I get by with a little help from my friends ...

I love friends .... I love having friends, i love being a friend ... be it acquaintance friendship or a deep down soul sista friendship ...

coffee is best when shared with friends

I feel blessed that in life i have had some amazing friends  ... ones that have stood the test of time and stood with me through good and bad ... some of these amazing chicas are recent friends and some are long term friends ... And recently I have found some wonderful blogging friends ... women who are interesting, sharing, caring & fun ... and these dear girls make blogging so much fun.

Mona Lisa Mae and one of my very bestest friends in the whole wide world ... 

And some friends are fleeting ... there for a while ... usually found when you have something in common and then lost once that common interest declines ... and yet I am blessed to have had such wonderful fleeting friends ... people whom i have been lucky enough to learn something from ... and to have shared something with.

Mona Lisa May is all dressed up for Halloween ... that little black button is actually a little spider

and speaking of friends ... Mona Lisa Mae has been out and about meeting some Fantastic and some Frightening Friends these days ... the frightening friends are really only scary till you get to know them ... they really are fun friends ... they just look a little different than the rest of us ...

Meet the VooDoo Princess .... complete with pins!!!

Playing amongst the gourds

Hey once again coming to your from the fabulous letter F and the Friendliest Meme hostess this side of the moon, Jenny Matlock ... check out her blog for links to other fun and fabulous F posts!  and then just keep checking out her blog ... i guarantee you will find a chuckle, laugh and/or giggle several times a week!

Happy Halloween from the whole crew!!!

“True friends are those who lift you up when your heart's wings forget how to fly.” ( author unknown)

Peace Love & Paper .... oh, and Candy!
~Jo

lately i have been loving ...

... the very simple ...

so after i finish stamping ... i notice i spelled the name of the bridge wrong ... i decided to leave it ... 

yeah, i know most people know that i love to stain & ink & spray & tear & sand & paint & stitch  & layer & distress .... but sometimes, i just want my pages to look simple, somewhat clean and oh so focused on the photo

Hayley in the sculpture ...

I have seen one too many layouts in magazines or online, where my eye is not drawn to the photo at all ... but drawn instead to the pile of embellishments heaped on the page ...  I think my "simple" is my quiet way of rebelling against over embellished pages ...

at the vancouver art gallery ... this is a scraplift from a magazine on sketches

... and hey, they are super quick ... so what are you loving lately?

yeah ... she's not so tough ...

Peace Love & Paper

~Jo

the elephant in the room ...

... no ... not that one ....

this one ... you know ... the one made of paper ...

truth is ... i had no idea what to write about this week ... and Mona Lisa has been begging me lately for an elephant ... she says she misses the jungle ... which as you all know isn't quite true ... cuz she has never been to the jungle

"But i have", she exclaims, "in my mind i have ridden many a gentle elephant into the deep ... and out in the plains, through highlands and lowlands and into the sea  ... even  through gossamere cities in the clouds above us" ...  so who am I to deny her the simple wish of an elephant ... and besides that i still can't think of an E topic for this week, so i will let the little monkey speak for me ...

and oh yes, she is still in her tutu ... quite the little princess at times!

This post has been brought to you by the letter E and the fabulous Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday meme ... check it out, there are bound to be many many many charming posts!

oh, and if you want your own paper elephant, just print off the pattern here ... courtesy of the Curiosity Group.

and the winners are ....

3 - Cheryl
22 - Pat
18 - Kathy

I used that random number generator to choose the lucky winners, but as i am a wee bit inept, i couldn't figure out how to copy it so i couldn't pasted it into this post ...   Congrats to the lucky winners!!! Please email me your complete mailing info so i can pass it along to Elmer's asap.  You are going to love working with these products...

and if you know how to copy the little purple box with the random numbers in it, please let me know ... i need all of the help i can get!!!

"Just Dance ...

Spin that record babe .... Just Dance" ...   Love this song by Lady Gaga ... kinda reminds of my 20's and spending the nights just dancing and dancing and laughing and fun ....

I love dance ... but my love of dance wasn't always there ... I remember mom sending me to ballet at the tender age of 6 ... and i remember wanting to skip and leap and twirl ... but we were stuck learning the basic positions and i hated the restrictions imposed on us by a highly technical dance instructor.  Mom switched me to art class and that seemed to soothe my creative heart.  I actually put my daughter in ballet at a young age, she lasted 3 classes ... so i switched her to musical theatre and she loved it ... the songs, the acting, the jazz/broadway styled dance.  Like mother like daughter i guess ... Despite my lack of success with dance, i have always loved it.  And I think i love dance because it tells a story, it incorporates music, costume and sometimes background art as well as the art of lighting a stage ... to me its more than just a visual spectacle ... it incorporates more than just sight .... it incorporates heart, soul & sound as well ... it's an art form that incorporates so many other arts ... And I know that is why i love it so much ... and my favourite style of dance ... Ballet of course ... it's just so romantic and so poetic and the costumes are so spectacular and the physic of the dancers is amazing ... perfection in motion ... I may not have ever danced it, but i do love it ... it speaks to my soul.

And Mona Lisa Mae ... as much as she wants to be a ballerina ... i think her tail is going to hold her back a bit ... but she does look pretty in her tutu!

