My Life in a Blogshell

Addiction

2011-07-22T01:53:00.000+10:00

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if we had no internet now? I know there is a lot of us who have lived without the internet & even without a computer. I know I have, but gosh to go the opposite direction & go from having it to NOT having it... feels like a hard thing to imagine. It is for me anyway.

I have just finished reading about Kellie Winnell & her 60day break from Facebook. You can read about it HERE. She was inspired to do this after reading another blog, where the woman was taking a 90day break! You can read about that HERE.

It made me realise that I too have the same problem. I spend nearly every minute of the day on the computer & on facebook either playing games or chatting. And it's not even really chatting, coz I never have the chat function on lol. It's just reading everyones statuses & being nosey & then occassionally replying to their comments or statuses. Gosh, I press "like" nearly every minute of the day.

Those who know me well enough (or those who read my status - you don't have to know me at all really. Weird really isn't it), will know that when I have no internet or power at home for a period of time, I come back & have a big list of things that I have actually done while not having access to the internet or power.

Power might be different - gets a bit dull during winter with no power I admit that ... I don't wish for that to happen often lol. But no internet gives a massive freedom or something to me. As long as I have the power/electricity I can go into my craft room & not come out for the entire day. I can actually FINISH many UFO's & WIP's lol. Believe me, there are a lot of them in that room! Go figure why the door stays shut - to hide it all! If I can't see it - does it exist? :oP

Another big thing that was mentioned on those 2 blogs that I read, "Kids wont be kids forever, they grow up and while I’m not going to miss it, I needed to take a look around.". It got me thinking. I'm not yet in the situation where I have that problem, mainly because Miss Abby is so young & is still sleeping a lot. Or maybe i'm using that as an excuse. Maybe the problem is me!

I have a phobia about going out of the house on my own with my daughter. Some, but not everyone knows this. I'm not talking about going to the letterbox - that's fine I don't have a problem with that. But where I live, it's fairly isolated. I don't drive, i'm deaf so I don't socialise with anyone around me. I don't know anyone. I don't have friends outside of facebook/ craft forums etc!

Miss Abby is now 14mths old & I can count the number of times I have taken her physically out of the house to the shops or out in the pram for a walk, with 1 hand! Baring in mind that i'm talking about when i'm on my own. When hubby is at work during the day. It is easier for me to just entertain her inside the house. We don't have a nice backyard, it's cold & doesn't get much sun at all - so I don't take her out there. I don't think she's actually ever been in the backyard come to think of it. There's a lot of steps leading down to the backyard & I guess i'm maybe just lazy. I don't even put the washing outside anymore - it just does into the spare room - which will be Abby's when the time comes.

So while my addiction to the internet /computer / facebook seems to take over my life, I do sit here & wonder how I can get away from it. But do I want to? Can I do it while knowing that it is actually here & its not broken or there is nothing preventing me from using it?

Maybe a lot of people don't know what I mean. I'm sure a lot of people use their phones to contact friends & family etc. I don't. My email & my texting is my only form of communication with anyone. And in reality the only person I email is my Mum & my hubby when he's at work & I want to talk. Other than that it's Facebook which is my door to the world & communicating. So can I give it up? Or do I want to? I'm not sure.

I have stopped playing my games as much as I did, but that time now gets taken up with googling & surfing the net. Finding new ideas & patterns etc that I "Could" make, if I ever got off the bloody computer.

I'd like to be able to say that in 30 days time I could blog to update & say that I have been offline more. That I have been outside more & taken my daughter to the shops etc. But I don't think it will happen. Not just yet anyway :o(

Maybe it's my depression. It certainly doesn't help my depression by sitting here all the time i'm sure. Not getting any sun during the day - mind you it's hard to find ANY sun at the moment. Where I live it's very covered as we are in the national park.

I dunno, maybe it's all just more & more excuses. Maybe I secretly like being a type 1 diabetic, suffering depression & being deaf. Maybe they are all such good excuses for being who I am & acting the way I do.

Maybe I just need a F%&^ing life! Whatever it is, I hope that it will go away & that I won't hurt my daughters upbringing by abandoning her or by not being 'present' when she needs me.

Jail time?

2011-07-20T19:56:00.000+10:00

Today I went to court ...

... to get some pieces of paper signed for the bank! :oP

That got your attention didn't it! lol But yeah, we went to the Court house to get yet another document completed for some refinancing. Gosh, so frustrating! And to think it all started back in April! It's now middle of July & we're almost finished. Wish we could afford to just sell the damn house & buy another one all at the one time rather than sell & not be able to. But instead we're keeping it & renting our current place.

Ick! Don't you hate being an adult sometimes! Sheshh lol. The only thing Miss Abby is currently worrying about is whether she can get my attention through the safety/baby gate by grabbing the middle book in a pile that's on my side of the gate & not hers causing it to topple over & make a mess :oP

Nothing done today, still feeling really out of it at the moment. It's cold & miserable weather, so just really wandering around in a daze all day & then cooking tea at night time for when Hubby gets home. Abby's got a little cold I think but also teething, so she's sleeping heaps & so not much is happening at all.

Happy crafting!

Perfecto!

2011-07-18T23:34:00.000+10:00

... my eyesight that is lol. Had a long overdue appt with the ophthalmologist today. Theoretically I should be going every 18mths (I think lol) due to having type 1 diabetes. It's just one of those things that should be done to keep checking to make sure its all gewd. However, me & appts are not the best of friends to say the least! Not to mention the time & money involved in doing it all. So it happens - but not as often as it should.

So anyway, today was the day. Had the full checkup done. No retinopathy! Which occurs in about 50-60% of people with diabetes within 18years of diagnosis (according to the leaflet I read today lol). Me however is not part of that percentage! (So far anyway!). Coming up 23years since my diagnosis & no complications at all with any part of my body in relation to my diabetes anyway lol. So YAY me! I'm sure i'm one of the only ones in my family that doesn't have glasses (in any form - full time or reading). So YAY again lol.

We went to the shops before the appt to have a look around & hubby being such an enabler made me buy 3 TV DVD Boxsets from Dick Smith Electronics! Nawty nawty! ;o) Honestly - he MADE me buy them lol. So I now have 2 more seasons of Desperate Housewives & 1 more season of Brothers & Sisters added to my addictive collection. Their usual prices are around $59 - $79 each & at DSE they were $25! Can you say BAA-gain!? lol

What else has happened since I last blogged? Hmm, I bought some yummy fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop in the USA. Worked out cheaper to buy 0.5m of each piece of fabric that I wanted from there including the postage from US to Australia, then it would have cost me to get 0.3m of the same pieces of fabric from the cheapest place I could find online within Australia. Crazy times in the money world!

Here's the fabric i've ordered ... but what am I making? Hmmm ;oP Time will tell (or at least I hope it will lol).

Also bought some more Bernina Bobbins off ebay from the US as well. So hard to find the ones I want/need for my sewing machine! Several places nearby usually stock them but were currently out of stock & apparently their freight is high when they order from their suppliers so they don't order for small quantities & therefore don't order/restock very often. So - back to the good ol' USofA for me & my money :oP

Other than that, not a lot happening. Have been de-cluttering the kitchen cupboards & working out how to get my Food Processor (that I got for my birthday) into a cupboard instead of having it on the small tiny kitchen bench that we have here lol. I think there may be some progress in that area - but still needs a bit of working to get it to fit!

I'm in the middle of making a little soft toy for errr Miss Abby or hubby LOL. It's a dragon, which is hubby fave (he was born in the year of the dragon which is where that addiction comes from). It's such a cute pattern which I found on Etsy a while ago & then found someone in Australia selling the kits! Even better as it saves me from gathering it all lol (i'm lazy!).

Here's the designers website Fluffels. Some really cute softies/patterns available! The pattern I have is for Yoki the Dragon. Might have to make it in the Pink or Purple after I do the green one ;o) lol. Mind you, I really need to finish this green one before even THINKING of starting another one! So many UFO's in this craft room of mine :o/

Here's the place where I bought the kit in Australia Crafty Mamas. A great little website & heaps of PDF patterns available too which I always love! The owner of the site posts FREE within Australia too! Even better!

What will tomorrow bring? I'm guessing / hoping lots of sleep! Miss Abby was up all night last night cranky little kid! So I haven't slept in errr a while anyway - so why am I still here at 11.30pm? Absolutely no idea!

Happy crafting!

Wow! What a week that was!

2011-07-09T20:10:00.000+10:00

I wrote my last blog at 1.28pm local time on Tuesday this week ... soon after that the power went off! Assuming it was going to come back on within an hour or so I didn't worry too much about it.

By 4pm, i'm starting to think it may be a little longer! Txt'd hubby at work & asked him to ring up the power company & get a status report. When he replied back that it was off til about 7pm, I needed to start getting things ready! So, ran around the house cleaning up so we didn't have Miss Abby's toys lying around the house to trip over in the dark. Shoe rack put into spare room with door shut so Miss Abby couldn't pull them off the rack in the hallway for us to trip over! Candles & torches sorted with new batteries etc. I was ready! Once it started to get dark, Miss Abby was in bed so I sat down & read my book under candlelight ... sounds romantic - but it wasn't it was cold & miserable LOL. (I think I was fooling myself into thinking that if I put lots of little candles on then it would warm me up too? lol)

But when hubby came home just before 7pm ... he came with more news! Power off til the next day ... at 10PM! OK, that's alright - we had a specialist appt in town, so would be away for the day so no problems right!? So while we were in town that day, we went to a net cafe to just get an update since we had no news updates etc & stupidly enough, we don't have a battery radio to get updates from! Looked online to find out that trains have been suspended with limited bus services going up the mountains! And road blocks throughout the travel too! Yikes! lol.

Anyway, obviously we got home - but we certainly took our time. Stayed out & had takeaway for tea etc. Came home about 9pm on that Wednesday & 30mins later the power came back on! So that was lucky for us. Unfortunately, as i'm typing this on Saturday - STILL people in the rural areas of the mountains are without power & trust me - it is bloody cold at night time up here!

So, not much happening in terms of craft really this week. I did cut out a pattern for a soft toy i'm making on Tuesday afternoon before it got too dark, but other than that there was nothing done :(

After the power came back on, Thursday was recovery day. Finishing the washing that was in the machine in the middle of it's wash when the power went out on Tuesday, remaking vegemite sticks for Miss Abby that were 1/2 cooked in the oven when the power went out too.

Here's the result the morning after my book read lol. Oopsies! Good job I didn't use these candles on the tables at our wedding aye! That was where these candles were meant to be used but we ended up not doing that. Phew!

Today, my big parcel arrived! Was meant to be delivered on Tuesday! We are assuming that the power outage may have contributed to the delay. Delay coming up the mountains from Sydney as motorists were advised not to use the road & defer plans etc. Not really sure what happened - but anyway it's here now!

Ozzie inspecting the new arrival ...

My new toy unpacked & assembled! Bring on the weight loss & fitness craze baby!

Happy crafting!

Wild & Windy

2011-07-05T13:28:00.002+10:00

It is so windy today here! I just can't keep warm! Crazy weather lol.

Well yesterday was a different day that's for sure! Started off nice & early with an appt with the Diabetes educator - My recent Hba1c results I had recently were pretty bloody awful to be honest. So GP made an appt for me to go to the educator. If I sound unenthusiastic about that it's probably because I am lol. I'm not saying I know everything about diabetes by any means, but gosh it's tedious sitting in the room for an hour or so going over everything that I know I should be doing & all of that when I just haven't. I know what i'm doing wrong, I know that I need to pay better attention, but I am just sick & tired of it sometimes (all the time). I need to get it under control & I want to, but it's bloody hard to motivate myself day after day. Especially in winter - anyone else have that problem. Motivation seems to disappear during the cold months I find. Maybe it's just me!

Anyway, after that delightful appt, I decided to do something that I haven't done alone with Miss Abby yet after 14mths (almost)... go to the shops alone with her! And believe me, it was hard. I felt like I had an anxiety attack walking out the door to get into the car to go to the train station! Yikes! I wanted to go & thought it was a good opportunity to do it while hubby was working from home yesterday, as he usually does that when I have appts because i'm deaf I obviously have a hard time at appts on my own. So hubby tags along & is basically my interpreter. Sucks, but until I find a doc that is actually willing to write EVERYTHING down for me, then that's the way it's gonna be.

So we did it! We went to the big shopping mall 1hr away by train. Unfortunately for me, I forgot it was the 1st day of School holidays so of course EVERY kid in the area was probably there too Yikes! Luckily, it didn't seem too bad - at least I managed to find a seat in the food court for lunch!

Got home to find that my sewing machine has been fixed & returned! Yay 24hr service not bad! But now I want to find myself the official Bernina Bernette bobbins because I have so many odd sized ones that I don't know which is the right size & i'm sure that is contributing to the crappy sewing sometimes. So i've looked online & the only place I can find them (so far) is a US ebay seller?! Surely that can't be right. Perhaps, Bernina stockists just don't like putting the bobbins online in their shops. Who knows! My local /nearby craft shop does usually stock them, but they are currently out of stock & it might be a while til they place their next order Doh! So will see what I can do. Would hate to buy from the ebay seller & find out they were just generic ones. Would be a waste, so think I will wait for the local places to have them then I can find some cheap ones the same size. Easier I think - just will take longer lol. Nevermind! I still have all the handstitching to do on my Sudoku Quilt right!

On Sunday I ended up adding snaps to a pile of bibs that I had waiting to get their velcro sewn on. Decided that I had some spare snaps, so could reduce the pile a bit. So that was great - some more stuff taken off my UFO pile Yay!

Wonder what I can do today to reduce the pile even more ;o) I'm hoping my new toy is going to arrive today too. Haven't heard anything yet ... it's not craft related unfortunately though lol. Will reveal what it is once I have it! Hint: It's BIG! Takes up 1m x 2m of floor space! Yikes - for a small house, i'm not sure how it's going to fit but nevermind - I will find a way!

Happy crafting!

A sunny winter's day

2011-07-03T13:34:00.001+10:00

Very nice day up here in the Blue Mountains. The sun is shining, although it's still cold.

Scotty got pampered yesterday afternoon & is now looking a real furball of a dog! I prefer him with more hair I must admit, but it's so difficult to brush him - he's a real grumpy frump when it comes to brushing. Probably because we never did it much when he was a little pup, so now almost 5yrs on he's not used to it. So we pay someone to do it for us ... not surprisingly he's always on his best behaviour when someone else does it - go figure!

My sewing machine went to the doctors today! Hoping to get a phone call tmw with what the verdict is. Fingers crossed its something easy, fast to fix & cheap! ;)

So now my craft room looks sad & empty (yeah right - hubby could only wish!). Must get in there this afternoon & get working on something non sewing machine related!

My Mum made some overalls/dungarees for Miss Abby a while ago & she brought them over in May when she was here. She didn't have time to add the snaps on, so she left the snaps with me for me to do them. Well yesterday (yes, the 3rd July!) I finally did them! Slack I know!

Happy crafting!

Win an AccuQuilt Go! Baby Machine!

2011-07-03T00:30:00.002+10:00

How awesome would that be! They are not commonly heard of over here in Australia ... yet! Not many shops have them or have any mention of them etc. So how fantastic would it be to win one! Be the envy of all your friends! Me included! Just kidding - coz i'm going to win it ;o) lol

Anyway, i'm guessing you'd like me to give you the link now right?

Head on over to Turned Gypsy now for your chance!

Happy crafting!

My Sewing Machine is sick!

2011-07-02T16:30:00.000+10:00

How was that to bugger up my sewing mojo!

Thankfully I have managed to sew the binding onto my Sudoku Quilt before it became sick - so that is OK. Now I can do lots of hand stitching til it gets back from the doctor :/ lol.

Oh dear, I hope I can find someone close & cheap! Wish me luck!

Happy crafting!

I'm back!

2011-07-01T10:00:00.020+10:00

OK, i've been away for a while in case u hadn't noticed lol. Lots been happening & i'm far too addicted to Facebook ;)

However, a craft craze is again on me - I am no longer a Kaszazz consultant ... it's just not for me I don't think. Very difficult to sell when you are deaf & the main way of selling is by face to face classes! I did try & I set up a few kits to buy online but it never took off unfortunately.

So i've gone off the papercraft faze for the moment & back onto my sewing! Treated myself to a new Bernina 610D Overlocker for Mothers Day! This is my new baby here next to my sewing machine :)

Have got several craft things happening - lots of little things for Miss Abby's bedroom to brighten up the dull white walls. One of them is a Patchwork Kite, designed by Tammy from Karamat, that I found online at the Moda Bakeshop. Looks gorgeous! The link to the Kite pattern is Here.

Here's a sneak peak of the one i'm making for Abby ... just got the tail & bows to do to finish it off now. I used 'Girlie Girl' Charm Pack by Moda.

Will be finished this weekend for at least 1 project i'm sure! I went to the Craft & Quilt Show at Darling Harbour, Sydney last weekend & oh my! I could have spent so much money - if I had it LOL. Was so nice dreaming though! Am really kicking myself as there was a gorgeous little quilt kit for a cot/toddlers bed with Owls & it was so gorgeous, but I just didn't have any money left by the time I got to that stall. So I wrote down the name etc & then emailed them when I got home ... got a reply saying they sold out at the show & the fabric is not available anymore! ARGHH. Don't you hate when that happens! Never mind ... i'll survive!

Happy crafting!

I have some news!

2010-10-08T00:23:00.001+11:00

I am now officially a Independent Kaszazz Consultant! :)

Check out my special blog for it at Rebecca's Place with Kaszazz. Don't worry, i'm still keeping this one open as my own blog ;) Anything Kaszazz related however, will be on the other blog :)

So come on over & follow me there to find out about all things Crafty!

Also, if you have never heard of Kaszazz, feel free to check out their website! Kaszazz

Happy crafting!

Overnight Bag Pattern

2010-04-06T16:24:00.004+10:00

Decided I wanted to treat myself & sew myself up an overnight bag for when I go into hospital. But want something that could double up as a Nappy bag later on ... So lately i've been looking online finding the cheapest patterns & the least postage lol ;o)

Today I found it! WooHoo!

