Birthdays

Good evening! Did y'all get snow today, too? It was warm, but we still got a couple centimetres of the white stuff. I didn't want to go out and shovel it- I didn't even want to brush it off my car! I guess other things around the house were more important.

Last weekend, and the weekend before, were fabulous. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their grandpa M's 70th birthday, and they enjoyed even more their own birthday, which was the following Friday. We spent the day at home, just by ourselves, and spoiled the girls rotten. They got their most favourite foods at every meal on Friday, they got to open their presents, and their mama made them each a birthday cake (one cake mix, but two round cake pans) with the color of icing of their own choice. It was a really good day.

Saturday was an absolute blast.  We threw a party for them, and invited the rest of the family (grandparents, aunties and uncle, and some new friends- to the girls). We had quite a few guests grace our house (and spoil my children rotten), but it was a really great time of visiting, catching up with old friends (and making new friends in the process! Our children had never met, and they're only a week apart!!), eating fabulous food (and no, I'm not trying to toot my own horn! LOL), and beating a pinata senseless. It was just very simple affair- a fruit platter, veggie platter, grilled cheese for lunch, some finger foods, and the best.idea.ever. for a birthday cake.

Dairy Queen blizzard cupcakes.

Ever heard of them?? Ever had one??

I think that was the biggest hit. The kids loved it, and I'm pretty sure the adults enjoyed them, too. There's still a few left over, and one of them is calling my name. Unfortunately, its too late at night to enjoy them!! Maybe tomorrow night...

Now that I've caught you up on the events in our lives this past week, I can share with you a new layout that I made.

Not that long ago, I decided to go out and buy acrylic paint from the Dollar Store. I wasn't sure how much use I would get out of it, so I only stuck to purchasing a couple bottles. (I wound up having to buy another one, because one of my girls got a hold of it, and emptied the entire bottle on herself and the love seat in the living room. It was the end.of.the.world.) No word of a lie. There's still some faint blue stains in the carpet (leading to the bathroom), but every ounce of the blue stuff came out of the love seat. Phew!! I know that both can be replaced, but I'm not as concerned about the carpet as I am the love seat. I don't want to replace the love seat any time soon; one of these days I would love to replace the carpeting in the living room with hardwood or something else. One of these days, we do plan on tearing out the carpet on the main level of our home. Having said that, though, I'm elated that most of the blue paint came out of the carpet, too. We need it to last until we CAN replace it!

Anyways...

On the last few layouts (two of which aren't being posted because they are not cooperating), I've been using my acrylic paint. I've been using my acrylic paint to paint wood veneers that I've been finding down at Walmart recently. In the scrap candy aisle. They're only a $1.00 each, and there's maybe 6-7 pieces in each little packet. I've got everything from leaves to crowns to helicopters and wedding dresses. I urge you to go and pick some up if you haven't already! They make great accents to any project!

So, on this project, I found a crown and painted it Island Blue (DecoArt brand). Its such a pretty colour! I had done part of the title in blue alphas, so I wanted to pick up more of the blue throughout, which is why I chose to paint the crown blue. To bling it up a little, I added some Recollections pearl rhinestones, and a clear rhinestone.

The centre part of the layout originally was dedicated to journalling (on the sketch that I used that inspired this layout), but as I was trying to figure out how I was going to make the journalling portion pretty, I came up with the idea of layering a few strips of scallop punched paper, on an angle, for some interest. I liked the way it looked so much, I decided not to cover it up (after adhering journalling strips and not liking that it was covering up the prettiness). Instead, the smaller blue half circle that's beside the larger circle (matting the crown) is actually a pull tab for hidden journalling. It also includes the date of the event we attended.

You're probably wondering what the deal is with the hats. Our niece got married on the first of September (2012), and silly hats were encouraged at the ceremony. The guests that came up with the most unique/goofiest hats would win prizes (which wound up being a bottle of wine. Pretty nice prize, actually!) There's a story behind Kyle's tacky piggy hat, but that'll be shared in a future layout. The girls, and their cousin Chloe, all got hats from the Dollar Store, so they could participate, too. Not that the hats lasted long.

