Life in the Pit~

This is not my first time performing in a pit band. In the years that I have played the french horn I have provided music for productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel, Guys & Dolls, West Side Story and Oklahoma. But I will admit, being a part of the production of Les Mis at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, is a highlight for me! The music is spectacular! The performances onstage are shaping up to be the same.

The pit band has just joined the cast in rehearsals, and for the next couple of weeks before Opening Night on May 24th, we will be working hard to mix together to make one heck of a performance for the audience! The cast is made up of community members of all walks of life that exude talent! The pit band is made up of professional and semi professional musicians. The majority are local music teachers.

For this production they have opened up the actual pit at the Savoy Theatre, it's been decades since it has been used for anything but storage. The photo below is the view that I have from the pit. We can see very little. The audience will not be able to see us at all, unless you come up the front and peek in. If anyone out there is at one of the performances, please do come and say Hi either before the show or at intermission.

The pit band consists of 2 keyboards, 2 flutes, 1 harp, 1 trombone, 1 trumpet, 1 tuba, 1 oboe, 2 horns, 1 clarinet and percussion. Plus our musical director who keeps us all in line with what's going on onstage.

Due to popular demand, the production has added another show to the original schedule. Here are the show dates:

Friday May 24th

Saturday May 25th

Sunday May 26th

Tuesday May 28th

Wednesday May 29th

All show times are at 7pm.

So if you have not yet gotten your tickets for this top notch production, do it soon! You won't be disappointed! For more information check out the link below. Hope to see you there!

http://www.savoytheatre.com/lesmis/

Check out the video trailer for the production here:
http://vimeo.com/65102012

My Father My Hero~

This is a sweet little Father's Day or Father's Birthday card that I created as a part of the Gifts For Guys blog hop. The blog hop involves the Buttons Galore & More design team, the Button Bevy and the Glue Dots designers, the Glue Dotesses.

So join the Button Bevy and the Glue Dotesses in a "Gifts for Guys" blog hop on May 7th-9th 2013. 20 Great inspirational projects for the men in your life- from Dads to Grads and Babies to Boys. Two prizes, one from each company are available to those that take a gander at our gift ideas!

Products Used:

• Red Buttons from Buttons Galore & More
• Mini Glue Dots
• Fancy Pants~ Swagger Collecion

To check out the rest of the blog hop craftiness and how to be entered for prizes, just follow the link below.

http://buttonsgaloreandmore.net/buttons-and-glue-dots-blog-hope/

Here are the links to the rest of the Button Bevy:

Angie~ The Country Chic Cottage

Laura Bray~ Laura Bray Designs

Mai~ Creando Con Detalles

Jen~ 100 Directions

Holly~ Ribbons and Glue

Allie~ My Card Party
Laura Kelly~ Laura Kelly Designs

Make sure you join Buttons Galore & More on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google.

An Unbelievable Birthday Card~

An unbelievable birthday card for an unbelievable lady! I knew my friend Megan would share and appreciate my humor with the saying on this card. Just in case you missed it....she is not 29, nor do I weigh 100 pounds!

The patterned papers and coordinating tags are by Teresa Collins, He Said She Said Collection.

The stickers that I used for the following are by:

"29th"- K&Company
"Birthday"- EK Success
"100"- EK Success
"Friend"- Making Memories

I also used my magnetic rubber stamps by Making Memories for "Wishing You an" and "From Your".

He Said, She Said~

As some of you may already know, I have a love for Teresa Collins Designs! This time I am working with her He Said, She Said Collection, which just happens to go beautifully with our wedding photos.

The first project I created was an altered shadow box frame that I have had laying around for about 7 years now.

I really wanted somewhere to put important memorabilia from our wedding day. This was the flower that I made to go in my hair.

Buttons from Buttons Galore & More were a great accent.

This is the boutonniere that Sean wore. I made them out of maps, just like the flowers in my bouquet. The feather was made from sheet music. Through the day it got a little rumpled, but I wanted to keep it just the way it was.

