5 on Friday – March 25th

Posted on March 25, 2011 by daydesigns

Welcome to another installment of 5 on Friday!
This week has been busy around here and we’re not done yet! The older girls are on Spring Break. While I am enjoying the relaxing mornings without the usual rush out the door to get to school, I have found myself scrambling to find things to keep Marley and Paige busy. Marley has had a couple playdates but Paige hasn’t yet. Hopefully next week I can arrange something for her!

Before I ramble on too long, let’s get to my 5 for this week.

1. LC turned 2

I know I already posted on her birthday but here are a couple more pictures of her on that day. These are of her and her cupcake! (We’re having family over on Sunday when I’ll bring out the big cake but I wanted something small on her actual birthday too!)

She ended up eating the icing and sprinkles only. Typical!
2. Maui Album
It’s done!!! Yay!!! Here are a few shots, for the entire album please check out the movie on my side bar (assuming I can get it to post etc).
The cover page. Now I’m really wishing I’d used the self-timer so I could have been in the picture. Looking back through all the pictures from the trip I noticed that we never got one of all 7 of us. Too bad! Next time!!

One of the pre-Cricut layouts. I did have my Cuttlebug though so was able to do some fun things with it. The palm tree I found at a scrapbooking store.

This layout has a hidden journalling tag.

A post-Cricut layout. Greg and I took LC on a day trip to Pai’a and up the volcano to the winery. This layout is from the beaches at Pai’a where we marvelled at the big surf. Our local beach was a calm lake in comparison!

Another post-Cricut layout. The close ups below are of all the flowers and leaves I cut out for the New Dresses page.
I counted and I did exactly half of this album pre-Cricut and the other half post-Cricut. How fun! Again I’d like to give a huge shout-out to my friend Jenn for loaning me her Cricut cartidges while she’s in France. I had so much fun using them to decorate my pages. And having them both forced me to finish the album and inspired me to finish the album. Awesome!

 

3. Sea Monkeys
Marley was given Sea Monkeys for her birthday from her cousins Matthew, Sophie and Sadie. At first I was skeptical (and a little flabbergasted that they still made them!) but Marley was thrilled. She finally has a pet!! Joy! It took awhile for them to hatch and then you could barely see them but we were checking in on them this morning and lo and behold, they are growing! Check it out!
Okay, so I’m not sure you can see them in this picture. Those little white floaty things are the Sea Monkeys. They wouldn’t really hold still for the camera! LOL!

Marley did feel the need to make some bunny ears though!
4. Bar Keepers Friend
This is another one of those gifts that I received with extreme skepticism but I am officially eating my words. Well, thoughts actually! This stuff rocks! Thanks Mom Day!!
I used it to scrub all the pen/crayon/felt/pencil crayon off the girls’ craft table and it looks better than new! The wall and the chair will require something a little bit … um, harsher. Actually, the wall will just have to wait until we repaint! LC is one challenging kid at times!!
5. OLW Update
I have yet to write more tasks in my album but I am more or less on target with my organizational goals. I rejigged the girls’ craft area again and like it even better now. They have more room on their table to craft/colour/do homework since I moved their supplies onto the “bar area”. Yes, our house had one of those mirrored bar areas in the family room. Complete with scary glass shelves! Some day (after we win the lotto) I will take great joy in personally ripping it apart! Until then … we’ll find a use for it somehow!
But I digress, I was talking about my organizational efforts.
My plans to tackle the Master Bedroom this week fell short but as soon as I finish this posting I will be gathering boxes to start the mammoth task of going through all the girls’ toys and books. Keep, Toss, Donate/Sell! Those are going to be my boxes. Watch out world!!
Wish me luck!
Okay, that’s it for now. Enjoy your weekend everyone! Now that my Hawaii album is done I can finally turn my attention to Paige’s baby album (somthing she has been patiently waiting for me to start). First up this weekend though is to try and tackle some the Apron Strings Birthday party Challenges. I’ve been diligently writing them all down but not able to get to them.
But first … toys …
See ya!

