Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #5!

Another day, another card to share! I really like the elements in this card, and I'm anxious to show you!

This card is entirely new product, with the exception of a few of my favourite regular items (the Crushed Curry button, the Strawberry Slush ruffled trim, and the leaves sizzlet) 

First up is this lovely new punch! Naturally, it has a coordinating stamp set, and it's equally as adorable. I just used the punch today to show off some of this great DSP. 

Then, we have this darling stamp from a super fun set (that I've already featured some other stamps from). The arrow is from the same set, and cut out with the matching framelit! :)

Loving the geometric shapes? I am too! Luckily for us, there is a whole pack of DSP with these fun shapes and colours! The background panel, the focal panel and the flowers were all from the same pack. So cute!

I used the sketch from Create with Connie & Mary for this card. You can check the sketch (and the challenge) our here.

Thanks for stopping by today! See you tomorrow for another peek :)

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #4!

Well, we're already half-way through Sneak Peek week! Which also means my vacation is going quicker than I had hoped too...

Today I've got a two-for-one for you:

These sweet little baby cards are made using the same darling stamp set, and a most fabulous paper stack!

A close up of the sweet little shoes. 

You'll also notice the super fabulous natural chevron ribbon. I'm addicted to this already! How pretty are these papers, eh?!

With baby cards, I love making a boy and girl one at the same time. You just never know what you're going to need!

Hope you liked day 4! See you tomorrow. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Christmas Photos for MDS Monday

Hello! I'm on vacation :) That's all I have to say about it, I'm just SO excited I need to share. I'm on vacation!

I have the pleasure of hosting over at MDS Monday this week and decided to go with a very simple sketch. Most of my sketches are simple, but I like to leave room for embellishing as much as you like. 

We tried to take pictures of our kids in front of the tree this year. It was interesting, to say the least!

Check out the sketch this week:

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #3!

Welcome back to day #3 of Sneak Peek Week!

This card uses a bit from the Occasions Catalogue and a bit from the incredible Sale-A-Bration catalogue (starting January 28th).

I'm loving these fun little wood chips in a bunch of great shapes!

And check out this awesome embossing folder! So many great possibilities with this one - I have tons of ideas floating around in my head, and just need to get them out :) This embossing folder can be earned from the SAB catty!

And last but not least is another charming sentiment and the nice chubby heart come from a great set that can come bundled with the most wicked framelits you'll ever see! :)

This was a quick and easy card, mixing old and new. Only a few more days and you can check out the catalogue for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week - Day #2!

Well, it's sneak peek #2... and I have to say, this is one of my favourite cards I've made with the new products so far. 

Most notable is probably the fab new framelit! I simple love these fun little call-outs. You'll be seeing more of these soon ;) Both super-sweet stamps on this card are from the same set, which is filled with a bunch of other out-of-this-world gems!

How much are you loving sequins these days?! I simply cannot get enough of them! You can use them on the thread as a ribbon, or you can pull a few off and scatter them about your card (see below).

And another super fun paper - gorgeous colours and great designs! I wish I could share all the names of the products with you, but I'll come back and edit these posts once the catty goes live ;)

Well, that's it for day #2. Be sure to check back tomorrow for another show and (a bit of) tell.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox

Occasions Catalogue Sneak Peek Week!!

Well, it's that time of year again! Time for a week-long sneak peek into the new Occasions catalogue, which you will be able to order from starting January 3rd!

Every day for the next week I will share with you some of the fun new products. I have a little bit of almost everything, but be sure to check out the catty on January 3rd to see all the fab products that I don't have and haven't featured this week. 

Let's go!

The first card isn't overrun with new stuff. I wanted to focus on this absolutely fantastic new paper for this one. I adore this paper and can see myself using it a lot in the coming months :) 

Check out a closeup:

For the gramophone, this is from the regular catalogue set Timeless Talk. I stamped and cut out a few levels to give a 3D look.

