Halloween treats

*** Ooops! I didn’t see that wordpress had changed things a little and posted to the wrong blog!! Still, they are pretty cute little treat bags so I’ll leave them here for now. I will have to get used to the new way of doing things now that I am sporadically updating both blogs!!***

These little treat bags were made by one of the ladies at the monthly community craft night that myself and a friend run. We had a loose theme of Halloween and Thank you cards. The ladies had a great time putting these together, and these were made by one of the ladies for each of her kids. We were using Googly Ghouls which you will find in the “Holiday Mini” catalogue.

Lucky I had my cellphone to get any kind of photo – I think she did a great job!! She made another dozen or so which she planned on taking home and threading with cotton in order to hang from twigs in a vase – super simple halloween decorations!

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July so far

As always, it’s been a busy time around this place. I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that life might not actually ever slow down!

With the last week of school for Term two upon us, we had Parent-Teacher interviews. Both Mr’s are doing very well and the teachers’ seemed very pleased with them. As Mr 5 has only had one full term at school, it was very pleasing to hear that he delights his teacher so much. Mr 8 seems to leave his more challenging behaviour for his mother to deal with and is much more focussed on his work at school. I won’t complain too much

This year Mr 7 morphed into Mr 8 during term time. I think this is the first time it’s happened since he has been at school. We had a birthday dinner on Thursday night and he was given a couple of items which he was thrilled with:

Yes indeed. The boy still loves Star Wars. A lot!!

The next birthday item I set about working on was Donna’s. I had the brilliant idea of surprising her and had the other two cohorts all primed and good to go. Then one of the clever girls actually thought about things for more than two seconds. I needed to tell Donna not to eat dinner on the Friday night, because the surprise would be somewhat foiled otherwise! Vicky has the bright ideas!! LOL

Then the weekend brought not only the holidays and a birthday activity for Mr 8, but also my niece; flying all the way on her own from Christchurch for the first time. I thought she did very well to arrive with her pink jacket on just like her dad told her and a huge smile as she got off the plane. Even more so once we had lunch and headed out to Laser Strike. I mean… all those boys!! I am pleased to say that S held her own among them and got some very good scores. Wooohooo for the girls!!!

Mind you, I think we all did well to survive the event: would you look at how the drinks arrived!!!!

Before all the birthday happenings came about, I did have the chance for a very relaxing day on Wednesday. I got to spend it with Janine, Sarah and Beverley and we had lunch in Sarah’s new abode. It’s an awesome wee place and so cosy. Perfect for working on various crafty projects. I thought I might have gotten a tea-cosy finished before I needed to pack up and head home. I was oh so close… but still needed to finish off the details at home. The finished product is already in use!

I used a pattern from the very cool tea-cosy book I picked up back in May from Minerva Books. Watch for more additions as I intend to have a collection of cosys!!

Sarah was also teaching – or re-teaching as the case may be – crochet stitches. I am not very happy with my attempts at pretty flowers – I will be doing some homework on those. But what I did manage to do in just a couple of days was this little guy:

A second little fella has been completed – with eyes! – at hubby’s request for a colleague’s new baby boy. I have a ton of wool from my MIL and I have a feeling there may well be some more creatures appearing as a result of this new – or re-found – ability! This first little guy is awaiting some eyes and a card and he’s going over the road to our newest little neighbour.

Multi Photo layout

As a mum I take a LOT of photos. Lots and lots. Even with the old film cameras (I still think my old Olympus Mjo point and shoot took the best photos, ever!) I would click and not worry too much about it. Hoping probably that in the sheer volume of pictures I was taking that I’d get at least ONE decent photo. Sometimes I was really lucky and I did. Get ONE decent photo!

Anyway, in the days of digi, I take even more…. although the incease in photos taken hasn’t necessarily led to an increase in decent photos…. I blame the camera and not the need for me to take photography lessons! Anywhere we go, I will usually pull out the camera for posterity. Except those times when I should really have brought the camera along and it’s been forgotten. I’m really good at doing that.

So where is all this going? Well, as a scrapbooker I want to get these very similar shots scrapped. A day at the beach for me is more than just one perfect photo (ok, so in reality, it’s always going to be in numerous less than perfect shots, but you’re with me, right?!)