Posted in Five on Friday, Hawaii, layout, OLW - One Little Word, Scrapbook | Comments Off on 5 on Friday – March 25th

Christine Turns 2!

Posted on March 23, 2011 by daydesigns

I can hardly believe that our Little Christine (LC as I call her here) is 2 today. Where did the time go?

March 23, 2009 – minutes after birth.

March 23, 2011 – all dressed, cleaned up, piggy tails in, and sitting in her new Dora Chair. ‘Ora (as she calls her) is her favourite!!
Doesn’t she look so big now?!
Sigh.
Here are some other images of this morning.
The Official Birthday Height Measuring!

Comparing the girls’ heights – Marley was a good inch taller at 2 than both LC and Paige. Poor Paige was the smallest. I wonder if that will continue … the middle child being the shortest?

The loot waiting on the kitchen table this morning!

LC got lots of help from her sisters.

Playing with the new horse carrier …

… and Dora book.

And for you scrappy types, here is the card I whipped up last night (at 10PM!)

The “2” is popped up on dimensionals but it’s hard to tell from this picture. Sorry! 
Can I just say that I LOVE my new Cricut!!! Especially since I bought new cutting mats and blades so it actually works well. And a big shout out to my friend Jenn who loaned me all her cartridges over Spring Break. Not only have they helped me make a few cards, but I have been going nuts cutting things out for my Hawaii album. If all goes according to plan, I will show you the finished album on Friday. Yay!!
Okay, I’ve got one of Marley’s school friends here for a playdate so I guess I really shouldn’t hole myself up in the office. Thanks for stopping by!
 
Posted in Cards, LC | 1 Comment

5 on Friday – March 18th

Posted on March 18, 2011 by daydesigns

For once I am not feeling like I have nothing to talk about today. This has been an eventful week on all fronts – kids, crafts, personal, you name it. I am exhausted! Today marks the last day of school before a 2-week long Spring Break and I am really looking forward to NOT having to rush 3 little girls out the door at 8:30 in the morning, packing a lunch for Marley (I’ve talked about that headache before!) and waking up LC after too short a nap in order to pick up Marley at 3:00PM. Here’s to lounging in my PJ’s until noon!!! Whoo hoo!!

But I digress, here’s my five random things for the week:

1. OLW – February and March assignments

I promised to apply myself to this over the past weekend and I did. I just wasn’t able to blog about it until now. February we were to gather 9 pictures that depicted our word. I found this really tough as my word is hard to visualize in that way. So I had put it off until this past weekend. But here’s what I eventually came up with:

From the top left my images are; the filthy “clean” pan (see this post), my “Release” t-shirt that I won from craftysteals.com, a picture of red balloons in a tree (see below for a close up), the backside of my Release title from January (see this post) with the word “EMBRACE” on it (my secret second One Little Word) and then some images I took from the web – “Pain! U just have to LET GO”, dandelion seeds blowing in the wind, a butterfly being released, a flock of graphic butterflies and lanterns being released at a lantern festival. I chose all these images because I felt they depicted what I am trying to achieve.
A relinquishing of pain, anger and frustration.
A lightening of body and spirit.
While putting this together I decided to add the journalling. It’s not a quote, just my thoughts.
And now onto March’s assignment. We were given the task to ACT on one thing this month. To write it down and commit to a day when we’d do it. Here is my page.
The page dividers Ali is using are an assortment of sizes and configurations. This one has a flap that (as you can see) attaches with string. Anyway, here are the close ups:

