It's been one of those days...

Friday Night

Friday night is my very favourite night.  I can't get enough of Project Runway and America's Next Top Model.  One takes raw materials and turns them into artful creations and the other is a lot about photography etc. A scrapbooker's dream.  I watch with my laptop on my lap, catching up on email.  Who knows what I actually type, I just hope it makes sense to the recipient - if you get an email from me tonight that totally does not make sense, you know why.

This past week has been spent trashing my own house, the outside is nearly done it only seems fitting the inside is trashed too.  We'll have a beautiful home when we are done but for now we cuddle kittens for warmth and clear gib dust and rubble from the kitchen bench before trying to prepare a meal.  I'm sure a few of you can relate.  And should have warned me.

Oh my goodness and this will make no sense whatsoever to anyone born after about 1987 and anyone outside of New Zealand but I bought myself the DVD of the Under the Mountain Series.  Best viewing for ages.  I don't really what that much T.V. although tonight it's sounding like it, but this series is soooooooo ...well....sooooooo 1980's.  We sat and laughed our way through the cutting edge graphics and stubbies shorts pulled up far too high and the emergency phone call to 111 on the dial telephone.  Mum could you really not walk around with the phone in the old days?  Real Groovy Records has it if anone is interested.

Scrapping - I've been doing a lot of that this week too - Queen & Co just released new mini felt.  Pics on the Queen & Co blog here.  I'm in the process of setting up a competition on the Queen & Co blog to give some away, Check back over the next few days to see how to enter.  Like when I've figured out what kind of contest to do.

Aside from that it's beenTarisota that is keeping me busy, as well as the Stampin Up blog posts for next week.  I'm looking forward to it.  I'm especially looking forward to getting rid of the box of prizes that Stampin' Up! provided off my floor.  I'm not a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, despite the fact I use a lot of their products, so if there are any SU demonstrators out there, put your hand up, I'll link in the next post.

Ok.  Project runway are making clothes from Chocolate wrappers.  I need to concentrate.  I'll leave you with a few pages from a circle journal I created recently.  Some random facts about me, some MM Blossoms and it was done.

laters

I am in the mood to talk, but there is noone here to listen to me.  Jacob and Braden are at school and Paul is on a school trip - No Mummy, Daddy can come with us, because he is so much cooler.  Abby is at Kindy.  At least I can type and there may be some that listen.  Although with the way Typepad is going this computer may end up being put on the naughty spot.  Typepad.  Sort your crap out, please.

The kittens are settling in grandly, and despite the varous toileting problems that I won't describe due to the fact that one may be put off one's vegemite on toast if one is currently eating their breakfast, we still love them.  And this is what I remind myself over and over as I'm cleaning out the litter tray. Little kittens are so cute, little kittens are so cute.  Here is some favourite pics from the past week, yes I cut off the bottom of Molly's face in this first one, what can I say.  She is fast, I am not.  I love the pic all the same.

Just a sidenote - I heard that today is national eat-whatever-you-want day.  How appropriate, because that was what I planned doing :o)  Gotta love New Zealand's idea of a national day.  We're an on-to-it nation, really.

I'm a total stale-mate with the kids album.  I really want to fill in the blanks with the pictures that Abby is meant to draw but she is refusing.  She tried again to draw, this time she tried a picture of herself and a school bag at her feet.  She got the fabulous stick-person-Abby right and then spat the dummy, threw the pencil and gave up.  Head in hands she sobbed.  I can't draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw.  The child is 4.  I find that really sad.  Not giving up no matter how you feel you are doing is big on my qualities to try and instill in my children.  It seems I'm already failing with Abby.  So it's back to the drawing board for me and I may by-pass those pages and do soem more photo ones soon. Stay tuned.

EXCITING NEWS!  - starting next Monday 2nd June I'll have that week of giveaways.  I have a box of Stampin' Up! stuff on the way to me and every day, Monday through Sunday I'll demo one of their products and I'll have one to giveaway.  Let me hear ya say YEA! lol.  So that's a week of posts from me and a demo a day as well as a giveaway a day.  Goodness help me as I try and get some blogs posts organised while my house is being renovated around my ears, but I am determined to not miss a day!  Again. Stay tuned.

