Northern Scrapper

Final Scrappy Bowl Challenge...

2012-02-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

Yeah!! Managed to finish challenge #4 from Kathryn's Scrappy Bowl Challenges! This one required using a flag or banner on your project. This is the first time Ive done a banner on a layout...guess im a little behind on that trend as I am in my scrapbooking layouts. Hopefully all these other challenges will remedy that (more about that later....)

Scrappy Bowl Challenge #3 using Layers

2012-02-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

This is the second submission for Kathryn's challenges (I skipped #2 using red/white/blue). We were to create a project using multiple layers. Crossing my fingers I can get my last one finished before tonight's deadline of 8pm EST....wish me luck..lol

Kathryn's Scrappy Bowl Challenge #1

2012-02-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

This year during the superbowl game Kathryn from Life on the Scrap Beach hosted a Scrappy Bowl party on her Ustream channel. During the course of the ustream she posted several challenges on her blog. My girlfriend Melinda and I had agreed to participate and comlete as many of the challenges as we could. This is my interpretation of the first challenge which required us to use some sort of grid in a project. So i hand stitched the grid on white cardstock and went from there.

Potfolio Gatefold Christmas Wedding Mini

2012-01-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

My dear friend Chris got married this Christmas holiday and I was honoured to be able to share this special day with her. She requested I make her a mini album for the occasion. This is an adaptation of Kathy Orta's portfolio. I added several pages and used coil binding to create a gatefold mini album with the large pockets of her portfolio to house cards and memorabilia.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.....

2011-12-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

First off Id like to wish you all warmest wishes throughout this holiday season. I hope that everyone made the most of the holidays whether surrounded by many family and friends or shared with only one special person it is a time to reflect on all those things that are important to us. I was truly blessed to be able to spend some quality time with my husband and kids over the last 2 weeks as well as some dear friends while we celebrated a Christmas wedding.
Although I know the holiday season is all about what you give as apposed to what you received, I would like to share 2 of my favorite presents that waited under the tree for me Christmas morning.
This first one is a project my husband made for me based on a similar storage unit i saw online. I designed this one with slanted shelves to keep the liquid and mica powders in the bottom of the bottles and so that I could easily see the tops of each of the bottles. With so much space I was able to fit my Tim Holtz stains as well (a happy accident). I'm so thrilled with how this project came out that I can hardly wait to get back in my craftroom to play. I have a couple more storage units in mind now to house my ink pads and glitters and any other products I can fit on those little shelve.

My second favorite thing (aside from the beautiful garbage can my brother bought me...) is this gorgeous vintage (circa 1950) stamp stand that holds all my Tim Holtz blending tools. It has room for 26 of them I believe and adds such unique character to my scrappy space.

Thank you all for stopping by to visit and share all your wonderful comments throughout the year. I look forward to hearing how you all spent this holiday season. Love and Hugs Glynis

The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. ~Thomas Jefferson

Christmas Mini Challenge

2011-12-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

I was chatting away with some scrappy friends one morning and catching up on watching some of my favorite YouTubers when i stumbled across an older Kathy Orta video I had not seen before. After sharing with my friends they decided it would be fun to challenge me to do something with it. The original was a cupcake theme mini and the inside was constructed of paper bags. I decided to modify slightly to use envelopes instead. So here is what I came up with:

Each of the insert fronts has been decorated slightly different using a combination of Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies and and my Noel Cricut Cartridge. All the berries throughout were made using my 1/4" hole punch and glossy accents.

I cut off the ends of my envelopes to make them perfectly square and then glued the cut off end to the fronts to for a pocket for tags of all shapes and sizes.

In each of the envelope pages I inserted a card so that half was inside and half out. This created the effect of having a flap on the front of each page that could be pulled out to see the photos attached on all sides. I had so much fun creating this little mini and feel so blessed to have those like Kathy Orta to inspire me.

At the bottom of the mini i created a Trifold with smaller envelopes. The two outer ones have flaps attached to the fronts of them for more photos or journaling.
This project was a great jumping off point to the start of my christmas crafting. Hope to post some more projects in the next coming days.
Thanks for stopping by :O)

Our Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Felicity and her girlfriend took care of the messy stuff cleaning out all the guts of the pumpkins. Was a beautiful sunny day so they hung out on the front porch.

This was Felicity's first time carving her own pumpkin. She did a fantastic job carving the cyclops she drew.

My Mom created a Happy pumpkin face so not to scare little Isabelle who found all things halloweeny somewhat frightening this year.

Felicity posing in her Mad Hatter costume that Mom and I worked on together. The Hat was so much fun to make and weighed a tonne on her little head. I think she looked fabulous!! Her friend was a spooktacular vampire bride.

Tristan's friend dressed as Gene Simmons from Kiss poses as though he's giving his autograph. He looked hilarious with that wig and makeup!! We had so much fun getting ready for this favorite holiday of the year. I had a few Halloween mini's I created but didn't get posted. Perhaps will try to get them up tomorrow. Better late than never...lol :O)

Mini Album for Deanne at Mini Album Scraps

2011-09-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is a coin envelope mini I made for my friend Deann in a swap over at http://minialbumscraps.ning.com/ . I used the Out of Print paper by Basic Grey and the printed recollections flowers as well as some Wild Orchid Crafts flowers to embellish. The tags are 7 Gypsies and Maya Road and the mirrored butterflies are from the dollar store. This Mini was quite the challenge for me making for someone else that wasn't family, but in the end a lot of fun.

I covered the flaps of the minis with patterned paper that had a decorative edge cut on my Big Shot using my Tim Holts Bracket Die. The black cardstock was punched with a Martha Stewart edge punch. I did half the pockets horizontal and half vertical in this mini.

Double Tri Shutter Mini Photo Book

2011-09-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

This was a fun little mini album project I helped a girlfriend make for her Brother and SIL new baby boy. Have always wanted to try one of these and was a lot of fun. I found the tutorial on youtube here http://www.youtube.com/user/JohaneWilson .

He's such a cutey! I love this picture where it looks like he's winking at you..lol!!

Twilight Tag Swap

2011-06-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've discovered a great new site and a fabulous way to get my craft on over at http://minialbumscraps.ning.com/ . They have really fun swaps and a great group of ladies who are always there to chat or answer questions. So this is my first swap over on the site and it was a Twilight Tag swap.

I chose to go with a woodsy theme as the pic takes place in the trees, plus I had this great leaf trim I'd been dying to use. I made the flowers using white satin and the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die. I cut 2 of each of the layers then melted the petals with my heat gun just till they curled a bit. Use a brad to hold all the layers together then colour with your fav dye ink spray. The leaf was cut out of two bonded layers of canvas that I then painted with Glimmer Mist to hand dye. The twohearts charm was coloured with 18k gold pen and then distressed with alcohol ink.

I had so much fun putting these together and can't wait to start my next swap. I encourage you to check out this site so you too can join in the madness of swapping....lol.

Father's Day Card for Kieth

2011-06-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

This fabulous Father's Day card was designed by my great crafty friend Tracy. She put together a kit for me so we could create them together. All the pieces were made from scratch.

The machanism was one she'd seen on youtube splitcoast site, and the rod, net and fish were inspired by some dollar store stickers she had.

The canoe was cut on the cricut and creates a little pocket for the card which is a coupon good for one.....whatever....for hubby. The little paddles were decorated with woodgrain drawn in with Stampin' Up markers. The little fish were cut using funfoam and cardstock and decorated with pen. The cardstock is covered with self adhesive drywall mesh to create a fun texture.

Tracy hand carved the fishing reel and used wire to create the loops that hold the fishing line. Two brads with thier prongs cut off make the reel and a couple of seed beads for the bobbers. A small wire hook finishes off the rod assembly. She also made the net using tulle, a wire loop and a carved skewer. She hand tied the mini flies that finish off the look.

The vest is held closed with a small magnet insertion and in each of the inside pockets is a cute and corny saying. I really love how this project came out! Tracy is amazing with the details...

Happy Father's Day

Isa's Birthday In Barkerville

2011-06-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

Isa turned 2 recently, but as Daddy was away working we waited to celebrate with him. We decided on a family trip to one of our favorite spots....Barkerville, BC. The kids love the ground squirells popping out of their holes, the old fashioned Horse and Carriages, and all the great Street Performances going on throughout the day. They loved running to each of the different exibits and seeing all that "old fashioned stuff".

Felicity dressed for the occassion in her bonnet we got from Barkerville some years back and an easter dress made of cotton eyelet. Kieth had his Barkerville hat..and Tristan his typical teen garb.

As always...Icecream is one of our favorite treats to end a delicious homemade style lunch. And a great Chineese dinner ended the day.

Totebag for Japan

2011-03-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

My dear scrappy friend Esther in Northern Scottland has taken it upon herself to raise funds to help those in Japan who have suffered from the recent Tsunami and Earthquake. She is donating ALL of the profits from the sale of these beautiful totebags to the Red Cross for aid in Japan. Please help her raise funds by reading her post and following this link to purchas one of these bags from her online store via paypal.
Thank you,
Glynis :O)

Family Calendar Minis (photo heavy)

2011-03-20T15:03:00.000-07:00

Three weeks before Christmas I decided to start a project as Christmas presents for some of my family. Photo Calendars are always a favorite and so I decided to make 3. Needless to say these calendars were more of an undertaking than expected and Christmas presents turned into New Years presents, then Valentine's, and now St Patty's. I was thrilled to have finally shipped them early last week and cross them off of my unfinished projects list. Although the first 2 1/2 months have already passed, they will make great mini albums for them to enjoy once the year is done.

The calendars are 8 x 8 and each month features a scrapbook page with pictures from 2010 and perhaps some journaling and/or a Title. I tried to keep the pages relatively simple so that these projects could actually be finished.

