ Michael's PoCo - Laced Accordian Book

(See description below for more information.)

Sunday, October 21st from 1 p.m. @ Remember Me - Pet Mini Album.

This is a great little project - just six panels that lace together with ribbon. The ones that we will be doing are themed for a pet, but you could just as easily do any other theme on your own for yourself or for a present (Christmas idea) - weddings, baby showers, Christmas, vacation, etc. The whole project completes in two hours!

Monday, October 22nd from 6:30 p.m. @ Michael's PoCo - Wedding Albums

Now that the wedding day is past, the presents unwrapped and the flowers are preserved - the photographer has just delivered the 400+ pictures taken of you in your wedding finery - what do you do with all of them? You want something to remember the day by - all the ups and maybe the downs - this is the scrapbooking class for you. Bring your photos, memorabilia and ideas and I will get you started on creating that one of a kind album for all your wedding photos.

Monday, October 29th from 6:30 p.m. @ Michael's PoCo - Christmas Cards

Come and get started on making your Christmas cards for this year. This class will show you some simple techniques to make a variety of unique Christmas cards using some basic supplies and embellishments. By the end of the class you will have made a selection of cards.

Sunday, November 18th from 1:00 p.m. @ Remember Me - Calendar

This is a great opportunity to make a truly unique Christmas present for someone special in your family - a one-of-a-kind calendar. In this class you will make a 8" x 8" calendar - all 12 months in one 4 hour class. You will need to bring 12 4x6 photos and the basics (paper cutter, adhesive (normal and glue dots), scissors, etc.) - all the rest will be provided in this fast paced, kitted class.

If you would like more information on the above classes, please send me a message and I will be happy to provide it to you. Samples of all class projects will be on display in the stores.

Happy Scrapping!

October Class Schedule

I can't believe that we are almost halfway through September - I have all my classes booked through to almost Christmas too!

Monday, October 1st from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. @ Michael's - Beginners Scrapbooking.

The first Monday of each month at Michael's is my beginner's class - bring 4 or 5 photos, some paper that co-ordinates with the photos (or wait until you get there), a paper cutter, some scrapbooking adhesive, scissors and a pencil. You will go home with a 2-page layout.... Great opportunity to step into a wonderful hobby.

Sunday, October 21st from 1 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. @ Remember Me - Pet Mini Album.

This is a great little project - just six panels that lace together with ribbon. The ones that we will be doing are themed for a pet, but you could just as easily do any other theme on your own for yourself or for a present (Christmas idea) - weddings, baby showers, Christmas, vacation, etc. The whole project completes in two hours!

I will update the October classes as time goes on.

Let me know if you come to one of my classes and you saw the information here!

Happy Scrapbooking!

My Upcoming Class Schedule for September

I will be teaching scrapbooking at two different places this fall - Remember Me Scrapbooking in Coquitlam and Michael's Arts & Crafts in Port Coquitlam.

Here is my class schedule for September:

Sunday, September 16th from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. @ Remember Me - Wedding Albums.

Now that the wedding day is past, the presents unwrapped and the flowers are wilted - the photographer has just delivered the 400+ pictures taken of you in your wedding finery - what do you do with all of them? You want something to remember the day by - all the ups and maybe the downs - this is the scrapbooking class for you. Bring your photos, memorabilia and ideas and I will get you started on creating that one of a kind album for all your wedding photos.

Monday, September 17th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. @ Michael's - Vacations Albums.

If you are like me, you have hundreds (or thousands) of photos from each and every trip you have taken. Take the time to preserve the memories for the years to come. This class will get you started on your vacation album. Bring your vacation photos and your basic supplies (paper cutter, scrapbooking adhesive, scissors and any papers you have) and you can start work on your ablum.

Monday, September 24th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. @ Michael's - Thanksgiving greeting cards, dinner place cards and Halloween party invites.

In this class, you will be making a selection of Thanksgiving cards and dinner place cards for your Thanksgiving feast, along with simple invites to a Halloween Monster Mash. I will be teaching a number of techniques - stamping, embossing, brads, etc. in this class.

Check back for upcoming classes.

For more information on the classes and demos, please contact the stores directly.

Maybe I will see you in one of my classes!!

Mother of a 16-year-old

I can't believe that my eldest has turned 16!! I am sure that he was 3 only yesterday! Driving - there is a scary thought - he wants to get his Learners. I guess all we can do is arrange for driving lessons so that at least if he will be on the road, he will be as safe as he can be...

On Saturday, we took a number of his friends over to our friends house on Bowen Island for a beach birthday party - he says that it is his favourite place to be in the summer. The weather was not the best - but at least it did not rain and they were able to play in the ocean.

After lots of laughs and lots of food, we headed back to the mainland to drop off everyone and hit home. I dropped all the stuff off and headed right to bed - it is tiring being around 7 kids for a whole day of fun and not so much sun!

Of course, I have added to my 'photos to be scrapped' pile by another 100 or so. At this rate, I will never catch up to myself with all the photos I have waiting. I got some lovely pictures of the sunset on the west coast of Bowen - not the most colourful sunset I have ever seen, but quiet colours with a sailboat in the foreground.

I have also been asked to post some of my current layouts - I will add that to my list too.

Another weekend come and gone, the summer is almost over. I am sad that it has gone by so fast, but on the other hand, now that it will start getting darker and cooler in the evenings, there will be more time for scrapping!

Vacations Photos - The Results

Well, we made it back from our vacation - 3,500+ km later!! From here to Williams Lake, with side trips to Big Lake and Springhouse, a day trip to Barkerville. Then on to Summerland and finally to Fruitvale, with a day trip to Nelson, Castlegar and back to Fruitvale. All, in all, a whole lot of kilometers under our belts.

I have just finished loading all the photos on to my computer - actually managed to fill the memory on my 2 GB card for the first time - ended up with 652 photos from our vacation (not counting the ones that got deleted along the way). I am happy with most of them - can't imagine how many layouts I will need to do to do justice to even half that number of photos - but I learned a whole lot about my camera and also realized how much more I have to learn.

In the end, we captured the memories of our trip - the highs and the lows and now we just have to recover from all that travelling.

No matter how much I love getting away, I think that I love coming home more....


Here are some of my favourite pictures:


A close up of my son at the pool.









My hubby and friend, bracketed between the beach towels hanging on the line. They were watching some of the 'tame' deer roam through their property.






One of the close up macro shots that I wanted to get.



Interesting texture of the old wheel and the bright green foliage.

I was quite impressed by what the camera was able to capture in the fading light as dusk fell over Big Lake, BC. Not the best photo for clarity (I forgot my tripod), but the colours are amazing.







This is one of my all time favs - the glow of the fire with the marshmallows roasting - the camera was able to completely stop the motion of the fire and focus sharply at the same time.







I can hardly wait to start scrapping all of the hundreds of photos......

Vacation Photos

I have had my camera out a lot this vacation! Much to my eldest son's dismay - "Mom!! Turn that thing off!!!" Gotta capture all the fun!

I finally got a chance to view the photos yesterday on a screen larger than my camera and I was pleased with most of them. I have been really happy how my new camera is working with some of the night shots that I managed to get of the amazing moon rises we have been experiencing.

We visited Barkerville and spent the afternoon wandering through all the old buildings - and, of course, sampling some of the baked goods from the little bakery operating in the town. I made sure to take some of the close up, macro-type shots of some of the more interesting textures from around the town. Most turned out OK, but I can see that I still need to learn more about my camera.

We are now at my brother-in-laws in the Kootenays - more chances to get more photos!