Art Within Designs

Special Occasions

2010-07-29T23:06:00.000-06:00

Summer is always a busy time for us. My girls definitely keep me busy and I find it a little harder to get some pages done with both of them at home. It is almost impossible to keep Ayden inside on those bright sunny days. Likewise, it is almost impossible to convince Raquel into going outside. Now that she is older, she would rather spend time on the computer. Thankfully she loves to read, so on our recent trip to the dentist, in the city, I bought her a new series of books to read, (it's never much fun to start a series and than have to wait for the next book). I myself know all about that, as I recently finished the fourth book in George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire and am now waiting to read A Dance With Dragons, which will soon be published (I hope).

I finally got a couple of pages done though. I started working on several at one time. I should know better, as I always find it harder to come up with a concept and it takes me longer to get them done. From now on, one at a time, unless it is a two page layout. I decided to use Vanessa's latest kit, which is currently on sale for a limited time in her store. The backgrounds in it are beautiful and some of the elements rather unique.

It was a perfect match for this first LO and gave me a chance to work with some of my old pictures. Some of the pictures weren't really in such great condition, but I restored them the best I could. This is my mom's 1st cousin and her family. Her communion dress was quite pretty, but I bet she must have been a little chilly as they were all standing outside for the family picture.

First Communion digital kit credits: Communion Kit from Blushbutter
Font used: Cataneo BT

This second page I did as a surprise for my cousin. This is my uncle with his granddaughter, at her baptism last year.

Baptism digital kit credits: Communion Kit & Flourish swirl Photoshop brush & digital stamp from Blushbutter
Font used: Edwardian Script ITC

It's kind of hard to believe it is almost August and summer is halfway over. Ayden is hoping Lady will be coming home soon. We got to go for our first ride on her a couple of weeks ago, and it was great. We still haven't really got a pasture fixed up for her yet, but once that's done we should be getting her home and than the girls can get in some riding practice. My parents and niece were down here a few weeks ago and we all had a wonderful visit. We took in the Bergen Rocks exhibition and also took Madison to the Calgary Stampede. It was her first time and I think she really enjoyed it. Both Raquel and Ayden are looking forward to a trip up to their grandparents house in about a week or so. My parents birthdays are both at the beginning of the month, so I though it would be a good time to go. Ayden birthday is at the end of the month as well. She will be turning four already. Time sure does go by quickly.

We've been enjoying some nice summer weather lately. Which of course at this time of the year means lots of thunderstorms later in the day. We sure do get some severe ones in our area of the province. But I have always enjoyed watching the lightening and listening to the rain. It's supposed to be quite nice this weekend is well, so hopefully we'll be able to get out and enjoy the long weekend. Hope you all enjoy it as well. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

Celebrations

2010-05-20T23:15:00.002-06:00

I actually got my page for the May challenge at Blush-n-Dusty finished early for once. Usually I seem to get busy with other things and leave it till the last minute. This month the challenge was to do a page featuring a birthday (and hopefully have a cake in the picture as well). You also had to use something from Lara's newest mini kit, Vintage Birthday which she was featuring as a freebie on her blog for May.

I decided to do a page for my heritage album. I knew I had this picture of my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Peter scanned and Lara's kit seemed to go so well with it. It even has my uncle holding his sister's cake. So it fit perfectly with the challenge theme. I know my children love celebrating their birthdays and always look forward to having cake. It is such a joy just to watch them enjoying their special day. My oldest will be having his 20th birthday in a few days. He lives quite a ways from me now and I miss making him his favorite things for supper on his birthday. I hope he has a wonderful day.

Celebrate digital kit credits: Vintage Birthday, Amid Memories and Dainty from Dusty Bear.
Fonts Used: Renaissance Regular

Both girls have been enjoying school, as this is the time of year when a lot of fun activities are happening. Ayden was thrilled, as she got to go with her class to one of the local restaurants this week and make pizza. Raquel got to have a sleepover at school with her class. They camped out on the classroom floor and got to watch a movie, play games and hang out together. Raquel is counting down the days till the school year is over and looking forward to summer vacation. She decided to spend this weekend at her dad's, so it will be rather quiet here at our place. I think Ayden and I will have to make a trip to the farmer's market tomorrow to keep ourselves busy.

We've been enjoying some wonderful sunny days the past couple of weeks. The yard work is slowly getting done and the girls and I are looking forward to some visits to our local greenhouses soon. The past couple of days have been rainy and wet, but we really did need the moisture. This coming long weekend is supposed to be cool, so I put off buying flowers till next week. As it is a long weekend I'm sure we will find a few other things to do though. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend also!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T11:33:00.001-06:00

I think one of the most amazing things in life, has got to be having a child and watching them grow and change into a unique individual. I certainly appreciate all the things my mom has done for me throughout my life. Now that I am older (and farther away), I wish I could spend more time with her. I miss the little things we used to do when I lived closer, like going out for lunch, visiting greenhouses with her or just stopping by for a cup of tea. My own children are growing up so fast and it is kind of hard for me to believe my son will be 20 at the end of the month.

The April challenge for Blush-n-Dusty was to do a page with your favorite color, using Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Favorite Color. I don't know if I truly have a favorite color, but I do prefer blues and greens to pinks and purple. So I decided to do a blue page because of that. I used one of my recent, favorite pictures of all my children together taken last summer. I printed this one out for my mom and mail it off to her for Mother's Day. Which is the reason why I didn't post it here till now, as I didn't want her to see it before then. Hopefully she got her card in the mail by now though.

My Children digital kit credits: Favorite Color Mini Kit and Favorite Color Kit from BlushButter.
Fonts Used: Edwardian Script ITC and Dani.

During the past several weeks we've been having some nasty spring storms here in southern Alberta. The power was knocked out several times (once all day) and the highways were closed as well. We had a fairly mild winter though, so perhaps we are paying for that now. The farmers were grateful for the moisture I am sure and at least the fire ban the county had on has been lifted. Once again the snow is almost melted and the green grass is showing. I spent some time cleaning out my flower beds the other day and the green shoots are starting to push their way out. The leaf buds on the trees are beginning to open also, so it would seem spring is finally on it's way. The weather is supposed to improve this coming week with temperatures returning to normal.

Due to all the snow, Raquel got to miss a few extra days of school as the buses didn't run, which made her happy. She had a sleepover at her friend, Taylor's last night, so Ayden is anxiously waiting for her to come home today. We also had a quick visit with Vern's mom a couple of weekends ago. It was nice for the girls to see her, as they don't get to very often. Ayden is eagerly awaiting some mail from her Grandma Doreen, who promised to send her a few pictures of their time together. Last weekend we dropped in at the arena where Lady is being broke, to check out how things are going. Ayden was thrilled as she got to sit on her back, in a saddle. Lady is making good progress and should be back home in a couple more weeks. This week we decided to save a couple of kittens from being taken to the SPCA. Raquel and Ayden are both quite happy with their new little pets. Meko and Mouse are quite the rambunctious pair, and it is certainly amusing to watch them, as it has been a while since we had kittens around here.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by my blog. I really appreciate your comments as well. Happy Mother's Day!!!

Time Passages

2010-04-22T23:17:00.003-06:00

Today marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which was founded to put a focus on environmental awareness. We really should try to do our part to protect the environment and our natural resources all year long. If you are interested in checking out how your own habits impact the planet, take the Footprint Quiz from The Earth Day Network.

Time certainly does go by quickly. I've been meaning to get this page posted all month and just never seemed to get around to it. The March challenge at Blush-n-Dusty was to do a page featuring a baby photo of yourself, using Dusty Bears' Darling Baby kit. So this is a picture of me, at a few months old. The picture was not in very good shape and I had to do some restoring of it, so I decided to touch up the pink color of the dress as well. The quote I used on it, was from a card my mom sent me not very long ago and I thought it was quite appropriate.
Darling Baby digital kit credits: Darling Baby, Spring Sprung, Wintertide Elements & Affinity from Dusty Bear.
Fonts used: Porcelain & tabor handwriting.

We had a wonderful Easter holiday. My parents came down from up north with my niece, Madison. Everyone had a good visit and the girls really enjoyed having their cousin to play with for a few days. Following their visit here, they headed for Vancouver, to visit with my youngest brother and his family. On their way, they stopped in and spent the night with my mom's relatives in Kamloops. I had given mom some of our old family pictures, to see if they could identify more of my "mystery" relatives. When I spoke to her last week, she told me they were able to name a few of the people, so I am eagerly waiting for her to send them back to me.

My mare, Lady, is away getting saddle broke. I am looking forward to finally getting to go for a ride on her. She is 3 years old now and I halter broke and broke her to lead myself. Raquel and Ayden have both ridden on her bareback, while I lead them around, so I think the cowboy who is breaking her for us should have a fairly easy time. Ayden is really missing having her in the yard, so maybe this weekend we will have a chance to go to the arena where she is and check out her progress.

Raquel has no school tomorrow and is finally going to take her babysitting course. It has been postponed several times, due to various reason. She is anticipating being able to babysit and make a little extra spending cash. Following that, she is off to spend the weekend with her dad, so we should have a quiet few days at our house. Hope you have a good weekend. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Spring

2010-03-24T22:47:00.003-06:00

This past weekend was the first day of spring, also known as the Vernal Equinox. In the northern hemisphere, this refers to the date when night and day are nearly the same length and the sun crosses the celestial equator moving north. This date is also significant because Easter always falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. For me, it means that the end of winter is drawing near. I am really looking forward to the snow melting, fresh green leaves and grass.

Ingeborg from Ikscraps, has out a beautiful new spring kit, Blossoms. I was so pleased that she gave me a chance to work with it. Ingeborg has some gorgeous kits and many of her designs are quite unique, as they are hand painted. Ingeborg is offering a lovely little freebie at the store that coordinates with this kit, if you want to sample her designs. Working with her kit really inspired me to get a few pages done from last spring. Looking back through my pictures was fun and made me realize just how fast time goes by.

Spring Definitions digital kit credits: Blossom Elements & Blossom papers by Ikscraps available at e-scape and scrap.
Fonts used Courier New, Book Antiqua & ALS Script.

Easter Egg Hunt I & II digital kit credits: Blossom Elements & Blossom papers by Ikscraps available at e-scape and scrap.
Fonts used Wenceslas & VIctorian LET.

March has been such a busy month for us. Raquel & I both celebrated our birthdays about a week ago. Raquel celebrated hers, by having a sleepover with her best friend, Taylor. They stayed up literally all night just hanging out, until I finally told them at 5:30 in the morning that it really was time to get some sleep. It is hard to believe Raquel is already 11. She is looking forward to taking her babysitting course this weekend, now that she is finally old enough. Ayden is really enjoying her swimming lessons. Twice a week, (in the mornings), we've headed into town to the Aquaplex. Her final lesson is tomorrow and although she is progressing quite well, I am fairly certain she with have to take the level again.

Easter is just around the corner. The girls and I are anticipating it, as my parents are planning to come down along with my niece, Madison, for a few days. Raquel is also looking forward to spring break, which starts on Good Friday as well.
I hope you are having a good week. Thanks for dropping by my blog!

One's Life Story

2010-03-01T16:40:00.002-07:00

I finally got another page done for my heritage album. The February challenge at Blush-n-Dusty was to do a page about someone who you miss, that has passed away, using Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Miss You.

I decided to do a tribute page about my paternal grandmother. She passed away in 2007 and I will always miss her. I only saw her a few times in my life, once she came to Canada and I was fortunate to go to Germany and visit another time, when I was about 18. My oma always made me feel loved and I often wrote letters to her. When my dad went to Germany to attend her funeral, among her things, he found one of the letters I wrote to her when I was about nine. He brought it home with some other mementos from her life. My oma overcame many difficult situations and saw the world go through many changes. She lost her husband and her home in the second world war, but through it all managed to keep her children together. She spent several years in a refugee camp in Denmark and when she was finally allowed to return to Germany, rebuilt a home for her family. She was a strong, courageous and very determined women, I will never forget her and will always respect her.

The quote on this page is from Helen Adams Keller: One's life story cannot be told with complete veracity. A true auto biography would have to be written in states of mind, emotions, heartbeats, smiles and tears; not in months and years or physical events. Life is marked off on the soul by feelings, not by dates.

One's Life Story digital kit credits: Miss You and Miss You mini kits by Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Wenceslas & Delitsch Antiqua.

Over the past couple of weeks we tried to spend some time each day watching some events from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. What a fantastic sporting event it was and Canada's athletes certainly made us all proud to be Canadians. The weather here has been wonderful for this time of year. We've been enjoying some really mild temperatures and our snow has been slowly disappearing. Although it is way to early for winter to be over, it sure does feel like spring is on it's way.

March is looking like a rather busy month for us. Raquel will be turning 11 in a couple of weeks and she is looking forward to taking her babysitting course near the end of the month. I decided to register Ayden for swimming lessons this month. This will be her first set of lessons with out me in the pool with her, so the first lesson or two might be a little interesting. She will be going a couple of mornings a week, which I'm sure she will enjoy.
I hope you have a good week, thanks for dropping by my blog.

10 Reasons Why

2010-02-15T21:08:00.006-07:00

This year for Valentine's Day I decided to make each of my daughters' a special page. I thought it would be fun to tell them 10 different things, that I love about each of them. They are quite different from each other and I really enjoyed doing these pages for them.

I decided to use one of Dusty Bear's newest kits, that I've been trying to find time to play with. I really like the background papers in this kit. I believe that Lara currently has Splendiferous on sale in her store at Gotta Pixel for a limited time, if you are interested in checking it out.

10 Reasons Why - Raquel digital kit credits: Splendiferous and Poly Plastic Layer Style by Dusty Bear.
Heart Element by Art Within Designs.
Fonts Used: Old Newspaper Font, Kayleigh and Monotype Corsiva.

10 Reasons Why - Ayden digital kit credits: Splendiferous by Dusty Bear.
Heart element by Art Within Designs.
Fonts Used: Old Newspaper Font, Kayleigh and Monotype Corsiva.

We have been enjoying several more weeks of mild winter weather, although it has been quite foggy some days. The ice crystals that form on everything because of the fog, are certainly beautiful and even Raquel snapped a few pictures of the trees with her cell phone. The girls have been busy with school activities and Raquel is looking forward to the break she will get this week, due to the annual teacher's convention. I must say I am really beginning to dislike paperwork, as once again it is time to get everything together for a trip to the accountant's.

