Reflections

Elise Flannigan's '52 Scrapbooking Challenges' - Week 14

Goodness . . . where has this last week gone? I thought I had better let you know I hadn't fallen off the face of the earth . . . I've just been busy with school holiday time and with also having Stuart on holidays as well - my whole routine has gone totally out the window! *grin*

Good news though - I have been making great progress on cooking up my 'Granny Smith' apples and getting them in the freezer, although I still have a number to go! Oh and I've been trying out a number of 'Apple' recipes as well. Here's a pic of some very yummy 'Apple Slice' that I made - mmm - it was really yummy heated up with a serving of ice-cream for a dessert too - *grin*

Oh - and we had some very yummy Roast Pork the other night too that I served with 'Apple Sauce' (basically just stewed up apples that have been pureed) BUT with only James and I liking apple with our pork, I don't think I'm really going to use a lot of them as 'Apple Sauce' . . . oh well!

Along with all the activity in the kitchen, there's also been much happening out in the garden as well. With the recent, long hot summer and with only being on tank water, my roses have suffered terribly BUT with the recent cooler weather and a little sprinkling of rain here and there, they are now trying to shoot - YAY - they didn't all die on me . . . 2 of my older ones did . . . 'insert sad face' . . . oh well . . . I hope to replace them later on. Anyway . . . I decided to get busy and give them all a prune, move a couple of them and give them a fertilize with a heap of the old poultry manure from my grandparents old poultry farm as well.

Did you know how hazardous moving roses can be though? I was moving one of my old roses (it's probably over 12 years old now) and one of the very old and woody thorns decided to spike me on my right under-forearm (about 3 and a half inches down from my wrist), and what you see in the photograph at left is the resulting bruise that appeared the next day! I still can't believe that just a rose thorn left a puncture mark and bruise like that . . . pretty nasty huh!

Anyway - I got on and finished the roses that very same day and spread all the 'old' poultry manure around under them and then later that night we had some lovely gentle rain . . . just perfect to wash all that fertilizer in! Now to wait and watch them hopefully burst into growth!

On the scrapping front, I finished off my version of the 'Boys Will Be Boys' Scrappitpack which you can see on the Scrappit site now or wait until tomorrow when I finish taking some close-up pics for you and share the page here - it's also got hidden photos which I'll photograph as well so that you can see how the whole page works.

Also . . . now that the *new* Scrappit Design Team has been decided, the 2008 Design Team Challenge, inspired by Elise Flannigan's book - '52 Scrapbooking Challenges', that was being featuring in the Scrappit Newsletter, has returned and I thought I would share my contribution with you all.

We have picked up the challenge once again at Week 14 and this week it was to - 'Scraplift a Technique' - I chose to scraplift Helen Williams, from her book "The Art of Scrapbooking", where Helen demonstrates how to make Pom Pom Flowers from Fabric. I decided to feature 2 of them on this card and once I’d made the flowers and added a button for the flower centres, I then used white embroidery thread to hand stitch the stems, leaves & grass and then my watercolour pencils to add a little definition to the hand stitching!

And a little close-up pic too!

Cute huh? Just a circle of fabric with a hand sewn running stitch around the outside edge, then draw the threads together and tie them off, flatten out the 'pom pom'  and then add a button or something similar to cover the raw ends in the centre!  Loved you sharing the idea Helen - your card is so gorgeous too and I love the little square fabric flower as well - another great idea!

OK - I think I've probably bored you all enough for one post . . . I promise not to leave it so long next time - infact, I promise to be back tomorrow to share that Scrappitpack with you!

Until next time . . .

'You Make My Day' Award

How nice it was to learn today that the very lovely Tina had listed my blog with a 'You Make My Day' Award . . . thanks so much for including me in your favourite list Tina - I look forward to browsing the other blogs you have listed as well!

Here are the rules:

In order to display this 'You Make My Day Award' proudly on your blog you must re-present it to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blog land. Let them know through email or by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware, you may get the award several times yourself, and if you do, consider yourself really, really loved.

So, in no particular order, here they are:

1. Trina
2. Sarah
3. Mandy
4. Cathy
5. Yvette
6. Sharon
7. Heather
8. Kylie
9. Toni

On the homefront . . . I spent quite a bit of this morning picking ALL - yes . . . ALL of my 'Granny Smith' Apples because the Rainbow Lorikeets (like the one's pictured in this photograph I found online here) had decided that they tasted very delicious and were getting stuck into them. I now have 5 basketfuls of apples sitting at the back door, which I guess I am going to have to cook and then freeze - I could bottle them too I suppose, but at the moment I have a little more room in my freezer than in my pantry - *grin*

Speaking of cooking . . . yesterday I cooked up a heap of tomatoes from Mum & Dad's veggie garden and they're now in the freezer too! I use a lot of tin tomato so it will be wonderful to have a heap of home grown tomato in the freezer to use for a while!

