Sketch Fun

I'm currently sitting here...in a small town in cottage country...which I'm sure is far more happening in the summer time then in the winter.  It would be quite the winter wonderland here with dog sled rides and hikes in the snow, ice skating on the lake...if it weren't for the unrelenting rain.  Ugh!  It's been raining since we got here (yesterday afternoon) and everywhere is covered in slick ice, gigantic puddles and cold, slippery mud!  Not fun!  Today we've been stuck in the "2 bedroom villa" all day (the resort we are staying in is very nice and the big girls are quite excited to have their own "apartment" to pretend to own).  Here's hoping tomorrow will bring more fun weather!  In the mean time, to combat the cabin fever, I have spent some time doing more crocheting and of course making a creation for the Simon Says Stamp Challenge of following a sketch.

I am missing my home selection of crafting supplies so I am left with what little I managed to bring along (and borrow from my daughter's stash).  Here is my rendition.  I'm hoping for the prize...as always.  Wish for some sunshine and snow!

Rekindled the Hooking Habit...

So I dug up this pattern from the depths of my knitting bags and decided to spend some time on my lunch to be productive and make something cool for my girlies.  I've been meaning to make/get a hat like this for my girls for a while ever since I saw a little girl at church wearing one.  It's adorable!  So I had the girls pick the yarn at Michaels and then I sat down and started.  It took me about 2 hours 2 nights ago to make the purple one for C1 and just 1.5 hours to make the one for C3 (it was smaller).  I couldn't believe how easy it was and how cool it turned out!  I'm darn proud of the finished product if I do say so myself!  It's been a while since I crocheted something.  I made my sister a blanket 3 Christmases ago and I think that was the last thing I completed.  That project took some time.  This one was (relatively speaking) instant gratification!  Great...like I needed another habit.... ;)

A New Year...A New Outlook!

Yup.  I'm one of those people.  Those people who try the whole "be healthier" mantra as a new year begins.  So, it's been 3 weeks and I can proudly say I have stuck with my plan.  No junk food, exercise regularly, scrapbook more, take my vitamins EVERYDAY and (hopefully) lose weight.  Keeping my fingers crossed for continued motivation.  It's been hard...especially with my hubby bringing home Lays Ruffles BBQ chips.  ARRRRGH!  My kryptonite! But I've resisted and I'll work on that.  Yay me!  Yay me for also finding time to get some crafting done.  Yesterday C1 and I spend nearly 2 hours in the afternoon in the craft room making cards and chatting while C2 and C3 took naps.  Good times!  Today C2 is quite under the weather.  Fever, throwing up.  Not pleasant.  She worries me with her little health issues. Be strong my little C2.  I'm here for you!
On a lighter note.  Here's a card I made for this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Spots and/or Stripes. I think you can figure out which one I chose.  As always...here's hopin'....

Happy New Year!!!

A quiet new years celebration at my home tonight.  Kids in bed at just after 10pm after kids new years that happens at 10pm complete with champagne glasses filled with apple cider.  The last couple of new years were spent with friends and their families eating, playing board games and great conversation while the kiddies played (quite well together) in the finished kid friendly basement.  I was hoping to head over to a friends place this year but alas, a tummy ickyness has hit me and I am not very up to much excitement this evening.  In reflection: 2011 has been an AMAZING year!  New baby, new blog, the whole summer off with my family, travelling, Disney cruise, so many memories.  2012 has some big shoes to fill but my only hope is that it's filled with laughter, love and good health for those I love (and maybe a declutter-my-house elf and a weight loss miracle!)
Here's a card I made to send off 2011 and for great things in 2012! (and I'm also submitting for this week's Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge!)
Happy New Year everyone!

