Fun Day in the Pool

The girls enjoyed another fun day in the pool again today. It was in the +34 C here yesterday and +28 C here today. Gorgeous weather...finally!! We're on a severe thunderstorm watch for tonight though so that should cool things down a bit.Thought I'd add a pic of my little monkeys playing in our little pool. They've had so much fun the past couple of days. It's fun to watch them. :) I even took a dip last night in that super deep pool..lol...Jim called me a loser cause I was in there all by myself! Yeah, I must admit, I kinda was, but it worked in cooling me down, so I guess my mission was successful! :)
Here's a pic that Jim took yesterday of a beetle that he found in my flower garden out back. I thought it was pretty cool so I thought I'd add that one, too. It was taken using the macro feature on the camera. Looking at the pic, I almost feel like it's out of the rain forest or something. A girl can imagine, can't she, seeing as I never get a vacation! lol :)
Thanks for stopping by! :)

It was a happy mail day again!

Today, I received another 125 cards for the Autism project. A box of 114 swap cards arrived from Karen Heighton. The cards are pictured above that she sent me! Thanks soooo much, Karen! :)

I also received 11 cards from Irene Hierlmeier. Below are a six cards that Irene made, others were swap cards, so I didn't post those. Thanks for sharing your creations, Irene, they're just beautiful! :)






Both your donations are very 'Mutch' appreciated!!! :) That makes the total amount of cards received to date: 684 and still lots on their way! Woo Hoo! Give yourselves a huge pat on the back for making this fund raising project such a success! I really can't thank you all enough! Big Hugs from me!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Wedding card for Lisa and Denny

I discovered a blog today by Laurie Schmidlin of Just Give Me Stamps. Laurie does absolutely beautiful work. She inspired me to try to re-create one of her cards. Laurie did a much better job, though. I'm actually gonna tear my card apart and redo it, or at least redo the one for Lisa and Denny! Oh, to be so particular or fussy! I decided to use my clear acrylics from Michaels and ended up having Stayzon ink issues. Thick in some areas, thin in others, yup, gonna have to try this one again... lol Oh well. :)

I'm also not sure about the green flower punchies either...I'm thinking that they're gonna get ripped off over time and are just not a good plan for a card that I would like her to be able to hang on to for a while. Oh, decisions, decisions...

My hubby joked with me and said that I will probably end up making her a dozen cards before I get one that I'm happy with. The sad thing is that he's probably right!! So, back into my craft room tomorrow night to see how I can make some changes to this or perhaps I'll come up with a whole different card...we'll see! I just want to get it right as this is a special day. I've known Lisa since I was a little girl and she's one of the few people that I've kept in contact with over the years. I just want to make a card that's special for her. Oh, the pressure! lol :) I better hurry up, I only have a week and a half til the wedding! Anyway, stay tuned to see what I end up with!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Another End of Year Teacher's Gift

This is the altered tin that I made for my daughter's other teacher for her end of year thank you gift. It's hard when you don't know someone out of school, but I thought I would make her a little tin to keep a note book in that she could perhaps keep on her desk. This was another tin that I got at Michaels in their finished tins section. Yeah, obviously I have no idea what the section is called, but it's where they keep they tin containers and other already finished items. Just cause it already finished, doesn't mean you have to leave it like that, though! lol I bought these when they were on sale for only $5 each. A screamin' deal! :) So, they already had a design on them, but I bought them to alter with patterned paper. :) The one I did tonight had a cafe motif on it. The one I used for my daughter's other teacher was also from this section, it was supposed to be used for a sugar canister. You can view that one here that I made a week ago.

For this tin, I went with the chocolate brown colour on the edges and top of the tin, so I chose to use my SU Au Chocolat double-sided designer series paper. I love this paper! I really should have bought more. It from from one of the past mini catty's from Stampin' Up! For the flowers I used my SU Looks Like Spring set and the coordinating SU Spring Bouquet punch for the small flower. Unfortunately, they still don't have a punch for the large flowers...I would absolutely jump for joy if they ended up coming out with one in the new catty for July...Oh the suspense! lol :)

Well, I'm all done this gift and have already posted it to my blog and it's only 12:30 am...much better than 2 am! So, I'm off to bed, gotta get some sleep as I didn't get any last night. :(

Thanks for stopping by! :)

My migraine is gone :)

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments and emails asking me if I'm feeling better. Yes, thanks. It was a bad night, though. :( I don't often get migraines anymore, I used to get a ton of them as a teenager and in my early 20's but after I got pregnant with my first daughter, many of my allergies and migraines went away! For years, I was allergic to chocolate and it would give me migraines for days if I ate it, but I was chatting with my doctor about cravings and she mentioned that when you're pregnant sometimes your hormones level out and your allergies go away. So, just out of curiosity, I tried some chocolate and ta-da...no headache! Now... that could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing... as I'm now trying to finally get the weight off from all those bars I used to eat!!! lol :) I'm down 65 lbs, another 35 lbs to go! Woo Hoo for me! lol :) However, unfortunately the cumin allergy has stuck with me. I have to be careful cause a lot of packaged spice mixes contain it and they just list 'spices', they don't specify that it has cumin in it, so I generally just stay away from them. It's safer that way. It's been so long since I've tried any spice mixes, guess I paid for it last night! Oh well, no more of that mix for me...