I'm also trying to use up some of my older paper lately. The patterned papers I used on this project came from K&Co's Best Of Collection. There's 360 sheets of paper in it, and its great, but my only issue with it is its thin. Not always very functional if you want to...say...die cut something with your Cricut. Grr. Minor pet peeve. Sometimes even my paper trimmer messes up the paper. Anyways, there's a lot of gorgeous patterned paper in there, and I wanted to find something that would work well with red card stock, since red is the color of love, and since the major theme of this particular layout (though maybe understated) is a wedding.

You may or may not see more of it in future layouts. We'll have to see!

You WILL see more paint in the future- and in more colors than the three I currently own (blue, green, and antique white). Eek! I feel a Dollar Store shopping spree coming on!

See you next time,

~a

MOnster Jam

I have another layout to share with you tonight! Apparently I forgot to post this one!

As you may recall, we went to the Monster Jam truck show over at Castrol Raceway this past summer. Kyle had to be in absolute heaven--his idol, Grave Digger, was at the show. Unfortunately, his real idol, Mr. Dennis Anderson, wasn't in attendance. He wasn't driving the Grave Digger truck.

Boo.

We still had a good time, though. My BIL and Kyle's friend (and swamper) tagged along with us.

This layout was made using sketch 24 over at Miracle's Momma's Designs. It is a two page sketch, but I whittled mine down to just one. I had enough pictures, but they weren't the best quality, so that's my excuse for making it only one page! LOL

There was a baby boy sitting in front of us with his older brother, mama and daddy-I couldn't resist taking a picture of him and include him on this layout. He was such a happy little thing- and when his ear muffs were put on- he really went to town. He sure liked the sound of his own voice, that's for sure! (My guesstimate, when Kyle asked me, was 6-8 months old. His mommy confirmed ((she overheard us talking about him)) and informed us that he was 7.5 months old). Sure stinking cute!!!

I also couldn't resist including the pictures of the girls sleeping on our way into the city that weekend. Even though they weren't there in person with us, I know they were there in spirit! (I especially love Addison clutching her Manny toy while she slept. So cute!)

Visit

Did you hear? I'm having a giveaway! For more details, scroll down, or click on this link to head straight over there, and click here to see what's included in the RAK!

I thought I'd share a big photo post because I'm starting to find that I'm getting mixed up the farther behind I am posting here to my blog! So, if I can keep up with my online gallery posts, I shouldn't hopefully get confused anymore. There's two layouts that I'm pretty sure I haven't posted, but I am not 100% sure. I need to go back through my posts and double check, but I'm too lazy. Maybe one day I will, but not now lol. 

These three layouts occurred back at the end of June, when Kyle's mom and step dad came up to visit. In the first layout, Addison was saying hi to grandma- they had just arrived. I wanted to stick with a green and yellow colour palette, and when I adhered the block sticker letters (they're actually the negative of the letters that were there at one time), they just didn't look right to me. I doodled the stitching onto each of the letters- I kind of like it. I love the homespun look, and that's how this looks to me.

Every piece of paper on that layout is scraps, save for the green polka dotted patterned paper in the background, and the grey piece of card stock everything is matted to. The flower embellies and the sentiment are Sandy Lion (dollar store), and the button is miscellaneous. This layout was also made using the week 1 sketch (July's) over at the monthly sketch challenge on scrapbook.com.

The next layout was made using another sketch, but this time I found it over at Page Maps (July 2009). A little later on that afternoon (when the grandparents arrived), the kids played in their pool and chased the new dog (to the grandparents) around. I wanted to especially highlight the picture of Addison switching hats with her grandpa- it just shouts all kinds of adorable to me!! Once again, all the embellishments on that layout are from the Dollar Store. (I have to admit, I'm quite impressed with the scrapbooking goodies our local Dollar Store carries...I think I should shop there a little more often!)

The last layout was done with my own brain power. I wanted to make this layout look like a magazine spread, because honestly, I {humbly} think it should be in a magazine! While the in-laws were here, they finally got my bed finished. 