I know that these will be cherished for years to come and it makes it all worth it, and is the reason I scrapbook in the first place! Next time though, I think I'll start a little sooner lol!! Now on to the rest of the pile....

Snip 'n Fold Swap mini

2011-03-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

This little mini was made for my friend Valentina based on Laura Denison's 12 days of Christmas tutorial. We were to make a vintage inspired mini using the colours brown, cream and blue. I added a bunch of gold as well as I loved the gold glittered motif on the paper I chose for my covers. This is my first swap and it was so much fun I'm sure to try more. I already received my beautiful little mini made by Valentina and flip through it each time I go to my craft room. Hope she will enjoy mine.

The roses on the front cover are made using Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die and the grunge flower method. I edged the flowers with gold pigment ink and added clear glitter. Silk flower leaves left over from a wedding and inked in gold add the perfect backdrop to these pretty blooms. The closure is a piece of grungepaper covered in the same gold ink, and the brad was teal and silver so I used a gold leaf pen to colour the metal. I love the antiqued little bird house I found at my local hardware store.

The inside pockets are created by the folding method used to make this mini and the strips of patterned paper that close the open edges. Because these pockets are already sooo tiny you would not want to glue that edge together. Each of the little pages has either a gold or teal glitter bird which I cut out on my cricut. I added glossy accents to the glittered shapes to prevent the glitter from coming off and to add dimension and shine.

I loved the colour of these gorgeous Webster's Bloomers which was the jumping off point for the colour choices in this album. The trim is hotglued to both the front and back cover and hides the spine as well as preventing the tags from coming through.

I created the tags in my Design Studio software welding two of the same shape together. The stamped image is one of my favorite Stampin' Up wood mounts that I'd been hoarding in my craft room for sometime waiting for the perfect project. The images are heat embossed in gold and the edges of the tags are inked in that same gold pigment ink. The tags are rather tiny with just enough room to jot a tiny note. This tiny mini would be fun as a brag album housing cropped wallet photos.

I saw the tutorial for this Tri-Fold card on Splitcoast Stampers' YouTube and scaled it down to fit with the tiny mini. The finished size is 3 by 3 and it opens up to 3 by 9. I love the bright springy colours and the Stampin' Up image on the front is another of my favorites. The Organza ribbon is another from my Stampin' Up stash...no I'm not a representative, I'm just an avid buyer LOL!

Sorry about the lighting in these photos...its been rather dark in the mornings and a couple of my lights were burnt out!

Thanks for stopping by :O)

Valentines and a Mischevious Monkey

2011-02-24T17:41:00.000-08:00

Making Valentines for my kids classmates has become a tradition. Although my son has outgrown the holiday, my daughter still looks forward to it each year. I try to keep the cards somewhat simple because of the number I have to produce. I used the CindyLou cart for the cute little critters and the Tim Holtz embossing folder to add texture to the background.

The sentiment on the girls card was "Your a Deer Friend" and the boys was "I'm Nuts About You" which I typed up on the computer and printed on white cardstock.

My daughter said her friends loved these handmade creations!

The next project is a pop-up Valentine card I made for my Sweety. I'd seen several different YouTube videos on this mechanism and always wanted to try one. The pull out tag has a picture of us looking all fabulous and lovey. I used a tutorial from Capadia Designs to create the rolled rose template in my Cricut Design Studio.

The Sentiment is also cut using the Cricut Design Studio and then covered with glossy accents. The leaves were leftovers from silk dollar store flowers from a friends wedding. The card is a little top heavy with all those flowers and layers, but I just love how it turned out.

My little monkey decided to reorganize our hat/glove drawer while I was doing this post so I just had to add this picture to the end. She looks so proud of herself seated in the empty drawer. These are the moments that make me smile.

Supplies:

Cricut Carts - CindyLou & Winter Woodlands, Patterned Paper - My Mind's Eye, Cardstock - Stampin' Up & Creative Memories, Pearls - Prima & Kaiser Craft, White Flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts, Glitter - Martha Stewart

Belle's New Coat

2011-02-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

This is Belle. She is Mom and Dad's new Border Collie who's recently had to have surgery on her shoulder for a bone growth in her shoulder that she developed from birth. Because of the surgery, they shaved a huge amount of her fur from her shoulder, side and back leaving her skin exposed to the elements when out walking in this winter weather. So her mom decided to sew her a new coat out of fleece remnants and I thought I would share it as I think it's too cute!!

She found the tutorial for the coat on utube and it was super quick and easy to make. Best of all she doesn't seem to mind it at all.

So until her coat grows back, or spring comes (whichever comes first) she'll be sportin this new outerwear on her daily walks.

A Few Projects to Share! (Yes Im still here)

2011-02-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

No I haven't won the lottery and disappeared to some exotic Island in the middle of nowhere, I've just been hiding under a tonne of unfinished projects and can't even post any of the finished ones as they are gifts that haven't been recieved yet. But.....I do have a couple of little things that I've made in between that I can share.

On my Birthday weekend, my girlfriends came over for a craft day and my friend Tracy brought the supplies and inspiration for they cute cards and gift mug we created. She found the inspiration on another blog called Sarahs Ink Spot if you'd like to check it out.

I don't have a list of supplies or manufacturers as they were provided by my good friend Tracy, but I hope you enjoy. I will be back in the next couple of days to post a couple more projects.
And thank you to those who continue to stop by even though there has been nothing new for quite some time. I always appreciate the comments and love to know that there are others out there that I can share my passion with.

Studio Calico's Wishlist Giveaway

2010-12-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Studio Calico has a fun challenge going on over at their blog!! They've asked us to post our Holiday Wishlist (of course mine would be too long to post everything so here is a sampling LOL). First up is one of my favorite Studio Calico kits:

I just love all the fun embellis in this kit and the papers are so versatile. A must have for sure! This trimmer is so hard to come by. I've heard so many rave reviews on it and need a replacement for my current slopping, crooked paper cutting trimmer:

I just got the new Big Shot for an early Christmas gift and have a huge list of dies and embossing folders that I would love to have, but I've yet to find a real money tree so here are my current favs:

And last, but never least, I have seen soooo many fun projects using acrylic paint, and just love the ease and convenience of the paint daubers! And what better to accent those painted projects than some shimmery misting spray:

When it really comes down to it, the top of my list is just the opportunity to relax and enjoy some quality time with my Hubby and my three children. We are so blessed to have this time together! I also just found out my Brother is going to be in town for Christmas, as well as my dear friends who've been away at school or for work, so this will be the most fantastic Christmas no matter what is under the tree.

I want to wish all my friends (bloggers included) a fabulous Chritmas and all The Best In The New Year!! I look forward to sharing another year with you and thank you for all your support this last year.

Happy Holidays !!

Christmas Cards with Websters Pages and a little Bling

2010-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share a few quick cards I made with Tracy using some of Webster's Pages gorgeous Waiting For Santa line.

I just love how simple it is to add a little embellishment and the paper carries itself! We used a ballpoint glue pen to add glitter to the tips of braches, some of the flowers and the outside and strings of the balloons.

The large tree was too gorgeous to cut apart, so it made for a rather large card that I won't be shipping in the mail. With a little glitter and a jewel on top as well as in the ornament was all it needed to shine.

We used the same patterned paper for the inside of most of the cards and added glitter there as well.

Still have a few more to share, but may have to wait until I get some of my other projects caught up. I still haven't even got my tree put up. It's definitely not looking much like Christmas here! Mother nature has kept me rather busy as well with now over 3 feet of snow having fallen in the last week and a daughter who is afraid of the snowblower. Lets just say I've been doing a lot of shovelling! Better get going though if I want to get some of these cards in the mail.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Webster's Pages, Cardstock - Bazzil, Glitter - Stampendous, Glue Pen - Quickie Glue

Glitter is Glam Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

2010-12-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

I just love all things glittery, and when I saw the challenge over at Moxie Fab I decided I just had to play along. The inspiration for this card came while watching the news hour. During the list of latest holiday events there was this adorable silohuette of a tree image made of circles as their background. So this is what I came up with:

I used my Xron 150 to apply adhesive to the large punched out circles and then added Glitter Ritz for sparkle. The trunk has a line of glitter as well using a glue pen. This was probably the most finicky card I have made as arranging the circles took quite some time and then sticking them down without them moving around on me was a challenge. I just love the overall effect though as it is a little modern and different from my usual style.

So for those of you who want to play along, head on over to Moxie Fab to check it out as well as all the other great glittering projects over there.

Supplies:

Glitter - Glitter Ritz, Cardstock - Stampin' Up, Adhesive - Xyron, Circle Punches - Creative Memories, Snowflake Punch - EK Success, Sentiment Stamp - Stampin' Up

Christmas Cards and my Crazy Friend

2010-11-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

My scrappy girlfriend Tracy and I have been busy these last couple of days making oodles of Christmas cards. We've probably spent more than 24 hours combined on them, and if that wasn't enough......After another late night of crafting (I think she left around 11pm), Tracy went home an decided to spend the entire night coming up with a few more ideas for us to create. She felt bad that we had been unable to make all the embossed cards I wanted to make when she was here, so this morning she came over with all the supplies and her designs to make these beauties:

And these:

I can't imagine how creative I would be by 6 am (when she finally quit to go to bed), but somehow this seems to be the time that she is most inspired. So thanks to my crazy friend, I have a few more stunning cards to send to my friends and family this holiday season! (Only 30 more cards to go....sigh)

She used the Big Shot and Cuttlebug folders to create the embossed images, and the cricut to cut everything else. The cardstock is a combination of Bassil and Close to My Heart.

Enjoy!

