Another weekend half over already...

Although, it was great fun at yesterday's Nic Howard classes - I just LOVED the messy fun playing with tissue and gesso on a canvas. I have been dying to learn that technique for a while. Not too sure about the end product I made, but that's all down to colour preferences. I might have another play with the inks etc I have at home and see what I can come up with :) In between making a mess and being creative with the canvas, we did a double layout class. That was cool. I would show you the finished product, but I didn't take photos with me, and I have yet to decide which ones are going on it. When it's done, I'll show you, I promise.

Today is catch up on housework day, grocery shopping day, and chill-out before going back to work day - the latter is in total contradiction with the first two things though huh?! Oh well... nevermind! Life is full of contradictions.

What are you lot up to? Got much planned?

Right - time for me to unpack yesterdays scrap stuff, and get tidying around here.

Toodles, B x

Wahoo! Check this out...

Seriously, I would LOVE for this to be landing on my doorstep, how about you?

Prima is keeping a secret, something exciting, and in the meantime they're GIVING AWAY a tonne of fab prima goodness. Check out their blog for details.

Wise words and a weekend update...

Seriously, you MUST READ this post... Heidi has totally hit the nail on the head with this one. I completely agree!

So, what're you all up to for the weekend? I have two Nic Howard classes tomorrow, which should be FAB. She has posted a sneak peek on her blog of what our canvas class looks like here. Should be lots of messy fun! We are also doing a double page layout as well, using lots of yummy Prima goodness. I loooove Prima!

Otherwise, not a lot planned for the weekend really, just the usual catch up on washing, cleaning and (hopefully) coffee (or a wine or two!) with friends.

I'm so pleased that today is the last day of the working week. I have been SUPER busy trying to get through a whole lot of old billing work before the end of the financial year. It's the same every year though..... panic panic panic!

I have also been hard at work during my breaks sorting out stuff for Crop for a Cause. I have quite a few sponsors on board already, but there are still a few more in the pipeline. I figure it doesn't hurt to ask, you know, cos the worst that can happen is that they'll say no, right? Don't ask, don't get, I say!

Right - time to go hang the washing and head off to work. Have a great day peeps!

Toodles, B x

Arrgghh - it's TOO hot!

I like warm days, don't get me wrong... I just don't like HOT days. And we've had a few lately. The stupid weather seems to either be 13 degrees and cold, or friggin 28 degrees and I'm melting. You just can't win either way! I like it when it's about 20-22 degrees. That's just right for me. Yesterday was another warm one... here's the proof - a photo of our weather station at 5.38pm last night:




Yes, that says it was 33.4 degrees outside, and 26.4 degrees inside. TOO TOO HOT! I felt a little better that it was forecasting rain for today, as that usually clears the air a bit, but I hear on the radio this morning that we are still expecting a high of 27 degrees. BUGGER.

And look what yesterday's heat did to J's crayons in his bedroom:

Seriously - a house hot enough to melt crayons? No wonder I can't sleep at night at the moment. That's just stupid hot.

What do you guys do when it's hot? Or are you some of those CRAZY people who thrive on 25 plus degree temps?

Another Weekend Bites the Dust....

Yes, I too now have that song in my head - how about you?! Ha ha ha.

Man, this weekend went fast. Not even sure WHY really, but it did. We went out to catch up with old friends who are over from Aussie on Friday night, D worked on Saturday morning while J and I were sorting out some stuff at home, then we went to a 1st birthday party on Saturday afternoon for this little sweetie:

Her birthday isn't until Wednesday, but it's always easier to do these things at the weekend, isn't it? I actually took this photo at a shoot for her family last month... still 'keeping my hand in' the photography business from time to time :)

Today I went out to the Phar Lap market for the first time ever - as a stall-holder, no less! The friends I mentioned earlier who were home from Aussie were clearing out their things and selling off some of the stuff that had been in storage over here, so I decided to join in on their stall and get rid of some of our crap (I mean exceptionally priced, well looked after) clothing, baby gear, etc. It wasn't too bad, although the people that 'stalked' me as I was unloading my car were a little off-putting - could they not wait until I got the stuff out of the friggin boxes?! Seriously! And then the sun came out. And it got HOT. Really hot. And I tend to melt a bit in the sun... But all in all it wasn't a horrendous experience - we got rid of some of our stuff and scored some extra cash to boot, so not all bad.

