Inky Chicks Challenge

hello crafters !! happy new year !

I am happy to say that another year of some fun challenges is in store for you. Come on over to the Inky Chicks Blog and check it out! All the girls have done such a fab job. A big thank you to our sponsor


                                            


Thanks for stopping by..... here's my card for the challenge !

Happy Crafting !!

Happy New Year !!

it's 2015 !!! oh my gosh when I was a teenager 2000 seemed far away, never mind 2015! wow time really does fly..... This year will be a big milestone for me.... I'm turning 50. Holy smokes, that too seemed eons away what seems was just yesterday and now it's already here. Well, this year I vow to be a bit selfish and make this year a 'me' year. I want to get healthy. I never learned how to swim--long story short, I had a heart condition and could never exert myself and just never learned. So I think I will look in to swimming lessons. and what a great way to exercise too. Then I want to make this year about authenticity. I plan on doing some soul searching and listening to what my inner self is saying. That's gonna be a tough one. I think I already know, but it's going to be a tough pill to swallow. So this year will also be about growth, and courage, and self love and lessons. I am looking forward to this year....
I hope all of you have had a wonderful Christmas and embracing the new year with a brighter view of the future.
Blessings to you and I hope you can sneak in a bit of crafting time too !

Inky Chick Challenge #38

hi ..everyone ! I am excited to have a card to share.... It is for a challenge over on the Inky Chicks Challenge blog. Check out all the wonderful cards my fellow DT members have created ! And don't forget to upload yours to the challenge as well. Thank you to our sponsor for this challenge : Stitchy Bear  Digi Outlet
My card is made for a friend. She is going to a wedding in a couple weeks and asked me to make her a card. The wedding is black and white, but I couldn't help adding just a bit of colour. I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by.... and don't forget to go check out Inky Chicks blog !!

Happy crafting everyone ~~ Create a wonderful day

Inky Chick Challenge #35

Hi friends ! 

Life's been a little crazy... Well, ALOT crazy! But happy to share with you a card I made for the Inky Chicks challenge ! I hope you like it. I used 
 You can check out their blog Here .
I've had blog land blunder..... I am away from home and my iPad is not cooperating with uploading pix to my blog. Please check out the Inky Chicks blog for deets!

Spring.....around the corner...?

Is spring around the corner.....or is it more like four blocks a way.....?! LOL A friend at work said that to me yesterday and I laughed out loud....he has such a great sense of humor .. So on that note, I have to admit that although I want to go snowmobiling just one more time, I am ready for spring. I am starting to get cabin fever and want to get outside and enjoy fresh air and the warmth from the sun. So fingers crossed spring really is around the corner and not four blocks away....lol

Home sweet home....

Wow--how time flies!! I was so looking forward to vacation and now it has come and gone...I just got home yesterday from Cuba! Oh how nice it was! I went with my friend Lysa. We had a great time, met some fun people and enjoyed some fabulous weather! 
I think next year might have to be a ten day or two week vacation. One week just doesn't seem to give enough time to really enjoy the stay. I will have to look in to that.

On a crafting note..... I've been busy making my niece's wedding invitations. I really like how they turned out and so does my niece :). I will post a picture of the final thing when she gives me the pictures..... She changed it from colour to black and white.

Now that I'm back from vacation and FINALLY rid of that cold ( I only cough now and again)... I am getting back in the groove of crafting, prepping for card classes at Younique and working on challenges. 

My goal is to post more frequently..... Honest!

Happy Crafting and create a wonderful day !!

Cold anyone ?

Hello blog-land.....and Happy new Year every one !!
Well I must say that 2013 ended with a thud and 2014 began with one... Anyone else out there not able to shake the seasonal bugs that are going around?? I had such a bad cold in November I was off work for a week. I had a lingering cough and then got a weird version of a head cold at Christmas. It is now January 11 and I STILL have the stuffy nose and this cough! I have never had so many colds/illnesses..... It's draining to say the least.

I am back to teaching classes at Younique. It's been great fun to get reacquainted with ladies that I haven't seen in a while! There's some adorable Images for the class and card kits are available for purchase through Younique as well. check them out! :)

Anyone else make new year resolutions? I don't normally but this year I wanted to. Last year was a rough year. My parents have had some health issues and of course Mom had her spinal surgery which took its toll on her and the family. So in 2014 I warned to make a vow, I guess, more so than a resolution. I wanted to make a vow to myself to be authentic. So for me, this means a little less pleasing everyone else and a little more doing what pleases me. And I don't mean this in as selfish way. I just mean that I vow to speak my mind when necessary.....stand up for what I believe..... And surround myself with those that are as true to me as I am to them. 