Bed finished you're asking yourself. Yes, finished. What began as a project that I wanted done while I was pregnant and living in Saskatchewan (I couldn't do it myself because of said pregnancy), wasn't actually tackled AND/OR finished until 2.5 years later and in a totally new province. Kyle had been hanging onto his waterbed frame (who knows why), and he asked me if I would like to use it as the frame for our bed. Yes, I told him, but only as long as it was made over. I loathed the 80's finish on it, and the horrid 80's frosted mirror that came along with it. Tacckkkyyyyy was all I could think. 

I was a little afraid of how the mirror would look in it after we stripped the varnish, re-painted and aged the wood (which apparently was super simple- just mix half water and half paint, and once that dries, take steel wool and rub it over the wood. The more you steel wool your wood, the more antiqued/aged it becomes). But, it actually looks surprisingly good! (Now if only the mirror wasn't cracked). 

(And, on a side note, the red blanket that's on our bed in the picture doesn't actually belong there. My colour scheme in our bedroom is grey and aquamarine/bluey...the comforter that matches the pillows on the bed is too hot in the summer, hence the red blanket...)

I bought new curtains so that our room wouldn't feel so heavy and dark (because everything that belongs on our bed actually came in a bed in a bag- including curtains), and I love how airy and summery it feels. These were clearance at Fields, because they were (are) closing out. I also bought brown ones, which are still yet to be hung in my living room. Maybe one day! Mayyybeee...when I get the custom shelving units that my dad is kindly going to build for me, which will be placed on either side of my living room window! That would be the most opportune time! (Pictures will follow when said project is actually completed!)

OK, back on task. The strips of patterned paper are both Recollections (My Favorite Things), and the buttons are once again miscellaneous. The title work was stamped using Basic Black ink (SU), and the banner sticking out from the side of the picture is hidden journalling. The scalloped border punch is Martha Stewart.

And, speaking of visits, my sister and brother in law were down for the night, as I mentioned in yesterdays post. I got spoiled again today! The kids and I had a rotten sleep last night- we were up every hour overnight, for one reason or another. Just before noon, J noticed me trying to stay awake while we were hanging out in the living room. The kids began asking for lunch, and he offered to make the mac and cheese while I went for an hours' nap. Bless his heart! I actually got to sleep for an hour and fifteen minutes, and it was the most well spent (personal) hour I've had all week! 

I'm thinking that I'll have to go out and buy them some hershey's kisses and make them a card to thank them for their kindness to me over the last two days. Its really meant a lot! (Though, I'm sure they feel indebted to us because we're taking their kitty in as our own until further notice). On a brighter note, make sure you watch for more layouts with Neruda (kitty) in them from now on...once she gets accustomed to the kids and our house, I'm sure there'll be a lot of her! To help you remember who I'm talking about, here she is: 

Blessing

I had the first night in eons tonight to finally just sit and relax during the kids' regular bath time. It was an absolute dream come true! And, the icing on the cake--the living room was tidied up for me while I ran out to the grocery store to pick up hamburger buns so I could make supper for all of us!

No, my husband didn't do it.

My person- sweet, incredible, so-blessed-to-know SISTER did it for me. 

I've told her a couple times already tonight a sincere, heartfelt thank you, but I don't think she fully understands just how sincere and heartfelt my thank you's are! I mean it from the bottom of my {broken and exhausted} little heart.

It was a GREAT day for me today!

Its reveal day over at Lets Capture Our Memories, so I've got a new sketch and layout to share with you. But, since I still haven't figured out how to copy and paste the sketch into a blog post yet, you'll have to navigate yourself over to their blog to see for yourself- and in the process, check out everyone else's awesome takes on it. Pure genius, every single one of them!

This has got to be one of my most favourite sketches to date to work with. It came together remarkably quickly, and its so versatile and easy to manipulate. There's tons of room for creativity with this one- and if you like lots of white space in your projects, then this is the sketch for you!

On this particular layout, I used the script cuttlebug embossing folder to spruce up my orange piece of card stock- and for an even bigger bang, I lightly inked the raised portions using a sponge dauber. (I used Stampin' Up's More Mustard for the inking).

I also wanted a little bit of sparkle on this layout. I took another Cuttlebug embossing folder (one of the mini's that came along with the package when I bought it), and coloured the negative space in with my Stampin' Up water colour pencils (in red). Then I blended it in using the blender pen. The raised portions I filled in with my Martha Stewart glitter glue, then sprinkled my Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter powder onto. Let it dry, and you've got an adorable, glittery postage stamp that helps reinforce your title work- the girls love their horsey rides! I also glittered up the title work using the same glitter mentioned above.

