Personal Paper Pieces

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

These last set of cards we put together for my son's teachers. Not sure which I love more...votes were evenly divided in my house! Enjoy your day and make sure to eat some chocolate :o)

Double Dip!

2012-02-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

I had wanted to make these photo cards at Christmas, but time ran away before I had time to get them done. These were posted on Jackie Topa's blog and are really amazing as a holiday wreath. But with a change of color scheme they became Valentine's cards. My local photo shop did not make small enough prints to fit in as well as Jackie's did. I will do some research on where to make smaller prints for the holidays. I also used a part of a card on Heather Summer's blog. The 'love you' with the heart punched out of a small circle was on a digital card she had made and posted. SO there you have my double dip!!

A Few Valentine's treats

2012-02-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

I had an extra owl that I showed in an earlier post and used it to make this very simple card. Not much here, but I still luv it. And check the inside....framed chocolates from Charlie's. I think I have mentioned that his chocolates are the best and so worth paying a little more for. They truly do stop the craving, but if I could only buy one piece!! We sent this Valentine to my nieces and nephews in cowtown...hopefully they will enjoy :o)

Not my Best

2012-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

I needed a thank you for some family in Calgary who had sent a gift to my son for his birthday. I love the idea of this card, but I need to work on my inking of embossing folders. I wanted the whole background yellow, instead of the smudgy look that has happened here. But I am posting anyway to show not all our ideas work out great and with practice we can make it all better. My son loved it all the same and would not grant me a 'do-over'. I guess what I tell him is getting through...."everything homemade is original in it's own way and the mistakes are what make these things sometimes more special"! SO glad he is listening :o)

A wh-owl lot of Love

2012-02-09T09:00:00.001-08:00

I came across these ever so cute owls on Heather Summers' blog. Unfortunately, I did not have the same sized punches and all the same paper choices. And so I made due with what I had on hand. The only issue was that the smaller circle punches did not make my paper piece quite big enough to fit over the chocolate heart you see beneath their feet. But I did not want to go smaller on chocolate....that is just not fair!

CSI Party!

2012-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

My son just turned 8 over the weekend, and we went to the Vancouver Police Museum to solve a crime for his party. He has really been taken with Tin Tin so asked if he could have that for his cake. Could not find anything related to him except for a fondant figure online. I have never played with fondant but it turned out pretty well! His card was detective themed using the spinning piece I learned a while back and adding fingerprints with the letters of his name as it turned. Nothing like impressing your kid :o)

My Lil' Cowboy

2012-02-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make one of these toy horses forever after seeing it on Jacki Topa's blog-which if you have never seen click on her name to link there. She is amazing and finds really neat ways to use punches. Can you guess what this one is? The stocking! It came in very handy for this page.

Love and Cherish

2012-01-28T14:35:00.000-08:00

I believe this is one of the first photos we had with all my family in it after my youngest was born. We all have very different schedules and get togethers, where everyone is able to be there, are rare. This one celebrated my niece's birthday. I am trying hard to use lots of items (paper, accessories and images) to 'spice' up my pages. Really do need to stop hoarding it :o)

The End of Summer

2012-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

We finally did a road trip down the coast of Oregon to end our summer last year. If you live on the coast and have never done this trip, it is truly one worth making. We hope to make it a regular trip. With kids, the relatively short drive and fabulous beaches to stop at made it even more worth while.

**I used Sahara Sand as my base paper and is realy did not show up well in this photo. Without bias, this page looks much better in my book :o)

My Small Wonder :o)

2012-01-15T17:24:00.001-08:00

I am amazed at myself being able to keep up with doing some layouts. It is difficult to squeeze in time but am making my effort and it seems to be paying off. This was last New Year's day. My youngest was 7 months and we enjoyed a fab day just wandering through the park!

Little Buddy

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

My youngest has truly become my father's little buddy. They have a great bond and I am so thankful that this wonderful man is a role model for my children.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

Well our year ended not so well. Within 3 days, my husband's grandfather passed away, we found our youngest dog may have cancer, and a pipe leaked in my house. Least to say, I hope this new year leaves all the bad luck behind :o) I was inspired to do this page as a tribute to my hubby's grandparents. They both fought cancer and we lost our lovely grandmother nearly 2 years ago, and recently our beloved grandfather. They truly were inspiring and madly in love for 59 years together. A large hole has been left but we were truly blessed to have them both for so long.

He Has Arrived!

2011-12-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

I saw these adorable Santa's on Patty Bennet's blog. Could not resist giving them a try. They made a perfect gift topper when adhered to a peppermint candy stick!

Happy Holidays to you all; wishing you the very best....

Run, Run, Rudolph!