I'll leave you with a layout I did with Suz Doyle's photos.  I was supposed to scrap Suz's photos in Suz's style.  I admit I held back a little on this.  I mean I tried really really hard but I knew that Suz pops more colour into her layouts, but I couldn't make it work with any more colour so I left it with the white space and dreamy-ness that I associate with Suz.  Gosh I love the way Suz scraps and it was an honour to be scrapping her pics.  Just wish I could have added that colour she is well known for!

Laters

It's been far too long - I'm trying to be a more regular blogger, last week I failed somewhat, next week will be better.

Briefly... (I don't truly know if I can do briefly)...

* I LOVE what Megan Renfree has done in creating a new scrapbooking community in SketchBookNZ.  the site has nothing really to do with sketches and everything to do with a great forum and gallery that isn't affiliated with any retailers or manufacturers.  Megan mentioned she has hopes of the site becoming the kind of place where we all check in first thing in the morning over our cereal kinda thing.  I think she has hit the spot with the site, and I agree with Megan when she mentions a nuetral site where scrapbookers can all gather will be beneficial to us all.  NZ is such a small place, it's great to have a community to serve us as one.  YAY!  Go NZ scrapping!

*I figured out on Thursday that many of the Pascalls Lollies family packs have a free Itune song with them.  It's actually cheaper to buy the lollies and get the free ITune than to buy the ITune.  What an excuse to buy more lollies. LOL. Love it.  I'll have the milk bottles.

*I'm a little late with this, but check out the Aussie ScrapSource Blog - direct link here to a post where Jaimie Emmerton and Mel Goodsell used my pics to scrap a page in my style.  Well check the post out but WOW they did a page in my style better than I do.  Darnit. LOL.  I didn't realise I was so predictable! 

Here is my version of the page.  Check the link to see their versions. 

* I saw Janine Kaye was a guest designer at Scenic Route - She has some amazing gorgeous pages here at the Scenic Route guest designer page.

Ok - back to editing photos - I have some kids pages to do...

laters

The pitter patter of little feet

My favourite part of the last few days?  Ringing my Mum and letting her know there will be the pitter patter of little feet around the Howard home again.  There was no fooling her though and she knew what it was likely to be.  Welcome to our world, little Molly and Jack.  (Bad pic - I apologise!  They are 50 times cuter IRL)

My least favourite part of the week so far?  Going to the dentist on Monday.  I was a little early and as I sat in the waiting room I looked over the various books and magazines on the table thinking how I can't concentrate on reading anything whilst waiting to be called in for my appointment . Then I notice the bible.  Sitting right there next to the New Zealand guide to Bed and Breakfasts.  It just seemed kind of bizarre.  (Trying not to offend anyone here) but there I was feeling like I was about to meet my maker and they kind of confirmed it by having the bible there in the waiting room. lol.

Kid's album - I'm up to the pages that Abby is meant to draw herself.  The cute pictures of what she wants to be when she grows up etc.  Unfortunately she won't draw.  She tried to draw herself holding a hammer and she didn't think her drawing was good enough.  So she screwed it up and threw it away.  Then refuses to draw again.  Sad.  I'll try again tomorrow although Abby is a spitfire, she does things by her own rules, doing something I ask her to do is out of the question.  I'll have to somehow trick her into drawing me something.  Once she has it in the book, she will be so proud so I need to push on.

I see new Becky higgin's sketches are up - I haven't seen calls for these for ages - perhaps I haven't been looking - it reminds me I should drag out those old sketches books.   I looked through my old albums the other day and was reminded how many double layouts I used to do.  Seeing those, and then seeing these sketches made me think - wow, maybe I should try a few double layouts again.  Then I realised how frightening that thought really is and I came to my senses.

