Merry Christmas!

A very merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it!!!! And to those who don't, happy holidays! And for any one who doesn't celebrate anything at this time of the year...Enjoy your days off work! An added bonus.
Tonight is Christmas for us...At least Christmas #1. My family tradition is to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. My mother's tried to move it back to Christmas day before, but my sister never lets her. My sister is a creature of habit and does not like change...Any change! She's the type who'll wash her socks and underwear right away just so she can wear them again the next day. Yes...She does wash them. Our mom didn't raise little piggies. We live cluttered lives and can never find what we're looking for in our own homes, but we're clean!
Speaking of cluttered...And maybe on the messy side...Take a look at my desk...

That's it...Right now...The sad thing is, I haven't done anything scrappy related in weeks! I've been trying to work on my December album, but something else always comes up and I have to push it aside.
Tonight, we're leaving for my parents' house. We're staying there two nights. Boxing day, we're getting up bright and early to drive to Belleville. We're picking up the other two rugrats and racing down to Stoney Creek to Steve's dad's house. We'll spend two nights there and drive home on Monday. Thank you, bank holidays, for giving me Monday off in lue of Boxing Day on Saturday!
More days of no scrappy time...And then there should be a couple of lovely kits awaiting me. One from WeScrap. Check out the kit peek here. Seriously, I can't wait! I don't know if I'm allowed to share the kit's name with you yet...But let me tell you, it sounds heavenly! I'm hoping to capture some beautiful pictures of Steve's little princess to go along with this kit.
The other kit...Which might arrive today (fingers crossed) is from The Scrapping Bug. Kim has asked me to design for her for another month. She told me what's in the kit and I am soooo excited!
Steve's kiddos will be here while I'm trying to whip out layouts for these kits. I might have to set up a craft area for the princess and I. I believe the big man in red is bringing a certain little monkey some paints. We might have to include him in our crafting.
Until next time...And if I don't blog until 2010...Happy New Year to everyone as well!!!!

Christmas...

'Tis the week before Christmas
And all through the house
Mommy was surprisingly calm
And Mo's noisier than a mouse...

If you don't know who Mo is...She's my sister's hamster. We're hamster sitting while she's away in college. I've gotten used to the stinky, noisey rodent. She's become my excuse to why we can't get a cat.
Don't get me wrong...I love cats! I want one as much as the boys do. I'm just thinking with my head. I have a dog. He lives with my parents because he can't come here. It would not be fair to get a cat when Hercules has yet to move back in with us. And our place is so small and overfilled...We have no room for a kitty litter box.
There are the few odd days out there when I wish I didn't scrapbook just because it takes up so much room. Yep...I said it...Doesn't mean I'm going to give up my beloved hobby though. I just sometimes look at my tiny space and think...We could have a shoe rack and coat hangers there. I could always give up my desk to create more room. But then I would always take over the kitchen table (which I do already, it would just be worse). I love my tiny space though. It's small, cramped and I can never get anything with ease; but it's mine.
And Steve puts up with it so wonderfully; I in turn put up with his paintball gear. Yes, his is more compact than mine. But it's right in front of my bedroom window and the closet. I've fallen over it more often than once. It's not too bad through. One day, we'll have a man cave for him to go nuts in. We'll also have a craft room for me.

Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done yet? I'm almost there. Steve and I went out this past weekend and got almost everything on our list. I don't like crowds. I get very nervous in crowds and can get grumpy and cranky. I had a couple of moments, but over all I did well, I think. There's just a few more items to get and I will be done. A few items I'm waiting for in the mail too. I'm praying they get here this week.

I have no projects or layouts to share today. I didn't find time to finish my wreath. I did finish up some presents, but I can't share those just yet. If I have time this week...I'm planning on working on december daily...which isn't really a daily because I haven't been taking pictures every day. It's more of a Holiday Season album. I've recorded most of our month so far...forgetting to get a picture of Steve and I all dressed up for my staff party...And it'll continue through to the new year when all the visits and Christmas' (yes, more than one) are done.
So, until next time...

Twice in One Week!!

How long as it been since I've posted more than once in one week...Then again, how long has it been since I posted before this week?

I have one more little project to share.

Last year, it was the Christmas of bad photos. I have maybe 5 out of the 300 I took that are nice. So I decided even the bad pictures had to be scrapped.

This was a group shot with Steve. I cropped Steve out to get the kids on the front. Christian was all balled up, Elizabeth was leaning away and Monkey stuck his tongue out. And no one stayed for me to try and get another shot.

This first picture there is Monkey giving the Santa Claus parade a thumbs down. When asked if he likes Christmas, Monkey blew a raspberry (cropped out of the picture is my sister laughing and my mom with her mouth open in shock...It's actually my fave picture. Not beautiful, but funny as heck). And that group shot I cut apart for the front.

Steve's parents have one of the prettiest trees. Patti and I tried to get a good shot of the kids in front of the tree. But Monkey was having a melt down and Elizabeth wouldn't smile. Only Christian smiles. Every shot was in vain.

