Happy Halloween!

Hello!

If you are looking for a fun pumpkin craft to do with your little ones, here's a project they are sure to enjoy.

Supplies:

• Pumpkin
• Paint (We used CRAYOLA® GLITTER WASHABLE KIDS' PAINT)
• Paint brush
• A place mat, newspaper, or bag to paint on
• Paint mixing pallet
• Googly eyes and glue

Have a safe and fun Halloween!

5 Years Later

Time fly's when you're having fun! My eldest daughter turned 5 this month. We have been talking about her birthday since the last one.

However this year she requested a card from me. Usually I'm so busy with the party planning and party favours that I don't make her one (at least for the past two years). So I wanted it to be something special.

When I ask her what her favourite colour is, her answer is often rainbow. Sometimes she will say pink or purple but it usually comes back to "all of the colours."

Lucky for me I had a few sheets of coloured images on hand. I then took some watercolour paper and used her glitter Crayola paint for the background. This was a fun card to make and she loved it.

I am entering the "Anything Goes" Paper Smooches challenge for September!
Wish me luck ;0)

 

Materials: Stamps: Paper Smooches Sugar Rush and Paper Smooches Party Posse, Dies: MFT's Bottlecap Letters, Copics, Wink of Stella, Canson Watercolour paper, white cardstock, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and Crayola Gitter Paint.

My First Quiche & uptown couple BRETT and BRENDA

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you had a great weekend. I attempted to make my first quiche using the Kraft Canada Broccoli and Cheddar recipe. I am often a bit hesitant when it comes to making new recipes because it is time consuming. For recipes I make often, it does not take long for me to grab all the ingredients out of the refrigerator and start cooking. But it's worth it, as I usually find a new recipe in every ten that I try to add to my stash of go to meals. This is a winner and I will be making it again. I like that it is almost vegetarian and my Husband enjoyed it.

There were a few special weddings this past summer. And this is my go to stamp which is a must have in my collection, I have used it a number of times now. Here is one of the cards I created.

Materials: Stamps: Stamping Bella uptown couple BRETT and BRENDA get married and Ali Edwards Clear Stamps LOVING WORDS Technique Tuesday, DCWV Cardstock 6 x 6 GLITZY PASTELS Paper Stack Printed Matstack Glitzy Glitter, SU! Whisper White and Black cardstock, Rhinestones, Ribbon, Copics, Wink of Stella, corner punch, Circle punches, Cuttle Bug and Alphabet Dies, Dimensionals and I can't remember the gray DSP pack I used. 

Take care and stay warm!

Tiddly Inks - Friends Are Flowers

Hi there,
Thanks for stopping by! A while ago I won my first online blog contest. It was for money at The Paper Trail. I was thrilled and had to do some shopping ASAP ;). They are a Canadian scrapbooking store based out of B.C.. I found out about them because I'm an Amy R fan and she was designing for them.

This is how I discovered Tiddly Inks. Their images are fun and cute, I couldn't resist. I picked up a few other items shown in my haul photo but these stamps are what I was excited about.

 

I had a chance to ink up one of the super adorable images last week. In this card I also used the Copic Mini Pack paper. The materials I used are listed below.

 

Card Materials & Tools: Tiddly Inks Friends Are Flowers Stamps, Stampin' Up Crumb Cake Cardstock, Doodlebug Design Inc. 6x6 Kraft In Color DSP, Copic Mini Pack Paper for Markers, Paper Smooches Wise Dies Clouds, My Favorite Things Die-namics: Vertical Greetings II and Fresh Cut Grass, Copic Markers, Inkssentials Glossy Accents, Wink Of Stella Clear, Forever In Time Paper Tape, Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine Mixed Sequins, Corner Punch and Eyelet Outlet & Brads White Perals.

I would like to enter this card into two online contests: Tiddly Inks Challenge blog and The Paper Trail blog.

This is the official Tiddly Inks website link Friends are Flowers. The stamp is currently sold out at The Paper Trail right now but there are other Tiddly Inks images you could purchase here.

Have an awesome day!

My First Blog Challenge ~ SENIOR-ita SYLVIA

About four years ago my Husband took me to Toronto to celebrate my birthday. I was in awe of the Stamping Bella stamps sold online so this was our first stop! When I arrived I searched the store for the stamps on my wish list and met Emily herself! She was sweet and charming; and made me feel welcome. She even had me stamp a little make and take.

