"My Favorite Aunt" Kit

Yippee! August was my month to make a kit at TM! I never used to like taking on this task but I'm really enjoying it now... maybe a little too much actually. I always have way to much stuff and seem to be going in a million different directions. I simply cannot help loving multiple patterns and colors on a page. The kit turned out to be a scrumptious combination of kitschy patterns and cozy colors, reminiscent of cabins, quilts and all things campy. With so many of the papers being double sided, there were so many options it was so hard for me to showcase all of the components of the kit. In the end I did what worked with my pictures and hoped that people would see the value of this kit on their own. I ended up with four 12x12 LOs, two 8.5x11 LOs and what I hope will be two cards (yet to be completed). Pretty sweet! I also really tried to only use what was in the kit, including only your basic tool kit. No dies, no Glimmer mist, only a little bit of ink and a couple printed sentiments. (Note: this was really more so a constraint of trying to craft at my home rather than in my crop room (still at Mom's) and not some sort of highfalutin scheme.) Here's a sneak peak of "My Favorite Aunt":

Actual LOs will be posted in the store at the beginning of the week as well as on the TM blog.

A Birthday Card to Finish the Week

Here is my last card from my Whack-a-Stack with Jen. I'm thinking it will turn out to be a birthday card for Bella as her birthday is in October and I'll be teaching and well, let's be realistic, crafty will become a distant memory. I had fun designing a little sentiment for the front using Microsoft Word; I swear I use that program for everything! Helpful hint: buy mismatched envelopes at Hallmark for a buck. You get approximately 25 envelopes depending on the bunch and then you can make your cards to suit. It saves the frustration of trying to find an envelope that fits your beautiful, handmade card after the fact and it's super cheap. The first Kidz Kamp at TM is tomorrow - hope we have a blast!

Side note: We will be flying home from Vegas today. Sad face.

Swinging from the Chandeliers... In Vegas!!!

Today is Mom's birthday and we are celebrating in Vegas. I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures from the actual day (I'm really writing this before we have even left) to post and scrap when we get back. For now here's a little card that I made for Mama. She loves pink and bling so I put a little of both on the card. The interior reads: Hope you find yourself swinging from many chandeliers! There are also a few sweet sentiments written inside but because we were to be in Vegas, I simple could not help putting something a little more Vegas-ee than sweet. I bet we're having a blast right now :)

Carried on Butterfly Wings

This is a card for two of my dear teacher friends who recently lost their son only a few months into his new life. He was born with a heart condition and subsequently suffered a stroke. I still cannot fathom this tragedy but I believe that everything happens for a reason. Instead of a funeral, they had a celebration of life at the Devonian Botanical Gardens. In their invitation they expressed their desire for everyone to come and enjoy a moment of peace and tranquility with their loved ones as time together is a precious thing. I could not be at the service but I will be sending this card in the mail and David and I still intend to visit the gardens for the very reason they expressed. The interior of the card reads:

As a butterfly graces our lives with a moment's fragile beauty, so too has {your baby's} presence blessed you, and those that surround you. May you find peace and joy with each butterfly that passes, knowing that {your baby} lives on in the hearts of all they touched.

Thank you for reminding me of the importance of love and relationships and to be grateful for the life and time I am given little baby. You have shown your parents a love they never knew and reminded us all of an important lesson.

All Little Girls Love Bunnies... Don't They?

As promised, another card. This one is meant for a new baby girl. I did a baby boy one with the same sentiment on the front and I loved it so I made one for a girl. My bestie Kirsten (K2, yes I have a best friend with the same name, no it's not weird) is pregnant with her first child. She doesn't know what she's having but if she has a girl I'm sure her girl will like bunnies, right? I still think the card is lacking but I'm not sure what I want to do yet... think, think, think.

I used my new We R Memory Keepers SEWeasy. It was fab. I actually have a blister on my pointer finger from forcing some embroidery on another page earlier in the week so I was very grateful to have this handy lil' feller.

