Blog of the week!!!

Thanks Adeline for letting me know that my blog was featured on the Blog of the week section at Scrapbooking.com!!! Truly a little buzz for me because after a good 3 weeks on holidays.....I really miss scrapbooking. I haven't found a proper scrapbooking shop in Cebu yet...so if anyone knows of one....let me know!!!

We've changed the name of our travel blog to 'Eating our way around the world'.....because that's what it seems we are doing!!! LOL....sooo much eating eating eating!!! LOL so make sure you do check it out although at the moment, it's a tad boring as I don't have any photos up yet.

We're on holidays!!!!

Hello!!! New travel blog has been set up....

Where the heck are we now?

hehehe...did you think I died????

Hehehe.....it's been so long between blog posts...did u think I died of the lurgy??? Hehehe....I'm still very much alive. Where do I start??

Ok...life has been busy...as I am sure it is with everyone. But I have been busy with one very very special thing - we're going on holidays!!! A nice long 9 week holiday to Philippines, USA and UAE!!! We spend Christmas and New Years in Philippines which is where DH is from. And hopefully we will get laser eye surgery done so that we don't have to wear glasses again! DH hasn't spent Christmas and New Years in the Philippines for 26 years since he migrated here...so he's really looking forward to it. Then we fly off to Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and Dubai!! We also get to transit in Singapore, Tokyo and Frankfurt! 7 more sleeps until we leave....mega excited!!! I will start a travel blog....so if anyone still reads my blog and is interested.

Ok...what else.....I have a new toy!!! DH bought me a Nikon D80 with the 18-200mm VR lens...as well as the 50/1.8 fixed lens and the Speedlite SB600. Totally spoilt! I'm trying to learn how to use it so that I can take good shots for our holidays. And DH also bought himself a new toy....a gorgeous macbook pro. We're PC users....so this macbook is quite confuddling to use....but we're getting there. We needed a laptop to take on holidays with us so that we can check emails and VCE results and somewhere to save the kazillion of photos that we take.

Scrappingwise.....I've not been able to do very much. I've done my last Scrapping Angels DT kit and my last OPAAT kit. My term with OPAAT has come to an end and I've been fortunate enough to have had 2 terms with them...so I've had a year of opaat kits and I will miss them heaps!!!
Oh..and another mega exciting event......Blog sales have started at Crop for Kids!!! We started a day and a half ago and have sold over 120 packs....so please don't miss out..... go and check it out as they are limited edition and exclusive ....and at $2 a pack with $1.80 postage within Australia, you'd be crazy not to order any.

Lurgy rules!!!

Well.....our household routine was turned upside down....DH got sick....then DS#2 got sick.....Jeromel was still sick. They were sooo sick they slept all day...and all night...I ended up sleeping in the loungeroom on the futon so those nasty sick germs wouldn't attack me in my sleep. I visited them every few hours to give them medication and hydrate them. DS#1 started to feel unwell too....so I put him on massive doses of echinacea and vitamin C because he has VCE exams!!! Poor Jeromel recovered from the flu and seemed ok for a day...then it all started again...this time worse...the poor baby ended up with a chest and ear infection....and had to go on antibiotics. By the time he finished his antibiotics....he was exhausted....he'd go to bed at 8.30pm to wake up at close to lunchtime the next day!!!! He only went back to school this monday!! So I have well and truly been STUCK AT HOME...not had a CHILD FREE DAY in ages!!!

ok...few pics to share....

