Log your Memory: Week 48

Hi everyone :)

Today’s prompt is all about games and puzzles.  Much to my sisters’ frustration I used to play hockey ‘just for fun’ while they were both competitive… but when it comes to board games and puzzles I definitely play to win!

Our family used to play lots of board games.  Mum taught us the fundamentals of snakes and ladies when we were quite young and there were always board games and cards somewhere around. 

We used to quite enjoy horrible, wet weekends sitting around the dining table playing games and doing puzzles so that’s probably where it all began for me.

One Christmas holidays my parents borrowed my Auntie’s bach and we went away for a week… we did have a couple of days of nice weather and then the rain set in… and it rained and rained and rained some more.  Dad spent some time with me teaching me how to play draughts and to this day it’s one of my favourite games.

He also taught me how to play Conquian pronounced (Coon Can) and I can still remember the very first time I was able to beat Dad!  Later on in my life my ex-husband and I used to play a LOT of 500 and it’s one of my favourite card games.

Here’s this weeks layout:

One thing my parents always did was play by the rules and you had to win fair and square… there was no ‘advantages’ because we were kids.  I’ve raised my girls the same way.  We ALWAYS play by the rules and if we win it’s because we deserved it and outplayed the others.  At times it was hard to do but it’s taught my girls to be humble when they win and a good sport when they lose.

When my girls were both in primary school a friend of mine babysat for me one night and she brought around her game of Rummikub and the girls loved it.  They went on and on about this new game so in the end I bought it and within just one or two games I was completely hooked!  It was a great way to learn strategies and see patterns and we could play for several hours at a time.

I’ve actually got the junior version of Rummikub in my class and we only play it on wet lunchtimes.  We’ve had class championships and it’s a real favourite with the kids.

I still love playing board games but these days I tend to spend more time playing computer games.  I actually love the challenge of getting the ‘perfect score’ or beating my time and I’ve got quite a few favourites.

Now that my nieces and nephews are getting a little bit older I can see more happy hours of board games ahead of me :)

So that’s it from me.  I’ll be back on Saturday to show off my December Daily album I’m working on and to do my 100th post for the year!

I hope you’re all having a great week xx

Project Life: Week 47 and another insert :)

Hi everyone :)

The weeks are certainly flying by now and there seems to be more and more to pack into them at the moment.  We’re having a wonderful day here in Rotorua and I’m a wee bit later than usual in posting because Mikayla and Toby decided that it was the perfect afternoon to go for a swim at Holden’s Bay.  Toby certainly enjoying playing with all his friends and jumping in and out of the water!

Here’s an overview of my week:

Last Sunday Toby got to choose a couple of treats from ‘his’ supermarket… but as with most children, he found it hard to limit his ‘wants’ vs what Mumma was actually willing to buy! LOL

Monday ended up being my busiest day of the week… it was ridiculous how many things I had to do!

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

Thankfully in the middle of the craziness I was able to grab a nice lunch with Carey before we had to rush off to a meeting.

Toby and Brandy continue their love/hate relationship.  Mikayla is very good at winding Toby up and he falls for it every time!

We’ve also been busy at school with all our elephant houses… they look amazing and the kids have learnt so much about elephants!

I FINALLY got my lawns done on Wednesday afternoon… it was a real mission but they look really good now.

Here’s the second half of my week:

On Thursday Carey, Barbara and I all headed over to Te Puke Primary to have a look at their classroom programmes.  It was a brilliant day and we came away with loads of new ideas for next year.

Friday rolled around pretty quickly and then on Saturday I got together with Mum and Loreen for a catch up.  We met down at the Christmas Heirloom Company and had a happy time browsing around all the different themed trees.  I was super excited to see they had a vintage themed tree and came away with three new ornaments to add to my collection.

Back at Mum’s we had a lovely lunch with Richard.  Loreen made a yummy quiche (which just happens to be one of my favourite things!) along with some salad and buns and then Mum produced her first ever homemade pavlova.  YUM!!! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon scrapping and having a few laughs.  Thanks to you both for sharing the day with me xx

Here’s my creative piece for the week:

This cute wee girls is one of my Magnolia stamps.  I coloured her using Distress Inks and a water colour brush and then teamed her up with some Simple Stories paper. 

