Hit It!

Superbowl Cookies

2011-02-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

Gracie loves helping in the kitchen, so it has motivated me to do more baking and cooking with her. We were invited to a friend's house to watch the superbowl, so we made some cookies to go along. I couldn't make them catered to the teams playing as I didn't (and still don't!) know who they were! Saw these online several places, but just used a simple sugar cookie and chocolate icing for them. The "lacing" was melted white chocolate. EASY!

Changes

2011-02-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

So part of my absence the last while was due to being sick...morning (all day) sickness that is. Yup, baby #2 is well on his/ her way! It was a rough start due to being nauseous all day long. And it is much harder the second time around...chasing after a 1 year old sure makes is more of a challenge! But at 24 weeks now, I am feeling much better. Baby is due to come mid June and we can't wait!

Here's a belly pic, taken at about 20 weeks. Yes, my tummy is huge and no, I am not having twins. ;) Gracie loves kissing my tummy and rubbing the baby. Although I can imagine it is quite confusing - she loves her pretend baby right now and there is a baby in mommy's tummy. I seriously want in her mind to hear what she thinks! So far, she's excited!

Valentine's Love

2011-02-14T20:00:00.009-07:00

Okay. I've sucked at blogging. I've said it. I'm moving on. I'll update why in a future post. But beware...a bunch of posts will be coming your way. Tonight, I plan on getting a schwack done and scheduling them!! WHEW!

But, to go with the theme of today...I'll share what we did for Valentine's. Here's my Valentine's girl!

I don't really "believe" in this holiday, but since Gracie has come, I figure lets make a special day. Days are fun to plan when they have a theme, so we went with it. Since G is only 1, I didn't feel the need to put all her food into hearts! Phew - bypassed that for a year.

We had homemade waffles (in circles!) for breakfast with RED strawberries. We had decorated our door with hearts that I cut out of vinyl on my cricut machine. We made cookies as I am on snack tomorrow for our affinity group that meets. Gracie worked on a card for daddy. And did a
special dinner with heart straws in our drinks and on red placemats. See, I told you we don't go
all out!

We didn't make these today, but Gracie helped make them a few days ago to give to some of her friends we will see today and tomorrow. She did help with the tag!

Painting Fun

2010-10-16T19:56:00.008-06:00

The best part about not being caught up with blogging?? Lots of options to post from! In the summer, my daughter G and I did some finger painting. Take a look!

It started with 3 bowls of flour and water (equal parts)...

And some fun colors of food coloring...

To make beautiful colors to "paint" with...

And you get a happy daughter, full of mess, laughs and smiles. Makes it all worth it!

Only a couple of notes for next time. Not sure if cornstarch would work as well. Once her painting dried, it just crumbled, so we had to toss it. I planned on cutting it up and sending it to her grandparents. Also, I carried her up to the bath in a towel...and I still have small flour balls in the towel that I cannot get out. Oops! But overall so FUN! It reminds me that I've got to do this again this week!

Wire Shelves

2010-10-12T20:23:00.004-06:00

We have a huge pantry on our main floor (its like a closet, so not deep, but long shelves). They are those metal wire types. There is so much wasted space in it, so I'm on a mission to organize and gain more space so we can put everything behind closed doors and not on the counter!

I thought the simple ways with cans was to get some of those stacking shelves like these.

But nope! Not when your shelves are full of holes!

Anyone have a better/ cheap solution? I thought of putting planks of wood, but I'm afraid they will be too heavy when you add the cans/ pantry items on top. Then I thought of piecing together cardboard...but that doesn't look too good! And your pantry has to look good, right??

Take a look at this one for inspiration. Mine won't be this nice! But organized. Is that too much to ask??

Relaunch

2010-10-09T20:28:00.004-06:00

So it has been over 2 years since I last posted on this blog. TWO YEARS! Wow. Hasn't felt that long, but so much has happened! I didn't want my "relaunch" post to be the typical 'this is what I've been doing' and 'this is what I want to do with this blog', but really, that's what this post is! It can only go up from here!

So in the last two years...we found out I was pregnant, moved back to Calgary, lived with my parents until our home in Medicine Hat sold, bought a house in Calgary, gave birth to our adorable daughter, moved into our house in Calgary (so if you are keeping track - yes, we lived with my parents when my daughter was born for a month!), my husband changed his job, I've ha a couple of (very) part time jobs, celebrated my baby's 1st Birthday, and you know, just the day-to-day things! So now you are practically caught up.

And the obligatory (is it, or is it just the easiest 'first post' ever?) "what is this blog about?". Anything. Whatever I feel like posting. Can be craft related. Parent related. Home decor related. Marriage related. Faith related. Photography related. Really anything. Whatever. Whenever. No pressure on myself for how frequent I post.

So welcome or welcome back!

My Sister's Quilt

2008-08-08T22:50:00.004-06:00

My sister is handy in lots of ways (she does my business website - www.noteworthydesigns.ca, shameless plug), has lots of power tools, makes cards and can use a sewing machine! I wish I had that last one in my resume of creative things - but sadly, I don't. Here is a quilt that she made for one of her friends new babies - see if you can guess his name! Can't wait to get my quilt...one day (another hint!). Sorry about the sideways photos - it is how they were sent to me.

Quilt

2008-07-15T15:36:00.003-06:00

I saw this LOVELY quilt on Quilt Nut Creations that you can enter to win!! Isn't that sweet!?!? I want to win it so bad - I have never had a quilt before but think they are BEAUTIFUL!! Seriously. When we have a kid, I want to commission someone to make one (as I never will). Actually, my sister likes to quilt....humm.....

Go to Old Red Barn Co. and enter now! Or don't - and increase my chances of winning - just kidding!!! I love the colors in it too.

Where Do Stamps Go When They Retire....

2008-06-15T17:16:00.003-06:00

....into your stamp collection! The 2008 Retired Stamp List has been released today and there are tons of the list again that will be leaving the catalogue and never returning.

FREE Shipping & Handling on any stamp set purchases through me (Laura Hit) that are on the 2008 Retired Stamp List. A great deal!

I can't upload the PDF here, but will be emailing out a copy shortly. Please let me know if you would like to receive it!

Last Bootcamp Challenge

2008-06-15T17:05:00.008-06:00

Here it is - our last challenge! I found a photo on Pottery Barn's website and this was an inspiration challenge. The challengers were to take inspiration from the photo in any way - the colors, the feel, a certain element or anything else. Be sure to go to the bottom to see the winner!

I planned all the challenges in week 1 and coincidentally, a few weeks afterwards, Kristina Werner posted a Color Inspiration challenge on her blog with a picture from the same patio set. Check out her link for more inspiration.

Here is Michelle's last challenge. She is great at taking "non scrapbooking" stuff and turning it into a great card or project. The background are pieces from a sample book of lighting films (like photographers would use). Love it!

And Joanne's final challenge card is this one. I love the colors and I love the square card. Nice work Joanne!

This one is my card.

So thank you to Michelle, Laura W and Joanne for participating. Since Joanne and Michelle made it to the end, their names get entered to a draw for the Grand Prize. And the winner is...

...Michelle! She wins the basket above, 20% off your order and the samples that I made during the challenge.

And in 2nd Place (out of two, good odds!) is Joanne! Since you completed everything Joanne, I have a little gift for you too that I will mail.

Nice work ladies, thanks for playing!

Bootcamp Challenge #3

2008-06-08T12:01:00.006-06:00

Nice work ladies - 3 weeks done! It hasn't been hard, has it? And I think it has gone rather quickly!

So Bootcamp Challenge Number 3 was a Limited Supplies Challenge. We were encouraged to use these items: A Wheel, Patterned Paper, A Brad or Eyelet and a Paper Punch. In addition, we tried not to use: Versamark Ink, White or Vanilla Cardstock and any Ribbon.

Here are the photos from this week!

