Fresh Snow

Now, please don't think I'm wishing for fresh snow or that we were enjoying it lately!  These photos were taken over a week ago lol

It was one of those wonderful-almost-spring days where, yet again, we got more snow.  We were all feeling a little sorry for ourselves.  Then Jason told me to get the camera 'cause he was turning the day around.  He told the kids to get their snow suits on and we all headed into the back yard (me in my socks and t-shirt) where Jason promptly launched himself off the deck into the snow bank!  We all laughed, then Averan did a belly flop into another bank and Aleyce jumped into the bank where her dad had been.  After a couple leaps, Jason decided he needed to again show the kids how it's done and he picked each of them up and threw them further away into fresh banks (yup, there were that many in our yard!).  The photos are priceless and the laughs were even moreso. 

I ended up with too many photos to put on a single layout, so I decided to do layouts for each of them using the same "recipe."  Jason's layout incorporates some of the same papers from the kids' layouts too.  Kind of a fun way to bring them together and this way, the memory will be incorporated into 3 of our albums (Aleyce, Averan and Us2-Jason & I share an album).  The best part of doing it this way is that I was able to quickly reproduce the layouts after designing the first one which was inspired by a Becky Fleck sketch. 

So which one is your favourite?

it's Spring!

This past week really got me down.  The crazy blizzard on Wednesday had me nerve-wracked about Jason getting home that night, then the continued horrible roads on Thursday caused all but one of my students to be unable to get to class.  And, again, I was nervous about Jason getting home.  It's been a tough winter full of difficult roads and challenging weather.  And, yet, this week, spring began!  Or did it?

I found the week kind of depressing, as I'm sure many did.  Digging through those snow drifts made me feel I'd gained much more than just another year in age this week!  But, I have finally found my sense of humour again and with it, my scrapbooking mojo. And, it happened by consciously changing the way I look at all the things that happened this week.  I don't mean the whole "glass is half full/half empty" debate.  I mean, choosing to see the funny, crazy, incredible part of life in a week gone mad.  It really is the only way to cope lol

This is the sidewalk in front of our house - piled crazy high from shovelling all the snow!  And, the smaller photo is the kids walking home from school on Wednesday - the background is the beginning of that nasty blizzard which produced the snow in the larger photo!  The craziest part is that we got off lucky.  There were people who literally couldn't find their houses and couldn't get home for 2 days.  Yup, in 2013 - 2 days!!  And, schools stayed open, work still happened.  Makes you think ...

This one was fun!  This is the reaction we got when we told the kids that we're taking them to Bon Jovi in Edmonton.  We've also crammed my iPod with Bon Jovi songs for them to learn.  We're all so excited about this little trip.  I think we really need a little bonding time away :)

 

Something different ...

I've represented Close To My Heart products for a long time now - about 6 years.  It started working together with my good friend Nicole doing a few crops for causes and a couple workshops - just enough to keep the consultancy active.  Then I branched off on my own while she pursued Gold Canyon candles (which are great!) and I started regular clubs, crops and workshops.  It was great fun and I developed some amazing friendships.  But, as the kids grew, I came to realize that the scrapbooking I was doing was primarily to serve the needs of my clients, so I pulled back and became a hobbyist.  I still do orders and love their products, but no longer promote it.

But, in all that time, I never once tried one facet of Close To My Heart's products.  I never completed a Studio J layout (J is for Jeanette Lynton, the founder).  Studio J is their digital scrapbooking - it uses Jeanette's patterns (sketches) and the CTMH papers, then allows you to change them up a little as you play with your designs.  So I seized an opportunity Friday night to whip up 4 layouts!  The best feature is that while they are printing and shipping the physical layouts to me, they have also provided me with .jpg files of the layouts, so I can share them before I physically have them :)

This was my first attempt - I wasn't quite happy with the passport layout I did last week, so I thought I'd try a digital do-over.  This works for me :)  It was fun too.