The arrow is K&Co, and the 'washi tape' I created myself, using regular tape (not scotch, but the other kind- sorry brain fart) and Cherry Cobbler (SU) ink to paint it; then, I went back over it using Whisper White ink (SU) with a lined, miscellaneous stamp I've had around for ages. It didn't quite work to my liking, but I wound up loving its effect, anyways! Its obvious that it's lined, but with varying shades of red.

Lastly, just because I couldn't refuse, I added some pearl rhinestones for a little bit of glam.

So, there you have it- sketch 146 from LCOM! Hope you like it, and if you do use the sketch, don't forget to link up your project to Lets Capture Our Memories' blog post- we'd love to see how it inspires you, too!

~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

Sketch 22 and Another Storage Idea

Its reveal day! Yipee! Here's another layout I made of us enjoying the play park over Fathers Day. Auntie and Uncle both helped Addison down the slide because she's afraid of going down by herself. When she's ready to come down, she'll tell us she 'needs a hand'. Head on over to Heather's blog to check out sketch 22 (this time its a two pager, but I only kept mine one), and see all the beautiful work the other girls have done. You won't be disappointed!

And, once again, this layout is made completely with scraps, minus the purple card stock everything is mounted on.

What a fabulous way to store your brads and eyelets! I think this is ingenious, and I can hardly wait to hit the store to buy another one of these! Now I have an excuse to go out and buy more brads and eyelets- with such a cute and smart way to store them, how could you not?! (I may or may not cover the Rexall logo on the front- just to make it prettier!!)

(The inspiration for this came from BHG. You can also find it on my Pinterest, under 'All Things Scrappy').

~a

Sketch # 142 LCTS

Ahh this has been a long time in coming. This is the final layout from my sister and brother in law's last visit over Father's Day. I think this is the sweetest shot ever of my BIL and Addison- I love it!

Its reveal day over at Lets Capture These Sketches- sketch #142. Head on over and see what all the other girls have done, and link up your projects using this sketch while you're at it. We'd love to see what you come up with!

(If you like the chevron design element I used, you can find a mini tutorial for it here and here)

For another variation, if you don't like the folded edges of the patch work chevron, why not cut the folded portions off? (That idea just dawned on me the other day...I'll be trying it out one of these days very soon!!)

Enjoy your weekend!

Haven

I am suddenly in a phase where I want to re-organize and better utilize my scrapping space. My little haven is the smallest room in the house, and I'm certain that it isn't being used to its most organizational and utilitarian potential. I am on a mission! Of course, I'll be pinning the neato things I find to my Pinterest- what better way to keep track of things you want to remember than by Pinterest?! (...and then implementing, of course!!)

The first neato item I came across a couple days ago, reading this blog post. I already had a tackle box in my possession, but it was to store the (very) minimal brads that are in my stash. Even though it wasn't a large tackle box, by any means, it was way too large for the amount of brads and eyelets I have. So, I took them out, and put them in a little white container (for the time being), and began cutting up the oodles of sticker letters I've got, and separating them into their own compartments, just as that particular post shows. In fact, I have so much, that I had to go out and buy another one, just to make room for them all! And, as I was cutting, it dawned on me that it would be cool (and a great way to use up every possible inch of those sticker letters) to use up the negative portions of the letters already used. Duh!! How could I not have thought of that sooner?! Especially when I'm in a bind, and want to use a particular style of font? Sometimes its the simplest things that are overlooked.

This will help me to 1) maximize the amount of space that's being used up in the white storage containers I have the majority of my goodies stored in (at least as far as my sticker letters go), 2) free myself from the nightmare of opening that particular drawer and fighting the hoards of sticker letters that just want to jump out at me, and 3) organize!!!!


I'm not quite done yet, but I do have to say it feels so much better! Its inspired me to find other unique and creative ways to store and organize the rest of my embellishments. What are some of your favourite ways to store and organize your embellishments and paper stash--and scraps? I'd love to know!

