Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

Guess who in my house didn't make it until midnight?! LOL


I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year!!!

Hugs,
Michelle

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Happy Holidays

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my followers and visitors a safe and happy holiday season.


May your homes be filled with joy, your hearts filled with love, and all your dreams come true in the coming year.

Hugs,
Michelle

Sunday, November 24, 2013

PPA180

Wow, second post of the day.


Here is the next challenge I'm entering.
PPA180


And the card that goes with it. This is for my daughter's 25th birthday, which is coming all too soon!


Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Mojo Monday 320


Here is this weeks sketch for Mojo Monday.



And here is the card that I came up with. 



Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Michelle
http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.ca/2013/11/mojo-monday-320.html

Sunday, November 17, 2013

PPA #179 Colour Challenge/Fab Friday 31 Sketch

 Well, for the first time I thought I would enter a challenge. And then I found two--one a colour challenge and one a sketch challenge.

So here goes:



Not the best photographer in the world. Really must practice!



Off to link up to PPA #179 and Fab Friday 31.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, November 15, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Happy Friday folks!

Just a few small things rockin me this week.

First and foremost, Mr R and I having the day off work today. We were supposed to be in Florida right now, but since we decided to buy the property, decided not to go this year so as to save money. As we were a bit down about missing the hol this year we planned a long weekend in November as a bit of a mini-break.

A leisurely trip to a neighbourhood restaurant for a nummy breakfast.

A trip to the local thrift shop which netted me 5 new hardcover books for only $20!

The eagle-eyed who visited Wednesdays post may have noticed that my favorite Ott light now has a twin--purchased at 65% off!!!



I did spend some time measuring out the space in our bedroom and planning where to put all the junk stuff in my craft room. It seems that with a little skill I will be able to fit nearly everything in there except the corner section of my desk. I will have to have a good sort out and organize as over the Christmas holidays we will be setting up the nursery in my *sob* soon to be former studio. Ah well, it's all worth it as a new grandbaby in the house will be a treat!

To see what has others doing a happy-dance, pop over and visit Virginia for the low-down.

Hope everyone has a fab week and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

WOYWW 232

It's time for the middle-of-the-week peek at the glorious creative spaces of others. Pop over and see Julia and get your desk space fix.

I've been absent from posting for the last couple of weeks, but when I was here last I was working on cutting all my scraps into card-sized pieces. Shouldn't take long said she to herself--HA! It appears I was only fooling myself. Needless to say I got sick and tired of trimming and put the whole lot away to be tackled at a later date. Said later date has still not arrived.

I do find myself in need of a birthday card, so have pulled out papers, stamps etc. in planning. In the far corner you can see the magazine with the general idea, but obviously the colours are different and instead of snowflakes I will be using butterflies. A bit of a butterfly addiction on cards lately.


Anyhow, off to visit some desks before I have to feed the wonderful fam dindins.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, November 1, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Once again Friday has rolled around and it's time to share what has been putting the spin in my world this week.

As always, Mr R who always rocks my week, and my whole world in fact.

The Halloween costumes of the little ones who came calling. It always makes me smile to see the kids dressed up and having a great time getting hoards of candy.

A trip to the bookstore for new magazines.

Getting my scraps organized for quick card making.

A new craft storage purchase.

Another pound down in the weight loss.

Friday night take away for dinner. (Yay, no cooking!)

Not having to set my alarm and get up early tomorrow. I love me a good lay-in!

That's it for me, so pop on over to Virginia's house and see what has been spreading happiness to other peoples weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

WOYWW 230

Happy Hump Day fellow WOYWWers! Besides for being the middle of the work week, it's also the day to snoop around others crafty areas with our fab hostess Julia at Stamping Ground. Pop on over, join in and say "hi" why don'tcha.

I have finally decided to try and get a handle on my scrap paper containers. I saw the idea on YouTube to cut your scraps into card front sizes and thought "Wow, that's what I should do!". Silly me, thinking I could get it done in no time--ha! Over-estimated myself there!
I did make a start on it at least.



*Sigh* There are still two mostly full large containers still full. The smaller containers hold pieces now cut to the size of the cards I usually make and one has pieces for making ATC's. Hopefully I will be able to finish my cutting over the weekend and then I will have the large bins empty to hold more "stuff".

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

It's Friday yet again so that means a visit to Virginia over at Celtic House.

This week has not been a very good one for me. In fact, I'm still in a dark funk. Hopefully my mood will lift over the weekend.

The one bright spot this week was celebrating my 14th un-anniversary with Mr R. It's hard to believe that it has already been 14 years I have been with my soul mate.



Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Hugs,
Michelle

Monday, October 14, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my family, friends, followers and visitors a very happy Thanksgiving.


I am thankful for:

1. Mr R who loves me unconditionally
2. My children and daughter-in-law
3. My wonderful parents
4. My sister and her family
5. The good health of everyone above
6. My dogs who also love me unconditionally (but even more when I give out treats!)
7. My job, which gives me the ability to do whatever I need, and want to do
8. A roof over my head and food in my tummy

What are you thankful for today?

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, October 11, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Ahhh, it's that wonderful day again--Friday! Pop round and visit Virginia to see part of the reason Friday is such a lovely day.

Thanks in part to such a busy week at work not much has been going on. You know the routine: work, eat, sleep, repeat...bah!

Onto what has been making me do a happy dance.

1. As usual, it's Friday--no work for a couple of days.

2.The Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada--an extra day off work--woo hoo!

3. Cooler nights meaning cozy fires whilst watching the telly in the evening.

4. The lovely fall colours starting to show up in the trees.

And the one that's making me do the CrAzY happy dance:

5: Down 3 pounds since this time last week!!! Go me!

Huh, not a picture in sight this post so I'll leave you with something that always makes me smile: my bullies!


Have an awesome week and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

WOYWW 227

I've had a busy week and wasn't able to spend much time in the studio. That is sad as I really feel like creating something. Unfortunately my real job has been getting in the way and by the time I arrive home and get dinner served up it's nearly bedtime.

On my desk this week is the start of my "planning". My Mom made a special request for a 60th anniversary card for their friends special day. Fortunately I have another week and a half to get from this to a finished card.


Julia is on holidays this week, enjoying some sun n fun, but we're still welcome at her home Stamping Ground. Wonder if we should water her plants when we pop round?

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Saturday, October 5, 2013

World Card Making Day

Happy World Card Making Day everyone!
I have hopes of spending part of my day in the studio making some more cards for my Mom to send to her brother, finishing up some Christmas cards and coming up with a few random ones. And I need one for Mr. R as our un-anniversary is on October 16. Wow, 14 years, where does the time go?
This will be for my wonderful Moms birthday which is in November.


For the background I used the wax paper embossing technique and inked with Wisteria Wonder.

It makes me feel like a touch of spring in the middle of cold weather.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, October 4, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Woo hoo, it's Friday again! That means it's time to visit Virginia over at Celtic House and get your rock on.

So, what's been rockin' me this week?

1. A trip to the book store to pick up a puzzle book for my Mom. I can't go in without browsing and I ended up with another new magazine and a great little book with verses for the inside of cards.


2. Thanks to Virginia I was motivated to start working my weight loss program again. I made a food journal and weight loss journal a while ago and pulled them out again. A couple of my favorite pages are my daily affirmations and my personal thought on me.




3. A trip up to our new property for a walking tour of the whole 2 acres. Came across some really cool bones and had to take a few pics. Don't know what they are--cow? deer?--but they are neat.




4. Spending the day with my hubby, parents and my son and daughter-in-law and going for the last boat ride of the season.

That's about it for this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

WOYWW 226

Happy Wednesday fellow WOYWWers!

A few weeks ago (WOYWW 221) I posted a card folio I made for my Mom with some cards for her to send to her brother. This week I made a few more cards to put in it.
I have to admit that I cheated a bit on this weeks desk picture. My desk was such a disgrace from making the cards that I had to tidy it just to take the picture!

As usual, the nature sounds are playing on the Kobo. There are a few cases with projects in progress and a card book I've had for a while and decided to take a look through for no real reason.



To see more desks that are suitably messy crafty hop over  the Julia's at Stamping Ground and take a whirlwind tour of the world.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, September 27, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Well, once again Friday has rolled around. That means it's time to visit Virginia over at Celtic House.

This week has been very quiet on the home front, but quite stressful on the work front, so without further ado, here is what's rocked my world this week.

1. Just the fact that it's finally Friday and I get two whole days off work!

2. My grown son calling and chatting with his Mommy for an hour. Don't usually  chat very much, more like text messages because we're both so busy. Loved this conversation time!

3. Going to bed early and curling up with a good book. I love to read, but I haven't snuggled under the covers and read for a good while.

4. A small pile of new craft magazines. Is it weird to be addicted to the smell of new magzines???



5. A Stampin' Up catalogue filled with blue sticky tabs marking all the new stuff I want to get. (Anyone want to lend me a whole lotta cash?)




