Getting Lost September

This month’s Getting Lost adventure had been quietly waiting in the wings for a while, but the right moment finally came last weekend. I was off to Whanganui for a crafting retreat with friends - a whole weekend of creativity, conversation, and catching up. While everyone else set up their scrapbooking pages and cardmaking supplies, I unpacked my quilting and settled in.

Whanganui felt like a trip back in time for me. The last time I’d been there I was just a girl, visiting Uncle Merv and Auntie Flo, and Uncle Bob, my Nana’s brother. Driving back into town all these years later, I couldn’t help but think of those visits and how different the city feels now that I’m exploring it as an adult.

The retreat itself was everything I’d hoped for: long chats, plenty of laughter, a gorgeous venue, and food so good it deserves its own mention. By Saturday afternoon, though, I felt the pull to head out with my camera. After lunch I slipped away, following that little spark of curiosity that always comes with these prompts.

Two hours later - and 110 photos heavier - I wandered back with the kind of quiet satisfaction that only comes from chasing light, colour, and texture until you know you’ve captured something special.

So here we are - this month’s prompts, shaped by a weekend of friendship, memories, and a little wandering in Whanganui.

Prompt #1: Early birds head east, night owls head west

I’m very much an early bird, so when it came time to choose a direction, I turned out of the driveway and headed east. Not long after, I found myself down by the Whanganui River, and the moment I saw it I knew I’d found the shot I was after - the wide stretch of water framed perfectly by the railway bridge.

The sky was heavy with clouds, soft and overcast, and it turned out to be the perfect backdrop. Those moody skies gave the whole scene such atmosphere - exactly the kind of detail that makes a photo come alive.

Prompt #2: Take 3 photos of the same thing with shadows or light changing how it looks

When I’d driven into town on Friday for a look around the shops, I couldn’t miss the massive pencil sculpture - it instantly caught my eye, and I knew I wanted to work it into the prompts somehow. This challenge turned out to be the perfect excuse.

There’s something wonderful about its sheer scale, these oversized pencils towering playfully above everything else. I loved how the bright red of the pencils popped against the greens and blues of their surroundings, shifting in mood as the light and shadows moved across them. It felt whimsical, a little unexpected, and so much fun to photograph from different angles.

 

Prompt #3: Use camera blur to make something appear different to what your eye can see

Just across the road from the pencils stood a beautiful old building. In fact, one of the things that struck me about Whanganui was the architecture - so many character homes and historic buildings that give the city such charm. It’s one of the reasons I’m already planning another trip back.

I’d snapped a few shots before I even pulled out the prompt cards, but this one felt like the perfect chance to experiment. I played around with camera blur, curious to see how it might transform what I was looking at. The result surprised me - in the best way. The final image didn’t really highlight the architecture itself, but it captured something softer, more abstract, that I never would have seen with the naked eye.

Prompt #4: Camera in manual – head north, in automatic, head south

Back in the car, I carried on south - or at least I’m fairly sure it was south! My wandering eventually brought me back into town, where something unexpected caught my eye: an old telephone box.

You don’t often see these around anymore, and spotting one felt like stumbling across a little piece of history. A reminder of how quickly things change, and how objects that were once part of everyday life have quietly slipped into the past.

Prompt #5: Head in the same direction as a car the same colour as your last photo

Red seemed to be the colour of the day. After a quick wander through a few shops, I hopped back in my car and waited for a red one to pass. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long - though I couldn’t help but think how tricky it might’ve been if my last colour had been purple!

The red car only made it about five blocks before turning a corner, so I pulled over nearby (without feeling too much like a stalker). That’s when I noticed the sweetest little park tucked right in the middle of the buildings. It felt like a hidden gem - such a perfect spot for a picnic lunch in the middle of the workday. And, as if that wasn’t lovely enough, there was even a coffee cart nearby.

Prompt #6: Find a building. Zoom your lens to the widest angle. Move in close to make dramatic angles

I’ve tried this prompt a few times earlier in 2025, usually focusing on more modern buildings. But Whanganui offered the perfect chance to capture something with a bit more history.

I was drawn to the lines and curves of this particular building - the way its architecture seemed to stretch and twist when viewed up close. Even the small bits of vegetation pushing their way out of the concrete and brick added an unexpected layer of texture and drama, making the image feel alive in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

Prompt #7: Find a busy spot. Set a 10-second timer and see what wandered into your shot

Not far from the last building, I stumbled upon the perfect spot - an historic roundabout, complete with stunning lighting that made the place feel almost cinematic. Across the road, another old building hosted people enjoying drinks and snacks in the afternoon sun.