The top part of the flap on the right has a tag with the prompt “This Month I” and then we were to fill in the rest. So I chose “Get Organized”. I had many ideas and tasks zooming around my head but they all seemed to be in the same vein of cleaning, decluttering or getting tasks crossed off my never ending to-do list. So … now it’s official!! Gasp!
The bottom slot is purely for decoration. The 1 is to remind me to focus on one thing only. Ya, right!!
With the flaps opened it looks something like this.
Another reminder to myself to do it now, not to procrastinate as is my usual habit!
Just a little bit of complaining!!
One of the templates Ali sent us this month was this calendar into which we were to put when we’d committed to do our One Little Thing. I intend to write in more but at the time I did this I knew Spring Break was coming up and that I wasn’t able to commit to a specific day just yet. On Monday I plan to revisit this and put in the following tasks: Declutter and clean the Master Bedroom, Organize the toys (OMG what a job that is going to be!), and clean up the office/craft room. That should be plenty to worry about during Spring Break, right?
The last template was a journalling spot to document our experience. I wrote down my thoughts about starting the assignment and at the end of March I plan to write down my thoughts about actually doing the assignment.

2. Project 12 – March 2011

I started this last Sunday and it sat out on my drafting table all week!!  I put bits and pieces together in 10 – 15 minute spurts until I was mostly happy with it. I think my displeasure with it is because I wasn’t able to do it in one sitting. It’s okay but I know I can do better. I must admit, the brown paint looked heavy going on but I’m pleased with it now.

I was going to show a couple more close ups but in an effort to keep this post in the realm of “readable in one day!!” I won’t.
Moving on …

3. Soccer Fun Day

Or, as I referred to it, Soccer Not So Fun Day!
Sunday was the wrap up tournament for Marley (and lately Paige’s) soccer season. It was also rainy, cold and generally a miserable day to be outside all morning! It was also the first day of Daylight Savings so we were all extra tired! Fun times!! LC was still sleeping when Greg and the girls left so we joined them at 9:30 for their “break” – face painting, Timbits, etc. LC was happy enough to have a Timbit but got pretty upset when I wouldn’t let her take it onto the turf field.

Ah, the emotional ups and downs of an almost 2 year old!!
We stayed to watch Marley and Paige go through the skills drills and part of one game but then we had to leave. LC was done!

Marley waiting for her turn to shoot at the radar gun.
Paige charging at the ball – her kicks were NOT the most powerful out there but she had fun trying!
The very important warm-up before the game.

Since I wasn’t there for the medal ceremony I settled for taking pictures of the girls with their medals once they got home. Paige’s medal actually belongs to a teammate that moved to Australia in December. She knows that it was just on loan and will be winging it’s way shortly Down Under!

I really don’t know what is up with Paige’s smiles lately. She insists that she WAS smiling. You be the judge!

4. What happens when loose teeth start dying!

We learned a valuable lesson this week about loose teeth. Marley’s two upper teeth have been loose for ages now but were stubbornly sticking around. One in particular would bleed every now and then which caused us to hope it would fall out soon but … nothing. Then Marley noticed that it was turning grey. Grey? Eww!!! Time to call the dentist! After a quick appointment to pull the offending tooth (and it’s loose neighbour) this is what Marley looked like.

Luckily the dentist gave her this handy box to help the tooth fairy find her teeth!!

So tiny …

5. Now for the personal bit …

Paige’s preschool will not be continuing next year. This doesn’t directly affect our family as Paige will be going to Kindergarten in September and LC is still too young to go to preschool but I am unbelievably sad about it. As the current President, I feel like I’ve failed the preschool, it’s families and the kids. As an Alum of the preschool, I am saddened to see a place that gave my girls such joy have to close its doors. As a member of the community I am disheartened that we can no longer support this kind of institution. The Parent Participation Preschool only works if there are parents willing and able to participate!
I could get on my soap box about the messed up attitudes when it comes to putting our kids first, volunteerism, etc, etc,etc … but I’m not going to. I will instead try to put that energy into shutting things down correctly, going out on a good note, and generally closing that chapter of my life without regrets. If any of you out there have reason to take your kids to a PPP, DO IT! The friendships you’ll make will last a life time and your kids will be forever enriched because of your willingness to play with them.

