Owls.......

They are everywhere, and they are all so adorable and oozing in cuteness! And they make quiet the theme for any event you have planned. I have seem them used for Father's Day, Baby showers, weddings,,,, and the list goes on and on. So while planning an event in this neck of the woods (snicker), I made a little owl ensemble, and then decided they were cute enough to make one for ourselves to keep. The event has come and gone, but mine are still sitting on my mantle, waiting to be replaced with Christmas decorations. It is a reminder to myself, to be a 'Wise' mother as God has outlined in His word. I have the kids looking up verses from day to day too, and recording them in a special book.
I took two patterns I found and combined them to make my own. You can find them here and here. Just note, I did not follow this pattern very closely at all. I also took some inspiration from here

Here's some pictures of the one I gave away;



Here's the one I made for our family:




I had a 'hoot!' (sorry, couldn't resist,lol) making these!

(For you regular lookers, I am on the mend now after being sick for tooo long. So hopefully I can post more than once a month,lol!!

Sincerely,
Sonja

Perfect Pumpkin Presentation - say that three times,LOL!!

I know Thanksgiving is long gone, at least for us Canadians. So are all the goodies I created. But I really wanted to share my favorite way for giving them away this year. I saved the best for last. I brainstormed for awhile and came up with what I thought was a pretty good way of presenting them to my friends.

Simple Dimple:




Cut paper into strips. Punch a hole at one end of the strips. Lay the strips around in a circle with the holes matching up in the center.
Cut out two of the largest die from the flower set "Blossom". Punch a hole in the center and lay it on top of your strips of paper. (I choose to re-enforce my flowers. I glued my paper to some leftover cardboard cereal boxes, and ran the through my die cutting machine.)
Next I cut two of the largest dies from the flower set "Nested Flower". These I also re-enforced these the same way as my previous ones,and used them as my stems. Poke a hole in the center of these as well.
Here is where I tied all my pieces together. I tied a knot in my string (in this case I used Raffia) and started to thread through all my holes, ending up at the top of my pumpkin. By this stage you should have gone through all your strips of paper, the Blossom flower and lastly your Nested flower. Tie a knot and cut off the end.

Now I turned upside down this entire piece, placed my cookie bag upside down as well. I took the second "Blossom" flower that I had cut and took one strip at a time and stapled it to the flower.

You can turn your pumpkin right side up now. You have one thing left to do, the stem. However, there is a little bit of trick to this. It is probably one of those things where it is harder to explain than it is to do.LOL! (Bending the "Nested Flower" a little before tying it on will help a lot.) Glue the "Nested Flower" together and place an elastic band around the top to hold it in the shape you want. Once the glue is dried you can take that band off. Now all you have to do is add your tags, leaves and pretties!! I had so much fun making mine. It was fairly easy to do, and they were really pretty when I was done.

Here is a close-up of the top.



I could not resist making some of them in one of my favorite styles: Shabby Chic! I had purchased some wallpaper by Debbie Travis, (that stuff is gorgeous!!!) and this project was just begging me to use it here. So, I did! I was filled with glee,hehe! SEE:



I also made Pumpkin Biscotti, and I put these in the white pumpkin.

I made two other pumpkins that were more traditional:



Here's all three together:



If you think you like this idea enough to try for yourself, you might want to look here for some more imspiration. Jeanette Lynton did a "BANG-UP" job!! I find it kinda funny though.--I truly, honestly had mine done before I knew of her posting.

I thought that was kind of neat! There are just so many fun ways of doing this I guess. If you do make one yourself, leave me a link in the comments. I'd love to see your take on it.

Everything Grows Better with LOVE

A-while back I saw an idea that was shared on this blog, she bought a canvas (a much larger one than I have though) for her daughter to paint, and then paint over as many times as her little heart wants. Thought this was an awesome idea, and saved it for future use.
I took that same concept and spent some awesome one-on-one time with each of my kids this afternoon. We painted on an 8x10 size, and I am hoping that over the long cold winter months here, that we could do more of the same. It was so relaxing and fun. I am sure I could think of better words to describe this afternoon, but sometimes words aren't enough.
My heart is so full of gratitude to the Lord this Holiday season, for all His goodness to me. One of the things I am thankful for the most, is Family.
The kids were having a wonderful time painting. For myself, it was a wonderful expression of my heart, and I know when I look up on my wall I will remember with my heart, all that the Lord has done for me.






Giving Thanks...




P.S. Thanks so much Nona for sharing your wonderful idea, it blessed our day today!!

Presentation- Everything Pumpkin

With Thanksgiving right around the cornere, I decided to do some baking this past week.



