Five for Friday

1. I'm so thankful for the great weather we've experienced this week! Warm and sunny-- so nice!

2. With the nice weather, we`ve been riding our bikes, playing tennis & jumping on our trampoline, so not a lot of crafting going on this week. Of course, with the forecast for rain this weekend, that could change. ;)

3. I`ve also been doing some work in my yard this week. Cameron took our our patio and sandbox and is planning on seeding these areas into grass. I asked, if he was already doing this, if we could also seed two-thirds of one of my perennial gardens into grass as well-- I`ve just felt overwhelmed with what I have to take care of (when I`d rather be crafting.) So, I`ve been transplanting some perennials I want to keep but have some to give away..... which leads me to /4...

4. If you are local, and would be interested in some perennials, let me know. If you would like to come and dig them up then you can have some free of charge.

5. And because I can`t post without a picture...

I posted a Spring Sketch that I created on the MSS blog...


...based on this layout:


I used AC cardstock, MME pp, Studio Calico letter stickers, a Hero Arts stamp and Papertrey Ink dies & ink.

Enjoy your long weekend!
Thanks for looking!

An inspiration challenge

It was my turn to post an inspiration challenge at MSS this month.

I chose this top from Ruche...



... and made this layout with it:


I was inspired by both the colours of the top and the layers of the ruffles on the page. I also just noticed that my theme was also about clothing. ;)

I used American Crafts cardstock, Crate Paper patterned paper, October Afternoon letter stickers, Papertrey Ink buttons, twine and scalloped die, SU! butterfly stamps, my MS butterfly punch and some fabric I picked up at our local quilting store.

Thanks for looking!

Another attempt...

... at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking. This time, I decided to try making a layout with the technique.


I used Bazzill cardstock, Crate Paper patterned paper & border sticker, My Mind's Eye alphas, "my girl" sticker and brads. I used PTI felt, Flower Fusion #3 die and stamp and I did the selective inking with the "hello" from the Think Big Favourites #3 set (which I stamped with versamark and then heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Thanks for looking!

I did it!!

I got my black belt today at my tae kwon do promotion test!

Here's a recap of the test (thanks to Shelley Friesen for being my photographer!)

Here's Jonah during our warm-up.



They called up several groups (the black stripes testing for their 1st poom belts (junior black belts), and some groups of white belts before calling up my group (testing for our 1st dan). It was Nima from my club, myself and two people from Carman (my friend, Evelyn and Isaiah).

We started off with some kicks and patterns.




They also had us do some one-step sparring and answer some questions. Then we got to sit down.

Shelley also took some pictures of Jonah and Sage's test (they were testing for their green stripes).






My group was called up again about mid-way through the test. We were asked to kick some targets...



...and some board breaking.


I did a back spin kick (above) and a jump front snap kick (below).




I was so happy when both of my boards broke on my first try!

Austin was testing for his black stripe and was in one of the last groups called up:




My group was called up one last time. We did some three step sparring...


... non-contact sparring and more patterns. Then we could sit down again.

At the end of the test, the instructors gathered all the students around the front and presented their thoughts on the test and some awards. Then they called up the group of black stripes testing for their first poom belt and presented them.

Then they called up my group and presented us with our black belts.



Evelyn and I posed together for a picture:



And the test concluded with a group picture of all of the Premier black belts present at the test.



Thanks for looking!

Today is the day....

... that I test for my black belt in tae kwon do!!

I made a couple of cards (using this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking) for the occasion.

The first one is for Austin, who's testing for his black stripe.


I used PTI cardstock (orange zest), Seeing Stars die, and stamps from the Boy Basics: Game On set. The selective inking was that I inked the outer "beam" from the Wii remote to add it on to the cord from the GameCube to extend the cord to it ran off the star.

You can see the other card I made here.

Thanks for looking!

And I made this card for my friend, Evelyn, who's also testing for her black belt today. I used PTI cardstock, fresh snow ink, Seeing Stars die and stamps (Fancy Flourishes, a sentiment from a Fillable Frames set and the word friend from the Signature Sentiments: Cupcake set-- this was my selective inking technique).

Thanks for looking!

MIM attempt #4

Here's my fourth attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking. I also teamed it with Challenge #36 on the Papertrey Paper Dolls blog.

I used PTI cardstock & stamps. The birdhouse stamp is from Tag-It's #2, which I selective inked the bottom. For the "posts", I used part of the one of journaling stamps from Mat Stacks #1. The bird is from Grunge Me and the greeting is part of one of the stamps from Think Big Favourites #3 (another attempt at selective inking). The ink is SU! and VersaMagic.

Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. Winding up a full week of working today. I worked every day this week (although two of the days were half days, which was good. Gave me a bit of a chance to catch up on housework and with friends.)

2. Excited about the Spring Carnival our church is hosting tonight. Austin & I are setting up a nerf gun booth where the kids will have to knock down popcans with the darts. Should be fun!

3. Super excited about tomorrow, too. I'll be testing for my black belt in tae kwon do at our Black and Colour Belt promotion test in Carman! We had a red & black belt class last night and got to practice some board breaking. I broke two boards with the same kicks that I attempted to break with at the tournament. It's totally helped my confidence level.

4. I made a card yesterday evening for my friend, Susan. I thought I'd try the Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking technique again. (Sorry about the poor photo-- I'd try to take it again, but I already gave the card away. ;) )


I used Papertrey cardstock (aqua mist), bird stamp (from the Grunge Me set) and sentiments stamps (from the Signature Series: Dress form set and from Think Big Favorites #3-- this is where I attempted the selective inking.) The grass stamp is SU! and the ink is Tim Holtz and VersaMagic.

5. I posted a Spring Sketch layout today on the MSS blog, using Sketch #53, from Inspired Blueprints:


I used Bazzill cardstock and MME products.

Thanks for looking!

Another birdhouse...

& a third attempt at this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking:


This is the fifth birdhouse that Sage & I made. I used Papertrey Ink Hawaiian Shores cardstock and My Mind's Eye patterned paper. The ribbon is SEI and the button and twine are PRI. This birdhouse was originally suppose to be for me, but this morning, when I woke up and thought about how today was my boys' last piano lessons of the school year, I realized that I'd forgotten to get something for their teacher. So I quickly made a tag & filled the house with some Dove chocolates (the ones with peanut butter in them-- my friend, Susan, had brought these back for me from the States, so it was a little hard to part with them!)


For the tag, I selectively inked the legs of the bird stamp from Grunge Me for the birdhouse post. The sentiment stamp and birdhouse are from Tag It's #2. I also selectively inked the top of the house in VersaMagic Turquoise Gem and the bottom in VersaFine black ink. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for looking!

MIM attempt #2

Here's a second card I made for this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking:


I used PTI cardstock and Flower Fusion Stamps. The ink is SU! and Jenni Bowlin. The selective inking I did was on the sentiment stamp-- it normally is the first half on top of the other, but I inked and stamped them so they'd be all in one line.

Thanks for looking!

MIM attempt #1

I thought I'd play along with this week's Make It Monday at Papertrey Ink: selective inking.
Here's the card I made:


I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (Aqua Mist & Spring Mist), button and sentiment stamps ("thanks" is from Mat Stack #4 and "so very much" is part of a sentiment from Mat Stack #1). The flower stamps are Hero Arts Basic Grey. I punched the edge with my SU! scalloped edge punch.

Thanks for looking!

Pretty Creative

It's nice to see creativity running in our family. My mom knits and used to do ceramics. I love to scrapbook and make cards. And Sage is showing huge signs of being creative.... love that!

I made this layout (showcasing the outfit Sage made for her Zhu-Zhu pet) for the MSS Triple Threat Challenge for May: we needed to include ribbon, doodling and a brad into a layout.


I used the ribbon I got from a gift bag from Fruits & Passion to make the flower (using the technique that Anne posted on her blog here and put a MME decorative brad in the centre. The patterned paper is Crate, the letters are American Crafts thickers and the cardstock is Bazzill. For the leaves, I used my PTI Turning a New Lead stamp set and dies and drew the veins on the leaves by hand for my doodling.

Thanks for looking!

I can't believe....

... that Austin is turning 12 on Monday! It's crazy! How on earth did 12 years pass so quickly? And to think I'm a year away from being the mother of a teenager.... Wow.

I made him a birthday card this afternoon while he sat near me at the computer-- he was, of course, completely oblivious to what I was doing. ;) I decided to try a fifth attempt with the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge: Impression Plate Tricks #2.


I used PTI cardstock. I stamped some Grunge Me stamps onto the white cardstock before I ran it through my Cuttlebug with the woodgrain impression plate & Fillible Frames die. Then I stamped it with the Fillible Frames stamp and Boy Basics: Game On sentiment stamp.

Thanks for looking!

Some Mother's Day stuff...

I wanted to share what I made for Mother's Day this year.

Last week, when we were in the city, Sage and I saw some "fairy houses" at the scrapbooking store and thought they be fun to make. Of course, then I forgot about them when I got home.

However, then I saw this on Nichole Heady's blog this week and decided that these would be perfect to make for the "moms" in our lives: my mom, Cam's mom, Dale's mom and Sally. So, Sage and I printed out the template and tried our hands at making some.