I've been enjoying ScrapScene lately, especially the love that the NZers and Aussies have been shown on there.  Lusi Austin (who has a really fun blog to visit anyway, despite the fact she has some fun product releases on there!) features a lot and just recently, our very own Louise Williams was on there. 

Did I show you my latest purchase from Trademe? 

That's the listing pic from trademe, not a pic of my home.  Noooooooooo I should be so lucky. lol.

Anyhoooo I was at Trina's house recently and she had something similar and as she completed a layout she put it in the easel.  In front of the last layout she did.  It just means you get to see your last creation for a bit before putting it in an album.  Or leaving it on the easel till no more can be jammed in front and then being put on a shelf and staying there for years.  Albumless. 
I was rapt when I found this on trademe and asked the lady if she had more - here is her email address if you want it ... Opulence Living .  Tell her you saw it on my blog (I get nothing out of it, it's just cool to see that she is getting credit where credit is due for a cool product :o)

Did I mention anywhere I'll happily and most gratefully take unwanted bluebird rugby cards off anyone's hands?  (Talking of trademe reminded me of this - I have been scouring trademe looking for them after Braden's got stolen out of his schoolbag at school! - Poor wee mite, he had a little velvet bag he kept them in and he very diligently returned them to his bag after trading time at lunch and returned to find his bag wide open, and they had gone through and taken all the best cards out and left the dud ones.  He was devastated, especially as he had been 'earning' them at home from me.  I was getting so much housework done. lol) ANyway.  The promotion is over, but don't throw them away if you have them hanging around, I'd like to get even more housework done.

Talking of housework.  I'll leave you with this layout.  Have you seen it yet?  Another one that went missing in the MM shipment...laters

Squash

Now it's no secret I'm a self confessed winter-grinch.  I'd see no problem with having no wintertime at all, except that would mean the world had stopped turning and that in itself could pose small problems, perhaps.  But there are some good things about winter, I admit.  Daffodils and Irises for example.  Feijoas and fresh apples.  And this.  Buttercup Squash.

Now pumpkin of any sort has never been popular with me but I found a yummy recipe that makes this wintertime food something to look forward to.  So I thought I'd share.

Nic's Mums Super Amazingly Easy Microwaved Buttercup Squash recipe.

Ingred:
1 Buttercup squash, cut open as pic above.  Seeds scooped out.
1 Packet dried Maggi onion Soup.
Water.

Cut open squash to make a 'pot and lid'.  Scoop seeds out.  Place in a dish, a little bigger than the squash .  Half fill the squash with water and mix in the dried soup. Place the 'lid' back on, but put it on 'wrong' so that there is room for the steam to escape as you cook.

Microwave for 5 minutes on high.

Take it out of the microwave, carefully take off lid and stir the 'sauce' in the middle. 
Return to microwave and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Repeat this process several times until the squash is cooked.  As the squash starts to cook you'll find as you stir the 'sauce' mix in the middle that you start to scrape off cooked squash into the sauce as well.  YUM!  Just be careful not to scrape too much off!

It usually takes around four 5-minute lots in the microwave until mine is cooked.  At that point, carefully take the sauce out of the middle with a spoon (be careful not to scrape away too much cooked squash!) and put it in a gravy jug.  Cut the squash into slices and serve with a little pumpkin sauce on top.

YUM!  (And let me know how you go!  Prices of squash will drop further as wintertime passes, it's a great cheap food once the prices get really low!)

Alrighty.  Scrappy things.  I'm involved in a big sketching fun forum thingie over at Scrapbookers Clubhouse .  They have a Celebrity Sketch Extravaganza going on for over a week with new sketches added daily - so far they've had Becky Fleck & Angie Pedersen, and then today is my day!!  Here is my sketch (none of this fancy computer generated stuff, good old pen and paper here!)

And this sketch came from one of my favourite CHA layouts, and you've seen this layout many times before probably but it's one of my all time favs.

So there ya go - I kinda like that sketch, I may use it again myself!  There is a whole forum dedicated to this sketch including layouts created from this sketch here.  The ladies are using older product and using up their stash - good to see, we could all do with a bit of that, huh?!

