Days Go By

Don't tell my mom

2010-01-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

I am going to keep this project for a rainy day.

http://www.livingwithlindsay.com/2009/11/librarians-please-avert-your-eyes.html

Cupcakes anyone?

2009-12-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

Oh, this yummy eggnog cupcake recipe was fun to make. In fact, I made 2 dozen and did the icing from scratch. I am in love with the 1M tip because with a fairly stiff icing, the cupcakes look like fancy boutique ones.

Housewarming and entertaining friends

2009-12-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

Christening the house with friends, drinks and laughter.

Decorations

2009-12-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

In my guest bathroom, there is a little surprise waiting for visitors. When I was sorting and packing I found a small collection of Starbucks ornaments that were gifts from friends and students over the years. Did you know that each year there is a new ornament that matches the special red cups?

New roots

2009-12-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

Here is my new view.

Here is my new master bath
A new kitchen

Yes, I have been absent.

I have been busy.

I have a new home.

I am sorry that this blog was empty since early November.

That will change.

2009-11-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

It's up, it's online.....hurray! The Quickutz Holiday release Gift set. Santa's Workshop

Wow!

Did you catch that there are enough dies in this set to make 3 different mini albums and some pages even interchange? A full alphabet, windows, nesting shapes and more. I predict this set will be sold out due to it's value and endless possibilies. I am going to add some items to my wishlist not waiting for Santa to send this to me for Christmas. I think a housewarming gift is in order Can't sleep, I am signing papers on my first house. Pays to be up late and live on the west coast, as to catch the midnight release on the QK website.What do you like best about the release?

Tomorrow is a big day

2009-11-02T23:41:00.001-08:00

....I sign papers with the lawyer on my FIRST home. I bought a 2 bedroom condo and am pretty darned excited. It has been tough packing up this place on my own.....emotional too. I am lucky enough to have spent the last 3 1/2 years with a woman who has been like a second Mom and a roomie.

Thank goodness for Dad, who not only helped me make the deal in September but has answered the phone almost everyday when I had to call with a question, numbers relating to fixed or variable mortgage rates and tips on what to look at when doing a walk though looking for defiencies. My mom helped get this whole ball rolling on making a purchase sooner than later by helping me get some accounts in order. I have a real estate agent who has been patient and kind to me, a new friend.

I feel grown up!

Silhouette cutting mat advice, tips and maintenance

2009-09-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Consider making your life easier when cutting images on the Silhouette. Like many of you, I have been working with layered shapes, cutting many pieces for a layout prior to creating and going to crops. lately, I have been making kits for the scrapbook crops. I have been attending.

I have 4 mats, often two are consumed for layered shapes , so that I can load the next one and then work with the top layer while the machine is cutting. As well, I can prepare the paper I am using for my titles. This has made my prepping much more time efficient.

In a thread on the new QK forums that were released today, I read about wanting to keep their mats sticky. Although, one solution is to buy new mats, until you can get back to the LSS or your online order arrives, consider a temporary adhesive. It has worked for me. CC International Stick and Spray (temporary respositional adhesive from the UK) as it adds stickiness to my mats.

As well, get into the good habit of using the Universal Scraper. It's been essiential for me to keep my mats clean and helps keep the natural oils off my mat.

Hope this is helpful to all. Make sure to come to the QK forums and join the online community.

Have fun cutting,

Tamara

2181

2009-08-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

No, not the amount of paper I own.
Not the money I have spent on supplies.
Not the number of days I have been a teacher.
Not the KM's I have driven in my new car.

2181 is the number of digital designs I own from the Quickutz Library.

Can you believe that? No need to store them on a shelf, in a special tote or on my hard drive. These designs sit on the server at QK and are mine for life. This week the company did a series of improvements to their server and I did a recovery of the images that I have bought since this glorious Silhouette machine appeared on the market. That is how I know that I have 2181 designs in my account.

It's perfectly clear to me as to why I bought the unlimited download subscription for one year. Quickutz also had a promotion to their customers to obtain a code that would enable them to buy the subscription for half price, I know that code! With one release (sometimes 2) each week, I can shop, collect and brainstorm projects from my computer.

Today, Quickutz released some page frames that are going to help me create pages with many photos on them, all with a clean, mat-like look. I am going to try one this weekend. You have to go and see for yourself. Then, make sure that you get set up for an unlimited download subscription so you too, can have 2181 designs at your fingertips.

2181 and counting.

This morning the phone rang with some amazing news

2009-08-18T00:34:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Andrea with Quickutz who called me from Utah today with some very exciting news. Quickutz put the call out in June, as they were looking to build an team of Ambassadors who would help spread the *joy* of Quickutz with others. I mustered up the courage to put my name into the many applications, over 1700 hundred inquires I was told. Although I am most happy to be with the creative friends I have made while scrapbooking, showing ones work is personal and "putting it out there" is a risk. We all have a different style and I like to celebrate that we are all very different.

I am lucky that I have a role with Photo Express that provides so many opportunities to interact with our lovely customers. Working in the store with such a large inventory (we practically have every die! and product) , a Quickkutz club (PE CREW) and some amazing staff members (whom are so supportive friends too!) will for sure be a credit to help me be a positive team member on the Quickutz Ambassador team.

I am looking forward to being creative with the 7 other team members, all in the US. I am the Canadian in the crowd and very proud to be! More to come....on this new adventure.

Quickutz Crew night

2009-08-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

Each month, Photo Express has a crew gathering for all the members of their QuicKutz Crew. It was alot of fun to work with the QK fans as they came through the station this month. I was happy to be at the card station, meeting all the Crew members as they rotated through the 4 stations. Karen designed the lovely 2 Christmas cards, yes.....I *know* Christmas cards! In fact Karen designed all the projects this month, combining dies from the Limited Edition VIXEN set, Revolution and Relax Gift sets.