Ayden enjoys swimming and so we decided to take her for the Family Day swim at the pool. It was a busy place today, but it was great to get out of the house and do something. Besides that, we had a quiet weekend as Raquel was off visiting her dad and didn't come back home until this evening. I hope you had a Happy Valentine's day and took some time out to enjoy the Family Day long weekend.

The Beauty of Winter

2010-01-19T22:11:00.009-07:00

I just finished reading through some email for the past couple of days. I was pleasantly surprise to find out that my Christmas Traditions layout won last month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. I really do appreciate the people who took the time to vote for my page. There are some very talented ladies in that group and it means a lot to me.
I love this picture of Ayden, so I decided to do a page with it. I actually took it with my cell phone one day, just before I took her to playschool. She looked very adorable in her fuzzy pink coat, that she loves to wear. It was snowing quite heavily that day and she was very happy about it. Ayden was sticking out her tongue and tasting the flakes, it was so cute. I think sometimes as we grow older we forget to enjoy the beauty of winter and this is a good reminder for me of how beautiful and fun it can be.

Snow Angel digital kit credit: Snow Flakes winter kit, Softness and Angels for print and crafts 5 from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Snowdrift and Fontleroy Brown.

We've had some unseasonably warm weather the past couple of weeks. Most of the snow in the picture has now melted, although I'm certain we will get some more soon. It was rather nice to have such mild weather in the middle of winter. Everyone at our house has been settling back into their normal routines, now that the holiday season is over. We've had couple busy weeks with several dentist appointments. As well, Raquel has been taking swimming lessons again and was thrilled when she passed into the next level a few days ago. And Ayden is looking forward to heading back to playschool tomorrow, so she can see her friends again. I hope your week is going well, thanks for dropping by my blog.

Traditions

2010-01-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

It has been ages since I actually finished a page and posted it here, but sometimes life just takes it's own course. The past few months have been busy. The girls have been enjoying school. Although it has taken a while for Ayden to get used to the idea that I leave her at playschool, but she is finally starting to it like. Now she actually is beginning to look forward to going every week, to see her friends.

I decided to participate in this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty, as it was about family traditions and I have lots of pictures to use from Christmas. The other part of the challenge was to use something from Blushbutter's newest mini kit, Softness.

Ayden loved helping to decorate the tree and enjoyed playing with the decorations, rearranging them almost daily as she played with her favorites. Now it's almost time to take it down, I'm sure she is going to miss it. We had a good but quiet Christmas. I think the best part of Christmas, really has got to be watching the children open their gifts. It is such a delight to see the expressions on their faces. It really makes all the preparations worthwhile.

Family Traditions digital kit credits: Softness Mini, Merry Christmas kit & Scratched & Creased Overlay 1 from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Westwood LET, Perpetua & Kayleigh

Raquel spent the New Year's weekend with her dad, so we have to go pick her up later today. The rest of us went out for Chinese food on New Years Eve and decided it might be a good tradition to start, instead of cooking at home that night. Ayden loved staying up to watch the countdown and it was fun to welcome in the new year with her.

I wish you all health, happiness, love and prosperity in the new year. May 2010 be a wonderful year. Happy New Years!

2009-09-18T22:07:00.008-06:00

My friend, Lara has closed down her Dusty Bear shop and is now selling her designs through Gotta Pixel. These are a couple of pages I finished recently using one of her latest kits. I been trying to get these uploaded for a few days, but just never seemed to get around finish posting it.

This is a page I made for my parents. The picture was taken just before my dad left for Tanzania, at his going away supper. Unfortunately he had to come back early, as he had a fairly serious heart attack while he was there. So it was really nice to see them, when they came down a couple of weeks ago. They also brought my niece Madison along with them and the girls all had a wonderful time together.

Cherish digital kit credits: Affinity 1 & 2 by Lara Payton available at Gotta Pixel.
Fonts used: Monsieur La Doulaise, Monotype Corsiva & Kayleigh

I love these picture of Ayden. She has so much fun picking flowers and dandelions are one of her favorites. I guess most of us consider them weeds and forget how bright and sunny they are. She loves this page and I had to print it off for her, so she could put it on the fridge. The quote I used is from Henry Ward Beecher, ... the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass like a spark from the sun.

Dandelion digital kit credits: Affinity 2 by Lara Payton available at Gotta Pixel.
Fonts used: Tabor Handwriting & Kayleigh

We've had several busy weeks. Not only did my parents drop in for a visit, but my son Kyle stopped in for a few days as well. We had a good visit with him and the girls really enjoyed spending a little time with their big brother. Raquel started grade 5 at the beginning of the month and was a little disappointed that she wasn't in the same class as her best friends. She seems to be liking it in spite of that, as she still gets to see them at recess. Ayden started playschool this week. It was a bit difficult for her to let me leave, but once I went to pick her up she seemed to enjoy it. It seems like summer is trying to last as long as possible, as we have been enjoying some beautiful weather. We had a few frosty mornings though, so fall is definitely on the way and a few leaves are starting change colour.

Thanks for dropping by my blog and for leaving me a few comments. I hope you have a good weekend.

Time Stretches Still

2009-08-05T17:18:00.004-06:00

Summer is going by so quickly, it's hard to believe the days are getting shorter already. The girls have been keeping me busy and Raquel has been monopolizing the computer. I actually feel a little guilty that I haven't gotten around to finishing a page for quite some time and updating my blog.
When I had a few moments, I've been working on another page for my children's heritage album. I finally got it finished after a call to my aunt yesterday to establish a date on it. This is a picture of my grandmother and my great aunt, it was taken a few years before my grandma passed away. The quote I used is by Nick Edelstein, it reads "When lilies fade, memories flood and time stretches still."

Time Stretches Still digital kit credits: Secret Garden from The Dapper Doxie
Font used: Heather & Park Avenue PT

We've been busy enjoying the summer weather and spending lots of time outdoors. The girls also enjoyed going to the Calgary Stampede and watching the fireworks a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend we finally went and did a little camping. Ayden enjoyed the park at the campground the most. It was nice just to sit by the campfire and look at the stars and get away from the yard for a few days. Raquel spent the weekend riding in the mountains with her dad again and she is away this week spending some time with him. Ayden and I are spending a few quiet days without her. It's been a rather gray and rainy week so far and it's not supposed to turn sunny till the weekend, so we are stuck inside trying to keep busy, much to Ayden's disappointment. Hope your summer is going well!

It's My Life

2009-06-27T15:02:00.000-06:00

This month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty is to do a graduation LO using Blushbutter's new kit, Graduation. Since I have quite a few pictures from my son's graduation last year, I decided to do several pages, as I have been meaning to get them done for some time now. The quote I used on the last page is from Geraldine Kenney-Wallace.

Valediction Ceremony digital kit credits: Graduation Mini Kit, Digital Essential Frames Packet and Faery Kisses in Blue mega kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Monsieur La Doulaise and Fontleroy Brown.

We've had a busy couple of weeks that included a trip to the zoo and a day at the local rodeo. Ayden really enjoyed the rodeo's parade and getting the candy that was thrown from the floats. Raquel's summer holidays have begun, her last day of school was yesterday and she is happy to be done for a few months. She had a good report card and has talked me into getting her a few magazine subscriptions for passing into grade 5. Ayden and I got to go to Raquel's year end party on Thursday at her teacher's place. We all had a great time playing games outside and had some delicious hamburgers for lunch. Ayden's swimming lessons finished this week as well. She is definitely ready to move on to the next level, but will have to wait until she turns 3 before that can happen. I sure we will be making a few trips to the pool this summer, as both girls really enjoy the water. It has be nice and sunny here for the last little while. The beautiful weather is supposed to continue for the next week or so, although we could use a little rain as it is quite dry. The occasional thunderstorm comes through in the afternoons, but we haven't gotten very much precipitation. It has been a wonderful start to the summer. Hope you have a terrific summer also!

The Moments We Share

2009-06-08T14:05:00.002-06:00

I haven't really been in much of a mood for doing any pages lately. That and I had some problems with one of my external hard drives and had to download some graphics again and reorganize them. That was a bit of a frustrating experience to say the least. It definitely was a good reminder to back up all my files a little more regularly.

Lara, at Dusty Bear, has another new mini kit in her shop, that coordinates with the one I used on my last page. I decided I would use it, to do this page of myself and my children. I always enjoy it when I get to spend time with all my children at once, as it doesn't happen very often. This picture of us was taken a few months ago when we went on a trip to my parents.
The Moments We Share digital kit credits: Sprightly Mini Kit 1 from Dusty Bear
Fonts Used: La Bamba LET and Adine Kimberg script.

The girls and I took a quick trip up to my parents this past weekend. We went to say goodbye to my dad, who is going to Tanzania for 3 months. We had a delicious supper with the whole family and it was great to see them all. Both girls had lots of fun with their cousins and got to play in the parks, (one of the highlights of the trip for Ayden, I think). The last couple of weeks have been rather busy around here. Ayden and I went with Raquel on her field trip to the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site of Canada. All the kids seemed to enjoy the 2 1/2 hour walk around the site and got to do some role playing of characters from 1821. I have always liked history and really enjoyed the excursion. One day I will have to go again and complete the tour, as we only made it around part of the park. Ayden is progressing well in her swimming lessons and is turning into quite the little fish. We've also had several appointments and have tried to get in a little flower planting as the weather was quite nice. That's changed a bit as it has been cool and rainy here now for several days, but the sun is supposed to be returning tomorrow and it should start warming up again. Hope you have a nice week.

Me... Just a girl

2009-05-23T00:47:00.001-06:00

This month's challenge at my yahoo group, Blush-n-Dusty, is to do a lay out about yourself, using some part of Dusty Bear's newest kit, Sprightly Mini 2. I usually try to avoid doing those kind of pages (and getting my picture taken), but I know my friend, Deb, is right when she says that our families will want pages of us, to remember us by.

I decided to use a picture my daughter took of me one day, when I let her play with my camera. I liked this picture she took and since I am usually the one taking the pictures, there aren't that many of just of me. The journaling is really meant for my children, so I am not going to post it here (although, I think it is clear enough if you feel like reading it on the lay out).
Me... Just a Girl digital kit credits: Sprightly Mini Kit 2 and Spring Sprung from Dusty Bear.
Fonts Used: Tall Paul, Kayleigh & Chopin Script.

It's going to be a rather quiet weekend around here as Raquel is gone to her dad's for a few days. Finally, Ayden decided it was time for bed after watching the movie Spirit. (She is such a night owl.)
I signed her up for swimming lessons again and they start next week, so maybe that will help to use up some of her never ending energy. She certainly keeps me busy. We plan to go for a little road trip, later today, to check out the progress on her dad's latest job site. Ayden really misses Raquel when she is away, so at least that will give her something else to think about.

It is supposed to be a bright and sunny weekend here, which will be a nice change after a week of snow flurries and rain showers. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for your comments, take care!

Faith in a Seed

2009-05-16T21:10:00.002-06:00

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie, has out a new springy kit call Secret Garden. The kit has some really lovely garden graphics and she will have it on sale for a very limited time this coming week, along with the rest of the products in her store. I haven't scrapped any of my heritage photos for a while and decided the kit would go perfectly with this picture my mom found last time I was up at their place. This picture is of my grandfather, (a couple of years before he passed away), with my mom and my aunt. It looks like they were all enjoying a task many of us do at this time of the year, getting the garden ready for planting. The quote I used is from Henry David Thoreau, "Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

Faith in a Seed digital kit credits: Secret Garden from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts Used: Rockwell and Jacki's Hand

We are having a nice long weekend. The weather has been lovely so far and the fire ban in the county was lifted, so we've been able to have a fire in the backyard the past couple of days. Raquel had an extra day off from school and was thrilled when we sent up the tent for her. Both girls have been having fun playing in it, although it is still a little too cold here by the mountains for Raquel to be sleeping in it yet. She tried it out last night and ended up coming in around 11:30 PM with a cold nose. We plan to get a little work done around the yard tomorrow and get the camper ready to go for some excursions. Monday is suppose to be cool and rainy so the last day of the long weekend might have to be spent inside. Hope you are having a terrific Victoria Day weekend. Thanks for dropping by my blog!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-08T20:38:00.006-06:00

We finally had a week without any appointments and it was nice not to have to do any running around. Between the light rain showers, Ayden and I have been spending a lot of time outside enjoying spring. The leaves should be out soon and the tulips we planted last fall are several inches tall. A pair of geese have decided to make their home at the back of the Lady's pasture. The latest daily visitor to our yard is a fox, much to the dismay of our cats. The fox, of course, is smart enough to only come around when the dogs are kenneled. Both girls have caught a few glimpses of it through the window and Ayden has decided she doesn't like the fox, because it might eat her cat, Vester.

I love the alpha in this latest kit from Blushbutter, even though I'm not all that good at using them on my pages. I've had it downloaded for a while (it is on sale for a limited time, in her shop right now) and just couldn't decided what pictures to use with it. I finally settle on these ones of my lovely daughters. We had them taken at the Calgary Stampede by The Antique Photo Parlour, a couple of years ago. ( We had a family portrait done as well, that I will have to do a page of one day.) It was rather fun to dress up in the old style clothes and they had lots of costumes to choose from. The pictures turned out fabulously and I would recommend going and getting some done, if you've never tried it. They certainly are keepsakes to treasure. (I would like to express my sincere thanks to The Antique Photo Parlour, for granting me permission to post these pages on my blog and in my galleries.)

Little Blue Lady digital kit credits: A Victorian Lady (some items colorized) and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Embossed Paper Frames from Blushbutter.
Photography credits: The Antique Photo Parlour - Old Time Photographs & Frames (used with permission).
Fonts used: Windsong.

Radiant Red Beauty digital kit credits: A Victorian Lady and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Embossed Paper Frames from Blushbutter.
Photography credits: The Antique Photo Parlour - Old Time Photographs & Frames (used with permission).
Fonts used: Windsong.

