End of January

Well I missed blogging yesterday since I was down in Watertown visiting 2 of my sons & my granddaughter. Today I was in Illinois at my 1st crop and I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was but I will tomorrow. I haven't gotten much sleep in the past 3 days and the last 30 minutes driving home were really rough so I'm heading to bed and I will talk to you all next month (tomorrow...ha ha)! I did see a really bright shooting star tonite and that too was amazing.
So don't forget to stop back tomorrow cuz tomorrow nite I will draw for the RAK of Fiskar Goodies.

Making Calendars

I spent many hours making a calendar for my mom and myself. I truly enjoy doing it and love that even tho my mom is far away she can connect with me everyday when looking at a calendar filled with pictures of family. This is the first year I've taken the time to make myself one too so I'm going to post a few pictures for everyone to enjoy.

Also wanted to say that tomorrow, Friday, I will be heading down to Watertown to see some of my sons and grandchildren. Our Wisconsin weather has not been cooperating and I'm actually bringing down their Christmas presents. I'm gonna spend the night in town and then on Saturday I will be driving with another gal to Illinois to Betsy's crop. I am so looking forward to meeting some Fiskateers in person after talking to them online. I'm sure it will be a fun day but I doubt if you will see me blog tomorrow. I can't believe that will be the 1st day I miss this month.

Another online crop day!

In honor of CHA, Fiskars had another online crop today & there are allot of fun challenges going on. I actually made quite a few cards which is something I tend to put off until I actually need one. The other day they had a black & white challenge something I have never attempted before and I think it turned out quite nice. I used some foil trimmed black letters and I used a really pretty piece of black lace behind the picture of my dad & I. The center of all the flowers have a heart shaped brad and the top of the layout has a black piece of ribbon that says Cherish, Love, Adore. I was only 13 when this picture was taken and I was wearing my most favorite outfit in the world which was a suede mini skirt with a matching fringed vest. Odd how there are some things you never forget and that outfit is one of them. The nice part about this blog is that my mom, who is in Arizona, can read it and see wonderful pictures and memories like this which I'm sure will bring a smile to her face. I love ya Mom!

1 month anniversary RAK

I am totally enjoying my blogging experience and I appreciate all who read & especially those who leave comments! On Feb. 1st this blog will be one month old and at the end of that day (Superbowl Sunday) I will randomly choose a name from comments left between now & then. The winner will receive this lovely goodie bag including raindots, ribbons, rubons, flowers and clips. So leave a comment on what you would like to see more of or less of or just comment on the blog of the day but I do love reading each and every one of them.

Monday all day!

This morning I shipped out 6 boxes of Fiskar goodies and I'm sure there will be some happy people later this week when their packages arrive. After a nice lunch at Applebee's with my darling husband who took the day off , I came home and packed some more boxes but I am finally making a dent and have filled all my orders so far. So tomorrow after another run to the post office I am going to put together a RAK to celebrate that My blog is gonna be one month old. Pop in tomorrow and check it out...........until then stay warm .... we have another night of temps below zero.

Have you ever done an online crop?

It is so much fun because you never leave your house and you can do it in your jammies! Fiskars is having an online crop today and Wednesday to celebrate CHA which is going on right now. So every hour there are different challenges usually to make something but sometimes just to chat. It's a very busy day spent with your online friends. At the end of the day they draw random winners and you just never know what you might be getting in the mail for a prize but it is always "happy mail" and if it comes from Fiskars I guarantee you are going to like it!

I spent most of the morning packing boxes to send to other Fiskateers that couldn't be here in frigid Wisconsin for the big sale the past few days. And being part of the Fiskateer family you want to share the good deals that you found and make someone else happy. I packed up 6 boxes to mail out and I have a few boxes to take to Illinois next week-end when I go to my 1st real live crop that another Fiskateer, Betsy, is holding. Good news is I still have stuff left so if anyone is interested in buying some wonderful stuff at totally amazing prices from Cloud 9, Heidi Grace or Litl Davis just send me a message. Here's a few pics of a more organized table with hopefully better lighting too. Enjoy your evening!

Fiskars Sale Part 2

Well I woke up this morning with a back ache..........too much shopping I guess and the temperature was -7 BRRR! but guess what I ended up going back to the warehouse sale again! Yes, I told a couple of gals about it and they saw my table full on my blog so I went back there late this morning. You wouldn't think so many people would be out shopping in the cold but they were. Here it was almost noon & we could hardly find a place to park. It was a little disappointing to go in and see how much it had been picked over in just 24 hours. The lines to check out went up and down 2 aisles and around the corner yet and this time I checked out for under $20 where yesterday it was over $300. But we all found some goodies and had a nice time chatting about our hobby...........tomorrow's job will be to sort it out, pack up boxes for friends who placed orders and see what's left over. Hopefully I will get some pics on here for what is still available if you are interested and I think there is a RAK coming. So if I don't freeze into a Popsicle tonite when the temp goes to -20 I will be back tomorrow with more pictures and information.

