Shhhhh.....don't tell

that I've been making cards instead of packing!!!!! I think the key is to shut down the computer but we all know that is not going to happen. It has been a very busy week around here though. I celebrated my birthday on Friday, took the day off and spent it at the lake. It was a great way to celebrate.
Hmm..our youngest daughter wrote this on the outside of the envelope for my BD card and our friends thought it would be cute on my cake. Yum..it was good regardless. Well, 20 years ago we were celebrating the birth of our second child. Happy Birthday Princess and know how much you are loved!!!
Momma duck seens to have lost some of her babies. There are only six left!! Mother Nature can be cruel sometimes.

We also got out to see the baby gulls. They look so much like the granite rocks that you can easily miss them. We didn't stay on the island long as the mommas were flying overhead and they were not impressed with us. I am glad I was wearing a hat just in case!!!


I did get a couple of cards made also. They are sketches from Di Hickman

With this one I used BG oh Baby Girl pp,HS writer's Block circle,ribbon from stash, Cuttlebug design, jelly roll pen and chalk ink

and also from Beate
With this one I used WR Memory Keepers Silver Lining Brillance (which doen't show it's true glory in this scan), HA sentiment, 7 Gypsies label it stamp and my Marvy Scallop circle punch. I have decided I am not very good at following the rules as you can see by my cards, but they certainly motivate me to play and I guess that's what it's all about.

This next sketch

is from Amy's Super Sunday Sketch

I used Basic Grey Gypsy pp and M's $1 stamps. These sketches just make it so easy to make a great card!!!! I think this is one of my favorites. It must be the colors cause they just make me happy!!
I also did a card based on the sketch from Di Hickman She posts a sketch every Wednesday and I do try to make a card based on that sketch.

This pp is from Imagination Project (Chloe's Closet), bazzill cs, $ stamps from M's and brads from my stash.

I'll probably be taking a bit of a break from cardmaking as I really have to focus on packing and I don't get ANYTHING done when I am surfing all the awesome blogs that are just a click away.

Great news...

my godchildren (who live in Texas) are coming to visit in just 10 days!! This puts a very big smile on my face. I am on vacation for most of their visit. Although we will be moving then, I am looking forward to spending time with them. They are 5 and 9 and LOVE to come to Canada!!

Help me!!!! I found tbis sketch and neglected to write down the blog I got it from!! Maybe one of you visited that same blog and can help me give credit to the rightful owner of the sketch.

It's official....

The real estate agent called yesterday and we've sold our house. I truly hope the new owners get to have some of the many joys of this home as we have over the years. It is the only home our youngest dd had and the only one our oldest remembers. It was the first and only home Paul and I have had. I guess I never thought of the emotional attachment I might have when we put it on the market, but man, there's a lot of good memories in these walls. BUT... we are ready to have a newer, smaller, one level home with a garage that I promise to always be able to park my car in!!!!!!

So the creative side of me has not had a chance to play this week, so I am posting a couple of scrapbook layouts I've done recently.

This was from an online class I took that required us to use corners. I will try to remember to post the supplies I used.

The next is one of myself and our youngest dd. She will be 20 next Saturday which means we will no longer have TEENAGERS!!! I don't know whether to laugh or cry!

This was taken when she was 16 and I never truly saw how much we looked alike until I saw this picture.
Don't forget to spoil dad a bit on Sunday and let him know how much you care.

Something to think about...

Lisa sent this to me. We pass a lot of these emails around but this one is worth reading. Send it on to a friend to remind them they are one of a kind.

All of us girls.. Old and young... Near and far... Hold special memories of
good times we've shared. We've had our share of hard times when our friends
were there to make us feel better. We've shared... our hearts our time our
secrets our fears our hopes and our dreams. Let us never break the chain of
friends!
I am only as strong as the caffeine I drink, the hair spray I use and the
girlfriends I have. Here's to you!

Why do we only have parties for each other when one of us gets married,
pregnant, has a birthday, or retires?

What would most of us do without our sisters, confidants, and shopping,
lunching and traveling girlfriends?
Let's celebrate each other for each other's sake! If you get this twice or
more, you are
lucky to have more than one girlfriend.

Remember: Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter.
Their house will be bigger. They will drive a better car. Their children
will do better in school. And their husband will fix more things around
the house.

So? Let it go! Be Happy! Love yourself and your circumstances.
Think about it:
The prettiest woman in the world can have trouble in her heart.
The most highly favored woman on your job may be unable to have children.
The richest woman you know, she's got the car, the house, the
clothes....might be lonely.
And the word says if "I have not Love, I have nothing."
So, again...
Love you!
Love who you are!

Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say:
"I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!"
"Winners make things happen. Losers let things happen"
Be blessed ladies and pass this on to encourage another woman.
"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might
be the world".

There's nothing like a day at the lake

to put life in prospective. What an amazing place to unwind and relax. We are so fortunate to have great friends like John and Dee who always welcome us to their piece of paradise.



I got some great pics of the geese that had been visiting, also a new momma and her 9 babies made an appearance yesterday. I hope momma can keep her babies safe as there are so many eagles at the lake this year.

Had fun playing with a couple of challenges. The first is a sketch Allison has posted on Sisterhood ofscrap

PP from My Mind's Eye (Tres Jolie), brads from the $store, leather frame MM's, HA sentiment. I cut away the back of the frame and used a sparkle glaze pen to color in the vellum flowers.

The second is a sketch challenge from Di Hickman that she posts each Wed.

For this one I used more of the BG Gypsy pp. again the HA sentiment, charm from $store and ribbon from LSS. I used stamps from a set I picked up at a local discount store and for some reason did not keep the company info. If you recognize these stamps, please let me know who makes them so I can label the case.

Happy Friday

Last night we went and picked some lilacs. Paul remembered picking
lilacs from this same bush as a child. I love the look and smell of
lilacs and try to get a small bunch for my dining room each year.



Sorry for the bad quality of the pic but it was taken thru
a window at night. If you look really close to the bottom left side of
this picture you can see a very brave hummingbird sitting there. He
spends a great part of his day fending off other hummers from the
feeder. Mama Pusses didn't even know the little guy was there. Gotta
love nature.



Some of you know our oldest daughter Jocelyn lives in Calgary and our youngest Lyndasy
is there with her sister for the summer earning some $$ for school this
year. Well, Jocelyn sent me some pics of the flooding they had in the
city.OMG there was so much water. Here is a link to some pics Allison
has posted.
A
lot of rain

I did get a chance to make a card based on
a sketch from Maria's
Sketch
I am sending it to my Aunt Margie who has a birthday
next week. She is one of my favorites and was always like a sister to
my mom.





I used pp from the BG Gypsy pad, stamps from Hero Arts, SU Looks Like Spring and I think the butterfly collage stamp was from SU also. I have had that image stamped off for a couple of years. I also used the SU tab punch and ribbon from LSS.

Well, I am struggling to get the pics to post today so I will have to try again!!!!!

How many times

have you seen an idea and thought..why didn't I think of that?? Well, check out this idea that is posted on Libby Hickson has on her blog.



Now, how many times have you had an idea for a card, only to have it turn out NOTHING at all like you visualized it. I started with a sketch from
Maria's Blog but really wanted to use these images I had stamped off from our weekend get together and lo and behold this is what I ended up with!! I won't call it a card gone wrong, but it's not what I had in mind.




This next one is also using Skipping Stone Stamps

Selena was so willing to let me use her stamps!! It was fun to see all the designs available from this company.

This last one is from a sketch posted on Sketch This Card and I did manage to stick to the sketch with this one.



Well, today is Tim Horton's Camp Day not that I need an excuse to buy a coffee, but it's always great to see large corporations be involved in things that can change a childs outlook on life.

It's Apple Blossom

time in the valley,the sun is shining and it's Saturday. What more could a girl want. You can check out the official website at Apple Blossom . When our girls were young they always participated in the grand street parade with their grandfather and our youngest had the honor of being a child attendant for the Queen Annapolisa contest when she was eight. What a wonderful experience for her. This is a picture of her and Jill Barkhouse (Princess Canning 1995).


Now that the girls are older, we head to the lake for the weekend and relax with a fishing pole!!

I did get a card made last night. It is based on a sketch from Di Hickman
I used pp from Chloe's closet and the button are also a part of the same line. The lss just got this in and I am still not sure how we are going to manage after they close the doors at the end of June.



Oh, and did I mention barring no complications, we have sold our house!! It becomes official on the 15th of June and we need to be out by July 9th. Hmmm... should be interesting!!

I won't be close to a TV tonight so I need everyone to cheer for the Sens and they go into game 3 down 2-0. They are playing in Ottawa tonight so hopefully that is the motivation they need to pull of a win!

One more thing..if your at the Rocky Mountain Rodeo tour in Brampton Ontario, please give our oldest dd a hug as she is one of the athletic therapist working the rodeo this weekend. I am just so proud of her!!!!