Melly & Me Overnight Sleepover Bag
What was even better about this particular site was they had a sale & FREE postage! Yay! And I just bought the last one in stock :oP So you can't follow me to the shop & buy one for yourself - sorry lol. But i'll tell you what, they got some gorgeous fabrics in their shop too!

I have to say, I am a huge Melly & Me fan. I LOVE all the soft toy patterns like Leon the lion - who is also at the same shop ... maybe later on when I have some 'spare' cash ;o) lol.

Anyway, so now my mission is to TRY & decide what fabrics to use!! Arghh! I dunno if I can make a decision by my due date! LOL. Better start looking & thinking! ;o)

Happy crafting!

200 Posts!

2010-03-23T12:55:00.007+11:00

Gosh, its taken a while to get to this stage I think lol. 200 posts! Geez, I spend too much time online don't I lol

Happy crafting!

Nana's 90th Birthday Card

2010-03-20T19:08:00.004+11:00

Well, its possibly my 1st card for 2010!? But definitely a worthy one! Couldn't not make a card for my only Nanas 90th birthday now could I!?

I feel bad that I am unable to fly to NZ to be there on her special day, but obviously she understands & would much rather see me later in the year with her 1st great grandchild too ;o)

Nana is visually impaired, so I always try to make the cards a bit touchy feely, without being at risk of being opened by customs on their way over there! So, i've used my Spellbinder nestabilities for the first time FINALLY! I've had them for possibly 6mths or longer & never used them coz I didn't have the right gadgets for my Big Shot machine to use them. And then once I did, my Big Shot perspex plates (whatever the official word is for those lol) they have been so well used they were causing unwanted lines on my papers when I cut with them. So I had to go shopping for those too ;o)

So anyway! I've finally done a card & I can finally post a photo on my blog - coz I think i've done a lot of posts without photos (sorry! lol).
Close-up:
Things used for the card:

Magnolia Stamp - Cupcake
Kaisercraft bling
Derwent Coloured Pencils & odourless solvent (along with blending pencil)

Update:

2010-03-10T13:23:00.002+11:00

Well, I am finally back at work! Yay! Money coming in! lol. Not much tho, as i'm going back slowly ... not too slow or i'll be off again for maternity leave doh! lol. So did my 1st shift last Saturday & am working this Friday & Saturday. Was rostered on for Saturday, but they are short staffed & rang up today to see if I can fill in on Friday ... Umm YES!

Sooooooo, coz i'm not working much, my pay isn't much obviously. But I have managed to spoil myself just a teeny tiny bit! I found this fabric online the other day that is the same as scrapbook paper. Funny thing was, a few weeks earlier I saw some bibs on MadeIt & thought "how did they get those images onto the bibs ... I've got the 12x12" paper for those images". But thought they must have got technical & maybe illegal & scanned them onto the iron-on transfers or something like that. But then I was just browsing & found the actual fabric! And its on special! lol Even better lol. So now I have bought my chunk of fabric, I can share with you the website in case you'd like your own LOL. Postage costs more than the fat quarter of fabric :( So this is the one & only time i'll be buying from them I think. Although, they have Blush by Basic Grey for Moda on their site too, which is also a paper design that has been put onto fabric too. (Loving the paper turned fabric stuff at the moment lol).

So I got this "Mackenzie by Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics" fabric from Quilt Fabric Delights which is based in Australia.

Have found a lovely website though that sells lovely fabrics called Bubbamia Fabrics (also based in Australia) ... I found the site through Facebook actually as the owner of the shop has a Fan page there too. She's a WAHM & it really is a lovely site & VERY cheap postage! She's only just started up the website, so not many fabrics in there as yet, but looks like something to keep your eye on as I think it will do well ;o)

Lucky Me!

2010-03-05T10:48:00.002+11:00

So lately, I haven't been online much due to my network / modem (I dunno - I aint the geek in the house! Thats hubbys department! lol) playing up. So frustrating!!! I'm bored enough at home as it is since im not working at the moment & my belly is just getting bigger & bigger!

So im online & start blog hopping as ya do ;o) I raced over to Me and the Little Rascals as Samantha had a competition over there that I mentioned a couple of posts down about Kaisercraft Lilac Avenue which I really really love! ;o) No ... had not won that, but just below that post of the winner, was Another Winner & who was that? Moi! lol Just for being a follower! How lovely was that! Definitely made my day a little brighter (currently overcast outside lol).

Now I have the warm fuzzies :o) So big thank you to Samantha for bringing the warm fuzzies to my house lol.

What i've been up to lately

2010-02-19T19:09:00.002+11:00

Well, its been a while since i've had a decent blog post aye, so I thought i'd catch you up on what i've been doing. But sorry - no photos just yet ... gimme a week or two & I should have some fully completed things to photograph! LOL

Firstly my pregnancy is going well. Am currently in week 24 & things are all going smoothly. My type 1 diabetes however is not as good as the docs would like it to be, but it is definitely heading in the right direction. I must say its under the best control i've had personally for a long long time lol. But I guess that doesn't matter for the docs lol.

So craftwise - i've been quite busy but still not as busy as i'd like! I'm not working at all at the moment due to my hearing loss being very bad. But hoping to get back to work sometime soon coz it sucks not having money to buy things for bubs! lol.

So yeah, i've been on the sewing machine heaps! Saving money where I can & finding free templates & patterns online to print out & make things for bubs myself using my little bit of fabric stash. Have found several bib patterns that I like, so have been making some of them. Have also been making soft balls with bells inside & plan on making some blocks/cubes the same way with bells inside too.

My Mum has a fabric stash as large (possibly larger lol) as my papercraft stash! So she's been a great help lol. Have been emailing her (she lives in NZ & im in Australia) with requirements & she'll search her stash & post stuff over if she has it lol. Love it! So currently waiting for a parcel from her which will have some black & white fabric so I can make some of those soft block/cubes I mentioned above.

My mum is a Neurodevelopment Occupational Therapist - & works with kids under the age of 5yrs who have developmental delays and/or disabilities. So she has a lot of experience & advice for me in what I can be doing for bubs when it arrives & what is perhaps better in her opinion than other opinions. So its been a massive learning time for me but i'm really enjoying all the advice so far that Mum has to offer!

Mum bought a handmade bib at a craft shop recently that she liked the look of & came home & made some herself. Coz it was such an easy pattern but knowing I HATE sewing binding around the edges (which this bib has), she's done the binding on several & is sending them over to me so I can do applique on them lol. So thats cool. Will be another thing I can add to my pile of things to make!

Also, several years ago Mum gave me a Quilt kit for my birthday that she had put together herself (Im not a fan of co-ordinating fabrics etc - so she's did that for me lol). I just have to sew it all together. Anyway, I never actually did it & recently Mum suggested I make it into a playmat for bubs! What a great idea! So that is my current project! I am about halfway thru it & today just bought another reel of thread so I can complete it as I ran out yesterday :( lol.

Have also found a pattern for a Diaper/nappy bag that I really like the look of. But am yet to buy the fabric for that, so at the moment its just a printed out sheet of instructions LOL.

As of now, I have many things on the go. I have not completely finished 1 project yet! Arghhh!!! Bibs need velcro on them then they will be completed, balls need a little circle on each end hand-stitched on (hand stitch = delays lol), & the quilt - well thats a long way off I think - for one thing I don't have the backing bought yet so yes, could be a while ;o)

So, that is my update. Sorry about the no photos! I do hope to have the photos done sometime when I complete each project ... I am also being very careful to keep track of the blog / sites that I get the instructions / patterns from so I can place that information with the photos I show. As I can't take credit for a lot of the designs! And also, you may find something you like - so then you can go & visit the site yourself & get yourself a free pattern ;o)

Happy crafting!

Blog Candy giveaway over at Me and the little Rascals!

2010-02-18T14:08:00.004+11:00

Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE purple!!! I am a mad mad purple fanatic! So I am totally up for this blog candy giveaway! ;o)

So go over to Me and the Little Rascals blog & check out the candy for yourself! But just be warned ... its mine! :oP LOL

Happy crafting!

Happy New Year & Hot Gossip

2010-01-04T14:29:00.004+11:00

Well, 2010 is here & boy oh boy its gonna be a massive year!

Some good things & some sad things happening this year for myself & family.

Start off in March with my Nanas 90th birthday! Woot! Then my birthday on 1st april (28yrs young so we don't need to chat about that LOL). May 2nd brings us the sad day being 5th anniversary since my Dad died :( But then we jump back to the happy days on the 10th May & celebrate 5yrs marriage with my hubby. June brings sad day again with the 5th anniversary of my cousin who I adored very very much & was extremely close to. I only have 2 cousins, so to lose 1 of them is a huge gap in my family.

Then (sorry don't actually remember when it was LOL), but sometime near the end of the year Hubby & I celebrate 10yrs of 'togetherness' lol. For those who don't know Hubby & I met online in a chatroom back in 2000. We met online in April/May 2000 & started a relationship kinda online near the end of that year. So officially we hadn't "met" at that stage, but we still like to say thats when we started lol. Met in real life in Feb 2001 tho, so maybe 2011 is when we should be celebrating the 10yrs lol.

Gossip alert: Now somewhere between May & June there is a big event happening ... which has been my secret for the past 4mths or so. Those who are friends with me on facebook would have found out the secret on NYE 2009 :P

Im preggers with our 1st child :o) So i'm scared shitless to say the least ... i've never held a baby let alone changed nappies or anything! LOL. My best friend recently had her 1st child, but she lives in NZ so I can't practice!! LOL.

So these days instead of doing any crafts I find myself online searching for help & dreaming of the day I can actually afford something towards the new baby! lol. Should find out this week hopefully if its got a "third leg" so to speak (in other words what the sex is! lol) or not! lol.

Just b4 Xmas hubby & I went to Toys 'r' us just for fun & had a look at the Baby section. I think that was what woke hubby up - realising the price of the furniture! lol. But having said that, we actually found some good bargins - lots of sales ... but alas, we had no money so didn't buy anything.

The future grandparents have put their names on a particular item that they want to buy lol, so thats 2 items out of the way I guess lol. Have worked out that things like changing tables are not essential & that the dinner table that never gets used by us is perfectly fine as a changing table :P The cat sits on it more than us! lol

We are currently renting & that bugs me since we do own a house but have to rent it out coz we moved out of the area & it makes me dream about owning a house here where we are coz it would be lovely to be able to decorate & do what we want. But we can't do no use dwelling on it I guess. There seems to be lots of things on the market that are removable. I've seen decal images to put on the wall that just peel off etc & shouldn't damage the walls etc. So never know may be able to try that at some stage ... when money permits of course!

Always up for some advice tho! I don't know ANYTHING! lol. Advice for places to look online in Australia or places to shop in Sydney would be awesome! Also places to avoid too! LOL.

So there you have it. That is the reason I had to give up one of my jobs at the end of last year that I posted about. I had really bad morning sickness & was totally unable to work as I had to leave on the 5.30am train! It just was not able to work for me at that time.

Fingers crossed I can get some crafty stuff done to post in my blog! I have my Sewing & Cross Stitch craving at the moment but I just can't motivate myself to get it out & start something!! lol. Arghh, just sooooo tired ... sure i'll get something done tho sometime ;o)

OMG if you've made it to the end of this novel Congrats!! LOL. Thanks for reading ;o)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T17:14:00.003+11:00

Merry Christmas & all the best for 2010 to anyone who reads my blog ;o)

I have been very slack lately & not updating my blog for ages now. Haven't really had the mojo going for creating. But hoping that Santa may drop off some mojo tonight in my stocking!! lol

I have an announcement, but i'm going to leave that to announce in the new year sometime - so stay tuned! Feel free to follow my blog via the link on the right hand side of this blog somewhere around the top of the page lol. You just never know what it might be! Could have won the lotto or something ... na definitely isn't that or you'd have more blogs from me from overseas travelling all the craft shops LOL. Oh well, nevermind - theres always next year for that aye lol.

Stay safe & drink responsibly & all of that sorta stuff! Don't be in a rush to get places - my motto is you'll get there when you get there ;o) If everyone had that theory then maybe there wouldn't be so many accidents on the road :(

Anyway, that was rather a sad ending lol. So i'll change it to this: Merry Christmas & may all your wishes come true for 2010 :)

Magnolia Thank You Card

2009-10-19T14:40:00.004+11:00

It was with great saddness that last week I had to quit one of my jobs. I have made great friends with the family that I worked with & am very sad that I had to leave the job.

So anyway, I put together this little card to say Thank You for all they have done for me. :)Stamps used:
Magnolia Stamps - Love Muffin
Magnolia Stamps - I can't remember which Tilda this is! lol. Thought it was the Dinner Tilda, but no, its not her. Sorry lol.

Happy crafting!

Pollycraft Challenge #25 ... & more

2009-10-01T21:16:00.007+10:00

OMG i'm entering a challenge! Might I add its my very first challenge ... EVER lol. OK, i've calmed down now lol.

I had to make a birthday card for my Mum, so thought 'hey I have the perfect stamp for that!'. So did this challenge too :)
Over at the current Monday challenge is Challenge #25 ... There are 5 'S' words & you need to use at least 2 of them. The words are 'Snowflake', 'Swirl', 'Sparkle', 'Spots', & 'Stripes'.
Stamp used:
Pollycraft Digital Stamps - Bex - Birthday Fun from the Benji & Bex Collection (remember I blogged about these last month lol)

Challenge Requirements:
Sparkle - the bling on the dress (Using Kindyglitz)
Spots - Well the background paper is spots I guess, but also there are spots on the dress (which I put the sparkle over it ... does that still count? lol).
Swirl - Maybe the balloon string is a swirl? I dunno lol
Stripes - Could say the hat has stripes on it? But I dunno lol. I think i've covered my 2 words needed so won't try to analyze it anymore lol.

And then I also made another card, completely not related to the above challenge at all. Just a card for my best friend who's had her 1st baby. Baby girl named Iris (which is what the green squared brads spell - but you can't see it in the photo). Don't even remember the brand of the stamp I used - but I think it was one of my stamps that i've never used before but yet have owned for many many years lolHappy crafting!

Kaisercraft Q2 is released!!

2009-09-15T17:48:00.003+10:00

OMG have you seen it!!!???

Jump over to Kaisercraft & check it out for yourself! Totally loving this Q2 release! Wasn't so keen on Q1, so wasn't sure if I was gonna stay a fan of this new idea releasing them like this ... but LOVE Q2!! AND they have released a 6x6 Paper pack too!! Just like the Basic Grey packs that i'm addicted to! God bless their little cotton socks! LOL. (Not really a fan of 12x12 paper when all I make is cards! So this is perfect!!!!)

Man, i'm gonna need to find some more hours at work or another job to add to my current 2! LOL. Thank gawd hubby doesn't read my blog or I think i'd be banned from looking at all this gorgeous stuff! Thank god for the Internet! LOL

Happy crafting!

Pollycraft Designs

2009-09-15T13:50:00.002+10:00

Wow, I was just minding me own business last night & doing a bit of blog hopping around & browsing as ya do on a Monday night when you should be sleeping lol.

Anyway, I found this site ... the images are gorgeous! Seems to be mainly Digi stamps - which I have kind of heard of but not totally familiar with. So I thought i'd check them out some more. So basically they end up looking like a stamp, but obviously you'd save a lot of room right? lol. I am struggling figuring out how to store the stamps I do have, so this would have to be a great idea!

So there I am looking at the digi stamps over at Pollycraft ... & OMG what do I see ... the 'Benji & Bex' collection!!!! OMG OMG how freaking freaky! LOL

For those who don't know much about me ... my name is Rebecca, but I often go by Bex! And the freaky thing is ... I am married to Ben, who I always call Benji! lol.

Soooooo, I had to send hubby a link of the shop & "our" stamps (he was sleeping at the time - shows how late I was up browsing the web aye lol).

Then this morning I woke up to find an email reply from hubby saying "Get them!!" ... Well, who am I to say no when hubby tells me to buy more craft stuff!!!?!?!?! lol. So i've got them lol. Can't wait to use them! (Need to hook up this new PC to the printer 1st & buy some new ink lol... but then i'll be ready!)

If you've never tried Digi Stamps but would like to, check out Pollycrafts Blog! Each Friday Pollycraft have a new Digi image for you to download & use for your own personal use. Click on the image below to check it out :)

Happy crafting!

New Magnolia Card

2009-09-08T17:18:00.006+10:00

Heres my quick little card I made using one of my new Magnolia stamps that arrived from Bizzy Becs the other day! Bizzy Becs currently has 20% off this particular stamp (& others too!) So check him out if you so desire ;o) Magnolia Elephant Stamp

I decided I don't like using the textured card to do my coloured pencil blending. I don't know - i've seen it done before using the odourless solvent & pencils technique & it looks great, but not for me - not blending as nicely as i'd like.
Ingredients:

White Card
Magnolia Stamp - Elephant
DCWV - Far East 8x8 Patterned Paper stack
DCWV - 'Neutrals' 12x12 Cardstock Stack
Derwent - Artist Coloured Pencils
Odourless Solvent
Paper Stump Pencil
We Are Memory Keepers - Blue Glitter Brads

Happy crafting!

Motivet's Blog Candy

2009-09-04T17:20:00.004+10:00

How cuteeeee are these stamps!! What an awesome blog candy!! Click the image to find out how you could win ALL of these stamps!
Happy crafting!

Need some storage advice please!

2009-09-02T21:01:00.004+10:00

I have recently been spending up large (shhh don't tell hubby!) on many unmounted stamps - no doubt you've seen my many posts showing my new purchases for my stash recently lol!

I dunno how to store them all tho so they are in easy reach & I can look at them all. At the moment they are sitting in a drawer & lets face it ... i'm not using them :(

I want a folder or something to have sitting ON my desk so I can just look at them! (And then use them of course lol).

I have my eye on the following ... any advice / tips / other options would be much appreciated!!

