A Canadian Girl Scrapbooks

Important Dates Book

2005-09-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

This is the first one I made of these and I think it turned out pretty good. There is a tag for each month where the person can write down their important dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It is not a calander so it can be used indefinitely.
I used Wild Asparagus paper, various ribbons, rubons, brads, twill, flower punches, Making Memories foam stamps and alphabet stamps.
The tags are not in order as blogger has been giving me a hard time uploading photos. But each month is here.

Died This Day

2005-08-29T00:36:00.000-04:00

(Cross Posted From My Other Blog)

I got an email from my mom today. She forwarded me an article that was in the Toronto's Globe & Mail which was forwarded to her by my grandmother's cousin. Grandma passed away last year but many of her cousins still keep in contact with my mom. This is the article that was sent to me. One of the men mentioned was my grandmother's brother who served in the Canadian Navy. He didn't make it to his 18th birthday.

Died This Day
59 RCN sailors, 1944
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Served aboard HMCS Alberni, commissioned in Esquimalt, B.C., in February of 1941.

The corvette performed rigorous convoy-escort duties back and forth across the Atlantic and in home waters before being sent to Britain to support the invasion of Normandy in June of 1944. The ship was torpedoed southeast of the Isle of Wight by the German submarine U-480 and sank in less than a minute. Fifty-nine of her ship's company, most of whom had just been ''piped to dinner'' and were trapped below decks, lost their lives. Three officers and 28 ratings were rescued by two motor-torpedo boats returning from Normandy. U-480 was later hunted and sunk by the Royal Navy frigates Duckworth and Rowley in February of 1945. Newspaper Article

This is my great uncle Dick who died on the HMS Alberni at the age of 17. He was the youngest child of my great grandparents and I know his death was extremely hard on my family.

My grandmother had another brother who served in Canada's Airforce and was a highly decorated pilot.

Batteries are a Good Thing

2005-08-24T17:16:00.000-04:00

So I was all prepared to post some pics of a couple of projects that I am working on and my camera batteries are dead. And I don't have a scanner. Humph. I had rechargables and the charger around but I misplaced them and have been putting off buying a new set just in case I find them. But since they have been gone since before Christmas, I doubt I will find them anytime soon. We moved into our house in October and I guess during some unpacking I thought I put them in an obvious place. NOT. Better go out and buy some more. You know they will turn up right after. Sheesh.

Anyway... I just finished my first mini accordian brag book for my mom and I am working on my first paperbag brag book (say that 3 times fast!) for my sister and I have to say, I have no idea why I didn't try these sooner! They are really quick and so much fun! They can put their own favourite Paige (my neice) photos in.

As soon as I get some more betteries, I will post some pictures.

Scrapbook Supply Shopping!

2005-08-08T11:51:00.000-04:00

While I was in Owen Sound for a family reunion (see other blog) my MIL went to Port Elgin to shop at Scrapaholics. It is a wonderfully laid out store with tons of products and new arrivals all the time. i picked up a few new things that I haven't seen in London yet such as Heidi Swapp chipboard letters and ghost lettes, Making Memories flower set and some ready made printed tabs. I also picked up a corner round punch (I can't believe I don't have one yet!) and some magic sponge. This stuff is very neat! It is a sponge sheet that is the thinkness of a thin sheet of chipboard. I will be punching out alphabets on them. You then soak the sponge in water and it puffs out several time thicker! Think of all the posiblilities that you could use it for... alphabets, shapes, etc. They say Quik Kutz and Sizzix will punch through them. The best part was they were on sale for 40% off and each sheet cost me $3.00! That will be a cheap alphabet! I will post some pictures whe I get them punched out.

Anyone find any new and exciting products lately?

Getting in the Grove

2005-08-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

Whoa! It is been awhile since I posted I see!
I haven't done much scrapbooking lately as we have been so busy and I had no photos! But I went to Costco this weekend and finally got some deleveloped. No excuses now! August and September are very busy months for us but I have to get 2 of the 3 8x8 books done for Christmas as they are gifts for my mom and sister. They will be filled with pictures of my neice's first year. I am 6 months behind now.

I also did a quick project this weekend. Took me only a few days at it turned out really cute. I think I may make more for Christmas presents. I think I can do 4 more before then.
To see photos it is, go here. It is the little book on the right.

My Best Scrapbooking Find... Ever

2005-07-12T09:27:00.000-04:00

I am on several local scrapbooking store emailing lists and a few weeks ago, I received one from a store in Stratford. It seemed that they were have a secret sale (advertised through email only) the week of July 1 where all stock was 40% off. That was huge news. My FSIL and I decided to go but the only day available was the very last day. Better late than never!

We arrive there shortly after the store opened and I couldn't believe how empty the store was. Then it dawned on me. I bet they were closing. We asked the owner and sure enough, she was closing the store. Too bad, she had a huge selection. She said that she didn't want to advertise that fact in the email. She looked so sad and exhausted. It must have been a hard decision for her.

I went there on a mission... to find some sort of simple paper storage system. Right now they are laying flat, in bags on a shelf. It makes it difficult to really see what papers you do have a first glace. I have to root around and find the one I want. On Two Peas in a Bucket many people have jerry-ringed something together, like metal storage cubes where instead of putting them together as cubes, they crudly put them together as shelves. Not what they were meant for and it is not an easy task to do. But the end result is ok, but not the perfect system.

As I was checking out, I asked off-handed if they have any paper storage left, as I didn't see any in the store. She then tells me that all of their paper racks are for sale! You know the ones... about 5 feet tall, made of metal that is covered in a strong white rubber and the shelves hold 12x12 paper perfectly and a downward angel? I couldn't believe my ears! It is the perfect storage system! And they sold for $50! A steal! They normally sell for over $400! I have seen them for sale in online scrapbooking stores but they are super expensive. And the shipping alone! Wow! The rack isn't set up yet as we still have to organize that end of the basement. We moved here in October and we still have boxes to unpack and organize. But I did manage to clear a corner and set up an old table with some shelves beside it. It is so nice to have one area where I can dedicate to scrapbooking and where I can leave everything out if I want to as it is away from everything.

It is just like the one pictured here:

How about you? Find any good finds recently? Or been to any amazing sales, workshops or crops?

Looking Back

2005-07-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

I have photographed all the layouts that I have finished and as I look back on them, I realize how much my scrapbooked has changed. My older layouts have more colour, are busier and are more complicated. Today I seem to be using a more simple approach. I love neutrals, metals and simple journaling. I am also much more confident now doing a 1 photo layout. When I first started I felt I had to add as many photos and journaling as I could to get the look that I thought was effective. How times have changed!
What about you? Has your scrapbooking changed as your confidence and knowledge grows? Or are you happy and satisfied in your abilities and see no need for change?

This is one of my very first layouts.

This is from an album I am currently working on.

A New Blog

2005-07-04T11:36:00.000-04:00

I thought that I would create another blog where I can post all about scrapbooking. I am sure that others that read my daily blog wouldn't find scrapbooking an interesting read so here I can post to my heart's content.