Joanne's card is this one. Such dramatic colors and I like how she used different patterned paper. I'm always afraid, but this looks great! Nice choice!

Here is Michelle's card. She didn't have a Stampin' Around Wheel, so interpreted that part how she wanted - the wheel on the bicycle instead! Love the creativity! And for the paper punch, she used a circle punch for the balloons, but trimmed the edges to give them more dimension . Very cute!

This one is mine. It was a huge challenge for me to not use vanilla or white cardstock! And I don't love just the two colors. But I think the little duck wheel is so cute!

Laura W didn't have a chance to do one this week - if she does, I will post it. Stay tuned for the last challenge! I'm excited to see the outcome of this one!

Our backyard

2008-06-01T09:10:00.013-06:00

On the long weekend, I saw our trees start to bud into flowers. It was quite exciting. And the next day, our tree exploded with beautiful blooms. I am so glad I took a photo before we left for Ottawa because when we got home - all the pretty flowers were on the ground! Not sure what happened - a friend said that because spring was later this year, it could be that the season was just shorter. I am said, but glad to have photos to remember! It has been so fun watching our plants grow this year as we moved into this house late summer last year, so everything was going down hill (especially in our Medicine Hat heat!).

This one is nearly all gone - just the nice burnt red leaves are left.

I cannot wait for the peonies to bloom! They are my favorite and I have been waiting for them since we bought the house!

This one feels so cool - kind of like rubber!

Bleeding Hearts I think - I 'm so proud for knowing a few plant names!

This is one is one of the ones with all the flowers that have fallen off. It was beautiful and now looks like it snowed under the tree with all the white petals.

Our lilac bush!

I thought this one was a lilac tree, but am suprised that the purple one is still going strong, but this white one is all gone. Maybe it is just the variety.

Mesh and I so proudly planted this annuals in our front little patch. We were nervous that they wouldn't survive as we don't know what we are doing. We were sure to take some photos as proof in case they didn't, but so far, they look great. We are so proud!

Edited to add: I took a photo today (June 1) to see how our flowers have grown and the progress they have made. I think it's cool to see them grow!

Bootcamp Challenge #2

2008-05-31T16:12:00.006-06:00

Nice work ladies - the cards are great! Hope you are enjoying it so far. This challenge was based on a layout that I provided (inspired by Splitcoast Stampers).

This one is Michelle's. I like that everyone's looks different and the themes are different. It is a nice use of different patterned paper - goes well together. I like the blocks as the central image - so cute!

This one is Joanne's. I like the bright colors and the use of the metal rimmed tag as the focal point! Plus those little buttons are so cute!

This one is Laura W's. We made ours at the same time at our house - I love what she did with the scallop and put the two circle layers on dimension and glued the scallop straight to the card. So much, in fact, I ripped mine off when she left, changed the image and did a similar thing.

This one is mine. Don't love it as it took awhile to get the size right! I decided to add the Old Olive layer underneath so I didn't have to start over. And at the bottom is using a Stampin' Up! rub-on sentiment.

Ottawa & Montreal Highlights

2008-05-29T21:40:00.014-06:00

This past weekend, my husband and I went to Ottawa and Montreal for a few nights. One of my good childhood friends was getting married. My parents (also friends with the family) went as well, so it was a great time spending time with them. We had a blast and I thought I would share some photos. Mostly scenery though - I spent a lot of time clicking photos outside the car window and was pleasantly surprised how many turned out!

The parliament building:

Some wedding photos (I didn't really get any good ones to share). It was a big greek wedding (my first one) and it was really cool!

My husband and I on the way to the wedding (our hotel was right across the river!)

The bride Michelle and I. She looked gorgeous!

I love peonies! So beautiful

We went to Montreal as well. It was fun seeing the signs in French. I was in the car when I took this one and these people were laughing at a tourist (me) taking photos out of the car. So I tried to do it subtle, and barely made the picture!

Some photos of us (my parents and I)

And here are my parents and Mesh

We visited a couple churches in Montreal - beautiful!

Kindof a random photo of some chicken wings that Mesh had, but I really liked the photo!

Bootcamp Challenge

2008-05-23T20:07:00.006-06:00

I did a bootcamp challenge for my friends and Stampin' Up! customers. It is 4 weeks long and just includes things like a layout challenge, colors challenge, etc. Just to get the creative juices flowing and to find inspiration in different things. Part of the deal is to send me a photo that I will post on my blog to share with one another. So, here they are...for week 1. A color challenge for this one. This one is mine:

This one is Joanne's. I like how glittery it is and the green adds such a summery dimension to the card. As well, the layers look awesome and it makes the happy birthday pop at the bottom. Is that a chipboard flower??

This one is Laura W's. I like the little tulip she added in the corner on the pumpkin pie and as well how just used the brad instead of tying the ribbon. I didn't do her card justice though. Laura and her husband were visiting us last weekend, so she made her card at our house. I took her photo, but it didn't turn out the best. Sorry Laura - it was a cute card!

And here is Michelle's card. She called me saying she didn't have any of the colors and ended up pulling it all together! I think the picture makes the pumpkin stuff look gold, but I don't think it is. I like the multi squares on the top right and bottom left squares!

Crazy for Chipboard

2008-05-11T19:45:00.004-06:00

I am loving using Chipboard on my projects! It is so fun!

Supplies from Stampin' Up!, Heidi Swapp and Basic Grey

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T23:18:00.004-06:00

In typical form - I am late sending anything to my mother and mother in law! So, to try and give myself some more time I'll post some cute wishes!

Please pretend it says "We Love You Mommy! Mesh and Laura." I think this really is a cute gift - I would like to be able to write my message of the day on it to myself!

Thank you to our moms and all those in our life that act like one (in a good way!) We appreciate you and thank you for all the things that you do for us and just for loving us too!

Happy Mother's Day

photo courtesy of gifts.com and family.com

Baby Fever

2008-03-15T21:30:00.008-06:00

Yes, it is baby fever around here - but not for us!! I have been doing several orders for baby announcements and for gifts lately it feels like. I thought I would share some of what I have done:

Christmas cards made from the heart

2008-01-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share the Christmas cards that we received that our friends and family made. I love receiving cards of any sort and handmade ones make them especially special. Happy 2008!!

A cute card (and photo of their new little girl) from my friend and ex-coworker, Tanya, Kelly and Ava.

Love the colors in this one from one of my customers and friend, KaraLyn and her family.

So shimmery and beautiful! From my friend Meghan and Rich.

I love this set - I should've bought it from the mini! This is from our friend Andrea and Craig.

I love this faux embossed looked from my friend and downline, Michelle and her family.

My mom makes me so proud - very creative!! This is from my mom and dad.

This is from my friend Laurie, Ben and Chantelle and I love it. So cute!

My sister made this one - I like the little lights on it and the clothespins - so creative with them hanging. Thanks Michelle.

Stampin' Up! Great Sales

2007-11-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

So right now, Stampin' Up! has some great specials!!

FREE SHIPPING in Canada for the month of November

Buy 3 packs of Double Sided Designer Series Paper (in any pattern), get a 4th one FREE in November

Time to "Wrap Up the Holidays". With the holiday gift giving season approaching, you will want to wrap your gifts in true Stampin' Up! style. From Friday, November 23 through Saturday, December 15 there are a number of items on SALE. It includes:

- Holiday Tag Bundle (item 112409) A new item created just for this promotion!
This bundle includes several pre-cut pieces from the Holiday Glitz kit and makes 15 quick and easy toppers for gift giving.

- Empty Accents and Elements Tin-3 Pack (item 112410) A new item chosen just for this promotion! - This tin is great for gifts, skinny things like gift cards and you can decorate the outsides.

