A Little Excited...

I'm a little excited but also a little scared. I have registered for grade 12 Chemistry and I begin tomorrow night. Hopefully, I will also be taking grade 11 Biology.
When in high school a hundred years ago, I had no interest in the sciences so I didn't take any. BUT...now I'm thinking of a career change which requires a grade 11 Biology and a grade 12 Chemistry.
Now, I LOVE my day care! LOVE teaching kids. Been doing it 10 years. I'd love to keep doing it. But it doesn't pay very well and it doesn't have benefits and I'm tired of being poor.
So...I'm preparing myself. JUST IN CASE I decide to apply to Algonquin College for September. JUST IN CASE I decide I want to become a dental hygienist.
Wow. I said it out loud. It's right there in cyberspace.
EEK! Let's see how I do in Chemistry!

Blog Bling!

I'm giving away Blog Bling! (Blog Candy!) I think these Winnie The Pooh bottlecaps are SO cute, don't you?
OK, to win this, all you have to do is reply to THIS post. Tell me 2 things about yourself.
Easy, schmeasy!
OH! I should have a draw date, shouldn't I? Um, OK, I'll draw on Thursday morning and post the winner before 10.00a.m. EST.

Colour Challenge!

One of my favourite colour combinations is black and white. It is so dramatic. This week's challenge is to create a project using black and white only.
Please, email me an attachement of your project. The winner will be chosen Friday night and featured on my blog on Saturday.

Challenge Winner!

Thank you to Barb and Juliet Arrighi for playing!
I just love Barb's card! The colours are so vibrant and scream "SPRING!"
I think adding the eyelets to the flower as seeds is very clever!

Just Like Me...

It's just like me.
I have a card class on Sunday. In true fashion, I have not yet designed the projects, let alone cut for them. When do I plan on doing this? Oh, tomorrow. I'll sit down and design the cards in the a.m., take Nicki to the vet (again!) for 11:00, design some more, then cut and prep and I'll be ready for Sunday. Oh, and Sunday a.m. I have to clean my house before the ladies come at 1:00.
Happens the same way every month.
Yep, it's just like me to wait 'til the last minute.

Brought to you by...

Today's gorgeous masculine card is brought to you by Julia. Please visit her blog by clicking on the title of this post to see other beautiful creations! Also, click on the photo to enlarge it and take in all the amazing details!
I absolutely LOVE everything about this card. The muted tones, the stitching, the brads...it is all perfect! Looking at this card makes me smile! Thank you, Julia, for allowing me to feature your card!

just some thoughts...

So I'm thinking, do new visitors to blogs go through the whole blog? Read some of the older posts? I know I do. When I come upon a blog for the first time, I often scroll to the older posts and comment, because those posts are important, too. just because they are old, doesn't make them less important.
So, when new people visit my blog for the first time, do THEY scroll to older posts?
Other thoughts running through my head at 2:00am and keeping me awake:
"I wonder if I have email?"
"I wonder if I have any PMs?"
"I'm tired."
Yep, it IS 2:00 in the morning. Yeah, I really should be in bed. Why am I awake? Oh, just a part of my anxiety disorder. Yep, sometimes the anxiety kicks in and causes insomnia. This'll feel REALLY great tomorrow, I can tell you that!
Both of my kitties are sound asleep on the couch. So cute. No insomnia for them. Aren't cats supposed to be nocturnal? Hmmm...
Why does it take so long for Friday to get here, but Monday shows up so fast?

Nicki's card to the Vet...

So my cat Nicki has been going to the vet almost every week now since just after Christmas to get her glucose checked. (Why they won't let me do this at home and call it in, I have no idea). Anyway, her doctor is awesome and we thought he should get a card from Nicki for taking such great care of her. So here it is...Nicki's card. I got an awesome swap card from Frankie Easter using these colours and card layout.

Tuesday's baby card

Wild About You seems to be my favourite set to use for baby cards. I also used All in a Row. I added different colours on the All In A Row set by using markers. The different ribbons add dimension and interest. I also cut out the elephant ear and popped it up with dimensional dots.

Monday's musings...

The beginning of a new week. Should be a good mail week for me. Chris is sending me a TAC catalogue, I should get that soon. Also, my Yahoo Swap group swaps should be arriving soon. And I've traded some stamps, so I should be getting those this week.
Monday nights are a fun TV night. Corner gas, Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Class. LOVE The Class! That Richie character cracks me up! If you've never seen these shows, you should definitely give them a try!
Nicki had her glucose test on Saturday...4.2. The vet decided we can give her just one shot of insulin a day from now on. She'll get tested again on Wednesday just to make sure.
Went to WalMart on the weekend and checked the toy aisle. The Littlest Pet Shop shelves were EMPTY! (well, except for a dozen or so of those slurping cats and a couple of Pet Care centers). It's like they declaired a National Emergency and the only thing that can save us is LPS so we better stock up. Oh well, saves me from spending money I don't really have on items I don't really need!

Another Monday, Another challenge!

Remember eyelets? I KNOW you've got eyelets stashed away somewhere! This challenge is to use your eyelets. Be creative!
Theme: eyelets
Medium: card
Vender restriction: none

So not feeling well...

