Craaaaazy

TRYAHWYANHAR - Thursday!

by Thursday it was absolutely positively nastier weather down here and the retreat was definitely not going ahead.

So I hunkered down and carried on.

 

Oh btw TRYAHWYANHAR stands for "The Retreat you are having - when you are not having a retreat"!

The first thing I worked on was a project again from CHA - this from the C-Thru Ruler Company (LYB) - Art-C.    Some of the frames in the class were black and some were white - I got a white one and did not like it.   So I painted it black and then inked up some of the embellishments to make them a little less pink and purple!    Stuck it all down and voila - fini!   Sorry about the blurry photo on this one.

Next up - I decided to start making some samples using Kaisercraft's new lines.    First up I used the new line Magic Happens - along with some of their new flowers, and their wonderful frame.   Also added some Kaiser bling and some little white felt flowers I had (cannot remember where from).

I am so pleased with how this came out - and I know EXACTLY what photo I am going to put in it.

Carrying on with my thriftiness - I then made two cards using the piece cut out for the middle of the frame.    The butterfly is one of the new Kaiser wood flourishes which I painted, and a leftover sticker from SRM Stickers

On this one I used (leftover!) Design Foil and Design Adhesives from Clearsnap for the butterflies.

In between scrapping on Thuirsday I had to do some work - boo hoo - and there was not much of my day left - so to tidy up the bits and leftovers on my table - I made two tags or they could be used as embellishments on a page.   Once again *leftovers* - a bit of everything!!  Some LYB Elizabeth Park paper and journal card, a chipboard letter, a piece of leftover chipboard, some Cosmo paper, a Hambly Screenprints flower that Rose from Hambly made for me at CHA.    I really love the way these came out!

 

SPA TREATMENT for Thursday - I received a nice foot massage for my poor dry feet!

DINNER - I made it again, another nasty wet day it was - so did a chicken, potato, cheese dish in the crockpot.   Just the ticket!!

DESSERT - yummy Apple Crumble with LASHINGS of cream mmmmm so not on the diet!

PRIZE WON - zip - nada nuffink~!

 

so that was Thursday!

Resolutions !!!!!!!

We all make them.

We all break them.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em; Know when to walk away, know when to run.. WHAT?? get outta here Kenny.. wrong song.. and I don't even like country music.   Anyway... as I was saying.   This year I have lots of things I want to do/change/be/start/end etc.    So instead of standing there at midnight making rash promises - I have spent the last couple of days making a board.

So I present - My 2011 Resolution Board

I took a large piece of tin (left over from an old project) and punched a couple of holes (good ole cropadile) and hung it by wire.   Because the edges of the tin were a tad sharp, I wrapped the edges with 7gypsies tape.   Over each hole where the wire came through I put two buttons as added stability to stop the wire pulling back - and as luck would have it I had two buttons with the #1 on them so it is for Year 11!     Then I grabbed some el cheapo wooden pegs and glued magnet strips on to the back of each one (which came with a message board and will never be used).   Then I painted the pegs in different colours.

Peridot - Daily

Periwinkle - Weekly

Aquamarine - Monthly

Red - Year

Then I set to, and made the actual resolutions for each peg.   Some are just visuals, some are words, some are a combination.   Scrappy items came in handy here!   The whole time I was making it - I was thinking about all the things that I wanted - and even before it was finished - I had/have already started to implement some of them.    This is hanging in my little office area so everytime I walk in and out I see it.  

So here is a close up of the different areas.

DAILY

These are things I want to change on a daily basis. 

I found some fun images in a recent magazine and some I had on my computer.

No that is not moisturiser on the moisturise label but liquid pearls - looks realistic though!!   

My personal fave - Stop letting it - with the visual of  time slipping through my fingers

In making the actual board - I already started on the save money part by using items I already had.   You might laugh at the "dressed before 9am" - but let me tell you - working for yourself from home, it is so easy some days to get up and start working - and suddenly it is nearly lunchtime and you are still in your jimjams!!   Enough I say!

 

WEEKLY

The 2lbs down goal - that is my minimum - I think I can do better - but that is my weekly aim.  

Some of the exercise goals will change to daily. 

The SWIM is swimming don't you think?

Fix Something refers to the house.   We all have little jobs that need a bit of DIY - that always seem to get put off - no more!!

 

MONTHLY

My poor old Vespa has not been ridden in yonks.  With the way petrol is flying up - I need to get back in the saddle! 

1 layout a month might seem paltry - but as I have done NONE layouts a month over the past year, well!!   It seems as though since I started *working* in the scrap industry my own scrapping has become a thing of the past!