Fiskars Warehouse sale

Today I got up early and headed out of town to a warehouse sale at Fiskars. This is the 3rd one I have been too & I was not disappointed. Even tho you had to get there early, stand in line in the cold and snow just so you would be lucky enuf to get some sort of pushcart. It was well worth it and I shopped for some of my Fiskateer friends in other states so I came home with boxes and boxes of stuff. I do have it all sorted out on my dining room by the different lines like Cloud 9, Heidi Grace, Kim Polsum etc. Tomorrow I will start packing up orders for friends and you never know some might even show up here on my blog for sale. Bargains were definitely there to be had.

Easy Projects

When I am shopping and I see a good price on something ordinary like a notebook or journal, I like to pick them up for future altering. Last year at this time I decided to make myself a Christmas book that I could keep track of cards & gifts. I usually have lists laying somewhere but don't always find them in time to keep me from making an OOPS like last Christmas when I gave 1 son John Deere ornaments and his wife said something like "you gave us those last year too". I could have sworn I gave them to a different son so guess I'm not trusting my memory anymore and now writing it all down. It was pretty easy to cover the book with Xmas paper, add some embellishments and pretty ribbons. It even has a spot for its own pretty red glitter pen.

The other gift I made was this pretty clipboard that came plain for $1 but now that it is all prettied up you would never guess that. I gave it to my ex-boss at Lands End where I worked last year up to Christmas. I know sometimes the ordinary chores don't seem so bad when you have something pretty to help you along! Now I just need to make myself one!

The Love of my Life

I have spoken about my sons & grandchildren but don't think I have said much about my wonderful husband who is the love of my life. I was working on a calendar for us yesterday and when I got to the month of September I was thinking what kind of pictures should I use and then it hit me that it would be our 10th wedding anniversary! So out came the wedding pictures and I started thinking about the trip we would be planning to go to Niagara Falls to celebrate. I love waterfalls and it just don't get any better then this or so I hear as we have never been there. I found these 2 layouts that I did.......one was about our wedding and the other was my husband all dressed up in a tux for my son's wedding. It is so rare for that to happen and a guy always looks so awesome in a tux and my husband was no exception! I kept both of these layouts simple because the paper was just so beautiful. Enjoy and thanks for looking!

Vacation Album

Good Morning on this special Inauguration Day and I am proud to be part of history even if it is only through the tv today!

Last summer my mom & Bob drove up in a mobile home from Arizona and spent 3 weeks golfing around this area. We had a nice little family reunion with my brother Tony flying in from Texas my brother Norm stopped by on his way back to Nevada and my brother Andy & his fiancee Genne from Madison were here for a few days. I wanted to remember the fun time so I made my mom an album before she left and then this is the one I made for myself. It did come in a kit so it has been next to impossible to find except online........It is a 8 1/2 x 11 portfolio that not only has a flap to the cover (I put 2 brads on and ribbon for closure) but it also has 2 flaps on the inside. Check it out..........it turned out so neat! I loved making the little mini albums inside which actually holds almost 20 pictures. You know that feeling sometimes when you make something from a kit and say "how pretty" but never would make it again well this is NOT one of those! I went store to store the following week thinking I could find these folders in an office supply store but no luck. You can see on the left side I made a pocket to store special items I collect. I hope you all like it as much as I do! Have a nice day!

Card Making

My goal for this week after getting some paperwork & cleaning done is to make cards! I drool over some of the cards I see online & in the gallery at Fiskars and I even save pictures for future inspiration. Believe it or not I just downloaded them all onto a CD so I could watch them in my craft room. I have all the supplies and embellishments but when I sit down it's like I feel I need directions UGH! or is that called "crafters block"? Valentine's Day is coming so I have lots of supplies waiting for me to create something wonderful. I will leave you with a few pics of previous cards I made.

Halloween Mini Book

Yesterday I shared the special day that Allayah was born 7 years ago and today I'm gonna show you the little mini book I created when she was here almost 3 months ago. It was the first time we had her for Halloween so we got to take her trick or treating and a hayride. The weather was great and we had so much fun with the "little princess". I made this book for her before she went home so she could share it with her mom and remember the fun time she had. It actually turned out so cute that after she left I had to make myself one and 1 for the guy who drove the hayride wagon.

WINNER OF FISKARS PUNCH!

Yes we finally did that 50th post and by random drawing the winner is.............drum roll please......we all hold our breath............NADINE! So today my blog is 2 weeks old and I have my first winner. Congrats Nadine........contact me with your information!
Stay tuned for another RAK coming up after my big shopping trip to the Fiskars Warehouse sale next week! Thanks for stopping by Cafe' Louise........hope you are enjoying my memories, my projects and my ramblings!

