A challenge card

Working on some of the new cards for my shop I have decided to also work on some challenges as I like to see how my interpretation of a sketch eventually comes out.

This card was done for the challenge over at Technostamper, here is the sketch

and here is my interpretation:

Have a great Sunday, we are off to the Rodeo today, should hopefully have pics to share tonight it I don't forget my camera AGAIN!!!

Cheers

New additions to the Etsy shop

I have been able to get some work done this week for my Etsy shop. The items below are the newest additions.

These can all be found in my shop, http://www.kriskropmemories.etsy.com/

I also found some time (because the Eagles concert I had tickets to was cancelled) to put together a personal layout. Here is my next Olympic layout, this one is for Brendans book.

Happy Sunday to all :)

Slime, Goo worms and scrapbooking

The last few days have been fun. Yesterday Brendan had a blast ball game, seriously funny to watch, the kids go every which way but where they are supposed to. They have a blast so it's all good.

Then of course it's playoff season for the Canucks, so after the game I raced home only to be disappointed. They lost, one of the most frustrating games I have watched in quite some time. Go Canucks Go.

Trevor had a game today, he is getting so much better, I am really proud of him. I see improvements every game and practice but more importantly I see his confidence growing as well.

In between all that we had an evening making slime and goo worms. Trevor received a goo kit for his birthday, it's teaches little science experiments regarding how and why the goo worms and slime came to be. I was expecting it to be really messy but it really wasn't and they had a blast.

I was also able to find a few minutes to get some scrapbooking done. Here is my first of many Olympic layouts.

Cheers

WooHoo I did it!!!

Ok so before I noted that I would not have any New Years resolutions and I am sticking to it! I have however made some decisions to make some changes and one that I noted before was that I am going to work more on my boys scrapbooks. I love doing custom work but I have to say it has taken me away from the boys books and I am very happy to get back at them.

So anyway here are the first two pages I have completed, it is of Brendans 3rd birthday, yes he will be turning 5 so like I said I am a little behind :)

The next pages I will be working on are of a family bowling trip, can't wait.

I do however have some custom work to finish up this week. I am making some wedding invitation samples and when I have the samples ready I would love some feedback, this is a few days away.




Hope you had a great Monday!

20 page custom scrapbook listing

I have again listed on ebay a 20 page custom scrapbook listing.
If you have tons of photos but no time to put your books together then take a look at this ebay listing (starting at just 0.99 cents).
This would also make a great Christmas gift or a perfect baby shower gift.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370278051407

Here are examples of some of my past completed layouts:





Cheers

Off to the Corn Maze!

Hope we don't get lost.

My Mom, the kids, and I are heading out to Chilliwack to make our way through a corn maze. Here is the design of the maze:

I had a very productive night last night, I finished some cards, a few custom pages, and an embellishment set, now I have to get pics later today before it gets too dark. I am in serious need of a light box!!!

So hopefully I will get around to getting the corn maze pictures and my latest creations posted tonight.

Wish me luck in the maze :)

New Mickey Mouse double page layout

I finally got around to finishing this double page Mickey Mouse layout.
The layout can be viewed here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28353948

Here are some pics, I would love your feedback.




Cheers

BLOG CANDY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

If you are into cardmaking, stamping, or scrapbooking then definitely check out this link for an awesome contest.
The items are adorable and beautiful so be sure to take a peek and follow the instructions, entries close today.
http://crissysartnheart.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-candy-extravaganza-plus-sneak.html

Here is just one of the items included:

Happy Canada Day!!!

Happy Canada Day to all that are Canadian.
I was thinking a holiday in the middle of the week was going to kind of suck :) however I think it was great, work two days, one day off, work two days, two days off, a great schedule!

We had an excellent day today as a family. Even though I know Rory wanted to be glued to the sports channels as the free agent market for hockey opened today I think he realized just how important it was for us to spend the day together. First stop was lunch to a new restaurant (actually new to us but not the community), it was so cute, a train theme which Brendan just loved.

