Holiday Wish Lists & A Little Poem

Today, my holiday wish list ran on Craft Critique and I received a cute little poem by email.  Now, I'm not sure if it's just coincidence, or if I should believe that somebody somewhere is trying to send me a message.  What do you think?  Either way, I thought it was worth sharing -- so enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas, I’m glued to the tree. 

I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be cardstock or inkpads or lace?

Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that’s when I heard him……“Hi Santa, ” I said

He replied, “You know….good girls should be in their beds”.

“I know I should Santa,and now I’ve been caught.

But I was just so excited to see what you brought.”

“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work”.

He shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

“You’ve got enough crap,

I’ll see you next year!” 

Holidays in Hand

Today marks the start of the Holidays in Hand free class by Jessica Sprague.  I am totally psyched about this, because I just loved her class tagline: "Capturing the hopes, memories and wonderment of the holidays" and since I love Jessica's work, the class is bound to include some great project ideas and materials.  I really really enjoyed her Stories in Hand class a few months back although the truth is, I still haven't completely put together my Stories in Hand album.  I did however have it out this weekend and am pledging to bump it back to the top of the to-do list!


Nonetheless, as of this morning, there were still some spaces available for the Holidays in Hand class, so if you're interested, pop on over to Jessica's site and enter the promo code listed below to sign up.

Todays lesson is comprised of 3 assignments:


Assignment 1:  Write Your Holiday Values and Goals

• I'm working on this now

Assignment 2:  Commit

• Find a way to include at least 20 minutes of recording/writing/photographing/savoring/printing/gluing/scrapbooking/remembering/slowing down EVERY DAY in December
• A few of the gals in the class forum are also talking about the December Daily by Ali Edwards which they are also doing.  This will apparently help them achieve their 20-minute commitment - so I'm off to Ali's blog in a few minutes to check that out too, it sounds great!

Assignment 3:  Organize

• This one is defined as a 'bonus' assignment and Jessica has pointed us towards a great website with lots of great worksheets, articles, planners, and other printables to help us all have an Organized Christmas.  Check it out!

For me Assignment 2 is probably going to be the trickiest of the three, but its the one I'm looking most forward to!  In the grand scheme of things 20 minutes isn't a lot of time to squeeze out every day right?


Wish me Luck!

Sorry Folks....

It was requested that I remove my list of items CTMH items for sale from my blog.  If you'd like a copy of the updated list, please email me directly.

Quite simply:  Now is the time to remember and reflect but in the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

A Quick Photo Share

I'm just posting a quick one today to update my space (it desperately needs it!)

This is my favorite photo from my family vacation in Myrtle Beach.   I just need to Photoshop out the light standards and it will be perfect to enlarge and hang on the bedroom wall.  I can't wait!

Last Night Was Too Fun!

Despite the fact that last night was a school night, and the kids were out way later than they should have been.  I had a blast (and so did they!).  You see, we heard from a friend that they were filming 'Coin Flip' at the Rockwood Conservation Area which is about an hour from home.  AND that 'Coin Flip' is actually the 'pseudonym' for CAMP ROCK 2.

Now let's be honest, my kids are HUGE Camp Rock fans.  They have watched the movie literally dozens of time, and we own the soundtrack and the DVD of course.....so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see if we could get a peak at the set.

So - off we went (with my friend of course who is the seasonal camper - {Thanks T.})  When we arrived in Rockwood - this is what we saw.

Yup - these 4 (recognize them?) were doing an impromptu acoustic concert whilst atop an SUV.  Cool eh?  The kids were pumped!  The crowd was screaming and crazy (mostly teenage girls of course), and it was just fun.  Unfortunately we got there late and only saw about 5 minutes of it, but it was definately worth it.

Once the crowd dispersed, we made our way into the Campground and with some determination and a little friendly chatter with a few security guards (this place was pretty heavily guarded), we did manage to see the set.  We couldn't take any pictures though, which was totally a bummer, but the kids thought it was super cool that they were standing in a place that they would eventually see in a film.

They have built 5 cabins on the beach at Rockwood, have lined up some canoes and Muskoka chairs, built a cool campfire circle and so on.  It was pretty cool if I do say so myself.

