Simple Joys 20-27

 Simple Joy 20/365:  new pots....no more quickly washing dishes in the middle of supper prep to get everything cooked

 Simple Joys 21/365:  My son's bookshelf: cleaned, purged and holding only his favourite books

Simple Joys 22/365:  My boys, both in the same loft bed, playing together on their iPods.

 Simple Joys 23/365:  The boys & I played a game of Scrabble and used "wordfinder" on their iPods to get the best words....fastest, highest scoring game ever!

 Simple Joys 24/365:  6:30am, doing devotions and drinking my first cup of coffee....and this is where the cat choses to sit during this time, on my chest (nearly under my chin). Sometimes I can't even see what I'm reading because he's sitting so close :)  And purring like a motorboat.

 Simple Joys 25/365:  finding the perfect corner cupboard for sale....with a TV included in the deal.

 Simple Joys 26/365:  Cutsie little vintage mugs from Tracy's Treasures (this photo is actually from the 27th b/c my camera batteries were dead on the 26th).

Simple Joys 27/365:  A fog-induced No School Day!

More Joy and more Clear Scraps projects

Not totally catching up today but here's a start....

Simple Joys 18/365:  Finding money in my purse in a place I would never have put it.....and knowing for SURE that it's a gift.

Simple Joys 19/365:  Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling clementine(s).


And one more CHA project from me.  Clear Scraps Cast Acrylic WAVE album.  This thing is so cute....I got the 8x8 size and it was perfect for altering the edges with some metallic StazOn ink stamped swirls and still using the Pink Paislee 6x6 paper pad for.  This paper pad from PP had 3 of each patterned paper in it so I did a little layering of the flowers, cutting 3 pages of them out and layering pieces of the flowers overtop of other images of the same flowers.

Clear Scraps stuff for CHA and more GREEN

I have no Simple Joy pictures for this particular post but I have to show you a few of the projects I worked on for CHA (the Craft & Hobby Association's big show going on next week).  I'm really bummed that I can't go to the winter shows (I work at a school) but excited about the prospect of getting to the summer show again this July.

Anyway.....here are a few of my projects.
One of the new products that Clear Scraps is debuting is  a second type of acrylic - Cast Acrylic - which is harder and clearer than their extruded acrylic.  You can't punch and emboss it like the extruded but it's clarity is stunning.  So....my 2 favourite projects this time around have been a combination of the 2 types of acrylic.  Both of these wall hangings have Cast acrylic frames with pre-punched holes and then Large Expressions Words (another new debuted product) made of the extruded acrylic so I was able to punch holes in it (see FAMILY) to hang it from the frame.

 BELIEVE:  Gold metallic StazOn ink both on the word Believe and stamped swirls around the frame, red rickrack and red ribbon from my thrift store, Heidi Swapp flowers and Christmas ornament stickers from Basic Grey.

FAMILY:  Glitter and paint from Viva Decor and Claudine Hellmuth, flowers by Heidi Swapp, buttons and beads from my local thrift store, KI Soup letters and some misc. ribbon and chains.

I'll post some more very soon and stay tuned for more Simple Joys :)

I can't go without showing you this - my weekend project this weekend...painting Cale's room Jade Green.  It's definitely NOT (according to Cale) Saskatchewan Roughriders Green.  It's done, he loves it....good enough for me.

A week of joy (10-17)

 This has been an interesting week for me.....a week of realizing my limitations as the sole adult in this household and what that looks like when until recently there have been 2 adults doing all the cleaning and cooking around here;  a week of getting a grip on what I need to tackle each day to make it work, catching my stride; a week of sadness & hope listening to the eulogies at my Grandmother's funeral; and a week of searching for Joy instead of just finding it easily.  But, whether searching or just stumbling upon it....it's always there - Joy - always there.

 

 Simple Joys 17/365:  This might be my favourite so far....hearing my daughter weep,  hearing that she's heard from God and then hearing her voice that she longs to be a better Christian.  She made a tough decision, in obedience, and came away later feeling like she'd done the right thing and God was glad.

and now back to the beginning of this week....

