Crafts, Letters 'n' Such

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my lovely blog friends!

This beautiful Valentine's Day card comes from one of my bestest friends Rosita from Finland. She is so incredibly talented and her cards are always beautiful. She's also a great person so I thought it would be fitting to wish you all a great Valentine's day using her card. :)

I hope to come back soon with a mail post. These past couple of weeks have been difficult for me time -wise and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've been working a lot and then I've had a couple of big meetings with the autism specialists who work with Noah and his school. I wish there wasn't such pressure for Noah to be like everyone else. He is a sweet, intelligent and happy little boy (well he's 10 so not so little anymore) who happens to be autistic. Sometimes I wish I were rich so I could buy a beach house in a tropical country and just live away from a society who doesn't accept those who are different.

Mail post!

2012-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Today is Saturday and I'm thrilled it is the weekend! Yay! I get to do what I love the most: letter writing and crafting. This morning was filled with errands and this afternoon a nice long nap. Tonight it is fun time. I'll do some letter writing and tomorrow it'll be craft time. I'm also hoping to do some cooking tomorrow: pasta sauce and perhaps some cookies. I just love weekends! And, I'm also SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY January is behind us. Spring is getting closer. :) I also received some really nice mail this week which also makes me happy. :)

I received this great letter from my friend Lone from Germany. She sent a few decos, photos, beautiful vintage Valentine Day stickers which I love so much I'm not sure I'll even be able to use them, pretty postcards and such a wonderful letter written on such gorgeous paper.

I received a wonderful letter from another great friend, Nicole from the USA. She also included some decos, HQFBs, photos and a sweet Valentine's Day card.

And, another lovely letter from my friend Ulrica from Sweden.

I also received this fantastic letter with HQFBs from my friend Vanessa from USA. She used such cute paper for her letter.

I also received this Valentine ATC from a swap partner along with this lovely Mary Englebreit notecard. I just love Mary Englebreit designs.

And, I received these two lovely decos from a swap partner. The themes are; "Holiday Sweets" and "Vintage Christmas".

I hope to be back soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! :)

Decos and mail!

2012-01-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hello all! It's been an incredibly busy week with work. I was so happy to see the weekend come around. I slept most of the day yesterday and today. I just hate this time of the year when it is gray outside. I'm so looking forward to spring. At least we change the calendar to February this week so one month closer. Despite having slept most of the weekend I did manage to make some decos for swaps and I am working on a letter which I hope to finish tonight.

I made this deco as part of a swap without a real theme. I really like the way it turned out.

I made this deco with the theme "Vintage Fashionista" for a swap. I chose Jacqueline Kennedy since she was a beautiful lady with a great style.

I made this deco with the theme "Cute Characters in the Snow" as part of another swap. I love the House Mouse characters.

I made this deco with the theme "Holiday Treats" as part of another swap.

I haven't received much mail lately but here's what I did receive.

I received these two beautiful decos themed "Gingerbread Men" and "Victorian Christmas" from a swap partner.

I also received these two ATCs themed "Vintage Beauty" and "Farm Animals" from a swap partner.

And, I received this wonderful letter from my friend Sharon from The Netherlands. I love the stationary she used.

Hopefully this week will be better mail-wise. I hate having an empty mailbox. :( And, so I leave you with a photo of my sleep buddies today.

A short post...

2012-01-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Well, I have become once again very busy. With my English teaching business I have taken on three more students. I'm thrilled my business is growing and soon I'll have to make some serious decisions about whether I can keep working 32 hours at the music school. Anyhow, besides work I haven't had much time for anything else in the past two weeks. I've become a boring workaholic. At least I did manage to finish two decos for swaps this weekend.

The theme of this deco I made is "19th Century Artist/Writer". I chose one of my favourite Impressionist painters, Mary Cassatt. I love her work.

The theme of this deco I made is "Vintage Winter". I love this image.

And, there you have it. My mailbox has been pretty empty lately but I do have a few pieces of mail to share, which will have to wait until another post. I have English classes to prepare for tomorrow evening. Have a nice Wednesday everyone!

A bit of mail!

2012-01-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

So, it was back to work last week. A bit of a bummer really since I had accomplished so much with letter writing and crafting decos while on holiday. As much as I try to stay awake sometimes to write or create in evenings my eyes start closing all on their own. Sigh! I did manage to write a couple of letters this week but sadly no crafting. :( My teaching business is expanding as well which is nice since it is what I would like to do full time. And, now the weekend is almost over so it's back to the old work routine tomorrow. I wish I could have a few more days but then don't we always?!

Here is a beautiful deco I received from a swap partner. She is from France and so talented.

Another deco I received from a very talented artist. This was part of a swap and the theme was "19th Century Writers/Artists".

Here's an ATC I received this past week for a swap themed "Vintage Kitchen".

I also received a sweet letter and FBs from my friend Beate from Norway. I LOVE the stationary she used.

Luna from Germany kindly returned a deco that was made for me by Valeriane from France. The theme of the deco was "Vintage Sisters" and the entries are lovely.

And, this is all from me for today. I want to get the most out of my Sunday evening before my eyes start closing. Ha! See yas soon!

More deco art!

2012-01-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! Hope everyone is having a lovely week so far. Mine is going very well even though I went back to work on Monday. It's been a busy week too but I'm enjoying myself. I am missing the leisure time I had for two weeks when I woke up late, stayed in my pjs all day and did crafting or letter writing. Oh well! Tonight I thought I'd share more photos of deco entries I made this past weekend. No time for crafting this week nor much letter writing. But, the weekend is coming up. :)

An entry in a "Winter Fairies" deco.

An entry in a "Vintage Mail" deco.

An entry in a "Woodlands" deco.

An entry in an "Anything French" deco.

An entry in a "Chocolate" deco.

An entry in a "Beechnut" deco.

An entry in a "Vintage Family" deco.

An entry in a "Romeo and Juliet" deco.

It's been a very quiet mail week for me so far. Believe it or not I have gotten no mail at all. It's okay though since I still have some catching up to do. On that note I am going to try to answer a letter without falling asleep.

Incoming mail!

2012-01-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Hope you're enjoying a fabulous weekend! I had thought I would get a lot done since I only have today and tomorrow of my holiday left but I'm not feeling so well. I'm feeling a little weak and will do what I can. I did make a batch of pasta sauce and now I'm making cupcakes. Tonight I'm planning on sitting with my cats and writing a few letters if I can stay awake. Yesterday I met up with my friend Sonia and while we were supposed to craft we mostly chatted. Ha! Ha!
I wanted to share this week's mail with you. I'm still receiving Christmas packages and cards too. I forgot to take photos of two pretty decos I got this week so they will be for the next mail post.

Some of the Christmas cards I received this week.

Here is a swap of HQFBs from a swap partner.

A great letter I received from Stefanie from Switzerland. She's always creative with her letters.

I received this great assortment of craft supplies and HQFBs from my friend Laura from Romania.

I received a really fat envelope this past Friday from a swap partner. The first part of the swap was 100g. of cat stuff. Wow!

The second part of the swap was 200g of decos. I love the great assortment of decos she sent.

The third part of the swap was this incredible deco she made. It is absolutely gorgeous.

In the same envelope was another swap from her daughter who is part of the same group at yahoo. The swap was 100g. of decos so more to work on. :)

And finally I received these two HQFBs made for me that are now full.

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow so I can work on more decos and swaps. Have a nice Saturday everyone.

More decos and a little inspiration!

2012-01-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hello there friends! Hope everyone has been having a good year so far. I certainly am since I'm still on holiday from work until Monday. I've actually gotten a lot of crafting (mostly decos) done, swaps done and letters written. Now I have to start thinking about planning for my classroom and English classes. I wish I could have another week off. Sigh! Oh well!
Today my mom and I went shopping and had lunch which was nice. We do this once a month. Tomorrow I'll meet up with my friend Sonia for crafting and dinner. And, on Saturday I'm hoping to get my hair cut and maybe have highlights put in. We'll see!
Okay, so here are some of the deco entries I've made below:

I love collage work but I always find it hard to let myself go, most likely because I'm too logical and I question too much. So, I thought this year I'd try putting things together to create a collage look. Here's my entry in a "I am woman" vintage themed deco.

Here's my entry in a "Free Expression" themed deco.

My entry in a "1920's Chicago" themed deco.

My entry in a "Vintage Halloween" themed deco.

My entry in a "Nutcracker" themed deco. I've always loved nutcrackers and I dream of someday seeing the ballet.

And, here is my entry in a "Magnolia Tilda" themed deco. I love Tilda rubber stamps and I actually have a few in my collection. She's simply adorable.

I bought my copy of the "Somerset Life" magazine today. Aw...it is just so beautiful with so many inspiring ideas for making pretty packages, envelopes, art kits, and so much more. There is also an article about an event which was held in Florida called "An Artful Tea". When I see such events I always dream of attending one. They look so fun and everything is always so beautifully decorated.

And, now I leave you with a piece of art made by a lady in Finland named Merel. She sent me this fun and lovely piece of art made by her as part of our vintage Christmas parcel swap.

A little crafting!

2012-01-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, a Happy New Year to everyone! I didn't do much of anything yesterday except, sleep, craft, letter write and in the evening I took a break to watch a DVD, "Letters to Juliet". Have any of you seen this sweet movie? I LOVED it! Well, I'm in love with Italy anyway but the story was also so romantic. I hardly have time to watch DVDs anymore. Sigh! Anyhow, take a look at some of the decos and entries I've done in the photos below.

A "Puppies and Kittens" deco I made for a swap partner.

A "Forever Friends" deco I made for the same swap partner.

A "Cute Characters" deco I made, once again for the same swap partner.

An entry I made for a deco with the theme"Vintage Angels".

Another entry I made in a "Anything 1920's" deco.

Another entry I made in a "Vintage Spring" deco.

I also ended up doing a little shopping this past week, just a few things: stickers, ice skate brads, vintage tags, heart buttons and some pretty papers I couldn't resist.

And to finish off my post today I wanted to show you what winter looks like here these days, on my street. Last night it was pouring rain and it looks more like spring than winter, which is fine by me. It's just so unusual for us. I bought ice skates for Noah a few days ago thinking he could ice skate at an outdoor rink near our home but I don't think it's going to happen just yet. The rink is really nice too, with lights lit at night and music playing. Oh well! Be back soon my friends!

Mostly mail!

2011-12-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Here I am back and it is only two days later. Wow! I am having such a nice break from work. I've been crafting and letter writing and it's been fantastic catching up on everything. :) I haven't been out much in the past few days. I've been nice and cozy in my pjs in the warmth of my home. It's been freezing here since yesterday afternoon (between -20 and -30 celcius) and before that it was pouring rain. So happy I don't have to go anywhere. Yay! Below you'll see some ATCs I made for some swaps a few weeks ago but hadn't had time to post.

Here is a "Vintage mail" deco I also made a few weeks ago for a swap as well.

And, now onto some mail news. I haven't posted photos of my mail in the past couple of weeks so hopefully I haven't forgotten anybody here.

Here is a wonderful selection of decos from a swap partner.

