Serious Play

Love Layout

So, I am in love with pink and gold glitter.

 

I created this layout of my girls for Valentine's Day.

 

Taping off the rays with green painter's tape allowed me to use my OA Sprinklers with accuracy. Following that, I spread a little glitter over the rays.

 

 

The word "love" I drew by hand with a paintbrush dipped in glue and then I sprinkled the wet glue with gold glitter.

 

Each of the embellishments were stamps and punches that I had on hand.

 

These days, it is rare to capture a shot of my girls but this particular day I happened to get them both together.

 

A Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Jersey Day

So, today was 'Jersey Day' at school.

 

The girls were ever so proud to sport their favourite hockey team jerseys...our Calgary Flames!

Now, there are mixed feelings out there when it comes to sport teams, I know.

And we haven't had a stellar team in a few years.

But in this house (and pretty much this entire city), we cheer on the Flames every season, in the hopes of being a part of something very big. There is just something about cheering on your team that builds community and a fair bit of unity. And my girls have jumped right in (not by any doing of their father, I'm sure)!

So, here is to a solid and entertaining season of hockey...

 

 

 

Big Deal LO

So, my daughter Ashley reached a goal this week and it was a big deal.

 

A while back, she decided to lose some weight. Ashley had endured a difficult time in her early junior high years (kids can be so mean) and slipped into a pattern of helping herself to comfort food.

After two years of homeschooling and a successful transition back into high school, she set a goal to lose 20 lbs. I am so proud of her efforts. She did not starve herself or go on a trendy crash diet. Instead, she learned about metabolism and the effects of sugar on one's system. She set herself up on an exercise routine and motivated herself to lose the weight for all the right reasons.

We had a deal that when she had reached her goal I would take her to lululemon to buy an outfit. Well, the other day, with tears of joy in her eyes, she announced that she had met her goal! That very night we went shopping and this is the outfit that she chose.

 

Way to go, Babe! This is a Big Deal!

Be proud of what you have accomplished...I sure am. xoxo

 

 

 

The Beauty of Fall LO

So, up until last week, we have been enjoying an extended Fall.

 

I dread the cold that comes along with Winter, so we had been making the best of every moment outdoors that we could. Here, we had been out geocaching in Canmore.

I treasure these moments that we have with our two girls together. The oldest one is wanting to move out at the end of this school year to go away to college. This could be our last months of living as a family of four!

Also, with two teenaged girls together in the same house, there are sparks that fly at moments. So, seeing the two of them together and smiling is a good thing for a mother's heart.

 

 

 

Halloween 2011

So, I guess you are never too old to dress up!

 

My girls attend a private Christian school, and although the kids were allowed to dress up today, there were some boundaries...no masks, no scary costumes, nothing gross, and the costumes still had to abide by the regular school dress code (basically, no inappropriate skin showing). With this in mind, my girls set out to just have fun!

Before heading off to school today, I tried to grab some shots of my girls. Unfortunately, it was still dark outside, so we had to do indoor shots at the backdoor with terrible lighting! I may try to retake these later today...

 

Ashley wanted to be Spiderman, but we had no luck finding such a costume in an adult size. So, we improvised with blue tights, Spiderman comic boxers and a black Spiderman t-shirt. She also painted her fingernails with silver spiderwebs, which look kinda cool.

 

Jess was all about finding something that she could wear again on another day. She is into prints lately, so this costume was a winner in her eyes. She made the ears out of a black headband and some black foam core board.

 

Later tonight, Ash is going to a friend's house and they will go trick-or-treating. Jess is having some friends come over to our house to hang and watch a movie. I find it interesting to see how, as they grow up, they still want to find ways to celebrate and enjoy the fun but not appear too childish.

 

Happy Halloween to you all!

 

 

 

Outdoors

So, there is just something about the outdoors.

 

I guess it is the fresh air, the beauty of nature, the adventure of discovery. 

That is why we are spending as much time as possible outdoors while our autumn lingers.

 

Have a happy weekend.

 

 

 

Happy LO

So, the birthday layouts continue.

 

I discovered the Basic Grey line called Basics Manila, so you will see my current and future LOs on this background paper.

This one is a woodgrain frame (Stampin' Up stamp and ink stamped on kraft paper) with the two pictures layered on top.

A little doily, punched tag with pink Lime Twist twine from My Mind's Eye, the word 'lucky' left over from another embellishment card, and a metal heart-shaped paper clip from Indigo many moons ago all adorn the left side of the LO.

The flowers sticker and 'Happy' banner are from October Afternoon's 5& Dime collection and of course there are a few splatters of Brown Bag Sprinklers by October Afternoon.

 

 

 

17 Birthday Wishes

So, my daughter turned 17 last weekend.

 

We celebrated the day by going to OVO, which is a Cirque du Soleil performance and we were wowed! Following that, we had a fabulous home-cooked dinner at Sean's parents' place. Ash had baked Jess a cake and decorated it with Hello Kitty, which is Jessica's current obsession!

The day really was lovely.

Even though the above photo isn't! I do apologize...I had taken this photo outside and didn't notice the shadows and sunstreaks until I downloaded it now. But now it is dark outside and I cannot re-take the photo!

How do you set up the best shot of your LOs in order to blog them?

I am open to suggestions...

 

 

Laughter LO

So, I pulled out my October Afternoon Sprinklers and a doily for this LO!

 

I started with white cardstock, laid a doily on top and spritzed my Sprinkler a couple of times. I held the spray quite high because I did not want the mist to get too heavy. When I lifted the doily, I had the imprint still in white. I also tried to make the left side more grey and have it fade out towards the right.

 

I used different layers throughout the LO. In order to emphasize this photo, I used a bright paper and made it a little larger.

 

I must say, this is probably one of my all-time favorite LOs.

 

 

2011 Volleyball Season

So, the 2011 volleyball season has started for my girls.

 

They had their first tournament on the weekend in Black Diamond and came in second!

The coach is an amazing lady. She is so committed to the girls and cares about each of the girls as a person, not just as an athlete. She works them hard, but they respond to her leading. My own two girls just adore her and are lucky enough to have classes with her as well.

 

The girls play well together and seem to like each other. They are actively working to build unity both on the court and at practices. It is wonderful to see everyone being friendly.

 

Ashley (my youngest - grade 11) has uniform #2. It is the same number as last year. I didn't get a pic of Jessica (my oldest - grade 12) but she is #4. When I played volleyball so many years ago, I had #6 and was so proud to wear my number.

This year's group is strong. There is a solid core of grade 12 girls from last year that bring strength to the team. All of the grade 11 girls that are playing this year were also playing last year, so they bring experience. And the new grade 10 girls and one grade 9 girls are showing some real potential. There are a lot of tall girls on the team which is definitely an advantage too!

This weekend the girls performed so well. You never know how it will go when it is the first games of the season, but we were so proud of each and every one of the girls. They came to play and it is almost as if they are just picking up from last season without missing a beat.

Here's to a great season...