Symphony

So this is being underlined for some reason that I can't find. Hmm. Might have to dig into the html and get rid of it - it is annoying me!

OK now it is gone. Weird. No posts for a few days, things are a bit crazy as usual. I have a deadline which for once is approaching before I finish the project. Hmm better finish that. Also my kids are sick. Again. And both of them had nasty temps yesterday, especially last night, with Ash vomiting multiple times, but not eating anything. He is currently flopped on my lap in his pj's, while they watch Pingu. Thank goodness for laptops and wireless.

Anyhow, I have scanned the 'Snap' page from my previous post and I think the colour is more accurate now. I can't be sure, but it's here anyway ;)

This first layout I did for Ngaire's beautiful blog. I was reminded of a line from one of my teenage poems, called 'Symphony'. The layout has about the last third of the poem. The end of it anyway ;) I wrote it in 1997, so I was 16. It seemed appropriate though, and I am really happy with the layout.

It uses more of my favourite Hambly products, a Heidi Swapp damask sticker Kell gave me, a fabric clasp from one of the vintage cheongsams in my fabric boxes, used the Heidi Swapp bird and branch mask for the background. Um, what else. Making Memories 'winter' trim. A little dragonfly charm I picked up the other day, a Scenic Route arrow from Kiti Q, and a MME Magnolia paper - also from Kiti Q. The letters are from the Tinkering Ink die-cut alphabet. I had to steal the green 'e' from Kell, as I know I haven't used mine, but I popped it out and lost it! My desk being in chaos probably doesn't help with that. LOL.

OK so in case you can't read it, the lines say:

"Ripped apart at the seams,

I am put together again,

Now by music,

And my heart has more power

Than ever before.

My garden, my womb,

The symphony of my soul.

The blood flows from me,

I am strong.

I can be beautiful, too, you know.

And that I am, and always was,

Just for you.

But now it is for me too.

The music is mine.

The symphony is me."

I forgot to mention this little word accent on 'Snap!' is a Crafty Matters ceramic tile exclusive to Kiti Q (so funky). Check 'em out here.

It's the last days of May, Autumn and the Bam Pop sale at Kiti Q. I will miss Autumn, it kind of feels like I did miss it. Oh well, moving on to boots and berets.

Snap!

I did this page yesterday for submission to Hambly Screen Prints for their guest designer call. Wishful thinking, but oh how I love their stuff! Totally addicted lately. Especially to the transparencies, as I haven't got much of their rubons. MME Magnolia transparent frames are also gorgeous and fun to use! The colour of this photo is a bit darker / duller than real life, I will re-photograph it in daylight soon. The photos of me were taken by the gorgeous Viv Bonder in Sydney at the end of April.

Ngaire has just posted, over at the beautiful blog, an article I shared. It is a magazine clipping from Vogue magazine that I cut out when I was 15 and still have now. I love the images of the beautiful and gutsy elderly friends the journalist has, and the description of Janie, the Aboriginal station girl. Have a read, it's both though-provoking and beautifully reflective.

Thank You Kell!

After the comments on my photo post from yesterday, I just have to say Thank You to my lovely sister Kelly, who bought me those red and white mugs!

Photos from the wedding a couple of weeks ago

Hambly Screen Prints

Go to the Hambly Screen Prints blog - scroll down past the pictures of the design team on the left. Then you will see the 'Screen Prints Gallery'. Guess whose layout is the link there? Mine! Cool, hey. I love Hambly.

Speaking of Hambly, pick up some funky transparent and rub-on goodness here - with more on it's way!

Photos and Two Mini-Canvases

Reclaiming Beauty and other everyday things

From Picture to Page was a big success, with Kiti Q meeting target and getting lots of exposure to local (Melbourne) scrappers. It was also fun, we had a little stereo tucked behind so we could have funky music playing. Varied from Jamie Cullum jazz styles, Australian indie style pop like Missy Higgins and Kate Miller-Heidke, through to the Afro-Cuban All Stars and jazz-influenced electronica by Koop.

Here are some pics of Kiti Q's stall - check out Kell and Jude in their super cute Kiti Q aprons!

I can hear Ash playing with the ice cube trays but will ignore him for a moment - sometimes telling him off every five minutes is just too hard and I pretend I haven't noticed his naughtiness. For a few minutes anyway. OK I'd better go stop him, LOL.

