Sketchbook weekend challenge

The weekend challenge with the girls at Sketchbook ... to use something non traditional on a layout ... I found this old star paper clip and for me, this is totally non-traditional, I've also got a few pins as well - the heart pin and the green ball pin. No idea how old it is [the star paper clip, but I've had it for a while - lol] ... I've also used BG papers and a rub-on that was RAK'd - thank you Janine, a few Primas, a few buttons and fibres, inking, distressing and tags ... oops ... and a HS heart that was RAK'd to me from Delys.

Thank you ladies.

I also came home from work one day this week with the gorgeous felt from Inkspiration ... loved it when I saw it and knew exactly which paper it was going against ... gotta love that when you know things like that in advance - ROFLMAO.

Looks a little askew, but it isn't!!!

Right then, had better finish this coffee and head back into my scrap room.

So many ideas rolling around in that head of mine ... not enough hours in the day.
Later,
Me

Bragging rights

As a Mum, when our kids do something that makes us feel proud, we want to share and I'm about to do just that ...

This Mum has bragging rights cos of this score sheet, amongst other things.





Most of you know that we have both a sporting and academic son ... cos I've told you all that before now - ROFLMAO and I'm about to tell you that again ...

And - most of you know that at 14, DS is bordering on 6 foot ... so it kinda figures that he grows out of stuff - read, gear and equipment here ... and it truly is quite expensive to keep him in clothes and sporting kit - IYKWIM.

So this week we bought him a new cricket bat ... that was on Thursday. Today, this afternoon he used his new cricket bat for its first outing and this is his score sheet ... for real!!!

A batter, truly, he is NOT!!!! his top score would have been somewhere around 30, before today. His prowess in the cricket arena would be his bowling and his fielding more so. He can return one cricket ball with amazing accuracy and boy-oh-boy, he has some speed behind it ... but that's not what I'm sharing ... it's his batting that excelled today - big time!!!

I received a text this afternoon and it read ... " I gOt 124 nOt Owt. NO shIt "

I'm thinking to myself, yeah right ... my text to DS ... "R u 4 real. Wana c the score sheet so thr. Cya. M"

DS response ... "124! [can't tell you what he put here - beep beep] yea!!


So guess what he did ... he brought home the score book to show me ... even his mates in other teams didn't believe him.


Now we all know that no two cricket matches are ever the same and we may never see a score sheet like it ... but I did today and trust me on this one - he is more than a little stoked!!!

Ye-ah!!!!!!

So wowser, go little Frizz ... most impressed buddy ... new cricket bat eh???!!! Let's see what you can do tomorrow buddy!!!

Tomorrow he ventures out in another one day match as an Invercargill rep ... totally different calibre of cricket ...

and I'm not done yet ...

yesterday's mail was opened and he is on the prize giving list again this year ... no idea what for ... he is in the top class in his year ... and he is absolutely certain he isn't in the top three of his class over all subjects ... so this one could be interesting - all will be revealed in a week or so ...

So wee man, I may very rarely see you do any shall we say 'homework' ... you are lucky enough to be one of those kids that cruise through and you can pull the results ... just like that. Long may it continue.

I'm going to have to stop calling you wee man, cos you really aren't ... but regardless of size, you will always be my wee man.
Love you buddy
Mum
x

Let's try this time ...

Hopefully this time, my Christmas cracker will be sitting here in all its glory instead of being a little red cross - ROFLMAO.



And ... guess what ... I scored four points for this wee creation ... I was absolutely gobsmacked to be honest ...
See ya
M

My first round

layout for the competition with the girls at Scrappin Patch - stars in your eyes and we had to scrap Nic Howard style ...

There's a whole lot of scrapping talent in that lady. One day I hope to meet her, but I'm thinking that I would be a little tongue-tied girls.



But this is what I came up with ... love this layout, the colours and the way it came together.

There's some really big guns playing along in this competition ... I know it's all about being creative and scrapping the memories and all that, and I'm fine with that ... but holy ska-moley there's some amazing creations in the gallery. Truly!!!

Right then, on that note, I'm outta here ... I've got lots of things that need to be done and I was going to go and play in my scrap room for a while. Time will tell.

Later
M

Scrapbox challenge

last week was to create something scrappy [a decoration] for the Christmas dinner table.

I had my thinking cap on for days ... and Wednesday I was visiting our local scrapbooking shop in town - Inkspiration and I was talking to Karen ... asking the question, what am I going to make ... I came away with a template for one of these ...

Whipped it up late Saturday afternoon.

No idea what it is actually called, but I've called it a pyramid Christmas cracker ... made of Bazzill and scraps of paper. I used a toothpick to help close it ... so once the toothpick is pulled out, you lift the square lid off and the goodies are revealed inside the Christmas cracker. I thrown in a few Prima' [as you do], fibres, silver baubles, brads and a whole lot of inking.

Quite like the way it turned out, although in this case, my photography skills leave a lot to be desired. Looks way better in real life.





