Enjoy Peace (and a little RAK)

I've wanted to participate in the annual LOAD challenge for years now, but I know that between our business and our family's crazy schedule, there's no way I could create a page a day for a month. But creating the same project 29 times - that seemed a bit more feasible. So this year, I did it - my peace project.
Each peace wall hanging is a little different from the others. Each one is special. Each one is going out to someone who deserves it, someone who makes my life a bit happier, someone who is a gift. I hope the recipients can find a place for these in their home or scraproom, to remind them to enjoy peace.

In keeping with the theme of giving, I have a little surprise that I will send out to whomever can name 1) the manufacturer of the paper that I have been using for these wall hangings and 2) a bonus if you can also tell me the release name and the year it was released.

See the photos above, or peek at another photo here.

A few little hints - you couldn't buy this paper at your LSS; you would have to look waaay back in your stash to find it; and there is the name of a month (not the current one) in the release name.

Leave a comment with your answer, or - if you've given up on finding it - leave a comment with the name of one of your favourite realllllly old releases, and I'll put your name into the draw. You have until March 5th to leave your comment.

Giving 29 Gifts in 29 Days is a concept that anyone can undertake at any time. For more information, I encourage you to visit 29gifts.org.

More Project 365

We've been incredibly busy this month - nothing new there :-} - but what is different is that regardless of what we're up to, I'm documenting it all with Project 365. The Olympics has been on the TV more often than not at our house, and there's no shortage of Olympic wear, for the girls particularly. Check it out!
Since I didn't manage to get Christmas letters out the door this year (don't give up hope - I'll still be mailing something eventually!), I haven't said much about our recent love of astronomy. Evan just loves it, and since the kids received an awesome telescope for Christmas, we're slowly getting to know more.
Hockey, hockey, hockey! Our weekends are typically taken up by multiple trips to the rink. Evan's team is now in the playoffs, and in this photo they are celebrating winning the first of their playoff games. That's Evan in the foreground skating toward me. Let's hope we see our Olympic teams rejoicing too!
We had intended to have the girls join Evan in piano lessons this fall, but due to the move, it took a while to put that plan into action. I finally had them start lessons two weeks ago at a local music school, and they think their teacher is the most awesome young man they've ever met! So, lots of effort on their part! :-}
It was also the girls' birthday this month, and they had a wonderful time celebrating with family. Scooters were a big hit this birthday along with the latest version of Bop It (the one with "shout it". What were we thinking??) Oh, and don't forget more Olympic clothing. Notice their Miga shirts in this pic - again!
Of course, there's the regular routine to document. The daily ride to and from school. An abundance of field trips - to the skating rink, to the ski hill, to the Safety Village - all via school bus. The kids love travelling by school bus, and we are lucky enough to have a totally awesome driver.
Reading time is a daily event in our house. Evan is required to read 20 minutes per day as homework, but in actuality he usually reads far more than that. The girls are doing regular French reading this year too. Even I try to steal a few minutes every day to read a novel (as opposed to scrapbooking mags!)

Yes, there's never a dull moment at our house, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

In the midst of all this, I'm still participating in the 29 gifts challenge and LOM, both of which I am reasonably caught up on, along with my design team work for Scrapalicious, both for the store and for Scrapfest (are you going? See you there!)

I know I've been scarce, but I'm running around like crazy when I'm not here. Thanks for checking in. Whew - you read the whole thing! :-} There are photos of more peace wall hangings coming soon, as well as a little RAK being posted shortly, so be sure to check back in. See you soon!

Priceless!

Crop-a-dile - $25.00

Clipboard (nicely altered for LOM and in need of having clip re-attached) - $3.00

Capturing a pic of hubby as he admits that nothing punches holes for rivets like your pink scrapbooking tool - priceless!

For the Next 29 Days

Welcome, February! This month, I am embarking on a challenge that I've wanted to take on for quite a while now. Inspired by the website 29 Gifts, I'm going to give one away little gift, a peace canvas like the one below, each day for the next 29 days.

