We Will Remember...

 Good Evening Internet Friends! 

Today was another day to appreciate all that we have in this time of Covid.  Yet another significant day impacted as we "soldier on" in our quest to hopefully contain it.

There were no Remembrance Day Celebrations here in the community.  I did take doggie out on a walk to observe some of the tributes to the Canadian Armed Forces.  While we were out three Griffon Helicopters flew over:

For lunch I made a baked cream cheese, parmesan, artichoke dip all from pantry and refrigerator ingredients.  Served this along with veggies, fresh dates, and multigrain chips.  BEST Lunch EVER!!!  

Growing up my mom had a Tupperware roaster.  It eventually started to break down and there was no replacement for it.  Until recently!  Last week I received my new Ultra Pro Casserole!!!  It's large enough that I probably could have put 2 roaster chickens in it!  The chicken came out nicely browned and not dry at all!  I had topped the chicken with pesto and sundried tomatoes:

Served with 4 cheese and green onion scalloped potatoes, multi coloured carrots, and a stuffing from croutons all found in the pantry or refrigerator it was a DELICIOUS dinner!

After dinner I decided to stare at my October 2020 Paper Pumpkin kit.  After a good long stare I decided that I did not like the instructions so I decided to make 4 of the Christmas Cards my way:

TAH DAH!!!  Not as fancy as the kit pattern, but less I think is better in this case.

Hope this inspired your own creativity and wishing you all the BEST Day EVER Thursday tomorrow.  Stay Safe out there 😷

Kathy

Happy Holidays ???

Good Evening Internet Friends!!!

Over the Thanksgiving Weekend I managed to get myself one humdinger of what I think is a cold.  I did have to go stand for 2 hours in the walk in line up for Covid Testing after which I slept the entire day away and then coughed all night. 

Feeling a little bit better this evening so went down to my scrapbooking space.  It has been a while since I have done any card making.  I have decided that this year I will get back in to giving Christmas Cards.  I will likely need close to 200 cards so I need to come up with something that can be made reasonably quickly and still look good!

This may be it.  My plan is to only use supplies that I have.  

 TAH DAH!!!  

I made one this evening as a second one seemed to hard.  Maybe tomorrow.....

Hope this inspires your own creativity and wishing you all a healthy BEST Day EVER Thursday tomorrow.  Stay Safe out there 😷.

Kathy

Too Early???

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I attended a scrap booking retreat locally today.  Managed to accomplish more that I thought I would.  One of the projects that I took with me was the November 2018 Paper Pumpkin Kit.

I now have 10 Christmas Cards ready for next year!!!  

I decided to do these cards now rather than wait on them even though it seemed a wee bit early, because knowing me next Christmas they will still be in the box!  

TAH DAH!!  A finish for Kathy.  I used to have home made Christmas Cards ready for mailing early in December for family and friends.  Colleagues got a home made Christmas Card as well.  The last three years however I had a lot going on in my personal life as well as spending a lot of time trying to "help" someone.  I gave up on the "helping" early last year and have slowly been getting back in to being me and doing crafts for my own enjoyment.  Today was an ENJOY craft day.

Hope this inspires your own creativity and 

BEST Day EVER Sunday.

Kathy

Peek A Boooo....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Made time today to spend some time in my craft room after walking the dog 2.4 miles, laundry (five loads), house cleaning, and various other things that somehow take up the day.

It was a beautiful day for a walk, the weather was warm, the wind not too chill, and the sun was out.  Still a bit slow moving from my asthma attack earlier this week but all in all a great walk.  🐕

First on my crafting itinerary was:

Picked up this Christmas panel at Sew Divine earlier this fall.  I loved this panel partly because the polar bears on it reminded me of the Coke Bears.  They are not,  but they looked like, so I thought it was CUTE.  

I cut the panel apart and sewed together with a 1/2" seam.  For stuffing I used the Ullkaktus cushions from Ikea.  On their own the $4.99 price tag is a little much (they are really cheap on the stuffing), but once I squished them to fit inside these sewn forms the entire cushion is nice and fluffy 🎄🎄.

This summer while moving I found out that I HAVE the coolest stuff in my craft stash.  One of those things was this Christmas card craft kit:

There are another five cards to make in this set but I think for now I shall start getting the cards I have prepared off to be posted.  In typical Kathy fashion......do nothing early....

Might get into some knitting this evening and tomorrow have plans for some baking.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Christmas Cards!

Good Late Evening Internet Friends!

In typical Kathy fashion I was crafting late last night.

