Black, White and Bling.....

Yes, we are still creeping around the house to check out the decorations while Santa sleeps.  Yes...he's still sleeping....recharging his battery!  I love that photo just above.....yes....I do love it.  No I didn't drag out my christmas tree.  This is our vintage midget tree.  How midget....60cm tall.  How vintage?  Hmm....19 years.  Yes...this tree is 19 years old...and it hasn't grown!!!  I dressed it up with some gorgeous clear crystal blings and home made white baubles.  Pretty hard to tell unless you squint and tilt your head to the side and use your imagination....but the white cardstock was embossed before I made the baubles.  So...irl...they're pweeety pweeeety!!

This morning.....MOTH (Man of the House) asked me what he can give his Secret santa recipient.  I asked when the party was....his answer....today.  Grrr....luckily I managed to find a suitable gift and wrapped it up all nicely and he went to work one very happy man.  Then tonight....he came home to find that I had done a few lolly jars....done...as in tipped some lollies into small glass jars...and asked for one for one of his work colleagues.  So here it is ....prettied up beyond an inch of it's life.  I totally love the bauble card...I will be making 15 more as they were just too quick to make.

That's about it till tomorrow.....will find more stuff to take pics of.  I am going to do my christmas album after christmas...so these photos are for a reason.  hehehe.  Btw....MOTH came home with a Cadbury chocolate fondue set.  That was what he got from his SS.  Pretty cool!!!  I think we might have to road test it Christmas eve!!!  Asides from strawberries and marshmallows....what else is good for a chocolate fondue?

While Santa slumbers.....

Went to Chadstone on the weekend to get this vase and bowl.  Surpringly enough...I don't have vases or glass bowls.  I have a shit load of tupperware.  Must be the mother of 3 clumsy boys in me that makes me tupperware inclined.  Anyways....I really wanted clear bowls and vases for my shiny baubles...so shopping time.  Came home and couldn't wait to set it all up.  Pretty silver bells in the hurricane vase and pink and silver shiny baubles in the salad bowl.

Then yesterday I found these cane balls.  White cane balls.  Do you know how hard it is to find these????  I don't either....I've seen them in dark brown and green....but not white.  So had to snap up half a dozen of them.  Pwetty pwetty!  I think I might string them up and hang them from the ceiling and might add a ribbon on the cane ball too.

Yesterday this arrived in the mail.  It's my EB secret Santa gift.  Gorgeous gorgeous Jingle Bells wall hanging.  Gorgeous colours with a smidge of bling and some transparency stars which are in the lower right hand corner.  Jo also spoiled me with a voucher to Lincraft!  New trimmer here I come!!!

Silent Night....Holy Night....

Shhh....Santa's sleeping ....he needs all the rest he can get.  He's going to have one super long long busy night in front of him....so he takes the chance to snooze when he can.    hehehe..let's just quietly tiptoe around my house to see my Christmas decorations.

Halo I and Halo II.  No...I didn't name them that.  I used to collect Beanie babies. No no no...not when I was little......when I was an adult...when I was a mother.  Yes...I collected Beanies.   I started off collecting the Skansen Beanie Kids....and had quite a good collection include Blackie the Expo Bear number 1!!!  Then I got a bit bored with Beanie Kids...so I sold off my collection...co-incidently to the mother of a girl who would end up being Jordan's classmate!  So I started collecting Ty Beanie Babies.  I still have quite a lot of them!  So yes...Halo 1 and Halo 2 come out once a year during the Christmas time.  They're so pretty!

Garlands...I have two.  One stretching across the top of our sliding doors in the family/computer room.  And one more on the other end of the room....in the L window of the loungeroom.  I bought the Garlands a while ago and when I change Christmas decor colours...I have to redo the garland as well.  Love love love the beaded wire stars!!

I did these a few Christmases ago.  When Basic Grey first brought out their bauble kit...I had to get it and even assembled them at work while the baby napped.  That first christmas, those paper balls were displayed in a big wide bowl on my dining table.  Then the following Christmas, BG brought out those star ornaments....had to get those too...and I assembled them and then bought the silver spinning diamonds and orbs and put it all together with fishing line and hung them from the ceiling.  OK...DH helped a lot with that task.  I have two clusters of these ornaments.  4 strings in my loungeroom...and then 2 strings in the dining room.  I love the shadows these cast on the walls at night.

More to share later...toodles!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Thought I'd share some photos each day in the lead up to Christmas of the decorations in the house.  This is just a little bowl of colourful baubles and candy canes.  Some of the candy canes were done at Scrapware using their gorgeous Christmas products. So totally yummy!!!

oh by the way Santa....