If you are not a member of the PE QK Crew, you will want to be. Here is the information.... http://photoexpressions.ca//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=152 I don't have photos to share this post, they are for our special crew members. You could be one too!

Silhouette Tag

2009-07-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

After creating a special gift for the room parent for my Kindergarten class this year I needed to top it off with a great embellished tag. The Silhouette machine is a natural go to for me, knowing this would be cut in two steps I searched for the embellishments when the digital cutter was cutting the image.

Paper
Bazzil
Penny Lane by My Minds Eye
Flowers and button by Making memories

Hero Arts Blog is making changes

2009-07-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

I have used stamps from this company for many years now, and moved into acrylic cling when they did too. Tracy Kyle is a local designer who worked with Hero Arts for a very long time, I followed her work alot!

Look what they have in store for all of us!

Now for our challenge for YOU - and we have DOUBLE THE PRIZES this week! This week’s challenge is to create something that is inspired by anything on heroarts.com (our main website, not this blog). It could be a card, scrapbook page, technique article, or more from heroarts.com. Just post your creation - along with the link to the inspiration - in our Flickr group with the tag “website”. Be sure to use at least one Hero Arts stamp. The deadline for the challenge is Sunday, July 19 at 11:59 pm PST. From the entries we will pick twice as many winners as normal… and the prizes are twice as big:
TWO Fresh Face Winners (someone who has not yet won a contest): $100 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog each
TWO Scrapbook Page Winners: $100 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog each
TWO 1st Place: $100 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog each
TWO 2nd Place: $50 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog each
TWO 3rd Place: $30 of new Hero Arts stamps + a 2009 catalog each
And we can’t start this big week without a giveaway. Wait - how about TWO!? Yep. Let’s do two giveaways…
Leave a comment here telling us something you like about our main website, heroarts.com. Do so by Friday at 11:59 pm PST and we will pick a lucky winner.
Post about our big week on your blog. Then leave a comment here linking us to your blog. Do so by tonight at 11:59 pm PST and we will pick another lucky winner!
Both winners will get these great goodies…

Jumping over to the Island

2009-07-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Craving the words "Auntie Tam" I knew it was time to head over to Vancouver Island to spend time with my family here. Supposedly, the boys said that I was taking them to the new ICE Age movie since we "ALWAYS" go to the movies when I am in town. Sure little A...we can go to the movies. In fact, Auntie Tam wanted to drag you to UP as well...sure that won't be a problem.

It will be great to visit my sister and Mom and Dad. Dad has recovered from surgery and Mom is working on some family history as well. I am sure Sarah and I can find some trouble at the local LSS and maybe even sit down and play with her stash. I did not pack anything!

Miss you Gran

2009-07-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

July 4th marks a different day for our family.

Love me

My class is now live on the BC Crop for Kids Site

2009-07-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day to all.

My task today was to complete the project sample for the BC Crop for kids this fall. The class registration goes live for Crop Seat and Class Pass Holders on 7pm on Monday, July 13, 2009. Class registration for the genral public begins at 7pm on Thursday, July 27, 2009.

You can see it here. Piggy Tales approached the organizers and offered a class sponsorship and Photo Express is supporting the class through the addition of ribbon, Glitter Ritz and cardstock and of course me. Crafting a project for this type of event provoked thought and some planning. With everyone spending their time away for the weekend and benefiting BC childrens hospital, I thought it would be a perfect blend to create a mini album that will document the weekend. My sister is coming over from Vancouver Island to join myself and a few friends for the weekend- a getaway from our regular lives.

Not to be outdone by my sense of accomplishments by means of getting my class sample done, I also got some amazing news from one of my favourite scrapbook companies Quickutz. Through Facebook, they ran a promotion and the Grand Prize was a brand new EPIC 6 die cut machine out later this month. The machine went to the person who brought the most amount of people to the Quickutz People group on FB. Today they announced that it was me. Many of my Facebook friends through scrapbooking and through school joined the group upon request, so I am thankful to them for helping me.

Published!

2009-06-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

With some encouragement from Andrea at Quickutz, I submitted a project to the gallery on their Silhouette site. When Andrea flew up to the Photo Express Crop, I spent the day assisting her with her demo at the crop. Many of us were keen to learn how the new software works to weld words together with the click of a button. Oh , how happy was I when I clicked that weld button!

QK has alot of online support for the machine now, between their website and many FAQ's , anyone who was keen to aquire a digital die cut machine can be assured they can manage the sfotware. It is easy once you play, of course you need a little time to get your feet wet.

The layout is online and you can see it on display at Photo Express as well.

BC Crop for Kids

2009-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Not only was I excited to re register this year to attend the crop but when Mary and Sandra asked me if I would be interested in teaching a class, I was honoured. Piggy Tales has graciously offered to be a class sponsor and I am having a hard time choosing from their paper lines. Now I just have to decide on a paper collection to base the projects from. Their names are cute and oh-so-fitting for this Kindergarten Teacher such as me. I have been able to narrow my choices down to Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater , Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the Gingerbread Man. If you have any suggestions, please let me know asap. I am taking a little bit of a poll.

Today was re-registration for the people who attended last year, so Sarah, Shonia and I are all registered. I imagine that they will have us Photo Express folks all together assigned to a table by the doors again. We had serious amounts of fun being together and scrapbooking. We rarely get a chance to play as our group normally is involved in hostessing crops. Last years event was so well run, the hotel was easy to get around and I do remember laughing. I even have proof that I got some pages done too!

Maybe facebook should take a back seat?

2009-04-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

....as it has seriously taken over my online time. I was not -so-bad at posting on my blog after it was set up in 2007 but in the last 10 months, woa....nothing!

2008-07-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Summer is half over

2008-07-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

What have I done:

travelled to Vancouver Island for a week of visiting with my family

ski- dooed on Nanaimo Lakes with the nephews

Saw Kung Fu Panda

Had a few Corona's

Booked a Winter trip to Mexico with Kalie

Crafted with mom as we marked a year since Gran passed

Hiked in Golden Ears park with the Dobie clan

Walked 10 km with Julie one early Sunday morning

Ran down to Seattle Outlets to shop at the new Kate Spade store

Walked 16 km with the Walking group

Came home with 2 new Kate Spade bags, one was a birthday gift from Mom and Dad.