Happy Friday - I'm off to create new computer programs for the 08-09 tax year for our construction business.  Tax time.  Another reason to dislike winter.

Oh - edited to add - yes! Please keep sending me the kids pages to add to my sidebar gallery!  I have a pile in my inbox to add to the gallery and I'm off to do that now - thanks so much for the inspiration!  (If you are doing a kids' booka nd haven't checked the sidebar gallery out, please do so!)

laters.

Kid's album summary

I've been creating again, ready to add to Abby's album.  I'm finding the size quite limiting, but then maybe that's good, she doesn't need anything creatively amazing, she just needs the pictures, the words and the sentiments.  I should just go with that!

Today I made a double page.  I am jumping all over the place here, but here it is -

Page 8 - Friends make me happy, this is my friend Jessie
Page 9 - The thing we like to do together is play dress-ups.

 

The background is actually way cooler in real life.  I used some pens and stamps and stamped images over and over on a background cream colour.  Because I didn't want it to overwhelm the photos and because I wanted the circle embellishment (above) to stand out, I placed vellum, yes vellum, over the stamped cream cardstock background.  I used the same stamped background to create the circle embellishment above - as you can see the vellum toned it down a lot.   Here's what it looked like before i added the vellum.

And yes - there is the scalloped circle again, there are the leaves again.. you know my motto, if one is loving something, one should do it more often.   Note the Cloud 9 raindrops in the closeup, I know you'll be seeing more of those - it'll be leaves, scalloped circles and raindrops you'll be sick of seeing.  Also I found this pen (actually Abby found this pen) in my little pen box called a 'Glitter Pen'.  (Not the one in the above photo, that's the Stampin' Up! one I use to stamp with ...I just mean I found another pen!) It is by American Crafts and I have no idea where I got it but I LIKE it! lol.  You can't see so well in the pics but that little punched flower is glittered.

(Supplies list: Cardstock; Stampin' Up old olive and very vanilla. Friend stamp; Looks like spring set from Stampin Up. Leaves stamp; All natural set from Stampin up. Background stamps; Aged to perfection set from Stampin Up. Punch from Stampin Up.  Pen for stamping from Stampin Up.  Gem from Kaiser.  Raindrops from Cloud 9.  Glitter Pen from American Crafts.)

As I mentioned yesterday, I thought we'd do a run down of the basic 18 pages.  This is from a post here where it is all explained in much more detail.  I'll post it below so those that want to can scroll through. As you can see, I'm about halfway... I'm hoping to fly through it over the next few weeks.  I've been getting a few more pages from others in my inbox as well, so check back to the 'Kid's albums by others' gallery in the sidebar.

Right.  Back to work.  Emails to answer.  Pages to create.  Pantries to browse.  Lunch to make.  Chocolate wrappers to hide.

Laters.

Page 1: Inside cover:
Photo of child holding the same amount of fingers as their age.  Title saying "All about me" and "A scrapbook made especially for me by ..." or something similar, and the date.  DONE

Page 2: A nice pic of your child.  Write "My name is....." and get them to write their name.  Write "And I am __________ years old".  Get them to write their age. DONE

Page 3: Things I like about myself.  I like my ______________ (smile? teeth? feet? curly hair?  whatever they say!) Take a pic of that thing or those things for this page. DONE

page 4 & 5: A list of favourites: (There is no photo on my pages with this list but since it goes over 2 pages, there is room for one if you want - add any 'favourites' you see will suit!) DONE
Colour, Food,Ice Cream,biscuits,Song,Book,TV Show, Sport, Hobby, Game, Season, Holiday.

