Finally got some time to blog....

Can't believe I've actually got some free time so I can update this much neglected blog. I spent this afternoon tidying up my craft room after getting another shelf from bunnings. Now it's all reorganised and tidy again I just love being in here by myself.... I just want to sit in here and plan some designs or scrap a bit or even just play around on the computer.

I haven't really done a lot of scrapping since I went to the SBC retreat in July..... just a bit of digi stuff.

I'm slowly getting the hang of different functions in photoshop. I took the laptop & external HD to night shift the other week and found it so easy to do some digi stuff during quite periods with out having to lug a heap of scrap stuff with me into work.

I bought a bind-it-all machine when SBC had a 30% off one item sale. So far I've only used it the once but just love it. I've got plans to make a heap of things with it. I plan on making calendars as chistmas presents this year. I made an art journal by cutting up a cheap A3 sketch book.


Well my baby boy turned 14 last week. Can't believe that it's been 14years already since I first became a mother. Time surely flies. We all went out to Lone Star for his birthday dinner and his girlfriend Sheridan came along as well. She is actually a nice kid(despite all the dramas a couple of weeks ago) and she is besotted with Brady. Don't know how long their little relationship will last but at least he's still getting on with homework etc.


They make a nice looking couple but it's hard to believe that they are only 14 when they both look a lot older in this photo.

I went to a stampin' up party at Sue's the other week. I was really surprised at how lovely all the stuff was. I ended spending far more than I had planned to and am now having a party of my own next Saturday. Should be fun as I haven't seen some of the people who are coming for a while so it will be nice to catch up with them.

That's about all for tonight.

Terri xxx

WARNING.... Long Post Ahead

It has been ages since I've had the time or inclination to update my blog. Heaps has happened over the last few weeks.

* Brady's girlfriend and her best friend (which happens to be an ex of Brady's) disappeared after school Friday week ago. It was pretty frightening as noone knew where they were, if they'd been abducted or had run away and if they ran away...why? We had the police and Sheridan's dad on the phone obviously distressed. Brady was also upset as he had no idea where the girls were. Sheri rang our house last Tuesday night. I was able to talk to her but couldn't get her to say where she was. I then had Brady ring a number she had given him the next day and convinced her to let me pick her up and bring her to my house..... that way I thought she'd be at leats safe and then her dad had a better way of trying to communicate with her. Thankgod it all worked out in the end and she went home the next day. The police interviewed her at our home and finally located the friend the next day. Her dad was so grateful and I was given a pamper voucher for a massage & facial and Brady got a game traders voucher., which was very nice and not the reason we had helped. I'd like to think if my child was in trouble then a responsible adult would help him. The girls ran away as they had got caught writing on the girls bathroom door and were going to be suspended from school. I said this when Brady got suspended for dacking a kid earlier this year and I'll say it again..... if the school would ring the parents when things happen then maybe these girls wouldn't have been so scraed and ran away. Also the other girls boyfriends mother knew they had run away and had helped them hide from the police & their parents..... that is just so disgusting and I believe she is in a bit of trouble as a result.... and so she should be.



* Kiara dance in eisteddford at the gold coast on the weekend. The danced really well, but on got a highly commended for the tap number. They are just improving all the time. She and her friend Maddie are now going to start doing duos next semester. We couldn't believe how in synch they dance together. Should be fun as Maddies mum & I get on really well and have the same opinions when it comes to dance etc.



* Mark has been doing so much overtime at the moment that we hardly ever get to see each other. The money has been handy as we've had so many extra bills and are going away on holidays in about two weeks time. I can't wait. I have so much to do before we go but it will be worth it. Mum & dad are going to mind the kids so we'll have a stressfree fortnight at the Whitsundays and Airlie Beach.



* We bought a new Canon400d digital SLR camera with twin lenses. Can't wait to play with it while we are away. Will most probably take me awhile to get the hang of it though. We bought a 2G card with it and when we got it home the shop had left a 1G card they'd been using in it so we got a bonus there.

Scrappin' Pj Party

Had Milly, Jo and Rachel over on Friday night for a scrappin Pj party. Just thought we could be all comfy in our Pj's. We had a great night. I got a couple of L/O's done. I'll have to take piccies of them later. Also ate too much junk food and had a great big gossip session. The girls left at about 2am. Always enjoy having the ladies over for a scrap night.

