A Little Creating on my Rocky Road of Life

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

2012-01-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

I am just busting with excitement for my good friend Lisa and I just have to share the news along with some history ! I met Lisa online through a scrapbooking forum a number of years ago and we became friends . We say we were brought together because of THE FASCINATOR ( true story ! The Fascinator is history but the friendship has been cemented because of that silly stapler ! LOL ) . About a year after I met Lisa , she started her own online scrapbook store called Lisa's Scrap Shack ( some of you may remember it ) . After a few years Lisa sold her business to tackle new endeavors ! Lisa is FEARLESS about trying new things .... including raising a couple alpacas , spinning her own yarn , dying it and finding the time to actually knit and raise her son while her husband Wayne works away from home ! She even managed to get certification for teaching Copics and has been on a number of DTs . Not too long ago Lisa hooked up with her friend Tara and gave classes on how to use Copics at Tara's storefront in Vernon called FORGET ME NOT SCRAPBOOKING . Well one thing led to another and Lisa's passion for scrapbooking and creating has become a business for her and Tara as she has now joined forces with Tara in the business .

Earlier this week Tara and Lisa acquired the online scrapbook business of Savvy 'n Sassy from Rhea Marriot in Red Deer , Alberta ! By the end of this month Lisa will be running the online business ! I am thrilled as I hear that there are going to be some AMAZING things coming in to the storefront and the online store ! I can also attest that if you are buying from the online store ( and the store ) you will get first rate service , quick delivery and fantastic customer service ! If there is anything you need or want , I am sure Lisa and Tara will do anything in their power to bring it in for you ! Not sure but I am also thinking that there may be some surprises coming from them too !!!

Congratulations ladies and best of luck on all the new things that will be happening over the next few years !

By the way Lisa ........ my husband has told me he can't " afford " to give you his pay cheque any more though ! Yeah , we will see about that ! LOL !

So ladies , give the ladies a chance to get organized ( they actually have to go across the border and get the stock from Rhea ) .... knowing these two ladies it will happen quickly ! ....... for the BEST scrapbook store online and storefront ! Tara's store is open in Vernon .

New Crocheted Creations for sale

2012-01-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

The last week has been COLD here with the temperatures dropping down to -35 C at night and no higher then -25C during the day ! The saving grace has been the fact the sun has shone during the day and we have had very little wind ! Hear that is all suppose to change as of tomorrow with warmer weather and snow ! Don't know which is worse if the truth be told ! LOL ! Either way , I get house bound ! Well when that happens then I just stay cozy and do what I love to do ... PLAY ! LOL ! This week I did get in the crappy room and work on a couple images but still haven't done anything with them ! It will happen though !!!

In the evening I have picked up my crochet hook and worked and finished a few projects that I started a bit ago ! These are ALL for sale so if you are interested just contact me at crafty.gram1@gmail.com and I can give you all the particulars , etc .

THE Baby Bunny set is a hat and diaper set suitable for photography and I wouldn't recommend that children play with them as the eyes and nose are sewn on buttons . The brown/blue hat and scarf set will fit an older child or adult as the hat has some given in the yarn .

Have a great week everybody and hopefully by next week I will have some cards ready to show you ! Stay warm and Happy Creating !

Well I ALMOST forgot to add these 2 little newborn hats !

I do still have the afghan that matches the long tailed hat if anybody is interested in them as set !

TFL !!!!

Some crafty time in a busy month !

2012-01-08T16:20:00.001-08:00

I finally sat at my desk for a couple hours and did a couple of Thank You cards for my parents and sister . We were supposed to go away to a company function out of town this past week but I came down with the flu so cancelled my flight and sent DH away solo . He had to go as he had meetings to attend all of one day then attended the function that evening . I missed having a weekend away but did so enjoy my quiet time too as I felt pretty yucky for a couple of days .... not as bad as some people though ! I avoided that horrible cold and cough ( knock on wood ! ) too so my recovery time was a lot shorter ..... YEAH !!!!!

I dug into my Mini Magnolias that I had planned on using for Christmas cards and didn't . The Mini Magnolias as a quick color and I didn't fuss much with them . I even cheated and used pre-made card blanks and just did a quick decorate on them ....... I was already late getting them away ! LOL ! Anyways , they are in the mail as of this morning !

I have a new project on my desk and hope to find a few minutes to play tonight . DH is away as of tomorrow morning for a couple of days so I can get lost in my room and forget to come out tomorrow and Tuesday too !!!! I love when he goes on business trips sometimes !!! I also have my crochet hook out and am busy creating some scarfs . Will have to remember to take a photo of these ones I am doing as the last 8 ended up in parcels before I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo ! Speaking of taking pictures , DH bought me a new camera for Christmas .... a pretty little Canon Powershot Elph 510HS so I hope I figure out HOW to edit the photos on the MAC properly as these are NOT the best photos of the cards !!!! The dull day didn't help either though !!! So stay tuned , I promise to get better !!!!

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !!!

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 !

2011-12-31T23:16:00.000-08:00

The end to 2011 is just a bit over an hour away PST ! We are the last time zone to change so we are the last of Canada to ring in the New Year 2012 ! Guess it doesn't really matter as it will happen sooner or later regardless . As I sit here waiting for the ball to drop in Time Square ( even if it is time delayed for our time zone ! LOL ! ) , I sit by myself as DH and the dogs have already headed off to bed ! Definitely not like life was even 30 years ago for us ! Life has been a whirlwind this past few months and doesn't seem to be slowing down any . Maybe life always was busy but is just more noticeable the older we get !

This year has been one of smiles , one of tears , one of good memories and one of sad memories . We have met new people , reconnected with a few friends from days-gone-by and said good bye to friends that have passed away . We were able to do a bit of traveling and a lot of camping in the Taj ! Had one of the worst winters we have ever experienced in the 28 years of living in Northern B.C. ...... and survived to tell about it ! Just kidding but sure are hoping that this winter doesn't last as long as the Winter of 2010-11 was !!! And definitely not as much snow as we saw or rain we had in the Summer of 2011 !

2011 found me still creating my cards and playing with my Copics but I am not quite as obsessed as I was . Don't get me wrong , I still love to create them and play with my Copics but I am taking longer to create one card by putting in more detail as you can see by the last few cards I have done ! I have also picked up my crochet hook which I hadn't touched in years ! Seems that all those scarves I crocheted before Christmas ended up in Christmas parcels and didn't end up for sale like I had planned ! They were a big hit ! My biggest challenge for 2012 is trying to figure out how to fit all my hobbies in with the rest of my day and accomplish all those other things like laundry , cooking , cleaning and shopping in there too ! LOL ! Thank heavens crochet hooks travel in the RV without taking up too much space !!! LOL !

I am not sure what 2012 holds for DH & I but January is already full on the calender ! We are already talking about a trip in the RV come July and may just extend that holiday longer then the normal 2 weeks ! We will see how THAT plays out ! LOL !

Take care dear friends and family and may 2012 have all your dreams come true ! Health and happiness to everybody !

Until next year ( which is 45 minutes away ! ) Happy creating ! Hug those you love just a little tighter tonight as there is no guarantee what tomorrow may bring !

And a Merry Christmas to All !

2011-12-22T19:49:00.001-08:00

These last few weeks have been CRAZY ! I think I am ready for the big day though as ALL my gifts are wrapped , the tree is up ( never have left it so late in December to get it up ! ) and I did manage to get a few cards made ! Sorry to my online friends though as I wasn't able to get lots done and sent to you ! Sorry also to my online friends that I have been ignoring this past month ....... things should settle down for the most part after the new year and I will be " chatting " again ! My Best wishes for 2012 and I hope you all have a wondeful holiday season !

Here are a couple cards I did get done ( again , sorry for the low light photos , grey day when I took them ! )

Must go clean up the wrapping paper from the rec room ( wreck room ? LOL ! ) and then tackle my crappy room , both of which look like a bomb went off in them . I am looking forward to a fun Christmas with family and even looking forward to a much quieter , less hectic January ! Next year I am promising to get things done MUCH earlier ! LOL !

My wish for all of you is to have a happy , safe Christmas and enjoy every minute of it !

All the Best , Donna !

A quick post and a shared tutorial ....

2011-12-03T22:40:00.001-08:00

I just finished up the last of the birthday cards I needed to do for this weekend and just had to share it with you ! I used the tutorial from my friend Eulanda for this card ! If you have never seen , heard of or read her blog then I highly recommend it as her creations are amazing ! You can find her blog HERE and the tutorial for this card . LOVE making this card but so wish I hadn't left it to the last minute to make it as it was NOT a fast card to make !

Outside of card

SURPRISE inside the card !!!

This card was made for my daughter , though her birthday isn't for another week . I am heading down tomorrow to spend a few days with her and the family so this card had to be made ( and I hope she doesn't snoop on my blog before she gets this ! LOL ! ) . Yes this is the new TILDA with Holly garland ! She is adorable and being my daughter's name is HOLLY , I figured I could get away with using her :-)

Sorry for the terrible photos ! It is a combination of a camera not at it's best and the computer wiz ( namely me ! ) not being able to quite figure out the photo program on my new best friend Mac ! Heck , half the time I can't even find my photos ! LOL !

A huge THANK YOU to Eulanda for sharing her tutorial and ideas ! You are a wonderful inspiration to get me off my chair , away from my MAC and into my craft room !!!

Well time to go dig out my desk but I am thinking it may require a small BOBCAT to help with it as it looks like a BOMB went off in it !!! Once I get back from DD's I HAVE to get busy and finish off my Christmas cards ( which may end up as NEW YEAR cards at the rate I am going ! LOL ! )

Have a great week and happy creating everybody !!! A friend posted it is 21 days until Christmas !!!!! Wonder if I will ever get caught up before the day arrives ?????????

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #129-133

2011-11-28T13:01:00.001-08:00

I managed to sit at my desk this past week and do some cards . With 5 birthdays before the middle of December I didn't have much choice and being I am heading down to the daughters and need 3 of the cards I just had to bite the bullet and get at it !

Arlana over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday helped me along with this card for Granddaughter #2 . This sketch can be found here . I LOVE Arlana's sketches as they are always fun to use ! I will be adding this card to her site ! Come join the fun !

This card I made for my husband whose birthday is a couple days past . This is a digital image I bought from somewhere ( sorry don't remember where OOPS ! ) . He is seriously debating about whether to retiring next year so this sentiment is fitting !

This last card is for our SIL who turns 40 next week ! I love this image by Lilli of the Valley !!! I think this is more what SIL would like to do about turning 40 !!! LOL ! I used glaze for the water though it doesn't show up very well !

Time to return to my dek and get a couple more cards done ! Then I still have some Christmas cards to work on ..... guess I shuld put down the crochet hook and get busy !!!

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !!!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #127

2011-11-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

I managed to sit and make another card this morning and am happy with how this one turned out ! I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday found HERE . Arlana has the most amazing sketches and they are so easy to use . I did use a bit of creative license with this one but the sketch is still there !

Hope everybody has a great week ! Come join the fun !

PS , this card was just listed in my ETSY store or contact me direct if you are interested in purchasing it !

While the hunters are away , momma will play !

2011-11-13T14:03:00.001-08:00

Well my guys left earlier in the week for their annual hunting trip up north . I love the down time and the fact I can make a mess throughout the house and not have to worry about it from one day to the next for over a week ! LOL ! And no BIG meals to cook !!!

When I saw the challenge over at Magnolia Down Under found HERE and I KNEW I just had to play along again this week ! This week is all about " SO SENTIMENTAL " so I thought it was time I brought out my BIG SHOT and those cute dies I have never used ! This Tilda was the perfect Magnolia stamp to use too !!! For Challenge #122 .......

I hope everybody has had a fantastic week and gets some creating time ! I plan on getting a few more cards done .......... and hope that " the boys " just have a fun , safe trip and leave those poor animals in the bush ! LOL !

MAGNOLIA DOWN UNDER CHALLENGE 121 CHARMS & BLING

2011-11-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

First off , please excuse the blurring image of my card ! Seems that my favorite digital camera is having issues so I think I know what I will be asking from Santa ! As I have already replace the laptop and the memory card I am going to have to admit it HAS to be my camera !!!! I <3 my camera ! It is a small little Canon PowerShot Elph and has taken some amazing photos for me ! Just a great little tuck in the pocket and go camera !

However , this isn't about my camera but a great challenge blog that I used to faithfully enter my cards into ! I am hoping to get back into my room a LOT more ( and get off the laptop ! ) so thought I would join in at Magnolia Down Under this week for their CHARM & BLING challenge ! The challenge can be found here . I used this cute Tilda from the new release as she is so adorable !!!! The bling is all over the card .... her dress , colored with Copic markers then painted with STARDUST STICKLES and the charm is attached to the lace on the sentiment .

Winter is also making an appearance here so the light was NOT great for taking photos !!!

Here is another card I whipped together using a Magnolia image . I am not entering it in the challenge but wanted to show you what else I have been doing ! Haven't spent a LOT of time in my Crappy ( craft ) room as I finished a crocheted shawl for the neighbor and have another couple projects being hooked ...... some days there just aren't enough hours in the day - especially when the spouse needs to eat ! LOL !

Have a great week everybody and I hope you all find some time to craft and relax !!!

