Abby Easter from PaperWorksCo

Hi folks,

back today with another early (for me) Easter card featuring the new "Abby Easter" image from PaperWorksCo.

Aren't you longing now for an end to winter? I know I am as I am listening to freezing rain hit the windows - and have to leave in a few minutes for the drive in to work. I'm sure it will be rather unpleasant today. yuck.

Anyways, the card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: Abby Easter from the "Day in the Life of Abigail C" collection from PaperWorksCo, coloured with Copic Markers (E31, E30, E55, E00, E000, E93, G24, YG17, R35, R37, R89, R83, R85, R20, C1, C3, E15, E39, E35, Y13, B02, BG49)
• patterned papers: Echo Park "A Walk in the Park"
• stamped sentiment: CTMH Seasonal Celebration
• button, ribbon and dew drops from my stash
• layout: Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #106

Additional challenges for this card:

• Wild Orchid Challenge #18: Anything Goes!
• Lollipop Crafts Challenge #28: Think Spring (what says spring more than a bright Easter card!)

Spring is Blooming!

(second post for today - feel free to scroll down to see my earlier post)

well, not outside but it is on this Easter card I made today.

Aren't those little flowers too cute with their heart shaped blooms? This is one of the images in the new spring collection from PaperWorksCo - A Day in the Life of Abigail C. If you are still searching for perfect images for this year's Easter cards - this is the collection for you.  I, of course, bought the entire collection and plan to use them for some of my Easter cards this year.


card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: Spring Blooms from the new Abigail C collection from PaperWorksCo, coloured with Copic Markers (E34, E47, E57, E00, E000, E93, G24, YG17, BG11, BG45, BG49, R83, R85, R37, R39)
• patterned papers: Echo Park "A Walk in the Park"
• stamped sentiment: CTMH Seasonal Celebration
• layout: this week's Our Creative Corner sketch. But since I didn't do any distressing on the card (the other part of the challenge), I won't be submitting the card for the challenge.

Hope you have all had a wonderful weekend - back to work for me tomorrow!

Oliver the Penguin

Hi folks,

well, there's a return to snow here today so these two cute little Oliver the Penguin cards seem somewhat appropriate, even if they ARE two more cards for NEXT Christmas (less than ten months away now)!

What do you think? A little unconventional on the colour choices for a Christmas card with all the black and red? I like it myself, seeing how Oliver is a black penguin and I tend to like my images and papers to be all matchy-matchy.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: Oliver the Penguin from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps coloured with Copic Markers (R39, R37, R59, C1, C5, C7, C9, YR12, T1)
• sentiments: CTMH Tannebaum set, stamped in CTMH Cranberry ink
• patterned papers: DCWV Holiday Stack
• Black Cardstock: Colorbök
• ribbons, buttons and embroidery floss from my stash
• Spellbinders: Petite Ovals, Petite Scalloped Ovals
• EK Success Scalloped Scallops Border Punch
• layout: Tuesday Morning Sketches #82 (I omitted the embellies along the bottom as I thought my papers were a little too busy to add MORE eye candy and I switched out the circle for an oval as it fit my image/card size a little better)

Challenges for this card:

• Kraftin' Kimmie #67: Scoopy Scallops. Let's see - Spellbinders Scalloped Petite Ovals for the image panels AND my EK Success Scalloped Scallops border punch! I guess that since I DID get all four challenges for February completed I will throw my hat into the ring for the chance at a guest DT spot in April as well. We shall see!
• Raise the Bar #55: Mug Shots (since Oliver is holding his piping hot cup of chocolate!)
• Winter Wonderland: include an animal (well, it goes without saying doesn't it? As a penguin, Oliver definitely counts!)
• Sparkle's Weekly Christmas Card Challenge for 2011: Punches! (I used my EK Success Scalloped Scallops border punch to edge the horizontal strip on the cards)

So there we go....two more Christmas cards for next year's ever growing stash. And for those of you who are wondering, this is NOT a scheduled post. Kittehs had me up at 3am this morning, as usual. They REALLY don't understand the concept of sleeping in .... EVER!  Oh....and the guilty kittehs are currently BOTH snuggled as close as possible to me on the couch. Asleep. I'd poke at them to wake them up but they are both too cute.

