Check out the NZ Dare blog tomorrow night for something EXTRA fun and exciting. Yes an EXTRA dare which we know you will LOVE.

Watch this space!!

Hope you enjoy my brushes I had heaps of fun making them and have ideas for more. I'd love to see how you use them so please link me up if you do.

Watch this space for an update this week!!! So exciting. You will not want to miss this! And a wee clue... we're looking at flight times from overseas to NZ trying to make arrangements. Not long now till all is revealed! But email Yolande at kandyfenneman@actrix.co.nz if you want to be added to the newsletter list. Those that have attended before are already on the list but any newbies please feel free to email Yolande. Details will be going out early next week (just waiting to confirm a few details).

Brushes

OK let's try this. Here's a sampling of some of the brushes I made. If you like them hopefully you can click on the picture and go to the download place and there's a couple more sets there if you want them too.

And here's a pic of Emma using some of them.

Bad, bad weather

Windy, wet and stormy. Last night my poor dogs had to come inside they were so scared of the thunder and lightning. It's so rough at the beach, 6 metre swells, very scary looking.

Did you see my new banner??

A share in case you didn't manage to get your hands on the latest Up2Scrap, cause apparently they've all sold out. You might be lucky to find one in a stationers somewhere. Awesome mag this month.

I'm just gonna do it ...

... I think I've been avoiding posting on my blog because I just have so much to say at the moment and trying to remember it all, the idea was just too much apart from the time factor. Anyway I've decided to just try and post a bit each day as I think of things.
So first and foremost I have to say how proud I am of my girl. She went out and got herself a parttime job as a waitress in a restaurant, so cool, and a really great job too.
Also she won discus at school athletics last week for her level. She threw an almighty 18 something metres and the closest to her was 16 something. She's always been good at that. :))) She's off today to the Counties athletics.

Check out my SENZ classes here and email scrappin.downunder@xtra.co.nz if you want to book in or want more info.

I have made some really cool Photoshop brushes (I know, wasting time doing that when I should be doing other stuff but it's very addictable) and I just need to work out how to make a zip file downloadable from my blog if anyone can help.

Found this cool site too.

Auckland people ...

... if you're interested, I'm holding this Clock Canvas class next Wednesday night 7th March, 6.30 - 8.30. Email scrappin.downunder@xtra.co.nz if you're keen. It looks even better and more dimensional IRL.

It's 11.30 and I haven't even had breakfast yet. I wanted to get this done for the Scrapjacked dare cause I saw the cool ones Rach and Monique did and I wanted to have a go. A 'scrapjack' of Amber Skolnick. Love her. As you can see she is already in my sidebar.

How cool was last night at the Scrapbook Outlet cyber crop having Elsie Flannigan come and join us. Wow Andrea what a cool thing to organise. I was blown away to be talking to Elsie. She is so cool to do that. I didn't do any challenges last night but they are definitely on my long to do list; esp like the sound of Yolande and Laras ones. I was also rather brain dead last night, everyone was scrapping up a storm but I just sat in front of my computer like a zombie. I did doodle on a photo though, which I will scrap. You should go look at the awesome stuff in the gallery there.

I also have my art card challenges to load up as well. I have been keeping up with those.

And theres a new recycle-it challenge at Zingboom. Fun.

And check out the NZ Dare Colour Pop challenge. Here's mine. Sponsored by CherryArte. How cool; thanks Lu.

As you know James went off to Uni last weekend. I miss him heaps already. Talk to him just about everyday and he's only an hour away. LOL.

We have been adding on to our kitchen, so that's nearly finished, just waiting on some shelves and the bench top which Rob is going to make.

James' sleepout is waiting on the gib stopper and we have a Versatile garage waiting to be delivered. It's all go I tell ya.

Then there's Emma who's started 5th form and is trying hard to be good and keep up with her school work, but sometimes it is hard with peer pressure etc. But you gotta keep letting them know you love them so much and hope for the best.

AND I have heaps of scrapping I need to and want to do. There just ain't enough hours in the day especially when the beautiful sunshine is calling me. I hate being inside on a sunny day.

I'm hungry now, must go eat.

Man it took me ages to do this post with all the links and my stupid dial-up slow job.

Happy sunny day everyone. Keep smiling. What goes around come around.

Finally finished my birthday cake layout. Was sitting on my table for awhile - waiting to be finished!! Scan has cut bottom off again :(

James is off to Uni next weekend. Imagine me with a sad look on my face now. But I am so proud of him for doing what he's doing. Did I tell you what he's doing?? He's training to be a PE teacher. Yeah I know, right up his alley aye. That's what everyone says. He will be so good. I will miss him soooo much. He is so neat to have around.