Dear Santa

Please delete number 3 from my wish list.  I've succumbed and purchased myself a subscription to the Real Living magazine.  And now I'm in trouble with Mrs Vass because she thinks I'm not doing a proper wish list.  A wish list just for wishing.  For me.. a wish list is like a 'to buy' list.  Ok...so after a bit of a think....I have other things to add to my wish list....

3. clear vases (big tall wide cylindrical ones)

4.  Big bundle of decorative twigs and sticks - oh I don't know what exactly they are called...but I've seen them in homeware stores.  Big enough to make a striking display.

5. Scrapbook Trends Digital Scrapbooking ideas book

6. Stampin Up Deer Friends set

7. Hero Arts Sparkle embossing powder

8. Medium Bag optimiser from bagorganiser.com.au

lots of love

Ruey - who promises to try and not knock off anymore items off her wish list until 2009

Shania in the spotlight!!

Yay...issue 73 of For Keeps Creative Paper is finally out.  Big congrats to Vita for her amazing cover!!  All the projects look fantastic together!!

Anyways....I was asked to do a Finishing Touch Ideas advertorial focussing mainly on their embellishments.  hehehe...can you tell how much fun I had?  I love brads...and buttons...so I really was in my element.   I was really pleased with how the layouts turned out.  Love love love those cutie pie pics of Shania.  And trust me....this little girl is not very girly at all.  I'm always in stitches watching her antics on facebook.  Thanks Sis for taking lots of videos for me.

I also did a Craftools advertorial on the Tonic Cutting system.  This system was lots of fun and really easy to use.  Totally love the wavy cutter.  And yep...it's a bright bright Rose Moka New York layout.  Man....I love this layout...yah...I know it's simple...but all the colours really sing to me!!

And last project in the mag is this....a summer party feature.  Icy pole invites, lolly baskets, lolly bag and sunny boys!!  This is the first time I have ever had so much stuff in the one mag.  And I'm sure it wasn't planned ....as I was asked to do the things fairly spaced apart.  But it was good. 

Friday was another impromptu scrapbooking night.   Mich, Vita and Lyndal came over.  Vita gave us a pizza box tutorial - yay...another cutesy little thing I know how to make!!  The main reason for the impromptu crop was that I was itching to zutter....so I invited Mich around so I could use and abuse her brand new zutter...yes it was brand new...still in packet new....brand spanking new.  But of course....I let her use it first and then I had lots of fun with it.

I wanted to make notebooks and mini albums for family and non scrapping friends and for teachers etc.  Little token gifts....so whipped these up.  Well...I just cut and zuttered things!  I also did 3 christmas albums and 4 post it note holders.  And these are just notebooks and minialbums which are super easy to make.  I have a lot of 'system cards' which go into index file boxes.  So those lined sheets are my pages.  With the notebooks which are bound at the top, I've just bought some cheap notepads from the elcheapo shop and just made covers for them.  It's not that I am trying to be cheap....I just want something that is useful.  A non scrapbooking person might not appreciate a mini album which they have to fill out themselves...but everyone needs notebooks and post it note holders.  Handy gifts which are easy to make.  It's a win win situation!!



I have more to show...so I'll take more pics tomorrow to share.

Cards published!!!

I've had more cards published in the last 2 issues of Creative Cardmaking and papercraft.  I've really been enjoying cardmaking in the last 6 months.  These cards were in Issues 14 and 15.

Pop up cards - in a boy theme.  Very easy to make and lots of fun to make.  I used the Inque Boutique stamps....available from Kiti Q.  hehehe

Tri-fold card.  Opens up to say Just because ....I miss you... a bunch.  I think I need to make another one of these as I really like it and it also uses up a lot of small odd pieces of scraps!
Ultra simple card.  No patterned paper at all.  Stamped heat embossed image of the bird which I cut out and coloured.  Used those big Heidi Swapp flowers everyone has in their stash and the card base just has a simple stamped heat embossed flourish.  And of course some bling.
A belated birthday card.  Everyone should have a couple of these in their stash...it's just too easy to make and lots of fun.  Is it bad to plan a belated card???
A pop out card.  Oh so easy and cute cute cute!!  Yet again another boyish card.  It's too easy to make girls cards......but boys cards are so much harder to make esp those cutesy ones for kids under 7.

It all starts with a letter to Santa....

Yes, it's scary how close Christmas is!!!  I'm not ready for Christmas.  I still need to make another dozen or so cards.  I haven't put up the christmas tree .....not because I don't want to...anyone who knows me knows how much I love christmas.  I can't put up the christmas tree because I don't have room for it.  My tree is very tall...it touches the ceiling and it's not one of those slim trees.....I need to reserve around 2m square for the base of the tree.  And I don't have a spare corner in our living areas that big!  So I don't know what I am going to do.  I made a little advent christmas tree for Jeromel.....love how it turned out.  Maybe that can be our tree?  It's the spirit that counts right???