Birthday Lunch at the new Boathouse with Jen and Lynelle

Birthday dinner with Patricia and Robin

Did a few morning Aquafit classes with Lynelle

Went on my first date in 3 years

Walked 17 km with the walking group

Went on my second date in 3 years, three days after the first one

Had special ice cream with Jennie and Courtney

Had my nails done

Out dancing with the girls at the Point in Port Moody

Sat on Kuldeeps rooftop patio in Vancouver and drank wine during the day

Saw Mama Mia and had yummy Greek food with Shonia

Emptied the full laundry basket and refolded clothes into my dresser

Bought some bathing suits for Mexico

Designed a card class for August

Stayed in my PJ's for a whole day or 2 or 3

Washed the floors

Created my first Christmas gift but I cannot tell you who its for

Walked 20 km with the walking group

Made a present for Connie and Mark's wedding

Finished the book I started reading at Christmas

Started a second book and have many ready to read

Visited with Kalie in the hospital a few times

Cropped all day with Mom at the Breast Cancer fundraiser

What is left to do

Empty the crawlspace and tidy up in there

Mail out thank you cards to the Kindergarten families for their gifts at the end of June

Go camping for at least 2 nights

Have date 3,4,5,6, ect

Design the rest of the cards for my August card class

BBQ at Julie and Rhys house

Clean up my scrapbook supplies

Go back to visit family in August

Five days left of my first year with Kindergarten

2008-06-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

....he kids have 5 days left ill they have summer holidays....my kids, as in my students in Kindie. I have 5 more days the following week and then I can relax, walk, read, create, visit and do whatever my heart pleases.

This summer a group of friends and I are going to host anothe fundraiser for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, I am walking again in September.

I plan to visit family on the island. See some friends, work on some plans I have brewing in my head- in the creative side of my head that is.

Maybe there will be new things on my short list...new things that I have not anticipated. Perhaps .....who knows....

2008-05-25T11:04:00.001-07:00

Unveiling, asymetrical, not parted in the middle, not blunt. Steph squealed when I said "sure' go for it. Then in my typical fashion I said..."no" wait! Ha......I loved it and feel trendy!

I got a new haircut and wow....it's a change and I love it. Should have known that it was "different" when my hair dresser squealed for joy.

2008-05-24T23:35:00.000-07:00

Crop Ticket sercured for.........

2008-05-05T21:36:00.001-07:00

The BC Scrapbooking Crop for Kids this September.

I cannot believe how intense buying a crop ticket could be. In fact, I have never had to buy a crop ticket before because when you are part of the host LSS putting on the event, you don't need a ticket. Some of the ladies from PE are going to teach again at this event. I am going to be playing.

So buying this ticket tonight online was a funny experience. I was such a geek that I refreshed every few minutes to watch them disappear in front of my eyes. Over 100 tickets sold out in over 2 hours.

My sister is coming over from the island for the weekend. Shonia, her and I have a hotel reservation in one of the fancy rooms on the fourth floor. This will be a fun weekend. I will for sure have enough time to pre plan and get some work done that weekend.

Cardio

2008-04-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

30 mins, program 2, 289 calories burned, red cheeks and working upward.

National Scrapbook Day countdown

2008-04-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

.....National Scrapbook day is on Saturday! So that is 5 sleeps.

I don't know what you give to someone when it is National Scrapbook day but I plan on giving out some prizes.

I have had many people at work (my school) ask me to host or maybe teach a class. Well, we are going to gather this Saturday at the school to have a crop. I am hoping that more people email me this week to register because right now it is a very small group. Although, it is a group of my favourite friends.

I was going to update the blog but........

2008-04-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

tonight is the return of Grey's Anatomy.
The world will stop and I will not answer the phone.

I love a techie geek

2008-04-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

I wish they had brought this stage set up to Vancouver....

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=710075913

Good day for email news

2008-04-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

Wowie!

I normally plough through my emails from anything that resembles an ad, stopping for real emails from friends and paying attention to those. Yesterday I stopped dead in my tracks and re-read the email.

Seattle Prime outlets announced a Kate Spade outlet. I have ONE of her bags and I have loved her leather pieces, so classic, timeless and very much my style. Now, she'll have her own outlet store....yahoo! I need to find a day to head down across the line and check out the stock. I'd love a red purse.....

Baby Shower Happiness for Baby Kameron

2008-04-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

My friend Selena is hostessing a baby shower for Baby Kameron. We have waited a long, long time for Kameron so he deserves some extra touches. I need to get a photo of the banner I put together as well.

Fridge stocked

2008-04-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

Meals prepped.....yeah me!

My "I Will" statements for Sunday

2008-03-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

I bought new running shoes.
I am setting the alarm clock tomorrow morning.
I will walk on the treadmill.
I will get some cooking done so there will be some meals in the freezer.
I will create something tomorrow, even if it is a card.
I will do some cleaning too!

Happy Birthday Making Memories

2008-03-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Making Memories is a scrapbook company who makes many items in the industry and is always one that is recognized in stores all over the place. I have a stash of their product and have to admit that the stash is big.

Today they celebrated the Birthday of their Blog. I was home on Spring Break today because the plans I had to take the train into the city cancelled themselves with the looming rain and 8 degree crisp temperature. I have no idea why the spring weather is not showing up for my Spring break? Being home today turned out great for me because I watched the MM blog and posted too!

This afternoon my names was drawn for some 5th Avenue product. Wowie! The line is really nice as I already have some of it :) We , at Photo Express got our huge order in about 2 weeks ago. The paper is truly cute and well the embellishment packs are adorable too because it all matches so perfectly. I really like the blue colour in this line!

