Monday, August 31, 2009

Birthday Wolves for Laura


I made this birthday card for my SIL, Laura. She loves wolves, so I decided to incorporate an image of wolves onto her card. I think she'll like this one. Happy Birthday, Laura! :)

I have to thank an awesome artist that I found on DeviantART for this pencil drawing. Wow, what amazing work! The artist is fron Finland and goes by the handle of DeadlyDead. You can see their full gallery here. Check it out if you have some time. The stop will be well worth it! I only wish I had that sort of talent with a pencil! My middle brother, on the other hand, has got that talent! Lucky guy!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Image: Wolves by DeadlyDead (posted on DeviantART)
Cardstock: Jet Black Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Beau Jardin Clover (Bo Bunny)
Tools: Oval Custom Cutting System (Creative Memories)
Embellishments: Black Jumbo Brads (Dollarama), 1/4" Black Grosgrain Ribbon & 1/8" Olive Green Satin Ribbon (Michaels)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Expecting Baby #3!


No, not me! lol But, I had fun this morning making this 'expecting' card for a good friend of mine. She's pregnant with baby#3 and I'm so happy for her! :) Congratulations, Diana! :)

Just a quick post for now. Hope everyone is having a great weekend and are able to get in some fun, crafty play!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Expecting Mom, Baby Rattle, Bunny, Safety Pins (Studio G)

Cardstock: Ivory (Staples), Goldenrod Linen (CRS), Baja Breeze (SU), Eggplant (Bazzill)

Patterned Paper: Pregnancy - 42-4527 (ProvoCraft), Couture - CTBP-C07 - Posh Design 2 (AMM - All My Memories)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Touch Markers: 29-Bareley Beige, 36-Cream, 136-Blush, 144-Pale Baby Blue, 147-Pale Lilac
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success)

Embellishments: 1/4" Plum Striped Ribbon (Michaels), Pale Blue Dew Drops (The Robins Nest)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Some Comic Relief

I had tho share this story that my hubby just found on Failblog.org. Lots of funny stuff on this site if you're looking for some comic relief! Anyway, here's a funny for ya all!

You can click on the picture to make it larger.

Poor girl! lol Hope you had a good laugh! :) I'm working a few projects...I'll have something to show you soon!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Circle of Friends Award

I recently received this special award from my good friend, Kim. Thanks so much for thinking of me Kim, you're like my kindred spirit!
Now, I have to pass this award on to 5 other bloggers. I always find it hard narrowing these down to just 5, but for this time, I'll chose the following friends:

Tracy
Shannon
Catherine
Yvonne
Nancy

These gals are all tremendously talented, please take a peek at their blogs to see some of their wonderful artwork. Thanks so much to you all for the inspiration and friendships! :)

Hugs,

Monday, August 24, 2009

A Budding Cardmaker


I had to share this card that my 5 1/2 year old daughter made for me yesterday. I think she loves butterflies even more than I do, if that's possible! When she saw the card that I made recently with the Mindscapes butterfly from Inkadinkado, she wanted to make one herself.

I think she did a really good job, her card shows symmetry (one of Natalia's favourite big words), has good choice of colour and a has beautiful image. What more could you ask for? While I was watching her make her card, though, I wasn't sure about the use of the red cs behind the vellum layer. But, just as I was thinking that to myself she said, "Look Mommy, the red looks pink now and matches perfectly!" So, I guess it works after all! Kids sure surprise ya sometimes! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

MojoMary Sketch Challenge


Another sketch done to celebrate Mojo Monday turning 100. I didn't get it posted in time to enter, but I thought it made for a cute welcome, baby boy card nonetheless. I used the monkey below for inspiration and free handed mine and cut it out.

This is the sketch that I followed by Mary Fish from the Mojo Team. Thanks to Mary for such a great sketch! :)
This little foam monkey was the inspiration piece for my monkey on my card. My daughter made this monkey at Sparks camp and I totally forgot about it until I found it a few days ago and thought it would make a cute baby boy card.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Welcome Little One (Studio G)
Cardstock: Ivory (Staples), Chocolate (CRS), River Rock (SU)
Patterned Paper: Classic K McKenna (K & Company), Harvest Stripes (Creative Memories)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine)
Touch Markers: 95 - Burnt Sienna (ShinHan Art Int'l)
Tools: Sponge (SU), Scissors, Two-Way Glue,
Embellishments: Chocolate Pearls (Kaiser Craft), Googley Eyes

