Author: Nic Howard

It's Monday NZ time which means it's time to get a hat and pull out a random name.  Or I could ask Jacob for a number between one and thirty-two and just grab a comment that way.

So the winner:
Big Picture Scrapbooking workshop sounds like it is full of all kinds of wonderful ideas to spark the creative imagination.

Posted by: Mandy Collins| September 23, 2009 at 08:19 AM

Email me, Mandy, and I'll send a big ol' RAk your way!

So what's on this week?  Work for the Aussie Scrap Source blog.  A new Tarisota Kit.  Work for a new book (not my own).  The usual Howard Construction admin stuff,  but I might fit in some shrinky-dinking, some dancing to bad music on Juice TV, some creating Collections houses, feeding nintendogs, baking, a trip to the zoo, watching the occasional bad DVD and reading my book at the park.  Since it's the school holidays and all.

Something cute…. the kids were in bed last night and Paul was outside.  I was in the kitchen.  I called to Paul outside (raising my voice, should have just opened the window, really…).  Abby must have thought I was angry because she went to our bookshelf and got this 'Dammit Doll' down and said "Do you need this Mummy?"

Made with the Tarisota kit last month, meet the Dammit Doll.  Because, you know… I don't make things without a purpose…. and apparently I've told Abby all about it… yes I sewed the whole thing myself.  Don't look too closely.

Laters.

Spring is here.  We have sunlight.  We have new life in plants, we have spring winds and we have an overwhelming urge to sit in the sun drinking, more often.  (Anyone else?!)  Spring makes me feel optimistic, it makes me feel more social, it makes me overlook some of the things that annoyed me in winter.  How can one feel dreary when this is just two doors down…

This is the Awanui cherry tree that flowered a full two weeks early this year.  It's losing it's blossoms now.  In those Spring winds.  The Westerly that is currently flying thousands of pink blossoms horiztonally past my window at an alarming rate, and then plastering them all over the other neighbours car.  I might not feel so optimistic if it was my car.

I'm saving that photo to use on a special layout.  You know the one.  Where I use that special paper.  that I didn't use last time because I like it so much.  Honestly, sometimes I question myself. 

I chatted to Megan from Sketchbook during the week and she has some places opened up in her retreat.  6-8 November.  See more info here.  I've been to one of Megan's retreats and they are fabulous. 

Autumn Escape classes due to go up next week sometime, keep an eye out for those, as well as an email from Lucy packed with details of what Rachel Tucker, Kelly Goree and I will have to offer.  I'm slowly securing sponsors for our event, with Pink Paislee joining in the fun this week, plus a few other different kinds of sponsors that we'll keep a surprise. 

Thanks for your comments and congrats with the Big Picture Scrapbooking workshop I have coming up next year.  It's going to be chocka FULL of technique.  It's going to have 12 weeks of how-to and this-is-how.  Step by step instructions, tips and techniques with some manufacturer support ang giveaways thrown in.
The main question as I start to work on content is this though… what exactly do you want to learn?  What techniques?  What *kind* of stuff is it that you see that you wish you knew how to do?  I have a list about 3 miles long of possibilities, I have so much to say and show you, if you could help me narrow it down, that'd be appreciated!  Leave me a comment and I'll put together a giveaway to send to one comment, drawn next Monday NZ time.
Free stuff is always fun, right?

Apparently spring makes me feel more generous, too.

Leaving you with a layout from the last Tarisota kit. 
Fun at the Autumn Escape with some amazing ladies.  how 'bout that.
(Photo edited by LG).

Scrapbooking for me is all about playing with paper, and glue and creating *stuff* out of *other stuff*. 

It's layering, it's bringing papers together to create backgrounds, it's dimension and detail.  It's clusters of embellishments and creative titles, it's seeing the embellishment opportunities in patterned papers and bringing them into a layout.  It's bringing all of this together into a creation that makes you look and look again, but still lets the photo and story shine.

That's my goal, anyway.

And this is exactly what I'd love YOU to join me in doing. 

As you will see on Stacy Julian's blog,  I am destined to be one of big PIcture Scrapbooking's 4Experts in 2010.  I'm keeping pretty good company with the following line up:

Cathy Zielske (January, February and March)
Nic Howard (April, May and June)
Claudine Hellmuth (July, August and September)
Donna Downey (October, November, December)

I'm pretty darn excited, I hope you will be too.
Bring it on…

The library has to be one of my favourite places right now.  I drop my oldest off at an after school activity and relax with my other two kiddos at the library until he finishes.  We browse the shelves, we sit in the couches and read books, we do nothing but hang out among the rows of cleverly written literature.  I've read 24 books since the start of this year, making myself stand up and walk away from my work for half an hour at lunchtime to eat and read, and to read before I fall asleep at night is bliss.  I've gone back 20 years in time to where books are a constant again.

