The Apple of my eye!

Wow, can't believe summer is here and in full swing!  I keep telling myself that I haven't really had a chance to relax yet because I've felt so busy cleaning, running errands, living up to commitments, etc. but really that's just a cop out I think.  The truth is that I have had time to relax but I've just been taking that time in such small doses that it hasn't registered with my multi-tasking brain.  I really need to take more time for me and put aside the other stuff so I can truly feel rested.  Like today for example.

I woke up craving apple fritters and coffee for breakfast.  It just seemed like such a homey and comforting morning treat, that is until I went on Pinterest and realized the recipe would take a little longer than I first thought and since I got distracted looking on Pinterest in the first place, I didn't actually start making breakfast until after 11.  But what the heck, I was still craving it and I was in the mood to bake so I went ahead with it anyways!  Boy was I glad that I did!  This recipe is actually a lot easier than I first imagined, you prep your apples, topping, and oil while the batter sets up and let me tell you, once you sit down with that hot cup of coffee and take your first cinnamony bite of the fritter, it tastes like homemade tart apple pie goodness finished off with sweet melt in your mouth dusted icing (be sure to have a napkin handy cause that 'dusting' tends to find its way onto your clothes).

I'm literally drooling as I post this and may have to go back for seconds...okay thirds! Cheers and enjoy!

I just couldn't start my day without taste testing this recipe and enjoying a great cup of coffee in my favourite coffee mug!  Find the full recipe here:  http://userealbutter.com/2012/09/30/apple-fritters-recipe/

What's a little frying between friends!

not sure if I added enough icing sugar  LOL

Made with love!! And, no I did not pose this pic!  Cool huh!!

Blessings and Bliss!

Happy Monday Everyone!

I realized something today, 1) that I've been procrastinating on blogging yet again, and 2) that the reason I've been procrastinating isn't because I've been forgetting but because I haven't had the time to post pics and I feel like if I don't post pics, I can't post!  Well, silly me!  After I realized this blunder, I also realized that this is my blog after all and I can post whatever I please...sheesh!  I swear I make more rules and obstacles for myself than anyone could give me.  So here I am, blogging and remembering that the best thing for me is just to BE! 

At work we are doing a Mental Health Challenge for the month of May.  Each day we are asked to record on a Calendar something that we do for our personal mental health and wellness.  I've been dutifully recording my items each day but there are so many things that I overlook in my daily life than can fit on my calendar and I thought I would share some of these items today.  They are my blessings and bliss and by putting them down here, they'll provide me a reminder that I shouldn't take them for granted so much and that I should appreciate them more!  So here's a top 10 for May!

10.  Country Life -  As I was sitting in my newly decorated gazebo at home this weekend, watching the candles flicker in the firebowl, I noticed for the first time this year, how peaceful everything was.  I enjoyed the soft breeze keeping the majority of the mosquitos away, the tinted sky as blues shifted to peaches and purples, and the quiet as the world settled around me.  I took the time to just sit there and enjoy the peace and quiet and be thankful for where I was in that moment.

9.  Wonderfully Warm Weather

8.  Friends

7.  My cell phone - Yes I know it seems silly to love my phone as much as I do, but it's truly a lifeline to my world.  I traveled to Las Vegas for the very first time this month, heck it was the first time I've traveled anywhere that requires a passport (score one for the bucket list!).  I absolutely loved the trip, partly because of the trip itself but also because it was a mother/daughter trip and we need to do more of those!  Anyhow, while I was away my cell phone was the only thing I had with me that kept me in touch with my family and friends, via text, face-timing, Face book, etc. and without it I would have been lost.

6.  Fun, Fasihonable Summer clothing

5.  Gardening

4.  Television

3.  My Mom - I can't thank my mom enough for taking me on a Mother/Daughter trip to Vegas for My birthday!  I don't get to spend enough time with her, she's one of my best friends, and to have a whole week to hang out, connect, and travel with her was honestly what made this trip so worthwhile!

2.  My babies - okay so they aren't babies anymore but a week away from them all really made me appreciate and miss them so much!  I was so happy to come back from my trip and hang out with them, enjoy their smiles, their laughter, and their love!

1.  My husband - yes my hubby wins the appreciation award for the month of May!  He looked after everything while I was gone, he still made me feel special for the entire month (which he usually refers to as my Birthday Month!), we got to spend some quality time together while I kicked his butt at cards, and I just simply enjoyed our quiet moments together this month.  I know I take him for granted a lot and this was definitely a month where I appreciated him and what he does for our family!

