Going camping!!

Hi everyone!

The weather in Ontario has finally cooled down to a manageable temperature. Thankfully, as my family and I are on our way to Owen Sound to do some camping. No tents, I am way out of camping practice, but we have rented a cute little cabin. Should be really fun!

But that mean's that I won't be posting when I am gone. Try not to miss me too much! I will be back on the weekend with pictures of my upcoming Page-a-grade Scrapbook class!!! Check out my event page for more info.

Also, before I let you go, I just wanted to extend a warm welcome to my newest member of the Be Canadian Stampers Group!! Welcome WANDA!! So glad you finally took the plunge!

If you think you would love to join a fun group of stampers why not join my team? Click here for more info.

Cheers,

MDS for weddings

As posted earlier, I did some decor work for a friends wedding. I used MDS (My Digital Studio) to make table signs and a seating chart.

Well, the bride wanted to put together a collage of pictures that would be printed out and put in her thank you cards. So this is what I came up with.
I love the flexibility of MDS. I love what I can do with it. Boy what I wouldn't give to get married over again (to the same man of course) just so I could make all sorts of fun things for my wedding. This was really easy too, I used one of the card templates, just adjusted the size of the pictures a bit for a more geometric design, added a few stamps, some text and VOILA!

Aren't Lesley & Mike an adorable couple? And their wedding, if I do say so myself was stunning!! :)

This would make a great photo invitation (but use engagement shots instead) or baby announcements, save the date cards etc!! The possibilities are after all endless! You are only limited by your own creativity or by those around you! Thank goodness the Internet is full of wonderfully talented people!!



Cheers,

You know how I love a good challenge!

My life seems to always be about challenges these days.

1. Challenges with my weight and my love of food and wine
2. Challenges with my family, being tested hourly by that of a 2 1/2 year old son
3. Challenges with my marriage, it's hard when your better half is working in a different city
4. Challenges with my business and finding the right work life balance

I am happy to report however that I have made significant progress in many of these areas.

1. I started back at Weight Watchers last week and after 1 full week on the program I have already lost 8lbs!
2. A new found strength from within (due largely to the fact that I have decided to step up all aspects of my life) have me less frustrated, and calmer when he isn't. Not sure it's having an effect on him yet, but my throat is happier with less yelling!
3. Looks like this is the last trip to Winnipeg Ed has to take! But I am still keeping my fingers crossed, you never know! Plus we have booked a trip to the East Coast to visit a wonderful secluded Island in the Bay of Fundy called Grand Manan. I can't wait to sit on a cliff watching the ocean roll by!
4. My business in the new area is picking up. Everyday I am meeting new people, and making new contacts. I have also scheduled work nights so that I can stay ahead of the tasks and spend less time crunching at the last minute before a class, event etc.

So today, I have a sense of accomplishment. Things are moving forward. And life is pretty good!

Shelli Gardner the CEO and founder of Stampin' Up! posts monthly challenges on her blog, open to both Demo's and customers alike. I haven't participated in a while. Thought I would give this month's challenge a go. It's all about using the Colour Coach to find new and innovative colour combos. And stepping out of your comfort zone.

I have had an idea to use the Elements of style flowers on Marina Mist for a few weeks now. It sort of has a Wedgwood thing about it. But I knew it need to be grounded by another colour. So I pulled out the Colour Coach and tried out a bunch of different colours. Well, it so happens that my fav new colour, Cherry Cobbler was the winner.

And since I got my Holiday Mini sneak peak items today, I thought I would just have to play with the new Cherry Cobbler Seam binding ribbon! Yum! It has a wonderful sheen to it, and it is light and airy. Just lovely. Sorry my bow looks like junk! My eyes are heavy with lack of sleep. The sentiment was framed by a layering of punches. The Designer Label, 1" circle ad the small oval punch bring it all together.

Anyhow, it's very much time for me to go to sleep. I can barely look at the computer screen.

Don't have a Colour Coach yet? Visit my online store to order one today!


Cheers,

Change of date!

Due to the fact that so many are taking vacations right now, I have decided to change the date of my New Catty Open house and 2-for-1 Retired product sale to Saturday, Sept. 18th. And now it's a preview of the Holiday Mini Catty too!! I will have a whole table set out displaying some of the fabulous products from the new mini.

This just gives me even more time to make this an event you wont want to miss! Please RSVP for this event.

Cheers,

Sorry I have been so quiet, and PPA!

My family has abandoned me this week (husband in Winnipeg, son at Grandma's, daughter at camp) and I have been extremely busy getting ready for my Martini Party tonight. So sorry for the lack of posts.

I made a card to send to my daughter at camp. This is actually her stamp set. It arrived the day after she left. She earned it for helping me organize my stamp sets. She did a ton of work stamping them into my binder, sorting them into categories and then punching out little colour dots (based on categories) and adhere those to the sets. Then she put them in my cabinets so that they can be easily found. It was a TON of work and I would never have got it done without her. So since she wanted this set so badly, she asked me to make her a card with it.

As it turns out, this card would work well for a boy too. And so it works well with this weeks PPA challenge- KISS Masculine. Not sure this card is really a KISS card, but it didn't take me long at all. I simply stamped the little monsters with Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush & Pumpkin pie, highlighted them with my blender pens and ink from my ink pads and voila!

I hope she likes it!!

Cheers,

Off to Camp day!!

We have had a busy weekend around here, packing everyone up. Everyone but me that is! My husband Ed is off to Winnipeg, AGAIN! My son Alexander is off to Grandma's for a week and my daughter Kieran is off to CAMP!! If I could join one of them it would be Kieran. Kieran goes to a fabulous girls camp in Algonquin Provincial Park (one of the most beautiful places on earth) called Camp Tanamakoon. I went to Tanamakoon when I was a kid right up into my twenties (I was a counselor for many many years). Now Kieran goes. This is her 5th summer and she goes for all of August. I won't get to see her or hear her voice for a whole month! I can't tell you how much I look forward to getting a letter in the mail!! It is one of the most wonderful and nurturing places you could ever send your daughter. If you have some, you should check it out. It is the single most important gift my parents ever gave me. It, more than anything else I ever did helped shaped me to be the woman, mother and person I am today. And I am so thankful that I can give her this same gift as well.

Since I have been so busy packing everyone up, and have had no time to play. This week however will be dedicated to Stampin' Up! Lots of fun things happening around here. Tuesday night is my FREE crop night (RSVP if you would like to come) and Friday is my Martini Party/Card class! I can't wait!

I will leave you with a picture of Kieran going to camp last year, but will make sure to take some new ones this year too! I can't believe how young she looks in this picture! Can you see the excitement??

I will be back tomorrow with the winner of my Card Class Blog candy tomorrow. Until then.........

Cheers,