I'm OK with Unconventional...

A cookie packaged in a CD sleeve... hmm...a rather unconventional way to use a CD sleeve, but pure genius :)

One of the websites that I check out twice a week is a blog from Jessica Sprauge, a great digital scrapbooking site, called Digi Lovely.  {side note: Every Tuesday this site posts a free template download and often they have some sort of freebie on Friday, hence the reason I popped over to this blog today!}  As I scrolled a little ways down the page I saw this:

Right away the wheels in my head started turning...the first thing that went through my nerdy mind was "I've gotta plan a party or something where I can give these out!" and then I thought, "I need a child's birthday party to plan!  This would be fabulous for something like that!"  Once those thoughts had run their course then the practical part of me said, seriously tho, how easy would this be to do?

The person who made these initially found the idea she said on Martha's site in an article all about creative packaging ideas.  I love unconventional ideas like this (leave it to Martha &/or her people to come up with this lol!) and you could make a whole variety of cookies to package this way - and for just about any event ie: birthdays, Christmas, a baby shower, Valentine's Day, Easter.... Martha's site used rectangular tags folded in half, but I like the idea of something like shown above that has some shape to it.  And it would be so easy to print cardstock labels and cut/punch/big shot/cricut cut them out or just as easy to cut the cardstock and stamp on it.  And who says you'd have to stop there?  I'm thinking the sleeve itself could look even more fun with something on it as well (all depending of course on what look you are going for).

Now I just need to figure out where to use this great idea.... :)

The idea shot from MarthaStewart.com

He's An All Star - 2

Last night while my husband nervously awaited the outcome of the Penguins game, I was sitting next to him creating for another star :)

I am totally loving the way this quilt is coming together!  This is some of the funnest fabric I've worked with and I love how the prints and patterns play off each other.... the finished quilt will be three times this size, nine rows long plus the boarder around the squares.

The momma of the all star on his way particularly liked the paisley print... can you blame her?!  It's definitely one of my faves too from this fabric set... :)

Great choice of fabric N!  Your little man will be able to treasure this for a very long time :)

No Peeking...

As I was driving home from a great weekend in Moose Jaw & Regina, my wonderful hubby texts: "What are you doing when you get home?"
I reply: "Not sure!  Might run for a bit?  Did you need something? :)"
His reply: "Yes.  There is a room in the house that is barricaded and you are not allowed to enter.  No peeking or nothing.  Plus do not look in the bathroom downstairs."

A surprise!!!  I do love surprises :)

I did go for a run with our pooch and I was a good girl - I didn't even look down the stairs...

Then Justin gets home... he's so tired.  It was a crazy weekend for him.  He worked some very different shifts than he usually does, graveyard shifts aren't usually part of his schedule but this weekend they were.  He came in the door, I got my long awaited hug and kiss and then after chatting for a few minutes he tells me to follow him.

We get to the bottom of the stairs and I see this:

By this point, I'm like a giddy 5 year old who can't stand still!  Behind this barricade is my laundry room. Now most people don't likely get that excited about a laundry room I realize - well I do! lol!  We have planned for this to be a laundry room with a good deal of shelving and space to hang clothes to dry as well as my craft space complete with a great work desk/table and a whole whack of shelving to be home to my scrapbooking, cardmaking and quilting goodies!

He tells me to open it up... and my jaw hits the floor...

When I left, the room was drywalled and almost ready to prime and here my amazing hubby had worked so hard to give me this incredible gift!  As we texted throughout the weekend I was glad that he was taking some "time for himself" aka being outside in the yard, playing ps3 and watching hockey... little did I know, he did none of that.

We have laundry shelving picked out at Home Depot that will get installed soon and the open space beside the deep freeze will be home to my work desk and as much shelving as is realistic!

 

Stay tuned for part 2 when this special room is totally complete!

Thanks babe for all the hours of hard work you put in this weekend... you sacrificed so much to create this space for me...every time I walk into this room I will smile and think of you...you are truly amazing <3

I'm sitting here...

