The very first time I ever won a layout contest was the first time I went to a weekend scrapbooking retreat.  The retreat was at Harrison Hot Springs, a resort town about an hour and a half east of Vancouver, B.C.  There were about 60 women there, from all over B.C.  When they announced the layout competition, I remembered thinking that there was no point in entering because I couldn’t possibly win with so much incredible talent around me.  However, I wanted my sister-in-law to enter her layout so I said that I would enter mine if she entered her layout.  You can imagine my shock when I actually won.  I also decided to post this layout because I did the layout in 2007 and I wanted to show the progression of my scrapbooking style.   In 2007, my style was very linear and clean, with lots of photos and only a select few embellishments.  Today, this layout looks a little plain to me, although I still like it.  My style is much more layered now, much more vintage, much more shabby chic with lots of ink and distressed edges.  I still do those clean lines, just not as often.  And now, my clean lines are almost always tilted.