Sunday saw Jo and I head off down the coast. We went to the Cararra markets and then shopping at Pacific Fair. I was so excited to get some roller skating shoes for Kiara's up and coming birthday. They look like joggers but have inbuilt skating wheels in the soles. She's always wanted a pair. I got them for $40. I can't wait to give them to her on her birthday. Jo bought a beautiful pearl necklace for herself. It is so pretty and she's so excited about it. We also tried on formal dresses for the up & coming SBC ball in November. Found a gorgeous red gown. Can't wait for that night. We had the best day.... no kids, no men!!!!!

Have to go Mark'sput dinner on the table.

Terri xx

Mum - 2007

Another digi L/O. This is my mum. I've used elements from the following digi designers:-

* Lori Wiley, Tracey Ann Robinson & Miranda Reinhardt (Scrapbook Bytes)

* Christina Renee & Corina Neilson (Funky Playground Designs)

* Carla Gibson (Designs in Digital).

A Moment in Time

After spending a whole day cataloguing all my digi elements I made this L/O. It's one of my favourite picture of my two Kids taken while we were on holidays at my parents house a couple of years ago.

I've used digi elements from the following designers:-
* Tracey Ann Robinson (scrapbook bytes)
* Corina Neilson (funky playground designs)
* Lori Wiley (scrapbook bytes)

Can't think of a title

Thought I should post something here. Doesn't time just fly by. Home has been hectic as usual. Mark worked 15 shifts in 14 days and I worked heaps of overtime so we haven't had much of a chance to get anything done. Kiara had a dance eisteddford on the weekend which was a long but enjoyable day. They danced really well. Got to perform new routines for the first time and wear new costumes. We weren't allowed to take photos unfortunately.... not even if the change rooms so have no pics I can post. The competition was tough but they still managed a highly commended for the jazz routine.

I've been trying to get to the gym regularly. Really trying to get fit and lose weight. I love pump and step classes. Was meant to go this morning but then found out SAM was having a clearance sale 50-75% off. So of course I just HAD to ditch the gym and go didn't I? Managed to get some nice things and good bargains. Just have to find some room in my already overcrowded craft studio.

Haven't had much of a chance to scrap or so lately. I did get last weeks challenge at Scrapbook City completed though.

I also made a quick little BTP item. This is to put the remotes for my tv and DVD player in my craft room. The base is a wooden cutlery drainer I bought at IKEA for $2.95 for another project I was going to do. I really like this little remote control holder and it was so quick to do as well.


That's about it from me for the moment.

TerriXXX

Time to Catch Up.

Thought it was about time I wrote down what's been going on around here. Heaps has happened so will put it in bullet form.

* Brady came off his pushbike and broke his arm so now is in plaster.
* Brady got spear tackled at school by some kid mucking around and ended up with a massive lump on his head and another trip to the doctors. The other kids got suspended fro 3 days.
* Kiara performed with her dance school at an exhibition at Forest lake last weekend. Did well.... new dances & costumes. I was exhausted as she had 6 costumes changes ina very short space of time. We are off to the Gold Coast Eisteddford next Saturday. Very long, tiring Day ahead of us.
* Mark completed his security Licence and passed. He'll be now working mainly as security at the hospital as well as some orderly shifts. His in the process of deciding whether or not to apply to join the police force next year. Just needs to get his eye sight cleared first as he was mugged and robbed some years back and sustained a significant eye injury. I really hope that he does. He's lost over 25khs and 32cm off his waist and his confidence is just soaring at the moment. It is so good to see.
* Also found out that Mark is going to need reconstructive surgery on his left ankle. He has split and torn some tendons and has bone fragments floating around. It will require 6 weeks in plaster and then another few weeks off work. Just trying to work out the best time to get it done as we have booked to go to the Whitsundays in September and he has a big fishing trip planned. he may try & hold off until November.... just depends how long he can stand the pain. he's had a sore ankle for a few years now but can't remember actually injuring it. The surgeon said that it won't affect his ability to join the police force if he decides to go ahead.
* I've joined the gym and have spent this week pumping, stepping and balancing my way to fitness. Brady is going with me.... pretty funny watching him trying to master a step class last night.
* I've been working heaps and haven't had any time to really scrap or sew.... hence my business is at a standstill. The ideas keep coming just not enough hours in the day to get it all down. Hopefully after September life will slow down and I can get it all going again. My problem is that I want to have a go at everything. I'll be in the middle of one project and then see something else I want to try.... I've always been like it.
* I've started work on my Scrapbooking Memories masters entry. Still not sure if I will actually finish and enter this year or not. I bet I end up rushing around like an idiot at the last minute and entering any way.

