It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!

Well, inside anyway. We still don't have any snow (just a few tiny piles left after having 4 days of rain earlier this week) and they aren't forcasting any before Christmas either...just colder weather :(

So here are some pics of holiday decorations for 2009! We have a new "gently used" tree this year. I gave our old tree to Courtney after Christmas last year and fully planned on purchasing a gorgeous new tree and lights, etc this year but a co-worker had downsized her tree and offered me her old one. I knew it was going to be big but WOW! It is at least a foot wider than our old one but the branches are so full and just gorgeous! Still haven't figured out where we are going to store it yet though...lol. I couldn't find my box of Christms lights this year so I only had three strands to put on it for this year. I wasn't really in the "holiday spirit" when I decorated so not all of the ornaments made it on the tree either. Next year I will have at least 5 strings of lights (maybe clear but haven't decided yet) and all the ornaments as well.


We have some new ornaments for this year also. Patrick made the three cute little mice at school this year (I love how the tail on mine is all curled up! lol) and we also found a Saskatchewan Roughrider one when we were out shopping for my Dad....of course I just had to have it! We also have a new John Deere ornament as well. You can take the girl out of small town Saskatchewan but you can't take small town SK out of the girl ;)




I have always wanted an advent calendar that you use year after year (I hate those cheap chocolate ones anyway...those are still bought for the kids though...big and small). We had these wooden ones at work that were half price so I caved and bought one. Kip just rolled his eyes but it actually is very well made and looks so nice. We had to go and get another one for one of his co-workers that is a "Christmas nut" as he put it. Donna loved hers too!

I also found six cute little stockings at work and picked them up as well. We don't put our actual stockings up until Christmas Eve so I thought these little guys would make a perfect decoration for along the shelf but then decided to hang them on the wall. Of course the John Deere stocking has to be there too!

The traditional nativity scene has it's place beside the new advent calendar. I know you aren't supposed to put baby Jesus in the stable until Christmas but I always put him right where He belongs as soon as it gets displayed. I'm sure I'll be forgiven...lol.

Mrs. Frosty and her two adorable snow kids (a gift from a previous landlady) are there every year too sitting beside the tree. The kids remind me of the boys...one happy and one pouty...lol. My Santa collection is spread out around the livingroom so I didn't take pics of those. The wreath from Mom and Dad is hanging above the stairs on the landing to welcome everyone to our house.


Anyway, only two more sleeps!!! I hope the kids are happy with their gifts this year...the older they get the harder they are to please...lol.

Merry Christmas to you and yours and have a Happy and safe holiday season!!

2009 Christmas Card Reveal

Finally, here are the samples from the cards I made this year. There is one set that I didn't photograph but I'd already given them to the person who ordered them. That's right...the person who ORDERED them!!! I took some cards in to work for a sort of "show and tell" and one of the pharmacists wanted to buy some! I ended up selling 29 cards and getting an order of 12 for next year! WHOOHOO! All together I made over 120 cards this year...and it was so much fun!! :)

Christmas Cards Galore!

The last few weeks I have been bitten buy the Christmas Card bug (I totally blame this malady on Tara!). I took some into work to show off and actually had a couple of orders for some...sweeeet! Of course, after my SU! order arrived last week, I had to make some more....and gift tags, too ;) I have also become addicted to Cuttlebug embossing folders and my gf brought some for me to play with and I am keeping them hostage until she comes back to play for an entire day ;) Angelique, text me to make a date!!

I still busy creating so I will have to take a few minutes this week to take a post some photos of my cards and such. The kids and I are also making our yearly Christmas decorations soon so will be posting those as well.

On a side note: The Riders lost the Grey Cup in the last seconds of the game...actually they HANDED the Als the win with a stupid, stupid penalty :( It was a great game for both teams and we had the lead the entire game...up until the last play. Good work boys and let's get them next year!!! Go GREEN!!!

Join us if you DARE!!

Life Preservers is having their DARE TO BE INSPIRED online crop this weekend! I can't wait....I NEEEED some scrapbooking time in a serious way. Now only if the Halloween magic was real then I could wiggle my nose like Samantha and have my scraproom all clean and organized by Friday nite! I will be picking up some pics that I printed at work so that's a head start, right? LOL I think I have all of the crop materials list already so that's good too. If only I could find the top of my desk...hmmmm....I know it's there somewhere!! Sign up for the forum today and join us....IF YOU DARE!!! MUUAAHHHHHAAAAA

Evicted

Yup, that's right. Last Sunday I was evicted from the BSH with 9 other scrappers :( It was really fun while it lasted but unfortunately there can only be ONE big winner (we are ALL little winners for scrapping our butts off the last few weeks). Today we find out who the second finalist is. Also waiting to see who the new Design Team members are. That will be announced on Wednesday...it's been a long wait. I did apply but there are far better scrappers on LPS than me so I am not expecting a "Congratulations" email.....hoping, wishing, but not expecting. I am excited to see who is chosen :)

Off to get ready for Eric's football game...see ya later Gater!