I'm entering this card into Retro Sketches. Here is their sketch this week. 

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back tomorrow for another peek into the catty!

-Tara

xox

Visit with Santa.

Good monday morning, friends.

This week at MDS Monday, Beth has a great card sketch for us. I turned it into a scrap page, but I loved the added challenge of using 'tape' to 'attach' your photo.

I wanted to get this pic of my kids with Santa scrapped... Poor Jack. He was SO excited to see the big guy. He ran up to him and everything, waving - but as soon as he realized we were going to put him on his lap, he ran for the hills!

Hunter, on the other hand, was in his glory!

Santa asked Hunter what he thought Jack would like for Christmas. Hunter told him that he'd probably like a flying reindeer best. The kind like Santa has. Awesome... ;)

Check out the sketch for this week

Be sure to stop by and see all the lovely projects from the design team.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Something different for The Friday Mashup

Happy Friday!

Can you believe that in a week, Christmas will be over?! I know, I know... what a way to think about it. But, I have a week of holidays starting the week of New Years and I'm SO looking forward to it. Christmas will be over, and I get to stay home for an entire week playing with my kids and their new toys! :D ... And I'm sure I'll be playing with a few of my new toys too!

Speaking of new toys... this card is FULL of new things. Actually, almost everything is new, so soak it up. I'll be starting my week long Sneak Peek next Friday, with a super fun finale on January 3rd, so be sure to check back!

The challenge this week at The Friday Mashup is a great colour combo and the added awesomeness of glimmer/shimmer/bling.

I've never incorporated a photo into a card before, but I'm super happy with how it turned out. Would make a good card to send to the grandparents.

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project using the colors "Real Red, Gumball Green, Bermuda Bay & Crumb Cake."
2. Create a project with some "Glimmer/Shimmer/Bling. "
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project "Real Red, Gumball Green, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake & Glimmer."

Believe it or not, I'm actually entering into a challenge today too! I'm so excited. I've been wanting to play along with Freshly Made Sketches again for a long time, but I just kept missing the deadline. But today is the day!! Yay!

Check out the sketch from them this week:

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Date Night for MDS Monday!

Good (MDS) Monday morning!

Since it's almost Christmas, I thought it was a great time to post a page with pictures from April ;)

Derek and I went on a date night back in April... We were without kids and the world was our oyster. So naturally, we decided to go mini putting. The best part of it all was that it had just opened for the season, so we had the place to ourself and had an extra round on the house! Score.

I had tons of fun with Heidi's fabulous sketch. I love pages with a lot of pictures on them, but I tend not to make them very often. Typically because I scrap pages of my kids, and it's impossible to get even 1 good photo of the two of them, let alone enough to make a picture-heavy page.

I digress...

Check out the challenge for this week:

Be sure to stop by and check out the Design Team pages and link up your own! Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by today.

-Tara
xox

Winter Wonderland at The Friday Mashup!

Happy Friday!

This week at The Friday Mashup we have a chilly little challenge for you (but you can heat it up if you want!).

Avery has a fun challenge for us; a winter themed project (not Christmas) and some embossing!

I've been wanting to scrapbook these pictures for a long time. This was the first snowfall last year, and our littlest boy, Jack, had so much fun watching the snow fall. We eventually went out and played in it for a little bit.

I used a faux embossing technique in MDS for the snowflakes in the background.

Check out the challenge this week: 

1. Create a "Winter themed project (Non Christmas)."
2. Create a project using "Embossing (Dry or Heat). "
3. Or Mash it Up and create a "Winter Project using Embossing."

Look forward to seeing your chilly project!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tara
-xox

A card sketch for MDS Monday

Good morning! Time for a new sketch over at MDS Monday. This week, Joan has a fab card sketch for us!

I wanted to try for a shaded look for the stamped image (as if I had highlighted sections with a light grey, for example). I messed around the the drop shadows a bit on the flower stamp until it seemed right (very technical, eh!)

