Everything Retired

My first week of holidays is coming to an end. Sigh. I can't complain too much though - I will go back to work for two and then off for another chunk. I just know that in the next two weeks I will earn my next vacation as I will have to catch up from the last week and then run around cramming in stuff that will need to be taken care of before I take off again. It will make the next vacation more sweet I'm sure.

I just received a UPS box with my last workshops goodies. I like to have the workshop shipments sent to my house so that I can make sure the order is correct and dress up the packages for my customers. These are the thank you cards that I included for this group. I tried to use up some retired items.

Retired Items:

Cardstock: Buckaroo Blue

Stamps: Think Big and All Year Cheer II

Paper: Carte Postale Collection from Winter Mini

Another Year Older

I celebrated another year of life over the weekend. My husband took me to Toronto for a meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory - one of my favourites. I am a HUGE spaghetti fan so it's only fitting. Being raised a rural girl, going to Toronto for an evening is pretty exciting - different than the everyday anyway. We didn't really do much but just walked up Yonge Street. With it's people and activity, that was entertainment enough. There's just something about the hustle and bustle of a major city on the weekend. I loved it.

This card, although not for my birthday, was my first attempt at using the (retired) small corner rounder as a scallop. I love it! I think the large scallop that it creates is very sophisticated and just adds a little class. I can't wait for my new SU stuff to arrive this week so that I can try this effect with some of the new colours.

You Go Girl!

Sometimes you just have to send a card to a friend to let her know she's doing something good! Need I say more?

Reese's Piece

What a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm exhausted and ready to go back to work tomorrow if you can believe it. I spent quantity and quality time with my son and husband all week and I'm grateful for the wonderful memories I now have to reflect upon.

This project that I have posted was created for my new niece for her baby shower. I had already given my sister the practical gift at her shower before Reese's birth and I waited until she was born so that I could create and give the sentimental gift that would reflect who this new little person is. My sister is a big Disney fan since she worked there in 2000 so I wanted to capture something of her. Besides, this love of Disney also transfigured into the nursery that she decorated so it will fit the decor nicely. I originally planned to make a "pink" project since Reese was a girl but then I found this scrappin' kit that I purchased from Creative Memories a year ago and it all came together from that. I call it "Reese's Piece". Love you Reesy!!!

Great Day

It was a great day here in Southwestern Ontario. The sun was out and the air was pleasant - not heavy and humid as it can tend to get up here.

I uploaded some pix from my camera today and found one of the invitations my mom and I made for my sister's baby shower. We were very pleased with the final results. We intended to do simple but I think we went above and beyond what we had planned adding brads, punches and dimensionals. The hour long task (that we agreed on) became an all night event. I don't regret a second of it though. My new niece and sister deserve to have special invitations. We ended up having a tea party and it was simply delightful. I made pretty little pink cupcakes with babies on top that I am kicking myself for not capturing on camera. At least my mom captured me making the cupcakes which shows how much fun they were to make. I know Reese won't remember he welcome party but I sure hope her mommy does.

Ready for Anything

Wow. The last 2 weeks have turned into a blur. I've had a baby shower, doctor's appointment, class, Father's Day, workshops to present, workshops to attend ... and the list continues. I'm exhausted and ready for some down time. I've made these small greeting cards for a stamp-a-stack workshop I demonstrated recently. When life gets busy, it's good to have cards like this on hand.

New Aunt

Lot's of celebrating the past couple of weeks. My folks celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary to which I created the card for. I didn't have a lot of time, so it was simple but I was pleased with the result. I just used the Cool Caribbean paper an ink and randomly stamped heart images from Simply Said. Then I mounted the piece on Whisper White with "happiness" from Warm Words stamped underneath and some silver cord. Like I said, simple but sometimes less is more and I think it looked very elegant. My parents thought it was beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, my family and I welcomed the arrival of my niece, Reese Carol. My sister was in labour for 36 hours - bless her heart - to bring this glorious angel into the world. She is an absolute darling, perfect in every way. I am looking forward to spoiling this little one as she has made me an aunt for the first time. Since I have a boy, who I love with every proton of my existence, it is nice to have a girl to shower with girly girlness. Welcome Reese!!!

Some Summer Travel Ideas for Southwestern Ontario

I've just added a link for "101 Things to See and Do in Southwestern Ontario". I love to have ideas for day trips in my area and this article in the London Free Press gave me some great tips on things to do that I never thought of before. When travelling across Europe, I started to realize there were so many places in my own back yard that I've never seen and took for granted. I've since started to take daytrips and have found it's a great way to get out and immerse myself in my local culture and have time to spend with my family. It allows me to pass on some traditions, culture and heritage to my kids. If you live in Southwestern Ontario or think you might like to visit, check out some of these ideas.

For myself, some personal favourites are picnics in Stratford along the river by the Festival theatre, picnic at Queenston Heights at the base of Brock's monument, a drink at Rock's Pub and Grub in Innerkip. Please let me know of any of your personal favourites.

Layers of Diapers

My mom and I got this idea from a gift that my sister got at her baby shower. It looks like a wedding cake but it's made up of layers of diapers. We rolled each diaper so that the fold was on the outside and then held them together with tiny elastics that we got at the craft store (came in a box of 1000 I think). Then we tied each layer with a string (or ribbon) to hold them in place and also to cover the elastics that held the diapers together. We used a medium sized silver platter that we found at the dollar store for the base.

Once all the layers were done, we stacked them and placed a small stuffed animal on the top - I guess we were thinking of a star on a Christmas tree. Finishing touches included sticking some bath toys, socks and face cloths around the finished product, glued lace to the edge of the base and wrapped it in cellaphane. It was the talk of the shower.

Happy Mother's Day

It's the end of a long but wonderful day. It was my third Mother's Day and my son rewarded me with some trees that I've had on my wish list for years (of course he's only two so I imagine he had some help from Daddy). I had hoped to get them planted tonight but after fitting in so many other events for the day, we just didn't get to it. It wasn't just Mother's Day for me, it was Mother's Day for my mother too. I got her a gift certificate for Micheal's and placed it inside this card I made for her. I cased this from a design I saw on Taylor Van Bruggen's blog: "Taylored Expressions".

Happy Mother's Day to all of you.