CURIOUSER      PHOTOGRAPHY    AUTISM      CURIOUS BAZAAR      HOME      SCRAPBOOKING

Fabric mood, wanderlust and offspring

This is a funny little painting I did yesterday afternoon... and today I really was all 'yay!' when I saw that I had a parcel from Sylvia delivered to me :)

Here (below) are the lovely contents - the latest ScrapArtZine magazine (I love the page on Sylvia's scrapping space, so cool and compact), a gorgeous pair of olive green wristwarmers that she knitted me, a gorgeous card with this image of pregnancy (the water inside and outside the body, ever so poetic) a 'mama merit badge' for travelling with kids - which has a hilarious description on the back:

"Ever been stuck on the taxiway for hours with a child who is potty training, a born dancer or a curious, shrieking climber? Run out of snacks and been stuck with a snarky attendant who was no help? With on to a cross country flight with 3 under four year olds and read the lips of passengers as they moan a cuss word that sounds like stuck? Been forced to take a sleeping baby from a sling so you can go through the metal detector? For those with wanderlust and off-spring, your bravery and grit are honored with this badge."

Classic. A beautiful gift package, thank you so much Sylvia :)

Other than that my day hasn't been that exciting, mostly cleaning, toilet-training and babysitting. And wondering what to have for dinner. And not going outside much, though we will have to shortly to post a couple of kits. Here is a picture taken from my kitchen table - I bought this tablecloth from the UK a couple of months ago and it arrived a few weeks ago, it is oilcloth so really easy to wipe clean. And looks cute, I think :) Love a bit of red in my kitchen.

Today and yesterday I have been in a fabric mood. I worked out that the window seat (that my dad and I built for Sienna's room before she was born) isn't really going to fit in Sienna's room that she has just moved back into. Because she has her table and chairs now, and a wardrobe. Ash's room (which he is yet to move into, still the study at the moment) is smaller again, and with a woodgrain theme rather than Sienna's white furniture anyway. So, the spot in my room where I was going to put this IKEA linen cupboard which I am yet to buy...

...is now going to have the window seat. Saving money, which is smart. Not getting the yellow cupboard, which is a bit disappointing but really very practical. So, I decided that I should find some fun fabrics to cover the window seat cushion and to make extra cushions for on top of the seat and also for our bed. Possibly for our couch in the lounge as well. Here are the fabrics I have just bought from etsy...

The first three are for making cushions



This yellow one is for covering the window seat cushion and making some basket linings.

I find this (above) really appealing, photo from either Nesting or Decor8 (I don't remember which, but most of my inspiration pictures come from these two blogs).

This long weekend had a Summer-themed cybercrop at Scrapboutique and I made the following two layouts on Saturday afternoon. The first one was a 'lucky dip challenge' where I had to use grey, orange and buttons with a summer-y title. The second one was based on a sketch by boutique resident Liz - Kell took that photo of her two kidlets, which I love.

This photo is one of a few I took last week in the garden (before the camera battery ran out of power). Mum gave each of the girls a tutu when we were in Adelaide the other week - Lana's was too small to be a dress and she wears it as a skirt, but Sienna's at least fits perfectly at the moment, and she has been putting it on most days. Cute little thing.

Thanks to all for the congrats on bub #3. I hadn't put it online before I guess because it's not really on my mind all that much at this point - very few appointments required, lots of other stuff going on, and I don't like a lot of fuss. And we were pretty casual about having it confirmed, so we were at about 8 weeks by the time we knew for sure. Anyhow, thanks for the good wishes, they were all very lovely to read :) Due date is early July but I don't like going for specific dates, as my first bubs have done completely their own thing, had dates changed about and still arrived late, and I doubt this one will be all that different ;) Just hopefully not bigger. Hmm.

Thanks KreativeKelly for the Craft Sassy info, I did know about them (thanks to Scrapscene!) and had sent an enquiry a couple of weeks ago. Hadn't heard back yet, so I've hassled them again, LOL. You never know, a future kit may include some custom dQ paper after all.

Turning 28

OK, let's start with a disclaimer - I don't celebrate birthdays. So, no parties or whatever. But I do find it interesting to reflect, and on Saturday I turned 28. A lot has happened in the ten years since I turned 18 on the 17th January...

Turning 28, I was
  • In Mount Barker, and then later in the day at Reedy Creek, South Australia, as my grandad's funeral was the day before
  • 16 weeks pregnant with our third (and final!) baby, looking forward to 20 weeks when we find out whether it will be a girl or boy
  • About to see my eldest - Sienna - start primary school for the first time, in just two weeks
  • In the middle of rearranging our house, moving Sienna and Ash into their own rooms and moving Ben and I back into the master bedroom
  • Running my own business, Q Tea Kits, currently making 50 kits per month
  • Planning a family holiday to Hobart for our 10th anniversary, in April (yes, I was young, no, I have never been 'normal'!)
  • A regular contributer to Scrapbook Creations, an Australian scrapbooking magazine
  • Addicted to home magazine Real Living
  • A bit slack at looking after my native foods recipe blog 'Season With Saltbush'
  • Currently 'off' in my on/off role as photographer ;) - at the moment, it's just for fun
  • In between two school years of acting as treasurer for my kids' pre-school
  • Aiming to increase my personal spiritual study and read the bible more regularly and thoroughly, and feeling blessed that I am able to help someone else study the bible at this point in my life
  • Looking forward to Autumn
  • Wondering how hard it is to design my own patterned paper or fabric - perhaps for my kits?
  • Feeling like making more stuff - must find the time
And now for a random photo...