Bunny ears, not looking at the camera, not keeping the reindeer antlers on and trying to grab the camera. Ah, Christmas...

Until next time...

Is it December Already?

Life is zooming on by here. Daily, it feels like the days are long and full. Then by Sunday, I'm left wondering where my week went?

I've been crafting, gearing up for Christmas, enjoying the magic of Christmas through Monkey's eyes and battling flus and colds. Right now, I have a cold that is trying it's best to knock me flat on my bottom. Plus, thanks to being short staffed, I don't have any days off from work this month (excluding Christmas day and weekends, of course). I was hoping for 4 days a week so I could have one extra day each week to do shopping and crafting. I was little shocked to see my name down for every day we're open. But, I won't be complaining too much when I see those lovely paychecks.

Here's the Countdown to Christmas tree I made. There are little details, bling and gems and pearls that make this tree lovely, but they didn't photograph very well. I'm still not very good with taking pictures. I'm getting better, but I have a long, long way to go.

I've also made a wreath. I'll share a picture when I'm done fixing it. I think it needs more holly berries and will be adding the this weekend.

Here's a cute mini I finished up a couple of weeks ago. I love it!

Kim asked me to guest design for her at the Scrapping Bug once more. I was very excited to see the Eskimo Kisses show up at my door. Such a pretty line!

My sister, last year, was so excited to get this hat from Mom. She's just too cute sometimes. It doesn't show well in the picture, but every reindeer nose has dark pink Stickles on them. So do the flower centers. Beautiful touch in real life!

My fave picture from last year. This one even made it into a snowglobe. I'll have to take a picture of the snowglobe to share too. All around the edge of this one, I used a sparkley embossing powder. The watermark ink changed the shade of the cardstock. Not the look I was going for, but I love it anyway. I also heat embossed the snowflakes with the sparkley power.

I love how this one turned out! And I love that Steve's back home with us.

This was a last minute one. I had an idea and in 15 mins had this layout. I attempted to make ribbon flowers...They didn't turn out as well as they did in my mind. I think I need a lot more practice.

I made cards too, but I don't really like them so I'm not going to share them.

This layout was a blast to make! I've had these Heidi Swapp paintables for a while. I finally used one. First I painted the background with a yellow green colour. A colour I love. But then it was too bright for my Crate paper. So I grabbed my buttercream paint and just lightly sponged and smeared it around the page. The design from the paper pops right through. Next, I stamped with Glitz stamps. Then I distressed my edges. Then I just threw whatever on and ta-da! A layout I love. It's green, it's bright, it's messy and it's unique. It's very me.

And lastly....

A So Sketchy layout from last month.

Until next time...

In 3's...Everything always comes in 3's...

First Emilie Ahern, then Leah Killan and now Allison Cope.

Emilie was the first to declare she wasn't going to scrapbook anymore. I became a fan of her's when she was on the design team at Bad Girls Kits. I would hop over to her blog on a nearly daily basis. I loved her work...And her blog is a great read. She's an extremely funny lady with a huge heart. Plus her daughters are so stinkin' cute. I was sad when she announced she quit all her design teams and was no longer going to scrap. Just today, I read she was giving up paper scrapping all together. Sad news. Although I will still stalk her blog to see her craft of the month.

Leah Killan then declared she was no longer going to scrapbook. For now. She hasn't completely given it up. She said on her blog post that she needed a break. I will still visit her blog too. She, too, is funny and her children are adorable as well. Plus, she does awesome reviews once and a while.

Then I opened my hotmail this morning to find an email from Ally. She has decided, with what seems like a heavy heart, to end So Sketchy. I was so sad to read this email, but knew it couldn't be an easy decision for her. Then I visited Ally's scrapbooking blog and it broke my heart.

Emilie and Leah wouldn't know me from the next person. Although their news was sad, Ally's news hit home a little more. I respect her decision to close down So Sketchy, but I do hope she doesn't stop creating.

For those of you who don't know Ally, she is fabulously creative. One of my idols, for sure. She has been ever since I got to know her work at The Scrapping Bug about a year or so ago. I have been honoured to work along side of her at weScrap (she is the co-president now); and have had the honour of creating with her wonderful sketches at So Sketchy since June.

Ally has posted that she fears her creative days are numbered. I hope she just needs a break. If not, she will still always be one of my scrap idols.

And just because I think Ally might read this...I mean every word, Ally! You are a great inspiration to me. Whatever your decision may be, I'm here for you.

So Sketchy!

I totally missed posting my last So Sketchy layout last month. So here's my first one this month. I have one more coming up later this month.
Check out Ally's fun sketch here.

Mega Layouts

**** WARNING*****WARNING*****WARNING*****
HEAVY PICTURE POSTING!

I have totally neglected my poor blog. Between being being and unmotivated, it has suffered. I've been online plenty. Maybe more than I should have been. But, like I just said, I was unmotivated.
Two weeks ago, weScrap hosted a Think Pink crop. We had a great turn out and the gallery is just brimming with inspiration. Everyone had a great time. If you were there, thank you!
Here's some of my layouts from that weekend...