The second project I created was a scrapbook layout. With the collections name as inspiration,  He Said, She Said, I created a layout more based on journaling memories from our wedding day. I also wanted to have Sean do the journaling on his side of the layout, luckily he agreed to do it! The collection He Said, She Said has 2 coordinating packs, one more masculine and one more feminine. I used both for  this layout, so that the page had a distinct He side and She side.

The first journaling question was "What do you love most about him/her?"

The second question was "What were your fondest Wedding Day Memories?". Each of us had 5 answers.

If you LOVE the Teresa Collins, He Said, She Said Collection as much as I did. It's available at The Cutting Garden, as well as Down a Dirt Road Scrapbooking.

Buttons and Ribbon~

This is yet another layout that I created using the Swagger Collection by Fancy Pants. This time for a Buttons Galore & More tutorial. The masculine colors and patterns were a good match for this beach shot. The Swagger Collection is available at the Cutting Garden.

To check out the complete tutorial on how to create this layout on your own, just click on Buttons Galore & More.

A Little Swagger~

These are 2 layouts that I created at The Cutting Garden crop on the weekend. They are both created with the Fancy Pants collection called Swagger. Such a great patterned paper and embellishment line for the men in your life.

The corrugated cardboard looking paper is also by Fancy Pants.

The letter stickers on both layouts are by Thickers. The Swagger collection is available at The Cutting Garden.

Getting in Some Garden Time~

Over the weekend I was able to attend a crop at The Cutting Garden. As always it was a ton of fun, spending much of it laughing with old friends and new. I must say, I wasn't as productive as I have been in the past, but it just might be that I was spending too much time laughing and chatting!

This is a layout that I didn't create at the crop, but one based on The Cutting Garden's April layout sketch. The patterned papers are by one of my fav's Teresa Collins, her He Said, She Said Collection (also available at The Cutting Garden).

Buttons are from Buttons Galore & More.

The sketch that my layout was based on.

It's for the Birds~

Buttons Galore & More thought it would be a fun to have a Spring Challenge between the Button Bevy (the Buttons Galore Design Team). In one of our glorious boxes of goodies, each of us got a different little bird house. It was up to us to decorate these sweet little bird homes. I love a good challenge. Being as I am mainly a paper crafter, I stuck with what I know. After painting the house white, I covered nearly the whole thing with different patterned papers by Teresa Collins, her Memories Collection, which I adore.

The bulk of my buttons were used to shingle the roof. Just like shingling an actual house I started at the bottom and used a fast drying liquid glue to adhere them. Then worked my way up.

Products Used:

• Orange Buttons~ Buttons Galore & More
• Teresa Collins~ Memories Collection Patterned Paper
• Martha Stewart Crafts Heart Punch
• Mini Glue Dots
• Teal Mini Gems

Check out the Buttons Galore & More blog to see links to the other designers' blogs and all the info on how to vote for your favorite. There are prizes to be won. For a chance to win, participate and vote!
Here are links to some of the other designers' posts:
Holly- Ribbons and Glue
Mai- Creando con Detalles
Angie- The Country Chic Cottage
Allie- My Card Party
Jen- 100 Directions

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed our crafty little bird homes.

Fair Skies~

A simple blog post before I head to Halifax for a fun filled crop at the Cutting Garden!! This is a layout that I created using the Fair Skies Collection by Farmhouse Paper Company. I have had this photo printed and ready to scrapbook for a very long time. A photo of my Dad and I a couple of years back. I wanted to find the right papers to accent it. The  buttons are from Buttons Galore.

Then I thought I would also share these sweet and simple Thank You cards that I made for Maureen to give to her amazing nursing staff, thanking them for their superior care!

Christmas Layouts in April...Why Not~

A simple post with three recent layouts all with a Christmas theme. There is no rhyme or reason to what I like to scrapbook and when. I have always found that if you work on what you feel like, rather than working chronologically, that you will enjoy the process more. If you make yourself stick to an order of sorts, it may start feeling like work rather than a hobby you are meant to enjoy.

This first layout is created using My Minds Eye, Lost and Found Collection.

The other 2 layouts are created using Basic Grey's, Wassail Collection.