I'm a Nana!!

Welcome to the world Miss Chloe Anne Honig-Rea xx

Just after I published my post last night I got a phone call from Mikayla to say that Chloe had been born... she was literally three minutes old at the time!  Mikayla did really well and was justifiably proud of herself... no epidural either!

Chloe Anne Honig-Rea

25th July 2017

7.25pm

8lb 6oz

3840grams

Mikayla was actually 8lb 6oz when she was born as well!  Miss Chloe also shares a birthday with her big cousin Aidan.

Krystal is very excited about being an Auntie and of course there were lots of family phone calls last night to announce Chloe's arrival.  I'm sure 'Great Grandma' would like me to mention that she knitted the hat (with handmade flower adornment) Miss Chloe is 'show casing' in these photos.

I also phoned my Dad who was so pleased to find out he's now a Great Grandfather.

I've heard Miss Chloe over the phone and she's definitely got a good set of lungs on her... and I think she looks a lot like her Mummy did when she was born.  

Doing a little Nana dance this morning and can't keep the grin off my face... have a great day xx

From one end of the country to the other!

Well it's been a hell of a week for the past seven days... and there's still no baby... but she's 'almost' here!

Last Wednesday night I was down in Invercargill with Mikayla and feeling a little sad that baby hadn't arrived yet as I was booked to go back to Rotorua on Thursday morning.  Unfortunately babies do not have wee calendars and seem totally determined to do things in their own sweet time.

As we were settling into our last evening together I got a phone call that I REALLY wasn't expecting... my Dad had been involved in an accident and was in Intensive Care.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words:

Click HERE to read the newspaper article

So there I was... down in Invercargill... awaiting the birth of my first grandbaby... and Dad's in Intensive Care at the other end of the country.  That was just a little too much drama for me!  As I said earlier, I was already booked to fly back to Rotorua the next morning... which I did... and I stayed for one night to catch up with Michael, Toby and Nivea... as well as to have a family dinner with one of my sisters'... her three girls... and our Mum.  The next morning Krystal and I headed off to Whangarei by car.

• Invercargill to Christchurch flight distance 464 kilometers (288 miles)
• Christchurch to Rotorua flight distance 673 kilometers (418 miles)
• Rotorua to Whangarei drive distance 384 kilometers (239 miles)

We finally arrived in Whangarei at 2.30pm to find Dad was still in recovery so we went and booked into our motel.  We came back at 5.30... still in recovery... so we went and had dinner with one of my old school friends.  We came back at 7.30... and he was STILL in recovery.  Thankfully he got back from there just before 8pm and we were able to see and talk to him for a little while.

He's done himself quite a lot of injuries... leg broken in three places which required surgery to put a pin in it to stabilise it... along with a cracked skull and a brain bleed!  He's also got multiple bruises, swelling and soreness. 

Krystal and I stayed in Whangarei until Sunday and spent lots of time sitting with Dad/Grandad before we had to get back to Rotorua for the start of school yesterday.  The whole time we were also keeping in touch with Mikayla at the other end of the country with nothing new to report.

Mikayla went into the hospital yesterday morning for an induction but it was very slow going and baby really didn't want to make an appearance.  Mikayla was able to get a little sleep last night which is just as well because she's currently in labour... her waters have broken and she's having a baby!!!

They say that good things take time and this wee grandbaby is going to be worth the wait! 

Take care and remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them... hearing (and saying) those words is SO important! xx

Is there any baby news???

Hi there... I'll let the photo speak for itself:

Poor Mikayla is having a love/hate relationship with her phone at the moment... every time it rings or she gets a message it's to ask if she's had the baby yet... and the answer is still nope!  Unfortunately for me I have to get back to Rotorua first thing tomorrow morning so it looks like I won't be meeting my little grandbaby for a while :(

Since we really didn't have anything else to do today we went down to the park for some more photos and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.  Mikayla's keeping most of them for her own album but I can share this one with you:

While we were at the park I also spotted a fabulous sculpture dedicated to Burt Munro which I know Michael would have loved to have seen so I got some photos for him:

If you don't follow through on your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable. Burt Munroe

You live more in five minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in a lifetime. Burt Munroe

Thanks for visiting my blog and I'll be sure to keep you updated on bubs xx

It's Monday... and there's no baby yet!

Hi there :)  Bubs has still not made an appearance into the world.  Mikayla is currently 5 days overdue and she's tried EVERYTHING to get baby going... although we are waiting for the naturopath lady to get back to us. 

In the meantime I thought it might be a good idea to get out of the house and take some photos... so Mikayla took me all over Invercargill looking at old buildings (many of them churches) and we spent a happy couple of hours just hanging out together.

When we got home it was getting pretty dusky but we grabbed Chris and went to the park for an impromptu photo shoot.  Most of the photos were terrible due to awful lighting and out of focus shots but I've got a couple to share with you.

