You Are Beautiful - A Turtle Challenge

This week's challenge over at Turtle Soup is brought to us by Anne Marie. She challenged us to break out the scissors and exacto knives and do some fussy cutting. For my layout, I hand cut the flowers and butterflies from some SEI patterned paper.

This lovely picture of my baby girl was taken August 2008 by Amanda Stratton.

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday! So, today he gets some Thanksgiving fun and some birthday fun all mixed together!!

I was looking through my pictures and then came across these ones on my sister's blog and well, hers are just better.

Happy birthday Josh!! We love you!!

And here is the card I made for him using Golf Riley from Hanna Stamps.

This card is also for the first challenge over at the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps challenge blog. If you have yet to check out Kimmie's new stamp company you really should pop over there and do it!! They are fabulous!!

Happy birthday Manda!!

Today is my sister Manda's birthday. And how does she choose to spend the day?? She's coming here to do a photo shoot of my wee girl. Thanks for that Manda. It's cool - we'll hit up TCBY for a little birthday treat later! Yum!! :)

Happy birthday Manda! We love you!!

A shot of the two of us on Maid of the Mist a couple of weeks ago. We do rock the self-portrait! :)

And, of course, her birthday cards. One from me and of course one from Maya. My girl loves her cardmaking.

My card uses this super cute Tilda with Ladybug image a friend stamped off for me. You can find her at Magnolia-licious if you must have her in your collection. This card is based on a Mojo Monday Sketch as well (Mojo turns 100 - Day 1).

And here is Maya's super cute creation. She had to change things up this time and go for a coloured background - still no interest in patterned paper though. :) She stamped & coloured the image herself. It's hard to tell but it is Expecting Sophie G from Riley & Company. No reason for this image other than it is the one she picked. My girl is random. She picked the flower and button and we were done!

And I of course cannot let her day go by without giving a shout out to her photography business. Seriously if you are local (or at least somewhat local) you really need to book a session with her. The girl has talent. She travels around Southwestern Ontario servicing your photography needs so check her out on her blog and remember the name Amanda Stratton - she is going to be famous one day!! Her new site is up and running now too. Check it out here.

Cutie

This week's challenge on Turtle Soup comes from Dee. She asked us to use at least 10 things on a layout (not counting pictures or paper). This one was tough for me. I am actually a very minimalist scrapper. I just can't bring myself to put lots of stuff on my pages. I like to keep it all about the pictures!

Here's my take though. I got all 10 things on there and still managed to keep it clean & simple. :)

And here's my list of stuff....QuicKutz (the large bracket - cut down though), Thickers, dew drops, bling, stamping, liquid pearls, flowers, brad, ribbon, handwritten journaling

Photos by Amanda of Living Proof Photography.

Speaking of Living Proof, Amanda has a fantastic contest on right now for the Dads. You wanna show a Dad you know some love, check out the details here.

Help A Sister Out Please!!

See that picture above?!?! It was taken by my sister Amanda who happens to be the incredibly talented photographer behind Living Proof Photography. She has entered a contest to win that gorgeous picture of her adorable girls made into a canvas for her wall. Well, she is a finalist (and I am SO proud of her)!!

Here is where you come in. Please, if you have a second, pop on over to the MCP Actions site and please cast your vote for "Journey in the Woods". It says you can vote for your 3 faves and I would absolutely appreciate if one of those happened to be my sister's!

Thanks so much bloggy pals!! :) Have a fabulous day!!

Calling All Moms!!!

Okay, so maybe I am not calling all Moms but at least those that are in Southwestern Ontario. :)

Do you wanna help your Mom win a free photo shoot with one of the most amazing photographers I know?!?! Check out Living Proof's blog and nominate your Mom, a mom friend, or heck you can even nominate yourself.

What are you waiting for?!?! Pop over there now. Life changes so quickly around us. Pictures help us and future generations remember.

Winter Wonderland Trash the Dress

So, are you wondering what this is?!?! Well, it just sounds like a whole lot of fun to me!!

