Skippyjon Jones - Lost in Spice

Hello my bloggy friends! I am in a bit of a funk - not feelin so hot and crabby about this freezing cold weather - I try not to complain this early in the season, but I am SO DONE WITH WINTER! I am so sick of wearing long johns - when I take them off I freeze...

anyhow, I thought I'd just get on and post this as I had it ready to go already. I am heading out of town for a quick work trip, thankfully only a one-nighter, but hope to be back to visit you all Thursday night. Enough complaining from me, I hope you will enjoy my wee book review.....it is a funny one and I know I could use a good laugh right about now, maybe it will warm me up!

This here is one of our recent faves by Judy Schachner. Skippyjon is a Siamese cat who likes to think he is a Chihuahua with a Spanish accent. Mama Junebug Jones comes up with the funniest random nicknames for her kittens - this is where Pickle Pants' on-line name came from. :) Here is a little exerp - it had us in a fit of giggles, I mean practically rolling on the floor laughing....



Back in the kitchen, the girls were being a big help to Mama Junebug Jones. "I love noodles," declared Jilly Boo.

"Noodles are silly," said Jezebel.

"That's because they're NOOD," said Ju-Ju Bee.

"They're not nude," said Jilly Boo, giggling. "Theyr'e naked!" And she tossed one up to the ceiling, where it stuck.

If you have children between the ages of 3 and about 9 and you haven't read them any of the Skippyjon Jones series, I highly recommend them.

The other titles are:

Skippyjon Jones

Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones

Skippyjon Jones in the Dog-House

Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble



Happy Reading! And here's hoping that wherever you are, you are warmer than me!!! I know, I know, it could always be worse, I'm just really cranky today.....

Shanna :)

Because I love you.....

Happy Monday!

Well, I've decided to be positive about Monday, at least this week. :) I tell my boys that they get to be "the decider" - as in, when you get up in the morning, you decide if you are going to have a good day. If you feel a bit grumpy, sometimes you can just decide to be happy. We have this conversation quite a lot, especially with Pickle Pants (the younger) as he tends to get his "knickers in a twirl" about lots of things. Anyhoooo, as I type this it's Sunday night and I'm thinking I'll try to practice what I preach - Monday is going to be a good day! It's even better because I have a fun Valentine to share with you.

The best part of this is that I got to play with the new Making Memories "Je t'adore" papers I picked up a couple of weeks ago at DAT'S and I also pulled some fabric out of my stash to play with! And, and, I also got happy with my glimmer mist - three different colors! Can you hear my excitement! I love this stuff, but I'm still not so good at avoiding the splurbs as you will see on my project!
I must admit that this one took some playing around with and it doesn't look anything like what was originally in my head, but that's okay because it turned out better than what I had planned.
As you can see, I played with several stamp sets - some that had not yet seen ink - I am on a roll here girls!
I really had some fun with the inside of this one too.

My card is based on the sketch over at Get Sketchy this week and I would also like to enter in the following challenges:

Raise the Bar - Hearts

Tuesday Throwdown - sewing

Crazy 4 Challenges - Valentines

I also wanted to share with you some big news.... my bloggy friend Steph is starting a new Challenge Blog! It's called For Your Inspiration - the first challenge will be on March 1st! She is even offering some candy if you are interested in spreading the word - check it out here. Steph is also recruiting a design team, so get over there and check it out, deadline is Feb. 15th.

Have a fantastic week!

Shanna :)

What I used:
papers: Making Memories - Je t'adore (available at DAT'S)
stamps: CTMH - Feb word puzzle (retired), My one & only, & SU - Notably Ornate & French Foliage
embellishments: fabric, misc ribbon (some from my Kraftin Kimmie day stash),Key is from brad assortment from Making memories to match this paper line, stitching, glimmer mist

Chloe is celebrating!

I am one lucky girl to have found time to enter another challenge this weekend! My stamps from Sparkle Creations arrived on Tuesday and I have been looking forward to inking them all week. Since this week's challenge is "it's a girl thing" - Celebrating Chloe was perfect!

Hard to tell, but I tried that "keep your nestie in the die and chalk technique" again, I find it helpful when I don't matte my main image (I almost always do).

I pulled some papers from Basic Grey "Archive" and matched my copics from there - not a color combo I use often, but it was fun to work with!

I am also going to enter this at Tuesday Throwdown as the challenge this week is to SEW on your project.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Cheers,

Shanna :)

Christmas Card Challenge

Happy Saturday!

I had been wanting to get a Christmas Card done for Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge all week, but just never got to it as I got playing with some Valentines. At about 3 pm, I decided that's it, I'm going to get a card done and headed for the scrap room..... Here is the result. I didn't manage to include a transparency, but I did get another Christmas card done for the 2011 stash - that makes three, woohoo! I had stamped this adorable House Mouse image a couple of weeks ago, but was having trouble deciding what papers to use him with - you know, the image is so cute, didn't want to distract from the image too much....then I realized I was just trying too hard - rather than using patterned papers, I turned to solids from my scrap bin (every bit of CS on the card was from my bin!) which means I also managed to play along with the challenge at Wee Memories this week - use up some scraps!

I also used my new Basic Grey embossing template - one from the two-pack I rec'd for Christmas!

Best go get some laundry done - I always get behind in something if the creative juices are flowing! The best part is that hubby has plans tonight (UFC is on) so he won't be expecting me to hang with him once Chester and Pickle Pants are in bed - scrap space, here we come!

Hope you get some time in your craft space this weekend!

Cheers,

Shanna

What I used:

stamp: House Mouse - first time I inked it!

embossing template: Basic Grey

cardstock: CTMH - ponderosa pine, cranberry

copics: R05, R08, YR23, Y26, E57, E55, E53, G28, C00

Girlfriends....

What would a girl do without her girlfriends? I shudder at the thought!

I am very lucky to have some fabulous friends who are always there for me when I get myself into a pickle or get my "knickers in a twirl." I truly have no idea what I would do without them!

(The ribbon matches better IRL, for some reason it came out really dark in the photo.)

I was playing around with a new stamp set a few days back and decided to send off a little note to one such friend just to say thanks for always being there. I am quite certain that my girlfriends know how much I appreciate them, but every once in awhile I like to write it down so I know that they know for sure. Go ahead, drop one of your girlfriends a line and let her know how much you appreciate her, you'll be glad you did!

To all my girlfriends - thanks for being you, for being there, for helping me out of all of lifes "pickles" and of course, for all the laughs and good times!

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Shanna :)


What I used:

stamps: CTMH
ink & paper: CTMH smokey purple

Happy Valentine's Day!

The challenge at Paper Sundaes this week (#54) is Valentine's! Perfect, as I need to make a few of those! I was digging around again in my stash of stamped images and pulled out this adorable Ketto from Stamping Bella. (Though this makes the card-making process faster in a way, it isn't helping me get at the sad pile of in-inked rubber - maybe next week I'll aim to use brand new stamps on each card I make....) Anyhow, I thought she would work perfectly with the papers I already had out as well as for he Valentine theme....

This card is also for Bellarific Fridays - where this week's theme is also Valentine's! I have a fabulous collection of Bella stamps that do not see nearly enough ink and many weeks I tell myself I'm going to play along but run out of time - well this week I was determined to make the deadline, so here is my card! :)

This card came together quickly using a design I have used many times before - I cannot give credit to whoever came up with the original sketch and I"m not sure how close it is to the original at this point as I cannot remember where it came from, however, I love using this type of desgin when I want to put a card together rather quickly and use a "plainish" pp for the base so that I can stamp directly on the paper.

Also, I wanted to share something for those of you who are into fun and funky handbags, especially if you like handmade stuff - my co-worker Nadine has some super fun stuff in her Etsy - The Sea Within. If you are into bags, you don't want to miss this! I just dropped over there to link up and noticed she has added a whole bunch of new stuff since my last visit - happy shopping!

Hope you are having a fabulous day, it's almost the weekend!
Cheers,
Shanna :)

What I used:
papers: Imaginisce
stamps: Bella, CTMH sentiment
embellishments: Basic Grey Bling, misc ribbon rec'd in my goodie bag at Kraftin Kimmie day! - I LOVE the texture and look of this fun ribbon, I am gonna be sad when I run out.

Get your paws off that cupcake!!!

Happy Wednesday! Wednesdays have to be one of my favorite days since we now start the downward slide toward the weekend! And, I consider myself very lucky since so many people are digging themselves out of a blizzard today and we have been spared so far here in Northwestern Ontario. I should be careful what I say as I haven't bothered to check the forecast....

This is the card I made for one of my scrappy girlfriends. I don't get to see her often, but we always have a good laugh and fun times when we do manage to get together!

I used the great sketch over at Friday Sketchers for this one - I didn't manage to follow it exactly, but I think perhaps it's close enough. :) This image was so fun to color! Oh, and you can barely tell in the photo, but I tried something new - well new to me okay? - I left my image in the nestie after embossing and chalked around the edges with some pink chalk. I love the effect, why on earth haven't I done this before???