Firstly....DS#1 had his VCE Fancy Dress up luncheon day.....he chose to go as Donald Duck much to Jeromel's delight....tee hee...so one morning...I had the pleasure of driving Donald duck to school....on the way....we spotted a Fireman and an Army dude walking....so we picked them up....tee hee....just Jordan's classmates...but boy...it was a first for me....having Donald duck, a Fireman and an Army Dude (sounds better than soldier) in the car. hehehe


Then that night....DS#2 had his Year 10 formal. He wasn't 100% well....but persisted....armed with his panadols. Pin stripe suit .....bright purple shirt and a paler purple tie. He went in a group of 7 other friends. They hired two topless mustangs....one with a red leather interior and the other was white. Such yummy yummy cars!! All of the 8 kids had either one or two parents present taking pics....mothers taking pics of the kids....so the group were well and truly mamarazzi-ed. The few dads that were there were more interested in the cars!!!! hehehehe
When Jeromel was feeling better a few days later.....with a little persuasion from his mother.....he got dressed in his brother's hired Donald duck outfit....tee hee...it was soooo huge!!!! LOL...but oh sooo cute!!It wasn't all bad when they were sick.....they slept all the time....they didn't want to eat......so it was just Jordan and myself and we ate leftovers for days. LOL....which left me plenty of time to scrap. Will share those soon!!

Stuck at home.....

That's right...I've been stuck at home....housebound with a sick little boy. Jeromel got a fever on Sunday.....poor little man...very lethargic...snoozing on the futon in the loungeroom...wanting to watch tv...but then he falls asleep before long and wakes grouchy because he missed the end of the show. We had a very restless night on sunday....it was a bit warm in the house....we tried to persist but ended up turning the air conditioner on low, we were worried about how high Jeromel's temperature was, he kept whining and grizzling in his sleep, we had alarms set for every 3 hours to check his temp...then at 5am he crawled into bed with us to sleep...and all went well ...till......he threw up....ewwwwwwwwwwwww....gross!!! DH took a day off on Monday because he was soo sleep deprived. It was good because Monday is when the taxi driver of the family pulls overtime driving the two eldest boys around...so it was really helpful having him home. On top of all this....I'm still not all that well....lurgys in the house!! So yesterday in between playing nurse, mother, comforter, chef and laundromat, I decided to do my first ever Scrapjacked challenge. Here is my jack of Megan Stephenson's layout
And.....highlight of yesterday was my OPAAT kits arriving!! Got the October and November kit! I've already finished one layout with the Nov kit!! I also got another acceptance to Scrapbooking Memories for the Boy gallery....very exciting as it is one of my favourite layouts.

Today has been better....Jeromel is getting better although he now has a slight red rash on his cheeks. I think it might just be from the fever....but just to be on the safe side, I'll keep him home again tomorrow as he's still running a slight fever...and he napped this afternoon....which is very unusual for him.

Leaving you with a few Rasberry love. I made 3 cards and a giftbox for the For Keeps ad. I totally love the little box with the big layered flower on top...and the cards are just too cute with the gorgeous Rasberry chipboards.

ROCKTOBER!!

Gosh...has it been that long since I blogged last? Can't be....time has just flown by!!
These are the little cake boxes I made during Michelle's online class at Crop for Kids.
A boyish one using Junkitz and a girly one using Rasberry papers.
The next class that is on there is Vita's photoshop class which is fabulous! Make sure you check it out.I went to Paperific on the first day......it was a fabulous day. Firstly because I got to meet Pauline and her adorable son Joel. Pauline is the owner of Fireside crafts and we've been emailing each other for a while now and lately chatting on the phone. So it was great to meet this fabulous lady in person. We had a quick walk around Paperific and then I met up with Carolyn and we did our walk around to promote Crop for Kids. Then I went to the Rasberry stand in the Trade section and hung around for a few hours helping out and made a few pages for a mini album there. I got to catch up with lots of people there......it was soooo much fun!

After that....I got sick....maybe too much talking..maybe the crap changeable weather......maybe hayfever....so last week....I didn't do very much except rest.

Before I forget....wishing all my Muslim friends 'Selamat Hari Raya'!! It's been so long since I've been home in Brunei to celebrate Hari Raya....I miss all the yummy goodies that's available at this time of the year!