(And, on a side note, in the rest of that post, she showed us the magic thin foam and the cuttlebug makes. I was so inspired by it, I went out and bought my own thin foam. I want to try it, too!)

You'll also know that washi tape is like huge these days, and everyone has it, and if you don't, you're on your way out the door to purchase it. I'm among those, too, but haven't actually bought any washi tape yet. I want to...one day! For now, I came across this neato technique. Brilliant, right??!

The only problem is, I don't own any spray inks. So, my first impulse was to write off even trying this technique because I didn't have all the essential items to make it work. Then I thought, why does it have to be spray ink? Why wouldn't regular ink and a sponge dauber work? Happily, it does!

Keep your eyes peeled for it appearing on future projects. It looks wicked so cool!! This little heart just skipped a beat, I'm so excited!

I've got another layout to share with you today:

And...this is the last layout from the day before Fathers Day series. When I finish getting things spruced up (for now), I'll be working on layouts of Fathers Day (which won't be very many) and then I can move on with my scrappy life.

This particular layout I absolutely adore. This picture of my BIL just moves me. Or something. I just love it. I love the point of view, I love the composition, I love that he's so chill. I love that its so candid. I love it in sepia!!

I scraplifted Kimberly.kalil's layout, "holy cows", which you can find here.

In particular, I loved the strips of patterned paper matted behind the photo (great opportunity to use up more scrap paper!!), and I loved her usage of a large picture. I'm pretty sure I have mentioned before that I love using extra big pictures. It should be common knowledge. Ha!

The patterned paper strips are Martha Stewart (the gold), the cotton tail paper is K&Co, and the red card stock is Autumn Leaves (Walmart). The little dream sticker is also K&Co.

There is some hidden journalling, but its just a little quote by Helen Keller: "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows." Profound, and beautiful. Just like my picture!

Near the End

Phew- what an incredible day, weather wise today! There was severe weather all over the place. Did you have any severe weather?

For something a little different today, this layout is a scrap lift of Heathers' We Never Get Any Sleep! layout. I absolutely adored the shapes of her photos- love the retro, flower/leafy look the rounded edges on the opposite corners looks. Instead of going with bold, dark prints like Heather did, I wanted to mimic the look of the grass in the bottom picture- bright green, contrasted with the white fluff of dandelions. Doesn't it just scream summer?!

Once again, I turned to the Sweet Nectar paper pad that's been lurking in the depths of my stash, and recently popping up on a lot of my projects. Some scraps were used, like the punched strip of floral paper, and the yellow card stock its matted on. (On that piece of yellow card stock, I used my 'baby's breath' cuttlebug embossing folder for some interest and dimension).

I can't remember where I got the blue buttons from, but the 'free' sticker at the top is K&Co, and the little 'sweet' sticker at the bottom (nestled next to the flowers) is also K&Co. I made the flowers myself: they're easy peasy!!

All you do is take your circle punch (or punches), punch as many circles as you like; crumple them, then layer them. Voila, instant flowers! The punch sizes I used were .5" and 1.5" by Creative Memories. The pearl rhinestones are Recollections. And, to create a 'mat' that the photo's are adhered to, I just took a black pen and drew a border around the outside edge, mirroring the same shape the patterned paper/photo mats are.

Once again, the girls were playing at the park. These pictures were taken near the end of our excursion there. I wasn't near enough to them to know fully what was going on, but I imagine they were playing' super bunny...to the rescue!' Addison's arms spread out beside her suggests that (I'll give you a little hint: her arms are mimicking a cape!!) Hee isn't that the darlingest thing ever??!

Yes, a mother in love. For sure.

Tomorrow, I'll have one last layout from our play date at the park over Fathers' Day. After that, there'll be some pictures from Father's Day.

Stay tuned!!

~a

Utter Determination

A few weeks back, my family came out to celebrate Fathers' Day. Maybe it was a month ago, already. My sister and brother in law decided to come out early to celebrate, and I'm glad they did. We had a lot of fun hanging out at the park with the kids just before their bedtime. It was the perfect way for them (auntie and uncle) to play with the kids.