Oh and I forgot yesterday to share a pic of the Hot Cross Buns I made this year too . . . can't you just smell them now? Well - no, maybe you can't but they were yummy!  The only draw back with them was that they didn't stay fresh for very long, so we just had to get on and eat them! They are definitely best eaten on the day that they are made.

Scrapping wise . . . well, I whipped up a couple of cards last night using scraps from a recent Scrappitpack I had used - one of which I totally completed and thought I would share with you - it's a little difficult to make out in the pic, but there is a hand stitched border that goes all the way around the pattern paper!

Until next time . . .

March CLUB Scrappit - Rouge de Grange

Here's hoping you have all had a safe and wonderful Easter . . . as usual the Easter Bunny was very kind to us all - here's hoping he was to you too!

I thought I would share one of the pages that will feature in this week's Scrappit newsletter using the beautiful 'Rouge de Grange' pattern papers that feature in the March CLUB Scrappit - I particularly loved this white one because it allowed me to get creative with my 'watercolour pencils' once again. You'll have to use your imagination to extend the orange border around all sides . . . yep - the scanner chopped off the bottom once again - *grin*

The journal boxes out on the right-hand side are actually KaiserCraft Rubons, to which I added a little watercolour highlight to the scrolls and letter stickers for the quote!

Here's a little close-up shot too!

Until next time . . .

Happy Easter & An Upcoming RAK!

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I was actually writing my 200th post . . . my goodness - I can't believe I've posted that many times! Along with that, I also noticed that my comments are now over 900 as well! I'm thinking I might have to RAK (Random Act of Kindness) whoever leaves my 1,000 comment . . . it's a little way away yet BUT each comment recorded of course brings that 1,000 comment that much closer! I'll keep you updated as the 1,000 comment figure gets a little closer and I'll put on my 'thinking cap' for a RAK gift for the lucky person too!

Anyway . . . I thought I would share a pic of the lovely little Cadbury Easter Eggs that sit on my kitchen bench, in a beautiful Carnival Glass bowl that had belonged to my Nana. We don't tend to do much in the way of decorating the house for Easter but I do like having the boys Easter creations they've made at school about as well as my bowl of little eggs.

OK - I'm off to do a little baking - Hot Cross Buns, Apple Slice (with our homegrown apples being the key ingredient) and a Carrot Cake are on the baking menu!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful Easter with family and/or friends and I do hope that the Easter Bunny is kind to you as well!

Until next time . . .

UFO (Un Finished Project) - 'Folder' Page finally completed!

I have a great number of UFO's (Un Finished Projects) sitting around that I really want to get completed this year . . . and with Longford Scrappers having a challenge day yesterday - to use the colours Pink & Brown - I decided to get busy and finish this scrapbooking page I'd started last year sometime.

This page features a 'Certificate of Merit' I received from Playgroup Victoria after being nominated by my local Playgroup for my 6 years of service to the group - thanks again Lisa for such a lovely write up! I was unable to make it to the official presentations in Melbourne, so they sent my framed certificate out to me - imagine my disappointment when I picked up a very noisy (broken glass sounding) package and found the certicate inside was damaged - *insert sad face*. The people at Playgroup Victoria quickly replaced my certificate (and the broken frame) but rather than throw the original one away, I decided to create this 'folder' page (with a few specifically placed flowers to cover the areas of the certificate that had been damaged) and a hidden place for me to include all the written documentation I received as well.

Here's how it looks when you open up the folder section

I used two of my Grungeboard hinges (from the 'Elements' pack) that I inked and then rubbed gold 'Metallic Rubons' over the surface to make it look a little rustic. A few brads through the holes were then all I added!

Oh and the scrolls too are Grungeboard (again from the 'Elements' pack) - treated the same way as the hinges - with a scattering of blossoms with KaiserCraft Pearl centres here and there for added effect!

We ended up finishing scrapbooking early yesterday too so that I could pick up the boys from school at 1pm, as we were then off to the footy – mmm – such a waste of time that ended up being *sigh* - we won't talk about who won . . . yep - it wasn't Carlton . . . oh well!

We ended up leaving home at 1.30pm and what should have taken about a 3 hour drive, turned in to being a marathon! We didn't end up getting to a carpark in the city (none available at the MCG) until about 6.30pm!  Talk about being totally ridiculous!  The traffic was a shocker and the AFL had brought the game start forward to 6.10pm which put more pressure on the already 'stressed' peak hour traffic at that time anyway . . . oh well – by the time we hiked from the car park to the MCG we just missed the start of the second quarter (incidentally, Carlton had played a great first quarter but of course we missed that one - *grin*) . . . anyway – we got home a little after midnight, so this morning we have had a nice leisurely lay in before getting on and doing a few things.

Here's hoping you are having an enjoyable 'Good Friday' . . . I still can't believe Easter is here!

Until next time . . .

March CLUB Scrappit - Step-By-Step Scrapbooking Page

As promised . . . I'm back to share another creation using the ever lovely March CLUB Scrappit - this one features as a 'Step-By-Step' Scrapbooking Page in the *new & improved* CLUB Scrappit Newsletter - it's now in a PDF format so is even easier to view!

