where does time go?

As I sit here nursing our 18 day old son, I'm thinking of the events of this day 4 years ago, when I first began this strange journey of motherhood. My feelings of elation and shock as they handed me an 8lb 2.5 oz. baby with a scrunched up little face. Our little Ethan. I was so unsure of what kind of a mother I would be, if i'd know what to do when I needed to. I remember being calm about the whole parenting thing once we got him home, but at the same time terrified for the day when my husband would go back to work.
Fast forward 4 years, and add 2 more babies- now I look back and realize how easy it really was with one baby. I definitely have more confidence in my parenting abilities, but I still have days when I question if I'm a good mom, and if I'm doing the right things for my kids.

Four years ago today I became a mom for the first time to a sweet little boy:

A little boy who today at 4 years old is still showing me the limits of my patience, helping me discover my creativity in things like cake decorating and toy mending. Helping me to become more diplomatic in matters of sharing and compromise, be a better listener, storyteller, tucker inner,  and all the things a mom needs to know.

What other job do you know where you start with no previous experience or training, and learn on the job? I've got 4 years experience now, but I still feel totally unprepared for the challenges ahead...

I must be doing something right.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

He's here!

Now that our newest addition has arrived, life will definitely take some time to get back to some sense of "normal". Both Ethan and Parker seem excited to have a new baby brother, but also seem to have forgotten how to listen, and how to generally behave with some amount of control; making me wonder if I can survive life with 3 boys.

Rowan Craig Kislingbury
Born November 22, 2010 at 12:52pm
 4055 grams ( 8lbs 15 oz)
22.5 inches

The blondest by far of our 3 boys at birth, he was born 4 hours and 2 minutes after my doctor broke my water to induce labor.
It was a fast and intense labor, but instant and complete adoration.
My doctor checked me before leaving to return to his office saying "you're only 6cm dilated, and your cervix is still posterior- they'll call me when you reach 8 or 9cm..."
I muttered under my breath to my husband "8-9 cm will be much too late..."
15 minutes later I new the baby was coming fast so we called in the nurse Julie. 
She checked me and said I was 7 cm. With the next few contractions I must have fully dilated and my cervix moved forward, because Rowan was determined to make his entrance right away.
With no time to spare, I had a nurse on either side of me, my feet on their hips ( no time to get stirrups). I felt the baby crown, and reached down to feel his fuzzy little head. It seemed then like both Rowan and I were suspended in time while I waited for a contraction. The nurses told me to give a little push if I wanted when the next one hit, but it seemed like forever waiting. I pushed a bit anyway, eager to relieve the pressure and meet my son. In a blink he was out, on my chest and in my arms. I felt the pulse of the umbilical cord, and watched as Mark cut it. I was so happy to be as aware and present as I was for this delivery.

I can see my toes, put on my own shoes and socks, bend over fully and play with my kids on the floor again. My hips no longer ache, the heartburn is gone, and I'm 14 pounds lighter 8 days post delivery.

I already miss being pregnant.

If I didn't have half a brain, and 3 boys already, I think I'd do it all over again and again...

Back on track...for now

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, and a long time since I've done any real scrapbooking. Now that my studio space is 98% complete, I've finally started to get back into the groove. I'm sure the impending arrival of this baby will throw another monkey wrench in my creative endeavors for some time, so I figured I may as well share the few pages I've gotten done recently. Not the best photos, but I'm dealing with a whole new set of lights now, and I'll need to figure out the best technique.

 Materials:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
PP: Echo Park
Washi Tape: The Greeting Farm
Trim: May Arts
Letters: American Crafts
Robots: Maya Road
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist: English Ivy
pen: Copic Multiliner

 

 Materials:
PP: My Mind's Eye
Chipboard: MME, Pebbles
Trim: May Arts?
Letters: American Crafts
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist: Raven
Mask: Maya Road Chipboard negative
Ranger Distress Ink: Black Soot

Mini Letters: Cosmo Cricket

Glossy Accents

Floss: Karen Foster

Google eye: Stash

 

 Materials:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
PP: Bo Bunny, DCWV

Diecut Spider: Cricut Doodlecharms

Rub-On: Bo Bunny
Letters: Doodlebug Design Inc.
Glitter: Doodlebug Design Inc.
Buttons & Google Eyes: Stash
Ranger Stickles: Lavender, Gunmetal
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist: Raven
Ranger Distress Ink: Black Soot
Glossy Accents
pen: Copic Multiliner 0.5

Believe it or not I'm actually working on a double page layout right now- more Halloween goodness.  What can I say? I have way too much Halloween paper in my collection, and need to do more than one layout this year to account for it. ( so I can buy more next year of course!)

This is where I used to scrap...update

The title of this post should really be " This is where I should be scrapping..." Although the cabinets are still on time, and will arrive tomorrow afternoon, I still only have a half tiled shower stall and an ungrouted floor. Let's not harp on the fact that the electrical needs to be redone based on some insight we were given today by a separate team of electricians who were here on an unrelated mission ( more on that in a bit). The last guy who was here doing tile it turns out was really a great mason, but not so great at tile.  We had to ask that the entire shower be demolished and restarted ( yeah it was THAT bad). The painters came and left, but the newly painted walls only made the shoddy plaster work more visible. So I have a beautiful grey green shade on the walls covered now by a million plaster touchups that are still waiting to be sanded.  None of this is really stressing me out though. I actually find it all kinda comical really. I know that it will be done eventually, and all the mess ups are going to hopefully be at our contractors expense and not ours. Why so Zen you ask? I have bigger fish to fry...