That's about it from me for this post.
Terri XXX

Recent Layout

Here is last week Scrapbook City Monthly comp entry. It had to be a BTP item using the crate paper monthly kit. Pretty happy with this and I came third. Should look nice in my scraproom if I ever remember to by the hooks to hang it up with.

Here's a L/O I just completed for the Scrapbook City Monthly Comp. This week was using a sketch by Alicia. I've never scrapped from a sketch before but am happy with the result. The photo is a couple of years old.... just didn't have anything recent of the two kids that I could use. They both seem to pull the strangest faces lately whenever I get the camera out.

My Craft Studio

Well it's taken a while but I've finally got some photos of my revamped craft studio. It's not exactly what I had originally planned( I drove my kids insane the day we went to Ikea to pick up the stuff!!!!), but I love it. It is just so bright, airey and colourful. I've got everything I need in here and can shut myself off from the chaos going on outside my craft studio door. I've still got a few finishing touches to make.

I've got 4 of these jars in total and when I finish sorting my vast and ever increasing ribbon stash will have them arranged in jars of plain, spots, stripes and florals.

These jars looks so nice on my shelf.... and I can see exactly what flowers I own.

I've Been Tagged..... Thanks Heaps Leone

WEll being tagged mean I have to come up with 7 facts about myslef and then tag seven other people. Gee... what are 7 facts about me that people don't know.

1. I'm actually quite good at singing and always thought that singing would be my career.... musicals, recording, live gigs etc. I still love singing my head off but usually in the shower or car when no one is around. The kids are the only people who really hear me sing properly.

2. I am a diet coke addict. I drink way to much of the stuff. But I justify it as I don't drink tea or coffee and don't drink much alcohol anymore so need some vice.

3. I am really good at starting things but don't always finish things. It's not because I'm lazy but more that I have so many good (well I think they're good) ideas and not enough time to finish them. I'd love a clone of myself so I could get everthing I wanted done. I have so much half done craft projects around the place that it's not funny.

4. Secretly I would love to write a book..... most likely a children's book. I started one a few years ago but have never got around to fnishing it. Maybe I will when I retire or the kids leave home.

5. I can tap dance. I used to dance weekly until the adult classes where abandoned last year. I miss it though but still get the tap shoes out every now and then when my daughter is practising.

6. I met my fiance at work. We were working in the same ward and I was actually trying to help him and another nurse get together but fell for him instead. We kept it secret for ages and not one person ever worked it out until we came out at a work function. Seven years later we still work in the same hospital..... has its up & downs working together though.

7. As geeky as this sounds I still love watching old Elvis movies and old musicals. I used to get so excited when these were on TV when I was a kid. Especially when it was the anniversary of his death as they played movies his movies all weekend.

I now tag, Jo, Milly, Sandra, Carole and Rachelle.

First Digi layout

This is my first attempt at creating a digi layout. The papers are by Robyn Gough (Flourish Kit), flower and charms by Gypsy Chick (Hey Gorgeous Kit); alpha brads by A. ZeeHelmick. I recoloured the flower to make it stand out from the background. Overall I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. I've got heaps more to learn though.

I'm a hopeless blogger

Yes I must be the world's worst blogger. It's been a few weeks and I've been busy so will pt it all in point form.
1. Had surgery on my eyes on Tuesday. It went well. A bit sore & swollen and am having trouble seeing but not tooo bad.

2. The scrap room has been made over and I'm happy with how it looks. It ended up being a huge job. A lot bigger than I expected but it was worth it. Will take some photos this week and post them.

3. Am enjoying pottering around and learning digi scrapping. Spent ages cataloguing all my elements the other day. Haven't actually finished a layout yet but I'll get there. There are some beautiful digi elements & kits out there.