  

Simple Joys 10/365:  A card from a friend.  Not sure if you can read it but it's up on my cupboard door for me to read from time to time.

 Simple Joys 11/365:  Cookie dough.  My favourite thing to do with cookie dough?  Bake up a pan or two, but then leave the dough in the fridge so that a fresh pan of cookies can be baked up quickly as the kids are coming home from school.  Oh yeah...supermom :)

 

 Simple Joys 12/365:  Do you see the size of this Sweet Potato?  This, my friends, was the smallest one I could find in the produce section when I shopped last.  There were some there that you could have carved and put a light in like a jack-o-lantern.  This one potato is 2 meals of Sweet Potato Fries for our family :)

 

Simple Joys 13/365:  Mint Green Tea in a recycled glass mug from Starbucks.  

 

 Simple Joys 14/365:  A huge find of wide and velvet ribbons at my local thrift store. 

 

 Simple Joys 15/365:  My Epson Artisan 810 printer, some paper, and a clientelle that demands simply "happy birthday" on their cards....not "make a wish" or "it's your day" but simply "Happy Birthday."  Fine....make it easy for me if you want :)

 Simple Joys 16/365:  Wasabi.  He may look like just a cat but this little furball is the most affectionate thing, the most therapeutic thing, and we love him.

If you come back later this week, I'll have more sneak peeks of some new stuff Clear Scraps is putting out.....see you then!

Clear Scraps CHA Sneak Peek Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Clear Scraps Sneak Peek Blog Hop!

 If you've happened upon my blog today randomly.....Welcome!  

 You may want to go back to the Clear Scraps website 

and start at the beginning....there's a lot to see and the designers have been busy! 

If you've been following the list, you must have just come from Pinky's blog where I'm sure she inspired you today!  

Here's my project:

One of the most exciting new products from Clear Scraps is actually a brand new type of acrylic - cast acrylic albums and embellishments.  These are not going to replace the extruded acrylic....instead they are going to be dealing in both.  The 2 types of acrylic are quite different and useful for different purposes.  In a nutshell, the cast is harder and clearer (unable to die cut and punch, but also crystal clear and not easily scratched);  the extruded is much more flexible (die cut, punch, emboss, etc).

For this project I combined the 2.  My top frame is a Home Decor Item coming out from Clear Scraps made of the harder Cast Acrylic.  It's got holes pre-punched for ribbons or chains or whatever you want to put through them.  Hanging from that is a large word - FAMILY - which is made of the extruded acrylic and I was able to punch my own holes in this with my Crop-a-dile so I could hang it from the Cast piece.  

The rest of this wall hanging is done with Viva Decor glitter gels, KI Soup letters, some acrylic paint, flowers, ribbon, buttons and beads. 

Thanks for coming to check out my blog!  I'll have more sneak peeks coming up soon but for now, carry on with the blog hop! 
Your next stop is Grace's blog - I'm sure you'll love what she's made!!

Here is the Blog Hop List

 Elisa http://perpetualstew.blogspot.com/

 Tonya http://creativit-tonya.blogspot.com/

Rita http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/

Hilde http://scrapworld.web-log.nl/scrapworld/

Irene:  http://scrapperlicious.blogspot.com/

 Pinky http://www.blueyecicle.blogspot.com/

 

you are here-------->>>>>>> Cathy http://allofme-sofar.blogspot.com/

 your next stop-------->>>>>>> Grace:  http://tolmanchronicles.blogspot.com/

then end here at:  Clear Scraps!

 Leave a comment for all the designers and end up back at Clear Scraps to let us know you did....there's a prize to be won, my friends....what are you waiting for?

If you're able, come by the booth at CHA (#1478) and see the entire range of extruded acrylic and chipboard albums, the brand new Cast Acrylic line and also a wide assortment of words and embellishments in both. 

