Sunday sharing

I'm doing a big stretch of Night Duty at the moment, so I'll be keeping a low profile until Tuesday. We were so busy and understaffed last night that none of us got a break in the 10 hour shift. It was horrid, and I was beside myself with tiredness by the end of the shift. Was soooo happy to climb into my snuggly bed this morning.

We finally held a party for Lara's 9th birthday on Saturday. My Princess, the one who loves clothes, make up and jewelry, chose to do Laser Tag for her party!! She makes me laugh. Anyway, the 10 girls and 2 boys (her brothers) had a smashing time. Here's a pic of my grown up girl.

Since I've been working the past couple of days, I have not found much time to sit at my scrapping desk. I do have a few things to share that I made over the past few days. I'm still working my way through my Scenic Route scraps, as well as happily chopping into my new Basic Grey!!

Thursday things

My Basic Grey came!!! It took all my restraint to keep from rolling around in it. I'm in love! I am going to actually USE this lot. My bulging Cropper Hopper which is devoted to Basic Grey papers is a testament to the fact that I tend to hoard the stuff and not actually use it. No more! I must work my way through these mountains of beautiful patterned paper that I have accumulated.

Now, here are a few cards I made yesterday. I recently purchased this book of card sketches, which helps enormously when inspiration eludes me. The sketches are also good for when you need to whip up a super quick card.

Wednesday stuff

Don't you love my imaginative blog titles? Sorry, I just can't seem to come up with anything clever...

Here are some cards I made yesterday. I ran out of time to share last night, as I wanted to plonk myself down in front of Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares". He makes us laugh. I doubt if his language could get any fouler, but that's half of his charm. My favourite, when he was perusing a particularly complicated menu and shaking his head in amazement, was "F%$k me... twice." I'm still giggling about that.

Anyway, back to my cards. This first one is based on the sketch over at Papertake Weekly blog. This was fun, and is a very simple little card.

This next one is also simple, in fact it's a bit too simple, but it is what it is!!

CPS #57

Here is my card based on sketch #57 over at CPS blog. These colours just make me happy, and I'm hoping they'll make my friend happy when I send this to her! She needs a bit of a pick-me-up.


I took the kids to the Easter Parade today. They had a fantastic time. I went down early and set up chairs and rugs so we had a great position to watch it all go by. We got a bit sunburnt as the sun came out from behind the clouds for the whole thing.



Here are a couple of other cards I churned out last night. Gosh that Linden collection from Scenic Route is gorgeous...

Nothing stirs the juices....

... like new supplies! I have only been awake for a few short hours today (due to Night Duty, not laziness!) and yet I have made 6 new cards, albeit simple cards. I just love a good injection of new supplies to amplify the creative juices. If only the $$$$$ factor were not an issue, and I could have new supplies every couple of days. It may seem like I have been on a spending binge lately, but it's a calculated thing. I knew CHA was due to hit Aussie shores around March, and thus a saving blitz was underway. Now that I have spent my little heart out, a new saving blitz is insitu.

I will share pics as soon as I am able, but I spent up rather largely on a storage system just a few weeks ago. Due to backorders, it will take 6 weeks for my "amoire" to arrive, but when it does, I'm expecting miracles. All my mess will miraculously disappear into the recesses of my new amoire. Stay tuned.

Right, here are the cards I've been busy with today. Similar themes and colours here, but what can I say? The Lynden range from Scenic Route is, perhaps, one of my all time faves.

Easter Saturday

It's a beautiful day here today. The sun is shining and the temperature outside is just perfect. Just wanted you to know that I don't always whinge and moan about the weather.

My lovely parcel postie surprised me by turning up at the door on a Saturday! He sometimes does Saturdays, but I guess I just wasn't expecting it, being Easter and all. I have so many new papers (but not my coveted Basic Grey yet, that must be arriving on Tuesday...) to play with. Where to start?

I was almost finished this card below when the mail came, so I whipped out a new stamp to finish it off. These are Hero Arts "Birthday Messages" clear stamps. I love them!

The current challenge over at Caardvarks blog is to feature "fruits and/or vegetables" on your card. I was thinking that I wouldn't be able to play this time, as I don't have any stamps or dies that are fruits or vegetables. Lo and behold, in my stash of goodies was some simply beautiful K & Co paper that was perfect for this challenge. Yay! So here it is:

More Friday features...

Well, when I signed off earlier, I didn't know when I'd get back to it, but here I am again. Two in one day!

Just wanted to share this little Easter card since it's so fitting. The adorable birdie is a chipboard lasercut from Remember When Paper Company.

The kids are flipping around on the trampoline as I speak, enjoying the new cool weather. Lara is trying to teach the boys some flips and turns from Gymnastics. She just loves Gym, and came home last night with a "Letter of Promotion" asking her to join the "Junior Elite Squad". She is positively beaming with pride, and rightly so. She's a nimble little string bean, that girl! She sure as heck doesn't get it from her clumsy Mum. So, now she'll be training 2.5hours after school on a Wednesday night. Her coach would like her to train a second night as well, but I'm just a bit concerned that it will be too much for her, as netball season is starting soon. I think she can stick with one night at Gym, then when netball season ends, she can go up a notch at Gym if she is still enjoying it. It's tricky juggling all their activities, especially when there are three kids to consider, not to mention the parent's needs!!