Living Proof Photography is offering up a free shoot and some free images. Wanna know more?? Here's the scoop......

I'm offering up one absolutely free shoot including your favourite five images fully edited on disk in high resolution printable format to one person (or maybe one couple... we'll talk!)

The hitch? Well, the hitch is that I'm offering this to someone who is willing to a do a Winter Wonderland Trash the Dress session!

The catch? I've never done a Trash the Dress session before, so I'm asking for a leap of faith.

Let me just say that my vision of a Trash the Dress is not really of setting out to trash the dress. It's more like having a respectful disregard for the eternal preservation of the dress. It's about getting the absolute coolest shots imaginable without worrying about a little dirt and snow.

I don't want to take photos of you pouring condiments on your gorgeous dress.

I want to showcase the dress in all it's glory in a "fashion meets bridal" sort of way.

It will be cold, it will be damp, and it will be awesome.

Oh, I had a hitch and a catch -- I guess that means I do need a perk!

The Perk? I'm also inviting anybody out there with an interest in professional photography to come along and play! I know there are people out there because I've talked to some of you, and you are some cool people!

So, I don't know about all of you but I think this would just be an incredible amount of fun. If I thought I had a chance at all to fit into my dress I would be all over this.

If you want in, pop on over to Living Proof's blog for all the scoop & contact info!!

A couple of cuties!!

First, I have to start off this post by saying that this is my fourth post in as many days. Wow!! Don't get used to this because I am fairly certain I won't be able to keep this up!

Anyway, the real point of this post is to show these absolutely amazing pictures of my adorable nephews. These little angels are my sister Jenn's kids and the pictures are taken by my amazingly talented sister Amanda. Check out more of her work on her blog. I'm telling you if you are in the area and want pictures done you have to get in touch with her. Her work is just getting better and better. She will come to you folks so it is super convenient!! I can't say enough about her work! I love it and I just think everyone should have pictures done by her!!

The Gift That Lasts a Lifetime!!

Are you still looking for the perfect Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for person???

Well, how about a gift certificate for some fabulous portraits. All this week Living Proof Photography is offering gift certificates at a discount of 15%. And if that wasn't enough each day you the giver will get a surprise little something!! Sounds like a fabulous deal to me!!!

Everyone loves beautiful pictures and what's better than beautiful pictures of those you love?? Or, maybe you yourself are planning to have some photos taken - why not buy the gift certificate for yourself?!?! Buy now and save later - it's a win-win!!!

Pop over to Living Proof's blog to check out all the details! And make sure you check in every day to see what little surprise she has in store for that day's shoppers!!

My Beautiful Baby Girl!

A couple of weeks ago my sister Amanda (of Living Proof Photography) came up to spend an afternoon with us and take some awesome shots of my sweet girl. My baby is not so much the cooperative type so these pictures are an even greater testament of her talent since she was able to capture such beautiful shots from my punky little girl. This is just a small sampling - they are all fabulous - I am not sure how I will choose!! Thanks Manda!! I am so very happy to have you capturing my baby!!

I have no idea what she is doing in that last one but I think it is funny!

Sketch-Fest!!

I have been having such a productive weekend working on all of the sketches from over at the online crop (Sketch-Fest) at Scrapbook Heaven. I figured I should probably take a little break though and put up some of my layouts! I am so happy to be getting so much done! I have even cleared up a bunch of older pictures I had!!!!!

Here they are......

Based on a sketch by Jennifer. Photo taken by Living Proof Photography.

Based on a sketch by Jona. Photo taken by Living Proof Photography.

Based on a sketch by Jenelle. Based on a sketch by Carla.
Based on a sketch by Erin.

Based on a Page Maps sketch.

Based on a sketch by Sarah Gladman.

Based on a Page Plans sketch.

Based on a sketch from Sketches{by tamara}.

Based on a Pencil Lines sketch.

Based on a sketch by Sarah Gladman.

Based on a sketch by Erin.

Based on a sketch by Dolores.

Based on a sketch by Jennifer.

A weekend full of scrappy fun!!

