Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

It’s not too late!
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.
What does that make you think of?
Crumbs in bed?
Pampering?
Being reminded of all things lovely?
I’ve been thinking about Mother’s Day
And what perfect gifts may look like.
Anything coffee related sure does get a tick from me.

Anything craft/photo related gets a tick too.
I’ve been having fun with the Fujifilm Instax Share and I have to tell you…
I think any Mum would love one of these!

A book is another great gift idea.
A book voucher is an even better idea,
You can’t go wrong then!

Oh and time to sit and read it would be just as wonderful
Don’t you think?

Time out is another winner!
Sleep ins are a favourite of mine.
A bath or a spa might be something your Mum might enjoy.

But one thing is sure just a moment of quiet
Is going to be something she’d love.

But one thing is for sure,
Just saying Thanks Mum or I love you Mum or even a hug
Is the best gift you’ll ever give your Mum.
Sometimes we forget and Mother’s Day
Is a great way to be reminded.

PS I am in need of new slippers…

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It's Only Words, And Words Are All I Have

Yesterday I posted a photo on Instagram
With some thoughts.
Today I printed the photo,
Added to the words
And scrapped this page

I was inspired by a title making technique that Wilna Furstenberg shared on a video for Two Peas 
She cut her title, with the Silhouette Cameo
But she cut several copies and layered them to add some height.
I cut my title 3 times in white
And then once in gold glitter cardstock.
Then stuck them all together.

I used a Cocoa Daisy stamp
On some washi tape

I printed my journaling
Using the Rough Typewriter font

And adding just a few embellishments
Because I wanted the words to speak loudest.

Do you scrap little words of wisdom?
What messages do you want to share?
What thoughts do you want to leave behind?

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Anything Can Happen

With the closing of 2012 I was pondering what my One Little Word for the new year would be.
What would be the word to carry me into the next year.
Thinking of what I wanted to take from the old year and what I wanted from the new.
A word that would encompass what I want to achieve for 2013.
A word that would centre me throughout the year.
There were a few things that sparked for me.

Firstly was the song that the class, I had been working with, used for their end of year performance.
Listen to the song, rather than watch the video (it’s a bit umm gruesome in parts)

Then there were the lyrics for Mary Poppins song

and then came Christmas.
Christmas is a time for believing.
For us, it’s a time for celebrating what we believe in.
and for Kids it is a time for believing they have been good and that Santa will deliver.
So with all this in mind I arrived at my word for 2013….
BELIEVE

I am believing for a year of possibilities.
I am hoping for a year of growth, believing those around me will grow too.
I am wanting a year of believing in myself, a growing confidence in my ability.
I am expecting a year of amazing opportunities, believing that I will open and ready for these.

I believe that this year I will have time for Dave and I.
I believe that this year I will care for my family in strong, healthy ways.
I believe that this year I will be creative.
I believe that this year I will stay focused on what matters and let slide the things that don’t.

In 2013 I believe anything can happen.
I am excited.
I am ready.
And I believe.

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Starts You Asking A Daisy "What To Do, What To Do?"

I’ve had this blog post rolling around in my head for some time
It wasn’t lonely, there in my head, because there are quite a few ideas up there
some are just waiting for the right words
some are just waiting for the right time
and some just float away with many of my other thoughts
never to be retrieved, sad sad sad
Anyway…
Have you noticed a time in the day where you are the most creative?
a time where things flow out better than any other?
Have you noticed your creativity time?
I have
It’s almost always 1.30-2pm
the time when I am meant to be getting things ready so I can jump in the car for school pick up
I’ve wondered why I can’t be as creative at 9am
why I bottle those creative juices and use them at 11
but no
hit 1.30ish and I’m itching to create
and it all comes naturally
sometimes I am just too busy to heed the call to creativity
but not today
and I’m glad I listened
I haven’t created anything in a while
so it felt good to just play
a simple play
but a good one

played with some older Sassafras Lass papers
doodling and paint

my favourite alpha font right now is the American Crafts Sunrise thickers
I love that they are a little quirky AND that the pack comes with lots of lower and upper case letters

and I love my blue typewriter for helping me jot down this little moment in time

so have you noticed your creativity time?

