Day 16 and 17{and small giveaway}

It's day 16 and 17 for me.
I love these two quotes from Rhonna
Its so true, most of what we achieve or don't achieve begins with our attitude.

I used this picture out of a magazine as it is so bright and cheerful.

Day 17 "Strong reasons make strong actions".

I decoupaged a A4 mixed media paper with this beautiful napkin i found and then found this lovely door frame photo in a magazine, cut it out and stuck a photo i took of The Eiffel tower while I was in Paris and then decoupaged a mannequin over it and put some black lace on the frame.
I also did some more ATC's for trading.

If anyone wants to trade ATC's with me, I have my collection HERE.

ATC Giveway

I have put together a few ATC packs. Each pack comes complete with a card -already with a ATC info sheet on the back for you to write your ATC title, your name, the date etc.
A vintage image or two, some background pieces of paper, ribbon, flowers, wording, stamps like birds and Paris stuff and each little pack comes with one my tags I have made.
I am giving a few of these away, so if you would like to enter, please fill in your name and blog address or email (so I can contact you) in THIS post before the 1 October. I will announce the winners on the 2 October.

Have a great weekend!

Day 14 and 15

I did some drawing and painting for a change...and a bit of decoupage for the 21 day challenge on Rhonna's blog.


I can't believe only a week left! It's been a good challenge. I learned a lot about myself and also had fun learning new techniques, like on Roberta's blog. She has some awesome techniques.
I must say that art allows me to express what is really happening inside of me better than anything else. Sometimes I don't even understand what I feel myself and after wards I look at what I have created and somehow the mood comes across.

Today was a gorgeous day, the sun shone and I took my kids for a bicycle ride down by the river.




Tomorrow is a public holiday here and so we are spending it together as a family. I think I might only get to post on Friday again. (and then play catch up again!)

Catch up 21 challenge

I'm a bit behind in posting my 21 challenge journal pages..but doing it now, got day 14 and 15 to do still.

It was such a beautiful day today,Spring is really and truly here, {and then I say that and tonight we get hit by a giant storm, blowing in polar beers and seals from the Antartic! }Oh I hope not...last time they made such a mess! LOL!
I know that a lot of you are going into Winter now..I feel for you, I really do, I HATE winter. The ONLY good things about winter is being able to drink hot chocolate and not feel guilty, snuggling and watching movies, and eating-anything and everything in sight! ha ha.




I love summer...not spring which is what we are in now because I suffer from seasonal hay fever and it is terrible! But only for about 4 weeks and then once all the pollen and spraying has stopped, I can breathe again!

I love summer reasons:
*wearing slip-slops
*waking up with energy
*getting more daylight
*heading down to the beach
*lazing in the sun, reading
*working in the garden


What's your favorite season? And why? Would love to hear!

{day10} and FREE Blogwear and more

{Day 10}

Here is my page for day 10{click to view larger if you wish} Imagination is not a problem for me...sometimes it is too active! And I like to live in the present not the past...so day's 10 quote was very suitable for me.
I have made a digital layout for Designs by Tina-with her new kit Indian Summer, it is a truly gorgeous kit!


Here is my LO with it: (my boy!)
I have some new stuff in my Etsy store
I have these ATC backgrounds-in digital format. You can print them out at home and design your ATC's on them for swapping and fun!
Also some new Marie Antoinette tags printed on high quality 200GSM mixed media paper-three in a set for only $3.25 and I have a special at the moment-

Choose any TWO sets of 3 tags and get a Third set of 3 of your choice FREE!!!($3.25 worth free!)

OR

Choose any 3 sets of tags (3 or 6 in a set) and get 2 sets of 3 for FREE!!!(that is over $6 worth of free tags!!!)


And then I wanted to show you what I created as a journal for my 15 year old niece..
She loves it...it's the kind of thing I would of wanted at that age..maybe without the skull though!
And lastly I think I am going to start creating FREE blog wear. It's quick, easy and fun!
So you can click on the label in the sidebar that says "free blogwear".

My one today is made from vintage images and commercial use brush work I purchased from Rhonna Farrer. If you use my free blogwear products, all i ask is you take the little button below and put it on your blog and link to my site please as well as give me credit on your blog. Thank you.

Just right click on the header and background and open in a new window and then click "save as" by right clicking on the images. Then you save to your PC or upload to photobucket.
The blog background was made with a 3-column blog in mind,like mine is. I am not sure if it will fit a 2 column blog, but you can try! Also they are in png format.

For blogger, you can click on layout, then click on "add a gadget" and then
you can choose HTML/java script and put the code below into the box and click save.

{note: it comes with the blog button credit already on for you}
Otherwise do the other way by saving to your PC as I mentioned. I hope you enjoy it and would LOVE to hear your comments!!