Well, it's a gorgeous day here today, we've been invited over to our neighbours to go play outside for a bit before I have to go get hubby at work. Then, tonight I have to make up another end of school year gift for the other teacher at Alexandria's school that helped out with her class as well. Oh, I'm such a procrastinator, but I'll get working on it right after supper and hubby can put the kiddies to bed. :)

No mail today or the mailman is late. Might be someone filling in while he's on vacation, they always tend to be late. Or, maybe he's just teasing me cause he knows how excited I get when cards arrive! lol :) Hope he's just late!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope everyone is enjoying some beautiful sunshine today. :)

Stampin' Up! party at Charly's place

I had a great afternoon today at Charly's place for her Stampin' Up! party. We made 2 cards using a couple of stamps sets that I've never used before. I've been looking at this Artfully Asian set for a while now, I really like it. I'm not sure which set the second stamp was from. Pretty flowers, though.

Thanks again to Charly for having me over today. It was fun and nice to see your stamp room, too. Nice to see how everyone organizes their stuff. We'll have to get together soon for a stampin' night. I'm thinkin' Friday night. I'll send out an eVite invitation to everyone soon. :)

Well, I hate to cut this short, just wanted to post the pics. I ate some Hummus tonight for a snack made with a spice mix that I just got and I never even thought about the fact that it might have cumin in it. I'm allergic to cumin and it gives me migraines. I doosie of a migraine is just setting in. Gonna be a long night, I'm afraid... :(

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Stampin' Up! party at Catherine's place

I had a great night on Thursday night, yes I'm a bit behind on my blog posts...but I really wanted to get that gardening done while the weather was co-operating. We've had so much rain lately, and cloudy days that it was great to see the sunshine! Thanks again to Catherine for having us over to her place or her Mum's place. She kindly offered her place as Catherine lives a 1/2 hour out of town, so it was easier for us all to attend. I had a great time. Always great to get together with everyone to stamp and try different techniques.

This is the first project that we did. We did a polished stone technique. Can you believe this was the first time that I've ever tried this technique! I've been meaning to, but just never got around to it! Well, I thought it was great and I'll definitely be using it more. It was really fun. I really like the way the card turned out. Looks like the butterfly is flying around in a gorgeous coloured sky. For the Almost Amethyst background layer we used the speckled stamp from the SU set, Itty Bitty Backgrounds. I use this one the most of the set of four in that set. It make s a nice subtle background. The word 'friendship' is from the SU set, Wonderful Words. I use this one a lot , too. The butterfly was from the SU set, On Gossamer Wings. For the background of the butterfly, this is where we did the polished stone effect. We used 4 drops of Pretty in Pink and 2 drops of Bashful Blue using re-inkers. We also added a couple of small drops of metallic silver. To do this technique, cut out a piece of felt approximately 2" x 2" square. Add a little but of rubbing alcohol to your felt, by holding the felt over the end of the bottom and turning it over quickly, as if you were going to clean a cut with it. Then, apply your drops of ink from your re-inker bottles and then keep dabbing the colour onto your glossy cardstock until you get the desired look. You can always add a bit more blue or pink, but if you add too much silver or blue, it tends to look a bit swampy, so play around with this and have fun! :)
This was our second project. It was a bit more time consuming, but a lot of fun. Isn't it a cute little purse? Yvonne already had the templates cut out for us for the purses, but we stamped the flowers and cut them out. The double-sided patterned paper is from SU Spring Flowers and co-ordinates with the flowers that are from the SU set, Looks Like Spring. For the smallest flower we used the SU punch, Spring Flower Bouquet. I have this one, too. But, I still soooo wish they would make a punch for the largest flower that we cut two out of here! Oh well, more scissor practice for me, I guess! lol :) I'm looking forward, I have another SU party to go to tomorrow afternoon at Charly's... my poor pocketbook! lol :) Ah, it'll be fun, though. It's with another Demo, though, I'm feeling a bit traderous, lol, but I'm just curious to see what sort of demo she does and see what ideas she brings to the table. That and I want to check out Charly's stamp room! lol :)

Well, I have to get some work done around the house so I can play with my stamps again tonight...thanks for stopping by! :)