I realized yesterday evening after getting kiddo to bed and everything ready for work that I did not have enough Christmas cards for today.  I did not have enough Christmas Cards for everyone at work, but I decided that I should at least have enough for my colleagues with whom I share office space.

So, late last night I made:

TAH DAH!!!

As of this evening all Christmas cards have been delivered at work, posted or are ready to be delivered to people as I see them over the Christmas Holiday.

I am SO excited for Christmas!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Ready????? Set??????

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Well it's Ready.....Set....Get Ready for the week day.

Kiddo and I slept in late this morning.  Too much excitement after being out to the movie last night I guess.

Had to get all the usual house cleaning, laundry and long dog walk in today.

Lunch was Cream of Tomato Soup from the frozen tomatoes in the freezer along with mozzarella sticks.  YUMMY:

While the laundry was going I decided to make Christmas cards.  These are to replace the 17 that were experimented on by "Lab" Dog and his trusty assistant The Madeline Kitten.

I used up an old kit that I had and love how they turned out:

If you look closely you will notice that these cards are only kind of the same.  That is because when I found a French Greeting I decided that these would be my son's teacher cards, and of course there is one specially made for his French Teacher.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

All is Quiet on the Home Front???

Good Evening Internet Friends!

One might think that all is Quiet on the Home Front as I have not blogged all week.  That would so NOT be true!  In addition to work, extracurricular activities, physio appointments, and all the other things that I do I did a LOT of crafty things this week.

The first of these that I will show is the 135 Christmas Cards that I made for my own mailing this year as well as for the Quilt Guild I belong to and am on the Membership Committee:

Of the 135 cards I made 17 did not survive a "Lab Dog" and Kitten experiment....🏷🐕🐈

For these cards I used my "stash" of supplies.  I was super proud of that, until I  realized I was running low on paper and out of envelopes.  Fortunately my friend who is big into a certain stamping group let me know there was a BIG sale promotion on earlier this week and I was able to save on GST and postage.  😎  Fun mail will be here shortly.

As part of the Membership Committee for Quilt Guild I also decided to give everyone a fudge sample with their card.  I made three pans of fudge and cut into 1" pieces 125 squares of fudge.....YUMMY...

"Sew" that was part of my week.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

To Leave or Not To Leave The House

Good Evening Internet Friends!

That was the very question that I asked myself today when I woke up at the crack of 1100 hours!!!  I have to go back for a shift I agreed to pick up at a specialty clinic on Friday and then have my night shift weekend coming up and I am thinking that this might prove to be a bit on the difficult side......

After a brunchy kind of meal my son and I watched a movie and I finally got around to showering.  By that time the day was almost over so I decided to give up on leaving the house and just enjoy another care free day at home.  Tomorrow I will be responsible and do laundry and get groceries ☺

I don't have a lot to show for my creativity again today as a lot of just piddly things.  I did clean up my stamping desk and decided to get a head start on next year's Christmas cards so I made two cards with scraps on the table:

Now I have two Christmas cards and I did not have to put the scraps away!!!!  BONUS!

I have completed 2 repeats for the last couple of days on my Temperature Blanket and decided to cheat today (I used the daytime high) just so that I could change colors as I have already worked 2 row repeats in the same color....grey.....

The day time high reached a balmy - 16 C (4 Fahrenheit) which meant I got to do a 2 row repeat of the next color!!!!  I will show that tomorrow.

Now, I plan to retire with my knitting as tomorrow I have to start adulting.....ugh.....

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Three Days....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

This evening after getting my son to bed I went to my craft room again.  

I chose to make a few more Christmas cards.  Again, nothing special, but I got to have fun making these cards!  I am not trying to keep up or impress anyone with these cards so they were just fun to make!

Yes....I put glitter on the branch berries!!!!  I thought it looked fun!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Four Days Before Christmas....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It's officially 4 days before Christmas according to the count down calendar on the buffet and I have decided to start my Christmas cards!  Yup.  You read that correct.  

For the past few years we have been in the mountains for Christmas and I would mail my Christmas cards from there so that they had a Banff post mark.

This year my son and I are staying home for Christmas and making our own traditions, which I believe this year will include getting my Christmas cards written, and walked to the post box.  Seriously!  

Here is what I have made so far:

Nothing "over the top" fancy or talented, but simple and classic and I like that.  I actually had fun making these.

Over the past few years I have to admit that I lost interest in card making as everyone was making bigger and better and all I wanted to do was make something that made someone else smile and feel special.  These do that for me.  I love the sentiment, the thought and the overall simplicity of these cards!

