the little things

mixin' and matchin'

Morning all!  Scrappin' talk today!  First, a quick post with some KI lovin'!  I got a chance to sit down and scrap these past few days (two days in a row even! woweeee right!?) hee!  Anyhoo, yesterdays layout was a total mish mash of yummy KI products.  I love it when pages like this come together, they always end up being my favourite.  The mixing and matching of products, to make them work.. when they don't necessarily 'go' together.  That is how I like all things actually.. now that I think about it.. decor, fashion, everything!  So, when I sit down and start grabbing random things.. I am in scrapbooking heaven! hee!

 

You can see product details here in the KI Idea Gallery.

Using the photo from yesterday's post of course. ;)  My favourite part.. the randomness of the black houndstooth! heee!  Houndstooth is one of those patterns that just makes me happy. :)  I will never forget this awesome vintage inspired houndstooth chair I saw in a store in Saskatoon while shopping with my mom.  I gasped when I saw it.. but not so much when I saw the price tag.  Look how scrappy talk migrates to home decor talk.. nice huh?  That is how my brain works lately though.. stay on track right!? ha ha!

The other layout I did is for tomorrow's Focus On.. on the KI blog, so I can't share it quite yet.  I'll share tomorrow. :)

Speaking of KI.. have you seen the CHA sneaks up on their blog!?  I am so excited!  I think they are going to be awesome (as always).. this one in particular has me completely giddy!!

 

OK ok ok.. and this one too!! ;)

 

I am LOVING the colours in the first one up there.. but the patterns shown in the second one *swoooooooon* LOVE!  The turquoise one in the middle.. might need to stock pile some of that! heeee! ;)

Speaking of CHA.. wanna do some chattin' about that too... but I will save it for another post! ;) hee heeee!

Later!! 

little stinker

Every time I turn around (ok.. maybe not every time, but definitely a lot of times! ha ha) she has snagged my iPhone and is 'app-ing' it up! ha!  

 

Good grief!  Did I mention that iPhone made it to her Christmas wish list!?  Knuckle head. hee!  She is 8!  When I was 8.. phones had cords.  Not games.  I think the hugest advancement in gaming around that time was the original Nintendo.. the NES. ha!  Is she going to look back on iphones when she is grown and think how far technology has come.. like I do when I think of the original Nintendo?  Kinda scary when you really think about it.  Remember Game Boys??  Like the old school grey ones!?  They didn't even have colour! ha ha HA!  I wonder what she would think if I pulled one of our old ones out.. cause I think we still have 2... one from when I was a kid, and James' too! heeee!  She would probably think we are nuts. ha!

Oh how I do love technology though. ;)

paint colours

Hi everyone!  Today I am going to do a blog post all about paint colours!  I know I know.. fun huh!?  I have been meaning to do this for ages, and after seeing this over at Making it Lovely (one of my very most favourite blogs) I was totally inspired to do it.  Although, it has still taken me ages!  Why am I doing this?  To help myself really.. when it comes right down to it! lol  One of the most frequent questions I get on the blog or by email.. what colours do I have up on the walls?  I love getting these emails.. I really do!  I love helping people out like that (if you can call it help, cause they may go look at the swatch in person and go "huh!? THAT is what she has on her walls? ewww!" lol  You never know right?)  So, I am doing this post so I can easily refer back to it.  Right now.. I either google a post I did a while ago that mentions a few of the colours.. or I go look at the paint cans.  Not very effective! lol

 

I looked up all of the colours online and took screenshots.. then used the eye dropper tool in Photoshop to get the colours.  So, these colours might not be 100% exact.. but for the purpose of this post.. they should be ok. :)  

Now.. so I can call myself a complete copy cat, I am going to do images of each colour below, as seen in my house.  Because it looks so fantastic on Making it Lovely.. I just can't resist. ;)

 

Office: Anonymous Behr

 

Main living area, hallways, kitchen etc: Sauteed Mushroom Pittsburgh Paints

 

Accent walls in dining room, living room and family room: Stony Fields Pittsburgh Paints

 

 

