Happy Birthday Evert!

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!!

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!!

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.

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Look Oma, no training wheels

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

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

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.

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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

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