I received this wonderful letter, photos of her sweet boys, a Christmas ornament and snowman craft from my sweet friend Kristin in USA.

A beautiful "Anything Vintage" deco with some extras from a swap partner.

A "Cute Characters in the Snow" deco from another swap partner.

Two pretty decos, "Morehead" and "Kitties" from the same swap partner.

Another fabulous swap of HQFBs and decos.

And, I just had to share this awesome bag I received as part of a Christmas present from my friend Susi. I love it!

I recently received this deco all filled up and made by my friend Vanessa. The theme was "Vintage Ads" and the photos below are the various entries.

And, to finish off my post a photo of my sweet and precious Mustang.

See you all soon! :)

Christmas morning!

2011-12-27T15:27:00.000-08:00

A belated Merry Christmas to all of you! I am finally on vacation for two whole weeks. Yay! So, I should be able to post more here and also do what I enjoy most; crafting, letter writing and reading. Awe...the good life! The weeks leading up to Christmas were so hectic with work, Christmas preparations and appointments. So, I thought I'd showcase a few of the presents I received for Christmas. I was so spoiled with presents from friends around the world, Noah, Jeffrey and my family. It really amazes me!

This was definately the most amazing gift Jeffrey and I received. It was from Noah. It is a Christmas story written in French and all of the drawings were made by Noah.

His illustrations are truly amazing and he has his own style.

At 3:30am Noah thought it was time to get up and we found Kylie snuggling next to the Christmas stockings. Of course I sent Noah back to bed. There was no way I was getting up at 3:30am to open presents. He later got up at 6:00 which was a bit more reasonable.

Noah unwrapping presents with Mustang helping out and Subaru in the background.

Molly gave me some really nice presents, all of my favourite things (stationaries, chocolates, a pine smelling pillow from Maine(I love Maine) and a beautiful Christmas plaque decoration pictured below) in this lovely gift bag.

I received so many BEAUTIFUL and PRECIOUS gifts. Take a look at the Matryoshka doll tapistry and handmade mittens from a dear friend in the photos below. Oh my goodness I was in awe of both when I saw them.

I also received this gorgeous handsewn handbag made by my friend Reiko in Japan. Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait to use it this spring and summer.

Of course I received some lovely stationary sets too.

Another beautiful gift was this scarf from my friend Claudia.

I also received some goodies such as hot chocolate, chocolate and teas.

One of the gifts my mother bought me was this pretty paper by K & Company which I happen to love.

So, that ends my Christmas overview. We've already taken down our decorations and all is back to normal. We love the pre-Christmas part of the holidays. So, I'm off to get some swaps done and letters written. Be back in a couple of days with a mail post.

Mail and things!

2011-12-11T15:54:00.001-08:00

Hey all! I have had a very nice weekend, mostly relaxing. I feel kind of bad though since I haven't even accomplished half of what I had planned. Instead I had lunch with one of my friends on Saturday since we hadn't seen each other in a while, and today I went out for breakfast by myself and took in a movie. I saw "New Year's Eve" and I really enjoyed it. It was a sweet little movie. :) But then I came home and was mad at myself for not having done what needed to be done. Oh well! So, I thought I'd start off my post today with a photo of my sweet little babies snuggling together.

Aren't they the sweetest things on earth?

Well, I did manage to finish some images I was colouring to use to make Christmas cards. I took a class a few weekends ago and learned this colouring technique which I really love. I've always loved colouring and now I'm happy it looks like markers. I still need to put the cards together though. Not sure when I'll get that done this week.

I did receive some nice mail this week as well. I need to send mine out tomorrow as well. I've got a few things ready to post and I'm hoping they'll reach their destinations by Christmas.

I received these beautiful decos from a swap partner. I really love them. She also included some pretty note paper.

Here is another deco swap I received.

I've been receiving some lovely Christmas cards as well and here is a pretty envelope one came in.

Here is a lovely ATC I received as part of a swap. I love the pretty envelope too.

I received a pretty letter (inside the heart card), Christmas card and FBs from my friend Heegene from Korea.

I received this private swap of FBs and decos from my friend in Hong Kong. She also included a pretty cow letter set.

More Christmas cards on my card garland.

I love my little Christmas village.

While having lunch with my friend Sonia on Saturday I bought these cute mittens and two little cows (only one pictured, the other one is Noah's) made out of Alpaca wool. The wool is so soft.

Okay, so this is all for now, I have lot's of work to do. Have a nice week everyone!

Weekend, crafting and mail!

2011-12-04T18:21:00.001-08:00

Hello all! Wow! I've had such an incredibly nice weekend just relaxing and enjoying myself. The only problem is it wasn't long enough to do everything I had planned. The weather has also been fabulous, more like spring than fall/winter. We've only had one snow fall so far and it only stayed on the ground three days. I love it! On Saturday we went to Noah's Christmas Bazaar (at his school) and bought some delicious baked goods, as well as a few other things. In the afternoon I took a really long nap and felt quite rested. Then today we went to the outdoor Christmas market here in town. It was such a gorgeous day out. The market is really nice this year, with a ferris wheel and quite a few artisans. We also had a nice lunch there.

Noah and Jeffrey as we were going higher on the ferris wheel. Noah was a little scared.

As you can see from the view, no snow in Sherbrooke yet. :)

Me and a nutcracker in the lovely sun.

Jeffrey's lunch, a panini and a salad.

My lunch, a Greek salad.

I bought this gorgeous handcrafted necklace for myself. I plan on going back next weekend to buy a few Christmas presents and a pottery butter dish since I recently broke mine.

I had a chance to make some decos this afternoon but I only took photos of the two below.

I also received a few wonderful pieces of mail this week.

A wonderful letter (photo above) and goodies (photo below) from my new friend Maria from the USA. The mannequin shape is actually the letter, really creative, isn't she?!

A great letter, Christmas card and FBs from my friend Victoria from Italy.

A beautiful handcrafted Christmas card from my one of my bestest friends Rosita from Finland.

A great letter and FBs from my friend Margaret from Scotland.

A Christmas package swap and "Vintage Telegraph/Mail" deco from a group swap. I haven't opened the package yet, might wait until Christmas.

I bought this pottery set at Noah's Christmas Bazaar. They had a section of used items you could buy. It was only $2.00 and I love pottery items. Not quite sure what I'll do with it though.

And, I bought a few items at my local craft store again. Some items will be part of swaps. :)

And, that's it for tonight. See you again soon. Have a nice week everyone!

Mail post!

2011-11-26T16:00:00.001-08:00

Hey all! Here is a mail post! I haven't received much mail in the past weeks because I haven't sent much. I haven't had much time for writing lately which really annoys me. I'll have two weeks off during the Christmas holidays and I plan on doing A LOT of things including, writing, writing, writing. I have already received some Christmas cards and presents. The cards I always open whereas the presents I put under the tree until Christmas morning.

I'm not sure why some of my photos are coming out dark. I bought a new camera some weeks ago and I need to fiddle with it more but I just haven't had the time.

I always hang my cards on a garland my mother knitted and decorated with knitted mittens. Noah loves seeing new cards on the garland.

I received this wonderful swap of winter craft supplies and a pair of cozy socks within the last couple of weeks.

I received a great letter, vintage Christmas images and address labels, stickers, ink stamps, FBs and cards from my wonderful and dear friend Rosita from Finland.

I received this lovely card and FBs from my bestest friend Molly from USA.

This sweet girl Mona from one of my swap groups was offering stickers and I was lucky enough to answer her e-mail first so she sent them to me. They are really cute!

A swap of FBs from a group partner.

I received these beautiful Christmas ATCs and Christmas card from another group swap partner.

I love this Christmas vintage ATC and card I received from another swap partner.

I received this wonderful letter and photos from my great friend Reiko from Japan.

I also received this wonderful swap of beautiful "Tilda" and "Anything Asian" decos from another swap partner. She included some pretty ribbons and a postcard of New York City. How sweet of her!

I received this great private swap from my friend Johanna from Finland. She sent decos, FBs, papers, note papers and vintage images.

And, finally, I received this lovely postcard from my friend Susi while she was visiting Vietnam.

It's always nice to receive such wonderful mail. I hope to be back soon with a crafting post. Stay tuned my friends!

A fabulous weekend!

2011-11-21T18:03:00.001-08:00

I just came back from a fabulous weekend visiting my friend Molly in New Hampshire. This time I went on my own and Noah stayed home with Jeffrey. I always feel a little nudge of sadness when I don't bring Noah with me whenever I'm away for a few days. However, I need the peace and relaxation sometimes. I left Sherbrooke on Friday afternoon and drove for 3 1/2 hours before meeting Molly and her children at "Michael's" craft store. Of course I bought a few things and then we headed to "Olive Garden" for dinner. I love having their soup, salad and breadsticks meal. I absolutely love soups, salads and breads so it's the perfect meal for me. :) On Saturday we had quite the busy day. We went to a church bazaar where the ladies sell crafts, baked goods and there is a type of yard sale. I bought a few things for really cheap.

A "Paddington Bear" game for 50 cents, a nice shelf (not pictured) for $3,00, cute Christmas ornaments for 25 cents each and a pair of mittens for $3,00. I also bought a green pair for Noah (not pictured).
Next we went to Molly's house to drop off the kids since we were meeting our mutual pal and friend Nicole for lunch at our favourite restaurant "Pickity Place". Molly's parents' home is beautiful with a nice solarium. I would love a solarium, maybe someday.

Here are (from left to right); Diego, Jadira (Molly's children), Molly and her mother.

It was such a gorgeous sunny day. Here you can see one of the gift shops/greenhouse at "Pickity Place". It's very rustic.

Here I am waiting to be seated for our delicious lunch.

Our first course was a vegetable corn chowder soup which was absolutely delicious.

Next we were served a cranberry bean and spaghetti squash salad which was okay but nothing too special. I must admit I was a little disappointed with this salad.

As the main course we had two choices and I chose the pork roast with port, pears, apricots and rosemary (love rosemary) served with honey and soy glazed carrots. It was quite good although I'm not a big fan of pork.

And, finally for dessert we had the most delicious pumpkin spice roll. So, it was another great meal at "Pickity Place" among friends. I bought some spice packs, Christmas cards and a nice sachet with black cat design on it.

Next Molly and I were off to do some shopping. I bought a few Christmas presents and also some things for myself which I couldn't resist.

And, the book "Inspiration" by Jo Packman who also puts together the magazine "Where Women Create." I've been wanting this book for a while.

Once shopping was done we went back to Molly's and I went to sleep. I was exhausted. I left early Sunday morning. I was so happy to be home again and I had promised Noah we'd put up the Christmas tree upon my arrival.

The box of ornaments came out and we got busy. We always put up our tree in November. We love the preparations leading up to the holiday. The tree is done but we still need to decorate the rest of the house and set up our village.

Be back again soon with a mail post. :)

A little shopping, a little mail and a birthday boy!

