Lest we forget

Wear your poppy with pride today and don't forget to observe a 2 minute silence at 11 a.m.

May 5, 1945 marks Liberation day known as Bevrijdinsdag in The Netherlands. On May 5, 1955 I was a 5 yr. old child living in The Netherlands when the village we lived in celebrated the 10th Anniversary with a parade that my Dad took part in. He drove a tractor that pulled one of the floats. That day, every school age child received a porcelain mug to commemmorate the occasion. My 4 older brothers and sister and I all received one at school. I believe my eldest brother still has 1 of the mugs in his china cabinet.

Today especially I am proud to call myself a Dutch Canadian and am thankful for all the Canadians who laid down their lives so that we could live in a free country.

My 1st Easel Card

I've been seeing a lot of easel cards while blog hopping and thought I would give it a go. I used the tutorial that Mary Beerman posted on You Tube and then changed it a bit.

This card will be sent to my older sister, Tina who will be celebrating her 63rd birthday on Nov. 26th.

Here is a side view.

The card stock and designer paper (except the white shiny card stock) is all from Stampin UP. I also used a Martha Stewart Lace Heart punch. The flower is from the Tea party designer series paper. I cut out 3 of the flowers and popped the 3 pieces on top of each other and added a shiny light green glassy drop. The designer paper on the bottom piece is also from Stampin Up. It is from Pawsitively Prints line. This card was not hard to make at all and I hope my sister will like it.

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Another Christmas Card

I used the Stampin Up's Petals a Plenty embossing folder in my cuttlebug to make this card along with my Oval Nestibilities for the sentiment. I embellished the sentiment with some light green rhinestones and am thinking of adding a few more. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. I made the ribbon with my bow easy and slipped the extra ribbon behind it through the loop at the back of the bow before I tightened the bow on the bow easy. I saw this on Curt's blog and thought I would give it a try. It worked very well and it sure beats applying a bow with some kind of adhesive! You will need to scroll down to the bottom of Curt's post to see the tutorial he did.

This card was simple to make but I'm thinking that it's missing something! Any ideas?

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Trick or treat!

TRICK OR TREAT!!

Opa and I went trick or treating last night with Brooke the poodle (age 2) and Sierra the butterfly (age 4) last night. We didn't go to a lot of houses but the girls enjoyed it. Their Daddy also accompanied us.

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Tri shutter cards

This is my 2nd attempt at making a tri shutter card. I made this card for my friend's daughter who had a baby boy in August. The tri shutter card looks hard but it is very easy to make. I used a baby boy stamp set as well as some baby boy embellishments that I bought at Michaels. I made the bow with my bow easy. I really like the bow easy and have a feeling I will be using it a lot!

Here is another view:

The 1st tri shutter card I made was supposed to be a Birthday card for my daughter but I was not all that happy with it so will not be posting a picture of it.

I also made a Christmas card:

I embossed this card with the Christmas tree cuttlebug folder in my cuttlebug and added some clear rhinestones to give it some bling. The paper I used is a shiny navy blue metallic card stock. The white paper layer also has a bit of a shiny metallic look to it. I am very pleased at how well this card turned out even though it is not a traditional green and or red card.

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Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog Candy

Peachy Keen Stamps is giving away blog candy! Look in my sidebar for all the treats they are giving away! One lucky winner will get EVERYTHING in the pic. This candy is up until, Friday, October 23rd midnight CST. The winner will be drawn and announced on Saturday, October 24th. Good luck everyone and remember - ya have to be in it to win it!

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For all my Canadian family and friends!

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World card making day

Today is World Card Making Day. I wonder if Hallmark is celebrating?!? Ha, ha, ha!

I chose to make a card using this sketch from Sophisticat Challenge Blog. The sketch was provided by none other than the Glitterbabe herself, Stef. Earlier this week I made a fan fold flower medallion so when I saw the sketch, I knew it would be perfect for the flower.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

This one's for you Stef!

I added some glitter to the edge of the flower medallion but it doesn't show up all that well in the picture. I used the cuttlebug birds and swirls embossing folder on the green card stock using my cuttlebug. I also cut and embossed the tulip pendant from Spellbinders. The sentiment is from Clear Dollar stamps and was stamped using SU's Razzleberry Ink which was a gift from Stef way back when I won her blog candy.

