Beans and other things

Me and the Kid Bake Fancy....or At Least Look Like We Do.

2011-03-02T12:40:00.004-07:00

Ugh. Can we say cabin fever? In the midst of winter and maternity leave with a newborn and a six year old is enough to make anyone go stir crazy. As much as I'd like to get out of the house, the blizzards and record low temperatures don't bode well for taking out a new baby. That, and slippery roads make me flinchy.

Since I am trying to channel my inner Suzy Homemaker, I have taken to doing more cooking and baking. Although I love to cook from scratch, sometimes you aren't that ambitious and sometimes your six year-old wants to help. So I made a very kid-friendly recipe that makes it is not only easy and fun, but they are so tasty.

Grab a tube of Pilsbury Crescent Rolls, a tub of Nutella (who doesn't like Nutella?) and some coarse grain sugar.

Spread the Nutella evenly on each triangle of dough.

If you have other goodies, try sprinkling nuts, Skor bits or butterscotch chips over the Nutella.

Roll them up and dip the tops in coarse grain sugar.

Bake according to the crescent roll directions which is 375 for about 13 to 15 minutes.

A nice little decadent little treat, isn't it? Enjoy.

Where In the World?

2011-02-09T19:34:00.006-07:00

I have to admit, I am a crappy blogger. But, but, but......yeah, no excuses.

So I guess the operative thing to talk about is what I have been up to. I haven't been scrapbooking too much lately, but I have had a lot going on.

I do have another reason to start back up again.

Hubby and I had been trying for a couple years and we finally succeeded! Much to our surprise he came a little earlier than we expected. Our little one showed up on the scene at 33 weeks which resulted in 2 weeks in special care nursery. Despite the drama, both me and our new family addition are healthy and thriving.

And now for me, I have am shifting gears. Between the cold winter weather and a premie in the house, I've been cooped up. With a different change of pace come different things to do.

In my after baby bit of organization, I found a bunch of papers in an envelope that had a message on it that I have heeded for a number of years - "DO NOT HTROW AWAY".

And of course with its contents, I certainly would never.

What was in it?

Family records. Old family history and completely unorganized, but completely intriguing and sitting there collecting dust and the history me thought that was a shame. Besides, if you read my last and very old blog post, I love a good treasure hunt and this is one treasure hunt that is not only interesting, but important. Maybe not to the many, but it is important to my family.

And so I begin.

We Are But Pirates on A High-Tech Treasure Hunt!

2010-05-04T09:29:00.012-06:00

Sabbaticals from one thing are always a chance for you to try the new and different. It gives you a chance to maybe expand your horizons and enhance what you enjoy doing.

I guess in this time I certainly have.

If you have read this blog for any amount of time in the past, you can tell I love getting out and about. I love being taken to places that tend to get overlooked on any other given day, but no longer.

My friends, I found geocaching.

For those who don't know what this is, I implore you to check it out. Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt where you use your GPS to find a hidden item, or cache. You find the cache, sign the log book and then log it on the website www.geocaching.com.

The great thing about this hobby is that it takes you anywhere and everywhere. From sprawling urban jungles, to snowy mountain tops, to lush scenic trails, to abandoned relic forgotten by time, to your favorite places in the world, to places in your own backyard that you never even realized exsisted.

Alright, this doesn't look that exciting, but trust me the pictures get better and that was interesting hide.

I also think that it is the thrill of finding something hidden. I get a kick out of watching my five-year old's eyes brighten and show a sense of accomplishment finding something hidden and only meant for a few to find. Heck, I get a little rush myself.

It also gets you out and moving. Don't know what to do? Load up some caches and take a drive. Going somewhere and don't know what is interesting in the area? Load up some caches.

On top of the world, thanks to caching.

Did I not tell you it leads you to cool places? There is a cache to get on top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park. And my engagement ring. And a ton of wicked photo ops! Uh, can we say lots of awesome pictures to scrapbook? Told you, I haven't forgotten!

A cache to learn about the world around us.

One thing that I am happy to say is that as a geocacher, you even become a little bit greener. The geocaching community is committed to an initiative called "Cache in, Trash Out". As we go out to search for a cache, we also take the time to clean up trash in our communities and the world around us. It's a great way to give back as well as take back our surroundings from litter.

And that is my little bit of fun and exploration. I urge you to give it a try just once. It's fun, it's easy and can get a little bit addicting! If you do, keep me posted, I'd love to hear about your adventures too!

To Every Season.....Turn, Turn, Turn......

2010-05-02T08:40:00.008-06:00

Wow, it has been a while since I been here.

I guess like many things, you just have to walk away for a little while and take care of other priorities. Try new things, but at the same time, not forget about the things you did before.

I have to admit that I have barely scrapbooked,but there is that twinge of wanting to do some

thing that arises in my thoughts, so it definitely isn't something that I have lost interest in by any means. I mean, I still have my happy, green scrap room filled with goodies. For the time being I just shut the door on it to do other things.

I have friends (thanks Trisha and Anam) that don't let me get away from the hobby completely. I'll be doing a scrapping weekend at the wonderland that is Treasured Memories in June. And lastly, I have been still been marvelling on what a great adventure that I had on the Oh My Crafts! Cruise. I met so many great people that I will not forget and seen places that I long to visit again. The Cottles are fantastic people and I truly thank them.

See, we even serenade them.

New York, how I long to see you again.

The best roomie ever!

Boston, the city that feeds my love of history.

Ah, the sea. Halifax, I love you.

So, let's just say I have been taking a nice, long scrapbook sabbatical and I guess that begs the question what I have been doing since then?

Well, plenty. Priorities have shifted and it was a time to focus on a few things that needed to be done.

