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With spring here for those of us in the Southern hemisphere I thought we could enjoy those spring flowers.
My dare to you this week is to stop and smell the flowers. Yep nice and simple. And so pretty.
You could even take it a step further and give a friend some flowers. It doesn't have to be expensive! What about some from your garden? The look of surprise will be well worth it.
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Last years design team did a FABULOUS post where they scrapped photos of each other.
It was so much fun to see each members style with new and different photos.
This year, the Prima design team decided to give it another go. And it was just as much fun!
Names were drawn from a hat, and each person sent the photo of who they would be scrapping. No one knew who got who, until the big reveal on the Prima blog!
We start with Jamie W who scrapped Karola.
Jaime's use of colour and journaling notepads make for a stunning LO. With hand cutting adding the perfect finishing touches.
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Karola in turn scrapped Trina
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Karola is well known for her stunning use of pastels, and there is no exception here. Her beautiful use of colour really makes her LO shine. She has also printed Trina's photo onto canvas, to match the birdcages and add in another lovely dimension.
Trina then scrapped Anabelle
Trina has taken Anabelle's photo and supersized it to make her LO shine. She has then added layers of paper and lace, flowers, notepad pages and butterflies to compliment Anabelle's beautiful photo.
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Anabelle was given Alyssa's photo.
Anabelle mixes a range of new Jack N Jill with Shabby Chic and Watercolour Rainbow to create a gorgeous mix of dimension on her page. Add in some Say it in Crystals and Pearls for some extra special sparkle.
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Alyssa scrapped Sharon
Using lots of white space allows Alyssa to bring out colours from Sharon's gorgeous picture to really draw your eye to the photo, while touches of felt and doodling give Alyssa's beautiful LO a personal touch.
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Sharon then scrapped using Lianna's photo
Sharons clever use of papers and flowers draws your eye across the page resting in the middle for Lianna's beautiful family photo. Sharon's stunning page is accented by Say it in Crystal swirls and new journaling notepads.
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Lianna created a beautiful page for Leena.
The repetitive use of circles in Lianna's LO brings a wonderful sense of movement to her page. While carefully placed flowers add colour and dimension to a beautiful LO.
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Leena then created a stunning page for Janine
All of Leena's intricate hand cutting draws you straight into her beautiful page, while the use of one photo in varying sizes, and shapes creates interest and makes use of a fabulous photo!
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Janine went on to scrap Candice.....
Janine's use of bright colours always brings joy and vibrancy to her LO's. Adding in a black and white photo allows the photo to stand out while still allowing the embellishments to tell a story.
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Candice was given Nic's lovely photo and came up with a stunner....
So many wonderful Prima details to look at....can you see the doilies which have been cut from some of our amazing packaging?! Candice has used a wide variety of Prima product to really make Nic's photo pop off the page cleverly using some of her least used alphabet letters to add a fun balance to her LO.
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Nic in turn created an amazing LO of Amanda....
Nic's LO is inspired by another of the Prima DT - Ingvild Bolme. Her use of layers and distressing is so intricate, and accented perfectly with touches of felt, flowers and embossing powder.
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Amanda pressed on with Jamie D's gorgeous photo
Creating this pretty in pink LO. Amanda has added some beautifully subtle touches to her LO such as the pebble placed just above Jamie's photos and the intricate stitching and crystals. These little details add dimension to a LO that brings you back to look at again and again.
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Jamie D was given a couple of holiday shots to work with for Brigit
And has done an amazing job in creating that 'I want to go back' feeling. Prima has a wonderful range of vacation papers and embellishments but in keeping with Birgits photos Jamie has used a brilliant sea blue palate to bring back Birgits vacation memories each time she looks at her page.
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Finally, Birgit scrapped Jamie W
Birgit has used some of Prima's reusable packaging as the piece that grounds her LO, from there she brings in some bright and vibrant colours using Prima patterned papers and flowers. Extra sparkle is added with some gorgeous Prima crystals. What a beautiful LO to showcase a beautiful photo.
Which brings us back to the start of our round robin.
However we had two special names drawn from 'the hat' who got each other.
Julie and Stacy created fabulous LO's for each other. Here's Stacy's LO for Julie...
