Two Words

Root Canal.

I went to the dentist on Wednesday (which incidentally, involved an 8 hour round trip, all done on the one day), where they earned the quickest $85 in history.  I was in the waiting room longer than I was in the chair, and for my $85 I got tapped and poked (both of which nearly had me on the ceiling), had a lickety split x-ray, and then was handed a quote for Option A:  a $2495 root canal or Option B: a $375 extraction.

While neither option fills me with much joy and excitement,  the idea of getting around minus a tooth - albeit not a front one, but not one right in the back either - is not one that appeals to me on many fronts (vanity being one!) I guess I will be fronting up for the Root Canal  & Crown, once I have a chat to my health insurance provider.

According to the quote, this will take place over four seperate appointments, and given that it is 4 hours TO the dentisit and four hours HOME, some strategic planning will need to be undertaken.  And especially in the lead up to Christmas - lets just say I haven't chosen the best of time to need multiple trips to the city.

Anyhow, that's whats consuming my thoughts, that and general everyday stuff, like the temperamental washing machine (a whole other, very ranty and cranky post involving both the husband and the washing machine) and a slobbery, persistant poddy calf, clucky chooks that bite (apparently! according to Georgie),  all that sort of stuff that fills up my day. Oh, and just for a change, this evening's activities involved un-bogging the neighbours milking cow from the waterhole down the flat. Good times!

{Artwork from the www!}

Fluff

This will be one of those light and very fluffy posts, because really I have nothing to blog about other than the reams of paper I have been wading through getting my quarterly BAS completed. 

That, and the fact that I really don't need the post about my knickers to stay up there in front for any longer than necessary.  It seemed like a profound thought and observation at the time...

So, where was I?  oh...book-keeping.  It would help if I did a bit each month, but lordy, once I have reconciled and BAS'd, I am so sick of looking at it all...and then before you know it, three months have passed again.

So there, you have it, what I have been doing for the past few days - certainly not scrapping or sewing - though some minor surfing has happened while waiting for things to print and reports to process.

So, onto light and fluffy. If blogger doesn't stop mucking me about and cause me to tear my hair out when I try to post images, that is. Grrr. Feel free to scroll through or leave altogether if this is TOO fluffy!

Some simple quilts to inspire me, or you as the case may be.  Simple strips, but yummy yummy colour combos!

(all sourced from around the net, some from simple scrappin gal herself, Tina Cockburn.  Too lazy to post a link. Sorry.)

Waddya know. More bed linen related stuff.  Its more the colours and the spots that drew my eye to this.  Spots are just so happy and this looks so fresh and spring like!  Actually, I think I'd like to sleep on spotty sheets.  Surely you'd have to wake up happy?! (thanks Pottery Barn email)

Oh MORE spots!! how cute.  I don't need bobby pins, but if I DID...not sure it goes with the hip and happen' image that I am trying to project (ahem) so perhaps not...this one came into my inbox from madeit.com.au - a place full of wonderful handmade Australian crafts. Great place to look for baby gifts too, by the way.

Speaking of style, and seriously this time....do you think the outfit below is suited to a chubby, short, mother who's trendy days have long past...I am not sure if a maxi dress would HIDE the lumps and bumps, or rather make one look that they are a walking circus tent, albeit one made from really pretty, summery cotton material.

I did think the little denim vest was a rather clever idea - I don't wear narrow strappy tops as don't like my underwear on show (its more of the plain, comfy and heavy duty keep 'em up kind) so would cover that and any other bits of lard that could be hanging about (it truly is  a comfort to me to discover that even skinny people have back fat problems!)                                                                                               So that's it - very much light and fluffy and full of bl#*dy formatting problems - blogger is not my friend tonight.  But my bed is, so off I go - via the shower!

Briefly (literally!)

You know you are getting:

a. old

b. fat   chubby

c. all of the above

when you accidentally buy a pack of full briefs, along with your normal high cut briefs, you wear them and you find they are quite comfortable actually!

In their defence, they look totally identical to the high cut ones, except for a slightly lower legline, and they in no way or form resemble cotton-tails. Just so you know I am not THAT far gone into dagginess!!  And when your old ones are holey and the elastic's gone in the bum, well, beggars can't be choosers...!

I know, this probably comes under the heading of "too much information"....