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

I saw these ever so cute thumbprint Rudolph's on Marlene Peters blog. As I was finishing them up I remembered having tiny google eyes from making candy cane Rudolph's....these were a big hit with recipients this year!

Girls Night In

2011-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

As manager of a daycare centre, I struggle sometimes with getting all the girls out to team build. We are a very diverse group but it is important that we can make connections to keep up quality care. They always love the treats and cards I leave them, so it seemed like a great idea to get us all together and make our holiday cards for the other departments & agencies we deal with all year. Add some food & sangria and a good night was had by all!

A Small Token...

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-08:00

I shared with you at Halloween how I have finally mastered the candy wrapper die for the Big Shot and so it was used again to make a lil' something for all the extended family in Calgary. My hubby's family is huge (and still growing) and without knowing them well I always struggle with what can be sent. For years, we donated to a charity in the family name and this year I decided to send a little something to let each of them know we think of them. I used up some retired holiday paper and stuffed these wrappers with kisses~the chocolate kind ;o)

*not sure why this photo keeps turning sideways...technology!-but I love the look of them all together so just tilt your head a little :o)

Forest Festivities

2011-12-20T21:52:00.001-08:00

Finally, I am getting around to posting some Christmas cards! And at less than a week before the big day.....where has all the time gone?!? I had ordered some watercolor paper and the crayons to attempt a different look from the everyday markers (which I still prefer). This stampset is one I fell in love with right away, the Santa is so adorable :o) But I chose this image to really force me to do some coloring....my hand was aching 40 cards later!!

A Mom's 24th Birthday...

2011-12-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

My coworker has an ongoing joke with her mom. Since she was young, when her mother's birthday would come up she'd tell everyone she was "24". This is almost impossible to find on a card so I was put to task and asked to create one for her.

A Special Holiday Book

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

I always struggle with gifts for people, and while rearranging my craft space I came across some of these old chipboard books. And so to put it to good use, I decided to make it a mini album with photos and gift cards for my mother-in-law's Christmas pressie. Lots of retired paper but so cute all the same. Taking it that one step further, I took photos of the boys enjoying something along the same line as to what the gift card is for. This particular page shows them enjoying a book and giving her a Chapters card :o)

A Frog Messenger

2011-12-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

This little card was made to enclose some photos of our family to my hubby's grandpa. He loves receiving letters and photos that he can show off.

Some Pun Fun...

2011-11-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

My hubby's grandfather has been moved into hospice and his sweet aunt has been a primary caregiver to him. There is signs of dementia and so it has been rough on her. The latte card was the perfect way to send a lil' coffee gift card to let her know how much we love her and appreciate all she does for the family. My mother-in-law also under went some minor surgery so my son and I made the 'get whale' card to send her a xo!

N.Y.E. 2010

2011-11-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

Even though the year is almost up (such a scary thought!) I finally finished a layout from New Year's Eve. It is always a great night with our good friends and poor Evan was so tired, he missed most of the fun and being in any pictures. I have a great one of him passed out that I will need to layout another time.

Some Word Play

2011-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

The SU stampset Word Play has become a fave! I needed a couple of cards for work-one teacher is leaving after finding her dream job with Supported Childcare and one is a client with disabilities who volunteers. I had seen the 'dream' sentiment before with balloons but can not recall where (sorry, wish I could give credit!) and the millions of thanks are for

so many years of dedicated volunteer work at our centre.

**I need to figure a way to photograph embossed backgrounds better,

they never show up very well :o(

Trick or Treat

2011-10-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out this candy wrapper die. It was becoming so frustrating, I was ready to put it in the 'sell' pile of items I am gathering. There is just way too much awesome stamping stuff and I have way too much that barely gets used :o( Anyhow, thanks to Dawn Olchefske and her video ( check her blog at http://www.dostamping.typepad.com/) that I found through Google, I no longer wasted much paper trying to turn the ends!! Simple co-worker treats for Halloween day and I will soon start on some Christmas crackers :o)

Such a Lovely Day

2011-10-09T22:56:00.000-07:00

My hubby's long time friend finally tied the knot. She had a beautiful invite made with SU items which I wish I had a pic of. This was my card to her inspired by her lovely invite.

I embossed the Vanilla card stock but it never came out clear in the photo. Congrats, Marshalla!

Some Snowbuddies

2011-10-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

I finally got through my mess on my floor. These cards use up some retired SU stuff and the new set Snow Buddies-which I love. At Christmas, I seem to be drawn into snowmen! Sorry about the photos I was trying to get the embossed velvet to look clear. This paper is from a local scrapbook shop and I love the texture it gives cards. A shame you can not get the sense form photos.