Stacy has even created her LO in "Julie style" and done an amazing job too! Working with some fun photos Stacy has created a LO to match their feel. Splatters of paint, glittering crystals and hand cut brightly coloured circles add a sense of joy to this gorgeous LO.
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And Julie created this beauty of Stacy...
We love the way Julie adds interest to her LO's by createing her own backgrounds. Paint and packaging make this LO a winner, while carefully placed flowers and pearls lend a touch of whimsy, Julie finishes the LO superbly with her hand written title/journaling.
Supplies:
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One for those who aren't so organised....including me (when it comes to this anyway).
Go this week and buy 3 Xmas presents.
Yep, that's right. START your Xmas shopping! I normally leave it to the last minute, but this past week actually went out and did some, in fact a ton and am very pleased! What a difference it will make closer to Xmas. And the best part? I got most of it on sale. BONUS!
So dare you to make your life that little bit easier, go on!
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The kids were ready for school and playing nicely outside....or so I thought.... when I went to check what they were up to, this is what I found.
Goodness only knows what made them think this was a good idea????? Who knows what wonderful inventions occur in a nearly 7 year old mind?! But hey, this is what happened.
I allowed it. Why not? The chooks weren't getting hurt. But it did mean there was a lot of cleaning up to do...
So that was our excitement for yesterday BEFORE school.
You don't want to hear about the tantrums that occured after school when they had to clean up more of the chooks poop! Oh dear!
Hope you had a good day!
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In the weekend there were 12 road fatalities. In NZ that is a HUGE number. We are only a country of 4 million to start with. Even on 'long holiday weekends' this number would be huge. Of the 12, 3 were cyclists. They were training for an event in Taupo. One that I have done. And loved.
It reminded me again of the accident that I had on Dec 5 1999. I had been cycling for approx 1.5 hours, there was a truck behind me when a car decided the truck was going too slow. Overtaking the truck on a hill with yellow lines, not being able to see over the other side, the inevitable happened and a car was coming the other way. The car swerved to avoid the other car, nearly hitting the truck. The truck automatically swerved to avoid the car. And I, minding my own business, was hit by the truck.
I came to in an ambulance and remembered nothing of the accident. But a few days later woke to a nightmare where I heard the accident (still not seeing anything but black).
I was lucky to be alive. I had head injuries (although my helmet saved my life), minor internal injuries, a broken elbow, and scrapes and cuts all along my right side. I was off work for a couple of months.
To say this incident was horrifying would be an understatement. I still feel unsafe on the roads when I'm cycling.
And this is where I'm getting to.... The roads are not for cars only. Yes, cyclists are annoying. They can go slowly. And I too get annoyed when they travel in bunches making passing hard if not dangerous. But they are allowed there.
NZ has to stop this crazy mentality that the roads are for motorised vehicles only. We have to stop passing cyclists too closely. We have to be aware that they may be on the roads. And even if they are riding badly (as some groups do!) we have to care for those people who are only wanting to get out on their bikes and ride like the wind. Those people do no have a tin shell covering them to protect them. They are vulnerable. They are fragile. And they are living.
I know I may be sounding a bit dramatic, but this has brought up all my own fragilities with memories of pain and hurt and gratitude for still being here, and I just wanted to put it out there, to remind all drivers to take care around cyclists. To remind people that they ARE allowed on the roads (no matter how annoying they may be). And to urge people to be safe.
I created this LO a while ago, like years, but thought it was a good opportunity to show it again, talking all this through.
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For the last 2 years I've hosted a secret santa right here through my blog. Well, guess what, its that time again.
If you'd like to be part of it. Then send me an email (click on the link in the sidebar), and in a few days I'll put everyone together and let you know who you'll be sending to.
If you don't mind sending overseas, then put that in your email to me. We often get people participating from o/seas.
Ok, so the rules (yeah, I know, but we have to have them so no one misses out!):
Pretty easy huh? Ok, can't wait to hear from you!
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Saturday Sketch day.
I know I'm so late! Its Sunday, not Saturday. But you know, that's just life sometimes. I've had a hectic couple of weeks, and I'm still catching up. But I know that you guys are patient, so it's all good!