2011-11-13T15:38:00.001-08:00

Hi all! I can't believe it is already Sunday night. My goodness how time just seems to fly right by these days. This past week was so hectic at work since I replaced my co-worker, Veronique in the classroom a couple of afternoons. This coming week will be back to normal except I start a new student tomorrow evening. I'm really happy my teaching English business is growing.
This past weekend I went to my painting teacher's Christmas art sale. Wow! What amazing art work done by three different artists. A fourth artist was also present and her medium is papercrafts so she decorated jars of various chutneys (second photo) and relishes that she had made. I couldn't help buying a pretty jar of her delicious chutney. Hopefully I can bring myself to opening it since it is so pretty. Take a look (below) at this beautiful skate one of the artists painted and then decorated. Isn't it GORGEOUS?

The Christmas balls I will most probably give as presents and the bag above I will keep for myself.
Of course I also bought a few craft supplies this past week too. I also received my "Stampin 'Up" order of supplies.

I also received some nice mail this week. A letter and belated birthday surprises from my friend Kimie from Canada. She also sent decos and FBs, and included some recipes for me to try.

Some ATCs Kimie made.

And, a letter and FBs from my friend Vanessa from USA.

I had wanted to post this photo of Noah with his parrot birthday cake this past week but...time just got away from me. Last weekend for his birthday we also met with Miss Barbara for breakfast. She had worked with him at school for the past four years but has now moved to Australia. She actually left this past Tuesday. She is like part of the family so it was sad to see her go. Fortunately we'll still keep in touch!

And, that's it for tonight. I need to get more letters written and prepare my English classes for the week. See you soon!

Halloween Crafts and Shopping !!!!!

2011-11-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

Hello all! :) I hate to put so muchinto one post but I just haven't had much time in recent months to do more thanone post a week. I have been so incredibly busy with work and then dealing withNoah's school as there have been some issues. I keep getting new students toteach in evenings as well so my spare time is limited. I am enjoying being busyagain and it has given me a new energy. The only down side is I'm lacking in"ME" time which I don't like at all. Anyone have any advice on how tobalance it all?! This past Monday was Halloween so we went "Trick orTreating" and Noah came back with a bag full of loot. It was such agorgeous evening for walking.

Noah dressed up as a cowboy.

Some decorations we saw while"Trick or Treating."

I have finished quite a few swaps in the pastcouple of weeks but I only remembered to take a photo of this "VintageHalloween" deco I made. The others I hurried and got them ready to mail.

I finally finished painting this flower design on a tea box. I thought I could take painting classes in the evenings, but soon realized with such a busy schedule I was too tired. Instead, I decided to take private painting classes with my teacher on Friday afternoons.
And now, onto some mail news. I received the most GORGEOUS envelope in the mail last week sent to me by my friend Jessica from California. We did a Halloween Mail Art swap.

Take a look at the goodies she sent

I received a few swaps this week as well.

Some Christmas cards and decos from aswap partner.

A "Anything 1920's" deco,"Tilda Magnolia" deco and "Sites of France" deco, from thesame swap partner.

More decos and FBs from another swappartner.

"Cute Characters atHalloween" FBs and stickers in a Halloween bag from another swap partner.

Two gorgeous "VintageHalloween" ATCs from another swap partner

"VintageHalloween" deco from another swap partner

A "All for Manu" deco fromanother swap partner.

More FBs from another swap partner.

A fantastic letter and postcard frommy friend Helen from Finland.

Another great letter and FBs from myfriend Saara from Finland.

Another wonderful letter, photo andcard from my friend Renata from Germany.

Another fantastic letterfrom my friend Lone from Germany. She also sent a fabulous travel report andpostcards, decos and FBs

Isn't this Christmas ball gorgeous?My painting teacher made it and I loved it so I bought it for only $10. She'shaving her annual Christmas art sale next weekend. I can't wait to see all ofher treasures.

Here a few things I bought recently.I always seem to find something. I love finding craft supplies and now it'sChristmas, one of my favourite holidays. :)

More craft supplies I purchasedrecently.

Phew! This has really been a longpost. I hope to be back in a couple of days to post about the weekend. It was Noah's 10thbirthday. :) Catch you later friends!

Weekend in New Hampshire!

2011-10-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

I'm back with a post about my weekend in New Hampshire with my friend Molly and family. :) Noah and I had such a fabulous time and it was rather relaxing. We had planned to spend Saturday in Boston but then Molly's daughter Jadira wasn't feeling well so instead we went shopping and to "Chucky Cheese" for lunch. We also went to the "Pumpkin Festival". Let me share my weekend in photos.

Here is Noah in the evening at the "Pumpkin Festival". We only stayed about an hour because it was so incredibly crowded. It was also quite cool and drizzled a little. However, it was so nice to see all of the carved pumpkins, especially all lit. It's always so magical.

There were so many pumpkins and I wish I had been able to look at them more closely.

Bringing carved pumpkins to the festival, from left to right, Jadira, Noah, Molly and Diego.

When we got home Diego made us some delicious perpermint hot chocolate.

The kids had a wonderful time at "Chucky Cheese". We had lunch there and the kids played with games and had fun in the entertainment area. I think this type of place is wonderful for families but unfortunately we don't have any in the Sherbrooke area. This bicycle was so cool. When you peddled it went up in the air. Noah loved it. :)

Noah, Jadira and Diego playing a game. You throw balls at targets on the screen. Even I had fun playing this one. I'm really not very good at these games. When the game was over you got tickets and then you could exchange them for small prizes.

At the mall Noah wanted to make a stuffed animal at "Build A Bear" and chose this rabbit.

And, then it was my turn to have fun with shopping. At "Barnes & Nobles" I found some pretty Halloween and all occasion note cards by "Punch Studio". I also bought a mini book titled "Scaredy Cats". It's really cute.

At the "Pumpkin Festival" there were craft vendors so Noah and I bought some yummy fudge (not pictured as we ate it all) and this star filled with such nice smelling spices. Oh my goodness, it smells so nice I could sniff it all day long.

Back at the mall now. We went to the "Disney" store which was so nice. You just feel like skipping as soon as you enter the store. Noah wasn't crazy about the loud music though so we didn't stay long. The store is so nicely decorated and we just had to buy something. We each chose a Christmas ornament which to me were a good price, 2 for $18.00. And, the best thing about New Hampshire, no sales tax. Yay! In Quebec we pay 14% sales tax on everything.

Right across from "Disney" was the "Sanrio" store and I must admit I was a little disappointed. I had expected more paper products and stickers but I did manage to find some things.

At "Michael's" I found quite a bit of things as always (photos, above and below).

Then we also went to "Hobby Lobby" (photo below) which I absolutely loved. I just loved the doll and had to buy it to decorate for Christmas. One of my cats, Subaru, thought it was for him as I found him playing with it so I had to put it away for safe keeping. With Noah it was more difficult to look around but next time I'll spend more time browsing as I'll be on my own.

And, above are a few things I found at "Walmart". So, there you have it. Hope you've enjoyed a peek into my weekend and shopping. :)

Weekend preview & last week's mail!

2011-10-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Last weekend Noah and I went to New Hampshire, USA to visit my friend Molly and family. We had a wonderful time with them. We did quite a bit of shopping and went to the Pumpkin Festival which was soooooooooo crowded. Anyhow, I'll be back tomorrow with a post on our weekend and shopping goodies. I want to post about last week's mail first but take a look at these sweet pumpkins from the festival.

I received the most beautifully handmade card from my friend Rosita from Finland. I was so surprised to see they had a Halloween postage stamp since they don't even celebrate it in Finland. We celebrate it here but don't have any Halloween postage stamps. Finland always has some of the most pretty and unique postage stamps.

I received another pretty Halloween card and chocolate from Molly this weekend.

I also received this great Halloween surprise from a group swap.

These beautiful Vintage Halloween FBs come from the same partner.

"Country Companions" and "Pap Vintage" decos from another group swap.

"Vintage Family" deco from the same partner.

"Vintage Brides" decos and an extra from another partner.

"Anything Goes" FBs from another partner.

"All for our angels" FBs from another partner.

A beautiful enveloppe with two ATCs inside.

A FB homer I received. I don't get them very often so it was nice.

This has been the most frustrating post I've done so far because of Blogger. I don't know why it hasn't allowed me to write where I want, the photos moved over while writing although they were supposed to be to the left. I guess blogger doesn't know what left means. And, other things happening. Hopefully it will post normally.

On a lazy Sunday...

2011-10-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

I started the day by napping with the cats, Subaru and Mustang. Lucky me I slept until 11:00 am while Noah and Jeffrey watched TV.

I did a little baking. I made some delicious apple crisp and

some brand muffins to take with me to work for breakfast. I often have no time to feed myself after making Noah's lunch and getting myself ready in the mornings. Stopping at the bakery everyday for something to eat gets pricey after a few weeks.

Then it was time for some crafting on my messy craft table. I have a very tiny space to work on.

Here is one of the decos I created and actually really like.

I also made some materials for the classroom. This is a parts of the body booklet in French.

And, onto some letter writing. I've been in such a writing mood these days.

And, last but not least to end my post, this week's mail. I received this great letter from my friend Andrea from England. It's so nice to write to a fellow cat lover. We write a lot about our cats and their antics. I love the Vintage Halloween postcard.

A couple of swaps I received from the same partner: "Harry Potter" and "Anything Cats" FBs.

Another great letter from my friend Karena from New Zealand.

And, an ATC supply swap.

I hope to post again before Friday but if not it'll have to wait until next Sunday. Noah and I are visiting Molly and family next weekend. We're hoping to spend Saturday in Boston and also go to the Pumpkin Festival if the weather agrees. Have a nice week everyone!

Wool Festival & mail!

2011-10-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

It's been such a gorgeous weekend here and I'm loving it. It's Canadian Thanksgiving and I am so thankful for a three day weekend. :) On Saturday my mother and I had breakfast and went shopping although I didn't really buy much. Then yesterday Jeffrey, Noah and I went to a wool festival. The location for the festival is actually an old wool mill turned museum. It was very interesting to visit and the grounds are beautiful. Below are some scenes of the wool mill and its grounds.

These little sheep were being shorn while we were there.

Noah and I in front of the entrance and gift shop.

Noah and Jeffrey in front of part of the mill.

Here I am sitting at the desk in the office of the mill.

There were also artisans selling their wares made of wool and other trinkets. This artist made some of the most beautiful handbags. I was really tempted to buy one but I already have so many handbags.

More artisans on the outside of the mill.

Along the paths we saw some alpacas. I just love these guys. :)

I did make a few purchases, I couldn't resist. Ha! Ha!

Some lavender soap and delicious mango chutney. We had such a lovely day at the wool festival. It was nice to do something as a family again.
And, now onto some creating and mail news. Here is a "Vintage French Ad" deco I made a couple of weeks ago for a group swap.

And, another deco for a group swap with the theme "Suzy Zoo".

I've had a really fantastic mail week with many letters from friends. Below is a letter from my friend Laura from Romania. She sent papers, embellishments, decos and a beautiful necklace with a cameo (upper right corner) as a birthday present. Wow! I was so surprised and honoured she would send such a lovely gift.

I also received a nice swap of fall coloured art supplies.

