Good-bye 2014…Hello 2015!!!!!

Wow, the last day of the year.
It seems to have gone by so fast.
But in a way that may be a good thing, as it means that it has been a good year…right?

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was a perfect wish to all of you :)

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year and get to spend it with family or friends.

Every year we have friends over to celebrate bringing in the New Year.
We also have an open door gathering….if someone wants to pop in before going to their party, or just wants to come for a few hour visit, but do not want to stay out late, then they are all welcome :)
Wayne and I spent this afternoon getting snacks and appetizers ready for tonight. Yum.

So here is to a brand spankin' New Year to you all….lets get the most out of it this year :)

Tracy :)

If you didn't get a chance to check out my new journaling process, click on my link for yesterday's post :) "Fauxbonichi"

My Fauxbonichi

I am finally ready to share my new way of journaling :)
There is a Japanese way of planning or journaling called Hobonichi.
In order to purchase one of these planners, you need to order it from Japan.
But there are many clever and creative people on YouTube who have come up with a way to do this type of journaling by creating your own journal/planner.
And wait for it…they call it a Fauxbonichi…..how clever :)

One of the main components of this type of journal is to use a journal with grid paper.
Another component is to have a header.
Lets start with the grid paper.
I was gifted this journal a couple of years ago and thought it would be perfect, as I wanted do a trial run.
It is a Moleskine grid journal.
Some of the pages were removed, but I still got 2 months in here to try it out.
See the washi tape on the edges?
I taped two pages together as I was tired of trying to figure out which pens or markers wouldn't bleed through.

The header usually has the date, month, day of the week and the moon phase.
I didn't put in the moon phase because 1, the moon phase doesn't really interest me, and 2 I know if I didn't keep up with the moon phases, I wouldn't journal, as I would feel the need to have that part documented before journaling.
I may add the weather or temperature or my steps I took for that day…not exactly sure.
Plus now that my trial journal is almost complete…I can use the journal that most of the Fauxbonichi people have been using.
I am a bit nervous for using the new journal as it is smaller than the one I am using now. I have big primary writing, so we will see how it goes.

I have always journaled and share a few of them in my video.
Thats right, I made a video for your pleasure ;)
If you would rather watch my video on my YouTube channel, click on the link "Tracy's Treasures"
I am really enjoying this journal.
Most not only journal but also draw about their day.
Me, I tried the drawing, I am more into using stamps and photos :)
There is so much more I could share about this journal, but my video explains so much more.

I hope you all had a Creative Tuesday :)

Tracy :)

Peek A Boo

She is thinking "What, I'm not ON the table", teehee.
My goodness she is just so adorable, isn't she ;)
See the chocolate bar house in the background.
My husband has made this with the girls for as long as I can remember.
So much easier and tastier than gingerbread houses.

I went out looking for my month on 2 pages page inserts.
Unless I purchase the whole monthly planner pages, I can't find them in my town, or even on line.
So I am going to check and see if I can find some free printables, as I need my 2 page monthly calendar pages.

I also make a video on my newest journal that I have been working on the last 2 months.
It took 3 hours to save the video to my laptop and I have no idea how long it will take to upload it to YouTube. I'm thinking 5-7 hours.
But I will upload that when everyone is in bed. Especially since the girls are playing video games on-line at the moment ;)

I hope you all have a very Creative Monday :)

Tracy :)

What is in front of you?

One of my friends on Facebook, hi Crystal, put a status up asking us to post photos of what is in front of us right now.
I thought that it was a fun idea, so took a photo for her.
So you see my laptop, with my adorable desktop screen by Debbie Mumm.
Our Christmas tree which Kristy decorated…I didn't even change anything ;)
And lastly our television as Wayne and I watched all of the 5, Resident Evils today.

Actually this was my first photo.
My laptop was in sleep mode, as I wasn't on it that much today, and I thought the de-headed photo might have upset some, lol.

