Easy Christmas Gifts...

I think Christmas gifts are getting easier and easier, or maybe its just me (I used to make lavendar bath bombs for my girl pals, now not so much :() just dont have the time.

So this year Mikaela made** some noodle boxes filled with lollies for her class mates and friends. We had a great time putting the gifts together. ** we didnt actually MAKE the noodle boxes, they were premade. Cheap as chips too, like $4 for 5 of them or something like that. Basically with the boxes and the lollies the gifts worked out to be less than $1 each. JOY :)


Mikaela also made cards. We acually made the cards back on the 2nd, Mikaela was really good at stamping and writing the message on about 20 cards. The whole production line set up went pretty well. There were a number of steps, 1. stamp top front, 2. stamp Merry Christmas 3 times, 3. ink the edge of front, 4. write message inside of card, and 5. stamp 5 times inside of card. We got out of sync a few times, but all in all it was smooth sailing and Mikaela was really happy and excited to be making gifts for others.


Happy ME. Happy Mikaela... and I am pretty sure today there will be lots of happy kidlets too.

Nath is seriously counting down the days, TWO more days and he is home with us full time for about 2 weeks JOY JOY JOY.

Oh and we just got her teachers a bottle of red. Lazy but useful, no? LOL

Happy Days...
Bx

And the winners are...

ALL OF YOU! (who commented on the RAK post)
If that is **YOU**... please email me your addy so I can get them out to you :-)
Joy joy JOY !!!

I really like Sunday nights... getting organised for another week ahead, I feel that all in our lives is sorted and in order... by Wednesday that feeling has all but disappeared - which is why we have Thursday and Friday to enable us to look forward to the weekend approach! LOL.

I am looking forward to walking Mikaela to school tomorrow... the start of the fourth (and last) term of the school year for us. 10 weeks of a finely tuned routine. BAhahahahaha HA ! I can dream :)

I HAVE actually attempted to put together a schedule of what my day MAY?? look like. How funny it'll be to look at in a few weeks, when the REAL schedule becomes clear!

Just for fun... I share with you this photo of Mikaela and her totally ridiculous manicure she did herself. Whist on the phone to the lovely Lusi recently, Mikaela comes into my studio and says "mmmmm, yeah... not very good" I am distracted and not sure what she is speaking of "what?" I ask. Mikaela shoves her bright red nails (and MOST of her fingers) into my face and asks "are you cranky?" Ah... YES, if I were not so busy laughing!!! Silly girl!

Off to watch some teev with my guy. Not the cricket either!!
I hope you all had great weekends...
Now email me your addy!
Bx

Making your dreams a reality...

This is my Wish Jar I created some time ago... inspired by Keri Smith.

Along the same lines as my "dreamboard"... making your dreams and desires tangable and therefore achievable...

In very basic terms, my wish jar contains my list of 100 things I want to do before I die.

Interesting that I find at different times my blogging community are thinking along the same vein, Ali recently posted along this same matter.

I must say... the list IS very powerful. Since I created my wish jar... I have realised a number of wishes, such as:
. Meeting Emily Falconbridge
. Climbing Pisa tower (and let me say my "wish jar" is the ONLY reason I got to the top... otherwise there is no way I would have done it... in fact I was even chanting the mantra "100 things, 100 things" as I climbed, kinda terrified to the top LOL!!!)
. Climb the Eiffel tower (okay...technically not met as we took the lift!!)
. Have a healthy and happy baby in 2007
(there are many more... but I have a baby boy on my boob and dont have the time to elaborate!!

A few of the 100 things still to do:
. Meet Bono and Nelson Mandela
. Meet SARK, Sarbrina Ward Harrison and Keri Smith
. Meet my blogging sisterhood... friends I have made over the years
. Own a villa in Tuscany
. Work in Africa as an aid worker for a year or so
*grin*... loving dreams, we have gotta have them!!

I have more to add to my life list... I will post in its entirety soon.

Oh and please make sure you are part of my RAK giveaway!!

Gotta go change a dirty nappy!!
Peace out...
Bx

29 weeks now...

Which means:
11 weeks to go! JOY JOY JOY! Things are going really well... we had an appointment with our obstetrician on Thursday... and he laughed (I am pretty sure AT ME) because the baby is 31 weeks in size. Mmmmmm. Men!!

