Saturday 30th September

Huh! See what happens when you resigned to a challenge, you completely give up and hello a few days pass again before you say hello to your friendly bloggers again.

Had fun last night with SO cyber crop. It was sooooooooooo good to be scrapping with friends. Managed to complete one lay out and thats here in the gallery but have now decided to post it cause last nights one was taken under the veild of my shadow and this one looks better. See judges it does!!

Have got a photo shoot this arfternoon so looking forward to that. Spent most of last week with potential suppliers. Mate thats a whole new part of the game all together! I've decided a few products and will just stick with that for now and grow it as I go along. So far have got block photo mounts (these are wicked) canvas, frames, storyboards and standard prints and for my older teenagers (or teenagers that have paying parents) posters and bragbooks.

Obviously my logo isnt in the one that they get, though I'm thinking about it! So if your in the BOP area and looking for family photos for Xmas let me know! $50.00 for a session with one teenager and they get 6 4x6 prints and $100.00 for a family with up to five people with 6 custom made christmas cards with a photo of you choice. Shameless I know :)

Well better get moving, I want to be a Queen this weekend!

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Aaargh blogger wont let me add my photo... I'll try again later

Change in pace

Ok so did my best and am resigned to bloggin not so often. Admittedly was good motivation to get pages done so I could have something interesting on my blog. So another layout which is ok and one of those quick slap it on a page and see what happens. Um answer was an unbalanced not quiet right page. But I'm struggling, struggling to use pattern paper as th background, I only want to use white! I know. But I'll get there, well maybe I wont but hey.

Also started my Today You album last night so that should warm me up for my DT entries. Well I hope it does. At the moment have been spending time reading up about design concepts. I think I could improve my style by picking up on some theory and going from there. Just a little bit and just doing some reading over the internet so at least its free and I dont have to leave home for it.

Waka Ama rocked. Was a little "worried" about taking my big butt out on to the water and having done rowing since I was in the rowing team like 15 years ago and share in the stories that Sandra shares. My dad was just as a side note, the coach from hell and I've never been partial to waking up at 4am since. But relly enjoyed it, it was relaxing and not as hard on my body was I thought it was going to be. Might be from being a mother and picking up ompa lompa sized babies :) Plus what a great way to get a tan.

Ok better get the house work done!

Sunday 24th September

I'm getting in early as I may not be able to blog later tonight because my body may be detached from my arms. Going out for a paddle this arvo. Maketu have got a waka ama group together and have a beginners run today so gonna give that ago hence arms detached from body. (PS that photo is of Motueka High and from their website)

Here is aPage I finished last night (well maybe this morning at about 2am), which is a scraplift of a page Yolande did a little while ago. Really like writing my own words now cause it saves heaps of time and Imean heaps. Havent gotten over how ugly my writing is but have gotten over trying to line up the paper and the text on Microsoft Word.

Oh well going to hurt myself now... ouch!

Saturday 23rd September

Not sure what going on but after having a bit of a tutu with Explorer 7 can honestly say I'm getting it all wrong. Have been trying to use the browser and not having alot of fun.

Oh well will have to search out how to use it properly cause I do like the tab feature.

Am stoked to have won the No8 Metal challenge. Wow my first challenge win. What a buzz. Looking forward to having a go at the Flower for a Boy layout but I'll see how I go.

Today managed to get some scrapbooking in as well as doing a photo shot for a young girl who has left high school. Had an awesome time and she was so cool to work with.

Have spent a bit of time lately going around town looking for different location and found this cool orange wall. Also had my brother in law so might be get a chance to practice in some of the cool industrial areas that I found. Not sure if the council no that some of them exsist either. Funnily enough you know that house that has all the dead cars out front, the one that you know is just bringing down the value of your section well they now rock.. Cool place to take some young men. Did get the required permission though and when I rang to let them know they were all really good and a couple asked if I could send my work in to their marketing director for approval as well.

