The Year that was ....

I totally stole this idea off Kristy over at PaisleyJade .. sure hope she doesn't mind!!!

What a year it was .. definitely the worst I've ever had to deal with but here it is in a Nut Shell anyway .....

JANUARY
We finally got the Internet baaaacccckkkkk after living in Pukekohe for 2 months! Oh my would you imagine how much more stuff gets done without the Internet to distract!! I did A LOT of crafting while we were Internet free and even got to set up my very own Craft Room for the first time!! and did so much Stuff I was a real Busy Beaver and had two LOs put on the shortlist for NZ's only Scrapbooking Magazine Up2Scrap and was involved in Fiskateers Online Crop. My good friend Jennie gave me my Scrap heap Plaque which still proudly hangs in my Craft Area!



FEBRUARY
We got used to living on a one wage fortnightly pay basis and loved our WooHoo Wednesday pay day! I got back involved with the TM Scrappers Challenges. I made more promises to blog everyday hehehe and Made Thankful Thursday all about my beloved Husband Jason. I also branched out a bit in my scrapbooking by using fabric. Jason and I Introduced Red the Crab into our lives. Jason celebrated his 33rd and Last ever Birthday, we spent a fun filled Sunday at Parakai Springs Pools and I make the best Titans Helmet Birthday cake ever! (well the best one I've ever done hehe) I made Valentines Day into a Happy Valentine's Week by doing lots of Valentines crafts with the kids. My favourite was the cool Valentines photo shoot I did with the kids. We had a Happy Valentines Day baking lots of surprises for Jason when he got home from work. I also managed to get some crafting done in there! Abbey discovered little girls stuff I had a WooHoo Wednesday securing my first Scrapbook tutors job at Absolutely Crafty. There were a few TGIF's and we started planning Riley's Robot 5th Birthday Party. We had a Fun Filled Family Saturday at the Pukekohe AMP Show, and had fun catching spider webs. Abbey received more injuries



MARCH
We had a BIG Weekend as a family riding trains and visiting gardens. Abbey got all girly and cute under the trampoline I did Alot of Scrapbooking in March here, here, and here , Riley Turned 5 and started school and we had a Robot Birthday blast! oh and I tutored my first scrapbooking class



APRIL
I got too busy to blog preparing for all my class stuff. Shared with everyone my story of the beginning of my scrapbooking hobby and I started back at work semi part time




MAY
I found out I was going to be published, got mad busy with work and sickness and tutoring and then my life was turned Upside Down by the sudden and shattering death of my husband Jason. I found out the true reason why we scrap and my life kinda went very numb for a while. We had a funeral, cremation and I sent my husband back to America with his family.



JUNE
To be perfectly honest I do not remember June, I know I had a Birthday and went out to Uncle Freds for my birthday dinner, apart from that the month is blank.



JULY
We moved to Whangarei. Abbey celebrated her 3rd Birthday, became a big girl by giving up her Binkies, and started afternoon Kindy. Riley started at his new school Kamo Primary.



AUGUST
Another month I sleep walked through. Jason was laid to rest in the Grafton National Cemetary in West Virginia USA. He was given a Full Marine burial, I regret not being there for it.

SEPTEMBER
I woke up slightly. Got back on the Horse and started Crafting again and started to begin my mission of documenting the love we have for Jason. I made my first Snapfish Book. Riley had his first school cross-country, disco and dress-up day. They had the Prison Sentencing for the man who killed my husband, which I attended.



OCTOBER
I shared with the world my obsession with the colour orange and started orangefying my world. We had our first Halloween without Jason.



NOVEMBER
Art Nights with Ruth and Janine really got going. I won stuff, had a very crazy emotion week with my friend Jennie visiting, having my First wedding anniversary without Jason fall a day before the 6 month anniversary of his death, as well as getting two LOs accepted for publication in the new NZ Scrapping Magazine NZ Paper Chasers, and also became a Crafty Tart. We also went to my beautiful cousin Sherri's Wedding.



DECEMBER
December started out tragically for NZ with the Pike River Miners tragedy coming to a close as such. It was full of Christmas crafting here, here, here, here and here. We had the first Christmas without Jason and December in general was very hard for me emotionally.



So goodbye 2010 and Hello 2011

Friday Night ..

What a crazy busy few weeks I've had. Working full time is very tiring, so tiring I have had no energy to do anything. After the kids have gone to bed I have crashed on the couch or into bed either watching TV or reading. I have had no energy to craft what so ever. At the beginning of this week I was rather sick and as my hubby put it spent a night 'worshipping the porcilan God'! I have only managed to muster the energy to do the basics for my classes (not even finishing LOs!! Only embelishments!) And I feel pretty crap for that! But I am hoping now I am getting over being sick, and am starting to get somewhat used to working every day I might actually start getting time in to craft.

Good note ... I AM GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!!
I have had a LO accepted in the NZ magazine Up2Scrap. It will be in the July/August Issue so watch out for that!!

I am going to be posting my Distress and Alcohol Ink classes on the Absolutely Crafty Scrapblog over the weekend so keep an eye out for those, even though I didn't get full LOs completed I have some pretty cool techniques going on (if I must say so myself teehee) and just so you actually believe me here are the two Distress Ink LOs I did get done!!

From Humble Beginnings ....

