I have a new blog on my "work in progress" website.

Check it out here

Finally I've done some actual scrapping!

Its been a busy couple of weeks around here. Mum has finally gotten out of Christchurch and has moved to Waimate! unfortunately 2hrs after she arrived her GP rang and told her she has Breast Cancer again, so that took the shine off things a bit. However this time she is in the same town as us so we can help and support her a lot more than last time. She was happy with the house I found her, which I was relieved about, and seems pretty OK about things so far. She also thinks my husband is great! he has earnt lots and lots of brownie points with 6 trips to CHC to help her and all the stuff hes done around her new place. Wish he would fix my leaky kitchen tap!
On the scrapping front, website going a bit slower than expected so I can't link you to the new stock yet. Trademe has the new spellbinders and a couple of new Martha Stewart punches have arrived today so will put them on when I get back from Dunedin tomorrow.... maybe!
I've actually been doing some scrapbooking, incase you all thought I just liked looking! Quite proud of this effort as it is totally different to how I normally scrap (clean lines/bright colours)

The BoBunny Gabrielle range was just so easy to use, resulting in a much softer, worn look than I normally use and in colours I would never usually try. It was my first time using eyelets - good fun! and I think my handmade lollipop flowers look perfect.
Kids wont leave me alone so time to sign off..... hope to see you all at the next Crop in Timaru Sat 30 April.

First Camp..... done and dusted!

Thank you to all who came and joined in at the first Raincliff retreat that I have organised.
I hope you felt inspired, well fed and relaxed over the weekend, and were able to churn out a few masterpieces.
Scrapbooking seems to attract such a wide variety of personalities but its great that we can all come together and have such a good time regardless of our differences.
I also thank those of you that took the time to tell me what you liked lots and not so much about the weekend, this is the way I will improve my service to you all, and keep things changing and evolving.
Pam and Kirsten (the cooks) were surprised that even the promise of food was not enough to draw people away from their projects. I have not yet asked these two dear friends if they want to come back and do it all again in about 5 months! maybe I will leave it a while.
Heres a couple of piccys taken over the weekend, the rest will be in a gallery on my new website when I have learnt how to do this (give me a week or so please)

Should have had a prize for the best dressed - note to self - NEXT TIME!
Hubby was amazed that this next photo was taken about midnight "dont scrappers ever sleep!"

The Zumba class seemed to be enjoyed (by some more than others!) we raised $120 for the Canterbury earthquake fund (less a wee bit for Doms petrol) so that was great.
Irene won the page of the weekend random draw and was pleased with her tote bag prize, but somehow got away without having her photo taken. Those who did the handmade lollipop flowers workshop seemed to really enjoy it and Nic B was thrilled with winning the Dusty Attic/Kaiser kit challenge and has already started using all that lovely Dusty Attic product.

Thats it for now, time to head out to the shop and unpack (I avoided this yesterday and finally did some housework inside). It will be interesting to see what has sold.
I will be in touch soon with upcoming crop details.

Thanks again.......Tania

ps. anyone know who these shoes belong to?

Life as we know it ... ...

Like everyone I suppose, the past week has been very strange and upsetting. We have gone from having a house full of Christchurch refugees, to life pretty much as normal, all in the space of a week. But its not normal is it. Will it ever be normal again? I dont think so.
It is so hard to know what to do. How to support friends and family who dont know where they should live, and whether they will have jobs. Sounds like no-one I know actually lost their house but now they dont even want to be there. And that creates feelings of guilt that they should be thankful for what they have. Such a confusing time and I fear for Christchurch and indeed New Zealand as a whole.
I have donated a few items for the Louise Williams face book Christchurch earthquake auction which I am sure you blog hoppers know all about, and our farm/family has donated thru Fonterra. Is money enough?

Scrapbooking seems a bit trivial at the moment but I suppose life must go on and the country must try to get back to some sense of normalcy if we are to survive as a nation.
We had the first crop of the year on Saturday in Timaru. A few less than normal but lots of great conversation and beautiful work created. I had Becks laughing her head off when I described my first car crash! and no there havent been that many and they all are equally ridiculous.
Speaking of car crash why do you think Kathryn is holding this piece of wood?

Never mind.......

Thats enough for today I think.
Oops forgot the new stock arrivals. Just a wee bit this week. The long awaited BoBunny midnight frost range of papers and 3 new Martha Stewart Punches. Vintage lace punch around the page is great. Very similar to Doily lace but it comes with corners!!!! and checkerboard and scallop with 2 dots are for those of you who have requested a more genderneutral punch. There are a few more on there way but still a bit tricky to get a hold of. See new stock here http://www.embellishit.co.nz/index.php?pageLoad=24&cact=pl&cid=28
Thats it. Off to see the realestate agent about rentals in Waimate for my Mum who has very little intention of going back to CHC.... maybe she will change her mind when she sees the rentals on offer. That was humour if you didnt get it.

