Friday, October 1, 2010

October's Layout of the Month Class



 I Love Halloween! I think most of you know that by now. I could be easily convinced to do several more Halloween layouts this year. There certainly is enough stamps and Halloween embellishments in my stash that need to be used up.Maybe we should have a Halloween scrap the day away and get dressed up, bring treats to share and scrap nothing but Halloween all day long. LOL



For this months layout you will need to remember to bring your ink blending tools and a few foams with you. I have the inks but we will be sharing so if you have them in your stash, I suggest you bring them. You will also need to bring your non-stick craft mat. There is a lot going on and you will need it. There is inking, stamping, embossing, crackle painting and more on this layout. Nothing is difficult but it may take a little time to accomplish. It will be fun. First class is this Sunday October 3rd from 2:30 until 4:30 PM.

The next class is on Wednesday October 6th, from 11:30- 1:30PM. Please call Scrapalicious at 905-614-0085 to reserve your spot.

Monday, September 13, 2010

I am the Artist of My Life.

I think Google has made it easier for us technically challenged bloggers to add pictures and content to our blogs. Yeah! I might be more inclined to add to this blog now that adding photos doesn't add new grey hairs to my head. It was easy today to add photos and I think I managed to do it without changing the colours. :-)

September's layout continues on with this years theme of scrapbooking ourselves. Seems like many of us scrapbook our kids, pets, family and friends and frequently exclude pages about the one behind the camera and the one creating the scrapbooks.
 This layout is about the artist - you. Be prepared to do a bit of journaling on this one. Of course, you could skip that part and add more pics but I do challenge you to try some journaling. Of course you can always change the title and make this layout about anything else you want. Deviation is good too.
I have used papers from Basic Grey's Max and Whiskers collection as well as paper from their Basics collection. This is the second time this year I have created a layout from the Max and Whiskers collection that was not pet related. I love the colours and these papers are so versatile.
 There is a fair amount of stamping on this layout, some die cutting and some embossing using Tim Holtz Alterations Texture Fades. There is also a teeny tiny bit of sewing on this layout but not enough to moan and groan about. Just enough.
Two classes coming up this week at Scrapalicious. First class is this Wednesday September 15th, at 11:30AM. Second class is this Saturday September 18th at 1PM. Be prepared for this class to run a little bit over time, as always. Don't worry about the kids, they have homework to do and so you have lots of time to come out and play.
Call the store to reserve your spot. 905-614-0085

Saturday, August 7, 2010


OK, these papers are really the same colour. I don't know what I did in the editing process that made the blues different. I think the colours on the left are truer to the original. If you read yesterday's post, you know that I have a love hate thing with this technology.
Whatever. It is up and it is the layout of the month for August 11Th. There is a day and an evening class at Scrapalicious this coming Wednesday August 11Th. First class is at 11:30 am and the 2ND class is at 6pm. Students are required to bring their basic tool kit, ink blending tool and adhesives including glue dots and pop dots. We are using Basic Grey's Cappella along with a bit of their Basics, doing a bit of stamping and an ever so tiny bit of stitching.

Call the store to reserve you spot.
Scrapalicious: 905-614-0085

Hope to see you there.

Friday, August 6, 2010

A love hate relationship with technology

I love my new laptop. It is a good thing since I have been using it just about every waking hour since I got it. I am discovering all kinds of exciting new features that Windows 7 has to offer. There are some funky bits though, probably user related and not the fault of the technology. For instance, somehow as I am typing away I find that I have jumped over into another section of my text and there is this big batch of writing where it isn't suppose to be. I must be accidentally touching a key and don't realize it. I probably would catch this problem as I am typing if I was not a "pecker" typist and didn't have to watch my fingers instead of the monitor. If I could go back in time and talk to my teenage self, I would have insisted that I paid attention during typing class. While I was on that visit to my earlier self I would have insisted that I stuck with the French classes too. Both skills would definitely be handy today.

What I am not currently too keen on is the limitations of email. I have started my own business and I need to send documents to my potential customers. The problem is file size and not being able to send what I want. Again this is a user problem. I keep being told by that annoying little techy that lives inside of my computer that "the size of the file is too big, read the file size before you try sending it". Ever the rebel, I ignore the warnings and send the emails with the attachments and then curse it when the emails fail. A solution was required and now thanks to a very generous and patient new friend, I am getting a website. That's another tale for another day.