A wonderful letter from my friend Judy from England along with some lovely extras.

From my lovely friend Rosita from Finland I received a sweet letter and some of my favourite craft supplies from Tilda and also Matryoshka doll stickers.

A letter from a friend I had lost touch with, Sharon from Netherlands.

A letter, photos and FBs from my bestest friend Molly from New Hampshire whom I will visit sometime this month.

I received this "Animals of the Forest" deco, plus extra from a swap partner.

A wonderful letter, FBs and stickers from my friend Tomomi from Japan.

Another wonderful letter and FBs from my friend Susi from Austria.

Another birthday present and card from my dear friend Gaby from Germany.

And, that's it for now. Today will be a day of letter writing and swaps. Enjoy your day! :)

The usual mail & shopping news!

2011-10-04T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hello all of my lovely friends! I have been wanting to post this for a few days now but as I tried loading the photos either my computer, Internet connection or blogger was causing me problems. So, after a few attempts here I am. I have no patience for computers so when they don't do what I ask I become VERY annoyed. Anyhow, I've been really busy in the past couple of weeks, actually ever since the end of August and I am really missing time for myself and my hobbies. I'm thankful that we have a three day weekend coming up. It's Canadian Thanksgiving so I will have some major ME TIME. This week I've also had a cold and I've felt tired but I'm pleased to say I'm on the mends now. I've missed blogging and I want to do different kinds of posts but unfortunately it's the lack of time. :( Oh well...
So, here we go with some of last week's mail.

I received this gorgeous deco as part of a swap. It was made by one of my friends (Laura) so I was honoured to receive it. There are only two more entries and it'll be on its way home to her. I'll sign it and sent it to our mutual friend Johanna. Laura always makes the most beautiful art work and she is so incredibly talented with her jewellery making. Check out the link to her shop on my blog.

I think this is the last of the postcards from the postcard swap I had joined in September. Isn't it adorable? I love it since it is Halloween themed and it is perfect for this time of the year.

Here are some FBs I received from part of a group swap.

More beautiful decos made by Marina, a swapper friend from one of my groups at yahoo. I love the postcard with the girl anf kitties. What a beautiful image! There is actually a store near my home who sells a canvas copy of it and I'm thinking of buying it since I love it so much.

Another adorable deco made by another fellow swapper, part of a group at yahoo. Those Suzy Zoo characters are so cute!

A "Vintage Cowgirls" themed deco from another group swap.

Another pretty deco part of a group swap.

More pretty decos sent to me by a fellow swapper.

Last weekend I met up with my friend Sonia for lunch, shopping and chatting. We hadn't seen each other in a while so it was nice to catch up. Anyhow, Sonia is a Stampin 'Up demonstrator so she gave me some rubber stamps, a small garbage bin and bag, all Stampin 'Up products. I also placed an order for some items. :)

Here are some of the items I bought while shopping with Sonia. I love the papercrafts line by Bo Bunny as well as K & Company (below).

More paper to enjoy, like I don't have enough already. Sigh! Actually the paper will be used on a canvas project for one of my upcoming painting classes whereas the rectangular tags I will use for mail art.

I'm hoping to be back this weekend since I have received some awesome mail this week and I want to share some craft projects. Enjoy the end of the week everyone! :)

The latest mail, crafts, shopping...

2011-09-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekends. Since going back to work full time I'm finding my weekends go by pretty quickly. I always have so much I want to accomplish but I only manage one or two things which in turns drives me nuts. Oh well! Take for example this weekend, I had planned to answer some letters, do some crafting, plan for the classroom and English classes, and finally re-organize my bedroom but at last I didn't get any of these done. Sigh! The only things I've gotten done are errands and laundry. Now, how is that possible when there are so many hours in a weekend????????????????? Last weekend I did manage to finish up some swaps though which was nice.

Here is a Marie Antoinette themed deco I made for a swap and I like how it turned out. I made other decos but didn't have time to take photos.

I've received some great letters these past two weeks as well. Above is one I received from my friend Agnies from Poland. She also sent stickers and FBs.

Here are two established decos I received from a swap partner for a group swap.

A letter I received from my friend Patrizia from Italy. She sent pretty stationary, stickers and FBs with her letter as we always swap little fun items.

A lovely postcard I received from my friend Lone from Germany who was vacationing with her husband.

Another lovely letter, with photos and a FB I received from my dear friend Tanya from Australia.

A birthday cloth my friend Reiko from Japan sent for my birthday. It's so pretty.

A wonderful letter from my friend Kate from England. She also sent some lovely photos.

Another birthday present from my friend Ioanna from Greece. She sent a shower gel and body lotion made with aloe vera and olive oil. She also sent a sweet letter, postcard and FB.

A beautiful "Paperdolls" deco I received from a swap partner for a group swap.

I received another great letter from my friend Claire from New Zealand. She also sent a pretty birthday card she made.

Another sweet letter from my friend Susanne from Australia who sent along a photo and FBs.

I received another wonderful letter from my friend Aida from Malaysia. She sent along some stickers, a bookmark, stationary, FBs, a postcard and a birthday card.

I took part in another postcard swap and here are some of the lovely cards with inspirational quotes written on the back I received over the past two weeks.

I signed up for another painting class which started last Wednesday night. And, no this is not my finished project. This is the design I am painting on a tea box. My project is far from being done. I have two more classes.

I recently purchased these two magazines that I am slowly getting through. I buy a few more magazines by the same publishing company. They are awesome!

A few more recent purchases in various stores. I've also started buying some little Christmas presents. So, I'm off now to enjoy the rest of my day before it's back to work tomorrow. Have a fantastic week everyone. :)

Happy Birthday to me!

2011-09-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to me! Well, my birthday has come and gone but I would like to share some photos of what I received from friends. My birthday was on Monday but I didn't do any celebrating at all. I felt so exhausted for some reason and I was as cranky as heck. I've never liked celebrating my birthday and it doesn't have anything to do with aging. I think it goes back to my childhood when my birthday was postponed because it was back to school and everyone was so busy. I guess I learned at a young age it wasn't an important day. Anyhow, below you can see some of the lovely cards I received from friends around the world.

This is a handmade card I received from my friend Claudia in Germany. I think it is so beautiful! She always makes such beautiful cards and also sells some if anyone is interested.

This gorgeous card was made by my dearest friend Rosita from Finland. Her cards are always such works of art and I cherish them.

Another lovely handmade card from my friend Susi in Austria. It is so adorable using one of my favourite stamp lines, Magnolia. I also love the colours Susi choose, so cheerful.

One of my co-workers Veronique surprised me with this sweet bath set.

My friend from Germany Claudia also gave me this pretty stationary set and embellishments for crafting.

My great friend Nicole from USA gave me some nice stationary sets as well, a jewellery set of earrings and necklace and a nice flower bag.

My friend Judy from England sent me this cute Hello Kitty stationary and some stickers.

My dear friend Marjolijn sent me these lovely items from Holland which I love.

My dearest friend Lone sent me some pretty lighthouse stationary, pretty beads of owls and Matryoshka dolls and some crafting supplies.

Along with her gorgeous handmade card Rosita also sent me a Magnolia stamp, some pretty address labels she made and a pretty fall printed cloth.

One of my bestest friends Molly from USA gave me a pretty rock paperweight, a cat ringholder, a gorgeous shopping bag, recipe cards, crafting stickers and a car air freshner from Yankee candle.

Jeffrey, Noah and the cats gave me some handmade soaps that smell so nice and two novels. They also spoiled me with a pizza dinner and cake.

Thanks to all of my wonderful friends, Jeffrey, Noah and the cats for spoiling me on my birthday. It was so greatly appreciated although I was grumpy. See you soon. :)

Mail update & shopping!

2011-09-10T18:09:00.001-07:00

So, it was another crazy busy week and I'm loving it! The days consisted of office work at the music/art school as well as time in the preschool classroom, meetings in the afternoon for Noah and teaching my English students in the evenings. I was so happy to get some shopping done in between and I also signed up for some art classes at the artists' open house today. Then I took Noah to the pool and we ran some errands. Tomorrow we're off to the fair while Jeffrey works. I love spending time just Noah and I. He's a good companion although he may be exhausting since he does tend to run off if he sees anything interesting. In regards to crafts and letter writing, well I haven't done much but next week I should have more time. Here is some of the mail I've received in the past two weeks:

A wonderful letter from my friend Nicole from Massachusetts, USA. She included a very interesting travel report of her trip to Trinidad and Tobago this summer and photos. She also sent some decos, FBs and stamps.

Next, I received this lovely ATC (upper right corner) from a group swap with a few extras.

Another ATC I received from a group swap.

A pretty thank you card from my friend Molly from USA.

A beautiful "Vintage Coffee Ad" deco from another group swap.

A lovely letter from my friend Claudia from Germany and some photos from her summer vacation.

Another pretty ATC and extras from a group swap.

Another wonderful letter and FBs from my friend Beate from Norway.

A gorgeous "Marie-Antoinette" deco from a group swap.

A private FBs and decos (below) swap from my friend Kimie from Vancouver.

We also had a private ATC swap and one is for a group swap as well. Aren't these ATCs she made just lovely?

As I mentioned above, I decided to treat myself to some shopping this week. I bought myself a laminator since I make a lot of my own materials for teaching English. It'll certainly come in handy and be cheaper than having lamination done at a shop. I also bought myself a pretty blouse, forest green cardigan, coconut eau de toilette and soap. It felt lovely spoiling myself after being on a fairly tight budget all summer.

I also went to a local art store today and bought myself some supplies. Many of the items were on sale. :)

And, a few more items at a local Dollar Plus store.

And, a caddy to hold all the time used supplies. Aw...wonderful shopping. I still have many things on my list but I guess I've bought enough for now, well...at least for this week. Ha!

Crafts, mail & shopping!

2011-08-29T17:42:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! So, I just started back to work last week in preparation of the school year and it has been busy. In between I've had these other appointments as well as getting Noah ready for school tomorrow. Phew! Last year I was only working about 20 or less hours per week and now I have 32 hours per week. I am doing office work in the mornings as well as working in the preschool classroom on Wednesday afternoons at the same Art/Music school as last school year. I am also teaching English to children privately after school and I may also teach a class of immigrants on Tuesday evenings. It's been a while since I've had such a busy work schedule. I just need to find the proper balance for everything. Creating and letter writing are a part of my soul and a priority in my life so there will ALWAYS be time for them. :) Okay, so enough bla-bla and onto the photos.

A deco I made with the theme "Paris at Night" for a group swap.

Another deco I made with the theme "Kitties".

Another deco I made with the theme "Winnie the Pooh".

And another one with the theme "Suzy Zoo".

Last week I received a private swap of FBs from Iris in Hong Kong.

I received these FBs and "Vintage Summer" deco (on the bottom left) from a group swap partner.

These FBs are also from a group swap partner.

I also received a wonderful letter from my dear friend Maria from Finland. She included a postcard and FB.

Here are some items I recently bought while shopping. Some are for swaps or parts of birthday presents.

