Wow! So I've been gone a really long time! My scrap room had never been quiet this long before... But I'm itching to go back now... and what better way than with Scrapbook Challenges! Yep, I made the '15 Winter/Spring Sketch Crew! There will be a special reveal this Wednesday, so make sure to stop by to see the new sketch and all the pretty layouts.
I can't show you my new layout yet, but I will give you a peek of the main photo that's on it!
Yes, that's the Machu Pichu in the background! We went to Peru last summer. What a trip!! We came back with tons (I'm not kidding!) of beautiful pictures and wonderful memories. We loved the country and the people. The country itself is beautiful and so varied. From the tropical forest to the high mountains, from Lake Titicaca to the huge sand hills of the coast and the mysterious Nazca lines. It's heart wrenching to see the difficult life conditions that too many of its people have to endure. Despite all the poverty, we found Peruvians to be friendly and very hard-working. This is the kind of trip which opens your eyes to what life is like in many parts of the world and makes you realize how very lucky we are.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.
Lima:
La Plaza de Armas
Waiting to meet real ones! lol!
Beautiful cathedral
One of Lima's parks. In the winter time (our summer), it's always cloudy and misty in Lima...
Tropical forest:
The mountains and Cuzco:
Lake Titicaca and the floating islands of the Uros:
The Nazca Lines seen from the air:
Just to show how huge these things are!!
These are just a few of the many amazing things that we saw and did in Peru! This trip will keep me scrapping for a long time!
Don't forget to stop by Scrapbook Challenges on Wednesday to see the first reveal of the new team! See you then!
Martine
Posted in
Peru,
photos
Hi there! I'm back from a three week trip to the Netherlands! What a great time! We went all around the country. We saw windmills, castles, beaches, farmland dotted with cows and sheep, grandiose churches, beautiful canal streets, old homes and so much more! (including lots of kitty encounters!) We slept in a houseboat in Amsterdam, ate at beautiful terrace restaurants, saw some Dutch Masters paintings, slept in an actual small castle one night, did boat tours on picturesque canals... so much fun! I now have a fresh batch of photos to play with!
We spent 4 nights in this houseboat in Amsterdam and really enjoyed relaxing on the roof terrace!
The beautiful streets/canals of Amsterdam at night.
You can't go to the Netherlands without taking pictures of windmills!
Some fancy estates and gardens we visited!
This is the castle we actually slept in!
Beautiful streets and old houses!
They have great terrace restaurants over there! Some by the canals! (notice the begging cat in the background!)
This is how I got my kitty "fix" while I was away!
I even found a craft/scrap store by accident in one of the towns! I had to shop a bit!
Speaking of scrapping, I got some great news while I was on vacation. I was picked to be part of the DT at the new sketch challenge blog Simple Sketches! Go meet the rest of the team here! You can also like the Facebook page here! The first sketch challenge will be revealed on August 31st. Go check it out! You'll love the new sketches! They're very versatile!
There's a week and a half left before the start of the new school year. That means I better take advantage of it and scrap, scrap, scrap!!
Have a scrappy week!
Martine
Posted in
cats,
Netherlands,
photos,
Simple Sketches
Hi there! I've been a bad blogger! But I haven't done much scrapping either... The end of the school year was super busy, with the usual testing, grading, report cards, packing up the classroom for the summer... But on top of all the usual hecticness, my father-in-law passed away in June. He'd had heart problems for the past 8 years, but in the last year or so, he was getting weaker and weaker. His passing still came suddenly and was a shock. I made two layouts about him for his wake. The first one is a picture of him taken in 2008 at the wedding of his step-son.
The second one is about him as a dad, with Mike and his two sisters. The photos date from the 60's at their lake house, the 70's during a family trip to Des Moines, and the largest one from 2010, in our backyard.
Both pages use Basic Grey papers, the first one from the Ambrosia collection and the second one from Marjolaine. Both are based on sketches, but I'm embarassed I can't find which ones anymore... I usually write all this information behind my layouts, but I forgot for those two. I'll try to find the sketches and give the links when I do. If you recognize one of your sketches, please let me know!
