I WON!!!

If you know me really well, you know I DO NOT win anything. Ever. Bad luck maybe? Who cares. Not a big deal. And that’s why Last Saturday at Inspiration Unlimited, I thought, there is no way I will win this. That however has never stopped me before on trying. Apparently I have a little bit of my dad’s competitiveness in me. So Saturday night at about 9 they announced a contest using the left over scraps from the album kits they had made for 250 women. I grabbed 3 stacks, I was already crazy in my head. Keep in mind this event was about 45 min’s away from my house. And I have an 11 month old who still won’t sleep through the night. Again crazy.

I started cutting strips with fringe scissors in the car. And spent about another 2 hours cutting. Then came the “uh oh, how do I make this into my vision.” And for a moment I thought I had cut all that for nothing. But once you’ve sat fringing paper for 2.5 hours you dont just give up. It certainly wasn’t perfect and I would have preferred to sew it onto a dress form but I didn’t know if that was cheating since it wouldn’t be 100% paper. Regardless, I hot glue gunned over 100 strips onto posterboard. {And thank goodness I recently lost some of that baby weight!} I wrapped it around myself in one big sheet and finished it off with a flower belt to hold it together.

There was some tough competition. There was 5 winners. 4 won cricut mini’s, and after all of them were announced there was a little part of me that thought it was over because there was no way I won the whole thing. And then they announced my dress as the winner of a brand new cricut imagine machine!  It was all I could do to not to run around like a crazy person. After I sat back down my hands shook for the next hour. I think I’m still in shock. Its a good thing I live here too because I don’t know how anyone else would have gotten it home on a plane! I am super excited to play with it! I’ll be sure to share it when I do, as for now I am still running around like crazy. After not sleeping all weekend we did, a birthday party, a cake and a photo shoot. And it’s only Tuesday!!! Next post will be all the albums and stuff we made at IU! Your not gonna want to miss it. Possibly one of my favorite albums ever made!

So stick around, because I’ve got a lot to share on lissables coming up! And mom goes home tomorrow, so I’ll have nothing but time to blog!

YA RIGHT!

Inspiration Unlimited.

Seems like this Christmas is closer than the last, yet I am getting last years Christmas present this weekend! First my mom is flying in from Canada for a visit. {a present in it’s own.} Second we are going together to the scrapbooking event Inspiration Unlimited. We were supposed to do a Teresa Collins workshop in Calgary in August but it was cancelled. And by chance there was 2 open tickets to IU in Vegas. I have been on the waiting list for IU for 2 years in a row, it’s a very coveted list, so I am thrilled to actually be attending this year!

{Sneak peek’s as some of the classes we are taking}

My mom flies in tonight and we will be going straight from the airport to the Green Valley Ranch, where it is hosted every year. I am part of the fb group for it as well and it’s been an awesome week of positive posts about the excitement surrounding this event. Which is great because I feel like more and more groups like that get negative posts as well and it’s nice to see such a big group of women be nice to each other for a change! We are 2 of a group of 4, myself, my mom and a teacher and owner of my favorite Calgary Scrapbooking store, The Scrapyard. {Located on Canyon Meadows Drive.}

{Pictures from our last big trip to Nashville to attend CKU }

This is not the first, or even second or third scrapbooking trip we’ve taken together. In fact we used to go on weekend retreats all the time back in the day. Our first trip was when I was in grade 9! We would go just for the weekend to Pincher Creek and scrapbook our brains out for 3 days. But by far the biggest and farthest we’ve travelled for scrapbooking is Nashville, TN, for Creating Keepsakes University. {side note: 2009, the year we went, was it’s last year being held.} An awesome 4 day retreat where we completed an entire album and other side projects by various teachers. It was the first time I met and did one of Teresa Collins classes. She was instantly a favorite! Which is why I am so excited about this weekend.

{Clearly I haven’t been scrapbooking lately as all my projects are minimum a year old! }

So don’t expect much action here this weekend but I promise lots of fun stuff to be shared from it next week! Each day starts at 8 am and since hotels were so expensive {Barrett Jackson is in town this weekend,} we are driving home in between. Thus A LOT of driving! And Brandon being the awesome dad that he is, is going to be solo with Sawyer for 2 solid days! So huge thank you to him for that. Super excited! See you all soon!

Smash Cake.

This is a new craze in the little’s world. I’ve seen it a lot in the last couple years. So I couldn’t pass it up when Sawyer is about to turn ONE! So I found a old wooden highchair and refinished it. And then I made a little cake special for him. Very simple but I filled it with all kinds of colors on the inside. Though red seemed to take over on that one. As promised here is the amazing pictures that came out of such a simple project.

And By far my favorite from the whole night. A complete fluke of a shot, as I was just cropping myself of all of them and just using sawyer walking. But sometimes you find a gem in those unexpected places. Hope you enjoyed this very heavy picture post!

