All I want to do is have some fun ...

A few snaps

2012-01-22T21:34:00.002+13:00

I've had a creative weekend, well I have at least managed to sneak away for an hour or two to do some scrapping. Since Friday night I have managed two 12x12 layouts, two 8x8 layouts, and have a couple of 6x6 layouts that need a few touches to and they will be complete. That is more than I have achieved in awhile! But I am really enjoying mixing up the layout sizes, using small pics printed at home, these have been taken on hubby's iphone. Sure the print quality isn't excellent but it all adds to the style of the layouts, and I am having fun which is the main thing!

I still haven't gotten round to getting to the shop to print off holiday pics ... maybe this week? But I have a wee play in picasa ... so here a few of my fav pics from our holiday ... with not a whole lot of editing actually ...

I took my camera out on my walk most nights, we had a 2.5km circuit we went round every night so the first two shots are from these walks ...

Love the colours in the one above, such a great time to take very cool pics!

This one was taken outside an interiors shop in Wanaka ...

And this was the power pole in the field beside our camp ...

... and yes we had blue cloudless skies like that pretty much every day of the two weeks ... sigh ... I want to go back!

Well that's enough for tonight, time to wind down and have an early night before another busy week starts.

A good read

2012-01-20T23:32:00.002+13:00

Anyone else discovered this magazine yet?
Mollie Makes is a UK mag and I recently spotted it in my local bookstore. Not a scrappy mag but a crafty one ... but lots of inspiration, colours and design which inspire all things crafty.

Actually I spotted it on Ali Edwards blog ... looked up their website and was contemplating buying an online copy because it looked like a mag I would enjoy ... then the next day guess what I spied in the bookstore ... was a very happy camper indeed!

I think they publish 13 times a year, and this is only issue 7 so it hasn't been around for long.

So if you are looking for a new read, something that covers all the crafty bases, something new to spark that creative mojo, then head to your bookstore and check out if they stock it!

Happy reading :)

Welcome to 2012!

2012-01-20T13:05:00.002+13:00

Yes I am still here ... two glorious hot, sunny, relaxing weeks at my fav holiday spot ... followed by two very busy weeks back at work ... January is just flying past already!

I hope you all had a great Christmas with your families/friends and have been able to enjoy a couple of days off over that time.
I have lots of photos to share from our time away, and also my hopes for the coming year ... will post some more over the next few days.
Meantime off to do some appliance shopping ... RIP my faithfully hardworking washing machine ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-12-18T22:32:00.003+13:00

... almost there ... this time next week I will enjoying a fine sunny day (fingers crossed) with family and friends, and having a Merry old time ... can't wait!

Snapshot for the Sunday is ...

... a pic of the teachers presents I made for the kids teachers ...

Got the idea from chats on fb and from Debbie's Homemade and Heartfelt blog, also googled and found a few more jar recipes I might have to try in the new year.

Also created some basic Christmas cards on Friday ... so hope to get them in the mail tomorrow ... so they will all arrive before the weekend ... whew!

Sorry a quick post today, been a tad busy with a large family gathering followed by a Christmas trail organised by a few on our school PTA.

Hope this week isn't too hectic for you all ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-12-11T22:31:00.002+13:00

... and it's starting to feel a lot like Christmas!

The past week has been very busy with all things festive - the school production, 2 Christmas functions, and this week is just as busy ... helping with annual candrive for Foodbank, end of year school things, and work fitted in there as well. But the end is in sight ... with just 12 days to go before I can enjoy 2 weeks of sunshine and fun with the family on our annual summer holiday. I have my camp chair and my jandals ready, a growing pile of novels and new magazines and a few beverages stocked up ... aahhhh bliss!

Snapshot for this Sunday was taken today at the annual Mosgiel Christmas markets ...

... with none other than the man himself ...

Took this snap just after the kids posted their letters to Santa at the post office. Emma piped up afterwards ... 'We should have just keep our letters and given them to Santa then, now he won't get them til tomorrow in his mailbox!' - ahhh so cute!

Hope you all get to spend some time with family and friends to enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-12-04T21:30:00.002+13:00

... whew, well only 3 more Sundays of 2011, can't believe I managed to keep up this weekly blog post all year! And of course with the last Sunday of the year being the 25th I think I might give myself the day off - haha!
It has been a fun year, a busy year, a year that has passed all too quickly ... and even though I haven't had as many opportunities to scrap as I would have liked, at least I can look back at 52 Sundays worth of posts and scrap these moments when I do have the time.

So Snapshots for this Sunday ... are of my not so little girl. She was a 3rd Jan baby, and because we will be away on holiday then, as are her friends it makes it hard to organise a party around then. So for the past 4 years she has had a party a month early (around the 3rd Dec). This year she had one friend over (her bestie) ... I took them to the bead shop to make a necklace each, to McD's for a Sundae and then a walk along the beach. So here are some pics of my almost 7 year old ...

... finding 'treasure' ...

We will have a special day for her with family when we are away on her actual birthday. Also a couple of traditions then too - the day starts with ice cream for breakfast and lots of swimming in the pool!

So with the silly season almost upon us I thought I'd share some present wrapping tips with you. With lots of patterned paper, twine and dies lying around the place I thought I would put them to good use ...

... these presents above flew across the ditch yesterday and are now under the Christmas tree at my brothers house. Well actually with my almost 3 year old niece about they are probably hidden in a cupboard - hehehe!

Here is a different idea, I used for a baby pressie, but I am going to tweek it slightly for the festive season. I am now stocked up on those doilies so I am all set to wrap presents ... just have to go buy them now - opps!

Well must off, my eyes are half closed.

See you all next week :)

I scrapped ...

2011-11-30T22:28:00.002+13:00

... I know, don't fall off your chair! LOL!

Hubby was away for a fishing weekend and I decided to get out my scrap stuff and do a few layouts ... I haven't had a lot of time to get creative lately, doesn't mean that I have stopped taking photos or looking at crafty sites on the net ... just the finding time to sit down and scrap has been a problem. This may be partly to the nice long evenings as I have been getting out and doing a lot of walking lately (all part of my health kick). But I love it when I can sneak a few minutes in playing with some funky papers ...

... so I completed a layout for a challenge over at Challenge me Happy ... the person in the photo inspired this layout ... using a pic of me in Qtown from the school holiday ...
... also you might note this is a 6x6 layout, something I have been creating a lot of recently ... they are quick and fun to do ...
... another 6x6 layout that also ties in with the challenge I think too ...

... and an 8x8 layout of morning tea treats in Queenstown ... a cold milk and hot cookie from the Cookie Time Shop - yummo! ...

Hope to have a play with some paper maybe tomorrow and Friday nights ... taking advantage of the calm before the storm of school events next week, and the pile of paper work I will be doing in the evenings for work ...

Night :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-11-28T21:14:00.003+13:00

... on a Monday (again ... opps).

A very hectic week, a houseful of family and friends for the weekend ... and so an early night last night was needed!

Friday night was a big night in Dunedin ... ok it was huge! The numbers of people in town on Friday was amazing, so many travelling from out of town, most hotels/motels were booked out and all for the man ... Sir Elton John. The first major act to play a concert in our new roofed stadium, hopefully the first of many! On the night along with 35,500 other people I sang and boogied away to Elton. I had no level of expectation before the concert, I knew a couple of his songs but found I actually knew more than that. He played his older stuff, some new ones, and all the favourites - Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Rocket Man and the last one Circle of Life (from Lion King movie).

So Snapshots for Sunday ... of the concert ... (care of hubby's phone) ...

Hoping this week will be a tad quieter on the work front, as I know the next few after that will be pretty hectic in the run up to Christmas. Need to get my lists written, pressies purchased, gear organised for camping, and take some time to breathe and relax in the spare moments!

Right off to start my lists! ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-11-20T21:03:00.004+13:00

... hello, how are we this week?
On the mad countdown to Christmas already? Bit hectic in this house ... lots of hours at work so barely enough time to get everything sorted for few weeks left til the 25th of December! A bit of planning has taken place this weekend for present ideas ... right all sorted ... but wait I have a girl turning 7 on Jan 3rd ... argh ... now I have to rethink what I need to also get her for that day too!!!

A busy week ahead ... lots more hours at work, then a house full of family and friends coming for Mr Piano Man (Elton John) who is performing in town on Friday night. Should a fantastic concert ... well our Mum's are very excited anyway!

I had a fun day today ... after catching up with the Scrap girls for a few hours this morning, I headed to 'My Book and Bubbles' - an event put on by Paper Plus. Has anyone else been to one of these? If one comes to your area I would highly recommend going along - especially for the entertainment factor of Kerre Woodham - she is so funny! So with a glass of bubbly on arrival and high tea served during the couple of hours - it was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The authors who spoke were - Kerre Woodham, Sarah-Kate Lynch, Catherine Robertson, Nalini Singh and Laura Faire. Needless to say my list of books I want to read now has a few more added to it! I did come away with the first of Kerre's books - "Short Fat Chick to Marathon Runner", which I also got autographed afterwards.

So Snapshots for this Sunday ... yes another sporty shot ... and one especially for Janine ...

... Miss Emma up batting for her t-ball team ... they had a win 23-18 ...

... and two new characters that have come to live at my house ... the turquoise wooden one is from a very cool funky store (that I might just happen to work for hehehe) ... and the fabric one was purchased at a small giftstore in Clyde ...

Hope you all have a great week ... and to those of you travelling to Dunners for Mr Elton on Friday night, I hope you have lots of fun too - I'll try and spot you in the crowd of 35,000!!

m :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-11-13T20:52:00.002+13:00

... and normal transmission has resumed!

Whew for finally having a weekend to relax ... still had kids sports on, and hubby away on a fishing weekend ... but no stress ... ahhhhh!

So without further ado, snapshots for this Sunday ...

... friday night treats for all ... a new magazine each and a yummy cupcake from the Mosgiel Friday night farmers market ...

... and another sporty shot ... this one of my 'player of the day'! He bowled 2 wickets in his 3 overs of bowling, and got some good runs for the team when batting. He is getting really good at calling for runs etc when batting, as is learning to read whether the other team are able to get to the ball in time ...

I did manage to get some 'me' time last night ... 4 hours and 4 layouts later ... wahoo! Still a bit of journalling to complete but am happy with the result (esp after such a long break from it).

Hope you all had great weekends, and managed some 'me' time too!

Enjoy your week

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-11-09T16:27:00.004+13:00

... on a Wednesday! LOL!

Yes we are coming to the silly time of year and I feel like I am being pulled 4 ways at once ... somehow I don't quite think that is going to work! Am craving some me time ... fingers crossed Saturday arvo or Sunday morning I can sneak a couple of hours to do some scrapping! I am having major withdrawals ... I have heaps of photos and supplies ... lots of ideas ... just missing the spare hour! Also hoping to start some other crafty projects ... lots of ideas for homemade gifts for Christmas ... and if I don't start soon they will be presents for next year! ;)

Right now onto the Snapshot for Sunday (on a Wednesday) with photos taken on Moday and Tuesday ... haha that has you confused!

... Monday we went out to my Aunty's farm to help feed the (big fat) lambs ... it is the last couple of days of feeding as they are now onto eating the grass ...

... Tuesday was sports day for the kids ... combined with 4 other schools in the area ...

... Mr Finn checking out the scenery as he is racing in the 60m sprint ...

... and my little Miss Emma sprinting past me to finish sceond in the final of the 40m sprint for 6 year old girls ... WAHOO! ...

Emma was so excited about her result that she had a permanent smile all afternoon!

Right now must dash, tea to cook, work to crack on with after that ... and then hopefully and early-ish night.

Enjoy your week :)

Hello? ...

2011-11-08T21:34:00.002+13:00

... anyone out there?

Whew ... ok so nobody noticed I didn't post my usual Snapshot Sunday ... ? Maybe I might post a real late one tomorrow night if you're lucky!

The weekend just passed in a blur ... as do weekends when you are involved in the organising and running of the school fair! Our fair was on Sunday ... so needless to say I didn't actually have a weekend to do what you should be able to do at weekends ... oh well the next is only 4 sleeps away ... can you tell I am hanging out for it?!