TFL !!!

BAZZZZZZZZZINGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAA !!!!!

2011-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Okay , I just love the show ( Can Sheldon be any more of a DORK ? LOL ! ) that came off of so had to use the word tonight ! Halloween has come to a close for the most part and all that is left are some tiny bags of chips and a few tiny chocolate bars in the bowl . Having no kids left at home , it seems to be a ho hum kind of night with few small , adorable kids and LOTS of older ( and I am talking university age ) kids begging for treats tonight . The little kids were so cute in all their finery ( more princesses then scary kids tonight ! ) ....... of course , you ALWAYS get ONE kid that is totally annoying and pushy ! He is the one that got the bag of chips I crushed .......... and handed to last !!! I DETEST kids that are like that ! Everybody on my step gets a bag of goodies so there is no need to be RUDE - especially to the little kids !!! Fortunately there was only ONE like that tonight ! Even the weather co-operated and no rain nor snow ( one year my husband took the kids out in a blizzard and -25C !!!! HONEST !!! ) fell . It is a cool , crisp evening !

I DID do 2 small Halloween cards but forgot to take a photo of them ! Between trying to figure out my MAC book ( after using a PC ) and having DH home ..... AGAIN ! ..........some things just don't get done ! However , I will be posting some cards before too long as I have got a stack of images colored , just not put together ! Stay tuned !!!!!!! LOL !

Have a great week everybody ........ and watch " THE BIG BANG THEORY " for some good laughs and a little BAZINGA !!!!!!!!!!!

Happy CREATING !!!!!

Cleaning out some doubles !

2011-10-26T14:08:00.007-07:00

I was digging through my Crappy ( Craft ) Room the other day and came across some doubles of product so thought I would add them here and hope somebody could take them off my hands ( so I can add MORE stuff into my room ! LOL ) All are brand new , never been used and I will throw in the shipping for free ! Watch my BLOG for more things to be added as I dig though more drawers and basket as I know I have lots more to weed through and dispose of !

#1 Annie's Attic Copic Coloring Guide $20

Add caption

#2 SOLD ! Thanks !!!!

#3 SOLD !!!! Thanks :)

If you have ever wanted to try Copic markers and never had a chance to attend a class ( like me ! ) then I strongly recommend this Annie's Attic Copic Coloring Guide as it gives you the basics to start playing and creating . I am self-taught and found this book to cover all I should have laid out for me when I bought my first Copic instead of learning through trial and error ! Beautifully illustrated and the book even shows you how to color some images and make the cards from them . A great learning tool ! This book is brand new as I mistakenly bought 2 ........... yes , I need to check my online orders before I buy locally ! LOL !

If you are interested , please contact me at Crafty.Gram1@gmail.com . I will accept PayPal or Canadian Email bank transfers

Thanks !!!

Sorry about the sideways photos but BLOGGER isn't allowing me to right side them today ! Just click the photo for a larger photo though !

Happy 80th Birthday to my Mom !

2011-10-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

I was unable to go visit my Mom for her birthday being we had just made a trip for my parents 60th Wedding Anniversary at the end of August . Sometimes living so far away sucks bigtime .... especially as my parents get older and I notice such a huge change in both of them when I do get to see them . I decided I would spend a little extra time and effort on her birthday card .... being she is 80 as of October 16th ! This card went together so easy , even though it was time consuming ! Mom has already received it and loves it so that made me happy !

Closed

OPEN

The easel

the close-up

Yes , this is a family portrait of myself ( though my hair was NEVER red as a child ! LOL ) , My brother and my oldest sister . Mom always dressed her in pink because she was blond and me in blue ( because I has brunette hair and blue eyes ) ........ and my brother was just " dressed " LOL !

Happy Birthday MOM !

So I promised a few photos of some of my other creations that I finished and have on the " old " laptop ( which I still perfer to my NEW one ! ) . I am enjoying sitting crocheting in my spare time but not sure what I am going to do with all these little items as my grandkids are way too big for most of them ! LOL !

These are all for babies and toddler and I am willing to sell them :)

Have a great weekend everybody !!!

Almost Thanksgiving ( in Canada )

2011-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Wow ! The temperature has been up and down here ... cool in the morning with frost and fog most mornings and then warm in the afternoon ! It is a little silly considering all the rain we had over the summer to actually see sun for longer then 5 minutes .... and NO rain ! The colors are beautiful though ! I would upload a few photos but have bought a new laptop and can't get it to like anything I do .... and I can't get it to accept my Canon Rebel driver at all ! Silly thing ( or silly person that is actually using the laptop ! ) is driving me crazy ! I haven't got to spend much time in my crappy room as of late either so no cards are done . I do have a few projects I have done in the last few weeks so once I can get them uploaded then I will share them with all of you .

We are just finished 2 weeks of holidays so it is nice to be back to some kind of schedule that doesn't involve packing and unpacking every weekend ( as much as I love camping ! LOL ! ) . The RV is cleaned , winterized and put away in storage for at least 5 months . We actually only spent the first week of our holidays in the RV in the campground ( where we had cold and rainy weather ! ) so we packed up our site and headed on back home The last week of holidays we spent cleaning and unpacking the RV and we had a half load of gravel brought in for our driveway so that took a few more days then we expected to get spread ... but the sun shone ( of course ! LOL ) .

This week has involved trying to get back into some kind of routine with DH back at work . I have spent most of the week cleaning and scrubbing the summer dust out of the house . Also had a few appointments that I had to attend . It sure made for a quick moving week and I still have not got done what I hoped to before playing with my Copics and stamps . NHL hockey and NFL football has started again though so I will be disapearing into my room a lot of evenings while DH plays remote click-click !!! grrrrr !!!! Seems he has suddenly taken an interest in BASEBALL too ......................................

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend everybody . I plan on RELAXING and playing in my room for the most part and hope you all manage to find some time to relax too , whether it is with your hobbies or with your loved ones ! Stay tuned for some projects once I can figure out HOW to get them on this computer !!! LOL !

BACK TO SCHOOL CHALLENGE

2011-09-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Over on the OUTLAWZ the Copic / Promarker challenge this week is to do with Back to School . You can find the challenge here . Well being my kids are well out of school ( I didn't say they had all grown up though did I ? LOL ! ) I had to think more along the lines of my Grandkids ! Back to school for our oldest granddaughter means one of two things ....... her birthday at the end of the month ( she will be 16 !!!! ) and her volleyball is going to be in full swing for the next 4 or 5 months ! She is gung ho about volleyball and is playing on the Grade 12 A team this year as setter ! She is hoping the team goes to Provincials then on to Nationals this year again !!! Needless to say , we are proud of her and Grandma was more then stocked about the new Magnolia Tilda image she just received !!! I had to get her inked up immediately !

Did I mention that I am a very YOUNG Grandma ? LOL ! So much fun to watch my Grands grow up .... much more fun to watch MY kids squirm because they are raising teenagers !!! LOL ! Guess the learner's license is coming soon too !!!! Happy Birthday Courteney !!!!

Happy creating and have a good week !!! We are off for another couple of weeks holidays in the RV but Fall is definitely here so the Taj is being brought home at the end of this camp and put away for the winter ! Sad summer missed us but looking forward to being at home on a more regular bases and getting back in my room !

Pop on over to The Outlawz and join in the fun ! My card is just getting in under the wire for this week but they have a challenge every day so there is no excuse for not joining and playing along !

Please bear with me !

2011-09-15T11:20:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the brain becomes mush and things don't come together like you think they should ... namely changing by template on my BLOG ! Please bear with me while I try straighten out the mess I have created so I can get back to some real creating !

Time to create ........ and be an OUTLAW !

2011-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to play much this summer ( though the weather sure didn't feel like SUMMER ! ) and we are heading out yet again for a few days to visit family . The holiday will consist of visiting my parents and celebrating their 60 years of marriage ! What a feat that is in today's society but they have also given their kids the same longevity of marriage as both my sister and I have " stuck with " the same husband through thick and thin .... my sister and husband have been married 40 years and my husband and I going on 38 years ! The holiday will also be a celebration of birthdays as my sister has a birthday while we are there ( and I wouldn't tell you how OLD she is even though she IS the oldest ! LOL ! ) and my brother has a birthday just after we leave !

I decided it was time I became an OUTLAW again and try do at least one of their challenges ! I will be back in full force by October . My family may tell you I am not and OUTLAW but more of a rebel in my later years ! Teehee ! I am THRILLED to be able to add my card to the Monday card challenge over on THE OUTLAWS . The Monday challenge can be found HERE . The card is for my sister's birthday and the sentiment says DISCOVER .

I had a lot of fun making this card and hope she likes it ! It is colored with Copic markers and the magnifying glass has Glossy Accents on it ! Lots of " stash stuff " used on this Magnolia Tilda and paper from Magnolia !

TFL and have a great week !

Crocheted Creations and a couple of cards

2011-08-18T20:55:00.001-07:00

A few years ago I injured my rotator cuff ( shoulder ) and was having trouble sitting crocheting ( another love of mine ! ) for any length of time . Needless to say , the yarns got tucked away as did the crochet hooks . About 2 years ago I dug them out and a few of my books ( I have a HUGE Rubbermaid tote of these from small crocheted ornaments to large afghans ! There is nothing I wouldn't tackle ..... unless it had mofits which I DETEST doing ! LOL ! ) .Unfortunately I dug them out about the same time as I was doing some ordered Christmas cards that required a LOT of small circle punches ( the cards were beautiful ) ............... to make a long painful story short ...... I pulled the ligaments and tendons in my right thumb ! Yse it looked like I had a broked thumb for WEEKS with it's weird hang and " click " every time I moved it !!! Well the gist is it took a GOOD 2 years to get my thumb back to almost normal ! It is amazing what you use your thumb for !!!!! About 6 weeks ago , I dug out my crochet hooks and small bucket of yarn ( which keeps growing in amount..... use up one ball by 2 more to replace ! LOL ) . It thrilled me to be able to grip my hook and my ball of yarn and just mindlessly whip up something . I have discovered I LOVE to crochet while we travel as the miles just go by quickly ..... and I can watch the scenery and crochet as I can multi-task quite easily ( well unless DH asks me to do something I don't want to then I suddenly couldn't possible multi-task ! )

I have whipped up a number of baby / toddler afghans in the 6 weeks I have held my hook !

I was looking at my stack of baby / toddler afghans this afternnon wondering WHAT I was going to do with them so I took some photos and threw them on my FaceBook and said FOR SALE ! Within 5 minutes I had a friend phone and tell me she would buy the blue / white afghan ! Woo Hoo !!!! So if anybody is interested in any of these just let me know as they are ALL for sale and I will probably have a few more before long ! Camping season isn't over yet ! LOL !

I haven't just been sitting crocheting this past week . I have had to make a few cards ( and have a few more to do before next weekend ! )

This card is for a friend's daughter who is getting married this weekend . I had a lot of fun playing with this one and I hope they like it !

And this card is for my parents anniversary on August 31 ....... They will have been married 60 years !!!!! Mom told me not long ago that she loves my cards but miss my " flowery " cards though loves my little girl ( Magnolias ) cards too . So after much thinking I decided to go very plain on the outside and use just a mini Tilda on the inside ! We are heading down to see my parents next weekend so it will be a hand delivered " special delivery " . By request , their anniversary will be low key as all they asked for is their 3 kids to sit at the same table for supper ( with their spouses and a few of their kids and grandkids - though none of mine will be there .... as usual ! )

Oh and before I forget , my furry kids want to say HI

My dog / house sitter took this ! I don't know how she managed to get them all together but it must have been fun because they never cooperate and sit together ! LOL !

Have a great weekend everybody !

Spread your wings

2011-08-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

The robins have spread their wings and gone leaving an empty nest and the wonder of Nature in my heart . Our neighbour grew his wings today and is at peace . His widow is strong and will be starting her new life with the help of family and friends . It could be said she is growing her own set of wings as she starts a new journey in her life . So the next thunderstorm we hear will be the newest angel driving a big machine moving mountains of clouds . He is in his glory !

R.I.P. Ron . You will be missed Handsome Guy of the neighbourhood . Hugs to you Judy and know he is watching you and saying " You Go Girl " !

A smile for all of you !

2011-08-11T08:29:00.003-07:00

Our summer has been dismal to say the least but the past 4 days has brought sunshine which has brought everybody a smile ! Our neighbour has rallied for a few days as his boys came up to see him . Amazing what the power of love can do ..... and a set of Mustang car keys can do ! One of the boys ( okay he is still their boy even though he is 40 ! ) dropped his Mustang keys into Handsome Man's hands when he became aggitated and suddenly a huge smile came across his face as he lovingly rubbed the keys . You see Handsome Man is a trucker from way back when and anything that represents anything that has wheels on it makes him happy ! One day soon Handsome Man will be driving the BIGGEST and Prettiest truck through those Pearly Gates and will have his own special lineup of fancy cars to race from cloud to cloud .... and he will be happy and at peace .

We also have our own little smile in our lilac bush which is right beside our deck .... in the form of 3 little robins ! Daddy and Momma Robin have not been too worried about us being there as they fly in and out of our tree with bugs , worms and moths to feed these little guys . Every day they grow bigger and bigger and it wouldn't be long before they have spread their wings and gone . By the way , this is the third year Momma has used this nest ! Talk about recycling ! LOL ! In the early spring she was cleaning it but then the rain came and she diasapeared . Imagine our surprise to see she had laid eggs later on !