Autism Cards from Therese Malak

I received 9 cards in the mail yesterday from Therese Malak for the Autism project, thanks so much, Therese! Sorry I didn't post them yesterday, but I got busy with some gardening outside while the sun was actually shining! lol :) I know I've mentioned it several times before on my blog, but I have Therese to thank for getting my into stamping! We were posted up to Trenton, Ontario for 3 years with a military posting and I noticed that she was teaching classes at the M.F.R.C. (Military Family Resource Centre) on base, and I went to check it out. I was hooked on the spot and continued with as many of her monthly classes as I could attend. Therese is such a sweetheart and has a very kind soul. So, thank you so much for introducing this creative outlet to me! I love stamping so much, it's so relaxing and a hobby that I truly enjoy. The hours just fly by...there just needs to more time in the evenings to do it! lol :) You can check out Therese's blog here. She's a very talented gal and offers lots of inspiration and uses so many different techniques. She amazes me with all the papers that she makes...much more talented than me! lol :)

This is one of the cards that Therese sent to me, and I instantly fell in love with this design! It's amazing!! I am sooooo CAS'ing this one tonight! Well, I don't have the Future floor polish, but I'm gonna try a polished stone technique instead on the flower petals.

I copied the info below from Therese's blog to show you how she made this gorgeous card. Hope she doesn't mind, but this one is definitely worth sharing! :) I believe she did this one at the Stampin' Up! Stamp Camp that she attended, hosted by my old SU Demo, Catherine. Miss ya both!

"This wonderful card features a double flower which was painted with Future Floor wax and Pearl Ex - an interference purple and pearl white. Very neat!! We highlighted the stamping with a white gel pen and some Pearl Ex. The flower center is accented with three brads and the bow embellished with a double swirl clip. Love the look of Pearl Ex and though it was my first experience with it I am sure it will not be my last. The Future makes the Pearl Ex permanent once it is dry - sort of like creating your very own acrylic shimmer paint!!"

Therese

Therese also sent me a hand full of pretty yellow prima flowers to play with, thanks so much! I'll play with those soon! :)

So, that makes a total of 559 cards received to date! With still more on their way! I also got a very exciting email on Thursday...I won't share who it was from yet, but she's interested in sharing some cards...ok a lot of cards with us. In the hundreds! Can you imagine how excited I am! When they arrive, I'll post more info!!! I can't wait! Come on Mr. Canada Postman! lol :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Happy Summer Solstice, Everyone!

Today's mail was certainly not a disappointment! I got a gorgeous assortment of 15 cards from Shanon Grant for the Autism project. What a lot of work that went into these, and thanks to Shannon, I now have to break down and buy some PaperTrey stamps, I've seen a lot of samples and love their stamps, but she's completely sold me on them! lol :) And, you've got to love 'Dainty Bella' from Stamping Bella, too. She also included a sweet card for me congratulating us on the success of the project. I've now received 550 cards to date! Holy Cow! I had no idea we would have got any where near this sort of a response! It's crazy, but so nice to see such kind hearted people willing to donate their art to such a worthy cause. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts! (((Hugs))) to you all!

Here are Shannon's gorgeous creations:





This is the card that Shannon made for me. Beautiful bright, happy colours! :)
I also received this beautiful thank you note from Kelly today for placing an order with her for some Victorian Epicure spices from a home party that she had. Have you ever tried these spices? They're awesome and most have no salt or very, very little. Great for sodium reduced diets. This is slowly becoming another addiction of mine... at least Jim can get on this one, though! Seeing as how he eats all my home cooking! lol :)

Well, I have a SU party to go to tonight , I can't wait! More toys to see and new techniques to learn! Woo Hoo! I'll post our projects later tonight. Have a great night, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Native Ladybug

My friend, Diana Graff surprised me with this rock. How cute is he? :) She painted him blue in keeping with my hubby's Navy sailor uniform and the eagle feather is because he's Native. This one is actually much larger than it looks in the picture. The actual size is approx. 5" x 6." I love it, and Jim really likes it, too. As a matter of fact, he's already scooped it from me and it's proudly being displayed on his computer desk! lol :) Thanks again so much, Diana, from both of us! :)

Diana is a Graphic Designer by trade and does amazing work. She sells these rocks, has a ton of designs to choose from and the money she raises is sent to help out her 2 cousins back in Nicaragua. Diana has such a kind heart and is very talented, check out her blog, Diana's Rocks and see if anything strikes your fancy. She has a whole series of 'Dora, the Explorer' rocks, too that are just too cute for anything! I now have 3 ladybugs and a turtle on the way. :)

The happy mail keeps on coming!