Why? Because to see our world change, we have to do something to change our world. I chose the word peace as the gift I'm sharing this month as it is particularly close to my heart. peace is my One Little Word for 2010, inspired by the awesome Ali Edwards. I'm hoping to post about it often this year.
The canvas says: peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
So simple, yet so meaningful, don't you think? I still have to post the story of why I chose peace, so stay tuned!

It's only Day 1 and I'm already having so much fun making these and envisioning the face of each recipient as they open them. I think this challenge is going to be one of the most rewarding I have undertaken. I'll be posting more pics of these canvases throughout the month, so be sure to check back again.

Giving 29 Gifts in 29 Days is a concept that anyone can undertake at any time. For more information, I encourage you to visit 29gifts.org.

This Year I'm Ready!

A few years ago I heard about Stacy Julian's Library of Memories concept. I loved it instantly. Before I had kids, I was the kind of person who had all of my photos organized and in albums. I wanted to get back to that place (and better), so I signed up. Oooops! I only made it through the first 2 lessons.
Not this time! Alumni registration for LOM 2010 started today, and I am totally IN! My lesson binder is altered (see it above), my pre-workshop handouts are printed, my clipboard is ready and my AC albums are on order! The unit on the right in this picture houses my storage system, labeled and ready! I can't wait!

I jumped the gun when I originally signed up for this workshop, since when the girls were tiny I just didn't have the time to devote to setting the system up. This time I'm going all the way. If you are also taking this class, as a newbie or an alumni, touch base and we can work on our systems together.

Scrapstrong! :-}

Make Yourself at Home!

Our girls seem to like my new scrapbook room as much as I do. Yesterday as I was making lunch they decided that VersaColor ink cubes were a quick and easy alternative to nail polish! Alicia put on Orchid and Vanessa tried Grape. Fortunately it washed off easily. Good thing I didn't leave any StazOn on my desk! ;-}

Gorgeous lines from Scrapalicious

OK, I totally love Basic Grey! Who doesn't? I don't think I know a scrapbooker who doesn't have a passion for one (if not all) of their lines. I'm lucky to have had so many opportunities to create with their products, for example the recent wedding album using Wisteria. I finally scrapped my wedding!
I love the wedding album that I created for Scrapalicious, and in the years I've been designing for the store, I cherish my BG projects as favourites; this Stella Ruby clock, a family photo frame using Marrakech and Ambrosia, a few Marrakech layouts, and this Two Scoops wedding mini.
This time my kit contains pieces of a few lines, starting with the beautiful Origins (top photo); so pretty for both heritage and modern pages. Gorgeous fall colours of Indian Summer are perfect for autumn photos, and Eskimo Kisses will keep the Christmas Spirit alive all year. How lucky can I get?

Keep checking back, as these creations will be coming some time soon!

Project 365

I've wanted to do Project 365 for years now, and it feels great to finally be doing it. I find the little snippets of everyday life to be such an important part of documenting our family's memories. I won't be posting all of the photos here. I know that I'll get too far behind in uploading and editing my photos to do that!
I will post some of my favourites, though, like the one (above) of the girls' first snowman for the year. We had such fun building this little guy! I also love the DCWV sheer vinyl decals I added to the door of my scrapbook room. See me and my camera reflected in the glass in the lower left corner of the photo?

I'll be back soon with a peek at my newest DT kit from Scrapalicious. See you soon!

Scrapping Nook's Opening Day

I had a ton of fun at the opening of the new Scrapping Nook last Saturday. Scrapping Nook Ltd., now located in Welland, is now Janice's baby, and how truly fitting. Once Patti and Elia decided to sell the store they created with so much heart, it's only fitting that it go to someone who has been a huge part of the Nook right from the start.

Congratulations, Janice!

