Some Royal Fun...A Tuesday Trigger!

I haven't found the time to play along with Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger since before I went on vacation - I printed out this week's, Some Royal Fun, on Tuesday when Cath posted it, and then lost it in the disaster area of my desk. However, I remembered the colours, and knew I wanted to use them in my project.

Supplies: white cardstock;
stamps all from Stampin' Up!;
Distress inks: Tumbled Glass, Worn Lipstick, Dried Marigold;
misc. rhinestones

While plotting out this not-my-usual CAS design, I knew the stamps I wanted to use, and that I wanted to have lots of white space. I also wanted to mask off the rose, rather than colour in in. The first attempt (which I recycled & forgot to take a picture of) looked kind of flat with only the blue & pink inks, so I added the marigold. The rhinestones next to the sentiment are to mimic the shiny jewels on the plate. Once I was happy with the basic card, I made 5 more for a set of 6. My husband really didn't care for this - he says they look unfinished. Meh. I like them anyway.

xoxo,
Jessi

Baby Love

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Origins;"
standard oval Nesties;
sentiment stamp from Cloud 9 Designs; stamped with Palette Noir;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: Papers from AC "Abode;"
standard oval Nesties;
sentiment stamp from Cloud 9 Designs;
stamped with Palette Noir;
yellow buttons from stash; white heart & bear buttons from Dress it Up!

Sometimes autism really sucks.

Connor's asthma has been bad, right? And we went to the doctor, but of course Connor can't really describe how his breathing feels, and I blithely assumed that coughing without sneezing, etc, was asthmatic. I didn't insist that the doctor listen to his lungs, just took the new medicine & went on our way. The new medicine didn't really help, and Connor seemed to be getting worse. So, when DH took him for the follow-up appointment, I said "Make sure he listens to his lungs this time!" And guess what? The child has had bronchitis for well over a month  (judging from when symptoms started). He was up all night coughing Friday, and by Saturday he developed a fever, and so ended up in the emergency room for antibiotics.

So, I feel horribly guilty, although really I know sh** happens, and he will be fine. Ugh.

Riley, on the other hand, wants desperately to be funny. He tells jokes (horrible, anti-joke chicken kind of jokes...


They aren't even close to being funny. So, Thursday, I'm in a crummy mood, and we're walking to school for Karaoke Night (seriously, one of SIX fundraisers for the school in less than a week. OMG.) when Riley turns around and PUNCHES ME IN THE FACE. Because he wanted to play a prank and cheer me up.

I know it's not personal, but it's so hard to remember that sometimes - like, for example, when your 110 lb, nearly 5 foot tall 11 year old punches you in the nose for a joke. Sigh.

So, anyhow...Connor and I are here for the day. Sarah & Andrew wanted to go to Hopewell Rocks today, and so Riley's gone with them, and DH has gone to work. It should be a quiet one - at least I don't expect to get hit in the face :)

xoxo,
Jessi

More graduations...

Supplies: Papers from My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
cloud, balloon, and "sky" sentiment from The Greeting Farm;
stamped in Palette Noir; "Congratulations" stamp from Inkadinkado;
Sun sticker from ATD; clouds embossed with Cuttlebug folder

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Wisteria;"
Emerson quote from My Favorite Things, stamped with Vintage Photo Distress Ink;
Congratulations stamp from Inkadinkado;
resin medallion from K & Co;
flowers quilled by me :)

Oddly enough, even though I've typed out 3 or 4 different sentences, I deleted them all. So glad to have my sister here, but a rough day. And rather than delete that too, I think I'll just let it lie.
Tomorrow I'll have a nifty selection of 'clearance' cards at the market - time to clear out my stash, and I've packaged them in sets of 5 for $5.
xoxo,
Jessi

Imaginisce Birthdays

One more day until my little sis arrives!!! One welcome surprise is finished; the other has to wait until the last minute...and I will post photos, but she's sneaky and might read the ol' blog beforehand, so I'm not telling just in case. I guess maybe I should clean the bathroom today. Maybe. The chances aren't that good, actually. I have more fun things to do, like hang out with my friend Dee & dish on girl stuff.

