Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year!!!

Here's a thought...
"Dreams come a SIZE TOO BIG so we can grow into them."

I'm in a Sell-A-Bration card swap and that's the saying on the card I've made for the swap. The set is called Happy Harmony and it's one of the Sell-A-Bration sets you can earn free in January and February. I used my watercolour wonder crayons, Expressive Flexible Phrases and French Script... As well as magic mesh, faux stitching, and heat embossing.



Dream BIG in 2007! Have a safe, fun and Happy New Year's!!!

Friday, December 29, 2006

FROESE frame


Just wanted to share the name frame I made for my inlaws. I used Enchante paper from the Winter mini catalogue. The letters are clear embossed on brown patterned paper, then cut out. In the hodgepodge frame it says "Est. June 9, 1967" because that is their wedding date. These colours will go nicely in their house.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

found Found FOUND!!!!!

I was just about to place an order with SU! and I wanted to see which Craft ink pad I needed to buy for an upcoming project. As I was looking through my box of Craft inks, I FOUND my lost C-D stamp - it was in the bottom of the box.... oh, I know that there are some stampers out there rejoicing with me. Not fun to lose letters from an alphabet set.


Here's a pic to prove that they are really home... back in the box, only to be brought out when the kiddies are not around! I seriously cleaned the entire playroom last night looking for the stamp. It is the same size as some of my boys' toy blocks, and so the temptation to build something with it could have been there... but now I have to appologize to my little guys, because they didn't take it at all. I just, plain and simple, lost it.

Scenes of Christmas

Here are some pics of our Christmas... some of these are from our own Christmas at home, and others are from the night at Grandma and Grandpa's. The kids got spoiled, and they got some really fun gifts. Scott's highlight was his train and his watch, and Todd loved his playtent and tunnels for the basement, and has been building tunnels for his cars with lego he got as well.

You can see Steve building my b-ball hoop as well - what a guy! I'm so glad it came with assembly, otherwise it would still be in the box!!

Now the countdown to New Year's begins. What is everyone doing? Are you planning to have a quiet New Year's with your family, or is it a time to get a sitter and go out? Whatever you do, have a great time and all the best in 2007!

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas has come at last. I am so excited. I don't think I will get much posting done in the next few days... first it's Christmas Eve - church in the morning - the kids have their Christmas program, then we have a few last things to wrap while the kiddies nap (and maybe I'll have a nap too!!) then it's the Christmas Eve service at the church, and I'm singing, then when we get home we are having our Christmas with the kids. Then Monday is Christmas Day (can you believe that Christmas Day is only 25 hours and 15 minutes away!!!? I can't WAIT!). On Christmas Day we're getting together with Steve's family, so that will be a busy day as well.

I wanted to share with you these pictures of Christmas lights taken in Abbotsford. Every year we love to drive around looking at lights, and this block in East Abbotsford is always the best one... they out-do themselves every year! Enjoy.






Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas with friends and family and blessings for a safe, happy and healthy new year! God bless!

Sarah

Goodbye C-D stamp :(

I have been cleaning and tidying my stamping room for the last hour or so and I have discovered my first stamp set tragedy..... My C-D stamp is missing from my Headline Alphabet. This is so sad. I can't spell Christmas, I can't spell CanDy Cane, or Decorations. How sad. I am really hoping that one of my kids took it without me knowing, and it will turn up in the block box. But I have to be prepared that it may have fallen off the table into my garbage and the can got emptied before I noticed it was missing. It's a double mounted alphabet set, so I lose 2 letters with one block.

REVISED.... THE STAMP HAS BEEN FOUND! LOOK AT THE POST FROM DEC 27... I'M SO EXCITED!

Our FIFTH Anniversary!!


Happy Anniversary Steve!

We had such a great time up at Grouse Mountain last night for our fifth anniversary. Here are a few pics of our evening... the kids all stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, and we got the evening to ourselves.
- a sleigh ride - walk through the snow - dinner at Altitudes Restaurant - up and down on the Gondola - Timmy's on the way (English Toffee for me, coffee for Steve!) - 2 shows at the "Theatre in the Sky" - and another hot drink to take on our walk down the ski run (hot cocoa for Steve, and a Gingerbread steamed milk for me!) - a very fun night

Steve gave me 2 dozen red roses and tickets to see Randy Travis in March. I made him a little scrapbook of our last 5 years and gave him a large assortment of hot sauces. I think I got a better deal!!