Green and Blue in 62

Scrapbook Creations issue 62 is out now, and I have two layouts in this month - both green and blue, it turns out! This first one is for the Colour Team, which is lime green and light blue. It's one of my fave colour combos - so fresh and bright - and this photo of Ash with strawberry juice all over his face is a fun one.

The second layout I have is in Lusi's Top Ten 'Ingeniously Embossed Layouts' and is of little Mr Bodie when he was a few weeks old (so, almost a year ago now!). The embossing was done using Kell's cuttlebug and then highlighted with flocking powder for the vine pattern, and by sanding for the polka dot photo corner. The handy thing about scrapping at Kell's place, where I made this one, is getting to use her collection of Fancy Pants rub-ons :) Love these white dandelion ones and the green swirls. And I always love the Sass Lass cloud stickers.

This is the sneak peek for Q Tea's February kit - all gelati colours, sweet and bright. Still waiting for one or two things to arrive for it though.

Full kit reveal will be around the 25th - next weekend.

This weekend we will be spending in South Australia. My Grandad (remember this post? that was the family picnic we had, knowing Grandad didn't have much time left) died on Monday, and we are all heading over for his funeral on Friday in Adelaide. Then on Saturday our little family is going to Reedy Creek, Ben's dad's place, for a day or so and coming home on Monday. We had planned on visiting Reedy Creek for the Australia Day long weekend, so this is a re-shuffling of our plans. And it's always nice to have family time after a funeral, reflecting on the importance of connecting with each other and appreciating what we have.

After we are back home it will be time to swap rooms with Sienna - Ash's room isn't ready yet, we still need the electrician and a few other jobs finished, but we will just swap our bed with Sienna's so that she has a chance to get settled in her new room before she starts school.

Have a great weekend, I'll be back next week :)
I bought this tshirt online the other week, it was on sale and I wanted to get it for Sylvia (the cloud refers to her maiden name, plus it is pretty cool). They only had two sizes in stock so I got the 12, thinking they'd be fairly slim-fitting as the particular shop often is. When it arrived, though, it looked like a generous 12 and I knew it was too big for Sylvia, so it turns out I've bought myself a new tshirt! I really like it, so it works out well for me, and in a strange twist of events it now just reminds me of Sylvia when I put it on. The tie around the neck is part of the tshirt, ignore my camera strap hanging down at the right side ;)

Congrats to Kell and Roh on their 7th wedding anniversary today - this pic is from last night, when they were on their way out to dinner, looking all spiffy. Lana and Jude were very well-behaved for me, so that was great :)

I did this page on Friday while Kell and I were watching Zoolander in the afternoon. It was one of those days where we were both kind of grumpy and unmotivated, but wanted to do SOMETHING. Hence the movie, and I played with scrap supplies at the same time. The photo is from about a year and a half ago, the journaling I took from a blog entry around the same time. Prima background paper, some book paper and cardboard, the circles are from a Daisy D's wonder years paper and a few items are from the current Q Tea kit Folklore Forest. It was fun! I might do some more scrapping this week.

Though we just bought a wardrobe off ebay and I need to paint it white. I am quite excited at the prospect of a wardrobe with doors. First time since having a walk-in robe in our rental house, which was... hmm... 8 years ago or so. Yay for a wardrobe with doors! If only it was ALREADY white! But I have the paint sitting here, so that's my main goal this week.

Favourites of 2008

It's tricky to remember what has happened over a year (and work out what was actually from the year before) but I love to collect snippets of info together, so let's give it a shot...

Fave new cd of 2008 - Volume One by She & Him


Fave new TV show - Flight of the Conchords. Classic.


Favourite scrapping product - Prima crochet-style lace / ribbon in lovely bright colours! Can't find a product image, here is a projout using it (one of MANY)

Some favourite layouts from 2008


Some favourite photos from 2008




Favourite Artist - Sabrina Ward Harrison

Favourite blog - Sylvia King

Most inspiring scrapbooking blog - Red Velvet Kit Club (DT Galleries)

Favourite purchase - vintage world globe from Perth, carried home as hand-luggage on the plane in November.

Favourite house update - NEW STOVE!!!

Stuff for my feel good file:
- Technique feature published in November 'Memory Makers'
- Mixed Media exhibition in July
- Invited to join the Scrapbook Creations Colour Expert Team
- Cover layout on December SC
- Won the local prize from the Smile With Centro photography competition
- Re-designed and updated the Outback Pride website
- Made a new friend
- Helped someone study the bible
- Travelled to Perth for the first time
- Took photos for friends and family
- Planted flowers with my children
- Helped Kell with the sale of Kiti Q
- Was actively involved in Sienna's kinder
- Sold over 600 Q Tea kits

Favourite quote - "Lots is my colour!" - Sienna Belle, June 2008.

There was another one about flying into the sunset like Peter Pan 'It's easy!' but I can't find my notebook where I wrote it down ;)