Phew life sure gets busy.

I cannot believe how quick this year is flying by and I cannot seem to keep up with all that I should, particularly in the way of blogging. I know I BAD!
School started back last week and this is the first full week for all of my kids and can you believe that Steps started high school this year *sigh* *cry* *sigh*......yep she sure did and she is loving it. So I have Lance in YR 10, Grace in YR 9, Stephanie in YR 7 and Maddison in YR 6 and the last of the Turnbull family to be in primary school. I mean where have the years gone. I think I blinked and missed them somehow. It is really pleasing to know Steps lis oving school and in fact all of them are but starting high school is a very big step and she is an old hand at it now.....lol (helps with older siblings being there).
We had the most wonderful priviledge of going to a wedding 2 weekends ago. Saturday the 27th of January, Jevon and Wendy were married. It was a beautiful and simple wedding in the Botanical Gardens in Warrnambool and then across to the RCI meeting hall for the reception which was lovely. Afternoon tea High Society way. Lots of yummy cakes, great coffee although I only had a hot chocci and soft drink for those that "needed" it. I have known Jevon since he was 5 and if memory serves me correct he turned 27 this year, although it could be 26. He married a lady in our church we all attend who had gone through a tragic marriage once already and has 3 little children to care for. We have seen these 2 fall in love and truly respect one another and Jevon has taken on those beautiful kids just like they are his own. It is wonderful to see. I wish them all the best and know that they will have a long and happy marriage. (Have photos just need to edit them before I pop them on).
I have been busy designing but I have to admit I am so uncertain about it all as I don't feel my stuff is good enough. I look at some of the most awesome designers and wish I could be like them (even just a little) and know that I am not nor will ever be. I do enjoy creating particularly papers as they are so much easier than elements and while on that subject....yep the element one, talk about WOW, they are getting more and more sophisticated all the time and I and my brain are on limits. Plus the fact I wouldn't have a clue how they create them. Always good for learning but woah sometimes it all moves to fast and I am so much better in the slow lane....lol

As for scrapbooking well nothing on the paper front and as much as I want to hang onto that it is slipping away more and more and digi is fast taking over the lot. Not so good when you have so much stuff but if I use it up in one form or another than perhaps I will then just make digi 100% and I would also have a little more room in the house. Interesting times are on MOI!
As for digi scrapping well heck yeh I have done a couple of LO's and here they are.

You'll find the credits here

Find credits here

New kits in my little world of digi designing.

Find Blossom here

Find Vintage Linen here

A little sneak peek at my latest kit just in time for Valentines. Not in store just yet.

i love u paper pack.

i love u element pack

Well that's pretty much it in a nutshell for now. All lovin' is greatly appreciated so please leave some. :) :)

Until next time stay safe and keep smilin'

Chris

I have been so slack.....

....but mainly because Grace's birthday (23rd Dec) and Christmas and the New Year celebrations and holidays for 9 days and getting back into the swing of things got in the way of blogging. I'm back now and I do hope you all had a great Christmas, a wonderful New Year and are enjoying what 2007 is bringing you.
Well what a year already hey and how terrible are these bushfires still raging through the state of Victoria with everyone so close to them on high alert. I do hope rain comes soon and gives much relief to all those that so desperately need it including us here in good old Bendigo. We are sadly watching our gardens die as there is nothing we can do about it and we are on such tight water restrictions already. Yet I am thankful that at this stage although not for long....we still have drinking water and pray that the water and bushfire crisis soon come to an end.
Well we had a lovely time for Grace's birthday and she turned 14 which I think I am in shock over then she happened to remind me sometime recently that she will be 15 this year.....lol....AHHHH!!!!! How does that happen.....that time just dissappears so quickly and before you know it yoru children are turning into young adults.