Exterior doors and kitchen island: Mirage Lake Behr

Above cabinets in kitchen: Aqua Bay by Behr

  

 

Bedroom accent wall and playroom: Jalepeno Pepper Benjamin Moore

 

Laine's room: Strawberry Sorbet Benjamin Moore

 

Harley's room: Blue Jean Benjamin Moore

The Pyramid Yellow from Behr is going to be the colour of my french doors into the office/work space.. still need to paint them though. ;)

Ohhh.. I should probably add, that all of these images have been post processed in Photoshop in some way.. usually I use actions that give an aged look, and desaturate the colours a bit for a more muted tone... so keep that in mind when looking at the pictures (cause you are probably wondering why none of them really match up to the swatches ha ha! ..picture something in the middle, and that is probably the accurate colour lol)  I find that these colours all change so drastically depending on the lighting too.. 

Hope this was somewhat helpful.  I am going to add a link over in the sidebar for easy access.. again, so I don't have to run to the storage room and look at paint cans the next time I need to look up a colour. :)  And besides.. playing around in Photoshop is always fun, even if I am just playing with brush strokes (which are from a kit from 2 Peas by the way.. and can be found here).. fun!  

Later! :)

craft hope

Have you all seen this?  An Etsy store set up with donated items, and 100% of the proceeds made go to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti.  I came across this from another blog the other day.  I know there are numerous ways to help and many options in blog land even.. but I thought I would pop on here and share this with all of you.  As you know, I am a huge fan of Etsy as it is.. so when I see people coming together to help out in any way they can... well, that just kind of spreads around the internet doesn't it? 

This is what caught my eye (so far)..

 

There are so many fantastic hand crafted items listed.. check out the sold items even, so many great things!  This photo/print was only $10.. a small price tag, really.  But, at the moment, there are 442 items under 'sold' ..now, lets say that every item was only $10, that would be a total of $4420 raised so far.  IF every item was only $10 that is!  So, I can only imagine how much has been raised so far!

OK.. so as I was typing this, I checked out the Craft Hope website.. so far they say over $7000.. that is amazing!

I just wanted to pass this on. :)

ummmmm.. eta.... I just picked these up too (it is for a good cause right?), see a theme happening? heee!

my little gold medal winner..

I can't even begin to express just how proud I am of her!  She skated so well, afterward she told me that she concentrated of every single thing she was doing.. and you could tell, she was one very determined little girl!  Her group skated Friday at 2:55 pm, so it meant a day out of school (competition was a few hours away).. by the time we got there, she was a bundle of nerves!  

Here she is in the dressing room about 30 minutes before skate time.. they had to be ready and were told to wait... torture for her!  I could tell she was scared.. this was her first competition, so she really wasn't sure what to expect!

 

She finally gave a little grin and started to look more relaxed as she sat there and listened to a group of older girls sing some silly song.. thank goodness for that! hee!

She did so well on the ice.. I tried to take some pictures, the smudged up glass sure didn't help though! ha ha!

Here are a few..

 

 

 

Yep.. blurry glass. lol  

Here she is just a few minutes after she found out that she WON!  Above her is the sheet with the results.. with her name at the top! :)

 

Oh yes yes yes.. we are very proud of our little girl!!  Such a great experience all around.. winning or not!

 

Eeeeeeeeek!!  SO PROUD OF HER!  Did I say that already? hee heee!  Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

sleep (why do I feel like I am about 100 hours behind?)

Yep, I could sleep the day away today.  Curl up in bed with a book and let the hours pass by.. 

 

My back has been killing me lately, and as much as a day in bed probably wouldn't help me any.. it sure would feel good, until I tried to get up! lol  I got a chance to scrap this past weekend and played with the lovely SC goodies that I ordered from 2 Peas last month.. it was so busy before Christmas, I didn't even get to unpack my box.. tore into it on the weekend though!  I am in love, as I was unpacking the paper and came to this one.. I gasped out loud a little! hee!

