Easter

A glorious Good Friday here in the Garden City - been outside all day weeding and having a general tidy up before Autumn finally arrives.

I made Hot Cross Buns for the first time today - used a recipe from here which I tweaked a little.  I added cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, grated orange and lemon rind, and sultanas instead of currants.  They turned out fantastic - even my dried fruit hating son gobbled them up.

Happy Easter everyone - if you are driving near or far - take care, don't be one of the statistics.

Oops - bad blogger

I can't believe it has been so long since I have blogged.  It seems to correspond with the time I started to look for a new job - it just sucked the mojo right out of me!  Now that I have a new job (starting in 10 days time) I am beginning to feel the reawakening of creativity - not sure how much time I'm going to have but I will have do as much as I can before I start.

In the meantime I have been playing around with the new layouts Blogger has released - very pretty.  I love the colour of this one, although I might have a play round with some more.

Went to see this rather fabulous movie tonight.  Tim Burton sure has a colourful imagination - and even with red hair and crazy eyes Johnny Depp still has a certain something about him!

My 12 year old and I went to see the movie - it is always good to be able to spend some one on one time with him, I know it won't last much longer as he enters his teens.  I also enjoyed it as it is pure fantasy, very colourful and creative, crazy!!

Words to live by

Instead of making New Year resolutions - which after years of experience, I know I won't keep - I thought about making something which was visual and would be more meaningful.  I made this from a 12x12 canvas, with scrunched up tissue paper glued to it (use gel medium), painted and then the appropriate words stamped on some tags I had.  I then glued these to the canvas, made a heading and attached it. Voila!  The words I have chosen are Dare, Laugh, Live, Love, Wish,  Dream, Create, Inspire, Believe.
The first photo shows the true colours, the second is the hanging on my wall

I've been planning this for a couple of weeks and I am really pleased how it turned out.  Now I'll have to see if it actually inspires me......

First Project for Twenty - Ten

I came across this post on Ali Edwards blog last week.  It got me to thinking and I have chosen 'Believe' as my word for this year as a reminder to Believe in myself as well as my children and others. 
I had some spare time this afternoon and I made this plaque from some board and Basic Grey monograms I had.  It is hanging over my work table now so it will remind me everytime I look at it to Believe.

Goodbye 2009!

Where has the week gone, seems like only yesterday that it was Christmas Eve and now it is New Years Eve.  I haven't done anything crafty this week - been too busy working outside.  I recently had a lot of landscaping done and there is still a little bit left to do.  So this week has been spent outside as much as possible - not just working but enjoying the new garden and especially the new deck where we have been eating a lot of our meals.

Anyway on to the new year - I am trying to resist making a resolution because it won't last (If the 40-something previous years are anything to go by!) so I have taken an idea from here and my word is Believe.

I need to Believe in myself, Believe in my children and Believe in others.  I think it is a word filled with possibilities and I feel really energised by it.

I am also making something to hang on my wall with some other words on it that I need to focus on.  I'll post pictures when it is finished.

I wish everyone everywhere a Happy New Year - may you find what you are looking for in the coming year.

Christmas Eve - finally!

Where has the month gone.  Here we are the morning of Christmas Eve already.  I certainly haven't ticked everything off my 'To Do' list but I think I can live with what's left.

Summer has finally arrived in NZ - thank goodness I was beginning to wonder.  I have just had a lot of landscaping done so the warm weather is much appreciated - I need it for my new lawn!

I have finished my Christmas cards, and all but one of them have been posted.  Here is a selection of some of them

Oops - not a good photo sorry

I also found an old family photo - that is me in the highchair with my three sisters - which I framed for each of them.  I used different backing papers for each frame.  I know one of them has opened hers already - she cried, which wasn't the object of it but I guess it means she likes it. 

Now it is Christmas Eve.  All the presents are wrapped, all the shopping is done, there is baking and housework still to do.  Time to get the day underway so I can finally put my feet up when everything is finished, and enjoy this magical time of year.  Even though my boys are older now, I am so happy that they appreciate the family traditions of Christmas which we have been building over the years - it makes it all worthwhile.

I hope everyone has a peaceful and happy Christmas .

Collage

I finished a collage at the weekend.  Only my second attempt so I am slearning as I go.  It looks really good on the wall though and I suppose that is all that matters.

Not the best photo - will try again later when it is sunny.