Baby arrived!!!

Hi Crafters,
I was just sitting here thinking it has been months since I checked in on my blog. I logged in only to discover that not only had I not posted in months I had never told you why....

2 weeks after my last post my little bundle of joy Owen arrived 7 weeks early. Needless to say we were far from ready! We ended up having to spend a total of 5 weeks in hospital but are now settling in nicely. He is already 4.5 months old!!! Here is one of my favourite latest pictures.

 

I might be a little bias but seriously how stinkin' cute is he?!

 

 

I have been getting some crafting done in the last couple of weeks during nap time. So far I have only been working on some Stampin' up stuff for classes and last week I started to get some of Christmas class stuff started...yippy! My classes are starting up again in October and I can't wait!!! I was starting to have some serious crafting withdrawl lol.

 

 

Hopefully, I'll have some stuff to post soon but if not you know what (who) is keeping me busy ;)

 

Happy Crafting!

Tara 



8 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
Welcome to the countdown to Christmas Blog Hop! Have you already got a good dose of  Christmas inspiration? If you have arrived from Kerry's blog then you are right on track. If you would like to start from the beginning then you want to head to Shari's blog.

This month our theme was to create two Christmas projects with an animal on them. For some reason this month I was stumped. I knew I had lots of Cricut cartridges with Christmas animals on them but I was not in a Cricut mood (poor thing is starting to feel neglected I am sure). Instead I dug through my stamps and it was then I discovered I indeed had animals stamps and on top of that ones that had been yet to be inked. Doesn't it feel good to use something you bought forever ago. Totally justifies the purchase even if it is months later lol. I did have to do a little internet searching on these stamps to get the juices flowing. I scraplifted a couple ideas and in the end even used my Cricut for a layer(not so neglected after all).

Your next stop is Sally's blog. Enjoy the rest of the hop and happy crafting!
Tara

P.S. Only 9 weeks until baby arrives :)

9 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
Welcome to the countdown to Christmas Blog Hop! Are you ready for a hop filled with Christmas inspiration! If you have arrived from Kerry's blog then you are right on track. If you would like to start from the beginning then you want to head to Shari's blog.

This month our theme was to create two Christmas projects using mostly the colour green. As soon as I read this theme the Grinch flashed into my mind! I just knew one of my projects would include this famous Christmas character! Below my cards are the details for both.

We also have a guest designer this month, Sandy. She is the last stop on the hop so be sure to check her out too!

Your next stop is Sally's blog. Have a wonderful hop and remember getting a early start on your Christmas cards feels awesome!
Happy Crafting!
Tara

 

Details:

Cardstock: Scrap pile

Image: My friend photocopied her son's colouring book and shrunk the image.

*She has genious ideas sometimes :)

Sentiment Stamp: Teeny Tiny Wishes SU

Real Red SU ink

Ribbon: Offray

Cuttlebug + Swiss dots embossing folder

Prisma coloured pencils + Baby oil

Cricut cut: Elegant Edges cut @ 3" (circle mat)

Spellbinders: Circles

Punches: Word window, Modern Label, Scallop edge, SU

Gems: Dollarama

Puffy Snow

Glossy Accents

 

 

Details:

Cardstock: Scrap pile/ Staples brand

Stamp Set: Snow Swirled SU, Dots, Dots (retired) SU

Garden Green SU ink

Gems: Offray

Ribbon: Offray

Punches: Scallop oval, med. oval, ticket corner (retired, I have no idea why...love this punch)! All SU

 

 

 

 

 

10 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
It's that time of the month again...the 25th! Which means a countdown to Christmas blog hop filled with Christmas inspiration! I have so much fun each month making two Christmas cards. If you have arrived from Kerry's blog then you are right on track. If you would like to start from the beginning then you want to head to Shari's blog.

This month our theme was to create two cards using the colours red/white and one other colour. For my first card I used mostly white and red and added just the smallest touch of silver with my bell. On my second card I went totally traditional and did red/white/green. The details for both of my cards are listed below them.

We also have a guest designer this month, Janis from - http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/ She is the last stop on the hop so be sure to check her out too!

Your next stop is Sally's blog. Have a wonderful hop and if you have created any Christmas cards lately leave me a link I would love some fabulous inspiration from you!
Happy Crafting!
Tara

Details:

Cardstock: Recollections/Staples Brand

Stamp Set: Snow Swirled SU

Sentiment stamp: Joyous Celebratrions SU (retired)

Ink: SU Cherry Cobbler

Baker's Twine: Twinery

Bell: stash

 

 

Details:

Cardstock: Staples Brand, scraps

Patterned paper: scraps (I think from DCWV Christmas stack a couple years old)

Sentiment Stamp: SU (retired)

Ink: Garden Green SU

Ribbon: Offray

Cutlebug + swiss dots embossing folder

Gem: Dollarama

Some Baby Smash Book Pages

Hi Crafters,
I have not been adding much to my Baby Smash book lately but I did do a few pages. I hope to get more done soon. Here is a look at the inside with the details under the photos.
Happy Crafting!
Tara

Of course there was more but do you really need to know all my secrets lol!