TIM HOLTZ IDEA-0L0GY Unmounted stamp storage binder refills

MAKING MEMORIES Clear Stamp storage binder refill folders

STAMPENDOUS Storage Solutions

The Tim Holtz & the Making Memories options both require a Storage binder ... so i'd just buy an A5 ring binder. Saves heaps rather than buying the actual branded folders! And then the Stampendous one, i'd be just putting them in a magazine holder box i'd imagine.

I dunno!!!!! lol. Does anyone know the difference between the 2 binder refills?? Is there anything making one better than the other? From having a general look around online, MM one seems dearer than the Tim Holtz.

Or would I just be better getting an A4 binder & using refill things & putting acetate in them to stick the stamps onto? Im thinking that would get too floppy once you get all those stamps on the one A4 page? I assume thats why the companies make them A5 size?

HELP! lol

Happy crafting!

My name is Rebecca & I am addicted to ...

2009-08-24T12:51:00.004+10:00

... flowers, shopping & stamps! lol.

OK ok, let me start from the beginning!

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned about this technique that I tried - using coloured pencils & odourless solvent to colour in stamped images for my card making. I really enjoyed it & was lucky enough to have one of the recommended brands of coloured pencils for this technique - Derwent Artist Pencils. Hubby had a 12pack from when he went to Art school. So I was set!

Unfortunately, thats where my problem started lol... U see, 12 colours just aint enough! LOL. So I was on the lookout for more & thats when I found a 24pack (different brand tho) that was on special. Still quite an expensive brand & well known so I thought it would be good & it was 60% off, so ended up being quite cheap (Under $20). But came hone & tried them & they just didn't blend as well as the derwent ones I had. :( *sob sob* lol.

So then I was back to square one - playing with my 12pack & looking/hoping for money to buy a larger pack! Then tax return time comes & hubby wanted an expensive computer book - Clever me - well I know when to take advantage of these things! Sooooo I say "you buy PC book & i'll buy my coloured pencils!" SCORE! lol. I had to find the cheapest place online that had them & found this place The Smart Art Club & I ended up paying about $40 less than most other places sell them for.
My other semi big shopping spree involves the Scrap Pile which was closing down (they ended up finding a buyer, so its still open but with new owners). The owner wanted all stock sold so again, massive discounts & so me with my massive flower addiction - I think I managed to buy almost all the flowers they had in stock lol. And a few other bits & pieces ;o) But just FYI: I bought 256 'Green Tara' flowers in total! Oh it was like heaven when they were delivered!!! Now I have had to rearrange my flower jars coz the new additions simply don't fit in the old jars! LOL. (Really bad photo sorry! lol)
Now my latest shopping trip involved the Stitches & Craft Show last week at Rosehill Racecourse, Sydney. I was umm'ing & ahh'ing about whether I would go to this coz I didn't really need to go, but Hubby said I should go - so who am I to say no!?! lol. His only advice - 'don't spend much'. OK, I can live with that lol. (I think lol).

So off I went & I had 3 things I needed to look out for ... Hero Arts Cupcake Stamps, an Acrylic block big enough for my latest Magnolia stamp I got from Bizzy Becs which I can't fit on any of my current acrylic blocks, & to look for any of the free Kaisercraft Workshop catalogues as i'm missing some ;o)

Result: Found the Hero Arts stamps! 2 packs for $45 - not bad! I have been looking for the cupcakes since Mum was over here in June & we both saw them at another show & didnt buy them & then realised we just NEEDED them, so had been looking ever since lol. But once you add postage onto them, they end up quite expensive so I knew it was gonna be hard to find somewhere cheaper than the show. Ended up saving $5 coz the last craft show had 2 for $50 & I got 2 for $45 LOL. Acrylic blocks we so-so lol. Only 2 stands I saw had big blocks, but not impressed with the prices. So i'm going back to Bizzy Becs & will get the one I want from there (coz truth be told, I have some other stuff to get too from there LOL - don't tell Hubby!!).

And then I treated myself to the new Kaisercraft magazine since everyones been saying its good & i've looked thru it quickly & like what I see :) Also got a little penguin stamp too which you can't see in the photo well at all! And a Flower Power Punch book that was $2 for some quick & easy cards with a simple flower punch.
So that was my recent splurge!! Not to mention the stamps i've bought recently from Bizzy Becs!! :oP

Happy crafting!

Blog Candy from Where'd All My Money Go?!

2009-08-21T22:47:00.003+10:00

First of all, can I just say How cool is the name of this blog! lol. I think ALL of us crafters can relate to that saying "Where'd all my money go!?!" lol Love it!

Anyhow, Steph has a Thank You blog candy (direct link) up for grabs ... A gift voucher to a shop of your choice!! How unique & generous is that!

So head on over & find out more about it & as they say 'You gotta be in it to win it'!

Blog: Where'd All My Money Go?!
Direct link to the Blog Candy post: Some "Thank You" Blog Candy!

Happy crafting!

Hello!

2009-08-13T19:48:00.005+10:00

OK, so I thought i'd just jump out of the hole & pop in to say Hi! lol. The last time I actually wrote something in here was last year! Except for some recent blog candy things, I haven't actually written or shown anything ... why?

Well, 1st off - I don't think i've done anything! lol. I've been buying yes but creating ... No :(

BUT I have done some recently & altho its almost 8pm at night & the photos are dark, i'll show u coz i'm posting them tmw, so no more day time to take a photo of them - confused? Yeah, me too! lol

Anyway, heres 2 cards I have made in the past couple of weeks.

Card for Nana using Magnolia Stamp (OMG, I am in love with this brand right now! Have 3 on layby over at Bizzy Becs - thank gawd hubby doesn't read my blog LOL). This is also the very first time I tried blending with coloured pencils & Odourless solvent & a paper stump. Love it! Fun fun fun! Now just need to use my tax return to buy more Derwent coloured pencils!! I only have a set of 12! And they are from when Hubby went to College!! (And he ain't all that young :P lol)
Card for Hubbys cousin who just had a baby girl. I made this at the last minute & I wasn't feeling well & i've had visits from the black dog coz i'm getting depressed with all these new babies around & I can't have 'em. So its a hard year for me this year with all that going on. So struggled for some creativity for the card. So not too happy with it but never mind lol. (Brad in the middle of the flower says 'little cutie')

Happy crafting!

All the things I love - Blog Candy

2009-08-12T23:01:00.004+10:00

Check out the massive blog candy over at Bevs Blog - All the Things I love. She has got a massive amount of goodies in the candy all donated by the companies that she designs for to help thank the 400 000 hits that she has on her counter & the 1098 followers of her blog!

Now THAT is impressive! So congrats to Bev & heres to another 400 000 hits! ;)

Happy crafting!

Scrap the Girls Blog

2009-08-03T21:12:00.005+10:00

Scrap the Girls blog has a new owner ... who? Well, click the link below to find out ;)

Come & check it out by clicking the new logo below!

Happy crafting!

Blog Candy at Bizzy Becs!

2009-07-28T21:09:00.006+10:00

Check out Becs new Challenge blog - Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenges ... Brand new Challenge blog & to celebrate, she's giving away Blog Candy!

Happy crafting!

I won something!!!

2008-12-31T21:21:00.005+11:00

Back on 17th December 2008, I got my usual newsletter from Click 'n' Scrap (an online shop that i'm loving at the moment!) & at the top of it, it said that I was the winner of a raffle!! OMG!! How cool!

Anyway, today it arrived! Stoopid postie actually delivered it across the road yesterday apparently & the lady came over today to give it to me. Phew! Imagine losing it!!!?!!?!

Have taken a photo but can't find my stupid thing to plug camera into PC so can't show ya yet ... but I can tell ya whats in my pizza box!!

Jolees by You Quillettes: Christmas Present (JJQ016B)
Pebbles Inc. Stencils: Winter (42053)
Scotch Glue Stick
Kaisercraft OTP: Swivel Christmas Tree
Basic Grey: Figgy Pudding Ornament Kit
See d's Unmounted Savoir Faire stamps: Holiday Word borders (#50378)
Daisy D's Premium Paper Collection (2 packs, each with 18 PP's & 2 die cut accessories pages): Snowflakes & Holly Paper Pack (#17380) & Paisley Sugarplum Paper Pack (#17452)
Daisy D's Cardstock Sticker Sheets (4 sheets in total): Brackets & Corners (#17430 & #17360), The Magic of Christmas (#17361) & Holiday Arrows (#17431)
Daisy D's 60 Fabric Flowers Pack: Fresh Flowers (#17084)
Daisy D's 72 Assorted Buttons: Tiny Treasures (#17074)

Spoilt or what!?!?! lol. So now hubby thinks I never have to shop in the coming year ... PFFT! lol Wishful thinking babe! LOL

Happy crafting!

Just a whole buncha gossip!

2008-12-02T14:56:00.004+11:00

OK, so its been nearly a month since I last blogged! Oh the shame! lol.

Have I created ... gawd no lol. BUT I have raked lol ... does that count?

The 4 cards I made last month for the Scrap Therapy CC - ended up winning! So OMG I won something!!! Can't wait to see what I won ;) Promise i'll fill ya in when I do :) Oh & I managed to RAK all of the cards to their new deserved owners :) Couldn't very well create & keep them right? ;)

Totally busy working ... so busy infact that I think i'm sick lol. Took yesterday & today off work, as just did not feel good. Hopefully better for work tmw!

The gorgeous Sandie has been making these lovely Daisies for a while now & has her own Etsy shop ... but now she's gone into business! Anna's Craft Cupboard now stocks Handmade Daisies by Sandie! How cool is that! Some daisies are definitely making their way into my shopping cart at my next trip to Anna's Craft Cupboard!

Check out this amazing blog! Indigo Inklings is THE place to go for any hints & ideas etc for all sorts of things from your Die machines to the Bind-it-all! Gosh, i've heard of the name before & never gone to it. Have bookmarked it many times I think but it was only today when I was over at Deannes blog & noticed it again & Deanne commented on it having Cuttlebug inspiration, so thought i'd go check it out. Wow Baby! I'm addicted! lol. Learnt so much just by looking at the tutorials etc!

Current Blog Candy from 3 blogs. Check them out!

Bev's Crafts - Bev has gorgeous cards on her blog! The stamps are devine! Different stamps to what i've seen in Australia. Love this Whiff of Joy brand. Check out Bev's blog for heaps of inspiration & not to mention that candy ;)
Crafty C's Crafting Library - Claire has had over 36,000 hits in just over a year!! OMG, imagine that happening! I'm lucky if I get 100 LOL. Massive congrats to Claire! Check out her blog & up her total lol ;)
Kadoodle Stamps Blog - How cute is the name to begin with lol. I just had to check them out. Every week from now until Christmas, Kadoodle will be offering Stamp of the Week blog candy up for grabs. Gorgeous stamps available too!
Stamping with a Whiff of Joy - Wow, Whiff of Joy is having an Advent Calendar blog candy every day til Christmas! Check them out daily to see what you need to do for each day (take into consideration the time zones!!)

Oh & also, just wanted to add another website that I saw today after looking at the Stamping with a Whiff of Joy blog ... High Hopes Rubber Stamps !!! OMG How cute are these! I want those lil santa heads poking thru the squares!!! lol

Alright, i'm off ... need to put a load of washing out since it is such a sunny day! Gotta take advantage of it since its been awful rain & storms recently! And i'm back to work for the rest of the week, except Saturday which will be my only day off so i'm going to do my Xmas shopping fingers crossed ;) Got my NZ presents taken care of ... err well mostly lol. Just gotta get hubby a present lol. Leave the worst til last & all of dat ;) lol.

Another Card made!

2008-11-11T16:11:00.003+11:00

No way Jose'! lol. I just read on Kayla's blog yesterday that her beloved cat Bailey, passed away on Saturday morning. So being a massive cat lover, I decided to make a card during my card making spree that I seem to have. I love it! I don't wanna give it away lol.

Products used: The gorgeous BG Euphoria PP mmmmmmm, a no name stamp & the cat stamp which I bought in NZ last month (see last months posts coz I can't remember what brand it is lol).

So if your reading this Kayla (hopefully not & then this can be a surprise lol), Thinking of ya chickie! And this will be swinging your way across that lil bit of water (and the rest of the mainland lol). Big Hugs!

Warning: Do not drink & read...

2008-11-11T16:03:00.003+11:00

Do not drink & read this post coz you may end up with your drink over your PC from shock when I tell you I CREATED!

Yes, i'm serious! I actually did a challenge at the Scrap Therapy CC last weekend!! Only 1 challenge mind you ... BUT it had to be 4 cards for the one challenge, so theoretically, you can say i've done 4 items :P lol.

Criteria for this challenge was that all 4 cards had to contain: Flowers, Green, Ribbon & paper out of your stash (so scraps basically). Since its been so long since i've done anything, I don't have any scraps, so I used 3 different sheets of 6x6 PP (the BG paper pad), so theoretically, its a scrap, coz the size paper was only 6x6 ;) The card base, was cut into 6x6 size & folded in half - so I only used 1 12x12 sheet for that too ... Thats pretty economical & I quite like the size, so you may see more of this size from me ;)

A variety of products were used for the above 4 cards. All cards contain BG Urban Prairie PP, which i'm totally lovin!

What on earth ...

2008-11-03T16:08:00.003+11:00

What on earth is with this weather!!?!?!? Insane weather! One day its snowing, the next its hail, another its sunny, its like 4 seasons in one day almost daily lol.

Right now I have just come home from a walk to the post office (after i'd already walked home from the train ~ fyi, the PO & train are next to each other, so basically I did a complete U-turn & back again lol... sooooo ... 3 x 30min or so walk! lol).

Anyway, enough of the sweaty stuff ... it was sunny. Sun actually felt hotter as we walked (we being me & Scotty lol). Got home, put Scotty out in the backyard, took a load of washing out of the machine & put it on the line ... walked inside & got changed into cooler clothes ... dog barked, so went outside & its pissing down!?!? WTH!? lol. And now! ... a mere 15mins later, its sunny again ARGHH. Clothes are already inside, but are staying inside now. Not putting them in & out all day long lol.

Now, back to post office ... I got stash! I got my first paycheck from Kmart last week ... oops, don't think I actually wrote about me working there yet - oh well ... yep i'm a checkout chick @ Kmart ;) So treated myself with some stash at Click 'n' Scrap as they had a sale ontop of a sale! Different items had different percentages off thru-out the store then insert a code for ANOTHER 15%! Now thats my kinda sale! They still have a sale on! So why not head over & check it out ;)

Got some Kaisercraft PP's - for which i'm going to do an OTP (Kaisercraft Countdown til xmas tree), & also got 3 Basic Gray PP 6x6 pads! :) And the lovely ladies threw in some freebies too! I think they are trying to get rid of their stock ready for some new stuff, so they were giving away stuff as well as giving stuff for massive savings!

They also had in October lots of Pink Ribbon stuff - & so I bought a raffle ticket ... fingers crossed for 1st prize!! ($150 store voucher!!!!!!!)

Oh & last week, I went to Eckersley Craft shop & bought the Kasiercraft Countdown Tree coz i've been looking for it for yonks & noone seemed to have it in stock or at all, so I have it now so i'm happy lol. :)

2 Boxes to go!!

2008-10-24T13:36:00.003+11:00

And then i'm finished unpacking my craft stuff!!!! (At least I think I am lol).

Have just recovered my PP & have put it all into its new home (the storage box I got at Kmart last month). And I have found my Bind-it-all machine YAY!

Now just got to stop procrastinating & create something!!!! lol

Speaking of creating, the other day I stamped a bunch of images to send to my Mum (she doesn't have stazon ink so I said i'd do some for her coz she wants to try her new twinkling h20s we bought at the craft expo in NZ!)

Anyway, I decided to do one for myself. Its the 1st time i've used the h2Os since I did that class & I think I did OK. Still got a long way to go I think til I get the shading stuff sorted but heres what I did ...

Products used:

rubbadubbadoo stamp: Christmas Hat (E417S) & Montarga stamp: Cute cat

And finally here is a photo of Ozzie from last Sunday, 19th October. Is this a shy cat or a cat thats telling me & the camera to bugger off? I'll let you decide lol

Want some Blog Candy?

2008-10-23T17:48:00.004+11:00

I wish it was me who was able to give away some candy! But alas, its not lol.

I can't even remember how I found this blog, but its a lovely one!

Click here to find out about the Blog Candy that Julie is giving away & is willing to post worldwide (Lives in the UK)! How nice is that! Definitely worth mentioning & giving her some exposure :)

Julie has several blogs including 'Art Girlz, which she co-created Check them all out below!

Scrapping Away
Inspirational
Inspirational Tips, Techniques & Tutorials
Arty Girlz

AND to top that all off, she is now a Stampin' Up Demonstrator! How she finds the time to keep all this updated & be married with 2 boys I have no idea! Kudos to Julie!

Julies Stamping (Julie's Stampin' Up blog)

Lincraft Specials!

2008-10-20T16:07:00.002+11:00

I know I shouldn't have even stepped inside the door (or near the door for that matter) ... but I did ...

Lincraft now has the new Sizzix 'BIGKick' Machine out!! For a grand total of $99!! Thats cheaper than the Cuttlebug (which they sell for $129 at the moment)! And its Pink/White & Black!

I would definitely recommend buying this machine if you are thinking of a die cut machine purely coz it can fit the biggest dies in it. So there is only the one machine. If your not going to ever want to use the big dies, then maybe the cuttlebug is for you. But really, if your not into crops (altho this machine does have a carry bag available too which looks really funky!

They also have all the new Sizzix dies, which used to be expensive, but now they are a much better price range I reckon.

For instance they have a pack of 6 texture plates for about $20 (haven't tried them, but they look similar to the cuttlebug embossing folders & I assume they are going to end up the same).

Anyway, thats just my little plug. I'm not in anyway associated with Lincraft. Just very surprised actually that they have this new product, since I feel they have sort of gone downhill very fast in the past few years. Their products ... or maybe its just the stores I shop at - are just so uninviting & never new stuff. (Cuttlebug seems to be the only new thing i've seen besides this sizzix, in 3yrs or so lol).