My granddaughter Allayah

Well yesterday I was telling you about Allayah who is the first girl in 3 generations and how dear she is to us. She was born 7 years ago to my 2nd oldest son Tory and his girlfriend Sarah and they actually lived with us for that 1st year so that bond is even more special. We lived in a huge loft above my coffee shop Cafe' Louise so she spent time with us down there also & my customers also cherished this little one.

I did this layout of that special day when she was born and the 1st time my son ever got to hold his daughter. I was fortunate to be there during the labor & birth of my first 2 grandchildren and it meant the world to me! And being the proud grandmother I came with camera to record this special event.

Being the first girl you can imagine all the pretty little dresses and stuff I got to buy and all the pictures I took. I loved having a baby in the house....all the baby stuff.......and I never minded "babysitting" especially when I could take her to work with me. I never would have thought that not long after her 1st birthday we would be moving 2 1/2 hours away. But she has been coming up here ever since then and has adapted to the long ride. We try and get her as often as possible even if it is only for a long week-end.

These are pictures of her 1st birthday held at my coffee house. We had lots of room and it was a very special day for us.

Think warm Part 2

YUP! It's still as cold as yesterday so I'm gonna stay with the same theme. I actually did a couple more layouts at the same park, same ride but my other sons. I've come to accept that I can use flowers and lace even when the pictures are of BOYS! After having 4 brothers and then 4 sons I now have 4 grandkids but guess what I finally got a girl! Yes Allayah is the only girl in 3 generations so I have been in heaven finally getting to play with dolls, do tea parties and dress her up girly when I do get her up here to visit us. I'm sure I can find some layouts tomorrow that feature her.........stay tuned!

Let's think Sunny & Warm!

BRRR! -18 right now here in Wisconsin with a wind chill of -38 and as I sit here with a cup of coffee and the fireplace roaring is how I wish I was someplace warm! My mom lives in sunny Arizona and she will call and say how it is 80 and she is heading out golfing.........hmmm....not quite what you want to hear when the weather is this frigid!

Anyhow I did this layout of my youngest son Travis at one of our yearly visits to Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. He was always such a ham and loved to be in photos but now that he is 22 those days of liking his picture taken are long gone. The boys always took part in a reading contest during grade school where they would win a FREE ticket to Great America which we all loved going to especially loved riding the water rides. They worked so hard on the farm during the summers that a day at Great America was like a week's vacation. Only bad part was the very long ride with 4 anxious little boys (it was close to 3 hours) and of course on the way home they were sound asleep before we even got 20 minutes away. Do you ever wonder if your children have all the same wonderful memories we do?

January Memories

For me January is a month with no birthdays and not much going on but as I was scrapping the other day I ran into this picture of my 3 sons roofing my 2nd youngest roof and it brought back memories of that tragic day 5 years ago this month when Todd's house burnt down. My son had just bought & moved into a house the month before with his fiancee'. We had went there and helped paint, refinished wood floors etc and they were so happy to be in their first home. That tragic day the hot tub, which was out on the deck attached to the back of the garage, started on fire and of course up went the garage in flames and then the attached house. The scary part was that his fiancee' was asleep on the other end of the house & was wakened by a passerby pounding on the door. She was ok (Thank you Lord!)but they lost everything & we won't even go into the horror story of the insurance company not covering everything since they were not married yet. That spring they started rebuilding and this picture is special to me.........I love seeing my boys together (which can be rare) and this day we were all there helping roof the house. And as you can see my granddaughter Allayah was there trying to help her grandpa as he was cutting the tiles.

The following summer my folks came to visit from Arizona and we had a family picnic at Todd's finished house which turned out so beautiful. It was nice to be able to take some pictures and here is one with my parents, 3 of my sons, Tory, Todd & Travis and my 2 grandkids Alex & Allayah. This picture in the new house is extra special as 6 months later in January 2006 my dad died of cancer. He was so healthy and active and there were no warnings so I treasure him getting to see his grandsons & great grandkids before he left us. I also am glad that I got to spend time with him and tell him how much he meant to me before he went to Heaven. I miss you dad!

Debbys Dare Week 2

Another frigid day here in Wisconsin and today's high will be -1! Good day to keep inside and keep warm. This week in Debbys Dare the topic is What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up? Well when I was small I always wanted to be a teacher. I thought having a desk all nice and organized and getting to correct papers was so much fun (I used to be a teachers aide). Before I got out of High School at the age of 16 (Yes I was a whiz kid and skipped a few grades) I changed my mind. First I wanted to join the service but they wouldn't take me at that age so instead I headed to college at the University of Wisconsin in FonduLac. Well after a year of that I realized I wasn't having any fun so I went next door to the Tech College. There I got a secretarial degree but took some fun course while doing it like auto body & welding. After graduation I had some boring & interesting jobs from being a private secretary to working in a radio station where I actually got to do some commercials and the weather. Some of the unique jobs I did were owning & working on a dairy farm, being a foster parent, owning & running a consignment shop, opening a coffee shop and I was an Auxiliary Cop (my kids called me a "rent a cop")! In this job I worked at football games, weddings, parades & outdoor events like Festivals and the beer tent. It was actually quite fun doing crowd control, checking id's or riding along in the squad car. For a short time I thought I wanted a career in that perhaps being a 911 operator but after some deliberation I decided having 4 teen-age sons & that career just didn't go together. But it was a time that I am happy to remember and glad to scrap thanks to Debbys dare.