I had so much fun with this page - one that features my love for my camera . . . oh and I didn't take the photos that feature in this page either - it's a little hard to really - *grin* - instead I found these a while ago on Digital Photography Review - which is the site I highly recommend for camera comparison before you purchase AND I thought they would be just perfect for my personal scrapbooking page.

And some close-up shots too!

Anyway - if you like the design and would like the 'step-by-step' instructions so that you can replicate it - just check out the March CLUB Scrappit Newsletter

On the home front, the warmer weather has put pay to doing much out in the garden - it's been so much nicer to stay indoors where there is the air conditioner or a fan blowing. We are meant to get a cool change later tonight - mmm - that remains to be seen I guess.

I decided today, despite the heat, that I had better get my act together and go Easter shopping before the boys finish school this week and are then on school holidays - just where has Term 1 gone?  I can't believe that one is already over! Goodness, time can fly - although having said that . . . Term 1 for us is a shorter one, whilst Term 2 is going to be 2 weeks longer than normal. Here in Victoria it usually works out at 4 terms over the course of the year, at 10 weeks each . . . this term though has only been 8 weeks, meaning Term 2 is going to be 12! Boy - that sure is going to be a long one!

Anyway . . . the boys are counting down to Thursday night, as we've decided to take them to the MCG -Melbourne Cricket Ground to see Carlton play Richmond in the first game of the AFL - Australian Football League season - go the BLUES! We have our fingers crossed that Carlton will start the year off with a win!

Until next time . . .

March CLUB Scrappit - Released!

Well - the March CLUB Scrappit has officially been released so I can finally share a few of my creations using these gorgeous products!

Here's a page that was featured in the weekly Scrappit newsletter promoting the CLUB Scrappit products - my niece at my parent's place last Easter

And a close-up of the hand stitching

And here's a decorated notebook using those gorgeous bright pattern papers

 

Of course there had to be some hand stitching on this one too!

 

I promise to pop back tomorrow and share a little more . . .

Free 'Digital' Magazines - Scrapbooking, Beading, Quilts, etc.

I just saw this over on Lynn's blog and I thought I would share this fantastic link here too as I know a number of my Longford Scrappers might be interested in it as well.

You can get a *free* 6 month subscription to one of the following 'digital' magazines:

• For Keeps Creative Scrapbooking
• Beads Etc
• Australian Paper Crafts
• Creative Expressions
• Creative Weddings
• Down Under Quilts

Like Lynn - I signed up for 'For Keeps Creative Scrapbooking' and I'm off to have a read now BUT if you're interested in trying it too, just go here, subscribe and then sit back and do some leisurely reading - *grin*

Until next time . . .

Scrappit Mid-Month Competition

I thought I would give you a heads up about a competition that is being run over on the Scrappit Blog until the end of the month . . . just incase you haven't heard about it yet - *grin*

Here's my sample entry that I did featuring the required word 'Believe' - it's up to you how you want to use the word . . . in your title, your journaling, as a part of a quote . . . the choice is entirely yours!

I've actually used one of this months Scrappitpacks for my page and I handcut all the flowers from one sheet and layered some ontop of others so that they became somewhat 3Dimensional - here's a couple of close-ups to show you what I mean

And another

On the homefront, it's been another warmish day today but not that hot that I couldn't get out in the garden. With our front garden looking so nice these days, I decided a few weeks back that I would do away with the hedge plants out the back and plant more 'Tanika' plants like I've been doing elsewhere. Pulling out the hedge plants (even though they are only about 12 inches high) is not that easy BUT I'm pleased to say that I'm about 1/4 of the way along the back garden, so at least a start has finally been made. I'm not sure how much progress I'll be able to make tomorrow because they are tipping another warm day, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

Anyway - don't forget to check out the Scrappit Blog to find out about the 'March Mid Month Competition', oh and whilst you are there, check out the fantastic Ribbon Storage Purses . . . how cute are they!

Until next time . . .

Ebay items ending soon!

Well . . . it's been another warm day today and the pool has again had a wonderful workout since the boys came home from school. The day just seemed to rapidly disappear too . . . of course there was all the 'normal' domestic stuff to do but I also fitted in my 'Free Fruit Friday' duty (cutting up fruit for the school kids), my reading session in Adam's class and also the typing up of the Parents' Club meeting minutes - as well as writing a couple of letters - yep I still do some 'snail mail' ones - and a little light reading on the Education Department as well - *grin* - busy . . . busy . . . busy!

Now that the pool is covered over fo rthe night and the dishes are done, I'm planning on sitting down and maybe doing a little scrapping whilst I finish my glass of white wine - it's called 'Moscato' by Brown Brothers - totally yum!

Oh - and if anyone is interested . . . I've got a few items on Ebay that will be ending tomorrow too! Just click on the Ebay logo in the left hand menu.

Until next time . . . have a wonderful evening!