Thursday, May 31, 2012

June Challenge - OUAS Birthdays

         It's a new month and that means it's a new challenge at Once Upon a Sketch http://onceuponasketchblog.blogspot/.


The theme of this challenge is BIRTHDAYS

We would like you to create a layout and interpret the theme "BIRTHDAYS" however you like based on the following sketch. You can journal as little or as much as you like, but your layout must incorporate this theme and the sketch below. Please make sure that we see some sort of journalling on your layouts and please tell us where your journalling is . Hidden journalling is perfectly fine. 

Ideas for Journalling:most memorable birthday celebration for you or anyone in your family, the last birthday you celebrated and tell us your thoughts on turning this age, your child's/other family member's birthday and your thoughts on their age, a birthday that was a turning point in your life and your excitement/fears or other thoughts you had, an upcoming birthday for you or anyone and your thoughts, the best birthday present you ever received/gave and why?. You can also base your layout on a non - person birthday. This means your birthday theme can be based on : a pet, a business venture, a milestone anniversary etc etc. Its up to you how you interpret "BIRTHDAYS



Here's mine in celebration of mine!
It's really a reflective layout. Hence the not so flattering, thoughtful pic. And no I am waaaay past 26. That's my date, May 26, lol. My birthday was just last week! I'm not even sure I remember 26. Ha! I still have to get back to all those of you who sent me the loveliest messages on F/B and e-mail. Just so kind.

So what's this lo all about. Aren't birthdays about celebrating? Here's what my journalling says...

"I don't know when it all began, this feeling that a date and day define you. But at some point I stopped recording the year I was born. Maybe it was just that time finally caught up with my body and I started to look my age. Maybe it's just that other people always seem to need to put you in a category when they know your age. MAYBE I just like the elusive idea of it all. This year just a week ago, I turned 107 according to my facebook page. Birthdays are always special to me, all 107 of them!"



Thanks to Imaginarium Designs they have been such amazing DT sponsors. Chippie oval frame is from ID.

Some Manor House flowers with lots of misting.

 Some bling and flourishes from Flourish with a Bling

Lots of mists and paints and sloshing around. All the stuff I love to do.lol

***

This is the last layout challenge for the team at OUAS. It's been such a wonderful team to work and play with. I'm so going to miss all the girls on the team.

We'd love to have you join in our challenge and lots of fabulous prizes to be won too.
Have a great day and weekend,
Jenix


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Time for a Catch Up

It seems there's always the last thing to catch up on, then something new comes along.

Flourish with a Bling

First up is my new design team. Flourish with a Bling have their first official design team. I've been lucky enough to have been working with their products for a while now, and am so pleased to be a part of their 2012 team. Flourish with a Bling was started by three lovely ladies from Aus who are friends, Maggie, Kate and Lucy.
Check out their products here. http://www.flourishwithabling.com.au/store/

I've used their Lee's tree and part of a Chloe pearl flourish on this fairly clean layout for me that I did recently.


  Love the pop of the glow on the tree. A very toothy smile from my girl just before she got her braces.


  A gorgeous mix of Manor House blooms. You can never have too many flowers.lol

***

OUAS

Next is the sad news that the Once Upon a Sketch team is moving on. We celebrated our 1 yr anniversary and as of July there will be a whole bunch of new talent to inspire us.
You'll find the call for new team members here. http://onceuponasketchblog.blogspot/.
I know Nadia has been totally overwhelmed and humbled by the incredible response.

There's also the latest posting for the amazing work from the girls in the current team.
Come and join us in creating a layout about the theme for May, "Mum."

***

Manor House and Flying Unicorn


Here's another project I've been working on for quite some time. It's a framed piece using the technique of paper tole. I used to do heaps of paper toling way back before my serious scrapbooking days.
This was a gift for Mother's Day for my M-I-L, who just adores hummingbirds.
It was also for Manor House Creations, using their beautiful flowers to embellish the project and for the week three challenge over at http://flyingunicornforums.com/ who combined with Manor House in celebrating May, the month of flowers.




A close up to show the layers and layers and the final coating.



These really are the prettiest blooms from Manor House. I just adore the fabric and textures.

  This little fella took soooo much work. Using a small pair of scissors, you spend hours "feathering" the body to give it a more realistic look.
I was pretty happy with the outcome and my M-I-L loves it, so it was well worth the time.