Ava - Birthday Card

2010-11-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show off a Birthday Card I made for my Grandmother a couple of days ago. I used some more of that beautiful paper Juliana sent me by GCD Studios - Ava. I've been dying to make some of those roses I see everywhere using th 5 or 6 petal flowers, so this is what I came up with:

I cut apart one of my Prima Say it in Pearls to add the swirlies and three dots under the greeting. The flowers were dressed up with a little Stickles and then covered entirely with Glossy Accents to give them an epoxy look. The leaves were some leftovers from a friends wedding flowers just hot glued beneath. I just love how rich these flowers look with that added shine.

I used one of my Stampin' Up sets which had been long neglected for the sentiment. I keep promising myself that I'm going to start stamping more, but have yet to find the motivation to do so. So I figure baby steps..LOL!!

I hope my Grandma doesn't see this post before she gets this card, but I just had to share it as it has been so long since I have posted anything and didn't want everyone to forget I exist.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - GCD Studios Ava, Glitter - Ranger Distressed Stickles, Swirls & Dots - Prima Say it in Pearls, Cricut Cart - Storybook, Sentiment - Stampin' Up, Cardstock - Unknown

Santa's Hat Card

2010-11-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

I was visiting the amazingly talented Aphra Boyer's site here when I first spotted her Witches Hat card and just had to create something using it as my inspiration...so....I decided with the help of my crafty friend Tracy to make this Santa's Hat card. I can't say that this would be one to mass produce as it took us around 8 hours to complete them, but I'm am just thrilled with how it turned out. In fact I love it so much I may just keep this one for myself!

I found the Poinsettia flower tutorial at Scrap A Little blog. She has the greatest tutorials for all your handmade paper flowers. I used Stampin' Up's Build a Brad to create the center of two of them and filled with Glossy Accents to creat an apoxy look. The bits of tule were basted along one edge to gather them and then I used pinking shears to finish the visible edge.

I used floral wire and pearl beads to make the snowman pin, and a cute little star button with the post cut off made the second pin.

The word Joy was cut using my
Cricut and adheared with foam tape to add dimension.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - BG: Blitzen, Ink - Tim Holtz, Brads - Stampin' Up, Glitter - Martha Stewart, Adhesive - Hot Glue & Elmers White glue & Foam tape, Cricut Cart - Winter Woodlands

Halloween pics a little late

2010-11-12T10:19:00.000-08:00

I know that I'm rather late in posting these, but beter late than never I always say! So here are a few pics from Mom and Dad's Halloween visit.

Felicity and Grandpa Decorated the front yard while I took care of the window display.

Love these pictures of Isabelle in her Ladybug costume!

Felicity getting her goulish makeup applied for her Dead Rockstar Costume.

Isabelle and Grandma already for trick or treating. Not too much candy for this little one. Just a few stops to some friends houses and then home to watch Sleepy Hollow with Johny Depp as we have every year.

We had a great visit, but as always too short :O)

Little Snow Buddy

2010-10-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

When we woke in the morning last Saturday we were suprised to find large white flakes coming down. My daughter rushed outside to make the first snowman of the season. The snow didn't last long and most of it melted before it hit the ground, but she managed to collect enough to make this mini snowman.

Basic Grey's Jovial Collection was perfect for scrappin' these photos with these adorable little snowman and the rich deep reds that complemented her 2010 Olympic mittens. I ordered the brads and cardstock embellishments, but none of the snowmen woolies that came with the collection so I decided to paper piece this little guy.

I cut multiple snowflakes in each size and layered them together to add volume and dimension. And what would be a layout without a little glitter!! The sketch I used for inspiration was from Stuck On You Sketches

I have a few more projects in the works and hopefully will have them up before the end of the week. Thanks for stopping by, and I love reading all your comments so thank you to those who do :O)

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - Basic Grey: Jovial, Cartridges - Winter Woodlands (snowflakes and title) & Graphically Speaking (title), Glitter - Martha Stewart, Font - Prestige Elite Std
Snowflake digital brushes were downloaded free from unknown site (too long ago!)

Playing with a friend

2010-10-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has recently returned to Scrapbooking and was looking for a way to get started as she's been away for about 6 years!! My how things have changed! She'd never seen Chipboard, Glitter, Flocking, the abundance of Patterned Papers, Stitching on paper, Embossing.........just to name a few. So I had to come up with a layout for us to do using a few techniques and products from my scraproom. I didn't want to overwhelm her, but I think she left here with a new shopping list.

Green by My Little Shoebox lent itself perfectly to these bright coloured photos of Felicity and Isabelle playing at the school playground. I love their brightly coloured images and those snails are just too cute. We used pop dots under some of the layers to add dimension.

I have had this Flocking for quite some time but have never used it, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it together. I found it rather messy like glitter and some of it was clumpy. It dried darker in some spots, but I think the overall effect is kind of neat. We used basic white elmer's glue to adhear it, but not sure if another adhesive would have been better. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them!

We added a little Tim Holtz Distressed Stickles to each of the large mushroom accents just cause I love a little sparkle on the page. We also did a little sewing as we stitched down the two layers of ribbon on the side.

It was so much fun coming up with the project and then spending the morning crafting with my friend Christina, I'm sure we will be planning another scrapday soon.

Supplies:

Flocking - Sudiog Fresh Flocking, Chipboard Letters - EK Success, Glitter - Ranger Distressed Stickles: Broken China and Worn Lipstick, Patterned Paper - My Little ShoeBox: Green, Ribbon - Stampin' Up, Cricut Cart - Accent Essentials, Sketch - Jana Eubank

Sweet Summer and a giveaway

2010-10-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

With all the crazyness that's been going on here, it's taken me a week to complete this layout using the gorgeous Ava line by GCD Studios sent to me by the talented Juliana Michaels. I love all the flocking and foil in this line not to mention the beautiful colour pallet that lends itself perfectly to all my summer pics.

I fussycut the butterflys and then hand stitched with the embroidery floss following the swirl pattern in the paper. A couple of pop dots will keep those wings up even when squished by my sheet protector.

The journaling seemed to blend in with the background, so a little outlining added the pop it needed to stand out. I can't wait to start playing with the rest of these papers that is if Isabelle will allow it as she is most demanding as of late. Oh well....15 minutes here and there and eventually I manage to get it finished LOL!

Now on to that giveaway!! Samantha is having a fantastic Imanginisce over on her Blog so please be sure to stop by and check it out as you could win all this:

Supplies:

Font - Post Note, Cricut Cart - Ashlyn's Alphabet, Patterned Paper - GCD Studios AVA by Melody Ross, Cardstock - unknown, Embroidery Floss - unknown

Last Minute Birthday Invites

2010-10-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

It was Felicity's Belated Birthday Party this weekend and only a couple of days before I decided to make her some party invitations using the leftover scraps of black from a project I'm currently working on and her favorite colour purple of course. I used the Wild Card Cricut cart and Zoo Balloo to cut the title and all the spiders, bats, and headstones as well as the grass edging (on the cupcakes below). A white gel pen was used for the wobbly webs.

The inside of the invitation was made in Adobe Photoshop Elements using an unkown free stamp for the background. I added a little purple bat which had a little Ranger stickles glitter on it.

I spotted this tutorial over at the Cosmo Cricket blog and decided to whip up these little goodie bags. The little bat is a rubber stamp from Stampin Up as is the Orange Grosgrain Ribbon

We decked the house out for Halloween as that was what she wanted for this years party theme. Her girlfriends thought it was awsome! They met at the pool for a swim and then came back here for cake, games, and opening gifts.

The house felt rather crowded with 12 kids (including my own) and we enjoyed the peace and quiet when the last went home. Uncle Dave and Rachelle showed up for a late dinner from there trip accross Canada to make a perfect birthday ending.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

The crazyness of september is finally winding down as we enter mid October as school is now underway, kids winter activities have been sorted out, and our newest member of the family has started the Strong Start program. Ahhh.....I may finally have time to get back to my favorite activity....SCRAPBOOKING!!

But enough of all that! I wanted to post a few photos I took of the kids on a beautiful October morning as my mother has been complaining that she hasn't seen any recent ones. Most of these were taken in my backyard with the exception of the long grass which was taken at the mouth of a trail nearby.

Felicity has been bugging me for some time to colour her hair purple after her friend had blond streaks. It turned out pretty cute, but will most definitely be a one time deal as I happen to love her natural chocolate coloured hair. She squeeled and complained as I pulled her hair through a cap (just like her mother!). The colour is temporary and will wash out over time as it was designed for kids.

Kieth and I had a lovely walk down to Morfee Lake on his last days off. The colour was still quite spectacular so we took a couple of quick photos using my timer and a conveniently located picnic table. It was so warm that day we couldn't help but spend the entire day outside.

On the way home from work, Kieths truck was attacked by a Moose. He had come to a complete stop to let the moose cross in front of him when the moose decide to shoulder check him after being blinded by his headlights. Thank goodness niether Kieth nor the moose was injured.

I do have a couple of LO's I've been working on as well as a Christmas project and hope to get them posted in the next couple of days. I hope to be posting a little more regular now that everything's a little more settled around here. HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Big Idea Festival & Pencil Lines Sketch Challenge

2010-08-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I've been following along over at Big Picture Scrapbooking's Big Idea Festival, but have yet been able to complete any of the challenge projects. Until today that is! With Isabelle down for a nap, I dug in and worked as quickly as possible to create the latest challenge layout with the help of Pencil Lines and Anna Bowkis' latest sketch and Colour Combo's Galore's pallette.

Anyways, this is the layout I came up with based on my response to the starting sentence provided: I Listen.... I listen to the birds chirping and the squirels chattering as I sip my first cup of coffee in the morning. This is my favorite time of day as the children are still asleep and the world is quiet. The photo is a little dark, but with all the smoke and haze from the forest fires, there is little natural light today. I have yet to finish my journaling, but I wanted to get the layout posted as soon as possible and will finish up tonight when everyone's asleep.