Lucky me!

Hint Hint

2008-03-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Spring Break on the West Coast

2008-03-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

Wow....exciting news for me today.
I think it will push me out of the creative slumber I have been in.

I will post the details tonight.

2008-02-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Make sure to visit the new Melissa Frances blog. They previewed the new line of pink paper which was inspired by her battle with Breast Cancer. I am going to be looking for some of the paper in the lower mainland.

www.melissafrances.typepad.com

Snow day part 2

2008-01-30T23:33:00.000-08:00

We have had a huge dump of snow and in the areas around Port Moody and Coquitlam, they have had even more up to 4 ft. The school busses do not run in this type of weather when the roads are dangerous. The Lower Mainland is just not a place where snow manageable unlike the prairies. People have not experienced road conditions that mean they have to change their driving skills. The roads are not slowly frozen over like they are in cold winter climates so when the snow hits, it sits on the surface and is most likely followed by rain.

I have now officially given up on my coping skills that I once had while living in Regina and Yellowknife. I am now shivering in my Gortex coat and mittens whereas I would once walk to school in a parka and Sorel boots. I have been indoor since Monday night, most of the time spent in bed , sleeping. I was battling a set of symptoms on Monday and while the K's were skating I was just trying to hold on. So the snow days did me some good. I slept like a hibernating bear would have. I baked a whole bunch of chicken and veggies yesterday and put 6 meals in the freezer but that would be the extent of my activities. I have had no energy so this was a gift- to recharge and to watch daytime TV while drinking peppermint tea.

Wonder what it will do tomorrow morning? We are expecting more snow and freezing rain.
GRRRRRRRREAT!

A little Jon Bon Jovi as a reward for 30 minutes on the treadmill tonight.

2008-01-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

Nothing else needs to be said here.

Back to Aquafit on Monday Nights

2008-01-22T22:04:00.000-08:00

...ok, so I had been going since last Summer and things slowed down to once and week and finally stopped through the stressful times that our family went through in October/November and then stalled in December. Wow...that pool was full. Full of ladies who mostly stood at the back and we were crowded as we ran around and worked out.

Kim, is the new instructor and I LIKE her alot. Both Lynelle ( my pool buddy from Junior Kindergarten) and I thought Kim was surely "kicking out butt" last night. We'll be going to the 7 pm classes on Monday nights. I just hope that Kim stays constant as our instructor. She is a real sized woman who exudes confidence and just seems like she is happy. I have respect for that in a big way and it makes me feel better about being there too.

Qk Soiree for Crew Members

2008-01-15T22:11:00.001-08:00

Saturday night was lots of fun! Who would not love a private night in a locked scrapbook store with free product, over 300.00 worth of QK shopping sprees and yummy cupcakes. There were 50 ladies in attendance all dressed in pink, black and red. This is a photo of the team of ladies who made the whole Soiree happen. Thanks to Ron for taking such nice pictures.

Upon being gifted with some pretty amazing gift bags; tote, QK embossing die, Quickstrips, QK rubons, red twizlers and all the materials needed for the 4 stations that evening we had time to visit and shop.

I was the hostess for the Silhouette station, thanks to Kerry for doing the design work and Kate for prepping the kits. The main objective here was to show how versatile the new Digital Design Portfolios are- by highlighting the one named Sweetheart. This is some amazing software as my favourite part is that I can make my own layered die cuts while saving paper and cuts. I have some ideas mulling in my mind where I think I will NEED to get the WILDFLOWER portfolio in order to design some pretty projects.

Quickutz Soiree for our Photo Express QK Crew Customers

2008-01-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our semi annual QK Crew soiree event. The store was full of all things pink, black and white. There were many happy people who received some very lovely goodie bags and free take home kits to create some terribly cute projects , with all things Quickutz. It's been a long day of baking, icing and decorating cupcakes, finishing layouts and cutting out some samples to share at the station I hosted. I will share more tomorrow.

Try, ....Try....ewwhhh ( Like Blue Rodeo sings it)

2008-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Ali Edwards ( scrapbook designer guru) does this thing every year where she picks a word that guides her, gives her some focus and this year I want to follow suit. I have picked a word...can you guess what mine is?

Try to get back on the 100% track with eating plan. OK, this is more like doing it! not trying!
Try not to get caught up in all the things I don't have.
Try to remember all the wonderful things that are in my life.
Try to learn the numbering systems about my lenses....aperature is what again?
Try to be more honnest with people, in person, not in my mind once they are gone.
Try to not hold things in so much so that I bare the weight of the problems.
Try to laugh a few times before morning snack.
Try to make my goals and register to play softball again, maybe fastball in 2009.
Try to master my VCR and tape lots of Oprah to fullfill my entertainment on the new treadmill.
Try to push myself creatively which in turn will help me as a Scrapbook Instructor at the LSS.
Try to not buy any new makeup till the old stuff is gone or past due.

....not to forget

Try to convince everyone about why it's so important to love BON Jovi!

Here is one to get started.

Taken from the front row Dec 15th, Vancouver....by me!

My own martini

2008-01-09T20:37:00.002-08:00

The Recipe For Tamara

3 parts Brilliance 2 parts Style 1 part Charisma
Splash of Genius
Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

My own martini

2008-01-09T20:37:00.001-08:00

Spreading a little holiday joy- late!

2008-01-03T23:19:00.000-08:00

I have done some Happy New Year cards, let's say they are custom ones in order to try to set a trend. I don't think Hallmark has the corner on this celebration yet. It would be more truthful if I told you that these cards were created out of a humble place.

I left school on the last day to go straight into my BON JOVI weekend, then Christmas came and I travelled to the family on the island. There was no time for me to sit and do Christmas cards so I knew I would have to send out something different.

If you know Martha Stewart or a the President of Hallmark and they would like to talk to me about copyrighting my idea of sending out Happy New Year cards, then feel free to email me :)

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T02:04:00.001-08:00

WOW...could this predict my new year for me?

