*Cupcake Snowman*

Another beautiful day in Calgary today. Not as warm as the last few days, but the sun is shining and that makes me happy! It's not been too often in my memory that we haven't needed at least a heavy jacket (if not a snow suit) under Halloween costumes! When I was a little girl, Mom always made our costumes larger so that our winter wear would fit underneath it. The one year I went out trick or treating with Bruce and the boyz, there was so much ice we were all slipping and sliding. Tomorrow might actually be an enjoyable evening to be outside!

I went back to TaeKwon Do last night... I haven't trained since the first of October. I was nervous but it went ok. I listened to my body but found I was capable of doing the work as required. However, this morning my back is acting up just the littlest bit. Not sure if that is a result of the TKD or something else. I will have to do some stretching and see how things feel on Monday.

This card came together after I did a little experimenting with a few different things. First, I ran this piece of Coredinations cardstock through my Cuttlebug and sanded the embossed parts so that the snowflakes are the colour of the core of my cardstock. I loved the result but set it aside for several weeks. Then I bought this new Hero Arts snowman and stamped him up.... and let him sit for a while. Then I saw a post on Maryanne's Blog about how to make the white on a snowman look whiter so I pulled out my Copics and coloured. And that sat for a little while.

And finally, one day, all of the planets aligned and I was able to make the pieces into a card I like! Woo Hoo!

I'm off to the gym this morning and then back to work... sure hope my headache doesn't come back!

Enjoy your day!

*Last Card from Class #3*

Finally, the end of the road with my samples for the Christmas Card classes I am teaching at the Scrapbook Pantry. It feels like I have been sharing these cards forever! My class isn't until the end of November, but it's great to have them designed and off my to do list. Now the work of cutting for the class... that's hard work I tell ya!

The cardstock is all Bazill and I used a Cricut Cartridge on the Expressions machine to do the letters. I added a few silver Dew Drops to finish it off.

The last few days have been a little more of everything for me at work as the boss is away on vacation. Her job has become mine and will be mine until I walk out the door of the store on the 7th of November. I've been dealing with staffing stuff (sick kids, sick staff), vendors, inventory, a sale. I don't know if I want her job sometimes... I've had to deal with one vendor that I wanted to tell to take a hike, but instead I worked with her and all is good. I'm doing the best I can being the fill-in boss.... hopefully I'm doing a good enough job!

Thanks for popping by!

*It Was A Monday*

Good evening all... It was a Monday in my world. I started out OK other than being a little tired (I didn't sleep all that great last night), but it was OK. I got in to work and went to take out the garbage and managed to tweak something in my lower back. I spent the day babying that. I'm sure it will be fine with a little rest and heat. I was going to go back to TaeKwon Do tonight and train for the first time in October but decided I should take care of my back instead. I hope to be training on Wednesday.

This card was completely inspired by Marie. She makes some wonderful cards. I fell in love with her version of this card and thought it would be great for my November card class. Quick and easy and making my students do a little free-hand doodling. I know I find doodling a little daunting so I thought it would be good to have them face their (OK *my*) fear LOL!

The patterned paper is the Snowy Jo line from Imaginisce and the image is an old one from my collection by Hero Arts.

Have a great evening!

*Lotsa Dogs*

We just got back from a great walk at the off-leash park. We met up with several of our friends and we all brought our dogs. There were 8 adults and 6 dogs of various sizes and ages. We all had a great time. At least until the wind kicked up. It's been quite dry here in Calgary so there was a lot of dust and dirt in the air. I had dirt in my teeth!

Blech

The sun was shining and it was a great way to spend a morning with good friends.

Another Christmas card for you today.... another from my upcoming November Christmas Card class at the Scrapbook Pantry.

I just love this little snowman image by Imaginisce. I still haven't decided if I should colour him or not. The snowmen on the blue is actually a ribbon. Cute eh?

I'm off to go view the photos from our family photo shoot on Thursday. Sure hope they got some good ones!

Have a great Saturday!