Don't they look yummy? I made some to give away, and a small few to keep for ourselves. Apparently I didn't leave enough though for us to keep, everyone around here asked (begged) me to make some more. LOL Since I don't do much baking, and these were so well loved, I made another double batch.

You just can't help but eat some of them right away. You take your "baker's rights" (lol) and taste test a few, making sure they are good enough to share with the family.

Then you share it with the family like this:



Follow the link here for the ingredients and full instructions. They don't get any easier than this.

Now that you know they look and taste good, it's time to share it.

The holiday naturally make me think of a lot of things and people that I am thankful for. Giving a few of these treats away to someone is just a little way to say "Thanks", "Thinking Of YOu", "I Love YOu".
Now, for the ones I give away, presentation is just as important for me as the contents.
Chances are if you are reading this post, that you are a crafter and already have similar, or exact supplies on hand. If you do not, don't let that stop you here. Wrap up them goodies anyway you can, get them out there and bless someone.

Here's one way of presenting some taste treats.

Peel off the label and wash your can(s). (Note: stay away from cans that had contents with a strong odor, for example - fish. You just might ruin your cookies). I used the cans that held the Pumpkin that I had just used to make my cookies. To keep the top edge of my can smooth, and free from injury, I used a Pampered Chef can opener.

For my can, I tried to keep it fast and simple, making it easy for me to mass produce. I took the dimensions from the label I had peeled off, cut my paper to match those dimensions and attatched it to the can. Some finishing touches----and----VOILA!! Nothing fancy, but hopefully "purdy".

Place the coookies inside the tin, close the lid and deliver the goodies with a smile and maybe even a {{{hug}}}.




We decorated cans last year too, and I am thinking that these would be great little containers for Christmas goodies too!! If you get around to creating your own decorated tin cans, leave me a link in the comments as I would love to see your creations too.

There was a time when I used to stay up late, clean my room and re-organize it. I loved doing that! It was so much fun. My mom would always found a 'new' room in the morning. lol. That's what I am doing tonight, re-organizing my Blog. So stay tunned, thing are going to change around here a little.

Don't GASP, I'm posting again.

Feels real good to do this again. After a huge move, and desperately trying to stay afloat with all the missed homeschooling, I was tempted beyond what I could bare tonight. It's not like I haven't been creating anything to post and share with you, I haven't taken the time to photo, load and dialogue about it as I did pre-move.
So now that we are fairly settled (still desperately trying with the school though), I can justify taking a little late night to create something. What made me do it? --- well Julia Stainton did! When I saw that she had designed her own set, it took me less than 0.2 seconds to fall in love with them. I love her designs, that is no surprise. Which brings me to why I am posting tonight.
It was just the "fun" I needed tonight. Play with some new dies, supplies and a chance(who cares if it's a small one) to win those two sets by Julia. If I don't, well: I had fun trying. Here's my take on the sketch. You can find all the info
here.

Here's my card:




With things getting back more into a regular routine, I hope to be sharing more soon. Infact I have some fun news to share with you. But I will save it for another night, as I need some shut eye.

Sincerely,
Sonja

More love..

I finished my February Calendar topper (uuhhm, a long while ago), and have been meaning to post. It's almost like a mini book, and I added lots of verses that remind me of Christ's love. The one you see on the front though, is my favorite.

So here it is.....now, what should I do for MARCH???




Sincerely,
Sonja

It took a little longer than planned.......

but here I am (finally) and ready to post and share again.

This particular project took a little longer than I thought too. Which is just fine by me, because I think it turned out better than my first plan. I thought it would be nice to make a little book about how my DH and I met, and all of those details close to my heart. It's hard to remember the details 17 years back. So I kept it simple and I am happy with it.
I used this set ,this, and I love how it turned out!!




Here's the first page. I kept it simple and to the point. There is so much more infomation and details I could have added, but these sum it up nicely. I decided to add a little snipet of crocheted lace that my Mother-in-law made for my wedding dress, it's tucked under "The Beginning".



This is the second (middle) page.This is the picture that my mom took of us just before leaving for our first read official date (just the two of us). He took me to the Phantom of the Opera. I spent just as much on my dress and he did the tickets. At that time, the dress cost me $120.



This is the last page. It describes the details about our first date.



This is the back.



Here it is, displayed in my room. I decided to decorate the frame as well. It says,
"there's no remedy for love,nothing can change the way I feel. I'm head over heals, for worse or for better."
That was from the song that was played at our wedding. I added here, the remainder of the crocheted peice, and placed it under the 'LOVE'.