Stef, I know you will be peeking in and I hope you like my card. It was made with you in mind.

I have a wicked head cold that has really knocked me for a loop and I stayed home from work the last 4 days. Just when I think I am feeling better, I start feeling lousy again. I hope I will be able to return to work on Monday.

Thanks for popping in!

Sierra's 1st day of school.

Here is my granddaughter Sierra all dressed and ready for her very first day of Jr. Kindergarten:

And here she is walking to school. The back pack she has is almost as big as she is! LOL

Sierra was very excited for her schooling to begin and was the 2nd person at the door to go inside when the teacher came to the door to let the children in. She didn't even give her Mom (my DD) a hug and there were no tears from her at all. The same cannot be said for her mother!

After school she wanted to go to the park to play with the new friend she had made that morning. I have a feeling she will really enjoy her new school and making new friends. She is in a split Jr and Sr. kindergarten class.

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Correction

Just to let everyone know that the image in the post below is not a card that I made. It was an image I got from the internet to announce the birth of my Best friend`s new grandson. He is not my grandson. I have yet to make a baby card to welcome baby Trent. I got some cute embellishments and paper and am hoping to make a card soon.

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My BFF's daughter Janelle had her baby!

And....................

Trent Timothy Damen Cowl entered the world today at 9:30 a.m. Damen is Janelle's maiden name. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 9 oz. and is 19" long. Parents Janelle and Tim are ecstatic. Janelle and Tim met at Trent University in Peterborough Ontario. She was admitted at 6:30 a.m. and was induced. Janelle is going home with the baby this evening.

Trent is the 4th grandson for my friend Jeanine and hubby Bert. They also have a 2 yr. old granddaughter.

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Baby card for Janelle

This is the baby card I made for Janelle's baby shower. My card was the only handmade card she received although she also received some hand made blankets. She was pleased as punch to see the baby carriage charm I put on it. She and her hubby did not want to know the sex of the baby so I went with light purple and yellow.

I used my cuttlebug to cut and emboss the circles. The picture does not show it well but the 3 crystal embellishments are a medium purple colour.

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Time spent with a friend, is time well spent.

On Sunday, August 9th; I drove almost 3 hours to London, Ontario to spend a few days with my BFF; Jeanine. Jeanine and I have known each other since we were 9 years old and became best friends. When I was almost 11; my family moved but we kept in touch by letters. We did not see each other again until we were both 20 years old. Since then, we have seen each other 1 - 3 times a year. I have attended the weddings of all of her 4 children.

On Sunday evening, we drove to Jeanine's Sister-in-law's (Carol) to attend a baby shower for Jeanine's daughter Janelle where this picture was taken. I am on the left and Jeanine is on the right. While at the shower, I enjoyed talking to Janelle's inlaws as well as reconnecting with some of Jeanine's Sister-in-laws. Whenever we go to Jeanine's house, it is not unusual for us to visit with Jeanine's family as most of them live within an easy driving distance from each other. Jeanine's husband Bert has a lot of his brothers and sisters living nearby and he and Jeanine can easily walk to 2 of them. They live out in the country near Lucan, Ontario which is about a half hour drive north of London.

Janelle will be going into the hospital tonight to be induced tomorrow. She has had some issues with high blood pressure. Her actual due date is August 22nd. I will be sitting on pins and needles tomorrow waiting for a phone call from Jeanine to find out if Janelle had a boy or girl and all the other details (weight & length).

On Monday, Jeanine's younger sister, Bernadette joined us and was our chauffeur for the day. She drove us to Bayfield which was about an hour's drive. Bayfield is on Lake Huron and is a touristy type town. We had a nice lunch there and poked around all the stores. Jeanine bought me a stainless steel heart shaped pendant with a clear crystal for my birthday which was on Saturday, Aug. 8th.

We found this old tree in town and 2 ladies were more than happy to take our picture with it. Bernadette is a bit younger than Jeanine and I but I also played with her as a child.