Like this trip to Waimarama earlier in the summer. And Mr 7′s first experience in amazing, huge surf. I don’t think I could ever get just one photo to tell the story of how he just LOVED the wave pushing him around. I had the perfect quote – he’d uttered those words to hubby unprompted. But How, HOW do I scrap this????

Yes, I have a ton of these occasions all waiting to be put together – the birthdays, the easters, the christmas’ over the years. And then a scrapbook magazine showed up in my letterbox. Because Simple Scrapbooks is no more, I’m getting issues of Creating Keepsakes until my subscription runs out. It’s not a mag I’ve been buying much, but if this issue is any indication, I think I may just take up their *very special, one time only* offer…..

Inspiration? It was fair pouring!! It’s been a long, long time since I sat down with a scrapmag and spent time with it instead of flicking. And this particular issue just had multi-photo layouts GALORE.

On Sunday afternoon, I told the family I wanted time to do some scrapping  – and was promptly joined by two Mr’s who just had to do something too. *sigh….* Anyway, the above is the layout I did. Done and dusted in the afternoon. Inpired by the MANY layout ideas and sketches given in the mag. Lots of photos. Double layout. Happy? Yes indeed!! I have a feeling that a few more of those pages-in-waiting might finally get their turn.

Make N Take Parade

Yesterday as I was putting in the photos from the weekend, I realised that I hadn’t actually taken individual photos of the Make N Takes that we organised for the Waikanae Convention…. So here they are.

A gorgeous little gift box and card in one from Donna with the most adorable owl on the front. The owl is made with various SU punches and I think he comes up pretty well.

The front flops down to reveal the inside panel where you can include a sentiment. And the box is just a perfect size for a small gift.

Next, Vicky demonstrated a cute handbag card that she was inspired to recreate based on a card that she had been given for her birthday. It was really very simple and I think you’ll agree, packs a “wow!” factor.

I added a little extra embellishment by way of a crimper – love the effect it gave to leaves.

And lastly, I had to come up with a Make n Take on the fly. While getting ready, I hadn’t really decided what it was I was going to do and certainly hadn’t organised kits like Donna and Vicky had. Then a light bulb went off and I decided to demonstrate this: a card portfolio. I’d seen this somewhere in one of my many recent blog hopping exercises and thought at the time how simple it seemed. I didn’t however take note of who it was that had demonstrated it or any measurements for it! So, this is my take on it – and thoroughly made up on the fly as I was working out what seemed like good measurements as we went along!! LOL

I think it makes a perfect gift for  Mother’s Day or maybe a birthday. The idea is to present some co-ordinated cards and envies inside and the recipient is good to go.

A peek in the inside. It holds I’d say three cards and envies in each pocket.

While I demonstrated just the actual cover and let the girls choose how to further embellish the front, I wanted to have a little more detail on it. So I decided on a bit of Styled HodgePodge that I have had sitting around since I took part in a product share. I’m loving the look and think I may just have to get some more!!

Well that wraps up what we got up to on the organised front. We all continued to work on our own things and I’d just like to point you in the direction of Donna. It has to be said – she is a whizz with punches!! Take a look at her lovely Mother’s Day cards – beautiful little potted flower cards – and lots of detail with that scalloped punch. I reckon if you leave her a comment and asking for details, she might be kind enough to share the details…..

SBO’s very sweet christmas competition

I just have to say how much I enjoyed taking part in this competition. Up for grabs was the MM Slice – and the winner was chosen via a “raffle ticket” system which meant that if you participated, you had as good a chance as the next person. Sweet! {nope, it wasn’t my number that got pulled out}

What I really loved about this was that the item to be created each week was something that was useful, or part of the season’s buildup. Meaning it didn’t seem to take any extra time at this busy time of year to complete.

Now, I was going to get all clever and put all the creations together in one little mosaic, but for some reason, the Mosaic Maker over at Big Labs is not playing nicely and all I’m getting is one blank square. Not so interesting I feel. I’ve already share some of the projects so I’m not going to repeat myself with the individual pics now, but I will share the final project with you.

In order to take part in this challenge in Week 7, we needed to have completed four out of the first five week’s. I missed the christmas card gift set challenge, but managed to get the other four done. So I was thrilled to receive the Week 7 mystery item…..

