10.24.08
Good Times
What a difference a couple of days makes! So the exams are over. Done and dusted. And I’m feeling like they went well. Let’s just wait til Christmas though. Don’t want to count those chickens too early!
One thing that sure helped this year was the support various girlfriends offered. By way of play dates for the Mr’s, doing their best not to phone me (which is hard because I love to Yak on the phone as much as the next person!!), encouraged me to NOT attend those fun crafty days that I wanted to but shouldn’t, understood when I turned down invitations. Just very simple things – but I knew the support was there. And then this turns up on my doorstep last Sunday. (Bummer: you’ll have to click the link back there as I can’t get the images to appear here….)
Luckily Donna took those photos because the treats were eaten mostly before I thought to take a photo! Lots of home baking (which I didn’t need to share, but I did. A teeny bit at least!) yum! And a bit of chocolate too….. definitely a pick-me-up!! I reverted back to old Uni-days in terms of study diet…. Never has pizza, beer and chocolate tasted so good! 
Hubby took Wednesday off which was great. He was hoping to go kayaking or biking to relax and chill out, but the weather was not cooperating. Instead we had lunch together, caught Mr 7 during his school swimming, and then he got to check out Mr 4’s progress at his swim lesson. It was great just to hang out and do some low-key stuff together.
During the last few months, I had to restrict my crafting time – I enjoy it way too much and I would not get the study done that I needed to. So I am seriously looking forward to playing a bit more now. (you might have picked up on that in a few posts…..! ) But I did need to get a couple of kids birthday cards done. Normally I keep these fairly simple – because they are kids cards. But not being able to get into the new goodies from SENZ was driving me a little bit crazy. So I broke out the nestabilities. Oh they are so much fun!
Blingy birthday card for a Miss 4. Using Verve Some Bunny stamp… my paper piecing needs work!
Cut and embossed the image panel. I love how the embossed edged gives a smart finishing detail. I will be investing in more shapes…. they are a dream to use!!
A pirate card for a Mr 8. Now, I went to town a little on this, using a stamping positioner, vellum – and my SU slit punch to create the waves.
My wee pirate stamp is just a cheap Kaiser one from the red shed, but he’s had a bit of a workout the past year. Again, I’m loving the ability to create layers and dimension with the nestabilities. I’ve used water-colour pencils to colour big beard.
Like I said, the waves were created with the slit punch. I did it at different heights so it looked a bit more in keeping with real waves. The tops were sponged with blue bayou ink to give some more dimension to them. That and the stamped image have been raised on foam tape.
Now, I know a lot of people have the cuttlebugs out there, but I have a big shot. The nesties worked perfectly with that machine. I used the tan embossing mat either in or out of the clear plates depending on if I was embossing or cutting and I’m thrilled with the results. I know the “sandwiches” you need to create when using the ‘bug can differ. Here is a great resource to help work out the best method for your machine.
Right, after that wee catch up, I need to go get Mr 4 from Kindy. We’re heading out for a fluffy before going to Mr 7’s open assembly later this afternoon. Oh the joys of not having to look at a text book is sooooo goooood!!
Ciao!
10.19.08
Just another day in pre-exam life
OMGosh!!!! Exam 1 is tomorrow afternoon. Exam 2 is Tuesday afternoon. I feel like I need another 2 months before turning the question paper over. Yet at the same time, if I look at another set of notes, I think my brain will just EXPLODE!!
This morning I was woken up around 3.30am for some reason. Kids were sound asleep so it wasn’t them. Do you think I could be back to dream land? Nope! The old brain is fair fizzing now. So today I am just casually looking over the stuff for tomorrow’s exam. Just so it knows I am totally freaked out by it I still think I can answer some questions.
The small part of my brain not completely taken up with keeping those butterflies within low altitudes of my stomach is already thinking onwards. To Wednesday. To FREEDOM!!! Gees, it seems like a get out of jail card or something! Honestly, I have been so submersed in the material to get through lately, I feel like I have been absent from the real world for aaaaaaages. I simply cannot wait to begin the HUGE list of projects sitting on the back burner. Like that bag I want to make, like the de-cluttering of the house that seriously needed doing about four years ago. Like the garden tidy up and transformation. Like my exercise and fitness plan (say what??!) Oh, and ALL those scrapping projects I soooooooo wanted to get done but had to leave. (Ummm….. that DOES include your CJ Beverley! 
)
But right now? I’m remembering to breath.
…..Breath In……..Breath out……….
10.13.08
Show and tell time
You asked – so I give! 
I’m taking a break from cramming and thought that I might as well share the class layouts from SENZ.
Distressing and Dimension – Donna Meuli
My first class was this one. I was meant to have printed a black and white photo for the class, but when I went to Harvey Norman’s on Thursday night, I got the size and the orientation but forgot to select the B&W. Luckily, the photo worked really well with the class kit! So, the techniques in this class were inking, painting, dry-brush painting, tearing, rolling and ripping, and sanding. Yes, all in the one layout! Love it.
