birthday!

yep it was my birthday yesterday!! 37!

it was a bitter sweet day for me.

it was a nice day but I missed my mum so much + my dad forgot about it.

but he is such a bad space atm that I just have to let that disappointment slid.

kev + the kids were super sweet to me + we just had a fun day of hanging out together - one of my most favourite things to do! :)

And Ruby, my ever thoughtful sweet girl (how did I deserve such a special person) wanted me to buy a gift for myself, she said + we could just pretend it was from Poppins. She must of known I was a bit sad! So we brought 3 small gifts so her + the boys could give me one each .

And this from Kev...................I have wanted one of these forever + look the last of my YUMMY carrot birthday cake - made for me esp by my wonderful mil! :)

The lastest NZ dare. Go over + check it out. There is the most AMAZING prize!!

And I used the June kit from SOML . This is such a FUN kit + also Sara (the owner) is just such a sweetie.

have a great week ahead!!

only one more week till holidays!! YAY!!

rach

having some FUN!

I did this LO recently for a challenge that Michelle Tan set for us.

It had to be about you + why you are fabulous. Well I thought bugger it + went over board + had lots of fun creating this little number + 'yes' I was generous why I'm fab!! With a little help from Kev on a certain word that he felt should be added in there why I'm fab!!

And you know what it felt good doing this as I hardly ever do LO's about me - its always about the kids.

Lots + lots of goodies from Sweet Spuds kits . I just love those rubons from Hambly - so FUN!

The dance concert went well. But Ruby had a crampy tummy before she went + I asked her if she was nervous. She said no at the time. Then when the show started I noticed that Ruby was not on stage + next minute she was standing next to us!! Her tummy was still sore + she said her dance teacher said it was OK to find us but she just had to do her dance as her partner would of being partnerless!! By the time it came to her dance her tummy was feeling much better. I put it down to nervous + on reflection I don't think she even knew what being nervous was like.

Great show! But I'm glad there is no more running back + forward for extra practise!! Just swimming + hockey practises for the next few weeks.

challenging myself.......

to try out some different challenges as there are so many FAB challenge blogs out there.

one I've being checking out for a while now is the design experiment blog.

They have some great challenges + last week I started working on their challenge #13 ............. I missed the deadline as I was fiddling too much with the LO + also I made a booboo on it...........not that you would notice now!!

Challenge #13 was about words..........what is your fav word/s + why? Do you say it a thousand times a day?

my word/s was "you're joking". I know i say this often as for one I have a husband that plays lots of jokes on me, its how I react when the kids come to tell me one of the others has done something wrong or how I might react to something serious or sad!!

no reason or rhyme why i say it really............I just do!!

using some goodies from a sweet spud kit. this kit was full of yumminess - the colours were so electric!! loved it!!

well the inlaws came back from China yesterday + now they are winging their way to CHCH for the rugby this weekend. Ruby has her dance concert this Saturday.............so we are busy driving back + forth to extra practises but tonight we didn't go as I had a very sad little who came crying off the bus.

She was a missing Poppins (my kids called my mum poppins - her name was Mary) she told me. She said she was sitting on the bus + was thinking of her, she just got really sad + it hurt her heart. So we had big cuddles + talked about the things that we loved + missed about her. Then i remembered in the lastest CK mag i brought yesterday - May's issue there was a section about 'remembering' loved ones. There was a LO done done by a woman called - Lisa Swift about her daughter missing her Noona. I really loved this approach as i feel its so important to recognize their feelings too. So I asked Ruby to list what she loved about Poppins. So in the weekend we will work on a LO together. I will share once we have completed it.

oh yay hump day!!

and only 2 more sleeps till FGIF!

9 more sleeps till my brother comes to stay!

10 more sleeps till my birthday!

and on BTW.............go figure this..............we ran out of water!! In June!!!!.............thats just plain madness!! We have had little rain + we do really need it!!

also the driveway is laid + its great....................no more mud + dust!!

rach

playing the rules!

yesterday I played the rules again on SIS with Miss Lee - my little aussie friend!!

Rules given to me were

1. use a red embellie

2. stamp something

3. use 3 brads

OK I cheated + used 4 brads but I had too to get the look right!! :)

I wanted to create a LO for the kids + hope that they would remember those small simple things we do with them + that make up the memories of your childhood.

We spent a lot of time this summer at the pool down the road. Its nothing flash - just your typical 50's or 60's concrete school pool. But we have lots of fun in it!! So often after those swims we would come home + sit on the deck + we would have some afternoon tea together!! Even though I didn't journal I asked the kids if you they remembered what was happening in the photos + they said what I wrote above. And then they asked if they could go swimming tomorrow + have afternoon tea on the deck!!................lol

And checkout that new ChatterBox pp - the striped blue pp + pink pp!! Their new pps have the most gorgeous colours.