Last night at my Scrapbooking Class one of the ladies said Why don't my pages look as well put together as yours? My answer was How long have you been a scrapbooker?! Also on the TM Message board a similar topic is going around.
I have come a loooong way since I started scrapping 8yrs ago and it has taken alot of time of playing & experimenting to get to the place I am today.
EVERYONE starts off as a beginner and I don't want the begginner scrappers to feel over shadowed and intimadated by the more experienced. Scrapbooking is all about YOU not others and it's not a good idea to compare yourself with other scrapbookers. Somone who has being scrapping for 10mths is going to have alot less experience, knowledge and techniques than someone who has been doing it for 10yrs! If YOU like your LO who cares what it looks like! This is a recent learning curve for me, I scrap for me now, I don't scrap to try to please others. Getting nice comments etc is really uplifting but you really shouldn't be searching for that. Be happy with what you have done for YOU!
I wanted to show everyone my humble beginnings and talk breifly about how I became a scrapbooker. I challenge you other bloggers out there to do the same. My good friends Jennie & Kristine are going to as well so check out their blogs to see their first LOs too!

Almost 9yrs ago my Hubby Jason arrived in NZ for the first time. We met online and he traveled here to meet me (that is a long and different story for another time!) He used to be a US Marine and he bought with him a 'scrapbook' of Memorabilia from his time overseas during his Marine Tour. I fell in love with it (and him!) and I decided to do an album with things from our lives. I collected EVERYTHING! Movie tickets, resturant cards and reciepts, everything! and I put it together in an album.
Here are a few pages from that 'wonderful' (cough cough splutter) Album ....





A friend of my Brothers, Kerri, found out I was a 'scrapper' and asked me along to a 'Midnight Madness Crop' at our Local Scrapbook Store. This is where I was introduced to scrapbooking for real! Wow look at the papers, embelishments etc etc etc!! It wasn't until my Son was born that I started doing 'real' 12x12 scrapbooking. Here are some of my very first 12x12 LOs ....




My Son has just turned 5yrs old.
I have grown alot in my scrapping. I have learnt many things, and continue to learn. I don't want anyone to be discouraged or intimadated by more experienced scrapbookers work and just get involved in the fun and the reason why you started scrapbooking in the first place, because I'm sure it wasn't to show off to everyone and compete!
I hope to see lots more people sharing their works of art and encouraging the newbies to feel proud of their work!

3 Birdies 1 LO!

OK this LO has 3 purposes ....
TM Scrappers Weekly Challenge
Scrap Your Crap Challenge
Class LO with Acetate

Ahhhhhh nice to have it done!



I used MME Papers, Kaiser Rubons, Heidi Grace Alphas, buttons, embroidery floss and acetate. I also tried a little home-made rubon technique with the quote 'a mother's treasure is her daughter', check my class blog after Thursday for how I did those!
The photos were taken at my friend Katrina's wedding, it was Abbey's first time as a wedding guest!
And another LO with no purpose except my pleasure and it's about time I scrapped them since it was THREE Christmases ago!


I used Heidi Grace papers, chipboard shapes, plastic flowers, alphas & ribbon, kaiser rubons, brads and a Basic Grey magnetic tie back.
I just LOVE these pics of Abbey, Santa and Mrs Claus. They were taken at the Kindercare Christmas Party at Abbey's first Christmas. I just thought that the outfit she was wearing made her look like Baby Claus! Too cute!

I am a Scrapbooking Tutor!!

It's very exciting to say that! Last night I had my first Crop/Class over at Absolutely Crafty. I had 4 very lovely ladies there and I had so much fun! I was a bit nervous to begin with but the nerves dissapeared and I really enjoyed myself.

Gay the owner of the store gave me some beautiful Making Memories papers and a packet of ribbons and fibres from the Flutter Range to work with and I made 5 LOs with them.
These are some of the products I got to play with ....


And this is what I made with it ....

Bad Blogger!!

Forgive me Father for I have Sinned ... it's been 8 days since I last blogged ...

Well today is the day of Riley's 2nd school visit at Pukekohe Hill School.


School visits are from 8.45am until 12.30pm. Last week Riley had a HUGE day. He went to school assembly shortly after I left. He got a bit overwhelmed by that and cried, the teacher took him for a little walk to settle him down. He also got to go Swimming in the school pool! He was very happy when I picked him up and his teacher, Mrs Masters, said he had a great day. Fingers crossed for another one today.

The only crafting I have done lately is for my first class over at Absolutely Crafty. I have completed 3 LOs and have another 2 planned. I'll share them all with you after my class :)

Apart from that life has been quiet. I am searching for a job. Money is tight and Jase and I have plans of owning our own home. To do that we need a second wage. Sadly with Riley heading off to school it makes things a little awkward. Firstly we can't afford before/after/school holiday care, and I personally would prefer to not have to use those services. So I need a job in school hours (9am-3pm) and preferably with the school holidays off. Sadly not many people are that flexible! And understandably so! But I am working on a few different options. Fingers crossed one of them works out soon.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Today I went to meet a lovely lady called Gay at Absolutely Crafty. She has agreed to let me take classes at her store!!! I am soooo excited! She gave me some gorgeous papers and matching embellies to work out my class with. I'm nervous and excited and all jelly lol!!

So a BIG WOO HOO to me today!!