Lots of things to share :)

Hi all :) The girls and I have just had a marvellous weekend camping down in Taranaki and it was fabulous!! Lots of rest and relaxation... not quite as 'rugged' as last time... plus we got to catch up with some friends as well which was great :) I seem to have lots of bits and pieces to share this time so on with the post.

Starfish Club - My niece Kody has recently joined the 'Starfish Club' for swimming lessons. She sent me a really lovely email (her mum helped I think LOL) with some photos attached so I made this double layout for her album. She's got an 8x8 that my other sister started and it's the first time I've ever scrapped this size but I really enjoyed it! The journaling is pretty much word for word what 'Kody' sent to me :)

Christmas Card Swap - Recently I joined in a Christmas card swap with SbO. I'm starting to like making cards now LOL Here's the ones I made:

And here's the ones I received: This first one was made by Niella... love the way she used the transparency!

The next one was made by Kirstin... she's been very creative with punches!!!I'm not sure who made the third one (let me know if it's you). It's hard to tell from the photo but there is the most gorgeous little tag held on by ribbon :)RAK Thank yous :) I've been receiving lots of little treasures in the mail lately :) I've been feeling very lucky! The first thank you goes to Meg from Scrapbook Essentials. She sent me this gorgeous scroll (I've never seen these before!) which I received as part of her 'Blinkie Hunt'... Thanks Meg :)

Next on the list is Andrea and Ms Mouse from SbO. I got this lovely package of Heidi Swapp eyelets and a gorgeous little tin of Maya Rd Sunflower slides... think I might already know how I'm going to use them too :) Thanks Andrea and Ms Mouse (whoever you are LOL)!And finally Kate from Paper Pesto sent me this gorgeous RAK simply for leaving a comment on the PP blog. If you haven't visited it yet I would highly recommend it!!

Off the Page bits and pieces - I've been doing a lot of off the page stuff lately... mini albums and things for Christmas presents but here's a couple that I can share without blowing any surprises!!

The first is a bow I made using Kaiser papers. If you want to make one of your own click HERE for the tutorial. Super easy to follow and the finished results look great :)

The second thing is this Christmas ornament I designed using paua paper. I made quite a few of these a few years ago using fabric and hand stitching them but this time I used paper, mod podge, ribbon and beads. I like the 'kiwiness' of this one :)I've been published... kind of - A couple of months ago I participated in an ATC swap with Scrapbooker and Co and in the November newsletter they've published my ATC (it's on page 2!)Here's a close up view of my ATC which I called Butterfly Dreams :)So that's all from me... it feels great to have gotten all those bits and pieces documented now. I've got a few more things in the pipeline at the moment plus I'm still working on my Christmas traditions mini album so hopefully I'll get that finished this week so I can share it with you. Please leave me a comment because it's so nice to hear what you all think :) Have a great week!

Creative update and SENZ!

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! LONG post awaits you... I highly recommend a large cup of coffee while sitting down to read this update!!!

Ok, I'm sure heaps of you have seen people updating their blogs since we all got back from SENZ but I thought I'd give my take on it as well :) But first I need to catch up about a LO I'm really proud of!

You might remember that I won a Guest Designer spot with No8 Wired for my Sesame Street LO. I know some of you have already seen my LO on the site but for those who haven't the theme chosen was 'Moods'. It had me stumped for a little while... until I looked at the photos I took of my niece while I was over visiting my sister a couple of weekends ago.... I also got some fantastic shots of my nephew but I'm saving those for a special project! There were some gorgeous photos of her playing in a bucket of water and then there was one of 'The Look'! I've seen 'The Look' aimed at her mum but never been able to catch it on camera until now. So here's my LO... I've called it 'Happiness is a bucket of water' and the journaling reads: 'You had so much fun playing in the bucket of water. You kept looking at the camera with your cheeky grin... but when Mama said 'enough' you gave her the 'evils'!I think this is my favourite LO for a while... in fact it's still on the wall because I like looking at it so much! I used Basic Grey papers for the Lily Kate collection. I've never used them before but I love the freshness :) p.s. This LO was inspired by a piece of work I saw on someone's blog but couldn't remember where I had seen it... Just found it and it's Jaimie Emmerton... thanks for the inspiration Jamie :)