PS....Yeah RIDERS...whoohoo #1 right now :)

Technologically Challenged

Wow...isn't that a mouthfull! So, I have been trying to update my blog for weeks and FINALLY found some time to sit down, relax, and dazzle you with my ever so interesting weekly routine, family photos, and recent creative wonders. Did I mention that I found the time almost TWO WEEKS AGO!? I swear that Blogger or my ISP hates me because if it wasn't a problem with one thing....it was the other. Or possibly the fact that the "Wasn't Me Boys" have downloaded so much crap on my computer that is refusing to work the way it used to...OIY!!! I have tried several times since then to bring all my followers and drop ins up-to-date but to no avail. And...therefore, you are all clueless to my creative light-bulb moments and sleep deprived ramblings. Then again, that may not be such a bad thing...lol.

First of all (and by FAR the BEST thing)......SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION!! Whoot! Whoot! The boys apparently LOVE each other sooo much that they can't stand to be away from each other for one minute....alllllll summer long. AND, they also HATE each other sooo much that they can't stand to be TOGETHER for one minute either....alllll summer long!!! Now they are in separate schools (Grades 5 and 7) and they don't see each other for almost an entire day. OMG....the absolute HORROR of such a notion! Of course, their solution to the separation is to argue and fight (literally attack each other) for 90% of the time they are together. Whoever said "absence makes the heart grow fonder" never met my boys....sigh.


Second, there was a baby in da house!! Kip's niece, her hubby, and two month old daughter were sight-seeing in BC and stopped for a visit on their way home. OMG! Thank goodness the baby train has left the station in this house or there just might be another passenger soon...lol. She is such a good little baby! Patrick was totally enthrawled with her and Courtney promptly decided that she wanted one...lol. Please, please, PLEASE at least let me get to 40 before I'm a Grandma...it's only a couple of years. But, quite honestly, with two 20 year old girls...it can happen any time...and we will be DELIGHTED when it does...especially Poppa (oops....Kip)...lol.

Third.....always save the best for last, right?!
BIG SCRAPPER HOUSE at LPS!!! Week 6 and I'm still in the house! Watch, I just jinxed myself and I will be eliminated on Sunday...with 10 other people....scared spitless! I am on the BLUE TEAM and we are going to ROCK the Team Challenge this week! AND....the November Kit sneaks are posted! I had to wipe the drool off my chin....seriously! Check it out...you'll be glad you did...I PROMISE! (Disclaimer: The author of this blog is in NO WAY responsible for any loss to your bank account or increase in your credit card debit due to your upcoming addiction to LPS.)






Later Gater!

Basic Grey Challenges Blog

If you love Basic Grey like I do then you MUST check out the Basic Grey Challenges Blog. They also have some BLOG CANDY to give away as a welcome back present to us. Who doesn't like to win a little blog candy? LOL

Recent Projects

Here are some recent projects I've created over the last month or so. I'm still off work until at least August 15th so I am really trying to get into my scraproom again and create some more....what else is there to do, right?

I finally attended one of Tara's Stamp-a-Stack events and this particular night was making Christmas cards. We made 3 of each design so ended up with 12 cards in total...it's a good start to my holiday cards. It was so much fun and I had glitter all over me for days!








These three layouts were inspired by sketches from Creative Scrappers. I used some of the Cosmo Cricket Papercrafting Kits that I won earlier this spring...love them! Creative Scrappers always has amazing sketches to get you in the mood to scrap...check them out!






The next couple of cards and layouts were created for challenges and sketches from Sisterhood of Scrap. I was fortunate enough to be the Guest Sister for July and I had so much fun! It a wonderful group to be involved with and there is no store affiliation so you can use whatever supplies you want and share your finished products in the gallery.








The Life Preservers Summer Crop was such a blast!! I spent more time playing games and chatting on the board than I did scrapbooking though and only completed two challenges. But, I did win a free September kit so who can complain?! PS...I chose the Alternate Mega and I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands! If you haven't purchased a kit from Von yet....what the heck are you waiting for? Go...buy a kit..just one...I guarantee you will be hooked! The prices are great (even with the exchange rates) and you will be able to create so many things from all the fabulous supplies in each kit!




These pictures are actually a few years old. This is Eric's Kindergarten field trip to the Safety Village. He got stuck with an old, heavy pedal car but he managed not too bad around the course. This layout was for Life Preserver's as well, but for the June sketch contest. I didn't win but the papers were great and got me to scrap these older photos so it was win-win as far as I'm concerned :)


And what the heck is this? Well, this is a homemade version of a Clip-it Up, of course! Scrapbook storage at a fraction of the cost ;)

I'm still here....