This next picture shows Jeanine's children's garden which is located behind her house. The rocks in front have all her grandchildren's names and date of birth engraved on them.

On Tuesday, Jeanine and I drove to London to a mall where I bought myself a new navy blue purse to replace the purse that was being held together with electrical tape. Jeanine also bought herself a new pair of Croc sandals and changed into them at lunch in the food court. Unfortunately, she left her old sandals behind and did not notice it until we were back at her house. After lunch we drove to a Nail store and I treated the 2 of us to a manicure and pedicure.

It was a fun 2 1/2 days together and we hope to be able to do this again soon. It would have been nice to spend more time together but I had to drive back to Toronto on Tues. eve. as I had a Dr.'s appointment for a physical yesterday morning. Opa and Jeanine's husband Bert have also become great friends and enjoy spending time together.

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I found my MOJO!!

And what a relief that was!

Blogger is being a pain in the patootie and will not let me upload any pics! I'll try again later if I have time before I leave for London. If not, it will have to wait until I get back. I need to run to the store to buy a baby gift, pack my bag and shower.

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Need to find

My MOJO!! DD's bd was July 10th - I have started her card but have not finished it. My BIL's bd was July 17th and I have not made him his golf card yet. My sister's bd was July 27th and I still need to send her the card I made a long time ago. When I made the card, I had no idea who I would be sending it to, but have decided to send it to my sister.

I have 2 sisters-in-law who will be celebrating their 60th birthdays this coming week. I will be turning 60 tomorrow. My sister-in-law Jan, will be 60 on Monday and my other sister-in-law Claire will be 60 on Tuesday. I'm not sure how Jan and Claire feel about turning 60, but I for one intend to enjoy this year. My co-workers gathered around my desk today right after lunch and sang happy birthday to me today and gave me a lovely card that they all signed. They also got me a carrot loaf cake complete with candles.

I got some happy mail today from my blogging buddy Stef - she sent me a birthday card along with a few goodies that I can use to embellish cards I make. I love the sentiment she stamped inside: "It's not the years in your life, but the life in your years that count." How true!

I can't take a pic of the card as it is in the car and DH has gone out with the car. I will take a picture of it tomorrow and will hopefully be able to post it on my blog then.

I leave for London Ontario on Sunday after lunch to spend some time with my BFF Jeanine whose daughter is expecting her 1st child any day now. I will be going to a baby shower for Jeanine's daughter on Sunday evening with Jeanine so I need to get off this computer and make a card for her baby. On my lunch hour today, I went to my local LSS and bought some baby paper and a stamp as I had nothing in my stash to make a baby card. I will get off this computer soon and make that card and will post a picture of it later.

Thanks for stopping by! TGIF!!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Wednesday July 15th was my BIL Jeff''s Birthday. He is married to my younger sister, Alice. He is a Pentecostal Minister and has a great sense of humour and loves to golf. I based his card on this sketch - Mojo Monday 94.

I'm too late to enter this into their contest for July but I really like this sketch and will be making another golf themed birthday card for my other BIL Doug who is married to my older sister, Tina.

I can't believe I had the balls (er nerve) to make a card for him with this particular sentiment. When I gave it to Alice yesterday to give to Jeff; she got a chuckle out of it and I'm sure Jeff will like it too!


Here is the inside sentiment:


And here is the inside image:

I used my cuttlebug to cut and emboss the different elements to this card. I used the Swiss Dots folder and a circle punch to make the golf ball on the front of the card. Ribbon and paper are from my stash and ink is from Versa Mark.

I am entering this card in my niece Krista's challenge on her blog which is to make a masculine card or layout.


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Mojo Monday 95 & Happy Anniversary Opa!

Opa and I celebrated our 37th Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday July 15. Normally on Wednesdays I work until 8:00 p.m. but on the 15th I worked an earlier shift and was home by 5:15 p.m. We celebrated our Anniversary by going out for dinner at a local family style restaurant. I had Fettucini Alfredo with chicken and Opa dined on a Veal Cutlet. Dinner was delicious.

