Ahh the winds of change..

Here's a toast to new beginnings and the memories of all that has come before.

in two days it will be exactly four months since we made the adjustment to star a new life for our family here in Blackfalds, Alberta.  I think we have finally reached the stage where we are settled in to our new community and our new life, because as I was discussing with my friend just last night, now has come the twinges of homesickness.  We spent 9 wonderful years in our hometown and the house in the country.  High Level and Rocky Lane were the places where my hubby and I grew up and it was where we chose to settle down and start our family and watch it grow.  So it was bittersweet to say goodbye to all of those memories in order to journey on this new path here in Blackfalds, but I am a firm believer that if you are going to try something new than you need to embrace it with all of your energies, and that is just what I have been doing in our new home.

Let me just start by saying that I like our new home and our new community.  I find Blackfalds very welcoming, it's got the same small town feel as High Level, and I love that my children can now play down the street with their neighbours or go for a bike ride, or we can go to the local rec. centre whenever we feel like swimming, or playing badminton, etc.  It feels comfortable to live here.  I also like that we are just minutes away from a more urban community such as Red Deer.  We can go into the 'city' for a movie, dinner, or just for a day of shopping and errands if we like, which we do often...then it's right back to Blackfalds for the small town feel.  All in all, we really like living here.  

I would say the only downside of living in our new community is that I haven't met many crafty types yet and I've come to realize that I, myself, do not feel very crafty unless I am around other creative types to motivate and inspire me..so in this way I am really missing my crafting friends back home.  I haven't even touched my craft supplies or played in my brand new craft area since we've moved..it's sad really but I just can't seem to get motivated to take on a project, of any kind.  The biggest thing I've done since moving here was putting together the Halloween Wreath kit from Stampin' Up! with my son and I only did that because we were decorating outside for Halloween and it was either put the kit together or forego it for another year..so the time crunch forced me to do it.    I know it's time to get in there and get gluey but I'm just not sure how to motivate my self..one thing I've been thinking of is to try to start a new card group here, the timing is right with Christmas just around the corner..I think a group would be fun to make cards for the holidays.  Perhaps that's the way to start, inviting others to join me for a holiday card group.  Can't hurt to try right?!  

In the mean time I am back in Roller Derby and trying to push myself to get better every week, to master some of the derby skills..it's slow going but I'm determined to get better and faster; I also joined a belly dancing group this week and that was a lot of fun...one way or another I will find my niche here in my new town and I will find a way to get my creative juices flowing once again.  For now, here's a taste of some of what I've been up to in the past few months ala photo journal style but in no particular order :)

Cheers

Orange pound cake recipe from Pinterest, I was in a baking Mood!

Since September I have been on such a Pumpkin kick..and now I can get the coffee whenever I want..my grocery store sells the Keurig pods

My son loves all things Halloween and his birthday is at the end of September..he says its the best of both worlds

Strapped on my skates again for Roller Derby! I'm still Fresh Meat but one day I will Benchmark!

Beautiful beach sunset by Gull Lake

The beginnings of my new craft area

I love fresh cut flowers and all summer I've been able to get these kind of bouquets from the local farmers market

Got to see this play again this summer..AWESOME!

The view from my room :)  an early fall weekend away with friends in Canmore/Banff

Window shopping for the perfect pumpkin

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

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 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.

Go Figure!

Happy Friday Everyone!

As you know, I love being the creative Gemini and one of things in my tool belt of creativity is photography.  I have a home based business called "Gemini Arts Photography" that I've been lucky enough to do since 2008. I love taking photos and have had a special place in my heart for photographic memories every since I was a little girl looking at my grandma's photo box. 

So last weekend, I was given the opportunity to take photos for the High Level Figure Skating Club.  I have to admit I was a little nervous, as I sometimes get when working with new groups.  I want to make sure my clients are satisfied and since I haven't taken many sports portraits I wasn't sure what they would expect or that my photos would be up to scratch..just me being a little insecure that's all.

Anyhow, here are some behind the scenes and sneak peeks of one of my clients.  She's such a vibrant young lady that it was a pleasure to capture her spirit on film, not to mention that she was a great sport letting me wrap her in twinkle lights!!!

