In This life.......

Fiskars Photo a day for August

 
Hello, well I was determined to catch up and finish my month for the Fiskars Photo a Day Challenge. As I said in my post yesterday, I have taken pics just not had enough hours in the day to upload etc. And I have followed Kims prompts more than I thought, it seems I did that till the 25th then went off the rails, LOL!! So here are are my last 9 pics for the month.

Day 23 - Home Sweet Home. I have been painting part of our "home sweet home" at the moment so I decided to use a pic of the colours and the inspiration behind the colours which was a set of cards I had published in Stamping and Papercraft magazine using Heidi Grace Paper and Fiskars tools.

It is actually Maddisons room and she would dearly have loved me to paint big stripes in ALL those colours, in fact she came up with all sorts of creative ideas!! BUT we, or more to the point "I" have painted it in the soft lupin, (the Mauve) with very glossy white on the ceiling (I LOATHE FLAT WHITE CEILING PAINT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CLEAN IN OUR CLIMATE!!) and white glossy architraves. The men at the paint shop look at you like you are insane when you tell them you are putting gloss on the ceiling!! Not them doin the cleanin ;0)

Day 24 - Your Favourite Fiskars Tools.

Most of my tools are Fiskars, but ones that I use over and over are my squeeze punches and my clear acrylic stamp blocks as well as my big guillotine......and the list goes on!!

Day 25 - Faces

 
  

I just couldn't go past this piece of artwork by Maddison, it sits on my desk, I love all the faces and the bright colours, makes me smile :0)

Day 26 - Clothing, okay i haven't done this one so I have slotted in a pic of my crocheting instead, its sort of like clothing, sits on my lap and keeps me warm while I am doing it ;0)

Day 27 - Your Indulgence. Okay first thing that sprung to mind here again is just sitting at the end of the day with my feet up and crocheting while watching television!!

Day 28 - Your Weekend. For me as well as painting this weekend most of it was taken up preparing my class for Jamiks....

Day 29 - A photo of your choice. For this one I chose a pic of a science experiment the kids bought home from school, they have wrapped soil and birdseed in chux wipes which sit in a cup of water and grow!! They have been sitting on our windowsill and our cat Paris thinks they are a great way of getting her daily grass intake!!

  

Day 30 - Your handbag.  At the moment I am using this beaded vintagey looking hadbag that I picked up at the op shop for $6.00!! I love it, its warn in and soft and just the right size, not everyones cup of tea but i have had so many comments with people asking where I got it from!!

Day 31 - Winter. Funnily enough after hearing on the radio on the way to work this morning that tomorrow is the start of Spring I had been thinking how little of a winter we have had. I wasn't sure what I was going to take until I heard the kids splashing around in the pool at 6.00pm this evening!! Definately a sign that winter is leaving us behind!!

YAY!!  A whole month :0) Now I am determined to get my monthly calender pages complete!! (5 months worth!)

Have a great week :0)

Annette x
 
 

  
 
  
 
  

Jamiks Scrapbooking and Photography Studio Class

It has been a mad house here, I have fallen off the bandwagon the last week with my photo a day for August that I have been playing along with. I have been taking photos, but not of the prompts that Kim has been giving us for no reason other than I haven't had the time to jump on the computer check what we are prompted and them photograph and upload!! I have been painting Maddisons room, so have been very focused on doing that rather than sitting on the computer, you know, before you know it you are surfing the www and not getting anything else done, so as hard as it was i left the computer off!! Mmmm not sure what I will do there! Might play catch up or just include my pics I have been taking so I have a pic a day to scrap at the end of August. Its all about taking pics I guess and Kim has certainly managed to get me doing that again :0)

Annnnnyway.......I am off to Tully this weekend for a fun class at Jamiks Photography and Scrapbooking Studio.