Page 6 "This is a photo of my smile"  Take a picture of your child with their best smile. DONE

Page 7"I'm smile like this when ...." Ask your child to finish the sentence and take a pic of them doing that thing.  Abby said "When I'm with Jessie playing "Dress-ups". OPPS I need a pic of them playing dressups

Page 8 "Friends make me happy!  This is a photograph of me and ________" and take a pic of your child with their fav friend.  DONE

PAge 9 "something we like to do together is____________" and take a pic of them playing together. DONE

Page 10 is a picture that your child has drawn.  Be sure to ask them what it is, if it isn't too apparent.  Record this in a note at the bottom of the page.  It's amazing what insight this page gives to their personality at the time.

Page 11 "If I were an animal, I'd be a _______________ " And take a pic of your child acting like that animal. DONE

Page 12 "Someday I want to _____________"   Don't take a pic of them, this time you ask them to draw a picture of themselves doing the thing that want to do someday.

Page 13 "If I could go anywhere, I'd go __________ "  Again, ask your child to draw a picture.  (Awww looking back on Jacob's, he said "home".  Braden said "Odette and Gratton's house".

Page 14" I'm happiest when_______________" Take a pic of your child to go with this.

Page 15 "This is a photograph of me with my favourite_____________"

Page 16 "These are my hands.  Please remember to handle me with care"

Page 17 "Hands are good for waving hello, helping, holding and for saying I love you.  Hands are never good for hitting".  On these 2 pages, draw around your childs hands.  One on each page.

Page 18.  Thankyou for reading my book with me.  The end.

And that is the end of the book as it came - I added more pages such as the following:
This is my brother
Our favourite game is
This is a photo of my family

It's a huge week.  For mother's day I got a value pack of dairy milk chocolate.  That's worthy of a post by itself.  Except the more people I tell, the more likely it is that I might have to share.  So just forget that I said that. 

My first Project NOW class went up at Big Picture Scrapbooking this week.  For those of you that couldn't make it to Crafting Connection in November last year, this is the Conversations class.  It's instant download and you use materials from home (unless you want to use exactly what I used).   I'm excited!  And nervous and worried noone is going to understand what the heck I'm saying on the audio. But it's all good.  (It's "All G, Mum! my son would say... it took me a while to understand that one.. All WHAT ?  "All G, Mum - like All good - get it?" Seriously when did the generation gap sneak up and smack me upside the head?  )

So this is the link to the Conversations class and you can see my Big Picture bio here - the things those ladies ask!  All in the name of good fun :o)  i'll have two more classes in the very near future.  I'll let you know when they go online :o)

Did you see that BasicGrey have just released a new range of paper?  Euphoria.  Ice Blue and raspberry.  Let me think for a minute if I'm going to like it... um YES.  Especially those alphas.  Kelly Goree has some pages created with it on 2peas. Grow - my favourite.  and this one with Molly's little girl .  While I was at kelly's gallery I noticed she did a darn fine job of using the Scenic Route Loveland here too.   note to self to visit Kelly's gallery more often.

The camera - yep, I got it - for way less than that special price too.  I love it when circumstances work out like that.  I'm a happy girl.  I have a camera that works now.  The last one was seriously messing with my head.  So glad I can go about day to day work now without having to curse. Everyone thinks it's so much nicer.

Evana is moving to Perth!  What is up with that! Good news is that it'll be easier and cheaper for me to meet her in Sydney every now and again than it was to get to her in the South Island.  Woohoo! lol

Alright - kids album.  I whipped up a very quick (yes, very very quick) page before starting this post - I love this one .... asking Abby what she would be if she were an animal.  A flamingo!  And she posed with one leg held up. Hehehe.  Love it! I used BG 2 scoops and I found some Cloud 9 raindrops.  I haave had these for a while and decided they are actually pretty cool, so I thought I'd use them.  You can't see them very well.

Look for me to post another page tomorrow, and I'll re-post all my older pages and give a run-down of the pages and where we are up to - sound like a plan?  You should all be able to get right on track then. 

Laters

7.00am

7.00am, sitting in my scraproom with a blankie wrapped around me.  Typing as quietly so the rest of the family stays sleeping.  The night wasn't so good.  Abby crawled into our bed complaining that her room was full of crazy frogs.  She is 4yrs old now and since she could even speak at around 18m she would voice her fear of the crazy frog. I'm not surprised, look at this guy.

