Fercryinoutloud

You know what?  All day long, I've thought that today was June 1st.  Seriously.  I JUST NOW REALIZED that it is, in fact, May 31st.  Sigh.
So ... as I've already drawn the winner for the May Contest, anyone who still gets layouts in to me before midnight tonight using the May challenges will have them automatically entered into the June Contest pool.
My apologies to those of you who have probably been wondering what the heck I've been doing today.

May Contest Winner!

June kit information will be up shortly, but in the meantime, I thought some of you might be waiting to hear who won the May Contest.
We have a very sophisticated set-up here for choosing a winner ... I write all the names on slips of paper and Laura picks one out of a big bowl.  High tech all the way.
Anywho ... the winner is Roxanne!  Congrats Roxanne!  I'll see you soon :)

May Contest Entries

We're nearing the end of the month and our deadline for the May challenges.  Over the past few days, I've received several more entries.  And although it wasn't a requirement to use an Up The Street kit for the layouts, I was pleased to see that all of the entries have used a variety of the past kits.

Roxanne used the May kit and her Silhoette for this wonderful take on the sketch this month ...

Nelly was able to squeeze two layouts in this month, both using the "feather" requirement ...

And finally, Barb took a spin with feathers as well ...

Really wonderful entries from everyone this month.  Hope to see a few more come through today!

Vintage Finds

I love going to auction sales.  Poking through everything to find a treasure and then hoping you'll go home with it for a decent price.  Even if I don't walk out with very much, it's always a fun night.  I'm generally buying for the store and my friends are adding to their own collections.  Notable purchases this time were an ugly (according to her husband) green glass and pitcher set and a box full of full length white gloves for Julie. Jen walked out with a creepy (according to me) doll, a beautiful quilt and her daughter made out like a bandit with a tray of jewellery.  Good times.

I was lucky this week.  There were a few items I would have loved to have taken home, but they went waaaay higher than I was prepared to spend.  Even so, my car was filled to the brim with vintage goodness for the store.

I love this sweet little school desk.  Solid pine and heavy.

 With a spot for your ink pot and pencil.

 This fella doesn't want me to sell it.

 It also has a great little drawer under the seat.

You can never pass up a dress form.

 A few marks on it, but that comes with the territory.

A great spot to display your scarves and necklaces.

I have a few more items, but we'll save those for another day.

Layout Contest Submission from Erin

I just wanted to quickly share our first submission for the May Layout Contest from Erin.

Keep 'em coming!  You've still got until the end of the month!

Victoria Day Weekend Sale

Happy Friday all!  We're heading into a long weekend here in Canada, so I thought it might be a nice time to have a little sale.
I recently ordered in a whole pile of the new Echo Park mini kits.  They each contain 6 double-sided papers (2 each of 3 designs) and a sheet of coordinating stickers.  A great deal at $8.99 each.  But wait ... there's more!  Buy any two of these kits and receive a 3rd FREE!
As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of spray inks.  I love adding a little glimmer with Tattered Angels and Ranger mists.  But it's also fun to use the matte sprays.  Ranger's Dylusions and Studio Calico Mr. Huey's have no shimmer, but are wonderful for many different techniques.
For this weekend only, buy 3 and receive one FREE!  Also included in this sale are the Ranger Distress Stains.  It's a great time to try out a new product or stock up on some colours you've been wanting to add to your stash.
Also in stock again ... Ranger Distress Markers.  Buy eight or more and receive 20% off.
And just for fun ... buy any 5 papers and receive one FREE!
I'm here tonight until 8pm and tomorrow from 10am until 4pm.
Stop by to check out the new product that has been arriving over the last few weeks.  So much fun stuff :)

Bringing back the monthly challenge

It's been awhile since we've run our monthly challenge, and as National Scrapbooking Day is this coming weekend, I thought it would be as good a time as any to bring it back.

Up for grabs is a $30.00 gift certificate to the store (may be redeemed online or in person).

The Rules:  Complete a layout using one of the following challenges and e-mail a photo of it to upthestreet@isp.ca by midnight EST May 31st.  The layouts will be posted on the blog as they are received and a random drawing will be done on June 1 to choose a winner.

Sketch Challenge...

With my layout based on the sketch ...

"Put a Feather on It" Challenge ... Feathers seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately ... in home decor, in hair, etc.  So why not stick them on a layout?
Here's mine ...

I've used pretty teal feathers in place of leaves

So there you have it.  If you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comments. 
Otherwise ... Bonne Chance!

Whoa.  First of May already.  Summer will be here before we know it.  Not fast enough for the kids, but like tomorrow for me.
Not feeling so hot today.  I'm hoping this isn't going to turn into something.  Vitamins and Dr. Pepper ... should fix me right up.
I wanted to share the kits for this month.  In some ways, these kits feel very much like April's.  I had been waiting on some paper and embellishments for the April kits that didn't arrive on time, so I'd made some substitutions and used those late items for May.  If you bought April's kits, you can smoosh the May kits right on in with them and really utilize your stuff this month (and I still have a few of the "Graceful Gal" kits here in case you wanted to add it in with these).
LOTS of Heidi Swapp on both sides.  I'm wishing I'd ordered more.  In fact ... I ended up ordering some more of her products.  I haven't gotten them up yet, but you'll soon see a Heidi Swapp section on the website of items that will mix in nicely with this month's kits.

"Little Dreamer" ...

There are so many fun things in these kits ... Heidi Swapp Color Magic paper and file folders, patterned papers, trim, new items from Bazzill (if they keep producing lines like these, I'll definately be including them in future kits), Glitz mini letter stickers, etc.

But one of my favorite pieces from this kit has to be the American Crafts Peacock glitter paper.  How gorgeous is this?  The photo doesn't really even do it justice.

"The Places We Will Go" ...

Again, neat stuff from Heidi Swapp and Bazzill.
Full disclosure ... this side has the new American Crafts DIY Foam Thickers and black microbeads.  I do not love this product.  In fact, both Sarah and I may have sworn while using them.
I used them on this layout ...

Once the beads were on, they definately did not hide the white base.  I ended up spraying them with black Dylusions (didn't work at all), covering them with a coat of Glossy Accents and adding more beads.  This seemed to work and I'm happy with the end result.  I also experimented with fine glitter and the result is much nicer.
Otherwise, I am definately digging this kit.  The Basic Grey PB&J line is so fun (you might be seeing more of this next month ... wink).

We've got a few projects already in the Gallery, but expect more.  These kits are definately calling my name and I plan on using them up :)
Have a great week all!