Here we go... Scrapping catch-up:

Ok, so now that we are 'back up and running' with technology, here's a long overdue post with some of my recent layouts.  You don't realise how reliant you are on fast internet, and how impatient you become in your old age, until your patience is put to the test!  Oops!

Here's a quick layout that I did the other weekend.  Nic came round and we spent some time scrapping (well, mostly talking, if I'm being honest!).  This was J quite a few years ago.  Back in 2005 in fact.  What a cutie!  I LOVE the photo of him on the climbing frame (third from the left) that looks like he's thinking 'Um...oh crap!'  Ha ha ha :)

And a couple of close-ups... (sorry, terrible photos, taken at night, in my haste to post them.  Note the impatience theme here?!)

Then there are the layouts that I got done at Raincliff Camp...

The firs one is once again using older photos (cos I have SO many of them to use!).  Mr Mischief, hence the title 'Who Me?' ...

Then there was the layout challenge, using some of the YUMMY Kaisercraft Miss Nelly range, provided by Embellish It.  This time I used a pic of me with my Great Grandparents, the old photo had a vintagey feel to it, like the papers.  Love love LOVE that Miss Nelly collection - VERY me!

I made a few flowers using my Cuttlebug Quilled Flower dies (which, to be honest, I bought ages ago, and have hardly used), and even used some seam binding in amongst the flowers and bling to just finish things off.

And I also love these Maya Road leaf pins.  I tend to use them a lot!

Layout number 3 was a double layout with a handmade background.  Again, sorry for the rubbish photos, but you know me, patient as a saint!  I used the Tim Holtz Sprocket die for the Cuttlebug and cut out what seemed like a gazillion sprockets, in three different sizes.  Then I placed them all over the background, interlocking the cogs, painstakingly glued them all down, then covered the whole thing in a layer of gesso, to make a whole new, crisp, white (although slightly bumpy) background.

Once the gesso dried, I watered down some funky green paint and headed outside to splatter on the background.  Don't try this at home!  Well, not indoors anyway.  To be honest, I think you should try it, it was lots of fun :)  The actual layout is about J and his motorbike.  He was really keen to have a go at a local club day, so we took him along and got him all kitted up and ready to go.  BUT, when the other kids took off from the start line with a hiss and a roar, he wasn't so keen anymore.    Kids huh?!

Another Raincliff layout... one of the three of us taken by the lovely Cathie from Phunkey Photography.  A pretty simple layout.  Loving my whitespace layouts at the moment!  Did a bit of fussy cutting, made a cutesy fence with some chipboard, florist wire and paint, and added a couple of transparency pieces.  Too easy!

Now, going back even further to a pre-Camp crop day with Embellish It, here are two more layouts - one of my cute little nephew Tyler, and the other using another of Cathie's photos - just me and DH this time.

And FINALLY, here's a SENZ layout :)  This was a class taught by the gorgeous Rachel Tucker (and her lovely assistant Tana!).  The photo is one of my Ma and Pa.  They ARE cute!  They're away on holiday this week, and it's strange not having them just around the corner like they usually are.  Gem, you'll get a kick out of this... I've been feeding Rags, and Rags caught a Bunny Rabbit the other day.  I found it, lying stiff on the dining room floor, when I went round to feed him.  Eeeewwww!!!!!  I had to make D go round there to get rid of it!

I can't show you the other class (the Nic Howard one) cos I sent that back to Auckland with Squirt for her to keep.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that it was SUPER cute :)

So, other than the lack of broadband, what else have I been up to lately that has prevented me from blogging?    Thinking back, quite a bit!

Straight after Raincliff weekend (which was FAB by the way, thanks Tania), the following Monday was SPCA Cupcake Day.  I came home from camp, frosted all the cupcakes that I had baked earlier and frozen, then spent Monday's morning tea break selling them.  In the end, I sold 132 cupcakes and made $383.40 for the SPCA.  Wahoo!!! Most popular flavours were Orange with Kahlua frosting, and Raspberry Chocolate Fish.

The following week I made another 'sale' baking wise.... one of my bosses bought a batch of Ninjabread Men.  She just had to have some for her boys after she heard that was what I was baking that weekend.