This afternoon D took J to Ashbury Park to ride his motorbike for a bit, and I got talked into going out there to sit under a tree in the shade. It was just too hot at home, so I didn't need a lot of persuading!

Next thing ya know, the weekend's buggered... totally.

I'm going to head off and eat my supermarket pizza dinner, then curl up to watch Bones and Trauma until bedtime. Hope you've all had a great weekend, talk to you later in the week maybe.

Toodles, B x

And the winner is....

RACHEL!

(Just don't tell her she was the only entry....shhhhhh!)

Congratulations hon :) This stuff is on it's way to you real soon.

Hellooooo?

Ok, so where is everybody? What have you been up to? We have been doing the same old, same old...

I have had a few issues lately with J being super clingy in the mornings and not wanting me to drop him off at school. It's so hard. Poor wee man seems genuinely upset when I go to leave him. Real tears, you know? He was fine the first week of school, it just kicked in at the start of the second week. I think its a combination of adjusting back into the school routine, having a new teacher, and the fact that he got to spend SO much time with me during the holidays. D had to work through Christmas etc except for the stats, so it was mostly just J and I hanging out each day. Poor wee dude. Here's hoping it gets easier for him (and therefore ME as well) as each day passes.

I spent several hours last weekend sorting through the crap in our spare room and our old baby gear, throwing out the crap and taking photos of the decent stuff so that I could list it all on TradeMe. Check out our listings on TradeMe under username dazbeck if you are interested. I still have over 100 items to list. It's taking SO long to get through them all - although it's nice to have such a big tidy up. Refreshing.

Spent last night fluffing around on the sewing machine, working on something for the crop. Hope to show you another sneak peek over there by the end of next week. Keep an eye out! I actually read the manual for the sewing machine last night (it belonged to D's Nana, and I borrowed it from his Mum AGES ago, I don't have one of my own). I found out that by changing the presser foot and the plate, I can make what I am working on much easier to do - FAB! Who'd have thought of that huh? Reading instructions?! Ha ha ha. A-May-Zing!

Right - time to get lunches packed and head orf...

Toodles, B x

GIVEAWAYS!!!

Alright, alright, don't get TOO excited, they're just little ones....

First: I whipped up this little tissues holder (you know, to chuck in your handbag) this morning. I plan to make a few of these as prizes for my crop in May with some of my fabric scraps. So, as my first attempt, it's not perfect, but it's ok! Any takers?

AND, when I went to Paper Plus to get some more Dymo tape this week, I found a whole pile of it marked down to 99c - so I grabbed the lot! So I have a black dymo tape refill going spare as well... who needs/wants it?!

So, leave me some comments/feedback, and either one of these exciting freebies could be yours! Mmm - note the sarcasm there... well, these giveaways just don't really compare to all the new CHA goodies being given away on US blogs at the moment, do they now? I personally have entered a gazillion of those giveaways, but nothing to show for it. Bummer. Oh well, ya gotta be in to win, don't ya?

Go some mojo workin!

I went to a cardmaking workshop run by Deb McRobie last Saturday afternoon, where we made an easel card and a realy simple gift basket. Deb is a Stampin Up! demonstrator, so we got to play with some cool SU papers and stamps. Love that. Keep an eye on her blog if you want to see what is coming up in the future, and if you're lusting after any SU product, Deb can hook you up! The two projects we made this month were quickies, so I had time to get some scrapping done too... FINALLY got to do the Ford page:

(just have to complete the journalling, but ran out of dymo tape, so will finish that off this weekend)

Here's a couple close-ups:

I LOVE the Prima lace and flowers, and LOVE my new Fiskars Apron Lace Border Punch! If you are wanting any of these goodies, go and see Rach (my dealer!), for these, and lots more besides. I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I go there. Seriously! :) Ha ha ha.