We spent quite a while talking to one of the Production Assistants - and while I'm not sure that I would want his job, he does get to meet some pretty cool people.  The PA told us about some of the other sets in the area  too {apparently something to do with a rather large piano on the big rock} and that sounds like it might make for a pretty cool movie scene.

They are filming at Rockwood for a little longer, and then moving up North to film additional scenes at at least one 'camp' location, then they'll be returning to Rockwood for just a day or two near the end of the month.  And that....as they say in the business would be a 'wrap'.

So if you've read this far, thanks for sticking around.  I know this has nothing to do with scramping, but I just had to put it out there.  But most importantly, thanks again T. for inviting us to come along.  You Rock!

Cupcake Art?

With no paper art to share today, I thought I would post this pic. This, is what happens when you give a 9-year old boy a cupcake and a few bags of icing to play with.

We celebrated my son's birthday on Wednesday with his friends from school. He actually doesn't turn 9 until next month, but last year we tried to do the summer birthday and well, let's just say we failed. It was next to impossible to get a hold of most of the people from his class that he wanted to invite -- so this year, we decided to be proactive.
It was awesome! I booked a Junior Chef Party at 'Upstairs' at Fortinos - a local grocery store. The boys got to make pizzas and decorate cupcakes, eat nachos and salsa, and play games. Our party planner, Shelley, entertained the kids between courses, and everyone had a fantastic time. The boys had an absolute blast 'in the kitchen'. Here's a few more pic so you can truly appreciate how much fun we had.
For those of you who are local, I highly recommend this venue and party plan. It was probably the easiest birthday party I've ever thrown for my kids in terms of how much work was required from me and was probably one of the least expensive too! Aside from creating the invitations, all I really needed to do was show up! Fortinos looked after the rest!

Have a great weekend everyone!

One Lovely Blog or Ten

Here's a big shout out to the incredibly crafty Melanie Boyer of Texas who ever-so-kindly granted me this....
Thanks Melanie!
The deal is that now I've accepted I need to spread the love and pass it along to 10 other bloggers. I bent the rules a bit and am passing the award to some bloggers that I visit fairly regularly - some are new to me as the guidelines recommend, but others have been on my reading list for quite some time. The latter group deserve it though since they continue to keep me coming back for more. Here is my list - you all deserve a big thumbs up!
http://www.creationsbytheheart.blogspot.com/ Amy Bailey
http://melstampz.blogspot.com/ Mel
http://amusing-to-create.blogspot.com/ Leah
http://jencaputo.typepad.com/jen_caputo/ Jen Caputo
http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ Lauren Meader
http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ Sharon Johnson
http://thebuckstampshere.blogspot.com/ Jennifer Buck
http://micheleforce.blogspot.com/ Michelle Force
http://www.fancymelissa.blogspot.com/ Melissa Laverty
http://apathofpaper.blogspot.com/ Deneen
Now ladies, if you're on my list, it's your turn to pass the award along. The rules are simple.

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Spread some love!

My Vegetable Garden: Update #2

Since the garden is coming along nicely, I thought I would post a pic of the progress. I took these yesterday - just less than 2 weeks after I took the originals. Big difference eh? I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. The biggest change you'll notice structurally is that I've added a trellis for the cucumbers, cantaloupe and peas to climb. It was really inexpensive to make since I used electrical conduit that I got for free), and just had to buy a couple of L-Shaped fitting for the corners and the netting. I would guess that all in it was under $10. Now I know it's not the most attractive trellis ever, but it's functional. The peas are starting to grab hold and climb nicely, although the other plants are still too short to reach. Now, as I said before, I am truly a novice gardener, and I'm starting to wonder about the green onions. Should I be harvesting them? They are quite tall and full, and are actually starting to brown on the ends and fall over. I pulled one yesterday, and it was rather tasty, but the bulb on the end was still really small. I really not sure whether I should leave them and let the bulbs get a bit bigger, or if by doing so, I might lose them all together sincce they're starting to brown at the tips. Any suggestions?