I liked the addition of a little yellow to this colour pallette to brighten up the more muted tones of the papers. I painted the grungeboard first with a soft yellow acrylic paint and then sprayed the bird with glimmer mist, so it actually has a shimmer that wasn't picked up in the photo.

Supplies:

Patterned paper - DCWV: Mi Casa, Cardstock - Bazzil Basics and Paper Reflections, Ribbon - Stampin' Up, Font - Hannah Montanah Cricut Cart, Border - Story Book Cricut Cart, Ink - Stampin' Up: Going Gray, Stamp - Autumn Leaves: Swirls V:I, Alphabet Stamps - Making Memories: {NOTE} WORTHY, Button - K&Company: Wild Safron, Chipboard - Tim Holtz: Grungeboard, Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels

Precious Metal

2010-08-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

It was the morning of my daughter's friend's Birthday Party and we had yet to decide on a gift for her. Normally this would involve a trip to the local toy store for a new Barbie, Bratz doll, or Littlest Pet Shop toy that these girls tend to favour. But on this occasion I thought it would be fun to create something for once, especially since I have a room loaded with supplies for all types of crafts. So here's what we came up with:

Felicity and I created this tin together with her adding all sorts of sparkly finishing touches. Her friend likes to collect all sorts of trinkets so this tin would be a perfect place to keep her treasures. We also filled the tin with a hand crafted set of earings and necklace made by a friend in her favorite colours. The papers are My Mind's Eye - Magnolia Starbirst "Sisters" collection and the glitter is Ranger - Tim Holtz Distressed Stickles. Ribbons are Stampin' Up and American Crafts and gems were also unkown.

This is a project I created for my husband when he first started working out of town. I wanted something that would stand up to his wear and tear and would contain some treasured family photos for him as a momento while he's on the road.

I spray painted a cigar tin with a hammered gold metal finish and stamped the word 'family' with Staz On walnut coloured ink. I created a long accordian fold using an eleven inch strip and a six inch strip of gold Stampin' Up paper spliced together. I added metal accents from Stampin' Up's Hodge Podge kit and fussy cut floral accents from Basic Grey's Mellow 6" pad.

Felicity had written a special note to her Dad and created this drawing which I scanned and shrunk down to put inside the mini file folder under her picture. I used the computer to type her name on the tab at the top of the folder.

The flap that has a picture of Tristan weaving a willow fish net with his Grandpa contains a special message to his Dad also. It is always suprising what they will write when left to themselves. Each message was very touching and much more than I expected from them at that age.

A picture of Kieth's favorite toy was hidden in a pocket created behind the photo collage on the first page. He was thrilled when he recieved this gift and keeps it with him when he's on the road. With a new addition to our family (Isabelle), he says I have to make him another one that is up to date. Could be a good winter project.

Back From Summer Vacation in Nova Scotia

2010-08-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

What an incredible experience to see the other side of this beautiful and diverse country we live in. We had such a blast visiting in Nova Scotia and tried to see as much as possible in the short time we had to explore. Peggy's Cove was the first on our must see tour after arriving rather jetlagged at 11:30 am Maritime time. Taking the red eye is the only way to travel east I'm told, although not having slept a wink on the plane, I'm not so sure. The rocks are enormous out here, and have been placed by the iceburgs all over this province. Peggy's massive granite and crashing waves entertained us and the kids for at least a couple of hours. I stood and watched as the waves kept building and climbing up the boulders. A sign states that many have been injured or even killed by carelessly getting too close.

The beach at Summerville was our favorite spot to hang out were the warm river waters meet the icy briny ocean. There was an old train bridge that made for a great spot to dive in an float down the gental currents. The white sand of their beaches is so soft on the feet and Isabelle loved running it through her little fingers while filling sand buckets on the shore.

Kieth holding Isabelle on the wagonride at Ross Farm, a working historic farm in the interior of the province. Felicity talked the driver's ear off with her many questions.

We stopped at the "Look Off" (as locals call it) overlooking the Minas Basin on the Bay of Funday for some yummy icecream an a splendid view of the orchards and farms in the valley. The tide was coming in and slowly filling the basin which almost emptys completely at low tide.

Carter's Beach reminds me of the Carribean ocean with its clear teal coloured waters and white sandy beaches. But the water there is frigid and not swimmable, although Kieth and Tristan dove in to show off there Manlyness.

Lunenburg was full of History with all the beautifully maintained historic homes including this school that is still in use situated next to one of many local cemetaries. (Creepy!!) I loved exploring this colourful village on foot.

Kieth cooking our seafood feast of Lobster, Scallops, Muscles, Chicken and vegi Shishkabobs.

Felicity poses in front of this Nova Scotian tarten Lobster in the Halifax airport. Hope we can make it back for another visit!

1st Birthday Pics

2010-06-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

Like a little pink princess, Isabelle was the star of the show at her Birthday BBQ last weekend. The timing was perfect as her Nanny and Papa were in town as well as Leah so we were able to celebrate with them as well as our friends in town. She's wearing an adorable little outfit picked out by her proud Daddy which matches her sucky perfectly.

The sun shone all day and there was hardly a mosquito in sight. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It was so nice to have family and friends gathered together, an event that proves more difficult as more of us move further and further apart. I can't believe my baby is already a year old!! :o(

These blue and pink cupcakes disappeared quickly with the children gobbling two each. I even made the icing from scratch this time, not bad for the non-baker LOL!!

Isabelle very daintily picked off and ate all of the icing from her pink cupcake, licking off her fingers carefully between each bite. Her buddy Levi ate only the cake and skipped the icing, they could have shared one between them.

Once she was done with the icing she decided to play with the cake that was left behind. So much for being dainty. She spread icing all over her tray and filled her bib to the brim.

Isabelle's first steps !!

2010-06-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

Just as I thought she would never walk, she took those first akward steps on the eve of her first birthday. She was a little slow to get moving but gained momentum with each step. This new game of walking to her sibblings continued through to bedtime. With my other two, once they figured this out there was no more crawling. But Isabelle has tired of this new game and is back to familiar ground scooting around on her bottom. With some encouragement we can get her to take a step or two, but she is not eager to walk as her sibblings were. OK by me as she is growing up way too fast anyways.

April Layouts

2010-05-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of quick layouts that I've had waiting to post for some time now, but between having company for a couple of weeks and household renos I haven't been able to sit down to my computer for quite some time. Hopefully all is back to normal now and I can do a little more with my blog in the next few days.

I mounted the Fish stickers onto cardstock and cut them out so I could raise them with dimensional adhesive and added distressed stickles for some texture.

Supplies: Stickers - Hallmark Cards Inc, Patterned Paper - Prima Marketing Inc "Animal Bash-Animal Babble", My Minds Eye "Starbirst-Girly Girl", Tim Holtz Distressed Stickles "Spiced Marmalade", "Shabby Shutters"; Ribbon - Stampin Up "Only Orange", Alphabet Stickers - Stickopotomus

The picture of Felicity sound asleep in her highchair is one of my favorites. She played for some time with her toys and then just crashed when I tried to feed her some lunch.

The page looks a little rumpled as it was one that was hit by water during the flood in my hobby room, so I just destressed everything to make it look intentional. I love these cute Lollipop embelli's and have wanted to utilize them on a layout for quite some time, and this Sketch by Jana Eubank has provided the perfect opportunity to play with these circle flowers.

Supplies: Buttons - Making Memories, Journaling Note - Prima, Patterned Paper - BG "Urban Prairie", Cardstock - Unknown, Cricut Cartridge - Ashlyn's Alphabet, Sketch by Jana Eubank, Creative Memories Cirlce cutter and Circle punches

Blogaversary WINNER!! and some Cards

2010-04-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I took a little longer than I should have to announce the winner of that awsome kit, but the hubby came home for a bit and threw everything for a loop! So without further ado......(drumroll)..........
The winner is:

kmassman said...

What a beautiful kit! Thanks for a chance to win it! Sorry to hear about your water disaster in your craft room. Loved your recent Easter post! Now I am just going to have to try that flower!!! I'd seen it before, but seeing your layout really makes me want to do it!!!

Congradulations!!!!! I hope you enjoy this great kit and perhaps after you've had a chance to play you could post a link in my comments to something you've created! Please email me at arndtg@hotmail.com with your mailing info and I will be sure to send that off to you right after the Easter Weekend :O)

Now on to some crafty goodness.

A couple of weekends ago, my Stampin' Up gal Wendy held a card making class for a few friends and I thought I would share what we made with all of you.

This fun flower card uses some of Stampin' Up's rubons as well as thier new edge punch. I love the glittery patterned paper and the dazeling diamonds on the flowers.

I love the bright cheery colours of these cute cards. We used punch art to make the Sundays.

I love the new bird punch by Stampin' Up. I think my favorite thing about the new punches is how they fold flat for storage!

This slider card was my favorite. I love the green and purple colour combo, and using a plastic bag to create this fun mechanism was so great. Any time we can recycle I'm all for it. I'm more of a scrapbooker than a card maker, so I really enjoy the opportunity to create a few cards with some friends (plus it's the only time I get to escape the kids for a couple of hours). Love my children, but every once in a while it's nice to have a little me time. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and takes the time to appreciate the time with your loved ones.

Happy Belated Blog Giveaway!!

2010-03-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Now that everything's cleaned up and my scrap room is back to normal, I thought this would be a great time to celebrate the birth of something that has connected me to a world of wonderful talented people who give to me so much in inspiration and encouragement. I started this blog March 15 of last year and have loved being able to share my life and creativity with friends, family, and so many others out there in the blogasphere. To help celebrate I would like to give a little something back in the form of a giveaway!