So that's it, my top 10 for May!  Maybe I'll do another top 10 next month, maybe not..either way I hope I remember to keep blogging whether I post pics or not, because this is as much a part of my creative flow as the crafts, baking, and cards I post!

What do you do for your Mental Health and Wellness?  What is your top 10 this month?  Feel free to share!!

Cheers

Administrative Assistants ROCK!

Last week was Administrative Assistants Week/Day where I work and I felt the need to write/share a post about it this week. I have a school based job and I see three to four Administrative Assistants on a weekly, if not daily basis.  These people amaze me every day with their roles.  They are right up there with the job of 'Mother' in my opinion, because each day they multi task, manage, and care for the students and staff within the schools they work for.  They have to be organized, creative, flexible, and empathetic of a variety of situations.  Kudos to all these talented gems that we work with!

As soon as I found out that it was Administrative Assistants week with the official Day being Wednesday, April 24th..my creative brain started to percolate.  I wanted to do something to thank these special people for all the great things they do, especially considering all they do to help me function in my role and really, I feel like they do a lot!  So I went home and logged on to my Pinterest account for inspiration and along with a healthy dose of yummy goodness from the Betty Crocker Website, this is what I came up with.

These cute little purse/treat bags and this lemon whoopie pie recipe.  The only thing I changed to the recipe was that I added in about a teaspoon of Lemon Chiffon Dip Mix (from Epicure) to the icing mixture.

Beautiful and delicious treats for some truly awesome women that I know, it was truly my pleasure to give these to the ladies that I work with because I really do appreciate everything they do in their jobs and especially when they help me in mine :)

How do you appreciate your co-workers? Please share!

Cheers!

A Pumpkin, a pin, and an Elephant?!!

Greetings and salutations from Northern Alberta where we are finally getting hints of Spring!  It almost seems like we forego Spring though and jump right into summer, because as soon as that warm weather hits I see people wearing shorts, shedding their winter coats for light sweaters, and puddle jumping!  All this while it's still -5 out and there is more snow than water on the ground..but hey after our long hard winters, we need the sunshine and warmth, so I'll take it!

I haven't been doing too much crafting since my last post.  I think I needed a crafting break or rather one of my other hobbies was calling to me instead.  Over the past few weeks I've been itching to get my baking supplies, not my paper supplies, out and in use.  I was off work for the Easter Break and I spent most of my time baking up a storm for the kids and company.  Here are a couple of things that I made.

My cousin has been bugging me and bugging me, for the past month, to make her Elephant Ears!  I only make them once in a while because the recipe I had called for a long rise time with the dough...but then I found this new recipe that rises in half the time and tastes way better.  Anyhoo..I did promise I would make her some, so here they are.  I had a few other cousins over that day, so suffice to say they didn't last long!  Here is the link to the  Elephant Ears Recipe



As you all know by now, I LOVE Pinterest!  I get inspired daily by the Pins on this site.  Now I have a standby Spinach and Artichoke Dip recipe that absolutely love, not only for it's flavour but also because it is a Clean recipe so it's a lot healthier than your typical Spinach dip.  If you look for me on Pinterest, you'll find the recipe as 'Caramelized Onion, Spinach, & Artichoke dip'  under my 'Healthier Me?!' board.  You really must try this recipe, it is amazing!! As great as the recipe is (and yes I did pin it!)  the real Pinspiration came from the display of the dip.  I saw this great picture on how to make individual bread cups to hold my dip and another pin on displaying your veggies oh so prettily, so I combined the two ideas for two different ways to serve veggies and spinach dip!  The final presentation was not only beautiful but practical too..no more double dipping and it's portion controlled..AWESOME!!

Now I mentioned a Pumpkin in my post title today, yes I did..because I got to hang out with some wonderful ladies for our first "Ladies Night out with Paper Pumpkin!" at the beginning of the month.  It wasn't a full out Crop or craft night or anything like that, it was just a quiet evening with friends to do a short half hour project that will hopefully (fingers crossed) promote further connections with friends (I want to send out my cards to friends that I don't get to touch base with very often..who says snail mail is dead!).  Here are a couple of photos of the very first Paper Pumpkin project.  I really enjoyed this project from Stampin' Up!'s newest product line.  It was short, sweet, and since it required no effort at all, actually seemed to enhance the socializing part of the fun as well. 

 

 

Paper Pumpkin is a monthly kit that you get in the mail from Stampin' Up!  It's such a neat product that it has it's own website, you can look here for more info.  www.mypaperpumpkin.com   Whether you are new to scrapbooking or have been at it for a while, want to do it on your own or share an evening with friends, Paper Pumpkin is a sweet paper treat for everyone!