*Aloha RAK from Julie*

I received a package in the mail today from Julie.... it was my Aloha RAK! Tracy took over the duties of the Aloha RAK from Jen this month. I haven't played in a few months but I thought "what the heck". I was really excited to be paired up with Julie.

Look at that beautiful card and those wonderful gifts! (no, not the markers... they're just the backdrop to the gifties!)

Thanks so much Julie!

It's Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-daaaaayyyy!!

It's Friday. But not a day off. I have to go in to open up the store this morning and then get to leave work at 10:30 to take the boss to the airport. I'm not sure if I will need to head back to the store after I get Crystal on her way or not.... will see what's up. I'll be working a bit more over the next two weeks while Crystal enjoys Disneyworld with her Granddaughter. Should be interesting LOL!

I absolutely love this card... This is one of the cards that gals will be making at my November Christmas Card Class at the Scrapbook Pantry. The patterned paper is by Stamp It Australia and is WONDERFUL! It comes on a sheet with 16 squares on it, each a little different. There's also one sheet that is pointsettias. We also have a few other designs that aren't Christmas.... gerbera daisies, plumeria, lilies... Just LOVE this paper! It's decadent.

I added black, white and red Bazill cardstock and some red dew drops. Quick, easy and elegant!

Thanks for coming by today.... enjoy the end of your work!

*What a Weekend*

I survived my first Calgary Classic! For those who asked, the Calgary Classic is a now annual event organized by a couple of ladies (hi Adelee and Christine) from Splitcoast Stampers (go to the Forum, and then find "Get It Together). I think the numbers were a little lower this year than last simply because Stampin' Up Regionals were being held in Edmonton (only 3 hours away) on the same weekend.

I went with six other fantastic ladies -- Crystal, Diane, Linda, Merlie, Shannon and Tracy. (check out the blogs of Merlie, Shannon and Tracy linked in my side bar). We did a lot of laughing and a little creating.

As I've said before, I don't craft well away from home so I was a little worried about the weekend. I gave myself a goal of completing 10 cards.... and I did it!!! I was so thrilled! I also decorated my name tag (it was a contest). Go me!

I look forward to spending a weekend crafting and laughing with friends again!

This card is one of the cards for my November Christmas Card Class at the Scrapbook Pantry. The students will each be going home with this ultra-cute little snowman stamp by Imaginisce.

I had a comment asking about the Ikea storage solution for my Copics. Shannon and I combed through Ikea looking for these awesome square tin containers on Friday but there were none to be found.... we think that they must have been a summer item (planters). Sigh. I'm still on the hunt, but for now I have put 144 of my markers in colour family in numerical order in my two 72 marker cases... and I have a bunch of Es in a basket next to it. Not ideal, but it will work for now.

I am off.... enjoy your day!

*The Final Countdown*

Shannon will be here in under a half hour. We're going to IKEA to look for the great storage solution for Copics that Merlie had. And then we'll be heading off to grab a bite to eat and then to the Calgary Classic!! I am packed and ready and hopeful that I will have a relatively productive weekend!

Please send me some positive thoughts this weekend.... I sure hope that my positive attitude will make a difference so that I can change my past luck with crafting away from home!

I just love this stamp set (Smells Like Cake) by The Cat's Pajamas! I made this card for my favourite cousin who is only a couple of months younger than me. She's always had a thing for penguins so this was a great image for her birthday card.

I coloured the image with my Stampin' Up! markers, added some red brads and used some of the Cupcake paper by Basic Grey.

I sure hope that this doesn't mean she's a grown up.... since I'm older than her by a few months, it would mean I'm a grown up too! And hey, I don't wanna grow up!

LOL

Enjoy your weekend!

*Simple*

Good afternoon everyone. It's a beautiful day here in Calgary. It's not so warm (only 11*C), but it feels warmer than that with the sun beating down on you. I drove home with the car window partially open. Love the sunshine. I would rather have it cold and sunny than warm and grey.

