My Life

Happy birthday to my sister...

ooops..just scraped in..it's midnight as I type this and I tried DESPERATELY to get a happy birthday post in on Debbie's actual birthday - Anzac Day 25 April.. But Typepad hasn't been playing fair for the last little while and I couldn't post anything! So frustrating..

Anyway, Happy Birthday to my sister Debbie:)

 

I whipped this birthday card up today for Debbie..here's how I made it..

1. I started with the photo of Debbie which I printed out at home. I grabbed some sandpaper and scrubbed away the background.  The sandpaper was very coarse so that made it easier.

 

2. I had a scrappy strip of patterned paper on my desk which measured 9x28cm and this was perfect for the card size I wanted. And I folded that in half..

   

3. My photo measures 2.5x3.5inches. I used torn strips of masking tape, top and bottom, to attach the photo to the front of the card. I kept the advertising barcode on my patterned paper background to add some interest.

 

4. I cut a strip of scalloped edged felt and used double sided tape to secure that felt strip to the left hand side of the photo.

 

5. I had this wavy, thin strip of patterned spotty paper sitting on my desk, so I stapled that in place as shown OVER the red felt. And popped on an October Afternoon round circle sticker.

 

6. And that DATE sticker was crying out for a date to be stamped there. Ooops ..I smudged the "2009"...

 

7. Not to worry. I restamped the "2009" onto white cardstock, cut it out and added it in...fixed.

 

8. Now, this photo of Debbie was certainly needing a festive party hat. I cut this from book paper and popped it on...

 

9. And a party hat is not complete without a pom pom top.

 

10. I added in some letter stickers...ooops more smudging. I didn't have much luck with my date stamping that's for sure..Oh well..it's a design feature:)

 

11. And I finished with some teeny, tiny letter stickers for my birthday greeting...

 

and some machine stitching.

 

and my card for Debbie is all complete...

 

Hope she likes it!

Happy birthday Debbie:)

MINI MEMORIES

This is probably one of my favourite classes at the moment - the MINI MEMORIES workshop. Probably because I had the opportunity to put the scrapbook layouts aside for a while and work on a fresh, fun off the page project.

But also because it was one of those projects that fell together easily and I LOVE it when that happens. PLUS I know my Mum will love this mini book of the grandkids for Mother's Day in a few weeks.

We've had a great response already to the class which is excellent!!! Lots of bookings from all over the place including Italy and France (yay) PLUS you don't have to stick with the Mother's Day theme..this little book of memories would work well for a variety of themes...such as:

• birthdays
• friendship
• our home
• pets
• our wedding
• a new baby
• family
• our holiday

So spread the word, tell all of your friends and meet me in the classroom for some memory making....

BUY THE ONLINE WORKSHOP HERE:

New class....

A fun new project that I am very excited about...a MINI BOOK of memories just in time for Mother's Day.

Class registration opens mid afternoon tomorrow - 23 April 2009

...Here's a sneak peek..

Stay tuned.

LIFE SNIPPETS - APRIL

Snippets is BACK again this month! We are loving building our Snippet's albums for 2009 and this is proving to be a really popular series of classes. Join us each month or pick and choose the months you would like to participate in. Lots of samples. Ideas. Projects. Loads of fun. Read more here.

The Royal Easter Show

On Sunday we headed to Sydney - very early! to visit the Royal Easter Show. It's become a bit of a family tradition to head down there and we've been the last three years now. The weather was bad and I had visions of us huddling under umbrellas all day, dodging puddles and rain! We drove down in heavy rain and all of us were hoping it would stop and the clouds would clear.

Here we are on our way and following a Learner driver who should have been in the left lane!

We arrived early enough to park in Car Park One (near the entrance to the Showground) and twenty dollars, thanks very much, later we were on our way to the Show.

It was cold and still wet so we were all rugged up to start with.

but thankfully the rain cleared and the sun even came out. And the jumpers came off.