Talk about Resident Evil, it actually made it into my journal today.
I drew the symbol for the Umbrellas corporation, with some wear and tear on it ;)
But my journaling for today was more about the video game.
Wayne would play it and how the whole family was involved figuring out the secrets and puzzles to move forward into the game.
Many think that video games ruin the family dynamic, but I have to disagree. In our family it helped us bond, helped the girls with their memory skills and figuring out puzzles.
Plus, I am sure they enjoyed telling their dad what to do and where to go ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Sunday :)
I worked in my journal and ate too much chocolate ;)
So if you were to take a photo today, what would have been in front of you?

Tracy :)

Planning Fail

Today my plan was to organize my planner for the New Year.
My honey bought me planner inserts for my Day Timer and I was so excited to get them in and start decorating.
That was until I realized that the Month is on one page.
My eyes are not as (shall we say) crisp as they use to be, and I have huge primary writing, that I like the bigger boxes to write in.
We went to Lowery's to see if they had these same inserts, but with the Month on 2 pages.
I know they used to sell them, as I had these a couple of years ago.
But the store was closed this evening and they are closed on Sunday's, so I will have to wait until Monday.

Here is my Month on 2 pages for December, just so you can see the size difference :)

So what may you ask did I do today then?
I sat on the couch and scanned Pinterest, Facebook and more or less was a sloth.
I have to tell you, sloths live a pretty good life, lol

I hope you all had a very creative day :)
The only creative thing I did today was paint my nails, teehee.

Tracy :)

Boxing Day 2014

Today is Boxing Day here in Canada.
If you want to learn what Boxing Day is, just check out this post from 2011 where I wrote about it.
This is the day we celebrate with my SIL/friend Sharon and her husband Jim.
We call Sharon the "hostest with the mostest" as there is a never ending supply of food while we are there.
Not only does she feed us an insane amount of food, but we also enjoy a full turkey dinner :)

I also enjoyed a visit from my friend Debbie and we also exchanged our gifts to one another.
So nice to visit with everyone I love during the season…I need to do more of this in the New Year.

I hope you all enjoyed your holidays.

Tracy :)

Merry Christmas to you All

I just want to wish all of you a Wonder Christmas.

I hope you all get to spend it with your family and friends :)

Cherish each day, each moment you get to spend with those you love :)

So from my family to yours, Merry Christmas.

I hope you all had a very Merry and Creative Christmas

Tracy :)

Christmas Sweaters

Ugly sweaters never looked this good ;)
The girls thought it would be fun to wear Christmas sweaters for the holiday get togethers.
So when we went away on our family trip they each picked up a Christmas sweater for themselves and one for Tyler :)
Aren't they festive :)

Tonight was the big family dinner for Wayne's side of the family.
He has a big family :)
When we came back home the girls are allowed to open one gift.
Every year it is the same thing…new pi's.
Tyler got in on the tradition this year as well, as I got him some pj pants as well :)

Tomorrow is the big day :)
Hope you have a good sleep with visions of crafty goodies..I mean sugar plums dancing in your heads ;)

Merry Christmas Eve
Tracy :)

Sneaky Squirrel

How funny is this photo.
It was taken by Tyler (Ashley's fiancé).
The other day Heather and Kristy went to Ashley's house to do their holiday baking.
I am pretty sure these are peanut butter balls cooling off out on her deck.
It looks like Mr. Squirrel wanted to test them out, lol.
I love that Sebastian is keeping an eye on Mr. Squirrel.
What a perfect photo :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Tuesday :)

Tracy :)

Braids

Hard to believe that yesterday was the first day of Winter.
Especially since it rained most of today.
Rained in December!!!
Now thats not normal in Canada…especially Northern Ontario…but I'm not complaining.
The older I get the more I dislike the cold winters we have.

I coloured another one of my images that I drew last summer.
I coloured her up with my Copics and did the background with my coloured pencils.
I used washi tape around the edges.