CANCER - The Cutie MOST AMAZING KISSER. Very high appeal. Love is one of a kind. Very romantic. Most caring person you will ever meet! Entirely creative. Extremely random and proud of it. Freak. Spontaneous. Great telling stories.

Connie comes Thursday, School is over on Friday and Bon Jovi is on Saturday

2007-12-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

........who needs Christmas with all of these things happening?

By the Way

2007-12-10T23:09:00.000-08:00

.........5 days till front row!

Just in case you forgot!

Here is another picture for you all to admire!

Christmas Cards Part 1

2007-12-10T23:07:00.000-08:00

Well it felt great!
I did cards for some of my friend at work. It was fun to stand in front of the wall of mailboxes and deliver them. Included was a packet of Apple Cider too! They were well received and many folks enjoyed a hand-made card.

Now, this weekend I need to finish and address the ones that I will be sending out to friends in the mail.

thank you

2007-12-09T02:59:00.000-08:00

another treat to help with the Bon Jovi countdown....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESOVrc4K3CQ&feature=related

It's my ringtone

2007-12-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50vzZzAja0&feature=related

This time next week

2007-12-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

...............I will have had another item on my LIFE List crossed off. It's been a huge "want" of mine for a very long time. Sitting in the front row of a Bon Jovi concert! My best friend Connie arrives on Thursday from Saskatoon and us two wild and crazy girls are making it happen. As grown adults this is the best time for us to enjoy the experience and remember it for a lifetime.

I have a countdown going on, well my friends know there has been a countdown going on since I bought the VIP tickets. Now if there was a way to meet the band and say hello, take a photo or two....let them know that they have had remained a constant. I have their music with me at all times.

7 more sleeps till it's "Christmas" in my world. Some may have an advent calendar but for me it's Bon Jovi. You will for sure join the countdown with me, won't you?

Never again

2007-12-08T23:35:00.001-08:00

There is alot of emotion in this song. There is an intense growl of her voice and the passion to which she promotes "overcoming" the hurt and the pain. This song speaks to me. It needs to go on my workout playlist for the treadmill. May it give me the courage I might need....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bPKUdoBKVqc

Did you know?

2007-12-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

....that the concert is in 11 sleeps.

Connie arrives next Thursday for the weekend.

I have fresh colour and a new haircut.

There are 7 days of school left.

I am done my report cards.

Wow, doesn't this photo look amazing!

The countdown is on

2007-12-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

...........well honnestly I have been counting down the days for a little while now.

I have been watching videos on Youtube and frankly it is exciting to see the show that Bon Jovi is putting on. I can hardly believe that I am going to be living out the whole night in the front row. It's been something I have been daydreaming about for many years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ6wgsy6dGA&feature=related

rainy day mondays

2007-10-01T22:30:00.001-07:00

It poured this weekend and I napped on the couch after helping my friend with some of her wedding plans. She was concerned about making tags for her favours and I kept telling her it would be a cinch for I have so much stuff in my studio and combined with the HUGE die cut machine at the store she had nothing to worry about.
I drank my 3 L's of water today, had more when I got home and have had a cup of tea tonight.
Aqua fit was a self directed class tonight and after running off, parking the car and being excited to go I just cannot fathom a class where I have to monitor myself. I love going and being in the front row, staring down the moves and zoning out....I work hard with the instructor right in front of me. I am a teacher and can't work out like this. I was so disappointed! I came home and worked on the core ball, did some weights for my arms and got on the Gazelle for some cardio. That made it all feel good.
The Ministry of Education accreditation team is visiting our school this week. It's nice to have people in to see our school and what makes it special. I wished we got this type of feedback more often. It's an added pressure but the folks that are with us seem very, very nice.
I am leaving work early tomorrow night, which is odd for me but I am meeting my friend Gerlind and we are going down to Washington for a few hours of shopping. I am on the lookout for some jeans that fit me since the ones in my cupboard are tooooooo big! Would be lovely to find some nice fashion boots for the winter.

Oh and by the way I am a PRO on flickr.com

2007-09-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

.....before the dollar met the US at par, I bought a PRO account on flickr.com.
I was happy to shoot 2 weddings this summer, both for teachers. You can see the many albums by checking out my own space on the site... comments would be fun too! Feel free to leave one or two or three.

Here are a few favourite shots from Tanya's wedding on the Sept long weekend.

Today, I returned to the store and it felt great to sit and share the Paper Arts hobby with others.

2007-09-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I have been at the instructors table at Photo Express. Having shifted gears awhile back, from being the "Sunday girl" to an Instructor. Todays Quickutz crew event felt great. I was able to share an amazing card designed by my dear friend Jo with some lovely ladies who came into play with some fun supplies.

I am working on a major class idea to be offered in the November Class Calendar and just working out some logistics in my head. Some of my best ideas come alive when I am doing other things, like sleeping!

Life is great....my Kindergartens are fabulous...I notice I am smiling more and more. I wore heels twice this week, a skirt a few times and bought a new lipstick which was toted as a "must have" from a blog I am reading. The lipstick is a beige so I am really not being all that wild. Tomorrow is the 14th day of school this year and I have yet another new outfit to wear. I think they will run out by Friday but if I look closely in the closet I bet I have some more new pieces I could throw something together. I feel like a girl again!

I have decided to walk again in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer come August 2008

2007-09-16T08:54:00.001-07:00

My walking mates (Michele and Renee) from Doreen's Miracle are joining forces again for the 2008 version of the event. Doreen is hosting a scrapbooking fundraiser crop locally in October which I will be attending. There are so many ideas for my own personal fundraising projects that are milling in my mind. I am excited .....

