An Award & Heidi Swapp!

As a wonderful lady so aptly put it - right now it's so 'Crazy Busy'! I always find that the lead up to Christmas takes on a life of its own and the time seems to accelerate as the 25th December gets closer - or is it getting worse!?! Things are getting done but I still have alot more to do ... it will be done!

Last week, the amazing Libby gave me an award, my very first one and I thank you very much Libby - This is called The Proximity Award.

"These blogs invest and believe in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So the 8 bloggers I choose to pass on the award are ... **drum roll** ... Vicki, Karen, Sara, Leonie, Julie, Julie, Ness and Heidi ... I really enjoy reading these blogs and I'm sure you will too!

I have been frantically doing some creating - presents for friends (decorated albums & notebooks), some cards (very few!! Even had to *shock horror* buy some!) and making a mini album for my precious 14yo daughter for Christmas. It is an A to Z or her and I'm loving doing it - it's all falling in to place so easily. I'll post pictures when it's finished. I got some great ideas to add to it from my day with Heidi Swapp yesterday ...

What a frenetic day! I attended the Create 08 workshop in Melbourne as many, many other avid scrapper did. Heidi has increased her standing in my eyes - she is such an emotionally honest and inspiring woman - I love her! We spent the day doing some wonderful techniques - beginning with a calendar album (did 4 pages) and a mini mirror album. It was go, go, go right from the start but an amazing day! If you ever get the chance to be in one of Heidi's workshops I highly recommend her - she is so down to earth and what she offers covers all types of papercrafters styles and expertise.

Here are some shares from yesterday (unfinished but still impressive!)



Here is a picture of the venue - verrry crowded, with no room to move which was a bit frustrating! Really the only thing that I didn't like about the day. The venue was in a beautiful setting but not one to hold so many crafters with all the paraphernalia that we all need to do our work! I'm standing up right at the back, in the white shirt!

This is the view from our table - Heidi is the speck on the right at the front!

And of course, I had to have my photo taken with Heidi and my scrapping colleague, Wendy. It's not what I usually do but decided that I wanted to remember this amazing day with an amazing woman. Of course, with all the paparazzi there it was hard to know which camera to look at!
Thank you Heidi!

So until next time ...

100 Pages!

I know, this is too crazy to believe - but I have just finished 100 pages (6" x 6") for the Southern Cross Kids' Camps designed to create happy memories for children who have been victims of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Julie Stone - Making a Difference - has taken on the mammoth challenge to provide, literally thousands, of pages to be made into albums for all the children who attend the 7 camps around Australia and 2 in New Zealand.

I think that this is just an amazing thing to do for these kids who are "over the moon" to get these albums, with photos taken at the camp, presented to them on their last day. Check Julie's blog entry from earlier in the year to see the finished albums.

It feels good to be able to contribute and I urge all you crafters out there to spend some time, even in this crazy time of the year, to create, and send off, some very basic but colourful and inspiring pages. She needs them for the camps to be held early in January. It's a great way to use your scraps and all those extra bits and pieces lying around. You can contact Julie for her postal address.

Here are the pages I made - they are basic, as they are meant to be, and are just to show you how easy they are to make! The campleaders add the photos and a bit of journalling so there needs to be space for these things.

Here is what a pile of 100 looks like -


I also managed to get some Christmas cards completed last week - I spend a wonderful week with my eldest daughter and 3 grand-daughters getting some TLC after my bout of the flu. Being an avid crafter, she has a space set up for her paper crafts and I made good use (and a big mess) of it and made these cards (my camera is being repaired and I've used my iPhone camera so the photo's are not as sharp and crisp as they should be) -




Well they are my shares for now - hope to get some more creating done this week - meeting up with the gorgeous Dorothy on Wednesday for a social crop. I have an album to complete for my rebellious but beautiful youngest daughter, for Christmas - will be a push!

Till next time ...

Few and Far Between!

Doesn't time fly when you are having fun! The 8th November is 12 days ago - nearly 2 weeks since the last post! Urrrgh! But it has been rather a busy 12 days! I celebrated my birthday last week with friends and close family. There were some very important people that helped to make my day special and they know who they are!

I was then hit with the flu - not fun! I don't get sick and this came as quite a shock to me! My body felt like it had been hit by a truck - even to sit down was extremely uncomfortable. I slept more than I had in ages but then had to continue with life, warts and all. Anyway, I am now on the end of it all - still coughing and spluttering but as long as I don't talk too much I am okay!

