Bye Bye October...Hello Christmas Rush!

It happens every year so I should know by now to expect it, but the day after Halloween seems to mark the pre-Christmas craziness! And I have jumped right in...I am taking 2 Christmas prep classes @ BPS...Giving Well 2008 which is almost over, and Cut the Crazy out of Christmas which has just started. I have lots of fun project ideas under my belt and am now in the process of creating a customized Christmas planner so I am well on my way to getting organized! I know I know...I say every year that this year will be different, this year I will be organized, but I really have a feeling that this year I will make inroads to that goal!

Today I also had a Creative Memories booth at the first of three trade/Christmas shows this month. It was great - I got to meet a lot of other moms that have home based businesses and made a good amount of sales and contacts. A lot of people were really interested in Digital Scrapbooking, Photocards and Storybooks/Photobooks. This is really where my focus has been lately, so it was fun to initiate some digital newbies! And, I picked up a couple of Christmas gifts as well. I met a wonderful lady named Roxanne who sells personalized children's music CD's so I picked up 2 - Elmo singing songs about Grayson and Barney singins songs about Sam! Love them! We had a great chat about online commerce and it really got me thinking about about additions to my business, especially on my personal website. I have a few ideas that I am putting into place and will post when they are up and running.

In the creativity department, I finished up and submitted this layout to the Just Cre8 challenge which was to use a rebus on your LO. Mine uses letters and pictures for the title; "You Love To Read".

"You Love To Read" 12 x 12 LO by Noreen Smith. Paperbilities cardstock, Stampin Up letter strip, unknown patterned paper strip and brads. Century Gothic font.

I cannot believe the talent in this group of contestants and am really enjoying seeing their work. This weeks challenge is to design a LO based on one of three ads posted on the site. It's due Wednesday, so I better get working!

And, I can't resist posting pics of my pumpkins. Literally! Grayson was a pumpkin for Halloween and was oh-so-sweet! Sammy got to wear a Winnie the Pooh outfit, but was pretty unimpressed with the whole deal this year! (Next year I'm sure he will kick _ss!)

Here they are just before all the Halloween festivities began. They are getting to be good friends. Man I love these 2!!!

We went to a local mall for Halloween activities during the afternoon with our good friends Wendy, Amy and Sean and got to make slime and trick or treat with lots of other little ones. Here they are - the Pumpkin, Princess and Pirate!

Then in the evening I took Grayson around to a few neighbours.

Although he has been out Trick or Treating before, this was the first year he was really into it. He kept saying, "Just one more house Mom, just one more!" It was fine weather (17 degrees during the day) so I didn't mind being out walking around. (*I remember Halloweening when I was a kid and it always seemed to be so cold...you had to choose a costume that either had lots of layers or could go over your coat so you could keep warm!) Anyway, he had such a good time and what a candy stash he ended up with! He couldn't believe it! It was a really great day!

SO...onto the next holiday! Good luck getting organized...I'll post my planner once it is in the works!

Happy Scrapping

Noreen

Happy Mail

There's nothing like getting a little something that makes you happy in your mailbox, eh? I subscribe to Creating Keepsakes and Simple Scrapbooks magazines and they BOTH came today! Happiness x 2! I scanned them both and can't wait to go through each of them with a fine tooth comb! I love the fall and holiday LO's and the special tools issue of SS looks great - lots of recommendations and how-tos. I'll look forward to catching a few moments over the next couple of days to read more.

I just spent the last 45 minutes or so looking at the amazing gallery at JustCre8. I signed up to be part of the 2008 Gre8 Cre8tive Idol challenge. The first challenge was to use a famous advertising slogan so I created and submitted this LO based on the Campbell's Soup slogan:

M'm M'm Good, by Noreen Smith. 12 x 12 Layout. Paperbilities Cardstock, Sassafrass Lass patterned paper, Stampin' Up ink, Creating Keepsakes/Lisa Bearnson chipboard letters, unknown buttons and index card.

The competition is fierce and the work posted is nothing short of inspired! I'm pretty sure mine won't stand up to it! But over the next 5 weeks we will create and share 5 new LO's, so that in and of itself is good! And I do love the photos of Grayson here...he could be a modern Campbell's kid don't you think? OK...I'm biased!!!

Went to visit with mom today and as I looked around her room I realized that there aren't a lot of current photos of us. I need to work on a little album or some framed pieces for her. There is some research out there about the therapuetic effects of scrapbooking for Alzheimers patients and although I know she won't actually scrapbook, she always did love looking at our albums.

And I do need to get caught up on sweet Sammy's baby book. I create calendar pages for each month where I can record milestones and adventures as they happen, so I need to update October's page. We have been so busy doing things that I haven't been able to record them all!

It's so nice to have a little bit of time to devote to scrapping again!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

Busy Weekend

What a great weekend we had!