Here is a little sneaky peak of some bits, we will be painting, stamping, using rubons, using our packaging as elements in our creations and generally having a good time :0)

Karyn always has a generous and very enticing kit to play with and its the little extras that really get your creative juices flowing :0) There is a couple of layouts for the class and when we chose the ribbon for the class Karyn said she would present it on a cute little dolly peg. i just couldn't resist making it into a real little dolly ;0)

A card or two including using our packaging as elements.

Looking forward to it :0)

Annette x 
  

 

 

 
 
 
 

Fiskars photo challenge Day 21 and 22

Day 21 of the FISKARS PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE is something that makes you happy. I always get a buzz when I see yummy stuff come out of our garden, so to walk into the kitchen and see these deposited on my sink direct from the dirt definately made me happy :0)

and Day 22 - something that really bugs me.

Yes I know you can relate but what REALLY BUGGED ME was when my dear daughter informed me waaaayy after it happened, that the largest dog of the house had in fact cocked his leg on the side of my washing basket WITH the washing in it......YUK!!!

Normally I wouldn't leave the basket on the ground but I thought because it was so sunny and the washing was drying quickly I would take the next bundle off the line and add it to the first and bring it upstairs all at once. But because the wee had dried so quick and  I was none the wiser to what had happened, I had piled the rest of the dry washing off the line and on the top and got son #1 to carry it upstairs for me, ready to fold.

And you know what you can bet your bottom dollar if big dog did it then little dog would have followed suit!!!!

I cannot type here what I said but I am sure you can imagine!!

So I will leave you with that charming thought of my wee'ed on washing, needless to say I am washing it AGAIN!!

Enjoy your Sunday evening.

Annette :0)

Shadow Shot Sunday

It has been sooooo long since i have participated in HEY HARRIETS SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY that I can't remember!! It was back in the day when there was maybe 15 players, LOL!! Now, my goodness usually closer to 100 players. 

Even though I haven't played for some time, you sort of never stop noticing the shadows all around you, even the kids are very accustomed to looking for shadows to photograph.

So while in the kitchen through the week, (when am I not in the kitchen!!) I spied these shadows on the windowsill.

When we went op shopping the other day we came across these little glasses that stand about 7 cms high and for some reason they sparked memories of when my Grandma used to pour a nip of whiskey to make a whiskey and milk (aaaghhh yuk!) drink for my Pa. They looked old to me, whether or not they are I am not sure, anyway we got the 4 of them for a $1.00 and Chris made these tiny little gardens in each one and they sit on my window sill - they are very cute and make me smile everytime I see them. With the afternoon sun coming through the window, they cast some wonderful shadows.

He even put tiny little shells in for decoration!

At the same time I noticed the power cord casting another good shadow.

Visit the lovely blog of Tracy AKA Hey Harriet to check out what the other shadow shot chasers have found.

Enjoy what is left of the weekend.

Annette :0) 

 
  
 
  

Yay its Friday........

Its just about that time of the afternoon to have a nice cold beer and for some reason it just tastes that little bit nicer on a Friday afternoon. :0)

Again I am playing catchup for my Fiskars Photo a day challenge, i am struggling a bit to get photos downloaded every day and the posts done everyday, but still managing to snap some pics each day.

So for day 18 we had your mode of transport.

For us it is the trusty Tarago - great when you have a largish family and whenever you have extras or if reli's come to stay, everyone can fit in fairly comfortably.

Day 19 - your computer

Nothing terribly earthshattering here, LOL, we manage on a laptop. 

Day 20 is an abstract closeup...

Instructions were to show texture and all the little nitty gritty bits, not sure if this is what Kim had in mind so I just interpreted it in my own way!! I have texture and shape and I love the green of our freshly picked and cut shallots from our garden.

I have also made these chocolate cakes this afternoon for the customary "Election Day Cake Stall" at school tomorrow. They still have to be iced and little tags stating the ingredients. I like when you get muffins or cakes actually presented like this in the cafes or shops, (with the paper that they are cooked in wrapped around them.) I think they look nice and stops peoples fingers all over them, so I am thinking I might present them like this in the morning, we shall see how we go.....