The image on this page was printed using a super old program called PrintMasterGold. It is from the 90's and so old that it will only read on our ten year old computer but it has some super cute clipart so I still love it!

I have been hoarding these mom stickers for years. It felt great to use them!

Yup, finally had to give up and get some meds after lossing 8 pounds in only a couple weeks.

It was nasty! Thank goodness that part is over. Although I still randomly get sick once a week or so...but that I can live with vs the 3-4 times daily before!

 

The 'morning sickness' was cut out of the 9 months cartridge. I am disappointed in the layers on this cartridge though. Had to do some fancy marker work to make this cut look good.

Bump Smash book

Hi crafters,
I have wanted to start a Smash book for some time but kept putting it off. Finally one day recently I took the plunge. Instead of buying one though I made my own with some papers that I have been hoarding forever ;) I just love how it turned out and have started filling it already. I will continue to show you pages as I complete them. I have decided to make this one only for things to do with my pregnancy and I think I will make another for my everyday life.
Happy Crafting!
Tara

 

Details:

Cricut Cut: 9 Months

All papers, ribbon, elastic, charms, etc. from my stash (feels good to use some of it up)!

 

11 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
I am excited to announce that I have joined the fun again this year for the monthly count down to Christmas blog hops. I had a lot of fun creating Christmas cards year long last year and look forward to doing it again. I do have a confession though...not only did I create Christmas cards all year, I also taught a series of 4 Stampin' Up Christmas card classes but in the end I didn't end up sending out one single Christmas card! I was dealing with my (all day) morning sickness from the beginning of November until the end of December and truly not in the holiday spirit. The good news is I will super prepared next year lol. More good news is that my monring sickness has finally subsided and I have been back in my craft room a bit lately.

Well, I best be letting you get on with your hop, LOL. If you have arrived from Kerry's blog you are right on track, if not and you would like to start at the beginning you want to head to Shari's blog. This year we changed things up a bit and each month has a theme. This month the theme was snow. I stretched it a bit by just justing snowflakes on my cards! Below are the cards I created this month and the details are listed below them. We also have a guest designer this month the very talented Nikki from Limited Run Digital Stamps.

Your next stop is Georgiana's blog. Enjoy the hop and happy crafting!
Tara

Details:

Cardstock: scraps bin

Patterned paper: DCWV Christmas Stack

Digital Stamp: Limited Runs 'Brill'

Sentiment Stamp: Justwordz Christmas Set

Paper Snowflake: SU retired punch

Snowflake gem: Dollarama

Baubles: Homemade

Stickles

 

 

Details:

Cardstock: scraps bin

Patterned paper: DCWV Christmas Stack - look familiar :)

Paper Snowflake: SU retire Die (Snowflakes #2)

Sentiment Stamp: SU Teeny Tiny Wishes

Snowflake gem + gems: Dollarama

Twine: Twinery

Ribbon: Offray

SU word window, modern label, 2.5" circle punches

Repurposed cards

Hi Crafters,
The other day one of my crafty friends was here to visit and we started playing in my craftroom. I had a ton of old Christmas cards that I was keeping not for sentimental value but because I knew they would come in handy for crafting one day :) I had seen a photo on the internet a long time ago where someone had used a punch to make Christmas tags out of old cards. We decided to dust of my Cricut and using my Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge cut all these tags. To get the image we wanted off the front of the card we used the center point feature. Some of the cards we were even able to get 2 or 3 tags. Most of the tags were cut at 4".  This was so much fun and it took us no time at all to get a huge pile of tags. I can't wait for next Christmas when I can use these ;)
Thanks for shopping by today and happy crafting.
Tara

 

 

 

 

This might explain where I have been...

 

 

 

Yup...that's right were expecting! The last few months have not been easy ones as this little one has been very clear on letting me know it is on it's way and it is calling the shots lol. Hopefully, now that our house renos are calming down and so is my (all day) morning sickness I might get a chance over the holiday break to spend some time crafting in my fabulous purple room :)

Happy Crafting!

Tara

Point me in the right direction...