They have an online shop which you can buy off, or check out your local one! More info Click Here

FYI: I have to confess, I bought myself a Zision Paper Trimmer for $19 :P Have been wanting a new trimmer for ages & finally bought one :) One I have now is a Heidi Grace one I think & they don't have any replacement blades which sucks! And theres no way I can afford the MM trimmer :P (however much i'd like it lol). So this is a good compromise for me & it has a ruler the same level as the trimmer! (My HGrace one doesn't which bugs me no end!!)

Back on Australian soil

2008-10-14T15:07:00.002+11:00

Arrived home yesterday, went to work then came home to find the house a mess. But whats new when you leave a male alone in the house for 11 or so days lol.

Have just updated my blog with some previous posts that I was meant to add while I was away & I didn't coz I had photos (And I didn't like Mums photo editing software).

So there are 3 posts below this post that are all new! Plus one that I did before I went away about some new stash :P (You can click on the below links if you want ... or read the next 5 posts ;)

Saturday, October 11, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

From NZ: My Best Friends Wedding

2008-10-11T18:00:00.003+11:00

Well, this is the reason I came to NZ for this long week. Well worth it. A lovely day :)

I managed to get the placecards done thru the week & get them done by yesterday when my friends sister picked them up. Here they are ...
Front ...

Back ...

The gorgeous white roses with 'Lamb's ears' around the bottom - this was Andy's Bouquet :)

And this is a photo of a little mini School reunion as my Mum called it. I think we reminised more today than we have in the past 9years since College! Blimey ... gotta get ready for next year (the 10 year reunion I guess lol).

Back left - right: Rebecca (Me), Sue-Anne
Front left - right: Tiki, Andy (Best Friend), Lucy (Andy's Sister).

I think theres a better photo out there on one of the others cameras ... must try & get a hold of that ;) lol.

From NZ: Scrapbooking & Stamping Expo Trip!

2008-10-10T20:31:00.001+11:00

I am such a nice daughter you see ... so coz Mum had the day off today, she decided it would be a nice idea for us to do something together - totally unrelated to me cleaning her house lol.

Sooooo ... we went to Trentham Racecourse in Upper Hutt (near Wellington, NZ) & attended SENZ. Now its way smaller than what i've been to in say Sydney, Aus etc. But still it was great seeing the NZ products etc.

Mum went a bit crazy with the Visa I must say ;) She now knows what unmounted stamps are & what Acrylic blocks are (And now has her own stash too - which I am tempted to steal sometime!! lol).

NZ's talented Nic Howard was there (didn't see her though - I imagine she was far too busy with her classes! According to her website, she's added several more classes for the weekend too! And all sold out!).

Most of the Make & Takes were things you had to sign up, & we turned up a bit later in the day & missed getting our names down for anything. But there was one table that was free and there were 2 seats available ... so we joined in. As luck would have it - the class was teaching how to use Twinkling H2Os!!! Now, I have heard allllll about them, but never actually tried it myself. Just before I came over here, the gorgeous PT kindly RAK'ed me one of her old Waterpens as I had been asking about them coz I wanted to try watercolours etc on some stamps.

So how good was that! We got to use these twinkling H2O's & their cute little stamps (They had a choice of 3 stamps & 3 different sayings). And below are our efforts!

The Green Card is my Mums ... Its an Inkadinkadoo stamp I think? And the Red one is my attempt (Personally I think Mum did a much better job on hers with the shading etc!!!!).
My Card ... The stamp is a Pukeko btw ;) & the Holly was stamped on a separate scrap of card, cut out & then slit a hole in the Pukeko's mouth to put it in. My saying says "Greetings from New Zealand"
Mums Card ... Her stamp was the Owl. Same process for the Holly, except Mum just used foam tape & didn't slit a hole. Her saying is "Twas the night before Christmas" - but you can't see it in my crap photo I took lol
So at the end of the class - the lady said that we get 10% off their products! Woot!! Sooooo ... Mum decided to break out the visa & bought us each a 6pk of Twinkling H2Os!!! So now you just never know - I might be showing more stamped images very soon with my new H2Os! lol

From NZ: Just photos lol

2008-10-09T14:59:00.000+11:00

A friend of Mums came around today while Mum was out at Bowls (FYI: She won 1 game, lost 1 game & drew 1 game lol. So not bad huh!), with this big bone for Kinny. This lady spoils Kinny rotten & of course - is Kinny gonna ever turn down a bone!?!? Me don't think so!

Of course, I just happened to be in the same room doing the placecards for the upcoming wedding, and gawd damn that gnawing on the bone is noisy!!! lol. So anyway, just had to get some piccies lol.

Don't look if your a Vegetarian or something lol :P The chair at the top of this photo (below) is Kinnys Bed ... not a sun bed or nothing ... just a bed for Kins lol. The sheet on the chair actually used to be an old bed sheet & mum cut it to the right size & has made it into a fitted sheet - i'm not kidding! lol. Very cute tho when its drying on the line lol. And also on the bed is her rug (Yellow & Black - Wellington Hurricane Colours of course!!! She was named after former Hurricane & All Blacks player Christian Cullen so it just goes with the territory!! lol)

Hello from NZ!

2008-10-08T10:29:00.006+11:00

Well, here I am on Day errr... I forget lol...

I arrived very late on Friday night (midnight) and Mum picked me up in a friends car! Why? Her car decided to play up on Friday, so she took it into the Garage to get fixed & they said it was just something small, so she could take it for the weekend & they'd do it on Monday. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong!

We drove to friends house, picked up Mums car coz it had overheated on the way to pick me up that night! OK, should be OK now ... driving home ... honest to gawd - 40/50minute drive ... we are possibly 5minutes away from home on the motorway & what happens!? It stops!!!! Ring the AA, they say a Towie will pick us up ... 1hr or more later it arrives ... Only problem is that Mum brought Kinny (my dog) along for the ride!!! So poor Kins had to stay in the car that was towed onto the top of the truck & stayed there for the trip lol. She whimpered the rest of the way home - luckily only as I say about 5mins.

2am by the time we got home!

Saturday, Mum had a really bad night sleep worrying about the car & the fact that it was the weekend, & we had heaps of stuff planned which would now probably be cancelled due to not having a car! Got up early & rang the garage just incase it was open ... it was!!! Only til Lunch tho, so Mum rang another towie & went to the garage & they gave her a courtesy car! Woot! Weekend back on!!!! lol.

Can't even remember what we did on Saturday arvo lol... Oh just got some bits & pieces then home again.

Then on Saturday night, I had organised a Surprise dinner for my best friend whos getting married next weekend & the reason i'm over here in the first place! lol. she thought it was only going to be the 2 of us & turned out more ;) So had dinner at Hogs Breath Cafe in Wellington ... Mmmmmmm ... have to say though - i'm sure there are different things on the NZ menu?? Dunno, maybe I just haven't been for ages. but it seemed different anyhow.

On Sunday, it was my Mums birthday!! We decided to go to a different area of the region to go to a new shopping mall thats opened up. Its now called Westfield - exactly the same as the Australian Westfields - so wasn't much of an adventure for myself, but was still enjoyable all the same. Very big & different for the locals though. Had a lovely lunch at Zambelles Cafe too for Mums birthday, reason for having lunch? Well ... keep reading ;)

I had told Mum that I was going to clean the house for her as my birthday present for her ... Oh that was lovely & what a great idea for me to do that during my week stay!! Little did she know I had other plans :P

2 rooms I HAD to do on the Sunday were the kitchen & the lounge ... getting later now, around 6pm & Mums wondering ummm why aren't we having tea. "Oh I just need to finish cleaning this then i'll make tea!" 7pm ... ding dong ... woof woof, doorbell goes, Kinny jumps up starts barking ... Ooooo Mums got visitors!! lol

I had organised a surprise party at Mums :P So within the next 30mins we ended up going from Mum & I to having a house full of 8 ladies & 1 slobbering dog (Kinny lol). And not to mention the table full of food which each person had brought around too! A great night had & I think everyone started piling out of the house about 11.30pm & all except myself had to turn up to work the next day! Whoopsies lol. Probably a good thing that I said i'd do the dishes ;) lol

On Monday it was such a lovely sunny day, I decided to clean outside swept up some leaves & did some weed pulling out of the pot plants ;) Then late arvo - probably around 4pm, it started raining a bit - but that was OK as I was pretty much finished & just got the washing in.

By the time 6pm came around, it was howling of wind, rain was pissing down like there was no tmw! And it stayed like that til Tuesday arvo! And I had to go to the shops as I had an appt at 12noon! Got drenched walking 20mins to the train station!!! lol. Below is a photo of outside Mums house (taken from Lounge room coz I aint going out in it! - well actually I did have to lol).

Then this photo was taken today (Wednesday) - 24hrs after yesterdays photo & wouldnt have guessed it looked like above yesterday - except for all the debris all over the roads & in the gutters (Lots of branches in places too on the ground).

Pacific Ocean is still pretty rough with the wind though today. (Also a view from Mums house).

Also on Monday night, Mum & I had a look at some slides. When we cleaned up Nanas house back in March this year, we got hold of all of the family slides & decided to sort them out into bin or keep basically lol. So that means obviously you need to look through them all!

Well ... what a cutie patootie ma mummy was! lol. Some really funny slides there! Mums in the process of trying to find the cheapest way to get them converted into proper photos is. Anyone know any cheap places?? I think Mums cheapest place she's found in NZ was $2.50NZD per slide. If I can find cheaper ones in Australia, Mums possibly going to let me take them. So will have to do some research ;)

And last, but totally not least. Here is my baby!! Poor Kinny had something wrong with her ear a little while ago & she needed surgery. 1st surgery wasn't done properly & it went bad again, so this is the 2nd time she's had to have a bucket. I took these photos today. I think she had the latest surgery about a week before I arrived. So she's feeling OK but looking a bit goofy with the bucket & finds it frustrating coz she can't walk around freely (See the broken glass photo below!! That was last night when she knocked it off the table when Mum came home from a meeting - Kins got all excited & knocked it over b4 I was able to stop her! Diet coke over Mums newish carpet Doh! Luckily its OK!). So heres my baby sitting on Mums Lazy-boy chair (And yes, you may be able to see that Kinny DOES have a bed thats next to Mums chair - but she doesn't use it if she's got the option of this chair! Of course! lol)

PS: Photos are pretty bad, coz I dunno how to use Mums photo editing tools :P So they came out very small :( Might upload them better when i'm home again next week ;)

Annas Craft Cupboard Stash arrived!

2008-10-01T14:22:00.004+10:00

Oh i'm so happy my pizza box arrived b4 I went to NZ!! Yummy stash buy! Bought another reel of HS Ribbon to finish off my Pink Xmas Card (See posts below a bit I think). Bought some Ebony & Ivory Kaisercraft PP to make a Kaiser OTP Calendar that i've been wanting to make for a while now. So looking forward to getting that done when I get back from NZ!

I actually forgot to add it in the photo - how silly am I !!! ... But also in this pizza box, I got the Fiskars Threading Water punch that I mentioned the other day. Awesome price for it. So can't wait to play! lol. Damn my trip to NZ! LOL. I wanna stay home & play!

Oh & Happy Birthday to my Big Brother! lol. Its his birthday today :)

Getting rid of some old Punches

2008-09-25T14:44:00.005+10:00

Anyone want some free Punches? All you have to do is pay me for the packaging & postage!

The 1st 4 punches weigh between 250gms & 315gms & the last photo with 3 in weigh 250gms for all 3. So that gives you a rough idea on what postage would cost. I'll put them in a padded bag or box depending on what you want to pay for :)

Here they are:

So if you want 1 ... or ALL of them lol... email me! And we'll work something out :) ( In Australia only sorry)

A Pink Christmas Kit

2008-09-21T17:21:00.003+10:00

Today I finished my 6 Christmas cards from "A Pink Christmas Kit" by Christine Millar over at Aussie Scrap Source. Woot! Loved the kit ... am short 1 strip of ribbon tho, so have bought some more ;) Coz like I just really needed it too :P (Thats my excuse anyway lol). So there are 6 cards in the 1st photo, but only 5 close ups coz 1 isn't completed yet ;) (In top photo its the one at the back far left :P Will update this when i've done it I promise lol).

And just a quick note after all those photos ... Absolutely loving looking through Christine Millars blog too! Love her work :) Only just clicked that one of the latest magazines has '20 Questions' with her in it too lol.

Oh & in other news, I should mention ... if you register at Anna's Craft Cupboard shop, she'll give you a 10% off voucher for your first order! (And yes, i've just used mine too hehe. Bring on my Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch!!!). Thats how I found the shop btw lol. Was searching for someone who had the punch in stock! And this is where i'm getting my ribbon that I ran out of for the above kit too! Yay!

Feeling sorry for myself

2008-09-20T11:59:00.003+10:00

We have no fan or air conditioner in the house & its 22C ... no wind is coming in the house even tho I have all the doors open :(

Really regretting not taking out a loan for a removal truck/company when we moved! Would have been soooooooo much easier than trying to rely on the inlaws to move it all for us!!! Need a kick up the arse I reckon lol.

OK, thats my venting for the day :oP

This week ...

2008-09-18T15:23:00.004+10:00

Well, I have just picked up my latest stash parcel from LSBS today! Gawd knows what the local postie did, but the parcel was sitting at the post office waiting for me & here was me waiting for a parcel or a card to tell me to pick it up ~ neither of which happened. It was only coz I contacted LSBS to see when it was sent & then got hubby to ring up the Post office & they said yep theres one here for your wife from LSBS. ARghhh, so I went for my hour walk there & back with Scotty.

So now we're both absolutely pooped & i'm trying to dig up the enthusiasm to start the project lol.

Must do it ... must do it lol.

Speaking of which, i've made 2 out of 6 cards from that kit I got from Memory Bugs ... See my post here about it.

(Blogger isn't being nice & won't let me upload a pic, so you'll have to wait lol)

In other news ... I won an ipod Shuffle!!! Its obvious now that hubby & I drink too much Pepsi Max! 2yrs ago there was a competition to win an ipod mini ... we entered & won one ... so this year, it was on again - a different comp, but there were spot prizes or second chance draws or something... & we won again! Got the email a few weeks ago & it arrived on Tuesday this week. So now I was going to sell it, coz I don't listen to music that much & I don't do ear phones or headphones coz I need the music so loud.

But decided to keep it so I could have all the songs on there & take it with me places that I can just plug it into the PC coz on the odd days that I can listen to music, thats the only place I listen to it - on the PC. I've got so many songs downloaded back from the "Kazzaa" days lol. Most of them ain't good quality but tuff. I don't wanna lose 'em lol. So Woot to me!

Just wish we could win money instead of items LOL.

My Scrap Room has landed!

2008-09-14T20:42:00.003+10:00

We moved to this house in May & this weekend I decided that i've had enough ... its time to remove the moving boxes out of this room & make it MINE!

So, first stop was treating myself to this lovely 12x12 (think its actually 14x14") storage unit for $70 at Kmart on special using hubbys tax chq lol :) Within 1hr it was unpacked from its box & all drawers are now allocated lol. No more dented pizza boxes!!!
Sooooo, after removing the pizza boxes & various other boxes containing paper / cardstock, it was time to tackle the rest of the room! This is where i'm upto at the moment ... still lots of moving boxes that i've TRIED to keep to a minimum! Mainly stuff that we don't really use so its OK just cruising along the years in the boxes for now lol.

So heres the view coming in the door ~ we'll treat it as the "Left" side of the room lol. And its all mostly boxes & errr yeah - crap basically!

2nd photo ~ this is the "middle" or the "Craft Desk". Basically its a one person walkway from the door to the desk lol. 3rd Photo is the "Right" side of the room, which is errr more storage! Plus our document folders on the right. (Jacket on the wall was my Dads ~ lots of memories with this jacket (good & bad ones) ... so its a treasured piece of my Dad in the room with me :) (Errr, & it has nowhere else to go LOL)
So that is my craft room in progress!! Since taking these photos this arvo (Sunday), I have taken down the frilly curtains among other things! So its changed heaps since several hours ago already lol. But I just wanted to show off my room to prove that I am in the process!!! This might explain why there isn't much happening in the room at the moment! lol. Plus i'm still waiting for a massive box of craft stuff to arrive from storage so gawd knows where that will fit when we get it! lol.

Scrap Therapy Pizza Box

2008-09-11T17:33:00.008+10:00

Yay - more stash arrived!

Now i've only got 1 more part to arrive til i've got my project stash complete so I can start my project for my friends wedding :P

And am I going to show the finished project in here ??? ... Hell No! (At least not til AFTER the wedding coz I know my friend comes in here sometimes LOL. So :P )

Treated myself to some lovely Daisy Bucket PP's too! Oh & Kraft! Since everyone is talking about this paper! I just HAD to get some to try for myself! ;) Next bit of stash that I want to try out is the Core-dinations! Everyone is always talking about that too ... but might have to wait for that to try. (Unless I see a big sale to tempt me with lol.)

Speaking of sales! I got several emails/newsletters in my inbox about sales ... OMG talk about teasing me! I am so tempted ... yet ... I really shouldn't :P

In totally un-scrapping related news ... I am so looking forward to our Tax Refund (hopefully soon!). Coz i've been itching to get my hands on the new Sims2 expansion pack!!! 'Apartment Life'. Have even found a couple of PS2 games to trade in to get the PC game ;) But still need a bit of cash too, so thats why I want the tax refund :P lol.

Oh & finally, the lovely Corina76 over in LSBS Forums has admitted defeat & started a blog :P WTG! So just thought i'd put that in & you can all go & visit & make her feel welcome :o)

Edited to add: My Cat has just attacked me on the leg! F&*%ing sore! No idea what posessed him! Would take a photo & scrap it, but errr ummm ... I really need to shave so I don't think anyone wants to see the photo LOL.

Wow! more stash!

2008-09-10T17:21:00.005+10:00

Gosh, must sound like i'm spending up large lol. I'm not seriously!!!!!

