A Wreath for Mom

My mom has had a crazy year - the illness and death of my father have been very hard on her.

But man- she is a trooper! Never one to stop for anything, she is back in the saddle, filling her time with all of her favourite things. She goes out for coffee 3 times a week, meets for power walks in the park, volunteers for the local hospital and theatre, sings in the church choir and will drop everything at anytime to come spend time with her grandkids!

So, when I saw a particular wreath on Pinterest, I knew I wanted to make it for her.

You see- my Mom is a knitter. Not just a knitter- her liscense plate actually says "NITTER" and she has been a demon with the needles since long before I was born!

I knew this wreath would be perfect for her front door.

Mom's door is purple - so I thought this colour combo was festive and modern to go with it.

Lovely isn't it?


How did I make it? Easy Peasy.




First I wrapped 3 sizes of foam balls in 4 colours of yarn. There are about 30 foam balls and it took all of each ball of yarn to cover them completely.

I used a hot glue gun to attach them to the grapevine wreath I picked up at Michaels. I began with the largest balls and attached them the whole way around the wreath, then added the medium sized ones. I then added in the smallest ones to fill in the spaces left between the bigger balls.



I think the big red polka-dot bow is just the perfect way to finish it off. Not too much, but just a little kick to fancy it up!

I hope to give it to her tomorrow. Once Hallowe'en is over I am sure she won't waste any time getting her Christmas decorations up!

My Spooky Home...

Well actually, I kept the Hallowe'en decor to a minimum this year. Just a few touches here and there. In fact, I just changed up my autumn decor a little bit by adding Jacks, and Cats and witches!

This is wreath that usually hangs on our closet door. Only now it's a little more spooky!

Here I just added a few Hallowe'en sticks to my pot of Chinese lanterns and traded my "Be Grateful" sign to "Happy Hallowe'en."

My mother gave me these witch-parts way back before I was married. I LOVE getting them out each year and turning a plain-old pumpkin into one darling witch!

This sign makes me giggle very time I see it. I bought it at a craft a show last year and it might be my most favourite Hallowe'en decoration!

I'll be back with a few outdoor pics in the next day or two. We have a whole pumpkin patch of pumpkins out there!!

Jingle Elf Card & CPS # 241

Last night I made a quick list of names for Christmas cards 2011. My list had 27 families on it! I haven't made nearly enough cards! So, I joined in with this week's Card Positioning System's sketch challenge.

Here is the sketch:

I rotated it and made a horizontal card instead.

"Jingle All the Way" Card



Don't you just love that little elf? And the flag! Darling.

All product is We R Memory Keepers.

A Candy Cane Card & Card Patterns #138

This is Card Patterns Sketch of the week.


And here is my card.
Add another one to the Christmas card pile!


What do you think of the paper bow? Looks good now, but will it survive a ride in an envelope this December? Probably not. : )

Die cut : Making Memories

Patterned paper and stickers: We R Memory Keepers

Spooky Snacks for My Little Monsters

Although my little ones love a good little chocolate chip cookie, I just can't bring myself to make them every single week. I am constantly on the lookout for something sweet, tasty - and NEW- to serve them.

A recent trip to the bulk food store inspired me to make this:

Oh yeah! Look at all of that sweet delight! And the kids - they died and went to heaven! Can you see all the stuff I added?

Popcorn (cooled first so that it didn't melt the chocolate elements)

Goldfish

Pretzel twists

Multigrain Cheerios

Candy Corn

Reese's Pieces

Mallow Pumpkins

Ghost-shaped marshmallows

Chocolate chips

Raisins

Mini gingerbread cookies

&kull-shaped hard candies

OH-YEAH!

I had to limit the 3 kids (and my husband!) to two small bowls at a time so that the mix lasted more than a day or two! My oldest is already asking when I'll make it again. Maybe next week. Maybe not until December when I can switch fall goodies to Christmas ones. Ooh! I am already excited!!

Apple Picking with Nana

One lovely day in September, Afton asked if Nana could come over and teach her how to make apple pies from scratch using apples picked fresh from the trees. Not one to turn down an opportunity to come visit her grandkids - Nana was there the next day!!

We visited an apple farm not 5 minutes down the road from here and we picked apples in 19 degree weather - it felt like summer!

We sampled each type of apple and came home with a 20-lb basket that contained PERFECT apple specimens in a variety of colours.

Aunt Stephanie also dropped by on her way through to Ottawa - but left before the pie-baking began!
Nana and Afton spent 2 hours turning lard and flour into 10 pie crusts then filled several with a delicious mixture of apples, cinnamon and sugar. The first pie out of the oven was amazing - obviously baked with love!
All product - JilliBean Soup

Splash!