 

How wonderful is that huh!?  Yes.. a little late I know, but like I said.. just finally got to open my 2 Peas box that came in December!  So shocking.. seriously more shocking if you know me in real life.. cause if you do ..(or I am sure you have picked up on it here too lol), you know that no matter how much groceries I have to put away, or things that need to be done.. as soon as I am in the door with a package.. it is on the kitchen table and being opened! hee!  Laine knows this all to well, and is usually running for the knife or scissors to open the box before I am even in the door! lol  So to wait until now to open a package.. well, that was just torture! hee! 

My black and white gingham fabric supply is down to the tiniest of scraps.. but I am still finding a use for them! hee!  Fabric scraps are right at home in my 'go to' bowl of fun things on my scrapping desk, that is for sure!!

OK.. so much more to ramble about, but I am going to have to save it for another post... time to head out the door to skating!  

Later!! :)

today is a 'rain day'..

Yep.. that's right, I said 'rain day' ...not a snow day, which you would typically expect during the month of January!  Last night as I was laying bed reading, I heard the rumble on the roof.. the rain was coming down so hard, I could hear it inside!  I know many of you who visit the blog may expect rain this time of year.. but here, January is supposed to be a deep freeze!  So when you hear rain coming down that hard during what is typically one of the coldest months of the year, it is a little worrisome!  To go from -32 the other day to +5 yesterday (James heard +11 in the area as well!).. with rain is just down right crazy!  CRAZY!

When the phone rang at 7:00 this morning, letting me know the buses would not be running.. I really wasn't all that surprised!  All the rain would have done is turned our snow covered back roads into a skating rink! ahhh!  So, back to sleep I went.. didn't even bother waking Laine.  She woke up after 8 and came running into the room in a panic.. "mommy we slept in!" ..it was light out, and we normally get up in the dark, so she was freaked right out! heee!  

As the day went on.. my list of things I wanted to get done today got pushed aside... hard to focus on things when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with the kids!  I caved eventually though.. it will all still be there for me to do tomorrow right?  

Right now, we are in the middle of an Anne of Green Gables marathon.. so so so love Anne of Green Gables.  I haven't watched it since I was a kid, so it is awesome to spend the day watching it with my girl. :)

 

Snuggles on a 'rain day' are definitely the way to go!  Much much much better than anything else I could be doing!  What a great great day!! 

Ohhh.. and about the shoes!!  I found them online at Sterling.. went into the store yesterday to see if they have them... and they don't. :(  Boooo!  They said they will probably get them in soon though.. fingers crossed!! ;)

soooooo cute!

Shoes!  I need these shoes.. oh yep I do! heee!  OK.. 'need' might be a bit of a stretch... by I sure do want them really bad! hee heee! ;)

 

Seriously.. how adorable are those!?  Oh no.. the turquoise obsession knows no limits! ha ha ha!

How is that for some serious blogging this Monday morning!? hee!  I will be back later though! ;)

a year in pictures

2009 was the year that.. (a quick walk down memory lane.. feeling all sentimental this morning! ha ha ha!)  I took 12,655 photos last year (OMG right!?).. out of all of those, here are a few that I feel represent us last year...

This is how the year started out.. we took many many many road trips!  James was working out of town, so almost every weekend for the beginning months.. we would pack up and hit the road.

 

It was chaos I tell you..

 

So glad that is done with.. and fingers are crossed we can get through the winter without it happening again!

It was the year we said bye bye to the suckie and the bottle..

 

It was also the year that, I became obsessed with turquoise.. fitting, since the official colour for 2010 is indeed TURQUOISE!  The print that started it all.. thank you Margie!! ;)

 

Was the year I attempted 365, even though I didn't finish.. I got soo many shots that I probably wouldn't have otherwise.  Like this..

 

and this...

 

James working away meant late lonely nights of internet surfing in bed.. man I am such a wimp, hate it when he is away!  2009 was the year that I realized it isn't the end of the world, and CAN get through the hard stuff and come out on top! :) ..not that I enjoyed that discovery though. ;)

 

Last year was the year that I taught my first online class! 

 

Also the year we got new living room furniture.. definitely a highlight of the year! hee heeee!  

 

2009 was the year that I truly became obsessed with decorating.. a decorating-holic. ;)

 

2009 was the year that our 2 munchkins started to really play with each other.. and do things like have tea parties. :)

 

and dress up..