So short and sweet here ... but I will try and get back tomorrow night with my Snapshot for Sunday, which will be on Wednesday, with a pic actually taken today being a Tuesday ... confused? LOL!

m :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-10-30T21:47:00.002+13:00

... just when I thought the year was already going quick, another week whizzes past in record time!
It just seems to be getting busier, but with kids back at school we have got back into our usual routine during the week which has been great.
Next weekend is our school fair, so will be very busy over the next week getting everything sorted for that.

Have had a great weekend, with a super sunny warm day yesterday (followed by a chilly one today ... typical!) so we made the most of it ... enjoying the kids sports, getting a bit of gardening done, then a bit of an outing south to Waihola to give the jetskis a run.

Onto the snapshot for this Sunday ... unfortunately didn't have the camera out so we have a pic from the previous week, and one of my favs ...

... Mr Finn wearing hubby's sunglasses ... he is growing up so fast ... a typical boy ... doesn't sit still for long, eats and eats and eats, and is so loud ... and I love him sooooo much! ...

So what did you get up to during the weekend?

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-10-24T21:43:00.002+13:00

... on a Monday again! This is becoming a bit of a habit ... hahahaha!

We just got home tonight after a sunny, relaxing weekend in Alexandra - just what we needed. The vege garden at my in-laws is now planted ... an annual tradition to do this at Labour weekend ... Finn taking control of the planting under the watchful eye of Gran.
I enjoyed lots of walking in the warm evenings, so nice to get out somewhere different rather than the usual walking circuit at home.

So busy was I relaxing that I didn't take any photos other than the next few on hubby's phone ... so snapshots for this Sunday (on a Monday, that really feels like a Sunday!) ...

... a stop on the way home at the Ettrick Store ... made famous by the current ad on tv for the Toyota Hilux ... you know the story about the guy driving up a volcano etc and picking up a crazy monkey who wants hokey pokey ice-cream ... so yes we had to stop for a hokey pokey ice-cream ... hahahaha ...

... the kids in the back seat of the car on the way home ... still wearing the All Black tatoo they wore for last nights game ...

... and a funny shot ... a snap of a speed camera ... and no it didn't take a pic of us ... we were well under the limit in a line of cars heading back towards Mosgiel/Dunedin ...

Final words today would have to be about that game last night ... whew thought I was going to have a heart attack in the second half ... was too close for my liking! But the boys did us proud and hung in there ... just! And I am pretty sure I heard a hugh collective sigh of relief at the end of the match. So stoked for the team, and so happy for New Zealand after many years of heartache ... but also loved seeing the sense of pride in the eyes of my kids that our team had done it. Finn in particular has lived and breathed the World Cup over the last six weeks ... he has memorised so many facts and figures from the guide books ... it has been great to see his enthusiaism. I wonder what he will read at bedtime now?

Enjoy the short week!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-10-17T22:41:00.004+13:00

... on a Monday!

Sorry I didn't post this last night, was jumping up and down off the couch last night was sure my laptop would have been dropped if I had tried to blog - LOL!

Awesome game for the All Blacks last night, now can't wait for the final this coming weekend - let's get that cup back in our trophy cabinet!

Well just a short post tonight ... hubby, the kids and I all had a wonderful weekend in Queenstown. The weather didn't play ball til the day we left, but we still managed to get out and about and have lots of fun. I have just downloaded 330 photos - so there will be show and tell at a future date when I get a chance to sift through them and do a bit of editing!

But for my snapshot this Sunday on a Monday ...

... jump shots are everywhere - I had never tried to take a pic of me doing one, obviously because I am normally behind the camera. So when hubby was having a go at taking some photos at the weekend I asked him to snap some of me - and this is the best of the lot. Pretty fun pic - watch out for it on a layout soon! ;)

Enjoy the rest of your week - am looking forward to a couple of days off later in the week with the kids during their school holidays. Then a long weekend - and celebrating another All Black victory (positive thinking!).

m :)

Apologies ...

2011-10-16T21:55:00.002+13:00

... there will be a delay to the posting of Snapshot Sunday this week ... I am finding it very difficult to sit still to blog tonight ... got to go now ... second half of a certain important rugby game is on! ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-10-09T22:42:00.002+13:00

... a bit late tonight ... have been sitting on the edge of the couch holding my breath for the last 80 minutes ... whew the All Blacks keep progressing ... but was a very close game for most of it. Come on boys, you can do it - lift that trophy in 2 weeks time!

So anyway back to my snaps for this Sunday ...

... loving all the gorgeous flowers that are more reasonably priced at the moment ... gerbras are my fav, closely followed by tulips ...

... kids are loving the hype of the World Cup. On friday we went to the Backing Black afternoon in town, where the kids had a go at some of the games ...

I have had just enjoyed a very quiet weekend, hubby took kids up to Central where they are having a few nights with the Grandparents for the school holidays. So I found my scrap mojo and started and completed pages - wahoo! Made a slight dent in my growing pile of photos, hope to finish off a couple more pages in the next few nights. So here are a couple ...

... and this layout is for the latest challenge over at 'Challenge me Happy' ... love that little snowflake stamp from SU ...

Thanks for checking for my weekly update!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-10-02T21:23:00.002+13:00

... hello again!
For this weeks snapshots I have decided to post some pics taken from last weekend ... due to my camera not seeing much action this week. This headcold finally seems to be clearing but definitely flattened me for the week ... a bit disappointing as I had quite a few bits and pieces that I wanted to get done. Oh well ... energy is returning now so hopefully this week I can get to work crossing off a few things on the 'to do' list.

Right now, for snapshots for this Sunday ...

... a field of daffodils on the side of SH1 south of Dunedin ...

... my not so little boy running through them ... (must search my photos as I have a funny feeling I have a similar pic from when he was about 3 yrs) ...

... a gift for my new niece Harriet who lives in Melbourne ... it's it cool how affective a doily, some twine and a liitle handmade tag can make a pressie look special ...

The above present has got my thinking about Christmas gifts. Yes I know it is still a while away ... but really it's not that long! I'm thinking of trying to create handmade presents this year ... a bit of sewing here ... some homemade fudge ... maybe a minialbum or two ... uummmmm? So are any of you thinking of creating any handmade presents too? And if so what are they?

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-09-25T20:26:00.002+13:00

.. don't get too close ... *ahh-choo* ... after surviving the last few hectic months I have been attacked by the dreaded headcold ... yuck! Thankfully have had the weekend to lie low and catch up on some much needed sleep, and just relax at the in-laws places in Alexandra. We headed there to help my mother-in-law celebrate her birthday and to see the annual celebrations for the Blossom Festival.

So here are the best pics of the weekend for this weeks Snapshot Sunday ...

... the winning float entered by the Stadium Tavern ... I voted for this one :) ...

... the gorgeous blossom on the peach tree at the in-laws ... can't wait for the fruit in summer ... yum yum ...

... went for a drive out to Clyde this morning and took some pics of the rows of blossom trees at an orchard along the way ...

... I love the scenery in Central Otago ... with each season change, the different colours surrounded by the tall mountains and beautiful lakes ... so lucky to have this beautiful part of the world as my 'playground'!

Have been scrapping ... check out the SBO blog ...

Right off for an early night with a box of tissues very handy for my stuffed up nose

Wishing you a healthy week with loads of vitamin C - LOL!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-09-18T21:59:00.002+12:00

... just a quick post tonight.

The highlight of the week would have to be going along to tonight's Rugby World Cup game here in Dunedin. England v Georgia in the new stadium and boy was it fantastic! The atmosphere was great with all the English supporters in town, it wasn't very cold, easy access to facilities and two excited kids having a blast!

So here are some Snaps for this Sunday ...

... looking towards the North stand ...

... the warm-up ...

... Jonny the superstar (hehehe) ...

... the Dunedin City Pipe Band ... check out the mini drummer, very cute ...

I hope you are all enjoying the RWC at the moment!

Go the All Blacks!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-09-11T17:08:00.002+12:00

... is here again, and over the past weekend the start of possibly the biggest sporting event New Zealand will host for some time. Yes the Rugby World Cup 2011 has began, much to the excitement of one young fella in this house! ;)

Mr Finn (aged 8 1/2 yrs) has loved the new ITM format this year - it meant he could go to bed every night and listen to the rugby on the radio as he fell asleep (except Mondays when there was no game). This term at school he is learning all about the history of the RWC and about all the countries competing. And now he gets to watch all this international rugby for the next 6 weeks - he is stoked! The poster from the official guide is blu-tacked to the wall by the tv and he rushes to update it after every game.

To give both kids a taste of the cup in person I took them along to the official welcome for the England team at the town hall. The kids loved it, seeing the players in person and the welcome and performances by local groups - and they sang the national anthem so proudly (they have been learning both maori and english versions at school). Afterwards we even managed to get up close to a few of the players as they were heading back to their team bus.

So here are my pics from Tuesday night as a highlight of our week for this Sunday Snapshot ...

... the England Team after being presented with their caps, looking very impressive indeed in their 3 piece suits ;) hehe ...

... the kids with Lewis Moody, the England captain ...

... and the incredible talent of previous RWC's Jonny Wilkinson ...

We have purchased tickets for the England v Georgia for next Sunday. Is going to be a fantastic atmosphere in our new Dunedin Stadium, might even venture into town prior to the game to get amongst the atmosphere.

So is anyone else venturing to a game over the next few weeks?

P.S. Mr Finn is collecting the Weet-bix All Black cards but is missing a few - we have 4 boxes to munch through before I will buy anymore - LOL! So if you have any spare cards to give away to a good home, please let me know - thanks!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-09-04T21:30:00.002+12:00

... whew back to reality over the past few days, and winter ... well it felt like it! Snow dusting the hills on the first day of spring ... what's with that?!!!

So it feels like my short holiday was months ago ... rather than just being last weekend. And since I haven't had a chance to get the camera out over the last few days (would have been boring pics of laundry, tidying kids rooms, cleaning windows ... the usual spring cleaning tasks) so needless to say the pic this week is me reliving last weekend. LOL!

So Snapshot for this Sunday ...

... stunning at 30,000 feet over the Tasman Sea, about 3/4 way through the flight from Dunedin, NZ to Brisbane, Australia ...

Funny story about the flight over actually - well not so funny really. Hubby received a text mid morning on Thursday to say our flight had been delayed/rescheduled. The text was a bit casual so we thought our travel companions were playing a joke on us. But apparently not! Our plane had a technical issue and so it's arrival into Dunedin was delayed by about 13 hours. That was ok except our dpearture time was moved from 4.20pm Thursday to 5.50am Friday ... yes with a checkin 2 hours beforehand ... so the alarm was set for 2.45am!!!! Yes you read that right - the middle of the blimmin' night!!!!!! Oh well, we didn't really lose too much 'shopping' time on the Friday as we arrived into Brisbane at 8am, but it did make for a very long day ... think I was awake for almost 24 hours in the end that day!

On the scrappy front I am having a play with a collection pack from Scrapbook Outlet ... Bo Bunny Sweet Tooth - a girly pack ... lots of ideas ... a layout and minibook in progress ... stay tuned for sneak peeks later in the week.

Hope you all have a fantastic week :)

Some good news ...

2011-09-01T21:46:00.002+12:00

... I'm going to be published in Scrapbooking Memories - yes an 'overseas' magazine! LOL!
Wahoo, so exciting, I haven't submitted any layouts for a couple of years but decided to give it a go again ... and what do you know one got selected!
No this isn't the layout below ... you know the rules ... I can't show the layout until after magazine comes out ... but this was another layout done at the same time using the same papers. The papers are from the fun funky manufacturer Bella Blvd, liking the look of their new collection releases ... now just have to wait til they hit the shores of New Zealand and then I'll be filling my 'online' shopping trolley!

The layout is of Finn watching all the motorsport action at the Teretonga racetrack in Invercargill in January - complete with his binoculars watching all the cars - a fun day out for my petrolhead almost 8 year old.

So the first day of spring here, and you wouldn't know it! A light dusting of snow onthe hills this morning ... *sigh* ... let's hope mother nature is kind to us this year and we have a decent summer ...

Night

Tag fun ...

