Changing Gears

Good evening! If you haven't already heard, there's a few giveaways happening at a few different places. If you're interested in getting in on the goods, head on over to my Facebook page. You'll find all the deets there! Also, I've got a link up at my FB that gets you the chance to (possibly) have your scrap room featured on Canadian Scrapbookers blog. You should check it out!

I've got two layouts to share tonight, and two cards. I am feeling as though I'm running out of steam (a tiny little) on the layouts, so wanted to give the old attic a bit of a rest and create something different tonight. A very dear friend just got engaged, so I whipped up a card for her, and a family member recently gave birth to her first child. So, there you have my two cards! You'll be able to find them here and here.

The first layout I want to share is entitled My Big Girls. And boy, they are BIG girls! From the day they were born, they put on weight and never looked back. They are a full foot taller than all their playmates (the same age), and have always been at the top of the growth charts. My mom says they look like they could be at least 6 years old. Well...maybe four or five. They most.definitely. take after their parents. I grew like a weed until school resumed after summer break in grade 8. Grade 9--I was in the middle of the pack. I don't think Kyle ever stopped growing. He's a big guy! At 6'3 or 6'4, I'm curious to see how tall the girls grow. J, his sister, is also tall. We shall see!

This past September, we converted their cribs to beds. It was a bit bumpy (literally) at first, but it didn't take long for the girls to get accustomed to sleeping in a bed. Now, they love it. Now, we are looking for bigger beds for them- and actual bed sets! Not that they're too big for their beds. Yet. Just like pull- ups, it won't be long before they're grown out of them. Then what will we do?! We're trying to get prepared.

Some of the patterened papers I chose are actually baby themed, but I liked that the circular pattern mimicked the circular pattern that is found in the bed sheets on the girls' beds. The color scheme that I went with when the girls were newborns was pink, green and brown, and those colors are reflected in my design as well. There's also a touch of orange in their fitted sheets, which is how the orange ties into the design.

I found this sketch over at Scrapbook.com (the one I used to make my Big Girls layout); in Gentlewood Farms' gallery. She's got some fabulous sketches posted there. You should check them out if you're looking for inspiration. And, its a fave. Its also on my Fave board over at Pinterest.

The heart embellishment? Martha Stewarts layered embellies. At Michaels. Love. them!!

The second layout, The Proper Way to Eat an Oreo, was inspired by a layout I found over at Scrapbook.com. I thought I'd change it up a bit and scrap lift a layout that inspired me. I had a lot of fun coming up with the title for this layout. The girls are eating double stuffed oreo cookies, and I showed them how to take them apart and eat them (without dunking them in their juice. If they had been sipping milk, I would have dunked it for them). Maybe next time.

There's a mixture of Jillibean Soup and Carta Bella on this layout. Most of the title work was made with Jillibean alphas (from the Country Pumpkin collection), and the punched and layered strips are Carta Bella (the True Friends collection). Love both these collections! I'm in love with the turquoise and yellow and grey color combo. Yummy!!

Oh!! I'm getting ahead of myself! There's a couple other layouts I need to share with you. I suppose they'll be shared tomorrow. My bad.

Lastly, the two cards. Both cards were made with one sheet of 12x12 Carta Bella paper (Alphabet Junction collection). For the one card, I left the colourful dear little dots paper showing, and in the other, the blue dear little dots is showing. Seriously, they are so cute. Go and check them out. You won't be disappointed!

See y'all again tomorrow!

~a

Smokin'!

Hi everyone!

What a fantastic weekend! Oh.my.word. Seriously, I had such a blast! It went all to quickly, unfortunately. But, doesn't it always!? In addition to having my hair done, and then having my boudoir photo session on Saturday, I also had the chance to (just barely) buy the girls some new winter coats, boots, running shoes and dress shoes. I wanted to hit Costco for their winter attire, but they had nothing out yet! What???! I was astonished. Walmart didn't have anything, either. Luckily, we found two (of three or four) coats in their size, and that.was.it. I still need to buy snow pants for the kids. I find it incredible that the supervisors at Walmart under ordered at this time of year. Another brownie point in my little black book for lovely Walmart! LOL

Here's a little preview of what my girlfriend and I looked like after we were all made up. Here's what we looked like before:

Dramatic difference, huh? I can't help but continually stare at the picture of us...I SO need to learn how to do my make up that way! We were smoking!!!!