- Tags for All Stamp Set* (item 110380) 20% off! (page 13 of holiday mini)

- Hand Selected Accents & Elements (item 110228) 25% off! (page 12 of holiday mini)

- Designer Gift Cards* (item 110264) 30% off! (page 14 of holiday mini)

- Purely Pomegranate (item109863) and Chocolate Chip (item 109862) Satin Ribbon* Buy 1, get 1 free! (page 22 of holiday mini)

Contact me or your Stampin' Up! demo for more information. These specials are so good! I'm definitely taking advantage of them. I have flyers to email if you would like to see them. I just don't know how or if I can upload them here.

Oh, and the Spring/ Summer Preview catalogue is here - would you like to see it?? Send me an email or reply to this post to let me know and I'll send it your way.

Birthday Cards

2007-11-09T16:32:00.000-07:00

My birthday was over a month ago, but I have finally taken some photos of the handmade cards that I received to share with you. Thank you to all of those who sent me some birthday wishes!

A birthday RAK from Jacqueline (Cookiehead on SCS):
Another birthday card from a fellow stamper at SCS, Mama Kim:

And one more birthday RAK from SCS - Leesa Berry:

My friend Sharon and her little daughter made this one (and a very yummy almond pound cake):

My dear dear husband made this card. He is quite creative and it shows in his papercrafting abilities as well. He likes to say "Ola", hence the cut out circle in the front for the "o" and the hand written "la" inside the card - he did have to explain that one to me. I thought he just gave up writing my name after the la. Go figure. And on the back, he signed it 'Meshed together cards" as his name is Mesh - quite creative, isn't it?!?

My sister made this cool card:

And my birthday was the same weekend as Thanksgiving this year and my parents came here for the weekend. This was a thank you card for hosting them.

Cakes

2007-11-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to take a cake decorating course. I knew nothing (before this course) about cake decorating and thought it would be fun to know for our (future) kids and also for my wedding planning business, Noteworthy Designs.

It was 4 weeks long at Michael's and we made 3 cakes to decorate. Here are mine (please remember, they are my first 3 cakes I have ever done). Oh, and crappy photos I took to boot!

My very first cake. Way too thick of icing, but fun to do!

Creepy clowns but it was still okay. Michelle is a lady who I work with that had her birthday on the day I was bringing this cake into work to eat.

Our final cake - I was very happy with how my roses turned out - they came a long way from the cabbage looking things I started with.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-10-08T18:08:00.000-06:00

Fellow Canadians - hope you had a great Thanksgiving Weekend! We celebrated it yesterday by having my parents and some of our friends over for dinner. It was Mesh and my first year cooking a turkey together! Hopefully a tradition that will continue on (especially because Mesh took care of cleaning and cooking the turkey!).

Our turkey this year:

My mom and I made this for all the place settings (they were filled with candy).

Grateful

2007-09-29T12:09:00.000-06:00

So I have been wanting to make a banner using the chipboard coasters and since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my parents and some of our friends, I thought I could do a thanksgiving/ fall themed one. I didn't have the right letters for thankful, so decided grateful would still work.

I used Apple Cider Double Sided Designers Series paper from the Holiday Mini Collection. I also used the Simon Lower chipboard letters, some clear buttons, some grosgrain ribbon, a few brads and eyelets - all Stampin' Up!

This is what it looks like on our fireplace:

These are some of my favorite letters:

Checking In

2007-08-29T16:40:00.000-06:00

Oops - I just realized that I haven't posted a current photo of my stamp room like I promised a few posts ago. Right now, we are back in Calgary so it'll have to wait until we get home.

I have made a few cards to share lately.

All images Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Pick a Petal, Warm Words INK: Old Olive CARDSTOCK: Soft Sky, Whisper White, Fall Flowers Designer Series ACCESSORIES: Coluzzle, Spiral Punch, Soft Sky Double Stitched Grosgrain, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain, brads

All images Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Delight in Life, Warm Words INK: Rose Red, Basic Black CARDSTOCK: Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Prints Designer Series Papers (in Rose Red and So Saffron) ACCESSORIES: Celery Grosgrain

Thanks for checking in!

great giveaway

2007-08-15T00:29:00.000-06:00

So when doing my daily check in at Nancy's Creative Mess, I read about this great blog candy at 5 Minute Moms to win a 37" Flat Panel LCD HD TV from Best Buy. I don't know if Mesh checks this anymore...so maybe if I win, I can use it as a present!! heehee. Good luck.

Stamps for Sale

2007-08-11T13:50:00.000-06:00

I am a posting maniac today! I had a Retired Stamp Sale a couple weeks ago and just have a couple sets left. These sets are in great condition and all mounted already for you. They are in Canadian funds and buyer is responsible for shipping (or can arrange for pick up in Calgary). Let me know if any of them interest you! They are retired, so you won't find them in this years Idea Book & Catalogue, but I can send you a photo if you are interested.

The Wheel Thing (set of 4, a wheelbarrow, shopping cart, scooter and wagon) $18.00 SOLD

Sweet on You (set of 4, doodle style, love/ heart items) $13.00 SOLD

Holiday Wishes (set of 6, Christmas tree made out of swirly words, Warmest Holiday Wishes, a present, heart with a holly in it, To: From: and a star) $20.00 Price Reduced

Baby Talk (set of 7, a small background type stamp of lots of different baby words, Congratulations on your sweet new arrival!, a bassinet for a girl with a phone coming out of it and it says yeah, it's a girl, a bassinet for a boy with a baseball being thrown from it and it says bundle of boy!, a little baby, a collection of baby things (bottle, rattle, toy and soother) and a for baby little tag). $20.00 Price Reduced

Quick Thinking (set of 4 sentiments, Really, I like you; Too cute for words; I'm happy for you' Better get Better) $10.00 Price Reduced

Merry (set of 8, joy!, merrry!, a large winter hat, mittens, 3 snowflake stamps, think of christmas- think of snow- think of Santa - ho ho ho). $20 Price Reduced

Simply Circles - (set of 6, 5 stamps of various circles, one that says hello!) $15 Price Reduced

A Greeting for All Reasons (set of 14, Thinking of You, Thank You, Happy Birthday, To: From:, holly, star, leaf, butterfly, bell, Congratulations, Merry Christmas, flower, candle, heart) $25 Price Reduced

Leave a comment of send an email to laurahit at shaw . ca (but use the at symbol) if you are interested. Thanks!

Lethbridge Water Tower

2007-08-11T12:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we drove to Lethbridge (about an hour and half drive from here) to go and have dinner at Ric's Grill. It is a chain restaurant (although I didn't know that) and the one in Lethbridge is located high up in an old water tower. It was a yummy meal with great company and an enjoyable time overall.

It was so funny. We had some time to waste before our reservations so decided to walk around the mall. It is a crazy, small world. I ran into some of my friend's aunts (who I have meet several times) as she was walking around the mall. It was really funny and great to see her! What a small world.

Before

2007-08-11T12:29:00.001-06:00

So we just moved and one of the harder rooms to work on was my stamping space. These are some of the before pictures and when I clean it up a little this afternoon, I'll take after pictures. I'm happy with it so far!

Life Update

2007-08-04T21:42:00.001-06:00

Well it has been a long time since posting last. And, a lot has happened! We are all moved now to our new city and getting settled in our new home. It is coming along quite well and feeling more and more like home. We look forward to making some friends and meeting people. Hopefully church tomorrow will help. I will post some photos of your house soon (I have to take some).

One room I am excited about it my stamping space! It is much larger than my old room and I like the workspace that I have. I'm looking forward to spending some time down there, hopefully tomorrow and using the new stamps I have (that haven't been touched in weeks and they just got trimmed yesterday!). Priorities...I know.

Have a great day!

Blog Scattergories

2007-08-04T21:30:00.000-06:00

Nancy at Nancy's Creative Mess had this neat little blog thing posted. You basically take the topic and your answer has to start with the same letter as your name. For the boy and girl names - they can't be your own! That'd be cheating!!!

