Scrapbook layouts - Christmas 2008

I finally finished my Christmas 2008 pages. I started these over a year ago for a workshop I taught with my scrapbook groups last year. I used a "20 pages from 1 paper pack" template designed by fellow CTMH consultant Melanie Gosse and created my twenty pages from one Jingle paper pack! I used my twenty pages for all my 2008 Christmas pictures (the whole month of December!) Here are four of the layouts:

 I had made the pages, put in the pictures but hadn't embellished or added titles or journaling yet! It was fun to spend time playing with embellishing. I dug out all my Christmas goodies and other embellishments that coordinated with this paper and got to work! Most of the embellishments are CTMH with a few other rub-ons, chipboard and stickers used!

If you want to scrapbook a lot of pages quickly and get the most out of a paper pack then a 20 page workshop is a great way to go! Let me know if you want more information or want me to email you a workshop that I have on file. :)

Niagara on the Lake

(this is a continuation of our day to Niagara Falls with Daniel's parents and friends)

After we spent the morning at Niagara Falls, we headed to Niagara-on-the-Lake and visited two wineries and had high tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel. We always enjoy learning about history and how things are made and so a highlight was our tour of the Jackson-Triggs winery.

After the tour we headed to the very regal Prince of Wales Hotel for our first experience of high tea, an experience I can't wait to do again! Our tea in the Drawing Room included a Canadian cheese platter, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, little fancy cakes and of course, tea (or pop for the kids!) Unfortunately, no one took a picture of our tea but here are some pictures of the Drawing Room.

After our tea we headed back to Mississauga and enjoyed a delicious, traditional Peking Duck meal, a first for us! We love to try different foods and between the Indian food we had on Saturday when Mom and Dad arrived (we went to the Tandoori Flame in Brampton), afternoon tea and the Peking Duck we had a great week! Thank you Chau, Grace and Michael for a beautiful day!

We also visited Daniel's school, went to the Ontario Science Centre, stopped in at a local Italian bakery for some Sicilian ice cream and celebrated Nathan's birthday during the week Mom and Dad were here!

Book Note - "The Story that Brought Me Here"

I just finished reading the book The Story that Brought Me Here: To Alberta From Everywhere edited by Linda Goyette and really enjoyed reading how people from around the world have built a new life in Alberta and what that looks like. Thirty-seven different writers (including Edson's own Marsh Hoke) share essays or poems expressing their thoughts and feelings about leaving their homeland and moving to a new country. Reading the book was particularly poignant for me after moving from Alberta to Ontario and identifying with the sense of displacement expressed by many of the writers. I highly recommend reading this book! It is a wonderful insight to how new people feel when they move to a new country and struggle with fitting in. Toronto is very multicultural with fifty percent of people living in Toronto born outside of Canada and now I have a little more insight into what it means to be an immigrant. Don't forget to check your library - that's where I found my copy!

Niagara Falls in the the Winter

Another trip we took with Daniel's parents was to Niagara Falls and then to Niagara on the Lake to visit a couple of wineries and have afternoon tea (pictures to follow in another post!) Daniel has reconnected with a friend from high school who he hasn't seen in 17 years and Michael and his Mom Grace were very gracious hosts for the day.

Niagara Falls is quite different in the winter but impressive nonetheless! The wind was cold blowing off the water but we bundled up and enjoyed and appreciated the awe-inspiring view.

Casa Loma - the Castle in Toronto

Daniel's parents were here last week for their first visit to Ontario and we had a great time showing them around Toronto! One of our trips was taking the subway to Casa Loma - Toronto's very own castle. The kids and I had been there in October with my family and thoroughly enjoyed checking it out. This time Daniel came with us too and we spent close to three hours wandering and listening to the hand-held self-guided tour recordings. The following pictures are a mix from our visit in October and from last week.

 

 "The former home of Canadian financier Sir Henry Pellatt, Canada's foremost castle is complete with decorated suites, secret passages, an 800-foot tunnel, towers, stables, and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens (open May through October)." (taken from www.casaloma.org)

 

Mrs. Pellatt's sitting room

The kids had a great time finding the secret passages, hidden storage area, and climbing the many stairs to the top of one of the towers!

 

Above: The roof of the Conservatory 

Below: The conservatory

 A view from the tower at the end of October

Fifth Anniversary Special!

I've been a CTMH consultant for 5 years now and I want to celebrate with a special "Choose Your Own Embellishment!" sale. For the month of March, with any order of $30 in product, pick ONE embellishment from pages 116-117 of the Spring Idea Book for FREE! With any order over $75, pick TWO embellishments for FREE and with any order over $125 pick THREE embellishments for FREE! This includes orders through my website and orders placed directly through me.

*This special is through Laurie Jefferies only. Embellishments must be picked from pages 116-177 of the Spring Idea Book.  On orders though my website, you will receive your free embellishments through the mail at the beginning of April. Order online and then email me what embellishments you would like along with your mailing address!

Don’t forget to check out the “While Supplies Last” section on my website for sale items of up to 90% off!