Frosted Designs...

Hello Everyone!

This past two weeks of school holiday has just flow by!  I am ready for the boys to be back in school for some normal routines, including some time in my scrap room!!  :)  But it is Friday and time for another challenge over at Frosted Designs.  The challenge this time around is "circles".

 Quite awhile ago, my sister-in-law Michelle gave me this record book.  I warned her it would take me awhile to use it because I wanted it to be just perfect.  When I saw this challenge, I knew this was the time to make my project.

This book holds 12 records size 45.  I found the records at a local charity barn for 3/$1.00.  I was pretty happy about that.  I had given this project much thought and decided that I would use one record for each month of the year.

You may know that our family moved to New Zealand just over a year ago.  I had always lived in the midwest United States.  All my years there, Christmas meant snow and 4th of July meant fireworks, hot days, and BBQs.  Since New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, there have been a lot of changes in the seasons and even holidays for us.  Christmas is during the summer and 4th of July is just another day.

So on one side of the record, I decided I would tell about an event or season in the United States and on the other side I would tell about the difference here in New Zealand.  I have put my journaling directly on the record and used the sleeve as my "page" for embellishing.  To keep my project consistant, I am using masks and glimmer mist on each sleeve along with a few embellishments.

I used white paint watered down to give the front of the book a white washed feeling.  I thought about covering up the "records" part but decided that I really liked it and it was ok to leave.

On the inside cover, I typed up a journal spot to explain what the book was about.  I did the same white wash paint to cover up the writing.  The original owner of the book had listed the records they had in it.  January in the States means snow and cold so I used a light glimmer mist to keep the page "cool".

These are the second pages of the book.  Since January in New Zealand means summer, I wanted to make sure this page felt warm.  The opposite side is February in the States.  Cold and more cold.

All my journaling will be typed out and then glued onto the record.  When space allows, I will put a bit of embellishments on each record as well.

(Since this  book is a work in progress, I will post the completed project when its finished.)  

Make sure you link up your "circle" project to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!  Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Snow day...

This is the last week of school holiday before another term starts and the boys thought yesterday's snow was a perfect start to the week.  We have been told how unusual this snow is for Dunedin.  Not only to get so much...several inches...but for it to stay around for more than a few hours.  Being from the midwest where we are used to very snowy winters and the snow staying long past its welcome, this snow brought much delight to the boys.  They began playing in it as soon as the flakes started hitting the ground and spent many hours throwing snowballs, making snowmen, and having fun with friends.

As I sit here writing this, its still snowing.  Crazy thing is that by tomorrow it will probably all be gone.  So we will enjoy it while it lasts!  :)

Frosted Designs...

Hello Everyone!  Another Friday has come around and its time for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs.  Its time to dig in your button stash and see what you can make with them.  I don't know about you but I have just a "few" buttons.  :)  I decied to dig into my vintage stash that my sister-in-law Michelle gave me.

One autumn day, we took a hike in these woods and this shot just said that there were fairies living in these woods.  It was just a little magical.  The boys were willing to pose for a few photos but then the magic of the woods distracted them.

When you have your project finished make sure you upload it to Frosted Designs for a chance to win a great prize and so I can check it out!  Happy Crafting!  :)

School Holidays...

This past week has been week 1 of school holidays.  School here in New Zealand runs in 4 term segaments, about 9-10 weeks long with a 6 week summer break.  Between each term is a 2 week holiday.  This past term (term 2) was 11 weeks long so the boys were more than ready for a 2 week break.

We started the break by making a weekend trip to Christchurch, our first NZ home.  Well, let me rephrase that....Bryce and I made the trip while the boys all stayed with friends here in Dunedin.  They were thrilled to be with friends and not have to make a 4 hour trip.  (Funny how we used to make a 9 hour trip to Grandma's house and now 4 hours is just about too much!)  We made the trip because Bryce was preaching at ReChurch, the Chch church plant of our organization and to catch up with friends.

Saturday morning, Bryce and I took my original beach walk.  I was hoping for a brilliant red and orange sunrise but insead was a grey/blue sunrise.  Beautiful in itself....

During our six months in Chch, I had a lot of emotional days missing family and friends...being in a new country, adjusting to a different culture, different accent, and having few friends.  I would walk to this beach and this was my wishing bench, wishing that I could have someone I love sit on it with me.  I'm happy to say that while I will still miss my family and friends, I am happy and feel so much at home in Dunedin.  This is where I'm suppose to be.

