Lucas and Momma make a new friend...

Met our new neighbours last night. I was out playing with my plants in the front, and the little girl next door came out and was watching me. Then she asked if she could see the little boy who lived here. So I laughed and went to get Lucas. He babbled at her about paving the backyard with Bessie, then disappeared back inside. But I enticed him with chalk, and the two of them started colouring the sidewalk. Her Mom came out, we introduced ourselves, and spent the next half hour chatting and watching the kids colour (fireworks, rockets, spaceships, Happy Birthday banners) and run around.

Things I learned from this encounter: Lucas is hilarious, and I have no idea what to talk about with a total stranger and am therefore terrible at making new friends.

Ho Hum.

*****

Last night, Russ and I also played some Rummy-O...I was eventually triumphant, but Russel gave me a good run for my money (**no, we weren't playing for money!) With all his complex moves, Russ had to take a picture of the board so he could put things back in order if things didn't work out!

Here I am planning my next move...and he took this photo without any prompting from me...

It was Lucas' idea to play, but he just wanted to draw tiles, and kept getting mad when I tried to show him how to play them. So he finally abandoned us to go play with his Big Mac Playtown downstairs.

k. back to work now. I have two rooms left on my to-do list today. I took care of the easy TNT post first, and now that I've had two cups of coffee, and read some blogs, I think I can get back to things!

later skater alligator

...everything's coming up Kurt, this time for me!

tonight I got my hair cut. i guess i should have taken a picture when it was still light out...oh well! it's short...

and I finally finished the last post of the Inspired by Summer series on the TNT blog...thank goodness! here's a little sneak. for the entire layout check out this post.

tomorrow is girls day out with Kara (fingers crossed), and some class prep for my class tomorrow at TM. just one student...oh well. plus, I told KC I would work the whole day. I'm taking bets on when I start going crazy...i haven't worked a Saturday in a long long time!

if you're in the neighbourhood, check out this post for Nadine's card class. I am so in love with the color purple right now, even though I am not a card-maker I am tempted to join in!!

I also want to get some Art Walk in tomorrow. I forgot about it until I read a wall post on Facebook. oh happy reminder! lots of inspiration...

This is your last day to enter to win one of my fabulous giveaways! So become a followers, and leave a comment on this post. You have a great chance at winning something...the odds are definitely in your favour!

I think I'm going to watch a little Doctor Who, and finish a little headband DIY before going to bed. We went to the Farmers Market tonight and I scored some super delicious tiny potatoes...and ate way too many of them at dinner, so I worked out to even it out and now I am getting sleepy. But they were so good...my challenge to you this weekend is to eat local. Go to your local Farmers Market and pick up some fresh fruit or veggies and gorge yourself on deliciousness! You won't regret it!!!

later skater alligator

Inspired by...Summer...

I am almost officially sick of my Inspired by...Summer series on the TNT blog. I have been working like crazy to post fun and inspiring layouts with great summer topics. For the past two weeks. Thankfully I get to move on to my next topic on Friday. Not that I don't love summer layouts...I just want to move on!

I have been going back through some of my old albums to find layouts to post, and I am having a great time! There are some layouts that I am still madly in love with, and so happy at the result. this is the reason I scrapbook and it makes me love scrapbooking even more!

teal, orange, and black...and it's a 12x12! and those lovely Prima Lollipop flowers...dreamy

homemade buttons, and my favourite stamp-fonts

painted flowers and my all-time favourite colour combo

sparkly palm trees and my go-to grid

please check out all the layouts posted over on the TNT blog...there are more going up tomorrow as well!

now I've got to see a man about a train...

later skater alligator

pleasantly exhausted

my lack of sleep is catching up with me...

last night my friend from work Abby, her hubby, and a bunch of their friends, graciously let me butt in for a night at the theatre! well...sort of...we went and saw Macbeth at the Hawrelak Amphitheatre as part of the Shakespeare fest down there. It was great! Long...with lots of spitting and giggling in the audience. And my butt and back were killing me by the time I got up to walk back to my car. Plus it was "pay what you want" last night, so I saw a $23 play for $1. Oh my!

walked to swimming lessons this morning. it was such a beautiful morning, and felt weird to be out of the house at 8:30 on my day off! Lucas is a little fish. A little fish that does his own thing and doesn't listen to the teacher, but a little fish nonetheless!

and here's a layout I did of little Scarlett using the photos I took at her shower a couple of weekends ago. it's was fun and weird to do a pink layout.

that is all

later skater alligator

p.s. am getting closer to figuring out the giveaway...maybe this week?

also, the latest TNT post is up. I did an entire post devoted to BBQ! continuing my "Inspired by...Summer" topic posted last week. Friday is the next post from me, and then I'll be posting some of the rest of the Team's layouts! yippee!

now, that is all for reals...

new blue

new "technique" is up...k...it's not a Technique, per se, or a Trend really...but it's a good idea dammit! why do I have to limit myself...???

new layout below. and as it happens, I am totally over "monochromatic scrapbooking" as of this layout...

on the other hand, isn't jacob adorable in his little Canada outfit?

what did y'all do for Canada Day? we did the Silly Summer Parade and the Event in Sherwood Park.

