Tuesday, January 31, 2012

VLV / PDCC116 : Happy Birthday

Just a quick post in time to get this card in for The Play Date Cafe's Challenge #116. I used the Viva La Verve January 2012 Week 3 sketch as my other source of inspiration...as well as my new stamps & dies, which arrived today! YAY!






Now it's off to snowboarding for this little would-be snowbunny.












Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sisterhood Challenge : Stripes / VLV Jan 2011 Wk 1

Inspired by my Sistahs in The Sisterhood of Crafters and our current challenge of using striped paper on our creation, I really went to town with the stripes! I also figured the VLV Jan 2011 Wk 1 sketch worked perfectly for a manly card since I have a coworker's birthday coming up in February. Alas, this card was born!



There's definitely stripe overload on it...but I think he'll like it. Plus it's relatively clean & simple, which is both tough and easy for me. I love adding embellishments, but I'm never sure what really works for me.

Anyways, I'm happy to report that my second snowboarding lesson was last night  (technically the third, but I bailed on the -40 weather a week ago) and I still have no broken bones or really wicked bruises. That's not to say there was less falling....don't get me wrong. I just land a little more gracefully for the most part, even managing a flip last night near the bottom of the hill ;)
This is a long short week at work and I'm sooo looking forward to a few days off with lots to do, but nothing officially booked! And it's back to running after two Sundays off. YAY!

Don't forget to show us your striped creations at
The Sisterhood!

Happy Wednesday, everybody! 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Warm Wishes : Sisterhood Challenge & JUGS Sketch 118

Using the Just Us Girls 118 - Sketch Challenge as the basis for this wintery little number, which is on it's way to my grandparents, I created this card for The Sisterhood of Crafters' Let It Snow challenge. The idea: create a winter themed card or project.

My little Verve mitts were perfect. PLUS, I got to use my previously unloved scalloped edge nestabilities. I really wanted to try this faux embossing technique, so I cut out three kraft snowflakes as the 'squares' in the sketch. Yep - this was a big stretch for me, as I'm usually a rule follower to the enth degree. Alas, I'm trying to branch out ;)

Also, up until yesterday, it's been so nice here that I've had a hard time doing much in the way of wintery crafts. I mean, when you're +8C in January, you're doing pretty good! Unless, of course, you're looking to haul your friend out to the countryside for a little XC skiing and there's no snow in sight. Then you're just darn outta luck. But it's now supposed to be about -13 today, so we're well on our way to frosty cool and hibernation mode. ;)

I started my snowboarding lessons last night. Let's just say I think I may have underestimated what I was getting myself into after my two hours of riding last time. I fell on my butt so much that I actually stayed seated a couple of times when I was doing up bindings for a bonus second or two just so I could chill the impending bruise. Now I know how MrP felt last time!

Oh well - Happy Wednesday everybody!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Celebrating You : Mojo Monday Sketch 222

Well I knew I'd be needing some birthday cards for this month, so I used the Mojo Monday Sketch 222 to get started. I wanted to create a golden creation, having been inspired by the new ribbon I picked up at Michael's.

I used some liquid pearls, gold embossing powder, gold paint pen, some of my yet-unloved copics (I was hoping for a paler shade of green, but this was the lightest I had..in hindsight, maybe a SU marker would've worked, too) and some pearls to highlight this creation. I also added a little sparkle with a glitter pen to the inside of the flower.

I was also able to use up some papers from my collection. Yahoo!

The sentiment is the title stamp from Celebrating You and the flower is from Love's Flower, neither set of which has seen enough love on this blog (in my mind anyways).


Have a wonderful Friday! Tonight I'm off to The Keg with my mom and MrP to help use up some gift cards she received over the holidays. Sweet deal for us =) Speaking of sweet deals...I had told MrP that I was craving salad for supper, so what does he do? Rocks my world with an amazing feast of warm, fried goat cheese coins on a bed of spinach, apple & walnut salad in an apple cider vinaigrette. SPOILED!


Thursday, January 5, 2012

Big Wish : Another November VLV Sketch

Apparently another creation I didn't share - not sure if that was a photo issue as well or because it was due around the time that I mailed it and I didn't want the recipient to see it. Either way, it's long overdue and she's got it now!


Such a fun sketch, but I really struggled with it. Finally, I went with a stamped kraft background and used up some versamarked/hologram embossed dots that I'd created ages ago. The colors were inspired by the designer paper of the other card I created at the time (yesterday's post).