Friday was a miserable windy rainy day. Actually really windy and rainy. So windy and rainy that I wasn't the least bit surprised when our power went out. I was in the middle of putting the kids down for nap, and I thought I heard a big thwangy sound when it went. I can't describe the sound really, but it's one I heard many times as a 1998 ice storm survivor. Now that I think about it, It must be the sound of a tree taking out a power line- serious, but not as scary sounding as a transformer blowing up.  So the power was out for an hour or so when I noticed an orange amber light reflecting against my bathroom wall from the window; it was accompanied by a large electrical buzzing and then a loud thud type of a bang.  Just enough to make me jump a little. I called our electric company to report the equipment damage, in case they were trying to locate issues while getting the power back up, and they told me that statistically, we should be out of power for at least 3 hours.  "Hmmm- that means dinner out" was my first thought.  Luckily, my husband called to say that his work was also out of power, and that he'd be coming home early.
So Mark got home shortly after the kids woke up from nap, we packed them up and went to the mall, then out for dinner.  When we returned home, all our neighbors houses were lit up, but ours was still pitch black. Mark ran in ahead and checked the breaker panel, only to find several of the breakers tripped.  He flipped them all back on, and we headed into the house.  That's when we started discovering all kinds of issues- My fridge wasn't working, my computer wasn't turning on.  several light switches didn't work... the list kept growing- our microwave ( the light inside comes on when you open the door, and the turntable starts rotating although there is no power to the main screen)- more outlets and lights( including a shattered halogen in our bathroom) A surge protector saved our television and stereo components. ( ladies if your husband wants to spend 100$ on a device to help clean the power and help picture clarity on his brand new flatscreen tv- let him get it- it saved ours from being BBQ!)

Last night Mark tried to pour the kids a bath and turn on the bubbles, only to find our newly installed air bubble tub unresponsive.

Today we had a team of electricians in to do a major diagnostic of our house to assess the damage, as well as the technician for the fridge, and a technician for the alarm system ( add to that the tile guys). More news- heated floor control fried in our upstairs bathroom, blown dimmer switches and yes the news that perhaps the new electrical being run in my studio/laundry room isn't up to code. GRRRR!

 Now its like the last 2 years of renovations and improvements were like 100 steps forward, and now 99 steps backwards. Our insurance company doesn't cover electrical damage like this, unless of course it was caused by a force of god. Hydro Quebec, although they at times seem like it, do not fall under this category. They did say that if a fire had resulted from any of it, that would have been covered!

So we're crossing our fingers that the electric company will accept liability, and help us by covering the cost of the repairs and replacements, and that the main circuit board needed to fix our fridge arrives in less than the week or so they predict...

This is where I used to scrap...

Yet another installment in the renovation story. I'm afraid I've been so stressed by all that has been going to even want to write about it. There have been days where I've waited in vain for Sub-contractors to arrive, after being told by our contractor to expect them. Days being confined to the house with one or both kids, who just need a trip to the park. There have been delays and poor communication all around, leaving both my husband and I with a bad taste in our mouths.

I won't go into detail, because I'm glad to hopefully have the worst of it behind us. The drywall is up, plastered, primed and partially painted. I have now wiped most surfaces in our playroom down on 3 separate occasions, and hope to god that the next person who decides they need to sand drywall, or break concrete has enough decency to hang up some plastic, or else get down on their hands and knees with the pregnant woman to clean floors and toys once they are done.

Today, a light at the end of the tunnel; a tiled floor! It was beautiful to have someone come today who made relatively little noise, and was able to complete a huge part of the job without any issues ( unless you count running out of epoxy mid job, then waiting for more than an hour for the contractor to show up with more).

Tomorrow,  We're expecting the contractor to come and make some adjustments to our shower base so that they can cover up the fact that the wrong type of base was ordered in the first place. ( I'll be taking some photos before hand just to cover our butts in the event we have water issues later).

 Then the shower can be tiled, and everything grouted on Monday! Whoohoo!!

So here are some of the shots before primer, paint and tile:

 

The first photo is looking through the craft room into the bathroom. The second photo is inside the bathroom. The washer and dryer will be on Ethan's left, the toilet and laundry basket shelf in the alcove behind Parker. The half walls you see in the left hand corner are the shower stall.  The vanity, sink, drying racks, and cupboard will be where I'm standing to take the picture.

hopefully, I'll have pictures of the tile soon, and then we're just waiting for the cabinets to arrive on October 21st.

TWO YEARS AGO...

This little imp finally made his arrival. Right on due date, after several false alarms and trips to the hospital.

He's proven to be quite the little character, still keeping us on our toes.  Today, at two years old, He:

• loves the colour orange : "odejage"
• loves firetrucks "pie-er truck"
• favorite animals are elephants "ehh-pant"
• despite his little Bostonian accent (we're not from Boston) has quite the extensive vocabulary.
• loves cuddles and giving "berbets"-Zerberts.
• will drag a chair to the counter to "help" in the kitchen saying "help you! help you!" and insists on having his plastic "odjage knife" from ikea.
• favorite show is the Firetruck Rocket episode of Little Einsteins, followed closely by any Super Why episode.
• He knows many of his letters, especially "E" and "S"and points them out constantly saying "E mama! E!"
• loves Playdoh and his firetruck playdoh tool.
• favorite story book is Snoozers by Sandra Boynton
• loves his stuffed ( identical) Lambs named Gordon and Other One Gordon "aw-one Gornon"
• makes me play Raffi's Twinkle Twinkle little star on repeat in the car  for an entire drive (and we wonder why I have such a short fuse when driving).
• loves his big brother, and driving him crazy 
• likes to announce things that are loud "acoom keener loud!"
• confuses the word "popcorn" for "lawn mower" ( ??)
• loves snacks and his sippy of water.
• has no clue what "Parker don't touch" or "no" means...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKEROO!

oh sugar sugar...

