King of the Castle

Had to share this pic of Cale....King of the Castle. We spent some of the morning skating with our family and then when our toes were too cold for skates, back into boots for some slides down the hill in the parking lot of the Kleefeld Arena. A fun Christmas morning! Now, off to hula hoop and Slolam ski on the Wii Fit!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Our tradition here is to have our immediate family Christmas celebration on the day closest to the 25th for which Trev is home for Breakfast :) That means, work days are out (he leaves around 7am) and Sundays traditionally are out unless we skip church(he often leads worship and needs to be at church early). We love the whole "get-up-early-to-open-presents-and-stay-in-your-PJs-all-morning-to-play" thing. We're not as particular about the day. So....today was Christmas at our house.
It started with the kids dancing around our beds yelling, "Wakee-wakee" as usual. Egan went to turn on the pre-set coffee pot so we got up when we could smell it brewing :) Instead of actually reading the Christmas story from Luke or Matthew this year, we just sat and had the kids re-tell it from their memories. We talked for a little while about the story, it's meaning, our favourite parts of the story and it ended up being much more meaningful than rushing through the traditional reading. I love that my kids know the true meaning of Christmas and delaying gifts to talk about God's goodness and gift to us, isn't a hardship for them.

Gifts actually started last night (we have a pre-Christmas gift which the kids know is always PJs and they love that we pretend it's not every year). Here they are last night lined up ready to open pajamas. This year I stuffed small black sheep (Bath & Body Works) into their PJ packages :)

So, dressed in their new PJs (except Mica, whose cozy footed-sleepers were too warm to wear the whole night) the kids opened presents this morning and then we played for awhile and then went sledding. The snow was a little too sticky so we didn't last long even though it was a pretty nice -12 or so. A few more pictures from this morning:Both boys got hockey figurines from their favourite teams (Calgary & Toronto)

Cale got a football (up till now, they've been sharing Egan's) and Egan got a bike helmet (not shown)

The boys love getting joint video game gifts...this year Indiana Jones Lego for Wii and Madden '08 for DS

Mica got a new hat (doesn't she look awesome in hats?), some art supplies (acrylic paints, etc)...

....and an Ipod Shuffle. There was much rejoicing over this item, let me tell you!

Merry Christmas from all of us!

A little bit of what makes me tick

I don't usually post scrappy/art-type things here on this blog...mostly because I have another blog dedicated only to that, but this is a big part of my life so I'm going to share :)

I just "met" the nicest lady. Online. Her name is Bettina and she owns this company called:
I found her site and fell in love with some of her designs so I asked her whether she'd like to have someone designing art with her beautiful stamps...and she took me up on it :) I'm now on her Design Team. Here are a few of the first cards I've made with the stamps she sent me:

One of the coolest things about My Stamp Box stamps is that they come packaged in CD cases. It's wonderful for storage! I've already switched some of my older acrylic stamps to CD cases...what a space-saver!

Anyway....as Christmas is approaching, I'm very much looking forward to some crafting time with my kids, with some friends and of course, with my SIL when she comes out for the holidays! I have My Stamp Box stamps to play with, New Equinox from Rose Moka to play with, and a huge box of goodies from Clear Scraps that I've barely touched to surface of....it's going to be like, well...like Christmas :)

Decision made!

No Mac here this year...in answer to the "to mac, or not to mac" question. But we did end up with a laptop upstairs that will come in handy as vehicle entertainment and work-&-watch-TV-at-the-same-time moments. The kids got all the leftover computer parts put into a games-only station in the music room, and then...my scrapbook room got a serious upgrade (flat screen, good keyboard, authentic Windows apparently, and a DVD drive for movies while scrapbooking). Here it is:
It's not the sleekest thing on the market by far...but it's a huge improvement and all the upgrades were completely covered by Christmas gift money :) gotta love that!

My Stamp Box cards

I'm finally back online...and better than ever. We upgraded some computer equipment here at home and although my scraproom computer is second on the totem pole, so to speak...I got some kick-butt new stuff (flat screen monitor from upstairs, better keyboard, the printer, scanner, etc installed in my room....yipee)! And....I can now access my pictures again....so without further ado:

My first 4 cards with My Stamp Box stamps! I am loving these!