Check out this week's challenge:

Be sure to swing by MDS Monday and check out all the great projects from the Design Team and link up your card or page.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

A New Challenge in Town - Colour Me...!

Colour me, excited!

I have the immense pleasure of sharing with you a secret that I've been keeping FAR too long! Me and my lovely and talented friend Hayley Kew are starting a brand new adventure; Colour Me...!

It's a brand new challenge blog; a weekly creative challenge for colours lovers (and who isn't, right?)

We have fun plans for the whole month of December - some sneak peeks and of course, introducing the uber-awesome inaugural Design Team who will be with us for the first 6 months!

Today, you'll be meeting the co-creators - Me and Hayley ;) If you're here, you probably already know me, hahah. So why not swing over and meet Hayley? And while you're there, be sure to follow the blog so that you can get all the latest news. 

We have a Facebook page as well, and we're offering up some great prizes. All you have to do is become a fan of our page ("Like" us) and you'll be entered to win some goodies. We'll be doing the draw right before we launch on January 1st.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope to see you around Colour Me...! ;)

-Tara

xox

New technique for Technique Time Tuesday!

Hello!

Today I'm super thrilled to share with you a new tehcnique I've tried - The Embedded Image technique! I have the pelasure of being a Guest Designer over at Technique Time Tuesday for the month of December - thanks for asking me ladies!

I started with on oval of Naturals Ivory and embossed it three (or was it four? haha) times with clear embossing powder. Then, I stamped the lovely evergreen from Lovely as a Tree in Gumball green and embossed that as well. What a cool technique! It gives the appearance of the tree being embedded into the 'glass' of the clear embossing. I will have to try this again :)

Please be sure to stop by Technique Time Tuesday - all month you can play along by picking your favourite tehcnique that they have featured this year... All with great tutorials to get you going!

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

A lot of cards for MDS Monday!

Good Monday morning, friends! This week at MDS Monday, Holly has a card sketch for us.

I was very non-commital about this project, and decided to do a card collection with the same sketch. The intention when I started was to have a male birthday, a female birthday, a baby card, and a wedding card. 2 out of 4 ain't bad ;)

Wedding card

Masculine something-or-other card

Female birthday card

Sympathy card

I used the Sycamore Street DSP for all of them, as well as a lot of the Sycamore Street embellishments. This was a fabulous digital content disc from Sale-A-Bration last year. I love, love this paper.

Check out the sketch this week:

Be sure to stop by MDS Monday and check out what the rest of the fabulous design team created - and be sure to link up your project as well!

Thanks for stopping by today.

-Tara
xox

Kraft + Gingham at The Friday Mashup!

Good morning,

This week at The Friday Mashup, Erica has a great challenge for us that will be running for two weeks.

She's asking use to use Kraft and some gingham. I've never tried the gingham look with the Stripes embossing folder, so I thought I'd give it a shot on this little tag. You can check out a great video from Dawn O about the technique here.

The bag is filled with a little set of 6 cards with envelopes.

I love, love, love the Tag a Bag and Tag A Box sets! I have both of them, and use them any time I can for wrapping little gifts!

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project with "Gingham."
2. Create a project using "Kraft or Crumb Cake. "
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project "with Gingham & Kraft."

Be sure to pop on over at The Friday Mashup and se what all the design team has created - and don't forget, you've got two weeks to play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Tara
xox

Haircut adventures at MDS Monday

I've been having some internet issues lately, so I apologize for my late post today!

I'm coming at you with another blast from the past for MDS Monday. This page documents the first time we cut Hunter's hair at home. He had been at the hairdressers once before this, but it was a disaster! haha. We decided we may as well try it ourselves. We weren't up for another PDC (Public Display of Crazy).

You can literally see the sequence of events through these photos from complete terror to reluctant acceptance ;) It resulted in a big pile of baby hair!