I've purchased two of these fabulous kits from Love Is In The Details. One for myself, and one to share. All you need to do to be entered is to leave me a comment on this post! For a second chance to win, advertise my giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post. Then put your blog address in your comment so I can check it out. Closing date is Wednesday March 31, 2010. Good luck everyone, and thanks for celebrating with me :O)

xoxo

Glynis

Water, Water Everywhere.........

2010-03-16T16:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day I was to celebrate my Blogiversary! I had great plans for what I would post, and maybe even attempt a giveaway, but.......
I was sitting at my computer planning my next post, my little girl sound asleep in my lap when I heard an awful sound. My husband had been polishing up my Jeep and was planning on washing off some of the salt and road dust that had accumulated these last couple of months. My poor vehicle is rather neglected when he's not around to take care of it. Anyway...I heard the outside tap turn on (it's quite noisy) and then I heard the sound of spraying water. It should be noted that the plumbing for this line is located in the unfinished ceiling of my craft room. I ran in only to see my photos, papers, albums, ect spread out on my counter, water showering down upon everything. I yell for My husband to turn off the water and he does so quickly. Too late....the damage is done!!
At this point I decided it would be a good idea to go upstairs, sit down and take a deep breath (or two) and give myself a chance to calm down. Meanwhile Kieth went down to clean things up and asses the damage. I decided not to go down there again that night. The next morning after reasurances that everything hadn't been destroyed I ventured down to see if there was anything left to salvage and found several sheets of warped papers, but most of the photos were intact. My current album page was also a little warped but the photos weren't damaged thankfully as they were origionals 35mm film (no negs!). Deep sigh...
Needless to say, the Blogiversary had been forgotton. Still working on clean up but will have some LOs from a fun get together this weekend to post later.

Back Online And Playing Catchup!

2010-03-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's been over 2 weeks since my last blog entry thanks to my recent internet upgrade. I was offered a much speedier internet package, so of course I said yes thinking of all the blog hopping I could do in a much shorter amount of time. But instead of racing around on the web, my browsing came to a complete slowdown, and uploading even the smallest files was impossible. Sooo..... after many frustrating mornings, I called them up and explained my situation and they sent the tech out today. Yeah!! I'm back in business, finally enjoying the speedy browsing I was promised, but now I have a lot of catching up to do.

Speaking of catching up, I thought I was finished with Feb and March 2002 photos and could finally move on to April, but as I was flipping through the next batch of photos I stumbled across a few more that I just couldn't leave behind. So here is a quick layout I made to feature the Ice Rink my Dad made in his back yard with Tristan one year. The story was the focus of this layout and so I looked to Ali Edwards' article in Creating Keepsakes May 2009 edition for inspiration.

Ice Skates: Cricut Cartridge "Winter Woodlans", Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye "Wild Asparagus - Brothers", Cardstock: Unknown

Easter Layouts

2010-03-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

It was kind of nice to be able to work on some Easter layouts in the springtime instead of at Christmas or Halloween, even if it's Easter 2002. The bright, cheerfull colours made the cloudy, grey day feel a little less gloomy. Sorry about the poor picture quality. I was having trouble with lighting and didn't want to use the flash as it tends to wash everything out.

I found the tutorial for this Dalia flower here. Helen Croft has many fabulous flower tutorials on her website. I didn't know there were that many types of flowers out there. The satin outfit Felicity is wearing in the top left corner of the layout is one that Doris picked up and my Mom trimmed with lace and embroidered a heart on the front of it. It looks very old fashioned and could be something my great grandmother would have worn.

I tried to make this layout a little more masculine by incorporating more blues and greens, although the pink still managed to sneak in there. I drew in the stitching lines and outlined the flowers with a white gel pen, and the journaling and "Happy Easter" were done on the computer in Photoshop Elements.

Easter Baby:
Patterned Paper: Imaginisce "For Peep's Sake - Color Me Happy", "For Peep's Sake - Tiptoe Through Tulips", BoBunny "Alissa", My Minds Eye "Magnolia - Starburst", Cricut Cartridge: Storybook, Cardstock: Stampin Up

Happy Easter:
Patterned Paper: BoBunny "Alissa", Imaginisce "For Peep's Sake - Tiptoe Through Tulips, Border Punch: Martha Stewart, Buttons: Close To My Heart

Glimmer Mist Layout Inspired by Jana Eubank

2010-03-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Jana Eubank an incredible designer for Tattered Angels created a layout that just blew me away using Glimmer Mist and a stensil. I just had to create a layout using her page for inspiration, and here is what I came up with.

I used my cricut and a whole punch to create my stensil instead of a purchased one. I just loved the effect of outlining the finished shape as Jana did and so I scraplifted that as well. Check out her blog From My Feathered Nest to see all her fabulous work as well as the origional layout.

I used the Cricut to create most of my embellishment, and layered rubons with the diecut images and some chipboard images as well. This is a much busier style of layout than my usual but I love the overall effect. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was that the paper I used as the background was not overly thick and warped a bit from the moisture of the glimmer spray. I tried drying under a stack of magazines, but this didn't seem to help. Since I'm using the Creative Memory style book I had to adhere the page to another one so this helped a bit.

Rub-ons: Stampin Up, Patterned Paper: Close To My Heart "Daydream", Chipboard Accents: Basic Grey "Sugared", Cardstock: Stampin Up & Unkown, Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels "Coffee Shop", Cricut Cartridge: Storybook

To ALL My Valentine's

2010-02-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Isa Video

2010-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Isa is a going concern these days as she's discovered her ability to slide her way across the hardwood floors. The slippery surface once presented an obsticle as she couldn't keep her knees under her, but now she has discovered that she can walk with her hands and just slide her bottom making all my hard floor surfaces perfect for this technique.

I can't believe how quickly she's grown. At 8 months it's already hard to imagine the 6lb tiny bundle they presented to me at her birth. She's probably closer to 18lbs now and is turning into a little person. Yesterday she waved goodbye to her brother as he left for school, and she loves to repeat my name "Mom" whenever she wants something. I just wish I could slow time down and savor every single moment, but as hard as I try moments come and go, and my baby will grow just as my other two have.

No More Pancake Guilt!

2010-02-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

Every year I attend some terrific local fundraisers where all sorts of talented people auction off / raffle off some fabulous creations. When it comes to the raffles I never seem to win anything I put my tickets in for. This year I bought twice as many tickets and tried for Hat & Mitts, Hotel Suites, Tea Basket just to name a few. But again, no luck. (I don't mind really, the money is for a good cause).

But every year my companions at my table feel sorry for me and send me home with one of the table centers as a consolation prize. Each year it's a different recipe but the idea is the same - just add eggs, milk and oil. You know the kind I mean, those cute little jars that someone has lovingly filled with a mixture of ingredients to create a cullinary delight in just a few steps. I don't know what it is, but I never seem to find the right time to add those ingredients necessary to complete my part of the mixture. It used to be my Mom was around to mix them up for the kids while I was at work after she noticed it had been sitting there for quite some time. But with them moving to the other side of the country my guess is she won't bail me out this time.

When I opened my cupboard this weekend, the jar was still there waiting for me (the fundraiser was in December). It was taunting me saying, "Mix me up, it can't hurt as I'm a combination of all things yummy!"

Chocolate Cherry Pancakes, how could you go wrong?! The guilt got the best of me this time, so I pulled it out of the cupboard, took off that cute little mixing spoon and poored the ingredients into a bowl. I added the neccesary egg, milk, and oil, and stirred it all together. Once in the pan, I could smell all that pancake goodness and was eager to try this new concoction.

And for once I didn't even burn them!

The Pancakes were a hit. I mean how could you go wrong with cherries and chocolate? (I'm not condoning chocolate for breakfast) I even had some and I'm not a pancake person!

So the next time I'm handed one of these cute little jars, I will not hesitate to open it up and try what could be a tasty treat. Although I'm hoping I will win one of those fundraising draws one year. But at least there will be no more Pancake Guilt!

Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge With Stripes

2010-01-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Back with another colour challenge by Embellish Magazine , and this one was way out of my relm with the colour PURPLE arggg!! So of course I had to try it. The problem was, did I own anything in the colours? Well, with a little borrowing from a friend, and a little digging in my scrap drawers I found the perfect papers for this Challenge.

Here is the inspiration:

And here is my take on this:

I added a warming photofilter to the photo to make it work with these colours and really like how it turned out. I just love this page and think purple has moved from dreaded to one of my favorite. I can hardly wait to move on to the next challenge as they keep me motivated to get more of my scrapbooking done.

The sentiment is one of the new stamps by Papertrey Ink, Inside & Out: Baby. I wrote the word 'Precious' using Tim Holtz Distressed Stickles Walnut Stain.

The patterned paper is from Stampin Up, and the flower is Prima - Fleur Danseur Releve. Also used Prima - Say it in Pearls Swirls Cream. Cardstock - Unknown.

My Layout for My Mind's Eye - Challenge #7: Three Photos

2010-01-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

I'm on a roll!! This is the second challenge I've managed to accomplish in the last little while, and for a Mom of a rather demanding little baby that's pretty good. This was a rather difficult challenge for me as I'm new to My Mind's Eye products and was rather suprised to find I aready owned some in my stash (although I don't know why I was so suprised as their products are gorgeous!) The layout had to contain 80 percent of their products and I think I managed that using three different papers to create most of the details and embellishments in this layout.

Here is the sketch they provided:

Here is my interpretation:

These orange circles were punched from one of the patterned papers in the Magnolia collection I used for this layout.

This little dragonfly shimmers with a combination of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists.