Just a few days old .... beginning of August , balls of fuzz

Small nest and a strange pillow

The nest from the ground

3 little baby robins

Feed us ! These little guys are always hungry ! aug 9th , they have grown feathers and are getting their colors . Wouldn't be long before they are flying in the wild blue yonder !

It can be said that humans and birds are a lot alike ....... We all need our wings so we can fly ...... or maybe some of us would rather have MUSTANG keys ! Love you Ronnie and hope that you get the best set of wings and that Mustang !

August 11 ........ baby robin #1 flew out of the nest this afternoon and by evening they had all flown out of it . They didn't go far ... just across my yard to the retaining wall and 2 made it into the trees . Papa and Momma Robin were watching the whole time ......... One little robin is still trying to figure out how to get up the wall as he landed on the grass . I will have to keep the dogs in until I find out whether he figured out how to get up there .........

Struggling !!!!!

2011-08-08T16:06:00.001-07:00

We are going on the second week of August already and the weather has been struggling to bring us some sun shine . July brought so much rain that rivers have flooded , creeks that are usually dry right now are still high and there is still snow in some of the mountains ! It is crazy ! today we have been blessed with some sun and some heat which is awesome ! I should be down at the RV and relaxing but unfortunately I had a lot to do this week so had to come home after spending the weekend down at the campground ..... in the rain and cooler weather !

This week I have a stack of cards I have to get done before the end of the month . I am struggling with all of them ! Just not in the creative mood ..... too much going on that has my mind in a jumble .One of our neighbours is fighting to live just one more day and will leave a young widow ( anybody under 100 is young to lose a spouse ! ) and every time I have the phone ring I wonder if that will be THE call . So sad as the BIG C is claiming another young man of 60 . Only 3 years ago we lost my husband's brother at the same age to this terrible disease . DH has been down with another flare-up and I wonder how much is brought on by memories of losing his brother ...... and watching our neighbour slowly slip away .

One good thing I have managed to do in the past month is pick up a crochet hook and do a few things that will eventually end up in my ETSY shop . I haven't crocheted in over 4 years ( because of shoulder problems then my thumb ) so it has been so relaxing to just sit and mindlessly keep busy ! Stay tuned for photos once I get threads sewn in and photos taken . I am not re-opening my ETSY shop until September at the earliest though as we wouldn't be around much with being at the RV . I would rather stay " closed " then not be able to fill an order as soon as it comes in .

This little duck came to visit when we were at the campground on Dragon Lake in Quesnel , BC . I think he thought he should come for tea ! And the lake was calm the evening we camped there ! Pretty lake and nice that we got to visit 3 of our grandkids for a day !

Enjoy your week everybody and remember to give your loved ones a hug ................

Stay-cation or VACATION ????

2011-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we have decided to load the RV and head out for a brief holiday ........ in search of some sun........ or we may just stay PUT in our campspot ! LOL ! July in the Interior of BC has been anything BUT summer weather ! Rain , cool , flooding , road washouts .... you name it , we have had it ..... and I even heard one area had FROST and a smattering of that horrible white stuff ! I did stay at the RV in the campground a couple times this past 4 weeks and though the forecast both times was for sunny weather it just didn't happen !!!!

The creek camp up YET again !

The family of geese made their presence known

and stayed hidden for the most part

The wild roses were wet

The pansies are wet

The petunias are wet and rotting .....................

And the baby Canadian geese were getting their adult feathers and markingsand eating the field across the creek .Momma keeps a close watch on them ........................... and my dogs stayed bured under a blanket in the RV for the most part as they hate the rain !!!!

See you all in a couple of weeks .... hope you see some sunshine where you are . Can't do nothing about the weather so get out and enjoy life as it is far too short to wait for the good weather days ! Make some great memories !

Gone fishin' .............................

2011-06-25T16:04:00.001-07:00

DH has gone salmon fishin' for a few days to the coast of BC out of Prince Rupert and is hoping to bring home some fresh salmon for us ! We love salmon ..... especially on the barbeque ! YUMMY !!!!

I chose to stay home and not go to the campground because our weather has been just NASTY ...... rainy and cold ! Yesterday we just hit the teens and today isn't much better as the breeze feels like October !!! I think summer FORGOT to arrive just like our spring did !!! Oh well , at least this stuff doesn't have to be shovelled and we are heading down to the RV when DH gets home . He is on holidays until the 4th of July !!! Maybe the sun will decide to come out by then !!!!

With being home I did manage to catch up on a few things other then housewok ! My daughter called and asked me to do a card for the grandson's pre-school teacher Ms Sherri so yesterday I FINALLY sat in my room and created a card . I dug into some of my older Magnolia stamps for this one !

This is the outside of the card . I used my Copics to color my image ( sorry not sure what colors I used as it was a huge pile by the time I was finished ) , some Prima flowers , Deco Pearl Pen , glitter swirls ( thanks E ! ) , Sakura White gell pen ( love this pen ! ) , Spellbinders Nesties , Martha Stewart punch and some Tim Holtz Distressing ink ! The note paper I hand wrote on like a page from her journal .

This is the inside of the card .... I LOVE this little guy and he reminds me of my Grandson so I just had to add him ! I hope Ms Sherri likes the card !

On Thursday our 3rd Granddaughter turned 12 and as I am heading down there for the day for a belated birthday campfire and burnt weiners ! LOL ! That is what she wanted as she didn't want a birthday party ! This is the card I JUST finished for her . I LOVE the new release Magnolias as they are totally adorable !

I used some Kaiser Craft paper and finally broke into the packaging of my new Spellbinder dies which have been sitting on my desk for a month at least ! Flowers are K & Company and from my stash that I have had FOREVAH !!!! LOL ! Lace is from Wild Orchid and Martha Stewart butterfly punch was used . Butterfly was decorated with a touch of Deco pearl pen ( so much fun to use ! ) and if you look amongst the flowers you will find a stickpin with a bow ..... the stickpin is from the Webster's Pages collection . Of couse Tilda is colored with Copics and the raindrops are dabs of Glossy Accent !

Have a great week everybody and I hope you have some sunshine in your life !

Happy Holidays ................ or feeding the mosquitoes 2011 !

2011-05-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

Our 10 days of holidays are coming to a close and they have been anything BUT what we had planned ! My husband has been plaqued with health issues relating to his Crohn's Disease and so we decided earlier in the year that we would just stay close to home and camp in our favorite spot for the majority of the summer . The first long camp ( not just a couple nights at the RV ) was supposed to start on May 20th... the first evening of the May long weekend in Canada . Thursday DH arrived home from work and said he felt like he needed to go to the ER ( a good indication that something is REALLY wrong ! ) as he was having chest pains ............. Thankfully our oldest came over and took him down immediately . 8 hrs later he was released with a clean bill of heart health ........ could be Crohn's related ! Ugggg !!!! Not MORE worries !!!!!!

When he came in at 2 am I had another little bomb to drop on him . His 88 year old Mother had been admittied to the hospital where she lived and it looked like she wouldn't make it though the night ..... Well again , she lived through the night so DH booked a flight down to see her and our relaxing was put on hold indefinitely ! DH was away for 5 days and Mother pulled through to the amazement of the doctors ..... She is now home and every day seems to be getting stronger ! The Old Gal is going to outlive ALL of us as she has a very strong will and is just not ready to go ! I keep telling DH that she will live until she sees 100 as her oldest sister was a week shy of 101 and her next sister will be 97 this year ! There is NO WAY the baby of the family will hit the Pearly Gates before them ! LOL !

DH arrived home at 4 pm on the Tuesday and by 6 pm we were in our RV ! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr , between the cool weather and the rain it was a miserable for a few days . Fortunately , the rain let up during the day and we got to enjoy sitting outside ..... and feeding the mosquitos ! They LOVE me ! We had our OFF lanterns going almost the whole time we were outside and they work awesome !!!! We did get to see some beautiful lightening storms go through and had some thunder to liven up things ! Good thing our mountains are still buried in snowpack !

Last evening we took the campground owner up to the HIXON FALLS to see the Spring runoff . Last summer when we were up there the falls were just a trickle and now this is what they look like

In the early 1900's this area was rich in it's gold deposits so I can well imagine the couple that works this claim this year ( they actually own the mineral rights for this area and legally you can not pan or dig for gold here without their permission or knowledge ! ) could find some real GOLD treasures ! The view was amazing , the ground slippery with moisture and the power under that waterfall was mindboggling !

We are home until Friday evening then will head back to the RV to feed the mosquitoes again ! hope we see some warmer , dry weather !!!

Have a great week everybody !

I PROMISE .................

2011-05-17T20:56:00.001-07:00

I haven't been crafting at all lately so I have nothing to show ! We have packed the RV though and moved it down to our camp spot for a couple months before we take a trek at the end of July for a couple of weeks .

Have I missed crafting ? ABSOLUTELY ! Have I spent any money on supplies ? ABSOLUTELY ! LOL ! Will I be playing in the near future ..... ABSOLUTELY !!!!! BUT , we are going to be camping for the next while off and on .... some short stays , some long stays ! I tried crafting in the RV and found I didn't enjoy it because of the crappy light ( and that was even with my portable OTT light ! ) and because the crafting supplies take up too much room in my limited storage ! You wouldn't see any RV created cards or images unless I am home ......................... Don't give up on me as I will be back in full swing come September and there will be the odd card posted between then and now .....................

So , wish for some warmer weather , the floods in our area don't take out any major roads or property or lives and that we can all enjoy our summer . This is the Canadian May long weekend so travel safe and enjoy life !

From my Summer HOME................. to Yours .......................

Happy Creating and Enjoy Life to the Fullest !

A little creating and a surprise visitor !

2011-05-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Honest , I have managed to get in my room a bit this last week as I had to get a birthday card and a Mother's Day card done . My oldest had his 37th birthday on April 27th ! Wow , I am just in shock when I stop and figure out how OLD I am then !!! All I can say is I am so happy I had my kids long before I was 30 ......... like a long ways before ! LOL ! My son is an avid outdoor's man and would love nothing better to be fishing or stomping through the bush with either his camera , his gun or his crossbow . I thought this was a cute image so whipped him up a card from this SU stamp .

It was a very simple , quick card as I had to get it done before they popped in that night ! LOL ! Yes , I left it until the last minute !

I did get my Mother a card done and in the mail today for Mother's Day . i love this Magnolia's Tilda with Butterfly !

OUTSIDE of card .......

INSIDE of card ..... I just loved this paper by KaiserCraft's Magic Happens Collection ! I just added a stamped sentiment and it finished off the interior of the card just perfect !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other night my husband was sitting on his favorite chair watching a hockey game when he looked up and said something was coming through the trees just off our deck on the bank . We figured it would be Mr BEAR as he has been around but instead through the bush wandered MR MANGY MOOSE ! He decided to trim some of the new growth off our bushes and was quit content to stand on the bank and eat like he didn't have a care in the world . Unfortunately it was dusk out so my photos aren't great but I was actually standing on my deck not far from him snapping photos ! Not sure who is crazier , him for being in a residencial area or me for tempting fate and standing out there taking the photos ! LOL !

I lightened some of these photos as you couldn't see Mr Moose ! DH said the moose is about a year old and went through a very long , hard winter as he was skinny and very mangy ( as you can see by the last photo ..... his fur is just hanging in clumps ) . After about 45 minutes of eating he wandered off and hasn't been back ! I <3 living up North as you never now WHAT is going to arrive in your yard !!!!

Have a great week , happy crafting and hope you all see sun and no crazy weather in your area !

Do you want to see ?

2011-04-20T16:22:00.001-07:00

I got behind last week on my Easter cards and probably most of them will not get done now ! I started cleaning my room and it ended up into a major overhaul which , in true scrapping sense , will still be on going .... simply because I have 2 huge piles that have to gone through and either stored , given away or tossed ! I had an old small wall unit in my room before that though it was great for storage it also took up far too much room . Never mind the microwave cart that I had my paper cutter and Big Shot on plus another cart that I had my printer on .... and various OTHER pieces of furniture in my small 8'X12' room .... and that is counting the closet that is full to the brim with DH's clothes ..... and jackets ! The man is a clothes horse .... but THAT is another story !!!! LOL ! I had a couple friends that asked me to post some photos of what I have done .... so before it gets " out of hand " AGAIN here it is !

I didn't take any before photos but somewhere in my archieve will be photos ! Here is what my ORIGINAL room looked like in 2006 http://donnacr.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html ! Needless to say , I took some birthday money and bought some Martha Stewart cube units from Home Depot as we don't have an IKEA here and the shipping was 6Xs more then the price of the unit I wanted !!! A one day project took me 5 days .....as I put all the units together .... they are easy ! I had my desk and hutch before and purchased it and a tower from Best Scrapbook Shelves over the past 5 years . I LOVE these and they are so worth the money ....... By the way , the price has gone down CONSIDERABLY since I bought mine !!! Yes , that is just the way the ball bounces for me ! LOL !