Family Heritage Photos – Create
Now, this photo has a funny story. When quickly scanning through the folder I have of old family photos I scanned in last year, I knew I had one of my Nana and Grandad’s wedding. So finding this photo, I popped it on the card to take an print. Looking at it at the beginning of the class, I was like.. Waaaaaiit. That’s not my grandad. And that’s not my nana! Uh-oh!! Thank goodness for cell-phones. I sent the pic to my mum asking “Who are these people?!” and she was able to tell me that it was my Grandad’s only brother and his wife. Phew! Now I can put the right names on the layout!!
Now, this class wasn’t nearly so organised, and while I learnt some good things, the layout itself was not finished even though it was really quite a simple one. I think the difference was in the way each step was handed out bit by bit rather than in a prepared class kit. But the main thing that I learnt is that while some say NOT to scrap original old photos, what else are you going to do with them?? I tend to agree with that philosophy and was grateful to just learn how you can treat them with respect. So, the photo is not stuck down in anyway – merely attached by slipping the corners into a fancy corner punch. Brilliance ink is apparently the best for working with in these types of layouts – but not Stazon: it has alcohol which can upset the longevity.
I also realised that all my heritage layouts are A4 sized so I need to rework the layout a bit, so it was just as well it wasn’t finished on the day.
Scrapping uniform!
This apron was inside the next class kit! How fun is that. I was joking to Mandy that I now have a Scrapping uniform to wear when I’m crafting. Yay for the fact that Trina is the Lead Ambassador for Fiskars and clearly scored us some great gear.
The class was the beading one. And I loved the end result.
Beading with Trina McClune
Great use of Dimensional Magic – which wasn’t on the class list but was meant to have been! We had enough to share with those that had brought it anyway and a couple of bottles they had to purchase very quickly. It’s seed beads around the photo, around the brad on the red flower, and in the centre of the dandelion. I still need to attach the larger beads with thread around the red edges and pop the title on. I didn’t have thread with me (another supply list oopsie) and I couldn’t figure out a title during the class. So guess which layout will have my first attention come next Wednesday (aka “Day of Freedom”??!).
We also made a great card:
So very, very simple, yet very, very cool thanks to that paper. Now, I know it is a new one from Fiskars, and I think it was from Heidi Grace and was called midnight whispers or something like that.
10.11.08
This just in from SENZ…..
So I was at SENZ yesterday and today – and will be again tomorrow. Yesterday was the busiest day, I had two classes. One was distressing and dimension with Donna Meuli from SBO, the other a Family Heritage on through Create. Loved both of them. Will be posting layout pics later – cos I haven’t got time now! Plus a couple need a few finishing touches. Only had an hour to look around the stands yesterday.
Now, there’s my bugbear. I shall just say it once cos I just have to get it out there. The stands were appallingly lacking. I mean, it just seem like there wasn’t that many there and one in particular rubbed me up the wrong way with their attitude. (Like, expecting people from out of town and with no transport to travel in order to see what the store really stocked). There didn’t seem to be that many (I mean, around in an hour and I was more or less done!) Plus, there were no means of getting cash to spend at the stores (and there were a few) that didn’t have EftPos. And then there was the lack of make n takes. You know, the fun of just having a go. I just didn’t get it. My only other experience was SENZ at Palmy and it was totally buzzing by comparison.
OK, so having got that part off my chest, the rest was GREAT!! The classes: totally fun and do-able. Meeting people: having people come up to me, having recognised me from forum avatars and greet me with “Hi, Scrappy!” – totally weird, but really fun! The Sketchbook dinner last night… girls at Cobb & Co. So fun to catch up with the forum girls and meet some more. Just AWESOME!
So, I went back on a fantastically gorgeous day and completed my last class, which was beading with Trina. Loved it. Got a very cool Fiskars apron: I have a scrapping uniform now!! Then I scoped out a few more things I was hoping to get. I also spotted a set of Nestabilities that I have just been craving since, well, forever! I caved and got them this morning… Stamp Zone had the full sets at $127 which wasn’t that much more than I could have got in from Australia.
Of course, I’m going to have to wait about 10 days before I get to play. *Insert the biggest groaning moan with eye rolling here!*
The last thing for the weekend I need to do is go back tomorrow and help at Keryn’s class. Looking forward to it. And from what I heard around the place, it’s a goodie.
And just because I haven’t had a photo for a while, here’s one now:
Scrappy Stash
And to finish a great day…. my little bro (the 31 year old, yeah… real little!) called while I was in the middle of my shopping. He got engaged last night!! Woooohoooooo!!
Now, this is really funny, because as Sarah and I were chatting on the way home after dinner last night, I made mention of my little bro and how he had this wonderful girlfriend and I hoped that one day they would get married. And I swear, within 2 minutes of that statement, my phone rang. It went unanswered because it was in the back and I was driving. But it was G…. calling to let me know he and E were engaged! How fun-spooky is that??!
10.08.08
Woohooot Wednesday
Because I feel I need to look for some good things in a week that’s been a bit rough. No photos, but well, you get that when you’re sneaky-sneaking your way on the the computer when you should be fixing lunch.
