SOCK it to me

I did another set of custom baby closet dividers - Sock Monkey theme - so fun!



I was going to post each divider individually, but for some reason Blogger loads forever with each photo I upload, so being that I feel lazy, have to go edit AND have to scrapbook at the same time...

xx, M

Winnie the Pooh Baby Closet Dividers

Another re-visit of the baby closet dividers...a la Winnie the Pooh style. I also made a door hanger, wall decor and gift tags as well.





















Stay tuned....I have another set of baby closet dividers coming up shortly!

xx, M

Hello Kitty!

a simple Hello Kitty card and album I made as part of a birthday gift (apologies for the picture quality...these were snapped fast).



















I thought the album turned out cute - pretty simple with the focus on just the photos and the little hello kitty diecuts.

xx, M

Becoming a Momma

So I've wanted to peg down my thoughts on becoming a mom for the last 4 months (4 months!! I can't believe I've been responsible for a little being for this long already!) - but (yes the same old adage/excuse) things have just gotten busy and dividing up my time takes more thought now than it once used to.

Tristan is 4 months old. I can't believe it. This little guy is now about 15 pounds and growing. Every day that passes makes me love him just that much more. So....instead of writing paragraphs on motherhood, here they are in point form. You may not agree with everything I have to say, but these are my honest reflections on my last 4 months as a mother.

- Unconditional love. My heart has so much love for this little being that it could burst at any time, but probably won't.
- 20 pounds of guilt. Someone mentioned this to me - I understand it now. There are days when I look at Tristan and although I am doing the best that I can for him, and all that I can, I still feel like I am not doing enough. I get twinges of feeling inadequate some days...although I know in his eyes I am the world to him.
- Appreciation. I now appreciate my mom (and my dad) SO much more. My parents always told me that I would understand once I had my own kids..now I do.
- Regret. It has only been four months, but in those four months, I have learned how my actions have truly affected my parents. Whether your own child means to or not, little things can be so hurtful...not that Tristan has done anything other than cry or fuss :D....so far.
- Overprotective-ness (if that's a word!). Dad...I get this now. I just want to spread my wings around Tristan and never let harm come to him.
- Reflection. No one can ever really answer why they want kids. I could never fully answer that question - just that I wanted a little being to care for and nurture and teach and love. There is so much joy to see a little bit of myself and/or Joe reflected in Tristan. There is also so much joy in seeing that he is also his own little guy.
- Adjustment. I knew having a child would be difficult, but I was unprepared for just how difficult it is. The difficulty, for me, lies in the lifestyle changes....and it's amazing how much sleep can have on this!
- Kid explosion. It is a wonder to see our house, cars, purses, etc. explode with kid stuff. I imagined having a child, but never did I imagine seeing a jolly jumper window shade on my car. :D
- LOVE. Have I mentioned this yet?! lol. I love everything about Tristan - from the growing hairs on his head down to the little long toes, to the fast growing fingernails to his little laugh, to his bright eyes and bright warm smile. His big smiles lead me to believe that he will grow up to have a big heart. There is nothing more joyous or can make me tear up than seeing him, seeing the recognition in his eyes, and then his face lighting up in a big smile...and with that big smile usually comes a body jiggle or something. My heart could explode.

And so....this begins my (our) journey.

xo, M

Win a Photography Session

Fall is one of the four seasons we are blessed to have in Alberta, but also happens to be so fleeting. I decided to put on a contest for a family or couples photography session held at the Prairie Gardens Adventure Farm....



See the contest HERE...

Spread the word and good luck!

xx, M

Hello ^_^

One of my girlfriends' is throwing her daughter a Hello Kitty birthday party in a month's time...her daughter absolutely loves Hello Kitty, which kick started a project for me as part of her birthday gift...

This is a sneak peek so far...stay tuned for more ^_<



M

Grandma's PB Cookies

I have an album that I started two years ago to hold family recipes.

Below is the latest addition to that, which is Grandma Allan's PB Cookies - yum! The recipe, upon review, is not much different from most other peanut butter cookies, except that when she made them, the tasted amazing (don't all items made with love by a grandmother??), and now that the recipe has been passed on, the cookies evoke memories of her and the love that went into them....and really, they are delicious!



Layout materials: Webster's Pages Country Estate papers, Martha Stewart punch, ribbon from Michaels, Wilton's doilies.

xx, M

The Joys of a Label Maker

In sequel to my Organization 101 post, here are the "after" pictures for my scrapbook area. The surroundings still look the same - unfinished. What is exciting, however, is that I am a proud owner of a label maker, which is what spurred me to organize my working area.

