simply love...

Today marks a special day for me. Nine years ago today 'me' became 'we'. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone...many years filled with great memories.. this year is more special...this year it means just that much more. It is the start of a new adventure.. a new step forward.

The past nine years have been some of the best of my life. I have found a truly wonderful person to spend my life with. I feel blessed. He is everything I could have asked for.. everything I could have dreamed of.. he is my best friend...can make the worst day bearable, knows how to make me smile.. is so generous and giving.

B,
The best part of me is you...it is hard not to take for granted you will always be there for me. I am thankful for the life you provides for us, for wanting to be better...always giving, so patient.. for wanting to walk this life with me by your side. I am grateful you chose me. This upcoming year will be memorable, magical and I can't wait for it to start.
Happy Anniversary. I love you more than you will know,
Love always,
B

home for the holidays...

There's no better feeling that being back at home. For Christmas this year, my guy decided to send me home for the holidays..since he would be working.. knowing how home sick I was getting..knew I needed to be surrounded by my family this holiday season. Such a wonderful gift.

This past week has flown by...time always flies when you are enjoying yourself. Still a couple weeks left at home...I will savour each remaining day...glad I have my mom around to take care of me...nothing worse than being sick over the holidays but, just my luck that's what I got. Just goes to show you're never too old to be looked after by mama.

Yet another Christmas card that was requested by my sister. There's nothing I enjoy more than whipping up little packages of cards for people I love. She passed them on to a friend who, as I was told today, just loved them. It makes it all worth it when I hear how much someone enjoys one of my handmade gems. Some sheet music..my fave for Christmas cards..Maya Road tree pin..random buttons...I just had to use my PTI die and background basics text....doilie and some extra thick seam binding in that gorgeous burgundy...Mmm mmm. it's love I tell ya.
Sometimes the simplest cards give me the most happiness..
Til next time,
~Becks

snow globe Sunday...

There's nothing I like better then a fresh snowfall. I don't enjoy the cold that goes along with it; I could do with out that. And, venturing out in it isn't desirable, but there's something calming about snow falling. This Sunday I sat watching as big fluffy white snowflakes fell from the sky. Drifting and floating on the breeze; covering every surface..looking very magical. On days like these I feel as if I'm enclosed in a snow globe that has been gently shaken. Such a wonderful feeling.

 The fallen snow is a bright-white clean slate so to speak. It glistens and sparkles as the sunlight hits it. It blankets the area with such a silence. Have you ever stopped and listened to snow falling?It's such a surreal experience. Those fluffy, white, light-as-air flakes have a quiet whisper about them as they make their way to the ground. Simply amazing!

Another one of my wreath ornament cards. They are highly addicting to make... I just couldn't stop. This card reminded me of my snow globe Sunday afternoon. Of course I had to add sheet music edged with distress ink, along with some sparkle to those Maya Road snowflakes.. how I love Maya Road goodies! The stamps and sentiment are from PTI's snowflake serenade. One of my favourite wintery sets!
I am off to do some more Christmasy jobs. Such a busy week! Hope to pop in again soon with some more Christmas creations.
Have a wonderful wintery time!
~Becks

count your blessings...

"When I count my blessings, I count you twice"

This post is a bit delayed. It's a continuation of my 'thankful posts' The first one can be found here,  if you haven't read it yet. In the last one, I "left out" one important person in my life I am thankful for; my guy. This post is for him...

For everything you do to make life that much easier..
For your generous nature..
Your sense of humour; your laugh. It warms my soul, lifts a gloomy day...

For naps on the couch, snuggled up..
Pretending to 'give in' when play fighting.. 'cuz we both know you are way stronger than I am, but you let me 'win' some days..
How you won't leave the house with out a kiss goodbye..

Your protective and helpful nature, and the fact you do that every day in your career...wanting to do better for everyone, not just yourself.
Long car rides into the city, full of great conversations, laughs...bopping to music... remembering..
For support and ideas with my creativity..
For the life you are providing for us..

Getting to spend this journey with you for the last 9 years and for many years to come..
You are my best friend, soul mate,my perfect match.
You are sexy, loving, sweet and funny..supportive, strong, gentle and most importantly; all mine.
I definitely count you twice when I count my blessings.
Love
B

one week...

Never before have I realized the value of a week...

I am trying to gather my thoughts, my words.. I apologize for my absence. The last week has been a tough one.. the toughest of my life so far. I am dealing with the loss of a very wonderful, special person to me; my grandfather...It's taken a lot of time; a lot of soul searching..a lot of tears, memories, special moments to be able to finally come to a place where I am able to function without breaking down.

One week has allowed me to see the value of time, to not take anything for granted...to make time to speak to friends, family...tomorrow is not guaranteed.

One week has shown me all I have to be thankful for. That I have the most amazing support system of friends and family;both far and near.It has shown me that life goes on, albeit more different than before.