So the crazy frogs were apparently out in force last night.  I told Abby they weren't in there, and she told me she knew they were, because she can hear the music.  It's an eerie thing for a 4 yr old to quietly whisper the crazy frog ringtone in the dark, her voice shaking with fear and her hand gripping yours tightly.  I let her sleep in our bed.  Just for a while longer.

This coming week marks something very cool.  YES it is the re-birth of the kids 'All About Me' album.  how many of you started with me and didn't finish (with me, lol)?  This coming week I want to post regularly and with more and more kids pages.  If you are one of those people that started it, stand up, Ok sit down, leave me a comment cos that makes you way more accountable and I'll see you here this coming week to get that sucker finished.

Ngai is cracking me up. She's posted her Tarisota projects on her blog.  She mentions that I said I wanted to marry this collection .  I did declare my undying love for this collection to her and we did fight a little over the right to 'marry' it.  Design team crazy talk.  bt it's true, I loved it - here's more.

Some flowery things, these used to be Chatterbox, then BG fusions/color me silly, I re-did them. Saved dusting them.

A bookmarkey thing.

Another layout: This one was using some snapshot type pics that I took when I returned home from teaching in November last year.  I had 3 kids piled on top of me giving me the biggest hugs and I couldn't believe the reaction when i told them it was my last teaching gig for a while.  They just about drowned me in affection - I took these pics.

And another layout - this one was never ever going to be anything spectacular or amazing.  the pics were taken by a supermarket lady and I had far too much to say about it all - if that is possible - so no great layout here, but glad to get my feelings down.

I'll add them to the sidebar gallery if you want to read journaling. 

Alrighty.  A crop today.  My one day a month to leave and spend time with friends.  No scrapping.  Just laughing and enjoying the company,

laters

ERR 99

I have an issue.  It's an ERR 99 and it plagues the living heckout of my camera.  I have a 3.5yr old Canon 300D.  Just to be original.  Currently it is about as unreliable as an unreliable thing that is really really unreliable.  I'm one of those people often ridiculed for it, but it doesn't change me, that only shoots on auto.   Currently it only takes a picture about once every 4 or 5 times I press the shutter release.  Every other time ends up in an ERR 99 that ultimately means I have to curse, turn the camera off, turn it back on again, curse again, smile sweetly and ask the subjects to re-pose that amazing candid shot I was trying to take in the first place.  I don't like smiling sweetly whilst contemplating the demise of my camera and eyeing up the nearest highest place to throw it from merely for the satisfaction of seeing it smash on the concrete.  It just doesn't seem right to smile at those moments.

However such a nasty demise may stop me from getting the picture I wanted the 1 out of 4 or 5 times it was actually taking the photo.  As you can see, the relationship between my camera and I is rocky right now. (yes, I've bought a new CF card, fully charged the battery, I've cleaned the contacts in the camera as well as in the lens, I've placed the camera at the top of the highest possible mountain and prayed for it's healing - nothing is helping.)

And today I get this EOS 20th anniversary special brochure in the mail from HArvey Normans.  The 400D for around 2/3 what it normally costs.  I'm so torn on what to do.  I can't really afford the new one, yet I can't afford to continually live whislt muttering curse words under my breath because my camera, which I use every day, has failed me. 

It's driving me crazy.  But thank you for letting me vent on here.  Anyone with similar experiences with the dreaded ERR99 or with the repair bill from the dreaded ERR 99, please feel free to speak up - knowing what it possibly might cost to fix might push me one more step closer to Harvey Normans.

