Thursday, December 31, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 12

Here are two final cards that I made a few weeks ago for friends and family.

This first card was made especially for my friend Dianne, who gifted me with the silhouette carolers last year.
And this is the card I made for my sister (that's her in the antlers), because I know how much she loves Rudolph!
Thanks for checking out my 12 days of Christmas cards. I hope you all had a very merry holiday season!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 11

As promised, here are three cards I made from the same paper pad I showed yesterday.  They are all rather simple in design, not that that is a bad thing!
 I love the cute little snow people on these last two.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 10

I made this card for my friend Kelly, who likes both coffee and Starbucks.
I even decorated the inside of this one, because I know she does when she makes cards (I don't usually, although I like the idea!).
The paper I used came from this paper pad.
Tomorrow, I'll share other cards I made from the same paper pad.


Monday, December 28, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 9

Just to switch things up, I thought I'd share this birthday card I made for my nephew, Bentley, who is turning 17 today. (Where does the time go?!)
The stamped image is from the "Gifts of Love" set that came with the Simon Says Stamp December 2015 card kit.
Lots of cute images. I didn't get a chance to use the tree stamps, will save those for next year's cards.

Happy Birthday, Bentley!!


Sunday, December 27, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 8


This particular card I made was sent to my friend Laura. I love the simplicity of it.
The deer image came from the paper pack that was included in the Simon Says Stamp December 2015 card kit of the month, as did the sequins, the puffy peace word sticker and the diagonal striped paper. I really love the grey and turquoise colour palette they chose for this card kit!

Saturday, December 26, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 7

Just like that, the holiday rush is over and hopefully we can all settle in for a quiet, relaxing Boxing Day.

Here's a card I made for a cat-loving friend:
Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need a nap!


Friday, December 25, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 6


Merry Christmas!!  Thought I'd share this photo from days gone past.  It makes me laugh - all you can see of me is my braces!
 Here's another one, which I assume is Christmas time, based on the matching red sweaters my brothers are wearing. My baby sister would be just under two months old.
In the photo below, probably taken that same year, it looks like we are all wearing our Christmas pyjamas!
We are missing my brother Craig (on the left in each of the above photos) today, this first Christmas without him.  It is such a magical time of year for so many, we often forget there are also many people grieving during the holidays. My heart goes out to all of them, especially my sister-in-law, niece and nephews.

Here's a card I made for my mother, as my sister and I are joining her to celebrate this first Christmas in her new home.
As Charles Dickens wrote, God bless us, every one!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 5

Hard to believe it is Christmas Eve already!  I think I'm ready.  Almost.  Just one more gift to find and wrap.  I'm going to one store at lunchtime and if they don't have what I want, I have a backup item at home that I will wrap up instead, and then that's it, I'm done.  Phew!

Here is another of the cards I made last weekend:
To all those who are celebrating, may you have an enjoyable Christmas Eve!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 4

I mailed most of my handmade Christmas cards on Monday and heard from a couple of local friends that they received theirs today.  As a result, I can safely post images of their cards now and not have to worry that I am spoiling the surprise!
This card went to Frances, who had sent me this beautiful card last week.
To see more of her creations, check out her blog here.


Tuesday, December 22, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 3


I made this card for my cat sitter.
I have to admit, it's one of my favourites!  And yes, I signed it from me and all my cats! ;)

Monday, December 21, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 2


Here is card number two in this series:
Definitely one of the simplest designs I made. The card base was already patterned with the starry red background, I just added a strip of the patterned paper from the Simon Says Stamp December card kit and a couple of the sequins and boom, done!

As a special treat, here's a picture one of the Christmas cards that arrived in my mailbox late last week.
Isn't it the cutest? (card published and distributed by Portal Publications Ltd.)  It came in an envelope addressed in my friend Michelle's beautiful handwriting:
And how about this wax seal?
Thank you so much, Michelle!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

12 Days of Christmas Cards - Day 1

Back in late November, I decided to treat myself to a monthly subscription to the Simon Says Stamp card kit as a birthday present to myself.  The first one was the December 2015 kit, which arrived a few weeks ago (you can see the contents in this YouTube video). I didn't have time to play with it until today, when I spent several happy hours making cards for friends and family.  I decided I would share 12 of them here on my blog over the next few days.