Made with the "Many Many Thanks" stamp set:



Made with the "She Says - He Says" and "Tiny Greetings" stamp sets:



Made with the "Birthday Numbers" stamp set:



Made with the "Many Many Thanks" stamp set:


Keep posted for more examples :)
Thanks for looking!!

11 random facts - reprint

I'm reprinting my "11 random facts about me" and putting out the challenge to some new blogging friends of mine. Hopefully they'll comment here and that will lead you to their blogs where you'll learn a little more about them too :) For everyone who leads from here with a list of their own....I'll throw your name in a hat for a prize (TBA).

Happy reading!




1. I feel like my age stopped at 25 or so and that all my friends are all 25, just like me. It surprises me when I remember I'm now 37.

2. I cry like a baby at sappy movies - any sweet love stories, any untimely death stories, any missing children stories, and especially sad animal moments (like Charlotte's death in Charlotte's Web, etc). I also cry when watching a baby being born, human or animal - the miracle of birth never, ever ceases to amaze me.

3. One of my biggest pet peeves is typos and grammatical errors in officially published documents. I used to work for a man who would write his advertisements the way his brain translated them - directly from Dutch to English - without asking someone who actually spoke the language to edit/double check.....aaaarrg!

4. I had my first baby in the front seat of our Dodge Neon. Not exactly what those cars were designed for by the way.

5. I played (past tense) piano. I was studying my Grade 9 Royal Conservatory when I finished high school....but I haven't played much or used it since and so even though I got a piano for Mother's Day a few years ago, I'm really rusty and don't play much.

6. When I was in Grade 12, I went on a band tour to Europe for a couple of weeks - we saw The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and France. And at the end of the tour, our last concert was in Grand Forks, North Dakota and my friend and I were so tired of wearing pantyhose (eeeewww) that we ducked into a supply closet right after our last concert and ditched ours there.

7. With my first pregnancy I had a craving for oranges. I once ate a 5 lb bag of oranges in 2 days - as well as drinking OJ for breakfast. And, stranger yet... I love to read - read every single day - but with my 2nd pregnancy I had an aversion to reading. For several months I couldn't concentrate on a book and didn't even like to read, despite the fact that I was in the middle of a series by my favourite author at the time. A couple days after my DS was born, I came home and devoured the whole series.

8. Trev & I were friends for a couple of years but we only dated long distance for 2 months and in the same city for 1 month before getting engaged. When I called some friends to tell them I was engaged, their reaction was, "...to who??" Our first date was to a small-town theatre to see "Wayne's World" (still love that movie!)

9. I had serious doubts and even mocked people who felt they had met 'good friends' online through the internet/chat rooms/websites....and now I'm one of those who feels like I belong to some great, great, great groups of women!

10. My greatest desire is to know God and recognize his voice when He speaks to me. My second greatest desire is to love and be loved by Trev.

11. I kill houseplants. Really - I can't keep them alive to save my own life. I don't even know really why I try. I can barely keep plants alive outside where I have the sun and the rain to help me.


Don't know if those are random enough - or if any of them are actually news to you, but that's me! Take it or leave it.


Comment here and we'll follow your link to your blog to read your Random 11 :)

The Amazing Hand of God

OK, I have to share this. My friend Lynette inspires me constantly. She's open and honest and truly searching to be God's woman. Her blog is full of moments in her day that God has spoken to her, answered prayers, and most of all, beauty that she sees in everything around her. This past week, she got a new camera (Canon S5). I'm a little jealous b/c this is the camera DH & I have been wanting...but the jealousy is far out-weighed by the awe I have for what she's been able to capture with a new camera. Check out this snowflake she captured on her black mitten. Isn't that amazing? Unique and perfect. I'm in awe of how my God puts the details into the tiniest, almost unseen things. Lynette's right when she asks, how much more care and detail must he pour into our lives. Check out her other pictures and her inspiration here: Beauty Everywhere. (thanks for letting me share your pictures with others Lynette!)

