Celebrating 50!

No card making this week, but I did make this cute little picture book for my cousin's 50th birthday! Since I have known her my whole life there was no lack of pictures as I went through all my photo albums....it was great fun! This is the cover. I'm pleased to say she thrilled with it! I can think of no better way to celebrate someone so special who as been such a blessing in my life!..Lots of cherished memories! Love you always, Gracie!

The things we buy..!

A while ago I bought one of these great Dollar store finds that we all come across thinking this would be great for cardmaking....it's colourful and already completely die cut...what could be easier. And then I get it home and think..now what? Well, I found this in my stash the other day and decided to just start cutting it apart. I had a basic idea in mind and this turned out pretty much the way I had hoped. I sort of just kept adding things to keep the colour flow and balance. Now what to do with the rest of the sheet?!

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. I see we have a fresh layer of snow again this morning...it must be the weekend. Lately it seems to only snow on the weekend.

Well I'm off to work....enjoy your day!

A toast to Valentine's Day!

Literally...!!! My hubby cooked Valentine's dinner! Homemade lasagna and ...to my surprise....heart shaped garlic toast!! Nothing says love like this! Beats flowers and chocolate any day!

Birdcage Birthday

Yet again another card from the Nature Walk stamp set. I take no credit for this card as it was totally cased from the SU Idea book and Catalogue pg. 168! That's what it's for right?....there are so many cards in this catalogue that caught my eye, either because of the colours, stampset used or layout. Lots of ideas bouncing around in my head! But first I need to work on a special card for my cousin who is celebrating her 50th birthday this week! Make it a great day!

Sunshine Girl!

On this cold, blustery, wintery morning, I thought we could all use some warming up with this card! Oh to be somewhere warm, sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun!

This beach babe is a stamp from Kraftin Kimmie, coloured with tombow markers; paper, ribbon, and flowers from my stash. It is already in the mail to my daughter, who is off to Florida for her upcoming reading break, with wishes for a wonderfully, relaxing time with her friends! Am I jealous...well, just a little!

Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm!

Another Walk with Nature

Good morning...looks like another beautiful day! They are predicting snow for tomorrow, but only a couple of cm. Winter....you are such a tease this year!

Another card from the Nature Walk set. I stamped the images on a separate piece of white cardstock, then edged around it with a marker and layered on my white card. The flowers were coloured with tombow markers, I added an extra one popped up on top. My butterfly was coloured with watercolour pencil crayons. Did the same card again with monarch butterfly colours and added some stickles to it....hard to see in the picture. I think this one is my favorite! I will add a sentiment later as needed.

Have I said how much I love this stamp set!! And so far I've only used three of the seven stamps. The possibilities are endless! Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy this beautiful day!

Nature Walk

Finally got around to inking up my Nature Walk stamp set from SU. Now that I have played with all the different stamps in this set over the last couple of days I have to say.....I LOVE THIS SET!! For this card I stamped the flower image in the backgound, then cutout and raised the bird for some dimension. The whole thing is layered on more mustard cardstock, then on bravo burgunday which I embossed with the framed tulip folder from SU.

That is just the beginning of the endless fun I had creating cards with this set. See you tomorrow for another 'walk with nature'.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day.

Hi There!

On Friday evening I went to a stamping event with some friends and made some lovely cards and had a great time out! It was just what I needed to give my mojo a boost! Yesterday I sat at my card table and made a bunch of cards which I will share with you over the next couple of days. This owl card I noticed in the feature gallery on splitcoast and I just had to make it..sooo cute! I know a few university students who would love to get a card from their mom once in a while. The heart and tag are nestabilites dies, and the owl punch from SU. Very fun and easy card to make!

So now I'm off to fill up mother-hubbards-cupboards, and then hopefully get back to my card table.

Have a wonderful day!

Grandmother's Album Quilt top

I finished my Grandmother's Album quilt top this week....pieced all the squares together to finish the final row and sewed it on, then added the border....all done by hand, I might add. It was very relaxing just sitting stitching while watching TV, and kept my hands out of the cookie jar! Now to get the batting and some backing material and let the real quilting begin! Maybe I'll finish the baby quilt first...little less overwhelming.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy your day!

What was in the bucket??!!

For those of you who follow my daughter Brittany's blog, you would have probably read her recent post on the hours we spent...well, I spent.....cutting blocks to finish the quilt she is working on. (You can check out her blog - 'BK' - under places I visit).

While rummaging through rubbermaid buckets looking for my quilting tools and fabric to cut up, I came across some unfinished projects I had totally forgotten about. I blame it on the fact that I developed a sudden interest in scrapbooking....and then card making....and all my quilting projects were put in the 'i'll finish it later' pile.

The log cabin baby quilt top is machine sewn, and I have the backing, batting, and binding to finish it.... This unfinished project I took a class for in Oct. '99....yup, that's more than 10 years ago...!! Shame on me!! It's called 'Grandma's Country Album', and is completely hand stitched and appliqued. As you can see I only have one more row to attach....it's all those darn small squares that need sewing together. At least they are cut and marked so I know exactly where they need to go! You will be proud of me when I tell you I actually worked on it last night....hand sewing those little squares together. I may just get this top finished yet, it is the task of quilting the thing that is scaring me! If it isn't enough that I have these projects to finish, I started looking through my stash of Quilting books and magazines.... ....after all, I do have two weddings this year....a quilt would be a nice gift don'tcha think?!!