Here are a couple of layouts that I haven't shared yet. One bright busy funky and fun!And the other....very simple, linear and......simple. LOL....both done the same day. You can sooo tell I"m a Gemini....hehehe. And it was pure co-incidence that they had urban lily on them.Little plug here......
Fireside Crafts is having a 20% off sale on our already cheap paper kits and all other scrapbooking products. Because our prices are already below the RRP that means you're getting somewhere between 20-30% off. In actual fact, our Candlelit Kits are almost at wholesale price! The only products not on sale are the Wizard die cutter and spellbinder dies. It's 'first come first serve' and once the products are sold out they won't be replaced. To be honest with you, there's not that much in stock

Pay it forward!!!

I won the pay it forward rak from Michelle Vass blog, so now..it's my turn to pay it forward. Ok....leave me a comment on my blog and I'll randomly select 3 people to send a handmade rak to. I still don't know what to make....but it will be made with much lurve!!

Ok...what have I been up to....well...it's school holidays at the moment....so I've started my part time job as the chauffeur to the 3 boys in between entertaining them....in between feeding their voracious appetites and still make time to get out and about.

Last weekend was fabulous. We went to Chesterfield farm for a birthday party. Jeromel had a fabulous time feeding all the animals especially the kangaroos, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses and even a reindeer!!! He even got to milk a cow!!!
Aren't these piglets just sooo adorable???? I couldn't take a photo of the sow....but she was MASSIVE!!!! Saturday night...we got a very flustered phone call from some friends.....they had a surprise party for a family member and Angela thought her Mother in law had invited us...and the Mother in law thought that Angela had invited us. They only realised when the guests had arrived and we weren't there. LOL...so we quickly got dressed and went to the party for a few hours. We couldn't stay past midnight as we had to pick Jordan up from work and Jarryd from a party. But the party was fabulous and the hip hop dance off was spectacular and Jeromel really got into the limbo !!! Sunday we went furniture shopping and did our grocery shopping at the asian store and got our mooncakes for midautumn festival.

Monday, Julia and Matty came over for lunch and we went down to sidetracked entertainment centre so that Jeromel and Matty could have some fun. My camera battery was flat...so these are photos that were taken a couple of weeks ago. They played mini golf, bowling and played some arcade games to get tickets to redeem for prizes. Both had an absolute ball. I was sooo excited to find that they have dippin dots at Sidetracked. I haven't eaten these in such a loooong time. I had a bit of a funny throat that day...so I didn't indulge...but I'll be going back to get some. Anyone tried these before??

Castle themed mini golf.....all based around King Arthur. This is Jeromel's favourite bit.....get the ball up the ramp....and then you got to pull the sword up to retrieve your ball.

Highway 66 ten pin bowling......kiddy style. The balls are smaller and lighter which makes it easy for kids to handle....and no holes in the ball.
This is one of Jeromel's favourite games....feed big bertha!!! It's a timed game...so big brother Jarryd helped out. See Jeromel's little red bag? That's his new medicine bag. It's big enough for his puffer, bandages, antihistamine, creams etc.Tuesday - Dropped Jarryd off at work training and then Jeromel and I went to southland to watch 'Surfs up'. He really enjoyed it........I found it funny...but thought they talked too much. LOL. Southland also had some holiday activities and Jeromel made a cute little pet rock. How funky is it????
Wednesday was a fabulous lunch date with Mich, Vita, Jane and all the kids. It was sooo good catching up with them and browsing through mags. Talking about mags.....my first Rasberry ad is in For Keeps. Don't know what page but it's towards the front of the mag...and I did the altered box with the flower on top and the card. I also got a huge mountain of stash from Michelle.....I shop too much.....but it's all Mich's fault...she tempts me!!

The rest of the week....bumming around at home and just chilling. On the scrapping front. Not much done. I've done a small dring album...about 9 x8 album for Matty. His grandmother asked if I would make something to keep all his birthday cards and some photos of his 6th birthday party. It was a really great, fun and easy project to do.

