Happy New Year!

It's almost time to say good-bye to 2010! I hope you're all celebrating tonight, even if it is while you are dreaming. As I reflect on this year, the biggest highlight was welcoming my Niece. I love being an Auntie and look forward to seeing her grow even more in 2011. If you have any highlights you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about it.

I've got another Christmas card today.  I know Christmas day has passed but since my Christmas tree is still up I figured the season it's entirely over yet.  I purchased this stamp from Scrapfest in Oshawa, I wrote about my visit here. I think it's fun and cute. The owner of Local King Rubber Stamp was really quick and nice in letting me know she supports an Angel policy so I'll definitely be purchasing more of her stamps in the future; thanks Lisa!

I wanted to thank you, my blogging friends for taking the time to stop by and see my cards : )  It makes me happy to know someone other then my husband is reading along.

Have a wonderful New Years Eve!

Merry Christmas!

Only two more sleeps until Christmas day!  I'm soooo excited.  I will only have to work until 1PM tomorrow, then I'm FREEEEE!!! Okay, I'll contain myself for now.  There is so much going on I'm not sure where to start.

On Tuesday afternoon this week I was sitting at my desk working when I heard a loud "KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!"  I work from home and it's not unusual to receive a package from time to time but usually I receive a phone call so that I could buzz them in the front door... I figured the knocking was for someone else.  Then I heard it again, so I decided to check it out.  At my door there was a delivery man with a medium pizza box and cookies!  I thought to myself, that's odd, I didn't order anything. 

He gave me the box an away he went.  It was a Cookie Gram!  Now who could this be from?!?  I waited until Jamie got home to open it up and low and behold, it was a Christmas gift from our loving Sister!  What a great surprise and a perfect dessert after dinner. Thank you, thank you L!!! 

The huge chocolate chip cookie is DELICIOUS!  I've been snacking away at it this week : )  The Christmas weight had to start some time ; )  Also, I don't know how the delivery man found our apartment, the building we live in has lots of twists and turns, I'm utterly impressed with his ability to find us.  Kudos to the Cookiegram Delivery Man!  I would definitely order from CookieGram.com the next time I have something to celebrate.

For today's card, I am entering it into my first card challenge at MyPinkStamper.com.  There are already 92 cute cards entered but I figured it would be fun since I needed to make a card anyways.  My Sister asked me to make her a Baby Boy card and the colours on Robyn's challenge were perfect!  All you need to do is use the colours Teal/Blue, Green and Brown.  She made a really cute scrapbook page, check it out here. 

This is also my first time for using a digital stamp.  I used BugabooStamps.com because her images are super cute and she has an Angel Policy.  Since I have an inkjet I did run into some smearing issues because I used my copics ~ she mentions this in her FAQ's.  She also has freebies which you could download and test our yourself.  All I had to do was be careful when I coloured it in.  I also printed it the night before I coloured it which seems to have helped. 

I really enjoy this card and my Sister loved it.  I couldn't help myself but make one of the ribbons a tag : )

Okay, back to Christmas-Time!  What are some of your Christmas traditions?  Jamie and I have started a tradition for us, and that's to watch all our favourite Christmas movies during the holidays. 

Currently in our collection are:
1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (Cartoon)
2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
3. Home Alone
4. Scrooged
5. A Charlie Brown Christmas
6. Frosty The Snowman

It's always fun to grab some popcorn or make hot chocolate to go with these movies ~ we enjoy it : )

I just read over at MyPinkStamper.com that Robyn and her family each make a personal pizza.  What a fabulous idea!  I think we might need to make that one ours too since Jamie is such a pizza lover.  

Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Happy Robots

8 more days until Christmas!  I can't believe how quick the day is approaching, I'm getting excited for the 4 days off of work I get and to see my family.  Of course I'll also be thinking of the rest of my family... some of which will be in Las Vegas!  I will be missing them all this year for the holidays but luckily Jamie and I were able to send some gifts their way : )

To follow up on my previous posts, the surprise gifts I gave my friends were chocolate and candy boxes.  I bought a box of Turtles, Mini Toblerones, Werthers Caramel, Smarties and Jelly Bellys.  I wrapped them up the night before in the same wrapping paper and had each one of them pick one from the bag; it was fun for me to see them open the gifts and they were all happy for them : )

Here are photos I took of the bookmark which I created and inserted into my Sister and Brother-in-law's Christmas Cards I made them.

For today, I'm sharing with you a Robot Birthday card.  I was in Michaels one day looking at their stamps and I asked Jamie... what kind of image would a boy want on their cards?  He told me that robots would be cool and to have one of them holding the gun image.  A fantastic idea, and from that conversation, this is what I came up with : )  I used the robot clear stamp set by Recollections.  I hope you like it!