Ken's work had organised a subsidised breakfast in the Jamison restaurant for Staff but the tickets were limited to four per family so we were to go and have a quick breakfast while Mum, Dad, Jake and Chelsea had a wander around.

BUT on arrival, the lovely staff girl who organised the event said we could ALL head on up to the restaurant and enjoy breakfast!!!

So up we went.

And grabbed a breakfast box each!

and here's inside our breakfast boxes...banana bread, ham, cheese and tomato croissant, museli and yoghurt, fruit, orange juice...I think that was all..

and we had a great view of the NAB Arena and watched some horse stuff (technical term..dressage? Show jumping?)

and we had a visit from Capt'n NAB..

And a staff member took some polaroids of the kids with the South Sydney Rabbitoh mascot! I will have to scan those and share as well...i thought it was a great idea..an instant keepsake and the kids thought it was amazing to watch the photo develop before their very eyes.

We scored far too many of these blow up bats. And Capri came a cropper with Jake's bat which was an accident - but it left a big red welt under her eye..

Then it was off to the showbags hall - but firstly a stop here... for a quick photo...

 

Which way to the showbags?

Ah, here they are..

The showbags were the highlight of the day.

Even Mum and I bought one each - unfortunately I regretted the bag I ended up buying and was kicking myself or not getting the Marie Clare bag..instead I got OK Magazine bag - now I don't even READ OK magazine and I have no idea why I even ended up choosing it. I mean, Mum and I dithered and deliberated and trudged around comparing and I still ended up with a dud. Oh well.

All of the kids had been on the showbag website and reading the guide in the Sunday papers well before we arrived at the show.

They each had their wish lists and their pocket money ready. Chelsea had a list totalling $336 but thankfully we narrowed that down considerably! Sunnies were a hit.

 

and these glasses Jamison got in one of his novelty bags....modelled stylishly by Jake.

 

Then it was rides time. None of the kids are really BIG on rides which is good because the rides are EXPENSIVE! But they do LOVE the dodgems..

 

And check out the little boy in the background of this shot....we have several photos of him in the background with his hands over his eyes. Bless him. Please don't make me go on the dodgems dad! <click each image to see it larger!>

 

Here's the girls after their first ride..

 

and then the boys joined them..

 

And the girls had another go..

 

 

We then moved on to the putting game..and the boys all had a go..Jake sunk one ball and won a pink checked teddy bear!

 

Jammo didn't get any in..and Ken got two out of five in...

 

 to win this...

 

the girls then braved the Crazy Coaster

 

while the boys had a much needed rest..

 

And I took photos..they shared the ride with some nice teenage girls and had a chat while they were waiting.

off they go..

and around they go..

 

and more spinning..

 

and off they got and off we went to have some lunch. The skies were getting pretty dark by now..but we missed the rain..

 

On the way to lunch we stopped by the arena and watched the daredevil motorbike stunt guys and stunt car drivers...whoa, can those bike riders get some height..very impressive and nerve wracking to watch.

The riders sort of blend in with the VERY colourful background but you should be able to make out three riders in the air. <again, click the image to enlarge it>

 

and more my speed..here's a cute little cupcake shop in one of the pavillions..

 

 

We dodged the rain today thankfully but drove through a torrential downpour on the freeway on the way home.

And we arrived home. Tired out. But happy. A good day.

School Holidays

Well we are mid way through the first week of the school holidays already. And the countdown is on until we leave for New Zealand in just a few weeks - very exciting. Jake and Chelsea have been staying with mum and dad this week.

And I took the girls shopping yesterday while Mum took the boys ten pin bowling..

 

and I bought this $5 bargain..

 

and this rose ring for $9.99..

 

I love this mega rose ring! I must admit I totally copied from Janelle who scored a beautiful aqua version in the bargain bin for $5. But sadly, they were all sold out when I got there and I bought this one for full price. But at $10 I think it's a bargain anyway.

and Capri is coveting it already...