Asides from that....I've been making Christmas cards and envelopes out of my scraps. I swear....25 cards and envelopes were made without cutting a whole sheet of 12x12 paper or cardstock. All made with scraps. So happy that I now only have a few pieces of scraps left. These are a few of my favourite cards. The embossing was done on a cuttlebug months ago when Arty pants first got their cuttlebug in. Since then...the bits have sat in my scrap box. So glad they have gone to good use.The card on the left....with the red panel...is actually an acrylic sheet....window card.....thought I was pretty clever!!!The green card on the left is a clear card done on an acrylic sheet.....I totally love it. Red card is again a window card using the negative bits of that Christmassy candles sticker.And here are some of the envelopes that I made with my scraps. I made my pile of cards..then realised that they are all odd sizes...so I made envelopes. I've learnt my lesson. Never making envelopes again....from now on...my cards will be standard sizes. But I think I did a pretty darn good job on the envelopes.

Ok....
Crop for Kids chipboard competition is on!!! Everyone of you.....yes you......must have a design or two that you wish someone made into a chipboard embellishment. So this is your chance.....submit a few designs to us. Don't tell me you can't draw....go find a colouring book and trace it....go find a clip art....take a pic of something.....it doesn't have to be a professional computer designed image....trace it....tweak it.....then take a pic or scan of it and submit it. Rockets, planets, trains, cars, fire engines, police cars, trees, gates, fences, lamp posts, sandcastles, unicorn, teddy bear etc etc This is a for a great cause and the winner gets a $50 voucher to spend at The Scrapbook Establishment as well as a $50 prize pack from Scrapware....and best of all you get bragging rights. Come back and tell me you've entered the comp and I'll put you in my pay it forward list twice.

And my good friend Michelle Vass will also be doing her first online class and it's something oh sooooo cute. You get to make a box that looks like slice of cake. Yes...a calorie fat free cake!!! What for???? Well....think Christmas gifts for teachers and family....pop in a few chocolates or some coffee beans or some home made treats or a hanky and you have a gorgeously presented pressie. I know that by Christmas, we are all on tight budgets, but we still like to give out small pressies...but these can be a bit of a pain to wrap....so this is perfect. The box has huge wow factor as it is so decorative...and there is a small pressie inside. And another bonus.....you use your scrapbooking stash to make it. So quickly.....go to the Crop for Kids blog and sign up for the class. Come back and leave a comment that you've signed up and I'll put your name in for the pay it forward rak twice.

What a mammoth post!! Anyone still awake????

What a weekend!!!

I had such a fabulous fabulous weekend at Portsea!!! Lots of great food, lots of creative energy to soak up, heaps of laughter and chit chat, fabulous massage, great company and very few layouts done. tee hee..isn't that always the case? Ok.....quite a few people for me to thank and mention...

Jess - for organising such a fabulous weekend ...the accomodation, surroundings....everything was perfect. Thanks to Paul for the fab sausage rolls!

Mich - for driving me to and from the retreat, for letting me use your stash, for the yummy chicken curry and music. Thanks a ton!!

Jorja - for the gorgeous smiggle boxes which have found a place in my scrapspace and for the lovely BG papers which made my 5 min layout (cough cough splutter splutter....yah....5 mins my foot) so easy to do. Also thank you for the yummy chicken satay and for making such a yummo breakfast. And our late night cuttlebug experiments!! We found out that you can cut and emboss acetate...sooo much fun. And we found a way to cut felt!!!

Suzanne - omg...how you made me laugh and nearly wet my pants with the 'for $5 more....' comment. I still can't think about that line without laughing out loud. Thank you so much for the Pritt Gel and letting me use your inks! And you've inspired me to make more Chrissy cards!!!

Trish and Anne Marie - I can't separate the two of you....your names just belong together.....thank you soo much for the hilarious eye opening conversations! Thank you so much for bring stash to make me part with my money and giving us all such fabulous discounts. I'm still kicking myself for not stocking up on cardstock.

Monk - for the great many laughs, title brainstorming and I lurve watching you scrap!!! You make it all sooo effortless!! Thanks for teaching me how to heat emboss......I came home and had to sort through my scrap mess to find the two little sachets of black and clear embossing powder!!

