Mouseyface Christmas Boutique

I have finally finished putting together my products for Christmas! Each item is handmade by yours truly and is sure to be cherished and enjoyed by those you love and care for. There is something for everyone, and if you have something different in mind, email me at mrsracquelbrown@yahoo.ca and I will make it happen :) 

Click HERE for more details.

Personalized Mug + Hot Chocolate

Layered Cookie Mix

Personalized Gift Tin

For Sarah...

So I broke my promise....I was supposed to commit to blogging every week, and I didn't. You know how it goes... husband... children...career....ministry......a very full plate! Anyways, I'm back. I don't r know  how frequent my posts will be, but I will do my best.

I made this journal a few months ago for an amazing young lady named Sarah. To be honest, I was quite surprised when Sarah invited me to celebrate her birthday with her. Actually, a more accurate word would be honoured. Now, as I get older, I am embracing the fact I am no longer a youth. I can no longer register for youth retreats or feel like a Youth Sunday is my day. Sometimes those thoughts can be overwhelming, but when I really begin to reflect on the stage that I am in in my life, I feel ready. Ready to be a mentor, a leader, and a friend. I truly value the respect that young ladies like Sarah have for me and, although I am not perfect, I will do the best that I can to be a positive role model in the lives of these ladies.

Thank you, Sarah.

Faith Connections

I recently had the opportunity to speak at Kingsway Community Life Centre during their Family Month. As a component of my sermon, I shared with the congregation some strategies of how we, as parents, can make positive connections with our children's teachers. One connection was what I called a Faith Connection. I believe that it is important for us, as believers, to share our faith with those who are in our sphere of influence, and this includes our children's teachers. Now, I am not suggesting that you send a leather-bound King James Bible, or a copy of your pastor's sermon for your child's teacher every Monday! What I am suggesting is much simpler, but I believe that it will act as a seed of faith that will help parents begin to build positive relationships with their child's teacher.

All you have to do is write a simple note. A note that introduces yourself and let's your child's teacher know that you are praying for them. It doesn't have to be a long, detailed letter. Just a simple card  that will allow you to share your faith, your appreciation, begin the year with Jesus at the center.

This is the card that I made for both of my girl's teachers. My prayer is that, regardless of their faith, their teachers will find strength knowing that there is a family who supports them, who is thankful for them, and who is praying for them.

Celebrating Love

This past weekend my parents celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary. That is a very long time! I know couples who did not even make it to two years.....some who did not even clear year one! Now, my parents have not had the perfect marriage.....not by any means. They have had to endure their fair share of ups and downs, but, through it all, they managed to stay together. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, they made it. 



I remember when they renewed their vows after 25 years of marriage. As I watched and listened to my parents repeat the vows that they said when they began their journey, I could see and feel that they meant something different. Each phrase was no longer a promise to commit to a life they had yet to live. Twenty-five years of hardships, happiness, trials, and triumphs where now the fuel that spoke of the testimony of the life that had lived, together. 

As they cross this new milestone, I can only imagine what they see when they look into each other's eyes. The love of God, which is the foundation of their love for each other, continues to have the capacity to carry them. This is the same commitment that I vowed to my husband 12 years ago and I know that, with God's grace, our children will have the privilege of hearing us renew our vows one day. I pray that they will see in our commitment to each other that marriage does work, love is worth fighting for, and that time revealed the true depth of our love to each other.

Mom and Dad, thank you for your inspirational love. 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

I Love Babies!!

One of my favourtie things to make are cards...especially for babies :) As a mother, I often look back at the cards that were given to me at baby showers, our girls' baby dedications, their birthdays, and I remember those precious moments. I reminisce on the milestones that they have reached and I often end up wiping a tear from my face as I ask myself, "How did they grow up so soon?" So whenever I am given the opportunity to create a card for a baby, I think about making it extra special so that when that mother looks back on it, she too can experience one of those beautiful moments. 

This past weekend, my friend's sister dedicated her baby to the Lord and my friend asked me to create a card that she could give to her. Inspired by the shape and sweetness of this baby bottle shaped card by Vili's Art, I made a few changes and here is my final creation....

As an extra special touch, I decided to add a handmade envelope, complete with a photo of the little angel as the inside liner :)

Thanks for stopping by.....

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

My TWEEThearts

I LOVE MY GIRLS! Most of the pages that I make are the moments that I, or my hubby, capture as we go through life enjoying the blessing of family that God has given to us. These girls are our world and they, as I often tell them, are the best "things" that I have ever made. They truly are my "tweethearts". 

As I created this page, the Lord reminded me of a scripture in the book of Matthew; it is actually my husbands favourite scripture. Matthew 6:25-34 reminds us that we do not need to worry about anything because we are more valuable to than the birds, and our Lord provides for them. Just as they do not have to worry about how their needs will be met, neither do we. He will provide for us. 

If you have a moment, read this scripture in The Message version. It really puts things into perspective.

It's Been A Long Time....

Well, it has been almost TWO YEARS since my last blog post, and I have decided to resurrect MouseyFace and begin sharing again. I have still been scrapping and creating, but sometimes life gets in the way and that is exactly what happened......for two years. So while I can't promise a daily update, I can commit, to a weekly update.....well I will try my best, my very best.

It's Christmastime!!

