I love Saturdays!

I'm a little afraid this might be one of the last nice Saturdays of the year (weather-wise) so we're going to pack it full of Saturday goodness I hope.

It will include (not necessarily in this order)

*coffee/blogging/scrapping early in the morning while a few of the family are still asleep;
*sweet cereal for breakfast (something that we reserve as a treat for the mornings we ALL together for breakfast meal {Trev works early during the week})
*mowing the lawn (I had to swath it last week and was wishing for a goat so it needs to be done again before it gets out of hand, or we get any more rain)
*cleaning house (not my favourite but I love it when it's done)
*scrapbooking (I'm finishing up a Heritage album for a friend that's turning out to be very large!)
*football (Go Bombers!)
*canning (not an every-Saturday occurance, but I have buckets and buckets of tomatoes in and out of my freezer just begging to be turned into tomato sauce {pizza & pasta sauce}, canned tomatoes {for chilis} and salsa). I also happen to have The Best Sauce recipe. It's the Schellenberg Family Women's recipe - passed down for at least 3 generations that I know of. If you ever need it - shoot me an email :)
*shuttling kids (one has a birthday party, one still needs indoor shoes I think, one needs underarmour for football in October)

I'm sure there's more that will come up but this is nearly my ideal Saturday - home with family for the most part, getting some stuff done, a bit of time to play and devotions & a great cup of coffee to start it all off with.

And for any of you who scrapbook or make cards.....I'm thinking of merging my 2 blogs one of these days, but in the mean time - you may be interested in a blog hop that's coming up Oct. 1. If you've never done a blog hop - it's pretty simple....start at Blog #1, enjoy - post a comment, and then link to blog #2, etc, etc.....it should bring you right back around to the beginning, or to the my Stamp BOX blog. There's usually (and this time is no exception) prizes to be won for commenting on everyone's blogs. I'm going to venture a guess that this prize will be a stamp set from my Stamp BOX :)


I'll leave you with this - a favourite verse of mine for years and years, but recently it's been taking on new meaning for me every time I read it:

Jeremiah 29:11-14a
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD

You won't want to miss this:

Journaling spots with my Stamp BOX stamps

It's my turn to blog this week for my Stamp BOX. Because this blog post actually talks about some stuff I'm figuring out in my own art-life as well as uses my stamps....I'm pulling double duty and showing you here as well. If you need a TON of stamp inspiration though - head over to my Stamp BOX's blog!



I am in the process of putting together a fairly large album for a friend of mine. Actually, it's a present from her to her mother on her mother's 80th birthday and it's an album incorporating tons of older pictures that her family had been holding on to. It's been a fascinating process, fun to put someone else's photos together for a change but more than that....it's made me think a little...about whether I've been spending too much time on the "art" of scrapbooking and not enough time on the "memory-keeping" aspect of scrapbooking. I think I may be on the verge of changing how I scrapbook :)

Whatever the case, when I thought about how I wanted to scrap these photos, and that the mother for whom this book is being put together loves to write and journal, I immediately reached for 2 of my favourite my Stamp BOX stamp sets: Just Add Notes and Your Story.
Between these 2 sets, there are 20 journaling-type stamps that are perfect for recording dates and times, short blurbs about what is happening in photos, titles and captions, and also frames for around sentiments if you're just making cards.

I stamped a random assortment of these journaling stamps on plain, but textured cream-colored cardstock, in a brown ink. I sprayed the cardstock with brown (Coffee Shop) Glimmer Mist to tone down the brightness of it (the whole album is in neutral tones so it's perfect this way).And then I cut them out. Now, as I go through the album and finish up the pages, I just paste a few of these near the pictures that need a little bit more explanation....and my friend's mom has an easy way to record who's in each picture, and when.

I can see these 2 stamp sets being in a LOT of my projects in the near future :)

Thanks!
Cathy

Eeeeeeeewww......mosquitoes

My husband plays on a flag football team and last night the timing worked out for the kids & I to go watch a game. (This was the best picture I got - even on Sports mode - I've really gotta practice with my camera one of these days LOL. My DH is the one tackling the jumper in the center - grey shorts, black shirt) It was a great game and very fun to watch him having so much fun doing GUY stuff with a bunch of his buddies :) BUT, it was quite hard to concentrate with the mosquitoes. I took a few pictures of the lights shining down on the field.....and the swarms around them.

You are as grossed out as I am, aren't you?

I'm a regular Suzy Homemaker :)

I haven't always made time for the homemade varieties of some of the foods we love but this year seems to be the year I have time, and access to fresh (and a lot of free) foods....Yum! Earlier this year I made Raspberry jam (middle of 1st photo - berries from MIL), chokecherry jelly (far right - cherries came already juiced from MIL), canned peaches (had to buy these but Totally Worth It!), and DH made hot pepper jelly (far left - jalapenos and apples from MIL and DH's Grandma).