I'm sitting in a church sanctuary on a Saturday afternoon listening and watching a worship practice.  I'm visiting a friend of mine for the weekend out of town and she is on the worship team tomorrow morning. As I "put down" the book I've been reading here on my iPhone and just listen to the instruments and their beautiful harmonies I'm a little surprised at the strong emotions filling my heart...

My mind is drifting back to the many Saturday's I have spent in worship practices - sometimes as a vocalist, many as a leader...What amazing memories...I miss those days...I loved hearing a song come together, hearing the song slow down and then come back with a powerful crescendo - there was nothing like it. I'll be honest, some days it felt like work but when a practice had gone well, we'd laughed and genuinely had fun worshipping, how my heavy heart would be lightened... I always laughed at how I  could never make the verbal sound of what I heard for a drum beat in my head, but my usual drummer always sifted through and came up with the right beat :) I always joked that I couldn't speak "drummer" lol. 

Several months ago a situation arose at the church we were attending and the very difficult decision to leave was made. I had been on the worship team once and had led once as well. I was crazy nervous to lead but I was soon comfortable in the place God had allowed me to be so many times in the past.  Leaving meant so many things but definitely meant that being part of a worship team was again not going to be a part of my life for a while yet. 

We are feeling more and more comfortable in the church we have chosen to attend but being a part of worship is something I still really miss.  I believe that one day I will be part of a team again but for now I am meant to be part of the congregation...but at moments like this, sitting here hearing these voices lifted in praise, my heart feels the loss and yet believes in hope for that day...

Creating for an All Star - part 1

I was very excited when I received a message from N asking if I would create a special crib quilt for the coming addition to their family :)  I was honored that they would entrust such a special creation to me and we quickly got to work deciding on fabric and a pattern.  And when she picked some of my most favorite fabric prints I was even more excited to get started on it!

I started cutting material last night and can't wait to see how it will all come together for a very special little one's arrival :)

Here's a sneak peak at the great fabrics she chose for their "all star"!

Riley Blake's "All Star 2" line... 

Las Vegas: The Project

A while back I saw a great project on Cottage Modern, a blog I follow written by a very talented interior designer.  She had taken some of the ticket stubs and tokens that they had collected on a trip to New York City and created a wonderful piece of art as a means of capturing some of the memories they'd made on their trip.

I stumbled on this post again a short while before we left for Vegas and knew right away that I wanted to create something similar with all the paper "memories" from our trip :)  So as we went along, I tucked away all these little bits with the hope of creating a very fun piece that would bring back many smiles after we were home...

I chose a simple black frame with a double mat for this project.  I wanted to make sure that there was enough room for everything but also that there was enough matting to help hold down the edges of all the clippings.

There were a few things that I didn't have bits & pieces from, so I quickly flipped through our pictures and re-sized a few shots of Justin and I which also helped to fill in a bit of the open space I had left.  It also ended up being a great way to incorporate our faces into the piece as well :)

 And here is the finished product - I love the way it turned out!  I love how "random" it is, very reminiscent of Vegas lol!

I have definitely been in {project mode} since coming home: I wanted to get this created asap and I've also started working on my next quilting creation!
So when I had the final piece in place last night, I didn't waste any time in finding a home for this creation!

Viva Las Vegas!

Year 1 In the Books!

Yesterday was a very special day for Justin & I as we celebrated our first anniversary...
We have been very blessed to have a somewhat extended anniversary celebration this year: we spent 4 days last week in Las Vegas seeing the sights and enjoying some warmer temperatures.  On our last evening we went for a wonderful supper at the Rainforest Cafe and then Justin took me to see The Lion King (I may have been like a giddy 5 year old who couldn't sit still!), a production I have wanted to see for what feels like forever!  It was a great way to begin the celebrating :)

We were also blessed to spend time with family and friends this weekend, all of whom played very key roles in our wedding...I'm so grateful that all of these people still play a significant role in our lives today...

