Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Lots to share :)

I seem to have been inspired to get on with my cards over the last few days :) It's hard to believe that we've almost come to the end of this challenge... (and if you read this Emily) thank you so much for all the inspiration, ideas and creativity!!! Can't wait to see what you come up with next!

Week 43: Scary! Over the past few years I've worked really hard to eliminate things that scare me... and being a Mum eliminates and creates lots of scary things in itself... I don't squeal about cockroaches and spiders anymore... unless the kids aren't around! But teenage boys certainly scare me!!! So far we haven't had any 'boyfriends' dropping by... it's the idea of that starting that scares me!!

Week 44: Home. Those that know me know that I LOVE being at home! It's one of my most favourite places in the world. I love being able to do what I want to do around my home and I love that I feel safe and secure :) I love having my things around me and I love that my home is filled with things that mean a lot to me. I also really love that my home reflects my family - especially my relationships with my girls. I also love that my home really does inspire me to be creative!Week 45: Self realisation! Oh my goodness... that is a biggie!! I've realised a lot about myself over the past couple of years like: even though I've resented having to have routines they actually help me feel in control of my life... If I write myself a 'to do' list I really do accomplish what I set out to do... I'm pretty good at home improvements... and I'm learning to be really ok with who I am! The biggest realisation lately is that I have a really great life! I have two amazing daughters, a loving family, a great home, a career I enjoy and life really is pretty fantastic!Week 46: rejuvenation. I love feeling rejuvenated... It makes me feel like I'm full of energy, inspired to create and completely at one with myself :) What I'm learning is that lots of different things create that feeling for me... sometimes it's taking a walk on the beach and being surrounded by nature... sometimes it's chilling out with my girls or playing with my nephew and nieces... sometimes it's reading an inspiring book or watching a really great movie like The Pursuit of Happiness... that movie always makes me feel incredibly grateful for what I have as well as totally moves me to tears! If you haven't seen it I would highly recommend it!!!I'm going to break with the norm a bit here and share a layout with you... and it fits perfectly between Weeks 46 & 47 because it's about the place where I feel happiest and how it helps me to restore myself. Hope you like it!Week 47: my happy place! Of course that has to be the beach! I love walking along the beach and collecting all sorts of different 'treasures'. I'm forever looking down at my feet while I'm on the beach in case something beautiful has been washed up by the waves. I love writing words in the sand and I love that it makes me feel calm, centred, and whole!Week 48: ideas!!! I really enjoyed this prompt... mostly because I love having ideas. I've stopped worrying about whether or not my ideas make sense to other people... and I've stopped being so concerned with whether or not they actually work... these days I'm simply happy to have an idea and see where it leads me. I've learnt the hard way that I get lots of ideas while I'm asleep so now I keep a notebook beside my bed because however much I try I just can't seem to remember those 'unforgetable' ideas in the morning! So that's my update... thanks for visiting and I'd love to hear your comments :) Until next time, happy creating :)

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Finally another update!

I've been so busy lately that I have really neglected my Deck of Me cards completely. The other day I got a quick note from Marjolein just asking if everything was alright and it gave me the prompt I needed to get going again so thanks Marjolein... I REALLY did need it!

Week 36: Life is beautiful! I've been so busy over the past couple of months with work, kids and various projects that I haven't really taken the time to appreciate just how beautiful life really is. Sometimes it's easy to forget that life has so much to offer so today I took a 'Mental Health' day. A day just for me... no work, no kids, no nothing... just me in my scrap room and I LOVED it! I feel much more balanced now and more ready to take on the challenges leading up to Christmas. I even tried out a new technique (new for me that is!)... I embossed the pattered paper with the cuttlebug scroll folder... totally loving that new toy! Then I used white StazOn to stamp onto some transparency. Really love the effect and thinking it might look good on greeting cards as well.Week 37: draw something. I've always loved 'creating' stuff. At school the best part of doing projects for me was doing the title pages and borders. I learnt to colour in quickly and I've always been a 'doodler' while on the phone BUT I've never been a drawer! It wasn't until I was at teachers college that I finally found the ability to draw something that mildly looked the way it was supposed to. