Rain Rain Go Away......

........come again another day!  My grandmother always said that when it rained too much.  Not sure of exactly how much rain we have had over the last few days but I can say it too much.  My white Santa Fe is now the color of mud....in fact it is covered in mud.  I have nearly 8 km of gravel/dirt roads to drive twice a day so keeping a vehicle clean when it is this wet is impossible.

I am glad that we aren't working on the outside of our house right now...wouldn't be any fun in all this rain that is for sure.  The walls are coming down....just the walls and ceiling in the kitchen left to come down.  Al is planning to finish re-enforcing the half wall that is going around the stair well.  Once he gets the rest of the walls and ceiling down then the will start with the wiring.  We are moving some plugs and adding pot lights to the kitchen ceiling.  Yes it is coming along.

Last night we decided to go out for supper as it is pretty hard to enjoy a Sunday Dinner with the house in shambles and hard to cook a decent meal with some stuff packed up and some not.

Magnolia Birthday Bash - Week 3

Today is the kick-off to week 3 of the Birthday Bash in celebration of Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group 2nd Birthday.  To find out more about this weeks challenge head on over to Magnolia Birthday Bash Blog.  I know I had told you that my stamping/card making supplies were all packed away, but I am going to sneak in and take out the things I need to participate in this weeks Sketch.  This will be my first sketch ever to participate in.  I will work on this sketch in evenings, so stay tuned to see the finished card in a few days.

 Here is what the sketch challenge looks like. 

Be sure to head over the the Birthday Bash Blog to find out all the details if you want to try this sketch out 

and
enter your card for a chance to win the wonderful
Magnolia-licious package!

You have until June 3 to finish up your card and post to the blog.  

This might be the perfect time to get a Christmas Card  or 2 finished. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Be safe!

priscillastyles - - Blogaversary Jackpot Candy

If you're feeling lucky and want a chance to win some amazing Blogaversary Jackpot Candy then head over to priscillastyles to find out how you can have a chance to win her very generous blog candy or click HERE.  Just to get you really interested, the estimated value of the blog candy is over $300.  Don't wait too long as you only have until May 31, 2010 to enter.  The photo below gives you a preview of some of what you could win. 

Change In Plans

Well my hubby was busy as a bee again yesterday working on our house reno's.  He put in the new south facing window in the dining room.  That really opens it up...WOW what a difference it makes.  Anyways we originally planned to take down the walls around the stairwell and make it completely open....not really my favorite idea but I had adjusted to the idea.  Anyways just after I crawl into bed my hubby calls me up stairs and he asked what I thought about leaving the walls up around the stair well.....ah music to my ears.  So what we decided is the area around the stairs that meets up with the hallway to the living room will be a half wall and the area down the hallway and around to the living room will stay as it is.  This way it still breaks up the house into sections giving privacy where needed.  Who wants to walk out of the bathroom and be facing directly into the kitchen.

Each day I get more excited for the renos to be done, well the kitchen, dining room and porch for now.  Next comes the bathroom (in floor heating, tile and tub etc) and the basement (family room, laundry room and craft room/area). 

Tonight I have the task of packing up my existing kitchen cupboards....it will be like a mini episode of hoarders as I know there is lots to be thrown out.    

Reno's Have Started

Well yesterday my excitement to start working on my Farmer Tilda card were cut short when I met my husband on the road, he on his way to the dump with a load of gyp rock and other garbage and I on my way home.  Yes he started the renovations to our kitchen and dining room.  He completely gutted our old computer room which we are turning into a dining room.  I came home to find all my stamping/scrapbooking supplies packed up very nicely.  So my plans will have to remain just that for now. Last night I started packing up things in my kitchen...started with my recipe books....I have way too many of them but can't seem to part with them.  Tonight I will tackle my storage cupboards.  Think a trip to Saskatoon is in order soon -- to look for new lighting fixtures, dishes and flatware.  Haven't found anything here in town that I like yet....very frustrating. 

This morning before I left the house I took some before photos so that I have something to compare before and after too. 

It is becoming a reality, my old house will be a new house.  I can't wait for my kitchen cupboards to arrive in about 4 weeks.    So for now my stamping and card making will be on hold.

The Wheels are Turning

The wheels are turning so to speak.  My mind is racing with ideas that is hard for me to concentrate on work.  hehehe As I had mentioned in my "Farmer Tilda" sneak peak I had some ideas for the card I would use her on but wasn't sure.  Well after checking my email this morning I have a clearer idea of what type of card I am going to use for "Farmer Tilda".  All I will say is color wash, salt, a barn and some farm animals. 

I have to run to the scrapbooking store at lunch today to pick up some paper and I am off to the races so to speak.  I can't wait to get home and start on this card.  If it turns out half as good as I can imagine I will be happy.

Stay tuned for the finished card in a couple of days!

Passion For Crafts - Birthday Blog Candy

Debbie over at Passion For Crafts is celebrating her birthday by offering some wonderful blog candy. Don't wait to long to check out Passion For Crafts to see how you can have a chance to win this awesome birthday blog candy end on May 26, 2010. Just follow her instruction on how to enter....Good Luck! 

Here is a picture of some of what Debbie is offering.

Publish Post

Farmer Tilda

Being a farm girl myself, Farmer Tilda has a special place in my heart.

Here is a sneak peak at "Farmer Tilda" that I colored on Saturday.  This is my first attempt at "masking" and I am happy with how well it turned out.  I have an idea of how I am going to use her on a card, still planning out the shape leaning towards a barn or farm scene.

Tilda's skin is colored with Copics E000, E00, E11 & R20
Tilda's hair is colored with Copics E11 & E29
Tilda's clothes are colored with PrismaColored Pencils (Copenhagen Blue, Raspberry, Black & Cool Grey 50%)
Tilda's wings are done in Crystal Stickles

As I look at this picture I realized she isn't finished I forgot to color in the buckles on her overalls and her buttons on her shirt. I will have to finish her up before starting my card.

Blog Candy - 3 Magnolia Fairytale Stamps!!

Leanne over at Fluttabyz Crafty Haven has some awesome blog candy to give away.  Hurry over to her blog to check out how you can have a chance or 2 to win, click HERE you only have till May 31, 2010 to enter.

Leanne is offering up 3 Tilda stamps from the Fairy Tale Collection.  Who wouldn't want to add these beauties to their stamp collection.

No Power

My hubby and I arrived home in the wee early hours of this morning...around 1:30 am.  I noticed as I was driving up the highway it seemed to be eerily darker than usual.  Yes the heavy rain cloud cover had something to do with that but also the absence of yard lights.  It didn't dawn on my until I walked into the house and realized that the lights weren't turning on.  No idea of how long the power had been out but figured it had been a while as the house was a touch cool.  We had rain on and off for since around 3pm Saturday afternoon. 

When I woke up this morning around 9am, it didn't take long to realize that the power was still out.  In need of a coffee I got dressed and headed into town for a Sausage McMuffin and Coffee.  Then headed down to Walmart in search of a baby quilt panel.  We have a new nephew, born in March and still haven't found the right quilt panel to make a quilt for little Luke.  I guess I am going to have to check out Fabricland.  The girl at Walmart also told me that they are cutting back on their fabric considerably possibly going right out of it.  :(

I figured for sure that the power would be back on by the time I got home around 1pm...RIGHT no such luck.  I should have had my camera with me as I would have been able to get a good picture of the family of Canada Geese that are residing in the slew just down the road from my house. Every time I tried to call SaskPower's 24 Outage Number I kept getting the same message that they could not take my call at this time due to the high number of calls and to keep trying.

So with no power....I decided pass the time by stamping some of my Magnolia Tilda & Edwin Stamps.  Once I stamped 4 of each of my stamps I decided to try and color a couple of them.  I haven't take pictures of them yet but will post a sneak peak of them for you to see.

Finally my hubby decided we need a generator so off to town he goes to borrow from our friends.  Well as it is their generator didn't want to start so off to Walmart he heads to buy a generator.  Just before Al gets home I finally get through to an agent at SaskPower.  Al gets home fills the generator with fuel, gets extension cords hooked up to the generator and into the house, parks the truck, comes in the house and power comes on.  Who would have known!  Oh well the generator will come in handy in the future.

This has to be the wettest Victoria Day weekend we have had in a few years.  The winds have been unbelievable as well.  I really home Monday and Tuesday are nicer as I don't have to go back to work till Wednesday and I would love a couple of days of nice weather.

Magnolia Birthday Bash - Week 2

Today kicks off the 2nd week of fun over at the Magnolia-licious Birthday Bash Blog.  This week Tilda and Edwin are playing BINGO with everyone's help.  If your interested in playing along for your chance at winning this week's prize click HERE to find out what all the fun is about.

If you enjoy doing scavenger hunts you will enjoy this BINGO came.  Have fun everyone!

