The no-guilt holiday giveaway!

The Working Moms Against Guilt blog is having a No-Guilt Holiday Giveaway! Click the image below to see the details:

More random crafts

Yup, still procrastinating over here!

Did you know I'm currently working on seven scrapbooks? One for Chloe, one of our wedding, one of our general life (vacations etc), and one of each set of Chloe's grandparents (which means four separate books). I've completed two of the grandparents books (up to one year), and I'm hoping to finish the other two this year. I'll continue to add pages to them over the years, but not as many as I did for her first year.

Anyway, this is a page for my mom's book. For each book, I did a minimum of one page for each month, and then other events like her first swim, first camping trip, etc.

Products used: Patterned paper (Memory Block), Cardstock (Stampin’ Up), coloured stickers (Heidi Grace), Tool Kit, brads, eyelets, letter stickers (Making Memories), clear sticker (Creative Memories), flower sticker (Dollarama), Glaze Pen (Sakura), ribbon (unknown)

I made this bookmark while playing with my Making Memories tool kit. I love it for setting eyelets and punching holes, although it's rather loud!

Products used: Cardstock, ink, stamps, ribbon, art pencils (Stampin’ Up), Tool Kit, eyelet (Making Memories)

Queen of Procrastination

So rather than finish the RAK packages (that I still haven't sent out - sorry guys!), I decided to post a few new projects.

I made these two cards with the Everyday Pink Scrap Kit from Marcella by K (aka. K&Company).

I initially loved the colours, but soon realized that they're difficult to work with. In the end, I like the cards (especially this one), and still have a few fun papers left over for a scrapbook page (or two).

Products Used: patterned paper, stickers (Marcella by K), ribbon, cardstock, brads (Stampin’ Up)

The second card is another pocket card, only made wide and long. I was thinking of using it with a couple movie gift certificates that I have (which are about the size of a normal personal cheque), so they'd just fit in with this pocket.

Products Used: patterned paper, word sticker (Marcella by K), cardstock, stamp, ink (Stampin’ Up), staples (Making Memories), flower sticker (Dollarama), ribbon (unknown).

What's your style?

I was thinking about how to define a person's crafting style and came up with this quiz:

1. Ikea, an antique store, or Pottery Barn?
2. Winter or Summer?
3. Team Aniston or Team Jolie?
4. Happy Days or The Simpsons?
5. Martini, wine, or beer?

Based on the answers, I think I can get a clear idea of what and how you craft (I'm thinking scrapbooking and card making, but it probably applies to other crafts as well). So what are your answers? Can you guess mine?

"The dishes are done, man!"

My favourite line from Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. Except change that to "The Christmas cards are done, man!"

I finished them last night. Twenty-five home-made cards. All the same design, two colour variations. I'm quite proud of them. And nope, you can't see them yet!

So now I just have to address them all. I was thinking of doing that tonight, but it's 9:33pm, and I've yet to start. Whoops!

I'm also working on an application to be a guest reviewer for a design team. I've done one small guest review for them, and I really enjoyed it, so I'm hoping to do it a few more times! The application is due on the 11th, and I'm not even half-way finished. Uh-oh!

And the winner is...

(drum roll please!)

tricia!

Actually, I should say winners, as Chloe wanted to pull more names out of the hat. So there are two runners-up: lifeafterjasper and krissy!

I've emailed all three of you - please let me know a bit about your craft style, so I can choose some goodies that suit you!

Thank you to all the people who entered! I hope you continue to read my little blog. There's a lot more craft stuff to come!

Last chance to enter the draw!

Tomorrow I'll pick a name out of my hat. Well, maybe I'll get Chloe to do it, because that would be cute. And who can resist my cute kid?

These are Chloe's "wings". I'm planning a layout explaining her follicle challenges (aka. hair that doesn't grow).

No, we've NEVER cut her bangs. They've been that length for over a year now.

I hope the curls stay though. I have plain ol' straight hair, and it's boring. Boooooring!

So, what were we talking about again? Oh right. The draw. Only 10 entries so far, so if you haven't entered, hurry up!

I plan on "customizing" the RAK to your style, so it won't just be a bunch of junk I don't want ;)

The suitcase card

I made this card for my friend Anne, who recently moved from Langley to the Sunshine Coast. I fell in love with the colour combo, and had borrowed the stamp set from a friend. As I was making the card I realized it reminded me of a suitcase. I wished I had some sort of buckle to add to it, but all I had was the staples (which are bright blue, although that's hard to see). I also dragged all the paper edges, to distress it a bit.

The stamp set is SU's "On the Move", the cardstock is all SU (Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard, and
Creamy Caramel), the ink is SU's Chocolate Chip, the staples are Making Memories.

Forty Days until Christmas!

And I've only just decided on the design for my Christmas cards. Eek! I'm making a bunch, so I went with something simple. I like how it looks, but you'll have to wait until they're sent out before I post a photo (as some of you may be getting one!).

In honour of the countdown to Christmas, I though I'd have a little fun. Post a comment and tell me your favourite Christmas movie. On December 1st I'll have a draw for a RAK (random act of kindness) package of craft goodies! Make sure to include your email address, so I can reach you if you win!