Jen and I drove down together and it was so worth the trip. To be honest, it was a bit of an emotional day. The Scrapping Nook in Fonthill was just one of those places that lives in your heart forever. I went to my first crop ever at that location, and when I arrived I didn't know anyone in person at all. We had only met online, I was a beginning scrapbooker, and I was totally nervous!

That was in 2005, and these ladies were so wonderful and welcoming, and have been a part of my scrapbooking life ever since. I can't say enough about how much Patti and Elia have connected a wonderful group of women through their hard work, beautiful personalities and generosity of spirit. The fall of 2009 was a difficult time for the store, first with an electrical fire, followed by the sudden, sad loss of Patti's Mom, Barb, taking its toll. So many of us were worried that we had seen the end of our beloved Nook.

But now, Janice has picked up the torch and is running with it. I'm so glad to see Scrapping Nook Ltd. continue into the future, and look forward to many more fun events and meaningful connections there.

In the photo above, clockwise, are Patti, Lori, Vicki, Janice, me, Deanna and Elia. Jen was behind the camera, and there were so many others, both present and there in spirit, that made the day great! See you again soon, gals!

See some of my posts about the Nook over the years here.

The Olympic Torch

Just before the new year we were fortunate to be able to see the Olympic Torch as it ran through our town. Santa left the kids each a pair of red Olympic Mittens, which helped to build the excitement as the morning approached. It was a bright, clear day with just a sprinkling of snow falling as we waited.
We chose to wait at the corner where the torch relay would be turning to go into the local arena, and it turned out to be a great vantage point. We were quite close to the torch as the caravan went by us. The crowd was cheering and waving Canadian flags, and it was very exciting. Olympic fever was all around us!
We followed the torchbearers into the parking lot where the crowd gathered around to take photos with the torch. While we waited a kind member of the crowd offered to take a photo of the whole family, which we happily took advantage of! We don't get many photos of the five of us together. Look closely; you see the kids' red mittens.
The torch was extinguished before they allowed the public to take photos with it. We each were able to touch and take a photo with the torch. It was then perfect timing to head home and enjoy some hot chocolate beside the fire. Now I can't wait for the Opening Ceremonies! Go, Team Canada, go!

Welcoming 2010

A new year has begun, with all of its resolutions, goals and unknowns. Looking back upon 2009 for our family, what a surprising year we had. Wow! We're starting 2010 in a new home, and our view of the year ahead looks great! Speaking of sweet views, this what I see from the desk in my new scrapbook studio! :-}
I've displayed some of my favourite layouts on the wall above a cabinet, using an idea a borrowed from the awesome Layle Koncar. Her blog rocks!
In fact, if you are still creating your December Daily album, you have to check out how stunning Layle's album is. As for me, I've taken the daily photos again (like last year), but no album yet! But, I've found that I love the photo a day process so much that this year I'm going to do Project 365 this year.
I'm always inspired when I visit Lee's blog. Her gorgeous photos are part of my inspiration for joining 365 this year. Lee also does One Little Word, which I'm looking forward to this year. Read Lee's OLW post here. My OLW post will be coming soon (can you guess my word?) but won't be as eloquent as Lee's!

I'm not quite ready for a wide-angle shot of my entire scrapbook room, but above are some happy little peeks at it. Others I know have spoken about how it feels to sit in an organized scraproom, and I have to admit, the feeling is exquisite! I'm really looking forward to creating in a beautiful space which makes me totally happy!

Speaking of organized space, in order to find homes for all of my supplies, I went through (almost) everything scrappy that I own, and have quite a bit that I would like to pass along to someone who can use them. So you do know what that means? Yes, I have some RAKs coming up - including a few stamp sets, lots of embellishments and even an album or two. Stay tuned.

Wishing you joy, love, prosperity and peace in 2010. Scrappy New Year!

