I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Water

We live in a beautiful place - the east coast and Caroline Bay is five minutes down the road and we look out to snow covered mountains to the north west. My children just love running along the beach and making their own fun in the waves. This is a neat shot for this week's challenge as you can see that the three of them are all in a happy moment!

Fairy Girl

Louisa has been doing some amazing artwork lately. I had an order for a fairy picture last week and I suggested to her that she should do one too. Here she is colouring in her outlines. I love her creativity and great choice of colour. The copic markers are perfect for illustration work. She couldn't believe her luck when the customer bought her picture! 

I've had a play with my blog design as I felt the old background was at odds with the photos. It seems better but it's not quite perfected. As they say, good things take time......

Five minus one

Nearly halfway through the holidays and the dynamics have changed within the family without Peter here. The three younger boys have been a bit stir crazy so we've got out of the house each afternoon to help expend some energy! Louisa has been really tolerant of her brothers which I'm thankful for!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Props

Someone is going to love me for this I Heart Faces photo challenge - Jack, aged five, dressed in a pink unicorn costume at our local art gallery. He looks so sweet and innocent for a moment. As the youngest of five (and of four boys) he's normally in the thick of the action and is by far the bossiest of everyone!

Stuck in a little house

I've stuck the family into a little house....literally. This is the weekend craft project, a Scrapware house shadow box that I got at SENZ in Auckland last month. It was a little fiddly to glue together straight without the walls falling in, but once it held together it was fun to decorate it. I have a thing about houses. Maybe I should start a collection? Speaking of collections, as I was saying recently I have been inspired by some pictures on Pinterest of home decorating ideas. I've found the perfect item on Trade Me to kick start my latest plan but I am not telling you what it is because I would probably cry if someone else discovers it out there in cyberspace and outbids me!

 The papers are Life Documented from Simple Stories. I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder to give the roof the tiled appearance, and painted it with Mod Podge. The eaves are Kaisercraft lace that I inked with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain distress ink - I use this all the time, especially for aging papers. The flourish is Tim Holtz...again....yes, I admit to being totally brainwashed with his marketing ability!

The photo is little outdated - it was taken in the spring two years ago - but I haven't organised anyone to take a more recent one of us. I did take a few pictures of the tribe this week before Peter went away. It's amazing to see his growth in 20 months! And I don't think he has stopped there with the amount he eats on a daily basis. I can't imagine that x4 in a few years time. Aargh!!!

Down in the garden

 

Look who we found in the orchard this afternoon! Cute, huh? It was really curious too, and kept walking towards me and the camera making little snorting noises. He was enjoying all the apples on the ground.

Nothing much doing...

It's been a quiet at home weekend - the best type of weekend really as everyone settles into their own space and there's no pressure to be anywhere (except having to get Jack to a birthday party at 9am on a Sunday morning!) The weather is crazy, windy and warm. At this time of the year it's an indication that a cold front is pushing up the island and snow is highly possible. Something to look forward to....

Maki and tamago sushi were on the menu tonight as Louisa was off to a 'Round the World' shared tea for youth group. The tamago (egg omelette) is fun to make, made easier by having the authentic rectangular shaped frypan and the rice moulds that I bought back from Tokyo. Louisa made the maki sushi. We were a bit light on ingredients to hand but she did well with minimal supervision. And the boys are delighted to have the extra for their school lunches tomorrow. Everyone is very keen on Japanese food around here - perfect for being gluten free!

Off and Away

My eldest son Peter is about to embark on his first big adventure - on Thursday he heads off to the States for 3 weeks to cycle up the west coast from San Francisco to Seattle with his dad. How exciting is that? At 15, I am sure he will get badly bitten by the travel bug and find it hard to come back to high school to sit exams next term! He is really independent already and has a great outlook on life. I bet he will have a fantastic time. Can't be jealous though as it's only three months until I head off there myself....

I made a farewell card for him from Cosmo Cricket Social Club papers and Joy Ride chipboard. The retro feel of their designs really appeals to me.

 This card is also Cosmo Cricket using products from Material Girl and Social Club.

Well, today is not so great outside so I think I will do some crafting this afternoon. I've been really inspired by the uploads on Pinterest and have pinned heaps of ideas to get me enthused. Not to mention that at the same time I've wasted hours sidetracking to other peoples' blogs from the links.... so many talented people out there! 

Home Sweet Home

Today was a fresh and sunny winter's day, perfect for getting some washing on the line and having a pre-spring house clean. I had intentions to do my bedroom as there are two suitcases to unpack but I was sidetracked to my favourite room of the house, the living room. And since we do most of our living here, I do put some thought into the comfort and look of the room. My inspiration is with classic American interior design - I love how the use of lamps gives such a great ambience in a room. last year I painted the room (which is open plan with the kitchen and dining area) in Resene Poprock. Love it! I've made all the soft furnishings from offcuts I've picked up from a local interior designer. The tissue box is covered in Kaisercraft Hippy Girl paper. Now I'm looking forward to chilling out for the night and watching a movie!

Wintertime ducks

There is something about ducks that I've always had a fondness for. They are a good subject to photograph against the reflection of water and I often walk down to the nearby reserve to take photos. At this time of the year there are plenty of ducks taking sanctuary from duck shooting season on farmers' ponds!

I've had varied success with breeding and raising ducks in the past. When I was 11, I rescued a family of newborn orphaned ducklings and took them away with me on a weekend to Lake Tekapo to stay with a school friend. I remember they were very full on and would not let me out of their sight - there was a lot of noise at night time!
Pekin ducks are my favourite - I had a breeding pair about ten years ago when I lived in the country but found they make hopeless mothers. One duck took all her young ducklings through the long wet grass and they all died of hypothermia. Tragic. I've given up trying to raise anything other than children now!