Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #47

This sketch comes from a very talented lady, Taylor VanBruggen, who posts a sketch on Fridays on her blog Taylored Expressions. If you click HERE, you can find other stampers' variation on the sketch by checking the comments section. I had fun doing this card, since it came together so quickly and I love the way it turned out! It's so great to find such talented stampers on the web!




Supplies: Close to My Heart blue textured cardstock, white cardstock, black ink, Say it in Style My Acrylix stamp set (Peace on Earth); Recollections stickers from Michael's (Merry Christmas, silver flake and gems); patterned paper is unknown from my stash.

Thanks for visiting and Merry Christmas!
Karine

Merry Christmas....

To all my friends and family, and everyone who has been taking the time to read my blog, Merry Christmas, and all the best of the holiday season!

This card I created for Madison's Grade 3 teacher. She is a very sweet lady and we are so glad that she is Madi's teacher! We feel so lucky because she is so great with the kids.

It is a bit hard to see on the card, but the bell and the roof are raised with pop dots. I thought that just added a bit! I bought the great ribbon at The Bargain Shop! and really like how it looks on the card.

Supplies: Close to My Heart - My Acrylix Stamp Sets: School Fun (school house), Christmas Heaven (Merry Christmas), Make it a Simple Christmas (Peace); red ribbon; black ink, white textured and black cardstock, Prisma glitter; Prima flowers; Bic Mark-it fine markers, brads from Making Memories, liquid glass, pop dots, patterned ribbon from The Bargain Shop!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karine

Brrrrrr, it's cold outside....

Okay, just like AMY, we have been experiencing really cold temperatures, although we did get a small reprieve today (high of the day is right now, about -6C). It's supposed to stay cold and snowy. We haven't had a white Christmas in Southern Alberta since I don't know when. Usually it's a brown Christmas! Although it isn't Christmas yet! Living Under the Arch, the Chinook Arch, means that the cold temperatures and snow don't last all that long. The CHINOOK WIND usually blows and keeps the snow away! From the looks of the forecast, we'll be waiting a while for the warm wind to return.

Here's AMY'S SKETCH for this week, and my attempt at it!

I don't have Copic markers like many bloggers do, however I did get some great Bic markers. I'm pretty happy with how they are working. I had alot of fun making this card, and hope that you enjoy it too!

Supplies: Close to My Heart My Acrylix stamp sets - Dear Santa, Santa's Helper and Say it in Style; CTMH black ink, ribbon, brad and textured cardstock; Frances Meyer patterned paper; Prima flowers; cotton balls; liquid glass; BIC markers.

Thanks for visiting and happy holidays!
Karine

Winter Wonderland.....

Okay, so today I am wishing for that Chinook Arch, as it would mean warmer temperatures! We are having a major winter storm here in Alberta, and that means lots of snow and VERY cold temps. My blogging friend HILARY is always wishing for snow, despite the fact that she lives in the southern states and they don't get snow! This post is for her, to give her a little taste of what winter can be like! This photo is from my front yard last night. We have had tons more snow since this photo. We just bought this Frosty this year when we were in Montana, and just love him since he looks just like he does in the cartoon. We are going to be doing whatever we can to keep warm today. Mostly wrapping presents, baking and making cards. Hope this finds you happy, healthy and warm.

Thanks for visiting!
Karine

Happy Birthday.....

Here's Amy's sketch this week, #40, from her blog Prairie Paper and Ink.
I have been having so much fun participating in these! It really gets the ideas going.



I had a mission to make a card for my husband, who's a firefighter / paramedic, for his birthday this Thursday. I have used my fire fighter stamps alot for him, so I chose to use some Jolee's Boutique stickers that I had on hand. He works so hard to provide for our family, and he prides himself on doing a fantastic job. Almost every day he has an interesting story to tell when he gets home.

This is one small way that I can show him how much I appreciate him and all that he does, because I just don't think I tell him enough.

Supplies: Fire truck & hydrant: Jolee's Boutique; all paper is from scraps, all remainder from Close to My Heart: Ink - Brown Bag and Black; Stamp: Say it in Style; Ribbon.

