The Princess and The Pug

Fleece Infinity Scarves

2012-01-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012 everyone! Time to catch up on some posts. I hope that you all had a great Christmas.

Here's a bunch of infinity scarves and matching felt flowers that I did as prezzies for Christmas. So warm and soft! These make great presents.

Infinity Scarf

2011-12-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

I am loving the Infinity scarves that are out there now! And..........they are so easy to make. Here is a link to how I made this one:

http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2011/05/lightweight-spring-infinity-scarf.html

Check it out. I used jersey material that I got for 50% off at Fabricland. The scarf is basically a long tube and all you have to do is sew a few straight seams, a tiny little bit of hand stitching and you are done! Easy peasy and great for Christmas prezzies. I went out yesterday and got some more fabric. Some nice snugglie fleece and some more animal print to make one for my Mom's friend.

Well, back to crafting. See you again soon and Happy Sunday everyone! Pugs and Hugs!!!

Santa Card

2011-11-25T11:24:00.000-05:00

Here's a happy Santa card. I am LOVING the Santa belt ribbon, so cute! Got it 1/2 price at Michael's. The card stock is from the Recollections 'Jolly and Bright' Paper Pad with their matching brads and embellishments. This has to be one of the cutest Santa's I have ever seen and one of my most fave Christmas paper pads ever. Love!

Everyday Cards

2011-11-25T09:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a card order of 25 everyday cards that my best customer ordered from me recently. I used various pieces of the 'Antiquities' Sheet Collection Pad from gcd Studios and added a few stamps, stickles, and bling here and there.

You may notice a very nice looking couple and a very handsome man in the picture behind the display of cards and they would be my beloved Grandparents. I did a sort of collage of pics for my Gram one year of older photos of her and my Gramps. The young looking pic of my Gramps is when he was a soccer player in Rochester, New York. He was an amazing soccer player from what I hear and went on to be an even more amazing coach to so many children and has a soccer field named after him as well as an award given away in his honour every year. Love them both and miss them so.

And speaking of Gram, it's just about that time of year when I must start the Christmas cookie tradition that she and her Mom started so many years ago. I am going to start making some of the dough from the wonderful family recipes that have so kindly been passed down to me. I am trying to be more prepared this year by making some dough and freezing it in advance so that I am not in a big panic the week before Christmas like I seem to be every other year.

So, onto crafting, baking, and other fun stuff. I hope that you all have a great Friday!

Hugs and Pugs to you all!

Jersey Material Ruffled Scarf

2011-11-13T19:14:00.001-05:00

Now this is super easy. I bought some jersey material at Fabricland at 50% off, a total bargooon, and some elastic thread at 50% off as well. I had never worked with elastic thread before, so I looked it up online and found that it is really straight forward to use. You have to wind it onto your bobbin loosely by hand. Don't be afraid of it, because it is amazing to use.

I cut two long pieces of the jersey material. I apologize that I didn't measure, I just kind of eye-balled them. And remember to cut them long enough because when they are ruffled, the pieces will be quite a bit shorter. I kept them together and just sewed a straight stitch with the elastic thread down either side of the material and they ruffled! Then, because I LOVE ruffles and I wanted more, I stitched more along the sides, but separated the pieces along the sides so that the ruffles would be more delicate. Can you believe how easy this is?????????

Now my machine got all mad at me and jammed up, so I am going to give her a little rest for today.

I hope that you have all had a great weekend. Talk again soon! And thanks for stopping by.

Hugs and Pugs!

New Scarf From Old T-Shirt

2011-11-13T17:59:00.001-05:00

My obsession with making something new from old t-shirts continues and I don't think it will stop anytime soon! I saw this idea on the internet and I printed it out a while back. I had copied and pasted it into a word document and I cannot find the link even though I searched and searched for it today.

So here goes: I took this old t-shirt, pictured above, that had, ahem, shrunk, and no longer fit me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I cut the t-shirt straight across underneath the arm holes, using my rotary cutter, which makes a fabulous clean cut.

Then I cut strips using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter, at about 1/2 inch each, from the bottom hem of the shirt to about half way up.

I then hemmed the inside seam of the top of the scarf so that it would fall in a nice sort of cowl and then cut off the excess after finishing the stitching.

And here it is, on my wonderful model! I just love that we can make things from stuff that we already have and upcycle/reuse/recycle. I am looking at things around the house in a whole new way. Sometimes a little too closely, so look out!
I am linking up to:

Peacock Coloured Fabric and Tulle Brooch

2011-11-06T20:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my Mom and I went to Ottawa Street in Hamilton to look for fabric and I found THE most awesome tulle for 98 cents per metre! I bought a whole bunch because I am going to attempt to make a Christmas wreath with it this year. It's no secret that I just LOVE peacocks and all of our Christmas decorations are in peacock colours. I just had to use some of the tulle today so I made a fabric brooch exactly the same way as I made the felt flower brooch last week. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I added some ribbon as well for an extra touch. I bunched the tulle up and stapled the pieces together at the bottom and then glued the pieces to the felt base before gluing all of the petals on. Love the colours!

Well, that's it for tonight. Back to work tomorrow. It's so hard to concentrate at work when I have all of these crafting ideas running through my head.

Have a great evening. Hugs and pugs to everyone!

I am linking up to:

Christmas Card/Gift Card Holder

2011-11-06T20:17:00.000-05:00

Today I made a Christmas Card that doubles as a gift card holder on the inside. There is also room to write a nice sentiment. I made it really girlie because we have many sweet girls in our family, so I have a feeling that I will be making quite a few this Christmas season. Of course I used the Silhouette SD to cut out the card and gift card holder portion and the beautiful dimensional poinsettia that is on the front. The paper that I used is from and sei 12x12 paper pad called Bright Blossom, one of my all-time faves.

It's exciting to be making Christmas things. I hope that you are all having a great weekend!

T-shirt Scarf and Felt Flower Brooch

2011-10-30T16:57:00.004-04:00

Loving these super easy and totally cool t-shirt scarves! They are so easy to make. Here is a link to the instructions:

http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/T-shirt-Necklace/ml/1

Jennifer has an easy to follow tutorial and they take only about 15 -20 minutes to make.

I then topped the scarf off with a felt flower and the tutorial for the flower is right here:

http://jonesdesigncompany.com/tutorial/flower-pin-tutorial/

The only thing I did differently with this flower is that I cut out big circles and not the petal shapes. But I followed the exact same directions and then added a little bar on the back with a pin with hot glue to attach to the scarf or to your clothing. I found when I attached the flower to the actual scarf it flopped around too much, so I then attached it right to my little jacket and it stayed right where I wanted it. I also hot glued on some faux pearls. I can't wait to make some more! I just went through our armoire where we keep all of our t-shirts and we have so many. I have scooped several that we just don't wear anymore and I am going to use those to make some more. I took some of George's, that were in the bottom of his shelves in the armoire, so hopefully he won't go looking for those anytime soon!

I hope that you are all having a great weekend. I have the Pittsburgh Steelers on in the background while I am crafting so I can keep up with the game. Go Steelers!

Hugs and Pugs to everyone!
I am linking up to:

and

First Christmas Card this year!

2011-10-28T20:24:00.001-04:00

A Christmas card done with all kinds of goodies from K&Company. Their stuff is amazing! Check it out at http://www.eksuccessbrands.com/kandcompany/. There are all kinds of products and project ideas. Now......on to the next craft!

Hugs and Pugs everyone!
I am linking up to:

Another Felt Flower

2011-10-10T15:01:00.000-04:00

I am loving these felt flowers! So easy to make. This pink felt is so sweet. I have to find some light pink jersey fabric to make a scarf with to match. Or white, or light green............oh the possibilities are endless!!!!!

Hello Again!

2011-10-10T14:38:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone! Sorry for such a long absence. There have been many things going on, quite a few illnesses, but all seems to be better now, thank goodness! I haven't been crafting for a while because I just haven't had the energy, but the energy seems to be coming back now! Maybe it is the wonderful, crisp and sunny fall weather that we are having. Nice and cool in the morning and then sunny and warm in the afternoon, so perfect!

Here is a quick craft that I made with an old t-shirt and some felt. I cut eight circles out of an old t-shirt using a 9-inch paper plate as a guide. Then I cut each circle into a swirl so I had long strips of material. I stretched each piece so that they would sort of curl along the edges and sewed four pieces to the other four pieces to get a long scarf. I made the flower out of felt and then used a safety pin to attach it to the scarf. I love this scarf because it is very light. And you can detach the flower and put the flower on other things too! Plus there is only one seam of sewing on the scarf and NO sewing on the flower, just hot glue. Can you believe it? I will try to find the tutorial and post it for both the scarft and the flower.

I hope that everyone is having a great Thanksgiving long weekend!

Thanks again for waiting for me to come back to my blog. I sure missed it.

Hugs and Pugs to you all!

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!!!!

