I'd rather be crafting

Crafting with the granddaughters

2012-01-29T09:08:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, Sierra & Brooke made some cards. I subscribe to Cardmaker's Magazine Card Kit of the month club and thought that Sierra and Brooke would have a blast making some cards. I gave Sierra a wooden box for Christmas that she painted and decorated that I filled with glitter, bling, blank cards and envelopes, an acrylic block, some black ink, lots of embellishments and we had a blast making 2 cards. Sierra's card is in the shape of a snowflake and Brooke's card is in the shape of a mitten. Without further ado, here are my 2 little munchkins proudly showing off their cards:

Sierra's rub on sentiment reads Snowflakes are winter butterflies. Brooke's sentiment reads When hands reach out in friendship, hearts are warmed with joy. I had to keep a close eye on Brooke as she was starting to go a little crazy with the blue rhinestones!

The inside of Sierra's card with a heart that she cut out by hand by herself.

I just love the fashion statement Brooke is making here with the scarf! I think she was copying her mother!

I am looking forward to making more cards with the girls. I plan to make up some card kits for them soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cards inspired by Pinterest

2012-01-29T08:48:00.002-05:00

Here are 2 cards I made which were inspired by cards that I pinned to Pinterest.

Here is the original card:

And here is my version:

I made the thank you card for my daughter and son-in-law to thank them for the Christmas gift that they gave to us. They bought us a romantic getaway in Niagara Falls. We got a large room with a king-sized bed, jacuzzi tub, a bottle of wine, some chocolate truffles and dinner coupons. Hubby and I elected to stay another night in the same room. We had a lot of fun on our little "play date." The sentiment stamp is from Verve and the ribbon is from my stash.

The original:

My version:

I used some pink glitter paper, punched out the hearts from designer paper and added the MS heart border punch which was punched out of paper that has a gorgeous sheen to it. Inside the card I added some small white embossed hearts and the negatives from the heart border punch. I'm sure one of my granddaughter will love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

This site is so neat!

2012-01-28T20:21:00.001-05:00

I love reading Dutch blogs and since I don't read or write or for that matter, even understand Dutch all that well any more, I've been using this site to do the translations for me. I just copy and paste and have it translated into English. When I've left comments, I use the translator and then copy and paste the comments in Dutch.

http://ca.babelfish.yahoo.com/?fr=avbbf-ca

Christmas cards

2012-01-28T20:13:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a while since I last posted! Blame Pinterest and Facebook.

Here, in no particular order are some Christmas cards I made and gave to family and friends:

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Amber!

2011-11-02T21:25:00.000-04:00

It was a year ago tonight that I drove to my daughter's house to look after Sierra and Brooke while my daughter went to the hospital to give birth to her 3rd child. We did not know if she was having a girl or a boy. Her hubby called me shortly after 10 p.m. to let me know that Sierra and Brooke had a new baby sister - Amber Jordan. This picture was taken the following morning when Sierra and Brooke met her for the 1st time.

This picture was taken Christmas Day 2010

Here she is enjoying her birthday cupcake on Saturday:

Here is the card I made for her:

The image is from Your Next Stamp - a Canadian Stamp Company. I popped up the image on the card. Paper is from Bo Bunny and the embossed presents are from Sizzix which I cut and embossed using my Sizzix Sidekick. I coloured the image using my Prisma coloured pencils. Added some lace, ribbon and a charm which reads "Made with Love" and some butterflies which I punched out of white glitter paper. I added some flat rhinestone gems to the butterflies.

Here is the inside of the card:

You can't tell but the cherry was stamped twice and popped up. I cut out the cup cake by 1st using an Inky Antic stamp and then cutting it out of the Honey Pop paper. The sentiments and the birds are also Inky Antic stamps.

Thanks for stopping by!

1st Christmas card for Christmas 2011

2011-10-08T20:25:00.000-04:00

Here is the 1st Christmas card I made for Christmas. I made this card on Wednesday evening.

The base is navy blue - the image is from Stampendous; ribbon & ribbon flower is from my stash & I used the Petals a Plenty embossing folder from Stampin Up. The rectangle piece behind the image is actually a silver but hard to see. I glittered the entire image using a technique I learned a year ago using a piece of double sided adhesive which I cut using a scallop rectangle nestibility in my Cuttlebug.

Here is another view:

This view shows the silver cardstock and glitter.

Thanks for stopping by!

WCMD

2011-10-01T22:09:00.001-04:00

Today is World Card Making Day.

I made a card but will have to edit this post tomorrow with a picture. It is too dark right now to get a decent photo.

Edited - Oct. 8 - I forgot all about this post but I do have the picture of the card I made last week for WCMD. I based my card on this sketch:

Here is the sketch:

And here is the card I made:

The scalloped edge is actually a length of pale pink ribbon and I layered a length of white satin ribbon onto it. I made all the ribbon flowers, embossed the sentiment with pale pink embossing powder and added the punched yellow butterflies to add some interest. I also added 3 white flat back pearls. I am quite pleased with this card.
Thanks for stopping by!

Ribbon blog candy

2011-09-06T15:42:00.000-04:00

Can be found on Annette`s blog!

Keith at Fantastic Ribbons is giving away 4 rolls of any ribbons of your choice from the Fantastic Ribbon web site, with free postage.

Good luck everyone!

Fantastic Ribbons

It sure would be nice to win this!

Thanks for stopping by!

Homemade Ribbon flowers

2011-09-05T12:10:00.003-04:00

While blog surfing, I came across a sketch that I loved and I knew right away how I wanted to interpret it.

Here is the sketch:

which I found on the Card Patterns blog.

Here is my interpretation of the sketch:

I used Bo Bunny paper, maroon and white card stock and the sentiment from Stampendous was stamped with SU's Rich Razzleberry ink. I learned how to make the flowers from ribbon from this tutorial that I found on You Tube. I embellished the flowers with flat pears and also applied 3 more flat pears under the sentiment. I love this card and it will be hard for me to part with it if and when I decide to send it to someone.

I also found not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 different challenges that I will be entering this card into. They all had the same challenge and that was to make your own flowers. Here are the blog challenges I am entering my card into.

Craft your days away; Moving along with the times ; paperplay challenges & Incy Wincy Designs.

I am also entering my card into another challenge: Bearly-Mine - flowers.

I am hoping to win or at least get an honourable mention on at least 1 of the challenges I entered.

Thanks for stopping by!

One crazy stamper

2011-08-27T12:31:00.000-04:00

Will be opening a brick and mortar store in Bolton Ontario on Sep.10th. I will be going and am looking forward to meeting Lora and also Karen from Your Next Stamp.

http://onecrazystampercom.blogspot.com/

I am hoping to win some goodies as well!
Thanks for stopping by!

Pretty in Pink for Donna

2011-08-22T20:22:00.000-04:00

I made a card for my good friend Donna who lives in Moncton NB. When I saw her in Nov. of last year, I hadn`t seen her for several years. She & I met when we were both 17 yrs. old. We took the RNA (Registered Nursing Assistant) course together in Toronto. At that time we were both living in a girls residence that was run by the Anglican church in Toronto. We were together for 4 mos. She dropped out as she didn`t really like nursing while I stayed in the course and graduated. We kept in touch and had a few misadventures together that we laugh about now. Our hubbies just shake their heads listening to us reminiscing about the ``good ole days.`` The Nursing Assistants are now called Registered Practical Nurses. I spent 8 years working as a nurse and left nursing to raise my 2 children. I never went back but do not regret it at all. I don`t think I could do the 12 hr. shifts the nurses of today do. Here is the card I made for her:

I used the emboss resist technique for the sentiment. I made all the ribbon flowers, added some bling and popped up the sentiment with foam dots. The card stock is from my stash and the designer paper is from Stampin Up. I added some flat back pears to the center of the flowers. The one in the lower left corner has a small while flower and is held onto the larger pink flower with a brad. I also added a small flat back pearl to the brad. I am very pleased with this card and am hoping that Donna will like it as much as I do.
Thanks for stopping by!

Ribbon flowers

2011-08-21T18:29:00.001-04:00

While blurfing (blog surfing) the other day, I came across a blog that showed how to make ribbon flowers. I love using ribbon and flowers as embellishments for my cards. I had gone to Michaels a while ago and as they had a 30% off sale for ribbon, I bought a lot of ribbon embellishments. When I watched the video on how to make ribbon flowers, it dawned on me that I could easily do this. So, over the course of several evenings, I made a lot of ribbon flowers. I used brads and crochet flowers from my stash to further enhance the ribbon flowers that I made.

Here are the ribbon flowers I made:

You will be seeing these embellishments on cards very soon! This is where I found the tutorial.
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-08-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

I received this card in the mail about a week ago. It was sent to me by Cole's Little Helper from the Secret Pals group in the Anything Goes forum. I love this bright and cheerful card!

My birthday is today but I celebrated it twice with hubby and also hubby's brother, sister, sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Saturday hubby took me out for lunch in Elmira ON at the Crossroads. They serve a delicious buffet. Yesterday we had dinner at Swiss Chalet with hubby's sister, brother and their better halves.
Thanks for stopping by!

Some cards I made recently

2011-08-07T20:22:00.000-04:00

I took another cardmaking class at my LSS with Nicky and made these cards:

I really need to improve my sponging technique!

Love this card!

I really like the 2nd card we made and you can read about it on Nicky's blog. We did some water colouring, sponging and added glitter although the glitter is hard to see.

Nicky also let me make another card from another class that she taught that I missed taking:

I have since added a sentiment and another butterfly to this card:

I used pearl drops to dot the j and on the pink butterfly.

I enjoy taking classes with Nicky as she always teaches a new technique. She loves her glitter as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Male BD Card

2011-08-02T21:16:00.000-04:00

Here is a card I made for my friend's hubby whose BD it is today:

Here is the inside:

We went to visit Bert & his wife Jeanine recently and I gave him the card. He liked it and his daughter thought it was very appropriate.

This is a Centre Step Card and I found the instructions on Splitcoast Stampers.

The star border punch is a Taylored expressions die. I punched out some white circles which I embossed with my embossing folder in my Cuttlebug to make them look like golf balls. I can't remember the name of the company that the golf stamp and sentiment are from. I think the sentiment is perfect for a golfer be they male or female. The stamp set also came with a golf bag stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

Create your own background

2011-07-31T08:52:00.000-04:00

The 1st time I created a background using stamps was in Christmas card class I took that was taught by Caroline Lebel in her studio. The only other times I have created my own background using stamps was during some of the card classes I took with Nicky at Pointer's. When I was at Pointer's taking a class with Nicky, I saw a card she had made for one of her other classes where she had used a stamp to create a background. I love the stamp she used and couldn't resist buying it after my class. I actually bought 2 of them - the negative and the positive. It is a rose and it is beautiful. I don't know who made it.

While I was blog surfing earlier this week, I came across this challenge and I knew that the rose stamps would be perfect for this challenge. I actually had in mind to do a Christmas card for this challenge but I changed my mind when I saw the card that Nicky had made.