I set up my camera, hit the 10-second timer, and waited - ten seconds feels like an eternity when you’re trying not to look obvious! But it was worth it. The final shot captured a little slice of life, the movement and energy of the place weaving naturally into the frame. I was really pleased with how it turned out.

 

Prompt #8: Leading lines or rule of thirds?

I’ve done this prompt before, but I wanted something a little different this time. As I started walking back toward my car, the movie theatre was just letting out, and a stream of people poured onto the pavement. I stepped aside, and that’s when I noticed a little alleyway tucked nearby.

I waited until the crowd had moved on and then took my shot. I love how it turned out - the lights strung overhead, the textured brickwork, and the iron gate all came together beautifully. I can already imagine how magical it would look at night, the lights glimmering against the dark sky.

Prompt #9: Take as many steps as you have battery percentage left and frame your shot

With 73% battery left, I took 73 steps - which brought me to a bustling little stretch of the street. At first, nothing really jumped out at me as photo-worthy. But then I turned around.

It’s amazing how a simple change in perspective can transform a scene. Suddenly, the view before me felt entirely new, full of angles and light that weren’t obvious from where I’d started.

Prompt #10: Drive until you see water and then stop and take a photo of the reflections

Not far from my last shot, I found myself back at the Whanganui River. At first, I wasn’t too sure about getting reflections - the water looked a little murky - but then I spotted the Wairua River Boat floating at her dock.

It made for the most lovely reflections on the water, and I couldn’t help but pause for a moment to take it all in. Sometimes the simplest scenes, with a touch of luck, end up being the most rewarding to photograph.

Prompt #11: Stop, look behind you and take a shot

Honestly, I hadn’t even noticed this big building at first. But when I turned around, I was so pleased with what I saw - the stark blackboards set against the old brickwork.

It’s clearly a fruit and vegetable market, though I’m guessing the boards had been wiped clean, ready for the new week. That unexpected combination of textures and shapes made for a simple yet striking shot, one of those moments that reminds me to always keep my eyes open.

Prompt #12: Get macro and portray the season you are in with just a leaf or flower

As I walked around the other side of the fruit and vegetable market, a stunning kōwhai tree in full bloom caught my eye. The bright yellow flowers were absolutely gorgeous!

Instead of crouching down on the ground like I usually do for macro shots, I was able to get right in close while standing. I love how going macro blurs the background completely, making the kōwhai flowers the undisputed focus of the shot. It felt like the perfect way to capture the season in a single frame.

Prompt #13: Take the number of photos you’ve taken today, head north that many kms

If I’d followed this prompt literally, I would have ended up all the way in Taihape! Instead, I took a more flexible approach and headed to Kōwhai Family Park - how perfect, given the focus on kōwhai flowers in the last prompt.

Apart from memories of visiting my aunt and uncle’s houses in Whanganui, this park is one of the few other spots I remember from childhood. Some areas are brand new, while others have clearly been around for decades. When I spotted good old Humpty Dumpty, I couldn’t resist - sometimes a little nostalgia is exactly what a photo prompt needs.

Prompt #14: Take the hour of the day your last photo was taken. Head south that many kms

I couldn’t help but laugh when I pulled this prompt card - it basically sent me right back to where I’d started! I parked a little further up the street and soon heard something familiar in the distance.

A short wander later, and I stumbled across a kapa haka group performing in one of the parks. A crowd was gathering, and it was wonderful to be part of the audience while still remaining anonymous. I love listening to kapa haka, so I stayed for a while. With so many people snapping photos and videos, it didn’t feel intrusive to take a few of my own. It was one of those moments where being in the right place at the right time just feels perfect.

Prompt #15: Last photo an action shot – head east, if not head west

By this point, I wasn’t entirely sure where east, west, north, or south even were, so I just set off in the general direction of the retreat. I even considered calling it a day and turning off the camera.

And then I came across this - the Whanganui River and the very same railway bridge I’d photographed for my first prompt, but from a completely different angle. The clouds had darkened, and I loved the stark contrast of the pavement and fencing against the natural environment. It felt like the perfect way to wrap up my photography session - a full circle, yet entirely new.