Today I'm going to vent. I apologize in advance, but I just need to get some things off my chest before I explode. If you've come to see scrapbook pages, just scroll down for the latest, and skip the blah blah blah...ok?


Yesterday I spent half the day at the hospital downtown for blood tests, meetings with doctors and nutritionists. I got training on how to prick my fingers and use a meter to test my blood sugar levels. I got pamphlets on how to balance my meal plans, a chart to monitor proteins in my urine 4 times a day, a chart to record my blood sugar 4 times a day, a chart to write down every single thing I put into my mouth ( with measures). I also have a chart to record baby movements twice a day. Problem is I still don't fully believe I have gestational diabetes.

I didn't know I was going to take this so hard. I know it's a temporary thing, and that I'm lucky that I can control things with diet alone right now. But I can't shake this horrible feeling of having being given a sentence.

Why me? We eat fairly healthy in our household. We have our share of treats, but the focus is always on whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. The main packaged goods we tend to get at the grocery store would be crackers, cereal and pasta; other than that we tend to stick to the outside of the aisles.
other than the 15 pounds I put from the time I quit smoking 4 and a half years ago and through 2 pregnancies, I haven't ever had issue with my weight.  As far as I know there isn't any history of diabetes in my family, and although I'm not terribly active, I don't think my poor gym attendance is solely to blame for this.

So no one can really tell me why I now have to listen to all these directives and log what seems to be every minute moment of my day. Why in 2 weeks I have to go weigh in, pee in a cup, have more blood taken, and be scrutinized again by a team of professionals.

If stress is a factor in high blood sugar levels, this may just give me something to blame it on.

So while I'm struggling with the inconveniences of renovations all over my house, trying to prepare for Parker's second birthday party tomorrow morning: I'm trying to figure out when to pee, when to bleed, and how if at all possible to fit chocolate cake trimmings into a meal plan that doesn't seem to allow for any wiggle room.

I'd just like someone to write down exactly what I should eat and when I should eat it- that'd take any control I have left away, and then I could just follow blindly until this is all over.

The good news is I shouldn't have to bother with all this stuff forever. Only nine weeks left until the official due date.

So for those of you who came to see some good stuff- here it is:

 This week's focus at Practical Scrappers is on ribbon. I had just picked up some new halloween papers and was happy to use them! I also got to use the cute Pumpkin Magic digital stamp courtesy of Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps.

BIG NEWS!

Practical Scrappers is going through some great changes!
I have been asked by Christine to join the administration team, and am so thrilled about what we've got lined up for October...We're going magazine style!!

Here's the official news:

"Practical Scrappers is going to have a new format beginning in October.  We are seeking project submissions for the following topics and will be featuring some of the great work that comes our way.  These projects will be featured in the first two weeks of October.  Projects should be submitted by October 3rd.  In your email please include a link to your blog, if you have one, and tell us what country or state you live in.

Layouts:  Submissions can be sent to practicalscrapperslayouts@gmail.com
Layouts that use five or more photos
Layouts that use black and white photos
Layouts that use distressing techniques

Cards:  Submissions can be sent to practicalscrapperscards@gmail.com
Cards that use distressing techniques

We also will be running a regular feature showcasing projects that are displayed on our message board.  If you have an awesome project you would like to share, post it on there and it may just show up in our October message board feature".

Be sure to get your projects tips and techniques in to conssidered for publication in our new format!

Colour core cardstock

This week's challenge at Practical Scrappers is to use your white core or colour core cardstock. I have a bit of this in my stash, mainly because I love the colours of Core Dinations cardstock, and buy it to use as regular cardstock on my layouts. I'm not a distress kinda girl- I love the way it looks, but it's just not my usual style. ( which by the way explains my large but rarely used collection of Basic Grey paper).

I would have just taken out my embossing folders and passed some papers through the Texture Boutique as background, but that didn't seem daring enough for me ( even though I never use the folders or the machine).

Published in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine, Spring 2011, p47.

I pulled out an embossing folder, but left it open and laid my cardstock over it. Holding it firmly in one spot, I used an emery board to file the surface of the paper. When repeated all around the edges of the cardstock, it gives the impression that the whole sheet underwent the same treatment. I also took an idea from the core dinations website, and used a paper crimper on the red paper before trimming it and sanding it. I had originally wanted to use my corrugated crimper, but I think I may have given it away. Thank goodness the crop cupboards at my LSS are fully stocked with tools!

 The digi stamp is from our challenge sponsor this week- Robyn's Fetish. Since I'm not much into making cards, I find it fun to try and incorporate stamps into my layouts. Choo-Choo Charlie is perfect for my train obsessed boys, and may  even get used large scale at our next train themed party.

other materials:
PP:Moxie,  Sassafras Lass
Letters: MLS, American Crafts
pearls: Queen and Co.

This is where I used to scrap...update

Just a little update on the scraproom renovations.
It was a loud long week filled with jackhammers, air nailers, and loads of banging. This meant very short to no naps for the boys and I ( we're trying to catch up this week-end). We finally have the drains in for the bathroom, the floor re-poured, the sub-floor down, the walls and insulation up, and those pesky air ducts boxed in.
The cabinet designer has gone back to the drawing board to accommodate the changes in the bulkhead height, and the higher than anticipated floor. When he asked me if I mainly used the space by myself, and I told him I planned on having friends over on a regular basis, he laughed and asked how tall they all were...

So girls- no growing past 5'8" ok?
We'll drink lots of lattes to stunt our growth...at least vertically :P

 view looking from back "studio" wall towards bath/laundry

This is the view from the laundry into the "studio"

Monday to Wednesday next week, we're expecting the electrician and the plumber (as well as the new plans so we can be sure to get enough plugs and lighting where we need them). The next step will be to finally get the cabinets into production, and get all the drywall up- ughh more dust!