Signs of Spring

On a happier note, I wanted to share with you these pics of a 'friend' that came to visit me the other day. Imagine my surprise when I walked out the door to find this little gal (at least I think it's a female) in my porch hanging planter. She was so young, that she didn't even know to be afraid of me I guess, and I watched her for a good 10 minutes or so. I even had time to get the camera, and then the kids so that they could see her too. They thought it was pretty cool indeed.

At one point, the mother bird came around the corner to feed her, but the fact that we were all there scared her off. She then waited patiently nearby until her baby got up the courage to finally take flight. Not an experienced flyer yet, she had some trouble, but did manage to go about 20 feet to land atop the neighbours SUV.

Sad Sad News in the Victoria Stafford Case

I am saddened to learn that despite the fact Victoria has not yet been located, murder charges have been laid against one of the suspects arrested yesterday. Today, my thoughts and prayers go out to all who loved Victoria - her family & friends, and most especially to her brother Daryn. This is truly a tragedy. While it was not the outcome that I had hoped for, I am praying that the police will soon reunite her with you, bringing her home albeit for the last time. She deserves that. Victoria, may you now Rest in Peace.

Arrests Made in the Disappearance of Victoria Stafford

Full story on canada.com Finally! Victoria Stafford has been missing from Woodstock, ON since April 8, 2008. The girls father, Rodney Stafford confirmed to media today that arrests have been made in the case. So far there is no public word on the whereabouts of Victoria, but let's just pray that she is safe. According to reports, the couple (a male and female) arrested are known to the family, although there is no confirmation as to whether the connection is to the mother's or father's side. There is a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. today.

Life Can Be So Unpredictable!

That....was my Facebook status update yesterday. & Let me tell you, I meant it. There is so much going on right now. Why does everything have to come at you at once? Just to give you some idea....

• Sadly, my grandfather passed away just over a week ago although I'm comforted by the thought that he is in my grandmother's arms once again. Together almost 60 years, they were the ultimate love story.
• My daughter 'almost' got suspended from school --- because her immunization record wasn't up-to-date. Actually, public health didn't have record of her ever being immunized, and she's 7. With more than just a few phone calls I managed to get this mess straightened out for now, but I still need to talk to her infant physician next week. Luckily she doesn't have to get any more needles because it's all good, but still, what a pain. Grrr!
• Another family member is now in hospital, and although things are certainly not grave nor even incredibly serious there (I don't think) - the whole situation is well, let's say odd. Sometimes our health system reacts in ways that are a complete surprise.....but then again, so do other people. Sometimes, it's just hard to keep up.
• I've got work being thrown at me from a ton of different directions right now, and some of it oddly enough is clean-up of a job that was completed 18 months ago. That's right, I said 18 months!
• Victoria Stafford, the 8-year-old missing girl in Woodstock is unfortunately still missing (see sidebar). Police have released little information with respect to her disappearance, and tomorrow will mark 30 days since she was last seen. Sad.
• I've been dealing with an online hardware store for the last few weeks (although it seems like months) to get replacement hinges for my kitchen cabinets. First I ordered only the hinge part, as I figured I could use my existing plates, but no. No such luck. Then, I had to order the plates....and then add some extraneous item to my shopping cart to meet the minimum order rules.....and then once I ordered and paid, they emailed to say they were out of stock. Grrrr! Well, I'm happy to report, that I have now received the plates (yay!) and they work perfectly. I now have cabinet doors again! Phew!
• My husband has been working on my office/scrap space and he's actually studded a couple of walls (no drywall yet). Unfortunately for him, he smashed his thumb with a hammer on Saturday and that has basically stopped him dead in his tracks (well stopped progress on this project for a bit if you know what I mean.) Hopefully he'll be back to work sooner rather than later, I'm starting to get anxious.

On the brighter side of things, the weather is finally warming up, and while we've had to deal with some rain, the grass is getting greener, and the tulips and daffodils are blooming.
Hopefully, I'll get some time to craft in the next week or two - I think I need to make some cards. My supply is getting a bit low.

Scrapbook and Share

So here's something interesting....Close To My Heart has launched a new site www.scrapbookandshare.com/ to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month (May) AND this site is the home for the totally exciting Scrapbook and Share Contest.

