About a week ago or so ...

.. Hayley and I did our annual Christmas shopping at Granville Island ...Such a fun place to visit and look and dream and just enjoy ... i love this place even on the rainiest of days ... in fact i think i like it better in the rain ... afterall that's what Vancouver is all about ... right??? Best place to shop for stocking stuffers ... totally the kids market ... fave store .... way too many to name, but Circle Craft has long been a fave just because there are so many uber talented artists represented in this one store ... love the blown glass sea creatures ... (not allowed to take pics in there) but they are amazing! Off course lots of shots of the plentiful fruits, veggies, flowers, food ... yummy ... and a few other shots ... here's what the day looked like ...

Merry Chrisbird and other random flights of fancy ...

Christmas ... my Dad is pulling the turkey from the oven ... it is perfectly roasted, the skin looks deliciously crisp and aromas of the cooked bird and veggies and other delights fills the room ... and I think to myself "Merry Chrisbird" ... Years ago .... decades actually ... a long time ago when I was married my husband bought me a beautiful grey English Budgie ... it was a hilarious bird and very friendly. We used to let it out of it's cage quite a bit ... it would fly and swoop and it loved to land on the rim of glasses ... I cant begin to tell you how many times it tried to take a sip of coke and ended up at the bottom of a glass and us shaking him out into the sink and then of course trying to clean his feathers from the sticky mess he had gotten into ... Anyways ... he talked ... and he had a huge vocabulary ... he knew hundreds of words .... he could say his name "Precious" (yes we were into the LOTR long before it became as big as it is now) ... he could say almost anything we tried to teach him ... we left him with my parents for a week when we were on vacation and during that time my dad taught him to say "oh shit" ... hilarious stuff .... but during the last year of his life he started mixing up his sentences and words ... no longer what he was taught verbatim ... so we would hear things like "pretty shit, pretty shit" or "I'm a ring bird, I'm a ring bird" The funniest of all was when he came out with "Merry Chrisbird ... have a Merry Chrisbird" ... i think we just about peed ourselves we were laughing so hard ... So that's what i was thinking and remembering just before it was time for the Christmas meal ... hilarious, yet odd ... I hadn't thought of Precious in a long long time, but it was a wonderful memory ... sparked by the site of a truly pretty & well cooked bird ....

And while we were enjoying the warmth and aromas and wonderful Christmas decorations inside the house, Mother Nature was decorating the outdoors in crystals made from morning frost, and softly muting the backgrounds with fog ...
Hope you all created some memories and had a wonderful Christmas ... and thanks for stopping by...

Would you let your kids eat this???

Seriously ... this is DD breakfast ... looks rather .... toxic? full of empty calories and chemicals? They don't sell this stuff in Canada ... One of Hayley's friend's mom picked these up for Hayley during a cross border shopping trip ... Trix Swirls ... yumm ..... Yeah, we are hardened criminals here ... we employ cereal mules ... psssst, lady wanna make some quick cash .... just bring a few boxes of Trix across the border for us .... maybe some of that Trix yogurt if they still make it ...
I just love these cards that I made at the Scrapaholics Christmas crop .... These are from Sue F's "16 cards class" ... she did a wonderful job of prepping everything so all we had to do was assemble ... I brought them home and tarted them up a wee bit with some stickles ... they are now wrapped in wide lace with a vintage tag, ready to give as a Christmas Gift.
An envelope for my friend Lisa, who has been missing real cards made with real paper and sent in the mail .... she's not enjoying the whole cyber card thing so much ... it was way to late for me to mail her "real homemade card" so I tarted up the envelope a bit ... even put red sealing wax on the back, and dropped it off to her mailbox today .... I'm hoping she likes the envelope as much as the card.
mmmmm, can you just smell these .... two whole batches of gingerbread men cookies ... now all decorated ... Hayley did these last night and then whisked them all off to work today ... all of them ... seriously every last crumb is out of this house and I didn't get a single little nibble ... which is for the best, but gosh they sure made the house smell yummy!

My next post will be a little scrappier ... i did get some scrapping time in yesterday ... thanks for stopping by!

