Christmas video

Hello there. This year Shane and I decided to send out a little video with pictures of the kids instead of Christmas cards. We have family out of town who don't get to see the kids often so we thought that it would be a fun way to wish everyone Merry Christmas and update them on how much the kids have grown. Next year I am hoping to be on top of things and send out both cards and another video but for now everyone will have to be happy with this:

I hope that all of you are enjoying your families and traditions as you prepare for the coming holidays. Don't forget to enjoy the ordinary daily activities that are so easy to overlook as we get stressed out about getting the shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking, cards etc ready. Take time to enjoy each others' company during all the hustle and bustle. Have a great night. Thanks for stopping by.

The Party was a Success!

Hello. I hope that everyone out there in blogland had a great weekend. Yesterday we had Chloe's birthday party with her friends. We went to the local recreation centre and had a sports spectacular party. The kids got to play games in the gym for an hour and then we spent an hour in a party room, dancing, snacking, and doing crafts. Everyone had a good time. Chloe wasn't quite herself. She was quiet and had some aches and pains which slowed her down a little in the gym. I think that she is fighting off a cold or something. I hope she gets over it before her actual birthday next weekend. Here are some photos of the highlights of the party.

I stayed up way too late on Friday night getting things finished up for the loot bags. I decided to make personalized notebooks for the girls (which I had ready at the beginning of the week). Then at the last minute I got the brilliant idea to make each of them a personalized ornament for their Christmas trees. I shouldn't have left that until the last minute (note to self... come up with these ideas weeks ahead of time). They almost didn't get completed but in the end I ended up coming back to them and finishing them up. I am glad that I stuck with it. I am pleased with how they turned out.

Well, it is late so I am going to head off to bed. We are moving things around in the house to make room for the tree. As part of it we are moving my craft room (which we planned on doing, just not right now). I am going to need the energy to move all of my things.

Have a great night. Thanks for stopping by.

Mojo Monday card on Wednesday

I finally got my card done for this week's Mojo Monday sketch (#167). I used this sketch to get one of my Christmas cards done. I am really behind on my cards since I have been spending my time getting things ready for Chloe's birthday party this week.

Anyway, back to the sketch! I decided to use the square sketch for my card. The focal image is another Stamping Bella one. Other than the stamp, everything else used on the card are pieces from my stash (I am trying to use up the old stuff before buying the newer supplies). Here is the card.

In other news, I am starting my December Daily album today (even though the foundation is not yet 100% complete). We are also getting quite a bit of snow for the 1st day of December. It makes it feel more like the holidays are coming. The kids have enjoyed playing in it.

I hope every one's week is going well. Time to go and get dinner started for the kids (and me--I am starving tonight). Don't forget to tune into the House of 3 web show tonight. It should be a great one, the teasers look amazing. 

Bye for now. Thanks for stopping by.

Finally a Christmas card done

Today was a productive day. I went out and got the grocery shopping done before the chaos of the weekend. I really hate having to make a trip to the grocery store on the weekend. You can't stop to look at anything without getting someone's cart in the butt! I also finished up this Christmas card featuring a Stamping Bella stamp by Mo Manning.

I am happy with the soft almost vintage feel of the card. The picture isn't really very good, I took it this evening after it had gotten dark out. I think this is going to be a recurring theme in my cards this year (provided I get any more done of course). I also started working on the journals that I want to put into Chloe's loot bags. I got the more mundane job of cutting all of the card stock to the right size as well as the cover papers. Next comes putting it together and adding some fun embellishments. Hopefully I will have one finished in the next day or two to post here.

On a personal note, we had parent/teacher conferences tonight and they went very well. All three teachers were very happy with the kids. They are all polite, helpful, and well mannered (which makes a parent very happy since we all know that they aren't always like that at home!). They are all doing well with their work. Of course there are a few things to work on but I would be concerned if there wasn't.

Well, that is all for tonight. Time to put Liam to bed. Have a great night. 

Busy, Busy, Busy...

