Now that's COLD!

So I woke up this morning and the house felt a little chilly. The fire had gone out during the night like it usually does and after going downstairs to wake Noah, I headed back upstairs to get breakfast & put some coffee on and I looked at the thermometer outside. You wanna know how cold it was? It was FIFTY EFFIN' BELOW ZERO!!!!! No wonder the house felt chilly! I phoned a girlfriend yesterday to announce how cold it had gotten and I think she thought I was kidding! So even though our kids don't exactly get 'snow days' and stay home from school, we do bundle them up really well and ship 'em out the door when the bus pulls up! (such a cold-hearted mom, I know) This morning I told Noah not to get sick or hurt at school because it would take three hours to thaw the engine block on the car before I could even drive the 20 minutes to get him! He laughed at me (more because I was right than because what I was saying was crazy!)

I just tried to cook some poached eggs but our propane stove won't light because propane gels at -45 and won't turn to gas when it's colder than that so I guess it's cold cereal for me! The water in our water tank has ice forming in it and hopefully the pipes don't freeze again (it took Ray 13 hours of constant work replacing heat tape & running the pressure cooker with a tube of steam to thaw it the other day) and since we take our water-truck to the creek to collect our water, I can't really ask Ray to risk life & limb standing in the bitter cold getting wet for the 45 minutes it takes to load the truck - assuming the pump isn't frozen solid which it probably is- and then stand outside while the truck loads the tank at the house. That's just not reasonable. So if this cold sticks around a few more days, we'll have to order water from town (yuck, I can't stand town water).

So even though I'm still in my jammies, I've done my 30 minutes on the brand spankin' new elliptical machine (I'm good and tuckered out now) and I was GONNA eat some poached eggs on my super yummy homemade bread, I've dealt with all my emails so far, drunk 2 very large cups of coffee and done a little knitting. Not too shabby for 10:00 am! So I'm going to put a movie on (and some wool socks) and pray to the weather gods to have mercy on my pansy ass and for the love of God, warm this S**T UP!

Enjoy your day, I'm sure it's a lot warmer than mine. Bet YOUR cars don't have square tires!

Challenge 56

There it goes again, another week! You won't believe some of the ultra rockstar pages these guys are bustin' out this time. I'm sure it has to do with two big factors- 1) the Couture Collections KICK ASS!!! and 2) working with non-layout inspo is a huge source of creative freedom. I don't know about you guys, but I love using images like these bowls to get my creative juices flowin'.
The bowls pictured above are found at ThreePotatoFour and I am still trying to curb the urge to buy them!!! So scroll on down and check out the scrappin' magic the Team rocked out this week and see if it doesn't spur you to make your own! Remember to upload your image to our Flickr group and get another chance at winning the Falling Frost Couture Collection!

Tania
(one of two pages for this challenge...guess she liked it!LOL)

Vanessa
(check out the circles at the bottom of the page...they're stitched together and snipped into lengths for the page- I borrowed the idea from a Martha Stewart Christmas book, the original idea was meant for garland...so cool!)

Jessi

Ronda

Christine

Danielle
Sallie

My Space

It has been the wackiest week! I think I said that last week but really, I've been glued to my computer and somehow feel like I've gotten nothing done. It hasn't been creative time but luckily, the boring part (ordering products) is over and now I'm back in my studio. Last week I got this up in my studio FINALLY. If you remember, I mentioned this great display idea in 2007 and I was able to track one down (it wasn't easy, believe me!) and now that you've seen the pages that I have displayed on it for our weekly challenges, I can show you how cool it looks on the wall. Unfortunately, the studio is a little too small to get a sense of where this is on my wall but trust me, it looks amazing. I love being able to admire my recent work...it kinda spurs me on to make more. Speaking of making more pages...I better get back to work. Happy Scrappin'

PS go to Karen's blog and get a load of these SUPER HOT pinup pics she did for a Comox Valley Calendar- they are some smokin' hot gals!