Here's Mikayla and Chris by the water fountains at the entrace to Queens Park... Mikayla was standing on the wall around the fountain!

They also had a 'chat' with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell to try and see when baby might make and appearance but they didn't have a clue either:

For those of you interested in seeing a little of what Invercargill has to offer I thought I'd share some of my favourite photos with you.  I'm sharing the photos 'as is'... no photoshopping... no touch ups... just the way they turned out... apart from my blog label of course. 

Invercargill Water Tower

War Memorial Clock

St John's Anglican Church

First Presbyterian Church

St Mary's Basilica

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today... and fingers crossed my next post is to announce my grandbaby's safe arrival xx

So what's been happening?

I thought it was time to do a bit of a catch up with you since I haven't been around for a while... although I have lots of plans to change that!!!  This is going to be a bit of a random update... I've got school/work stuff... family stuff... creative stuff... basically lots of stuff... and since it's all jumbled around I'll do it all in no particular order.

Since we last talked I've... gone to Invercargill.

Right now I'm sitting in my daughter's (Mikayla's) house in the deep South awaiting the arrival of my first grandbaby.  I flew down from Rotorua to Invercargill on Tuesday which was very exciting... and to be honest just a little bit nerve wracking since I haven't been on a plane in YEARS!

Bubs was due on Wednesday (12th July) but so far there is no baby!  Poor Mikayla is so over being pregnant... and I'm quietly wishing for bub's hasty arrival as I have to fly back to Rotorua on Thursday (20th July).  They say good things come to those who wait but Mikayla doesn't feel like waiting anymore and I'm firmly agreeing with her!

Since we last talked I've... made some cards.

So while we're on the subject of my wee grandbaby I thought I could share some of the things I've made for her.  First up are some Thank You cards that are technically for Mikayla and Chris to send out after baby is born.  I decided to make a set of 10 cards... the same but different... I started off by making one card to get the design idea and here's what I came up with:

That sweet little elephant is from My Favorite Things - Adorable Elephants stamp and die set... as is the wee flowers and butterfly.  I later added a balloon to the card but you'll see that in a moment.

Then I set up a production line of all the elements needed on the cards:

Here are the 10 cards all finished... there's four different elephants, three different balloons, three different butterflies and two different flowers in the stamp set... and I used them all!  No cards are exactly the same but they definitely make a nice set.

 On the inside of the cards I stamped a sentiment that I'm pretty sure will apply to the newest addition to our family: and though she be little she is fierce

I actually took lots of step by step photos while I was making these cards so don't be surprised if you see a blog post dedicated just to them in the near future :)

 Since we last talked I've... made some cot sheet sets.

Along with the cards I also promised Mikayla that I would make her some fitted and flat cot sheet sets... and since she lives in the deep South where it gets really cold I made them out of winceyette which is super snuggly and just seems to get better with washing.

I started with some super cute fabric:

Unfortunately the yellow fabric with pink dots turned out to be only 90cm (36 inches) wide so it wasn't wide enough for a sheet but I'm sure I will use it for something else.  

Choosing the fabric turned out to be the easy bit (although Michael might disagree with me!)  Once I had the fabric home it turned out that I couldn't sew it for a while due to my knee... more on that in a moment.  So instead of having the sheets made three weeks ahead of me leaving I was actually still sewing them the night before I left... but I DID get them done and the fitted sheets even have French seams... very classy!

Here are all three sets of sheets packed into the baby's suitcase ready to go to Invercargill... YES Krystal and I totally filled an entire suitcase with presents and clothes for our wee arrival (the one that hasn't actually arrived yet LOL)

Mikayla was pretty pleased with the sheets... she particularly liked the pink pandas and she's now made the cot with them and it looks so gorgeous:

Since we last talked I've... damaged/injured my knee!

In early June (10th) Michael, Krystal and I went to visit Mum in Tauranga.  She had Kody (my niece) staying and we were all just hanging out together having a good time.  I went down the hallway and was minding my own business (Mum might disagree with me!) when I turned to say something to Mum and I felt/heard a 'pop' in my knee... followed by instant agony!

I managed to get through lunch with my leg up on a chair but the pain was pretty intense.  Then we decided to go to KMart for a look around and Kody was thrilled to bits when we found a wheelchair for me to sit in.  She might only be 10 but she's a good little driver!

The pain wasn't really getting any less so we decided to head back home and on the way back it actually got worse so Michael and Krystal decided to take me straight to the hospital.  Several tests and x-rays later it turned out that I'd done some real damage to the ligaments in my knee and would have to be in a brace and use crutches... say what???

