This page was whipped up using My Digital Studio and the newest 2011 Notable Desktop Calendar kit. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the paper in this kit. I added a few embellishments and let the photos take centre stage.
So February was a CRAZY month for us in the Farrell household. I have been wanting a bigger house for over a year now. Brad was a little resistant because he's not big on moving, and he's put a lot of work into our home. In fact, of the 3 places we have lived together, Brad and I renovated and 'flipped' the last two, so he was reluctant to do that yet another time. I, on the other hand, am a bit of a wanderer. I think I have moved 19 times in my life. Only one move with my parents, when I was 4 years old, into the house they still live now. And the rest of the moves were in my 20's. Basically I moved every 6 months or so. So I understand Brad's fear of my wanderlust. Moving is a scary thing in Vancouver. We have the highest real estate prices in the country.
Anyway, I FINALLY convinced Brad to move. We found a house that we LOVE, and it's in the school catchment area that we want, and it's only 5 blocks away from where we are now, so we don't have to leave our neighbourhood. It's also on a short, flat, cul-de-sac, with a park and playground at the end. The house is much bigger than our current one, and is better for so many reasons that I can't list them all here. But the real kicker, the one that pushed Brad over the edge, is that the house does NOT need any work. Nope, no paint, or anything. Every other move we've done has been into a real dump that needed a lot of work. It was always about what this new house could be. This house we have just bought is all about what it is now. The only room that needs work is my new craft room. And I'm so excited to mold it into my dream room that I can't explain it all here.
So back to the page above...
We bought the new house without having sold our current house. We then needed to clean up our house, tear down a shed from the backyard, and list and sell our house - FAST. Part of the process was to get our house ready for an Open House and to have professional photos taken to post on the web on our realtor's website. So we rented one of those portable containers and they put it on our driveway and we filled it with all the crap that we have, but dont' need. We posted the shed on Craigslist for free and some guys came and tore it down in 3 days. Then our realtor had the photographer in and - voila - we got the photos above.
Our house has never looked so good. It's nothing special from the outside, but those hardwood floors, and that new kitchen that Brad put in, really helped. In fact, we listed the house, had a few opens, and sold it in 8 days - for more than we asked for it. - WHEW!
So now we wait until the end of April to move into our new house. One of these days I'm going to put together a series of pages to show all the homes we have had and all the work that Brad, my Dad, and Brad's brother have done (oh yeah, and I cut a mean tile on the wet saw too) and show everone what we have accomplished. If you have made it to the end of this, thanks for listening. Hope you enjoyed my page.
This week we have a soft and subtle colour combo at Colour Q. This page started out as a copy of this page I copied below. The original was a display at the most recent Regionals in Vancouver. I love, love, LOVE Botanic Garden DSP and at regionals we received a set of Nature Walk stamps. I pulled out my laptop and went straight to work with MDS. (My Digital Studio) I haven't recreated this page exactly as some of the papers are not available in MDS, and I tried to add a touch of pink with the flowers. The celery paper at the bottom is stamped with images from Nature and French Foilage in Old Olive
This week at Stampin Royalty we have a sketch challenge for you. I decided that I wanted to use coordinting paper for this card, so I pulled out my Stampin' Up DSP and narrowed it down to the Elegant Soiree DSP. Then it was just a matter of deciding which sides to feature. After I figured that out, I mounted it on a few layers of cardstock, and then sponged the edges to add more definition to the smaller pieces. I stamped the sentiment and then roughed up the edges a bit to age it a bit. I tilted it a bit to add interest. The ribbons are actually both the Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon. I just pulled a thread from the middle of one and gathered it up to add more texture. The other one I added some sticky tape to the back and folded it a few times so that it was nice and narrow. I finished it off with a few Antique Brads.
Well I really was stumped when I saw this week's colour Q combo. And I know that most of us on the DT at Colour Q found this a bit of a challenge. Check out the other samples by the design team. I dug around in My Digital Studio until I found the template for this layout. Then I changed the colours a bit and added a few other embellishments, like the flowers and the shading, to add more depth. This photo is of my Mom and my Sister-in-Law and my nephew when he was a week old. My son is also born in 2006 so it's nice to have 2 boys who not only live close together, but are the same age and will be lifelong friends.
Life's a bit crazy these days, so I'm going to post a few of the fabulous swaps I received when I went to the Vancouver Reginals last month. This little beauty was created by Sylvia Pham. Check out her website at http://www.misslilstamper.wordpress.com/ . I love how she used clear embossing to draw out the flourish image from the Bliss Stamp Set. (Hurry as it's a saleabration set that is only available until the end of the month.) Then she sponged crumb cake over the image. She layered it over basic black and crumb cake to create this vintage style card. 
This week we have a fun, St. Patrick's Day Challenge for you at Stampin' Royalty. Hop on over to check out the fabulous samples made by the Design Team!! I got the idea for my card from a fabulous swap I received at Regionals. I need to look back through my messy desk to find the person who made it so I can give credit. Check back later for more info...
This card was made for a few challenges this week. The Paper Players are having a springtime challenge this week, and 4 Crafty Chicks are looking for Stitching on a project. I started out really liking this card, but now I'm wondering if the stitching is a bit overpowering. Oh well...
This is another quick and easy 3x3 inch make and take from Vancouver Regionals last weekend. This card was very easy to make. The flower was coloured by colouring the rose with a stampin' write marker and then blending it through by using an aquapainter. It takes a while to dry, but it works really well. The flowers and leaves were coloured with Stampin' Write markers and then stamped twice. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but the little flowers are Cherry Cobbler and the leaves are Old Olive. I really like how the envelope is stamped to match.
This set of cards was one of the make 'n takes from regionals. They are a set of 3x3 inch cards that come in a handy little folder. We used the nature walk stamp set and the Thank You Kindly set along with Botanic Garden DSP and some seam binding ribbon. These cards are going to make a fabulous hostess gift. Scroll down and you will be able to see closeup some of the details in the cards.
Isn't this card cute?? It was super quick and easy. In fact, it was a make'n take from Regionals last weekend. This card used the Nature Walk set that was part of the Regional Registration. The birdcage was stamped and then crimped part way through to add more interest. The scallop is from the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. It was cut in half to made a border. And the envelope is stamped to match. This unusual shape card is shaped to fit in the whisper white Small Open-End Envelopes.
Welcome to Wednesday and another challenge from Stampin Royalty. This week is a colour challenge. I decided to pull out my newest stamp 'On The Green' which is a free sale-a-bration stamp. My family is full of golfers so I knew this stamp would be well used. This card is really a departure for me, as I don't usually make masculine cards. But when I saw this week's colours I knew that a masculine card was in the works. The DSP is from a retired hostess set from a few years back, but I ran out of Sahara Sand cardstock, so I pulled it out.
....... It's Tuesday, so it's time for another Colour Q Challenge. This week there's another fabulous combo. Wow did I find this a CHALLENGE. It was the Tangerine Tango that was throwing me for a look, so I finally only used a minimal amount to matte the title. If you look carefully you can see it. This photo is of me at 4 years old. My son is 4 years old right now, so I often think of this little girl as I try to see the world through my sons eyes. The border image is a shadow and mask technique which gives it a bit of depth, and the flowers are coloured using a technique I found on MyDigital Studio.net If you don't know what that is, check out the pink link on my sidebar. Mydigitalstudio.net is for demonstrators AND customers of Stmapin' Up! who use My Digital Studio for their digital crafting. 
