Canon 5D giveaway

Not sure if you remember this post I did last year about the gorgeous new range of camera bags designed to be not only be functional but also a drop dead gorgeous fashion statement? well if you do(or even if you don't) race over to the epiphanie website and check it out becasue they are giving away the most awesome prize, they are offering a canon 5D mark II as a first prize (or the choice of travel vouchers). Woo hoo, how I would love this camera with it's drool worthy full frame censor making my lenses true to what they should be, totally awesome. (Plus there is a gorgeous turquoise bag there with my name on it hat I hope someone will remember when my birthday comes around this year :-)

Northern visitors

Naracoorte has recently been visited by a colony of fruit bats(flying foxes), possibly from NSW or QLD. The erratic weather has sent them looking for food and calmer weather. It's amazing when they take off at night, it looks like a large flock of big birds until they fly directly over head and you see the bat wing shape. They fly out looking for food each evening and settle back in for rest at dawn. Apparently, according to the local paper, they are quite a rare breed of fruit bat. I raced up this morning and took these quickly before work.

Amazing work

for any one wanting a little photography inspiration or simply enjoy looking at gorgeous images check out this slide show on the amazingly talented wedding photographer Susan Stripling's blog, so worth the time to have a look, her use of light is amazing and the emotion she captures at times almost brings a tear to the eye. Where was she 21 years ago(next month)probably still a child and on the other side of the world, that's where, lol, but even as a child I'm sure she would have had more artist flair that the wedding photographer we hired (hope he never ever reads this, lol).

Another fantastic photography website, and this one is a little closer to home (very close in fact) is my brother in laws brand new site here. His photography is awe inspiring with photos from home (Port Fairy) and around the world. Check out his portfolio, link is on the top left hand side. His shots of the whales in the bay at Port are simply stunning. Must remember next time I am home to pick his brain (ewww, that sounds gross) Some of his later stuff is shot digitally but his preferred method is with slide film and I must say that the quality is amazing, there I go with that word again but when he shoe fits...
Just a little side note- when I refer to home it covers two places, home of course where we live now in S.A. but also my home town of Port Fairy in the western district of Victoria. An extremely pretty little seaside town where most of my family still live, hence the fact that it will always be classed as my home even if I never live there again. so generally when I say I am going home for the weekend this is where I will be, then from there going home is coming back here, confusing stuff,lol.
And lastly a quick snapshot of two of my guys taken a couple of weekends ago at Bren's step sister's wedding (and yes I did straighten Paddy's tie afterwards :-)

Happy St Paddy's day

:-)

Way behind

On Shimelle's first class prompts so I thought I would combine the first two into one, metal and pattern paper. I pulled out some old foil sheets that have been floating around my stash for years (we moved here almost 8 years ago and I think I may have had them before then) brads, eyelets, alphabet brads, bead chain and an old bookplate that I think is from a similar era to the foil sheets. The alpha brad was originally pewter so I dunked it in some silver embossing powder to tie it all in. The word little and clouds cut with the silhouette and fish cut using quickutz cookie cutters and embossed using a cuttlebug bubbles embossing folder. Font is 2 peas tasklist. the cloud on the right looked heaps darker than the others in this shot although it is only a tiny bit darker, weird huh. Oh and the PP is cosmo cricket.

I made this card a couple of weeks back from a gorgeous set of unity stamps my wonderfully talented and generous friend Donna gave me as a Christmas gift. Love it when a card comes together very quickly because the stamps are so cute.

Now I have to run to catch up after the enormously busy time I had last week. Travelled over 2000 km, went to a wedding, a funeral, cuddled brand a new baby and not so new baby, baby sat my 2 year old nephew (twice), went to the folk festival, caught up with family and friends helped my oldest son move into a new home (by new I mean new to him not brand new)comforted my second son after the tragic loss of a close friend and my husband after the loss of a family friend, worked, baked for number three son to take on a holiday he was going on with friends of his, attended two meeting, paid the bills, went shopping as well as the other usual things that come our way all in the space of a week such as sport and training, so glad we were able to rest on Sunday.

Sharing (some of) my excess (gulp)

Our first challenge for Shimmele's class, share you excesses, oh boy this is a tough one, admitting to everyone that I have a collecting problem. Must be what an addict feels like at their first meeting :-) at least I am not alone in this venture as I'm sure there are many out there with uninked stamps (just because they were pretty) or unopened embellishments they were really going ot use one day. After this class I am seriously hoping that my stash is going to be noticably depleted (more room to add more shopping then, hehe) Self explanatory I guess
One of six wooden stamps drawers, these are word stamps

My book shelf. I claim that if I had enough room for several of these then my nook would be so much tidier and organised. Do you think I have enough cardstock?

Rubons, love the designs on these and the ease of use but have a basket full of them waiting for 'some day'

Must confess that this is just a fraction of my ribbon, I have a basket too wound onto board.

I blame the manufacturers for my collection of paint, if they didn't make such pretty colours then I wouldn't have to buy so many :-)

One of two herb jar turns that hold brads, pins, etc. I keep my eyelts in a separate folder type thing.

Just a few of my inkpads, notice there is room on the botom shelf for more ):-)

Alphabet stickers and now I mostly use my silhouette for titles, so they gather dust

Now seriously, do you think I have a stamp collecting problem???

All this and there's more, the adhesive drawer, how many kinds of adhesive does a girl need, sadly I use most of it though :-) then there is more punches and more ribbon and more, more more, you get the idea. I think I just like collecting pretty things, when I buy them I have full intention of using them but often find them months later at the bottom of a basket. I am very much an out of sight out of mind kind of girl and would love a room big enough (or a room full stop) to have every thing out on display and at hands reach. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, lol.

Woo Hoo

So what am I woo hooing about this time you may ask, well something really exciting, I have just received an email telling me that I have won a place in this class at Shimelle.com after entering on Jennifer Johner's blog (a visual delight). It's all about using your stash and anyone who has been into my little scrappy nook knows I sure have some stuff. Stamps any one,(too scared to count how many), chip board, a whole (untouched) box full, rubons, ribbons, buttons, brads and eyelets, you name it and I've probably collected it over the years and yet I seem to stick to the same lot of products all the time, maybe stuck in my comfort zone you would say of border punches, silhouette, buttons and the odd brad. I am so looking forward to being pushed out of my safe little box and this will be just the class to do it. the first challenge is to take some photographs of your excesses which I will be back with shortly :-)

The beginning of our adventure

Driving home(my home town, not where we live home)for the long weekend just on dusk we passed a mass of fur on the middle of the road. Thinking from a distance it was a dead roo it wasn't until we got closer that we realized it was a koala and although it wasn't moving except for being buffeted by the wind from cars and trucks as they flew past it seemed to be alive. As soon as we found a spot to turn we went back and found the poor thing in total shock still in the middle of the road. Except for a bloody foot it didn't seem to be too badly hurt but it was sitting there head down nose almost touching the ground. Now this is were I got brave ( for those who think of koalas as cute and cuddly you ought to check out their inch long claws) knowing it wouldn't be long before it was dark and the way the traffic flew along the straight there was no way it was going to stay alive for long, so I grabbed a blanket from out of the back if the car draoped it over it's still not moving back and heaved it's extremely heavy self to the side of the road. Knew things were good when it started to wriggle and it grunted at me:-) once out of it's stupor it walked off, turned and checked us out for awhile then slowly made it's ways towards the trees. The boys were extremely excited to be up close and personal with the wildlife and we were all glad to manage at least one hood deed for the day. Now for the rest of the weekend :-)
From my iphone

Pinch and a punch

It's official, Autumn is here, woo hoo.