I purchased my first set of copic markers using the suggestions which I got from Amy Rysavy's blog (Prairie Paper & Ink) and a number of Stamping Bella stamps. Most of the ones I bought back then have since retired. But they now carry Uptown Girls which are super popular, Senioritas which are clever and fun, Amariah Rauscher - I'm a Ramona fan and more. The February release is fabulous! I am working my way through my stamps now but these will be a part of my collection soon.

The card I am posting today is special to me because it's my first online blog challenge ever. Back in March I had an itch to create and the inspiration image on the Bloggabella helped me put this card together. I used SENIOR-ita SYLVIA with my new MFT's Die-namics Mini Delicate Doilies.

With a new Baby in the house I don't think I'll have time to play along every week but hopefully soon ;o).

Thanks for stopping by!

Suntan Snowman Christmas

***Merry Christmas!!! And thanks for stopping by. It’s been an interesting year full of fun surprises. I hope you are able to celebrate and enjoy the holidays the way that you want. I am certainly looking forward to spending time with my family and having a bit of time off.

Where to start... this cold and flu season has knocked me off my feet, I don’t remember the last time I was sick so much with back to back colds. As I was making another batch of Lipton’s chicken noodle soup last night I was thinking of how fortunate I am that it’s only a cold. 

A few highlights from this season…

My company made a toy donation this year to the Compassion Society of Halton. Everyone brought in a toy which was then dropped off at the Learning Tree in Burlington. There was the Hulk, Barbie, Legos, a Doctor Kit, Potsy, a Solar Robot, a Monkey Pillow, and more. It’s nice to be working with generous people.

We had a group of kids from Our Lady Of Peace Elementary School caroling at our door as they canvased for cans. They sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, it was fantastic! I have never had anyone carol at my home before. We had a small bag of goods that my Daughter helped put together to give them but I certainly wanted to give more. It was a cold day and they were so bright with spirit. (Not to forget the lovely hand written notice that was left at our door a week before.)

Have you ever wondered what to do with all plastic grocery bags? As much as I would like to say I always use my reusable bags I am forgetful at times and over the months they add up. Sure you could use them for garbage but I refused to throw them out if they are still usable : ). I called the KerrStreet Ministries a couple of years ago and found out they would take them. They were super nice and thankful for them each time I have made a drop off. They were having a Christmas party when we stopped by this year and it looked like a lot of fun.

Back to cards. This past month I put in my first order with Paper Smooches! They have some adorable stamps and corresponding dies! This was the first time using them and it was easier than expected.  

This is a small gift tag which was given with a box of Purdy’s chocolates. I wanted to add a little something to make it special so I used a “Swanky Snowdudes” stamp and the “Snowdudes Dies”.

 

I bought this fun stamp when I attended Scrapfest in Oshawa a few years back and finally got around to using it.

 

 
Thanks again for stopping by. I hope you’re as excited about Christmas as I am. I am looking forward to seeing my daughter and my husband open up their gifts on Christmas morning. Nothing makes me happier then to see them enjoy themselves and each other.

Until next time, keep warm and drink some hot chocolate (*don’t forget the marshmallows ;o))

Happy New Year!!!

... um, two months ago?

A lot has happened since I last posted, some ups and some downs but the good news is I'm up! And I couldn't be more thankful.

I made a big order from Simon Says Stamp and All That Scraps but I have not been in my craft room for over a month now so all my new supplies are just sitting there :P

So what have I been up to?  What have you been up to? ;o) I am taking a couple of night classes at Sheridan to upgrade my knowledge. It sounded good at the time, but it seems like my pastime has been reading textbooks, whooo-hoo! lol

One of the classes I'm taking is Microsoft Word 2010... it appears the software is no longer on sale; Word 2013 was recently released. I had a "duh!" moment. I have a great instructor, who's always happy. One of the things he's advised is to stop putting two spaces after the end of a sentence, this is really hard to do!

I went on a date night with my Husband last weekend. We went to Chapters where I spent most of my time in the children's section sipping on a Vanilla Creme starbucks (mmm mmmm) trying to find a new book for my baby. Then we went to see "Life of Pi". My Sister-in-law said it was fantastic and it was. I would definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

Note: Friends = a dose of sanity, once a month is recommended if not more. This may also apply to chocolate.