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I Have Confidence In Sunshine

Sometimes you get knocked down
but you’ve got to pick yourself back up again
dust yourself off and hold on to the fact that you are you for a reason
Sometimes that reason is obvious
Other times it’s not
but obvious or not you’ve got to be you in all you do
and I think that I do me rather well
I think that there are many times when people don’t get me, for whatever reason
I think that I am ok with that
I do question who I am
I do question who I am becoming
I wonder if people who see me, as I am now, will see me the same when I become the me that I am becoming
I made this page thinking about all of this, and more

wondering…

Knowing that I am more than what I am now

used some favourite things to make the page
Brown paper bags are amazing things

and luggage tags are definitely underrated!

and there you have it
out there
On a platter
For you
Because I think it matters

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This Day Did Not Come For Some Other

One of the things we are trying to teach our girls is that life is about choices
It is full of endless possibilities
It is full of opportunities
It is full decisions
We try to teach our girls that their are consequences to decisions
That with good choices come good outcomes
And, similarly, with bad choices come bad consequences
Sometimes the choices have outcomes that you can see, here and now
Other choices take time to come to fruition
Sometimes you can make a choice that will lead you to different choices
Sometimes other people’s choices will impact on what, or how, you choose
But you will always have a choice
We always tell our girls that no matter how many bad choices you make
You can always turn around and make a good choice
We also tell our girls that no matter what choice they make we will always love them
and will always be here for them
Sometimes we take for granted the freedom that we have to make choices
Sometimes we get swept up in life and before we know it we are at a destination that is unfamiliar
Somewhere that we weren’t excepting to be
I want our girls to see what is coming
I want them to make good choices so they can be all they are meant to be

So this page was made with all of this in mind



I cut up a 7Gypsies mini ephemera card
The bike… is a Crate Restoration rubon

And here is the other ‘bit’, that I cut off :)

 

no journaling, as such
Because I think this just says everything I wanted to say

also used: Cardstock: American Crafts, Pattern Paper: Studio Calico (documentary line), Ribbon: American Crafts, Lettering: Studio Calico and Basic Grey.

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Now Is Greater And I Know That

I had so many things I wanted to say about this page
So many insights into why I made it
So many thoughts I wanted you to get
and now I go to write them down…
Yep not one of those thoughts are there
I can no longer put into words what I wanted to say
So I will just share what I have, start writing and see what you ‘get’
and hope you 1. get something and/or 2. get what I wanted to say

Inspired by a quote that I read on Denise’s blog

What I love about quotes is that what you get from it isn’t always what someone else gets
I love that quotes can mean something to you today and something else tomorrow
The ‘spark’ for me today was the cracks
Everyone has cracks in their lives
We can try and ‘fill’ those cracks
Try to fix someone else’s cracks
But I have learnt that you can’t change people
I’ve learnt that people will make ‘cracks’ in their lives
I’ve learnt that you can’t change that
What you can change is your own life
You can step away from the cracks and be yourself
You can to let those cracks be, let them go because you realise they aren’t your cracks to deal with
You can live differently
You can rise above those cracks
You can shine

I’ve been pondering this journaling, for a while
Wondering how I could put it into words
Wondering how I could put it on a page
So today I stopped wondering and created

 

I used My Minds Eye papers, which wasn’t thought out… it just happened that way
Lovin’ the new Such Sweet Tierney chipboard buttons

and these puffy thickers are in such a great font,”Honey”, love how they ‘fit’ together :)

I am loving that our days are getting longer
This afternoon, after school, the girls wanted to kick a ball around outside
So we delayed cooking dinner for a while

Elizabeth and Lucy kicked the ball around for a while, with Dave
Jessica mucked about

Megan thought it was too cold and not cool enough (HA!) so came back inside
As for me…
I just love him and all he does

oh and yesterday Lucy and I were sitting in the car at school
waiting to get the girls
It was raining so we were putting off getting out
Anyway
Lucy spied this fella

a kookaburra
What was funny, though,
was that Lucy was shocked that I had my camera
and then tonight, when Megan saw this photo, she was surprised that I had a camera in my bag too!
I was shocked that they hadn’t figured out that I carry it with me everywhere!!
My goodness what planet have my girls been living on??!! hehehe

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Sometimes I Feel So Little

Sometimes life seems to turn the throttle on to full tilt and someone removes the handbrake
That’s how life is right now
This little lady, our 2 week old niece,

was admitted into hospital on Friday and has meningitis
Please think of her often and pray for her, her Mum and Dad and all that love her