Here is my card:

I was quite pleased with the way this card turned out. I couldn't resist adding a few yellow butterflies - the butterfly stamp is from Martha Stewart. I used my Cuttlebug to cut and emboss the sentiment which was stamped on Hollyhock card stock from CTMH. The sentiment stamp is from Magenta, a Canadian Stamp Co. I still need to finish the inside. The pink rose ribbon embellishments are from Michaels.

I hope you like this card as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 200 - Soccer Star!

2011-07-24T15:47:00.000-04:00

I started making a card for the current Mojo Monday sketch challenge earlier this week. I didn't realize it at the time that I would be mailing it out so soon! I had asked Karen who owns Your Next Stamp if a girl soccer player stamp could be made. She listened and of course I had to order the Soccer Cutie from her store. I started planning and making the card and last night when we were at my daughter's house she showed me a picture of my 4 yr. old granddaughter, Brooke with the medal she was awarded by her coach for scoring a goal yesterday during her soccer game. I got my daughter to email it to me.

Here is Brooke with her medal:

Don't you just love the pink soccer shoes!?!

Here is the Mojo Monday sketch:

Here is the card which will be mailed to Brooke tomorrow:

Card stock & paper from CTMH. Ribbon and soccer ball brad from my stash. Image from YNS which was coloured with Prisma colour pencils. Edge punch from EK Success.

I think she will like this card. She can be such a little stinker sometimes. She was sent to bed for not listening to her father last night and was upset when we left as she did not say goodbye to us. Hopefully, next time her father asks her to do something, she won't be quite so defiant and will listen to him. (She refused to give Amber back her toy that Amber had been playing with).
Thanks for stopping by!

Anniversary card for Herb

2011-07-17T13:14:00.000-04:00

Here is the anniversary card I made for Herb. I used the sketch challenge from Stamp TV.

Here is my card:

I used a navy blue card stock for the card. The stamped butterfly is a clear stamp from Martha Stewart which was coloured with my Sikura Glitter pens. The sentiment is from CTMH and I applied some yellow liquid pearls. The yellow butterflies were cut with a Creative Memories Punch. I also applied some white liquid pearls. The yellow butterflies were cut from yellow paper after I had applied glitter with some double sided tape. The designer paper is also from CTMH. Herb likes the card and has it displayed on the bookcase in the living room.

Thanks for stopping by!

July 15, 1972

2011-07-17T13:03:00.001-04:00

Is the day that I married my best friend. 39 years later, he is still my best friend and I love him more now than I did then. He is an amazing father, opa (grandfather) and husband. He is loving, caring, compassionate, and easy going. He loves sports and in his heyday played basketball, softball, slow pitch and bowled. He still golfs and enjoys curling in the winter time. He is a sports fanatic and enjoys watching almost any kind of sport on TV.

The greatest joy in his life are his 3 adorable granddaughters. Brooke, the 4 yr. old calls him best friend Opa. She loves to grab his hat and run away with it.

Here are some photos of my husband and family:

Taken in Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton ON - Summer 1979 - Mike was almost 2 & Janice was 4. Herb had hair & my hair was longer and I was a lot slimmer! LOL Janice & Mike both had white blond hair when they were very young.

Herb & I in Banff AB- 1991 - Herb's hair is thinning and I'm just a bit heavier!

With Janice & Mike in Alberta - 1991.

Taken in the mid 90's - With our best friends - Bert & Jeanine Damen.

With Janice in Niagara-on-the Lake ON - getting ready to ride our bikes along the Niagara River bike/walking path which can be seen in the background. Herb & I spent many hours there bike riding and having picnic lunches. Best place in Ontario to ride a bike.

Herb & I taking a break from bike riding along the Niagara River.

Proud father of the bride - Herb & Janice - Caesar's Palace - Las Vegas Nevada - April 6, 2004.

Herb & I and our beautiful daughter on her wedding day. Janice chose tulips for the bouquets and boutonnieres to pay tribute to her Dutch heritage.

Opa with best friend Brooke and Sierra - Summer 2010.

Playing Simon Says with Brooke and Sierra. Sierra was Simon.

Last but certainly not the least, Opa with his newest granddaughter Amber - Dec. 2010.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 199

2011-07-14T19:11:00.006-04:00

As soon as I saw the Mojo Monday sketch challenge on Monday; I knew I would be playing along. I love this week's sketch. Without further ado, here's the sketch:

And here is my card:

I have several Birthday sentiments and I will pick one of them to finish the inside when I decide who the recipient of this card will be.

Stamps I used - image - Hampton House - got it from Michael's in their $1.00 bin. The sentiment is from Magenta - a Canadian company. I love the royal blue with the lighter blue. The border punch is from Recollections. White ribbon is from my stash and the ribbon flower is from Michaels. The designer paper is also from my stash and I have no idea who made it. I love the yellow flower with the pearl which adds a nice colour contrast to the rest of the card. I coloured the image with my Sikura glitter pens. Hopefully, if you click on the picture, you will be able to see the glitter.

Tomorrow, Opa and I will be celebrating 39 years of wedded bliss. I have started to make a card for Opa - just need to put it all together. I also received my Card kit of the month today and the theme is Christmas cards. Methinks I will be a busy little craftin' beaver in the days ahead. Stay tuned!

Edited to say that I finished the inside - This card will be mailed to my younger sister who will be celebrating her 57th birthday on July 27:

I just hope it gets there in time! I think she will like it.
Thanks for stopping by!

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #119 Birthday card.

2011-07-10T16:21:00.000-04:00

I was surfing the blogs this morning when I saw this post. I really liked the sketch so decided to make a card with some of the new designer papers that I bought at Joann's Fabric & Crafts when I was in Olean, NY last week. Someone in my family has a birthday coming up soon so I made her a card using the sketch.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

The tag on the card is from Martha Stewart which was stamped by me using CTMH Hollyhock. Papers are from various companies. Pearls are from Kaisercraft.

Here is a view of the inside of the card:

If you look closely; I used an embossing corner punch from Fiskars on the pink cardstock. The sentiment was stamped with Rose Red ink from Versa Color. The pearls are from Kaisercraft. I've bought some liquid pearls but only have 2 colours so far - white and pale yellow. I will have to get some more in different colours as the Kaisercraft pearls are kind of pricey. The only drawback to using liquid pearls is the time it takes for it to dry.

This card will be mailed to a very close family member soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Janice!

2011-07-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

Today is my daughter's 8th 29th birthday (she just turned 36)! Where have all the years gone? I still remember her birth so clearly! I can't be old enough to have a 36 yr. old daughter who is the mother of my 3 adorable granddaughters!

Here is a picture of my daughter who truly is a modern techno lovin' gal and loves her IPHONE and IPAD. This picture was taken on Monday when Opa & I had a picnic lunch with Janice and her 3 little munchkins at a park not too far from their house. She was still dressed in her running outfit as she had gone on a run before we got there.

Here is a better picture of her:

Here is the card I made for her:

The butterfly image from CTMH was coloured using a technique that I learned on this video from Stamp TV. The card stock is navy blue but looks almost black in the pictures. The sentiment inside the card is a digi image which I coloured using Sakura glitter pens.

Here is the inside of the card:

I think she will like this card. I will be mailing it to her tomorrow. I would have preferred giving it to her in person, but I have a summer head cold. I did speak to her this morning on Skype and on the phone and Opa and I wished her a happy birthday. I told her not to look at my blog as I did not want her to see the card until she receives it in the mail.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANICE! I LOVE YOU!

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring card class with Nicky

2011-06-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

Last month I went to a Spring Card Class at my local Scrapbook store. The class was taught by one of my favourite teachers, Nicky

Here are the cards we made:

I couldn't resist adding this ribbon with the pearl to this card. I got the ribbons from Michaels.

I added another ribbon to this card as well.

I enjoyed this class and am looking forward to making more cards at Pointer's with Nicky. I also took a water colouring class the following week. I will post those cards in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 191 - just a few days late

2011-05-24T20:22:00.002-04:00

Better late than never! I wanted to make this card on Sunday and enter it in the Mojo Monday challenge but I had a killer headache all day. It was very warm on Saturday but cooled off on Sunday and I think the change in the barometric air pressure did a number on my head. I slept for 2 1/2 hours after taking some pain killers. The headache subsided but never left completely until yesterday.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

I used some distress ink on the image but I think I went a bit too heavy with it. I should have used a lighter colour and/or touch! We learn from our mistakes and I will know better next time. The image & sentiment are from Verve - Floral Symphony. I stamped the flower part 2 times - 1st with the outline portion and then with the solid portion of this stamp - I popped up the solid colour portion over the outline portion. I used SU's Purely Pomegrante for the flower and sentiment and SU's Wild Wasabi for the stem of the flower. Maroon & white pearls are from my stash. I do not know who manufactured the card stock or the shiny paper I used for the scallop circle. I used my Cuttlebug to cut out the Spellbinder scallop & classic circle dies. The sentiment was cut out with a Lattice rectangle die. I also applied 2 small pearls to the glittery butterfly. I love butterflies! I used a Creative Memories punch to punch out the butterfly. I applied 2 sided tape to a piece of maroon card stock, applied lots of glitter and then punched out the butterfly. The design paper is from SU and the pink ribbon is from my stash. I didn't add a square under my image as there was no room on this standard sized card and I thought the butterfly helped to add a bit of interest to my card. Other than the distressing; I am very pleased at how this card turned out.

I am looking forward to attending a watercolour class at my favourite LSS tomorrow evening which is being taught by Nicky. I attended a class taught by Nicky last week and we made some gorgeous springtime cards. I still need to take a picture of them but Nicky has one on her blog if you would like to take a peek. Tell her Anna sent you!

I was supposed to attend my niece's class on Saturday but as it was such a gorgeous day, Opa wanted to go out so we spent the day in the Niagara region instead. I went to Krista's house yesterday and picked up the card and stamp kit and will have to take a very close look at her blog to put the cards together. I love all 4 of the cards! You can see them on Krista's blog. Be sure to leave her a comment and tell her Aunt Anna sent you. If you live in the Toronto or Oshawa area, I highly recommend the classes that Nicky and Krista teach. I have learned so much from both of these talented and creative ladies!
Thanks for stopping by! .

Mojo Monday Challenge 190 - Brooke's BD Card

2011-05-15T17:13:00.000-04:00

I loosely followed the Mojo Monday 190 Sketch Challenge to make a Birthday card for Brooke.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Brooke loves dressing up in her princess outfits so I am sure that she will like her card. I told her last night that I had made her birthday card and now she can't wait to see it! I started out with navy blue card stock. The designer paper is from Imaginisce - If you look closely, you will see that I wove some sheer pink ribbon through the scalloped border. I inked the image with black ink and then coloured it in with Prisma colour pencils. I also used ribbon flowers, some bling and another ribbon from my stash.

Here is the inside:

Brooke also likes butterflies almost as much as I do, so I added a butterfly sticker and also some more bling. I stamped the sentiment with navy blue ink.

Here is my little princess Brooke, after I put her very fine hair into 2 little pony tails:

Opa and I looked after Sierra and Brooke last night while Mommy ran a 10 K Marathon with 2 friends in Mississauga. Daddy & Amber went to the racea as the starting line was in a different spot than the finish line. Amber is still being breast fed so she goes where Mommy goes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 189 - CONTEST

2011-05-08T08:57:00.002-04:00

First of all, I want to wish all the Mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!! I hope you all get pampered and spoiled rotten!