Take care and beware of snow.

Last Post of 2012

Only seven posts for 2012?! oh dear!  It could have been because we moved and my crafting supplies were packed away for a while before and after.  Hmmm, I may be making up excuses but that will do for right now ;o)

I had the chance to make one Christmas card this year.  It was also a birthday card so I added the "Birthday Wishes" sentiment on the left.

Card Materials & Tools: Bugaboo Digi Stamp; Eggbert Christmas, Amy R's Heart-y Sayings, Stampin' Up; Real Red and Whisper White Cardstock, Snow Buddies 116505, Craft White Ink, and Square Lattice Embossing Folder Die.  Rhinestones, Glossy Accents, Copics, Faux Snow, Glitter, and Echo Park Holly Jolly DSP.

Time spent this year (con't) I enjoy reading novels but rarely invest any time into it.  I like looking at magazines, reading books about babies and the occasional novel so it was nice to get myself lost in a few different series this year.

Yes, they are teen reads but I enjoyed every one of them.
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn By Stephenie Meyer.  I saw the movie opening weekend and it was by far the best in the series; probably because I read the novel first.
2. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay By Suzanne Collins.  After seeing the movie I was hooked.  The book was far better with all the added details.  I'm looking forward to seeing the next release.
3. Divergent and Insurgent By Veronica Roth (Part 3 will be out next fall)

Please recommend a book that you've read this year.

Thanks for stopping by today and have a very Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

What a memorable year it's been.  I can't image trying to remember all the details of 2012, thank goodness for my camera! It's like a journal for me and I'm glad it only takes seconds to capture a photo here and there so that I could keep the memory forever.

On another note, has anyone seen the Hobbit yet?  My Husband took me opening weekend and we saw it in 3D HFR and it was fantastic!  I'm a huge fan of LOTR and I've read the Hobbit years ago so I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

P.S. The image in the bottom left corner of the Merry Christmas sign was created by a good friend of mine.  Krista Taylor is a consultant for Creative Memories and is very talented in both traditional and digital scrapbooking.  If you want to learn more about the products she offers please contact her at krista@rempel.ca.

Sending Sympathy and Prayers

Did I say 'next month'???  I meant to say November ;o)

From time to time someone you know loses somebody special.  From my personal experience this is never easy whether it was expected or not.  We all hope and pray that they are in a better place and we know they will always continue to live in our hearts.

For this card I used the Petite Pairs stamp set from Stampin' up!

Happy cold and flu season! :S Stay warm and away from the sickies!

I'm Still Here

Thanks for stopping by.  We have successfully moved into our new home.  I finished painting the office yesterday.  Finally my scrapbooking table could be moved in along with all my tools and materials.  I will be back to post some more projects next month.  Take care and have a fabulous summer!

Does Life Ever Get Less Busy After Baby Arrives?

It seems to be getting more and more busy as the days go by.  Not that I'm complaining, I just wish I was able to create cards in my sleep ;o)  I have had a chance to create a few more cards over the past couple of months, mostly wedding cards which I used the same design as my Hitchedafellabella for J&S but with different colours.  I also attended a couple of bridal showers too so natrally I made those too.  I adore Stamping Bella's images and would own them all if I had the money ;o)  I was happy I got to finally ink up these two stamps for such special occasions. 

I used bridalpartybellas for my first card:

And for the second card I used sposabella:

We recently celebrated my husband's bithday this week and since I didn't have a lot of time I ended up using this "Robot Says Happy Birthday" image from silhouette online.  I'm glad he liked the little robot. 

Have I mentioned how much I love maternity leave?!?  I am so thankful for ever minute I get to enjoy my baby.  She is a delight to be around every day.  I love hearing her sounds, watching her learn how to use her toys and watching what she does with them... most of the time she puts it in her mouth but it's always funny when she does.

We're planning on selling our place soon so I had to pack away my supplies.  It was kinda sad but I'll see them again in a couple of months, I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend!

Be My Valentines

I know that Valentines Day is long gone but I wanted to share with you the card I made for my husband.  I used the same paper pad that I did for my Baby's card but the greys and blacks instead of the pinks.  I also decided to use the stamp "babyfellabella" from Stamping Bella for a personal touch since we are now a family of three.  Of course I used the Amy Rysavy's Heart-y Sayings stamps for the sentiment and even tried out my new memento dew drops.

