Too much!

Happy New Year! 

I hope you all had a great holiday season - I know I did!  I think I enjoyed it a bit too much!

I don't know about you but I am starting out this year with an extra 10lbs. 

That added to what I wanted to lose from last year has me joining Weight Watchers online. 

If it's good enough for Jennifer Hudson it's good enough for me!

What I really need right now is wardrobe boost - something that makes me feel good and hides my spare tire.

I really like this top from White House Black Market.

Until Next Time!
Marie

Crocheted Flower Pins

I have been so inspired by all the woolly  handmade stuff I've seen on Pinterest that I had to join in!

Check out these beautiful (if I say so myself) handmade crocheted flower pins that I've been making.

They are so pretty in real life and I've made them in tons of colours and fibres.

I've sold a few at a local craft sale and given a bunch away to friends for gifts. 

If you'd like to purchase one they will be available at Scrap Arts this weekend or you can email me and I can ship one (or two) out to you.  To see more photos click on the page above.
Until Next Time!
Marie

How to tie a scarf?

It's scarf season!

I often get asked how I tie my scarf and I don't know...I just do it!

But I wear it the same way all the time so it got me thinking of other ways to wear a scarf.

I came across this video and thought I'd share here for those of you that are visual learners.

Until Next Time!
Marie

My Guilty Pleasure...

I don't watch much reality TV but I do enjoy the Bachelor/Bachelorette series.

The next season starts tomorrow night - Monday May 23rd - with a new Bacheloreette (a finalist from the last Bachelor season).

I can't wait!!

I watch the show on PVR most times but when I get the chance to watch it live I follow along with the live blog and I like to join the fantasy pool on CTV.

There are some great prizes and if you haven't checked it out yet HERE is the link.

Until Next Time!
Marie

What I'm Up to Monday

I'm not up to much today....

I just got back from a week in sunny Bermuda where I relaxed and caught up on my Kindle reading!

Check back later...I've got some Christmas stamping coming up!

Happy Birthday To ME!

Yesterday was my birthday - Happy Birthday to ME!

I told my hubby that I didn't want anything from him since I've just ordered myself a few new Nestie dies and a Tim Holtz stamp set.  That seemed like enough to me...

But apparently my generous Hubby thought I should have a little something extra.

This is what was waiting for me when I made my morning coffee.

I was very happy to find a new Coach Travel Purse and Makeup Bag!

I won't tell you how old I am but I am very happy to be having another birthday. 

After the year I've had - battling breast cancer - I deserve a little "extra".

Friday Update

Sorry I have nothing to show you today.

I'm afraid the blog posts will be few and far between for the next little while.

I had  my reconstruction surgery yesterday and although I'm a bit sore I am recovering nicely.  I wish I could say the drugs are helping but I haven't been able to take anything without getting nauseous so it's just Tylenol Extra Strength for me.

Please continue to check in. 

Tomorrow (Saturday) I'll be sharing a new tool that I picked up this week and for Twin Tuesday I've got a CASE for you.

What I'm Up to Monday

This week is going to fly by - BOTH of my kids go back to school on Tuesday and then I'm having surgery on Thursday. 

It's nothing major - really - it's actually GOOD surgery.

You see last year I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, had a mastectomy, underwent 6 rounds of chemo treatments, 35 radiation treatments and now it's time for reconstruction.

This Thursday will be the start of the reconstruction phase for me - which can take up to 9 months - and then I'll have a final surgery (sometime in the Spring) to finish "things" off.

So I'll be busy until Thursday doing stuff around the house while I can still lift things - laundry, groceries, Costco, more garage cleaning, laundry and taxi-ing the kids around.

So that's what I'm up to today and until Wednesday.

Wish me luck!

Thanks a bunch!

Last Friday I had mastectomy surgery and have been homebound "recovering".

It's been hard for me to not do anything but rest & recover but until I get back full mobility (my left arm has been affected) I'm forced to take time off from stamping and crafting (not to mention laundry, dishes, driving etc..).

During this past week I've had some great friends drop by with coffee, feed me and take me out.

As well I've had some deliveries of flowers, magazines, chocolate and other special gifts! Even dog food (thanks Claire!).

I want to thank everyone for their kind support and thoughtfulness! THANKS A BUNCH!

From Heather and Aly:From Jim:

From Zona & Gerry:

From Claire:
From Shelley & the ScrapArts Chicks (Naomi & Dee):

From Betty:

I'm Blocked!

I got next month's Layin' Rubber Design Clique images but I've got stampers block!

It's not a case of missing mojo - it's that I don't have time to even think about stamping right now! I'm so behind - or so it seems - with all the Christmas prep.

