A Colourful Life

More Celebrations and Parties Ahead

We have our big New Year's Eve family party coming.  We've been preparing for it this past week, planning the games and the entertainment so that everyone has fun.  Doug & I always emcee this night and we plan games for all to enjoy.  Here is a link to our party from a couple of years ago.

Also, I'm getting ready for Jordan's  birthday party, which is on January 3, 2011.  We will celebrate with the whole family here at our home on Sunday, January 2.  I've been busy making little giveaways for all the guests that attend.   I made little matchboxes which I filled with 2 Hershey milk chocolate nuggets.  I colour coordinated the labels on each nugget with the cardstock that I made the boxes out of.  I think it turned out pretty cool!  First thing I did was wheel the boxes with a Stampin' Up wheel from a few years back called Hot to Dot.  I love this wheel and though it is already retired I haven't been able to part with it.

To make the actual matchboxes I used Stampin' Up's Matchbox Bigz XL Die, Item# 114890.  The cardstock I used was Crumb Cake, Item#120953, Riding Hood Red, Item#111348 and and Whisper White, Item# 100730.

Below are the finished boxes.

And below is a pic of the boxes with one of them opened so you can see the chocolate inside.  I enjoyed making this project....maybe a little too much because I'm positive at least 6 of those little chocolate nuggets found their way into my mouth.

Because it's Jordan's birthday, I am offering the Bigz XL Matchbox Die and all 3 packs of cardstock (Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White) for purchase, all GST free.  So you save the 12%!  This offer is good on all orders received by me until 9 PM on Jordan's birthday, which is January 3, 2011.  If you would like to take advantage of this, just send me an email at inkfinity@gmail.com

 

Christmas, the Day After

We had a lovely family Christmas celebration yesterday.  This is our entire family on Christmas day.

We are such a close knit family and everything centers around being together, specially on days like yesterday.  I think my niece, Carolyn pretty well sums up our family in this poem she wrote for our Mom.  You see, for my Mom's Christmas present this year, all her grandchildren decided that instead of a material present they would give her the gift of time.  And love.  The poem speaks for itself.

 

This year your gift cannot be wrapped

It’s not an object or kind of craft

This year your gift cannot be worn

It can’t be ripped or frayed or torn

As Christmases pass, the value of things

Becomes less than what togetherness brings

As Christmases pass, we begin to see

That a gift in itself is family

We find ourselves consumed with nickels & dimes

But what’s more difficult and important to make, is

time

So our gift is nothing we bought in a store

It’s something we think is worth a lot more

Our gift is a dinner out to share

With all of your grandchildren who will be there

On December 28th, at the Boat House we’ll be

Enjoying each other’s company

So even in this gloomy weather

We can look forward to being together.

And below is my Mom with her grandchildren on Christmas Day 2010.

Families are special and important.  Families that celebrate together and spend time together are a pure and true source of joy. Here's hoping everyone had a lovely Christmas with family. 

Winter Solstice

It's the winter solstice.  Tomorrow is the start of winter.  Here in my neck of the woods the weather isn't very wintery.  Rather, it's wet and soggy.  We are supposed to have a lunar eclipse tonight but because of all the rain and fog, we will see nothing of it!  On the bright side, I'm all ready for Christmas.  The house is all decorated, the tree is up and the presents are all wrapped! 

What else have I been up to?  Well, I did find time to teach one class last week using Stampin' Up's level 1 hostess set "Because I Care".  I love the hydrangea in this set.  So very versatile!  Here is one of the cards that I taught in class.

For this card, we used the crayon resist technique.  It's an older technique, but I like to revisit these techniques on a regular basis.  You stamp using Stazon on white glossy, color in parts of your image that you want to remain white using a white (or yellow) crayon, then dab colour everywhere else using your classic inkpads and a stampin' sponge.  Then after dabbing the colours you want, simply wipe the entire surface of your glossy cardstock with a paper towel and the areas covered in crayon will "pop" and the white of the glossy will stand out.  It is super cool.

I have new classes coming up for the New Year, so stay tuned!