Since I didn't have the time to, and since I hadn't uploaded the camera before this last weekend, I thought I'd take the time now to share with you some close ups of the last layout I completed.

Later on this week, I'll have a couple more DT assignments/reveals to share with you. I can hardly wait to get them posted!

In the mean time, I'll share a card with you that I made for our nieces' 3rd birthday two weekends ago:

This was super simple to make, and I think the final result is super duper cute! I used my Cricut to cut the cupcake card, using the Wildcard cartridge; I cut the cupcake liner out of blue/turquoise card stock, and the icing from white card stock. The candle and flame (as well as the birthday sentiment) were made using scraps. Everything is adhered to a kraft card stock background. For some sparkle and bling, I added clear rhinestones (to mimic sprinkles, naturally), and I used MS glitter in Crystal Fine for the sentiment.

Enjoy the rest of your evening, everyone!

Till next time,

~a

Heinz 57

LIttle cousin C

Addison- this was taken Friday afternoon, just after we got to the lake. Grandma and Grandpa were the only ones there- it was a nice, quiet visit before everyone else arrived. The first thing Addison did was begin playing hide and seek. She counts, '1, 2...6, 7, 8, 9, 10!'

Addison played like this all weekend. She's always happy to sit on her own and 'make'.

Maren was playing a game with Grandma when we first got to the campsite.

Addison enjoying riding in their dinghy. Thanks to B for snapping some pictures for me.

Maren *really* enjoying the dinghy ride. She almost fell to sleep!

Maren pulling her boat around all on her own. She was pretty brave with that life jacket on- she'd go out fairly deep- at least chest height- before she'd start losing her balance. Daddy rescued her a time or two before she went face first into the water. They (both girls) certainly enjoyed the lake, though. We were down there for a good solid couple of hours on Saturday afternoon.

Maren 'driving' grandpa's motorboat.

Addison 'driving' grandpa's motorboat.

One of S's wedding shower gifts- an apron that all of the family signed. I thought it would be cute to let Addison and Maren 'sign' her apron, then I 'translated' what they wrote.

Better view of the apron.

We've decided that the kids are going to accompany grandma and grandpa on another camping trip- one by themselves- in a few weeks' time (the end of August). And, its got me stupidly excited.

Why?

I'm in 'home improvement' mode again. Yup. I'm gonna paint. I'm a go-getter- lets see if I've bitten off more than I can chew- I'm going to paint the half bath and the hallway upstairs. I'm going to DIY a bookshelf. I'm also going to sort through the kids' toys and donate a lot of it. I've been on the net, researching colours to paint the girls' bathroom (make it kidsy, but also classy enough to be used as an adult bathroom), and also came across a new colour to try out in the hallway. Kyle doesn't really want to use the same yellow in the hallway that I did in the kitchen, but I do for continuity's sake. I also think it will brighten up the hallway, because it feels really dark and murky. I looked at other colours, anyways, and I think I've come up with a compromise: I told him that if the hallway is going to be painted something other than what I want, then its going to stay somewhere in the same family that its currently painted (which is beige). I came across two colours (Behr brand): winter garden and/or willow herb. They sound pretty, right? Serene and calming- which I like. Both colours are beige, but are heavy on the green- so it will coordinate with both my living room (which is a beautiful olive kind of green) and kitchen, which is yellow, but heavy on the green. (Its seaweed something or rather). I'm stoked. Now I need an excuse to head into Edmonton while the kids are gone to pick up the paint.

Eek! I love home improvements!!

I suppose I have a little of everything tonight. I whipped this card up in mere minutes on Saturday morning for S, our niece. She'll be getting married on September 1, but her wedding shower was at the camping trip this weekend. I had already made one for her from myself and Kyle, but I made one for my MIL to give her. I also picked up her shower gift for the both of us and then slid theirs in along with the card I made for MIL to give to S. (Long winded and confusing? Yeah, sometimes- that's how I roll).