Thanks for dropping by!

What's in your breakfast?

I currently mix 4 different types of cereal in the morning. I've been doing this for a month or so and wonder if it's worth the hassle. I started eating Special K Satisfaction because it was sitting in the cupboard for a while (I think we got this box from my family a year ago, lol) anyways, this is how it started. I've been wanting to eat up all the food that's in the cupboard, sometimes I get carried away and buy so many new things that I forget what I've already bought because it's sitting in the back somewhere. When I started throwing expired items away I made a mental note to start finishing what we already have. I assume I'm not the only one who does this when they go shopping... at least I hope not!

Back to my story, there's a few things you need to know. My Husband has always eaten cereal; he usually goes into the cereal aisle at the grocery store and picks one out. He's bought Shreddies, Harvest Crunch, Captain Crunch, Mini Wheats... those are some of his picks. And to tell you more about me, I love food! But I don't love eating the same thing everyday. I like leftovers but not when I'm eating it for lunch 5 days in a row. I like surprising my taste-buds with something new and delicious when I can.

In my breakfast bowl:

1. Special K (Almond Vanilla) because I like it! (Satisfaction is also good)

2. Shreddies original ~ my husband bought it

3. Shreddies Strawberry ~ the original didn't have much flavour

4. Special K original ~ it's been sitting in there for too long.

I wonder if there's room for more. And to answer my original question, yes, it's worth the hassle of opening each bag every moring because it makes my breakfast fun with different flavours and textures in every bite!

What's in your breakfast?

About today's card, this weekend Jamie and I are going to visit a couple of good friends and their daughter. They are about to expect their second baby next month and we are thrilled for them. They are great and we enjoy spending time with them. We give them credit for bringing Jamie & I together and I am so thankful.

I received my order from Stamping Bella this week with her white CS which is awesome when using copics and the DSP on this card. I hope you like it : )

Baby Time

Card Materials & Tools: Stamping Bella - expectafellabella stamp, BELLA's BESTEST copic and odorless mineral spirits paper, Stampin' Up! - Holiday Blitz (baby rattle), Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Early Espresso CS, Old Olive CS & Grosgrain Striped Ribbon, Echo Park Paper Company - Sunny Spots DSP, Spellbinders Nestabilities - Big Scalloped Circles, Copics, Corner punch, Fiskers - Floral Edge punch, EK - Square punch, and Martha Stewart - Lemon Drop Glitter.

Thanks for dropping in! Have a warm and wonderful weekend : )

It's crazzy how much snow fell in London, Ontario since Sunday ~ 43.5 inches of snow!!! 

That might not sound like a lot to some people but it sure is a lot for London.

Christmas Family

Over a year ago, my Sister and I went to the Creative Festival in Toronto for fun. A friend of mine told me about it so I decided to check it out. Since we didn't do any research before jumping on the train, we both had the idea that it was going to be like a craft show and they would be selling Christmas cards since it was close to the holidays. Well, we discovered quickly after arriving that it was all about supplies! There where some super nice cards but it wasn't the card that was for sale, it was the stamp! We had a good laugh about this and came to the conclusion that we should make handmade cards together when we retire for fun and sell them at craft shows so that people like us would be able to buy them. We had a great day together in Toronto and the 'seed' was planted.

Months later I had mentioned the idea to my Sister-in-law. She is a resourceful one because immediately she suggested I sell them on etsy.com. I checked out the website and there are millions of handmade items as well as supplies, what a great idea! I later learned that there are other sites like this; that enable you to post and sell your items on their website. So with this in mind I began learning about cards and techniques... wow is the scrapbooking and card industry big when you go looking for it.

I then began purchasing supplies and making cards which are posted on my blog. My husband is helping me setup my website so that I could sell them online. I haven't set a date yet but I am thinking early next year, maybe February... I'll keep you posted : ) I'm very excited!!!

Today's card I designed for my Sister. As soon as she found out I was starting a homemade card business, she put in a custom order of 20 Christmas cards and this is what I came up with. When I showed it to her, she asked for an additional 10, lol. I was so happy she liked my design. I am currently in the process of finishing up her order.  This is probably the most detailed card I've made so far. It has a secret compartment for a bookmark gift! The top ribbon pulls out; I don't have a photo (oops, forgot to take one) but you get the idea. I think the greatest part about this card is that my Niece is sitting in the middle holding a shiny candy cane : ) 

 

Card Materials & Tools: .... next week?

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend!