I have a paper tower also made by Best Scrapbook Shelves and it was a limited edition one when I bought it ...... No crazy about it in my small room and may end up removing it from my room . The Copic storage is Quickutz Magpie Storage .... LOVE them and something else that is no longer available ! My long arm OTT light usually is bent over my desk but I put it straight up to take the picture ! LOVE this light !!! I love containers .... as you can tell by my desk ! LOL ! They hold all sorts of goodies from paper pads , images , stamps , pens or whatever I toss in them ! I do actually clean them out on a regular bases so I can see what has been tossed ! My quilting mat never got used for such but has been well used on my desk ! I neeed to find a pretty pink one though ! LOL !

One of my Martha Stewart cube units ... actually this is 2 put together ! I do love this for storage ! It holds all sorts of trasures from my albums of Magnolia stamps , more stamps in other albums , Close To My Hearts tool kit that holds my STICKLES all neat and in one place , baskets of punches on the bottom and a scrap basket .... and baskets of CTMH stamps . The plastic tower holds ribbon , more punches , acrylic paints and odds and sods that need to be hidden ( like chocolate ! LOL ) . On top of the storage tower I dismanteled a drawer for the cube unit ( I picked it up for $5 at Walmart and it didn't fit quit the way I wanted it too ) then took white DUCK TAPE and taped it to the plastic unit to make a sturdy stand for my TV ( a gift from DH at Christmas ) and the cable box . I actually used a MS shelf over the top of the " box " to give the shelve a sturdier shelf as the base of the drawer was pretty flimsy ) .

This is the second Martha Stewart cube unit ( 6-cube ) which I have my electric BIGSHOT on .... and it I am so pleased with the space I have to work with there ! I built the unit up so the heaat vent wasn't covered and that is why you can see 2X4's ! Hey a girl has to make do when DH is anything but handy !! LOL ! I have a basket of Cuttlebug folders , some CTMH stamp containers that I keep my 6X6" paper in and some Magnolia Stamps and I have a long plastic container that hold my BigShot long dies and platforms / shims in . The white basket holds dies for the BigShot .... most of them being Tim Holtz ! The small white box on the top of the unit holds my Copic refills .

Just a quick overview from my doorway ...... and at some point I will show you the other wall ....... AFTER I get it cleaned up ! LOL ! It holds a cartthat has my printer and cutter on it .... and my biggest joy , my stamp tower .... and Clip-It up !!!

Thanks for looking and come visit any time !

Easter Creating 2 !!!

2011-04-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

The snow is trying to fall outside so I thought I would hide in my craft room this morning and ignore it ( maybe it will go away ! ) . I finished off a quick card so now my out of town parcel can get sent .... whether it gets there in time is up to Canada Post !

An Easter card for my sister . A Prima flower sits on a crocheted medallion made by my friend Lise` in Quebec . Thanks friend ! It looks beautiful on the card and believe me , the piture does NOT do this card justice ! I love this Tilda and eggs ..... Thanks to another friend !

This is another altered note pad for my sister . Not as fussy as the other one I made but I was RUSHED ! LOL !

I am sure she wouldn't notice simply because she isn't the " crafty " one of the family ( she does love to garden though ! )

And a very quick card for my brother .... He loves daffodils so what better then Tilda holding a daffodil on Magnolia daffodil paper ! I am sending him some great silk daffodils that I picked up at Michael's too !!!

Have a great week and I hope SOMEBODY is seeing sun and warm weather !!!

Easter creating !

2011-04-17T14:48:00.001-07:00

With hockey playoff season in full swing , I have had time to play in my room now that I have it ALMOST reorganised ( that will be another story for another day though ! ) . I should have had these projects done days go but it didn't happen so my out-of-town Easter stuff will be late ! I think my family is getting used to that ! LOL !

This is an altered small lunch kit that I am going to send to our long distance Granddaughter . I will fill it with chocolate ........ and I also made a not so altered lunch kit for her little brother ( though he isn't our grandson ) as I know he would be disappointed ( he is 3 ) if she got something and he got nothing !

This is the back of her tin .... it is now sparkly as I decided to coat the back in Sparkle Modge Podge just to make sure the letters stayed put .

This is her card . It is 4 X4 " and I used the Mini-Magnolia Tilda blowing hearts on it . A Nestie die and the pearls are Deco Pearls ( very cool stuff to use ! Squeeze on as a liquid glob and it becomes a hard " pearl " ) . I have the card sitting in my plant on my table !

This is the card I made for my parents . I adore this Tilda and the Wild Orchid lace is so beautiful to use .... but just for special occasions ! The rosette is made from the new Tim Holtz rosettte die . Easy to use and fun , fun , fun !

This is the interior of the card ..... a Magnolia sentiment , Magnolia paper and a mini 60's Tilda .

Have a great week and enjoy the Spring .... even if you are still getting that horrible white stuff still ! TFL !!!

SURPRISE !!!!!

2011-04-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

SURPRISE !!! That is what I got when I opened my door late this morning as I had a nice package on it delivered by the Purolator driver ! Inside my box was the NICEST surprise from my bestest friend Lisa ... a belated birthday present ! ( My birthday was at the end of March but I love the surprise that this was a birthday that just keeps on giving and giving ! I LOVE HAPPY MAIL ! LOL ) . This is what she sent me

This is a SCENTSY warmer which melts scented wax and makes your house smell OH SO GOOD !!!! I also received a wax tray called Rio Beach but I didn't try it today as I was in the mood for my all time favorite called White Sands ! scentsy has LOTS of different fragrances to choose from !

Doesn't it look nice on my mantle ? I love all of it and being the scrapper that I am , my first thoughts were .... maybe I would add some bling to the center of the flowers ( I didn't ! LOL ) but Scentsy does have warmers that can be decked out with some rub ons !!! Very cool !!!!

If any off you are interested in checking out Scentsy then check out our friend Lori's online site at https://lorigriffiths.scentsy.ca/Home . Tell her I sent you to her ! LOL !

And Lisa , I didn't forget about you ! Thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart for being such a fabulous friend ! You stick with me through thick and thin .... and my odd " mistakes " ! Amazing how such a friendship has grown over the past 5 or so years considering we met ONLINE over a silly FASTENATOR ( all you scrappers , remember that silly tool that we ALL had to have at one point .... then tried to regift it to whomever would take it off our hands ? ROFLMBO ! ) .

Thanks girlfriend for being there .... and the fantastic gift ! HUGE cyber HUG coming your way !

A little mojo finally !!!

2011-04-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

I was beginning to think my mojo had disappeared but FINALLY this weekend I spend a bit of time at my desk playing . I have a couple Easter gifts I need to get done and sent so managed to get one done ! I bought these cool notepads just after Christmas and have been " going " to alter them for my Mother and Sister ...... and there they sat !

This is the side view and that is a LOT of note paper ! It also shows the diamensions on the cover

These flowers are cut with a Tim Holtz Tattered Flower Die then sprayed with Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist and crinkled out and bent to shape before putting them together with a brad from my stash . The stems are florest wire and the leaves were by prima . Tida is colored with Copic markers , though I have no idea what colors I used . The butterfly is from Prima and the rhinestones from my stash. the grass punch is from Martha Stewart .

If you have seen this idea before it probably came from the blog of Eulanda Silvey's as she has altered a couple of these notepads . Check out her blog for some fantastic cards and altered projects ! Funny thing is , we BOTH bought our notepads on the same day .... We live MILES apart from one another too but we both bought our's at a Save-On grocery store ... though I have also bought some at Zeller's ! They are really pretty notepads even before they are altered !

Have a great week and happy creating !!!

And a card for this week's sketch challenge on The Outlawz

2011-03-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

This was a fun sketch to use on THE OUTLAWZ ! I took a bit of creative license with it and ran with it a bit !!! Here is the sketch

And this is my card !

Come join the fun !!!

a quick card for The Outlawz

2011-03-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick card for this week's challenge on The Outlawz for their Promarker-Copic challenge which was to color flowers ! Fun to do something other then people for a change so I went with all flowers and no people this time !

Come join the fun ! Amazing how fast the card stash grows when you keep up !

Valentine's Day gift ... just a little late ! LOL !

2011-03-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have been sneaking a few minutes every once in awhile since early February trying to get my husband's Valentine's gift done so I can give it to him . Between him being sick and home a fair bit then me having a cold or fighting those darn Spring migraine ( barometric pressure and crappy air quality induced ! ) it has been hard to accomplish much . Finally DH went away overnight on business so yesterday afternoon I just said to heck with it and started working on this to complete it . It was a case of putting things together , gluing and tweaking to get it just right ! I finally did the last of it late this afternoon only to find out the clock didn't work ...........FRUSTRATING to say the least ! So OFF came the clock parts , another tweak with the file ....... and putting the battery in the RIGHT way made a world of difference ! LOL ! FINISHED !!! I am so pleased with the end result and I hope he is thrilled with it as well ! Now I can finally tell him why drawers got slammed and he got snarled at every time he came to stand over my shoulder while I was trying to get this done in secret !!!!!

My finished project .....

( and yes , that is still snow in my backyard but it is slowly leaving !!! YEAH !!!! )

This is a Kaisercraft clock that I used some old Bohemian paper on it ( almost matches my living room scheme perfectly ! ) , a Prima butterfly spray and flowers , the wooden flourishes and wood butterflies are from Kaisercraft as well and coated with STICKLES . The clock numbers come from MICHAEL'S as I couldn't find any small wood numbers anywhere . Everything else is from my stash and is either rub-ons or stamped !

Well off to clean my crafty area as it looks like a bomb has gone off ! I still have a couple hours before DH gets home so he may get a real shock as the room will be cleaned up ... to a POINT !!! LOL !

Have a great weekend and I hope you get to see sunshine where you live and some craft time !!! TFL !

The Outlawz ... Masculine card

2011-03-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Monday's Greeting card card challenge on The Outlawz was for a masculine card . I had just purchased this Penny Johnson stamp and thought it was perfect for this challenge and was more then happy to ink it up ! The paper and ribbon was from a blog win from Eulanda ( thanks ! ) and the sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp ( I LOVE their stamps ! ) . Copic markers colored the images and the background of the sentiment and were used on the image ! I do love my Copics ! Mementos Ink was used forall stamping .
Here is my take on this challenge ...

And here are my breakfast visitors this morning !

Pilated woodpecker on my feeder on my deck . Guess he thought he should come join me while I drank my morning coffee !

And this is Mr ( or maybe it is Mrs ) Squirrel sitting in a tree eating a peanut that my neighbour puts out for him / her every day ! He is a pest though as he / she torments my dogs and makes them bark !!!!

And he/she hides peanuts in the robin's nest in my lilac bush just beside my deck ! Silly Squirrel !!!

Have a good week everybody ! Hope the weather is more Springlike for you ( some areas around here are getting MORE snow ! ) ... We are having SUN and our snow is finally starting to melt .... only about 4' left to go in the backyard and about 10' in the snowbanks at the front ! LOL !

Happy creating and come join in the fun on The Outlawz !

A quick card for The Outlawz and my SIL

2011-03-20T23:11:00.000-07:00

SIL's birthday is soon so I had to get this card done and it fit the challenge over on The The Outlawz Monday greeeting challenge of last week . The image is a digital image from one of my wins . Nice to be using them as I wasn't sure I would ever go DIGI !!! Not all the time though as I LOVE my inky fingers !

Here is my card . Copics were used to color the image and the DP is made by Magnolia .Ribbon from my stash as are the flowers . Sentiment and tickets are from Whimsy Stamps !

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !

This Week for The OUTLAWZ .....

2011-03-16T15:40:00.001-07:00

I have spent days just trying to get my cards ready for a couple challenges ...... seems my brain has been on a malfunction for days and Murpy's Law has ruled - AGAIN !!!! I have managed to crank out two cards for this week so far with a few mishaps ( like my electric Big Shot getting jammed because I was trying to something and had tried to force to much through the rollers !!!! Not much fun trying to unstick the dang thing either ! )

Tuesday's Color Challenge was to use 3 shades of green ... and glitter ! Well I did manage to find 3 greens that didn't look too bad together and came up with this card . The image is my Mo Manning . My Glitter is on there just not a lot of it ! LOL !

My little fairy is colored with Copics and my sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp with a Nesties backround ( as is the baby fairy ) . I used Momento Ink for the sentiment . The fairy's wings are Stickles Diamond Glitter as is the lace trim on her clothes .

On Wednesday on The Outlawz it is SKETCH day ! Great sketch to play with ladies ! This is image is by Lili of the Valley as is the sentiment and again she is colored with Copics . The paper is by KaiserKraft and is a new release but at the moment can't remember it's name but it gorgeous IRL !!

The fairy's wings are painted with SMOOCH pearl as is her skirt . It actually shimmers IRL . Stickles diamond glitter is on the purple of her skirt and the flowers in her hair .

As I said , Murphy's Law has ruled today .......

Happy creating and come join the fun on The Outlawz !

40 Years .... and a Magnolia sweet couple

2011-03-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband will be celebrating 40 years of marital bliss this weekend and I am LATE getting this card finished . It was a struggle for some reason and I have to get it to the mailbox today ! I am not thrilled with how it turned out but it will have to do ! I am not entering it in any challenges either !

I love this Magnolia couple as they are so versatile !