Now there are certain administrative functions that are required of any business, big or small. Paperwork. A necessary evil but evil all the same. Up until a couple of days ago I did not have a fax machine. I had a scanner but that meant scanning one page at a time and creating separate files for each scanned page. Now we are back to the evils of emails and file sizes. After several occasions where I was required to "fax" in documents and several subsequent rounds of bad words spoken, I decided to splurge on another piece of technology. A fax machine.

We are back to loving technology now. The 4-n-1 fax/printer/scanner (I don't know what the 4th thing is yet) which is wireless is just so amazing! Now no relationship is all good. I had some challenges getting the router to talk to the fax/printer in a secure mode. After a couple of hours with more bad words spoken, I called the help desk. Yes, it took me a couple of hours of making myself crazy before I called but that was partly due to the fact that it was 7am in the morning and my new love machine was calling my name and I just had to go and hook it up.(run on sentence intentional) A half hour on the phone with a very patient and very nice woman in the Philippines walked me through the steps and got me all hooked up. Now I have been faxing and printing and loving my new piece of equipment. The only thing is, it is in my living room on an end table and not necessarily the prettiest piece of home decor. Which means I have to adjust my current office space to accommodate the additional piece of equipment and other office related gear. That will involve moving furniture and assistance from my husband. Let me tell you, he isn't thrilled with the prospect. The thing is, once I am all set up nicely in my revamped office space with my laptop and printer, John will be left to himself with the TV in the living room and the clicker to himself. Big happy faces all around.

Now what did we do before we had all this technology? Hmmm, don't tell me, my laptop may get mad and do some other funky stuff. These things have personalities, I know it and you know it whether we are willing to admit it or not. As long as I stay "in Love' I will have no problems. Right?

Sunday, July 18, 2010

New Laptop

Just had to post.
It took me a few weeks to make a decision to splurge on a laptop and I think I asked everyone and anyone for their 2 cents on what to buy in my price range. This decision may have taken more thought and energy than the purchase of my house. LOL

It took me a bit to get the wireless router in my house to acknowledge this computer but I persevered and got it done all on my own. Let's see how that works out when I take it out and about with me.

My next challenge is to get Open Office up and running. If you are not familiar with this free software and you do not have another Office package on your computer, I highly recommend it. Find the free download at www.openoffice.org
It is compatible with Windows office so if you want to share spreadsheets etc. you can.

I am off to CHA next week to check out all the new products. It is my intention to post as much as possible each night but if I get invited to a party, I might have to skip a night.

With any luck I will get my August layout up before I go, again that will depend on how much time I have this week. There is always lots to do with starting a new business. People to call, appointments to make, technology to master.

See you back here soon.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Summer Fun!




It's Hot and Humid and the air conditioning is working overtime. Yet is the perfect weather for many of your favourite summer activities. Whether you spend long days at the beach swimming and building sandcastles or you are having friends over for a BBQ, here is a fun layout to record your memories. Both day and evening classes are being held on Wednesday July 14th. First class is at 11:30AM and the evening class is at 6:30PM. You will need your basic tool kit including: scissors, ink blending tool and foam pop dots. Hope to see you at Scrapalicious.
Call 905-614-0085 to reserve your spot. Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

ATC Printers Tray & a few Tim Holtz techniques...




all together in one fun project where you can display some mini works of art and possibly a few memories. I have 12 Tim Holtz inspired ATC's that I have created and displayed in this 7 Gypsies ATC printers tray. I must say I have had so much fun creating this project using many of the techniques I learned last year when I attended Ranger U. It is a great way to try out on a small scale some techniques and have them available for viewing on something other than a tag. The problem is, I want to keep going and create more ATC's as I am sure you will too. This class is being offered at least twice this month. Once on Saturday June 12th from 1-4PM and on a Wednesday during the day, possibly June 23RD. This Saturday's forecast is calling for thunderstorms so what better way to spend the afternoon than doing something creative? Most everything is provided but you may want to bring some of your own embellishments so that you can add some of your personal style to this project. It is recommended that you bring your basic tool kit, ink blending tools and Distress inks (I will bring mine too), your non stick craft mat, scissors and some small photographs if you wish. Each of the sections measures 2-3/4" x 3-3/4" so SMALL is where it is at.

There is still space available in Saturday's class and cost is $50 which includes the ATC Printer's Tray, papers and some embellishments as well as other materials needed to accomplish the techniques used. I will bring lots of stamps for you to use but if you have any that you wish to use, bring them along with you.
Class runs for 3 hours but try to allow yourself some extra time to finish up.
Looking forward to seeing you out at this class and sharing these techniques with you.

Call Scrapalicious at 905-614-0085 to reserve your spot.