post-Christmas break

Our family has had a super Christmas season, so..................




..........we are off to Disney World to celebrate with these amazing characters (and hopefully a few Disney Princess for Asha)!!!!!!



See you mid-January to show you photos of Christmas, New Years & Disney!!!!!!!

looking forward to warmer weather {from the farm},
j.

last night & this morning

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful evening of music & classroom skits at Asha & Carter's school concert. My older sister, Lisa is the music teacher at their school. It was so exciting to see her in her "element". She's an incredibly talented musician & teacher -- my kids are so lucky to have "Auntie Lisa" as their music teacher.

And this morning I took a walk around the yard......enjoying the frosty weather.......

........ and the frosty faces.

Have a wonderful day!!!!!

{from the farm},

j.

around my house // Christmas time

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas".

The welcome wreath at the front door.
Someone is looking pretty sad at the door these days -- it's cold outside.

So we allow Kayna in for a nap during the evening.
Our tree is so pretty this year (I think I say that every year).
We actually go slugging out in the bush at my brother-in-laws to personally pick our tree. We cut down the smallest one, bring it home & it usually ends up still looking massive in our living room.
This year.......it's just perfect.

Daria's new ornament this year.

Some other new sparkly balls for the tree.


Baking shortbread cookies.



Paper snowflakes (created by Asha) for my window.

Decor in my living room & dining room.

The "snowbaby" village that the girls set up every year.

The village buildings come from my sister and every "snowbaby" ornament is specially hand-painted by Ron's aunts at Christmas. We get to pick 5 for our family every year........which we add to the display.

One of my favourite traditions & memories.

We will cherish these ornaments forever.

Asha is counting down the days 'til Christmas with her school-made paper chain.

And can anyone else say they have a replica of the Taj Mahal in their living room right now?

Anyone?

Carter created this (with a little help from his parents) for his Structures Project in Grade 4.

It heads out the door tomorrow for his presentation.

Wishing you joy & happiness this holiday season.

May you feel the true meaning of Christmas in your hearts

& share it with your friends and family.

Blessings {from the farm},

j.

cruisin' design

So.....it seems like months & months & months ago that I shared the news with you that I was invited to create & design a layout for this years Crop and Cruise event as a past Featured Instructor. Well.......that fabulous event has been and gone and they all had a fantastic time (so jealous I couldn't be there this time). Click here to read all about their ADVENTURES.


I realize that I never did share the layout I designed using the greatest products from three amazing companies that I design for:
Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker,
myStampBOX &
Cut Your Way!!!!!!
Click here, here & here to see these companies featured on the Crop and Cruise blog.


So here is the layout (drumroll, please): My Personal Paradise

There are so many incredible products that I had the pleasure of working with. Basically, I chose each company's products and created a double-page layout kit. After choosing the products for the kit, I then designed the layout. Choosing the products first (without really having a definite vision in mind allowed me to "go a little crazy" with the products and choose prints & patterns that wouldn't be a scrappers first choice). I love doing this -- thinking a little outside-the-box and making participants think "holy cow, how's THIS gonna work?"

Here's a close-up of the mSB stamp set I used in the design -- Abundant Blossoms. I mixed the stamps with fabulous (fuschia) vinyl from Cut Your Way and one of my favourite products from NS, the burlap buttons. Loooooooove these!!!!!!

My sister personally cut all the titles, flowers & palm trees for the layout. Love the little details all over the layout that give it such a "paradise" touch. I used the cardstock pocket from the Pocket of Treats (by Nikki Sivils) to house one of my feature photos on the layout. Gives the page a little more dimension, while the vinyl dresses things up a bit.

I combined the Cardstock Letter Stickers from NS with a purple vinyl "paradise" from Cut Your Way. Took a while to find just the right font for the title (vinyl), but I think it turned out just the way I imagined.

Little details, like these Cardstock Stickers from NS complete any layout. You just gotta' have them all!!!!

Now....go check the Crop and Cruise blog so you don't miss the next event, all the fabulous products from myStampBOX & Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker and get emailing your vinyl order into Cut Your Way. Go on.......you have a busy day ahead of you!!!!!

(**editted**)

Thought I better give you the complete supply list -- in case you want to create your own "paradise" layout.

Nikki Sivils:

Willow Bee PP - Bee Strips/Day Dreamer; North Pole Nights - Creatures Are Stirring/24 Nights Til Christmas; Something for Everyone - For Hilde/For Deana; Blueberry Hill - Vines/Sunny Day for Blueberries; Boo-tiful - Trick or Treat Small my Feet/My Costume; U R My Favourite - U R My Favourite/U R Love

Burlap Buttons - red

Cardstock Stickers - Sugar Cookie

Pocket of Treats - Brown Curtain

myStampBOX:

Abundant Blossoms

Cut Your Way:

olive (palm tree)

fuschia (multi-sized flowers)

plum (paradise)

{from the farm},

j.

a quick link

Go check out MY POST over at the mSB Blog today. There is soooooooo much Inspiration happening during the 12 Days of Christmas celebration.

enjoying a day of catch-up {from the farm},
j.

Season of Giving // True Love

Yippeeeeee!!!! It's finally here. The time of year I just llloooooovvvvveeeeee. It's December and I'm so excited that we can celebrate the Season of Giving together over at the mSB Blog. So......we are giving you loads of Christmas stamping ideas to fill your head {and get those dancing sugarplums out of there for just a second}.

Join our team as we share inspiration and create some yummy treasures during the "12 Days of Christmas". I've seen the sneak peeks..........and they are fabulous!!!

So.....come on over and celebrate the holidays with the mSB Design Team.

dancing with sugarplums {from the farm},

j.

btw - And head on over to Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker today for a chance to WIN!!!!!!!! a fabulous basket of goodies from her. You won't be sorry!!!!!!!

beautiful TAGS

Go pop by the myStampBOX blog today to see my latest DT post. I was in search of the perfect tags to complete some Christmas wrapping. Check out my latest creations using fabric, mSB stamps and some creative thinking.

enjoying the SunShine -- from the farm,
j.

Special Holiday Inspiration

Check out the myStampBOX blog starting on December 1st (yes, that's on Wednesday!!!) to play along with our mSB Design Team.

There will be loads of Holiday Inspiration!!!!!!

I even have a special project I will share during one of the 12 Days of Christmas. You'll have to keep watching to see what "Day" it will be.

'tis the Season {from the farm},
j.

weekend // blizzard

It's snowing outside and I'm having trouble loading photos onto blogger.

Here's a few sneak peeks from my Saskatoon weekend.........thanks to Christy Riopel's camera. Thanks, girl.

I'll share more when the weather turns nice................but, in the meantime..............

Here are the Make 'n Take layouts I created (& taught) for Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker.

And here is me in action at the Make 'n Take table. (love, love, love this part of the job -- teaching)
And why am I on the phone while I'm working?????? (it's not even my phone)

Come back to see more from the fabulous weekend. Treats, goodies, food, teachers, friends & more....................

cuddling up tonight {from the farm},
j.

Have I Shared These?

Flying out to Saskatoon, SK this coming weekend to work some Make 'n Take projects for Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker. It's gonna be a BLAST!!!!! I always have so much fun teaching at these conventions with all my long-lost scrapbooking friends. I love meeting new people in this industry and seeing all those people that I haven't seen in days...months.....o.k. -- years (lots of projects created in the meantime). Read all the convention details here.

Now.............sometimes I forget whether I've posted certain layouts or not -- sorry if you've seen these before.

It's nice (some days) to work on a layout where there is no pressure to use a particular product line or company. This LO is an example of just that -- using some of my favourite products from my "gotta use this soon cuz it's so cool & pretty" basket. LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE the fuzzy iron-on title from donna downey!!!!!! And check out the October Afternoon pattern paper -- totally in love with them right now. Hey....and speaking of 'love' -- love this guy in the photo as well.

And here's a few LOs that I've created recently with some of my favourite mSB stamp sets. Go check out their website AND blog.........I work with one of the best deign teams & the ideas are endless!!!!!