Hi Bloggers,
I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get the empty plastic Cricut cartridge boxes (I know I have seen them around over the years on craft supply sites). I want to put my seasonal cartridges in them. Keep in mind I am Canadian and don't want to pay an arm and a leg in shipping ;)
Thanks for any help you can give!
Tara

1 Month to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
Can you believe that title?! It is soooo close...are your cards done yet? I am so glad I committed to this year round hop for 2012. This is the first year that I feel like I am not in a total rush to get my Christmas cards done and in the mail. Okay, well, they are not in the mail yet lol but soon ;) .

If you are hopping along today you should have arrived from Georgiana's blog. If you missed the start, the fun starts at Heather's blog.

Thanks for stopping by and happy last month before the holidays :)
Tara

 

Details:

Cricut Cut- Jolly Holidays cut @ 2.5"

Sentiment: SU

Ribbon: Offray

Stickles

Versa Mark + white embossing powder

Patterned paper: DCWV Christmas Stack

Cardstock: Recollections

 

 

 

Details:

Cardstock: Reollections

Patterned paper: DCWV

Twisted yarn: Dollarama

Sentiment: SU More Merry wishes set

Punch: Decorative label SU

Cricut Cut: Teddy Bear Parade cut @ 3"

Gems: stash

 

I"m ready for the Munchkins...

 

Hi Crafters,

Happy Halloween!!!!

 

 

 

These treat bags were a breeze to make! The hardest part was trying not to eat to much candy while I assembled them LOL!

 

Details:

Recollections paper (it felt so good to use up that nasty orange haha)

Stamps: SU retiured set

Circle punches

Paper crimper

A6 size bags - found a use for the wrong size bags I bought ;)

2 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Crafters,
If you have arrived from Heather's blog you are right on track. If you have just happened upon my blog and would like to complete this hop from the beginning head to Mary's blog.

 If you are a follower of mine you might have noticed that I have taken a bit of a break from blogland. I can't even begin to tell you how busy my life as been lately. There is just so much going on it is all I can do to keep up. I took last month off from the countdown to Christmas blog hop but I'm back this month and so excited to show you some of the cards I have been working on in my new craft room.

I know, I know I still have yet to post pictures of my room but I have been waiting until I am totally done organizing in there (yeah right, do we ever truly finish? lol)! Seriously, though I keep changing things around trying to get the flow better. Soon though, I promise I will take the time and show you my favourite room in our new house!

Here are the cards I created for this month's blog hop:

 

Details:

Everything is SU except the ribbon which is Offray and the floss which is from my stash.

Colours are Real Red and Gumball Green

 

Details:

All itmes used were again SU except hemp and jingle bell which were both from my stash. Oh and I used a Pearl Pen for the gold centres.  

Colours used are Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler

 

I hope you are having as much fun making your Christmas cards as I am. Both these were ideas that I saw online and changed up a bit to suit my tastes and supplies. Your next stop on this hop is Georgiana's blog!
Happy Crafting!
Tara

Craft room update

Hi Long lost Blog Friends,
Just popping in to tell you we are putting the finishing touches on my craft room this weekend! I'll have picutres for you soon! Woo Hoo!!!
Tara

Our Kitchen Remodel

Hi Friends,
I have been so super busy this summer. If you don't know we moved into a new home! It is an older home so we have been fixing it up all summer. Here was our biggest project to date....

We found some nasty stuff when we started pulling the old kitchen out and some seriously tacky stuff! What do you think of our finished product? I still don't have dishwasher installed but after almost 2 weeks without runnning water in the kitchen I'm quite content with that for now lol. We just love the way it turned out! Next project...CRAFT ROOM! YIPPY! Hopefully I'll be back with another update soon on that ;)
Tara

4 Months to Chirstmas Blog Hop

Hi Everyone and welcome to the 4 Months to Christmas Blog Hop,
If you have arrived here from  Kerry's Blog you are in the right spot. Well, my craft room is still not up and running since the big move (there were just too many renos we needed to work on first) but like I said last month I am the queen of planning ahead! I was able to get my summer Christmas cards (that does not sound right, I know lol) done before I had to pack up my old scrapbooking room mid July!

If you are new you might be wondering how this whole blog hop works.... there is a group of us crafters that have committed to creating two Christmas cards and (one die cut and one stamped image) posting them on the 25th each month and boy are we getting our cards done early and I LOVE it!
Thanks for stopping by today. Sara's Blog  blog is your next stop.
Happy Crafting!
Tara

Card #1 (Stamped)

Details:

Cardstock: Scraps!

