This Jeep was in the parking lot at the Marina when we went to see Theodore Tugboat on Thursday. Tori so much wanted to take the parking pass sign and Wolf put a ducky under the windshield wiper. It is a Jeep thing.

We went to Port Colbourne yesterday to see Theodore Tugboat. we were allowed to wander around the main deck.

 Lables that Wolf created for me to include with my swaps.

 The first  Christmas card that I made this year.

 Sundays Self Care

Massages are the best self-care idea to can help you release any physical strain you may be carrying and are really great in taking care of your body especially if there is a lot of stress in your life. The relaxation produced by a good massage can release the stress hormones and greatly improve our physical and mental health.

7. Acupuncture

Sundays Self Care tip

5. Progressive muscle relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is one of best self-care activities which involves a two-step process in which a person systematically tenses and relaxes different muscle groups in the body. Helps us to spot and counteract the first signs of the muscular tension that accompanies stress and beat it before it grabs hold. Also, an excellent tool to falling asleep fast.

 My first visitor to my new craft room/workshop that Wolf is finishing for me.  I will be asking him to leave later in the day.

Snails

 I put the skins of my watermelons outside for the snails to enjoy.

 Sunday Self Care Tip

Move Your Body

Any activity will do, bonus points if you actually enjoy it and can fit in your schedule! Think solo dancing in your living room, walking up and down your stairs, Zumba class, Yoga with Adrienne Youtube channel,  pedaling a stationary bike for 15 minutes after lunch, doing jumping jacks in your office, or walking an extra loop at the mall. In other words, moving your body does not mean an hour-long advanced cycling class at 5 am (unless that’s your thing of course) but any realistic activity for your lifestyle, routine, and personal preference.

Seeing deer in the neighbours field is a daily occurrence.  Sometime there is a whole herd with their little spotted fawns.  The field is across from a Provincial Park, which is their home.

 Sunday self care tip

3. Nutritious Meals

Healthy eating starts with learning what our body needs to feel nourished and how we can fulfill these needs with nutritious foods we like and enjoy. The next step is learning the nutritional basics about the foods we consume and what fuel the human body needs to be healthy and strong. I really like the free Fooducate app for learning the nutritional values and benefits of different foods, and it also tracks your activity levels. Based on all this information we can make a solid, educated, sustainable, and very easy-to-follow meal plan for ourselves, which will give us a much higher chance of integrating this new healthy 

May and her sticks

 May is in her cycle and is gathering sticks to bring into the house for her bed

 Two cards that I created called fractured front cards.  Watched this technique on Stamping on the back porch.

Canal Days, August 6th 2023

Wolf took me to Canal Days in Port Colbourne yesterday.  I was a little disappointed.  There was a lot of food booths and the food looked and smelled delicious.  There was no place to sit except on the ground behind the booths or walking around holding the food and trying not to bump into anyone.  The vendor booths had nothing new to show.  We did see the large cruise ship that is travelling through the Welland Canal.  The most of stores were very gracious in offering water for Loco (our dog) everyone wanted to pet him.  Loco is a service dog but one store asked us to leave because there was not enough room in the store for the people who where just looking.  One gentleman bought a bottle of water and poured some into his hand for Loco to have a drink.  I did buy another cute piggy

2. Learn to Self-Soothe

We will always have stress in our lives. That’s just life, it comes with its ups and downs. As a result, we will have both positive and negative emotions. The trick is to discover ways to self-soothe and cope with those negative emotions when they come (because they will) in a positive, productive, and sustainable manner. Both negative and positive feelings have an equally important part in our human development and growth, and learning how to effectively manage difficult emotions strengthens our emotional wellbeing.  Some of the best self-care for self-soothing examples: journaling, meditation, mindful walking, exercising, coloring, taking a cold or hot shower, and saying positive coping statements to 

Sunday Self Care Tip

Your Sunday Self Care Tip.

Sleep deficiency has several detrimental effects on our mental and physical health, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and impaired cognitive performance. Optimizing and prioritizing our sleep habits improves mood, mental and physical performance, metabolism, and energy levels.  Getting on a consistent sleep schedule, monitoring caffeine intake, eliminating screens at least 30 minutes before bedtime, creating a before-bed relaxation routine- all can make a huge difference in the quality of our physical and mental health.

Christmas shaker card

 Christmas Shaker card made by me,

Here is a very nice masculine looking card.

All Supplies from Stamping' Up

Natures Beauty Stamp Set

Very Vanilla Card Base

Wood Textures designer series paper

Linen twine and the green leaves from the August Purple Pumpkin kit

Words from a retired set,  but you can use any sentiment of your choosing.

It has been more than a year since I last posted.

One of my New Year Resolutions is to post at least 3 times a week.

It may not alway be about crafty stuff but also about other things that interest me.  Another New Year Resolution is to make sure that I mail out my swap to the different groups on time.  

                  Here is a picture of a swap that I received.   The small cards are called ATC's.  You do not sell these, you only trade them.  They are miniature works of art. I wrote a post about ATC's a while ago. Here is the link to learn more about them: http://kreationsbykris.blogspot.com/2014/06/sewing-atcs.html

Below is a picture of the Scarf and Toques set that I knit as a Christmas gift for my friend at work.
My friend always appreciated my handmade gifts.

