Someone Special .....

It's raining plenty outside today but that's good because we sure as heck need it.  It also gives me a good excuse to stay inside and get crafty!  I actually look forward to days like this.

Before I get to today's challenge,
I want to remind everyone to enter my August Giveaway, it's my first Blog Candy and I'm super excited. 
As well, (Update) Stampin Up have been so wonderful about helping me find a new demonstrator (read posts below) and if you should ever have any problems, you can get in touch with Pam Morgan who has been amazing.  She can be reached at
PamM@stampinup.com.  I'm very happy with the way they have helped me and I now feel that each and every customer is extremely important to them and their hugely successful company.  Yay Stampin Up!

I've joined another Christmas card challenge.  Poor Di is worried about my extreme Christmas card making but as I said before the Holiday Season is a really busy time for me.  There will be more on that in the months to come.  Thanks for caring Di!

Over at Winter Wonderland the challenge this week is to create a White on White card with only the image to have colour.  For this card I've used a House Mouse image and gone buck wild with embossing and border punching.  Once I was done making my card though, I was looking at it and all these other ideas came into my head of what else I should have or could have done.  ((sigh))  I may just have to make another card for this challenge as white on white cards have to be among my favourites.

Card 6 1/2" X 5"
Paper - White cardstock
Ink - Memento Black Tuxedo
Stamps - House Mouse for image and sentiment
Accessories, Peppermint swirls and Polka Dot embossing folders, Martha Stewart and Stampin Up border punches, Labels 14 die and embossing tan matts and faux pearls

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Gardening ...

...is therapeutic and yard work is rewarding. 

I'm soooo late today, sorry.  It's almost tomorrow (well, it is now) and I've yet to post today's card.  I was busy doing some rewarding therapy.  My lawns were in need of mowing and my gardens in need of trimming so I thought it would be very therapeutic and rewarding to go outside on yet another spectacular day and become one with the earth, or something like that. 

I found this article that I want to share with you and then give you my spin on what it has to say.

The Benefits of Therapeutic Gardening

Gardening is perhaps one of the oldest healing arts; yet as a science, it is very new among
the therapeutic professions. Humans are physically dependent on plants for food and for
much of their shelter, clothing, and energy. We evolved with plants in our environment. It
has only been in recent years that we have spent many hours of the day in buildings
devoid of plants. It is not unreasonable to theorize that the environment that has had a
significant impact on our physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development as a
species would be one with which we would continue to respond. David Suzuki notes
“Reconnecting our children with nature in their everyday lives is the first step in an
environmental education.” Horticultural therapy is the means by which we can provide
programs that enhance self-esteem and establish a greater quality of life. As the Spiral
Garden and Cosmic Bird Feeder programs in Toronto state “Through the metaphor of the
garden, we celebrate our interdependence with the natural world as a context for healing
our children, our communities, the earth and ourselves” In fact, anecdotal and empirical
evidence clearly illustrate that therapeutic gardening has a profound effect on individuals’
physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.

By design therapeutic gardening is filled with challenging yet attainable goals such as:

providing intellectual stimulation, improving physical functioning, supplying a release
from depression and pain, enhancing emotional well being, fostering a sense of
community and providing a venue for creativity and productivity.
According to Charles Lewis of the Morton Arboretum, the plant world is non-threatening
and nondiscriminatory. In a study by Rachel Kaplan, a majority of the respondents gave
"peacefulness and tranquility" as the most important satisfactions gained from gardening.
Ira Stamm and Andy Barber of the Menninger Clinic report a reduction in tension and
anxiety in horticultural programs that enhance participants’ receptiveness to being
approached by another person. Thus, it appears that working in a horticultural setting
provides an atmosphere in which it is easier for people to relate to one another.

So, let me break it down for you as I see it ....

“Reconnecting our children with nature in their everyday lives is the first step in an
environmental education.”
This means after all the outdoor chores are done by mom, it allows children (20 somethings) to go out and enjoy the outdoor patio's,  BBQ's and whatever else they do to reconnect with nature.  Throw empty cans in the garbage and the recyclables in the blue box.

Enhance self-esteem
Chores once again - done by mom therefore allowing for more mirror time/primping.

Establish a greater quality of life
My children?  Yard work?   Ohhhhh....no, no, no!  They have more important things to do.  They say, "I can't right now, I have to ........blah, blah, blah.  Thus allowing for more quality time for the important things in life.  Refer to above two points.