It’s a chipboard house by Doodlebug. Getting it decorated seem to take no time at all. Well, to begin with:

Hmmmm…. yeah. Boring. So, now the bare bones are done, time for a little fun I think! I decided to go with a summer Christmas look – even though the traditional snowy scenes look great. But here in NZ, christmas is all about the summer.

{Oh please! Blurry photos are SO the next scrapbooking trend!! LOL}

The Mr’s enjoyed the final result as much as I did. It seems the house is just right for Lego figures. I feel I might be in need of a “No Trespassing!” sign

And now Andrea and the design team at SBO have ALL the houses done in the village. Go take a look here – spectacular is an understatement!!

I’m on holiday already

…. or my brain is at least! I keep writing these fantastic, funny blog posts in my head. And then promptly forget to actually come and type them up. Something to do with the weather I am sure of it… it’s simply too much like holiday weather to be getting things done.

I’m almost done with the christmas card making. I’ve started writing in them. I’ve finished the newsletter – and have started to print them as needed. One teacher’s gift has been made and given. I’ve thought about the baking I was planning on doing. Might still do some – gingerbread men I think.

The best thing so far is that I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. I feel really excited about the Mr’s ripping open their gifts (far too many of them because I have gone a weeeeee bit overboard this year!) This is such a far cry from where I was at mentally and emotionally last year. When mentioning this among friends last week, one was kind enough to point out that I’ve done a bunch of work to make it so. But while that may well be the case, I also think it helps that I’m taking pressure away by not worrying about what I should be doing….. taking the time to enjoy what I am doing.

Like the Christmas in the Park in Avalon over the weekend. Totally fun for the kids – and great to see it making a comeback (it’s been a few years between drinks). Left my camera at home though… so hoping that some of Hubby’s cellphone pics will do the job.

Like lunching with Beverley, Sarah and Janine last week. Then going to a crop in Otari the next day. Spending time on Friday night with other girlfriends, having enjoyed a family night of dancing and sausage sizzle.

In amongst all of that, I have been creating. Mainly Chrissy cards. In one of two designs. This second design is pinched from Sarah….

So very, very simple to do. Yet so very effective, don’t you think? Sarah, the wonderful girl, even lent me the stamps and inks to recreate the look myself at home.

And while I’m showing some of the creativity going on around here, take a look at these little goodie bags….

Little 3″ totes, just perfect for holding some notecards, or little gifts of appreciation. Plus ultra quick and easy to do – just what you need at this time of year! Take a look at this tutorial if you would like to see how easy it is to make one for yourself.

New neighbour

Yes, we have a new neighbour. Little Lauren arrived just after midnight on Saturday morning. Her mum stunned me by arriving back home a little more than 12 hours afterwards. Man, how do women do that??

No photos yet, but you’ll just have to trust me that she is really, really cute. She is the little sister of Neighbour Mr (Mr 7′s bestie). And in a couple of months time, she is going to look stunning, because she’ll be wearing this:

It’s the first time I’ve ever knitted an “all in one” style baby jacket (ie, one that has no side seams) so was very thrilled it didn’t look oddly out of proportion when I was finished. I then had time to make a card before popping the gift over – I needed to wait to find out if “it” was a boy or a girl. The family are thrilled because now there are 2 boys and 2 girls. Nice and even.

While I was putting the card together, Mr 4 wanted to do some crafting too – and he make this… he loves using my fiskars squeeze punch and loves to snip with my scissors. I think he did a pretty good job. Good enough, he decided to keep the card for himself. LOL

And then before we heard about new baby arrivals, Mr 7 had a game before the weather got really wet. The ground was still pretty muddy – umm… understatement!!! Our mud-monkey scored a try too so was super pleased with himself. There was so much mud, I made him get undressed at the front door!! And I’m STILL getting the mud out….!!

I’m hoping I will have some picks of my own to share soon – Beverley took some lovely pictures for me with her camera. If you’ve already been to her blog, you’ll know where we went for a get together with Janine yesterday morning. Truly fun: sunshine, a bus ride, cupcakes and a good coffee with friends. Great Monday!!