2011-09-01T16:35:00.002+12:00

... the other weekend when I was creating some layouts, and a card with the bigger scraps, I had a few little bits left over. So I whipped up these little tags (using luggage tags from the stationery shop), so easy and quick to make. I thnk I might create a whole bunch of these to go with birthday presents, and dare I say it for Christmas which is less than 4 months away ... *gasp* where the last 8 months go?!?!?!

Supplies: Luggage tags, paper and alphas by Bella Blvd, flowers by Prima and Kaisercraft, misc resin flower, misc doily, and divine twine.

How about trying some of these for yourselves?

Snapshot Sunday (3 days late) ...

2011-08-31T22:22:00.002+12:00

... so did you miss me?

We arrived home late yesterday after a long weekend across the ditch in Brisbane, Australia. Oh how much I enjoyed wearing shorts and t-shirts for a few days ... a small reminder that summer will be here ... soon, but wish it would hurry up already - hahaha!

Was hubby's birthday on Saturday, and what a birthday present ... tickets to the Bledisloe Cup game. Pity the All Blacks had to let the party down with the loss to the Wallabies - let's just hope that we don't let the next piece of silverware slip through our fingers!

So needless to say here is my Snapshot for Sunday/last week ... once again with help of the hipstamatic app on hubby's phone ...

... SunCorp Stadium prior to the game on Saturday night, with a record crowd of 51,858 other rugby fans ...

Call back in tomorrow and I will have some creations to show ;)

Weekend creations ...

2011-08-24T22:02:00.002+12:00

... so over the weekend I created 4 layouts ... with a few scraps of paper leftover I decided that for every layout I made I would follow it with a card ... a good way to replenish the card reserves for those unexpected times when I require one.

So the papers I was playing with would be ... Bella Blvd! Now of all the scrapping manufacturers ... Bella Blvd is the favourite ... and I'm not just saying that.

So here are my cards ... quick and simple to create, but the bold patterns and designs are perfect for this style ...

... 'Have a blast' ... uses papers from the Mr Boy Collection, Alphas from Happy Sunny Skies & Sophisicates Collections ...

... 'Happy Birthday' ... uses Sophisticates Collection (alphas and papers) ...

... 'Thank You' ... using paper from the Family Dynamix Collection, stickers from Sophisiciates Collection ...

Right off to drag out the suitcase ... have a trip planned for the weekend ... a long weekend ... one that involves my passport ... yippee!

Did you know ...

2011-08-22T22:38:00.002+12:00

... attention all blogspot bloggers ... did you know that you can add 'pages' to your blog?

I saw a very informative tutorial on Shabbyblogs at the weekend and discovered this.

So next time you go to create a new post, look along the same bar and you will see 'Edit Pages' - click on this and add your detail ... and you too can how extra pages on your blog!

So you will see I have added two new pages - some 'Show and Tell' with some of my favourites layouts created over the last year.

Look out for more being added soon ... for one of my favourite manufacturers! ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-08-21T22:11:00.005+12:00

... well what a difference a week makes!

This time last week the temperature was barely above zero degrees and the sleet/snow/hail and wind was coming in sideways!
Today we had mostly clear blue skies and a gorgeous day where the temperature reached about 16 degrees!

So here is a Snap for Sunday ...

... Emma and her mini snowman she created on the picnic table outside on Monday afternoon ...

And the news of the weekend ... I have a gorgeous new niece! Wee Harriet was born in Melbourne, Australia this morning to my brother and his wife. Big sister Stella is very excited about the new arrival too! At times like this it is hard living far away from them, but thanks to the wonders of modern technology we will be using Skype alot in the coming weeks and months watching this wee tot grow. I hope to get over there to give her real cuddles early next year all going well!

I have just spent the weekend scrapping ... spread all over the kitchen table - hehe! Yes I have an area in the spare room upstairs but it's alot colder up there in winter. And I also like scrapping in the living area, closer to what is going with everyone else in the house. Today I had a wee scrap buddy - Emma wheeled out her craft trolley and her supplies (my old papers and stickers). She made a card to welcome the new baby and had a great time picking through all my scrap gear asking if she could add bits and pieces to her creation!

So I was actually quite productive ... 4 layouts, 3 cards and 3 tags ... you will have to wait to see these ... well the layouts anyway ... hehehe ... secret squirrel stuff here! ;) But lets just say I am on a mission, fingers crossed!

Right ... off now to cross some more jobs off my 'to do' list ... have an exciting week ahead ... tell you more later!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-08-14T20:34:00.002+12:00

... and the end of a fantastic family weekend ... with more SNOW!

A special weekend with lots of family round, and to start the day yesterday I had two 'players of the day'! Which was great for my parents who were up for the weekend. They got to see Finn score the first goal in his soccer match and most of the game ... then got out to see Emma's hockey game where she scored 3 goals for their viewing pleasure! I arrived home with Emma to show off her trophy, and Finn arrived home with Marty gladly showing off her trophy!

A special day with extended family round for the afternoon, and chance to get a family photo ... well a couple of ok ones ...

Then today ... the forecasted 'perfect storm' ... the snow started this afternoon ... and you can see alot more coming ...

And I was right ... now a few inches on the front lawn ... hailing now and very interested to see what we will wake up to in the morning ...

So stay wrapped up warm ... it's very chilly out there!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-08-07T20:43:00.004+12:00

... a week back to a normal routine and it has flown by ... I might sound like a broken record record but how can it be August already?!?!?!

So might week started off with some happy mail ... my new passport (which will have a stamp in it by the end of the month), some new dies from MFT and ... a beautiful parcel from the lovely Julie as part of a winter self care swap organised by the gorgeous Janine.

So without further ado ... here are my Snapshots for this Sunday ...

... my goodies from Julie ... it felt like Christmas ...

... lots of treats ... all for me! ...

And yesterday was spent sitting in the grandstand at this icon of the south ... the mighty Carisbrook! Oh how things have changed over the years ... from those early disorderly days standing on the Terraces with all the other uni students ... to yesterday sitting very orderly in the main stand with the kids behaving ourselves ... hehehe!

So the action started with a brilliant game which saw Taieri (our local team) win the Dunedin Club premiership - wahoo! Then a game between the Otago Legends v Southland Legends and the the Otago v Southland ITM Cup match. Unfortunately Otago lost ... but can't really to be too sad being a Southlander by birth ... a foot in both camps so to speak!

After the game they let everyone onto the field ... just like the olds days before they became super strict with security. So took the final photos of the kids running round on the 'Brook pitch.

So into another busy week ...

Hope you have all had a relaxing weekend ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-07-31T22:01:00.003+12:00

... wow what a week - snow day, two very icy days on the roads going to work, then two days off with the kids on the final days of their school holidays.

On Thursday we got to enjoy a ride on the Taieri Gorge Train ... or more appropriately for the Cadbury Chocolate Festival week the Crunchie Train. So with my little Cowboy and Cowgirl we boarded the train for our journey to find the treasure. The kids were given goodie bags including a couple of Crunchies. All the staff on the train were dressed in costume - the little old granny knitting in our carriage - she kept the kids all entertained with stories, the Sheriff kept checking in with all the kids to warn them about looking out for baddies, the ladies from the childrens section of the library came through the carriages singing songs and reading a story. It was lots of fun! Not to mention the beautiful scenery with snow on the ground from the big fall earlier in the week. We arrived at the treasure spot - and got off the train to find a giant treasure chest brimming with mini crunchies. The train trip home was just as eventful, including a 'holdup' where the train stopped and about a dozen riders on horses raced up and down beside the carriages. Then the 'robbers' came running through, only to be caught by the Sheriff and marched back through. And to complete the performance there was even a police car with flashing lights to take the 'robbers' to jail when we arrived back at the Dunedin Railway Station. Whew ... a fun morning out, the kids loved it and have been talking about it ever since!

So here are a few Snapshots from our Crunchie journey for you this Sunday ...

Have a great week :)

'Snow day' Monday ...

2011-07-25T20:01:00.002+12:00

... as predicted last night the snow didn't fade away over night, in fact the snow on the ground more than doubled! So by 9 when the kids ran out the door there was approx 10cm lying on the ground. Needless to say neither Marty nor I made it to work today - we weren't prepared to risk the roads. Marty's work ended up closing altogether about lunchtime through til tomorrow morning - a safety call really, as not fair to expect night shift and back shift workers to attempt the roads esp at night.

So we got to spend a day with the kids enjoying the fun of the snow. Finn spend most of the day outside throwing snowballs at the other kids down the street ... he went through a few pairs of trousers and socks over the day. Emma kept complaining about cold/wet feet until I put a pair of my woolie socks on her feet and then she was all set. But she did get a bit picked on by the boys throwing snowballs!

This pic is about midday when the sun poked through ...

This was first thing at about 9.30am when we first headed out - blizzard like conditions for about an hour!

An hour later looking inland towards the Maungatua Ranges.

Looking the other way towards Saddle Hill.

Later I had a walk down the road, this is taken on the banks of the Silverstream and he snow sitting in the paddocks.

Hope you are all snuggled up warm as it is going to be a chilly night everywhere it would seem.

Fingers crossed the roads aren't too bad in the morning as really need to get into work tomorrow.

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-07-24T21:31:00.002+12:00

... or maybe for this week I should be renaming it 'Snowy Sunday' - LOL! The kids have been waiting on snow for weeks, we normally get one or two snowy days each year. Last good dump was about 2 years ago, on that day hubby couldn't get into town until lunchtime when they opened the southern motorway. So today it started about 9am, a light dusting for an hour or two, then a patch of blue sky. Started again about 1pm with a good coating over everything, by mid arvo the road and footpath were clear again. But it started getting thicker bout 5pm, and has been snowing/hailing/sleet showers ever since - now there is about 2+ inches covering everything!

So here are the snaps from today for Snapshot Sunday ...

... excited kids out in the snow (there is a big hill in the background, hidden by the snow clouds) ...

... Miss Sneaky ready to throw a snowball at Mum ...

Brrrrrrr another hail/sleet/snow shower coming down at the moment .... ummmm looks like it might be an 'at home' day tomorrow for me with the kids, rather than tempting fate on the roads to get into work (will just make the day up later in the week).

Snuggle up warm and I'll check back in with you next week (if not sooner) :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-07-17T21:23:00.002+12:00

... is here again. Been a busy week leading up to the school holidays - been catching up on a few things at work, so I can hopefully have a few days off later this week with the kids.

So the snap for this Sunday ...

... a gorgeous sunrise out of our dining room window ... (ok not quite I went outside and stood on the picnic table to get a better view over the back fence - LOL!!)

And my other find this week was this site here (found via Acquisitions facebook page - what a great store that is - hehehe!). Have a looksie, and you too can create you own version of the now famous 'Keep Calm and Carry On' slogan. I have one recently bought one of these original slogans on a red canvases and have it hanging in my kitchen ... yes, I bought it from the very funky Acquisitions store! ;)

So what are you waiting for ... let's all get our 'scrap on'!

Later
M

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-07-10T20:19:00.002+12:00

... hello again! How has your week been? Finally starting to feel like winter ... snow dusting on the hills in the mornings, icy cold wind and rain ... but we have still had some beautiful sunny days ... not warm, especially not after our -3 degree frosts. No problems on the roads here yet thank goodness!

So my Snaps for this Sunday ...

... my new funky skirt from Anthea Lawrence designs - reminds me of funky scrap paper - hehehe! Love the bright colours - just my style! ;)

... a pic from Friday nights school disco ... Emma standing there with her glow bunny ears on! A fun night but busy night for me as part of the organising committee, the kids had heaps of fun which is the main thing! (pic taken on hubby's iphone with hipstamatic app)

Have enjoyed a day scrapping with a few of the Dunedin ladies - 4 layouts started, just journalling/titles and some extra bits of add. So might just pop away now and do that now ...

Have a great week and stay wrapped up warm!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-07-03T21:48:00.003+12:00

... well have to say this winetr has been a strange one so far ... a few good frosts but stunning days ... almost feels like we are coming into spring not the middle of winter! But see the forecast for some rough weather over the next week ... glad the woodpile is stocked up!

And onto Snapshots for this Sunday ...