Supplies: super-fun papers from Imaginisce Berrylicious;
super-furry hedgehog stickers from Recollections;
sentiment from TAC, stamped with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink;
buttons from stash; misc. orange & green cardstock;
grass made with Martha Stewart fringe scissors;
standard & lacey circle Nestabilities

Supplies: Papers and robot stamp from Imaginisce;
'party like a rock star' from Studio G;
stamped with Versamark and embossed with black & silver EP;
rhinestone scallop border from $store

I can't stop petting those little hedgehogs - they aren't felt, they're kind of a faux-fur material with a super-deep pile, and they're so soft!

The sun came out for a couple of hours yesterday - back to clouds & showers for today, though.  It was nice to walk home from school without getting soaked, but I don't imagine it'll happen again any time soon. We're setting all kinds of rainfall records, which means we'll be setting all kinds of mosquito records next. Ugh.

xoxo,
Jessi

Pink Cat Owls

Supplies: Owl stamp from Pink Cat Studio;
stamped with Palette Noir, coloured with markers, and 'feathered'
with Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball);
Tree template from melstampz.blogspot.com;
Paper from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
sentiment stamps from My Favorite Things;
misc. cardstock, Cuttlebug folder (for leaves);
Martha Stewart fringe scissors for grass;
Autumn Leaves rub-on (sun); googly eyes (what a lot of stuff!)

I think the owls are my favourite of Melissa's illustrations...and I love tucking these little ones from the Party Animals into a tree. And there always has to be more than one of them.

Emily asked me how old Connor is on my dentist post from last week...and I realized I'd never shown any pictures of the kids here. Odd, for how many stories I find to tell about them...speaking of which, this morning Riley brought me a pear from the fridge, but he was disturbed about something. "It's missing...it's missing...the antenna!" he finally spits out. Maybe the boys watch a little too much sci-fi when 'antenna' comes to mind more easily than 'stem!'

Anyhow, the boys are Connor, who is 12, and Riley, who is 11. They are 15 months, 8 days, 12 hours, and 57 minutes apart in age. Both of them were diagnosed with autism in 2003 - that was a crappy year - and both are in mainstream classes at grade level. And here they are:

Connor, Poppy, Grammie, and Riley
Christmas 2010

Sarah and Andrew - and I love them!
And Sarah said I could do this, if I also promised to share a 'normal' pic...

Judy (my stepmom), Dad, me, Nevada (my bro), Sarah, and Andrew
Well, what passes for normal around here, anyway :)

I'd better get some lunch before I have to go get the rugrats...I can't believe it's still raining. The yard is largely underwater, and I swear I feel webs growing between my toes. I don't think we've had nice weather once when Sarah's come to visit - it even snowed when she came in April. Come on, Nova Scotia can do better than that...but I'm not holding my breath, just in case.

xoxo,
Jessi

Birthday Birds

Having Blogger down sucked...seems like it was forever, and it ate comments! I am thankful for it working over 99% of the time, and for free.

Supplies: Journaling card from Webster's Pages;
papers (and blue butterfly) from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
lace, ribbon, and feather from stash; stick pins from Making Memories;
Birthday wishes stamp from Inkadinkado, stamped with Palette Noir

Supplies: Stick pin, die-cuts, resin bird all from K & Co;
papers from Basic Grey "Curio;"
Wilton doily sponged with Old Paper Distress Ink;
lace from Hero Arts; ribbon from stash;
Birthday Greetings sticker from SRM

Supplies: paper & vellum die-cuts, resin egg from K& Co;
paper from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
Happy Birthday sticker from SRM;
Wilton doily

I hope birds never go out of style in papercrafts...I love them all: cutesy, cartoon, realistic, vintage, elegant... Right now we have two pairs of blue jays nesting at the side of our house, and a pair of robins as well. I think there are sparrows as well, but we've only spotted them a couple of times. They're so tiny, and so well-camouflaged, that it's hard to see if they are sticking around or just visiting. Friday we had someone come cut the top off of the Leaning Tree of Fogan - the ground is flooded in the yard, and that tree was aiming right for the house. He'll be back to take the rest once the ground is dry enough to get to it without gumboots. I think the birds were avoiding it - at least, there's no evidence of nests in the downed branches - but they are swarming it now that it's on the ground. Bizarre to see the different species all picking at it together, when usually the jays chase everyone else away!

