Thursday, July 24, 2014

Quick Craft Room Organization with Silhouette!


If you have a Silhouette, we've made it super easy for you!  Just print and cut the labels and then you can colour coordinate with the backing colour of your choice!  Add some Glue Dots and voila!  Cute and functional!
This is the general set and can be found on the Silhouette site here.
 We have three sets - I tried to group them by theme, but it's hard!
This is the pen set and can be found on the Silhouette site here.
 All the lettering is done in a casual modern style.
This is the ribbons set and can be found on the Silhouette site here.
Team it up with our Washi Tape Organizer and it's too cute!!


Thanks for stopping in to have a look!
Happy creating, Suzanne

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Celebra'tions with Spellbinders and Quietfire



Celebra'tions Sweet Treats set


I spent a fun afternoon playing with some of the new Spellbinders Celebra'tion line!  There is no question this collection is happy!  The bright colours are completely awesome!  The solid cardstock is 80lb and coordinates with the lighter weight printed cardstock.  Easy peasy to coordinate and you won't spend hours on your project but you have the great satisfaction of having made it yourself!







Instructions: (supply list below)
  1. Stamp polka dotted tag design (included in the set) onto white cardstock with Celebra'tions Odacious Orange
  2. Stamp Quietfire sentiment onto tag.
  3. Die cut the stamped tag using the corresponding die and die cut one tag from the Pretty Plum Cardstock.
  4. Stamp the flower onto the backs of the Celebra'tions patterned paper and one onto white cardstock. Cut out each flower by hand and using whichever side has the funnest colour, attach threaded buttons with Glue Dots.
  5. Cut slit along spine of Cardblank, thread twine through it and wrap around card front several times and tie in a bow.
  6. Attach flowers to card front as shown using Glue Dots. Give to a friend!



Thanks for stopping by!
Suzanne








Supplies:
Spellbinders Celebrations
Odacious Orange True Color Fusion Stamp Pad
Pretty Plum Cardstock
Celebra'tions Prints paper
Sweet Treats Die and Stamp Set
Quietfire Design
Happy Family Days stamp set 
VersaMagic in Purple Hydrangea
Waxed Linen Thread, 4-ply in Plum and Orange and Lemon 
Miscellaneous
buttons




Monday, July 14, 2014

Come Sit With Me - Blind Embossing

Here is an inviting card for anyone you'd like to share time with.





I love blind embossing.  My wedding invitations were blind embossed.  Never heard the term?  I guess it comes from the print industry.  It basically means dry embossing without adding any colour or foil to the embossing.   It must be the subtlety which draws me in.
















I suppose you might say this technically isn't a blind embossed card, but the elements on it are.  Ahem, I did give the park bench a little helping hand with some sponging!




Instructions: (supplies listed below)
  1. Die cut Spellbinders Architectural Accents and Garden Bench from cream coloured cardstock. Sponge bench with Distress Antique Linen
  2. Use Oasis Green VersaMagic to stamp Come Sit by Me, centered, 1-1/4" from the bottom edge of the card front.
  3. Use Tombow 3D Foam Tabs to adhere the bench and the long solid Architectural Accent as shown.
  4. Use Glue Dots to adhere the floral Architectural Accent to the card front as shown.


Gosh, that was easy!  Never underestimate blind embossing - it's so easy and fast with Spellbinders. I don't mean to sound like a commercial but it's so true!  And it's so classy.




 
Thanks for having a look!
Suzanne









Supplies:

Tombow 3D Foam Tabs


Sunday, July 13, 2014

In Celebration of a Life

Nope, no downers here today! The weather is too beautiful.  But this is an appropriate day to post this.
Since my husband's mother passed away two years ago, he has been entrusted with the family "archives".  Well this fed right into his love of research, to the extent that we go to cemeteries on our holidays.  I swear it's his Suduku substitute....  And that's just fine.


I digress. In the building of the family tree, my husband's research led him into my mother's father's family and life.  I knew almost nothing about his early years and it's been a fascinating journey.  But this post isn't about him, it's about his oldest brother, Gordon.

In his 20's Gordon and one younger brother set out from Ontario to the wild west of Alberta.  He was joined by his wife, son and eventually, my grandfather, who was ..... oh, gee, I don't have that here.... maybe 14 years old. I was intrigued. They seemed to be stepping out into the unknown.  With more digging, we discovered Gordon died a year after my grandfather's arrival.  Oh, boy, what a tragic mess that must have been!



Last December we flew to Edmonton to visit our son, and one frigid afternoon we went to the Alberta Archives (let me just say it was about 60C warmer when we visited this month....).  My husband was hoping he could find the homestead they had farmed.  And yes, there it was on an old map.  And there was his brother's homestead, too.  Lives and relationships began unfolding.  At my insistence, we also looked for and found Gordon's death certificate.  Did he died as a result of a freak farm accident?  No, nothing so dramatic, he died of an appendicitis, which seems more tragic.

As the months went on, we learned that Gordon was not stepping into the void in Alberta.  There was a collection of families all from Essex county in Ontario (such as Asa Ford, the name seen on the map bordering the two Renno homesteads) that were already there when Gordon set out.  We continue to find stories by others that include the Renno family members' names.  After Gordon's death, his wife and two children moved to Chilliwack, BC.  His brother continued to farm for a while and my grandfather became skilled as a blacksmith, which he continued as a hobby till his death. My grandfather moved back to Ontario after about 5 years, changed his last name to its original spelling (Renaud), went to school and graduated from McMaster.

Two weeks ago, on a day when it felt like you could touch the clouds, we stood on Gordon's homestead outside Innisfail, Alberta.



So why am I posting this today?  Today is the 112th anniversary of Gordon's death.  Last Saturday we were a few minutes late to get into the Innisfail library, so my husband suggested we go look in the oldest part of the cemetery just across the street.  We had no idea if we'd find anything - especially Gordon's grave as we didn't know where he was buried. It could be on the farm, in another cemetery and who knew if it was even marked?  But my husband found it.

There he was, parts of his headstone difficult to read.  I wonder how long it's been since someone visited him? 


In memory of
Gordon E Renno
died
July 13, 1902
Aged 30 years
and 10 months

Though lost to sight, to memory
dear







 
 It's such a shame that we don't ask more questions when family members are still living. But it's been a fascinating view into history.  Maybe we appreciate it more when we have to work for the information allowing our imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Thanks for reading!
Suzanne