And the winner is........

Due to Blogger having a ton of outages lately I was not able to post the winner yesterday. However I have randomly drawn a name out of a hat. I typed each persons "name" on a slip of paper and had my son pull one out. It was, of course, randomly selected from all of the people who offered suggestions.

The winner is:

COLLEEN E.

I had to change the prize because it was to large to ship safely so I went a different route. Should see they tell me in the next month or so. Let me know when you see it Colleen. So I don;t have to worry!

What a weekend/ Contest reminder

Ok, so I am a bad blogger. I haven't posted since Thursday. My weekend was great. Thursday night I spent the evening with my best friend Julie, hearing all about her recent trip to The Netherlands and France (OMG she went to Paris and didn't go to Louis Vuitton!) Saturday was again spent hangin out with Julie, on and off. We went out shopping for a bit then got together later in the evening to grab a quick bite together. The quick bite turned into a 3 hour bite. We were very pokey over dinner which was great, lots of time to chat. She treated me to dinner. (Thanks Julie!) Afterwards I suggested Starbucks. (no surprise there, I'm addicted to their Chai latte!) We of course had to have desert so we had Nanaimo bars! They were way too big and way to rich, this of course means the were WAY TO GOOD! I haven't spent that much time with Julie in ages. It was a great time, lots of catching up, reminiscing and hearty laughs!

My shopping was to buy coordinating clothes for me and the family. We went with orange green and Burgundy. Why you ask? Well my guys and I had an outdoor photo shoot with a local photographer, Jenna Terry, the weather turned out to be dreadful. It was rainy and windy. We managed to get through it though. Actually we had a blast. Despite the weather we had so much fun. She is a fairly new photographer but has some great ideas creatively. We enjoyed working with her and plan to do it again. Our only concern was that the weather may have impacted the pictures so we may have to reshoot. I really wanted the fall colours so here's hoping all is well. I'll post them once I have them.

Don't forget about my contest. It ends on October 27th 2006.

Click here to view details or to enter now!

As always, thanks for visiting my blog.

XOXOXOX

Coleen

CONTEST & How cute are these?

These are the cutes sets of boxes I have EVER seen, so funky! Dare I say they look a bit like CBX paper! Am I right? At the moment they are all empty. I didn't really have an urgent need for them, but I am an impulse shopper... eeek! I couldn't decide which I liked best so in the cart they all went! No problem I can buy more scrap goodies to put in them.. (How twisted is that logic? C'mon admit it you are the same way.) Anyway I feel like I am starting to bounce back and wanted to take the time to post something.

***I NEED YOUR HELP***

I have had these really cool 5x7, 1940's gangster shots of Austin (I so love them!). Here is the problem: I really want to scrap them. Every time I pull them out, I draw a complete blank. I need inspiration. Give me your ideas! If you submit a suggestion before Oct 27th your name will go into a draw for a surprise gift from yours truly. You could be the one with the inspiration I need.

As always thanks for stopping by!

XOXOXO

Halloween Cards

Okay, so I have been really sick lately. Went to doc's last night and found out I have the flu AND pnemonia (sp?). Can it be any worse? So I have been home for a few days now, work is not liking me now, that's okay though because I am not liking them all that much now either. Imagine telling them I am off because I have pnemonia and they say "oh so is there not any way you can make it in?" Uhmm, let me think about that one... No, no I can't. Austin is also home sick with me. Poor guy, feels nearly as bad as I do. The worst part is I felt guilty for being home, doing nothing so I decided to make a bit of use of my time. These Halloween cards were all my sick mind could come up with. Sorry not feeling very inspired now. I promise I'll come up with something better when I bounce back. Feel free to let me know what you think, good or bad...

As always, thanks for poping by my blog.

XOXOX

**NEW LAYOUT** Dirty Socks

So my best friend Julie has been gone for a couple weeks. Her and her hubby John went on a fabulous vacation to the Netherlands, they also skipped over to France for a quick stay in Paris. They went to see the Eiffel Tower. Wow! Is it just me or have there been a lot of people in France lately. Many people from the scrap world were there recently too. So John & Julie have just returned and I can't wait to see their pics. She is not a scrapper (Weird eh?) None of my family/friends are. Just me... Not that she isn't creative enough for it. She could be. I think...