Enjoy your Friday evening and the rest of the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

Annette :0)

 
  
 
  
  
  

Day 16 and 17 of the Fiskars challenge

Day 16 - Housework...basically it never ends does it?

Day 17 - an animal.....

The lovely Miss Paris :0)

I have managed a few more big squares of this......

So wishing I could start piecing it together....no far too early, still lots more to go......sigh, but I am loving its brightness :0)

Back tomorrow to show you some card shares, with some new Fiskars punches.

bfn

Annette 
  
  

What an absolutely glorious day

it has been up here in FNQ, in fact the whole weekend has been perfect!  Even at this hour of the afternoon (5.00pm) the kids are just about to jump into the pool.

Day 15 for the FISKARS PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE is a photo of you, no hiding behind cameras or the like, it has to be you in the flesh!! So Christopher obliged and after many photos, we settled on this one.

A la naturale, LOL!! No straightening of the hair and just in sloppy weekend mode ;0)  Can't believe we are half way through this challenge already.

Hope your weekend has been as pleasant as ours, have a happy week ahead. :0)

bfn

Annette x 
  

Day 12, 13 and 14 Catchup

Hello :0) Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

It certainly is glorious weather up here, although some of the coldest nights we have had in a while.

Well i have been managing to take my pics for the Fiskars Photo a Day Challenge that Kim is running, but just not managing to get them posted every night. So I am playing catchup again.

Day 12 - the "Most Fun" thing in your day. Now this one I didn't check until later in the evening to see what the prompt was so I was a little limited. But I did have some "happy mail" turn up so that will be my pic for this prompt....

It was a lovely surprise to receive 2 of the new Fiskars Lever Punches in the mail, and I'm looking forward to getting creative with them :0) Thankyou Fiskars Fairies ;0)

The next prompt for Day 13 was "Tea or Coffee", while I do like a cup of black tea, I am definately a caffeine girl, and far too much of a caffeine girl according to my husband!

A couple of years ago the family got me a cappucino machine for mothers day, and it gets a pretty good work out!

Todays prompt for Day 14 is "Landscape or Scenery" which is perfect for me today. Annually we have a very important race in our little town The Great Pyramid Race and Country Fair up the "Walsh's Pyramid" and as I sit and type it is actually taking place, there are helicopters flying around everywhere filming and we are sitting on our verandah watching the runners go up and down the 922m mountain..... the weather is perfect, a cool breeze and perfect conditions.

 

So thats it for me today, have a fantastic weekend, we are off down town for a look see as the runners start arriving back. 

And just for the record, yes I have walked up to the top and back, and it was very well worth it for the fantastic view!

bfn

Annette :0)
  
  
  

Catching up on Photo a day

Hello :0)

Well I have been diligent with taking my photos each day but I just haven't had time to post until now.

So Day 9 is your "diary or calender" or how you keep track of the things you have to do through the day. Nothing exciting here for me just a good old diary that i write everything in and I am also a bit of a "write on your hand" girl! This is how my hand usually looks after a day at work!! I might add, I go crook on my kids if they come home and have written all over their hands, maybe I should practice what i preach ;0).

Day 10 - "Your Morning"..... hmmm, probably one of the most full-on times in a household of 6 and what to photograph for this?? There are many things that make up my morning but the one thing I am always looking at is the clock. Everything has to run by the clock to get through all the chores that have to be done in order to get everyone out the door and to where they need to be on time. Yep and by the looks of this photo it is high time I cleaned the clock, LOL!! Amazing what shows up in a photo!

Day 11 - "Black and White" for this one I chose to use the black and white setting on the camera, and i often find myself gazing out the window at the white steam that billows out of the Mulgrave Sugar Mill, so that is my pic for day 11.

yay up to date and after a day at the sports carnival I am ready for bed.

