CHALLENGE Monday - September 28th

by Lois:
Todays challenge involves recycling! Use a piece of packaging of some sort either on a card or as an altered project...

here's mine:

and voila... a picture frame!

Carla used the plastic backing from a package of Basic Grey Glazed Brads. Punched out a butterfly and added some ink to define the edges a bit.

Deanne used cardboard from a Basic Grey brad package for the front of her card.

There are three ways to enter a LO for one of our challenges!

1. Post a direct link to your layout in the comment section.

2. Send in your layout to Sisterhood of Scrap before the end of the month. Please make sure you put "SEPT 28" in the subject line. This makes it so much easier for us to filter our emails and ensures that we don't miss your submission.

3. OR post it in our Sisterhood of Scrap gallery (you will need to be registered) and then tell us that you posted in the Challenge Monday Sept28th. This month we have no sponsored prize so you'll be playing just for fun!

SISTER Sunday - Sept 20th

Here's some of Lois' FAVES!

Favorite Snack: jelly bellys and hersey’s milk chocolate

Favorite Drink: Coffee... strong and black....mmmm... Starbucks!

Favorite Paper: I love Basic Grey paper…it’s one of my favourites, it is so easy to work with and has a nice ‘feel’ and I am loving a lot of the new papers out there now - I have too many more favourites to even write in here – I basically just love paper!

Favorite Technique: I love the look of sanding on the edges of my photos and have been using it a lot lately.

Favorite Embellishment: My favourite embellishment changes all the time…first it was chipboard, then flowers, then buttons and now I love sanding the edges of my photos and adding doodle lines around the edges of things (and I still love chipboard!). It never ends! I try to bounce around between embellishments so my layouts don’t get boring.

Favorite Scrap Tool: Other than my tweezers, I love my Revolution die cutter.

Favorite Adhesive: I have a couple... first, for mini books there is nothing better than rubber cement... it works great and rolls off anything you don’t want it on. Then there is the double sided tape I’ve been using... it’s from my friends store... she gets it from a lady who bought the company when they were going to leave... it’s called Sookwang (on the roll) and is on fairly big rolls and sticks like magic and is half as expensive as the red one you see everywhere.

CHALLENGE Monday - Sept 14th

Started out as a rainy day here in Newfoundland, but the sun is shining now! I love nice, fall days :-)

Here's our challenge for you today -- USE distressing techniques on a layout or card.

See what the sisters have created:

LOIS:

CARLA:

SUSAN:

DEANNE:

There are three ways you can submit your project.

1. Post a direct link to your layout in the comment section.

2. Send in your layout to Sisterhood of Scrap before the end of the month. Please make sure you put "SEPT 14" in the subject line. This makes it so much easier for us to filter our emails and ensures that we don't miss your submission.

3. OR post it in our Sisterhood of Scrap gallery (you will need to be registered) and then tell us that you posted in the Challenge Monday Sept 14th thread on the forum.

SISTER Sunday - Sept 13th

More about Lois :-)

Tell us about your favorite layout you have ever completed?
I don’t really have a favorite, but some I like more than others and it depends on what mood I’m in! I did one of my Mother when she was being ‘courted’ by my Dad and have it framed in my scrap room… I love that one because it looks aged and the photo is a ‘sweetheart’ photo done for my Dad…

What do you love the most about scrapping?
The peace of mind and pleasure it gives me.

What do you dislike the most about scrapbooking?
I don’t like that since scrapbooking became so big, that the ‘big box’ stores are really cashing in and taking business away from the smaller specialized scrapbooking stores. However, that brings me to another thing I don’t like – there is far too much money being charged for supplies… what ever happened to it being less expensive to make things yourself!?

What topic do you find the most difficult to scrap?
I don’t really have a problem scrapping any topic so far… I have scrapped things about myself, the death of my parents… etc. which are pretty personal.

Have you ever taught a scrapbooking class?
No, but I have been asked a number of times and it might happen yet!