Whacking Another Stack... or Small Pile

Well Jen (my SIN) came over for dinner and crafting last night. As per usual, she was much more productive than me.That girl really knows how to whack... a stack that is! She made some adorable cards. Sixteen to be exact. My most favorite is the card using the high school cut-outs that I forced her to use as a wedding card. I'm totally going to copy :)

I was crafting at my usual snails pace but enjoying every minute of it. I finished 5 cards; a triumph! Here's a really cute one that someone (I'm not sure who; David, Jen, Heather and I were all in on the action at one point) came up with. Everyone seemed to think that they were squid. Only once I started to put my card in an envelope did I notice/remember that they are jellyfish. Ugh! Meh. Still cute.

I designed and printed the little quote in a circle using a liberated ink splat from Google. The paper is ancient Bam Pop, I believe, and the other circles are a cut Hambly transparency.

I'm hoping to post one of my cards each day these week. I craft so slowly, I have to drag it out :) Plus, I'm going to Vegas this week so I'll have these posts ready ahead of time. Yeppers! Vegas with my mom and sister - we are going to have such a good time! I can't wait!

Unconditional Support

I allude to the fact that life has not been sunshine and daisies for the past year quite often. Those of you that have the pleasure of hanging out with Debbie Downer herself get more than an earful more often than you would like I'm sure. But I'm very lucky to have people in my life who have not turned their back on me. They continue to ask me to do things, even when I constantly turn them down (for reasons I will not explain at this time). They offer advice and are patient when I'm quick to defend or are hypersensitive. I have so many of these beautiful people in my life. I am eternally grateful for their friendship, I try to make sure I tell them I love them whenever I get the opportunity. And I really do love them. Not just in jest. They warm my heart and keep me strong. If I haven't told you I love you today - I do. Thank you for making my life that much brighter.

One of those wonderful people is, of course, Amanda. Love you Bear!

Kidz Kamp at TM

I'm really excited to be teaching Kidz Kamp at TM again this year. Our first crack at it went so well last year we decided to give it another go. Apparently KC is cooking up something for the winter as well... She asked if I would be okay with that. Ha! what can I say? She had me at "kids". I love 'em. And they usually think I'm alright too :) So here are a few sneak peaks of the upcoming classes but you can find more info here and here.

Canada Day in the Hood

I love the Millwoods' Canada Day celebration. Most of the years David and I have been together we have walked down the hill at the corner of 23rd Avenue and 66th street and enjoyed as good a fireworks show as I have ever seen. It's delightful and snuggly - what could be better? So that's what the two of us did. I tried to get a few shots with my iPhone. You can tell I had to take a couple by the apprehensive look creeping across David's face :) When we got home the furry bambinos were so scarred by the noise of the fireworks and so happy to see us. Awww...

"Kitty, Kitty", *Sniff, Sniff*

I made it! School is officially out, my 186 report cards are complete and I have lugged all of my stuff out of the school... and most is still sitting in my car. It was a challenging semester (I may have mentioned this one or two times before...*wink*) but I got through, and more importantly, most of my students got through with me. I don't really want to get into anymore "shop talk" but I do want to say that I will miss my school and the kids. There is a (brilliant) glimmer of hope that I will be back at the same school working full-time, if on a temp, next year. With the hundreds of brilliant teachers who are out of work here in Edmonton, I will NOT complain! So here is a picture of me on my last day of school, bedraggled and sad looking in multiple facets. If I am back next year I will not have a classroom of my own anymore but will be forced to wander the school on a cart like a gypsy. Oh government, can't we just have a few more dollars so that I can have a classroom, as well as less than 35 students? Asking too much? I figured. So long delightful classroom! But what's more is that I have these ubber fancy nails to lighten the mood. I got these hilariously gaudy but irresistibly "me" "Salon Effects by Sally Hansen the other day and I can't get enough! Mom and I have been on multiple missions to find more - no shocker that I have to race the 14 year olds to the shelves - they're really hard to get :) These ones are called "Kitty, Kitty" which makes them all the more better!