And now for the insert!  On Thursday afternoon I got a rare opportunity to spend some time with my nieces.  I hadn’t seen them for several months so it was really wonderful to spend a couple of hours playing, laughing and just being silly with them. 

Of course I had my camera with me and the girls were all in the mood to pose for me so I got busy snapping.  Some of the photos are really silly and candid but there was also some gorgeous ones that just melted my heart.

Here’s the front of the insert:

And here’s the reverse side:

I’m super happy with how the photos came out and I’m sure you’ll see them again because I’m definitely going to scrap some of them.

So that’s been my week.  I’m still writing reports and keeping busy with all the other end of year things for school.  Just three more weeks to go!

Wishing you all a great week xx

Log your Memory: Week 47

Hi everyone :)

I’m so pleased that you can’t hear everything that’s going on right now… the washing machine is on it’s spin cycle and my Cameo is sitting right beside me busily cutting out more elephant things for school and Toby is outside greeting the morning … and every other dog in the neighbourhood… it’s all combined to make quite a ruckus!

The theme at Log your Memory this week is all about tools, supplies and packaging.

As with anything, if you start a hobby you need tools or equipment.  My garage has a multitude of tools… some for gardening, some for DIY projects and some for restoring furniture.  I really love tools so going to Bunnings is a happy time for me.

It was the same thing when I started getting into making cupcakes.  At first I just wanted the pretty cupcake cases… then I needed a good icing set… and then I needed some new nozzles to create different effects.  Next came the different sprinkles and decorations.  I now have an entire cupboard completely dedicated to my cupcake making supplies!

Here’s my layout for this week:

I can clearly remember when I started scrapbooking.  I had a couple of white pieces of paper, a few stickers, a pair of scissors and a ruler.  My oh my how things change!

These days I have a huge variety of tools but I can honestly say that I use them all… maybe not all of them all the time… but I do use them!

Having a good guillotine is essential (for me anyway).  Several years ago I bought myself my big guillotine on Trade Me and it’s wonderful.  It never needs sharpening… it cuts through really thick chipboard and everything else cleanly and the measurements are in both metric and imperial.  My small guillotine is an absolute must have for me… I use it ALL the time!

Along with that I’ve got my Cuttlebug and everything that goes with it…. embossing folders galore and a multitude of dies.

My Crop-o-dile and Score it All probably get used the least… but when I need them they’re right there.  I love using the Score it All when I’m making cards and books.

As most of you know I LOVE ink and for the longest time I couldn’t get my technique right using the ink blending tool… it just didn’t seem to work for me and then I went to a weekend class and the tutor showed me what I was doing wrong!  One little adjustment and away I went…. LOVE using them now and have acquired several of them LOL

As for my Silhouette… simply love it!  I love that I can share cutting files with my friends… I love that I can purchase designs super cheaply… and I love that I can take a pic off the internet and turn it into a cutting file!

Just recently I was looking for a ‘shade tree’ for our elephant art at school.  I found this awesome picture of a stencil using Google images:

Then I imported it into my Silhouette and traced it to create a cutting file.  The next step was to cut it out and then we used the ‘negative’ image as a stencil.  Here’s how we used it:

The finished pieces were then used as a border on our wall display… pretty eye catching!

So there you have it… in my personal opinion, tools are there to be enjoyed… whatever the job may be!

I hope you have a wonderful week xxx

Project Life: Week 46 and a major event!

Hi everyone :)

Welcome to another busy week in our house.  There have been a couple of ultra-busy days here but thankfully things have quietened down now and I’m working on my reports for school.

Here’s an overview of my week:

I’ve been doing a bit of cooking this week and I’ve finally perfected making mini quiches.  The others have all tasted good but I either overfilled them or had gaps in my pastry but this week I got them exactly right so I’m a happy camper.