Cupcake Puppets by Diana and Hurricane Pics


The girls and I met up with a good friend of mine and her kids today to go see a Mad Scientist show at the local public library. I'm so glad we went, the girls had so much fun at the show and seeing several of their friends that they haven't seen in a while. When we got there, Diana gave these sweet little cupcake puppets to each of my girls as a gift. She's always making some sort of wonderful craft and she's great at whatever she does. You can check out her blog here for other projects that she's done. We're all huge fans of her painted rocks, but you've gotta take a look at the knitted crafts that she makes- they're just too cute for anything! Diana's certainly artistic.
Thanks again, so much, Diana! The girls have been playing non-stop with their little cupcake puppets. :)

Oh, a quick update on the weather here. Hurricane Bill swept through, but after all the hype it really wasn't much at all. I guess after all the destruction here from Hurricane Juan a few years back no one was taking any chances. So, I'm glad to report that all is fine here now and only minimal damage was done to my flowers and a few downed branches from our trees. I guess the waves were pretty phenomenal, though. They got pretty high, but I didn't get to see any, just on the news.

Here's a few cool pictures of the surf at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia that were in our local newspaper.
I made a card last night, but didn't get a chance to post it, so I'll share that with you soon. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hurricane Quiche


Well, we're fairing pretty well here with Hurricane Bill blowing through the area. They're forecasting winds up to 100 km/hr and rain fall amounts between 90-140 mm. They also say that since we're supposed to get the height of the storm here at high tide, the waves may get up to 50 feet high. Crazy! The beaches are all closed down now, it's amazing to me that earlier you could actually see parents on the news taking their kids to go see the surf as a family event even with the warnings of how unsafe it was! What are people thinking? Seriously!

We haven't lost power here yet, but we still might. I have a large flower bed in front of my walk-way that I added miracle grow to the soil this year. So, instead of my Impatients only growing to about 6 inches tall, they've grown to about 1 1/2 feet tall and are so beautiful and full. That's amazing stuff! lol :) Unfortunately, a lot of my flowers have been blown flat now, though. :(

The power is out in most areas around around us. I've heard reports of it being around 22,000 homes across the province that are without power but they feel it's going to be up again later tonight. Just in case, I decided to do some baking to get supper ready in case I lost use of the stove. I've had a craving on for some quiche, so that's what I baked. I also cooked up some other things to keep on hand, just to have ready.

We've just been downgraded from a Hurricane watch to a Tropical Storm warning, so I think the majority of the storm is past us now with not a whole lot of damage. Just a fair bit of rain to still come but the winds are subsiding. It'll be interesting to take a drive later on to see just how bad it got around us, though.

Anyway, here's my recipe to share with you in case you have a craving on for some quiche, too! :)

Julie's Cheesy Bacon Quiche

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Crust:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Sugar
6 tbsp. Cooking Oil
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp. 2 % Milk

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add cooking oil and using a pastry blender, blend until it's the consistency of corn meal. Using a wooden spoon, stir in milk until it forms a ball. When it has nearly formed a ball, I work it with my hands rolling it around the bowl to fully incorporate the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 1/2 to chill. In the meantime, you may prepare the filling and egg mixture below.

Filling:
1/2 med Green Pepper, chopped
2 green Onions, chopped
4 slices of Bacon, cooked and chopped (I use real bacon that already comes pre-cooked and chopped)

1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Sauté green pepper for a 2 minutes until tender crisp, add green onions and continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Add pre-cooked bacon and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat.

Egg Mixture:
6 large Eggs
1 cup Milk
3 tsp. French Onion Dip Mix (Victorian Epicure) - no salt added
1 tsp. Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
pinch Salt
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Mix the above 6 ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

Roll out your pie crust on a floured surface and place in a 9" pie plate. Fill with egg mixture then add shredded cheddar cheese and bacon veggie filling. Bake in oven on middle rack for approximate 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of your quiche comes out dry.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Saturday, August 22, 2009

MojoTeresa Sketch Challenge


Julee Tilman has been pumpin' out fabulous sketches each week for us to play along with and this week she changed things up a bit by having her Mojo Team help her by each of them contributing a sketch during the week in celebration of Mojo Monday turning 100.