Busy Busy

I will be back late tonight to show you a Christmas card!  Please check in again this weekend, thanks and have a happy Friday : )

Anya Birthday

One more month til Christmas!  This past weekend I went to my Scrap Club and we made a lovely Christmas layout.  She showed us a ribbon technique that I've never tried before (I don't have a photo for you but I found someone who's posted how-to-instructions) I'll definitely be trying this on my new cards. 

I also went to a Christmas card class at a coworker's house!  Tammy, who runs the Scrap Club also hosted the class; she is one busy woman.  She's a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and my source of SU supplies.  We made 8 beautiful Christmas cards.  I haven't decided if I want to give them away or keep them as templates : )  She had 75% of the work done; papers all cut up to size, ribbon cut and the water colouring images stamped, everything was so well organized.  All we needed to do was some stamping, cutting and putting it together.  I noticed that during her classes she really encourages your own creativity and likes it when you try something different on her designs; it's a great atmosphere to be in and fun!

This weekend I have a special group of girlfriends coming to visit me in Mississauga.  We get to spend some time with my Sister & Niece in the morning, they'll tour my 'new' apartment and we'll shop the afternoon away before they head back to London.  I've known them all for over 15 years (the Wedding Card I blogged about was for one of the four).  I'm looking forward to it, as a surprise I've picked up a little something for each of them.  I love wrapping and giving gifts, it's one of my favourite things to do : )  Now, to find the Christmas wrapping supplies...

Today's card features one of the first images I coloured, it's Anya from The Greeting Farm.  This was before I purchased my first set of copics this past summer; I used Prismacolor markers which I've had for years.  I hope you like it!

Card Materials & Tools: The Greeting Farm - Miss Anya Collection, Stampin' Up! - Curvy Verses, Holiday Blitz, Filigree Designer brads, Melon Mambo Cardstock, and Classic Ink, Recollections cardstock, Prismacolor Markers, Fiskars 2" circle punch, Marvy - 1.5" circle punch, Flower punch, Frosted Lace Stickles, and Small Rhinestones.

Have a good night!

Get Well Ruby

I attended my first all day crop session this past Saturday in Alymer.  I was really looking forward to the day as I had planned to catch up on some scrapbooking (I have boxes of photos... eeek!).  The night before I was trying hard to pack efficiently but without having my pages done, I had no idea what I needed to bring; so I stuffed my little suitcase til I couldn't fit anymore.

I thought I over packed but when I got there, everyone else had a bigger bag and more supplies then I did!  Krista Taylor was hosting the session and she did a great job.  She is a Creative Memories consultant in St. Thomas (I work with her husband).  She is sweet and she is talented when it comes to scrapbooking; both traditional and digital.  She had provided us with banana bread for breakfast, OJ and Coffee, for lunch we had a DELICIOUS lasagna, caesar salad and for dessert chocolate fudge, rice krispes, date squares, AND PB chocolate cookies!  All the food was homemade and soo yummy.

She gave out door prizes for everyone who attended (because it was a small group of us), bonus gifts for purchasing (I felt like I was stealing products), a beautiful make n' take Christmas Card and a bag of goodies!  There were two Cricuts on site, a Mama and a baby Cricut so I was able to have a title cut out for my layout.  Those electronic die cutting machines are fantastic.

It was a wonderful day and I got to meet some talented ladies.  I'm looking forward to her next crop day in the new year.

Now, to tell you a little bit about the card I'm sharing today, which ofcourse has nothing to do with my Crop day : )  I've been learning how to use my copics and this might be my best colouring I've done so far, at least that's what my husband said.  I've been watching copic tutorials online and trying out different techniques.  It's awesome how many ladies out there are happy to share their skill for people like me to learn.  I'm happy with how Ruby looks, this image reminds me of my Niece, she's so cute.

Card Materials & Tools: The Greeting Farm - Ruby, Stamping Up! - Curvy Verses, Summer Sun Classic Ink, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink, Espresso Cardstock, Blue cardstock The Paper Company, Textured White Cardstock, Recollections White Cardstock, Brown with blue polka dot DSP from DCWV Blossoms & Butterflies stack, Spellbinders “Large Labels” Nestabilities, Memento Black Ink, Copics, Celebrate it Basic Ribbon (Turquoise), Sheer Creations Ribbon (Turquoise), Fiskers Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border, Fiskers: Corner Punch, Glossy Accents and Clear Rhinestones.

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful weekend : )

Hitchedafellabella for J&S

A close friend of mine got married this summer. We've been friends for over 15 years! Wow do the years fly by. So I wanted to make something super special for her and her hubby-to-be. Her wedding took place at the Old Court House in London, Ontario, it was a beautiful sunny day. Her colours were black and white, it was a old Hollywood theme. On her place holders she used turquoise jewels to indicate vegetarian dishes... with those three colours I came up with this.