This time of year is always a very busy one. Besides all the preparation for Christmas, our family has 3 birthdays for immediate family (my wonderful Mom's, my niece's, and my daughter's) that all fall in the span of 1 week. I am trying not to stress over the fact that I am very ill prepared right now. I am trying to get organized for Chloe's birthday party next weekend. Chloe and I are going to make some little journals to give the girls who are attending. Still thinking about what else to add to the party favour bags. I am going to try to use up some of the supplies that I have been hoarding. It should also help to keep the costs down and will be a nice "from the heart" touch. I also want to make a few things to decorate the party room where we are having her big bash.

I have been working on getting some Christmas cards done. It is slow going since I don't really get a lot of time to work on them. I have one almost ready to go, it only needs one last finishing touch. Hopefully I will be able to get a picture of it posted by the end of the week. I am taking some of the pressure off regarding the card making since Shane and I worked on putting together something to send out electronically to family members who are out of town. We had a ball making it and hopefully everyone will enjoy receiving it.

I am also working on a few more Christmas related home decor items. Hopefully they will get done in time for Christmas. If not, well I guess there is always next year!

Well, I am off to get some more work done and then I am going to tune in to the House of 3 live web show (it doesn't start until 10pm where I am so hopefully I will still be awake). Have a great night.

TGIF

I am really happy that Friday is here. I hate to wish away time since it goes by all too quickly without any nudging from us. Although it feels like another week has flown by, I am exhausted and so is everyone else here. Poor Chloe struggled to stay awake through dinner tonight. Hopefully a good night sleep and a little extra sleep tomorrow will do us all some good.

We don't have anything in particular planned for this weekend but I would like to get some good quality family time in this weekend. I am hoping that the weather will be nice and maybe we can get out and enjoy some fresh air before it is too cold and we just want to stay in. I am also hoping to snap some good pictures that I can include with our Christmas cards.

On that note, I am also hoping to be able to set aside some time for creativity and getting some of those cards and maybe some decor items finished (well, the cards will just be getting started).

Well, I am going to go and join Shane and the kids. They are all snuggled watching a movie on Netflix. Bye for now.

This Makes Me Happy...

Just chilling, spending some quiet, quality family time together. It does my heart good to see the kids all cuddling up with Shane. He loves it so much, I think you can actually see his heart swell when he gets moments like this!

This is what life is all about. Here's to quiet Sundays with family.

21 Challenge Update

Hello there. I have been quite absent on the blog scene lately, sorry about that. The 21 challenge isn't going that well. I am feeling discouraged by it but I think that is stemming from feeling discouraged about everything lately. Life is getting me down lately. I feel like everyone and everything is working against me.  I am taking steps to make improvements though, so I am sure that after I weather the storm I may get to see some rainbows. I know that there are a lot of people out there who are MUCH worse off than I am. I really shouldn't complain at all. I am just feeling run down and once I get back to normal everything will be fine.

Nothing creative happening around here lately (except my 21 challenge journal). Everything I touch lately seems to go to hell in a hand basket (ironic considering that is what I am focusing this challenge on). We are having company this weekend so I am sure that I won't get any creating done at all. I am going to try to get some work on the challenge journal done though. Should be a good weekend though so I am going to try not to let anything get the better of me.

Gotta go pick up my hubby. Night, night. I hope everyone else is having better luck with their challenges than I am.

The "21 Challenge" starts today

Hello there. I have been a very bad blogger. Sorry about that. I started out strong and then things seemed to go downhill. Liam got sick and needed a lot of time so I couldn't get anything done during the day. Unfortunately, he wasn't sleeping well at night, which meant that I wasn't sleeping well at night. I have been so tired that I haven't had any energy to be creative at all. The lack of creative mojo should hopefully stop today though.

 Today I am starting the 21 challenge with Rhonna Farrer. I had a hard time narrowing down what I was going to work on. I had so many things that I felt would benefit if  they changed. Everything seemed so big and vague so I finally decided that I was going to work on putting my insecurities aside and just get down to the business of  being creative. I am always afraid that what I make won't be good enough for anyone to see. I let that fear stop me from creating. It doesn't, however, stop me from buying everything I see and like. It was time that I started using the products that I have spent so much time and money collecting.