Scrapalicious Wedding Album

One of the coolest albums I have ever worked with is this Fancy Pants Mixed Media album. With a mix of chipboard, felt and clear pages, this dynamic album is a blast to work with. Paired with the gorgeous purples of BG's Wisteria collection, it was a perfect colour match for documenting our wedding day.

The 8" x 8" size of this album is perfect for trimming down 8" x 10" photos to fill a whole page, which I did for a few of the chipboard pages. Scrapalicious still has a number of these albums in stock, but hurry as I'm sure they will go quickly. My album will also be on display in the store for a while.

I also used a lot of Prima products in this album. I love the way the self-adhesive felt gate frames our faces in a heart on the cover of the album (top photo). I also just love the look of their bling frames (left). All flowers in the album are by Prima, including leaves, which are white flowers.

Title stickers and stamps in the album are from two different Basic Grey sets. The mini alphas are by Making Memories. The die-cut stickers are Wisteria to match the papers. I also used lots of Kaiser bling. Of course, my favourite part of this entire album is the groom - doesn't he look handsome?

I've created a slide show of the entire wedding album below. You can also click on the slideshow and select Full Screen if you would like a closer look. Thanks to Virginia, Lancia and Mike at Scrapalicious for their patience with me as I created this album during our move, which was one of the more hectic times for our family, causing the album to take a while! Good news though - I'm making great progress on my new scrapbook room, and will be able to scrap up a storm soon! More photos of that will be coming soon. :-}

Enjoy the slideshow, and have a wonderful New Year's Eve!

A Wonderful Christmas

I hope your Christmas was blessed with the chance to spend time with those who matter to you most. We celebrated our first Christmas in our new house, and the it feels so very much like home! Santa did spoil the kids a bit, but otherwise we've spent a lot of time at home and have had a very quiet Christmas.
After finally dropping my wedding album off at Scrapalicious, (and it's next on my posting list!), I pulled together a shadow box for Stephen for Christmas. We had a caricature done when we were on our honeymoon 11 years ago, and I had totally forgotten about it until I came across it during the move.
It was a ton of fun to watch Stephen open it, and he was totally surprised! :-}
Since Christmas I've been on a mission - getting my scrapbook room unpacked. It's still a work in progress, but here's a peek through the door. I think it's looking good, don't you? More to follow soon!

I took a bit of an (unintentional) break from posting lately due to how hectic the season has been, and thanks to those who dropped me an e-mail to check on me. I'm slowly coming out from under our hectic Christmastime, and once I get my Christmas cards in the mail (I know, I know!), I'll be totally caught up.

I've been quite diligent in taking my photo a day pictures for December, and am looking forward to a review of those pictures when I get a chance.

Sending you all the blessings of this wonderful Christmas season, heartfelt, if not timely! Merry Christmas!

Breakfast with Santa

It wouldn't be the holiday season without a visit with Santa Claus, and ours was wonderful! A few weeks ago we ventured out for an early morning breakfast with the grand old elf, complete with pancakes, fruit, chocolate milk and a few moments on Santa's lap to detail each child's wish list. Santa was as jolly as ever, and the kids had a fantastic time!

Wedding Album Sneak Peek

Remember the wedding album that I've been working on for a while now for Scrapalicious? It's finally finished! I'm thrilled with the final product, and if you're local, you'll be able to see it in person at the store one day this week. I've learned a few things through the labour of love that is this album.

First, no matter how committed you are to a project, no matter how much you love the photos and the materials that you are working with, don't think that you can move a family of 5 and their house full of furniture and beloved possessions without it seriously limiting your scrapbooking time!

Honestly! After two months in our new house my scrapbooking supplies remain partially boxed, I still don't know where my adhesive refills are, and the lighting in my scraproom is completely horrid! And getting ready for Christmas comes before all of the above, so now that this mini-album is complete, my next order of scrappy business over the holidays is to finally get my scraproom ready. I can't wait, because once my new space is set up, I'm going to be so much more productive and I'm going to totally love scrapping in 2010!