Last Night's BBQ

Yesterday afternoon was warm and sunny, so the girls and I decided to BBQ and have supper out on the deck. So while they were on their laptops on the deck on Facebook I started our supper.  We tried two new recipes from Kraft Foods - a taste of what's cooking that I picked up in the grocery store.

All was going well, we could see thunderheads rolling in from the south....but we figured we would have enough time to finish bbq'ing and enjoy our supper on the deck.  Apparently the storm was moving faster than we thought as Meagan told me lots of her friends had it in their Facebook status that it was storming in town.  Well the clouds no sooner got over head when the wind hit....and it hit.  As soon as I felt a spit of rain, I started to  move everything inside...of course my daughters were asking me if I was a sugar cube.  It didn't take long and they were grabbing the laptops and running for the door.  I on the other had finished bbq'ing in the rain with out an umbrella...that reminds me I should pick one up.

We really enjoyed the new recipes which I have posted below.  They are both definitely on my keeper list and will be making them again this summer.

Crunchy Asian Broccoli Coleslaw

1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing, divided

2 pkg.  (85 g each) ramen noodle soup mix (I used Oriental Flavor)

2 pkg. (454 g each) broccoli slaw

4   green onions, sliced

1/2 cup roasted sunflower kernels

1/2 cup  sliced almonds, toasted

Mix dressing and Seasoning Packet from 1 soup mix package. Discard remaining seasoning packet or reserve for another use.

Break apart Noodles; place in large bowl. Add slaw, onions, sunflower kernels and nuts; mix lightly.
Add dressing mixture; toss to coat.

Jamaican-Style Jerk Chicken

1-1/4 lb. (565 g) bone-in chicken pieces (legs, breasts, thighs), skin removed

1/4 cup  Kraft Calorie-Wise Rancher's Choice Dressing, divided

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 clove  garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp.  hot pepper sauce

1 tsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp.  curry powder 

 

Place chicken in large shallow dish. Reserve 2 Tbsp dressing. Mix remaining dressing with remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Turn chicken over to coat both sides of each piece. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

Heat greased barbecue to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade.
Grill chicken 30 to 35 min. or until done (170ºF), turning occasionally and brushing with reserved dressing.
 

Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cup chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Mix next 4 ingredients in med bowl, mix well.  Add dry ingredients to cookie dough in 2 separate amounts mix well after each addition so that there is no dry mixture remaining.  Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet two inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes; 12 minutes for chewy and 15 minutes for crunchy. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, move to rack.

Killam Creative Birthday Blog Candy!

If you LOVE Magnolia stamps your going to LOVE the Birthday Blog Candy that Susan has to offer over at "Killam Creative"  She has all the instruction you need to follow for your chance to win this awesome calorie free candy :) Easy Peasy!  But don't wait too long as you must enter by May 31 at 11:59 pm.

The picture below shows what is in the Blog Candy Prize.

Happy 2nd Blog-aversery Killam Creative~

Hump Day!

Welcome to "Hump Day", next to Fridays I think Wednesday is my favorite weekday...there is only 2 more days left and its the weekend.

Not much for today....the fire that started 10 KM north of Prince Albert is still burning.  It is still classified as being out of control but the good news is that it doesn't seem to be growing in size.  Unfortunately one family lost their home in the blaze that has been named the Nisbet Fire.  These article appeared in May 18th edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, click HERE and HERE for the articles.  Today the forecast is for a bit cooler weather +28 Celsius yesterday we hit +31 Celsius.  They are saying that now that the fire is closer to being under control they can start investigating to determine the cause of the fire.

Sharon, one of my co-workers had her camera at work on Monday and was able to get some awesome photos.  Head over to Rose of Sharon to see the pictures that she took from our office windows on Monday afternoon when we noticed the smoke building.   It was an amazing display to watch the smoke build and build as well as see clouds of smoke rise within the huge cloud of smoke.  It was amazing to watch the Bird Dog and the Water Bombers from Ministry of Environment Northern Air Operations do their part in attempt to extinguish the fire.  Those pilots are very good at their job.

Happy "HUMP DAY" everyone!

Blog Candy from Creating From the Heart

Melissa is giving away some awesome and very generous blog candy.  I can only hope I am lucky enough to win.  Think I shall do some kind of chant or something...maybe improve my chances at luck.  Anyways head over to Creating from the Heart to check out her awesome blog candy.

