Where Did the Time Go?

>> Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I had such good intentions this year. 

I was going to make all of my Christmas gifts by hand.

I was going to fill my freezer with homemade cookies.

I was going decorate our house, inside and out.

I was going to make a gingerbread house with my daughter.

I was going to have a family portrait taken.

I was going to write a lengthy letter to family and friends, and actually mail it on time.

And I was going to post regularly on my blog.

Let's just say, I have not been successful in meeting any of my goals for this Christmas... and now Christmas is only three days away so I am pretty much out of time.

But, I am resigned to have a Merry Christmas anyway, even if it isn't perfect. 

I hope you will do the same - 

have a Joyous Holiday Season and a Blessed New Year. 
See you all in 2011.

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Wish You were Here!

>> Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I've been gone for a very long time, but I doubt many of you noticed my absence since Sarah has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the blog updated and bursting with new layouts and cards for you to enjoy! I won't bore you with the story of my adventures in Taiwan since you are here for the crafting, and not the stories . . .  lets just leave it at that I had a wonderful time in Taiwan, but am happy to be back with the family and happy to be crafting again.

Its a little hard to get into the Christmas thing this year as I've just come from a place where its still very much summery to me! We were still wearing shorts and t-shirts a few weeks ago and now I find myself in -20 weather suddenly, its been a little shock to my body! So instead of jumping right into making Christmas cards, I thought I would instead make a card for some of the wonderful people that I met while in Taiwan, that are still there, that I am missing quite a bit at the moment. Since its been a while since I created anything, I needed a little bit of help and turned to some of the old favourites for inspiration. Without further adieu, allow me to introduce to you the very first card I have made in almost 4 months, soon to be headed for the other side of the world . . . .


Supplies:
My Minds Eye Paper
Chatterbox Rub-Ons
Vintage Buttons and Ribbon
Misc. Chipboard "U"
MM Brad

Its good to be back!

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Sketch Mania 11.24

>> Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Can you believe it, only one month until Christmas?!?! Yay!

The only problem is that means I only have one month left to get ready for Christmas. 

Darn.

I am never going to get all my good intentions accomplished. 

But at least I now have all (three) of my Christmas cards finished. 

I find it helps to have low expectations of myself. 



SUPPLIES
Imaginisce patterned paper, stamped sentiment
American Crafts Pearl cardstock
Prima pearls

We'd love it if you would join us for this week's Sketch Mania, this is the last week to get entered for this month's prize.


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Get Sketchy #65

>> Friday, November 19, 2010

For this week's Get Sketchy card challenge, Bree gave a us a twist - instead of basing our card off of a sketch, we had to find an item in our home to use as inspiration.  

My house is a complete disaster at the moment, not very much inspiration to be found here.

But I did just buy this adorable canvas art piece for my son's room, so this is what I based my card off of:


I am not sure if it because I am tired from all the renovating or it is the paint fumes getting to me, but I am not finding myself very inspired when it comes to crafting.  

This is the best I could come up with:

SUPPLIES
Imaginisce patterned paper
Recollections kraft cardstock
K & Company glitter
Liquid embossing medium

Now, get over to the Get Sketchy blog and check out the rest of the design teams work, and the awesome prize that is up for grabs this week.

Oh, and if you haven't already, make sure you check out Bree's big announcement.


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Sketch Mania 11.17

>> Thursday, November 18, 2010

Oops, I am a little late in posting my project for this week's Sketch Mania challenge.

Story of my life lately. 

Oh well, better late than never I guess.

SUPPLIES
Fancy Pants patterned paper, chipboard
Recollections kraft cardstock
Unknown buttons
Art Warehouse stamp
Ranger ink


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Sketch Mania 11.10

>> Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Every year I have good intentions of sending out handmade Christmas cards to all of our friends and family; but I've never actually done it.

So this year I am admitting my realizations.  I'm going to make cards for a few select people, like my grandparents, and everyone else is going to get an email.

So, with the card I made for this week's Sketch Mania, I am halfway done my Christmas Cards.  Yay!

SUPPLIES
American Crafts cardstock
Imaginisce patterned paper, ribbon and stacked sticker

If you'd like to see the sketch, you'll have to head on over to DeeDee's blog because Blogger is refusing to upload it for some reason. 




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Sketchy Thursdays 11.04

>> Tuesday, November 9, 2010

So I was going to wait until the renovations in my scrap-room were complete to unpack my supplies, but thing aren't progressing as fast as I would like :(

So I took over our bedroom. 

Fortunately I have a very forgiving husband, because I have a lot of stuff...

Anyway, I made this layout for this week's Sketchy Thursdays challenge. 

SUPPLIES
My Mind's Eye patterned paper
Recollections kraft cardstock
American Crafts Thickers
Jenni Bowlin Studio cardstock stickers, buttons
7 Gypsy's Journaling card
Unknown trims

 
 

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Best Monday Ever!