When I do try to think of some ideas for the January images nothing comes to me!

I'm hoping it will be better after the big day....or maybe after the holidays....

Does this happen to you? What do you do when you're blocked?

Question?

Just a quick post....

Today I'm going to teach my last Christmas Card Camp before the holidays. No new cards just the ones I made a while ago. See them HERE and HERE.

I've been running around busy with the kids' and dogs' (check out their blog HERE) that I haven't had any time to create any new projects that I can post right now.

However I have been shopping and have lots of new "toys" to play with. Once this class is over I'm taking some time off (going to Bermuda on vacation and then there's Christmas!) but when I get back I'm going to try and create more by participating in Challenges and working on Design Team stuff. Please bear with me while I shift my focus from classes back to creating for fun.

When I first started my blog I used to post a weekly question - something that made you go "MMMM". So while I'm contemplating my change in direction I'm going to leave you with something to ponder...

Would you accept a much less enjoyable job paying twice what you make now? If you received the same pay regardless of your job, what kind of work would you do? If you were financially independent, would you continue to work? If not, what would you do?

NO comment necessary but if you want to share your thoughts or comment on my new blog backgrounds please go ahead!

Thanks for stopping by today...

Blog Candy Time!!

I haven't done any Blog Candy for a while and I thought I would since I have a couple of "extra" items that could use a new home! Yes - shopping without my book again!!

So over the next little while I'll be doing Blog Candy giveaways - no schedule, no plan, no warnings - you'll just have to pop in or subscribe to find out about them.

Many people may ask - What is Blog Candy and why do Bloggers do it?

Blog Candy can be anything that anyone wants to give away.

Some bloggers do this to boost their hits, increase their memberships etc... I don't really see the benefit of that (it's not like I get paid per hit or anything and it's an inflated amount of visitors so not very helpful for traffic monitoring) but I like to do it to reward or "treat" my blog readers who check in with me regularly even though I've not been posting much lately!

So enough chit-chat and on to the CANDY!!!

Here's what's up for grabs:

This is one of the new Cuttlebug embossing folders called Floral Screen.

This giveaway is open to EVERYONE.

Please leave a comment to be entered in my Blog Candy giveaway and tell me where you're from (City, Country you live in now) and also what else besides papercrafts stuff you collect.

The winner will be drawn by random on Sunday, Sept 14th and posted on Monday morning.

Me....I have a bit of a PURSE problem!

I can't help myself...I think that I inherited this from my mom. She used to have matching purses and shoes and sometimes hats in every colour!

While back to school shopping I bought myself 3 new purses -

a Rust one

a RED one

and a HUGE Black Patent Tote!

I know those of you who know me will be scratching their heads and going - What?

Because I usually carry the same black purse around and very rarely change it.

I told you it was a problem....

ps. the purses are not part of the Blog Candy giveaway...

I know I HATE it too!

I haven't been posting much - I've been soooo busy with the kids' activities lately but I have a few more posts for today.

So please stayed tuned!

I really hate my blog layout right now but don't have the time to change it. Hopefully over the next few days, after I get all my photos uploaded, I can play with it and change the layout again.

Please bear with me...

I'm working on it....

I want to thank everyone for continuing to check on my blog.

I haven't been posting very much because my "real life" has been taking all my time and there is very little time left for creative breaks.

But soccer will be ending soon which will free up a lot of my time - I'm not only manager of my son's team but I'm the Age Group Coordinator for his age group as well!

I'm happy to say that the last of the swap packages went out today so the big swap is finally over but I'm working on some new projects to be shared soon.

If you've been popping in to see if I've uploaded the NEW CATTY swap cards please be patient. I'm working on it and hope to have that post ready for this weekend.

I'll be sure to send out an email to all the participants and let you know when it's up.

Thanks again for continuing to visit me!

Not much blogging...

It's Christmas Eve day and this will be my last post of 2007.

Sorry - I haven't been posting much. It's all the "busy-ness" of getting ready for the holidays and our family vacation. I'm happy to say that the gifts are all wrapped and the stocking stuffers sorted out. The tree is "stuffed" with presents underneath it! This year we really cut back but you wouldn't know it looking at the tree.

Tonight we're off to friends for our annual Christmas Eve Dinner. 14 of us in total - including 8 teenagers!

We'll be spending a quiet Christmas Day with my mother-in-law at our house with a sumptuous Prime Rib dinner (with Yorkshire puddings!). We all got tired of turkey years ago and I actually cannot remember the last time we had a whole turkey dinner it's been so long.