It was very simple and easy to make.  (It would have to be if I got it done in 20 minutes or less!) I used Whisper White Ink (SU) and my large polka dot stamp to stamp the bottom half of the card stock base. The green card stock strip 3/4 of the way up is scraps (Autumn Leaves brand), and the white tag is Martha Stewart. The blue and green one thats inset is unknown. The wedding bells- Sandy Lion (Dollar Store), and I also used the mini phrases from SU for the 'celebrate' sentiment. I stamped that with Old Olive Ink (SU). Lastly, so that the white of the MS tag wasn't so stark and austere, I inked it with a sponge dauber and Old Olive Ink, so that it would blend in a bit better!

Tune in tomorrow for more goodies!

~a

the Big 3-0

Just a quickie for you tonight. I'll be sharing a card with you, rather than a layout.

I'm not sure that I mentioned we'll be heading into Edmonton again this weekend. If I hadn't, we are {grin}. We are heading up there so that we (Kyle and I) can enjoy a date! I hope the weather holds off- we are going to Monster Jam on Saturday night down at Castrol Raceway, but I saw on the Weather Network that thunderstorms are forecasted for Saturday evening. Hopefully it hits after all the festivities are over! Given Marens dislike of loud noises, we opted to leave the kids at their grandparents' place (this time Kyle's dad and step-moms; they haven't gotten to see the kids in such a long time, I thought it would be a nice treat!), so they'll have a wild and terrific weekend, too! We are also celebrating my sisters' 30th birthday, which happens to be today! (I never thought, in a million years, that either of us would reach 30- or have kids, for that matter! Cuh-razy!!)

I made this card in honour of her 30th birthday. I used Got Sketch #147 again (you can see the other card I made using this sketch over here. We are planning to take her to the IHOP for breakfast on Sunday morning. Should be a good time! Too bad there's only one in Edmonton!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! Stay safe and cool and I'll catch up with y'all again on Monday!

Escape Artists

Remember how I mentioned that the kids escape artists broke out of the house?

I very vaguely mentioned that a few people in the neighbourhood helped me. The direction I took when I set out to look for the kids was the wrong one; as I walked around the corner nearest our house, there were a bunch of men that had (I think) just gotten off work, standing in their driveway talking. I asked them if they'd seen the girls, and out of the kindness of their hearts they asked me if I needed help looking for them. Bless their hearts! All of them, except for one, helped me look for the girls. (I don't know how many of them were standing around talking. I think, in the fuzziness of my brain, there was three, but I'm not 100% sure).

When I did find the girls, I found that they had taken the opposite route that I thought they had, and the owner of the house they were lurking at was out on her front porch hanging out with them. I had come back to the house to make sure they weren't in the basement and just ignoring me, and when I confirmed they were gone, I grabbed the keys to the Yukon, and jumped into it. I just didn't know how far they'd gotten! The owner of the house was gone before I even had the chance to thank her. And, I didn't get the chance to thank the guys that helped, which is why the cards are being made! (After thinking on the baking overnight, I've decided that I'm going to buy Timmy's gift cards instead; if someone has an allergy, then they won't be able to eat my baking! I think its safer this way).

This design for this card is based on Sketch #147 over at Got Sketch? The inside of the card will house the actual 'thank you' sentiment and a heartfelt note. I am so glad this is such a family oriented neighbourhood!

Chuckle

74* how delicious the asian lily smells that Kyle gave me for Mothers' Day- I can smell it all over the house
75* days that aren't a fight to put the kids to bed
76* laughter

Kyle's new favourite thing to do these days is cruising YouTube. Do many of you sit and watch videos there, as a way of vegging out and relaxing? It isn't my cup of tea, but I do have a few things to share with you because they're just so darn cute and funny!

JUST.CRACKS.ME.UP!!!!!!!! I'm laughing just thinking about it!

