Live Carefree….art journal page.

Picture heavy, but oh so pretty ;)
Plus a video at the end of the post on my process :)

Here is my 5th page to "Caroline's" (check out her blog to see her take on our challenge) and my Art Journal Challenge.
This time it was to use our Dylusion sprays…which I always seem to call "Delusional Mists"
The colours of these sprays are so vibrant and beautiful.
I had so many ideas for these pages, but still had no idea what I was gong to do
When I told my daughter "Ashley" about how vibrant and bright the sprays are, she suggested a sunset…..hmmmmm another idea to work with ;)

I really liked the idea of a sunset, so I picked some sprays that might work with that look….but I still had no idea what I was going to do.

After spraying on the mists…I tried my hand at "Ghosting"
Ghosting is putting a stencil down and misting water on the stencil and then blotting it with a paper towel to pick up some of the colour.
Because this is a water based product and has other properties that a chemist would understand, the colour lifts and you can lightly see the stencil image….pretty cool.

Here is a closer look at the ghosting and the stamps I used for this page.
See those 2 top areas on my pages that didn't get colour?
I must have had some matt medium or glue seep onto those pages from previous ones, and being a water based product, the inks resisted where the glue was.

Time to add my image :)
I picked an Angiegirl image by Angie Blom from Unity stamps called Beach Girl.
This image was perfect for my page.
She looks like she is enjoying the sunset at the beach….oh we need some sand for the beach…just a minute.

I loved all of the sentiments that came with this stamp set, but the text was all to small for my pages.
I still used one of the phrases, but stamped the first letter of each word out and hand wrote the rest of it.
I would have loved to use stamps for the whole phrase, but I didn't like that they were all capital letters and the word "Carefree" wouldn't have fit this font.

I also stamped some birds in the background of the pages…..every beach has birds.
Oh yes, and sand.
I covered the top of my page up to protect it and then used some brown mist or spray and sprayed it from a distance so it would lightly mist the bottom of the page to look like a sandy beach :)

I hope you enjoyed my Art Journal page…but wait there is more :)
I made a process video for you…lots of blabbering, I really should learn to do voice over videos…but then again, that is another step I don't' have time for, lol.
If you would rather watch my video on my YouTube channel for a complete screen, as my blog seems to cut off part of it, just click on my link "Tracy's Treausres24"
If you read all the way through this post you are a champ :)

I hope you all have a very creative Day :)

Tracy :)

My Cottage Day in Photos

This is what I woke up to this morning…..so I went back to bed, lol.
It was -1c in the early morning but warmed up a bit in the afternoon.

Because it was so cold out, Wayne and I decided to drive to Ignace (about 45 minutes away from our camp) to get some propane for our BBQ.
Ever time we go to Ignace, I check their grocery store for these babies ;)
They are packaged as French Twists, but I call them French Horns or Cream Horns…..at least that is what we called them when I was a kid. But whatever you call them, they are delicious.
These are the only ones I have had that are sooooo moist, yummmm.
I skipped my lunch for these 310 calorie treats ;)

Once it warmed up, Wayne and I put together our bistro set :)
I went to sit on the deck to help, but my hand slipped and I got about 10 or more slivers embedded deep into the palm of my hand and pinky.
Wayne not only had to dig them out…but also had to cut pieces of my skin to get them out.
Hard to believe I was in labour 36 hours with 2 of my daughters, and I think these slivers hurt more, lol.

We then took out the old mirror.
It was actually mirrored tiles.
I taped them so if they broke the glass would't fly all over…but I did score the tape for each mirror, so they could be removed individually.
Once Wayne cut the foam adhesive that was holding the corners in place, they all came off in one nice piece.

See all the mirror tiles are all gone.
As you can see, the walls have been painted since those mirrored tiles were up, lol.

Because of the light and the plug in, we had to find the perfect size replacement.
I wanted a wood frame, but I may add one by just adhering the wood pieces to the mirror….we will see.
But now when we look at reflection it won't be all wonky, teehee.

Oh but thats not all…..we were busy little bees this weekend ;)
This cabinet that the microwave is on….was a place for the garbage.
We never use it.
We recycle up at the cottage, and that is what those silver containers are to the left of this cabinet.
The cabinet was easy to remove as it wasn't attached to anything.

We put up a shelf for the microwave and now the recycling containers fit under it perfectly and the lids can still be raised ;)
It also leaves so much room to walk into the kitchen area even if the refrigerator door is open.