Ok, on to SENZ! Where to begin?? I flew down Thursday night and stayed with my brother which was really cool. I love flying!!! Friday morning I did a class with Yolande. We did the Maya Rd Desktop Calendar and it was absolutely fantastic!! We used Fancy Pants papers which I have never even seen before but let me say they are now one of my favourites! Lovely papers... double sided... and a good weight (similar to Basic Grey!). As Yolande said in the class it was a bit ambitious for a 2 hour class... and she was right... but we got quite a lot done and once it's completely finished I'll share it again :)Then I was off to check out the stalls :) First stop was the information centre to pick up my 'goodie bag'! LOTS of awesome products in there!!! Eyelets, brads, stamps, little packs of paper embellishments, shaker bubbles, a punch, Delish transparency, and I also got to choose an unmounted stamp so I got a really cool Pacific themed stamp that I knew Miss 15 would love (and she totally did!!!)Second stop was the book stand where they had Nic Howard's book 'That's Life'! I have been wanting a copy since she first announced it and I've finally got my very own copy :) I have to say that it's a GREAT read (I took it on the plane with me on the way home!). I've jotted down heaps of ideas already and got a few layouts sketched so really want some time to get creating now!I looked around heaps of stalls and then stumbled on the Hastings Rubber Stamps stand. I got heaps of gorgeous flowers, some little buttons, another set of Rhonna Farrer flourish stamps as well as a gorgeous little flower and a stunning butterfly! Can't wait to start using them!!Next was the Scrapbook Outlet stand (my personal favourite!). I got HEAPS of goodies there! Some more Fancy Pants papers, a Funky Vintage paint set from Making Memories (and yes they do co-ordinate perfectly with the papers I bought!), a Maya Rd 8 x 8 binder, Basic Grey 6 x 6 Bracket album, a flower shaped Love Elsie mini album and a gorgeous house shaped Love Elsie mini album. Vicky from SbO made the most adorable mini album about waiting for Arlo to arrive using the house album and I loved it so much that I just had to have one for myself!While I was at the SbO stand I met Lara, Chris, Kirsty and Nik... It was awesome meeting you guys and I loved being able to see some of the Design Team work up close! You guys are a really talented team!!!

On Saturday I did Yolande's other class... the Maya Rd Recipe Tin (you'll totally love this one Rangi!) We actually got our tins basically finished and then we learnt how to do the dividers and recipe cards so I've still got a bit to do to finish but I'll definitely share it once it's done:On Sunday my brother took me to a local scrapbooking store and I found some lovely bits and pieces. I finally managed to get some more 'My Minds Eye' papers! These ones come from the Bohemia collection and the have a lovely masculine theme to them... plus they're double sided! Got a mini album project in mind for these ones:I also got some really pretty papers from Karen Foster along with some Christmas embellishments, journaling cards and some chipboard shapes:Add into the weekend some family time catching up with everyone and it was a pretty full-on weekend! Then I flew home on Monday and caught up with my girls. Miss 15 was so excited when I got the new suitcase out... yep I had to buy a new suitcase to fit all my purchases into!!! I started unpacking everything and she made all the 'ooohhh' 'ahhhhh' noises at all the right places... and she's made me PROMISE to take her to SENZ next year!!! Including the fact that she wants her OWN goodie bag!!! Actually it looks pretty impressive when it's all out together:It's been a fantastic, inspiring, creative and fun time... but it's also TIRING!!! One thing you can count on is that I'll definitely be at SENZ next year!

Finally... I received my lovely prize pack from Neen today and it's gorgeous!!! So I definitely encourage anyone out there to give her Music in Me challenges a go! Also in the mail today was some 'Happy Mail' from Nie. I've actually been feeling a bit grouchy the last couple of days... I'm pretty sure it's just tiredness but my wonderful Happy Mail really did make me feel happy :) So THANK YOU Nie!!! You really are a wonderful person :) I've even got the perfect LO idea for how I'm going to use it so stay tuned for an update! And don't forget to leave me a comment :)

Feeling very grateful

Hi all :) Miss 12 and I just got back late last night from 4 days camping on the rugged West Coast... yes I know the weather was lousy LOL

I've seen quite a few people doing 'gratitude lists' on their blogs recently and I thought I'd do mine about camping and coming home...

The highlights of camping were eating the freshest whitebait fritters I've ever had in my life... 5 minutes from river to pan is very fresh! We also had paua fritters that were amazing plus we caught a good size kahawai while we were there and after I gutted it (Miss 12 wouldn't even stick around to watch!) I put lemon inside it and baked it in the embers and it was delicious! Miss 12 loved me then! I also did quite a bit of 'rock hopping' (no sandy beaches for us) and found lots of little treasures... mostly sea glass which is amazing and will be finding it's home on an upcoming layout!

The highlights of getting home are still only really hitting me this morning. It's the 'little things' that have meant the most like:

1. Being able to have a drink of water at the turn of a tap... we had to go down to the river at low tide to collect water so that we didn't get sea water mixed in with it and then we had to boil it over the fire and let it cool before we could drink it.
2. Being able to have a hot drink at the flick of a switch instead of cranking up the fire enough to get the pot boiling.
3. Flushing toilets!!! You never realise what a luxury that is until you have to use a long drop... and trust me there is no elegant way to squat over a hole in the ground!
4. Hot showers... I've already had 3 showers since I got home... just because I can!
5. Sleeping in a warm, dry bed... while we were camping we had thunderstorms, hail and 100km winds on the last night but the tent did stay up! However... if you even touch the sides the tiniest little bit you get wet... last night I lay in bed listening to the wind howl and the rain on my windows and thought... this is luxury!
6. Being able to control the heat of your element... it's so hard to control the heat on an open fire so that you can cook whitebait fritters! One minute it's not hot enough and there's no 'sizzle' and then next it's burning everything.... but it does have the best taste in the world to know that you've caught and cooked your own food!
7. And finally... as sad as it probably is... I missed my internet! I missed catching up with my online friends and being able to see what others are up to. I missed getting emails (although I had over 50 on my return!)