 

That's all I have to share for now, but there's always more fun and creative stuff to share next time!

 

 

Cheers!

Getting Creative Again, Part 2

I've completed the card organizer that I mentioned in my blog post last week, actually I finished it the day after I posted the sneak peek.  Unfortunately it still had quite a few rough edges and as much as I liked how it came together, it still seemed unfinished.  So I started another one and deemed the first one my prototype.  I used my entire Stampin' Up! stash of designer papers to make the modge podge prototype and as much as I liked all the different colours and the fun vibe it had, I decided to try for a more cohesive look on my second go round. Thus inspiration came from Graphic 45!


It just so happened that I have been looking for some way to use my G45 'Place in Time' Paper pack and I wanted something special for my mom's birthday.  This organizer seemed like the perfect opportunity to do both!  I feel a little guilty because I really wanted to promote the card organizer as an upcoming Stampin' Up! Class but between the prototype photos I'm about to show you and the finished G45 gift photos, you will see that I haven't gotten around to a finished and fabulous Stampin' Up! version yet, not to say that I won't..just not yet and I'm too excited and impatient to wait to do a third organizer before I show you all the pics I've taken of the project(s).

Oh well, such is life..I got creative and I want to share with you all so here goes:

This is the binder that I started out with

I covered the edges with washi tape and used Sizzix adhesive sheets to adhere the Paper cover

This is what the finished cover looks like

Next I had to create the card holders themselves.  I did this by covering up file folders

two file folders were glued back to back before covering with papers

I also created a mini card holder, accordian style

I also used an envelope to create a pocket holder, great for tags

this is the layered look of the inside

and thus, the prototype is born!

 Now I want to show you what the Second Card Holder looks like.  I think having a coordinating paper pack does pull the look all together, but really I kinda like the eclectic mix of the first one too!  Either way, I don't judge..it's all crafty to me :)

The Cover isn't made from G45 papers but Little Yellow Bicycle Papers**

The finished Organizer

The inside

Now I just need to make some cards with various themes to put inside the organizer and then this gift is ready to give to my mom.  I hope she likes it!!

Cheers!

p.s.  ** the Papers I used from the Little Yellow Bicycle collection are actually from a kit I bought from www.birdsofafeatherkitco.com .  I belong to their monthly kit club and honestly I can't get through all of the great stuff I get each month from this company.  I just wanted to share the link because this is an amazing site with great deals!!

Getting Creative again!

So the expected withdrawals from the scrapbooking world only lasted a week.  It's just not in me to stay away from creativity for very long.  A few things in the last week have motivated and inspired me to get creative once more.  Let me lead you down the garden path (so to speak) along the trail to my inspirations.

It all started on Monday when I saw the empty coffee canister by my desk.  Such an innocently empty vessel just sitting there waiting to be picked up, smelling of fresh ground coffee and hinting of a wake up call.  But first..my cluttered desk space was bugging me.  I needed to find room to put away the supplies from the workshop I had taught the Friday before.  In my space everything has a place and it bugs me when I can't put something away neat and tidy.  So I spent a half hour decluttering my work cabinet and in doing so I found 8 perfectly good binders filled with old resources.  The resources I chucked but I just couldn't get rid of these 8 perfectly good binders..there had to be something that I could use them for, some crafty upcycling that would give them fresh life..so for the time being I piled them up on a chair and returned to looking at the coffee canister.  My co-worker has been faithfully saving these canisters for me, with the idea that when I collected enough I would use them for something crafty.  Well I believe that time had come because as I looked at the empty coffee canister on my desk, my mind was doing a mental tally of how many canisters sat on the shelf in my craft room.  Surely there had to be enough now to create a class around, but what to make?

I took the empty coffee canister and one of the binders home and put them in my craft room.  There they sat for a few more days while ideas percolated in my brain.  After another conversation with another co-worker around scrapbooking and papercrafting ideas, a few visits to pinterest, some time spent on my favorite crafting blogs, and reading my various weekly RSS feeds, the ideas started to coalesce into that tunnel vision I mentioned before..sitting there at the back of my brain and digging a path through my consciousness.

The coffee canister became an easter container wrapped in pretty paper and covered in paper flowers made from all the paper posies I have been punching out like crazy this week (thanks to an article my co-worker shared on waste not/want not scrapbooking tips) and filled with plastic easter eggs hunted from my family's easter egg hunt.  I can picture how each container will look, all soft and pastel coloured, or perhaps they will become container's for Mother's Day and I will go fresh and vibrant with the paper selection?!  so many visions playing around for what these will become, but for now they will sit on the shelf until I can post a finished product..their time is coming soon so stay tuned!