Natalie the Knitter

Hi folks, (second post for today, feel free to scroll down to see the earlier one!)

well, I FINALLY got around to making this card this morning. One of the girls in my Booty Camp class just had a birthday and she knits. So I thought it would be nice to make a card for her featuring Natalie the Knitter from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps.

And before you ask, yes I DO have all the Krafty Girls series. What can I say? I think I know at least one person who does each of the crafty activities depicted in that series, except maybe the spinner, so I had to have them (there we go with the lack of restraint again - see previous post).

Anyways, here are the card details:

• finished size: 6x6 inches
• stamped image: Natalie the Knitter from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps, coloured with Copic Markers (B91, B93, B95, B000, RV10, RV11, RV13, R21, T0, T1, E000, E00, E47, E49, E57)
• patterned papers: CTMH Topstitch
• layout: Papertake Weekly Challenge #53

additional challenges for this card

• Kraftin Kimmie Stamps Challenge #65 recipe : 3 colours (I used chocolate, baby pink and heavenly blue), 2 patterned papers (from the Topstitch collection), 1 ribbon (a lush chocolate satin from  my stash) and 1 button (ctmh heavenly blue) . I'm too late for the challenge but I AM still toying with the idea of applying for the guest DT for April. We shall see. There's one challenge left to go that was posted today and I am pretty sure I have the time to get the card done this weekend. Even have it already pictured in my head so....that's at least the first step! If you are a fan of Kraftin' Kimmie stamps, you still have time to do all four challenges yourself and apply for the guest spot!

Hope you all have a lovely day today! I may just pop back up to my craft room for a couple of hours before heading out to the tea party. I may not craft though....the space is in dire need of tidying.

My definition of restraint

or maybe I should have titled this "I should be restrained". I saw this post over at Julia's blog today (the host of WOYWW) and, after seeing how restrained she was after attending a BIG craft show, I thought it only fair that I "fess up" to the damage I can do during one quick visit to a local craft shop during a short lunch break!

Finally! In my hands I have some of the Graphic45 Steampunk Debutante papers.  Down front, there's the front and back of four of the double-sided papers. Only bought two of each (eight in total). In back, there's front and back of two more of the double-sided papers. Couldn't resist, bought four of each. The blue ledger paper and brown gears...had to have extras. I also picked up the 8x8 pad of Proper Gentleman. 10 12x12  sheets of a textured black Bazzill card stock, 10 12x12 sheets of kraft and 10 8.5 x 11 sheets of kraft. Oh, and another 50 6.5 x 6.5 envies.

I did go with the intention of hopefully getting my hand on Steampunk papers, the black card stock and the envies. The rest was just bonus. Note: I TOTALLY resisted the 12x12 Graphic 45 packs that were less than half price. Oh and the Bo Bunny Cambridge line....another perfectly masculine collection I would LOVE to have.....and .... and ... see I showed restraint!

One thing I have to moan about though - in a city the size of Ottawa, why do we have so few craft stores? I picked up these supplies at MultiCrafts (on Thurston). There are maybe less than a handful of LSS stores here in town (I don't count the big box stores as they rarely have the sort of stuff I am looking for). Really? In Ottawa? That explains why I do so much of my craft shopping online and am constantly getting packages delivered to the house.

Anyways, I may or may not be back later today with a card post. I'm going to a tea party this afternoon so.....though I may be crafting this morning I may not get around to finishing what I start today.

ta ta for now!

Kraftin Kimmie Challenge #66

Hi folks,

well, it looks like I'm a bit late posting my card for the sketch challenge over at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps this week. Oh well! What can I say? My kittehs are little cuddle monsters and it is hard to pull away from them when they want to cuddle with their hooman.

Anyways, here is the card I made for the challenge.

card details:

• finished size: 6x6 inches
• stamped image: Lavender the Quilter from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, coloured with Copic Markers (I'll update with which ones as soon as I find the paper I wrote them on. ETA. Saturday morning cleanup and I found the list of Copics! E000, E00, E01, B02, B000, YR02, E53, E55, E57, G24, G28, E30, E31, E55)
• patterned papers: CTMH Caboodle, edges are inked with CTMH Crystal Blue ink
• Spellbinders: Petite Circles
• button: Stampin' Up Latte (thanks Sunghee!)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Canadian Crafty Blog Hop

Hi folks, just popping in to share this link to Jacqueline's fun little post about a blog hop/linky party for Canadian Crafty Bloggers.