The week after that was my turn to run a session at Keas again, and this one took some planning in advance. And a lot of phone calls :) We had a Wheels Day to coincide with Father's Day week.  The Keas brought their Dads along, and some lovely Timaru peeps brought along their cars to share with the Keas and their Dads.  We had 14 cars in all... a GTO, three Chev Impalas, a Dodge Charger, a Cougar, a Ford GT40, another late model Dodge, a vintage truck, a rally car, a race car, an HSV Holden, an Aston Martin, AND a Cobra.  Oh and Mrs Whippy!  The kids ate ice-creams, had a shared afternoon tea with their Dads, completed a couple of car quizzes.  We also had time for a wheels-themed version of the classic Port, Bow, Starboard, Stern...we played Driver, Passenger, Bonnet, Boot!  Ha ha ha.  There are a few photos on the HMV Keas facebook page - the kids were SO excited by all the cars... and it was AWESOME that the people I spoke to were willing to help out and bring their cars along, just to 'share the passion'.  All very much appreciated by me.  Each car owner got presented with a card (made by me, but signed by all the Keas), and a wee bag of chocolate fish and pineapple lump treats.  

Last week was my turn again at Keas... Head Office's session plan suggested we focus on photography and ask a local photographer along to talk... um....pick me, anyone?  Teehee!  I took along my backdrop, external flash equipment, and all my kiddy props, as well as some wedding photo samples and my portfolio for the kids to look at.  I talked to them about how a camera works, let them look at the inner workings of it, and talked about taking photos from different and interesting angles, and WHY I like to take photos etc.  Then I let them play with the props and took their photos.  I have over 100 photos to check through!  Man they had fun though :)

In between all of the above, there is of course the usual cooking, cleaning, washing and tidying... assisted by my boys.  No wonder the weeks fly by....  

Not to mention the EXCITING news... Tania from Embellish It has asked me to design a layout class, using the gorgeous Teresa Collins Christmas Home papers!!!  The class will be in Waimate on Saturday November 12th.  Time/cost still tba.  Get in touch with Tania if you are interested, as I hear she has had a lot of interest already, and there are a limited number of class kits available.

For now, it's time for bed.  I have more photos to upload, but this lot'll do for now.  It's getting late!

At last....

...back to Broadband speed!  LOTS more posts to follow, now that I can upload photos again :)  Woop woop!


See ya soon!

Mmm, somethin' smells good....

Yup, I've been baking... three batches of cupcakes tonight, to go with the other batch already in the freezer, and the ones yet to be baked later this week.... 

All in aid of SPCA Cupcake Day, next Monday.  I'm baking in advance and freezing them til Sunday night, cos I've got Raincliff Camp this weekend, woop woop!  So you know what I'll be doing on Sunday night/Monday morning... Yep, frosting approximately 14 dozen cupcakes!  And yes, I know, that's a lot of cupcakes (do the math!)

So while our kitchen smells wonderful (and is incredibly clean and tidy), our lounge is a bombsite... I've been spreading out my photos and papers so that I can match up possible layouts to be done at Camp.  Just imagine the mess.  Then double it.  Maybe twice over.  I  kid you not!  Hopefully tomorrow I'll finish that job. Just in time for more baking on Wednesday night!

Thursday afternoon at Keas I am running the 'Make a Father's Day Card' session... getting in a week early so that the Dads don't see their cards being made when they visit next week for a wheels afternoon.  That should be fun...

For now, it's almost time for bed.  I had a wee slip down the stairs at work today and jarred my back.  Perfectly comfortable standing (hence the loads of cuppycakes baked tonight), but not too comfy sitting.  Bed is calling.... I need to lie down :)  Night!

Toodles,

Check out this fabulousness...

You just HAVE to go take a look at this blog... seriously, click here NOW to take a peek.  Sweetopia is having the most amazing giveaway.  Leave a comment telling her that I sent you, and we might both win one of these beautiful Raspberry Ice KitchenAid Mixers....

I know that it'd look mighty fine sitting on my kitchen bench... how bout yours?!

Seriously - go take a look.... NOW!

Toodles,

Must be about time for a catch-up...

I know, I know, it's been quite a while... but there's been a bit goin' on.

Going back a bit, first of all, DESSERT!  Yup, I had a lovely time at Benny's Again with some awesome friends, eating some yummy desserts on the night of my birthday.  A special thank you has to go to Heidi, Glen, Ashlee and Mitchell for coming down from Christchurch to attend.  Just awesome!  It's been a long time since I made a fuss on my birthday... I generally treat it as 'just another day', but I have to say that I really enjoyed my dessert-night-out.  I was spoilt rotten with all things pink and cupcakey (surprise, surprise huh?), and had a respectable turnout of 17 peeps (including myself).  Wahoo!  Who'd have thought so many would come celebrate with me?  There were some SCRUMMY desserts, so I had to take the obligatory photos...

Sticky Date Pud with Toffee Sauce

Caramello Cheesecake

Caramello Cheesecake-eating Monster (aka Jake!), and yes, he  DID eat it all!

