CCE from Karen and a RAK from Cathy

I have two cards to share with you today that I got in the mail yesterday. A definite happy mail day! :)

The first one is a nice Fall card from Karen Heighton. I like the Fall colours a lot and the little Pumpkin patch stamp is cute. The touch of raffia is nice, too. Great idea. I never would have thought to use raffia on a card, but I will now! lol :) This is a CCE (Canadian Card Exchange) card for October. Glad I'm not the only one that's behind! lol :) No worries, Karen, I'm just teasing. I don't care when they arrive, it's just nice to get mail that's not bills! :)

The second card is a RAK from Cathy Meyers. She won some blog candy (a day planner that I altered) from me recently and she sent this beautiful card as a thank you. I love the colours in this card and it incorporates lots of my favourite elements in a card...scallops, pretty ribbon, primas and the use of the Cuttlebug. Thanks so much for thinking of me, Cathy. Your card is much appreciated. :)
I'll be back later with a card of my own to share. Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Pointsettia Xmas Card

My friend, Catherine came over tonight to have a bit of stampin' fun with me. We had a good time chatting as we worked, although my youngest daughter decided she didn't want to go to sleep when she was supposed to. I guess she wanted to share in girls night...I just hope she's not too cranky tomorrow after getting to sleep late. :(

Catherine altered a beautiful box and I made two cards. We weren't having one of our most productive nights, by any means. I was having some serious issues with my projects tonight, but I got them done. Anyway, the first card was for Tracy's November Mystery Happiness Challenge and the second was a Xmas card. So, that's 3 Xmas cards down, only about 60 more to go....ahh, I don't know if I'll actually get them all done or not! I hate just throwing cards together. I like to put some thought and work into them, but if I spent that much time on each card, I'd be here til next year getting them done! Next year, I swear I'm gonna start them in July! Yeah, I know, we'll see if that happens... lol :)

So, this is the Xmas card above that I made tonight, I'll share the other card soon, after Tracy closes the contest and posts all the entries. I'll be back on tomorrow night with another card.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies: (All Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Hollydoodles (See d's)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke, Summer Sun, Gold and Flat White (CRS)
Tools: Leaves Embossing Plate (CRS), 1/8" dimensional squares, double-sided adhesive
Embellishments: Wine Satin Ribbon (Fabricville), Chipboard for Season's Greetings tag (Dollarama)

Sympathy Window Card

My dear friend, Catherine phoned me tonight to tell me that her grandmother had just passed away. So, this special sympathy card is for her and I also made one for her Dad and Mum.

Catherine's parents are very kind souls. Her Mum is such a sweetheart, when I was sick and my husband was away with the Navy, she made me a big pot of beef stew so I wouldn't have to cook. How thoughtful is that? This was Catherine's Dad's Mother that has just passed away. He is still recovering from a heart attack and my heart goes out to him at this time, especially when he's still not up to par himself.

May his Mom be at peace now and those who loved her, remember her always.

Supplies: (All Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes
Ink: Cranberry Crisp
Cardstock: Cranberry (Bazzill), Celery (Bazzill), Taupe and Flat White (CRS)
Patterned Paper: Bohemia - Backyard "My Journey" Brocade/Brown (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: Wine Velvet Ribbon (Michaels)
Tools: Double Rectangle Punch, Sea Sponge, Double-Sided Adhesive, Oval Cutting System (Creative Memories), Cuttlebug, Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder, Verse is a Native American Proverb that I've always liked. I printed off using MS Word and 'Freebooter Script' that I downloaded from the Internet.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Happy Birthday, Michele!

Happy Birthday, to my dear friend, Michele! Here's to one cool kitty! lol :) I saw this stamp set and knew I wanted it for a card for Michele as she loves kitties. I paired it with some nice bold bright colours as she's French and likes bright colours. Here's to you, Michele, Love ya! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: 'Happy Birthday' from Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession), 'One Cool Kitty' and kitty (See d's), 'To' (ANM-All Night Media)
Ink: Pink Passion (SU)
Cardstock: Pink Passion (SU), Blue (Bazzill), Flat White (Carousel)
Patterned Paper: Play Mother May I (American Crafts)
Tools: Edge Distresser (CTMH)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Doosie of a Day...

