Happy Canada Day!!!

So here we are, another beautiful, wet glorious day in our beloved country, Canada.  Yes, it may be a little soggy, but I don't mind, I love this land I live in!  We are so fortunate.  Sure, we have some pitfalls, like the icky new HST, for one, but don't let that bring you down.

I decided to make a sweet treat for my kids on Canada Day.  Just waiting for the sunshine to appear, but even if it does not, they won't care.  It certainly won't stop them from enjoying these:

I chopped up mini peanut butter cups and malted milk balls (not pictured) and mixed them into the ice cream.

...then filled the waffle cones half full with the candied ice cream, and added a big dollop of fudge sauce...mmm, yummy fudge sauce...

...and finally made a homemade chocolaty sauce which I dipped the cones into.  When they're set, the chocolate is hard and crunchy!

So here's hoping the Canada will have the sun shine down at least later this afternoon!  Have a wonderful day everyone, and celebrate safely!

I'm still here!

...and working to get some new classes on the go here.  I've had some requests lately for layouts, so I'm working on a couple classes, which I'll be posting soon!  Thanks so much everyone for your interest and support of my work, it really means so much to me!

Here's a card I whipped up tonight, a thank you for the very generous man who sent me to the spa a couple weeks ago.  I know its girly, but I think he'll "get it":

I've been waiting a long time to use this stamp from Stamping Bella Rubber Stamps.  I've had it for a few years now and it just goes to prove, one day you WILL use stuff in your stash that you just can't part with, even though its never been out of the package, have faith in that!

I've completed a challenge...

...posted at The Inspired Scrapper!  What a great site this is - it really does inspire me and gets the creative mojo going!  The challenge this week was animals.  Could be your pet, a trip to the zoo, a bear in your backyard, or, as Cari showed, you can think outside the box.  Her page was about some of her kids' favourite stuffies - what a great idea!  So this prompted me to think outside the box as well, and here's what I came up with:

I've been meaning to do a page about Dawson joining Beavers, and how much fun he has there, and I finally got the inspiration to do so.  Sometimes you just have to be patient, and the right ideas will come.  That is exactly why I personally prefer not to scrap in chronological order.  I find if I have an idea or come across a photo that sparks my creativity, I have much more fun with it.  Now that's certainly not to say that scrapping chronologically is wrong...I envy those of you who do, and are up to date with your scrapbooks, but my brain doesn't work that way, unfortunately!

Anyways, I'm very happy with how this one turned out!  I love the colours.  I was looking in my stash for the right paper and I found these patterned papers by Doodlebug Design.  Yes, I know, they're so last year, but I loved them, and their coordinating brads (notice the frog on the log and the dragonfly!).  The beaver and log came from my new Cricut Cartridge, Create-A-Critter (soooo cute, and thank you so much Jessie!)  I used my beloved Stampin' Up ink and cardstock (I really do like it best, especially when using it with my Cricut).  I embossed the letters (cut from the Cricut Robotz cartridge) with the Argyle Cuttlebug folder, and some miscellaneous ribbon and journaling around the photo (yes, I know there's a spelling mistake, I wasn't paying attention!!) finished off the project nicely!

Yes, it has been a while...

...but I'm still here!  Just been swamped with other things, but you bet I'm eager to get back at it!  So its Mom's Day tomorrow - I'm sure you've all remembered...lol!  Have you made your Mom a card?  A gift maybe?  Well, I sat down last night and made my card. I got inspired by a challenge posted at The Inspired Scrapper.  Check out their blog for lots of great ideas.  Here's what I came up with:

I usually don't do a lot of vintage-style stuff, but for my mom, this seemed fitting, and I am happy with how it turned out.  Its simple, yet elegant.  I think she'll like it!

So as you may know, I was up at Whistler last weekend with my good friends, Lori and Christina.  We had a great time scrapping, hot tubbing and just having some much needed girl time!  I got a few lay outs done:

The two layouts above were inspired by two different Basic Grey maps from Page Maps.

This one was the result of a challenge at the crop.

And here's some of us in action:

Christina and her family are so cute, they send pictures to each other of what they're doing right at that moment, so this self portrait was taken for them!  Love ya Christina!!

Here's Lori hard at work.  Man, she and Christina sure pumped them out!!  Very impressive!  Love ya too Lori, Happy Birthday!!!

...and here I am, slowly plugging away, right ladies?!  LOL!!

So it was a great weekend!  Thanks so much girls, for a fabulous time!  Can't wait till the next one...The BC Crop For Kids, here I come!!  Whoo Hoo!!

Look What I Made...

I was inspired by my BFF, Erica, to make this Easter banner.  She had made one and posted it as a challenge on The Inspired Scrapper.  I used my Easter Cricut Cartridge to cut the cut shapes, then simply sewed them all together.  How easy is that?  And super cute!

Don't you just love the little lamb??  And can you see the chocolate bunny whose had a bite taken out of his ears?  Too cute!

The coolest part of this project is that its made all from scraps!  You gotta love that!!  So this project can be adapted to any holiday, obviously.  Its quick, easy and fabulous!  Thanks for your idea, Erica!!

Finally, A New Class!!!

Okay, kids, here it is!  Wow, this mini book has really had me pulling my hair out!  I've put it together, torn it apart, re-designed and re-assembled it many times over, but I'm finally happy with it, so I hope you like it too.  If you're like me, you've got lots of pictures from your Olympic experiences, and this little book is designed to showcase your faves. 

Having the Olympics in our backyard was such an amazing experince, there was so much to see and do, even if you didn't have tickets to any of the events.  We just wandered around down town and had a great ime.  Luckily, the weather for us was gorgeous, though it didn't seem to matter, once you got downtown, the fever spread rapidly!

So this class will be held in the beginning of April, more specifically, April 3rd.  There are a couple reasons behind this.  First, the IA meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March the 20th, and the next weekend is out because my awesome baby crumper, Chloe, is in a competition that Saturday night (whoo hoo, go Chloe!!!)  Plus, I need to order the paper for this project, so I'll need to have sign up complete by the 20th, so I know how much I'll have to order, and to make sure it gets here on time.  Please keep in mind, I don't think you'll be able to whip this book off in a couple hours - you can count on a full evening, but I'm sure you'll be happy with the end product!  Cost of the class is $25, and there are only eight spots available, so if you're interested, please let me know right away, either by email (cnhird@shaw.ca) or post a comment.

I've also had a couple request for a crop night here, at my place.  I'm totally open to this, and thought we'd give it a try.  I'll run it just the same as any other crop night the LSS offer.  The Crop Fee will be $7, which will give you access to all my tools (Big Shot, Revolution, Cricut, etc.), in addition to consumables, such as ink pads, cricut mats, embossing powders, etc., and a door prize ticket.  I can accomodate 12 comfortably, so we'll cap it there.  If you bring something to share (an appy, dessert, etc.) you'll receive an extra doorprize ticket.  Our first Crop Night will be on Saturday, April 10th, 7pm - 12am.  Again, just email or post to sign up!

So now that the Olympic book is completed and off the table, I am starting to work on a beautiful spring project, I'm very excited about it.  And hopefully, it'll be completed before the summer (LOL!!  Joking!!!) 

Have a great day everyone!!

Ink-A-Holics Annonymous...

...is the official name of our club!!  Yay, I'm so glad we finally have a name!!  And ain't it the truth - do you consider yourself an addict to paper crafting of some description or another?!  Here's how you know if you're a scrap addict:

1. Seriously, you DON'T need any more paper, but it's sooooo pretty/cute/stunning...
2. You're so glad you bought all that new stuff.  Now you can go home, organize it, look at it, re-organize it...but don't you dare make a project out of it - that may ruin it!
3. You have more stickers than your kids/grandkids/kids you babysit.
4. You think Kraft Dinner, or maybe even popcorn, is nutritious enough for the kids'/husband's/your own dinner.  Who has time to make dinner - you've got to re-organize your stash incase you may want to find something one day!  Just for the purpose of showing it off though...
5. You make your family/friends pose for those "candid" shots.

So I think Ink-A-Holics Annonymous is very fitting!  Thanks to all who submitted a name, and to everyone who exercised their right to vote!!  By the way, the creative brain that thought up this title belongs to Christine!  Yay Chris!  I'll have your prize for you at the next I.A meeting!!

