Goodbye Dolls & Decorations....

Helaas weer een leuke scrapwinkel minder: Dolls & Decorations in Almere gaat binnenkort dicht. Nou is Almere niet echt in de buurt, maar ik vond de winkel leuk genoeg om er af en toe even langs te gaan. Vanwege de uitverkoop (tot 50%) had ik een doosje spullen besteld en die kwam gisteren binnen. Geweldig!!

It's sad but another scrapbook store is closing his/her doors....Dolls & Decorations in Almere. Because of the sale I ordered some delicious stuff from them:

A new sketch

Op Stampin' Scrap staat een nieuwe schets challenge voor febuari. Natuurlijk kon ik het niet laten er gelijk mee aan de slag te gaan!

On Stampin' Scrap you'll find a sketch challenge for February! Of course I couldn't resist and started straight away!

Here's my interpretation:

And this is the sketch:

TFL!

And have a very scrappy weekend!!

xoxo Monique

I DESIGN FOR....

De email van TANYA gisteren "made my day"!!! Ik ben opgenomen in het Design Team van Little Shop of Sketches, een sketch blog uit New Zeeland!!! Yes!! Ik ben zo super blij hiermee!! De schetsen van Tanya zijn geweldig om mee te werken en nu mag ik samen met de rest van het design team 1x per 2 weken als eerste haar schetsen uitwerken! En het mooiste is dat Mieke ook in het Design Team zit!!! Verder zit mijn bloggy friend Vicki er ook nog steeds in, dus dat kan niet meer stuk! Ik heb er zo'n zin in!!! De andere leden van het DT zie je hieronder met daarbij een link naar hun blog.

I was so super happy when I read my e-mail Thursday morning!!!! And you know why? Because I had an e-mail from Tanya telling me that I made the Design Team from Little Shop of Sketches!!!! Wohoo!! I'm so thrilled! Since then I have this BIG grin plastered on my face!!!! Thanks Tanya, for this wonderful opportunity and for the chance to be one of the first to work with your wonderful sketches! I'm really looking forward to working with you and with the rest of the DT:

• Tanya Leigh
• Mieke Nagtegaal (with whom I started my scrapbooking career back in 2003)
• Vicki Parker (my bloggy friend from the other side of the world)
• Stefanie Semple
• Jessica Hornung
• Helen Tilbury

En dit zijn de schetsen en mijn layouts die ik had ingestuurd voor de DT Call:

Tot ziens op de site van LSOS en doen jullie een keer mee met een sketch challenge??? Ja toch!

See you soon on the LSOS' blog and hope you'll play along sometime with one of the fabulous sketches!!

Queen & Co

Did you see the new spring collection of Queen & Co.? Go check it out, it's fabulous!! And they're having a wonderful give-away!

Dare to use Color

Vandaag een layout opgestuurd naar Hilde van "Dare to use Color", een Nederlandse scrapbook site met een maandelijke kleuren challenge. Deze maand moet je een scrapproject maken met de kleuren zwart en oranje. Als je wilt zien wat ik ingestuurd heb moet je even op hun site kijken. Aan de linkerkant vind je de "gallery" en mijn lo staat onder "dare#13".

Finished a layout for a challenge on a Dutch scrapbooking site "Dare to use Color". This month's challenge is to create something with the colors black and orange. Doesn't have to be a lo, but it must include some photos. If you want to see what I made check out their site. On the left hand site you'll find the galery for all the dares. Mine is placed under dare#13.

Blog candy at Paper Popsicles!

A chance to get free blog candy at Paper Popsicles..... go check it out!!

Scrap the Boys

Tja, en wat doe je als je opeens 5 "vrije" ochtenden erbij hebt? Dan ga je surfen op het net en vind je nog meer leuke challenge blogs.... tenminste dat is wat ik doe! Zo vond ik deze "Scrap the Boys" site en omdat de januari challenge me wel aansprak heb ik maar gelijk mee gedaan. De challenge was een layout maken waarbij je je laat inspireren door de nieuwe blog "banner".