I don't know about the rest of the people who entered this challenge, but this particular sketch was very challenging for me. The card I made did not turn out at all like I had planned in my head after seeing the sketch earlier this week. In fact, my card went on an entirely different direction!

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

I didn't care for it at first, but it has grown on me. The image is from Darcie's, & since I stamped it on yellow cardstock, I just coloured the heart, feet and beak with Prismacolor pencils. The designer paper is from Imaginisce - Enchanted Collection. The sentiment is from Kraftin Kimmies - Shy Emmielou. I also used a Spellbinder's tag that I cut and embossed in my Cuttlebug that the sentiment was stamped on. The border punch I used is from Martha Stewart.

Opa & I will be heading out to visit our daughter Janice, son-in-law Rob and our 3 adorable granddaughters, Sierra, Brooke and Amber. I can't wait to give the girls their Easter/Spring baskets I made for them and the Spring cards I made for them. I'm sure my daughter will like the card I made especially for her. Have a great day everyone & I'll be back later to share some a card my niece Krista made for me as well as another card that I have made and some goodies that I received in the mail.

Have a great day everyone!

Oma.

Quilt card

2011-05-07T10:08:00.001-04:00

Here is the Mother's day card I made for someone very special:

The inside sentiment was stamped in Navy blue: Mothers are the stitches that hold a family together. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. This card is for my daughter. The designer paper is from Stampin Up - Springtime Vintage. Once I had the quilt square made, I ran it through my Cuttlebug and used the Petals a Plenty embossing folder from Stampin Up. The ribbon is from my stash and the ribbon flower was 1 that I bought last month at Scrapfest. I added a clear rhinestone to give it a bit more bling. I found the tutorial on Split Coast Stampers. This pattern was a bit of a challenge for me but I am happy I persevered and I am very pleased with the end result. Opa and my son really like the card and were duly impressed! LOL

I have also made some other quilt cards a while ago but which I never posted. They are still a work in progress as I still need to add some embellishments and a sentiment & finish the inside:

On all 3 of these cards I used Stampin Up - Springtime Vintage DSP. I love this paper! I got the tutorial for these last 4 cards on this post. This was very easy to do.

On this last card the papers are all from CTMH - Sophia DSP.

I am hoping that I will have time today to enter the Mojo Monday Challenge. The sketch should be fun to do and I already have some ideas for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Water, water everywhere

2011-05-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

and not a drop to drink!

Opa & I were in Vermont at Smuggler's Notch Resort for a week and just arrived home again yesterday. For the most part we enjoyed our vacation - until Wednesday when all the rain and melting snow from the mountains caused this:

These pictures were taken in and around Jeffersonville which is a small town a few miles from the resort. We did not have any flooding at the resort but the floods caused road & bridge closures and long detours. Even when we were coming home yesterday, there were some road and bridge closures in NY.

I have to give kudos to Smuggler's Notch Resort as they took in 100 people from Cambridge which is a small town 2 miles from Jeffersonville where there was a lot of flood damage. Smuggler's Notch did not charge them and the Red Cross made sure that they were fed.

On the way there last Saturday when we crossed from NY into VT; there was some flooding from Lake Champlain at Rouses Point NY.

The unit we had at Smuggler's Notch was a 2 bedroom unit with a full kitchen, large living and dining area, 2 full bathrooms and 4 TVs! I even managed to make a card for the Mojo Monday challenge while I was there. We shopped in North Conway at the outlet stores (love that there is no State Tax in NH!) and I picked up a few clothing items for Sierra, Brooke and Amber. We also visited Burlington where we had a nice lunch; Montpelier (the state capital); and another outlet mall in Essex Junction VT where I added to my paper craft stash and put a fairly huge dent in my wallet!

All in all it was a good vacation in spite of the floods. Opa would have liked to go golfing but it was too early in the year for that. The fresh mountain air was such a treat and we slept deeply. I think I only had 1 day there when I didn't have a 1 - 2 hr. nap. And of course, Opa had lots of "power naps!" I took this picture of him shortly after he told me he wasn't tired!

I got some more crafty goodies in my mail box while I was gone and will take pictures and post them here soon.

Oma/Anna

Mojo Monday Challenge 188

2011-04-27T14:04:00.001-04:00

I managed to make a card for the latest Mojo Monday Challenge.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

I made this Birthday card for Sierra who will be 6 on June 8th - yeah, I know I'm early but better early than scrambling around at the last minute trying to make a card. She loves butterflies so I'm sure she will love this card. The gems on the card are from In My Mind's Eye - tickled pink bling. Pink ribbon & pale yellow cardstock strip is from my stash, the Stamp is from Magenta which is a Canadian Company (must look them up on the net) and the butter flies are from EK Success - Jolee's Boutique - Spring butterflies. Love these stickers! The designer paper is from Best Creations. The Card is 5.25 x 5.25 in. I love this card and had fun making it.

I was invited by Elizabeth (Beth) Moore to enter my card in the Papercraft Star Challenge. So hop on over and enter the challenge with me!
Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday Challenge 187

2011-04-21T20:29:00.000-04:00

I really struggled with this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge but in the end, I was quite pleased at how my cards turned out.

Here is the sketch:

And here are the cards:

The butterfly stamp is from Stampin Up, butterfly punch is from Martha Stewart, butterfly paper is from Bo Bunny, ribbon and paper from my stash. I hand cut the tag and the sentiment stamp is from Class Act Inc. I used Versa Color turquoise and Memento Grape Jelly inks. I also used a Sikura Glitter Pen on the stamped butterfly. I made 3 cards as a Springtime wish for my 3 granddaughters to go with the Butterfly baskets I had made for them earlier which can be seen in this post.

I'm sure the girls will like them. Their Grandma & Grandpa will be visiting this weekend from Ottawa and I'm sure Grandma will have Easter treats for them. Opa and I are looking forward to visiting with them next weekend and I will give them their treat boxes and cards then.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday Challenge 186

2011-04-12T19:02:00.001-04:00

Opa was curling last night so I made a card for the Mojo Monday challenge.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

All papers are from the CTMH Sophia Paper Pack. The sentiment is a rubber stamp from Iinkadinkado and was stamped with CTMH Hollyhock. Ribbon is from my stash. I substituted a very narrow white ribbon
for twine at the top of the card. I'm not really sure I like the twine that people have been using on their cards.
I chose to do the coloured square in a diamond pattern just to give the card a bit more interest. I added a few pink rhinestones as well. The flower is a silk flower from my stash. The punch I used is from Recollections. Just in case you haven't noticed, I love butterflies and now that spring is here, you'll be seeing more butterflies on the cards I make. I am very happy with how this card turned out. When I first saw the sketch, I felt a bit overwhelmed by it. I haven't finished the inside of the card as yet - still have a few ideas in my head for that. Once I have finished the inside, I will post a picture of it so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrapfest haul

2011-04-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the goodies I bought at Scrapfest in Kitchener on Saturday:

I bought some crochet, ribbon and quilled flowers, pearls and bling, clear rhinestone ribbon slides, Spellbinders Nestability and YNS's exclusive Scrapfest stamp along with the sentiment stamp set to go with it.

For my 3 little princesses, (granddaughters) I got a 6 x 6 Enchanted Paper Pad from Imaginisce and some princess crown brads. I'll have lots of fun making cards for them with this set. I also bought a glitter cloth so I can clean up the glitter from the dining room table. Opa is not fond of finding glitter on his placemat! I've already used it and it works great!

The cute little purse with the quilled flower held a chocolate and was a thank you gift from the company I bought the quilled flowers from. The little purse is so easy to make that I think I might make some for my granddaughters as party favors. Sierra will be 6 in June and Brooke will be 4 in July so I still have lots of time to make some.

I'll end this post with a picture of my youngest princess, my granddaughter Amber:

She just turned 5 mos. old on April 2nd and is adorable. She looks just like her Daddy and loves her jolly jumper.

Anna/Oma

My Creative Time - Throwdown Thursday Challenge

2011-04-10T15:38:00.000-04:00

The challenge was not to use a Cricut which for me was not a problem as I don't own one! LOL. I really liked the sketch:

And here is my card:

The border punch is Martha Stewart; ribbon from my stash and I made the bow using my Bow Easy. Both the sentiment and butterfly image are free digi stamps I found on the net. The paper is from SU - Springtime Vintage. I also added some rhinestones. I kinda like this card. I layered the light blue on navy blue cardstock.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anniversary card for Janice & Rob & Mojo Monday 185

2011-04-10T15:22:00.001-04:00

I made an Anniversary card for my daughter and her husband Rob who celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss on Tuesday. I used the Monday Mojo 185 sketch.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

I can't say that I'm overly pleased with this card as I had quite a struggle with the sketch but my daughter & Son-in-law like it so that's what counts. I used a free Cuddly Buddly digi stamp which had already been coloured in. I printed the Sentiment off my computer with Microsoft Word. The inside sentiment reads "Wishing you nothing but the best in the years ahead." The papers are from Close to my Heart - Miracle Paper Pack. The blue ribbon & pearls are from my stash and I used a Martha Stewart Border Punch - Traditional Eyelet 4 petal punch. I also used my favourite butterfly punch which is from Creative Memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'd forget my head

2011-04-10T10:01:00.001-04:00

if it wasn't attached to my shoulders! I had every intention of posting pics of the 2 cards I made recently but it seems that my camera has been left in the car (I hope!) as I cannot locate it in the house. Opa has the car and won't be home until 1:30 or so.

On a more positive note - I bought some goodies at Scrapfest yesterday. I also got to spend some time with my friend Janice who owns a Scrapbook store in Welland. I enjoyed speaking with Karen who owns YNS. She is located in Kitchener. I also spent some time speaking to Nicky who teaches different techniques for card making at Heidi's store. Heidi's store is located close to where I work and I visit on my lunch hour.

I bought some goodies from all 3 ladies and will take a picture later on of all the stash I bought at Scrapfest.

Thanks for stopping by!

April Bunny Blog Hop Candy Winner

2011-04-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

All righty then! I went through all the comments, omitted 2 comments as they were either a duplicate or had commented twice and also omitted comments from people who chose not to follow me. I came up with 50 crafters who are eligible for the draw. I was going to get Opa to pull a name but I was too lazy to write them all out. So without any further ado here is what Random.Org had to say:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:11Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And, as per my calculations, the winner of my blog candy is:

Are ya ready?

Lucky number 11 is Stitchy who said,

Oma, I am loving all this embossing and cricut crafts :)...I am so happy Nat invited me to join in on the fun...I am a follower now :)...enjoy the hop, I am off to Sarah's now :)

Congratulations Stitchy! Please email me your snail mail addy and I will get the goodies off in the mail to you on Monday.

I will be attending Scrap Fest in Kitchener today and am looking forward to meeting Karen who owns Your Next Stamp and also my friend Janice who owns a scrap book store in Welland. Of course, I'll also drop into Heidi's booth (Pointer Scrapbooking) to say hi to her and her team. I am hoping to find some more inspiration and stash at the show. I look forward to attending every year.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!