Then we were off to Science World (pictured above). If you are ever in Vancouver and have children I highly recommend a visit here. The kids had a blast and I love that every exhibit is hands on for them to learn. We spent about three hours there before the lights and noise started getting to Rory. We took a quick walk around the outside of Science World to take a look at the Olympic Village they are still building, looked fantastic.

We arrived home to an invitation to Rorys brothers place for a bbq and some Wii. So back on the freeway, picked up Rorys Mom and headed for a free dinner, I love free dinners :) , just kidding it was great. So all in all we had a wonderful Canada Day. The only weird thing is that it feels like Saturday, so going to work tomorrow seems strange, crazy how a small change in your schedule can put you so off.

p.s. I did some scrapping last night, so I am hoping to have a new double page layout listed on Friday. Cool in the Pool is the title.

Cheers

So we are only days away from summer, Trevor has already started the countdown for summer holidays. I think now that I am back to work and more day to day kid stuff is falling on Rory that he is also doing the countdown, his countdown though is for the day after Labour Day, lol.


Trevor only started Grade 1 this year and I honestly can't believe it is over already.

I am in the middle of reading a book right now that has me thinking about the precious time we have with our kids, in a flash they are grown up. I have really made a conscious effort these days to relax more as a parent, don't misunderstand, there is still discipline in the house but the little things that used to drive me nuts I am trying to see past. Like Brendan coming into our bed, drives me crazy, but the other day I was thinking in a few years I would probably love Brendan or Trevor to come snuggle into bed, so why complain about something I will be wishing I had back.

Not sure why I went in this direction today I guess the book I am reading is having quite the impact. It's called 'My Sisters Keeper', I believe it is coming out as a movie this summer with Cameron Diaz. The writing is magnificent! I cry easily at movies but honestly in all my book reading (and I read a lot), I have never been brought to tears while reading a book, not sure why but it's just the case. I have however had a couple moments while reading this book where I have had to push back the tears.

So today is Trevors last baseball game (t-ball)

and next he will be joining swimming, he has been bugging me about his next lessons since late winter. He just loves it. We are not sure though if we will put him back in ball, I know he loves to play but I don't know that its the game he loves or the socializing, at this level that's ok but going forward when the game starts getting more competitive I'm just not sure. I think 1 more year would be ok, he may just find a love for the game, Rory however is not convinced.



I have been finding more and more time to get some scrapping and cardmaking done. It has been nice. I have 3 orders in right now for custom layouts, and my mind is swirling with ideas so I think the best thing for me to do right now is to sit down and make a plan. What layouts (how many), what cards (how many, what size), what types of supplies do I need, what timelines will I need. It is definitely my goal to one day have custom scrapbooking and card/invitation design as my only source of income. You know what they say, life is short, so I figure I should be doing what I love. I can just see myself sitting at the table, surrounded by papers, pens, ink, stamps, embellishments, with both kids in school so I don't need to worry that one will put the others eye out with my scissors, this sounds like bliss!!! I know there are others out there that are this successful that they can do this full-time, I just need to figure out how they did it so I can do it too.

If you know the secrets, pass them on, lol



Cheers

Heatwave, swimming, scrapping, and bbq's

I did not forget that I had a blog but the energy level just wasn't there all last week. Typically here June weather is in the 70's, sunny but comfortable. Well I think the sun is confused :) because it was beating down on us like it was August. We were hitting 95 degrees for a couple days with the rest of the week at 90 degrees.

I know for some this is not a big deal but honestly we are not equipped to handle such heat, most here don't have a/c units because it's really not necessary except for about 2 weeks of the year. So anyway by the time I drove the hour home in my NON-air conditioned car I was done!, have some dinner, watch the kids in the pool, get them to bed and then I didn't move I was just so tired. The most surprising thing though is usually the heat makes Rory and I both very cranky, not so much this time which is a good thing.

Here are some of the pics of the kids in the pool. This is the best investment we have made, they are having so much fun, getting some exercise, and generally wearing themselves out before bed.