Four days left until my lovely sister arrives...I can't wait for the boys to see her & meet her guy. They already adore her, and they're going to love him too! I would post a picture here, but the one I want to put up really truly belongs on the fridge...and I wouldn't want her to decide not to come after it goes on the Internet. (You're welcome, sis. Anytime, really! I Love Youuuuu.)

xoxo,
Jessi

Graduation {is for the} birds?

Supplies: Papers all from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "True Blue;"
Mortarboard sticker from Recollections;
owl, accessories, & sentiments from Cornish Heritage Farms;
stamped with Palette Noir, paper-pieced with scraps, and beak/talons coloured with markers;
stamp on envelope from "ditto"

Supplies: paper from DCWV;
awesome chickie stamp (my fave!) and outline stickers from Stampendous!;
yellow fun flock also from Stampendous;
misc. rhinestones; standard and lacey circle Nestabilities

Well, not really. It gets boring naming all the posts sometimes, eh?

The trip to the dentist was excellent - there were tears, but Connor didn't let that get in the way of cooperating - he did sit up and say that the tears were going in his ears, but he laid right back down and recovered quickly. They got a minimal cleaning done, and lovely clear x-rays taken (he loved that part!) that showed he doesn't have a cavity after all. As the dentist explained to Connor, that tooth is shaped like a butt, and the butt crack has a mark on it - nothing to worry about. You can just picture how delighted he is to keep telling everyone his tooth looks like a butt!

I plan to drive everyone nuts listening to my Mother's Day CD of Lady Antebellum...it was bad enough that I turned up the radio super-loud every time "Need You Now" came on the radio, and now I can play it over-and-over-and-over...I mention this since I just restarted it again.At least no one else is awake yet!

I appear to have solved my online ordering problem - sort of. Now it appears that I have 2 orders on the way...I would say oops, except of course, it's all fun stuff. And quite a bit of fun stuff for blog candy! Now for it to arrive so I can get that ball rolling.

xoxo,
Jessi

Crazy Penguins

Supplies: Penguins & sentiments from The Cat's Pajamas;
stamped with Palette Noir, coloured with markers;
papers from Cosmo Cricket "DeLovely;"
Sakura Stardust pen for glittery goodness;
Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball) for fuzzy bellies;
black rhinestones & cardstock; scalloped scissors for border;
standard & lacey circle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug embossing folder

Supplies: Penguins & sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas;
stamped with Palette Noir ink, coloured with markers;
paper from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
standard oval & circle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug embossing folder;
liquid applique for cupcake frosting; microbeads for sprinkles;
Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball) for fuzzy bellies;
Sakura Stardust pen for glitz!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the baby blanket - I brought it with me to the market, and it sold! Hard to be unhappy about that :) I'm working on another, but I think it will be probably 2 or 3 weeks before it's finished.

Last week I tried to place two orders online for craft supplies - both with companies I've ordered from before - and with the first, the cart malfunctioned, and customer service got back to me once to ask for details, and then nothing since. The second has yet to send me an invoice, even though it's been 6 days now, and I followed up with another email to make sure they realized that I hadn't received one...argh! You wouldn't think it would be so hard to give someone money, for Pete's sake. To add insult to injury, in the time I've been waiting on these two companies, they've gone out of stock on several of the items I was trying to order. Do you have a favourite place to order from that also ships to Canada without wanting my firstborn?

Speaking of my firstborn, his asthma has been in terrible shape lately. We finally got in to see the doctor yesterday, and he's got to switch to a new inhaler. This one is used without the spacer, but it's called a 'turbohaler' - a cool name goes a long way towards smoothing the worry about taking it differently. He'll have to go back in less than 2 weeks to make sure that it's working properly - he's been taking his rescue inhaler every day, sometimes more than once, so I really hope this works quickly. This appears to be Doctor Month - between three of us, there are so far 5 appointments this month. Today's appointment is for the dentist - Connor's first trip to a "regular" dentist since he was first referred to the IWK Children's Hospital clinic when he was 4. He needs a filling, and I'm not sure who's more anxious, him or me. Dad booked him for a full cleaning and the filling, and previously all the dentists at the IWK could do when he was awake was look in his mouth. Not touch, not x-ray, not nothing. It's worth a try - the wait for the local dentist is only 3 weeks, rather than the (at least) 3 months for the IWK, but still....keep your fingers crossed that he copes well. Also, send Valium for both of us. Or just me - I'm OK with that ;)