You've heard of Mr.Potato Head....

...well this is Mr. Potato Heart!!!

Yesterday I was making scalloped potates for supper and pulled this one out of the bag!! Made me laugh out loud...and so the potato jokes commenced! The scalloped potatoes were delicious...made with lots of heart! Happy New Year to everyone! My resolution is to make more cards, be more productive with my time...but it doesn't start until next week because I am enjoying my time at home this week with my girls before they go back to university this weekend. We were hoping to get to London today to do some shopping and see 'Sherlock Holmes', but so far the weather is not cooperating.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy your day!

Clean Room

This was posted on a blog I follow.....thought I'd share it with you!

Made me laugh out loud....only because it's so true of me.....

what about you!??

Cutest snowman ever!

Card #4 is this adorable snowman made with circle punches and then layered with pop-ups! The hat is made with 2 ovals, one cut in half, and the arms made from the snowflake punch and then cut apart. The card base is a transparency sheet, pretty neat!...but lots of fingerprints that needed to be wiped off afterwards. The inside of the card has the same large circle for writing your sentiments. Really cute card and so easy!

Be Merry

This is the 3rd of the four cards we made. So cute! I love the colours, layering, and all the different elements, especially that little jingle bell that really jingles!!

Looking forward to spending some quiet time at my craft table this afternoon, working on the rest of my Christmas cards. In need of some well deserved down time, after a crazy busy week at the Dutch store...and it's only going to get busier the next two weeks!

Have a blessed Sunday celebrating this 3rd Sunday of Advent!

Christmas cards

First of all I apologize for the picture...it has been impossible finding a place to get a good photo during these dark and dreary days! These are two of the four cards we made at a stamping night at our Stampin Up demonstrators home last week. The colour theme for these two cards was cherry cobbler and sahara sand. The first card I love, with the embossed snowflake on the bottom half, and that beautiful stamp 'Let Earth Receive Her King'! The second card is more simple and subtle, but very pretty. For this one we used the top note die stamped with a couple of snowflakes in the corners and our sentiment. The other two cards I will try and post tomorrow, if I can get a decent picture. It was great to stamp together and get some new ideas for Christmas cards. Although I could use a little snow to get me in the decorating mood!

Kinda Red

This card is pretty red...rose red to be exact. Totally cased from a Monday morning get together. Not sure what the stamp set is, but it is Stampin Up. Added some ribbon and bling and stickles. Also made it in So Saffron, liked it much better...a little softer looking.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Hugs!

Hugs to you all this morning!

These cute little Penny Black mice are sharing a heartfelt hug....is there anything nicer! A hug from a friend just makes us feel good....loved! The image was coloured with tombow markers, the feet and flower were raised, then some stickles on the flower just for fun.

It was fun spending time at my craft table yesterday afternoon....I realized how much I have missed it. Finished up some unfinished projects and started some new ones. No Christmas cards in the making yet though.

Have a wonderful, hug filled day!

Thank you for being You!

Shocker.....I know! Me .... posting a card! After almost four months of being away from my blog....leaving you to check back expecting something new, and seeing that same old boring picture of seagulls sitting on a raft! Sorry!

Sometime life is hard....sometimes I make it hard. Each season of life sends us on a journey of adjustment to the changes it brings. Sometimes that is hard....sometimes that is lonely. I am thankful that during those times God carries me, and sends treasured friends to carry me through. This card is for all of you!

Just Us Girls

A few more photos to share from our fun-filled, jam-packed mini-vacation in the Muskokas. On our morning visit to the lake, it struck me funny that all the seagulls were sitting on the floating dock....not flying around squawking like they usually do. I think they were having their morning 'Shit Happens Seagull Society' meeting! Anyone up for cliff jumping? No thanks....that is definitely NOT on my Bucket list! Kristen, 'Miss No Fear', took a flying leap into the air without a second thought! Brittany took a few minutes to work up the nerve to jump, and then off she went! I have her jump on video so I didn't post it. I was so proud of her knowing how scared she was.

We visited all the lovely shops in Huntsville, so fun! I got a parking ticket for not putting enough money in the meter. Actually I did not put any money in the meter because I did not see it. Maybe if they put it on the curb where we parked instead of on the sidewalk infront of the store.....

The latest and last Harry Potter movie was playing so we just had to go see that...followed by an evening walk along the boardwalk.

Love spending time with my two wonderful daughters.

Love spending time with my wonderful friends.

After leaving Brittany and MBC we drove to visit Don and Judy at their cottage in Severin Falls. So, so very beautiful and peaceful there. An evening boat ride was a real treat...except for the madman driving....just about blew poor Carly right off! So many more memories of that time away I hold deep in my heart...songs and jokes shared along the way, the beauty of God's world all around me, the joy of family and friends, God's word in Rap,...oh, and so much more.

....and the things you will see!

Driving through Shelburne we spotted this Batmobile parked downtown! Kristen just about jumped right out of the moving van, so we HAD to turn around and go back and see it! Can you tell she is excited!?! The guy getting inside built it from an old burnt out car, I don't remember how long he said it took him. The licence plate said 'batman89' so we figured it must be from one of the first movies. Pretty sweet ride, hey!?!!!