Not all books are loved though.  As we enter the library on a Monday I see the trolley of unwanted books sitting outside.  All or any could be yours for $1.00 each.  Many of them hardcover classics from times gone past, I browse them wondering about the things they have seen in the many homes they've visited, and perhaps, just perhaps I think I could give them a new lease on life.

Like this.

This old Western, once called "Rustler's Venom" and sold to me by the library as an unwanted book is now something else.  It's a piece of creativity fueled by the contents of this months Tarisota Kit. 

I so enjoyed giving this book new purpose, that I'm considering doing another.  Talking of purpose though, I do look at it and wonder what purpose it has.  Those that know me, know I hate clutter.  I don't have creative stuff everywhere, as cute as things may be, they have to have a purpose to be in my home.  I don't like stuff sitting around.  So I look at the book and really wonder what purpose I've given it. 

I pick up the book and consider sneaking it back on to the library shelf.  It might even become art once it goes back there.  I'm still thinking on that one.  I am concerned that someone might think it was an actual library book (and not one that has been sold out) that I had destroyed.  But just imagine the look on someonee's face as they pulled this book out and looked at it.  Confusion?  Wonder?  Curiosity? 

Still pondering where this book goes for it to discover it's true purpose.

Laters

They say things come in threes but this week has been such a run of bad luck that I truly think things run in more than threes.  From the cat that fell from great heights cutting it's stomach open (hello vet bill) to me falling heavily while out walking the other morning (I'm learning walking in the dark isn't a grand idea, I have people walking with me but clearly I need to see where I'm going), to the nit infestations (second time this term dammit), to the sickies.  Abby managed to throw up all through my bed before returning to her own and doing the same there.  The school rang me not long ago to go get Jacob. 

However we all have bad weeks, you know what they say, some days you are the dog, and some days the hydrant.  I was having a low moment halfway through the week and Brady walked up to me, put his arm around me and said "Hydrant day, huh?".  Gotta love the timing.

I also got a little giggle out of Jacob's homework.

Question: What sport would you be playing if you left after scoring a duck?

JAcob's Answer: Shooting.

In fact I'm still laughing at that one, the correct answer of course is Cricket, but I guess the teacher couldn't argue the shooting comment?!!

Off to finish playing with the September Tarisota Kit which was revealed a few days back.  I'll encourage sick kids to make Father's Day cards and hope things return to normal soon.

Just remembering a quote I heard yesterday saying that if everyone threw their problems in a big pile, we'd all quickly grab our own back when we saw everyone elses. 

Happy Day everyone, here's a layout from the  Aussie Scrap Source Blog colour challenge last week.  I'm off to do about the 15th load of washing.
Laters.

ALL KITS SOLD OUT, thanks!

I've been cleaning things out.  Making my way through things that build up in my room.  Trying to create enough room to start working on new projects, and start storing things we are slowly collecting for the Autumn Escape.

And I have found kits.  Various bits and pieces from events I have taught at recently.  I'm putting them up for sale here.

Usual story, email me by clicking on the link on the top left of the blog ehre.
Please let me know your name, address, kits needed and for the Buffet kits please let me know if you need GlimmerMist and your prefered colours (cannot guarantee but will try). Payment by direct into bank, or by cheque or paypal if overseas.

Postage is extra – $5.00 north Island, $8.00 South Island. 
Can combine as many kits as you like into one postage cost.

First in, first served!

Multi-Media Mini Album (Autumn Escape 2009). (   2 left  ) $35.00

I took pics of a project I made for tarisota today.  I enjoyed downloading the pics, something I usually dislike, but the difference was that today I found surprise pics on the camera.  I found some photos Abby must of taken of layouts she had made.  Mummy takes pics of her layouts, I guess it was natural for Abby to take pics as well. 

This is just one of a few that were on there… altogether now, awwwwww.

Other pics I found on the camera – the cupcakes we made the other day…(thanks Becks for the recipe and decorations!) These were super yummy.

And this pic – take a saucer of milk and place one drop of red colouring, blue colouring and yellow colouring around the edge – evenly spaced so they are as far away from each other as possible.
Carefully add a drop of dishwashing liquid in the middle… watch the action… so fun for the kids!
we must have stood for at least 15 minutes going oooooohhh ahhhhh… amazing stuff.  Let me know how you go if you try it.  (experiment courtesy of Tana)

Just some of the things I do inbetween creating things with paper and glue.
Laters.

 
(BasicGrey Indian Summer, BasicGrey Alphas, BasicGrey Indian Summer Lace paper turned white side as well as coloured, BasicGrey Woolies.)

