Stayed away a little too long!

Sorry about that..... I've just been so busy with this and that, and didn't even think about posting here!

So, first of all, a very happy New Year to all of you! Hope you've had a good one! and that this year may even become better!

The only thing I've been doing for the past few weeks is making a start at Christmas cards/tags for this year, here's just a couple of them!

Altered box, Award and a layout.

From a friend of mine, Jacqueline, I got the idea to alter a wooden box and put all my vintage goodies in there. So, I went to the Dollarama, bought a box, and started having fun.

The outside is painted kind of "old green" and I decorated it with an old line of scrapbooking paper I found. Used some stamps and flowers, and made my own thickers using foam and the sidekick!

The inside of the lid is decorated with paper too, and I glued some old fashioned looking ribbon along the sides and finished the corners off with buttons.

On the outside are some paper strips, stamped with a border stamp. (I used Tea Dye distress ink for all the stamping.)

And this is what's inside......all the vintage goodies I got from friends in the Netherlands! I'm so happy with it, and now I have to clean up my desk again to give it a nice spot!

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It's award time again, I love those, and I especially love this one!!! Elly gave it to me, just because she thought I deserved it..... thanks so much girl, I really appreciate it!

Now I'm supposed to pass it on to 6 other people..... which is getting harder and harder, because I love each and every one I visit and who visits me. All your blogs are so inspriring and you all deserve an award like this, so..... consider yourself awarded by me and take it!

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Some posts ago, after Christmas I showed a collage of all the Christmas pictures I made last year! I had it printed, and used it for a layout, cause I had so much, that it's almost impossible to use them all, besides in a mini-album and I didn't want that:-)
The layout is a lift from one I saw on the internet, but I have no clue who made it.


I used some rub-ons I got a long time ago, they are in silver, so kind of hard to see. Grungeboard stars, painted silver, and a piece of lace.

And this is the layout.. kind of "busy" with all the pictures in one, but..... I still like it very much! The papers used are Basic Grey Wassail, and "made-myself-thickers" again.

The vintage looking picture I found on the internet and printed it, looks kind of nice I think!

Thanks for stopping by again!

Suprise mail and New Years Dive!

My first post of the year 2009 and I want to wish you all the best, good health, luck, joy and lots of creativity!

The last day of the year I got a very nice surprise in the mail!

This cutie Christmas card, made by Linda, I love it..... great idea to use a beercoaster for a card, gotto keep that in mind!

But..... there was lots and lots more in the envelope!! Look at that cute skull stamp, my gosh, I'm in love!! And all the vintage pictures... jute..... doilies.......

Music paper with old Dutch childrens' songs, and the pictures with poems on it.... Linda, I told you already, thanks so much, I love it all and I'm sure I will make some nice layouts with all this!

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Today, the first day of the New Year, there are a lot of countries that have the tradition of the New Years Dive! We had it in Holland, but... here in Canada they do too, and not far from where we live, about a 10 min. drive, friends of ours live in Port Dover, which is situated at Lake Erie. Very good place for a dive...... but with temperatures at about -15 C. I can tell you, it's very very cold too!

Egbert, our friend, wanted to do this for years and years but just never got to it, until today! He had asked Henk to join him, but.... not that Henk chickened out,...... he just thought it was a little too cold for him, so he stayed on the safe side!


A lot of people from all around the area gathered at the lake, it was just great to see the enthousiasm of everybody, participating in the dive, or just watching and cheering!

And there he goes, off to his first dive in ice cold water!!!

And a lot more people joined him!! We wanted to get closer to the lake, but it was not doable for me, I was kind of scared, cause it was all ice you had to walk on, really very slippery, and I was just too afraid to fall. So, somewhere in this picture, Egbert is walking the last couple of meters to the water!



AND HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! Very cold, could hardly feel his legs, but.......oh so proud of himself, and.... so are we!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, have a Merry Christmas,

and a very happy, healthy and joyful New Year!

I don't have those wonderful pictures with the kids, so I just thought I'd keep it in the Vintage style this year!

News * Car trouble * Sneak * Cards

Again it's been a while since my last post, but... I've got a good reason for that!!! Since last Monday, I've got a job!!!!!!!!! Through some friends who helped me, I'm working at a printing and publishing company, and it's a nice start back in to the working world! Hard..... 8 hours a day, and as I haven't had a job in 2,5 years, that's pretty tough. This week I made 22,5 hours... standing on my 2 feet and boy, does that make you tired. But, you have to get used to everything again, it's nice to be out of the house and to meet new people, do something and earn my own money! The rest of the week I'm off, and even the whole next week..... all of a sudden there is not much work..... nice to get back into work..... a week off and no pay:-) Hopefully this won't last long, cause then I have to get used to it again ha, ha!

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This morning I had planned to go to Brantford, needed some cardstock and... a new Crop-a-Dile because my dearest husband thought it was possible to use on a broken suitecase handle..... Well, I can tell you.... it is deffinately not possible! It broke.... and I could throw it out!

