The latest Up2scrap magazine is due out any day now...keep an eye out for it on the books stands!

I am remaking my junk yard doll today, but I have been side tracked and found this gorgeous blog, which is having a 'give away' as well......

...yummy lot of goodies there!

Even more yummy are the cards, three of which have links from the blog- Bits and bobs of my life These cards have moving parts and are gorgeous. To be in for the give away draw you have to say which one of the three cards shown is your favorite, I still cannot decide! Love them all.

Check out Make it Crafty, its well worth a look.

I hope you all had a great weekend.
On Saturday I was lucky to have a visit from Dianne Hanson . Up until Saturday I had only 'talked' with Dianne via emails, so it was wonderful to meet Dianne in person. And, not only can this lady scrap, but she is also a whizz at baking! Thank you for the yummy apple cake Dianne!

Tonight I have been tring to create a Junk Yard Doll, without success, tomorrow I will start again!

Check out this old photo. We are quite sure the wee girl on the swing is Andrews nanny. Nanny was born in 1905, so this is one accent photo and really hard to see. I spent a long time in photo shop tring to make this old photo easier to see. ...this is the best I can get it with my limited knowledge of photoshop. Even though it is very grainy, I am still quite happy with the result.

Next task will be to scrap the photo, I may need to call on Dianne for help, she is a whizz at creating heritage pages.

Up in the night

3.40am is no sensible time to be getting out of bed, but that's just what i did on Sunday morning! My first reason for doing so was to wake up Cody who had to be at work at 4am. He is doing a bit of relief milking on a near by dairy Farm. The second reason for getting up in the middle of the night was to get Camden to Oamaru to the dawn Anzac service.

I have never ever been to a dawn service before and have to say that really it was worth getting up for. I found the service very moving and my thoughts turned to those young men who fought in those horrid wars. We are so lucky not to have been a part of that.

The Band did them selves proud, they sounded, and looked rather regal in the darkness.

On the way home I snapped this photo from the van window...look, its still dark!
Camden was the lone piper at our little Anzac service here in Duntroon, so we attended this service as well and from there went to church. Our church in Duntroon has now closed its doors, Sunday was the final service. This is a little sad as our children have all been christened in the church, but it is a sign of changing times I guess.

Also , on this day I am sad to say my beautiful magpie friend Bruce was dead in the aviary this morning. He seemed under the weather yesterday and I was thinking I would go to the vet next week and see if he needed a tonic, or something, but I guess he needed more than that! I have no idea why he died, but do wonder if he ate some type of poison on a recent excursion?? I will miss Bruce, he was a wonderful, faithful friend who brought a little joy to our lives.

Still time!

I must confess to still not having completed Paulines challenge over at Up2scrap, despite my good intentions. However I have hunted through my scrapbook albums from a few years ago and found a double page LO that almost fits in with Paulines sketch and subject matter.

Keep in mind PLEASE that these pages were from my early days of scrapping and they are not at all brilliant! I read somewhere that you should never go back and start re scrapping pages that you have already scrapped, but there sure is room for improvement here.

Check it out....

I have a little hidden photo, tucked under the large photo on side two, which is mounted onto card so it slides out very easily.

Now you still have until the end of this month to get your entries in for this challenge. Details are all HERE

And I still have time to redeem myself! Watch this space :-)

Happiness Always

Here is the card I made last week for the Glamour girls swap. The theme was Arches, and our cards were supposed to have an autumn feel, but I didn't read the instructions correctly and my card is more summer than autumn. Sorry Robyn P!

I have used an arched gate, from Twiddly Bitz
...added tiny rose buds

... and a little padlock.

Do join up to Glamour girl Swaps, there is no pressure, just lots of talented ladies and plenty of inspiring ideas.

Its business as usual now that the school holidays have come to an end. Today I started back at work, which is no huge feat. Last term I started a tiny job, teacher aiding at our local school. Its a whole four hours a week, so still plenty of time for crafting.