OMG it is hilarious. Ash has gone into size 2 and has only a few pair of pants that fit. With the weather being as it is, they haven't been able to dry, and so he is totally out of pants and long-sleeved tops to wear. So I've put him in a pair of Sienna's trackpants. LOL. They fit fine, and are grey, but you can tell from the cut that they are not boys clothes. I also found a size 3 flannel shirt that was handed down to us. He's a bit of a mismatch today. Poor little guy. Hehe.

OK back to the point. I also met this lovely lady Donna from the Cardboard Cafe - she's been having trouble with her web developers, so the site is not functional yet, but you can tell it's going to be super sweet :) I also met Tam, apparently - Hello Tam! Though I didn't realise it at the time. Tam, I have to tell you I remember your layouts from SAM because I always liked them so much! Cool girl that one :)

Check out what Ngaire Bartlam's been up to - encouraging us all to reclaim beauty. What a fantastic idea. It reminds me of an article I love that I cut out of Vogue magazine when I was 15. Maybe I'll post it later.

Here is a layout I did yesterday morning for the Blue Bazaar cybercrop that was on Saturday. My goodness, was that funny. Couldn't scrap though, could barely keep up with the chat and trivia! Jaimie, in particular, is a crack-up (and a wee bit naughty). Funny stuff.


Now, I'm sure you know of the book 'She' from Compendium, it's very cool and positive for women of all ages. I first saw it a few years ago in a shop in Hahndorf, of all places, and couldn't afford it at the time. Recently I picked it up from Tarisota, and I chose this quote out of it to make a canvas. This is going to my lovely cousin Bec. Eventually, LOL. Whenever I see her next.

Sneaky peeks, new favourites and Paper Pesto

In answer to Karen's question last post, I will be on the Kiti Q stand on the weekend, definitely all day Saturday and most likely the afternoon on Sunday. My travel journal kit will be there, along with my Be Real and Oh Boy kits, in very limited quantities, and a new kit, and My Girl, a girl version of the Oh Boy mini-album, as interpreted by my sister Kelly Ingram.

Here are a few sneaky peeks to get an idea about the travel journal class kit. It will be $35 at the fair, which includes all the materials and full instructions - about 11 pages I believe, including images! I tend to explain in great detail. Not ridiculously so, but enough to make it pretty straightforward (I hope).

I am totally addicted to Veronica Mars (the tv series) lately. Ben has been getting me some episodes from Season One, I believe there are three seasons so far. I've wanted to see it for awhile, and now that I can watch some I am hooked :) I don't watch standard television, so it is kind of funny how I pick up shows from time to time. Ben is getting hooked on 'Heroes'.

My friend Ethan recommended this music to me, Angus and Julia Stone. I so love it. Thank you Ethan :)

As much as I wanted to post photos of the hot pink Kiti Q aprons, I am not quite finished with them yet. I still need to sew on the whiskers, and decide whether to add a label. Still, I will definitely post a pic by the weekend, so stay tuned. I am still amazed that I will be wearing pink all day. Hilarious.

Ooh, almost totally forgot why I was posting today. I am very pleased to announce that I am one of 12 design team members for Paper Pesto, a brand-spankin' new scrapbooking kit company from New Zealand. The first kit I get to play with will be the July pack, and it already sounds cool, I am looking forward to it! Three of us will design with each month's pack, so I will be assigned to one kit every four months for the duration of the year's design team term. Cool, hey!

Who's been a slack blogger...

I have! Mostly because I've not had a chance to create much. Well, not entirely true. One little thing for a mag, which I can't show you, and one little canvas for a friend, which I won't show until I know she's received it. No layouts.

But I have finished a Travel Journal Class Kit for Kiti Q - it will be released at the Picture to Page show this weekend as a limited edition of only 3 kits! And it is really cool, if I do say so myself.

Thank you thank you for all the well-wishes and concern about Ash. It was all kind of surreal, and he has been completely fine since. Still, we have taken him out of childcare. It was only weekly, but now he'll be at home with me all the time, so if it happens again at least I can witness it. But hopefully it won't happen again!