So, my first woo-hooot? All your wonderful comments in relation to Sam. Our days feel a bit strange without the routines of feeding Sam, or checking we haven’t left him inside overnight. I miss the usual quick pat as I pass by on our way to or from the car. I miss the “Meeouw” exchange we would give each other in the garden (yep, I spoke back to him! ). But I was glad Monday was such a gorgeous day, and it was better to say good-bye in the sun. We are all a bit in stunned by the suddenness of him passing, but we’ve had fun remembering him too.
SENZ is just 2 sleeps away. Yeah, I’m a bit excited about going. I didn’t go last year, and I remember the fun of my first one in Palmy the year before. I have to get my class materials together tomorrow – and remember to pick Sarah up on Friday! I’m really looking forward to catching up with some fellow scrappers and cyber-buddies. I’ll be the very odd on sitting in the corner with some revision notes. Yeah, I really think I’ll get 5 minutes here and there to look at them!! 
Puppy pre-school starts tonight for us. Yeah, I’m thinking we will manage to get some training tips in. For the Boys of the house as much as our 4-legged addition.
One last Wooo-hooo for good measure? That in exactly 2 weeks, I will NOT have to stick my nose in a book. Just as well I’ve always been a crammer for exams…. the ups and downs of the last couple of weeks have been quite distracting. And you know what? Just after school holidays is not the best time to schedule in exams. I’ll remember that when I’m in a position to make others work like I am now!
Oh, and that today is NOT raining. Yeah, definitely a good day when the Mr’s are at home with a new puppy!
Hope the sun is shining on you, and you have some wooo-hooos in your Wednesday too. 
10.06.08
Good-bye Sammy-Puss
Today I have done something I never ever wanted to do. I’ve had to let go a much loved member of our family.
Hubby and I adopted Sam cat from a friend of a friend 12 years ago when we moved into our first house. He was 2. And he was a beautiful, strong, big black pussy-cat. One that I used to laugh about being the Original “Scar-face Claw”. When we went overseas he was just 4, and we were lucky enough to have Hubby’s mum that was willing to look after him for us. Four years later, she handed him over and he settled back in with us.
He’s had a good life, although he has needed to adjust as the family expanded. But the big, proud pussy cat has always handled the household with great dignity. I used to love coming home and seeing him sitting neatly on the fence post by the gate, or be greeted as he moved from the ultra sunny spot under the tree with a stretch and a meeouw as we went in through the front door.
Yesterday I found him sitting on top of the sandpit lid, soaking. So unlike him. I dried him off and took him to the front door to eat his breakfast, which he did. He didn’t come for his dinner last night, but that usually isn’t too big a deal. This morning he was waiting on the front mat, but was so lethargic. Totally not interested in food or water. Couldn’t walk without wobbling or shaking. Fearing the worst, I called our vet and told them I was bringing him straight in.
I got the call around 11 this morning. Severely de-hydrated, very cold, very very slow heartbeat. Blood results indicating the kidneys were in trouble…. was there any toxins around the place he could have got into? The answer was not to my knowledge. We agreed to deal with getting his heart rate sorted and pumping fluids in. It was very likely I was going to need to make a decision, but we would try to wait 24 hours.
An hour later, another call.
In their monitoring, his heart stopped beating while they moved him. Although he was back, I could see the time to make the decision had come. I told them I would be there in 20 minutes. Hurry, they said, that could be too late.
I sent the half-done lunch to the neighbours that had the Mr’s, grabbed my other neighbour with years of wisdom behind her, and flew to the vets. He was on oxygen. They had kept him with us until I got there. He was in pain, so I said Yes, let’s do it now. Holding him until his last breath was heartbreaking. But immediately he looked at peace. Just a few short hours ago, he didn’t seem like our Sam-puss. Now, lying lifeless in my arms, he was.
They have arranged him beautifully in a box – he looks just like he does when he is sleeping in front of the heater in the lounge. Graeme, my neighbour, has dug a hole for us under the rhododendron right beside his favourite sunny spot. He has a baby wrap from when Mr 7 first arrived. Olly and I have had a wake – she held my hand through the process, drove us home and whipped up a medicinal brandy. Hubby will be home soon, we have a lovely prayer picked out, and we will place Sam in his favourite spot where he can rest forever.
Good-Bye Sammy-cat. You are a much loved pussycat.
10.03.08
A free Handbag?
In the 2 minutes I have to write a post, I’m going to make it about the free handbags that are up for grabs here at Handbag Planet. Thanks to everyone on my bloglines, I’ve got the message and not only have I entered to win one, I thought I might as well grab a few extra chances by popping a note on my blog. This would be it then! LOL
So if you feel like your bag needs updating, why don’t you go and check it out too? Just don’t select the bag I did cos I’m hoping it’s not too popular! And I reckon if you are one of my friendly lurkers, and you manage to snag one after signing up from here…. well, I’m thinking that’d be at least a loaner for me… don’t you think?