Jeanette - was great meeting you and omg....your card creations are just gorgeous!!!! When I grow up I want to be a cardmaker just like you!!!

Tanya and Jackie - I can't think of one of you without the other.....is that bad? Thanks for the heaps of laughter and the deep n meaningful conversations on the balcony *wink*. Thanks for sharing your stash of chockie with me...that picnic bar put me on heaven!!! Been sooo long since I've indulged in one!!

Special thanks goes to Monk, Jeanette, Jorja and Suzanne who invited us to meals. It was FABULOUS to have a hot cooked breaky and we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner and lunch together. Thanks heaps!!!

ok.....now down to why I was at the retreat......to scrap.....I only managed to do 5 layouts and a mini album. I can't share the mini album yet as I have to finish the journalling in it. And I can't share one layout because it has Jeromel's friends in it. So I have these 4 to share.
Since I've been back, it's been busy busy busy in this household. Our sofas finally got picked up ...to go back to Bay Leather Republic. Honestly, after 3 swaps on the 3 seater and waiting 2 months for the 2 seater....they were all rejects. We got our money back so now we have no couch to sit on....we have the old futon back in the loungeroom and are back on the hunt for new sofas. Know if anywhere in Vic with firm, comfy, leather, stylish sofas??? Do you think that is too much to ask from loungeroom furniture????

I've also cleaned out and re-organised my tiny scrap space....and last night sat down in front of the telly and decided to do some chrissy cards...so in about 2 hours while watching RPA and Damages (omg how great is that show???)....I churned out 12 cards!!!

Also forgot to mention that my kit has launched on Scrapping Angels!! So please do go and check out this masculine 'Celebrate Fatherhood' kit. Very often we forget to scrap about the men in our lives. So this is a perfect chance to scrap those father's day photos. The kit comes with full instructions for 4 layouts as well as two wooden blocks to alter. You'll also pick up lots of tips on how to distress. Here are some sneak peeks:

Portsea here I come!!

I am sooo excited.....Portsea here I come!!! I'm off for a bit of a scrappingfest this weekend with a bunch of other lovely girls. I'm sooo excited and sooo darn unorganised. I'm sitting here in my jammies.....and I still haven't packed my scrapping stuff or my clothes. My attire for the weekend will be pjs....plan to stay in pjs for more than 24 hours straight (ps...I will bring more than 1 set of pjs though!). So the washing machine is washing a load of pjs and clothes. And before I go.....in between packing...I still have to tidy up the house....organise a birthday pressie for a party that Jeromel will go to tomorrow, pick something up from Chadstone, go for a lunch date with DH and do 4 school runs. All before 3.45pm today. On top of that.....I couldn't get to sleep last night...well I fell asleep ok...but then got woken up with an overseas phone call....then couldn't get back to sleep for ages. Oh Norm norm norm.....I'll need your help today.
The layouts are for Arty Pants. I used their latest kit which is just sooooo gorgeous. Click here now to get them!

Asides from those ones.....I've done another 4 layouts and one OTP for the new Scrapping Angels kit....that one will be coming online in the next week or earlier so look out for it!

Well....I'm off to get the kids to school and then come home and quickly pack and do all the errands before Mich picks me up this afternoon. Wish me luck, may Norm grant me speed and clarity while packing, and I must remember photos, phone charger, toothbrush, Norm, adhesive refills, etc etc etc

How exciting!!!!

Crop for Kids 2008 is underway!!!! The committee members have all been hard at work to get this happening early. There are lots of very very exciting things that are going to happen very very soon. As people who attended know....this years event was big....it was exciting...prizes were fantastic...everyone had a great time.....so for next years event...for those who are interstate or overseas and can't make it....we're bringing it to you!!! Yah....you now get the chance to support this fabulous fundraiser for the Royal Children's Hospital via online classes!!! First off is the fabulous Louise Spiden who will be doing her first class on the 20th September from 7.30 - 9.30pm. So please head on over to Crop for Kids blog to check out the details and the ever so delish sneak peeks!! The classes are a very affordable $10 and there is no kit to get, you get to use things which are already in your stash...which is great because every scrapbooker I know has a stash of photos and products to use in their every growing stash!!

