A Vacation Memories Keepsake...

For the first time ever this year, our little family went on a warm winter vacation to somewhere semi-tropical...Florida.

We have always been too busy with our winter sports seasons to book ourselves this kind of vacation, or we just didn't have the extra in our budget.

But with the realization that our daughter will soon be off to University in 3 short years, we decided this year would be the year.

We had an amazing vacation....lots of wonderful, slow down-time on the beach.

No schedules. No early mornings. No practices. No homework.

It was peaceful & rejuvenating.

When I got home, I really wanted to make a tangible reminder of this vacation for us to remember.

I found a shadow box at Winners and I printed some black & white photos doing the thing we enjoyed the most...hanging at the beach.

We loved Cocoa Beach.

I really love how this simple project came together.

It is a snapshot in time....of the 4 of us together.

Happy. Relaxed.

A memory to place on our wall!

This post is linked to these great parties:







Strut Your Stuff Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff

Sundae Scoop @ I {heart} Naptime














Tips & Tutorials Tuesday at Stories of A to Z

A Sweet Treat for Teacher...

Can I just say first how much I LOVE this project?

Small, little gifts are just the best....in my opinion.

But alas, I cannot take credit for this idea....I was inspired by this post over at Eighteen25 Blog.

Those girls are just amazing! 

Doesn't your brain just swim with possibilities for this idea?
Wouldn't it be a great treat box for a birthday party with brightly coloured candies inside?
Or office supplies? Or hair accessories?
Or costume jewellery? Or a 'Barbie' theme? Or Lego? Or Hotwheels?
Just so fun!

***

This project starts off with a trip to the Dollarama for these boxes...

And while there, grab some little chocolate treats and office supplies.

I went with a RED theme for Valentine's Day.

Inside are Certs, paper clips, mini erasers, chocolate hearts, hersheys kisses, a large paper clip, & push pins. I also tucked in a small emery board and anti-bacterial hand gel from Bath & Body Works.

 You will need some scrapbook paper. I chose Valentine paper to go along with my theme.

A corner round is a good thing to have too...for trimming the corners for around the box.

 Stickers are great for adding a name. I always look for stickers with lot and lots of vowels!

Then play with your papers to cover the top of the box.

If you scrapbook already...this is so easy.

A few quick measurements and a few quick cuts.

Add a name too if you wish!

I finished up my projects with a  RED ribbon and a pencil.....cause to me...it's all about the packaging!

I just love PRETTY.

 I made 3 of these for each of my son's teachers for Valentine's Day.

I hope they enjoy their little teacher 'goody' boxes!

A Journal Project That Will Tickle You Pink....

So the Craft & Hobby Association Show just concluded in California this week.

That's where all kinds of new craft and hobby products are debuted for the first time.

There has been lots of buzz about this new product from K & Company/EK Sucess.

I just adore it!

It's a journal for all your special little things of life.

The journal is hardcover with a coil binding and comes with a dual-tip pen...one end for writing and the other end~ glue~ for putting stuff in.

I think every teenage girl I know is going to get one of these for her birthday or for Christmas this year.

In her favourite colour of course!

I hope you LOVE the video as much as I do!

For more info, visit the blog at http://www.smashstoriesblog.com/


And just to let you know....these are not available until April 2011.

I Am Guest Posting At Tatertots and Jello today...

I am so happy to be able to share this project with you over at Tatertots and Jello today!

A Valentine's Day 'Tree of Love'...

Here's a little sneak peek:

I invite you to go over to Tatertots & Jello to have a look!

Have a wonderful day!

And a Merry Christmas to all...

Bonjour Mes Amies!

I hope your days and hours are filled with joy as we approach Christmas.

Our house was hit with the flu...first me, then my hubby, then Tyler and lastly Hunter.

Hunter fainted in the bathroom  while she was ill and took 10 years off my life.

But all is well now.

I thought I would share some of things that I have been working on.

Our December Daily Album...

I kept the design very simple and clean-lined this year...it helps to make the project less overwhelming in trying to keep up.

Pages for Day 1:

Page for Day 2:

Page for Day 3:

Page for Day 4:

I made up a hot chocolate basket for a family who is spending part of their Christmas in the mountains.

This family has had a hard year...they lost Dad in the summer.

December 21 would have been my Grandmother Ada's 95th birthday. {She passed away in 2002}.

I miss her still.

When I lived in Nova Scotia, my mom and aunts would go out for lunch in memory on her birthday.

But I don't have anyone to do that with here.

The day left me feeling just a little blue.

So I celebrated her memory by making one of her recipes...sugar cookies.

We finally decorated our tree yesterday.

I don't think we have ever decorated it so late...but we had to wait until everyone was healthy and home.

It's tough when either one child or the other has skating or hockey every night, and then mix in the flu.

I contented myself with some hours of baking

 And then made up some cookie platters for friends.

I think this was one of my fav projects...I love homemade.

Hunter and I had fun fussing over the tree yesterday.

We took things on and off until we were finally satisfied.

We decided we loved icicles and snowflakes best.....with the blue and turqouise.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas!!!

xo

Project 13~Make a Calendar for Special People...

Grandparents.

They really deserve something special for Christmas, don't they?

This year I am treating the special Grandparents in our life to a homemade calendar with pictures of their grandkids.

I purchased the calendar base from my local scrapbook store for $11.99 {Making Memories line.}

It's a coil bound scrapbook in 8.5 X 11" size with pre-printed calendar pages inside.

I am making this calendar x 2~ one for each set of grandparents.

The first step was choosing the pictures and visiting the local drugstore to get them printed.

I started by decorating the cover:

I used a very basic format for the inside pages.

Each month features 2-4x6 pictures.

I kept the scrapbook design very simple and clean.

This is the page for February-I featured Ty since it's his birthday month.

For the month of April, I featured the kids with their dogs.

This is the month of May...a little something for Spring.

This is June.

And back-to-school pictures for September.

I have the months of October, November & December to finish before I can wrap this up and move on to my next project.

I am getting lots of comments from readers saying that I have 'inspired' them.

That makes my heart so happy!

The whole purpose of sharing my projects here is to inspire.

I really want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read my blog and allowing me to share a little of my life with you.

It's a wonderful feeling knowing that I have inspired  some people to create!

{And special thanks to my poor parents...who read my blog and are seeing all their presents...but there will still be a few surprises for you!}

This post is linked to these terrific parties:

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