Dave has been away for the last 2 days, back tomorrow HOORAY, and life here has been busy
Took Lucy to the Dr yesterday and made appointments for Elizabeth and Jessica to see the Dr after school today
Jessica and Lucy are ok, just have to wait those things out, while Elizabeth is now on a long course of antibiotics, in hope that it clears some of the fluid off her ears as the poor kid is ever so slightly deaf
She had her hearing tested a few weeks back and it was down then so will finish this course of medicine, get her ears checked again and if the fluid has gone we will get her hearing retested and hope for the best

So as you can see life has pushed us into the express lane and no sign of letting up
Today I really felt the distance thing, the fact that Dave is so far away, that my Mum, sister and her girls are so far away and that my brother, sister in law and new baby are also so far away and there isn’t anything I can do to change any of that

But when things get me down I pull out my camera and try to capture some of the things that are good in life
And when I feel overwhelmed with the bigness of situations and feel start feeling small in comparison, I try to see the small things, the things that get missed, things that make me happy, seeing ordinary things in a different way
Like water falling onto the new lawn

Like the new raspberry buds forming to make delicious fruit in time for Christmas

and when I feel down, I spend time in the sun with a rabbit

 
I watch her take life by the hands and give it a good shake

and then I come to realise that life can stand still, just for a moment

and by capturing that moment, I don’t feel so small any more

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I...

I am glad...
*that I have a family to love
*of time spent doing nothing but cuddling
*being able to buy Lucy babycinos
*of life
*that Mum is home for a while
*that my sister now has a webcam and we can talk to them all
*of spending time being
*I have so much to be thankful and happy for
*of good decisions
*of time spent with Mum and Dad
*That I can share my story with others
*I can remember
*I can cry
*that I have a wonderful man in my life

I want...

*Time to sleep

*Sunshine so I can take photos and to get lost in the moment

*To not feel sad about so many things

*to remember

*To have time to scrap all the wonderful photos from our holiday

*time out so I can breathe again

*to feel like blogging again

*to put into words the thoughts that float in my head

*to create something

*my life to be more

*the grocery shopping to be over and done with quickly tomorrow

*to be back here tomorrow with a 'normal' post

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Rest and Reflection

Thank you to all those that left comments or have emailed
I have appreciated each of those and am thankful for the caring folk who have crossed my path or ventured to my blog

My blog title I nicked from the Scrap Of Faith blog
They have been doing weekly prompts about Restoring our Womanhood and this weeks prompt hit home as it has been what my blog break has been about

This last week has been a heavy one
A culmination of many things
Most of those are things I can’t share with you here, on my blog, although I would love to because I feel that people need to be aware of these struggles but these stories are not mine and I can’t share them

I’ve also been struggling with Elizabeth’s separation anxiety issues at school
They have become worse and she earned no stars at all last week and I find it draining
She is fine not long after and I know that she is ok and enjoys her day at school but it’s the actually yelling/screaming that she doesn’t want to stay and hanging on to me that is heart wrenching
Today was a little better but we were there later, at morning tea time, so I think that helped a little
This morning we had her last Physio appointment as well as her Occupational therapy appointment
She did really well with both, hopped the whole length of the room and back which is a huge accomplishment being that her first test she couldn’t do one!

So my little blog break has been filled with spending time off here, sitting talking with Dave, enjoying the sunshine (YAY to the awesome sun filled days that we DID have, it’s rained bucket loads this last week with floods in the North of the state), doing things around home and appreciating the wonderful things that my life is filled with

I’ve been reading, something I just haven’t had time to do in such a long time
I’ve made a good start on A Friend Like Henry, which is an amazing story, and have read through Why Does He Do That?, which is an amazing book that my Mum recommend me to read and she has since ordered and given out 10 copies

One of the things that was talked about in this book, which is very heavy going on the heart, and that I appreciated this week, is not allowing ‘bad’ to consume your day (I say bad but if you read the book you will see it more in context with the book) so with my new Q Tea add on kit, Love To Love You Baby, I decided to make a mini album about the six things that I love and that I want my day to be consumed by

Had to start with the most important thing, but the rest are in random order :)

The journaling

See the people? I made them hold hands :)

The journaling

The journaling

The journaling

The journaling

The journaling

and some close ups

So again thank you to all you amazing people who have been thinking of me/us
I am ok, just tired and emotionally drained BUT I am not letting those things consume my day and looking to the brighter things to pull me through
I hope you too can find good things to consume your day with and don’t allow the harder things in life to bring you down

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