Buddha Card

Buddha Card Creation

I am a member of a Yahoo Group called Oriental Stamp Art and here is the card I made for the Buddha swap.

The beige cardbase was layered with a piece of green patterned paper and then  a multi coloured green tag.  The Buddha was stamped on white cardstock, embossed in gold cut out and then layered onto the tag with foam tape to give a raised look.  I  used foam tape to attached flowers onto the base.  The grotto shape was cut from Washi wallpaper and glued around the main design to give a Temple look to the card.

Rolodex

Rolodex - Great Find At Thrift Shop!

I have been searching for one of these Rolodex for awhile now.  I did find  one similar at Staples, but they want up to $80.00 for one.  I found this beauty at a thrift shop for $ 3.50.  It has blank cards in it as well as the alphabetical dividers.  I am going to use it to keep track of my swaps and the addresses of my partners.  I will also use it to track my rubberstamps.

Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Scrapbooking Tote

How to Pack A Scrapbooking Tote

by Jennifer Priest on January 4, 2015  in Hydrangea Hippo Blog

One of the biggest problems I see at crops is that people bring way too much stuff. One of the main reasons for that is that we don’t want to forget anything so we bring it ALL! I may forget papers and things but with a tool tote that is always stocked, you’ll be ready to go anytime there is a crop or class. I transferred from a tote that wasn’t working (it was actually a purse) to a scrapbooking tote with a wide opening:

I use my tool tote every day. Not only is this tote for travel, it is the place where my supplies live permanently. I do have more adhesive, inkpads,  scissors, and needles than what is in my tool tote but I go to the tote first when I need to use something. This keeps me in the habit of using the tote so it isn’t a weird adjustment to use it when I go to crops. Additionally, by always accessing the bag, I am very aware of what supplies I am running low on, if I need to buy a new black pen at the moment, or if I should add more erasers because I am using pencil alot right now. I made a handy dandy video to share with you how I pack my tool tote.

http://youtu.be/gI-XVdTav74

Here are the essentials for any tool tote: (I’ve linked some of these to places you can buy online via affiliate links – I make a tiny commission if you buy but it helps me keep the crafty goodness coming)

• Craft Knives - my favorites are from Westcott
• Craft Mat for the Craft Knives – Westcott makes a tool-bag-friendly 6″ version
• Stamp Scrubber
• Adhesive Tape Runners – Tombow Mono are my choice but not what I had in the video
• Foam Dots and Squares – American Crafts Dots are my favorite but I have a mix in the video
• Adhesive Dots – these are in the bags with the foam dots in my video
• Journaling Pens – these Black Sakura pens are great as are Copic Fine Tip and Zig Markers
• Sharpie Markers + Pencils
• Adhesive Eraser – I use the one from Xyron
• ColorBox Wicked Black Inkpad
• ColorBox Seattle Sky Inkpad
• ColorBox Stylus and Tips
• ColorBox Cat’s Eye Inkpads
• Jewelry Boxes - make great dividers for a bag
• Needle Nest Case - keeps needles and pins from poking you
• Purse Hook – great for hanging your bag (and purse) from a table for easy access. Floors are dirty!
• Compact Cell Phone Charger
• White Acrylic Paint and FoamPaint Brush
• Liquid Adhesive – I use PVA, Elmer’s Craft Bond, and Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue
• Luggage Tag or Charms with your name on them

How do you bring your tools to crops and classes? Do you have a tried and true method for organizing that you use? Please share in the comments!

Trends for 2015

Craft Trends to look for in 2015

December 23, by Katie Smith. Leave a Comment

Christmas is almost here and 2015 is just around the corner! Pretty soon we’ll be making new years resolutions, Either towards your life or towards your crafting. I wanted to showcase some of the things I think will be trendy in the craft industry in 2015.

1. Foxes. I’m betting that foxes and other woodland creatures will still be going strong next year. I for one, still love a good fox or owl craft and I think we’ll still be seeing handmade items with a fox doodle, or hedgehog scrapbook paper.

2. Calligraphy. I’ve been seeing more and more calligraphy and hand writing inspiration in my pinterest feed and I think it’s a hobby that more people will be taking up or purchasing more typographic art.

3. Feathers and Flowers.  Feathers have been trendy for a while now, but I don’t think they’re growing old anytime soon. I also think wildflower fabrics and art will be making an appearance in the upcoming Spring season.

4. Recycled/Restyled Projects. I love a restyle project and I know a lot of other people do as well. Turning vintage flea market finds into a personalized piece of furniture is all the rage!

5. Simple Patterns. Chevrons, Herringbone, Scallops, Hearts and Stars as well as any other simple patterns are becoming quite popular. They’re not only easy to doodle (even if you’re not very good a drawing) but they’re also great for tone on tone patterned papers and fabrics that give you print without being overwhelming.

What trends do you think will stay strong/die off in 2015? Are there any new trends that you predict?

Christmas Santa's

I was so happy when I purchased these little  glass Santa's at a thrift shop last week  I was going to make cute sets of Christmas earrings for all of my friends.  Up until today I has not opened the bag that they came in.  Well I was in for a real surprise.  There are  23  of these little guys and each one is different.  There are two alike, but different sizes.  Now I will just have to purchase a tiny tree to put them on.  Too bad my original idea isn't going to work