Learning to Jump

We had a lovely three day weekend. The weather was excellent. Sadly last night, Scarlett started to sneeze and by this morning she was down with yet another cold and cough. This is the fourth Monday in a row she has missed school due to illness! I am starting to feel like a horrible mother. I am also wondering if my very plain minimal fibre diet in an attempt to control my IBS is having a very negative effect on my daughter's immunity. Lots to think about in preparation for my next visit to the specialist.

I only managed to complete one layout over the weekend as tiredness is forcing me to get as much sleep as I can. On the upside I did crack open my new Roller Rink kit from Studio Calico and I really do love it.

 

I really wanted to scrap this single photo of Scarlett's first experience on a trampoline. She was not able to jump before she hopped on and after ten minutes was jumping with two feet together like a pro. She enjoyed meeting our friends' daughter, Maya and playing with her. The photo is a little unclear as it was taken through the protective net around the tramp. They are way safer than the ones we played on when I was a child!

I based this layout loosely on a sketch but in spite of my best efforts I cannot find it on my Facebook feed or in my reader. If anyone recognises it I would love to give credit where it is due.

The materials are a mixture of the Main Roller Rink kit and some embellishments from the Couples Skate and Toe Stop add ons. I also added a little washi from my stash. 

Right, I am off to take a nap while the little one is doing the same. We have had an unexpected guest arrive for the week and so I am going to snatch the sleep I need when I can!

Have a great week!

Using up the scraps

I thought I was pretty much done with my Summer of 69 kit but it was not the case. I pulled out my drawer and found enough floral scraps to make me want to scrap some garden based activity photos of Scarlett lying in my ever growing "To Scrap" pile.

These photos are from three separate outings to the Botanic Gardens and Willowbank in Christchurch. I love the fact that Scarlett is wearing both winter and summer clothing in these pictures - a great indication of a New Zealand Summer!

I added lots of odds and ends from my stash to this layout. I was pleased to finally use another one of the Heidi Swapp flags and the explore one really fits the picture. I added an older OA Sidewalks journalling card, some SC veneer, MME brad and a lot of my last few Amy Tangerine Sketchbook stickers. I love the title lettering!

I have had a rough couple of days with yet another IBS flare up. This one resisted medication which was a first and unpleasant development. Fortunately, we were able to send S for an extra day at school to give me a chance to recover today. I foresee a very quiet afternoon ahead.

We have a public holiday here tomorrow. It will be nice to have a three day weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Sick Days

We have had a sick wee dot the last three weeks. This is a glimpse of what that looks like.

Sleeping in Mummy's bed (while Daddy is away)

Playing on the Ipad

 

 

Putting on plays for all her toys

Snuggles and movies with Daddy

Surprise presents from Uncle Shinya

Markers as makeup

We have a winner

So sorry for the delay in announcing this. Another sick child drama!

The winner is.... btsoi!

I used random.org to draw the winner.

Congratulations Btsoi! I will be in touch.

Thanks to those who entered. The challenge certainly helped keep me a bit more motivated last week.

I did complete my second layout last week with the Amy Tangerine envelopes from my new SC kit. A couple of those lovely MME enamel dots and I have called it done.

Depeche Mode. Coffee and Peace

I love my daughter. I really, really do. The last ten days have been trying though. She has been cranky and unwell and with me ALL THE TIME. The only time I have spent away from her has been a very short trip to the supermarket and about two hours total after she fell asleep at night. Most nights she needed me to be with her to fall asleep. She was well enough to go to school today and she was so ready to be there too. It was fun seeing her face light up as her friends arrived at school and she was more than happy to let me go off too.

I did not need to be asked twice! I headed off on the train to a mall and sat in Starbucks and drank a Salt Caramel Frap and read Jenny Lawson's "Let's Pretend This Never Happened". I have discovered it is a terrible book to read in public as I was laughing so hard I was crying. It is not a good look when you are sitting on your own in Starbucks. I feel ready for a lot more one on one time now with the wee girl. I have Depeche Mode blasting off YouTube as I type... such a luxury when it is often the Wiggles or Scarlett's favourite, Adele.