So....why not join in (if you are Canadian, Crafty and a Blogger)!

ETA - it was pointed out to me that I didn't have a spot for folks to "Follow me" on my blog. Once upon a time I did have a subscribe gadget but I think I removed it. Probably because I usually just click the "follow" link at the top of blogs myself or subscribe via the bookmarking toolbar. But....I've remedied the situation and now have a gadget for subscribing to my blog in the sidebar.....

and here I thought I didn't have many followers because I wasn't interesting....okay, maybe that's the case but...at least now there is another option for anyone who is interested in following.

Thanks Melissa (a fellow Newf from my neck of the Rock) for pointing out my blog omission!

Two Card Sets - ICS103

Hi folks,

so this is what I was working on in my craft room when I took my WOYWW photo today. Twelve cards for two gift sets (six cards each) using Inspirational Card Sketches #103. I think I'll be setting this sketch aside to take to the Crop for the cure this year for a bunch of Christmas cards I plan to make. These twelve cards came together super fast.

These first six are in one gift box.

These last six are in the second gift box.

And here they are, nicely packaged for gift giving.

One of those boxes is actually being gifted to the friend for whom I made the matching photo frame white-board and card earlier this week.

So, card details:

• patterned papers are My Mind's Eye Home Glitter Stack (the papers are very sparkly and heavily embossed, not sure how well you can see it in the photos).
• stamped sentiments: from the following Verve sets: Birthday Surprise, Happy Hello, Kind Words
• CTMH Ponderosa Pine card stock for mats.
• CTMH Ponderosa Pine and Goldrush ink for sentiments and edge of paper distressing
• Spellbinders Petite Circles
• EK Success Scalloped Scallop border punch
• orange embroidery floss for accents

Oh and I get my little boxes and organza ribbon at Pritchard Packaging here in Ottawa for anyone who might be curious.

Additional challenges for this card:

• Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #142: Glittery (trust me, those are very glittery papers! Even the name of the paper stack says so!)

Thanks for stopping by!

ta ta for now!

WOYWW - Feb 23rd

Hi folks,

yes I am playing along with What's on your Workdesk Wednesday again this week. As it happens, I was in my craft room already today. Another sleepless night meant I kept my non-functioning brain home from work today (you know you are REALLY tired when you fall asleep waiting for your other half to finish getting ready to go to work in the morning). After a three-hour sleep this morning and another couple hours of trying to wake up, I figured to keep myself from ruining another night of sleep I had to keep myself busy. So I ventured into my craft room.  Part way through the crafting activities I remembered it was Wednesday and snapped this photo of my desk.

What's on it?

• the sketch I was using to make two sets of cards to be gifted
• the bits and pieces for making the cards
• the inks I was using to stamp the sentiments and ink the edges of the paper
• assorted scissors, tapes
• my case of ink daubers (all labeled with the colour on them of course)
• a stack of acrylic blocks waiting to go back to their proper location (which never seems to happen)

To check out the desks of everyone else that is playing along, be sure to stop by Julia's post here over at her blog "The Stamping Ground".

Oh, and I will be posting a little later the twelve cards I made for the two gift sets. I just have to edit up the pictures first. If I remember, I will come back and link to them from this post. Here you go....here's the link to the card sets I was making!

ta ta for now.

Gnome sweet Gnome

Hi folks,

just a quick mention - if you are a regular visitor you know that Pink Cat Studio images (both rubber and digi) are part of my rather large stamp collection.

A new collection of digis is being released this week - see the blinkie on my sidebar - and you can win the collection just by following the directions in this post over at the Pink Cat Studio blog.

This release has just reminded me that I have the Easter bunny collection from PCS upstairs and...well, I guess they will be making their annual appearance on my blog soon!

Wishing you all the best

Hi folks,

well I had time tonight to make the card to go with the photo frame white-board I made yesterday.

I used the same papers as on the white-board (My Mind's Eye Home Glitter Stack). There's a wee bit of blingage as well (some small half-back pearls in the centre of the flowers and some tiny gems to dot the i's in wishing). Not sure how well you can see this in the photo above so here's a detail shot:

additional details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped sentiment: Verve Kind Words
• layout: CPS 206

Challenges for this card:

• Pollycraft Monday Challenge #81: Diamonds and Pearls

For those of you who had a long weekend, hope you enjoyed it!

Sharing a Quilt card I received

Now isn't this pretty?

As both a card-maker and an occasional quilter, this card appeals to me on so many levels. The fact that it has one of my favourite colour combos - the pinks and browns just tops it all off.

This pretty card was gifted to me and my dearly beloved on Valentine's day from Steph - the same crafty peep that wound up getting her finger broken at work on Valentine's day.

I'm envious of the patience she has to cut and then piece all these tiny pieces in this card AND then she did all that faux stitching on top of it. Phew.....I would not have got past the cutting. That being said, I do have lots of lovely quilt block patterns that would be just darling in a set of cards like this. Maybe one day when I am feeling particularly calm I can give this a try!

Thanks so very much Steph for such a pretty card, it made my day.

ps. I am hoping to eventually get around to photographing all the lovely handmade cards we received at Christmas and during the fall of last year and show-casing them here as well. They are all sitting in my craft-room right now, not yet organized (what else is new).

Hope you all have a lovely day!

A Birthday gift for a friend

Hi folks (third post for today - I guess I was busy! Feel free to scroll down to see what else I was up to today!)


well, I finally got around to making this gift for a friend who had a birthday in early February. We never get to see her the week of her actual birthday as she takes some "me" time from work. It's usually at least a couple of weeks AFTER her birthday before we get to go for our fave Thai lunch (there's three of us that go)...sometime it's a couple of months! Hopefully we get to go for lunch sometime this week or next.

Anyways, I had wanted to make her a picture frame white board (like those Jenn taught us to make at last year's Crop for the Cure). Here's the one I made for her.

I was already quite happy with how this turned out and then my sweetie paid me a real compliment by saying "Hey, I could really use one of those for work". So, I may just have to make him one - though not quite so girlie. I must admit, these are really useful. I have mine in my craft room and keep track of the cards I need to make for the coming month(s) on it. The upper left panel is SUPPOSED to hold a photo but I must admit that I just keep the space blank for my current month's card list. The panel on the right gets next month's card list. And the bottom panel is usually reserved for special holiday/seasonal reminders. i.e February was noted for Valentine's day cards.

Since I don't have Booty Camp on Monday night (due to the Family Day holiday here in Ontario), I'm hoping to make the coordinating birthday card to go with this white board. If we are REALLY late going for her lunch there might even be a set of cards made as another gift to go with this project. We shall see!

project details:

• 9x12 clip frame (I could not find the larger 10x12 frames that we used in Jenn's workshop)
• patterned papers: My Mind's Eye Home Glitter Stack (yes, that glittery note paper is actually from the stack!). I fussy cut a few flourishes and floral emblems from one of the patterned papers in the stack to add a bit of a decorative element.
• CTMH Ponderosa Pine and Colonial White Card Stock
• CTMH Goldrush Ink
• Stamps: Verve Beautiful You (the Oprah Winfrey quote) and CTMH (I'll have to check my notes for which set I used, I have it written down in my craft room. ETA: CTMH Moments in Time)
• EK Success Border punch

 ta ta for now!

February Viva La Verve - Week 4

Hi folks (second post for today - feel free to scroll down to see my earlier post)

well I found the time this weekend to tackle the last of the February Viva La Verve Sketches. Here are the two cards I made.

For the first, I left the sketch as it was. This card will be going in the post to my Uncle who has a birthday on February 29th (I know, this  year, there IS no February 29th - I think that should mean that he gets to celebrate on both February 28th and March 1st).

For the second I flipped the sketch on its side. For now, no plans for this card so into my stash it goes.

card details:

• finished size 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• patterned papers: Basic Grey Marjolaine
• sentiments: Verve Birthday Bash
• Spellbinders: Petite Ovals
• electric lime green brads from my stash

additional challenges for this card:

• Paper Sundaes #57: Masculine Colours (I think these particular papers from the BG Marjolaine collection are perfect for masculine cards - the dark brown, dark green, those wonderful blues and electric green).

For those of you in Ontario who actually have a long weekend tomorrow, enjoy your day! As I am a federal employee, I actually DON'T have the day off. I really wish I did though as I would love to spend it holed up in my craft room....or snuggling on the couch with my sweetie and the kittehs (which is what I am doing right now as I write this post). I'm thinking I need to plan another week off from work......REALLY SOON!!!

Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge #12

Hi folks,

What can I say, the frigid temperatures outside today had me in the mood do my last five cards for February for the SplitCoastStampers 2011 Christmas card challenge. Lucky for me, Sparkle's weekly Christmas Card challenge is posted on Sundays so I had a fresh challenge with which to work.

The challenge this week is a colour challenge - light blue, dark blue, white and silver (technically though, ANY Christmas card will do if you aren't feeling the weekly challenge). I was totally up for the colour challenge though as I do like using blue on my Christmas cards.

So, I pulled out

• some light blue patterned papers from my DCWV Holiday Collection Christmas Stack papers
• dark navy cardstock for the card bases
• silver Robin's Egg dew drops and silvery glittered card stock 
• some white cardstock for my sentiment panels 
• my Spellbinders Petite Circles

and got to work making these five cards using Sketch 102 from Card Patterns.


Card #1.

Card #2.

Card #3.

Card #4.

Card #5.

I added the silver snowflake to the last two cards as I thought the papers were a little too plain. The sentiment is from the CTMH set "Wonderful Holiday".

I'm going to file this sketch away to make more cards like this during the Crop for the Cure this year. It's fast and simple and it will be easy to play around with different colour schemes with different pattern papers.

Hope you have had a wonderful crafty weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Ho Ho Ho!

Hi folks,

yep, ANOTHER Christmas card from me today (feel free to scroll down to see the two previous posts) - this brings me to half-way for my February Christmas cards.

I had coloured up three of this image (two were used on cards in my first post today) so figured I should put it to good use.

Card Details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: ILoveToShopABella from Stamping Bella, coloured with Copic Markers (E55, E57, E00, E42, E43, BG45, YG13, Y13, RV11, YG63, YG67, R37, R21)
• patterned papers: Echo Park "Everybody Loves Christmas" from a PaperWorksCo PaperCard Kit
• layout: 365 Cards Day 352 sketch challenge

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you are having a great weekend!

Mojo Monday 178

Hi folks (second post for today so feel free to scroll down to see the earlier post!)

Apparently I was in the mood today to make Christmas cards. Probably because I had realized that I wasn't keeping up with my ten cards I need to make for February for the 2011 Christmas Card Challenge over on SplitCoastStampers. I had not made any so far this month!

So here's another two to add to my stash (that makes 4 for February and brings me up to 18 so far for 2011).

and here's a photo of just one of them...

(ETA - here's the second card - mostly the same)

I modified the sketch (Mojo Monday 178) a little - the ribbon and bow bit didn't really look right with the tag so I wound a bit of waxy flax around the circular element to kind of keep the concept.

card details

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped sentiment: CTMH Christmas Melodies
• patterned paper: Basic Grey Jovial

Additional challenges for this card

• Sparkle's 2011 Christmas Card Challenge #10: was an inspiration photo featuring sparkly Christmas Ornaments. I'm late for the challenge but that's okay, I'm still playing along in the hopes of staying ahead on making this year's Christmas cards as this will give me a good variety in the collection of cards I will have at the end of the year.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Sparkle's Christmas Card Challenge #11

Hi folks,

the challenge this week over at Sparkle's 2011 Christmas Card challenge is to incorporate the theme of shopping into your Christmas card.

A perfect chance for me to ink up a new (to me) image from Stamping Bella!!! As usual, I made two cards for the challenge, bringing me up to 16 new Christmas Cards made so far this year! My stash is growing!

Card Details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: ILoveToShopABella from Stamping Bella, coloured with Copic Markers (E55, E57, E00, E42, E43, BG45, YG13, Y13, RV11, YG63, YG67, R37, R21)
• patterned papers: Echo Park "Everybody Loves Christmas" from a PaperWorksCo PaperCard Kit
• layout: Inspirational Card Sketches #102 (I rotated the sketch and moved one of the elements so as not to  hit the puppy's paws)
• I used my much neglected Fastenator from EK Success to put two big staples on the card for one of the sketch elements.