I have been a busy little bee as usual.....let me try and recall.....

1. Got my hair done....wanted to cover up the greys epidemic...and I wanted some foils for highlights...told the hairdresser that I just wanted the foils a couple of shades lighter. Hah!!! What did I get....chocolate brown hair which I lurve.....and blonde foils. Not a great look for me! Fast forward to a week later...I went back and they fixed it for free. Yay!!

2. Migraines - I got hit with migraines this week....pretty bad...I just wanted to take tablets, curl up and die!!! A trip to the chiropractor really helped.....I'm much better now. Hate how debilitating migraines are!! The family had to make do with steamed rice and sunny side up eggs for dinner because I really couldn't cook.

3. Went to Felicity's house for a crop last Saturday night. It was sooo good to get out of the house to scrap. I haven't been out to scrap since Crop n chat which was ages ago!! As usual I chatted too much and ooogled everyone's work....investigated Felicity's stash....ate, drank....and did two half done layouts. Typical me!

4. OPAAT kit layouts. This is the gorgeous gorgeous September kit. Head on over to One Page At a Time and check out the kit. It is absolutely gorgeous. The first 4 layouts are done with the kit. The stamp is absolutely delish and I stamped with the watermark ink pad which you must get if you haven't got it. The top two layouts are of my gorgeous niece Shania and the two just under this sentence are some old photos of Jeromel.....yah....working through my box of unscrapped photos!!
The next layout was done a while ago...at Scrap n Chat...I don't know why...but I forgot to share it...came home...put it in an album and forgot all about it!! Yeah...it's Jeromel at 10 months old being a very very reluctant reindeer. I was very into dressing him in Osh Kosh when he was little....don't you just love the stripey Osh Kosh bib???This is a layout which I half did at Felicity's place. It's of Jeromel and how he put a hole through the knee of reinforced tracky daks in a week. Yah...one week...through 3 layers of tracky material. I haven't done a layout like this in a while...and I totally love it...it's very me...lots of 7 gypsies stickers, epoxy stickers, bits and pieces and brads in a circle.

I think that's about it....I've got a Scrapping Angels kit to work on....and then an Arty Pants kit and before I know it....OPAAT kit will arrive too!!! Thought I'd post a little piccie.....of my pandora bracelet and my nails!
Those who have met me or know me irl will be very surprised that I have long nails....why? I'm not very girly...I usually have short nails.....I'm a no fuss kind of person.....like unstyled hair, no make up....jeans....simple top.....that kind of person. But once in a while....I like to grow my nails...and when I have long nails....I will paint and decorate my nails. I will do this until one of the nails break......and then I cut them all short.....and then might not grow my nails for 6 months or more. But right now....I have pretty nails....which I did myself...so I'll capture the moment. Like my pandora bracelet? It's filling up quite quickly!!! Love the glass bead....I think I'll keep my colours to red and green and silver. Pretty! Due to some miscommunication....I ended up with another Pandora bracelet....so if anybody wants a 21cm authentic silver pandora bracelet with the barrel clasp.....please let me know!

What a week!!!

It's been a great week!!

Tuesday I went up to Paper Doll Boutique to catch up with Wendy and Christie. Gave Christie a movie and she rakked me some gorgeous Heidi Swapp and Bella flowers. Yay....I have big blooms again! Wendy got to have a quick flick through my EDM album while teaching a class.......and even made me a coffee too. Queen of multi tasking I tell you!! Then it was off to Arty Pants to their new store. Oh my goodness.....it's a gorgeous store......it's large, bright and sooo spacious!!! The crop room looks great and I can't wait to scrap there!! The store is stocked with sooo many goodies and the 7 gypsies wall is always my favourite bit. I'm sooo glad that Jodie shares my love for 7 gypsies....and Arty pants is by far the best store for 7 gypsies stuff that I have ever ever ever been to. I got more 97% complete stickers.....totally love these stickers....tell you....it's by far the best embellishment that $3.95 can buy.....for that price, you get circle, rectangles, squares, strips. it was fabulous catching up with Judy and Jodie and it's always a long chat. If anyone hasn't been to Arty pants....go and visit......and my EDM album is up there....so you're most welcome to have a flick through.