Here's the one we made for Sally:


The "fairy houses" had punched circles of patterned paper covering the roof, so we did that for three of them. And instead of filling them with birdseed, we decided to fill them with Hershey's kisses instead. Supplies: PTI cardstock and sentiment stamp, SU! bird stamp, MME & OA patterned paper.



For my mom, we went with a Pink Paislee patterned paper roof instead:




For my mom's gift, I have also been making her some greeting cards to give away. I had eight ready this afternoon and then decided to make two more:


I used PTI cardstock, woodgrain impression plate, label stamp and sentiment stamp and a SU! flower stamp and ink.


This card was a fourth attempt at the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge: Impression Plate Tricks #2. I used PTI cardstock, woodgrain impression plate, Turning a New Leaf die and stamps, Mat Stack #4 label stamp and sentiment.

I put the ten cards (along with ten envelopes) in a PTI stamp package and changed up the stamp title:


And this is what I'll give my mom tomorrow:


I hope she likes it!
Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. I worked four days this week, which is a good thing! I'm so thankful for my job! Today I'm subbing phys. ed, which isn't my favourite (okay, it's my least favourite to sub), but I have two classes in the classroom. We're suppose to go outside and play soccer this afternoon, so I'm hoping for nice, warm sunny weather for that. ;)

2. I have some exciting news to share... I noticed that on my friend, Elizabeth's blog, a link for a new challenge site Scrapping Everyday Miracles, which looked pretty cool. When I went to check it out, I noticed that they were having a DT call. I`d really enjoyed being on a DT for a challenge site in the past, so I thought I`d apply. Well, the next morning, I had an email in my inbox from Nicole Brenna, asking me to join their team!


I`m so excited! I love the cool look of the site, as well as the fact that they post challenges that encourage you to document how you`re seeing God in the everyday little things of your life. And then they combine this with scrapbooking technique challenges as well. I think it`s going to be a good time! And the bonus: I get to be on a DT with my friend, Elizabeth, again!

3. I posted this layout for the MSS May DT challenge: Take 5. We were suppose to use our five latest scrappy purchases on a layout. Here's what I made, using one of the sketches from KP's Sketchbook 3 class:


It's actually on the back of this layout, that I also made for the same KP sketch:



4. I posted a Spring Sketch on the MSS blog today. The sketch is from Stuck?! Sketches (March 15th) and here's the layout I made with it:


I used AC cardstock, MME patterned paper, brads, alphas & key (I love that key!) and PTI felt, stamps and dies.

A few detail shots...

I love this little key hanging from the flower centre!


And I tucked my journaling behind the patterned paper.



5. Austin & Jonah performed at their piano recital last night. They both did very well, although Austin commented on how few boys there were there (just him, Jonah and another boy-- the rest were girls. They`ve been practising a duet for months and finally performed it (& did a pretty good job!) at the recital, with the promise that I would never make them play it again. Ever. I think they`re happy to be done with it. ;)

Thanks for looking!

A third attempt...

at the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge: Impression Plate Tricks #2.



I used the PTI woodgrain impression plate again, along with the PTI Mat Stack's #5 die. The cardstock is PTI berry sorbet and ripe avacado. The circle & floral stamps are from the Tag-Its #2. The greeting is from Communique sentiments.

Thanks for looking!

A second attempt...

at the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge: Impression Plate Tricks #2.



I used the PTI woodgrain impression plate again, along with the PTI Mat Stack's #1 die and stamp. The cardstock is PTI raspberry fizz and the greeting & floral stamps are from the Tag-Its #2.

Thanks for looking!

Some cards to share

I just wanted to share some cards I made this week.


This first one was made with the scraps from this layout: Imaginisce patterned paper, PTI cardstock (raspberry fizz & ocean tides), my PTI Mat Stack #5 die and PTI stamps from Think Big Favorites #3 & Flower Fusion #3. I don't remember who made the little jewels I put in the centre of the flowers.



I got some happy mail yesterday afternoon from Simon Says Stamp, which included some VersaMagic Ink in Aquatic Splash & some Basic Grey Hero Arts stamps. I used them both on this card, along with some PTI cardstock (aqua mist), buttons and sentiment from the Communique Sentiments stamp set. The border punch I used is from SU!

And this last card, I made for the Papertrey Ink Make it Monday challenge: Impression Plate Tricks #2. Erin showed us how to use a die with our impression plates to make an area that isn't impressed. I decided to use my new Sunshine Impression Plate and Simple Circles die to try it out:



I used PTI cardstock (Hawaiian shores), the Sunshine Impression plate, the Simple Circles die and stamps and a sentiment stamp from the Boy Basics: Game On set.

Thanks for looking!