Next up, I owe an apology to Lujza.  Due to some switching around of Hostess Months, I got mixed up.  Technically, it should have been Lujza's month this past time around, as she was originally slated for February and was not involved in the swapping of months.  And yet she ever so gracefully accepted my mistake and did not make me feel bad about it.  I do feel bad about it, but she didn't make me feel worse - thanks Lujza!  To make up for my mistake, I'l have a little extra something for you when our order comes in, Lujza.  Thanks again.

Speaking of which, here is the order in which we are Hostessing:

January - Mary Lou  Complete
February - Erica   Complete
March - Lujza
April - Rosemarie
May - Laura
June - Karen
July - Lori
August - Christina
September - Christine

The months were assigned on a first come, first serve basis.  If you are wanting to switch, please contact the person you want to switch with.  If you both agree, then just let me know, I'll confirm it with the other person involved and we'll go ahead from there.  This should cut out any further confusion.  Thanks for you understanding with this.

Last, I just wanted to thank you for you continued patience.  February has been a very hectic month, personally.  I'm currently working on two classes, a canvas and an Olympic mini album, both of which I'm very excited about!!  Pictures will be posted the moment I have the projects complete.  There was also some interest expressed in having a couple kids classes during Spring Break.  This is also in the works, though its currently last in line.  But if I get off this computer and start working on projects, it'll quickly move up the scale!  So off I go!  Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Despite the rumours...

...I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!!  I'm sorry, I know I haven't posted anything new in a couple of weeks, as many have reminded me!  Boy, it sure makes me happy to know there are some of you out there who care to check my blog on a regular basis!!!  Anyways, fear not, I'm currently working on some projects for March, and hope to have pictures and descriptions posted early next week.  So I'm keeping this short so I can get back to creating!!  Thanks again so much for your interest and support, and you'll be hearing from me again very soon!

So here's what's been filling my time this week...

Career Day - I've heard of it lots, but never experienced it. My Dad never came to my school to tell everyone what he did for a living. Sure, I did a report on him and his job, but he wasn't on the hook for anything! Well, times have changed, for me, anyways! On Monday, I'm scheduled to give a presentation (in English, thank goodness!) to Dawson's class and the other Grade One class, on what I do for a living, what tools I use in my job, and what technology I use. So I thought I'd take my tool bag and show them the cool, and ordinary, tools I use. Then I thought I'd take my Cricut. I'll demo it, but I wanted to give each child something to take home with them, something that I've made with the Cricut. So lots of sticky fingers and late nights later, here are my 15 Mickey and 30 Minnie Bookmarks, just in time for the start of the Read-A-Thon! Wish me luck - its amazing how intimidated you can be by a room full of six year olds!!!

Does anyone have any interest...

...in making the "Honey Do" corkboard project (see pictures a few entries down)? I had kind of just done it for myself, but since posting I've had a few inqueries about it as a class. If anyone is interested, please post in the comments or email me (cnhird@shaw.ca). The cost of such a class would be $25. I will pre-paint the frame of the board, as this takes a bit of time. In order to have it ready as a Valentine's Day present for your Honey, we'd have to do it pretty quick. I'm thinking a weeknight would work best, probably Tuesday, the 9th of February at 7 p.m. If you're interested, could you please let me know asap as I'll need to go pick up supplies. Thanks so much!

And the winner is...???

So, we didn't have many ideas submitted for the naming of our crazy little club. The Saturday night crew did, however, come up with these ideas: The Inklings, Two Old Ladies and the Legally Blind, The Stampettes, and finally, The Blind Mice. Personally, I'm liking TOL & the LB. I can't help but laugh every time I think of it. The only problem is I'm not so sure the TOLs like it!!! If there are any more suggestions, send them in quickly, or post a comment with your favourite. We can't remain nameless forever! And don't forget, there is a prize involved!!!

I just wanted to thank the Club Ladies for a wonderful first meeting. I had a great time, and I really hope you did too. I do have to apologize to the Monday-nighters, though. Yes, you were the guinea pig round, as I told you, but I was a little absent-minded. Not that I'm trying to come up with excuses, but here's my excuse - I've been down and out with a bad cold this week, I think Monday was the beginning, so I do apologize. I recognized where I was lacking, and thanks to you, the weekenders had a perfect class!!! LOL! Anyways, you're all locked in for eight more months (haha!), so that's plenty of time for me to make it up to you, I hope!! {{Hugs}} to the Monday crew! You know I love ya!