Something for me - a little AB FAB dahling - or a little putting me first.  Might be as a simple as a pedicure, or lunch with friends, or as involved as a weekend away.

I am changing my albums up - pulled the layouts all out over a year ago - they still sit... sadly waiting for a new home.

DATES!!   I want some!!   Not just a night at the movies either!

 

YEAR

These are goals I want reached in 2011.

The bath - that actual bath (and tap) is sitting in our garage - in a box - waiting to be installed. 

We bought it last year along with a new basin unit.  

We want to totally redo the main bathroom which is 70's kitsch small YUK horrible nasty.  

It is going to be a big job - everything ripped out - along with an adjoining wall (cupboard) to make the room bigger, and a skylight pushed through - as it is an interior room and dark as a coalmine with the lights off.   But this year it is HAPPENING!

I love the font for learning something new - and I know what it is I want to learn - and no I am not fessing up.      The other image is very self explanatory and I won't be commenting!

 

So there you have it - the Board.   I am thinking this should be the topic for the layout I do for this month!    I have a few other items to go on the board - need more pegs - and over the year some of the items will change their status to daily, weekly, monthly.    Some will be bumped up (exercise) and some will be bumped down (dig photos) as situations change or get completed.

>>>>I've been craftily Christmassing<<<<

or is that Christmassy craftaling???   Anyway - here are some photos of recent projects.  

First up - a selection of the Christmas cards I made this year.   I was so late with making them and sending them out this year, in fact halfway through writing them I had to make some more as I did not have enough!  So I did not swamp this post and make it slow to load for some, I have made the images a little smaller.

The first set are showing what you can do just using punches and scraps of paper.   This actually came as kit from McGill and I got it last year on clearance.  I love the way they turned out.   My fave is the wreath one - amazing what your punches can do!

   

This set of cards also comes in a kit, I bought one last year too - it was slightly different.  But it is GREAT to have on hand when you quickly want some more cards - that still have that handmade feel.   It is Designs by Leere and comes in a cool box - that is great to keep.   I picked mine up at M's - of course with a coupon ;-).  If they have any left and they put them on clearance - grab one!   I still have last years box, and both of them make for great storage for Christmas card stuffs!!

 

This card is by Bo Bunny - from their Winter Joy line.   It was part of the Christmas card making class I did at the last retreat.

All of these cards show you can whip cards out - that are cute - using Cosmo Cricket papers (Jolly by Golly and Oh Joy) and SRM stickers (Quick Words and Sticker Sentiments).   These cards were also part of the card making class at both of the last retreats.    Just one sheet of Elements, a couple of pieces of paper and 1 sheet of stickers and you would amazed how many cards you can make.

Secondly - we always exchange gifts with our neighbours - usually something we make.   This was my offering this year.   I had bought this adorable little set of pots in a stand from IKEA and my initial thought was I was going to fill them with different homemade jams.  However on getting them home I discovered they had holes in the bottom - they were little planters.   Hmmmm foiled!!

So bright idea #2.    I planted small plants in them - lemon thyme, lemon sage and a lemon cypress (not edible actually an indoor plant).   Then I put some Anna Griffin snowflake stickers on each pot.   To round the gift off I made some lemon honey with lemons from our tree, and ta da!

 

All wrapped up and ready to be delivered!

Third, the completed Maya Road Album which I taught a couple of weekends ago.   I LOVE LOVE this - it is just adorable.   It is one of those lovely bulging at the seams albums.

I am not quite sure what I am going to put in it yet - fave photos?? fave Christmas quotes??  hmmmmm  

I still have 2 of these kits left - so if you want to purchase one - email me.

 

 

 

 

 

only 2 more sleeps until Christmas... so are you all ready??

 

 