 

As always, I like to choose one of my photos to serve as the title image, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished photo book at the end of the year! While I was down near the riverfront, I also spotted a massive sculpture called Bearing. I took quite a few shots of it—not for a prompt, just because it caught my eye and I thought it might make a striking image. I had plenty of photos to choose from, but this one ended up being my favourite.

 

All in all, it was a wonderful day of wandering, photographing, and rediscovering Whanganui. From nostalgic memories of family visits to unexpected discoveries around every corner, the city offered so many little moments of beauty and inspiration. I’m always amazed at how a series of simple prompts can lead to such a rich, creative adventure - and I can’t wait to see how these images all come together in my photo book at the end of the year.

Thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet.
Until next time,
Shelley

Project Life – a couple of inserts!

I’ve gotten a little behind on my blog again but not to worry… I’ve still been keeping the calendar updated and I’ve got loads of photos so I’m sure it will happen as soon as I get a chance.

In the meantime, I had so many photos from Autumn Escape that I decided to do an insert.  Here’s the front of the page:

The set up at the candy table was gorgeous! There were so many things to see and I loved the vintage feel of it all.  It was definitely luxurious at the resort and a gorgeous setting for taking photos. 

Here’s the back of the insert page:

Miss Jane gave Esther a hair cut on Saturday night and did an amazing job… I didn’t get the courage to have my hair trimmed until Sunday morning by which time we’d already handed in our keys to our rooms so I had mine done outside!

While we were looking for somewhere to do the haircut we came across some beautiful toadstools so I had to get some photos… even if I did have to get down on the wet grass LOL  We also met a very friendly little fantail!

The following week Jodi sent me a copy of the group photo so I’m going to use a 5x7 insert as well… that’s a first for me!

Here’s the front of the mini insert:

And on the back I’ve got a couple of mementoes from the weekend:

It was a really fabulous weekend :)

Now to catch up with the rest of April!  Have a great day xx

Project Life: Week 15 & a mini album

Hi there :)

Last week seems like such a long time ago… mostly because so many things have happened since then.  Here’s an overview of our week:

This week marked the start of the school holidays and of course with Easter thrown in there as well Mike and I both had Monday off work.  Originally we were going to meet up with a couple of my friends down in Taupo for brunch but there was a last minute change of plans so Mike and I met up with Carey for brunch at the Fat Dog in Rotorua.

I decided to try their eggs benedict since it’s one of my favourites but Mike couldn’t make up his mind so he just said ‘surprise me’.  One thing I know about Mike is that he LOVES waffles so when I saw waffles with bacon and banana on the menu it was a bit of a no-brainer really.  We ended up sharing our breakfasts so it worked out well for us.

We also scoffed the chocolate Easter Bunny that Mum gave us… very delicious!

Here’s a close up of the start of our week:

Mike had a change of jobs last week… well to be more accurate he’s actually doing the same job but with a different company.  He had his last day on Wednesday so now there will be no more TBS shirts hanging on the washing line.

On Thursday we had planned on going for a bike ride over to Hamilton and spending the day together but the rain decided to get heavy and we weren’t too keen on getting cold and wet so we did a few jobs around the house and then headed into town to do a few jobs.

Since we’d missed out on our lunch in Hamilton we went to Brew instead and I had the Bourbon beef salad for lunch.  It was totally delicious and is still one of my favourite things from their menu.  Mike had the big breakfast (surprise surprise) but he said it was delicious!

Later that day Esther arrived from Wellington so she came with us when I had to go to my doctors appointment.  I’ve had a horrible cough for several weeks now and to be honest I thought it might have become a bit of a chest infection but after a check up with the doctor it might just be a little more than that so for now I’m having to use an inhaler and I’ve had blood tests and a chest x-ray this week.  I’ve also got a Spirometry test tomorrow.

After we’d been to the doctors we headed down to the supermarket to pick up some fresh seafood and fish and Mike and I made our seafood chowder to share with Esther for dinner.  We’ve got it down to a fine art now and Esther gave it her seal of approval.

Here’s a closer look at the rest of the week:

On Friday Esther and I packed up our cars and headed down to Taupo for Autumn Escape.  Esther talked me into going to Autumn Escape around October or November last year… AND it was in the school holidays so it worked out well for me.  I booked myself into a couple of Teresa Collins’ classes and the first one was on Friday.  She’s a great tutor and a lovely person.  Esther and Jane both joined in on the class as well and we had a blast… PLUS I’ve actually finished my album!