A few weeks ago, I was telling her about this bunch of photos I have of Austin and his grubby socks, and how I want to do a layout of them titled "Dirty Socks". The problem was, I couldn't think of something cute to do. She casually pops out with "Why don't you do a laundry line with socks on it or something like that". I loved the idea and I told her so. So I shopped and surfed the net for one item that I had to have for this idea: mini clothes pegs. Well I finally found them and this page is the result of Julies brilliant idea, and my creativity.

Ladies and gents, Santa is dead.

So I am still feeling lousy. Bad cough and horrible congestion. Keeps me from sleeping. The good news is the snow melted away and with it went the "Christmas is coming stress".

Speaking of Christmas. It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Santa. His spirit will live on in millions of other gullible children around the world. My child however no longer believes in him and grilled me yesterday. He is 9 so I guess we had a pretty good run. 2 Christmas's ago he started questioning Santa. We answered all his question carefully and his belief lived on. Last year he said point blank. "Mom, I know you are Santa. I am not sure how exactly but I know you are." I laughed and said for him "not to be silly, how could I get all the gifts to a world of kids when I don't even leave home?" he pondered that for a sec and then said "yeah well I know you have something to do with it". I managed to keep it going again last year.

Last night while speaking of Christmas, Austin blurted out "there is no Santa, you guys do it all and pretend it's him". I was flabbergasted, it was such a direct statement I didn't know how to respond. I looked over at Chris and we shared a look that said: "it's time". I then gently told him the basic story of Santa, and explained to him that we pretend in order to keep the spirit of Santa alive. We also told him that knowing the truth comes with the great responsibility of NEVER EVER telling another child. He must always maintain that Santa is real so he doesn't ruin it for other kids. I hope we handled it well. But Santa is "dead" in our house and Christmas will never be the same. Is it crazy that it makes me cry?

Sickness, snow, stress. Oh dear...

I have been feeling very much under the weather the past couple days. Very sick indeed. It snowed here yesterday. Looked outside last night and saw all these HUGE beautiful snowflakes falling from the dark sky. It was so pretty. The flakes were all twinkley in the moonlight. Today it melted away. Thank Goodness!!! I know, the way I described it sounded just lovely, but to be honest snow makes me panic. Why you ask? Well, let me educate you on the subject: Snow=Christmas=Santa=Gifts=Shopping=Crowded Malls= Parking lot rage! Oh no I can't deal with all of this stress. I have to go back to bed... I'll try to post again later when I am in a better frame of mind.

My Scrap space

So in a previous post, I complained about not having enough space. I currently have this. Not a big space, infact not even room for all my paper. I store my paper elsewhere at the moment. This is just where I keep my supplies etc. I actually do scrap at the dining room table. Arrrggg. So here are some of the photos of my space. This is a photo of the sign I made for the area:

I love it, it says scrap happy. That's what I am! This one is of the 2 shelves:

This one is of the top of my cabinet:

You can see my 1st altered binder from the last post in that pic. I keep alpha stickers and stamps in the drawers. I keep all kinds of scrap goodies in nice boxes. It may seem strange but I keep my good pens in a very pretty vase my uncle bought me:

So there you have it folks, my tiny little scrap space. Small but cute. BTW: for anyone interested I got the cabinet as a gift from my mom. It's one of my favorite pieces of furniture.

Altered Binders:

A while ago I was reading one of my favorite blogs, and I saw this amazing idea: Altered Binders. You take a regular binder (you know the type with the plastic cover) and you strip it of the plastic and redo it using your own supplies/paper. So I thought I would give it a shot, I must admit Amy's steps were amazing and she included pictures for each step. I couldn't have done it without her fantastic direction. (Thanks Amy!) If you want to try it I suggest you follow her steps. It didn't take me all that long, less than an hour and I have this great new binder. It was my first attempt so it's not perfect but I love it none the less. I plan to do many more. To the left is what mine looks like, and this is my title in close up. I am using this binder for idea sheets and layout helpers etc. I can't wait to do another! Off to go buy binders!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is my first Thanksgiving away from my extended family. Of course I have Chris & Austin to celebrate with but it seems strange with out my Mom, Dad & Sister. Almost like it's not "REALLY" Thanksgiving. Of course as we get older and our lives change, so does the way we spend our holidays. We can't always be "home" for the holidays. This is something I have to get used to. Other than one Christmas when mom went home to Ireland, we have always been together. Being apart makes me miss them and be thankful for them all at the same time. I still talk to them regularly since the move which is great, and we've seen each other fairly often. But I am still really missing them right now. I have so much to be thankful for, The best child a parent could ever imagine, a loving husband who is always on my side, and a really close extended family that is always there when you need them. I only wish everyone else could be so fortunate.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My dream scrap room