I got about an hour of free time last night but had lots of little jobs to do so only spent about ten minutes on my layout in the end. This was where I left it last.

I quickly found a couple of Instagrams of a visit earlier in the year with my friend Stefanie. She was in Singapore after a Yoga retreat in Thailand. I have known Stefanie since Middle School so it is always nice to catch up. She lives in the Netherlands so I don't get to see her that often. Luckily she is actually passing back through Singapore next week on her way back from a trip to Bali so we will catch up again then.

 

I really wanted to draw attention to the photos so used some Amy Tangerine arrows and my new favourite washi from Freckled Fawn. I grabbed a title from the AT collection as well. Just a little journalling to add and I think we will call this done as well. I am wondering about a little vellum envelope with my journalling concealed inside. I think that might be the answer.

Don't you just love that washi?

The photos are a bit off colour wise as we are enjoying yet another thunder storm today! Good light is a bit of a scarce commodity.

I was going to share a Depeche Mode video to finish but I cannot choose a favourite. If you are at a loose end though, You Tube have dozens and dozens of them. Some are funny now as they are so early 80s but the music is still pretty great.

Have a lovely weekend.

Oops I Did It Again

Impressive thunderstorm .... check.
Falling asleep beside S ..... check.
Lovely two hour nap .... check.

There are worse bad habits to adopt I suppose.

On the bright side my 15 minutes of craftiness last night was successful.

I managed to complete my first layout and got a good starting point made on my next one.

I ended up going with hand written journalling after playing with a handful of journalling cards. Nothing quite worked so I decided finished was definitely preferable to perfect.

I had pulled out an older OA paper from my Handmade collection so I used that as a base and grabbed some scraps from Summer of 69 and put together a layered starting point in the style of Shimelle and that gives me a chance to choose a photo and get embellishing tonight.

I have no great plan for this start but I do love all the bright colours. Here is hoping Miss S gets to bed without me tonight and gives me a chance to play!

Just a reminder that the 15 minute challenge competition runs until Midnight Sunday night EST and there is a $10 Studio Calico voucher up for grabs for all those who take part. Please share something you have made in a 15 minute period in the comments on this or any post from this week and you will go in the draw to win. If I get more than ten entries I will add a second voucher to the mix. You know you want to.

Brr it is a very chilly 24 degrees here now - I have my cardigan on! I hope you are keeping warm and crafty wherever you happen to be today.

The Accidental Nap

Things are a little delayed today after I hopped into bed with Scarlett to settle her for her nap this afternoon and woke up nearly three hours later! She is still sleeping as I type. She had a very unhappy night last night with lots of bad dreams and such so the mega nap will do us both some good.

Yesterday's fifteen minutes of craftiness was actually four bursts of less than five minutes as Scarlett really struggled to settle for her nap. I went with the general consensus and set up a simple embellishment block in the top right corner. I am fairly happy with that. I also need to pop some journalling somewhere on the page. I trimmed down a journalling spot from the BG Clippings collection bu I don't love it. The colour is just a little off and the location doesn't thrill me either. 

 

So I hope to finish this layout tonight and perhaps even gather my supplies for the next one. There is some urgency as my new kit (and FOUR add ons) has just been delivered this afternoon and I really need to get rid of the last pieces of the previous two kits first. I am pondering writing the journalling directly onto the page at this point.

Here is a quick close up of the embellishment cluster. 

I love those Ready Set Go stickers and the pop of colour from Sasha's Paper Play flair is just what it needed.

We have had a tremendous thunder storm here this afternoon and the air is fresh, cool (25 degrees C) and delicious. I plan on opening windows and enjoying the freshness before I start to cook some dinner. The afternoon really has got away from me!

I have been so excited to see what projects my readers have come up with. btsoi has posted some awesome cards in the SC gallery that she has been making in spare chunks of time. I am loving seeing how much we can achieve in those spare moments.

Have a great Wednesday!