Anyway, long story short ... back in April this year I got a gift voucher for my birthday (skip the part about the online shop not working etc yada yada - never gonna shop there again yada yada), today I went to the actual store & spent the rest of my voucher & came out with the following:

Have been wanting a white ink pad for ages & also a corner rounder that doubles up as a tool to let me scallop my edges! So this was a great time to do that. Prices weren't as cheap as i'd like - I can usually get all these items for much cheaper prices at the places I normally shop from - but its kinda free isn't it when you have a voucher lol. So i'm happy with my purchase & hubby will be too as he's seen the Far East Paper stack before when we've been out shopping/browsing & always liked the papers ;) ;)

In other news ... The mail I got yesterday (See previous post) - heres the rubons. I don't usually buy rubons really. I dunno, call me a tight arse lol - just seems a waste to use them & then they are gone. No ... waste isn't the right word. I dunno. ANYWAY, its for a gift, so I don't mind ;)

Now, on Monday this week, I saved big time!!! These Fiskars stamps are usually $15 or something I think at Kmart & for some strange strange reason, they were in the clearance aisle - no, not strange. The note said that they were reduced coz of the wrapper was ripped or something. Like I care! All the stamps are still there ... but the price was $5! How could I refuse!!!! I would have kicked myself later on if I didn't ;) And the best part is that I don't have an alphabet set of clear stamps! So very chuffed with my bargin find!

PS: Yes, I found my camera ... hence all these photos lol. Was hiding under several books by my bedside cabinet lol. It all came back to me once I found it ... was showing hubby a photo of Ozzie who jumped in the wash basket (with clean & WET washing in it! - which is now furry for the record!). Photo didn't come out well, coz Ozzie got rather "excited" in the basket & wouldn't stop moving around purring & rubbing up against the wet clothes lol.

Anyone seen my camera?

2008-09-09T15:52:00.003+10:00

Yep, thats right ... I have lost my camera! lol. Not out of the house thank goodness! But it is somewhere in this big mess of a house & I just can't find it!

I wanted to upload some photos of my stash that I got the other day but now I can't find the camera which has the memory card in it! Doh!

Got 3 packets of Kaisercraft Rubons today in the mail. Bought them off ebay the other day. Very speedy delivery too! They are specific ones that I need for a project. Now just waiting on the rest of the items. Got 2 shops i'm waiting for to post my stuff - all for this one project lol. Then once its all here, guess what i'm stuck with!?!? No adhesive for the project! Its in one of the boxes thats still in storage back in Dubbo! ARghhh.

Getting a bit sick of this whole storage issue. Waiting for it to get here so we've got all our stuff in the one place. So frustrating buying new things to accomodate for whats missing (stuck in Dubbo still). Turning out to be rather pricey too replacing things that don't need replacing if you get what I mean! Finally got our iron last month, which was great. Had bought a $9.95 iron from Kmart when we moved & it was OK, but just seemed to stick & then yuck stuff came out of the steam holes & went over the clothes! So now able to throw that one out coz we've got our own one back.

Just little things, like rubbish bins! We usually have 1 in the bathroom for the toilet rolls etc. Its not here tho, so we have a plastic bag in the room. Just bugs me! Buying a ream of A4 printer paper the other month, when I had bought a brand new ream just before we moved! Only $5, but still.

Hubby doesn't have speakers on his PC, so he unplugs mine every night to play his games. Argh. For 2mths, we had 1 mouse lol. We have a VHS player & no cords! lol.

OK enough venting from me. Really bummed about my camera lol. Must clean the house I spose if I want to find it lol.

tmw, i'm going to that scrapbook shop that i've written about before (the one that i'm not happy with). Am fed up with waiting for a reply so have got all my emails etc printed out & will take it in to them & use my voucher if they haven't ordered my order that I did back in May! Got proof that I have paid money into their account too! So REALLY want to use that money & get something in return for it!

Parcel for me!

2008-09-03T16:39:00.004+10:00

How typical! The one day hubby decides to take off work coz he's not feeling well - the postie delivers my nawty stash that I wasn't meant to buy & didn't tell hubby about! Oops! lol

Luckily, it didn't arrive in a Pizza box! Coz he knows what that means now lol.

So I now own a Christine Millar Class Kit to make some lovely Pink Christmas cards! And my first lot of Queen & Co Brads in a nailpolish jar! I've seen them before & always wanted some just coz the jar looks too cute! lol. 3 lots of Heidi Swapp ribbons, Lots of Bella Epoxy brads, never used those before & got several Xmas ones, so thats good considering Xmas is like ummm 3mths away isn't it? Wow!

Check out Memory Bugs as they are closing down soon! Free postage over $40!

Happy 2nd Birthday Scotty!!!

2008-08-31T12:00:00.000+10:00

My lil baby is 2years old!!!

Gave him some nice posh fresh meat for his birthday which he absolutely loved (He has a toilet problem, & isn't allowed much wet food - only dry biscuits. So this was a big treat!).

Got him a squeaky tyre which he's had before, & chews them up constantly. So he only gets this under supervision to see if we can make it last a bit longer ;) Also got him a Ball on a rope. He LOVES it. Spent ages playing with it when he first saw it & now its one of his faves

My Thursday Post

2008-08-28T13:52:00.004+10:00

How dull is that title!!?!?!? lol. Minds gone AWOL, so can't think of anything exciting for a title :P
Just picked up my mail & got my stamp from Acacia Papercraft YAY!!! Now i'm off to try a Card Step by Step over in the Scrap Therapy Forums by the lovely talented PT, using this stamp I have now ;o) Make sure you head over to Acacia Papercraft website today! They are currently selling their stock at upto 25% off! Incredible bargins! Come on, we've got to help the gals husbands - coz they don't want to move the stock in the weekend! ;) lol. Its a very valid reason when trying to explain why you've spent so much when the Visa bill comes at the end of the month!! ;o)

Very sad news in the media today ... Mark Priestley, who played Dan Goldman on All Saints (Channel 7 in Australia) has died :( Such a talented, young & funny actor! I had the privilege of seeing him in Theatresports at Enmore Theatre in Sydney a few years ago. Absolutely loved watching him live up there on stage. Such a joy to see. Massive loss to Australian entertainment industry. Very well loved actor & will be sadly missed.

Job prospect!?

2008-08-27T14:34:00.002+10:00

Just got another email today about being short listed for a job in Kmart. This time, its somewhere that i'm happy to work at ... public transport etc is good, so fingers crossed!! Should hear from them next week apparently. Woohoo ... more money - might get some debts out of the way! We are like 2mths behind on our rates back at our old place. So that sucks big time. Looking forward to getting rid of some loans too! Sick of them!!!!

Oh also, has anyone heard of a LSS called "The Scrapbook Place" ? Its in Sth Western Sydney ... Anyone dealt with them before online? Any like them? Anyone had a bad experience with them? Coz i'm not liking them. Bought something back in May & haven't had any communication from them & i've had my hubby ring them, i've emailed them, sent mail to them & had no replies at all. Really not happy! Got a gift voucher for the shop from a friend for my birthday in April & want to use it! Wish I could use the phone then I could give them a piece of my mind coz I want my stuff! Takes too long to catch the trains down there & they are few & far between to that area, & I don't have the money to go all the way there so that was the reason for me wanting to buy online but it doesn't seem to help me right now.

OK, Vent over! lol. Feel free to comment on the above ;) Or even email me! Would love to hear from ya if you've dealt with them or know who i'm talking about.

I'm peeved off & a bit of rambling

2008-08-26T15:04:00.006+10:00

Have been applying for jobs like forever now ... & yesterday I just applied for a general job at Coles through their website. Basically they say they are "always looking" for people. So you send in your application & put down the location of stores your interested in. No problemo says me.

Today ... less than 24hrs after applying ... I get an email saying i've been shortlisted for a job ... location ... one of my least wanted places to work DOH! From where I live, it involves catching the train, then waiting almost an hour for the next bus, then walking a fair distance after that. So i've pretty much just turned it down.

Why? Well, coz i've got 2 jobs at the moment & I really want to keep working with them coz they've been very loyal to me & very friendly. I really don't want to have to turn around & tell them i've got another job. So i'm trying to get a job nearby those jobs, so I can work inbetween etc.

The other reason is the job is checkout chick. And i'm not really sure i'm up for that due to my hearing loss. I'm not oozing confidence right now & scared i'll be crap at it & get the wrong amounts when people ask for cash out or whatever it is. Maybe one day, when I can have a job & get a bit of confidence back in dealing with the customers. But i'm not prepared for that right now, so I withdrew my application much to hubbys disapointment i'm sure.

Oh well, maybe someone else will want me to do what I want! Have applied for stock replenisher at Aldi ... so that would be ideal for me!

And OMG, i'm loving looking at my lil gadget on the side of my blog too ... the one that tells me where people are from when they visit me ... Not really surprising I guess that the majority of the international readers are coming into my blog via the Hotties at the Beijing Olympics LOL.

Other useless info:
I finally went shopping at LSBS the other day - 1st time in ages i've spent money for crafts! Can't wait for a pizza box to be delivered! lol.

Also, bought a stamp (wanted several but the others were sold out already!) at Acacia Papercrafts which is sadly closing down, so they have opened up to the public to sell their stock. Check them out & grab yourself a bargin!

What else have I done recently? hmmm ... Oh, I splurged & bought myself the Stampin' Up Catalogue from the lovely PT! I still haven't got around to ever buying anything from Stampin' Up, but I still love browsing & drooling at their catalogues. Lots of ideas & inspiration to look at! But definitely interested in some cardstock, coz I am lacking in that department at the moment (well, i'm not really - but all my cardstock is still in Dubbo & gawd only knows when it will ever be sent to me!)

Oh, I did something VERY nawty! Bad girl bad girl!! But my excuse & I plan to use it ... i've had an awful couple of weeks with my depression ... I kinda spent big money at another shop closing down ... they got a big sale on 40% off everything shhhhhhhhhhhh. So ummm, yeah I ended up spending $45ish for stash worth almost $80 (And free postage over $40 lol). Not much at all in stock by the time I got there. But yeah ;) I'm not gonna tell you where the shop is, coz the prices aren't cheap & the 40% coupon is only for newsletter members :oP ... Hmmm Naaa, i'll tell ya & you may be able to find out the coupon anyway lol. Memory Bugs is the name of the shop. Check it out :o) Don't steal my products tho!!! lol

Scrap Therapy has just uploaded new stock in the shop! Thickers galore! They have all the latest Daisy Bucket products too! LOTS of stamps! Droolllll! lol And the awesome Fiskars Punch thingie ma bob that i've been wanting for ages!! (Hmm, can I get another item of stash into the house without hubby finding out?) Check it out fast though! They won't last long!!!

Last but not least ... this is my 150th post! Cor Blimey! lol. Better go now ... have photos to take of stuff i'm wanting to sell ;o)

(Note: My Header has changed now again - no pic or quote from MP :P )

Ooooo Check me out!

2008-08-21T16:56:00.003+10:00

I've just made my first header! lol. It will do for now. Not happy with the quote coz it doesn't stand out, so will have to fix that! Might change the right end of the header, but liking the title ;)

Have changed a few things around in my blog. Hope you like it! Feel free to comment or give advice too ;)

Oh so Gutted!

2008-08-21T13:55:00.003+10:00

Just before I wrote that very very long post the other day about the Ocean, Michael Phelps & my Dad ... I went onto some Australian bookshop websites to find out about Michael Phelps autobiography (coz we all know how much I love reading books!). Found a place that had his book in paperback (or so it said). Ordered it & paid for it right there & then.

Then yesterday, I got a message saying to contact them in regards to my order ... o oh! Got an email today to say that "Michael Phelps : Beneath the Surface - I have NOT ordered this title as our USA supplier is out of stock because it is Not Yet Published with no due date and it has been delayed from the date we were previously advised of."

Arghhh. So now I don't have the book ordered Doh! So will have to just keep waiting til it comes out. Sounds like they will release it after Beijing perhaps to include the latest info maybe. Who knows. From what i've read, the hardcover book is out & has been for a while? I think that its being re-released with info on the lead-up to Bejing, so that was the one I wanted... his most recent one. But obviously it hasn't happened or something. I dunno. Bit confusing really finding info on books like this, coz any site you talk to will give some different information.

Oh Ah Glenn McGrath!

2008-08-20T15:18:00.004+10:00

Told ya i'd prove it! lol. Just picked up my copy of Glenn McGraths autobiography today, personally signed by the man himself :) Can add it to my collection of personally signed books ;)

I've been thinking ...

2008-08-19T14:41:00.006+10:00

Now thats a scary thought!

But seriously ... I've been thinking the past week, while watching Michael Phelps & other swimmers & have realised how much I miss swimming!

Reading articles about Michael Phelps, stating that he NEEDS the water, that one time he went home for a rest & ended up on his computer emailing his coach saying that he needed a swim! Its just where he feels most comfortable. I totally get that feeling!

I don't even remember when I first started swimming, but possibly 4yrs old? I dunno. Then I stopped when I got to Uni, so 18yrs old ... so 14yrs of swimming week after week, month after month, year after year. Entering carnivals, competitions, going to meets, socialising with swimmers ... just everything about it... Not even aiming to race & get 1st or anything like that ... just the whole aspect of swimming for myself & beating my own records & getting out of the pool knowing that i've done my best.

Why did I stop at 18? Mixture of things, mainly I was flatting in town & out of the area, so I would have changed clubs & wasn't really into doing that at the time. Was used to being in the club that i'd been in for 12-13yrs (my first year was the only time i've been out of my club, which was learning to swim in I dunno - feels like it was a 10m pool back then lol. Maybe not lol). I'm not used to going outside my comfort zone & preferred to stop swimming at the time instead of biting the bullet & entering a new "era" so to speak.

Then I went thru a very dark spot & discovered the internet while I was in that dark spot ... found a way to be "social" & not leave the house! How neat I thought that was at the time. Now I don't feel it as being so neat. Still love it in someways but in other ways, I mean I seriously haven't had human interaction / socialisation since I entered that dark spot. I don't talk to people face to face. The most interaction I have is probably "thanks" & "Just looking thanks" or something when I buy something at a shop! I have millions of chances to meet the people I 'chat' with online, to meet them in real life & to have a face to face interaction with them & I make up excuses, I prevent myself from doing those "real life" things. I'm not talking about retreats or anything that might cost money which I don't have ... just even the other day, I went to a shop which a friend online owns & its closing down. I went into the shop & didn't even hint that I was who I was. I just looked around & then walked out again. Couldn't even bring myself to ask them how they were accepting payments & if they took eftpos.

Its almost as if its grown to a stage of being a phobia. It used to be just "more comfortable" to be known online. Gawd knows I "talk" heaps online!

Anyway, back to the lovely Michael Phelps ;)

In 2005, my Dad was killed I always say ... truth is
....
....
....
he drowned.

There, I said it!

My Dad was in a boat with his partner & they collided with a NZ ferry just out of Picton, NZ & the ferry being the bigger boat obviously, smashed my Dads boat in half & both occupants of the boat went overboard. His partner managed to grab something to hold onto, but my Dad ... well I don't know what happened. But the autopsy says he drowned. He had water in his lungs to prove that.

I google searches so often, just to read about the accident again. There are still a few reports on it & his name gets brought up often due to the lack of safety aspects with the Ferries in NZ around that region. In 2006, the Safety Board made 24 recommendations about the region, it was reported that one of the Maritime people had said that all 24 recommendations had been implemented or would be within a year ... & now in 2008, still nothing is being done about it. Dad still remains to be the only fatality ever in this sort of incident in NZ & for that I guess I am thankful that there are no more. In 2005 alone (the year which my Dad died), 6 incidents happened involving the same Ferry that collided with my Dad

Below is the only photo released of the remains of my Dads boat ... What you see is about 5metres of a 10metre boat. The wheel, where my Dad was steering, was pretty much smack at the end of that 5metres ... right where the boat got cut into half.

I'm 26years old now & I don't know if my Dad could swim. I have been beating myself up for the past 3years since his death, trying to figure out if i've ever seen him swim! And I absolutely do not know that answer. I have seen him in boardies yes ... but that doesn't mean a thing. I can get an image in my head with him in jeans, rolled up at the ankle when he took me into a paddling pool, but I just do not get any other images of him & water.

He loved boats, always had ... but just coz he loved water & boats doesn't mean he could swim. I know he always mentioned he loved watching me swim. But again, that doesn't mean anything.

So back after my Dad died, water was a very hard part in my life. Something hard to face & something I still haven't come to terms with.

Taking a shower caused me to scream, cry, and many other things! I went for a swim I think a year or 2 after he died. And that got the heart pumping let me tell you!

Anyway, one thing I still haven't done yet is go into the sea/ocean. That was where my Dad died ... that is the mouth of where he lost his life ... that is somewhere i've never been able to go to in my head. Its just something that is unexplainable.

Now in the past week, I found myself thinking of the ocean for the 1st time in a very long time. Watching Michael Phelps & reading about his interviews & learning about his past & how he's overcome obstacles in his life ... its inspiring to say the least.

To see him up there so humble, to have the belief that nothing is impossible ... has made me think that hmmm 'maybe I can get into the ocean/sea again sometime soon'.

I'm crying now as I type this coz I think thats the 1st time i've admitted that I may be able to get through this.

I don't feel that its going to be easy ... but I know that life was never meant to be easy. I've always known that. I've never had an easy relationship with my Dad, so why would his death be any easier! :P

To find out at age 9, that my Dad had been seeing someone else, while claiming to love us as a family & all that shit ... confused the life out of me. I couldn't understand how you could do that to the ones you supposedly love. I remember talking to my Dad 1yr before he died & he kept saying "I will always love your Mum" ... Even though I learnt to forgive him over the years (will never forget it tho!)... to hear those words just got me real heated up inside ... as if to say you don't have the right to say that when you did what you did. But the weird thing was at that time when he said that ... he genuinely looked sorry for all the years of pain that he put Mum & I through. I have never forgotten the look on his face. He looked scarred, as if he'd realised that he lost his chance to see me growing up, to see me graduate at College coz I didn't want him to be there coz my Mum is my hero. Coz Mum was the one who worked endless hours trying to pay the mortgage on her own, but who still managed to save up & treat me to the special treat of a labelled item of clothing ... items of clothing that I still wear to this day, over 16yrs old (& yes, they look bloody tired items of clothing too lol). But they are comfy ;) lol.