If you are in Las Vegas I am offering this as a package deal. I provide the Chair, balloons, cake, and a one hour photo shoot. You will receive all the pictures on a disk for you to print at your own convenience. Cost of this package is $150.00 It’s great for invitations, blown up nursery prints, or just some great memories. I already booked a second one for this coming Monday, so I will be sure to share a second look at this “smash cake” session!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Vintage Highchair.

As we all know I am the biggest fan of pinterest.

But the best part of it is when you actually create some of your saved projects. Which is what Sawyer’s birthday is all about for me! I’m even getting it finished and on time! This is rare indeed.

But there was one pin I saved way back when I first joined pinterest. I knew as soon as that chunk in my bump was born it was going on the to do list.  Refinishing a vintage wooden highchair, and doing a smash the cake photo session. {another excuse to take pictures is always on my to do list.} Here are a couple of the pins that inspired this project!

So off I went on my craigslist hunt for a vintage wooden high chair. Looking for items like that in Las Vegas gets very few and far between. But I got lucky. One just down the street. Brandon thought I was crazy. I was thrilled. And then it sat in the garage for 6 more months. I knew if I left it too long I would put it off and put it off. So I made a deadline chart for all his birthday projects. This was the first. {don’t worry I will share them all!}

This is such a simple project. If I can do it, you can do it!

Here we go, start by cleaning your chair. This is a step if your chair is dirty or has been used in the last 40 years. Mine was already clean so I started with sanding. And sanding, and sanding, and sanding. This is the step that takes the longest. The tray was the hardest since it had a finish on it to withstand a lot of wiping down. But stick with it, it’s all down hill after that! Make sure you also clean off the dust. Wipe it down with a wet cloth and make sure you get it all. I left a little on the tray in my haste, and though its not visible in pictures, you can sure feel it!

Now you want to find your favorite color. I debated between the final lime green and teal. There is not a great selection at our local home depot. I would have gone to a craft store had I prepared in advance. While your there pick up 2 cans of primer. It took me 1 1/2 cans of spray paint for each, primer & paint. {4 cans total.} Lay down a drip sheet, I choose to paint in my garage since painting in direct sunlight can cause the paint to bubble. I applied the primer one night, a second coat within the hour. And then let it dry overnight. 24 hours later I started painting. I did one coat at night and then I let a couple days go in between. Not on purpose, just time getting away. If you are going to use it as a daily high chair I would suggest putting a clear seal coat on the tray. I didn’t bother since I will only be using this for birthday’s and hopefully be re painting it each birthday!

And tada! Finished! I’m really excited for the way it turned out. I’ll be sharing all the smash cake photo’s tomorrow but he’s the finished chair and a couple teasers! Good luck! If you make one of your own be sure to share it. lissables@gmail.com I always love seeing other people’s takes on the same projects!


Make sure you check back tomorrow for all the smash cake pictures. O and after posting these I already had another birthday boy book the same session, lots of photography going on! Stay tuned!

The Anniversary Story.

We are about to celebrate our 4th anniversary for the second time this year! It may be odd to say that but it’s all our own story. And as promised, here it finally is.

4 years ago in 2008 Brandon proposed. We had only been dating for less than a year. And most of it was spent long distance. First I was in Calgary and he was in Toronto. Then I ran off to London England for 2 months, Brandon came to bring me home after I decided my 2 year visa wasn’t for me. A quick trip to Paris together and off to Toronto we went. We drove across the USA in 3 days, Toronto to Las Vegas, where Brandon had decided to move. Then back to Calgary I went. Back and forth, back and forth. Even though our time together was brief, we both knew. And we knew we were done with long distance too. So when he proposed we set a date for 2 months later. {It is completely possible to plan a perfect wedding in 2 months!}

What we didn’t plan for was immigration. We started looking at lots of our options. And were even advised by a lawyer on what to do. So on our big day, in the white dress and with all our friends and family watching, we signed a fake certificate. We did not get married on the day of our wedding. The 12th of September. Instead we were told to come back to Las Vegas and get married there, where we would do our immigration process together. The border guards in the Calgary airport had different plans.

2 Days after our wedding when trying to return together, I was stopped at customs. For intent to marry an American for citizenship. Citizenship that 4 years later I am still not pursuing. Try telling that to customs though. I was finger print, got a great looking mug shot and banned from entering the united states. For intended to marry an American. Who happens to also be Canadian and grew up 20 minutes from me, for his entire life. There is no reasoning at the border.