4. Been really busy at work. Did extra shifts to pay for the scrap room splurge at Ikea and bed managing at the hospital as been really busy. I enjoy it but at times I could strangle doctors and their receptionists. So frustrating!!!!

5. I've also become a knitting addict. I actually don't mind it and as I'm able to knit without looking at what I'm doing that often I can knit and watch TV etc at the same time. I made a really nice winter wrap for myself. I knitted a beanie for my son but used a different wool than the pattern and it turned out huge. It cover his whole face. Looks like that kid on the Fat Albert show. Said I'll try again and my daughter wants a wrap as well so am making her a pink and purple coloured one.

6. Haven't done much scrapping or stitching for a while. I think you can get a bit burnt out. But am starting to feel the creative urge again. Am also toying with the idea of entering the scrapbooking memories masters comp again..... not sure though.

Well gotta go. Having trouble seeing and am sick of fixeing typing errors.

What Have I Been Up To?

Doesn't time just fly? I just never seem to have enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do. I've got a couple of CJ's I have to get finished this weekend, my L/O for Club - Scrap n' Chat, and a pile of OTP and mini books that are in various stages of completion. Not to mention all the sewing and new patterns I'm in the process of working. I really need to devote more time to the business but with working full time shift work at the hospital (and doing extra shifts) and getting the kids to all their activities and helping with homework etc it is just plain hard.

My other big project that seems to be taking up a lot of time is the refurbishment of my craft studio. At the moment it's just a mish mash of furniture and storage units I've collected along the way. However I am now planning to redo the room with new units and a new desk. As my craft studio takes up the spare bedroom I am planning to remodell and put in a sofa bed so we can have people stay. I've been pouring over Ikea catalogues and making visits to Bunnings for the last couple of weeks as I come up with a plan. I seem to have spent a lot of hours dreaming of ways to make this room workable as a scraproom, sewing room, office and spare room while naking it the perfect creative space for me. Finally I've decided on a new configuration, what desk I want and the storage units and shelves as well as the colour scheme and some decorative pieces.

As I have a blue TV in the room I've had to plan the colour scheme around it. I'm going to get a couple of white expedit bookcases from Ikea. These are perfect as they are in 30cm cube configurations. My desk is actually a stainless steel kitchen console from Ikea. With the stainless steel splash back I'll be able to put some magnetic little pots on it to store various items at the ready. As I tend to stand up to scrap these days it is the exact height that I need. I'm also going to get a funky barstool for those times that I want to sit. I'm painting one wall blue and the other either a red or green. IKEA have these excellent red and green boxes that are 30cm cube so they will fit well on the shelves and store all the bits and pieces in. So the colour scheme will be whit, blue and steel with some other bright colours as accent bits. I can't wait to have it all done. I've worked out the costing, hence why I'm writing this at work while I pick up some extra night shifts to pay for it. I'm hoping to have it all finished in a couple of months.

Can't Believe I Haven't Blogged For So Long

I can't believe how busy I've been. I got home last Saturday after spending a wonderful week on the Pacific Star with the Scrapbooks and More Scrapping cruise. Had an absolute ball. Got to meet some lovely people and to get to know others I already knew a lot better. Spent most of my time with Mum, Rachel, Milly & Brendan. had heaps of fun..... going to shows, dancing etc.

Thought it was going to be a crap week when I got my scrap stuff confiscated at customs due to my scissors etc. We eventually got it all sorted and ended up having to scrap with security guards watching us. All our tools at to be itemised and checked back in at the end of each scrap session..... must have thought we were going to attack each other with our crop-a-diles and bone folders!!!!!! Some of the female security ended up working on the projects with us and became scrap addicts to boot. They showed the captain and we got to go on a tour of the bridge as a result.

The scrap sessions were great and the projects we worked on were just gorgeous (especially the keepsake box). I won the badge comp and received a lavendar making memories tote which I just love!!!!! All the gifts and the prizes were great. Hope and co put a lot of effort into it and it was well worth it. Can't wait to go on another scrap cruise.

Here's a pic of Mum & I about to board the ship.


Here's Milly & I with the gorgeous First Officer Luca. Milly the cheeky thing copped a good feel of his butt!!!!! He had the most define french accent that made all the girls swoon.

I've got a heap of other pics but I'll put them in a slide show and post them here later on in the week.