Thanks for visiting!
Karine

Happy Belated!

Okay, so I can honestly say that with working full-time and having a family, I'm pretty busy, but, that doesn't mean that I can recognize a special friend's birthday. It was actually last Thursday, but we were busy getting to Montana for Black Friday! I am so very lucky to have her for a friend. She is an incredibly thoughtful and kind person. This card is my take on Amy's sketch this week from her blog, Prairie Paper and Ink, found HERE.


This is Amy's Sketch#39, and I found it a little difficult! Not a design that I would ordinarily use, but I think it turned out okay. Just love that little snail!

I used Lynn's paper piecing idea from her blog The Queen's Scene. Just love her great ideas! You should really check it out!


My blogging friend Hilary is a talented scrapbooker and a firefighter / paramedic. Check out her terrific projects as well as read her story about her harrowing and rewarding Thanksgiving. I'm so proud of the work our emergency services workers do every day.

Supplies: Stamp set - Inkadinkado; Patterned paper - Provo Craft; bee punch & gold brads - EK Success; BIC Markers; all others are Close to My Heart (ribbon, flowers, prisma glitter, silver brads, textured cardstock, black ink).

Thanks for stopping by!
Karine

Christmas Season

Hey everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you were celebrating this weekend. We had a great time in Montana and loved going to all the sales. Everyone was so nice even when they had to stand in line, and the service was terrific. I hope to be able to make the trip again! The Christmas season has officially started, and I am amazed at people that put their Christmas lights to music. Here's one of my favorites.



This home is in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and people can change their fm radios to a certain frequency to hear the music. This was from last year, and the family is called Holdman. You can go to their website to see more!

Thanks for visiting!
Karine

Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating today! It's not just Americans who are celebrating, since some of us Canadians are going to be enjoying Black Friday tomorrow. Four of us are going today to Montana to partake in this yearly ritual, and I'm excited. I have never been in the USA to take in these great sales, so I hope we have some great finds!

Amy Rysavy on her blog Prairie Paper and Ink found HERE posts a sketch for cards every Friday and invites others to participate. Her Sketch#38 is shown here. Here's my contribution, and I had so much fun making it! Thank you, Amy for doing this! The card was for a great lady who does tons of volunteer work in our community.



I haven't participated in one of these before, but it's so interesting to see how others interpret the sketch. Hope you enjoy mine! Take a look at some of the other cards people have made on her post here.

Supplies: Patterned paper - Sweet Life; Stamps - Close to My Heart Say it in Style (Thank You), Inkadinkado (Thanks a Million); Brads - Making Memories; Pop Dots - EK Success; all remaining products are Close to My Heart - Watercolor Pencils, Liquid Glass, Ribbon Rounds, Prisma Glitter, Black and Olive Ink, Textured Cardstock

Have a great weekend!

Happy Anniversary...

My parents celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary yesterday. A group of us went out to supper, and my Mom was glad to not be cooking! I made this card to congratulate them. Our daughter Madison made them a terrific card as well. She really loves to stamp and scrap with me!

Our weather has been amazing, still staying warm without being too windy. I feel so bad for the people in California with all the wild fires. My in-laws are there but have not been affected by the fires or the smoke. Our thoughts are with the residents and of course the firefighters that are battling the blazes.

Supplies: All Close to My Heart except patterned paper (which is really Madi's and not too sure what company!) Textured Cardstock in Autumn Terracotta, Craft Buttons Summer, Stamp Sets: Say it With Style (Happy Anniversary), Simply Beauty (flower), Grateful ribbon: Ribbon Rounds Heartfelt Collection, jute, Black Ink, Autumn Terracotta, Honey and Olive Markers, liquid glass.

We Remember...

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada, and my daughter and I went to the local services with my sister-in-law. I am ashamed to say that I haven't been before, and found it very worthwhile. I don't have any close relatives that have served, but I still deeply appreciate all that they have done. I think the holiday from work should mean something, and participating in the services meant alot.