The highway to get to work yesterday was a complete gong show, so I'll be leaving early today and hoping there's been no more freezing rain since last night when I got home from spin. Off to use up another Hot Yoga class tonight - I believe that'll leave me with 9 remaining to be used by the 23rd.

This Saturday, Chelsey and I are attempting to make French Macarons in a class. I can't wait! I love eating them, but they're notoriously difficult according to most. Now to find myself a cute apron to wear during class ;)

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Happy Birthday!

Just realized that I never posted this card from the VLV November Week 1 challenge. Why? I think because the crooked photo was driving me crazy. Not crazy enough to retake a photo before it made it's way to it's home, though. LOL! Alas, it's imperfect, but I like it anyways...because I'm not perfect ;)


This card used up some of my favorite old SU! designer series paper and I always love being able to use up some felt in the form of a sweet little flower! Pretty clean and simple considering some of the stunning creations by the Verve Divas for the sketch =)

I hope your new year has started off well. I've been visiting the hot yoga studio a lot lately, but not as a new year's resolution - I had 13 visits to make before the 23rd of January to use up before they expire. What a healthy (and happy) coincidence! The only problem, of course, is that the resolutioners are out in droves and it's driving me a little crazy!

Oh well - as my Grandma always says, "This, too, shall pass."

Happy Wednesday!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

It's a New Year

And I just want to take a moment to reflect on the year that's passed and all that's happened, plus recognize those things and people that I am grateful for. Looking at my posts from 2011 for my favorite cards, I was also struck by what a fantastic year it was for MrP and I. With trips to San Francisco, Napa and Chicago, it was definitely a memorable one. On our drive home from Red Deer on Christmas Eve, we were even reviewing our favorite parts of the year.

My biggest personal achievement this year was this: I started training for and completed my first half marathon. Not only did I do it, I beat my anticipated finish time by about 16 minutes. I don't expect it'll be my last ;)


But some of the greatest times this year were brought on by other people...my friends and family. To be sure, MrP made this an unforgettable year and for him, I am completely grateful. I can't even begin to describe how much I love him and our relationship.

My friend Swillsey and I had some awesome volunteering experiences to end the year, our gifts to each other being those of time well spent, helping others and I love that she's so giving like that. Also, the fact that she showed up to take pictures of my half...well that just meant the world to me.

My fitness buddy, SB, completed the half training with me and was a huge source of support and inspiration through it all for which I am utterly grateful. I'm not sure I would have finished like I did without her.

RunnerJen got me through the long Sunday runs when SB was working and I just needed someone to keep me going. I'm in awe of her ability to make people feel like they can do anything. Plus, a super sweet gift for Christmas - photos that she took of our runs together - was very appreciated.

Joc is courageous and sweet, witty and inspiring and she's got me running into the winter months, having agreed to train with her for Vancouver (although I'm thinking I'll likely run Red Deer's half marathon with SB the weekend before instead of Vancouver).

Chelsey is my super crafty bestie who gave me the single coolest gift this Christmas, spoiling me rotten, that really did blow me away. She created the advent calendar seen below...


and for every day, there was a gift bag to open. In a year that MrP and I chose to not exchange gifts, somehow, our tree was overflowing underflowing (?!) with gifts. The crazy thing was the timing of them as I opened. I had one day where I had a nail file on my list of things to pick up at the store and what did I open that morning? A seven way file, perfect for my exact needs! There was a Starbucks gift card, socks, chocolates and even one of my favorite treats that I'd gotten a raw deal on a Halloween - Sour Patch Kids. It truly was a glorious thing, to wake up every morning to a little surprise. It really made my crazy busy month something to look forward to and I can't wait to return the favor sometime!

Speaking of our tree - I don't think I shared a photo of our 7.5' - 1,300 light beast that is the bane of MrP's existence. He wanted blue, green and purple lights (don't tell him they look pink!)...and LOTS of them, so after buying individual strands, he sat for about three evenings, restringing the strands so they had the correct sequence. PLUS, the green bulbs were a different brand that we ordered from the US, so he had to swap out all of the bases for the bulbs on those strands. It was a heck of a process and now he basically despises having to pull out the tree every year, but man is it a spectacle (I think).


But I digress. I was talking about the people who've made this year what it was...and that includes YOU. I'm so grateful to have me so many amazingly talented, kind hearted and genuine people through this blog. I had, at one point, decided to shut it down, but it's the friends I've made along the way who are non-judgemental, sweet, giving and so full of inspiration that have kept me going.

To all my friends, I look forward to sharing in your times of challenge and celebration in the upcoming year. May yours be filled with love, laughter, health and friendship!