Happy Birthday Josh!

I can't believe that little face is now eight years old!!!!

Josh is growing up so quickly - he is tall and slim and full of stories about his world and the many imaginary worlds he loves to create!

I love how he always has a mischievous smile at the ready, and never fails to share his opinion- good or bad. When he looks at me over his glasses, my heart melts.

Happy Birthday little man - I love you to the next dimension!

How many days til Halloween, Mom?? ( and some blog candy for you! )

The answer - 53.


Yes, it is that time of year. The time of endless discussions about Halloween costumes ( apparently witches are "lame", Luke Skywalker is "too old school", and puppies are "for kindergarteners"!)


I admit it , they come by it honestly! I love Halloween and have been happily ( and sometimes tearfully!) sewing costumes for 13 years. It gets a little harder each year - not sure I can keep up with all the flash of purchased costumes!!! I will keep you posted on what is on the agenda for this year!!


In the meantime, I have been having some fun with last year's photos and one of the new Halloween lines, Blackbird, from My Mind's Eye:




And then, of course, is the inevitable annual carving of the pumpkins:



Keep checking back for more Halloween inspiration, along with some layouts using the yummy One Fall Day collection from Bella Blvd!! And I would love to hear you favourite costume ideas - leave me a comment by Sunday September 12th at 11:59pm PST for a chance to win some Halloween goodies from me!!

First Day

The bittersweet feeling of back to school. Today was the day that my munchkins all went back to school after a summer of relaxation, fun and adventures. Sigh. I think today it was harder for me, than the kids! Actually I don't just think that - I KNOW that!!

Hannah is off to high school - which is unbelievable, because I really cannot be old enough to have a child in high school! ;) Ben is off to middle school, and Emily and Josh are in grades five and three at elementary school. Amazing! The were so confident and excitedly nervous as they made their way to their respective schools. Even Joshua, who is a rather notorious school despiser, seemed almost happy to get there and get settled in with friends and routines.

The first day of school is always a fresh start - not just for kids, I think, but for all of us. It always feels more like the New Year than January 1st - at least to me. So today I will kiss them goodbye, trust that they will be fabulous at school - even without me - and start my day off with a Grande Pike Place and a little prayer for a very Happy New Year!

A little Dusk and Dawn from My Mind's Eye

I love the look of black and white paper and the versatility it gives me when I scrap! I especially love the "Dusk" and "Dawn" collections from My Mind's Eye - these take inspiration from Trisha Ladouceur and of course my own twist on things! And if you are interested in seeing more of Trisha's amazing work, click on her name to check out her blog - she is coming in just two short weeks to teach some very special classes at Scrapbook Parade - I can't wait!!!! Click on the link to check out what she has planned - there may be a couple of spaces left in some classes!!!!

Now back to Dusk and Dawn:

The first one is of Ben - I thought it might be a bit too girly, but I am loving the result!





Next comes Miss Emily - this was a fun and non traditional way of scrapping school photos! ( sorry for the not so great photo quality on this one!)

I really love how this one of Hannah's Grade 9 graduation photos turned out - the blue of her dress really "pop" with the black and white.

If you haven't already - give scrapping with just black and white a try - I am sure you will love the result!

Happy Day everyone!

I {heart} Seattle!

I have been MIA for a week because my sis and I took a mini trip to Seattle for four days last week! Despite the fact that I only live 85 miles away ( by water!!!) I have never been to anywhere in Seattle but the airport! My sister flew to Vancouver from Calgary, I picked her up and we were off on our road trip!!

It was also the longest I have been away from my kids ever - 3 whole nights!!! Which some may call pathetic, but I still missed them a lot and saw so much that I want to share with them!! That being said - it was a great trip despite the requisite cool and cloudy weather! (And I got my hug fix from this "cool" guy at the waterfront!! ;)

We saw the Space Needle ( no one told me that elevator was on the OUTSIDE of the building!),

Experience Music Project ( despite my love for Rockband, a music career is NOT in my future!),

the Science Fiction Museum ( a highlight for me - yes, I am a Star Wars geek!),

and of course Pike Place Market and all of its colours, sounds and smells!!

I, of course, had to make the pilgrimage to the original Starbucks - so small and oh so crowded - I must to admit to taking photos and then going up the street for my actual coffee!!!