I wrapped a box of lemonhead candy to go with it and snuck it into his lunchbox so that he could have a suprise while he was at work.  I am truly thankful that he is providing for us and that I'm able to take this full year off to spend with my daughter, it's such a blessing.  This is one of my little ways to say thanks from the both of us.



 And here's a photo of the envelope I stamped.

My Husband also posted a blog about his top 10 movies of last year.  In response to his list I thought I'd say a few things...
- I surprisingly enjoyed The Company Man, I was watching it the whole time.  I often like to do other things while watching movies like surfing the internet ;o)
- I'll hopefully have time to watch the final Harry Potter this weekend.  My wonderful Brother lent us the DVD's.  It will be the third movie I've seen since my Baby was born.  I did go see Transformers but she was kicking me the whole time!
- Limitless was a good movie.  The only downside for me was how the director used "fast forwards" throughout the movie, I had to look away so that my head wouldn't start spinning.
- Captain America was very entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing the Avengers!
- Bridesmaids was HILARIOUS
- The Help was a great movie to see.
- X-Men, Awesomeness... when's the next one being released?  The only thing I noticed was how it didn't link Dr. Xavier's paralysis to the next movie.

I didn't get to see a lot of movies last year so I'll have to play some catch up later on when Baby's older.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Valentines Cuddle Anya

Happy Valentines Day!

I was so excited after receiving my supplies last month that I made sure I found time to use them.  I decided to make my baby girl her first Valentines Day card.  I used Cuddle Anya, the Echo Park Be Mine (last years collection) patterned paper, bakers twine for the first time : ) and Amy R's Heart-y Sayings stamp set.

It's been a fantastic month watching her grow.  She's rolling from her tummy to her back now so much that tummy time is really just me trying to put her on her tummy as she flips over so quickly.  We also put her in the jolly jumper for the first time and boy does she love to bounce!  It's so fun to watch, we even skyped her Grandparents in BC and they loved it.  She's just like her Papa who also enjoys bouncing around... this brings a smile to my face.  Enough rambling for now, I hope you enjoy the card, I'll be back with more in a month if not sooner.



These stamps are fantastic!  And a must have for Valentines day crafting.  Here's a photo of the front and the back after I cut them up.

Thanks for popping by! Have a wonderful day!

Goodies From All That Scraps!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Wow, it's 2012 already, where does the time go?  I hope you had a great Christmas and received everything you asked for ;o). 

This year for Christmas I had a hard time thinking up something for my husband to buy me.  I knew a million dollars or a new house wouldn't be easy to come by so I asked for a mini shopping spree online for some crafting supplies.  I wanted to get the most for my money, especially since we have a little one now so I decided to wait until boxing week to look around. 

My husband did surprise me on Christmas with a couple of great gifts.  I was spoiled this year to say the least.  He picked out a book for me call Chicken Soup for the Soul: On Being a Parent.  I've read many of the stories and it's a good read, nice short stories I could read before bed.  I also picked out a few comic books online called Baby Blues, they are HILARIOUS and I must say they make me LOL and giggle.  I just finished reading the Eat, Cry, Poop comic and it's fantastic.

I'm getting off track a little... I subscribe to the All That Scraps email and they had a boxing week promotion that I couldn't resist.  I was so excited, I must have looked at all their products, this isn't the first time I've done this ;o).  It was my first order and I would definitely order from them again in the future. Once I placed my order I tracked it until it arrived here this week, there's nothing like receiving another Christmas gift in January!

So I decided to shoot a video of the goodies I bought and share it with you on my blog.  This is my first video and maybe I'll do others if I learn how to edit them.  If you want to see more videos I'd suggest heading over to Prairie Paper and Ink Amy Rysavy does a fabulous job.  And now I have a couple of her stamp sets : )

Thanks for joining ME today!

Chocolate Friend

4 more days until Christmas!

I managed to get some crafting done this past weekend and wanted to share it with you.  I ordered this stamp set from Stampin' Up! a while ago and finally inked them up for the first time.  I think it was from one of their mini catalogues.  Needless to say I'm a chocolate lover and had to have this set because I also enjoy giving it away.  Here's the first card that I made...