Here it is again all framed up.

Well that was  a long post! Hope you're having a great week, whatever you are up to.
That's my blog catch up, now I have to catch up on all my dear friend's blogs.
Jenix

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Manor House goes hopping!

Welcome to the first ever blog hop for Manor House Creations.



 Welcome to MANOR HOUSE CREATIONS' MOTHER'S DAY BLOG HOP.
Thank you for joining us.
Its Mother’s Day in Australia and we want to show our appreciation and thanks to all the wonderful Mums out there. All Mums love flowers right? So we are offering 4 beautiful prize packs FULL of Manor House Creations flowers. 4 lucky ladies will each win one of these gorgeous packs..

This is what you have to do.
The blog hop begins at MANOR HOUSE CREATIONS BLOG (http://manorhousecreationsblog.com/ ) You will also find a complete list of all participating blogs there, in case you get lost along the way.

The blog hop begins at MHC blog http://manorhousecreationsblog.com/ MHC blog
Then follow the Design Team blogs listed below.

Nerrida Mitchell http://www.forthememories-nerridamitchell.com/
Karen Shady http://karenshady.blogspot.com.au/
Monika Martinson http://monma.blogspot.ca/
  Linda Langes  http://ahappyscramper.typepad.com/
 Joanne Bain http://www.scrappinforme.blogspot.com/
Ria Mojika http://www.cakesnscraps.blogspot.com/
Delaina Burns  www.delainas.blogspot.com
Melinda Thompson http://www.minseverydaymoments.blogspot.com/
Jeni O’Connor http://jocmomentsoftime.blogspot.com/  (YOU ARE HERE)
Lene Neby http://www.lenemors.blogspot.com/
 Morag Cutts http://www.scrapbook-junkie.blogspot.com/

  The last stop on the hop is Manor house creations Facebook page. (  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manor-House-Creations/256231617747642 )


NOTE:
There will be hidden letters or words on each of the blogs that spell out a ‘secret sentence’, follow the clues. When you get to the end, and have worked out the secret sentence, go to the Facebook page, ‘LIKE’ our page and leave your answer in the comments section.

The rules: 
1. You must visit all the blogs, leaving a COMMENT and becoming a FOLLOWER to all.
2. You must also “LIKE” our Facebook page, and
3. Write the secret greeting in the comments section. 
Our design team have created some wonderful projects to inspire you along the way.
Here's my layout.
Celebrating Mother's Day, this one is for Mother Earth. What a truly amazing planet we live on.
 And then I thought it needed something more.
As much as I love the white to show off the pic, I always over think, lol, and brought in some blue to the base. Does anyone else fiddle with their pages like me?
I love the way the blue reflects the photo.
Here's some close ups.
Some beautiful fabric blooms from Manor House. I just adore the texture of these. Added some bloomers to compliment.

Some blue bling from my favourite Flourish with a Bling.
Some lovely Imaginarium designs chipboard. I love the way they have fabulous chipboard titles. Added a few clouds to give some texture, used molding paste.
I'm all clouded out atm. I've just painted Sienna's b/d room with a cloud mural to go with her loft bed. She wanted it to feel as though she was floating among the clouds.
Love this pic of my gang. I took it on an afternoon walk along the beautiful bluffs near when we live. It overlooks a magnificient lake. The colour reflected on the surrounding hills is from the lake and the slightly misty, lighly rainy afternoon. So beautiful.
 The blog hop begins now, Sunday 6th of May Australian Eastern Standard Time. You have until midnight on Tuesday 8th of May to enter. The winners will be announced on Saturday 12th of May on our Facebook page, and also on the MHC blog.

The next stop on the hop is the lovely Lene Neby www.lenemors.blogspot.com

Have fun, good luck, and happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums or Moms, daughters of mother's and hopeful soon to be mothers out there.
Thanks for stopping by and wishing you lots of luck for the big prize,
Jeni x
***** 

Friday, May 4, 2012

Mother's Day -A Special Post

Mother's Day is such a special day to celebrate. This weekend in Aus we celebrate the unique bond we have with all women, whether you're a mother, a grandmother, a soon to be mum/mom or someone who has a loving female energy in your life. It's a time to remember and be grateful for all mothers, including Mother Earth too.