2011-08-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

I am still here! It's been almost a month since I have blogged and that is because I have been on vacation, busy with barbecues, birthdays, having company at our home, and generally, just having fun! Oh, and somehow, fitting in work during the week when not on vacation. Here are some pics of our vacation from a few weeks ago. We are going again next week (Yippee!!!!) and then things should settle down and I can get back to crafting. I hope that you are all having a great summer. Hugs and Pugs to everyone!!!!

Canada Day T-Shirt

2011-07-06T20:35:00.001-04:00

My Canada Day t-shirt made using my Silhouette to cut out and sew on lettering. I love that the Silhouette can cut material using the fabric interfacing. Just adhere the fabric interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric, put it all into your Silhouette, cut your design or lettering, iron onto your t-shirt, and then stitch on. Easy Peasy, eh?
I'm linking up to:

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!

2011-07-03T09:12:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July weekend to all of our American neighbours and friends around the world!!!!! Have a safe and happy long weekend. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

Roman Shades are Finally Done!!!!!!!!

2011-07-03T09:07:00.000-04:00

The Roman Shades are finally done!!!!!!! Who knew that cheapie little vinyl mini blinds, buy 1 get 2 free metres of material, some fabric glue, fancy trim, scissors, and some measuring tape could make these! I have displayed my Gram's English tea set and some beautiful decanters on an antique Singer treadle sewing machine in front of the window and I am so pleased!!!!!!! I have enough material to make a few pillows and a table runner, so that is next on the list. Hope you like them.

Hugs and pugs!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Canada Day!!!!

2011-07-01T08:44:00.000-04:00

Here is a cake to Celebrate Canada Day! I took a cake making course recently and I decided to make a red and white cake to celebrate our colours for Canada's birthday. I did some pompom flowers on the top and a cascade of little flowers around the top and down the side with some ivy leaves in between. I am bringing it to a big barbecue that my parents are having today in honour of Canada's birthday and in honour of our wonderful friend Mark who is visiting here from Australia. I hope that everyone has a great Canada Day!

Hugs and pugs to everyone!

Father's Day T-Shirts

2011-06-23T20:03:00.000-04:00

Here are two t-shirts that I made for my Dad for Father's Day. He LOVES 57 Chevy's, so I used the Silhouette to download and cut out the Chevy images and the lettering for both t-shirts with heat transfer material. The second t-shirt says 'I'm not sleeping, I'm just resting my eyes', which is something that my Dad ALWAYS said to us when we were little, and still does when we catch him 'not' napping. He really liked the shirts. I also gave him the Steam Punk card/box that I made using the Silhouette and put, get this, Bacon Dental Floss inside that I got from http://www.thinkgeek.com/, which is the best website around for gadgets and for people, like my Dad, who are obsessed with bacon. He also got a cool gadget from the site called a 'Kill-a-watt' that measures which appliances, etc. in your house are using the most electricity, because we all know how much seniors obsess about their hydro bills. My Dad is the greatest man ever, he is funny, compassionate, super intelligent, and the best Dad a girl could have. Thanks Dad for everything!

Pugalug Raffle Basket 2011

2011-06-05T18:25:00.000-04:00

Pugalug Raffle Basket 2011! Doin' it for the Pugs!!!!!!!!!

Mod Podge Treat Jar

2011-06-05T18:23:00.000-04:00

Here is a treat container that I made for the Pugalug out of an old peanut container. I cut some pretty polka dot paper and coated the wrong side with Mod Podge and placed it on the container. Then I Mod Podged it all down to seal it. I used the Silhouette to print out 'TREATS' in welded form and did a background in black using the offset option. I cut out some flourishes from the Silhouette and Mod Podged everything on and let it dry. While everything was drying, I Mod Podged pieces of paper onto the lid. When everything was dry and sealed, I added some bling and a Treat container was born from a peanut container. I love to re-purpose things. I must admit though, I did have to re-cycle a few containers the other day when I cleaned out the basement because there were just too many and they were taking up way too much space. But don't worry, I will definitely collect more. Hope you like it!

Zen Birthday Card

2011-06-05T18:14:00.000-04:00

This is a birthday card that I made for my Aunt's 70th birthday. My Aunt is a devoted teacher of Tai Chi and a Reiki Practitioner, so I tried to keep the card looking very peaceful and in tune with the types of things that my Aunt really likes. The Silhouette once again came in very handy and I downloaded the bamboo image and used the colour fill option to get the bamboo to print and cut the way that I wanted them to look. The butterflies are also print and cut and of course, what card would be complete without some bling. My Aunt was really pleased with the card and she said that butterflies and bamboo are really important elements in Chinese healing, so I think I did good! I didn't take a picture of the inside, but I also added a yin yang symbol on the interior of the card.

Hugs and pugs!

Order of the Opus Gluei Challenge #103 - Mail Art

2011-06-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

Here is my submission for Challenge #103 over at the Order of the Opus Gluei! The challenge is to use something that you got in the mail. We got a flyer/add to purchase tickets for the musical "Billy Elliot", which is coming to Toronto this past week so what I did was cut out the word 'musical' from the flyer/add and use it on an ATC. I cut out the base of the ATC in black card stock and then used a smaller piece of photopaper to make a pattern with my alcohol inks in red, navy, and dark greens. Then I used the Silhouette to cut out some music notes and mounted the music notes on a piece of red Bazill card stock. I used a print and cut from the Silhouette as well to add an antique look Parisian post mark in the upper right hand corner too. The word 'musical' was also mounted on another piece of photo paper that was done with alcohol ink and then I mounted that onto the ATC. I then applied some satin finish Mod Podge to seal everything up, waited for it to dry, and then added some bling and some 'waterfall' stickles to the word 'musical' to make it look like a marquee sign. I have never done an ATC before and it is quite a challenge to make everything fit into such a small space, but I tell you, it's fun! Hope you like it! You can check out Opus Gluei and all of the super cool entries at:

http://opus-gluei.blogspot.com/2011/05/challenge-103-mail-art.html

Oreo Happy Birthday Cupcakes

2011-06-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

This past week our youngest niece, beautiful Sarah turned 10 years old! I can't believe it, they grow up so fast. We went to Toronto to visit and Aunt Marni made some Oreo cupcakes. And boy, if I do say so myself, they really tasted deelish. Here is the link for the recipe: http://annies-eats.net/2010/06/02/cookies-and-cream-cupcakes/. I saved some time with them by purchasing the cream cheese icing and not making it from scratch......just this one time. Shhhh....don't let on.

I used my trusty Silhouette to make the little lollies to decorate the cupcakes and the 'Happy Birthday' was done with my new black sketch pen, which is the greatest thing. They turned out so cute when they were all put together and displayed on this great cupcake tray that I got at Michael's. Did you know that you can also turn the tray upside down and it will hold 24 mini cupcakes or take the tray out and it will hold a sheet cake? Totally versatile and a great bargain with my 50% off coupon. Thanks Michael's and keep those coupons coming!

Hope that everyone is having a great day and keep on crafting! Hugs and pugs to everyone!

I am linking up to:

Steampunk Pug Cards

2011-06-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

Since it is super steamy hot out today, how about some Steam Punk Puggie cards? I made these cards for the Pugalug Pug Rescue fundraiser and they bring together two of my addictions: Pugs, my forever addiction, and Steam Punk, one of my new addictions. I found the pug images on line and used my Silhouette to cut the little guys out. And a BIG thanks goes to the Silhouette for doing the hard part for me so that I no longer feel the need to have a temper tantrum every time I would normally have to use my scissors to do fine cutting. I downloaded some background images from The Graphics Fairy at http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/. Check out the blog for tons of gorgeous freebies, project ideas and inspiration. Then used some cool papers for backgrounds, some Silhouette butterfly print and cuts, cut out some gears and hinges from the Silhouette and embossed them using Versamark ink and gold and silver embossing powder. After assembling everything, this is what the cards look like. I love how pugs always have that surprised, "Who me????" look on their faces, no matter where they are and these cards are no exception. Steam Punk is so fun. Try it out and see what you think.

Miss Sydney Woo and I hope that you are having a great day. Stay cool and keep crafting. Hugs and Pugs!

Mod Podge Pug Sign/Wall Art

2011-05-30T10:05:00.002-04:00

Here is a sign/wall art that I did for the Pugalug Pug Rescue fundraiser. I coated an artist's canvas with one coat of mushroom acrylic paint and let it dry. Then I used my wonderful Silhouette to cut out a silhouette of a pug that I found on-line. Again, I used the Silhouette to type and weld letters together to print out the phrase 'All you need is pug' with a little heart beside it. Then.........I used Mod Podge to secure everything down and put a nice coat of Mod Podge all over to seal the entire canvas. To top it all off, I added some rhinestones to make a blingy collar for the princess pug.

I hope that you all like it. This is the first time that I have done something like this and I can't wait to do another one! I have all kinds of Mod Podge and I am dreaming of my next project.

Hugs and pugs everyone, have a great day!
I am linking up to:

and

Birthday Card For Our Youngest Niece

2011-05-29T20:55:00.000-04:00

Our youngest niece Sarah, turned 10 this past week and we went up to Toronto to help her celebrate. This is the card that I made for her. She really loved it! I made her a matching money box too, to hold her prezzie. I will have to cut this post short because we are getting a nasty thunderstorm and I have to shut down the computer. Hugs and pugs everyone.......more later!!!