I'm trying to organise the Photoshop brushes I've made into files for people to download. Not sure if it will work but will give it a go. Will let you know if it works OK.

Have a great weekend. Hope the weathers good. Want to catch a spot of sun and swimming this weekend.

Happy Birthday Emma - she turned 15 yesterday

It was Emmas birthday yesterday the 5th. We had an great day. First she sat her Learners drivers licence and passed with only one wrong. Wow go Emma!! Then she wanted to get her nose pierced so off we went to Primal Piercing in Maunkau to get that done. And ouch, it made her eyes water and yes it really hurt. Looks cool though. She suits it. Then she wanted to go to the zoo. We've been wanting to go to the zoo for ages and it was the perfect day. It was overcast and not too hot. Here's some photos James and I took. Got some great shots, took 177 photos. She did get pressies too.

Another fire

You may remember just over a year ago I blogged about a huge fire in the sand dunes on New Years Eve. Well I arrived home about 10pm last night to flashing lights, fire engines and a helicopter. I drove up thinking please not my house, please not my house, and thank goodness it wasn't. But unfortunately it was a huge fire in the sand dunes just near my place, round the corner and down a track. The helicopter went for ages emptying bucket after bucket of water on the fire. Collecting water from the river and flying back and dumping it on the fire.

Here's some photos of the aftermath today. It's so sad you know the damage it does. I know it regenerates quickly but there is a sadness about it. So many people were wandering around over there today 'visiting' the site, like someone died.

Emily's Art Journal

Week 3 - I am ...Week 4 - A Symbol you love. I have always, always loved sunflowers. I've grown them - I grew the biggest sunflower ever one year.

Finally caught up. I'm loving doing this challenge, using old stuff and different techniques. On card 3 I used pink Lumiere paint and then mod podged some patterned tissue paper (toilet paper actually) over the top. I used Tim Holtz distress embossing powder on the centre of the sunflower and round the edges of card 4. Loving that stuff, such a cool texture.

Watched the first LOST (series 3) instalment tonight. So where did that go. Back to their old tricks and not telling us anything. So annoying.

If you haven't seen it 'The Lakehouse' is an awesome movie.

My record cover challenge. This was so much fun, firstly searching through the hundreds of old records at my local second hand shop and then finding this one and knowing exactly what to do with it. The covers are 12 x 12 so you just use it as your background and away you go adding photos, embellishments, paint, journalling, whatever. Heaps of fun. I have 2 more to play with too.
Week 2 of Emily's deck of me art journal challenge. 'What is powerful to you?' Week 3's prompt is - 'I am ...'

And one more share; my NZ Dare layout for the 'Going round in circles' theme. Lots of circles, dots and spots going on here LOL.

Happy things

I'm doing this, it has to be the coolest idea I've seen for ages. Take a deck of cards - 52 of them = 52 weeks in the year. Alter one a week and create an awesome Art Journal. I'm so into this idea. I look around my scrapping room and see so many things I can use that I haven't used for ages, techniques I haven't done for ages or haven't tried yet. Can't wait. What a cool way to get into altered art if you haven't tried it yet. Creating on a small canvas is so much quicker and fun.So here's my first weeks card, I'm a week behind but working on week 2 now. The prompt for this one was 'Something you are proud of'. Thanks Emily for the inspiration. Can't wait till you come to NZ.

NZ Dare blog has a new dare. Go check it out and leave comments cause we love to hear from you.

Things that make me happy. Got this idea from Elsie Flannigan. I went around today and took snaps of the little things around me that make me happy. Here's some of them.

Emmas new Playboy lamp, the little Playboys catch the light and shine on the wall at night. Soooo cool.

My window decal I stuck on when we first shifted in. Love dolphins.
A picture on the wall of Rob and I when we were 19. A bit faded now.

Rob gave James and Emma these cool clocks for Xmas. They rock back and forward. The boy surfs and the girl dances. So cute.

My gardenMy Friday night happiness. Pretzels and Jim Beam and Diet Coke in my favourite Jim Beam and Diet Coke glass.

These kits make me happy. Here's a cool challenge I want to do too. Check it out.

Take some happy photos and link them here.