When we first learned that the kids would get to play at the Blades game, we were so excited.  But then we discovered that the night they were booked was 25th anniversary for Sask. Place too and they were going for an attendance record.  So rather than the usual 3000 fans for the game, there was about 9000!  It was amazing to see our little guys on that huge ice.

These are photos from our New Year's celebration with friends.  I'm sure we woke anyone in the neighbourhood who was asleep before midnight as we ran around outside with our sparklers and LED headbands.

Recently, the school had a "formal day" and my daughter wanted to wear her beautiful red dress.  She was up early to get ready and looked gorgeous.  I really wonder how she coped at recess with ski pants and snow piles ...

I must admit, Studio J was fun.  It was easy to do and pretty quick - I did these 4 layouts in about an hour and a half.  The real test of it will be whether I'll be satisfied with "flat" layouts when they arrive (might have to add some dimension with more embellishments lol).  If you want to try it, you can access it through my website at carybrunett.ctmh.com and choosing the Studio J tab.  You'll be asked to set up an account, but there is no charge for anything until you actually complete an order.  So, you can play around as much as you want :)  You can also access any great CTMH products on the site (in the "shop" tab) or see the current Idea Book (in the "products" tab). 

Isn't it funny how you never really get away from your roots?

My babes are growing up!

Everyone tells you how time flies.  And, the younger you are, the less it seems true.  But once you're old (like me!) and have kids and home and job and pets and hubby, it's shocking how quickly time gets away on you.  

My babies are 8 and 9 right now.  We're starting to get a feel for who they'll be as adults.  We're loving who they are as kids - so proud of their sweet dispositions and caring natures.

He just turned 8 and had a Pokemon party.  The kind of gathering that makes me think my house is too small for all this!  It was fantastic - he beamed the whole time and the kids were all well-behaved and having fun.  The layout reflects the business of the event - it was non-stop action :)

This next one also demonstrates how he's growing up.  Last weekend, we were at a tournament in Kyle.  My son brought the puck down to the other end of the ice and rather than flipping a shot at the goalie, he wound up with a SLAPSHOT!  Even other moms exclaimed "He took a slapshot!"  I can't believe I actually got the photo of it too :)  Now, some other kids his age do take slapshots.  But, my son is in his FIRST year of initiation hockey.  Until October, he'd never played any hockey - not even mini-sticks.  So, the fact that he's come that far, that fast is amazing.  The kid wows me.  

 

A Daughter's Art

My daughter has taken and interest in scrapbooking :)  Let's smile about that again :)  Seriously, nothing makes me happier than sharing my hobby that I'm passionate about with my daughter :)

We've done a few classes together at the Scrapbook Studio.  If you haven't yet been there, GO!  It's an awesome scrapbook store with a huge crop space, great staff and beautiful products - in Lawson Heights.  LOVE it!  The last kids' club class was at a time we couldn't attend, but I was able to just purchase the kit for her and we put it together the other day.  She did a wonderful job :)  The photo collage is one I did for her.  Since my son had hockey photos, I felt my daughter should have dance ones (before the season ended), so we took some shots of her and I came up with the collage.  Don't you just love what she did?  Yup, another smile :)

The Good Stuff

Back in January, we had our home hockey tournament - the kids' first tourney ever!  It was great - lots of fun for everyone.  One of the awesome little touches that JoAnn did for the kids was to make player profiles of each of them.  She did such a beautiful job of them, I really wanted to preserve my son's for his scrapbook, but it's hard to scrapbook an 8.5x11 page onto a 12x12 (all my albums are 12x12).  

So, I decided to use it as a way to hold the tourney info and made the profile into a pocket for the tournament brochure and other info.  It's a very simple page, but sure show-cases JoAnn's awesome efforts on the profile.  And, what a cool memory to have :)

Goals

We all do goal-setting and focus on things that we want.  Sometimes we get them and sometimes we don't.  I think that the things we are unable to attract to ourselves are the things we feel more ambivalent about - when there's mixed emotions about how that thing could change things for us.  Like the lottery - we all say we'd love to win the lottery!  But, a lot of people feel anxiety about how to manage that money and how much to share it with family and friends.  So, it rarely happens (or perhaps that's just the odds playing out!).

