Double Pocket Card

This is our version of the double pocket card. Heather did one a couple of weeks ago and Eliz and I had a try at it. For some reason we couldn't follow directions but got it done our way. http://stampwithheather.typepad.com/stamp_with_heather/2007/10/its-a-trick.html

Happy Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone

Hope your Trick or Treat night is happy and safe.

Thanks Carolyn for some of the props shown in the photo. The kids enjoyed Calum's birthday party.

Thanks Jenna for your creative use of stamps. Good job!

Yesterday was a good day.

Yesterday was a great day. I feel my job interview went well, got to shop at a stamp store in Sarnia and a stamp store in London all in the same day. Thanks Eliz and Lizz for joining me. It was fun.

The blue card is one we did at the Rubberoom last week. I had it standing up on the table to let the stickles dry and went home without it. They saved it for me

The next card we did yesterday.

Stamped the images on white cardstock. Covered it with double sided adhesive and then sprinkled on

clear glass glitter. The photo does not do the card justice. It shimmers when you hold it.

Fun Stamping Day yesterday

We went to Heather Summer's fundraiser yesterday and had a great time. Cute projects as always. Well done Heather and your helpers. I know how much work went into this and it was nice to see so many people there. Here is a link to her blog for more projects and instructions. http://stampwithheather.typepad.com/stamp_with_heather/2007/10/fundraiser-proj.html

Candlelit evening

The power went out last night around 7:30 so we gathered in the living room and lit some candles.

It was nice to spend some time together as a family without the distraction of computers, tv and skating or Scouting. Not that we don't normally spend time together but the atmosphere was just different. We spent time talking about things that had nothing to do with what was happening at the moment. It was a refreshing change.

Stamp/Scrap Day

This week we went to Eliz's for our bi weekly stamp/scrap day. Eliz had some fun projects for us to do. A cute boo card, cool witches shoe and a beautiful embossed vellum ornament. My camera must have been on in my purse so I have to recharge the batteries. Will post photos of the projects later today.
After the kids go off to school I'm going to join my friend Carolyn in St. Thomas at the Cat's Kaboose for a day of scrapping and chatting.
Tomorrow is Heather's long awaited stamping fund raiser at Kings' College. Eliz, Lizz, Jenna and I will meet up with Rachel, Carolyn, Shannon, and the girls. I'm sure we'll have a great time.

First bottomless box of cards going out today

I'm giving out my first bottomless box of cards to a very special sister in law today. It holds 10 cards & envelopes for assorted occassions. (Thanks Eliz and Lizz for the designs for some of these cards.)

The tag simply reads:

"Bottomless Box of Cards. Return when empty for a new supply".

I'm giving them out at birthdays rather than for Christmas because I don't want to have to replenish everyone's at once.

This box was a Dollarama find and it and the top card has been stamped with Stampin Up's Baroque Motifs which is must say is one of my current favourite sets. I have downloaded photos of many cards using this set and want to recreate them for future bottomless card boxes.

Dollarama finds

I needed a break this afternoon to took a trip to Dollarama. Eliz and I were in Monday and they didn't have anything new. Now I know to go on Wednesday. They just got the packages of 5 ribbon spools in. I was good this time. I picked up some purple for me and some primary colours for a friend.
I took my time and wandered through the store. At the end of the housewares aisle, I found these brads. 40 in a package for $1.00. The stars read Holiday Cheer, the rectangular one reads Christmas and the rounded square one reads Holiday Wishes.
On the same rack they had the prettiest bells with poinsettias on them so they found their way into my cart too. (Traditionally I tie a bell to each Christmas gift we give because I still hear the bells and believe in Santa (Polar Express)).
Next thing I'll be on the lookout for is Acrylic Hampton Art Christmas stamps at Michaels by Studio G. Hope we get some of these. http://www.belscrafts.co.uk/Stamps.htm. I hear some Michaels stores in the US already have them. Hopefully they will be in a separate bin near the checkouts. I also read during my blog surfing that there are new wooden $1.50 stamps too.
As Jenna is fond of saying lately "Oh My!!!!!!!"

My Wishblade is humming

My Wishblade is humming as it cuts. I found some really great files at the Wishblade group I belong to (link is in my link section for those of you who have a Silhouette by Quikutz or Robo Craft. Lots of talented people share their cutting files.) and am cutting cool hallowe'en candy boxes.

Side shown are the spider and the house with bat. On the other 2 sides there are jackolantern faces.

Look for some other cool creations that are done using the Wishblade personal cutter in coming weeks. I have some great Christmas projects in mind.

Love my Cuttlebug Embossing Folders

I just love my Cuttlebug embossing folders. Thanks Heather for introducing us to them.

They are so great and I can use them in my sizzix with a converter.