I hope you all had a Creative Monday :)
I did a bit more wrapping…thats creative, right?

Thank you so much for all of your sweet and encouraging comments about my Pixie Girl from yesterday :)

Tracy :)

Pixie Girl

Remember last summer when I thought I would try my hand at drawing?
Even though I need soooo much more practice, I decided to colour up a few of the girls that I drew back then.
I didn't realize how much I have missed colouring with my Copics.

Now don't laugh, I have never claimed to be an artist, but I did have fun (but was also frustrated) drawing my girls.
This one was inspired by My Creative Bliss. I just love her girls.
I was thinking of giving this little Pixie long hair, but decided to add a fun colour instead :)

I am going to have to pick up a Momento black marker to outline my images.
The marker I used to draw her, bled when I added my Copics to it…see by her one eyebrow.
I did a test run, and it seemed to be fine until I added a couple of layers to her.
The background I coloured using my coloured pencils.

I hope you all had a very Creative Sunday :)

Tracy :)

No tags needed

Today Wayne and the girls braved the stores and went shopping for my Christmas gifts.
They went first thing this morning and said it wasn't busy.
The girls kept on me about giving them my list.
Honestly, I don't need anything…but did come up with a thing or two :)

All of our gifts are wrapped and we are all ready for the holidays ;)
I think this is the perfect wrapping paper for Wayne's Christmas presents.
I didn't even have to put name tags on them as his gifts are the only gifts wrapped like this :)
Perfect for my husband who enjoys hunting.

Talk about not having gift tags on your gifts, Ashley doesn't use gift tags on her gifts either.
But for aesthetic reasons ;)
I was at her house, admiring her tree and how the gift wrapping matches her tree and the stockings that she has hanging from her mantel, when I realized her gifts didnt have any tags on them.
I asked her why she didn't have gift tags on her presents and how is she going to know which gift is for who.
The reason she doesn't have gift tags, is because it takes away from the look of the beautifully wrapped gifts.
But what she did do was write the names on the bottom of the gifts where you can't see them. That way  she knows who gets which gift and it looks more presentable under her tree.
I love Ashley's eye for detail :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Saturday :)

Tracy :)

Friend Tradition

This may sound like an odd tradition to some.
Every year my friend/SIL Sharon and I are usually finished our Christmas shopping by now and head to the mall.
Not to shop but to enjoy watching everyone else hustle and bustle through the stores, all while we sit and enjoy our, hot chocolate for me, coffee for her, and we bask in the knowledge that we are finished with our shopping….yes, we have a bit of a sick sense of humour, lol.

We didn't make it to the mall this year, for one thing there wasn't anywhere to park.
But we did enjoy our early dinner….had to beat the dinner rush ;)
Every year since I can remember, Sharon and I go to Swiss Chalet for the festive special.
Sharon had a coupon for this cheese bread appetizer.
Oh my goodness this is a heart attack waiting to happen, look at all the butter on the plate.
But it was ohhhh soooo good.
Sharon doesn't like tomatoes or green onions, so I loaded up, that counts as a vegetable…right?!

Tonight was Friday Night Scrapbooking, but we cut it short.
As Sharon and I were both colouring, we were also yawning away.
She left at 8:00 as she was so tired, lol.
Wayne couldn't believe she had left so soon, she usually stays until at least 11:00.

I hope you all had a Creative Friday :)
I did colour up a few images, even though it was a short evening.

Tracy :)

A Sneak Peek at my Journal

I love adding washi tape to the edges of my pages.
I know you want to see the journal I am working in.
I am not quite ready to share the inside of it yet…but soon, I promise :)

But what I will tell you is that I needed a journal to hold at least a whole year.
I usually jump right in to something and then later, let it slide.
So this time I decided to give it a trial run.
I had this planner already and it fit 2 months.
Perfect…..I can start the brand new journal in the new year :)

I was at the vet a bit earlier to pick up Luna.
But they let me take her anyway :)
Heather and I stayed home all day to keep an eye on Luna.
I brought up her litter box and shut the door going downstairs.
Not only was she spayed, she was also de-clawed.
Now before you all go judging, and telling me what an awful pet owner I am for getting this done.
If we didn't get her de-clawed, we wouldn't have adopted her.
So (even the vet agreed) give her a loving home or not….Give her a loving home was the winner.