I made some cards

2011-04-09T00:22:00.000-04:00

tonight and will take pictures and post them here tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

April Bunny Blog Hop

2011-04-01T07:58:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the April Bunny Blog Hop hosted by Made by Jacqueline! If you are here from Candace's Blog then you are in the right spot. If you would like to start at the beginning please click here. In honor of Easter we are all making a project with a bunny on it!
Here's my creation:

I love yellow and I also love tulips so I used the SU Framed Tulips Embossing Folder on the card stock. The designer paper is from my stash. The stamp is from a sheet of unmounted Rubber Spring & Easter stamps that I mounted on EZ Mount and then used an acrylic block to stamp it using Memento Black Ink. I coloured it using my Prisma Colour Pencils. I also added 4 green swarovski hot fix gems which I applied using my Hot Fix Crystal Tool.

And it wouldn't be a bunny hop without a basket to gather all those eggs the Easter Bunny is dropping and hiding so here's a basket:

The egg is a stamp from Your Next Stamp (YNS) Fluffy Chick & Easter Egg that I won in December. I put lots of glitter on this egg and butterfly and I coloured the egg with my Prisma Coloured Pencils. YNS is a Canadian Company & Karen has some great rubber stamps.

And of course I have some Blog Candy ….

As you can see from the picture, my blog candy consists of The Easter Basket and some embellishments for your projects.

1. Designer Rhinestones from Basic Grey

2. Green Boutique Brads from Doodlebug Design Inc.

3. Clear Rhinestones from Studio 18

4. Blue Rhinestones from Kaiser Scrapbook

5. Blue Ribbon & Brad Kit

My blog candy will be given to one lucky follower so become one of my followers & just leave me a comment! If you're already a follower, please mention it in your comment.

I will chose a winner on April 9th via Opa dot org and

will get this mailed out on Monday, April 11th.

Next stop is ---- Sarah

HOPE YOU ENJOY THE HOP

THANKS FOR BEING IN IT & HOPPING ALONG.

1 more sleep!

2011-03-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

Until we go hopping down the bunny trail to the April Bunny Blog Hop! There are 20 of us taking part and it all gets underway tomorrow at 8 a.m.! This Blog Hop will be for 5 days so lots of time to leave lots of comments for us and the chance to win some awesome blog candy!

I will be having some blog candy to give away so be sure to leave me a comment for your chance to win!

Reduce, reuse & recycle & Mojo Monday 184

2011-03-29T21:48:00.000-04:00

I love the sketch challenges I find every Monday on Mojo Monday & when I saw this week's sketch, I just had to play along. You might be wondering why the title of this post refers to reducing, reusing and recycling. Well, on Friday we all got a box of Lindt chocolates from one of our suppliers. We also got a water bottle with their logo on it. The box of chocolates had a gorgeous picture of a daffodil and I cut it out and used it on my card.

First - here is the sketch:

For anyone who regularly visits the Mojo Monday blog, the last Monday of the month they challenge you to make a card shape either round or square just to make things more interesting.
And here is my take on this week's challenge:

Looking at this picture of the card, the daffodil does seem kinda large but it looks much better IRL! I chose to go with the square card. The card is 4 3/4 x 4 3/4. The pink ribbon is from my stash. I added the yellow ribbon bow (which I made with my bow easy) for a bit of interest. I love butterflies and couldn't resist adding the pink plastic butterfly I got from my Secret Pal at Paper Craft Planet. The designer paper is from my stash and I used a Recollections border punch. The sentiment came from my favourite scrap book store (Pointer's) which I visit at least 3 - 4 times per month on my lunch hour. I believe Heidi's (the owner of Pointer's) hubby made the stamp as it did not have a manufacturer's name on it. It came on a sheet of red rubber with other spring and easter stamps. I cut the stamp out and mounted it on EZ mount and then stamped it using an acrylic block and ink from CTMH.

Thanks for stopping by!

It won't be long now!

2011-03-26T11:15:00.000-04:00

There will be 20 of us crafters who will be taking part in the April Bunny Blog Hop! Our head honcho Jacqueline is organizing it and she will have some prizes to give away. I'll be making up a small parcel as well to give away on my blog. I hope you will stop in & hop through all the blogs and leave us some comments. I promise you won't regret it and you might even win some crafty goodies to add to your stash! I've already picked out the stamp I will be using and will be working on my card and a special Easter treat box this week.

I've never taken part in a blog hop so this will be a first for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday card for my BFF

2011-03-23T20:51:00.000-04:00

My BFF Jeanine will be celebrating a birthday on April 11. While blog hopping the other day, I came across a post that featured a card that I really liked so I cased it. Ronda cased Tamie`s card. The card stock is from CTMH but the designer paper is Springtime Vintage from SU.

Here is my version:

Here is the inside:

I did not have a photo corner punch big enough for the corners so I cut it myself. I did use a small photo corner punch on the inside of the card. I love this design and it was so easy to do that I just might make more cards this way using different design paper and card stock.We got snow and ice dumped on us today so I am looking forward to Sunshine & flowers and hope that Jeanine will enjoy sunshine & flowers on her birthday.

I spoke to my her last night. She called to tell me that her father-in-law had passed away last week Thursday. He was 96 years old and his health had been slowly declining over the last few months. He was quite the character and was always smiling and joking and he loved to tease people. I`ll miss seeing him the next time I drive the 3 hours to see Jeanine and her family.

Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly shaped treat box

2011-03-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

I am so happy that I have 3 adorable granddaughters that I can make cute cards and treat boxes for. I made these Butterfly shaped treat boxes last night while Opa was at the curling club.

I couldn't resist adding the yellow ribbon with the eggs to the handle along with the glittery butterfly which I made with my Creative Memories punch.

I also made one with yellow card stock:

The pale green ribbon has "Hoppy Easter" and bunnies on it. I also added the glittery yellow butterfly. I decorated them with rhinestones and elements I cut from the Bunny Love glittery 6 x 6 Paper Pad made by Best Creations. I still have lots left over to make Easter cards for the girls. Here is 6 x 6 paper pad I bought:

I found the templates here. Brenda has all kinds of templates on her blog. I just noticed that she has added more templates. I also printed out the small butterfly template and have made a treat box for my youngest granddaughter Amber ( 4 1/2 mos.) with yellow cardstock. Once I finish decorating it, I will post it on my blog.

I will be one of the 20 featured bloggers on the April Bunny Hop which will take place on April 1 - 5. Be sure to stop by as there will be lots of blog candy up for grabs. The April Bunny Hop is being organized by Jacqueline. You can read all about it on her blog.

As promised...........

2011-03-13T09:00:00.007-04:00

Here is the card I made for my daughter. I made it for MFT Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge.

Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Here is the inside:

Papers I used are from my stash, sentiments and image on the front are from MFT - Let's get physical. As soon as I saw this stamp set, I just had to order it as my daughter is a runner and extremely health conscious. I couldn't resist adding the coffee and cupcakes to the inside as like most females, my daughter loves chocolate and cake! She also loves the Starbuck's coffees. She has a blog or two they can be found here and over here.

She is an excellent role model for her daughters Sierra, Brooke and Amber. I think she will like the card and will get a chuckle from the inside sentiment.

Edited to say she loved the card and has it displayed beside a container of daffodils, hyacinths and tulips that she will be able to replant outside when the weather warms up. I wanted to do something nice for her today just because I love her so much so I bought her the flowers and gave her the card. She is an excellent mother and a great role model for her 3 young daughters & I'm proud that I am her Mom.

I made a card today..........

2011-03-10T16:18:00.000-05:00

but can't post it here until after I give it to my daughter on the weekend. I really struggled with the card and it took me almost 3 hours!! I am very pleased with the way it turned out and when I showed it to my son, he really liked it too and thought it was very appropriate. I will be uploading it on SCS though, as I don't think my daughter even knows about that site and would never find my card. I made it for a challenge. I can't wait to give it to her and to watch the reaction on her face when she reads the inside. If any of you can't wait to see it, just email me and I will email you the link to my card on SCS.

I've been home most of the week fighting a chest infection. I went to work Tues. morning but only lasted until noon. I went to the Dr. yesterday and am now on a very strong antibiotic. The antibiotic's side effect is giving me some major headaches so have been taking extra strength Tylenol which makes me drowsy. Hopefully I will feel much better tomorrow and can make it into work.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Special Story To Tell You...can you help?

2011-03-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

This is the story about an 11 yr. old girl who is fighting a rare form of ovarian cancer. My own Mother died of Ovarian cancer at the age of 69 in 1983 so this story struck a chord in my heart. You can read all about it here.

I will be digging through my stash to send her some crafty goodies and will make a special get well card for Haeli as well. Won't you please join me? To make this parcel I am sending her even more special; I will also include a few postcards of the city I live in. I will also be sending up a prayer for this young girl who is fighting a fight not meant to be fought by someone so young.

Thanks for stopping by!

I love tulips!

2011-03-09T11:57:00.001-05:00

In May, 1986 while my hubby, daughter and son & I were on vacation in The Netherlands, we took a tour of Keukenhof. Lucky for us that they had a late spring that year and all the flowers were in full bloom. Here are some pictures of Keukenhof:

Isn't this a beautiful garden? I could spend an entire day in there! The travel section of Saturdays's edition of our local paper had a great article about Keukenhof and when hubby showed it to me, I was ready to jump on the next plane and fly back to The Netherlands!

My favourite season is Spring and my favourite flower is the tulip. I received my Stampin Up order recently and couldn't wait to play with the 2 step bird punch so I could make a card featuring a tulip. I have seen a lot of cards where the 2 step bird punch wing portion was used to create a tulip. My Stampin Up demonstrator was also kind enough to give me some punched out ornaments in bright red. I had also ordered the Framed Tulips embossing folder.

Here is the card I made:

I embossed one of the ornaments through my cuttlebug using the Stampin Up petals a plenty embossing folder. I then cut off the bottom tip to make it look like a vase and added a small white ribbon to embellish it.
I hand drew the stem and leaves (my drawing skills leave a lot to be desired!).

Here is the inside of the card:

I will be sending this card to one of my close friends who is Belgian but is married to a Dutch man. I hope she likes it!

Oma/Anna

Gina K Sketch Spotlight- STVSKSP15

2011-03-07T11:33:00.000-05:00

This sketch really appealed to me so I decided to go for it. I love clean and simple cards and this one fit the bill.
Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Here is the inside of the card:

I'm a day late for the challenge but I thoroughly enjoyed making this card and am pleased as punch with how it turned out.

The papers I used are from my stash. One of the stamps and the sentiment on the inside I used are from Hero Arts Sunshine Flowers. The others are from my stash. I used an EK Success punch on the inside on the bottom of the cream cardstock. My squares on the front of the card are a bit smaller than the ones Gina used in her video. My squares are 1 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches. As you can see I pretty much cased the card she made. The ribbon is also from my stash and has some gold glitter in it. I never would have thought to punch out parts of a stamped image but for this card it works!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thank you Secret Pal

2011-02-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

On Monday I received a card and bookmark from my Paper Craft Planet Secret Pal.