Enjoy the pics, and if you haven't been up to Grouse Mt. (even if you don't ski... I have never been skiing) it is worth the trip!

Sarah

Monday, December 18, 2006

Take a Walk Through Bethlehem


One of my favourite Christmas albums is Trisha Yearwood "The Sweetest Gift." She has a song on that CD called Take a Walk Through Bethlehem and I think it captures the true feelings of Christmas. Even though we have created so much hussle and bussle in our lives - especially at Christmas, we still long for the peace that comes only in realizing that Jesus is and was and always will be the only true meaning of Christmas. "Every heart longs for more than tinsel, something more than just a holiday."

Take a walk through Bethlehem
Come and kneel before the lamb
Good news for every man
Walk through Bethlehem




I hope you are getting into the Christmas spirit. Not the one that tells you that you have to have a gift for everyone you know, but the one that lets you see Christmas for its wonder and peace.

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year! Merry Christmas!

Album give away

I was just doing my "blog rounds" and see that Cindy is giving away a scrapbook album on her blog. Just click on "Cindy's blog" in my list of blogs to the right, and you can enter to win this album!! Hope you win!!!

MACKAY Frame


For Christmas I gave my parents a decorated Bitty Board book from Stampin' Up! full of pics of our kids, etc, from this past year. I also gave them this name frame. I love the way this turned out and so now I want to make one for my house too! I got the frame from Walmart for $5, and I used the SU! "At Home" scrappin' kit as well as the "Headline Alphabet" to make this project.

First Christmas dinner


We were in Victoria this past weekend and had a great time with my parents and my brother. We had our first Christmas get together, complete with turkey dinner! My mom even cooked it on the woodstove because their power was out! This is Elise's first Christmas!






Todd was pretty excited about the candy canes, and the boys loved their "Mighty Machines" from Grammie and Papa.



Of course, Elise looked cute too, as the new mama of this baby doll. She will have lots of fun playing with this, I'm sure. This doll scared the wits out of me today as I unpacked it... it talks. It laughs and it says, "I love you." Cute, but not when you're not expecting it!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

While you were sleeping....

Ever think that your kids are sleeping only to find out that they're NOT?! Well, Scotty pulled this decorating feat during one of his recent naptimes. It's very creative, I think! He called it his Christmas tree, and the hanger hanging down is the light switch. Smart guy!

I could hear him humming softly to himself, and just thought he was settling in for a good little nap while driving cars on his bed. Then when I went to check on him, he very proudly presented me with this scene! What a guy! So like any good mommy, I said, "Scott, don't move..." and I ran to get my camera and got him to pose next to his masterpiece!


Red Robin... something for everyone!




We went out for a fun dinner at Red Robin on Saturday night. It really is the kids' favourite place to go. The train and colouring books entertain them until the food arrives. Then there's the Mile High Mud Pie for dessert... the 4 of us shared it (Elise missed out on this one - she was too busy enjoying her bottle!)... here is the evidence of a dish well loved.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Colouring Contest!






This morning we had a colouring fest in our house. All 3 of my boys got involved. There were tears when someone coloured on another's page, (especially Steve!) cheers when the artwork was finished and pride to share each masterpiece. Take a look and feel free to vote on your fave! Special thanks to the official Disney Cars movie website for these free downloads of colouring pages. We spent at least an hour on that site alone, playing games and watching previews... the boys (little boys) don't know it, but we got the CARS on DVD for them for Christmas! They are going to squeal!

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Ah-1, 2, Ah 1-2-3-4!!!



Here's a little song from Scott and Todd. They were so fun to watch on their harmonicas the other day! Just had to share... Enjoy!

edit... can't seem to get the video to work, so the pic is all you get for now.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Snow Pics!





I just wanted to share some pics of the boys in the snow... they loved it. Scott can handle it for at least twice as long as Todd. These pictures are from 2 different days. In the pics by the front steps, Scotty is in the yellow jacket, and in the pics where they are on the big pile of snow, Todd is wearing the yellow jacket! Ya, they wear the same clothes!! Just makes it easier... Once in awhile I have to roll Todd's pants up because he is actually wearing Scott's pants... And sometimes I have to send Scott to find some longer pants because he's wearing floods. But mostly their clothes are interchangeable! Just like twins... only not quite :) For those that don't know, my boys are 11 1/2 months apart! If they had been in the same calendar year they would be Irish Twins!