So, I am in love with some of the scrap rooms I have seen in my online travels. I have no extra space for a room of my own.. That will be coming very shortly though. In the meantime I use my dining room table... Not enjoyable. In fact I almost resent working on my albums because I detest having to pack it all back up again to put it away. We will be moving in the next few months (that is the plan) and I have insisted on another bedroom just for me. Of course I will be using it as a spare room as well, but since we only have guests a few times a year it's main function will be for use as a studio for me. There are so many things I LOVE. Like the picture I've added. Also I love this paper organizer, And in an effort to save as much space as posible for use as a guest room this cart would be great and this works well too. Let me know if you have any suggestions for my soon to have scrap-room. I'm looking for a cost effective uber-organized scrap room. I need all the help I can get. So far this would really work for me:

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Click to see this image larger

This is my newest scrapbook layout. It has actually taken me quite some time to complete. it was tedious but the end result is a "quilt" page full of memories. I had a blast thinking about all the things in my life as a child again. I can say that after doing this all by hand I wouldn't do another one like it. Just too time consuming.

Drope me a line & let me know what YOU think of it. What do you like? What do you hate? What is your initial response to it as soon as you see it? I appreciate the feedback!

Have a scraptastic day!

I am blown away...

Austin came home with ANOTHER A+ today. Only this time it was in math. He is doing S much better here at his new school. If you could imagine the look on his face.. OMG!! I need to get a picture! Okay he's ready for bed, but I can convince him to throw his clothes back on for one quick pic... (Can you tell I scrap?)...... Okay all done. So I added a pic of him with it. So now you can see the look on his face about his 2nd A+. I was so thrilled I gave him 1 full week of no chores, he was very happy with that reward! That would explain the euphoric grin in the photo. I am not thrilled about picking up his chores, but it's worth it in return for an A+

Hi! My name is Coleen & I am a scrapbook addict....

Top 10 Signs of a Scrapbook Addict:

1. You're the only one at a social gathering yelling, "Just one more photo, folks; I don't have enough for a two-page spread!
2. Photo split backs can be found in unusual places--school lunch bags, briefcases, pants pockets, the dog's/cat's water bowl.
3. A regular sandwich is no longer acceptable--it must be cropped or cut with decorative edges.
4. You try to claim your album purchases as a medical expense because it's such good "therapy".
5. You buy a new pink swimsuit because it matches the pink photo mounting paper.
6. Your child is the only one in agriculture class who thinks "crop" is to "cut your photos."
7. You decide to give your child piano lessons so you'll be able to use the musical instrument stickers that are in the Big Pack.
8. You redecorate your family room to coordinate with your photo album covers.
9. Your three year old wants to know if her coloring book is "archival quality".
10. You're in a fender bender and your first thought is, "I wonder what die-cut shape will coordinate with this event?"
    

Who's the proudest mom in the world? Meee!

Okay, so in a previous post, I mentioned that we (hubby-Chris, son- Austin and I) moved to this cute little town from Toronto. One BIG HUGE reason for moving was Austin's education. We were really unhappy with his grades for grade 2 & 3. He was coming home so upset, completely frustrated and emotionally drained, every day. We forced the issue to go before a committee of experts who decide based on what we (the parents) and the teachers say, they weigh the facts and decide if testing for a learning disability (LD) is required. We won the battle and he was tested over a 3 month period. Once he was diagnosed with a processing LD we thought it was going to get better however the school and the Peel Board of education did very little to work with us to resolve the problem and we met road blocks at every one of our attempts to get involved. We have now been here in this new school system since February and the school has so much support in place and thanks to a lot of extra effort Austin is putting in, he is doing much better. He has more confidence and is happier these days. The proof is in the test above and in the smile he has every day after school. My son doesn't hate school anymore.