Drop on over to the Fiskars Blog to see what the other participants are coming up with, its interesting to see everyones different takes on the same prompts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Annette :0) 
  

 

I fell asleep on the lounge.........

and didn't post my day 7 pic for the photo a day challenge on the Fiskars Blog even though I had taken the photo and was all set!!

Today's prompt was a "Portrait".

 Now I did take a pic of me in the true hold your camera out in front, slightly up (so you don't see my chumpy chin ;0) style, because it was my last day of being 43 and a good opportunity to take the once a year pic right!! Birthdays don't particularly bother me, its just a number as far as i'm concerned... so i will show you that one....

 
But this is my other portrait one that I am really happy with, Christopher with one of our dogs - "Chase" He can spend hours in the yard with him and even though he looks scary cause he's big and brindle, he really is a big softie who loves all the attention in the world and in particular loves Chris.

I snapped this from the back stairs while these guys were down in the driveway and oblivious to me being there.

......................................................................

Day 8's prompt is "Sport or Exercise" which everway you choose to interpret it.

So I chose to interpret it through watching our kids exercise (a bit naughty, not sure if thats exactly what Kim had in mind ;0)? )but it was while the kids were having a soccer match. Now I actually took this pic on Friday afternoon, cause it is such a rareity these days for all the kids to be home at the same time let alone "playing" together! It was so nice to see them having a good friendly, slightly competitive game of soccer ;0) Maddison and Jesse on the left versing Nick and Christopher on the right and me participating from the verandah behind the camera :0)

Here's the mottley mob, wheelie bins for goals and slight sledging on the side ;0)
So now I am up to date with my prompts and I am off to supervise the cooking of my birthday cake - mud of course and being made by Maddison, we are doing it double because tomorrow is Nicks Birthday and normally we have a mudcake each, but I have to work tomorrow so won't be able to cook it. Its a big birthday week in the house, Jesse on the 5th (yes we had mudcake then too!!) and then me and Nick!

Enjoy your Sunday.

A :0)

  

Yay its Friday.......

Don't you just love a Friday afternoon? I know i do!! The chance to kick back and relax just that little bit more than you do through the week cause you know you don't have to go to work on Saturday, yay, (even though i do like where i work mind you ;0)

Well day 6 of the Fiskars Photo challenge has rolled around and todays prompt is "Your craft space".

At the moment for me i have actually packed away my papercraft into 3 big plastic containers, to have a little break for a while and catch up on some different crafts. I didn't have to think about this prompt very much cause its always lying around on the lounge or in the car if i think i can squeeze in a couple of rows ;0)

Its my crocheting!! Portable craft :0)

And a few more pics, I'm well on the way, but i really still have lots to do.......sigh!

13 Colours in total, mixed up to form any colour combinations. My blanket consists of:

 4 x 30cm squares,

14 x 20cm squares,

24 x 15cm squares,

53 x 10cm squares and

104 x 5cm squares.  

A total of 199 squares, i have finished 55, about a quarter I guess, oh man I thought i had done more than that!!!!

I had to change the original pattern because it wasn't making sense to me, probably due to the fact that i haven't crocheted since i was taught by my year 6 teacher, who taught the whole class to crochet a doily. Now that I think about it, it was an enormous task to teach a group of 11 year olds to crochet, and it was much more detailed than what i am doing now!! Anyway I can't wait to sew all this together it is a patchwork crocheted blanket but i may have to make it a bit bigger to fit a queen size bed.

When you piece it together you actually show the seam so that it adds another dimension to the finished piece, so instead of sewing with right sides together and hiding the seam, you sew with wrong sides together and show the seam.

Okay I'll stop, i'm sure you are quite sick of looking at my squares by now!!

Tomorrow I will post the links that helped me get back on the crocheting band wagon.

Be sure to pop over to FISKARS and check out what all the other girls are photographing, Kim certainly has her work cut out for her, shes doing a great job collating it all:0).

Have a great weekend all.

Annette :0)  
  
  

  

Day 5 of the Fiskars Challenge...........