On the weekend Noah and I went to a street fair but we were a little dissapointed since it took us all of 15 minutes to see everything. However, we did find one booth with some nice crafty items. I bought some handmade soaps and a cute pen with a flower on the end. Noah had himself some chewy candies on a stick. Of course he ate them before I could get a photo. Ha!

So, I'm off since I have a zillion things to do before tomorrow.

Incoming mail!

2011-08-20T18:03:00.001-07:00

Happy weekend everyone! The weather is gorgeous. Today I brought Noah horseback riding (he hadn't been practically all summer), then we went out to lunch and came home to relax a little before going to the pool. Now all is quiet and I thought I'd post about my incoming mail for the past week. First up, I decided to do a mail art swap with Jessica from the United States. She sent me such a beautifully decorated enveloppe with such awesome items, as well as a letter. Everything was so nicely packaged too. I love everything she sent, especially the Matryoshka doll rubber stamp. I've decided mail art is quite fun and I'd like to more such swaps.

Next I received a nice package full of crafting supplies for angeling some swaps in one of my groups.

I received a nice letter and postcard from Helen in Finland. I love the pretty stationary she used.

I received another great letter from my friend Maiken from Norway. She also sent a FB and photos.

I received another great letter and postcard from my friend Eva from Germany.

I received a very pretty card along with some FBs from my friend Molly from the USA. I love the card and have the same set. :)

I also received a "Vintage Bathing Beauties" deco from a group swap.

And, I recently went shopping with my mother and saw these cute stickers. I also bought myself a skirt and my mother bought me a novel by James Patterson as an early birthday present. Isn't it nice to find little somethings when you go shopping?!

So, it's back to work for me on Monday after having had practically the entire summer off. I'm happy to be getting back into a routine but at the same time I wish I had more free time. I still have lot's to do I didn't get to this summer but isn't that always the way it goes?!

Weekend with Molly and Jadira!

2011-08-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I had an absolutely fantastic weekend with my friend Molly and her daughter Jadira. They came from New Hampshire for a short weekend with us. It's always nice to spend time with Molly. I really wished we lived closer but a 3 1/2 hour drive away isn't so bad now is it? Here are some photos of our weekend.

One of our first stops was the tourist office in Sherbrooke since they have vintage postcards. There aren't many of postcards of Sherbrooke so you take what you can get. The tourist office is situated near the downtown area and it is quite nice. Above is a photo of Noah and I outside the tourist office.

Noah and Jadira outside the tourist office. Noah was quite tired since he had got up at 3:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. This often happens and then I'm not able to sleep either, not fun.

We went to a cultural festival ("Le Festival des Traditions du Monde") and it was really hot. There wasn't much shade anywhere. Here are Molly and I in front, well partly (Jeffrey is not good at picture talking and then we had two whiny kids because of the heat), of a Paris display.

This festival features crafts, food and music from various countries around the world. This is the Asian tent where they have music and dancing shows.

Of course there was also a huge family area where children could play in bouncy toys, have little boat rides, etc. Noah (with orange cap) was having some difficulty stearing the boat around the obstacles. He loved the ride once he got the hang of it. Us adults felt like cooling off in the water since it was so hot.

Jadira was also having some diffculty stearing but she loved the ride. She went on it quite a few times.

Here I am in a, I'm not sure what kind of costume this is actually, a mermaid maybe... (photo taken by Jeffrey again so not the best)

There were many international food kiosks but we had to find something Noah would eat so we chose Greek. We all enjoy Greek food although it would've been nice to try something different. It was quite crowded and we were quite hungry.

Noah in front of some really huge plugs. By this time he was getting fed up and was about ready to drop from fatigue since he had gotten up so early.

There were so many craft and food vendors but I couldn't really look around. We headed home shortly after eating so Noah (and I) could take a nap.

Once Molly and Jadira returned from the festival we took the kids to the pool. Noah and Jadira had a blast and basically had the pool to themselves.

And off jumps Noah from the diving board.

What a fabulous weekend. I can't beleive it is almost back to school again. My summer vacation is coming to an end and I'll be back at work next Monday. I'm kind of looking forward to getting back into a regular routine again. And, as much as I love summer, I equally love autumn. Be back soon! :)

Two weeks of mail!

2011-08-07T18:11:00.001-07:00

Hey all! I had started this post on Sunday but then the photos wouldn't load up and I was getting really annoyed with blogger. I would post more often if it didn't take so long to load up photos. I love posts with photos so I like to put a lot of photos in my posts. Having said that, here are some photos of the mail I've received in the past two weeks. But first, here's a deco I recently made for a swap. I love these cute little mice!

Here are some FBs I also recently made for a group swap. I'm dissapointed there is a blur in the middle FB because it is my favourite. Crap!

Here's a postcard I received from my friend Susi from Austria while she was traveling in Sweden.

Here's a wonderful letter I received from my friend Nicole from the USA. She included some Suzy Zoo stickers and Diddl stationary sheets.

Another great letter from my friend Nathalie from Luxembourg. She also sent a postcard from Turkey which she brought back with her when vacationing there. I love the cute stationary she used for her letter.

I received another great letter, along with FBs, from my friend Ulrica from Sweden.

Here are some ATCs I received from a group swap. The themes were "Vintage Nature" and "Vintage Bathing Beauties".

Here's a deco I received from another group swap. Can you guess the theme?

I also received this wonderful swap of ribbons. What a great selection!

I also received this lovely card with photos and FBs from my friend Molly in USA. The top photo shows Molly, Nicole (mutual pal and friend of Molly and I) and I.

Another great letter from my friend Gaby from Germany. She also send many lovely photos and a postcard.

Another great letter from my friend Stefanie from Switzerland. She also included FBs.

A wonderful letter from my friend Reiko from Japan. She also sent a postcard and we always exchange photos of our craft projects.

I also received my first birthday present, very early too since my birthday is only in September. I've put it aside until the actual date of my birthday. I'm very curious as to what it is though. Thanks Judy!

Another letter and FBs from my sweet Canadian friend Hawley.

Phew! And there you have it! I hope to be back soon if blogger cooperates when I want to post photos. Grr... My friend Molly and her daughter Jadira will visit this weekend. Looking forward to it! :)

Weekend in New Hampshire!

2011-08-02T18:16:00.001-07:00

I'm back from my lovely long weekend with my friend Molly and her family. As many of you already know, Molly and I met through penpalling almost 20 years ago now. Wow! Has it been that long??? Anyhow, she has become one of my bestfriends and we visit each other quite often. This past weekend Noah and I went to spend some time with them. We arrived last Thursday and stayed until Sunday mid-day. We were supposed to stay until Monday morning and spend the day in Maine on Sunday but Noah wanted to go home so we left early. It was just too much newness and uncertainty for him. Both of which being very difficult for autistics. We still had a nice time and made the most of our weekend. We were busy and the weather was gorgeous, except for Friday when it rained.

Molly and family live in a quaint little town called Keene. The downtown area has lot's of little shops and restaurants. It looks so charming and inviting.

Noah and Molly's daughter Jadira in downtown Keene.

On Friday we decided to go Blueberry picking at "Monadnock Berries". You could say it is in the mountains, on the top of a hill. It is so nice and rustic. The view is spectacular.

A cute sign telling us in which direction all is located.

Noah, Molly, Jadira and Molly's son Diego blueberry picking. Actually Noah was eating more than picking.

The blueberries were gorgeous and delicious.

Jadira and Noah sitting at the entrance of a little gift shop with berry preserves, snacks, etc.

The entrance to another gift shop with beautiful crafts.

Eating a delicious meal prepared by Molly and myself. I had brought some meat and all the fixings for fondue from Canada since they can't buy it where they live. They all love fondue, especially Diego.

On Saturday and Sunday we went to Molly's family cottage in Hebron, New Hampshire. Here we are at the beach where Noah and Jadira had a absolute ball swimming.

We also went to the Hebron Fair which is a yearly craft and food outdoor market. There were such lovely crafts but it was difficult to get a good look at everything with Noah. It was also quite crowded. But, I did find a couple of things. There was some beautiful pottery, handmade jewellery, handmade soaps, etc.

Noah found something too, a stuffed dinosaur.

Molly, Noah and I at her uncle's cottage. They have a spectacular view of the lake off their deck.

Noah, standing in front of an ice cream place where we shared some homemade coconut ice cream. It was absolutely delicious.

And, that was our weekend in a nutshell. :) Molly is talking of coming to Sherbrooke for a visit next weekend with Jadira so that would be awesome! :)

Last week's mail!

2011-07-25T17:48:00.001-07:00

Phew! It was certainly hot and humid this past week. Last Thursday the temps reached 44 celcius. Now, living in Quebec we don't get those types of temps very often so when we do it is HOT for us. Today it was much more seasonable with 25 celcius. Aw...much better! So, did I get much done last week? No, not with these temps. We spent most of our days at the pool or in front of the fans. I did enjoy receiving some beautiful mail although I didn't put together many enveloppes due to lazyness from the heat. :(

I belong to a few swap groups at yahoo mostly having to do with HQFBs and decos but we also have fun swaps too. I was paired up with this lovely lady from Jordan for many swaps and she really spoiled me. She sent the socks above as part of one swap.

We also had a "Pick 5" swap and the loot above is what I received from her.

Then she was also my partner for "Paris at Night" deco, "Paddington Bear" deco and "Vintage Mickey Mouse" deco. Aren't her decos so beautiful?!

Her daughter was also paired with me for this "1950's America" deco swap so she sent it in the same enveloppe. It seems talent runs in this family as this is also a pretty deco.

And, finally she (not the daughter but the mom) sent me some decos as part of another swap. You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive such a fat enveloppe in the mail. Yay! :)

I also received a lovely letter and HQFBs from my friend Tomomi from Japan. She also sent me some pretty flowers for crafting.

Two more swaps I received from Germany; a "Vintage Romantic" deco and "Suzy Zoo" deco. They are beautiful!

Another swap, "All for Myself" FBs from Saudi Arabia.

And, there's Noah (far distance) having fun in the pool. The family whose children I teach English to are away on vacation until mid August and are letting us use their pool. They are really a nice family and Noah is enjoying their pool. Lucky for us because city workers are going on strike next week so pools will be closed as they are not considered an essential service. I can't imagine having no place to cool off with temps of 44 celcius. Lucky for us we won't have to worry about it. :) Aw..great, one of the cats just stole my spot on the couch (next to my writing stuff). Not sure where I'm supposed to sit and write now??????????

Crafts & mail!

2011-07-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Aw...the weather has been so incredibly gorgeous and I've been enjoying it to the fullest. Most of the past days have been spent outdoors; hanging out laundry, taking in nature, trying to write letters and swimming at the pool with Noah and Jeffrey. It's just too nice to stay inside. However, today I started teaching English again after being on vacation since the end of June. I'm doing private lessons at my student's home at her parents request. It's all very relaxed since Chloe is only 6 years old. I just love her family. Anyway, there are still so many things I want to accomplish this summer but time just seems to be flying so quickly. So, before I keep babbling on here I wanted to share a couple of things I made and last week's mail.