 

Ohhh.. he is going to love those when he gets older huh!?

2009 was also the year that Laine confidently learned to ride without training wheels.  Poor girl had to learn on a hilly gravel road.. she hung on to those training wheels for as long as she could!

 

The year Thomas joined Harley's Cars obsession..

 

 

The year we built the deck..

 

2009 was the year that we finally got a lawn.  Is was so great to see the grass come in..

 

Nothing like fresh grass under your toes..

 

And we did crazy things like.. writing on mirrors!

 

2009 was also the year of the car line ups.. around the house, different cars, different places... all the time!

 

It was also the year we went on lockdown because there was a bear roaming our yards..

 

The year of horse camp..

 

2009 was the year I turned 29 (again).. ok ok, it was the year I turned 30!

 

It was also the year that we embraced playing in the mud..

 

Picnics and family time..

 

The year Oliver (the lion head rabbit) joined our family (I still can't get over his cuteness!)..

 

The year of Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy..

 

2009 was the year of a few DIY household projects.. like pallet beds and the turquoise island!  ..and a to do list a mile long! lol  So many projects on my mind!

 

 

And it was also the year that I slowly made my way to very dark hair.. saying bye bye to one section of highlights at a time! ha ha! 

 

2009 was a good year.  Thanks to google reader, I was inspired to do this.. and I am glad I did!  2009 was year with it's hard times too.. didn't take any pictures to reflect any of the tough stuff though.  I am a 'happy picture taker'! ha ha!  Seeing these compiled like this, I think it would be great to be able to reflect on the not so happy too.. this year maybe I will improve on that.  Like when Harley empties out the dirt from a plant daily for a week straight (not that he did that or anything ha ha ha).. guaranteed you will see it on here! heee! ;)  You know what I mean. :)

Later!

a morning with photoshop.. and some answers for your questions :)

OK.. so apparently I have too much time on my hands today.  Or I think I do at least.. cause I really shouldn't have spent the entire morning playing around on the net and photoshop.. but I did, and it was fun (a lot of fun.. if only I could snap my fingers and make things happen in real life, as you can in photoshop... ummm, can you say 'bye bye 10 pounds?' ha ha ha).. yes, the entire morning... and I am not going to feel guilty about it!  Nope nope nope! heee!

OK.. to start, here is a picture of our bedroom the other day.  The view of the wall that is shared with the bathroom..

 

Now imagine that I had a million paint swatches on hand (which isn't far from the truth), and imagine that I easily chose one single colour (faaaaar stretch from the truth.. that process usually takes me a week at least! lol).. next imagine that I ran into Home Depot, grabbed a gallon.. came home and prepped and painted the bathroom already. ha ha HA!  Oh if only that were possible! hee!  I did however imagine it myself, and decided to see what it would look like.. without all that work! ha!

Introducing.. aqua bathroom (thank you for the suggestions)! hee!  Yes, I think I have gone from painting the wall to covering the entire room! lol

 

I likey!  You likey?  To get the colour, I only used the eye dropper tool thingie in photoshop, and stole the colour from the throw pillow on the bed.. so I have no idea what colour that would actually translate to.  

Notice anything else different?  Knobs on the dresser maybe? ha ha ha!  Oh yes.. in all my spare time since yesterday, I drove to Edmonton (4+ hours away) and went to the closest Anthropologie! heeee!  Oh it was fun too.. well, it would have been fun if I actually did it, and if I won the lottery in there somewhere.. making a budget non existent! ha ha ha!  But I didn't.. I did however have a blast browsing their online store and getting a million ideas!  See..

 

I envision a random mix of funky knobs on the dressers.. these GORGEOUS yellow patterned sheets and this almost scary ultra funky shag pillow!  It reminds me of the muppets or something. ha!  I love it though!  Now if only I could wrap my brain around spending over $100 on a pillow! lol  Maybe I will find a knockoff somewhere?  The sheets are a wee bit out of budget for now too.. it shouldn't be too hard to find something similar though.  The knobs actually aren't that unreasonably priced (in my opinion).. I find knobs usually run around that much anywhere you go.  Someday maybe. :)  Isn't the owl one cute?  I think just one in the mix would be super adorable!

