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I love birthdays.  I love the week before when I can finally see "15th Nov" as a best-before date on the milk bottle.  I love walking into the bank and seeing the big "15th Nov" up on the wall.  I tried to take a photo of it this year and they wouldn't let me.. I must have looked like a scary hold-up-a-bank-type.  I love feeling special.  Just for a day. 

This year I was spoiled.  I got flowers, I got chocolates, I got cute little decor items and running gear.  And all-round-amazing-clever-person Jen made me birthday cupcakes. 

When I have my own birthday it's always a reminder to make sure the birthday card goes in the post, that the text gets sent, the message on facebook is left or that the phone call is made when my own friends celebrate.  Each and every sentiment made me smile on my own day – hopefully I can return the love when others celebrate.

I am currently caught up in all my other commitments – my other work stuff, my accounts, my paperwork and even my study – I've completed 8 papers in Sports training and Development, I'm just waiting to see if I've passed.

So what is one to do?

These papers from 7DotsStudio currently spread all over my desk are a start.  Finnabair designed these, looking at them you'd think she designed them especially for me, don't ya think?

Laters

There was a time when I didn’t dare attempt a layout without putting vellum on there somewhere.  The semi-translucent charm of a paper that you could layer and layer to achieve amazing …well… layering effects was the essence of very page I created.  Looking back through old layouts today and I wondered.  What ever happened to vellum?

Take this layout.  So simple.  Multiple photos.  Two colours of cardstock, a few stamps,  and layers of vellum was all I needed to accent what I wanted to say.  This page is 6 years old and I still love it today. 

Or this page.  I created layers and layers of flowers with different coloured vellums and embellished with a few buttons for contrast.  This is a page that looks better IRL.  I scanned all my pages 5 years ago and the scanner made this one look dark around the embellishing.  Once again, I still love it.  It’s classic.  It has everything I love.  Pic, story, and classic embellishing.

At this point in my browsing I almost, almost, started shuffling through older supplies looking for my vellum stash.  I know I have it in a variety of pretty colours, somewhere. 

But on with the layouts.  No time to browse supplies.  I love this one.   Not much has changed with the boy, he still has this same fun, cheeky attitude. Except these days he is more likely to say something like “You know I can’t touch your ghost chips” or “I’m internalising a complicated situation in my head”.  And I love this page enough that I’d be happy to create it today.

So what DID happen to vellum?  It somehow became uncool.  Perhaps some of the see-through effects started happening digitally.  That first layout could easily be created digitally, right?  Perhaps something that wasn’t so mainstream 6 years ago.  But how do things become uncool?  Is it just a time thing? 

I especially ask this as my 12 year old casually says “Shot Mum” as I pass him his forgotten lunch as he walked out the door this morning.

Shot?

Shot what?

Roll of eyes.  “You know.  SHOT.  Oh my GOD Mum it means thank you.  Don’t you know anything?” Distinct frustrated attitude followed by a look of oh-my-god-you-are-so-uncool, mother.

Apparently not.  “Thanks” isn’t cool anymore.  Kinda like vellum.

laters

  Class kits to complete at home
Released on a regular basis. 
Find out more here. 

 Autumn Escape 2014 is currently sold out! 
Please contact us to be placed on our waiting list!

Autumn Escape 2014 – Wairakei Thermal Resort, Taupo.   
25th – 27th April 2014.  
… a totally indulgent weekend at a luxury resort in the heart of the North Island. There isn’t much that beats the extravagance of the Wairakei Conference centre in Taupo… that is, unless the weekend is full of scrapbooking, pampering, fun, giveaways and shopping!  It’s always a weekend of fun, laughter and total indulgence!

(The team from Autumn Escape 2012 –  Ang, Lianne, Lynda, Tana, Lucy, Piradee, Rae, Nic, Rachel, Kate)

Event organisers Nic Howard and Lucy vander Loos have thought of it all, devising plans for a weekend that caters for everyone. Those that want a busy schedule can enjoy up to 8 different top-of-the range classes being taught by popular teachers Nic Howard, Rachel Tucker and this year we will be joined hy top international teachers to be announced..  