As some of you know, my full-time life is filled with a job of numbers and agriculture. In the last year, my job has had me taking more responsibility and new challenges. Even though most of my day is consumed by sitting at a desk and plugging at a computer and a calculator, I am finding that by the time the end of the day rolls around, I am completely wiped out. An

d that is to the point that I just want to sit and do nothing. Mafia Wars on Facebook has filled that gap quite nicely for a bit.

But Mafia Wars can only do so much for mindless fun. I also had to turn in and focus on family that much more and I have loved every minute.

Aside from the day to day of domestic duties, the family has had some adventures. We've made a couple of trips to Banff National Park to breathe some fresh mountain air, frolick and have some friendly yet competitive photo taking contests with Trevor.

Photo of Mount Kidd ala Trevor.

Photo of the Banff Interpretive Centre ala me.

Peek-a-boo at the historic Banff Springs Hotel.

A coffee and a walk in downtown Banff.

The elusive Jake-a-lope.

And despite our guise of marital bliss for the past eight years, Trevor and I also got engaged. So now our lives also include some wedding plans. We're thinking tropical beaches and drinks made in fruit with little umbrellas.

So that is our lives right now. I will be back with some scrapbooks in good time. I have way too many pictures that deserve more than to sit in my computer.

Inspire Me!

2009-08-13T18:46:00.003-06:00

Ahh yes, life is good. I am having fun doing a little playing around and having a chance creating something simply for the sake of creating. However, soon I am going to have to get down to work because I have something fun going on......

Wanna come cruising and scrapbooking with me in October? On a big boat? Wanna see the Eastern Seaboard?

I am extremely excited to announce that I am going to be joining Oh My Crafts as an instructor for their annual 2009 Fall Cruise to Eastern Canada and New England from October 3rd - 10th, 2009.

I will also be with my good pal and talented instructor Trisha Ladouceur.

How awesome is that?

Our departing point is in New York City and from there we visit

Halifax, Nova Scotia

St. John, New Brunswick

Bar Harbour, Maine

Boston, Massachusetts

and Newport, Rhode Island

So add in some fun classes, some great sponsors and a whole lot of scrapbooking and I say that you have one inspiring holiday!

If you are interested, you can find more information here.

So like I was saying, I am enjoying this little bit of time before I get down to business to just create and play around. Quite a while back, I had purchased a Tim Holtz Grungeboard Mini Album and some Grungeboard embellishments. Since then it has sat there and I have been staring longingly the whole time.

so I pulled out my inks, paints, stamps, glimmer mists and anything else that was sure to make one heck of a mess and this is what I came up with.

For all the examples, I primed every page with different colors of Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint. It added a fun texture to play with.

As you can see, I also stamped some faint images onto the surface and then I went in with some Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist to color it in.

This page was really fun and it tested out some basic painting skills that have not used in absolutely forever!

I did a color wash for the sky using my favorite acrylic paint from Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line collection for Ranger. Lastly, I added some clouds to the background and voila!

Gotta add that Prima to make the page extra cheery!

Lots more ink and Glimmer Mist for the letters and the butterfly too.

On this page, I used Grungeboard embellishments and covered them with gold leafing for a genuine gold look. To emulate the millions of stars in the sky, I used the Ranger Distress Stickles.

This last one I did, I had to lift from Tim Holtz and his Grungeboard demo. I love the little hearts, wings and crown combo, it is completely cute!

And there you have it. I hope you come join me in October and if not, I'll have a ton of pictures to share!

What Goes On With No Sense of Time or Schedule.

2009-08-03T14:13:00.018-06:00

Ahh, yes. Relaxation. This folks, is where I threw any sense of schedule away for two weeks. This is a place that is surrounded by trees and rocks, bears and plenty of fish.

This is Rocky Lake, Manitoba.

This was the first time that I had ever ventured to this place and the trek was 12 hours, but it was completely worth it! Picture if you will the Canadian Shield, which means towering rocks and forest everywhere. The views were amazing! I mean, you wake up, get out of your trailer and look out upon this.......

Can you imagine? Rocks everywhere. Even the little islands in the lake were perfect little tables of rocks with a beautiful cropping of evergreens bursting into the sky.

And we loved the hospitality. This gorgeous place is home to Ed and Arleigh Tomchak, owners of the lovely Kum-Bac Kabins. It is definitely a popular destination. Friendly faces and faces from everywhere. We met people staying there from all over. Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, North Dakota, Kansas, Indiana, Missouri and even as far as Texas!

What brings everyone form everywhere out to this remote place? Why, the fishing, of course! There is nothing more gratifying than casting out your line, getting that bite and reeling in a fish on a thin little line. There is also no better meal than fresh fish for a fish fry either. Yummy!

As you can see, we also managed to get a fair share of photographs. Between myself and my camera nut of a husband, we the photos that we came home with were absolutely breath taking.

As I am sure, you can already tell I made a page. I told you in my last post that I decided to get back into the routine.

I told you I was back! Alrighty, until next time, see you later!

Finding My Way Back Again or What i Did On My Extended Summer Vacation.

2009-07-21T19:29:00.006-06:00

Hey there! It has been a while since I have been over to this blog, but I found that sometimes you need to put certain things to the side to focus on other bits of life. You know, get a shift in perspective and that is precisely what I did. Here I thought that this would be a year where I would be mega busy, working my little butt off with scrapbooking goodness, and it just didn't happen like I expected.

Instead, I just kind of sunk away and played Facebook until my heart's content. You know, that Mafia Wars game is plenty addicting.......

Well, that is not all that I did. I was plenty busy at home too.

I planted a flowerbed. It looks a little too weedy right now, but hey, considering not everything is dead yet, I am doing better than my average on that.