We are having a quiet evening tonight, as Raquel has gone over to a friend's for a sleepover. Ayden looks forward to Raquel coming home on the bus every day and is missing her a bit tonight. She will be happy when we run into town to pick Raquel up tomorrow. We heard from Kyle this past week and he is settling in nicely to his new accommodations. I am so happy for him that he made the decision to move out on his own, as he had been staying with one of his Grandma's. It is hard to believe he will be 19 at the end of this month. I think I will have to go digging through some of my albums and find a picture to scrap of him when he was a baby. The weather here is supposed to be improving after a few more showers tomorrow. It will be nice to have a few warm, sunny days in a row. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day!

Dream Come True

2009-04-25T23:56:00.001-06:00

The challenge for this month at Blush-n-Dusty is to create a layout about a dream come true. When I went up to my parents earlier this month, I scanned some more family pictures and old documents. One of the pictures I scanned, is this one of my sister-in-law and my nephew. I decided to use it for this month's challenge and would like to thank Lorraine and Carl for giving me permission to post it, along with the story of their dream come true, on my blog. Steven has grown considerably since this picture was taken (he looks so much like my brother now). I always like to stop in at their place when I go up north and visit with them. The quote I used is by Lyman Abbott, "A child is a beam of sunlight from the infinite and eternal."
Dream Come True digital kit credits: A Dream Come True, Template Curled and Folded No 1, and Victorian Wedding digital scrapbooking kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Kayleigh & Tabor Handwriting.

Raquel is having a sleepover today, with one of her best friends, so I decided to take the girls swimming. We all had a good time at the pool, but were a little disappointed that the hot tub wasn't working. Ayden got fairly cold after about an hour and so we decided it was time to come home. I thought it would help tire everyone out and maybe the older girls might not be up till the wee hours of the morning. By the looks of things I was wrong, as they are still busy watching movies and playing their Nintendo DS games. They will probably be up later than I am going to be, as I did not get a good sleep last night and am rather tired myself. It worked for Ayden though, as for once she fell asleep early. The last few days it has been snowing and rather cool, so we have not been spending a lot of time outside, much to Ayden's disappointment. We did get some of the flower beds clean out and a few leaves raked up the other day, the rest will just have to wait until the weather improves again. Hopefully that will be soon, as I am very tired of snow.

Have a nice weekend!!!

Spring in Alberta

2009-04-21T12:18:00.004-06:00

Springtime in Alberta can definitely be a mix of weather patterns. I finally got around do doing another page of the girls. I used some pictures I took of them playing in the puddles a few weeks ago, with one of our dogs, Koda. All of that snow in the pictures has melted, as the temperature has been about 20 degrees Celsius the past couple of days. During the past few of weeks the Canada geese have been returning and the grass is starting to turn green. Ayden & I saw some pussy willows yesterday, so it looks like spring is finally here. Unfortunately the nice weather isn't going to last too long, as snow is in the forecast once again, and maybe a little rain, which I would prefer. The quote I used on this page is from an Ian Tyson song called Spring Time In Alberta.

Spring in Alberta digital kit credits: Spring Sprung and Spring Sprung Tattered Papers from Dusty Bear.
Fonts used: Batik Regular, Kristen ITC & Old Newspaper Font.

We had a couple of busy weeks at our house, with Raquel off for Spring break and Easter. The girls and I decided to take a trip up to the Peace Country. We had a nice visit with their grandparents and cousins. Both girls really enjoyed the chance to spend some time with their older brother, (Raquel especially misses him). We had a good trip, but it is always nice to come back home.
Ayden and I are planning to spend some time outside this afternoon. Maybe we will get around to doing a bit of cleaning up in the yard. There sure are a lot of leaves on the ground from last fall. Tomorrow we are off to an appointment in the city and then maybe we'll have some time to just relax around home for a few days. Hope you have a nice Earth Day tomorrow and that your week is going well. Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Beauty Is

2009-03-27T16:04:00.003-06:00

Lara has a delightful new kit (on sale for a limited time), filled with spring colors in the Dusty Bear store this week. I decided to do a new page with it of my oldest daughter. These pictures of Raquel are actually from last spring, (a year goes by so quickly) and she is growing up so fast. The quote I used is from Emily Dickinson.
Beauty Is digital kit credits: Spring Sprung from Dusty Bear
Font used: Monsieur La Doulaise, Pappo's Blues Band Official font, Kayleigh & Batik Regular.

The sun is shinning today and beginning to melt some of our snow, so maybe it will look like spring around here soon. You can never really tell what the weather is going to be like this close to the mountains, I think there is even some rain in the forecast. We are off to take Raquel to see her dad, so it should be a little bit quieter around here this weekend. Thanks for stopping by my blog, have a nice weekend!

Expectation

2009-03-25T00:05:00.001-06:00

It was the first day of spring last week, but you would never know it by looking out my windows. We have received at least a foot of fresh snow in the past few days, which kind of put me in a mood to scrap a few of my pictures from Christmas. I decided to take some classes at Digital Scrapbook Place to familiarize myself better with PSE 5 and finally completed the first lesson, (I should be on the last one). The lesson was mostly about learning how the various tools function and how to place things correctly. It was easy, I just haven't been able to concentrate on doing much scrapbooking the past few weeks and I think my computer was actually beginning to feel neglected.
Eyes Shinning with Expectation digital kit credits: A Vintage Season Album (page 1), A Vintage Season kit 1 and A Vintage Season kit 2 from Dusty Bear.
Fonts used: Palace Script MT & Papyrus.

It has been rather busy at our house. My mom & dad came down last weekend with 2 of my nieces and we had a lovely visit with them. My mom brought some supplies for doing manicures and all the girls had fun doing their nails. The older girls all enjoyed some time at the swimming pool as well. Ayden's swimming lessons are almost done, she has only 2 more left and then I will have to decided if I am going to register her for another session. Since she likes swimming so much, I probably will put her in again. Raquel's musher finished 13th place in the Iditarod, so she was fairly pleased. She has been sick and has missed some school but went back this morning. I managed to catch her cold, so I haven't been feeling all that well either. Hopefully we will both be feeling better soon. The temperatures are suppose to improve again soon, so all this snow should be melting which will be terrific. Hope your week is going well. Take care!

Adorable

2009-03-12T19:48:00.002-06:00

Lara, at Dusty Bear, has graciously accepted me on her creative team. I love antiques and old things and I've always enjoyed using Lara's kits, they are fill with such beautiful vintage elements. Now, I will have the opportunity to play with them more. I used her most recent kit, Adoration, on these pages. I scanned these pictures the last time I went to my mom & dad's place. I wanted to use all the pictures, so I did two pages. They are meant to be companion pages, but are not really a two page LO. This is me, with my older brother before we had other siblings. I do not really look like I enjoyed the whole photo shoot thing much, which is probably about right, as I still don't like having my picture taken.
Siblings 1970 digital kit credits: Adoration from Dusty Bear
Fonts used: Font Leroy Brown
Adorable digital kit credits: Adoration from Dusty Bear
Fonts used: Font Leroy Brown, 1942 Report & Times New Roman

Today the temperature finally started to warm up. Usually that means I will have a headache or two, to go with the pressure change. I'd rather have those than the -30 C though. I was really surprised there was a bus several times this week, as it was so cold in the morning. Raquel has been following the Iditarod at school, for her Language Arts class. The Iditarod is a 12 to 17 day dog sled race held in Alaska, it has been called the "Last Great Race on Earth". Each musher has a team of 12 to 16 dogs. The course of 1150 miles goes from Anchorage to Nome. Each student is following a musher, Raquel picked Dee Dee Jonrowe. She is so proud, that to date (day 6), Dee Dee has not lost any dogs and is now in 25th place. Ayden has been enjoying her swimming lessons and is getting more confident in the water all the time. Things will be a little busy around our house this weekend, as we have a couple of birthdays to celebrate. Hopefully we will find some time to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. Have a good weekend!

Fasionista

2009-03-06T09:21:00.002-07:00

I got another page done this week. Vanessa has a gorgeous new kit in the Blushbutter store, Glamour Starlet. I had fun scrapping with it, all the girlie elements and alpha are fantastic and I can see it is another of her kits that I will be using over and over. It is perfect for these pictures of Ayden, even though she really prefers green and blue to pink. Ayden does love to dress up and look pretty, although given the chance she rather be running around naked. Seeing as she is only 2 1/2, that's probably normal. She loves make-up, especially lipstick and eye shadow and if there is perfume around, well you can probably guess how that goes. A little spray here, another there, as she puts it, "It smells SO pretty, mommy." She is hard to resist with her charming little smile and would empty the whole bottle if she had the opportunity.

Fasionista digital kit credits: Glamour Starlet available at Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Jacki's Hand.

We had a nasty cold front move through the last few days. The school buses didn't run again yesterday due to the road conditions. Visibility was so poor, they closed the main highway from Airdrie to Ponoka for a while. Raquel enjoyed the extra day off and Ayden's swimming was also canceled, so the girls and I spent a fun day together. There is no school again today, it's a regular Friday off and Raquel has an eye appointment this afternoon. Since we have some where to go, it is a good thing the wind finally quite and the sun is shinning (although it is - 25 c this morning). It is supposed to warm up later today, so the weekend should be better. Hope you have a good weekend also and don't forget to move your clocks ahead.

What Lies In Your Heart

2009-03-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it was today, lots of sunshine and the high was 9 C. Quite the change from last Thursday, when it was so cold the school bus didn't run. We also had about a foot of fresh snow last week, (a lot of which melted today). The warm temperatures are supposed to last for most of the week, Chinooks are terrific! Rather the opposite of the adage "In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb". That phrase though, apparently has nothing much to do with the weather. It is a 19th century English proverb, based on traditional weather patterns. Actually it refers to the relative positions on the horizon, of the constellations Leo and Aries, at the beginning and end of the March. Either way, warmer temperatures are just around the corner and it is difficult, to believe, it is already time to spring the clocks ahead this coming weekend.

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie has out a charming new kit, with an interesting color palette; blue, green and orange. Orange is not typically one of my favorite colors, but I did manage to work a little bit of it into this page. Raquel likes how it turned out, but she figures that I could have put more on the page. I had to laugh at her a bit, as I was trying not to clutter it up. The quote is from a book by Dr. Rallie McAllister called Riding for Life, "Your horse holds you accountable only for what lies in your heart."

What Lies in Your Heart digital kit credits: Country Lane from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts used: OCR A Extended & Tagettes.

It will be another busy week at our house with swimming lessons and no school again this Friday. We are taking advantage of that and Raquel is going for her semi annual eye exam. She doesn't always use her glasses and I am hoping eventually she may not need them at all. Now that it has warmed up, Ayden & I are planning to spend some time outside. I think Ayden has cabin fever, she sure has been temperamental lately. She is sure going to enjoy spring this year. Thanks for dropping by my blog, enjoy your week!

Every Day Life

2009-02-23T21:13:00.003-07:00

I finally got around to completing my page for this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. Vanessa designed this pretty mini kit, from which a element or paper had to be used. The theme for this month was to create a lay out showing what a typical day in your life looks like, for future generations.

I think an ordinary day at our house is usually pretty boring, so I had a hard time deciding what pictures to use. That is probably why it took me so long to get this one done. I managed to find at least one picture from this month of everyone and I decided to include the page from our actual calendar on the lay out as well. So here it is, a page of our daily lives.
Every Day Life 2009 digital kit credits: Every Day Life, Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega kit, & Easter Basket from Blushbutter.
Fonts used:French Script Mt, Font Leroy Brown & Kayleigh.

Last week was rather a busy one our house. We had an appointment in the city and Raquel only had two days of school. She enjoyed the time off, but I was glad it was Monday today and things settled back into a normal routine. Our house is certainly a bit hectic when both girls are home all day. Ayden starts swimming lessons again this week, so we'll be busy with those for a while. She really enjoys the water and has been asking for the past couple of days to go swimming. I enjoy it too and it is a terrific way to wear Ayden out a little. She is such a little night owl and I wish I had as much energy as she does, (of course she takes more naps than I do). It looks like the next couple of days will be perfect for napping or other indoor activities, as the temperatures are supposed to get cooler again and yes, I do believe there is more snow in the forecast. I hope you enjoy your week. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Loved in Return

2009-02-14T21:56:00.003-07:00

Last week seemed to go by fairly quickly. I decided to learn how to use Photo Shop Elements 5. Normally I do all my pages with Paint Shop Pro. It was fun trying to figure out how to work on a lay out without taking classes for the program first. A lot of the features are similar, but I do like PSP quite a lot. I can see I will be using both programs from now on, and may even have to find time to take some lessons for PSE5.

Vanessa has some new templates in the Blushbutter store and I decided to play with one this week, instead of coming up with my own composition, (although I did rearrange it a bit). The templates are quite beautiful and certainly good for a little inspiration. Vanessa also added some fabulous new styles to the store this week. They only function in Photo Shop (the reason I decided to start using it). Working with styles in PSE5 was interesting and I really liked the end result. I actually started this page in PSP and then completed it in Photo Shop.

This is a picture of Ayden with her favorite cat. We have five cats and they are all supposed to be outside cats. Ayden really loves Vester and usually has to have him inside during the day. He comes running when she calls him and spends most of the day curled up sleeping some place in her room. He is her best buddy and she adores him. She loves to give him water and fills special dishes of food just for him. I used a lot of Ayden's favorite color (green) on this page, and she loves it.

Loved in Return digital kit credits: Victorian Dolls Kit, Faery Kisses in Blue Mega kit, Template Layout Creator #16, Glitter Glitz Glam Styles & Felt Photoshop Styles all from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Imprint MT Shadow & Segoe Script.

The weather got cool again this past week and we had a little bit of snow. It is supposed to start warming up in a few more days. Ayden finished up her swimming lessons at the end of the week. She is supposed to be about 3 before she can go in the pool for lessons by herself. So since she can't really advance to the next level for a while, I will probably just register her in the Sea Turtle level. Lessons start again in a few weeks. Raquel enjoyed the week at school and got to end it with a Valentine's Day party, movie and swimming, as well. She is pretty happy to have a long weekend and is trying to talk me into taking them to the pool for the Family Day swim. Sounds like it might be a good way to spend some time with the girls.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Happy Valentines's Day!!!

P.S. I love you!