Once again in August we used our season's passes (given to us by the Brain Tumour Foundation - gosh! we love thsoe guys!) and headed back to Marineland.This time the belugas and the orcas were out and about and ready to put on an unscheduled show!The belugas were the best! They bobbed up and down and played peek-a-boo with the kids on the edge of their large holding pool. They seemed to get so much enjoyment out of popping up and surprising all the kids nearby. Such performers!Afton thought this "show" was just amazing until one of the belugas emerged quickly right in front of her and then quickly splashed back into the water. She was DRENCHED and she did not like it!! (See photo below!)We hadn't seen the orcas be as active as they were that day either. We spent at least a half an hour watching them travel back and forth in their big tank. They nuzzled each other and scratched their backs on the big rocks at the bottom of the tank.Of course, Bryn, being a boy, had to ask, "Where do the whales poop?"And almost on cue, orca whale #1 let it rip. Bryn and his siblings got a first hand view of how the whale digestive system works. Ewwwww....Afton insisted I add these fishies to my layout. I guess they are pretty cute!

"Hello Sunshine" & Tickets - LRW

This week, the challenge over at Little Red Wagon is to use TICKETS on your creation.
I love my cute little ticket stamp from Imaginisce and decided to use it on this double-page layout.

"Hello Sunshine"




See the tickets, right near the title? I stamped them, cut them out and stuck on little images from Simple Stories "100 Days of Summer" collection.



All of these pictures are random ones I took throughout the month of August. I Really like inclding these "daily" pictures in the scrapbook too.

I love that clothesline sticker!

Here's the journalling:

Thanks for stopping by!

"Sand & Sea"

Tidying up. Thinning it out. Dumping the extras. I feel like I am doing this constantly at my house. Drawers, closets, basements and the craft area!

I find it very difficult to get rid of any of my scrap stash. I have thinned it a bit lately, sending my extra bits and bobs with my daughter into her kindergarten room.

The papers I used on this beach layout almost ended up with the 5-year-olds at the local school, but at the last moment I decided to match them with these sandy pictures from a lovely day at the lake.

"Sand & Sea"


The natural coastal colours really went well the pics I took that day.

And I used my "Sew Easy" again. I love how it pops the holes for my stitching. It makes for some really pretty borders that seem to finish the layout off just right!

All paper products by BoBunny.

Splash!

Once again in August we used our season's passes (given to us by the Brain Tumour Foundation - gosh! we love thsoe guys!) and headed back to Marineland.

This time the belugas and the orcas were out and about and ready to put on an unscheduled show!


The belugas were the best! They bobbed up and down and played peek-a-boo with the kids on the edge of their large holding pool. They seemed to get so much enjoyment out of popping up and surprising all the kids nearby. Such performers!

Afton thought this "show" was just amazing until one of the belugas emerged quickly right in front of her and then quickly splashed back into the water. She was DRENCHED and she did not like it!! (See photo below!)


We hadn't seen the orcas be as active as they were that day either. We spent at least a half an hour watching them travel back and forth in their big tank. They nuzzled each other and scratched their backs on the big rocks at the bottom of the tank.
Of course, Bryn, being a boy, had to ask, "Where do the whales poop?"
And almost on cue, orca whale #1 let it rip. Bryn and his siblings got a first hand view of how the whale digestive system works. Ewwwww....



Afton insisted I add these fishies to my layout. I guess they are pretty cute!

Afton - Gardener and Star Soccer Player

I do scrap about my boys - honest I do! But truth be told - I love all things girly and often it is easiest (and just more enjoyable!) to go all out on an "Afton" page!

Afton and I planted sunflower seeds in our garden back in May. We had placed them along the edge of our garden hoping for a colourful show that everyone could see as soon as they walked into our fenced backyard.

Our mini sunflowers did burst forth in lovely colour, but nearly got swallowed up by the huge pole beans right beside.

Luckily the yellow of our blooms was so instense that they easily shone through the tangle of green vines. Afton was so pleased with the results of her "garden" this summer that we plan on giving her a plot of her own to tend come next year.

I have had this "Tuscan"paper from BoBunny FOREVER. I was so glad to be able to incorporate it into a sunny layout for my daughter.

Our Afton -not only can she garden- she is a star soccer player too!

This year she was on Team England and her pink and black cleats raced her up and down the field every Tuesday evening.

(Of course - girly as she is, she wore red hair bows every week to the game. I love how in the third picture her curls show the force and might behind that kick of hers!)

Thanks for visiting!!

"Happy Day" - Afton's Quilt

During the summer, I fianlly completed a quilt I had begun months before Afton's birth. I was so pleased to have it done - and Afton was too! We both ADORE its pinkness and it's not too bad for cuddling in either!

Here is a 2-page layout I scrapped about its completion:

"Happy Day"

I used a variety of pinks and reds from my scrap stash to match the fabrics used in the sewing.

Here is the journalling: My layout is kind of "patch-worky" too!

Afton told me her favourite part of this layout is the row of pink buttons. Mine too.

Gosh. We couldn't be any more similar!
Thanks for stopping by!