Stay warm!
Sarah

Thursday, November 30, 2006

First Time Stamper!!



Here's Elise's first attempt at stamping! I think she's a natural!!!

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Soooo much SNOW



I'll get to the snow in a sec, but first....

Today was our baby Elise's dedication at Church. Here she is in her pretty red dress. The beautiful quilt she is on was a gift from the church. A group of ladies get together every time there is a Baby Dedication and quilt up a bunch of beautiful blankets to give to each family. Elise also got a little book of Bible stories.

Ok, so if you're from the Prairies or even further East, then you think we are crazy on the west coast to even mention a couple feet of snow... that is common for you in other parts, but here in Abbotsford - this is NOT normal! We are definitely in a winter wonderland tonight. Traffic is going slow, big trucks are crawling by with chains on and the kids... they LOVE it! It is so beautiful... I think I will turn on the fire place and curl up on the couch with my hubby and a cup of hot chocolate... Have a good night everyone!

Over 1000 visitors

This just blows me away!! That over one THOUSAND people have come to visit my blog in less than a month. Thank you so much for taking a peek! And if you take a minute to look at the little map, you will see where everyone is from... and now there's a dot in Europe! Thanks for stopping by, Leslie!!!! You are my first "overseas" visitor!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Happy Monday!

Good morning and welcome to a brand new week!

I haven't stamped anything to share this weekend, but I will today because I have all kinds of ideas I want to get on with!

My husband and I were at a seminar all weekend (ask me more if you are interested) and one quote I want to share with you is:

"God gave us faces, but he left it up to us to add the expressions!"

Make it a great day!

Sarah

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Centrepiece Inspiration



Often I see projects in craft magazines where the artist will see some fabric, or some object that inspires her creativity... well, I was recently at Save-On-Foods and I bought some yummy smelling cinnamon candles with cute little silver snowflakes on them. And the same day we were at Walmart and I bought some decorative apples... I put them together for my coffee table and then had an "aha" moment... I could make a card like that! So I chose two different reds (ruby red and bravo burgundy) as well as brushed silver paper, and silver embossing powder and put it together in a card. The silver embossed snowflake on the brushed silver paper is so festive... better in real life.

I can't wait for Christmas!! It is my VERY FAVOURITE time of the year! Plus we were married 3 days before Christmas and spent our first married Christmas on our honeymoon in Cuba... so what's not to like about that! Ah, memories... that was almost 5 years ago.

Anyway... I digress! Thanks for taking a look.
Sarah :)

RAK


What is a RAK??? A "Random Act of Kindness!" I received one today from Cindy (view her blog under Good Places to Visit) Today in my mailbox was this great surprise. Cindy used the Monogram F, Looks Like Spring set, and Spring Flowers paper, as well as the coordinating punch. Thanks Cindy, it sure brightened up this otherwise rainy, windy, misererable day!

Friday, November 10, 2006

Growing up WAY TOO fast!


This little girl of mine is growing up way too fast. She sat in the highchair for the first time tonight... she's only 3 1/2 months old, but she LOVED it! Todd was all too happy to hand over the highchair to Elise, and Scotty crowned Todd a "big boy, because the highchair is Elise's now!" Obviously Elise didn't have anything to eat in the highchair (that will come soon enough!) it was just to socialize... that's my girl!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Journalling Ideas for Scrapbooking

Have you ever gone to scrapbook a page only to be stumped by what to say (journal) on that page?? Here are a few hints that you might want to keep in mind the next time you get an hour or two to pull out the pictures to scrapbook.

1 - Look around you. There are little quotes and titles EVERYWHERE... billboards, magazine ads, conversations with a friend. Maybe carry a little notebook in your purse (or if you're like me... the diaper bag!) to write down ideas as they come.

2 - Journal in different shapes... why not try putting your journalling in a circle, or a square, or maybe writing all around the outside of the page instead of always writing on the lines?

3 - Write a story... try journalling as though you are telling the story to a friend.

4 - Write lists... Make a list of random words to describe a favourite picture.

5 - Traditions - Especially during the holidays, write about your Family traditions, and special memories you have about people and places. Your kids and grandkids will love you for this!

6 - Journal Jar - there are a couple ways to do a journalling jar (to make one you can get some inspiration from the baby formula cans my club did last night) First, when something special happens and you don't have time to write it into a scrapbook, just put it on a scrap of paper with the date, and when you go to scrapbook that event you will have the memory written down from when it was fresh in your mind! Secondly, you can write a bunch of questions on scraps of paper and put them in a jar. When you are stumped about what to write, pull one out and see if you can get some inspiration from it.