Saturday was the races at International Speedway outside of Wetaskiwin.

My step dad is finally home.

Swimming lessons start tomorrow morning.

we had sandwiches at a cool little Vietnamese hole-in-the-wall on Whyte Ave. Yum.

Ran into Betty and Veronica at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Note: that might be the coolest sentence I have ever written in my hole life!

I've been reading like a madwoman this week. some good, some awful. this is what happens when I hit a funk...I read and read and read until there is nothing new left in the house to read and then I start reading old stuff and then I get out of the funk. I'm at the "old stuff" phase now. so hopefully the funk is on its way out.

that being said, I haven't finished my gift art journal, and I missed the last week's worth of prompts for my online class. and I keep forgetting to sign up for the next one.

also, here is a way to get yourself off the computer for one whole week. have your husband "hide" (in plain site) his laptop...it worked like a charm!

later skater alligator

Friday DIY

Hi Peeps! I have been diligently working on this Friday DIY...heck I started it last week...and finished the layout earlier this afternoon. And then I realized that I had forgotten to work on my Trends and Technique post for today! HA!

I have this lovely mess on my floor, transplanted there from various other corners of my house, and not much to show for it!

This week's DIY is very reminiscent of my Techniques over on the other blog, but I thought I would share it here instead...it will probably make it's way over there as well! Especially now that I have left myself in a bit of a pickle!

So thar she blows!

You will need:

- rub ons

- alcohol ink

- blender tool and felt pads

- transparency

Step One: Cut out the rub on you want to use.

Step Two: Rub it on to the transparency. I like to use the remnants of Hambly sheets, instead of buying new ones.

Now you have a nice rub on, on a clear background.

Step Three: Cut out your rub on. It doesn't have to be exact, but make sure it looks clean because the edge will really stand out once you colour it.

Step Four: Now flip the rub on over so it's facing down, and pull out your alcohol ink and applicator.

Step Five: Apply some alcohol ink to the felt pad on your ink applicator.

Step Six: Apply the ink to the back to the transparency.

Smudge it around until the entire shape is covered.

I really like how the orange-yellow alcohol ink looks against the bright teal of the rub on! Eek!

Let it dry...it should only take a second or two. Then position it on your layout. You can glue it down with pretty much anything, except for a white paper adhesive...then you will see the adhesive show through the transparency.

And then build your layout! You could make a whole bunch of these to place around your layout. Or layer them to make a fun 3D flower.

Here is my finished layout:

*****

I bought a couple of sheets of the new Hambly paper and a transparency yesterday. It's not as amazing as I have come to expect from them. And no new rub-ons. And the stickers were back-ordered. That's fine...I'm out of craft money this month anyway...already...

I did manage to finish another layout last night during the storm...

I think I will post this one on the TNT blog as well...I used the test sheet from the spray ink demo I did last week! I love using leftovers and remnants as backgrounds! The background of the layout in the DIY was leftover from one of the TM show and tell. I yoinked a bunch of the misprints from the store to use...okay, I yoinked them all! They kind of have my name written all over them!

Funny thing about this layout: I planned it all out before printing the pictures and I was sure the photos were vertical. But alas, they are not! So I just flipped them and glued it all down. What do I care which way the photos sit on the layout...as long as they are there, and so is the story.

*****

I worked out this morning. i feel really great.

*****

any more takers for the SUPPLIES SWAP? I wrote that giant and bold for all the skimmers out there so that even they might take notice and read these few lines. I only had Veronica and Electra reply in the positive at my last request.

This isn't going to be a big deal. Very low commitment, but with a deadline, and we're all scrappers here so it shouldn't be hard to find some extras in your stash that you don't use anymore. A couple of things, a handful really. And trust the mail lady, it doesn't cost much to send a little package in the mail...

So leave a comment, or drop me an email if you want to participate. I'll give it another week, and if I have no more takers the three of us will swap with each other and call it a success.

that's all she wrote.

the new blog!

I have finally started using the new blog I've been working on for the past month.

TM Trends and Techniques is the new Treasured Memories Techniques blog! It is so pretty, you really must check it out! And I've got the first post up already as well!

And don't forget to grab the button...k, maybe don't grab it yet! unless you have really big side bars.

Looks like I still have some more tweaking to do!

fun fun farmers market

isn't it a beautiful day today? i sure think so. I was really worried about the snow that was falling earlier in the week, but thankfully that didn't stick around and I can get back to thinking spring is right around the corner!

we all went to the farmer's market this morning. man, I love that place! I snagged some whole wheat cinnamon buns, chicken sausage (with nitrates...boo...should have read the label...), pears, saskatoon berries, carrots...yum yum yummy!! And Russ bought some salsa and bratwurst. It took us a long time to find a parking spot, and we finally ended up parking a couple of blocks away. But the walk was so nice! Now if all the dirt and gravel and sand and muck would get washed away I would be so much happier!

