Some New Projects...

I had a great time playing with my December kit from The Scrapping Nook! I loved working with the Foofala Indian Summer line when it is getting so cold outside. I also broke out the UTEE for the first time in a long time...I'm addicted again!




I had this photo of Simon blowing out the candle on his cake on his fourth birthday. I thought it would be a great twist to journal about what I wish for his future instead of what he may have wished for (probably chocolate treats) when he blew out his candle.

To make the chipboard owl, I inked the edges of the Maya Road Owl with brown ink an drew in a beak with my journaling pen. I then heat embossed three times with UTEE. This gave it a neat pottery kind of feel. For the eyes I added two little orange buttons.



I also made this little mini book using the lyrics from the song "We are Family". This project is going to be our next free download on ScrapAbility and I hope many of you will visit and download it. I then hope that you post your creations because I want to see them! You can look for this class to be posted hopefully by the end of the week! Also, while you are there, would you mind answering a couple of polls we have posted at the moment under "ScrapAbility News"? We are getting ready to launch some new classes for January and would love to know the direction you would hope to see ScrapAbility go in the future. We want to offer the classes you are looking for (obviously) and are willing to find the most amazing teachers to teach them! Thanks so much for checking it out!

PS. Two posts in one day...this has to be a record!

Where does the time go?

I just can't seem to keep this blog up to date! You would think that I have tons to talk about but I don't. Life just seems to take hold and before you know it, it's December.

I'm working on my layouts with my Novemeber kit from The Scrapping Nook! I love the paper we were given this month. I would love to post a peek but I haven't taken a photo of the one layout I have completed thus far.

November brought some changes on the scrapping front for me. After one glorious year designing for an amazing company, they decided that they were not going forward into 2008 with a design team. I was extremely sad that I wouldn't be a part of the team anymore but Cosmo Cricket and the people behind it are wonderful. I was so honoured to be a part of the team and will value the friendships I have made as a result of being on such a close knit team. Thanks Cosmo!

Wendy at Gel-a-tins brought out some amazing new Holiday stamps and I'm still in the process of making my Christmas cards as we sit here today (insert embarassed face here). Both sets of stamps are a build-your-own set and very versatile! I love the Holiday postage one. So vintage looking! I hear that Wendy has some awesome stuff up her sleeve for CHA winter as well! Can't wait for those designs. Creativity will be oozing I'm sure!

I took my first exam for the Web Design certificate I'm enrolled in at the local college here. I'm loving the program so far. I'm learning all kinds of things I didn't know before. Before I know it I will be a web design goddess! :) It was so weird walking through the halls of the college on the night of my exam. At 35, I feel young but man did I feel old walking those halls. My mom said that people probably just thought I was a teacher. Thanks mom!

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Steel City Safari here in Hamilton. It was an amazing show put on by the Reptile store and a bunch of other community zoos and conservation organizations. There were amazing educational segments and the opportunity to get up close and personal with many animals. The kids had a blast. Grace was the usual dare devil and couldn't hold enough of the snakes and birds. These photos are her holding a couple of the snakes. She wasn't afraid one bit. In the photo with the funny face, Grace was told to make a face like she is afraid. Can you believe it? That snake was on her head! Simon wouldn't even touch the snakes. He did however touch the shells of the turtles (when they weren't looking). *snicker*



Christmas is in full swing here. I put the trees up on the weekend of the Toronto Santa Claus parade. That is my tradition. I love the trees so much so I try to optimize the length of time that they are up at our house. Now that we are in the new house I have room for both trees. One is actually in our bedroom since we have this really nice arched window in it and it looks so pretty from the front of the house at night. I will take some photos and post at a later date (Read: don't hold your breath).

I'm so thankful that my friend Patti's husband Ron made it through his surgery fine and is home now on the road to recovery. You are doing an amazing job my friend. What an amazing nurse you turned out to be! You had absolutely no need to doubt yourself and your abilities! The patience of a saint I tell you...that handbasket is going to be empty for quite a while! ;)

Heavy Heart and some New Layouts

I have been spending the last week consumed with thoughts and well wishes for my dear friend Patti and her husband. The surgery will be on Tuesday and I'm hoping (and yes even praying) that the surgery will go well with no complications. You are always on my mind Patti and I'm here for you whenever you need me. Please take care of yourself.

This month I had the privilege of working with the Daisy D's Autumn line for my DT work at The Scrapping Nook. I love this paper and I feel a couple more layouts coming on. I created these two layouts with the kit.