Its all go around here... ....

Anyone with young children knows that life is always busy with them around, and even though Charlie is off to school 5 days a week, the pace is still flat out, but now out squeezed into afterschool and weekend hours. Heaven forbid when the teachers start getting tired and ask for some parent help. Although hes actually still not five (anyday now!) we had the much awaited party on friday night. Pub for tea (thats what you do here in Waimate) sleepover and Chipmunks in the morning. Since hubby was home when I started making the cake I thought it would be nice if it was a joint effort. WRONG. He of course insisted that you cant have a 2D rocket it simply must be vertical for his "boy".So we taped the handy towel holder to a plate and "erected" the chocolate logs onto it. Heres the final result....

 Ooops nearly forgot to mention the waitress lit sparklers all around the base when she brought it out so it was pretty exciting for the kids.

On the scrapbooking front most new release orders have been placed and I am just waiting not very patiently for my turn to have preorders made available. 4 new Kaiser ranges arrived since I last blogged, the latest being English Rose
Had a wee play this morning with the Bracket frame and the diecut speciality paper from the Magic Happens range and the new paper blooms (also from Kaiser)

Pretty easy really when the diecut is already the right shape (and now I have a template for cutting out the middle). The paper blooms are easy to position with the wires on the back and the variety of sizes and styles in the one packet. The English Rose range has the same shaped die cut for those of you who like soft pink and olive. I am sure whichever little girl ends up with it will be very happy (Pam and Lisa don't show your daughters this blog)
Waimate is having a womens expo this weekend, so I have a stall. I am allowed ONE WHOLE trestle table!!! What on earth will I take..... ..... ......

Kids are off to school, Mama is home alone....

That moment has come in my life when all my little birds have flown away and I am left with an empty nest. Greg and I still cant decide if we should have tried harder for number three (no pun intended) but after trying for two years and the magical "40" approaching fast we may have missed that boat.
However it is very exciting seeing your youngest starting school and absolutely loving it. Every morning he says to me "do I get to go to school again today Mama?" so cute. He's not actually 5 yet but with six kids due to start this month in his class it just makes sense for them to all start on the first day. Charlie is one of those kids who loves rules so school is perfect for him, rules and routines everywhere. Only problem is, now he and Rosie argue constantly about how things are supposed to be done - they both think they are the school experts.

On the scrapping front I have been spending about 4hrs a day on the computer trying to decide which of the new ranges to get in etc. You would not believe how hard I find this! Dont get me wrong, shopping is good fun and my husband knows I am very experienced at it, but, the difference is that I am no longer shopping for myself. We all have such different tastes and reasons for scrapbooking. I dont want my albums to be works of art, I want them to be chock full of photos of our daily life. In saying that, I love getting super creative when the mood hits and am completely in awe of all the beautiful work that I see you all doing. Therefore I love when you guys tell me what you see/want (Jo, Becks, Kathryn.....) I wont always agree (eh Jo?) and have in the past mucked up how to order upcoming ranges (still waiting for BoBunny Midnight Frost... maybe one day just to surprise you) but I will always welcome your suggestions.
This is the latest page that I have done using Kaisers Seaside Range, Martha PATP String Lace, Dusty Attic clouds and a spritz of Glimmermist.

So as you can see I'll leave the pages that take hours to complete to you experts and try to promise to actually order what I say I will.

My daughter, Rosie, has been joining me in the "shop" since being overjoyed with the scrapbook and 20 papers I gave her for christmas. I thought she was going to cry with happiness when she opened it. You never know what is going to capture their hearts do you? Any way here is her first page... and all that Mama did was cuttlebug the title.

So onto the Dusty Attic order, timed much better this time, a week after the new releases came out instead of the week before. DOH!

Yes it's been a while for me too ... ... ... ...

Had a great day yesterday at the "Timaru Christmas Crop" where a few of us were discussing how bad we were at updating our blogs - the worst probably being ME! So when Google reader told me Diane Today for tomorrow had bet me to it, it was time for action. Debbie have you done yours?
I think why I havent gotten into the swing of blogging is I dont know who is reading it? Cyber space is a bit weird dont you think, you could quite easily become a hermit and never see anyone. NOT LIKELY for me, I get lonely after a morning by myself.
Speaking of being sociable, everybody seemed to love the new seating arrangements at yesterdays crop. Of course I didnt take a camera so if you weren't there you will just have to come another day to see what we did. Probably helps that I had never seen the usual layout and was really just making it up as I went along, however scrappers do love to chat and it allowed for plenty of that. Rebecca and I chatted all the way home about how we could pull it off for Raincliff Autumn Retreat.