They add another dimension to cards and are so easy to use. I stamped these images a couple of weeks ago at Stamp Art. The girl stamp is a Penny Black but not sure what the floral window is. I used the Happy Birthday embossing folder here.

Scrapbook shopping in the Windsor area.

I know some of you are dying to know how Jenna and I made out on Saturday on our scrapbook roadtrip to Windsor and area. I guess as a victim to an automotive economy scrapbook stores that had been there for a while no longer are. We were fortunate though to stop at Scrap Therapy on Dougall. http://www.scraptherapy.ca/about.html What a nice store. Friendly staff and lots of cool things. We happened to hit a 25% off sale on chipboard and stickers and between you and me we got some cool finds.
Also bought some Christmas paper and coordinating cardstock. My daughter told me to stop buying. We only spent $44.
Then we went to UWannaScrap in Essex. http://www.uwannascrap.ca
She had some nice things but didn't have time to come away from her computer to greet us. Even after I tried to start conversation she wasn't very talkative. Jenna picked out some chipboard and I bought some acrylic stamps I saw elsewhere for $55 for $39.00.
I think we behaved ourselves. I usually spend around $25 but this time I was buying for 2 right?

Dad's birthday

It was my dad's birthday party today and it was nice to see everyone. The weather was unseasonably warm and we even sat outside for the beginning of the party.
I gave him the card I made last week at the Rubberroom and didn't really expect the
"nice card" comment he made when he opened it. Dad usually doesn't pay too much attention for cards. He more a get to the gift kind of guy. But what made me feel great was that Jenna and Aaron both said at the same time, "Mom made the card Opa." Guess my handmade cards are appreciated after all.

Its a PA Day! Know what that means?

It's a PA day and the kids are home from school. Do you know what that mean's. We get together with Carolyn and her 3 this time at our house. The kids keep each other occupied and then we get to scrapbook and stamp together. Everyone is happy.

After that we drop Aaron off at Scout Camp and we're off to Woodsley for a barn dance. Jenna and I and maybe we can get Cassandra to join us, get to spend the day scouting out the scrapbook/stamp stores between Windsor and Woodslee while Arthur helps put on new shingles at his sister's house. A win win situation for us all.

Will let you know how we make out.

Spiders in my craft room

I have spiders in my craft room. No not the creepy crawly variety but beaded Christmas spiders like this one. Jenna and I made them as Christmas gifts for the ladies in our family and I still have a few hiding around. We didn't use the tubular beads but just seed beads on ours.

We put them in a pretty velvet box from Dollarama and added a bit of silver tinsel to the card that told of the Spider Legend

The Legend of the Christmas Spider
Once upon a time in Germany long ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year - the day on which the Christ child was to come and bring the gifts on Christmas Eve. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner in the ceiling. To avoid the housewife's busy cleaning, they finally fled to the farthest corner of the forgotten attic.
Twas Christmas Eve at last; the tree was decorated, and the children delighted. But the poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the Christ Child's visit. But the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crack in the door and see Him. Silently they crept out of their attic, and across the floor to wait in the crack on the threshold.
Suddenly, the door opened a wee bit, and quickly the spiders sneaked into the room. The tree towered so high they couldn't see the ornaments on top. In fact, their eyes were so small they could see only one ornament at a time. They scurried up the trunk, out along each branch, filled with a happy wonder at the glittering beauty. Every place they went they left a trail of dusty, grey web. When at last they had inspected every bit of the Christmas tree, it was shrouded in a dusty grey of spider webs.
The Christ Child smiled as he thought of the happy spiders seeing His tree. But as he thought of how brokenhearted the mother would be over the dusty tree, He reached out His hand and touched the webs and blessed them. They all turned to shimmering, sparkling silver and gold. The tree glistened in greater beauty than ever before.
And so it became a custom to have a spider among other decorations on the Christmas tree.

Here is a good tutorial if you think you need some Christmas spiders in your house too.

http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/article.php?id=pdcaf01

This one uses polymer clay. We used pretty beads we found at Dollar Giant to create ours.

Fall Splendor

My friend Eliz and I went to the Rubberoom in London yesterday for Bargain Tuesday (and yes they did let us out again). The project was the card on the right using leaf images cut out and then crimped. You know I had to have a crimper but rarely use it. It does make a nice effect and a perfect card for my Dad's birthday next week. Found a similar card(on the left) in my stash that I made at Stamp Art a couple of years ago using a stamp from the Stamp Barn. That one has dominoes decorated with Alchohol inks on it.
Will just have to get those leaf stamps out again.
ps: Hey Lizz, Jenna says that Eliz and I owe you 3 road trips. She's looking out for you while you are away! See you soon.

Halloween brads and eyelets.