2009-02-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

February is Heart month, if you are interested, you can check out the following links to find out more ways to keep your heart healthy, the Heart & Stroke Foundation and The Heart Truth. Of course, February's most celebrated holiday, Valentine's day, is also around the corner. So remember to wear some red on February 14th to show your support of the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie has a lovely new kit in her store this month, that is just perfect for romantic occasions (and it's on sale for a limited time). I decided to do another page for my heritage album, because I love these old shots of my mom and dad. They have been a couple for over 40 years and I really admire them for that. These pictures, of my parents, were taken before they were married. My dad was quite proud of that Comet Capri, as it was his first new car. The journaling reads: Barbara gave Eckhard this picture while they were engaged. She wrote him the little note in the locket, on the back of the picture. These pictures were taken in the spring of 1967.

P.S. I love you! digital kit credits: Parisian Rose from the Dapper Doxie.
Fonts used: Mutlu, Porcelain & Whisper Write.

We had a fairly quiet week this week. Ayden is getting much better at floating and blowing bubbles in the pool. She is getting a lot more confident in the water, although I'm not totally sure that is a good thing, as she is such an independent little person. Raquel had a winter carnival today at school this afternoon, to finish off the week. She had a good time and especially enjoyed the fact that there were no classes pretty much all day. We went and did some shopping the other day and I got myself a new external hard drive. I found a good deal on a terabyte that I couldn't pass up. So I spent some time cleaning out files and rearranging them this week. Hopefully now my desktop will perform better, as it's memory was almost full. We are supposed to have another mild weekend, which will be so nice. Hope you enjoy your weekend also!

Time For Some Changes

2009-02-02T21:00:00.003-07:00

Happy Groundhog's day!!! I thought that it was about time to make a new header and blinkie. Something kind of springy, as I am getting tired of winter and those crazy groundhogs predicted 6 more weeks. I created my own graphics and the doodle down the left side, was done by Raquel. She thought it was neat that I used it, although her original paper version was a little more colorful. I hope you enjoy my new spring header, maybe one of these days I will actually get together a whole kit.

I decided that while I was in a bit of a Halloween mood, I would finish off those pictures, (something I never did do last year). So here are a couple more pages of Trick or Treating. I dressed up as the devil's mistress and put on long red underwear to stay warm in that dress. The girls enjoyed having me dress up, but I don't think I will ever put that black spray on my hair again, what a mess it made!

Trick or Treat 2008 I & II digital kit credits: Photo Benders from Dusty Bear, Cast Iron Halloween from Derek M. Designs and Boo To You Too & Dark Gothic Halloween from Snowraven.
Fonts Used: Cold Night For Alligators & Haunt AOE.

Last week my younger brother stopped in for a quick visit. I finally got to see my little niece, Medea. She is seven months old now and such a little doll. I got to be the proud auntie, because she actually let me hold her. It made me realize just how quickly Ayden is growing up. We had a rather quiet weekend, as Raquel was away. The weather has been fairly mild for this time of year, so Ayden & I have been trying to get outside more. It is pretty slippery for her, as the snow has been melting the past few days, but now that she can get her own boots on, it is pretty difficult to keep her in. She loves to help feed the horses and take care of the dogs (which is great, except she is so tiny. Both of the girls swimming lessons are going well. Raquel's last lesson is tomorrow, so I'll get to see how she is progressing. Ayden has four more lessons, she is enjoying them immensely, so I may have to register her for the next session as well.

Have a nice week!

Halloween in January?

2009-01-23T13:51:00.002-07:00

Okay, maybe I'm a little behind with my pictures, but I am finally getting to Halloween. Raquel seemed to think is was an odd choice for this time of year, but I didn't feel like doing Christmas pages yet. It was fun going through the Halloween pictures. The girls were so cute, Raquel was a good witch and Ayden was a forest fairy. They had to wear their costumes over some warm clothes, as it was a chilly evening, but at least there wasn't any snow this year.

Halloween 2008 digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Kit, Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit, and Creepies from Blushbutter.
Skelegance from Derek M. Designs.
Fonts used: Haunted.

To break up the winter boredom, I decided to start Ayden in swimming lessons this month. She gets to go twice a week, in the morning and really seems to be enjoying it. She is too small to go into the pool by herself, so I get to join her. I am impressed with the fact that they are actually being taught skills at such a young age, not just playing in the water. Ayden is learning it is okay to put your head all the way under the water and is progressing nicely with her front & back floats. She loves the hot tub, but I think the highlight of the week for Ayden was when she got to go down the waterslide with me. Raquel has been taking swimming lessons for the past couple of weeks as well. Her school offers a session of lessons, as part of the physical education program each year. She was a little upset because she was put in a more advanced level than her friends, due to all the lessons she's had in the past. She has some dreams of being a life guard one day and I am really quite proud of her progress. With swimming and an appointment last Monday, our week has gone by quickly. It looks like we are in for a few cold days, just in time for the weekend. Maybe we'll have to go out and rent a few movies. Hope you find a nice cozy way to spend your weekend also!

A Difficult Choice

2009-01-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

This month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty is to create a page using your favorite picture from 2008. You also had to use something from the mini kit provided by Dusty Bear.

It was hard for me to decide just which picture was my favorite, but I finally settled on this one from Kyle's graduation. We all had a great time and the girls were pleased that they got to go to such a grown up event. Kyle looked so handsome and I am very happy that he graduated. It is certainly one of my favorite memories from 2008 and I do love this picture, as it not only has all my little darlings in it, but my parents and niece as well.

Graduation - Family digital kit credits: Tattered Solids, Dainty elements, Dainty papers, and Classroom Memories elements from Dusty Bear.
Fonts used: MisterEarl BT and WhisperWrite.

We are enjoying a week of unseasonably warm weather. Today it is above freezing and the snow is melting. It feels so nice to get a break from all the cold and snow we've had so far this winter. Chinooks are such wonderful things! Spring is my favorite time of the year and I much prefer rain to snow. If you are looking for some signs of spring, you can drop by Deb's blog, she had a some adorable pictures of her new baby goats posted. My parents raised goats for quite a few years when we were young and I always loved the babies, they can be so comical. So if you are feeling a little down about winter, remember spring is just around the corner.

Hope you are having a terrific week!

The Dance

2009-01-03T16:37:00.005-07:00

Happy New Years!!! It's been rather busy at our house with everyone home over the holidays. I think Raquel's actually looking forward to school starting again on Monday, so she can go and hang out with her friends. We took our tree down the other day, so we could set up the "inside bouncer" the girls got for Christmas. This cold weather has certainly been keeping everyone indoors. It looks like we will finally be getting a break from the cold weather we've been experiencing. It will be nice to have some milder temperatures this week, maybe Ayden will get a chance to go outside and enjoy the snow for a change.

I decided to do another page for my children's heritage album. My maternal grandparents were married in Saskatchewan and soon after moved to British Columbia. Although Mike & Lena shared a life filled with many new experiences, their time together was relatively short. Lena passed away from an extended illness not long before her 36th birthday. Leaving Mike alone with their 3 young children to raise by himself. I imagine it must have been a very heart breaking and difficult time for the young family.

The journalling reads:

In 1942, shortly after Metro (Mike) & Lena’s marriage and subsequent move to the interior of British Columbia, they had this professional wedding portrait taken.

Together, Mike & Lena had four children, Peter, Joyce and Barbara, as well as an infant daughter who predeceased them in 1947.

The couple was married for 13 years, until Lena passed away in 1955.

The Dance digital kit credits: Wedding Dreams from The Dapper Doxie (some items colorized).
Fonts used:Papyrus, French Script MT and Edwardian Script ITC.

Wishing you health, prosperity and happiness in 2009. Have a nice weekend!

Memories

2008-12-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

I think maybe my muse has taken off for a warmer climate, not that anyone could be blamed for that, with the cold temperatures we have been experiencing. It looks like we shall be getting some warmer weather just in time for Christmas, which will be nice, as we have friends coming to visit.

I finally got my page done for this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. Vanessa has designed a beautiful mini kit, which you can obtain for free, if you participate in the challenge. The challenge was to do a page of your family, using one of several quotes and some items from the kit.

These are a couple pictures of my family. The picture from 1978 sure brought back a lot of memories. We often went to my Grandma's in the spring and the picture was taken at her house. (We had some fun trips with 5 kids in the car.) My mom did a lot of sewing then and she made the dresses my sisters and I are wearing in the picture. I remember, not too long after it was taken Carl, Sherri and I got our glasses. Now we all live in different places and it is not very often we get together. We had the other picture taken at mom & dad's anniversary last year. We've all changed a bit and certainly grown older.

Family Memories digital kit credits: from Blushbutter Family Memories, Fairy Kisses in Blue Mega Kit, Easter Basket and Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Kit.
Fonts used: Aubrey & Delitsch Antiqua.

We have had a couple of busy weeks cleaning and baking for Christmas. Both Raquel and Ayden have been a lot of help with keeping things clean. Ayden loves making cookies with me. I think, if you need to develop some patience, you should try baking with a 2 year old. Some of the cookies look interesting, but we had fun and I'm sure they will taste terrific. Raquel is off at her dad's for a few days and will be back tomorrow, to spend the rest of the holidays at home. Ayden was so thrilled today, as she got a big girl bed. Now we just have to see if she will sleep in it. I think tonight, it will be time to help Santa get ready and I will have to spend some time wrapping a few presents. Watching my girls open them up and seeing the excitement in their eyes has got to be one of the things I enjoy most about Christmas.

May the spirit of the holiday season remain with you through the coming year!

Enchantment

2008-12-10T11:57:00.002-07:00

New fallen snow certainly looks beautiful, we had some more this week, so it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Snow certainly does make the world an enchanting and magical looking place. The girls think it is awesome and just love playing in it. I took these pictures after our first real snowfall about a month ago. The quote reads: "The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found." - J.B. Priestly.

Enchantment digital kit credits: Snow Flakes Winter kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Lily UPC & Old English Text MT.

I did the page below for a quick page exchange at Blush-n-Dusty this month. I had a hard time deciding which way I liked it the most, so I decided to use it both ways. This is another page for my children's heritage album. This is my mom and her older sister, taken when my mom was about 3 months old. This is the earliest picture I have of my Aunt Joyce, I think she looks so cute in her pigtails.

Sisters 1950 digital kit credits: Snow Flakes Winter kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Microsoft Ya Hei & Viner Hand ITC.

We have our Christmas tree up and it looks terrific! We all had fun putting on the decorations, although we did end up with a LOT of decorations on it. Ayden is really enjoying it and loves to have the lights on all the time. Ayden can't quite say Merry Christmas, but her version sounds pretty cute. Raquel has been enjoying the Christmas crafts and hot chocolate that they are having every day at school this month. She is looking forward to Christmas holidays and is eagerly waiting for Santa Claus to get here. Her list has been checked over and over, with last minute revisions being made. I've been busy trying to get my Christmas cards in the mail and I think later this week, Ayden and I will have to go and do a little shopping.

Have a great week!

Always Know I Love You

2008-11-28T23:03:00.003-07:00

I decided rather late this month to participate in the challenge at Blush-n-Dusty. The challenge is to create a page about something you are thankful for, using Dusty Bear's For Fall element kit and to include some journaling.

I have many things in my life that I am thankful for, but the most important of all, are my children. I cherish each of them. I love watching them grow up and I am so glad that I have had the opportunity, to view the world through their eyes. I hope they always know how much I love them.

Always Know I Love You digital kit credits: For Fall, Dainty Elements, Crumpled Papers - Pastel,and Crumpled Papers - Bold from Dusty Bear.
Fonts Used: Kunstler Script & Lucida Handwriting.

We had a wonderful week of mild weather. Raquel seems to be the only one who has fully recovered from her cold. The rest of us are still suffering, to various degrees. Ayden seems to have it the worst, (poor baby) and she certainly has been a bit miserable. Raquel got her report card this week and is doing quite well. Mr. "Kap" is her favorite teacher and she has been enjoying school this year. She is having a sleepover this evening with her best friend, Ellen, to celebrate. We are thinking of setting up our Christmas tree on Sunday. We finally bought an artificial one last year, so that means we can have it up longer, for the girls to enjoy. Ayden has been seeing all the beautiful trees in the stores, so I think she will be quite happy to have her own at home. It's hard to believe it's almost Christmas time again. It is going to be lots of fun with Ayden this year.

Hope you have a good weekend.

Moments

2008-11-22T18:47:00.002-07:00

There are all kinds of moments in life. Some we wish we could forget and some we will always treasure. Memories can fade over time, but the moments captured in pictures can not be changed. Perhaps that is why it is said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

This is the only picture I have of my father with my grandfather. (I love the little details, like the toys my dad and uncle are holding.) Not long after it was taken, my grandfather, Karl, returned to service and was later declared missing. The journaling reads: "This picture was taken on Karl's final leave home during WWII. (left to right) Hans Joachim, Elfriede, Eckhard, Karl & Arno. Shortly after it was taken, Elfriede and the children fled to a refugee camp in Denmark. The Russian soldiers ransacked their home in Penkun, Pasewalk, Germany. The marks on the picture are from their boots. Relatives recovered the picture and returned it after the war."

Family Moment 1943 digital kit credits: A New Beginning Digital Scrapbook kit & freebie from The Dapper Doxie
Fonts used: Kunster Script, Narkisim & Pristina

This week at our house was rather a long one. Ayden, Raquel and Vern have all been sick. Raquel stayed home from school most of the week, but was starting to feel better Thursday. Ayden finally seems to be feeling better today and more like her sweet little self. She REALLY dislikes taking any medicine, so it's pretty hard to give her anything to make her feel better. We had a pretty good snowfall earlier this week, but the temperatures are supposed to be mild, so most of it will probably melt away before we get more.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope you have a nice weekend!

In My Heart

2008-11-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

The girls and I decided to go on a little road trip last weekend. We actually left a little earlier than we had planned, as Raquel couldn't wait to see her grandparents, brother & cousins. We had a good visit with everyone and took home some wonderful memories. The girls really enjoyed spending time with Kyle and his new kitten. This picture was taken the last time we went for a visit, in May, on our way to the park. Kyle has actually changed his look quite a bit, since this picture was taken. He makes me feel like such a tiny mom. Sometimes it's hard to believe, he was little, like his baby sister.

In My Heart digital kit credits: Peacock Whisper and Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit from Blushbutter (dragonflies by Art Within Designs using kit elements).
Fonts Used: Dilana Experimentype & Wenceslas.