Now to do a bit of knitting before bed as still have three more days of work before Christmas Holiday Vacation ♫

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Saturday Adventures

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today I went and did some Christmas shopping (for me) and some Christmas visiting with friends and neighbours.  

I made some Christmas cards and I stamped some shopping bags:

I thought and so did everyone else that these cards and bags with the dog theme were really neat ☺

This evening after dinner my son and I watched the marathon of Home Alone movies and I knit on my Reyna Shawl:

I am using one of my Sock of the Month yarns from Sweet Georgia Yarns.  I am not sure which month this came from because I put the tag in the recycling bag before taking note of the information ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Christmas Cards

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It's finally my version of the weekend!!!

This evening after dinner and getting my son to bed I spent a bit of time in my craft room.

As of now I have made 16 Christmas cards :

I had a lot of fun making these cards!

Might get me motivated to get started on my own Christmas cards soon ☺

After making the cards I decided to make another Scandi 3 Quilt Block.  Meet Block 13:

TAH DAH!!!!   

Feeling somewhat accomplished for tonight.  Now to do a bit of knitting and then off to bed as tomorrow is a long day or errands.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Grateful

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It is officially the start of the Christmas Season in Kathy's world.  I LOVE Christmas.  It is my absolute favorite holiday.  

Yesterday while kiddo and I were out we discovered what I think are the MOST beautiful poinsettia plants.  You may remember that my son used to sell poinsettia's as a school fundraiser.  Each year our close friends would always receive one of these as their Christmas present from our family.  My son no longer attends that school, but every year I still keep the tradition of the poinsettia gift going.

This year I decided that I would not only gift these to the usual poinsettia gift friends, but also my friends who have been there for me over a very difficult time in my life.  Not only did these friends all receive a poinsettia, they all received a poinsettia in a Kathy color and with GLITTER!!!!!

This is my poinsettia on the dining table!  I LOVE the color!

Now for gifting it to the friends I wanted them to know that not only was this a gift like previous years.  It was also a Thank You for how truly grateful I am to all of them for the support they have been over the last year.  That meant I needed to make a card.  Don't get me wrong....I have made a few cards over the last year just because I had to, but today was different.  I wanted to make these cards.

Here is the card I made:

I had so much fun making this card and even remembered why I used to like making cards ☺ Plus I got to use glitter .....

The last card and poinsettia was delivered this afternoon to a friend and colleague of mine who has been encouraging me to join a women's group that she belongs to.  For that I am truly grateful.  I met a fabulous group of women, who truly care for, love and support each other.  Today was their last get together of the year due to Christmas activities and as such their Christmas Party.  Guess what we participated in at the Christmas party.........Card Making!!!!

I did have to fix a couple of these when I got home as some ink ran, but otherwise I LOVE these cards.  They made me happy not only making them but also being with other people who are so super supportive of each other.

For my family, my friends, and for all the support I have received this past year and the ability to really and truly look forward to Christmas this year (not just going through the motion like last year) I am so very truly Grateful.

I hope this inspires your own creativity.......I know mine has been sparked again ☺

Kathy

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve Internet Friends!   

Today was another fun filled day of nothing in particular!

After breakfast we went swimming.  Had lunch and then decided to climb Pigeon Mountain and see what we could sled:

One of my brighter moments of course because climbing a mountain, in the snow for an asthmatic is always an experience.  I made it anyways and kiddo had BIG fun.  The mountains were not very visible as it was lightly snowing for most of the day:

.

 To celebrate Christmas Eve we went in to Banff and had dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Yummy.  With the snow falling and the wind it was too cold to go for a moonlight skate under all the decorated trees so we just came back to the resort and watched television with the fireplace on.

My craft for today is some of my Christmas Cards.  I brought my Christmas cards that were to be mailed with me on vacation just so that I could mail them from Banff ☺

These are two that I remembered to take a picture of before mailing!  These cards were part of a kit from Stampin` Up this fall.  Lots of glitter and bling, but they were fun to make!

Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas tomorrow and all the best for 2016.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

It's Finally Friday......

Good Evening Internet Friends!!!

I know it has been a while since I blogged, but this week has been ridiculously long!!!  It has been several weeks since I actually worked FIVE days in a row!  Oy.

This evening I took a bit of time to myself in my craft room.  I have a bazillion Christmas projects on the go right now, but did not have the mental energy to commit to any one of these projects.

So, I decided to make a few more Christmas Cards.  I will need about a hundred for work (everyone there now expects a Christmas Card from me).  As of tonight I now have thirty....

Here are the six I made this evening:

TAH DAH!!!!