Other Challenges for this card

• Winter Wonderland Challenge: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (any Christmas card will do!)
• Stamping Bella's Bellarific Friday Challenge: Ink up a stamp you have never inked up before!

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

CPS 205

Hi folk (second post for today, feel free to scroll down to see the previous post),

This is a card I made for a co-worker who has a birthday on Saturday. I'm actually surprised by how quickly I made it - maybe a little over an hour (I'm normally an incredibly slow card-maker).

I actually considered swapping out the head from this image for one of the curly-haired Roll Call boy images as my co-worker has curly instead of straight hair - but I'm not so good with the blending of images so.....I left well enough alone.

I've been threatening/promising for some time now to make him a Mr. Awesome card. He's the youngest member of our team and always goes above and beyond to get the job done - despite being the tired dad of two very young little boys, who does on-call duty 24/7 at least every other week on a VERY busy system. Whenever anyone asks him how he does it all he just says "I'm awesome" with a big grin on his face as he says it.

I hope he has a very good birthday weekend and that, despite being on call, he gets to enjoy it with his family and friends. He really deserves it.


card details:

• finished size 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image: The Greeting Farm, coloured with Copic Markers (E11, E02, E000, E00, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9, B95, B97, B99, Y23, Y26, Y28)
• patterned papers:  Basic Grey Pyrus
• sentiment: hacked together from the CTMH Solos "A" (awesome), "M", "R"
• layout: CPS 205 (I rotated the sketch and just used stripey paper for the stripey section of the sketch trying to keep the bling factor to a minimum since it is a guy card after all)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

February Viva La Verve - Week 3

Hi folks,

Well, so far I have been managing this month to keep up with the Viva  La Verve challenges. Usually I wind up deciding at the last minute to play along and make all four cards in one night!

Here's my take on the Week 3 sketch - this card was gifted to dearly beloved's step-mother for her upcoming birthday.

Now the colour in the photo is a little off - take my word on it, the sorbet ribbon really does match the sentiment panel in real life.

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• stamped sentiment: Verve Beautiful You
• patterned papers: Basic Grey Curio
• ribbon: CTMH Sorbet
• button from my stash
• Spellbinders: Petite Circles

A Special Production by Kanata Theatre

Hi folks,

this post has nothing to do with paper-crafting. It is just a post to let the local crafty peeps know about a special production being put on by the Kanata Theatre group at the Ron Maslin Playhouse, here in Kanata (Ottawa), Ontario.

I'm just cutting and pasting this from an email I received so, please forgive my lack of formatting as I really wanted to just get this message out there.

--------------------------------------------------------

“The KT Board acknowledges the Trust set up for the benefit of Connor Patrick Haynes which is being administered by Roger A. Harris, Law Firm, Stittsville. and hereby approves an additional, dedicated, fundraising performance of "Cash on Delivery" taking place on Monday, March 28, 2011, when all proceeds from said production will be to the benefit of the Trust.  Any and all costs incurred by Kanata Theatre will be reimbursed”.


I am Sarah DeMarco. You’ve probably heard of our grandson, Connor whom Jenny & I share a great interest!  Connor is 4 years old and since his birth he has been totally & physically dependent with very high needs.  Connor cannot hold his head up, cannot sit up, cannot feed himself, and cannot direct his limbs in any way to reach for or master any movement that his mind might want to achieve!  In fact we don’t know at this point if his mind can master the thought of movement; although we have lots of wonderful indications that Connor has a sound mind because he responds to us with his warm, cheerful smiles and head turning that tells us he knows what we’re saying and is happy to show it with his many smiles and happy sounds!  You see Connor can’t tell us what he’s thinking or if he’s feeling sick, happy, sad or otherwise! And even though I stand here this evening and tell you of all the things that Connor cannot do, I’m here to tell you he can smile, laugh, yell out wonderful sounds and bring so much joy & happiness that we wonder how we could ever live without him in our lives! Connor has opened doors we would never have walked through otherwise.  It is not a life that grandparents would choose for their grandchild but as we share our lives with Connor, it’s confirmed as Connor keeps growing, we have to put ourselves ‘out there’ and appeal to your sense of humanity as a parent, a grandparent, a brother, sister or all of the above, to open your doors for an evening in Connor’s name!