Products Used:

My Mind's Eye - Sundance"Our Sweet Home" Stripe #MG1090, Sundance"A Day In The Life" Dots/Lime #MG1077, Serene"All Together" Pattern Stripe/Teal #MG1013

Dragon Fly - Tim Holtz Grunge Board, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Title - Cricut Cartridge Jubilee

Teal & Cream cardstock - Unknown

2010-01-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

I was over visiting a talented Canadian scrapbooker, Melanie, where I spotted this fab kit. So I rushed on over to 'Love is in the Details' and purchased one for myself, and a week later my favorite pizza box arrived in the mail containing all these goodies!! Now I have to get busy and create :O)

I discovered a new blog and had to share it with you. They feature some fabulous projects and right now are offering an awsome giveaway!! So hop on over to Paper Popsicles and check them out and all this could be yours:

Embellish Hearts Colour Challenge :: Sponsored by The Cutting Cafe

2010-01-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

I was visiting one of my favorite blogs when I spotted this challenge over at Embellish Magazine Blog. I often plan to participate, but can never seem to finish any projects within the specified time frame (which happens to be tonight!!). This time I was determined to complete this challenge as I loved the idea of starting off the new year with something not Christmassy.

So here is my final project using the three colours specified and including at least one heart. I had a lot of fun completing this challenge and hope it is one of many :O)

The background paper is by Bobunny - a gift of love, and the paper stripe is My Mind's Eye - Magnolia which I puched one edge using a Martha Stewart edge punch. The photo matt is Gingham by Creative memories. All the hearts were cut using the Cricut - Hannah Montana cartridge. The title is Recollections Epoxy Alpha stickers, and the journal sticker is Remarks by American Crafts.

Favorite Moments 2009 Captured on Film

2010-01-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

I know it's a day late, but hey that's the way she goes! I wanted to do a layout featuring some of my favorite moments from each month captured on film. There were so many it was difficult to choose. I also detailed more favorites on a tabbed sheet slipped behind the photos. I've typed that list below for those who care to read. Sorry about the photo quality, we've had a lot of cloudy days, and one of the lights in my craft room have burnt out.

The Title was cut out of Basic Grey's Urban Prairie paper line using the Hannah Montana Cricut cartridge. The tab is also Urban Prairie. The ribbon is by WeR Memory Keepers called Vintage Brass, and the button is Close To My Heart.

My Top Stories 2009

Mom & Dad moved to NS

Discovered Blogging and

started Northern Scrapper

Dad's Uncle Bev Richman and

Aunt Thelma Rose passed away

Gave Birth to Baby

Isabelle

Mom & Dad came for Xmas -

First Lobster in 15yrs &

First time Bowling in 20yrs

Major News Events 2009

H1N1 hit North America

Canadian economy slowly

recovering

My Top Movies (In Video)

Julie & Julia

Ice Age 3 The Dawn of The

Dinosaurs

District 9

Knowing

My Top Music 2009

Lady Gaga – Poker Face

Kings of Leon – Use

Somebody

Linkin Park – New Divide

Nickelback – If Today Was

Your Last Day

Pitbull – I Know You Want Me

Jason Miraz – I'm Yours

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T21:47:00.000-08:00

For my last post in 2009 I wanted to complete a layout I'd been working on the past couple of days (I get to scrapbook in 5min intervals due to the demands of my 7 month old). I normally put the focus of the layout on the photos, but in this case it was more about playing with shapes. I dragged out my Creative Memories shape cutters to create the hexagons which I placed in a circle to mimic the snowflakes cut using my Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge. The blue and white by itself felt a little flat, so I added silver embossing to the edge of the hexagons and a couple of rinestone gems for a little sparkle. While digging out the embossing powder I tripped on my acrylic paint, so I decided to dust them off and paint a chipboard snowflake from Stampin Up that had been hiding in my stash for some time.

I really loved working with these photos as it reminds me of a time when my family all still lived here together. Now that we are so spread apart the importance of capturing memories such as these has become far more apparent. We always take for granted that what we are blessed with today with still be here tomorow. As I enter the New Year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the treasured memories of the year past and be grateful for all that I've had. As for the next year, my number one resolution is to live more in the moment and appreciate what is here right in front of me while I have the luxury of doing so.

I Won!!!!!!!!

2009-12-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

I just had to share the fact that I won the 10th day of Christmas prize over at the Bo Bunny Blog ! I'm just thrilled to be recieving an assortment of cardstock to create with in the new year. I just want to wish everyone a new year filled with friends old and new, family, and creative inspiration. And I want to thank those that have visited my blog these past few months (I'm still a new blogger) and I appreciate all the comments left.

2009-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

I covered a little orange box in white paper and inked it with walnut distressing ink then spritzed it with glimmer mist. I then added a snowflake patterned paper by Basic Grey. Using my Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge I created the layered "Season's Greetings" and glittered snowflakes. (Martha Stewart glitter)

This was to hold a few cookies baked by Kieth to give as a little something for my neighbour who always sends us some baking.

These Sock Monkeys were too adorable to resist. I discovered them at our local craft fair this November and ordered one for each of the girls. They have thier names stitched on the bottoms, and I was able to chose which socks I wanted them made from. You can find them on Mrs B's Website.

I love this picture of Isa in this little hat that came with the snow suit from Grandma and Grandpa. The little bear was a gift from her brother Tristan.

On Christmas Eve we heard the Fire Truck Sirens and looked out the front porch to see a neighbour's truck in flames. The flames were so high the coating melted off the power cables above and they had to shut off her power. Thank goodness no one was hurt. Our stellar fire crews had the flames douced in a short while and left an icy skating rink in the road. This was rather exciting to watch and gave Kieth and I a break from our Christmas wrapping.

Snow Shoeing Boxing Day

2009-12-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

Kieth and Tristan recieved Snow Shoes for Christmas this year and spent the late afternoon on Boxing Day taking a trip down to the lake with the dogs.

The snow was quite fluffy and little Kiara had some difficulty managing it, so Tristan the protector picked her up and carried her to the crustier snow on the Lake's surface.

Tristan stands by what I call Ice Volcanoes, created by stumps on the lake's shore. Chewy and Kiara are thrilled to have such a vast area to run and play on.

An opening in the ice created by a small creek. Boys are always drawn to running water. Only the frigid air keeps them from splashing and playing in it.

The trees look etherial all covered in frost with the moon peeking out from behind.

A little bit of Christmas

2009-12-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos from Christmas morning #2. As we had company in from Nova Scotia that would only be with us till the 22nd of December, we celebrated Chritmas twice. These pictures are a compilation of both Christmas's. The ornament was made for me by my daughter Felicity in her grade 3 class. I love my owl tree topper. He sits as though he's watching over all the woodland creatures below.

These are the photos we took for our Christmas cards and a family photo for Christmas presents. I love the cream backdrop with the kids photos, but found the contrast too strong in the second photo with our dark cloths. Will have to work on another one this spring.

Critters from the East

2009-12-20T14:43:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad flew out for the holiday carrying a box full of live Lobsters as a Christmas gift for the family. It was quite the experience cooking these critters as I had never done so myself before. I couldn't put them in the pot myself, and no one else wanted to either, so Dad got the short straw and had to do the deed.

We took them out of the box and placed one on the floor as we checked to make sure they were still alive. Merlin investigated the new invaders, but didn't get too close as he recognized the danger of coming in contact with those giant claws.

Tristan holding one of the Lobsters. He was trying to scare his sister as she didn't want to be anywhere near them.

This critter was quite a lot of work! We wore gallons of Lobster juice while trying to crush the hard shells of the claws with the knife sharpener. Pieces of shell and juice went from one end of the kitchen to the other, and covered one of the Christmas balls hanging from the Chandelier. This was an adventursome dinner that is best served out of doors I think!!

Christmas Card Challenge - Trigger Tuesday at Moxie Fab World

2009-12-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

I way over visiting Moxi Fab World when I spotted this cute simple card made by Carolyn King based on this platter from Crate and Barrel. You can see her creation here

So I decided for the fun of it to see what I could whip up in the 5 mins that Isabelle would entertain herself on her play matt. I used my Cricut to cut the snowman, and just freehanded the tree. The gold balls are small gold brads. The patterned paper is Holly Jolly Dotted Line by Doodlebug Designs which I've had hiding in my stash for a few years now. The style of this card is a little more simplistic than I would normally do, but I think it's rather cute and will make a great teacher card for my 8 yr old Felicity's teacher.

I feel like it needs a sentiment or greeting and may add one after, but I love the fact that I actually created this in about 5 minutes!

Inspired Blueprints: Sketch 37

2009-12-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

With very little time to create, I needed a little help to get started and finished rather quickly. Inspired Blueprints sketch blog was just what I needed to get me on my way. I've never worked from someone elses sketches before, but was rather pleased to be able to actually complete something as I didn't spend hours coming up with a layout for specific photos, rather I found photos to fit the layout.

So here is my interpretation of this sketch which can be found here.

The Two Hearts and Title were cut using the Wild Card cartridge from Cricut, and the Border using Accent Essentials. The Patterned paper is Olivia by Glitz design, and the green glitter is by Martha Stewart.

This was so much fun, I plan to try using some more sketches to catch up on the mountains of photos just waiting to be scrapbooked. I'll save those extra special pages for when I have time to sit and ponder! LOL!!

Mini Album Project

2009-11-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Felicity helped me cut and glue the back covers of her Birthday mini albums created for herself and each of her guests. We wrapped cereal boxes cut to 6" x 6" with black cardstock for the backside, and cut a 6"x6" piece of the patterned cardstock to cover the other side and hide the black paper edges.

We used the Bind-It-All to create these minis which had 6 patterned cardstock pages. The front covers were 6"x6" pieces of acrylic which I inked with black Staz On ink and then added some cool swirly rubons.

I just loved how they came out! I printed some digital journaling spots which I colour matched by adjusting hue in photo elements. I would have liked to pre-cut some photo matts for the girls, but just ran out of time.