Okay, I think I am finally finished this monster post! Sorry!  I will try to keep them shorter in the future!
Have a great weekend!

Posted in challenges, Five on Friday, layout, OLW - One Little Word, Project 12 | 1 Comment

Experimenting, challenging myself and having fun!

Posted on March 6, 2011 by daydesigns
After Friday’s depressing post about my lack of mojo-ness, I decided to do something about it. I went crafty blog surfing and came across one of my favourites – Apron Strings. They are a Kit Club and are having a Birthday Party to celebrate 6 years in the biz. Way to go Apron Strings!! I don’t go in for the kit thing. I have WAY too much “stash” to justify adding a new kit-load every month. Maybe one day but not until I seriously whittle down!! But if you’re looking for a great monthly kit club you should definitely check them out.
Anyway, the Birthday Party is going to last all March long and be full of challenges and goodies. So I decided to play along. I’ve tried to play along several times since I found the Apron Strings blog but one thing or another has held me back. Not last night! There was nothing good on TV and the movie Greg had taped was not up my alley so I got creative!
The first post I came across was for Birthday Party Day #4 but as soon as I saw it was the second half of a challenge handed out the day before I quickly scrolled down so as not to ruin the surprise. In their Prep post you got to pick your cake ingredients and then bake with them once you knew what they were. I picked vanilla cake (white or kraft cardstock), strawberry filling (patterned paper with dots or circles), buttercream icing (buttons) with fresh fruit topping (paint). The paint really threw me! I’ve been wanting to get messy for awhile but … well, I guess I was a little afraid of it, to be honest. But I dragged out my old guache from Interior Design school days and got messy.
Want to see it?

And here are some close ups.

I had so much fun with the paint and the colour scheme that I decided to use it again to tackle another of the Birthday Party challenges. This one was from Day #3 and the challenge was to make our journalling more than an afterthought. I painted a giant number 7 on my kraft cardstock and used that as my journalling block to write some thoughts down about Marley. See for yourself.
I splattered some paint around the 7 and the edges and then made the butterflies for a simple embellishment.

I tell you, I think I have found a new love! Look for more painting on my layouts in the future!!

Posted in challenges, layout, Marley, Marley's Baby scrapbook | 4 Comments

5 on Friday – March 4

Posted on March 4, 2011 by daydesigns
I can’t believe it’s Friday again already! Here are my 5 random things for this week …
1. Balloon Girl
I downloaded my camera yesterday (in preparation for this post) and found some forgotten pictures of LC from after the party last Saturday. She got it into her head that dancing with the balloon bouquets was a good idea! Crazy girl!!
Don’t worry, we were able to free her! Although … maybe we were a bit hasty. She’s rapidly approaching her 2nd birthday (no, I am not planning a big party for her) and is in full blown “Terrible Twos”. Makes me really wish I had a job outside the home that would neccessitate someone else having to deal with her every now and then!!
2. Snow Days
I don’t think I mentioned it but it snowed all day last Saturday. Marley was in heaven! “It’s snowing on my birthday!!!!” You get the idea. Greg and I were just worried it would disrupt the party or his plans to take her to the Canucks game later. This is the soft West Coast afterall where a single snowflake has the ability to shut down the entire Lower Mainland!
But before I digress onto an ex-Prince George gal rant about Vancouverites and their driving abilities (or lack thereof) in snow … let me share some pictures of how the girls enjoyed the little bit of snow that stuck around. This was early Sunday morning and as you may or may not be able to tell, the snow is already rapidly melting. It was gone by the next day.
They were all wet and tired by the time Grandma and Grandpa Day arrived at 10:00am to celebrate Marley’s birthday. Everyone was supposed to come over at 3-ish but due to the previously mentioned snow and West Coast driver freakouts er, concerns, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Christine and the boys came over early and were gone by 3 and then my brother Andrew and family came later for dinner. It allowed for a very rare one on one visit with the Campbell’s which was really nice.
3. OLW – March prompt
This month Ali has challenged up to Act. As in, choose one action, choose a date and write it down. Commit to it. See what I’m talking about here.
I spent some time on Tuesday trying to finish up my February assignment (capturing my word in picture) but got distracted, frustrated and generally ticked off so I put it aside intending to come back to it later.
It’s now later …
I really don’t know why I’m stalling. I guess I’m not as ready to “release” certain things as I thought.
I’ll keep working on this and let you know.
4. Lost; one scrapping mojo, if found please return ASAP!
I admit it, I’m in a scrapping slump. I have a half finished layout on my table right now that is driving me nuts! It’s about Marley’s party for which I specifically bought a set of Rock Star themed sticker embellishments. But it is just not gelling for me. All the lessons I learned through the “Embracing Imperfection” workshop have been thrown out the window! I am taking too long. I am second and third (and fourth) guessing my choices. I keep moving elements around the page trying to find the “perfect” spot to put them. I even made my own patterned paper using stamps because I couldn’t find anything in my stash that seemed right.
AaaaaaaHHH!!!!!!!
Sigh.
Can someone please find my mojo and return it to me?
Added later: I haven’t totally found my mojo but I did force myself to finish the LO. Here it is:
I’m still not sure if I’m totally happy with it but … it’s done and I think at this point that is what matters. I can move on! 