I'm also incredibly grateful and excited about two recent web challenges. Firstly, just before I went camping I checked out the No 8 Wired blog to find that my Sesame Street layout won me a spot as a guest designer on an upcoming Dare! How cool is that??? I was definitely feeling really excited! So I went off camping on a real high!

Then when I got back I checked out Neen's The Music in Me blog to find: Woohoo! So exciting... thanks Neen! That was from the Abbey Road layout based on the theme 'The Real Thing'. Now I have create a layout based on Cyndi Lauper's song 'Time after Time' PLUS I will be receiving a cool prize pack containing: 4 sheets of Bazzil Bling cardstock, K & Co Glitter Alphas, MM Charmed Quotes all about Friendship, MM Metal Signs in All Girl and BRAND NEW Peelcraft Starform Crystal Glitter stickers! I'm feeling very lucky and grateful right now!!!

Ok it's time to get off here... Miss 12 is making toast and enjoying the fact that it hasn't got 'stick holes' in it and that it doesn't taste of smoke from cooking it over the fire! And I've got some layouts to create :)

Happy Mail and getting tagged

Hi all :) It's been another busy week in our household. We had another open home this weekend which entailed the usual cleaning, tidying and sorting plus Miss 12 played her hockey tournament in Auckland this weekend. I've finally managed to find some time to blog so first of all Happy Mail :) Thanks for your comments on the last post and Hannah and Janine if you could email me (shonig@xtra.co.nz) I'll get some Happy Mail on its way to you! And speaking of Happy Mail... a big THANK YOU to Ilka who sent me some awesome flowers and embellishments (I've used some of them already!)

Earlier this week Hannah tagged me. Here's how it works:
1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.
2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.
3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.
4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog.
5. If I’ve tagged YOU (see below), please join in on the fun!


Ok here's mine:
S - scrapbooking
I love scrapbooking I usually scrap every day... either actually making a LO or project, designing something new or checking out ideas in blogs and magazines.
H - home
My home is definitely my space where I can just be me. I love being at home and having my things around me. There is definitely no place like it!
E - education
I've spent the last 10 years of my life either studying or teaching. Sometimes I can't believe that the last decade has gone so quickly!
L - laughter
Laughter really is the best medicine! (chocolate isn't bad either LOL) Sometimes it's the small things that make me laugh and sometimes it's insane little moments... like last week when Miss 15 came home and told me she'd had the best day at school... when I asked her why she told me - through the giggles - that in health they had made a giant 3D vagina and she was an ovary! Have to admit that I just couldn't stop laughing over that one and I even made her ring her Auntie to tell her... Trac was laughing hard out on the other end of the phone!
L - life
Life is wonderful! I'm so grateful for the life I have! Everyday I think of at least 3 things to be grateful for and even on the worst days in the world 3 things isn't that hard to do!

So now it's my turn to tag other bloggers... it's actually quite a lot of fun!

Here's my list:

1. Neen
2. Yolande
3. Ilka
4. Chris M
5. mrinz

All of the projects I've been working on this week are in various stages of completion... but I have updated my Deck of Me blog... really loving doing these cards so would love to hear what you think of them!

Neen's got her next challenge up on her Music in Me blog too. This weeks song is Gwen Stefani's The Real Thing!

Have a fantastic week :)

Happy Mail :)

Recently on Scrapbook Outlet we were talking about Happy Mail... for instance when ATC's arrive or the next Circle Journal or scrapping orders/packs etc. Anyway, Niella began wondering about how to make more HAPPY MAIL days, and get everyone else having more HAPPY MAIL days as well!

Kelly, Bronny and I all jumped on board and thought it was a great idea and next thing we know Niella and Kelly started a list of people wanting to join in and the whole thing just took off!

Then Niella decided to spoil us (because we left comments) with a surprise happy mail parcel and mine arrived in the mail yesterday! I was so excited that I even ripped it open while also trying to unlock the door... wonder what the neighbours thought I was up to??? And here is my happy mail parcel:

Here's a close up of my awesome little parcel: Niella made a mini handstitched felt pin cushion featuring an owl button, some journalling cards made out of pale blue index cards with cute little owls on them, some handmade (and stitched) felt flower embellishments, a cute silver dragonfly charm, some chipboard bits and pieces and a cool 'S'!

I've already got some ideas for how I'm going to use a few of these things plus I've already got a couple of Happy Mail parcels almost ready to go! Happy Mail ROCKS!!! Thank you so much Nie!!!

How lucky am I!!!

Second post of the day but just had to say THANK YOU :)

Way back on June 5th I was surfing a few blogs... and I stumbled across one of Jacqui's... she has 3 and they're all worth checking out! Anyway, she was asking for some ideas about classes and said that if you left a comment she would put your name into the draw to win one of the little felt notebooks she was making... and I won!!!

Today I check the mail box and there is a wee parcel from Australia... so THANK YOU Jacqui!.. Miss 15 has already decided that it would be perfect for her!