They told me that I would need to take the week off work... what???  I didn't have time for a week off work!!!  By the end of the first week I was still on crutches so another week off work was ordered by the doctor... and in fact I didn't make it back to school for the rest of the term (4 weeks off work!!) AND I still need to use the brace at night.

Since we last talked I've... joined Cathy Zielske's Design Your Life 2.0 class

Design Your Life 2.0, is Cathy's first ever live class on CZ Classes.  Here's what Cathy said about it: This four-week online workshop has one goal: to teach you the core principles of graphic design that you can apply to your scrapbook pages for more beautiful, timeless and well-designed results.

To be honest... I haven't made a scrapbook page in a LONG time!  What I do know is that I really like Cathy's style... and I like the way she teaches (I did her 30 Days of Thankful class last November)... and I already own lots of her digital templates... so I thought... Why not???  What have I got to loose?  Registration will close July 25th at midnight... so if you're keen there's still time to join in.  Check out this LINK for more info.

So far I've watched one of the Week 1 videos... and downloaded all the necessary files and I've already got an idea for a layout I'd like to make brewing in my mind :)

So there you have it... lots of snippets of info... I will definitely be back with another post very soon... and hopefully I'll be a Nan by then!  Thanks for stopping by xx

It's a Recipe for Happiness :)

Hi there... it's been a while!  Today I've got a birthday card to share with you.  My niece is going to be the ripe old age of seven on Tuesday so I thought I'd better make her a card... and of course I've got a gift card for her so I had to make a gift card envelope :)

For this card I used My Favorite Things - Recipe for Happiness stamp set.  I love all the little chefs in the set and the utensils are super cute as well!  Here's her card:

I kept the card pretty simple and I love the clean lines.  I stamped the images with black ink and then coloured them all with my Zig Markers before die cutting each piece.  The patterned paper is also from My Favorite Things - Graphic Grid.   I finished off by adding some Pretty Pink Posh - Clear Droplets.

I made the gift card holder using Lawn Fawns - Small Stitched Envelope die.  This is probably one of my most used dies along with my Stitched Rectangle dies.  I die cut a piece of red cardstock along with a heart from the envelope die set and then added another of the chef images.  Super easy but super cute!

So there you have it... hopefully I'll have one very happy niece on Tuesday morning :)

Thanks for visiting my blog xx

Polynesian Paradise card

Hi there :)  I've been playing around in my craft room again... mostly because I got a new parcel of goodies that were just crying out to be used immediately!  It also helped that Nina came for a crafting visit :)

Here's the card I made using My Favorite Things - Polynesian Paradise stamps and dies:

I totally love how it turned out... and you'll definitely be seeing more cards made with this fabulous set of stamps and dies!  I took a few 'in the process' photos to share with you as well.

The stamps and dies from the Polynesian Paradise set actually arrived before Easter so I already had lots of pre-coloured (with my Zig Clean Colour Markers) and cut images ready to be used for this card but my new package of goodies had the leaf dies in them so I started with that.

First of all I grabbed some watercolour paper and inked it up with Bundled Sage, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks.  I did a bit of watercolouring first but then I realised I wanted something a bit more intense so I dropped the Bundled Sage out of the equation and did some ink blending with the other two colours... so much better!

Next I unpackaged by brand new Wild Greenery die set and die cut some leaves... this die cut so smoothly and the leaves looked awesome.

I added a bit more Distress Ink to the leaves once they were cut to give them a bit of a lift.

Then I started on the background.  I die cut a piece of kraft cardstock using my Lawn Fawn small stitched rectangles die... I use this die set ALL the time when I'm making cards.  Then I decided to use my brand new Diagonal Design Background stamp from My Favorite Things.  I stamped it with my new Kraft dye ink (also from My Favorite Things) and I really, really like the kraft on kraft effect... it's subtle but adds so much interest.

Now for the fun part... actually 'building' the card!  I die cut a circle from Itsy Bitsy Polka Dots paper pad using my new Inside and Out stitched Circle dies... I'll be using these ones again for sure!  Then I curved a couple of the palm leaves around the circle and adhered them in place.

Luckily at this point I realised that I wanted to stamp and emboss a sentiment on my card so I quickly did it before I added even more layers!

Then I literally started adding all my stamped elements until I was happy with the arrangement.  Some are stuck down with Multi Medium Matte and some have been adhered using thin foam dots.  I also added a 'googly' eye to the turtle before backing the whole thing with some purple cardstock.

Then I popped the entire card front onto a side fold card... but something was missing and I just couldn't figure out what it was...

.... oh yes, a 'googly' eye for the chameleon as well!  Here's another look at my finished card (with both 'googly' eyes in place).

So pleased with how it all turned out... and I even went on to make another card but by the time I'd finished it the lighting was terrible for taking a photo so I'll have to share that with you next time.

Here's a wee photo from my new craft room yesterday... thanks Nina for coming to visit :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today xx