...well, sort of! My internet has decided that it will only work when it wants to...and those little events are few and far between these days. After spending 50 minutes on hold late Saturday night/early Sunday morning...it appears to be a problem with the signal coming to the house or inside the house. The quickest appointment for a call out was to be Friday the 31st! Seriously!? They expected me to go without internet for a week?!!! Thankfully, it is still hit and miss but of course not really when I need it. When they called on Sunday afternoon to see if it was still not working (it was at that point) DH told them they still needed to come and check it out. When we had a call out almost two years ago, the guy was surprised that we had an old connection box outside the house....we have no idea if this was ever replaced (the guy said he would tell them too) because no one ever came to the door about it or called after that. So, if that has been the cause of our crappy service for the last few months then at least that should be taken care of on Friday.

I have also been absent because my anemia is back with a vengence :( It has really only ever been an issue when I was pregnant (NOT I'M NOT PREGGERS!!!!) and it NEVER got this bad. The iron pills were causing my stomach issues to be worse and didn't seem to be working that well (yes, I know it takes a while but I'm impatient...especially when I feel like crap!) so now I am getting an injection once a week for the next 7 weeks...Thursday will be injection #2. The doctor also had me off work for a week. I am scheduled to be back on Wed the 29th but still can't be on my feet for more than an hour (or less sometimes) so I won't be back until next week. They boys thought it was great that I was off work b/c I could take them to the waterpark and the beach, etc but nope...even that is too much for me :( Damned 34 degree heat!

I did manage to get some scrapping done before I felt really crappy so I am going to try and post my projects later today (if the internet cooperates).

Later!

FOTO Friday at Sisterhood of Scrap

Today is my day to post for FOTO Friday at SOS and I couldn't wait to share these amazing pictures with everyone! More camping pics will be posted on my blog next week :)

Challenge Monday at Sisterhood of Scrap

Part of my duties of being the July Sister at SOS is to provide one of the challenges for Challenge Monday. Last Monday was my day...yes, I know it's Thursday...I've been so busy this week I haven't had time to post on my blog :( I chose a sports themed challenge and it is really fun to see what the other Sisters and forum members have done with it! I would love it if you played along as well! Click here for the details. I would love it if you post a comment with a link to your completed challenge!

This is my layout using My Mind's Eye products:

Canada Day Fireworks

I LOVE fireworks....love the colors and the loud, earth-shaking booms! What I DON'T love however is the chaos, traffic jams, and drunks that go along with them. But Kip and the boys dragged me down to the waterfront to watch the fireworks anyway. I figured I may as well make the most of it and take my camera. I haven't tried to take any fireworks picture with it before and I must say that I am totally impressed! So is Kip.....sorry Canon Rebel digital SLR...it will be a long time before you replace my Fuji S1000fd now :(

Here are the pics from Canada Day...enjoy!

Summer Crop Fun

LPS is hosting an online crop July 17-19 so come on over and join us for some amazing challenges from the DT as well as good conversation and tons of inspiration :)

What I've been working on...

I completed another card and layout using Deanne's sketches for SOS Sketch Saturdays. You can see Deanne's original sketches and different takes on them
here.



These are a few other layouts that I've completed lately but wasn't able to share right away. The last two were for the DT position that I got and then the store/site was closed down a week later (still not happy about that one!) but hadn't gotten around to posting them until now.

"Capture the Memories" using Life Preservers May Alternate Kit

"Beach Bum" using Creative Scrappers Sketch #48

"Reflections" using 52 Sketches...Sketch #16 (prize sponsored by LPS)

The "To My Mom" card and "Family Ties" layout were created using sketches provided for the DT call at SMS. This is Kip, his Mom, one of his sisters and BIL with the boys. This one is my very first attempt at real machine stitching on a layout...sweet! Now if it weren't such a PITA to get the sewing machine out I might use it more...lol.


I will also be back later this week to share some exciting news for a change! Don't forget to come back and see what it is :) Later Gator!

Creative Scrappers DT Call

Kristine at Creative Scrappers is looking for 8 talented scrappers for her Design Team. Her Sketch Team does an awesome job and I love using their sketches for my layouts. I think I am going to give it a go....who's with me?

Sisterhood of Scrap Layout Sketch Reveal for June 13

I know this is a week late...busy with company, work, etc...you know the drill. The first time I saw this paper by Fancy Pants, I knew exactly what photo I was going to use! I have been wanting to scrap this picture of Eric for a while now...it is a couple of years old...and I am so happy I finally found the perfect paper and sketch! I even used some bling and Stickles...this one's for you Maggie ;) I think this will hang on the wall in my scrap area for a while. You can click on the post title to see the great sketch from Deanne!

Sisterhood of Scrap Card Sketch

I haven't really made any cards in a while so I decided to use Deanne's card sketch and get back into the groove so to speak. I am totally thrilled with my finished card. Leave a comment and let me know what you think :)