I spent more time with my boys. Every chance I have got, I have gone boating, fishing, walking, off to the park, went for lunch and suppers, BBQ'd, played ball and all that good stuff.

I lost 15 lbs and counting. I started eating better and being a lot more active. I can't say I have lost half my ass, but I am getting there!

I learned to fish. Yes, I already knew how to cast your line, reel it in and catch a fish, but this time around, I learned how to tie my line so my husband doesn't have to do it for me, the difference between different types of lures and when to use them, as well as many other things.

Hubby and I got some alone time. Some *real* alone time. Grandpa and Grandma took Jake for a couple of weeks. While they had fun, Trevor and I got to spend some rare time together.

I got a week alone.

But after all that, I have the urge to go downstairs and work on a page or ten. I guess that never urge never dies out, does it? I guess not, because all that time that I didn't make anything, I still bought some supplies here and there. So yep, I am back on the scrapbook horse again and I will talk to all again really soon.

Random Thoughts and advice on Las Vegas (a little riske!!)

2009-03-28T14:40:00.034-06:00

My hubby and I just finished getting home from a long-awaited, much needed trip away. Where did we go? We took an fun and fabulous trip to Sin City, Las Vegas and we loved every second, except when we got the flu on our way home. We are now recouping from our poor sleeping habits and buffet overload, and catching up on a few things while we were gone.

Before this, my hubby was a Vegas virgin. He'd never seen it's enormity and me being now a third-time veteran, I was happy to show him the sites. But despite being there a few times, I never fail to learn something new there and even remind myself about things I forgot.

So, here is a little rundown of things I learned. I hope that you learn something too or at least you can relate to many of the things I say. And most of all, I hope you get a little chuckle along the way.

1. Leave crap weather like this at home. Don't hesitate. Yes, I know that the desert can be cold this time of year, but after leaving a mess like this, any measure of sunshine and the opportunity to walk out of a building wearing less clothing and sunglasses is something you will appreciate.

2. Go get a good cut and color before you go. Give yourself a manicure and a pedicure. Paint your toenails. You'll feel sassy and new. It sets the tone for the whole trip.

3. If you think you brought good shoes for walking, you are lying to yourself. Your feet will feel pain. Lots of pain and when they do, you'll be looking longingly at the folks that are riding those scooters with envy. Visions, will pop into your head about knocking them off and stealing them. Resist the temptation and buy the most orthopedic runners you can find. No, they won't mach your outfit, but after a while, you won't care.

4. Nothing is free. Your friends keep bragging about the free drinks or dollar margaritas, but in the end, they have a teaspoon of booze in them our you are spending your life savings on a nickel slot to obtain them. Stick to the free-poured half yards of booze for $15- $20 a pop and you'll get a good buzz on.

5. The guys wearing any Edmonton Oilers paraphernelia are always carrying a big-ass drink.

6. Vegas can be tacky. Embrace the tacky. Love the tacky. This may be the only chance to wear that rhinestone-encrusted shirt you bought on a whim and now look at in utter disgust and you will look normal.

7. You will be sucked into listening to a time share spiel at least once. Why? Because no matter how intelligent you are, if you are over 28 years old and live with your significant other, when you first arrive they secretly stamp "sucker" on your head at the airport. Don't worry, it slowly washes of in the shower.

But how can you not? Cheap show tickets, cash and all for 2-hours of your time to look at a time share. And we would have done it until they asked for a $40 refundable deposit to make sure you attend. Please refer to point #3.

There is no way in hell that I would ever place a deposit to see something you are trying to sell me. So after a while, even if you look 80 years old, you start to tell them you are under 28, and no, you don't live with that guy on your arm, you are just sleeping together.

8. With all that walking, you may think you are losing weight, and you may be, but after one buffet, it will mean absolutely nothing.

9. There is such a thing as "too much buffet".

10. There is no such thing as silence in this town. The slots, the music, the people. You will not escape it. You will begin to wish you were deaf.

11. After 5 minutes at the Fashion Show Mall, your ears will begin bleeding after listening to Apple's Ipod advertisement. It is so annoying, that you will run into the mall to escape it. It's quite a devious ploy.

"I tried to do handstands for you, I tried to do handstands for you. Every time, I fell on you, every time I fell, for, you-ooh-ooh, you-ooh, ooh, ooh ooh. For you."

You've been forewarned.

12. Dress up in that sexy designer booby shirt you found at Winner's and have previously had no occasion to wear it. Make yourself up like a million bucks and have a night on the town. Avoid the buffet and have a nice sit down dinner. Toast each other. See a show. Make a whole event out of an evening. It will be exotic. It will be romantic. You will feel youthful and sexy. It will spice up your love life. You'll thank me later.

13. If you are going to gamble, don't spend your time wasting away at a penny slot. Staring at a screen is not fulfilling.

Learn one or two of the casino games before you go and gamble at a table or two. You'll end up meeting a ton of people and have a great conversation or ten. We met people from Texas, Ireland, Toronto, and all over.

The dealers are a hoot too. They share in your joy when you win and share in your angst when you don't. And, if the dealer is too stuffy, run for your life. Their attitude sets the tone for the table. You will not have fun.

I got an old school dealer at one table, and can you believe the dude smacked my fingers not once but twice? I never did anything but raise my free hand to high, which wasn't any different from what I had done at any other table. Needless to say, I found another table quickly.

14. Go be a tacky tourist. Take a ton of pictures. Go see shows, exhibits and attractions. Like I said in #3, nothing is free, but if you don't stop and spend a bit of money on these things, I think you are missing out on a little bit of the magic.

There are simply a lot of cool things at those pricy little attractions. Wax figures (c'mon, I got to pose with the President!), shark reefs and touching real stingrays, seeing a 15-ton portion of the actual Titanic and real recovered artifacts, dolphins and tigers and lions close up, the list goes on.