This post has been brought to you by the letter D and the fabulous Jenny Matlock and her Alphabe-Thursday meme!  Try to visit a posts by other participants as well!  (all Degas paintings from the internet)

Peace Love & Paper ~ Jo

10 ~ TEN ~ 10

so ... yesterday ... the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year .... i'm guessing this won't happen for another thousand years or so ...  It was also my daughter's birthday ... which for us was even a bigger deal! And such a big deal because she didn't have a shift at work, she had some breathing with her college courses, and the clouds and downpours of the day before disappeared completely!  It was the perfect fall day ... so off we went to Granville Island, which is one of our favourite places ... so much art, history, food, skylines, water, life!!!  oh, and shopping ... did i mention shopping???  and everywhere we looked not a scowl or frown to be seen ... seems the entire crowd had the intention to have the best of days ...  perfection!  Here's a few pics ... i can't wait to scrap them!

loved these little pumpkins hanging where a sign usually resides

I love this clock

and I love this wall ... I was disappointed to see a lot of it under repair ... 

Granville Island is home to all of the arts, including the stage

I didn't catch the name of these giant exotic local forest mushrooms ... they were next to fresh pine mushrooms that were going for $20. a pound

A look out towards the Burrard Street Bridge ... love this city for its water, beaches, mountains, skyline ....

The blue of this building and the blue of the sky looks amazing!

Have a great day all, it's Thanksgiving day up here in Canada ... wishing a happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends ...

Peace Love & Paper ~ Jo

Can you imagine ....

just watch and listen ... happy birthday John...

C is for Crop .... and Costume ... and a Cool giveaway ...

... as in the BC Crop for Kids .... an annual fundraising event held not too far from my home ... for those that are not familiar with scrapbooking terms, a crop is simply a gathering of scrapbookers working on their projects ... This crop is a wonderful fundraising crop that raises money for the BC Children's Hospital.  I cause I am always thrilled to support.

One of the best things about this crop is the company ... I am blessed to have some very talented, friendly, loving, caring and hysterically funny women who I have met through various other crops and formed friendships with.  Spending the weekend and bunking with these gals is sooooo much fun ... and hey, we all get a weekend away from home, so it's just a perfect little girls getaway.

For some odd reason I just did not take many photos this year, thankfully we all decided to share so i have jacked some of these photos from friends ... you know who you are ....

Mona Lisa Mae came with me to keep me company, and that she did ... she is a fun little pal to crop with, always smiling and happy to watch me create.

The theme of this year's masque was Scrapbooking Diva and omg there were some interesting interpretations of that!  Mine didn't work ... i kept trying to sew the butterflies to my top and skirt, but they were very stiff and fragile so they kept breaking ... in the end i tossed them into my suitcase  and wired them to the lace curtain in the hotel ... here's a few pics ... and yes, it was a whole lot of fun looking like Marie Antoinette and Prince Poppycock's love child (tee he he) even if the costume didn't quite look the way i had envisioned ...

This post has been brought to you by the letter C, and Jenny Matlock's wonderfully creative Alphabet meme.  Make sure you check it out for other C stories.

Psssst .... wanna win some fabulous Crafting tools & adhesives???  Just check out my post here and follow the instructions.  I will be drawing 3 lucky winners in a week.


Peace Love & Paper ~ Jo

Elmer's Crafters Challenge ~ My Project ~ Your Chance to Win!

I made my project, which is a 12" x 12" scrapbook page of my daughter , for the Elmer's Crafters Challenge on the weekend.  I have to say, I just loved the Elmer's and X-Acto products!  I was at a weekend Scrapbooking retreat and ended up using the Products extensively ... Here's what I used on this particular page:
Elmer's Craft Bond Permanent Tape runner - I am giving this tape runner a full 5 stars.  It sticks, it works, it does everything it is supposed to do and best of all it is refillable ... I used most of it  up during the weekend, and yes it is just that good.
Elmers Craft Bond Glue Spots, Adhesive Squares and Wet & Dry dual tip glue pen.  The glue pen was another amazing product.  I used it to glue the metal backed brad to the home made rayon fabric flower.  It worked like a charm!
X-ACTO Designer Series 9" trimmer, precision scissors, cutting mat and craft knife.  I have been looking for the perfect craft knife for years ... and I have finally found it ... this knife is so comfortable to grip and use and sharp!  cuts like a charm!

Overall I was totally impressed with all of the products ... these products work ...  the adhesives stick, they do what they promise ... the cutting tools were amazing as well.  I highly recommend all of these products
I liked these products so much i ended up using them on all of my other weekend projects.

So here it is ... a simple layout ... but using pretty papers by The Girl's Paperie, with lots of hand cutting.

Who would like to win some of these amazing products???  Elmer's will give out prize packages to 3 of my lucky readers.  And I am giving you up to 3 chances to win one of those packages.  For one chance just leave a comment on this post.  For a second chance become a follower and leave that in a separate comment.  For a third chance, grab my button and post it to your sidebar (feel free to take it down once this giveaway is over).    Mr Random number generator will draw the winners next Tuesday, October 14th, so get your comments in before then.

The generous prize packages will include the following:

X-ACTO:

4-pack Decorative Edge Scissors

Self Healing Mat

Retractable Craft Knife

Craft Swivel Knife

CraftBond:

Scrapbooking Tape: Repositionable

Extra Strength Glue Stick

Wet & Dry Dual Tip Glue Pen

Permanent Tape Runner

Peace, Love & Paper ~ Jo