Maru has got to be my most favourite cat- next to Gregory- ever!!!!! I'm also loving the music that's playing in the bg- very befitting of a cat!!! And, you'll have to bear through this entire video to get to the.best.part.EVER. Seriously. You'll laugh your pants off!! And, I don't mean to make this sound like its a lame-o video or boring. It isn't. Just, the best part occurs at the end of the video.

77* animals

Its a little hard to see in this pic (at this size), but I've stamped (in SU's old olive ink) the numbers 3 and 8 inside the green circles- which when you put them together makes 38. (And, as a matter of fact, all the patterned papers are SU, except for the beige strip separating the blue and green polka dots. I don't know what lines they are, except the green paper is actually Christmas themed).  They're to represent the amount of years my parents will have been married come May 18th- their wedding anniversary. I'm not sure if we'll be in Edmonton (or have any reason to go to Edmonton) before then, so I'm bringing their anniversary card with me tomorrow, when we *do* head into Edmonton. (And, while they are in church, and before we head over to their house, I'm hoping to hit Michaels for a little retail therapy! Eek!) Every little piece of paper here is scraps except the beige card stock base.

And, another card is looming large in the very near future, too. My cousin texted yesterday, letting me know about her twins' FIRST birthday party!!! (I can't hardly believe they're going to be one already!! It doesn't seem that long ago that she called me up, out of the blue, asking me a whole bunch of questions about 'what its like raising twins'. (She actually had my sister do some detective work for her before I got the phone call, so I assumed she was prego with twins, but I wasn't totally sure until she told me). That's the abridged version of that story. LOL. Anyways, it isn't until June 9th, but I've already started thinking about it! Yay O and P! Can't wait to celebrate with you!!!!

A few posts back, I shared a wonderful picture of a piece of cheese stuck to my patio door. It was such a great, goofy thing to happen, that I needed to scrap it. *I* never would have thought to stick my kraft cheese slice to the door. Would you? LOL

Anyways, here's the little nugget of goodness I made to lovingly remember my children's quirkiness by:

Every single piece of paper on this pretty charmer is scraps, except the sentiment sticker at the bottom. I'm love, love, LOVING the polka dotted patterned paper. I'm thinking I should go out and find me some more- in colours other than festive Christmas!!

I hope what I've posted has brightened your day a little - if not the scrapbooking crafts, then at least the video's I posted. They really are good for a little chuckle!

(And, on a side note, let me know if the video's even work for you when you read my blog post. If they don't, I'll add the links so you can go directly to the video on YouTube. When I read my own blog post after posting it, my computer tells me that I've got a missing plug in, so I can't view them. It just makes me wonder if you're even able to see them??)

Bits and Pieces

I was absolutely blown away this morning when I logged into my blog first thing this morning. I entered a challenge in order to celebrate national scrapbooking day over at distress to impress and I won!  You can see the layout I entered into the challenge here. Lots of fabulous goodies are in the prize package, including a subscription to scrap 'n art magazine.

Eek! How exciting!!

We had a busy day today, though we really didn't do much, other than go to the girls' playmates' birthday party at noon. It was such a beautiful day, they just played outside the entire time. We had a weenie roast, played with bubbles, jumped on the trampoline, slid down slides, and finished the party off with a yummy piece of ice cream cake. I wasn't really sure I wanted to go to the party (long story), but in the end, with husbands' gentle encouragement, we did go. I sat down, minutes before we left, to quickly pump out a card for P.

Seriously, I finished it in like 10-15 minutes. I am by no means a fast scrapper, so I'm pretty impressed with myself for finishing it so quickly!! Its amazing what can happen when you've got an idea in your head, and it comes to life in such a short amount of time.

Poor Maren lately has been having some problems with #2, so I've been feeding her and Addison prunes to help out. The poor girl has had so many tummy aches, that she'll wake up in bed just sobbing saying 'my tummy, my tummy'. She's never had issues like this before, so I don't quite know what's causing it. The only thing I can think is that she isn't drinking as much as she used to (when they drank with sippy cups). Now that they're drinking from cups, I only give them something to drink when they're eating and when they ask for a drink. I waste enough food as it is!!