It's fun, it's touristy, but you are missing out. Because really, where else in your lifetime are you ever going to see those things in that way again? You simply won't. Say what the heck and go.

If you take my advice, bring your Canadian Auto Association card (CAA, AMA, AAA, whatever). You'll save yourself a little bit on admissions because you'll need the extra cash where you can (again, see point #3).

15. Even of you don't plan to buy a ton of things, go shopping. Enter those designer shops tall and proud and like you bleeding cash. Pick things up, try things on. It is your one chance to play dress up, grown-up style. It is a fun fantasy and you are most likely never going to that chance again.

16. In the end, I liked the purses and scarves on the street better than most of the pricy, fancy-schmancy forum shops. Nothing wrong with that, eh?

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!!!!

Digi Scrapping Meets Techno-Geekery: A Tutorial

2009-01-24T16:08:00.019-07:00

The last time I had a cell phone was about 2 and a half years ago.

No. I'm not kidding.

And honestly, I think it was just me being stubborn. And a bit stupid. Well, considering that I sometimes get a message from my sitter a little later than I should and my winter commute can be fairly treacherous, particularly this past winter, I figured that maybe it was time to cave in.

And well, since I like staying atop of of all my forms of communication, I caved and got myself a smart phone. In fact, I got myself a pretty, girly Blackberry Curve 8330.

And I am in love. There is a lot to this little machine and to learn to master it, I have been spending a little time at Crackberry.com. I learned how to do many things and one of them is to get my Blackberry looking exactly the way I want.

And then as a digi scrapper, I pondered the idea of bringing the two together. How can I apply my scrapbook geekery to my techo-geekery. Surely the two could be harmonic. Of course, the answer to this is a resounding YES!

Here's my wallpaper......you like?

Want to learn how to make your own personal scrapbooked wallpaper for any type of smartphone?

I am going to show you how to do it on Adobe Photoshop Elements. To start, you have to have a little bit working knowledge of this program and know how to place digital elements on a page. If you don't, you can get a crash course by watching SIStv webisode #63.

You also need to gather your some digital paper and embellishments. All my digital elements are courtesy of Prima Hybrid but if you want some free digital elements, I suggest taking a look through the Ikea Goddess blog.

Once you have some digi elements, you can get started. Here we go!!!!!

Open up Adobe Elements.

Go to "File", then "New" and click on "Blank File".

Next you need to name the file.

Then, you need to set the pixel width and height of the picture. My Curve has pixel dimensions of 320 x 240, so for this example, that is the size I am using. However, you will size your file to fit your smart phone screen.

To find your screen size for your Blackberry, go here.

If you don't have a Blackberry, a good reference for other phones is right here.

Start assembling your design.

Lay down the digital paper, your photo and the digital embellishments.

Considering that I have a tool bar that defaults on the left side of my screen, I made sure that I didn't place much detail in that particular spot.

Once you are done creating your design, click on "File" and then click on "Save for Web".

This is where we will make your creation's file size as compact as possible without losing its crisp appearance on your phone.

On circle #1, ensure 2 things:

1. The height and the width matches your screen proportions.

and

2. "Constrain Proportions" is checked off.

Then press "Apply".

Next, go to the "Quality" portion as shown in circle #2. Click on the number and a slider will appear. Move the slider so that the quality of the picture increases. As you do this, your file size will increase in circle #3. Slide the slider so that the file size is about 100KB.

Then press OK (circle #4), name the file and save it on your computer.

Lastly, send the picture to your phone and make it your new wallpaper according to manufacturer instructions.

This Is What We Do In Sylvan Lake on a Nice Winter Day.

2009-01-18T09:24:00.009-07:00

This past weekend has been absolutely gorgeous and so was the weekend before that. I am more than happy to have a little reprieve from the deep cold that we have been experiencing, as cabin fever tends to set in just a little too easily.

This past weekend, Jake and I joined the neighbors for an afternoon weenie roast in the backyard, which was filled with good conversation and screaming children running and screeching in delight as they wore themselves out. But last week we ventured a little bit further than just our back yard. It was time to head out to the lake.

So, I donned my trusty winter boots.

They aren't too girly, are they? I guess this shoe shot is a far cry from the majority of the she shots you see. Usually they are a little more dainty and colorful, and trust me, I miss those kind of shoes, because these bad girls are about 5 pounds each!

Off to the lake we went. And I love seeing the lake during the winter, because it is the one time of year that you see a true sense of community. In the summer, we are there, but being a busy tourist destination, that sense of community tends to be masked. It is only winter, when the tourists seem to hibernate that we town folk emerge and take the lake to ourselves.

This year, besides the ski-dooing, ice fishing and skating, there is a new landmark in town that we are enjoying..........

AN ICE CASTLE!!!!!!!!

This is the first time I have ever seen one and it is cool, literally and figuratively.

The creator of this beautiful structure is an Edmonton sculpturer named, Delayne Corbett.

The ice castle made from 300lb ice blocks that had to be imported from Vancouver. They are specially made in a special flash freezing process.

The optimum temperature to construct this is approximately -10 Celcius. Any colder and the ice becomes too brittle to work with. The mortar to solidify the structure was a mix of water and snow, and its windows, doorway and detailing was created using chainsaws, chisels and torches. Cool, huh?

It even came complete with ice benches to rest our weary behinds! Made for some chilly and damp butt cheeks, but that is always cured by several things. Walking in my 10 pound boots, having a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate and sinking into a warm bath.

So, no harm. Sit. Watch the town marvel and laugh and enjoy.