The project that really took hold in my creative mind, the one I had to actually try first..is the binders.  I would love to say that I came up with the idea for their final vision myself but rather I was inspired by those continued conversations with my friend and co-worker.  I could picture covering the binders but ran a bit blank from there.  It was my friend's suggestion to turn them into a card holder/organizer.  From there I came across file folders and envelopes in the local grocery store, which made me think of an idea I had seen on Pinterest about a cardholder made out of a folder and several pins I had seen about using envelopes for mini albums.  I bought those and returned home after work to play! 

I am in the midst of creating this project, which I will call my "Creative Card Carrier" (sorry, I have a think for tongue twisters lately).  I've been taking pictures of the various stages of it's development, since the idea is that once I finish the prototype, I will promote it as a class (I do after all, have to find something to do with the other 7 binders!), but for now I want to share just a teaser of how it's coming along.  My next post will have all the photos and finished project.

I've taken the opportunity to use up all my extra Stampin' Up! Designer Series Papers

Before I finish for now though, I will say this, this is a great project for getting rid of scrap or mismatched sheets of paper, I've finally found use for my washi tape collection, AND it uses far less adhesive paper sheets than I originally thought so it shouldn't be an overly expensive project to do.  I just love when ideas come to fruition and projects become a reality!

I've started this project and should have it completed this weekend, which means stay tuned next week for more photos and a final product reveal!

Cheers!

Go All Night Recap!

Oh my gosh...I am so tired and stiff today and it's two days AFTER the 6th Annual Go All Night Crop Fundraiser!  It was such a blast but people don't realize how hard on a growing girl's body all that cropping can be LOL.  I was on my feet most of the weekend, I stayed up late, I helped to run various raffles, taught a Mixed Media Canvas class, visited with 48 other Amazing crafters, and I got 11 layouts done ( I think that was the most amazing thing of all with all the crazy busyness!).

some of the prep work for the Mixed Media Canvas class I taught

One of the finished canvases

I won this tape gun in the silent auction!  Makes me feel like a secret agent..or super crafter LOL!

One of my fave layouts I finished

Another layout I loved!

We had a Tiki Bar with Yummy Non-Alcoholic Daiquiris..I had two..they were soo good!

This is only half of the room we were in.  This place was packed to the nines!

Here are some highlights from this wonderful weekend. We had 49 crafters, 5 vendors, 3 project classes, and 42 hours of Scrapbooking Heaven, to say the least.  I haven't even mentioned all of our relaxation services, Silent Auction and Brown Bag Deals, and Raffles galore.  Seriously it was like Nirvana for Crafters! We may just be a small community but we go BIG or go home and in this case, none of us wanted to go home!  I think I am in for some serious withdrawals after all the planning, organizing, prepping, and just plain fun I've had these past 6 months to get ready for this event and now that it's all said and done, I kinda can't wait for the next one! 

But until then..I will keep crafting, creating, and sharing!

Cheers!

The best crafts are the ones you can eat....Seriously!!

AHH..I love Saturday mornings!  I get to sleep in an extra hour (usually), I get to enjoy a gourmet cup of coffee (usually during the week I sprint out the door with a basic cup but on the weekends I can take the time to make a latte or froth the milk, etc.), and I get to sit in my comfy chair while I browse through Pinterest or other internet interests.  It's my time of bliss.  So hard sometimes to find those few moments where I just relax and do what I want, without having a task or to do list in mind, so I try to make my Saturday mornings a priority for me and my own peace of mind.

This Saturday morning I found myself wanting to record on my blog one of the projects I finished this week.  Every have those times where you get an idea stuck in your head and you just have to see it through?!  I get tunnel vision like that all the time.  I'll get an idea or project in my head and it will sit there in my consciousness like a stone until i do something about it, doesn't matter if it's impractical or time consuming, it will bug me and bug me until I pull it out of my brain and make it 3 dimensional.  *Sigh* that's what it was like with the knitting I did so much of last week...now that I've done a few scarves the feeling has passed.  This week it was the idea of making a Candy Bouquet for a donation.  I just had it in my head at first to make a small one, nothing big or expensive, but then when I went shopping for supplies it morphed into two Candy Bouquets, One big one and one Easter themed one and I couldn't seem to stop myself from grabbing a myriad of candy confections and treats to stick in these bouquets.  Suffice to say I totally blew my original budget out of the water and went a little overboard on supplies, but my children and hubby thanked me in the end because they got to enjoy the leftovers *L*.