Christmas was lovely and we entertained my younger sister Debbie and my parents and my grandmother (whom I love dearly) and is 94 this year. We went away on the 30th down to a little place just outside of Geelong called Freshwater Creek where the church we are involved in have a private caravan park and Tim's parents own a caravan and hard annexe there so we were fortunate enought to enjoy 9 days down there and had a ball catchig up with dear friends we have known forever it seems. Only spent one day at the beach but that was enough for me it was terribly windy and hot so not the best weather for sitting on crowded beaches with no shade etc and too much sun and sand, but the kids more than made up for that as we have a pool at the caravan park and alot of the time it was not all that busy. so kids spent most of the arvo in there while Tim and I supervised and had a little (or alot) R+R. Perfect!

Anyway this week we start with back to school stuff and PHEW!!! now there be 3 in Secondary College and only Maddi left in P.S oh and of course Tim and Uni sometime in March I think.
Well just a quick blog to let you know yes I am still alive just been busy elsewhere.
Ciao for now and keep smiling.

Proud as puff!!!

That would be Tim and I as last night we attended the awards night up at the Secondary College both Lance and Grace attend and it is by invitation only. Anyways Grace received 19 achievement and effort awards which is absolutely incredible. She is placed in the top acheivers of her year level (yr 8) and her and another student both recieved the same amount making them the top 2 students in that yr level. Not bad....not bad at all and of course I am so proud of her....who wouldn't be?!

Tonight was awards night at the Primary School where Stephanie and Maddison attend and Stephanie won 2 awards. Outstanding Achievement in Art for 2006 the best in the senior unit and also an Encouragement Award for always striving to do her best in everything she does etc etc presented by the Parents Club.
So yep great stuff and what smarty dudettes they are. I'm so proud of them both and well I just had to let you know.
Also Maddison has been nominated for a scholarship so we wait patiently on that one.

Well with Christmas so close I wont be blogging as much at all until the season is over and we are back from our holiday. Yes we are off for a few days from the 30th of Dec till the 8th of Jan. Heading to the beach down at Geelong and looking so forward to it. I have some altered projects I wish to post but just to get started here are a couple of things. I altered some Basic Grey To Go Boxes with a few extra bits and pieces from my paper scrapping stash.

Full image

Close Up

This next photo is altered Christmas tins also using Basic Grey (Blitzen) papers

Well just a little blogging tonight so until next time stay safe and stay happy!

Christmas Inspiration!

Today thanks to DebF I was linked to one of the most beautiful Christmas Blogs I have ever seen. Not only does this blog belong to Santa and Mrs Claus but is it so inspiring for this time of year that I just had to blog a little about it and add the link so you can all pop on over and get your fix. The wonderful thing about this blog is the inspiration it offers to all of us as the Christmas Season draws nigh and the fact that Mrs Claus is a scrapbooker. Now that my friends is even better.

There are photos of Santa and his reindeer and there are Christmas goodies galore. Oh and did you know that NASA will track Santa and his reindeer with the GPS they sent him to make sure he doesn't get lost this year, whilst delivering gifts?! Good one NASA and it's great to know you are working along side Santa this year, cause with these extreme weather conditions we are all having who knows what trouble Santa and his faithful reindeer may find themselves in on Christmas Eve. Even Santa needs a little help to get through the busiest night of the year without any hiccups.

Now off you go and check the site out.... here is the link and I have also popped a link in the sidebar under Christmas Inspiration - Mr and Mrs Santa Claus, to take you there. So what you waiting for..... off you go and enjoy!

So onto other bits and pieces and any other ramblings of the day.

Update about the car after the hoses blew the other day. Well after Tim and I replaced the hoses that needed it and not an easy feat mind you with where they are (yes I played mechanics for a day) guess what?!...... he's purring like a kitten, and thank goodness for that because he wasn't and Tim and I were very concerned. Oh and yes a male car I have decided as a female car just would never have allowed that kinda nonsense to take place.
Anyway very good news.

Latest Layouts:

Yes these are just a couple of my latest LO's the first being for November's Quote Challenge over at PBP I finally uploaded to the gallery over there about 2 minutes ago.