Also this year I've frozen about 20 bags of green & yellow beans for winter, and tonight's project was this: Corn. Picked this morning at a Hutterite Colony nearby and in my freezer tonight - 20 bags full....and I still had enough left over to bless 2 neighbour families, have corn-on-the-cob for a meal for us this week and um, 2 cobs for nightsnack myself tonight :) This stuff I paid for...but it was CHEAP and it's probably the best corn I've ever had - sweet & perfect - not a bug or brown spot in sight.



Next on the agenda....
Tomato sauce (I have a huge bowl full cut in the freezer already waiting for a little more to fill up a recipe - also from MIL, Grandma and My Mom), Salsa (waiting for some Romas to be ripe), Apple jelly (just got more free apples from my Mom today), and depending on what happens to come my way....maybe some pickles? My stash from several years ago is getting low.


By the way: I found this awesome website for Canadians who are into this type of thing (canning, etc)....it's called "Pick Your Own" It has listings for tons of U-pick farms in every province for almost every variety of fruit or veggie...and it has excellent, pictoral, step-by-step instructions for canning and freezing lots of said fruits & veggies. A valuable resource!

Today I feel accomplished. And blessed.

Another winner!

Shirley....I drew your name.

Shirley wrote:

What a cute idea to use the letters to frame the artwork! I'm sure the kiddos love this!

September 5, 2009 2:42 PM

I've tried to track you through your blog but I haven't gotten a response....if you see this post....send me your info and I"ll send out your prize!!
I have some acrylic for you....and possibly something to use on it :)

Thanks everyone for playing and participating in the blog hop!

Cathy

First Day of School

Ta-da! I remembered!
I try every year to take a picture of my kids on their way to their first day of school. And I try to take it in the same spot, against the same tree in our yard. They don't hate it, but they are a little frustrated that at that time of the day, in September, the sun is RIGHT in their eyes. So a couple of these pictures are taken with them sitting still, eyes closed and then them quickly opening them for a second when I counted to 3. I'm so stunned that they're in 3, 5 & 6 this year. I can hardly believe it! Good kids though - and amazing teachers this year so I have a very high level of expectancy this year :)

my Stamp BOX ABC BLOG HOP Today!!

Welcome to the my Stamp BOX ABC Blog Hop.
If you've randomly stumbled upon my blog today - we're having a blog hop at my Stamp BOX, and lucky you....you're at stop #1!

We're all doing projects this weekend using our many alphabet sets.

This one that I used is called "Colour Me Not"
(and yes....that is spelled correctly b/c mSB is out of Toronto so they spell things right.... I mean, Canadian, eh?).

Colour Me Not is awesome for big solid chunky letters.....they're each about 1" x 1" and they're great for titles obviously....I've also used them on cards (see end of post) and for this project, I made a frame to hold my kids' school work. Clear Scraps makes these awesome display pieces - they're 12x12 acrylic with a lip at the top and bottom for holding your layout in, and also for running a ribbon through the top so you can hang the piece. I guess the original use of it is to display your layout, and then swap out your layout as a new one needs to be displayed (awesome for stores!). BUT....I designated one specifically for my kids' school artwork which often comes home on a small scrap of paper that gets lost in the shuffle after school - this way, I can adhere it to a 12x12 piece of cardstock, slide it in and it's a piece of wall art. And, because it's then removable, I can swap it out the next day when a different kid comes home with something special.

I coloured the edges of the acrylic a little with some alcohol inks, then I used my Colour Me Not alphabets to do a quick border all the way around the edge with Staz-on Ink, and a little bit of American Craft Slick Writer for touch-ups if I didn't stamp perfectly.

Thanks for taking a look at my blog. Leave me a comment and then continue on through the rest of the DT's blogs. Make sure to stop at my Stamp BOX blog at the end and let us know that you made it through. Anyone who visits and comments on all the blogs will be entered to win the 2 new stamp sets coming out now in September - Brand new sets (the DT doesn't even have them yet!).

Also...as an added incentive from ME. If you post on my blog I'll enter you into my very own draw for some goodies....secret goodies that'll be fun to get in the mail, trust me :) AND, if you choose to Follow my blog....I'll add your name in again - 2 chances to win!

OK..thanks for stopping in! Your next stop is: Tracey
Check out what she's made and leave her a little bit of love too :)

If you're lost, or any of the links aren't working....check here for the complete list of blogs in the hop today!

Grandhoggers?

Grandhoggers....that's what my DH called it on facebook. It's what you become when your DD gets a hedgehog that she calls her baby. Here it is:

It's really a lot cuter than even I thought it would be and I've loved hedgehogs for years. She's beyond thrilled...first of all that her parents relented and let her get something rodent-ish and also because it's so unique and funky. She's learned in a day or two how to pick it up properly and although it hisses at her when she wakes it up, it willingly climbs all over her and loves to run in the grass.

I have pictures of her baptism that also happened that day but I'll save that for tomorrow's post. Sorry....this one couldn't wait another day :)