I don't often share personal details on my blog but I decided to tell a little of my story through some photos and my journey into motherhood. I've added some of my favourite Brian Andreas quotes (in italics) too. Many of pics were taken way back when, in the pre-historic days of analogue film cameras, please excuse the quality. Grab a coffee or tea, it's a long post.

It all began way back in the dim dark ages.
I'm the chubby, curly haired one. My sister Anne is 15 months older.

If only she knew then what I know now.

With my childhood friends.

"Is willing to accept that she creates her own reality except for some of the parts where she can't help but wonder what the hell she was thinking"


Grateful for meeting this man. This was my first home and one day he came to stay and never left.
"When I first met him, I knew in a moment I would have to spend the next few days re-arranging my mind so they'd be room for him to stay"

Those eyebrows and earrings. What was I thinking! We loved and travelled and worked in the outback together.
"He loved her for everything she was and she decided that was enough to let him stay for a very long time"
I am thankful for the years of his love.
*******

For many years we hoped, we tried many treatments, many painful procedures, many sad losses, and when the timing was right (Jera, a Rune stone and our son's name) we were blessed.

"For such a long time there were only your footprints and laughter in our dreams and even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever"

OMGoodness I still had 5 weeks to go after this pic. By then I could barely walk. Photo was taken in Fanny Bay, Dawin.
"It feels like some kind of ride but it's turning out to be life going absolutely perfectly"
*****
Then very early one morning I became a MUM to these two precious little souls. Jera likes to say, Sienna was born when the Titanic lights went out and he was born two minutes later when it sank. What a claim to fame!

"She/he laid on my chest and her/his breathing filled me almost to beyond what I could hold"

 Here they are about a week old. He was so gentle and calm (check out the expression on his face) and she was a screamer. Nothing's changed. lol Well just their size.
Those early days were such a blurr. It was so hard at first. He had terrible colic. He cried after every feed and it woke him from his sleep. Dh spent hours with him sitting perched over his shoulder. It was the only way our little boy was pain free. She was very demanding, it had to be mum and only mum. If anyone else picked her up she screamed. She was never more than arms length away.
Oh this pic makes me smile looking back now.

"Anyone can slay a dragon... but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again. That's what makes a real hero"
Especially without sleep.
Going to the shops was a big ordeal. Two of everything. How on earth did Octomom do it!

But we had fun too, in our pool. Everyone has a pool in Darwin. It's an essential like having a heater to the rest of the world.
I loved to watch them play and grow together.

"Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life"

Who says fraternal twins don't have a connection? They would make us laugh, every time one rolled the one automatically did too.

"I sometimes wake in the early morning and listen to the soft breathing of my child (ren) and I think to myself, this is one thing I will never regret and I carry that quiet with me all day long"

****
I am thankful for her. It was this beautiful loving girl who made me a mum. Love her sooo much.

"Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable and fall asleep and miss your life"

I am thankful for him. I am this generous hearted little boy's first love. I just adore him sooo much.

"There has never been a day when I have not been proud of you, I said to my son, though some days I'm louder about other stuff so it's easy to miss that"

I am grateful to her, for her support and years of love. My mum, mother to six. 
"I didn't listen to her because she was my mother and wouldn't know anything until I was much older"

I remember her. My adored Grandma who inspired me to create and whom I miss every day.

"I was waiting for the longest time she said. I thought you forgot.
It is hard to forget, I said, when there is such an empty space when you are gone"

 

And for the little ones who I held for such a short while.
 "I held her close for only a short while, but after she was gone, I'd see her smile on the face of a perfect stranger and I knew she would be there with me all the rest of my days"

I am the mum I am today because of all of them.   
"There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter and noise"

*********************


I can't leave without posting something scrappy. And even a quote for that too.
"I think my life would be easier, she said,
if only I could get my selves (shelves) to agree on something" Hee hee!

Here's a card I did for my mum with gorgeous Manor House blooms, Pink Paislee pp, and some
Flourish with a Bling.
I love the easel cards. So easy to create.
"The most important thing you leave behind is the stuff that turns into treasures when children find it"
Happy Scrapping.

Wishing you all Happy Mother's Day. And to all those still hoping, never give up!
Jenix