Painted Milk Cans

2011-05-23T13:18:00.000-04:00

Here is one of our sad milk cans and what it looked like before I cleaned it, sanded the rust spots, and painted it with Krylon yellow gold spray paint. They have been sitting out for a few years and got quite dirty and weathered, so it was time for them to be freshened up.

Here are the milk cans and a few clay pots drying in the sun after a few coats. They look so sunny and pretty now!

And look how pretty! Some flowers on top and some great accessories around just brightened up our deck. Miss Sydney Woo's double sits and guards the deck while Miss Woo is inside relaxing on the couch.

So glad that we got some yardwork done this weekend in between the rain. Got the front yard all done and cleaned up and part of the back yard. Lots more to do, but it will get done. We did some this morning and then the rain interrupted. Now we are feeling too lazy, so we are just hanging out reading, looking at the computer, and listening to the radio. Hope that you are all having a great long weekend! Hugs and Pugs to everyone!

Rag Wreaths

2011-05-20T13:01:00.000-04:00

The French doors that lead to our piano room, that I also call the 'Granny Room' because my sweet Granny's china, pictures, and chair sit in the room also, needed a pick-me-up. I saw instructions on how to make these wreaths and I think they are just what the doors needed. I took a coat hanger and shaped it into a circle, cut pieces of this great material (that I found at Value Village......a HUGE piece for $2.99, probably about 4 metres) into about 4 inch by 2 inch strips, and tied all of the strips individually around the coat hanger. I did a second one and look what I have! Two pretty wreaths that look kind of feathery because of the type of sheer material that was used. I was thinking of putting bows on each, but not sure what colour yet. Or maybe no bows at all. Have to think about that one.

Here is a close-up of one of the wreaths. I love cobalt/royal blue and our house has pops of it everywhere on the main floor so these are the perfect colour. Now I have to make one for the inside of the front door. I made one out of a cotton material for the outside front door, but with all of the rain, it didn't do too well and got kind of soggy.

I hope that you are all having a great day. I am snuggling with my little girl, got some great books from the library, picked up my new Silhouette tote, which I will take pics of soon and post, and I am enjoying the first day of a four day weekend. Later, George and I are going shopping and then to my favourite place..........Boston Pizza.........for the best nachos around!

Hugs and Pugs everyone, have a wonderful day!!!

Steam Punk - Super Cool Dad Style

2011-05-19T07:17:00.001-04:00

Well, I went to a great Silhouette class last night and got all steamed up by doing a Steam Punk project for Father's Day. We 'Silhouetted', we embossed, we folded, we distressed, we stickled, we uteed, we giggled, and look what we came up with! Super steamy cool! I looks like a book and inside is a little coil notebook that can be used to put pictures in. I love it and I know that my amazingly cool Dad will too. You could also use it to put a gift card in, or candy bars, or any other little great gifts that come in small packages. The 'book' itself is a wonderful gift that any Dad will love.

The 'DAD' is done with UTEE, which I have never used before and something that I absolutely MUST get. Tee heeee.

The butterflies have Stickles on them to make their colours pop. The man's tie, shoes, and hat ribbon have the stickles as well. Uh oh, I think I have a new addiction............Steam Punk!!!!!!!
I am linking up to:
http://opus-gluei.blogspot.com/2011/05/challenge-101-get-steamy.html
Go on over to see one of the coolest blogs on the planet!!!
Hugs and pugs everyone, have a great day. Now I am off to work to try to get my brain onto credit counselling and accounting and off of steam punking. Good luck with that one, eh?

Ribbon Wreath

2011-05-17T20:48:00.000-04:00

Here is a ribbon wreath that I made for our front door. I had made another wreath that was made out of small pieces of material and tied around a coat hanger that was turned into a circular shape, but it hasn't stood up to the rainy weather. So I think this one will do much better. I cut pieces of ribbon into 4 inch pieces, made them into loops, and pinned them onto a foam wreath. And voila! A colourful spring wreath! My friend Angela has one on her door across the street, which is just beautiful and Angela gave me some tips on how to do mine. Thanks Angela! I would like to do one for the side door as well, but that will be on another night because I have to do a quick bit of vacuuming and then catch Dancing With the Stars. Go Hines Go!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow night I have a Father's Day themed Silhouette class, so I will post pics of what I make. Can't wait!

Hope that you are all having a great evening. Hugs and Pugs!

Great Giveaway From Tatertots and Jello

2011-05-17T09:20:00.000-04:00

Check out this amazing giveaway from Tatertots and Jello! Who wouldn't want to win a Silhouette? Absolutely the best craft invention in the entire universe!

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2011/05/silhouette-heat-transfer-project-and.html

So go on over and check out the contest and Jen's very cool blog with all kinds of great ideas and tutorials.

Hugs and Pugs!

Mother's Day Card

2011-05-08T19:25:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of the Mother's Day card that I made for my Mother-in-Law. I used my Silhouette to do some print and cut images and then put the butterfly cutout on using pop-dots. Loving the butterfly paper and the green background colour. I totally forgot to take a pic of my Mom's card that I made for her, but I will get a pic the next time I am there.

Here is a pic of the cake after a few pieces were cut. I got the recipe for the cake, which is a yellow butter cake, from http://www.joyofbaking.com/.

Hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day. Hugs and Pugs!
I am linking up to:

and

Mother's Day Cake

2011-05-07T09:09:00.002-04:00

We are celebrating Mother's Day today at our house and I decided to try my hand at making a cake covered with fondant with fondant flowers and leaves. I made the leaves and left them to dry over a little plastic dish so that I could have them cascade over the side of the cake, like ivy.

I used one of those thingies that you pierce an ear of corn with to eat it, to form my tulips on.

Here are all of the flowers and leaves drying on waxed paper last night.

I actually got the fondant to roll out and I got it on the cake! That is the first time that I have ever done that! Thanks to my friend Angela for all of her hints and tips!

I know this is out of sequence, but I put a crumb coat of icing on before the fondant, so that the fondant would stick better. Notice the empty bottle of beer. I thought I deserved a beer after baking the cake and making all of those flowers and leaves last night. And notice the pug mug beside it. That was my bevvie of choice this morning.

Here it is!!!!!!!!! I am pretty pleased with my first attempt at fondant icing. I know there are a few lines here and there, but overall, I am pretty happy.

I wrote 'Mom' in freehand with some gold icing that comes in a fine tube. The 'forget-me-not' flowers are on the cake for all of the moms and grandmoms who can't be with us this mother's day weekend, but who we love so very much and who we will never forget.

Now it is on to the craft that I am making for Mom. It is pretty funny. I have another gift for her too, but I always like to have something as well that will make her chuckle, so I will post that soon. Hope that you have a great day! Hugs and Pugs!!!!!!!
I am linking up to:

and

Easy Peasy Roman Shade

2011-05-01T11:02:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to make a Roman shade for our kitchen door for ages, but I have been terrified. Of what, you may ask. Oh, I don't know. Of cutting fabric wrong, of making a mistake. So what? That's all part of the learning process. I looked on-line for easy instructions and I came across THE most amazingly simple and wonderful tutorial for making Roman shades from cheap mini blinds. Since I had an ugly mini blind on our door (that has been there for many, many years) and someone gave me a tablecloth for our kitchen and we don't have a table in there, I thought, hmmmmmmmmm, this could work. So I decided to just do it. Here is the link for the instructions: http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2009/02/make-shades-out-of-mini-blinds.html and here are my pics of how things turned out for me.

The first pic is of my little Supervisor, watching from the couch. I had already taken down the blind, laid out the material, and removed most of the slats.

Here is the pic of the door. I was too embarassed to show you what the blind looked like before when it was still hanging. You may notice all of the ugly marks that it left when it would swing back and forth when the door was opened, but a few quick swipes with a magic eraser and they were gone.

Here is the blind after everything was glued into place.

And here is the blind, full out, on the door! It looks like a real Roman shade!!!!!

And here it is drawn up a little bit so that we can see little Miss Sydney Woo when she is sun-bathing on the deck. I am beyond pleased!!!!! We got new windows in the diningroom this past summer and guess what I am going to do today? I am going to get three PLASTIC blinds, fabric, and get going on those. Notice that I put PLASTIC in capitals. Word to the wise. Do not use aluminum blinds. I used aluminum blinds for this one because that is what I had on hand, and they bend very easily, so this one does not go up and down so great. But at least it looks pretty! Well, I am off to cook lunch for little Sydney Woo, and wait for my sweetie pie to get home from squash so that I can hit Fabricland and Walmart to get started on the blinds for the diningroom.............oh, and also the front sunroom. Tee heeee! Have a great Sunday all. Hugs and Pugs!!!!!!!

Chocolate, Cupcakes, and Cakeballs - Oh My!