Must dash now, have an afternoon out with s-i-l and neice (when I reallly should be home doing bookwork!)

Sometimes Civilisation Is Good

Right now I am wishing that I live a little closer than 200 odd kilometres from the nearest VERY busy dentist, whom I have no doubt will struggle to fit me in on Monday.

But as long as I have ibuprofen, and bonjella, I am sure I will cope until I can see him!

Just another peice of evidence to show that I am feeling every bit of my soon to be 35 years (sigh) and three teeth destroying preganancies!! The body is falling apart....

Anyhow! Until then, I have once again been wasting my time   discovering and collecting other projects that are not likely to ever be created, given that I don't seem to be able to keep up with the laundry folding or the account keeping, let alone get any crafty time.

Mind you, I could stop blogging - THAT would give me more "play" time! but I'd miss you guys!

I guess I am behind the times, but I noticed the cute tissue/crepe paper flowers in the birthday cake photo of  my last post .... well here's some more:

And here's a link with better instructions than the ones Martha provided.

giant paper pom poms

Pretty aren't they!  I am thinking that these would be great at Christmas too, in your chosen colour theme!

Or PERHAPS! light bulb going off (don't worry, I haven't quite lost the plot, its just that the phone has rung every morning at 6am this week, and I reaalllly love that half  - three quarters hour sleep, that I haven't been getting !) this would be a great, easy decoration for the girl's room makeover?!!  Pick a colour or two from their new quilt covers and go for it!

This might just happen after all. I was going to cut out large butterflies and hang them, but this could be cuter! (ps - Nicole, waiting to see how your girls room turned out!)

The biggest challenge with the room makeover, will be getting them to keep their room TIDY. And make their beds!

Here's another smaller version: the possibilities are endless.

Can you tell I am tired and have, just possibly, had just a tad too many ibuprofen tablets (shh, four in one dose - I was in serious pain!! but not anymooore!)

And just one more random thing:  I really want to start doing some sewing again soon - the cute tops I mentioned in an earlier post, and a couple of simple and easy quilts  - one each for the girls to have in the car (the airconditioning is cold apparently, and the brawls over the blanket they have to share...well, it doesn't do our blood pressure any good!) and to throw on couch.  Something like this.

Just as soon as I get the laundry folded, the BAS done, and oh. Visit the dentist!

ideas

I came across this gorgeous birthday cake idea whilst checking out someone's blog (don't ask me who, I am terrible of keeping tabs! ooh, look, it was a photo by Leanne! she's over there someone on my blog roll. She has a great photography blog too) and thought what a gorgeous cake!!

Funnily enough, I have not long ago purchased a similar (though not as cute) little ornament from a $2 shop, that I thought would be a cute gift for my oldest daughter's next birthday (# 7).  It's ages away, at the end of January, but my chances of ever seeing anything like it again were slim, so bought it and put it in the cupboard.

I was just going to give it as a little gift - but now I am inspired!  I certainly wont be tangling with any marzipan in any shape or form, but I reckon with a sturdy enough cake and some generous applications of icing, perhaps I might be able to finally present a cake that doesn't look like a two year old has made! (perhaps I should be submitting to Cake Wrecks? sigh)

Remember this?  Melted icing and all (due to idiot me not working out the time frame for cooking + icing!)

Poor Kate, she always seems to cop the raw end of the deal when it comes to dodgy cakes!  The next birthday in the roster is actually mine (that "special" one that falls between 30 and 40...sigh) but seeing as it is so close after Christmas, I can nearly always get away no cake!

Watch this space in January for the next installment of "Dodgy Birthday Cakes"!

One at A Time

I have a friend, Juliane, who is slowly dipping her toes into the world of scrapbooking, but the very simple, very quick and very basic (but effective) type of scrapping- a bit like the old family photo project I posted about the other day.

We dont' keep in touch as often as we should (she lives about 600km away on a remote cattle property, with three wild and woolly boys, one of which she teaches year 1 on Distance Ed schooling) but she has my blog as her home page! (nothing like a bit of pressure to keep updated, now that I know that!!)

She asked me today about where and how to get the lovely fonts that she is seeing everyone use.

These are some font links for you Jules - have some fun!!

Simply the Best Fonts

dafont

fonts101

kevin and amanda

scrapbooking fonts

And because of course I cannot post without some pretty photo or thing:

Cute bookmark made from the crocheted flowers that can be bought premade, or from ebay and etsy, OR even made yourself!  I had great plans to teach myself to crochet properley (like in following a pattern!) but haven't yet found the motivation!

And, because apparently Christmas is getting close, some ideas to get you cracking on Christmas Crafts:

Cute button wreath (threaded onto wire) and some so simlpe felt decorations!

So Juliane, get downloading some fonts!

Signing off - converting the world one simple scrapper at a time!

On This Day

Actually, on this day TOMORROW, eight years ago, was our wedding day.

Ah, just look at how young we were!  That little blonde flowergirl, the sweet Sally - she's about to leave school and embark into grown up life!  That other little rat bag, well , she's still a ratbag, just bigger!

Photography wasn't as big back then as it is now.  Or perhaps it was, its just I didn't know then what I know now!! Wish we had better photos...but at least we have some! 

We've packed a lot into our eight years?  Buying and selling houses, properties, building our business(es), working together, grieving together, laughing together.  But these are the biggest things we've managed to fit into the past eight years:

They are mostly responsible for my loss of brain cells due to the lack of sleep over many many nights x 3.  But I wouldn't change a thing.  Actually, I might change that my #1 and #3 babies were sleepers, and that #3 didn't vomit all over the floor and my feet last night, but that's fairly minor in the scheme of things isn't it?

Happy Anniversary for tomorrow Trevor! xoxo

Another Project

Oh, I am the greatest project collector - but not the greatest of finishers, nor starters, truth be told!!  But one does need to keep ones mind occupied...and fuelling one's slight OCD tendancies for thinking up new things to do that one hasn't got time for!

(enough of this "one" business)

New obession :  the pillowcase type dress: may I present exhibit A - a collection of cute tops made by other crafty people on the www.

Oh, the internet is full of goodness - tutorials and patterns, all with a slightly different method {there's more than one way to skin a cat! ;-)}

Apparently this is the easiest little top ever to make - based on using old vintage pillowcases, but there's nothing to stop one (oops!) using what ever pretty fabric one (!) might like!

And even better? :-) I've found a tutorial for making the same style top, but how to make it for a person of more (ahem) geneous proportions!! (and perhaps longer line, but slimmer cut to avoid the tent effect!)

I can see co-ordinating (but not too matchy-matchy!) tops for Christmas - worn with capri pants (for me) and shorts for the girls!

Onto the business end of the post.  If you are similary inspired, here is a collection of tutorials I have bookmarked to go back to, so go check them out.

Sundress

pillowcase dress instructions

pillow case dresses for small girls

pillowcase dress tutorial

pillowcase_dress_how_to

make-girls-dresses

I don't have the link for the grown up version (silly me!) but I did cut and paste it and saved it, so if you are interested, just leave a comment and I can email it to you!

I am keen to actually DO this sewing project, so hopefully they will work out (given how long it is since my machine has been used!)

Fast, Simple and Effective

I told you I had lots of ideas swimming around in my head!

Recently, Di and I were conversing by email, about scrapping (or not scrapping) those old family photos, as she has just signed up to Ali E's new Yesterday and Tomorrow class.

I have a shoe box full on loan from my mother in law, of my husband's childhood - which is full of stories and adventures of three brothers getting up to all sorts of mischief, plus a few lovely old photographs of his parents (Trevor's father tells a tale about Trevor's mother and a green bikini, back in their courting days!) and of his maternal and paternal grandparents.

The same for me - photos of my childhood, and some rather lovely ones from my grandmother's childhood.

So there are lots, with stories and memories attached.

What to do?  Obviously the task of sorting out them out (taking a cut - I can't use them all!) and scanning is fairly straightforward, if not tedious, but then what?

I've come to a solution - keeping the photos and the stories, simply, fast and effectivley.

I already had a 4x6 two-per-page slip in photo album in which I had slipped some old photos I had printed, for safekeeping. I got to thinking, rather than scrap this in the traditional way, why not utilise this album and get through those old photos quickly?

As you can see above, I quickly scribbled out some notes and ideas, which just tucked inside the album to remind me what my plans are, as and when I get to these photos.  I forsee that it will be done in batches.