I saw a note over on Dea's Scrap Addict blog about an online crop going on this weekend over at Scrapbook Heaven. I don't know about you but I LOVE sketches so I will for sure be checking things out over there!!

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And of course in keeping things scrappy all around I am excited to be meeting Mom & Manda at our monthly QuicKutz Anonymous class at the Turtle tomorrow morning! It's always good times!!!

In the meantime while I am waiting for all of this scrappy fun to happen I am working on a few projects I had on the go.

The photos in layouts 1, 3, & 4 were taken by Living Proof Photography.

What a Character!

Photo by Living Proof Photography

The Listowel Banner has a section of their newspaper called the "Character Corner". Now I don't live there anymore and I don't get the paper but I think this is a fabulous idea. Especially since my sister and brother-in-law were so smart as to nominate my nephew who I happen to think has a whole lot of character. Not too many 10-year-olds would have as much a community mind as Parker does. Don't get me wrong, in so many ways he is a typical boy who can get a little rowdy and crazy at times but he is also a sensitive boy who is sometimes wise beyond his years. I love the kid - he's pretty awesome if you ask me!!!


Here is what they had to say about Parker.....

Our son Parker is just finishing up Grade 4 at Listowel Central. His little sister Keely will start JK in the fall. Parker is very concerned about the lack of a school playground and worries what the students will do - especially the younger ones. This May Parker celebrated his 10th birthday. He decided to ask the guests of his party to make a donation to the Listowel Central School Build a Playground Fund rather than purchase a gift for him. We are so proud of Parker every day, but this was one of those moments that every parent dreams of. Our hearts nearly burst as we watched our young man make this choice that demonstrated his empathy, compassion, responsibility and integrity.

Need pictures???

C'mon, who doesn't!?!?! I am sure there are many of us out there who could use updated family pictures, or some Modern Grad Photos, or new baby pictures, or maternity pictures, or Cheesecake pictures......really, I could go on and on!!! Fabulous pictures of ourselves and our loved ones - what more could you want!!!

The point of this ramble is to bring to your attention a very talented photographer who will not only take beautiful pictures for you but will also support a fabulous cause while doing it!!!

Living Proof Photography was a proud sponsor of the 2008 Crop for the Cure on June 7, and will continue donating to the CIBC Run for the Cure by donating $5 from EVERY print purchased in June through September 2008 to the team that organized the Crop. This includes new clients' prints, reorders from previous sessions, and art prints. So order away!

So, I think now is the perfect time to get some new pictures and help the fight against breast cancer all in one!!! Check out Living Proof today - you won't be disappointed!!! And if you don't need photos I am sure you know someone who does so please help support the cause and pass Living Proof's information on!!

Shopping fun!!

A couple of weeks ago (April 13th to be exact) Maya & I met up with Grandma, Aunt Manda and her girls at Conestoga Mall to do a little shopping. We had such fun. The girls just love hanging out. We ended up buying them matching rain coats and boots and they were just too cute!! Anyway, Manda - the true photographer she is - of course had her camera with her and managed to snap a bunch of pictures of the girls during their random play. They are just so cute that I had to share some on here!!

How cute are they walking through the mall holding hands?!?! I love it!

Maya sporting some shiny yellow boots! They were a few sizes too big so made for a few laughs when she tried to walk in them!

Bria was loving her new kicks!!! They helped her run speedy fast through the aisles!! You can tell by this picture that they also helped her get some good air as she jumped for joy!!

Maya found this big ole floppy hat on a rack and had to put it on. She was so cute - I'm glad Aunt Manda was there with the camera to capture the moment!!

And what trip to the mall would be complete without a little cotton candy!! Zellers was having some special event or something where they were giving these away. The girls each had one - although Maya was not quite sure what to do with hers at first!! Thankfully, they abandoned them pretty quickly and we threw them in the garbage before they were able to completely fill their little bodies with sugar!!

Rissa trying to escape. I love this picture!!

Maya & Bria holding hands once again and looking so cute in their new gear!!