Chris' Birthday card

I just finished this card for my friend's birthday. I will be giving it to her today. It is a pattern from Ann's Paper Arts. I love her patterns.

My upcoming vacation / trip home

I am getting really excited about travelling next Wednesday to see my family and friends - I haven't seen them in five years. I'm looking forward to the smell of the ocean, walking on the beach, tasting fresh fish and hopefully lobster, meeting my nephew again now that he is old enough to remember me, seeing all my old friends and just hanging out. I will be away from my Daisy dog and for that I will be sad, but will enjoy my time on my own.

I will try to get some more cards posted in the next day or so.

Marianne's Blog Candy

I found this new blog and I think the projects are incredible! Be sure to check it out:
http://mariannescraftroom.blogspot.com

Check out Debbie's Blog Candy

Happy Birthday to Debbie. And she's giving away a fantastic present to a random person who comments on her blog. Check it out:
http://passionforcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-my-birthday-blogcandy.html

Blog Candy on Karen's Page

Karen is giving away some wonderful blog candy. Check it out:
http://www.karenscardsnstamps.com

Check out Bev's One Year Give away!

http://bevscrafts.blogspot.com

Check out Jacques One Year Blog Candy

Wow check out the blog candy that Jacques is offering for her one year celebration. Hard to believe it's only been a year. Be sure to check out her incredible creations too.
http://jacquesmagnolias.blogspot.com

Donalda's Blog Candy

If you've been wanting to create with flowers, check out Donalda's great prize featuring Wild Orchid Crafts

http://donaldas.blogspot.com

March Kit from Ecstasy Crafts

Here are the cards from the Ecstasy March Kit. It was all Dufex Metallic cards and 3D flowers. And of course I loved the butterflies! The scans don't really do them justice as the metallic doesn't show up very well on scans.

Forgot one for January

Forgot to include this one. I changed the background paper and haven't yet put a greeting on it since I'm not sure where it will be going yet.

January Valentine's Kit from Ecstasy Crafts

Finally have time to get these posted to the blog. These are the cards that were made from the January Project of the Month from Ecstasy Crafts. They have a kit every second month that has all the elements to create at least four cards.

Cafe Review

Well I always wanted to be a restaurant critic so here I am creating a review on my blog.
Some of the girls and I decided to have an outing to the Beach area of Toronto yesterday to visit Scrapbooks by Design and try a new place for lunch. After doing some searching on the web, I stumbled across this listing for Wild Earth Bakery and Cafe. With several of our group having dietary issues and limitations, I thought it sounded like the ideal place to go - nut-free, organic, gluten free, sugar free with over 100 choices of loose leaf tea (my new favorite hobby to explore). So we decided it would be a good thing to try.

Well we were certainly not disappointed! It is a quaint little place with seating for about 25 or so. There truly are over 100 choices in tea - everything from traditional English Breakfast to White Swiss Truffle Rooibos and everything in between. You can buy an average 50g bag to take home for about $5 and even try a sampler to make 2 cups of tea for $1. There are so many wonderful things to purchase to take home (besides the tea selection) - free trade coffee beans, wonderful jams, chutneys, spreads, teapots, mugs, traveling mugs, and a big seller for our group - tea sacs - turning your loose tea into a tea bag when you just don't have time for the wonderful ritual of making a pot of loose steeped tea.

For lunch we tried various things - roast beef sandwiches on fresh ciabatta buns, turkey sandwich, and quesadillas. There are at least three breads to choose from every day along with other specials and at least two soups of the day. Some of our ladies tried the Tomato Basil soup and the Cream of Carrot and everyone raved about both of them.

Then it was time for dessert - I don't remember how many desserts there were to choose from exactly but I figure at least 30 - from Chocolate Ginger Cookies to cupcakes to lemon squares to carrot loaf. Our group went with the Chocolate Cup Cake with Buttercream Icing, Lemon Square, and Triple Chocolate Cookie Sandwich with Buttercream Filling (think Giant Oreo but so much better). There were choices for Gluten Free and Sugar Free in the dessert aisle too.

The price is very reasonable for eating in the Beach - my bill came to $21 for sandwich, tea, dessert, White Swiss Truffle tea to take home, and a package of 100 tea sacs. More than reasonable if I really think about it.

The people working there are fantastic, so understanding and patient while they learn about their customers individual needs. Overall it was a wonderful visit and we'll definitely be going back. If you are in the Beach area and want to sample some new tea or pick up some gluten free sugar free dessert or bread to try, check it out. It's located at 2142 Queen Street East, with Green P parking just around the corner on Hammersmith. You can also check out their website at http://www.wildearthbakery.ca

Thanks to the guys for a wonderful visit!

Ecstasy Crafts January Project of the Month Kit

These are the first four cards from the January Project of the Month Kit. There are two others I still need to complete.

A card for a friend

I made this card for my friend's birthday in January but forgot to post it.

Blog Candy online

Check out the great blog candy
http://clairebsd.blogspot.com/2010/02/candy-time-just-for-you.html