What's the second thing I've learned? See the bottom photo above? That handsome man, looking stunning and totally calm, minutes before our wedding? It's eleven years later and counting, and I would marry him all over again in a heartbeat! :-}

So stay tuned! I will post the full wedding mini-album as soon as I get a chance to photograph it in better light.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas...

We had a great time this year at our annual Santa Claus parade. This year, being in a much smaller setting, the parade route was shorter and much less crowded, but still a ton of fun. This clown, who took a picture of everyone who photographed him, was my favourite act! I'm glad his camera was real and not a squirt gun! :-}
The weather was just right for a parade, and with a bit of hot chocolate, mittens and toques almost weren't needed! There were plenty of great vantage points to watch the floats go by and the parade was just the right length. Many families brought their dogs to watch the show, and our kids loved that!
Of course, the highlight of the day was the jolly old elf himself. His sleigh was pulled along the parade route by a small tractor, a bit different than the giant sized floats pulled by semis that we are used to in the city, but the kids were thrilled nonetheless! It was the perfect ending to a wonderful family outing.

Are you ready for Christmas? We're surprisingly doing well this year, since we bought presents throughout the year, and were certain that when we packed for the move, we labeled the boxes well so that we could find them easily. The house isn't decorated quite yet, but we're hoping to get to that soon.

I also will have my wedding album ready to photograph in the next few days, so that will be finally coming soon! Until then, stay warm!

It's Starting to Take Shape

I promised that I would show you the progress (or lack thereof!) of my scrapbooking room, so here it is. This photo is from last weekend, and I have unpacked some boxes since I took it, so it is a bit more functional now. One challenge is that I'm missing one of my key pieces of furniture. It's in storage at the office right now, and will be a big help once it's in place.

It's a lovely buffet and hutch that my friend Leanne's daughter-in-law painted a lovely Cloud White for me. It offers both open and closed (aka hidden!) storage, and will look fabulous in my room, once we get a moment to move it in!

Something else I will be posting soon is the long-awaited wedding album I was working on for Scrapalicious before our move. I hope to have it finished in the next week, and will have lots of photos to post. I know it's taken forever for me to finish this album, and thanks so much to Virginia, Lancia and Mike for being so patient with my frenzied life this past several months.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here - we attended the local Santa Claus parade last weekend, and are meeting the jolly elf for breakfast and photos this weekend. Once again this year, I will be taking a Photo of the Day in December, and look forward to assembling them all into a summary of our Christmas season.

There's also Christmas music on my blog now! Look left! You'll notice that I've finally figured out how to mute the player, so it doesn't auto-start when you launch my blog! So Patricia, no more getting in trouble at work when you link here! ;-}

I've also been tagged by my friend Connie, and will be posting my response as soon as I get a moment. Thanks, Connie!

And thanks so much to everyone who is still checking in! Yes, this is still a scrapbooking blog! ;-} More is definitely coming soon! Happy December!

It Just Feels Like Home

It's the little touches that make a house feel like home, and our new house is really taking shape. While we know that there are rooms we need to paint, quite a bit of flooring that we want to replace and some furniture to buy, we have made the home our own through some of the personalized details, like this mantel, that we love.
One of the things we really liked when we saw this house was the openness of the living room and dining room. The way these rooms are bathed in sunlight in the afternoon totally lights up the house. You'll notice boxes leaning against the dining room railing - those are mirrors and prints for our walls that we haven't had time to hang yet. Soon, I hope!!
Are you ready for Christmas? It's hard to believe how quickly it will be here. We don't have snow yet, but here is a peek at what we see out our window each morning - frost! We're looking forward to our first Christmas in this house. I'm also trying to get my scrap space set up - more on the progress there (it's slow but steady!) shortly.