A "Vintage Ballerina" deco I made for a group swap.

Two "Vintage Ad" ATCs I made for another group swap.

I just love this "Vintage Sailors" deco I received from a group swap.

Some very fun and original decos I received from another group swap.

Another group swap of FBs and decos.

"Anything Vintage" and "Alice in Wonderland" FBs from another group swap.

A postcard from my Greek friend Ioanna.

A wonderful letter (as always) from my friend from Finland Rosita. She included some really nice stuff, including some of my favourites from the "Tilda" collection. It is so difficult for me to use these things since I can't buy them here. Sigh!

Another great letter from my friend Andrea from England who also sent some nice things, including photos of her sweet cats. I just love cats, they are such wonderful creatures.

A lovely letter from my friend Sarah from New Zealand. I love the stationary she used, so pretty.

On another note, I wanted to share a very bad experience we had last week. Well, those of you who follow my blog and know me personally know we have really terrible neighbours. They have two young daughters and are just horrible people who teach their children to be intolerant towards those who are different. They don't like Noah because he is diffrent, meaning autistic. They don't want their daughters playing with Noah and don't even want him on their property. However, Noah for some unknown reason to me likes the neighbours and wants them to be nice, so he tells me. He goes to see them and they always send him home or ignore him by running in the house yelling "lock the door." Yes, we're talking about adults here who are well educated and we live in a good neighbourhood. Anyway, I think you get the picture of what they are like. So, last week I look out my front window to see the police coming up my driveway. The neighbours called the police to let us know they never want Noah to go on their property again. I was livid, and I don't even think that describes the anger I felt. Oh my goodness, Noah is 9 years old and not a monster. They should really be ashamed of themselves. I'm thinking karma will get them. Noah was traumatised at first and didn't even want to go outside but now he's okay although he doesn't understand why they dislike him so. I told him not everybody is nice like him. It's not easy to explain since I don't understand myself. Thanks for letting me vent. See you again sometime this week.

Incoming mail!

2011-07-10T06:50:00.001-07:00

It's such a gorgeous day! I'm so happy because I have nowhere to go and I can just sit in my backyard writing letters. :) I haven't been able to relax at home for some time because it seems I am always having to go somewhere. Before heading outside for my day of writing I thought I'd show you some of the mail I received this week. First though, I want to share a couple of photos of some friendship books I recently made for group swaps.

"Alice in Wonderland" FBs.

"Sarah Kay" FBs.

Not quite sure why some of my photos come out blurry like this sometimes, but these are two ATCs with the theme "Vintage Ads" from a swap partner. They really are lovely. :)

A pretty postcard from my friend Molly from New Hampshire.

A wonderful letter and HQFBs from my friend Margaret from Scotland.

A sweet letter and FBs from my friend Astrid from Norway.

We belong to one of the same swap groups so she made me these cute "Sarah Kay" FBs since I was her partner.

Two pretty decos from a swap partner.

A few decos from another swap partner.

A cute "Felix the Cat" deco from another swap partner.

And, finally a wonderland letter from my friend Lone from Germany who also sent a few fun things. I had been waiting for this letter since she had mentioned sending it during the Canada Post strike. Yay! It arrived safely. :)
Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

A day at the zoo!

2011-07-07T19:36:00.001-07:00

We went to the Granby Zoo yesterday. We go every summer at least once. It's such a nice zoo which includes both amusement and water parks. Noah enjoys the water park the most of course. Here are some photos of our day.

Unfortunately it started drizzling on and off when we arrived at the zoo, then there was a thunderstorm, it cleared and we headed to the water park. We were there for about an hour when it started pouring, thundering and lightening again. So, our day ended like this:

We still had a wonderful day together and spent from 11:00-4:00 checking out the animals, going on the rides and playing at the water park. And, of course there was a stop at the gift shop.

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon with a mail post.

Finally, some mail again!

2011-07-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

I finally received mail last week after two weeks of nothing in my mailbox. Mind you the mail is still moving quite slowly due to the huge backlog. No matter, I'm just happy to see the mailman come up my driveway. :)

I received this lovely enveloppe full of thank you goodies from my friend Margaret in Scotland. I especially LOVE the Matryoshka doll stickers and will most likely use them sparingly.

A little blurry but this postcard comes from my friend Susi from Austria who was traveling to Jersey in the British Isles. It looks really beautiful there.

Some FBs from my partner for a group swap.

A private FB swap from China.

And, that's all the mail I got last week. I've missed hearing from my friends around the world so hopefully their letters will start coming in soon. Hope everyone has a nice beginning of the week. See you soon. :)

Weekend in New Hampshire!

2011-06-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I visited my friend Molly who lives in New Hampshire, USA. I always love to see Molly and her children, Jadira and Diego. We usually go out to eat at Olive Garden (I love their soup and salad meal) and do some shopping. This time I kept myself on a very tight budget and only bought a few things for Noah. I was quite proud of myself too. Well, actually the Michael's store was cleaning out or something because there was hardly anything on the shelves so there wasn't much to tempt me. Ha! However, the highlight of my weekend was having lunch with Molly, her 6 year old daughter Jadira, and our mutual pal and friend Nicole at "Pickity Place", our favourite quaint little restaurant in the forest. Here are some photos I'd like to share. :)

"Pickity Place" is actually a little cottage in the forest turned restaurant. It was built in 1786 and was used by illustrator Elizabeth Orton Jones to illustrate her version of the book "The Little Red Riding Hood". Here is a side view of the cottage where you enter the restaurant.

There are such beautiful gardens full of herbs, flowers, vegetables and other plants. It is just plain breath taking. They use these fresh herbs and vegetables to prepare their delicious dishes.

Here is a photo of me, my friend Nicole and Molly's daughter Jadira in front of "Pickity Place". As you can see Jadira is adorable wearing her Little Red Riding Hood costume. We had told her the restaurant owners would ask her to work there as a hostess welcoming the clients.

Isn't she just plain adorable?! :)

If you look closely you can see a sheep in the little building.

On the left side it is part of the restaurant and the right side is their absolutely fantastic gift shop. I took a few photos inside as I just love this little shop so much.

They sell so many beautifully handcrafted items mostly made by local artisans. I could spend a small fortune here.

I've always loved potterie and theirs is gorgeous. Last November when we went to Pickity I bought a soup bowl with sandwich dish but I've yet to use it. It's just too pretty. Sounds silly, I know.

Soaps, oil essence, gift cards and other trinkets.

Various spice packs can be found and bought to reproduce some of Pickity's flavour. Last November I also bought some steak spices, patato soup mix, garlic bread herbs and lavender lemonade packets, all delicious.

Me in the shop, browsing, taking it all in.

My sweet friends sitting down for our lunch (Jadira, Molly and Nicole).

Our luncheon consisted of a delicious creamy broccoli with smoked Gouda soup. Next was a Quinoa and black bean salad which I had a photo of but just accidently deleted it. Grr... This salad was to die for. Mmm...

Main course was this delicious Strata bolognese and parmesan herb bread (not pictured). Do I need to say it was delicious? I wish I could make such lovely and yummy meals.

And, the dessert, strawberry and chocolate custard tart. This is the first time I have to say I didn't enjoy eating something at Pickity. The dessert was very bland in comparison to the rest of the meal. Of course that will not keep me away from Pickity in the future. Molly, Nicole and I are already looking forward to another delicious culinary experience at Pickity in the fall.

PS: The mail is moving again. The strike at Canada Post is now OVER. Yay! :) Stay tuned for a mail post within the next few days.

End of school year fun!

2011-06-22T17:48:00.001-07:00

Phew! It's been such a busy past two weeks with both my school year and Noah's coming to an end. Last week I accompanied Noah's class on a field trip to an old time village called "Village D'Antan. It consists of actors dressed in period clothes from the beginning of the 20th century in Quebec. The buildings, clothes, furniture in the houses, etc dates from that time period. Those who work there either act out a role or explain what their character would have done at that time. It was quite interesting but it was also such a hot day. Noah of course had no real interest in knowing anything about this time period so we kind of scurried along the village although at times we were also with our group.

Noah with some of his classmates at the entrance to the village. I was so impressed and proud by Noah's classmates. Noah is mildly autistic and everyone in his class, and even in the school is aware of autism because of him. They are accepting of Noah and try to help him cope with his anxiety. They are like a small community taking care of him. It makes me proud to know they will grow up to be accepting of those who are different, unlike our neighbours (yes we still have some problems with them).

This building kind of made me laugh because it is where they made brooms and other things. What made me laugh is that French Quebec was a VERY religiously controled province up until at least the 1960's/1970's and I find these brooms look like they were made for witches. Ha!

A scene from walking in the village.

The General Store where we could buy cookies, candy, bread, maple products, etc. The products sold were similar to those they had in the old days. Noah didn't like being in the store as it was too crowded. It was quite overwhelming for him because of all the people and it was a new place to him. Autistics don't usually do well when something is new to them. Personally I liked the store.

Noah in front of a sign for the town shoemaker.

This past Tuesday we had a field trip for the children of the school where I teach. They are preschoolers. We went to a park, "Les Gorges de Coaticook", where you can have a poney ride, picnic, see farm animals and also walk in the forest. It was such a gorgeous day. This pretty round building is where they welcome you.

This is actually when you arrive at the park. It is such a lovely place.

Here are the sheep and the goat that greeted us at the farm. They were quite funny. I went into their living area with some children and we could feed them. Both children and animals were thrilled.

This evening has been quite busy with me making thank you cards for the teachers and getting their gift certificates organized (I had wanted to make gifts but didn't get around to it), and also making 25 chocolate suckers for Noah's class with only one mold with three monkeys. It's been a long process and I'm still not done. Aren't they just cute? I wrapped them up too to make sure nobody gets into them tonight.

Last Saturday I went to a scrapbooking crop. I didn't really do much of anything except chat though. I always find these crops difficult because I would need to bring my entire craft room with me. Anyhow, I was there from 1:00pm until 8:00pm. Everyone got a door price and I got this fantastic vintage set from Bo Bunny. Yay! The ribbon on the left I got as a prize for a challenge.

In other news, Canada Post is on strike and has been since the beginning of June. At first the mail was moving albeit slowly but on June 13th everything came to a halt so I've had nothing in my mailbox for two weeks. Makes me SO mad! At least legislation is being passed so they'll have to go back to work. Hopefully by next week mail be moving again.

Okay, so back to the chocolate. :)

Mail & Friendship Day!

2011-06-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a delightful start of the week. I can't really complain here on my end of the world. I'm a bit bored today although I've plenty to do. I wonder if it ever happens to any of you where you just can't seem to sit and accomplish anything?! That seems to be the story of my day today. So, I thought I'd do a posting here to get me out of my Monday rut.

My mailbox has been fairly empty these days due to Canada Post's rotating strikes. There doesn't seem to be much progress as to when the strikes will end but at least the mail is still moving albeit slowly. Above are decos I received as part of some group swaps made by the same artist. The themes are; "Vintage Bathing Beauties", "Vintage Ballerina" and "Fizzy Moon". I think they are absolutely gorgeous.

