Sunday, December 28, 2008

Something to share...

Well, I'm still at home enjoying some relaxation and quite time so I thought I'd share with you the Christmas cards I made this year. Last year I made some and didn't get the time write them and post them out unfortunately. But rather than use those though, I made some new ones with a recent photo of my kids with their Santa hats on. I used pre-cut cards and envelopes by K & Co in red and green, some Jenni Bowlin scalloped journalling cards, my new favourite tool - the 'Threading Water' border punch by Fiskars (which I have in stock), a Christmas flourish stamp, some scrap paper and some bling. It all came together and this is how they turned out...



...simple.

I have been working on finishing the mini album I did with Lynette Carroll and now I need to find photos to fill it. The stock has started arriving for the kits which is exciting so I'll be busy busy busy making up kits when the last of it gets here.

I have so many photos from recent events that I cant wait scrap so I have quite a bit of work to do and I'll show as I go! I'm loving scrapping again with all the inspiration I have bottled up. Just wish I could scrap with the rest of you! Maybe soon when your lives are back to normal. In the mean time I have some major cleaning and sorting jobs to do in preperation for classes in the new year so I'd better got to it. Bye for now!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Merry Christmas...

Hi there! I wish you all an incredibly happy Christmas time and a wonderful year ahead. I have finally wound down and now that the rush of harvest and Christmas preparation is over I am enjoying some quite time with my family at home. It has been so good to relax, celebrate our Saviours birth, eat good food, hang out with family and even have a Nanna nap or two! I was on a mission to find an ornamental nativity scene this year and I finally came across this one that I love and it is so simple but says it all. I mustered together the wooden box and straw from my garden to finish off the scene - no need for tinsel and all that.




I did decorate a little around the house and my favourite piece is this flower arrangement my sister-in-law made for me for a table centre piece. I cant believe how lovely it is. I don't want it to die!




So much has happened in the last few weeks that it'll take me forever to report on it all so I'll have to do it in bits and pieces. My precious Phoebe had her first school concert and performed a little song and dance with the kids from her class - I was so proud my heart swelled! Here she is (fourth from the left)...

We finished harvest on Saturday the 20th of December and now we are left with the aftermath of delivering grain and cleaning up - no complaints though.

I'm very excited about what the coming year has for us even though it's not New Year yet. I've been thinking and planning and hoping I can pull off all I want to fit in - we'll see. Mostly I want my brother to get well and have his life back to normal. He is alive and so far the transplant has been effective although he lives with side effects that we hope will ease over time - at least he is here.

That's all for now. Have a safe holiday season.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Layouts to share...

Well I found my creative juices recently and have been scrapping my heart out - when I'm not doing a billion other things like driving the harvester, cooking, cooking, cooking, looking after my kids (debatable) and ferrying men around the farm. True, I have had to drive the harvester which is quite therapeutic (when the kids aren't in there with me). Here's a pic...


Anyway, I have been scrapbooking with K and Co ranges because I love them and because of the inspiration I got from Lynette Carroll. I finished the layout I did in her class, then I came up with my own simpler version for a starter class while I wait on stock for the original layout. I am sooo happy with these layouts. It has brought me back to paying more attention to detail and putting in a bit more effort to do intricate stuff instead of the simple layouts I've been producing lately.
This first layout is the one I did with Lynette. Its a beautiful layout with a lot of detail and technique. I cant wait to teach this one!
Then there's my version with some of those techniques and a different sketch and paper range. I'm quite pleased with it! I'll post the dates for the classes after Christmas when I have a schedule worked out, along with the dates for the Cricut class.
I mentioned to some of you at some recent classes that Matt and I have sown a summer crop of sunflowers. I have been checking its progress and it turns out that the bunnies and kangaroos love the sunflower seedlings - apparently they taste good - but we still have quite a few and here's a pic of them taken today. In late February/early March these will be in full flower and will be a stunning sight to see. If it is, I will let you know as some of you are keen to come and take photos. I cant wait to frolic in the crop with the kids!
We are about one day off finishing harvest which is a wonderful thing. Then we are off to finish Christmas shopping and food shopping. We are having our first Christmas in Varley so I have been decorating a little more than usual - nothing too fancy though . My family are coming to spend Christmas with us. Dean is doing well so we are grateful that we will be having Christmas together and hopefully will have some more wonderful memories to remember. It is 3 months since Deans transplant and although it has been difficult at times for him things are looking good so far.
I'll be back with more projects to share soon. Thanks for looking!

Monday, December 15, 2008

2 days in a row!

I'm back already...believe it or not. I had a few queries about the scalloped punches so I thought I'd show a picture of them and a sample of how I've used them. I have 4 sizes in stock from EK Success and the one in the middle is my trusty Stampin' Up punch which fortunately is in between the sizes of my EK ones. I usually punch the scalloped circle I want then punch a slightly smaller sized circle to sit inside it and use them for labels and journalling spots. Cute huh? I am a sucker for anything scalloped! Here are the punches...



...and here is a sample...




The gift bag is a cute little idea I got from Jennifer McGuire, a truly talented stamper/scrapbooker, who I admire. I'll show more about this project soon. I've been busily wrapping Christmas presents too using some scrapbooking tools and products. It's great that my supplies are so versatile.

Now I'm going to try to find time to finish my class projects from the Cricut Clinic and Lynette Carroll so I can show and tell. Here are a few sneak peaks...



That's all I've got for now...be back soon.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The silly season...

They call it that for obvious reasons and yes things are a bit silly around here in my neck of the woods. I've been snowed under with harvest as I've lost my helpers but I'm keeping my head above water...just...i think. It's rained cats and dogs for the last couple of months which has complicated things a little but we are soon to wrap up our harvest for this year. I have managed a little scrapping in an attempt to stay sane so here are 2 layouts I recently finished. The first is very predictable - square and boxy but I like it, especially the colours watermelon and cyan. These papers are by Stampin' Up - love em.



The second layout is also very square - surprise surprise! - but I like this one a lot. These papers are Basic Grey and October Afternoon.




Well I have some exciting news...I've been to Perth earlier this week to attend some trade classes with Printblocks who import the Cricut machines by Provo Craft, and also some very inspirational classes with Lynette Carroll from Boston USA (from K & Co design team). This was a huge privilege to have these classes in Perth and I enjoyed them immensely. It meant that I didn't have to go all the way to Brisbane again, and I am now an (almost) full bottle on the Cricut machines and accessories. I am also truly inspired by Lynette's work and cant wait to show you what I learnt and to hold classes when I finally get my hands on the beautiful products we used. I will show photos of the products soon. I'll be holding Cricut Clinics in January and February for those of you who have a machine or are thinking about getting one or even just want to have a go at using one. I didn't realise the potential of the machine and its many amazing features. I have to admit at one stage I thought I had wasted my money on the dealership but now I am glad I have it because I can see how useful the machines and accessories are. Stay tuned for some layouts I have done with the Cricut and for class dates.
I have had bits and pieces of new stock arriving. I finally have scalloped circle punches in a range of sizes (one of my favourite tools). I intend to get some creative time soon to sit down and play with new products and ideas and I am going to attempt to make Christmas gifts and cards this week...better late than never!
Sorry to be such an irregular blogger at the moment...cant wait to get back on track. Cheers!