Jessica's CJ

Alrighty, 3 Reasons I Love Summer.....hmmmm......actually, I think fall would be my favourite season; it's still warm, the kids are back in school, the world turns into a tapestry of colour, I get to celebrate our anniversary, Thanksgiving, my birthday and Halloween. But summer?

Well, it would seem there's some great advantages to summer. The kids are on holidays, which means that while they're here all the time, we get to sleep in. Scott gets the majority of his holidays in the summer and we take full advantage of the time we have off together. We've seen some pretty amazing scenery touring the province we live in, making wonderful memories with family and friends. Then there's the outdoor fun, particularly croquet, a family favourite. We play by our own, slightly altered rules so that everyone can have fun...and a fighting chance! And what summer would be complete without a trip to the beach? We're fortunate to be surrounded by the Great Lakes, especially Lake Huron, with it's sandy beaches, warm water and beautiful sunsets.

Yes, summer is a pretty sweet, laid back season. And I'm lucky enough to enjoy every little bit of it!

Jenn's CJ

Jenn's cj topic is 5 Reason's I Love Being a Woman. To be honest, I've never really thought too much about it. So this one took a little brainstorming and my conclusion.....being a woman really does rock! Yeah, ok, men on average make more money and are physically stronger, plus they can pee standing up. Big deal. I'm entitled to as much attitude as I need in any given situation and that is far more powerful!

Hope you enjoy my list and the layout. The woman stamp was actually a fairy, so the trickiest part was trying to just stamp the woman without the wings. But look at the attitude in her stance; she simply had to be part of my layout!

10 Things That Make Me Happy.

Kathi sent this to me, and it seems the perfect way for me to get back into blogging after being a real slacker. So here's my list:

1. My family....when they aren't driving me nuts....even sometimes when they are driving me nuts since only the most important people to you can truly push you to the extremes. Of course, I'm not always that philosophical at the time....
2. All my fur-babies. I'm a sucker for a sweet poochie...and even the odd cat.
3. Scrapbooking and other creative endeavours. Things just aren't right in my world if there's no creative outlet.
4. Computer games. Where would I be without my wii, my facebook and webkinz games? Likely more productive, but not nearly as happy.
5. Vacations away. It doesn't have to be far....just far enough to get away from the daily grind of routine and expectations.
6. Music. Growing up, there was always music playing. Sometimes I feel my life could be summed up in a soundtrack.
7. Visits with my mom. It's mom.....'nuff said!
8. Cooking....but not baking.
9. Reading. I've always loved getting wrapped up in a good book.
10. Gardening. I'm a bit of a fickle gardener....I'm a wussy in the heat and I have been known to pitch a hissy fit when things don't work out the way I want and give up....but oh, the satisfaction of a quiet day digging in the dirt, making things look pretty!

Okay, so there it is. Now I'm supposed to pass this on to 3 other bloggers so here it goes.....in no particular order......

Elaine

Lisa

Paula

I'll have to check around and make sure these ladies haven't been given this award by someone else previously, but for now, this is my list.

Proud Moments in Hoser History.

Here's my latest layout, featuring our good natured yellow lab Bella showing some national pride during the first meeting of the Canadian and American men's Olympic hockey teams. Some of you may remember receiving this picture on your cell during the game (for those of you who didn't, I apologise, I must not have your number!).
For this layout, there's lots of glittery gold embossing (as our hockey women, and eventually men both won gold....yeah!), inking and freehand borders and journaling lines.

Oh, How I Love a Deal!

The Scrapping Turtle, my favourite LSS (or at least in the top 2) hosted a yard sale for their customers to sell off some of their old, tired scrappy stock, allowing deal-hungry scrappers like myself to give it new life.

Now a friend of mine kindly reminded me I'm on a self-imposed paper spending freeze.....but each pack of patterned paper (each row represent one pack) only cost me $2! How could I say no? Especially when I consider at least 90% of each pack great stuff that will easily work with my style and only maybe 2% having a total ick factor!

Other items: a loose pack of school themed stamps, a set of arrow stamps, binder rings and a large pack of cardstock (that included a lot of colours I was running out of) all for a grand total of...(drumroll, please!)...$24.50.

Best of all....I've already used product from this stash! Serene's cj layout includes a sheet of patterned paper and two of the arrow stamps.