As my way of showing respect, I am posting a photo of the cards I made this last Father's Day for the three guys in our family. All stamp sets are from Close to My Heart. The tools card was for my father-in-law who is always building and renovating something (and doing a fantastic job). The jeans card was for my Dad, who works really hard on the farm all year round. Of course, the fire truck was for our own hero, my husband Shawn. He had an enormous fire at work last week and handled it like the professional he is. He loves to get in there and do his job under the toughest of circumstances.



The photo shows just some of the magnitude of this fire. Shawn is operating the pumper to get water to several firefighters at once. Everyone else runs but our firefighters stay and fight. I am so proud of what he does every day. Thank you to all those heroes who fight so valiantly for those of us who can't.

Indian Summer

Our weather has been great here in Southern Alberta - way warmer than we usually get this time of year. The chinooks have been keeping it that way, which most of us are happy about! It's especially great when the wind doesn't blow!

It's supposed to be so nice on Halloween, and with daylights savings ending later, it'll still be light out when it's time to go trick or treating. So much better than those years when it snows on Halloween!

I made a card today using the Close to My Heart Happy Haunting stamp set. I just love the house because it looks spooky, but still a house that you would definitely go to on Halloween! I bet they'd have great treats there!

Supplies: Close to My Heart Happy Haunting stamp set; Summer Posies paper flowers; Exclusive Inks pens Autumn Terracotta, Olive, Honey, Sunflower; Black and Wild Flower Watercolor Pencils; Textured Cardstock in Autumn Terracotta, New England Ivy and Pansy Purple; Ribbon - Heartfelt; Stamp pad - Black; Others: Bat sticker - Recollections, pop dot - EK Success

Celiacs Unite!

I have Celiac Disease.

I was dianosed in June of 2005 after my Mom insisted that I be tested. Both my Mom and sister were diagnosed in their 30's, and then so was I. I don't have the classic symptoms, but I've had headaches at least since I was 12 or 13. All those specialists then didn't make the connection that the headaches were because of my disease.

Last weekend, Mom and I went to the Celiac Conference in Calgary since I had never been. The speakers were terrific and I learned alot. This disease is manageable if I stay away from gluten, which to outsiders may seem life a tragedy. Gluten is in so many things that you would never guess, like toothpaste, vitamins, soy sauce, licorice, taco chips and certain chocolate bars. It's so important to read labels and ask lots of questions. But, I'm happy to say that I feel well most of the time. I have donated blood since I started university, and was disappointed when my iron became too low to keep donating. This has gone back to normal since I have been on the diet.

To read more information, check out the website: http://www.calgaryceliac.com/
Amazingly, 1 in 100 Canadians have Celiac Disease, and the majority don't realize it. If you have certain unexplainable health problems, perhaps you should consider this disease. Having a manageable autoimmune disorder is not a bad thing!

Halloween is coming...

I saw this cute Frank enstein at Michael's and just had to have him! I made this card for my in-laws who are far away from us right now on vacation. I used Close to My Heart's Sanding Kit to distress the paper. I just love how our paper has the white core, as this effect is so neat. I hope they like it!

Supplies: Cardstock - Close to My Heart Pansy Purple, Autumn Terracotta & White Daisy Textured Cardstock; Frankenstein & Bat - Recollections Dimensional Stickers; Ribbon - Bobbin Ribbon; Paper Flower - CTMH Summer Posies; Ink - CTMH Black

Living Under the Arch

Here's my first foray into blogging! I have wanted to start one for a long time! It's called "Living Under the Arch" because here in Southern Alberta, we have a chinook arch ALOT! For more about our chinooks, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_wind. This explains why it's windy here so much. It a great thing in the winter because it can warm up real fast, especially when it's been cold for awhile. The main picture was taken from my kitchen window looking west in October 2008. This picture was also taken in October from the edge of town looking north-west. It shows just how distinctive the arch can be.

As an independent consultant for Close to My Heart Canada, I try to scrapbook and stamp as much as I can. I plan to post as much artwork here as possible, so please check back often! If you have any suggestions, please pass them on. Check out all the great blogs that I keep up with. These gals are so talented, and I'm sure that you will learn alot from them too!