Yesterday I worked on my page for next months Up2scrap challenge. I'm tiring to keep a step ahead of myself. Saying that, I still want to take part in this months Double the Fun challenge by Pauline McArdle, there is still time! Details can be found here And there is a great prize up for grabs, so don't miss out!

Yesterday I sent four more digital pages off to our lovely daughter, for her 'Outward Bound' album. All pages are of course created using the most gorgeous kits from Louise, I don't do her kits justice I'm afraid., I still have lots to learn on the subject of digi scrapping.

Aunaturale is the name of this delightful digi kit, it has many more delicious elements in it , I have used only some of them.

We have to dash off to town very soon, Camden has an extended bagpipe lesson tonight in preparation for the Anzac services coming up this weekend. So, for now I say goodnight.

Thankful

Tonight I have been visiting a few of my favorite blogs, as you can see, by looking down the right hand side of this page I have many favorites! Leah, on her blog : paper blossoms says "don't forget to be thankful for something" I got to thinking about that and I must confess to taking things for granted all to often. On reflection of my day I just want to say that I am very thankful to the wonderful friends around me. All of my online friends who encourage and inspire me along the way, and my 'real life' best friend, who has been away on holiday , but has now returned home. It is wonderful to have her back. And today I am very thankful to friends who pitch in and help, without even being asked. This weekend Camden and I were going to be digging up our septic tank that has been having a major hissy fit, but when we arrived home from town tonight I spotted the top of someones head only just visible, a very special friend was down in the septic tank with a spade cleaning it out....now it takes a very generous friend to do that, the smell was horrid even from a distance, let alone being down there amongst it..... So I am feeling very very thankful in deed!!

My photo tonight is of one of the very first ATC cards I ever created. All going well I will have something new to pop on my blog soon.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend

I did it

Firstly, I just wish to say a huge thank you to all of you who have sent me emails and messages of encouragement in regards to tring out for the Scrapbookoutlet design team Details are Here
I have given this a go and as a result my orderly serene craft space looks like a bomb shelter!

Next project is a big tidy up!

The down side to tring out for the SBO team means that I have nothing to post on my blog just now, so here are a couple of sneak peeks of my creations...

While I'm not feeling that confident that my work will be good enough for the DT I am able to say that I have had a wonderfully creative week.

Inbetween creating my 'portfolio' I have made my 'arch card ' for Glamourgirl Swaps and I have my thinking cap on for the next swap, which is an art doll created from bits and pieces. Sounds fun doesn't it, if your looking for a swap site without too much pressure check out Glamourgirl swaps HERE

A wee bit rude!

Okay, this page is a little rude... but felt I really had to include this photo in Aimee's Outward Bound album.... isn't that such a typical boy thing to do !
The paper and elements in this kit called : MSNC, are from Eidou...again!

I just love the little owl. Thought the owl was perfect for these 'night in the watch house' photos, the colours work well with my photos to.

Today I have been working on a 'project'. I am thinking about having a go at the Scrapbook Outlet NZ design team call...details HERE But not sure that my talents are up to that, so I'm still procrastinating. Time seems short enough as it is without committing to anything else...but I do like to keep busy and inspired.

Fence photos

The highest fence line in NZ... as promised, exciting hu?...Well only if your keen on fences I guess. Camden was very excited to get to see this fence on his latest hunting venture.
this fence line boarders D.O.C land, high in the Dunstan Rangers and it is about 7000 ft above sea level!

A nasty bit of weather blowing in.

This is one of the three huts Camden stayed in this trip.

Too soon the holidays for Aimee have come to an end, sadly tomorrow we have to take her back to university. Aimee only had a weeks holiday, and she has worked all week at the cafe in Kurow, so we have seen very little of her. I have been busy working on her Outward Bound album as she is wanting to take it away with her. Here are a couple of pages I have completed today...