I am forever thankful that I did have that chance somewhere in my late teens, to respect him, to realise he's not perfect & yet to still have the unconditional love for him as being my Father. My Daddy, the man that gives me citizenship into the UK lol, the man that took me to my first concert - Tina Turner (the moth eaten t-shirt is still at home from 1992, in my chest of drawers).

I'm not sure why i'm writing this now & why i'm writing it for the world to see if they wanted. But I just felt the need to write this down, to let people know my feelings. Who knows, maybe Michael Phelps will read this one day & be happy to know he's helped yet another person in their own personal lives.

I dunno. Gotta say i'd love to meet him in person ... (maybe I can cure another phobia then too & meet him in real life lol). Would love to have the chance to say Thank You. Who knows, maybe he'd be on the beach on the day I walk into the ocean for the first time since Dad got swallowed by that massive sea mouth. At least i'd know i'd be in safe hands when I do try it.

I don't know when i'll attempt to re-enter the water again ... maybe I won't. Maybe it's all a hoax playing with my mind. Seeing Michael Phelps on TV making me feel invincible, making me feel like I can believe what Michael Phelps says when he says "nothing is impossible", maybe when the Bejing Olympics are all over & the Australian media has decided that Michael Phelps isn't winning anymore gold medals now that he doesn't deserve to be mentioned on Australian news anymore, maybe I will go back to how I was before last week happened & go back into my little shell & stick with being the lil hermit & hibernating 24/7.

I don't know if I need my first step back into the water to be at the site of where he died in Picton, New Zealand, or whether any part of the worldwide ocean will do. I feel determined now ... but having said that, its winter & I dunno, maybe my determination will run out by summertime.

I feel like a crazed fan at the moment, looking online for details on Michael Phelps, trying to find out more about his philosophies of life & doing the best that you possibly can. I'm trying to draw strength from these articles, which are probably not even all truthful, which is why I loved last week so much when they actually interviewed him on TV, to see & hear the words coming out of his mouth that inspired me the most. To see him, to believe him, to draw inspiration from him.

Who knows, maybe one day, these little "Athletes Foot" affected tootsies of mine may really meet the man himself & enter into the ocean to face my biggest fear to date ... the place that took my beloved Dad from me.

Wedding Invites for Best Friend

2008-08-18T19:11:00.005+10:00

Finally finished them (after buying more double sided tape ... see posts below for details lol) & they are now postal!

Obviously, I have edited it to remove details ;) Left the name of the place though, as this the building at the bottom of the invite, which I managed to photoshop & GIMP it to suit ;)

Tears in my eyes

2008-08-17T13:01:00.004+10:00

Oh how good was Grant Hacketts 1500m Final swim! I had tears in my eyes seeing him come so close to getting a Gold medal & then so narrowly missing it! He's a beautiful swimmer! Always has been. Have always loved watching him. It really took it out of him this swim.

Now the swim i've been waiting for ... 4 x 100m Mens relay ... USA & my Kiwi boys!!!!!!!! Go Michael Phelps to get his Golds ... but go my boys too!!!! I'll be so proud!!! (Bah to Australia lol).

Hotties at the Beijing Olympics

2008-08-15T15:13:00.003+10:00

OK, so everyone knows i'm a loud & proud Kiwi (or at least they should by now! lol). So its rather frustrating watching the Olympics in another country coz they usually just show their own teams/people etc.

So anyhow, i'm just watching bits & pieces ... big thing i've seen this year (in more ways than one ;o) )... Michael Phelps ... Whatta hottie! :oP I just fall in lust everytime he wins a medal, & then goes upto his Mummy and hands her his flowers & gives her a kiss & a hug. Whatta sweetie! I know most of the others do this too ... But i'm just drooling over him at the moment lol.

So my hotties for '08 Beijing would have to be Michael Phelps for the men (so far anyway - Athletics has only just started ;o) ) and then for the women, I would say Stephanie Rice. Not sure why, but just something about both of them, just push my buttons lol.

In terms of taking him out on a date - I think i'd rather just stick with the bedroom, coz i've read reports that he eats 12,000 calories a day & quite frankly I don't think I could afford that lol. Although, reports say he could easily retire tmw & never work a day in his life, so why would I be paying for a meal?? :oP lol. But yes, that body looks delicious ;o)

Having said this, I am indeed married & unavailable, but i'm forever available in my dreams & they are my time to dream so I will do that lol :oP Also, I am only basing these lusts on appearances & in the real world, I do not see appearances as one of my top options when finding a partner anyhow. So keep in mind that I am not straying! lol. And of course age is no barrier ;o)

Please leave me a comment & tell me if you have a hottie at the olympics ;o) Would love to compare! lol

Now excuse me while I go do the dishes before the next interesting event comes onto the TV (Water polo on now & its a bit like soccer for me & bores me - just a lot of running - or in this case, swimming around flapping your arms watching grumpy coaches on the sidelines lol)

Oh & more exciting news!

2008-08-13T15:54:00.002+10:00

I'm getting Glenn McGrath's biography on Friday & hopefully getting it signed by da man himself :)

I know i'm a kiwi & he ain't! But I still think he's a great guy :P So wish me luck!!! And i'll be back here next week hopefully to prove it ;)

I'm actually creating again!

2008-08-13T15:28:00.003+10:00

... until I ran out of double sided tape Doh! LOL.

My best friend has asked me to create her wedding invitations for her & her mans upcoming wedding in October. Of course I said yes to help out in anyway I could.

So here I am ... 10 invites down & 10 to go & I ran outta tape! Arghh!

So now I can't do anything til tmw when I goto work & will have to pick up some tape on the way home coz go figure out here in the middle of the mountains, there is nowhere to get double sided tape from! Could go to a shop, but that involves spending money on transport to get to the shops lol. None of the local ones sell that sort of stuff ...

Little known fact - there was a scrapbooking place right here in our lil town that closed 1 week after we moved here ... WHY!?!? lol. I'm still sure hubby was responsible for them closing down seriously! He musta said something, coz it was sooo convienient being just across the road from the train station, so I could have dropped in every day after work! Now I can't :( lol

Well, back in the land of the dead ... here's my boys ;)

Scotty sitting on his chair in the laundry with 'Quacky' the duck, one of his fave buddies

Ozzie doing what Ozzie does best ... Sleeping (but kinda peeking at who's taking the photo too ;P )

Selling my Xyron Personal Cutting System!

2008-08-03T15:16:00.002+10:00

I'm selling my Xyron Personal Cutting System & some Extras!

Price: $350 including Registered Post within Australia!
What does $350 include? (No hidden costs!)

Registered Post Delivered to you via Australia Post
Postage & Handling (Will be sent in the original box as shown above)
Xyron Personal Cutting System in its original box (Polystyrene padding is not in the box anymore, but bubble wrap will be in it)
Official Power supply
4 Design Books: Basic Fonts / Basic Shapes / Celebration Shapes / Handwriting Font
3 Spare Cutting Mats
Official plastic tweezers that came with the machine
Official Xyron PCS Pink Bag to carry it safely to all your Crops!
All the Official Xyron PCS papers including Instruction Manual

Email me if you are interested! Or want more info or photos of what is included in this deal :) Hopefully it will go to someone who wants it, as it is just sitting on a shelf at my place. Would rather it got some use ;)

Cybercrop Happening now over at Scrap Therapy!

2008-08-01T22:01:00.004+10:00

Head on over to the Scrap Therapy Forum this weekend for lots of fun & of course lots of inspiration & challenges & chances to win awesome prizes! The list goes on ... So what you waiting for!!!!!

New Scrap Therapy owner Lee-anne has some awesome prizes up for grabs including your chance to win upto $200 worth of the new CHA release products! How fun would that be to win anything! Hop on over to Scrap Therapy now to find out more details!

See you over there & Happy Scrapping!!

100 Things About Me

2008-06-30T15:50:00.004+10:00

OK, so i'm just wasting time, procrastinating on stuff that I should be doing lol. So heres a lil thing that a friend did on Facebook, so I thought i'd copy the questions & add mine here ... If you read it, copy it & put your own in on your blog & leave a comment to say you've done it so I can have a nosey! :P

100: I was born on – April Fools Day
99. I am - only human ;)
98. My eye color is – hazel
97. My ears are - deaf
96. My crush is - Gordon Ramsay *drool* (Must be the Scots in me ;) lol)
95. My favorite color is - Purple
94. My height is – 158cm
93. I am allergic to – Waking up early in the mornings
92. I live in – Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
91. Last book i read is - 'Lucky for Me'. By ?? Robson (what i'm currently reading) & the last one i've finished was 'Every eighteen minutes'. By Ellen Flint
90. My bed time is – getting earlier & earlier these days lol
89. My first screen name was - rebel
88. Your Current screen name is - rebelliouskiwi
87. My favorite holiday is – any holiday is a friend of mine lol
86. My Least favorite holiday is – most of them coz they are so commercialised these days! Wheres the spirit!?
85. The last time I cried was - last night I think
84. My most treasured possession is – my memories
83. Last night I – slept peacefully
82. My skin's reaction to the sun is - tanning

===============================
:::::I Do (YES)/Do Not (NO) Believe In:::::
===============================

81. Santa – Yes
80. Love at First Sight - Yes
78. Fate - Yes
77. God - Some form of it yes
76. Aliens - No
75. Heaven – yes
74. Hell – yes
73. Ghosts - No
72. Horoscopes - No
71. Soul mates - yes
===================
::::: Which is Better?:::::
====================

69. Hugs or Kisses – Hugs
68. Drunk or High – Errr, neither. i'm boring lol
67. Phone or online - Online only! lol
66. Red heads or Brown hair - Don't care
65. Blondes or Brunettes - Don't care
64. coke or pepsi - Don't care as long as its Diet
63. Night or Day – Night!
62. Oranges or Apples - Depends on my mood lol. Apples MUST be crunchy & sweet, Oranges just sweet
61. Curly or Straight hair - Curly

==========================
:::::What comes to your head ?:::::
==========================

60. Scary - Death
59. Backstabbers – Words I won't say in here lol
58. Parents – Love
57. School - Wagging lol

=================
::::::::Last time?::::::::
=================

56. Missed someone – Today
55. Hugged someone – This morning on the train, I hugged my hubby :P
54. Saw someone – This arvo when I was walking home from the station. (School just finished & everyone was coming out when I went past)

======::::MISC::::======

53. Who's the ditziest person you know? Too many to name lol
52. Who makes you laugh the most? Too many people again lol
51. One thing I'm mad about right now - Lack of money
50. The last movie I saw in the theater was - Dunno, but it was possibly Lord of the Rings LOL
49. The thing I don't understand is? Again, too many things! I live to learn ;)
48. The one thing I love about the opposite sex is – Errr
47. This summer – I hope we get some sun in the house!
46. Something I will really miss when I leave home - My furbabies!

========================

45. Tomorrow – Big sleepin!!
44. Today- Up early
43. Next Summer - No idea
42. This Weekend – Shopping

====================
:::MISC:::::(CONTINUED)
====================

41. People call me - Rebecca, Rebel, Bex, Bec, rebelliouskiwi, (and some other names lol)
40. The person I have been good friends with the longest - Andy & my hubby
39. The person who knows the most about me is - Hubby
38. The person that can read me the best is - Hubby without a doubt!
37. The most difficult thing to do - be happy
36. I have gotten a speeding ticket – Never - don't drive
35. I have the following siblings - N/A
34. The first person I was crushing on was – Oh Good gawd, which one was first lol
33. The one person who I can't hide things from – Me, Myself & I lol
32. Right now I am talking to – Errr, actually Yelling at Scotty :P
33. I have/will get a job at/with – Many places ;)
32. I have a pet(s) named - Ozzie (Medium haired puss), Scotty (Maltese Shitzu Dog), Kinny (Golden Labrador who lives with Mum in NZ)
31. I hope – the thing I want to happen today happens lol
30. The best sound in the world – Silence
29. The person that made me cry the most - Hmmm, my Dad for many many different reasons
28. Ever done drugs - Proud to say ... No!
27. Florida or Hawaii - Not fussed! I'll take any holiday! lol
27. My favorite sport is - Rugby Union
26. First Pet – Jenny (Cat)
25. The school I go to is – Was very small LOL
24. Last person I got mad at – Hubby (But right now, im mad at the dog!)
23. best movie - Gosh, too many to consider
21. The all-time best thing in the world is – Jet Plane Lollies from NZ!
20. So, about them Canadians - I dunno, what about them?
19. The most annoying thing ever is – Scotty barking lol
18. The most annoying person you know is - Oh I dunno
17. I lose all respect for people who - abuse, disrespect, hurt, lie, etc ... the list goes on!
16. I hate – Tomatoes
15. I love – My family
14. My Favorite Day is – anyday sleeping
13. My Favorite Month(s) – April thru to June lol
12. My Favorite Artist/Band – No idea
10. My favorite phrase – F%$&ing Hell or Bl00dy Hell
9. My room – is where i sleep
8. My favorite actress is - Can't think of any right now ... gimme a minute lol
7. My favorite actor is - See question 8
6. My pants – i'm currently wearing are trackies!
5. My weakness is - currently homemade cookies
4. What turns me on - Pass lol
3. Who broke your heart - Many people
2. I filled out 100 questions because - I have nuffin better to do & I thought i'd copy Pam :P
1. Who will read this - You HaHa

I've realised thru doing this that there is no #70 & #79 ... hows that for realisation lol. Now im gonna bugger off & do something boring like cleaning the house Doh!

Shoes, shoes & more shoes!

2008-06-23T15:45:00.006+10:00

OK, I for one absolutely HATE shopping for clothes or shoes! Can't find anything worse to shop for in my books! lol. Carrie Bradshaw I aint! lol

But sometimes when you've been walking in the same pair of shoes since 2001, there comes a time when you think that maybe 7yrs of wearing the same shoes that now have holes in them & fill up with water everytime it rains ... it just MAY be time to buy a new pair! lol.

My lovely Mum has been nagging me for the past 2yrs I think to buy a new pair ... but no, I love the ones I have ;) But just recently they have gotten so bad that I have to wear 3 pairs of socks because there are no inners in them anymore & I can feel the pebbles on the ground when I walk lol. So after hours of painful searching, I finally found some a couple of weeks ago & again, my lovely Mum came to the rescue & gave me the money for them. I can't say they are my fave pair of shoes by any means! And i'm not a huge fan of the gold on them - they look tacky, but they are very comfy! And I no longer have to wear 3 pairs of socks! Altho I do wear 2 to keep my tootsies warm LOL.

Mission accomplished right!? Wrong ... next subject is my Ugg Boots which I think are just a couple of years younger than my shoes were lol. Here is a pic of my beloved Uggs, which have holes & the insides falling out of one side! Comfy as anything! Altho, they are so stretched now I have to wear Trackies with elastic at the bottom of them, so I can put them over the Uggies to keep them from falling off! (Try get that thought out of your head! Delightful I tell you! lol)

So, it was hubbys birthday last week & my lovely Mum (AGAIN) sent his present over - with a pressie for moi! Ta-da! New Uggies!!!!!! How clean & lovely do they look compared to the ones above!!! LOL. I took my old ones off the 2nd I got these & put them on - oh so snug & Kiwi Sheep too! lol.

LOVE YA MUM!!!!

Also included in the parcel ... was a lovely woolley hat knitted by my Nana! LOVE the colours! Its so cozy - I know what i'll be wearing on the train tmw morning! ;)

Dreaming of a sunny place

2008-06-17T16:23:00.003+10:00

Gosh, you know you live in a rather coolish place when your wearing 3 pairs of socks inside ugg boots & still got cold feet! Im wearing 2 polar fleeces too.

You know, I just realised that hubby & I haven't been on a holiday since our wedding back in 2005. And I dunno if I really called that a holiday either!

Could really do with a nice break away - somewhere where we can put the heater on & not have to worry about the power bill! That would be nice ... or somewhere warm & sunny so we don't even need the heater! lol.

Hmm, what else is going on... oh I am completely off scrapbooking & cardmaking at the moment. Haven't done much since beginning of the year anyway, but I just ain't even itching to get back into it. I have a little bit of stuff here with me, but just no interest to do anything. Have been hanging out in the Cross Stitch "aisles" more in forums lately. But in general, just been lurking I guess. So that explains my quietness?!

Oh, last night I got an email from my Mum saying that my darling dog, Kinny, in NZ had surgery to remove something in her ear kinda like a blood blister. Her ear looked really swollen on the outside, so Mum took her to the vet on Wednesday & she had surgery on Thursday. :( She's OK & resting heaps now which is good but wearing a bucket over her head, so Mum has been taking her to work with her every day shhh lol. Everyone loves her at work, so not an issue really. She gets so much attention & lots of cuddles / treats. This is the 1st time in my life that a pet of mine has had to have surgery - so very happy about that!! Very happy, healthy pets in my life ;)

Hubbys birthday on Thursday & I have not a scrap of money to buy him anything :( So a kiss & a cuddle will have to do ;) lol.

OK, I think im caught up with life lol. So umm yeah, other than all that, i'm just relaxing inbetween working & trying to find more work. So many rejection letters - its just become routine to read them now. Am thinking of doing another course via correspondence, but just not sure if i'll really benefit from the one i'm thinking of or not. So will try & figure that out!!

Eco-Friendly Message

2008-06-05T13:43:00.002+10:00

OK, so I was just walking around Bondi Junction in NSW yesterday & I came across a new shop in Westfields Mall called Todae ... Its a shop that sells EVERYTHING & ANYTHING Eco-friendly! Amazing little shop it really is. I am just in awe of the things that you can see in there & although I don't have any money to go shopping at the moment, its made me think of other little things that I could be doing to help the environment. So check them out on their website, which means you can shop in ya jammies! Or go visit one of their 2 shops - 1 in Glebe & a new one in Bondi Junction!

Then just as i'm typing this, on Oprah today she has an "Earth Day with Oprah" show ... Great stuff on the show too & Al Gore has just walked on stage lol.