What I am also really happy about is that my bear cookie jar still fits on the microwave :)
My bear never holds cookies, but this is where I put my sunglasses and iPod when not in use, so I know where they are ;)
Isn't he a cool bear, teehee.

Lastly I will share a beautiful photo of our lake :)
I love how the sun is shimmering on the water :)

I hope you enjoyed following me throughout my day at our cottage :)
I hope you all had a creative day.

Tracy :)

Centrepieces Completed :)

This was my work area for the last 2 days :)
I am happy to say that I have completed the 20 centrepieces for Ashley's wedding.
I can not tell you how happy I am.
How do you like my glue holder I rigged up, teehee.

I really wanted to love this stapler/nailer.
I don't have an air nailer, so thought I would try this nailer from Arrow.
I have to say this was the most frustrating thing ever.

It kept jamming up.
I probably would have finished these in one day if my nailer didn't keep jamming.
I went through 3 of these…I would have went through more if Tyler, my future Son in law didn't help me unjam them all day today.
Thursday I went to Canadian Tire to exchange it the first time it got jammed…I didn't have my receipt so they wouldn't exchange it..fair enough.
I went to the hardware department and the person there unjammed it for me….took him a bit, but he got it unjammed.
The second time it jammed up, I went and purchased a second nailer.
The third time it jammed up, I exchanged it with my new receipt.
The fourth time it jammed up, it was the end of my work day, so I brought it home and Wayne unjammed it.

Here are just some of the bent nails from the first day :(
Today (the second day) Tyler was off work, so he helped me unjam the nail/stapler.
He said he would have quit after the second timed it jammed, if he was working with it, lol.
I have to give him credit, he got pretty good at unjamming this thing.
At one time 6 nails came out at the same time, and all were embedding into the wood.

At the end of day, I was happy with the result of my projects :)
That and it was a surprise to Ashley and I was there when she came home and saw them :)
She was so surprised.
After giving me a big hug and thanking me, she then had another job for me to do for the wedding, lol.
Yes, I will be sharing the completed centrepieces, but not until after the wedding :)

I hope you all had a creative day.
I am now heading to camp for a bit of R&R to unwind from the frustration of this tool, lol.

Tracy :)

Pocket Letter out the door

My Pocket letter is out in the mail :)
I spritzed the large doily with some pink mists.
I then wrapped some twine around it to hold everything in place.
Punched out the banner with the left over papers from the ones I used in the Pocket Letter, and stamped the letters on each banner to spell out TARA's name.
Not sure when I will share the full Pocket Letter as I am sure Tara would rather see it in person first :)

This Pocket Letter was for a swap in a private group.
I don't commit to doing to many swaps, especially since there is so much wedding planning to do:)

Today Ashley's soon to me MIL and Ashley's maid of honour and, all went out to check on a venue for her bridal shower.
Just as we were done checking the place out, Ashley texted me to see if we would like to take another look at the venue where the wedding will take place.
So we all drove out there to take a look (second look for Ashley and I).
Things are coming together :)

I hope you all had a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

Pocket Letter …dinner and a movie

Worked on another Pocket Letter today….and got to use my new to me Vintage Typewriter :)
I used a blank card for this flip card.
I just cut it to size.
I wanted the purple trim at the bottom, so just cut it out and adhered it to the bottom.

My friends and I went out for a dinner and a movie :)
We didn't go out for Sharon's birthday, as we celebrated it during the last crop we were at.
But no one get missed for their Birthday dinner and a movie.

 






















We enjoyed dinner at Applebees and Hot Pursuit for the movie.
It was pretty good :)

I hope you all had a creative Day today :)

Tracy :)

An Abundance of Kits

I have a lot of scrapbooking kits.
I had never used a kit in my scrapbooking, until a couple of years ago.
I was at the Crop & Create event and they not only gave out a great goody bag with a kit, but they also sold some there.
I purchased a few and completed one, lol.
I enjoyed the one I did, my friend Debbie and I did them together.

I went to the Crop & Create event again last year and purchased all the kits that I could get my hands on.
I really wasn't sure if I would like doing a kit, as I like to pick out papers and embellishments…..even if it took me forever, lol.
These kits give you all of the cutting measurements and I thought that it might take the fun out of scrapbooking….but I was wrong.
It is actually freeing.
If I wanted to, I could just use the papers and do what I want, or I can follow their instructions…I do both.