I love them both and was blown away by the fact that the colours matched the Jacket of the book that I am currently reading. Spooky or what!

Here is the card & bookmark

Here is the bookmark with the jacket of the book I am currently reading:

The card looks much nicer in real life. I didn't have to use the flash on my camera to take the pictures.

If you enjoy reading novels; Judith Michael has written some really good books. I have read all but one of the author's books. Judith Michael is a husband and wife writing team - Judith Barnard and Michael Fain. The 1st book I read that was written by them was excellent. The name of that book is Deceptions and it was the story of twin sisters who changed places. It was such a good book; that I had a hard time putting it down.

- I love comments!

Canadian Crafter's blog hop

2011-02-24T20:06:00.000-05:00

Open to Canadian crafters only. You can read all about it here.

Have fun!
Thanks for stopping by!

Sympathy card

2011-02-21T16:42:00.001-05:00

For my brother-in-law whose mother passed away at the age of 92 this morning:

The inside:

I used a stamp set from Verve: Forever in our hearts.

I went to Verve picture gallery on Splitcoaststampers and cased this card.

I am quite pleased how my card turned out and hope that it conveys my sympathy to my brother-in-law.

On a happier note, Opa & I spent some time with our daughter and "the girls" on Saturday. It had snowed lightly in the morning; so in the afternoon, we all went outside to clear the snow on the driveway. My son-in-law has a big snowblower but no snow shovel. My daughter being the creative person that she is grabbed a rather large broom to clear the driveway:

Here are some more snow clearing pictures that I took:

Janice and Sierra

Brooke 3 1/2

Sierra - 5 1/2

Sierra started to clear the neighbour's driveway and later when we went inside, the neighbour came out and cleared his driveway. My daughter said that he rarely clears his driveway, that his wife usually does it. I guess Sierra shamed him into clearing it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Valentine card for hubby & Mojo Monday 176

2011-02-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

I made this card for the Mojo Monday 176 challenge in time but did not have my camera to take a picture of it. DD borrowed it so it traveled to Hawaii with her. It's too bad it was my camera that got to go to Hawaii and not me! Oh well!

Here's the sketch:

And here is my card:

My card is rectangle; not round or square but I really liked how it turned out. Hubby liked it too and has it
displayed on the bookcase beside the vase of tulips he got me for Valentine's day. The card stock is actually a light shade of cream but it looks white in this picture. The stamp and sentiment is from CTMH, the butterflies were punched on yellow light weight cardstock to which I had added glitter.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T13:51:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are the valentine easel cards I made for Sierra, Brooke and Amber:

I had to quickly take pictures of them at their house as my daughter had borrowed my camera when she went to Hawaii and I got the camera back yesterday. Usually I try to take better photos. Sierra was very anxious to get her card! Brooke took her card & treat basket upstairs and has it displayed in her room.
I used a digi image that I found here. I used the coloured version because colouring stamps is not one of my favourite pasttimes! I used my Martha Stewart heart punch and the designer paper is from my stash. I can't remember which company made the paper but I thought the colours worked well with the cardstock I chose.

Here are the treat baskets I made for the girls:

I got the tutorial from Dawn here but I made mine a bit bigger (paper was cut 6 x 6 inches). The heart is a Martha Stewart punch, ribbon on the handle was bought at Michaels. I got the charm from Stampin Bella a long time ago. I filled the baskets with Hershey chocolate hearts.

I'll leave you with a picture of my newest granddaughter Amber that my daughter took and that I found on my camera when I got it back from her:

If this cutie patootie doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will!

It is almost 2 p.m. and I am tired and sleepy so I am going to lie down for a nap!
Thanks for stopping by!

I'm still here!

2011-02-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

I have made 4 cards and some valentine goodie boxes. Unfortunately, I do not have my camera here. My DD went on a trip to Hawaii with her hubby and Amber and needed a camera as hers is broken so I loaned her mine. I am hoping to get it back next weekend. They are now on their way home from Ottawa. Sierra and Brooke spent some time with grandma in Ottawa while Janice & Amber tagged along with hubby on his business trip to Honolulu. Here is a picture of them in Honolulu that Janice sent me:

The blue thing on the side of her head is a flower.
I am really looking forward to getting my camera back and uploading all the pictures she took while in Hawaii!

Here is another pic she sent me:

I think my daughter is gorgeous, don't you? It took them 17 hours to go from Ottawa to Honolulu. They flew from Ottawa to Calgary and then after a 4 hr. layover, they flew to Honolulu. On the way back, they flew to Vancouver and then on to Ottawa. When the plane was ascending in Calgary; they encountered some turbulence. My daughter was freaked out and scared shitless but Amber just sat there and giggled the entire time! My daughter is like me, not too fond of flying in an airplane. Amber was an excellent traveller and spent her nap times under a palm tree on the beach.

I was able to talk to Janice several times via Skype video which was awesome. Janice was also able to talk to Sierra and Brooke via Skype. They were really good for their grandma and there were only a few times when the tears flowed. When they saw Janice, Amber and Rob again, they were more interested in what Mommy and Daddy bought for them in Hawaii - Kids!

I hope they have a safe trip driving home today from Ottawa to Milton which is normally a 5 hr. trip but will probably take longer due to breast feeding Amber, food and pottie breaks. I missed them while they were away and can't wait to see them again next weekend.

Thank you card for my granddaughters

2011-01-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

A thank you card for my granddaughters who gave me a printer/copier/scanner for Christmas. I cut a piece of yellow thin card stock and adhered a piece of Sookwang double sided adhesive tape that is available in 81/2 x 11 in. size as well as different size rolls of varying widths. I then applied glitter and then used my Creative Memories tiny butterfly punch to punch out the butterflies. I used a heart punch to punch the hearts from the designer paper. The 2 hearts on the ends were applied using my tape roller but I popped up the one in the middle. I also popped up all 3 butterflies. The white panel was from a sheet of embossed paper - I thought it was very appropriate for this card.

Here is the inside:

I just got this picture of Brooke sent to me from my daughter:

Gee, when did this 3 1/2 yr. old grow that moustache and those eyebrows! Wow! I think she should get them waxed! And I also think she should get rid of the glasses and get contacts! LOL
Thanks for stopping by!

Just Rite Friday Challenge

2011-01-09T16:18:00.001-05:00

This is the 1st time that I have made a card for the Just Rite challenge.  The challenge this week is sponsored by Scor Pal so the challenge is to make a project that has scoring used on it . . . either decorative scoring or scoring used to create a project (other than just a fold on a card!).
The Scor Pal website has lots of tutorials and projects so I chose to use this one:
http://www.scor-pal.com/apr_magazine/Scored%20Lattice.pdf

This turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. To make matters even worse, the 1st card I made I forgot to use a Just Rite stamp! Aaaarrrgggghhh! So, this morning, I made a card using a Just Rite stamp and I am quite pleased at how well it turned out. This card will be winging its way to a very special person, my daughter, who is ill with Scarlet Fever. She went to the Dr. today and was put on a very strong antibiotic. Hopefully the rest of the family won't get sick.

So without further ado, here are both cards. The 1st card will be entered in the challenge. I used the daffodils and tulips stamp from their Breath of Spring set, coloured with my Prisma Colour Pencils and popped that baby up on the oval and oval scalloped nestibilities cut with my Cuttlebug. I added some orange bling in the 4 corners by applying Hot Rocks jewels using my Imaginisce I Rock Tool.  The white ribbon is from my stash.

The oval scallop looks grey but it is actually a very soft shade of shimmery jade green.

Here is the 1st card I made using an image and sentiment from Close to my Heart:

The scored panel is the same shimmery soft jade green as the scallop oval on the 1st card. I again used the butterfly designer paper on this card that I used on the Thank you card I made earlier this week (see the other post from today). This card will probably go to my DH for Valentine's Day. I like both cards and hope that the recipients will like them too.

Thanks for stopping by!

1st card for 2011

2011-01-09T15:46:00.000-05:00

This is a thank you card I made for my Secret Pal on Pacific Coast Planet. She has sent me 3 cards and lots of goodies. The last card and goodies I received from her had her return address on the envelope. I don't know her name but I do know her address and she lives in Nova Scotia. She sent me lots of punched butterflies of every colour and size so I used 2 of them on this card.

The card stock has butterflies embossed on it and the designer paper I chose also has lots of butterflies. I used a round punch to punch out the designer paper. The sentiment was computer generated (I got a printer/scanner/photocopier for Christmas from my granddaughters) and I cut it with an oval Nestibility in my Cuttlebug. The pale yellow ribbon was also sent to me by my Secret Pal (I think!). I plan to make a similar thank you card for my granddaughters only I will punch out heart shapes for their card.

I also scanned this card and I think the scanner picked up the embossed butterflies on the card stock a lot better. Here is the scanned card:

I find it very interesting that the scanned card is not true as far as the colour goes. The picture I took is much better colour wise. I think I'll scan my cards and take pictures and then use the one that turns out the best in future posts.

Thanks for stopping by!

4 things

2010-12-28T19:33:00.001-05:00

I found this on Stef's blog who found it on Dawn's blog and it looked like fun so I thought I would play along.

4 shows that I watch:

Oprah when I can
CP24 - a local news, weather & traffic station
Jeopardy - I love playing along
Does this computer count?

4 things I'm passionate about:

family
friends
crafting
blog surfing for ideas, challenges and to get my Mojo going

4 words/phrases I use a lot:

WTH
that's allowed - use this one the most - I say it almost every time Opa tells me he is doing something I like
that's not allowed - use this sometimes just to bug Opa
don't even think about it!

4 things I have learned from the past:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true
When the going gets tough, only true friends stick around
Love yourself
Always say thank you

4 things you are looking forward to:

Retirement
Retirement
Retirement
Seeing my granddaughters - did I mention Retirement (hopefully Jan. 01, 2013)

4 things I did yesterday:

Played on the computer
Read blogs
Went to the casino in Ajax and won $60.00 - which along with the Michael's gift card is burning a hole in my wallet!
Had coffee at Timmy's with Opa

4 things I love about Winter:

not much
cooler temps but not too cold
Christmas!
A warm bed

4 Places I would like to visit:

Switzerland
Holland - was born there
British Columbia - was there in 1991 and loved it!
Florida with my granddaughters

Now to pass this on to 4 people: if you want to play, copy the questions and have at it. i'd love to see your answers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Did ya see it?

2010-12-28T17:26:00.000-05:00

I got a new blinkie!! Whoo Hoo! I won a challenge at YNS!! Check it out on my sidebar! I've never ever won a challenge! I am thrilled to bits with this win!

Well OK - to be fair, my card was chosen by random.org so I doubt it would have won otherwise but it is still a thrill!

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

Opa, my son Mike and I will be heading to my daughter's house soon to celebrate Christmas. Stay safe, stay warm and may Santa be good to you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Secret Santa gift

2010-12-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

This is the gift I made for one of my co-workers for a Secret Santa gift exchange for work:

Here is the gift box I made for the bracelet:

Here it is open with the bracelet inside:

My co-worker loved the bracelet and box and said she would have to hide the bracelet from her 17 yr. old daughter. I'm glad she liked it. I received a fleece blanket with snowmen from the co-worker who had me to buy for. Opa liked the blanket so much that he took an hour nap on the chesterfield last night under the blanket!