 What else can we expect?  Make n Takes sponsored by large scrapbooking manufacturers will be available throughout the 3 day event and the demo table often has something going on to inspire your own crafting. Add all this to the extra games, challenges and competitions … inspiration will never be far away!

(The help-yourself candy buffet is often restocked and always enjoyed by those attending the retreats)

For those that want to sit back and relax a little more, the cropping room is available until midnight on both Friday and Saturday nights. There will be a scrapbooking store to supply new fun products as well as all of the luxury amenities that the Wairakei resort already offers.

(Lucy & Nic enjoy dressing the room in different themes or colour schemes for each retreat)

How long does this event go for?   Autumn Escape is three days long, which means three days of being looked after – full catering from Friday morning, right until lunchtime Sunday, treats and special surprises, it’s a weekend of indulgence!

A weekend package for everyone….  You asked for it – we now have full packages for those that want to enjoy the beautiful rooms right at the Wairakei Resort, as well as non-accommodation packages for those that live close-by and even day passes for those that just want to make it for the day.  Classes are optional extras, take one, take a few, or take them all – it’s up to you and what you want out of the weekend, we are here to design the ultimate scrapbooking experience with you.

Nic & Lucy have a reputation for making this an event unlike any other currently being held in New Zealand. With Nic’s experience teaching both in New Zealand and internationally and Lucy’s experience in the hospitality industry, the pair certainly have the knowledge. The difference from other events? We have 5 years experience and we know what makes an event like this successful. What else?  The pampering. The freedom to make it what you want. If you want to be busy, they are putting it all out there for you to take advantage of … if you want to sit back and relax; the chance is there for that also. “We are determined to make it a weekend for YOU. This will be a truly national event designed as a weekend to relax and enjoy your way. Pair that with the inevitable fun and laughter that is created when you get a large group of crafters together and the weekend is certainly going to be a memorable one!”

Why not join us for the Autumn Escape? 
Email Lucy at lucy.tom@xtra.co.nz for further information or a registration form.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked “Can you just whip up a insert incredibly time consuming creative craft item here”.  You know.  The friend that has pics that would be fabulous in a mini album or a bunch of tags or other crafty stuff for whatever reasons.  And I understand.  It’s just coloured pieces of paper stuck to other coloured pieces of paper.  That’s what it looks like, right?  It can’t take long to throw together.

Wrong.

Some of us scrapbook to get stories on pages, and those that have followed me for the past 12 years know I am a huge believer in getting true and real stories on pages.  Like the time my (then) 9 year old son asked me to wash his lollipop so he could still eat it – it didn’t matter that it was the urinal he had dropped it in, right?  Or the time my (then) 2 year old daughter bought me a piece of cotton in her cute itty bitty little fingers.  Well.  It was cute until I looked past her and realised the cotton trailed all the way to the sewing machine 3 rooms away.

Some of us scrapbook for the stories, and some of us scrapbook to play.  I do both.   And playing is Ok too.  Creativity is awesome.  It’s a reflection of our inner child.  Scrapbooking is playdough for grown-ups.  Right?

It’s not always easy to be creative though.  Anyone with me on this? 

Sometimes I struggle incredibly with how to start a page.  Unless I’m doing a page specifically for a manufacturer and have to start with my products first, it is the photos that I start with.  What I do next is the hardest thing for me and I think many people are the same, which is why I’m showing you this page today.

A double page layout created for Big Picture Classes “Double Take” which I have just finished teaching online.  This layout was made with a sketch created by May Flaum. 

Close up of the first page

And the second page.

I’m happy with it.  In fact, I did a crazy kinda arm-pumping YESSSSSSS and jumped around a little when it was done.  Because it caused me grief for about 3 months.  See those photos?  How many times do you think I had those out and on paper, trying to make them work?  Oh. My. Goodness.  About 1800 is the answer.  Because they were high contrast photos I was trying to put them on lighter coloured paper to make them stand out.  I didn’t want to busy them up by putting them on busy or high contrast papers.

I was being driven freakin crazy.