So, she came to me from the basement, telling me she'd made a poopy (thankfully she got it all out last night, though it hurt her immensely. She hasn't cried like that in a loooonnng time), and she wanted to sit on the potty. I put her on the potty after cleaning her up, and I noticed my finger was bleeding. I don't know what happened, though a few minutes before I was trying to cut off a hang nail. I must have made myself bleed. I put a band-aid on it, and Maren starts begging for a 'boo boo'.

LOL

She had no owies, but she wanted a 'boo boo' anyways. Oh, my dear child! You're really too much sometimes!! Here's her 'boo boo':

And, here she is kissing it better:

Too cute, right??

45* invisible owies
46* boo boo's that make everything better

And, here's the mini update to the layout I posted yesterday.

I layered the punch work, and alternated the scallops in a wave like pattern because I didn't like the way the unpunched parts of the strips of paper looked showing underneath the layer below it. I also thought alternating it like this made for a really cool effect!

The flourish I totally made up on my own. Its a bunch of bits and pieces from K&Company called 'pillow stickers'. Its floral in nature, but has other elements incorporated into it- paisleys, hearts, flourishes- and all filigreed. And blingy. Very pretty! So, put all the parts together, and you've got a pretty flourish!

I am trying to stamp more, and I thought I'd try stamping on ribbon. All the inks I have right now are water based, and obviously don't work very well on this satin type ribbon. Maybe alcohol based inks or other permanent inks would work better, because this is already starting to bleed and doesn't look as crisp and pretty as it did as soon as it was done. Boo! Live and learn...Oh! I should mention- my title work was cut out of K&Company packaging. All the packing comes with printed cardboard backs (and they're all different), and I realized not long ago that I could use them on my projects. Brilliant!!!! Ingenious on their part :)

Lastly, I wanted to share the tag and the sticker I added to it. I'm not sure if the sentiment showed really well in the picture of my layout, but its so true of both my girls: they are loved and adored!

There's still challenges going on over at scrapbook.com until the end of June, I think, and I plan on getting in on some of those, too. Who knows, maybe one of my projects will win another prize?

We'll see!

47* that Kyle's boo boo has finally burst and is draining
48* that I am able to drain it for him and play nurse (even though it grosses me out- although it isn't anything like the one he had on our wedding night. Watching the dr.'s lance and drain that one, then push all the puss and blood out of it made me feel like I was going to pass out! I nearly did--I had to leave ER, and as I was leaving, another dr. asked me if I was alright. LOL. I told Kyle I was never going with him to the ER again. I would wait in the waiting room...)
49* that he might finally begin feeling some relief
50* that my spider plant is doing so well, I actually transplanted it tonight into a larger pot!

"Find Joy in the Little Things"

I made some cards today

because my mind has been on her for the last few days. Actually, she's been on my mind off and on since mom told me that she's really sick.

That was four or five years ago.

And, my heart breaks for her.

Continually.

And, I keep thinking about her, wondering how she's doing, if she's getting any better, if the medication has begun working and made some positive outcomes happen in her life.

And, I wonder how it even happened.

I asked about her on Sunday; an aunt has regular contact with her, and sees her every so often at their kids' basketball games. She's gained a lot of weight; partly its due to the medication that's been prescribed; partly its due to her lack of health. Jokingly, she told my aunt to tell the family that she's away on vacation and that's why her absence is felt (not just noticed) at the annual Christmas family party. Its a sad, painful reminder of what's going on- seeing an uncle and his kids out without their wife and mother.

It makes me wonder what kind of pain they feel over their mom's circumstance. Are they confused? Are they embarrassed by it? Are they afraid of what their mother could- might do to herself? And, the aunt I spoke with has told her that she can- she will get through this and return to her old self again. She will be transformed through prayer, medical and psychological insight and good medical attention, though she feels that latter part isn't happening.

Unfortunately.

Then, I found myself awkwardly asking, 'what can I do?'

Because, what can I do for the family member that I've hardly spoken to, except for when I was young, and she was young- about to marry my uncle (or newly married) to him? How have I, in an unintentional, unforeseen way, contributed to her current state of health? How can I remedy that?