2011-04-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

Hope that everyone had a great Easter Sunday! We had a lot of fun and a lot of food, which was great. We had Easter lunch at the Mandarin with my husband's family and got to spend time with our beautiful nieces and our gorgeous little great-nephew who are always so adorable and funny. They are growing up so fast, but they still enjoy Aunt Marni's baking. This year I made cupcakes for them and packaged them in little cupcake boxes (see picture below). And of course, the 'Easter Bunny' brought little envelopes with some of the green stuff too, since Aunt Marni and Uncle George are no too hip in the department of what the kids are wearing and listening to these days.

These are pics of the tray of cupcakes and cakeballs that I made to bring to the delicious Easter Dinner meal at my parents' house later in the day. Yes, the same day. But we did it! And yes, I did say cakeballs. I hadn't heard of cakeballs until the other day and believe me, they are so good! And super easy to make. All you do is bake a cake (usually I bake my cakes, etc. from scratch, but for this endeavour, I used a mix), take the baked cake out of the pan after it is done and still warm and put it in your mixer in pieces with a container of icing and mix together. Put the mixture in the fridge overnight. The next day, use a melon baller to make cake balls. Melt any type of chocolate (I used white chocolate wafers that I got at the Bulk Barn) and dip the cake balls in using a special dipping spoon and put them on a tray lined with wax paper. Before the chocolate coating sets, sprinkle with whatever type of sprinkle you would like and let the coating set for a few hours. You could use butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or any type for the coating. Check out http://www.allrecipes.ca/ for all kinds of ideas.

Here is a pic of how I packaged the girls and our great-nephew's little cupcakes for Easter. I tried to make the cupcakes look like little nests with eggs in them.

Well, that's all for now. Hoping to get back on the Silhouette today with all of the great things that I learned at the class last week with the continued lesson about print and cut. And Mother's Day is just around the corner, so I better get busy making something special for my amazing Mom.

Hope that you are all having a nice Easter Monday. The three of us are relaxing and puttering around the house, looking for a cottage to rent in the summer, catching up on some t.v., and just enjoying the day off. Hugs and Pugs to everyone!!!!!

Bake Sale

2011-04-20T07:04:00.000-04:00

Our beautiful niece is having a bake sale today at her school, so she asked me to make some chocolate chip cookies for her. And of course I had to throw in a sweet pug image. Here are the cookies with little puggie napkins displayed on the plates................sure to draw a crowd! Hope that you all have a great day. And good luck Brittany with the bake sale!!!

Hugs and Pugs!

Cool Giveaway From 'All Things Thrifty'

2011-04-19T09:55:00.007-04:00

Here is a cool giveaway from 'All Things Thrifty' and here is the link:

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2011/04/tuesday-giveaway-for-my-amazing-readers.html

This will bring you to a link for an incredible website that has all kinds of great ideas. And this givewaway is for some very pretty personalized stamps. I hope I win!!!!! I just love them all, but I narrowed it down to one that was my favourite. What is your fave? My fave is pictured above.

Thank you Mr. James Dyson

2011-04-18T12:45:00.004-04:00

Thank you Mr. James Dyson for inventing one of the best inventions ever!!!! After vacuuming our family room with my new Dyson animal vac, I can practically make a new fur coat for Syd. Although I am completely embarassed with what came out of our carpet, I also know that previous vacuums just don't pick up what this amazing machine does, even though we try our best to keep on top of things.

There are so many attachments to this vacuum that you can clean everything with it. I also got a free spring cleaning kit because I ordered it on-line from Future Shop and I picked it up in-store only a few hours later.

And what a great workout! The Dyson ball makes the vacuum move in any direction, so you can dance and move to your heart's content. I give the vacuum 5 stars and would recommend it for everyone who has animals, the human kind and the furbaby kind.

Hope that you are all having a great day! Just don't look outside at the white stuff that is falling.

Hugs and Pugs to everyone!!!!

Princess Birthday Card

2011-04-17T18:17:00.004-04:00

Here is a pink, brown, and blinged out birthday card for someone special. Can you guess who??????????? For little Sydney Woo of course! Miss Woo turned 8 on April 14th and I made a little Princess card for her. And in true Princess style, our little sweetie pie posed with her card for her birthday photo shoot. Happy Birthday Sydney Woo!!!! We love you!!!!

50th Anniversary Cupcakes

2011-04-17T17:49:00.003-04:00

It was my Aunt and Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary this past Friday, so Mom and I decided to have a dinner party for them. I was asked to make the dessert and instead of baking a cake, I thought little cupcakes would be nice. I knew that the centerpiece for the table would be in light pinks and yellows, so I made the fondant flowers the night before and let them dry in a little muffin tin.

The next morning, Supervisor Sydney watched and made sure that I stayed on task while making the cupcakes.

I got a brilliant recipe from http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowCupcakes.html for the yellow cupcakes. They have yogurt in them and they turned out so light and fluffy and absolutely delicious!

I then decorated the cupcakes using whipped vanilla icing, gold sugar sprinkles, and the fondant flowers. I made cupcake wrappers using my amazing Silhouette with the print and cut feature that I had learned about in my Silhouette class the night before.

And then I put the cupcakes in a cute little cupcake stand, made a doily using the Silhouette, put a sparkly gold fabric around the plate that everything was set on, and sprinkled little gold '50's' around. I was so pleased with how they turned out. One of the guests asked me if I did weddings. Tee heee!!! I said, well, this is the first time I have ever made them, so I haven't got that far yet. But who knows?????

Hope that you are all having a great weekend! Hugs and pugs to everyone!

Shells, Shells, Shells

2011-04-11T18:16:00.003-04:00

I love shells! Little shells, big shells, pieces of shells, coloured shells, and not so coloured shells. We have lots of shells sitting in various containers in our upstairs bathroom and they have gotten pretty dusty, so it was time for a spring cleaning today. I soaked them for hours in water with a little bit of dish soap and then put them out on a dish towel to dry. I opened the kitchen window because there is a beautiful spring breeze today and they are drying beautifully. While they are drying I decided to take a few pics. I put these teeny tiny ones on top of one of the big shells to show just how small they are. The shells are from all over the world.......Florida, Mexico, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Australia, Jamaica, and a few other places. I pick them up wherever we go and I always ask my parents to get some for me too when they go to Florida every winter.

They should be dry soon and then they can go back into there beautiful glass containers and look oh so pretty in the bathroom.

Easter Wreath - Take 2

2011-04-10T18:45:00.003-04:00

Well, I wasn't too happy with this wreath the first time I did it. It was pretty, but kind of boring.........so today, I added lots of things to it. Plastic eggs, ribbon, and a cute little stuffed chick. Now it looks more like spring and Easter! Thanks Dollarama.

Paradise Island, Bahamas

2011-04-08T10:52:00.004-04:00

A few pics from our trip to the Bahamas. We just got back yesterday and we had a blast! We stayed at the Riu Palace Paradise Island and also spent a day at the Atlantis Resort and Casino and did almost all of the waterslides and lazy river in the watersports area. We had 24-hour room service, all-inclusive, impeccable service, sunshine, and so much fun. The only thing that was missing was our little Sydney Woo, who stayed with our wonderful friends in Ridgeway, who provide an all-inclusive type resort for her when we go south once per year. The other vacations we take in the summer always include little Miss Woo, but I know that she enjoys her winter stays in Ridgeway.

Word to the wise, tuck your bum in when going down the waterslides at the Atlantis, because if you don't, you will get a black and blue bum like I have right now. No pics to follow on that one, but it looks really bad! Ha ha haaa!!!!!!!! Oh well, the mojitos sure took the edge off! Have a great day. I am going to do laundry and enjoy 3 more days with my sweetie pie and my sweet Sydney Woo before going back to reality. Hugs and pugs!!! Oh, and I missed my Silhouette, so I will be re-acquainting myself with my craftroom too. Tee heeeeee.

Mmmmmmmmm........Avocado

2011-03-30T21:13:00.005-04:00

I love avocadoes!!!!!!!!

Look how the pits sprout into trees.

And then avocadoes turn into delicious things like guacamole..........yum.

Avocado cornbread muffins.

And avocado salad with spinach, strawberries, gorgonzola cheese and pecans. It all looks so deelish!

I may have to try some new avocado recipes, they all look so good. Hugs and pugs to everyone!

Day 27 - Super Sketchy Sunday

2011-03-27T21:51:00.001-04:00

Here is my card for Day 27 - Super Sketchy Sunday. I decided to do an Easter Egg with a cute little chickie hatching out. My sweetie pie said the chickie looks like an alien, more specifically Kazoo from the Flintstones. Maybe so, but I think the chick is pretty cute. I used the Silhouette for all of the images and of course, used bright papers, trying to encourage spring to finally arrive. I think little Bryson will like this card for Easter. He is now 2 and a half and is a total cutie face!

I talked to my parents in Florida today and can you believe that they were complaining that it was too hot there today?????????? Oh brother. They are way too funny. Well, off to bed. Hugs and pugs to everyone. Have a great night!