The digital kit I have used is from Eidou (my favorite digital site) the kit is Vintage Romance. If your after a digital kit be sure to check out Louise's wonderful creations Here

Camden has been away for the past three nights with a mate and his mates dads on a hunting trip, I am pleased to report they shot nothing! I hate hunting!! Camden was very excited about seeing the fence that is the highest (above sea level) in New Zealand. I will post photos of this fence tomorrow.

Cody is away for the night with Hannah. They are staying at a little hut somewhere in the back of beyond.

Time I was heading for bed, it will soon be time to get up again.

Sorry if you are posting comments and they are not showing on my blog..seems to be something funny going on there, I have received your comments via email though so thank you all very much.
Night night from me xx

Zentangle

A little while ago my dear friend Robyn introducted me to Zentangling. Zentangles are repetitive doodle shapes and designs, they are meant to be relaxing. While I did enjoy zentangling I could not see any real point to doing them so I decide to incorporate the zentangle idea with my scrapping. This is the result.... As you can see I have coloured in small parts of my doodles, added a photo and a little bling. This is a great way to whip up a scrap page with out too much mess or fuss. I created my background zentangle while sitting in front of the tele!

Double the Fun

Today I wish to send a huge congratulations to Beverly who won last months blog challenge at Up2scrap with her gorgeous page titled 'Daydream' Check it out HERE.

This months challange has been set by the very talented Pauline : check out details under 'Double the Fun' This months prize is a delightful Designer Pad by K and Co, so...be in to WIN

Check out the Up2scrap BLOG and Website for the latests happenings.

Wishing you all a creative day :-)

Easter Weekend...Update. My updates are few and far between these days. Life just seems to be super busy of late.
Below is a snap of what my dad is up to at the moment...can you guess??? ..he is building a stone wall. Dad has built countless walls for other people, now at last he is building one of his own.
Have to say, its no small task though!

A couple of weeks ago I spotted this shelf at the Resource Recovery Park, its was only $2 so I smartly grabbed it! It looked to be the perfect display shelf for a few of my stamps

.... here it is with a fresh lick of paint and mounted onto my craft room wall...perfect!

Last Saturday Andrew, Aimee and I drove to Christchurch early in the morning so Aimee could attend the Duke of Ed, Hillary Awards ceremony

This was one of those rear moments when somehow I ended up on the wrong side of the camera lens! Scary!!

We got to meet and have a short chat with the Governor General himself. Aimee had formal photos taken of her with the General, they can be viewed here (check out numbers 5526, DSc7288 and DSc7311)

After the ceremony and a rather long chat with old friends we headed home to get ready for Sundays journey to Dunedin!

The week ahead saw me racing against time to get my Up2scrap assignment done. This really was a tough one for me, but I got there, and I learnt heaps in the process, and can't wait to do more of the same... Look out for the next magazine :-)

On the subject of Up2scrap have you checked out the gallery of entries received for last months blog challenge... its wonderful to see so many of you joining in... and I LOVE each and every page!

Check them out HERE. Good luck girls !!

Goodness me, where have I been??? The time has zipped past so quickly!
Last Thursday Andrew and I headed to Burwood for an appointment at the Pain Management Clinic. Andrew now is in the process of tiring out new medications to help with the shoulder pain that he lives with constantly. Fingers crossed it will help. During the corse of our visit we spoke with an amazing doctor, such an inspiring man to listen to and talk with. By the end of our chat with him I was feeling keen to go and train as a doctor myself....LOL, but this man had real passion for his job and really was quite an inspiration.
Saturday saw us on the road home again, once there I unloaded the van, changed clothes and we headed to a 40th birthday party.
On Sunday I caught up on the housework and washing and threw myself into my Up2scrap project...you will have to grab a copy of the next mag to find out more about that... I'm not allowed to say any more on that subject :-)

These are my latest digital pages, I decided to throw together a memento of Aimess first year at University, in the form of a 'She' mini album
Check out more 'She' sayings by Kobi Yamada HERE

and...here is an update of our new look garage. We are not quite finished yet, but getting there.The locals are all passing positive comments. And our local hotel is under going a paint job as well, so Duntroon's main street is looking pretty dapper!

