Paper bag album...so far

This was my little project today - still quite a lot to do but the paper that I painted with a wash earlier is now dry and I have started attaching it to the mini album.  It has a lovely shimmer to it.

I will put a title on the cover too....just not sure what yet..

Well, I have been out to pick Laurie up from badminton and gave his friend a ride home too.  They had a FABULOUS day at the P.A.R.T.Y program today - they learned sooooo much and said it was very eye-opening and has left a BIG effect on them!!!  They had a LOT to say about it all and Laurence was full of stories about everything that happened and all they saw and heard!  Some very sad and graphic stories :(  

I hope it stays with them and keeps them all safe!!

Now for dinner and then Lloyd and I are heading out.  

Showing off their wings......

So we're going to have a mix of brown and white eggs after all - which will be really nice :)  The chicks have grown soooo much and have a lot of mature feathers already!  They are soooo sweet :)  They make the loveliest chirping noises :)  

Craft day...

Today we spent much of the day crafting.....we made some brown bag albums...Sam decorated his with his name and then some spots so he would never forget having chicken pox ;)  

Abigail filled hers with pictures of London and stickers of double decker buses etc and then she decorated the front like a face.

I gave some pages from an old book some colour wash and then sprayed them with glimmer mist....the glimmer mist has kind of disappeared into the paper leaving this beautiful shimmer in the wash....I'm going to cover my album pages with those and then fill it with....hhhmmm - not sure yet!!!  :)  

Abigail started asking a lot of questions about art college and saying she could craft and do art all day every day and maybe she would grow up to be an artist and go to art school....we then ended up talking about whether you can do art when you are 80.....or if you are a man - for some reason she felt that men are not 'arty' - so we started talking about how well daddy can draw...and how good he is with scissors and how good he can paint and how well he makes things...and that the only reason he doesn't draw and paint any more is because of lack of time...

And still she said men aren't 'arty'....

So then we started talking about all the artists she had learned about at art class and how almost ALL of them had been MEN!!!  Then we talked about how Chris and Laurence were very good at their different chosen arts...and STILL she decided that men are not 'arty'.

I GIVE UP!!!  ;)  

Anyhoo...it was a lovely messy crafty day - but my house is all back to normal now and clean and tidy :)  

Keeping himself busy...

While I was working out this morning, Sam was busy in his bedroom creating this masterpiece with his duct tape:

It's a money jar!!  He cut up a water bottle, covered it in a  tissue for decoration and then covered that in duct tape to make it all silvery and pretty :)  

He came downstairs and presented it to me - he was sooooo proud :)

Wow my boy has talent  and wow does he LOVE his duct tape :)  

I love it :)  

Life Story....

This is a box I am working on for a class I'm taking - it will contain the album and ephemera for the class.  The class is yet another FANTASTIC class by Kara Haupt  called Life Story.  I am loving it so far!!  This is the third of Kara's classes that I have taken and I have loved them all and learned soooooo much from all of them!  I love that this one is created inside a little 'treasure box'!!  I'm really having fun with it!!!

Thanks so much to Michelle Clement who gave me the class as a prize on her blog!!!  

I love him :)

Because our weather today is this:

my wonderful Husband just Emailed me this:

And said "To cheer u up!"  :)

He searched downtown to find them as he had seen people walking about with them on this grey and snowy day!!  Each year they sell these pretties for The Canadian Cancer Society and Lloyd hunts them down for me because he knows how much I love them!  

It will be quite a while before they are popping up in peoples yards (gardens) over here!!

Yay :)

Yay I won two tickets to this show yesterday - this was the good news email I was hoping to get yesterday :)  

I was hoping to win a contest I had entered to win TWO TICKETS to this local show - and as I won, it means Lloyd and I are off to the Edmonton Home and Garden Show for date night this week :)  

I'm looking forward to seeing the garden designed by NAIT students and getting ideas for our basement and bathrooms as well as the back yard....but generally just strolling around with Lloyd for the evening...

It will be a lovely date night - not something we would have bothered to go to this year if we didn't have free tickets - so winning them is wonderful :)  

Thank you Greenland!!

P.A.R.T.Y. Program

Today Laurence is taking part in the   P.A.R.T.Y. program at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton.  This  is a wonderful program that shows young people the dangers that alcohol can have - and how it can effect thinking, behaviour etc etc.  They will see and experience first hand the effects alcohol can have.

Laurie had to take food with him suitable for eating as a paraplegic - so he took salad and jello and will have to try and eat it with certain disabilities at the hospital.  They will see what happens after alcohol induced road traffic accidents.  They will see how alcohol can destroy lives.

You can read more about the P.A.R.T.Y program HERE

Random Dozen...

Find your random dozen HERE

1.  What is your favorite sign of Spring?  PUDDLES!!  Welly boots :) I have wonderful memories and fabulous photographs of ALL my children through the years playing in HUGE puddles - falling in HUGE puddles and having fun in HUGE puddles :)  I remember going out to play in them in Stockport with Laurence and Christopher one year and having so many people walk by and say how happy they were to see us out there playing because so few people do that these days.