This week has been full of remembering.. good memories and times past..reminding me to live in the present. That our past experiences make us the person we are today. It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions...I am grateful for the time my grandfather and I shared. I will cherish those memories fondly.

I've been keeping my hands busy. It seems when my heart is heavy, my hands must create. This card reminds me of a visit to see my grandfather a few years ago. We went out sightseeing and for lunch and by some fluke we both ended up wearing yellow that day.. I love the pale creamy yellow colour of the card. It's kept clean and simple..I often over complicate things and get discouraged. But not here...

I've learned that this journey is unpredictable..that time is the only thing that will heal this wound..but I'll get by with a little help from my friends and family.
This one's for you Pa,
~Becks
E.T.A The layout is a scrap lift from the multi-talented Melissa Phillips...I loved the clean and simple look of her cards...and tried it for myself!

attitide of gratitude...

*Mom, dad and M- for all they have done, for all they still do..and will continue to do to help me along my journey..for being there when I need them.. to help me navigate through what life throws at me. Your support is what gets me through the loneliest of days.. through home sickness and my lowest lows..

*Best girlfriends- To C for being there through thick and thin...for accepting me for who I am; flaws and all... understanding that life happens; For helping with problems. Giving advice..knowing that it doesn't matter how long in between conversations; you can pick up where you left off and it's like time hasn't passed at all....

*Technology- To keep in touch with those far from me..glorious technology that allows us to be together, miles apart. To share in each others lives...to celebrate milestones together...

*Family- for reconnecting..Knowing that our roots may be spread out over different countries and provinces, but we are all apart of the same tree..Learning more about where I come from, who I take after.. a great feeling of being...

 *New friends, new experiences-for understanding what it's like to start out somewhere new. For support and much needed chats.. For being such great people..for helping, advice, tips and gestures...they do not go unnoticed. For helping us feel like we belong. For welcoming us into a new 'family'..

*Papercrafting- I am glad I have the opportunity to craft and share what I love doing. I stumbled upon this creative outlet of mine a few years ago and haven't looked back. I need to learn not to compare my work to others, and love the journey I take in creating. It is definitely my sanctuary these days..

As the year is drawing to a close, I think it's time to reflect on what I am grateful for. A couple of blogs I follow are also focusing on just the same thing.. a few have even shared today's blog title as well. In no means am I trying to copy them, only pay homage to them. You may have noticed I left out my guy.. I haven't forgotten him.. he's getting his own special post..coming up soon...he needs to know his actions do not go by unseen too.
I made this card for my best friend C. I hope she likes it.. I kept it CAS to showcase the Basic Grey papers which I can't seem to put down...some well used PTI stamps..Maya Road chipboard... yum.
I am very grateful for those of you that view my blog and leave such sweet, encouraging comments. They make my day, inspire me to push on and create..I'm glad that you all take time out of your day, and come to visit me here on the blog. I appreciate it more than you will know.
'Til next time,
~Becks

dream a little dream...

Happy World Card Making day from a grey, drizzly day here in BC...Fall is upon us, and so is the rainy season. I'm sure the pumpkins in the fields are drinking in the rain, but I'd rather see Mr. Sunshine! Since it's such a grey day, I thought I'd share something that makes me cheery. It's one of my latest creative 'experiments'. I've been playing around with some new techniques (and getting acquainted with the old Singer sewing machine) to add dimension to my projects. I'm quite happy with the way this one turned out, but I think there's still room for improvement...as always. Creating is a process for me. I learn what does and doesn't work..its all about the journey.

I mixed up some patterned paper with some tea-stained sheet music. I used some Prima papers(how I love those) from the Nursery Tales line, fought with the sewing machine and stitched them all together before adding them to the cream cardstock. That lovely blue, distressed embellishment and key are grungeboard...they are virtually indistructable and oh, how I adore them. I decided that the key looked pretty lonely by itself so I added it to a soft cream felt background and use the old pinking shears for some pizzaz.

I hope where ever you are the sun is shining. I'm off to enjoy what I can out of this grey day. Maybe pick up a good book and get cozy. We'll see..
Have a great day! Create a card for WCMD!! Create..dream..explore!
~Rebekah

in a christmas type of mood..

Yes, you read right.. I said it.. for me it's all about getting down to business and working on my Christmas card orders.. but, for now here's a little baby I am {still} working on.. And when I say working on I mean, the actual card is done, but the sentiment escapes me.

Ahh, my favourite embellishment yet again.. this time I made it out of heavier card stock (a la Papertrey Ink) and it seems to be holding up pretty well.

This *should* be the last one of these for awhile.. just had to get them out of my system, but they are SUPER easy to make and just look darling(if you ask for my humble opinion) The 'bloom' sentiment is from Inkadinkado. I edged the square with PTI's vintage touch tea dye in chamomile.
Here's the finished product. The sentiment will go in the lower right hand corner.. I used Upsy Daisy's new line 'A Walk in the Park' and took my colours from there.
I'll update with a new pic once I decide on the sentiment.
Thanks for dropping by!
~Rebekah