Merry Christmas

I'm getting in the mood for Christmas finally....the snow is falling, the shopping's done, the kids are happy and singing....I'm even feeling like this year I might get some Christmas baking done. Shortbread? Butter tarts? Those are our standards...oh, and white Grandma cookies - you know, the ones with white icing and sprinkles. Mmmm....gotta get some butter at the store tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!
Cathy

My Stamp Box

I just found this new stamp company a couple of weeks ago....emailed the owner Bettina to see if she wanted someone to do some design work for her and Ta-da....I am proudly on the My Stamp Box Design Team. These stamps are really cool for several reasons. A.) Bettina makes them herself...is that not the coolest thing you've heard. You order them from her...she makes them and sends them out. Love that! B.) They come in a single acrylic sheet that you trim yourself (so you can cut them as closely and tightly as you want. and C.) They all come in labelled CD cases...they're so easy to store (in any CD holder you may have). Awesome. It was hard for me to narrow down my choices when I first ordered but I couldn't pass up all the awesome journaling stamps she has in her collection. I'm hoping that this week I'll get to play with them and show you some of work with these stamps. Check back really soon!!

In the mean time....here's a few of my favourite selections:


and here's the site to check out all of My Stamp Box's stamps: My Stamp Box

To Mac...or not to Mac

I've been feeling guilty about not posting on here during my super-uber-unbelievably-crazy month of November....and I had committed to doing it tonight when we got home from the first of our many Christmas gatherings....and then shortly before we left last week, our computer quit. Black. A new power source isn't doing the trick. And I'm not techno-saavy enough to figure it out so DH's working on it. But in the mean time, no posting pictures (all loaded on that other computer) and no email address book (oops) and no watching LOST (also saved on there)....aaaaahhhh!

So. Do we spend a little and fix what might need to be replaced in a couple years? Do we spend a little more and replace with 'next-best' or do we splurge a little and go Mac? Mostly I'm talking to myself here, I know that...but if you wanna weigh in on the decision with some informed input...I'm listening :)

Cathy

The winner is: Sarah

Hi Sarah...you win. I'm going to contact you through your blog but just in case you read this first....email me your addy (disley21616@yahoo.ca) and I'll send out this magazine!

Congrats.
And thanks everyone for the congrats and the birthday wishes! You're all very sweet to play along with my shameless plug on my own birthday :) Now, off to listen to my new Shuffle!

Cathy

A change of plans; a change of decor

Remembrance Day - the 4th day of our 4-day weekend - no plans except omelettes for breakfast and possibly cleaning up the last of the tomatoes from Fall....and all of a sudden (truly, this is how we roll), we get the urge to make ourselves a headboard for our bed and install the reading lamp we bought at IKEA about 2 years ago, and paint the back wall chocolate brown, which means also painting the ceiling 2 coats and well...now it's 9pm and my scrapping project is still undone....but my kids think Daddy & Mommy are sleeping in a hotel room tonight :) I really love how it turned out. Trev designed the headboard for me and did most of the building. I helped stretch the fabric/padding over the boards but it's mostly his creation.

Back to school tomorrow for a nice short 3-day week :)

RAK - Card Creations 6 magazine

As a celebration of my up-coming birthday (am I too old to be excited about them?) and a bigger celebration of me breaking the PaperCrafts barrier (I don't think you're ever to old to be excited about that)....I'm giving away a free copy of Paper Crafts' Card Creations 6! I took my copy (not this one) into a long, hot bath last night and several times nearly abandoned the bath in search of my scrapping supplies b/c I was so inspired.....it's full of great ideas!

Leave me a comment here by next Monday (Nov. 10) - please leave me your email address so I can hunt down my winner - and I'll draw for the magazine on Remembrance Day.

Hugs,
Cathy

The big day.

Egan's football season closed this year with a big hurrah! He played a couple of quick games in a round robin tournament at CanadInn Stadium - home of the Wpg. Blue Bombers!! He was thrilled...even more so b/c he got a convert (and I caught it on video!). He's one proud boy - showing off his participation trophy to anyone and everyone. I wish Cale's team had made the playoffs and he'd had the chance to play here this weekend but he was a GREAT big brother and cheered on Egan all the way.