Thanks for stopping by!

Metallic Christmas

2010-12-12T14:59:00.000-05:00

While hubby was at curling this morning (they won 8 - 6) I was busy making 3 Christmas cards using this technique. I was pleased as punch at how well they turned out.

I used a snowflake embossing folder in my Cuttlebug and the stamp I used is from Stampin Up - Snow Swirled. I love this set! I had every intention of adding a silver ribbon, but had already glued down the white embossing paper so I opted to add a silver foil star that I cut out from some silver foil with a star punch from Fiskers. I also added some blue rhinestones for a finishing touch.

Here is the same card in green & gold:

I love the red rhinestones and the green and gold ribbon I used on this card.

This card is my fave!

I used the Petals a Plenty embossing folder from Stampin Up and the stamp is from Inkadinkado. I used a circle punch as well as my Cuttlebug to cut and emboss the scallop nestibility. I love this card and it will be going to a very special person. I love this technique and will be using it more often.

I will close this post with a picture of my gorgeous daughter with my adorable granddaughter:

Thanks for stopping by!

I am so excited!

2010-12-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

While blog surfing the other day I found this: gorgeous card. I am looking forward to making some cards using this technique. Hubby is curling tomorrow so I'll be able to craft in my "studio" aka the dining room table.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Rob!

2010-12-11T10:17:00.001-05:00

Wednesday was my SIL's 38th Birthday. Isn't he a handsome dude? No wonder my granddaughters are so adorable!

My daughter told me he needs clothes so I got him a Visa Gift card which can be used at any store. Here is the gift card holder I made:

I'm not sure which company made the paper but I really like it. It has glitter and I love me some glitter! Even the ribbon (from my stash) has glitter in it. I stamped the image and cut & embossed it with my oval scalloped nestibilities using my Cuttlebug (love my Cuttlebug!). Rob loves to shop but he never buys anything for himself. Well with 3 adorable daughters I can understand why! I included a brief note that the gift card is to be used to buy clothes for himself, not clothes or toys for the girls.

Here is Rob's card:

The ribbon and golf charm is from my stash. I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder in my Cuttlebug (did I mention I love my Cuttlebug?) to emboss the white circles to look like golf balls. I popped them up on a scalloped circle. The inside sentiment reads: Remember to make thy ball lie in green pastures, not in still waters. I got the sentiment at my favourite LNS. I believe Heidi's (owner of Pointer) hubby made the stamp.

Thanks for by!

Christmas cards for my little skaters

2010-12-08T22:11:00.000-05:00

Opa and I watched Brooke and Sierra take skating lessons a little while ago. Here is Brooke:

And here is Sierra:

The picture quality is not that good as I had to take it behind the plexiglass.

Here are the cards I made for them which will be mailed out to them tomorrow.

Brooke's card:

Sierra's card:

The image is Ellie loves to skate from Your Next Stamp - a Canadian company from Kitchener.

I coloured the image with my Prisma coloured pencils and then popped it up on a round scallop nestibility that I cut and embossed with my Cuttlebug. I stamped the snow flakes with Versamark and then heat embossed them with embossing powder that I added some glitter to. I also added some light blue rhinestones to the centres. I added some glitter to the hat, coat and hand muffs using my Martha Stewart glue pen and fine white glitter. I hope the girls will like their cards. I still have to make a card for their baby sister Amber and also a Birthday card for their father whose birthday it is today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Oma

Visit with Santa

2010-11-27T22:04:00.001-05:00

My daughter Janice & I took her 3 daughters to the mall today to visit Santa. Here is Brooke - age 3; Amber age 3 1/2 weeks and Sierra age 5.

Here are 2 more pictures I took of Amber today:

Amber and Opa getting to know each other.

Amber contemplating on whether or not to suck her thumb - she decided not to. I think she's giving me the thumbs up sign!
Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday Challenge 165

2010-11-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's been way too long since I took part in a Mojo Monday sketch challenge. When I saw this sketch, I thought it looked a bit intimidating but I decided to rise to the challenge and make a card. Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

I used some of the paper and card stock from the Mistletoe paper line from CTMH. The velvet ribbon is also from CTMH. I cut out the Just Rite sentiment with a circle punch and added the MS ivy leaf border. I

am very pleased at how well this card came together and am looking forward to taking part in more Mojo Monday challenges.

CTMH Workshop on the go

2010-11-21T09:20:00.000-05:00

I bought the Mistletoe Workshop Kit from my niece Krista who is a CTMH Consultant. Here are the 3 cards I made from the kit:

I added my own personal touch by applying some rhinestone embellishments. I love this paper and the stamps and sentiments that came with the set.

Thanks for stopping by!

CTMH meets Stampin Up for Inkspirations challenge 49

2010-11-19T21:09:00.001-05:00

I know, weird title for a post huh? I came across the Inkspirations Challenge Blog and loved the sketch so much that as soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to play along. Not only that, but right away I knew which papers, card stock and stamps I was going to use! Now that rarely happens! Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

I used the Mistletoe Paper and cardstock from CTMH. The stamp is from Stampin Up Snow Swirled. I inked the stamp with Wild Wasabi from Stampin Up. I cut it out with an oval nestibility that I put through my Cuttlebug. I added some rhinestone gems to the tree and if you look closely, you will be able to see the 2 green and 1 red rhinestone gem that I also added at the bottom of the card. I also used my MS border snowflake border punch. I love how this card turned out and it will be very hard to mail it to someone on my Christmas Card list this year.

Here is the inside of the card:

All the cardstock is from CTMH and the sentiment is from the Snow Swirled stamp set from Stampin Up. I inked it with Versa Color - Camellia which matches the red from CTMH so well. As the English would say, I am so chuffed with this card! LOL

I will be posting again soon to show the 3 cards I made from the CTMH Mistletoe Workshop on the Go that I bought from my niece Krista who is a CTMH consultant. Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

A few Christmas Cards

2010-11-17T20:12:00.000-05:00

Remember in my last post that I was going to case this card?

Well here is my 1st version of the card. I did not have a dark blue ink so made it with a lighter blue:

I wasn't too happy with it as I needed a darker blue ink so I got some and then came up with this:

The card base is navy but looks almost black in this photo. I also don't have a shiny silver paper so used a silver matte paper under the image. I was thinking of inking a sentiment for inside the card with versamark and then heat embossing it with white embossing powder. I also thought of stamping the sentiment with the dark blue ink on white. My son loves this card and loves the contrast of the shades of blue with white. He suggested stamping a sentiment inside with white ink. Geez, why didn't I think of that?

Here are some more cards that I was inspired to make using the same technique:

I love the Petals a Plenty embossing folder I got from a Stampin Up demonstrator that I used on this card. I bought a darker green ink so will be doing this card over again. The image is from Stampin up from the Snow Swirled stamp set. I love this stamp set and will be using it for more cards.

Here is another card I made with the Madonna and Child:

Another version of the same card using a gold colour under the image:

This version is my fave:

I love the gold and maroon together. The image was stamped in Purely Pomegrante from Stampin Up.

Here is one I made with the lighter blue ink showing the Manger:

This was a very simple card to make:

All of these cards were made over the last 2 weeks while Opa was at Curling. I bought a Workshop on the go Kit from my niece Krista and have made 3 cards but have not taken any photos of them as yet. It came with a level 2 Paper Pack - Mistletoe and I love this paper! Here is a picture of the paper and card stock that came in this kit:

I also plan to make a card for this week's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge with the paper that I have left over.

Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas card class with Nicky

2010-11-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

Last month I went to a Christmas card making class at my favourite LSS which was taught by Nicky Manel.

Here are the 5 cards we made:

Lots of bling on this card! I love it!

Lots of bling on this one as well!

Another glittery card!

We dropped ink on glossy paper and then punched out the ornament and mounted it on to embossed paper and applied some rhinestones and glitter.

Last but not least here is my favourite card and one I have cased.

We stamped the image (Snowy Retreat from Stampendous) and then applied double sided tape (it can be bought in sheets) from Sookwang and then dropped it into a container of very fine glitter. I love this card and have cased it so stay tuned for how I have cased this card. I love the ribbon on this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Baby card for Janice

2010-11-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

As promised; here is the card I made to welcome Amber:

I got the idea for the ribbon and lace frame in this post. I saw the sentiment on a rubber stamp a long time ago and not wanting to buy the stamp; I wrote the sentiment in a small notebook I carry in my purse. I used the Martha Stewart Heart lace punch as well. Here is the inside of the card:

I had the day off yesterday for Remembrance Day and after taking my car in for an oil change; I met Janice and Amber for lunch. I then spent the rest of the day and part of the evening at Janice's house.

Here is another picture I took yesterday of Amber sleeping in the cradle in Janice's Living Room:

Naturally this Oma thinks her newest granddaughter is absolutely adorable!

Thanks for stopping by!

She's here!

2010-11-07T11:32:00.000-05:00

Amber Jordan

Amber Jordan arrived on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010. She weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. Big sisters Sierra and Brooke and parents Janice and Rob are thrilled with their new family member. Oma; Opa; Grandma and Grandpa can't wait to spoil her! You can read all about her birth story here.

My beautiful daughter and Amber

I arrived at the house on Tues. eve. around 6:30. The midwives arrived shortly after. I looked after Sierra and Brooke while the midwives and Janice and Rob went to the hospital. Sierra and Brooke made cards for their parents and for the new baby. At that point we didn't know if the baby would be a he or a she. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the cards they made. The girls were really good for me and I had lots of fun with them. They both went to bed very easily and were asleep in minutes. Rob called me at 10:45 to give me the news and I then called my son Mike and Opa to tell them. I tried to stay up until Rob came home with the camera so I could see the pictures but fell asleep fully clothed lying on top of the covers. I woke up shortly after Rob came home and got to see the pictures. The next morning I woke up to Brooke who was stroking my cheek and telling me she loved me at 5:15 a.m.!! We cuddled for a little while and then we both went back to sleep until 7:15. While the girls were having breakfast; Rob told them about Amber and they got to see the pictures that were taken in the hospital the night before. After breakfast; and getting the girls ready; Rob, myself and the girls drove to the hospital to meet Amber. Here are some pictures I took of the girls holding their new baby sister:

Sierra, 5 holding Amber

Brooke 3, holding Amber

On Wednesday afternoon; I stayed and took care of the girls so Rob could get some much needed sleep. While I was reading a story to the girls; Brooke fell asleep so off to bed she went. Rob & Brooke eventually woke up and after supper; I went home totally exhausted but excited to show Opa the pictures I had taken in the hospital. On Thursday; I went back to work but was really tired after the excitement of the last 2 days and was in bed by 8:30 p.m.!

Yesterday; Opa and I dropped in so Opa could meet his newest granddaughter and I took some more pictures:

Brooke and Amber

Sierra and Amber

I am patiently waiting for Janice to send me the pictures that she took of Opa and I and Amber.