Boysenberry Parfait

The Dessert Crew - Dom, Nic, Heather, Me, Glen, Ange, Daz, Ashlee, Mitchell, Heidi, Jacob, Carol, Mum and Kath

And for some strange unexplainable reason, I let them peer pressure me into 'planking'... Hmmm, not one of my best moves, I must say.  What the *;^% was I thinking?!!!

And, not to be outdone, J wanted the obligatory photo with Marilyn.  There has been many a photo taken of our menfolk with Marilyn over the years.... Kelv was the last inductee, hence J's need to 'be one of the guys'  :)

So that was my birthday in a nutshell.  I had a lovely day, although no sleep-in, as there was a doozy of an aftershock at 5.39am (Magnitude 5.1), which woke us all up, and there was NO SLEEPING after that :(

The following Monday was my first day in my new job.  The last 'first day' I had was 15 years before.  Talk about nervous!  But now, just over 3 weeks into it, and there's no looking back.  Best thing I could have done, and something that I should have done long ago, to be honest.  Sure, I'm still learning new stuff all the time, and sure, there's times when I have NO IDEA what I'm doing, but you know what?  It's great!  Jen B, you were SO right.

And now the countdown is on for two more big events...  Tania's Embellish It Raincliff Winter Camp is only two weeks away (wahoo!), and the week after (actually the day after) I have signed up as a volunteer baker for SPCA Cupcake Day.  Click the link here for more info.  I baked up a storm a couple weeks ago and took some 'samples' in to work.  You see, how could I expect them to buy cupcakes from me when they have no idea if I can bake or not?  So I made 4 different kinds... Vanilla and Passionfruit with Lemon Buttercream, Orange with Kahlua Frosting, Chocolate with Ganache Frosting and Banana with Cream Cheese Frosting.  Let's just say that they went down a treat!  Of course!  Not a bad way to make myself known in a new workplace either!  Teeheehee.  So, the weekend of camp will be finished off putting frosting on the gazillion-and-one cupcakes that I plan to bake and freeze between now and then.  I am aiming at the 10 dozen mark, maybe more.  So this time, I don't think I'll be pulling a 3am-er on Saturday night.  I don't have the time!  Any of you local gals that want to get in on the cupcake action, email/text me and let me know.  I'm going to make all except the banana ones again, and am selling them for $3 each.  All sale proceeds go direct to the local SPCA.  Pretty awesome cause.  Hey, Nic and Lucy, maybe I could courier some up to you?!  Ha ha ha ha ha!

Righto, that's enough for tonight, I have sleepin to be doin.  Here's hoping we get enough snow tonight so that I am forced to stay at home in front of the fire tomorrow...  (Except for Christchurch, you've had enough crap up your way lately.  Someone needs to give you guys a break, seriously).  So here I go, off to bed, doing a little 'snow dance' on the way, wishing for a lie in :)

Toodles,

Woop Woop!

I'm a very lucky girl.  Not only am I on leave, but it is my birthday today, and look at what DH Daz made for me over the past couple nights...

...a GIANT cupcake birthday cake!  I usually make my own cake, if I have one at all.  But because baking is kinda 'what I do', he really wanted to make me a cake, all on his own.  I just had to make sure we had all the right ingredients and point him in the direction of the recipe.  He even piped the icing on the cake all by himself.  What a clever husband!!!

And to put it in perspective, here's what it looks like next to a regular cupcake... it's a whopper!

So, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me-eeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!  Ha ha ha.  I shall be seeing some of you tonight, at Benny's Again, for dessert.  YUMMO!

Tyler James...

SUCH a handsome wee manny :)  Look at those baby blues...

Baking for a BIRTHDAY!

It was DH's birthday today.  I asked him a while back, at around the time I had made a make-up case cake, a surfboard cake and a caravan cake, what kind of cake he would want for his birthday...  'a Kit cake of course' was the answer....  (as in Kit from Knight Rider - if you're too young to remember this, google it!).  

So... I didn't really want to make an all black cake, as that amount of gel colouring has a nasty effect on your insides, if ya know what I mean, so I decided on a chocolate version.  It does have the red Kit lights on the front though, see?

As the day has gone on, Kit has shrunk, bit by bit, like some sort of cruel torture.  Oh well... like Marie Antoinette once famously said 'LET THEM EAT CAKE'!!!!! (and they did, teehee!)

So this post is for D - Happy Birthday honey... only two more years till the Big 4-0!  Woop woop! xxx

So there's been a bit goin on here lately...

