MS Readathon - In Honour of Allison

I have a very dear friend 'Allison' and she is living with MS. So this year Micayla is going to participate in the MS Readathon. I explained to her that Allison is living with MS, so she said she is doing it for Allison.

The reading is done over a period of 1 month and they are to read as many books in that month. I don't know how many Micayla will get done as she is only in Grade 1, although she is a very good reader (actually Grade 2 level).

So I thought, in honour of Alz, if anyone would like to help out the MS Society and would like to sponsor Micayla please email me with your sponsorship details. You can choose to sponsor by specifying an amount per book, or a one off donation. andrea.mk02@hotmail.com

Alternatively you can make a donation by visiting Micayla's homepage on the MS Readathon website. You will be issued with a receipt and your name and donation will be recorded so Micayla can keep track of her sponsorship target.

http://www.msreadathon.org.au/member/?HPID=411239

Or you can pay Micayla direct. The final details of payments can be arranged in due course.

TFL and lets hope we can raise lots and lots of money for the MS Society.

Beyond the Blue Week 12 - The Final Layout

This week they asked us what our motto for life is and this is what I came up with. I called it "Only 1 Chance" and the motto I've edited into the photo reads:

Be true to your heart
Follow your dreams
Stay true to yourself

This is not a quote I read anywhere. These are the things I like to try and follow for myself, so I put them altogether into my own quote. Well as far as I know, I haven't seen it anywhere else.

We have reached the end of the journey now. 3 months have passed and it's been a fun and learning journey. I am wrapped with the album I have put together for myself. Some of these challenges really put me out of my comfort zone and I loved every minute of it. I love nearly all the work I produced. A couple are not my favourites. Remember; over the weekend, pop over to Embellished and vote!!!

Now for the next challenge. "The Masters" but I won't be posting that work on here, criteria for entering the masters is our work is not allowed to be published anywhere in mags or internet etc.

Forever Always Sketch Challenge

I created this layout last night. It's for the May Sketch Challenge over at Forever Angel. Then I started on another, which I'll upload when it's finished. I was on a roll after going to Picture to Page. I did however stay up till 4.00am cause I just couldn't stop. I was also taking advantage of my last night by myself while the boys were away on their motorbike ride in the bush. It was a very wet weekend for them. Hope they managed to stay dry. I was up again around 7.30am to get Bailey breakfast and then put a DVD on for them and went back to bed. I resurfaced around 10.30am. The kids came in jumping on me. I guess they figured it was time for me to get up. I feel a bit hungover and it's only through tiredness. An early night tipped for tonight I tell you.

Beyond The Blue Week 11

Voting is open now for week 11.

Next week (12) is the final leg of the journey. Can't believe it's already been 3 months. It has been an awesome journey. Can't wait to see what the final challenge is.

Picture to Page

I've just got back from Picture to Page, a scrapbooking show in Burwood. I saw the gorgeous Simmibear with her store "Ribbon Palace" and also popped over and said hello to Janet as well. Laura and I and 3 kids, got there at about 9.30am and it was nice and quite, but boy did it get busy after that, glad we got there early. Adrian and Dave and a bunch of other guys went away to Buchan Caves for a bike ride for the weekend, so we had no choice but to take the kids with us. I was feeling a bit scrapped out last night but this morning is just what I needed to pick me up again. Micayla spent the whole time at the card making table, having a ball with all the pretty papers and punches and has brought home a whole heap of beautiful creations. Kept and eye out for you Jodee but you must have got there after we left.

Another Set of Grommets

We saw the ear specialist on Thursday. Bailey will be going in for more grommets anywhere in the next 1 to 3 months. The specialist wanted to wait and see how he went in 3 months, but I wouldn't accept that. He developed fluid on his ears as soon as the grommets came out a few months ago and it has been there since, although not near as much as prior to grommets. Given Bailey's past history, waiting and seeing drags on and on and then we're in hospital having grommets anyway.

Given that he starts Kinda next year I want his problem fixed. His speech was delayed because of ear problems and started going backwards again after the grommets came out. I don't want him behind the 8 ball when he starts Kinda. I feel he is not ready for kinda, even though it's 9 months away and that can make a big difference, I do feel he is not as developed as a child his age should be, and this is because of his hearing stopping him from talking. He has come a very long way in the last 12 months and that is why I want the grommets back in, so they can do the job properly and his development can continue to soar and be able to cope with kinda and school.

