My Canine Assistant

Meet my office buddy, Cybil.

She's more of a nuisance, than an assistant, but it's all in love.  My office is also the home of my boss (office on the main floor, living quarters on the second floor), so we get the constant company of this female Great Dane all day long.  When she's not following us around the office, she is either gazing longingly out the window at the passersby, or sitting near us, like this.  That teddybear is her most prized possession, she just loves to cuddle with it, sucking on the ear, lolling herself to sleep.

I created a little pocket backing a piece of cardstock against this gorgeous piece of Crate Paper patterned paper to hold my journaling tag.

 Isn't she cute?  Perfect way for me to use up more of these ephemera pieces from the Crate Paper Oh Darling collection. 

Those little Maggie Holmes Open book bows were too cute to not include on this girl themed layout.

 I am playing along with the Hip To Be Square Issue over at Paper Issues.  The Issue is being sponsored by the lovely Shelley Haganman.  There are all sorts of way you can link up I went with square photos, and a square design, as well as using {a flair for buttons} flair pieces.  Hop over to the Paper Issues blog to check out the Issue details and link up your own creation.

Thanks so much for stopping by today friends!

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December Moments 2014

Have you managed to complete your December Daily?  There are many people who take it on each year, and my hat's off to them.  I'll never forget the first year I tried to hop on the bandwagon and document every day of our December.  Needless to say it was a massive failure, with not enough photos, that resulted in an unfinished album.  Since then I've tried a couple of other ways to document the Christmas Season around our home, and what I've found is that daily is just not for me.  I find that choosing to simply document the month as a whole works well for our family. There are so many days, where there simply isn't a photo, that choosing to document only what I find 'document worthy' relieves some of the pressure of having that perfectly well ordered album, with numbers from 1-25.

This gorgeous Pink Paislee album, and the coordinating Merry & Bright Collection was what I chose to work with this year.  

I was drawn to the fact that the album had these really fun transparency dividers, and canvas pages, giving it a mixed media feel.

I kept my title page very simple, using one of the kraft tags (sold out) from the collection, and a few coordinating pieces from my stash.  I stitched the alphas down to ensure they would stay in place for many years to come.  If you've ever received an order from the Paper Issues store, you'll recognize that red satin ribbon in a heart beat.

For me, Christmas begins when Starbucks pulls out their holiday cups.  I, in turn pull out the few that I have gathered over the years to use at home.

I made sure to have my oldest get some photos when she joined for friend at the annual Santa Claus parade downtown.  Again, I scrapped right onto the clear page, and paired it with a pocket page.  The 4x4 size is perfect for the photos I print at home with my Canon Selphy.  The journaling is done on this sheet of coordinating patterned paper from the Merry & Bright Collection.

It all begins with one single solitary ornament.

These silver word strip phrases, go so nicely with my trusty old label maker, great for a fun journaling element.

These countdown cards from the collection, are perfect for filling pockets to use up space, and also for adding some journaling.

So many cute patterns, of course I had to create a page to showcase as many as possible.

Don't you just love that itty bitty satin bow from the collection.  I'd like a few of those in all the colours of the rainbow.  It may seem a little silly to have my birthday photo included in my December Daily, but since this is not a daily, but rather a December Moments album, documenting our month including concerts, birthdays and all, it's all good.  This album is all about not having to follow any set rules, but creating pages my family is going to enjoy looking back on.  

Just love the canvas pages.  Flair button from A Flair For Buttons 

The tags really do get addictive for documenting the event.  Flair button from A Flair For Buttons

Our friends Will & Pao came over for games and snacks on the 23rd, and we did it all over again on the 24th with my husbands sister and her kids, including one birthday boy, and a soon to be married couple.

The snowflake is a cut file by 17 Turtles and the joyful frame is an old one from Studio Calico

The "magic" & "merry&bright" cut file is another oldie from Studio Calico. 

I still cracks me up that her arms are waving so fast you can't even make them out in the photo.  It was so fun to keep this secret for several months before she was able to open her "big' gift on Christmas morning.

That quote is a screenshot I captured off of Andrea Howey's IG feed, that girl has some serious talent. 

I thought it was a pretty clever play on words to use the last of the black glitter words on this journal card.

The best part of doing a December Moments album as opposed to simply a Christmas album is that you get to end on New Years Eve, a wonderful way to bid farewell to the old and hello to the new.  Incorporating a little gold from the Dear Lizzy Serendipity collection seemed like the perfect touch for the celebration.

And there you have it, another year in the books.  This is the first time I feel incredibly proud of each and every page of my December Memories album, and it all started with the gorgeous Pink Paislee products.  It's amazing how much creativity can be birthed by gorgeous product to get the senses overflowing.