One little note, the white glittery star above (and the larger one on the opposite page with the 7 on it) were part of the “stage”. I thought it would be fun to use them on the layout. And I like the pop of white.
5. And now for something completely different.
Greg and I are looking forward to enjoying a night out tomorrow. It’s our PAC dance and we are taking advantage of the free babysitters (thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!) to also go out for dinner. Yay!
I’ll let you know how things go.
Well, that’s all for now. I just read over this post and it is very low-energy, isn’t it? I guess that’s how I’m feeling these days. Winter is just sticking around too long. (Stupid ground hog got it SOOO wrong!) Even though we are not buried under feet of snow like other parts of the province, it’s been darn cold lately. And rainy. And windy. The type of weather that makes you want to curl up in front of the fire with a good book.
Or maybe I just need some chocolate.
Mmmmm ….. chocolate …
Okay, gotta run now! LOL!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Posted in Five on Friday, layout, Marley, Scrapbook | 1 Comment

Embrace Imperfection – A Mini

Posted on February 20, 2011 by daydesigns

Our Week 2 assignment for the Embrace Imperfection class over at Big Picture Classes is to create a mini album using the given quotations on Perfection, our own stash and keeping in mind the 8 stumbling blocks that keep us from completing projects (Photography, Journal Content, Hand-Journalling, Element Placement, Alignment, Colour Matching, Getting Messy and Unchartered Territory.)

Without further ado, here is mine:
I didn’t have any pre-made album pages lying around like Karen had when she made hers. In my search through my stash to see what I could use, I came across a set of pocket folders I’d purchased during my December Daily set up process. I thought if I glued all 3 together it’d be a perfect base.
Here’s a picture of the mini under construction. I’ve glued them all together with my Sookwang tape (LOVE that stuff!) and also glued the cover paper on but the insides are still blank. 

Here is the front cover again.
The first pages:

Tucked into the pocket is this:

I opened up the pocket of the second folder so this is the top flap …

… and the inside all opened up.

I originally thought I’d just fill this double page with quotes but when I came across this journalling sticker (BTW all my products are from various Bella Blvd lines) I came up with the idea of featuring the 8 pitfalls to perfection that Karen talked about in Week 1. 
Here’s a close up.
This is right hand side of the fold out page. Love the bird! 
The last pages. 