Your Name: Laura
Famous Artist/Band/Musician: Lionel Richie
4 letter word: Luck
Vehicle: Lexus
TV SHOW: Late Show with David Letterman
City/Town: Lethbridge
Boy Name: Levi
Girl Name: Leanne
Occupation: Lawyer
Something you wear: Lingerie
Celebrity: Lucille Ball
Food: Lucky Charms
Something found in a kitchen: Lights
Reason for Being Late: Lost keys
Cartoon Character: Linus Van Pelt
Something You Shout: Look out!

I'll admit, my husband helped! I can't do things under pressure (and that says alot as there a was no pressure to do this!) but he came up with all my good ones!

Color Challenge - Green

2007-07-01T12:54:00.001-06:00

Oh, another one of the samples that comes out sideways - sorry. And no, it isn't garbage - it is clothes for the goodwill. I was really lazy on that one - wanted to take a green photo from my computer chair and that bag is right outside the door!

Color Challenge - Red

2007-07-01T12:52:00.001-06:00

A wall in our room

Color Challenge - Blue

2007-07-01T12:41:00.000-06:00

Color Challenge - Silver

2007-07-01T12:33:00.001-06:00

Oh my, I am behind on color challenges. Gotta be honest, don't really have anything too creative to show, but here they are.

This is a little spice rack from Walmart that I use to hold buttons, sponge daubers and other little things.

oops

2007-06-28T07:56:00.000-06:00

I wrote a post ages ago and saved it. Now it is below the lavender and brown post, scroll down to see.

Color Challenge - Lavender and Brown

2007-06-11T09:56:00.000-06:00

I'm a little behind on the challenges. This one was two colors in one so I found it a little harder. Plus, lavender is probably the only color that I haven't paired up with brown. So I took some of the ribbon (actually was used at our wedding) and paired it on Stampin' Up!'s cardstock, Lavender Lace and called it done. Here it is:

It is supposed to be vertical, but don't know how to change it on here (so frustrating). So I guess its okay that way.

Hit's Changes

2007-06-05T13:15:00.000-06:00

Wowsa - I haven't posted in forever! In fact, I had this post below to share that I wrote at the start of June and just haven't done it! In case I haven't lost all my readers...here is a new post!

I know I haven't posted for a bit, but I do have a reason (not an excuse). It was pretty much after my last post (so you know how recent!) that we found out we are moving! And not just within our city! We are moving to Medicine Hat (about 3 hours from where we are now). My husband Mesh will be starting a new job out there right away (actually he already started). It is bittersweet right now - excited to move on out of this holding pattern, get to live in the same city as our good friends James & Sharon (and their great kids), sad to leave family and friends here, sad to leave the familiarity of this city!

For my Stampin' Up! customers, more details will be given in my next newsletter. Working on that in between getting our house ready to sell and going to find a new house to live in! I think my stamping stuff will be one of the last things to pack, if possible, so hopefully I will still be making some stuff to post (even though it is rare lately!).

And now an update from today - we have sold our house (didn't take long at all) and just found out last night that the house in MH has gone throgh and we have waived our conditions. It is a great house and look forward to some visits from our friends and family there! We move in a month exactly, so lots of packing and getting ready to do.

I haven't stamped in a long time, gonna see if that can happen within the next little bit. My second upline has a meeting tonight - I'm hoping that will re-energize me to create some things. I am also way behind on the color challenge - I'm gonna try to catch up today. Thanks for sticking with me!!

A new baby

2007-05-29T22:50:00.001-06:00

Our good friends, Carl and Michelle had their third baby. They are on their way overseas this summer so I wanted to give them something useful instead of something else to pack. I asked if they wanted baby thank you cards and they were thrilled. I did two, very simple designs to send to them. Here they are:

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: I'm Here, Much Appreciated, Crosshatch CARDSTOCK: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla INK: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Bundle of Joy CARDSTOCK: Cool Caribbean, Barely Banana, Watercolor paper INK: Stazon Black, Cool Caribbean, Barely Banana ACCESSORIES: SAMJ, aqua painters, watercolor wonder crayons, paper piercer, white signo gel pen

Then I also wanted to send the other two kids a card as well. The first is simple using Sporting Goods from Stampin' Up! and the second is using Alexa's Set from Missy B. I don't know what happend to the second photo. With the iphoto it turns my photographs automatically. Then when I go to post one, it comes up the wrong way. Any ideas?? Otherwise, I'll keep trying and we'll just have to turn our heads for awhile.

What I've been up to...

2007-05-29T22:43:00.000-06:00

Some of the things I have been up to lately are:

50 little packages for a client to promote her business. They turned out so cute and she was thrilled.

I participated in a Stampin' Up! bootcamp to give myself a kick in the butt for my business. We had our windup the other night (hosted by Debbie) and this is the awesome card we made. I love the colors and doodles around the leaves. I sortof missed the stem matching up to the flowers, but I like it never the less.

Color Challege - Dandelion

2007-05-20T21:52:00.000-06:00

So this weeks challenge was "dandelion". I thought of going out in the backyard and taking a photo of our grass as we have some "digging out" to do back there. Instead, I took a couple photos while at my parent's house tonight for dinner.

That's my mom wearing her "dandelion" (as labeled conveniently by me today) sweater and eyeballs.

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T21:47:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there...and of course to my own! I got up nice and early (really early!) to drive my husband to the airport. He is away on conference and got to surprise his mom this morning as he had time to waste at the airport in Vancouver. I was so glad it worked out.

We had a lunch with our family to celebrate and headed over to my sister's house for a yummy raspberry upside down cake. My mom was *concerned* that she was getting the card on my blog that I already showed. I figured I would come up with a new one for her (and also used it at a Stampin' Up! workshop this week).

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007. STAMPS: Doodle This, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Warm Words CARDSTOCK: Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise INK: Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Perfect Plum ACCESSORIES: Mat pack, turquoise grosgrain, blender pens, round tab punch

I wanted to try one of the little accordion books that Beate posted on Splitcoast Stampers, so I made one for my mom as well. Here are a couple pictures of it. I'm happy how it turned out for my first one!

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: None shown CARDSTOCK: Recollections Designer Series paper, Bravo Burgundy, Mellow Moss, Whisper White INK: None shown ACCESSORIES: Wine organdy ribbon, small corner rounder

Color Challenge - Robin Egg Blue

2007-05-13T21:41:00.000-06:00

I was really thinking hard of what to photograph in this color and thinking maybe I'll just skip a week, LOL. I am in the midst of doing a project for my new company (I can't wait to officially announce it!!) and thought of the challenge. One of my colleagues at the school is a Beauti Control consultant and is doing little packages for new customers. She asked if I would help to make them and of course, I said yes - to all 50 of them! In each package is a little candle...a nice robin egg blue candle (well sort of, close to it I guess). I tried to get a picture of the bowl of candles:

Entertainment in Calgary

2007-05-12T15:00:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Mesh and I were given some gift certificates to two different theaters here in Calgary. We redeemed them and they happend to be in the same week! Both shows were excellent and I would recommend them if you are in the city.

At Stagewest we saw "Canadian Explosion" It was awesome to hear all the different songs that were written by Canadians! Very fun.

Then last night we went to Vertigo theater and saw "Shear Madness". There were some very funny parts and they have extended the show for 2 weeks. It was very funny - my parents have season tickets to this theather and they happened to have their night the same night we booked ours. So we enjoyed dinner and hitched a ride with them (with a parking pass to boot!). We scored big time!

Thanks to my aunt and my sister for the gift certificates so that we could enjoy something different!

Color Challenge - White

2007-05-07T14:21:00.000-06:00

White - the color is all over, but capturing it in a unique way is the hard part! Here are my attempts.

This is our new computer - one of the selling features for me was it was white, so I knew it would be perfect for this color challenge! Plus my Starbucks coffee mug had to be in there too!