7 - Ask the questions WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN WHY and HOW??????? You can even set up the journalling in question/answer format. Every page should at least say the names of the people in the pictures and the date that the pictures were taken... remember - people 50 years from now might not be able to tell all your children apart when they were babies - hey, maybe YOU won't even be able to tell them apart! Save yourself some stress and put dates on your pictures!!

8 - Handwriting... I love finding old letters and reading about the lives of people in a different era. What makes it even more fun is if the letter was written in the persons own handwriting. Even if you don't particularly LOVE your own handwriting, try to use it at least once in awhile. Get a good quality journalling pen and it will be even more fun to journal. And then for other times, there are different computer fonts available (see the journalling on the pages in a previous post... click on the scrapbook pages and they will open larger) to help you with the job of journalling.

9 - Make it FUN! Whether you scrapbook alone, or love crops.... allow yourself to have your own style. There is no right or wrong in scrapbooking, or in journalling. You can put as much or as little on the page. Some people keep separate journals, or diaries, so they maybe don't want to put everything on the scrapbook page... Some people like to put more journalling than pictures. Both ways are RIGHT! Have fun!

Feel free to leave a comment about what your favourite journalling method is. I would love to know what works for you. Or, if you have any questions, feel free to email those as well!

Happy Scrapping!
Sarah

(some of the ideas in this post were adapted from CK magazine)

Monday, November 06, 2006

Stamper's Club

Tonight I had my Monday Stamper's Club at my house. We meet the first Monday of each month and the Ladies are so much fun, and very creative too! Take a look at the baby formula cans that we covered tonight (to the right of the screen). If you want to stop an image so you can have a better look at it, just double click on it when that can is highlighted. Everyone chose 1-2 pieces of coordinating Stampin' Up! designer paper and some ribbon and decorated their cans. I loved it how each person's can is different, and everyone was able to choose colours that work for them and their home's decor, or colours for a friend if they choose to give the can as a gift.

We did a couple other projects, too, but I can't show you until Friday because we are doing them with my Friday club as well :) Plus, that might make you check back in again then!

Thanks for looking!
Sarah

Friday, November 03, 2006

Journalling

Just in case you can't see the journalling on those pages that I just posted...

Like Father Like Son:
When Dawnelle sent me this picture of Steve from around 1976 (apporx 3 years old). I just knew that it had to be scrabooked! Then Scotty found this horse and cowboy hat to play with at Uncle George and Auntie Ruth's, and I knew I had a page! Too funny that they are both the same age! Like Father.... like son!!

Zoo Page:
The Zoo is still one of our favourite places to go as a family. Not only can we go to see the animals - we can ride on the train and play in the playground too! Fun!

My Little Lefty:
We figured Todd was left-handed from the start (just like his Grandpa!) because he always grabbed for stuff with his left hand. But here is some proof!

Family Scrapbook pages




Here are a few pages that I scrapbooked this morning. The boys had an early nap today because they were up so early... so I took the time to scrap some pics that I got developed yesterday at Aldergrove Photo. I love scrapbooking, but I don't get to do it as much as I'd like to.

Next on my "to scrap" list will be picks of Elise, but I did a ton of her up right after she was born, so I am good for a bit with her!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Artwork in my home


Not too long ago I had some friends over to stamp. We each worked on our own projects, and this is what I came up with. I was inspired by a picture I saw in a stamping magazine. So I went and bought the letters H-O-M-E and got busy with my paper and modge podge. I have these letters hanging in the stairway in my house. I love it that there is an old key on the E from our 70 year old farm house (we just moved out of it in June) and that there are little mini pictures of each of my kids. I used Stampin' Up! paper "Recollections" and Hodgepodge Hardware as well. I love how this turned out, and I bought more of this paper to decorate other things too.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

My Little Trick-or-treaters!!


Tonight the kids dressed up and we went to visit our old neighbourhood. Then we went to the Cornfield Carnival at our church. Very much fun! Now I have to get busy and scrapbook this page :)

Welcome to my BLOG!!!!

Well, I just took the plunge and started a BLOG. Here I will share samples of my stamping and also artwork of my stamping friends! I will let you know of exciting upcoming events and what's new in my world. I hope you find inspiration here and come back often to see my updates! Happy stamping!