Halloween is here...yippee

Halloween 2008 has been a very different halloween for me for sure. Usually my house is completely decorated and ready for all the cute and creepy costumed kids, however this year because my house is for sale I did not decorate which has left me a little out of the spirit. I am trying my best throughout this morning to get it back but I think I will just put this one away in my back pocket, enjoy the night and get myself ready for next halloween.

The kids are extremely excited though which is a lot of fun. I was listening to them this morning at 6 a.m. and Trevor was explaining the holiday to Brendan. Listening to a 6 year old tell a 3 year old what to expect tonight is very heartwarming for sure.

So anyway a lot of the family is coming over to enjoy this holiday, I am cooking dinner (no idea what yet!) and then off to trick or treat, hoping the rain will stop.

I hope all of you have a very exciting and spooky halloween.

I do have a few halloween listings on etsy still so if you scrapbook for your kids these would be great for all the pics you take today.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16197461

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16013953

Cheers, til November

Does it seem like Christmas comes earlier and earlier every year???

I was driving my son home from school today and we drove past a bank. They were working on the roof of the building and Trevor asked me what they were doing. I look over and I couldn't believe it, Christmas lights were going up.

Ok I know the day following Halloween is traditionally when the malls start decorating and I can kind of handle that but given that Halloween is still 2 days away and I have seen lights going up and a Santa commercial on t.v. (last night while watching the hockey game, nearly fell off the couch) I am thinking that in a few years we will start decorating for Christmas after labor day weekend!!!!

Now considering that I make a living from selling handcrafed Christmas cards you would think that I would be ok with this but I just find that we push too much of the commerical Christmas junk and not enough about what the season is actually about!

Anyway just my two cents......off to make more Christmas cards, lol.

Cheers.

Hit by the first cold of the year

Well I have been hit by the first cold of the year and it is a doozie (sp). I am making myself do work but really don't have the desire to do anything.

I did manage to get outside on Sunday, it was such a wonderful day and I hated, just because I was feeling awful, to see the kids stuck inside. So off to the park to see the colors of fall. It was awesome. I am including some pics.

I have a picture of Trevor at this same tree when he was just under a year so after I told him this we had to do some posing, too cute.

Well the park took a bit out of me and I have been down for the count ever since. I am just now feeling a little bit more human.

I did manage to get some new tags done and listed on Etsy and have been working on the custom scrapbook.

The goal for tonight is to work on a few more cards, the custom scrapbook pages, and of course watch the hockey game. Go Canucks Go!!!

Cheers

Featured Etsy artists and more tidbits

I find today in these uncertain times that it can be easy to get discouraged. Trying to build a business and not hitting the jackpot immediately with sales I was thinking that I should just give up. It wasn't until I had a conversation with Trevor about Mario Galaxy and the Wii that I realized just how silly I was being.

He couldn't figure out a level he was playing and he was getting very angry and frustrated. He asked why did they have to make it so hard. My response was "well life wouldn't be any fun if everything came easy to us, we all need a challenge to help us grow".

Ok so I don't think the lightbulb could have been any bigger in my own head. Not sure that Trevor got it, he's still mad, but I certainly realized that I just have to keep plugging away and take on this challenge and that hopefully one day my dreams will be realized.

Also be sure to check out this group, it is a great group of women in business that help with ideas and encouragement.

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Unique-women-in-buisness/

Anyway on to something more fun:

I have found poking around Etsy some wonderful artists and I would like to take Sundays to showcase some of their wonderful work. So be sure to check these sellers out, wonderful items perfect for anyday but especially with Christmas around the corner.....

MercysMark

http://www.mercysmark.etsy.com/

Beautiful handbags, the colors and designs are exquisite and it would be hard for someone not to find one they liked.

For me these are my favorites:

Creamy Dreamy Butterflies Sling Tote Bag

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11804492

Coriander Swirls Zippered Tote Bag

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16179790

My other Etsy find for this weekend, left me hungry. Even though these candles cannot be eaten, they can definitely leave you drooling :)

crazytimescandles's

http://www.crazytimescandles.etsy.com/

Cinnamon Roll Candle

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9335697

The details on this are fantastic

Pumpkin Pie Candle

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8970329

Great addition to your holiday table this Thanksgiving

I would like to thank these shopowners for allowing me to feature them, the products from each are amazing!