Challenge 55

I think this has definitely been the fastest week in the year (not that there's been all that many just yet) but it seems that time is literally smokin' by and I'm having a bit of a time keeping up! Luckily, I'm usually a fairly organized gal and rockin' out with our weekly sketches has been going fairly smoothly so as usual, here are the sketches & pages for this week. I love how this ultra-simple sketch has been translated into so many gorgeous pages! Get a load of what the girls did this week!

Now, remember, you can be the proud owner of this month's kit if you wish to participate in the photo pool found at our Flickr group. You have to join the group, upload a photo to your own album and post it to the group (do that last bit from the "organize" section of Flickr) and from there, the DT & I will vote on our fave and the lucky artist will be sent this month's kit. There's already a few gals in the running-GOOD LUCK!!

Ronda

Jessi

Vanessa
Tania


Sallie

Danielle

Christine

Moonlight Toboggan Run

I wish you could have been there...I have the best life, I tell ya. I just came back inside from playing with my family on our toboggan hill beside our house. We have a massive hill with the perfect clearing down the whole thing and the accumulation of snow is perfect for riding down over and over again! Ray was outside earlier today plowing the driveway for the school bus to make its entrance & exit every day and pushed a bunch of snow up to the bottom of the toboggan hill to eliminate the chance of injury (for the adults who brave the hill) where there was previously a sizeable dropoff (about a 2' drop). When you're bookin' it down the hill, knowing you aren't gonna slam into the frozen ground goin' mach-3 is slightly reassuring. We tested out the newly groomed run tonight and just came back in. It's 8:00 now and Seth is telling me after suckin' back a mug o' hot chocolate that he's sleepy & ready for bed. That never happens! We gotta do this more often. If we get on the hill when the sun's up, we'll get a few pics and share 'em!


Gotta go and warm up my cheeks...and I don't mean my face!

February's Couture Collection Teaser

It's the middle of the month and I thought it would be a good idea to post a "teaser" photo of February's Couture Collection, Love Blossoms for you guys! A little something to entice you to set aside a little cash for this amazing kit. There are some super fun embellishments in this Collection that are SURE to make your pulse race and cheeks flush with excitement. You definitely don't want to miss out.

There are still a couple Falling Frost Couture Collection kits available so order soon before they're all gone!

Elton John Glasses

My Noah really cracks me up. He has the ability to make a "funny" in a room full of adults that sends each and every one in the room into fits of laughter (and Noah is usually unaware of just how funny he is) His quick wit is entirely instinctual and he definitely has a sense of comic timing. When he was about four years old, he pulled out this gem pictured above. He enters the room as pleased as could be and says "Look mom, Elton John glasses!" not having a clue who Elton John even is-which totally added to the hilarity of it all. He likes to bust out this particular move from time to time while in front of a fresh audience.

Or like the time I was pregnant...we had experienced pregnancy chats while a few of my girlfriends were expecting and a curious then-pre-schooler is usually pretty eager to cover EVERYTHING (even the really squirmy stuff). When I was pregnant with Seth, Noah was about five years old and we were walking to school. More accurately, he was walking and I was waddling. Anyway, he asked me "when the baby's done growing inside your belly, how does it get out?" Now, had we never had the chats about the origin of babies I might have been caught ill prepared but instead I told said, "I know you know the answer to that question so I'm not even going to say it" He says to me (remember, he's five at the time) "well....it CERTAINLY doesn't come out your mouth!" I tell ya, I was laughing so friggin' hard I had to sit right down on the sidewalk and get ahold of myself or else I'd have peed myself for sure! That kid, man. One of a kind and so damned funny!

The photo above is one of Karen McKinnon's many amazing photos (a snapshot by her standards) and it is one of my favorites because it is such an honest look at Mr. Noah...the performer! And think, he doesn't know what I mean when I tell him he should pursue a career in performing arts! (side note to the canvas-it's a class coming up at the end of the month...time to get messy. Go to the classes page to sign up!)

