THE TALENTFUL NIC HOWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome way to end of the first day of the Scrapbook Convention with non other than

NIC HOWARD & BASIC GREY

A scrapbooker for 11 years, NIC HOWARD loves in New Zealand with her husband Paul, and their three children.  Although residing in the total opposite end of the world, Nic finds herself involved in the scrapbooking scene in the USA, her most notable achievements include tutoring alonside the amazing staff at Big Picture Classes and working closely with several manufacturers including Prima Marketing, Tattered Angels and BASIC GREY.  

Nic finds joy in the small everyday things and she has her camera ready to photograph them.  When not scrapbooking, you can find Nic socializing with friends, hanging out with family or hiding at one of the beautiful beaches NZ has to offer.  

Nic's work can be found in numerous international books and magazines as well as in advertising and galleries of the manufacturers she works for.  To date Nic's largest and most fulfilling accomplishment is the completion of a sole authored book, "THAT'S LIFE, FINDING SCRAPBOOKING INSPIRATION IN THE EVERYDAY".  It was through writing this book she learnt to appreciate the little things that make her an enthusiastic scrapbooker - and she learnt to create pages about them.  

Nic's style can be described as detailed and layered.  She loves cutting, crafting and altering paper to create truly dimensional layouts.  As an experienced teacher, Nic looks forward to bringing amazing classes with fabulous sponsors to SOuth Africa.  You can find out more about Nic on her blog http://nichoward.typepad.com or her website www.nichoward.co.nz

This was my second time to meet Nic, as last year she also came out the South Africa for the convention, but then she did a layout with Prima.  

We made another BEAUTIFUL layout this year with Basic Grey.  And the best part of Nic's classes and what I love about her, even though there is a lot of layering and detail, you get to finish her layouts in class.  There is no going home and finishing them or not finish them and they then just lie in a drawer.  Here is the finished layout!

And some detail :-)

I would really like to take this opportunity to thank Basic Grey!  Instead of giving Nic some goodies to give away in the lucky draw, they decided to give each of the delegates one of their kits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How awesome is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thank you Basic Grey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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TIME FOR SOME KAISERCRAFT :-)

Our second class on Sunday, 10 September 2011, was probably the class I was looking forward to the most and the one I was most excited about......................  Can you guess who it was...............................

MELISSA KENNEDY from KAISERCRAFT

MELISSA KENNEDY is a fun loving mum of three little girls who has bee scrapbooking for over 10 years now.  She graduated from Kindergarten and is now "cutting and pasting" for a living.  

She currently works for KAISERCRAFT as their Creative Director and heads up the Design Team there.  Whether traditional scrapbooking or beyond the page projects - she is in love with it all and loves getting her hands dirty and having fun.  In her classes she encourages other to do the same.  

Her work has been featured in both Australian and US publications and has taught at many conventions and expos both in Australia and overseas.  Melissa taught at the SA Scrapbook Convention back in 2009 where she had an "experience of a lifetime and one that will never be forgotten" never dreaming of being offered the opportunity again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can ready some more about Melissa Kennedy on the Kaisercraft website or on her blog, LIVE OUT LOUD

Melissa is this bubbly person that NEVER sits still, she is ALWAYS on the move.  So when she came around to our table, I quickly pulled her aside and took a quick snapshot of the two of us.  

I could not wait to open our goodie bag from Kaisercraft.  And was I amazed when I opened it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  When got the most awesome stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Melissa used the Kaisercraft Bonjour line which was not yet released by the time of the Convention, but only released during October (so you could just imagine the excitement).  With this range of paper she created a double page layout with an accordian mini book, included on the layout.  There was lots of layers and little fussy cutting and we were showed how to make the most of the papers in the collection.  She also showed us how to use the journal tags as accents instead of just as journal tags.  Here are some pictures of the layout as we progressed through the class.  

There was SOOOO much to do and SOOOO much detail, that I did not finish the layout during class.  I did however go home and finished it.  Even if it was about a month after the convention :-)  Here is my version of the finished layout!

I did some changes to the detail on my layout.  So in the end it looked a bit different to Melissa's.  Here are some pictures of the detail.

And finally some pictures of the accordian mini book, included on the layout.

I really enjoyed this class, it was definitely one of my favourite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I hope you enjoyed the post!

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LET'S SCRAP SLETCH 10-26-11

Over at Let's Scrap it is time for a new sketch!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is this week's sketch, designed by Cheri O'Neil.  They post a double page sketch each Wednesday, except on the 3rd Wedensday of the month, they give us a card sketch.  You are welcome to do one or both sides, flip it, rotate it, interchange them for cards or layouts.  You will have until 11.59 pm (main page time) to upload your creation to be entered into the draw.

Here is my take on this week's sketch.

I started with the sketch, but once I finished the layout and compared it with the sketch, I saw that it was a bit different....................  But then again, as Cheri told me, the sketch it ONLY the beginning!!!!!!!!!!!

I used pictures that were taken of my darling husband and I at the recent CBR black tie event in August, this year.  The paper I used and some of the embellishments were from Glitz Design.  I attended a class on Women's Day last year where we used this paper, but I did not have the right pictures at the time of the class, and I therefore never finished the layout.  So when I was looking for paper to use with these pictures I pulled out the different parts of that unfinished layout, and did some "recycling".  Here are some close-ups of the detail.  

One of the pages had this chair in which was cut out, distressed and then popped on the LHS of the layout.  