Cheers,

Personal Crafting

Do you ever find that when you get involved in selling your craft that you forget to do what you love for yourself?

This has been happening to me lately, don't get me wrong I am very appreciative of the custom orders and producing things for the store but I have to remember from time to time that I started scrapbooking to ensure that my kids had their childhood memories preserved. Well I am only about 2 years behind (I take too many pictures, lol).

With that said I decided to sit down and work on Trevors book, Halloween 2006, it was his first real Halloween party and it was held at Rors work. As you can imagine Electronic Arts could put together a spectacular party and sure enough they did.

Here are the pics of his layout

Anyway it will be my goal to keep up with the kids layouts, at the very least 1 per week per kid, really not unattainable.

I did also work on some Christmas gift tags that I hope to have listed tonight so be sure to check back.

Finally I will be posting some of my Christmas wish list items over the weekend so if you have anything I should take a look at let me know :)

Cheers

Happy Wednesday - start of a great sale

Well here we are in the middle of the week, this week is just flying by. I have been going crazy working on custom orders (a good thing for sure) but feel I need to spend a few days working on my boys scrapbooks, I am getting just a little behind!

I have just started a new sale at both my ebay store and Etsy store. The sale at ebay is on Christmas cards, I will not be relisting them any longer so all that are still listed are 15% off, great deal since they were already below retail.
At my Etsy store I am having a buy 3 get 1 free sale, a great deal for sure!

Hoping to get the kids out for a nice fall walk today as it is so beautiful right now, I just hope it stays this way til after school.

Well not much to say today, same old same old going on right now.
Cheers

Working day

Well the custom orders are coming in so I plan to spend the next few days doing nothing but custom orders and the weather is cooperating with my plan. The rain has started when it will end I don't know, March maybe :)

I came across a great new group on yahoogroups, http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Unique-women-in-buisness/?yguid=149700038
so for all those women out there looking for others that are in similiar situations (trying to do it all) be sure to check it out!

I am getting really excited, Rory and I have decided to take a night away from the kids. We will be going across the line into Washington to do some shopping and give some money away at the casino, I am a realist, lol. We will be leaving on Friday, so the kids will be spending some quality time with Aunt Tracy.

Anyway off to create the Christmas cards and scrapbooks.

Cheers

Pumpkin Patch day

Oh what fun we had today.

The dh and kids were quiet so that I could sleep in this morning, yippee.

The day was beautiful so we had to decide what to do this morning and it definitely had to be something outside. We had planned to go to the pumpkin patch next weekend but with perfect weather why tempt fate, off we went.

I am not a big fan of going to the same place every year so even though Rory was geared up to go the Laity pumpkin patch I wanted to find somewhere new. Whoa what a mistake. The first farm I had found via the internet didn't really exist. We found the address but other than a dog and a trailer we couldn't find any evidence of a pumpkin patch.

So now I advise there is a place a town over, only 20 more minutes. We get there, pay $42 to enter (I know I can't believe it), started the corn maze (totally wanted to do this on this year) only to have Trevor whine that he was too tired to continue, so out of 18 flags we managed to do 2. Then off to the animals, huge pig and some sheep, hay bale maze, and then the pumpkin patch. Pumpkin patch, NOT. I couldn't find one orange pumpkin if my life depended on it. Green ones, white ones, tiny unripe ones, etc.

So needless to say the day we were to bring home the mighty pumpkins we came home hands empty. Oh well here's hoping next weekend isn't too wet, Laity pumpkin patch here we come.

We ended the day with Grandma and Aunt Tracy over for dinner, watched the hockey game, ugh, and then played a little Mario Kart on the Wii.

All in all a good day.

Back to scrapping and creating tomorrow!