Well, today was an absolute day from He double l! I woke up at about 3 am with a migraine and vomited until about noon! Gotta love migraines. It's a good thing that I don't get them very often anymore, but they're still doosies when they do decide to grace me with their presence! Not Fun! So, needless to say, I didn't take my daughter to school today, not so bad as she's had a cough all weekend and could stand one more day to rest before heading back to school. She's be ok to go tomorrow.

The girls were both excessively loud and running around all day today. Not very sympathetic to my head that felt like it was about to explode! :( Anyway, my friend, Michele came over and helped to get the girls hair dried after I got them showered and ready for bed. God bless her, she read to them and got them settled down. Still don't know how we're gonna deal with her moving away in less than 2 weeks! I still haven't told the girls, they're gonna flip! But, we'll still see her, we'll only be 3 hours apart, it's not so bad, I guess. She stayed afterwards and made a bunch of cards for Kelly for the Autism fundraiser project. I made two of the cards pictured above and I also got started on some more of my own Xmas cards for this year. I have a good start on them but, I'm in the assembly line process, I'll share them later when they're done. lol :)

Well, it's time to call it a day. It's gonna be a long week...gotta go get some rest!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies: (All SU unless otherwise noted.)
Stamps: See D's Xmas Ornaments (these are the ones that come as unmounted stamps in a little package about 3" x 3". Tonnes of different sets and they're all really cute!
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Black, White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Tools: Giga Round Scalloped Punch (Marvy Uchida), Corner Rounder (for making the scalloped edge on the Blue Bayou c/s), 1/8" Dimensional Squares, Double-Sided Adhesive Tape, scissors.
Embellishments: Sheer White Organdy Ribbon (Michaels)

Xmas Cards for Autism Fundraiser

I finally kicked myself into Xmas mode tonight and started on a few Xmas cards. These ones are actually going to be donated to the Autism Fundraiser that Kelly and I headed up in the Summer. This has been a continuing project in which we've raised over $3,200, so far! :) Over 1,500 cards have been donated for the project in support of Autism. Kelly's the one that has raised all the money, I'm only the collector and maker of some of the cards. You go, Kelly! You're one heck of a saleswoman! :)

These are the ones that I made tonight for the project.
Supplies: (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: The Snowflake Spot, Frosty, Gently Falling, Warmest Regards, Garden Silhouette, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: Cranberry Crisp, Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Black
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Cranberry Crisp, White, More Mustard
Tools: Ticket Punch, Round Tab Punch, Scalloped Rectangle Punch (Marvy Uchida), Edge Distresser (CTMH), Cuttlebug, Snowflake & d' Vine Swirls Embossing Folder, 1/8" Dimensional Squares, Sea Sponge, Double-Sided Adhesive Tape, Merangue Hi-Jell Sparklers Markers in Orange, Red, Green and Blue.
Embellishments: Burgundy Velvet Ribbon, Sheer White Organdy Ribbon (Michaels)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Asian Thanks and Curled Ribbon Tutorial

I was able to get in some crafty time tonight after I got home from work and finally got to play with my Garden Silhouettes stamp set that I've been wanting to play with for some time now. It reminds me an Asian-looking stamp, so I paired with with a 'thank you' stamp with a font that has an Asian feel to it, as well. I love this Purely Pomegranate colour from SU's 'In Color' ink line, it's such a beautiful, vibrant colour. I decided to go with a monochromatic theme for this one and I quite like how it turned out.

I used my heat tool on the white organdy ribbon to give it a pretty curled effect. You need to be very careful as to not apply too much heat in one area of the ribbon, though, or you'll burn a hole right through the ribbon or it'll just shrivel up basically into a little knotted mess!

I made this simple little tool to help with the curling effect. Just take a regular piece of cardstock and cut a little slit in it, slide it over the ribbon and that way you can control where the heat is being distributed. Simple, but it works! :)

This is how I slide the tool over the knotted ribbon to protect the knot and the other side of the ribbon from excessive heat. It only takes a couple of seconds to heat the ribbon, it will start to curl right away. I start at the tip of the ribbon and move my way into towards the knot until I achieve the desired curled effect. Have fun with it! :) Yeah, I know...I need to get out more! I think I get far too excited over ribbon! lol :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes (SU), Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate (SU), White (The Paper Company)
Embellishments: White Organdy Ribbon
Tools: Double Rectangle Punch (SU), Cuttlebug, d'Vine Swirls Embossing Folder, Smallest Oval Template and Red Cutting Blade (Creative Memories), Heat Tool, Double-sided tape.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Some Good Finds