What comes around .... part 2 & Happy Happy Mail

Remember that post way back in October?? no?? ... this one ... well i got my prezzie from Carrie on Sunday at the scrapaholics crop ... so this is what she made me ...


very pretty isnt it!!! Thanks so much Carrie! now i just have to get my butt in gear and make prezzies for Hayley, Carrie and Sue C. hopefully i can start after the new year!

and the happy mail ... I was finally able to get my hands on a 7Gypsies stamp i have been lusting after for ever! This stamp is a copy of one of their most popular rubons (and i have burned through 3 of those) so I am stoked to get my hands on this beauty ...



I just know that i am going to be using this stamp set forever!!! Thanks for stopping by!

So last week ....

I was at the store most of the week ... the building POTP is in had a few problems with pipes ... and oh not so lucky us had not one but two pits dug up right in front of the entrance ... and then there was that whole issue where they actually had to tunnel underneath the building .... luckily the neighbours allowed our customers to use their entrance and their back halls to get to the store ... it was weird though having people enter the store through the back ...



I actually did two layouts with the new Collage Press Joyride line ... my style seems to be getting simpler ... i think ... and as much as i love patterned paper i seem to be using less of it these days ... but i do love this line ... the colours are astounding and the content so playful ... and the chipboard ... love it!!! just wish i was better at photographing my layouts, especially in winter when i just dont get lots of natural light into my home.



and guess who got to go to the Lady Gaga concert??? well not me .... i won the tickets but let dd take a friend with her ... they loved it ... and they loved the audience ... and just about everything about the show ... so i missed a good one, but it did feel good sharing the wealth so to speak!

Happy Birthday Dad! ... the topiary and a little macro shot ...

I made this card for my dad using Collage Press die cut scraps ... you know, those little bits left over after you pop out the diecut from the sheet ... these were the "rings" of pattern left on the 12x12 sheet, that i then cut out and used ... and lucky me, the "witty" patterned paper had a Number 78 on it ... perfect for my Dad's Birthday. Happy 78th to my favourite guy!

The topiary is back ... well it never left ... but it was redone for the winter... and now sits in the store at POTP. Last year it was a lollipop tree in BG Wassil ... then it became a bright yellow daisy tree ... now its a Pointsettia tree using this years BG Eskimo kisses. The Pointsettia flowers were made the same way as the ones on the wreath .... the only difference ... different paper and i used some of those old shaped paper scissors to cut out one of the flowers.



And here is a little macro shot ... not that great, just used my point and shoot ... these are a few of my mom's itty bitty decorations... these little imps and others sit in a little snow carriage ... the pipe cleaner sprite is well over 50 years old ... i think it is actually closer to 60! I have no idea how old the elf is and the little christmass bunny is something i made for my mom about 15 years ago ...

And Izzy ... the only one to hazard a guess on my last post ... and you were totally right ... I will bring some vintagey bits of joy with me when I see you at the crop next weekend!

As always, thanks for stopping by ... now go glue something fun!

AM .... PM

AM
Ding dong .... the doorbell ... now imagine a 4 1/2 pound yorkie/chihuahua/maltese mix barking at the top of its squeaky little voice and almost tripping me on the way downstairs to the door. Yeah, it's my buddy the mailman ... in my hand ... a yappy dog, in his hands, a bill, an electronic signature device and a package!!! and the package is flat but a good 12 x 12 in size!!! I sign the machine while he pats my dog ... and we chat, exhange pleasantries and smiles ... and he leaves ... I of course run upstairs with my package, dog and bill in hand. I release the dog, throw the bill on the stack of other things not yet opened and race up to my daughter (who is the official package opener in this house) she tears the package open, says cute ... and resumes her studying ... i grab the package and rush down to my scrap area to ooogle my goodies. Yes, It's the Collection Pack of JoyRide, the newest release by Collage Press!!! I have been coveting this line and to get it as a prezzie from Collage Press is just too exciting ... i am hoping to play most of tommorrow with it! And i want snow damit, fresh snow right now so i can take more pictures .... oooh and i got a package of chipboard embellishments as well .... better yet, you all know how i love "text" and text stamps and using book pages and well all things the text ... i pull out the piece of pattern paper in the collection pack that is all text on one side and begin to read and holy kismet batman ... it's the words to one of my all time favourite books .... Here's the first bit printed on the paper ... "Perhaps he must, if he sees enough of her. But, though Bingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours together; and, as they always see each other in large mixed parties ..."
Tell me which novel is partially reprinted on the JoyRide paper and i will do a random draw later this week and send the winner some vintagey inspired goodies ....