I have a soft spot for shaped brads and eyelets. Not that I use many of them. It just seems I need to have them for my collection. I just received my order of new Hallowe'en brads from Bargain Pack.www.bargainpack.com
The oval spider, Frankenstein, gold jack-o-lantern and the 3 pumpkin stack are new ones this year and the others I already had in my stash,

Iris Folding Patterns

My sister in law sent me this link and I thought I'd share. Lots of free iris folding patterns. The holly leaf is this month's pattern but there are lots of others available.
http://www.irisfolding.circleofcrafters.com/index.html

It was a crafting kind of day

Jenna went to a Hallowe'en class at Heather's and got her own stamp set. http://stampwithheather.typepad.com/stamp_with_heather/2007/09/kids-halloween-.html
No sooner did we get home from lunch and errands than she got her set out and stamped more images for her classmate's Hallowe'en treats. I showed her how to use her markers, some water and a paintbrush to watercolour and in no time we had 24 pencil covers done.

We had the kitchen table covered in craft mats, paper, punches, stamps, inks, and such. What a nice way to spend some time together.

Thanks Heather for the inspiration.

I'm a little off my game

I'm a little off my game these days. Somehow I missed the email that the October pagemaps were up. There are 12 X 12" page maps and also mini maps this month.
http://www.pagemaps.com/oct07maps.html

Watercolour

Eliz and I have done a couple of cards at Stamp Art's Tuesday Play Day. I must admit watercolouring is not my forte but as with anything, I think with practice I'll find something that works for me.

These are the first images I have done with my scanner.

I think the quality is better than with my digital camera and it is faster than downloading photos .

Cropodile Tears

No wonder I was having trouble setting eyelets with my Cropodile. I usually use it as a hole punch. I found out tonight while at a class at Heather's that I am missing the bigger of the 2 pins on the eyelet setter. Guess I'll be making a trip to Michael's to return it.

Postscript. This morning my daughter looked at the Cropodile and saw the pin was there but just stuck. I got it to pop out using a pen tip so maybe I won't have to return it afterall. I'll keep an eye on it though.

Thanksgiving Tradition

We made our traditional trip to the apple orchard while the turkey was cooking for Thanksgiving. In all the years we have gone though I don't think we worked up a bigger sweat than this year.

Notice Aaron doesn't have enough hands for the apple he is eating.

National Card Making Day

I didn't get a chance to make cards yesterday for National Card Making Day and found these resources online this morning. I figure I should have some time this evening but thought I'd share the resources
http://www.papercraftsmag.com/paperparties/index.ihtml There are free digital card kit downloads and card sketches.
http://www.worldcardmakingday.com/create/ ideas from different manufacturers.
Hope you get a chance to create this weekend.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

The weather here is sunny and summerlike. What a beautiful weekend to do those outdoor fall activities. Just wanted to wish all my friends here in Canada a

Happy Thanksgiving.

Hope you are able to spend some time with those people who are important in your life.

Another Name Game

I've was tagged by Allison to play the NAME GAME. The name of the game is to list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life, for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing you middle name and game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

Don't have a middle name but after some discussion with my children we thought Lynn would work.
L ove to stamp and scrapbook. No surprise right?
Y not particularly fond of the colour yellow although my daughter looks wonderful in it.
Now is the time for me to find a job in my field of social work.
Never say no to the opportunity to travel.

I have tagged
Linda at http://ljscrappin.blogspot.com/
Yvonne at http://www.campbellcreations.net/
Nichole at http://www.nicholeheady.typepad.com/
Nancy at http://stampinat6213.blogspot.com/

Poinsettia version of tag punch starburst by Donna

Here is my poinsettia version of the tag punch starburst that Donna developed here.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/681251?cat=500&ppuser=126298

The link to her instructions is

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289738

I still like her card better.

Spooky

This is the Hallowe'en card I started while at Stamp Art in London the other day. I stamped the image onto brown, orange, and white. The cutting and layering was fun. I could have done more but thought it would detract from the card. I also used the new black stickles I bought at the Cat's Caboose in St. Thomas.

Great Stamping/Scrapbooking Day

Eliz and I had a great Stamping/Scrapbooking day courtesy of our friend Lizz. Thanks Lizz, next time we'll take you with us (or better still you could take us with you. Remember I'm always game for a vacation). We started out at a stamping play morning at Stamp Art on Hamilton Road in London. Tried our hand at water colouring (still not my favourite technique. I like the look when done well. I just haven't mastered it). Also stamped out some Hallowe'en images to make a layered card. Will post when finished.
We then went for lunch at Swiss Chalet and stopped in at a couple of Scrapbook Stores.

Aaron is now in Scouts

We just returned from the Investiture Ceremony at Scouts. Aaron far left is now a Scout. I can remember a few short years ago when he became a Beaver. He's looking so grown up and soon will be taller than me.

Spice up your journalling.

This is a cool website. http://www.festisite.com/tools/

Click on Party printer to get your journaling into a spiral shape, a wave or a heart shape.

Its so easy and free too!