And speaking of 'Seriously' - Grey's Anatomy started back this week. FAB! But poor George. I knew he was leaving due to 'professional differences' with other cast members, but poor George. Nasty, nasty way to go. And Izzy? Wow - she made it, so far. Gotta love that show. One of my all time faves.

Righto, time to get outta here. Catch you fullas later!

Toodles, B x

How to leave a comment...

I have had some people say that they haven't been able to leave a comment on my blog, so here are some instructions...

At the bottom of each post is a date stamp and a comments link that looks like this:

at 2/03/2010 05:21:00 PM 0 comments

Ok, ok, I'll tell you...

Ok, so here's the thing... I've had a few of you wondering what this post was about last month....

Well, time for the big unveil! Have a look here at my OTHER blog... about Crop for a Cause 2010. I hope that you can all join in the fun - it's gonna be a blast, I promise! You Christchurch ladies need to bring a car-load (or two) down - we'll show you a good time ;)

Take a look and let me know what you think... I'm interested to hear.

Right - tea to cook and a house to tidy...catch ya later.

Toodles, B x

Giveaway, School's back, and other ramblings...

There's a giveaway happening at my dealer Rach's blog. Check it out here. She's a good nut is Rach - tell her what you're looking for/lusting after (craft related, of course!) and she'll do her darndest to track it down for you. She rocks! Seriously. So go on, check it out.

School went back yesterday - YAY! I love holidays, don't get me wrong, but the juggling act between work and childcare can be a HUGE hassle over the holidays. If I could have afforded to stay home over the entire holidays and not work while he was off school, it wouldn't have been a problem. The trouble is, my wee manny got a bit clever over the break. He only had to endure one week at a School Holiday Program (rather than with people he knew), and by day three he figured that if he locked himself in the toilet for long enough, they'd have to ring me and I'd have to go pick him up. Unfortunately true. When did 6 year olds get so smart? I rushed there to pick him up, talked him out of the cubicle and took him home, only to have him say "can I have something to eat and watch telly now mum?" Grrrrrr. Seriously? VERY hard to maintain patience of any kind when you have just rushed away from work, after explaining to two managers about your 'sick' child. Not. Funny. How do you guys deal with the school hols? Any recommendations you can pass on? I'd LOVE to hear them :)

Man, it's just as well I have lots to look forward to over the next few months... I am doing two Nic Howard classes on Feb 27, and there's Raincliff Camp March 19-21 (both run by my dealer, Rach), and the Autumn Escape in Taupo April 16-18. Wahoo! Bring. It. On.

Right, time to get wee dude off to school and head into the office...

Toodles, B x

Tekapo Tamer...

We have just spent the weekend at the Army Barracks just outside Tekapo township - D was doing the Tekapo Tamer trailride with a few of his mates.

There were 4 or 5 different runs to choose from, and they were there from Friday afternoon until we packed up late morning Sunday. J and I only went up Saturday afternoon (cos I knew there'd be nothing else for me to do but play camp mum!), and joined them for dinner and drinkies etc that night. Man you have to take a lot of crap with you when you are tenting. Pretty much everything but the kitchen sink really!

I followed the boys to the pit area (9km down a shingle road, niiice), and got a pic of them all lined up before they took off:

L-R: Kev, Clayton, Len, D, Craig

It sounds like it was pretty rough riding most of the time, but I guess you can't do much about the countryside - it's ALL like that in the McKenzie country. The weather was pretty good - I'm sporting a little bit more colour than I was when I left, and man did I sleep good last night - something about all that fresh country air, makes you sleep good, you know?!

Right - time to pack up the wee dude and head off to work (YIPPEE). See ya soon Rach!