xoxo,
Jessi

Crafty Secrets Beauties

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clipart;
Stamps all from Inkadinkado;
Dusty Concord Distress Ink; purple bling;
lacey circles Nestabilities

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clip art (how gorgeous is she??);
Button and paper from Basic Grey "Curio;"
floral heart sticker from PSX;
Wilton doily; adhesive pearls;
Mother's Day stamp from Anna Griffin;
stamped with Palette Noir 2nd generation

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clip art;
sentiment from Gina K. Designs;
Faded Jeans Distress Ink;
paper from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
Wilton doilies; shamrock button from Dress It Up!

Do you ever have difficulty creating cards for certain occasions? This week I really need to be working on Mother's Day and graduation cards (convocation celebrations at Mount Allison University start next week)...but all I feel like making are birthday and baby cards. Argh. The pressure mounts...lol! There is also a fundraiser at the kids' school next week, and I've promised to donate something for the silent auction table. I'll definitely be contributing one of my crafty kits, which has supplies to make 10 cards, 10 bookmarks, and 2 mini journals (with 30 6x6 papers, glitter, ribbon, lace, buttons, and that sort of fun stuff), but I'd like to make some sort of giftie item specially for the event as well. Hopefully inspiration strikes SOON. By the way, if you are in the Amherst/Sackville area and would like details for the kid-friendly (and fun!) event being held May 13th, shoot me a comment or email & I'll pass on the info.

xoxo,

Jessi

Floral Silhouettes

Supplies: Sentiments from Gina K Designs, stamped with Tumbled Glass & Dusty Concord;
'grass' stamps from Inkadinkado, stamped with Wild Honey & Peeled Paint;
floral silhouette from Digital Princess, stamped with Tumbled Glass;
mini flower silhouette from Studio G, stamped with Dusty Concord;
misc. rhinestones

Supplies: Spring Mix Flower Soft;
branch & bird from Inkadinkado;
Sentiment from Kaisercraft;
Versamark, Dusty Concord, & Peeled Paint ink; clear EP;
Nestabilities Label 4; Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls folder;
edges inked with Dusty Concord 

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey 'kraft basics;"
Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Black Soot distress inks;
Grass stamps (paint and brick) from Inkadinkado;
butterfly stamp unknown; floral silhouette from Digital Princess;
Birthday sentiment from Kaisercraft;
edges inked with paint, brick, and marmalade

Supplies: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, scrap paper;
cotton crochet thread for antennae; misc. rhinestones;
Thanks stamp from Stampin' Up!;
grasses from Inkadinkado;
floral silhouette from Digital Princess;
Tumbled Glass, Dried Marigold distress inks;
Citrus and Purple Twilight Adirondack inks

The time change has really thrown me for a loop - it took just a day to get used to Vancouver time, but I've been home for a week now and still don't feel like I'm running on the right time. I've heard that going east is harder to adjust to, and four hours is a lot, but really...any time now would be nice! I'm managing to get up at the right time, more or less, and still taking my usual nap of a couple hours, but by 7 pm I am wiped - I've fallen asleep sitting up the last few days. That nap only lasts 10-15 minutes, but then I'm wide awake at bedtime, and unable to fall asleep until 1-2-3 in the morning. Ugh. The five o'clock alarm is not a welcome sound after that. I think being up all night on the flight home may have messed it up more than the time change - a good reminder that I'm not a university student any more, and all-nighters require recovery now :)

I finished another baby blanket - this one just for fun - and started another. Little projects usually equal instant gratification, which is apparently important to my crafty mojo. I plan on bringing the blankets to the market with me - not sure how to price them yet, but I'll figure that out in the next few days. Pictures should follow if I get my act together!

xoxo,
Jessi