While we were there, Maren decided to climb up this monkey bar thing that starts at the ground and curves upwards towards the main play structure. I'm not really sure what to call it, so I've dubbed it the 'half monkey bars'. I could hardly wait to get this picture onto paper and into the girls' scrapbook album. The look of sheer determination/concentration on Maren's face is absolutely incredible. I kind of think its one of those pictures you'd find in a motivational/inspirational type poster hanging on a wall somewhere. Yeah, I think this shot is that good. Its also one of the pictures that's really making me think that taking a photography class would be so fun and rewarding.

This particular layout is based on the monthly sketch challenge over at Scrapbook.com. Its the bonus sketch for week 2, mind you, but its the only one I can share with you right now, because everything else I've been working on is for DT's. On Friday I'll have one of them to share...I can hardly wait for it. Eek!

The floral paper is K&Co (Sweet Nectar), and they're scraps; so is the yellow card stock that's matted underneath it. The pink and beige card stock (on which the navy blue is matted on) are all Autumn Leaves (Walmart) card stock. I think the navy card stock is from DeSerres, my LSS. If you haven't been there before, you should check them out- in store at West Edmonton Mall, or online.  They've got everything for your crafty/hobby needs! Its a pretty neato store. Thanks to a dear friend for the heads up!

The little bit of punch work on the pink card stock strip is with a Martha Stewart scallop punch. Rhinestones are Recollections.

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!

FUN

Oh my word, we survived another busy weekend! Phew!

Father's day was an absolute riot. My family (sister, BIL, mom and dad) spent the weekend with us, and thankfully it was beautiful! We took the kids to the park Saturday night (after my sister and BIL arrived), and Sunday afternoon, we played in the yard until supper was ready. I promised dad that he wouldn't have to help us do any work around the house this visit- and that promise was kept! Ha!

I hope you don't tire of my picture posts. I love sharing them; in fact, I can't get enough of them!

So, without further adieu, here are my faves!!:

Addison

auntie trying out the twisty slide

auntie pushing Maren in the swing

uncle and Addison

I love the look of concentration, uncertainty, determination in Maren's face! She did awesome climbing up the half-monkey bars

Addison coming down the slide, I think

daddy trying out the twisty slide. ROFLOL.....thank goodness we didn't have to call 911 or anything!!

Addison holding auntie and uncle's hands

auntie and uncle helping Addison down the slide. (She loves it, but is afraid of going down without help)

auntie and Maren

auntie

Addison

Addison pushing their stroller

"SUPER BUNNY--TO THE RESCUE!!!"

love, love, love

love, love, love even more!!!

So, this wound up being quite a long post. And, there's still more to share, so I think I'll just split it into two, possibly three posts. (I took over 240 pictures!!) over the last three days, so please bear with me!!

I'm by no means a photographer, and I really don't consider myself a good one although I do try hard, so I get pretty excited when I come up with ones that I find are 'exceptional'. I would like to take a photography class. I just started thinking about it this weekend! Maybe!! Anyways, I can hardly wait to edit these last two a bit more...of all the pictures I took, these two are my absolute.faves. 


Hope you had a great weekend. See you again real soon!

Special

Happy Fathers' Day to all the daddies out there! Hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!

In the spirit of Fathers' Day, I just wanted to leave you with a card to celebrate the occasion, and a couple layouts that I made:

The card

the locket

the play set

Each of these items are for or from someone special.

Who (or what) is special to you?

So Sweet

This was sent to me by a very dear friend. I just love it!

PASS THE BISCUIT   <image1.gif>   When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.  And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.  On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad.  I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!  Yet all my dad did was reach for his Biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school.  I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits.  And I'll never forget what he said:  "Honey, I love burned biscuits."  Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.  He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a long hard day at work today and she's real tired.  And besides... a burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"  You know, life is full of imperfect things... and imperfect people.  I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else.  What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.  So...please pass me a biscuit. And yes, the burned one will do just fine!  And please pass this along to someone who has enriched your life... I just did!  Life is too short to wake up with regrets... Love the people who treat you right and forgive the ones who don't, they could just be having a hard day.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! Today, I'll be packing us up and getting us ready to head into the city for the night. The girls' twin cousins are turning one, and we're heading out to their birthday party! Hopefully the weather holds up until the festivities are over! (We are in for rain all.stinking.weekend). But, I'm saying that tongue in cheek- if i rains that long, I don't have to worry about watering the plants, and the water will do the earth good. Its so dry out here, the more rain we get, the better! But, right now-- the weather looks gorgeous--so we are headed outside to enjoy it before it changes again!