Pics for this week start with a frosty morning yesterday at hockey ... conversation went something like ... Me: "Emma if you score 5 goals I'll give you $5" .... Emma: "Cool Mum!" ....
well a minute or two into the game goal #1, followed closely by goal #2 ... then #3 ... and #4 ... and almost #5 (but another girl got the final nudge in). Very close though ... Emma was so excited after the game and annouced that she would like two $2 coins thank you! So tonight I did pay up as promised! This is her first season playing ministicks and she loves it ... whether it will be something she stays with we'll have to wait and see ...

Now don't fall over but I've managed some more creativity this arvo ...

I had some pics printed on my main printer at home, pics taken with hubby's iphone on the Hipstamatic setting ... they are only small prints but still very cool. So with a stack of 6x6 pads I decided to do some smaller layouts ...

... Cheeky Smile ...

... Good Times ...

And on my recent weekend in Ashburton I visited Annies Quilt Store ... these fabrics are just as gorgeous as scrap papers ... still trying to decide on a couple of projects to use this ...

Off to bed for me now ...

Have a good week :)

Friday show and tell ...

2011-07-01T21:40:00.002+12:00

... have finally got round to taking some pics of some of my latest layouts ...

Leaf Attack - journalling reads 'Trying to take some photos of you, standing in amongst the autumn trees. Next thing I know you are rushing at me with a pile of leaves! You got me!'

Christmas 2008 - journalling reads 'You now have your own wheels complete with seat for your baby doll. Merry Christmas from Mum and Dad xxx' (note: I used a white page behind this to get a good photo as it is a KI diecut transparency)

Special Bond - journalling reads 'I love this photo of you two - as much as you sometimes fight, you are definitely each other's best friend. You love spending time together, mucking around and also helping each other out.'

Cold Rock, Gold Coast - journalling reads 'Bubblegum ice cream, with oreo cookies and gummy bears mixed in. A yummy treat from our new favourite ice cream shop in Oz.'

A Happy Birthday tag using my new Tim Holtz tag die and Tim Holtz rosette die - my first two Tim products I have bought - very cool!

There are also some Echo Park goodies I created on show over here ...

So as you can see I still scrap - LOL! Mojo has been AWOL for a bit lately but I've still been collecting papers and embellishments for when it returns ... and with the weekend upon us I can feel some creating coming up ... so stay turned for some more ...

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-06-26T20:35:00.003+12:00

... and we are almost halfway through the year ...

The chill of winter is starting to take hold, can't seem to get warm some days. Doesn't help when the temp is still only -2 when dropping the kids at school and you can only see 50m in front when driving due to the fog ... this is what one of the days was like here last week! We haven't seen any snow ... neither has Central Otago ... but am sure we have a few more very chilly days lined up this year!

And along with winter comes the bugs ... have been all good for last 2 weeks but now have Emma with a bad case of tonsillitis and suspect Finn has come down with it as well - so back to the doctors again this week! BUt you wouldn't really know that they are crook, still lots of noise, running around and being just kids - LOL!

Snapshot this week is the other kid ... with her favourite toy (or should I say toys). There are many squashed/chewed tennis balls lying round the garden. She even loves sitting there with it between her front paws and peeling the felt off the rubber bit, and then leaving it lying all over the floor ... just as messy as the kids!

Well off to complete a few scrap projects ... they I can hopefully show you in due course. Have Tim Holtz dies, glimmermist, cake circles (see Mrs Frizz's blog for those), prima masks and a little Echo Park all strewn over my table ... not all on the same project mind you! ;)

Until next Sunday ... snuggle up warm!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-06-19T21:29:00.002+12:00

... is here again ... I say it most weeks but this year is really flying by!

Here are the Snapshots for this Sunday ...

... my future 'Black Stick' ;) ... scoring 2 goals and player of the day ... wahoo ...

... and some recent purchases on trademe ... a Buddy L toy typewriter ... just need to source a new ribbon ...

... and another trademe find ... resin cabochon flowers ... am already planning on how to use this little goodies ...

A fun weekend catching up with my parents, we headed down for a night after sports yesterday. Also time for a quick catchup with scrap friends before the trip back home today.

And so ends another weekend ... roll on the next one!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-06-12T21:24:00.002+12:00

... and a nice lazy day for a change!

Firstly I need to say a big congratulations to my friend Michelle Frisby (aka Mrs Frizz) for making the Kaisercraft design team! She is an amazing power scrapper and this is a well deserved acknowledgement of her talent.

This weekend I was issued with a challenge by the lovely Bronny - to use my camera in manual ... well I gave it a go, still not sure on all the settings but thought the pics I took turned out pretty good considering ...

So here are my pics for this weeks Snapshot on Sunday ...

... Finn at breakfast time ... two bowlfuls of Nutragrain and two weetbix in with each bowl ... not sure where he puts it all! ... but have a feeling it's only going to get worse in years to come ...

... my ministicks (hockey) girl ... tucking into the oranges at halftime ...

... and my fav pic ... the leftovers after halftime ...

... and an open day at our new stadium ... this is going to be a real asset to the city ... an amazing atmosphere under that roof ... will certainly make going to a night rugby game alot warmer than it currently is at the 'Brook ...

... this is the south stand with corporate boxes ... and the fantastic crop of grass that is sprouting on the pitch ...

An update from last week:

Moro - is back to her usual bouncy doggy self, and showing no side effects from her 'attack' last weekend. We have reported it to Dog Control and still waiting to hear back, we will be following this up again this week.

Finn - went downhill abit last Monday night and I had him at the doctors first thing on Tuesday. So after a precautionery xray to rule out pnuemonia - and armed with redipred, antibiotics and an inhaler our wee guy is now recovering from a bout of bronchitis. He still has the odd coughing fit but is 1000% better than he was and we are finally all able to get good nights sleep again.

Hope the winter bugs are leaving you alone, and that you all had a relaxing weekend :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-06-06T20:02:00.003+12:00

... on Queens Birthday Monday ... well it feels like a Sunday today doesn't it?! ;)

Progress on the scrap front ... a huge tidy up of my scrap area/gear ... with going to camps and crops I have lots of bits and pieces all over the place. So as of yesterday everything is sorted into one spot, so I can now find it all ... well that is the idea - LOL! Emma is delighted that her craft trolley has lots of new bits and pieces in the drawers ... I think I have a future wee scrapper on my hands ... best I keep an eye on the my gear! ;)

More sick/cough bugs are back ... Finn is now on week 6 of his cough/cold ... appears to be getting better that he gets worse again. Will be back to the doctor again this week I think to see if there is anything different we can try ... and then hopefully he (and us) can have some uninterrupted nights sleep!

Also had one sad dog over the weekend - Moro was attacked by another dog while out for a run down the banks of the stream with Marty on Saturday. Now Moro is quite a big labrador - but this other one (a bull mastiff cross dog) has manged to bite her on the shoulder leaving a nasty hole when a k9 tooth has pierced the skin, then it grabbed her round the throat and was dragging her towards the water. Hubby with all his 6 feet tall, large frame couldn't get this dog to let go, even with help of a large stick! Sitting on the offending dog and semi strangling it resulted in it finally letting go of Moro. The owner had no control of the dog, and will be getting a call from Dog Control during this next week. Our baby had a trip to the vet, and is on antibiotics and other meds for the next few days but she will be fine, thank goodness ...

So finally the Snapshots for this Sunday (Monday) ...

... first official week of winter and I think Mother Nature is getting a tad confused with many a blossom blooming on the trees down our street ...

... and the next morning and the rear view of my car after a ripper frost, turning my black car white ... temp still -1degrees at 8.30am when the kids and I left for school/work ... bbbbrrrr ...

Hope you all had a fab long weekend!

M :)

Something new ...

2011-06-03T21:30:00.001+12:00

... to 'challenge you happy' ... go check it out ...

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-05-29T20:31:00.002+12:00

... is here again, boy that week went quick!

Unfortunately it is a pictureless post - I went away for the weekend and forgot my camera - I know very sad! :(

Spent a couple of nights in Ashburton at the National Convention for my hubby's community group - Round Table. Was a fantastic weekend with a few very funny people which culminated with a dinner last night which had the theme '1960's Rock'n Roll'. So dressed in a paisley minidress and knee high lime boots I partied the night away with about 8 Elvis's, Austin Powers and a big group that looked like they had walked straight out of the 60's show 'Happy Days'! Our Mosgiel contingent won the best dressed section of the evening - wahoo!

Someone did get photos and I will be trying to get copies this week if I can - esp of me with all the Elvis's!

Hope you all had a fun weekend, but must say I am looking forward to an early night ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-05-22T20:26:00.002+12:00

... is here again. Sorry no scrap layouts, haven't had much time to unpack my scrap gear since getting home from Camp last Sunday ... maybe next week! Although did spend a little time yesterday playing with a new Tim Holtz die that I bought last weekend, my first one (well second coz I bought another one too - LOL!). I have the rosette die - to make those cool flowers. Have a couple made now waiting on a layout/card to pop them on.

So on to 'Snapshot Sunday' ... at the moment life in this house seems to revolve around sport, especially this weekend ... hence the shots of this week ...

Monday night ... miniball ... Finn's first season, and think he'll have a bit of an advantage in years to come with his height as he continues to sprout upwards (comes from having a Dad that is over 6 foot tall!) ...

Saturday morning ... Emma's first season of ministicks (she's blue #5) ... bit of a bummer as means I miss Finn's football matches as it's on at the same time 20 minutes away in Dunedin ...

And today ... a 7 a side football tournament for Finn - 4 twenty minute games in 3 hours ...

After all that sport and spending a couple of hours in the garden tidying it up for winter ... it's time to now put the feet up and relax!

mmmmmmm ... oven beeping ... my apple sponge pudding is ready ... see you next week!

Opps ...

2011-05-17T21:55:00.002+12:00

... got a bit sidetracked and missed my usual Snapsot Sunday.

Well I suppose I had a good excuse, 4 days and 3 nights at Scrap Camp - a lot of laughter, scrapping, great company, a bit of wine, more giggles and a bit of shopping .... it was bliss!

I am slowly recovering and with a busy week at work I will resume my normal 'Snapshot Sunday' this coming weekend.

I hope everyone is snuggled up warm with this icy blast heading up the country ... am glad the snow waited until the night after camp finished. Was amazing seeing the white hills round the plains in Monday morning ... bbbbrrrrrr!

So til Sunday ... ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-05-08T20:07:00.002+12:00

... a hectic week has past, and another is in store. Kids back at school, bugs and sick days, deadlines at work, sports after school ... just the usual in this house really! But the reward for getting through this week will be 3 days of scrapping starting Thursday night with friends at the Dunners Scrap Camp ... bring it on!

... so before I zoom away to get some gear organised, here is my Snapshot for this Sunday ...

... revisited my uni student days, with lunch on Saturday with Marty and kids at Poppa's Pizza in the heart of the Otago Uni area of town .... aaahhhhh those were the days ;)

Have a great week!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-05-01T20:40:00.005+12:00

... wow two posts in one weekend ... aren't you lucky - LOL!

My snapshots this week are more highlights from my recent break away in Central Otago, stunning at this time of year ...

... repeat of pic I took a couple of years ago ... leaf showers ...

... wharf at Old Cromwell ...

... Old Cromwell town, beautiful colours ...

... my other gorgeous girl, love that sad 'just give me a pat' look ...

... and that giant pumpkin pile ...

Hope you all had a great weekend :)

Scrappy Saturday ...

2011-04-30T15:47:00.002+12:00

... as promised here are a few of my latest layouts, completed for SBO using 2 of the Echo Park Collections - Little Boy & Playground.
I don't think it is any secret that I love bright papers, and would have to say Echo Park is my current fav manufacturer!

So without further ado ...

... 'She is a Scooter girl' ... (using EP Playground)

... Hopscotch fun ... (using EP Playground)

... Rember these days ... (using EP Little Boy)

journalling reads ... 'This Ikea wooden train set has been a favourite toy of yours. Many a day has been spent making tracks round the lounge floor'

... Today you ... (using EP Little Boy)

journalling reads ... 'Today you spent ages trying to fix your broken digger toy. But not to worry, with a little help it was fixed, and you were off happily playing again'

... Strike Time ... (using EP Little Boy)

journalling reads ... 'A game of bowling, followed by lunch at the Speight's Ale House. What a great way to celebrate your 8th birthday!'