Good Friday

In case I don't get to blog again over this weekend, Happy Easter to you all.

The kids are on school holidays for two weeks now, and I have to say that we got off to a terrible start this morning. They had all been sent to their rooms by a pyjama clad, shrieking mother by 10am this morning. The fighting is doing my head in. They fight over posessions, food, prime position, make believe games, oxygen...

After taking the kids to the Good Friday festivities down at the lake (which was MAJOR bribe material, let me tell you!), I have now retreated to my scrapping room and am reminding them that they can direct all correspondance to their father! LOL

Here's a couple of cards I've been working on this morning. These are based on Sketch #44 over at Sketch this: cards. I received my order from Papertrey Ink the other day, and have been having the best time playing with my new goodies.

Time flies...

Wow, it's been almost a week since I blogged! Time sure gets away. The biggest news here is that the heatwave is finally over. After a week of soaring temperatures, the cool change came through yesterday afternoon. We ran around outside a la Julie Andrews on that mountain in the Sound of Music! LOL I'm showing my age.



I have two cards to share today. Both feature the same papers from Dreamstreet. And both are based on CPS sketch #56. The second card was the first one I made, but then realised that I hadn't read the instructions too well (d'oh, story of my life!) and I had failed to make the card a Spring or Easter theme. Sooooo, enter this next card!




I have had a super busy day and haven't actually found my way to my scrapping table, so I fully intend to seat myself there for an extended period tonight! Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.

Thursday stuff

It's still hot here. I'm over it. It's supposed to be autumn and we are experiencing temperatures like the summer we supposedly left behind.

The heat hasn't stopped the production of cards though! This one is based on CPS sketch #55.

Check out the bright papers on these next ones. I didn't really like them when I first saw them, but knew they'd be good for kids cards. I quite like the papers now that I'm using them. They are Daisy D's "Wonder Years" range. The first card is a fairly loose interpretation of the "Transportation" theme over at Caardvarks.

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Last, but not least, I have been playing with some new things. I have three new cuttlebug embossing folders that I {heart}. LOL I just adore this bird/swirl one, you'll be seeing a lot of this little baby.

Oh, and I have heaps more new things. Some Papertrey Ink stamps (soooo yummy), some autumn leaves clear stamps, some new ribbons... it's like Christmas! So, with all this new stuff, surely I'm going to get busy and creative...

Cupcake love

Look at these adorable little chipboard cupcake lasercuts from Remember When Paper company. Aren't they gorgeous? I simply painted them, glued on some small beads, and topped it all with some glitter (of course!).

My Night shift went well. Although, there's some pretty heavy stuff going on at work at the moment. It's always tough when we have a young patient who is critically ill. This young girl has two kids aged 8 and 11... she could be me... Please treat each day like it's your last. Don't leave anything left unsaid. You never know when you, or someone close to you is not coming back, ever.

On that sunny note, I think I'll have a glass of Chardonnay and sit in front of some trashy TV for a while! I try not to be doom and gloom, and it's really not in my nature to be like that anyway. I just wish I could make people see, as I see every day of my working life, that life can change in an instant, and you just never know when it will happen to you. Seize the day!

Oh dear...

Old age is fast approaching. Today I bought a pair of those cheapie, one-size-fits-all magnifying glasses from Target. The lowest magnification. For a while now I've been struggling with reading. It's not that I can't read or "see" the words, but at times they all sort of swim together and it's hard to focus. So, with this in mind, I bought these granny glasses today. Guess what? They rock! The words are so crisp and clear. Perhaps my scrapping and card making will improve now too! LOL Only problem is that I feel terribly ill when I look up and focus on something in the distance. I am going to have to remember to look over the top of them, like a granny! I'm off to work tonight, so I'll let you know if it makes reading Doctor's handwriting any easier (yeah right!!! They are not magic glasses.)

Nothing to share today. It's been hot, hot, hot. It's meant to be autumn, and we're having summer weather. It's Easter in a few short weeks, and I fear that any chocolate eggs that the "Easter Bunny" has stashed away may be melting. Yikes! I haven't checked. That will learn me for being so organised.

Oh, something huge!! Well in my sad little life this is huge, and very exciting. This morning, with IM encouragement and advice from Kazzy, I gloved up and went in and cleaned my toilet. With 3 males in the house, it can get very messy and smelly. It's got me stumped how they can have this thing that enables them a lot more precision than us girls, and yet they somehow manage to spray, drip and dribble urine everywhere except the bowl... Anyway, it was pretty tough going there, and occasionally even this hardened nurse's stomach was challenged, but I now have a sparkling, non-smelly, drip-free toilet and surrounding area! I couldn't have done it without my Enjo calcium remover. I was so thrilled with the results, I lit one of my beautiful candles in there, and it now resembles a shrine! Needless to say, the boys will be urinating outside for the next little while as I enjoy the fruits of my labour.

