Made a card Monday

I had yesterday off work as one of the boys was sick. Discovered that 'playing hookie' from work gets the creative juices flowing. Made this card for a niece, along with a bookmark which didn't photograph very well (even worse than the card) I made another card but will wait until tomorrow to take a photo. I could get used to not working Mondays!!

Finally some sunshine

Where has this year gone? I know I say that everytime I venture back to my wee blog - I am a very neglectful blogger. I seem to spend a lot of time on other people's blogs but not on my own?? Why is that? Blog envy?? Maybe, there are so many creative people out there that I am in awe.
Anyway the sun is shining - and that is something that we haven't seen a lot of this winter but I think today is going to be a glorious winters day. I've had a virus and spent two days last week in bed but today I feel as though I am emerging from hibernation and have several projects bubbling away in my head - now I just have to get them out of my head!
I haven't been entirely idle over the last few months. These are some of the cards I've made - sorry in advance for the dreadful photos - hopefully you can get an idea of them.


This card was made for my son's 12th birthday (where have those years gone??) The letter is from a sheet of Basic Grey monograms I bought recently. The backing papers and buttons are from my stash.
This is a journal I made for my niece's 13th birthday - I'm really happy with it, love the colour scheme. I think the papers came from a Christina Re set I bought a while ago.The card below was also for her - dreadful photo taken late at night. Using the same Basic Grey Monograms - although might be a different style than the one above - I bought several sheets when i found them on sale!
I've got several cards to make this week for family birthdays - I've got the ideas fizzing away in my head so hopefully I will get them finished later today but in the meantime it is time to feed the hungry mouths, do the laundry, drag the vacuum cleaner around the house and maybe get outside and enjoy some sun on my face!!
Then it will be "Me time" before heading back to work tomorrow to catch up on what I didn't get done when I was sick last week. :-(
Note to self - gotta get some work /life balance happening!! How does everyone else cope with full time work and family demands?

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there in Bogland. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with their families. The card above is one I made, with my new Basic Grey papers, for a friend. I'm liking the shabby chic look of these papers! (Excuse photo - it was taken late at night.)

Mothers Day is very cold and unpleasant weatherwise in Christchurch NZ. What better excuse to blob out with the children. The best gift received today has been 'No fighting' :-) At 16 and 12 they seem to fight non-stop lately - my plea for a bicker-free day didn't land on deaf ears. Best present! Although they both bought me lovely thoughtful gifts - not so sure about the teenagers assertion that he didn't need to wrap the beautiful jug he gave me, as he handed it to me in a supermarket bag, he is saving the planet!

I've been dipping into Graceful Creative's blog as she has some wonderful ideas on there. One post which has caught my eye is this one about menu planning. I'm feeling inspired as I know if I don't plan ahead our diet's suffer - last week we had nachoes twice. I know bad mother! Any how I'm off to decide on my menu for the week - not going to commit to two weeks worth just yet, will see how one week goes. Then some grocery shopping then if we don't drown in the rain, home to snuggle on couch and enjoy a movie together, and maybe some crafting time later. Happy Mothers Day everyone.

First Card for a while!

I made this tonight - a card for my sister's birthday. It is a bit late, but better late than never, right? I'm not sure why it has taken so long to get back to making stuff!! I've been guilty of running round after everyone else and haven't given myself time. So tonight I decided the ironing could wait, the dishes could wait and tomrrow's school lunches could wait as well - Cindy need to get back into creating :-), and it feels good.
The card is made from some lucious Basic Grey papers i bought today. I love the colours, they are kind of grungy and also old fashioned, pretty groovy.

Where has the year gone?

I'm feeling a bit guilty about my poor wee blog. Can't believe I haven't updated since February - I wish I could say it was because I have been doing wildly wonderful things - but sadly that isn't the case. I've just let day to day 'stuff' get in the way and some how got lost in it all.

Anyway, i have a week off work this week with my youngest and have promised myself some blogging time and some crafty time.

I found this blog today - Graceful Creative and I really like what I have seen so far. She has this 'challenge' on her blog Edit, Add, Appreciate
Edit one thing--material objects, negative thoughts, bad habits, or activities that don't reflect who you are as a person. It doesn't have to be a physical thing; Sometimes bad habits and negative thoughts are more detrimental than physical clutter.
Add something. Bring in something or reinvent one thing in your life--thoughts, habits, activities, clothing, objects...Add something that will help you be a better person; And yes, sometimes a new pair of jeans can help!
Appreciate something or someone already in your life. Hug your children and tell them how special they are. Call your spouse, just because. Be extra polite to the guy who makes your latte. Frame that favorite piece of art.

I really like the simplicity of this and think it might be what I need just now. So this week I am going to:
Edit - some clutter, starting with my work table which is stopping my creativity from flowing
Add - one on one time with each of my children - no distractions, no interruptions, just us
Appreciate -take time to appreciate the change of seasons (autumn has made itself known in NZ), it is my favourite time of year and I don't want to let it go by without acknowledging it. Crunching leaves, kicking leaves, just enjoying the smells and colours of the season.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by pinkpuppy to a photo challenge and this is what I have to do:
1) Go to the 6th photo folder saved on my PC (or not if you file them in a different way)
2) Choose the 6th photo stored and upload to to your blog.
3) Write something about the picture.
4) Then tag 6 new people to join this challenge....
The picture is of H meeting Richie Macaw, the All Black captain. The company I work for sponsors Canterbury rugby and some of the players visited work as part of the sponsorship. H was lucky enough to be able to come along and meet them and get some autographs. An awesome opportunity for a rugby mad kid, who by the way will be captain of the All Blacks one day! (The date on it is wrong - camera was being temperamental. It was April 2007)


I tag:

Creative makes

Sequin

TwiggyPeasticks

The Owl House

(I know that is only four - but a lot of others have been tagged already - I'll add some more later)

On holiday

I have been on holiday this week on the wild west coast of the South Island. We went to one of my favourite spots in the whole country today - Punakaiki - to watch the blowholes. We timed the tide just right and were rewarded with a fabulous display.

As I haven't been at home I have been taking lots of photos as part of being Creative Everyday.