For this first card, I was inspired by a card made by Yana Smakula.  You can see her card and read her description here.

Here is the card I made:

As you can see, it is very similar to Yana's but not quite the same.  I was excited to discover that this 6x6 inch paper pack I picked up recently at Winner's coordinates perfectly with the SSS card kit:

I used one of those papers for the edges of the card and a narrow strip of turquoise cardstock where Yana used the grey (both of which came with the kit). I also made the sentiment box a little bolder by adding both a grey and a turquoise frame.

Many thanks to Yana for sharing her card with all of us, I for one certainly appreciate the inspiration!

Monday, December 7, 2015

My Book of Hours

I had a busy few days last week and didn't have time to blog. I wrote a post on Saturday and forgot to push the "publish" button.  Then when I went to write a post last night, Blogger was having issues. But finally, here I am, and I've got lots to write about!

First off, I want to share about the Book of Hours Workshop taught by Rozanne Lopez that I took last Wednesday night.  Since then, I've been writing in my Book of Hours journal every day, usually at night just before I go to bed. I'm finding it a really good way to slow down and settle my mind before sleep, especially this month, when things get so crazy busy with the holiday season.

This is the first page I made, during the workshop.
Here are a few of the pages I have done since then.
We also received an amazing kit at the workshop, with all sorts of goodies provided by Rowena of Paperpluscloth (check her out on Instagram and Etsy, her website is closed at the moment).  There were rolls of washi tape, scrapbook paper, the Moleskin journal we are using, tags, a pen to write with and all sorts little bits and pieces to use for embellishment.
If you'd like to see more, Rozanne has been posting her beautiful pages and telling the stories that go with them, you can read about them here.  Maybe some days, I'll have stories to go with my pages too! For now, I am enjoying the simplicity of these pages and finding inspiration and comfort in the words of others.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

#30daysoflists - December 2015

Remember that sneak peek I gave you a few weeks back of the little book I made out of file folders? At last, I can reveal why I made it:  I'm playing along with #30daysoflists again (just like I did in September) and I'll be keeping my lists in this book.

Here's what my list for day 1 looks like:
And here's how it looks tucked into its pocket in the book:
Stay tuned this month as I list my way through December!

Monday, November 30, 2015

The End of NaNoJouMo 2015

I can't believe it is the end of November already!! It seems the month has just flown by!  I am pleased to report that I was able to keep up with the daily challenge presented by Dawn Sokol for NaNoJouMo (National November Journaling Month).  I have, however, fallen behind on posting my daily pages, only because I'm still working on completing some of them.  But I can catch you up on a few more days right now and the rest will follow soon (almost done, having too much fun to rush it!)

Day 20 - the prompt was "trees". I had these die cuts that my friend Dianne had made for me last year. I had been saving them to use on a Xmas card but I liked them too much. It suddenly occurred to me that I could use them on a journal page and then I wouldn't have to give them away! :)
Day 21 - Dawn posted a picture of the Statue of Liberty with the title "Lady Liberty".  I decided to sketch her on my journal page.
Day 22 - the prompt was a picture of a crown. I found a quote I liked and a picture from a magazine and this was the result.
Day 23 - the prompt was "groups of 4". One of the first groups I thought of was the suits in a deck of playing cards. I remembered I had a set of gambling stamps that I had never used so decided to take them out for a spin!  Also, my mother had given me a small incomplete deck that was the perfect size!
Day 24 - click here to see the prompt for this day, which is hard to describe.  This is an example of one of the pages that I haven't finished yet but I did paint the background that day.  I really love how it turned out. Just not sure where to go next. I need to find an image to put on it to give me some direction for the next steps.
Days 25 to 30 will be posted shortly, stay tuned!