Wednesday night sessions are going well here at the "shop" as my kids like to call it. Heres my take on the Kaiser Advent Calender. I used a combination of papers from Little Yellow Bicycle Christmas Delight range and  Fancy Pants Traditions range. I like it's originality, and the kids of course love it.

By the way did you all know (whoever is out there reading this) that my friend Kirsten and I went to the U2 concert in Auckland last week! It was truly wonderful, and being labled and the most spectacular stage show NZ has ever seen. The best part was I wasn't even the oldest there! even if I did only know one JZ song and my ears hurt when he was "singing".

 Back to the scrap booking heres one of the last pages I did using Senic Route Metropolis range, which I sourced for all you parents of boys like me!  It is a Kraft coloured card with cool geometric shapes including spots, stars and arrows. Very cool and easy to scrap simple and effective.

Thats it for me, husband is home and wondering why he has no dinner waiting.
I promise to update more, maybe even a New Years Resolution might be involved.
Happy silly season everyone and I hope you enjoyed reading... ... ...

It's been a good week... ... ...

You know that movie "Stella got her Grove back"? Well that's been my week, bit rocky on Monday/Tuesday but all good from there. I think the catalyst was actually sitting down on Wednesday morning (yes it should have been a work day) and doing some actual scrapbooking - well blatant scraplifting actually. Then last night some of the local ladies and I christened the scrap shed (yes there was some bubbles involved) and I finished the first scrapping I've even attempted since Raincliffe. And I am very please with how it turned out.
 
Obviously not everyones taste, but very liberating for me. Reminded me why I am doing all this. I love the riot of colours and textures and the little details like the butterfly on the edge of the fountain, and the water I invented looks soooooo cool! Well I think it does anyway... ... ...
On the business front things are getting organised sloooooowly. Ordered from four different companies this week and had two deliveries already TO RACHELS HOUSE!!!!! Does life need to be this hard I say?
One of my orders is having a wee holiday in customs and I have come to the realisation that I should have ordered twice as much! First of many lessons to learn..
Better fly Rosies at a birthday party this afternoon and needs to be transferred to another for the rest of the night, Oh to have a social life like a seven year old.

Finally, touchwood, the computer is fixed!

Well a nice local man spent half his weekend fiddling around with it, and I am happy to say that all is well in computer land. Not quite true actually - the problem ended up being the modem and router???? so while the home computer is whizzy fast, the laptop now won't actually connect to the internet because it thinks it already has??? I SAID ENOUGH! Go home nice man, and see your family, we will attend to that another day.

Now as far as my new business goes, I am starting to finally make some headway. Baby steps but at least they are going forward. You know how when babies learn to crawl they often go backwards first - well that was me definately. I have ordered new stuff from 2 companies and am going to do some more today. Still haven't done any actual scrapbooking (seems criminal when I have a whole roomful of stuff to play with) but Rebecca (local police woman) is coming over today to play. Speaking of roomfull, this is how it looks... ... ...

Looks like a lot to fit into a trailer but we managed.
First Crop event in Timaru went well - other than my nerves. About 25 came along and I learnt lots of new names and some I have met before but seemed to forget - eh Deirdre? may have been that little bottle of wine consumed on Sat night at Raincliffe...
But back to the crop. All went according to plan other than the unscheduled fuel stop at the Pareora Truck stop in the pitch black. Gwenda (Oamaru) was the page of the day winner and recieved in the mail the following week, her scissors (left behind on Rebeccas table) and the lovely Glimmermist - Home for the Holidays Kit.
Next crop coming up 30 Oct in Oamaru - I'm even putting on lunch to make up for my lack of knowledge in other areas! Speaking of food - Raincliffe is all booked and I thought we might have a bit of a BBQ on the Saturday night... ... ... sound good? Think about it, I certainly will be!
Thats all for now, back to my Bazzill and Kaiser orders before my kids wake up... ... yes this is my new life tapping away on the computer in the wee small hours... ... ... ...

Final Post :-)

Well the time has come for me to hand over this blog to Tania who on Friday purchased Embellish It and has fantastic energy and can see a fantastic path forward for the business!

This was us after we had packed the trailer - for me for the last time and for the first time for Tania, I was pushing it out and Tania was keen to pull!