Credits:

Annette Farrelly ~ Novemeber Quote Challenge. Amy Clegg ~ Gazebo Kit. Holly McCaig ~ lace, brown button and vintage clasp from her Shabby Retreat Kit. Stephanie Krush ~ paper tear from Digital Paper Tearing. Misty Cato ~ tag from her Eternal Romance sampler. Julie Mead ~ criss cross stitches from her Keep You In Stitches Kit. Meredith Fenwick ~ folder top from her Boy Oh Boy Kit. Font: Kartika. Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for chipboard action.

These next 2 are CT LO's for Faer Oaks Designs using her new Fusion Kit you can find here

Credits:

Faer Oaks ~ Fusion Kit, Shabby Princess ~ stitching from her Spring Breeze Kit, Tamara Lee Miller ~ torn note papers from her Letters to Home Kit, Atomic Cupcake ~ tab from her Guy Thing Kit, and Atomic Cupcake Cross stitches. Font: Arial narrow. Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for chipboard and tear action.

Credits:

Faer Oak ~ Fusion (brand new kit), Stephanie Krush ~ paper tear from Digital Paper Tearing, Michelle Coleman ~ Brush Strokes, Alys Vintage Action on photo. Ricrac by me and flowers created by me using elements from Faer Oaks new kit Fusion. Fonts: SF-Happiness and Arial. Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake for chipboard action.

You can read up about these layouts a little more over in my gallery at Pickleberrypop.

Well DD Grace is home and is asking for me to get off the PC as it is her turn tonight so I'd better do so. Until next blogging stay safe, take care, keep smilin', happy scrappin' and ciao for now!

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month.

Yep today is the 1st of December and officially summer. Although not sure what happened to spring cause it was hot to and then we had some weird cold snaps that didn't even happen in the swinter when it's suppose to.

Ok first up and so I thought I would first start by venting a little about the air conditioner in the car. So are you all sitting down?...lol

Anyway the car was booked in for Monday and Tuesday as the guys needed to work on it alot and come about 4pm Tuesday we ring to see if it is all done and yep it is so then Tim asks how much it cost this time round and the told us $911. So we freaked a little.......ok alot!!!
Basically the air con is new as they had to replace everything and of course all the hours of work which were alot so it cost all up around $1600...yep you read right and that's why I asked if you were sitting.


So yesterday as I was out and it being so hot it was time to use the air con ....bad mistake because the heater hoses blew and the car shut itself down and then completely drained it self of everything water and coolant so Tim and his Dad are out buying the replacement hoses now to fit but unfortunately we don't know if there has been any major damage done to the car as the head could have been melted or warped and if there has been then I just don't want to think about it so I have to admit I had a sleepless night last night. I am hoping that once the hoses are in place and everything is filled up then all will be fine but somewhere in the back of my mind....well ok forefront I feel it may not be as simple as that. To think we haven't even had the car for 6 months. Anyway no more to say just had to vent so now I have I'm not sure if I feel better or not.



I've done a little designing but only a few packs of alphas and want to do a couple more bits and pieces before I pop them in the shop but here is a sneak peek for you. They are Chipboard Glitter Fun Alphas with bonus symbols.

I've also been waiting on a paper scrapping order I put through last week so I can finish the album and altered boxes I am doing for Christmas. Thought it would be here by now so I am hoping today it will arrive. I ran out of ink and the ink I use is a Tim Holtz Ranger Ink for distressing all things that need it, anyways after sometime the pads dry out and thankfully this range you don't need to buy a new ink pad as they are quite exy but just a bottle of ink refiller.

I have just about finished the Christmas shopping. Finally decided on what to get for Stephanie but I can't post it here just yet as the kids read my blog. So now all I need to do is get Lance's bike the day before Christmas Eve and everything should be right.

Well the guys are back so it's time to go help work on this car of ours and keep the fingers crossed that everything is fine.

Have a great weekend, I know ours is full on and ciao for now.