2.  Did you remember to spring forward on March 14?  If not, how did it impact your day? Yes we did and I was excited about it because I was sooooo looking forward to the light evenings :)  Yay for longer days :)  

3.  If soil, time, talent and climate were no problem, what vegetable would you plant in a garden this year? If I could grow anything then it wouldn't be a vegetable, it would be something like orange trees....or lemon trees...or maybe walnut trees....but this year we will grow our spuds again - our strawberries, peas...herbs, tomatoes...beets.....a few things....maybe zucchini

4.  If soil, time, talent and climate were no problem, what fruit would you plant?  Ahhhh  see above!!  I don't read all the questions through before answering - my teachers always said I should in exams ;)

5.  What is your least favorite insect? flies - they are so gross!

6.  March 22 was World Water Day. To celebrate, here are some water questions. Do you drink bottled water? If so, what brand?  I drink Nestle water in small bottles - I don't boycott nestle products.  The only reason i'll stop drinking this water is that they have now changed the lids and they are nasty little lids that hurt your hand to open them.  I did try changing to a reusable bottle last year but I just couldn't do it and found I wasn't drinking enough water.  I drink a LOT of water.  I recycle my bottles to try to help the issue with the plastics.  We are on well water and it is distilled and I don't like the taste.

7.  Have you ever been somewhere that it was not safe to drink the local water? If so, how did you handle that?  Well, it isn't safe to drink our own water without it going through the distiller - so we can only drink the water from the prep sink in the island or the pot filler over the stove.  Hence the fact I drink bottled water.  We have to empty the distiller weekly and you should see how much THICK THICK salt we take out of it!!  That is removed from our water!!!  If you get water in your mouth from the shower it is like drinking very salty sea water!!

8.  How many glasses of water do you drink per day?  No idea - but several bottles of water if I'm at home for the day.  Less if I'm out for the day.

9.  March 24 is the birthday of Harry Houdini.  Have you ever watched a professional magic show? Share.  Several times....from childhood onwards....I hired a magician for my Sons birthday party one year too!  

10.  Have you ever been a participant in a professional magic show (up on stage!)?  Maybe - as a child...I can't remember..not as an adult..unless you count at my Sons birthday party ;)

11. March 24 is also the birthday of Steve McQueen and Clyde Barrow. Do you like Westerns or gangster movies?  If so, what is your favorite?  Snatch  is good,  Goodfellas,  The closest I would get to a 'Western' would probably be something like 'Dances with Wolves' - does that count????

12. (Really random)  What U.S. state that you've never visited would you like to visit someday?  Maine

Nice bit of crumpet.....

Cat lurve....

Yummy cupcakes

We made and decorated cupcakes today.  No doubt they will vanish in seconds as soon as everyone arrives home later!  We made some to suit everyone - mini ones, big ones, coconut ones, vanilla ones, smarties ones (such a shame that Canadian Smarties are in such boring colours and flavours), sprinkles ones.....and two different icing/ frostings...

My baby certainly got a workout:

Spotty :)

Sams spots are all dried up now and he is no longer itchy - he hasn't been really itchy since about Saturday.  All in all it was a really easy illness to deal with just like it was with his older brothers and Susannah.  Thankfully it happened at a really convenient time for us too :)  

Survey says....

I saw this on  Paper View  and thought I'd join in!!!


1. Must have scrapbook supply? Glossy accents adhesive!!  I use it for everything!!!   it's my adhesive of choice - I get through a LOT of it!!!  Oh and mod podge!!!  And my fabby snips or whatever they are called - the little scissors from Stampin Up!

2. Why & when did you start scrapbooking?   Before we left the UK I gave each of my children a disposable camera to take pictures of their last Summer in the UK.  I wasn't a scrapbooker but decided to do a layout for each of them of their pictures - so I could frame them for their bedrooms.  I LOVED doing them and became addicted!  It wasn't long before I had filled 16 albums!!!  Yikes!  Now I have about 30 albums full and many MANY mini albums etc....I no longer enjoy scrapbooking, but do enjoy making mini projects of all kinds...

3. Guilty Pleasures?   magazines, long LONG hot baths.....so long that I let all the water out and refill with more hot water!!

4. Two things you want very badly at this moment?   Renovated bathrooms, my Hummingbirds to return.

5. 3 items in your purse?   My lucky $5 casino chip, Guardian angel, maxalt migraine meds.

6. Favorite scrapbook technique or style?  Not a scrapbook style exactly but I am LOVING Junque Journals

7. When do you feel most creative? It varies - often in the afternoons which works out well because the children get creative then....

8. Do you snack while you scrapbook?  No - I don't like to have food or drink near my supplies or craft table!!  No greasy fingers near it either!!  Thats one of the things I don't like about crops - people put food and drink near my work!!!  Gggrrrr!!