I am THE proudest mom in the world!!!

Drop a comment for Austin to let him know you saw his test!

I LOVE living in a small town!

I packed up and relocated my family several months ago and was scared to death it would be a bad move. I knew we needed to work less, have more time together and live without fear of letting our son go out to play. Recently a bunch of amazing things have happened to remind me that moving from Toronto was a good decision. Here are a couple of the really great ones.

1. I park at a meter everyday at work (I don't have to, it just means I am closer and can get home sooner). Anyway there is a taxi co. right where I park, day in and day out I feed the meter ($0.40 gets me 2 hours here!!!!!) So we were late getting out for lunch and my meter had expired for sure, by amount half an hour, I saw the meter guy going around and knew I would have a ticket. But when I got out there the meter was still active and I had over an hour. (WTF?) This cabbie gets out and tells me he has seen me feeding it day in and day out and so he didn't want to see me get a ticket so he fed it for me. Awww nice nice man! I tried to replace the $0.25 he put in but he refused and told me to enjoy the day.
2. A couple weeks ago I e-mailed a local scrapbooking store to inquire about studio space. I loved her right away when I desperately asked if I can bring my Starbucks Chai Latte. Marci replied to my e-mail and said she also is a huge Starbucks lover and I was welcome to bring it into the studio. Yay!! Anyway I thanked her for answering all my questions and said I would likely be on that weekend. Well my dad fell ill and was hospitalized so I didn't make it in. Today I come home to an e-mail from Marci, who just wanted to say hello and follow up on our e-mails, since I didn't wind up coming, she wanted to ensure everything was ok with me. Awwww so sweet. nice nice lady!

There have been other things too, and every single thing reminds me that I love my little town and it's locals! It's no Stars Hollow, but man do I love it.

I hate mornings..

I was right... I do regret staying up so late... I am really feeling it now. Mornings are rough for me... Where's the coffee?

To sleep or not to sleep...

Here I am still in front of the computer after a few hours. I swore I would head to bed at 11:00. I lied to myself... I got so engrossed in some of the blogs I read and found a new one that I added to my list. I feel as if there are never enough hours in the day to get things done and take some time for myself. Normally the "stuff for me" gets put off because I run out of time. Tonight I heard the clocking ticking away and I decided to ignore it. At least the sound of my maternal clock takes precedence these days. Tomorrow Chris (hubby) will ask: "What time did you make it to bed?" I of course will tell him: "Oh after you" and then laugh. I am gonna suffer for it tomorrow though. I did however find a cool piece of furniture perfect for storing paper and other scraptastic goodies. Okay, I really must get some sleep. Nighty night....

1st blog...

Wow, it seems everyone has a blog these days. So I figured the bandwagon looked safe enough to jump on. I plan to use this as a bit of an outlet. A place to get things down. Weather it be just to get them off my chest or a place to post my scrapbook stuff. Right now I take over the dining room table when I want to scrap. I would REALLY love a scraproom like the one I found today. This lady is amazing, such an inspiration. Full of great ideas, and best of all she seems to be a fairly normal "regular" type gal like the rest of us. Mom, wife scrapper. Take a look at her blog: you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, this is and has been my goal. We have very limited space where we are and have recently decided a move would suit us well. I was talking to a friend about wanting to move and have an extra room to be a scrap room. She acted like I have 6 heads and couldn't understand why I would want to pay more for a room to "play crafts" in. Grrrr. "Play crafts" like my love of scrapbooking is for kiddies and not us grown ups. Of course she has no hobby so I guess she just doesn't understand the fire behind it. I hate.. No no no... I LOATHE have to bring it all out and pack it ALL away everytime I want to work on it. Ok, I do feel better no that I got that off my chest. Hmmm, maybe this blog thing will be good for me after all. Please drop me a comment and let me know how YOU feel about my need for more space. Is it a good reason to upsize or not?

Oh, and by the way, that's me up there. I'm Coleen, nice to "meet" you!

Ta ta for now folks.

Coleen