But, I have found that I have a real power of manifestation when I singularly focus on something - even for a short time - even things I shouldn't be able to control.  I've been successful in manifesting great weather for my kids' outdoor birthday parties every. single. year. that I plan them outside.  I'd say it's good luck, but that's pretty unbelievable.  It also seems that things I throw out to the universe with conviction seem to come my way (remind me to manifest a coming down of "the Wall" in our province lol).  But, politics aside ...

I am currently working on manifesting a trip to Disneyland for our family.  It's high time that the kids experience the magic in person and I am so excited to show it to them!  So, this year, I took Christmas cash and put it toward getting our passports!  And, now I'm so happy to share with you my first layout about this goal and our first step to Disney - applying for and getting our passports :)

I'm actually  not so thrilled with this layout - it might require a do-over. But, I like the idea I had for it.  Hmm ... perhaps it's more colour that it needs :)

The Reaction

In some ways, I think the kids were merely excited to be told the surprise as they have no frame of reference for what a "rock concert" is, but this is the look I got when Jason told them we are taking them to Bon Jovi:

They're thrilled about Edmonton too - even though it's a "do-over" for us.  That mall is always such fun and I think this trip we'll try to spend some extra time at Galaxyland enjoying the rides.  So long as it's not too busy!  Gotta have energy for Bon Jovi too :) 

A Surprise

Last night, Jason pitched a plan to me to get away a bit during Easter break.  Nothing big, just a little family get-away since our February "break" was full of ... blech and we've got a ton of things to get caught up on at home during Easter break. 

So, we got it all confirmed last night and this morning I told the kids we have a surprise (our daughter had overheard little tendrils last night!) but that we'll wait for Dad to get home to tell them.  They're pumped we're taking a little vacation and have no idea where it is aside from it's outside Saskatchewan, but inside Canada :)

But, I'm BURSTING with this!  And, I can't believe that we're doing this, but it just worked out!  We're taking them to Edmonton - I know, not that exciting (aside from the Disney Store and Ikea - remind me to make my list!), but you'll never guess who's there while we are.  BON JOVI!  My favourite band since I was 16 - yes, that's 24 years ago!  I've loved them for three fifths of my life.  And, we're taking the kids to see them in Edmonton!!  They even have cheap seats, so if it's just too much for them, I won't feel like we're losing out if we leave early.  I can't believe my kids will experience their first rock concert at the ripe old ages of 8 and 9 {giggle}

Now, don't say a word - help me keep my secret!  It was all Jason's idea, so I want him to share the news with them tonight.  I can hardly wait till he gets home today - they're literally gonna jump him at the door :)

Can you SEE the awesome scrappy opportunities this will present me with?  Gotta have the camera ready when he walks in the door tonight ...

The Wait

I don't know about you, but I am fanatical about printing off my photos promptly.  I do Becky Higgins Project 365 each year and, if I'm going to manage to keep up with my daily journaling (not my strong suit!), I need photos to jog my memory!  So, I typically get photo orders every week or so.  I use Costco as I like their quality, price and speed with orders.

And, that is why the Costco sales annoy me!  Don't get me wrong - I've always loved a good sale.  But, typically, my photo orders are for 20 or so 4x6 photos and maybe a 5x7 or two.  They are ready quickly - usually a few hours, not the typical overnight processing time.  But, every time Costco has a big sale, people upload thousands of prints to order and my little orders wait and wait and wait and wait to be processed!

This time it's particularly painful, because I have this awesome plan for a layout that I am so excited to make.  And the photos for that layout are in the order that I sent on Sunday which is still not done!  I'll even be in the city to pick them up tomorrow, but they may still not be ready {insert sigh of dejection}. 