I hosted a Pampered Chef party awhile ago and one of my freebies was this awesome bowl. Filled up with fresh fruits and veggies really makes the white stand out.

Color Challenge - Chestnut

2007-04-29T16:09:00.000-06:00

This color might have been a stretch for me. Chestnut (brown with a red tinge). The first thing that came to mind was our couches in our family room. They sortof fit the criteria. Sorry about the glare - the one window covering can't really be closed right now (which reminds me....mom we have to book another date to fix them!!). This is our favorite room in the house, we love that it is bright and were we host our company. The second photo is one of the places where either of us like to read. The walls look pink on my computer, but they aren't - they are a neutral color! Such good memories here on our "chestnut" couches.

A favorite picture

2007-04-27T22:46:00.000-06:00

I was looking through some photos to find something somewhat interesting to share. I have to remember to take some photos of some cards tomorrow during the day so that they turn out better. This picture I took awhile ago, but really like it. We did a similar thing for the centerpieces at our wedding (using the coffee beans as our color was chocolate brown). A few of my favorite things in that picture - gerberas, coffee and simple!

I am trying to do things much more simply. For me, this means practical things, one of them being keeping a list. I'm finding that with all the little distractions that there can be, I'm not accomplishing as much as I want as quickly as I want. When I am in work at home mode, I try to write down the items I want to do. There is so much satisfaction in checking things off as they are done on the whiteboard in our office. In fact, I'm off to check one more off as I finish this blog entry.

Mother's Day Card

2007-04-25T16:02:00.000-06:00

I have a customer who is hosting a stamp-a-stack coming up quickly. Basically she invites all her friends, we decide how many cards to make (and what kind) and I come up with a design, cut the supplies and show her friends how to make them for a small fee. I thought I would share some of the cards we are doing over the next little while. Here is the mother's day card. I got the idea of the mom with flower somewhere on the internet, but I can't find/ remember where. I have to get better at writing them down so that I can give proper credit - so I am sorry that I can't name you whoever you are. Please let me know if you know where I saw this idea with mom.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Doodle This, Doodle That, Doodle Alphabet, Happy Everything CARDSTOCK: Pale Plum, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla INK: Basic Black, Pale Plum ACCESSORIES: Ticket corner punch, silver brad, stampin' write markers, stampin' dimensionals

Color Challenge - Black

2007-04-24T20:53:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I think I figured out what I might have been doing wrong in terms of posting a photo. I am here to try again to post my color challenge pictures for black. I thought it would be an easy color to take, but it ended up being hard in terms of finding a photo that was interesting enough to capture.

We spent the weekend in Edmonton visiting some friends. One of our friends lives in this great loft and it is decorated with black and silver throughout. I thought I would take some pictures there for this challenge. Here they are.

Here is my friend Laura and I. We are nicknamed Laura North and Laura South, depending on where we leave. Helps keep things organized. The next time we see Laura and Jon it will be in their new house, so that's exciting.

Posting challenges

2007-04-23T20:33:00.000-06:00

I was starting a post and adding some photos (finally...sorry its been so long). We just got a new mac computer and I am having some trouble uploading some pictures. I will work on it and see if I can figure it out. In the meantime, if you are a blogger (in blogspot) and a mac user - do you have any tips??? Please leave a comment if you do. Thanks.

Color Challenge Week 5 - Green

2007-04-15T13:41:00.000-06:00

So this week is supposed to be "Granny Smith Apple" green. I've decided to keep my challenges simple, and really just do the general color - not really worried if it fits with the crayon name (maybe one day). This challenge is so fun and I encourage you to try it out (I don't think it matters if you join part way, just see Dee-Ann's blog or more information). It really makes you look at things around you in color and think about how that color relates to your life. I took a few green photos this week.

This is a key lime pie my mom made awhile back (when the challenge started). I liked the color, so took a picture anticipating the green week. It was for St. Patrick's day so she used food coloring to enhance the green.

The next photo is one of a plant that my old place of work gave me when my grandma passed away a couple years ago. I love the color with the red pot, I love how the plant is still doing well and growing quickly and I love how it is a little reminder of my grandma, whom I miss tons.

And the last photo is of kermit and a green flipper we have. I know it seems random, but the reason is an old student I used to work with loved kermit. I got to know the family pretty well and as a part of a shower gift, the mom gave me the flipper because it was kermit green and would remind me of them everytime I use it (which is totally does!). Mesh has a kermit in his car which I borrowed for the photo.

A Fan of Flan

2007-04-15T13:32:00.000-06:00

So we had our friends Adam and Suzanne over last night for dessert and games. Our friend, Sharon, had made this great fruit flan awhile back while we were at their place and I decided to make it. It was delicious with some whipped cream and fresh strawberries and blackberries. Its really easy to make (only 1 bowl to mix) and 20 minutes to bake. A great summer dessert. Here is a picture of what it looked like.

Let me know if you are interested in the recipe - so light and yummy!

It's the thought that counts...

2007-04-13T23:16:00.000-06:00

I did some stamping tonight, but not quite ready to post it yet. First, I want to take the pictures tomorrow during the day and second, I'm still thinking about them. Sometimes I put pressure on myself about what my cards should look like (especially if they are for a demo or event). One thing I am trying to do is stress less about that. Its funny - if I stamp totally for fun, no pressure, I really like the cards I do. When it is for something specific, I will hum and haw over the card several times before liking it or changing/ hucking it. I have a file of photos on my computer of what's I call "older cards". These are cards I did when I first was introduced to stamping (and Stampin' Up!) and thought I would share them. I need to remind myself where I was when I started and where I am now. Anyways, here they are. All images are Stampin' Up! (1990-2007), but since they are so old, I don't remember what colors they are...not that anyone would be trying to reproduce these!

Thanks for looking. I try to remind myself of what it says on the wall over my stamping desk, but sometimes I think it needs to say "less stress" instead.

Thank you from Quiltnut

2007-04-10T17:53:00.000-06:00

The winner of my blog candy (see several posts below) was Quiltnut. She sent me this great card to say Thank you for her prize. I asked if I could share it with you and she said "yes". Here it is.

Her blog is http://quiltnutcreations.blogspot.com/ and she posts beautiful quilts as well, she has a blog candy contest going on right now. Anyone in Calgary know what Micheal's (if any) is carrying those clear stamps? The new Beacon Hill one isn't (at least not that I saw). Isn't the background of Rhonda's (quiltnut) card beautiful colors?!? She did it with the melted crayon technique and her iron. I love getting homemade cards! Thanks again Rhonda!

Color Challenge Week 4

2007-04-08T18:43:00.000-06:00

I tried to incorporate Easter into my color of the week photo (see Dee-Ann's blog to the right). I was coloring easter eggs and Mesh came down to join me for a few minutes. Here is our bowl full of eggs.

Can you guess which ones Mesh did? It captures two of his most favorite things - His faith and his Vancouver Canucks. Please note: the Canucks are Mesh's favorites and not mine...so no mean comments. :)

And this is the photo that I tried to caputre this weeks color challenge of pink in. If only our bowl was pink too, then it would be great.

I also photographed a couple flowers to go with the pink theme. These ones were given to us from our friends Dawn and Mike and I took the pink ones from the bunch to take their photo.

And then lastly is a flower that has just _______ (insert word here that means came again in flower terms, I can't remember what it is!!). My grandma gave us that plant when we moved into our new house over a year ago.

Inspiration Sheet Challenge

2007-04-06T21:59:00.000-06:00

Oh my, it's been much longer than I wanted between posts - sorry about that. I have been on spring break, but working somewhere else nannying during the day so they have been long days and not much time to do other things. Also, as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I have been wanting to grow my business more. My up-up-line has organized this great bootcamp to get our business in shape. It has been great, and time consuming to accomplish the tasks, but I love doing it. So enough excuses, let me think what I have to share.