Hope you weren't eating!! I'm off to Night Duty tonight, so I will see you all sometime on Thursday, I imagine. Usually takes me a day or so to shake off the jet lag.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Well, it's been so nice to just kick back and have a weekend at home. I usually work some part of the weekend, but not this one. Last night, in front of a DVD, I did my third layout for the year. And guess what??? I stepped away from the Basic Grey! These papers are actually old 7 Gypsies.

This next card is for the Papertake weekly blog current challenge. Basically, the card needs to feature squares in some way. This is quite similar to the window card I made recently, but I'm loving them at the moment

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Still at it!

I have three more cards to share tonight. They are all pretty simple little ones, but they are helping me to work towards the bottom of my "scraps" pile. In reality, I doubt if I'll ever get through them, but at least I'm trying to be economical and environmentally friendly.

Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate your visit! I'm now off to shower, then will set myself up in front of a DVD and

Take A Break!

This is the title of the latest dare over at Daring Cardmakers blog. The challenge is to make a card that features either a tea bag or an instant coffee bag. Now, I detest coffee. The smell of it gives me a whopper of a headache, so I chose tea. And, I got a bit carried away and made not one card, but three! Lazy Saturday afternoon here, and I was using up scraps as well.

All this talk of tea has made me thirsty! Off to boil the kettle...

TGIF!

Friday, sweet Friday. This means tomorrow is the weekend, and that means no running around like a mad woman for an hour between 7am and 8am, trying to get 3 kids ready for school.

I've been busy sorting household stuff and cleaning this morning, so I haven't really achieved much in the way of scrapping or cardmaking. I really need to get moving, since Kathy is taking Remember When Paper Company to Paperific, and I want to make lots of cards to showcase all her lovely lasercuts. Here's one I made today, with a very pretty scroll/flourish thingy (NOT it's official name BTW):

And this next one is the second layout I have achieved this year. Look out! I'm on a roll here. Hehe. I used to get my tally above 200 layouts per year, but since I fell in love with making cards, my tally has dwindled dismally. Ah well. More Basic Grey here. I promise I'll stop soon.

Ahhhh Bliss

Today is the first Wednesday that Oscar has attended school. Up until this week, the Preps had Wednesdays off, to break up the week for them in case they were having trouble with the full days of school. Oscar pretty much ran from sun up to sun down on his "rest days" so I doubt if he'll be having too much trouble with tiredness at school today!

I, on the other hand, am having a huge problem with tiredness. This is the girl who rarely sleeps the entire night (usually waking at 3 or 4 am and not being able to get back to sleep). I am falling into bed and only just getting up before the kids do in the mornings. Don't get me wrong, it's bliss, but I am really missing those extra few hours in the day.

I am de-greyed, fresh from the hairdresser. I wish someone would find a cure for grey hair that doesn't involve 6 weekly dye jobs and expensive hairdresser appointments. I enjoy my couple of hours at the salon though. The peace, the gossip, the indulgence!

Okay, I've been busy. First up is a card I made for sketch #54 at Card Positioning Systems. As well as basing the card on the sketch, it was specified that this card had to be a "baby" card. So, here is my Baby Girl card.

This next one uses some old, old paper I had in my stash. It's so old that it doesn't have the company name on the blank side (which is unheard of these days). If anyone recognises it, give me a yell. Anyway, it suited this Wedding card perfectly. I HAVE to move away from the green/pink colour combo some time soon!

Now, because I had such fun scrapping the other day, I'm off to do it again. Did you just fall off your chair?? LOL

Happy Tuesday!

It's a lovely day here today, overcast and nice and cool. If the heavens would open and we received a downpour, the day would be almost perfect. I've had a pretty lazy morning: minimal housework, watched two episodes of a certain banned (in Victoria) Australian drama, cleaned my scrapping space and made a card. I'm off to get my hair done this afternoon, so that's always fun!

Here's a card I made today. The flowers and greeting are chipboard laser cuts from Remember When Paper Company. That gorgeous cotton lace is also from them.

Monday #2

I have been bragging about scrapping, so I thought I'd better share the page I made yesterday. I am madly working my way through all my hoarded Basic Grey so that I have plenty of room when the new stuff hits Australian shores.

Here is my effort from yesterday.


Enjoy the rest of your Monday. I am going to park myself in front of "So you think you can Dance?" for an hour later. What fun!

Monday...

I've been busy lately, making cards and actually scrapping. Wonders will never cease.

This card is for the Papertake Weekly blog challenge of "Blue and Green should never be seen." As the name suggests, it uses the colour combination of blue and green.

This next one was for the challenge at Daring Cardmakers blog. The challenge is titled, "I am woman". Here is the criteria: "As its coming up to Mothers day in the UK here’s a chance to make a card that celebrates women and girls . So I’d like to see a card with at least one feminine image on it ". So, here is my card! Not at all my usual style, but I like it. It would make a good kid's card.