My Current Mess

2011-09-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Even though I have my space downstairs pretty tidy. My son is always invading and I have a terrible time keeping my tables clear. Nine times out of ten I am working off the floor. I can not wait to get these snow buddies finished...my assembly line has paused momentarily as life is making other things a priority just now :o)

A FirstTime Grandma

2011-09-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

OK, since being a mom there are so many first that are celebrated that I love. Seeing a coworker become a grandma for the first time, should also be celebrated. Have to admit, it makes me wonder what kind of Grandma I'll be (even though it will be years away!). The little bear embosslit and a pennant with shades of blue was so fun. I used 'so happy for you' since I do not have a specific grandma stamp.

Holding Onto Spring

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

The weather is slowly changing and some days I have felt the need for a comfy sweater. On top of my list is to go shopping for some rubber rain boots :o( But in my crafty room and with my stamps I can hang on to summer for a little longer. I keep finding bits of retired items in my stash of extras. These flowers were one of my fave accessories and I am a little surprised I had some left. They truly finish the card off.

A Merrier Holiday

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since I had so many favourite pictures from my baby's first Christmas, I made a 2 page layout and smothered the paper in most of them. Sometimes the worst part about creating scrapbooks for the boys is deciding on which photos to use.

Not So Merry HO HO HO

2011-09-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love my baby's face in this one and I tried to make the page look like Santa's outfit.

Neither of my children enjoyed sitting in Santa's lap their 1st Christmas. With my eldest it had to be a family shot, and we skipped it altogether the following year. Whenever out shopping that next holiday he would repeat "no, Santa". Even harder to deal with, was when we were getting him to bed and commented "You need to sleep so Santa can come". The tears came along with, "No, Mommy, No Santa in my house!" It was horrible but all forgotten when he saw Thomas under the tree :o)

This is the boys together and we'll see what happens in a couple of months.

Last Year's Holidays

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

With Halloween approaching and Christmas not far behind, I was looking at my stamps then became distracted by my photo pile I wish to do in layouts. When I came across our pumpkin patch visit and my baby's 1st Christmas, I needed to complete some pages.

Once Evan calmed down (he was horribly colicky the day we went to the patch), he did enjoy looking at those funny round orange pumpkins.

CLICK HERE for a great view of his lil' pumpkins shirt made with the Big Shot.

Yummy Cupcakes :o)

2011-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

The last two posts had the birthday cards for my mum's 60th and sisters 40th. In addition to making cards, I love to bake!! And if you live in the lower mainland, or even if you wish to pay shipping, you should visit Scoop'n Save in Langley for amazing cake decorations and ideas. I could spend as much time in their store as I do looking in the SU catalogue.

My little baker and I made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing and added these toppers..my sister loves shoes and my mum loves her wine :o)

Of course, I used some punches and paper to add little birthday wishes!

Still Love This Set

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired By Nature is one of my fave SU stampsets. Those flowers can be created so many ways. I have seen silhouettes and all shades of floral arrangements. The base of this one is So Saffron with Garden Green, some retired paper and ribbon. My mum turned 60 and this was my greeting for her. It never looked good with a 6-0 on it, so she is getting a card without any huge age announcement on it. Love you, Mum!

Cute Handbag

2011-09-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

My sister celebrated a big BD this year...40! Her daughter is the princess who received the pink palace card in an earlier post. My sister loves shoes, handbags and clothes. She can definitely dress it up but she is also a serious athlete who reaches milestone birthdays and scratches goals off her bucket list. At 30 she completed the Ironman in Penticton..coming in the top 500 :o) This time she and a girlfriend are trekking Mt Everest. Seriously, I wish I had her ambition!

This is a view of the card when opened, cute right?

A Little Bragging

2011-09-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever my son has a birthday party to go to, I allow him to decide if he makes the card or I do. For this particular friend, he was very clear that we needed a card with vehicles on it. I showed him the trains and pick up truck from a couple of sets. But these would not do. I was told his friend loves old fashioned cars and steam engines. So he put his skills to work using my SU markers. I could not help but show it off....love the matching envelope??

Shades of Blue

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

With pennants and shades of blue, I created this simple birthday card for my hubby's uncle. He called to say he loved receiving it in his mailbox. It is great to hear how my work is appreciated, and he does not need to know it only took 5 minutes to whip up :o)

Just Keep Swimming!

2011-09-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I thought of this title after I made this page with the "Life is Good". No going back now....these photos were taken by our friends, again while in Phoenix. It was an amazing pool at the resort and we thoroughly made use of it!