As a part of bootcamp, we do some stamping (naturally). This challenge was to take an Inspiration Sheet sample to case. Here is what I did:

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Artfully Asian CARDSTOCK: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Very Vanilla INK: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive ACCESSORIES: Hemp twine, Eggplant grosgrain, dimensional, blender pens, brad

Mesh (my husband) said this quote which I really like, "we have hope because Jesus looked death square in the face and into the eyes of the enemy and Jesus did not, blink, hesitate, stutter, look away, crack a smile, or take it lightly, we are soooo fortunate, live life like he is alive, because its true." May you all have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Birthdays

2007-03-31T23:59:00.000-06:00

We celebrated my mom and sister's birthdays tonight as we were out of town for their real days. It was good to see my parents as they are going to be away for awhile. We gave them their gifts tonight, so that means I can share my mom's card (I've already posted my sister, Michelle's card). Here is my mom's:

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Wild About You, Paisley Background, Tagger's Dozen (winter mini) CARDSTOCK: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla, Enchante Double Sided Designer Series (winter mini) INK: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum ACCESSORIES: Brads, Dimensions, Round Tab Punch (Spring mini), masking tape

Open House

2007-03-31T23:41:00.000-06:00

I had my one year anniversary as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Open House today (what a mouthful). Thanks to all the ladies who came out to celebrate with me. Everyone got to make a card using some supplies from the Spring Mini. Because of poor planning, I didn't have the card layout done before going to Vancouver. Upon coming home, I felt pressure to get one done...therefore couldn't come up with a card, of course. So I headed over to www.splitcoaststampers.com for inspiration. I saw this card http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=514557 by Joan Ness and thought it would work well for this Open house. I let the ladies pick from a green or a pick card. Here they are:

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Polka Dots & Paisley, Happy Everything, Everyday Flexible Phrases CARDSTOCK: Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean, Petals & Paisley Double sided designers series paper, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, So Saffron INK: Pretty in Pink, Cool Carribean, Old Olive, So Saffron ACCESSORIES: White grosgrain ribbon, Round Tab Punch, Ticket Corner punch, glue dots

Color Challenge Week 3

2007-03-29T20:03:00.000-06:00

Thankfully Dee-Ann brought the color challenge down a notch. Last weeks color was difficult, simply because nobody knew what the color was. (see the color challenge website at http://sparklythingsdee-ann.blogspot.com/). This week's color was orange - something more in my vocabulary. I took this photo while in visiting in-laws - its our little niece's hand holding her bowl of cheerios. She is so cute, but I didn't want to post her picture on the internet. You'll have to take my word for it. Thanks for the challenges Dee-Ann!

We are home

2007-03-29T19:57:00.000-06:00

It was good to be away...and good to be home. I had a great time with my inlaws. Here's a funny story from our trip. My mother-in-law was asking what words I know in Hindi/ Fijian. I was naming off a bunch that I know (supper, water, white, some food names and a few others). I learnt a new word this week that means "spicy/ hot" (its tita - I have no idea how to spell it). They asked me to make a sentence with all the words I knew so I said, "This kaana (food) is tati". Mesh (my husband) couldn't believe what I said and they were laughing. His sweet mom was laughing too - apparently I pronounced it wrong. Instead of saying "spicy" I said "crap" - the words are so similar. It was an honest mistake, yet I can add another word to my list now.

Can't wait to see them next time.

Color Challenge Week 2

2007-03-23T22:11:00.000-06:00

This week's color challenge from Dee-Ann (see it at http://sparklythingsdee-ann.blogspot.com/) was Indigo. When she posted the challenge, I was actually enjoying my protein shake and looked down at it to realize it is sortof indigo in color. So I tried to take a photo before I drank it all up and here is what I ended up with.

I know its not a great photo and I dont' even really think the color came out as indigo (as if I even know what that color is!), but I tried. I really do enjoy these color challenges - it makes you look at things different I think. At least when I am trying to find an object in that color.

Today is my sister Michelle's birthday. She is super busy (and I hardly see her anymore), so I'm hoping she won't see this post till after I give her the card so it doesn't ruin the surprise. We are leaving tomorrow for out trip, so we will celebrate her birthday (and my mom's whose is on Monday) next weekend. Happy Birthday Michelle! Here is the card I made for my sister.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Polka Dots & Paisley CARDSTOCK: Cool Caribbean, Petals & Paisleys Designer Series Double Sided Paper (spring mini) INK: Pretty In Pink Classic refill, Cool Caribbean ACCESSORIES: On Board Simon Lower, Cutter Kit, Pretty in Pink brads. Light pink grosgrain, white grosgrain, stampin' dimensions, sponge daubers

It was my first time actually using my On board simon lower chipboard and I think it was a sucess. My challenge is to use it before the end of this catalogue - 2 pieces done (I made the same card but said Birthday instead) 48 to go. Have a wonderful weekend!

Check out Michelle's blog

2007-03-22T08:58:00.000-06:00

Go and see Michelle's blog candy to help her celebrate her hits on her blog. She has some great stuff to share - I always like checking her blog out. http://blog.michellescrapbooking.com/ (one day I'll learn how to actually link without putting the website - any tips?). And she's from Calgary too, so that's great!

Phew - they are done!

2007-03-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

I had to take a few days off from blogging. I had a custom order of 200 invitations that had to get done, so I've been spending time doing that. I posted a couple cards a few posts below that I had given the client as options. This is the card I ended up getting sore hands over...

It is rather a simple card, but had to be for this quantity and timeframe. Here are the details.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Artfully Asian, Wonderful Words CARDSTOCK: Basic Black, Whisper White INK: Cranberry Crisp, Basic Black ACCESSORIES: Black narrow organdy ribbon

What else do I have to share with you?? We leave pretty quick to go and visit my inlaws. We are really looking forward to this trip as there are 8 nieces and nephews (and 2 have birthdays while we are there, so that's fun). It's been awhile since we have seen them last and since then 1 is talking and 2 are walking. And the older kids are also great to see. The oldest boy (he'll be turning 9 while we are there) just LOVES Mesh (my husband). It is so cute - he can't sleep days before he comes and is so sad days after. He just adores him (and vice versa). Its fun to see them hang out together.

One last card to share tonight. This is a card we mailed to our friend whose husband passed away a few weeks ago.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Sincere Salutations, Happy Harmony (2007 SAB set) CARDSTOCK: Pale Plum, Very Vanilla, Enchante Double Sided Designers Paper (Winter Mini) INK: Pale Plum, Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Marker ACCESSORIES: Silver narrow organdy

Winner

2007-03-18T20:34:00.000-06:00

Wow - I was overwhelmed with all the entries into my blog candy and hits on this site from it. It sure has lit a fire under my butt to get some cards made. Now onto the winner. Its funny, when I read other people's blogs and they said they felt bad because everyone can't win, I would think to myself "they're just saying that to be nice"....but it really is true. But the one winner this time around is.....

#23 - quilt nut (AKA Rhonda). She said,

"great blog candy! love the paper colors.
love your blog too. will be back again :) "

As well, I noticed you can check out her blog at Quilt Nut Creations (http://quiltnutcreations.blogspot.com/). She is a quilter (and the title didn't give that away) and I've always wanted to make a quilt. Or, more than likely what would happen would be to pay someone to make us one. And she is Canadian - although in BC (and I'm in Alberta), it still is great. Mesh (my husband) would appreciate that, especially with how his Canucks are doing. So Rhonda, I found your email, so be expecting an email from me shortly.

Now on to other things...

I made this card for our friend whose birthday is actually today. Its gonna get to her a little late. I have "Doodle This" from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini (and "Doodle That" comes tomorrow!). I'm looking forward to it. I have two cards waiting to show you, but they are for my mom and sister's birthdays which are coming up pretty quick. They do check my blog, so I don't want to ruin the surprise yet. I'm pretty proud of them though.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Doodle This, Doodle Alphabet CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Perfect Plum INK: Basic Black, Black Stazon, several other colors to color in the images (but I've already mailed the card, can't remember and can't tell the colors from the photo anyways!) ACCESSORIES: Blender Pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig, bling (heidi swapp)

Here is a close up of one of the flowers that has a 'bling' in the centre.