And here is the inside - I actually remembered to photograph it this time! I always finish the inside of my card, but often I'm too anxious to share it and photograph the front before the inside is finished. There were some great rub-ons with this fun line of papers and I was able to make use of a few on the inside of the card. Sorry, it seems crooked - it isn't IRL, it is just the way I shot the photo.

Have a great evening!

Shanna :)

What I used:

papers: Imaginisce - All kinds of Happy line

stamps: Whipper Snapper, SU sentiment

Holiday photos....

Hello everyone! I have been promising my family that I would share some of the photos I took over the holidays so here goes......it just took me some time to get them all organized and uploaded in the right order!

Mom had told me she was painting the week before we arrived, but I wasn't really sure what she was up to. She totally re-decorated the room downstairs for the boys - including two twin sized beds - no more air-matresses or sharing! They had their own tree and their very own fireplace!

Check out the vintage Santa - this one has been around since my very first Christmas - I just love this kind of stuff - NEVER get rid of this guy Mom! He is sitting in a really old dresser and you can see the reflection of the tree in the mirror.

My parents hosted an Open House on the 23rd so that family and friends could drop by to say hello. This was perfect since getting around to see everyone during our visits is impossible. We try our best, but there are just too many people to get to everyone. Here is Chester with my cousin's two kiddos - they see each other rarely, but play together so nicely when they do. It was so nice to see them - we are hoping that they will come visit us in Thunder Bay next summer!

Here are my little elves helping to wrap some gifties - mostly there were helping wrap up the goodies for our Christmas "pudding" - this is a fun tradition that I remember doing at my Nan's house as a little girl - it is one of my favorite Christmas traditions! After the meal, during the time between the meal and dessert, we pass the box around and each person gets to choose a little gift - no peeking! Each family who comes to dinner brings an assortment of fun little items, often useful things you may use in the kitchen or everyday things such as nail files, notepads and hand-santizer, toys for the children. Each person gets probably about three gifts each, then the trading begins....

Mom made these cute little snowman - one for each of us!

Here is the special box that we fill with the little "pudding" gifties - this box has looked the same since I was a little girl - in fact, it is in one of the photos of me as a four year old - Auntie recently covered in some plastic celophone to preserve the paper, none of us want it to change.

Mom had to set three tables to seat us all, this is one of them. Yes, there is a tree in the kitchen - and the dining room, the family room, each guest room and the bathrooms! Perhaps the only room without a tree was the laundry room! You are sure thorough Mom!

It's a funny thing, but I think my favorite part of the meal this year was the turnip! My boys are not big fans so I really only eat it at Christmas - am I weird to love turnip?

I love what Mom did with some old skates this year - she did a pair up for my sister too - I think I may have to try this next year - so simple, but so cute!

Farm country....this is the field across the way from where I grew up.

This is Millie - she is Kory and Shannon's horse. Isn't she beautiful? I just adore her monogramed bridle!

This is my Papa Graham and my baby brother, Kory with Millie. My brother built this sleigh from the bottom up and got it ready just in time for Christmas. Millie literally took us all for a ride in the "one horse open sleigh" on Christmas day. It doesn' t get much more country than this - I told you I was from the country!

Just a shot from the sleigh....the berries looked so pretty. This is the same old barn where my sister and hubby had their engagement photos taken, they were gorgeous. Until Christmas, I had no idea this barn was so close to my parents house - you could throw a basebal....when we are back in warmer weather, I plan to photograph my boys in the same setting.

Okay, this one is to prove that I finally tried snowboarding!!! Hubby and I had not skiied in about ten years, so it was a big enough feat to try that again. We were staying at a resort with a package deal that included lift tickets and rentals for either skiing or boarding. Once we decided that we remembered how to ski, I decided, that's it, I'm trying it - so glad I was smart enough to take a lesson! Boarding is very tricky, but so fun! I had a great instructor. Let me tell you though, I never even knew that some of those muscles existed - I was sore for DAYS!!! Notice the red face and absence of the jacket - what a workout! Yikes - but it was fun enough that I want to go again.....we shall see. Just thinking about those sore muscles hurts me! Oh well, I can say I tried it, one more thing off my bucket list! :)

This shot is to prove that we didn't laze around in our sweats the ENTIRE time we were away - we actually got semi-dressed up one evening and went out to dinner. The funny part is that the dinner we had that evening was the worst meal we had the entire time and we ended up having to go do laundry at the laundromat all dressed up. The next night, however, we had a fantastic meal at this little local place in Orangeville - I believe it was called the Bluebird Cafe - if you ever have occasion to go to Orangeville, I highly recommend that you eat there!

We took tons more photos of course, but we could be here all day and all night.....this is just a few mainly for those who were asking. I'll be back soon with a card.

Cheers,

Shanna :)