That was my Vanlentines gift to my Hubby.

Sincerely,
Sonja

Here I am....

Sorry, I know I promised to be back to announce a winner. We were away for the weekend, and intended on posting early Monday morning. However, three of my children were up until the wee hours of the morning with the stomache flu. The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, shopping for chicken noodle soup, etc, etc. You get the picture. {LOL}
Aaron I tried to e-mail you, which didn't seem to work. Please e-mail me at -------, and I'll get the goods out to you.

Sincerely,
Sonja

My intentions are to be back here later tonight and post my Valentines stories and creations. So stay tunned.

I was pretty excited....

when I recieved notice that one of my cards was accepted for publication. Long story short, I'm in the March/April issue of PAPERCRAFTS, on page 44. Don't know that I have the words to properly describe how this feels, (since it's my first time ever!!!) there's too many words that apply. I won't bore you with all of them, but really wanted to share this with you.
I recieved my issue in the mail, and an extra one to boot. So that means I have one issue to share with you. Aren't you lucky, LOL! Do you want one..? How do you get one, you ask? Here's how:
This weekend we celebrate Valentines Day! To me this day means a lot of different things. Leave me a comment and be entered in once, and/OR: make a Valentines Day card and post it on your blog (can be newly created or a past favorite), with a link to me. Tell me why you made it, who you made it for and why they are special to you. If you do both, your name will be entered twice. You have until Feb 16th at midnight to enter. (I am thinking of something special I can add to the magazine, so look out for a little surprise in your package)

be back soon:}

Sincerely,
Sonja

The joy of paper crafting........

is staying up late, in quiet, doing what I love to do. So, the other night I made a package of gift cards for a friend. This is one set from CTMH I just love and have used it alot.
I have got more to share, hopefully sooner than later. (where does the time go!LOL) I have been doing lots but as any blogger knows, it takes some time to get it posted.
Thanks for checking in again. Hope to be back here again soon.

Sincerely,
Sonja

Christmas is in the details.

This Christmas held so many wonderful details.
Here's a few of the details that defined this year for us.

I've had this paper by DaisyD (Moda) for a long time. I should have bought more, as I have the fabric line for a Christmas quilt (which will be on my list of things to complete in '09). But regretably I did not. Still I thought this would be fun for the kids to do and add to the Christmas decor in the home. And so it was that we began to anticipate Christmas.



Another detail I love is my calendar (you've seen it before). I finished my "December" topper and I used the calendar. I am so loving having this!! I am using a Steadtler black, non-permanent marker.


This is something I got years ago at a garage sale, could NEVER park with it, and it works so wonderful to hold my markers for the calendar.


Made a few of these:


Before I new it, we were taking a much needed break from school and getting ready to have a full house, to enjoy each others company.





One of mr favorite memories of the year was having my mom stay with us (agian). She brought little things for the kids like this little adorable chocolate reindeer.





She helped in the kitchen.
Read to the kids from a special book about Christmas Stories.
Played games with the kids.
Tucked them into bed one night.
Watched "Horton Hears a Who" with us.
Was just 'with' us for four wonderful days.
Has boughten me some of my favorite decorations for our home.

Some highlights I don't want to forget.

Sledding

The Christmas Story by the Skarbo's at our Church.

Doing laundry at both my mother's and mother-in-laws because ours broke over the holidays. ( I wouldn't have those wonderful memories otherwise. It was some of the best game playing we've had.)

My brother bringing a 'home' version of "the Marble Slab". HMMMM homemade ice cream flavors. The kids enjoyed this so much. Secretly:) (which isn't so secret on blog land is it?lol.) I hope it becomes a tradition.

Watching DS assemble the Dump Truck.

Stying up late watching the hockey game, while playing Monopoly with the kids.

Kind neighbour who dropped of some sledding helmets for the kids, and they went everywhere with them. Played monopoly with them, they almost slept in them. LOL!

Staying up really late playing Rooke with my brothers. Real late, as late as we have ever stayed up! So much fun.

But now:


All four of my Pumpkin pies have been eaten.
The leftovers have been eaten up.
The decorations are stored away for next year.
All the chocolate is gone:



My house is just about put back to normal, and for the most part I have recovered from the holidays. How about you? LOL

NOTE : None of these details would be recorded had I not had a DH who bought me a new camera. He said he actually noticed me taking less pictures this last year. That is why two are better than one. I honestly didn't realize. Oh!, I have so much to learn and I am having so much fun learning it.

Hope your new year is a blessed one filled with wonderful details for you to cherish and record.


Sincerely,
Sonja