{day 9} 21 challenge

Enthusiasm. Something that has been one of my goals this 21 challenge and so far so good.
It definitely helps lead to success.
Enthusiasm leads to motivation, which in turn leads to action=success!


How are the rest of you 21-ers doing with the challenge? We can do it!!!

Digitally,
Jen, my sis, has a freebie using my vintage clusters on her blog.
Thanks Jen.

{Day 8} 21 day challenge

Day 8...


Rhonna thought was about living a creative life, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't matter, what matters is that you have done it and accomplished it! Its about breaking old habits and forming new ones and letting go of fear.


I just love that there are so many of us doing this challenge, each with different goals, but at the end of the day we all just want to be our best selves. Thank you for the support and encouragement to those who have left comments. I still can't comment on some of your blogs, especially the ones with the box and then it says" choose a profile" I choose google account and hit submit and nothing happens, the box empties and no comment shows up. I tried signing into blogger first, going back to the blog, refreshing it, etc etc, nothing works. Have no idea what to do, it is only those blogs with the choose an option block and big block for comments, like this:
Anyway if you know the deal , would love the solution. Tried to look on the blogger help pages, but couldn't find anything.
will be back with my day 9 tonight.

{Day 7}-One week done!

I used some of Rhonna's products I purchased, brushwork, vintage images and stickers.

Day 7
Today's quote: "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. " Dale Carnegie

Today I did my journal post digitally, printed it out and worked on it some more with stickers, pen and journaling. SO glad the weekend is over, I love weekends, but not this past one... due to it being a difficult date. I feel like I failed a bit lately, but as Rhonna said on her blog, failure is no excuse to give up! And so I press on....
I love what she said for day 6...when you feel like giving up...do what your best self would do!
That struck a cord in me...my best self...I have two selves...my everyday self and my best self...I want to be my best self everyday! What a great thought! A HUGE thought and such a motivating one!

Looking forward to Tuesday...to be being my BEST self and to not giving up.

{day 6} 21 Day challenge

Oh why did I bother getting out of bed this morning? SUCH an opposite day to what I had on Friday...nothing much to journal about...here's wishing for tomorrow....

and....

I KNOW I can do it...just need to take each day at a time.

{Day 5} 21 Day Challenge

I hardly ever use my pc on the weekend never mind blog! But Rhonna's challenge is still on going even over the weekend, so I thought I would stick to it and be CONSISTENT.

It's not an easy weekend for me as it is 6 months since my brother passed away. I am battling to hold it all together, to stay positive, to stay consistent. I have relapsed since Friday due to this, but I know tomorrow, Monday, will be better as then I am back in routine. Weekends are hard, I loose focus cos I have no routine or direction. I haven't given up, I just need a breather and tomorrow will be back on track.
I have, however been creating and this has helped a great deal. It makes me feel worthwhile to know what I creates inspires others. Sharing my story is not always easy, but I feel if it can help someone else, then I need to do it.

I have tried to leave comments of a few of the 21-ers blogs, and it asks to choose a type of account, which I do, and then write my comment and press "post comment" and then my comment disappears and it does not end up on the blog I just commented on! It is so frustrating!
So if one of the blogs is yours, please tell me what I am doing wrong, as I would love to comment on your posts!
Treasures
Michelle Roycroft { I wanted to tell you that I Can help you with your blog !) give me a shout
scottshandmadecrafts
They all ask for the same format, so I don't know if that has something to do with it.

Can anyone help or tell me why I can't post?

{21 Day Challenge-Day4} and other things

Day 4

{click to view larger if you wish}


Day 4 has been fabulous!!!

It started off a bit rocky, but gradually the day got better and better. I can honestly say it's the BEST day I have had in a LONG time. Nothing spectacular happened, as far as days go, it was ordinary. But a few good things happened!
- A while ago I ordered some things through Etsy from a couple of friends and the new Artful Blogger and Somerset Studio magazines from Stampington and they ALL arrived TODAY, at the same time!! I had this huge pile of parcels to collect from the PO. It was fantastic! I felt so SPOILED!!
Gorgeous tags, notebook, poker chip embellishments!
So that was one great thing about today! Also I joined a friend of mine for coffee, something I haven't done in a while. Bought a fabulous jacket that I had looked all winter for and now that Spring is here and it's getting warmer, I found the one I had wanted! {oh well can wear it next winter!}

After school today, I sat outside with my children, on a blanket and we had a picnic under the trees, with the warm sun filtering down between the leaves, and the sound of birdsong floating on the breeze. It was just perfect. To be outside and feel the warmth after such a long winter. We ate our lunch, giggled and they did their french knitting and I did mine... SIGH {floating away on a cloud}
Besides all that, I achieved my goals today as set out for this challenge and it felt so good.
I realized that I can be a force for good and that even if some don't notice the good I do or see me for who I really am-just a girl who makes mistakes but who underneath it all has a good heart and just wants to share and make others happy...that some DO notice.

