Create Kate

Paper scrapping

First, thanks so much for your heartfelt commnts yesterday. Parenthood is such a struggle isn't it? It does feel good to know that I'm not alone and in my heart I know that it will all be OK in the end.

Been busy with paper this week and wow I have missed it. I am really enjoying myself. I have one more assignment to go still too and looking forward to it. I love the fact this hobby has expanded so much into digital yet paper is still so strong too. Love the variety and the choice. I'm the guest designer at the Red Lily kit club this month. What a fun bunch of gals over there. And, I have decided that (saying this in a good way and not in agoooo me way) that I enjoy playing with the Simply papers from Fontwerks. I really do. I have done piles of layouts with them now and I am still having fun. They are papers that I would buy if I went into a store. that's a good thing. Makes me smile. But, it also makes me nervous for the next line and the line after that. A raising of the bar each time so to speak. A bit daunting. Exciting though too at the same time.

Here are the pages I created this week with the Red Lily kit:

Worries, guilt and making a decision

I have almost written up this post many times. I go back and forth between what to share and what not to share on my blog. What to keep private. Some days I feel I put so much out there already with scrap booking that I want to keep a lot to myself. Make sense?  But today for some reason I feel like sharing. Maybe part of me wants to feel that connection with others that are in the same boat. Who knows?

I worry some days about raising an only child. Mackenzie is a wonderful girl. She is smart, funny, charming and well a little bit of  a stinker too. But, we have only one. We had never planned to have just one. I remember Tim and I having conversation a long time about wanting three kids. We both come from families with three and enjoyed it. Part of me wants three. Another part of me is so torn. A large part of me is content right now to just stay at one. But then I am scared of reaching an age where I can't go back and feeling regret at just having one. Really scared. I  think for the most part, we have come to the decision to stay at one. For so many reasons. My neurologist has told me numerous times that if I want to have more to have them sooner rather than later as we don't really know what the future holds. At present, I'm not ready. I don't know if I ever will be and I keep feeling the need to make the decision to either continue with more or just stop at one. The guilt of having just one is hard some days. A lot of outside pressure. I'm also a worrywart. Is Mackenzie going to be well-rounded? Will she eventually reach an age where she wishes she had siblings? I've never been a person to allow myself to feel regret. My mantra has always been to keep marching on and not to worry, but for some reason this one is stifling me. I am pretty sure we have decided to have just one. I almost feel the need to mourn those lost dreams of a family of 4 or 5. To let it go so I can march on without regret. Not just for myself but for Mackenzie as well. So, I can move forward and be a strong mother for her. I know that carrying around guilt does not work in her favour. it may feel like it does to her at present when she gets something she wants from me, but I know in the long run I need to let it go. I need to accept where I am at and gain strength from it. But how? Maybe that's what led me to write this post. A quest to move forward. At this point, I'm not sure what will happen. My heart has a want and my gut has a feeling. They are opposite. I am torn. But feeling closer to a decision that I ever have. Just not an easy decision to make. Whoever said parenting is a hard job was right. Not for the day to day pick up your toys, brush your teeth stuff, but the inner struggles to want to be the best that you can be for your child. In the end, that is what is important to me. My Mom tells me that Mackenzie is a gift. She is right. Instead of worrying about what I don't have or may never have I need to concentrate on what is right here, now. A gift I am so thankful for.

Hot Spots

I'm thinking I need to institute a weekly hot spots section- Fridays perhaps? One of the reasons I love blogs so much is the aspect of sharing. They are like word of mouth, but better. I have found so many amazing and informative websites simply by clicking on links found in other blogs. Do you think blog surfing and web surfing can be classified as legitimate pastimes? *snicker* So, without further adieu here are my 3 hot spots for this week:

1. Ronna Penner's Scrapadelic tutorials. LOVE these! If you are new to digital, you will want to run here (welll umm in the blog world, click, but you get the point) I just discovered this little jewel of a site and just had to share it. There are about 5 or 6 tutorials so far with more planned. They are fantastic. They are larger files (quicktime movies) so I prefer to just click on them and work on someting else while they load and then come back in 5-10 minutes and watch the whole video. They are 5 minutes in length- perfect! Check them out, you'll love them! I've learned a lot about Photoshop, but after these I've learned even more. Thanks Ronna!

2. Red Stamp Cards- A friend asked me earlier this week about good card sources. I adore Red Stamp. You can fill in important dates and they will send you a reminder a few weeks early. Then when the reminder comes, you can choose a card from their expansive selection and have it shipped to either you or to the person it is intended for. I am notoriously bad at remembering birthdays and holidays so this is perfect. I am also in love with red Stamps selection. They have modern hip funky cards which I love. You can browse by theme or by manufacturer. Check out the Iota cards- they are fantastic!