Cheers

I love Saturdays

Well it has been a few days since I last posted, trying to clean up some stuff here and I think I am on my way to clearing up the to do list.

Peanut who just had surgery had to have another one on Thursday night, this dog is turning into the million dollar dog. Oh well she is worth it.

I have finished 12 Christmas cards that I have listed on Etsy, here are a couple of my favorites

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16334524

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16333619

I have started working on my custom scrapbooks, which is good. I love creating for others!

Trevor had bowling today, he scored his highest score to date, 99, crazy thing is that his Aunt Tracy also bowled a 99 last Tuesday.

On the way home from bowling he (Trevor) said the funniest things.

"I hope you don't die soon because you are so beautiful", wasn't sure how to take that one!

"Is Egypt in Canada?", I answered no the world and then went on to explain some things about Egypt. He asked if we would go there one day, I told him maybe he can go there when he is an adult to which he replied, when I am a grown up I will take you to Egypt, I asked for that in writing, he said yes we should put it in writing because you may forget.

Still waiting on more entries for the October contest, lets seem em!

Planning on spending a quiet night in but hopefully if the weather is great tomorrow there will be plenty of family pics to share!

Cheers

Doing the happy dance

Well I had quite a good day yesterday. Started off getting my license, ugh I can't believe the cost of a new license, anyway then I was off to vote. Well I guess I did this backwards because I wasn't thinking and I needed my license to vote, since I had to hand back my expired license..well no license no voting. That's ok though they guy I was voting for won hands down so my missed vote didn't change a thing. I would have been pretty upset though if he lost by one vote, lol.

After this I went home and put together a homemade turkey soup for my Mom and the boys. Rory was off doing his hockey pool, not sure how many he's in now, and I was off to bowling. Well not sure what was in the air but I haven't bowled that well in at least a decade, it was a lot of fun.

I also managed to put together most of the Christmas cards I am working on, there won't be any pics yet though because I ran out of glue and they aren't totally completed yet.
Had some sales on both ebay and etsy so all in all life is good.

Finally something I have been worrying about for 6 months finally happened, with the result I wanted so life is really looking up right now, I haven't been this relaxed since April!!!

Anyway off to buy Trev some winter pj's and more supplies to create.

Still looking for submissions to the contest, come on folks!

Cheers

The morning after a long weekend

Well the morning after a long weekend can be hard. The kids were up early this morning which means Mom was too!

We had a fantastic weekend. Started Saturday with a day inside cooking. The kids really enjoyed themselves too because they were allowed to spend quite a bit of the day playing Wii.

I baked a pumpkin cheesecake for the first time (recipe below) and I do believe it was a success. I also made two batches of brownies because the Walker boys (Rorys brothers) don't believe it's dessert unless chocolate is involved. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Rors Moms on Sunday. It is so funny to go from the family where I am the oldest to the family where I am married to the youngest of 7, kids table here we come! Oh well kids conversations can be a lot more fun anyway! I cooked turkey dinner here on Monday. My Mom, sister, and Craig came over and it was a great meal. It was an early night because everyone had school and work today.

It is voting day today. I am still one of the many undecided. The economy issues today have made the decision a little harder.

I did get some scrapping done this weekend as well. Actually it was a cardmaking weekend. Five Christmas cards that I hope to get listed on Etsy today. A layout for Trevor and more Christmas cards are on the to do list for today, we'll see just how productive I can be!

Well we are about halfway through the layout contest/draw, hoping to see a lot of layouts soon.

Here is the halloween idea for today:

Black Magic Cat

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Black knit cap
1 pair of kids' or women's black socks
Child-size black tights (size 4-6 or 6-8)
1 black tube sock or kneesock
Polyester fiber stuffing
2 18-inch lengths of floral wire
Scissors
1 sheet of black felt
1 sheet of gray felt
Glue gun or double-sided tape
1 sheet of orange felt
Two 1-inch googly eyes
Mouse toy
Needle and thread
Duct tape

1. To make the body, fill the cap, socks and tights with stuffing, leaving at least 2 1/2 inches of unstuffed fabric at the opening of each article. Twist the wires together and insert them into the tail (tube or kneesock). Fold under any extra.