I had planned to play along with them all, but with the weather finally being so nice I seem to find myself outside enjoying the sunshine with the kids. I'm thinking tomorrow might be a crafty day, though, we have a storm watch on for Hurricane Bill...we'll see how much it amounts to...

This is the Mojo Monday Turns 100 - Day 3 sketch that I followed by Teresa Kline.
Here's a close up this new Mindscapes Butterfly...can you see all the faeries?

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Mindscapes (Inkadinkado)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette (SU), Purely Pomegranate (SU), Jet Black Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples), Vellum Cardstock (SU)

Ink: Jet Black (StazOn)
Touch Markers: 86-Vivid Reddish Purple & 18-Peach (ShinHan Art Int'l)

Tools: Scalloped Diamond Punch (EK Success), 1/16" Black Pop Dots (MultiCraft Imports)
Embellishments: Pink and Pomegranate Scalloped Ribbon

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Congrats from Deborah


I left my part-time job at the end of July before we started vacation as I was offered a full-time position elsewhere and I happily took them up on it. I'm looking forward to starting my new job after the girls start school in a couple of weeks and being able to work days again. Yeah, no more nights or weekends or daycare issues when Jim's away or on Duty watch! Yippee! :)

My friend, Deborah was so sweet and gave me this congratulations card the other night when we got together. Thanks so much Deborah, it's beautiful! I just love it. I also have another one of her cards that I received from our swap, but I'm waiting on a few techniques that she used to share with you before I post it. You're gonna be amazed!

This is the inside of the card above. It reads,
Wishing you much success
in your new job, Ms. Julie!

In friendship,
Deborah
Well, it's another hot one today...it's time to go swimming again to cool down!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

DigiScrapping Page by Angela


I have something a bit different to show you today. This gorgeous page was done of my two daughters by my friend, Angela aka Daisy. She's made to move from scrapbooking to DigiScrapping and has become very good at it! I'm floored by her work...it makes me want to get into this, too, but to be honest I'm very out of the loop when it comes to this digi format. I'm amazed with the blending and masking that is done. It all looks so fluid. I love it! I can't wait to find the perfect frames for them and get them hung in the girls' rooms.

You can see Ang's gallery here. She really does fabulous work and I'm so honoured that she made a special page and printed it off for each of my girls. They both absolutely love horses and were thrilled by the page. Thanks again so much, Ang! :)

I have some more cards to show you but I'm beat for now and have to call it a day. I'll get them posted tomorrow and hopefully get in some more crafty time, too.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Masculine Shirt Card


I had a great time last night at our monthly Alpha Beta Card crafty night. I think everyone liked the sweet pea card and I loved the card that Louise demo'd. She went with a masculine themed card with an origami shirt on the front and double pockets on the inside. Just in time to give to my Dad for his birthday in a couple of weeks. I just need to go out and get a gift card to out inside and I'll be all set.

**Edited to Add**
I've been fiddling around with the fold of the shirt, does this one look better? I think I folded the collar wrong to begin with...
Here's a view of the card opened. It's hard to see in the pic, but both of the large chocolate chip layers are embossed using Swiss Dots.

Here's the insert for one of pockets to write a little note on.

I had fun doing the little origami shirt and tie, I've seen these before but this was my first attempt at them. A fun project to do and I love the fold and pockets of this card. Thanks to Louise for sharing such a great project with us! We had some yummy treats as usual, too. I was supposed to make an ice-cream cake, but I didn't get a chance to make it, so I bought one instead at Dairy Queen. I'll post a pic of it later. Louise also brought the yummiest Apple Pear Crumble I've ever eaten! Oh, sweet deliciousness! (Is that a word? lol) She also brought a pecan pie, man, we're spoiled on crafty night! It's certainly not a night to be dieting! lol :)

I have more to share with you later today, but the kids are yanking on my arm to go out swimming right now. I'll be back later on, stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Sweet Pea


It's my turn tonight to demo a card or project and I decided to share this Sweet Pea card, just 'cause I thought it was so stinkin' cute when I saw it on Andrea Walford's blog. Her sister, Sophia Landry designed it and I cased it in part. Here's a link to Soph's tutorial on how to make this sweet pea card and some other great little projects, too.

Here's a bit of an angle to show you the dimension of the little plum flowers.