After a bit of playing in photoshop.. this is what the knobs, sheets and pillow might look like added to the mix... if I didn't have a budget that is! hee!

 

OMGosh.  I might have to buy a lottery ticket. ha ha ha!  Especially since (obviously as you can see) one thing always leads to another with me! hee!  Here is a breakdown of the goodies I found on the Anthro site (I hope these links work.. I always have trouble clicking on Anthro links that I find on other blogs.. I think it is a CDN/US store thing???)...

1. Sheets - Filigree Leaf Sheet Set (in yellow)
2. Pillow - Shaggy Pillow (in gold)
3. Knobs - here, here, here, here and here

Here is that same view.. without all the extras...

 

The more I look at the gold creature pillow.. the more I like it! lol

Since we were imaging.. and doing pretty good at it too right?  Well, I was anyway. hee!  Let's imagine that since I was in Edmonton doing the Anthro trip, I couldn't pass up a chance to go to Ikea!  It just wouldn't be right!

So since I was there.. and we aren't talking budget in this imaginary world... lets pretend I picked up a few of these (one for the bedroom, and one for the bathroom)..

Yeah.. that would be pretty darn sweet in there!!  Ohhhhh boy, it is seriously a good thing I live 4+ hours away from these stores!!  There is some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket right now! heee!

What is that movie where the story gets read out loud by the kids.. and then it all comes true?  The one with Adam Sandler in it?  Bedtime Stories or something?  Wouldn't it be great if there was an alternate universe where 'if you can photoshop it, it will come' ha ha ha!  Can you imagine the possibilities!? hee!  

To answer some questions from yesterday..

1. Where did I get the throw pillows on the bed?  The white and black ones are from Walmart, they are 'Better Homes and Gardens' brand and can be found here.  Canadian readers.. I don't think we can order online can we?  They are in the bedding department in the store though. :)  The turquoise bird pillow is from Winners, which is kinda like a T.J. Maxx in the US I think... designer stuff at discount a store.. a million different brands of things all thrown into one department store.. where you have to dig to find... like a treasure hunt!?  The tag isn't on it anymore, so I have noooo idea where to point you to get another one.  It is made of a silky fabric through if that helps in your search. The green one in front is left over from our last bedding and was bought about 3 years ago, it is originally from Zellers (Canadian department store) and is 'House and Home' brand.  I don't think they have it anymore.  The same goes for the blue and yellow one on the bench.. both are from Zellers. :)
2. What colour is the green paint on the wall? Benjamin Moore 2147-30 Jalepeno Pepper.
3. Where did I get the duvet cover?  Same as the turquoise pillow above.. Winners, and I didn't think to keep the packaging or even try to remember who made it.. so I am noooo help there. :(
4. What colour is the taupe/beige on the walls?  It is Pittsburgh Paints 417-5 Sauteed Mushroom. 
5. Where can you get the 'love' word?  I found it at a local store, which has since closed.. but after a quick search on the net, I came across them here... still not too sure what the brand is (to make searching easier).. all of the script words in the house are from the same manufacturer.. so once I figure it out, I will be sure to post back with that info. :)
6. Where are the dressers from?  Ikea! :)  Can be found here and here.  I don't think they come in that colour anymore though.. we bought them years and years ago.  They do come in white and dark black/brown though.. I think the smaller one comes in more colours yet!  

Hope this all helps!  Sorry I am not much help with the stuff from Winners though.. it is kind of like a needle in a haystack going there! lol  I loooooove it! hee!

OK.. better get back to reality, my fun in photoshop is done for the day. :)  Now you know what I mean when I say I will never ever be done decorating.. there is always something to play around with! hee!  Poor James hey?  Thankfully he is pretty darn accepting of his crazy decorating-holic wife. ha ha! ;)

Later!!

Ohhh.. almost forgot... I will be working on another question/answer thingie... for those still waiting on me (from previous posts).. don't give up!