The Stamping Bella hitchedafellabella image worked wonders on this card, I love how it came together. There were three panels, the front, which lifted up, then the middle with the "Congratulations", this flipped down. I included a traditional "lucky red" envelope for a monetary gift. Although we didn't give her a monetary gift as we decided to purchase their Hollywood backdrop (I put the monogram logo inside).

One suggestion if you are planning to buy one... don't wait until 3 days before the wedding, lol. I found a company that was able to do what I asked for a decent price. There was one other company in the London area which had a competitive price but couldn't make the deadline that I was asking for. This is the place I would recommend, Kim helped me out and she was great "Designs your sign source".

The bride had a fantastic idea with this and my husband spent hours in front of the backdrop taking AWESOME photos of everyone posing. It was a memorable day and night and I'm Extremely happy for them!

Card Materials & Tools: Stamping Bella - Hitchedafellabella, Inkadinkado - Wedding Sentiment, Textured Black and White Cardstock, Recollections White Cardstock, Memento Black Ink, Stickles, Copics, Celebrate It Basic Ribbon (Black Grosgrain and White Satin), Sheer Creations Ribbon (White), White Blossom Jewel Stickers (4), Marvy Flower Punch, Fiskers Circle Punch, Stampin Up!: Well Scripted, Cuttlebug Hippie Chick, Scallop Edge Border, Martha Stewart Sugar Cube Glitter, Turquoise Glitter... $1 at Micheals, Clear Rhinestones and 2 Turquoise Darice Self-Stick Gems.

Thanks for coming by! Have a great day!

Thanks Docafella

A few weekends ago I attended my first ScrapFest! It was hosted in Oshawa at Durham College with 35 exhibitors. I had a wonderful time : ) There was so much to see and buy. Jamie came with me to keep me company but not during my 5 hours of shopping. I left with some copics, my first Spellbinders Nestabilities, Local King Rubber stamps, Stamping Bella stamps, Kraftin Kimmie stamps, SU stamps, a paper maker (I had one of those impulse buy moments with this ~ hopefully I'll get around to using it one day), and lots more. These new stamps will definitely keep me busy until the next event in Kitchener.

Although today's card isn't from one of the stamps I purchased at Scrapfest, I'll be posting those later.  I bought Whatsupdocafella a few months ago when I visited Stamping Bella for the first time in Toronto.  The staff is super nice, especially Emily; she made me feel very welcome, we cracked a few jokes and she persuaded me stay for a make and take (you could see it in my photo!).  I had a great first experience and plan on dropping by again for more of her fabulous stamps and products.  It was by her enewsletter that I learned about Scrapfest and boy am I glad I went.  Thanks Emmabella!

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Thank You Kindly, Brilliant Blue Classic Ink, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, Memento Black Ink, Copic markers, White Embossing Powder and Silver Brads.

Thanks for popping by!

Tote-ally Tess Birthday

Earlier this year my Sister-in-law moved away for a teaching job overseas. She was a regular visitor to our home in Mississauga before she left so we miss her greatly, along with her spunky and cute Nahla.

Before she left, she introduced us to a new game called Monopoly Deal. It's a great card game to play with friends and family. We played it all the time until she left... then Jamie and I decided to buy our own copy of the game. The bad news is I forgot it on the plane we took to Las Vegas (Spirit airlines), it was in the seat pocket! Ooops! I hope who ever found it is enjoying it as much as we do (since then we went out and bought a new set). We've tried to play it on Skype with her once... but it's just not the same. Maybe we'll have a Monopoly Deal marathon when she returns.

Today's card is the one we sent to her for her birthday. She has beautiful red hair so I decided to colour Tess's hair red too. I love the combo of red and purple. Enjoy!

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Tote-ally Tess, Birthday Bliss, Bitty Birthday, Scallop Trim Boarder Punch, Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, Spool o' Ribbon, Special Value Purple Design Ribbon, Memento Black Ink, Pop Dots, Prisma Color markers, Purple and Yellow Gelly Roll Pens, Westrim Crafts DSP (from a scrapbook kit) and Rhinestones.

Thanks for stopping by!

Congrats Pup!

It has been a busy month, starting off with our trip to Las Vegas. Jamie and I had an awesome time doing touristy things while our friends relaxed at the pool. Here are some photos we took while we where there, from left to right: a gondola ride at the Venetian, Cameron Dias at Madame Tussauds wax museum, the Luxor (where we stayed), inside the Bellagio after watching the amazing show "O" by Cirque du Soleil, MGM, the water show, The Gun Store, and the Shark Reef aquarium. It was a memorable trip and we're looking forward to going back when we get the chance, I would love to see the Grand Canyon someday. In the mean time, we are looking forward to making a trip to Chicago and NYC.

