All is good with the world

My chicks are all home from school, safe in the nest. I did absolutely nothing productive today as I wondered what they were all doing at different times of the day, hoping they had everything they needed, wishing it wasn't raining! They all had a great first day back and Jarred, particularly, gave High School a ringing endorsement -"It was awesome"! Long may it last :) Hereare my chickies this morning. Aren't they positively shiny?

I am joining in with a challenge over here at this gorgeous blog whereby every Wednesday we post a picture pertaining to a theme. Each week the theme will be different. For example last weeks was 'This is my favourite coffee cup'. (I am catching up so will do this weeks and last weeks today.)

So this is my coffee cup. It is really quite large and I adore the paisley.
And this week's theme is 'This is what scares me'......self explanatory really....blerch! They just give me the absolute horrors. Thank Goodness God had the foresight to bless me with 3 cockroach squishing sons.

And they're off!!!

To school tomorrow :) I promise they are as excited as I am....almost. Bags are packed, everything labelled, lunches ready, kids sleeping....we're ready. Jarred is a bit nervous about starting High school (so am I to be honest!). He'll be fine. I am sure. Won't he?
Miss Mikaela is just keen to see her friends and use her new stuff :)
Lethal Ethan is ready to conquer year one and suck up everything they throw at him...hope they're ready for him ;)
Mister Connor is starting kindy in a couple of weeks...eek! That is going to be a tough one.

This layout pretty much sums up the ending of our holidays here -

After much deliberation and procrastination I made Mikaela a chair bag for school instead of buying one. It is made of denim and has a flap made from a bandana - supported with interfacing for extra strength. She loves it...even though the flowers were a bit impulsive. Hope they last at least a few weeks ;)


And here is the little miss with a brand new look for year 4. She wanted to get her hair cut shorter for summer and this is what she looks like today. Cute huh!
All the best for all the little school starters this week. Hoping for a smooth and easy week for kids and Mums alike :)

Connor the angry captain

Is what he called himself today when I asked him who he was. Captain Connor the angry Captain. Isn't he terrifying!

It's a good news day

Well it's a great start to the day today. Not only did I get two more acceptances from Scrapbooking Memories Magazine today, but my sister Rachel has had her very first acceptance for a digi layout too! It was submitted for the whimsy gallery and stars my little niece Jenna. With one of my layouts accepted today featuring my other niece, Piper, this ensures all of the grandkiddies are going to be published in a mag this year :) There will be lots of show and share material for school ;)
Rachel has now started a blog for her digi designs. She has called it Cuppycake Designs. She is putting up freebies at the moment while she is still learning and creating. Leave her some love if you download :)

Who wants to see.....

....what the school books of a scrapbooker's child look like?

LOL, well mine do anyway. All I know is that I have made a dent in the pile of old 'feeling guilty because I bought these and now I'll never use them' patterned papers I had. Now I can just feel guilty for spending time doing them instead of what really needed to be done last night. Mikaela thinks they are awesome: Lethal Ethan told me under no circumstances will he take scrapped books to Grade 1 and wants Spiderman and Hotwheels ONLY: Jarred is starting Highschool now and insists that his books be naked (his term).

*By the way, for those with good eyesight and who know my child, I am fully aware that the book name labels read 3MB and not 4MB....I have changed the labels since I took this photo *blush*.

We are still in the middle of a wet summer here in Queensland and it is threatening again today. Much of our backyard is mushy and boggy. I remember when Jarred started school back in 2001 and it rained heavily every day for the first 2 weeks of school. Poor teachers! Poor kids! Jarred never set foot out of the shelter shed for weeks. No complaints about the rain here though...just lots of continued prayer for those affected by floods up North.

DISCLAIMER

*This post is for the specific purpose of debunking all theories that sewing real handbags as party bags is by any means normal or common. For any mothers that have shown my previous post to their children and have consequently been harassed by their female offspring for machine sewn party bags, please reassure said offspring that this was truly a one-off happening. It must also be noted that this was a birthday party of two. I assure you that had any more than two children been present for this celebration, all lollies and party favours would have been safely ensconsed in a disposable plastic reseptacle like last year.*

;)

My Girl is Nine Today

Mikaela as a baby...one of my first ever layouts LOL. Bad photo of the layout, but I didn't have time to rephotograph it.