I spent some time today packing up a good portion of my Christmas crafting stuff to take with me to an all-weekend crop here in Calgary. There are a total of 7 of us going together to this event. For those that know me, you know how difficult it is for me to craft elsewhere.... I am hoping to at least get a little bit accomplished this weekend. I don't want to have to unpack all this stuff and have nothing to show for it in the end!

I love the simplicity of the card I am sharing with you today. I created it to use as an anniversary card for my mother in law and her husband. The image is by Hero Arts (it's all one image... I just inked part in white and part in black). I used some black and white layers with the beautiful green Bazill cardstock and added a black and white polka dot sheer ribbon. What you can't see in the photo is that I added little dots of Stickles on the ends of each "petal" of the flowers.

Finally... a Thursday night I can sit at home in my comfy clothes and watch Thursday Night TV!!! WOO HOO!

*OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG*

I went in to work this morning.... our UPS driver didn't show up to the store when she normally does so Crystal and I assumed we weren't getting any product in today. We had seen on the UPS site that our Imaginisce "Fairest Of Them All" order should arrive today, but we'd kind of written it off.

Marie showed up almost an hour later than usual with the Imaginisce stuff.... plus one lone box... our 2nd Copic Marker order... which included the two sets I ordered!!

Aren't they just so pretty?

144 beautiful colours, all for me!!!!

*Tracy's Birthday Card*

Good morning all.... strange day for schedules in our house. One kid with school, one kid without. I could have slept in I suppose instead of getting up at 7am since I don't work until 9:30, but I got up at regular time with my alarm.

We have to make another appointment for Alex to go see the Orthodontist today or tomorrow. He got his braces 2 weeks ago today. On the first day, one of the brackets popped off his tooth. It appeared that the adhesive didn't adhere properly. We were back at the ortho on Friday for them to "activate" the wire.... and Friday night another bracket popped off. Being a long weekend, there was nothing we could do until today. Unfortunately they are at their downtown office until after lunch so I've had to leave a message for them to get back to me. Alex has missed more school for orthodontic stuff in the last 6 weeks than he missed school at all last year. I said in my message that we will only take an appointment today after 4pm or tomorrow around 8am. I hope that they can fit us in. What a pain in the a$$.

I created this card to send to Tracy for her birthday after seeing a similar card on Shanna's blog. Shanna is a regular customer at the Scrapbook Pantry and I was excited to stumble upon her blog one day.

The colours I used are Basic Black, Whisper White and Purely Pomegranate. The stamps are from the It's Your Birthday set from The Cat's Pajamas.

What you can't see in the photo is that there is bling in each of the dots on the package.

If you're a Canadian, be sure to head out to vote today! If you don't cast your ballot, you have no reason to be able to complain later LOL!

*Picked Up Fridays Mail*

And look what was there! Crystal (the owner of the store I work at) mentioned that she had to make a card the other day... but I had no idea it was for me. I can only assume that she made cards for each of the staff members to go along with a gift card for the store as a thank you for the effort we put in for our Members Only Night on September 13th.

It also makes sense now as to why Crystal was asking about where to find and how to put verses on the insides of your cards. I told her about the Stampers Versalog. If you go there and put boss into the search, the first one that comes up is what was written inside my card (although she added that she really is my boss at the end). I had a good chuckle!

*19 Years*

Nineteen years ago today, I met the man who would become my husband. It was Friday, October 13, 1989. We had met briefly before as one of his best friends was dating my best friend (back in 1986). Two friends and I went to the bar that night and started to hang out with the friends of the guy our friend (who wasn't there) dated. They had a table and we didn't. A table was always hard to come by at this dance bar. We all hung out. I tried to set Bruce up with my girlfriend Brenda... but that backfired. By the end the night, I was holding his hand, giving him my number.

Six months later (on Friday, April 13th, 1990), we were engaged... 14 months later we were married..

So hard to believe that we've been joined at the heart for 19 years!

Today's card is the last card from the 2nd Christmas Card class I taught at the Scrapbook Pantry (did you notice I added a link to the right??) in October. I got the idea from great little card that Nicole sent me this summer. I added the idea of using the snowflake brad to keep the card closed.

For this I used a strip of some wonderful glitter paper (cardstock weight) from Best Creation and some Bazill cardstock as well as a cute snowflake brad. It went together so quickly and easily!!

We are all enjoying a day off from the regular routine as today is Thanksgiving Monday in Canada. We had our big dinner at my mother-in-laws last night and she sent us home with some leftovers... we're having toasted turkey sandwiches for lunch. My favourite part of a big turkey dinner is the toasted turkey sandwich the next day (oh, and the pie LOL!!!)!!

*Happy Thanksgiving!*

Just a quick post to wish my Canadian readers a Happy Thanksgiving! We are off to my mother-in-laws for our turkey dinner tonight. Seems so strange that I'm not the one cooking the big meal. I am baking both an apple and a pumpkin pie to take with me...... yummmmmmm, pie. That's probably my favourite part of a Thanksgiving dinner LOL!

*Wasted Day, Slightly Creative Evening*

Good evening everyone... a cool but sunny day here in Calgary. It's 8pm and just barely above freezing right now. We had a killing frost over night.

But, I'm still wearing sandals!

And yes, I'm an idiot!

LOL

We ran a few errands early this afternoon and while Bruce was at Rona to buy stuff to make a cat tree for Miikka, I came down to the basement to my crafting space. I went through my Google Reader and then thought I would make some cards. Instead I completely wasted my time watching TV, surfing the net... what a dumbass.

After a wonderful dinner (BBQ beef satay stirfry with rice), Bruce decided to work on the cat tree and I came down to the basement to craft. I haven't been totally productive, but I have made one card so far. And maybe after I do my blog post, I'll make another! I think I will make a few prototypes of cards I can work on next weekend at the Calgary Clasic... I'll do 10 or so each Christmas card design I come up with.

The card I am sharing with you is another from my October Christmas Card class at the Scrapbook Pantry. The cardstock is Bazill, the paper and ribbon are American Crafts and the image is Imaginisce.

I looked back to this day n my blog in 2007 and I am about 20 cards behind from last year.... I have some work to do to get caught up!!! I had hoped to make more this year than last, but I'm not sure that will happen... I gotta try, though!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

*Are You On Facebook?*

And do you shop at the Scrapbook Pantry? We've set up a group on Facebook for "fans" of the store.... not much going on at this point, but hopefully people will start being a little vocal there!

Come check us out HERE!

*My Favourite Card of the Christmas Card Classes*

I taught my Christmas Card Class #2 at the Scrapbook Pantry on Wednesday morning and again last night. The ladies who have been taking my classes are superstars! I totally enjoy their company and I hope that they enjoy my classes! In between work and teaching on Thursday I managed to finish my designs for Christmas Card Class #3 which is in late November.

Now I can start to focus on some other stuff including figuring out what I am going to work on at the Calgary Classic next weekend. An entire weekend of card making with some good friends. I'm so looking forward to it.

But those of you who know me, know that I don't often craft anywhere but at home. I can pack some stuff up but I always end up missing the stuff I really want and then sit and do nothing or watch the others I am crafting with. I really want to make some cards next week so packing could take a full week. I really have no idea what to take.

This is probably my favourite card from the first 2 Christmas Card Classes. I was inpsired by a card I saw of Charmaine's and used her idea for this class. The American Crafts ribbon that we have at the store were absolutely perfect for this design! I added some white Bazill Bling cardstock (on a black card) and some Imaginisce glitter brads and RubOn.

Charmaine, I hope you don't mind that I shared this card with my class.... they all loved it as much as I do!

It's Friday, so I have had the day off from work... took both animals to the vet for their shots, then Alex to the orthodontist, then off to run a few errands. We are heading out to dinner tonight and I have no plans until Sunday when I have to make two pies to take to Thanksgiving dinner at my Mother-in-law's house. Hopefully our weekend will remain rather quiet... perhaps I'll even find some crafting time!