If you're still working on your December album, and looking for a few more goodies to complete the job, hop over to the Paper Issues shop to get your hands on what's left of our Christmas goodies.  Use code: SHERRI at check out and save 20% off everything you placed in your cart.

Happy shopping friends,and all the best with wrapping up your Christmas memories. Thanks so much for stopping by today! Pin It

Christmas Smiles

Over the past couple of years I've have become more diligent about including more "real life" pages into my scrapbooks.  I want my scrapbooks to reflect a good sense of what life was really like for us through these years.  So often it's easiest to scrap the happy occasions, and fun moments and memories.  But, that's not all life is made up of over the course of the 365 days of the year, and I really want to be able to look back over the years and remember all that life was really made of: the good, the bad, and everything inbetween.

This photo of the Darwin and I brings a mix of emotions to my mind and my heart.  This past year was not all that we had envisioned for our family.  There were some ups, and many downs for both of us, but especially in his world.  This photo of us standing strong alongside one another, at this emotional time of year is such an example to our kids of what a healthy marriage is all about.  Not perfection, but love, and respect, and support in all seasons. It doesn't mean everything works out perfectly in the end, but is sure helps to sail the rough waters.

This photo and all the emotions it holds will find it's place among my Christmas pages. The joy of Christmas is ultimately found in HOPE, great big LOVE, and FAMILY, and I am so happy he's a part of mine.

The Silver & Gold Christmas set is such a beautiful compliment to the colours of the Pink Paislee Merry & Bright collection.  

I love how classy, and elegant they are.  The others in the set will likely find their way onto a New Year's Eve page in the very near future.

You can get your hands on these and other Christmas flair, including several new vintage styles in the A Flair For Buttons Etsy shop right here.

This will be my last post before Christmas, so on behalf of me, and my family, I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas season, in hopes that family will be at the center of it all. Pin It

On The Slopes

Who would have ever guessed that the Funks would have become a ski family?  It's only too bad that we live so far from the mountains?  It's one of the major reasons why living in Calgary is a dream we have.  To be able to wake up and be on the slopes in just over an hour would be such a treat.  Not sure if it will ever happen for us, but we can always dream.

I found a way to use us some older A Flair For Buttons badges and combined them with the Oh Deer Collection by Fancy Pants and created a winter themed layout.

Seeing this photo makes me even more anxious to get my gear on and get back out there. here's hoping that we may be able to get back to Banff at some point this year. 

Thanks for stopping by today friends! Pin It

It's a Hop!

Welcome to the A Flair For Buttons/The Cut Shoppe blog hop.  We are so glad you are joining us in gathering some fun inspo using two of my favourite scrapbook go tos, flair buttons and cut files. Both Ashley and Shelley create fun and easy to incorporate designs.

I loved this Cross My Heart background cut file the first time I saw it in The Cut Shoppe Etsy store.  I had this photo of my two guys waiting to be scrapped, and this worked perfectly.  I was itching to create a black and white layout too.  I had picked up these paper from my local LSS a while back so it felt good to pull them out and finally put them to use.

 Needless to say our Toy Poodle is more of a toy than a canine in our home :)

 Ashley created some super fun flair that worked great with my chosen colour scheme and design.

I think I will always be a sucker for camera, and heart flair, and this sweet button has both those elements.

For my 2nd layout I really wanted to use this photo my oldest daughter got of my youngest daughter and I.  it was somewhat of a candid as she was just testing out the settings of the camera before the guest of honor arrived at the wedding shower we were helping to put on last weekend.  The soft, feminine tones of the Girl Flair, and the Freeze Frame cute file were a perfect match.

I really can't believe how quickly my girls are growing up.  This one looks more like 13 than she does 11.  I've learned that "they" were right all along, it really does go much too fast.

Now for the fun stuff:
1. Just for hopping along with us today Shelley at {aflairforbuttons}is offering 10% off all orders with coupon code:BLOGHOP2014.  In addition to those savings Ashley at The Cut Shoppe is offering 25% off her cut files with coupon code: SAVE25 (both discounts valid between November 21-28).

2. Leave a comment on my blog post and/or any/all blogs posts in the hop and you could win the awesome black and white flair set created by Ashley Horton.

3. Leaving a comment will also put you in the running to win at $15 gift certificate to The Cut Shoppe.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THEIR RESPECTIVE BLOG ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH.

You can see more {aflairforbuttons} designs here.   You'll find all of Ashley's cut files in her Etsy shop here.