I got the sweetest email from my dear dad {he just turned 73} telling me what a great daughter I am and how grateful he is towards me for a number of things...and how proud he is of me for becoming who I am today and for the great kids I have....but the whole email just made me cry, I was so touched....to know he feels that way. {shedding a few now!}

This year has been incredibly hard because in March this year, 6 months tomorrow, my eldest brother {45} died very suddenly of a brain aneurysm. He lived in New Zealand{had immigrated 3 years previously with his wife -married 18 years-and their daughter who just turned 7.} I had not seen him in all those 3 years and the family came for a full month to stay with us in December last year and we went away on holiday for some of that time camping. It was the best holiday ever and I got to know my big brother as a friend. Just two months later his wife phoned to tell us he had suddenly collapsed in his office, complaining of "the worst headache" of his life, vomiting and blacking out. He was rushed to hospital and later transported by air to a larger facility. He was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and they operated to clip it. However the swelling was too much and after 3 days he was pronounced brain dead....all of this while the rest of my family..my dad, me and my sister are thousands of miles away and my other remaining brother in the UK....so helpless. We all thought he would pull through..we were waiting...It all happened so quickly before any of us even had a chance to make any travel arrangements....
His wish was not to live on life support, and my sister in law phoned to ask if we wanted her to keep it on so that we could fly over to say goodbye. None of us wanted to. We didn't want to see him like that, to have that being our last memory. He was gone.

So it's been 6 months...some days have been so hard I have thought I couldn't even face the day, I went through depression and of course all the stages of grief. It still hurts, just like it hurt now even to type all of this...but I know its all part of the healing process and the only way to heal is to deal with the emotions and pain so that I can take the next step to moving on. Death is never something you "get over" you just learn to live with it day by day.

So on a very personal level...this is why this challenge is so important to me...I need the motivation to keep positive because sometimes it's so hard to remember who I was before he died. I guess I was naive, but I feel like I lost my sense of adventure and my SPARK when he died. TODAY was the first day I have felt ALIVE in every sense of the word.

Thank you Rhonna....more than words can say. {okay really sobbing now!!}



Moving on before I flood my studio!!
I have this blogwear set available for sale in my sidebar, made from My Vintage Dream kit.
1 blog background, 1 blog header and 2 blog buttons and full instructions on how to install.





Yesterday I made this heavenly chicken pie....Took these photos while enjoying the process....sheesh...Rhonna's challenge rubs off onto everything I do these days! :)And a little self portrait I did....hello! {and bye!} off to comment on fellow 21-ers!

21 Days-Day 1, 2 and 3

I am doing Rhonna's 21 day challenge. The thought behind this is that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Who would of thought? LOL! I of course have a huge MOUNTAIN of things I need to change about myself-who doesn't? But I figured I would concentrate on 3 things that pretty much set the scene for a lot of things to follow after that.

1} Be POSITIVE and Show ENTHUSIASM

I used to be a very optimistic, positive person, and in a lot of ways i still am. It's not like I go around like Eeyore with a little black rain cloud over my head...I am generally a happy person, I smile and joke a lot, everyday. The smallest things amuse me...I guess being positive as in I can make a difference, I can be a good influence in others lives...but it has to start with me. I also need to show more enthusiasm....the weird thing is that when someone does something great for me or gives me a compliment or a gift, I SO appreciate it and inside I am squealing with excitement, I just have a hard time bringing that across, I need to be visible so that I don't offend others.

2} Be on time!
I am so often late for things: late to take my kids to school, late for gym classes, late for important meetings, late , late LATE. It has to change! ha ha!!

3.} BE Consistent!!

I always seem to know what I want, it is just how I end up getting it or achieving it that is the problem. I do things in a very round about way sometimes, get side tracked, de-motivated and this ties in with point number 1-feel powerless and so get negative and then don't get anything done or little of what I plan to do! I achieve lot most days, but sometimes not the things I really need to get stuck into...It's a nice mixture of procrastination, despondence, and feeling over whelmed sometimes. I just need focus and to concentrate on one thing at a time until its done and then move on... This point is very general, but it applies to lot of things I am working on in this challenge, some of which are personal.

So with that in mind.. Day 1
{click on image to view larger if you wish}
I've had fun cutting, pasting, sticking, decopaging, painting!

day 1

Day two:




Day 3

I'm having fun with it, and I know it's only the beginning, I have done the challenge before (see sidebar) so I know there are BAD and GOOD days and you just have to take each day at a time, you might fall, you might relapse...don't give up...keep going...I did it last time, and I know I can do it again and if you are a fellow 21-er, then you CAN do it too!
Today I actually was on time in getting my son to school-granted it helped my husband took my daughter to school, but I left early and he got there with time to spare instead of running like the wind as the bell rings!! -amazing and it felt so good because I got at least 30 minutes EXTRA out of my day!!