And because of all the spare time I have (with Mats going to school too) I found another amazing blog with challenges..... This time an "boys only" blog, it's called "Scrap the Boys". So I did! The January challenge was to create a page inspired by the new blog banner....

And yet another challenge....

Ik word een echte "blog hopper"; ik vind het heerlijk om blogs van andere mede-scrappers te lezen en ben gek op allerlei challenges. Zo ben ik via via op het sketch blog "Black Magic" terecht gekomen. Hier hebben ze 2x per maand een challenge waarbij de hoofdkleur altijd zwart is. Leek me ook wel weer eens leuk....dus toen gisteren Conny kwam scrappen heb ik een layout gemaakt voor de challenge van Black Magic: behalve zwart moest je ook nog de kleuren roze, wit en turkoise gebruiken en daarnaast nog wat rub-ons. Dit is het geworden:

I'm turning into a real "blog hopper"; I love to read blogs of other scrappers and admire their work and I love to participate in all kinds of challenges! This way I found the "Black Magic" sketch blog. Here you have the chance to create and submit layouts with black as the predominant color. Each fortnight the Creative Team will provide a new sketch. You will be required to have your layouts showcase predominantly black and then use a combination of our monthly palette of colours. The first challenge for this year was: besides black, use pink, turkoise and white and some rub-ons. So, Tuesday evening, when Conny came over to scrap I decided to give it a go and this is what I made of it! Hope you'll like it.

TFL!

2008 in review

Toen ik van de week het blog van Journaling Junkie bezocht en hun laatste challenge "a review of 2008" zag, wist ik gelijk "hieraan wil ik meedoen!". Ik ben al zo lang van plan om een dergelijke layout te maken, maar om de een of andere reden kon ik nooit de inspiratie ervoor vinden. Maar nu is het er dan eindelijk toch van gekomen en ik ben hartstikke blij met het resultaat!

Journaling:
1e kaartje:
1. Jan: Mats werd 3 en dit zijn de Elmo traktaties voor de peuterspeelzaal; 2. Feb: Mats krijgt een “groot” bed 3. Mrt: Manon zorgt voor de paassfeer in huis; 4. Apr: Timothy’s team bij 4x4 voetbal via school; 5. Mei: Vakantie in Schotland en Timothy’s 9e verjaardag; 6. Juni: Dansvoor-stelling “Kleur” van Manons dansschool Coby Ouwersloot in schouwburg Rijswijk, Oranje voetbalt; 7. Juli: bbq bij Thijs op de boerderij ter afsluiting voetbalseizoen F7 Timothy;

2e kaartje:
8. Aug.: Op vakantie in Frankrijk, we gaan 1 week naar de Ardèche: Bourg-Argental en 1 week naar Cardet met Paul en Michèle met de kids; 9. Sept.: De kinderen in tuin van het Prinsenhof in Delft; 10. Okt.: Pompoenmaskers maken voor Halloween; 11. Nov.: Manon wordt 12! Kaarsjes uitblazen blijft leuk! 12. Dec. Kerstavond met cadeautjes onder de kerstboom en Mats wordt 4! Kaarsjes uitblazen van zijn gele Diego marsepeintaart!

When I visited the blog "Journaling Junkie" and read their latest challenge I just knew I had to participate. The challenge was to create a layout either about your celebration of New Year's, or your resolutions or a review of 2008 and as you can see I chose the latter. So many times I wanted to create such a layout, but it just never happened.....and now it has!

Journaling reads:
(1st card)
1. Jan.: Mats turned 3 (in Dec.) and these are his Elmo treats for kindergarten; 2. Feb.: Mats gets a “big” bed! 3.: March: Manon takes care of the easter decorations; 4. April: Timothy’s school soccer team for the 4x4 games; 5. May: Our holiday in Scotland and Timothy’s 9th birthday; 6. June: Manon with her streetdance class during the performance “Colour” in the theatre in Rijswijk; EK: Oranje (Dutch soccer team) plays and everybody has the orange fever; 7. July: end-of-season barbecue with Timothy’s soccer team.