Supplying a release from depression and pain
Ya, Um....no, I don't think so.  No..... not quite - on either of the above.  Actually, it releases some kind of something to my brain to let me know that I'm that much older than last year (depressing) and there's a lot of (pain) that goes straight to my back, knees and many other parts of my body that I didn't know I had prior to the therapeutic yard work. 

"Peacefulness and tranquility"
I go outside to get away from all those phone calls, people selling me things I never wanted in the first place.  Those calls telling me how much money I can save if I switch to some stupid product.  Companies wanting to clean my carpets when all I have is hardwood.  Suck my "Ducts" clean of impurities.  It's nice to just get out and go outside, away from the dust, laundry and dirty dishes that no matter how hard I try, continue to appear! 

Receptiveness to being approached by another person.
I have some amazing neighbours,  but sometimes I just want to go outside and do what I want to do and not talk to anyone.  I don't want to have to turn the lawnmower off because a neighbour wants to know "what's new" or "can I borrow your wheelbarrow?".  Am I the only one that likes a bit of peace and quiet?  Am I turning into an anti social neighbour or am I just looking for a little escape?

So that's my take on this whole therapeutic gardening thing.  I hope I'm not alone here and there are plenty of you who feel the same way I do.  If so, please leave me a comment below so I know I'm not alone. 

Before I share my card with you today I would like to let you know a little something (don't laugh - please) that gives me the most pleasure of all, when doing yard work.  Call me crazy, but it totally relaxes me and I don't know why. 

After I cut my lawn, I like to go around the edges of my lawn and hand trim.  I have this maflickie thing with a 7" blade and it trims the edges of my grass perfectly.  You're probably asking why I don't use a edge trimmer, we have one.  It's heavy and it ruins the edges.  It always cuts way too close and ends up burning the grass.  I   do   not   like   it!  I only like my clipper maflickie cause it makes my lawn look so neat and tidy when I'm done, nicely trimmed and well manicured.  You're probably thinking this chick needs help.  Maybe....but it makes me happy and there are no pills or doctors involved.  How good is that?  A little stretching and a warm up before hand may help though.  This is my piece of outdoor therapy and I find it extremely rewarding!  There I am, on my hands and knees going around the perimeter of my lawn with these little clippers cutting the edges to complete perfection.  I had to laugh though, my neighbour, who I think is super (also our dentist) asked me if he could get a quick trim when I was done.  He said he needed a little off the top and a bit off the sides pointing to his hair.  My response to him, after a little chuckle, was that I must have been a hairdresser in a previous life.  You can laugh but the truth is, my Grandfather was a barber turned "Hair Salon" owner and I began working for him at the age of 13.  So, I guess I come by it honestly.  Who has this kind of time when there are cards to make and blogs to post?  I scare me!

Here's to the end of another week of summer and the start to the weekend.

Surprise, another House Mouse image.  I thought I'd mix it up a bit this time and instead of Christmas, I've made a Birthday card.  There's no denying that these guys are just too darn cute!

The image is Birthday Cupcake by House Mouse, coloured with Copics.  An EK Success candle border punch was used on blue and pink cardstock, cupcake ribbon, buttons, party hats, and birthday embellishments were added to finish the card. 

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Presents ...

Across the pond weather guy

...and more presents!


Another beautiful day here!  It's sunny and warm outside with a slight breeze, just a perfect day really.   I feel so bad for those across the pond who are experiencing rain especially since the weather man called for nice weather.  What's that about?


In keeping with the presents theme (check out my August Giveaway - Blog Candy before you leave here today), I have made another House Mouse Christmas card.   My Christmas card pile is growing nicely and I know I'm going to be so thankful in a few months.  It does pay to be organized and ahead of yourself sometimes especially during the busy Holiday Season.

Here is the newest addition to the Christmas card pile,

For this card I used some designer paper and cut it slightly smaller than the card itself.  I used a corner punch on the card, the designer paper and on the image and punched opposite corners on all.  I applied some red ribbon to the card to give the appearance of a wrapped gift and added a sentiment and rhinestones to finish it off.  The presents although hard to see, are covered with Crystal effects for an added shine.