SO much to tell you, so little time...  Job changes (I KNOW!), SENZ de-brief, and lots of other things too...

I have had a bit of a rough trot at work lately.  Some of you know what I'm talking about.  So after 15 years working for the same firm, I handed in my resignation last week.  I start a brand new job on Monday 25th July.  I had been considering making a move for a wee while, but only got the courage up to actually send in an application for a job last month.  Out of 120-something applicants, I was one of three interviewed for the position.  Then I got the 'Dear John' letter in the mail :(  Bummer.  Oh well, I thought, there's still SENZ to look forward to.  Then I got a phone call from their HR guy on the Friday night that I was in Auckland at SENZ asking me if I wanted to come back in and see them, as there was another opening they thought more my cup of tea.  Sweet!  When do you get home?  Sunday night.  Can you come in Monday lunchtime?  Um, OK!  Turns out that due to a shuffle-round of staff, there was this new job available, and I was the only one being considered for it.  Was I interested?  Let me think about it... um, YES PLEASE!  So I now have 7 more working days left at RSM, and that's it.  End of an era.  Well, end of a lot of things I hope.

And SENZ?  Well, that was FANTASTIC.  Loved the shopping.  Loved the trip away with my Ma.  Loved staying with my sister, her partner and bubs.  LOVED working for Trina.  She's the best.  Loved the yummy class kits that I am still yet to play with at home.  Didn't love the ash cloud that nearly prevented us from getting there (thank GOODNESS we were booked on Air NZ).  Also didn't love the self-deflating air bed and Ma and I were sleeping on.  Tee hee.  Someone made a naughty comment about the bed going down, but I had no idea what they were talking about.  Honest.  *wink*  Oh and loved the dinner out I had on Saturday night at The Lone Star with Trina, Nic, Lucy, Rachel, Tana, Ange and Skye.  Thanks Ladies!  Interesting conversations about a 'bad pork experience' and scratch and sniff clothing!!!  Lucy, you are a MACHINE when it comes to dessert.  You're awesome.  *grin*

Now, I haven't even had time to photograph any of my SENZ purchases or layouts, or even to 'pretty-up' the photos I do have to show you in Photoshop, but here they go, straight from the camera, unedited...

This little man is just the CUTEST!  Although this was the look that Ma and I got initially... kind of a 'Who are you freaks, and where has my Mummy gone?' look, don't ya think?

And he was cutting his first teeth while we were there.  Can you tell?

But Auntie Beck did manage to get a few smiles in the end :)

So that was nearly two weeks ago already.  All going well (and ash clouds staying away), Sarah, Kelv and Tyler will be arriving in Timmers on Saturday for a few days.  They don't go home until next Wednesday. 

The weekend just been saw me catching up with some old friends.  My oldest friend Ange (as in I have known her the longest of all my friends, not that she IS the oldest of all my friends!), is back from Kuwait with hubby Andy and baby Jessica.  They are here for 6 weeks before they start their new teaching jobs in Thailand.  There was a baby shower for her on Saturday afternoon (even though Jessica is now 3 months old), as us NZ friends hadn't met her yet, or had the chance to have a baby shower for her before she arrived!  I took a cake to share for part of the afternoon tea, and made a present for Jessica on Saturday morning.  So here's a quick kitchen bench shot of the cake, the card and the pressies...

Mmm, caaake!  Oh and SOMEONE had TWO pieces of cake... how they managed it, I am not sure - it's hell sweet with all that icing all over it!

And a close-up of the card... the two flowers are satin lollipop flowers with pins on the back, so that they can pin them to a headband, bag or dress for Jessica.  Handy!

And the fabric dice/ball... with lots of little ribbon loops for Jessica to grab on to, and a small (and very quiet) bell on the inside, so that it makes some noise.  I appliqued her name on the outside of it too.

One last note to all my Auckland friends who were complaining of the cold during SENZ.  Yes it was wet, but you peeps wouldn't know cold if it jumped up and bit you on the arse!  Here's a photo I took at 8am this morning.  That's our lawn.  With frost on it.  It was -1 degree.  At 8am.  Seriously.

See, this is wash COLD looks like.... brrrrrrrrrrrr

Oh, and last minute open invitation to those of you who may be interested... I have booked a table at Benny's Again on Friday 22nd July (which just happens to be my birthday) from 8pm for DESSERT.  They have the best desserts.  If you want to come join me and my family for a scrummy pud, feel free.  Just let me know if you're coming so I can make sure there's enough seats booked!

Right, that's my break nearly over, so I gotta dash.  Seven and a quarter working days to go, and counting... Wahoo!