So, I was at the mall today in search of a new pair of sneakers to use for work so I can fare the concrete floors a bit better. I found a good pair, so hopefully my feet and legs won't be hurtin' quite so bad come the end of my long shift tomorrow! :)

As I about to leave the mall, I noticed a couple of nice big coffee mugs with a cute snowman pattern on them and thought hey, for $ .99 each, I couldn't go wrong! Well, once I was in the dollar store (99 Cents or Less in Penhorn Mall), some chipboard caught my eye... lol :) I was pleasantly surprised with what I found and it got even better when I was chasing after one of my daughters and I came upon some gorgeous scrapbook paper for a screamin' deal! Double-sided, heavy weight patterned paper - 3 sheets for $ .99!!! So, I bought 12 sheets! I was a happy girl! :)

Here are some pics of my haul today!

Some gorgeous Christmas chipboard tag and frame stickers

I spied these Monogram Letter Stickers and knew right away that my girls would love them...they'll be great little stocking stuffers! Also, some more chipboard frames, tags and flowers...aren't they purdy? :)

These are some vintage-looking chipboard stickers also from the dollar store and a Happy Birthday Stamp that my daughter found for me yesterday at Frenchy's (a second-hand clothing store) in the toy bins while I was looking for a winter jacket for my younger daughter. It was funny, as I was looking through a bin of clothes and she came running over to me screaming, "Mummy, Mummy, I found something for you to use when you're having crafty time!" Ahhh, I have her trained well! LOL :)
This is the double-sided patterned paper - pretty, eh? :)

Ok, that's my dollar store tour for today. Consider yourself enabled...now, RUN to your dollar store to see what goodies they have for you! lol :)

I'm gonna call it a day, thanks for stoppin' by! :)

A New Haircut

I thought I'd go get a 'pick-me-up' haircut this morning while both the girls were in school. I've been debating whether or not to grow my hair out a bit again...well, I chickened out and got it cut short again instead. I kinda like the new haircut, but we'll see if I can get it to look like the stylist did...too bad she just couldn't stop over here at my house every morning to do it for me! lol :)

Anyway, just thought I'd share a pic as I didn't have any cards or altered projects to share with you all tonight...too tired to get crafty. :( My 6 year old daughter took the picture of me, hence the crooked curtains in the background! lol :)

Well, I'm gonna call it a day. Hope you're all having a good night!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

CTMH Goodies

I got my CTMH (Close to My Heart) order last night and I'm excited to put together the recipe card kit to add to my recipe tin that I altered a while back.

This is the 'Let's Get Together Card Kit' for Recipes and the neat little edge distresser that I bought. Aren't the colours fabulous on the cards? :) The kit comes with 9 - 4" x 6" index cards - 3 each in the Garden Green, Buttercup and Cranberry colours. Two different styles of 4" x 6" recipe cards - 25 of each. Also included is 1 - 6" x 12" My Stickese Adhesive Sheet. These are the labels for the recipe cards. Now I just need to find the time to put these together in amongst working and getting birthday, thank you and Xmas cards done!
This is a package of patterned paper that I got called, 'Simple Pleasures.' These are also double-sided papers, the other side is a somewhat solid colour. I like the kinda 'Old World' distressed look of these papers, can't wait to play with them! I feel lots of 'altering' in my future! :)
Well, gotta go get Alexandria at school for lunch. Then, this afternoon I have to tend to my housework and make supper for tonight so we can eat a bit early before I go to work. I imagine I'll be in my craft room tonight after work...stay tuned. lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Altered Photo Frame and Coaster Tiles

Note to self...don't leave gifts to make until the last minute, anymore! lol :) Nothing turned out right yesterday...I started off making 4 tiles, finished them, went outdoors to seal them with the spray sealer (as it's strong smelling) and the ink ran on all my tiles! Ahhhh! So, with 5 tiles left, I started over again. The last of the four tiles, I was hurrying and forgot to add the mask over the flower before I stamped the script background over top...yup, ruined another tile! No problem, I had one left, so I used the last one. I was just about to left off the script stamp and this was when my cat decided to jump up onto my craft table and I smeared the top corner of the script! Just not in the plan to get them done uneventful, I guess! lol :)

