Little Red Wagon #26

Another fabulous Wednesday and another fabulous challenge at Little Red Wagon. Regan has challenged us to do a sympathy card. This is not something I do very often, so it was a bit of a challenge for me. Here is what I came up with.......

I have had this little bear coloured for a while and I was waiting for just the right time to use him. Isn't he sweet? It has been so long that I don't know the colours of Copic's I used. I added Glossy Accents to his nose and the pads on his feet. I actually cut out the image and popped it up using foam adhesive.

I completed this card (and my next 4 challenges) at the Two Scrapbook Friends spring retreat. Usually we don't have much time to scrapbook, so I wasn't very prepared. I thank all my scrapbook friends for everything they contributed to my projects. A special thanks to Darcy for lending me the sentiment rub-on and to Regan for lending me the use of her 'nesties'. My card wouldn't be the same without them.

I also entered my card in the following challenges:

One Stitch At A Time - flowers (in my pattern paper)

Spoon Full of Sugar - 3D (popped up my image)

Cards Blog - favourite card ever (so sweet, isn't it?)

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - distress (vintage photo distress ink)

Wee Memories - flowers (in my pattern paper)

Sentimental Sundays - bloomin' gorgeous - flowers and a sentiment (flowers in my pattern paper and rub-on sentiment)

April Product Challenge

It has been a while since I have had any time to scrapbook. I really wanted to get the April product challenge done for Two Scrapbook Friends. I loved the colours and those owls were way too cute.

I dug through my photos and found one that would work well with the colours in the paper. It is a photo of my youngest son Matt, from 2006. Then I decided to work with Joanne's sketch from I Love Sketches. Here is the sketch.........

and here is my version........ (the scan is a little shadowy, but you get the idea)

I used a little bit of everything from the product challenge kit and I added the following:

• some brown double-dot cardstock from Bo Bunny. I used a Fiskars border punch to make the scalloped edge.
• pins from Maya Road
• tickets from Tim Holtz
• orange button from Jenni Bowlin
• Tiny Type alpha stickers from Cosmo Cricket
• Loopy Lou alpha stickers from Doodlebug

Thanks for looking! :)

Little Red Wagon #24

I am running a little late, but better late than never!! This week Avril wanted us to use ruffles on our project. I had recently seen this technique with stitched ribbon. It would be perfect for ruffles.

Basically you just pull one of the threads that run along the edge of the ribbon to gather it. It is super easy to do and it makes a perfect gather along one of the edges.

If you pull the thread tight enough, the ribbon will naturally want to curl. I turned my gathered ribbon into a flower.....a ruffled flower.

I mounted it onto a scalloped circle and added an amazing Jenni Bowlin button to the center. I embossed the edges of my card, added a strip of pattern paper, the leftover ribbon and a rub-on for the sentiment. I couldn't resist inking the edges of my card with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Be sure to stop over to the Little Red Wagon blog and check out what the DT has done, along with all the wonderful creations our followers will come up with. Have a great week and I hope you have time to play along!

Welcome to Galaxy Cinema's......how can I help you?

Jay started is job at the Galaxy this week. He has been doing his orientation the last two nights. When I picked him up on Monday evening he said that is the most fun he has had in a long time. He filled me in on as many things as he could remember, but as the hours pass he keeps saying to me 'oh mom, and do you know what else......'

Tonight he came home with his shirt, hat and name tag. I had to sign some forms (along with him) and then he tried on his shirt. He is not really a 'hat' guy, but he does have to wear one. I have to say that this uniform is much better than what Amanda had to wear for her first job.

Right after this, he started strutting around the kitchen saying.....'welcome to Galaxy Cinema's......how can I help you!' What a clown. I am so proud of him. I can't wait for the first time me and my movie club heads out to see a flick.......I will get to see him in action.

A perfect ending......

......to a perfect day. The Two Scrapbook Friends team was at Scrapfest in Kitchener which is held at the Kitchener Auditorium. It was 2 fun filled days of lined up make 'n takes and a packed booth full of scrapbook friends.

Friday was VIP night! Over 550 people attended and I think all of them visited our booth. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces. Saturday was general admission and Scrapfest set a record, with over 2500 people in attendance. Our make n' take table was lined up 6 deep all day long. Regan and Deanna pumped through 50 people an hour, doing over 400 make 'n takes for the day. Shelby and my sister Tracy ran the cash register. The line up for purchases was wound all through the booth and then it wrapped around the outside as well. That went on for most of the day. We received so many wonderful comments from friends and strangers, complimenting us on our custom aprons and headbands, amazing layout displays, super cute canvas tote bags, cutting edge products and overall presentation.

The show ended at 5pm and we all began to tear down our booth. We loaded the last couple of items on the truck at about 6:50pm. The Kitchener Rangers were also at the auditorium on Saturday night. The parking lot was a sea of red, white and blue jerseys and all the parking spots were full. Hubby and I grabbed our tickets and ran to the next arena and take our seats to watch one of the most exciting games I have ever seen the Rangers play!

We defeated the London Knights and now we are in a series against the Windsor Spitfires. This is the team that won the Memorial Cup last year. Our first game against them was in Windsor on Thursday night and we won! This was game 2 and what a game it was. I was a little worried that I might fall asleep during the game, considering I had been on my feet for 3 solid days. The game was so exciting that I didn't even realize I was tired.