 

~~~~~~Happy Thanksgiving~~~~~~

from us to you and yours

and because this is way better than just photos... a video... did you all know I have an accent... but I am sure in real life I do not sound so shrill and high pitched LOL...

We are going to have dessert for dinner I think - we are all a tad stuffed!

 

**WW** so who is getting the Scenic Route goodies???

edited to add... I had this all typed up yesterday but we had some wild and stormy weather and it took our net out!!... so that is why it is posting late!

Here we are in the middle of some nasty weather - I think our fake summer is finally over *poop*!   I spent most of yesterday and was back there this morning at my storage unit counting inventory.   Can you say FREEZING - my hands were cramping and it was all I could do to type!   I had to wait a bit when I got home today - until my fingers were moving normally.

I am lucky in that Mike came over after work on Friday - with a piping hot coffee which I used mainly as a handwarmer rather than for drinking *LOL* - and came back with me this morning to help me out - YAYY for helpful husbands.

I have to go to the supermarket this weekend, I have nothing ready for a T'giving feast - at this stage it might just be a glass of water and a look around as my Mum used to say when we asked what was for dinner!  

I think I will be waiting for a break in the weather however before I venture out.. if it comes.    At least the garden has had a good water and our pool has filled up so I won't need to keep doing it with the hose - and paying for it!

Anyway on to the winner of the giveaway of all the Scenic Route Fall Goodies!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3	

Timestamp: 2010-11-21 15:38:07 UTC

 

and lucky # 3 is.... MARCIA!!   who said

Marcia said...

I'll give this a try!

Reply November 17, 2010 at 03:25 PM

YAYYY Marcia - finally your boat came in!! Maybe it is a sign of things to come and at the next retreat you will win the free one!

Well I know where you live, and I know you are coming around this week to pick up some stuff - so I will give you your goodies then - you will be able to play with them over Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow I plan to do some crafting - I hope.   I have been trying to make some fun autumn goodies for display - course we are now at the end of November - running out of time to display them -or even finish them!

Weather forecast is still the pits for tomorrow - so a good day to do it - although I think the supermarket trip is happening then too.

Make sure you all check in this coming
Wednesday for another giveaway
and a sale announcement
in the SCRAPGRLZ store!! 
WHOOP WHOOP  

but wait.... there's more!!

raspberries that is.

8lbs of them in fact... to be made into more raspberry jam.   The kids and Mike (oh yes maybe me too) have been scarfing through the two lots I already made so I thought I better make some more before the fresh ones disappeared from the markets.

Last night at our local Farmers Market which is on it's second to last week for the year, they had them for $1.00 a punnet.   Yes you read that right - only one freaking dollar!!    I was not going to pass that up!

So I bought lots - officially it was 12lbs of raspberries, but I decided to freeze 4 lbs of them.     This time it better make enough jam to last us until next year - otherwise YUK YUK we will have to have storebought UGH YUK BLEECH.

So my first job today (after showering and getting dressed) will be turning those beauties into more pots of jam!

As to yesterday's Wednesday Winner's post - every little dollar counts - it does not matter how much or how little you can donate - so head back to that post and be in to win!

How does your garden grow???

Well for us... we live in a city... the burbs... but that does not stop us having a garden.   There is nothing better than picking your own goodies - they taste 1000 times better than even the stuff from the Farmers Market.  Plus you know exactly what went into them, on them, around them!!

We don't have lots of garden space for vegetables and fruit - but we still get a pretty good haul.    You just have to be smart about what you plant.   Just look at this bowl of apples I picked yesterday and there are just as many if not more to come.  

We have a dwarf tree with three varieties on it - so we get a good selection.

The same with our cherry tree - not a dwarf but three varieties on the same tree - so we get early, mid and late season cherries - well when we are not fighting the damn squirrels and birds for them that is.

Not a bad haul this year of these either, it is in a great position in the backyard - we ate a lot while lounging in the pool - just reach up and pick.

We are now heading into harvesting and eating veges!!

We always do well with tomatoes

- they love the area we put them in, and grow like triffids. 

Every year we like to try out some different varieties - this year we have this little miniature pear shaped one - that grows in clusters and it is cropping like mad.

We also like to try out the different heirloom ones - and this morning picked the first of a new one - and had it on toast YUMMY.   Talk about a meaty tomato!!  

You can be clever too with your placement - have a climbing rose???... then add a climbing bean....

and of course we are growing zucchini... cos we love them.   However we learned our lesson a few years back that ONE plant is more than enough *LOL* and this year, even that one plant is being a little overzealous!!

So what are you growing and eating??

The Preservatory...

I used to have a company by that name you know, back in the day, well actually it was Parkvale Preservatory - and I made all sorts of jams, sauces, pickles, mustards etc.    Anyway... I love doing that sort of stuff _{which is why I really want my own retreat house, so I can do all the baking and stuff for it too}..... Plus it always tastes sooo much better than the CRAP you buy at the supermarket Plus it costs less Plus you actually know what it is in it .... which is normally only 2 or 3 REAL ingredients rather than a long list of unpronounceable chemicals *bleeeech*     We grow quite a bit of stuff in our small garden and I use all of that whever I can , but we don't grow raspberries.  However Farmers Markets are in full swing around here - and right now berries are cheap and getting cheaper by the week.  

So last Wednesday I could not resist buying a big lot of raspberries.  I got up early Thursday morning and they went from this...

to this

 

and then with the help of some fresh hot buttered toast it was....

 

....... come to Mama

 

Yep there will definitely be more being made... and strawberry too... and apricot... and Lemon Honey - with my own lemons and... and ... mmmmmmmmmm