In family news, with Christmas a week away the family is gearing up for all the festivities.  One of the traditions we have is for all our kids to pick a name of one of their cousins and then exchange gifts.  The call this the "Cousin Santa Exchange".  They do not know who has picked their name, they only find out on Christmas day when the presents are exchanged.  A computer program randomly assigns names to each one.  They send each other emails with their wish lists so they have ideas and I've been laughing out loud each time I read their lists.  They are hilarious.  Here are some of their wish lists....names of each person is withheld to avoid any incriminating repercussions!!!  Notice the choices in red.

Tim hortns/starbucks gift card
a new desk lamp
a book stand ordered from amazon (its 15 dollars) ... these things are awesome for studying!
taylor swift
movie coupons
anything made that i can put on my wall! .. picture of the cousins, a poem, a poster anything

 

 

a gravy boat
an ice bucket-
clean our car

- A frog sculpture.  Any size.  Could be glass, stone, wood, etc.  We have a collection of frogs.
- Something cooked... AND the recipe (Bonus points if it's your own recipe)
- You're entire music collection all sorted/categorized
- Sing a song for us (Bonus points if you are Timmy)

Those are just 3 of the wish lists....the others are just as funny.  Our kids are all very close and they are each other's best friends.  My siblings and I are happy and grateful that they are all so close.....we know that when we are gone, they can all count on each other for support when anyone of them needs it. 

I will be posting pics and stories about our ladies Christmas Brunch and yearly Family Christmas lights bus tour in the next couple of days.  Till then, happy Winter Solstice!

2011 Calendar Kits now Available!

Christmas is next week, and then it's the countdown to 2011.  Can you believe it?  I sure can't.  I still remember all the hoopla about 2000 and the dire predictions about computers malfunctioning, planes falling out of the sky, etc, etc.  People were stockpiling food in anticipation of the worst.  Of course, none of that happened!  The power of suggestion does wonders to the human mind! 

Since next year is almost here, it's time to get ready for it.  I now have the long awaited 2011 calendar kits available.  They are $6.50 each or 2 for $12.  Each kit includes the locking acrylic stand and all the preprinted calendar pages for 2011.  All you need to do is stamp and you're good to go.  Email me at inkfinity@gmail.com if interested.

If you would like regular updates on my classes and sales, you can join me on Facebook by clicking here.

Dinner at Hart House

Every year Doug & I look forward to dinner with the Shervin team at Hart House.  Our friends, Kevin and Sherrin sure do know how to spoil us.  Every year is a wonderful surprise and this year's was no different.  Last year we had a great time, as they hosted the Shervin Olympics, in honour of the Vancouve 2010 Olympics which we were so proud to host.  This year was a gastronomic delight.  We were lucky enough to be pampered with a delicious full course meal prepared by Executive Chef Kris Kabush.  Each course was paired with excellent wine selected by wine director, Edwyn Kumar.  Food is so pervasive....it is everywhere we look -- inside store windows, in playgrounds where kids play, on T.V., in books and in the glossy pages of magazines everywhere.  We are indeed much more than we eat, but on this night what we ate, definitely transformed us into much more than we were!  The Hart House is a treasure away from the hustle and bustle and crazy chaos of downtown.  We are so glad we found out about this gem, as we don't often venture into this part of town.  Living in Richmond, with a busy lifestyle, each time we decided to have a meal out, it was always close to home or downtown.  Thanks to the Westerns, we have discovered this place! Here are some pics of the evening. (thanks to the Shervin Team for the photos.)

As we entered we posed for a picture in front of the tree.

Our wonderful hosts, Kevin and Sherrin Western.

Executive Chef, Kris Kabush and wine director, Edwyn Kumar.  They treated us to a wonderful, full course meal.  Before each course they explained what it was we were eating, told us a bit about the wine and answered any questions.  That's service!

The wine!  What can I say.  In a word, excellent.

The food!  Specially prepared for us by Kris Kabush.  Fresh.  Delicious.  Mouth watering.  I wanted to bring this guy home.  Each and every course had one thing in common.  Olive oil.  Superb.  You know tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French.  Sour cream makes it Russian.  Soy sauce and ginger make it Chinese.   And then there's olive oil.  Olive oil my friends....olive oil makes it good!!