Twine: The Twinery

Digital Stamp: CC design

Stamps: Pink by Design - Winter Fun set

Punch: SU

Button: Stash
Swiss Dots + Wood Grain Cuttlebug embossing folder + Cuttlebug
Prisma Coloured pencils + Gamsol

Card #2 (Die Cut)

Details:

Cardstock: Recollections + Staples Brand

Sentiment: Pink by Design - Winter Fun set

Cricut Cut: Jolly Holidays
Punches: SU

Stickles
Glossy Accents

Ribbon: Offray
Seeing Spots Cuttlebug embossing folder + Cuttlebug

Guest Designer Die Cuttin' Divas

Hi Crafters,
It's it funny how life works out....I committed to be a Die Cuttin' Diva Guest Designer in the spring when we were just looking at houses. I didn't realize that I would be in the middle of moving when I signed up for the gig lol. Well, for those of you who know me I never back out of a commitment and I love to be prepared so I spent a bit of time in early July getting everything squared up in the craft room so I could still be ready to post when my turn came around. It's fun to look at what I created and thinking back to my old craft room while my new one remains neatly packed into boxes for now!

The best part is the challenge that I was signed up for was a super duper easy one and by far my favourite challenge to enter..."anything goes!" You just got to LOVE it! I hope you can play along with me and all the other Die Cittin' Divas this week. I can't craft but I can sure check out what everyone else is working on in their rooms!

Thanks Die Cuttin' Divas for letting me be part of the team this week and happy crafting!
Tara

***It's a bit messier then my usual scrapbook style but I am just getting back into after a couple years of card hiatus so I am feeling my way around to find my new style I guess.

Details:

Paper: Bazzill & DCWV

Mini hearts are my SU punch...love that little thing to pieces!

The cute little saying in the top right was from a day by day calendar I think from last year. I have been saving that baby for a while ;)

All the stickers/title/bling is just stuff that has been in my stash for far too long but worked perfect on this layout!

5 Months to Christmas Blog Hop

Hi Everyone and welcome to the 5 Months to Christmas Blog Hop,
If you have arrived here from  Sally's blog you are in the right spot.

Well, I bet a few of you who have been following my blog regularly thought I would not be participating this month because of the big move...well it just so happens I am the queen of planning ahead! I was able to get my cards created before I had to pack up my scrapbooking room!
If you are new you might be wondering how this monthly blog hop works.... there is a group of us crafters that have committed to creating two Christmas cards and (one die cut and one stamped image) posting them on the 25th each month.
Thanks for stopping by today. Shari's blog is your next stop.
Happy Crafting!
Tara
P.S. Right now I am at my parents house borrowing their wireless. I hope to have internet again soon so I can visit all my wonderful blogs friends again. See you soon!

Card #1 (Stamped)

Details:

Cardstock: SU and Staples Brand

Ribbon: Offray

Digital Stamp: Meljen's designs

Stamps: SU-  Teeny Tiny Wishes

Spellbinders: circles
Cricut Cut: Scalloped circle- Accent Essentials 

Pearl pen
Snowflakes Cuttlebug embossing folder + Cuttlebug
Prisma Coloured pencils + Gamsol
Glossy Accents

Card #2 (Die Cut)

Details:

Cardstock: Recollections

Sentiment: Pink by Design - Winter Fun set

Cricut Cut: Wrap it Up 2.75" and 1.5"

Stickles

Ribbon: Offray
Gems: Offray
Swiss dots Cuttlebug embossing folder + Cuttlebug

Happy Birthday to me!

Hi Everyone,
As you can see from the title today is my birthday. Want to know how I spent it...I started the day at 7am packing, then at 9am took a 30 min crash nap (I am wiped out from the early mornings/late nights lately). At 10am I met my family for brunch and then went straight from there to the dentist because I chipped my tooth yesterday. Once I was done at the dentist I went to our new house to paint and paint and paint. I quit just in time to head out to supper with my hubby and now....I'm pooped! I got some great gifts though and wanted to share...I received a Kobo (purple) + a gift cert. to go with it, the Go Canada Cricut Cartridge, a new lounge chair (wish I was at the new house on the deck in it now) and some money. Here is a question for ya...should I break down and spend some of my bday money on a Smash book? Or just wait and make one myself once my craft room is back in action? I have been holding off because honestly I have everything to make one but they are just too cool! What do you think?
Well, I'm off to veg for an hour or so before I hit the bed like a ton f bricks. Tomorrow is another day of painting, painting and more painting!
Happy Crafting!
Tara

Craft room packed up

Hi Crafters,
Looking at the following photos makes me feel a little ill...My craft room has been offically packed up and not only has it been packed up but the entire apt. has been packed and many, many, MANY boxes are now being stored in my old craft room. I just LOVE this apt. so much I am sad to leave but it is time. We will be moving into our new house on Sat. The good news is I will have a much bigger crafting space but the bad news is it is currently in the unfinished basement, so I wil be without it for a while yet.

Anyways, thought I would let you have a glance into my life...