I have stamped the Whiff of Joy image Willow with baby and will be colouring it in and making a card for Janice & Rob with it. I've opened a folder with cards other people have made with this image to give me some inspiration but I'm pretty sure I already know what my card will look like when it's done. Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

All excited!

2010-10-19T22:12:00.000-04:00

Opa and I are anxiously awaiting the birth of our 3rd grandchild who is due any time now. Sierra and Brooke; Mommy and Daddy are also getting excited. What fun! The baby is not due until Nov. 11th but Sierra and Brooke were both born 4 weeks and 2 weeks early. My daughter's midwife has told my daughter that this baby is "head down low and ready to go!" so it could be any day now. My overnight bag is packed and in the trunk of the car. When my daughter goes to the hospital; I will hopefully be looking after Sierra and Brooke. I went to their house overnight on Friday as my daughter was having some pains but it turned out to be false labour. I have also packed my inks and 2 stamp sets (for a boy or girl) as we don't know if this baby will be a he or a she. I have also packed some pink and blue card stock along with white paper to stamp on. I plan to make welcome baby cards with Sierra and Brooke. I don't have any baby designer paper but as I will be taking a class at my LSS tomorrow evening, I will buy some there then. I have also packed a small butterfly punch and 2 heart punches along with lots of pink and blue embellishments in the form of buttons, ribbon, crystals and pearls. I am looking forward to making the cards with the girls for their new baby brother or sister.

On Saturday morning I drove from their house in Milton to Oshawa (an hour drive) to attend Scrapfest where I met up with my friend who owns a Scrapbook Store in Welland. She had a booth there where I found some lovely white lace. I did not buy any stamp sets but did find some ultra fine glitter; white paper for stamping on and the best find was packages of EZMount Tabbed Lightweight Stamp Storage Panels that are 8 1/2 by 11 and fit into any binder. I will be able to mount all my cling stamps both rubber and clear and keep them somewhat organized. Here is a picture:

. I have started to put some of my stamp sets on the storage panels but still have a lot to do. I probably bought too many packages but I can always give some away as gifts to fellow stampers.

It is getting late and time for this Oma to think about going to bed. 6 a.m. comes early!

Anna/Oma

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-10-11T07:39:00.001-04:00

Thanks for stopping by!

A special gift for a special friend

2010-10-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

My girlfriend Donna who lives in Moncton New Brunswick is in Ontario this week with her husband Gil. Hubby and I are meeting them at their hotel and will be taking them out for dinner tonight. Donna and I met in 1967 at Nursing School here in Toronto. She was living in Oshawa ON at the time with her parents and brother. While at school; we both lived at a girls residence that was run by the Anglican Church. We became very good friends and when she & Gil got married in Nov. 1970, I was her bridesmaid. Shortly after they got married they moved to Newfoundland and then to Moncton New Brunswick where they have lived ever since. Moncton is about 1,000 miles from Toronto where I live so needless to say; we don't see each other very often. We have always kept in touch and have visited each other maybe 5 times over the last 40 years. She had a birthday in September and I did not send her a card (I know, shame on me!). I had enough time today to make her a mini pizza box with a bracelet that I made for her with her birthstone with sapphire swarovski crystals. I liked her bracelet so much that I also made one for myself!

Here is the card I am giving her:

Here is the bracelet I made for her:

Here is the mini pizza box with a belly band to hold it closed. I found the tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers. The stamp I used is from Just Rite stamps. I also cut the scallop circle using a nestibility in my cuttlebug. I cut the image using a circle punch. I should have stamped it before cutting it as it is not quite centred but I'm sure Donna won't mind.

Here is a shot of the bracelet inside a purple organza bag with glittery butterflies:

I enjoyed making this for my good friend and hope she likes it as much as I do.

Gotta run, need to shower and get dressed for my dinner date!

Oma

Just because..........

2010-09-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

I stayed home from work on Thurs. & Fri. as I was not feeling well at all. I felt like I had been hit by a truck and my throat was very sore and I could barely talk. I went to my Dr. on Thurs. morning & he put me on an antibiotic. Friday I felt better so I made some cards for my 2 adorable granddaughters, Sierra and Brooke. My favourite LSS has card classes but I am unable to make some of them. They put together all the elements required to make the cards in a kit form. I took some of the card kits with me when I was on vacation in Wisconsin at the beginning of the month. I bought another kit last week and chose 2 of the cards to make for my granddaughters.

I hope you like them as much as I do!

First up is Sierra's card:

I don't know which stamp set this is but I really like it. The flowers were stamped on designer paper and all I had to do was cut them out and adhere them over the stamped image. The butterflies I added was my own idea. This card was easy & fun to make. I sponged the card stock and designer paper and used my corner punch to soften the edges.

Today I used my nesties and cuttlebug to add the sentiment inside the card. I hope Sierra will like it.

On the back of the card at the bottom I added the finishing touch - my watermark if you will.

Last but not least is the card I made for Brooke. The sentiment is from Just Rite stamps and fit perfectly on the white circle which I sponged with olive green ink. The prima flowers are from my stash and was my own idea. I don't know which stamp this is either as it had already been stamped for me. All I did was colour it with my prisma colour pencils.

Here is the inside of Brooke's card:

The girls love to get mail and I love making cards for them. All around a win win situation!

Thanks for stopping by!

Necklace for Claire

2010-09-19T18:28:00.000-04:00

Remember this post?
I finally made a necklace for Claire and put it in the easel card box I made. Here are some photos:

Here is a close up:

Here is the necklace in the easel card box:

Claire really likes it and I am happy that I was able to make something for her that she likes.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm in deep Doodoo!

2010-09-19T17:58:00.001-04:00

I bought my 5 yr. granddaughter Sierra a Friendship Bracelet kit. I don't think my Daughter appreciated it very much cuz now she has made up a new house rule:

You can read about it here on her blog.

I have a feeling I will be spending time with Sierra on Christmas Day when I give her the scrapbook album kit I got for her and I also got one for 3 yr. Brooke. You can see the album kits I bought for them here. The sales lady in the store said she got one for her 7 yr. old niece and it took them 2 hours to make up the album. I showed it to my daughter and she loved it. She scrapbooks and has made a lot of pages. She will be on maternity leave for a year beginning in late October and is looking forward to spending time with the girls and the new baby who will be joining them soon.

I got the albums at this store which is in St. Jacob's. Opa and I went there yesterday. We got some fresh veggies, homemade bread, home made baked goods (date squares and nanaimo bars) and I also bought myself 2 pullover sweaters and 2 pair of corduroy pants at the outlet mall.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp class with Nicky

2010-08-27T19:03:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday evening I went to another one of Nicky's stamp classes at Pointer's Scrapbooking Store which just happens to be up the road a way from where I work.

We made 5 gorgeous cards and I had a blast making them. Nicky is very patient and also very encouraging. Here are the cards we made:

This was the 1st card we made. We put some drops of ink on glossy photo paper and then used canned air to make the ink spread out. After the ink dried, we stamped a flower image in black onto the glossy paper. This was a very interesting technique and I am pleased at how it turned out. I still have some of the glossy paper with the ink and am thinking of stamping a butterfly on it.

Here is the 2nd card we made:

I love this card and the technique we used was very interesting. I have some CTMH butterfly stamps that I can't wait to ink up and colour using the technique Nicky showed us. We coloured the butterflies with a Dove blender and Lyra watercolour crayons. I don't have the Dove blender or the crayons but it was so easy to do that I am seriously thinking of getting them. We sponged the background with light blue chalk and a cotton ball. It almost looks like clouds. We also stamped the circles onto the card.

This is the 3rd card we made:

This is my favourite card. It looks so much nicer in real life. I love the image and the paper and Simon's background stamp. Simon and his wife own Pointer's Scrapbooking store. There is lots of glitter on the stamped image.

This is the 4th card we made:

This card was fairly easy to make. We stamped flowers with blue ink and then glittered them up. I love the scallop punch on this card. This card might be going to my 3 yr. old granddaughter as her favourite colour is blue.

Last but not least is this card:

This card was easy peasy and we used pink chalk and a cotton ball to sponge the background. We added some pink rhinestones to the small punched flowers.

I am terrible at tying ribbon so Nicky tied all the ribbons for me. I am looking forward to attending Nicky's next class in Sep. at Pointer's.

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday easel card box

2010-08-08T14:29:00.000-04:00

I made this for my SIL Claire; who is married to my brother Peter. Peter has Parkinson's Disease and also Alzheimer's Disease and is in a nursing home. Claire has been very good to Peter. I made her a bracelet which can be found here in this post.

Her birthday is August 11th and here is the card I made for her:

Another view:

A view of the card closed:

I used the tutorial that Joani posted on her blog here.

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I had a lot of fun with this project. The card stock is from my stash. The designer paper is from Stampin Up, the brad is from my stash and the stamped image is a Verve stamp. I stamped the tulips twice and popped it up on the main image. I was very pleased with how this project turned out.

I will be making Claire a necklace to go with the bracelet that I made for her. I'm sure she will be pleased as punch to receive it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas in July

2010-08-08T14:12:00.000-04:00

I made this card last month. I am very pleased with how it turned out. It looks much better in real life:

I love the pinwheel on this card. The designer paper is from CTMH; brad from my stash; the embossed piece is the Petals a Plenty embossing folder from Stampin Up. I embossed it using my cuttlebug (love this gadget!). I used shiny gold card stock for the card and the 2 squares behind the pinwheel and the ribbon is from my rather large stash of ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Card class with Nicky

2010-07-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday after work I went to a card making class at my favourite scrappbooking store which was taught by none other than Nicky Manel. We made 5 cards and I will be mailing one of them to my younger sister Alice, who will be celebrating a birthday on July 27th.

Here are the cards we made:

This card is so pretty in real life and I love the punch we used on this card.

Love butterflies!

If you look closely there is some glitter on the Bo Bunny paper circles. I also love the bling!

I kinda screwed up when I stamped the swirl on this card but "fixed" it with a glue pen and glitter. There is also some glitter on the birthday tag.

The owner of Pointer Scrapbooking is making rubber stamps and I couldn't resist buying this one:

Hmm, looks like I better get out my paint brush and go over the leaves with some more colour.

I thoroughly enjoyed this class and learned some new techniques painting with markers and mineral spirits.
I still have some cards to put together for a class that my niece Krista had in the spring. I wasn't able to get to the class but got all the elements from Krista to put together the cards and a box to hold them. When I get them done, I will post them here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Janice!

2010-07-11T19:15:00.001-04:00

Janice turned 29 (again) on Saturday. It seems like yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital! She did not want a fuss made but I did make her a card:

The inside:

I came across this blog post and immediately fell in love with this card:
Diana also did a tutorial for this technique which can be found here.

I used a Just Rite stamp for my card and used my nesties in my cuttlebug to cut and emboss it. I also used a Stampin Up Embossing folder in my cuttlebug for the faux metal tin ceiling technique and cut the squares with a punch. The tulips were coloured with Prismacolour pencils. The card base is red and I thought the black and pink made a nice contrast. I stamped the inside sentiments and then cut and embossed them in my cuttlebug as well. The butterfly was cut with a Martha Stewart punch (love her punches!). I was quite pleased with how this card turned out.

