Sympathy in Kind

When I stared working at Bruce school in 2004, I had just returned from the funeral of my mother in England, and had to start at a new school. I was greeted by a few staff, but one in particular stood out.

Blair was the French Teacher, whose parents were originally from Scotland. He is the best at accents, and he loves English comedy TV shows. We have that in common, (comedy, not accents). We became friends, and he made me laugh on a daily basis. He didn't know about my mum dying, but his humour made me happy, and that was how he unknowingly helped me with my grief.

Blair left Bruce school to teach at another school, and I missed him. However, I always stayed in touch, and if I ever go to England, I pick him up some Thornton's toffee and some Fortnum and Mason Lemon Curd. It gives me an excuse to see him.

This past summer I had to go home for my dad's funeral and again I picked up both goodies for Blair. We got together, grabbed a coffee and went down to Sugar Beach, where we found a couple of Muskoka chairs and sat and caught up on each other's lives. He had a scare last year with a heart concern, but he looked good and he made me laugh with his always very funny stories. Even though we don't see each other very often, I consider him a good friend and we can pick up wherever we left off.

I saw a Facebook posting from him letting his friends know that his father had passed away. It made me feel sad, initially remembering my dad's recent death, but then for Blair. He was very close with his dad, and I know he must be suffering the pain of losing him.  What can I do to bring him comfort? Well I will do what I know, I have made him a card, and I will be there for him when he needs to talk. I don't think I can make him laugh, but for sure I will try.

My deepest condolences Blair, I know the pain of losing a parent, and can only say to hold your memories close and your family closer.

Cricut cards

I put together 2 cards with my cricut, one for my BIL whose birthday it is this month, the other for his daughter, my niece who just moved into a new home. Loved the way they turned out.

For Kev's birthday

For my niece Sophie and her daughter Talia

Both these cuts are from the Nifty Fifties cartridge.

Danny's 60th birthday

My cousin Marilyn is married to Danny. He is turning 60 in a few days and I heard from my sister that there is a party for him in England. She can't go because she is vacationing in Egypt. When I was talking to my aunt last week, I asked where the party was going to held, and she said she couldn't tell me because it was a secret. I told her I wouldn't tell anyone, because I'm not even in England. She said I'd probably post it on Facebook!!!
Anyway here is the card I made for Danny. He sells luxury cars, so I remembered there was a cut on the Nifty Fifties cart.

Pin It

Father's Day

I thought I'd get a head start with my Father's Day card this year.  It is over a month away, but always good to get started early.

I got this idea from another card maker Brian, but made some changes to his original design.

This is the card, it is actually a mini album.

It has a belly band that keeps the card closed.

Here the album is opened up to reveal 3 photo mats

And here the photo mats have opened up to reveal photos and journaling.

I could have added photos on the closed mats, but I didn't have the right photos.  Most of the pictures of my dad include my mum, and he is still heart broken about her death 5 years ago, that anytime I include Mum's picture, he gets very upset,so I don't add her any more.

The measurements are as follows:
Base strip 12" x 4" scored at 2", 5 3/8" and 8 3/4".
3 strips 7 1/2" x 3" scored at 3 3/4"
4 photo mats 3 1/2" x 2 3/4"
Belly Band 7 1/2" x 1 1/4" and 7 1/2" x 3/4"
The tag on top is 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"

I used my SCAL and my die cutting machine to make the word DAD, welded it and cut it and the background out.

Really easy, so give it a try.  If you have any questions or messages, please leave a comment.

If It's Groovy

I recently joined another group called If It's Groovy where there are lots of challenges.  One that appealed to me was the altered art idea, of buying a clock and altering it.  I did one, but had to take it apart again because I couldn't see the black hands against the black in the photo.  So I simply used a silver marker on the hands, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  This is the finished product.

Dad

I actually accomplished a very simple page today.  It is my dad.  My mum took this photo a number of years ago and it turned out to be very good.  I simply added all of the things that he has been throughout his life.

This turned out to be another red and black project!

Christmas Card Layout

Every year I make a layout of the Christmas cards I receive.  This is my layout for this year, 2009.  I usually include the stamps and airmail stickers from my friends and family living all over the world on another page.

The following picture is from my 2008 Christmas cards.

And this one is from 2007.

Who knew??

I actually did another layout today.  Must be on a roll!  I have been sick almost all week and haven't had the energy to do anything.  Now it looks like I'm a scrapper all over again!

Seems to be blurry here!  Anyway this is a couple of photos of my parents and their long time friends.  My mum is the one who looks like she's about to be under the table!  While I was home in England this past summer, my mum's long time friend Connie died.  She is the one in the top left corner.  So now I figure the two of them are raising hell in heaven!

Christmas 2003

After a really long time I finally got a 2 page layout done.  I realized that the mess on my workspace was not allowing me to even envision anything creative.

So I cleared it off and immediately got inspired to get busy creating a layout.

I chose 2 sketches by Valerie  Salmon, that complemented each other.

My mum spent her last Christmas with my sister Lorna and her family.  We had no idea that it would be her last one, but they sure do look happy.



The paper, poem and some of the embellishments came from a swap that I did over 5 years ago.  I wish I could remember who gave it to me, but I think it may have been from a yahoo group that I used to belong to, PST.

Back to card making

It's been a while since my last card, and March is a busy month for celebrations. I had completely forgotten that last month it was my brother's 25th wedding anniversary, so I made a belated card.Then on the 14th it's my nephew's birthday. It may very well be his 25th too. He is living with my dad at this time, because my dad is becoming more of a risk to himself. So James agreed, or perhaps even volunteered to live with him.Finally a card for my sister who loves frogs. Thomas bought me some embossing envelopes for my birthday and so it was perfect when I saw the froggy one. I knew I had to make something with it for her birthday.

Christmas card layout

Every year I take the cards that I receive for Christmas from family and friends and make a lay out with them.

I also make a page with the stamps, return addresses and air mail stickers.

This is this years pages.

Challenge 10

Emilie's Challenge: use brads or bling to create a shape. It can be a circle, heart, star, wave ...anything!

Hard to see, but really there is a circle of studs and jewels in the top left corner along with pink buttons.

Patterned Paper

Challenge 1: Make Your Own Patterned Paper From Cardstock




It took a long time to measure up the strips before cutting! My only regret on completion is that I wish I had used less white in my design.

Some new work

This is a layout of my son playing in a park in my hometown in England. This was an easy and fun layout to do.

Maternal Grandparents

My grandparents followed my mum over from South Africa in the 50's. I loved going to visit them in Southampton. My Grandfather spent a lot of time with me during my childhood.