The first one was a labour of love, cutting out all the flowers from the patterned paper but I love the final look. It's funny how we as scrappers, always have a favourite layout and how that favourite changes all the time. I admit that these two new layouts are my new favourites!




The second layout is my family being goofy. I had to laugh as someone commented, "that picture of your husband must make you proud" on one of my message board sites. It's true, it's one of my favourite photos of my husband and he didn't want me to make a layout about it. I was planning on using it all on it's own but thought this was a bit more subtle. I love what a great husband and father he is and how he is willing to wear the crown if his daughter (and son for that matter) demands it.



On the ScrapAbility front, we are getting some new classes ready and should have some up for registration in the coming week or two. Watch out for some great project classes and a Photoshop class!

Catching up...a bit

Well...I guess my good intentions have gone to who knows where. I really do try and update the blog more often but before I know it a month has gone by.

We are settling into the new house well although Grace still says frequently that she misses the old house and her friends. It breaks my heart to hear her sad like that. She seems to have settled in well at the school and she likes her new teacher.

The middle of October was busy for me. I had the Crop for Kids in London. I had a fantastic time and the event seemed to go amazingly well. Kudos to Sarah and the gang for pulling off an amazing weekend that raised thousands for the Children's Hospital! I'm honoured to have been even a small part of it all. The women I met that weekend were all fantastic and I even managed to meet a couple of people I only knew from online so that was fun. All of my supplies made it to my classroom and the classes seemed to over well which was a relief.

I have the honour of being a part of The Scrapping Nook's DT. Last month I had Dream Street Papers to work with. I decided I would do a canvas with some of my paper. It took a long time to finally finish it as it was a work in progress but I'm happy with the final result. I hope my friend Patti liked it too (she's the owner of the store).

I also decided to enter a Prima contest this month as I already had the paper that was required to enter and I was dying to try it out. I had a lot of fun working with the Paintables. For the blue and pink flowers I painted them using my watercolour pencils. I used texture paste on the red flower and painted it with red acrylic paint. I accented all the flowers with my glitter pen for a bit of shimmer and outlined the black outlines on the red flower with my black Glaze pen. I'm very happy with the outcome of the layout. Loving the Kraft cardstock lately.

Halloween has now come and gone. The kids had a great time. My sister's kids, the twins, came out as well to go Trick or Treating with us. There were many great displays in the neighbourhood so it looks like we have some competition! We love to decorate the house for Halloween and there were a few in the neighbourhood that even had haunted houses in their garages! It was a lot of fun walking around with the kids. Grace was a bit timid at a few of the scarier houses and I heard her say to Simon once, "You go first Simon because you are braver than me". I love my kids!

Updates Galore!

Two times in one month! Now I'm getting somewhere! So...what's been happening with me? The short answer is lots!


On July 24th we moved into our new house. We are absolutely in love with it! Almost all the boxes are unpacked and we are getting to the point where we almost feel brave enough to put holes in the wall! It's funny to me because I never had this problem before. I guess this is the right house for us because I just want it to be perfect. Our appliances are finally installed, grass is growing, towel bars are up, and the inevitable search for some new furniture has begun!


I will post photos of the house soon. It's much nicer now that we have grass. I just have to get out there and take the photos!


We have been spending a lot of time at the Binbrook Conservation area the past few weeks. It's just minutes from our house and the kids love it! The beach is perfect and the shallow water is corded off. They also have a great splash pad. We bought a season pass so that we can go whenever we feel the urge for some sun and sand.






Last week we took the kids on their first camping trip. This was our first time camping since Grace was born six years ago! Of course, it had to be the worst two days of the summer. The kids had a blast just the same. We didn't go far so that if something happened and we couldn't get the kids to sleep in the tent we wouldn't have far to come home. They loved sleeping in the tent and roasting marshmallows on the fire. The hammock that Sarah (my sister) demanded we put up, turned out to be a tremendous hit. We also tried "fishing". I put that in quotes because we mostly just threw the line into the water. The kids fishing rods didn't even have hooks on them.





On Wednesday we went to the African Lion Safari. We decided that we would drive our car through the animal reserve so that we could stop where we wanted and move on at our own pace. It was a good idea I think, since the kids were so excited and very loud! It wasn't too hot so the animals were pretty active. I got some great shots of the animals too. My favourites are the monkeys (Baboons) and Giraffes.