Hitting the Slopes

So it finally started snowing here on the 27th.  We had a green Christmas and I was getting very ancy for the snow to arrive for 2 reasons: 1) Love having a white Christmas, 2) can't go snowboarding without the snow (can't call yourself, "Snowboarderchic" for nothing!).  I finally got my first run out of the season yesterday (After missing last winter on account of being preggers).  It was just a little hill a few minutes away from home but I was meeting up with a friend and her hubby (who are here from jolly ol' England!) who are rookies at the sport so the small hill was just fine for them right now.  The conditions were not the best but enough to get down the hill without muddying up the board or having to walk down.  The bigger slopes were actually quite icy and the snow blowing around from the snow making machines made it tricky to see but I won't complain.  I got to go out and have fun with good friends.  Perfect.  Today it continued to snow and I'm dreaming of hitting the slopes again tomorrow...trying to convince my hubby (the skiier) to leave the kidlets with the grandparents and head to higher ground.  Don't think it's working.  Wahhhhh!  I really wish my 7 year old was up for snowboarding fun.  She's got the excitement and enthusiasm but no skill...yet.  I'm going to have to work on that for sure!
This week's Simon Says Stamp challenge is "Anything Goes".  Perfect!  I've got a couple projects to hopefully win me some smiles.  My middle daughter has a thing for penguins.  When we were in Disney last year she added to her collection and my oldest daughter decided to draw a picture of all of them.  She was 5 at the time of the drawing.  So cute!  The 3 penguins names are Peachi, Leechi and Chichi.

The next entry is a card a made just because I LOVE the stamp so much.  It's by Whimsy Stamps and it's so beautiful and dreamy!

Bingo-Revisited

Hey Blogworld.  I hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas!  I sure did and I can't describe my holiday so far with any better words than TRULY BLESSED.  Family, laughter, smiles and some granted wishes along the way.  What more can a girl ask for?  (*sigh*)
Here's another entry to this weeks Simon Says Stamp Challenge-Bingo.  This time I did the first column (ribbon/punches, die cuts/multifold).  I must admit, I saw this tri-fold card on various blogs and often wondered how in the world to do this.  It looks soooo cool and sooo complicated!  Then finally, a Google search found my teacher of such a cool multifold card.  It was at "Craftiblog".  Check it out!  It was soooooo incredibly simple I think I'm going to make a bazillion more of these cards.  One thing about this card that I do have to mention is that it's not the most intuitive card for people to open or close and I found myself cringing when someone would open it up and then close it again as it never seemed to close the right way and thus I was worried there were creases being put in places where there shouldn't be creases.  I guess it's like closing up a folded road map.  I found myself sneaking back to where the card was kept to re-fold it back properly after someone looked at it.  Oh well.  This particular card I gave to my hubby's brother and his wife for Christmas (I hate referring to them as "in-laws" as there always seems to be some negative spin on this term and by no way are my hubby's family a negative in my life in any way.  They are all truly amazing people and I am so totally blessed to be apart of their family!)  It was also the holder for some tickets we got for them to see "American Idiot".  I hope they enjoy it.  I haven't seen it but I'm a Green Day fan so I'm sure it'll be pretty cool!  Here's hoping for some luck...as always!

You've Got Mail

One thing I love about the Christmas holidays is getting Christmas cards in the mail.  Often these are generic store bought cards with a nice message inside letting you know that they've thought of you during the holidays.  So Sweet!  Sometimes they are photo cards with a sweet family pic or cute kid picture on it sending smiles.  Love these!  And sometimes...if you're super lucky you get a handmade card in the mail.  LOVE LOVE these!  Maybe it's because I know what kind of thought and care goes into a handmade card that I appreciate these the most.  Sooooo a couple days ago I was the proud recipient of a handmade card all the way from out west in Edmonton, AB.  My friend, Carrie V sent me a beautiful card that I just have to share!

It's soo gorgeous it inspired me to use the same idea on a holiday card I made for my daughter's teacher.  I didn't have double sided Christmas paper so as per Carrie's suggestion I stamped on the white side to snaz it up on the inside of the cones and added some glitter to boot!  I'm submitting it for this weeks Simon Says Stamp Bingo Challenge where I used the top row of items.

Here is my version.  Her's hoping I'll get lucky this week!