All in all, both groups had fun. Look at my Little Laura, showin' me da love!! You rock, sista! There were lots of laughs, yummy treats (thanks Mom Hird, Lujza and my Jamie, for providing satisfying snacks for our dear preggie! Next month - ice cream out of the tub and pickles!) and great projects that all turned out a little different as you put your own spin on them, which I LOVE! I've already got ideas brewing for the next two months and I'm really excited about them. The good news is, I don't think they'll take you all night either! You can go home to your cozy beds before midnight! Or maybe I should set up cots in the living room. Hmmmm...

The weekenders did the door prize draw (thanks Lujza), and your wishful thinking did the trick, Christina, you're the big winner!! I'll include your prize with you order - you're going to love it!

Finally, here's the full on pics of the projects, for those of you who got too sleepy to finish. LOL!

Thanks again, my dear friends. You have no idea how much you enrich my life, and I'm so happy I can share my love of crafting with you.

XOXO,

Chriss

Happy Heart-day to my main cog...

So what do you give your Sweetie when he's already got it all (he has you after all, doesn't he?) You give him work to do, little jobs around the house. This is a pricless gift; a stroking of the ego, if you will. Letting him know how valuable he is to you, is, in a word, invaluable. Reminding him that he's the main cog in the machine that is your home is worth your weight in gold (which, in my case, wouldn't be such a bad deal!!). Plus, its nice to put your feet up and watch him push the vacuum around once in awhile, right?! So here's what I'm giving my other half for the big day. I know, I know, its not really that romantic...from my perspective, that is. But think about it from his. Here's a sample "Honey-Do" list, complete with translations:

1. Unclog drain in bathroom

My Point of View - Gross, disgusting, YUCK!

His Point of View - I'm a man; I can fix anything = Hero

2. Cut the Grass

My Point of View - Boooring!

His Point of View - I'm a man; I'm the only one who can nurse these emerald blades to their ever deserving glory = Hero

3. Chop firewood

My Point of View - I want to be toasty, cozy warm, not sweaty!

His Point of View - I'm not only a man, I'm a stong man = Hero

So for Valentine's Day this year, I'm going to make my guy feel like a hero, by giving him as many jobs as I can think of! Just think of the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment he'll feel everytime he can cross one off the list. And don't worry, you're not limited to stereotypical "man" jobs either. Check it out:

Men LOVE to do housework - its the whole "anything you can do, I can do better" syndrome. I say, go to it! He probably can do it better! And faster! No kidding, he'll have the house spotless and be back out there, beer in hand, admiring his lush, green masterpiece and patting himself on the back in no time flat! My hero!!!

**Disclaimer** All above content intended for comic relief. What...you don't think I'm funny? I think I'm funny. Maybe that's the problem, I'm the only one who thinks I'm funny.

"That's NOT appropriate, Mom!"

So here's the Valentine's I thought the kids and I could make together for them to give to their classmates. I figured it was a cute idea, but I guess Chloe's getting to that age - you know what I'm talking about. She says its alright to give these to the girls, but they're not "appropriate" for the boys. Why? Because it says "fishes, wishes and KISSES"! Ha! So I guess its back to the drawing board for a more appropriate design! I should be happy she feels this way, and I am - after all, I'm always telling myself she's growing up way to fast. But along with this, why can't she still have tea parties, play with dollies and want to hang out with her Mommy all the time?! {{sigh!}}

This is sooo sweet and EASY!

Here is a super cute project that came from Splitcoast Stampers last week. (Scroll down the page a bit till you see, under "Latest News", Wednesday Tutorial - Faux Leather Wallet). Its an adorable mini wallet that's the perfect size for a gift card, plus an extra little treat! Chloe's going to a party today and they're now at the age where they enjoy receiving a gift card so they can go to the mall and shop for themselves. So I went and picked up a giftcard from Claire's, plus a bottle of sassy nail polish and tucked them inside this cute wallet. The wallet itself is made of cardstock, which is dry embossed, then wet embossed. The result? It almost feels like patent leather! The original was dry embossed with a snakeskin type embossing folder, but I didn't have one like that, plus I liked flowers - after all, they are still little girls! Check out the link, it really is a quick, easy and sweet project!