So here's to a better 2014.... I wish everyone a year of new adventures,lessons, love,joy and blessings!

Happy crafting and create a wonderful day!

Christmas is coming....!!

I cannot believe Christmas is only TWO weeks away !! I am soooo not ready! I have yet to put up my Christmas tree, do some shopping, give some thought to baking?(ya right, wishful thinking), finish cards....oh the list goes on. But speaking of cards, I DID make this card for someone that inspires me with her own beautiful creations--I have sent this card to her and hope it arrives before Christmas. I'd like to also invite you to check out the Inky Chicks blog for their Christmas challenge !! The amazing DT has some amazing inspiration for you. Here's my card:

 

I coloured this new Winter Wonderland Magnolia with Copics BV20,25,29 and YG93,95,97

Joy! dies, Magnolia snowflake and doilie dies, flowers from my stash

Don't forget to go check out the Inky Chicks blog as well !!

Have fun and create a wonderful day !!

And then there were five.....

Happy Monday everyone !

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend ! I started off my weekend going to see the kitten that will finally be coming home to us this Friday. We originally went to pick him out at 4 weeks old and told we couldn't have him until he is 11 weeks old. At first thought my heart aches cuz ya know, I just want him ! But I appreciate the fact that breeder holds fast to her decision that only benefits the kitten. You see, the longer they are with their mother, the more social skills they learn. One they should pass on to me.....patience !! LOL So we have gone to see him every other week and each time (we have been 3x) we saw his sister that has not been adopted yet. Until now. We went to see our little kitty and decided to take his sister as well. So now this Friday we will be adding two, yes TWO new kitties to our crazy family. The hubby and I are out numbered big time.... there will be FIVE cats and two of us. So I now come by the nickname "crazy cat lady" honestly. I think I have converted hubby to a cat-man....lol. He sure didn't put up much of a fight when I looked at him and asked how he felt about adopting the little kitty that was left. So...... stay tuned for pictures of our new little fur-babies this weekend !!

I continued my weekend in my craft room. Hubby went to work on our snowmobiles and get them ready for the season, so I got to play in my craft room. I made some Christmas gift tags. I had so much fun making them ! I made 22 in total. Here's a sample of each. The background is not the most flattering..... I took the pictures at work. A co-worker ordered ten from me so I took the rest in to see if anyone else wanted some and realized I hadn't taken pictures of them at home !! Oy....

Thanks for stopping by !!
Have fun and Create a great day !!

I'm an INKY CHICKS DT member ...!!

 

I am thrilled to say that I have been invited to be a part of the Inky Chicks blog DT ! The blog offers some fun challenges.... check it out (here).

I look forward to being part of a wonderful and talented group of ladies and sharing in some fun.

Here's my first DT card: 

 

 

The theme is Buttons, Bows & Bling

I used this adorable image from our Sponsor SBDO Stitchy Bear Digi Outlet and it's called Birthday Boy 1 by BB Kakes. 

Dies from Go Kreate, Die-namics, Magnolia DooHickeys, LaLa Land, and coloured with Copics.

Thanks for stopping by !! 

Please pop over to the Inky Chicks blog to see what other creations the DT has to show you !!

 Create a wonderful day..... Monica

Mini Reunion......

Happy Sunday everyone ! Ok, firstly, Thank You Mother Nature for finally blessing us with the grace of SUNSHINE and WARMTH ~ !! LOL
It has been rather chilly here lately. A couple weeks ago we went from the air conditioning , to heat, to nothing, to heat and now to nothing. I spent Saturday with some friends scrapbooking for the day. It was good to get out and have some laughs. I was in a bit of a funky mood so it was fun to hang with some great gals. I even managed to make two cards! ( which I will post soon)

Today I went to visit a friend that moved about 2 1/2 hours away from me a few years ago. We don't get to see each other often and she just had a baby GIRL about 3 weeks ago. Her Mom hosted a baby shower for her today and it was sooooooo nice to see my friend and her baby girl, Myrhanda. I hope to go visit her soon and do some more catching up. It was a bit difficult to do today with a baby shower happenin'.