Here is this weeks sketch.
Sunday shake up.
This week is very simple. I want you to smile and wave at a stranger.
You might be in your car, stopped at the lights, and you look over and see someone whose singing their hearts out so you smile and wave. Or that person might be really grumpy. Maybe you can make them smile?
Or better still go to your local motorway (if you live near one) and there is usually an overbridge somewhere close by. Stand there (with your kids is especially fun) and wave to all the cars. I remember doing it as a child and we had so much fun. At first it was embarressing, but once we got a few smiles and waves back it was so cool.
So do ya recon you're up to the challenge? Dare ya.
Receipes:
I've had a few requests for the receipes of the items I made the other day. Sooooo, here they are:
Note: receipe taken from Cupcake Creations (I googled 'best cupcake receipe') and it was the BEST!
Receipe taken from Taste.com.
Receipe found on "Joy of baking".
If you would like a pdf file of any of the receipes, please send me an email and I'll flick them through to you.
Have a fantastic rest of your weekend!
T
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I didn't do any baking for the school fair last year and decided that I would this year. I'd just finished Creative Wonderland and had a bit of time. Why not? But as Andy says, I can't seem to do anything by halves and ended up with a ton more than I needed to.
Russian fudge. Made from Rachel's microwave receipe. I decided to make it in two forms. Little pieces tucked into a gorgeous cupcake wrapper and in a cellophane bag...
Plus also as bars....
Keeping the packaging simple on this one. Using old Prima packaging. Inspired again by Rachel's use of packaging.
Then I tried my hand at some cupcakes....
Pink
Blue
Yellow
I was super pleased with how these turned out. I wanted them to be simple, yet have something 'extra' and that's when I came up with dripping chocolate over the icing. I wasn't sure if the chocolate would melt the icing, but it worked out well.
Then I tried my hand at gingerbread men. And have finally found a receipe I love plus was easy to use.
I packed them up individually into cellophane bags to be sold as single biscuits.
The last thing I tried was something new. A red velvet cake. I had heard about these somewhere and just decided I wanted to try it. It was actually pretty easy to make. And even putting it together wasn't like the kids birthday cakes.
My biggest problem was the heat. Trying to roll that chocolate was near impossible in this humidity. But I think for a first time, it worked out ok.
Inside the cake is bright red! Of course we can't see it cause I couldn't cut it open. I really must try this again one day to eat.
It took me two full days to cook and decorate these things. The last being the cake which I finished at 2.30pm today, just before school pick up. Eeeeek, cutting it fine! But was worth it. And I'm pretty sure that all my stuff sold. Yay!
And more importantly for me, while making this stuff, not a single mouthful. A single crumb. A single morsel passed my lips. It was hard work, but I managed to get through this fair staying 'clean' for my weight. Sounds boring. I know! But I'm 2/3rds of the way through my second 12 week challenge and just wanting to finish strong.
So tomorrow I'm hoping to rest a bit. I'm fighting off a cold and would quite like to get rid of it before it becomes too much worse.
Hope you had a great Friday!
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I was so excited about getting some photos up yesterday I totally forgot to show you the classes Rachel and I taught.
My LO class titled "Detail, Dimension and Texture - Its a 3D wonderland" was up first thing. We used some gorgeous Websters pages, Dusty Attic, Prima flowers, stamps and book pages. Check it out...
And a look close up..
and another..
Next was Rachel's Christmas Cracker class - In honour of the red queen.
It was STUNNING! The ladies who took it were raving about it and I could see why!
Here is a sneak....
Finally we took a class together. A mini album which had 6 pages in it. And room to add more. It was eclectic and cute just like Alice in Wonderland and I loved putting my pages together. Then seeing them together with Rachel's as a whole was pretty cool.
This is what Rachel's pages look like:
Front cover
Page 2
And my pages:
Page 1
page 2
Page 3
We made extra kits than was needed for the classes, but even so, we sold extra ones down at Wellington. So I'm not entirely sure how many we have left of each class. BUT, if you'd like to buy one or more of these class kits, then just send either Rachel or I an email (my details are in the top left part of the sidebar).
Cost: $40 per kit PLUS P&P. Of course we can put kits together which will save you on postage.
