One happy girly

The girls are allowed to choose a musical instrument to learn when they are old enough to commit to practising (around 8/9).

This weekend it was Bethy's turn......

....it's such a lovely little guitar. And, as you can see - makes a certain Princess very happy indeed. A Taylor Swift in the making perhaps?

Now to organise the lessons......and fast! (not sure how long my eardrums can cope with Beth's unique brand of music....)

 

Busied myself finshing off Beth and Mimi's bedroom on the weekend....sewing cushions, buying the bright red velvet ottomans (the lid is squishy and cushiony - great for Mum to perch for the bedtime story, AND the lid lifts off - great for stashing books AND they were only $25 at Crazy Clarks!) and making up the beds with the new linen.....

 

....look at that - even the new guitar matches. Now to find a funky light fitting (and maybe a rug?) and it's finito!

A frantic week ahead....the girls have 3 different Eisteddfod performances I'll have to take time off work to get them to.....a Design Dollies layout due....a complete rubbish-tip of a scrap room I want to sort....a possible over night stay by my cousin.....a scrap class to run.....and four days at work.

Right now it's BUCKETING down rain and I have a little girl home from school sick. Why am I still on the computer?

Hope you have a great week.....here's something to make you smile....

Cya soonishly. xxx

Beachy Keen

This week's Dollies Colour Challenge......

......Royal Blue, Aqua and Orange had me thinking about the beach and our family get together at Nambucca last November....

......I wonder what my sweet nephew Jake will think (in a few years time) about his Aunty Pen posting photos of him in his swimming trunks on a US challenge blog for all the world to see......

Lucky I was in the mood for summery pages (despite our extremely WET and COLD weather here atm)....cos this week's Elements Challenge had us back to the beach.....

The request was "lots of waves".....I made mine from my old friend, fat white rickrack, smudged with paint....with a bit of hand-stitching thrown in, just cos I could.

What's doing for the weekend, people?

We have a fine day predicted for tomorrow so it's off to soccer for us....ooo and better not forget to vote for a new Prime Minister....decisions, decisions....they're both as AWFUL as each other.

Renos are in full swing too....I have my wall back on my scrap room (yay!) although it's still a pigsty in here.....and Tim has now decided to go ahead and re-wire the electrics of the entire house.....will it ever end?

Stay tuned....

Sunny Happy Online Class!

It's sunny...it's happy...it's rainbow bright...it's my online class happening at RED EARTH SCRAPPING in November!

Can you join me???

I really hope so!

Click here to register your expression of interest.

C U soonishly!

Egg-citement!

We have eggs!!!!

This is so exciting to us.

Why?

Because we were told our darling little Pekin chickens were very good pets....

but not the best layers.

All those cuddles, garden worms and love over the past 4 months has paid off!

Yeah, OK only 2 eggs....but it's a start! I have faith!

What to do with a sprouted choko?

Any ideas?

Would it grow into a vine if I planted it?

Remember the girl's bedroom makeover, and this groovy banner I made for it?

Well, here's a bit more progress....

....Tim built the cupboard and I bought the red baskets and sewed up a curtain to hide the hanging space. I love it! Such a great storage solution for a small room.

My girls are totally enthralled by this guy at the moment.....

...and spend large chunks of their time watching him on DVD eating disgusting things and risking his life in remote wildernesses.  Makes a change from Hannah Montana I have to say!

Hope your weekend was special!

Thanx for calling in.

xxx

Ready Set Sketch

I am seriously bored with my blog banner.....aren't you?

Here's a reason for some weekend scrap-time (if you really think you NEED a reason).....another fabulous Design Dollies sketch.

Check it out here.

Here's my take:

It's a miracle I managed to get my Dollies assignment done at all this week, considering the state of my scraproom.....

I know I wished for a room with a view, but this is a tad extreme wouldn't you say! You know, I'm trying to look on the bright side....the nice cool breeze that wafts through really is refreshing (ahem, if only it wasn't the middle of a cold wet Winter).....and that lovely thick layer of building dust that has settled on every item in my stash is an added bonus....one way to achieve the funky "grunge" look I guess.....

Mega Handmade Flower Workshop

Last week's class I ran at Gum Flat was all about making flowers......pretty, pretty, pretty!

(I forgot my camera, so the following grainy old pics were taken on my mobile....and not everyone got their layouts photographed - sorry!)

The girls in a flower-frenzy....

Some of the finished works of art....Deb....

Chris.....

Gloria.....

Katrina.....

Lee.....

Libet....

 

Lisa.....

We used the soft & lovely Little Sprout collection from Fancy Pants, some fabric, pearls and buttons and my latest fave tool - the Paper-Shapers butterfly punch.

I found these great video tutorials, if you want to have a go yourself!

This first one demonstrates the fabric rosettes.....we used a circle cut from JAC paper as our base, rather than the adhesive strips she uses in this video....

Fabric Rosette Tutorial

This one was a hit with the Gum Flat girls......the spiral roses......we experimented with inking our spirals, tearing the outer edge, fraying and scalloping. Some people squashed the finished rose with something flat (like the bottom of a jar or cup) so they sat better on the page. We also dabbed them with Shimmerz Blingz for a lovely sheen.

Spiral Rose Tutorial

Monday Musings

1. FINALLY saw....

.....on Sat night with my BF Linda.....yes, I am guessing we were most likely the last Twilight fans in Australia to actually see the movie.....but it did not disappoint! SO much better than New Moon (down right cringe-worthy that was!)....and don't you think Bella gets more beautiful with each instalment?

2. We've had a STACK of lovely rain.....the creek was flowing, yes FLOWING I tell you! Dams are filling, paddocks are greening.....wonderful wonderful stuff!

3. I really think I need these boots.....

....which are calling to me from the Shoe Shed.

4. I am practising my crocheting so that one day I can be clever enough to make these darling roses.....

5. I need to show you this....

......the layout I did a while back for a Whispers, so I could only give you a sneaky peak before.

6. Took the family plus two little extra tag-a-long friends (too bad the family pass doesn't cover 7) to see....

......what a whole heap of fun this was!  And two movies in one week!  (told you we've had a lot of rain)

7. I have a face-to-face class at Gum Flat this week using these......

......and lots of different handmade flower techniques. Will reveal more soon!

8. This photo makes me all warm and gooey inside.....

9. I am proud and excited to say I've lost 2.7kg since I started on a low-carb plan 3 weeks ago. Determined to be fabulous for my big 4-0 this year!

10. Got all domestic today on my day off.....potted some tulip bulbs, and planted up a big blue ceramic pot with parsley, rosemary and chives to sit outside my step.....sewed a curtain and cushion covers for the green and red room (Beth's and Mia's)......and a cooked a big pot of morrocan lentil soup......mmmmm!