It is hard to imagine that this little creature is now nine years old today. This time nine years ago she was wrenched from my womb in one of those nightmarish scenes like you see in ER...gurney racing down the hall, doctors calling out terms like 'Spinal Block', 'Placenta Praevia' and 'Accelerated Heartbeat'. After having a textbook natural delivery with Jarred, this whole scenario seemed surreal and very frightening. Her heartrate had almost doubled during labour and my OB decided on a ceasarean delivery in a great hurry. It all happened in less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Richard barely got time to pop on a cap and gown before they sliced me open.....to deliver our beautiful baby girl. I didn't know the sex of the baby so it was a brilliant surprise to have a daughter. She looked as though she had run a marathon...red and purple and panting for breath. Later the OB told me how lucky we were that she survived. We knew we were not lucky, but very blessed to have God's hand upon our little one.

We celebrated her birthday last night with a little party at home with all the family and her little friend Grace. They had a sleepover last night and stayed up playing their Nintendo DS's and chatting and giggling as girls do. Today we went to see 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' (so cute and very funny!) and went out for lunch. It was lots of fun and Mikaela declared her birthday 'totally awesome' :)

Here is the birthday girl........
I sewed the girls some 'party handbags' from denim with polkadot linings for the movies.

Mikaela and Grace....how cute are they!? :)

Some layouts to share

I haven't shared any layouts for a while... some of these are weeks old.

This one is for a Monthly Challenge over at Mystical Scrapbooks. It had to have red, bling, 3 photos and stars. When I made Miss Mikaela this skirt for Christmas I asked her to pose for a quick photo...and we ended up with an audition for Australia's Next Top Model!! She's such a shy, delicate little flower :)

These 2 are the ones I did on the Crop day with the Scrap of Faith girls. I journaled and finished them off this week.

This one I did last night after starting it on the crop day. Still using up my Scenic Route stash...I love that stuff.

More Scenic Rout stash...and that shy delicate little flower again ;)

More 'happy' news

Miss Mikaela is jumping around like a loony at the moment as she has been chosen for an article in Scrapbooking Memories magazine! They are looking for young scrappers to feature their work and to be interviewed for an article! I popped off an email with her layout (called 'Happy')attached this morning and it was accepted straight away. How funny is that. It is her birthday on Friday so this is an awesome week to be Mikaela :)

Sew and sew

I stayed up until a ridiculous hour last night finishing off my quilt. I had made the patchwork top a few weeks back and finally got around to layering, binding and quilting it. I have made small applique pieces years ago but this is the first larger quilt I have made. It is a bed runner for my Queen size bed and turned out quite well. I love the fabrics and really enjoyed the whole process.


On Saturday I had the pleasure of being able to host the Scrap Of Faith scrapping group crop here at church. The lovely Alex was here from WA so well met together to have a day of scrapping, snacking and chatting...so much fun. Here is a pic of us all with all the little bubbas too. The Ladies here are Michelle, Alex, Amy, Sal, Leanne, Me, Chrissy and Nat...aren't we cute! LOL

And some of the girls with their babies...so gorgeous!! Below there's Michelle and Asha, Alex with Joanna, Amy with Amalia, Nat with Lani and Sal with Cowper :) Can't wait to do it again soon.

Another Acceptance.....

...For a layout I submitted to the upcoming 'beads' gallery for Scrapbooking Creations. I submitted it ages ago and the email just came through. Very happy about this one as it is a boy's layout featuring beads and I had so much fun with it.

I have no sewing to share as I have packed everything away for a bit of a break while I sort through some stuff around here. I am reassigning all of my creative 'things'to new homes and getting a bit organised. Here are my latest photos for the Photo a Day challenge -

This is the "I am bored it's school holidays and it just keeps raining' photo. I converted it to B and W....

Here is the original...