And finally, the back cover. Marley saw the panda on one of the sheets and really wanted me to use it but it didn’t seem to fit anywhere until I came to the back page. Isn’t she cute? 
This was a totally fun little exercise! I started it yesterday morning and finished it this morning so it was also a quick exercise! Granted, I am a bit behind on my party prep but … I’m sure I can make up the time later. Right? Ha!!
Oh, just before I go I wanted to share a picture of where this little book is going to live.
This is a floating display shelf in my office/scrap room that I have my girls Birth Day shadow boxes displayed plus some other bits and bobs. See the mini down at the far end? That’s closest to my drafting/scrapping table.
So I can see it whenever I’m working and remember to focus less on making it perfect and more on getting the memories down!
Thanks for visiting! Have a great Sunday.
I have a few cute shots of LC to share but I have to get some real “work” done first.

Posted in Embracing Imperfection, Mini Albums, Scrapbook | 1 Comment

Project 12 – January 2011

Posted on February 19, 2011 by daydesigns
Okay, I conquered my “perfectionitis” and finished the layout. Here it is …

A couple of notes on my process (if I may!) …
Last year I used a Martha Stewart album with coordinating papers for the entire year. By the time December came along, I was sick of the papers and wishing I hadn’t restricted myself so much.This year I decided NOT to buy anything specifically for this project and instead to start using up my massive stash! I have a TON of Basic Grey papers that I can’t seem to resist buying but then rarely use in layouts (not sure why –  they are gorgeous!) so my goal is to use mainly BG papers for 2011.
For January I dug into my Wisteria stash as well as some of the Basics (in vanilla I think). I have fallen victim to the love of the craft cardstock and since it works well with BG papers it seemed like a natural fit here. Now, all these decisions were made over a month ago in a moment of “eager beaver-ness”, along with the choice of dark blue/purple cardstock. When I pulled my Project 12 box out last week to tackle this layout I was pleasantly surprised by these choices and quickly laid out the base.
Then the trouble started!
The sketch shows the pictures mounted on dark cardstock so I originally planned on using the purple for that but once I placed my chosen pictures on it, I didn’t like it. Then I saw the light blue in the patterned papers and knew it would also work with the colour of LC’s sweater (her favourite sweater at the moment) and voila! A colour palate was chosen!!
Okay, so far so good … now to choose my title letters and my embellishments …
oh yeah, and that journalling box …

I will spare you all the details of the 1st and 2nd attempts at making something that more closely resembled the sketch. Suffice it to say, I am really happy with what I (eventually) came up with. 
Journalling reads: “January. A new month. A new year. A new project 12! This month saw Marley lose tooth #4. She really thought #5 & #6 would quickly follow but nothing so far! Paige & Marley started skating – something which Paige has discovered she loves very much! And LC? She just is.” 
The large embellishment shown in the sketch was causing me much heartache until I found a jar of Making Memories flowers and buttons. The purple under flowers were originally light beige until I got the brilliant idea (after much hair pulling and second guessing and stash searching) to stamp them with purple ink. Now they stand out against the paper and with the addition of a brown flower, a button and a couple pieces of ribbon, it feels like a complete embellishment.
It was then a pretty easy thing to add more pieces of the brown ricrac and more buttons to complete the layout.
Oh, the title … very quickly, I searched my alpha stash and found these letters that work with the light blue then I used my Cuttlebug to cut out the 2011 from the same purple cardstock as the journalling block.

On the Embracing Imperfection front, my papers aren’t glued down straight, I got messy with stamping, I used a crappy picture of the snowshoeing (hmmm … I actually just realized that I forgot to add a note about that on my layout …), my journalling is mostly ledgible but not the neatest and I could have written more, and lastly my colours do not match perfectly but they all “go”.
And now I get to start thinking about starting the process all over again … 🙂
Thanks. Enjoy your weekend everyone. I am about to tackle Marley’s birthday party costume (the latest – and hopefully final – iteration is Katy Perry!), the base coat of paint on the craft they’ll be doing next week and dye some sheets for the “stage”. Boy oh boy! I was happy to just have a few friends over to play Barbies with and then eat cake!!!
Posted in layout, Project 12, Scrapbook | 2 Comments