The journalling on the 'sandpit' layout I posted a week or two ago was a bit small to read but it said ... 'When looking for Finn at Kindy, the first and only place we needed to look in was the sandpit! You were definitely an outside boy! No paintings or art creations came home in your bag, just pocketfuls of sand!'

I am enjoying my scrapping at the moment, capturing those moments and the stories of the kids. I have a few photos taken from over the last few weeks to edit and print ... then I will be all set for 3 days of scrapping at the Dunedin Scrap Camp the weekend after next. Looking forward to catching up with buddies I haven't seen in a while, having a laugh or two, and watching some very talented people create some true masterpieces!

Later :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-04-25T21:06:00.002+12:00
... sorry for the delay in transmission ... have been soaking up the sun in Central Otago over the long weekend.
Catching up with friends and family, easter eggs, the local wines and just plain relaxing! Ahhhh ... bliss!

So snapshots for this week are ...
At Clyde wine and food festival ... a fantastic arvo ...

... Finn and hubby biking part of the rail trail ...

... one crazy chocolate loaded girl ...

... a time to remember at Alexandra Anzac parade ...

... the annual shot at the pumpkin pile at Millers Flat on the way home today ...

Love the shots above that I took with the hipstamatic app I downloaded on hubby's phone. Gives the pics such a cool look, am looking forward to printing a few off and scrapping them.

Back to work tomorrow and also planning for the Royal wedding party I am hosting on friday night ... good excuse to dust of the tiara and the champagne flutes ... so do you have anything planned for the big night?

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-04-17T21:51:00.002+12:00
... and so ends the first school term of the year ... whew that went quick! Been a bit hectic round here so not many pics today ... Snapshot of the week though is my two swimmers ... swimming very well and graduating to the next level of swim class ... now no longer Whippa Snappers, here are my two Olly Octopus! And here is a sneak peek of a layout I completed last weekend, using the gorgeous Echo Park Playground collection ... which can now be bought in the shop at SBO ...

And here is a layout I created using Echo Park Boy Collection ... my little sandpit lover ...

Later :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-04-10T21:36:00.002+12:00
... home this arvo from a great weekend with the southern girls down in Pukerau, at the 'Scraptastic' camp organised by the very funny Kim and Julie. There was scrapping, chatting, challenges, tea parties, quizzes, more challenges, and lots of laughs over the weekend! So my snapshots this week are all food related ... ... the tea party spread ... ... the gorgeous petite cupcakes, peanut butter slice and herbal tea ...

... and the delicious pancakes for lunch today ...

I was very productive over the weekend - 9 layouts and 4 cards, just a bit of journalling to do to finish them off. Now looking forward to the Dunedin scrap camp in a few weeks time to get a few more layouts crossed off my 'to do' list.

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-04-03T21:32:00.006+12:00
... and just like that the month of April is upon us! And so begins my birthday month ... ;) Have been having fun playing with my new camera over the weekend. Although the sun light was a tad bright I still ended up with some ok shots of my girl having fun in the school grounds ... Snapshots of the weekend ... ... my lil' scooter girl ... ... and hopscotcher ...

Look out for these pics on a layout very soon ;)

And also some peeks of layouts I have been working on for SBO ...

... loving the Echo Park collections ... this company is my new favourite! Nice bright colours, just perfect for the many photos I have of the kids!

Look out for the full layouts coming to SBO very soon!

Now a week to pack my scrap gear in preparation for 'Scraptastic' camp - which is going to be a right giggle! A few new people to meet, a few I have known for a while, and the very funny organisers Julie and Kim.

Have a great week :)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-03-27T20:10:00.002+13:00
... sharing one taken last weekend ... ... look closely and you'll see ... A DOUBLE RAINBOW!
Been a busy week here, as Hubby away in Oz for work, this past week and next. So instead of travelling home just for a night or two he has gone to stay with my brother and family for the weekend in Melbourne. Taking in some rugby and today he is at the Formula 1 - lucky guy!!!

The kids and I got to talk to him on Skype a couple of times, also had fun talking with my 2 year old niece. Have only just set Skype this week and it's just the best - think we will make lots of use of it this year with another niece/nephew due to arrive later in the year!

Not much scrapping going on here, but slowly getting organised for 'Scraptastic' camp in a couple of weeks time - it's going to be a laugh esp with the duo of Julie and Kim in charge! Then just over a month later the Dunedin Camp is on - can't wait! Should get through my 'to scrap' list pretty quickly!

Hope you are all snuggled up warm in your part of the world, weather here has taken a turn towards winter today ... bbbrrrrrr!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-03-20T20:55:00.004+13:00
... the last week has been pretty much a stock standard one for us.

Is a long weekend here in Dunners with Monday being Anniversary Day - wahoo!

Went to the rugby last night, been first time in a while I have been to a Super 15 game. But last night was the Southern Derby - Otago v Canterbury, and a huge crowd gathered for the game which gave a great atmosphere!

So my pic of the week for Snapshot Sunday is ...

... Finn and his new hero ...

Heading off for an early night now, been crook with an inner ear infection - pretty nasty stuff.
I know I promised some scrappy pics this week but sorry I forgot to take photos of them. Am going to try and finish off a couple more pages tomorrow so I'll see how I go! ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-03-13T21:25:00.002+13:00
... a story about Emma this week ... and the repeat visits from the Tooth Fairy.

On Tuesday 29th after days of hanging by the tiniest thread her right top tooth came out ... and almost straight away the other top tooth starting going on a funny angle. Well yesterday it was just hanging in there ... there was a bit of wiggling and slight pulling ... (eewwwwwww I couldn't watch that!) ... and then with a slight push with her tongue ... it flew out!

So here are the Sunday Snapshots ...

Sat 4.30pm

and 20 min later ...

And a very excited girl ... who couldn't wait for the tooth fairy to visit last night ...

She looks so different now ... all gummy ... only a slight lisp ... so cute!

Had a very productive day scrapping with the Dunners girls today, 4 layouts and a couple of cards created. Might show some sneak peaks soon, if you are lucky! ;)

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-03-06T21:25:00.003+13:00
... a big day in our house today ... Finn celebrated his 8th birthday today. Can't believe he is 8 already, he is getting so tall, has a very caring personality, is a bundle of energy and I am so proud to be his Mum.

So naturally the Snapshot Sunday pics this week highlight what we have done today ...

Lunch out at Finn's fav restaurant - Speights Ale House ...

And prior to lunch we have a fun game of tenpin bowling ...

And the traditional candles on the cake photo ...

I will hopefully be back next week with some new scrap layouts for you. Have got some yummy new product to play with from SBO, now to find a spare hour or two in my week to lock myself in my scrap room!

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-02-27T20:47:00.002+13:00
... a week none of us are likely to forget in a hurry. My thoughts are with everyone affected by Tuesday's quake in ChCh - I feel fortunate that all my family and friends are safe. Unsure of the damage to their homes as they have all left the area for the moment.

I have this feeling of guilt that we have continued our week in a almost normal routine, but somehow it has all changed. I hug the kids just a little tighter and tell them how proud I am of them and how much I love them. I have spent more time with and communicating with family and friends. This type of disaster has definitely been another reminder of just how precious life is, and how grateful I am to have those around me that care and love me.

Last but not least ... this weeks edition of Snapshot Sunday ...

The big man Buck and the Webb Ellis Trophy that will hopefully have NZ engraved on it at the end of this years Rugby World Cup ...

The next sequence of photos are from this morning when Finn competed in his first Weetbix Tryathlon ...

Finn in the yellow goggles ... he did so well with the swimming given he isn't yet a super strong swimmer and the pool was quite deep (over his head) for most of the length ...

A speedy cyclist ... 'Mum I lost count of how many people I passed' ...

The final leg, the run ... look at that huge smile ...

And 32 min after the start a very excited boy with his gold medal ...

A very proud Mum moment today - to see my boy overcome his nerves and find out he can achieve great things.

Thank you for calling in and I hope that you are all safe in your part of the country/world.

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-02-20T21:36:00.003+13:00
And another week whizzes by ...

Loving homemade fresh fruit smoothies after a long walk ...

Little madam butterfly ... facepainted at Relay for Life ...

Spent a few hours at Relay for Life yesterday, walked over 10,000 steps (had my ipod pedometer on) just in my evening session. An amazing event raising money for a good cause, also a great place to catch up with friends, having a chat while walking laps of the track.

And this week a few scrap layouts (finally you say! LOL!).

Finn asked if I could do a few layouts for him, obviously I have been doing a few too many girl layouts lately - opps. So here we go ...

{Layout removed for publication}

Papers used are Bella Blvd - one of my favs.

Have a great week!

Snapshot Sunday and spreading the love ...

2011-02-14T20:05:00.003+13:00
Just a few hours late (ooppps), but here is my snapshot of the week that has been ...

Going with the valentine/love theme here ... this being a snap of my three most favorite people in the whole world ...

And carrying on with the valentine/love theme these are some scrappy projects I created for SBO this month using the Bo Bunny Crush Collection ...

I found this gorgeous frame last week and knew the perfect way to use some of these beautiful papers. I used a cuttlebug heart die, and put them in a grid pattern on white cardstock ...

A loved themed layout with a difference ... the journalling reads 'The first glimpse of our wee girl Emma Kate and it was definitely was ... Love at first sight' ...

And a treat for my valentine ...

Later :)

SnapShot Sunday ...

2011-02-06T21:28:00.002+13:00
Highlights of this week ...

Tuesday 1st Feb was back to school day! Finn starting in Year 4 and Emma in Year 2 - both have great teachers and were very happy to get back to see all their friends ...

Second half of the cricket season started ... unfortunately a loss but some great bowling and batting from my boy ...

My other girl ...

Our 3rd trip to the airport this week (Marty was away in Oz for work and got home on Thursday). But today's visit was to see the new Air NZ 'All Black' plane ...

So what have you been up to?

Snapshot Sunday ...

2011-01-30T21:19:00.007+13:00
Welcome to 2011, well it's almost a month old now but have been a tad busy so my blog has been a bit neglected recently.
So I thought of something different I want to try this year, as a prompt to hopefully keep me blogging on a regular basis (fingers crossed LOL!)

So welcome to my first 'Snapshot Sunday'

I'm not doing Project Life or 365 photos as such but I've decided to do a weekly photo update on my blog - a photo or couple of photos that represent what is going on in my life over the past week. I may or may not end up printing these pics and compiling in a separate album, or I may just keep in online and concentrate on my other layouts I want to achieve this year. No pressure really just a bit of fun.

So as this is my first 'Snapshot Sunday' for the year, here a few pictures which sum up the main highlights ...

Two glorious weeks spent relaxing with family and friends at this school camp we hire in Bannockburn, Central Otago ...

A New Years day spent at Bannockburn Inlet with family/friends, having fun out on the boat and jetski ...

Cousins spending fun times together (this is my wee niece from Melbourne) ...

My personal goal achieved ... going solo on the jetski ...

My little lady turning 6 ...

Lots of fun memories from our time away. We had a mini family reunion on New Yars Day ... well not so mini there were 43 odd family members on my Mum's side there at some point or another - which isn't that hard really when my Mum is the oldest of 8! I'm the oldest of 17 grandchildren (of which 12 were there) - and there were 11 great grandchildren there too!!!

Needless to say I have a pile of photos sitting here to scrap! Although am being more organised this year and printed photos are going straight into normal albums, and I will then take the them out as I scrap them ... gotta be better than photo boxes full of a mix of photos and never being able to find them when you want them!

Well that is me for tonight ... one more day off for the kids then they are back to school on Tuesday. I have been back at work since the 10th of Jan, though am looking forward to having a less hectic and normal routine for a while.

On the eve of the big day ...

2010-12-24T16:03:00.002+13:00
... I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you have a fantastic 2011.

This is my 'Christmas card' shot this year - but don't worry the jetski wasn't going and they aren't allowed to drive it - just a staged photo! ;) hehehe!