I also decided to try and do some healthier dinners this week and the smoked chicken salad I made the other night was so bright and colourful (as well as delicious) that I had to take a photo LOL

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

On Tuesday night Mikayla took part in the Waiariki Fashion Show.  The first year students had to purchase items from the local Hospice shop and then turn them into a new garment.  She started off with a duvet cover, a blue suit and some belts.  Her friend (also called Mikayla but spelt Micaela) modelled the outfit on the runway for her and it looked pretty awesome.

At school we’ve been doing more work on our elephant theme and I’ve been busy testing all the kids.  It’s all done now except for one reading test but Sonny was away on Friday so I’ll have to do that one tomorrow morning before school.

Wednesday was a good day for me so on the way home I bought myself a Big Wednesday ticket.  I don’t buy them regularly but I got lucky this week and won $20!

Here’s a close up of the later part of the week:

My class have started designing and making their own elephant enclosures.  I bought a small model elephant so they knew they had to be careful with their proportions and so far they’ve done a great job… one group has even made a half-round barn!  Tomorrow they’ll start painting them and then they’ll be judged.

With all the art going on around here Toby decided that he wasn’t going to miss out.  He found himself some art materials (junk mail) and started to carefully select (grab it all) the bits he wanted.  Then he cut out (ripped to shreds) the selected pieces to make a collage (a bloody great mess!)  He even asked me (via Mikayla) if he could please have a glue stick!   Ummmm I don’t think so!!!

He’s VERY proud of his achievements!  He most definitely will not let me anywhere near it with a broom or a rubbish bag!

This weekend has been all about getting my reports done.  I’ve finished the reading and maths marking, analysing and comments and now I’m working on their writing ones.  It’s been good that the weather has been so horrible because I haven’t minded being stuck on the computer so much.

This morning I was looking out the back door and there was a gorgeous rainbow and then I noticed a second (much fainter) rainbow to the right of it. 

Here’s my creative piece for the week:

I hunted through my papers and found some left over Bo Bunny paper I’d used for a layout a couple of years ago.  The school theme fitted perfectly with this weeks pages so I cut, ripped and glued everything in place… maybe Toby has been watching me too much LOL

Mikayla’s fashion show was a super important night so I decided to make an insert for it.  The really neat thing is that the programme they gave us on the night fit’s perfectly into a 6 x 12 page protector.  I was even able to leave the programme intact because the back page was just ‘thanking the advertisers’.

Here’s the front of the insert – Mum isn’t a big fan of the picture they designed but it kind of reminds me of an Edward Scissorhands style :

And here’s what it looks like when you remove it from the protector… I circled Mikayla’s name LOL:

On the back of the insert I put in some of the photos that I took at the show.  Most of the photos came out a bit fuzzy but somehow they seem to look more arty:

So there you have it… some high fashion… Toby ‘art’ and lots of school.  It’s been a good week :)

I hope you’ve all had a great week too xx

Log your Memory: Week 46

Hi everyone :)

This week at Log your Memory it’s all about music.  One of the questions asked was… “What are your favourite musical groups or albums?”

Music has always been an important part of my life.  When my Mum was in her teens her older brothers had a band and they were very popular at the time.  They used to play at a dance hall regularly and Mum and Auntie Daphne would often go to the dances… in fact she met my Dad at one of those dances!

My Mum played the piano (but not in the band) and she was quite good at it.  I can remember times when the organist from church would be away and my Mum would be asked to step in for her.

One of my grandmothers (Dad’s mum) was a pianist and her very first job she ever had was to play the piano during the silent movies.  She got paid an absolute pittance and out of her pay she had to purchase the sheet music (even if she didn’t need it) as well as for her clothes to play in (even though it was dark and nobody could see her).

I grew up listening to 60’s music and country music.  Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton could often be heard on our record player along with all the 60’s hits. 

I still love 60’s music because it brings back so many memories but my tastes in country music have changed a bit.  I listen to Shania Twain, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Clay Walker, George Strait, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw… but my all time favourite is Reba McEntire!

Here’s my layout:

This first time I heard Reba sing was on Oprah and it was a song called ‘She thinks his name was John’ from the ‘Read my Mind’ album.  It was a really sad song and I sat there with my new baby (Mikayla was only a few weeks old at the time) with tears running down my face.

A few months later I bought that album and listened to all of it over and over again until I knew every single word of all the songs.