I have done some scrapping, just a bit because remember I didn't move all last week, lol. This double 12 x12 page is when the family (pre-Brendan) went to a little theme park (really little) called DinoTown. Trevor loved it and for the age he was (3), it was great. I think he would still like it but I can guarantee that he would rather be at the waterslides next door.
Here is it (I haven't included the journaling yet, getting that added hopefully tonight. We just hooked up a new computer (don't get me started on Vista) and I can't figure out how to get my printer going!)

On a completely different topic it is now bbq season and I would like to share a recipe I tried out last weekend, it was a huge hit. I love to bbq (not the man of the house, Rory does not fit into any stereotypes) but I do get bored of the same steak, burger, hot dog and sometimes chicken, I love to try new things. So this was completely different for me and it was a success. If you know of any recipes or websites that are great for the bbq I would love to hear about them.

Chicken and Bacon Shish Kabobs

Click on the picture to go to the on-line recipe, it was sooooo good!!!

Finally there is only one week left to enter the blog giveaway, be sure to take part, everybody needs cards throughout the year so why not win them!!!!!
Here is the link to the rules to enter.
http://kriskroppin.blogspot.com/2009/06/june-1-announcements.html

Cheers!

June 1 announcements

So here we are in June already, I can hardly believe it. I'm not sure about everyone else but it feels to me like we were just celebrating Christmas and New Years.

I have a few things to announce today. First the winner of Mays blog giveaway and second the details regarding Junes blog giveaway.

So with no further chatter I would like to announce the winner of the May blog giveaway. All names were dropped into a hat and my husband picked the winner. The winner of the May thank you card giveaway is SHRIMP SALAD CIRCUS!!

June GIVEAWAY info

Next the details of the next monthly giveaway. This giveaway will be open for entries until June 22, 2009 with the draw date the following day.

There are three ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this blog listing your favorite card in my etsy shop (http://www.kriskropmemories.etsy.com/)

2. Take part in the poll on the top right of this blog.

3. Follow this blog

The winner of this giveaway will receive 10 mini cards. As the winner you can choose the type fo card, thank you, birthday, congratulations, thinking of you etc.

On a crafting personal side I finally found the time to pick up photos I had ordered online earlier last week. I can't wait to start scrapping them for the boys books. I honestly couldn't believe just how far behind I was until I showed Rory a picture of Trevor, Rory thought it was a picture of Brendan. Brendan is 3 years younger than Trevor so it looks as though I have 3 years of pictures to catch up on..

I did print some pictures that are going to be hard to scrap. They are of my Mom and Dad and the boys on my Dads birthday. Given his birthday is in September and he passed away in November you can imagine he looked very sick. I wasn't going to scrap them but I figured Brendan who was only months old when my Dad passed away would probably one day appreciate having these photos. I still don't know, what would you do??

The other photos are all fun and will be a great time putting together. I will definitely post a pic when I am done.

Good luck to all that enter the giveaway.

Cheers!

20 page custom scrapbook layouts

I currently have up for auction 20 page custom scrapbook layouts - the starting bid is just a low 0.99 cents. I am thinking this will be the last one I do until the fall as I plan to do some cards and non-custom layouts during the summer. I also need to get going on the boys books as they are really far behind!

Here is the link to the auction and and example of my work:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370200977147&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

Cheers

Inspiration Needed

I was successful with the spring clean up of older layouts, the reason I had done this blow out was to start some new layouts for this spring and summer. Unfortunately at this time I cannot find the inspiration needed to get started. I am working on some custom layouts and those are going great but for pre-made layouts, mmmmm, just not working.
Maybe I should just start small and work on some new cards, and then get into the bigger layouts.
One thing for sure is I do have to start working on the boys layouts, I am soooooo behind with their books, I have to find the box where all the scrap ready photos are.
What do you do when the inspiration is lacking, any advice would be helpful :)

Cheers

Go Canucks Go!!!!!