Indoor Easter Wreath

2011-03-27T17:51:00.000-04:00

Since the sun is out today, I decided to make a little indoor Easter wreath with items that I found around the house and at the Dollarama. You will notice that my cute little assistant was never far behind.

There was a slightly broken wreath sitting outside that had been banged up by the winter weather and sensing that it needed a little pick-me-up, I spray painted it antique white. And believe it our not, I was spray painting in a box that was sitting on top of snow. Yes, we still have snow. This is the wreath after it dried and was brought inside. And her is my little helper (her eyes go so bright with the flash), posing with the vine garlands that I have had for ages for another project, which I have totally forgotten about. Look at her professional pose! Miss Sydney Woo is a natural!

Here is the wreath, after I wrapped both vine garlands around it, which will also hold the wreath together.

Here is a little bag of cute styrofoam eggs from the Dollarama.

This is a sprig that I found at the Dollarama as well, I am going to remove the nest and replace the pink coloured eggs with a few of the purple coloured eggs.

And here it is.........after gluing on the purple eggs and the cute nest. It looks so springy! It's going on the inside front door right now. I am sure that little Sydney Woo will let me know exactly how to hang it. Thanks for your help Syd! Best supervisor in the world. Hugs and pugs!!!

I Almost Forgot What This Looks Like

2011-03-20T20:58:00.000-04:00

Just look at what was hiding under all of that snow!!! Isn't it beautiful? I missed it!
And just look at what you can get so that you can walk on grass in those places that don't have lots of the green stuff under foot. Now..........how difficult would it be to cut that grass? I would recommend a push mower definitely.

Or what you can wear to feel the grass between your toes. And excuse me, but does that label say 'Krispy Kreme'?

How sweet!

Oh, a grass ottoman.

And, the ultimate green car.

Can't wait to smell the first hint of freshly cut grass in the air, while sitting on the deck with Miss Sydney Woo of course, watching my sweetie pie dancing around the lawn with the mower. Bring on spring!

Peek-A-Boo

2011-03-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

Peek-a-boo..............I see you! Spring is on it's way!

Altered Clip Board

2011-03-16T22:41:00.000-04:00

Here is an altered clipboard that I finally finished today. I bought the clipboard at Dollarama for $1.25 and used satin Mod Podge to seal all of the paper pieces onto the clipboard. I sanded the edges, used lots of bling, made a 3-D flower using the Silhouette, some stickles, some gems, and some ribbon to finish it all off. I also did a 3-D ribbon with my Silhouette too, just to glam up the thingy that holds the paper on the clipboard. The paper is so cute and it is from 'My Mind's Eye' and is a stack of 'Playful Posies' by Zoe Pearn. Love the colours in the stack.

Well, off to bed now. I have stayed up way too late crafting. Tomorrow night I have a Silhouette class. Yippeeeee............I can't wait!!!!!!!!!! I will let you know all about it over the next few days. Goodnight!!!!!!

West Highland Terrier Card

2011-03-16T21:07:00.000-04:00

Here is a birthday card that I made for my dear, sweet friend Ray in Australia. Ray has a beautiful little West Highland Terrier named Charlie who is absolutely the most handsome little boy in the world! I have yet to meet Charlie in person, but I have met him over Skype and he is a darling. The last time that I visited Ray in Australia he did not have Charlie and the previous time that I visited him, Ray had two Jack Russell Terriers. Ray takes Charlie for walkies every morning before it gets too hot. This summer it has been particularly hot in Western Australia with temps going into the 40's. Charlie sleeps on the tile floor in the main bathroom during the night where it is coolest and when Ray and I are talking on Skype, Charlie is usually curled up in the corner of the study, where it is coolest during the day.
The image of the Westie is made from 'Duo Twists' from www.G18.biz which has an amazing website. These are called '3D twisted pyramid decoupage with textured effect panels'. I then finished the card off using a Fiskars punch to do some edging with some paisley patterned paper underneath, some stickles, some little gems, and some cute little paw charms. You can see in the second image how the Westie image is built up into a pyramid and rotated. I will have to put this special card in a padded envelope so that it gets there in one piece. I hope he likes it! Hugs and pugs to everyone! Have a great night.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - A Few Days Early

2011-03-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day.........a few days early. Just in case I get caught up in having a few green beers and don't get to the computer on the day, have a great one! Miss Sydney Woo has her green dancing shoes on for the day. And remember - on St. Patrick's Day, EVERYONE's Irish!!!!!!

Mmmmmmmmm.......Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-03-07T19:39:00.001-05:00

I just baked some chocolate chip banana muffins. They actually were just banana muffins, but I felt like I needed a little bit of chocolate, so I added in the chocolate chips. Oh boy, they smell so good! Made a nice Shepherd's Pie for my sweetie pie for dinner too. He had the difficult job of taking Miss Sydney Woo to get her nails cut today and as usual, she put up quite the fight. She is quite the drama queen, but we wouldn't have her any other adorable way! Now she is exhausted for the night. I also tried out the new vacuum today.....but just a little............wouldn't want to strain myself..........ha ha haaaa. Well, I am off to try one of these muffins now that they have cooled off a little bit. Have a great night. Hugs and pugs!!!

Need Stronger Glue

2011-03-06T18:57:00.001-05:00

I had a slight disaster with my iPod cover project yesterday. Hmmmmmmmmm.....the words 'slight' and 'disaster' probably don't work very well in the same sentence. I should have said a Total Disaster, but that just sounds so negative. Nothing was destroyed, the gems just didn't stick to my iPod case in my last project. Booooo! So if you look at the 'before' picture in my previous post, that is what the iPod case looks like again. So it's not all bad. I think I will try little dots of Gorilla glue, which is the best stuff ever. It glues everything and I just happen to have a fresh bottle sitting right over there..................yep, right over there on the table. Just within reach. So I will try that and let you know the outcome.

And speaking of Gorilla Glue, have you checked out their website? There are tons of different kinds of Gorilla Glue! They have tape, wood glue, glue pens.............you name it, they have it. Amazing stuff! Here is the address to go and check it out: http://www.gorillaglue.com/ .

I hear the most beautiful sound in the world right now...............my sweet George is doing the dishes.....................oh he is just wonderful. I made homemade chicken soup for him and a little bit of fresh bruschetta for him to have on bread and now he is doing the dishes. Sweet! And little Sydney Woo keeps trying to pretend that she has to go outside to go potty just so that she can have her homemade treats. She goes out, goes around the corner of the house, turns around, comes back in, and sits and looks up at the treat container. Doesn't always do any business, but just gives us the cute look that says 'I might have........, so I really should have a treat now'. Who can resist the power of pug cuteness? Not us. Have a great Sunday evening. Are you tuning into The Celebrity Apprentice? We sure are. Looks like it's going to be a whole lot of entertainment. Hugs and Pugs!!!!

A Little Bling...well no, a LOT of Bling

2011-03-05T20:51:00.001-05:00

Before......................and......................
AFTER!!!!!!!!!!
Why use a little bling when you can use a lot? I decided to sparkle up my ipod case with some bling that I got at Michael's recently. Everything just looks better with a little bit of..............or a lot of sparkle. Easy peasy. Just put dots of glue on and added the gems. Now it is drying. I can't wait to put it back on my ipod. Hope that you are all staying dry and having a great Saturday night!

Smiles

2011-03-05T11:15:00.000-05:00

There are all kinds of smiles in the world and they all seem to have the same effect....................they tend to be contagious. Ever smile at someone who appears to be absolutely against smiling? I LOVE to do that. So enjoy these smiles on this rainy, miserable day. I know how to make little Sydney Woo smile.........make her some fresh treats, which is what I am going to do today before I start some crafts.

And what do March showers bring? Melting snow!!!!!! Yay!!!! We can finally see the grass that has been hiding under the snow for months! And it's a good day to cuddle with your sweetie pies and a good day to craft. Oh, and probably a good day to do some cleaning. I did a little bit of that, just to make the house look a little more tidy and to make myself feel a little less guilty. Tee heee. And now that I have alleviated myself of some housecleaning guilt, it's time to craft!!!!! Hugs and pugs!!!!

Umbrellas

2011-03-04T17:06:00.000-05:00

Since it is starting to rain, and it is supposed to rain for a few days, I have been thinking about umbrellas. In particular...........where is MINE? It always seems to disappear when I really need it. So while I was wondering where it is, I came across a few cute, interesting, and functional pics of various umbrellas.

Sydney Woo totally needs one of these.

Look at these stylish ladies with their galoshes on!

Pure awesomeness.

Super cute, flirty and feminine.

And who could forget............drink umbrellas. Yummmmeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marchesa Handbags

2011-03-04T15:16:00.000-05:00

Look at these Marchesa handbags...............exquisite!

This pretty in pink handbag is adorable and I can totally see a lady carrying it while wearing a beautiful flowing black dress.
This bow handbag is super cute! I wonder where it opens?????

This blue handbag and the gold one below remind me of iris paper folding. They are so beautiful.