We are supposed to have some nice warm weather this weekend and the snow we did have, has melted. It's nice being able to spend more time outside, before winter arrives. Ayden & Raquel didn't really mind the snow at all. I'm sure it won't be too long before there is more for them to play in.

Hope you enjoy your weekend!!!

From this Moment On

2008-11-06T11:34:00.003-07:00

Deb, at Doxie Designs joined in the Digi Shop Hop Crop this month, and the theme was Weddings. She made this lovely kit, called True Love, to go with all the other designer kits. Each kit is only $2.00 for the month of November, so hurry over and get hers.

Deb gave me the opportunity to play with True Love and make up a couple of quick pages, that she is offering as a posting bonus. These pictures were taken at our niece's wedding. Andrea was such a beautiful bride. Thank you very much Andrea for letting me use your pictures.

From this Moment On I & II digital kit credits: True Love from Doxie Designs
Fonts used: Porcelain, Monotype Corsiva & Dolphin

Ayden & I spent the week running around getting winter boots and vehicle maintenance done. Just in time, it would seem, as we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow yesterday. It was probably about time, but it wouldn't have hurt my feeling much if the snow could have stayed away for another week or two. Vern started sheeting the roof on the house, he is currently building, this week. So he wouldn't mind if the snow stayed away either. Ayden loves stopping by the job site to check out all the changes and explore. Every time we go to town she figures first we should get Raquel from school and then we should be going to check out the progress. Raquel finally got her school picture proofs. (She was sick on the original day and had to wait for retakes.) But it seems waiting was worth it, as she is quite happy with them. She has a long weekend coming up and is really looking forward to the time off.

Hope you are having a nice week!

Better Than A Super Hero

2008-11-01T00:40:00.002-06:00

There are all kinds of "super heros" in the world. Most of them never get the recognition they deserve. I sure some of them go about their lives wondering if anybody notices. One of my favorite quotes is, "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." Sometimes it is the smallest things we do, that brighten another person's day.

I scraplifted this quote, from a page, I saw in a gallery not too long ago. Raquel and Ayden definitely think their big brother is a super hero. They both adore him and look forward to visiting with Kyle, when he comes. I'm sure they'd love to see him more, if they could. I took these pictures when we went to Kyle's grad in May. All the girls had a terrific time playing in the park with Kyle. I think, it was the first time my kids, have all actually been to the park together.

Better Than A Super Hero digital kit credits: Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit and Digital Essential Frames from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Vestite Y Andate! and Wenceslas

Trick-or-Treating was lots of fun and the weather couldn't have been better! Raquel invited her friend, Ellen, along and we all had a wonderful time. Raquel was a good witch and Ayden was a forest fairy. Raquel really enjoyed that I decided to dress up, after all Halloween is her most favorite holiday. I put black spray in my hair, that will be the last time I do that. What a mess it makes. I guess you will just have to wait to see the pictures. I promise to do a Halloween page soon.

Hope you all had a happy & safe Halloween as well!

When You Feel Blue

2008-10-25T23:30:00.004-06:00

Vanessa has recently put out a gorgeous new digital scrapbooking kit. Fairy Kisses in Blue is available at Blushbutter's store and I believe it is on sale for a limited time. Vanessa has designed some enchanting backgrounds and fabulous elements in this mega kit. Ayden and Raquel both love the fairies, butterflies and sparkles. Most of the elements are blue, one of my favorite colors and I can see I will be making quite a few pages with this wonderful kit.

I took this picture of the girls a few weeks ago, after they were both ready for bed. For once, they were actually snuggled up on the couch together. Ayden really adores her big sister and of course tries to imitate her all the time. If Raquel gets something, Ayden has to have it too and vice versa. It's nice to see them have some quality time with each other, once and a while. The quote reads:

Here's a little hug for you,
To make you smile when you feel blue.
To make you happy if you're sad.
To let you know... life ain't so bad!
Now that I've given a hug to you,
Somehow, I feel better too.
Hugs are better when you share,
So pass one on and show you care!

When You Feel Blue digital kit credits: Fairy Kisses in Blue mega kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Hanford Script & ALS Script

This past week just seemed to fly by. It's been fairly windy here the past couple of days, but mild. They are forecasting a nice week, so maybe there won't be any snow again this year for Halloween. That would be so nice. Both girls are looking forward to Friday, especially Raquel, (she gets to have a party at school on Thursday and there is no school on Halloween). We've had their costumes for a couple of weeks and they picked out their pumpkins the other day. I decided, I would even dress up this year, I haven't done that for a while. There is no actual trick-or-treating where we live, so we take the girls into town. My baby toe seems to be healing pretty good, I went and had it checked at the hospital again. It's buddied up to the one beside it, and although it's still fairly bruised, at least the swelling went down and I can wear my own boots. Raquel also had parent teacher interviews last week, so report cards should be coming home soon. She seems to be doing pretty good this year, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Hope you are having a good weekend! Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Eat and Run

2008-10-21T14:00:00.001-06:00

Our latest nocturnal visitors are a pair of striped skunks. They have been hanging around for a couple of weeks and it seems they have made a den under our tack shed. They are kind of a nuisance, but the girls are enjoying seeing them. I snapped these pictures one night when they came to eat below the bird feeder. Ayden's been a little disappointed, the last few nights, as we stopped filling the bird feeder and the skunks have stopped coming around the house. Raquel thinks they are adorable, and of course would like to have one for a pet. I did these pages for the girls, so they can see their little buddies all the time.
The journaling reads: Skunks belong to the weasel family, their Latin name, mephitis, means bad odour. Skunks are about the size of a house cat. Their stripped coat is a warning to stay away. Skunks can direct their spray for up to 6 meters. They mainly hunt at night, venturing as far as 2 km from their dens. They like insects, bird food, petfood, berries, small rodents, compost, sardines & peanut butter. They dislike bright lights, citrus, canine urine and ammonia. Young skunks make good pets if the musk gland is removed.
Eat and Run & The Striped Skunk digital kit credits: Flamenco Spanish Dance Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Inked God and Kayleigh

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a great week!

Forever

2008-10-12T19:17:00.003-06:00

This month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo group is to create a wedding LO, using the beautiful mini kit from Blushbutter. You can get it as a freebie for participating in the challenge. Although I do have wedding pictures of my own, I decided I would rather do another couple pages for my heritage album. I think my wedding photos can wait to be scrapped for a few more years. These are some pictures from my grandpa Mike's wedding to my grandma Kay. My grandma Kay liked colors such teal and aquamarine, so I decided to colorize the paper and elements that I used.

Forever I & II digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking kit and Mini Wedding kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Porcelain, Chopin Script, Qlassik Bold & Kayleigh.

The journaling reads:

Katherine (Kay) met handsome Metro (Mike) on a blind date, which had been arranged by their mutual

friends, Milton and Alice. Kay had never been married and Mike was a widower with three young children,Peter, Joyce and Barbara.

They were married on August 8^th, 1957 in Winfield, B.C., where Kay’s parents lived. Kay was 38 and Mike was 37. The family settled on the outskirts of Vernon, B.C., where Mike built them a new home on 2 acres of land. About a year after their marriage, their daughter, Gaileen was born.

Mike and Kay were married about 12 years, when Mike suddenly passed away, in 1969. Though they were short, they were happy years, filled with family and friends. After Mike’s death,Kay never remarried. Strengthen by her faith in God, she led a peaceful life, until she passed away.

We are having a rather quiet long weekend here at home. Vern has been working all weekend, but will be taking tomorrow off and we will have Thanksgiving Dinner. He ended up having a few more days off, last week, waiting for his floor system to be delivered, which finally got here Friday. Raquel decided to go to her dad's to celebrate the holiday, so Ayden and I were just hanging out at home. That was until I broke my toe on one of her little stools. So instead of making pumpkin pies today, we got to go to the hospital and wait around there most of the afternoon. They took a bunch of x-rays and it was defiantly broken, (it was sticking out at about 90 degrees the wrong way). So the Dr. froze it and gently repositioned it. Trust me, I do not recommend breaking your baby toe, I bet my foot will be black & blue tomorrow. "Ouwie", as Ayden says. Ayden keeps trying to put soft things on it for me, she is so sweet.

I updated my Two Hearts page from Mike & Lena's wedding. I talked to one of my great aunts this week and she was able to give me a little more information about my grandma Lena. You can check out their wedding page here, if you are interested.

I just wanted to say thank you to Karrie at Kez Creates for giving me a little blog award last week. That was so nice of her. Karrie has some terrific Los on her blog and she always keeps an eye out for the latest freebies.

My Nominees:

Doxie Designs Doxie Archives

Idgies Heart Song

Penlins Designs

Thanks for your comments. Hope you are having a nice long weekend, Happy Thanksgiving!

Think Pink

2008-10-04T23:32:00.007-06:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is one of the causes I always support. You can check out the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation site if you'd like, for more information or to find a way to show your support. The girls and I went shopping today and found DVDs for the Cure. We picked up The Princess Bride, (actually it's the 20th anniversary edition). It's always kind of been one of my favorites, good old Wesley saves his lovely Buttercup, after overcoming all those formidable odds. I thought, I would share this tag I made, just to remind everyone to THINK PINK.
Deb, at The Dapper Doxie is having the grand opening of her new store, from the 1st through the 12th of October. All Digital Scrapbooking supplies will be marked down 20%. Deb has her newest kit, A New Beginning, available in her shop and on her blog, she has an add on freebie, for a limited time. So what are you waiting for? Get over there and shop!

This is one of my favorite pictures, from this summer, of Ayden with her daddy. She loves to go see Vern on the job site. If he is working close to home, we will occasionally take daddy some coffee, so she can have a quick visit and check out the progress.
Strong & Gentle digital kit credits: Baily digital scrapbook kit from The Dapper Doxie (some items colorized).
Fonts Used: Windsong, Porcelain, Mutlu & WhoopAss

We had a beautiful Indian summer last week and spent quite a bit of time outside getting to know the new baby horses, we got at a sale last weekend. Mickey & Jewel are gradually beginning to accept us. They are only about 6 months old and are adorable. Both Raquel & Ayden love them and we are planning for Jewel to be Raquel's horse in a couple of years. Now we are up to 8 horses. Things should be getting back to normal around here, as the house Vern has been waiting to frame, is ready. This will mean more job site visits for Ayden, as it is not too far away.

My dad found some more information regarding that wedding picture from 1939. I've rearranged the page a little and added some names, if you are interested you can look at it here. The gentleman seated next to the groom is my great grandfather and I think most of the other people identified are great uncles and aunts. Thanks dad, for finding that information for me.

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Hope you have a good week. Take Care!

Bounce

2008-09-26T19:08:00.003-06:00

We've had a busy couple of weeks and I haven't had much time to work on any pages. Vern's been off and getting a lot accomplished around the house and yard. He's contemplating adding an addition to give us some more room and he's finishing off the new front deck. Both of the girls have had horrible colds, but it seems like they are starting to feel better. My dad brought my aunt and uncle down earlier this week, before they headed back to Germany. We had a good visit, although it was pretty quick, but it was wonderful to see them. Fall is definately here, the leaves are falling to the ground and it has been cool. How quickly summer fades away. Soon we'll have to get out the mittens, winter jackets and boots.

I decided to do a page of Ayden having fun on the trampoline. She just loves to "bounce" and is always wanting to go out. Having as many balls as possible on the trampoline just adds to the fun. Ayden bounces until she is pretty much exhausted, but she sure has a good time. She has told us she needs an inside bouncer for the rainy days.

Bounce digital kit credits: Craft Scrapbooking Clipart Graphics kit, Gentle, Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega Kit, Digital Circle Frames Blue & Pink and Fairy Things & Butterfly Wings Digital Scrapbook kit from Blushbutter (some items colorized).
Fonts used: Heather, Jacki's Hand, & Jokewood

Thanks for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

We'll Meet Again Some Day

2008-09-15T20:48:00.015-06:00

September's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo Group is to create a heritage layout. I haven't joined in one of the challenges for a while, but I couldn't pass up one of my favorite subjects. For participating, you get Dusty Bear's newest mini kit, Floral Heritage, which contains that unusual album page for a frame.
I have LOTS of pictures of Great Uncle Harry. Harry was the first husband, of my Great Aunt Dora. Even though Dora later remarried, my mom told me that Dora really loved her Harry and missed him till the day she went to meet him again. My mom lived with them for several years and has fond memories of being in their home. It took me a little while to get these pages done as I had to restore some of the pictures and go through all my bits of information to write up Harry's story. The journaling on both pages reads:

Harry Hupalo was born in the Ukraine in 1902.

He immigrated to Canada in 1921, at the age

of 19. Harry worked as a laborer on a

farm near Fenwood, Sask. From there he

moved to Kelvington, Sask, where he continued

work as a farm laborer. In 1923 he managed

to get a job with the Canadian National Railway,

working only the summer months. During the

winters he cut cordwood for a farmer. In 1926

he obtained a full time position with the CNR in

Preeceville,Sask. This is where Harry met the

love of his life, Dora, in 1928.

Dora worked in Preeceville, doing general

housekeeping and babysitting. A year later in

1929, Dora and Harry got married – Dora

being age 15 and Harry age 27.

Harry worked at Lilian Junction, Sask. for the

first couple of years, after they were married.

In 1932, Harry was promoted to section

foreman in Ketchen and the couple moved into

their first two-roomed house, which Harry later

added an addition to.

Unfortunately, Harry & Dora could not have

children. They quickly filled this void by taking

in Dora’s younger sister, Anne, who lived with

them for 8 years. Dora’s brother, Mike and

youngest sister Leona, also spent much of their

teenage years at their home. Harry & Dora

also sponsored and paid for Harry’s five year

old niece, Olga, to immigrate to Canada from

the Ukraine, after her mother passed away

when she was a year old. When Dora’s

brother, Mike, unexpectedly found himself a

widower, with three young children, they gave

their youngest niece, Barbara, a home for an

extended time. They also cared for Anne’s

young physically handicapped son for many

years. As well, they adopted a son, Joseph.

