The Next Installment F-I

I had a few spare moments the last couple weeks to work on my Alphabet Book again.  Its hard being creative under pressure!  I was suppose to be working a calendar for my parents for Christmas instead.  So you know what I will be doing the next two evenings... Unfortunately it will be a throw together but they will love it, damn it!

The froggy has colorful sequins on his body, the giraffe's spots are sparkly, the hawk has real feathers to pet, and Mr. Iguana has been sprayed with shimmer spray. THAT was funny because when Nicholas saw that he asked if it was sunscreen (because lizards live in the dessert where there is a lot of bright sunshine - you know mom).

Two More Sleeps...

Can't wait to see what Santa brought me!  Well actually I know but I can't wait until I am actually allowed to use it.  Apparently I have been a very good girl this year - LOL

The Countdown is on...

And the panic button has been deployed (several times).  SO much for thinking this year will be different. Different as in STRESS FREE and RELAXING!  Next year I am suggesting a trip!

You Know When...

Its time to vacuum when the back hoe has to come out to assist with the house cleaning!  Well at least he was able to make chores fun...   We might have the place cleaned up in time for Christmas yet.

May the Force Be With You...

My little guy is Star Wars crazy!  Thanks to all you pinners out there I was able to compile a set of tree ornaments out of felt for him.  I was going to have Santa give them to him but he will know it was me that made them.  Apparently Santa's elves can sew much better than me!

Old Dog - New Tricks

Yesterday I learned something new - how to make a traditional dream catcher but with a Christmas flair.  We used 3" hoops as the base and added jingles bells, ribbon and charms.  They are a perfect size to hang on the tree.  I have to admit they look better in the picture than in person but not bad for my first try. 

The Countdown is On!

I did up a traditional advent calendar for my kids (they have to share - it was too much work to make one for each of 'em!)  After filling it with bubble gum, star wars and muppet bandaids, fimo clay, bubble bath, lip balm, nail polish and lego ($100 later)  I am thinking maybe this is not the tradition I want to go with!!!!  Nicholas doesn't quite understand either why he only got 12 pieces of the lego kit either - he wants to make the whole thing NOW...

Now for the twist on my advent calendar that makes it truly unique.  I used a frame from Kaiser Craft to decorate and I went with a large one so the boxes were big enough to actually put something in (next year it is just going to be chocolate - lol).  So it was a bit of an investment so I had a LIGHT BULB moment.  I adhered magnetic strips to the front of all the little boxes and to the back side of the paper panels (lining them up of course).  So now I can change out my fronts for whatever season or occasion that is coming up. I am for sure doing Halloween and Easter.  Maybe a birthday countdown.  I really thought a Disney one would be great if we ever take our kids and it is not a surprise...

Making My List - Checking it Twice

I have been busy preparing for my Christmas Card Extravaganza Class that I held last Saturday.  I had a few "no shows" so on the positive side I have a few cards ready for myself this holiday season. Now I have to figure out who I send a homemade masterpiece to as I have found some of my recipients don't appreciate all that I put into each card and, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, actually toss my card out after the holidays!!!!

 

An Alphabet Book - Part 1

My cousin had a baby boy so I started making a little memory book for him.  One where pictures can be added, different textures to feel and of course get familiar with his ABC's as he grows.  And since I am making one I could just as well make two so will have one for sale at the end too!

Hooray for Teachers!

Especially my son's kindergarten teacher.  I applaud her for all the patience she has - I would have to go into her classroom armed with duct tape (not sure about the other kids but specifically for mine!) He is a boy with an abundance of energy, no volume switch and little concern for the rules although we have tried).  For Christmas I have made her a set of reward/encouragement cards to hand out to her students when they have done an extraordinary job or need that little bit extra.  I hope she likes them and can use them - I sure had fun stamping and coloring them.  It was also a great way to use up a bunch of my little scraps of coloured card stock.

In Remembrance

A pretty field of poppies done with water color crayons on water color paper .  Then I sprayed some shimmer mist over the entire panel.  Thank you to all the soldiers past and present.

Friday's Funny - Funnier Because it is only Thursday

This is so how I feel this week after attending marathon meetings and preparing for those meetings and kids asking if they can have sleep overs and family birthdays and at some point here I have to do some bookkeeping...  I just wanna color!