The Ant Bully

2011-09-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this children's movie? I do not recall how current it is but after our trip to Phoenix, this was Riley's nick name. It depicts a boy who loves spraying ant holes, and then becomes the size of an ant himself. Living as an ant, he sees how his behaviour affects their world. Lesson learned no more spraying ant hills :o) While pool side in Phoenix, there were huge red ant hills all around the sand. Once the boys (Riley and our friends two boys who were on vacay with us) received these water shooters, the ants were doomed :o(

Since seeing the movie, Riley has left alone many bugs and will often share his 'colored rocks' (known as Jelly Beans in human terms).

A Palace for A Princess

2011-09-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe my neice is turning 5. She is a makeup, shoes, purse and glitter girl. I do not think there could be any more pink or fluffy things in her room. Truly, she is the princess in the family. After seeing a card on Monica Chan's blog of a sand castle, I attempted this fairytale pink one. I do not think I have attempted so many 'cut outs' for cards ever! Once I built it up, I sprayed some shimmer on it and added a pennant 'wish big' as her greeting. Happy Birthday, Victoria :o)

An Outdoor Adventure

2011-09-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

My cousin in law was celebrating his 30th BD this summer. He and his family do camping a fair bit so I thought I'd attempt an 'outdoorsy' card. So proud of how it turned out :o) We also took the boys camping this summer...it was a little hectic with my toddler-but so many fun new memories!

The last sip of Summer!!

2011-08-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

I put away my wheel stamp, Take A Sip. Of course, I will always find a reason to use it again but I needed to move on. "Variety" is what I remind myself! I actually have a thought about using it at Christmas with some Starbucks VIA....easy gifts for coworkers/teachers. We will see how it goes and I'll keep you updated.

Another Sip...

2011-08-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Card #2 with my wheel; I put some Crystal Effects on the colored tea cup to give it the shine of a china cup. Remember, you can always click on the photo to get a closer look.

Take A Sip!

2011-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had some fun with this wheely stamp and created a few cards with it. As with my cupcake set, I sat down and just went with what came. I find it so simple and easy to build up a stash of cards once you have a stamp set (or wheel) inked up! Then when occasions arise, you can add a greeting or hope you have one appropriate or easily changeable :o)

Summer Vacation

2011-08-09T13:53:00.001-07:00

Over the next month, before school starts and I return to work (after 15months off!!) my blog will be very limited with new posts. There will not be much crafting and my hubby is off so we can spend the month together as a family! This layout is appropriate because it is of my loved ones who I will be spoiling with time :o) Enjoy your end of summer!

Final One...for now :o)

2011-08-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know I will get tremendous amount of use out of the Create A Cupcake set with coordinating punch. So simple and can be used in so many ways; my samples only used half the stamps from the set! This last one (for now!) is smothered in Poppy Parade. Our very sweet auntie received this one and just loved it!

Part 2...Pear Pizzazz

2011-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

So card number #2 is a twist on the last cupcake one, from Clean and Simple stamping. If you look closely at the cherry on top, I used some Crystal Effect to give it a shine. My son has become obsessed with this accessory...I have had to actually hide the bottle!

Concord Crush Cupcake

2011-07-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of my cupcake cards from the other week. I am sharing my fave one first....I do not believe in saving best for last. Especially with yummy treats, you may end up full and not getting to eat your fave :o) I stamped this cupcake then punched it out; it just screams to me as being so sweet! The layout came out of a design on the Clean and Simple blog. Not sure who will get this one yet, but I am sure they will love it.

Last Wedding ♥

2011-07-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Again, I used the invite colors for inspiration of this card. It makes picking through color schemes relatively simple. And you are sure to have a hit because obviously the couple (or at least the bride) loved those colors to begin with. With this photo, you can see their invite underneath. I had all the background elements done and needed a greeting long enough for the front. Heard From the Heart is another great set of stamps and fit the card perfectly.

XOXO

2011-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

My life is mostly defined by my kids. I truly loving spending as much time with them as possible and never like to miss out on anything with them. Riley helped to pick a few definition stamps then I created around them. Some chocolate, red and vanilla made the page so sweet...just like the moment captured in the photo. Evan was a week old here and Riley still could not get enough of him!

Cupcakes Created with In Colors

2011-07-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I decided the other night to leave my messy table and just do some cards. Simply grabbed a stamp set, Create A Cupcake and my packs of paper-In Colors '10-'12 with matching hostess DSP from last catalogue. My night ended with 4 cards, one using a die cut I picked up on sale once at a clearance. It is never used much because I find it is overwhelming on cards...maybe I should use it on page layouts?!?! I am only giving you a sneak peek at all 4...I'll post them separately over the next few days with their own picture :o)

To Have and To Hold

2011-07-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, I needed some wedding cards for the summer. This was my fave set when I started with SU, and it is no longer available but I love it! With this card I took the color inspiration from the invite. Vanilla and black, and stunningly simple. I wanted my card to have the same effect. With a little punch of red, I love how it turned out.

