Rak.....

So as I am not going to be here for a few weeks, I thought I shall leave a RAK post. Now Im doing this for a few reasons...... 1. it's my birthday soon and I love to give presents on my birthday, 2. Im coming up to having 10 thousand visitors to my blog which is so amazing. I love that. and 3. it wll give you all something to do on my blog while I am away.

So here's the deal....... you need to leave me a post, tell me the last time you were truly surprised.

You have until the 9th Sept to leave your post, and I shall draw a winner on the 10th Sept. 

What do you get....... well I have made up a very large box full of all kinds of crafty stuff. I would post a pic, but someone left her camera at a friends last weekend, and I still haven't been able to pick it up. But trust me it will be worth the post. Any one can enter, no matter where in the world you live.

So that's it for now, create, have fun, and leave me post while I am gone, and see you all on the 10th Sept!

Mel

xx

Honestly it's a really big vase.....

I have had a few concerned emails regarding Olive in the vase. It's a really big vase, plenty of space for her to roll around in and she gets in and out very easily. She even stopped to have a bit of a bath at one point. hehe...... she's so cute. She gets in and out of everything...... it's her thing. Leave a bag or a box around and she claims it and gets in. So she's fine, all well and just having much kitty fun.

Mel

xx

A new day....

Before I forget again, I didn't add a link to Kayla's blog, pop on over and check it out, she is very talented and such a beautiful person.

So.......... how do I start??? Lets just say that I haven't been in a good place for most of this year. I have felt gloomy, dark and overcast. But I have been feeling the stirrings of a new beginning coming. I need to throw open the curtains and let the light rain in, get out into the wind and blow the stink off so to speak. My creativity and my creativeness has suffered terribly I feel, and I need to get a whole new outlook on it. 

I think I am going to set my self little tasks, to help crawl my way out of this hole. I really haven't been taking any photo's really much this year, and I need to just get out into the world and start taking pictures. So that is what I am going to do for the next few weeks, take heaps of photos! I think that's a good start!

I have been taking part in Embellished Idol for that past few weeks which has been great. It's getting me to think outside my comfort zone and I think the gates of creativity are starting to open again. Here's the first three weeks LO's I have done for the comp, let me know what you think?

Week one

Week two

Week three

So there is a week four, but I haven't yet got a photo to blog, but I will sometime this week.

I am off on a small holiday this weekend with my Mum and Brother. We are off to Sydney on a family holiday which we haven't done since I was about 10 I think, so Im really looking forward to just hanging out with them and having some fun.

Have fun yourself!

Mel

xx

Sunday Randomness....

I saw this on Kayla's blog, so thought I'd give it a go:


Outside my window...... Sun setting in an over cast sky.


I am thinking..... That I need to cull my creative stash. It's starting to slide of my bench.


I am thankful for....... Love.


I am wearing.... Jeans, and a really bad over sized, but so warm wooly jumper.


I am going..... to keep cleaning tonight, done the floors in the dinning/kitchen, now to vacumn the carpet.


I am hoping..... that tomorrow will be sunny!


I am hearing...... the sounds of the street, a bird chirping, and a kitten purring.


Around the house....... football being watched, chocolate macaroons baking, and the tapping of keyboard keys.


One of my favourite things....... potato. I did say it was random sunday! hehe


A few plans for the rest of the week..... bit more cleaning, a bit of work, a bit of creating, and then packing for my trip to Sydney next Sunday.


A picture to share.....Inside the vase is clearly the best place to be! xx

A quick Olive update.....

She is getting so big. I can't believe she is almost a grown up cat. It's only a few weeks now and we have to take her of to be sterilized. Oh...shed a tear, as my baby kitten is almost gone. On the bright side though, she is such a character. Still loves her boxes and plastic bags. Here's a little collection of pic of her over the last month or so.

sigh....... she still heaps cute and super fun. She pretty much keeps me entertained. I have been doing quite a bit of creative work over that last few weeks, so I shall be back soon with a bunch of pics of my work. Till then have fun.

Mel

xx

August Scraptivate Design Team Project....

Here are two layouts I have done this month with my Design Team pack from Scraptivate. I was fortunate enough to get the Limited Edition Great Escape range from Making Memories. It's a gorgeous range with stunning papers and transparencies, bamboo wood letter, boxes of paper flowers and buttons....the list goes on really.

 My first Layout is of a photo I took as we were approaching Lake Tekapo in New Zealand. This range was perfect for this photo, especially the Destination transparancy. I have also used one of the new Martha Stewert border and corner punches, a crafty lady mould which I filled with melted UTEE from my Ranger Melt Pot. I gessoed and painted then rub and Buffed it. I think think it came out amazing, but then I am a little bit bias.

My second layout using the same Great Escape travel range, I wanted to use this photo of my friend Heather at her birthday, the range had the best colour pallet to go with it, but I have been able to alter a few items to make them less tropical and more suited for a birthday. The first thing I did was crackle paint the hibiscus flowers with Tim Holtz copper crackle paint. This made them more just like large metallic flowers. I also loved the edge of the postage stamp/map paper, but I covered up the centre map part with this bright floral piece of paper from the same range. I also stamped on the plain blue colour paper with embossing ink and used perfect pearls to add a pattern to the plain sheet.

Let me know what you think?

Mel

xx