Happy Anniversary Ken and Kathy ! Lots of love and best wishes coming your way !!

TFL ..... Have a great week and Happy creating !

How we spent our Sunday afternoon .....

2011-03-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Every year for the past 4 , the owners of the campground that we spend a lot of time in come camping season have an end of winter - welcome to Spring campfire , wiener roast . This year being winter is taking forever to leave as is the colder weather , we are a couple week's later then usual in having our get together . This past week the temperatures actually managed to get above 0 , the sun decided to shine and the snow finally decided to start melting ....... and then this morning the wind picked up and the clouds came in threatening rain or snow ! BUT it has held off and the sky is actually showing a bit of blue right now ( of course now that we are home ! LOL ) . We spent a couple hours down at the campfire though visiting friends and watching the kids playing the snow before we left for home .... while more people started coming in ! Oh well , we will visit them in the summer when the weather is warmer and the grass is actually snowing !!! I think we will be spending the majority of our summer camping there if the price of fuel keeps going up ..... the RV likes to drink the stuff like water ! LOL !

SNOWSHOES if you want to go for a walk

coffee and a campfire .... the guy in the blue is my husband .... the heater in the snowbank was actually being moved into the owners RV as they were using theirs as the washroom ! it was not there to melt the snowbanks ! LOL !

This is the lower level of the campground ( that is one of the owner's Shelties ) . We usually camp on the top level .... #4 is already reserved in our name for the season !

another view of the snowshoes and the snowbanks

Kim and her dogs ....... see the kid's swing set to the left ? It will be a bit before they can play on them ! Last year Merv and Kim opened the campground to the public on April 1st .... this year they are hoping the 15th of April but there is a LOT of snow that has to leave first .... and that is before they can even turn on the water to the sites !!!

Hurry up Spring as we are getting anxious for camping season to start .............. Next weekend the Canyon Creek planning commity ( okay , the owners and us ! LOL ) are meeting for lunch to discuss camping season !

Hey , if the snow doesn't want to melt , we may be trying snowshoes like these kids were doing in the tenting spots ! They made it look easy !!!! LOL !

More challenges on The OUTLAWZ

2011-03-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have been doing a little playing around this week in my room but only short spurts as I am having problems with my fingers and wrists again ...... I did get a few challenges done for over on The Outlawz though .

Copic challenge .... black and white

Greeting card challenge ... using punch or diecuts

Our Grandson turns 4 on Saturday and these are for him !

The last card is for a sketch challenge on The Outlawz and is for my BIL's birthday ! He usually has one of his four grandkids crawling on him !

Hope everybody has a great week and HAPPY CREATING !!!

The Outlawz - Western challenges

2011-03-02T21:44:00.001-08:00

The " contest " is over but I am happy to say I did win something for a change ... actually I won 2 things ! A GC for Whimsy Stamps and some digi images from Di's Digi Downloads ...... Whoo hoo !

So over on Outlawz this month they are offering a chance at winning a $50 GC to Oozak ...... Oh how I would LOVE to win that one ! Once a week for each challenge you are allowed to link one card or scrap page or altered item into Mr Linky ( when Mr Green Frog feels like working as he is a bit shy and disappears ..... often ! He is a challenge just of his own ! LOL )

My first link will be for this card for the sketch challenge ( tag SC0302 ). This is the first time I have inked up these Stampin' Up stamps and I have had them FOREVER !!!! OOPS ! I did a quick color of them with my Copics . The ribbon came from my stash and I have no idea where it even came from ... I think it must have just grown in my ribbon box ! LOL !

Here is a couple more cards I made over the past couple days ( yes , it is still cold and snowing here so I am hiding inside ! )

This was for Monday's Birthday challenge using one circle ( the sentiment is a circle and a sticker ! )

This was for Sundays CAS card ( clean and simple ) challenge which was a sketch . The sentiment and coffee mug is from Verve` stamps .... I love this set !

And this last card is the for the challenge where we can use any medium but Copic markers and a punch . I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then used my TH Distressed Inks and " watercolored " the image with them . My grass and tulip row were both punched with Martha Stewart punches and the tulips were colored with a Sakura glaze pen !

The last 3 cards can't be entered into Mr Linky because they were made in February ! So there will be more to come !

Come join the fun on the OUTLAWZ !!!

snowy weekend ... great time to play !

2011-02-27T12:50:00.001-08:00

This is what we have had coming down all weekend ..........

Looking out my front window which is about 7' off the ground . The grader had just done a run down tthe road ....

Looking out my bedroom window ........ that is my 4' retaining wall you now can not see .... thank heavens we had a January melt and lost about 2-3' of snowpack !!!

It is a snowy weekend .... a good time to create and a good time to wish Spring was here !!! Creating these cards helped though !

The first card is being entered into SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY that was made with another awesome sketch by Arlana . It can be found HERE . Here is my take on the sketch

And this card is being entered over on JUST MAGNOLIA - Hangler Sketch challenge 95 ... a sketch challenge from Mina found HERE . And here is my take on this sketch !

Have a great week , happy creating and hopefully you are seeing SPRING where you live !

Dang .........................

2011-02-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

I am just sitting here thinking ....................

When the Hell is Spring coming ?

We are sitting at -20 C right now with an Arctic front hitting us with nasty winds . The temperature with the windchill is supposed to drop to around - 35 to -42 C tonight ..................................

I am whining ................. I am cold , I am tired of winter !!! Enough already !!!! And I want to remember this night when I am whining because it is too HOT this summer ( if it EVER gets here !!! )

SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY #89

2011-02-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Arlana has another fabulous sketch posted for week 89 on Sweet Skeych Wednesday Blog found here . This is her fabulous sketch

And here is my card ! I just love Tilda with tiny bows on the vintage sofa ( both from Magnolia ) . I masked Tilda and then stamped the couch . My flower is from Tim Holtz Tattered flower die and I used matching DP and netting with a backing of Webster's Pages pleated ribbon with bead spray with a small prima flower colored with Copic to match and a gem brad to hold it all together. The glittery metal ribbon is also from Webster's Pages ,

Hop on over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and come play ! Happy creating !

MORE SNOW .... ENOUGH ALREADY !!!!!

2011-02-21T18:43:00.002-08:00

Outlawz Color challenge

2011-02-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

Today was a day to just sit and play as DH was sitting watching hockey for the most part ........ and he watched it ALL evening so I went back in my room and made this card for The Outlawz Color Challenge which is found here . I found all the challenges are just that a challenge but I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and done some fun and different things for me . This card is WAY different from what I would normally make ........ and the paper is WHITE but shows tan for some reason ( could be because of the light I am using tonight ) . Here is my card

The belt is leather that was on a card of ribbon by Bo Bunny and I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for ! I figured it out .... and the BUCKLE is a ribbon slide I have in my stash forever with the brads ! It was a good day today as I used a lot of my old stash ( I will never run out of old stash though ! ) Come join the fun over on The Outlawz !

Sketch challenge for western Theme Te Outlawz

2011-02-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a card done for The Outlawz Western week Sketch challenge found here . My take is even chickens and little girls are a part of the West ... after all they help feed all those cowboys ! LOL !

Come join the fun ... you still have time and there are some great prizes up for grabs !!!

The Outlawz - Prismas and other mediums challenge

2011-02-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

This week the challenge is WESTERN on the Outlawz and the challenge is actually ANYTHING GOES - Western optional . The fun is there will be prizes at the end of each week ( we have a week to do the challenge ) . To check this challenge out go here . we are allowed to enter 3 cards in each challenge which was posted daily . I actually did manage to get 3 cards done for here ... and I used the sketch challenge as well but being we could only enter a card in one of the challenge I have chose this one for these and will work on the sketch challenge later .

here are my cards

I used heat embossing and I feel a moose is part of the West being we live in the west and often have these swamp dogs walking through our area !

I used watercolored pencils and a blender pen for these two cards !

Come join the fun !!!!

The outlaws ..... Color challenge

2011-02-19T14:57:00.000-08:00

The OUTLAWZ color change for the WESTERN week is to take the color of a red bandana and incorporate it somehow into your card and use a westen icon .....

Here is mine

My icon is supposed to be a lasso !

The Outlawz Birthday challenge

2011-02-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got a card done to enter into the OUTLAWZ Birthday Challenge found here and I have to say , this challenge week has become just that ... a challenge as I have NO western themed stamps but I did come across a stamped image that will work for this card .....

So come play all week as there are some awesome prizes up for grabs !

Sketch Saturday # 142

2011-02-14T12:44:00.000-08:00

I used this sketch from Sketch Saturday challenge blog found here to make this card for my Granddaughter #3 whom tirns 9 at the end of the month !

I also entered the card over on THE OUTLAWS challenge blog for two different challenges .... color ( Poppy , turquoise , white with lace or ribbon ) and the Copic challenge ( shading ) . I just received this awesome paper by Memeory Box called Brioche which is so bright and vibrant .

Here is my take on all the challenges !

Thanks for looking and happy creating everybody ! Come join in the fun on all the challenge blogs !

Happy Valentine's Day !

2011-02-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

WOW ! Where has the year gone ? Another Valentine's Day is upon us ! Some people think Valentine's Day has become too commercialized and we shouldn't celebrate on any given day ....... Well my take may be a bit different as I am " old school " and after 38 years of being with the same " guy " I think Valentine's Day is a wonderful day ( plus the fact I get totally spoiled by my " man " ) LOL !

Each year I give thanks for finding the love of my life and believe me if you notice the name of my blog you will understand that this has been a very rough road to get to this many years together . I was 18 when I met my DH and we were married within 6 months .......... 3 kids later and 5 grandkids and 38 years behind us . Life has been about living pay cheque to pay cheque and raising our family ...... accepting things we can not change and learning how to deal with what has been thrown at us . But through it all , we have stuck together , worked on the problems and learned how to " not sweat the small stuff " . Love doesn't make life easier or pay the bills but it does give you that warm fuzzy feeling when you know you have a shoulder and a warm body to lean on through thick and thin ........... you know , all those things those wedding vows talked about . It isn't about declaring our love every 5 minutes but knowing it is there without asking ... it is a feeling , it is life , it is LOVE !!

for my love ........ for all eternity !

Happy Valentine's Day everybody !!!

Come join the FUN !!!

2011-02-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

If you have been following my blog or just dropping in on occasion , you will know that I have had a lot of fun with THE OUTLAWS found here at http://outlawzchallenges.ning.com/ Come join in the fun starting February 13th for some prizes and join in the challenges !

Hope to see you there !

Blog Candy from Karen Howard

2011-02-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

Karen Howard from Feline Creative is offering awesome blog candy found here

and this is what she is offering ! Come join the fun !

She also has a list of everything she is giving away ! So generous ! Thanks Karen and your blog is really great too !!!

The result of being housebound ...................

2011-02-09T18:29:00.001-08:00

My cold is almost gone , the snow is holding off for the day and even the temperature is livable for now ( -6 C ) ......... and I have a very sick husband ! Just a flare-up for Crohn's Disease but this one has laid him flat for a number of days . Well when I start feeling housebound with a sick husband , I find I do one of 2 things ..... overeat or go to my room and create .............. ( aside from getting extremely cranky ! LOL ) . I have managed to hide in my room a LOT for the past few days and am managing to get a few cards made . I am also making a LOT of homemade soups this week ! A couple servings fresh out of the pot and then the rest in the freezer ! I love that !!!

Here are a couple of the cards I have made that may or may not have been added to a challenge blog somewhere !

This is a Hangler image and I do believe I added it to The Outlawz challenge of other mediums then Copic markers . I actually dusted off my watercolor pencils and blender pen to do this one ! The paper is BG Hopscoth and the swirls are a die from Maryanne Designs out of the UK .... everything else is from my stash .

And here is something a little different from me for the CAS ( Clean and Simple ) challenge on The Outlawz

I actually used a Tattered Angel tree mask then used my Tim Holtz blending tool and brown Momento ink to creat this image ..... added a touch of white Sakura Gell pen for effect . The sentiment is by Verve` Stamps . I love their sentiments . Again , I just lightly used my blendinf tool with the Nestie die still in place . Pearls are by Kaiser Craft .....

And this card was made for something .... can't remember what though ! LOL !

Oh yeah , it was for the sketch challenge over on The Outlawz ! LOL !

Expect to see a couple more cards from me in the next few days as it could be a longggggggg week .... especally being we are expecting MORE snow after the 10" we got dumped on the weekend ( and that is to add to the 3.5' we already have - and that was after our January thaw ! Bleck winter can just leave now ! LOL )

Enjoy your week and happy creating !

Tilda with a Balloon

2011-02-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

Magnolia's Tilda was the perfect choice to use on a multi-challenge card that I made today . With DH home ill I have had lots of time to play .

I am entering her here on The Outlawz Birthday challenge which is to make a birthday card with sentiment and wings or butterflies . I found these Heidi Swapp felt butterflies on my Clip-It Up ( and who knows how long they have been hanging on it ! LOL ) I then covered the butterflies with Stardust Stickles .

Arlanda over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday #88 has the perfect sketch found here

And I am also entering it to Just Magnolia - Hangler Challenge Blog #92 Anything Goes - with ribbons found here

And here is my card !