I think the computer area is going to now be located on the longest wall opposite the door. It just makes more sense because of the bulkhead. I've also agreed to drop the counter height down to 34' to give more space between upper and lower cabinets ( and because we've all solemnly vowed not to grow any taller...)

On a different project note, Mark went to get the paint today for Parker's new room. We're hoping he has time to start it tomorrow or Monday. ( today was all used up getting haircuts for both boys, and new indoor shoes for our preschooler...sigh)

The colours even sound bright and fun. Just imagine Morning sunshine ( soft yellow) on the upper half of the walls, white chair rail and Carrot stick ( bright orange) on the lower half. We plan on filling the space with the crib/toddler bed he has for now, and the dark green armoire and night stand. We're also on the lookout for Elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkey's and other fun animals to decorate with.

Have a great week-end

Write in White!

White pens have become a scrapbooking staple; armed with a good one, you can do so much more than just journaling on darker paper. Our designers this week at Practical Scrappers have taken up the challenge, and come up with some great ideas for using white pens. There are some great doodles and accents, hand drawn images for cards, and drawn images using a Cricut. I scratched my head on this one trying to come up with something I haven't tried before. Did you know you can customize your twill ribbon with a Uniball signo? Now you do!

Here's a layout using some older photos of Ethan just before we moved into the new house. Our real estate agent was so great. When we closed on both houses he not only brought us a bottle of wine, but a bucket of Playdoh and an Elmo doll for Ethan. ( It was also Christmas time).

I had a blast with this one!
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
PP: Reminisce
Trim: Pink Paislee, May Arts?
felt: American Crafts
Letters: American Crafts
Glossy Accents
Uniball Signo Pen
Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors

A little lace.

published in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine, Spring 2011, p33

This week's challenge at Practical Scrappers is to use your lace cardstock. I still have a pretty large stash of it in my possession, so I was happy to give this one a go. If you go check out the challenge, you will see some interesting variations on the lace cardstock theme, with Dt members playing by the Practical Scrappers rules and using what they had on hand. There are lace doilies, lace punches, Cricut and Cuttlebug diecuts as well as lace card.

I chose to use a sheet of green stars from KI memories; first using it as a stencil to mist the background paper. I then cut a swatch of it to use as a border under my photos, and proceeded to go crazy with the Basic Grey stickers!!
What a fun page to make!

This is where I used to scrap...Groan!

They finally came and did the temporary install for the washer and dryer yesterday, but with the duct work being rerouted, I'm only able to get in there at night to do anything. It's going to take a few days to get caught up on laundry- good thing we don't plan on leaving the house while they are working, or I'd need more than mismatched outfits for the boys.


Did I tell you that I used to work in telecommunications? for a few years I was responsible for managing  equipment required on site for fiber optic rings ( systems) and working with installation crews to make sure everything and everyone arrived on time. I processed emergency orders, movement of material from site to site and final reconcillation and billing- blah blah blah...what I'm getting at is that I've worked with a lot of installers, lots! So I'm not surprised at the following events.

Long story made short- there were water pipes in the way, and the guys asked me if it was okay if they passed the duct work on the other side of them. In the same breath they added " we don't really have a choice" ( in their best Quebecois). Maybe it's because I'm native New Brunswicker -LOL, but what I understood, and what they were planning were two totally different things. Not only does the bulk head pass along the entire length of back wall, they passed it through the side wall of the back room which is going to be the laundry/bathroom- right where the shower should sit.
ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!
I'm sure it's going to require more material, and add a few more hours onto the job, but they have no choice but to move the ducts to go around the outside of the room ( which was the original plan) and replace the studs they chopped down in the side wall.

Did I mention they chopped one of my motions sensors for the alarm off the wall? I got a call from our security company yesterday asking if everything was ok- only to descend into the basement and find one guy with the motion sensor in hand- he thought it was wireless, and that he could just move it.

We also had a small drip of a leak in a drain pipe in the furnace room. it's been there since we moved in, and we've had a bucket under it. Yesterday the bucket got moved when the washer and dryer got relocated. No one knew to put it back where it was.
No biggie...until someone also knocked the drainpipe, and turned our small drip drip into a trickle.

Now I'm waiting for the electrician and the plumber.

wish me an uneventful day!

on a positive note, I got my photos back yesterday! WHOOOHOOO!!
as I copied them over to my desktop, I kept seeing stuff I forgot I had, and feeling even more grateful that I hadn't lost them all forever- all 22,000+ photos! I won't complain of not having any photos to scrapbook for a long, long time!

Here's my scraproom in much earlier glory days:

Challenge day

It's my day again at Practical Scrappers- this week we're trying out out stitching techniques. I usually overlook stitching as an option on my page, because I usually don't start out with much of a plan, and  well, I'm an instant gratification type of girl. The faster I can get to the desired effect the better.
Stitching usually provides a very subtle effect, and I'm not so subtle...

So here's what I came up with:

A sheet of kraft paper, some embroidery floss and voila! custom paper! I added a few flowers, pearls, and my favorite mini letters from October Afternoon. It's simpler than usual, but I'm pleased with the result.

This is where I used to scrap...update

I may bore you all to tears, but I'm going to try to post photos of my scrap space as it evolves, and record the headaches that come along with the renovations. It's really too bad I don't have any photos of how it really used to look- I think I may find some of those when our recovered photos are here.