If you would like to see photos from the 2005 event, look here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/for_ladybug/

See, another Scrapbook/card making holiday that I might have to take time off work to celebrate

2007-08-22T01:10:00.001-07:00

http://www.worldcardmakingday.com/

Single girl builds another piece of IKEA furniture

2007-08-14T23:43:00.001-07:00

Hi universe,

Yes I am an independent woman and I do own a few tools but for some reason building my latest IKEA piece was daunting. It sat in pieces for about 2 weeks after I checked all the pieces. My dresser is "discontinued" so when I wanted to pick up the smaller one with my Birthday money I was shocked to find this out. There were only 20 left so I bought it right then and there.

So if you have seen the commercial with the load of boxes atop of an old VW Beetle, then you would laugh at this. I pulled and pushed the box into the car after putting the roof down and moving the seat back. After hoping to the heavens that it would fit into the car so that I would be able to take one home. I have the photo on my phone to prove how funny it looked but I did it. The dresser is home, in my room and is now an antique!

The next time I need to assemble something I really hope there is some testosterone in the house to make it a little more expedient.

Stepping up to reclaim my Summer

2007-08-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

Shopping spree for back-to-school
Signed up for Aquafit classes
Took clothes to the consignment store
Made thank you cards for end-of-the-year gifts, but still need to send them.
Painted my bedroom
Bought a new dresser, but still need to put it back together
Had a few PRINCESS Days

Wow, have I been AWOL that long?

2007-06-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

So May and June were busy. So busy that a few things had to get dropped. My Blog was one of them.

My teaching partner in the other Grade One class was suddenly placed on bed rest and the end of the year was looming. I gave up a few things and now, I am hoping to post a little more.

School is over.....the last time for many things. My last Grade One year, last spelling test, last Sleepover and many more "last" things. I am excited about moving to Kindergarten in September. I will be working rather late hours this week in order to pack up my classroom and have it ready to move. What a huge ordeal.

Bring on summer!

Mothers Day Scrapbook Class

2007-04-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all.....here are a few photos of the Mini Album I designed for class at Photo Express this month. Make your mom smile on Mother's Day by gifting her this gorgeous mini album, created with the brand new papers from Très Jolie. Be ready to get a little messy as we build this board book from scratch: sanding, drybrushing, gluing, hole punching & assembling. You'll finish off your sweet creation with buttons, lace and other accents to enhance the shabby chic look of this 6x6 album. You will complete the entire album during class and afterwards, you can compose a personal note to tuck into a special part of this gift album...just in time for Mother's Day.

Cleaning the cupboards

2007-04-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

.....nothing better than going through winter clothes and trying them on to find that they are too big. I washed them all and bagged them up. Tomorrow all my old clothes ( several of which are NEW , old clothes) are going to go to school with me. A colleague of mine works with several agencies and I know plus sized clothes are hard to find. I am most happy to spend Earth Day going through and finding new homes for my clothes.

Then it got better...I found 5.00 in the pocket of some jeans that I can wear again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-04-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

This is a fabulous photo of Keith Urban. I like the composition alot. I like the facial hair, I like his wispy hair....ok, ok. I like everything about this photo!

Weekend checklist

2007-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

Friday night I worked at school till about 5:30.
Left directly to get a friend and go to Poco for Game Night but too bad the Canucks did not show up.

Saturday morning, Patricia and I decided to go shopping.
Stopped to look for linens at Costco, walked out of there. Why did we go on a Saturday?
Coquitlam center was next.
I have new summer shoes and I am very happy with them. I love Keen Shoes.
Bought some more Green Tea Lotion from my favourite place, Escents.
We hit Superstore for some groceries and then home.

Sunday I cleaned, vaccumed and did laundry like a mad woman.
I also watched the hockey game and was thrilled to have an early, overtime win.
Made chicken and froze portions. Bagged veggies and berries also to get ahead.
Finished my class submission for Photo Express. I designed a gift album for Mothers Day. It would make all moms very happy. Watch for the May schedule to go up and run in to sign up. It's cute. I will link a photo here when it has all been posting through the store.

My Absence

2007-04-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

I took some time to redirect my energies....to dedicate some time to me. March Break came and went. I took the first week to visit with my family, play Wii with the nephews and sit and hold my Grandma's hand.

I began a new Wellness Plan and I am starting week 4 tomorrow. So, tomorrow is a big day for me. Many folks have told me that new habits can be formed in 21 days, whereas some have told me it takes a month. Well I am in that ZONE. New habits are on the horizon. My mind is still strong, my determination even stronger. Pardon me, if this Blog takes on a new shape. It's writer is taking on a new shape as well, finding her hips again. I am going to share my journey and blog to help me stay strong.

No sugar
No white flour
No Beer, had my last Stella the night before I started
No Starbucks, so I have found Peppermint Green tea and love it.
Carbs/starches are from an approved list only.

Eating lots of veggies, prepping lots of veggies.
Eating meat/poultry or fish on a daily basis.
Consuming a mixture of pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds each day.
Seeing results and more importantly feeling so very good from the inside out.

I have trimmed 11.4 pounds

2007-04-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Long time , no post.

I was on my Spring Break and neglected some of the duties I perform in order to have some fun and refocus on my energy.

Today I am home, sick. The sniffles and head cold I was fighting got the best of me. There was not alot of sleep last night. Best not to be in with the kiddies. I will post later....I am taking another nap.

Bon Jovi - Dirty Little Secret

2007-03-18T02:04:00.001-07:00

Sharing my Bon Jovi with you!

2007-03-18T01:50:00.001-07:00

OK , confession time.

For most of my close friends, they already know.
I have a crush.
I have had this crush since I was 10.
I would do almost anything for my Crush.
He even named an album for me- called Crush.

A friend at work told me there was a huge billboard downtown in Vancouver. Jon Bon Jovi has partnered with kenneth cole to do a cologne called RSVP. The money raised from his partnership goes to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. Jon Bon Jovi is a humanitarian.

It's raining, it's pouring

2007-03-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

Life on the Wet Coast can be somewhat crazy in the winter. The rain can beat down and make things really wet. The grass in the front yard is flooded, basements are flooded and it's miserable in the rain. The rain is making me crazy. Thank goodness for the fireplace that is in my place.