Heeeere's the layouts!

Okay, I'm finally finished. Many of you already know this about me - I'm a slow scrapper, but I'm usually pleased with what I turn out! Well, here are the two layouts for the class on...oh, right,I haven't set a date yet!! How about Saturday, February 13th @ 7:00p.m.? If you're interested in this class but can't make that date, let me know, we'll work something out!

Here are the pics:

For the first layout, you'll need a 4x6 portrait (up and down orientation) picture, and two 2x6 photos (cropped down from a 4x6). Layout number two requires a 5x7 landscape (across from side to side in orientation) photo. Also, please bring the regular stuff - a trimmer, scissors, adhesives, etc. If you have any of the following, please bring as well, to cut down on wait time: Chocolate Chip ink pad, Chocolate Chip journaling pen, Whisper White ink pad and Taken With Teal inkpad. No worries if you don't have these, you most certainly can use mine!

So far, the following awesomites (yeah, I just made up that word!) have signed up for the class:

Lujza
Laura
Kelly
Mary Lou
Shelley (Sorry Shelley, I've been spelling your name wrong all this time...oops!)

If you're interested, email me at cnhird@shaw.ca (sorry, I haven't figured out how to link it up yet, but you know I will!)

Thanks for checking it out everyone! Hope you all have a fab evening!!

Chriss <3 :)

Here I am!

Hey everyone! So here I am trying my hand at blogging! This is relatively new to me, so please bear with me and any mistakes I make! Just don't laugh at me too hard, or if you do, don't tell me, okay!! First of all, a special thanks to my BFF, Erica, for helping me set up this blog. She was only here about a month and a half ago helping me and its taken me this long to do something with it! So anyways, here goes!

Stampmates Club (somebody PLEASE help come up with a cooler name for our club!)

So, there's been some conflict as to what dates will work for everyone for the club. Some wanted a weekday, others, a weekend. So here's what I propose. I'll try this month running it two days. We'll go with the original Monday night, January the 18th, at 7:00 p.m., and then again on Saturday, January 23rd, same time. If everyone could please email me to let me know which night you'll be attending, I would appreciate it.

Here's our updated member list:

Erica - January
Lujza - February
Mary Lou - March
Rosemarie - April
Laura - May
Karen - June
Lori - July
Christina - August
Christine - September

This is the order in which you all signed up, and I thought this would be the best way to determine the order in which you will receive your Hostess Benefits. So whatever month is beside your name, that is the month that its your turn to play "hostess". I'm more than happy to host all the club meetings at my house. This saves you from tidying, etc. for company, and I do have the room, after all. But I do ask that as hostess, you bring a little snack to share with the group. Nothing fancy, homemade or store-bought, doesn't matter, it'll just help out. We'll also complete a project at each meeting, which I'll supply at no cost to you. Here's a sneak peek at January's projects:


Please be sure to bring with you your bag-o-basics - adhesives, pop dots, scissors, emery board, etc. If you happen to have a SU Chocolate Chip ink pad, any SU Stamp-n-Write markers and/or a crop-a-dile, that would be helpful in cutting down wait time for supplies. I'm so excited about our first get-together! See you all on either the 18th or the 23rd!

Valentine Card Class - February 6th, 7:00p.m.
$10.00

These cards are quick and cute! We'll be using a couple of new Valentine's stamp sets, Stampin' Write markers, and one of Stampin' Up's new punches. We'll make two of each card, so you'll go home with eight sweet Valentines for Cupid to deliver to your little loves, plus a small bonus project!

And here's our class list so far:
Lujza
Mary Lou
Rosmarie
Erica
Karen
Christina
Renee
Lori
Laura

Double 12x12 Layout Class - February 13, 7:00p.m.
I've had a few requests for Layout classes, and I'm MORE than happy to do this! I'm currently working on a couple layouts, and as soon as they're complete, I'll post them (in the next couple of days). I'm estimating that the class would probably be in the $15 - $20 range, definitely no more. If you're interested in this, please email me. This is not a commitment, I'm just curious to see how many would be interested in doing layouts.

So that's it for my first post! Thanks for taking the time to check it out! I'll talk to you all again soon!

Chriss : )