Harry continued to work for the CNR in

Ketchen, for 22 years. In 1954 he was

transferred to Yorkton, Sask. and the couple

moved to Ebenezer, Sask. Harry & Dora

enjoyed the perks of his job and often

took regular trips, by CN train, across

Canada to visit family members in Manitoba

and British Columbia. Harry also enjoyed

working in his yard and on his cars.

Harry passed away suddenly while in Yorkton,

Thursday, August 16, 1962, of a stroke, at the

age of 60. Harry is buried in the City of

Yorkton Cemetery, Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Dora, who always treasured his memory, was

later interred beside him, when she passed

away in 2003, at the age of 89.

When I was scanning pictures, I also found the newspaper clipping of the poem that Aunty Dora wrote as a tribute to Harry. She had actually written it on the back of one of his pictures also. The newspaper clipping reads: HUPALO - In loving memory of my dear husband Harry Hupalo, who passed away August 16, 1962.

I think of you with love today
As I have done so often
And feel once more the sudden blow
That doesn't seem to soften.
You wished no one a last farewell
Or even said goodbye,
You were gone before I knew
And only God knows why.
When I am sad and lonely
And everything goes wrong,
I seem to hear you whisper
Cheer up and carry on.
Each time I look at your picture
You seem to smile and say
Don't cry, I'm only sleeping
We'll meet again some day.

-sadly missed and longed for by his loving wife Dora.

Harry Hupalo and We'll Meet Again Some Day digital kit credits: Floral Heritage and Amid Memories Elements from Dusty Bear.
Fonts Used: Kayleigh, Christmas Card & Porcelain

We are having a week of nice weather and the leaves are starting to turn colors. Ayden and I are enjoying the chance to spend a few more days outside. Raquel has decided to join the choir this year and she is looking forward to starting her riding lessons again soon. Later today Ayden and I will finish making the Lime Pickles we started yesterday. Ayden is such a good little helper, well maybe good is the wrong choice of words, but she certainly is cheerful and willing.
Hope you have a wonderful day. Thanks for dropping by my blog!

The Hearts We Leave Behind

2008-09-04T18:38:00.006-06:00

My friend, Deb is planning her grand opening at The Dapper Doxie for October 1st. Deb is planning to have at least one new kit available in her shop. I'm looking forward to seeing what she creates next. Deb's kits have such an elegant, soft vintage feel.

I decided to do another couple of pages for my heritage album. During the early years of my mom's life, she lost several immediate family members. Joyce, her older sister, died unexpectedly at the age of 13. My mom told me, that she gave me my middle name, after her sister's. These are the only pictures I have of Joyce by herself. There don't seem to be any baby pictures of her. The quote I used is by Thomas Campbell from Hallowed Ground.

The Hearts We Leave Behind I & II digital kit credits: Day Dreams from The Dapper Doxie.
Fonts used: Chopin Script, Porcelain, & Kayleigh.

We've had frost the last couple of mornings and it's been a cool week. I'm looking forward to seeing all the beautiful colors of fall, although I hope summer isn't quite finished yet. It is definitely more peaceful at home, with Raquel back to school. Raquel says she had THE BEST first day ever, I hope she feels that way about the rest of the school year. Ayden is definitely keeping me busy, without Raquel here to help amuse her. One of her favorite outside activities in bouncing on the trampoline. We've also been taking Lady out during the day. Ayden loves helping me lead Lady around and occasionally gets to have a little "ride" . Anything to do with the horses is a highlight to her day. It's so sweet to see her standing on the fence calling them to come in from the field. But soon we'll be spending more time inside and I've been thinking maybe it's time I put together my own kit. We'll have to see what happens with that....

Have a great weekend!

A Sister Is

2008-08-31T00:01:00.008-06:00

Deb, at The Dapper Doxie, has upgraded her blog store, into an online shop. She has created several beautiful kits lately and the new store looks terrific. Along with the new store, Deb has updated the gallery also. Deb is planning to have her grand opening later in September or early in October. I know, if you stop by and register at her shop before the grand opening, Deb as has little gift for you.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughters. They are growing up so quickly. When this picture was taken, Ayden wasn't even 6 months old. Now she can talk, hop, skip and count to at least 6. Where does the time go? Sometimes Raquel loses patience with her little sister, but without a doubt they love each other. Sisters can certainly be annoying and they often borrow things without asking. But, when it comes right down to it, I would never trade my sisters for anything. I hope Raquel and Ayden always feels that way too.

The quote reads: A sister is one who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. (Author Unknown).

A Sister Is digital kit credits: Yesterdays Dreams Digital Scrapbooking kit from The Dapper Doxie.
Mask: Dragons Breath
Fonts Used: Mutlu, Porcelain, Monsieur La Doulaise & Heather

It's raining tonight and it sounds so tranquil falling on the roof. The rest of the long weekend is supposed to be cool. Ayden is looking forward to her sister coming home tomorrow. She sure misses Raquel while she is away. I'm sure Ayden will find it different next week, when Raquel heads back to school. Me too, I'm looking forward to having a bit more quiet....

Have a wonderful day!

Eency Weency Spider

2008-08-28T09:40:00.006-06:00

Only five more days till school starts. The girls and I went into Calgary, to Market mall, on Monday. We managed to outfit Raquel with all her back to school clothes, (I wish her school had uniforms, it would be so much easier). I not really much of a shopper, so I'm glad that's all finished. We are off to Olds today, to drop Raquel off, as she is going to spend the long weekend with her dad. Ayden and I will be having a few quiet days by ourselves, till she comes back home Sunday. Then it will back to school, with routines and schedules. Summer went by so fast.

One of Ayden's favorite games is Eency Weency Spider. For Ayden's birthday, we gave her one of those musical cards, she just loves it! It plays the Eency Weency Spider song, she'll hold it open and dance around. It reminded me that I had these pictures of Ayden & my mom from their visit earlier this summer. Ayden had a terrific time playing with Grandma Barbara. She loves to have the "spiders" and the "rain" tickle her. The poem is an excerpt from a book published by Bank Street written by Joanne F. Oppenheim.

Eency Weency Spider

The Eency Weency Spider went up the waterspout.

Down came the rain and washed the spider out!

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

And the Eency Weency Spider went up the spout again.

Oh, Eency Weency Spider, weave your silvery web.

Oh, Eency Weency Spider, spin your silvery thread.

Upsy-downsy outs and ins, see how Eency Weency spins!

Eency Weency Spider digital kit credits: Fairies in the Garden, Snow Flakes Winter Kit, Boy Oh Boy kit, Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit (some items colorized) from Blushbutter.
Spider by Art Within Designs

Fonts used: Monotype Corsiva and Kayleigh

Thank you for stopping by my blog, have a great long weekend!

Happy Birthday Ayden!!!

2008-08-22T18:20:00.004-06:00

The last couple of years have sure gone by quickly. Ayden is growing so fast. We had a fun time opening a few presents and watching her blow out the candles, over & over. The girls & I spent the week running around getting presents and school supplies. Raquel got a haircut, (but she can't tell the difference). Now we have just one more day of clothes shopping, in the city, next week and she will be ready for grade 4.

I haven't done a page for the girl's heritage album for a while, so I decided to do one from my dad's side of the family. This is one of the pictures my aunt sent me, from Germany. It is the earliest picture I have of my paternal grandparents. There seem to be no pictures, from their own wedding, that survived WWII and I feel fortunate to have the ones I do. I like the extra bits that show up in the picture, like the tray of drinks and the musical instruments. How formal they all look, it must have been a beautiful wedding. I don't know anything about the rest of the people in the picture. My oma passed away last year, and no one else seems to know now.

Family Wedding 1939 digital kit credits: Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking kit, Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap kit, Summer Dreams, Easter Basket, and Baby Girl Heart Strings mega kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts Used: Orange LET, Cantaneo BT, Perpetua & Champagne

Have a nice weekend!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

2008-08-16T01:06:00.011-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mom! Hope you have a wonderful day. Thought maybe you would like to see your granddaughters, with one of your favorite little critters. We found this frog one day, on one of our walks. Raquel and Ayden had so much fun holding, petting and repeatedly catching it, until it jumped away in some tall grass. Ayden thought the frog was pretty neat and is still talking about how it jumped. Of course, she normally has to jump too, just to show us what the frog did. She looks so cute hopping around.

Prince Charming? digital kit credits: Easter Basket, Emerald Fairy Digital Scrapbooking Kit, Gentle (some items colorized) and Quilling Box of paper filagree from Blushbutter.
Photo benders from Dusty Bear
Template 28 from Gloria Val Verde at Moo Two Designs
Fonts used: Mutlu & Kayleigh

We've been having a good visit with Kyle. Both girls are enjoying the time they are spending with him. Kyle will be leaving Monday, so things will settle down again. Our appointments this week, went very well and now all we have left to do before school starts, is the back to school shopping. Maybe we'll get to that, at the end of next week.

Thanks for dropping by my blog! Have a nice weekend!

Canadian Beauties

2008-08-12T00:10:00.007-06:00

This week it is supposed to be cooler, which will be a good change from last week's 30 degree days. The sun is not really my friend and I much prefer slightly cooler days. Tonight it decided to rain and it is actually quite chilly outside.

I got my pages from Canada Day completed. We had a nice time, just hanging out in the yard, enjoying Canada's beauty. Of course, the girls had to pose for pictures. Sometimes, I think, I take too many pictures but can there ever really be too many pictures?

Blush's new Unicorn kit, had the perfect colors for my Canada Day LOs. Ayden & Raquel really enjoy her magical graphics.
Canada Day 2008 I & III digital kit credits: Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Cataneo BT & Brush 455 BT

Hopefully, for us, this week won't be so busy. Kyle is planning to stay for a few days, on his return from his adventures in BC and we have a couple of appointments, as well as back to school shopping. Yes, school will be starting soon, only a few more weeks of summer holidays left. I know Raquel has been missing her friends (not school). Take care and have a good week.

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

2008-08-02T00:52:00.010-06:00

Today is my dad's birthday. Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day and your card is in the mail. I thought maybe you would like to see a picture of me for once, so here a little birthday present for you. Hope to see you & mom later this month.

We've had a couple of busy weeks. Raquel has been at her dad's for over a week and we are looking forward to her coming home next week. Vern had a week off, in between jobs, so Ayden and I haven't had a chance to get bored. As per normal, Ayden insists we spend most of our time outside. This week we've been hunting for wild strawberries, (I know they are yummy, because she won't share with me) and I think we've picked all the ones in the yard, much to her disappointment. It's so cute to hear her trying to say strawberries. It's hard to believe she will be 2 in a couple of weeks. Below is a picture Raquel took of us on Canada Day.

I used Blushbutter's newest kit, it is so enchanting (I love the fairy and the unicorn). This is the first of several pages I have been working on, that I am using it for. I hope to get the other pages, of the girls done soon, but with Vern being off this weekend and Kyle dropping in for a quick visit at the beginning of the week, that might not happen. Summer seems to be going by so fast...

Canada Day 2008 II digital kit credits: Unicorn and Fairy Clipart Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: AdineKimberg & Adorable

Thanks for stopping by my blog, have a terrific long weekend!

Precious Baby Girl

2008-07-17T19:51:00.003-06:00

The newest member of our family, was born a couple of weeks ago. I am very happy for my brother, Chris & Harmony. They gave my new niece, such an unusual & beautiful name, Medea Rose. Chris was very thoughtful and emailed me a bunch of pictures. I couldn't resist doing a page of Medea, she is so adorable. Hopefully we will get to see her sometime soon, but since they live near Vancouver, pictures will have to do for now.

I hope you have a nice weekend!

Precious Baby Girl digital kit credits: Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega Kit & Unicorn and Fairy clipart kit from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Chopin Script & Park Avenue BT

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!

2008-07-03T13:58:00.005-06:00

Summer is here! We've had some beautiful weather the past few weeks and the girls & I have been spending lots of time outside. Raquel is enjoying the fact that school is out for another year. She is so proud of herself for passing into Gr. 4. We had a busy couple of weekends, with Vern's mom & Jim stopping in and then Brian & Judy surprised us with a visit this past weekend. My mom & dad will be coming this weekend with Madison, so of course, the girls are looking forward to that.

Here is another page for the girls heritage album. I decided to do this page, because Raquel brought home the poem in her end of the year school work and I thought it was so cute. It seemed to go so well with this picture I had of Vern. Seems to me that this is exactly how a 4 year old feels about spaghetti. The poem is by Jack Prelutsky.

Spaghetti! Spaghetti!
Spaghetti! spaghetti!
you're wonderful stuff,
I love you, spaghetti,
I can't get enough.
You're covered with sauce
and your sprinkled with cheese,
spaghetti! spaghetti!
oh, give me some more please.

Spaghetti! spaghetti!
piled high in a mound,
you wiggle, you wriggle,
you squiggle around.
There's slurpy spaghetti
all over my plate,
spaghetti! spaghetti!
I think you are great.

Spaghetti! spaghetti!
I love you a lot,
your slishy, you're sloshy,
delicious and hot.
I gobble you down
oh, I can't get enough,
Spaghetti! spaghetti!
your wonderful stuff.

Spaghetti! Spaghetti! digital kit credits: A Touch of Legacy from Nath Fun Stuff.
Dragonfly by Art Within Designs from kit elements
Fonts used: Calligraph421 BT, Accent Wet Noodle, Alba, Papyrus & Blackletter686 BT

Thanks for your comments and have a nice weekend!

Lovelier than Lilacs

2008-06-21T07:26:00.007-06:00

I spent some time this week scanning in some more of the old pictures my mom gave me. I know I've said it before, but I do really love those old pictures. I wonder about their lives, their dreams, sorrows and heartaches. I have a lot of them digitized now and organized into family files.

This is a picture of my great aunt. Leona, was one of my maternal grandfather's four sisters. Raquel and I both think she was beautiful and like the picture on the right. I suppose this is really an introduction of sorts to Leona. I don't know Leona's date of birth or when she passed away, but I do know a little bit about her life. I have quite a few pictures of her family and will eventually be doing more pages for my heritage album.

I really like this kit of Deb's, lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. I had decided I wanted to use a quote about lilacs on this page. It was all done, except for that and finally after several hours of internet surfing, I found this one, (you'd think there would be more quotes on lilacs). It seemed to go perfectly with the rest of the page. The quote reads:

Thou art not lovelier than lilacs,—no
Sonnet I

THOU art not lovelier than lilacs,—no,
Nor honeysuckle; thou art not more fair
Than small white single poppies,—I can bear
Thy beauty; though I bend before thee, though
From left to right, not knowing where to go,
I turn my troubled eyes, nor here nor there
Find any refuge from thee, yet I swear
So has it been with mist,—with moonlight so.