Wednesday Felicity and Brodie came around for a chat over some Norm and lunch. I had the most delightful surprise when Brodie walked in with a big bunch of gorgeous orchids and a big red chocky heart. I truly feel sooo spoilt. Felicity is such an amazing friend.....can't believe we only met at the retreat earlier this year and since then....we've become really good friends. Felt bad because I had to rush them out to take Jeromel for his dental appointment.

And then in the evening Jane came to visit. Well...to borrow some snow wear...but also to have a cuppa and a nice long chat. The butterfly card that I did with the beaded feelers....I gave that to Jane last week......she showed me what she did with it......the woman framed it!!! yah...put it in a hot pink frame....it's sooo cute!!! Anyways....Jane's daughter Chloe also loves it....so I will make beaded butterfly and dragonfly for her so that Jane can frame them and put them on Chloe's wall. Jane and I have always had a bit of a barter system....lol....I absolutely love her ceramics and always tell her that she can pay me in ceramics. Tee hee.....I can never get enough of the love hearts....I heard Jane call them the Ruey love hearts. Totally love them...and now I have some bisque ones that I can jazz up myself!! I picked out love hearts and these very very very cute smiley faces...I have a layout in my head that includes them..so hopefully that layout will materialise soon.

Thursday I had a quick catch up with Sheena from Rasberry. To hand over my DT project which was just soo fun to do. I didn't get to stay long because I had Jeromel in the car. His asthma and eczema has flared up very badly so he hadn't been to school this week.

Friday....was a fab day.....I took the boys to school, dropped off Joseph at the station and went to Springvale to do some marketing. Also grabbed some Vietnamese noodle broth Pho and some pork rolls and then headed home by 10am because I was having a little catch up lunch with Mich, Shirley and Vita. The kids were also here....Ellen, Phaedon, Abby and Riley....it was a bit strange not having Jeromel around. I had a fabulous time chatting to everyone. It's been a while since we've done that...and we must do it more often!!! Mich also brought me more large blooms.....i most definately am not in a hurry to buy them now!!We also had a bit of a photography session as Vita and Shirley had their cameras and were trying out some stuff. I had a bit of a play with Vita's and took a couple of really nice photos....hopefully Vita will post them soon. On the shopping front...yah.....I have packages coming...one from Blue Bazaar......a big big big one from A million little things and on ebay...I have pre-ordered my Fancy Pants Soho Swirls and the new Queen n Co felt swirls and leaf trims. Yummo!!! Been very very naughty...and some more beads for my Pandora bracelet. Yah....I am now the proud owner of the Pandora bracelet. It's all Christie's fault.....she showed hers on her blog...and then Kim showed hers.....and then I found out a bit more online then had to get one. At the moment...I have two fixed clips, 2 silver beads, 2 silver beads with bling and two spacers. I need more!!! LOL

I'm also shopping for a new camera...very undecided between Canon and Nikon. I am an 'idiot proof camera' kinda photographer.....but would obviously like to learn more. So I want a mid level camera. Any suggestions??? Any advice???Sharing two older layouts because there's nothing else I can show yet. I've also received 3 acceptances from Scrapbooking Memories this week which I am very happy about!!

Why do I like dragonflies???

When faced with the challenge of having to do a fantasy layout for the Aussie Dares blog 'How Dare You?'.....I dug deep....and thought about what fantasy meant to me....harry potter, dragons, unicorns, fairies, wizards, and somehow I was drawn...compelled to do a dragonfly layout. why? because the dragonfly invokes a feeling inside me...almost mystical, magical, surreal....
So I came up with my journalling first and then came up with the layout.