These little handbags can really complete an outfit. And I am a firm believer in the fact that your shoes do NOT have to match your handbag. I love putting complementary colours together to accessorize an outfit. So fun and it gives the outfit a pop of colour and that is just what we need these days, especially during these long days of winter when colour can really lift our spirits. Have fun thinking about all of the spring colours that we will be wearing soon!

Tea

2011-03-04T05:44:00.001-05:00

Ahhhhh...............tea. I LOVE tea. Especially on a cold winter's day when I am feeling achy and sniffly. Nothing is more comforting than a hot cuppa. Then again, the temperature outside doesn't really matter when drinking tea. I can drink tea on the hottest day of the year, and it always tastes divine. Today I am feeling sniffly and after getting up at 4:45 am to feed the little puggie girl, a hot cuppa is just what I needed. Check out these photos of tea, in all it's wonderful, tasty, and comforting glory.

Mr. Penguin......you are adorable...........and very appropriately dressed for tea time!

Oh my........look at those treats for high tea. I'll have one of those..........and two of those...........

Sign me up for a few of these green tea Kit Kats!

And what tea party would be complete without a few guests?

Oh my..........what a deliciously ornate tea set!

Cheers!

Marchesa

2011-03-03T22:59:00.001-05:00

Okay. So I have heard the name Marchesa during the awards season a lot and I finally looked them up on the internet and look what I found..................absolute perfection! The gowns are incredible, so feminine and made with silk, organza, and all kinds of beautiful embellishments that complete the look. They also design handbags and other accessories which are equally gorgeous. The ways that the fabrics are cut and styled into these dresses are truly amazing and these dresses are works of art. Which one is your fave? Enjoy!

Black and white.............................you can never go wrong with this classy combination.

Love the softness of the draping and the fabric rosettes.

Look at the structure of this dress....................gorgeous!

Oh my...............no words.

Lovely lavender. And again......one shoulder is just slightly accented.

Beautiful soft colouring.

Eggplant is so regal and classy. Look at the flow of this gown. Loving all of the rosette-type embellishment across the top.

Vintage Gowns

2011-02-27T09:28:00.000-05:00

Thinking about gowns today because of the Oscars tonight. Aren't they unbelievably beautiful???? My fave is the second one, which is the gold mermaid style, but believe me, I would take any of these. Which one is your fave? I haven't seen any of the Oscar nominated movies, so I will be tuning in mostly to see the fashions. Ha ha haaaaa. Hope that you all have a great day. We are taking my sweet mother in law out for lunch today to the Mandarin for their deelish buffet. She is having a knee replacement in a few weeks and the entire family is getting together today for a nice lunch before her surgery. It will be really nice to see everyone and I know that my mother in law is really excited to see her grandchildren. So I have to get moving and get some laundry and ironing done and also get myself ready. Talk again soon. Hugs and pugs!!!!

Bows

2011-02-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

Don't you just love bows? Look at all of the different ways that they can be used........to embellish clothing, to put in your hair, or to put on a Christmas gift. I just love the little Christmas trees made out of different colours of ribbon! Aren't they adorable? And the shoes are just gorgeous! Bows just seem to make everything happier. Hope you like them as much as I do!

Day 359 - Tuesday Trio

2011-02-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Here's Day 359 - Tuesday Trio..........using blue, using a button, and using a distressing technique. I have used blue paper from Playful Posies, stamped a collage image using blue ink and then distressing it with Tim Holtz antique linen Distress Ink, and then cut out a key shape and a 3-d flower from the Silhouette, and I also distressed both of those with the same antique linen ink. There is a blue button in the middle of the flower. I used some light brown paper in the background and punched the edge with a Fiskars punch, and used lots of gold stickles to edge the flower and glitter up some other areas of the stamped image and the little flowers. I really love blue and brown together. Well, that's it for tonight for card making. My little puggie girl has a very sore ear that needs to be tended to. She is trying to jump on my lap and I can't make cards and treat her ears at the same time. See you later and I hope that all of you are having a great evening! Hugs and pugs to you all!

Day 358 - Colour Scheme

2011-02-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

Day 358 - Colour Scheme from 365 Cards. This was kind of a tough one, even though we were given the colours. I think I got all of the colours, but I had trouble putting everything together. I used some cutouts from the Silhouette and I edged the flower in red ink, used a Fiskars punch to do the edging on the rust coloured paper, and of course, blinged it out with some red crystals. I love the green ribbon. Hope that you like it! Now I have to go and have some dinner because I am starving!!!!!! George is out playing squash and Sydney has already eaten, but I just can't wait until George gets home. I will make him something yummy when he gets in. Hope that you have a great night. I am going to look back on the 365 Cards challenges from last week and see what I missed. I am hoping that George can fix my printer because I downloaded some new digi stamps, but my printer is not working. So I better fix him something really yummy for dinner............tee heeee. Talk again soon..........hugs and pugs!!!!!!!!!

Looking Forward to Spring

2011-02-20T21:28:00.000-05:00

Heard that we are in for another storm starting tonight. Just as I am typing this, George has informed me that yes, it is indeed snowing outside.............again. This seems to be an extra long winter, but at least we are far better off than many, many places in the world in terms of weather, political unrest, and so many other issues. So more snow will not dampen my spirit! I was going through all of the pictures on my laptop and I finally organized all of them. What a job. Hopefully now that they are organized, they will stay organized. I came across some pics from our garden and thought I would share some. I may have posted these previously, but I couldn't resist sharing them again because they bring just the breath of spring that we all need right now. I hope that you are having a cozy night tonight. We sure are, snuggled up, watching t.v., blogging, doing laundry, and enjoying spending time together with our little puggie girl. Tomorrow is Family Day, so Syd and I will be home spending Momma and Puggie time together. George has to work, since he works for the Feds, but he does have the afternoon off. Yay!!!!! Syd will probably supervise me in the craft room tomorrow morning. Didn't get any crafting done this weekend, but managed a trip to Michael's yesterday for a big sale. So I will put some new stuff to good use tomorrow. See you soon! Hugs and pugs!

Little Dinner Party

2011-02-19T15:32:00.001-05:00

Having a little dinner party today here for my parents. George, my Mom, my Dad, myself and little Sydney Woo. My parents are leaving for Florida soon for a whole month. Can you believe they can stand to be away from me for that long? Neither can I. Ha ha haaaaa...........well, at least we have Skype. So, George and I have invited them over for dinner. I just set the table and took a few pics. These are our good dishes from Denby and they are 'Metz'. We got them as wedding gifts when we were married 13 years ago. The crystal is also from our wedding and the pattern is called 'Starlight'. If you can see the ivy plant on the right hand side under the window behind the table, that is from my wedding bouquet. My father rooted it for me when we were on our honeymoon and it has been growing ever since. What a wonderfully thoughtful man my Dad is. And so is my Mom. I am so lucky to have them as my parents. And if the truth were told, I can barely stand to be away from them for a whole month. But shhh.........don't let on I told you that. It will be our secret. Talk soon. Hugs and pugs!!!!!

Lazy Daizy Pretty Little Pug

2011-02-18T10:09:00.001-05:00

My pretty little girl didn't want to get out of bed one day this week while George and I were getting ready for work. Oh, how I wanted to crawl right back in with her! What a snuggly little puggly girl! This was probably the night after the Westminster Dog Show was on t.v. and she could not stop barking and talking to all of the beautiful doggies. She goes crazy for dogs and all kinds of animals and people on t.v. And for some strange reason, she can't stand golf on the t.v. either! She is so funny. Well, I better go..........I just baked a fresh batch of oatmeal and rice flour treats for her and even that little flat puggie nose can smell them a mile away. Hugs and pugs!

Day 346 - Teen Queen

2011-02-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

Ummmmm............did somebody say card for a 'girl' and 'bling'???? Well, well, well..........that got my attention. Because I LOVE the colour pink on cards and I LOVE bling on cards, so here it is..........my Teen Queen card for 365 Cards. I used a stamp from Hero Arts and coloured the dress in with my Sharpie Markers on watercolur paper. I stamped the image with black StazOn ink and then blinged everything up with stickles, rhinestones, a gold peel off sticker, ribbon, and one favourite silhouette 3-d flower. Hope you like it! Hugs and pugs!

Day 345 - Feeling Like a Rock Star

2011-02-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

'U Are A Rock Star!!' Just catching up on a 365 Days challenge from a few days ago. I used the Silhouette to cut out the letters and the guitar as well as used lots of stickles. Love those stickles! I had the blue background paper in my stash and it reminded me of a starry sky. Hoping to do more challenges for 365 cards this week. Just finished an order for a friend and will be moving on to more projects. Slight hiccup this week with being under the weather, but I am feeling lots better now. Hope to post again very soon. Hugs and pugs everyone!!!