Next project, I move onto the photo frame that I wanted to alter. I made a beautiful frame that I was so happy with and the last part was to put the glass and backing back on the frame when I realized that it CAN'T be reversed! I had made it with the wider side to the right, instead of the to left...yup, apparently it can only go one way. So, I had to start over. Only problem now is that the patterned paper that I used was the very last piece that I had here in my house. I was so disappointed as I really liked the one that I had already done...sorry, forgot to take a pic of that one to show you. Anyway, I like this one below that I did but the other one really was much nicer. Oh well. That's was I get for rushing and leaving things to the last minute. It's just been so busy here with trying to get everything ready for Alexandria's birthday, starting a new job, then Natalia's birthday, that I didn't get a chance to get to it earlier.

Anyway, I hope they like them. I'm sure that I'm much more critical of my own work, it's just that I like to be really pleased with my work before I give it as a gift. I guess I should remember that it's the thought that counts and I just wanted them to have a little something to remember us by to add with the monetary gift.

Well, I have to get a few things done here before I go to get my daughters at school for lunch. Moe stuff to this afternoon and tonight I have to go into work. Jim left for sea this morning for a month, so my friend is watching the kids while I'm at work. I might get a chance to play in my stamp room tonight when I get home, we'll see...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Tumbled Tiles (Home Depot), Self-Adhesive Cork Pads for under coasters (Dollar Store)
Stamps: Italian Poetry Background (Hero Arts), Flower from True Friend set (SU), Flourishes from Nightingale (See D's), Live, Love, Laugh (Studio G)
Ink: Jet Black (StazOn), Coffee Bean (Delta -Rubber Stampede)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Leaves (Rhonna Farrer)
Tools: Double-Sided Adhesive Tape, Craft Knife, Matte Finish Acrylic Spray Sealer (Americana)

Birthday Cards for Natalia

These are two birthday cards that Natalia got on Saturday from a couple of my cardmaking friends that attended the party with their little ones. Thanks so much to both of you for taking the time to make a card for Natalia, she loved both of them! :)

This card was made by Catherine Levy. It reminds me of Tallie running and playing out in the leaves...something she loves to do! :) Thanks so much, Catherine!

This sweet little pocket card was made by Kelly Eelhart in keeping with the ladybug theme. Such a pretty card, thanks so much to you, too, Kelly!

I just snapped this shot of the girls having a Royal Tea Party with dresses that they each got on their birthday. They both love to play dress up, this tea set was also a gift to Natalia on her birthday. Thanks so much, Georgia and Tiffany! They love it! You can see even that Cookie Bear has joined in the festivities! (Sitting in the raised Pooh Bear chairs.) lol :)

I'll be back later with a gift I'll be making this afternoon for my friend who's getting married soon. I have to work tonight so I won't have time to post it until late tonight or tomorrow morning for you to see.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

First Snowfall of Fall 2007

I thought this was kinda pretty of our first snowfall this season. This was taken yesterday on Highway 101 on the way to my parents house in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. I guess we got about 10 cms or something like that. The snow was pretty wet and with the rain rain we got it made a slushy mess, but most of it is all gone now. The girls were very excited to wear their new snow boots for the first time of the season yesterday. It doesn't take much to entertain them sometimes! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Alexandria as a Fairy and Natalia Riding a Pegasus

I wanted to share these beautiful pictures that my friend, Diana Graff made for my girls for each of their birthdays. I waited to share Alexandria's until now so I could post them with Natalia's. I am so pleased with how they turned out, Diana does such wonderful work and they are something that we will have for a long, long time! The girls both love their pictures and I love to look at them, too! They're so sweet! :) Thanks again, so much, Diana! You know how much I appreciate you making these for us! Big Hugs! :)


Anyway, I just wanted to share her beautiful work and show off my girls! lol :) I'm off to bed. Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Ladybug Bonanza

Well, we had Natalia's 4th birthday party yesterday and I think all the kids had a great time playing. I know my girls had a blast! After the party I grabbed a quick bite to eat for supper and ran out the door to work. I got my shift done and they actually let me go an hour early since it wasn't very busy. We got our first snowfall/storm actually yesterday. It was getting rather miserable out as my shift went on and fewer and fewer people were out in it...so that was good for me, as I a bit sleep deprived, I got to come home and relax! lol :)