Christmas is just around the corner and if you have little ones in school, you may be wondering, "What in the world am I gonna get my child's teacher for Christmas?" Well, This year, I have decided to get my creative juices flowing and come up with something creative and unique. After searching the web for some inspiration, I came across these amazing monograms that crafters everywhere are making for teachers! I immediately fell in love with the idea.  
Now, as a teacher, I always have to ask myself what MY reaction would be if I was on the receiving end of one of my handmade gifts. Well, I don't know about you, but I know that I would LOVE to receive something like this as a gift, so I decided to make one for each of my daughter's teachers :) But since they are not all finished, I decided to just post this one......

I couldn't resist making one for myself!! 

Thanks for looking :)

I've Been Framed!!

Like many scrappers, my love for this hobby was ignited by the birth of a child. About six years ago, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl and shortly after that I entered the wonderful, addictive world of scrapping. What began as simple pictures and stickers slowly blossomed into a passionate love for handmade crafts. (I am sure many of you can relate!) 


Like all parents, my husband and I wanted to choose the perfect name for our new bundle of joy. We both loved the name Simone. But, to my disappointment, I was not able to find the name "Simone" on any of those adorable personalized baby items that seemed to be for sale everywhere I went! Believe me, I searched in every store that I went to! Then, on one of my frequent trips to Michaels, I stumbled on some unfinished wooden photo frames and some large unfinished wooden letters. Using additional supplies, I created a personalized photo frame for my daughter. Soon others wanted a frame for their little uniquely named bundles of joy and PRESTO, a small business was born. 


I have created frames for Declan, Jadiah, Hayden, Summer, Jaiden and many others. After a while, I began to move away from altering frames and re-focused on scrapping. But, once you start something, sometimes it is hard to stop!! It has been six years since I made my first frame and the business is slowly being resurrected! The design has changed a little, but they are just as cute...if I do say to myself :)

Can't forget the details!

For The Love of Cards!!

I used to hate making cards. Well, let me rephrase that.....I enjoyed making them, but I couldn't bear the thought of someone tossing it in the trash once the day was past and gone. But recently, a love for card making was ignited within me!! A friend of mine ordered a set of cards and I decided to lay aside my personal feelings towards card making and give it a go. Well, needless to say, I loved every minute that I spent working on them!! I used paper from the same line (American Crafts Everyday) to make the set of eight and I am so pleased with the way that they turned out. So, now I am on a card making rampage!! I simply make them and put them in a box so that when that perfect occasion comes up, I will be ready.....with card in hand!! 

Thanks for looking!!

Whose List Are You On?

When my eldest daughter was born, my husband and I decided to use a picture of her for our Christmas card. And for three years, the cards were a hit. 



First, we did a cute Santa pic....

Then, I was inspired by that beloved holiday classic, Rudolph....

And last, but not least, (and my personal fave)....the Grinch....

After that year, and to the disappointment of our family and friends, we decided to take a break and we weren't inspired for a few years. But this year I had an idea that I knew my youngest daughter could pull off. 

Now, you have to understand, usually when we want to take a picture of Kimee, it takes a looooooooooooong time to get that perfect shot. She squirms, makes the silliest faces and has this fascination with coming right up to the lens (typical toddler!). Needless to say, my husband always gets the shot, after about 50 clicks!! But this time, THIS time, Kimee surprised us all! We got this shot after only about FIVE tries!!! And she nailed it.....wouldn't you agree??

Here is my layout..........

The caption on the inside of the card is:

We hope you're on the "nice" list!

I already have a plan for next year's card....I'm thinking that the girls will do something together.....but you'll just have to wait another year to see my vision come to life ;)

Thanks for looking!!

  

Has It Been ONE WHOLE MONTH??

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since I updated my blog!!! That is awful!! What is worse is that I have not even created anything during that time! Each day is so crazy that many of my free moments are usually spent sleeping! Does that ever happen to you?? I mean LIFE getting in the way of LIFE?? Think about the things that mean the most to you (God, family, friends, hobbies) those thing that add all of the memories that truly come together to make each day more meaningful and purposeful. Do they get pushed aside for the secondary, the mundane, but necessary daily routines that somehow unite to form those busy, stressful, and "to-do" packed days called LIFE? Believe me, sometimes I can become so focused on the latter that I begin to allow all of those "other" things that, while important, are not what I really want to define my days, my calendar, or ME. I need to stop and RE-prioritize to ensure that what I love most is actually what I do most. This doesn't always work out....and I admit that I am very blessed to have a career that I LOVE, but I think we all need to stop every once in a while and check to make sure that life is not dragging through time leaving us dizzy and disoriented. We all have to travel through life, so I guess we should choose the scenic route whenever we can.

So, speaking of what I love most.......here is a page that I created a while back :)

For My Daughter...

Some may think that it not the best thing in the world having a mother for a teacher. Fortunately for me, my girls really seem to love it. Everyday when they come home form school, they go upstairs for what well affectionately call "Brown Academy". That is my time to work with them to build their academic skills. We have a lot of fun too! The girls even call me "Mrs. Brown" !! 

Anywhooo......I wanted to make something for my youngest to encourage her to learn to print her name. So, I used one of my my  blank CD jackets and transform it into a mini writing book.

I decided to hand write the alphabet on the inside cover so that she can have it to refer to when she is practicing her printing.

The little blue booklet is what she will use to practice her printing. This entire project was created with my guest DT kit that I received from Kreatorville Krafts.

I had so much fun creating this and I hope that my daughter will have even more fun using it!!