Back Then...

How was your Mothers' Day?

Ours was great. The weather was beautiful, we had good visiting over at my parents place, and the food was fantastic!

The kids played outside all day long. Literally. No naps, not a lot of fussing, lots of laughs and giggling and squealing...and for mama, a quick solo trip to Michaels for some retail therapy. You know, the upside to Michaels selling off all their brand name stock is that its all massively marked down!!! I bagged a lot of goodies- including a really great sheet of rooster paper and a rooster stamp for an upcoming lo i'm doing about my other obsession: roosters! Unfortunately, a lot of goodies were still left behind. Hmm...I foresee another trip in the near future!!

My favourite picture of the day?...

...is this!!:

Isn't he cute???!


He asked mom if there was anything he could do to help her get supper ready, so she sent him to the barbecue to grill the delicious turkey burgers she'd made for us. Yum! She also dressed him up in Oma's {my Oma--the kids' great Oma} old apron. So, in a way, she was celebrating with us, too, though she wasn't there with us in person. And, on a side note, mom says she's doing good. She went to visit her the other day, and she was quite chipper and talkative- repeatedly mentioning something about flowers. Mom's not sure if she has a bunch of flowers in her room at Miller, or if she's in another place and time in her memories. She said she was sitting at the table in the dining room, which is really great news.

(And, for those that don't know, my Oma is going to be 93 on the 24th. She's suffering from dementia and lives in a long term care facility. Its actually the same place Grandma Murray lived- and on the same floor, even!!- before she passed away a couple of years ago).

And, its another painful reminder that I've got to get over to Miller and visit Oma...She's only seen the kids a couple of times. The last time we saw her, she asked me when I'd gotten so big. LOL. Apparently she remembers me as a little street urchin. And, she wondered who the little kids belonged to. Me, of course, but to her it didn't make sense :)

I have a lot more pictures to share- that my beloved sister took- but I don't have them to the computer yet. I'll get them up here sooner or later!! (The batteries to the camera died after a few pictures were taken, so the rest were taken with our iPhones, and the shots sister got were while I was gallivanting around Michaels').

It was a long day- but a good day!- and we got home about 10 o'clock last night. It was about 11:30 when the kids finally settled and fell asleep. Oi! Kyle and I were beat when we got home! We thought the kids would crash, because they'd gone nonstop all day long, but that wasn't the case. They still wanted to play outside- at 11 o'clock at night!! Maren kept saying while the sun set, 'mama, its dark!', and I kept telling her that it was getting to be mommy and daddy's bed time; when it gets dark like that everyone goes to sleep. She mustn't have believed me!

Hope you all had a fabulous Mothers Day, and I'd love to hear in which ways you got spoiled!

My own mama spoiled me with a beautiful hanging basket. I can hardly wait to get it hung up!!

78* solo anything
79* massive savings when shopping
80* good food
81* hot weather
82* memories


Ohhhhhh memories!

The picture I really wanted to use I can't find, so these will have to suffice. THese are from our move back to Alberta from Saskatchewan. The kids were still babies in these pictures! I can't believe how much growing and maturing they've done in the last year. It totally blows me away! The kids were 14 months old when we made the trek up here, and now they are just over two.

I couldn't help but reminisce while I was sitting in moms' back yard yesterday, thinking about when we had just moved here. Addison hadn't learned to crawl yet, she was still very clingy and sensitive. Maren had mastered crawling not long before we moved, and it wasn't long before she began walking on her own. They were just beginning to talk- at least Maren was. Addison was still fairly behind, and we were concerned about her development. Looking back now, I realize we had nothing to worry about. She just did things in her own time; when she was ready for it. Its amazing how quickly she's catching up to her sister!

Now, Addison is as talkative, busy, goofy, mobile, accident prone, stubborn, cuddly, sensitive and outgoing as her sister.

And Maren, well, when she discovered her legs, and she began kicking them, there was no stopping her. There's still no stopping her!

83* flowers
84* neatness and organization

...but, more on that later :)