My daughter came along and picked up a paper pack, some fun embellies and an organizer she's using to store items for her new hobby, making sock animals.

I already can't wait for the next sale, scheduled in the fall......and no worries mom, I'll be sure to let you know about that one!

Serene's cj - The Odd Files

So, after much debate, I finally came up with 4 unusual things about me/that I've done. I really thought this topic would be easier than it was. However, it seems that I'm far more ordinary than I thought. Sigh.......

To recap, my unusual things are:

• Planning a family trip to Disney World to celebrate 10 years of marriage. This idea had been in the works since our 5th anniversary. Everyone said to go away just the two of us....we said, nuh-uh! We're all going to Disney!
• I cannot swim. At all. Yet I taught our daughter to swim. In fact, she didn't want her dad's help at all....and he has always looooooved swimming!
• While I've always liked camping, it's been a stipulation of mine to have a flushing toilet and showers nearby. So it came as a shock to everyone (including myself) that our family "roughing it without hydro or plumbing" trips have been so enjoyable for me.
• Monster Jam......demolition derbies.......who knew that a girly-girl like me could get so excited over such metal-crunching, engine-revving, testosterone-pumping action?

I came to the conclusion that all of these items were related to parenthood. Wanting a big family getaway, helping my kids push past fears of mine and discovering new interests by exposing them to their interests.....all the oddities in my life right now really stem from my kids!

And finally, my sign in tag for Serene. I used a mini file folder, like the one in my layout, with index prints from our Disney trip tucked inside.

Thanks everyone, for looking; Serene, hope you enjoy my layout for you!

My Studio

Okay, a few posts ago, Kathi mentioned she'd like to see my studio and since it's recently been re-arranged it seemed like the perfect time to do so!
Here is what I see when I enter my studio, which as you may have guessed is located in the attic. This used to be the kids' play area, but they decided they were scared of the attic so I took it over. This is the second floor plan that's been put in place, as my darling daughter was taking over my table, causing all sorts of fights. Her argument: she needed more space and lighting to make her desk more user-friendly. I've left out her area on purpose...even though seeing her desk would make mine look sooooo much neater!
On the left is a short shelving unit that was many moons ago a dresser (I think) but I've used off an on throughout the years as shelves. On it, I store my embossing powers, my Purple Cow, ribbon and embellies, my sewing basket, stamps, inks, Mr. Big Bite and other assorted tools I like to keep close.
In the far left corner of the room is a desk that I currently have no official use for yet, and beside that is a basket with my collection of stuffies. If you look behind the chair, you'll notice that Eeyore has escaped.
Below is the left side of my table. It's full of bins full of stuff. There's a bin for unused pictures that haven't been labelled and placed in an album, a bin for odds and ends that's in desperate need of reorganizing, a bin for embellies that are still in their packaging, a bin for journaling tags and one for small stuff I've acquired in swaps but don't fit a specific theme category.



On the right hand side of my table is this nifty paint can organizer I picked up at my LSS's garage sale. I use it to keep my adhesives and other little often used tools close and handy. Often beside it is my photo box, though it's official home is on the top shelf of the right-hand side leg/shelf with my bin of pens and extra adhesives/refills. Oh, and the candy dish.....cannot forget the candy dish....that I forgot to fully get into the shot.


Looking back from my table and towards the sitting area of the attic are these built-in shelves for some of the bigger stuff. On the top shelf is a picture of our dog Tabitha playing in the water months before we lost her (there's also a layout of her on the wall by the window) and another of my sister, both done by my mom. Below that is a file folder organizer for my stickers, rubons and chipboard, sorted by theme and my collection of Cricut cartridges. On the bottom shelf is my hanging file paper organizer, my Xyron 510 and my Cricut.

This corner is my little inspiration station...magazines, cards from my scrappy friends and projects done by my daughter.

One picture that's missing is the Ikea bins in front of Kelsey's desk. I forget the system name....think it might be Antonius???? The top bin is for scraps. She loves that there's no top on the rack, as all she has to do is push her scraps off her desk and into the bin. Under that is a bin for her projects, one for my projects and a fourth yet to be designated.

And that's about it! While not as pretty, tidy or whimsically decorated as ones featured in the magazines and other blogs, this space makes me happy. Everything is where it makes sense to me, organized and placed to make tidy up as easy as possible....and I don't think it gets any better than that!

Thanks for coming along on the tour!