And, so I wait.  Maybe I'll start the layout sans photos.  If I can get over my hurt feelings ;)

Passport to Creativity

Canadian Scrapbooker has been kind enough to want to publish some of my creations in their magazine recently and in the current magazine, they've featured me along with 2 other Saskatchewan scrapbookers and given me a 2-page spread featuring 3 of my layouts (page 88-9)!  It was an honour to be included with such great talent in this issue.   Below are the layouts that were published which I can now post publicly :)

He shoots, he scores is one I made at Crop & Create in November specifically for the feature article in CS. This was my son's first hockey practice in his first hockey season - and he was so excited!  The layout is from the sketch in the Old, New, Borrowed, Cool challenge at Crop & Create.

Our Little Beach.  This was the last warm, sunny day we had at the cabin last summer.  The kids and I were waiting for Jason to arrive and hung out at our little "private" beach together.  I took this opportunity to try out my newly-acquired telephoto lens and had such fun capturing the kids just relaxing in the sun.  The layout design was inspired by one I saw in SCT!  

Dragons.  In November, we were able to attend the How to Train your Dragon performance which was amazing!  We were awed by the technical fortitude of the production - it was a combination of acting, performance and awesome effects.  Unfortunately, I forgot my memory card for my camera, so had to rely on cell-phone photos - a near catastrophe!  

 

Welcome! For a long time I've resisted starting a blog, but finally gave in. After doing Stacy Julian's Twelve class last year (where we produced 144 layouts plus an album of 12 photos I love layouts), and faithfully uploading each one to the Big Picture Classes site, I realized that I still crave sharing my scrapbooking pursuits with other scrappers. And, so, I am very happy to share my most recent layouts :)

Surprise Deliveries was created shortly before Christmas. We have an annual advent calendar of activities that we do, one of which was deliver Christmas treats around town. So, we packaged up 9 containers of goodies and surprised friends all over our town. The kids loved it and the friends were pleasantly surprised :)

  Carpe Diem - the title was inspired by a list of Erma Bombeck quotes I keep at my desk lol. But it holds true for this annual tradition of evaporating water. It's also the essence of what makes us Saskatchewanians - when the weather gets almost unbearably cold, we do crazy fun stuff to cope :)

Happy Days - This was one of those very rare days where the hoarfrost was still clinging onto the trees even once the sun came out. When I got the kids from school, I took them straight out to the town cemetery to try to capture the beauty. My son was a little reluctant to pose for photos at first, and I think that's why I loved this one best. It really captures the two of their personalities! 

 

In His Element is just where my son is at with hockey. While we reluctantly put him into hockey this year, it has been a great season - he's come so far and had a great introduction to the sport by some awesome coaches. We're loving it and looking forward to next season. It's also been a bonding thing for father and son as he learns from his dad about how to do a slap shot or raise the puck or hold the stick. Wonderful.

Santa was Here was a quickie I threw together just to document the stuff the kids got for Christmas this year. It's so hard to keep it all straight. I was also excited to use my new glitter tapes :) 

Take a Leap is about my daughter's return to dance. She had two years away from dance classes as took some convincing from me to start again. It's a non-competitive group which I love as I think dance can be just for fitness and body-awareness but doesn't need to be about scores and judging. She loves her hip-hop and jazz classes, particularly having her bff in one class.

Perfect Fall Day is a layout from the Crop & Create kit I got when I attended in November. I LOVE this layout and how perfect it was for these photos that we took while feeding the chickadees at Beaver Creek in October.

What makes me smile is a total scraplift! I took it from the recent Close To My Heart catalogue and it even uses the same CTMH papers! But, it just worked for these awesome photos I got of our sledding fun this winter. Sure is nice with the big lens :)

Your New Winter Wonderland is again about hockey - which is a huge recurring theme in my scrapbooking this year! This was his first hockey game ever and I used a Scrapbook Studio monthly kit for it. 

The true beauty of our Christmas is a layout I felt compelled to create. I feel that our Christmases seem to be so over-commercialized that the real meaning is often forgotten. So, I found some photos and thought of some things that kept my heart where it should be at Christmas. The quiet little moments.