For Shaz and my sweet lil' sis, Lee..... HERE YOU ARE - another photo of me and baby... I guess seeing this I can understand the laughter. Tis rather funny!! See for me... looking down, I dont think I am THAT big *smile* and asides, even if I am... I am only going to get bigger hey! LOL!
Nath's parents have arrived from Adelaide today, and Jean tells me that the clothes I have bought for bubba today are too small. Lucky we are going to buy some more tomorrow... AND begin setting up the "love" room for bubba.

Speaking of LOVE... inspired by the ever-talented Lusi and her love letters box... I have made one for me and Nath:
Thanks Lusi Lu Lu for inspiring me with this lovely project, I had such fun creating this keepsake for us. For more detailed pictures, go here.

I hope you all have a great weekend...
Bx

MORE Challenges...

... I am getting into, came to my attention via AEZine (and is actually totally inspired by the AliSTAR herself!) AND the ever gorgeous Gigi is on the team… her work is so fabulous!! In fact the entire team ROCKS !! If you have not checked it out yet… go have a look at the “One Little Word” challenge site.

Since I was traveling… I was not able to do, or post, my challenge responses on time. I was able to sketch ideas and layouts so when I got home I was able to do them in a flash!

I have decided to use this challenge as an ART JOURNAL… total creative mess-about-fun stuff. I have created a 12x12 album to house these pieces.

Here are my first three challenges:
Word Up #1… GO ! This poem by Theodore Roethke has always “spoken” to me… I really love it !! Especially this line.. so immediately when I saw the word GO I thought of this poem, and maybe because we were GO GO Going on our holiday… it just fit and worked.

Word Up #2… STOP! Stop and smell the roses… it’s a cliché but oh so true.


Word Up #3… MY! Mikaela is so funny at the moment! Her latest “thing” is to ask me who my favourite in the family is, when I respond “both of you”, she says “No Mum you have to choose one, just one… me or Nath… I wont get upset” USUALLY I say her and we all laugh… occasionally I say Nath or the Baby … and we laugh!! (I figure it will be good material for her to tell her therapist one day). Geez… see how she goes when our wee babe arrives. Eik!

STILL working on my travel journal… it is rather HUGE. Its coming along nicely and I should be able to post some pics soon. My gal pal Kyle is coming over for our usual Friday get-to-gether… and Sunday we have a scrap day… whoooohoooooo. I am ALL OVER LOVING SCRAPPING LIKE A RASH AGAIN.

It’s a beautiful life.
Bx

A little Scrapping Exhibition...

Last Saturday there was a snippet in the local paper about a scrapbooking exhibition/competition. The Best of Canberra... scrap a layout onto a canvas based on the things you loved the most about Canberra.

Even tho I didn't have very much time (about 3 days to get the project thought out and completed), it was an interesting challenge and I'd give it a go. Asides... its a SIGN. I saw it and therefore I must follow this path before me... like the Celestine Prophecies, The Secret... yadda yadda {you know what I mean *grin*}

Tuesday I got the canvas's and I submitted them this morning.

Here are the two I did, as that is all I had time for:






The exhibition is being held in Block F of the CIT Reid Campas, if you are local... go check it out!

Cass and Matt (Nath's sister and hubs) are arriving tonight for the weekend... JOY JOY!!

BTW... I am going to share a secret sooooooonnnn *grin* Shaz will be SO RELIEVED!!! I'll tell ALL shortly! See if you can GUESS... also a perfect opportunity for any one wanting to "delurk" *smile*

Have beautiful weekend lovelies....

BIG MUCHOS Love
Bx

Pottery passion...

Here is one of my first "mixed collage" platters...





I am having SO MUCH fun creating these. Thursdays are my days to spend at the studio getting messy and creative. I love it. There is a married couple there in their 90s... so NICE, so kewl... really inspring and sweet.

I have another 9 at various stages of completion, becoming "leather dry", ready to be bisque fired or ready for the final firing after I have glazed them.
Will share soon. It can be a lengthy process *smile* Each plate is entirely different, they are not all mixed collage like this one, some are very simple.

BTW... Mikaela's bust dried up over the Chrissy break and I need to start again ... its a test to see if I really want to sculpt *ha* ~I do, but in the meantime I am enjoying this creative distraction~

Hugs and love...
Bx

Mikaela's Mini Pocket Album...

I found this advert in one of my favourite magazines... RIOT.

I thought it to be the perfect "Mini Album" concept. I just love it!

So I interviewed Miss Mikaela on New Years Day, while we were at the beach... and created this album for her.










The cutest thing is that still now... she will follow me around and randomly ask me things like "Mum, how do you want to live?"... totally cracks me up.

Next time I will do the pages the other way around, ie. the five quotes on the left and photo on the right.

Create on !!
Bx