There is more inspiration waiting for you along the hop, here is the list:

Els Brige

Amy Coose

Diane Payne

Gina Lideros

Sherri Funk <<< you are here

Allie Stewart

Mary Ann Maldonado

Stephanie Strader

Katrina Hunt

Missy Whidden

Daniela Dobson

The Cut Shoppe

A Flair for Buttons

Thanks for hopping along, good luck and happy shopping!

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Some Really Good Friends

Although I really think a mini album is in order to document all the our sweet girl went through a few weeks ago, I've started to get some of the event & emotions tied to it down on paper with this layout created for the {aflairforbuttons} blog.

I was really wanting to work with the Pink Paislee Summer Solstice collection for this layout, and discovered that I had not purchased many embellishments for some reason, just the gold puffy stickers.  No worry, one look through my flair buttons and I quickly came up with Cork flair, a perfect match for these colours and patterns.  Cork is an easy texture, and colour to mix into many types of crafty projects.

How great is this arrow from the Cork 1 flair set?  I could have an entire package of just this one button design and I would be a happy girl.

Cork 1 flair set

The love button from the Cork 2 flair set expresses exactly how I feel about each of the girls in this photo.  After several days of our 12 year old being in so much pain, and a failed trip to the emergency room, we finally got Théa admitted to the Children's Hospital where they performed a CT scan that revealed a mass.  This was the beginning of a nerve wracking week, but at least we knew the pain was being managed until surgery could be performed one and a half days later.  The night after she was admitted, her 2 besties came to visit.  It was a most welcome visit for all of us, and an important night to document.  Thankfully she is home and almost completely recovered now.  Someday I'll document the whole thing, as a wonderful reminder of all that is precious, and how grateful I am the the many ways so many of YOU supported us through it

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First Love

I was asked recently to complete a layout that had it's focus on journaling.  It's something that I try to incorporate on every layout, even though sometimes it may only be a quick line or two.

These photos I discovered on my phone of Belle with her baby provided a pretty great opportunity to get a story on paper.  We've had Wilson for 5 years now, and I don't think I have ever really documented how much he means to Isabelle.  Wilson has been such a gift to this girl of ours, I honestly think that he calms her, and tones down her "teenage moments" tendencies.  When she's had enough of all of us, she disappears into her room with him, and by the time she re-emerges all is right with the world again.

I'm really loving the look of text on vellum whether it's typed with my typewriter, or written in ink, I think I'm going to incorporate more of it into my pages.

These papers are mostly from the Fancy Pants Meology collection, with the flair from {aflairforbuttons}.  I love how there is always a piece that Shelley has designed that will go with what I'm working on.  Always!

Thanks for stopping by today friends! Pin It

Sometimes It's Winter

This past year has not been an easy one for me.  A lot of changes that all seemed to happen at once, some emotional stresses, some financial stresses, and some physical stresses helped to throw things out of whack for me.  I felt down quite a bit, lost, like I wasn't sure what I was suppose to be doing, and just generally in a funk.  It didn't help that Winter in Manitoba seemed never ending, the cold and the snow just kept coming, and the sun shone very little over those months.  I was determined to scrap about this time, and it has taken me a while to be able to do so.  I wanted to document what that season felt like, as I think it's important that our albums reflect our real life, all the little moments that happen in between the birthdays, and vacations.  I think when we look back at our life it's important to see all the events that helped to shape us and make us who we are.  It took some time to feel healed from that dry, grey season, but I know now that I am finally through that season and moving into a new chapter of life.

I titled this page Sometimes it's Winter.  To me the thought of winter conjures up feelings of cold, and loneliness, as everything around these parts are just that, dead and cold, and colourless.  I took the photo one afternoon after I had gotten home from work, and just sat quietly in the house, alone with the dog on my lap (even Wilson looks like he's being contemplative).

When I saw the Lovely Words 6 set by {a flair for buttons} I just knew they would be perfect for this layout.  To me they are the perfect representation of all the things I wanted to strive for during this grey time.  Joy, Love, and Freedom.  All of the images scream of the love and faith that anchors us, and the hope of something new and wonderful to come.

I intentionally kept my colours pretty washed out looking, to evoke a sense of dullness, and gloom.

I decided to keep my text in the open for this layout.  For starters there was a lot to say so hiding would have been a little tricky, and I think there's something powerful about telling your story and putting it there as a reminder of where we've come from and where we're headed.  It's something to be proud of, it means there has been growth.  It means there's always more to the story.

I hope I've inspired you to get a little more of your story "out there".  We have so much to learn from one another, and this is a wonderful way to be able to love and encourage one another as we  journey together, no matter what season we may find ourselves in.

Have a great weekend friends, thanks for stopping by! Pin It