PM
You gotta do some imagining here ... DD imitating a soldier on a walky talkie ... "crrrrk .... We have a wild hair in Sector 7 ... Repeat a wild hair in Sector 7 ... crrrk ..." followed by me yelling "is it long?" ... DD rushes for the tweezers and pulls a nasty 12footlong hair from my chin ... okay, it wasn't really 12 feet long, but my embarrasement made me feel like it was 12 feet long ... "Crrrrk .... Sector 7 cleared, repeat Sector 7 cleared ... crrrk" Oh the glories of getting older ... my hormones are once again running amok and hairs sprout from weird places and my eyes are too weak to see them ... not so loving this stage ... then again, its better than no stage at all ....

Thanks for stopping by, y'all come back now ...

I got this!!! I made this!!!

Well lookie here at what I got!!! Thanks Kathy, that is oh so sweet of you to send me an award!!!

Once the award is accepted, the nominee has to do the following:
• Thank the sender for nominating you.
• Make sure you link to the person who nominated you.
• Copy the logo onto your blog
• List seven interesting things about yourself.

1. hmmm ... somedays i think i am totally uninteresting
2. The first book i ever received as a gift was the bible ... i still have it, and the smell of it (leather bound) and the feel of the really fine pages always remind me of being a small child, sitting in a pew on a sunday morning, dressed in my best, and watching the shine on my patten leather shoes as i swing my feet back and forth.
3. I love licorice ... the saltier the better ...
4. I love carousels ... I wish i had the money to collect real vintage carousel horses
5. I'm still longing for a pony ... all my friends had them when i was growing up
6. I love looking for beauty amongst the dirt and industry and grime ...
7. I am a project runway junkie ... and yes, i do know i could find out who won if i googled it but i dont want to know ... we are a few (sarcasm) episodes behind the states on this show ... i cant beleive i can take a day to do a page and on PR in a day they can dream up and execute and entire look/garment!

• Nominate Seven Kreative Bloggers
As usual i seem to be the last one in my group to notice my award and everyone else has been sent this love award ...

• Post links to their Blogs

• Leave a comment for each letting them know of their nomination.



I made this cute little wreath ... tres easy! I got the idea from Carries blog and she got the idea from the Fancy Pants blog.
I changed it up a bit ... I didn't have a floral foam wreath so instead i used a white styro wreath ... i covered the wreath with wide green ribbon first.
I used last years Basic Grey Wassil line (loved that line of papers and i still have tons). This line of paper was printed on some heavy paper, it is quite thick and therefore a whole lot less pliable. My test flowers were done on a lighter weight paper and i made them exactly as shown on the FP blog, but with the weight of the BG papers, i just made the large flowers and because they wouldn't move as much i used 8 petals instead of the 6 shown on the FP and Carries blogs. But it still looks okay ... i hope ... It is hanging on the door at Pick of the Patch if you want to take a look irl.

busy ... busy ... busy ...

wow, a whole week + has gone by since my last post... i'm wondering where all of my time is going ... but this time of year things do get busy! The good news ...my house is immaculate, the Christmas decorations are up, the tree is up and decorated and the outside lights are up ... well kind of ... I think a trip to the hardware store is going to be required to get that nasty little job complete! Now if only I could borrow someones hubby to finish the job for me ...

Zero scrapping done ... but i did manage to make cards for a December card class at Pick of the Patch!
And remember my last post about the too much ribbon??? ummmm, look what came in the mail ... yes, more ribbon!!!! that i kinda forgot that i ordered .... i seriously have issues with ribbon ... and as promised, although a little late .... drumroll please .... Lois!!! you are about to get a serious bit of a ribbon rak ...so send me your happy mail address and i will get it out to you.

I'm going to spend the rest of the day knocking items off of my list ... hem a curtain, laundry, and unplug a bathroom sink .... oh joy oh joy! Thanks for stopping by yall!

Too Cute , Too Much & Too Choo!!!