Meanwhile, while I was away catching up with some of my scrappy friends, Mike had Brody and Lane around and with chainsaw in hand they cut down one of the big trees we’d decided needed to go.  There were three HUGE trees in the corner of the backyard and since I bought the house over eight years ago they’ve grown… and grown… and grown some more and they were blocking off a huge amount of light.  Plus they made a fairly big area of the backyard pretty unusable. 

We’d had someone come and look and he’d said he would cut the trees down for us but Mike had just borrowed a chainsaw off Mum… and he’d had it serviced and a new blade put on it… SO he HAD to test it out!!  Well that’s what he tried to tell me LOL

Brody and Lane arrived just at the right time so they all had a bit of ‘boy fun’ (Toby included!) and got busy in the back yard.  On Friday the first tree came down and on Saturday the next one bit the dust.  There’s still one more to go but I’m sure that won’t last long once the weekend arrives.

When I got home from Taupo on Sunday afternoon Mike and I decided to head over to Tauranga to get a few t-shirts for Mike to wear to work.  We called in to see Mark and Rattaya and they invited us to join them for dinner at a local Indian restaurant.  Mum came with us as well and we had a great night catching up, chatting and trying out new dishes.

I know I haven’t told you much about Autumn Escape but I’m working on an insert for my Project Life album so I’ll share it when it’s finished.

I got the basic travel album from Teresa’s class done on the Friday night of Autumn Escape but I knew I wanted to add some more photos to it so yesterday I got busy selecting photos and went and had them printed.  This morning I put them all together and added the finishing touches so now the album is done.

Here’s the front cover:

We used Teresa’s Wanderlust collection featuring black, white and gold designs and I love how it really made my photos pop!  I decided to make my travel album about our trips on the bike so all the photos feature the bike, places we’ve visited and food!

Here’s a selection of the inside pages… there’s flip ups, envelopes, tags, fold outs and all sorts of things to make the album quite interactive.

There’s heaps more pages than this in the album but this gives you the general idea.  I’ve added stickers, stamps, and plenty of bling to the album as well.

On the back page I decided to use a photo that was taken during the class along with my little ticket. 

So there you have it!  One finished project and a whole lot of fun!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you’re having a great week xx

Project Life: Week 40

Hi everyone :)

Gosh the school holidays have flown by and tomorrow we start the final term for the year… and you can bet it’s going to get crazy around here!

I’m still working on transferring all my files across from my ‘old’ laptop and having a few ‘issues’ as I’m sure anyone who has been through the process will understand.  I’ve even had a couple of times when I’ve basically ‘thrown my toys out of the play pen’ but I’m making progress LOL

Here’s an overview of Week 40:

The first week of the holidays  turned out to be pretty good… I would exactly call it relaxing but it was definitely FULL!

On Monday, Toby and I headed over to Tirau to meet up with Esther for the day.  We had quite a good poke around in the Christmas Heirloom Shop there and I finally managed to find the ‘perfect’ Santa for me!  He’s really stunning and pure vintage which is the look I’m after!  While we were there I even found a beautiful lamp post… complete with flickering light… that simply had to come home with me!

After doing some shopping we headed to a restaurant for lunch and ended up both getting extremely good lamb burgers.  I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last time I have lunch in Tirau!

I also managed to find a gorgeous clear glass vase that I really like.  It’s got an unusual shape and I’m planning on using it lots over the summer as the flowers bloom.

Here’s a close up of the beginning of my week:

After having such a wonderful day on Monday I was devastated to pull a muscle in my back on Tuesday morning.  I felt quite crippled by it and knew that it was going to take more than just one visit to the chiropractor to get it all fixed but Nicola is amazing and she worked her magic!  By Friday I was actually feeling a lot better!

I finally got the last retreat layout done and loved getting a bit more creative with stencils and paint.  My poor Silhouette Cameo worked overtime during the week and I re-sprayed my cutting mats several times to get everything I needed cut out but it worked out well.

A BIG thanks to Nina who helped me out for several days… during her school holidays too!  We cut die-cuts… made embellishment packs… sorted papers and cardstock… counted… counted and counted some more but we got all the retreat packs done and dusted with a fair amount of team work.  Thank you so much Nina for all your assistance!