The before pictures from a prior post gave the impression that it was organized, but everything was thrown into the bins I had, and stuffed into the cases and spaces around the working area. What I've done is organize all my photography items (i.e. magazines, books, camera accessories and lenses, etc.) into the 'shelf' space you see to the left of the computer.



I have been itching to purchase a ribbon holder for the longest time, and finally found one that I liked. This one is from Clip It Up and it's great because there is no dowel involved, so you wouldn't have to remove the entire dowel if you needed to change things up. It also comes with extra clips to hang all of your loose ribbons in orderly fashion underneath. I'm telling you, it's fab!

All of my papers are organized in the Cropper Hopper vertical organizer...it's great! All of my papers are now organized by brand and series (e.g. Basic Grey - Cappella) and my cardstock are organized by color.



At the Dollarstore I found these glass jars and thought they would be an inexpensive way to house all of my random and loose flowers, odds and ends and excess ribbons...plus it looks great and I love how the items are visible through the glass.



The next two pictures show my Cricut on full display (so that I will actually use it!), and all the bins underneath are labelled - stamps and accessories, punches, cricut and cuttlebug, etc. So functional and easy to know where all my items are now.





I wanted a great idea for organizing all of my stickles and glitter...and I have alot, at least enough to fill up one of the plastic Iris 12x12 cases. I found this great idea on some online forum...basically using the Iris 12x12 cases and some round velcro stickers. This way, the stickles are held upside down and my glitter right side up...and they don't wiggle around in the case! I thought it was brilliant. Again, inexpensive, as the cases are cheap at Michaels (when they are on sale) and the velcro rounds you can get at the Dollarstore!



The exciting part of this entire thing (and I love organizing...I get it from my dad - he is constantly organizing and rearranging things!) is that it will truly be exciting to scrapbook and edit in my space, since everything is visible, labelled and easily accessible. I still long for a completed and furnished scrapbook room, but until then, this will suffice, and I am happy with it. :)

Lastly, if you don't have a label maker and you are an organizer like me, go get one!!

xx, M

In Loving Memory

Photo taken by Cori Kalven

I do not know if I mentioned this a year ago, but Grandma "at the Lake", also known as Margaret Violet Allan, passed away a few days after our wedding and a day after her birthday. It was a very emotional day.

On Saturday we celebrated her life. What more fitting place than at the lake where Joe's entire family (on Mom's side) grew up together. The fabric of their lives is so richly encompassed at the lake, with Grandma interwoven throughout.

To celebrate her life, Melissa and I made an album (from all of us) for the parents, in loving memory. The lovely "poem" encapsulating Grandma and the Lake, was written by Melissa. It is super moving. What makes the album super special is the fact that all the photos (with the exception of the loon, the photo of Grandma on the last page, and the cookie jar) were taken by Grandma. Her photos are amazing - she had such a love for the clouds, sunsets, the trees...nature really. The last few pages were open pages for family to write down their favorite memory of Grandma, so that we all, and future generations, may remember and see how special Grandma is.

Without writing much more, below are the poem and scrapbook layouts.



































Grandma left a legacy out at the lake, in our hearts, and in our memories. We know you are around us at all times.

We miss you and love you. Here's to you Grandma!

Organization 101

Wow! Has 13 days really passed since I last posted? Between taking care of our now 2 month old son, our 1.5 year old puppy (ok, Keeva probably is a 'dog' now, but will forever be my puppy), kickstarting my photography business, editing, being a good wife (i.e. trying to keep the house clean and making dinners where I can, etc.), trying to maintain a lifestyle of sorts, now I have decided to go on a rampage and clean and organize a) my closet, b) our kitchen, c) our basement, and d) my scrapbooking/computer area (aka the dungeon).

Every once in awhile I get this burning need to purge...and instead of tackling them one at a time, I decide to do it in conjunction with one another. That's how I like to roll :)

Anyways, I am currently reorganizing and purging my scrapbook area. You'd think it would be easy, but there's alot more to it than you would think! At least to me there is. Things like organizing your papers, stickles, stamps, punches, etc. The better organized, the more visible my products are, the more likely I will use them and not forget about them.

Well as much as I'd like to continue to ramble and make this post even more boring, I better get to cleaning...plus I hear Tristan stirring. Please visit my previous post "I've Been Demoted to the Dungeon" to see the before pics...and I will very soon post the now pics :)

Stay tuned...there are projects coming to see!

PS Thanks for following...I'm alive still :)