We are looking forward to a day celebrating Christmas at home, my brother, his wife and my niece have just flown in from Melbourne. This will be a big surprise for my parents when they arrive in a couple of hours as they think they are flying in on Boxing Day! Whew has been a bit hard keeping this a secret for the last 7 weeks or so! LOL!

Enjoy the day, and time together with family and friends. I look forward to seeing/'chatting' with you in the New Year.
m :)

The countdown begins ...

2010-12-12T20:40:00.002+13:00
... with a little 'Echo Park' advent calendar ...

Lots of festive creative inspiration going on here at SBO

3 1/2 days of school left for the kids, almost all the presents bought, landscaping finished, menu sorted for Christmas Day and just a few more crazy days at work to get out of the way before the fun of the season can start.

Hope all your preparations are coming along well.

Hello .....

2010-11-30T21:13:00.002+13:00
... yes I am still here, not sure if anyone else is though!? ;)

Has been a busy month in this house! The usual after school activities, sports, ballet end of year concerts, fishing weekend for hubby, scrapping weekend in Qtown for me ... and a new job for me! My word for the year ... 'new' ... is turning out to be pretty spot on. Lots of changes this year, new challenges and opportunities. I am now the new Accountant for Acquisitions, the really funky gift stores. There are 11 stores round the country with the first being in Dunedin which is where the (small) head office is still based.

But in amongst all the busy stuff I have still found the odd pocket of time to sneak away and do some creating.
Today I wanted to share a reverse canvas I made for myself using the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl range of papers and chipboard elements. Something fun to hang above my scrap desk ...

Hope you all are going to be checking into the SBO forum regularly! Starting tomorrow the DT are going to be revealing 24 days of festive inspiration for you ... showcasing some gorgeous Christmas ranges that are available in the SBO shop ... be sure to check in!

A long weekend ...

2010-10-30T15:50:00.003+13:00
... and some gorgeous weather to go with it! We headed away to Alexandra for Labour Weekend to stay with my in laws. This weekend has, for the past 3 years, been the vege garden planting weekend. The kids love heading out to buy the seeds/plants then back to Gran & Grandads to dig over the dirt, mark the rows then plant and water the garden. They take a real interest in how the plants are growing and love getting the fresh veges out at Christmas time/New Year - although they still don't like eating much of them! ;)

Went for a bit of a hike with Finn, up the trail to the clock that is built into the hill that overlooks Alex. He loved his 'adventure'!

I took the kids back to an orchard where I took some autumn photos of them last year. I missed the blossom this year, but the trees still make a gorgeous backdrop for some new photos of them ... still want to do some editing of the pics but am thinking I may get a couple of them printed on canvas ...

Also picked up this little Bee costume at the Big Red Shed - doesn't she look gorgeous in amongst all the dandelions! ;)

Have spent the last week getting last minute bits done for the kids school fair which is tomorrow. The weather is forecast to play nice so that is great! Now while I have a couple of hours spare I am going to sit at my scrap desk and have a play with some yummy Websters Pages ... be sure to keep an eye on the reveal next week!

A fab weekend and some Bella Blvd goodness ...

2010-10-19T12:16:00.004+13:00
I ventured south this past weekend to spend a day with some great ladies including these two - Rachel & Trina. The cause being a crop to raise funds for the Mayoral Earthquake fund for those affected by the September quake in Canterbury.
A fun day was had by all - 12 hours of scrapping/classes/demos/lollies/laughter - just the usual really when you mix this lot of gorgeous ladies together! Thank you to everyone who made the day a huge success, and to Andrea for once again bringing along all those shop goodies that were so hard to resist!

My layouts from the classes taken by firstly Trina ...

then by Rachel ...

A few Websters Pages in there ... stay tuned for next month as I have a pack of these lovely paper to play with for my DT work at SBO. Now thanks to Trina and Rachel I have some ideas how to actually use them! ;)

Here is some of my work for this month with SBO. I was very fortunate to be sent an array of papers from the 4 new collections of Bella Blvd - one of my very fave manufacturers!

An art folder for Emma ... this is a 8x8 cover and back that I have decorated and inside it holds some 6x6 page protectors.

A fun picture frame for Finn ...

Donut Love ...

You got Tunes ...

I also issued the mini challenge last Thursday over on SBO. The challenge was to 'record this moment'. I had done this a couple of years ago for the kids but wanted to do updated pages. Here is my example that I have completed for Emma ...

The nasty winter weather has arrived back again, I thought after the fabulous warm days last week that we had seen the last of it ... but it appears not! I think I will put the fire on and make myself something yummy and warm for lunch ... then some more scrapping! ;)

Did you miss me?

2010-10-06T14:03:00.003+13:00
... we're back from our first ever proper family holiday ... and it was fantastic! The kids travelled well, and coped with all the walking ... and most of all they had heaps of fun!

First stop was Melbourne to catch up with my brother and his family ... time was spent travelling on trains and trams, visiting Melbourne Zoo, Sunday markets at SouthBank and soaking up the atmosphere and festivies surrounding the AFL Grand Final which was played the weekend we were there. Well so much for the Grand Final, after those 4 forty minute quarters the game was a draw ... so rather than play extra time they had to play the whole game again the following weekend! How bizarre!

Kids opposite Flinders Station ...

Emma and artwork on the walls of an alleyway ...

Next stop was Surfers on the Gold Coast, we got a great little apartment right opposite the beach and spent a few days hanging out at DreamWorld/WhiteWaterWorld, shopping at HarbourTown, eating icecream, walking along the beach and soaking up the warmth! The weather wasn't super hot and there were a couple of good storms pass through while we were there - one major downpour hit when we were at the WaterWorld so didn't matter coz we were already wet!

And 'who lives in a pineapple under the sea' ... yes that would be SpongeBob Squarepants and his mate Patrick! The kids had fun meeting the characters and doing the rides at the park ... although Emma didn't enjoy a couple of the rides we bribed her on, but she loved the icecream afterwards!

The beach opposite our apartment ...

Now back to reality, another few days before the kids head back to school and then the crazy buildup to Christmas.
Will be back soon with some peeks at some layouts from the gorgeous Bella Blvd range of papers as part of my design work at SBO for this month.
Also a sketch challenge coming up on Friday from me ... best I sort that out tonight! ;)

Another 'Trip to Paris' ...

2010-09-17T17:46:00.002+12:00
... as promised here is the second installment of the 3 Bugs in a Rug - A Trip to Paris Collection.

When I saw this particular Effiel Tower paper I knew it was time to scrap some of my old travel photos ... hence this Paris themed double layout ...

... and a close-up of the journalling ...

And some simple yet elegant cards with some of the leftover papers and diecuts ...

Having lots of fun with the new goodies for the October reveal ... might put some sneak peeks up early next week if you're lucky! ;)

Attention Southern ladies ... hope you have checked out the forum for details of the Earthquake Crop day where we will have the pleasure of the company of Rachel and Trina ... and me! LOL! ;)
Hope you are all rugged up for the weekend of forecasted nasty weather!

A Trip to Paris!

2010-09-01T20:52:00.003+12:00
... if only! LOL! Actually at the moment I would take just a couple more hours in the day or a 3 day weekend!

To say the last few weeks have been busy is an understatement - chaotic more like! Finn has had 7 days off school - first a cold then the vomit bug (3 times!!!!!). Each time the bug hit, he recovered and within 5 days it was back again! Then I got it! Throw in helping with school and sporting activities, trying to get my growing pile of contract work done and keep on top of the every increasing list of housework - whew! To prove how bad it has been - I received a box of yummy goodies that I bought from SBO (MME Alphabet Soup) and it is still sitting in the box - all of it - no time to play here!

But enough of that. Still there were some great moments in that time too - Emma lost her first tooth and is so proud showing everyone the gap it has left (and how she can stick her tongue through it)! Hubby had his birthday, and the kids are loving his pressie - a Wii! Proud of Finn completing the cross country last week, and then again today. He may not be the fastest runner (actually he is pretty good at bringing up the rear), but he had a smile on his face when he crossed the finish line! Finn also got Player of the Day at soccer, the weekend in between his bouts with the nasty bug - very happy to show off that trophy again!
And tonight Finn gave me the biggest hug before bed and told me "Mum, you are the best Mum in the whole wide world" - my heart melted right then and there - my kids are my world, they are all that matters to me (and hubby of course) and for him to say this means I must be doing something right, even when I have weeks like these when I feel I haven't accomplished anything.

Now looking forward, we have a family holiday planned that the kids are getting very excited about - across the ditch to visit my brother, followed by a play at the beach for another few days. Passports sorted, tickets booked, now just have to work out which events/theme parks/markets we are going to visit.

Scrappy news now ... A couple of weeks ago (before the chaos) I received a gorgeous 3 Bugs in a Rug pack. A Trip to Paris Caboodle pack to be exact - a great value pack with 9 papers, alphas, diecuts and rubons.
Here are my creations so far ...

And here is a sneak peek on a layout I am putting together at the moment ... you will have to wait until the 15th to see this one ...
On that note I am off to have a cuppa ... Good night :)

Week 4 - Kiwi Challenge - Remoteness

2010-08-20T17:07:00.002+12:00
It's my turn this week over on SBO with the Kiwi Challenges.

This week the challenge is to create a layout with 'white space'

So here is my example :

Love the way this layout came together. Have had this photo sitting with my scrap gear for a while ... the layout never came together ... and then the other night everything fell into place!

August kit reveal ...

2010-08-02T16:45:00.003+12:00
Wohoo, what a fantastic kit SBO is sending out for August - called 'The Carnival Collection' and packed with papers by Bo Bunny, Echo Park and Sassafrass - as well as alpas, stickers, flowers, buttons, and overlays. Such bright yummy colours - definitely my type of kit!

So here are my inital creations ...

So much fun to play with!
I had a catch up with some of the girls yesterday at Scrap Sunday - managed 6 layouts (just a bit of machine sewing required to finish them off) and started on a fun reverse canvas. Is the most productive day scrapping I have had in a while, that and great conversations and a yummy (unhealthy) lunch - although I did walk down the street to buy it instead of driving - LOL!
Hope you are all having a great week! ;)

Week One

2010-07-31T23:10:00.002+12:00
... and we are off and racing, I mean scrapping - LOL!

Week One challenge is to scrap a layout with a Kiwi Icon or Landmark

My take on this, featuring a pic from our holiday in Auckland in April - 'Chillin' at Viaduct Basin'

You have until midnight on Thursday 5th August to upload your creations - so get scrapping!
Got scrap gear packed for Scrap Sunday tomorrow with some of the girls, really looking forward to it as have missed the last two months because of other commitments.
Off now to watch the rest of the All Blacks v Wallabies game - proving to be an action packed game, best match up I have seen between these 2 teams for a while. Also trying to spy my bro in the crowd ;) Next weeks rematch in ChCh could be very interesting - hubby is heading up for it - I'll just be home in front of the TV watching!
Night

Ready ... set ... go!

2010-07-29T11:04:00.001+12:00
Go register that is!

For the Kiwiana Competition starting VERY soon over at SBO!

And with 3 MM slices up for grabs why would you not want to join in!

Bad news for me ... Great news for you!

2010-07-22T20:51:00.003+12:00
Head on over to SBO forum and check it out ...

A new competition is coming ...

With not 1 ...

Not 2 ...
But 3 Slices up for grabs!!!
I don't have one of these babies, but it's definitely on my wishlist!
Go on join in, coz 'you've gotta be in to win'!

Stitching on a layout

2010-07-20T20:54:00.002+12:00
Have you tried adding a new dimension to your layouts with stitching?

Go and check out my Tuesday Tips over on the SBO forum for some stitching tips and examples ...

Have a great day!

I'm still here ...

2010-07-08T12:33:00.004+12:00
sorry ... bit of blog neglect going on ... but truly, where have the last few weeks gone? Actually for that matter where have the last 6 months raced away to? As the saying goes 'time flies when you are having fun' and I would have to agree!

Now for ScrapbookOutlet news - have you seen that the kits are back? July one was sent last week ...
I was lucky enough to have a sneak play with the kit before it was officially released. Gorgeous product in there from October Afternoon, Crate Paper, Webster Pages, Pink Paislee and Prima.

My layouts ...

and a couple of cards ...

Have a few more projects completed which will be revealed at the end of next week.