Brandon got on the flight after delaying it 20 minutes waiting for me. Not knowing what had happened to me, since no one would tell him. And believing that I was actually going to make the flight too, but never did. within 24 hours he was back in Calgary. After meeting with another lawyer we knew we were in for the long run. So we called up our minister and told him the whole story. He knew about the immigration beforehand and had provided the fake certificate. But wanting to make it official, we met again on the 18th of September. With just myself, Brandon and my parents as witnesses, we got married in our minister’s living room. No wedding dress, no flowers, no big dance, no 100 guests. Just us. {and peter’s drive in for dinner to celebrate!}

It took us 4 months. Expedited. It would have normally taken a minimum of 8 months. But those were the longest 4 months of our marriage. It tested us. And we did not always pass that test. But we kept working towards it. It required a medical exam in Vancouver. Flight paid out of pocket, hotel, cabs. And within 24 hours an interview in Montreal. Literally the other side of the country. Why there is only 2 offices to have these requirements done in, and they are as far apart as possible still blows my mind. Bonus points for Brandon required to be at the interview too. Only the night of his flight a freak snow storm cancelled his flight. I got on my plane not knowing if he would actually meet me on the other side and thus making it all for nothing. But sometimes miracles do happen and he took a whole bunch of layovers to get there 1 hr prior to our interview.

And interview that lasted 5 minutes. 5 minutes for a normal human to see that, we grew up in the same city, met and worked together for 2 years, dated, and were just two fools in love. 5 minutes. And then like it was nothing he pressed a button and un ‘blacklisted me.’ we flew back alone for the last time. A week later I was packed up and on my way to Las Vegas.

And that’s why we celebrate both our anniversaries. Always a week apart. That’s why when it gets completely ruined on the first attempt to celebrate it, we get a second chance. So tomorrow we will remember our unique marriage story again!

Christine l Maternity

The first week of September I shot my first real maternity session. I have been toying with the idea of pursing photography for awhile. My camera is ALWAYS attached to my hand. {I picked a diaper bag based off of my camera being able to fit in it.} But it’s a big leap. So for the last year I’ve been using Sawyer for practice. What a great little model he’s been! And after spamming facebook with his pictures I’ve had a couple people ask me to do photo shoots with them. Most recently an expecting mom who I worked with when I first moved to Las Vegas. I was extremely nervous and then last minute, very last minute, my location was kaboshed. But we made it work! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Thank you Christine, for taking a leap of faith with me!

Happy Anniversary Part 1.

That story I teased about telling, about why we have 2 anniversaries. I’ll post it next week. Promise. Until then, here is the boring post about how last night we attempted to celebrate our 4th anniversary. And failed miserably. And then made it work in the end. (sort of like marriage right?)

I had the whole cute night planned out. Even lined up a babysitter without Brandon knowing. We would go bowling at a place by our old condo, that Brandon took me to on my 23rd birthday. We had such a great night that I wanted to try it again. I looked up the times, found out they are open 24 hours. Drove all the way over there, walked through the hotel in my ‘o so cute but trying to kill you heels,’ to find out they were closed for a private event. All night. Something no one thought to add to the website. Sigh.

So off we went to dinner instead. Which turned out to be just fine. Topped off the night at our favorite frozen yogurt place, guess who’s was who’s? Picked up the kid to be home by 8:30. A big celebration. This is why it’s always good to have two anniversaries, so you can try again a week later. And even though it was a flop, it was so us.

ps. love you b. Thanks for 4 awesome years. And all the amazing changes between our last anniversary. And for surprising me with my rings again.

Busy.

You may have noticed the lack of blog posts this week. If any of you have made a shutterfly book, you will know why. I am so far behind. I am almost finished my 2011 book. Yup a year behind. And all I’ve heard from Brandon this week is “Your still working on that!” sigh. One day we will appreciate all this work. And it’s great reliving the memories while making it.

I promise I have better stuff lined up after this week. A maternity session I did, some updates on Sawyer. Our anniversary, which is tomorrow! And then our second 4th anniversary on the 18th. Long story and maybe I’ll share it this year. Regardless, I’ll be back after this stupid book is finished. {and then I can start 2012’s book!}

Thank You

For each and every single person who was behind us during Sawyer’s journey, thank you. We couldn’t send thank you’s to every single person. {Though I would have loved to!} I wanted to share it with you over the blog. I’ve said it a million times, but it will never be enough. You all made it a more enjoyable and easier time during the surgery and recovery. You were there for support and I am still speechless over how many people reached out and continue to give us encouragement. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Getting Ready.

After I spent all night making a wedding cake, and then getting up with Sawyers solo (since Brandon was away for the weekend.) I thought the best idea was to deliver the cake and then stay and take pictures. When she eloped they drove out to Valley of Fire. So her real photographer was out there. But my favorite wedding pictures are always the getting ready ones. So she asked if I would take them for her. I felt flattered to be another big part of her big day!


I had so much fun hanging out in the hotel room with these two. There is nothing like the feeling of getting ready for a wedding. It’s such a joyful time and I am honored to have been a part of it. Congratulations Breanna and Jesse!