Since then I’ve bought lots of other albums of Reba’s and I’ve definitely got some favourite songs.  I love that they all tell a story and they are easy to relate to. 

When it comes to music I’m definitely still a country girl!

I hope you all have a fab week xx

Project Life: Week 45 and some layouts!

Hi everyone :)

I’m having one of those really awesome weekends where everything goes according to plan and things just fall into place like you want them to.  It really does make you feel good!

There’s lots to see this week so let’s start.

I HAD to include some of the great photos I got of Toby last Sunday… technically not this week but close enough!  He was in such a playful mood.

We’re still testing at school… I had 100% attendance on Monday so I decided to do my writing assessment while everyone was at school.  The kids were so busy they didn’t even notice me taking photos.

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

We also got our Room 4 art done.  It’s a lot like the art I’m doing with the younger children except that my class also did some stencilling.  With me being so busy doing individual maths testing on each child I was wondering how I could get the art done but there’s always an answer to a tricky problem!

One of the boys in my class is absolutely art mad and he’s a fantastic artist so I showed him the technique and then got him to teach each person as they had their turn.  He did a great job and I actually overheard one of the kids say… “Santana should be an art teacher when he grows up!”  They thoroughly enjoyed it and our art looks amazing on the wall!

As for the ‘banana shot’… that one was taken by one of my boys when I let him use my camera.  He took 65 photos in a very short amount of time but when I saw the banana photo I really did crack up laughing!

Here’s a closer look at the second half of the week:

One of my night class groups has been making Christmas cards over the past few weeks and this week we actually used the same Christmas tree for two different looks… one modern and one vintage.  Love how they turned out!

We’ve had our last session of elephant art rotations this week and the kids have developed some really good relationships with each other… which is of course what we were hoping for!

Miss Brandy doesn’t often get into Project Life but this week she was busy sunning herself in the patio area and it was too good of an opportunity to miss.

Last week Sheree sent me an awesome mini album she’d made for me.  She made a limited edition of three copies… one for herself, one for Loreen and one for me.  It’s to put all our Halloween photos in and the detail in the mini album is absolutely stunning!  I’m super thrilled with it and now I’ll have to decide which photos to include.

While we’re on the subject of layouts… I completed THREE DOUBLE LAYOUTS today!!!  They’re for a Sunday class and I’m super thrilled with the results!

Here’s my piece of creativity for the week:

I used some of the left overs from my layouts to create a little card to celebrate the fact that all my washing is done and we’re had a wonderful weekend here in Rotorua… super simple!

Now for the layouts… these are for a Sunday class that I’ll be running… I’ve just got to figure out when I can do it!

All three layouts are made using a Simple Stories 6 x 6 pad and 12 x 12 sticker sheet along with some cardstock.

The first layout I made was all about my niece Kody and her lamb Rascal.  They entered into her school Agricultural day and did really well.  The final result: Junior Reserve Champion!

The second layout is all about my boy… I know he’s in Project Life lots but actually I haven’t done a layout of him for a while.  This layout was done using photos from our visit to Holdens Bay last weekend. 

The final layout in the set is all about Krystal and Chris.  A couple of months ago they celebrated their third anniversary (time has gone FAST!)  Instead of buying each other gifts each year these two plan an event… something they can do together to have fun and relax.

This year they planned a weekend away to Auckland and spent an entire day at Rainbows End.  Krystal took over 150 photos over the weekend!  Luckily for me she gave me a copy so I made a layout about their day at Rainbows End.

Even though I’ve stuck to just one paper collection I love that the layouts all look really different from each other.  It was also great doing double layouts with lots of photos for a change.

So that’s it from me… I hope you all have had a good weekend as well and that things are running smoothly for you xxx

Log your Memory: Week 45

Hi everyone :)

The November theme for Log your Memory is ‘Entertainment’.  The first prompt for the month is all about events and invitations and one of the questions asked was: ‘What was the last party or function you were invited to? Did you go? Why or why not?’

Luckily for me I’ve just been to an event which made this weeks prompt pretty easy.