And now, I must escape outside again. It is another beautiful winter day that we have been granted. I must go seize it! Later!

If You Are Off to CHA.....

2009-01-16T19:37:00.002-07:00

I have to admit, I am a little sad this winter that I won't be at CHA. I love going to the show to connect with friends and colleges, to do a little bit of business and see the products, of course!!!! What fun is CHA if you don't stop and take in all the goodies!

Speaking of goodies, Prima has a promotion during CHA

Here is the SCOOP..........

Come by the Prima booth at CHA (#3535)for your chance to scoop as many flowers as you can in 10 seconds!!!

Who will be scooping?

Everyone who places an order PLUS... Every 2 hours we will do a random drawing and 5 people in the crowd will also get to scoop.

We will be handing out Prima brag bags to carry your flower loot in. Come back by the booth often for a second, third or fourth opportunity to FILL YOUR BAG!

Stop by the booth at any time to pick up a ticket! Get to the booth early for the best odds of winning!

See? I wish I was going!

Have fun, say hi to Paris Hilton too. Yep, she'll be there!

Lucky Seven

2009-01-13T18:43:00.008-07:00

So....... they say that this is the year that we get antsy. Restless. A completely tough and tumultuous year.

I think I need to shout it from the rooftops! I love that man of mine.

A week after New Year's, Trevor and I will have been together for seven years. And I can't complain one iota. I think this is our lucky year. Yep, lucky seven.

Lucky in love. Lucky to understand and respect and have the same in return. Lucky to have a child with this man. Lucky to not want for nothing. Lucky to be with my best friend.

And it keeps getting better.

Prima Products Used:

Patterned Paper: The Pulse Collection in Crew, Tagged, and Pulse

Paper Paintables

Flowers: Whispers in Black Tie Event, Belle Fleur, Sweethearts and Lollipops in Frosty Aqua

Brad Nails: Pulse and Morning Song

Chipboard Letters: Dude Chipboard Monograms and Journalist Chipboard Alphas in Aqua

Ribbon: Velvet Flower in Black

Say It In Crystals Swirls

Other Products Used:

German Paper Trim - Papier Valise

Punches: Notebook Paper and Scalloped – Stampin’ Up

Cardstock: Coordinations Cardstock

New Primadonna Classes while Helping Out a Great Cause!

2009-01-07T21:15:00.010-07:00

Hey everybody! I am so excited, I can finally shout it from the rooftop, I have some new Upcoming Primadonna classes coming up.
I am happy to announce my participation with the Okotoks Scrapbook Convention on Saturday March 14, 2009 at the Foothills Centennial Centre from 10 am to 11 pm. Prepare for a full day of cropping!

Proceeds for this event are going to Rowan House Women's Emergency Shelter. It is an excellent cause and an important organization. There are many women and children here in Alberta that have been forced to leave their homes and have no where else to turn. So, please come out and show your support.

So, I am thrilled to be participating in this event with participating with a couple of Primadonna classes.

SOLD OUT!

Class price is $20 (materials subject to change based on availability)

SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE

Class price $25 (materials subject to change based on availability)

Holee Crow Ma, I am on YouTube!!!!!

2009-01-03T16:11:00.005-07:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Hey everybody, 2009 is now upon us. With a new year comes new things to do.

So.........I thought that I would try some new things this year and this is one of the first.

I am testing the waters, sort of speak. It's a little rough around the edges, oh, and please ignore that the freeze frame is a horrid shot of my gob hanging open and my eyes bugging out. That is courtesy of YouTube and their uncanny ability to catch you at the worst possible frame of your movie.
Let's all give them a round of applause just for that!

Wishing You and Yours....

2008-12-24T16:38:00.002-07:00

I have been busy all day preparing for Christmas.

Last minute store runs.

Cooking.

Baking.

Cleaning.

And now, Phew! I have a while to sit and relax before our guests arrive.

We didn't take a trip back home which I am a little sad about, but regardless, we will still be celebrating with friends. People that we care about and matter to us.

So, with all this Christmas cheer in the air, I want to wish all of you a VERY Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Thank you for making my 2008 a wonderful year!

You Gotta Go See the Genius

2008-12-16T10:12:00.002-07:00

Just a quick one this morning, but I have to tell you about the amazing projects that my wonderful friend Anam Stubbington made with the Prima Build-A-Books. They'll blow you away. Totally.

See it here and here.

Go and see on here blog and the Fire & Ice blog. You will not be sorry!

Slooowly Updating....

2008-12-15T19:53:00.002-07:00

This past weekend I sat at home and began a mission. I knew that my blog needed a serious makeover. I've known it for a while now and I finally got to it.

I dusted off that little piece in my brain that housed my HTML knowledge (and good gosh it was dusty) and got my google on.

So, here is the beginning. So far, so good heh?

There will be a few more things that I may add and subtract in the next little bit, but this is the gist.

If you want to do a bit of polishing up on your blog too, I found a really great site that is pretty straightforward and tells you how to do a lot of things in blogspot.

The Blog Doctor

See you soon with more posts!

Gathering in Warm Places, Sharing Fun Times

2008-12-13T21:08:00.009-07:00

BBBRRRRR!

Tonight I am sitting in my warm chair by my Christmas tree and listening to my house creak and pop as it climatizes to the freezing cold of winter settling in.

Alberta has finally settled into a deep freeze and it finally feels like Christmas is around the corner.

Life has finally calmed down for me and I am thrilled to do a bit of relaxing. I am now going to look forward to baking cookies, spending time with my family. This year I am most definitely enjoying Jake really discovering the magic of the Christmas season and watching his excitement and anticipation at Santa's arrival. As a parent, playing the Santa games have a quality of fun and excitement for myself. However, with Trevor being away on a job, I have had to purchase Santa gifts in front of my child, my creativity flowing as I make up stories about the check out girl scanning them just so Santa knows exactly what he wants. Thank goodness the kiddo is young enough to be trusting of every word I say, as I suspect it won't be so easy in years to come.