Good news though.  Kiwi's ROCK the scrapscene overseas right now.  That's kind of a pun, I'm referring to the Scrap Scene contest, in which they had a few hundred entries.  Check out the winners here, I did have to contain a yelp of excitment when I saw Ilka's name as a runner-up.  Then as I scroll down I see Louise William's name as well!  Take a good look at her blog, she has amazing technqiue that I just love and I'd love to try playing with some of the looks she acheives.  Watch this space I guess. I disovered her blog a few weeks back and have been checking back hoping she posts more layouts.
Then if that wasn't enough - as I'm scrolling down I see that Beverley Warwick made honourable mention.  It just kept getting better seeing Danielle Q and Rebecca Cameron's name as well.  Awesome work, ladies!  Totally proud to be part of the NZ/Aus scrapping scene right now!

Scenic Route just released a  new mini line - Liberty.  Very 4th of July but the papers are way cool, I can see some wicked boy pages with these, check out the whole line on Layle's blog. She usually has giveaways too - has she a giveaway?  Yea she has - leave a comment on layle's blog to sign up for the freebie draw.

Tarisota gallery is up and it is HUGE and full of alsorts of stuff, the design team was clearly on some extra strength energy kind of something this month! but not me because I've been nearly 2 weeks without diet coke and I'm just running on my own kinda happiness right now.  Except when I get the dreaded ERR 99 that is.

Here is a layout from me though - look at that, I found the blue in the collection, how 'bout that. :o)

Laters.

oh wait - one more thing - I'd blog more often but I've been too busy reading other people's blogs.  (and Scrapping) but have you checked out Cathy Z's blog lately?  She cracks me up.  Which is nice when one is living with such a high ratio of ERR 99 in one's day.

The drought, etsy and the maiden

I think the drought has broken.  I went to bed last night with the sound of rain on the roof and dreamt all night of flood and ruin.  I woke this morning, happy that there was no flood or ruin, and checked the Pukekohe Weather Station to find we had 2.3 inches of rain yesterday.  Yes.  I think we can say the drought has broken.  The farmers are grinning.

So after I went to the Pukekohe weather station to check out yesterday's data, yes I am a secret weather freak, I went to Etsy.  So many people link Etsy on their blogs and talk about cool stuff and I've refused to really go there.  I've never been one of the cool kids, I didn't want to fall into the cool link-etsy-on-my-blog trend.  But this morning I accidently went to Etsy.  As ya do.  And found this seller amusing.  She makes bags and hats and other stuff out of used grocery bags.  Incredibly economical and even better, incredibly eco-friendly.  I love what she named her bags.  The "Might as well buy one more thing bag" bag.  The Big ole bag bag and 'Feeling blue and loving it bag bag'.I nearly wanted one.  Then I reminded myself.  You are on Etsy.  You are going to want one of everything.  Put the wallet down. And I did.

Tarisota has a mother's day competition, go to the Tarisota blog for details, but it has to be today/tomorrow because the competition closes soon.  You answer 3 simple questions, and you are in the draw to win some beautiful Tarisota goodies.  You also need to name who sent you to the blog so that they can also be in the draw.  No need to name me, just name your bestest scrapping friend.  You have to be in to win, so go here!  Scrapping is so full of giveaways ain't it?  Love scrapbooking. lol.

Those of you that commented about Becky Fleck's Sketch book - yes!  I did know that Becky had done a layout about Paul & I - but NO I hadn't remembered that this was the publication it was going in!  Even more reason for me to get it. lol.

Hey - the ad guy from the last post.  David downs from 'Away Laughing" comedian in the Jon Bridges type era.  DANG the relief when I was told that was HUGE! He's also been on Shortland street.

Ok another layout that was in Memory Makers Magazine recently.  "The Maiden" journaling reads:
Yea Cute.
I can still get mad at cute though.
Like every day when  you come home from school and drop your jersey in the middle of the floor.
"WHAT IS THIS?" I'll ask.
Your answer:?  "Oh that's for the maiden to pick up."
The Maiden?
At some point I was promoted from Maid to Maiden.  Nice.

Oh - I was going to leave it there but I have one more thing - Leah Fung and Johanna Peterson and their video blogs.  LOVE THEM.  Make time to watch them if you can.  Number 19 that is up there now is particularly funny, and I laughed outloud at their out-takes at the end because they remind me of myself so much.  Funny girls :o)

Laters