Fisherman's Fib

2011-07-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last year on Father's Day, my son caught his first fish. My dear hubby was then trying to tell him to make sure to tell those on shore about the bigger one that got away. Unfortunately, my son is to scared of being in trouble to go along with the "fisherman's fib". Besides, he was so proud of this trout and could not wait to taste it. He had thought because he caught it it may be good. But for the boy who lives on plain rice, pasta and sandwiches of cream cheese and jam-this was not a tasty dinner :o)

Tis' the Season

2011-07-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours! In 2004, when my eldest was a baby we had three weddings to attend. There have been none since but we now have had 2 invites and one of my co-workers is tying the knot this summer. I do not have many wedding stamps, and since one wedding is for a gay couple, I could not use my Mr&Mrs or To Have and Hold set image. This is what I created with the Word Play set. Still some bling because that, to me, is what a wedding is all about.

Running out of Titles..

2011-07-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love to think I am creative, but putting new titles on my posts can sometimes prove to be difficult. They should be catchy and make you want to read on...but I was all run out today :o)

My dear friend in England has a little girl who is turning 4! We saw as a baby, but have not made it back to see her since but hope to soon. She is classic girl-ballet, dolls, and all things pink!! I love this flamingo who I made in Pixie Pink-retired marker. Funny, the accessory ribbon was wrapped on a baby shower gift I received and it worked so well with all these colors.

Big Birthday Bite

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

The sets used in this birthday boy's card are my faves for kids...the new catalogue has some good ones, too-just can not decide which I want most?!?! Look Who's Turning is still in but Wild About You has sadly retired :o( Another thing I learned from Kari Metzger was to chomp the card with the scallop punch. The recipient of this one loves Dinosaurs (one of the new sets I may purchase) but the croc on hand was the closest thing I had...or so I thought. My own 7 year old is a dino fanatic and he told me "the closest living thing to dinos are actually birds, so you should have used a bird image". One week into summer vacation....how will I survive!!

Manhattan Flower x2

2011-07-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

The month of July is crazy for birthdays in our family & friends. I had these flower pieces already made quite sometime ago and decided they needed some love. Perfect for some birthday ladies. Riley, my 7 year old, decided his grandma's card needed some gold....no reference to her age. He actually outlined the flower to emboss some gold on to it. Even though it is not perfectly outlined, it is his special touch! And as an educator we are always to remember it is the process never the product where children learn the most :o)

BIG & little

2011-07-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe how little my baby looks here. Since turning one he looks so big now. And with more personality he is quickly becoming quite the character. Most days I think he is gonna be big trouble but then he'll pick his fave book up and come snuggle as we read it and I think maybe not.

Worm Wishes

2011-06-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love this Bugs & Kisses set, and with boys it gets good use in my collection. I learned how to make this card quite some time ago from my upline, Kari Metzger. She used blue tones originally, but I chose green for this one and created some grass as a garden. The recipient was delighted! But what little boy wouldn't be??

Some More Thanks!

2011-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Along with the plants for the teachers, these lil' 3x3 cards were addressed for each of them. It uses some of the In Colors and I did think my ribbon choice was going to be a little heavy for the card, but they still turned out great...no bias in that opinion at all, since I can be very critical of my own work as well :o)

All Because....

2011-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is the portrait we had developed on canvas for my parent's wedding anniversary way back in February. It is one of the shots by Michael D. I was free to use any colors since the photo was really simple with whites, blue jeans and my sisters fab house as a backdrop! This layout stemmed from one in an SU Stampin' Success mag available to demos. The title came to me from a saying that I have seen in several forms. I love it and definitely will be getting a frame!

Goodbye Grade One :o(

2011-06-26T22:35:00.001-07:00

With the end of the school year, we always give the teacher a little thank you. My son's class has his teacher and an aid...so this makes 2. But as he thought about gifts he thought that he also has his music and library teacher who do work with him....that makes 4. With further thought he wanted something for his vice-principal, who also teaches, and is also retiring..so this completes 5! I could not argue with his sense of giving :o) These are simple coaster planter boxes covered with DSP; the 'sticks' are skewers with scalloped punched circles. Using the Pun Fun stamped skunk.

It was only after a couple of hours all of a sudden Riley was giggling. When I asked what was funny..."I get why it says 'I stink you're sweet'..skunks stink!"

Scraps Made Beautiful :o)

2011-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

A family friend suffered a loss last week and so I wanted them to know we were thinking of them. I had these pieces of old DSP lying in one of my piles and thought they could be something nice. I love the combo and decided to try two layouts with different finishes...which is your fave?