But despite all of this, I have a lot of things to catch up on....

The past week has been filled with doing up projects and preparing for a class. So, despite the cold temperatures and the impending Christmas preparations, I woke up my vehicle, braved the cold to spend time with the ladies from Scraps of Joy at the Crossroads Church in Red Deer.

A special thank you to our hostess and coordinator Angela for putting together such an enjoyable day.

The crop started off by us looking out the windows of the church as the CP Holiday Train rolled by. I was so happy to see it as I was really wanting to see it stop in Red Deer or Lacombe, but the schedule wouldn't allow it. So that was awesome!

US and Canadian ladies, if this train ever rolls into town, you really got to go see it, the lights and entertainment are a real Christmas treat.

After a filling lunch, I taught a Christmas page class using some fun techniques using Prima Paintables, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist and the ever so fun glitter glue for adults, Ranger Stickles!

Here is the one of my ladies, Margrette and her son showing her handiwork!

And as far as me and crops, I never get anything done, I just go for good conversation. I never manage to get anything done! Which is fine, it gives me a chance to get to know some wonderful ladies who love scrapbooking!

Here's Shauna not trying to think of the cold and scrap some warm and sunny holiday photos.

Here's the bubbly Coralee working away on some projects she will be teaching at Scrapbooker's Paradise. Go check her stuff out and as well as other great teachers projects like my friend, Jessi Lute.

I also met another enthusiastic and talented scrapbooker, Gail. I loved watching her work. She is absolutely resourceful and is giving me deep thoughts of doing so as well. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in buying products when with a little ingenuity and forethought, you can make truly unique pieces from scratch!

One of Gail's favorite papers and embellishments are My Mind's Eye. I wanted to show you all the fabulous work that she does with it.

Blew me away.

Here she created a mini album from scratch. It is for her mother and inside she placed some breathtaking photos and some of her mother's favorite Bible passages.

So a great day had by all! I need to go back and have another visit and I will.

And earlier this week, I made a fun project using Prima's Voila! Felt. Remember, there are many other options than just black. Turn it upside down and I'll show you what I mean........

If you have ever worked with the Voila! Felt, then you know that it has an adhesive back. So peel off the protective backing and lay a foil transfer to the felt's adhesive, like Stix2 Transfer Foils. Lift off the transfer and what results is a metallic accent without weight and bulk in a cool die cut shape.

And lastly, I have a little toot, that I am extremely excited about. One of my very first hybrid pages that I ever made is in the latest issue of Canadian Scarpbooker Magazine. Don't forget to check it and other awesome projects. Oh, and I must make a little shout out to Ms. Stubbington, whom I often speak of here and never get to see enough, had her ad debut in the same issue and it is a FULL PAGER! That's right. too cool. Kudos chickie, good on ya.

And that's it for now! See you later!

Like Fall Things are Winding Down.

2008-12-04T20:46:00.004-07:00

Hey there.

Tonight I am sitting here in my living room and letting my mind wander. Doing that has been few and far between lately, I feel like I am always needing to do something. Actually, this evening I definitely have something to do, but I'm giving that a rest for a short while.

I have lots of little things on my mind and the first one is how bitterly cold it is getting outside. I know that I we've been lucky here in Alberta as far as the weather is concerned, but regardless I still feel sad that the snow is setting in. On the other hand with Christmas coming up it just wouldn't seem the same with the fluffy white stuff.

Although I do remember a time about 10 years ago that Christmas came and went and I was wearing a light sweater and no snow to be found. It was the craziest thing. I think Mother Nature was just being gracious to my family that was up visiting from California. hee hee

It was kinda funny too, as the weather set in I had a deadline that has wrapped up as well. It was a biggie and I think I did alright. In fact, I cross my fingers that it is better than alright as it was a tough thing to do. I'll let you know when it materializes, but it will be a bit from now. Think spring.

As a little send off for fall I did a page for Prima's December Build-A-Page sketch by Miss Anam Stubbington. They are from a series of pictures I took of Jacob a couple of years ago.

I cut up a Prima Clear Paintable and painted it with some Claudine Hellmuth Acrylic paint.

Oh, and if you haven't bought any of this stuff, you should. Best. Paint. Ever.

Then I accented with those lovely, glittery Ranger Stickles.

I actually went quite Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist crazy on this page. I have a lot of fun mucky-mucking around with them.

First cool thing, see the piece of cotton lace that is below the pictures? Yeah, the lace's original color is a soft blue. I colored it with Olive Vine Glimmer Mist.

I sprayed the leaves as well. It is hard to see but there is a nice Glimmer to them.

And look! Love these Prima Pebbles. They are full of vintage-kitsch goodness.

I also used the Glimmer Mists on my title. Then I accented them with the Distressed Stickles from Ranger. They are cool. I love the texture they add. The Glimmer is very muted. If you aren't much for a lot of sparkle but want to try Stickles, this is a good start.

And now before I forget, I wanted to thank Anam, Ian, Lily and Miss Fay for the wonderful birthday party. Jake and I made a special trip to have some fun and wish little Miss Fay a Happy Birthday! We had a blast.

As for this weekend I know it will be a busy one. I have to decorate the house with some Christmas cheer and want to bake some sugar cookies with the kiddo. I already got most of my shopping done, I just have easy presents and stocking stuffers to get. No, I lie, I have to get Trevor his gift too. But I don't have to leave the house to get it. Hee hee.

So that's my story and I am sticking to it. Have a wonderful day!