The demolition is done, and measurements taken for the ductwork. The cabinet design is done, and just needs fine tuning...good thing I asked about the height of the countertops this morning, or everything would have been at desk height. ( I'm used to standing at countertop height). That little hiccup will change quite a few measurements, and possibly rule out upper cabinets along the long wall under the ductwork. I'm still unsure, but I think The counter height and lots of drawer space is more important.

So girls wanna see what happened to our space? (speaking to my cropping buddies)


This was it last Thursday:

That was early in the morning, after Mark and I finished emptying it. The yellow room if you don't recognize it is the back room that was filled with books and movies ( and boxes of books and all the other junk we haven't found a home for yet).

This is what it looked like Thursday afternoon:

And what it looks like today:

This is the view standing at the back wall of the back room ( which is all one big room for now)

 And this one from where my computer used to be- looking at the back room.

( if you look closely you'll see my abandoned and much needed washer and dryer stored in the furnace room- the guys were supposed to come this afternoon to hook them up temporarily...I'm still waiting!)

The real work will start only at the beginning of September, so unless I scan in some design plans, there shouldn't be any more updates until then.


Now I just need to figure out how to scrapbook a 12 x 12 page in an 8 x 8 space....

I completely forgot

...To post last week's project for Practical Scrappers! The challenge was to use some of our Summer themed product. I searched and searched, and realized that I had been pretty good at using up the summer papers I bought for our photos from Jamaica. I did find a stray paper or two and some journaling spots, but no real summer themed embellishments. What to do? - Wait, what is this large machine sitting on my desk again?! Oh yeah! I can use my Cricut! ( I always forget)

So I took the only shot I have right now from our trip ( We purchased it from the resort photographer) and used an assortment of papers to create a summery page.  I used some basics papers from Basic Grey to make the sand castle, since the colour and textures were perfect! I cut the castle in two pieces, and used one on either side of my layout.

Cardstock : Bazzill Basics Paper
pp: Fancy Pants- Rustic Sun Collection, Basic Grey Basics, Creative Imaginations
Journaling spot: Bo Bunny
letters: American Crafts
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink
pens: Uniball signo- white, Copic multiliner- black

The winner is...

Stacey!
I drew the number 4 at Random.org, she was the fourth comment to tell me what to create! 

Stacey said...

Happy Anniversary & adorable layout. Boy embellies, cars, trucks, dinosaurs...  Congratulations Stacey! send me your mailing address to girl.paper.scissors@hotmail.com, and I'll get creating some boyish embellies right away!

Wanna be a winner too?

I decided to give my own sketch a shot during Saturday's Crop for the Cure crop put on by Scrapbook Star.  My scrapping buddies were all very supportive too, and used the sketch for layouts and a card. 

Lucky thing, because My friend Bella was the winner over at Practical Scrappers for the polymer embellishments. 

There's still a chance for you to win your own set of custom embellies, just leave me a comment telling me what kind of embellishments you'd like to see, or what paper collection you'd like to have stuff to match.

I'm up for a challenge, and will be breaking out the clay after picking Friday's winner at random. 

This layout is very strange for me, since I made the sketch, many of the papers, and coloured the digital stamp accents ( stamps by Dustin Pike). I find the distressing and cute stamp mix a little different, but somehow it works I guess! The square papers ( excluding the red and black diamond pattern) were made using Impression obsession stamps, Distress inks, and loads of Glimmer mist. The black and white papers are from MME. Stamps coloured with Copic markers, coated with Glossy Accents. Add some black distress ink, some distress Stickles, letter stickers by Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket and there you have it.

A year already?

I've been so caught up in all the challenges and fun going on over at  Practical Scrappers, I almost forgot my own blog! Tomorrow marks a year since I moved  Girl,Paper,Scissors over to bloggerland! Happy Birthday- er... Bloggerday to me!! I've met some really great people through my blog,  loved all the comments, and found some great blogs!

In order to celebrate all the great fun the blog has brought me over the past year, I'm going to dig out the polymer clay I've been neglecting, and create a set of custom embellishments for one lucky follower.  I'm also giving away a set over at Practical Scrappers as a prize for an online crop sketch challenge. Visit the Message boards and post your creation using my sketch by Sunday 11:59 pm EST to be eligible to win.

Here's the sketch:

come and visit the online crop this weekend for lots more fun and prizes!

Here's an example of the embellishments you could win:

( these ones were based on a set a friend of mine had that matched my layout perfectly- since she wouldn't part with hers which were created by Kimmie Prout- I had to improvise!)

Leave me a comment on this post telling me 1)what kind of creations would be fun to have or 2)tell me what paper line you'd love to have embellies to match!
I'll draw a name next Friday afternoon at random.

Happy Friday!

Sticker Mania!

To celebrate It's one year Anniversay, Practical Scrappers is having 5 different challenges this week all involving the number one. Thursday's challenge- to use only one embellishment, but as much as you want. As...much...as...I...want? no one had to ask me twice! lol!

Well ok- I'll admit I did find this challenge pretty hard- I mean what constitutes an embellishment anyway? There were ways in which I was going to use patterned paper that could have been considered "embellishment", that goes for inks, mists and such too! If I used flowers, would whatever I used for centers be considered a second embellie?


In order to simplify things for my easily confused brain, I decided to "stick" with stickers. Lord knows I have tons of them, that I usually neglect them, and it was an easy way around the question of whether or not a title was considered "embellishing", since I could use stickers for that too!

This is what happens when you take a great shot of my boys, 2 packs of seriously cute Doodlebug Design stickers, and some yummy papers by my new favorite company- Echo Park- oh and don't forget those title letters by Pebbles!

Rainy Days

First let me say that I'm amazed that I'm actually posting twice to my blog in the same day! This having the computer in the playroom might be a cool thing after all.