Many Thanks...

2011-06-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since my husband lives with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), we thought we should get involved with the association so the boys have can hopefully make some new relations with people who can share what they go through. Also it is a great family time to do fundraising in order to help those living with this genetic condition that affects the lungs and digestive systems. We missed last years walk because my youngest decided that was to be his birthday. This year we made it out with my parents, as well and in total raised over $2500. It was amazing and we had many people to thank.

Bringing' Back the Spirit!

2011-06-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have had these Olympic pics to add in a layout over a year now. Since I was going through my pics I have decided to really use up all my old ones before having more printed to only lie in wait :o( This past Wednesday when Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup our fine city was hit with riots again. It made news all around the world that Vancouver is a 'loser' city. So far from the truth and I believe many residents and true Vancouverites redeemed ourselves by all the selfless acts of clean up and gratitude notes to our VPD, VFD and most other aid workers. It was a far cry from last year at the Olympics. I love this layout and included some close up of the journalling which mentions the songs that played over and over; the smaller tags are of facts from the games. Such a sweet time!!

The Day for Dads..

2011-06-18T16:05:00.001-07:00

My hubby does not like me making him a card; since I do not like him spending money on one for me he usually skips that part of gift giving. Maybe one day he'll hit my stash and create something but I am not holding my breath :o) The one for him has shades of blue and a big heart where I stamped the greeting.

My own father's is the one full of nature colors and of course, a bird!

I am pleased with both these manly cards!!

Scrappin' a Song

2011-06-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

In a recent scrapbook magazine, there were layouts using song lyrics. Either as fave songs at the time, or lyrics that suited a moment. My page is based on lyrics that are feelings around my children. Unfortunately, the song is for relationships based on 'couple status' so I just edited and used certain parts for my page. I detailed this in my journalling. We took this photo on our Hawaiian holiday and I love how it looks like they are gazing at each other, when actually the baby was going in for a bite of big bro's nose :o)

WE BELIEVE

2011-06-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one, need to get baby up and pick up Riley from school.

We made this one last night, hopefully some luck will be with us for game5 tonight. Riley wanted this for his book since when we win it will be part of history!! Go Canucks Go!!

My Fave Thing

2011-06-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

When you look at the cards I have created over the past month, can you notice a theme? It's funny how we get into a design/embellishment/technique we love and we can not get enough of it. Mine just now is ribbon tags...or so I call them. Just to add a little pop, or piece of something other than paper, ribbon is so fast and easy. This rocket, from Pun Fun, is definitely one of my faves with it's rainbow 'scraps' behind it.

A Stamped Penguin

2011-06-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

I knew I wanted my baby's card to be full of color. This little boy is full of so much and crazy busy, I needed his card to portray this. Big brother made sure I go t a penguin in there and enclosed we told the story about the theme. I have always made my first son's BD cards a recap of the past year of life with him, and I will carry on this tradition with my second. Hopefully they will enjoy reading a mini yearly version of their life :o)

My Other Passion

2011-06-07T20:35:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd share my son's first birthday cupcakes. I love doing the cake as much as the invites/cards. These penguins, I made 10 of them (but only got this photo of the 'king' with his catch!) are from a book called "Hello, Cupcake" and the nice thing is it is pretty easy to follow. In the fall I may be taking a class for decorating cakes and can not wait to learn new stuff there. But for now enjoy, I am off to finish some layouts and will get them posted soon :o)

My Baby's Turning 1!

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

Well, by the time this is up he will already be one. When deciding on his BD theme, Riley and I chose either tigers (he was born in the year of the tiger) or penguins (as a new baby he made these noises that we thought sounded like an emperor penguin). Of course my celebrations coordinate from invite, to loot bags, to the cake, etc. We chose penguins! I searched online and found several versions of the owl punch being used to make penguins. This is my take on a few of those. I am so pleased with how he turned out.

Baby's First BD

2011-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

I love the Fox & Friends set and knew it was perfect for our friends baby. He turned one this month. Riley helped pick the bright colors and added details to the animals with my markers. Even though they are not perfect, it was his special touch. I never used a greeting stamp here and chose to use my embossing folder on the card front.

**Again another poorly taken photo :o( My apologies!

Little Helping Hands

2011-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my little boy 'helping' me with my die cuts. Do not let his cute face fool you....he is such a handful compared to my first and gets into absolutely everything! But I love him because he is mine and would not trade him for anything :o)

Pink Onesie

2011-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

My hubby's cousin's partner's sister, way down under, was blessed with a baby girl. Not being one to miss an occasion I created this card. We have met only once and very briefly but it was funny to hear back from her...she is a Stampin'Up addict!! This made her appreciate the card even more, I think!