Saturday it was off to Butterfield Acres Farm to go one our first ever PUMPKIN HUNT! Grayson was so excited as I had been talking it up for about a week before we went! It was even more exciting because Sean and Amy were going to be there too. We had afternoon tickets which weren't out first choice as Sean and Grayson do need "rest" time in the afternoons, but as it turned out it was good thing. The temperature had dropped the night before and they actually had some snow on the ground due to the higher elevation of the farm. Thankfully by the time we got there at 1:00 pm it was a little warmer, but Shane needed a touque for his bald head and Grayson decided he wanted his cosy hat as well. Shane took Sam in the Baby Bjorn and we bundled him up with a fleecy jacket, mittens and hat as well as blankets.

So off we went. We boarded a farm wagon pulled by a tractor (a big hit with Grayson!) and headed out to the pumpkin patch. There was literally frost on the pumpkins, but Grayson found one that he liked.. It was almost bigger than he was!

After the actual hunt, we went back to the farm in the wagon and were able to decorate the pumkins in the warm but smelly barn! (Being a city gal sure makes you sensitive to those farm smells!) Here is Grayson and Sean back in the wagon:

After we finished decorating we visited some of the animals - sheep, goats, donkeys, chickens and llamas - that live on the fram year round. Then it was off for a bite to eat. Sam did really well...he didn't complain being hauled around or being cold, and I fed him in the Jeep afterwards and he was happy as could be! It's funny though because you see pictures of folks who live in warmer climates going to pumpkin patches and it looks like our summertime! And although we had fun, I think it would be a little more enjoyable on a nice warm day! But all in all it was a good day and we would like to do it again.

Sunday was a big day for Sammy - his Baptism into the Catholic Church! We had him baptized at St. Luke's church, and Deacon Louis LaPointe performed the baptism itself. My good friend Wendy McDowell is Sam's Godmother and Shane's longtime friend Rob Anders is his Godfather.

Sammy was so good during the ceremony, and actually slept through most of it. Grayson was on his best behaviour as well, and looked so handsome in his dress clothes. We are so proud of both our boys!

Afterwards we had the family over to our palce for a celebratory lunch. My cousin Michelle and I are both only children so she is like a sister to me. She is 8 years younger than me and was still a baby as I was growing up, so we are both happy that her little girl Payton and Sammy will grow up together. Payton is a couple of months older than Sammy, but she is such a petite sweet little girl. Here they are together:

And here they are with the big guy Grayson. I'm sure as they all get older he will keep them in line!

The only downside to the celebration was that mom wasn't with us. I really felt her absence this past month during my birthday and Thanksgiving celebrations. I think this Christmas will be pretty difficult as well. We will have to plan some kind of celebration at the nursing home, although I don't know if she will realize that it is a special day or not. Anyway...it was great weekend and we have some special memoreis from it!

On the scrapping front, I have signed on for a great challenge at Just Cre8 - a great company headed up by Sue Sykes who contributes to Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine. It is a 5 week challenge and it is set up so you don't see anyone's work until each challenge deadline has passed. I will be excited to see what everyone comes up with for this weeks challenge of using a famous advertising slogan as inspiration for your layout.

I am also taking the Giving Well 08 class over at BPS and am getting lots of ideas for holiday gifts and cards. I haven't made anything yet, but I am creating a great resource file of ideas to go back to. I think I am also going to take the Cut the Crazy out of Christmas class (also at BPS)in November from Georgana Hall. Looks like a great way to get inspired and organized in a creative way for the Holidays! Now I have no excuses to be rushing once the Christmas season rolls around!

Happy Scrapping!

Noreen

Do Not Call!

If you live in Canada you can finally sign up on the National Do Not Call List. Easy to do and I am looking forward to peacful dinnertimes, as this is when we always seem to get telemarketer calls!

We are having a quiet week...

*still not able to post pics, but techy hubbie hasn't had time to figure it out for me. Oh well. (Maybe I need to switch to Typepad???)

*painting Sam's nursery today...he will have to move out of our room at some time!

*Grayson and I will also be doing some Thanksgiving baking - cookies and a pie to take up to Lloydminster for family dinner and some banana chocolate chip muffins for the trip. Yummy! We are going to leave on Friday to make a relaxing weekend out of it. I love Thanksgiving...it really signals full-on Fall and the beginning of the holiday season...next comes Halloween and pumpkin hunts, then we start getting ready for Christmas.

Speaking of holidays, Julie and I are doing two Christmas/Home business fairs...one in Riverbend on November 1 and one on November 22 in Pineridge. There will be lots of great Christmas shopping opportunitites! Click here for all the info.

And although I really contemplated taking Cathy Zielske'sDesign Your Life class over at BPS, I think I am in more of a Holiday mood and have decided to take a couple of classes that focus on the upcoming Holidays instead: Cut the Crazy out of Christmas, Giving Well and Gratitude Memory Box. I think I will be able to have fun scrapping and making crafty things as well as get ready for the holidays!!! It's all good!

Hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving long weekend!