Ok like Evana, I too have decided that the postie doesnt like me or has a chipboard fetish and is spending secret time with my packages. Come on NZ Post where are they!!! And yip agree with Lianne this is a hell of a challenge

Did another layout yesterday of my baby boy Joseph and love KI Memories and SEI papers. Need more lots more

21st Thursday September

Photo wise have been practicing making eyes pop! Its all the go in child photoraphy and yesterday I took 3 bookings for November from people who were non-related, not whanau, not friends just referrals so yippie! Also have a job at Papamoa with a family who have a blue house with a big red door and its funky as so looking forward to that too. Just some exapmles I have of eye popping. Some people like it some dont I'm just practicing it!
Meetings. It seems that I am always in meetinsg. Apparently cause I'm not working the organsiation to which I am a trustee for send me to meetings. Long ardiuos, lots of community imput meetings.


Went to Bookem yesterday to buy more white cardstock and lakeshore as well so looking forward to doing more pages. And looking forward to Lisa getting her website up as well for and definantly going to have a go at that DT. Been thinking about DTs and at the moment have been enjoying scrapbooking cause I can, can some do something with that. Not because I have too but because I can.

Ok going to play with that white yummy cardstock:)

Wednesday 20th September

A bit of a quicky and was fun making a mess ! Was great to use the paints and the MM stamps again as I hadnt pulled them out in a while given all my work with white cardstock and chipboard (whatever)

After the metal dare decided I needed more of that type of motivation to use whats in my stash rather than buying more new stash but in saying that some more chipboard letter arrived to day, yummy and waiting for my package from scrapbook essential which is my new favourite place to get chipboard and theyhave some new heidi swapp stuff too. Cant wait for those arrows.

Ok thats about it unless you really want to here about my washing:) Bye

Tuesday 19th September

Ok so today was a business day today. Getting my booklets together and framing options for my kohanga sessions, then printing of my logos onto labels, contacting the canvas people for their prices, sources album suppliers (help with that one:), writing the content into my booklets, setting my prices and finally getting my business card printed. What a mission I tell yah! But getting there

Ffinished another layout today and just took a photo but its uga-mi-ly so will shoot it again in the morning and post it then. Also while sitting at my desk this is what I get to look at. As a bit of useless information I'm scared of birds, friken terrified that I head for the hills if a bird happens to flap its wings near me... short story got locked in a chicken coup as a kids with some crasy ass hens.. however come 2pm I'm outside trying to get a decent photo while the tui is jumping from branch to branch sucking the nectar from the flowers and I'm fricken getting a fright something chronic. stayed outside for 20mins was over it and well might try again later. And yet I thought kids were hard, birds are worse. PS I love spring, I love this tree and behind the window and wall i dont mind the bird...

On Zm this morning they were talking about Justin Timerberlake lastest song with the funky little line "I'm bring sexy back YEAH". So yah had to ring in and tell the morning crewwhat you would bring back... ideas were I'm bringing bullrush back" I love that game! Others were sunkist OJ, swinger parties, girls finishing school... so wondering what would I bring back.... ummmmmm

Monday 18th September

Snapped. CAnt be doing a continous challenge and not notice there's a big hunk of days in the journal missing . So where have I been... in short sick and artistic. Have had the changing of the seasons flu, then to that had some photo shoots to do and found myself feeling worse given the cold wind. oh well had to confine myself to listening to my mother about my health. oh man make me feel like I'm 8 years old.

Still scrapbooking and my corner of the world is a happy corner :) Taking photos has been great. Had a little toddler the other day and man was he naughty and dirty. It was great. From that a shy teenage boy was next so had a great time trying to get him to look at the camera whilst being himself. Later this week have got another couple of teenage girls so that should be interesting.... man pimples are not my friend when trying soften them......... so have o charge extra for those, like clearsil isnt making enough money out of that industry :P

and finally hubby... see told you I'd win babe and you cant get rid of this photo :) Michelle 43285489170574618435 katrillion zillion, Witeri 0 natter, zero, nil zilcho grandius baby.. !

Wednesday 13th September

Have realised that in the few days whilst I have been scrapping hard, what I havent done is take many photos. Usually I take a good few each day, just to concentrate on a particular skill that I am trying to make innate, but with being on a scrapping buzz its taken a bit of a hit. So back to it I need to keep it going.

Work wise just some more pictures to share of another newborn shoot and trying a couple of different "thangs" so see how it goes :)

Tuesday 12th September

Today I wanted to scrap something about my grandmother who raised me. Its her birthday today and though she passed away 8 years ago, this much i never forget. So went to the urupa and took her a flower sat a little, spoke a little and thought quietly alot. She died at 88 from having breast cancer which was diagnosed at 86. So this year have put my hand up for some volunteer work for breast cancer month come October. Just my way of remembering her, of remembering us.......... Will post those by the end of the week......