No sooner did I get home then I had to go downstairs to my craft room and start pulling out tissue paper, cellophane, floral foam, skewers, and hot glue galore.  I couldn't just put my stash away for another day, no, I had to grab everything and play!!  Two hours later I had two Candy Bouquets completed that looked Good enough to eat (Seriously my 6 year old even offered to help taste test, which he did with some of the candies as I created) and my craft room looked like it had been struck by a tornado, but I was sated.  The tunnel vision had passed and I was able to think clearly again, for the moment.

Here are the results of my tunnel vision:

Since then my tunnel vision has started to twirl and whirl again, this time with thoughts of the scrapbook kits I need to get ready for next weekend, along with my overly organized desire to get organized and packed for same event.  Oh well, this is my life..better take the time while I can this Saturday morning to sit back, enjoy my coffee, browse through my new Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine, take a moment to relax and breath and then.....GO!!!


Cheers!

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!

Okay this post isn't really about swimming, but it's one of my favourite lines from 'Finding Nemo'!  I've been busy swimming this week, or rather doing what I do..which is crafting.  I've spent the better part of this week trying to get things ready for the Upcoming Go All Night Scrapbook Fundraiser taking place March 1-3.  This is my third year attending and I've enjoyed it so much that I joined the organizing committee this year for it.  I get to be in on the ground floor planning this amazing event and I also get to work with a fabulous bunch of ladies too!  What more could a girl ask for?!  I have been trying to be smart and get things ready in advance instead of running around going crazy last minute (like I usually do!).

I did manage to get quite a bit done.  1st off, I finished the Stampin' Up Cards for the Make N' Take Bar..can't show you everything but I can give you a sneak peek:

 

Had to include the Swallowtail stamp for one of the cards, it's such a beautiful stamp!

Then I got busy and started assembling the kits for the Canvas Class I am facilitating.  The class is full and I'm pretty excited to teach some new techniques and share a project that I loved doing, but I know I'll be nervous when it comes time to run the class, as usual, because I'll worry I forgot something, forgot to teach some part of the project, didn't do it right, messed up, or.....(okay breath).  IT WILL ALL BE FINE (just gotta keep telling myself that).  Anyhow, here's a peek at the preparations:

 I also started getting items ready as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  I have plenty of product on order, just waiting to arrive and show at the Crop.  One of the coolest things I have for sale are the 'Flash Cards to Go' kits as seen on Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Connie Stewart's site www.simplysimplestamping.com .  I have absolutely no problem promoting her website because the flash cards she has made and shares have inspired some of my own great ideas, and they are just so simple to make - which I love!

I have a Flash Card to Go kit in each color palette from Stampin' Up!

Finally I have some of my projects that are near completion but need to be finished or vamped up a bit with photos and embellishments.  I'm hoping that I can either finish these before the crop so I can start something new OR I will finish them at the crop and just need to bring along the tools for completion (but really who am I kidding, I'm still going to pack up my entire craft room to bring to the Crop, otherwise I'll be worried I forgot something).

Just one of the many layouts I've done that needs photos and embellishments to be completed

Love how this star turned out, but I need to finish it's mate!

See how much I've managed to get done this week, this break from work came at the perfect time for me to catch up on my crafting, and I even got to spend some downtime watching t.v. and hanging with the kids!!  Now to spend some quality time with my hubby..he's on days' off too!  :)

Cheers!

Just gotta multitask!

Hey Everyone,

So I realized something last night as I was watching t.v. and catching up on my many PVR'ed episodes of 'Nashville', 'CSI', and 'Criminial Minds'...I am incapable of just watching t.v!  I can't just sit there and focus fully on the show I am watching.  Either I am reading a magazine, playing on my tablet, writing down a new to-do list, folding laundry, or in the case of last night, knitting.  I am addicted to multitasking or I just don't feel like I've made productive use of my time.

Anyhow, last night I was knitting and what I was knitting was one of those decorative ribbon scarves that I've seen so many ladies in my community wearing lately.  Turns out these scarves are surprisingly easy to make and I can finish one scarf in about three episodes..ahem I mean three hours *L*.  They are so pretty and come in so many fun colors.  I've made three already and I've ordered yarn so I can make five more!  Here's a picture of the one I just finished and the yarn I plan on using for a new one!

I'm thinking if I make enough of these, I might show them off/sell them at an upcoming Crop event..but we'll see how far I get with that idea.  Considering how easy they are to make, I feel guilty charging anything crazy for them and I wouldn't either.  Just gotta say, before I knew how to make them I bought three of these off of someone else and paid over 5x the cost of making them!!  YIKES!

Anyhow, that's all I wanted to share today.  I have some more t.v. to catch up on, since this is my week off of work so I'm sure I'll get a lot more done :)

cheers.