I managed to get my card done yesterday morning before work and gave it to Herb (Opa) when I got home from work at 8:30 p.m. He really liked the card. I loosely based my card on this week's Mojo Monday sketch which can be seen here:


And here is my interpretation of the sketch:

The stamp set is from CTMH - it was the stamp set of the month for March. I did not order it in March but my niece Krista who is a CTMH consultant managed to snag one for me. Thanks Krista!

Here is part of the inside of the card:

I coloured the images with my new set of Prisma coloured pencils. I found that they were very easy to work with and with the help of a video that I watched on You Tube; I learned how to blend colours. Unfortunately, my camera flash went off so one side looks shiny. It looks a lot nicer in real life. The inside sentiment is also from the set and reads: "Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases and pleases where it goes." Opa was pleased to get a card and has it proudly displayed on the book case in the Living Room.

I stamped the images and sentiments on white and cut them with my oval, square and rectangular nestibilites with Versa Color - Mountain Lake. I found the ribbon at a local LSS. The card stock is from a sheet of 12 x 12 which I obtained from another LSS. The designer paper is from a pad of 6 x 6 SU which I purchased from an SU demonstrator. I thought it matched the ribbon very well. The heart charm (which I was unable to get a good picture of) reads "Made with love."

I need to make 2 golf themed birthday cards for my 2 brothers-in-law who are avid golfers. My BIL Jeff, who is married to my younger sister Alice and is a Pentecostal Pastor had his birthday on the 15th. I will be seeing Alice tomorrow so will give her the card for Jeff when I see her. My other BIL Doug, who is married to my older sister Tina is celebrating his 69th birthday today.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. Alice and I will be visiting my eldest brother Peter who is not doing very well and suffers from Parkinson's disease as well as Frontal Lobe Dementia. He does not know us anymore but every so often he seems to remember us. Alice and I will be taking his wife Clair out for supper and then heading over to Krista's house for a cardmaking workshop.

Opa will spend the day tomorrow with our daughter and granddaughters. Hubby and Daddy Rob has spent a week in Barcelona and is heading over to Dublin tonight from Barcelona. Both trips are for business. I think my daughter Janice will be happy to see her father to help her with Sierra and Brooke.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!

I am hoping.......

that Hubby goes to bed fairly early tonight as I want to make him a card for our 37th Wedding Anniversary which is tomorrow. I know which papers, images and sentiments I will be using and really want to start making his card. Normally on Wednesdays I work from 11:30 am to 8:00 pm but tomorrow I will be working 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. I could have made his card in the morning as he is meeting his BIL for golf tomorrow and is leaving the house at 6 a.m. which would have given me lots of time to make his card before leaving for work. I am hoping to get the card started tonight and finishing it in the morning before I leave for work.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BROOKE!

My granddaughter Brooke Angela was born on 07/07/07 while Opa, Mike and I were in Ohio to attend my nephew's wedding. While relaxing on the patio outside with my glass of wine, I got a call from my SIL that Janice had given birth that morning to Brooke.

Brooke's paternal grandparents were visiting from Ottawa when my DD went into labour with Brooke. She first noticed the pains at 7:30 in the morning while she was outside playing with Sierra in the sand box. Four hours later, Brooke was born at the hospital with a midwife in attendance. You can read all about Brooke's birth in this post from my daughter.

This picture of Brooke and I was taken the following day in the afternoon.



This next picture is Brooke and Sierra colouring together a few weeks ago.



Here is the card that I made for Brooke's 2nd birthday. Papers are from my stash and I added some embellishments in the form of the crystal flowers and pearl dots.

Opa and I went to my daughter's house today to celebrate. We had a lot of fun swimming in the pool and just relaxing on the deck with Janice, Rob, Janice's friend Kim and hubby Steve as well as their 2 children and Sierra and Brooke. Opa and I gave Brooke some big girl panties and a really cute blue and white check play set which consists of a cross over dress which is open at the back with matching rompers.

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Happy Canada Day!

To all my Canadian friends & family!

I am hoping to spend the day with my granddaughters at a Canada Day Festivities in Milton ON where they live. Toronto had to cancel their festivities as the Civic employees are on strike. Pity eh?


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