Sweet Trick or Treats

Halloween was a success although I forgot to take pictures of the kids all dressed up - can you believe it?!?!  It didn't start to snow until we were on our way home and it was nice enough before that , the kids only had to wear 2 layers under their costumes and no coat.  (today the snow pants and touques had to come out though). So even though I had to cancel our big Halloween party I still decorated a cake and Mr. Bones joined us for supper.

Halloween Ha Ha

This one reminds me of last Halloween.  We went to our library where they were having a haunted house and we had some zombies tailing us for a little while.  When we got to the top of the stairs and to the "safe" part of the library, Nicholas who was 4 then lets out a huge sigh of relief and announced so everyone there could hear "oh man Mom, that really scared the poop right out of me!"

Hope Everyone Has a Spooktackular Halloween

The Three Little Pigs

My aunt is a lover of all things piggy.  So I went looking through that infamous "project box" beside my table and came up with this for her kitchen.  Got rid of a scrap piece of pattern paper I have been hoarding for every too.  My husband and kids however, felt that the wooden spoon would have been put to better use, whipping up a batch of cookies - can't please 'em all!

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Or cute and a little spooky!  I finally found a use for my bright orange vellum paper.  Now I want to try out some Christmas ideas...

 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Fall and most especially Halloween are my FAVORITE time/holiday of the year!  I have been busy crafting stuff for our annual Children's Halloween Party only to find out on Friday that this year I need to take out "event insurance" which is going to run just under $200!  So with a heavy heart I had to cancel.  I am so disappointed plus I had all these new and cool decorations for the haunted house plus 10 other rubbermaid totes filled with spooky stuff that I don't know what to do with (we live on an acreage where NO ONE trick or treats - hence the party)

So to cheer me up my mom asked me to help her make a Halloween birthday card for a girlfriend of hers.  At least Mr. Crow got to come out of the box for 10 minutes to assist with the photo.  The glitter doesn't show up great but the spiders are sparkly. Funny thing is that I picked up the branches  and web stamp for my fairy cards not Halloween at all! 

Goodbye to Summer

Enjoying one of our last nice fall days - if only it could stay like this until the end of November!  Well, really it would be nice if we didn't get winter at all but I know that is just not possible here in Northern Alberta - the white stuff is coming  :(

Fall Inpiration

I love the colors this time of year - I think that is why I love Halloween so much!  So I thought I would put together some "earthy/fall" kind of cards...  I painted the little chipboard flowers with shimmery paint.  I LOVE how they turned out (kind of hard to see in the picture but trust me - they are fabulous!)

Friday's Funny

This is looking like my Christmas gift list - not to mention the time involved to make it too.  Ah - I guess that is what makes it so special - HA HA

Monsters Under the Bed - Oh My!

I was hoping that with some friendly monsters to cuddle with, it might encourage the kids to stay in their own beds all night.  Well they were thrilled and I had so much fun creating them all - great!  Did it work? NOPE!

Round 2 of Colds and Flu!

Just when I thought everyone was just about over their colds we got hit with another round this time, which included a nice little bout of stomach flu too!  On the bright side I was able to get a few projects done for the craft fair I (stupidly?) signed up for.  And I did get my clothes pins done for the memo boards I was doing for Christmas.

It Just Gets Better

Now the stomach flu has hit our house.  So I have been quietly crafting away while naps are happening.  I thought my project box would be depleted by now since I have been diligently pulling stuff out to complete but it is still pretty full.  I like Christmas but can't wait to get to the Halloween projects in the box!!!

 I'm Back

School has been back in session for 2 weeks and already the kids have brought home diseases and of course it is me that gets hit the worse.  Ended up missing 3 days of work and I am still recovering. However when the drugs kicked in and I felt I could sit upright for a few minutes I went to work on creating a few memo holders for Christmas gifts. I up - cycled the backing boards from some damaged picture frames I found at the Put and Take.  I still want to make some matching clothes pins to accompany them.

Fa La La La La

While I would like to be working on Halloween stuff, I am also still trying to organize my space.  So instead of finding somewhere to store the leftover kits from last year's Christmas card class, I went ahead and finished them. Now they are ready to use, I have one less thing in my project box and at least 9 members of my family will be getting a homemade card this year.