Luna loves to go on the top of the cupboards during dinner to be with us.
Whenever we are in the kitchen this is where she goes.
I was scared she would try today and I didn't want her to hurt herself.
So I gave her some soft food (a treat for her) as we ate, hoping to deter her from going up there.
It didn't work.
When she was ready to come down, I tried to help her, as I was scared she would rip a stitch.
Well she wouldn't have none of that and got down just fine on her own.
I guess the stairs won't be a problem for her :)

I hope you all had a very Creative Thursday :)
Oh by the way, I found my mini inks.
They were on the converted pool table, front and centre.
I looked there twice yesterday, lol

Tracy :)

Early Morning with Luna

My day started out early…too early.
Of course the early morning snow plow was out, so Wayne shovelled for me..but I have a 4x4, so I would have just rammed it over that little snow bank ;)
The reason for the early morning outing……our Luna had to get spayed today :(
She is an indoor cat, but the agreement we signed in order to adopt her, was that we had to agree to get her spayed.
Mind you, we would have got her spayed even without the agreement.

When I got back home went home for a nap…I am not a morning person.
I later brought Kristy to work and had some mail to drop off at Ashley's.
Ashley was at work, so I made myself at home when I got to her place.
I enjoyed my lunch and  drank her one and only can of Coke, teehee.
I also enjoyed some loving from her kitty, Sebastian  :)

Kristy got off work at supper.
Even though I had dinner cooking in the oven, when I saw a sign for Deep Fried Pickles at Pizza Pizza…I just had to try them.
I honestly tried to talk myself out of getting them, especially since I had dinner at home.
But I was still waiting for Kristy and I had a great parking spot right beside Pizza Pizza…and well, I already ruined my healthy day with a Coke, so what the heck, right ;).
I have to say they were flippin delicious!!!

The vets office said they were going to phone me with how Luna was doing.
I couldn't wait any longer and phoned them.
They told me she is doing well, and I can pick her up at 1:00 tomorrow.
When I told them that I missed her and want her home now, they told me I could come and get her at noon tomorrow….I think I may go even earlier than that ;)

I hope you all have had a Creative Day :)
I was hoping to work in my journal tonight, but I have been searching for my mini inks.
I have looked everywhere…but I bet they are right in front of me.

Tracy :)

Burnt Nipples

Yes you read that correctly.
I was going to make these Pretzel Hugs today.
I guess I left them in there a bit too long, as you can see, they got a tad overcooked.
I thought that even though they were a bit over cooked, maybe they would still taste okay.
Nope, they were pretty hard….even though Wayne still ate a couple and said they were fine.
This guy never complains about my cooking, lol.

Now let me show you the steps on how to make them properly.
First tip….don't walk away from the oven ;)
Put all of the pretzels on parchment paper on a cookie sheet (or baking sheet)
You can also use regular pretzels, I like these square ones, as they are fun.

Then unwrap a heck of a lot of these hugs chocolates.
Like the money shot ;)

Place one hug chocolate on each pretzel.

Another money shot…haven't you missed those ;)

Set your oven at 200 heat these up for about 6 minutes.
Now here comes the hard part…don't leave the oven.
Watch that the chocolate softens, it doesn't melt flat.
Then take them out of the oven and put a candy on the top and flatten out the chocolate as you do this.
Oh by the way…..these are Kristy's
I got a bit upset with mine, so I took a can of Coke and watched a movie ;)

I did make an awesome pulled chicken for supper in the crock pot.
I also made 5 minute fudge after supper.
So I think I redeemed myself from the burnt nipples, that I threw in the garbage by the way ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Tuesday :)

Tracy :)

My Faux Chocolate Turtles

Every year I make home made "Chocolate Turtles".
My friend Myra and I have been making them for over 10 years now.
This year we had a bit of trouble finding a day that worked for us, plus Myra wasn't feeling up to par.
So I told her not don't worry about it, we will try again next year :)
I have my own chocolate moulds and could have made them by myself, but I guess my heart just wasn't in it this year.