So about today's card, I made this one for fun. It will be on sale when I have my website up and running. I was thinking about all the cute puppies that people adopt.   This would be a perfect card to go with some puppy goodies for a gift. I hope you like it!

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Well Scripted, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Imaginisce: Dog stamp, Michaels: Recollections card stock, Basic Narrows brown ribbon, Provo Craft Cuttlebug embossing folder "Dog", Martha Stewart Glitter, Pop Dots, Dog Bones & Paws brads, Prisma Color markers, a small bone punch, Memento Black Ink and Fiskers: Corner Punch.

Thanks for reading!

Happy Bubbles

Today's card was made for my Mother-in-law's birthday.  I wanted something bright and cheery and this is what I came up with. 

My Mother-in-law has been encouraging and supportive as I dream up my card business; actually my entire family has.  I do miss her hugs since she's moved out west but she's lovin' every moment which makes me happy.  I'm looking forward to seeing her next summer when she returns for a visit, until then, Jamie and I will be Skyping and emailing her for updates.

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Fox & Friends, Bitty Birthday, Well Scripted, Holiday Blitz, Rainbow Sherbet DSP, Brilliant Blue Classic Inc, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, textured white cardstock, Rhinestone stickers (circles and a heart), Gelly Roll Yellow, Frosted Lace Stickles, Copics,  ColorBox: Pigment Inkpad Orange, Celebrate it Basic Ribbon, Memento Black Ink and Fiskers: Corner Punch.

Have a good night!

Foxy Thanks

In January, Jamie and I moved into our first place; no more renting! It's a condo apartment in south Mississauga with a 30 minute walk to Lake Ontario. We are super happy to have our own place and we're enjoying the quietness it comes with. We've done a lot of renovations to fix the place up to make it our own and there are a few more projects to go.

It's been a busy year and I often wonder where the time went... the move, renovations, helping with my Sister's Baby Shower (I'll be posting some of the goodies I made for it in a later post - and yes, it uses the Fox & Friends Stamp set), my Niece's arrival, Family time, Trip to the Thousand Islands, Lots of Movies, Camping with Friends in Tobermory, my friend's crazzy Bachelorette party in Montreal, Weddings and coming up, our trip to Las Vegas!

Now back to this post : )

A package arrived one day so I immediately opened it. Inside was a lovely purple gift wrapped box, I had no idea what it was and who it was from. When Jamie came home we opened it together and Voilà! A fantastic tangerine stand up mixer! I was so excited ~ a housewarming gift from my Sister and Brother-in-Law. I enjoy baking and it was a very generous gift, just perfect. Since then, I've made lots of muffins and banana bread with it, it's really easy to use and mixes up all the ingredients in seconds.

Soooo, I decided to make them a thank you card with the lovely purple gift wrap it came in.

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Fox & Friends, Thank You Kindly, Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry Classic Inc, Scallop Trim Border, Rhinestone Brads: clear and Lilac, Studio G: Clear Stamps, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, Fiskers: Corner Punch, and Gift wrap.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

Hello & Happy Birthday

Good evening!

I'd like to share with you a card I made for my Brother-in-law's birthday this year.  Yes, I've used the Fox and Friends stamp set again!  It was actually one of my first stamp sets I purchased so I've used it a lot.  I recently joined a Scrapbooking Club so I'll be buying more and more Stampin' Up products to work with.

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Fox & Friends, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Studio G: Clear Stamps, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, Mini Brads, Bassic Narrows Ribbon, ColorBox: Pigment Inkpad (Canary and Orange), Me&My Big Ideas: Destination Paradise DSP, Fiskers: Corner Punch.

Have a good night!  And thanks for stopping by.

THIS IS IT!!

Hi and WELCOME to my website! 

I'm excited to have a place where I could share with you my card creations... and anything else I might make.  In March my Brother gave us a powerful microwave!  This was his way of thanking us for helping him move and as a housewarming gift, it's a few notches up from the one we had.  In return, I made this Thank you card for him.  I love the cute monkey in the Fox & Friends stamp set from Stampin' Up.

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin Up: Fox & Friends, Thank You Kindly, Rainbow Sherbert DSP, Scallop Edge Boarder, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Michaels: Recollections Cardstock, Basic Narrows Ribbon, Fiskers: Circle Punch, and Corner Punch.

Thanks for popping by!