Artypants Forum is Up and Running

Yay, the forum is now up and running. Pop on over and say hello. http://artypants.com.au/phpBB2/

Bare in mind, it is still a work in progress and some fine tuning with colours, topics etc still needs to be done. I'd love to see some friendly names I recognise come and join us over there.

You can also click on the link under the 'Links Worth Viewing' section on the right hand side of this page. Just scroll down a bit.

How Dare You

This is the latest layout I have completed. It's my entry for the 'Wings and Crowns' challenge on the 'How Dare You' website.

This is a layout I've been wanting to put together for a long time now and it was perfect for the How Dare You challenge. I thank them for giving me a reason to complete this layout.

The butterflies have transparency butterfly wings tipped in glitter sitting on top of the chipboard, which makes it 3D. The bottom middle small photo of Micayla running away also has the wings cut from another photo and layered over the top to make the wings, again 3D.

Flower Layout

The photos I shared with you on here a few posts back has now been put into a layout, well one of them anyway. Thanks to Yvonne; I was inspired by the flower on a cushion on her couch. I sketched it up and just knew I had to somehow incorporate it into a layout. Didn't know how at the time, just knew I had to.

Anyway, this is what I came up with. It looks pretty simple. All I wanted to focus on was the photo and the flower, but it took me over a week to put it together as the flower was hand appliqued and embroidered (but I did complete 2 other layouts during this time as well). The doodling is all handdrawn, and 'Micayla Jayde' is calligraphied through out the doodling on one side and her age written in words on the other side. The flower took ages and I was glad when it was finally finished.

Well this is the layout, it's called "You are" and the journalling around the flower is hand written and it reads "the most beautiful flower in my garden".

Mothers Day

I woke up Sunday morning (Mother's Day) to Bailey and Micayla standing at the edge of my bed with my presents in hand. Micayla had bought me a present from each of them from the School Mother's Day stall. She bought me the wind chimes and the funky fairy that smells of lavender (well it's supposed to). I do like it though and it's now hanging from my rear view mirror. When you walk past all the cars parked at the school you can see who else got a funky fairy.

Adrian's mother babysat them the day before and she took them down to the shops where they picked out another present each for me. Bailey gave me the purple broach and Micayla gave me the butterfly one. Micayla also made me the beautiful card, bookmark and the box, which is a gift full of her hugs and kisses. This box is not meant to be opened. I just love getting the present she makes herself or chooses from the stall/shop themselves. I didn't get breakfast in bed but Adrian did make me pancakes, which is my favourite breakfast.



We then went to Adrian's parents to see his mother for lunch. I made her this canvas with a photo of the kids on it. I also entered this into the May 123 Challenge website.



This is a close up of the flowers, which has some paisley flourishes on transparencies, that I hand drew myself and layered through the flowers.

Beyond the Blue Week 10 Voting

Pop over the www.embellished.com.au and cast your vote for Week 10. You have until midnight, Wednesday 16th to get your vote in. Remember voting is done through the forum. Click on the Beyond the Blue thread, then click on "the journey", then scroll down until you find Week 10 and click on the thread for voting and cast your vote. Scroll down this page to see a picture of my Week 10 layout called "Distraction".

Melbourne Crop

On Saturday 12th May, the Melbourne girls from the Scrapbooking Memories Chat Forum met in Prahran for our monthly crop. It's great meeting up with those I chat to online IRL and having a peaceful day chatting and scrapping without the kids. Although I think more chatting is done than scrapping. Mind you this time Alz wasn't there and it was A LOT quieter this time and we did seem to get more work done LOL (you know I'm joking darling). Last month Alz talked somuch that all she managed to get done was punch out 2 die cut letters. I can't share with you the layout that I did at this stage because I'm entering into a comp and I can't post it anywhere else online. Anyway, it's not quite finished yet. I will share it with you after the comp is over and I'm free to publish it on here.

I've Won Something Else

I've won 2 prizes in as many days. I received a knock at the door yesterday to find a parcel delivery I wasn't expecting. It was from Express Publications (Scrapbooking Memories). I answered a question in a previous issue and I won. I got a CD label stomper and kit. It's feels so wonderful to get these lovely surprises come to your door. Can't wait to have a play. I think all my CD's are going to be all labeled very soon. LOL

I Won, I Won, I Won - Again

Just checked out the Scrapbook Creations website to find my layout "Beanie Kid" has won last months "silhouette' challenge. I'm so excited, there is another huge parcel of goodies on it's way out to me, Whooo Hoooo!!!! It's like Christmas when one of those parcels come.