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Early Espresso, Real Red and Whisper White Cardstock, Eat Chocolate Stamp Set, Stamping Sponge, Paper Snips, Scallop Edge Border punch, Chocolate Chip Ink and Craft White Ink, Michaels: Brown Ribbon, Tim Holz: White Gel Pen, Brazzill White Diamond Cardstock.

If you're interested in where you could buy some of my cards they are being sold in Kitchener, Ontario at The Bead Boutique (http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheBeadBoutiqueKitchener).  The owner Jess is really nice and liked my cards so they'll be there for a little while.  She has a photo album of the cards I gave her on the facebook page.

Thanks for reading and have a very Merry Christmas!

Blessing Mini

I'm still here!

Yes, it has been 3 months since my last blog.  I do have a good excuse for not being around though... I had a Baby Girl!  She's my first and it's been a very busy few months, so busy that I have not had any time to do any crafting.  Even when I received my big Stampin' Up! order!  I had just enough time to put my clear mount stamps together, get out some of my papers and well that was it.  I figured the crafting could wait since she'll be little for only a short period of time.  Even now at almost three months I could tell she's gotten bigger, I don't want to miss a second with her.  I know I'll have all the crafting time I want when she gets a little older.

I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner : )  I do have a really simple little card I made this past summer for a special friend who's second baby had her blessing.  We bought her a little statuette and this is the card I made to go with it. 

Card Materials & Tools: Stampin' Up: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo and Whisper White Cardstock, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Michaels: Ribbon, Clear Rinestone and Creative Memories: Flower Punch.

I'll be back to write more about my cards and where they are being sold as well as more about my baby. 

Thank you for dropping by!  Have a super week!

Birthday Whale

G'morning!  Where did last month go?!?  And the summer!  I hope you all had a chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the sun.  As much as I enjoy the summer, I love seeing the autumn colours : )  The bright reds, oranges and yellows, nature looks soo pretty during the fall.

For the past month and a half the roof at the apartment building we live in has been getting replaced.  I am soo glad they are almost done!  The early morning banging and drilling, the smell, the leaks, I'm definitely not going to miss it.

Here is another card I made using the silhouette.  I think the whale is really cute and it was themed to go with a couple of marineland tickets.

And the images I used on this card: Wave Border, Whale and Happy Birthday.

Stampin' Up! has a new Holiday Mini Catalogue if you're interested in looking at some of their new products.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Mr. Happy Birthday Card

This blog is long over due!  I have exciting news to share with you today.  I purchased a Silhouette!  I had been looking into purchasing a die cutting machine since last year but couldn't bring myself to spending the money and I couldn't decide between a Shilouette or Cricut. 

There are so many cute images from Cricut and after seeing the hundreds of online videos, it looks really easy to use.  The only draw back for me was that the cartridges take up space; something I don't have much of.  Also I love watching Robyn's video's over at My Pink Stamper, she makes it look like fun.

I found another blogger Nichol Magouirk who's made Silhouette videos.  She does wonders with her scrapbooking layouts.  And after asking her about the die cutting machine she said she's had a cricut before but preferred the Silhouette.  So I figured I couldn't go wrong with either machine. 

One day I stumbled upon a kijiji ad for a Silhouette, it was in the price range I was looking for and close by.  I jumped on the deal which was posted in the morning and by the evening, I had it in my hands.  The seller was super nice and gave me cardstock too.

Since then I have created a couple of birthday cards and a mini scrapbook.  They have tons of online images to choose from and they only cost from $.50 to $1.99 each. I'm very happy with my purchase and look forward to using it when I scrapbook.... now if the Cricut drops in my price range, I might just have to pick that up too ; )

This is the first card I made with the Silhouette.  I remember reading the Mr. Men™ and Little Miss™ books by Roger Hargreaves when I was young so the images were nostalgic (for me and my Husband). 

Here are the images I used on this card Mr. Happy and Clouds with loopies. 

Thanks for stopping by!  And have a great weekend!
If you're in Canada, I hope you saw some beautiful fireworks yesterday : )  Happy Canada Day!

Hitchedafellabella for T&S

Hi! And thank you for stopping by. Last month Jamie and I attended a wedding at the Old Mill in Ancaster. The venue was perfect and the food was delicious. I whipped up this card for the bride and groom using Stamping Bella's "hitchedafellabella", I hope you like it.

Have a wonderful Week!