Getting off the train

So as the title states I am getting off the train. What am I talking about, what train? Have you ever gone through a moment of your life where you felt you were on a train going nowhere?? Well this has been me for a while.

It is time to catch up with all that has been going on since my last post, this should make the above make a little more sense.

Since selling our house my main focus has been to find a job, as I mentioned in an earlier post I had found a job and it was so horrible that I could not stay on. Since it was my first interview in years (I have been running a daycare and working on my scrapbooking business during the last two years) and I nailed it I didn't think finding another job would be an issue. Well......that was two months ago now, I have been on numerous interviews and even quite a few second and third interviews but I have not received the call that I have been waiting for.

Without a proper focus (of course I focus on my family) the days just seem to go on and on and on and I felt like I was going nowhere fast hence the train metaphor. This changes now, I have decided after great thought to shift the focus of my days to building my scrapbooking business. I will still go on interviews of course, I need a job, but I think that if I can shift the focus than maybe something will happen when I least expect it.

As a family we have had a lot of fun though. We have had a few dinner parties to introduce our friends and family to the new digs. Easter of course, the Easter Bunny was very generous, took a weekend away to Seattle with the boys (Rory stayed home but my Mom joined us),

and celebrated Trevors 7th birthday. Here are some pics of the great day, actually I should say days. We had a family party on the Saturday and the kids party on Sunday.

So now we will focus on next weekend. We are taking Rory's Mum out to lunch on Saturday and then will be spending the day as a family with my Mom on Sunday. Rory asked Trevor what he wanted to get for me for Mothers Day (I really want nothing but great quality time with the family) and his first answer was "mmmm I don't know" and then says "I know....makeup", well if you know me you would know that I am not much of a girlie girl and makeup really isn't me, but I think that it is so cute that he would think this is a great Mom gift.

So now that I am planning to get back to posting everyday, part of the shifting the focus deal, be aware that there will probably be a lot of hockey talk. My boys (the Canucks) are doing great in the second round of the playoffs against the Blackhawks.

I was so excited to get tickets to the game this past Saturday (really hard ticket to get here in Vancouver) but even on the way to the game I was thinking maybe I shouldn't go. I am not a very superstitious person but when it comes to hockey I am. So considering I haven't been to a winning game all season and since they not only lost but lost bad I thought maybe I should stay away.

Well yep, should have stayed away. They lost and they lost bad! They have played 7 games thus far this post season and have lost ONE, thinking I will just watch on my t.v. from now on :)

So finally I have been doing some spring cleaning with my scrapbook layouts and have listed quite a few layouts on ebay for a low starting price of just 0.99 cents. As well I have a 20 page custom scrapbook page auction which is still at a really inviting price.

Check it out here

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=370197112163&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

Cheers,

talk to you tomorrow

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

What a great day, I love it when things get done!

The day started off early with the floor guys coming in to replace the lino in the laundry and downstairs bathroom. After having the water leak destroy all the floors downstairs it seems to have taken forever to get the jobs done. Now all seems to be coming together, the laminate goes in on Monday and then all should be done.

I actually did some work on my auction listings. I may be crazy but I have listed a 20 page custom layout for just 0.99 cents. I want to see if I can get the bidding going.

I also did some work on my pre-made pages, I am working on a graduation page and put together this paper pieced penguin

Then it was off to my Moms for my sisters birthday dinner. The kids were wonderful and I think Tracy liked her gift.

Oh and I came across a line I loved today in a book I am reading, it goes something like this

When life throws you lemons, grab a coffee and danish and wait it out. Love it :)

Will I ever sell my house????

The end of August 19th and things are still the same around here.

It has been quite a trying time lately with the house be up for sale. We have had so much interest but for some reason it just never gets complete.

With so many things riding on this sale, my frustration level is peaking!!

I didn't get much scrapping done today, but I did manage to load my Halloween auction (strike that off the to do list).

The kids were great. Trev is doing awesome in his swimming and watching Brendan everyday learn to play is fantastic.

Well a few more showings tomorrow and hopefully a little more scrapping. Perfect weather for it!