We've been hit with crazy rain the last couple of days, and  even though the sun is out for now, everything is just too soggy to warrant going out with the boys. Monday- Painting and playdoh playdate with Luke, Yesterday more playdoh, and the start of a dinosaur train for the playroom wall.

First let me say that I had visions of either cutting these cute digital images by Dustin Pike on my Cricut,  in layers of pattern and colour, or spending hours carefully colouring them with my copics.

Then the kids needed something to do- so we broke out the crayola markers:

Still a work in progress ( Ethan got sucked in by Word World on TV and abandoned his egg car). I think we'll let it wrap around the wall if the kids are still interested in coloring more.


Maybe I've been spoiled, or maybe we just need new markers for the kids, but man I missed my copics!

Hyperventilating

Ok I'll admit it ( but only because my husband doesn't read my blog) I got a little ummm... testy...last night.  It may have had a little bit to do with the pregnancy hormones, or just being tired, but I'm pretty sure it had a lot more to do with the fact that everything I needed to do last night went against the very nesting instincts I'm starting to listen to lately. I've spent the last two weeks sorting, purging and organizing in my scrapbook room. It was starting to look great- good thing too, because our renovations came really close to being canceled, and it made the thought of not having the room redone that much more bearable.

Yesterday, the contractors woke up and realized they were close to missing an important milestone in our project, ( and close to losing the job). It took 4 men, (5 if we include my husband) half an hour to conclude they couldn't possibly confirm any design plans until they started ripping out the ceiling and planning overhead duct work- ( Duh! we knew that 5 weeks ago!)

So- guess when they are starting "exploratory" demolition? Yup! TODAY.
 Guess who was up until 1:30 am moving precious scrapbooking supplies, computer, cricut, camera...
No, not my loving husband, (who was content once the computer was moved). Me- the neurotic scrapbooker. Mark kept saying "they'll tape up the area's they aren't  cutting to keep the dust out".

The experienced voice in my head reminded me of how effective plastic sheeting has been in the past, how plaster dust doesn't really care what precautions you've taken, and how likely it really was that anyone coming in to cut into my ceiling was going to view my scrapbook stuff as valuable.

I don't have any before photos- not until we hear more news about the hard drive recovery.

But if you've ever seen my room, you'll appreciate these...this is what I was left with at 1am:

everything REALLY important (except my albums) got relocated here:

 ...and here:

I keep reminding myself it's only for two months, and hoping that the boys will be understanding and share the playroom with Mama's stuff. I still haven't figured out a safe place for my trimmer...

Do you know the Derry-o?

The boys are starting to sing songs other than Twinkle Twinkle and the ABC song by themselves. This is the rendition of Farmer in the Dell I heard Ethan singing while playing with Playdoh this afternoon:

"The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell- I know the derry-o, the farmer in the dell..."

It went on like this for a few repetitions until he moved onto something else.
Makes perfect sense if you know what the heck a derry-o is!

Happy Monday!
Erin

No Challenge!

I was nervous at first when I read that this week's challenge for Practical Scrappers was to use at least 7 different things on a layout. OK- I guess I haven't sat back and counted before now, because it seems I actually do this on a regular basis...who new?!

The resulting page this week is different for me, because it focused more on memorabilia than on photos.  The ultrasound picture featured looks like nothing to most, but it's the shot the doctor took after finding "it"- you know the anatomy bit that seemed to be hiding six weeks previously...

This will hopefully balance out the very pink and girly " Just Maybe" page in the baby's album.

I  used a 6x6 inch envelope to hold the extra ultrasound photos, the DVD as well as the journaling. I punched the edge of the envelope flap just to remove the adhesive, and give it more "frill" I then punched and coloured a heart and glued just the bottom portion of it to the envelope so that the flap can tuck under it once closed. The digital stamp is from one of our sponsors Digi Doodle. I had no idea how I was going to use it when I chose it last month, but I think it landed on the perfect page- even got me to use up that MME transparency that I've had forever!

other Materials used:
PP: October Afternoon, Basic Grey
Cardstock: Coredinations
Letters: American Crafts
Flowers: Prima Maarketing
Gems: Doodlebug Designs Inc.
Pearls: Zva
Rubber stamps: Hero Arts
Markers: Copic
Border
Ink: Memento
Punch: Martha Stewart

Thursday already!?

I've been so busy thinking about how I can still have "real" tea parties, Princess birthday's, and Barbie stuff in my house that I  almost forgot to post my page for this week's challenge over at Practical Scrappers. ( I really am okay with the idea of a 3rd boy, but I will admit I was looking forward to certain novelties a little girl would bring).

The challenge this week was to use something from your stash over a year old. Now this is not a huge challenge for many of us hoarders who still own lots of product from past years. I view it as an opportunity to find something unique in my stash that I'm really sad I didn't use when I first bought it.

In this case, I rescued some Cosmo Cricket paper and die cuts, as well as a "Page Talkers" digital recorder from DCWV. I'm really happy I captured Ethan singing his ABC's while he still pronounces some of the letters in his 3 year old way.  The photo is from a recent trip to Parc Safari, where my sweet little boy passed up the Batman and Spiderman facepainting options, and asked for Hearts ( with glitter). Maybe I'll get to throw a princess party one day after all.

Baby news!

I know a few of you are waiting for this post.

I had my 22 week ultrasound done today, the doctor examined the heart, saw the 4 chambers and listened to the heartbeat.The kidneys and all other major organs look good too. Measurements were taken of the head, the abdomen, the femur, all measuring in accordance with my previously expected due date of November 25th. My placenta looks good, so does the fluid.  The words "very active baby" and "lots of umbilical cord" were uttered several times by the doctor before he stopped, looked at me very solemnly and said: "I have some bad news..."