 In order to have the best life possible, Connor will need things that a single income family cannot provide;  And even though we as grandparents and parents help out as much as we can, Connor’s parents’ Ed & Jane will need a lot more help to fulfill Connor’s needs!  Because Connor is growing as a normal 4 year old, it has come to Jane & Ed’s realization that they will not be able to carry Connor up and down the stairs much longer.  If their house allowed the space they would renovate to have Connor on the main floor, but unfortunately the footprint of their house is limited space and the only reality presented is to build on a room for Connor or move to a bigger house; either way it’s an expense that requires financial help. A van is needed with a lift so Connor can be accommodated as best he can as he’s outgrowing his car seat in the foreseeable future.  These are the main issues at this stage of Connor’s life and there will be more as he grows but we will ask for your indulgence in helping out with today and hopefully tomorrow will present more open doors!

On a more personal note, I have to tell you all that Jane & Ed are very proud of their life and see no need for pity from anyone because of what Connor cannot do! They love Connor dearly and see no reason to be sad or despair because of Connor’s handicaps!  To them this is who & how Connor is and fully accepting of their role in life as his parents.  When Jenny & I suggested fundraisers in the past for Connor, Ed & Jane were both against it and felt quite capable of taking care of Connor as he is and saw no need to ask for help!  To them, it was totally their responsibility to handle whatever came up; However as Connor continues to grow at normal growth size, it is a big reality check for them just how much care is involved and what is needed, so they open their mind to accepting help ~ for Connor’s sake ~ under one condition ~ that they are able to get the name of everyone involved in helping Connor ~ so they can personally Thank You for your kindness and remember always with a life time appreciation for your individual thoughtfulness in supporting an evening for Connor!  I promise you that by your opening your doors for an evening for Connor, we will make sure the evening is sold out and confirm once again that all that your efforts and support are appreciated.

Although countless Kanata Theatre members are giving up their one night off during the regular run of this show to perform this dedicated fundraiser performance for Connor, ticket sales will NOT be processed through the KT Box Office, but through me (Jenefer Haynes).  Therefore, my phone number and email address (Jenefer Haynes) is on the promotional material. (See below).

This is the one and only correct way to make a cheque payable to the fund: CONNOR HAYNES TRUST. 

If you wish to purchase tickets ($25 each), it is requested that you to mail your cheque to Jenefer Haynes at the time of reservation, as follows: 

Jenefer Haynes, 201 Thomas A. Dolan Parkway, Dunrobin, ON K0A 1T0.

Your tickets will be reserved and held until the night of performance and can be picked up up to 30 minutes before the show at the door.  All seats are reserved and the best ones available will be chosen for you on a first come, first served basis.  Although, as one of the performers, I can tell you that there are no bad seats at the Ron Maslin Playhouse and for this production most of the action takes place centre stage so all should have a great view!

We ask that you do not purchase tickets to the show if you do not intend come.  We definitely do not want to see empty seats in the playhouse on this special night.  If you purchase tickets and find you are unable to attend, please ensure that you pass them along to someone who can.

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to read this email.

Kind regards,

JENEFER (Jenny ) HAYNES
613-832-3023
jenny.haynes@sympatico.ca


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and these are a few photos that were included of Connor with his Mom and Dad.

So, if you would like to be treated to, what I am sure, will be an evening of hilarity at the farcical production of "Cash on Delivery", be sure to contact the Theatre and/or Jenefer to reserve your seats. I believe there is a champagne reception before that night's performance as well.

I can vouch that Kanata Theatre does wonderful performances and there are truly no bad seats in the playhouse. Dearly beloved used to do sound and lights for the group so I have attended MANY MANY shows there.

SSS95 - Wild Things

Hi folks,

Well, we celebrated my god-daughter Ava's first birthday this weekend. This is the card I made for her.

card details:

• finished size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image and sentiment from The Greeting Farm set "Wild Things" (I believe it is retired now), coloured with Copic Markers (E50, E42, E43, E00, E000, RV11, E35)
• patterned paper: Echo Park "AWalk in the Park"
• buttons and ribbon from my stash
• Spellbinders: Petite Circles, Classic Rectangles
• layout: Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge Blog SSS95

WOYWW - Feb 16th

Hi folks,

yes I am playing along with What's On Your Workdesk again this Wednesday.....


