Ahhh.. recovered from camp!

Yes, FINALLY recovered from camp - just in time for the school holidays! I can't believe that there is only one day left of Term 1...

Here are some of the pics from camp - thanks to Jo for sending them through to me (I left my camera at home). Jo, you're AWSUM!

This was our table... we tend to be the noisy ones (hard to imagine, isn't it, looking at us?)

Back (L-R): Jo, Me, Kath... Front (L-R): Nic, Steph, Bo

And then, amazingly for such a small rural area, Rachel managed to get the Jackson 5 to perform (or should I say the Jackson 4, as one of the members couldn't be with us, only in spirit. Ha ha ha ha ha ROFLMAO!)

Yep, they came, they rocked out to "Blame it on the Boogie", and they went... just like that! In-cred-i-ble!!! Ah.... not nearly enough wine consumed pre-performance though, I feel. I haven't gotten around to photographing my layouts yet, so that'll have to keep you happy for a bit till I have time to do that. More laters...

Toodles, B x

You've gotta love a REAL story!

J brought home 'The Tale of Tom Kitten' by Beatrix Potter from the school library this week. It's FANTASTIC! Check out THIS page (click on it to make it larger if you can't read what it says):

Poor Tom Kitten's mother, Mrs Tabitha Twitchit. Fancy being 'affronted'!!! LOVE that it not only mentions giving a naughty child a smack, but that it even shows a picture of it! Ha ha ha. How un-PC is THAT? Love love love it! ROFLMAO!

Right, am half packed and ready for camp tomorrow, time to go get some sleep, as it may be the last I get for a couple of nights (entirely my own fault of course).

See some of you cats tomorrow, and talk to the rest of you next week...

Toodles, B x

Turning back the clock...

It was our wedding anniversary yesterday. Amazing how time flies... this was us 14 years ago:

I know, we were just babies back then. I was 21, D only 22. I had an obsession with those shoes - they were VERY expensive, and totally over budget for me, but I just HAD to have them! After the wedding I dyed them black. I got to wear them once more, at a Ball. Sadly they met an unfortunate end when I fell down the stairs... but that's a whole other story!

A big hug to my Mum today - she came round last night and watched J so that we could go out for dinner. Thanks Ma, love you xxx.

Weekend Wrap-Up...

Good Morning peeps! How was YOUR weekend? Ours was a bit crazy - I'm going back to work today for a rest, LOL!

Saturday morning I held a garage sale to get rid of the stuff that didn't sell at the Phar Lap market last month. Wow - what a pack of vultures we had cruising our street for like an HOUR before the start time... incredible how eager these people were to get their hands on our old crap. I mean, seriously, who sells incredibly decent stuff at a garage sale - it's all stuff you no longer want, right? I suppose what they say is true - one mans trash... So by the time that was over and done with and we did a few messages, that was Saturday done and dusted.

On Sunday D went to a trailride out at Albury, and I spent the day (until about 4pm) doing housework and washing. It was a lovely hot day to get the washing dry, so I washed the blanket and duvet from our bed. And inbetween loading or hanging washing, I was cleaning - I got all the house done, except for J's room, so that's a job for after work on Wednesday. Joy! After all that I got the groceries, then finally sat down for a bit... phew!

Last night I made this card:

One of the ladies at work asked me on Friday if I could make one for her to give to a friend of hers. Considering I started creating at about 9pm last night, I'm quite pleased with it! It's on an acetate base, and in yummy pink and green shades.

So that's that - the weekend wrap-up complete. What did YOU get up to? Let me know, yeah?

Toodles, B x

Therapeutic cleaning, rain, and a giveaway!

Seriously it's true, I have been doing some therapeutic cleaning this week. Yes, there is such a thing! I can actually SEE my scrap table for a change. I have been through all my supplies, taken a good hard look at them, and I've cleared out anything that I really don't think I'm going to use. I highly recommend it. It's very liberating. In fact, it's got me all geared up and ready to create again, as now I know what's hiding in my stash! I have a huge pile of unwanted papers (still lovely, but I just don't think I'll use them), and am going to use some of the nicer ones at the crop for make and takes, and donate the others to school for the kids to put to good use. Better that than them gathering dust at my place. It is seriously a GREAT feeling to have it all tidied up. Just lovely. Try it!

Now, I was just telling someone from out of town last night that we needed some, and lo and behold, what do I see out my office window today? Yup, lots of lovely RAIN! We really do need some, as the ground is very dry, and the fire risks locally are extremely high, so bring it on, I say! There is nothing better than hearing rain on the roof or on your window. Love love love it. Especially if I happen to be curled up under the covers at home. Nothing better. Not quite the same at work, but still quite relaxing to listen to.

Oh and one more thing... check out the crop blog here - there is a FREE TICKET to be won by some lucky person who leaves a comment before 10pm next Wednesday 17th March. Leave the comment on that blog though, not this one, ok?!