I was able to get some card making in yesterday. I went with a friend to Scraptacular and we made 8 Christmas Cards using the Wassail Card Kit! So simple and so beautiful! It felt like cheating! These are cards for special people in my life! So I am gradually getting there with my cards!

Here are some of the cards I made -







Well that's all for me now ... so until next time ...

Top Ten Essentials About Me

I just saw a great idea and thought it would be good to start off a tag team activity using this idea from Big Picture Scrapbooking -

TEN "essentials" that I cannot scrapbook without:

1. My computer - to give me lots of ideas & resources
   
2. Photos of the important people in my life
3. A clear workspace
4. Double-sided tape
5. A good choice of paper
6. My tote with all my essential basics
7. Music - mostly from my iTunes collection
8. A sharp pair of scissors
9. My 12" cutter & my Creative Memories photo cutter
10. Lots of embellishments to choose from

NINE words I love are:

love, happy, freedom, family, passion, success, achievement, pride, respect

EIGHT of my quirky habits are:

1. I have to make the bed each morning
2. I love eating out
3. I love surfing the net
4. I always get to bed 1 hour after I say I am going
5. I love all sorts of music from country rock to classical
6. I procrastinate too much over my scrapbooking
7. I have bouts of de-cluttering where I literally throw out bags and bags of 'rubbish'
8. I cry easily during movies

SEVEN things I love about my "every day" life:

1. I am totally loved and supported
2. I enjoy my hot drinks with friends after gym
3. I have a home that has lots of space, including my own space
   
4. I love having family around me
5. I love spending special time with my children and my husband
6. I love being a mum
7. I love having my own business

SIX places I'd love to visit before I die:

1. United Kingdom esp. England & Wales
   
2. Italy
3. Mexico
4. China
5. Nepal
6. United States

FIVE things I do everyday, without fail:

1. Check my email
2. Use my computer
3. Drink water
4. Give my husband and daughter a hug
5. Think about my family

FOUR websites I frequent:

1. Scrapbook Hub
2. No Crap Just Scrap
3. Friend's Blogs
4. Anything to do with scrapbooking & papercrafts
   

THREE layouts I love:



TWO decisions I've never regretted:

1. Having children
2. Getting married

ONE additional and very important thing you should know about me is:

I also enjoy 'me time' where I can lose myself in whatever activity I choose to do!

So now I 'tag' Vicki Brunner to answer these questions ...

A Fortnight's Worth of Chatter

Life moves along so quickly and I am very aware of how it is so important to treasure every moment. Just to be able to stop, breathe, be in the now and be grateful is something I must remind myself to do. It is too easy to get caught up in the 'busyness' of everyday living and neglect the things that matter most to me. I am making it my intention to give myself 15 minutes every day to just breathe in my life and give gratitude for everyone and everything that make my life the wonderful experience that it is.

I have done very little personal scrapping - I started my Christmas cards yesterday with a friend who is just starting her creative journey. When I say started, I literally mean started cos that's all I did - I certainly didn't finish anything! But, the room is set up with my Christmas supplies and so I can get a bit done every now and then when I can grab myself some moments to create.

Last weekend, I spent Sunday with some wonderful, wise women creating my new vision board. It was a day that provided motivation, challenge, support and encouragement. We sat overlooking Port Phillip Bay, and even though it was cold and wet, it was such a peaceful energy. I didn't have specific intentions when I started but found myself drawn to certain areas - getting myself organised was a big one and one that surprised me.

I have been busy with the site - keeping a check on its use and making sure that everything runs smoothly. So far, the few problems have been minor and easy to correct. It is great to see the activity with both the Forum and Gallery - some amazingly talented women out there! If you haven't made it over, go and check it out - lots of resources with more being added all the time. I am looking for suggestions also!

Whilst on my research travels I came across a site called Creating Intentions. What a great way to manifest your desires through scrapbooking. But it does make sense doesn't it! Creating my vision board was a bit like creating a layout.

As I have no fresh layouts to share right now, I thought I'd show you some photos of my scrap space.

This was my very first space in a very tiny room, as you can see by the way the desk (sewing table) stretches from one wall to the other.



The next images are the room I have right now - and notice how tidy it is! It's not like that at the moment!





So there you have it for now ... so until next time ...