Okay, now off to bed for a few hours of sleep as tomorrow is run errands and get kiddo to activities day!  ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Still Going....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Today is one of those days that is just not seeming to end.

I awoke this morning to get myself and kiddo ready for the day and discovered 8" of snow outside.  Since the school bus was running 20+ minutes late I decided that we could use that time and shovel the walk (we live on a corner lot).  By 0825 we had the entire walk shoveled, kiddo on the bus and me en route to work:

YAY Us!

Most of my patient's arrived late for their appointments today so that kept me working through lunch and I ended up leaving clinic late too.

A quick stop to pick up kiddo and then off to battle the highway to get to swimming lessons.

After a warm bowl of soup for dinner it was time to get the garbage out since tomorrow is trash day and then I decided that the patio really should be cleaned off from the snow so I did that too!

Kiddo showered and off to bed after stories.  Household tasks completed I opened up my November package of Paper Pumpkin and made one set of the cards:

 TAH DAH!!!'

Love these cards.  

Some months I wonder about the kits, but this month I love both sets of cards!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Life From a Box???

Good Evening Internet Friends!

Okay, it has been a long time since I blog posted, but don't worry I have still been crafting, just too busy to blog post about it.

I realized this weekend how much of my life revolves around boxes these days.

Each month I get a box in the mail from Sweet Georgia Yarns with my sock of the month yarn.

This month's yarn is called Frozen Grapes:

It is so beautiful to touch, and I really need to get a project started with it!

I also receive in the mail a monthly subscription to the Frivols Club offered by the Quilt Patch because even with shipping it is cheaper to order it than pick up locally (seriously):

"Sew" much fun!!!

Then there is my subscription to Paper Pumpkin.  This month's kit is one that will be completed ASAP:

I have also started receiving a box of monthly yarns from Yarn Crush.  This month there were two skeins of yarn to make 2 pairs of finger-less gloves.  Not sure that these are in any way suited for the climate here in Western Canada, but I made them anyways just because I loved the feel of the yarn, the color and also the pattern.  I have finished knitting them now and just need to sew them together.  Thankfully as of yet there is still no snow on the ground in Edmonton (the snow we received the other evening melted by morning) and there is still greenish grass in the river valley.  Here is the river valley this evening:

These are the mittens waiting to be sewn together:

Tomorrow maybe???

Now, if that is not enough boxes to arrive on my door step I also ordered a 6 month subscription to Bark Box for the puppy.  He loves all of his toys and snacks that he got this month and interestingly enough the Shih Tzu fits in the box:

"Sew" there we have my life from boxes.  

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Buzzing Around All Week....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

By now most of you know that I am a Registered Nurse and that I hold a couple of specialty certifications that keep me in demand daily as well as for a little thing known as overtime.  Over the past few years I have worked way too many hours of this and yes it has taken a toll on my family, but we have rolled with it.  I have done it to make sure that I hold up not only my professional obligations, but I also do it to try and match hubby's income contributions.  I realize that I am very fortunate to have a husband who has allowed me to work part time to raise our son at the cost of him often working away from home.  

Why is this of importance to a crafting blog???  Well, it has come to my attention of late that both the provincial and federal government for whom I did not vote for are planning to tax further individual's in certain income brackets of which not only hubby will fall, but all of my overtime puts me there as well.  So, I have made the decision to work my current part time FTE which means I suddenly have a lot more ME time!!!

Today I finished the cards for my swap at the Stampin' Up Onstage Event that I will be attending tomorrow:

I had fun making these and enjoyed spending time in my craft room.

After I finished these I took the puppy for a walk and then met my son at the bus stop.

On the radio this morning I heard that Johnny Reid was doing an acoustic performance at West Edmonton Mall this evening.   My son loves singing along to Johnny Reid in the car and so off we went to see the performance (he's not the only one to sing along, I had to download the new song today and listened to it probably a hundred times today).  The performance was pretty cool and a really neat experience as the only instrument present was the piano.  As someone with a Grade 8 Royal Conservatory of Music certificate this was just beautiful ☺ ♫

Leaving the mall we stopped at Williams-Sonoma as there was a sale that included the Gold Touch Half Sheet Pan set which I just HAD to have (remember it was on sale). 

We also stopped at Rocky Mountain Soap and picked up Vanilla Candy Cane soap, shower gel, lip butter, body butter (for me) and a couple of the gift packs for Christmas presents.  Every year I am scrambling to get this product, so this year I am stocked up before Christmas.

Now, off to bed for the big day tomorrow!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy