Merry Christmas. . .

Christmas always seems so busy and in one day it's all over! But this year is going to be different, I will definitely be slowing things down. And through all the transition in my life, now is definitely time to create some enjoyable memories and traditions not to be forgotten any time soon. . .

It's not difficult with all the pressures of today to forget exactly why we celebrate this amazing holiday - but just maybe, some things in our lives need to change, maybe we just need to say "STOP" and re-evaluate what's really important in life.

I pray you will not be pressured to spend beyond what you are able, but to give from your heart to those who are most important in your life. Relationships that have been waiting for this break just to spend time with you and love on you! Here is an opportunity to give of yourself and receive all that others have to pour into you.

I wish you all a very Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous, Healthy and Happy New Year and pray you honour the time with the ones who are most important in your life and celebrate the birthday of Jesus with all your heart!

Blessings to you all!

Where Are My Creative Juices?

I've lost them and don't know where to find them. . .

Too tired, getting things ready for school again in the fall and I have to finish my craft room, find housing for me and my babies, pack up all their stuff and mine. . . . Yeah, no wonder the creative juices aren't flowing!

I miss my paper crafts! Definitely will be taking some stuff with me to do in my spare time!

This is Sir Chauncey and he is as adorable as he looks. He is my 11 year old Maltese. He's a happy lil fellar and bounces around like Tigger. He's also an escape artist - so I've had a special id tag made with his name, address and phone number on it. He amazes me at the small holes he finds to squeeze through. He is now 11 years old and has lost his hearing, so we've begun to teach him sign language (our own version) and he is such a quick learner, quicker than me. . . I still find myself calling for him, and then realize, ahhh yes, he can't hear me. . . LOL!

Then there is little Miss Mya, she is my 6 year old Miniature Dachshund and she lives up to her name! But she is so lovable and so very comical. She loves her stuffies and toys and actually gets attached to them. I also just discovered that she's afraid of mosquitoes. . . she tries to snap at them and then runs and hides. She obviously can feel them biting her and she is not impressed.

I am so glad I am taking them with me for my 2nd round of schooling. Even though they had great care last year I missed them way too much to do it again.

Well there they are. . . my little family and I love them, they are such a blessing to me!

I Need HELP. . .

. . . okay, just about pulling my hair out here! Honestly, this has become the "Nine Irons in the Fire Redecorating Project". What have I done? or maybe I should ask, What haven't I done?

I'm still on the look out for a beautiful black damask fabric to cover my $2 bargain chair and I've just about finished spray painting everything I could get my hands on and now back to the organizing and looking for black damask fabric. I always seem to get this picture in my mind of what I want but then can't seem to find what I need to pull it together. I usually end up on ebay, Kijiji, Craigslist or Googling to see if i can locate it's where abouts. I can still see it in my minds
eye and will not be content until it can be seen in the physical.

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, here it is - Michael Miller Dandy Damask on ebay. This $2 bargain chair is going to end up being not such a great bargain if I can't get a deal on this fabric. Oh the life of a decorator (slash), organizer (slash), bargain hunter (slash), scrapbooker (slash), dog lover (slash), blog writer by night. . . yup that's me! Sure keeps life exciting ('.')

Well that's the update for now. . . hope to have a few pictures for you shortly of the new improved, organized scrapbook room. Tootles for now - hope y'all are enjoying the sunshine; I think I'm fading. . .

* Under Creative Construction *

Well I'm back from school, and dealing with my brother's estate in Tahsis, BC and now it's definitely time to spend some "Me Time". Right, so I've decided to organize my Scrapbooking Room, which has led into a makeover. . . LOL! I love organizing stuff, just ask any of my friends I shop with - I end up organizing the stores shelves and almost forget about the shopping part :o)

For me organizing, scrapbooking, stamping, creating, etc. are just a few of the ways I like to spend "Me Time". I listen to worship music or some awesome teachings and away I go. This is some of my most creative times and I walk away feeling so rejuvenated and alive.

So yeah, my "Scrapbooking Room" is painted "Sundried Tomato" by Benjamin Moore. It's so rich and warm I just love it. The trim and molding are painted an off white and the window treatments are by Hunter Douglas, "Silhouette window shades". They are so light and airy and allow lots of natural light into the room.

I will see if I can find my "Before" picture so you have an idea of what it looked like prior to all these creative ideas I've had.

Of course I went to IKEA and purchased a new shelving unit and desk to match the existing shelf I have in my SB Room. The desk/shelf unit is from the Expedit series, perfect for all your scrapbooking paraphernalia. I already have a very roomy Fredrik desk I purchased from IKEA along with 2 Lack shelves, some Branas baskets and bits and baubles I've picked up from yard sales. IKEA is great for storage and organizing ideas. . . so I ended up walking away with 2 Bygel Rails, 2 Bygel Baskets, 8 Rajtan jars to go with all the others I found at yard sales and a long narrow shelf to house all those jars.

The SB Room is coming together slowly, and better than I expected ;) I can hardly wait to get back to my scrapbooking!

I've also placed several ads on Kijiji looking for a tacky 70's gold plastic ornate mirror (which i planned on painting white) and an old crystal chandelier. Well I no sooner had my ad listed and I got an email, someone had the mirror and it was already painted white. . . $10 you say "I will take it" and they delivered it right to my house too - yahoo! Now just waiting for the chandelier to come through.

I also have a retro sitting chair I purchased a few years ago for $2, so I've stripped it down and am now looking for the perfect fabric to pull it all together.

Yeah so, if you have any storage ideas, creative suggestions, or just want to comment I am so open, just drop me a line, I would love to hear from you.

I can hardly wait to show you the "After" pictures.

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