Anyways, before I forget and before I do something silly like post this on another blog (which I did *blush*)....here is my letter to Santa....inspired by Mich.

-----------------------
Dear Santa

I've never written to you before and I don't think you know who I am. So why now are you receiving a letter from a 40 year old who is definately not a child anymore? Because of my friend Michelle Vass. See, she might pick me to win a prize if I write a letter to you. So why not....I might get a pressie from you and I might get a pressie from her. It's a win win situation right? I honestly thought coming up with a wish list would be very easy...but it was hard. Really hard!

Ok...with the naughty and nice list....let me tell you Santa....honestly...sometimes I'm naughty ...I'm no saint....but I'm mostly nice. Let me explain... I'm a Mum.....I like to think I'm a great Mum...I cook, clean, drive, teach, ....and then I also yell and ignore them from time to time. Still...more nice than naughty. And....I've also been a wife for 21 years...yes...anniversary was last Friday. 21 years.....definately nice right? As a friend....I think my friends will vouch that I am more nice than naughty (girls....those shopping sprees and tempting you to buy things.....you don't hold that against me do you?).  Santa, I'm happy to leave it in your capable hands and let you be the judge.

If you think I am nice...nice enough to get a visit from you on Christmas eve....I would love to receive:

1. Sizzix Big Shot - I know I have the cuttlebug...but I also love the Bigz XL dies.

2. Coluzzle starter kit and the nested circle templates 

3. For something non scrapbooking related....a subsciption to Real Living magazine would be appreciated (Jane F got me into this one!)

Thanks Santa!!

From:  The more Nice than Naughty Ruey

ps...did you hear about the dyslexic satan worshipper?  He sold his soul to Santa

Back to winter again....

Yes....it's like winter is here again.  It was sooo cold and windy today!!  Ridiculously cold!!  It's been one of those weeks where I just blink and wham....it's thursday night and I'm wondering where my week went.

Did quite a bit of scrapping this week.  Got my secret santa gifts done and even did a regurgitation layout.  A what layout????  yah...u read right....regurgitation.  LOL  It's what I call a layout where I just chuck a whole heap of embellishments which were rattling around at the bottom of my scraps box.  I cut out those American craft flocked leaves for some cards I was working on..but decided not to use them.  I covered that little chipboard boy for a project then changed my mind.  Popped those mushrooms out of their sheet and then changed my mind.  Cut out those clouds, made the cabbage flower...yes and then changed my mind.  I do that a lot.  Change my mind that is....and then I don't want to turf them because I might want to use them one day.  Well that one day came!  

Quite happy with how it turned out actually....it's a layout I've been wanting to do for a while.....and a layout for me...not for an assignment.  Talk about assignments...two more assignments to do before 2nd week of December.  We have our Filipino Fiesta this saturday and then next week....our 21st wedding anniversary....then on saturday, we have an appointment in the morning, then we are entertaining vip superstar guests from overseas that afternoon and night and then on sunday....I might just want to curl up on the couch and veg.

Big announcement!!!!  The famous Ange of Scrapware has done up a new blog for Scrapware and it's fabulous and there is a big big birdhouse giveaway!!!  So quick, head over to the Scrapware blog and check it out!!

Proof that I have been scrapping.....

hahaha...ok....this is proof that I have been scrapping....although......they were done a few months ago.....at crops at Mich's and Jorja's place.  yes....months ago!  Because I did them at crops, I didn't quite finish them off.  Things like journalling etc.  So this past week, I've had two pretty big projects for two mags that I was working on and once that was done and the last lot was mailed off yesterday, last night I decided to go through my pizza box that was full of these unfinished layouts and layouts that I have to file away in my albums.

So today, I finished the rest off and thought I better take pics of them to share....layouts just for me...just for fun....and I love them!

J3 loves to paint.  He's creative like me.  I love how at 7 years old, he can plan properly....he will put on his art smock, spread newspapers on his table, get all his things out...paint and then....clean up!
J3 loves Ben 10 Alien Force, so this is his currency at the moment.  If he does all his English, Maths and Japanese homework and has a minimum of 4 readers for the week...he gets to watch the latest episode which I religiously download for him.  Getting to watch it on my mac is extra special to him.
oooh yes....those who know me know I love my coffee.  My daily fix!  The coffee was from Dunkin Donuts (French Vanilla) and the little espresso machine was redeemed with my Flybuy points.  It has since gone to the Philippines to be put at work in an internet cafe, but I'll soon replace it with a slightly better model.

hehehe...yes....I can even scrap about a new school bag.  Just a pretty simple layout using up lots of old papers and embellishments.  Love the little 7gypsies rub on people which I applied on the alphas.  Actually J3 has to have a bag which is different from the usual school bag because of his anaphylaxis.  Teachers and aides have to be able to identify his bag quickly to grab his medication if he needs it.
Another ultra simple layout.  Love the Ki Memories lace cardstock full of words.  Very suitable for his layout.  Love how he is learning to read without sounding out too many of the letters.  Thanks Mich for the Maya road sheer journalling block.
Another ultra simple layout with a collage of photos.  Took these photos inside his classroom of things that he had made and the house chart, birthday chart and bag hook.  BTW...the sports house system are named after Japanese islands, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu.  Pretty good huh?