I have to say though, that I was very bothered by some of the patrons of the safari that day. This is the problem with parks like this. People just don't think about the animals' well being. Many people were feeding the animals through their window and I even saw a teenager pull on a baby camel's ear! I was hoping that the camel would spit on him but he didn't. I left feeling sad for the animals as I usually do when I take the kids to places like this.


On the creative front, I have completed a couple of layouts for The Scrapping Nook where I am honoured to be a part of the design team. This month we worked with the yummy Cherry Arte paper. I have also been finishing up my projects for the Canadian Scrapbooking Crop for Kids coming up in October. This is a Cross-Canada event for an amazing cause, Children's Hospitals.




Those of you that know me, know that this is a cause close to my heart. Had we not had an amazing Children's Hospital near us when Simon was born, he wouldn't be here with us today. The doctors and nurses that work in these hospitals are amazingly talented at what they do and I as a nurse bow down to them for all that they do every day! I don't know how they do it but I'm so thankful that they do.


Saturday marked our annual Klunder Family Reunion. My dad has 10 brothers and sisters and most of them have large families as well. This yearly event is the one time a year that a lot of us see each other. We have to wear name tags now to keep all the 2nd and 3rd generation straight! Grace and Simon had a good time although we couldn't stay long since I had to work nights at the hospital.


Speaking of hospitals, we had a family outing to our local hospital last night. Simon fell off the swing at daycare yesterday and got a cut on the back of his head. When Bern called us to tell us about it, it didn't sound so bad but when Simon came home and we got a closer look we knew it needed stitches. He wasn't too happy about it but he ended up with 4 staples in his head by the time we left. Other than that he is doing completely fine.


We have two new classes up for registration at ScrapAbility. Please stop by and check out the classes by the lovely Michelle Engel and a new teacher at ScrapAbility, Pamela Mosby. Both have designed amazing projects for you. We also have a new free project available for download in our forum. It was created by Pamela for us and the project will be part of an upcoming class at ScrapAbility. Downloading the project will give you a good idea of how we deliver classes at ScrapAbility. Plus, as an added bonus for registering on the site this week, we are giving away free classes to two lucky new registrants in our forum! Hope to see you there!

Phew! That was a lot! Hopefully I will get better at all of this!

Exciting news!!

It has been announced and now I can share some great news. My two very dear friends at The Scrapping Nook, Patti and Elia, have asked me to join their design team! I'm super excited to be a part of this team. How wonderful to be on a team with your friends, working for your friends! This site has become my home. It's a place where I can go to chat with friends and get amazing inspiration. There are always wonderful challenges going on!

Patti and Elia are also planning an amazing getaway weekend next May....Destination Create!! You MUST check it out! I'm so excited that some of my friends will be coming from across Canada...it will be my first time meeting some of them!

I made these layouts lately with the Prima Just Us Collection available in the online store at the Nook.

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I feel the need today to talk about something else. I believe that everyone should be allowed to share an opinion in this world. It makes for great conversations. I live my life trying to do things that I think are right. I have many strong beliefs. I support companies that in turn support humanitarian efforts and stand for excellent business ethics.

There are places that I won't shop at because they stand for things that I don't agree with (ie. Walmart). There are products that I won't use because of how the products are made or tested (ie. veal, known sweat shop use, unethical business practices). Recently a company that I was involved with chose to do business with a company that I felt lacked business ethics. I spoke my mind saying that I personally wouldn't support such a business, sighting my reasons and the fact that it was my opinion only. Some agreed with me and some disagreed. It was all okay because they too have opinions and they don't have to agree with me. I was quickly banned from where I posted my comments. I assume it was because I didn't agree with the choices that these people made. They were not posted publicly...it was a private area. I was merely stating an opinion and trying to get people to look at things differently.

I am hurt for so many reasons. I am hurt because a place that I loved and helped build up to what it was had now turned it back on me. My best friends in the world came from that place. I shared many ideas about how I thought the place could grow and be even better than it was before. I gave monthly ideas and support. I'm hurt because when I made the difficult decision to move on, I gave them more time at their request and in the end, I was merely deleted...without a word of thanks or a good bye. It makes me sad. It's like I can't go home anymore. I feel like I'm looking through a window but I'm no longer allowed in. I'm not saying I can't come in. I can...it's just that I no longer feel welcome. And that is what makes me sad.

I'm moving on...I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks to all of my friends who support me and understand.