It just goes to show that you need to submit everything, because that was not one of my favourite layouts that I entered. Although I do like this layout because Bailey looks so cute, I thought the other layouts I submitted were better and that one of those ones would've won. Not to them though obviously. This is the layout that won!

Week 10 Beyond the Blue

This weeks challenge is "What do you struggle with". I wanted to go with something lighthearted. So I went with how I am easily distracted. The journalling on the note paper at the back reads:

I struggle with Distraction. I am a big daydreamer and my school reports always said that “I was easily distracted.” That never changed. I have to write myself lists to keep me on track. Sometimes I even allocate time limits so that I stay on track to complete a task. Otherwise; I should be cooking dinner, but I’m chatting on the phone; I should be doing housework, but I’ll just check my email; I should be doing exercise, but I’ll just do a couple more things to that layout I’m in the middle of.

That's exactly what I'm doing now. I should be vacuuming but instead I'm blogging. The quote on the transparency sums it all up for me and it's one of my favourites, because it's just how I am. The quote is: "I mean to work hard but I keep running across things more fun to do"

Beyond The Blue Voting

Week 9 voting is now up on the Embellished Forum. You only have until tonight (Wednesday 8th May) to get your vote in.

Remember to vote for me.

Walkathon

Hillsmeade Primary School are having a fundraiser and Micayla had to walk laps in a walkathon around the school oval for donations. Last year she only walked 4 laps, this year she walked 8. OMG, she's going to cost us a fortune. Adrian and I sponsored her $1 per lap each, so now we have to dig deep into our pocket and find $16. Should've just done a donation like everyone else. Next year I will. But she did do a great job and she had a lot of fun doing it. I went along to help count the kids laps. Micayla was getting stars on her card instead of boring lines, so some of the other girls starting wanting stars too. It was great fun watching the kids and having a little fun with it too. Micayla was very excited to see her Daddy walking across the oval. He popped in to have a look on his way out to work.

Beyond the Blue Week 9

Week 9's challenge is "What is your Greatest Fear". Well I have a terrible fear of spiders, but I just couldn't bring myself to include a photo of a spider on my layout. There was no way I was going to turn the pages of my album and look at a spider. Micayla had a school reader that had this awful picture of a spider on one of the pages and I couldn't read it with her. Not without covering up the picture. So I AM NOT putting one in my album. Anyway, I don't think it's my greatest fear because I can handle little spiders and if (and only if) I have to, I will kill a spider for the kids sake if Adrian is not around. Even though I scream as I do it so I don't have to hear any bones crunching. eewwww!!!! Anyway, I decided to do the layout on my fear of water. This has always been my greatest fear, even though now I have overcome it. I wanted to document this. So here is the layout. The journalling is hidden under the photo of the water. You may not be able to see it but there is a transparency overlay with a flourish in the bottom left corner on the main water photo.

Week 8 Voting is now up on the forum.

This was delayed due to a retreat the people at Embellished had over the weekend. But you can now pop over to the Embellished website forum and under the Beyond the Blue thread, click on 'the journey' and then find the thread for Week 8 by scrolling down and you will see the voting thread in there. Voting is open until Saturday.

Weekend of 28th and 29th

On Saturday I had a few of my friends over for a jewellery party. It was just a small gathering but I was able to get myself a nice bling ring. Can't wait to get that. It was nice having my friends over for a glass or two of wine, coffee and nibblies.

On Sunday we went over to Scott and Tania's for lunch. We hadn't seen Rolly for quite a while. He's been working too much. Tania invited him over for lunch so they could catch up with him and she asked if we'd like to go too, so we could also catch up with Rolly. It was a great afternoon. Ate too much food and then took the kids out to the BMX track to ride their motorbikes. And do you know what; for once, (they must've been sick) not a drop of alcohol was drunk by anyone. Tania and I were also planning our birthday bash. Tania's birthday is the day after mine so we are going to do something together. After all these years we have been friends, we've never partied together. So it's about time we did. We started planning it, but still don't know what we are doing. All we know is it will be dinner out somewhere and then probably back to Scott and Tan's to party on.