My heart stopped beating, I stopped breathing, then waited what seemed like minutes more than seconds before he continued. " you're having a boy" he said- "That is the best news you could  possibly give me!" I replied, as the blood and oxygen started to circulate again in my system.  I watched him again for a split second just in case that too was part of the joke, and he was going to tell me it was really a girl.
I think he apologized  to us over 10 times during the rest of the exam because he felt bad for having made us think for 6 weeks that we might be having a little girl.

That darn umbilical cord! This time it's 100% certain, we all saw it on the screen, no mistaking the parts this time. His 100%'s haven't been wrong once in the last 30+ years, and I couldn't be happier- now to pick a name!

My little artist.

Ethan loves to do crafts and colour. He's been pretty good with his crayons since we gave them to him at 18 months of age, respecting that crayons stay at the table when you want to get up and roam around. Maybe it's because Parker is a second child, and doesn't have my undivided attention, but he is a completely different beast when it comes to art supplies.

It seems Playdoh, and crayons are a 5th food group  for my toddler. I tried giving him pencil crayons, but he'd chew on the tips. I tried markers, only to discover that a red Crayola felt tip, one chewed, horrifically resembles blood when oozing from the mouth of a child. He's got a thing for seed beads too; after dumping a tube of them all over my craftroom floor, he started chomping on them. As I scrambled to get them contained and cleaned up, he was climbing over me like a madman trying to get more to shove in his mouth. Needless to say diaper changes were interesting in the days following.


Next came the experimentation with drawing on things other than paper. His hands, face, beloved stuffed lamb Gordon, wall, toy shelves, kiddie table and chairs have all served as canvases at some point or another. Then came the couch- our BRAND NEW, dark grey plush corduroy sectional.

I saw him with the yellow finger paint.
I removed it from him.
I placed it back on the table in the craftroom then closed and locked the door.
How the following events occured I have no clue!

I told both boys  to play for a minute while I ran upstairs to get their things together so we could go meet friends for lunch. I returned not 3 minutes later to find Parker with yellow paint on his shirt and jeans. Thinking it had occured earlier,  I started to take measures to get him changed- then I noticed paint on the floor. Panic started to set in as I scanned the room for the paint jar. All I could see from where I was standing was the back of the couch dividing the playroom. I took slow deliberate steps towards it and then got to the other side petrified at what I might find... Yellow hand prints and blobs of finger paint were splattered over the ENTIRE seating area. Yellow hand prints on the seat of the lazyboy chair, (and days later I discovered) yellow paint all over the canister of my vacuum cleaner.

I'm really glad the damage to everything was minimal ( because I caught him quickly), and cleaned up relatively easily ( did I mention we were still waiting for the stain treatment for the couch?) I am thankful that I've invested in non-toxic, washable, kid friendly crafting products, and even secretly hopeful that this behavior might indicate a bit of creative genius or something.

With that being said, here's this week's layout for Practical Scrappers showcasing another creative endeavor by Parker.

The challenge this week was embossing. I let Parker have my Versamark pen, and the background sheet of Basic Grey paper. once he had scribbled his thing, I quickly dusted it with American Crafts embossing powder in Denim, and heat set.  I journalled in sections with a Zig embossing pen, and embossed it with a detail black powder by Stampendous. I added a  little spritz of Glimmer Mist, clear dew drops and pebbles, then the AC Thickers for my title.

I plan to take some direction from my 21 month old and experiment a little bit more with my supplies; hopefully the outcome will be just as spontaneous but more controlled.

Happy Crafting!
Erin

Halfway There!

No photos today I'm afraid. just wanted to share that today marks week 20 of this pregnancy, and that I'm so grateful to be at this point. I'm happy to feel the baby moving, to see my belly growing, and yes even to watch my belly button deform and "pop" ( it's halfway there too). If you really want to see a photo, you could always stalk my friend Claude's 365 photo blog. I think yesterday, this bulging belly of mine may have made photo of the day, but she hasn't posted it yet. Just 11 days until the next doctor's appointment, and hopefully a definitive  answer to the pink/blue question. Can you tell I'm just itching to buy baby clothes?

Summer fun

Trying to keep both kids contained in our yard is not an easy task. Because we live on a corner lot, and have a sunken stone patio in the backyard,  the most kid friendly space we have is the big expanse of grass and driveway in the front and side of our house. Kids being kids, they usually end up going in two different directions, and get too close to the road for my liking. Thank goodness for sidewalk chalk!

Even though Parker is still just making lines and scribbles, and Ethan is only starting to make circles, and adding some details like eyes and smiles, they have a blast with the chalk. Mama and Daddy get lots of requests for various animals, flowers and such, then the boys "colour" them in.

Due to my recent computer crash ( which I may start referring to as the Great Crash of 2010) I find myself with a huge lack of pictures to scrap, and more incentive to make sure I take the camera along with me. I'm getting photos of things I don't think I would normally have taken. trips to the park, pool, and everyday play at our house.

This is the layout I did for this week's challenge at Practical Scrappers. The challenge is to use any type of cartoon/animation on a page or card. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is not a huge challenge - I love cute characters! I dug through my stuff intent on showing some love to some much neglected items. It makes me happy to use old stuff collecting dust, and to use new stuff right away. This layout is a mix of both.

I used some Colorbox inks ( chalk and pigment) to stamp all the little Imaginisce animals on the black cardstock. I took a cloth and buffed them a bit before they dried completely just to add to the chalkboard effect.  There are red crabs in there too, but they don't show as well in the photo. I also added a few spritzes of the new chalk Glimmer mist before adding the Fancy Pants sun, Basic Grey letters ( I love these!!) , Bella blvd journaling spot, Making Memories flower, and MME die cut lizard.