Super Adorable Baby Animals

2011-02-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness...............the cuteness in these pictures defies description! I can't take it!!!!! Came home from work today and I just can't seem to stop cuddling with my little puggie girl. She is so snuggly and she does not want me to get up and sit at my desk and do some crafting. And I can't resist her. Therefore, I must lay here on the couch, with her curled up against me, with my laptop, surfing the internet. My sweetie pie hubby has gone out to play squash and little Syd and I are keeping warm, watching t.v. and hanging out. I am planning on going to Michael's tomorrow to pick up a few embellishments, so I better go on the Flyerland website to see if there are any coupons. Enjoy these sweet pics of these gorgeous babies. Talk again soon. Stay warm and toasty! Hugs and pugs!!!

Cheerful Cards

2011-02-09T17:02:00.000-05:00

Here are a few cards that I made to try to chase away some of the winter blahs. Although the snow is pretty, I think I have had enough. So I did some pretty flower cards using once again, THE Silhouette, 'Oriental Card Cutout', a few stickles to give the middles of the flowers a little punch, a white background to make the colours stand out, and some gold peel-off stickers for a few of the corners. I am now working on some purple 'bubble' background cards, so will put them up as soon as I finish. Uh oh...............someone is crying............she has gotten herself somehow wedged in between the furnace room door and the dehumidifier. How she did that I don't know...................oh that mischevious little puggie girl! I better go and get her. Talk again soon!!!! Pug Momma to the rescue!!!

Under the Weather Today

2011-02-08T16:08:00.000-05:00

Feelin' under the weather today, so stayed home to snuggle with my little girlie girl. Hoping to be back to myself very soon. Hugs and pugs to everyone.

Girlie All Occasion Card

2011-02-07T21:19:00.001-05:00

Here's a pic of a girlie all occasion card, made, of course, with my new obsession, the Silhouette! I used the 3-d flower, 'me & my big ideas' paper, a Fiskars punch, some light green pearl accents, and lots of gold stickles with some gold outline stickers in a few corners. I love glitter!!!! Pugs and hugs to everyone!!!

Day 344 - Rinchies

2011-02-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Here is my card for Day 344 - Rinchies from 365 Cards. Love the word 'rinchies'! And with my Silhouette, it is so easy to create shapes that have specific dimensions. Have I mentioned before that I LOVE the Silhouette? This Valentine card is for a little boy. It is kind of hard to make Valentines for boys because it seems like a more girlie type of occasion, but I hope this special little boy will like this one. I did the three 'rinchies' in the top left hand portion of the card and put little hearts on them that were cut out from doggie bone paper. And I did another 'Love Paw' from the Silhouette and blinged it all up just a little bit and added some layers of doggie papers all on a reddish/burgundy background paper. The 'Love Paw' makes me so happy!

Day 343 - Super Sketchy Sunday

2011-02-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

Here is my take on Day 343 - Super Sketchy Sunday. I have been making Valentines so I thought I would go for one following Day 343. I used the 'Love Paw' from the Silhouette and of course, blinged everything out in pink, pearls, polka dots, doggie bones, and stickles. This will be going to a very special little girl who loves doggies and of course, it will be from Miss Sydney Woo. Miss Woo did some of the supervising, while laying in front of the fireplace making sure that her Momma was hard at work at her desk. Way to go Sydney! Oh, speaking of Sydney, she has just noticed that the neighbours have their snowblower out and is barking and woo wooing at it........she is so very tough and she is going to chase that big, bad machine away! Well, time to do one more card and then it will be on to making the Super Bowl snacks!!!!!!

My Re-Organized Craft Area

2011-02-06T08:58:00.000-05:00

Our cute little 'fireplace' the keeps us warm in the craft area during this very cold and snowy winter. Notice the pics of my Gram, Gramps, and my Gram's wonderful sewing basket.
The area beside my desk where I keep the glue, pop dots, cutters, remotes for the t.v. (ha ha haaaaaa), and pics of the fave little ones in our lives.

My childhood desk. Inside the desk I have all of my inks, markers, watercolour pencils, embossing powders, and glitters. Look at my Silhouette!!!!!!!!!

Look at my booky wooks! Of course there are many more, but they are scattered around the house, just begging to be organized.

Here are my rubber stamps, displayed where I can see them , on a nice wooden bookcase that my talented Dad made. My Dad also put the shelves up above the bookcase so that I could organize many more gadgets and supplies.

And pure happiness......................a whole bunch of Sharpies!!!!!!!!! Woo hooooo!!!! I saw them at Costco and I could not resist!

And of course, one of five Princess Pug beds, right in front of the 'fireplace'. I wonder what bed she is sleeping in right now? Probably ours. Ha ha ha. She is VERY smart.

Cute way to hold your Post-It Notes

2011-02-05T21:06:00.002-05:00

This is a really cute idea that I saw on www.tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com which is a great blog full of the coolest ideas. I can't find the exact post where the idea came from, but just take a look through all of the creative ideas. I bought one of the cheapie frames from the dollar store that you can slide a picture into and turn on it's side to display a pic. It had glass in it, so I took the glass out, glued paper on, embellished with a 3-d flower design from my Silhouette, added some bling, and then glued on a coloured post-it note pad from a pack that I got at Costco. Then turned it so that it is elevated at the perfect angle for writing. Pretty neat, eh? I think it will look great on my desk at work. And what a great gift for someone! Hugs and pugs everyone!!!

Cuteness Alert!!!

2011-02-05T21:05:00.002-05:00

Hello Kitty sushi????? Oh my goodness!!!

And Hello Kitty sewing machines...................................tons of cuteness. I can barely stand it!!!!

365 Cards - Day 342 - Scraplift a 365er

2011-02-05T19:48:00.001-05:00

I went on 365 cards at http://365cards.blogspot.com/ where they have a new card challenge every day of the year! Today's challenge was to scraplift a 365er and I chose to scraplift Gloria from Day 316. Gloria's card was from 'Pure Elegance' day and it is so beautiful and totally elegant. I love the way Gloria used black and white with a gorgeous filagree border around the silhouette of a woman's head. And the embellishments that Gloria added gave just the right finishing touches. Thanks Gloria! I decided to put a Valentine's twist on it and this is what I came up with. I used my wonderful Silhouette machine, the 'artisan square with swirl frame' download, a few hearts that I took from the 'essence of love' download, some bling, and topped it all off with some silver and fruit punch stickles. Fun!!!

Mmmmmm.................Polish Food

2011-02-04T16:44:00.001-05:00

The Polish food pyramid. Makes me howl!!!! I married into a wonderful Polish family and my Mother-in-Law is an incredible cook. My faves are her pierogies, platzki, ushki, and kapusta. She also makes amazing dill pickles and pickled beets. I don't eat meat, and it took a while for that fact to become a reality in a Polish family, but there are so many delicious things that are meatless in Polish cooking. I had no idea how many different fillings there are for pierogies. I made them once, yes only once.............they are a lot of work and I have recently made borscht, which is beet soup. I love to cook and one of these days I am going to have my sweet mother-in-law show me some of her secrets in the kitchen.

Pierogies................they can have fruit fillings, sauerkraut, cheese and potato, and many others.

Kapusta..............yummmmmmeeeeeeeee sauerkraut and other good stuff.

Ahhh, potato pancakes or platzki. Make them and have them with a little bit of sour cream.

Borscht with a dollop of sour cream. We have this delicious soup on Christmas Eve and dip ushki into it.

Ha ha haaaa.................love this t-shirt!!!

All this food talk is makin' me hungry...........what to have for dinner?????????

Lookie, lookie, cookie...........

2011-02-03T14:48:00.000-05:00

Take a look see at what I just scored from ebay!!!!!!!! Deeeeeelish, deeeeevine, deeeeeelightful Amy Butler fabrics!!!!! I have two new Amy Butler booky wooks and I am itching to get fabricating some bags and things. I can hardly wait until I get them in the mail. Yippppiteeeeee!!!!!! Hugs and Pugs everyone!!!

Colour = Happy

2011-02-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

Just posting some colour on this snowy, wintry day. I didn't get a snow day, but work was quiet so I got lots done, which was great. Enjoy these pics..............lots of beautiful colours, great combinations..........candy for the eyes. Yummmmeeeeeeeeeee!!! Stay safe and warm and if you have to go out, drive carefully. Talk soon. Hugs and pugs to you all!

Cute Valentine's Images

2011-02-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

I was Viola. I didn't know back then what Peggy really was. I just thought she was popular and cute. Years later, the truth comes out. I am still green with envy. Cute little topper for a cute little cupcake.
Well Hello Kitty, you are pretty on any occasion.

Yum, yum yum. I would LOVE some of these please.

Wow.................Now that's a lot of bling.

How super cute are these shoes for Valentine's Day? I am definitely NOT into exercise of any sort, but I certainly could add these shoes to my workout wardrobe. I do have a workout wardrobe. I joined the Y briefly a while ago, probably just so I could get some cute things from Sportchek. Tee heeee. Went for a few workouts, then started to go for the Executive workouts only, and then decided not to go at all. I sure have lots of great workout clothes to wear while I am vacuuming and these cutie pie shoes would sure look good while I am prancing around with the vacuum and my dusting brush.

So that's all for today. I am busy working on Valentine's for some sweetie pies, so will post them when I am done. I am using my new Silhouette and boy oh boy, is that a fun machine to have!!!!!

