New challenge is posted.....

at Sisterhood of Scrap. Here's my layout. You'll have to visit the site to see what the challenge is :-)

This photo is my lovely mother -- she started teaching when she was only 16 years old.

Bloggy challenges and PRIZES!!

Check it out at Crafty Moments! Beverley is turning the BIG 4-0 in 40 days and is celebrating big time with her online friends! 40 days of freebies & a whole host of blogs to visit.

"Every day there will be a new challenge, competition or good old fashioned RAK with a great prize. Every day, there will be a post here on my blog, with a link to that day's venue - so make sure you come back every day to see what is on offer"

My garden

I thought I'd share a few photos of my garden. These were taken last summer -- it still hasn't been warm enough here for most of my flowers to bloom. This past Saturday, I was finally able to go outside and get some weeding done; long overdue, but with lots of rain and cold weather (try 4 deg. Celsius!) I wasn't going in the garden. Anyway, Saturday it was done. I even paid two of the younger kids to help me -- they weeded what was poking up among the stones in the walkway.


My garden is mostly filled with perennials. I don't have that much time to spend putting in annuals. I like perennials as they spread with very little effort on my part.


Along the side of the house, there is a lilac bush (that never seems to bloom), 2 rose bushes, a snowball bush, a gooseberry bush and also black currant. We also have lots of raspberry bushes that yield a great crop each year!


Daisies are my absolute favorite wildflower! I just think they look great!

Recent scrap layouts..

Didn't have time to post these on Saturday. Oh well, better late than never, right? LOL!

This one is for our weekly challenge at Sisterhood of Scrap. Drop by to see what the challenge is :-)

SketchFest at Scrapbook Heaven!

Stuck in a scrapping rut? Lost your mojo? Sketches are a wonderful way to jump start your creativity! Come join us on July 11-13th for our exciting Scrapbook Heaven “Sketch Fest” — a weekend filled with fabulous sketches, scrapping and lots of fun!

For three days we’ll be revealing sketches from our new design team, and ……… we have some sketch celebrities providing sketches created just for our Scrap Fest! How awesome is that! Oh, did I mention prizes? Of course we will have prizes to give away throughout the weekend. Join us and you could be the winner of the grand prize!!

Mark your calendars now and plan for a scrap-filled weekend! Sketches contributed by Becky Fleck, Page Plans, Pencil Lines, Sketchabilities and many more!

Thoughtful Friday 06/20

A sense of curiosity is nature's original school of education.

--Smiley Blanton

Couple more layouts...

Our new challenge is posted at Sisterhood of Scrap. Here's my layout I created for it. Check out the challenge and give it a go! We've got another awesome prize you could win this month!

Here's another using the Scenic Route "Grafton". Did I mention that I am loving it!?!

Happy Father's Day

Aren't dads the BEST!?! I am so thankful to have Devin as the father of my children. He doesn't have the same way of interacting with the kids as I do (and I don't expect him to) but he loves them dearly! He tells them this EVERY single day. He is proud of his children and always encourages them to do their best in whatever they are doing. He works hard to ensure that they have the best that he can give them. They sure do love their Daddy :-)

Here's a nice poem I found that sums up just what dads are to their children. I don't know who the author is.

Fathers are Wonderful People

Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...

For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "his image"
As protector and provider
And "hero of the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the grueling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just wonderful
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolade of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like Our Heavenly Father,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be always on our side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, speaking about dads, this day is a bit rough for me. After losing my dad in a vehicle accident almost ten years ago, I still miss him terribly. He was the BEST dad I could ask for! He was supportive of all six of his children and loved us greatly. He encouraged our independence and loved to show us how things worked. He loved magazines and would always have a pile stacked on the coffee table. He worked with his hands; a carpenter, an electrician, a cabinet-maker, and many other things. He would take us fishing, read books to us before bed, cut our fingernails, slip us money when Mom wasn't looking, bring us wherever we needed to go, and give us "sideways hugs" :-) It's these little things that mean so much, and are the hardest to now do without.