I slept in this morning, actually laid down on the couch last night at 8:30 and crashed till 2 in the morning. Spring break could not have come any sooner for me. We are all bushed, kids included. Lots of things were packed into this last term which happens to be the shortest one of all. The Junior Girls Volleyball team had a great season, only losing one game all term. We were awarded PYP ( Primary Years Program) and MYP ( Middle Years Program) status through the IB office in Genever. This makes our school a WOLRD IB school and it is a very exciting time for all of us on staff. We have worked very hard and this news was a wonderful way to end the week. We have two weeks off and I am going to enjoy each second of it.

Tonight, I watched the Canucks play the Red Wings and we won. Hope Floats is playing and I loved this movie when it came out. I will love it again tonight as I am nestling in. The scenes with that little girl just make my heart break. This is the movie that my BIL took my sister to on one of their first dates, the main song was their Wedding Song. Going to snuggle on the couch and just breathe.

Tell me you know about Scratch and Sniff Stickers!

2007-03-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today I needed a little spark in my step, something to perk up the flow of the day. It was as simple as to read through the notebooks that belong to my students. I pulled out my collection of stickers. Much to my surprise several of my kids did not know what a scratch and sniff stickers was. It was a joy to show them how to use their fingernail and scratch off the top layer and then smell the scent of "apples". They were very excited. The innocence of it all and the way in which we shared a few moments today. They are the most expensive kinds of stickers to buy as a teacher but after today I am going to splurge.

This whole event took my mind back to the memories that I carry about my "sticker collection." My sister and I had photo albums of stickers, grouped together over many pages and in neat and tidy ways. My favourites were always bubblegum, grape and the spearmint ones. We never liked the pizza, skunk and gasoline ones. You were cool if you had special ones like , Shirt Tales, Smurfs, Donkey Kong, Pacman, Snorks, E.T, Strawberry Shortcake and Garfield ones. Our French teacher, M. Toye always had the best stickers. We were kids of the 80's for sure and I have the sticker collections to prove it.

Here is a neat link of someone who is still collecting....maybe I should dig out my binder and make a sale. I could re-invest the profit from the sale and place it into the purchase of some proper, adult stickers....you know the kind....for scrapbooking!

Wet and Soggy

2007-03-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

We have had so much rain in the last couple of days. The sun came out just a little after lunch today and it was a welcomed sight. The kids really enjoyed being outside for recess today and I think their TEACHERS did too! Over the noon hour a friend took some time to run down the street to Starbucks for coffee and was so kind to offer to get me one as well. I was in love with her kindness because several little tiny things all piled up and got on my back today. Somehow a dark roast coffee made it all seem a little bit better. Spread out, all these things would have been hurdles and annoyances but today they were a huge problem for me.

I have been thinking about my friend Jo who spent the day pumping over 4 inches of water out of her basement. It was coming in so fast last night that they felt they could not make a dent in the water level. Her neighbours lent a hand and the drains are being looked at so that they know where the problem was.

I am having a huge creative block, sitting at my desk for a long period of time and not being able to satisfy my own expectations for Scrapbook classes in April. I have one more kick at things tomorrow night and I hope that I can achieve all the things I would like to offer. I am focussing on DIY chipboard techniques.

Four more days till Spring Break!

Feeling Accomplished

2007-03-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the 12 cards I did on the weekend. I used scraps of Chaterbox paper, my Squeeze tool and some Stampin' Up tags ( from the tag box last year) to adorn some pretty simple white cardstock. You see, I love neutral cardstock, simple and clean designs, not alot of clutter for the eye. I enjoyed working in the silence and these are going to be kept until I find just the right person who needs a special THANK YOU.

Thanks to Michele D for sharing the photo with me.

Neglect

2007-03-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

I am alive.
I am ok.
I have not been blogging.
I am in midst of Spring Report cards for my grade ones.
I am investigating going to a new Doctor and they are not easy to find in the Lower Mainland.
I need to design and turn in Scrapbook classes for March 15th.
I am looking forward to Spring Break, 7 days to go.

Does this resemble me?

2007-02-26T23:23:00.001-08:00

So can you tell this is me?
Yes, embrace your inner geek!
Can you see the sparkling earings? the denim jeans? the boxy black purse? the 'plus size' build that they gave as an option and the dark hair?
Yahoo lets you create your own online identity aka, Avatar. This was the result of playing around with their options. They did not have a scrapbook room as a background so here I am in the classroom.

2007-02-25T21:47:00.000-08:00

I have no idea if this is a true taste of things to come for Spring 2007 but it sure gives us some interesting colour combinations. I will be very happy to wear any of the colours from any of the 3 columns to the right side.

As for creative projects, I think these templates give us alot of combos to work with. If you would like to see more then go to Fashion Trend Setter.

Stamping Witt

2007-02-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

A stamp that I found on the River City Rubber Works site.

There are so many witty stamps on this site that I feel I NEED to have.

This Weekend

2007-02-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

Make your own list......

Card Creation

2007-02-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

I have some parents in my class that spent their day with us on Monday. We were on the bus and headed to Vancouver for a visit to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen garden. The rain always seems to follow us on this particular trip. This year, there was no change. Wow! It was sure wet! The rain was coming down sideways.

This card was something I whipped up tonight to thank those 4 moms who endured the drenching rain to help supervise the class on this trip. It's a bazzill base, Autumn Leaves flourish with Stamping Up white ink, some good ol' gingham, Making Memory bard and polka dot paper with an Amuse stamp.

A crush

2007-02-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

If I tell you all then it is no longer a secret crush. Aside from my adoring love for all things Bon Jovi, this man makes me happy. The character he plays on Law and Order is strong, brilliant, attentive and he lives each day to save the world. Vincent D'Onofrio is an indulgence on Sunday nights.

Flowers from a Boy

2007-02-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

...he's six. His mom carried them into class for him but told me he picked them out. It was very sweet of him/her. I never get flowers from a boy.