Here’s a close up of the second half of my week:

After getting all the retreat stuff done I gave my hairdresser a quick call and thankfully she was able to fit me in for a cut.  It was absolutely divine to be able to sit down and be pampered after all the packaging was done.

The retreat itself was AWESOME!  Thanks to Nina (yep she really is that good!) we were all done, sorted and displayed by 2.30pm and we actually got to have a wee break before everyone turned up.  My favourite display was the Christmas one… probably  because Mr Claus took pride of place along with his lamp.

Loreen made a fabulous haunted house which took hours to put together.  It’s completely made of paper and looked stunning!

Mum brought over her boot complete with mini album and I’m sure it gave everyone a few ideas!

Of course we had our group photo which ended up being on our Sunday layout.  The sun shone and we spent some time outside relaxing.  Donna and Tanya even gave the swings a go!

I found this retreat the most relaxing one I’ve ever done… everything went well and it was a wonderful time to spend with scrapping friends. 

In fact I even did a little ‘scrapping’ myself!  I’ve got an idea to create a vintage Christmas village to go on the mantelpiece and over the weekend I managed to get two of my trees done… thanks Hazel for loaning me your glimmer mist too!  Totally love how vintage it turned out! 

I’ll be back this afternoon with my Project Life update for this week.  Catch you soon xx

Belated Feel Good Friday and a quick retreat update

Hi everyone :)

My computer is playing up big time at the moment so the Feel Good Friday didn’t make it onto the blog before I headed off to the October Retreat but it’s here now.

On Monday I spent the day in Tirau with Esther and it’s amazing how one little town can have so much to look at!  As most of you know I love plain clear glass jars and on Monday I bought the most beautiful glass vase… you’ll have to wait for my Project Life pages to see it! 

So here’s my layout dedicated to glass jars:

I saw lots of clear glass while I was in Tirau and those apothecary jars and lolly jars on pedestals seemed to be quite popular with other people as well.

Now for a quick update on the October Retreat!

It really was a wonderful weekend spent with like-minded creative ladies.  We had a lot of laughs… plenty of scrapbooking and the whole weekend just seemed to flow really well.

On Saturday afternoon our host, Mark, took our group photo outside… the weather was gorgeous all weekend:

The theme for this retreat was Halloween and Loreen made this fantastic haunted house and brought it over to share with all of us… it’s made completely out of paper!

On Saturday night we had our a bit of a dress up time and Mum got this photo of some of the ladies who went all out to look as spooky as possible!

Of course we had to get another group photo as well… there’s a few ladies missing from the photo but most of us are there!

Patricia came over with this fantastic plate of goodies… fingers, spiders and bones with a dipping sauce!

And check out these chocolate crackles (love them!!) on the spooky cake stand:

Now it’s time for me to enjoy a bit of R & R before the school holidays are over and I’m heading down to Gisborne to spend some much needed ‘Auntie Time’ with my niece and nephews!

Have a great week everyone xx

Something to share

Hi everyone :)

Back in April we had our Scrapbook Dreams mini retreat and one of the participants (Jacqueline) spent the weekend working on some very cool digital projects.

Afterwards she gathered in some of the photos and set about creating digital layouts celebrating the weekend.  On Sunday I got a lovely surprise in my ‘inbox’ when she sent me a copy of what she created and she very kindly let me share it on my blog… so here you go:

Thank you Jacqueline for letting me share your layouts… I might just have to print them off for my Project Life album :)

Have a great week everyone xx

Project Life: Week 17 and an insert

Hi everyone :)

It seems like months ago since last Monday and as I put together this weeks pages I couldn’t believe how much has happened and changed in such a short time.

Here’s an overview of the past week:

On Monday morning Mikayla, Toby and I woke up at Mum’s/Grandma’s house.  In fact, Toby got up with Grandma at 4.30am to have breakfast with her before she left for work (that boy never misses a chance for a free meal!)

Before we left Grandma’s house he wrote her a letter for when she came home… yes he really is quite clever at times!  Here’s what it said:

Dear Grandma

Thank you for letter me and Mumma and Mikayla come to stay for the night.  I did like getting up early with you this morning.  But I did need a little nap after you left.

Your phone has been going ‘ding’ ‘ding’ all the time and it did make me go crazy!