She also sent some other pretty vintage themed decos as part of another swap.

This "All for Manu" themed deco was sent to me as part of another group swap. I think it is beautiful and this blurry photo doesn't do it justice unfortunately.

Here are some "Cookie Monster" FBs I received as part of another swap, along with the craft supplies below.

Then more supplies as part of another swap (below).

Sometimes when I'm feeling a little blue I go out to buy myself some craft supplies. It cheers me up to see pretty supplies in the store and bring something home too. So, I bought some pretty vintage papers and the box of journaling labels in the photo below. I love them!

On the weekend we went to "Friendship Day", an event held every year the second Saturday in June. There are many activities for families and children. Noah especially likes it because they open the outdoor pool and he loves swimming. This past Saturday it was quite chilly (15 celcius) and not very sunny but Noah enjoyed swimming despite the weather.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the petting zoo. I could've spent hours there watching the animals.

So, while I was watching the animals, and after Noah had finished swimming, he and Jeffrey decided to do a bubble race.

After their race they joined me at the petting zoo.

I wanted to bring one of these guys home.

We then headed over to the Uplands Museum for cake and ice cream. It's such a lovely but small museum with beautiful outdoor grounds.

They serve English Tea at the museum during the summer months and I'm planning on attending one of the servings this summer.

Have a nice week!

Mail & decos!

2011-06-02T16:36:00.001-07:00

Hi all! :) We enjoyed such a lovely day yesterday, beautiful, hot and sunny, but today it is really cold, like 10 celcius cold. Brr... It hasn't been much of an exciting week so far although I've been busy, thinking of job prospects for the fall. On the weekend I was busy with crafting but haven't done anything since then although I was supposed to go to my painting teacher's house to work on teacher gifts. I will definately need to do that next Monday as there are only three weeks of school left. Here are a few photos I want to share.

Here is a deco I made with the theme "Black Cats" and I really like how it turned out. I've always liked that Black Cat Paris ad.

This is a "Vintage Hats" deco I made for a group swap.

Here is a "House Mouse" deco I made for another group swap. I just adore these little mice.

This is the very first deco made for me that I have ever received. Well, I haven't received any I have made for myself either so I was pretty excited when my friend Kimie returned this one to me. It was made by a fellow swapper, Valeriane from France. The theme was "Dessert Animals" and the entries are lovely. Thanks so much Valeriane for making this deco for me and to the talented ladies who signed it.

Kimie also sent me various other decos as part of a group swap.

Here are some cute "Matryoshka doll" FBs for another group swap.

Here are some FBs with the theme "All for Tomomi" for another group swap which I received. She also sent some pretty stickers.

Here is a wonderful letter I received from my friend Renata from Germany.

And, I would like to leave you with a gorgeous piece of art my son Noah made at school. It's a papercraft project and I love it. I'm planning on framing it and putting it in my art room. Love it! See yas soon! :)

Randomness!

2011-05-29T14:00:00.001-07:00

It's been yet another wet weekend. I'm wondering if it'll ever end. Everyday it rains. I've spent a good part of the day sleeping away the dreariness of the rain. Now I've decided I would share a few random photos with you all. I have been creative a little this weekend and trying to answer some letters but for some reason I haven't been able to concentrate.

Here is an entry for a Vintage Love deco I made.

I made these FBs for a swap "All for Tomomi" and she likes vintage.

I'm not a fan of Sesame Street at all but I did sign up for this Cookie Monster FB swap.

More postcards from Natalea's Postcard quote swap although the one on the left I received a few weeks ago but forgot to post it. It's actually one of my favourites. The one on the right is so pretty and handmade.

More ATCs from Natalea. This time our themes were "the written word" and "birds". Her cards are always so gorgeous. I love swapping with her.

She sent her ATCs in this cute notecard. Love it!

I received these two decos as part of a group swap. The themes are "Cute Characters at Springtime" and "Gothic".

The same partner sent me this "House Mouse" deco as part of another group swap.

I received this wonderful letter from my friend Molly. She also sent some photos and FBs.

During a few bright moments of sunshine Noah and Jeffrey planted some Bush Beans. Noah had started them at school and he wanted to put them in dirt at home. Let's hope they grow and don't drown with all of the rain.

Noah planting his beans.

A very proud boy and his beans.

We were taking a walk down our street yesterday and noticed these trees in front of someone's house. Aren't they just adorable?

Kreativ Blogger Award

2011-05-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Aida has tagged me for this award. So, I need to write 10 random facts about myself. Here goes:

1. I like taking naps everyday with my cats.
2. I suffer from an anxiety disorder.
3. I prefer animals to people.
4. My favourite fruit is mango.
5. I can't stand incompetence.
6. My favourite flowers are tulips.
7. I used to be crazy for the music group Menudo.
8. I am very critical of myself.
9. I have a university degree in Fine Arts/Classical Studies.
10.I love creme caramel as a dessert.

Finding 10 random things to write about myself wasn't an easy task. It seems it would be though, doesn't it?! I don't have 10 people to tag but I will tag those I think might participate. So, to those, the rules are: write 10 random facts about yourself and tag 10 more people. I will tag:

Beate
Jessica
Maria

Have fun ladies!

Papercrafty weekend!

2011-05-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I certainly was a busy little beaver this weekend. I've done lots of laundry and I'm caught up-yay, then I bought some plants to hang on the front porch, cleaned up the yard a bit, and was able to also work on some swaps and letters. Wow! It was great! :) So, I though I'd share some stuff I made with you.

Here are two more ATCs I made to exchange with Natalea from Kandeland. Our themes this time were; Birds (on the left) and Written words/Letters (on the right). I really love how these both turned out.

Here is my first attempt at decorating an enveloppe (mail art). I'm not particularly crazy about it. I'm doing a swap with a lady named Jessica. We fill the enveloppe with items you might use for mail art.

Some FBs I made for Japanese ladies as part of a swap. I love how they turned out.

A deco I made (All for Manu) as part of a swap. I love this one too.

Here is my entry for a Paddington Bear themed deco. Love this one too.

Finally an entry for a Tea Time deco which I also love.

I was really on a roll this weekend. I made some other decos/FBs but didn't take photos of them. This evening I will do more letter writing and relax. Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

More painting & mail!

2011-05-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Hope you're having an absolutely fantastic weekend where ever you may be. So far so good on my end. I've taken a nice long nap, hung out some laundry and now it's blog time. Noah and Jeffrey have gone swimming so it's just me and the cats. :) I think we might even go out for dinner tonight. Okay, so this week has been busy once again. Better to be busy than have nothing to do, right? On Monday evening I finished painting the rooster design on my apron. Of course I complained the entire time because for some reason it seemed every brushstroke I made was wrong. But, I am satisfied with it. It's always the same story with me. I must learn to have confidence.

I'm thinking of painting "Jackie's kitchen" on the top part of the apron.

Here's a close-up of the rooster.

I received two postcards in the mail this week. On the left was sent by my bloggy pal Gracie and on the right was part of the swap hosted by Natalea. How original that the postcard was sewed fabric on cardboard. :)

I also received Vintage Children FBs as part of a group swap.

Another group swap, 2 established decos.

And, a letter with FBs from my friend Isabelle in Switzerland.

So, now I'm off to organize my craft room so I can work on some swaps tonight. :)

Finished painting + swaps!

2011-05-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here I am again on a very raining day. It's actually been raining since yesterday. We had a gorgeous week of sun and warmth. On Thursday evening it was so nice we had dinner in the park and then Noah played for a while. I like such family outings. Wish I had had my camera but I forgot. Oh well! Next time, right?! Otherwise life has been hectic with appointments, Noah's end of school year and work. I've also been a little tired lately so I've needed to catch up on my sleep. It seems to often happen at this time of the year, not sure why. I have BIG plans in my head but lacking in energy to complete. :(

Well, I did finish my painting in my class last Tuesday. I love the way it turned out although this photo is a little blurry. I need to do the frame and then I'm still considering giving it to my mother. This week I'll finish the apron with the rooster design. I can't wait to get it done. I have lot's of projects to finish here at home so hopefully I'll get them done over the summer. I'm thinking of posting some on Etsy to sell but I haven't yet decided. I'm a bit nervous about the whole process.

This week I received another round of ATCs from Natalea. Our themes were; on the left, Romantic Garden, and on the right, Domestic Bliss/Retro Kitchen. Of course I LOVE them. We have two more themes in process.

I took part in a postcard swap hosted by Gracie and this is the postcard I received from my partner from Australia. She also included a business postcard and tag she made. Lovely!

More lovely postcards from Natalea's postcard swap I joined. I love receiving these artsy postcards with quotes. I'll miss receiving them when the swap is done. :(

I absolutely LOVE this Vintage Hats deco made by my partner in a group swap. I love the delicate colours, image and design. Gorgeous!

I received this Black Cats deco from a group swap. Very original and a bit spooky!

I also received a great letter and FBs from my friend Saara from Finland.

And, another great letter and FBs from my friend Beate from Norway.

I thought I'd leave you with a sweet photo of Subaru who LOVES climbing everywhere. He drives me crazy when I'm trying to sleep at night but I just can't get mad at such a sweetie. Here he is on top of our fireplace. Have a nice rest of the weekend!

I'm back again!

2011-05-08T20:03:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, it has been a while again, hasn't it? Well, life certainly has been busy and then there was the Internet problem we had on and off for the past two weeks. It was rather annoying because every time I had a few spare minutes to write there was no signal. Grr... Thankfully a technician finally came to fix the problem last Thursday. Then, Noah was also home all of last week with tonsilitis. At the beginning of the week he was feeling so poorly but now he is all recovered. So, here I am now and I have some photos to share of painting, crafting and mail.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love painting and taking classes to feed my interest. Above is a painting I am working on at the moment. I'll finish it in my class on Tuesday. At first I thought of giving it to my mother for Mother's Day but I think I might keep it for myself and give her another painting project I've done. I love the techniques we used for this project and I like the way it is turning out.

Here are a couple of ATCs I made recently for another swap with Natalea from Kandeland. She chose the themes this time. On the left it is Domestic Goddess and on the right it is Romantic Garden/Flowers. I'm happy with the Domestic Goddess ATC but I must admit I struggled with an idea for the Romantic Garden ATC. I hope Natalea likes them. I must say I really love making these though.

I'm also quite happy with this Tilda deco I made for a swap. I LOVE Tilda. The designs are so pretty and delicate.

Here is a Victorian Deco I made for another swap. I like how this one turned out as well.

Here's a Peter Rabbit deco I made for another swap but I'm not completly satisfied with it. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the colours. I hope my partner will like it. I do love Peter Rabbit as well as all of Beatrix Potter stories.

An entry I made for a vintage themed deco.

Here is a Vintage Paris deco I received from a swap partner.

She also made these two beautiful Vintage Easter decos as part of another swap.

And, included some extra decos for me to work on.

A Peter Rabbit deco and extra deco from another swap partner.

Some FBs made for the Japanese members of our swap group to show them we care about the devastation they suffered in March when the earthquake/tsunami hit. These were sent to me by a swap partner.