On a side note. Hershey went for his first set of needles at the Vets. Uh ohhhhh, our little porkball needs to lose 4 pounds ! That's a fair bit considering their size. She said his needs are 'loose' and the extra weight can lead to trouble in the future so its best we get rid of the weight now. That is not so easy. We have 2 other cats that do not need to lose weight and the one that DOES need to lose it has a fetish for food. Needless to say this is going to be a challenge. LOL

Update: Yes ! I finally reached the two ladies that purchased cards from me back in mid-April. I emailed several times but to no avail. I found out later that one of the ladies had gone on a vacay and upon returning just deleted all of the emails that awaited her. And guess who's emails were part of that --- yup. the ones from me. The other lady said she didn't receive emails from me. Im not even sure what happened there, but I suspect her computer sent mine to her junk mail and she didn't notice. At any rate, they both have their cards and everyone is thrilled-- especially ME. LO

I hope everyone had a fab weekend! Have a wonderful week. Stay grounded and always be grateful. :)

Thanks for stopping by !!

forgive me.......

hello everyone.....please forgive me, it has been over one month since my last blog post!  Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it has been that long !! So let's see....what's happened since then. Well... the week after my last post I went to Scrapfest (in Kitchener). It was a lot of fun ! We shopped, and 'crafted' from 10am Friday to midnight, then again Saturday from 9am to 9pm. Of course I didn't get a lot of cards made...LOL...there's too much socializing and fun being had. But I entered one of my cards in the challenge--and I won! woot woot !! Thanks to everyone that voted for me :) And the surprise came when I was told there was a lady also attending the crop that wanted to purchase the card I made. And then her friend also asked me to make one for her exactly the same. How exciting !! I was thrilled. They both gave me email addresses to email them when the cards were finished; which I did. But I never heard back-- 3 emails later and still no response. I was getting worried. I didn't want these nice ladies to think I had forgotten them or something. ( I thought I wrote the email down incorrectly). But managed to reach the lady that runs Scrapfest and also the staff that connected me to these two ladies. So I atleast have some more info to reach them and know that they have both just been away. whew. glad we got that figured out !
Then I was asked to make my newphews wedding invitations. The wedding's in September..this year! So I started making a sample according to the bride's requests. That has kept me busy this past month that's for sure. There were a lot of steps and pieces. I worked on them on holidays a bit as well. Here's a pic of some of the process :)

ok.... not sure why this pic won't post straight the way it shows in my saved file...but I think you get the jist...lol

same thing with this photo..... :( I don't understand.... oh well.

 

So then I went to our timeshare in Huntsville(Ontario). it's about 3.5 hours north of where I live. We always have the same week: starting with Mother's Day weekend and for one week. This year, my parents and my oldest sister were able to come up with me from the first Saturday until Monday. It was my Mom and sister's second time up there and it was my Dad's first time. I am so glad they were able to join me. My hubby (Neil) was only able to come up for one day (mother's day) as he recently started a new job and could not get the time off work. It was a lot of driving in one day--he only came up on the Sunday,just in time to join us for their HUGE Mother's Day brunch and then he left to go home again in the late afternoon. I'm glad he was able to join us although it was a lot of driving for him and I'm sure once he returned home, he must've just fallen in to bed exhausted.

I spent the rest of the week going for walks and making cards every day, all day. I was in heaven. lol. I will have to post the pictures of all the stuff I brought up with me at a later post...I haven't downloaded all the pix off my phone to my laptop. But here are some pictures of my view from the balcony, and the critter I encountered on my walk.

 

view from my balcony......

 

the docks down at the water in front of the main outdoor pool......

 

Mr. Groundhog I encountered on my walk one day.

 

Then I got to make cards from Tuesday through to Friday. It was crafters bliss. It was rather quiet being by myself, but I didn't mind. Here are a couple pix of a few of the cards I made.

 

 

ok............I really don't know why the pix have turned sideways. When I saved them, they are facing the correct way. Now when I post here, they are turned. Ugh, have I mentioned how much I detest computers?? A wonderful FB friend made me a watermark, and I still can't figure out how to put it on my photos.... sheesh.

These were coloured with copics, and I also did some paper-tole on them to make them 2 dimensional. Please don't hurt yourself turning sideways to see them....LOL

 

 

 

 

Here's another card I made. Using Copics. and again tried some paper-tole.

Use caution when viewing........

 

To give the photo a bit of character, I took the picture with the view of the lake in the background. Unfortunately that also meant my light source was in the direction I was facing which does not make for the best photo op. This card I made for my Dad for Father's Day. I used Copics. and I am really happy with the way the coloured image turned out. I made the entire background. I wanted it to look like a riverbank. I lost count of the number of E's I used to create it though .... LOL. and I coloured the cattails as well. Then I used glossy accents on the 'water'. I sure hope my Dad likes it. Once again, please use caution when turning your neck to view them. Please don't email me to say you've got a kink in your neck ! LMBO !!!

And last but not least, here are 2 photos of the moose we saw. On Sunday evening I took my parents and my sister for a drive to a HUGE national park in northern Ontario (it is only 30 minutes from Huntsville). We only went in it about ten km. The hwy only goes through the very bottom corner. The rest is very untouched wild land. It would be something to check out on Google Earth. The park's name is Algonquin Park.

ok, someone is playing tricks on me.... these two pix came out just fine !! ggrrr... LOL... I'm sure it's a relief after having to practically lay on your side to view the previous photos.

So this was a treat to see...and I know my Dad was tickled to see them. It was almost dark so the pictures are not the best, as the flash on my iphone didn't quite reach them. They are sooo majestic. I just love how they look and the energy they exude.

Thanks for stopping by and being patient with my lapse in posts. I will be posting after the weekend for sure of some cards I will be making for Pointer Scrapbooking. I am going to a day crop on Saturday so I hope to make a couple cards there. I guess that means I will have to keep the socializing to a minimum ! LOL....

Have a fabulous week ! I think spring/summer is finally here. We had a mini heat wave today and some brief but severe storms over the last 2 days. 'tis the season. It's all good. I love the summer.

Happy crafting, and thanks in advance for your kind comments.

cheers !!

 

 

Has Mother Nature been drinking....??

I'm not sure where you might be from as you read this post, but here in Ontario we are experiencing a very late Spring! It's been cold, and quite windy this past week. We even had some snow!! (thankfully it didn't last long on the ground, but still !! ) I am sooooo ready for some sunshine and warmth, aren't you ?? Someone please tell Mother Nature to stop whatever it is she's doing and concentrate on Spring please ? lol.... please ?

This past weekend I spent some time at a local Scrapbook store cropping with my friend Lyn. We were there for 12 hours and I made two cards. LOL yes, only 2! But I had fun socializing and laughing. This was Lyn's first time cropping at a store. I hope she will join me again sometime, it was a fun day. This coming weekend I am attending Scrapfest. It is a big scrapbooking event. 2 full days of cropping that will include a pass to the market of vendors. You don't have to do the crop--you can purchase tickets just for the vendors, but this year I decided to attended the crop as well. I'm really looking forward to it. I have a list of cards I need to make and hope to at least get 6 cards done over the 2 days. That will be quite a feat for me LOL... cuz somewhere in there I have to leave time for eating and shopping. Wish me luck !!

Then the next weekend I am going to a friend's house with 2 other friends to scrapbook for the day as well. We all bring a dish of some sort of sharing nibbly and we play away !! Love it. This group is always full of laughs. It's great to be able to just be who we are and no pretending or 'best behaviour'.... we can just be goofy or show up in our pj's and its all good. Looking forward to it very much ! Haven't seen a couple of the girls in quite some time.

Let's see..... after that I think is a free weekend. So far anyways. And the weekend after that is National Scrapbook Day. I am celebrating the day at The Scrapping Bug in Kitchener. I'm looking forward to that day as well. Let's face it, I could scrapbook/make cards every weekend LOL. It's my passion. I enjoy making cards to give to others.