Been so busy since I got back. Firstly I spent a small fortune at the Brisbane paper Arts Festival on the Sunday. Jo & I had a great day out. I bought a cuttlebug and some dies, as well as some more BTP stuff (like I need anymore). Had afternoon tea with Katie & Louise who I met on the cruise. Then on Friday met up the some girls from Scrapbook City Forum at the lovely Rachelle Minnett's home. Her home is simply gorgeous..... I could easily live there. And then I had Milly, Jo, & Rachel over for a scrap night since Mark's gone away on a fishing weekend with the boys. I started work on a mini album I'm going to make about the cruise. we all had such a nice time and are planning on making it a monthly get together.

Finally, Club Scrap n' Chat is underway. The first challenge went out. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. We now have 12 official members. They are all lovely ladies so this should be fun.

Sorry for the long post but as you can see heaps has happened. Gotta run now as Grey's Anatomy is on soon. It would have to be my most favourite show at the moment.!!!

EMM CROP

Had a lovely time last night at the EMM Crop with Jo & Andrea. Was nice to catch up with Carol-Lea Morgan as well and met some really nice ladies too. Got a heap of stuff done (which is unusual as usually find I'm scrap blocked at these things).

Only 14 more sleeps until Mum & I go on the SAM scrapbooking cruise. The tickets arrived on Friday so now it feels real and I'm really excited. Just looking at the tours to do on shore and making final decisions so I can fax the booking form for that tomorrow. I've finally finished making our tags and badges. I'm really happy with how they've all turned out. I couldn't resist showinf them off at the crop last night and the feedback was very good. I'll take some piccies when it's light tomorrow and upload them. I used the cricut and gee it made it so much easier and quicker to make them. As I had to make 44 tags in total I was so glad I had the cricut.


I love my criut!!!!! I also got three new cartridges as Scrapbooking Emporium had them for sale this week. I hadn't really used the cricut much until I made the tags, but now that I have I can see just how much I can do with it and how much more economical it will be to make my own alphas & embellishments.

As a tool junky (I just love tools) I also managed to buy some new scrapbooking tools to play with this week. First up I got a glass cutting mat and new retractable cutting knife. It's amazing how much easier it is to cut with the glass mat as opposed to using a rubber one. I also got a fiskars hand held craft drill. I was pretty impressed with how easy it is to use and how well it went through some wooden shapes I had. I then managed to get hold of some Basic Grey precision files. These are tiny metal files that will be perfect to fit into intricate chipboard shapes when covering them with paper. Can't wait to try these out.

Well better go The biggest Loser and Grey's Anatomy are on tonight. They ar ethe only TV shows that I watch at the moment.

Reality Scraps...... Week 2

This is my entry for week 2 of Scrapbook City's Reality Scraps comp. The rules were that we had to use the Making Memories 'Cheeky'range of pages. Patterned paper had to be used as the background. We had to use the 8" chipboard that were in the kit, Journalling had to be on the chipboard. I'm pretty happy with the result.... didn't really like those papers and it was soooooo hard to work with them. I made it through to week 3.

Week in Review

Well since I've had such a busy week I thought it would be easier to recap all in one hit.

Monday was my birthday!!!! I still enjoy having birthdays even though it means I'm getting older. Was a funny day a) I started the day pretty sick with biliary colic; b) I had to work; c) since we're on diets in this house we couldn't go out for dinner as we normally would;and d) the kids were at their dad's house and forgot. However I did receive some lovely presents. mark bought me a beautiful red Jag wallet, coin purse and keyring set. I also had some money to go on a scrapbook shopping spree. Mum & dad sent money so I could buy new clothes for my upcoming cruise and my 2 brothers both gave me a lovely willow tree figurine each (I love these little figurines..... if you don't know what they are they look like they have been carved from wood and have no facial features).

Spent a couple of fun days with Jo. Thursday we had a quick trip to Ikea to return a kitchen trolley I had bought that didn't work (surprise, surprise we refrained from shopping in there!!!!). Next stop was Spotlight. Spent some birthday money on a new cutting tool for scrapbooking. Looks like a rotary cutter but with interchangeable fancy blades. I'll have to take a photo of it and post it. We then had a girly lunch and st up the MSN messenger for Club- scrap n' Chat.