Here are some pics of my beautiful daughter:

Cheers!

Looking Good!

The 1st picture was taken last Christmas and the 2nd picture was taken a year ago. She is expecting her 3rd child in November and I'm sure she would kill me if I posted a picture of her baby bump!
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday Brooke!

2010-07-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, July 7, my granddaughter Brooke turned 3. We had a party for her yesterday. 2 of her little friends came to celebrate with her. They had a blast playing in the bouncy castle and in the pool. Here are some pics I took:

Chocolate Dora Cake

Blowing out the candles with her friends and sister Sierra looking on.

Mmm, chocolate cake and ice cream!

And here is the card I made for her:

The inside:

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Happy Canada Day everyone!

2010-07-01T18:33:00.000-04:00

From my 5 yr. old granddaughter, Sierra!

She is wearing a Swiss t-shirt that her Daddy brought back for her when he went to Switzerland on business.

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Happy 143rd Birthday Canada!

2010-07-01T09:17:00.001-04:00

Opa and I will be celebrating Canada Day with Sierra and Brooke and my DD Janice and SIL Rob. We are planning on going the Milton Fairgrounds with them.
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Happy Birthday Evert!

2010-06-27T08:56:00.000-04:00

We attended a family reunion yesterday in Peterborough ON where my brother Evert lives. The reunion was held in his church. We sent Evert home after lunch and while he was gone, some of his friends came over to surprise him. I made this card for him in the morning before I left, and then typical of me, forgot to bring it with me to give to him so I will mail it to him in the morning. When Evert came back, he was quite surprised to see his friends that came to wish him well on his birthday. There was lots of food and we had a blast!

Here is the inside of the card:

Unfortunately, some of my family members couldn't make it to the reunion due to other commitments. My SIL Claire who is married to my brother Peter was unable to make it as she is in the hospital recuperating from pancreatitis. Peter is in a nursing home. He has been ill for a long time with Alzheimer's disease as well as Parkinson's disease. Herb and I stopped in to see Claire on our way home. Please keep her in your prayers.

I enjoyed catching up with my family that was there. My niece Krista (Evert's daughter) is a CTMH consultant and she brought along the scrapbook album that she made for the 2 trips she and her hubby made to El Salvador and Nicarauga. Her husband Chris is a pharmacist and he volunteers for FTC Canada (Feed the Children). He has made several trips with FTC Canada to distribute much needed medications and vitamins to the people. Krista has made 2 of the trips with Chris and has worked right along side of him to help out. She has written an account of the trip to El Salvador on her blog. It is quite a humbling experience. I must say that I admire both of them for volunteering their precious time to this cause. The scrapbooking she did is absolutely wonderful and gives a full account of their experience.

Krista also made an album for her twin brother Tony and his wife Theresa documenting the experience they had 2 years ago when their then 10 month old son, Benjamin underwent open heart surgery at Sick Children's Hospital here in Toronto to repair a hole in his heart. Ben will be 3 in August and is a real going concern as he was running all over the hall yesterday. To see him today you would not know that he was a very sick little boy 2 years ago. I also got to meet the newest member of their family yesterday. Samuel joined Tony & Theresa's family in Nov. of last year. He is a happy healthy baby and was quite content to sit and watch everyone and chew on anything and everything he could put in his mouth as he is teething.

Krista also made an album for her parent's 35th wedding anniversary last year which also found its way to the reunion. It was fun going through the album and looking at all the old pictures.

All in all, we had a busy day and I was pooped when I came home.

Hooray for the red, white & blue!!

2010-06-19T12:13:00.000-04:00

The Netherlands has won a game against Japan in South Africa at the World Cup! Hubby said it`s because they didn`t wear their wooden shoes! Grrrr!! I keep reminding him that I`m his Dutch Treat!

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Mojo Monday on Saturday - Happy Father's Day Opa!!

2010-06-19T10:56:00.001-04:00

I made a Father's Day card for Opa and while looking for a sketch to follow; I went to the Mojo Monday blog and found this sketch.

Here is the card I made for Opa:

Here is the inside of the card:

I left some space so I could write a personal note to him.

I love the papers I used. I also used my nestibilities and a Fiskar's star punch. The star charm and ribbon are from my stash. The sentiment is a Just Rite sentiment. The sentiment inside the card is from my stash and unfortunately, I do not know which company it is from as I ~~lost~~ er threw out the package it came in.

Both Opa and I are off this week and I am looking forward to spending some time with my best friend who is a star in my eyes. I'm sure that my daughter and son also feel he is a star.

Thanks for stopping by!

Look Oma, no training wheels

2010-06-14T19:21:00.000-04:00

I took these pictures of 5 yr. old Sierra riding her 2 wheeler. She learned to ride it about 2 weeks ago but just learned this past weekend how to get on it by herself and start riding. She and her mother rode their bikes to the farmer's market downtown on Saturday morning. They had to get off their bikes to go up and down the hills but Sierra rode her bike there and back again. Her mother had a toddler's cart behind her bike that held Sierra's sister Brooke who will be 3 next month.

Sierra and Brooke will be welcoming a baby brother or sister into their family in November. DD is expecting # 3 and as with Sierra and Brooke, she and her hubby do not want to know the sex of the baby.

Blog candy at Mina's

2010-06-09T20:40:00.000-04:00

Mina is celebrating 750 followers and 150,000 hits on her blog with some fabulous blog candy! Check it out here!

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Birthday Card for Sierra

2010-06-06T18:13:00.002-04:00

Sierra will be turning 5 on Tuesday - where has the time gone? She is an extremely bright young lady and is
already learning how to read. We had a small birthday party for her yesterday at her house. Her Mom cooked her favourite meal which was really yummy. She had a lot of fun opening her gifts. Opa and I gave her a bathing suit, and a tiered skirt with 2 matching tops. I also made her a pink heart pendant necklace and I also made a blue flower pendant necklace for Brooke. Mommy and Daddy gave her 2 books, a puzzle and a Fisher Price Doll House. She and Brooke had a blast playing with the doll house. She also spent some time reading her 2 new books with Mommy and I. I was amazed at how fast she is learning how to read.

Here is the card I made along with the "purse" that I made to hold the necklace I made for her:

Inside the card:

I used some prima flowers to cover the brads inside the "purse". I found the instructions for this purse on this blog. The purse box was designed to hold cards and envelopes that you can make as a gift for someone but I think it can be used for any small gift such as jewellery, candy, etc.

Here are the list of items used to make the card and purse:

Paper: Pink Bazill card stock, Best Creations - Once upon a dream (love this paper!), DCWC glitter mat paper for the stars and butterflies,

Punches: Star punch, Martha Stewart Butterfly border punch - every other butterfly is embossed on this punch. Creative Memories butterfly punch.

Brads and ribbon from my stash.

This is the pink heart pendant necklace I made for Sierra:

Unfortunately, the pendant does not show up that well in the photo. The pendant is Chinese Crystal. The clasp I used is a magnetic clasp. I was afraid that if someone pulled on the necklace while Sierra was wearing it, it would hurt her. With a magnetic clasp the necklace would just come off. Sierra loves this necklace but played with it so much taking it off and putting it back on that she broke it. I took the necklace home with me and will repair it for her but will put on a different clasp so that she is not tempted to putting it on and taking it off.

This is the necklace I made for Brooke. Janice told me that Brooke's nose would be out of joint if I didn't make her a necklace too. Thankfully, I had already bought the blue beads and Swarovski flower pendant to make a necklace for Brooke. I had intended to make it for her birthday in July so I made it yesterday morning instead before heading out to their house to celebrate Sierra's birthday. The photo I took does not show the pendant very well.

Brooke's favourite colour is blue and Sierra's favourite colour is pink. Both girls were tickled pink with their necklaces.

Here is the pendant I used on Brooke's necklace:

http://www.brightlingsbeads.com/6744-flower-pendant-aquamarine-12mm.html

This heart pendant from Swarovski is very similar to the one I used on Sierra's necklace:

http://www.brightlingsbeads.com/rose-6202-10.html

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

"If roses grow in Heaven Lord, please pick a bunch for me. Place them in my Mother's arms and tell her they're from me. Tell her that I love and miss her, and when she turns to smile, place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for awhile. Because remembering her is easy, I do it every day, but there is an ache within my heart that will never go away."

Henderika Posthumus nee Van Duinen

Nov. 17, 1913 - Jan. 27, 1983

Love you and miss you and think of you often.

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Better late than never!

2010-03-25T20:59:00.000-04:00

Here are the valentine easel cards I made for Sierra and Brooke. I forgot to take pictures before I gave them the cards so had to wait to take a picture when I had my camera with me at their house.

The cards were very easy to make - I just used my MS punches and added some metallic red hearts. The girls loved their cards.

Here is a pic of my 2 precious granddaughters:

I did something really dumb today - I mailed cards to the girls today and I did it again! I forgot to take a picture of them. DUH!! The cards I made are tent cards. I'll have to wait to take pictures of them again. I'm glad my daughter is keeping all the cards I've made for the girls. She will be making a scrapbook with them for Sierra and Brooke.

Thanks for stopping by!

Word verification

2010-03-25T20:49:00.000-04:00

I have had to turn on word verification for all comments on my posts. I have been getting a lot of "anonymous" comments with links in them. I'm sorry I had to do this but better safe than sorry. I hope this does not stop you from leaving a comment.

Oma

Awesome blog candy!

2010-03-11T21:20:00.000-05:00

Michelle is offering up some awesome blog candy to celebrate 2 years of blogging. It ends on April 1st - no fooling! Good luck - remember - ya gotta be in it to win it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Valentine treat boxes

2010-02-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

I had a blast this morning making these for my 2 granddaughters. I made 2 red boxes and 1 pink box. I will be filling them with Hershey Kisses.

I got the instructions here from Dawn. Dawn has some awesome tutorials on her blog.

I made mine a little bit bigger as illustrated by Melissa.

Here are the pics:

Materials used: The pink ribbon is from my stash as well as the pink and red cardstock. I used a corner punch and a Martha Stewart Eyelet Heart punch which I was lucky enough to get when Michael's had the MS punches marked down by 30%. The red heart satin ribbon I bought at my LNS. Both the LNS and Michael's are close to where I work so I shop on my lunch hour.

Here is a close up of that gorgeous MS punch:

I have a feeling I will be using this punch more often for anniversaries etc.

More 2009 faves!

2010-01-24T12:41:00.001-05:00

The card and matching gift box was made for my daughter for Mother's Day. I have yet to make the bracelet with her daughter's names to put in the gift box. I am planning on making a 2 strand bracelet for her. Hopefully I will get the bracelet made before this years' Mother's Day.

This card was made for a blogging friend who is a cross stitcher; sings in a choir and was also born in the Netherlands. I used a cuttlebug folder for the embossing and stamped the flower portion of the tulip image twice and popped it up over the original image. I had the music note charm in my stash. I also used a Nestibilities dye that the image is stamped on. The recipient was quite pleased with the card.

Anna/Oma