Thursday, December 30, 2010

Sketchy Thursdays - Facebook only - Laughter

This week I played along with Sketchy Thursday and their Facebook only challenge. Check out their fan page on Facebook to see the sketch!
"Pretend I just said something really funny." Greg said just before this photo was taken. I love this photo, it's actually one of the only candid picture of me that is actually good.
I hope everyone is enjoying some down time after Christmas and is gearing up to the New Year.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

8 Weeks left.

My brother and his girl friend are due in 8 weeks. I am super excited about the birth of my first niece. So excited, like can hardly contain my excitement. Like hurry up and get here Jumanji. This is a set I knit for her.



In other exciting news, my sister Patti got engaged!!! I'm really happy about this. I cried when my dad called me to tell me that TheGuy had come to ask my Dad's permission. And cried when she asked me to be a bridesmaid. It appears I'll be dancing barefoot @ her wedding but I'm okay with that.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love and laughter.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Gingerbread houses.

Today I went over to my Nana's to make gingerbread houses with my cousins J and A and my brother Tim. This is a tradition that my Nana started when I was a kid...before the twins Katie and Tim were even born. The night of my Dad's detachment Christmas Party my Nana would babysit Patti, Danny and I. My Nana being ever so creative thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house one year. We had so much fun, that we started doing it every year. We've learned a lot since that first time. Nana use to make the gingerbread but we found out that it was much easier and less frustrating to buy the kit and if you are buying the kit you need to buy extra candy b/c  it will never be enough. We've also learned to let the houses "sit" before we decorate them otherwise the house will fall over. My Nana has learned to "let go" a little and let us play even if it isn't a perfect house. The new rule this year was that we weren't allowed to eat any candy until our roofs were done (we almost ran out last year b/c A couldn't stop eating the candy and frankly neither could I!). Over the years we've made gingerbread houses, bird houses made out of graham crackers (which Danny kept for many years) and when the twins were babies we tried a carousal (epic fail, it kept falling over and the twins cried the whole time). Oh and one year J really wanted to make an igloo, so we made it out of sugar cubes, which A also had a hard time not eating even though he was only one or two. The boys did a great job this year. Both all most independent.

Nana helping J
A working on his.

The roof on my house..Nana loved this idea. We had never done a roof like this one before.

A with his house, all done. He thinks his mom would love this picture!

J with his, giving himself bunny ears. :)
It use to be a tradition before J and A were around that we smashed them after dinner on New Years day @ Uncle D's b-day (J and A's dad) but there have been a few tears when it was smashed over the years until we got older. So we haven't done that in a long time. I generally just pick away at what is still eatable for a couple weeks.
I hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season. I'm working nights over Christmas but am finally starting to feel the spirit. I hope that every one gets to spend some time with their friends and loved ones!
Merry Christmas!!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas gifts

Yesterday after church I went to my Dad's and step-mom's for a late lunch b/c my step-brother Iggy and step-sister A were visiting for Iggy's Christmas with his sister and my parents. I used the opportunity to give them, their family gifts. I try to think of something different each year, this year I made cookies in a jar and soup in a jar. I used my Cricut to make the tags. I think they went over well. I also made hot coco. It was a fun project and actually the most time consuming part was writing out the recipe on each tag.


Here's a pic of the tree on my front lawn after 3 days of non-stop snowing.  Also a picture of a drift hanging off my house. We have alot of snow and it continues to come down.


It has been unreal the amount of snow gotten so far. I'm pretty sure we are going to have a white Christmas this year! LOL

Pencil lines - 218 -Rose

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! After spending the afternoon @ my Dad's yesterday I whipped up this LO from Pencil Lines, while watching Christmas shows of course!
20101212_Skisse_LO


I love roses, these pictures were taken around August I think.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sketchy Thursdays - 12.16 - Untitled

Good afternoon everyone!! Here is another great sketch from Sketchy Thursdays.

At first I wasn't sure how I was going to make this sketch work but I thought about using coloured blocks instead of small photos and I think it worked out okay. Not too many pictures of my garden to scrap. Almost done! I can't wait to show my mom. She and her husband had planned to visit my garden all summer but it was really hot here and they didn't make it..so I'm looking forward to showing her a sneak peak @ what is to come next year. Here's my take. Sorry for the bad picture, my house is lacking in natural light. I really miss that about my apartment, it had a huge bay window and was filled with light all the time. This picture gives the idea though. :)
How is everyone's shopping going?? I'm almost done. Just my grandma left. All she wants is a vinal/flannel table cloth and do you think I can find one? Sure but not in patterns that are really my grandma...she's not a blue palm tree kind of girl. I even braved Walmart today and no luck. I'm thinking Giant Tiger tommorrow...then I can start wrapping. That's one of my favourite parts. :)
Hope everyone is having a great afternoon,
Cheers and thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Creative Scrappers - 134- Circle Series

More snow more scrapping. Oh how I would love to stay home tonight and not go to work. Anyway this is LO is brought to you by Creative Scrappers and their 134th sketch.



This LO is for my Faithbook. It's about a set of books I fell in love with last summer, the Circle Series by Ted Dekker. Basically they are about a man who one day falls asleep in our reality and wakes up many, many years in the future. When he falls asleep in the future he wakes back up in the present. Both realities telling him that the other is not real. He soon discovers that what he learns in one can be applied to the other. The books have strong biblical symbolism, Black basically being the fall. They are also a circle, I read them Black, Red, White and Green. Green was just in the process of being written when I started but they can also be read Green, Black, Red and White. I was very excited when I read these books last summer. They changed me.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Let's Capture these Sketches - 65- Tomatoes

Another great one from Let's Capture these Sketches.