3. Broadway Paper- Can you tell I am addicted to shopping online? Ok, so next up is a paper store. Broadway has an amazing selection. Modern and funky once again, just my style. They have a fantastic selection of ready made kits too- fun colours and it's all set out for you. Once again, some of my favourite manufacturers make an appearance, Elum, Iota, and Knock Knock to name a few.

Ok, happy shopping and enjoy your weekend!

Layout and request

Woohoo two days in a row. Hooray. I realized last night I had a layout to share but then was too tired to re-login so I'm uploading it now. Did this a week or so ago- no call, nothing, just for me, for fun. How cute are those little pirates?

The elements are from Kellie Mize at Designer Digitals and Gina Cabrera at Digital Design Essentials. LOVE both of those girls- they do fantastic digital work!

The title for today was a layout and request. A request you say? What kind? Well, a request, more like a plea, for help. I need my American friends on this one.  I was thinking about Karen Russells' upcoming June class at Treasury of Memories. I'm heading down for the day with Kah-Mei (super excited too!) and as I was thinking about our girls day out, I kept coming back to Target. I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE Target. A trip to the US is not complete without it. The prices are good, the products outstanding and well it has just about everything. I love that place.

Herein lies the problem.

We do NOT have Target up here in Canada. How can that be? We have Wal-Mart, but no Target. So, maybe we need to start a petition. We can band together and request that they send Tar-jay up north. Please? I'll send the Bay down south in return. Or better yet, I'll send piles of maple syrup. Who is with me?

Good times

A much needed weekend away. It was the Victoria Day long weekend up here in Canada this past weekend and after being so sick last week, it was a much needed rest. There is nothing better than getting togethe with family and just being. I love my family. Yes, we have quirks but I think those quirks just make it all the more interesting. Kenzie has so much fun with her Uncle Kevin and her soon to be Uncle Trevor (that part is me being optimistic as he hasn't proposed yet, but well we are putting the pressure on here. That's what almost sister-in-laws are for right?) She follows them around everywhere they go. My brother can do no wrong in Kenzie's eyes. She just adores him. It's a mutual adoration there. The weekend was spent reading books by Tim, playing crokinole by almost everyone, playing Sudoku by Mom, and playing games by everyone as well. Games were a HUGE part of the weekend from outdoor frisbee golf to crokinole to bohnanza to Ticket to Ride. We are a gaming family and we had a fantastic satuday night with all the adults playing games until the wee hours laughing and just enjoying each other. I think that's what I love about my family so much. the ever present sound of laughter. And in my books, a family that laughs together , stays together. Here's to all my American friends and wishing you a happy Memorial Day weekend filled with laughter, good friends and family!

Still here

I've been sick now since Mother's Day afternoon. No fun. Isn't there arule against getting sick as summer nears? There should be. The couch has been my friend and I have slept more in the past few days than i have ina long long time. I hear cyber chicken soup works wonders. :)

Life

1. I'm Chatting- tomorrow morning- 11am PST at Paper Made Memories- stop by and say hi! They area kit club and are featuring the Simply Neat line for May. Check out what their team did here. So very cool- LOVE the embellished large letters!

2. I'm Fighting-a sore throat and a cold. What is up with that? I made it through winter with no colds but I'm getting one now. I'm thinking the end of the school year is what's doing it to me. Going to try and squeeze in some sleep.

3. I'm Buying- a necklace from here- Such cool stuff!! And two rings from here. OK, I am in love with these rings. The teal/aqua bklue ones are divine and the clear seem great too- perfect for everyday. Those were what I went with. Great prices too! Now to just wait for them to arrive. The occasion? Me, celebrating motherhood. A girls got to treat herself every now and then right?

4. I'm Enjoying- time with family. My little sister turns 30 next week and we are throwing a party for her tomorrow night. The family is all in town so it should be a good time. I'm looking forwardto it for sure.

That's it for now.

Ok a silly part of me always wants to end my posts with:

"Over and out. 10-4 good buddy." A good tag line eh?

the goods

Good things going round:

1. Cathy Z chat tonight at Designer Digitals- see you there!! Excited about this one.

2. My Wacom is at the Postal Outlet waiting to be picked up today!! Can't wait for this baby. I have being filling my sketchbook up in preparation. Getting ready to create. See what I can do.

3. Came up with a few more colour palettes last night at the eleventh hour. Loving them. Love coming up with palettes and mixing colours. colour rocks. Going a bit less bright- still not subdued but softer. Fun stuff. Green is the centre of my universe right now. Add in a splash of blue and I'm happy.

4. Super excited for my web-hostess friend- Go check out Erin over at CK. So incredibly proud and excited for her. She is going to be fantastic! And I might add- I love that name web-hostess. The hostess with the mostess me thinks!

5. Reading Too Much of a Good Thing- totally cool read. Couldn't put it down on the weekend. Having an only child, I am constantly thinking about how I am raising her in the world we live in today. This one has opened my eyes. It's not about onlies, but rather raising kids in todays day and age- the era where money is pelntiful, time is precious and people are on the go. Good wake up call. Love that.

6. The Women for Women fundraiser- so cool. Karen had blown the lid off that event. Over $10,000 raised. WOW. So humbled and glad to be a part of it all. Just goes to show what wonderful and heartwarming things women can do when they get together.

7. Hitting a happy groove. I swear I am such the Gemini. I totally go up and down with my moods. Seems I follow acycle as well. Being awoman is tough sometimes. Anywho, had a bit of a rough week last week and this week is looking good. Not rough enough it would be a problem , but still that feeling of everything is blech. kwim? Feeling energized and excited this week. Here's to more blue skies.

Have a great day!

Spark

Finally released a new kit at Designer Digitals today. This was a fun one to create as the colours were just fun. Bold and bright. The name Spark totally says it all.

Had a pretty quiet weekend here- NSd stuff yesterday and then took it easy today. I was going to get caught up ona bunch of things and then took most of the day to just hang out as I was tirrrrred. DH forgot to turn off the stove last night. I noticed it as I was heading to bed and pressed the button (or so I thought) and went to bed. I guess I did not press the button hard enough, nor did I double check it. So at 5:25 am this morning I woke up to the timer going off on the stove. Not the smoke alram thankfully- phew (ever have dream you have left the oven on?) DH informed me that I pressed the wrong button when I went to turn it off last night and mistakenly set the timer. Did some errands and household stuff today and then by 2:30 this afternoon the sleepies hit. I don't do well with getting up before 6 am. Need my sleep. So, the lesson for the day- double check! Someone else tell me they have done someting like that before.

Here's a page(used the new kit) of my little niece Sarah from this past Easter. She was too cute. And the colours of the photos just went perfectly.

And I found this interesting blog tonight- scrap scene- keeps you up to date on all the scrap happenings/blog reports etc... thought it was an intersting read. Have to admit- I'm curious who is behind it all. Takea peek.

Somebody told me

that...

the Killers are in the studio laying down tracks- almost done in fact. I know all you blog gals are familiar with Cathy Z. and her infamous love for Green Day (which btw she is right- they are damn good) well I have the same kind of love. For me, it's the Killers. I love them.
I mean I love them.
really.
teenager kind of love.
crushing on them.
big time.
lots.
Brandon flowers.
delicious.
hot stuff.
hot fuss.

Ok phew. I'm getting all giddy here. Channeled a little bit of Kelli Crowe too. So, what brought this post on? I have been crazy busy working on new products for the fabulous Kah-Mei and my i-tunes are going crazy. The Killers get me in the mood to create. They rock. Been listening to Hot Fuss consistently. Man, did I mention how much I love them? You know I mean it when I say man first. How can you not love a band with such crazy lyrics as "Somebody told me that you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend that I had in February of last year" or "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier." or a song titled, "Smile like you mean it." love them. see a theme here?

There a few bands that I have been head over heels in love with over the years. Going back to my first, Duran Duran. Now there is a great band. The list is long. The Cure, Joy Division, The Smiths, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Depeche Mode, Green Day, PetShopBoys, Siouxsie and the Banshees and well now it's the Killers.

So, part of me is in flux right now. I read a report about the new album. I think I am so enamoured with their first album because of the so-called English alternative rock influence. Look at my above list, lots of english alternative bands. And then this reports goes on to quote Brandon as saying he had a musicial ephipany. He found Bruce. Bruce Springsteen to be exact. Don't get me wrong, I like Bruce Springsteen, but he is a lot different from what I expected. Here is what NME says:
"(The album is) more American. People called us the best English band to come from America and all that shit," he told Rolling Stone"That's cool, and English rock is great but it's forced me to listen to American music to see what I was missing."

He cites Bruce Springsteen's 'Thunder Road' and the work of US singer/songwriter Tom Petty as influences. (ww.nme.com)

I'm ever so curious now though. You can bet I'll be hitting the download button the day that baby comes out. I-tunes, get ready. I am excited. curious. a bit nervous.

And I found this to up the ante:

Flowers hasn't lost any of his frontman swagger. Just ask him about the new record, and he'll give you a response that should make the Killers' fans and detractors very happy.

"I can't walk around with a chip on my shoulder all the time. I have to realize that people aren't going to like us," he said. "We just have to make the best album that we can. And we're doing it. This album is one of the best albums in the past 20 years. There's nothing that touches this album. And that sounds like I'm being cocky, but I'm just so excited. I hope that helps people. I hope people hear this album and realize that you don't need to worry about the second album."

Ok it's confirmed.

I need this album.

now