Clear Scraps Acrylic Christmas ornaments

I've been waiting and waiting to get some of these - ever since I saw them for the first time at CHA this summer....Clear Scraps acrylic Christmas ornaments. They were so fun to alter. I used Magic Mesh
as a mask to paint through on the front and then inked the back with Teal Staz-on....ain't it cute? Add a little bit of Glitz bling and some Hambly transparencies and away we go :) Can't wait to hang these on the tree this year....if only I can talk my kids out of paper chains and popcorn wreaths.

***ETA: I'm hoping these are going into a Magic Mesh BOOK that's being published so I've pulled the pictures temporarily. Sorry about that :)

Penny Black Stamp Class I'm teaching

I don't think I've ever shared pictures on here of classes that I teach at The Scrapbook Cottage (my LSS).

I should post stuff like this more often, maybe. Tonight I'm teaching an AAM mini-album (Jenni Bowlin chipboard album) and last month I designed an acrylic tag book (Clear Scraps Acrylic) for back-to-school. From now till the end of the year I think it's Christmas card classes unless I do one more acrylic layout class as a "last-minute-gift-idea" class. I'll post some past class projects here later. For now...my cards with Penny Black Stamps. A bit out of my comfort zone with all the colouring but these type of cards go over really well in my city and I have to admit, the water-colour pencils were very fun to play with.

I'm off to MN.

I'm going to Women of Faith in Minneapolis/St. Paul this weekend! I'm really excited that it's all worked out - it was a bit of a journey and I'm sure that God has something really cool planned in the end. My bus that I'd paid to go on, left at 7am this morning and I really wanted to be on it but my school division denied my day off (typical, apparently, although this was the first time I'd ever requested a day off). So...after ads in the classifieds and emails to everyone I know....I have a ride with a teacher from my school to Wpg, where I'm catching a bus with a teacher from another school who's choir is going to Mn for a fun weekend...and from their hotel (at 1am) I'll be taking a taxi to my hotel. My luggage went on ahead of me with my hotel roommate and when I get there I think she'll probably have been sweet enough to have my bed made up and my PJ's waiting for me. I'm going to fall into bed (and pray for coffee for breakfast the next morning).

I won, I won.

Here's the link to the Daily Window Blog again and my cards are up! I'm getting a free bag!! Yippee!!

Did I mention, I love MCC?

Today I found purses....lots of cutsie purses. Can't wait to clean these all up. I may end up selling them but I'm first going to use them and see which ones FEEL good...purses are kinda like shoes that way, aren't they? I bought the bottom courdoroy one for Mica. OH, and did I mention that the most expensive one was $1!! Haha....I love MCC!

Season Cards

You have got to check out this awesome site: Daily Window
This company makes these great bags...lunch bags, diaper bags, laptop bags, Bible covers, all kinds of bags, with Clear plastic windows in them for putting pictures or layouts, or cards in. So pretty much, you're carrying around a piece of art with you.

They are having a contest right now too - create a Christmas card and some alternate cards that could be swapped out in the window after Christmas is over. Here's my alternate cards - I'm really pleased with how these turned out and I got to use up a whole bunch of my Rose Moka paper and the alphabet stickers that I'd been hoarding.







Thanks for looking!

Boys night/ Girls night

We've segregated ourselves for the evening. One group (I'm pretty sure you can guess who) is at the Blue Bomber Game...and the other watched Bridge to Terabithia.
and I'm not ashamed to say that even though this was the second time I've seen it, I still cried like a baby. Sheesh. Mica wasn't with us the first time we saw it in the movie theatre and I knew right away that she'd love it so when she pulled the audio book out of the library this month, I told her when she was done it, we'd have a girls' night and watch the movie. She cried too for a long time, leaning into me and watching the movie out of one eye and watching my tears roll down my cheeks with the other. Very bonding. She's got the softest heart already....this story is perfect for her.

Anyway...the boys should be home soon - I'm assuming the 2 little ones will be sleeping in the van but that may not be so - the excitement of a Bomber Game and of having Grandpa and Daddy to themselves may be too much for them :)

We'll see.