And then one day I was browsing LG’s blog.  This woman has some clever kinda colour sense.  She used similar coloured photos on dark papers like this.  I realised the trick was to make the photos blend with the papers somewhat, make the pinks in the photos the brightest on the page and use other pinks that helped Abby stand out.

And so I scrapped.
And I succeeded. 
And I did so with help of inspiration on another blog.
And I LOVE that.
Which is my reason for taking time each day – just a little – to browse other blogs in the scrapbooking community.  I love this craft and I love how much we can inspire each other. 

‘Cos that’s all part of this crazy little craft, right?
Laters.

Supplies: Papers, borders and cut-outs by BasicGrey.  Chipboard flourishes by ScrapWare.  Small pink lettering by Sassafras Lass.  Larger foam letters by Queen & Co.  Machine sewing.  Page created for Big Picture Classes, Double Take by Nic Howard and May Flaum. 

I’m alone for the first time in 10 days.  There are no little people beside me asking if they can go to the pool or go buy a mocktail.  It kind of eerie.  I miss the company. 

I’ve travelled a lot for work this year.  I’ve been away from home a huge deal.  In the middle of the year when the kids started to notice that I was away to exotic places without them, I made a promise to have some family time later in the year.  When we were invited to a wedding in Rarotonga on the 1st Nov, it seemed the perfect place to go as a family. 

And perfect it was:

This was taken right outside our room. 

As we went through customs on our way out of Rarotonga the customs lady stopped and chatted to us.  There is your first indication that the Cook Islands are very different.  She chatted.  She asked our favourite parts.  She told us of family she had back in New Zealand.  Most of all though, she asked us to spread the word about how fabulous Rarotonga is.  If we liked it, please tell our friends.  I got the feeling everywhere we went that Rarotonga would love more tourists, they bring money into the island and it all helps the island economy.  I promised I’d go home and let everyone know just how amazing the place was.

(I loved a t-shirt I saw somewhere, it said “If you love Rarotonga, tell your friends, we love tourists, the last ones were yummy”.. lol…

From the Coconut tree climbing lessons:

Notice poor Braden ripped his pants attempting – in front of everyone – didn’t stop him having a second go.. the coconut tree was not going to beat him.  He was back outside our villa at 6am the next morning practicing as well…

To the lessons on how to de-husk and get milk from a green coconut.. so much nicer than the old brown ones…

This is my hubby, chosen for the job for his muscles apparently.  He was declared a honorary Cook Islander for his uncanny knack to open green coconuts without having to learn… Teacher, Bruce,second name Lee apparently, looking on…

And then this is the result.  They passed out straws and we enjoyed a true Cook Island treat.  Apparently it is the full-on amazing hangover cure too.  Sadly on the day when I really needed it,the thought of getting out of bed was far too hard, never mind scaling a 20 foot coconut tree for a miracle hangover cure.

Island life is amazing.  50km/hr speed limit everywhere you go.  Which is lucky because half the people there ride motorbikes.  With no helmets.  And one hand holding on to the shopping one one handle bar while the other reaches around and holds the baby on the back of the bike. 

Things are most definitely slower there.  A lot of the stuff around the Island wasn’t as maintained as I would expect at home.  Funny though, it was immediately relaxing.  Even when we needed a doctor for Abby – ear infection – that’s what happens when you spend 6 hours a day swimming – it was cruisy.  Walk into the hospital.  Walk out 30 minutes later with antibiotics, ear-drops and only had to hand over $30.  Awesome.

It didn’t slow her down though.  Seriously.  Around six hours a day swimming.

I was there too, but not so much in front of the camera.

I was too busy capturing scenes like this…

And like this – not edited – water seriously that colour when the sun was out… the guys are snorkelling right by the restaurant.  Those are fish in the water.  So big that Abby freaked as they brushed past her legs on the first day and didn’t spend any more time in the beach.  It was the pool after that for her…

Notice the dog.  There are lots of dogs in Raro.  They roam everywhere.  You have to watch for them when driving.  This one was digging up the sand looking for breakfast.  Those dark things in the water are fish.