Some brilliant scrappy ideas are up in the gallery. Some very talented ladies that's for real. Definitely thinking outside the square.

Now we await the next challenge which can't be too far away from being announced.

And later tonight, with the girls at Scrappin' Patch the gallery will be revealed ... first round challenge, scrapping Nic Howard style ... now that in itself is/was scary and I say that in the nicest possible way ... can't wait for the gallery to be unveiled ... wonder what Nic is going to think of all our creations. What a scrapper ... and boy-oh-boy does she have style and some ...

The second round challenge is to scrap in Mou Saha's style - this one I'm going to struggle with big time ... I so DO NOT DOODLE ... truly so this is going to be an interesting challenge and some.

I finished my recipe swap layouts in the weekend and they will be winging their way to Northern pastures as I write.

So all in all, I was rather creative really ...

Still have to wrap Christmas pressies and box them up and send them over to the big ol' US of A ... and if I don't get my A into G ... they won't be going anywhere, any time soon, well not before Christmas.

On that note,
Later,
Me

Our visitors

Mr and Mrs Duck come and pay us a visit on a daily basis ... they might miss a day once in a blue moon, but that's about all. This pic was taken while I was hanging outside the conservatory window one day last week. Mr and Mrs Duck were sitting no more than a step away from the conservatory door and didn't flinch when I went to take their pic.



Today, Mr Duck got even closer than that ... it's been a stinking hot day in the Deep South today ... and it's still 28 degrees in the lounge ... truly!!!

DH opened the conservatory door earlier today to try and get rid of some of the heat and to allow a breeze to do its thing ... no breeze at the time though.

Some time later I came walking into the kitchen and out of the corner of my eye I caught movement. Mr and Mrs Duck had come to visit and Mr Duck had one foot inside the conservatory people, truly. Okay, I ran to the door, shoo-ing Mr Duck as I did so ...

It doesn't bear thinking about how much mess one Mr Duck could have created if he had have fully entered said conservatory and then flown [when frightened] in and around the kitchen and dining room and lounge, let alone going into the hallway ... gulp - nope - it doesn't bear thinking about.

On that note ... you can all stop laughing now ... and I am going to go and watch the rest of the news.
Later,
M

It's not long now ...

and this little snowman will have lots of friends in my lounge [or wherever].

Apart from collecting scrapbooking stuff, I also collect a few other things, namely snowmen and Santa's ... and this friendly looking snowman came to visit my house for my birthday from my angelic friend [thank you Janine] ... and very soon he will be able to play with his cobbers ... why???

Cos it's not long now and my Christmas decorations will be out on display.




Cos Santa Claus is coming to town ... so you had better watch out!!!!

and ... just cos

I can ...

Bula vinaka Miss Meg ...



I love the smell of Frangipani ...

Another one ...

These pics were taken ages ago ... a little colour in our back yard ...




I did warn you that I was going to play!!!

And as I can't show you any creativity, I may as well share some pics - ROFLMAO.

Later,
M

Playing in Picasa2

think back a couple of weeks ... remember I said that DH and I had been walking around the estuary walk ...

I've just gone in to have a look at a couple of pics and I noticed the collage button, so totally unedited, I quite simply selected pics and then went click on the collage button - and now you have this ...



I think that I am gonna love this button ... it does all the hard work for you ... ROFLMAO ... my kind of button.

So be warned, you could see some more of these in the near future.

and

Last night Jules came to scrap for a few hours ... I completed one layout and a canvas before I hit the sack. Layout was for the second round challenge at Scrapbox ... to scrap a Christmas layout in non-traditional colours ... I did this one tough to be honest ... I mean hello, Christmas is green, red and gold in my house, not blue, pink, black and silver ... ROFLMAO.

Thanks Jules, I enjoyed your company and why on earth we don't find time to do this more often is beyond me. Life gets in the way I guess.

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon everyone ...

and another one

Now I love that you can blog this straight from Picasa ... but I have no idea how to blog more than one this way ... can you ...



This is our 'first' opened rose in the garden for us ... it's been interesting to see what has flourished and grown since we have moved in ... the rose garden looks so healthy, so long may we have roses looking like this - this one absolute smells divine ...

Wonder what the garden looks like at our 'old house' - oops ... not allowed to think like that ...

Enjoy your afternoon.
Me

P.S. have more to share ... but you are probably in overdose mode atm with all my blogging ... ROFLMAO

No playing around

and this is what this photo looks like ... I think I was on manual and then foliage ... no playing, no nothing ... quite like this one.

A few more to share as well shortly.

Haven't blogged for a while ...

and then you get three hits in one night ... crikey ... you're lucky!!!


I have overlooked sharing this layout with you ... had a play with a little Scenic Route and some paint a couple of weeks ago together with a photo of DS at four years old. He was a mischievious wee monkey - but he truly was adorable ... so I scanned an old photo and played a little with it in Picasa2 ... and this is what I came up with.