As much as I’m always busy doing things with school, family and scrapbooking, I’m actually a relatively private person.  I certainly pick and choose who and where I share information and although I’m quite open about things (which is just the way I am) you’d have to know me pretty well to know the more ‘private me’.

I've always enjoyed peace and quiet... even when I was younger. I like being sociable and being around other people... but I also like having 'time out' by myself. 

Here’s my layout for this week:

A couple of weekends ago Loreen and Keith hosted their annual Halloween party and I’d known for months that I was definitely going to go.  I enjoyed myself so much at their Mid-Winter Christmas that there was no way I was going to miss out on another night of fun!

One of the things I love about their nights is that it’s not crowded.  For the last several years I’ve had problems with my hearing when I’m in larger groups.  When there is lots of noise around me I really struggle.

Halloween was also fantastic because we got to dress up… and let’s face it, as adults there aren’t that many times we get to wear costumes!  I spent the afternoon at Mum’s and then she did my hair for the party… including making big gingham bows for my hair complete with spiders!  Even Toby dressed up with matching pink bandana and a spider!!

It was a really wonderful night and I’m looking forward to going to Loreen and Keith’s next even for New Years Eve :)

Have a great week everyone and I’ll see you again on Sunday with the next instalment of Project Life xx

Project Life: Week 44

Hi everyone :)

I’m happy to say that it’s been a good week here filled with all sorts of happenings.  We’ve got a gorgeous day today so after I got three loads of washing on the line Toby and I went over to Holden’s Bay for a play and an ice cream. 

I’ve been trying to teach him to fetch without much success but today he decided to swim after a stick that I threw into the water… and…

He brought it right back to me!  We played fetch for quite a while and I think I wore him out because he’s now sound asleep on my bed LOL

Here’s my full layout for the week:

At school we’re working hard to get all the testing done and it’s really time consuming when you have to test each individual child while also keeping the rest of the class busy and quiet!

Of course we’re also busy working on our elephant tasks and there is beautiful artwork going up on the walls in all three of our classrooms!

Here’s a better look at the start of the week:

This week my class were the STAR class so we got to have our photos along with a blurb in the school newsletter.  My kids were pretty happy about it too!

Along with all the school stuff I also finally went and bought myself a new wallet.  After having my previous wallet for a LONG time I wasn’t sure if I could find another one I liked but Farmers is actually still stocking the same brand of wallet… although it comes in lots of different colours and styles now. 

On Thursday there was our local night market and since I was already in town at the chiropractors after work I thought I’d grab myself some dinner.  The paella was SO GOOD!!!  I couldn’t wait to get home so I scoffed half of it in the car and then came home and photographed (and ate) the rest of it LOL

While I was at the chiropractors I asked if I could try and mow my lawns because they were hideously long.  The answer was… so long as you don’t overdo it! 

After having my yummy dinner I went down and mowed just the very back of my backyard and 14 catchers later I was done.  I also managed to get the side of the house done yesterday but unfortunately the front (which needed it the most) is just going to have to wait until tomorrow!

I kid you not!  My front lawn really does look this bad!  I think the neighbour across the road is ready to ban me front the street… his lawns are clipped to within an inch of their lives!

On Friday night we had our school gala and while everyone else was at market stalls outside, Ashley and I were in the kitchen frying chips… YUCK!!!  Michael came in to cut up some onions and was crying like a baby within the first few minutes so we swapped jobs.  One of the good things about wearing contact lenses is that I can cut onions without crying so I spent most of the night on ‘onion chopping duty’ LOL

Yesterday I went to the Home and Garden show at the events centre and it was quite interesting.  I bought myself the most gorgeous Iceberg climbing rose to cover over an ugly wall by my garage and also got myself some mushroom compost… apparently roses love it!

So in light of the H & G show and as a not so subtle hint to Mum (love you lots!) I found a photo of a gorgeous garden gnome that would look fantastic in my garden (hint hint) and used it on my creative piece this week:

I think Mr Gnome would look REALLY good under my Christmas tree! (Mum’s going to say I’m as subtle as a sledge hammer now!)  Just think Mum… the gnome could read Toby stories while I’m at work!

On that note I’ll wish you all a wonderful week ahead xxx