Tip Tuesday #1

So I want to start at least one weekly post that has a reoccurring theme of some sort (I would love to have one each day of the week but I don't think I can keep that up!) So for now I am going to start with "Tip Tuesday". These posts will feature original tips from me or tips I find from other bloggers out there. Tips can range from scrap room organization, card making, scrapbooking, techniques, thrifty hand made gift ideas, the possibilities are endless!

So here is the first edition of Tip Tuesday!

This week I would like to feature the tip that inspired this whole idea of the Tip Tuesday weekly post. It is from a fellow Close to my heart consultant Tammy.

She had a tip to sort her distressing sponges in a tackle box and have them labeled by colour. I really love this idea since I cannot stand mixing colours when I want a nice crisp colour accent on the edge of my papers for cards or scrapbooking layouts. Currently I was just dropping them into an old baby wipe container but I had to fish through them to find the colour I was currently using so I did not mix a black with yellow or green with orange! I am going to get me a tackle box or bead box from Walmart and get my sponges organized!!

Here is the Tammy distress sponge organization solution!

How do you keep your sponges? I would love to hear from you!

Created this card using the resist technique with white embossing powder on white daisy card stock.

*Edited to add sponge technique artwork*


{Supplies}
Paper - Hollyhock, Black and Daisy White (CTMH)
Ink - Blush (CTMH)
Stamps - Priceless Love and February Word Puzzle (Both CTMH)

Happy Birthday Hero Arts!

Hero Arts Blog is celebrating it's one year birthday today! Check out the blog, they have lots of giveaways today and surprises for the rest of the week.

Hope you all are having a great Monday! Check back tomorrow for the first edition of Tip Tuesday!!

Cuttle Bug Giveaway!

Happy Friday Bloggers! Hope you all enjoyed your first full week of Spring (I think this is the first full week??)

Well just wanted to share the love and let you all know the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog is giveaway a lot of great stuff today and over the weekend and you should go check it out.

I love me little bug! Its just the right size to bring to a crop and add a little flair to your cards or scrapbook layouts.

Here's a list of all the great things you can do with a Cuttlebug:
- Cut with Cuttlebug dies
- Cut with Quickuts dies
- Cut with Spellbinders dies
- Cut with Boss Kuts dies
- Emboss card stock
- Emboss patterned paper
- Emboss chipboard!! (I love this look and its so easy)
- Emboss vellum
- Emboss and ink card stock in one shot
- Emboss you acrylic shapes and add ink to raise sections
- Emboss acrylic shapes and colour in negative space with gel pen
- Emboss card stock and add chalk to raised sections

And there are so much more, hopefully in the future I will be able to post some of these tutorials so you can see how they are done!

Go check out the Cuttlebug Challenge blog!

Wedding Season is Approaching

So with the warmer weather comes Wedding season, being in my mid-twenties I feel like everyone I know and her Sister is getting married!! Last year I was a bride's maid and went to three other weddings and this year I am a bride's maid for a wedding in May and have a wedding in August. If I am not attending weddings it is bridal showers, Jack & Jills, Baby Showers and Bachlorette parties... the list goes on. I guess this is what happens when you get older??

Although I love weddings sometimes too many can get over whelming (...and pricey). This year for wedding gifts I am hoping to make an 8x8 albums the bride and groom can add there own 4x6 photos and journaling. I started working on one last night but I will post pictures once the bride has received it (I don't want to give away the surprise!!)

So for now in terms of artwork you will have to settle on a card I made as a card gift set for a bridal shower I attended last year. I gave the bride enough cards so she could use them as her Thank you cards for all the gifts she received at the shower.


{Supplies}
Paper - Leaf Green Bazzil card stock, White card stock
Stamps - sposabella (Stamping Bella)
Ink - Rangers Archival Ink Black, Sakura Pink gel pen, Copic markers
Misc - ribbon (Micheal's), brads (dollar store), cuttlebug embossing folder (Divine Swirls)

Blog Format Change

Some of my past visitors might have noticed that my blog template changed slightly. I have changed my 2 column template to a 3 column template which allows me to add more fun stuff on my sidebars without having to scroll and scroll and scroll...

Thanks to this wonderful tutorial blog - http://www.threecolumnblogger.com

I managed to change all the HTML code myself and make three columns! I am really getting the hang of this blogger HTML thing, oh the possibilities!!

Well I hope all you bloggers out there wanting to have three columns benefit from this great tutorial blog.

Page Challenge - Lara Brooks

I love to read blogs written by fellow canadian scrapbookers, and yesterday I found the blog of Lara Brooks. She is in the Toronto area (just like me) and contributes to the Canadian Scrapbooker magazine and is also on the design team for myStamp Box. She is a wonderful talented scrapbooker!!

In her most recent post she has posted a layout challenge and is offering some great blog candy so I thought I would join in! and I encourage you all to do the same :)

Check her blog each Sunday for 2 or 3 Themes, post a comment with a link to your layout on her comments, and you'll be entered to win a prize! She has stamp sets, paper packs and lots more to choose from.

Here is my layout for the Theme - Home Sweet Home
EDITED - Adding better photo of layout

{Supplies}
Paper - Scraptivity September 2007 Kit
Stamps - Technique Tuesday Journaling Stamp
Misc - Big & Easy Stickers for title

Florida Mini Album

This weekend I had a girlfriend come over for a little scrapping at my house and I finally got my Florida mini album completed. I bought the K&Company Sea Glass travel book prior to my trip and brought it with me to journal each day. The journaling lasted about 3 out of the 7 days I was in Florida so I had to really sit down and look over the photos so I could get the rest of the journaling done, I think that was the hardest part but having all the memories down was worth it! But I really like the idea of doing the journaling each day when you are on a vacation/trip. In the end you really get to look back on the trip and have a lot of the little details recorded. Although like most I do have a hard time sitting down at the end of a long day sightseeing and write in a journal, but I think journaling like this is something that takes practice! What journaling tricks do you have?

During my trip to Florida my Family and I ran the 5k Family run together. It was so much fun and something I would love to do again. Maybe one year I will run the 1/2 marathon?? Gotta have goals right? :) So glad I have this album to hold all these great memories.

{Supplies}
Album - K&Company SeaGlass Travel Mini
Paper - K&Company SeaGlass 4x6 Die Cut Mats
Misc - K&Company SeaGlass album, rub ons, chipboard, die cut journal tags and title stickers

Happy Spring... Happy Everything!!

Happy Spring Everyone! I hope wherever you are reading this post from you have at least a little bit of sunshine. It may not be very warm outside today but at least the sky is clear, I am loving it and this weather is putting me in a perfect mood for the start of the weekend.

Check out this card I made a while back, it just speaks spring to me! Enjoy!

{Supplies}
Paper - Purple and Lime Greenscraps from my stash
Stamps - Love of Life (CTMH)
Ink - Purple & Green (unknown manufacturer)
Other - Foam pop dots

Back to the Blog... With a different focus

Okay so I am going to start up this blog for the third...fourth time! It has been a long time since I have been on this blog and so much has changed, I went from a university student to living single in the city to living in the city with the man of my dreams.

I want to start this blog up again to track my scrapbooking adventures and creative journey in life. I hope to post any new classes I am taking, layouts I have done and any other random facts I may find interesting. This blog will be a blank canvas for now and I will add more to it as time goes on. This will be a learning experience for me and you are all welcome to jump on board or lend a hand with technical or creative advice.

Other places you can find me at are
www.twitter.com/katiepaterson
www.hungarytrip.blogspot.com

So leave a comment and say hello! I will be back soon I promise :)