Day 9 is Miss Mikaela and Connor sharing a tender brother and big sister moment. Quite a rarity some days let me tell you.

And this one is of me...for the LSBS biography page update Cath is doing this week...eeek! I swear I took a hundred shots and still hate them all *sigh*. Never mind it'll have to do. Whe did I get so many lines around my eyes! I think I've sewn too many late night handbags LOL.

Monday...is the best title I can think of

I have a lot to share today. First up is the next photos in my Photo a day entries -

This is the water that came down our mountain yesterday after the big storm we had.

Day 6 -

And this is todays...check out the way Connor's hair mimics his little 'tucked bits'. Too funny LOL.
These are a couple of couple of layouts I completed for challenges over at Mystical Scrapbook's cybercrop. Nice to scrap for a bit of fun.


This is the bag I made today. A bit of lime and chocolate...yummy! I may need to invest in some new clothes to match my funky bags hehe...I bought some stiffer interfacing to make them a bit more rigid and it is much better.


Last but not least is the incredible digi kit that my sister has made...for free if you want it. She has gone with the name Cuppycake Designs and will be launching a blog soon.....I think ;) Until then I get to share with you here -

Isn't it divine! Can't wait to see what else she comes up with. Leave some love if you download it :)

Bag Lady

Is what my husband is calling me this morning. Bless him. I stayed up until a ridiculous hour sewing bags last night. I have been printing off bag tutorials and trying to summon the courage to actually sew one for ages. I ordered the most delicious fabrics specifically to make a couple of bags and finally tackled them last night...and they are lovely LOL...if I do say so myself. I am so happy with how they turned out and will be making many more bags to come. My MIL saw mine at church this morning and placed an order already LOL.

This is my smaller shoulder size handbag -

And this one is the perfect size tote for a day out with all the kidjunk as we refer to it in this house.

I am working on a layout or 2 for a cybercrop today and have unplugged the sewing machine for a while. My husband says I am obsessed. I think he's right.

What a hoot...

This little guy is going to be packed off to my Nanna in South Australia on Monday...I think I'll miss him :( I finished him off last night as a gift for my owl-loving Nanna. I know she will love him, so that makes our parting a little less painful. He is made from Robert Kaufman fabric following this little tutorial/pattern. He was pretty straightforward to make, even if I did sew his ears on inside out at around midnight :0 A bit of unpicking and he turned out fine.

Another rainy day in paradise

....and the kids are stir crazy! It has been wet here in Brissie almost every day for a few weeks now. The kids are a bit over it and I am way behind in the washing. Can not complain though - it could be 40 degrees and stinking hot instead of wet and cool as it is now. Today I just let them out in the rain and told them to cut loose...it's only water after all....and more washing :(

Here is last night's Photo for the Day - dinner hehe. Pepperoni's in Wishart for those who want a great pizza..

This is today's photo - the boys having a moment in the rain...awwww. They have spent a whole lot of time feuding lately, being cooped up inside together, so this is a nice change.

Photo a Day

I am participating in the 'Photo a Day' challenge over at Essential Baby photography challenge group. The challenge is straightforward...take a photo a day! Many of the girls compile them into a book at the end of the year which is very appealing. An entire year documented in a bound book. I am toying with following the black and white theme I have started the first 2 days with and practice my B and W conversions. We'll see what happens.
Day 1 - This was the only photo I took on New Years Day and it is a bit grainy. Very bad conditions and late in the day. Shows her latest way to pass the time though ;)


Day 2 - This one is my little Game Boy copying his big brothers.

Lets see what tomorrow brings and how many pics I will end up with for scrapping!

For my digi friends

Look at the cute little digi kit my clever sister Rachel has created...just in time to scrap some of those Christmas photos. This is her first ever kit and she has let me put a link up here to share the love. If you would like to download this funky little kit, you can find it here. Leave a comment here if you download it...it might just inspire her to share some more :)

Wishing you all.....

Hope everyone had a sensible and sedate entry into the new year like I did. We let the older kids stay up and watched DVD's. Quite lovely....and quiet. Hoping 2008 will be a blessed and prosperous year for all.