Have you ever been published?
No, I have submitted in the past but soon found that I am just not that interested in playing the game.

What type of camera do you use?
I have just replaced my little Canon 1000 that died suddenly with the next one up which is the SD1100 so I can use the same batteries… For what I do, I have found that the photos are good and it’s small and easy to use.

What would be your perfect day?
Well, I’d get up and discover I’m thin with a vanilla latte in my hand and I’m living on a cruise ship in a penthouse suite and it’s got the most organized and complete scrapping room ever!

I can't imagine my life without ...
my husband…he is so supportive of everything I do and encouraged me to retire in 2003 while he worked. He has no problem with anything I want for my ‘addiction’ to this craft – how great is that!?!

SISTER Sunday

Well, it's time to introduce you to our SEPTEMBER design team member!!
Her name is Lois Sokolan -aka katesmum- amd she lives in Squamish, between Whistler and Vancouver.

Tell us about your family:
Let’s see now…I have lived in Squamish all of my life so far. I am a mother to 4…two steps and two originals…and grandmother to four grandkids….one of which is borrowed but that’s a whole other story! There is another one on its way in September – they will be living here for a few months so I will be able to get lots of new baby pictures! I am enjoying my life … and being able to do mostly what I want after working for close to 22 years and missing much too much in the way of raising a family. I was a single mum for a lot of that time so there wasn’t much time for play after work and taking care of all the mundane chores around the house.

Who/What inspired you to start scrapbooking?
I have always loved crafts but with not too much time and not much of a focus on what to do, I just dabbled in things like ceramics, sewing, porcelain doll making and tracking family trees. I have always liked working with my hands and taking pictures so when my daughter Kate showed me a recipe album one day and started talking about scrapbooking I started thinking maybe I’d take a look at what she was talking about. Wow…was I surprised at what was out there! The baby album I made her looked so plain…so unenthusiastic…so BORING! I think that was probably 5 years ago and I haven’t looked back since…it relaxes me…gives me a creative outlet while getting my earlier life in order – well the photos anyway and unlike ceramics & sewing I don’t feel like throwing anything away after I’m finished because I’m sick of it!

Does anyone in your family also scrap?
My daughter, Kate and now that I have my son’s girlfriend living here, she has started… I also got my sister going. One of my cousins is a cardmaker and sells her work but I haven’t seen it!

What size do you normally scrap?
I started out with 8-1/2 x 11 and couldn’t understand how anyone would want to make such huge pages… till I tried it and saw how much more creative more space was! Now it’s 12 x 12 and mini-books of all sizes.

What is your favourite colour scheme?
I used to think my favourite color was blue…but have found that I have painted my whole house in various shades of green…and that my yard is all shades of greenery so now I am sure my favourite color is green! Green and blue both seem to go with just about everything... other than that I don’t really have a color scheme, I like to use everything although I don’t much like the shiny papers and embellishments.

How many hours a week do you scrap?
Sometimes I could say most of them!!! But, lately there has been a lot going on in the house so I’m down to about 20 hours… some of that is cleaning my work area because I am pretty messy when I’m scrapping.

What is one thing you always find yourself reaching for when creating a layout?
The first thing is my ‘close up’ glasses… then the tweezers! One to see with and one to pick up those teeny weeny things! I love my tweezers…and my 1.5 times glasses from the drugstore! What I can’t pick up or see really matters to me! I am also lost without my favourite glue which is Scotch quick dry tacky adhesive and my sticky tabs and double-sided tape. For mini books you can’t beat rubber cement... cheap and rubs off without wrecking anything if you get it on the wrong place!

Describe your scrapping style in just three words.
Only three!! Well, let’s see…hmmm… Not minimal… how about…. I just don’t think I have a style because it changes all the time… I do however like a lot of photos and try to have them stand out more than the ‘pretty pages’ do!

Thanks Lois!!! We're so happy to have you here as our sister!!!