This is a pyramid of all the ladybug treat boxes that I made up for all the kids. Sorry for the bad pic, but I took it at about 2 AM in the morning, the day of the party! Yes, I'm a procrastinator! lol :)
These are the four ladybug cakes that I made. They were fun to make and I think everyone got a kick out of them. :) I used two cake pans that are normally used to make two halves of a soccer ball/basket ball etc. cake. But, instead of icing the two flat pieces to make a ball, I just laid the cake with flat side down, iced it and added red crystallized sugar. I took apart ALOT of mini Oreo cookies, removed the white cream layer in them and iced them with my icing so that they would stick to the red sugar. I added the black shoe string licorice for the wings in a figure 8 design and ta-da you have a ladybug body. For the head, I used my Creative Memories Cutting Template and cut out a piece of black cardstock and added the googley eyes. Done! Natalia absolutely loved them, so mission accomplished! :)
This is the Mexican Layered Dip that I made for the adults to snack on. It's so easy to make.
Mexican Layered Dip

8 oz pkg. light cream cheese
2 tbsp. fat-free mayo
3/4 lb. extra lean hamburger
1 500 ml. bottle mild salsa
1/2 sm. head iceberg lettuce, finely chopped
250 gr. cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
black olives, seeded and chopped, optional

Cream together softened cream cheese and mayo. Spread on bottom of large dip bowl.
Cook hamburger, cool, layer over top of cream cheese layer.
(I cook my in a Tupperware Microwave Cooker which cooks the beef on a slotted rack and all the fat drips through to the bottom so you get rid of the extra fat. Otherwise, I would fry and rinse and drain the beef.)
Pour salsa over top of hamburger layer.
Chop up lettuce and layer on top of salsa layer.
Shred cheddar cheese and sprinkle over top of lettuce layer.
Sprinkle chopped green onions on top of cheddar cheese.
Finish by sprinkling on black olives, if desired. I normally don't add these for gatherings as I don't know if everyone likes them....although I could eat the whole can, I think! lol :)

Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Altered Pocket Notebook

I decided to alter a little pocket-sized notebook this afternoon to keep notes in at my new job. I think perhaps it should have a protective plastic cover on it to keep it looking nice, but that's not gonna be a job for today...to much else to do! lol :)

I kinda like the effect of the 'A Little Note' stamp. This is a clear unmounted stamp, so easy to do this technique. I first stamped it using black StazOn ink, then I stamped slightly to the right with Silver Metallic ink. I guess technically I should have stamped to the left, to make the black a shadow...oops! Oh well, next time! lol :)

You can't really see clearly in the picture, but the patterned paper has glitter in the centers of the flowers. So, the silver ink that I used kinda ties it together. I like the way my little notebook turned out, it's almost too pretty to use at work!

Ok, now I have to go finish getting supper ready before I head to work for the evening.

Supplies:
Pocket-Sized, Lined Notebook (Dollarama)
Stamp: 'A Little Note' (Studio G)
Ink: Black StazOn and Metallic Silver Encore (SU)
Patterned Paper: Posies Glitter Print - Pocket Full of Green (DCWV)
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava (SU), White (The Paper Company) and Bashful Blue (SU) which you can't see...for lining the inside of the notebook covers.
Embellishments: Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon (American Craft Elements)
Tools: Oval Custom Cutting System (Creative Memories), Double-Sided Adhesive Tape

Ladybug Origami Treat Boxes

My friend, Michele came over tonight to stamp with me, we had a good time chatting while we were in crafty mode. I've known Michele for just over 10 years now, I'm sure gonna miss her when she moves to New Brunswick soon! :(

Tonight's task was for me to come up with an idea for a treat bag/box to give to my daughter, Natalia's friends as a thank you for coming to her party this weekend coming. In keeping with the ladybug theme of her party, these origami boxes are what I decided to make. One down...7 more to go! So, it's gonna be a busy night tomorrow after I get off work. I'd start on more of them tonight, but I'm out of red cardstock, the rest that I have is more of an orange-red and not the right colour.