On the edge

Border punches and deco scissors oh my!
Yep, you guessed right, that's this week's challenge over at Practical Scrappers. I have about 40 pairs of deco scissors (I refuse to do an exact count in case I have more than that), and very very rarely use them anymore. Why then do you ask did I go out and purchase border punch after border punch? ( no I won't even take a guess at a number here!)
I think both should have take a place ( ok maybe a smaller one) in every scrapbooker's arsenal.
Deco scissors can go where border punches can't ie. rounded shapes. each pair comes with two decorative options- don't believe me? Just flip your scissors over!
Anyone who's ever tried to cut a straight line with a pair will also see the value in a border punch.
The new designs for border punches are also often irresistible; from the simplest scallop, to stars, cupcakes, bunnies, flowers, lace- you name it!

So I've dusted all mine off, and come up with a page that's far from my usual boyish comfort zone.
I might just find a use for all those frilly edges after all!

Happy Canada Day! I hope to come back today or tomorrow with some pictures from the day.

Erin

Don't know what you've got...

Well we've done all we can do to try and save my pictures and info on my desktop computer. We have no choice but to leave it in the hands of the experts now. I'm afraid It's going to cost us an arm and a leg, but all I can think about is not having any baby pictures of my second child save for those in my scrapbook albums.

The very thought that my albums might be all that's left makes me really question the quality of the inks and paper I've been using to print my photos and wonder how long they'll hold up. I've taken it for granted until now that I could just reprint the photos if need be.

Here's a layout and photo that I'm glad to have gotten off the machine. I love this picture of Parker on the beach in Jamaica. He's just so into the contents of his little shovel.

I did this page for this week's challenge at Practical Scrappers. I don't usually have any issues sneaking a few flowers into the boys pages, but I really wanted to challenge myself to use lots this week. I think the neutral colours help keep the page masculine.

Materials:

PP: Bella Blvd, American Crafts

Flowers: Prima Marketing

Stickers:EK Success

Gems: Bo Bunny

Pearls: Dollarama

"just humor me Hun..."

Those were the words I spoke to my husband during our grocery shopping trip on Saturday. You see I saw something really cute on sale, something I'm only 80-90% sure to be able to actually use. But for $4.94 I couldn't resist this:

Yep- It's PINK!! My Doctor wasn't positive, because there was so much umbillical cord in the way, but he said it's what he couldn't find that made him 80-90% sure we'll be holding a little girl in November!
I haven't allowed myself to look at names, or buy anything baby related until now, so even an 18-24 month jacket bought at Loblaws is a huge thing for me; it means I finally have some hope that things are going to work out this time( pink or blue).

Flock and Glitter

My scrapping space has seen some catastrophic messes in it's history, but none as far spread as that caused by a little flocking.  I occasionally dig out my tiny bottles of flock and glitter as an added touch to a project and usually end up cleaning particles of my desk for days. This week's challenge at Practical scrappers was to use loose glitter or flock. As I'm still recovering from the last time I used loose glitter on a project, I thought I'd concentrate on flock. BLACK flock to be precise. I worked on a small area at first, and all was well, then I decided to outline part of my layout.  I drew out the glue lines in portions, and sprinkled ( ok dumped) on the flock as I went. I left it on my scrap desk overnight to dry before tapping off the excess.  I think this was the crucial mistake, as there is an air duct in the ceiling of my basement scrap space.  I worked at getting all that fluffy powder back into it's bottle the next day, only to notice afterwards the fine black dust coating EVERYTHING on my table, as well as everything on the shelf above my table. Let's just say it was bad timing, and I had lots of stuff out that should have been put away= lots of stuff to wipe off.

I'm stubborn though, and I'll probably attempt this again in the future. Next time I might make sure my desk is empty of all clutter before I start, and that the air vent is shut.

Here's the page:

The flock is on the blackest cat, and around the edge of the kraft coloured paper. I also added a splash of glitter to the heart.
Materials:
PP: Basic Grey
Letters: Basic Grey
Paper Floss: Karen Foster
Feather: Unknown
Trim: Webster's Pages
Flock : Doodlebug Design Inc.
Glitter: Stix 2
Stickers: SRM Press
Avery Key Tags
Ranger Distress Crackle paint
Distress Ink
Tiny Staples(Tim Holtz)

When is the last time you used an...

( as seen in Canadian Scrapbooker Winter 2010)

...eyelet on a layout?
Think reeeeeally hard- can't remember? Then maybe you should join this week's challenge at Practical Scrappers.

Although I dreaded digging mine out at the risk of making something that looked dated, I'm quite pleased with the final result- Perhaps because I got some of those pesky little things out of my stash without having to suck them up with my vaccuum cleaner...

...or maybe it had everything to do with my adorable subject matter.

Materials:
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper
PP: American Crafts. Bella Blvd.
Stickers: K&Company
Eyelets: Making Memories, Dollarama
Letters: American Crafts
Chipboard: Maya Road
Punch : Marvy Uchida

Shading class

I taught my very first class on Monday night at Scrapbook Centrale, and promised the ladies I wold post the cards so they could actually finish them at home. I guess I had no idea there would be 7 students, and that it would take an hour to get through our first stamp.
It was lots of fun, especially seeing Natalie the owner actually take a class ( I won't name names, but someone on staff didn't believe me when I told them Nat was going to take the class with us).
After getting over the shock of how many colours I used to do the tongue on the Farm Girl from Rock the Farm Set ( The Greeting Farm), Nat settled right in.

If anyone has finished cards they want to show me, just leave me a link in the comments, or send me an e-mail! I'd love to see them, and I'd love any ( positive or not) feedback you might have on the class.

Thanks!
Erin