Wish I could just sleep the whole day away, wake up tomorrow and the laundry would be done, the floor washed, the rugs vaccuumed, and the bed linens changed. Ugh. Too much to ask, huh?
My tummy is one huge ache, my legs and back are on fire and my head is pounding. All this because I am a woman. Yeah, me.
I took my Naproxen so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow, before the kiddlings come. My scrap area is clean, but I have no desire to create anything. That is just sad.
Well, enough from my pity party!

We Have A Winner!

Thank you to Chris Franco, Barb Kaszuba and Juliet Arrighi for taking the time to play! Your work was beautiful! I chose this music LO because a-it is FABULOUS!(as I'm sure you will agree!), b-the wonderful journalling and c-the sheet music. That put me over the edge! What a talented family, no?

What Julia said about her layout:
What is extra special about this page is that the music background on the right is music that my son Gordon (featured) composed.

This particular layout was inspired by the one large photo on the left. My daughter was practicing one evening and decided that she liked the reflection in the window, and wanted me to photograph it. Embellishment is minimal in this layout, as the photos and journalling are the important thing.

Valentine Treats

These sucker toppers are so easy to make. I cut the card stock at 6" and 3". Scored around the 3" mark, punched holes for the ribbon to slide through, stamped at will, added the sucker and tied the ribbon. Added the stamped words and popped up extra hearts for added dimension. Takes 5 minutes to make!

A Little Late...

but here is Tuesday's Baby Card. Stamp by Stamping Bella, Baby stamp by Stampin'Up, card stock, paper, ink and ribbon by Stampin'Up.

Ready for today's challenge?

Watching the Grammy's last night inspired this challenge.
Theme: Music
Medium: Scrapbook page or card
Vender restrictions: None

Your page can be about a concert you attended, your child's music lessons, an instrument, your favourite song, etc...get creative! Your card must have a musical image on it.
You may email me an attachment of your project-deadline is Friday. The winner will be featured on my blog on Saturday! Have fun!

And The Winner Is...

unfortunately, noboby had time to take part in last Monday's challenge. But I'm not giving up! I will post another challenge next Monday! Meanwhile, here's my snowman, from Carollee's Creations.

The SCS challenges!

I just love doing these challenges on Splitcoaststampers. This card turned out just the way I envisioned it and I'm so proud of it that I had to share. The stamp set is SU's (under-used) Glam Girl (page 105 of the Idea Book and Catalogue) one of my favourite SU sets!
If you click on the title The SCS challenges above, it will take you directly to today's challenge so you can see for yourself how fun these are!

My Stamping Space

This is my stamp cabinet that I got at a yard sale for 25.00. It fits all my stuff very nicely. Behind the door at the bottom are about 50 more stamp sets.

A view of my stamping/scrapping area. This is when it's clean. It doesn't usually look like this! LOL!

Another Friday...

Today's masculine card uses one of my first stamp sets...In The Wild. The card base is Night of Navy, the mat is Ruby Red and the layer pieces are Always artichoke. I stamped the aligator for my background. Stamped all images with Basic Black.A little paper tearing and 2 black brads finish it off.

Baby Buttons...

This Tuesday's Baby Card features the Paisley background stamp and the retired hostess set Along The Same Lines. I used Cameo Coral ink and card stock and Apricot Appeal buttons and card stock. This colour combination is just so pretty...I'll have to use it more often. The sentiment us from the set Simple Sayings from the Winter Mini catalogue (which ends Feb. 28!)and is a set I use quite frequently! I stamped the main image and sentiment on Very vanilla card stock.

Today's Challenge...Snowman!

Monday's will be challenge days. You will have until Friday to complete the challenge. Email me, with an attachment of your finished project, and I will choose a winner. The winner and the project will be featured on my blog on Saturday!
The challenge...should you choose to accept it...
-Theme: Snowmen
-Medium: either card or scrapbook page
-Vender restrictions: None
-Create a card or scrapbook page using the theme Snowmen. (Scrapbook page must contain the word Snowman somewhere on the page...either in title, quote or journalling.
Have fun!

It's Hard To Say Good-Bye...

At least I got to see him this afternoon. At least I got to cuddle him a little. But when I went up tonight to give him his yogourt treat...when I touched the top of his hide-out, and he didn't stir...when I touched him and he was cold...I knew.
It is so sad to say good-bye to my Little Marshall. We were so lucky to get him back before Christmas. It was a gift, these last 2 months. But I am still so sad.
I am comforted knowing he passed away in his sleep. I am comforted knowing he passed away here, at home. But I am still so sad.
It is hard to say good-bye.

Friday-Masculine Cards

I just love patterned paper! It is a MUST for scrapbook pages, but also adds a special quality to any card! Today I used Cocoa Cafe Collection paper from Close To My Heart. The card base is Chocolate Chip, and the main image is stamped with Chocolate Chip CRAFT ink on Vanilla cardstock. I used Craft ink because it is a pigment ink and is thicker and wetter than dye ink...perfect for sprinkling on Clear Embossing Powder and heat setting for a perfectly embossed image! I sponged around the main image...gives a soft texture. Matted it onto Chocolate Chip card stock and added 3 Real Red brads! A great card for any man in your life! Stampset is Like It A Latte from the SU Winter Mini.