Cute Christmas Project and Baking Extravaganza

I have to show you the cute Christmas project my talented mother made.





Aren't they neat? What a great gift.

I've all ready been hit by the busy holiday season. I've gotten away for a few days with friends and family for some quick Christmas shopping trips which were a blast and quite successful. The shopping is nearly done...now onto other Christmas endeavors.

I spent all last night baking up a storm, making cakes for a retirement party tonight.... they still haven't been decorated, but it kinda got me in the holiday baking mood. I might have to make a few treats this weekend to get started.



Okay, so it's a work in progress. These are the chocolate cherry cakes, just iced, no decorations yet...as I said, work in progress.

I've also started putting up some Christmas decorations around the house. I love this season.



I got this at the International Craft Market at Spruce Meadows a few weekends ago. I couldn't resist. I liked the colour so much I'm wondering how I could incorporate it into my house year round.

Is anyone else really feeling the cold this year?? It is freezing here in Lake Louise. Today, it was -30 C for my morning dog walk! Way too cold for me. Luckily, Bailey is a cozy toe warmer under my scrapbooking table, so it's still worth it. How could you resist that face?

Catch up and get back on track

Hi,

What a busy time of year. Projects, Christmas shopping, flus, neighbourhood gatherings, work, yikes!

To catch you up, here are a few projects that I've been working on.

Some Christmas cards.... love the new Hero Arts stamps.





A little Christmas present paper bag album I made quick.....







If you've never made one before, you must try it. So fast and easy and inexpensive to make, they're great gifts, or cute little albums to showcase some of your favourite photos. The best part is the open ends of the bags make great storage spotss. Slide tags with journaling, more photos, or keepsakes in here to make it complete.

and.... I won a prize from Leica Forrest, an amazing scrapbooker from Saskatchewan. Check out all the loot she sent me! Wow, eh?! I'm going to have way too much fun with all these goodies! Visit her blog at
http://www.10-4livingoutloud.typepad.com/for your chance to win prizes, check out her cool layouts and see pics of her two cutie sons.



That's it for now, I'll check back in soon with more updates and pictures.

favourite layout of the moment

I have really been having fun working on this layout about my friend Sam and myself.



A little trick you can try at home: I love to hide journaling on a lyout, because I tend to add it last...and don't actually leave room for it. The problem is, the page protectors get in the way of most tags or folding elements. Instead of leaving those memories out, or cutting your page protector, use a magnet to hold a picture or element on the outside of the page protector so you can easily lift it up to reveal the journaling beneath.



How great is that?

Blessings Box

If you're looking for a great, simple Christmas gift to make for everyone this year, try a Blessings Box.

Here's a few quick pictures of a simple one I made:






What makes this gift so special is how you use it.

Your blessings box should have a pen or pencil and some scrap paper in it, so it's always ready to go. Everytime you pass by it, think of something that you're grateful for and write it down. Keep the 'blessings' in the box and if you're having a bad day, just flip through your messages and you'll realize how blessed you are.

Use it as a way to remember what everyone in your family was grateful for each Thanksgiving or Christmas. Have them jot down what they're thankful for each year and keep them in the box to update year after year. Share this gift with everyone.

They're a great way to share not only a handmade craft, but a real gift. I find that I just have to see mine to smile. I know all of my messages by heart.

Pics from the zoo and a few new layouts

I have some pictures from our trip to the Calgary Zoo with friends. It's been a really long time since our last visit (both to the zoo and with them). What a great spot!



















Unfortunately, we missed the new baby elephant, but that's okay. Next time. We tentatively made plans to go see Zoolights this Christmas, so maybe we'll get to see the little guy then.

I went to Costco the same weekend as the zoo and got a HUGE stash of pictures so I can never say that I don't have anything to scrapbook.... (Seriously, instead of an envelope, they gave me a box).

Here are a few more layouts I've been working on:

Inspiration Peak

I found a great new website for quotes, thanks to an article by Ali Edwards in Creating Keepsakes.

www.inspirationPeak.com has a ton of great quotes of encouragement, inspiration, friendship, etc. Be warned, it could take up hours of your day. There are so many neat quotes, poems and sayings, you may lose track of time.

I created this motivational message for myself with a quote from the site:



For some reason the colour is coming up a little off, but you get the idea...

I've got it on my scrapbooking desk for those times when I lose my focus or get discouraged.

The picture is one of me bungi jumping in Cairns, Australia. Another reminder of the things you can do if you put aside your fears and jump (literally).

Here's another quote from Mother Theresa that I liked from the site:

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.

Mother Teresa
Catholic Nun, Missionary
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient