Journal Your Christmas 2009

I mentioned JYC a few entries back, and now that December 1st is almost here, I am excited about getting started. If you recall, JYC is a online class I signed up for in which I will be sent daily journaling prompts to help me celebrate/recall/reflect about this festive season. Hopefully, once a day, I will have a few minutes to write my thoughts and feelings in my mini-scrapbook. Because this season can be so overwhelming, we are directed to pre-make some of the elements for our journal. I completed my cover last night. (see below) I have also made a month's worth of date tags and well as collected all of my scrapbooking materials. Hopefully now, all I will have to focus on is getting each journal and scrapbook page done. I REALLY don't want to get behind. Wish me luck!

Here is the cover of my book:

"Loot" Cookies

My oldest son's birthday party was today. I had no idea what to get for his guest's "loot" bags. I am really not a fan of these things, but found it somewhat necessary to do something. So this is what I made :



Cookie Lollipops!!

I baked large chocolate chip cookies, then stuck two together, oreo-style, using melted chocolate (Belgian chocolate wafers - Mmmm!!). While the chocolate was hot, I slipped a cookie stick (found at Bulk or craft stores) in between the layers. Once the chocolate cooled, the sticks were stuck inside. I placed them in mini cello-bags with a handful of Smarties and tied them with ribbon. Oh did they look good and tasted even better!

Bryn sure appreciated them (and so did the kids at the party!)

2 New Layouts

My turns oldest son turns 5 today (more on that later). This, of course, makes me think of my children's growth and development. I make it a priority to ensure that each child's milestones are scrapbooked for their future enjoyment. I also think it is very important to capture those little details too. Here is a layout that is a snapshot of my daughter at age 3 1/2. No milestones here, just notes about Afton, today and now.



I'll throw in an extra layout here. Just a page I put together about my youngest son. Like the layout says, I think he is so darn adorable. Lucky he is cute, because he is going through a "cuddle/carry me all the time" phase right now. It's always the "cute" that makes me pick-up his almost- 30-pound body and carry him around. : )

Celebrating my Family

Most of my scrapbooking centres around my darling family. Here are some of my favourite recent layouts:

My three sweetie-pies. This layout celebrates the fact that I have 2 beautiful boys and a gorgeous girly:


My extreme happiness with my finished Family of Five:


My little lady, confidently dressed in an itty-bitty bikini. I hope she keeps this confidence forever!


My kids love to spend time with their Nana. In the first layout, they help Nana pick beans and potatoes from her garden for dinner. In the second, they sneak some cuddles on a sunny day:




Thanks for looking!!

Yummy Caramel Apples!

I have always loved caramel apples. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company makes the best ever! But today, we, the McConvey family, tried to make our own. And you know what? It didn't turn out too badly!

I bought this kit at Indigo. Yep the bookstore. It has the caramel mix, the sticks and the recipe.


Afton and Bryn pushed the wooden dowels into the apples. They have big muscles, so it was easy!




I did the scary, boiling-hot-sugar part on the stove. I added cream and butter to the powder mix found in the kit. It took 15 minutes for the sugar and cream to cook into hardening caramel, but it was well worth the wait!


I convinced the kids that they had to watch me roll the apples in the caramel once it was ready. Still too hot for their little hands (Afton became the photographer instead)



Look! All finished. Cooled and hardened and covered in some fall-themed sprinkles.



Afton decided that these treats were just not for her. Too much work to chew that gooey caramel. She had a plain apple instead. Not Bryn. He jumped right in!

Journal Your Christmas

While checking our Ali Edwards' blog, I came across a link to www.shimelle.com where I found an invation to join an online class called "Journal Your Christmas." For a nominal fee (About $33 CAD) she will guide class members through the creation of a book of memories about Christmas 2009. It can be in note-to-self journal form, in picture form or in a mix of both, creating a scrapbook for the season. Journalling prompts will be sent to me each day of December and continue until the 12th day of Christmas (January 6th). By the end of the 35+ days, I will have created a book of memories without a lot of stress or complication. I am already looking forward to beginning!

Shimelle reccomends that this process works best if one builds a support system to urge the everyday completion of journal entries. So I say this to you, my blog readers:

Will you join me on this endeavour???

Been Busy in the Scraproom

I really like this layout that I did celebrating Camdens' 1Oth month. It's based loosely on a sketch by Ally Cope.



Look at this one! It features pictures of both of my boys, each at about 11 months, wearing the same lion headgear. They look very similar, eh? Bryn is at the top, Camden at the bottom.



Thanks for looking!

Little Red Wagon Challenge #1

I joined a challenge blog called - "Little Red Wagon." http://lilredwagon.blogspot.com/

Our first challenge was to create something using the packaging leftover from a scrapbook product. For the card below, I punched some kraft coloured circles out of the packaging from some K&Company adhesive borders. Not my best card, but it is nice to "go green."