That's about it for me. A fairly simple week, but hey, as long as it makes me happy right?

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

WOYWW 225

Let's see, what's on my workdesk this Wednesday?

Well, I'm working on another mini album so there's the binding, the base pages and a pile of papers for matting and making the cover. Still have to make the page add-ons before I can do any matting though. Oh yeah, and the stand I made for my ATG.


If I swing to the left, there is a little container filled with the parts to the rest of the Christmas cards I want to finish in the next week.


That's about it for this week. Go visit Julia at Stamping Ground and there's a whole lot more desks you can visit and ooh and ahh over.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Monday, September 23, 2013

Organization--Cards

Since I will have to move out of my craft room when my grandchild arrives I have been looking at ways to organize all the supplies that I have for card making and scrapbooking. I'll be moving most of my stuff into our bedroom (good thing it's really big!) with the overflow finding a new home in our rec room.

This week I'm tackling my cards, both the ones I have made and the blanks I keep on hand. 

Michaels had a huge sale on storage items so I went a little crazy. I've had an Iris Card Keeper for ages and I use it for keeping my smaller card blanks and envelopes. I decided to pick up another one to hold the cards I make, but once I sorted them I realized that I had too many categories to fit in just one, so back I went for another. Love the way they stack together. Any my handy-dandy label maker got some use labelling the dividers.


Love that it's pink!
They stack really well
These are the categories I've chosen to use
All my card blanks and envelopes are ready to go

For the card blanks that are too large to fit in the cases I put them in one of the boxes I purchased. The box looks great and they fit in there perfectly. These are the ones that I have opened. I have unused packages in another one of these boxes, only bigger because I have a whole heap of them. (Can you say hoarder???)

Hard to tell from the picture, but the one in front is ivory and the one in back is white

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Hugs,
Michelle

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Rockin' My World Friday

Ah, Friday, my favorite day of the week.

This is my first time joining in and I've realized that this is a good week to do so.

1. Mr. R and I closed on a 2 acre plot of land in Buckhorn that will become our cottage, and eventually our retirement home will be built here.


2. Mr. R and I are going to become "Nana" and "Poppa".


3. My shoulder is finally getting better (pinched nerve) thanks to a pile of medication. Yay, this means that I will be able to do more crafting again (comfortably).

4. A shopping spree at Michaels. Gotta love 50% off sales AND a coupon for 20% your entire purchase, including sale items! Here are just a few of the things I picked up.

Two more card keepers to organize the cards I make. I use the original one to store my card bases and envelopes (also purchased at Michaels on sale!)

Memory boxes to hold ???
5. Mr. R for just rolling his eyes when I come in with loads of bags and a smile on my face. And for making dinner because I have and idea for a new card or crafty item and just can't tear myself away from it. After being together for 14 years he is still the love of my life and the most wonderful man I have ever met.

That's it for me this week. Pop over to Celtic House why don't you and let us know what's been rockin' your world this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Cards

Just wanted to pop in and share two more Christmas cards that have made it onto my list of "This Years Cards to Send". 

Who am I kidding, I don't even have a list of the people I'm sending  them to! LOL

Quick question, do you send the same card to everyone, or do you make your cards for individual recipients? Or are you in-between and make a few of each design? 

I'm an in-between girl--can't face making that many singular cards and with all the ideas I see on Pinterest, Split Coast, etc. I always find a few that I want to CASE.

Anyway, here are the next two.



Have a great night, and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

WOYWW 224

Just popping in for a quick post as it's late over here right now.
Not very much going on here this week as I have a pinched nerve in my shoulder that hasn't allowed me to do a lot of fun, inky stuff.
I have my Kobo playing a nature sounds video on You Tube, I sign I made that will become my sign on You Tube when I work up the nerve to start filming videos and a card for my Post Pal. If you want to know more about Post Pals, click the link in my sidebar--it's a really cool organization in the UK that gives crafters (or anybody) the opportunity to correspond with a sick child and bring them some joy.


To see other desks that probably have a lot more going on than mine, visit Julia at Stamping Ground.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

WOYWW 221

What can I say about my desk this week, other than it's a hot mess!


One of my co-workers requested a birthday card for a little boy who's turning one and as a surprise for my mother, a folio filled (well, not quite, a still need to make a few more) with cards. She sends a card to her brother in Wales every week to brighten his day as he is in a seniors home. Thought this would be a good use of my stash.

Here's a close-up of the birthday card--so stinking cute if I do say so myself!