>> Monday, November 8, 2010

I don't normally like Monday, but this one has been awesome so far, 'cause the mail lady brought me this:



 It's a kit from Studio Calico that I won over at the Creating Keepsakes blog a couple weeks ago.  Can't get much better than free scrapping supplies!


 They also sent me an add-on! It has Thickers, and my favorite Studio Calico stamp ever

I've been contemplating getting a subscription to Studio Calico's monthly kit club and I think this may have pushed me over the proverbial edge. This kit is fantastic!

And then, while I was signing for the package, she mentioned that she had also put a parcel in my mailbox, which turned out to be this 

This one wasn't free, but it was cheap since I snagged it from one of my favorite sites.

Yep, it's been a great day, even for a Monday. 

I hope yours is going as well. 


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Did You Miss Me?

>> Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Did anyone even notice that I was gone? 

Well I was.

Thanks to Blogger's auto post feature you may not have realized it, but I haven't been here in nearly a month.  I also haven't scrapped or done anything crafty in nearly a month.  

I think I'm in withdrawal. 

So why, you ask, have I been on a crafting hiatus?  

Because I moved.  Again. 

You might not remember (I totally understand if you just pop by quickly to check out the pictures and don't actually read my posts, though in that case, you probably aren't reading this either) but I moved from one province to another back in August.  Then, on October 15 we moved to another city 5 hours north.  

Two long distance moves in 10 weeks. Fun times.  

I won't bore you with the details, but we are {kind of} settled in our new place and working on making this house a home.  All things considered this move is a good thing for us, it's just the rapidity and unexpectedness of the whole thing that has been difficult. 

Hopefully we won't be going anywhere again for a long time.  

Except maybe to Mexico.  I could handle that. 

Anyway, I've already painted the kids rooms and we've ripped out the {gross, disgusting} carpet in what is going to be my *huge* scrapbooking room/office.  The gorgeous new hardwood is sitting in the garage just waiting for my husband to install it. 

I am so excited! 

Hopefully I won't have to wait long, but Mr. Vice President of Manufacturing and Operations (sorry, I'm kind of proud of him) is a bit busy these days so I am trying to avoid nagging. 

In the meantime, most of my scrappy supplies are still in boxes and it is going to take a while to get everything organized. I probably won't be posting much in the way of scrapping/cardmaking projects for a little bit longer... 

... but I might start subjecting you all to renovation photos.

  Let's just say it's a really good thing that my new house is less than 5 minutes from Home Depot.  


And Starbucks.



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Get Sketchy #61

>> Friday, October 22, 2010

Ok, I have to admit that this week's sketch had me stumped.  Apparently I am not a "circle scrapper" because whenever I see circles on a sketch my mind goes completely blank.

My first try at this sketch was to rotate it onto its side and make a tri-fold card shaped like a purse.  I was going to do a beaded wire handle and tie it closed with a bow as shown on the sketch. The only problem was I couldn't find my beads... or wire... so that idea didn't work.

In the end, I am sorry to admit that I wasted quite a bit of paper as I tried to put together a card that does justice to the sketch. My finished card is kind of sad given the amount of time and effort I put into it - just a small, simple, gift card holder.



SUPPLIES
Recollections cardstock
Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, chipboard sticker
Prima rhinestones
Studio G stamped sentiment
Ranger ink

Fortunately the rest of the design team did not suffer from any creative blocks this week - there is some gorgeous inspiration over at the Get Sketchy blog for your enjoyment (not to mention a fabulous prize). Hopefully I will recover my mojo in time for next week's challenge. 

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Sketch Mania 10.20

>> Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I had quite a pile of photos from our little anniversary getaway back in July so this week's sketch for Sketch Mania was perfect!  I was able to get six photos onto a single page layout - I actually tried for nine in order to stay closer to the original sketch, but it required cropping the photos a bit too small for my liking.


SUPPLIES
Bo Bunny patterned paper
Bazzil cardstock
American Crafts thickers
Basic Grey brads
Bella Blvd sticker
Unknown ribbon

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Get Sketchy #60

>> Friday, October 15, 2010

I have done quite a few layouts in the last little while, which means my scrap paper box is full and overflowing. I never know what to do about my scraps - on one hand I hate saving them because I find them so hard to keep organized (and un-organized things drive me crazy); but on the other hand I hate wasting anything, especially yummy patterned paper.  This week's Get Sketchy card challenge was perfect because it enabled me to use up the last little bits of some of my {current} favorite papers.


SUPPLIES
October Afternoon patterned paper
Jillibean Soup patterned paper
Bella Blvd patterned paper
Pebbles Inc ribbon
Recollections kraft cardstock
Studio G stamped sentiment

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Sketch Mania 10.13

>> Wednesday, October 13, 2010


I don't often have the opportunity to go browse at my local scrapbooking store since I usually have all three kids with me when I go shopping, but the other night I was able to go and spend some time practicing my sales resistance techniques. I did pretty good; I only walked out with about 40 sheets of paper... but since they were all on the sale rack ($0.25 each!) I don't feel too bad.  Most of it was "last year's model" but who cares, great paper is great paper... and when it is super cheap it is even better.