Better Late than Never...

2011-06-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

So fingers crossed (and as I knock on wood!) all tech issues with my computer are solved. This means a little bit of catch up with the past month. Mainly cards, because of so many celebrations this month. I am a little disappointed in myself because it was Scrapbooking month and I never did one single layout. But I am ready with many ideas and only need time to put on paper!

This was my own mum's card for Mother's Day...simple but I love the pop of colors :o)

For Mom

2011-05-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is the card I put together for my MIL and sent in the post today. I am working on my own mum's card but will not be able to post it because my mum peeks here once in a while....

I love this old color combo and think this card is elegant and sweet!

Pretty in Pink

2011-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

All shades of pink for a little girl turning 3! My picture is not the best quality and with computer problems my blogging is going to be very sparse for a bit! If it is not one thing it is another....here is a quote I am enjoying at the moment:

"If you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on!" ~ F.D. Roosevelt

**Add-on: Sincere apologies, the photo looked a bit better on my camera; Using Pink Pirouette and White shades did not show well here at all! I'd retake a picture but it already was posted to their house :o(

Double Trouble

2011-05-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

It is the time of year again when my friends twins have their birthday. I always thought twins would be fun but I am glad I have my boys spaced apart....I would be less sane then I am if they were born together! The boys love trains so I was able to use my Choo Choo set.

Flowers that will not Wilt

2011-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

I was in need of a card for a family member having surgery and always wanted to try out this never fade flower pot. Although my colors look more like fall than spring, it was a neat one to make. Also a lot easier than I imagined as well. It is not traditional and you can only see the sentiment once you pull up the flowers from the pot. Thanks to Splitcoast, I found this tutorial from Stephanie Luman. It is a great thing that we can share our resources and ideas on this world wide web!!

Sunny Garden Box

2011-04-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Having tons of these little coasters on hand, my son and I thought to make these little planter boxes for his teachers end of year gifts. Nope, school is not finished but I wanted to practice and make sure I could do them properly. This one will be our dinner centre piece on Sunday-so cute, right??

Birthday Cupcakes

2011-04-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

April is a crazy month for birthdays!! The cupcake punch made my life really easy with this simple designs. Loving the Sunny Garden DSP-I'll have another project this week using the same paper.

Easter Grab-Bags

2011-04-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

Since we will be hosting Easter dinner, I thought it would be nice to have a little something for everyone to enjoy. Not knowing what may be everyone's fave Easter candy-with so much good chocolate out there!-these grab-bags were an easy solution. I have few more to make but with DSP, sticky tape and your paper crimper they are easy to put together.

A happy bird-day???

2011-04-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw this Angry Bird on Ida's blog, I knew it would be perfect for my hubby's BD today. I can hear the gasping now about the fact I do not have an iphone, but my husband does and he and my son love to play this game. Next time though I think I'll find some black elastic for the cord-the ribbon was much harder to place. The greeting is from the pun fun set! It seems to work and my clouds are made from the new cupcake punch. This as so much fun, thanks Ida!

Celebrating Earth with Cuddle of the Week!

2011-04-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry, this is non paper crafting related but as a mom always looking for deals I thought there may be others out there who appreciate this site- True Cuddles. Every Tuesday they offer deals on items great for babies! If you sign up they email the deal straight ot your inbox.

The cuddle of the week: 4MyEarth sandwich and snack pockets from EnviroStyles! by True Cuddles on April 11, 2011 In celebration of upcoming Earth Day, True Cuddles is happy to present a 4MyEarth® sandwich and snack pocket twin pack from EnviroStyles. The pack contains one sandwich pocket and one snack pocket and is available in five great styles suitable for the whole family.

This part is scary**It’s estimated one child uses approximately 105 metres of plastic wrap per year based on a sandwich, muffin and small snack for lunch each day. Times this by a school of 450 students and it comes to a massive 47,250 metres per year! (85 times the height of the CN Tower.)

Discovering Fine Motor Skills

2011-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was not really sure how to lay this one out. I wanted circles because of the joy my boy had from Cheerios. But they never worked the way I wanted so I simplified and this is what I got! It actually turned out as something I love to look at. Since my papers were from the brights collection, I grabbed my coordinating buttons and orange gave that something extra which I thought was missing. Yeah 4 Me!

Aloha!

2011-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Of all 700 (and then some!) photos we took on our Hawaiian holiday-this was one of my absolute faves! My youngster did not enjoy much of the beach...itchy sand and cold water not his cup of tea, yet. If he becomes anything like his brother, he will love it very soon. The paper from SU's DSP Blueberry Crisp was some of the closest to what reminded me of the Hawaiian floral shirts.