The page below was a moment of feeling like I was falling behind on my family album(s) for 2007. It would seem that my photo collection is absurdly large and will not all fit in one singular scrapbook album. Big surprise there! So now that I've reluctantly admit defeat with fitting all my pages into one album, I'm now left with the self-imposed pressure that automatically comes with putting pages into a new one...now I just gotta fill it. *SIGH*


and this little darling is my Sethy rockin' out his most charming of moves...the wink

Challenge 54

Welcome to this Friday's edition of the Lotus Paperie weekly challenges. As you can see, we are not using the traditional scrapbook page layout to inspire our creativity, instead we are finding our creative mojo in the elements of this piece of artwork found at Three Potato Four. It is titled, Tallest Tree by Nicky Nicosia. This is a collage piece which has brought the creative juices of our Design Team to a rolling boil! This was a super fun piece to work from as it really stretched the limits of where one can find ideas for scrapbooking. I chose the obvious whereas some of the girls took more creative license and really interpreted the piece in their own way.

We want to see your take on this week's challenge. Remember, when you upload your page to the flickr gallery, your entry will make you eligible to win this month's Couture Collection! You may also post your page as a link in the comments section of this post.
Ronda

Jessi
Vanessa
Tania
Danielle
Christineand after resolving some minor tech issues *new camera for Xmas and figuring out the photo editing program* Sallie's page finally arrived and it sooooooooo pretty!!

Moments like these...

This is what I made last night at "Crop Night". I didn't have any guests except for Noah who proudly worked on his paper bag album. This page shows the same photo that I used on the cover of our "Lookin' Back" 2008 album - the class is listed on the classes page- I used some super-fun Hambley rub-ons and I LOVE those man/woman images. This photo is Ray & me on our way back to Whitehorse after a lengthy stay on Vancouver Island (packing & moving). It's our only kidless road trip. Don't know if I'll get out to the studio today or not but if I do, I'll post my creation...

Open Crop Night @ Lotus Paperie Studio

Well, I don't exactly expect to be overrun with inspired scrappers, I am going to be open tonight and totally set up for cropping. God knows I have a long, long list of scrap projects to finish...er, that is, projects to start! So I'll brew a lovely pot of green tea and spread out on the cropping table in the middle of the studio and attempt to make some headway.

Whitehorse scrappers- there's no admission/attendance fee for this event so just grab some scrap supplies and head over. Doors will open at 7:00 and I'll plan to pack up by 10:00 and if you feel an uncontrollable urge to shop don't forget to bring either cash or check! Hope to see you!

If you can't get out this way or life just gets in the way tonight, this is a weekly event - every Wednesday night- but there will also be another crop event held on the last Monday of every month from 4-6:30 at Zola's beginning this month on the 28th. Be sure to stop by, grab a cuppa that famous coffee and maybe even scrap a little!

If you need further information regarding these or other Lotus Paperie events, please call 867-668-2296 or email lotuspaperie@shaw.ca

Warm & fuzzy

It's always funny to me when I sit down at my computer (my best friend these days) and manage to think up some wild and creative idea that come out of my computer looking EXACTLY how I wanted it to. I'm so amazed that only five years ago I got my first computer with really only high school keyboarding skills to my name and have taught myself so much about the finer details of HTML, blogging, digital imaging...so much. I think my brain has expanded but my humility (or insecurity-depending on where you're sitting) remains fully intact! One of my pals comes to me for blogging tech-support and I sometimes think she's kidding around because I can't possibly know something that she doesn't when it comes to the computer but alas, while she might kick ass behind a camera I guess HTML just isn't her thing.

The other night I was tucking Seth in to bed and he said "stay here mom, I NEED you" and ultimately every human does need to know that they are needed, that they truly matter to someone. I mean from a very positive self-esteem point of view, everyone -even those who feel great about themselves- appreciate being appreciated & valued. I love hearing from those I hold dear that they think I'm great at something (or that I'm just plain great!). It gives me a big fat warm fuzzy.