Too Cute
I made this little album and it is just too cute! ... because Maya Road made the uber cute album and Basic Grey made the uber cute papers ... but seriously ... if you find this little chipboard album buy it!! it is inexpensive, it is big/small enough to hang as a large Christmas tree ornament so it would make a lovely gift. It comes with lots of bits ... they give you a second sheet of chipboard so you could make this tree again by using the original shapes as a template. They give you tons of shapes to use ... stuff i have left over ... 3 edge/borders in 3 styles, xmas round decorations, stars, stockings, mitts and a wreath, and of course the whole other sheet of chipboard. It makes up quick and easy ... I'm going to hang mine from the tree and add some of this years xmas pics to it at the end of the season.

Too Much
Seriously ... i have way too much ribbon ... like way too much ... if you want some, just leave a little comment telling me what you have too much of and i will draw names on this thursday and send the winner a ribbon rak!

Too Choo!
So dd and friend lined up last night for the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection. The collection included womens and mens shoes & accessories as well as womens and mens clothes ... yup, kind of historic launch's for both H&M and Jimmy Choo ... so, they lined up at 3:00 am and lucky them they were in time to get a "wristband & number"(there were only 140 given out) ... once the store opened they were let into the Choo shoes and accessories section according to their wristband time and number, they got a personal shopper and 10 minutes only to basically point and try on. The personal shoppers pulled all of the items and sent them to cash. The prices were excellent for Choo ... DD picked up a to die for bag and gorgeous bracelette ... her friend picked up to pairs of the sexiest shoes ever ... oh to be 20 again ...

Remembering ....

My dearest, most loved Grandfather, Henry Charles Chambers Phillips,of the 8th Battalion, 90th Winnapeg Rifles, and my Dear Great Uncle Albert Phillips. Both Vetrans of WW1.

Go ahead, make my day .... and other stuff

And Wowzers, that is exactly what College Press did ... Imagine what happened when I hopped on over to their blog this morning!!! you have to take a peek yourself to see what has got me doing the happy dance. Thanks College Press, that was so much fun! And while we are on the topic, local girls, if you see the new College Press Joyride line anywhere can you let me know ... I'm dying to get my hands on it!

Hayley's blog post the other day has me thinking ... and rethinking (I'm not seeking fame, but I am looking for something) ... then, my fave challenge blog closed .... then Erica called the store the other day and we got to chatting ... and now I am thinking that I really do miss being part of an online community ... but I have yet to find one that fits .... I miss being on a DT ... i work really well with deadlines and the creative community of a DT is really uplifting and challenging and well just fun ... so maybe i will start poking around to see what is out there ...

Carrie has me feeling really owlish these days .... so i used some older kaiser craft paper and rubons, some not so great older photos, and this teeny little acrylic album (i think it is scrapworks but not to sure) and this is what i came up with!




I hope you all have a wonderful day and find something to do the happy dance about!!!

Thanks Friend!

Lookie what Carrie gave me!!! how very cool is that!

This award is bestowed onto blogs that are exceedingly charming. These bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes cut, even more friendships are propagated. (Thanks for noticing Jackie, it means a lot to me!!)

Please give more attention to these writers.

Deliver this award to six bloggers, who must choose six more and include this cleverly written text in the body of their award.
So I am sending it to Lois, Sue C & Sue F ... all of my other bloggy buddies have these lovey little acknowledgments.

Don't know how charming my blog is, but i'm not into the self-aggrandizement stuff, and wowzers, big word for so late at night! Right now simple single syllables are about all i want to type or speak....
Carrie, I hope you find your owl ring girl ... let me know if you do!

Die Cuts & Journalling cards ... a mini book

You get some interesting ideas when you hang out at a friends scrapbooking store. One thing i noticed earlier this year, was that sheets of die cuts, or journaling cards don't sell as fast as the paper line they are with and that some customers truly didnt know how they would use them ... So when i looked at the uber cute sweet shoppe line I thought to myself ... hey, those journaling cards and die cuts are just too cute!!! ... i need to show people how to use these ... and Voila! the idea of a a mini book popped into my head!



I know most of you have seen this IRL as it has been in the shop for a couple of months now, but I did think it was time to blog it ... well that and the fact that Collage Press has a little die cut challenge on right now ... hehehe ...


So here it is .... or at least here are parts of it, i didn't include all of the pages ... and I haven't done the journalling ... but this whole little book is about how DD and I went to a Caribbean Festival and kept finding sweets ... well that and that weird ad campaign at a bus stop!


Comment of the Day ... DD says "seriously, did we buy these cupcakes as props or do we actually get to eat them?" ... ah yes, the child of a scrapper ....