Like him who day by day unto his draught
Of delicate poison adds him one drop more
Till he may drink unharmed the death of ten,
Even so, inured to beauty, who have quaffed
Each hour more deeply than the hour before,
I drink—and live—what has destroyed some men.

Edna St. Vincent Millay,
Renascence and Other Poems, 1917

Lovelier than Lilacs digital kit credits: My Lady and My Lady Add on freebie from Doxie Designs.
Fonts used: Mutlu, French Script MT, Monotype Corsiva, Porcelain & Kayleigh.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a nice weekend!

Enchanting & Lovely

2008-06-13T08:31:00.006-06:00

June's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty is to do a LO featuring yourself. It really is a good subject, as it is not very often I do a page with me in it. Since I'm usually the one taking the pictures, there are not that many of me I guess. These pictures were taken in our yard a couple of weeks ago.
Enchanting & Lovely digital kit credits: Gentle, Digital Essential Frames, Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking Kit, Baby Boy Heart Strings, Gold Butterflies, and June challenge kit, Pretty You, from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: Ajile & Monotype Corsiva

Enjoy your weekend!

Dance in the Rain

2008-06-04T01:21:00.006-06:00

We get a lot of rainy days in June. Normally I like the rain, but today it matches my mood and I wish, I had the time to go for a quiet walk in it.

I really like this quote and have been wanting to use it with these pictures of Raquel for awhile. I took these pictures, about a year ago, one afternoon after she got off the bus. She was enjoying the rain and doing a little dance. Raquel didn't see me taking pictures right away, but once she did, she had to give me a little pose. My beautiful girl, I hope you always remember to dance in the rain.

Dance in the Rain digital kit credits: Faes for print and crafts 1, Easter Basket, Boy Oh Boy Kit, bracket album scrap template #2 from Blushbutter
Rain Drops share Pam Dragon, Dragon's Breath Resource Forum
Fonts used: Delitsch Antiqua, Eras Light ITC, Adorable

Have a nice week and don't forget to dance in the rain!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-10T23:12:00.003-06:00

I want to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day. I love you mom! I hope all of you mothers have a wonderful day.

This month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo Group is to to do a page of your pet. We have so many pets, it was really rather difficult choosing pictures. We have 3 beautiful wolf/husky cross dogs. We got our 2 males last year and they have grown a LOT, since these pictures. They were so cute then and we sure had fun playing with 7 puppies.

Checking out the Litter digital kit credits: Dog Kit from Doxie Designs (one of Deb's freebies), Summer Dreams from Blushbutter and Pet Pretties from Dusty Bear
Fonts used: Park Avenue Bt and Perpetua

Have a nice week!

Roses in December

2008-04-30T07:47:00.005-06:00

We certainly had some lovely weather the last few days. All the snow is gone, once again and the frogs have started singing. With all the beautiful weather, Ayden & I spend a lot more time outside. Ayden would be outside all day if I would let her.

I decided to join another creative team. Nathalie, has started selling her designs in a couple of online stores, Digital Scrap Garden and Erika's Digital Scrapbook. I am rather pleased to be on Nath's Creative Team, as she is a fellow Canadian. She very creative and has some beautiful kits.

I know it's a little bit early, but as Mother's Day will soon be here, I did this page of my mom, when she was little. The quote reads: God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. - J. M. Barrie, from Courage 1922.

Roses in December digital kit credits: Baby Girl Shoes - Layered Template and Vintage Roses kit from Nath Fun Stuff.
Fonts used: Fontleroy Brown & Edwardian Script ITC

Have a nice day!

Celebrations

2008-04-24T23:30:00.007-06:00

Still more snow, but that is spring time in the Rocky Mountains. I think we have more snow right now than we did all winter. To quote my daughter Raquel, "WHERE did spring go?"

I decided to do a page of my son, Kyle. This is Kyle's class picture from this year. For once he is actually looking at the camera and not hiding behind his hair, I think he even has the tiniest bit of a smile. Kyle will be graduating this year at the end of May and will also be celebrating his 18th birthday. I am quite proud of him and we will be going to attend the ceremonies. Raquel is absolutely thrilled that Kyle invited her to his graduation supper.

Kyle has always liked dragons and I couldn't help but use Vanessa's beautiful Draco Kit on this page of him.

Kyle's Grade 12 Picture digital kit credits: Boy Oh Boy kit, Draco Celtic Medieval Fantacy Kit, Digital Silver Heritage Antique Vintage Frames and Alpha Pack 2 from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Dungeon & Drakon

Thanks for dropping by my blog!

Bond of Love

2008-04-17T23:03:00.005-06:00

Last year, my parents celebrated their 4oth wedding anniversary. We held an open house for Mom & Dad, at their place and had a good time visiting with family and friends. I feel fortunate to have parents that have stayed together through 40 years of life, for I know how hard that can be to accomplish. My parents have shared many experiences, both good and bad. I really respect the fact, that they are still together after all this time. They are a wonderful example of what love should be.

I just had to use one of Mom & Dad's wedding pictures, as I love the comparison. They look so young. One of the symbols for 40 years is the gemstone, ruby, so I decided to do a red page and use one of the kits I had stashed in my files for a while. I wrote the speech, on the page for the celebration we held and wanted to include it also. It reads as follows:

An anniversary is a time to reminisce about events in a couple's life. A time to acknowledge that the strongest of bonds is the love between husband and wife.
Each Anniversary is special and very dear, for the bond grows ever stronger throughout the years.
May this day be a very special celebration of your love, as you look back on all the special memories you have created during your 40 years together. Congratulations!

Bond of Love digital kit credits: A Day to Remember from Tina Williams Designs
Ruby Hearts frame by Art Within Designs
Fonts used:Adine Kimberg - Script & La Bamba LET

Have a nice weekend!

Get Down

2008-04-12T18:33:00.008-06:00

We had a beautiful weekend, with a couple of nice warm days. Everyone got outside and helped in some yard work. Raquel is looking forward to school after a week of spring break, so she can see all her friends again. We went and saw some baby lambs one day last week and Ayden had immunizations. Sounds like we are going to get some showers this week, but that should help bring on spring.

April's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo Group is to create a page using a funny picture. I decided to use these shots of Ayden, because I couldn't help but laugh when she decided to climb on the table, she was just doing what I told her to do when she laid down. Ayden is quite the little climber and she just loves to be on top of things. I took these pictures a couple of months ago, one night while we were making supper.
The journaling reads: Ayden & Raquel were sitting at the table watching for daddy to come home. Ayden, never content on the chairs decided to climb up on the table for a better look out the window. When mommy told her to "get down," Ayden laid down on the table , instead of getting back down on the chair. Then once she was back on the chair, Ayden made one of the silliest faces. We just have to smile every time we see these pictures of our little climber.

Get Down digital kit credits: Baby Girl Heart String Mega Kit, Baby Girl Kit, Emerald Fairy Digital Scrapbooking Kit, Fae Rosalyn background paper 3 , Digital Essential Frames Packet and April Challenge Funny Photo kit from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: Frazzle & Dani

Have a nice week!

Touch of Time

2008-04-03T14:18:00.005-06:00

I really enjoy old photos and I think those are some of my favorite pages to do. This picture is of my dad, with one of his brothers and his sister.

The quote by Carla Ortega reads: To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.

Touch of Time digital kit credits: Helens Roses And Lace Kit from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: Maiandra GD & Monsieur La Doulaise

We are supposed to have some nice mild weather this weekend and for most of next week. Raquel has one more day of school, before going on a week of spring break, so we will probably be a bit busier than usual. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Have a nice weekend!

Thoughts of Spring

2008-03-28T11:04:00.005-06:00

We had a nice Easter and took a quick trip up to the Peace Country. We stopped in for a visit with my parents while we were there. Mom pulled out some boxes and we discovered some more old family pictures. She let me borrow the box to organize and scan, (almost like Christmas for me). Now just to find the time to get started. Seems like it's been busy around our house, the past couple weeks and it's also time to gather paperwork for the accountant too.

The Challenge over at Blush-n-Dusty this month, was to scrap your favorite thing about spring. The kit was Flora Fun and there were several quotes to choose from. The return of the Canada Geese, always signifies to me that spring is on it's way. It is such a beautiful sight to see them soaring across the sky in their "V" formations, honking as they go, looking for some open water.
I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully spring will be here to stay soon. Have a nice weekend!
Return of the Canada Geese Digital Kit Credits: Flora Fun, Crumpled Papers - Pastel and Crumpled Papers from Dusty Bear.
Fonts used: Coventry Garden, Kayleigh & Maiandra GD

Walk Down the Aisle

2008-03-09T17:10:00.006-06:00

The weather was beautiful this weekend. Vern took today off and we had a nice relaxing day. Looks like we will probably have a busy week this week. Raquel has a couple of Riding lessons. And with both of our birthdays coming up this weekend, there is some party planning to be done.
I was pleasantly surprised this week, when My Valentine LO of Vern, won the challenge for February over at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo Group. (If you want to look at the page, please see post for Feb 10, 2008.) Thanks to everyone that voted for me. :)
One of our nieces, Andrea got married to Dan, last summer. I have lots of lovely pictures from their wedding and I decided it was time to start putting some pages together for her. They are expecting a baby in June, and we are so happy for them. Andrea & Dan's wedding was held outside and this is a beautiful shot of her father, walking her down the aisle.
Down the Aisle digital kit credits: Heathers Purple Rose Mega Kit and Sealed With A Kiss Wedding Kit from Blushbutter.
Fonts Used: Tempus Sans ITC and Tabor Handwriting.
This is an e-card I created this week using Blushbutter's beautiful graphics. It is available for use on Blushbutter's E-Card page, (without the text) and best of all the e-cards are free. There are lots of different e-cards available and they are easy to customize and add text to, or you can create your own from graphics provided. If you like to send e-cards or would just like to check out Blushbutter's E-Cards, please stop by her site.
Have a great week!

Brian's Scrapyard

2008-03-07T00:28:00.006-07:00

We have some beautiful weather, so Ayden and I have been outside and I haven't been doing as much scrapbooking. This is the matching page to the last one I did of Raquel. While we were walking around I took a few pictures of some of the more interesting things we saw.
Brian's Scrapyard digital kit credits: Gentle from Blushbutter.
Fonts used: Sydnie

Beauty

2008-02-28T13:45:00.006-07:00

One of our friends owns a garage and scrapyard. Raquel and I went for a walk around the rows of cars, when we were there for a visit last summer. Raquel looked so beautiful with her bouquet of wild flowers.

I used Blushbutter's newest kit, Gentle. It is such a gorgeous kit and has so many beautiful elements in it. I just love the colors and of course the beautiful fairies.
Beauty digital kit credits: Gentle from Blushbutter
Fonts Used: Quixley LET

Winter Blues

2008-02-24T13:18:00.003-07:00

It sure felt like spring the last couple of days, but we all know there is a few more months of winter left. The snow is beautiful, even if we are beginning to long for flowers and butterflies.
One day near the end of November, last year, we all went out to enjoy the 2nd snowfall of the year. The picture below, is one of my favorites, of my girls. Both girls love being outdoors a lot. Blushbutter's, Snow Flakes Winter Kit, went with my pictures so well, I just had to do these pages with it. Hope you have a nice week.

Winter Blues I & II digital kit credits: Snow Flakes Winter Kit, Digital Round Circle Blue Frames & Digital Round Circle Creme Frames from Blushbutter
Fonts used: Frosty & Tiranti Solid LET

Bath Fun

2008-02-15T08:48:00.003-07:00

Last year, my parents brought my two nieces down for the long weekend in February. The girls had a wonderful time, playing together for a few days. On the Saturday, they decided it would be fun to have a bath all together. We filled up the big tub with bubbles and all the girls jumped in for a swim.
I've been looking for a a mermaid kit for some time to scrap these pictures with. I finally found the perfect kit, thanks Doro, at Catzia's Scrapblog.

Bath Fun I & II digital kit credits: Blue Lagoon Page Kit by Kay Miller Designs (some items colorized)
Fonts used: WhoopAss, Pussycat & One Stroke Script

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It supposed to be a nice day here today with temperatures around 10 C. Such a nice way to start the weekend.

My Valentine

2008-02-10T07:59:00.001-07:00

Well, we seem to be in between Chinooks. Another chilly day, but it is supposed to warm up starting tomorrow again. Have some things to take care of in the city, so that will be alright. It seems every time we have appointments to go o, the weather is bad, so this will be a nice change.

February's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty Yahoo Group is to create a page using something or someone you love. I decided to use my favorite picture of Vern. These pictures were taken a few years ago.
The Song is : God Bless the Broken Road written by Marchs Hummon, Bobby Boyd and Jeff Hanna. Performed on the 2004 release by Rascal Flatts "Feels Like Today".

"Bless The Broken Road"

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
Couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

Broken Road Digital Kit Credits: Valentines Mini challenge kit, long stem rose freebie and Baby Girl Heart Strings Mega Kit by Blushbutter
Forever Yours kit, freebie by Pelin's Designs
Love Bug by Art Within Designs
Fonts used: Jacki's Hand & Papyrus.

The Gift of Oneself

2008-02-05T18:02:00.001-07:00

The weather has improved finally, today it was 0 C, which was a nice change. Everyone is starting to feel better, which is wonderful as well. I found an interesting site the other day about chemicals on fruits and vegetables. It lets you know which fruits & vegetables have the most pesticides. I know a lot of us mom & grandmas are concerned with what our little ones eat. If you like, you can check it out at Food News.

