Enjoying a sunshine recovery :)

It has been wonderful to have life finally s-l-o-w down!! We've been recovering from the months of chaos and enjoying the warm/hot weather here in the Okanagan. Soon we'll be planning our adventure south (which we hope to take this fall -- too hot now!!). Our house has officially SOLD! What a wonderful thing!! It'll be through at the end of July, so the happy dance will take place on August the 1st! :)

I also won a wonderful prize over at Joshua Jiraffe Designs' blog! Here's what I won:

Yes, this AMAZING gift (she even included the darling covered box!!) I ooh'd & aaah'd over EVERYTHING. She even added in extra bonuses! These absolutely darling Christmas tags (in a box!) check them out HERE. Aren't they fabulous?! I just LOVE them and I will ABSOLUTELY be using them next year (and I hope to case the idea for gifts myself!) Karen you were BEYOND generous with your gift. I love everything - all the buttons and embellies, the scrumptious ribbons, the darling stamp set, there was an adorable heart box covered with beautiful pink/brown papers (my favorite color combo!!!) -- I will seriously use EVERYTHING! Just what I needed after the last few months - a box full of inspiration & fun! So THANKYOU!!! You must all go check out here blog, here's the link again: JOSHUA JIRAFFE DESIGNS. She has amazing talent & inspiring ideas!!
I haven't done much stamping here.... one card I think, but I do hope to change that next week. While hubby is home for the week we devote that week to family time (boys are out golfing right now!) and then when he's gone I have a bit more time. Hope to set up some stamp time with my Mom next week and get going again. I do want to get scrapbooking, but my printer for some reason didn't make it on the truck (WAAA!!!). It's sitting in the storage unit up in Fort Mac. LOVE having a photo printer and not having to sit and order online... all ONE SIZE. BLEK! So... bummed about that. Need to get some photos though so I can scrap!

As school winds down, how is everyone doing? Drop me a line! :)

Enjoy your week,

.j.

A weekend home.

It's so nice to be here, enjoying the warm days and relaxing after a crazy few months. The cherry on top was that yesterday our house SOLD! A couple months before they move in and it's DONE, but sold - oh how wonderful that feels!!

Hubby is away, but flying in for the long weekend (yahooo!!) and then we celebrate my Dad's 60th - whoa, how did that happen?! We enjoyed a full afternoon at the park (above) yesterday and today we're off to the airport to pick up Daddy. It's a goooooood day!

Hope you are enjoying yours!

.j.

A Simple layered card.

I made this card about a month ago with my shop-aholic friend's birthday in mind (not mentioning any names, you know who you are! LOL). You'll see the waterfall punch {again} on this card. Love it. I think I need to look for another border stamp though... I love the crispness of the white cardstock. The white rub-on are from Stampin' Up! I love how they come in white, green, brown & black. I colored the image in with my Copic Markers {yes, they came too!} - and made it into a very simple, layered card. A few brads running down the edge and a rub-on sentiment completes it. :)
I hope you're having a happy day - the weekend is around the corner already! David is away (back to commuting {insert much sadness here}) so I think the kids & I might go to the movies this weekend - a special treat for them! :) Any recommendations? They totally want to see Monsters Vs. Aliens.
.j.

Chocolate Raspberry Squares

I thought it has been awhile since I posted something sweet :) This yummy square fits perfectly!

Chocolate Raspberry Squares

1-3/4cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup Margarine, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 cup red raspberry jam

1 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup sliced almonds

MAKE IT:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 pan.
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly combine flour & sugar. Cut in margarine ( you can use a pastry blender, I just use my hands) until mixture is crumbly. Add egg and almond extract; mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside 1 cup of flour mixture for topping.
3. Press in remaining flour mixture into prepared baking dish. Evenly spread raspberry jam over dough.
4. Thoroughly combine reserved flour mixture, chocolate chips and almonds. Evenly spoon topping over raspberry jam & press with the back of a spoon.
5. Bake 40 min. or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on a rack. Makes 2 doz.

Tuesday Tidbits

A hippo. Flamingos. A goofy Gorilla.

We had such a great time on our travels & stopped in for a full day at the Calgary Zoo. The kids were amazed at all the animals - Need to work on a scrapbook page for that day!

Oh, and ....

A couple of websites you'll want to check out -

1. The Buck Stamps Here
2. Jennifer McGuire Ink

Enjoy your day,

.j.

The Replacement.

A few small differences on this card that I quickly made yesterday, hiding in my room so she wouldn't notice :) LOL. I didn't drag out {her} cuttlebug to make my tan circle and of course the design paper is different, a little bolder. I thought {in a pinch} was good :) We had a wonderful day, spoiled & pampered and just AHHHHHHhhhhhhhh.... love those kind of days. I guess they're so special because them come like...ummm.... once a year!

What did you do this past weekend?

.j.

Happy Mother's Day.

Here's the non-simplified version of the same card. :) I added some design paper (Stampin' Up!) and for the tan circle, I used my cuttlebug & nestibilities to give it a scalloped edge & embossed layer. I sewed on a few buttons from my stash as well. My Mom got me those darling flower buttons (this card is for her) and I thought the soft purples would go well together. BUT.... as I've searched AND searched for the special place I put this card... I simply CANNOT find it now. Here I thought I was all prepared ahead of time so yesterday I was scrambling to get a card pulled together to give her with the stash of supplies I brought with me... I'll show you the card next week.

We had a big "Easter" turkey dinner yesterday (love how my family waited for our arrival to include us in the feast - isn't family wonderful!!!) so now we're basking in Mother's Day today - hope you are enjoying yours!
.j.