First up, I am back to taking my card pics in the office -- this is my setup.

A small light tent, two side lights with CFLs and a desk lamp with a halogen light. In my light tent I have a piece of cream coloured fabric as a smooth-ish background so you don't see the seams from the sides of the tent. Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the guitars aren't mine. Those are just a couple of my dearly beloved's guitars - he plays and has "a few" lining the office walls (as well as a few other places).

Next up....my main crafty desk....eep!!!

what can I say? If you are a regular follower of my blog, you know that I have posted a rather large number of cards in the last week or so. And I have not tidied up AT ALL - stamps, paper, spellbinders, my big pink Scotch ATG (ETA - for those that are curious, yes, that is a BIG tape gun - the best!), they are all there.

Down front you see the mess from my crafting session on Tuesday evening. What's up with that? I never craft during the week!

Turns out that broken fingers are running through the significant others at work. That's two now - my other half broke his finger this past summer and just had surgery to fix the badly healed joint and my coworker's girlfriend had her finger broken at work on Valentine's night! So I thought  I would make her a get-well card. She's a crafty peep and that broken finger is probably going to really cut in to her crafting time.

Anyways, this is the card  I made Tuesday night that contributed to the above mess! I'm hoping my coworker has given it to her by the time this post goes up and this is not her first time seeing it!

card details:

• finished size: 5.5 x 5.5 inches
• stamped image and sentiment: The Greeting Farm Get Well set (which I think might be retired now) by Marina Neira, coloured with Copic Markers (C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, R00, R20, R21, Y17, R29, E30, E31, E33, E34, B000, B00, B01, B02, Colorless Blender)
• patterned papers: Basic Grey Hopscotch (just got these a couple of weeks ago and LOVE them)
• Spellbinders: Petite Ovals, Classic Rectangles (notice I did more of the out-of-the-box technique on this card?)
• ribbon from my stash
• ribbon slider: CTMH
• layout: Sketch and Stash Challenge #55

Anyways, thanks for stopping by for WOYWW - be sure to check back at Julia's blog the Stamping Ground for more peeks at other crafty spots!

A Wedding Card

hi folks,

so as those of you who follow my blog know, we went on a cruise in January as friends of ours were getting married. Well, I finally got around to making their actual wedding card to go with their gift this past weekend (Apparently, there's rules about bringing gifts when you travel into foreign countries and all so we had to wait until we got back to give a gift).

card details:

• finished size: 6x6 inches
• patterned paper: CTMH Silhouette (I'm almost out of this paper now {sad face})
• Spellbinders: Squares, Renaissance Hearts Pendants
• The Mr & Mrs are Cuttlebug letters - I forget which Alphabet but I'll check and update the post later)
• Layout: Create 4 Fun Challenge Week 07 Sketch

Hope you all have a lovely day! Thanks for stopping by!

ta ta!

Original Scrapbox giveaway for Canadians only

Hi folks,


just had to share this little tidbit for my fellow Canadian crafty peeps.....

if you are on Facebook - you should like "The Original Scrapbox". I think you can find their Facebook page here

if you are on Twitter - you should follow "scrapboxusa". Their Twitter profile page is here

Why?

Well, they are soon going to launch a BIG GIVEAWAY for Canadian addresses only.

Oh My GOODNESS!!!

I've been drooling over their beautiful "Workbox" for months now, thinking of ordering one. It is such a lovely piece of furniture and I have a definite appreciation for nicely made furniture. Some of you might be familiar with some of the craft storage pieces my dearly beloved has made for my craft room. The Workbox would fit VERY nicely with those pieces.


I'm excited to see what the giveaway will be!

For my brother

Hi folks,


my brother's birthday is on March 2nd but I decided to get his birthday card off in the mail this week with his girlfriend's card so.....I'm really early on this one!

card details:

• finished size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
• patterned papers: Basic Grey Marjolaine
• stamped sentiment: Verve Birthday Bash (coloured in with Copic B97)
• metal candles from my stash
• layout: Get Sketchy #74

Hope you are all having a wonderful day - thanks for stopping by!