Weekend Joy

Directly related to the last Simple Joy....here's 8/365:  the cinnamon buns after baking and being partially devoured for Saturday morning breakfast :)  I wasn't fast enough to get the picture before we dug in.

And 9/365.  I should really label this one Extreme Joy instead of Simple Joy because this one thrills me more than any of them so far.  Both mornings this weekend, I've been woken up by my 9-year-old crawling into my bed with his Bible, wanting to be read to.  One of his gifts this Christmas was a brand new "grown up" leather ESV Bible and he's fascinated by the differences in it (compared to the NIV he got from our church for going into Grade 1).  He's a little ripped off that the King in his favourite story (Esther) has been renamed in the ESV and isn't Xerxes anymore but Ahasurus or something.  It's just not the same :(

And, related, but not part of my Simple Joys:  my own chapter this morning struck a chord with me that I wanted to share with you....

Psalm 126.  I love the image of them being so Joyful (returning from captivity, or having their loved ones returned from captivity) that they felt they were dreaming and they laughed and sang.  I love that the people around them saw what had happened and were prompted to say, "The Lord has done great things for them."  I love that they recognized God's plan in it all and were able to see that he carried them through - not just sufficiently, but with more return/dividend than they could ever have imagined.  Not just safe return, but Joy. That's what I'm hanging onto.  That captivity will end.  That there will be not only a safe return but rejoicing and singing and laughter and such a visible display of God's goodness that people around us will be prompted to declare how good God has been to us.

Sensing a theme here.....

I'm sensing a re-curring theme here with my Simple Joys project.....food.

 Simple Joys 6/365:  Toffifee.  Chocolate that usually I devour as soon as it appears in my Christmas stocking but that this year, due to sickness and not being able to taste, I've saved till now.

 Simple Joys 7/365:  These cinnamon buns are currently in my fridge waiting for tomorrow's breakfast.

Catch up day :)

Today's a catch up day....and that's OK since I'm giving myself some grace with the whole daily-photo thing :)

Simple Joy 3/365:  A stack of cards I've made during the last few days of Christmas holidays

Simple Joys 4/365:  A room finished: drywall, tape, mud, sanding, priming, painting, rug installed, bed assembled, bedding purchased, furniture moved down and purchased (desk).....a labour of love!

Simple Joys 5/365:  Mmm....a big bag of pistachios!

Ahhhh....home sweet home

Home Sweet Home.  All of our Christmas festivities are over and we're home.  We're going to go see "Tangled" tonight and then hopefully spend 3 days doing Nothing.  Staying home, staying warm, playing with new toys, enjoying being healthy, sleeping in...you know...all the things we need to do to re-fuel before going back to school on Thursday.

Here's my "simple joy" for today - THE Chocolate cake.  While not personally my favourite dessert in the world, this cake represents family, tradition, inside jokes, heritage and generosity to me.   

For those of you who were wondering where the Simple Joy album idea came from, here's the link to her article:  Who's up for a 365? 

I know, I'm taking it one further and stealing her title ideas too but it just couldn't be more perfect for me and I'm excited about the prospect of finding my joy this year in all the simple things around me.

Happy New Year 2011!!

Happy New Year!  

I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing about resolutions this year but I have been wanting to do more simple layouts and I've been wanting to take more pictures.  I found a blog today of a lady who took a picture a day last year and is putting them together into a book of simple things that brought her joy during 2010.  I hope I'm not stepping on her toes, but I'm going to borrow her idea and put together my own Simple Joys book this year.  I'm not going to kill myself trying to get a photo a day.....I've found that being gracious and forgiving needs to extend to myself as well.  And I'm not going to do a lot of journaling....I think some of the blessings and gifts of God speak for themselves.  I'm also thinking this might replace Multitude Mondays ...not entirely sure yet but I'm going to try enjoying blogging this year and not stress about it.

So....here's Simple Joy 1/365:  having all my kiddos home and in their own beds :)