My basic plan is to use one pocket on each page for a photo (printed at 4x6) and the pocket below will have a 4x6 journalling card, with the story and or information about the photo. I've made myself a little template, the text will be typed up in Word and printed.  The style of font will remain consitent throughout.  I might use some patterned paper, I might not.  Probably NOT, the focus here is on getting done.

 (as a note, I am not sure if I like this journalling block thingy that I made - font etc, but I can change that later if I get more inspired!)

What about the CONTENT of the journalling, you ask?  Here is the fun part!  My mum is off to visit her sister soon, so the batch of photos that is printed already, and stored in this album, will go with her, with some scraps of writing paper in the pocket below each photo.  Mum and her sister can go through these over smoko, sorry morning tea (for Nicole, who with a slightly horrified tone, asked me recently if I really did stop for "smoko" with my 5 year old! I think she had a different interpreation of the word) write a few notes and memories down, and presto!

The same for Trevor and I, with our childhood photos, and the same for his parents.  The notes will be stored with the photos, and I can simply transpose them and print them out (as much as the handwritten notes would be nice - sometimes its a little hard to read mum's and my aunts handwriting, and that's after 30 odd years of learning to decipher it!  How would the next generation fare?!)

I am thinking that this may become a little bland, but at this stage am not sure what I could do to add that little something extra without straying too far away from my very basic formula. I may turn to the great CZ for some inspiration!

I will probably get an album each for Trevor's & my childhood , and one each for each side of the family (seperating the maternal/paternal etc with title blocks).

So, what do you think?

Seriously

I did some work out in the garden this morning, planting some lavendar, parsley, chives and basil (more for its pretty flower and gorgeous scent than for any passion for cooking with fresh herbs!) by the chook run. 

So the birds are singing, beautiful morning out.  I'm having a lovely time. Getting dirty. LOTS of happy birds.

I'm listening to the birds while I work.  I start to hear something very familiar, but its coming from up in the tree! 

So what does it mean when a bower bird starts mimicking the long drawn out call "Muuuuuuuum!"  that we all hear every.bloody.day.?!!

Seriously! It really happened.

That bird now does the cat(s) AND the kids down pat.

Anyhow, whilst on the subject of motherhood, when getting ideas for my foot fetish photos yesterday, I came across great Qld based photographer Rachel Richters blog. She is so good!  I don't have the link but it would be easy to find - worth checking out.  Below is one of the photos I found on her site:  if this doesn't make you all clucky and goey - just for a moment at least - than NOTHING will! 

I showed it to my husband, he took one look at it, looked at me, and ran very fast away from me and put his head under a pillow.

I think we are very definate about not having any more, don't you!
:-)

Just look at those little hands!  But then, I remember the crying, the pooping, the NO SLEEPING....and then they grow up and starting yelling out MUUUUUUM fifty million times a day, or enough to have the bower birds imitating them? 

Bower birds aside, I have more babies on the mind than the human ones right now... this week we have been busy shifting a mob of cows and baby calves, and there are a few stragglers left in the paddock, who I HOPE had their calves hidden away under a tree.  It's my job to go and see if these babies have appeared...otherwise we may have lost some. :-(  So its off we go and what mothers and babies are at the water trough... and I'll take my camera this time (forgot the other day, but I probably would have had a rock thrown at me if I'd dared to take the time to take photos - we were a wee bit busy and shorthanded!)

Inspired

I have a whole lot of different posts swimming around my head at the moment, but first thought I share this one.  I guess after seeing Mel's great high heels photo from a recent wedding she did, I have been thinking about the some of the great family "feet" photos that we have all seen.  I have never really thought of doing this myself, until now, so went searching for some further inspiration.  I think a "foot" shot would be a great "capturing the moment" shot, especially those dirty grubby feet  + matching faces moments that happen so often around here!

(PLEASE NOTE: None of the images below are mine!! or are of me or my family!! thanks internet!)

Here's what I have found to inspire me, so hoping I get a chance to do this soon, and maybe set the timer and get a whole family shot (taking great care to NOT go above the knees of myself - I do not need to include that particulary part of my body!! or wear a nice long line shirt!)

 Love this one, for a engagement or couple!

I really like the denim look, maybe paired with a pretty girly skirt on one or both of the girls? And painted toes on me of course!

I only did a very quick search, there are so many of this kind of shot out there, so its really nothing new and different, but still it would be nice to have something like this capturing the kids + us at this moment in time, before their feet get any huger!!