It was blowing something wicked on Friday which made for interesting pack up - lucky there wasn't papers flying all the way to Invercargill!
So Saturday morning saw us trying to pack the scrap room down with all my *stuff* in it - lol  Saturday afternoon saw Beck over and she helped me sort - thanks so much Beck - seriously she got me in the "throw it out" mode!
Nigel thinks that Tania forgot most of the stock and is threatening me that he is going to have a garage sale - got news for him!!!!!!!!!!
The lounge still looks like a bomb hit it, but this morning we re-painted the scrap room and I have my bed in it, Jamie got shifted into our bedroom, and Abby into his - all this for about a month or so while we get new windows put in their bedrooms and our old bedroom gets turned into a new bathroom and toilet!  YAY!
Anyway enough about that!  I will head back to my old blog which i hope to be able to blog on every now and then :-)
I want to thank everyone for their lovely comments that have come through my e-mail, and if anyone would like to keep in touch my personal e-mail will keep you in touch with me!
Have a fantastic week everyone, and I will see you all at the crop on the 2nd of October at Highfield School - I will be the one scrappin :-)


Until then - take care :-)

*hugs*
Rachel

Raffle Results

A HUGE thank you to all of you that supported Abby in her ambition to raise $600 for the Leukemia & Blood Foundation - she made that goal and tomorrow will head of to give her bag of coins to the Cancer foundation to go to the Leukemia & Blood division.

A BIG thanks to all our friends - family and scrappin - who willingly took raffle books and sold them for Abby - without your help it would not have been possible.
And to our sponsors: Pope Print, Bennys Again Restaurant, Barkers Fruit Processors, Soul Surf & Skate, Noel Leemings, Watties, The Fontrunner, Embellish It Scrapbooking, Toyworld, Green thistle House Jewellery.


And here are the winners as drawn by the Timaru Police Station

Here was the list of Prizes


1st $50 Benny's again voucher and Barkers Gift Basket    - ME!!!!!!!!!!  not rigged I promise!
2nd $150 scrapbooking Products                                      - Jimmy Wallace
3rd Woman's hoodie and Man's T Shirt                             - Jo Flannery
4th Electric Salt & Pepper Mills, watties gift box                - Tracey Agnew
5th 2 Soccer balls, Domino games, Schotty Star Trek action Figure      - Robbi Bell
6th Soccer ball & Necklace                                               -  Alister Hunt
7th 2 Soccer balls                                                              - Jacob Caithness


Abby told the Police woman that mum won first prize - she laughed and said people will think it was rigged but HONEST I brought 2 books of tickets and I NEVER win anything!

Anyway thanks again to you all :-)

Have a great week!

Cheers

Rachel

What A Week!

Well wasn't the last week a hectic crazy one?  My heart goes out to all those effected in the Canterbury Earthquake - it was scary enough here I sure wouldn't want to be 160kms closer!
I have two brothers (many friends and clients also in Canterbury).  One of my brothers house is fine but Andrew (my big big bro) looks like his may not be and might have to be pulled down - that on top of all the aftershocks just makes me feel sick for him his wife and three children, and the many many more that are in the same situation.
On top of all of that we have had mum back in ICU for 4 days and 2 on the ward - she is home now and until Christchurch cardiac unit opens up and starts to take people from outside the region we are just waiting.
On top of that we are trying to decide on plans for the house - so it has been all go!

Anyway a couple of more photos from Raincliff.

Beck's make this lovely card for me and everyone signed it.  It is made from calico and prima paper, prima flowers all my favourite things  - how did she know lol!
She is so clever take a look:

the flowers were also from the girls.

I am so humbled at all the kind words on the card and will cherish it forever.

Thank you to you all for a wonderful ride - and hopefully next week I will have some exciting news to share with you all!

Until then - HUG your family very tight and have a fantastic week!

*hugs*

Rachel

Where has this week gone?

Wow i can't believe it that this time last week we were just starting camp!
Anyway I have some more pictures to share with you here are some of the tables being very busy:

This one is of the very clever "bed Buddie" that Ngaio made for Evelyn.  Evelyn is a bad snorer and her "bunk mate" had to leave on Saturday night due to illness and she hates to sleep alone so when she went to her bunk room this was what was waiting for her in her bed so she didn't feel alone:

Ngaio did a wonderful job - although i am told that when she went to bed her nighty had knots in the sleeves now I wonder how could have done that?

We also did a make n take of sorts - we gave everyone a package with a chocolate bar, Dusty Attic tree, flowers, brads, a piece of bazzill of their choice and a Prima paintables.  We set out the distress inks and the water colour pencils and left the ladies to it to see what they could come up with.  MAN they were ALL fantastic here are some pictures:

I know you have to turn your head to see these two - but it is round the right way on my computer for some reason it won't upload here the right way!
There are SO many amazing layouts - the winner drawn from names that played along won $80.00 of Dusty Attic - a hugh thanks to Dusy Attic for sponsoring us that prize!

Anyway I think that is enough photos for one post :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

*hugs*

Rachel