My 4 sons

Good Morning from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin.......as I crawled out of bed this morning it was -6 and that is only a preview of what is to come this week. Temperatures are supposed to get to -20 by Thursday and who knows what the wind chills will be BRRR! Obviously I won't go out unless I absolutely have to. At times like this I really feel bad for my husband who is a UPS driver and spends all day out in that weather. My job will be to keep the fireplace stoked and of course I have a nice sunny scrap room that feels good no matter what the temp is. Yesterday I was in there and made this layout of my 4 sons using Boho Chic. I really enjoy finding pictures like this when the boys were still fun and smiling. Right now they are in their 20's and it's rare to see them in 1 place at the same time tho they all live within 10 miles of each other. And it has been years since I have seen a picture of them all together. Well I hope everyone keeps warm today wherever you are!

Fun Mini Book

Last summer my husband took a day and went golfing out of town with his sister. Times like that between family turn out to be special as you grow older and see each other less. Seeing as they took allot of pictures I decided to make a fun little book for that special day as a gift for her. Don't let the title fool you as she really does play golf well! Here are just a few pictures from it!

It's been ONE week!

Yes I week today I started this blog.......still having trouble with my counter not working (any hints anybody?) but I do want to do a RAK for the occasion so I'm gonna set my goal small and after 50 comments about my blog I will give away a much sought after Scalloped Square squeeze punch from Fiskars! I love love these squeeze punches as they are so easy to use and the new scalloped shapes they came out in are devine but hard to find. I'm sure who ever is lucky enuf to win this is really going to enjoy using it. I joined the Fiskateers about a year ago and they really are a warm, fun, caring group of people. They also have interesting challenges up on their site, lots to look at in the gallery and right now the leads are giving us CHA sneak peaks of new products. The message board is always filled with fun thoughts & if you got a question they are there for you. So if you haven't been over there to check us out...........please stop by sometime!

All About You in 52

I'm taking part in a year long challenge from a fellow Fiskateer Debby. It's going to be a different topic every week but more about leaving something behind for your children etc to remember you by. Here's a link to the challenge on her blog http://debbysdares.blogspot.com/.

This week was about someone who influenced you in life and for me it was a friend named Becky. She bought the theatre next to my consignment shop in downtown Watertown. I was totally impressed with her and thought she had it all......she was pretty, she owned a fun business, she traveled & owned her own home. We started hanging together and she became a sister I never had but she also pushed me to be more then I was both in business and personally. The sad part is I have lost touch with her now for almost 10 years besides futile attempts on the internet to find her. I've journaled on the tag that says FRIEND and it slides under the picture. Funny thing that after I made this layout I went back online and spent a few hours trying to locate her sister who owned the family theatre in Ashland, Wisconsin but sad to say she also sold her theatre.......but memories are good and someday we just might reconnect! God does work in mysterious ways.

What I do while I watch TV at night

We can't be in our scraprooms day and night so my other hobby while watching tv is to crochet. Nuthing beats working on an afghan on the cold winter nights as it does keep you warm while you are doing it. This one I started last week on the 1st and finished it on the 7th. I used 2 different colors, a green and a cream, and they both had some unusual texture. So it actually feels soft but looks kinda chunky. As it grew I started noticing that the colors also reminded me of the John Deere colors and a few of my sons are big fans and collectors of that stuff so guess this afghan will be heading to Watertown to my sons home. Hopefully they will cherish it as something made with love by their mom.

travel kit - Memories of our trip to New Mexico

The back of the book

the mini tag album insert

Little mini paper bag pockets for tickets etc

This has a velcro pocket that opens

I liked the hidden pages, little pockets for souveniers

flip up pictures and
another pocket

Last year I got this amazing kit from Creatologie to create a travel journal. Carol Wingert has such great kits that come with Everything and the instructions are so clear and easy to follow. Here I will show you how I used it to remember the wonderful time we had when we went to bowling nationals in New Mexico. My husband is an awesome bowler so I actually made it as an anniversary gift for him.

I did so many things that were new to me especially making the tag album in the back of the book. Loved using the Tim Holtz embellishments and all the material.......basically I loved making this and I am so proud of the finished result!