Now if you prefer a brighter palette of colours then I recommend jumping in quick and grabbing August's kit - OMG it's gorgeous! I might even have to get myself a second kit because I can see endless possibilities for layout/card and minibooks!!!

Hope those of you with kids home for school holidays are surviving! My lounge yesterday resembled a HotWheels mini town with cars and trainsets all over - now it is a cafe with mini oven and plastic food all around. Not to mention the dining table has stickers, scraps of paper and paint daubers on it - none of which are mine. But at least they are happy - not fighting too much (yet). I have spent a couple of days working but have the rest of the week to relax with them and cram in a few activities in town, but then again I might just stoke up the fire and stay home and scrapbook with the goodies from SBO that landed on the doorstep this morning ;)

Sketch Night!

2010-06-18T14:31:00.002+12:00
My turn to post the sketch over at SBO ... so here goes ...

and my take ...
a 'twist' on the banner, and a few smaller photos instead of the one big one ...

Looking forward to a big weekend - the boys in black (aka All Blacks) are playing a test match against Wales at Carisbrook tomorrow night. It is also the final test at Carisbrook, with the new stadium taking shape in time for the Rugby World Cup next year. Have just been in town to get a few signatures from the boys - for Finn of course!!! Looking forward to the big game!!! ;)

SBO sketch challenge ...

2010-06-04T20:52:00.002+12:00
... has been posted! Sharon has done a fantastic layout sketch for this week ...
And here is my take on it ...

Papers are by October Afternoon and Prima flower.

From memory you have til next Thursday to get your layout into the gallery folder, and there will be a RAK drawn from those who enter.

Now who is going to give this a go?

First reveal at SBO ...

2010-06-01T12:53:00.006+12:00
My first ScrapBookOutlet Design Team goodies for me to work with has been the Paper Kit by Fancy Pants from the range About a Girl. An amazing value pack with 12 patterned papers (double sided!!), 1 sheet of Element stickers, 1 sheet of Alpha stickers, 1 printed transparency, 1 flocked transparency, 1 sheet of coloured rub ons and a sheet with 10 glitter cuts.
I have created two layouts and two cards so far and still have oodles of product still left to create a lot more.
Here are my creations from the Fancy Pants About a Girl range featuring my girl ...

Have added a bit of extra Prima goodness along with some stamped greetings ...

Head on over to the SBO forum to see more creations from the new Design Team. Today there is a new section 'Check it out Tuesday' - Jane shows us how to create a gorgeous pleated flower. More challenges to follow over the next week ...

A scraplift of a scraplift ...

2010-05-27T12:48:00.003+12:00
... in the pages of my newest most fav magazine (Scrapbook Trends) I found this bright, fun layout by Kelly Goree ... isn't it cool!

So at scrap camp I came across these photo in my pile naturally the above layout came to mind. So here is my scraplift of Kelly's layout ...

I love the way it turned out! So last week when it came time to scrap some of my photos from Kelly Tarltons in Auckland, I decided to use the same idea for a layout, just changed abit so I could add more photos on the one page ...

Another Auckland trip layout below, the Zoo. Found a cool layout by Jana Eubank (in TwoPeas gallery) and loved the idea of all the photos together in a band across the middle of the layout. Am on the look out for some chipboard animals as think this would finish the layout off, but in the meantime I am happy with how it came together.

And to finish off another layout I did last week of my Emma, scraplifted my own layout for this one (the 'Fly' layout from an earlier post). Love the funny things she comes out with, this day it was "Look Mum, I'm a flower growing in the sandpit" ...

I have my first DT box of goodies from SBO and am working on some layouts for the big reveal next week. Keep your eyes on the SBO forum and blog from the 1st June as there are looks of challenges, techniques and other fun stuff happening with the new huge DT on board!

NEW and news ...

2010-05-17T11:59:00.002+12:00
I took me a while to come to a decision about my word for the year ... but after reflecting on this post I decided the most appropriate word was 'NEW'. 2010 is of course the start of a new decade, it was a new stage for us as a family with both children now at school and I was ready for some new challenges ...

So this is where the 'news' comes ... I decided to push myself and submit for the ScrapbookOutlet design team ... and WAHOO I made it!!!!!! I am one of 8 fantastic ladies who will be part of the DT over the next 6 or so months - can you tell I am just a bit excited - LOL!
I am the first to admit my style is just that - mine, not everyone will like it (probably too plain for some) but it has taken me the last few years to get to a place with my scrapping that I love. Once I stopped trying to hard and just focused on capturing the stories I wanted to tell it all fell into place. I love clean lines, bright colours, stitching, buttons and white space.

I look forward to the next six months, I know that I will be pushed out of my comfort zone but that is part of embracing new challenges!

So now I am off to scrap ...

Whew ...

2010-05-03T11:14:00.002+12:00
... just been out for a big walk with my dog - trying to walk off all the beautiful baking, fudge and liquorice, not to mention the beautiful meals that I ate over the weekend at ScrapCamp - LOL! Wow - talk about being looked after well! Firstly a big thanks to Carol & Naomi for another fantastic weekend - amazing organisation, fantastic goodie packs ...

Above is the main hall where we scrapped up a storm over the weekend ...

My table (this is Mrs Frizz's spot - I sat opposite her) - other ones there are Andrea, Lara, Meg and Nik. Lots of laughs and a bit of crying as well as we were laughing so hard!

A pic of my completed print tray at scrapcamp ... very pleased with the way it turned out! This is going to be hung on the wall in our dining room. Photo is a bit fuzzy, will take a better shot when it's up on the wall.

And here is one of the button necklaces I also created over the weekend. Found a pack of BG buttons in amongst the SBO shop goodies - and 30 min later I had this funky bright necklace! I also made one with some pastel/vintage type buttons as well (see top right of above photo).

I also completed 9 layouts for the kids albums which I really love. Haven't taken any photos yet, but thinking about maybe submitting some to magazines - been awhile since I did this. (Actually only submitted once before with a mini-album which ended up being published)

Thanks again to everyone involved for a great weekend - roll on the next one! ;)

Still busy ...

2010-04-24T20:38:00.003+12:00
... for this the month of 'me' LOL! Yes the old birthday is here this coming week, another year older ...
It has been a very different month ... lots of travel and fun with the kids, and will finish with a weekend of fun and laughs next week with Scrap Camp on here in Dunedin (starting Thursday night). But has also been a very thought provoking month with the sudden passing of a beautiful lady - makes you really sit back and think about all that you have to be grateful for, and to push yourself and give everything that life has to offer a go.

So to my creative side ... I had been trying to get my scrap gear sorted for camp but couldn't resist creating a couple of projects ...

This layout uses one of the photos I took at Emma's early 5th birthday party last year, when all the girls were dressed up in their fairy skirts and wings. The pp is Crate Paper 'Paper Doll' Collection that I recently got from SBO - couldn't resist it especially when one of the papers was called 'Emma'!!! Add a bit of tulle, some machine stitching and a handmade layered flower and I have a layout I really love!!

Also whipped up this framed butterfly for Emma's room. Yes this is the same Crate Paper as I used above and this is actually both sides of the 'Emma' paper in the Paper Doll Collection - very appropriate I think! ;) The butterfly was cut out by hand, add a bit of a Prima swirl, a few buttons and it's perfect for my girl. (The frame was just a cheapy from the Big Red Shed)

Next is a minibook that I have been meaning to put together for a while. I think I got these Cosmo Cricket 'Girl Friday' papers a couple of months ago - so with a few chipboard pages and my trusty Zutter binder here is a cool book to remind Emma of her days at Kindy ...

(yes another handmade layered flower)

After next weekend I should have a pile of creations to share ... until then I have some recent photos to print off, journalling to type and print out, and a bit of planning to do with regard to my large old printers tray that I want to alter.

A busy month so far ...

2010-04-15T22:07:00.007+12:00
Whew ... life has been very busy so far, have only had 3 nights at home since it started!
We headed to Central for Easter, a great relaxing time although not many photos as last year as the orchards were still all covered in green leaves not those golden leaves yet. But I did manage to snap these pics of this gorgeous sunset.

The kids and I then headed south to Invers for a couple of nights with my folks. Home for a quick rest, washing and repacking then off on the next adventure ...
Last Friday the kids and I flew to Auckland to spend some time with my Grandma (the kids Great Grandma). We had an action packed few days, here are a few pics ...
The Macs Ale bar in the City - such a great way to use old lamps in a trendy way (now all I need is a house with high ceilings - LOL!)

A visit to Viaduct Basin ...

Giraffe feeding at the Zoo ...

my monkey Emma ...

The underground viewing window for the seal enclosure ...

cute little Tamrin monkeys ...

lunchtime for the Tiger ...

a gorgeous wee Meerkat ...

a great day out ...

Kelly Tarltons ...

the King Penguins ...

after our picnic lunch at Mission Bay ...

the city from Tamaki Bay ...

stopped in traffic at Spaghetti junction ...

The kids had a fantastic time but were very tired by the time we got home late last night. Both slept in very late this morning and Emma even disappeared to her room for a nap this arvo as well.
Have been hiding under a pile of washing today, emptying suitcases, and trying to catch up on all the news online. Over the next few days I will be sorting out the rest of the photos to print, and make a few collages - all ready to take to ScrapCamp which is only 2 weeks away now!

Gone too soon ...

2010-04-15T15:14:00.003+12:00
I have been meaning to get on here for the past few days and write a post about the month of April. I celebrate my birthday at the end of the month and like to extend the celebrations - come on who doesn't like to draw these things out a bit! ;)
So I had decided that April was 'All about me' - getting out and enjoying myself and life in general.
The events of yesterday help put this very much into perspective ... life is for living to the full, don't put off til later what you can enjoy today ...

I was on my way home from Auckland yesterday afternoon when I learned some very sad news.
Gayle Hall, mother of paralympian gold medal winner Adam Hall, had been killed in a car accident.
I had the privilege of first meeting Gayle just over 7 years ago when she was my student midwife when I had Finn. She was an 'older' student - she has been a nurse/midwife at Queen Mary for a few years I guess, but was still working and completeing study to gain her Bachelor of Midwifery. She gained her degree in time to be my lead midwife when I had Emma 5 years ago. And since then I would often bump into her at the supermarket and she was always interested in how the kids were doing, the last time only a few weeks ago.
She was such a larger than life character, a great sense of humour and alway smiling. She was also one very proud Mum, even more so last month when she was on hand in Canada to see Adam win his gold medal. Gayle, Adam and the family only returned from overseas last Tuesday ... and now so suddenly her family are greiving her loss.

Now even more so I am reminded that we should not sit back and let life pass us by, life is definitely for living, grabbing opportunities when they present themselves and telling those that you care about that they are loved.

*Gayle - Thank you for the amazing care you gave me when I had my wonderful children, you will always be remembered by me. My thoughts are with your family at this sad time.*

Will post an update on my holiday tomorrow - once I have edited some of the 300+ photos.

... on a roll ...

2010-03-29T16:52:00.003+13:00
... layouts #20 and #21 for the year ...

Love these photos of Miss Emma wearing her Grandmas red reading glasses - they match so nicely with her tshirt (not planned! LOL). This layout sort of fell together very quickly - I made the red spot flower, added some bling and some thickers and there you have it ... very simple but I must say this is one of my fav layouts!

Not the greatest photo of this layout (a bit of a shadow going on there). But loving the new papers by MME - Lil Robots. A sheet of lime cardstock, a random scatter of buttons, a handmade embelly and there you have it, another layout for the album.

Going to try and have a play with my camera over the long weekend - hope those trees in the Central Otago orchards are turing that lovely golden colour for me!! Might try and get some more photos like I did last year.
Also have two very excited kids in the house - told them yesterday of our holiday plans. Am taking them to Auckland to spend time with my Grandma, also hoping to take them to the Zoo, maybe Kelly Tarltons and a few other adventures if they are well behaved. Should get a few more photos up there to keep me scrapping for a while! Will have a big pile then to keep my busy at ScrapCamp at the end of next month!
Hope you all enjoy this short week and have a great Easter break :)

Quiet ... and still creating ...