Quite like how it turned out ... I picked up some blue cord recently while browsing through all the haberdashery stuff at our big local department store in town ... [I go and have a nosey in the aisles every now and again] and I have been using paint and bubblewrap and stamping the bubblewrap image ... I remember Neen doing that on one of her layouts, months and months and months ago and thought to myself, there will come a day when I can use that idea and I have done, a few times now ...

I've been a little creative this weekend ... last night was disastrous, wasn't a happening thing ... but today I've whipped up a layout for the first round of a competition, don't know that I am overly happy with it ... but I can't share until after midnight tomorrow night [by which time I will be in bed - ROFLMAO - so that will have to wait] and then tonight I have whipped up another creation, well still waiting on paint to dry and I can't share that on my blog either, cos I'm thinking that's going to be wrapped up as a Christmas gift.

I'm told that the latest edition of Up2Scrap is out ... woo hoo ... I've got a layout in this one and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turned out.

Right then, that's it from me ... better go and check out my painting abilities and see how everything dried ...
Take care.
M

P.S. Neen ... I got mail ... thank you so very much ... awesome!!!

Just remembered

Have to share this pic ... remember a couple of weeks ago when I said that I walked the estuary walk ... well I saw this at the start of the walk and said to DH have to take a pic of this ...

The date is what you should be looking at ... it's exactly 100 years before I was born ... couldn't resist.




Night ...
M

Busy, busy, busy

doesn't even come close really ...

Life has been full on for quite some time now [more than usual] and for the most part it has been enjoyable. There have been days that I really have been tearing my hair out. There's been swearing, laughter [sometimes hysterically], a few tears, but I'm hanging in there.

So if you have been wondering a little why it is that I have been a little quiet, I guess I've been spreading myself a little thin at times.

Mom, Dad, yep, I'm still here ... emails have been few and far between ... sorry!!!

There is light at the end of the tunnel, I know that ... next week in fact. We have a new marketing executive starting at work next week and come Monday ... oops ... it's not this Monday at all, got my days mixed up ... it's still a week away ... anyway, our new marketing exec will start on the 17th ... and I can 110% say that it is going to be a good day ... cos I can hand over all the marketing stuff ... I've been filling in temporarily for the last few months while we went through the recruitment process etc and doing my own role as well ... some days, I'm sure, doing neither of them very well ... but it's all good.

So it's all been go, go, go!!!!! [and some].

The last wee while I have been involved with the Tour of Southland ... we were a joint team sponsor and what a ride it has been ... it's totally amazing what goes on behind the scenes in an event like this - truly! A real eye opener. And I have only seen some of it.

I guess most people tend to think these guys get on a bike and ride ... well in a nutshell yes they do ... BUT!!!

I take my hat off to the guys out on their bikes this week ... we have had sun, we have had rain, we have had hail, we have had sleet, we have had snow ... and with all of that ... we have had wind. These athletes have been competing under extremely trying conditions, and believe you me ... you and I would not have been out there on a bike ... I was moaning and whinging walking to the bank - a block away from work ... the weather was abyssmal. Downright shocking.

I will leave you with these logos ...



Why, cos these logos were worn by the overall winner of the Tour of Southland for 2008 ...

One of our riders won the tour - Hayden Roulston [to some, he is known as Roly] ... now believe you me ... he had a wonderful team of riders with him and alongside him, and an absolutely brilliant support crew as well and our team overall were runners-up in the tour this
year.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Tour of Southland, there is an overall individual title [which Hayden won this year] as well as a teams title, King of the Mountains, Sprint Ace amongst others [you are learning here, I know] ... check out http://www.tourofsouthland.com/ for more details ... great reading and great pics as well.

A big congratulations to Hayden, Sam, Paul, Michael and Shane - you guys rock ... I take my hat off to all of you and to your support team ... what an awesome group of people.

May you all enjoy a nice relaxing day tomorrow. You totally deserve it.

So on that note ...

Later
M


P.S. Mom, Dad, Terry, remember us driving over the Crown Range road coming back from Wanaka heading to Queenstown ... well these guys ride up to the top of the Crown Range road ... I was in a car driving and didn't like it ... these guys are on bikes ... and their legs are doing all the work!!! Wow!!!!

Weekend challenge

with the girls at Sketchbook - a black and orange theme [Halloween colours] ...

Black and orange I can do and have done!!!

So ... black and orange it is [on white]. Packaging from a box of Continental choccies pulled apart and painted black, after I had already stamped the paint on my white cardstock background, black netting left over from flowers [I mean to say, you can't throw some things out now can you??!!] black and orange coredinations cardstock, embossed and sanded [as you do], BG Ambrosia papers, orange ribbon, orange thread, adhesive thickers, hand-journalling, a little ink and there you have it - oops, black staples and black paint and Bazzill brads, the big ones.



I've had a real play with this one and I'm more than happy with the way this layout has turned out ...

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon everyone.
Later,
M

P.S. before I go ...

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to a special friend and scrapping buddy [said in one big breath and sung in my bestest voice]
Happy birthday to YOU

That would be you Miss Meg!!!!