(…..and I’m hoping for some of those photos for my scrapbook )

ETA: Beverley has indeed been kind to me and emailed some pictures through. The stand itself has me in presentation envy (I just cannot compete with the actual cupcake making ) and there is my one. A piece of banana, lemon and sour cream heaven.

On-line shopping

Ok, so yes, I KNOW I was meant to be uploading a bunch of photos for you all today… they might still come a bit later. Trouble is, I’ve been surfing online, trying to find some fabric for this little baby:

It’s the Miranda Day tote from Lazy Girls Designs – (a pattern I picked up from The Quilter’s Barn in Blenheim… another practical souvenir!) and the truth is, I love the fabric in this picture as much as I love the bag itself. Wouldn’t it be great to say, hey, I love that fabric, where can I get some that won’t sting me in postage – and that is exactly what I want??

But hopefully, thanks to the power of the internet and trawling for hours while the Mr’s plus Neighbour Mr are playing downstairs (and raiding the pantry ) I think I found some. At least I hope I have… I quite like the loooks of Joel Dewberry’s Chestnut hill collection I think I’m leaning towards the “Stream” palette. What do you think??

Wooo Hoooo Wednesday

WoooHoooot Wednesday is Janine’s brainchild… celebrate the good things in your week and make sure to let Janine know so we can all come take a look.

My WoooHooo things are small things in an ongoing list of Big Picture things. And for all you scrapbookers out there, no, I’m not referring to anything to do with Stacy Julian.

• I had my last session with my counsellor / therapist last week. With the follow up with my GP this week. One of the things that I wanted to do after my mini-break down earlier in the year was to try and identify why I had started going down that path. How did I end up where I did. I’ve never seen a therapist before and was a little nervous. In reality, it was not a big deal at all. And I learned a lot of things about myself. Things I actually already knew, but needed to have them pointed out, or reflected back at me. It’s helped put me back on the path of being me again. I’m feeling really good about things for the moment. And that just has to be a Wooo Hooo, right??!
• I haven’t been creating very much in terms of cards and scrapping right now. Mainly because I have been trying to catch up on the study. Discipline, see? I have however been knitting a bit. Still creative… just a whole lot slower! There have been 3 babies born and so I have tried making some booties. Never have been a good bootie-knitter. But I persevered and after trying a pattern that looked like it should turn out great – and have it really look like a complete mess, I went and got some advice. Show me some modern, kinda lacey but really easy booties, said I. And the assistant pointed out the exact pattern book for me. And I knitted 2 pairs already. And they were good booties. And I gave them to the new mummies. And they adored them. But I forgot to take pictures before handing them over. Doh!!! But I will show you the jacket I am making for another good friend. Watch out for that.
• I finally finished the latchhook rug that I had been making for Mr 4. I bought two; one each for the Mr’s. They were started and were meant to be completed in time for Christmas 06.

  

  It never happened. Mr 6 got his somewhere in and around… probably after… his birthday last year. Mr 4 got his on Monday this week. Mr 4 is thrilled with his one, which is a bear lying on a golden moon. I now only have eleventy billion and three unfinished pre-scrapbooking projects to complete.

WoooHoooot # 2

Yep, really! I wasn’t expecting to be back here so soon but there you go! But seeing Wooo Hooo Wednesday is something Janine started and this next one is also because Janine started something, I thought it was only fair to declare on line and in public that “Janine is an Enabler”.

You guys clear about this? It is Janine’s fault!!!

Just kidding. Actually, no I’m not. See at the crop the other weekend, Janine brought along not one, but two really cool books. Really cool. Even my buddy Donna who is really really good at being that voice in the bottom of my wallet said – and I quote: “You should get that”. Meaning it was really good and I should get it so that she didn’t have to. Oh, she’s a clever girl that Donna!

So I went on Amazon and took a look. And guess what? They were discounted. Yep, I got the two plus postage for the same price roughly that I would have paid for ONE of the books had I known where to find them here. What on earth am I on about??

These puppies:

Plus they arrived just an hour ago – like 3 weeks before I was expecting them! So basically, it’s a big Wooooo Hooooooo in this house just now. Oh, and Mr 6 has already glanced through the kid’s one with me and has about half a dozen projects he’s wanting to do. So, success.

Thanks Janine – you enabler you!

WoooooooHoooooooo!!