Friday we spent the day with Kaye and Melinda. Cruised a few scrap shops and of course spent money. Got some new stamps and a circle cutter. Had a great day.... will have to do that again soon.



This is the Layout I did for the first week of Scrapbook City's Reality Scraps competition. We had to scrap our passion (well that was easy.....stitching is definitely mine) using the 3 bugs in a rug papers from the survival kit. We also had to journal and it couldn't be hidden. We also had to include an embellishment cluster using products from 3 companies. I used alot of hand stitching on my layout and am pretty happy with how it turned out.

Until next time,
Terri x

Digital Scrapping

I've just completed two of the quietest night duty shifts I've done in a long time. This gave me the chance to surf the net a bit and I ventured into some digital scrapbooking sites. I must say that I'm a bit taken with this alternate means of scrapbooking. Some of the kits out there are just so scrummy!!!!!!! A lot of them are free as well!!!!!!

I downloaded some free kits and am going to have a play around.....see if I can work out how to make layouts this way. Now this doesn't mean that if I'm successful that I'll turn my back on paper scrapbooking. I really enjoy the hands on, glueing, cutting, doodling etc. and the off the page stuff. But if I can work out this digital means of scrapping I'll be able to scrap anywhere. On night shift, holidays, anywhere anytime and all I'll need is my computer.

Some of the sites that I found useful where:- www.scrapbook-bytes.com and www.clikchicdesigns.com .

Off to see if the method I've used to start organising these digital elements in has worked. Knowing me I'll become addicted to digital scrapping and start collecting hundreds of digital elements.

Oh I nearly forgot. I found out how to make blinkies so I'm going to have a go at this today as well.

New Fabrics

On the way home from work today thought I'd duck into the Quilter's Store at Auchenflower for a look. I've had an idea for a new quilt in my head for a while so thought I'd see if there was any suitable fabrics. Initially I was planning to buy some pink and chocolate fabrics. But when I saw these colours below I couldn't resist them. The deep chocolates, turquoise and oranges were just too yummy to pass up. I then bought some matching DMC threads to stitch the applique designs with.

Now I can't wait to start designing this new quilt. It will also give me a chance to use my EQ6 quilt designing software which I haven't used as yet.

New Scrap Tote

Just had to post a pic of my new scrap tote. I just love it!!!!!! I bought it a Scrapz at Jindalee after work the other day. Purely a spur of the moment purchase, but I just think it's great. It's got heaps of room in it..... tried fitting the usual stuff I'd take to a crop and it was perfect.

I must confess here and now that I am a bagoholic. I have so many bags and I drive Mark insane as they are stored all over the place. But you know you just can't really have too many bags can you? Boys just don't understand that you need a different sort of bag for different occassions. Ah well such is life!

REALITY SCRAPS -

Scrapbook City has a new comp called Reality Scraps. the ultimate prize is a stint as a DT member. I've decided to give it a go. The first challenge is to make it past the qualifying round. Only 20 people are to be picked after this round. For this challenge we had to create a layout with a picture of yourself, your name and the reasons why you are taking part in the comp

Above is my entry. My cricut and flower punches got a huge workout but I had fun!!!! Even if I don't make it past this round I'm still pretty happy with this layout. The colours are not as bright in the photo as IRL. I used flower layering and doodling as my two main techniques. The photo opens up like a book and journalling is hidden behind it.

This is a box I bought at Spotlight and decorated to become an index file for the growing pile of quotes I have. At the moment they are on scraps of A4 paper shoved all around my craft studio but now I can write them on index cards and file them under a particular theme to make it easy to find them.

Tired after night duty so am now off to bed. Have a few more things I've been working on that I need to take pics of so I can post them here.

Online Class - Scrapbook City

These pics are of an exploding box I made at my first ever online class. It was really fun! Unfortunately i wasn't able to be online while the class was live..... but I don't know if I'd have been able to keep up anyway. Really happy with the result and can seem myself making some more as gifts. It was also the first time I've worked with 3D flowers ...... will definitely be doing more of this.

I'm not really sure how to change the position of my pics on the page but I'm sure I'll learn.

Scrapbooking - apart from this class I've been working on some CJ's, an all about me album and some little BTP items. Will post pics when get them finished.

