Such a fun day SCRAPBOXING!

It's taken a couple of days to recover and get down to business thanking Lisa and all of the organizing team behind ScrapFest in Kitchener! Each year gets better and better - great to see so many ScrapFest participants with shopping bags brimming with the latest and the greatest goodies to make their projects and pages look great! Not to mention the talented group of teachers that I was fortunate enough to be alongside!

Special thanks to Bobbi-Lynn and Christine for their assistance in my workshop. With each student bringing their own 5x7 photo, we giggled, encouraged each other and were pleasantly surprised (at the drying rack) how fabulous and unique each cluster of clay hydrangeas turned out! The whole rainbow of colours were tinted to co-ordinate, some even multi-toned to match with the photos. There were good giveaways when the room got too quiet (everyone was concentrating and working at their scrapbox components) and then...the big reveal! The projects looked GREAT - hope you were all pleased with your accomplishment!

Thank you ladies for the opportunity to teach you a new skill, a fun project and to spend the afternoon with you! I hope to see you all again next year at ScrapFest.

Great to also connect with some of my industry colleagues (and as busy as the Marketplace was) missed seeing a few others too. :( The very talented Vicki Boutin was prepping for her class right beside mine - she is one creative gal - always great to see her! A pleasant surprise bumping into Kelli Panacci - always loved her style and colour palette! Good to finally meet Alessandra from Stix2 and see Judy and Sheri from In A Pinch Designs busy selling from their booth too. The Scrapping Turtle was super-busy with make n takes - loved that photo idea!

Well, I am off to finish some flower projects that I have been working on last week - also some corsage photos to come...wedding and prom season are right around the corner!

Love Spring!

Happy Easter!

We're Waving Goodbye to Winter and Hello to Spring here in southern Ontario! WOW - unbelievably warm, sunny temperatures in the past few days - no one is complaining! Looks like the Easter Bunny will have lots of 'snow-free' spaces to hide the eggs and the kids will enjoy the festivities!

I made some gift tags using Claycraft by DECO for some special Easter gifts - this clay is so versatile for so many gift-giving projects! I also included a photo of the scrumptious Easter Bunny cake that my mom made and served at our Easter dinner - yummy! As you can see, Mom is very creative too!

Get outside - turn off the computer - and enjoy this fine Easter day!

PS - just a reminder that ScrapFest is two weeks away - still a few spots in my class! We will create a keepsake shadowbox and learn how to make clay flower hydrangeas - great gift idea! (But you'll probably want to keep it for yourself!) Please join me in Kitchener - http://www.scrapfest.ca

Register for ScrapFest today!

Registration for ScrapFest is now open - WOW! Such a great response to all of the workshops, crops and VIP passes. The ScrapFest team has been working very hard to make this event bigger and better than ever before (and the bar was already set high from past years!).

Here is another sneak peek on the Blossoming Hydrangea Shadow Box - the 'blue' colourway. See with the Claycraft by Deco, you can hand-tint the white clay to any hue or shade that co-ordinates with your photos. Scent-free, lightweight and everlasting -- very eco-chic! The shadowbox protects your photos and your clay flowers - a lovely keepsake that you have made yourself! Also a great gift for a Wedding, Shower or New Baby...and all the other reasons we scrapbook!

Start searching for (or taking) your best photograph (5x7 will work best) and sign up today!

Getting Ready for ScrapFest

OK, loyal blog readers...the countdown is on to the opening of the ScrapFest registration! Sunday Feb 7th (that's tomorrow) at 2pm EST the online registration starts.

This exciting event takes place in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada on the weekend of April 16/17th. Not only have they lined up great workshop classes (if I do say so!) there is a fabulous marketplace of the latest products and crops for all of the scrapbookers! Lots of prizes - tons of fun and learning! If you're not a traditional scrapbooker, that's OK too - there are still lots of interesting things to see and do (taking a class is a sure way to learn something new!).

I am thrilled to be teaching a 'technique-style' workshop - Above is a sneak peek of the "Blossoming Hydrangea Shadowbox" that you can make. I will teach you how to make these pretty little flowers (Mother Nature makes them fussy and delicate) but using Claycraft by Deco, they are tinted to the colour of your choice and everlasting! Start thinking of the fabulous 5X7 photo that you'll want to bring - it will be encased in a white shadowbox, surrounded by blossoms of clay flower hydrangeas and ribbon - a terrific 3-D embellishment to showcase your work!

Hope to see you there - you can preview the ScrapFest catalogue at http://www.scrapfest.ca/ to see all of the teachers, classes, times and events - you won't want to miss out!

ScrapFest U - November 7,8th

For all of my scrapbooking clients and friends, I just wanted to remind you of the ScrapFest U that is coming up in a couple of weeks. The ScrapFest team has such an exciting weekend getaway planned at the lovely Hockley Valley Resort!