She explains what to do for your chance to win her blog candy consisting of a Sizzix Big Shot, some Sizzix Dies -  A Bow maker, butterfly and an awesome flowers!! You can also win these 3 dies along with the machine!   I had to read the post twice to make sure I read it right.

Good luck to all who enter to win! 

Thanks Melissa for your generosity!

Explosion Box

Last night I completed my first "Explosion Box".  I definitely will be making these again....if you haven't tried making one and enjoy paper crafting it is worth trying at least once. Click HERE for a pdf of the tutorial.

Completed Box

I sprayed the rose and the lid with Pearl Glimmer Mist!

Magnolia's Tilda stamped image is colored with Copic Sketch Markers and PrismaColored Pencils.  Wings are done in Crystal Stickles.

Click HERE to go the MAGNOLIA-licious store.

I couldn't decide which of the two exploded boxes to put up so I put both here so you can get a closer look at them.

I like this view as it shows how well the colored papers that I had in my stash go with my colored Tilda. 

Hope you enjoyed looking at the photos of my Explosion Box.  I am looking forward to making more in the future.

Happy 2nd Birthday Magnolia-licious~

Sneak Peak -- Postponed

Tonight I completed my Explosion Box for MAGNOLIA-licious Challenge in celebration of the MAGNOLIA-licious Yahoo Group's 2nd Birthday. I had a blast assembling this box...right from coloring my stamped image of Magnolia's Tilda with Rose to assembling the box.  I can't wait to try another one, think this will be the type of Christmas Card I make for my 4 girl friends from High School.

I am having a bit of problem uploading the pictures, so am unable to give you a sneak peek of my creation in anticipation to tomorrow's post.  Seems like my internet connection is extremely slow and not allowing me to upload my photo for the sneak peak.  Stay tuned to tomorrow to see the finished product.

Well it is getting late and I have an early morning tomorrow.

Timon

On Friday evening my husband had the sad task to go find our faithful companion Timon and bring his body home to be buried in our pet cemetery.  Timon was a Lab/German Shepard/Malamute Cross.  When Timon came to us he was a rambunctious puppy that got into anything and everything he could.  Chewed the Saddle Bags off my my husbands snowmobile and the Bra off our friends car (to his defense it was ripped, hanging down a bit and very inviting).

He grew into a wonderful companion to our 3 children and to my husband and I. He was a gentle dog unless he felt that his family was in danger.  He was also very protective of children.  I remember one time my cousin was teaching her niece how to ride her 2-wheel bike and she wiped out in front of our house and of course the little girl started to cry....well Timon instantly went into protection mode.  When my cousin and her niece walked up to see us Timon wouldn't let my cousin anywhere near me or even toward her niece.  He protected us so well the he even ran a black bear out of our yard one night.  My husband was very surprised when the bear dropped back down on all 4's and ran off into the bush.

Timon just walked away to die...he was 92 years old in human years....he would have been 12 yrs old at the end of October.  Timon was very much a part of our family and will be missed by all of us.

TIMON

1998 - 2010

Rest in peace buddy!

Thoughts for Today

I am still in awe of the beautiful "Explosion Boxes" done up by the design team for MAGNOLIA-licious' 1st challenge out of 8 in celebration of MAGNOLIA-licious Yahoo Group's 2nd Birthday.  I have printed the tutorial for the Explosion Box so that I can start mine today.  Click HERE for the tutorial found at Splitcoaststampers if you want to try your hand at an explosion box.  Don't forget to check out the Magnolia Birthday Bash Blog for the blog hop and to see the summited creations, as well as to find out how you can join in on the fun and prizes.  Stay tuned to see my creation coming soon!

Anyways onto other things....my hubby and a couple of friends got most of the railing up on our deck yesterday.  It sure looks nice...just have 1 more set of panel to put up and it is finished.  Last night we enjoyed BBQ supper on our deck with the soft lighting of the Solar Chinese Lanterns I picked a couple of weeks ago and the lights from our table umbrella. 

It's Been A While

It's been a long time since I last posted anything on my blog...think it was back in January.

I recently joined the MAGNOLIA-licious Yahoo Group and have been getting inspired to start stamping and creating cards again. I haven't done any since Christmas. In celebration of the MAGNOLIA-licious Yahoo Group's 2nd Birthday head over to the "Magnolia Birthday Bash Blog" and check out their first challenge. Instruction are there on how you can participate in the celebrations.

You need to join the Magnolia-licious Yahoo group to join in on 8 weeks of fun and prizes! Click HERE to get to the MAGNOLIA-licious Group home page to join the group...and have fun creating.