I have so many more photos I could share but I’ll spare you!  Pats on the back for me, I have uploaded/edited/sorted them already and hope to have a digital photo book printed by the end of the week.  You heard me.  I’m sending them all off to be printed in a photo book.  I’m including text from the kids.  Its going to be photos and pics.  And that’s it.  Does that shock anyone?  I’m waiting on a few pics from the wedding we went to, and I’m searching for a few photos we missed (anyone stay at the Rarotongan and get any of the staff?  Anyone that has travelled to Raro got any of the Air NZ plane?).

I think I’ve done Rarotonga proud.  I think I’ve fulfilled my promise to the customs lady.  It’s an amazing place and we already have another coin jar to start saving up to go back. 

Especially when you come away remembering moments like this:

And like this:

And people like these – all people we’d never met before but all people that became a highlight for me.

The experience would have been nothing without this group that found each other through a common love of relaxing, hanging out with our collective group of 8 kids, and watching the sun go down on a tropical island with drinks in hand.  Of all the things I loved most about Rarotonga, it was the friendships we made that stands out for me.

Good one Raro, and thanks for the good times.

laters.

Who else under-estimated the sun over this past long weekend?  October certainly isn't a time I generally worry about sunblock, but 2 days later I'm writing a note in next year's diary.  If one suspects the sun is biting, it is – summer sometimes visits early.

Speaking of early, this post isn't.  In fact it's late.  Which is why we have a Wednesday Wind-down…

I'm hearing a playlist on the iPod called "Abby's HipHop Music" currently playing Taylor Swift, which I suspect wouldn't agree with being included in that genre, but there you go.

I'm seeing Abby dance.  Again, taylor Swift and hiphop aren't mixing.  I suspect I may soon be listening to FloRider and Chris Brown.

I'm feeling anxious for Friday to hurry up.  Friday I jump on a plane with four of the most special people in the world and take off to a tropical island.  It's a reward from me, to the kids, for putting up with me being away so much this year.  PLUS one of our employees is getting married.  Nothing like a beach wedding on a tropical island in 30 degrees.

I'm thankful that I have no more medical appointments before I go.  I'm done for now.  I have more tests coming up to find some answers but for now, I'm done.  Thursday's camera into the lungs was not pleasant.  Note to self, do not ask for minimal sedation.  Sedation scares me.  The unsedated effects of the camera going into my lungs was worse. 

I'm happy that my work is winding down for the summer.  True Scrap is done (unless you want to view via the recordings) and it was a success.  My bloopers video (seen here) surpassed all viewing expectations – ye husband of little faith, you owe me a bag of pineapple lumps for getting past the 23 views you said I'd never reach.  Double Take on Big Picture Classes is done and over.  It was a fabulous success, I'm hoping to re-run it next year. Next mission?  Paint the deck.  Not entirely scapbooking related but that is next on the list. That and conquer the 5km road run that has slipped since I've been sick. 

I'm wondering how that last bullet point got so long.

I'm feeling inspired.  Work is slowing down, I have more time, I just watched 17 classes on True Scrap and my photos are calling.  Well, Rarotonga calls me first.  Rarotonga, then scrapbook when I return.  I'm inspired to tell stories, I'm inspired to play with products, I'm inspired to share more on my blog. 

I'm cleaning all the good food out of the pantry for the house-sitter's arrival on Friday and packing my bags.  For those that joined me for True Scrap – 350 of you, thank you SO much.  For those that were in Double Take with May & I, thank you so much!  It's time for a well deserved break. 

Laters (speaking of weddings, here is a layout I did for Double Take – it included all the special moments of my brother's wedding in February… gets me all emotional… love summer weddings!)

Yesterday I tidied 'My Documents' somewhat.  I found files and files of photos dating back to 2007.  Thousands of random unedited photos.  I swear this is the reason I don't take photos anymore, because I have so many stored randomly in my computer, unedited and unloved.  It's not a good place to be, right?  So I organised.  I sorted.  I deleted.  Cathy Z said my children will still love me, despite my deleting 800 of their photos.  I have 8000 more, right?

So yesterday I tidied.  I sorted, I created a new filing system and I swore to start taking photos of my kids again. 