So I came up with a much easier idea.
I had pinned this recipe long ago, but when I saw that Lisa had made them, I just had to give them a go this year :)
These are so quick and easy.
Place a rolo on a pretzel…I used these fun square pretzels :)

After putting them in the oven for 3 minutes at 350, add a pecan to the centre and push slightly to squish the roll down.

Seriously, these taste as good as they look :)
I also put them in the freezer to solidify so I could package them up.

I know my dad and step-mom are going to be a bit disappointed that they aren't going to receive my turtles this year.
But that is how life works out sometimes.
Maybe I can trick them by putting the Rolo chocolates in these cute gingerbread boxes I bought from Dollarama, teehee.

I hope you all had a Creative Monday :)

Tracy :)

Over my Limit

Today was a perfect relaxing Sunday…perfect, except for no Walking Dead.

Wayne and I vegged out all day :)
He played video games and in between letting the video game system cool down, we would watch a movie :)
I was happy to have my crafty supplies surround me while I worked on my personal journal :)
Because Wayne took over the living room table with his gaming TV, I used a tv table to work on :)
I also enjoyed 2 cans of Coca- Cola ;)

About my photo:
I took this photo the same day I went on my photo walk.
It is sitting on a bench in our side yard.
Wayne found this sign a few years ago by an old building buried in the dirt when he was bulldozing.
He knows that Ashley and I collect Coke memorabilia so brought it home for us.
I love it, even though one side of it is missing, I think it just gives it more character :)
Do you have a special collection?
Besides crafty supplies ;)

I hope you all had a creative Sunday :)
Oh ya, remember that game that took 21 hours for Wayne to download…he completed it today.
It took 21 hours to update, 8 hours to complete, lol
But there are harder levels he can play ;)

Tracy :)

Paper Snowflakes

Look at all the pretty snowflakes :)
I punched all of these out last night during Friday Night Scrapbooking.
I wanted to use them on my gift card holders.

When I made my Christmas cards, I used Stampin' Up's texture paper…which I love, and used my Cricut to cut out a sheet of snowflakes.
I had a lot of good paper left in between the snowflakes made by my Cricut, and I just couldn't throw it away.
So I got out my Martha Stewart snowflake punch and went to town ;)
The results in the photo above.

My plan was to have red gift card holders and have the snowflakes sprinkled around the GC holder.
As you can see, my orderly personality wouldn't allow for that, lol.
So then I thought….okay, I will still use the snowflakes on some of the GC holders, but I can only use papers from my scrap folders.
Success :)

I usually take my crafty photos in my craft room with the door closed…bet you can't imagine why, lol.

I can not tell you how many times I had to re-set up these Gift card holders.
I think after the 10th plus time, I moved into my craft room and shut the door.
Luna looks like she is really enjoying herself doesn't she?

And then she looks up at me with this adorable face as if to say…Am I disturbing you?

Onto My Day:
Al of my daughters had today off, so they wanted to spend the day together.
So Wayne and I drove Heather and Kristy to Ashley's house, then we picked up a bit of lunch for ourselves and a little treat for later on ;)

Wayne bought himself an XBox One. I was going to get that for him for Christmas.
I swear he always buys himself something before Christmas.
It took over 18 hours for his game system to load up.
So just a tip, if you got one of these game systems for your children, as Wayne is one at heart.
Maybe start it up before Christmas, then wrap it, or prepare the little tykes for a long wait before they get to actually play a game.