Stay warm and drive safe everyone. There is snow everywhere. As a matter of fact, if you don't absolutely have to go out, please stay home and don't drive if you don't have to. I am crossing my fingers for a snow day tomorrow so that I can stay home and cuddle with my handsome husband and my beautiful puggie girl. Talk again soon!

Silhouette Crazy

2011-01-14T10:53:00.000-05:00

OK - So guess what????? I got a Silhouette for Christmas from the man of my dreams!!!! No. Not Santa. But Santa's helper, my husband, George. And of course, Miss Sydney Woo must have had something to do with picking it out. Check out http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/ to see what I am talking about. My friend and neighbour, Angela, told me about the Silhouette, and I was absolutely horrified that there was a crafting tool out there that I didn't have! Say it wasn't so!

Good thing it was close to Christmas and even better thing that I had been a very good girl. So, I sent e-mails, and I dropped hints, and I whined, and I did all of the things that I normally do when there is something that I really, really, must have. I hoped and hoped that the big parcel under the tree was what I had hoped for and it was! I squealed and I hugged and I kissed! And now it is play time ladies and gentlemen.

However, at first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never use this new and special tool. So I called up Scrapbook Central (http://www.scrapbookcentral.ca/) and signed up for a 6-week course, which I started yesterday. And voila! I am on my way to Silhouette obsession after just one class!

So stay tuned for projects as I start to post some new creations. I am posting a picture of this wonderful machine so that those of you who have never seen one, can have a look.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and creative day!

Sydney T-Shirts and Pug Jewellery

2010-12-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

A pug necklace. I made shapes from polymer clay, stamped a pug image with black Stazon ink, cured them in the oven, and strung them on cording to make a necklace.

Sydney Woo t-shirts for our nieces. I printed the pics on fabric that can be run through the printer, appliqued them on using a zig-zag stitch, and then used recycled jeans to make the hearts and shapes. I used fabric paint to decorate the shapes. And voila! Sydney Woo t-shirts!!!!!

Christmas Cookies 2010

2010-12-27T20:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas cookies - they take so long to prepare, bake, and decorate, and only seconds to disappear. Now THAT's the sign of a good cookie! Thanks to my beloved Gram for trusting me with her treasured recipes. I know that she is smiling in heaven as she looks down at these colourful cookies. Gram, I am getting better every year with the baking and I can only hope to bake half as well as you one of these days.

Sydney/Poopie Christmas Card

2010-12-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

My favourite subject............Miss Sydney Woo is the star in yet another Christmas card that I have made. In this picture, Miss Woo is posing with her baby, Poopie. Poopie has been through quite an odyssey this year, so I thought it only fitting to feature him on the card with Miss Woo. We left Poopie behind at a cottage that we rented in July and finally managed to track him down and back at home by Thanksgiving. We tried to get Syd to love other dolls, but she is very faithful and would have nothing to do with them. We had e-mails going back and forth, trying to get Poopie home, and then miraculously, he arrived just before Thanksgiving weekend. And was Syd thankful? You bet she was! She gave him heck for the first night that he was back, but then it was back to the old routine of snuggling with him every night. So cute! So here they are, back together again, and looking pretty happy about it.

Altered Note Book

2010-12-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

Here is an altered notebook that my friend is giving to her niece for Christmas. She asked me to do it in purple with her niece's name. I painted the cover of the spiral notebook, did the base colours with different shades of purple paper, lightly glued on the crown and the Eiffel Tower, and then Mod Podged the cover. After it was dry, I added all of the bling and the flowers. Oh, I LOVE bling! I hope she likes it!

Migraines are so awful

2010-12-11T07:11:00.000-05:00

Having a really yucky migraine, but wanted to quickly post something creative, beautiful, and 'green'. Cheers to those who find the most creative ways to honour our beautiful earth by re-purposing everyday items to make something wonderful! Enjoy this 'redneck' Christmas tree and the link the follows. This tree is made from Mountain Dew cans. Simply amazing!

Check out this link at:

http://www.christmasmichigan.com/Build-Your-Own-Christmas-Tree.html

I Won!!!

2010-12-09T19:41:00.000-05:00

Check out this amazing blog:

www.naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com

The blog is great and so is Jennifer Perkins' book, 'The Naughty Secretary Club'. The book is filled with awesome crafting ideas. The crafts are so colourful, creative, and eco-friendly, using so many items that have been re-purposed, which I LOVE!

And guess what? I entered a contest on the blog where all I had to do was make a comment about a post and I won!!!!!!!!!! The prize is a book written by the multi-talented Amy Butler, called 'Style Stitches' and I can't wait until it arrives. Check out Amy's site at:

http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/main.php?fl=0

Everything that Amy does is so professional, clean, and precise and BEAUTIFUL! The fabrics are fresh and just plain make me happy!

Well, on that note, I MUST get crafting. The bug has hit me big time today. I am going to finish some Christmas cards and do some soldering on the copper pendant that I am making for a necklace. Goin' to put on the goggles and fire up the Big Boy torch!! Ya!!!!!!

A puggie and wintry themed birthday card

2010-12-07T21:40:00.001-05:00

A puggie and wintry themed birthday card for our beautiful niece's 11th birthday. I just can't get enough of this pic that I took of little Syd! She love to pose. I added some pretty things using www.picnik.com which is an awesome website for creating, editing, and sharing your photos. Check it out! I added handmade ribbon flowers that I wound together with some pretty ribbon and some fabritac glue, which is great.

Christmas Decor 2010............so far

2010-12-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Three little birdies under some tiny trees in the entryway.

Pretty white things in the front.

Close-up of the green peacock ribbon. Scrumptious!!!!!

Glass blocks filled with little white lights and decorated in peacock ribbon.

Ooooooooo........................they are glowing.

Exploding Boxes for Some Special Babies!!!

2010-11-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of some exploding boxes that I made for a friend to send to a friend who is having twins. Pictures can be adhered to the outside of each box when the babies are born. I love the paper with the wee animals!!!

Christmas Card

2010-11-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

Here is a new Christmas card............made with embossing ink, a Stampin Up stamp, coloured with Tombow Markers, and mounted on a Cuttlebug embossed card.

Gettin' Ready for Christmas - Woo hoooo!!!!!

2010-11-08T18:38:00.000-05:00

Just a few things that I have been working on for the Christmas season. Fun, fun, fun!!!!!

Some New Jewellery

2010-10-14T20:23:00.001-04:00

Some things that I have been working on to satisfy my new obsession with beading and jewellery.

Summer Highlights

2010-10-14T20:06:00.001-04:00

Who's driving the boat?

Wakey, wakey.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh........yum.

Oh, I am so over this.

Get off my dock!

Just some highlights of our little princess (and her beer-drinking humans) on vacation this summer. The vacations sure were fun!

Random Pics of Shadow Boxes and Collages

2010-07-08T20:05:00.001-04:00

A shadow box with some items from a trip to Australia and a pic from our walk along the trail from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach. It was breathtaking!

Pics and things from our honeymoon in Jamaica and a trip to Florida. The little hand drawn pictures inside the shadow box were drawn by a local artist and they are gorgeous!

A digital collage of photos that I made for my Gram of her and my Gramps.

Here is a shadow box that I made for Gram for Mother's Day a few years ago. I put a pic of her and I in there along with little things that reminded me of her.

Some Warhol-inspired pics of Miss Sydney Woo that I did with Picnik and put on canvasses with Mod Podge. I plan on putting them all together somehow and making them into one piece of art.

Gram's Sewing Basket

2010-07-08T19:57:00.001-04:00

My Gram's sewing basket.............one of my prized possessions. So many wonderful memories. I always wanted to look inside to see what treasures Gram had inside. Gram made some of my clothes when I was little and boy oh boy, was she talented!

And here is the sewing basket that Gram gave me for Christmas one year. I love it!

Gettin' Creative and Re-Purposing

2010-07-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

Here are a few t-shirts. I love the pink shirt, but it 'shrunk' and is a little tight for me now. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Anyways.............I love the shirt and still want to wear it, so I thought............why not put some extra fabric in it to help the fact that it 'shrunk'. Again, that is my story and I am STILL stickin' to it. So I used a plain white t-shirt that I don't wear because I can't seem to wear anything white without getting food, ink, or dirt on it. I cut two 'V' shapes out of the sides of the white t-shirt, cut the seams in the pink t-shirt, and then sewed the white pieces into the sides of the pink t-shirt. And voila! A shirt that now fits!

Well, then I got even more creative and cut some more strips from the white t-shirt and made some little flowers to embellish around the collar. Then I used some Tulip fabric paint to put the centres in the flowers.

Now I can wear this t-shirt and it will now fit. I hate it when clothes 'shrink'! Don't you???

Miss Sydney Woo, Supervisor Extraordinare

2010-07-02T12:08:00.001-04:00

And once again..........I did the pics backwards. Oh well. I think you get the idea. Work, supervise, beer break, completed project, collapse in a comfy chair with the most beautiful girl in the world and the most amazing husband in the world!