Avoidance

As you know, I am the greatest procrastinator, and so in a effort to ignore the ever growing pile of clean washing clamouring to be folded and put away, I did THIS the other day.

"This" being the photography blog that my friend Mel (a local photographer, who is doing wonderful job doing weddings, even though she stresses so!!)  and I had been talking about for ages.  Between us, we were never going to get the time to do it together, so I just went and did it all by myself, using her photos that she had published on facebook.  I even whipped up the header (shown above) to showcase some of my favourites of her recent photo shoots.

What a learning curve!! I used a downloaded template, made some changes (finding JUST the right information when googled, which doesn't normally happen for me!), added a menu bar thingy at the top (VERY proud of that acheivement!) and while a few more twiddles and tweaks need to be done, as soon as I research if and how, its DONE!

Well done in the sense that it is set up, but not done in the sense that Mel needs to add some content! She asked that I not post the link here until she'd done that, but here I am posting, as a little kick up the bum to "get movin' Mel!" We want some photos!!

Anyhow, this is not going to get the washing folded (oh, where are you, folding fairies?!!) Best get to it - so I can reward myself with two things 1. cleaning up the office / scrapping desk (it seems to get in dissarray in 10.4 seconds after last tidied!) and 2. some scrapping!!

Templates and Overlays

A while ago CZ posted a tutorial on how to make your own photo overlay template. Go here to check it out.

But, like many, I have wondered how to make rounded corners on my overlay. Surely it would be simple, but my grasp on PSE isn't all that great (I can edit photos, but don't ask me to do anything too creative!!)

But finally, the question has been answered!! I thought I would share it with you (discovered trawling through the comments on CZ's blog, hoping that someone else wanted to know how to do the same thing!)

"In PSE7 on a pc - use the rectangular marquee tool to draw your shape.Go to Select>Modify>Smooth, then enter...how about 50 pxls... to try it out. This will round the corners. To make it a bit less jaggedy, go to Select>Feather and type in 2 pxls.When you stroke the resulting selection it seems to take on the feathering - play with it and adjust as desired."

BUT - wait there's more: You can get a nicely rounded edge after Heidi's "Select, Modify, Smooth, 50 pixels" by going to "Select, Refine Edges (Alt Cmd R)" and using the following settings: Radius 1.0, Contrast 100%, Smooth 100, Fether 2, Contrast/Edge 0"

I tried the first method, and yes it did work, but was left with quite jagged corners that needed some fiddling with. The second method worked brilliantly - even though my version of PSE did not have the "radius" bit, I entered the rest of the numbers and it worked fine.

So now I can make my own templates and overlays - but I have no idea how to make something with ONE rounded edge and one normal edge!! oh well. But at least my desire for rounded edges has now been fufilled.

Stay tuned, hope to share some of the results with you soon!

Home Again

Finally home after a hectic week! Trying to gather my thoughts and all of the crap that has accumulated - which is what happens when you arrive home for five minutes, dump ones huge grocery order and other bits of shopping, gather up work clothes and go again. Not much time for tidying up and putting things away !!

This was my week:

Saturday: ran around all day getting Kate's gear together for school camp. Wondering how out of 10 pairs of identical school socks purchased at beginning of year we now seem down to 6 pairs. Where do they go?!

Sunday arvo: put Kate on the bus to school camp. She was beyond excited to be going!

Monday arvo: handed over remaining kids to Granny where they departed for sleepover x 2 at her house. Then jumped in ute with Trevor and drove to coast. Into bed around 11:30pm.

Tuesday: Ran around the city all day shopping and picking up parts and the like, getting some building materials (yay!) to build the wall in my office. Collected "new" truck (as in new for us!) at 5:30pm, left for home. Got grocery order in Charters Towers and a quick bite to eat and then on the road again. Home at 11:40pm - in bed at 1:30pm.

Wednesday: unpacked the groceries, threw rest of shopping in pile. Rounded up clothes for me and kids, watered madly, fed all animals. Hooked on trailer loaded with 4 wheeler, went to load dogs to find they had run off somewhere. Much fuming and grumbling, left note for Trevor to collect them on his back from LC, where he had gone to before daylight. 10am left to collect kids from Granny's, enroute to my parents property. After lunch went out on 4 wheeler and helped muster cattle back to yards. 9pm in bed!!