I used Kaiser Craft Candy Lane paper , ribbon , flower , twine and pearls from my stash ! Tilda is colored with Copic markers and is highlighted with Stardust Stickles and the balloon is covered with Martha Steward glittter ( thanks Eulanda for the bottle ! ) . Sentiment is by Verve`

Come join all these great challenge blogs and have fun creating !

Just playing ......

2011-02-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

I saw the cutest little mailbox up at Michael's one day while shopping so thought I should buy it ! Of course when I got home , I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with it until I saw saw Jacque's mailbox that she posted HERE . I have to admit , I just had to scarplift this ( with some of my own twists as I never follow directions completely ...... teehee ! I just call it creative license and entend a thank you to Jacque for her amazing inspiration ! )

Here is my mailbox ......... not sure which member of my family may get it but I am sure somebody will claim it :-)

I am also going to add this to the OUTLAWZ challenge for Friday Copic / Promarker challenge " Favorite technique " as I used the masking technique to get Tilda in the window and she is colored with Copics .

Well off to my room to play as DH is going to watch the Super Bowl and I am using THAT as an excuse to hide all afternoon ( besides , then I don't have to watch the snow coming down outside again ......... )

Have a great day , enjoy the game if you are watching and Happy creating !!!

Pretty Pressing Blog candy

2011-02-05T23:06:00.000-08:00

Did you see this awesome blog candy that Claudia is offering on her site ?

Follow this LINK and join in the fun ....... http://rosaswelt.blogspot.com/

Jacque's Blue Sweet Stuff

2011-02-04T16:33:00.001-08:00

Jacque is offered another very generous piece of blog candy over on her blog found here . This is what she is offering ....... YUMMY BLUE STUFF !

And if you keep following her then you will find out she is super generous as she has a few more baskets that she will be giving away ! Plus , if you look through her blog you will find some of the most amazing cards and projects !

I LOVE Jacque !!! ( and thanks Jacque for being so awesome ! )

My friend ANONOMYS ( Hey Lisa , I know who you are ! LOL ) just pointed out I don't have a direct link ( well if you scroll down after clicking on the colored " here " above it will take you there ) but here is the direct link ...... http://jacquesmagnolias.blogspot.com/2011/02/challenge-winner-and-sweet-stuff.html

Good luck !

Two Posts in one day ....... and a card !

2011-02-03T16:46:00.001-08:00

Well today just felt like it should be an inside day as the snow was coming down in big , wet flakes . I had nowhere pressing to go so just stayed home and caught up on some much needed housework . Those dustbunnies were starting to multiply and I figured I would have a mutiny on my hands if something didn't get done about them ! I also found a lot of time to sit in my room and do some coloring and put together a card . This one went together quickly thanks to these 2 challenges ! I used the sketch challenge from Arlana over on Sweet Sketch Wednesday #87 found here .
This is the sketch I used

A combined it with the Color Challenge over on THE OUTLAWZ found here

using Celadon ( green ) , Lavender and White ... include polka dots .......

here is my take this week on both challenges . I dug deep in my stash of patterned papers for these papers !

Copic markers , Magnolia's Tilda with Big Bow , Making Memories patterned Paper ,Peggy's Pretties , SU cardstock , large brad , ribbon and flowers all from stash .... and a Ellen Hutson paper doily with a Nesties diecut finish my card .

Come on over to these blogs and join in the fun !

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRUNKEN STAMPERS .... this card is for you !

A little on the fussy side !

2011-02-03T11:01:00.001-08:00

I took days to get this card done for some reason .......... so I thought I should enter it for a few challenges ! Usually I try to do each challenge separately but lately I have found how fun it is to combined challenges ... and they become just that - a challenge !

Here is my take on these challenge blogs . I chose to do an easle card

These are the challenges I chose to enter the card into

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes + flowers ( found here )

Magnolia Stamp Lovers Glitter challenge ( found here

Totally Tilda Week 15 - Tilda with lots of Hearts ( found here) ( the challenge was to use 3 different hearts , I used heart bling , heart ribbon slide and heart doily )

The Outlawz - Copic Challenge - Anything goes ( found here ) .... LOTS of copic work on this card !

Thanks for looking and Happy creating ! Come join in the fun on these challenge blogs and help beat the winter blues !

Happy 1ST Birthday ................

2011-02-02T22:55:00.000-08:00

DRUNKEN STAMPERS ! Seems hard to believe it was over a year ago when Peggy approached me to join the design team for a new challenge blog ! I was thrilled to be asked but I would only join under the stipulation that I would only being on their team for 3 months . We are avid campers and come green grass and no snow , we love nothing better then to take off in our RV for a weekend or weeks . The 3 months I was on the DT was a lot of fun and also one of self-discovery . I discovered that I could make any deadline and do any challenge as long as it was to be my interpretation ............. and DS is great for that ! However , I also made a HUGE discovery about myself ..... I am not one that likes to feel pressure when I create ... I " freeze like a deer in the headlights " ! So although I don't take part in every challenge on DS , I do love to see what the challenge is and what everybody is creating .

Happy Birthday Drunken Stampers ( found here ) and I hope you all have a long run to fame and fortune :-) ...... but mostly HAPPY CREATING and thanks for all the inspiration your challenge blog brings !

COMBINDING CHALLENGES

2011-01-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finally sat in my room and finished a card I have been working on . I love to relax and hide in my room with my Magnolia stamps , Copics and papers !

I used this sketch from this challenge # 52 found here on PaperTake Weekly . I love this sketch

and this is the card I came up with using a new release Magnolia Tilda

I am also entering her here on Just Magnolia-Hangler Challenge Blog week 91- Going Dotty ( Got to love the new Bo Bunny papers ! )

and I will enter it on the Copic - Promarker Challenge here on the OUTLAWZ which is anything goes this week .

i LOVE when I can combined challenges !

TFL and Happy Creating ! I plan on getting back into my room this afternoon as it is a cool -15 C outside again !

Just a couple of cards

2011-01-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

I did manage to get in my room this week and do some playing . I am trying to get challenges done for the OUTLAWZ blog but between nursing this cold ( still ) , trying to get my house clean ( again ) and getting groceries and out for coffee ( a MUST ! LOL ) by the evening I am exhausted and have just sat and vegged instead of playing .

Here are the cards I did manage to make this week though

Sketch challenge

Red Birthday card challenge .... and this week's sketch challenge

Last week's simple card ......

Hope everybody has a great weekend . I plan on spending some time playing with my new Magnolia stamps that arrived yesterday !!! It was a good mail day !!!

Happy creating !!!

Just Magnolia- Hangler Week 90

2011-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

I finally felt well enough to go sit in my room and play for a bit . this cold that everybody seems to have is like the Energizer Bunny ...... it just goes and goes and goes ! Was sure relaxing to just sit and color one mini-Tilda and create a card from the end result .

The challenge on Just Magnolia this week was a great sketch by Donalda . I love these sketches from her ! The challenge can be found here

Here is my card using a mini Tilda , Magnolia tag , Copics , Flowers and leaves from Magnolia and Wild Orchid and Stickles .MaryAnn D die cut was used to cut the doily and the paper doily is from Ellen Hutson .Lace is from my stash .

Thanks for looking and have a great week ! Happy creating !

Come join in ....

2011-01-18T12:46:00.001-08:00

A new challenge blog is up and running . There are challenges every day for cards , scrapbooking and altered items .... your choice ! Some great challenges from CAS ( clean and simple ) to Copic and promarker challenges .... each day is assigned a challenge theme so come and join here to partake in some of the fun !

I did manage to do the Color challenge for this week as it is using BROWN and PINK .... I was just working on this when the challenge was posted so added it to the mix !

Tilda is colored with Copics and has SMOOTCH Pearlized TOPCOAT on her dress and socks for a shiny , glittery appearance . The heart is cut with a Sizzix scalloped die and then trimmed in lace . The tulle is from American Crafters , the looped ribbon from Webster's Pages and the heart brads are from my stash . They have been colored with Copics and then coated in SMOOTCH as well !

And this one is for the CAS ( Clean and Simple ) challenge

So pop on over to Outlawz and come have some fun !

Happy creating !

One Crazy Stamper

2011-01-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

I came across this awesome site awhile back while checking prices for Copic markers .... because a gal can NEVER ave too many copics ! LOL ! I was amazed at the price of Lora's Copics !!! Well it seems that One Crazy Stamper also has a challenge blog and this month the challenge is a LOVE card . The challenge is found here.......... so I just had to get on the card ( even if it did sit on my desk for a week because I am down with a cold and feel miserable ) . So here it is .... I can't remember where I got this image but it was from a friend . The paper is BG ( which one I have no idea as I have many ! ) , the pleated ribbon is from Webster's Pages , lace was a RAK and of course the image is colored with Copics .The rhinestones came from the wedding department at Michael's and the punch is a Martha Stewart edge punch .

Pop on over to Lora's online store found here

http://www.onecrazystamper.com/

as you will be blown away by the price of her Copics and her great stamp selection . She even has a stamp club .... Buy 10 get one free with collected coupons ( explained on her home page ) and she has preorders right now for Magnolia stamps and the new COPIC colors ( yes 12 new have to have colors :-)

Have a great day , avoid the snow and the cold ( we have had almost 2' since the 4th of January and -20 c temperatures ! ) but most of all

Happy Creating !

oh so Blue ..............

2011-01-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

Magnolia Stamp Lover's has a challenge running this week called " BLUES " ! This little Tilda stamp just called out for the color blue . The challenge is listed here .

I used a lot of Sakura Glaze pen on my image to give her umbrella and boots a wet look . I purposely took the second photo under a light so you could see the shine !

I am also using this card for Sketch Saturday as I used Jilli's sketch to make the card . Here is the sketch

Join in the fun this week for Week #136 Challenge on Sketch Saturday here

Come join the fun on all the challenge blogs , get some create juices flowing and have a wonderful CREATIVE week !

HAPPY NEW YEAR .... let's start with some challenges !

2011-01-02T09:57:00.003-08:00

I spent a very quiet New Year's Eve as my husband was away visiting his Mother whom had some health issues before Christmas . It is the first time in 39 years that we have actually spent New Year's Eve apart ! Odd to say the least ! My few days of just the dogs and I found me playing in my room getting a few things done and cleaned up .

There is a change over on the challenge BLOG for JUST MAGNOLIA as it is now the Just Magnolia and Hangler / Stangler Challenge Blog ! If you haven't seen the Hangler stamps then you are in for a real treat as they are so adorable ! Hard to get in Canada but I lucked into a few images from friends ( thanks girls ) and just finshed this card which I am submitting here for the ANYTHING GOES challenge on the site . Hope you enjoy her !

And over on PAPERTAKE WEEKLY their challenge this week is BE THANKFUL . You can read all about the challenge here . Here is my take on their challenge

Both cards will also work for Challenge # 145 on Cute Card Thursday found here entitled THANK YOU

AND FOR PHINDY'S PLACE CHALLENGE # 36 Give Thanks found here

Come join the fun on these challenge blogs and Happy Creating in 2011 !!!

All images have been colored with Copic markers !

Merry KISSMAS Everybody !

2010-12-24T20:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Kissmas and Merry Christmas to each and everyone ! May your hearth be warm , your food be plentiful and your blessings many !

From our house to yours ! Joy to the season and count your blessings !

And the countdown begins .................

2010-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that the jolly man in the red suit comes in so few sleeps ! I think I can say I am ready craft wise , the gifts are wrapped and the tree is up ! I have to get out and buy some groceries yet but it is still too soon for the fresh stuff so I will postpone that for a few more days . Unfortunately this Christmas may be a little stressful as well as a lot of fun . DH is not well again and has spent more time at home in bed then at work . He is frustrated as am I but we just take it one day at a time . Chrones and Colitis are not a fun disease at any time but when you are stressed it is even worse . We have a few things happening that are causing the stress right now ...... and none are in our control .

So while DH sleeps and watches his TV while he is awake , I have managed to make a few more cards .... and do some baking ( something I seem to only do at Christmas now ! ) . I had a project I had hoped to get done for DH for Christmas but with him home , it isn't going to get done as he has a habit of walking in my room and piering over my shoulder to see what I am doing !!!! Maybe I will make it a New Year's gift for him as he HAS to fly down and see his Mother as she isn't well and it is something he HAS to do . we will not be spending New Year's together but it is important that he goes down .

Here are a few of the last minute cards I have made ........

I hope everybody has a wonderful pre-Christmas week and find time to RELAX and enjoy the season and those around you !

Really Reasonable Ribbon Rambling Blog

2010-12-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Really Reasonable Ribbon Rambling is having some awesome Blog Candy here ...... Drawing is tomorrow December 21st so hop on over and join in the fun ! I am just drooling at all the awesome ribbon and lace on this site !!!!!

See you there !!

And don't forget to check out a few more Blog Candy drawings on December 24th !!! They can all be found on my sidebar !

good luck !

Prairie Fairy has moved back to BLOGGER :-)

2010-12-18T19:19:00.001-08:00

Prairy Fairy is offering some awesome blog candy so hope on over and join in the fun .... and see some very cute images too ! Click on the picture of the her blog candy in the sidebar ..... and be surprized wen you get there as she is offering more then one drawing for " candy " ....

Have fun and see you there !

some blog candy !

