December Daily: Dec 9

Hi everyone :)

Well it’s official… Dougal has a BIG crush on Auntie Chris!  Today he came to school with me… in fact, he was trying to wake me up before the 6am alarm went off so we could get ready! 

All through the day he’s been finding excuses to go and visit her classroom… aka making a pest of himself!  The funny part is that he’s so cute about it all so it’s hard to growl really.

The day was pretty full on with end of year school stuff including a practice for our Year 6 Leaving Ceremony which is happening on Thursday night. 

At the end of the day I had some things that needed photocopying and Dougal offered to come with me (hoping to see Chris I suspect).  I’d finished the first lot of copying and turned my back for just a few minutes and when I turned around I got a HUGE shock:

I turns out that Dougal thought he could give Auntie Chris a ‘smile’ to take home with her… silly boy should have given her a photo instead!

This morning I actually did a tiny bit of work on another one of my Creative Chemistry tags.  This one involved covering die cut grungeboard pieces with Distress Crackle (Clear Rock Candy).  I’m never patient enough to let the stuff dry on it’s own… in fact I’ve ruined many projects over the years putting my fingers into crackle medium and Dimensional Magic to see if it’s dry!  This time I figured that if I got it all done before school it would be completely dry and ready for the next step when I got home.

I hooked up the video to the TV and watched Tim apply Distress Paint, Ink and Stain to his pieces and really liked the effect.  Since it’s pretty close to Christmas I used that as a theme for my tag and I’m super happy with the results.  I especially like the paint and stain together… very effective!

Here’s a better look at my tag… just because I’m super happy with it:

So there you have it… another day… another tag… and another stunt from Dougal!

Catch you all tomorrow xx

December Daily: Dec 8

Hello again!

I’m back again LOL  This time I’ve got another update for the December Daily project. 

I’ve been having such a good time today.  I started off making lots more stars and I’m really thrilled with how they’ve turned out.  I ‘might’ make some more yet but I’ll have to wait and see.

After a while I wanted to try something new… there’s something quite exciting about learning new techniques and seeing how else you might use them in the future. 

I hooked up my laptop to the TV using the HDMI cable and then clicked onto a couple of the videos.  I don’t know how I got by before because now it’s like having Tim right beside me showing me how to do each technique.  The bigger screen means I see WAY MORE detail and the sound is crystal clear!

So far I’ve done the Industrial Metal technique which is pretty similar to how I did my stars except that you use paint instead of alcohol inks.  It gave me a comfortable place to start.

Then I had a go at the Eroded Metal technique.  My first attempt didn’t really work but I figured out why so I gave it another go and I’m pretty thrilled with how the second tag turned out!  I think it would be a good technique for the background of an art journal page… I’m processing that idea so I’ll have to see what I come up with.

I didn’t actually look at the time while I was working on my tags but when I checked it was definitely time to get going to Deidre’s afternoon tea party.  Deidre is ‘Mum’ to Auntie Chris so she’s practically family LOL

I thought Dougal might enjoy going to a party and he certainly did.  He managed to get around everyone for some cuddles and chats.  They heard all about his travels overseas and his love of glitter.  In fact at one stage I almost had to ‘pat him down’ when he saw some sparkly jewelry on one of the guests!

When Dougal spotted the pavlova there was no way he was going to miss out… in fact he got the very first slice!  He also managed to get a good sampling of the ambrosia thanks to Auntie Chris!

By the time we left he’d made several new friends and was feeling quite pleased with himself.  On the way home he talked about everything he’d seen… everything he’d tasted… and everyone he’d met… but mostly he talked about Auntie Chris!

Looking back on it, he did spend a LOT of time sitting right beside her and just staring at her… I think he may have a wee crush on her!  I’ll have to wait and see if he tries to come to school with me this week since he knows that Auntie Chris works with me LOL

So that’s been our day… and it’s been a good one!

Project Life: Week 49

Hi everyone :)

This has been the best weekend I’ve had in a long time… mostly because I’ve been able to get my fingers inky and have a bit of fun learning new techniques!  I’m having a blast!!

Here’s an overview of this week:

This week I’ve made a start on packing up my classroom… and when I say a start I mean a start!  Initially I thought I didn’t have that much of my own stuff in my classroom but a closer inspection tells me that I’ve got quite a bit there!

One thing I’ve been really conscious of since Mikayla has left home is taking good care of myself.  I’ll admit that some nights I just don’t feel like cooking and a toasted sandwich is fine… but earlier this week I really felt like having some steak.  I did ‘cheat’ a little though and bought myself some salads from the deli to go with it!

I’m so pleased I was able to get home early the other day and get Toby all sorted out with his annual check up, vaccinations and ‘pedicure’ before Christmas.  Now I don’t have to worry about his medical stuff for another year!

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

Cornwall Park School came to give us a concert this week and these kids are really talented.  I was very impressed with the Year 4 boy who effortlessly played a piece of piano music that I never got right when I was learning… he was amazing!

While I was in town the other day I popped into Dick Smith and picked up an HDMI cable.  Basically it hooks my computer up to the screen of my TV and now I can watch all my Tim Holtz videos for the Creative Chemistry classes on the big screen.  It’s so cool and the sound is fantastic as well!

On Friday I finally got myself organised and went to get lots of photos printed.  I had three weeks worth of Project Life along with several weeks worth of Feel Good Friday photos to print and now my albums are all up to date again.  It’s hard to believe that the year is almost at an end!

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

My poor fridge is really on the way out!  The ‘iceberg’ at the back of the fridge is growing daily and all my condiments are getting encased in ice.  I’m definitely going to be going to have a look at all the whiteware specials I’ve been seeing on TV lately!

As you know, I’ve been making stars.  I was so happy with the ones I made yesterday that I got busy this morning and now I have three large stars and FOURTEEN small ones!  I’ve branched out and used some other alcohol ink colours too… but those ones are for the tree.  My ‘Vintage Christmas’ theme is really coming together now.

After making all my stars I was ready to tackle something different and although I was thinking about doing my art journal page for the One Little Word project I actually ended up making a couple of technique tags from the Creative Chemistry 102 class.  So far I’ve done the Industrial Metal  and Eroded Metal tags.  I really like the techniques and I’m pretty sure I’ll use them again.

This afternoon I took Dougal with me to an afternoon tea party and we had a wonderful time.  As soon as Dougal saw the pavlova he got excited… he’s got a really sweet tooth!  As for me… I enjoyed some of the wee savouries… really delicious!

So that’s been my week!  Thanks for stopping by xx