2. Cut out 2 notched ears from the black felt. Then cut 2 small gray felt triangles and glue or tape them to the middle of each ear.

3. Cut whiskers and 12 claws from the gray felt and a triangular nose from the orange felt. Using the glue gun or double-sided tape, affix the ears, googly eyes, whiskers and nose to the top of the cap.

4. Sew the mouse toy to the cat's mouth. Attach the claws to the tips of the two shorter socks and the tights.

5. To assemble the cat, cut a strip of duct tape 6 inches longer than the width of the cap. Center the tape over the opening of the cap and, standing outside your double-hung window, secure the cap along the bottom edge of the top window (see illustration).

6. Next, tape the front paws along each side of the head. Tape the open end of the tail to the opening of the tights, between the legs. From inside the house, tape the body to the top of the lower window (see illustration). Let the legs and tail flop down over the tape. If you like, wedge a rolled-up sock between the legs and the tape to give more arch to the cat's back.

Cheers

On this day before the long weekend!

Well I find myself playing a bit of catch up today. I went to bed on Wednesday night with a headache (rarely have them) and woke up on Thursday barely able to get out of bed. After quite a bit of conflict with Trevor and his gameboy I was done for the day. Thank goodness Rory was here so that he could do all the school transporting and watch Brendan. It has been years since I spent a day in bed but definitely needed it for sure. Paying for it today though! Oh well what do you do, health before scrapping and the computer.

I did manage on Wednesday to finish a card and I am really happy with it. Currently have it listed on ebay but thinking of moving everything over to etsy, not sure what would be the smartest move at this point.

Here is the card:

Also have to get ready for Thanksgiving this weekend. Having dinner at Rors Moms on Sunday (I am doing dessert, I will be posting the recipe here today), and then cooking dinner on Monday for my Mom and sister. So lots to do

I have so many ideas for my business right now but unfortunately with the economy these days I am not sure if any of it is the right timing.

Here is my halloween craft for the day (okay okay it's not a craft per se but it is something for the holiday and you make it with your hands!)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

I have not made this myself yet, crossing my fingers that it's great!

Cheers

A hockey fans dream night and a new contest!

Well I have to say as a huge hockey fan (in Vancouver it's hard not to be !) last night proved to be an exciting night.

We (Rory and I) took Trevor and Matthew to a meet 'n greet of the Vancouver Canucks. They introduced the new members of the team, the CEO of the team and the GM spoke and they played some trivia which was all great.

The highlight I have to say though was getting a chance to meet the players. Everyone was given a number which related to the station you were accessible and determined which players you could meet. With the four of us there we were able to meet approximately 10 players. So here are some pics.

Ok enough hockey back to my other passion scrapbooking.

I would like to introduce my first blog contest. I am planning to run these once a month with new themes and techniques.

Octobers contest: Halloween theme (of course)
It's quite simple actually. Create any layout or card using Halloween colors (orange, black, purple, and/or white), it doesn't have to be Halloween themed just the colors.

e-mail your layout submission to kriskropmemories@shaw.ca and you will be entered into the draw to win:

1 Celebration Scrap pad which includes 1274 total pieces - 60 patterned 8x8 papers, 12 coordinating solid 8x8 papers, 648 alpha & number stickers, 144 word stickers, 38 quote stickers, 192 frame stickers, 30 border stickers, 108 tag stickers, and 36 shape stickers

I can't wait to see your submissions.

Finally I made my first Christmas card, this one includes a gift card envelope. I love shopping to much to give gift cards (kind of selfish I know, ha ha) but I know many love to do this. This card is a fun way to send the gift card.

You can find this one on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370094553473&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Oops I almost forget to list the halloween craft

Soft Sculpture Pumpkin
This is a lovely pumpkin craft comes from Kathy Ross' book, "Crafts for all Seasons" that you can make out of old pantyhose and some fiberfill. You can make it as a nice fall craft or you can modify it for Halloween by adding a face.