 

No we're not setting up for a magic act!  LOL

After some late nights editing and figuring out the technical aspects of uploading photos for clients (give me photo editing any day over figuring out mass emailing technicalities..that's where my hubby comes in, he knows computers way better than I do!!), I sent off all of my proofs today and have already gotten back plenty of positive feedback about the photos.  PHEW!!  Clients are happy, which makes me happy :).

Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S.  I'll be sure to post next week as I have a break and I'm going to be busy crafting - getting things ready for the Go All Night Crop happening March 1-3rd, here in High Level.  I've got a class project to prep for; some Stampin' Up Make N Takes, Inventory, and sales to get ready; my own kits to put together for personal crafting enjoyment; and some planning/packing to get ready for 'The Big One'.
Check out the link below to read more about this great event!
www.goallnight.blogspot.com  or look for the page on Facebook!

Also a special shout out to Connie Stewart at www.simplysimplestamping.com  Her Flash Card Series is AMAZING!! and I'll be promoting her blog and flash card kits at Go All Night!!  Her site has been such an inspiration for my own cardmaking.

Anyhoo, that's it for now..CHEERS!

Creatively Christmas Part Two

Okay so I know it's the brand new Year and not actually the holidays anymore but you'll have to cut me some slack since I only just took down my Christmas tree today!  2013 seems to have hit fast and hard in my house and it's been so tiring and hectic that today is the first time we've all been home to actually get stuff done..the serious after holiday cleaning is still being procrastinated on..I'm thinking February LOL! 

Anyhow, I wanted to share some photos from my holidays because although I didn't post, I was busy crafting and I DID get my FIL's quilt done! I was pretty happy with how it turned out and he loved it, which was the main thing.  I even have more fabric should I be ready to tackle a new quilt any time soon (though I tend to sew only every few months..it's so hard on the back to sew for those long hours, don't know how hardcore seamstresses do it...says the scrapbooker..haha)

So here's what the finished quilt looked like:

Aside from that I made some homemade snack mixes for gift giving!  The kids and I made Smore's snack mixes that we gave to my co-workers, their teachers, the daycare staff, etc.  I only wish we had saved some to snack on at home:

Then of course there were the Christmas cards I did with some students from work and of course I had the best of intentions to get my cards out to F&F before the holidays, BUT  I just sent them out last week *sigh*  oh well, better late than never!  Really I know this reflects bad on me and I seem like the worst of procrastinators *L* but normally I am a very organized and efficient person..truly I am!  I am!!

Finally, I did some baking and I tried some new recipes from Pinterest.  I Love how easy the recipe was for making this French Bread, I learned more from the tips and techniques than I did the recipe itself.  Did you know you can speed up the rise time by placing a warm wet cloth over your dough and popping it into a microwave (don't turn it on) that has been pre-run for 2 minutes.  the residual heat in the microwave and the wet cloth provide an optimally warm moist environment for the dough to rise in, my dough rose in 30 minutes instead of the normal hour...I LOVED THAT!!  Tried the same technique on my Cinnamon bun dough last week and it works great!  Now I'm more likely to make more bread dough recipes because I always hated how long the rising process took. Anyhow here is how the bread turned out, we've gone through 5 loaves already!

Oops, forgot one more thing..See told you I was busy last month..can I use that for the excuse why I didn't post ;P   I must share my photos from the Stampin' Up Cookie Basket Classes I did..these were so cute and the cookies were delicious and fun to make!

So that was the Month of December in Pictures, pretty much!  I did spend my two weeks of holiday blissfully relaxing and catching up on PVR'ed tv shows, holiday movies, and just some oldies but goodies.  I shared time with F&F which is always fun during the holidays and despite January kicking off with a bang, it's also been a good sign of the year to come!  So I'll be posting again soon with more fun stuff from my Gemini Life!

Cheers!

What a Wonderland of Fun!