Here is a video I did before I went away for the May long weekend about my kits and how I use them.
I am planning on doing a more detailed video on how I use these kits to make them stretch for my benefit :)
If you would like to see the full video (as my blog seems to cut off the right hand side of them) click on my link "Tracy's Treasures24"

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

My Day in Photos...Cottage Edition

Today was a full day.

Even though I was busy, time went by slow. How often does that happen?!

We started the day off with putting a Head Rack on our truck and recharging the quad batteries......when I say "we" I mean Wayne. I was still sleeping ;)

We took down the storm windows.... When I say "we" I actually mean we. 

I went for a couple of short walks. 

Put the patio furniture out, the solar lights out and the deck swing. 

We did a whole lot of other chores around the cottage as well. 

I think we are now all ready for the new season :)

Who says you can't eat healthily at camp :) 

These were so yummy for supper. Wayne enjoyed a hamburger and I, a smokie. No bun for me though. 

We enjoyed a quad ride.

I could ride this for hours. 

We also put new mirrors on our quads. 

Since Wayne broke his wrist last year ... by looking behind him to see where I was and by doing that, hit a stump and snapped his wrist back.....I think it was a great idea. 

I had mirrors on my quad, but I like the new ones so much more....as my quad is 16 yrs old so were my mirrors. 

These ones are so clear. Plus they are mounted on the handle bars so easier to see who is behind me.    

This is what a bus looks like after it has hit a moose.

Luckily no one was hurt....but the moose. 

If you are not familiar with a moose, they are huge animals.

Sadly many get hit on our highways. Mind you many of them walk away from the accident. 

Now we are heading to the sauna to ease our muscles.

Then I am hoping to write in some of my journals. 

Hope you all had a very creative day. 

Tracy :) 

My Home away from Home

It's that time of year 😃

Cottage time!!!!

We are at our cottage. 

So nice to be back.

I completed a novel on the drive up. Funny thing was, I had read this book before, but didn't realize until I read the first page....oh well. 

It was so nice to be greeted by our neighbours before we even opened our gate. 

Our American neighbour, Sonja, welcomed us with Oreo, her little dog and her newest addition Lucinda her new puppy.

My FIL also came by to say hi and then kept Wayne company as Wayne primed the pump to turn the water on for the season. 

I can not express how happy I am to be here and to enjoy another summer by our beautiful lake in this beautiful country of ours. 

I hope you all had a very creative day. 

Tracy :) 

May…nope...December Daily

I know what you are thinking…
What!!!!
Tracy is sharing a December Daily in May….she has lost her mind, lol.

And you may be correct….I am never this organized or ahead of the game.
But it did snow the other day, so I may have lost it, lol.

I have a ton of kits.
I wanted to get through some of them this past Girls May Long Weekend.
I wasn't planning to work on this one yet, but Sharon had the same kit and was overwhelmed by the instructions.
So I figured that we should make them together.
She didn't think that we would complete it, as we didn't start until after 9:00 pm, but I was determined to get'er done.
And we did….at 2:00 am.

This kit was actually designed to be a 12 Day's of Christmas album, but I stretched it to be for the whole month of December.
Most of our visiting during the season, is between the 24th to New Year's Eve.
So I wanted it to last for the whole month.
I am so happy with how it turned out.

I will post more photos and a video closer to December…..I haven't totally lost it ;)

I hope you all have a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Very Creative Weekend

Who wants to help me unpack?!

I had a wonderful (extra) long weekend with my friend/SIL, Sharon at her camp.
Every May long weekend my 3 daughters and I go to her camp for a weekend of creating.
Not only did I make a few 6 scrapbook layouts, a whole mini album, figured out the spacing for my 5 yr journal and caught up on decorating my fauxbonichi…I also started a couple Pocket letters.
In between all this creating, my girls and I also went for quite a few nice walks :)

We had a wonderful time.
My daughters even did a couple of photo shoots….perfect, more photos for me to scrapbook :)

Now…..about helping me with my unpacking….any takers ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)
Thank you Sharon, for the great weekend and opening your camp to us.

Tracy :)

Creative girls weekend.

We are at my SIL camp.

Bad selfie. Lol. 

Sharon and I came out Thursday after my doctor's appointment at 7:30 pm

I haven't done much scrapbooking, but have been enjoying some walks    

No Internet or cell service at her camp, so we walked up the road to post this :).