Some pages... this one was for the dare metal challenge and the first one was for the SO Aug challenge which I didnt enter cause I couldnt get my photo upload and gave up to easily because Andrea and her staff have been awesome and an email would have solved that problem in a heartbeat.

Ok children to tend to... man why cant they bring themselves up :)

Monday 11th September

Have just finished. My dare layout that is. It was great to get out all my scrapbook metals that I had brought when I first started which is about 18months ago. Never realsied I had brought so much metal stuff so now it gets to be on a page which ideally is where it should be.

Have been practicing though. Practicing lumpy and bumpy. I like the feel the look and mix it provides. Am such a pper photo kinda scrapper that whilst it seemingly cheaper, it aint! But man on the wish list is a cricut. I'm thinking christmas but first I need to think job! Oh have another interview this Friday so will see how that goes. I really would love to stay home. Life give or take is pretty cruisy so am holding on to that!

Will post photo tomorrow. Am I allowed??

Sunday 10th September

How fast life goes by when you are recording it and how much time it takes just living life normally. Blogging everyday is hard work. Trying to think of something interesting but dont have anything..


Oh well back to life and sleeping again with my daughter

Saturday

Spent today at the pools with my son as he had a friend over so we ended up at Baywaves and then McDees. While taking photos of my son a life guard approached me and then asked me to sign a photographers release form that said i would not use the photos for commerical use and only take photo of my own children (which I was anyway) ... never had that before:)

The watched rugby, drunk copius amounts of vodka and then fell asleep. Thats about it in a nutshell

Friday 9th September

Ok really its Saturday lunchtime but I seem to have fallen into a new routine which at 8.00pm finds me asleep with my daughter instead of sitting in the lounge drinking vodka or in my room scrapbooking. Hubby tells me he feels a divorce coming on if I keep this up.

Friday I spent 4hours sitting in Council Chambers for a meeting and for the first 3.5 hours it was kinda fun. Thats only becuase I was texting the facilitator stupid stuff and putting him off his job and he had to hide his laughter. It wasnt actually to bad at all. You know how yah get the old guy that goes on and on and on and on and then loses both the plot and the point, well there was only one of those and he was in mild mode. Then there how i feel chicky, this chicky drives me nuts cause yah get her life story and again what was initially a group response now becomes about her...... aaargghhhh and then theres the one who only just moved home and now I know everything (luckily there where none of those present) and then theres the loud mouth! The one who has a brilliant point but has the most harshest way of saying it that unfortunately the message gets lost cause everyone is already offended. The rude phone person whose mobile goes off every 10 mins and then there the moaner who can only see all the bad stuff and doesnt have anything positive to contribute... and then theres me... the dreamer whose thinking about all the other places she could be instead of at this meeting, who has to say the odd casual comment and then goes back to lah lah land only to find that when she wakes up she is now on 4 other committees.

For ^&*# sake mother of 4!

So in short I have to stop dreaming during the end of meetings so I can decline appointment into other brain dead meetings..... maybe thats why I fell asleep

Thursday 7th September

A good day today. Spent sitting in the sun and scrapbooking. Did three pages but decided to give myself a 30min challenge. yip 30 mins one page... I loved it, not so much the page but the challenge and writing the journalling myself saved me at least 10 mins, but my writings ugly so truelly prefer to stick to typed journalling that looks like hand script.


DD was funny this afternoon. Falling asleep while Little Einsteins was on she growling herself and man was she grumpy. Shes like "wake up you silly girl" or "you wanna piece of me little girl wake up" She turns few in a few weeks and I'm hoping for a little miracle. The one where she turns from a stubborn, loud little girl in to a wonderful listening child, who angel looks line up with an angel mouth. One can only hope


Also if you havent been here go go now! As a hint think chipboard think arrows think delish. what .. what are you still doing here go go now....

Wednesday 6th September

Ok well some challenger I turned out tobe. Missed today entry because I fell asleep with my daughter at 8pm and hello woke up 5 Thursday morning. Must have been a good sleep cause I cant remember much of yesterday..........