Have a great start to your week!

yellow (but still see the blog candy on the post below)

2007-03-16T22:49:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to post a reminder that my blog candy (see post below) closes this Sunday (March 18) at 8:00 MST. To post a comment (so that you can be entered to win) just go to the bottom of that post, click on comments and input your information. Don't forget your name so that I know who won.

Sorry I haven't posted anything new. I don't know how to make a post a "sticky" or even if I can and I didn't want the blog candy to get too buried. I have been stamping though and have some things to show you.

Another blog that I have found includes a color challenge. You can see the explanation here: http://sparklythingsdee-ann.blogspot.com/2007/03/year-of-colour-challenge.html. I decided that it would be fun to try, although I am not great at taking pictures. I like the challenge of trying to find something original in that color or that represents the color. Here are two photos that represented this weeks color - yellow.

Hope you are having a great weekend. I'm looking forward to getting more posts up. If anyone can help me out with making a post stick at the top in blogspot that would be great. The other thing I need help with is being able to click on the photo to see it bigger - can I do that?

BLOG CANDY

2007-03-12T23:34:00.000-06:00

This is my first blog candy (hopefully of many). Its to pull some of you lurkers out there to make a comment and tell me you are here and to give away some fun stuff. My blog visitor reader is nearly 400, and althought I check it sometimes, I promise you the 400 aren't all me (or my mom or Mesh, but thanks by the way!). So, all you have to do to win this blog candy is post a comment (on this post) by Sunday March 18 by 8:00pm (MST) and you will be entered to win. You can post anything - just saying 'hi', your favorite thing about spring, how much you love me (had to throw it in there) or something about yourself.

What will you win, you ask?? My favorite 2007 Sell-A-Bration set (Delight in Life), an In Color cardstock sampler, a cranberry stitched grosgrain sampler and a basic black stampin' spot. All items are from Stampin' Up! 1990-2007.

So, get posting and have a really great week! Anyone can enter (but just once, of course).

Flowers and Simplicity

2007-03-11T22:55:00.000-06:00

Yet another great weekend for me. About 2 times a year, my husband and a group of guys get together for a guys weekend. This time, my friend Laura (yes, we have the same name) and I got together as well (her husband is a part of the group too). We had a nice girls weekend - going to the farmer's market, babysitting a friends little boy, a little bit of shopping and a whole lot of talking. It was a nice, low stress, fun weekend. It didn't hurt that the weather is getting nicer too! At the farmer's market, I bought some flowers and here is a picture of some of them. My sister gave me this great vase for my birthday and I loved the two toned gerberas.

A custom project that I am working on is a large batch of invitations for a friend. I did up a couple samples (ensuring that they were quick and easy) so that he could pick. These are two that didn't make the cut, although I still really like the simplicity of them. And I really like the celery and chocolate brown together.

All products Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Wonderful Words CARDSTOCK: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery INK: Chocolate Chip ACCESSORIES: Ticket corner punch, chocolate grosgrain ribbon

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Artfully Asian, Sincere Salutations CARDSTOCK: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Very Vanilla INK: Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Mellow Moss, Rose Red ACCESSORIES: Blender pens

I will be posting some blog candy (make a comment on the specific post and you can win a prize) very soon, so keep your eyes open. I hope you have a really great week!

Long time gone

2007-03-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm back! We spent the weekend in Edmonton visiting our good friends. We had a great time of hanging out and doing life together for the weekend. My highlight was the lack of pressure - my friend (and fellow SU demonstrator) also named Laura and I would do some stamping stuff while the boys played video games. Then we could also all hang out and have great conversations. I also got my haircut (long overdue), so was happy about that.

This time away also included our friend's celebration of life. It was an amazing time. You can see Mesh (my husband's blog, listed to the right) for his view on it. He is much better at writing about life than I am.

Yesterday, I had the chance to go to a women's conference with my mom and sister. There were some great speakers who shared about their life - Hilary Swank, Linda Armstrong Kelly (Lance Armstrong's mom), Cassie Campbell (my favorite - she was awesome!) and a couple others.

I have a card to share with you. I made it a little while ago and just found it on our camera.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Artfully Asian CARDSTOCK: Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, Vellum INK: Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow ACCESSORIES: Silver eyelet, silver cord, large oval punch, 1/16" circle punch, crimper

Will be away

2007-03-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let my faithful readers that I will be away for a few days. We are out of town visiting friends and going to our friend's celebration of his life.

I haven't figured out the saving posts to post later, maybe next time. Also, if anyone knows how to make my pictures set so that you can click on them to make it bigger, please let me know (either by a comment or email). Thanks! Have a really great weekend.

Hard fight

2007-02-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

My husband, Mesh, has a blog and has written a message today that I want to direct you to. Our friend (Mesh's close friend) lost his battle with cancer last night and here are Mesh's thoughts on his blog, meshing around.

http://meshola.blogspot.com/2007/02/gone-but-never-forgotten.html

Bundle Of Boy

2007-02-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

A weekend gone by and no new stamping creations to show. What I do have to show for the weekend is a 4th place in our basketball tournament (the team I coach), a sweet tooth from my Grandpa's 99th birthday cake and a clean house. Not bad, not bad. I hope this week is better in terms of creative time. I do have some more cards to share with you though for days like this when nothing fresh to show. Let me see what I can scramble up....

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Baby Talk CARDSTOCK: Close to Cocoa, Watercolor Paper, Petal Patch Double Sided Designer Series Paper (retired) INK: Stazon Jet Black, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa ACCESSORIES: Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Aqua Painters, Stampin' Dimensionals, Ticket Corner Punch, Sponge Daubers

Boy do I need to make some more cards to share. This one is similar to another post, but a little different. It is for a friend's brother and SIL who just had a baby boy.

Feel free to add comments to the posts, including any questions you might have about how a card was made or any of the techniques. I would love to hear from you! Happy Monday!

Fun night

2007-02-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

What a nice Thursday evening. It started with celebrating my grandpa's 99th Birthday with a dinner. He is doing so great and hard to believe he is 99. When my aunt asked him what he wanted for his brithday, he said "a few more years". His goal is to get a Congratulations from the Queen in 2008. How sweet is that!! In stamping related, I did realize I don't have any number sets...will have to go on my wish list. I wanted to make him a special card with those numbers. We are doing a cake thing on Sunday and my husband had a great idea that I'm going to try and incorporate into a card. We'll see how it goes and I'll let you know.

The second event tonight was my monthly PMS night. If I have any male readers (besides my husband and dad), don't worry - you can keep reading. PMS stands for "Popcorn, Music and Stamping". Tonight two of my stamping friends came over and we made a couple projects. Here's a picture from the night.

I have a hard time stamping outside of my stamping room. I accomplished a couple cards tonight that I was happy about because they used up some more scraps. Its such a great feeling using up all the oodles of scraps. This card I made for a friends son who just turned 1. I am late getting the card out, but its the thought that counts. So if you are Andrea, stop reading until you get your card for your son.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: It's Your Birthday, Wild About You, Paisley Background CARDSTOCK: Close to Cocoa, Buckaroo Blue, Very Vanilla INK: Buckaroo Blue, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie ACCESSORIES: Sponge Daubers, Ticket Corner Punch, Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon

Slow day

2007-02-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Even though I had a whole day off, I only got a couple cards done today. All I have to show for my day off was coaching in the morning, going to the gym and making dinner and 2 cards. Not quite sure where the time went...but it went. I might get ambitious tonight and make my grandpa a birthday card. He will celebrate his 99th birthday on Friday! Isn't that crazy?!!? More about that later. For now, here is a card I made. I skethced it out on the way home from Fort McMurray this weekend. Not quite how I imagined it, but its okay. Enjoy!