I'm hoping to get my scrappi'n on in full gear when I get back to the camp.

I hope you all have a creative day  

Tracy :) 

Tim Holtz themed Pocket Letter

Yup another Pocket Letter :)
I was asked by Melinda, if I would like to do a Tim Holtz themed Pocket Letter.
I am game for most anything, and you all know I love Tim Holtz's style.

All of the background pattern papers are all scraps that were in my scrap folder…and bonus, they are all from Tim Holtz :)

Because the pattern paper was all so very dark, I needed a way to brighten the Pocket letter up.
So I took some white card stock, trimmed it a bit smaller than the background paper and inked that baby up.
I used 3 different colours of distress inks for this.

I then used a lot of Tim's stamps and stamped some backgrounds on the card stock and decorated each card.
I also used his mini dies to cut out elements for each card.
Each pocket or card has a different theme.

I had received Melinda's pocket before I was able to send mine out…so here is hers :)
I like that she added ribbon to the binder holes.
She also used one main piece of paper and then cut it apart to fit the protector pockets :)

Here is how I mailed my Pocket Letter.
I misted the doily to give it a vintage look to go with the theme of the letter :)

Oh look, I did a video on my Pocket Letter and a bit of a tip on how I made the banner :)
If you would rather watch it on my YouTube channel….to get the whole project in the screen, just click on the link "Tracy's Treasures24"
I don't know why YouTube isn't putting (or letting me put) a thumbnail on my videos lately :(

I hope you all have a very Creative Weekend.
Not sure how much I can get on the internet this long weekend, as I am off to our yearly "Girls Weekend" at my SIL's camp and will be crafting the nights away.
She doesn't get internet up there…or every once in a while we may get a weak signal.
So we will see….just know I will be having a blast :)

Tracy :)

Vintage Pocket Letter Heading out the door.

My pocket letter is ready to be put in the mail :)
I sprayed the doily with some mists to match the vintage theme of the pocket letter.

I am uploading a video on this pocket letter, so I will post it, along with photos in tomorrows post :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day :)

Tracy :)

Working on a Pocket Letter

I have been creating the last couple of days :)
I have been making some more Pocket Letters.

As fun as these are…this one seemed to take me forever.
I am doing a Tim Holtz style swap.
Now you all know I adore his style and I enjoy making his tags…but for some reason, this one took me forever.
I used 3 different colours of ink to distress these papers….they started off being white.
See what a bit of ink can do to a white piece of card stock :)

I may be sluggish because of the weather we have been having lately.
It has been drab and all I want to do is curl up in some warm blankets and nap.
Actually when I woke up to it snowing this morning….I just wanted to go back to bed, lol.
The temperature was only 4c here today…it was a bit warmer than yesterday…good nap weather in my opinion, lol.

I hope you all had a very Creative Day today :)

Tracy

My Mother's Day in Photos

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all of the women out there that have contributed in one way or another to making a child's life it better. Today is for you :)

My day was perfect….just as any day is that I get to spend it with these wonderful ladies.
My 3 beautiful, loving daughters Heather, Kristy and Ashley

My day started with Kristy telling me that she was making me breakfast.

French toast with banana and my hand picked blueberries….yumm.
Kristy then had to go to work, but her boss was sweet enough to let her leave a couple of hours early so she could spend more time with me.

Our plan was to do yard work….we usually all get the yard ready for summer on Mother's Day.
I love spending the day outside with my girls.
But it was cold out there today.
It was 11c which should have been plenty warm, but there was a cool breeze.
We did put up the gazebo, then I called it a day.
The girls were more than willing to do what ever needed done, but I was chilled, so we went inside and chatted most of the day.

I have been wanting an antique/vintage typewriter for a while now.
But am to cheap to pay the price for one, lol.
So my girls and Wayne picked up this beauty for my gift.
This and this pretty plant with the hand made planter pick :)
They also all typed me a letter, which was both sweet and had some humour to it….that is definitely  going onto a scrapbook page ;)

Wayne BBQ'd some ribs and potatoes on our new BBQ we purchased yesterday :)
We were all hungry, so we ate dessert first, lol.

My day ended with us all going for a nice long walk around the neighbourhood.
I had the best day :)

I hope you all had a very Creative and wonderful Mother's Day :)

Tracy :)