I am hoping that by the end of the 21 days that I will have more confidence in my abilities and that I will feel free to create at my leisure and for no one but myself. I hope that everyone else embarking on this challenge meets their goals and learns something about themselves.

Good luck to all of us!

One of those days...

Have you ever had one of those days where everything around you just seems to be in chaos? I am having one of those days (maybe more than one). My kids are grumpy and being really nasty with one another. As a mother I hate to hear them being like that. I know that siblings fight but it just seems like it is happening a lot. Maybe it is all the craziness in the air surrounding Halloween. All I know is that I need a change.

Rhonna Farrer is getting ready to embark on another round of the 21 Day Challenge. I am thinking that now might be a good time to participate. The only problem (if you want to call it that) is what habit or trait to work on changing. There are so many things about myself that I would like to be different. I suppose I may have several challenges in my future! You can find info on the 21 Day Challenge HERE and HERE.

I am off to go and pick my hubby up from the train and contemplate what trait I want to work on for the challenge. Thanks for stopping by.

Anabel Lulu and one handsome little boy

I have been trying to get this post done for a few days now. I was having trouble getting the images sized properly. First they were too small and then they were too big! With three children (and a husband) who always seem to need me as soon as I sit in front of the computer, it has taken me a few days to get the kinks worked out. At least I hope they are worked out. Of course there will inevitably be some tweaking here and there as I get more familiar with all this stuff.

A couple of weeks ago it was my little sister's (well, we aren't so little anymore) birthday. I have been trying to be more disciplined lately and get cards made for special occasions instead of going out and buying them. For her card I used the Anabel Lulu stamp from Stamping Bella. I used my copic markers to colour her in and used UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) to make the aged cracked look.

The next picture is a close up of the crackle.

My sister has also come to expect some new Christmas ornaments for her tree every birthday. These are the ones that I made her this year.

Now for the handsome little boy! My little man decided that he wanted to get his hair cut and that he wanted it to be spiked. I don't remember telling him that he could be old enough to make these decisions on his own but, I decided to go along with it anyway. We took him to get it done on the weekend since picture day at school was today. It turned out really well. He looks so cute and his father loves it because it is so short. He was even up for a little picture taking and was full of ideas about how he should pose. 

I am loving the fruit punch moustache!! Good thing he didn't have any before school this morning.

Well, that is it for tonight. Off to put my daughter to bed and then maybe I will try to catch an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles. Have a great night!

New Goodies...

I had a great day today with my Mom at CreativFestival. I have the best Mom in the world. Not only did she spend hours walking around with me but, she bought me some new goodies for Christmas and let me have them today! How great is that? I love you Mom. Thanks for keeping me company today. I have several new stamps that I can't wait to ink up and start making some cards with. I think that some Christmas card making is in my future.

I also spent some time tonight making some changes to the blog. The new background and header were purchased from the amazing House of 3. I am not the greatest at all this computer stuff but my husband is a computer genius. Thanks honey for taking the time to help me sort all of this stuff out. Your support means the world to me.

Well, I think that I will go and ink up some of my new stamps before I head off to bed for the night. Have a great night.

Deb

A First Time For Everything

Well, here I am, making my first blog post. I have been thinking about starting my own blog for some time now but have always chickened out. I have to say that this is way outside of my comfort zone so we will see how it goes. I have a lot to learn so this blog will take shape slowly but, hopefully it will be a fulfilling endeavour for me. I hope that anyone visiting this blog will get at least a little inspiration here.

I think that I will keep this first post short tonight since it is already midnight and I need to get some beauty sleep. I am off the the CreativFestival downtown (Toronto) tomorrow. I will be dragging my Mom with me (maybe I will be able to convince her to give card making a try this year).

Here's to taking a leap and trying something new!