Happy Scrapping!
Noreen

A birthday present for myself

Some things are serendipitous. I have just finished the Have More Fun class over at BPS with the magical Stacy Julian. She wrapped it up by issuing a challenge to us and to all her blogging friends. Here's what she said:

"You have everything you need right now to be vibrant, happy and fully engaged in the creative process of life. Sometimes you just have to slow down, look around and realize it! Here’s what I want you to do …• Snap ten or twelve photos of your life right now. Or find recent photos that you've already taken.• Compile these photos in one of these super-cute Bazzill Mono-Mini albums• Keep or carry this album with you, tucked in your purse or desk drawer for one full year.• Promise to glance through the album every time you stumble upon it or pull it out. • On October 1st, 2009, create a scrapbook page about your experience." See her post, her album and a list of all her friends who took up the challenge on her blog.

So, with today being my 41st birthday, I thought it would be great idea to create the mini-album to capture my life now and then be able to compare it to what things are like in one year. In fact, I think this might be the beginning of a new tradition...creating a birthday layout or project each year. You could say this would be a birthday present for myself!

So I made my sweet little album to keep in my purse using some cute pink embellies and cardstock. BUT...I have been trying to post the photos and I still can't do it. I think I will have to create a slide show and post it that way. Anyway...I WILL somehow post and share it. (PS I am still trying to post the rest of my "30 Days Hath September" album layouts as well!!!)

As another birthday comes to a close, I think of all the things I am blessed with in my life - Shane, my boys, my extended family, good friends, the basics - home, food and clothing- of course love, laughter and happiness. Those are the best birthday presents of all.

Happy scrapping,

Noreen

Catching Up

While I have been pretty good at getting my daily pages scrapbooked for my "30 Days Hath September"album for my Have More Fun class, I have been terrible at posting them...both to this blog and to the class gallery! I blame it on breastfeeding! About two weeks ago I decided to try Sam on a bottle so Shane could feed him if I ever had to be away from home. So, I started expressing after I gave him his last feeding of the night (usually around 10:00 pm). By the time I was finished, it was inevitably late and I was exhausted so I was going straight to bed. This USED to be my free quiet time when I would surf and blog and post, so that is why nothing has happened lately!

But tonight I had a little time and thought I would catch up. But when I tried to post the photos of the layouts, I could not for the life of me get them oriented correctly...they would always post on the page sideways. Does anyone have any tips? Once I figure it out I will post, post, post!

Regular photos seem to work fine, so here are a couple of recent ones.

Here's Grayson "testing" a Halloween chocolate lollipop! (Can you believe I'm thinking about Halloween? Yes, the stores are full of it already...G.wants to be a pumpkin.)

100% trouble? 100% cute! Sam is weighing in at 17 lbs at only 14 weeks! Sheesh!

Sammy and I. What a little dear. I had to take this myself holding the camera out in front of us...pretty bad, eh?

Speaking of photos, I was getting really disappointed in the quality of home-printed photos I was getting with our all-in-one printer. So I sweet talked Shane into a new wide format Epson R1400 photo printer!!! YAY!!! I am so excited! Not only will it print out photos that are archival and higher quality than drugstore or big box processing, but I can now print my 12x12 digital scrapbook pages! I can't wait! And, Shane's little perk is that it prints on CD's/DVD's. Hopefully if my photos look better, my pages will look better.

Otherwise, we really seem to be getting into a routine finally. We have been able to get out to the stores and play dates, and life is a little more normal. I have time to get organized and clean the house and even fit in a little scrapbooking. I have been working on my website and have updated my free weekly page plans, which I really enjoy creating. Julie and I had a Creative Memories booth at the Baby Show last weekend and are planning Christmas trade fairs and a couple of all day crops. Things are going well!!! I guess it's true that the first three months with a newborn are a real write off in terms of having a "normal" life, but now that we have passed that milestone I think we are getting BACK to normal, and I like normal!!!

Happy scrapping!

Noreen

More "30 Days" pages

My 30 Days Hath September Album for my BPS class continues!

I am: 1) feeling proud of myself for keeping up with one layout per day 2) loving how I feel throughout the day - more aware, more present, more engaged with everything that is happening! Even though my days are ordinary and some would say boring, I am noticing little moments of of charm, happiness and clarity in them since I started working on this album. I am getting to know myself again as I contemplate what I am doing and why. I find myself asking myself why I am doing something or why I am feeling the way I am (whoa...that was a very "Austin Powers Spy Who Shagged Me" type of sentence!!!!)

Anyway...loving how quickly the layouts are done and really enjoying doing all the writing - visual journal style!

Here are the September 3 and 4 pages, photographed side by side.


And September 5 and 6:

I have also found that I am working on other layouts while or after I finish these fun little snippets. Getting lots done these days!

PS...I had to swing by Scrapbookers Paradise today...they are having a 4/$1 paper sale until September 20! GO GO GO!!!

Happy Scrapping,

Noreen