I wanted to make something for the kids that they can use afterwards. Seems most treat bags are seen for a day and after that the candy is gone or the toys are broken or lost. I thought to myself, what kid doesn't like little boxes to store their treasures in. That and the ladybug is just too darn cute not to keep around! lol :)

I'm scheduled to work the rest of the week, except Friday, so that will be a good time to get the food and cake made and decorations put up, but come Saturday night, I'm gonna be toast after having to go to work for the evening right after the party. :( Welcome back to the working world! lol :)

I just checked on the kids and they're sleeping like angels after another somewhat cranky day. Hopefully, they'll be back into normal routine tomorrow. I usually takes a few days to get there after the time changes. I'm sure tomorrow will be better! Well, off to bed, I go!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Flourished Dove

I got a chance to wind down tonight and play a bit with some stamps that I've been wanting to play with for some time. When did we buy those stamps, Kim? Must be a month or so ago by now! Wow, time flies! I had intentions of going home that night and breaking into them...oh well, better late than never, I guess! lol :)

I really needed that little bit of wind-down 'me' time tonight...OMG the kids were crazy acting today! Just whining and crying all day long. I'm not sure if it's because they woke up early with the time change and it was a long day for them, or the fact that perhaps they didn't didn't get the best sleep last night with the wind howling outside with the storm that we had. Regardless, I couldn't wait for them to go to bed tonight. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new day with better moods!

Well, we fared pretty well with the storm here yesterday. We lost our power for just a short period of time during the night, but my friend, Catherine isn't faring so well out her way, just 20 minutes from here. Her power went out yesterday and she's been told to expect to be without power until about 11:30 PM Tuesday night! EEEP! Good thing they have a wood stove and a generator!

Lots of damage around, though. Winds got up to about 140 km/hr and tore shingles and a roof off, a side of brick buildings was completely cleared, lots of downed trees and damaged roads from washout. As for us, we only had a couple of branches that broke on our trees and our roof in still in tact, so we were very fortunate.

Well, I'm tired and I need to call it a day. Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Purely Pomegrante and Blue Bayou (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Leaves (Rhonna Farrer)
Ink: Purely Pomegrante and Blue Bayou (SU)
Stamps: 'Thank you' from Greetings Galore set (Impression Obsession), Dove and Flourishes from Nightingale set (See D's)
Tools: Scissors to cut out dove

A Tag Game

I've been tagged by Ila. If you haven't checked out Ila's blog over at Artfully Ila, head over and take a look! She does absolutely stunning work, believe me, you won't be disappointed! :)

Ok, on to the questions......

1. If you could have 100.00 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose?

Ooh, that's a hard choice, but I think I'd have to go with the scrapbook or patterned paper.

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or rub-ons, which would you choose?

Definitely stamps....I've never actually used rub-ons...I see some pretty ones, but I really prefer the effect of stamping.

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year...which would you do?

Cards is my obsession. I don't do scrapbooking, my Mum has already scrapbooked me and both my daughters! lol :) One day I'd like to get into scrapbooking, though.

4. Would you rather own a scrap booking store or have your own scrapping room at home...(can't have both he he he).

I could never give up my stamp space at home, although I'd love to have a bigger space and one with a window. I'm using the back entrance of my house and part of the storage room for now, but there isn't a window in it...could be a lot worse, though!

5. What is your CURRENT card making or scrapping style?

I like both elegant and whimsical cards. As long as they incorporate beautiful paper, pretty colours, some embellies and nice stamps, I'm happy!

Here are the rules..............

Please answer the questions on your blog and tag 5 more people to answer the same questions..........make sure you list on your blog who you are tagging....Thanks!!

Now to tag 5 people......hopefully these girls haven't been tagged already.

Catherine (My Stamping Grounds)
Kim (Creative Diversions)
Tracy (Tracy's Happy Place)
Charly (Charly's Crazy Corner)
Shannon (Live, Love, Laugh and Stamp)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Parade of Ladybugs

My youngest daughter is turning 4 years old soon and these are the ladybug birthday invitations that I made for her tonight. I CASE'd the idea from over on Sara Redman's blog, Desperate Stamper. I knew as soon as I saw her invitations, that it's what I wanted to do for Natalia's invites. She loves ladybugs and had already asked me if she could have a ladybug themed party this year. I think she's really gonna like these when she sees them in the morning. :) If you haven't checked out Sara's blog, take a peek, she's one of my regular blog hoppin' stops and she does amazing work! Thanks so much to her for this great idea!
Supplies:
Cardstock: White and Black (The Paper Company), Red (Bazzill)
Stamp: Invitation (Whispers - Sugarloaf Products, Inc.)
Ink: Real Red (SU)
Tools: Circle Template Cutting System with Red and Blue Blades (Creative Memories), 1" and 1 1/2" Circle Punches (Creative Memories), googley eyes (Wal-Mart), Red and Black Brads (Dollarama) and a Thumbtack to poke through the three layers for the brad.