I did try to leave you a present on the lawn but Mumma did throw it away.  She said you would not like it.  But you WOULD like it eh Grandma!

Mumma did put Rusty outside and I did say “Ha” “Ha” because he did say “Ha” “Ha” to me through the window last night AND this morning!

Mumma and Mikayla decided not to have a shower at your house so that you didn’t have to wash the towels.  But Grandma, they does smell POO-TANG and they is going to be in the car with ME!!

I’ve got to go now cause they is ready!

I love you lots and lots Grandma and I’m glad I came over for your birthday.  You is glad I came too eh Grandma!

Love from Toby ‘lick’ ‘lick’

P.S. Mumma did use your internet but don’t tell her I told you ok!

Clearly my son has no sense of loyalty whatsoever since he was quite willing to tell on me about the internet!

On Monday afternoon Toby got a text from Grandma:

Thank you Toby so much for your lovely letter.  Your Mumma has taught you well.  I feel sorry for you in the car with no showers BUT I’m very pleased Mumma got rid of your present.  Don’t want to appear ungrateful.  Love you, Grandma

It’s amazing how much fun we have with Toby in the family! LOL

Here’s a close up of the beginning of the week:

When we left Mum’s we went down to the Education Resource Centre and I bought some new borders and letters for my classroom.  Then we carried on back to Rotorua and ended up having a real ‘retail therapy’ day.

We went down to the recycling centre and after dropping off all our paper, cardboard and other things we stopped into the second hand store there where I managed to get a big box of Mason jars, jam jars and sauce bottles for the awesome price of just $10

Then we headed to another second hand store where I happened to spot a really pretty sugar bowl and milk jug set.  I’ve been thinking about organising a ‘high tea’ one day and I knew I wanted something really pretty but pink just isn’t really my thing so this set will be perfect.

Mikayla came with me to the chiropractors and took some photos for me and then we headed to The Warehouse where I scored a foot spa that I know will get a good workout and Mikayla picked up a really groovy chair for her room along with the 'In-Styler’ she has been coveting for a while.

Here’s a close up of the second part of my week:

Toby has been a bit ‘POO-TANG’ himself lately so Mikayla gave him a bath and he was very keen to get the towel off her.  Apparently it’s much more fun to shake himself off in the lounge because he gets more attention that way!

On Wednesday it really hit me that Matthew had passed away after a tragic accident.  They never teach you how to deal with something like that at teachers’ college and to be honest I feel like I’m floundering in the dark a bit.  I’m really pleased that I take so many photos in my classroom because I’ve got some really lovely photos of Matthew that I know his family will want to have.

On Thursday, Carey and I went around to the house to see Matthew and spend some time with his family.  We also spent a bit of time with Barb and her family.  Carey and I have both worked closely with Barb for a number of years (and in fact she works in my classroom this year).  For her to loose her grandson in such a tragic way has been unbelievable.

On Thursday and Friday Mikayla was an absolute legend helping me get organised for the Scrapbook Dreams retreat.  She cut felt and hessian, die cut tags, packaged classes and generally did a million jobs.  The best part of working with her is that we know each other so well that we barely had to talk about what needed doing… we just got on and did it.

On Friday night we borrowed the school trailer and took all the stands down to the hall and then started working on the displays.  We finally finished just after 1am and as we were walking towards the door Mikayla rattled the keys at me so I knew she had them.  I flicked off the lights, set the alarm and shut the hall door (which I’d pre-locked earlier in the evening).  Then I asked her for the keys…. and she said she’d put them on the counter by the alarm!!!  So there we were… 1am, dark outside, no keys and Toby was in the car.  Thankfully I had my phone on me and we rang the security company who very kindly came down and let us back into the hall!

And now for the inserts! Here’s the front of the insert (6 x 12 size)

I’ll have to pay Mum a ‘photographers fee’ soon since I used a few of her shots!  We had an awesome bunch of ladies at the retreat and there were so many wonderful layouts and projects to share with each other.

Here’s the back of the insert:

Usually we finish the retreats at 2pm and everyone says that they’d like to have more time so this time we planned on staying until 5pm.  The funny thing was that at 2.15 the only people left were Karen and Bridgette!  They decided to scrap for as long as possible which worked out great for us because it meant that we could pack up and take the stands home without having to lock the hall up!

It’s been a very full-on week but before I go I just want to share two layouts with you.