Now you can check out the site yourself to get all the contest details and the official rules and regs, but the gist of it is the contest is open to everyone, you can enter as many times as you like, and you can use WHATEVER products you like (they do not have to be CTMH). The only stipulation is that entries must be a 2-page layouts featuring YOU!

We all need an excuse to put more of ourselves in our scrapbooks so this is a great opportunity. 5 winners will be chosen (one in each of the 5 contest categories) and each winner will receive $150 US retail in their choice CTMH products.

To enter, you need simply create your layout, and email a picture to scrapbookandshare@closetomyheart.com. Your contest entry will be posted on the Scrapbook and Share site for others to view (that's the sharing part!). On or about June 9, CTMH will select finalists in each of the 5 categories and then leave it up to readers to VOTE for the winner.

I for one think this is way cool, and encourage everyone to enter! I can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Redecorating

Call it 'Spring Cleaning' if you like, but I figured it was time to redecorate. It's funny. For the longest time, I wanted my page to look simple, but recently when I've logged in, I've thought it was almost too simple. Boring really. So today -- things are different. I grabbed this free background script from thecutestblogontheblock.com , and I just love it ---but there were so many to choose from, it was really really tough! Perhaps one day I'll try my digital hand at creating something custom, but for now, I'll go with this. I plan to do a bit of work to some of the items in my sidebar too, but give me a day or two to make that happen. So watch for more changes coming soon.

A World Wide Rave?

As I was reading the local paper yesterday, I came across an interesting article -- one that talked about starting a World Wide Rave. Now I admit, I have never heard this term before and it piqued my interest - and so I read on. The article announces the first ever "Timeraiser" to be held in Hamilton on May 9 - another concept that was foreign to me. The author (Jay Robb) goes on to describe that a Timeraiser is part volunteer fair, part silent auction and part night out on the town. Still sounds interesting....and so I read on. Apparently, Timeraiser events have been taking place in various cities across the country since 2004 and they have helped more than 230 non-profit organizations by recruiting 31,000 Canadians to volunteer 41,000 hours. As part of the process, they have also bought more than $230,000 worth of art from emerging artists. (The art is purchased with monies raised through corporate and community sponsorship.) So how does a Timeraiser work? You can find out more at http://www.timeraiser.ca/, but they way I read it, you pay $20 to attend the event. The art is on display and up for auction that evening. If you wish to bid, you bid not money, but volunteer hours (time). The auction's winner is the individual who bids the highest number of volunteer hours for the specified art piece. Everybody wins here. The artisan gets compensated for their efforts, the auction winner's can take home an art piece they love at no 'financial' cost (with the exception of their $20 ticket fee), and most importantly the non-profits get the help they so desperately need. How cool is that? Now, back to the idea of a World Wide Rave. Essentially, the only way that an event like this will work, will be if people attend it - and before you can attend it, you need to know about it. So, how can awareness be raised on a shoestring budget? Tell people. Word of mouth -- it's as simple as that. Remember the shampoo commercial years ago that claimed "she told two friends, and she told two friends, and so on, and so on". A world wide rave is just like that. The biggest difference is, that by using the 'world wide' web as your delivery medium we can each spread the word to far more than just 2 people at a time. So -- help spread the word about the Hamilton Timeraiser, and blog about it (like I did), put it on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social networking site that you belong to - or simply send an Instant Message or Email to everyone on your contact list. Raising awareness for the Hamilton Timeraiser can really be that easy. Do your part to contribute to this World Wide Rave. Now Go!

Now....It's Time!

It's been a long time coming, but I'm getting pretty excited that within the next month or two I will have a finished (and hopefully organized) craft/office space to work out of. My wonderful hubby has decided that there is no other way to do it than to to take a week off work and blast through the project. Now, it's not scheduled to happen for another month or so, but it's definately going to happen, so I'm pumped!

Now I have to make some decisions ---- for real this time. I've been planning my space in my mind for a while now (2+ years to be exact), but it seems a lot more daunting now that it's officially 'on the books'. You see, my space needs to accomodate not only my craftiness, but also my business (I work from home), and that's the tricky part. Luckily, the needs of my business are mostly computer based, so equipment-wise I don't need too much, but the trick will be keeping the crafty side of me organized so that I can work in the space full-time. I don't know about you, but I've had some difficulty in the past taming the crafty chaos.