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Crop!

2008-11-17T21:59:00.003-07:00

The weekend was perfect for traveling and the company was fabulous. Off to Calgary I went for the fun and amazing Jingle Bell Crop.

We had a wonderful host, the amazing Christy Riopel did an AWESOME job at organizing this event. The goodies were fabulous, the food was tasty, the company was warm. So, first thing is first, a great big round of applause for Christy!!!!!

I was also so happy to see some old and new faces. The fabulous Allison Orthner, host of the one and only Crop and Cruise, the sweet Crystal Mann, from the Scrapbook Pantry

and new faces like the extremely talented Colleen MacDonald of Stamp It! Australia.

I also got to crop with some friends that I met at the Scrapbook Your Heart Retreat. Laura and Mindy, thanks for the giggles and I look forward to seeing you again. And yes Laura, I told you you would end up on my blog!!!!

My Prima class was full of messy good fun with a good smattering of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, Prima Paintables and a good dose of Ranger Alcohol Inks!

A special thank you to all the ladies that participated and a congratulations to the winner of the Prima Aloha pack Cheryl Fawcett! And as an aside, I am a little jealous. When I saw the prize, I was quite sad that I had to give it away. sniff, sniff......

So, thanks for making this a memorable event and for those that couldn't make it, you definitely missed out on a good time!

A Big and Little Reminder

2008-11-11T17:36:00.007-07:00

Hey everybody!

Today I want to start by taking a minute to pay respect to this important day. I want to pay a special attention and pay gratitude to the men and women this Remembrance Day. If it were not for those that fought and gave their life for our country, I fear that we would not be here enjoying freedom and equality.

What a truly important role they play. What an important sacrifice.

Thank you.

While we are on remembering, don't forget coming up on Saturday is the Jingle Bell Crop!

I am really excited about seeing old friends like Allison Orthner, Christy Riopel

from Monday Night Class and Crystal Mann of the fabulous Scrapbook Pantry. But I am also so excited to meet new friends. The more the merrier.

I am also excited to teach my fun class for Prima. I got all the kitting done last night and it mad me feel so completely energized to do so. I can't wait.

Take care and tonight I am going to scrap. I am going to relax and get some things done that I really need to do. Now just need to have sleepy time in toddler town.....LOL

Good night!

A little ol' Update About Nothing (well lots actually).

2008-11-03T18:31:00.005-07:00

I know that a number of you are wondering what happened to me!!! In fact, I think a few have been wondering if my blog was going to turn into some decrepit cobwebby old thing that will not yield one darn thing anymore.

Well, rest assured, that I have no intention of letting this blog go to waste although, even from where I was sitting, it was beginning to look that way.

Right now, I am trying to do a little refocusing and reorganization of not just scrapping, but family. Nothing horrible, not to worry, all is fine here, just trying to prioritize. I had to rest from the good ol' blog.

And dammit, I swear it has haunted my dreams.

So here I am. And I have a horrible writers block. Partly out of deep thought, partly because I am thinking about 5 million other tasks I have to achieve in the next week and a half and partly because there is too much to write about. What's a girl to do?

So, I guess y'all wonder what I have been up to lately?

Personally, I have been taking some time to be with my boys. With Trevor's volatile work schedule, I needed to place some priority on them while I had the chance. These boys are my life and I am theirs. It needed to be done.

Last week, we also took a trip back home for the passing of Trevor's grandfather. He was a wonderful man and Trevor was very close to him. He grew up with him living in the same farmyard which had made him an extremely large influence on his life which is completely evident and obvious. Grandpa will be deeply missed by many.

The day job is ever stressful right now. But when is it not? No need to bore you with that!

So moving on, all things scrappy have been a busy thing. I have a lot going down and trying to organize that has been a bit of a trial. But I will manage and I am taking it one task at a time. I will be back on the attack in the next few weeks but I have to finish up some commitments and I will be back on my game!

Building with Clear, Build A Book Style!

2008-09-28T11:47:00.006-06:00

Did you know that Prima has a great Build A Book Contest going on? All the details right *here*.

So, you never done a clear album before? Doesn't matter, give it a try!
But where do you start?

Well, clear albums are like a big puzzle with layer showing through layer. But you don't have to go to town and do all clear. Break it down a little bit. Mix it solid pages. I did one that employs this very method.

Let's break down what I did to complete an my album.

Here's the cover. I love mixing both solid and clear elements. For the paper I used the Dude Collection. I'll tell you two different thing I like to remember about patterned paper.
First, for clear, double sided paper is a bonus. Because you can see through the other side, the 2nd side save you from having to find elements to cover up a bunch of white. Think of it, the less planning you have to do for both sides, the easier you are gonna make it for yourself. You save product and time.

Since we are all about clear, I like to make sure that I use clear to the upteenth degree. For a different look to your photos, I printed one in black and white on an inkjet transparency and applied it to a clear page. For the best effect, make sure it lays against a subtle pattern. This yields the best detail from these photos.

And don't forget to stagger your page sizes either. Laying a shorter page over a full width page makes for a "teaser" of sorts to what lies underneath!

Don't worry about every little detail shows through pages. Use the pages as partially revealing. Remember, you will turn the page and all will be revealed.

Like I say, start simple.

Using all clear pages can seem extremely daunting because you feel like you have to be more aware of what is going to show up on all layers. So, break it up a bit. With my book, I didn't want the extra complexity so I decided to use one clear page as an embellishment overlay of sorts on a solid page. This allows me to plan what is going to show underneath one page, not all of them.

And this is also a nice balance to allow you to create a clear element page that can iclude journaling. All clear albums do make this more dificult so, mixing it up is a great alternative to do so.