And then today I printed photos.  And tonight?  Tonight I might scrap.  For no reason other than scrapbooking.  That hasn't happened since Adam was a boy.  It's been a long time.  I'm off to pickup my photos shortly.

The very cool news is that I have a page to share.  This photo was taken in 2009, but that's the way things go for me lately – see, really, I don't edit or print photos anymore.  I am stuck in a time-warp of piling up digital images with no love.  I promise this will change.

This page was created for the Aussie Scrap Source blog with BasicGrey's Picadilly range.  I created this page in an extremely difficult, busy time.  I was sick and the mojo was holidaying somewhere very far away.  I spent hours on this layout and just about gave up, when I took all my scraps, threw them on the page and started sticking them down.  I stood up, said to my hubby "See, just like that, coloured paper on coloured paper!" And then I took a double-take at it and thought I kinda like that.  I created some blue circles, added paint, ink, title and journaling and THAT, my friends, is the creative process behind this page.  Don't think I'll be teaching that process in a class anytime soon but I'm happy all the same.  I know I'm not the only one that struggles like that sometimes.

Talking of struggling, it's school holidays.  Which I love, not because I'm a supermum, but because it takes the pressure off me.  No running around getting children to school.  I can ease into the day.  I can get 3 days work done before 11am while they sleep.  It's a fabulous time.

AND I get to see magic like this happen.  It started with a "why don't we have a cooking competition" comment from one of the neighbourhood kids.  It turned into a massive cook-off with judges, trips to the supermarket, planning sessions and a tick-tocking of the clock as various cooking ingredients flew around the kitchens of two of the houses in our neighbourhood.

And this was the result.  Boys against girls.  'Crazy Chicz" against…well, against "Team team" Can you tell the boys really weren't into the naming of teams process?  They were too busy being concerned with baking a culinary masterpiece good enough to blow the girls out of the water.

And the best bit?  I got to be judge.

Oh yes.  I carefully placed all nutritional plans aside and took on the role of cook-off judge very seriously, eating every.single.crumb so that I could adequately judge whose would be best. 

And like every good mother should, I judged them both equally as perfect.  Both winners in my books.  Such a PC decision.  It's a pity that the two little girls that were also judging the competition didn't have the same life experience as me and marked the Crazy Chicz higher because they liked their name.  The girls won by a smidgen, competition over, girls won.

The cool thing is that the boys didn't like that.  The competition will happen again in order for the boys to try and win the title of the Sunset Drive best cooks.  I guess those little girls weren't so silly, huh?

Laters.

Giveaway closed – the winner is KerryG!  Congrats!

Straight from the Big Picture Scrapbooking blog – this is my BIG project for next year. 

Dimensional Details – The Expanded Version.  Who joined me in 2010?  Did this class absolutely rock or what?  Are a lot of us still friends after that last class?  Yes and yes and you bet.  I'm icecream-for-breakfast-over-the-moon-happy that I'm being the chance to do this all over again.  This absolutely rocked in 2010, and I'll be updating, refreshing, expanding this class for 2012.  Read on…

We are beyond excited to announce our 2012 4Experts. Two of our experts are back and we've added two more to the mix. We hope you'll join us for one or more of these process-based classes that invariably grow into active and exciting communities of sharing. Click here to watch videos explaining the upcoming classes!

Yea, see, I can't help thinking I'm the little kid playing in the big kids sandpit, but hey, bring it on.  The standard Big Picture sets for these classes is super high and I'm more than willing to make sure I provide the best I can.  Well, you know how it is.  Little person syndrome.  I got something to prove, right?

So these are the classes, and note that registration for each class starts 8 weeks before the start date, so registration for my class won't open til May sometime:

• January to March: Twelve taught by Stacy Julian

• April to June: The Art of Observation taught by Heidi Swapp

• July to September: Dimensional Details taught by Nic Howard

• October to December: Project Real Life taught by Becky Higgins

And to celebrate the announcement of Big Picture's 4Expert series?  A giveaway.  A box of goodies including some of the 4Experts favourite things, including a $50 BPC certificate.  

And what's in the box?