And hopefully I won't go any more insane than I am already, having both kids home with me all week long. And no car. Hmm.. It's ok, if I do go a bit strange, I doubt anyone would notice the difference ;)

Hopefully I'll get time to upload some photos soon, somewhere in this crazy week getting ready for Picture to Page. And editing wedding photos (I photographed a wedding on Saturday), with a bit of graphic design work on the side - because I have time. Yeah right, LOL. Actually I will HAVE to upload photos of these cute aprons I'm making for us to wear on the Kiti Q stall on the weekend. A bit flirty, a bit dotty. Very cute. And yes, I will actually be wearing a hot pink apron. Wonders will never cease.

Have a great week everyone!

Trying to make a long story short

Yesterday I planned on having a day at home with Sienna, Ash was at childcare and Ben at work. At about 12 Sienna and I walked to the playground, and then on to the Main Street. She went to another playground, we had lunch, etc, etc. At 3 we were just leaving Voski, this funky little boutique, when I received a phone call from childcare.

Apparently Ash had some kind of seizure, and had in fact become stiff and unresponsive and stopped breathing for a few seconds - long enough that he had started to turn blue before he just snapped out of it and recovered. Freaky stuff. But they had spoken to my sister Kelly, as Jude had a temperature and she was asked to pick him up. So she was going to leave work and pick up BOTH boys.

Then they called back five minutes later when I was about to walk home and call the doctor to make an appointment. They said he had sort of fainted or something, and although recovered from that again, he was looking pretty sick. They wondered if they should call an ambulance. I turned the stroller around and started walking towards the centre as quickly as I could, while phoning my friend Teresa for a ride. One of the staff came and met me partway up the street and took Sienna and I to the centre, where I picked Ash up (he seemed ok, just a bit dazed). Teresa met us there and drove us to the hospital emergency department.

So, we got there at about 3:30, and we got home this morning just after 11 I think. He had his blood and urine tested, obs done regularly, and was kept in (with me alongside) for observation. He was fine the whole time, quite chirpy for a lot of it actually. So the consensus at this point is that he had a physical reaction to his emotional distress after waking up unhappy from his nap. Phew. Long days. Here are some photos of him throughout the process. (Yes, I had my camera on me - was supposed to have been for photos of Sienna on the playground!)

Now I'm going to bed! Didn't sleep well at the hospital.






To finish off, here is a cute photo of my nephew Jude, taken on Saturday, and my layout from the current issue (42) of Scrapbook Creations.

Cinematic Orchestra

I'm listening to this album on constant rotation at the moment. Beautiful stuff.

Confessions of a Non-Blogger

7 Random facts about me, by Leanne Ryan

1. In 1988 I was school captain of the primary school the boys go to now. Circle of life, huh?
2. I decided to become a writer in grade two. My first published works had received rave reviews from the critics (my parents and teacher) so it seemed the natural course of action. My mum, however, didn’t share my enthusiasm for a career as an author, suggesting I become a journalist instead, because journalists actually made money. So I did. Well, the becoming a journalist bit, not so much the making money bit. Still harbour the dream of being a novelist though. Money’s overrated.
3. I once worked as a manager at the local McDonalds. Before the boys were born. They can’t believe I was ever that cool.
4. I’m totally into cricket. So excited that Aust have made the World Cup final. And that it’s on free-to-air. Not so excited about the time conversion. Ugh.
5. I’m a perfectionist. So much so that I have trouble even picking books at the library just in case they don’t live up to expectation. Sad, huh?
6. I’m early. To everything. All the time. Can’t help it.
7. I don’t have a favourite colour. To me, the appeal of each colour depends totally on the context, eg if it’s something I’m going to wear, scrap, put on my wall etc. My favourite colour is the one that best does the job I want it to do in that particular context at that particular time.

Blogger's note (by dq): I tagged Leanne even though she doesn't blog, and loved reading her little quirks and details so decided to share them ;) For those who don't know her, Leanne is the witty scrapbooker/writer who pens 'The Last Word' column that finishes each issue of Scrapbook Creations. Sorry Leanne, but that's what happens when you give me a good title, LOL. I just had to use it. :D

Stories of Sienna, at 3 1/2 (in pictures)

More Pics...

A few more shots from the weekend, and the layouts / projects I made in my classes. I also had to add this one Sienna did, she saw the canvas from Em's Wall Art class (with her own little in the middle of it) and wanted to make one. So I got out scrap pieces, and the other round photo I had, and this was what she made... (first photo) super cute :)