Once again, many thanks to Dawn for putting together this challenge and for sharing the prompts.  It was a great project, and I'm thrilled with my November journal!


P.S.  You may have also noticed that I also met my goal of blogging each day for the entire month. It has been a while since I did that.  Some days were harder than others but I powered through and I feel good about it.  Thanks for reading along.  (Maybe next year I'll take part in NaNoWriMo - writing every day for the month of November with the goal of finishing a 175 page novel by the end of it?!)

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Cards From Friends

One of the great things about having creative friends is the fact that they just might make you a card when it's your birthday!

This card is from my friend Laura. I always loved this stamp featuring vintage industrial style lamps but look how fabulous it looks using silver ink!

This is the envelope that my friend Dianne's card came in. 

The card itself, featuring the Tim Holtz "Crazy Birds" and "Crazy Things" stamps, was even more amazing.
Thank you so much, ladies, I love the cards you made for me!!


Saturday, November 28, 2015

Happy Birthday To Me!

My mom recently sold our family home and has been busy going through 50 years of accumulated STUFF from a family of six as she cleans out the house before the closing date next month.  Last weekend, she gifted me with these shoes.
I don't remember ever seeing them before and certainly can't remember the days when I wore them! :) But I'm excited to have them. Thanks, Mom, what a lovely birthday present!

Friday, November 27, 2015

Late For Work

I try to get to work on time most days but sometimes, I get behind schedule.  It's not always my fault. Sometimes there's traffic or weather delays or a combination of the two. And sometimes, it's because I'm not able to get my turn in the shower right away.


Thursday, November 26, 2015

Another Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends south of the border!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

DLP Journal Page

While I am doing really well keeping up with the daily prompts for NaNoJouMo, I must confess that I am really behind on making journal pages for the Documented Life Project.  I fully intend to make my way through all or at least most of the weekly prompts I haven't done yet but I suspect it will take me some time to catch up/get finished.  Not entirely sure I'll play along in 2016 just because I've been so remiss in keeping up this year but having said that, I'm eagerly waiting to see what the format for next year will be all the same! :)

Nevertheless, I did complete one page in October and I have to admit, I really love how it turned out.
The theme for October was "translucent papers" and for the week of October 31st, the challenge was to use tea bags or dryer sheets on our page.  You can't tell from this photo, but the leaves are overlaid with tea bags that I glued down with matte medium.  I also used tissue paper with text on it for my background.  It was the weekend we switched our clocks back to end daylight savings time, so that helped me incorporate the journal prompt, "just create".

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Playing With Paint

The beauty of NaNoMouJo is that you don't have to finish an entire art journal spread every day.  The idea is to just do a little something each day during the month of November.

Some days, I don't have the time or the energy to do more than just this - play with paint.  Tonight, I chose these three colours as a result of the beautiful prompt Dawn provided for us today (day 24), which you can see here, and then I starting playing with mixing them together.
I'm trying to get that soft turquoise green that you can see on the left hand side of Dawn's page. So far, it has been eluding me.  I might have to go to the store one of these days and see if I can find something that particular shade already in a bottle but for tonight, I'm going to stop here.  I'll let the paint dry overnight and see how it looks in the morning.  I really like the look of this so far, just not sure what I'm going to do next.  Stay tuned! 

Monday, November 23, 2015

Missing Parrot

When I was walking about in my neighbourhood a few weeks ago, I noticed this poster for a missing parrot.
Correction: "escaped" parrot.  Love how the description states that Neo the parrot is "enjoying his freedom".  Sounds like he has been spotted out and about but that they haven't been able to catch him.

Did you know that parrots in general can live to be 100 years old?  Apparently, this particular breed can live to be 80 years old in some cases! You can read more about the Orange Winged Amazon here.

Not sure how old this poster might be, it looked rather weather worn.  Makes me wonder if Neo has found his way home by now.  I certainly hope so, it's getting cold out there!