You may recall that Chch has had a series of devastating earthquakes beginning with the big 7.1 in September.  It is a moment we will never forget.  Since then there have been thousands of aftershocks and several other big quakes, with the latest one being June 13th.  While I only took these pictures of the beach with my camera, my heart captured so many more.  The roads are terribly bumpy (munted as they say in NZ), there are port-a-loos/potty, and water tanks in many neighborhoods, and silt and sand everywhere.  My heart breaks for Christchurch.  Its a city that has been beaten with these earthquakes and although it is tired, it is not broken.  Christchurch is rebuilding.  It is recovering.  It will just take time.

So many emotions rolled into just a weekend......

We have enjoyed having the boys home and doing special things with them.  Friends over to play, sleepovers, hikes, and day trips.  We are thankful to live so close to many spectacular sites, hiking spots, and beaches.  Nothing like having a day of fun on a mountain or beach and then sleeping in your own bed.  :)  God had truly blessed us.

Mt. Cargill to the Organ Pipes hike....

Not only are we blessed with a beautiful country, we are even more blessed with special friends.  Friends that we love spending time with.

This photo cracks me up!!  That Charli Girl....

And even though its winter, its not too cold.....for the kids.....to be barefoot on the beach.  :)

Special friends.....I am truly blessed.  

I'm so thankful there are a few more days left this week and all next week to have the boys home!  More fun days planned.  This makes me happy.  :)

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

Sorry for the late post but we spend the weekend in Christchurch with no internet.  And no boys but that's another post.  :)  I hope you've seen the challenge over at Scrapbookers Anonymous to make a project with your hard to use color.  Its not too late to get it submitted for a great prize!  I made up a couple cards with a two of my hard to use colors.

Hope you are enjoying the challenge this time around.  Next month there will be something new going on over at Scrapbookers Anonymous.  Make sure you keep checking back!!  Its going to be good!!!

Frosted Designs...

Hello Everyone!!  There is a new challenge at Frosted Designs this week.  "Quote that" is the challenge.  I decided to quote myself for this project.

I tell my boys....all 3 of them.....all the time that "you" are my favorite.  :)  And they know it.  Now they have begun quoting me.  "You know...since I'm your favorite....."  I love it!

I cut paper into 1 inch squares for my flowers.  I laid them on my page with the backside of it up and sprayed the squares to get the background effect.  The mist made the edges of the paper curl when it dried so I used those to make the flowers.  I was pretty happy with the end result and will be doing this again.

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure you upload your "Ouote That" project to Frosted Designs so you are in for the prize drawing and so I can check them out!

Happy Friday!!!

Today...

Wow.....the last few weeks have been so busy!  I've hardly had time to do anything in my scrap room except for some design team projects.  Two days ago, winter came to Dunedin.  Snow swirled around for much of the afternoon and the wind howled!  The boys were quite excited when they came home from school.  Its too warm here for the snow to stay around but just seeing it made them happy.  I took advantage of the snow and played in my scrap room.  I've been working on a project that is making me very happy.  When its completed, I'll share it all but for now here's another peek of it.

I was quite inspired to make this page and love the way it turned out.  I know its not a very good peek but I want to save the whole project to share in its completion.  I'm so excited about it and thinking about my next one.  Love it!

I have a wee boy home with an ear infection today.  Poor thing.  While he's resting on the couch and the laundry is drying in front of the heat pump, I'm going to play in my scrap room.  Sounds like a good day to me!  :)

Frosted Designs Birthday Blog Hop...

Hi Everyone!  There is a lot of fun going on at Frosted Designs this week!  Not only is there a new Fabulous Friday Challenge but we are also having a First Birthday Ice Cream on the Beach Blog Hop!  


First the challenge......this time around your challenge is to create a layout, card or project with this scrapbooking recipe...."Ribbon/fancy trim, charm, pearls/rhinestones".  Make sure you link up your projects so I can check them out and so you are in for a chance to win a fabulous prize!


I chose to make a layout with these pictures of my boys on the beach.  It was late afternoon and the sun had dipped down over the hills creating such pretty colors in the sky.  Now, June here in New Zealand is winter but to my boys the beach is most enjoyable when you can get in the water.   It doesn't seem to bother them that the air temperature was only 58*, making the water MUCH colder than that due to NZ only being 1900 miles from Antartica!  Brrr....brrrr....brrrr...  No matter the season, they love the ocean!