Um so as a random recap.... did a photos shoot with some high school students and that was really cool, but woah do little girls wanna grow up fast!!

Still working on the 10 min story board and just a small note.... i suck at drawing... i really really suck at drawing my sketches look ummm whats the word I'm looking for ........... anyway they are crap so might have to ask hubby to redraw them once I have the sequences down.

Am doing a canvas class with one of the local church groups here so looking forward to that... ok will post again to night! Bye

Tuesday 5th Semptember

So problems become smaller when someone share with you there tragedy and then all of a sudden the smallness of an arguement is suddenly replaced with a sense of thankfulness. So theres a friend who has to make a decision, a hard decision and I hope she'll be ok. So right now due to none of his own actions I love DH all over again :) How does he manage to get off so easily!

Have been active on 2peas photography for a while and at the moment there has been a buddy/ mentor system set up and am stoked to have been taken up by Megs who work and CC I have come to appreciated so looking forward to that.

Some photos of DH work also. PS I didnt take the photos! Will check with the if its ok for us to post photos of the people who have them first but these are what they look like on paper except for one of the photos. Hes always been artistic and he does the design but not the actually tatoo bit. The bottom design was one done for a cousin who had lived most of his life in canada as his mum is from there so wanted something for both sides and contains the canada maple leaf which I think is cool.

Oh well better keep working on my up2scrap submission. I wonder if I'll actually send them in ???????

4 September

Well what did I do today... nothing really. Cleaned the house this morning dropped my kids of to kohanga and had my baby boy at home. Cleaned some more, had a coffee with a friend, went to bayfair with my mum (thats when the day got stressful as she lost her wallet in woolworths) came home, still not talking to hubby properly (thats makes the day quieter) and then proceeded to work tonight doing some tutoring for a nursing student and now its 11pm at night and my house is quiet.

Plan tomorrow is as follows

1. take all children to appropriate child care/ school venues
2. return home and do the minimum required house work to make it feel tidy
3. scrapbook
4. wait till 10 mins b4 picking up children and rush around like a mad women with the final jobs ie mopping washing in, tea prep
5. go to sports
6. eat tea
7. children to bed
8. scrapbooking

not sure how that will go.

On the creativel side of life, an entry that DH, Uncle and I put in to the wearable arts competition in Rotorua came first in the cultural section was a buzz and considering we were a first time entry with major designers entering not sure how we fluked that (will try and find a photo)! I have made the next step for my 10min short story so now I have to design the story boards which means one per 30sec.... argh = ???? 120 frames, design some invitations and anniversary booklets for a client (and they want 200 of each) , and proof my shots from last week of another new born! PS sleeping newborns are far easier! So when do I rest, oh well starting drinking after the children went to bed so am now on my 6th woodstock and can hear the pillow calling my name............ damn its hubby, to bad still not talking to him :)

And a photo taken the other day at the marae which I decided was cool with an infrared action:)

3 September

Ok a challenge from Lianne to blog everyday so am gonna give it a go. Father day today cool. Saturday night he asked us to go to the club with him for a Fathers Day breakfast at 8am, hello by 10am we were drunk. not our fault really cause he got the info wrong and it wasnt a breakfast but a late lunch so at 3pm had massive lucnh by which time I was redy for na nighs.

And again its time for na nighs (theres has to be a better way to spell that)..

PS I have the best father in the world, hands down!! Actually I'm thinking best parents in the whole worl.. honest

Just enjoying the warm days

Ok scrapbooking is good for marriage! The TV goes off I go into the room and scrapbook and hubby sits on the bed and talks to me or does his drawings (he designs ta moko & tats) we talk we comment on each others work and its great. No more mind numbing wathcing tv with the occassional grunt so in essence scrapbooking rocks!

Have slowly but surely been getting through my cc06 kits with slowly probably being a more accurate description. So completed wendys class and really enjoyed the doodling but will have to practice some more. Also got my Rhonna Ferrer Stamps and they are awesome. Didnt get the ones as per my previous stamps but instead some cool doodle swirls. Now all I need is a block to mount them on so I can use them as well as the ones from CC

On the job front, didnt get it after all that and they are going to re advertise. The process was really worth it and I got feedback which now gives me a chance to improve for next time :) Ok off to do some more scrapbooking!