I've decided on a colour scheme already so that's good. It was inspired believe it or not by a CTMH paper that was released in January -- from the Emporium Creative Basics collection. It's funny, I'm not usually a floral type gal, but this one jumped right out of the book at me and I could totally see using the colour combo in my space. I think I'll go with some variation of the blue on the walls -- also odd since I usually gravitate to the earthy browns and greens.

Next step is to decide on a layout and to start collecting the furnishings (from here there and everywhere) that will make the space work. Wish me luck!

Is it March already?

Man oh man. What can I say? I have yet again been absent from the blogosphere. I don't really have a good excuse either, although I wish I could say that I've been too busy crafting to post. Unfortunately though I shamefully admit that I haven't picked up scissors or glue in what seems like forever. Life happens. With that said, I did however want to pop in today and remind you that there is a HUGE giveaway at Craft Critique today. It's so big in fact, that I just couldn't let it pass you by without a reminder. So pop on over there and get all the details. Entering is easy....you need simply help spread the word about Craft Critique to someone, anyone and then tell the gals at Craft Critique how you've done it. It doesn't get any easier than that! Here's what you could win. The prize includes 3 full collections (Lime Rickey, Wassail, and Porcelain) and some embellishments from Basic Grey, American Crafts thickers and ribbon, Stampin’ Up! mini book, paper and stamps, A Muse notecards, Pearls and rhinestones from Kaiser Craft, glitter and sparkle decoupage from Duncan, scalloped chipboard book from Maya Road, photo splits from Scotch 3M, the books; Creepy Cute Crochet: Zombies, Ninjas, Robots, and More!, and Color Me Fierce!: A Fashion Activity Book with Six Glamorous Crayon...and more. Think of all the fun you could have with that bag of goodies! Oh....and if you're on Facebook, please do join Craft Critique Group there...that way you won't need to rely on lame old me to remind you of the next giveaway!!!!

Happy 2009!

Wow! Another year has passed....what more is there to say? Like most of you, the holiday season is always busy busy busy. From shopping, to baking, to cooking, entertaining, visiting with family and friends --- honestly, it tends to wear me out but I Love every minute of it! Today though, I'm not doing anything but relaxing (and I think I'll probably find some time to pull out some paper and glue and put together a project or two. Imagine that!) Just to spark up my blog a bit (it's looking a little text heavy), I thought it good time to share my completed digital scrapbook from 2008. I had 4 copies of the book printed and gave it out at Christmas. It was definately a big hit! As I've said before, while I had a lot of fun putting this together, for me, digital scraping will never replace the traditional approach. While you can do some really cool things digitally - I guess it's just not tactile enough for me. Nonetheless, have a peak inside my book and see how it all came together.

Click here to view this photo book.

I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's Celebration, and I wish you all a prosperous 2009!

Stores In Hand! A Great Class

For those of you that are lucky enough to have registered in and are taking this class you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that it ROCKS! Not only did Jessica provide the foundation for us to create a way cute little Stories in Hand album complete with memory sparks (or prompts), but I actually just completed my first story and it was in a word EXHILARATING! I admit that I'm a bit behind since I should be on story #2, but I'm not stressing. The system that Jessica has put together is one that is meant to be kept literally forever, simply adding to it as time goes on. Note: I do plan to share my album here, but I'm still waiting for my American Crafts album that I ordered online to arrive. I have all of the pages printed and ready to go, but it's not assembled yet. For me, the idea of writing or capturing my story is particularly intriguing since I am a family historian by nature - and have spent many many hours researching my family's past. While I have found many 'facts' about my ancestors - when they lived, where they lived and so on, I have always felt that missing from their story was 'how' they lived. I am hoping that by working through Jessica's Stories in Hand progam, I can capture my 'how' and maybe someday, someone will be interested in reading it. If no-one ever reads it though, I'm okay with that, since I can already tell that the trips that I am taking and will continue to take down memory lane are as I said, EXHILARATING! Thanks Jessica for inspiring us!