Doxie Designs has out a lovely new kit, it has so many elements in it that remind me of my Grandma Kay. Grandma Kay, was my Grandpa Mike's second wife, and she was a very wonderful, caring lady. She was the only Grandma I ever really knew, she passed away in July 2006. I will always miss her. She used to write me letters and send pictures. She loved God, gardening and liked pretty handkerchiefs. I will never forget her tea cup collection and the fruit trees in her yard. We must have been a handful, when mom & dad took us to visit every year. This picture was taken the last time Grandma Kay came to visit.
The quote reads: Love is above all the gift of oneself. -Jean Anouith

The Gift of Oneself digital kit credits: Precious Memories by Doxies Designs (Bow colorized to match ribbon), word art also by Doxie Designs (it was a freebie Deb gave out a while back).
Fonts used: Windsong & Perpetua

Two Hearts

2008-01-29T16:38:00.005-07:00

Well it seems that everyone in our house now has a cold. Besides that, I think we all have a little cabin fever, as the weather here has been very cold. With daytime highs of -29 C the past two days, with the wind chills that makes it about -40 C. Raquel has gotten to stay home, because there has been no school bus, so she is happy. Even Vern took today off, just too cold to build houses. It's a good day for movie watching and working on a scrapbook page though.

With Valentine's Day coming, I felt like scrapping something romantic. So I decided to go with my maternal grandparent's wedding picture. We don't know exactly when they got married.
Two Hearts Digital kit credits: I used Blushbutter's Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking Kit. (Some items have been colorized or had the layer properties changed.) Heart element created by Art Within designs using pearl element from the kit.
Mask by Becky (Secrets of the Imagination)
Fonts Used: Kayleigh, Tabor Handwriting, Porcelain, & Park Avenue BT

Wisp in the Wind

2008-01-23T08:35:00.002-07:00

Another busy week, with Ayden forever perfecting her climbing skills. Raquel wasn't feeling too well and spent a couple of days home from school last week. I have made some changes to my blog. After much indecision as to a theme, I finally came up with a header. I would like to express my appreciation to Vanessa for allowing me to use her pretty Fairies in the Garden kit.

Which leads me to my next piece of news. I am so VERY happy that my friend, Vanessa, has accepted me on her Creative Team at Blushbutter. It is due to Vanessa's beautiful graphics that I became interested in digital scrapbooking. If you'd like, you can check out my About You page, on her site here. If you haven't been curious enough to check out Blushbutter's site, you been missing out on some of the most amazing Scrapbooking kits, elements and papers. Vanessa is truly one of the most talented designers I know. Her kits also print up beautifully and I have used them in quite a few hybrid pages in the past. Thank you Vanessa for having me on your team.

In celebration, I decided to do the following LO. This is a picture of my Mom with my Grandmother. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away at an early age, when my Mom was very young. We don't have a lot of information about her, but are lucky to have several pictures. I am still researching and hope one day to get more details.

I wrote the poem myself. The Wisps in the Wind bit had been floating about in my head for a while, (as I'm sure Idgie recalls). It seemed to fit with the feel of this page to me. It reads as follows:

Wisps in the Wind
We are like wisps in the wind
Time moving by so fast
An emptiness of the heart
A moment that couldn't last
Fragments from another time
My mind wanders for awhile
Forever in my memories
In another face I've seen your smile.

Wisps in the Wind LO digital kit credits: Blushbutter's Victorian Heritage Replica Scrap Kit and Digital Old Photo Frames with Creases.
Fonts: Palatino Linotype and & Kayleigh

I made the Lacy Screen frame from a tut using a background paper from the kit. Actually it is one of my lessons from my PSP group and I thought it was so pretty, I just wanted to use it in a LO.

Below, is a simple tag I finished recently. This picture was taken on the west coast of British Columbia at Florencia Bay Uclulet/Tofino on December 21, 2007. I think it is truly beautiful. I wish I could spend some time watching the waves...
Photography credits: CSC Photography - used with permission.

I hope you all enjoy the changes and are having a great week.

My Favorite Photos From 2007

2008-01-16T09:40:00.001-07:00

The theme for this month's challenge at Blush-n-Dusty is to use your favorite photo from 2007 along with the font Kayleigh and part of the challenge freebie. Well I had a tough time choosing just one, so I decided to go with two. And believe it or not for once a picture with me in it.

The quote by E. E. Cummings is, "i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)".

Family 2007 Digital kit credits: Challenge freebie Dustybear Kit and Crumpled Papers - Bold (colorized) from Dustybear, I also used Blushbutter's Good Men and Victorian Wedding Digital Scrapbooking kits.
Fonts Used: Kayleigh, Cataneo BT, Calligraph421 BT

My Fairies in the Garden

2008-01-11T15:33:00.001-07:00

One day, last spring, Raquel decided it would be fun to dress up as a fairy. Ayden & Raquel looked so cute. We went out in the yard and took a bunch a pictures and then sent out a few of them for Mother's Day. I've been wanting to scrap them for a while and am pleased with the way they turned out.
I used some of Vanessa's beautiful kits available at www.blushbutter.com. The quote reads as follows:

And as the seasons come and go, here's something you might like to know. There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day. So listen, touch, and look around - in the air and on the ground. And if you watch all nature's things, you might just see a fairy's wing. ~Author Unknown

My Fairies in the Garden Digital Kit credits: Blushbutter's Baby Girl Heart String Mega Kit, Baby Girl Kit, Emerald Fairy Digital Scrapbooking Kit, Faes for Prints and Crafts 1 and Digital Essential Frames Packet. (Some elements colorized.)
Fonts used: monsier La Doulaise, Occidental & Ma Sexy

Seasons Greetings

2007-12-29T23:36:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and really enjoyed the time spent with our family. Santa was very good to all of us and we had a delicious meal. Unfortunately, my parents hit some black ice on their way home and totaled their truck. So most of yesterday was spent talking on the phone, making sure that everyone was alright. Thankfully, besides a few good bumps to the head and some minor cuts and bruising they all seem to be fine. The truck on the other hand is a different story. Certainly God was watching out for them. But is was not a good way for their little holiday to end.

I did fit in a few minutes here and there to get a LO done. Raquel has been wanting a LO with just her, after seeing the last one of Ayden. Her favorite color is purple, this kit, Blooming Delight, seemed to be the perfect choice. I colorized some of the butterflies. The LO is called "1st Day of Grade 3". Raquel likes it, (I also used her favorite font), and that is what is important.

1st Day of Gr. 3 digital kit Credits: Blooming Delight by Doxie Designs
Fonts used: Fiolex Girls, Heather, Monsieur La Douliase

Hoping everyone has a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year!

A Little Taste of Spring

2007-12-17T00:44:00.001-07:00

Only 8 more days till Christmas. I love Christmas carols and all the lights. The excitement is building in the air. My parents & Kyle will be here. We are all looking forward to seeing them.

My friend, Deb, had started her own online store, Doxie Designs. I am so happy for her. I was flattered when she asked me to be a member of her creative team. She has some lovely kits and I was more than happy to accept. I am hoping this will provide me with a little more incentive to get more of my pictures scrapped into LOs. Deb, also designs some beautiful LOs herself and offers up some awesome freebies on her blog. If you haven't stopped by her blog, Dapper Doxie, you are missing out on a wonderful artistic experience. Thank you Deb for asking me to be on your team.

I used Doxie Design's beautiful kit, Mother's Pansies on these two LOs. The first LO, Violets Are Blue, is of Ayden playing with a violet at the end of May this year. I just love her chubby little hands and had to include those pictures too. I dried the violet and saved it for her, then I turned it into a tube. I just love tiny little violets. They always remind me of spring and they smell so wonderful. Hope you enjoy these pages. The quote reads as follows:

The smell of violets, hidden in the green,
Pour'd back into my empty soul and frame
The times when I remembered to have been
Joyful and free from blame.

- Lord Alfred Tennyson
Dream of Fair Women (st. 20)

I also found the following little bit about violets and couldn't resist adding a few fairies.

The Little pansy - The violet is sacred to all fairies. Gathering violets in the spring will bring good luck and a wish come true courtesy of the faerie realm.

Violets are Blue Credits: Mother's Pansies by Doxie Designs http://store.dapperdoxie.com/
Fairies Printable Paper from www.blushbutter.com
Capture a Trinket freebie from http://www.sugarplumpaperie.com/category/freebies/
Fonts used Vivaldi, Mutlu, Porcelain, Coventry Garden & Ajile
Hearts & Dried violet by http://artwithindesigns.blogspot.com/

This second LO is called Grandmother's Heart. It is a hybrid LO that I did earlier this spring, using the same kit from Doxie Designs. I think Deb's kits are so versatile and they print up beautifully. In the LO are Raquel & Ayden with their Grandma. The pictures were taken in October 2006. The quote reads as follows:

God's most precious work of art is the warmth and love of a Grandmother's heart. -author unknown

Grandmother's Heart Credits: Digital Kit Mother's Pansies by Doxie Designs http://store.dapperdoxie.com/
Materials: Iridescent Butterfly - Provocraft, rhinestone brad - K and Company, metal index tab - Making Memories, plastic elements - Jesse James Button, Rain dots - Cloud 9 Designs, vellum - Scrapbookeh and Pink Stickles by Ranger.

I hope I have time for another LO this week, but I think we will be busy cooking, cleaning and wrapping presents. Hope you all have a great week!

LOs from Christmas 2006

2007-12-10T23:51:00.001-07:00

Wow, time does fly by way too fast. We have been busy running around with some appointments and a bit of Christmas shopping. The temperature is finally warming up, after a rather chilly week last week. But so far we only have about 4 inches of snow.

I haven't gotten a lot of scrapbooking done, with all the running around. Below is a tag I made through my PSP group, RDB Graphics, (all the materials were supplied with the tutorial). It was fun playing with the animation.

I made the LO below for the December challenge, being held by blush-n-dusty's group. Got me more in the Christmas mood. Such fun memories.

This is a LO of Christmas morning 2006, Ayden's "First Christmas". Raquel helped Ayden open up her stocking. Then Raquel got to be "Santa", as she helped pass out gifts. Ayden was mostly interested in the bows and the paper, but we all had lots of fun. I'm sure this year will be a little more exciting. We haven't put up a tree yet, as we usually get a real one. We have been discussing getting an artificial one this year. Christmas is fast approaching, so I'm sure we will be deciding soon.

"First Christmas" LO Credits: A Vintage 1 & 2 by Dustybear found here

http://www.dustybear.com/shoppe/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=76&zenid=7vmec7gcpjkp3s2404o7fducu7

Challenge Freebie

Scrappy Expressions http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ScrappyExpressions/

Corner tube from my PSP group http://byudragon.com/

Another busy day tomorrow, as Ayden & I are off to the accountant's office. Maybe we will do a little more Christmas shopping if there is time. Later this week we hope to start some Christmas baking. Yummy, and with that thought I'm off to sleep.

Lest We Forget LOs and some Halloween LOs

2007-11-10T16:45:00.002-07:00

I managed to do four layouts last week and yesterday. I meant to get these posted yesterday, but we went to Home Depot and got some Christmas decorations. Vern spent the rest of the day setting them up outside before it gets too cold and snowy. Ayden was so amazed by the lights.

My newest interest is genealogy. I've been wanting to start some Heirloom layouts. Since it was Remembrance Day yesterday, I decided to start with my Grandfather's pictures. Both of my Grandfathers passed away before I was born. I thank my parents, for the information they provided to complete these pages.

Credits for Remembrance Day LOs: background photos courtesy of www.freefoto.com.
Kits - No Room for Grey by Retrodiva found here and as a freebie here.
I also used www.blushbutter.com newest Digital Essential Frames Packet, it can be found here.
I created the frame around the photos from a tutorial.

I'm eagerly awaiting some more pictures from Germany (they are in the mail). I plan to do some more heirloom LOs and get some of my family history done. I really love those old black & white pictures.

Thank you Mom & Dad for previewing my layouts and making sure I got all the information correct.

As well, I did a few Halloween LOs of my beautiful girls. I have more Halloween pictures to go, so there will be a few more LOs coming. We had such a fun time. I think the candy is just about all gone though. So the girls have been
enjoying it. Raquel was a beautiful witch and Ayden the most adorable little angel. I made Ayden's costume myself and we assembled Raquel's costume. We took this picture just before we headed out the door for the evening.

I've used a bunch of freebies I found and the web frame, I had made in a previous tut. Credits for Halloween LOs: Kits I used Skelgance and Googleye Add on from Derek M. Designs. I'm afraid he only had the
download link temporarily until Halloween, so I think its expired.

You'll have to go get it next year.
I'm sure he is working on something new....

Ayden & I went to help Raquel dress up at the school for her class party. There were lots of cute costumes.

Background paper on the Halloween Party LO is also from Derek M. Designs Googleye Add ON. Halloween Frames found here. Additional elements from another Halloween freebie found at Mom's Design blogspot.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T00:38:00.001-06:00

We went out and had a fun time with the girls. The weather was mild, (no snow for the first time I can remember in years). Raquel was a lovely witch and Ayden an angel. We took lots of pictures and I plan to get some LOs done soon. Image used courtesy http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/

As well, here is an additional tag I designed last week. Art image "Pretty Thing", used with permission of Morien Wynter.
You can check out his site here http://morienwynter.blogspot.com/

Been so very busy...

2007-10-17T18:41:00.000-06:00

Seem to be busy catching up and trying to figure out the world of HTML code. I think I'm doing alright. Haven't had time to make any scrapbook LOs this week, but since Halloween is approaching, here is a tag I made this week. Most of the graphics were supplied with the tutorial, additional graphics courtesy of Snowraven's Dark Gothic Halloween 2 Scrapkit which can be found here, on her blog, http://www.silversnowyraven.blogspot.com

At the Horse Sale

2007-10-05T22:51:00.000-06:00

This is my first digital scrapbook layout. These are some pictures from last weekend at the horse sale. Ayden is with her Great Uncle Ken. Raquel and Ayden had to have a snack and warm up in the sun, because it was so cold in the arena. Our new filly, is the darker one in the background. She is a blue roan.

Digital kit credits: Country Kids and Manly from http://www.blushbutter.com/

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-10-05T10:41:00.001-06:00

Decided to try out another way of sharing with my friends and family. This is my first attempt and I'm sure I'll be customizing as I go.

Here in Canada, it is Thanksgiving. Certainly is a time to reflect on all the wonderful people in our lives. We will be going up North to have Thanksgiving dinner with family. We will be bringing our new filly, Lady, home. I can hardly wait, she is such a beauty.

Here is a little tag I created yesterday. The picture is a shot from the end of the road on which we live. I certainly enjoy the colors of fall, too bad they mean winter is just around the corner.

Hoping you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.