Two lovely ATCs I received from a swap partner. The theme was Vintage Beauties.

A fantastic letter I received from my friend Claire from New Zealand. She also included FBs and photos.

I also participated in a postcard swap where we sent an artistic postcard to each participant with an inspirational quote written on the back. I have loved finding these postcards in my mailbox.

My friend Molly went to North Carolina for Easter and sent me this postcard.

My friend Susi from Austria also sent me this great letter and some FBs.

I also got another great letter and postcard from my friend Petra from Austria.

My new friend Karena from New Zealand sent me this sweet letter with postcards and FBs.

Here's another great swap I received. My partner made Easter FBs and Peter Rabbit FBs. Aren't they just lovely? She also included some stationary sheets and stickers.

And, another great letter and FBs from another new friend A from Malaysia.

My friend Judy sent this wonderful letter, along with stickers and stationary sheets.

Phew! And, now I have come to the end of this long post. I hope to be back more regularly as I'd like to share more than just mail news. It is 12:30am here now so I need to go to bed. I have packages to put together tomorrow, a meeting with one of Noah's specialists, errands to run and a painting class tomorrow evening. Busy, Busy, Busy...

ATCs, Easter & mail!

2011-04-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well, hello there everyone! I've been busy, busy, busy, as always. I certainly haven't been busy, busy, busy outside because the weather is crappy, crappy, crappy. It has felt more like November than April. Ugh! I'm very fed up with it. However, I remain positive. Life with an autistic child is not always easy either. But, I remain positive, most of the time. And, when I go to my mailbox and find some special mail it REALLY makes my day! :) Here are some of the things I've received this week.

I did an ATC swap with a sweet and talented artist named Natalea (kandeland.typepad.com). Our themes were "Grace" and "Hope". I LOVE her ATCs. I have always admired her artwork so I am happy to be swapping with her.

Another artist I have long admired is Sandy at sandyscreations.blogspot.com. Above is a postcard she created for a postcard swap I joined. You could either make your own or buy an artistic one. On the back we needed to write an inspirational quote. It's a fun and easy swap.

Some Easter cards I made for friends.

Some FBs I made for an Easter themed swap.

A couple of Easter cards I received from some friends. On the right is Susi from Austria's card and the other is Claudia's from Germany.

A wonderful letter from my friend Reiko in Japan who sent some lovely photos as well.

Another wonderful letter from my friend Rosita from Finland. She included some craft supplies and photos. On the bottom left side is an Easter card she made. It is absolutely beautiful as are all of her cards.

And, another wonderful letter from my friend Nicole from the USA. She sent FBs and decos.
I bought a Mixed Media magazine by Somerset Studio that I will happily read tonight and maybe answer a letter. I'll save the crafting for tomorrow. :)

ATCs & mail!

2011-04-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

It is such a beautiful sunny day out there. I'm loving it! I have the entire day to myself except having to teach the kiddies English late this afternoon. I have a load of laundry in the washing machine which I'll hang outside. I love the freshness of clothes dried outside in the spring. It's just a perfect day! Last night I made my very first ATCs ever so I thought I'd share them with you. The first one is themed "Hope" and the second is "Grace". I'm swapping them with a lady named Natalea who is very talented with anything creative. I love her blog (kandeland.typepad.com).

I also received a couple of envies in the mail yesterday. A great letter from my friend Kimie from accross the country. I love the decos she sent as well as the FBs. Always nice to read a letter from Kimie.

I also received these Easter FBs as part of a group swap.

Remember this journal I covered? (sorry about the blurry photo) Well, I've been wanting to keep a journal for some time now and I thought this might do the trick. I've been checking out Gracie's (graciebellabutterfly.blogspot.com )journal pages and now I'm totally inspired. I used to look at the journals in a journaling publication by Somerset and I thought I could never be as creative. I still struggle with accepting my creative side. I'll post some pages once I get started. :)

Animal habitat, mail & cats.

2011-04-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous weekend it has been. The weather has been just perfect. I think spring has finally fought off winter and taken over. Yay! And, I have finally gotten over my cold and other ailments. Double yay! I've had a fairly good week over here, busy as usual. I've started spring cleaning and I've realized it is going to be a BIG task. I also want to do some painting and re-decorating. The decor in this house has been driving me crazy for a while now so time for a change. Isn't it funny how we feel so up for change in spring?! I have some photos I would like to share with you before I start rambling on. He! He! Below is a squirrel's habitat Noah made at school. I think it turned out so nicely and I am a proud mama. You can see the figurine of the squirrel by a pond with fish in the forest. In the sky there is an owl (not seen in photo) waiting to pounce on the squirrel, and then in the bushes a sly fox waiting to feast as well. Cute little story and habitat. :) I received a little mail this week. It's always a pleasure for me to find something fun in my mailbox. When it is empty I feel rather sad and look forward to the next day.

I received such a wonderful letter from my friend Laura from Romania. We swap craft supplies, FBs and decos. I love discovering the little treasures in her enveloppes. Her letters are always such a pleasure to read.

I also received a swap of vintage craft supplies. I love the nice assortment and all will be put to good use.

The same partner also made this vintage themed deco as part of another swap.

I also received this cute Easter card from my friend Lone from Germany. Reminds me I need to get started on my Easter cards.

I found these beautiful Prima flowers on sale at my favourite craft store. I just love them. They are gorgeous.

And, to finish off an adorable photo of my babies Subaru and Mustang. They are sleeping on the washer and dryer. They get comfortable almost anywhere. What sweethearts! Love them!

Have a nice week everyone! :)

Spring, it is not!

2011-04-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

So I've been looking at other blogs where spring has sprung and getting grumpier and grumpier. This is the scene I woke up to this morning. It looks like winter forgot to leave and let spring take over. Grrr... I won't be writing too much here tonight because I have been sick with this cold for two weeks now. Just like winter it doesn't seem to want to leave. Both of my ears are killing me and I have such a sore throat. I can't sleep well at night because I can't breathe. I'm on meds but I'm not sure they're working either. However, thought I'd share some decos/FBs and mail before going to bed.

Here is a Vintage Working Women deco I made for a swap.

A Precious Moments deco I made for a swap.

This is supposed to be a PAP Vintage deco I made for another swap but I'm thinking it doesn't look vintagy enough. I just love the image of the cats and wanted to use it.

A Vintage Gypsies deco I made for a swap.

A Victorian themed deco I made for another swap.

An entry for a Holly Hobbie deco.

An entry for a Bears deco.

Vintage Children FBs I made for another swap.

Vintage Gypsies deco and PAP Vintage deco I received from a group swap.

A wonderful letter and FBs I received from my friend Ulrica from Sweden. I LOVE the Tilda stickers she used throughout her letter.

Another great letter and photos from my friend Stefanie from Switzerland.

A fantastic swap from my friend Johanna from Finland. She sent craft supplies, FBs, decos.

Another wonderful letter from my friend Heegene from Korea. She sent FBs, a deco, photos/ info. and postcards from where she lives.

Look at the beautiful stamps Heegene put on the enveloppe. What a pretty enveloppe!

And, a great letter from my friend Patrizia from Italy. She included stationary/note sheets, stickers and FBs.

And, that's it from me as I'm off to bed now. Zzzzz...

Beautiful paper!

2011-03-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

Yay! It's so sunny outside today and beautiful although quite cool. It has been snowing on and off for the past week so the sun is more than welcome whereas the snow is not. I'll be so happy when spring finally shows itself in true form. Well, it has been a pretty blah week and I have felt so exhausted. I've spent most of the past two days sleeping. Maybe, it's stress, the weather... who knows. I didn't get any mail this week so hopefuly next week will be better. So, I have come up with other things to share. A bit of FB and deco making for my March swaps. Here is a Vintage Housewives deco I made. I like how it turned out. :)

Here are some Vintage themed FBs I made for a swap. Sorry the bottom image is a little blurry. It's actually a cute vintage cats image.

I went to one of my favourite stores and found some beautiful scrapbook paper. I couldn't resist buying a few sheets. I'm hoping to start an "All About Me" scrapbook soon. I used to scrap a lot but haven't in over a couple of years.

This paper is to make my Easter cards. You can't see well with this photo but the paper is so cute.

And, I just had to add this photo of Mustang in the laundry basket. He was sleeping until I came around with the camera. He is so photogenic whereas Subaru is always moving around trying to get into something and Kylie sleeps in the closet to have peace. I never seem to be able to take good photos of either of them. Be back soon hopefully!

More mail & stuff!

2011-03-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

And, now I have a bit of a cold. I'm congested and feel like I am very old with aches and pains. However, I shall not complain too much because it has been so sunny for the past few days. Awe.....just lovely! I have slept a lot this weekend due to my cold but on Friday evening I did meet up with the papercrafts/card group of ladies. We meet once per month which is nice. This time we covered a regular note book with scrapping paper, punched out flowers and added a rubber stamped tag. I really loved how it turned out. It was simple and quick. :) Take a look below.

I do buy supplies regularly but I always seem to forget to share them here. I used to but then I guess I've gotten sidetracked these past few months. I recently bought these really cute flowers at this craft store near my home. I always find such great things there for a good price. It's one of my favourite stores.

And, now it's time for the mail. Here is a beautiful Vintage Housewives deco I received for a group swap. I love the colours and design.

I received this beautiful deco from a group swap as well. This artist from France always does beautiful work.

A Precious Moments deco as part of another group swap. It is really pretty and I love the soft colours.

Two decos, Vintage Valentine and PAP Movie Stars from a group swap. They are lovely.

These Vintage Valentine FBs are absolutely gorgeous. They were also part of a group swap. My partner also sent a postcard and stickers. That was very sweet of her.

Here are pretty Vintage Housewives FBs from a group swap.

My friend Susi from Austria recently traveled to Oman and sent me this pretty postcard.

I received this wonderful letter from my friend Maiken. She also sent two FBs.

And, yet another lovely letter from my friend Molly in New Hampshire. She included FBs and great photos.

I also received this beautiful note card and stickers from my friend Lone from Germany.

So, I'm off to finish up the laundry and then hopefully a letter to my friend Rosita in Finland. :)

The regular stuff!

2011-03-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Thought I'd share my most recent mail with you, as well as a couple of cards I made and a deco entry. I've been feeling rather glum these past weeks and I'm not sure how to drag myself out of this rut. To top it off, this morning I turned my neck the wrong way and pinched a nerve. It hurts and I have to turn my entire body to look on one side because my neck locks. Not fun! I think my mood will change once spring comes around, I hope anyway. Maybe I'm just feeling bored, I don't know...
Here is an entry I made in a Vintage Pin-Up deco.

This is a birthday card I made for one of my friends.

I made this sympathy card for one of my friends who recently lost her cat. I certainly know how it feels to loose a furry companion.

I received this great letter from my friend Beate from Norway. She sent FBs too.

This Vintage Working Women deco comes from a group swap.

Here's a Vintage Valentine deco from another group swap.

Some FBs from another group swap.

A great letter, with photos and FBs from my friend in Australia.

A nice letter from my pal in Spain.

See you next time!