Friday night was the big highlight for me - a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco field. It was so much fun, despite their not so fabulous performance ( we lost 6 - 2 to the Twins). Who knew garlic fries could be so delicious????? :)

The only crisis of the week was that I (gasp!) forgot my battery charger for my camera, so I have very few photos!!!! I had only a mild panic attack when I realized this, and I managed to get a few good shots the first couple of days!! Then I borrowed my sister's, well, less than up to the standards of my beloved Canon Rebel camera, and took a few shots on it. The unfixable date stamp thing droves me crazy, but hey, it was a camera!

I will be using my friend Anna's trick of using postcards to scrap this trip!!! It was a great adventure and I am pretty sure their is a return trip in my future - we only saw a fraction of the sights and sounds of this fabulous city!!!

Ocean Friends!

We had a fabulous morning (Ben, Em, Josh and I) up at Bamberton Provincial Park - just north of Victoria. It is one of our favourite beaches for exploring and beachcombing, so we got up early enough to be there for low tide at 8:50am!

We found a moon snail - the coolest creature ever! They start out enormous:

Then as you gently squeeze the water out:

You can see how they fit into their shell!

Emily's eagle eyes spotted this amazing little sunstar - how she saw it in knee deep water is mind boggling for my old eyes!!!

The boys also had a great time collecting and identifying at least 5 different kinds of clam shells, plus oyster and mussel shells as well!And of course they always love the sand dollars!

The beach was completely empty except for us - our own private paradise!!!

More Mamarazzi. . . .

I am having a lot of fun with this line of paper from BoBunny!

As promised - I used up the leftovers from the Mamarazzi mini kit and came up with this layout of my lovely daughter Hannah:

I love these self portraits - although she says she looks a little cross-eyed in the one with the camera! That is what happens when you take photos in a mirror - I think she looks fantastic - but I am more than a little biased.

There are still a couple of spots in my class on September 4th at Scrapbook Parade - check out the store blog and website for more info or to register! $30 gets you a fabulous minibook, plus the supplies and instructions for this layout!!! It is a great deal and I would love to have you join me!

I have a bit more of this line that I bought in the summer, so I am thinking I will be doing at least another double layout with it - maybe one of all the times my kids hide their faces from their sort of psychotic, picture takin' mama!

Watch here for more from BoBunny and the other great companies out there!

Happy Day everyone!

Mamarazzi Mini

I am teaching a class on September 4th at Scrapbook Parade in Victoria using the very fun and cool Mamarazzi line from Bo Bunny! This mini comes as a kit, but because I am pathologically unable to colour inside the lines, I just had to change it up a bit!!

I am a bit ( ok a LOT) of a stalker when it comes to taking photos - I am rarely without my camera and so I love this line with all of the great vintage camera images - and the colour combos are fabulous!

I am actually doing this one for my kids - about - gasp - ME!!! I rarely scrap myself, and I realize that my kids will probably want to know some things about their mom when they are older, so. . . . I am biting the bullet and doing this mini about myself. The trick will be finding photos, since I am rarely in front of the camera - and always behind it.

This mini is really flexible though and can be changed up for any purpose!! If you have some time on September 4th and are in the Victoria area, give the store a call or email them ( click on the link, above) There are still a few spots available. As a bonus for class participants, you will also receive step by step instructions for an additional single page layout you can make with the kit "leftovers" - there are lots!!!

Maybe you could even consider doing it about YOU!

Happy day, everyone!

Recent pages. . .

I am in love with Upsy Daisy's Home Sweet Home line - great for fall, family - you name it!! Here are a couple of layouts I have just finished with this great product!







I also did this one using Basic Grey's Green at Heart - I am addicted to making handmade flowers of every kind!!!

And this one for a weScrap challenge - using Cosmo Cricket's Snorkel line and based on a sketch by Michelle Galloway:

What is your scrappy agenda these days???

Vintage fun!

I have been working on some older family photos and was so happy to come across this one of my dad. He died when I was just a baby, so I never knew him. He was an amateur radio operator - it was a passion of his and I love this photo of him at his radio.

I used the Communique line from Graphic 45, which I think was a perfect fit for this photo.

I also have been playing around with a few more types of handmade flowers on this layout of my mom and dad leaving their wedding reception for their honeymoon.

I love the original reservation responses for their first night in Calgary and then a couple of nights in Banff, AB. The paper is from the Passport line from Making Memories.

Finally, I hope you will join me - I will be hoppin' with the gals from weScrap today- they have great mini album that I am sure will be awesome!

Happy Day, everyone!!!