Journalling:

I am really unsure how it began or if there was a defining moment, but I have always been fascinated by dragonflies. Even as a little girl, I’ve preferred them to the pretty colourful butterflies that most little girls prefer. In the past 5 years, something in me has changed, this fascination has evolved into something more. I started seeking out dragonfly jewelry, seemed there was a calling, a need to wear it…have it on me, near me but I didn’t know why. The results of my online research into the symbolism of the dragonfly were astonishing .

Wikipedia: Dragonflies are mystical, magical creatures, sophisticated & alluring yet somewhat ethereal. Exquisitely beautiful, steeped in mythology & rich in symbolism. The dragonfly’s shell is designed with special facets that reflect and refract their beautiful colors in the light of the sun. This almost sparkling appearance has leant added meaning to the dragonfly’s form. They’ve taken on a mystical and magical symbolism. The dragonfly’s magic is its light magic, and all of the wonderful similes, metaphors and cliché’s that light has inspired. In Japan, the Japanese people have chosen to honor the dragonfly as a symbol of joy and new light. Thus, the dragonfly has come to be an image that inspires us to not only learn to practice the shedding and mirroring of light in our own lives, but to learn to see when others are doing it, too! Additionally, dragonflies certainly aren’t limited to women! In Native American astrology, there is a strong belief that each person has a totem animal spirit which serves as their guardians and guides through certain phases of life. Often, an individual would have many different totems throughout life, some for just a time, and some for their entire lives. And one of these totem spirits was the spirit of the dragonfly. It would adopt men and women, young and old. The dragonfly spirit means you must consciously make an effort to express your hopes, dreams, needs and wishes. The dragonfly spirit is the essence of the winds of change, the messages of wisdom and enlightenment; and the communication from the elemental world. Its medicine beckons you to seek out the parts of your habits which need changing. You can turn to the dragonfly to guide you through the mists of illusion to the pathway of transformation.

So maybe that’s it, the dragonfly is my totem animal spirit, my spirit guide, the symbol that my spirit chose to guide me through life. For certainly there have been many aspects of change in my life, of spiritual growth, emotional turmoil, challenges of life and of learning through my mistakes. It’s certainly comforting to find that my spirit has chosen the dragonfly as my guide. For this creature is not only beautiful but it is the link to the past, a promise for the future and a reminder of the magic of the moment.

I hope you enjoy that journalling...it's very analytical, revealing and from the heart. There aren't many dragonfly lovers that I know of, but I know that Michelle Grant and Kim Arnold are. In fact, Kim gave me the beautiful beaded dragonfly that I have on my layout. I've been saving it for a special layout...and this is it.

My next layout is a Becky Fleck sketch challenge layout for the Fireside Crafts competition. Go check out the competition. You have the chance to win a $25 voucher to spend with Fireside Crafts.

And lastly.....to continue on the dragonfly theme.....a card made with my new stampendous stamps and the Stampin' Up! crayons....beautiful intense colours!! I couldn't cut out the feelers...so instead I made some beaded feelers. Totally love this card. I gave it to Jane and will be making more soon!!!

Asides from that....it has been a good weekend....relaxing....because I didn't have to cook all weekend...and .....I've watched 2 movies...Transformers and Sentinel...plus an episode of Fallen. And very productive.....in about 10 days.....I've scrapped 10 layouts and 4 cards. That's a pretty good effort for me. Plus there is a half done layout on my scrap table. I told Mich that no shopping for me until I've done 10 layouts......and can't believe that I made it. Maybe I can do a few more before caving into the urge!!

What do I want to shop for? Let me know if you find them online and on sale!!!

1. Heidi Swapp large blooms - some how I lost my flowers. I have them all in a large blister pack....and I can't find them at all....truly can't find them.

2. Fancy Pants biggest chipboards...boho swirls - anyone seen any around? come find me if you do.

3. Pins.....like vintage pins....long with something decorative on the top of it.