Right after Christmas Day will come the packing for our family vacation to sunny (but not too warm) California. This will involve lots of comments like "I have nothing to wear/I have nothing that fits/I can't leave home without it/and I've packed too much" from everyone in the family!

This morning I got up early and tried on my bathing suit. It still fits with room for a few more truffles too!

I haven't been stamping or crafting much but I have been colouring here and there. I've got a little collection of stamped images that people have sent me over the last year and images that I have stamped on white card stock. I keep them all in a SU! snap case and I like to take out a few at at time to colour. A little bit here and there when I have a few minutes to sit and relax - I do enjoy a good cup of tea and a colour! So now I have a nice little stash of coloured images to use for quick cards.

Well that's all from me for this post. Check back in the new year and I'll let you know what Santa got me and hopefully I'll have lots of photos of "stuff" to show you!

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving me your kind and generous comments!

Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Last Chance!

I cannot believe a week has past since I last blogged! Time is just passing me by....

I've been busy this week going through my stuff (would you believe I'm still organizing my craft room) and teaching classes. I planned out and made samples for these classes months ago but now they are on the schedule and being offered to customers. I'm getting better at planning classes, preparing supply & packing lists and then offering the classes over and over again. It's cut down on my "wasted" time in offering and running "one of kind" type of classes.

I haven't shared any photos of my "new" craft space with anyone yet because it is taking me soooo long to get it together. I have UNMOUNTED over 200 Stampin' Up! stamp sets and will start the tedius task of cataloguing them next. Once I get my stamp storage sorted out I'll have more space for all my other stuff. Right now my space is a mess!! All in one room but still a mess!!

This past week I taught One Sheet Wonder classes and an Explosion Box Album class. I also did a Chipboard Make & Take.

I have a Colouring class coming up on Thursday as well as an INK DEMO - I'm going to show how to stamp with White Stazon on cello bags to make Holiday treat bags.

I also have a "private" card making party scheduled for Friday night. I'm going to have to come up with some cards & tags for that. I promise to post all the samples here when I'm done!

In the meantime I want to remind everyone that Card Challenge #9 is still in effect but you only have until this Friday, November 30th to link up your card. This will be the LAST card challenge on my blog for this year. I'll be getting ready for the holidays and our winter vacation after that and will have even less time to blog!

I hope you find some time to stamp this week! If you do don't forget to try out my card challenge!

Bogged Down....

I am Bogged Down with other things and have no time to Blog much less stamp. But I thought I should post and let you all know that I'm still around and haven't forgotten about you.

I appreciate all the comments you've left and that you're still visiting my blog!

Here's an update on what's happening in "Marieville" for those of you that are interested....

I'm still working on getting my craft room (aka Den) re-organized.

I've now got 2 beautiful black/brown IKEA tables set up (with adjustable legs!).
Tomorrow I'll be ordering a rolling Craft Caddy that fits under my big table for all my embellishments.
And I've got my eye on a 2 drawer lateral filing cabinet that will fit under the other table. Good news is - the filing cabinet is on sale at Staples for almost $50 off regular price! Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to get it home...

I've also been working on hosting 2 e-swaps. I've posted 2 e-swaps on 2 separate groups - one swap is for Thank You cards and the other is for Christmas cards (this one using something red) - and the cards are coming in fast and furious.

What's an e-swap you might ask? Well I got this idea to swap emailed images of cards (with card recipes) instead of actually swapping physical cards (like in the usual card swap).

There are so many advantages to doing an e-swap:
1. You don't have to make a ton of cards - just make 1 orignal card that fits the criteria of the swap.
2. You can use your special/hoarded stuff since you're only making one card.
3. You don't have to rush out to the post office to mail your swaps AND there is no postage necessary!
4. Each card is watermarked with the participant's information.
5. The turnaround for this swap is super quick!
6. You can sign up right up to the last minute since nothing depends on the number of participants.

Sure you don't get an actual, physical card to have and hold but you can still get the inspiration from the card and the recipe to recreate the card BECAUSE I'm "swapping" out a WORD document to all the participants with all the cards and recipes sent in.

I'm so impressed with how the WORD document is turning out - if I do say so myself! It's looking like a Stampin' Up! Regional/Convention Project Document (if you've ever seen one of those you'll know what I'm talking about) or like a mini magazine with a theme.

I'm also impressed with the quality of the cards! There are so many talented ladies out there!

The other thing that's keeping me busy is the store where I work. All those classes that I designed projects for and shared on this blog earlier are happening now and I'm busy teaching customers!