Now, onto the blog hop!!  Its been a year since Barb, Diana, and Debbie took over the Frosted Designs Blog so its a Birthday Blog Hop!  

Happy One Year Gals!!! 

In honor of this birthday, they have put together a Designer blog hop.  Each designer has answered a scrapbooking question on their blog.  To be elegible for a prize, hop to each blog, gather the answer, and then email them to 

danica4us@yahoo.com

Simple as that!  In this post, you will find a link to all the Gals participating with the hop.  And a couple links to the Frosted Designs blog, just in case you get lost along the way!  :)  You should have just arrived from Amanda and are now headed to Ann's blog.  Don't forget to gather your answers!  :)


Here is my question and my answer to it.  


***What's the longest you've gone without scrapping?***

The longest I have been without scrapping is when we moved from Kansas to New Zealand.  We flew here on June 1, 2010 and our container with all our belongings didn't arrive until July 7th.  Just over a month without scrapbooking!!  It just about did me in.  :)  Now I scrapbook at least every other day, if not do something every day.  It might be organize or rearrange in my scrap room or work on a project.

Now onto the blogs!!  Happy Hopping!

Frosted Designs
 1. Barb
 2. Diana
 3. Lori
 4. Andrea
 5. Kissina
 6. Barb O.
 7. Krisitin
 8.Erin
 9. Amanda
10. Lydia (You are Here!)
11. Ann
12. Angela
13. Eli
14. Melissa
15. Karin
16. Debbie Bakk
17. Jessica
18. Libbeti
Frosted Designs 

Make sure you link up your project for this week's challenge to the Frosted Designs blog and gather all your answers.  You have until July 11th to gather and email your answers to Diana.  Winners will be posted on July 12th on the Frosted Designs blog.  Good luck!!!

Scrapbookers Anonymous...

Hi Everyone!  July is upon us now and so the Gals at Scrapbookers Anonymous have a new challenge for you.  This month the challenge is to use "your hard to use color".  When I saw this challenge I thought "Ok.....that should be easy-ish.  I'll just look through my stash and find out what color I don't use often and thus have the most of."  Well, easier said than done.  In the past few months, I have done a major clean out of my stash.  Including getting rid of those colors that I have a hard time using.  With a little digging I did find this pink/mauve color.  (It photographed much lighter than it really is.)  I had these tags and such sitting on my desk for quite awhile trying to work with this color.  Not easy at all!  :) But here is my finished project.....

I placed letter stickers for my title and for the doily as a mask before I misted.  My title "You complete Me" didn't stand out as much as I wanted so I traced around the letters with black pen.  My journaling is about how Aden has completed our family.  I wasn't sure about having a third baby and now I couldn't imagine my life without him.

I hope you'll dig through your stash and make a project with your hard to use color.  Make sure you link it up to Scrapbookers Anonymous so I can check them out.  Happy Scrapping!

Frosted Designs...

Hello Everyone!  I'm beginning to think that there is more than one Friday in a week.  It sure seems to come around fast!  :)  But since it is Friday, Frosted Designs has a new challenge for you.  The challenge this time around is to use a vintage photo on your project or layout.  When we moved to New Zealand, I didn't bring any with me so I asked my mom to send me some.  Well, this ash cloud from the volcano in Chili has delayed the mail getting to New Zealand.  Its been three weeks since my mom mailed the letter with the photos and I still haven't seen them.  Thankfully my friend Lynne gave me a couple photos to work with.  (Thanks Michelle for the photo email too!)

Out for Publication!!!!!!!

My friend Jess gave me this beautiful, handmade doily.  I just love it and it was perfect for this layout.  It was hard to photograph but I used it as a mask in the upper right hand corner before securing it where it is.

Well, wouldn't you know....I received the photos from my mom!  I thought I'd also post this layout with photos of my grandma and her sister.  I'm so glad to have a piece of my history.  Aren't they beautiful?  So stylish.

Out for Publication!!!!!!!!

I hope you have some vintage photos that you can use on your project or layout.  Make sure you link them up to Frosted Designs so I can check them out.  Have a great week and I'll see you next Friday!