Only I...

would come home from one vacation in sunny Mexico and start thinking about the next one in two weeks. But in my defense it's a birthday party for family. Below is a fuzzy photo shot at night from the pool while everyone's busy getting ready for dinner.

The pool at nighttime with the sea in the background. 

Cancun, Mexico

Anyway, I wanted to update you on all of June's specials! I have card images sitting on my phone that I need to post but haven't gotten around to it, and I can't believe we're in mid-June already.

This month features the My Crush books! They're awesome for quick scrapbooking or even travel journaling. I'm going to grab one for my next trip; I used to grab all the flyers and brochures to scrapbook with when I was younger; they were free!

Each book has it's own specially printed backgrounds with a coil binding and comes with matching assortments for you to customize the book to how you see fit. And the best part? You get a free stamp set which matches all of that!

You can find all the photos for these products in the 2014-2015 Annual Inspirations Catalog! 

Speaking of catalogues, the Annual Inspirations catalog has been extended from July to August, but after that some products will be retired to make room for new product! If you'd like to get this list, contact me and I will be happy to send that to you. 

Last, but never least is the stamp of the month: Ice Cream Dream. 

I have to get this one for the sentiment alone; ice cream is perfect for everything from bad days to celebratory days! Isn't that puppy dog totally cute for cards and other projects?

I'm enjoying the beautiful June weather, I hope you are too!

First Class Birthday

I am back from a fabulous holiday in beautiful Malta, on the Mediterranean Coast. It was warm, the food was fantastic, the company was awesome, and I'm left wondering if I want to move or not :) If you do go and see one thing, go see Comino - the waters are just unreal but prepare for a large amount of tourists! And this photo is just from my iPhone... so you can imagine photos do not do this place justice.

 Comino & Blue Lagoon - an island belonging to the Maltese Archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea

My brother in law is a huge fan of planes... which means, I use a specific set: Horizons over and over again. I'm hoping to expand my collection of plane stamp sets eventually. However, this time I had accidentally double ordered a set for a customer of mine that included a first class fun tag - just perfect for the same flight theme.

Inspiration: http://stempelwiese.de/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/geburtstagskarte-stampin-up-rosette-sonnenblume-031012.jpg

I hauled out an old set of the Level 2 Assortment from Lucky to finish this off. After all, doesn't everyone dream of flying first class one day? I wanted to play a bit more with distressing, so I crumpled up some paper towel and went to town with Barn Red, Autumn Terracotta and Outdoor Denim.

On the inside, I used one of the borders that you can cut off the 12 x 12 patterns from Skylark. Some left over goodies from my workshops that went awesome!

Other:
* Cream Cardstock

CTMH:
* True To Life Stamp Set
* You Are My Happy Sentiments Set - retired Constant Campaign
* Card Chatter Birthday Set - retired
* Horizon Set - retired
* Dreams Come True - retired
* Skylark Level 2 Paper Pack
* Barn Red Ink
* Outdoor Denim Ink
* Autumn Terracotta Ink
* Goldrush Ink
* Lucky Level 2 Chipboard Assortment
* Designer Ribbon Blue Collection - retired
* Blue / Green Epoxy Adhesive Bubbles

Where did the heat go?

Happy New Year!!

Wow I can't believe it has been a month since I updated my blog, but for a lot of good reasons which include family, Christmas, sunshine and wine. I was at the family summer home in Hermanus, South Africa for most of Dec. And boy, was it hard to leave but all good things come to an end.

This is overlooking the ocean from Hermanus - in the right season you can see Southern Right Whales which this town is known for. The blue umbrellas is from Bientang's Cove, a resturaunt that I have yet to try.

Happy 2014!! I'm hoping to post more pictures of cards and be more frequent with the blogging but that is goal #4 of 4 I have for this year. Also hoping for a quieter year with many successes.

The first thing I want to tell you about is that it is National Papercrafting Month!!

With an order of $35CAD or more, you can get this fantastic kit for only 15$. It includes everything you need to make 10 cute cards for all sorts of occasions.

And last but not least the stamp of the month: Cross Stitch Wishes.

As always, get this beautiful stamp with an order of $50 or more for only 5$! This would be neat to dress up Valentine's cards and scrapbook layouts.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

We interrupt our regular scheduled programme for some sad news.

We said goodbye to a special member of our family last weekend.

Spikey has been declining in health for some months now and we have done several rounds of vet visits, tests and medications in hopes we could fix him. However, his little body gave up on us this past weekend and we felt that it was time to let him go. He had such a big heart and an even bigger personality.

Relaxing in bed in his favorite spot - Mommy's lap

We love you Spikey and you have blessed us for six years (he turned 10 this year) ... may you find health and happiness where you are headed next and we'll see you again some day.

Underwear Affair - 5K/10K run for Alberta Cancer Society

As you know, the Alberta Cancer Society is one of the nearest and dearest foundations to my heart. I did lose all four grandparents to this disease. Last year I shared card posts with you regarding my uncle, who was 10 years cancer-free only to have it return in full force.

I also did not mention that last year my favorite and closest Aunt also developed colon cancer. After a year of watching her be brave, strong, and face this with amazing positivity, she actually beat the dang thing. And so, that inspired me to run the Underwear Affair hosted in Calgary, AB this year.

 

Not only is it my first 10K in 7 years, but it will be fun as my husband is also joining me. It promises to have a lot of crazy costumes, underwear (well, of course!!) and lots of laughter. 

My goal is to raise $500 but I'd love to go past that! If you even have a dime to spare, I'd be grateful - donate here at http://cl12.uncoverthecure.org/goto/sandraandersen

I'll try to get a few photos if I can - and figure out what to wear! 

Pets and Paper

If any of you own a mischevious pet this likely has happened to you.

a) Doggy thinks it's cool to take off with newly created card, swallow all the minature rhinestones on it and have the grace to look abashed when you turn your "bad puppy!" look on them.

b) The card you are about to give away has an additional 'embellishment' on the centerpiece of the front of the card - teeth indents!!

c) You swear you are in posession of two CTMH sponges. Two. And you need both of them... as you're scratching your head you realize your kitty has his/her teeth hooked in and is slowly sneaking away with one of them.


My lesson learnt, for me anyway is not to scrapbook on the floor, no matter how inviting the size of the space looked; unless if I feel like chasing kitty down for all of my scrapbooking supplies which he takes off with. Did I mention I would also prefer not to have to dig under the couch for my paper piercer, either?

Disclaimer: Stories a & b were from a secondary source, but the mischevious pup is still one of the most darling ones I know!!