Also, we got a new cash register in the store and I've taken on the challenge of programming it myself and setting up Cheat Sheets and training sessions for the other staff. This is just the first step in further automating the store. The next step will be entering inventory into the PC program, adding bar codes to everything, assigning PLUs and then linking that to the new register system! Coming from a computer programming/systems analyst background I'm really enjoying the "programming" part of this!

Well that's it for me for now. I really should go get some sleep because tomorrow is going to be crazy around here with all the fireworks (yes we have fireworks at Halloween out here in BC!) not to mention all the trick or treaters!

Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone! AND don't eat too much candy...

It's FINALLY happening!!!

I love to see photos of other people's stamp spaces and organization ideas.

For years I've been saving these photos on my computer just for the day when I can pull it all together for myself.

Finally that day has come!!!

I'm going to re-do my main floor den (that's where most of my stuff is stored anyway) and turn it into more of a better work area for me. Yipppeee!

Over the years I have taken steps to become more organized and have used some tips that I've found on the internet. Here's what I did to organize my accessories, my stamps and my cuttlebug stuff.

The only trouble is - except for those things I've shown you above - the rest of the stuff is all over my house. Here's a photo of the storage closet in my downstairs bathroom!

Now I'll be in just 1 room! No more dining room disasters for me!!

I'll be posting before and after photos when it's done.

The first thing on my list is to get rid of the big couch in the den! Then I can evaluate the space left and see what I can do about adding a new work surface - countertop or table?

If anyone has gone through something similiar and would like to share some tips/suggestions with me I'd really appreciate hearing them.

Paper Trimmer Review

I have 3 Fiskars track type blade trimmers (including the SU! one), I have the LARGE Fiskars rotary trimmer (bought it at Cosco years ago), and in July I bought the new SU! table top guillitine trimmer (it's the same as the TONIC one).

I like all my trimmers and can't seem to get rid of any of them.

I have to say that I LOVE the new SU! table top trimmer. I wasn't sure if I "needed" another paper cutter but now I have it out all the time and it's become my GO-TO trimmer. It cuts cleanly and thinly. It's precise and sharp every time I use it. It's perfect for cutting the SU! white paper that frays with the other trimmers, also for cutting photos without leaving marks, and for trimming up excess teeny bits on card layers.

I can cut up to 3 sheets of SU! cartdstock without trouble. The important thing to remember is to always push down on the plastic guard to hold the paper firmly before you push the blade down.

However, I will not give up on my other trimmers because they have their uses too.

My Fiskars Rotary blade trimmer is my work horse and I can cut more than 3 sheets of cardstock at a time. Depending on thickness I can cut up to 6 sheets at a time and it's great for class prep.

My Fiskars triple track blade trimmers are compact and good for hand scoring with a stylus (I HATE the scoring blade and never use it). I'm not perfectly happy with the quality of the cut they make but they're portable and convenient. Since I have 3 of them I take them with me to the classes I teach as "extras". A lot of the classes I run are for beginners and unbelievably some of them don't have/bring a trimmer! So these are the perfect trimmer for people to learn on.

I do have a Score-Pal and use it all the time at home. But for portability and convenience I do take a triple track trimmer with me to classes I participate in for both paper cutting and scoring (with my stylus). It's a good 2-for-1 tool!

So even though I have all these trimmers each one has it's use and no one will replace the others.

What kind of paper cutter/trimmer do you have? Are you happy with it?

Go ahead and post a comment on your trimmer here - share what you love about it/hate about it.

I'd really like to hear your opinions on trimmers!

Taking a break....

I don't know where this week has gone! I was hoping to get another challenge put together but my time have been spent prepping for upcoming classes. I haven't even stamped this week - well except for the quickie embossing MNT I did (I'll post that later).

As I said class prep - not the creative stuff - has been my focus this week. I'm so bogged down with cutting paper for this Sunday's Flip Album class (which I'm now calling the "flipping" album!). There are so many pieces to cut out of these 9 12x12 sheets of paper that I'm having to number each one by page and use baggies! Wish me luck with this class - I'm going to need it!

I started cutting the paper on Wednesday and got 8 sets done. Yay me! Only 4 more to go but I've got to get them done by tonight because my daughter is in a Volleyball tournament all weekend about 1 hour away and I can't cut paper in a gym!!!

So what I'm trying to say is that I'm taking a break this week with the challenges and don't have one for you today!

However, I'm hoping to come up with a VERY CHALLENGING card sketch Challenge for next week and an AWESOME prize.

I want to thank to everyone who plays along and shares their fantastic creations with me. I get a lot of inspiration from your cards!

So come back next Friday for another challenge or you can use this time to read through my old blog postings or catch up on your other blog visiting!