All Star Uncle - I ~heart~ Cosmo Cricket. I always have, but some of the past few lines have really knocked my socks off. It's been a blast playing with them. This is a mix of Boyfriend and Early Bird (which was my favourite line until Nutmeg came out)

Grandma - I was playing with my manual settings on my camera one day. I was trying to get Monkey to smell the flowers. My mom came over to help. Instead of just Monkey, I got a lovely picture of Grandma and Grandson. I've also ended up falling in love with the dividers from my notebook. I've ripped them all out. This was the first I used.

So Girlie - She really can be. This is Steve's oldest.

Hope - I was sick with the flu, but was completely inspired. I've had that Prima vine for months now. It was just waiting for the perfect layout. I found it. I really want to frame this one.

You Bless My Life - Yep...I ~heart~ Cosmo Cricket. And I ~heart~ Nutmeg. Just look at that gorgeous wood grain! And the colours! I also love that picture of Monkey. I think he was singing when I snapped this one...And in case you didn't know...Cosmo Cricket was sweet enough to post this on their blog. It totally made my month!

So Thankful - Again with the Nutmeg. The colours, the wood grain, the funky alphas. This line rocks in my world! I couldn't find anymore kraft cardstock in my stash (mental note...go shopping) so I used a piece of cardboard. Cosmo Cricket also put this one up on their blog too.

High in the Sky - I really wanted the pictures, although not perfect, but still sweet, to shine. I kept everything else down.

Remember I was asked to guest DT at the Scrapping Bug last month? Well, Kim has asked me to stay on this month and the next.

I was so excited when some more yummy, yummy Nutmeg arrived at my door. My mojo decided to take a vacation though. Here's what I came up with...

Thanks - Pretty self explainatory, eh?

I Heart You - A special moment between Monkey and I. And I got to use pink!

I have had this picture for a while. As soon as I saw this paper with the peek a boo bunnies, I knew I wanted to use this picture.

Walk - After finishing this layout I was singing "over the river and through the woods, to grandma's house we go" for a week!

Fall Down Autumn - Is there anything better than a child playing in leaves? It's almost magical!

Along with my guest DT spot, I had my kit from weScrap to play with too. I was having difficulty with my mojo while creating with this kit too. I really feel like I could have done better.

Thinking of You - A quick and simple card. I love my typewriter alpha stamps. They're so cute.

This Picture - I've scrapped this picture over and over again. And I'll do it again someday. It's my all time favourite picture of Monkey. He's 6 months old here. I love those little mushrooms. I cut them all by hand.

Little Pumpkin - Since I was going into the picture vault, I decided to pull this one out too. Love watching little ones explore the world!

You - The picture does this one no justice. It's lovely in real life. I sprayed the brown cardstock with glimmer mist. It's all sparkly and pretty.

Sweet Boy - I had a hard time with this one. I need to stop cutting and gluing as fast as I have been and plan out my layouts a little bit better.

Earth Love - This was a 12x12...It looked wrong. I trimmed it to an 8.5x11 and it looked better.

Think Pink and Wiggles

On Thursday, I had the delightful pleasure of taking Monkey to see his favourite band...The Wiggles! We traveled to London (Ontario) just after lunch to see the 3pm show. Monkey had a grand time singing and dancing along with the music before the show even started. Once Jeff (the purple Wiggle, for those who aren't familar with the Wiggles) came out on stage, Monkey couldn't believe his eyes! He helped to wake Jeff up; he cheered when he really liked something; and when Sam and Murray (the yellow Wiggle and red Wiggle) came into the crowd, Monkey decided to chase Sam. Sam is his favourite Wiggle. He's going to be Sam for Halloween this year. Not the Obi Wan I wanted him to be. If dressing up like Sam makes him happy, then Sam it is. Monkey dragged my mom up to the front of the stage twice. We had floor seats, in the Hot Potato section. My little monkey wanted to be on stage to dance with his idols. At the end of the show, Jeff and Anthony (the purple and blue Wiggles) said goodbye to Monkey. Monkey was upset we didn't bring roses for Dorothy the Dinasour. If he's still into the Wiggles next year and they come back, we'll hit the dollar store for roses before the show.

Reading before the show.

Sam doing balancing act with a Wiggly dancer. Our favourite Wiggly dancer, yes we have a favourite, was not there. We were a little disappointed.

Cheering because the Big Red Car just came out.

There's the Big Red Car!

Captin Feathersword in a ball.

Fruit Salad!

Monkey Man

Sam...Just past our row of seats.

Anthony, Captin Feathersword and two Wiggly dancers...They were amazing!

Wow! The Captin is built!

This was shortly before Monkey took off down to the stage for the second time.

End of the show. It was fun.

Right after Anthony and Jeff said goodbye to my Monkey.

The Think Pink Crop is in full swing over at WeScrap right now. Come on over and play with us. You might even win a pink Slice!!! I'll be heading over as soon as it's naptime here in our household.

Until next time...