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Creative wonderland was the perfect event name for Saturday. It was WONDERFUL and there sure was a lot of creativity going on!
Rachel and I had a blast. Right from the start thinking of ideas, working on decorations, getting prizes organised... to the very end, seeing so many happy smiling faces strolling out the door at 10pm on Sat. It was pretty cool.
We taught 3 classes. One each and one together. And I even think most people got most of the classes finished! Yay! Always an aim of mine!
So lets start sharing photos and memories....
The hall and class room we used were fantastic. Modern, bright, and plenty of room. This is what it looked like before everyone arrived.
And as everyone took their seat, and the tables filled up with tools and scrapping stuff, it looked more like this.
(photo by Kris D'Souza)
and this...
(photo by Kris D'Souza)
One of the first things seen as people came into the room was morning tea.
Rachel made the very cute pendants as part of her daughters Alice in wonderland tea party, party. How cool that it suited our day as well!!!!! I think someone was very clever!
The food was decorated and made by the two of us. Just enough to keep hunger pangs at bay while creating was underway.
One of my highlights was the variety of vintage teacups for everyone to use during the day...
We also had teapots decorated with ivy (yes, I took that on the plane with me), and decorations made by moi c/o Scottie Crafts die cut loan....
And gorgeous name tags made by Rachel
So what else?
We got to catch up with friends, new and old....
(Photo from Kris D'Souza)
We gave away ALOT of prizes
(photo by Kris D'Souza)
Thanks so much to Tamar at Tarisota and Scottie Crafts. They both donated so much to CW and we can't thank them enough for the kindness of doing this.
And there is more?
Uh huh! We were lucky to have Hell Pizza right next door and they gave us a great deal on some pizzas. Some of us got salads too. And of course a bottle of bubbles didn't go down too badly either with dinner...
Oh and just because I can, here's a couple more pics...
(photo by Kris D'Souza)
One of me - thanks for taking it Kris.
And another one of the tables...
and some LO's used as decoration on the walls...
So that's it in photo format. Told ya there would be a few huh?!
Thanks to everyone who came along for making the day extra special. You guys rock!
We have had a lot of requests to do it all again. Maybe we will.
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Hi. I'm back from Wellington and absolutely shattered. Was up a little late the last couple of nights. Grin.
So I'm going to come back tomorrow with a lovely big update of Creative Wonderland. But let me just say that it was better than I ever hoped. It was a wonderful day, with lots of laughter, talking, eating, hanging out. Lots of creative wonders being made and lots of 'highlights' that I'll tell you about....soon.
For now though I'd like to give you this weeks Sunday Shake Up. And its something close to my heart ..... destressing.
With Xmas and all the parties, financial stress, & familial stress nearly upon us I thought we could talk about helping ourselves destress. And come up with a couple of ways we can all be a little more stress free this week.....
Did you know that magnesium helps your body destress? Uh huh! One of those things I like to take when I'm under stress.
Another thing that helps me is exercise. Going to a boxing class and smashing boxing pads sure gets the tension out of the body! So does pounding the streets when I run. It gives you so many wonderful endorphins which also help the body cope with stress.
Take some time out. Even if just for 5 mins. Sitting in the sun, reading a book, Eating some chocolate (just a couple of pieces! grin), having a coffee, go to bed early, take some pictures ..... you get the picture.
Hug someone. Hugs are known to help you destress. We all need hugs. So go grab your partner, child, friend, sister, father, aunty, whoever and give them a hug or ten.
Attend a crop with your friends (something like Creative Wonderland would be perfect). And have some fun. Speaking of which, I can't talk about Creative Wonderland again without showing you at least one photo....
Have a wonderful week, and when you feel that stress coming on, take some action to nip it in the bud. Dare ya.
Ok, I'm off to bed. Later.
(Back tomorrow with full details about Creative Wonderland!)
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I'm in Wellington! That seems to be an accomplishment in itself! Grin. And have spent the evening getting ready for Creative Wonderland. Got to say I'm even more excited now that we are here and it's actually happening. Yay.
We've been up early and blown away on our walk and now time to finish things off.
Have a great day. See those of you coming, soon!
See you all soon.
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