9. Do you have a scrapbook confession?   I am not enjoying my current class - but its a fantastic class - it's just that it is very much SCRAPBOOKING based - and I don't enjoy scrapbooking any more - the other classes I have taken have not been focused specifically on scrapbooking so I have LOVED them - but this one is specifically focused on scrapbooking and I am not enjoying it.  But I will save it for when I return to this hobby - which I know I will

10. Favorite TV shows?  Right now the only show I watch sometimes is 'Hoarders' - and it makes me go straight to a drawer or cupboard somewhere and throw stuff out :)  lol!  Seriously!!  I have cleared out soooo much clutter since that series started!  It's FAB!  Even Lloyd enjoys watching that show!

11. Jobs you've had?   delivering newspapers, working in a newspaper/ candy store, working in a department store in the underwear department and then in ladies fashions and then in the handbags department.  I did psychiatric nurse training.  I worked for Hallmark cards, I trained as a counsellor and worked in a womens centre, I ran a dayhome (worked as a childminder) in the UK, I worked in a thrift store (voluntary work)...probably other things but I can't think...

12. What are you listening to, right now?   This second, Sam in the bath splashing about....but generally?  Lady Antebellum....and still Justin Hines


Your turn!!!!!

For today......

Read more HERE


 
Outside my window...the sun is shining, birds keep flying by the window to the feeder on the porch.  Abigails bicycle is stood up on the grass out front - a sure sign that Spring has arrived!!!

I am thinking... about our lovely weekend - the funny trip to Leduc on Saturday with our stop for brunch and the weird 'twilight zone' feeling - seeing the same people as the week before and the strange happy people!!  Lovely walks here at home, playing in puddles, cuddling up with movies...good family dinners....yummy treats....how grateful I was to have taken my camera with me yesterday when we said goodbye to the Witches House...our lovely lunch out at the garden centre.  An amazing husband who doesn't try to understand me, but supports me nonetheless.  How great the kids were all weekend and how much fun it was - how great Chris has been - how helpful with planning all of the classes for next year etc etc and all the effort he has put into his own plans - So much to be grateful for  :)  

I am thankful for...All of the above...sunshine, the yummy dinner that has been in the crockpot all day and I can't wait to eat!  My cats and their different personalities and how they make this house a home....and for my lovely home and all Lloyd has done to it to make it so beautiful.

From the learning rooms...Abby has been busy reading.....writing poems and haiku's and looking at family shields....watching movies based on classics (Pollyanna, The Secret Garden etc etc)....Sam is busy practicing his alphabet and writing....yesterday he got paid for cleaning out the car with Susannah so he wrote out a shopping list of what he wanted me to get with his money.  I'll post a picture of his list!!!

From the kitchen...I'm planning Easter recipes - we are looking at a book we have of childrens Easter crafts and recipes and planning what to make and do next week.  

I am wearing... jeans, sweater, socks and undies...

I am creating...ATC's and various other things for swaps on swapbot.  I am working on the 'Life Story' class I am taking of Kara's  (loving it).  I am really not enjoying the scrapbooking class I was taking - I am sooooo NOT a scrapbooker any more - I think you can tell from my pages that my heart just isn't in it any more.....compared to the pages I used to make.....!!  I am on to my SECOND Junque Journal!!  I am painting on some pieces of bark that Lloyd found for me - LOVING that!!!  

I am going...to spend the evening cuddling my amazingly wonderful husband after I finish sipping this lovely wine.  He's out tomorrow night and i'll miss him :(

I am reading...My 'Charlotte Masons Companion' (again - it's a favourite that gets dragged out time and again), various writing and journaling books, blogs about nature journaling, crochet and life...

I am hoping...to get some good news in an email tomorrow afternoon.....

I am hearing... Lloyd and Chris arrive home - the garage door close - Laurence snoring - Sam and Susie playing at the bottom of the stairs.

Around the house... I'm getting used to my new washing machine - it will be interesting to have two tumble dryers and not have laundry pile up waiting to go in the dryer any more!  I'm sad the my old washer died as it was such a good one - but I am very grateful that we were in a position to be able to just go and get new ones.  I'm also grateful that I was all up to date with laundry before my old one died and we got a new one the very next day!  With 7 of us laundry mounts up very quickly - especially with Sam and Abby enjoying the puddles so much at the moment!

One of my favorite things...is sorting through my boxes of pictures - I am trying to declutter all my old photographs - I really do have so many that I don't need to keep any more - duplicates, pictures of people who I don't know - pictures that just aren't very good or worth keeping etc etc so I am going through them all and decluttering them - and it is lovely enjoying so many memories as I see the old pictures!!

A few plans for the rest of the week......  I have quite a few plans for the week and they are all kind of fun and I'm looking forward to them all - but they are all dependent on one another and on different things - so I'm not really sure what is going to happen and what isn't....it's going to be an odd week and one of those 'wait and see' weeks which could be busy and could be quiet but either week should be lovely - and will hopefully be better than last week when poor little Sam was not well!!

(I started this before dinner and now it's 7pm and dinner was delicious...off to relax now - goodnight!)

Sams shopping list for today - he wanted two candy 'bags' and a cadburys creme 'egg'.  

:)