All products Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Polka Dots & Paisley (Spring Mini), Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel Petals (Spring Mini) CARDSTOCK: Taken with Teal, Rose Red, So Saffron, Whisper White INK: Versamark, Taken with Teal, Rose Red ACCESSORIES: Ticket Corner Punch, Sponge Daubers

In my last post, Starr asked if I made the photo corners. I did using Amy Rysavy photo tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. It is super easy and her tutorial is awesome. Check it out http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/photocorner.php.

Long Weekend

2007-02-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

What a great long weekend. First off, it was 5 days long (and sortof 6). I don't have to work tomorrow, but I do have to coach at 7 am so that makes up for it. We spent the weekend with our good friends Jon and Laura. They are moving to Fort McMurray so we spent our time with them house hunting. It was fun, cold, lots of driving and great conversations and laughs. We'll have to consider flying when we go visit them - its a long drive.

I have another card to share. I CASED it from the 2006-07 Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue because really that's what its there for! My stitches are a little crooked though, but that's what makes it homemade.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007. STAMPS: The World Over (Exclusive hostess stamp set), Happy Hearts CARDSTOCK: Cool Caribbean, Watercolor Paper, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Marigold Morning, Rose Red INK: Stazon Black, Rose Red ACCESSORIES: Paper piercer and mat, Signo White Gel Pen, Scissors, Aqua Painter, Stampin' Dimensional

Happy Monday. I'm happy because "24" is on!! Can this long weekend get any better?!?!

Happy V Day

2007-02-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day. Have I got a project to share with you today. My dear, sweet husband surprised me with a homemade card today. It was my highlight of my day and I asked Mesh if I could share it with you. He said yes, so you lucky people get to see one of Mesh's creations. A quick diaglogue about the card:

Mesh: "Your ink pads don't worry though, they are all dried up"

Laura: "They can't be, what did you use?"
Mesh: "The big black one"

Laura: "Oh, Mesh, that's the stamp cleaner" (you can see the faint image where there was leftover ink)

Mesh: "I couldn't figure out why you would have left your ink pad open on your desk"

He's so cute. As well, you will notice the tape slightly in the picture. What else would you use to hold ribbon onto a card. The inside is really cute too - more tape. But I like the double layer of ribbon he used. And the sparkles (you can't really see them in the picture). It is much more beautiful in real life as its hard to see the sparkles and stamped image (as he didn't use any ink). But its the thought that counts, right?!? And the picture isn't blurry - its the effect Mesh used for the stamping (several times over the one spot).

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 unless otherwise noted. STAMPS: A Light Heart INK: Dirty Stampin' Scrub cleaner CARDSTOC: Regal Rose ACCESSORIES: Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Ranger Stickles in Star Dust, A whole lotta creativity!

Delight in Life

2007-02-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

What a day! It was rather cold outside (so cold we had indoor recess at school), so I just made some Bailey's Steamed Milk for Mesh and I. Yummy. I decided to put extra shots in them...so that's my excuse if my typing is bad. I was asked by one of the teacher's at school (where I work) if I would do some Valentine's stamping projects with her grade 7 class. I said yes, of course. We did that today and made a card and bag topper (to go on top of a little baggie filled with chocolate kisses). The girls had a blast - my most enthusiastic stampers by far! The teacher enjoyed it to, saying there is Mother's Day, Easter....all coming up. I have no ruined ink pads, so I might do it again! I should have taken some photos of their creations. Next time. Below is a card I 'cased' (copy and share everything) from the Stampin' Up! Sell-a-Bration flyer.

All supplies Stampin' Up! 1990-2007 STAMPS: Big Blossom, Delight in Life (both SAB sets) CARDSTOCK: Old Olive, Marigold Morning, Basic Black, Buckaroo Blue INK: Old Olive, Basic Black ACCESORIES: Clear button, Natural Hemp Twine, Paper Piercer, Signo Gel Pen, Small Corner Rounder Punch, Crystal Effects

I Like it A Latte

2007-02-12T23:20:00.000-07:00

My 2 hours of Jack Bauer on "24" are over. I need some time to relax before heading off to bed. I'm still trying to figure out this blog thing and what exactly I'm using it for. I want to be able to share my craft creations, but also things about my life. Its hard to think of 'exciting' things in my life that will entice you to come back...not to turn you away. So, I digress back to my creations...

STAMPS: 'Like It A Latte' (SU Winter Mini) CARDSTOCK: Designer Series 'Loves Me' (SU Winter Mini), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Regal Rose INK: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Versamark ACCESSORIES: Ticket Corner Punch, Scissors, Stampin' Dimensionals

I really like this set I got from Stampin' Up! (www.stampinup.com). It is only available till the end of this month, but I think it is so cute and can be used for all sorts of cards (Thank You, Birthday, Friendship, Let's Go for Coffee).

I went to the gym today! Mondays are the easiest day for me to go for some reason. I try to go 3 times a week, but in my head I think 3 is great, but 2 is good also. I know, a little backwards. Let's see how many times I go this week. I'll have to go Wednesday because I won't be in town this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes (and keeps me accountable!). Enough rambling for me, I'm just about ready to go to bed (and you probably are too after reading this post). I will get better - I promise!

how I start my week

2007-02-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

I can't wait. Monday nights are a great way to start the week..."24" is on. And....to make it especially wonderful, I hear tomorrow night is 2 hours!! Can it get any better than this?!?! I prefer watching it on tv (rather than dvd) because my heart rate can go back to normal during the commercials.

Yesterday, my friend Suzanne hosted a Stamp Camp for me. She invited all her guests, took care of the yummy food and all I had to do was prepare the projects and my house. I had a great time. We made 20 cards (all sorts of sentiments) and I thought I would share a couple. Thanks Suzanne for hosting!

2007-02-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is a card I gave to my friend who just had a little boy. I wanted to test out uploading a card!

what's this about

2007-02-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a blog. I like typing/ journalling and rambling - so that's what I think this will be. I'd love to post some of my creations and life journey stuff.

Hit It!

Superbowl Cookies

Changes

Valentine's Love

Painting Fun

Wire Shelves

Relaunch

My Sister's Quilt

Quilt

Where Do Stamps Go When They Retire....

Last Bootcamp Challenge

Bootcamp Challenge #3

Our backyard

Bootcamp Challenge #2

Ottawa & Montreal Highlights

Bootcamp Challenge

Crazy for Chipboard

Happy Mother's Day

Baby Fever

Christmas cards made from the heart

Stampin' Up! Great Sales

Birthday Cards

Cakes

Happy Thanksgiving

Grateful

Checking In

great giveaway

Stamps for Sale

Lethbridge Water Tower

Before

Life Update

Blog Scattergories

Color Challenge - Green

Color Challenge - Red

Color Challenge - Blue

Color Challenge - Silver

oops

Color Challenge - Lavender and Brown

Hit's Changes

A new baby

What I've been up to...

Color Challege - Dandelion

Happy Mother's Day

Color Challenge - Robin Egg Blue

Entertainment in Calgary

Color Challenge - White

Color Challenge - Chestnut

A favorite picture

Mother's Day Card

Color Challenge - Black

Posting challenges

Color Challenge Week 5 - Green

A Fan of Flan

It's the thought that counts...

Thank you from Quiltnut

Color Challenge Week 4

Inspiration Sheet Challenge

Birthdays

Open House

Color Challenge Week 3

We are home

Color Challenge Week 2

Check out Michelle's blog

Phew - they are done!

Winner

yellow (but still see the blog candy on the post below)

**BLOG CANDY**

Flowers and Simplicity

Long time gone

Will be away

Hard fight

Bundle Of Boy

Fun night

Slow day

Long Weekend

Happy V Day

Delight in Life

I Like it A Latte

how I start my week

what's this about

BLOG CANDY