• Here is what you need:
  Two pairs of old pantyhose
  Orange and green poster paint and a paintbrush
  Styrofoam tray for drying
  Fiberfill
  Scissors
  Two rubber bands
  Stapler

Here is what you do:(see picture of steps below)
1.Cut the four legs off the pantyhose. Arrange the legs crossing over each other at the center like spokes of a wheel. Staple the legs together at the point where they all cross over each other.

2.Cut the toe end off the foot of the pantyhose so that all the legs are open at the ends.

3.Stuff all sections of pantyhose with fiberfill. Leave about 6 inches at the end of each stocking
unstuffed.

4.Pull the eight sections up and around to the center to form a pumpkin. Hold the sections together with a rubber band.

5.Braid the excess stocking ends together to make a stem for the pumpkin. Hold the braided stem in place with another rubber band.

6.Paint the pumpkin orange and the stem green. Let the project dry on the Styrofoam tray. You can turn this pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern by gluing on a face cut from black felt.





Cheers

Crazy Friday - things have now just settled down

On Friday we decided to take the dog for a checkup because she was acting kind of sluggish. Well $500 later and a full day in surgery and the problem seems to be solved. She is now running around with the lampshade on her head and keeps banging into the walls but she is better and for that I am happy.

She's looking a bit messy but obviously with the shade on her head she really can't groom herself like she normally would.

I also had quite a productive weekend with regards to my projects. I was able to finish a layout for Brendans book, put together all my supplies to get ready for my handcrafted Christmas cards (coming soon!) and I finally finished my pumpkin patch layout now listed on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260296909144&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

So tomorrow I will be announcing the monthly contest here on my blog, be sure to check back

Cheers!

October 2nd, not the most productive day!!

I have to say that somedays I easily get distracted. I had intentions to get so much done but found myself drawn to others blogs and a such did not get anywhere near what I had intended done.

With that said I really don't have much to say today so I will get on with my Halloween craft for the day and plan to be much more productive tomorrow!!! Time will tell :)

Spider Treats (found on www.ricekrispies.ca )

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1 pkg (about 40) regular marshmallows†
6 cups RICE KRISPIES* cereal
Food colouring, prepared frosting, candy corn, candy-coated gum, string licorice, coloured shredded coconut

PREPARATION
1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt margarine or butter and marshmallows in a microwave set on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Add a few drops of food colouring and stir mixture until smooth.
2.Add KELLOGG'S* RICE KRISPIES* cereal, stirring until well coated. Let cereal mixture cool slightly until it is safe to touch. With buttered hands, shape cereal mixture into spider shapes and place on waxed paper. Allow to cool.
3.Decorate spiders using candy corn for eyes, candy-coated gum for teeth, licorice for web and coloured coconut for hair. Attach decorations with frosting.

Tip: colour coconut by soaking in warm water with a few drops of food colouring for about 30 minutes. Dry coconut on paper towels before using.

Cheers

Well it is now October....and that means HALLOWEEN

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays. Everyday this month I will be showcasing a fun halloween craft that can be done by the whole family.

I found this one today at familyfun.com - this is a great website for those with kids.

Spooky Spider

1. Use a craft knife (parents only) to cut off the spout of the milk jug, then completely cover the jug with black duct tape.

2. To create the 8 legs, tape the center of each of the 4 pipe insulation tubes across the handle side of the jug.

3. Tape the tubes to the sides of the jug as well, to keep them bent.

4. With scissors, cut and remove a 1-inch-deep notch from the middle of each leg, then bend the insulation at the notches and tape the bent joints in place.

5. For eyes, stick black tape pupils on the 2 broader ends of a pair of plastic eggs. Tape the eyes in place on the jug. Finally, decorate the top of the spider body with green duct tape, and your oversize arachnid is ready to tape or tie in place on a front porch or door.

I too will be working on a Halloween layout (I know I said I was done) today, hopefully it will be ready to list on ebay and add a pic tomorrow. The layout will be titled "In search of the Perfect Pumpkin"

All for now,

Cheers