Stitching - well I've been working on making new graphics for the website. Just want to update them and have them reflect the style I'm into at the moment. Also plodding a way on a new design. Really need to finish of the collection I started a while ago. It's called the BUBBLEBERRY GANG - and features some cute little sisters and their friends. I've stitched all the tops but just need to sandwich and quilt it all and then of course write out the patterns.

That's about all from me at the moment.... gotta go and get ready for work.

What a Day!!!!

Today was very busy. I went to apply for my passport but was knocked back as I was wearing my glasses in the photo.... not that the lady who took the photo mentioned that to me at the time.... so had to get another set done. Then my next obstacle was with my name. I wanted my passport to be issued in Knapp as that's what the cruise is booked under, but even though I had my marriage licence, birth certificate and divorce decree they wouldn't accept it. The passport office had told me this wouldn't be a problem when I first rang about it. So then I had to go and change my driver's licence and tomorrow I have to change my medicare details so then I can submit my passport application. Of course non of these places are in the same suburb!!!! Now I'm going to have to change my bank cards, health fund, nurse's registration etc. I didn't want to do it yet as Mark and I are maybe getting married this year and I'll have to go and change it all again. Maybe I'll just keep my maiden name, it'd be easier.

The day wasn't a complete disaster though. Jo & I paid a visit to scrapbook city. I bought my kit for the explosion box online class. The fancy pants papers and ribbons are just beautiful. Can't wait to do this class as haven't done an online class before. I also bought some beautiful crystal brads and these new prima flowers that are edged with some sort of white dimensional stuff. They also come with jewel flowered shaped centres. They are gorgeous and I got a set in the green. Just love green stuff at the moment.

Next we ducked into spotlight and I got some more jewel embellishments. These are flowered shape and come in a pack of 4 different colours and 8 of each. Pretty good value for $3.99. I also picked up a wooden square open album. I'm going to make a little family brag book. It's small enough that I can carry it around in my purse.

Well shopping for scrap gear has sparked my urge to scrap. I've started on the little brag book and also started to alter a box I've had sitting around for ages. It fits index cards in it and I've decided to make it a quote box. I've got heaps of quotes and poems around that I use in my journalling and stitchery patterns. They're all just on A4 sheets of paper and are stored everywhere. This way I can file them under specific themes and be able to find a quote easily.

That's it for now.
Tx

MY NEW BLOG

Welcome to my new blog!!!!!! I've had blogs before but haven't been very good at posting. I am determined to post regularly on this site, well more that the 'once in a blue moon' that I've posted before.

Why have a blog? Good question. The reasons that I want to have a blog is to record all my stitchery and scrapbooking activities. I want to be able to write my thoughts and feelings (especially about my love of craft) and to share the happy and (hopefully not to many) bad times.

Stitchin' and Scrappin':- these are undoubtedly the two most enjoyable activities that I partake in on a regular basis. I do something related to these two crafty pursuits on a daily basis and just don't feel right if I haven't. I may not actually stitch or scrap everyday. But I may roam through websites, read books and magazines, tidy up my craft studio, or just plan new designs either on paper or in my head.

STITCHIN' - I've been sewing stitcheries, making cloth dolls, quilts, wallhangings and cushions for many years. I used to make these solely for myself or as gifts for family and friends. However, a few years ago I decided to start designing my own patterns and now own a pattern business with a online shop. I also sell directly to craft stores. The business is called BRACKLEBERRY GULLY ( a name I chose as it sounded different but also Australian). It's been harder than I thought to get it established..... just doesnt seem to be enough hours in the day. My focus this year is to raise the profile of BRACKLEBERRY GULLY and promote the website. The feedback I've received so far has been very positive.

SCRAPPIN' - Initially I had no interest in this hobby at all.... I just couldn't see the point in it. But after going to a workshop with a friend I became an addict immediately. I now just love it. Where else do you get to play like a child with scraps of paper, glue, stickers, ribbons etc? The amount of interesting people that I've met through this hobby both online and in person and become friends with has been amazing. I've been to workshops and retreats and am going on a scrapbooking cruise in March. I've been given an Honourable Mention in the 2007 Scrapbooking Memories Masters and my layout has been published. I'd never submitted before but plan to submit more work this year.

I think that will do for now. Until next time.

Txx