Use a clear page just like a frame of the next otherwise known as a vignette. With a clear page, I was able to add a title over my picture, but once I turned the page, the complete detail of the picture was revealed.

There is always much complaint that embellishment covers up important picture details and this is a definite solution to this debate. I know sometimes I am guilty of placing decoration over detail, so this element made me really happy to solve and share.

And don't forget to pull out your stamps and a solvent based in like Staz On by Tsukineiko. Notice how I used the Bold O Lay stamps as a frame around my picture on the Build A Book Page?
So, how do I hide the adhesive?

I use several adhesives to and employ a few different methods. But I will give you a hint for my favorite.

I love Glue Dots. They stick, they are easy to place and they are not messy. I use these for attaching transparencies. Iwill use mini dots and cut them into quarters. You still have th same amount of stick but less surface area.

I also like to place them strategically. I try to add them under opaque elements or I use them in areas that are busy. If I must put them in plain sight, I try to place them in a "busy" area so that they are "camoflaged". If you look close you'll see the adhesive, but the detail does not make it obvious.

I hope these pointers get you on your way to making a Build A Book of your very own. Go at it. Enter the Prima contest. Enjoy making your project. They are fun to do.

And if you need another little boost of inspiration, make sure you check out some other websites.
Here, I'll help you out.......

Trisha Ladouceur Build A Book Creator
Michelle Van Etten Build A Book Creator
Fire & Ice Blog
Prima Blog

So As I Was Saying....

2008-09-22T19:02:00.007-06:00

It was such a nice relaxing weekend. Didn't do much. Hung out. Scrapped. Enjoyed the last little bit of warm weather that we have left.

There really is nothing exciting to report, so I will back up a month in time and tell you a story.

At the beginning of the month, I told you that Jakers and I went to visit Trisha and Anam. Well, we all had a wonderful time as usual. We met Anam's sweet little Lily and the lovely Faye!

Now, the last time Jake met Faye, Anam and I took them to Tim Hortons for a doughnut and chocolate milk. Us two Moms had a chuckle at how cordial they were to each other. Here were two little 3 year olds, sitting still and having a discussion about all the things that they like. Hilarious and amazing all at the same time.

So, flash forward, they meet again. They had a ball together. They chased each other around Treasured Memories (which was quickly stopped, LOL) and then a nice, quiet lunch at Applebee's. Yes, they were very good.

So then back off to Anam's house to drop them off. Me and Jake in my car and Anam and crew in Trisha's.

I bet Jake in and get in the car. We start pulling away and Jake blurts out, "Mom, Fay is my girlfriend."

WHAT? Actually, it was pretty cute. Yep, he likes her.

So, I took a few pictures of the two of them and did a little page. Anam also did a page and you can see it right here.

Love it. What a cute memory for us Moms. AWWWWW!

So cute, I tells ya!

Weekend Adventures and MyBig Primadonna Reveal!

2008-09-16T19:26:00.011-06:00

This past weekend was incredibly busy. And you know the kind. It was the type where it seems that everybody is planning something. The kind where you have carefully scheduled in the events, but no matter how hard you try, you just can't make them all. The kind of weekend where you seem to run into just about everybody.

But it was also the type of weekend that makes you realize that you are lucky to have so many friends that want to include you in their plans.

I was thrilled to meet up with my dear childhood friend, Terra. We met in Mrs. Ooms grade 4 class and realized that we lived up the street from each other. Soon we spent our days dressing up her cats (much to their disapproval, I think they held a grudge against me for that for many years), playing in the park and the school yard, hanging out watching movies, sharing our deepest secrets and having a good time along the way.

She was up to Red Deer to visit family and me. We met up at the Farmer's Market and caught up over a coffee and some mini donuts for my Jakester. Glad to see her but our visits are always too short.

And along my travels there, I ran into a couple of other friends from work and one of my favorite scrappers and friend, Jessi Lute and family. That farmer's market is always the place to see it all. I will miss it when it is done for the season. If not for the fabulous goods for sale, then for the people I am happy to see.

But I also had a full house.
My good friend Trisha (I think y'all know her, LOL) and family finally came to visit me! After all the times that Jake and I have invaded the Ladouceur's home, I think they owe me.

So down they all came for the Provincial BMX finals. What a fun time and holay, that BMX track was packed! Jake and I had a great time watching the races, particularly Carter. Unfortunately, I missed Logan.

I am so glad they came down to Sylvan, only next time they better come down and hop in our boat for a little rest and relaxation! Not enough taking in of all that Sylvan Lake has to offer, dagnabbit!

But also as I said, it was one of those weekends that I couldn't be everywhere and regretfully I missed the Member's Night bash with Monday Night Class's Christy Riopel and the lovely owner and operator Crystal at the Scrapbook Pantry.

But as I mentioned before I am going to be joining those gals along with Canadian Scrapbooker's Allison Orthner and Stamp It! Australia's Colleen MacDonald for the Jingle Bell Crop.

And today is the big reveal day! I can finally proclaim my total and utter excitement because I this is my first Primadonna class!

Drumroll please.............................................

Christmas is a time for for all things sparkly and and shiny. Join Prima Endorsed Designer, Janine Wahl as she teaches you some glitzy, sparkly techniques in a Chistmas theme!
This class is jam-packed with gorgeous Prima products and not to be missed! You will be learning some fabulous new techniques for transparencies on Prima's Clear Paintables and adding on tons of sparkly with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists and Ranger Stickles.

Tada!

And you are interested, it sounds like you better get crackin'! I got word that my class is filling fast. I have 50 spots and I am at approx 50% sold!

Registration for the Jingle Bell Crop is available at either Paper Pastimes or the Scrapbook Pantry.

Hope to see you there!