Well I have a yucky head cold and tomorrow we have an early start. We are heading back to Christchurch as our Aimee is receiving her Duke of Edinburgh Award at the presentations tomorrow. So I'm about to head to bed early, in the hope that i wake up feeling much better!

Aimee come home tonight, via the bus. This is her first visit back home from uni, and its wonderful to have her home. Such a shame we have to take her back to Dunedin again on Sunday.

This morning dawned bright, I had kind of hoped for rain, as I was not cherishing the task ahead...the painting of our Garage

...Andrew has a smile, guess he's feeling more enthusiastic about the task than me! Dad has brush in hand and was the first one to 'make his mark'.

Granmar had no qualms about climbing the ladder...I hate heights so was very happy to paint lower down the wall.

By 4 pm we had most of the base coat on and dived into the tin of 'contrast'

Our kind friend Murray put in a hard days yacker as well.

Tomorrow we get to do the whole thing over again... yee-harr!!!

Yummy yummy!!!

Check this out... An apple cake made for us by Hannah

Looks tastie doesn't it! Well, I can tell you that it tasted even better than it looks.The recipe is one of Hannah's grammar's. Hannah got to work in our kitchen and made this for us to sample, it did not last long at all. I am hoping Hannah will re write the recipe for me in English.

Thank you Hannah...here is the recipe...

Base

150 grms of butter

100grms of sugar

200grms of flour

1 and a half tspns of baking powder

Mix the above all together and press into a baking tin.

Filling

7 - 8 large apples...

...chopped and cooked in a little butter.

put aside until cold.

Spread on top of the base.

Topping

100grms of sugar

100 grms (or more) of sliced almonds

100grms of butter

1 egg

Mix all together and sprinkle over the apple.

Fan bake at 170-180 for 45 minutes.

This is delicious with cream and ice cream!

On the 21st of Febuary Cody went to Tekapo and took part in the Water ski Clubs competition day, I think I mentioned it in an earlier post. Well Yesterday I was reading the newsletter, that comes via email, and I saw that Cody won the men's slalom event...now wouldn't you think he would have told me!!!!

I have pinched a few photos of the day from face book....

Cody had a go at skiing with two of the 'top guns'. Looks like hes about to be beheaded here!
hmmm.... looks kind of scary to me!

Way to go Cody on winning the trophy!!

Be in to win

Have you checked out this months challenge over at Up2scrap? The prise, up for grabs this month is a 6 X4" Printers tray from 7 Gypsies. Grab a copy of the latest Up2scrap mag to see Dianne Hanson's beautifully decorated photo tray...you wont want to miss a chance to win one for your self!

Annelie has set the latest challenge, and because I was fascinated by her colour choice I decided to have a go at the challenge myself. Check out the colour scheme ...My background card stock is cream, it just looks a little on the grey side in these photos, no doubt that's because I photographed my page in the shade to avoid harsh shadows.

Instead of using paper, I have used part of an old crochet doily, lace and ribbon to boarder my photo, and of course I cannot use fabric without adding the odd button, Guess that comes from the 'sewer' in me!

Those of you who follow my blog will know that 'white space' is not my forte, but I have tried very hard to follow Annelie's instructions and leave 'white space'... although I just could not resist a wee spray, here and there of Glimmer Mist...just to 'tonne down' some of that space! Sorry Annelie. My love of stamping is showing up again with my brown leaves, title and verse.

I have topped a flower and the circle of paper with a little rolled up paper, and I have glued tiny beads onto the centres of the crochet flowers.

Sure hope you give this challenge a go...details can be found by clicking HERE