The first one is Karen’s layout from one of the classes.  She used the class kit as the basis for her layout and then changed lots of things on it and I think it looks amazing!

The second layout is the Challenge Pack winner created by Sheree!  Mikayla chose the winner since she didn’t know who had made each layout and this one really appealed to her:

I can totally see why it appealed too because it was absolutely stunning.  Congrats Sheree!

I hope you all have a great week xx

Project Life: Week 15 and a layout!

Hi everyone :)

Well it’s Sunday afternoon again… the weeks seem to be going by quicker and quicker lately.  This week I’ve been busy at school (nothing unusual about that)… busy with night classes (nothing unusual about that either)… but I’ve also been busy making jam!  Yes I made some plum jam yesterday and I’ve already tried it and it’s delicious LOL

Here’s an overview of my week:

My week actually didn’t get off to a great start.  On Tuesday morning I woke up to a ‘metallic’ smell and as soon as I turned on the light I got the shock of my life!  Toby had clawed at his throat and made his whole neck bleed… wasn’t quite as bad once he let me clean him up a bit but it definitely required an emergency trip to the vet.  It turned out that he’d gotten some sort of infection and he’s been on antibiotic and steroid tablets all week along with getting special cream rubbed into his neck three times a day. 

Toby hates taking tablets so I ‘hide’ them into a small piece of cheese and now he’s totally convinced that cheese it a necessary part of his diet.  I had to inform him that as soon as the tablets stop so does the cheese!

Last week my Tuesday night class ladies didn’t turn up and I wondered if they’d gotten their days mixed up… sure enough this week they arrived promptly for class so this week I’ve done two night classes.

Here’s a closer look at the beginning of my week:

We had a school band from Australia come to school this week and the girls from Ivanhoe Girls Grammar in Melbourne are extremely talented.  The girls all sing and most of them play at least two instruments.  They certainly kept our kids entertained!

I realised that I’d missed the start of the NZ Masterchef Master classes this week but thanks to TV on Demand I am now all caught up.  It’s not quite the same as watching it on the TV but it’s a whole lot better than missing out completely.

My class has also started making recycled paper from our old newsletters, activity sheets and other paper from the recycling bin.  We had a ‘ripping’ good time on Wednesday afternoon getting the paper prepared to be soaked overnight.  The kids said it was heaps of fun and some of them ‘imagined’ that the paper was someone they didn’t like as they were tearing it up.  I totally get what they mean about that one!

Here’s a closer look at the end of the week:

Earlier this week, Mikayla informed me that she had RESIGNED from her job at Pak’n’Save to ‘focus on her studies’.  Please, she only works one day and two evenings per week… and her classes are only four days a week!  I remembered what Nigel Latta had said about teenagers not being ‘right in the head’ and have come to the conclusion that he’s not completely wrong!  There’s not much I can do about it now because by the time I found out about it she’d already done it… I just hope that she knows what she’s doing.

On Friday we had a Teacher Only Day and it was FULL ON!  It’s actually the first time we’ve closed the school for a TOD in over three years but they made up for it by making us work extra hard for the whole day.  We’ve got another one in the school holidays in July and I’m pretty sure that will be just as busy.

On Saturday morning Carey (who teaches next door to me) and I went out for breakfast.  Last year we went out to Third Place for eggs benedict and had such a great breakfast that we went back again and it was just as good this time around.  Great food… great company and a gorgeous view out over the lake… what more could you ask for to get your weekend off to a great start?

And then there was the jam!  Lots of gorgeous pink plum jam and it’s totally delicious! 

I’m super proud of myself!  The last time I ‘tried’ to make jam Krystal was just a baby and it totally didn’t work at all and I wasted a huge amount of apricots!  This time though it was smooth sailing and lots of happy little jammy moments LOL

Now for something that I haven’t done for ages… I’ve actually got a ‘traditional’ layout to share with you.  This one is for a class I’m teaching at a retreat in two weeks time and I’m really pleased with how it all turned out!

The paper is from My Minds Eye and it’s really beautiful to work with.  I love the soft blues and greys and the flowers just added the perfect finishing touch:

I also added a very cool resin embellishment that I coloured to match in with the colours on the layout:

I’m really looking forward to the retreat and I’m hoping that the ladies are going to learn some good techniques during this class.

So that’s it from me… I hope you all have a wonderful week xx