Oooh late tonight, but still made it ;0)

Day 5 of the Fiskars Photo a Day Challenge is "Whats on your Tv". I have done a collage of a show that our 2 younger kids watch, I think it is called "Daisy"?? I just love the pictures, whenever it comes on the kids yell for me to come quick cause they know I love it. I love everything about it, the colours, the characters and the fact that you can see all the watercolour paint marks.

Cute huh?

Short and sweet tonight, my bed is calling. Be sure to drop over to the Fiskars blog to check out everones takes on Kim's photo prompts.

Lastly a big Happy Birthday to DS#2 who turned 17 today.

Happy Birthday Jesse.

bfn

Annette :0)  

14 years we have been travelling this road........

The road to school that is!!

The prompt for day 4 of Kims photo challenge on the Fiskars Blog is "Somewhere you go everyday" (or almost everyday). The first thing that came to mind is the trip to and from school everyday. This is the 14th year and we have only 2 years remaining until we are finished with Primary School. Its a sight I never get sick of looking up the Mulgrave River Valley as we go over the big bridge.

It used to be a very popular swimming spot but when the new bridge was built last year, workmen spotted a crocodile in the water so since then it has been signposted as  "No Swimming, crocodiles Inhabit the area"!! Which is a shame. If you look closely you can see the rocks on the bottom of the river bed the water is lovely and clear.

Thanks for stopping by, pop on over to the Fiskars Blog to see all the other participants take on the prompts, its amazing what a varied array of pics pop up.

I am going to endeavour to update my blog somewhat over the next couple of weeks with some lovely new blogs i have visited, one of my favourite crocheting blogs (Lee you will want to race out to the shops straight away and get hooking, in a crocheting sense that is!!;0).

Hope you have a relaxing evening, i am off to somewhere else I go everyday - backwards and forwards to the bloomin washing machine and clothesline!!

bfn

Annette :0) 
  

A favourite part of the day in our garden....

Day 3 of the Fiskars Photo a Day Challenge is "In your garden" however you interpret the prompt. So after work - dentist - groceries and home it left me at the time of the day when I do love being outside, when the sun is going down over the mountains. Even if it isn't a particularly pretty sunset with bright colours, I still love the dark silhouette against the fading blue sky. I turn the flash off to keep the palms and folaige quite dark.

I also see it like this from my kitchen window when I'm cooking dinner and find it a very pleasant way to end the day :0)

Its nice getting back to taking pics on a daily basis again.

Have a happy and relaxing evening all.  

Annette :0) 

 

And finally I have made it here..........

My goodness, how long has it been? Can I remember how to drive this thing, lol!!! It has been soooo long since I have blogged and I was determined, come hell or highwater that it was going to happen this week!!

I am back into the workforce after being a stay at home mum for 20 years and have been so tired, lol from using my brain again that creating and computers at night (the only time when I get 5 minutes to myself!) were not foremost on my priority list. I must be getting into a bit of a routine now cause after dropping by the Fiskars Blog today I acutually felt like blogging and taking part in the Photo a Day for August that Kim Geling is running, thankyou Kim you have managed to inspire me:0) Kim is posting a prompt a day and there are plenty of girls playing along already, be sure to pop over and have a peek.

So I have just emailed my pics off to Kim tonight and thought i would post them here as well.

Day 1 - food

Pikelets jam and cream that Maddison and I made for smoko. A favourite in this household.

Day 2 - What are you reading?

 

At the moment I am obsessed with reading anything and everything to do with crocheting!! And at the moment believe it or not, that is my craft of choice!! The pic in the magazine is what I am currently working on and i gotta say I am loving it ;0) 

It has been so long since i have done this that i can't even remember how to put the borders around my photos :0( I have deleted the bloomin photo 4 times trying to do it!! So if anyone can refresh my memory I would love to hear!!

I am off to crochet and curious to see what tomorrows prompt will bring.

bfn

Annette :0)