It's easy to see that as far as trying to avoid double chins later in life, I was doomed.  Even as a three year old you can see that I'd need the chin-up method when having my photo taken to trying to avoid looking at each and photo taken of me in adult life and exclaiming "Good God" quietly to myself as I press delete.  Clearly, this is my parent's fault.

I will also kindly give them credit for my creative streak.  My Mum painted black and white photos with colour before they figured out the easy way, she did this for a paid income.  And I spend hours trying to figure out how to take the colour out of photos perfectly.  Go figure.

Fresh from watching the Warriors win, I'm in a good enough mood to clean the office windows and wipe down all the benches.  I'll be carefully shifting punched paper butterflies (from my new Martha Stewart Punches from Embellish It in Timaru ) punched oh so carefully by Abby as a gift for Daddy for Father's day, ssshhhhh it's a secret, there are hundreds of them in all colours….) and wiping away weeks of dust from sanding, distressing and generally being creative.  Makes me almost too sentimental to clean it away, really.  Something else sentimental that I'm selling on trademe.  A canvas created with Tim Holtz stamps recently.

Off to make a move on this cleaning before I lose enthusiasm.  Hey.
How do you make Lady Gaga cry?
Poker face :o)

See, still a kid, really.

As I sit here surrounded by photos and *stuff* I feel the need for more inspiration.  I'm trying to be more healthy-minded lately so I decided the pantry was off limits to find the mojo I need.  I put a blankie over my knees to kill the coldies, I check out 2peas and the gallery and I decide to turn on the radio.  CD.  Check.  Play.

Doodlebops.

it clearly didn't kick start the mojo so I went blog hopping.  I found this write up on a new book company called Ella Publishing.  The buzz of CHA they said. 

I hopped over the to Core'dinations blog for a while.  There is a really cool cardstock/Prima card on there if you scroll down.  Actually there is tonnes of inspiration on there and there are lots of video tutorials here, I'm about halfway through them.

How cool is this layout on 2peas – Taronga Zoo.  Big double page layout using BG and more detail than I've seen in a longtime.

Wish I had thought of this – scallop album.  (Suzy you are a crazy lady!)

The scallop album obviously tipped me over the edge because I feel I might just be able to scrap now.  After I eat my crunchy pita garlic bread with tomato cuppa soup for lunch.  I might just set the timer for half hour to read my book too.  A timer?  Yep.  Otherwise you'll still find me there when the kids come home from school. 

Leaving you with another Tarisota layout.  Pic edited by LG again.  This boy cracks me up constantly. 
Long may the laughs last. 
laters

I sometimes surprise myself when I log into my blog.  It'll tell me when I last blogged – 7 days, it will say.  What?  7 days?  I'm constantly writing my blog.  I'm constantly thinking of little things I need to say or write.  Apparently it's all just thinking though, because I checked.  It really has been 7 days.  Clearly it is about time I stop just thinking about the snippets of information I think of while doing the grocery shopping or pounding the pavement before most people are even awake.  The birds are in the trees doing that early morning wake up call, the slugs are crawling across the path in front of me as if they need to dash across it just one more time before the sun fries them, must be some sort of slug chicken game and I'm writing my blog in my head as I walk.  I'll work on getting those thoughts out of my mind and into typepad quicker than a 7 day gap.

I get asked often how work is going for me.  "How is the scrapbooking, keeping you busy?" and truth is that I have been busy, but probably not as busy as I could be.  Which is a good thing because I can actually find the occasional hour to help out at school and similar things.  For a few years I was working a good 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week at least, as well as fitting in all the typical mum stuff.  It is nice to slow just a little.  BUT just this past week I got a large assignment within the industry – very large, in fact it'll take me a good 3 months full time.  I've also received other big assignments, so things are looking up.  It's encouraging!

Did you see that Tattered Angels is having a DT call?

Thanks for the comments on the layout on the last post – someone emailed and asked about Ingvild.  Here is Ingvild's link and if you go to her blog now, she is having a massive giveaway of the most gorgeous stuff.  She also has the biggest amount of Prima layouts posted if you scroll down.  All done with gorgeous new product, she is endless inspiration.  Janine Koczwara is another lady that has a tonne of this gorgeous projects on her blog, lots done with the new Prima, and she edits her photos so beautifully, in that style I hope to one day master.

Ok time to start emptying my neglected inbox (I try not to email at the weekends)but I need to share a layout first.  This is another layout created for Tarisota with their new kit, with photos that weren't edited by me. These ones were edited by LG.   I just love that I have some pics to use that are different from my usual.  It's like a whole new pile of inspiration. 

laters

Supplies: Layout made from the August Tarisota Kit.  (Papers are  Graphic 45, Graphic 45 blog found here, Ink by Clearsnap, Touches of Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels, alphas from BasicGrey).