Critters from the East

  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

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

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

  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

  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

  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

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

  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

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!

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.