Ok.... we, Marloes and I, were almost out of Simcoe and all of a sudden the temperature meter of the car flew up into the red mark....... Man.... I was scared...... I know how to drive a car, but the technical part of it is abracadabra to me! Anyway, I parked the card, turned the engine of.... and sat..... thinking what to do... Decided to go back home, cause I don't like to have an overheated engine while I'm on the road, and....... my cellphone is at home!!!! As soon as I started the car.... back into the red the meter went....... shoot..... now I really started panicing and so was Marloes! On the way home is the garage, so I drove there and told my problem! "Yep" the guy said..... "look at the street...... the fluid is poring out of your car....this must be the radiator hose!" Sure...... stuff like that always happenes to me and I can tell you, it's not funny! I guess he felt sorry for me, took the car into the shop, got a mechanic and..... in half an hour it was fixed! Geez, I could kiss the guy!! My car worked again, no overheated engine anymore, pfew what a relief!! We could continue our roadtrip LOL Got my cardstock and a new Crop a dile, also I finally got my long wanted Heidi Swapp distresser, and...... I found the cutest stampset by Inkadinkado with all these cute Holiday whishes for only $ 11,--

Isn't it cute? I'm sure going to use this on my Christmas cards!

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Here's a sneak of my Travel Journal! I started this before I got my job, had big plans but..... no time LOL.

Well, this up coming week I will have plenty, so hopefully I can show more soon!

And the last thing for today, 3 more cards I made last week.... always the same Christmas stamp, I know, it's the only one I've got:-)) But... if you use different pp on every card, it's just one of a kind don't you think?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

X-mas ornament

This beaded ornament was made by Anouk about 2 weeks ago! She went with a friend downtown, to a store "I made it Myself" and it is the most wonderful thing in my tree! Why? Because.... she made it herself!

Why do I post this? Because Birgit asked for it, and you can win a RAK, and I love RAK's he, he! So better post it, cause you never know!

X-mas '06

Every 2 weeks there is an online crop at the Dutch Freestyle group, they start at night, for me it's still afternoon then. But, yesterday when they had the crop, I still didn't feel good, so decided not to play along..... Today.... I did my version of the lift LO.

As you can see, you had to use lots of buttons, and my stash is really small (need new ones, very very soon!) So, I took out my sidekick, and used my button thingies which I hadn't used in ages!

Added some stripes and dots, and hey, they look like buttons don't they?

Used a template for the scalloped edge, and some rub-ons for the title and I was done! The photo is the Christmas card I sent last year!

A card and a photoswap.

After spending about an hour at the dentist yesterday, and having lunch with a half frozen mouth, I thought I might as well make another Xmas card!

This one is for someone who became a very good and dear friend in a short time, I know she loved the other one I made last week, so dear Jenny, you will find this in your mailbox.....hopefully before Christmas. Have to get a lot of stamps first!

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It was time for another photoswap, and Michelle and me agreed to have one. She sent me a great photo and I'm done! Here's a sneak girl, can't wait to mail it to you, and more important, can't wait to see what you did with my photo!!

Ok, it doesn't reveal much.... but that's why it is a sneak peek!!

X-mas cards!

I really don't know what has gotten into me, but..... I made 4 cards the last two days! All the wonderful scraps of Basic Grey's Blitzen and Dasher were yelling at me, and I had to do something with it! So here's the first one, saw it on the internet as a card from a cardkit and lifted it as good as I could.

(click on the cards to get a better view)

This one, ok, lifted too, Nancy makes such wonderful cards, in bright colors, which I don't have, but......I thought this looks kind of cool too!

Marije, another talented scrapper and cardmaker, had something like this on her site, and.... I used her idea, and my own paper:-)
I think it turned out quite nice!

And this is an idea of Marije too, I asked her permission to lift it, cause I thought this was a wonderful card, with such nice quotes on it.... and mom, this one is for you!!

TFL and have a great day!

Christmas Day

's Morgens om 9 uur begonnen, het maken van de stuffing, met mushrooms, amandelen, ui, paprika, sellery, brood, bouillon, en maar husselen en de Turkey vullen!

Na de koffie en lunch bij Grace te zijn geweest, was de Turkey klaar, en boy, wat zag ie er lekker uit zeg! En hij smaakte ook nog eens erg lekker, met de mashed potatoes, veggies, cranberries....... ja, een zeer geslaagde 1e Kerstmaal in Canada!

Lekker eten en na een half uurtje de Lemon Pie, zelf gemaakt!!! en errug lekker!!

En nog even wat foto's van ons! Om het thuisfront niet te laten vergeten hoe we eruit zien! Mam, ik heb je gemist gisteren, heel erg, maar de dag was toch erg gezellig, 's avonds nog naar Henk's tante geweest, met neven en nichten, en daar vreselijk veel plezier gehad! Ja, onze eerste Christmas in Canada was toch, ondanks gemis van mensen uit Nederland, gezellig!

Christmas Eve

Zo brachten wij Christmas Eve door, dobbelen om een 6, 3, 1 of wat dan ook en dan een pakje uitzoeken voor een ander! Beregezellig, en lekker lang bezig geweest!

Een van de kado's die ik kreeg, een lekkere warme fleece plaid voor de koude avonden!

De meiden allebei een favoriet luchtje!

Henk een "desperately needed toolset"

Ready............set..............GO!!!!!!

En dan allebei hetzelfde kado uitpakken en razend enthousiast!

Merry Christmas!