The girls all loved them and had a blast decorating them. It also made my life easier as they were occupied for quite some time rather than running around mad, hopped up on pink icing!

Baby Thank You Card

2009-11-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

It only took a couple of weeks, but I finally finished and mailed this card to my Aunt and Uncle who sent the most adorable outfit for Isa.
I used double sided adhesive to create the glitter border around the Thank you cardstock tag, and white glue to create the glitter dots on the flowers. The stamp is by Close To My Heart, and the border punch is by Martha Stewart.

A Day To Remember

2009-11-11T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today as I finished of my poppy wreath, I thought about all those who'd been lost. Not just in war, but also those so dear to me lost to illness. I thought it important to pay tribute to a day that many just consider another "day off" and have forgotton the importance of this commemoration. So in the center of my home I've hung this wreath to help my family remember those who've sacrificed their lives so we may live ours.

REMEMBRANCE DAY.

Remembrance Day is here again,

On this day we remember all those who were slain.

The ones they left behind have endured much sorrow and pain.

But rest assured,

the whole world knows those brave ones didn't die in vain.

The poppies that you see people wear,

Are there to show you they still care.

We open our hearts so that we can share,

A moment of silence, and offer a prayer.

To all the soldiers who died saving our country.

~~By Patti Joyce.~~

Halloween

2009-11-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

We had an awsome Halloween week when Grandma came for a visit. Isabelle who can often make strange, immediately recognized her as family and was all smiles for her Grandma.

We had great plans of taking many walks and getting loads of exercise while she was here, but the weather was not cooperating. We had a few days of sunshine but mostly slushy wet weather. This meant spending more time in the craft room sewing Halloween costumes and creating decorations for the house, including a black feather wreath for over the fireplace.

The 10 days went too quick and before I knew it we were saying goodbye at the airport and now count the days till Mom and Dad come visit in December. Here are a few Halloween picks:

It snowed a foot of snow the day before Halloween. Needless to say, I spent an hour digging ourselves out of the driveway that morning, and my graveyard took on a less macabre feel with all that white fluffy stuff.

Tristan found this Salemander in the snow outside near the graveyard. He ran in to show his Grandma and I his new pet. Of course we told him he had to release it as it would not survive indoors. Brrr....I hope he had a winter coat somewhere.

Tristan's friend James was helping him figure out his suspenders. It was rather amusing to see them struggling with them. The final decision was to attach the clips to his front and back pockets. Hey...whatever works LOL!!

Tristan's costume was a chainsaw dude from his favorite Resident Evil 4 video game, and his friend was a Gangster. Felicity was a goulish corps bride. I was rather pleased with how her costume turned out. Mom and I put glitter on both her Boo-quet and her veil and mom tucked in a couple of mice and spiders. Tristan's costume was splattered with a little Cranberry crisp re-inker to look like the blood on his chainsaw. He was rather disappointed that many thought he was a scarecrow!? I've never seen a scarecrow packing a chainsaw before.

Grandma borrowed my witches hat to take Felicity and her friend Summer Trick-or-treeting. They made quite a trio all dressed in black. The girls lasted about an hour and came home with half a bag of candy, while the boys stretched it right until the fire works returning with a pillow case full to the top. Afterward we went to Tracy's to enjoy the Fireworks and goodies she prepared for us. A fabulous end to a Spooktacular night!

Grandma painted and carved the cat pumpkin inspired by Martha Stewart's Halloween magazine, and Felicity drew a Bat on her pumpkin. Tristan opted out. Growing up so fast, he's not as interested in "kid stuff" anymore.

Felicity's 8th Birthday

2009-10-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Brrr.....It's -14 c this sunny Thanks Giving morning. What happened to all that unusually warm weather we were having this October? A perfect day for catching up on my Blog though. With Tristan entertaining Isabelle and Felicity at a sleepover, I figure I better take advantage while I can.

Felicity's 8th Birthday was a success with the girls enjoying the craft projects Felicity and I planned for them, and they were just thrilled with the hand stamped Goody Bags stuffed full of girly things. We had Felicity's Favorite Chocolate Cupcakes with multicolored icing and sprinkles of course.

Although this was supposed to be a no presents party, each of the girls insisted on getting her a little something. They sat on the floor and played spin the horn to see who's present she would open first. She was ecstatic to receive a grey Webkins kitty to replace the one she lost on top of the school. She also received a lovely bracelet and necklace set in her favorite color - purple!, and an adorable tin full of special goodies and trinkets.

These girls are so goofy! I couldn't get a group shot with all of them smiling, as they were determined to wear their party hats on their faces. They look like a group of Dodo birds.

Each of the girls had a different bead kit from which they created necklaces or whatever else they could come up with. It was fun to see thier individual creativity as no one copied the pattern that was included in each kit.

With more stickers and embellishments than any girl could want, they had a blast decorating and personalizing the mini albums Felicity and I made for them. I took pictures throughout the party and printed up pictures on my little printer for them so they would have photos for their albums. Some of the girls used the albums for a diary, using stickers to put the name of a cute boy they like on the page. Lots of giggling and whispering at the kitchen table.

After the parents collected these party goers, Isabelle passed out for a much needed afternoon nap, and I sat back to survey the damage. Cake crumbs everywhere, and packaging and paper all over the kitchen table. But over all there was little cleanup, and most important, the afternoon had been a success!

Fall Splendor

2009-10-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

As Autumn here in the north is such a short season it would be a crime not to enjoy the bug free and splendid moderate temperatures this season has to offer. It is in fact my favorite season! This is the season of Turkey and Cranberry sauce, Ghosts and individually wrapped chocolates, Golden leaves, and crisp frosty mornings.

The kids and I spend many of these beautiful fall afternoons hiking through various trails surrounding our town. The dogs especially look forward to these walks as it means off leash as there are rarely anyone else to encounter on our trails. This little lake is one of my favorite this time of year as the trail is easy enough for the kids to walk and long enough for me and my dogs.

Chewy and Kiara took great pleasure in diving into the lake for a drink of fresh water and then running past our legs soaking us in the process. At one point Kiara disappeared into the grassy shoreline and I could here yelping. When Tristan went to investigate, he found she had fallen in what looked like a bear den or a beaver's hole. After that she stayed close always making sure I was there before venturing further down the trail. I was sure relieved that nothing came out of that hole besides my fuzzy white mongrel.

Felicity is always trying out new poses for the camera!

Tristan picked these flowers for the photo and waved them around in front of Isabelle. She found this rather hilarious and giggled each time he moved them. I couldn't resist filming this, but forgot that I had the camera in portrait position so unfortunately it ended up sideways and I have no idea how to flip it.

Look Mom, I'm sewing again!

2009-10-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

Although I have yards and yards of fabric, and all the tools any seamstress could need, I have not had the urge to sit down at my sewing machine for a long time. That is until today when Isabelle kept falling sideways as I tried to sit her down on the couch. No matter how many pillows I propped around her, the end result was always the same.

I had seen pillows like these in catalogues before, and thought to myself, "this couldn't be that difficult to make, why not just sew one?!" And so this was the end result.

The pillow ended up a little skinnier than I originally planned, but it pretty much works as intended. It also made a great nursing pillow when turned around. Who knows, maybe this will spark future projects. In the mean time, I'm going to make my 8Th attempt in the last three weeks to finish an Easter layout I've been working on. If only I were a night owl, it would make it so much easier to get things done. But as the clock is ticking, I better get moving or I will be off to bed without having done anything.

Tourist In My Own Town

2009-09-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

Since Daddy's working and Big Brother's at a friends house, my girls and I decided to take a walk and enjoy another gorgeous sunny day. We brought our camera along just for fun and decided to play tourists in our own town. Isabelle slept soundly in her snuggly for the first half of the walk, so Felicity and I enjoyed some girl talk while we hike up the street to our main tourist attraction (LOL) The Worlds Largest Tree Crusher!

We met an interesting couple there from Vancouver Island who were up visiting friends. They had come back to the Tree Crusher in hopes of photographing a black bear that they spotted hanging around the day before. Apparently the wife had never seen a bear before. Felicity and I found this rather amusing after having lived in the north for so many years we've grown accustomed to spotting these fuzzy beasts on a regular basis. So we wished them luck and continued on our walk.

After we'd explored all there was to see inside our quaint little town, Felicity made the request to stop at her School Playground for a little bit. Isabelle and I watched Felicity monkey around for a while and then took a few turns on the slide. I think she enjoyed swinging with mommy the most, though my stomach wasn't so sure, I enjoyed the small breeze created by the swinging on this scorcher of a day.

A couple more turns on the slide, and we headed home for some well deserved Ice Cream.

Girlfriends at the Lake

2009-09-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend Tracy posted this great photo of us with my Mom and friend Leah at Morfee Lake and it reminded me of the great times we had together in the short years we lived in the same place and how lucky we were to have the opportunity to share those friendships. Tracy and I still live in the same town, but Mom and Leah have moved for employement opportunities. It always amazes me how quickly time passes and make me realize how important it is to live in the moment.

You can visit Tracy's blog at http://tracyswindowtomyworld.blogspot.com/

Kieth's 38th Birthday

2009-08-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

I wanted to bake Kieth a cake for his birthday, but since he wouldn't be here to eat it, and the last thing I need is a cake I thought I would wish him a happy birthday and make a picture of a cake for him instead. We will have to wait a week till he comes home for the real thing. This will be the first time in 20 years that he has had to work on his birthday, (as he has reminded me several times). As I only spoke to him briefly early this morning, I hope it turned out to be a good day for him. You never know how things will go on "the Patch".