Then..... the weekend after that I head up north to Huntsville. We have a timeshare at the Deerhurst Resort. Our townhouse is in the far corner of the property closest to the water. I absolutely love it up there. It's only a 3.5 hour drive from where I live. I get to spend an entire week up there making cards as much as I like and going for walks, listening to the loons.... not of course if the poor things are FROZEN due to the lack of SPRING ! LOL... It's also only a 30 minute drive to a National park and often we see moose munching on the new wild grass growing in the ditches at the side of the highway. They are sooo cool to see up close. Once, a few years ago, Neil and I went for a drive at the crack of dawn through the park in search of a moose. We saw a few at the side of the highway so we drove past them a bit and turned around. We pulled off the highway and parked....sipping our morning coffee and watching the moose across the highway from us. I picked up my coffee....took a sip and at the same time turned my head to the right to look into the woods.....and almost spit my coffee on the entire inside of my window! Staring me in the face was a young female moose!!! If my window was down, I could've petted her nose, that's how close she was ! I think I startled the poop outa her as well, cuz she bolted across the highway like she was being chased. Me, on the other hand, sat in our truck choking on my coffee and laughing my head off. I hope to see a moose or two this year when I go. I can never get enough of seeing them up close.

Today I spent some time in my craft room making some tags to go along with the cards I made yesterday for Pointer Scrapbooking . These stamps are so cute and different. Be sure to check their site out !

 

 

 

All the cards and tags were coloured using Copics, DieNamics dies, Spellbinder and Joy dies. Sentiments are handwritten and LilioftheValley. Studio Calico wood pieces, Martha Stewart punch and mixed flowers.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy crafting.........

 

 

 

Happy Easter Everyone !!

Where does the time go....?? It feels like i just returned from Cuba yesterday. And i've been back over 2 weeks! And a bit tardy in blogging too....my bad. I am in awe of all my blogging friends that work outside of the home, tend to their families, have time for themselves and still blog. My hats off to y'all ! I don't have children (well, sometimes i think hubby and the 3 cats are my children LOL) and so one would think i have loads of time to blog...and yet somehow i am forever scrambling. Ok, enough grumbling about my lack of time management.... I have some crafting to do !! LOL

I mad a couple cards to send off to Pointer Scrapbooking and daaaah, I forgot to take pictures so i could post them here ! I tell ya, i don't know where my heads at these days. It must be Spring in the air and making me all loopy.

I'm starting off this long weekend with a day of scrapbooking with a couple gal pals, Tammie and Anna at a crop put on by another friend, Denise. She is a StampinUp! rep and puts on these crops. It's a fun day of doing what i love and sharing some laughs with some great friends. I'm soooo looking forward to a day of card making. Of course, i will be lucky if i get ONE card completed in the entire 12 hours LOL, but fun will be had nonetheless.

And as for those 4-legged critters of mine.....well i think they have a bit of Spring fever too. Chevy is being extremely 'sucky' and wants more attention than usual. Bella walks around with her eyes half closed and dreamy....lol... and Hershey, well, he is just loopy most days anyways so there's really nothing different there....LOL 

This is a card i made for my nephews birthday. As you can see, he turned 30. I feel so old.....lol... My nieces and nephews are having families of their own now. I remember where i was the day my very first niece was born. :) This rockin' dude is fun to color, and i did so with Copics.

 

Here's a coupld pictures of Cuba. It was so nice there. I loved it! I can't wait to go back. And might just do that in October (fingers crossed)

We just landed and they were selling beer at the airport outside. Two for $5 ! Pick me !! It sure hit the spot. I was wearing jeans and we landed in almost 30degree weather. ahhhh the memory of it all....

 This is a shot down at the beach. The water was so calm that day, and the sky sooooo blue !

This is a picture of part of the main pool. The bar was always busy....lol....and the depths of the water varied all over the place in this pool--it was crazy lol. The guys you see in the picture are stand on a big round concrete pedistal that is submerged a few inches under the water. They were our entertainment to say the least ! When a song played that they like, they would get on this thing and dance like no one was watching...LOL !!! As long as they were having fun, i guess....we sure enjoyed watching them shake their booties and make absolute fools of themselves !! But hey, they were having fun and that's what counts.

These old cars are everywhere in Cuba. This one was in the best shape. It's a 1956. It was a beauty. Apparently Cuba imports 'rental' retirees. There is no automobile industry on the island. I forget how and why there are so many old cars there, but Veradaro was dotted everywhere with all kinds of old cars. It was pretty neat to see.

 

I best go finish packing for my crafty day tomorrow! I hope you all get a chance to spend some time crafting this weekend as well as some wonderful family time !! Happy Easter everyone !!!

Thanks for stopping by...........