One of the techniques we learned at the class last year, was to use the cuttlebug with foil.  All you have to do is cover a piece of paper/cardstock with foil and run it through your cuttelbug.  In order to make the embossed image stand out more, we covered it with some acrylic paint.  

   

Hope you enjoyed the layout!

Now a little bit about this week's sponsor.  

HEATHER HUNT

CLOSE TO MY HEART CONSULTANT

 
Here is a little about them:

I'm Heather, a mom of 2 children (4 years and 18 months) and wife to my funny husband for 8 years.  We live in Eastern Ontario and I've been scrapping for about 10 years.  I started to get more into cardmaking when I joined Close to my Heart 3 years ago.  My day job is an Early Childhood Educator, so I love to get crafty after the kids go to bed to help relax.  


My favourite Close to my Heart product is their Acrylic stamps.  I never enjoyed stamping before I used them because I couldn't see what i was doing and my image was ALWAYS tilted.  And now my favourite Close to my Heart product is their new Art Philosophy Cartridge.  I love offering card classes to my customers and always make sure that those out of town can participate too.  


Be sure to check out the website, blog or facebook page for upcoming workshops and specials.  Here are her contact details:  


Heather Hunt
Close to my Heart Consultant
Scentsy Consultant
613-304-6453
heathercm@gmail.com
www.heatherhunt.myctmh.com
www.heatherhunt.scentsy.ca
www.creativecoconut08.blogspot.com

HERE IS THE WONDERFUL PRIZE THEY ARE GIVING AWAY!!!!!!!!!!

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THE GLITZ GIRLS TAKE JOBURG BY STORM

I only realised today that it has been over a month and I have do not posting whatsoever about the Scrapbook Convention that was hosted in September.  That is sad, really!  The unfortunate this is also that I have just not had the time to finish the layouts either, except one - GLITZ DESIGN.  So I will be posting about the Glitz Girls today (and hopefully about the others, soon).......................

Our Sunday morning started of with two of the three ladies from Glitz Design - Laura Funk and Ginger John.  They are two very sweet and bubble ladies and I really enjoyed them thoroughly!  A bit more about them:

LAURA FUNK AND GINGER JOHN are two of the owners and creative designers at Glitz Design!  They have been designing and manufacturing scrapbooking products for 5 years.

Laura and Ginger are both avid scrapbookers, whose products and projects/layouts have been featured in publications around the world.  They LOVE to travel the world and meet so many NEW scrapbooking friends while teaching fun new way to scrapbook creatively but also quickly and efficiently.

The previous time they were in South Africa, I was unfortunately not able to go to the convention.  So I was very excited to meet them and have my picture taken with them.  

They decided to bring a collection with called AFTERNOON MUSE.  It is really a stunning collection, and with that we got some awesome stuff in our goodie bag.  Here are some pictures of the contents of the goodie bag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   

And now finally, what you've been waiting for, the layout!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



When we started the layout, I was a bit hesitant as they used a lot of yellow, and I am not a big yellow fan.  But in the end I really enjoyed making this layout and the way it came out.  I changed the layout a bit, to fit my pictures, and we I got home and added some other embellishments.  Here are a few close ups.  

      

      



Hope you enjoyed that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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LET'S SCRAP CARD SKETCH 10-19-11

Over at Let's Scrap it is time for a new sketch again.  But because it is the 3rd Wednesday of the month we have a card sketch designed by Debby de Wilde.

My brother-in-law and his fiance are getting married this coming Friday.  So when I saw this sketch, I decided to use it for their card.  

Here is my take on the card sketch for this week.  

Due to the fact that it is for a wedding I decided to use the paper and embellishments from last year's wedding range by Kaisercraft.  

Our sponsor for this week is

Here is a little about them:

My name is valerie and I am 36 years old and a stay-at-home mom.  I have a great husband and son!!!  I love having a business at home in our business so I can home school my son.  I graduated from college at the University of North Florida with my Masters Degree in Accounting.  I am originally from Edmonton, Alberta Canada but I have lived in Florida since I was seven years old.  We moved to Montana in the summer of 2007.  I have ten years of retail experience, most of which were in management.  I worked for companies like Levis, Belk's Cuunty Seat and my favourite retail job was working three years at Pacific Sunwear.  Customer service is my number one priority.  I love selling online and I try to get the best deals on scrapbooking supplies so that I can pass the savings onto my customers.  I have made many great friends from my customers and I want to thank them all for their support.  Thank you so much!

My business focus is making scrapbooking easy!  I carry tons of great products focusing on busy moms who are new to scrapbooking or do not have much time to put into it, but want the best looking scrapbooking album.  All of my items come from large reputable scrapbooking companies and are all acid-free and archival safe.  I order products from all the best manufacturers out there.  I look for the best bargains available and hope to pass the savings on to my customers.  I usually have stickers, die cuts, embellishments, albums and more.  I may not always have listings, but when I do, I will always have amazing prizes, so check back often, most item tend to sell out quickly!  Please feel free to email me anytime with suggestions that you think could help my business suit your needs.  

Be sure to check them out!!!!!!!  If you use coupon code SAVEBIG25 you can receive an additional 25% off your entire order, no exclusions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the wonderful prize they are giving away!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So head on over to Let's Scrap and have a go at the sketch.  You are welcome to do flip it, rotate it, interchange the sketch for a layout!  You will have until 11.59 pm (main page time) on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 to upload your creation to be entered into the draw.  For each time you upload a layout or card your name goes in the hat for our wonderful weekly prize!  So let's see what you do with this sketch.  

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