So with Vegas having been our more "formal" anniversary celebration, we just took it easy yesterday and just enjoyed the day together.  We had brunch at my sister's, complete with "LOVE" plates and napkins to celebrate the day :) (thanks Toby & Mo!)

We've had several conversations in the past number of days reminiscing about what we were doing "at this time last year"... crazy to think a whole year has gone by already...  when I think back to our wedding day, I can only smile like a goof - I loved everything about that day, I wouldn't change anything, except maybe make it last a little longer... we've talked about the adventures we've had in this past year, and how we're looking forward to all that year #2 has to hold...

Justin, you are my best friend...the man I loved a year ago when we said "I do", the man I love even more today, and the man I look forward to loving for the rest of my life...

 

 

Mellow and Gray...

Ever have one of those days when the world just feels mellow?  This afternoon I'm feeling  very mellow... I think the gray skies I see looking out my office window could have a part in this...and days like these often make me kinda reflective (seems to be a bit of a theme this week...)

I was very blessed to be able to have lunch today with an incredible couple, I am so blessed to be able to call them my friends.  This afternoon my mind drifts back to the season of my life when I met Donna and her husband Wayne...

I was living in Moose Jaw and working at our church.  I had heard so much about them from our pastor and even though I knew who she was, I hadn't "formally" met her and from what I'd heard, I already knew she was super cool :)  Our pastor ended up suggesting that I approach her to be part of our planning committee for a large-scale city wide family fun day our church hosted each summer.  I admit, I was a little nervous for our first meeting.  I'd heard so many uber cool things about Donna and I wasn't sure if I was going to be "cool enough" (yes I know that sounds completely and totally retarded but I might as well be honest lol!).  God quickly replaced those silly feelings with an incredible friendship...I discovered for myself how uber cool she truly is and that she's totally anal about details just like me!  She quickly became my partner in design crime (hee hee!) around the church and we made so many incredible memories together.  But beyond all the fun we have dreaming and chatting about design and event planning, is a friendship that means more than words can say...She is an incredible woman of God, an amazing wife and mother, and someone I truly admire & respect.  And when I "grow up" I'd like to be a lot like her...

This Time Last Year...

This morning I flipped my calendar to April... yes I know today is already the 4th but I wasn't in the office Thursday and Friday last week :)  As I pinned it back on the wall the thought went through my mind: kid,  remember what you were doing this time last year?  

Exactly one year ago today I was only 13 days away from walking down the isle in a totally killer dress having eyes only for the man standing at the end of that isle...and before God, our family and friends we would  promise each other forever...

It was an incredible season of our lives...there are aspects of that busy season I would be ok to re-live: designing and creating our invites & programs, seeing our custom made Jones aka Scott Soda labels come to life (still might be one single design I am most proud of), creating our bouquets with Treva (I still absolutely LOVE my bouquet every time I look at it), seeing our UNBELIEVABLE cake created by Dwight and Treva for the first time... so many amazing memories...  there are also the stressful aspects that I am glad are behind us: trying to balance a full time job, being the manager of our hockey team (Justin was coaching the team) and plan a wedding - it made for some crazy moments... but we came out the other side smiling and still loving each other lol!

Oh and who could forget... this time last year Justin wasn't even walking on his own!  He blew his knee out at the last hockey practice and the doctors didn't give us much hope that he'd even walk down the isle on his own... thankfully God is bigger than all of that and when you combine a whole lot of prayers from our family & friends and one very determined man, you have a recipe for a miracle... we watched as God allowed my husband to walk down the isle totally on his own, no brace, no crutches... God is seriously amazing...

And now here we are nearly one year later... and what am I doing today?

Well I'm taking a little trip to Calgary to pick up a lovely document called a passport lol!  It's a long story, but we leave for Vegas on Saturday, yes I know that's cutting it rather close (that's what Justin thinks too lol!) but like I told him, it's all good!  Hahahaha!  Yes it should have been done a very long time ago, but what is important is that it is ready and waiting for me and by the end of today I will have a passport in hand and be one step closer to the Vegas sunshine...Feel free to roll your eyes :)