Well, gotta finish getting ready for tonight. I'll post tonight's other project that we do (demo'd by Louise) sometime tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Baroque Motif - Flourish (SU), Sweet Pea - 1800c (Paper Salon)

Cardstock: Green and Plum (The Paper Company), Flat White (Staples), Dusty Rose (Bazzill)
Ink: Wild Wasabi (SU), Pink Pirouette (SU)
Tools: 1/16" Hole Punch (to make the hole to poke the plum and white flowers through), Scissors, White Gel Pen (Signo), Black Gel Pen (Signo), Oval Custom Cutting System (Creative Memories), 1" CIrcle Punch (Creative Memories), Sponge Dauber (SU), Sponge (SU)
Embellishments: Plum and White Flowers (Viva Craft - Dollarama)

Out of the Box Card Challenge


Our Alpha Beta Card group is meeting again tonight for our monthly crafty night and the theme this month was to make a card 'out of the box' from our normal style. Sorry, I used the red and black again like I use fairly often, but I added a copper shimmer which I don't normally use, so I hope that counts. My other challenge for the card was to make one with no butterflies since the majority of my cards tend to have them on them! lol :)

I used these gorgeous prima flowers that I got on clearance a while back. I've kinda been stumped as to what to do with them, and thought I break into them for this card for something different. Please excuse the poor pics, it took forever to get a somewhat decent pic, since between the shimmer cardstock, the shiny brads, the copper cord and the metallic flowers, the camera was having a hard time focusing on one thing! I think it went into overload! lol :)

Here's a close up of the metallic prima flowers. Aren't they pretty? :)

Well, it's nearly as hot today as it's been the past several days, but at least today we have a breeze which seems to be saving us. The girls and I spent the morning in our pool, now I'm seeking refuge in my craft studio in our basement which is a lot cooler than upstairs.

I have one more post to show you, stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Encouragement (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Metallic Copper (Creative Memories), China Red Linen (CRS), Jet Black Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Tools: 1/16" Black Pop Dots (Dollarama), double-sided tape
Embellishments: Copper Brads (EK Success), Copper String (Creative Memories), Rust Striped Ribbon (Michaels-I think?), Metallic Flowers (Prima), Single Small Dusty Red Flower (Viva Craft - Dollarama)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Some Gorgeous Panoramic Pics

We're back again after a great time camping. We had beautiful weather while we were away and now the past couple of days have been 30+ C...not exactly in my comfort zone for temperature. I'd be happy if it was in the early 20's all year round! lol :)

Until I get a chance to show you some new artwork, I wanted to share a link with you all for some awesome pictures that I found online of a guy that's taken some gorgeous (mostly panoramic) shots around the area where I'm from in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. It's such a majestic place, and his photography has captured some great scenes. Check them out of you have a few minutes! Here's the link to his travelogue. Enjoy the pics! :)

Well, I'm trying to cool down here, it was over 30 C here today and my house is like a sauna. I'm rotating fans around the house in hopes that I can actually sleep tonight!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Vacation Pics


I thought I'd share a few pics from our little trip with the kids to Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford, Nova Scotia. It was really too sunny to be there that day as a lot of the animals were lazing about from the heat of the sun. Note to self to go there again when it's overcast or even a little misty.

I love this close up picture of a Great Horned Owl. What a beautiful owl. He was perched right on the opposite side of the fence and Jim put the camera right between the fence so you couldn't see it in the frame.

The girls love seeing the Llama. Obviously you can walk right in and get up close to him. Can't get much closer than they got, eh? lol :)
Natalia riding Honey aka Spirit. She says the pony looks just like the horse in the movie Spirit. That's her favourite movie.

Alexandria riding Honey around the corral. This is always the highlight of the trip. They both loves horses so much.

I won't bore you with a whole bunch more pics, but these are a couple from our trip up to Jim's parents place in New Brunswick.

This is Alexandria enjoying one of the many swims out in the Miramichi River, just outside her grandparents house. The water is so much warmer than where we normally swim here in Nova Scotia since we're usually in the ocean. The river seems like bath water! lol :)
Jim's brother, Scott, took the girls out in his canoe while Jim paddled down river next to them in a single-man kayak. When they got back home, Jim took turns taking each of them in with him in the kayak for a little paddle around the river. This is the first time they've been in a canoe or a kayak and they loved them both. They can't wait to go again the next time we're up there.
Well, more to do around the house. I'll have another craft project to show you soon. :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)