My favourite Christmas movie is White Christmas. You know, the one with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye? Of course there's other classics, especially the old cartoon ones. I love the few weeks before Christmas, when all the old movies come on. I always think I should buy the DVDs, but never remember. Darren did buy White Christmas for me one year, just so I can be sure I don't miss it on TV!

Christmas will be even more crazy at our house this year. Chloe still won't understand why we have presents, but I know she's going to go crazy when she gets to open them! And then her birthday follows a few weeks after. This year we're going to have a nice small party, with just a few of her friends. Maybe it will snow, and we can play outside!

Anyway, that's my little excitement about Christmas. Don't forget to leave a comment by November 30th!

10, 20, and 30 years ago...

Jill on InkGenius recently posted a fun quiz: Where I was 10, 20 and 30 years ago I'm considering myself tagged, so:

10 years ago (1997) - I was working at the Cancer Clinic, and attending Kwantlen College. Darren and I had been dating for a year (as of November 24th!). I was living in Surrey, in a tiny basement suite (400 sq feet) with my two cats, and enjoying life.

20 years ago (1987) - I was in grade six, living in Burnaby. My mom still lives in the same house! I seem to have blocked most of grade six from my mind, apparently, as I can't recall much. I do remember reading the book The Twenty-One Balloons, and scoring a perfect mark on the final exam!

30 years ago (1977) - I was almost two years old, but can't say I remember anything of the time.

I don't really have anyone to tag, so if you have a blog, and want to do this quiz, you can also consider yourself tagged!

Stampin' Up Cards

I belong to a local stamp club, run by a Stampin' Up rep, Laura. I've done several classes with Laura, most recently a Christmas card class. Here are a few examples of cards I've made at Laura's Stampin' Up workshops:

Pocket cards

I love these! Easy to put together, and you make them as fancy-schmancy as you'd like. Here's the instructions from SCS.

My first attempt - these will hold gift cards for Chloe's daycare providers. I just need to get the slit punch from SU to create the flaps to hold the gift card.


The stamp is from SU's Riveting set. I inked the outside with red ink, and coloured the tree with a marker. It's hard to see, but the circle is popped up on a dimensional. The cardstock is from SU, and the patterned paper is from Memory Block. I used my Sakura glaze pen to draw the faux stitching on the left, and the dots on the right (the big circles are actually hole punches).

I'm so in love with brown and pink (or brown and blue, or brown and lime :p), so this card came together quickly.

The stamp is from SU's Cute Converse set. The cardstock is from SU, and the patterned paper is from K&Company.

So I'm a geek. I had to know the origin of the creepy photo. And I found it, via our friend, Snopes: link that explains the creepy photo (the creepy photo is included, so don't say I didn't warn you!)

Paper Bows - take two

Apparently I'm a techno-dork, as the link didn't work in my previous post.

Rather than fixing it there, and trying to hide my incompetence, I thought I'd up my post count and give you the link in a new post :p

Paper Bows - the link!

I also forgot to mention - I used staples to hold the "petals" together, rather than brads.

If you don't have double-sided patterned paper, you can glue two single-sided papers together.

For my next bow, I'm going to try stamping plain paper, rather than using patterned. And maybe some glitter. Yeah, you can never go wrong with glitter! Bwah-ha-ha! (that's my version of a maniacal laugh - if you know me, you'll know it's pretty sad).

ps. Don't use Google to search for an image representing maniacal. It's kinda creepy. By the way, this is what you get when you search for an image representing creepy. Don't click this link if you've got a weak stomach (it's not gory, just um...well...creepy).

Make your own paper bows!

How fun is this? Paper Bows

Here is my first attempt, accompanied by Bella, who was very interested in the bow. I think she's overwhelmed by my craftiness ;)

And a few cards

From the cards below, you can really see my style: simple, clean, bright. Hmm...maybe that's why I love Ikea ;)

The first card was a graduation card for my cousin. I made the last card for a product review on Scrapfriends. I was reviewing Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk Inks.

A few scrapbook pages

I've started the monumental task of creating Chloe's scrapbook, which is intended to be her "baby book". Here are a few layouts:

Craft-o-rama!

Remember that SNL sketch? "Steve. Steve-o. Steve-o-rama. The Stevester. Makin' copies." (Rob Schneider as Richard the Copy Guy)

That has stuck in my head for way to long. Hence the title of this post.

Crafts. Craft-o. Craft-o-rama. The Craftster. Makin' crafts.

The main reason I started this blog is to share my crafty creations. I don't profess to be Martha Stewart, so don't expect it all to be perfect. I'd love to hear your opinions and suggestions, so feel free to leave comments!

One small step for (a) man...

"Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the moon, didn't I?" (Neil Armstrong)

Go ahead and debate whether the moon landings are real, I love a good conspiracy theory. Here's a fun website: The Lunar Conspiracy

What does this have to do with me? Nothing. I just thought it was a fun title for my first blog post. And of course I had to reference the fact that Neil Armstrong flubbed one of the most famous lines ever uttered -- here on earth, or on the moon ;)

Anyhoo, if you've made it this far, I'd like to welcome you to my blog. I hope you enjoy it.