On this night, we took our time enjoying the food.  A meal is supposed to take time.  Unlike what we usually do .... which is scarf down some pasta as we dash in and out of the house to take kids to dance class, or whatever kids activities are on the schedule on that day....on this night, we TASTED our food.  And holy....it was mouth wateringly delicious.  Thank you Kevin and Sherrin.  Thank you Kris and Edwyn. It was a fab night!

The next day....what did I do?  Well I dreamt about food and did the only thing I could to take away the guilt!  I went to the gym.

Before I end as I always do, here's a card for my stamping friends.

The cute snowman image is from Stampin' Up's Punch Pals stamp set.  I think he is adorable!

Have a good weekend everyone....don't get trampled in the mall as you do your Christmas shopping!

 

Christmas Traditions, Old & New

I've lived in Canada for well over half my life.  I was only 11 years old when we moved here from the Philippines.  And while I love living in Canada, at Christmas I always miss being home in Manila.  Christmas in the Philippines is simply quite like no other.  Here we always start Christmas on the 24th, with a big turkey dinner prepared by my sister Telly, the master of turkey dinners.  She makes the full shabang.....mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy...everything.  It is something we look forward to starting from December 1 when we eat the first treat form our advent calendars.  We are already anticipating Christmas Eve turkey.  After dinner at Telly's we go home and we open our presents!  We used to do this Christmas morning, but as the kids have grown older we now do this the night before because Christmas day is always jam packed full of stuff to do!!!  The entire family always visit my dad's grave first, then we proceed to a big lunch at my brother's house.  Followed by a big dinner at my brother in law's house.  So as you can see the theme of Christmas in Canada is EAT, EAT and then EAT again.  But Christmas in Manila.....well that you need to see and experience first hand.  And once you do, you will always yearn for it.  Like I do. 

Filipinos like to celebrate.  And they celebrate big.  We have many Philippine Christmas traditions....but one thing is noticeable right away.  The lights.  It's like Vegas, but a kajillion times brighter.  When we were young, I remember my dad taking us out at night to see the lights and we'd do this all night....till it was so late that we (or at least I) would fall asleep in the car on the drive home. 

We have so many other traditions that I always miss.

Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo

Starting after midnight on December 15th, church bells ring very early in the morning signalling the start of the nine day celebration called Misa De Gallo.  I remember waking up to these bells, getting dressed and walking while it was still dark to the church, which was close to our house.

Making Christmas Lanterns or Parols

I remember making these at school.  We did this using strips of wood, tissue paper of different colours, glitter, glue, etc.  Then we'd take the lanterns home and hang them up outside our home.  I loved this and miss it a lot. 

Noche Buena

This is our Christmas Eve celebration.  It's very much like an open house celebration where family, friends and neighbours drop by to celebrate, eat, and be together.  We lived in a gated community and we knew all our neighbours and everyone was welcome.  We had an open air rumpus room and I remember having many parties here, specially at Christmas.  Family came.  Friends came.  And neighbours came.  I remember the year I turned 9, my parents even hired a guy to come with his puto bumbong cart and he set up in the middle of the basketball court and just made puto bumbong for us to eat as we wished.  Such memories.  I will never forget!

Yes, I loved Christmas in Manila and while I don't think I would move back to the Philippines since my family is all here now and we are settled and happy, this time of year I really miss being there.  Vancouver is great, but man, oh man.....at Christmas time, I really wish I was in the Philippines!!

Finally! A Class!

And you thought it would never happen! Finally, another class!  Now that the craft fairs are over and I've "kind of" started and halfway finished my own christmas shopping, I found time to design another class.  This one uses Stampin' Up's Level 1 hostess set called "Because I Care".  I do love this set.  The hydrangea flower in this set is lovely!  In this class we will make 5 cards and included will be the crayon resist technique on glossy -- an oldie which I've resurrected.  We will also play with watercolor pencils.  The class is on Sunday, December 12 from 3 -  5 PM in my studio in Richmond.  Here are a couple of sneek peeks! 

Spots are limited, so don't delay.  To register, just send me an email at inkfinity@gmail.com