What do the numbers 4-65 and 5-7 mean to you?

2007-02-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

....maybe nothing but to me, they are the magical numbers from the two tubes of colours that formulate the colour for my hair. Thanks be to Connie who created this nice combo for me and taught me how to do it all myself. She set me up with the salon quality products and now I can keep it up every 6-8 weeks.

Tomorrow, I get the locks chopped. So my Valentines Day will be with the first graders, then my Jr Girls Volleyball team and finally my stylist. My stylist just got married in Jan so the last person she wants to spend the night with is me! At least there is a touch of red in my hair so we'll be following the theme!

Studio Space Tour Day Two

2007-02-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

This is another view into the space where I create. It makes me giggle how we all feel the need to clean up our spaces before we take photos. You can see how perfect that 4x2 mini Expedit shelf fit into the alcover in the wall. I made a few switch-er-ros and finally adjusted to having my paper collection on the bottom two rows so that they are handy when I am going for that perfect shade.

Right in the basket behind me are my favourite EK Whale of a Punches, my Quickutz binders and squeeze tool are there as is my large silver container of inks. They are all ready and in sight for a quick project.

My parents upgraded their computer desk and I was happy to take their old one as it is a perfect table for me. It fits my Making memories cutting pad and the keyboard tray under the table allows me to hide my trimmer, rules and a few adhesives. You don't see the chair I sit in, I would like to replace it and am keeping my eyes open for something I like. I am not one of those "stand up" scrappers but do stand up every now and then to get a birds eye view on my projects.

Studio Space Tour Day One

2007-02-12T00:12:00.000-08:00

In my new place, I had to create a space for the scrapbook studio. I used to have an whole entire bedroom but now I have integrated my living space with my scrapping space. The idea here was to go vertical and buy some furniture that would be more decorative and help define my "creating space."

Can you say IKEA?

Yes, that is the Expedit shelf, both the large one and the small 2x4 which fits perfectly into the alcove behind my table. When Dad was here, he helped me assemble those shelves and even shared my pure joy when the measurement for the alcove verrified that we would indeed be able to fit the little shelf in there as well. The vertical Cropper Hopper storage files needed a wee bit of a trim , so a 1/2 inch was sliced off each then the 12x12 paper found a new home. The white cabinet off to the right side of the photo is VINTAGE Ikea, circa the early 80's and it has been up north with me and out to the prairies. I am on the lookout for something to replace it but it has to be perfect and black!

My studio table fits behind the sofa and allows for some of the surface clutter to be hid away. I bought some square glass jars from Superstore to hold pens, tools, adhesives and some commonly used stamps. The shadow boxes came from Photo Express and they allow me to frame some gorgeous paper from Basic Grey. The 3 drawer chest behind my desk is painted black and the front drawers are modge-podged with the Basic Grey papers. If I ever want to change things up in my space then all I need to do is replace the paper and recover the front of the drawers.

More to come this week....stay tuned

2007-02-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

Trying to create from the bottom up, stepped up my Sweet and Simple approach to cards.
The ones I created today have flaps, folds and all fall under a Birthday theme. I will be proposing these newly created cards for a class at my LSS in March. It is good to push your creativity and sometimes it takes a long time to get a product that you like.

Do you know the Secret?

2007-02-10T22:31:00.001-08:00

Ask

Believe

Receive

If someone wanted to send me flowers I would pick these!

2007-02-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Martha is known for her flowers and her arrangements are classic is shape and design. She does a mail order system and one of the choices is to get roses once a month for 3 months. Could that not be lots of fun?

Today in the newsletter there were several bouquets featured. I picked this one out of all the Valentines ones shown. Now do I send flowers to myself or just hold my breath?

2007-02-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

Trying to develop a thicker skin in my old age. One that would hopefully not cause my heart and my brain to fester over things for too long, things that others say are not worth it. How come the little things seem to be worth it to me?

I have to say that I went to my Starbucks and bought a new bean for my brewing machine. I wanted to be brave and the Pike Place roast was not a good one for me. So I tried a sample of their new blend. Wow! When they say this would be found in a fine restaurant, they are right. Here is the run down on the feature coffee.

Guatemala Casi Cielo®
Casi Cielo has amazing character and great depth of flavor. Smooth and versatile to please a variety of tastes, every sip begins with an elegant floral aroma and surprising lemony flourish, and finishes with deep, satisfying dark cocoa notes.

Key Term: Elegant

Geography is a flavor You can tell a lot about a coffee if you know where it’s from, because every bean has a distinctive flavor particular to its land of origin. Coffees from Latin America are celebrated for their great balance, medium body and clean finish.

Card Creation Inspiration

2007-02-05T23:08:00.000-08:00

I saw some really neat cards in the new edition of the Papercrafts Magazine called Card Creations from Start to Finish. Many of the artists who had their work published in this edition are really pretty. I splurged this weekend and bought several new magazines and this one really lead me to draw some simple sketches.

Kah- Mei (Fontwerks owner) RAK'd me with single sheets of her "Fashion Collection" a few shows ago. I like most other scrappers, saved the papers for a special layout or idea. I need to use and create with what I have stashed away. Here is the first of a few I made tonight. Sweet and Simple ideas, easy cards that bring smiles to the people who receive them.

I think I have the perfect person in mind to receive this creation. It was her 40th birthday over the weekend.

Holding on the wheel with two hands.

2007-02-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Good morning world.
It's is a new day.
Today is the day I made a new promise to myself.
It is something I can do!
Although sometimes it is hard.
When helping others or busy it often gets sticky.
I can't put it on the bottom of the list anymore.
It might make others wonder or question me
It will look, feel and sound different than before.
It might even hurt.
I might cry, worry and have anxiety because of it.
My true friends will understand it.
My family will be most proud of it.
My students will benefit from it.
I want it!

2007-02-03T21:51:00.000-08:00