I spent most of my day working in my journal…and checking out the internet.
Actually I think I spent more time running downstairs to get supplies I wanted for my journal, lol.

I hope you all had a wonderful and Creative Saturday :)

Tracy :)

Its a Wrap

Today was a great day.
Wayne took the day off of work so we could get our Christmas shopping done.
I was smart this year, I didn't buy anything until we went shopping together.
The reason…Wayne is like a little kid himself and he likes to play Santa Claus during the holiday.
So even if I was completely done with shopping, he would insist that we needed to go shopping, lol.

Not only did we (almost) complete our shopping, we also wrapped them all.
When I say "we", I mean Wayne wrapped and I wrote out the tags ;)
No matter how much he begged to change jobs ;)

I also cleaned out/organized my Christmas wrapping container.
I discarded all of those tiny pieces of wrapping paper that I save, thinking that I may need a tiny piece. But I have never ever had a gift that tiny to have to wrap ;)

This wrapping paper container has two inner shelves.
If I just wanted this container for wrapping paper, I wouldn't need the shelves, but I like everything in one area.
This shelf holds my daughters advent calendars.
They haven't used them for years, but I still want to keep them. Each pocket holds a mini ornament for a tiny tree the girls each had in their rooms when they were younger.

The second shelf holds all of the wrapping essentials.
Tape, scissors, tags, ribbon and some small gift holders.
There is a lid that fits very tightly so all of the goodies stay put for the next year.

I was thinking of keeping all of my wrapping paper in one area, no matter what the occasion it is for.
But when we wrap for Christmas, it is usually a wrapping marathon, so I think (for me) its best to have Christmas papers and such together.
I do keep all of my gift bags together though….but I am a wrapper, more than a gift bag giver ;)

Are you a wrapper, or a gift bag type of person?
How do you store your wrapping paper and accessories?

Hope you all had a very Creative Friday :)
I did :)
I made 10 gift card holders during my Friday Night Scrapbooking :)

Tracy :)

Trimming the Tree

I love the Christmas season.
I love the lights, the decorations, the baking but mostly spending time with my family.

Our tradition is putting up the tree 12 days before Christmas.
Today I broke tradition…we put it up today.
The girls were happy, as they hate to wait so long to put up the tree.
But I like to wait…I like the anticipation of it.

So today I thought I would share with you some of my favourite tree ornaments.
As most of you know already, I love the deep colour red and I love hearts :)
This ornament is just so pretty with gold added to the red.

Another heart shaped ornament :)
I love how the light shines through this glass ornament.
There are tiny dots of glass that forms this ornament.

We use to have a Christmas store here in town.
It was located in a heritage house, the store name was called Coo's.
I am naturally a thrifty person, I usually just browse and drool in these types of stores... but when I saw these 3 little angels I just had to get them….one for each of my girls.

We changed things up a bit this year.
I usually string gold beads on the tree.
But Kristy did the tree by herself this year, and I am a bit of a perfectionist with the beads being perfectly spaced, so we went with ribbon this year.
I have to say it was a lot quicker.
Thank you Kristy :)

Even Luna joined in, teehee.
Kristy would have freaked out if she saw Luna rolling around and hiding under the tree skirt, but Kristy was at work.

Look at those big innocent eyes, how could anyone get mad at her ;)

Onto My Day:
Kristy and I brought up all the boxes to decorate the house.
Drove Kristy to work, then came home and decorated the outside of the house…I even cut some cedar branches and added them to my milking cans I have on display outside :)
I tidied up the house and put on my new Christmas table cloth and placemats out.
I then unpacked my Winter village but realized I need new snow batting, so will have to hold off on that until tomorrow.
I can sure get a lot accomplished when I'm not on the computer all day ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Thursday :)
By the way, the ornament photos and the last photo of Luna were taken with my "big boy" camera, the other 2 were from my iPhone….which I usually use for all of my photos :)

Tracy :)