(2nd card)
8. Aug.: Holiday in France: 1st week in a chalet in the Ardèche in Bourg-Argental and the 2nd week at camping Beau Rivage in Cardet with Paul and Michèle and kids; 9. September: The kids in the garden of “het Prinsenhof” in the centre of Delft; 10. Oct.: carving pumpkin masks for Halloween; 11. Nov.: Manon turns 12! Blowing out the candles is still fun! 12. Dec.: Xmas eve with presents under the Christmas tree. Mats turns 4!! Blowing out the candles from his yellow Diego marzipan cake!

And this morning my prize from Little shop of Sketches arrived, all the way from New Zealand!! Thanks Tanya, I love it (used part of it straight away on the layout above)!!

Last day of skating fun!

We had such a wonderful weather this weekend! Sun and ice all around! (but freezing cold!). And because today, Monday, the temperature would be rising above freezing point again, everybody went skating! As did we (well, to be honest, the only thing I did was taking photos and pulling the sleigh). Here are some photos...

Sorry for the bad quality of the last one; it was getting dark so early! but as I don't have many photos with all 3 kids I wanted to show you anyway...

Nieuwe layout

Even een layout laten zien die ik met een foto van Robin gemaakt heb. Ik heb een schets van Paper Popsicles gebruikt, verder papier van Scenic Route.

Just wanted to show you a layout I finished today. Used a photo of my nephew Robin.

Papers are from Scenic Route. Sketch is from Paper Popsicles.

TFL!

Nook kit and Ewonne's blog

This week my Nook kit arrived! and again it's filled with the most wonderful stuff! For example those Webster Pages!! I just love them!

Have you seen Ewonne's blog lately? You should! Not only are her creations wonderful, but she has a little give-away as well!!

Ice Skating

And this is how we did last week!! After a few cold, freezing days and nights we were finally able to ice skate again!! Luckily we had bought Manon new skates only a few days ago, because they are very hard to get right now!
The photos are a bit dark as it was late afternoon when I took these and although I didn't really notice it, it was already getting dark.....

And our little Mats enjoyed himself very much too!

Manon and Louise were too impatient to wait for their photo to be taken...... maybe tomorrow?

xoxo Monique

New Year's Resolutions

Did I mention what my resolutions are for 2009? No, I don't think so. I'm not normally one to make New Year's resolutions, but on 31st of December at 11.15 p.m., when everyone was busy, but me, I looked at the clock and found myself thinking about the comming year and what it might bring..... I started to wonder what my resolutions would be if I were to make them (I'm not making myself very clear, am I?).

And I came up with these goals and resolutions (I better write them down otherwise I'll never stick to them, LOL!):

1. Find a job as a HR Advisor again; after 4 years of being a SAHM I look forward to a "real" job again!! and yes, I'll miss the time I spent with just Mats (especially our little morning routines), but as he's going to school anyway, the time has come to return to "normal" life again.
2. Try to become a member of a Design Team of a scrapbooking (sketches) site (preferably internationally) and because I love sketches, I already submitted layouts to two sketch sites! (one I've told you about a few posts earlier and the other one I'll tell you later in this post).
   
   and then usual resolutions:
   
3. Be more patient with the kids!
4. Stop feeling guilty when I'm not the perfect mother/wife/friend/neighbour/employee....I think I should be....
5. Be more aware of the "little" things...
6. Watch my weight.....
7. Be more economical with money....
8. Don't think but DO!!
9. Find more time for me (to travel, read, scrap, etc.)!!

I just mentioned that I applied for another design team. This time I sent 2 layouts to "So Sketchy!". Ally has some wonderful sketches on her site and I would be thrilled to become a member of the team....

These are the layouts I submitted:
sketch #10

sketch #14

Hope these layouts are good enough! I have to wait until the 14th of January to find out and I have to wait even longer for "Little Shop of Sketches": until 4th of February! But wouldn't it be just wonderful if one of my resolutions would come true straight away?? Keeping my fingers crossed!

And YOU?? Did you make any New Year's resolutions???????

xoxo
Monique

Happy New Year!!

Wishing everyone a very happy, healthy and scrappy 2009!!!!!!