And we also picked up some much needed clothes for Capri! And then we stopped for lunch.

I have been SO good since Monday when I started my healthy eating plan (I refuse to call it a diet!!) and I have been proud of myself for resisting several temptations along the way. Including the ears of Capri's chocolate bunny that she offered me. And the meat pies from Darby's that mum bought for the kids lunch a few days ago. And the Mcdonalds I bought the girls for their lunch at the shops...But I have resisted. And it's getting a little easier each day.

I keep clinging to that dream of being able to comfortably fit into my jeans again. Oh, I can do up the button - just. It's the breathing, walking, sitting and moving in them that I am struggling with.

I'll keep you posted.

Easter..

Yes, well Easter WAS quite a few days ago now but I did want to share these photos from our Easter Sunday at mum and dads.

We started with the exchanging of Easter bunnies and eggs...

Mum & Dad gave each of the kids, yes even Brandt, a mini Care Bear along with their chocolate rabbit.

and the kids discovered that the mini Care Bears were in fact finger puppets with a strategically placed finger puppet hole right up the backside of each Care Bear.

Which led to much frivolity and jokes and comedy skits from the boys ..including stuffing a mini egg up the Care Bear's behind and pushing it out again in the ultimate toilet humour silliness. Kept them entertained anyway!

and then we had lunch...we were rather seafood-ed out over the Easter weekend so it was a welcome change to have BBQ chicken, salads, pasta bake and potato bake plus a damper for our lunch. BUT Dad did BBQ some salt and pepper squid as a starter which was delicious..

Here's some family shots...having a chat, waiting for lunch..catching up..playing with the camera timer.

You wouldn't think Debbie is so sick here. She barely had a voice and was battling the flu badly...

Still playing with the camera timer...

And then the girls went swimming - despite the water being at freezing point.

And the kids ate far too much chocolate. And so another Easter flew by.

PAPER QUILTING WORKSHOP

Well what a few days the @Home site has had. I had great intentions of uploading and releasing a brand new class over the Easter period but unfortunately my plans didn't go quite as I would have liked them to.

The @Home site was SO SLOW over the weekend and we had a few technical difficulties but my web guys were onto it and have everything is now all fixed and working beautifully again. Phew.

And I am thrilled to introduce another new class over at the site. PAPER QUILTS.

Here's some of the class blurb..

Grab your paper scraps, a button or two, photos, a sewing needle and you’re set to create a fun scrappy paper quilted background for your layout.Join Kim as she guides you step by step through the process of creating a 12x12inch layout with a versatile paper quilted background. This project is a great excuse to use up your offcut, scrappy pieces and you will be tearing, sanding, distressing, painting, stitching and layering in this instant online workshop.

We will make a 12x12inch layout PLUS there's a bonus layout too. Lots of fun. lots of tips and ideas. Purchase the class here:

Happy Easter

The cousins, at mum and dads...Easter 2006

and Easter today, April 12, 2009

Where have these big people come from? All grown up. Goodness.

More Easter photos tomorrow.

Easter Raffle..

So for many years my kids have lined up with the rest of the school wanting desperately to win something, anything, in the school's Easter Egg raffle. It's always a festive affair and last year the kids even paraded around in Easter bonnets and there's always TONS of baskets and prizes on offer.

This year marks our thirteenth year at the school and our winnings over the years have been pretty slim! Brandt won a huge big basket of eggs when he was in about year two and the same year he also won the class prize of more eggs! And Capri won a luverly resin rabbit basket filled with eggs several years ago - long time readers of my blog may even remember that blog post! Here it is here.

And Jammo, well he was DESPERATE to win and year after year he didn't. He told me once his goal was to win something in the Easter raffle before he left the school to go to high school. But sadly he didn't realise his dream before he headed off to high school!

So it was very exciting to meet Capri at the school gate sporting this the other day!!

We were all suitably impressed in the Archer household that she won a prize!! And the chocolate was gone pretty much in one sitting. Yum!