So what is ScrapFest U..........Your Ultimate Creative Escape!!
November 7th and 8th, 2009

It is all about creative fun!! Scrapbooking/card making/stamping and photography workshops that are being instructed by leading industry experts, Vicki Boutin and Kathy Thompson Laffoley.


The fun continues into Saturday evening after a gourmet dinner and a special event. I am delighted to be included in this event as one of the hostesses of a special "Holiday Make-N-Take' project!

So picture the perfect location and time to shop, crop, learn and create!! Go to www.scrapfest.ca for more details!

Some Eye Candy!

Feeling like Spring could arrive any minute here! There have been some April Showers this week (and hundreds of slimy little worms on the driveway)...Good for the Garden! Ah, my garden...if I could only plant some clay flowers for instant colour! LOL

ScrapFest was this past weekend - what a great experience! Great to see so many happy scrappers at this event with lots of bags (full of the newest patterned papers, cardstock and embellishments) coming from the Marketplace. I had a great group of very creative ladies attend my card making class! Thanks for the giggles - at one point it was 'snowing' little bits of boa feathers!

I am busy working on Mother's Day clay flowers (hair flowers, arrangements and other goodies) as well as hand-designed greeting cards. Will post some more photos soon - seems the uploading is taking a long time from my camera to computer. :)

Only a few spots left...

(This was written by Lisa Furtney of ScrapFest)

ONLY 11 MORE SLEEPS...... to ScrapFest in Kitchener 2009
Your Ultimate Scrapbooking and Paper Crafting Destination!

Wait until you see all of the newly released products that ScrapFest's exhibitors are bringing to the event. New products that have not yet been seen in the stores!! They have been saving them just for ScrapFest and for YOU!!! Please join us on Saturday to shop the day away and enjoy make 'n takes, demonstrations and more. Tickets are available on line or at the door on Saturday, April 18th for $10. Friday passes are sold out!!
Don't skip these classes!! There are only a FEW spots left!!

You do not want to miss out on these incredible classes and the opportunity to LEARN and CREATE from the industry's best from all over Canada. Take a look at what Vicki Boutin, Trisha Ladouceur, and Kathy Thompson Laffoley have planned for YOU! For more information on the classes being offered at ScrapFest in Kitchener please visit this link.

Beautiful NEW embellishments! Are you looking for something fun and exciting to add to your layouts, cards and other crafting projects?
Then you will not want to miss out on the opportunity to take Tracey Paul's class, "Cool Embellishments with Clay." Yes, CLAY. But this isn't the kind of clay you are thinking of. This Deco Clay is so nice to play with and it feels like marshmallows but it isn't sticky! I had the opportunity to play with it a couple of weekends ago and I didn't even want to wash my hands afterwards - not messy at all! Come see what I mean.

Let's get this party started right NOW with another contest!!
If you post your answer on the ScrapFest Forum under the topic "Do Tell!!" your name will go into a draw and the winner will receive a prize package which will be available for pick up at the ScrapFest registration table at the AUD on Friday, April 17th or Saturday, April 18th.

Here is the question: How did you heard about ScrapFest? Do tell!!

The draw will take place on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 9:00pm ET.

We are looking forward to another fun filled couple of days with many of you at ScrapFest in Kitchener 2009. We can't wait!! See you real soon! OK, time to get back to work!
http://www.scrapfest.ca/

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Where have I been??

Hello - I know I have been very quiet on the blogging-front...only because I have been busy behind the scenes! I was fortunate to spend a week working with my DecoClay Craft Academy Instructor in San Jose, California in early March. Along with 2 other students, we worked day and night on projects to refine our flower making, accent painting and floral arrangement skills. I am very thankful for that opportunity and thrilled with my progress to date!

With a very quick turn-around (home for a day and a half) our family flew off for a warm-weather, beach vacation in beautiful Cuba! Laughs and good times, combined with a lot of pool-side lounging and walking the beach! I wore sunscreen :) and I snapped lots of photos of beautiful tropical flowers that I will try to re-create in clay. Stay tuned.

Also, the countdown to ScrapFest is on! April 17, 18th in Kitchener, Ontario. Visit http://www.scrapfest.ca/ for more details - hope you can make it!

ScrapFest - Registration is OPEN

I am very excited to announce that the registration is now OPEN for ScrapFest! Visit http://www.scrapfest.ca/ for details. Look under registration, classes, teachers (then my photo) to see my workshop details - I hope you can join me on Sat April 18th in Kitchener, Ontario!

We'll learn the basics about custom-tinting DecoClay and creating fabulous embellishments for greeting cards and scrapbook pages. While the pieces air-dry we will make greeting cards and tags with some of the prettiest patterned paper and embellishments by Melissa Frances. Imagine these everlasting embellishments on greeting cards & layouts to showcase the ultimate in tactile embellishments! DecoClay is a product that can enhance the hand-designed elements of your card making techniques and scrapbook pages.