Well, the wind is still howling outside but the rain has stopped for the time being. The power hasn't gone out, so hopefully that's it for us for the storm and it bypassed us! Fingers crossed! Well, I need to go get some rest...I just realized it's 1:30 AM and the morning is gonna come early! :( Hey...I was just about to hit 'publish post' and I realized that it's only 12:30 AM! Yeah! Almost forgot that we gain an hour of sleep tonight! Too bad the girls likely won't sleep in, in the morning, though!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Too darn cute not to share!

I found this drawing today that my oldest daughter, Alexandria (6 years) did last night while I was at work. I thought it was just too darn cute, not to share. She was drawing a picture of our kitty, she's a Mackerel Tabby cat, hence the stripes on her drawing. :)


This is Lynux, she's almost 8 years old and a very fat cat...the girls used to feed her way too many kitty treats until I realized what they were doing! lol :) Since we've cut back on the amount of 'Pounce Treats,' she's lost a lot of weight. She's a pretty cat and has recently become very affectionate.
Ok, that's enough of my rambling about cats! lol :) Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Good Finds at Wal-Mart!

My friend, Catherine was telling me about some patterned paper that she found at Wal-Mart yesterday, so I thought I'd take a peek while I was there getting some googley eyes for Natalia's birthday invitations this afternoon. Well, they're very pretty papers! They have two different paper packs by Autumn Leaves and this is the pack that I got, pictured below. 100 sheets for $9.99, a pretty good deal!

I also spied these stamps. I've been wanting a stamp that says 'handmade by' instead of handstamped by, as some of the altered projects I do, don't actually have any stamping on them. I really liked the font of these stamps and hey, for $3.33 for a 2-pack of stamps, you can't go wrong!Wal-Mart also has some cute cardmaking paper packs if you're into those. They're 12" x 12" paper packs with assorted die-cuts included to make a ton of cards. They seem to be broadening their crafty section...perhaps they're starting to realize how much they could be making off those of us that are addicted to our crafty hobby or obsession, I should say!! lol :)

We're starting to get quite a little storm here. They're calling for winds up to 140 km/hr and between 70-100 mm of rain! The tail end of Tropical Storm Noel. I'm hoping that I don't have to camp inside the house this weekend with no power, so fingers crossed it just ends sending us a bit of rain like it's doing right now. It's really coming down out there, though, so we'll see! Anyway, it'll be a good night for doing some cardmaking tonight. I have invitations to make for my youngest daughter's 4th birthday coming up next Sat. It'll be a full evening getting those done and I'll post pics later on.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Halloween Pics

The girls had so much fun last night and they're coming off their sugar high now! It was another late night last night...gonna have to get them to bed early tonight!

Here's a pic of the girls as they were 'somewhat patiently' awaiting for it to get dark so we could go out treat or treating. Natalia dressed up as Belle and Alexandria was supposed to be a witch, but at last minute decided to be a Princess, I guess. It turned out quite nice last night, they didn't need to wear their hats or gloves, just a light sweater or vest.

I got an awful kick out of this shot. Looks like Natalia is thinking, Get away from my stuff! lol :) Jim wanted to take a pic of all the loot that they brought home. This was both of their bags of candy all dumped out so I could go through it to check it our for 'suspicious' stuff. This will do them the whole year! It's funny, we have a big blue Tupperware bowl that we keep the candy in, the girls fondly refer to it as the 'blue bowl.' Insert big puppy dog smile and they say, "Can we please have something from the blue bowl?" lol :) Well, I kept the chips in a bag and went to dump all the candy and chocolate bars into the blue bowl and discovered that we still had three pieces of candy left from last year! I guess we're not big candy eaters here.

Anyway, it's driving me crazy having it here in the house right now, it's like a test for self control. I'm trying to be good, but the chocolate is calling my name! I need it out of the house! I've worked too hard to get this 80 lbs off, I'm not about to gain it back again!!! Perhaps I'll paste a pic of me before I lost my weight to the top of the bowl, to show me that I don't want to be that size again and I'll stay away from the candy! Think that'll work?

I leave in an hour to go in for training this afternoon at my new job. But, I'll be home tonight to create something after I get the kiddies off to bed.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)