Winter Wonderland?

Yeah, I don't think so. We have been dumped on in the last 24 hours and there is more to come. I could hardly open my kitchen door. I'm not even going to attempt to open the front door, I can imagine the drifts in front of it.

Out my kitchen door.



The drifts on the deck.

The drifts in my garden.
I was glad to hear that CPR was cancelled this afternoon. I"m not going anywhere. Not even if work calls to ask me to work tonight. Not even then. That is the only thing  I hate about living in town in the winter. I love that I am close to work and don't have far to go if it's bad but I hate that if it is bad and I'm not scheduled and others can't get to work b/c they don't live in town, that I get called to work b/c I do live in town. But you know what unless I am already working I'm not going to risk life and limb to get there b/c someone else can't, I'm not going to get thanked for it. The only thing about this thinking is that I still feel guilty b/c I know they are probably working short. I also don't want anyone to have bad feelings about me. I truly want everyone to like me. I'm learning that it's okay if everyone doesn't b/c frankly I don't like everyone either. I can get along with pretty much everyone but that doesn't mean I have to like them. I'm also learning not to apologise for putting myself first....no one else is going to do it so I must.
Okay enough of this rant. I really do hope that it gets better out soon. Dad, Katie and I are suppose to be heading to KW to see Jumanji's 3D ultrasound on Thursday. Please let it be better soon.

Creative Scrappers -133 - Lilies


Last week I played with this sketch from Creative Scrappers.
It really was perfect for my lilies page.













































You should see the snow we are getting. I was suppose to go to CPR this afternoon but it's been cancelled. It might be a good day to scrap some more, after I shovel a bit first.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Sketchy Thursdays 12.09 Echinacea


I also played along with Sketchy Thursdays this week. Surprisingly this cold I've got has not interfered with my creations.
















That's all for now, GH is coming on and I think it might be time for more meds.

Pencil Lines - 216- Bold

So I used this sketch from Pencil Lines for more garden pics. I'm finding with my book about my garden that sketches are really the way to go, they really help keep each page fresh.
Sk216a
I actually never intended to make this LO last night. I planned an evening in front of the TV after being out Christmas shopping and then choir. It's funny how inspiration just appears.


I should probably explain the fairy. She was made from a kit by KLUTZ that I got for Christmas one year when I was in college. Apparently my mom knew I needed a creative outlet when I was in nursing school. Anyway the kit has been pack in my "craft" box for years until I bought my house and had a shelf to put my craft stuff on. When I saw this sketch, I thought a little fairy might be a great embellishment. I think she adds some whimsy to the page, which is what I feel like sometimes when I'm in my garden.










Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sketchy Thursdays 12.02 - Hollyhock

This week I played with this sketch from Sketchy Thursdays. It worked perfectly to showcase the pics I've taken of the hollyhock in my garden.






































Thanks for visiting!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Snow Snow Snow!!!

Winter has arrived here in Canada and it came with a huge dump of snow apparently 10 inches from Wed night to Sat afternoon (a co-worker actually went out and measured it).
Here are some pictures I toke on Dec 3rd.
The pine tree on my front lawn.

This is one hearty rose, it still had one bloom on in last year at Christmas, it would probably bloom all year if it didn't get covered in snow when I shovel the deck.

The other side of the same pine tree.

A tree in the backyard of my neighbours.

This tree looks as pretty covered in snow as it does in blooms.

A tree down the street.

It had just started to snow when I shot this pic of the trees on the bluffs, only a few steps from home.

Lovely.
Driving in this weather can be tricky, so the snow tires are going on, on Monday. Maybe this snow will help me get into the Christmas spirit. I'm having a little trouble, since I know I have to work nights 24-26, no Christmas morning open, b/c my brother and sister will not be up when I get home and when they get up I'll be in bed. And it looks like I might miss turkey @ Grandmas with my cousins b/c it wont be ready to eat when I need to leave @ 1830. So yeah it's kinda a bummer, hopefully the nights will be reasonable and I'll get to celebrate with the other great girls who have to work too. At least I have the asureance that I will not have to work next year when Jumanji is here. I should really find something fun to do on New Years.
Another sign that winter is here...I woke up with a cold, I feel so terrible that I skipped church and I love advent! Tonight might be the perfect night to curl up and watch Twilight: Eclipse. I haven't seen it yet.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Mystery Sketch Day Five - Vote 2010

The last sketch.






















The final product.
This year my Uncle ran for re-election to city council. I was delighted to put his sign on my lawn. Even more delighted when I realized it matched my house.

I really like playing along this week. I hope Let's Capture these Sketches does this again sometime. I'm really happy with how this LO turned out.

Mystery Sketch Day Four


Day four.


















My day four

Mystery Sketch Day Three


Here is the sketch for day three.

















My day Three.

Mystery Sketch day two


Here is Let's Capture These Sketches Day two.

















This is my Day two

Mystery Sketch Day One


This week Let's Capture these Sketches used a mystery sketch, each day adding to the last. So here is my take on Day One.
Them first then me.














Me Day one.