Do you miss my hockey posts?

Hey, it really has been a while since I've bored you with hockey. Never fear, hockey still forms a pretty important part of my life, between ds' house league career, my new habit of watching EVERY Sens game on TV, and our occasional real-live-in-person attendance at ScotiaBank Place. Not to mention my cruising sports websites for Sens news. I wouldn't be surprised if my friends and family were planning an intervention to rid me of this obsession!

Until I get cured, though, I am still going to occasionally blog about hockey. But just to keep you interested, here's a hockey layout. So now this post is actually about scrapbooking - so there.



Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Scenic Route (Savannah)
Arrows - Scenic Route
Alpha - Chatterbox, Basic Grey Black Tie
Other - Autumn Leaves journaling stamp

I think I've mentioned here before that goaltender Ray Emery is my favorite player. I'm sad to report that I'm starting to rethink this. It actually has nothing to do with his play, despite the fact that it's been infrequent and inconsistent this season - partly because of his recovery from wrist surgery, but also partly because of his attitude on and off the ice. And this is the reason why I'm not so sure about him anymore. I mean, he's always been a scrapper (um, the fighting kind, not the paper-and-scissors kind!), and it's no secret he's a big boxing fan. He's always been pretty flamboyant, with his hip clothes and many tattoos. But I think the fame has gone to his head in the last year, he's been acting like a spoiled brat on and off the ice. Little kids look up to their NHL heroes, and I surely wouldn't want any little kids to look up to Ray. Temper tantrums, road rage etc. don't make for a good role model.

So with a heavy heart, I am in the market for a new favorite. Who will it be? Fisher? Alfredson? Heatley? Not sure. Guess I'll have to watch a few more games, very attentively, before I decide. Luckily, I get to watch one in person with ds this weekend.

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Scraplifting

It's interesting that this wonderful scrapbooking craft has spawned all kinds of weird terminology. Certainly, it has given a whole new meaning to the words "to scrap". A few years ago, when my husband would say "my wife's a scrapper", I'm sure people would imagine me with the boxing gloves on, no holds barred ... but the word has now taken on a new verb meaning, and a meaningful new noun status.

A brand new word that came out of this craft is "scraplifting". (I'm explaining this in case you're reading this and you don't scrap. It could happen. You know who you are, eh?). To scraplift is to use someone else's layout as inspiration. You can do a full scraplift (exact page design, supplies, etc.), a partial scraplift (combo of page design and/or supplies) or a vague scraplift (starts out with the idea but develops into its own somewhere along the way). I'm usually a vague scraplifter, paging through scrap magazines or surfing websites right before scrapping in order to get some creative juices flowing. Last weekend I needed a wee bit more inspiration though, so I focussed on a layout I had clipped out of an old magazine. Thought I'd share the result here with you.

Here's the original layout (artist unknown - so sorry about that - but I had cut it out of a magazine without saving the name), followed by my scraplift:

ARTIST UNKNOWN

MY SCRAPLIFT

I think the result looks enough like the original to be considered a partial scraplift - but not enough to be a full scraplift. The beauty about "stealing" ideas in this craft, is that it's not actually stealing, it's more like flattery. I've never heard of anyone being upset that they've been scraplifted (well, except maybe on Two Peas, but that's a whole other topic!).

Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Frances Meyer (Japan Garnet Wine), All My Memories (Herbanella), Bo-Bunny (Boys to Men)
Ribbon Tape - Heidi Swapp
Chipboard letters - Queen & Co, Pressed Petals Chip Chatter
Journaling Stamp - Autumn Leaves

Well, that's just about the last of the layouts I produced in the last few days - it's been fun being off work, but today was back to reality (aka work) for me, and I get the feeling that sessions at my scrap desk will be few and far between for the next little while. Which is too bad, because scrap desk sessions make me so happy. Too bad I don't get the same high off Public Service Renewal, human resource policy development, and performance management issues!

One Less Unfinished Project

For my entire crafting life, I have had a mess of unfinished projects haunting me. When I was into knitting, I would have bags of sweater pieces ready to be sewn together - if only I could get around to knitting that one last sleeve. When I was into cross-stitching, I worked on a canvas for over two years only to give up on finishing it when I had only about 1 inch square of black background left to do. I have plenty of single crocheted booties - if only I had given birth to babies who only felt the cold in only one of their pudgy little feet!

One of the things that quickly attracted me to scrapbooking, and confirmed me as an addict, is that each page is a project in itself, and it is actually quite possible to finish a page and get a sense of accomplishment. Finally - no more unfinished projects haunting me! Or so I thought. Once I strayed from chronological albums into the realm of theme albums, crafting procrastination once again reared its ugly head. I currently have several unfinished albums, including my daughter's Girl Guide album, my childhood album, my wedding album, my sister's tribute album (that one looks finished, but looks can be deceiving - I still have a few pictures I want to scrap), and my godson's album. And maybe others that I don't even remember. But as of this weekend, there is one unfinished album that is unfinished no longer - my high school grad album!

I started this album in October 2006 when a bunch of scrappy gals got together for a day of scrapping. I figured a theme album would be easy to prepare and pack for. I only got a few layouts done, and it took me until this weekend (about 15 months later!) to get at it again. But I finished it! And am basking in the sense of accomplishment. So much so that I've decided to share the entire album here with you (don't worry - it's short!). Here goes!












If you're still here, thanks for sticking it out to the end!! A couple of things - first of all, I just realized I forgot to put the dot on the "i" on the cover page - oops!! Second - I am 15 years old in these pictures. I wish I could tell my 15-year-old self that, despite the ups and downs, it really is going to be all right. Third - I went to the prom with a friend (as opposed to a date). He was short so I had to wear ballet flats (but wore very high high heels to the grad dinner). Fourth - I really cherish the picture of my Dad and I dancing together. The only other time was at my wedding. Fifth - my (high school) best friend Brenda features prominently in these pages. We've lost touch ... I wonder what she's doing now? And finally - isn't it cool that my corsage has survived 26 years in a magnetic photo album?

Supplies used:

Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - Signature Series by My Mind's Eye
Flowers - Prima, Bazzill, other
Ribbon - Unknown
Brads - Making Memories, unknown
Buttons - SEI
Grad stickers - Creative Memories
Paper/punchout embellishments - My Mind's Eye
Letter stickers - Basic Grey