Well, I'm off to reorganize, create some new digital sketches, edit photos, drink coffee, fiddle with HTML some more and maybe if I'm super lucky I'll get to scrap a little too.

Challenge 53 - Meet Ronda

I love the opportunity that comes with new beginnings and let's face it, the best new beginning that you get to do over and over comes every January. With this January comes one big fat super duper new beginning and that is with our design team. This year, I have the honor of introducing you to Ronda Palazzari, our newest member of the Team. She is, by no means, a scrapbook rookie. She teaches at her local scrap shop and is the owner of and on the creative team for One Little Word. Now, you all know how much I love OLW...I'm kind of a groupie I guess you could say. So it's understandable as to why I'm so excited to have Ronda on our team. She's brimming with ideas, creativity and talent...just look at her page for this week. Man, I love change. So exciting & inspiring!

Also, our sketch for this week is a Lotus Paperie sketch which, as you can see by the pages below, can be translated so many ways. I think I'm not the only one feeling inspired these days.
Remember to upload your pages to our Flickr group to get your name in the hat for your own Couture Collection!

Ronda

Vanessa

Details...lovin' that corrugated cardboard. Cheapest embellishment on the planet!
Jessi

Tania
Danielle
Christine

Today Present

I am the luckiest gal in the world! I opened an envelope that arrived in the mail the other day and guess what was inside? This cute pendant that my pal Karen bought on Etsy. I have worn it every day since I opened the package. It even has another paper on the other side. They are the dang cutest things EVER! They're made from scrabble tiles - pretty fitting since Karen & I always shared a love for paper arts and scrabble. I just smile when I put it on. Thanks Karen!

Falling Frost Couture Collection

Wow, January is here and I can't even tell you how excited I am about the new changes for this year. Let's start with our Couture Collections. These are monthly scrapbooking kits complete with multiple shades of cardstock, printed paper and embellishments galore! They are $35.00 CAD plus $14.00 shipping and using the paypal shopping cart found on the sidebar ----> you simply click the button and presto! your purchase is completed just like that! I can promise that you won't be disappointed in the contents of these Collections. Stay tuned for the weekly challenges that accompany them! Orders will include 4x6 printouts of each week's challenges - they are perfect to store in a recipe box or hole-punched and ring-bound.

This month's Couture Collection, Falling Frost features My Mind's Eye papers from the Frost Signature Collection. The prints found in this Collection are "Falling Frost", "Flying Friends", "Winterberry", and"Winter Blue Dots". Also, you'll receive one sheet of Prima's Paintables watercolor paper that you choose the color scheme of (it's really amazing stuff). The motif in this collection is "Cherubs". The possibilities with this product are unlimited -how fun is that?? There are five colors of Bazzill cardstock found in this Collection. You'll receive two sheets each of the following five colors- lizard, blue eyes "Bling", Starmist, Vanilla, and Hershey.

And that's only the paper! The embellishments are so great. You will receive one of each four different journaling tags from My Mind's Eye, a pack of light blue Thickers by American Crafts in the "Giggle" font, Crystal Stickles from Ranger, a complete package of Mini Ghost clocks from Heidi Swapp, twenty of each three colors of brads by American Crafts, a pack of snowflake rhinestones by Me and my Big Ideas, Over the Edge rub-ons by Imaginisce, one yard of cream grosgrain ribbon and one yard of periwinkle giant rick rack from Maya Road. I don't know about you, but I think that's a schwack of stuff!

On Friday, the Design Team will dust off their scrap tools after the holidays to post their beautiful wintry themed artwork using this kickin' Collection so make sure you come on by to see what kind of magic they've done with their supplies this month. Can't wait to see what you do with it too! Get a load of the images below to give you a better sense of what's comin' in your Couture Collection!