2010-03-18T20:56:00.002+13:00
... been a bit quiet on the old blog here but my mojo is still here - yippee! Have completed 19 layouts to date this year, which for me is a pretty good number. Am getting mostly recent photos scrapped and then doing some older ones as I come across different ideas/papers or sketches that inspire me. Also helped by spending 2 Sundays in recent months scrapping with Bronny and the girls up at Waitahuna ... am so looking forward to the Dunedin Scrap Camp at the end of next month - 3 days of scrapping with no household/child duties getting in the way - bring it on! LOL!
Some of my layouts for a little show and tell ...
- am loving Bella Blvd papers so bright and fun...

- love 'white space' and not feeling like I have to fill the whole page up ...

- and a new page recipe - have done a 'Glance at 2009' in one page layout - very simple and quick to put together. Am going to do one page for each month of this year, with slightly less photos so I can put a journal panel along the bottom for a quick run down on what we have been up to. Have completed one for January and am all set to start on my February layout. I like having the stripe of patterned paper down the side and want to tie that with the month - ie January I have a stripe of Imaginisce paper with iceblocks for that summer feel. February I might use some Bella Blvd with the hearts on. You will notice that also in the below layout I added the month to each of the photos before prinitng - I did this in Picasa, very similar to how I put dates on all my photos for my Project 365 last year.

Other happenings in our house ...
I now have a 7 year old boy, it was his birthday at the beginning of the month. He was so excited and was telling everyone who would listen that it was 8 sleeps to go ... then 7 ... then 6 ... he looked like he was going to burst with all the excitement! We celebrated with lunch out (it was a Saturday), the a few friends here in the afternoon, then his choice for tea .... yip you guessed it ... Macaroni Cheese - my boy is easily pleased!!!!
This is a photo of him after tea, with his 'skateboard' cake - looks a bit fat to be a skateboard but didn't think the kids would like a wafer thin cake!!
DH and I also celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary last week ... time feels like it has flown by.

And finally to all my blog readers (and stalkers) - though I sure by now nobody actually checks in here ... here is a rose for all of you ... specially grown in my garden just for you!

Been scrappin' ...

2010-02-08T20:26:00.002+13:00
I ventured to Waitahuna a couple of weekends ago to do a bit of scrapping. Bronny had arranged the use of the hall up there, was great to catch up with Carol, Naomi, Bronny and Lee and to meet some new ladies as well. I was a bit organised for this scrapday and ended up with 7 layouts in about 7 hours ... they just needed a bit of journalling and dates to finish off. Here are a few layouts from the day ...

(a bit more bling has since been added to this one ... I ran out and had to venture out for emergency supplies - LOL!)
Have decided this year not to try and complicate my layouts - just keep it basic, add a few embellishments, journalling and dates. Am pleased with how this 'recipe' is going so far.

I went a little blog-hopping at the weekend ... my friend Mrs Frizz posted a layout, and also some news that she is on a DT now. So I went looking and found this cool sketch, which was the basis for Mrs Frizz's layout. I had a certain photo on my desk this afternoon and with a little playing below is my interpretation of the sketch. Am actually pretty stoked with how it all fell into place.
Well must dash, while my mojo is back I intend to make good use of it - LOL!

Hi ho, hi ho ...

2010-02-02T11:31:00.002+13:00
... it's off to school they go! Listen to that ... yes a very quiet house this morning! A part of me is very happy for the peace and quiet, but the other part is also a little sad ... coz my baby started her first day at school. Now Emma's birthday has been dragging on for almost 2 months now - we had an early party for her way back on the 13th of Dec, Kindy farewell on Dec 15th, actual birthday on 3rd of Jan and now the 2nd Feb is finally her first day at school - whew!
She is very excited to start and is very familiar with the school already so I think that has helped alot. Also I think having her bestest friend in the new entrants class already (she turned 5 in Nov) has made starting more fun.

Finn is starting in Year 3 this year and was glad to be going back to catch up with all his friends. All his classmates are the same as last year which will make the transition back to school easier for him too. They just moved into a new classroom with the Year 3 teacher.
So til 3pm I will enjoy this peace while it lasts :)

Project 365/Project Life

2010-01-15T14:10:00.004+13:00
I see on the forums that even more people are jumping on board with these projects this year, and it's fantastic that we scrappers in NZ have access to the actual kit this year.
I was tempted with the idea of P365 at the end of 2008, not knowing whether to order one of the kits from the States or not. With all the stuff up's that ended up happening I'm glad I didn't waste any time on the phone trying to reserve one!! But because of all the problems Becky Higgins put the journalling cards etc as downloads on her blog - bonus!

So with the help of the downloads I set about creating my version of a P365 album over 2009 ...

... the front page of my album, our first family photo of the year at the beginning of January...

... I created a new folder on my computer and under that a folder for each month, I would copy selected photos to the relevant folder, edit them and add the 'date' to the bottom left corner (doing this is Picasa). This helped me to stay on top of the project, it didn't matter if I didn't get to town to print the photos for a few weeks, at least I knew I had them all sitting on the computer/usb stick. It was easy then once I had printed them to just add to the album and write a quick note about what had happened ...

... instead of a card every week saying 'Week from x to x' I decided on a card for the beginning of each month. These were downloads on Becky's blog and I edited them in Picasa to add the name of the month. There were two different base designs of these cards and I alternated each month. Also on the journalling card the corresponded with the beginning of each month I added a little calendar that I had printed off - for a visual look reference of the dates and so I could check what day of the week each date was ...

... as you can see I kept me journal cards along the bottom (I used WRMK page refills that are separated into 6 pockets of 6x4). The journal card download was 4 different designs, which I alternated as well in a pattern throughout the album ...

... and as you can see not every day has to be an exciting photo, it is meant to be an album to show your life today ...

Hope that gives you some ideas for your albums this year!

2010 ...

2010-01-14T20:35:00.004+13:00
... and back to reality!
Happy New Year to you all and welcome to a new decade.

Reading through some blog posts over the last couple of days I have seen some people reviewing their previous decade, so I decided to look back as well ...

In the past decade I ...
... married my best friend
... lived at the opposite end of NZ to all my family
... moved to the other side of the world
... travelled to some amazing places
... relocated back to NZ, slightly closer to family
... had our first baby
... bought our first house
... had our second baby
... enjoy seeing life through the eyes of my children
... lastly I started an amazing new hobby ;) and through it I have met so many new people both online and in real life that I am delighted to now call my friends!

As for the next decade ... I am not sure what it will hold, I have dreams of more travels and things I want to learn, I want to spend time with friends and family, but most importantly spending quality time with my hubby and my gorgeous children - and capturing our life through my scraping and photography.

On the ninth day of Christmas ...

2009-12-21T20:22:00.003+13:00
I know this post is a day early, but with my 'to do' list is still a mile long am not sure that I will get back to post for the next few days.
So ... from me to all my blog readers (and stalkers) out there I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Hope you have a fantastic day with your family and friends.

On the eighth day of Christmas ...

2009-12-21T20:09:00.003+13:00
... another busy day getting ready for the festive season. Grocery shopping with two kids in tow, not the most ideal way to visit the supermarket but they were pretty well behaved on the whole - now don't think I will have to venture back there until after Christmas - fingers crossed! ;)

After lunch was time to do a bit of baking for the tins over the next few days ... lots of yummy gingerbread men (little and big ones) ...

And a photo of the 'tree' that I bought on Saturday, have a few decorations that I will add to it have decided to stick with a silver and red theme.

On the seventh day of Christmas ...

2009-12-20T22:16:00.002+13:00
... was our traditional trip to visit Santa at the Hospital. The kids had their photo and chatted with Santa - this is an annual fundraiser for the Neonatal unit (NICU) at Dunedin hospital. We have had Santa photos there for the past 5 years - sort of a tradition now. Is also a bit more special supporting the unit after my niece was born this time last year, 10 weeks early - although in Melbourne I know that these units do an amazing job with the new babies and their families.
The kids smiled nicely for this photo and yes Emma was in the photo too - but made sure Finn was sitting between her and the big guy in red - LOL! Then afterwards as we were walking away the kids had to go running back to tell Santa where we were going to be on Christmas Day - Santa was very quick and answered 'I have a map but don't worry your Mum and Dad have my mobile number so can text me the details. They can also let me know whether you have been bad or good' - too funny!

On the sixth day of Christmas ...

2009-12-19T21:40:00.002+13:00
... started with a cricket game, the last one til the end of January. Finn had a good win and more importantly he had lots of fun bowling/batting and fielding.

Today was getting piles of linen, food, clothes etc sorted for our travels over the holidays, and getting house and garden tidied. Nothing too exciting really ...

With being away for Christmas we wanted to take away a small tree with us, unfortunately despite scouring the attic area above the garage we couldn't find our little one?! So I had another idea, after a quick trip to our local Lavender Farm (they have a few craft bits and pieces also) I came home with a trendy new 'tree' (well it is part of one anyway - LOL). To be honest it just looks like a giant branch off a tree that has been sprayed with white paint . Will post a pic tomorrow (camera is chooker at the mo and have to delete a few photos). Am planning on standing this branch in a vase with coloured baubles, then hanging a few small decorations off it - should be very cool!

On the fifth day of Christmas ...

2009-12-18T21:13:00.002+13:00
... a sleep-in, no rushing around this morning ... aahhhhh bliss!

Today was a lazy day at home, enjoying a gorgeous 27 degrees (that was until the cold front hit about 4pm - opps).

We did venture into town later in the day with a visit to Santa's Grotto at CadburyWorld. Finn was more than happy to have his photo taken with Santa, but Emma didn't want to at all - so she had a photo taken with the Christmas Fairy instead! Very cute!

On the fourth day of Christmas ...

2009-12-18T11:22:00.002+13:00
... was the official school breakup service and leaving ceremony for the Year 8 class.

No more kindy (ever), no more school for 6 1/2 weeks, am grateful that I have a job where I can spend the summer holidays with the kids, and just enjoy them and have some fun getting out and about. Gets better each year as they are older now and able to do a bit more.

On the third day of Christmas ...

2009-12-16T22:44:00.002+13:00
... we saw Santa - the real one according to Emma! Apparently he came from his Santa photos especially to Kindy this morning - too cute! She was so excited to see him, yet burst into tears when we went to get her Christmas star and hat from him. So no photo of her sitting nicely on his knee ...
And this was our final day at Kindy - so sad after a 4 year association with these teachers ... almost a few tears from me ... :(

Tonight was Finn's school production, themed 'Christmas around the World' - a great night and awesome singing by the children. The Year 8 kids essentially wrote the whole thing themselves which is fantastic!

One day of school left then the holidays can begin :)

On the second day of Christmas ...

2009-12-15T22:02:00.003+13:00
... we had a birthday leaving celebration at Kindy for Emma!
Yip my baby has grown up and is heading off to school (in the New Year). So today we did the whole playdough cake, '5' hat, sing the favourite song and review of the kindy scrapbook.

Tonight we helped with the Foodbank can drive - kids rode in the fire engine ahead, and we collected cans round a part of Mosgiel - filling 3/4's of a trailer. Many community groups helped out so we completed a full sweep of Mosgiel.

On the first day of Christmas ...

2009-12-14T17:08:00.004+13:00
... our parents (DH & I) gave to us (Emma & Finn) one bouncy round trampoline!

I know it is early to be getting presents but unfortunately can't take this with us for the holidays so decided to give it to the kids early. They are loving it already, it's quite a low one so haven't worried about the nets round it - also think this gives them a bit of a false sense of safety, so would prefer they know not to be silly on it or else they will get hurt. Have been getting some cool photos of them jumping on it!

Thinking of doing a mini album, hence the above title, on the 12 days of Christmas (starting today with the 12th day being Christmas day), thought this was a bit easier than doing a daily December album - with still doing my Project 365 I thought this would be way to much work when combined with everything else going on this month!

Yesterday we had an early party for Emma's 5th birthday. So with 4 girls complete with wings we ventured off to the Butterfly House at the Otago Museum. Here are a few pics of the adventure ...

Have a busy week ahead, Emma's birthday at Kindy, Christmas party at Kindy, School production and helping with the Foodbank Can drive round the streets of Mosgiel. Whew - think I will need a break by next weekend!