*****

I got to do some scrapbooking this week. And I finished the album for my Drumheller pictures using some of the new Studio Calico stuff I picked up earlier...have I already mentioned this?? Anyhoo, here are some pictures of it. For the rest you will have to check out the Techniques Blog as I am posting the rest there. Still the old blog...Blogger is really cheesing me off this week!

The colours look really wonky in these pictures...still having camera issues...but you get the idea! I'm using an old, very tacky magnetic photo album. I built all the layouts right on top of the plastic covers on each page. This is my most favourite idea yet! Yay!!

And you will notice all the butterflies...I am slightly obsessed with my new Martha Stewart punch. Just slightly...

Gots to go to a family lunch now for my Step-Gma's 80th b-day, at a Super8 in Ft. Sask. Umm...yay??

Kiss you on the brain...

Some layouts that i did up last night just for fun.

(new sassafras is my new best friend...thanks again Chan and KC!)

A new Technique is up on the Old Blog...I have delayed the new Blog Reveal thanks to the road trip. But the technique is still worth checking out!

And my first Friday DIY should be up later this afternoon!

Thanks for stopping by!

make

My latest technique post is up. wait for the "fancy" one later today...just need to print some pictures.

My latest Riff Raff layouts are up on their blog.

I had a lot of fun with these shapes. I can't wait for the next batch.

*****

I was going to make Red Velvet Cupcakes this weekend...but they are proving to have quite the exotic  ingredient list & recipe. And I'm just not sure i'm up to it! But they are so pretty!

it's always darkest before the dawn

Monday was a low day. Tuesday picked up a bit. Finished payroll, with no errors - fingers crossed - which is a always nice for an ego boost! Got a nice workout in.

This morning I finished my Riff Raff layouts, took pictures and sent them to Kara. Her arm warmers are done, so that's both of last night's goals done!

New favourite stuff to use on Riff Raff chipboard? Nail polish!! Woo hoo! (blogger...why do you hate me so, and always flip my pictures...why why WHY???)

I've got my Peter Pan Bike Messenger look going for me today:

I was inspired to try this after reading Kara's blog post about "fashion faux pas"...specifically wearing black and brown together...gasp!! So I put on my black tights with my brown capris. Green shirts and scarf combo make it Peter Pan. And the black tights with black shoes remind me of all the Bike Messengers I see scooting around downtown on a daily basis. They wear short pants, because of their bike, but it being so darn cold out, they also wear black man-tights and black bike shoes. So stylin!

Technique update is up...first of two this week, then we're down for a week while I work on the new Blog. Check it out, especially if you like postcards!

And I stopped by TM to get a magazine I saw on the Blog and was treated to the best surprise of my day:

My name in print...happy happy day. Get them while they're hot!!

yesterday...all my troubles seemed so far away

I started a post yesterday that was titled: "m mad again...mad mad mad"

Yeah. You can see where my day was headed! In addition to some other things, I found out that my boss is on holidays for three weeks and he didn't tell me, so there are no cheques to pay things. And the other boss did the same thing on Wednesday, but his office manager had the brains to get some cheques signed cause I wasn't even in the office that day. Argh.

So I got nothing accomplished at work.

But I headed to the antique mall after to look for some birthday presents, and my mind was calmed and I felt much better...emotionally that is...I developed a major headache and looking at all that "old clutter" was giving my eyes an unpleasant workout. But it was still fun. I bought some jewellry for a friend and a funny button for my step-dad. And a totally rad sewing bag for myself. Plus I got to listen to the witty banter of the twenty-somethings at the till. I want a job at the antique mall!

Good News: my Ranger Technique class sold out! In fact, it oversold! Wow! That's seven people who don't think I'm a loser and want to learn stuff from me! Hazaa! I had given up all hope in my classes, but this is my redemption. I am very excited and can't wait for next Saturday!

Technique Update: Went live yesterday. Here are some peeks. I had loads of fun playing with my new Kitschy Digitals stuff. I see another digital/hybrid scrapbooking post in the future!

I finished a super fun mini album last night at the Crop. It's to celebrate the Family Day/Valentine's Day weekend. It's small, but cute. And I used my new favourite mini-album binding system on it. Which I am sharing as a technique next week, but might share with you guys ahead of time!

Once I add my pictures I'll show you the rest of the album. I didn't buy anything new for this guy...I'm just using up "old" stuff. My new favourite technique!

Lucas is headed to a Birthday Party in half an hour. For one of his playschool friends. He is very excited. He keeps asking if it's at Damien's house - which it is - and then telling me he'll get to play with Damien's toys. He  got very sick this week. His cough is so bad. Russ taught him to cough into his sleeve, and it is kind of totally cute! Every once and awhile his voice disappears and he tests it by saying the same word over and over again. Now that is hilarious!

Did I tell you that Russ bruised his coccyx on Family Day while we were tobogganing. Ouch...that hurts! But he got lots of air at least!

I think we're headed out to the party soon, so I will sign off now.

later skater alligator