That's it for now!!

I set out to shock you....

hehehe....two posts in a day!!!  How's that?

A couple of weeks ago on a Friday, I was chatting on the phone to Lyndal ensuring her that I really hadn't been captured by aliens when on the spur of the moment, I invited her to come and scrap that night.  I had been making cards and could do with some company.  I then sent a quick email out to invite Mich, Jorja, Jane and Vita too.  It was very short notice and to my delight....this group of very special friends all came and scrapped with me that night.    We started around 7.30pm and Lyndal was the last to leave close to 3am!!  I got a few cards done that night and had lots of fun heat embossing!!  Vita brought her Bind it All as Jorja wanted a demonstration.  Jorja and Mich both placed pre-orders for the new Bind it All at Paperific - lucky ducks!!

To my delight...Vita decided to leave her Bind it All for me to play with and play....I did!!!  I never knew how useful a Bind it All was!!!  I made a 6x12" album for house decor/building ideas.  I used lots of papers from my stash that I wasn't too keen on using for layouts anymore.  It's pretty and of course I used the Ki Memories sheer delights for the cover...good protection.

Then I decided to raid my pizza box full of scrap papers to make a smaller album using the remaining bit of wire that I had left over from making my big album.  Decided to make Jeromel's school excursion to the Melbourne Zoo mini album.  Yes, I got to go along on the excursion too - loved it heaps!!

So here is the mini album 

Cover done with Ki Memories Sheer delights available here for only $3.50 per sheet! (little plug for my shop!)

I swear...this gorilla was just soooo adorable!!!  He was like that for quite a long time!!!  At times he would look at his fingernails!!!
Yes...this is my little monkey hamming it up for the mamarazzi.  Isn't that Scrapware monkey cute??
I love zebras heaps!!!  This one was a magnificent looking zebra!!  The kids were all fascinated looking at the giraffes and zebras in that enclosure.

And here are some of my christmas cards.  I've made 35 so far...and I made myself use my old old old ancient stash of christmas papers and embellishments.  Very simple cards but I'm ultra pleased with how they turned out.  wdyt??

At long last...an update

Yes, I'm here.....alive....and updating my blog!!!  Wondering if there is anyone still reading my blog though.  It's been a very long time since I've posted pics ....so here are some pretty things for you to look at.

Teacher's day was 31st October and it was around 11pm when I suddenly remembered, so it was a mad dash to get these simple things done for Jeromel's teachers.  Why 6?  It's because he wanted to say 'thank you' to 6 teachers - his classroom teacher, her aide, his Japanese teacher, his aide, the Principal and his Japanese drama teacher.  Each little pack had some tea bags, a chocolate, some mints and some coffee lollies.   Nice, quick and easy to make.  The pockets were ultra easy to make but I couldn't find anymore of those clear bags.  But while hunting for them I found something else I was missing.  

I have new shelves!!!  Yes, at long last, I have proper storage as my old scrapping desk was becoming storage.  I've searched high and low for proper storage for my scrap supplies and Kiti Q shop stock.  I nearly bought the Ikea expedit but the size of each cube was a tad small for me...they're 33cm square.  These ones are 37cm square which are perfect as they will take the large plastic cube that the Kiti Q papers are stored in.  So now, my old scrap table has been given to Jeromel which he is so happy about.  Since the photo was taken, all the cubes have been filled!!

On the publishing front, I have been super busy.  I am still making cards on a monthly basis for Creative Cards and Papercraft.  This month, I have these in the magazine.
Totally heart this rocket card - it has a diamond pop out fold and the colours make me so happy.  I've also had some layouts in Scrapbook Creations and Scrapbooking Memories in the last couple of months which were accepted a while ago.

This one was for the K&Co Blue Awning product challenge.  I must say i wanted to cry when I saw the embellishments and some of the papers.  Not all of the papers are me....but in the end....i was happy with the layout that I did.

In the past couple of months, I've also done quite a few layouts and projects for Creative Paper, Scrapbooking Memories and Scrapbook Creations....will share these when the mags come out - it's kept me busy and at times a bit stressed but all in all, I enjoy being invited to contribute and love what I end up creating, so it's a big plus

On the Kiti Q front.....the blog is up and running!!!  Click here to check out the blog!!!

I just remembered that I have more pics to share...so I'll be back to do another post as this one is getting a tad long!!