Paper - K & Co. and DCWV glitter paper to matt the sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo black
Stamps - House Mounse St. Nick Mouse and Stampabilities for sentiment
Accessories - Copic markers, Crystal efftects, corner punch, red ribbon and three red rhinestones

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Christmas Cookies

Over at Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge,  it's all about the food this week.  The challenge is to feature on your card, any kind of food that might be eaten at Christmas.  Food such as Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, turkey, candy canes, etc.  Oh what a yummy challenge this is going to be. 

Once again this is a perfect opportunity for me to use another one of my new House Mouse stamps, surprised?  Didn't think so....me neither.  I thought I might try and score the edge of my card today after seeing a couple of pretty cards over at Di's blog.  The stamp I chose is quite large and not wanting to take away from the image, I kept the card simple.

Click on image for larger view

Looks like Mudpie and Mussy are pretty full after filling their tummy's with Christmas cookies.  I just can't get enough of these adorable mice.  It's a good thing the postman is going to be bringing me some new stamps soon but I'll leave that for another post.

The stamp I used is from House Mouse and it's called Christmas Cookies Eaters (Mudpie and Muzzy).  I used my Fiskars trimmer, slipped in a scoring blade and scored the front of the card on all four sides.  I matted the image with Cherry Cobbler cardstock and used a Stampin Up, Very Merry stamp from the Short and Sweet stamp set for the sentiment.  The ink used on the sentiment stamp was also Cherry Cobbler.  The image was coloured with Copic markers and Crystal effects was applied to the decorations on the cookies.

Don't forget to check out my Blog Candy Giveaway below!!!!

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Laughter....

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I'm realizing as the years pass .... life is short.  Too short!  Scary sometimes how short it really is.  This isn't going to be one of those Debbie Downer posts in fact, it's going to be quite the opposite.  I'm not wanting to offend anyone today but sometimes you need to look at the humorous side of life.  Face value ....nothing more.  This post is about humour!  A good laugh, that's all!

Your sense of humour is one of the most powerful tools, you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”
~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.

The Health Benefits of Humour and Laughter

Humour is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. In addition to the domino effect of joy and amusement, laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humour and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.  Watch this!

Laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone

Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter and play adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humour is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.

Using humour and laughter in relationships allows you to:
Be more spontaneous -  Humour gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.
Let go of defensiveness - Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.
Release inhibitions - Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.
Express your true feelings - Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Laughter and humour help you stay emotionally healthy

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humour helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in on the fun.

So keeping all the above in mind here is my card for a Friday and the start to the long Civic Holiday weekend in Canada!  Gotta love those three day weekends, another reason to laugh!

She walks with Purpose, doesn't she?

My friends are going to love this card!  Check out some of the cute, silly & sassy stamps at Creative Vision.  I hope you have a real good laugh today...it'll be good for you!

Paper - White cardstock, Stampin Up Old Olive and Black cardstock
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up Old Olive
Stamps - House Mouse for image and Creative Vision for sentiment
Accessories - Copic markers, Faux pearls. Polka Dot embossing folder

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Can They Be....

any cuter?  I'm so in love with these House Mouse stamps I've recently purchased and there's been many!   There's a bunch of Christmas images in the lot too (did I mention I love Christmas?) so I'm certainly going to be able to get a good jump on my cards this year.  I'm a bit old fashioned I guess in that I still love to send Christmas cards out in the mail.  I bet I speak for most of the card makers out there when I say, "it would be such a shame not to send your beautiful cards out and share them with family and friends."
I was super excited yesterday, I went to the mail box and saw a package.  It was for me (yay).  A package with a few more House Mouse stamps.  More?  How did that happen?  My love obsession for these little lovelies must cease, and soon!  Actually, I'm pretty much done buying any more of them especially when I visit your blogs and see the variety of stamps available.  Oh perfect, someone to blame for my weakness.  I'll blame all of you, is that OK?  I mean, I look at all your wonderful cards and it makes me want to buy everything I see.  Is that bad? Am I wrong?  

Another addition to my Christmas cards for this year.

Such cute furry friends!

The designer paper is from K & Co. double sided Specialty Paper
The cardstock is from Stampin Up , Old Olive and Real Red
The ink is Stampin Up's Cherry Cobbler
The Stamps are House Mouse for the image and Lili of the Valley for the sentiment
I used Copics to colour the image, 1 3/4" and 2" round punches, green ribbon and 3 red buttons

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

Dear Santa

....here are the cookies for you. 