2010-12-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Martina is offering some BLOG Candy ... her first ! Woo Hoo ! WTG Martina !!!! Go visit her blog and leave her some lovin' ..........

here !

I am off to enter as well so GOOD LUCK ladies !

Another card ........ DONE !

2010-12-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

Well I have just a few more cards to get done before I can say I am done making cards for this season ( but I have so many new images I want to play with ! LOL )

i found the challenge for making my card over here at Magnolia Stamp Lover's Challenge blog and it is called " here an ornament , There an ornament " so being I have the PERFECT Tilda and the PERFECT paper to play along , here is what I came up with !

Thanks for looking , Happy creating and remember to relax as the Christmas season is upon us and can be so very busy !!!

JUST HAVING FUN

2010-12-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

I am need of getting a couple cards done so I can get them in the mail . So as I started this card I realised I can use it for Just Magnolia Monthly Challenge week 84 _ Anything Goes with Sparkle

This card definitely has sparkle ! It doesn't show well in the photo but trust me ... it does ! LOL ! I had fun crating this one !

And this is another card I just for the fun of it ......

I used a Sizzix gift card die to make the gift card holder ! I think I will be getting plenty of use out this die !the Bo Bunny paper is so beautiful as well ! Think it is called Winter Frost ( but don't quote me on that ! LOL )

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !

Another awesome sketch challenge !

2010-12-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I LOVE the sketches from Arlana that are on Sweet Sketch Wednesday . This week's challenge sketch was FUN to do ! Thanks Arlana !

For the challenge this week # 78 I chose another Magnolia image ..... I LOVE Tilda !!! I also went through some of my older paper and found this Christmas paper from Cosmo Cricket . My trusty Copics were used , some beautiful lace from Wild Orchid Crafts and some embellishments from my stash ....

Thanks for looking ! Now pop over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and join in the fun !

Another WIN !!!

2010-12-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

What a surprise to find out my card won on SKETCH SATURDAY Challenge #130 . I won a nice voucher for some digi stamps from

for this card .......

It has been a crrazy week here with DH being down to the count again so this really brightened my week ! Thanks Eulanda for emailing me and telling me ! Teehee ! I had been to Sketch Saturday blog but didn't scroll down far enough to see who the winner from the previous challenge was .... just the new challenge !

Happy creating everybody and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas !

JUST MAGNOLIA # 83 - Sketch week

2010-12-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

This week over on Just Magnolia the challenge was to use this sketch

I flipped the sketch and here is my take !

Tilda is actually very " pearly " as I used SMOOCH pearling ink on her .... She really does shimmer ...... STICKLES Icicles are on the snowflakes and " icicle " strip . Red bells are tied on the gold thread .

Thanks for looking and happy creating !

Happy Birthday to my OLD MAN !!!

2010-11-28T21:53:00.001-08:00

LOL ! Seriously, I can call him that now because he just celebrated his 60th birthday this past Friday ! I remember the days when we thought 40 was old , then we hit that age , then 50 and now he is 60 .......... and I have more then a few years before I am that age ! LOL ! The joys of getting married before being considered an adult ... or legal drinking age in BC ( well he was long past that age ! LOL ! )

I surprised him by having all our kids , their spouses and kids ( all except for our oldest granddaughter that was in the Provincial Volleyball tournament in Vancouver and our 4th Granddaughter whom we haven't seen since she was 6 months old ) in for supper . Quite a feat when though we don't all live all over the place but wihin a 2 hr drive it is still a feat with shift work , working weekends and any excuse they can come up with ! Seriously , we figure it has been over 5 years since we were all in the same room ! How sad is that ! LOL ! Was a nice evening and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves . Our 3 year old Grandson was so funny as there were parcels sitting in the bedroom and he was pointing them out to his Mom ( or daughter ) . She told them that they were her birthday presents ( as her oldest daughter , her husband and her birthdays within the next 2 weeks ! ) .... the little Man looked at her and said " Those are YOUR Dad's gifts , not YOUR'S and you aren't allowed to peak ! " ....... and then he told his dad later that he wanted THAT GUY to play cars with him but he wouldn't ask THAT GUY ( who is our oldest ) to play cars ! Such a fun age ! I can imagine what Christmas is going to be like ! he was more then happy to help Grandpa unwrap gifts too !

Grandma made Grandpa a very special birthday card using this great digi image from Kenny K .... have to keep the Old Man's heart going !!!

My daughter told me she was X-rated !!! I told her that she was BODACIOUS :-) I told DH , I posed for the image !!!!!!!!!!!!! Bawhaaaaa !!!!!

Happy 60th Birthday Old Man ! Love you !

" We don't stop playing because we grow old ,

we grow old because we stop playing "

~eric butterfield ~

Challenges and cards off the list ....... YEAH !

2010-11-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have birthday cards and Christmas cards to get done ...... it is crazy early part of late November / December .... but I have faith I will accomplish all of them !

Cute Card Thursday challenge #139 - SKETCH had this great sketch that I decided to use for my SIL's birthday card . i used one of the new releases by Sparkles Stamps ... so perfect for this one !

This is the inside of the card using the new Sizzix big die for gift cards ... it actually stands up when you open the card to reveal a gift card !

I also decided that I needed to use this cute Magnolia stamp for a Christmas card using the challenge on....

Just Magnolia Week 83 - White plus 1

and

the Sketch fromSketch Saturday Week 130

And the card I created using this sketch

The last card I made , I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Sunday challenge 94

It has been a fun , crafty week so thanks for looking .... now off to the craft room where it is warm ( it is -20 C with a windchill of -30 C outside today !

Happy creating !

Random Challenges and just having fun !

2010-11-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

It was a weekend of sitting and playing while DH watched a LOT of football ( both Canadian and American ) and the odd hockey game thrown in to the mix ! Was a great time to disappear into my room and play !

Drunken Stamper's challenge #42 challenged everybody to use some sewing on their cards ... I chose to do FAUX stitching as it is a pain to dig my machine out and there is no where in my room to just leave it up ( gives me a good excuse not to do any mending actually ! LOL ) . Here is my card using a cute Hangler stamp image

I am using this card for my Granddaughter's birthday card next month .... one of 4 birthdays between now and the middle of December I have to make cars for !

I also made a card using this sketch from Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge - Challenge #41

I am also submitting it to Totally Tilda #9 Icy Christmas Tilda - Using Blue and Silver

And this is just a fun card I made for our Grandson .... I love this image of Edwin as we have all been there with Christmas lights ! LOL !

Thanks for looking and Happy creating ! Winter is making an appearence here so that means I may be stuck in playing a WHOLE lot .... oh DARN !!!!! NOT !!!! ROFLMAO !!!

Happy Holidays ... card edition !

2010-11-11T20:36:00.000-08:00

How cute is this winter release of Magnolia's Tilda and Snowman ? I just love them ! With my trusty copic markers , some Stickles , a good amount of Sakura Stardust pen and some very fun paper I created this card from the sketch from Magnolia Stamp Lover

I am also entering it on Cute Card Thurday Challenge # 138 Anything Goes

And here is my card

Thanks for looking and Happy creating ! Come join in the fun !!!!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday #74

2010-11-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Another fun sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge #74 and I knew I just had to play with this one with my Magnolia's Circus Tilda !

The sketch this week was designed by Arlana Patten

And here is my take on the sketch ... with a little creative license thrown in :-)

Come join in the fun and show us what you can create ! Thanks for looking and happy creating !

Time to break out the Airbrush !

2010-11-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

I just fell in love with this new release Magnolia Tilda and had to use her ! I couldn't decide what to do with her so I thought the Copic Airbrush would definately work perfect with her ! I took the sketch from this week's challenge over on Just Magnolia Week 79 Dawny's Sketch . Here is the fun sketch

And here is what I did with it ......

And the copics I used !

I am also entering her in the Totally Tilda Challenge #8 Pink and Pearls Challenge

Have fun creating and pop over to both these sites and join in the fun ! I am having a BLAST !!!

a Challenge from a friend - Move On Up

2010-10-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

A friend challenged me to make a layout for the challenge over on Dirty Scraps : Challenge 20 If you have never been on this challenge blog then I urge you to hop on over there ...... amazing challenges that get right down to the dirt in your mind ! This was definately one of the hardest layouts I have ever made but one that fell together very quickly ! Strange as it may be ! I have to explain a bit about my layout before I post it ..... I have used very drab colors ( black and Kraft ) with a hint of RED and little bling ...... Nothing is cut neatly as this is how my heart feels .............uneven and not complete ........... but we move on day to day ..........

Without You

The journaling reads

" You are not my child but you are of my blood . We never knew you existed until you were 3 months old. We cried for you , we held you ,we SPOILED , we LOVED you ! We still do ! You were hidden from us and taken away by your Mother . She chose to take a different path for you and her . We found you but our hands were tied all for the sake of the child . We had threats made against us to stay away from you , to forget you and to move on . We will NEVER STOP LOVING YOU ! We will never fill the void in our hearts . We will NEVER STOP waiting for you to find us . We ARE YOUR OTHER FAMILY ! You are our GRANDDAUGHTER and we will WAIT for you ALWAYS . We LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE ! "

Every time I see a butterfly I SEE you !

Some day soon !

TFL .... and thanks Melody for pushing me to do this !!!!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 73 and Top 3 !

2010-10-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

I am super excited about making Top 3 last week ( and proud to show off the blinkie on my sidebar ) over on Sweet Sketch Wednesday so when I saw the nice sketch this week I just had to play along again !

Such a fun sketch to work with and with some pretty DP from BG " Jovial " some lace and those wonderful Prima poinseittas ( that I sprayed with Glimmer Mist ) and some lace and velvet ribbon from Sassy n Savvy made a quick card with this cute image from Balmarmarna !

This cute little guy was colored with my Copics then given texture by using the rag tecnique ( Blender pen fluid on toweling then dabbed over the sweater image and hat ! Gives a wool look ! )

Thanks for looking and pop over to Sweet Sketch wednesday and come play !

Have a great weekend everybody and happy creating !

FRIDAY SKETCHERS #125 and just magnolia - think Pink

2010-10-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

An online friend fell a few weeks ago and broke her leg in 4 places so has had to make some life changes ! The poor gal was in her first term of University and now is sitting at her parents house being looked after ! She is having to drop out of school for the whole first year to recouperate and have more surgery ! The poor kid !

I made this card and will send her a care package as well so hopefully this will bring a bit of sunshine to her ! Tilda is all banged up but no broken leg ..... though I am sure it doesn't matter to my freind ! I took the sketch from Friday Sketchers

I did have to use a bit of creative license with the sketch but it worked out with 2 of the layers reversed.

I am also submitting this card to Just Magnolia - Think Pink week 78 . I love their challenges here too ! So much fun ! Tilda is definately pink in her pink tracksuit and sitting on her pink couch ! Tilda in bandages is one of my favorite all time Magnolia image and one I don't want to have to use very often ! LOL !

TFL and get better quickly Madelyn !

Halloween !

2010-10-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

I don't usually make halloween cards but I have a friend that always sends me one so I though this year I would actually get busy and make her one ! Of course the week I had planned on getting it done and in the mail , I ended fighting this silly Fall cold ! I haven't had one for 2 years so this one is hanging on making my life miserable ! So much for the vitamins I have added into my regiment for warding off these things ! LOL ! Oh well , I did get the card done and it will probably arrive late but that is okay as it is the thought that counts , right ? Lol !

I used the sketch from the challenge on Sweet Sketch Wedneday

Unfortunately , my background paper stuck before I could adjust it so I used a bit of creative license on it .... but all the elements are there ! I am also adding my card to Totally Tilda's Halloween Special Challenge and to Drunken Stamper's - Halloween challenge #39 ( hello ladies ! ) .

Have a safe and fun Hallween everybody ! I wouldn't be trick-or-treating at my house this year as I am treating myself to a concert ... REBA is in town and a friend and I are going to enjoy her concert !

Happy creating and TFL !

Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge #39 - Maggies Sketch

2010-10-18T10:23:00.001-07:00

This week there is a new sketch up on Sunday Sketch & Stamp that I just had to play with . You can find the sketch and challenge here
And here is the sketch

I decided this was such a nice sketch that I would do a very " simple " card with no ribbons or flowers .... a bit of a stretch for me ! LOL ! here is my Christmas card that I came up with .

I did manage to cut off the top of the card with my lousy picture taking but it is so dull and grey outside that I couldn't get a good photo ! There is a slight glitter to the paper from Glimmer Mist and the snowflakes are sparkly but as usual you can't see it ! Image is colored with Copic markers and I used paper from my stash ! the 3 dots on each corner are made with Liquid Pearls .

TFL and happy creating !

No Sketches , No Challenges , Just my own creations !

2010-10-15T16:30:00.001-07:00

Bildmarlarna image

penny Black and Verve` image

Magnolia Tilda with ornament

Mo Manning image .... for Lisa :)

This week found me at my desk playing and using my brain to come up with some cards on my own .... sometimes the cards just fall together with no help from anybody ! My images are by Mo Manning , Penny Black , Bildmalarna and Magnolia ! It has been a great week to just play between laundry loads and housework ! Thanks to Melody for the great R.A.K. of the beautiful lace ... one which was used on my Penny Black card !