If your father is still living, please be appreciative of the time that you spend with him. Take lots of pictures and make lots of memories. Tell him you love him :-) Dads are so special!

Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes. ~Gloria Naylor

Scrappy Saturday

Here are some layouts I've created this week.

This one was done for a Creative Cutting contest at Creative Scrappers. We weren't allowed to use any cutting system/trimmer -- just scissors.

It was also for Holly's challenge at Scrapbook Heaven. She wanted us to use certain techniques on our layout. I stamped on an embellishment (flowers), distressed by tearing and inking, and I hand-journaled.

Sketch by Monika Martinson

Here's one about my shy guy. He always has this sweet smile :-)

Sketch by Allison Cope at So Sketchy!

The above layout and the next two were done using my new Scenic Route "Grafton". I am loving it! It's so fun!


This one was for our "Saturday Sketch Artist" at Sisterhood of Scrap. Sketch by Cherie O'Neill.

I have another to share tomorrow. Can't post it yet because it's for our weekly Sisterhood challenge. Oh, just realized I have another that I finished today. I'll get time to scan it tomorrow, also.

Shutter Sisters challenge

Shutter Sisters have a challenge to photograph something in a group of three -- The Power of Three.

Here's mine:

Like my new look???

I found this fabulous website with some 'simply fabulous blogger templates' I love so many of them, so I'll be changing looks every so often.

Made By Lena

Thoughtful Friday

Photo by Devin Robinson

"Whatever causes us to look with amazement opens "the eyes of our eyes." We begin to see everything as gift. An inch of surprise can lead to miles of gratefulness."

~David Steindl-Rast

(Thanks, Bella Dia for the idea)

Pedicure anyone???

The younger two kids were quietly playing upstairs (or so I thought!) When I checked on them, they were giving each other pedicures! So funny!

DT position

I don't think I mentioned that I was asked to come back for a second term as DT at Scrapbook Heaven! My term is from July-December. I am so thankful and was so surprised! Shannon has some wonderful new ideas for the forum and for her shop. Can't wait!

My dt projects for Scrapbook Heaven...

.... are posted on the forum! Go see what the other members of the team did with their kit, too. I'd send you to go buy the kit but it sold out on the first day!

Here are my projects :-)

Thanks for looking!

Daybook - June 2nd

Hosted by The Simple Woman

(FOR TODAY - June 2/08)

Outside My Window... I can see the ambulance that has come for one of our tenants. This is the second time in a week.

I am thinking... I need to go to bed!

I am thankful for... online friends.

From the kitchen... I hear the dishwasher finishing its wash cycle.

I am wearing... jeans and grey t-shirt.

I am creating... a home for my family, a place where they can feel safe and loved.

I am going... to bed -- real soon!

I am reading... Terri Blackstock's Evidence of Mercy.

I am hoping... to lose some weight this month. I've been walking just about every day of last month and trying to cut out junk food. So far, no weight lost :-( Maybe I'm building muscle

I am hearing... the hum of my computer fan. Everything else is so quiet. Everyone is in bed except me.

One of my favorite things... is reading. I usually read each night before bed.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: finish the house-cleaning, finish up math with my children, go fishing with youngest son, bake bread and also some cookies....

Here is picture thought I am sharing..

DH always asks for a double cup when he gets a coffee from Tim Hortons. These are all the extras he has saved. The kids love to build towers with them :-)

Mother/Daughter scrapping

My 11-yo daughter loves to scrap with me. Saturday evening we did some scrapping and whipped up 2 sweet cards. My sister, Deanne, was here and she helped Jessica with some of her cutting/inking, that sort of thing.

We used sketches that were in the Creating Keepsakes magazine - June issue, I think. Here are the cards Jessica made:

And here are mine:

I thought they turned out pretty nicely!

I'm going scrapping with the girls this evening and Jessica has decided she will tag along as well :-) I love having a daughter to share my hobby with!