Right - that's about the end of my break, so back to work I go. Accounts to balance, spreadsheets to alter, yadda yadda yadda. What are YOU up to today?

Toodles, B x

JC Bunny...

I thought I'd show you one of J's little friends - JC Bunny. I made him for J quite some time ago, as you can tell by the much-loved look he has about him now (ie, the fact that he looks a bit manky!).

I spent one night this week repairing a whole lot of soft toys that were in the 'one day when I can be bothered I'll fix these' pile. They mostly had loose buttons, split seams, etc. Made me think a little about today's throw-away society. How often when something gets broken do we simply throw it away rather than try to fix it? Some things we have no choice - my sister in law had to buy a new video camera when the battery died on her old one. Nothing wrong with the camera per se - just that it needed a new lithium battery. Which they no longer make. Very convenient for the camera company - oops, sorry, you'll have to buy a new one.

Other things are simply cheaper to replace rather than fix - which seems crazy. You can buy a new DVD player for $40 these days. Ten years ago you wouldn't have DREAMED of an appliance that cheap. Why is it that some things have gotten cheaper over time? When I bought my first computer package complete with printer and scanner back in 1997, we had to spend $4,500 to get a middle of the road one. Now you can buy top notch ones for less than half that. Nuts.

And why, if some things have gotten cheaper, do we seem to have less disposable income, not more? These days, we live in a society where we want what we want, and we want it NOW. We no longer WAIT until we have saved enough to buy something - why bother when you can take it home today and not pay for it until 2026? Slight exaggeration, but you get my point. We don't think twice about jumping in the car to go out and pick something up from the shops. Sometimes it COULD wait. We could SAVE the petrol until we really NEEDED to go out. But we don't, do we? Sometimes I think we would do better to share the attitudes of our forebears who didn't have the luxuries we have today. If we all thought a little more and spent a little less, we might live more meaningful lives. How's that for deep and meaningful on a Monday morning?! Food for thought maybe...

On a lighter note, I spotted my niece and nephew in the paper this morning...

They were at a Heart Children thing on Saturday - helping to paint a canvas. 9 year old Brianna is in the front left hand corner, and 4 year old Alex is back a little from her (navy pants and brown top). These are two of my three nieces and nephews - these two have a little brother, 2 year old Cameron. Alex has had heart surgery already at his young age, poor wee man. He is such a sweetie.

Right - time to make J's lunch and get out the door...

Toodles, B x

And then I got the bug....

After the success of my canvas on Saturday, I got the bug, and had to do more!

Sunday morning I dragged out two old canvases I had on my scrap table and went to work with the tissue and gesso. I only had pink tissue paper, but seeing as I was going to be painting or inking it, I figured it wouldn't matter. It didn't seem to make any difference at all tbh.

J was quick off the mark and earmarked the 6x12" canvas for himself. He wanted something to hang in his room. Once the gesso dried, J went to work painting the canvas - he chose the colour himself. I helped a little with painting in some of the cracks and crevices created by the tissue.

Next, we found a silhouetted motorbike picture on the net that J liked, and I printed it and cut it out, using the 'stencil' left behind to ink the image onto the canvas with Black Staz-On. Then I used the cutout portion to cover the black like a mask, and splattered watered down paint on the canvas. Splattered being the key word - I kinda got paint EVERYWHERE. Oops. Oh well, you can't create great art without making a mess huh?

Then, finally, I typed out a few words of wisdom for J (using 1924 Type Font), printed them onto cardstock, and trimmed them before adhering them to the canvas with some foam, for a little dimension.

This is the finished product... not the best photo as I took it last night and had to use a flash, rather than being patient and taking it today in the daylight.

It says:

Always think BIG

Follow YOUR dreams

Do what YOU want

Be YOURSELF

So, what do you reckon? Not too shabby for a very much 'thrown together' project!

Good TV tonight - Grey's Anatomy and then Private Practice - two of my favourites. Am looking forward to it, as I have had a couple of rubbish days at home - I somehow managed to get the bot, and have been crook since the wee wee hours of Monday morning. I started with vomiting, loss of appetite and fever, and have been left with a lovely pounding head-cold. Fab. NOT. Oh well at least I'm not male I suppose - then I might be 'dying' !!!! Ha ha ha. Just jokes.

Right - time to get working on ticket and flyer design for the crop, so I can get them printed this week.

Toodles, B x

Here 'tis...

Ok, so here is the finished canvas.... after two more colour changes when I got home!

When I left the class I was a bit disappointed with the background colour. It was a pale pink-ish tone, which would have been ok, but it sorta clashed with the inked tags etc placed on the canvas. So.... when I got home (cos it was annoying me, and I couldn't WAIT to fix it somehow) I added a layer of Fired Brick Distress Ink (yup, RED)... then, in desperation, I added a layer of Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink (erm, yes, ORANGE).

And this is what I have ended up with:

Here's a few close-ups:

So now I am happy enough with it to take it to work and hang it in my office. PHEW!

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