Loving You

2011-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

Red, Chocolate and Love...Happy belated Valentine's!!

I have had to wait to post this one because it has professional photos by Mike D that my family had done as a gift for my parents anniversary present. We have not had photos done since our wedding nearly ten years ago. I will have another page later that has all my sisters and nieces in it. Be sure to check out Mike's site-he has amazing work posted there! (*click his name and you will be linked to his site)

Ahead of the Game!

2011-04-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

With Easter falling so late this year, I have plenty of time to try out a few treat ideas. I had made these 'snowy trees' quite some time ago. It is saved in my computer files from a resource on Splitcoast. I apologize for not giving credit :o( and I will need to research them to do so. But while I had the chance I wanted to put this up. It is printable on to whatever cardstock you may wish to use (mine is Certainly Celery). I then ran it through my Big Shot for texture to make it look like a basket. A simple daffodil and tag to finish it off. Tucked inside is a gold Lindt bunny.

The hardest part of the project was getting the chocolate in the gift rather than my mouth :o)

**Send me an email and I can try to send off the printable file if you want to try!

Almost There

2011-03-31T20:23:00.001-07:00

Ok, when we decided to move up to a 3 bedroom unit I lost my finished craft space in our basement. If you look through the older posts of my blog-particularly at Nov 12, 2010-you will see the space we needed to transform. Well we are almost there :o) :o)

Last week my hubby worked at getting most of the room finished. The only part left is to put in the bathroom. I have been told that will be started this weekend. YEAH!

The pics below are of my new sky blue room and where most of my craft tools have been kept stored-what will be the bathroom. Can not wait to set up this space, or at least a portion of it. The boys of the house do want space for their video games :o(

Added a Little Glitter

2011-03-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

Since 40 years of marriage is such an occasion to celebrate, I wanted to change my previous card (you can see it a few posts back- March 7th to be exact). A ruby anniversary deserved some glitter! A little hint though, when using the glitter paper make sure it is glitter side down when using your Big Shot for letters/numbers.

My #4 was never the right way when I went to place it on the card.

Not once, but twice, before I figured out what I was doing :o(

I blame 'mommy brain' !!

Your Many Faces :o)

2011-03-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

I had to do this one with all of Evan's charming faces. Being his mom, I love them all!

So happy to have my groove back in my tiny crafting space.

On a Roll...

2011-03-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

Two pages completed in such a short time...miracle! I even have a third page to post tomorrow (amazing, I know). This is one of my fave pictures of the boys together, and I made 2 pages the same for each of their books.

Yeah for Me!!

2011-03-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, even with the mess I had to encounter (read my last blog) I was able to finish a few pages for my younger son's scrapbook. His brother's book is so full compared to his. It makes me feel guilty, and that is because of middle child syndrome. Yep, I am one of those middle children who always need everything fair!! Anyhow...I did not feel this page needed any journaling (is that a word??) since the title explains the day and event. I really love how these colors match his stroller & coat.

Two Steps Back

2011-03-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever I think I have everything under some control, another mess accumulates. It seems to always land in the way of my temporary work space. Yep, still in a temporary space. The end of Spring Break, I should have a room done and I am hoping all set up.

I should not complain, these bags are full of toys for our youngster-so I am ever so grateful :o). Many friends and family are loving to be able to give us all the items they are done with.

Saves us heaps but it means I need to always do 'Spring Cleaning'!

A Medal with Love

2011-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Some chocolate, ruby red, vanilla and a medallion. I was in need of an anniversary card and this was my first attempt. Simple and stunning. I am really pleased at how this turned out. My parents will be celebrating 40 years, maybe this could be the perfect card.

Junior Demonstrator

2011-03-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Evan has discovered my punches....

this pic is funny because it looks as though he might have punched a tag out himself!

Tiny Tags

2011-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

This stampset is becoming a staple to me just now.. so easy to come up with simple notecards. After staring at this one a while, I wish my brad had covered the whole flower from the stamped greeting. Then again I could have used a smaller brad. Constructive criticism...it is so necessary sometimes :o)

I Love The Face

2011-03-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Each year I allow my son to pick a theme for his cake. This year, with no surprise, he wanted something Star Wars. We started with wanting the Death Star-a planet!! When I thought about it, I knew it may be quite the task while chasing a baby. This is what we came up with and he did not see it until the morning of his party....

Needed a Break...

2011-03-01T22:06:00.000-08:00

We were feeling the winter blues, and so took a family trip to Hawaii. It was amazing! I had big intentions of posting before we left, but time just got away. This is my family half way up Diamond Head-it gives you an amazing view at the very top. I can not wait to create layouts of this holiday. Most photos were taken with the intention to get creative :o)