Happy anniversary ...

It's our wedding anniversary today - not just any old annivesary mind you but a BIG one, an ENORMOUS one even.  It's 25 years ... yep 25 years, if that doesn't freak you out nothing will ... 25 years, a whole quarter of a century.  I'm not going to say it has been a bliss filled two and a half decades, we have had our ups and downs, some years more downs than ups but it hasn't been all bad, in fact a lot of it has been pretty good.  We have two beautiful children and as lives go I think we have been successful and relatively fulfilled.

So here's to 25 my dear and as Paul Sweeney said A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year.

A Ferrari fan ...

The April challenge on Scrap the Boys is to get inspired by an outfit that your son or husband wears to create a layout - You need to use the photo of the outfit (obviously being worn by your son or hubby) inspiration could be the colours, patterns, textures etc...

There were so many tees and tops in photos I could have used but eventually I settled on using a cap ds was very keen on (and still is).  I used a transparency as my solid base and also as an overlay on the photo and then layered paper in the same colourways adding Ferrari embellishment to complete the page.

Anzac Day and Easter Monday ...

It's the 25th of April - Anzac Day and the Monday of the Easter long weekend.

It's wet, it's cool ... so what do you do on a day like today.


1.  You remember men who fought and gave their lives in the name of freedom and democracy and doing what was right.  You remember those that came home but still are tormented by what they did and what they saw.  You hope that someday we will all wake up and realise doing what these brave men and woman did isn't the answer.

2.  You buy fish and chips for lunch cause it's cold and it seems like a great idea.  You sit as a family and watch Wallace and Grommet because it is about rabbits and after all it is Easter.  You have a couple of quiet hours chuckling and feeling good about life.

3.  You do some work in the study which you share with dh and you listen to some good music.



April showers ...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and Scrap the Girls is using this beautiful image as it's Picture Inspiration for the April challenge ....

I loved the muted colours of this image - the soft use of blues and yellows and was also drawn to the large focal umbrella.

Krafting It Up in April ...

I always enjoy playing along with the monthly challenge over on Kraft It Up.  April is a little different this time around ... 

APRIL"S CHALLENGE....

Is a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 challenge, you must create a layout based on the following...

1 piece of Kraft cardstock
2 photos smaller than 6x4
3 different Alphas
4 different patterned papers (yes you can use the reverse side of one sheet as long as the pattern is different)
5 different embellishments

** Paint, Mists, Distressing and any other technique based creating are not classed as embellishments, you can still use these of course but they do not count as your 5 embellishments, you need to think chipboard, ribbon, twine, journal blocks, flowers, buttons, jewels/bling, pins, tapes, stickers, handmade embellishments, paper clips, lace, tabs, diecuts etc...

Here is my rendition.

Clock not so wise ...

Kids really do say the funniest things at times.

It is sort of a family tradition when we occasionally get one of these ..

to sit around the table and take turns to scratch off an icon in the hope of winning it big someday.  We never have (I think $10 has been our largest earnings) but it is a fun filled 15 minutes spent as a family.  There is much gnashing of teeth as we get tantalising close (or fail dismally).  We did this activity today, all sat down at the table.  Hubby with scratchy in front of him, coins at the ready. 

I'm going next says ds sitting on the left side of dh.

We're going clockwise say dh.

Oh say ds disappointment oozing out of every pore.

That means you, you dufuss says dd - eyes raised to the ceiling and pained expression on face.

Oh says ds - beaming !!

Today I'm ... Blogging - Prompt 9

listening - to the soft gently purring of Miss Bella who is curled up on the seat beside me

feeling -  tranquil and content - all is good!

creating - nothing atm but will be putting together a layout or two later today.

wanting - to get some of my "to do" list done.

needing - to get some of my "to do " list done!

thinking - I really should put in a load of wash.

enjoying - checking out a few of my favourite blogs.

wondering - whether I'll ever have enough time to complete my very long "to do" list and wondering if I really care!

Blogging - Prompt 8

I'm a sucker for funny things and this sure tickled my fancy ...

Make sure you watch the top one first ...

Scrapjacked Inspiration for March ...

I again decided to have some fun over on Scrap Jacked this month doing a little inspiration sourcing from one of the layouts of the design team.

I was taken by the page from Julie.  I liked the fun "in the pool" summer elements of the page, the colours of blue, orange, yellow and brown, using small pictures and the title.

 Here's my layout ...

Being just a little bit nerdy ...

It's no secret that I like trying something new so when I stumbled across this little challenge site Nerdy Girls I thought I should give it a go.  The March challenge was to find inspiration from this cute little collage.  I could take from it whatever caught my attention - now this part was hard - should I do blue, use the quote, add in some hearts, do a layout about fashion, use fabric .... what exactly?

Can you guess what parts of the collage I used?

The blue and red colour scheme of the "Crunch" bar, silver as a secondary colour,  tiny stars, the use of multiple small pictures.

Goes to prove, inspiration can come from anywhere. 

Blogging - Prompt 7

It beckoned me from my study window. Rising from behind the solid green fence, arms stretched towards the sky.

I don’t know how long it stood there. It was here long before our inhabitation, long before the land was cleared and subdivided, long before that. It was witness to the endless procession of sun moving across the day sky and the thousand twinkling pinpoints of light in the night.

It housed bird life in abundance – white, black and multicoloured - daily perches and nighttime roosts. Possums scampered in its branches at night, lizards crisscrossed its broad truck or sat, silently mesmerised by the suns rays. Ants marched up its flank and over its limbs, searching endlessly for tid bits of food – busy, always so busy. It offered up shade on hot summer days, stood against the furry of violet storms.

And in a moment it was gone. My study window is bare and my heart bleeds. It is gone.



Never ordinary ...

In the sense of being "ordinary" - today certainly is - it's cool and drizzling with rain.  It's Saturday and at the moment one child is over at the local shopping mall, another is making 2 minutes noodles for lunch (and dh and I a cup of tea!) and both of us are on our respective computers working on our individual tasks - in his case work related and in mine, scrap related.

But really today is anything but ordinary.  Today our beautiful daughter turns 18.  The little bundle of pink joy we brought home from hospital all those years ago (and it seems like only yesterday) is now an official adult.

Today she can purchase alcohol and cigarettes should she so wish (which she won't, thank goodness), enter nightclubs, clubs and hotels or casinos (and gamble), legally sign contracts and other binding documents, make a will, enter into a lease.  When you turn 18, you can receive medical care, donate blood and get tattoos and piercings without parental consent or permission. You can also buy lottery tickets, change your name, buy adult video games or go to an X-rated movie,  move out of your parents' house and be responsible for yourself.  You can enlist in the military or marry without parental consent.  When you become 18 you have the right to register to vote and cast a ballot in all federal, state and local elections.

No today isn't an ordinary day - today we participate in a state election.  After 16 years in government the Labor NSW state government is about to be annihilated at the poles.  All credible information speaks of a devastating defeat for Labor and a huge majority for the incoming Liberal party.  After 16 years Labor is on the nose in this state and people want change.

And today my daughter gets to vote for the very first time on her actual birthday - I don't think many people get to do that and I think it's kind of special. 

Happy Birthday baby - we love you.