The sun is shining but there is a definite nip in the air but winter is creeping up on us as Alberta got a dump of snow this morning ! They say it is coming ths way ....... oh well , I have stamps , ink and my Copics ! I am happy !

Have a great week everybody and happy creating !

A multitude of challenges

2010-10-05T23:42:00.001-07:00

Like the addiction of Magnolia stamps and copic markers , the challenge blogs are beginning to become a bit of an adiction too ! It is a GOOD addiction though as I am starting to build up my card stash again ! Here is a card that I have made that fit a few of those challenges ......

This Tilda is being submitted for these challenges

1.SWEET SKETCH SUNDAY #38 I used the sketch as my base

2. THE SISTERHOOD OF CRAFTERS ... Embellish it challenge I used 3 flowers , pin , leaves and velvet ribbon ( oops , missed the deadline on this one so no entry to the challenge but it was fun to do ! )

3.STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY CHALLENGE # 79 Layer it on ..... 5 layers or more ......

This was a FUN card to make ! Thanks for looking and happy creating ! looking forward to the next challenges !

Here is another card that could fit in the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #79 as well

Ellen Hutson's Sketch Challenge for World Cardmaking Day !

2010-10-05T17:48:00.001-07:00

I am so excited that I finally got to sit down and make a card for Ellen Hutson's WCMD challenge on her Classroom Blog ! I chose out of the six challenges posted to do the second one which is a sketch by Julia Stainton . Check it out here !

I did use a little creative license on my card but then I don't follow directions well to begin with ...... LOL ! As I had already won the blog candy for this challenge it was a great way to enter for the BIG blog candy ! At least I am entering one project ....

Who knows , maybe I will get something else done this evening as I have until midnight to on Wednesday to enter all 6 challenges before the challenges close !

thanks Ellen for such inspiration ( and a great store ! )

Fall is in the air

2010-09-30T15:31:00.004-07:00

Even with the Fall migraines hitting with a vengence , I managed to finish up this card that I started yesterday ! It seems to be taking me longer to make a card lately but I am so happy with the results of this one that I am submitting for 3 Challenge blogs

Drunken Stampers #35 Salute to Fall           It's been awhile since I got to play with these gals but hopefully life is slowly slowing down so I can play more with them being I did a DT stint with them ! I haven't forgotten any of you ~ really ! LOL !

Stamptacular Sunday challenge #78 .... Season's change    Using all Fall colors ! I think I covered this with all my FAll-ish colors

and

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 69    Another awesome sketch ladies ! I have flipped this sketch ... a little creative license used ! LOL !

I have used a new Magnolia release from the Autumn Cozy Family images ( seems these are going under more then one name as I check the internet ! ) called Brother and Sister .
The paper is from the Imaginisce APPLE CIDER collection
Prima leaves and other goodies
Ribbon from my stash and of course I used Copics to color my image .

Thanks for looking and happy creating ! Come join in the fun on all these wonderful blogs ! You never know what you may come up with !

Challenges galore !

2010-09-28T19:25:00.002-07:00

Even though I stressed that I usually try to do challenge blogs one at a time , I have discovered it is really fun to combined a FEW and see what becomes of the result . By taking the sketch from here on Sketch Saturday Challenge Week 122 Blog , this challenge from Magnolia Stamp Lovers : Add a touch of lace and combining it with the challenge from here on Totally Tilda challenge Blog ( and you know how I love Tilda ! ) which this week the challenge was Glitter and Sparkle this is the card I came up with !

I love this Magnolia Tilda image and she was so much fun to color with my Copic markers and the background was softly airbrushed . I also used my Sakura glaze pen on her shoes and my Sakura Stardust pen for the lace of her dress and the umbrella handle ...... the ribs were colored with my Sakura white gel pen . The dress was then covered with Ice Stickles as were her socks and the top of the umbrella ( or parasol ) . The roses were also coated with glaze pen to give them a bit of depth ! Tim Holtz patterned paper and distressed Ink were used and a CTMH sentiment finished off my card .......... after punching an edge with my Martha Stewart edge punch and some airbrushed lace and flower to which some Stickles had been added . Glitter was added to the corner piece of chipboard .

Here are the Copics I used to color Tilda with

Happy creating and I hope my card brought a smile to your face ! Thanks for taking the time to look !

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 68

2010-09-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

Sweet Sketch Wednesday had a wonderful sketch this week and I managed to find some time to sit and play with it ! I am really beginning to love working from a sketch for my cards as it gives me a starting point for my brain ! Thanks to all the wonderful artists that come up with them !

Here is my take on this week's sketch

I love Mo Manning images as you can tell ! They just make me smile ! That poor cat ! We have had a few that have been loved like this over the years ! LOL !

Image is colored with Copic markers and I handmade the flower out of piece of wide lace then spritzed with Tattered Angel Glimmer Mist then edges some of the " petals " with Stickles .....

Sorry for the unclear photos today but my camera is not behaving properly !

Thanks for looking and happy creating !

I am back to my craft table !

2010-09-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

After a fun filled , camping season it was time to winterize the RV and think about staying home ... and staying home means I actually got to sit in my crappy room and get to play ! As my oldest granddaughter turns 15 on Sunday I had to get a card made for her . I never try to combine challenges as I find it a challenge just doing a card for each site if I can but this one just happened to fit the bill for both these sites so I am entering my card on both of them !

front of card .......

inside of card ..........

Thanks to the sketch found here on Sunday Sketch Challenge #37 I created this card . And although you can't see the pattern on this paper ( under the lace looking paper ) it has a GRID patterned and is a beautiful paper that comes from BG's ORIGINS 6"X6" paper pad ! The GRID paper fits in with THIS challenge on Spectacular Sunday Challenge # 77

So much fun to use my Copics and my Magnolia's again and the new release of the Spellbinders Nesties just made me happy ! Unfortunately my rose ribbon doesn't show up very well in the photo and because it was a small section it really doesn't do the ribbon justice either :-( ...................... oh well lesson learned !!! !

Hope everybody has a wonderful crafty week ! Courteney , have a wonderful 15th birthday but don't have too much fun either ! LOL ! Love you Baby Girl !

Another holiday and the end of the 2010 camping season .....

2010-09-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

We just spent 13 days touring down to the Fraser Valley and then up through the Okanagan before heading through Salmon Am and then towards home ! The whole trip was spent dodging rain as we only had maybe 2 days where we didn't get rain ..... didn't matter WHERE we were ! LOL !

We spent two nights in Hope , BC . We have driven through this little town so many times over the years but never stopped so this was the perfect time to do it . We stayed at a campground right on river and watched the fisherman fishing salmon ...... so fun to watch and being the salmon run was a record one this year , it was worth watching and listening to the fish ! Of course , we had some sun , went for a walk and got absolutely dumped on from the sky ! Hope is right in the mountains so any cloud you see is bound to hit at some point ! Another great thing about Hope is it is famous for it's chainsaw carvings which are scattered all over the town along with totem poles . We really enjoyed visiting this small town and walking around the town was such an adventure !

After leaving Hope we headed just an hour down the freeway to visit my family and celebrate my Dad's birthday . Was so nice to see everybody and meet the newest addition to my nephew's family . My brother came and shared some wine with us in the Taj one night and even tried out the hide-a-bed which he says was very comfy ....... not that he probably really knew as it was GOOD wine ! LOL ! Keith & I also went out for a quiet lunch with my sister and her husband . So nice to spend some quiet time with them as they do so much for my parents and my sister fed 18 for supper the one night ! It was bedlum ! LOL ! I know Dad & Mom were happy to see us as it has been well over a year since I saw them .

A nice surprise while we were away as well as a " old " friend stopped by my parents .... Joani is much younger then me but I haven't seen her in 30+ years ! She was my youngest sister's very best friend in the world and suffered a great loss ( as did our family ) when my sister passed away at the age of 5 1/2 yrs in 1966 ! Seeing Joani was like reconnecting with a part that was missing in my life ! Thanks Joani for being " there " even after all these years ! And a nice turn also deserves one so Keith & I stopped in her cute little clothing store in Enderby , BC called LITTLE CITY BOUTIQUE ...... beautiful clothing from a beautiful lady ! unfortunately I don't fit any of those beautiful clothes ......... LOL !

We spent a few days in Kelowna visiting Keith's family but parked in the Taj in a RV park ..... and yes , we got rain .......... and one day of sun :-) Keith's sister-in-law from Winnipeg came to Kelowna at the same time so we got a good visit in with her too ! Nice to have seen her as I hadn't since Gary passed away 2 years ago .

One quick stop overnight in Salmon Arm and a nice visit with Lisa and Brayden ! Always nice to see them ..... next time hopefully Wayne will be around . Sadly his Mom passsed away a week or so ago ... our deepest sympathy to the Costa family .

We had a long day ( we had been traveling 2-4 hrs a day if that so 6 hrs was a LONG day ! LOL ! ) from Salmon Arm as we headed straight up to our favorite campsite as we had bought the corn at DeMille's in Salmon Arm for a corn roast that Merv and Kim from Canyon Creek Campground hosted on Friday night . A fun time was had by all and even a few new people joined us ... a family of 8 from Switzerland that were touring the North ! The best part was the rain held off ....... but man is was cool ! 2 degrees C at 10 pm and -3 this morning !!! Fall is definitely here !

This morning we packed up the Taj and made the long trek home .... 45 minutes , 3 construction zones , some rough road and no Tim Horton's coffee to be found anywhere ! LOL ! Soooooooooooo nice to be home and then the reality of unloading a summer worth of packratting became reality as Keith decided that Taj would be unloaded for the winter ................. No , he does NOT sit still for anything ! 6 hours later Taj is pretty well empty and waiting for a couple drinks of antifreeze to keep him warm ! ..........

........and the camping season of 2010 is over for us ! We have had a wonderful season through hot weather , forest fire smoke and turned over 10,000 miles on Taj ! Saw some amazing country .... all in our beautiful province of British Columbia ...... and visiting family and friends !!! Thanks to everybody that fed us or entertained us with their stories .................... thanks Christina for being a great housesitter / dog sitter so we could get away without the furbabies and not feel guilty bout leaving them ..... they were well spoiled !!!

Time to kick back with some cozy clothes , dogs at my feet and do some creating in my room !!! Definitely so ready to just hide out in my room and play !!! LOL !

The view from the Taj this morning through a steamy window !

Have a great week and stay warm !

Sweet Sketch Wednesday # 65 and a HUGE Happy Anniversary !

2010-09-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

I am late getting this card done ( due to more holidays :-) so I chose the awesome sketch over on Sweet Sketch Wednesday Challenge #65 to make it as it worked just fantastic for what I wanted to do ! Here is my card that I made ... with a whole lot of love inside and I will hand deliver it next week to my parents as they celebrated their 59th Wedding Anniversary on August 31st ! I told you it would be late ! LOL !

This Mo Manning image called " Young Love " was exactly what I was looking for ! It is so hard to find a sweet , elderly couple image . Ma is a little sassy with her bright pink slip hanging out of her skirt .... you are never too old for sassy ! LOL !

I used a whole handful of Copic markers to color the image . Used some BG patterned paper , Prima flower and some great ribbon from a Savvy N' Sassy ribbon kit !

Happy Anniversary Dad & Mom and will see you both soon !

Camping in the rain .... and what showed up !

2010-08-30T22:27:00.001-07:00

My last post was about camping in the rain of the week but I did manage to get out and snap a few photos .We love this spot at Canyon Creek Campground as it is the biggest spot .... and has it's own flowerbed that actually had flowers in it this year ( thanks Kim ! ) . Our spot is also a little quieter as we are tucked into a corner ........... just so RELAXING even in the rain ! Usually I have my flowerbaskets out too but they had already gone back home when we took the RV home the last time ! This week we spent a lot of time watching the squirrels drop cones out of the trees ( and occasionally dropping them on somebody's vehicle like little bombs ! ) . They were sure busy being hoarders :-)

Well DH went into town a couple days and this is what he came back with one day ............ we traded up from the Toyota Tacoma to this

A 2010 Nissan Titan ( a full size truck ) ...... As much as we loved the economy of the Toyota Tacoma it was just too small for comfort as both DH & I always came out of it feeling like hurtin' pretzels ! The Nissan Titan is soooooooooo comfortable to ride in ( so we found out when we went for quick ride to DD's one night ! LOL ) . And the color ................... so pretty !!!! Turns out a good salesman ( namely our youngest son ) told us that it possibly is only one of three in Canada in this color ! It is called OCEAN ( almost a blue / gray depending on the light ) . Our son also had to really " sell " the Nissan truck to the " hardnose salesman #1 " ( namely his Father ! LOL ) as he was one step away from buying a Toyota Tundra ( which I fell in love with ! ) ................................ Needless to say we are ALL happy as DS made a sale , DH got his full size truck that is comfortable and I got a truck I hopefully wouldn't fall out of this winter trying to get out of as these running boards are made to stand on not just for decoration !!! LOL

Now if we could just win the lottery to pay for all these TOYS the man in my life keeps buying !!!! YIKES !!!! Hmmmm , now I want to take the truck on holidays aand leave the Taj at home ..... but guess THAT isn't going to happen ! LOL ! Better make sure I hide the keys while we are away sso the boys don't borrow it !!!!!