Wow, it's been a long time

So anyway I was just going to update my blog finally and also post this layout I had done for the Aussie Dares blog. I was just checking them out as I do regularly and what should I find but that I'd won the dare. How cool is that. I win these cool papers from Scrapapple. Can't wait. The dare was to dig up some old stuff from over a year ago, so I dug up some circle and heart clips and made them into flowers. Fun.

I've been away for awhile in Gisborne. We were there for New Years. A fun night of drinking and dancing. Had a great time catching up with friends. The weather wasn't too hot for Gisborne, in fact I've never ever known Gisborne so cold at that time of year. But we had a couple of days to work on the suntan. It was luverley.

I never make New Years resolutions because I never keep them but this year I'm determined to change a few things. So one of my resolutions was to make an effort to cook nice healthy meals. And so far so good.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

How's the crazy seaon going for everyone? I've been out shopping the last 2 days. Of course I left it all till the last minute. Wasn't as bad as I thought though.

Went out to dinner last night in Skycity for my birthday, which is actually on Thursday. Check out the amazing birthday cake Mum got me. Mmmmmm it's soooo yummy. The topping is meringuey stuff and the cake part, OMG, it's like a trifley, cheesecakey thing with boysenberries too. It's so divine. I've never had anything like it before.

After dinner we went and took some city photos. I love city shots. Here's a couple. I have to admit a lot of them were out of focus cause I was trying to snap them quickly, dammit. Emma took this one. Hey we got the Billabong sign in too LOL.

Loving the Skytower one with the cool pink sky behind.

The FAM.

So yeah that's about it.

I'M BACK

LOL I don't think anyone checks my blog anymore I'm so slack at blogging lately. But if you do happen to drop by here's a few goodies for you.

Scrapcamp blog updated with photos and thank yous.

NZ Dare blog updated with Slide Show of all the cool Dare # 12 entries.

A layout and card using the new Heidi Grace range we have just got in at Scrappin Downunder. Also see another layout on the NZ Dare Blog. The most divine papers and embellishments and rub ons. MMmmm.

And here is my double pager Up2Scrap entry that wasn't published. The scan has cut of the line that goes right around the edge of both layouts.

Happy Scrapping and Happy Christmas shopping.

WOW that was a great weekend. Sorry I haven't updated my blog. I've been so tired and working and spending time with the family. I haven't had a chance to make the photos smaller to put on my blog yet either. Will get to it though. Will also update the Scrapcamp blog later too. We had a great time and it seems that everyone who came did too.

Off to the Maori surfing Nationals this weekend in Raglan. James is competing; so looking forward to just sitting around and watching that. I love it, watching these awesome surfers manouvering their way around the waves. So clever I tell you. Wish I could do it.

Recent cool movies I've seen:
In Her Shoes - tissues material
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - strange but very interesting.

Might have some photos ready this afternoon.
Laters.

Scrapcamp blog
updated with sneak peeks.

How exciting.
8 sleeps to go.

Movies, new banner etc.

Did anyone watch 'The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' on SKY last night. Did you have your tissues handy. I'd been wanting to see this movie for ages but I didn't realise how sad it was. Happy ending though in case I've put you off. What a cool movie though.

Time for a new banner. Had a little play with some of my own brushes. Nothing great but OK for now.

I meant to say I was pleased that Matt won NZ Idol. We liked him from the beginning. He seems a really sweet guy. Loved his voice.

I can't believe how close Scrapcamp is. 9 more sleeps before I pick Karen up from the airport and we make our way to Yolandes the night before camp. Ooohhh how exciting. So looking forward to seeing and meeting everyone. If you are coing and didn't receive a newsletter in the last couple of days please let us know. RANDLGRAY@xtra.co.nz.

World Wide Dare

I did it, finally got it all up on the NZ Dare blog at midnight last night but it was totally worth it. Go check out the fantastically awesome layouts and then go check out the other dare blogs taking part in this incredible Dare Across the World.
How Dare You - Aust
Everyone is Speshal - UK
The Effers - US and Canada (yay Gen)

OK so the dare consists of 4 parts, 1 from each dare blog, all on the one layout.
Childhood memory or dream theme
Cover the whold page as in every square inch of the backlground
Throw in some paint somehwhere
Title on the photo

Here's mine:

I loved creating this layout. Brought back some great memories. Got out some old papers and other bits and pieces. Heaps of fun and extra special cause we were so honoured to be doing this with these awesome people from around the world. And so proud to be part of such an awesome bunch of girls on the NZ Dares.

I'd also like to say thanks to the wonderfully awesome Michelle Grant from the Aussie dares for creating the incredible banner for us. How cool is it!!

Have fun creating!!