WOW! Today, I received a total of 98 cards in the mail! 88 cards were from Nancy Elrick, our List Mom for the Yahoo Group that I'm a member of, CST (Canadian Stamp Talk). She's also a Stampin' Up! Demo and has very generously donated some cards she has made as well as some from swaps. Thanks so much, Nancy! They're all gorgeous! She included a lot of Xmas cards. I'm getting so many great ideas for Xmas cards for this year, I'm actually getting inspired to start them early! :)
Here's the box that I received from Nancy. Her cards came in a 'Switching Power Supply' box, my 5 year old daughter saw the box before I opened it and she asked me what it was. I joked with her and said, "I don't know, do you think it's a power box?" She didn't look very impressed that someone would be sending us a 'power box' and she said, "Humm, I don't know about that!" I opened it up and let her peek inside and she then said, "Holy Moses! That's a lot better than a power box!" Ah, I've got her trained early on the love of cards! lol :) Just thought I'd share that little funny story...

I also received 10 cards from Susan de Bree. These were also swap cards, so I won't post pics, just in case some one is hurt that their card has been passed on, although I'd be pleased if I knew one of my cards was going to such a great cause, you never know how others may feel. Thanks so much for your donation Susan, it's much appreciated! :)

My mailman is starting to wonder what's going on I think...lol :) That makes a total of 535 cards received to date! Woo Hoo! :)

Well, I have to go finish my gardening that I started earlier. I'm heading in to my crafty room tonight for a bit, I'll post my creation later. :) Thanks for stopping by!

A very generous donation

I was over at my friend, Kelly's house tonight and helped her and 3 other friends (Michele, Diana and Kim) to remount over 300 cards that were donated by our Stampin' Up! Demo, Yvonne Balmer. Yvonne donated a bunch of her card fronts that she used for demo'ing and we added a coordinating cardstock to them to make them into a card. We all had a great night chatting and admiring tonnes of gorgeous cards while we remounted them. It was fun and a very productive night! :) I haven't included these cards in my total on my side bar, as we didn't actually count them and I didn't actually receive them in the mail. What a generous donation to a great cause! You're a sweetheart, Yvonne!

Well, I'm off to bed, it's been a full day. I'll be back in my crafty room tomorrow night with a new creation to post. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Oh Happy Day!

WOW! Another amazing mail day! My friend, Catherine was over this afternoon for a playdate and we drooled over 84 cards that came in the mail today! Yup...84 more cards for the Autism project! WooHoo! And an amazing bunch of cards they are! I received 24 cards from Norma Thompson, 24 cards from Barbara (Basha) Krupa and 36 cards from Tracy Houghton! Basha even decorated all the envelopes, too! Holy cow, what a talanted lady! Each card is like a little art canvas... she puts my cards to shame! lol :) She's quite a painter!

I'm in a rush, so I'm just gonna quickly post 5 cards from each of them, I'd be here all night if I posted them all, but I wanted to show you some of these fantastic cards! Tonight, I'm on my way over to Kelly's place for a remounting party. Our Stampin' Up! Demo has generously donated about 300 cards, but we just have to remount them onto a blank card to take her info off. Should be a fun night! :)

Here are the cards by Tracy Houghton:
***Edited*** I had originally posted the wrong card and credited Tracy for the creation, but she commented to let me know that I had posted one of the cards she sent to me, but it was one that she had received in a swap. Oops...I guess that's what happens when you get 84 cards in the mail in one day! lol :) Anyway, the following five cards are now by Tracy! lol :) Awesome job, Tracy!





Here are the cards by Norma Thompson:




This is the special card that Norma made for me! Thanks so much, Norma, that was sweet of you, I love it! Sunflowers are some of my favourite flowers! :)

Here are the cards by Barbara (Basha) Krupa:




Now can you see why we were drooling! lol :) Well, I'm on the run, thanks for stopping by and a huge thanks to the talented gals that sent cards to me today! :)

Autism Cards from Dee and Carole

Another happy mail day! :) I received 15 more cards today for the Autism project. The first package was from Dee Richardson, she sent me 5 awesome cards. The second package was from Carole Anderson, she sent me 10 equally awesome cards! Thanks so much guys for taking the time to make these cards yourself for the project. That's makes a total of 353 cards received so far! Woo! Hoo! :)

These are the amazing cards by Dee Richardson:




These are the gorgeous cards by Carole Anderson:









I haven't been taking pics of all the cards I've received, but I'm trying to show off some of them, especially the ones that have been made especially for this project by the donating cardmaker.
I decided not to take pics of the ones that people have sent to me that were made by others that came from swaps. Again, I just thought it would be nicer to showcase some made specifically for this project.

I'm so pleased with the variety of cards that I've received and Kelly is thrilled with the way this project has taken off. I can't thank you all enough! Big Hugs to ya'll! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)