Today, we have a great scrap layout from Beth - Check it out!

Come join us and link up your digital creation.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

Smile Gift Card Holder at The Friday Mashup!

Good morning!

This week at The Friday Mashup Lisa has us creating 3D projects with some fabulous fall and/or masculine colours; Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke and Crushed Curry.

I always seem to forget how much I love Always Artichoke, so I love the friendly nudge in the right direction :)

I made a really cool gift card holder that I found on YouTube from Jackie Topa.

This was a super easy and quick little project - perfect for showcasing the envelope punch board and just in time for the holidays. I can see a lot of these little decorated pouches in my future.

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project with a  "Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke & Crushed Curry."
2. Create a "3-D project."
3. Or Mash it Up and create a "3-D Project with the above Color Combo."

Please swing by The Friday Mashup and check out the projects from the Design Team and then link up your own project! Can't wait to see them all.

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara
xox

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNE MARIE!

Today to celebrate Anne Marie's birthday, past Dynamo's are doing a Link Up! 

Please visit Dynamic Duos site to see all the birthday wishes!

I haven't know Anne Marie for long, but it doesn't take a lot of time to know how wonderful and caring she is. 

In the past 6 months, I have seen how giving Anne Marie is. How much she cares for her friends. Her unstoppable love for animals, and the lengths she goes to care for and love them - each and every one that comes into her home. Her sense of humour - and that smile that could light the world! Her awe-inspiring card creations! Her unique "Anne Marie-ness" <3

Anne Marie, I raise a glass (OK... actually a cup of coffee!) to you this morning and wish you the VERY best day!

I hope you have an awesome birthday doing awesome things with awesome people!

-Tara

xox

Polaroid fun for MDS Monday!

Good morning, and happy Monday!

Today, Heidi has a great card sketch over at MDS Monday. She's loving the polaroid look these days, and so I am! I had a lot of fun making this one.

I used the Puns from the Past stamp brush set, and inserted it into my project twice. I then cropped the fan out of one, and the sentiment out of the other so that I could separate them and have them on different angles. Such a cute little stamp!

Check out the challenge:

Today I'll be laying a wreath at the Richmond cenotaph during the Remembrance day ceremonies. Each year since my grandfather has passed away, I have laid a wreath in honour of him. This year, the wreath will also be in my grandmother's name, as she passed away in March.

I wanted to make a page for Remembrance day, and I have been really wanting to try out 'watercolouring' in MDS. This picture is from last year, when my brother and I laid it together, along with my great-Uncle.

To do the watercolouring, I added 3 freeform layers. On each layer, I coloured and then dropped the opacity a bit on each. It gave it an interesting effect, I think. Quite fittingly, I used the Pleasant Poppies stamp brush set. Unfortunately, the photo is loading much darker than it is supposed to, and it's difficult to pick up the watercolouring effect.

We will remember.

-Tara
xox

Friends for Friday Mashup

I'm coming back at you with another MDS page... I promise I'll get back to the cards soon, I'm just trying to finish up my 2013 pages so I can take advantage of the great printing deals this month!

This week at the Friday Mashup, Heidi has a great one for us. I'm a huge lover of thanksgiving and autumn, and they are my favourite pages to make. This is another page from a walk we took through a nearby trail here with a friend of ours and her son. 

Our boys (my son Jack is on the right) are only 2 months apart, and they go to daycare together, so they are quite close. However, we have very few pictures of them together! Getting two boys to sit still long enough to get a photo taken is no easy task ;)

I took advantage of the fabulous fall DSP Wonderfall. I just LOVE this paper. Some great colours, and cute little creatures :)

Check out the challenge this week:

1. Create a project with a "Game type image.. Deer, Moose, Turkey, etc. "

2. Create a project using a "Woodgrain look. "

3. Or Mash it Up and create a "project with Woodgrain and a Game animal image. "

Thanks for stopping by today!

-Tara

xox