My NAV Centre Retreat

Yes, I have been a bad blogger. I haven't updated my blog since June. In my defence, it was a busy summer. We were trying to (unsuccessfully) potty train my little guy. Plus, I discovered that I was pregnant! Anyone who has ever been pregnant knows the state of exhaustion that accompanies the first trimester.

 

Anyway, enough excuses! I'm back know and I have lots of scrapbooking stuff to blog about. This past weekend, I went with a group of ladies to the NAV Centre in Cornwall for a scrapbooking retreat. I was super productive. I completed 1 single page layout and 8 double page layouts for a grand total of 17 pages! I'd like to share the pages I made with you.

 

 

My Previous NAV Centre Experience:

 

Between my friends and myself, there were a lot of pictures from my previous NAV Centre experience in April 2012. I decided to go through my stash and use leftover papers to create these pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Of these pages, the last one is probably my favourite, mainly because of the people in the pictures!

 

Meeting baby Coralie:

 

My friends Sylvie and Eric went through a lot to be able to have a baby. For that and many other reasons, I was very excited to meet their baby Coralie. Sam was excited too. He loves babies!

 

I had recently bought the Vintage Finds collection by Teresa Collins and I thought it would be perfect for these pictures.

 



A Family Photo Shoot:

In May of this year, I hired a very talented photographer named Julie Hearty. I was thrilled with the results. Sam isn't the easiest kid to deal with but she managed to not only get him to look at the camera but also smile!

For these pages, I used the Pemberley collection by Close to My Heart, which is simply stunning. I also used a few Prima flowers

 

 

 

Summer Fun:

 

We did a lot of fun things this summer, including a few trips to a splash pad. This layout featured pictures of Sam having fun at the splash pad near my parents' house. He LOVED the splash pad!

 

I had leftovers from the Splash collection by Echo Park and thought this was the perfect opportunity to use some of them up. I also used up most of my blue buttons!

 

 

 My 30th Birthday at Auntie Em's:

For my 30th birthday, the Divas invaded Cornwall for our first crop at Auntie Em's Scrapbooking and Beading (btw, I'm now 6 months past my 31st birthday so I'm a little behind in my scrapbooking!)

I have no idea what collection I used. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it!

I love these scrapbooking retreats. I'm seriously considering going back in November with another group of ladies. I know that my time to go to these things are limited as I'm expecting baby #2 in late March 2013. These weekends are a great opportunity to focus and get stuff done. But they are also good for getting away from your everyday and spending time with friends. The best part of this weekend was getting to spend so much quality time with my bestie Diane.

 

Until next time, happy scrappin'!

 

  

 

My NAV Experience

In mid-April, I went with the Scrapbooking Divas to the NAV Centre for my first scrapbooking retreat. I wanted to blog about my experience before now but time just did not permit. I have 3 blogs to update people! Still, I have managed to blog about projects that I completed while at NAV. You can read about Anabelle's Album and my Buffalo pages on my blog and on Auntie Em's blog.

Anyway, getting back to my experience at NAV, it was fantastic! It was 2.5 days of scrapbooking goodness! It was so nice to be steps from my room and food. The scrap space we had was wall-to-wall windows so the room was nice a bright. I got lots of scrapbooking done but best of all, I spent quality time with the Divas and met some great people.

Here is a picture of me taking a booze break from scrapbooking. See the great windows?!

Other than the projects I already blogged about, I made one double-page layouts and one single-page layout. Here is a picture of the double-page layout:

This layout features recent pictures of Sam and I playing in the backyard this spring, just after the snow had melted.

On the first page, I kept it simple. I started, as always, with a piece of cardstock. I then layered two pattern papers from the Country Drive collection by Echo Park. It's no secret, I love Echo Park! This is one of many Echo Park collections that I own.

I distressed the edge of the blue pattern paper and used Distress Ink afterwards. I also distressed the edges of my pictures and glued them on the pages slightly overlapped. I added the cream ribbon vertically.

Next, I used the Big Shot to create a journalling box. I added my cluster of flowers. I made most of the flowers myself!

For the title, I used Close to My Heart cork letters. I love these letters! Bonus: they are self-adhesive.

I kept it pretty simple on the second page as well. I used the 'vertical band' photo placement.

On the right side of the vertical band, I used a detailed border punch. The paper was originally white. I used Glimmer Mist in Crème de Cocoa to change the colour. I repeated the same ribbon as on the first page but I placed it horizontally here.

I used the Big Shot a lot on this layout. I used it to create the butterflies, the journalling box and the small doilies.