The relative I mentioned here came to our wedding nearly three years ago. As far as I'm aware, that was the first time she participated in a family function since her own wedding disintegrated years before. I had sent an email to her, stating that I'd very much like it if she came, because what happened back then was water under the bridge, and I wasn't the type to judge her for it or hold a grudge against her because its not a 'Christianly' thing to have done. Bah. I'm so sorry that some of our family has to be that way.

And, as weddings go, and because I was the bride, visiting was kept to a minimum. Actually, I didn't thank her personally for coming. I didn't let her know how happy it made me that she actually came. And, I have regretted it since. I asked her in an email if she was coming to the family party this past weekend, and she told me she was. Yes! A chance to make up for the mistake I made then. It took me a while to build up the courage to approach her and her guest, but I finally did, and I am so happy that I conquered my fear and stepped out of my comfort zone!

I've been teaching myself to step out of that comfort zone since we moved back to Alberta. I've made good friends here in town, and I am very happy. Now, its time to take it a step further, and bridge the gaps between myself and my family. And, that should include her.

I enjoy scrapbooking, and I love making cards. Naturally I thought sending her a card might cheer some part of her up. I don't have her mailing address (though it wouldn't be hard to figure out; some of our family lives on the old farmstead in Leduc; she and my uncle live in Oma's old house. Their address will be the same as another aunts, and cousins...)

But, the place I will start is with an email. She told me not to expect a response, because most likely there won't be one; but at least she'll know someone is thinking of her and missing her. Maybe one day, after some time, I will venture out and send her a card. A response isn't needed. Maybe I'll just send a card anyways. That's just me.

I just want to help in some small way.

(And, by the way, the sentiment on the cards at the top of the post says 'find joy in the little things')

*****************************************************

~ 251 ~ babies- pardon me- toddlers that come hobbling up to you because they are exhausted and fall asleep in their mama's arms

~ 252 ~ courage

~ 253 ~ new phrases that we've picked up: 'good morning' and 'good night'

~ 254 ~ their new favourite place to hide things: the drawer at the bottom of the stove

Storm!

Me and storms do not mix. They terrify me- especially during the overnight hours. When kids came along, I suddenly had to learn to swallow that fear and not let it get the best of me when they are around me. And, truthfully, sometimes I fail in that area- Addison sensed my anxiety when a hail storm blew through the campground last weekend. Thankfully, my mother in law ran over to our trailer just in the nick of time to make sure I was alright. She cuddled Addison while I tended to miss maren in the bath tub.

Last night, a storm rumbled through our area. Luckily, it wAs late in the evening, and the kids were fast asleep. After every super sonic loud bang, and after I relaxed after it shook my bones, I'd freeze again, worried the loud noise had woken up either or both my children.

I am so glad they did not inherit my fear of storms, and I am so glad that I think I'm succeeding in showing them storms are nothing to get worried over. Sometimes really loud ones surprise the girls- I can see it in their faces, but then they forget about it and carry on like nothing happened. Phew!!

I am also glad husband wAs there to cuddle me through it all.

~36~ both girls waving "hi hi" while we were in the grocery store- Addison to a man behind us in line at Wally world and maren to anyone that would pay attention to her as we left IGA.

~37~ glorious two hour naps after long nights lying awake waiting for thunderstorms to play themselves out (either the girls are coming down with something or they're currently in a growth spurt because over the last couple days, naptime has stretched to two hours or beyond. It's AMAZING!! I love it!)

~38~ snuggling up close to husband and clinging to him when I got scared

~39~ warm showers that feel particularly good for no particular reason

~40~ making a crad for someone special

Heartfelt Sentiments

An idea that sort of flopped a number of years ago has been revived.

And, I've gone crazy over it the last couple of days.

I'm making cards.

And, I'm selling them.

That's my idea.

The rest of it is to set up a stand at the farmers market, when we are re-settled, and sell them. I hope its a good idea!

(I mean, I hope they sell!)

In the mean time, anyone can contact me and purchase them, if they would like...

(nothing like a plug for oneself, eh??)