I just love this paper from October Afternoon's "Road Map" collection that I used for my layout for this week's Sketch Mania. I also found some awesome cloud paper from Pebbles Inc, I've been cutting it up and using it on everything lately!


SUPPLIES
October Afternoon patterned paper
Recollections kraft cardstock
Pebbles Inc patterned paper
American Crafts thickers
K& Co. mini alpha stickers



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Precious {Ugly} Toes

>> Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Ok, I realize that at first glance the title of this layout might seem odd... and actually I think my kids feet are incredibly cute and not in the least bit ugly.  But, our family has an unfortunate heritage of ugly toes and unfortunately for my kiddos, their feet are showing all the signs of continuing the family tradition.

 SUPPLIES
Cosmo Cricket patterned paper, journaling tag
Recollections kraft cardstock
Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas
American Crafts felt thickers
K&Company mini alphas
Unknown felt rick rack, ribbon, thread


As you can see, the kraft paper obsession continues...

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Three

>> Monday, October 11, 2010

If the two's are terrible, then I think that the three's are talkative... at least in our house.  It seems like in the past few months Isaac's vocabulary has tripled.  For the most part it is a good thing, I just wish he didn't feel the need to repeat everything he says 6 times.  Though he says "I love you" (well, technically "I lub you") now, and I am fine with him repeating that as often as he wants.


SUPPLIES
Studio Calico patterned paper
Jillibean Soup patterned paper
Pebbles Inc patterned paper, ribbon
Bella Blvd patterned paper
Recollections kraft cardstock
K& Co. mini alpha stickers
Colorbok chipboard number
Sassafras feltie
Unknown pins, staples 

I hope all my fellow Canadians are enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend. I'm not exactly spending mine the way that I would like to, but I am thankful for all the blessings in my life just the same...

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Get Sketchy #59

>> Friday, October 8, 2010

This week's Get Sketchy challenge sponsor is one of my favorite digi stamp designers - Tiffany Doodles!  She has so many great images available, it was hard to decide which ones to use for my project.  I finally settled on these sweet little birdies with their adorable little house and used them to create a cute "Welcome Home" card for some friends who are going to be moving into a new house in a few weeks.

SUPPLIES
Cosmo Cricket patterned paper
October Afternoon patterned paper
Recollections cardstock
Royal & Langnickel rub-ons
Tiffany Doodles digital images

I must admit that I have a slight obsession with kraft paper at the moment.  I'm not sure why, since I've not used it very much in the past, but almost all of my recent projects use kraft as the base.  It seems to go so well with just about everything...


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Sketch Mania 10.06

>> Wednesday, October 6, 2010

For this week's Sketch Mania assignment I completed another page from Ellie's baby album... the dreaded 8x8 album, lol.  Actually this sketch worked perfectly for my purpose and the page was really quick to make. 

What is not so dreaded is this month's prize from BigScrapDeal.com, it's a whole pile of scrappy goodies including stuff from Chatterbox, Pebbles Inc and 7 Gypsies.
 
SUPPLIES
American Crafts cardstock, patterned paper
foam shapes, 
Unknown ribbon, thread
CK Stenography font


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Sketchy Thursdays 9.30

>> Tuesday, October 5, 2010

I always knew that I like scrapbooking, but up until the past couple of weeks I did not realize just how therapeutic it is for me. It seems like the more chaotic our life becomes, the more productive I get in the scrapbooking department.

One of the many projects that I have completed in the past few days is an entry for this week's Sketchy Thursdays challenge. I am being a lazy blogger today, so if you want to see the sketch you'll have to click here.

SUPPLIES
Recollections kraft cardstock
Fancy Pants patterned paper
Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas
Colorbok chipboard number
Making Memories glitter paint, stain
Prima pearls
Unknown trim, pins, thread



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Get Sketchy #58

>> Friday, October 1, 2010

I have been wanting some sewing themed stamps for a while so I was very excited to find out who this week's Get Sketchy card challenge sponsor was - the wonderful folks over at  Stamping Dragon Designs who just happen to have a lovely set of sewing themed digis. 

This was such a fun card to make.  Since I was doing a sewing theme I tried to bring in as many genuine sewing elements as possible - fabric and stitching, a  sewing pattern and an old measuring tape that I put through my Xyron sticker maker.


SUPPLIES
Melissa Francis patterned paper, button
Recollections cardstock
McCall's sewing pattern
Stamping Dragon digital stamps
Unknown thread, measuring tape, fabric

You really should come over to the Get Sketchy blog to see the rest of the design team's creations, the girls came up with some gorgeous inspiration for this week's challenge. 

And now I am off to take my kids outside to enjoy this gorgeous, sunny fall day, 

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