Take a tour of the worlds craftiest desks with Julia over at Stamping Ground and join in on the fun!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

WOYWW 217

Today there's lots of stuff on my desk. Most of it scraps and other things fit for the bin. I've been trying to come up with a fun birth announcement for a friend. I think I finally got it figured out! And somewhere in the mess is my final version. Hope I can find it before I sweep the rest of the stuff in the trash! LOL


To see what others are up to, visit our lovely hostess Julia here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Anniversary Card

This post goes with the previous one. 

As I mentioned, my parents are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary at the end of this month. That is an amazing milestone as I have known people who lives didn't even last that long.

I was looking for an elegant card, and I think that I have succeeded with this one.


Gotta run as my domestic life is calling (I just heard the finishing alarm on the washer).

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

He Said/She Said

July 31st is my wonderful parents 65th wedding anniversary. I have started making a memory book for them and I want to use some of their old pictures and their answers to some questions.

Here are the questions I've come up with:

When and where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
What was your house like growing up?
Who are your siblings?
What are your parents and grandparents names?
What did you do for fun as a child?
Where did you first meet?
Where did you go and what did you do on your first date?
When/how did you know he/she was "the one"?
How long did you know each other before you got engaged?
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
What was your favorite vacation, or where is your favorite place to holiday?
What did you do for fun when you were first married?
What was a typical day like?
Is there anything you always wanted to do, but didn't?

Does anyone have any suggestions for other questions I can have them answer? Any help would be appreciated as I am now stumped.

I thought this would be a good idea as my parents can enjoy reliving some fond memories now and future generations will get a chance to know them and their stories.


Here is just a quick peek at some of the stuff I'm using. I found this great paper at Michael's that I absolutely love! It's a kraft background with some wonderful prints. I also picked up an 8 page chipboard ring bound album. I figure to add some pockets and tags as well as photo and journalling mats and who knows what else.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Cards & Web Surfing

Today I'm going to share a masculine card with you. When it comes to making girly cards I've got no shortage of ideas. Ask me to make a guy card and you can hear the crickets chirping! I stare blankly into space and think about going out for ice cream LOL.

After some thought and more than necessary blog surfing, this is the card I came up with. This will be going to my wonderful Daddy for his birthday.



While I was wasting time doing research, I cruised around some of my favorite blogs and got to thinking (very dangerous habit!) that I should share some of them with you.

To that end, I'll be sharing a "Blog of Note" with you every week or so. Drop by and say hello if you have a mo, cause we all like to have visitors!

This weeks blog belongs to Kate. You can visit her at Kate's adventures. One of the reasons I like to visit is because I love hearing about life in different countries. Also, because I'm nosy, but   we don't need to discuss that! So, here's to you Kate, keep on blogging cause I love to see what you're up to!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Michelle

Playing Catch-up

How is it that I manage to write my posts and then don't seem to actually get them posted??? Does anyone else have this "issue"?

To that end, I have a few posts that will be showing up today as I play catch-up with my bloggy agenda.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,
Michelle

Friday, July 5, 2013

Merry Christmas Card Time

Well, it's only 5 month to Christmas card season! That means it's time to start making all those cards we need to send off to family and loved ones, and I've found something to make it a quicker, easier process.

As a former Stampin' Up! demonstrator I fell in love with the colour Cherry Cobbler for Christmas cards. Making all the card bases from cardstock can get costly, but I discovered the packages of red cards and envelopes at Michaels are almost the same colour! As a bonus, the inside of the card is white for easy stamping/writing. They are larger than the standard 5-1/2 x 4-1/4, but that just gives your more room to be creative. They also come in a size slightly smaller than standard. The large coloured ones come in a package of 40 for $13.99 (here in Canada), but if you get them on sale and/or use a coupon you have more money to spend on crafty goodness (LOL). Total win-win in my books!

They also come in white, cream, kraft and black. You had to know I would buy a rather hefty supply of each!

Here is the first (completed) card of the season.




Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

WOYWW 213

*sigh*
There is really nothing on my desk to show this week as the couple of cards I made can't be posted yet.

What I did manage to do is switch over all my wood stamps to the new wood mount cases that I ordered. The stamps were originally stored in a couple of big bins in my closet. A huge waste of valuable real estate!

Here is the empty box of the old cases. Doesn't seem like too big a stack, but I have a lot of them nested together.


And here is where I have them at the moment.


I will have to pick up a couple of wall mount DVD racks so that I can get this big stand off my cabinet. Again, huge waste of real estate!

That's it for this week. Pop over to see Julia and I'm sure you will find many others who have been up to far more interesting things this week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Michelle