Thursday: am helped mum sort out some computer problems whilst Trevor and men drafted cattle. After lunch headed out on motorbike again to bring in another big mob. Fun and games trying to get them to leave. Back to yards around 5:30pm. Feed the poddy that Trevor brought with him, poor little fellow.

Friday: leave men to drafting again; when kids up and eaten run the horses in. Smoko and then saddle horses for me and Georgie, and help walk cattle 5kms back to paddock. Angus came too with Trevor/Grandad. Georgie had a great time riding Ben. After lunch rounded up all of our gear and the poddy and came home. Collected Kate from the school at 7pm, returned from school camp.

And that leaves us with Saturday, and me not really wanting to do a lot, but considering that the wretched cats left the feathered remains of TWO birds strategically placed in the kitchen and bathroom, I really need to vaccuum up some stray fluffy feathers.

I have some photos of our adventures, so will post some soon, just after the feathers and feeding this poor little poddy, and the few other million things that need doing!

I'm All Alone

You remember how Donkey in Shrek sang that "I'm All Aloone"?Well, that's how that phrase is playing in my head right now.

Cause I am ALL ALONE! The first time since January 2003 that I have been all alone, all day AND ALL NIGHT at home (not counting hospital visits an the like of course)!! All three kids went for a sleepover at Granma's last night (even my 3 year old baby, who was NOT going to be left behind!), and they are then off to a sleepover at Granny's tonight. Oh, the social life of grandchildren - and aren't they going to be bloody impossible when they eventually get home?!

So, you would think that my husband and I would have planned a romantic evening together, seeing as there were no kids at home last night?! Wouldn't you?! (snort, snicker!) Instead, we both enjoyed the luxuriousness of our new leather lounges (him in the recliner snoring, me on the couch) and revelled in the peace and quiet. And had our dinner sitting on the aforementioned new lounge/s, enjoying that especially so as we have banned the kids from having food within a two metre radius of them (leading by example is a bugger isn't it?!)

Anyhow, the kids are at Granny's tonight, and Trevor has gone off on an adventure in the truck this morning, to the wilds of Central Qld, so I am truly ALL alone, until tomorrow night.

I really don't know what I should do with myself! I should tuck in and enjoy some uninterrupted scrapping, but instead, I think I will boot up the ole laptop and finish off the books for the campdraft. Seeing as I am secretary/treasurer (albeit reluctantly!) and all and its well past due!

Anyhow, seeing as I have droned on enough about being ALL ALONE, I thought I would share some other nonsense I have gathered randomly from the internet, in an effort to inspire me, and hopefully, you!

Right hand image - the tuapes and blues (on sale at Target!) I want to also refresh my spare room (poor thing!) and I really favour the beachy Hamptons look. You know, washed out blues and sandy tuapes and lots of white splashed everywhere.

I thought this was a clever little display, so easy to do with just some 12x12 yummy paper, in colours to match your room! Am I likely to do this? probably not!

Another take on the same idea. I am thinking high levels of gloss varnish would be needed to cope with the dust levels where I live. While not as hazy as a few days ago, still not good.

Bunting is really all the ragge at the moment, in all of the magazines and designer stores. But it is cute, simple and effective. I just MIGHT do this for my kids room refresheners, I think my sewing skills are up to this challenge! ;-)

This I AM going to have printed and framed in will hang in my office/craft room whenever its missing wall gets put up - because that wall will be exactly that colour. This won't hang on that wall, but will go somewhere else obvious.

And this butterfly art? Too easy and too cute. I think I've posted something similar before. But of course I have actually MADE anything like this!

A cute card, with buttons. I actually WAS going to make something like this, but ran out of time. Used a store bought one instead.

More die cutting and pop dotting shapes. Gee, its so effective isn't it?

And that's about it for now. Off to my laptop...but what's that I see....a Marian Keyes novel I haven't yet read?! (my new favourite authors: Irish ones - Marian Keyes (hilarious) Maeve Binchy (also funny, but with such great characters, AND one can hear the accent through the page) and Cecelia Ahearn (whimsical, funny, sad, infinatley readable) and also Cathy Kelly, but she's not quite as entertaining as the others.

Geez, it's so QUIET!!