On a happier note, I did this layout about my latest rescue kitty, Bajoue (found him as a stray this winter). The title means "Don't Trust his Angelic Appearance!" As we found out,he's one high maintenance cat! He always wants to play and he knows how to ask for it! He certainly gets our attention! It's a good thing he's also cute and lovey-dovey, so we love him anyway! ;-) lol! I made this page for a DT call at a new sketch challenge site, Simple Sketches. If you're interested, you have until tomorrow to apply! Whether I'm picked up or not, I'm happy I found a new sketch site... I love sketches!
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And finally, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of June, I also had to say good-bye to Bear, my 16-year-old kitty. He hadn't been feeling well in the last couple of weeks, not following me around like he usually did, sleeping a lot... When I took him to the vet, they found he had cancer all over his lungs. His breathing became difficult. Within two days, I had to put him to sleep. I lost a big chunk of love that day... Bear was my faithful companion, he only had eyes for his mom! He followed me everywhere and was always there to greet me when I got home. I took these photos of him on our last morning together.
And here are a couple layouts of my Mr. Bear.
Hope you're having a great summer! We're leaving for the Netherlands in two days, so I'm ready to come back with a huge batch of new pictures to scrap!
Happy scrapping!
Martine
Posted in
Basic Grey,
cats,
DT call,
family,
layouts,
photos,
Simple Sketches,
sketches
Today, Sassy Lil' Sketches shared some news on their blog. They announced that they are closing! I'll be sad to see them go. I was always inspired by Cherie's sketches! SLS always felt a little bit like home since I was on their very first DT team, which also happened to be my very first DT experience! It was a wonderful team to work with! Katie and Cherie are super nice!
On a happier note, they are going out with a bang! They are having a big send off, with all 8 sketches of the month being released between October 2nd and October 9th. You'll have until October 23rd to complete the sketches, and the winners will be announced the next day. You can check the full schedule here on the blog. You even get an extra entry if you decide to "switch it up", like I've been doing for the past three months!
And what can you win? How about a SLS sketch e-book for every sketch revealed! That's right, there will be 8 e-books given out! Each are packed full with more than 70 wonderful sketches! That's definitely worth scrapping for!
So check out the Sassy Lil' Sketches blog everyday starting Monday, and stop by here again on the 6th for my reveal!
Happy scrapping!
Martine
(And enjoy the nice fall weather while you still can! My kitties sure are! ;)
Posted in
cats,
photos,
Sassy Lil' Sketches
Hello!
Have you heard the news?? Sassy Lil' Sketches has released their brand new sketch e-book!
-----NEWS RELEASE-----
At Sassy Lil' Sketches, we are happy to announce the first Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook has been released!
The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook features about 70 brand new sketches designed by Cherie Averill!
You'll find sketches for layouts with one, two, three & multiple photos! You'll even find double page sketches! Plus, sample layouts from talented designers that will spark your creativity!
Most of the sketches use standard photo sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10). To get extra mileage out of the sketches, switch it up! Use the sketches to create cards, double pagers, etc.! If you need ideas for "switching it up", check out the cards in the Sample Layouts section or stop by the Sassy Lil' Sketch blog on Saturdays.
The Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook is available for online viewing or you can easily download and print it. It's your choice!
Visit www.sassylilsketches.com to get the Sassy Lil' Sketches Ebook & get scrapping!
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Cherie's sketches are amazing, as always, and there are SO MANY of them! And at 8.99$US, you can't beat the price!! There is also tons of inspiration to be had from the many designers that contributed to the ebook!
I made one of the layout examples for the book, featured on page 5. I can't show you my LO, but I can show you the pictures I used. They were taken last summer during our trip to the Pacific Northwest. On our last day, we went for a biplane ride over Seattle in an old 1940's open cockpit biplane! It was such a cool experience!
And here are a few sneaks of my layout!
The gals at Sassy Lil' Sketches were kind enough to give us a copy of the ebook to give away on our blogs. Just leave a comment on this post for your chance to win! I'll pick a random winner on August 29th. If you don't win, remember that the ebook is just 8.99$US! I'll leave you with a screen shot of a page to give you a taste of the ebook!
Martine
Posted in
giveaway,
photos,
Sassy Lil' Sketches,
Seattle
Beautiful cathedral
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