By Request - A Photo and A Tag

I had a few requests for a photo of our finished pumpkin after my Halloween post, but when I took a peek to find one I discovered that this was the only photo I took. Even though it's not a full view of Jack's face, it's enough of a look to give you an idea (and to show you how enamoured the girls were with him!)

This year's design was a composite: the scar was Evan's idea, the eyes are Alicia's design, the teeth are by Vanessa and the Star Trek replica nose was Stephen's contribution. By the time I realized that I didn't have a full on picture taken of this year's Jack, it was too late. He was too soggy and misshapen to photograph. Compost, here he comes!

I was also recently tagged by my friend and awesome scrapbooker Lori to complete this little quiz. I don't do a lot of these, but this one looked like fun, so I completed it last night after the kids were in bed. The trick to this quiz - you must complete it with a one-word answer. Hmmmm - not as easy as it sounds! You may want to give it a try.

RULES
- You can only use ONE word.
- Pass this along to 5 of your favorite bloggers.
- HAVE FUN!

Here goes...
1. Where is your mobile phone? charger
2. Your hair? ponytail
3. Your mother? far
4. Your father? Heaven
5. Your fave food? salmon
6. Your dream last night? forgotten
7. Your fave drink? chai
8. Your dream/goal? retirement
9. What room are you in? loft
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? illness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? traveling
13. Where you were last night? home
14. Something that you aren't? bored
15. Muffins? bagels!
16. Wish List Item? vacation
17. Where did you grow up? west
18. Last thing you did? laundry
19. What are you wearing? pj's
20. Your TV? quiet
21. Your Pets? fish
22. Friends? treasured
23. Your Life? family
24. Your Mood? optimistic
25. Missing Someone? Cathryn
26. Vehicle? minivan
27. Something your not wearing? socks
28. Your fave store? Scrapalicious :-)
29. Your fave colour? purple
30. Last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? forgotten
32. Your best friend? Stephen
33. One place that you go to over and over? work
34. One person who emails regularly? Leanne
35. Fave place to eat? home

OK, now to tag 5 of my favourite blogging gals, (a few who need a bit of a kick-start) . . .

1. Jennifer H-S
2. Connie
3. Mary
4. Kimmie
5. Tara C

Click on the links above to check out these great gals' blogs. And then check back in a little while to see their answers to this tag. Have fun, ladies!

Smooth Transitions

Happily, the kids have had a adjusted quite well to their new school and our new routine out in the country. Here's a peek at our weekday school departure.

This is a view of our street in the morning as we wait for the school bus. It's quite a change from what we were used to in the city; definitely more scenic and peaceful. Our street is long and straight, but very hilly. That's the bus arriving if you can make it out, and behind it in the distance is the beautiful Niagara Escarpment.
The kids thought it would be really cool to have the school bus stop at the end of our driveway. Then they realized that the walk to the end of our driveway is similar to what the walk used to be to the bus stop at the end of the block back in the city! Our house is set quite far back from the road, so it's a bit of a hike out to the street.
This photo was taken the first morning that the school bus stopped at our house. Because it took a while to re-arrange the bus route to accommodate us, I drove the kids to school for a few weeks. Their first bus ride to their new school was not until mid October. Notice that hats and mitts? It was already quite cold.
Going back in time a few weeks earlier, this was the kids' first day of school at their new school. Starting mid-year was a new experience for us all, and the school made the transition so smooth for them. The principal, vice-principal and their teachers all came to the office to greet us when we arrived. I'm quite pleased with how everyone has adjusted so far.

The arrival of winter is going to add an interesting twist to our new lifestyle, but one thing at a time! We'll cross that bridge as we come to it!

I've had a few requests to post a photo of our finished Halloween pumpkin, so I'll get to that soon. I also was tagged by my friend and awesome scrapbooker Lori, and will be responding to her tag in the next post or two. In the interim, have fun checking out Lori's answers here. She also tagged our friend Lee, whose blog is always a good read.

Thanks for checking in!