Oh me oh my..I'm late, I'm late, for a very important deadline, er date!!  I meant to blog a week and a half ago as I have set a personal deadline for myself to blog at least once a month...oh well, guess I was just holding out for something extra blog-worthy!  I'm glad I waited! 
This last weekend I attended the 'Down The Rabbit Hole' Wonderland Themed Crop here in High Level.  This is the crop I mentioned in my last post, where I was going to teach the project class on how to make the 'Mad Hatter's Hat'.  I was so ill prepared and felt so rushed because it was a crazily  hectic week and I very much felt like the Rabbit in the story, forgetting things left and right and muttering to myself; I didn't even get my cookies baked for the crop until the moring of, and of course I forgot to take a picture of the end product..silly me.  Which is unfortunate because I had made shortbread cookies and put them in pretty decorative cupcake holders with ribbon and a tag that said 'Eat Me'. Oh well, it can't be helped and in the end I managed to get my sh..stuff together and showed up at the crop...10 minutes EARLY!  How about that, I had the time wrong anyhow and was actually early for the crop!

Anyhow, I was still very nervous about teaching the Hat Class, this is only the second time I've taught a papercrafting class and I'm always worried that the projects won't turn out or people will feel like I'm a sucky teacher, I'm still feeling my way along as it were.  The ladies I taught were great though and their projects turned out AMAZING, and honestly it's due to their talents and not my teaching!  Thankfully, they gave me their permission to post their projects here..aren't they gorgeous!

From Left to right - my teaching demo, Monica's, and Kathy's

 

 

I also promised I would send along the link for my original inspiration for the hat!  Which is a site I found on Pinterest where a DIY tutorial showed me how to make a full size hat that is used for the Mad Hatter Costume!  here is the link to the website via Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/pin/283586107757269658/

 

Aside from the class, this had to have been one of my favourite crops to attend, partly because I LOVE Alice in Wonderland so I loved the theme for the crop but also because of the fun atmosphere the whole time I was there.  From the crazy teapots, to the decorations, to the games we played, it was all soo much fun!  The organizers are ladies that love to Crop and it shows in every detail they put forth..so thanks Bonnie, Gaye, and Mona..you ladies totally rock!!

 

Until next time...



...and so it began!

You know the old saying, "you never forget your first!"  Well I think that applies to all things in life, including crafting.  I've always enjoyed trying new things when it comes to being creative - sewing, baking, cooking, photography, knitting, cross stitch, home decor projects, etc.  I like the challenge of creating something and having it turn out like I pictured it in my mind.  Having said that, the one thing I never tried was Scrapbooking!

I have an addictive personality when it comes to anything creative..I can't just go all in and give it a whirl, no I have to collect all the supplies first in order to feel fully prepared to take on the task ahead and as far as scrapbooking goes I knew that could be a fairly costly venture.  So for many years I stayed away from it.  I tried my hand at digital scrapbooking at one point in 2004 because when my first son was born I wanted to capture his first year and I figured digital scrapbooking wouldn't be expensive at all.  To be honest it wasn't really my cup of tea.  Mainly because the program I had at the time was a little restrictive and slow so my end product felt a little simplistic (when I look back now I love that album for it's simplicity but it wasn't something I appreciated then).

Anyhow I finally took the plunge again in 2008, because I signed up for a Card Making club with a Stampin' Up Demonstrator in town.  I thought card making would be a fun and simple way to try Scrapbooking without the expensive tags attached, boy was I wrong!  Card making was like a gateway drug for me..there were so many pretty papers, stamps,  and tools to collect. The techniques kept introducing me to more products I just had to try and have.  Then a friend offered me her Lot of supplies that she wanted to get rid of and that was it.  I had become addicted.  Since then I've continued to collect tools, stamps, supplies, papers (I have a true addiction for these..the styles, designs, colours..oh my!), my husband finally had to build a craft room for me to work in because I kept toting my stuff upstairs and turning our dining room into my own personal work station.  I've delved in even deeper now by financing my addiction through my personal home business with Stampin' Up..such an easy thing to do since I love their products and I've met so many great people through Stampin' Up Card Clubs and Technique clubs.

I thought I would share with you the first Scrapbook Layout I completed.  I was pretty proud of it.  It had started as a digital sketch but that just didn't give it enough life for me, so I decided to try creating it with actual paper, adhesives, chipboard, etc. and I am so happy I did.  It turned out great and like anything else I do creatively, it opened a doorway for me to express myself, challenge myself, and share my life with others.