But did you know that Sandra Bullock has her own restaurant called Bess that is eco-friendly!?! And she also now has a range of Candles called Bessance.

Sandra Bullock has turned her Texas restaurant into an eco-friendly hang-out by replacing plastic and polystyrene takeaway containers with biodegradable alternatives made from sugar cane and potatoes. The environmentally-conscious star revealed all about her green secrets during a tour around Austin eatery Bess as part of an Earth Day special on TV show Oprah, which aired on Tuesday.

The star showed off coffee cups made out of sugar cane and corn syrup, cutlery made from potatoes and takeaway boxes made out of sugar cane. Bullock revealed she researched biodegradable alternatives when she first opened Bess in 2006 and discovered it only costs a little extra to become a green restaurateur.

She says, “The price difference… is minimal, it’s just a few cents, and I think we’re absolutely worth it; those few extra pennies to make sure we have a beautiful earth.”

Bullock’s restaurant also features recycled furniture, including dining tables made from the floorboards of a house she renovated. And she admits she has always been environmentally friendly: “We were raised that way. My mother was macrobiotic, health food, no chemicals, made all her own bed… I hated it then but I love it now because she recycled everything.” (Information taken from here)

How cool is all of that! I love the look of the tables she has. You can see them & know that it used to be floorboards & it really gives a homely feel to it (From what I saw on Oprah!). And she now makes & sells her own candles after looking up & finding out about the usual candles we all use & realised that they are doing our earth harm! How awesome is she! She's been one of my fave actors for years & now I love her even more! lol.

So coming soon, in light of this I am going to add yet ANOTHER list in the columns on the side especially dedicated to all things eco-friendly :) And you never know! You may find something that is of interest to you!

My Golly, I've worked it out!

2008-05-26T17:00:00.005+10:00

I've finally figured out why I can't get the pics off my camera onto my computer! I had saved them onto my phone & not the memory card Duhhh! So now have just finished putting them onto the memory card & have uploaded them FINALLY onto the PC! So now I can show ya my pics lol. My shitty phone camera has been my only camera recently coz my normal digi cameras playing up with the batteries not charging etc. So not good quality pics im afraid :( Anyway, heres a few from months ago!

Ozzies trip from Dubbo to Sydney! 6hr+ trip in February 2008 sometime. Pic is of Ozzie waiting for his Daddy who was buying something at the Petrol station. VERY curious lil fella!

And this is where Ozzie sat most of the trip. Behind the drivers seat wedged in there. Theres actually a small "fridge" that we had next to him to keep the drinks cool & it hums. I think he found that soothing perhaps. The mat on the bottom right corner is his mat which he tends to sleep on at home, & it was over the seat a little bit, so he liked to snooze underneath it, on the floor. Weird, but if he's happy then we are too! LOL.

Heres my Scotty babe back in Dubbo. This was in March, after being in NZ, I went back to Dubbo by myself to pack for 2wks & because Ozzie was in Sydney with hubby then I got to have Scotty inside the whole time. He absolutely LOVED it! I think he's seen Ozzie do this before, so obviously thought he could try it too!! He makes a bit more noise than Ozzie crashing around between the blinds lol. How could you be mad at that cute lil face!! lol

Here's Scotty fast asleep on our bed, which I had to take a photo of to prove that he can sleep on the bed! Coz he's never done it prior to this time since he was never allowed inside during the night, so always thought it was just a play area!
Here's Scotty ... no joking, watching Animal Rescue on TV. This episode had a poor dog who had been poorly treated & was whining ... Scotty had his eyes on the tv the entire time! Would not move! lol. He would jump over to my couch if I changed channels & nudged the remote ... pretty sure he was telling me to go back to the show LOL.

PS: There are more photos in my Facebook Photo Album ;) Mainly coz i'm too lazy to upload them twice lol. So theoretically, if you click on that link just above it should take you to my photos without needing to be a member of facebook? I dunno :P If you do need to be a member, then what you waiting for Willis?! :P

Blog Changes

2008-05-25T20:58:00.004+10:00

Well, you may or may not have noticed ... that I have changed my layout of my blog. Its still a work in progress, so we'll see how we go LOL.

I have a new blog coming soon as well, which is for all my bits & pieces that I want to get rid of ... so stay tuned & you may find yourself something to drool over :P

Oh & bad news about changing my template for my blog - i've lost my script for my lil emoticons ... so just hold on tight while I find it again lol.

Got a GP appt tmw to get the 2nd injection for that Cervical Cancer Vaccine. Hopefully the Doc won't call me a wuss again :( lol

Anyway, its 9pm & I have to go to bed coz I have a cold & need to be up at 4.30am as you do when you live in the middle of nowhere in the mountains & need to get to work! lol.

I've created!

2008-05-14T16:26:00.003+10:00

OK, so here I was bored & dithering around like I had ants in my pants. Couldn't watch telly & kept fidgeting, so went into LSBS Forums & asked for a challenge using the few supplies I had.

Those supplies were:

White A4 Card (Like printer paper, but card. Very dull, matte - not shiny).
4 cuttlebug embossing folders (script, happy birthday, divine spirals, dots & spots folders)
Inkpads
A few dies (animals, flowers are the main things)
Kaisercraft Rhinestones (silver ones).

The lovely Deanne challenged me ... You can see the challenge I was given HERE. OK, so I didn't exactly do everything on the challenge, but i'm not good at using rhinestones & don't have a clue where I should put them lol. So I skipped that part lol.

So here's my amateurish attempt at the challenge. Dunno if I like them, but kinda looks OK from a distance LOL. And it kept me occupied for the arvo so that was good!

The only extra thing I used was my Corner Rounder which I found while doing them!! What a score! lol. Oh & double sided tape & foam dots for one of them ;)

The real reason why I don't go on Crops etc!

2008-05-14T13:14:00.003+10:00

I have just finished unpacking the little bag I brought with me (bought it back in Feb from Target coz it was on special & looked like it would fit enough stuff in to tie me over til I got all my craft stuff down here - obviously it won't!) ...

Inside my bag I have (amongst other things) ALL of my inkpads ... Sounds like a plan right? Yep sounds good ...

...

...

...

Do I have stamps? Nup! What idiot packs all their ink & then doesn't bring stamps!?!?!?! Me thats who LOL. Just had to share that. I'm rolling my eyes thinking of it now lol. I knew I didn't have much space to bring much, so thought "i'll bring my stamps, inks & Big Shot machine - with dies (which I DID bring those!)". Then was just thinking now that i'd like to try some stamping on cards to try get my mojo back ... Errrrr Hit a brick wall with that one missy! Doh!

OK, all you reading this can go clean the coffee off your screens now :P lol Until next time! lol

Using Watercolours for Stamps

2008-05-14T11:27:00.003+10:00

OMG another post in as many days! Whats happening!!?? lol

I have never seen a gorgeous stamp that has watercolours that I haven't liked ... but can I do it? Gawd no! lol.

So at the moment I am on the lookout for advice on how to use watercoloured pencils (with a waterpen - which I hope to invest in very soon!?!? lol).

Does anyone have any great links for the simplest of simple step by steps for a complete absolute novice/virgin/woman-with-no-clue LOL.

Coz I am totally in love with Penny Black, Housemouse, Calendar Chicks, Fluffles the Cat stamps & would love to one day be able to afford them & to create these amazing images! Don't want to buy the stamps until i'm sure I can do something worthy with them lol. I have so many cheap stamps, that I don't use so want to try with them first LOL.

Hmmm, off to check out ebay to see what waterpens cost ;) (Wonder if I can find one for $5 since I have that in my paypal LMAO - yeah right! ;) )

I'm Alive ... aliveeeee!

2008-05-13T15:49:00.008+10:00

I'm alive! Honestly! lol.

gosh, it has been such a busy time for me this year! I feel like I should start singing that song "i've been everywhere man" lol. Seems to suit my itinerary lately!

OK, since my last post in ... March .. Wow, didn't realise it was that long ago lol. And that didn't even say what i'd been upto!

Hubby got a new job, moved in February to hubbys relative who lives in Sydney. I stayed there for a week then ...

I went to NZ at the end of Feb/ beginning of March for 2wks to help clean out my Nanas home. She has since moved into a retirement home & although its taking a bit of getting used to, she's still keeping as much independence as possible which is great. Drove from South Island to North Island back to Mums house with HEAPS of stuff. Car was chokka-full of bits & pieces. So now most of the stuff that I want is still there at the moment except for some little bits mum brought over recently ;)

Got back to Sydney, then travelled that night back home to Dubbo to stay there for 2wks packing up our house. After 2wks was up, drove to Sydney with Ozzie who was a lil angel! Didn't think the trip would have been that easy! But it was!

Been applying for jobs since Feb ... then had an interview on 1st April ... yes, my birthday! And I got it!! Yay! So that was a lil job 3days a week for a couple of hours. Then ... when hubby got home to take me out for dinner for my birthday, relative said we needed to move out for reasons i'm not going into coz they are personal. So we had 1month to find accommodation in Sydney! On a budget too did I mention that!?!?! And a place that allowed Scotty & Ozzie! Bloody difficult to find a place!!!

Finally found a place the week we had to move!!!! So on 26th April, we moved into the Blue Mountains. Got a nice place here. Similar to the home we own in Dubbo. Paying the highest price from our budget, possibly over our budget, coz we can't actually pay bills at the moment :( Got 'reminders' coming out our ears telling us to pay our bills ... but with what ? I dunno yet! :/

Now its May & on the 9th I had my Graduation!!!! Yay!!!! (No photos yet sorry :P ). So I now have a Certificate II in Business. And even better, Mum came over from NZ to be at my graduation :)

While Mum was here, we went looking around the Blue Mountains. Found the lovely shop in Katoomba that I used to buy from online years ago! It's called Dragonfly Dreams, but its online shop is now called The Stitching Post ... I highly recommend you check them out if you are into Cross Stitch, Quilting, Patchwork, Beading, etc etc lol. They have the lot! Mum bought me this kit i've been wanting for years but could never afford it! I love it! It's called "Bluey's Boots" by Country Threads ... How cute is he!!!! Can't wait to get started!

Have had such a busy May so far ... have had the anniversary of Dad's death & funeral, cousins birthday, Graduation, and Wedding anniversary! Not to mention spending time with Mum & of course unpacking boxes from the move!!! lol.

Oh & did I mention it takes 2hrs on the train to get into Sydney? LOL. So we're on a bloody early train for 8am starts at work lol.

But its worth it to have our furbabes with us ... Scotty isn't quite here yet, but Ozzie is settling in well. Loves having water out of the shower as opposed to his bowl lol. Go Figure! And Mum bought him a lovely bowl while she was here so he got spoilt rotten & he still drinks out of the shower! lol.

Scotty should be coming home finally in June! Queens birthday weekend coming up, so that allows us some time to go drive to Dubbo & pick him up. Can't wait to see him!!! Hope he likes the new place! Theres not as much sun in the backyard for him as I was hoping & if it rains often, its gonna be cold & wet grass :( Oh well, we'll see how it goes aye!

Happy Mail!

2008-02-05T15:01:00.000+11:00

I've been feeling sorry for myself lately as I have a crappy sinus infection & I feel like i've done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson! :(

This weekend just past, Scrap Therapy had their February CC ... as I was feeling like i'd met Mike Tyson, I didn't do much! BUT I managed to do a Valentines Day Card for one of the challenges

Yesterday I got 2 Heidi Swapp Stamps in the mail that I got off Ebay after they sent me some money thru PayPal ... See, Ebay isn't bad at all :P lol. So that was fun free money to spend! lol. Also bought those Sizzix Adapter thingies to use when putting different brand dies into the die machines! FINALLY! Has been ages since i've been meaning to get one! lol. So happy about that! Now I can start doing cards again with the lovely Heidi Swapp stamps "Happy Birthday" & "Thanks" clear stamps that I got! Love 'em!

Now, todays mail!! Holy Potatoes!!! Those who know me, know I hardly EVER get to spend money on new stash! But a few weeks ago I had $50 to spend on stash & over at Bizzy Becs which I absolutely LOVE! Its a MUST go & check it out place! Bec is getting rid of some of her own personal Die stash! Amazing prices!! Can you believe I got all of the stuff in this photo below for just under $50 including postage!!!! No shitting you! 9 dies!!!!! 9!!!!! lol. Cuttlebug embossing folder & the Quickutz emboss folder were the only ones that were actually used! Theres 2 red sizzlets that were out of their packets too but never used. The rest are brand new! AND I treated myself to 2 Cuttlekid dies!!! They are soooo cute! If you join Bizzy Becs you'll get a $5 voucher to use at ANY time! (Thats one way I got my bargins ;) ). Theres still plenty of bargins over there! Bec is selling Punches, Dies, Sculpey moulds & products! Massive savings! ;) Check it out! You'd be mad not to! ;)

OK, now i've got you spending your money :P Just thought i'd show you my 1st attempt at using my Bind-it-All machine! I decided I didn't do a very good job LOL. But its OK for a 1st go. Plenty more wires to play with lol. PS: The ribbon on the top & bottom are to hide a hole where I punched & decided I didn't wanna punch LOL :P

... And heres the inside of my address book. Pages for writing the addresses on are white. Which is after the "cover" page with the ABC etc on it ... Make sense? ABC is just stamped on using really cheap stamps that I got probably 5yr ago or something lol. (Ignore the holes on the top & bottom of the inside in the cover lol. They shouldn't be there OK? :P lol )

Where has the time gone!

2008-01-24T21:11:00.000+11:00

Where oh where has the time gone & why have I got nothing much to show for it! lol. Have done some cards recently ... OK, only 2 but still :P Had to try my new cuttlebug embossing folder I got for Xmas didn't I! lol So here they are ...

This weekend just been, over at Scrap Therapy in their month long cybercrop ... we were "at" Relsi's house for the challenges & I actually completed BOTH challenges!!! OMG!

Had to make a "juvenile" card so I had fun fun fun doing that :P
The other challenge was to do a LO featuring the colours of the Scrap Therapy Shop which are the pink & blue/aqua & white dots. So I did that challenge too! OMG again! lol. My 1st real 12x12 LO as well!!! Shocking I know! lol I think Ozzies getting jealous now as I always do LO's about Scotty & not him :( lol. He needs to know that if he ever actually SAT for the camera, he might get some LO's of him geez lol
OK, other news ... not much. Oh, I had a bit of employment for one night only this week LOL. Got to do a Stocktake at Franklins supermarket. Have applied for several jobs & im sooooo hoping I can get some more jobs! Or just one job! Im not fussy :P lol. So keep your fingers & toes crossed for me please!

My Nana has recently moved into a retirement home - so I am going to go to NZ soon & help clean up her house as she wants to sell it. So I get to go back to see the family (like I have a big family! NOT! lol) - or at least my Nana & my Mum anyway :P

Leave a comment if you've stopped by! i'd love to hear from ya even if its just to say hi! ;) I love reading your comments! Lovely seeing people from all over the world visiting (I can see from the "who's been to visiting me" application on the left over there ---> lol )

OK, now i'll post this & go to watch 'Ramseys Kitchen Nightmares' which I am sooooo addicted to! Love it!!!

Oh & don't forget Scrap Therapy CC continues tmw night!!! Allllll January! So hop on over & join in the fun! Who knows, I might even get another challenge done then! OMG! Please don't faint from shock :P lol

Everyday Hero

2008-01-03T19:35:00.000+11:00

I just saw this website mentioned on A Current Affair on Channel 9 tonight & really wanted to mention it & get it some well deserved coverage!

Check out Everyday Hero website to see more info.

Basically you can register & support charities simply by shopping at certain shops who will donate a percentage of your purchase to the chairity of your choice ... or make up your own fundraising idea - like Lose weight, Quit smoking, Shave your head etc & get people to sponsor you - their money will go directly to your chosen charity! How cool is that!

There are so many charities to choose from! There are several shops committed to it, including TELSTRA! Basically if you have a Mobile account with Telstra - check out this link!! Coz 2% off EVERY bill will go towards your charity! And when you join, Telstra will donate $25 to your charity just for joining up! Go on check it out! Click here for more info on the Telstra Offer

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:38:00.000+11:00

Well, its 2008! Hope your all ready for the New Year! Hope everyone has a great year :)

Christmas was good at my place. Lovely to have my Mum over for 2wks especially :)

What have I done since Christmas Day? Well ... See below :P

My InLaws gave me a 1000 piece puzzle & I started it on Christmas Day after Tea & it was done by the 29th! Not bad huh! ;) I should mention that I didn't do it alone tho lol. Mum & Hubby did help me lol. Now i've got the dreaded task of taking it apart!! Arghh I hate that part! lol

Got some nice stash additions for Christmas ;) I've mentioned before that Hubby bought me the Bind-it-All machine which i'm loving! Had several swaps in various Forums, so thats always lots of fun to get too! SIL gave me some cool scrapbook stuff & Hubby bought me 12 lots of 12x12 albums!!!!! OMG! Apparently he bought them in bulk so saved heaps! I don't think I can get 12 albums done in my lifetime, but you just never know LOL. Oh & I went shopping with Mum showing her the local craft shops in town & nearby. Ended up getting some Craft Punches & a Cuttlebug Embossing die. I now FINALLY have a corner punch!!!! Im so happy!!! lol

I am in massive need of some money, so soon I will be posting a lot of items on ebay to sell including Games, Books, Clothes, Craft Stuff & other bits that we don't need & want to sell. So keep an eye out if you live in Australia (coz I don't sell overseas sorry). I'll post on my blog & let you all know when i've put them up. Will try & get the whole entire lot up so that way you could be saving heaps of money on postage by getting several things at the same time! A lot of it is brand new stuff as well! Especially the clothes which are mostly mens clothes that Hubby has been given that were the wrong size & he couldn't exchange for whatever reason. Most of them have their tags on still! So keep checking in here for details & let your friends & family know if you can coz we are in big debt at the moment due to payment problems with Hubbys job (Nothing new there :( ) & currently overdue on our internet bill! :O OMG what am I gonna do with no internet!!!?!?!?