I'll post some photos from the weekend and the Make 'n Take project when I return.

later alligator {from the farm},

j.

November Colours // Prima-luv & a Layout

I just have to share some love for Prima Marketing today. Here's a layout I created a while ago using some of my favourite Prima products. (not a great photo, sorry).

Take a little peek at all these fabulous products from Prima Marketing Inc. Right now, on their blog, they are showcasing their November Product Picks. Doesn't this look yummy?!!!!?

And for a little twist, they are including a coordinating Colour Swatch to inspire all of us to create projects that coordinate with all their fabulous product picks.

And here are my all-time favourite flowers ever created!!!!! I just discovered them on their website: The Kalanchoe flowers (542511). Love the softness. Love the pearls. Loooooooovvvveeeeee the shape & size of them. Can anyone tell?.......I NEED THEM!!!!!!! They also come in a variety of other colour combinations.......yippeeeeeeee!!!!!! Gotta LOVE them.

Better go........I'm in the mood to scrap w/ Prima now.

happy drooling {from the farm},

j.

good morning sleepy-head

I wouldn't wish it on anyone ....... getting woken up from your 150lb puppy. We must love her!!!

(Found this photo in my Archives this morning and just had to share it). And, no, I don't usually allow Kayna on our bed, but I didn't have much choice that morning. She bullied me into it.

chuckling {from the farm},
j.

BIG announcement today

Go head over to this fabulous blog where there's a BIG announcement today ....... where I'm teaching next. It's coming up really quick -- better start gettin' on my game for the crowds of scrappers.

I'll be using this collection from Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker for my project:

Hey................and if there's some product left over (they always send LOTS!!!!!), maybe we should get together when I get home and do a little scrappin' with some Nikki Sivils products!!!!!!! Leave me a comment if you're interested.

smiles {from the farm},

j.

update // with photos

Thought I'd update you on what's happenin' around here with a few photos I took last month. Love this cute one of Carter -- with the banana sticker on his forehead. It says: "Place Sticker on Forehead. Smile."

One afternoon the kids & I made some "goo" out of cornstarch and water. They all had a blast playing with it & messing up my kitchen.

Here's "my Ricki" with her mom, my sister (Lisa). Isn't she just adoreable. She's so much fun, with a sparkle in her eye. She has such a contagious bubbly personality.

This photo of Asha (age 6) was taken oThanksgiving weekend when my family went to a B&B out in the country. The kids always have a blast playing outside -- and the weather was gorgeous.

My FAMILY. I have two sisters -- I am the middle child {yes....I know what you're thinking; that explains a few things lol}. My older sister (Lisa) has two children; my younger sister (Laura Lee a.k.a. Buffy) has three children. All of the kids (except for Erica a.k.a. Ricki) have someone their age in the family. We are sooooooo lucky to have each other. Our kids are incredibly blessed to have cousins to play with. We are a very tight family with LOTS in common.

One of my favourite photos of Kevin & Laura Lee. Just LOVE the connection they show right here.

So......each Halloween season, our school puts on a pumpkin decorating contest. My kids, of course, think up the craziest ideas for the contest. "Mom, can WE make my pumpkin look like a Carousel Ride?" The the word "we" here is used very loosely, of course, by my six year old. Well...............somehow WE managed to create a Carousel Ride out of a pumpkin ................... and Asha (& I) managed to claim 2nd prize for it.

Carter (& his dad) created an ATV race track out of a huge pumpkin from our patch. They
even had the winning ATV rider crashing into the finish line.

And here is one of my favourite photos of Asha's school costume this year. I say "school costume" because my kids usually change their mind about their costumes about 6 times and then finally decide on one ................ only to change their mind AGAIN when they go out trick or treating. Asha went as a "Monster Bride" for school (see below) and then as the "Mad Hatter: Johnny Depp" for t or t in the evening. I'll show photos of them soon -- they are still on my camera.

Been a busy month. Love it!!!!!

smiling {from the farm},

j.