All these goodies are from the May kit from Label Tulip

Last weekend we went out on a little day trip. We use to do this a lot + I love discovering whats basically in your backyard so to speak! So off we drove for about an hour South from here + then turned inland + drove along some very high + narrow roads (which I don't really like as I hate heights)...........but I coped!! The views were amazing as we could see the bottom of the North Island + the top of the South Island. So we finally arrived at Lake Rotorangi - the Patea Dam.
We had a wonderful time exploring, throwing rocks into the lake + explaining to the kids that the Dam was not a hydro slide!!!............eekk I was having awful visions..............once again to do with heights!! ............lol.

It was a great day out + it was ended with a ice cream brought on the way home!! As you do!! :)

kids + me

and as we left there were some stock horses just on the side of the road + we just had to stop + have a pat................esp for my horse loving girl!! :) And this pic is for Aunty Steph too!! :)

They were super friendly + they all wanted to be patted.

Also if you wondering why Ruby is in a blanket + Finn + Taidhg's faces look all painted out we were having a super hero morning before we left. Ruby is UnderDog, Finn Spiderman + well um Mr T I was still working that one out as he drew his own face!!............but hey the little dude was happy + thats the main thing, eh!!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
I'm planning to scrap as I've got lots of challenges I want to do + got some new photos developed!

rach

YAY for long weekends!!

that allow you to blob out all weekend!!
just what we all needed!!
we are over driving long distants with our kids for a wee while. Done every month until now since Jan. but on a positve Finn has a great knowledge of what towns are inbetween the Naki + Wellington now!

so some scrappingness finally!!
I did the old Kill 2 birds with 1 stone for this LO + used it for 2 challenges.
SBO are running some challenges till the end of the week in honour of the Queen's BD + I knew I wanted do a challenge where you had to add some shape to your LO........esp since we have all these gorgeous products from the likes of MM + Jenni Bowlin - just to name a few.
Had planned to do it up on Friday night but there are too many great shows on Friday night + my line up is - Top Model (which I missed due to kev watching a movie), Million Pound Property + then my fav Project Runway!! And how fantastic was PR!!
then on Sat morn (as Finn was the only 1 playing sport + Ruby was off to play with a friend, so then I only had 1 child) I hopped on to SIS + played 'the Rules' - where you are sent 3 rules + you have to do it in an hour! So I made the LO work for both challenges + I have being wanting to use this collection from SIS forever............like it only came out June last year!!

My 3 rules sent to me were 1. ink 2. use tape (under photo) 3. use a butterfly

and a close up of the butterflies I made out of hambly. Stamped the image onto hambly using stax on, cut out image + made sure the stamp side of the butterfly was placed down on paper. Easy + fun!



I made this 'Get Well' card for Andrea a few weeks back using some goodies from Sweet Spuds March kit





the inside





and since I've being blobbling I've had a good session on the computer + rediscovered the Cosmo blog. Those girls like a good laugh + do a spy a 'maybe' DT call pencilled in!!??
Also just to share these are some of the places I like to visit (i'm sure some of you have got them in your favourites already - never hurts to be reminded, eh!)
Christine Middlecamp. I first discovered her work on SIS last year + then linked myself up to her blog. I love visiting this woman for one her talent is amazing but she inspires me with her bavery + I love how she loves to share her ideas with us. And she is now doing bi-weekly tutorials. Her first one is awesome. If you haven't seen her work before go + check her out. Amazing!! You won't be disappointed!!

Another talented woman I discoverd last year - once again via SIS is Sarah Bowen. I may not scrap like her but I really really admire her style. Her blog is filled with interesting bits + bods + she has the BEST BEST playlist I've come across. Quite often I will have her blog open for a few hrs so I can enjoy this womans wonderful taste in music!!

And lastly a well known gal from 2peas Jennifer Pebbles. I just love how she loves life, her love for junk (be still beating heart), her photos (she takes such fun doggy shots + of her hubby) + finally the fun in her LO's. She looks like she would be so much fun to hang out with!! Also have you checked out her etsy shop!! Such a cool idea!!

Also just to let you know that Elle has a new super site + she has got some awesome deals going down for the whole month of June!! Love her stuff!

and YAY to concrete!!
and why am I so excited about concrete you ask??
well we built this house 8 yrs ago + we have never had a concrete driveway - its either being a grass one or lately a grravel one + with that comes dirt + dust!! Muddy + dirty in the winter + really really dusty in the summer!!
So this morning Mr Concrete layer (not Chris's hubby..........lol) comes in + starts boxing up the driveway. This makes me happy!! Its a big driveway too + the kids are going to LOVE having concrete to ride their bikes, skateboards + shoot some hoops!! But I also have some visions of yukky crashes!!


I'm off to enjoy the rest of the day blobbing!!