Massive HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Scrap Therapy!!! Scrap Therapy turns 1 in January! So what better way to celebrate than to have a month long Cybercrop!! Come on into the Forums to find out all the challenges! Each weekend a different member of the Scrap Therapy Design Team will be hosting the Cybercrop from their home, with challenges, games and lots of fun! So check it out! 1st Challenge will start THIS Friday 4th January! See you there!

Merry Early Christmas Everyone!

2007-12-18T20:38:00.000+11:00

Well, tmw my Mum arrives, so there won't be much spending time online for me for the rest of the year :( lol. Might pop in tho in those rare moments alone ;) lol.

What have I been upto in the way of Crafts? Well, below is a summary lol

LSBS had their December Cybercrop on the 1st weekend of December & one of the Challenges was to make an Altered item using a Tin. So i've used an old Tinned Fruit Tin ;) I will add something to the middle of it & have it as a centrepiece on the table at Christmas :)

On the 7th December, I completed my little personal OTP project: A Sewing box using one of the KaiserCraft Wooden items. I am really happy with it. I bought the Chipboard Alphas at my LSS & was inspired by one of the Bella Brands that had holes in their alphas. So I decided to make my own holes using my Eyelet setter! I'm really happy with this & it is displayed proudly in my Craft Room :)

On the 2nd weekend of December, Scrap Therapy had their December Cybercrop & I completed 2 challenges! WooHoo! 1st up, is the Midnight Challenge which was to make a Christmas Decoration using a photo of a loved one. So surprise surprise, I did my Daddy & got the ol' Sewing machine out to sew the Tarten ribbon around a Clip-Art that I printed out of a Boat Steering Wheel. I really enjoyed it & it looks really neat on the tree :)

2nd Challenge I completed was a Card which was to feature either a Christmas Carol or a Christmas Riddle. I chose "We Wish you a merry Christmas & a Happy New Year"...

BUT after the CC was over, I decided to replace the Green card & the saying & just make it "Merry Christmas" on a White Card as it is for my Nana & she has difficulty reading on coloured paper & prefers White. After cutting the topper off the Green card & putting it on its new White card, I actually REALLY love the card now! Very nice & very happy with it. Will definitely add some colour to Nanas Christmas cards! ;)

And then last but not least ... This past weekend I made 2 cards for Kayla as its her 17th Birthday on the 20th December! I thought that deserved 2 cards instead of one card with a birthday AND a Christmas wish on it ;) lol. So here is the birthday card I made. Totally cute! I love it :)

... and here is the Christmas Card :)

So there you have it! And to top it all off, today I got my Christmas Box of Goodies Swap from LSBS with lotsa lil goodies in it ... but I will leave that to share with you in the New Year perhaps or maybe later in the month ;) I think thats enough piccies for today & besides Psych is almost on TV now so gotta get off this flaming computer to watch it lol

But just coz I LOVE these forward thingies I thought i'd do this to end my post lol...

Got this off Kaylas Blog ...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper
2. Real tree or artificial? I definitely prefer Real ... but can't say i've seen one here in town! Besides, hubby gets hayfever & always complains :(
3. When do you put up the tree? Try to put it up on the 1st December, but just depends I think
4. When do you take the tree down? Ummm, for Christmas 2006 we took the tree down in about ummm April this year :O It was up for my birthday thats all I can remember lol
6. Favorite gift received as a child? No idea. I always loved my gifts as a kid :)
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? No

8. Hardest person to buy for? In Laws I think

9. Easiest person to buy for? Hubby, coz he always gives me a detailed list lol
10. Worst Christmas Gift you ever received? Just clothes that don't fit! I'd rather a Gift Voucher to go get my own clothes :)
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Definitely mail! Nothing better than opening up an envelope from the letterbox!! Email - Blurgh! lol
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I dunno. Anything thats funny. Christmas with the Kranks was good & so was Deck the Halls. Bad Santa was funny too lol. Oh what the hell, I love Xmas movies lol
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Whenever I can! I usually have all my shopping bought before December coz i'm not a fan of the Christmas queues
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Well, nothing that i'd ever admit to :P
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Nanas Christmas Dinner!
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Coloured ... we don't have any on ours :(
17. Favorite Christmas song? Last Christmas by Wham! LOL ... ... What!? It is my fave!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Don't care as long as its with loved ones
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Ummm, .
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star (altho I would love a new star on ours! lol)
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? 1 before bed on Christmas Eve & the rest before breakfast as early as possible on Xmas Day ... Imma big kid at heart!!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Its so bloody commercial now! You ask someone what Christmas is about & they reply Presents! Stoopid! Nobody cares now :(
23. What is the “silliest” family tradition you do, or miss doing? We don't have a silly one, but when my Cousins & I were young, Nana would always hide a coin under our pudding & that was soooo cool! Nana still does it if i'm at home for Christmas :)
24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Not sure what those Black Christmas trees are about in BigW at the moment! They really don't tickle my fancy!
25. Which looks best, theme trees or homey trees? I'm a homey person ... definitely love just bits & pieces on it. They bring character to the tree & lots & lots of memories!!!!

26. Gingerbread or sugar cookies? What on earth are sugar cookies? I'm guessing its good I dont know coz i'm a diabetic? lol. I'll take neither thanks & grab the Shortbread LOL
27. Do you like Fruitcake? Not really. Love my Christmas pud tho ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Scrap Therapy Cybercrop this Weekend!

2007-12-04T13:03:00.000+11:00

Its that time of the month again! CC time! Yay :D

Come on over & join us at Scrap Therapy this weekend, from Friday 7th December for a Christmas fun filled cybercrop! No doubt there will be Christmas ideas for you to create for loved ones, designed by the absolutely talented DT members :)

So what you waiting for? Head on over to the Scrap Therapy Forums now & check out the hints ;)

Just for Belinda!

2007-11-22T13:18:00.000+11:00

:P LOL

Well, today its only 15C! Very happy after its been mid-late 30's all week. Had big storm last night & couldn't be on the computer for long after the storm a couple of weeks ago blew our big power thingie mabob :P (Hurry up insurance & give us a cheque so we can buy a new one!)

Yesterday I got my 2nd to last assignment back for my Business course & I passed that. So one more assignment to get back to find out whether I passed or not!

Its less than 1 month til my Mummy arrives in Australia to spend her first christmas with us over here in the drought land. She's soooooo scared about the weather! lol. A hot day for her in summer is 22C! I don't want to tell her to multiply that by 2 & you'll have our temp's lol. Luckily Hubby lets her borrow the car when she's over here & the InLaws have a pool, so I imagine we may spend a fair bit of time there while everyones working hehe.

Hubby bought me an early Christmas present the other day!!! The funky Bind-it-All Machine I'm so excited! So just waiting for it to arrive from Nat @ Scrap Therapy & then I can play & make lotsa books! I'm making a recipe book for my Mum & one for my Nana. Nana's eyesight is very bad, so she can't see the recipes out of all her old books. So i'm getting Mum to bring the recipes over when she's here & i'll make it & Mum can take it back over to Nana when she goes home. Save postage too ;)

I'm totally loving Facebook at the moment! Have been finding heaps of people from school & off the Internet. I'm wishing my memory was better so I could remember the names of people I used to meet at diabetic & deaf camps! lol. I suck with names! I'm telling ya, I have images of the people I met sooooo clearly in my mind ... but thats no help with no name! lol. Pity lol.

Sad news in the Scrapworld ... Basically Scrapbooking is closing their doors due to family reasons. But good news ... that means SALE! So head on over & find some great bargins!

I want some money! I haven't bought any christmas presents yet! I've got 1 more swap to do, but don't have the money for it just yet. I'm hoping for some this weekend, so will have to head on out & shop!

Happy Belinda? :P LOL ;)

Present for Baby Corey

2007-11-01T17:24:00.000+11:00

Just made this quick lil card for Baby Corey ... the eager lil bubba that arrived almost 1month ago very premature. My stamping sucks :( lol. And below is a photo of the card with the lil booties & hat my Mum knitted. Oh so cute!

My Final Pink Card Drive Tally & Photos

2007-11-01T14:52:00.000+11:00

Well, its November!

My total for the PCD is 63 cards, made with my limited pink stash.

All cards have been made in memory of my Best friends Mum who lost her battle with Cancer in 2005 xxx

Photos of the individual cards I made. Basically I made many of each design. So these are the designs that I used

I Love my Mummy!

2007-11-01T14:43:00.000+11:00

My lovely Mum sent me mail that arrived yesterday. For those of you who know, a member of a couple of the forums i'm in had a very early arrival of a bubba in October. Since his very early arrival we've been getting lots of updates & so happy to hear he's doing well. Few bumps along the way but he's still fighting strong :D

Anyway, my Mum was at my Nanas at the time we heard the news & when she's staying with Nana she usually brings out the knitting needles to occupy her time ;) So I asked if she'd be willing to make a premmie hat as both my Mum & Nana make premmie hats for the kids that Mum works with quite often. Answer was yes!

So in the parcel that arrived yesterday was the gorgeous hat along with some booties! So now i'm gonna post them tmw for the lovely lady :D

Mum also sent me some Pot Holders that she's made. This is my fave out of the 3 she made. I love my Mummy ;)

I'm Here!

2007-11-01T14:14:00.000+11:00

Wow, i've been slack aye!

I've got 2wks left to complete my course via correspondence & i'm stressing big time!

BUT inbetween my studies, i've been crafting & other stuff. So heres the pics!

60th Birthday Guestbook I made for MIL's surprise birthday in October. It's Gold & black paper with blue & gold ribbon. 60 is made from Chipboard & painted gold. Really crap photo, but it was only finished like 20mins before the party started & dark when I took the photo! lol
Get Well Soon card for Kelsey. I made this for Princess_Tamara's daughter, Kelsey, who was bitten by a dog in October. Little Shaker card. I really enjoyed making it. The chipboard I bought from The Warehouse. Heaps of shapes for $1.99! Get Well Soon is a Fabric Sticker also from The Warehouse. Get Well Card for Nana. Nana has been not well lately & is in hospital with a broken hip, so made this VERY quickly with butterfly die-cuts that I recieved from Bizzy Becs. They are samples of the Wizard Spellbinder dies. LOVE THEM! PS: Bizzy Becs is taking pre-orders for these dies that are only available in the US! Selling at Wholesale price!! Cheap as chips! Pre-orders close on 7th November so still time to order them!
The lovely & talented DT Relsi over at Scrap Therapy has got a step by step up in the Xmas section of the Forum on how to make some quick & easy cards. This was one of the designs which I adapted. I made 10 of these for the Christmas Box of Goodies Swap over at LSBS. So fast to make! I love the cards! PS: The centre of the flowers are Sculpey Clay ;) Was going to use Kindyglitz, but didn't have the money - so why not make lil Sculpey Clay buttons with the yellow I already have! Very cute & tiny. I thought I was rather creative with that ;) lol. The PP is various colours from the Scrapbooking Australia 2006 Christmas Embellishment series. LSS had it for special at 50cents each & I got 2 cards out of each one, so bargin! Used Kaiser stamp (Merry Christmas) & Brilliance Dew Drops Ink :D Love them!
Heres all 10 of the Xmas cards I made:

Scrapping With the Stars!

2007-10-24T19:15:00.000+10:00

Have you heard about the new Competition over at Scrap Therapy!?

Click the star to find out more! ;) And as they say, you gotta be in to win! And boy is it gonna be fun! :D

U Got Tagged!

2007-10-19T14:12:00.000+10:00

I got tagged by Kayla

Before i start i tag...
Ummmm .... i'll get back to you on dat :P

Fours:...

Jobs I've Had
1. Paper Run
2. Cleaner
3. Computer - Data Entry
4. Kitchenhand/Pizza Maker @ Pizza Hut & Eagle Boys

Movies I (do) Could Watch Over & Over
1. Ummmm ... get back to you on that too lol
2.
3.
4.

Places I've Lived
1. Newtown, Wellington, NZ
2. Dubbo, NSW, Australia
3. Lyall Bay, Wellington, NZ
4. Karori, Wellington, NZ

Favorite Foods
1. Italian
2. Greek
3. Black Pudding :P
4. Rock Melon

Favorite Colours
1. Purple
2. Yellow
3. Pink
4. Blue

Places Id Love To Be Now
1. Tuscany
2. Greece
3. In Picton, NZ
4. On a secluded beach

Names I like, but would NOT use for my children
(Well, since I can't have kids I won't answer this ... I could have a list that goes on forever otherwise since I won't use them for my children :P )

I got Tagged!

2007-10-10T13:21:00.000+10:00

I was tagged by Steph this is hysterical!!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car)
Jenny Levin

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream, favorite cookie)
Boysenberry Anzac

3. YOUR FLY “GUY/GIRL” NAME: (first initial first name, first 3 letters last name)
R-MCF

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Purple Tiger

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Susan Wellington (Just using what my middlename would have been coz I don't have one)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters last name, first 2 letters first name)
MCFRE

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink and add” the”)
The Red KGB

8. NASCAR NAME: (first names of your grandfathers)
John John :P

9. STRIPPER NAME: (favorite perfume, favorite candy)
One Jets

10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s and father’s middle names)
Joy Norman (Dad doesn't have one, so used his 1st name)

I tag Nat & Rachael!

Ebay Sales

2007-10-02T17:50:00.000+10:00

Just wanted to let you all know, I am selling some things on ebay as my financial situation is a bit too tight for comfort at the moment, so head on over there & search for me "rebelliouskiwi" or simply click HERE to see my listings.

Items will include ...
DVD's (Dawsons Creek - complete Series; 3rd Rock from the Sun; The Simple Life)
Xyron Personal Cutting System Bag

I'm such a Ditz!

2007-09-29T20:13:00.000+10:00

I just realised that I hadn't logged onto the Scrapbook Divas website for a while now, so I hopped on over & found out that I won a RAK for Rach's Tuesday Challenges! It was announced on the 17th September! Doh! :P So i'm a happy little embarassed piglet right now LOL. Sorry gals! Will so be checking the site more often! I'm so behind at the moment in my reading!!!!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

2007-09-27T15:01:00.000+10:00

Show your support!

Click here if you are in New Zealand

Click here if you are in Australia

And find out how you can help promote the cause & donate money for Breast Cancer Awareness!

OTP Project

2007-09-21T22:39:00.000+10:00

Just a little something I did last week. I bought the Storage unit from Spotlight. Was reduced to $4 from whatever - $11 or something I think. Bought it for the Claytons Retreat in LSBS last month & then never got around to finishing it as I stuffed up my cutting on the paper & I only had one sheet of it!

The paper was a RAK from the lovely girls in Scrap Therapy during a rough period a wee while back. So thats the main reason for posting this - just want to show what I have done with the stash I was given :D Gets daily use now! I love it! Great paper & very inspirational!

Update

2007-09-21T22:17:00.000+10:00

Been missing in action lately. Been a busy week, preparing for birthdays, & relatives to visit (which means big clean up in the house! ;) )

MIL's 60th Birthday Card. I really struggled to make something as I really don't have anything "60" related lol. I don't even have any rub-ons or stickers that are the same as words/letters! How Rude! lol. I ordered 2 6x6 Paper pads from Nat over in Scrap Therapy recently & have been itching to make some cards out of them. Got the chance today! Love the papers & actually loved the square card I made. Haven't made many square cards, they always turn out to be the general size or DL size. So enjoyed the change :)

Products used: Bazzill, Gorgeous bookplate I got from Kayla the other week, Ribbon, Basic Grey - Perhaps Range

Mail Delivery: On Monday, I received a package from Cath at LSBS. I won a prize for "Anything Created" during the Claytons Retreat last month. Yummy KI Memories stash. Never used these before, so can't wait to try them out!
Today, I got a RAK from missty in the LSBS Forums. Gorgeous envelope full of goodies! Can't wait to great creative with all these new things!

I have updated a post below with a photo of the cute button package I received in a swap from Scrap Therapy Forums. So cute :)

My Life in a Blogshell

Addiction

Jail time?

Perfecto!

Wow! What a week that was!

Wild & Windy

A sunny winter's day

Win an AccuQuilt Go! Baby Machine!

My Sewing Machine is sick!

I'm back!

I have some news!

Overnight Bag Pattern

200 Posts!

Nana's 90th Birthday Card

Update:

Lucky Me!

What i've been up to lately

Blog Candy giveaway over at Me and the little Rascals!

Happy New Year & Hot Gossip

Merry Christmas

Magnolia Thank You Card

Pollycraft Challenge #25 ... & more

Kaisercraft Q2 is released!!

Pollycraft Designs

New Magnolia Card

Motivet's Blog Candy

Need some storage advice please!

My name is Rebecca & I am addicted to ...

Blog Candy from Where'd All My Money Go?!

Hello!

All the things I love - Blog Candy

Scrap the Girls Blog

Blog Candy at Bizzy Becs!

I won something!!!

More Blog Candy Links

Just a whole buncha gossip!

Another Card made!

Warning: Do not drink & read...

What on earth ...

2 Boxes to go!!

Want some Blog Candy?

Lincraft Specials!

Back on Australian soil

From NZ: My Best Friends Wedding

From NZ: Scrapbooking & Stamping Expo Trip!

From NZ: Just photos lol

Hello from NZ!

Annas Craft Cupboard Stash arrived!

Getting rid of some old Punches

A Pink Christmas Kit

Feeling sorry for myself

This week ...

My Scrap Room has landed!

Scrap Therapy Pizza Box

Wow! more stash!

Anyone seen my camera?

Parcel for me!

Happy 2nd Birthday Scotty!!!

My Thursday Post

Job prospect!?

I'm peeved off & a bit of rambling

Ooooo Check me out!

Oh so Gutted!

Oh Ah Glenn McGrath!

I've been thinking ...

Wedding Invites for Best Friend

Tears in my eyes

Hotties at the Beijing Olympics

Oh & more exciting news!

I'm actually creating again!

Selling my Xyron Personal Cutting System!

Cybercrop Happening now over at Scrap Therapy!

100 Things About Me

Shoes, shoes & more shoes!

Dreaming of a sunny place

Eco-Friendly Message

My Golly, I've worked it out!

Blog Changes

I've created!

The real reason why I don't go on Crops etc!