The last page I made during the scrapbooking retreat was a one-page layout featuring my little guy with his toy guitar. Music is in Sam's genes. My husband Matt is a guitarist and was in a band for years.

My friend Natalie says that I embrace white space. Yes I do and I'm proud of it! White space, if properly used, allow the pictures to stand out and not the technique. Still, I did use techniques on this page!

I wanted to tone down the pattern paper so I used Perfect Pearls in Perfect Pearl. I cropped my pictures and a piece of the sprayed pattern paper to the same dimensions and glued them in a square pattern. I added the blue ribbon for a pop of colour. I created my own journalling box using white paper, a piece of the same pattern paper and a border punch.

I added two clusters of embellishments by using buttons, corrugated cardboard and twine, aka 'manly' embellishments,

And there you have it folks, my NAV experience. I can't wait to go again in the fall. The Divas will take over Cornwall again! 

My Top 10 Tools

My good friend Natalie loves lists! She good at making them and you can read them on her blog My Two Left Hands. Being with Natalie yesterday afternoon reminded me that I wanted to do a blog entry about my top 10 tools...scrapbooking tools that I cannot live without.

Here we go.

10. Craft Heater

A craft heater is essential to me because of some of the products I use. Waiting for Glimmer Mist to dry is painful! It would take me forever to finish a page is I had to wait for stuff to air dry. Also, I recently started heat embossing (much to my dismay - I always said that I would NEVER get into heat embossing!). Heat embossing is difficult without the heat!

I use the Heat It Craft Tool by Ranger Ink:

 

9. Sponge

Inking edges of pictures and/or paper is more controlled and a lot easier with sponges. I use dabbers like these:

 

I also use Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool and Foam:

 

8. Die Cut Machine

Die cut machines comes all sorts of shapes and prices. If I had to pick just one, I couldn't. I'm the current owner of a Cricut Expression. I have the first generation. The link brings you to the Cricut Expression 2. You have to buy cartridges and they can be quite expensive. Regardless, the possibilities are endless with this machine. I should really take a class to get to know all its uses.

This is the one I own:

I said I couldn't pick just one because I really really REALLY want a Big Shot. Instead of cartridges, you have to buy dies. This is Big Shot (small pictures...sorry!):

 

Really, I could live with just one of the two but I'm a princess and I want both darn it!


7. Ruler

I'm no scrapbooking perfectionist but I still find many uses for a ruler. Especially one designed as well for scrapbooking purposes as the Tim Holtz Design Ruler:

 

The ruler is double-sided. One side has the traditional 0-12 inch markings. The other side is split in two: 6-0 (the centre is 0) and then 0-6. Very useful!


6. Edge Distresser

The edge distresser is great for distressing paper (the paper edges can then be inked or not). It's very simple, the harder your press, the more the edge is distressed.

Distressed is a great look. I often use it on one or two elements on a layout. My friend Nathalie from The Creative Cellar is AMAZING at the complete distressed look.

I use the Close to My Heart edge distresser. The CTMH catalogue did not allow me to save a picture of it. If you're interested, see their idea book. The best part about this particular edge distresser: the price! Only $2.50!


5. Piercing tool

I love my piercing tool! I use to make holes for brads, to make a mark for placement (of paper, flowers, etc) and glue small items. I use it on every scrapbook page I make.

I use the Tim Holtz Craft Pick:

 

4. File

I love to file the edge of my pictures. It gives the impression that the pictures are matted without using any cardstock. You can also ink the edges of the pictures afterwards for more drama.

I use the Basic Grey Precision File Set and cannot scrapbook without it!

 

3. Craft Mat

When you use inks, mists and/or do heat embossing, a craft mat is essential. My advice, invest in the biggest one you can find...but they are expensive. I use the Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet. The thing is practically indestructible!

2. Scissors

As I left-handed person, scissors have always been the bane of my existence. But I use them on every layout so it was important for me to find a good pair that worked for me.

I seem to be repeating myself in product lines but I use Tim Holtz Non-Stick Scissors:

 

They are the best scissors I've every used.


1. Trimmer

This is my #1 tool. I use it constantly. Good thing replacement blades are available. Buy any Fiskars trimmer and you'll be happy with it!

Honourable Mention

I finished this list and I realized that I hadn't even talked about punches! I love punches, especially borders punches. So, I would like to give an honourable mention to punches. My favour border punches are made by EK Success. Here is an example of one:

I hope you liked my list! Do you agree or would you have a different list?


Happy scrappin'!