Happy Friday All!

*Insert Post Title Here*

Some days, thinking up a title for the post is more difficult than finding the time to post!

I apologize for not updating since Friday. We ended up with a very busy weekend and yesterday I was at work, then Tae Kwon Do and then home to ice my sore back. Being back at TKD has irritated my sciatic joint again. I enjoy an entire summer of no pain. Sigh.

I am teaching my 2nd Christmas Card class at the Scrapbook Pantry on Wednesday morning and Thursday evening. I am still working on designing class #3 which is in late November. I have 3 of 5 cards finished and one card in my head. Just a matter of finding some time to create (which I had hoped would happen this past weekend, but like I said, life was a little more busy than we had hoped for.

This card will be done in the class a little differently than it has been done here. We didn't get the blender pens in in time for the class so we will not be painting with ink pads. Instead we will be using the new Copic Spica markers that arrived last week.

The trees are a repeat stamping of a stamp by Imaginisce. I used Scor-Tape around the edges of the card and then covered that with ultra fine clear glitter.

Very simple card, inspired by one I saw last year by Dawn... still like hers better though.... I did one last year too...

*Another Summer-Like Day*

We've been really lucky in Calgary the last week or so.... temperatures way above average and a lot of sunshine. So far today the sun is hiding, but it's still warmer outside than you think it would be on the 3rd of October. I love that I am still in capris and a t-shirt with my sandals!

Alex's procedure with the Periodontist was a little more work than the Dr. had thought it would be, but Alex did great. His pain is under control and he's back at school (his choice) today. The baby teeth had huge roots still on them.... and then it took a little more effort to find the adult teeth. In fact, one of them was up a lot higher, closer to the nose, than they had anticipated. Alex is on limited activity for a few days and is limited to cold soft foods for 48 hours and then back on to regular but soft foods for a little bit. I am so proud of my son and how well he did... I think I would have passed out.

Today's card is one of the cards from my October Christmas Card clas at the Scrapbook Pantry. It's been interesting designing so many Christmas cards for classes. By the end of November, I will have taught a total of 15 Christmas cards. My class is on Wednesday morning (with another on Thursday evening) so I guess I will be spending some time this weekend cutting the card kits. It's not always fun, but that's OK..

All of the papers and ribbons (other than the white cardstock) are by American Crafts. I used my scallop square Nestabilities to create the squares on the front of the card and wrapped them with embroidery filament.

Busy weekend ahead.... dinner out with another couple tonight, a big bottle drive to raise money for Alex's band account tomorrow during the day, out to our favourite pub with friends tomorrow night. Hopefully Sunday will be a quiet and relaxing day.

Enjoy your Friday all!

*Happy Thursday*

It's been a strange week for me as I've only worked two days instead of my regular four because of appointments with Alex and his teeth. Tuesday he got his braces on and today at noon he's having some surgery done to remove two baby eye teeth and to put some ortho brackets on the adult eye teeth that aren't in his gums where they should be.... links of gold chain will be attached to these brackes and then the chains will be attached to the braces so that the orthodontist can help these teeth find their way.

I was sure yesterday was Thursday, probably because I knew it was my last day of work for the week. At least I feel like I'm having two Thursdays instead of two Mondays!

This is another card I created for the store (the Scrapbook Pantry) to use some of those great card fronts and starters that we carry. I added some Stickles to the centres of some of the circles... you know me, just love the bling!

These are a great way to make fast and easy cards.... also a great idea for scrapbookers who are looking into trying card making.

Life with Miikka and Milo is going well. Miikka is getting used to our house and our family and is spending more time with us than hiding away from us. Milo is still jealous, but hasn't shown any agression to her at all. She loves to nuzzle up against him, and he allows it. He just hates it when she gets love and he doesn't, so I usually have to make room on my lap for both of them!

I am off... need to get myself ready for the day and then find Alex an early lunch (or a late breakfast) as it may be the last meal he wants for a few days.

Enjoy your Thursday!