The Rangers defeated the Spitfires again! Game 3 is tonight in Windsor.......oh how I wish I could go. I will have to settle for watching it on TV. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. We will do a complete recap of our Scrapfest experience on the Two Scrapbook Friends blog. Thanks again to everyone who helped work our booth and to all those that visited. We are truly blessed!

Little Red Wagon Challenge #24

Happy Wednesday everyone! It has been a super busy week for us at the store. We are packing up for our big show at Scrapfest and I kinda forgot all about my card for Little Red Wagon. Last night at around 9pm I sat down and created this.......

My challenge this week was to use the technique of dry embossing. There are so many different ways to achieve this. I used my ScorPal and created a border around my card. It was super easy and I loved the effect. I added some scraps of pattern paper to create the squares, some ribbon from American Crafts, a special flower from my dear friend Regan and a rub-on in the top left corner. Not bad for a rush job, eh?

I hope you play along with us this week. Be sure to check the Little Red Wagon blog often to see all the wonderful entries we are sure to have.

Good Knight London!

This photo says it all!

Kitchener beat London in an 8-3 game in front of over 9000 London fans! It was sweet victory! I have always had a soft spot for the goalies on the team and Brandon Maxwell has been taking quite a beating in the media. I was reading the KW Record and this is what it said........

Brandon Maxwell stretched out his arms and embraced his coach Steve Spott.

“We believe in him and he believes in us,” Maxwell said of Spott after Monday's 8-3 Game 7 win over the London Knights before 9,090 at the John Labatt's Center.

“It’s really great to play for a coach like that.”

This makes me smile! This is why I love OHL hockey so much. It can be competitive, aggressive and exciting. When it comes down to it, the players on this team are just kids and they lean on their teammates and coaches (their family) for support.

Jason will never play at this level of hockey, but he has that same 'family' that he has grown up with since he was 5 or 6 years old. I am thankful he has been part of a team that has given him some of my favourite qualities.

Congratulations to the Rangers and good luck in the next round!

Amazing Day!

Here we are in St. Catherine's at a hockey tournament for Jason's select team. It is the last of the hockey for him this year. He has played select hockey for the past 5 years and really enjoys the guys on this team. It changes a bit from year to year, but there are many of the same kids returning.

This year he shares the net with a newcomer to the team. His name is Kyle. You will notice there is a slight difference in size, but they are the same age. Kyle hung out with us yesterday until his dad could get off work. He missed the first game, but made it to the second one.

Jay had to get a new hockey bag a couple of weekends ago. His other one was falling apart. This one even fits his pads.

Here they are heading into the rink for their first game.

David usually travels with us, but he is hanging with his dad this weekend and they are staying at a different hotel. We won't see him much, except at the rink. I will do my best to snap a few photos of him when I can.

Here is Jay and Kyle waiting to go out for their game.....see what I mean about the size difference?

Now don't get me wrong, when Jay puts on all his equipment he does look rather large. Without his mask, his head looks like a pea on top of those broad shoulders.

This is the dressing room. I would just love to know what goes on in there. It takes them and entire hour to get ready for a game.........that is a lot of time to get dressed.

Here the team waits for the Zamboni to finish flooding the ice.

This is the warm up.

Oh, I got a good action shot of David here.

After the game we went and checked into our hotel room. Our room overlooks a courtyard and they have mini golf and a huge chess game out there. It is a great place for the guys to hang out and burn off some of their energy.

Here we are at the second game.......team huddle before they start.

This is where Jay spends all his time......between the red pipes.

They do the handshake before the game. Again, check out the sized difference with those goalies.

Here are a few action shots of Jason during the game.







And here is my favourite coach, hard at work!

We won the first game and lost the second one. We have 2 games today and we have our fingers crossed for 2 more wins.

Monty, Jason and I enjoyed a very nice dinner at Montana's last night and then we watched The Blind Side in our room. Normally Jay brings his X-Box with him and I have a room full of kids. This was a refreshing change.

We had another bit of exciting news yesterday too. Jason got his first job at the Galaxy. Amanda called us last night and said there was a message on the phone for Jay to call. We called as soon as we got back to the room and he starts on Monday. He spent quite a bit of time on my computer last night, chatting with his friends on MSN, spreading the news.

The sun is shining here and our first game is not until 4:45 today. My guys are still sound asleep as I type this. I am going to get them up and head out for breakfast, then we will see what sort of trouble we can get in for the rest of the day. Have a good one!

It Was A Nail Biter!

As most of you know, I am a die hard hockey fan. My son Jason, is my#1 super star, but right behind him are MY BOYS, the Kitchener Rangers.

My hubby and I spend most Friday nights at the Kitchener Auditorium watching our team play. It is our 'date night'. I wouldn't want him to take me anywhere else.

The Rangers are in playoff's right now, in the second round. It is a seven game series against our biggest rivals......the London Knights. After last night, the series is tied 2-2! We are the underdogs and our win was not a pretty one, but we did come out on top. The 5th game is being played in London tonight (oh how I wish I could go) and I will be glued to my TV! The Rangers have lost 9 straight games in the London arena, but I have my fingers crossed. They will return to home ice on Saturday night but I won't be able to attend. Jason has a hockey tournament in St. Catherine's, but I will be watching from there.

It has been a wonderful year of ups and downs for The Rangers, and no matter how this ends, I will still be one of their biggest fans.

GO RANGERS!