I remember it like it was yesterday.  My son and daughter busy in the kitchen getting Santa's snack ready.  Their tiny little hands placing the cookies on the plate.  Pouring the milk into the glass only spilling a little, "don't worry mom."  The concern for the reindeer and making sure they had some food to nibble on but should they put the pieces of carrots on the same plate as Santa's cookies?  "Do you do that, dad?  Will Santa think the carrots are for him?"  Leaving the hand written note so Santa knew what food was for who and to make sure he said hello to Ruduolph for them.  Both so excited and wondering what was going to be left under the tree.  Talking together about what they were hoping for and how good they'd been the last year so there presents were probably going to be good ones.   Just like it was yesterday, so many wonderful memories!

There's no challenge being entered today I was just having fun playing with another one of my new House Mouse stamps.  Seems I can't get enough of these cute little guys.  It's a good thing because I do have a few here just waiting to be rubbed all over with ink, stamped and coloured. 

For this card I stamped a second candle and cut it out.  This candle was a little smaller than that of the one in the image.  I coloured both candles the same and attached the smaller one on top for a little dimension.  Thought it looked alright but as I was sitting here typing this and looking at the picture of the card, I changed my mind.  I gently unstuck the little candle and moved it just off to the right and down a bit.  Looks much better now, I think.  It's OK to change my mind, isn't it?  After all it's a womans perogitive!   I read that somewhere so it must be true.  Oh dear, I think it's going to be one of those days....my poor family!

This picture was taken before I moved the candle over to the right and down a bit

Paper - K & Co. designer paper and Solid Mat Pad, Stampin Up Real Red and Old Olive
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamps - House Mouse Christmas Fireplace and Candle
Accessories - K & Co. embellishments, Copic markers, 3" scallop circle punch, 2" scallop circle punch,
1 3/4" scallop circle punch, Stampin Up scallop border punch, lace ribbon, rhinestone embellishments and 2 star buttons

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.

A Winter Wonderland

I love that phrase! 

But today, the phrase is more than just a phrase .... it's a challenge.  A Winter Wonderland challenge.  I learned of this great challenge from My world...sort of.

Every Friday at Winter Wonderland a different challenge is posted.   Your creation doesn't have to be a card,  you can make a decoration, a tag, a scrap layout - whatever you wish.  Last Friday, the challenge posted was  Give it a Little Lift, wet or dry embossing.  If you want to get a head start on your Christmas cards or Holiday crafts, why not pop over and join in the fun?

Here is my entry, I chose dry embossing and to make a card.

Paper - Designer Paper is from K & Co, solid colours are Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Real Red and Brocade Blue from Stampin Up.
Stamps - House Mouse Winter toboggan and Lili Of The Valley sentiment
Ink - Stampin Up Cherry Cobbler for the sentiment and Memento Black Tuxedo for the image
Accessories - Copic Markers, Piercing tool, White Flower Soft for fur on hat and snow, Stampin Up Scallop Border Punch, 2" scallop circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch. polka dot embossing folder and blue buttons for embellishments.

Wherever you are in your day, I hope you're enjoying it!

Wishing you many wonderful creations.
Thanks for visiting

House Mouse

Wouldn't you know it! 

I don't own any House Mouse Stamps and decided that I NEEDED SOME, pronto!  So, I placed an order with House Mouse a couple of weeks ago for some awesome new stamps and then shortly after, our friendly Postal Workers went on STRIKE!  I couldn't believe it. 

I'm not saying that what our friendly Postal Workers are asking for isn't deserved, I just want my stamps!!!   It sounds like they've been ordered back to work and we should see mail delivery as early as tomorrow.....Yay!  Sure hope so.  I can't wait to see my new stamps and get to work using them.

I do hope everything works out for everyone.

Here is what we know right now from the website CUPW  (Canadian Union Of Postal Workers) click on link to learn more. 

June 26, 2011 - 20:45

Strike / Negotiations Alert

Bill C-6 was passed today by the Senate and was given Royal Assent at 8:30 p.m. EDT. This means that the law comes into effect 24 hours later at 8:30 p.m. Monday, June 27, 2011.
All members who would not normally be at work at this time should report for their next shift.
All members who would normally be at work at 8:30 p.m. EDT, should report to work at the normal starting time for their shift. CPC has made a commitment that the collective agreement will apply for the entire shift.
All members should contact their local executive, or picket captain, to learn about any back-to-work activities that may be planned.