With so many birthdays in the last few days (friends, family, Felicity's friends), I felt inspired to sketch out and create a few birthday cards. Unfortunately, I've only had time to complete one so far but am optimistic that I will have time for the others later this week as Isa's nap schedule seems to be back on track.

This first card is rather simple, but I like the colours and whimsical design in Basic Grey's paper pack and didn't want to distract from that by cluttering up the canvas with too many embellishments.

For the Birds

2009-08-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we enjoy most about having the garden is the many visitors we get each season. There are so many birds, bugs and small furry creatures that visit us and often I never think to pull out the camera.
These beautiful birds were photographed by my son, Tristan while we were sitting enjoying a warm summer afternoon on the patio. The males had such intense yellow color, but were much more skittish than the females and therefore difficult to photograph.

I wanted to be sure that I existed along with the rest of the family in photo albums and also on my own blog so I took this self portrait of Isa and I to be sure of it. No makeup, and hair just washed and blow dried, but for a mother of three with a part time husband I think I look pretty good. These days 5 hours of sleep is a good night. But my days are much more relaxed now that I'm not working, and I find that I wake feeling much more rested even with the night feedings than I did when I had to wake up to that 5am alarm.

At 2 1/2 months, Isabelle weighs almost 12 lbs now! I can't believe how quickly she's growing. Next to Tristan and Felicity, she still looks so small, but I know it won't be long before she becomes a little girl so I spend long moments throughout the day just looking at her. Trying to memorize what it feels like to hold this precious baby in my arms. Knowing that it will be some time (I hope!) before grandchildren.
I'm trying to work on a mini album about the changes in the last year or so. One of the blogs that I read 'A Spoon Full of Sugar' http://www.jessicaacs.com/ is hosting a mini album challenge each month. This month features 2 choices; a simple shape album, or one that focuses on change. With so much having happened in recent months, I felt the latter would be simple. The project is due end of September, so we'll see if I can make that deadline. I only get moments in the day to myself and find myself catching up on the computer at night. But I've already sketched the layouts and shopped for the paper and embellishments, so I'm hopeful.

Life Lessons

2009-08-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this entry on a blog called Thynner.......All Tangled Up! http://www.thynner5.blogspot.com/ and thought each of her points was worth sharing with my friends and family so I decided to add the entry to my blog. (Hopefully she wouldn't mind) I know I need to remind myself of many of these lessons from time to time.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Challenge #8 ~ Life Lessons
My Dad sent me the following list of Life Lessons this morning and I wanted to share it with you. It is a wonderful, touching compilation that really makes sense in so many ways. This is something we should all read at least once a week Written By 90 year old Regina Brett.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone....
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch 5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26.. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Challenge: Use one of these Life Lessons on your next layout or card. There are so many to choose from. Email it to me at thynner5@yahoo.ca to earn a ballot for this month's blog prize.

Due: August 31stHappy Scrapping!

~Tara~

Isa and Her Big Brother

2009-08-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Isabelle loves hanging out with her big brother. She's always looking for him when she first hears his voice in the morning. Tristan thinks his new baby sister is "sooo cute" and enjoys holding and playing with her when she's not fussing. I don't know what I would do without his help. With Tristan and Felicity entertaining Isabelle, I am actually able to have a shower and shave my legs, and my house doesn't have that new mother disaster has struck decor.

I once worried that the age difference would be a problem, but I think big brother will be both protector and teacher to his new baby sister.

Isabelle does not enjoy the tummy time that is so important according to doctors to develop her arm and chest muscle strength so she quickly figured out how to roll over on to her back. Now every time I put her on her tummy, she immediately rolls over to where she prefers to be.

I can't believe how quickly she's changing. I want to savor every moment and stop her from growing into the little girl she will soon become. Her tiny "Agoo's" and little "Gee's" will soon be the endless chatter of a little girl who can talk about nothing for hours like her big sister Felicity.

He's At It Again

2009-08-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Tired of looking at the unused strip of yard down the side of the house, Kieth decided it was time to build that fence he'd been talking about for the last couple of years. So hear it is! He spent 5 of his 6 days off on this latest project, but the results are worth it. The fence looks great, and it gave us another place to hang some baskets of flowers.

I thought I would post a little video of Isabelle in her bouncy saucer so Grandma and Grandpa can see her in action.

Tristan is trying to make her laugh, but I'm not sure if all those noises are happy noises. Isa get board very quickly and won't stay in the seat for long. This is why Mommy has very little time to scrapbook! But that's OK as they are only little for such a short while. They grow so fast and move on with their own lives and then you have nothing but time to yourself. So I intend to enjoy her monopolizing my time while I can.

I'm woking on a digital mini album all about my life over the last 10 years. It's a lot easier to sneak in a few minutes here and there on the computer, and when you walk away, there is no mess to clean up.

July Update

2009-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Who knew having a baby would occupy so much of my time......Ha..Ha! I guess I should having already had two children. Not much time for creating or blogging, so I thought I'd sneak in a digital layout just to fulfill my creative needs.

Summer days are filled with quiet moments as Tristan and Felicity spend much of their time with their friends leaving Isabelle and I to wander through the garden, or playing in the living room when the sun gets to be too much for her.

My beautiful baby girl is over 10 lbs now, and is growing too quickly for my taste. Since she is the last one I wish I could slow down time. My other two have grown so much. I really notice it now with the new baby. Felicity always seemed so small to me, but not so much now.

As the weather is heating up, its time to head to the lake. We may do some swimming this weekend as the reports says it should hit 30 degrees this weekend.

Isabelle is lounging in her stroller while
Tristan and I play in the garden. Maybe a little sunshine and fertilizer will help her hair to grow as she was born with none on top!

Mother's Day Card

2009-05-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

I saw several adorable flowerpot cards on Splitcoast sometime ago and thought this Mother's Day would be a great opportunity to create one for my Mom. As an avid gardener, florist, and scrapbooker, I knew she would appreciate this whimsical creation.

The flower pot and cardstock flowers were all created with my new "Walk In My Garden" cartridge from Cricut. I used distressing ink to give the pot an aged mossy effect. The butterfly was one of Tim Holtz's Grunge Board shapes that I slathered with white glue and covered with two different shades of pink glitter.

As usual this project took me a lot longer than I expected it to, but I had a lot of fun making it.

Skating Year End

2009-05-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Felicity received a medal with many of her skating friends for all her effort this past year. Her coach Janet (left) recommends she moves up to Canskate B group for next year. It thrills me that she puts so much effort and dedication into anything she does and that she isn't easily discouraged. Both her coaches and school teachers often comment on what a pleasure she is to teach as she is always eager to learn.

As determined as I am to catch up on my scrapbooking, I fall further and further behind. This layout is one I've been playing with for about a week and finally completed. At this rate I should be done scrapbooking Felicity's baby photos just in time for Baby X to graduate high school!!

Getting Ready For Baby X

2009-04-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

My family and I went to the city for yet another doctor's appointment and while we were there we picked up a few things for Baby X. Most importantly an outfit to bring the baby home, which we neglected to think about when I had Felicity. It's hard to resist all those cute baby outfits, and the many toys and paraphenalia at The Bay and my favorite Maternity/Baby shop, but since we decided to wait to find out what we were having we could only pick up a few basics.

I love the diaper bag we picked up. It's water proof and is sprayed with something that helps prevent the escape of odours (very important) and mould. Plus it's not to girly, so Kieth can carry it without feeling like he's packing my purse. The Baby outfit had to be generic, and we found this great little set of outfits at The Bay with zoo animals all over it in oranges, creamy beige, and blue. And of course since Close To My Heart has a stamp set in there new catalog that coordinates perfectly, I'll have to get that for my Bringing home Baby pics.

I've managed to complete my mother-in-law's Mother's Day card early enough to mail out on time for once. I used my new Cricut cartridge - A Walk In My Garden to create the flowers on the front and inside. I also used my new glue pad to stamp the butterfly image and covered it with glitter. I was quite happy with how well the adhesive worked.

Disney On Ice

2009-04-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Felicity's Figure Skating Club presented Disney On Ice last weekend and as usual it was a great show. I've seen so much improvement in many of the skaters this year, especially my daughter. Here are some of the pictures I captured. The lighting was poor so they are not all that great, but the video footage turned out pretty good.

Felicity's Canskate A group performed a Hawaiian dance from the animated film Lilo & Stitch.

Toilet Paper Roll Album

2009-04-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

I saw the idea for this Toilet Paper Roll Album on UTube and couldn't resist creating one of my own. There are tags inside each of the flattened toilet paper rolls where I will add more photos or journaling.

I hope the Spring Theme will inspire the snow to melt so my grass and flowers will appear.

I used the Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel to make the green on the lady bug shine, and added touches of glitter throughout the album.

Now all we need is Spring to appear so that I can add photos.

Crazy Hair Day

2009-04-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

It was Crazy Hair Day at school, and so this was what we came up with. It could be crazy hair day every morning at my house! Felicity and I had fun coming up with this style.

2009-03-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Since the weather during Spring Break never resembles anything close to spring up here, I decided it would be fun to create a project for me and the kids to work on when it was snowing and blowing too hard to go outside. Felicity's was the only one that was actually completed during the break so the others will have to be posted later.

We had a lot of fun creating this Journal together. I did a lot of the assembly, but Felicity did the stamping and glueing. She also chose the colors and a lot of the layout.

Click on any of the images for a larger view.

This library pocket will be filled with a journaling tag and a photo. We didn't want to fill all the pages right away. As the year progresses we will finish the rest of the pages with photos taken throughout the year.

My First Post

2009-03-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

For my first post I thought I would introduce some of my first Digital Scrapbook pages since I haven't photographed any recent projects. I am working on it though. These were created in 2007 and even though I've created many projects since, as my friends love to complain, I never record them before I give them away. Sooo......I promise to start and place them on my blog so that I can share them with you all!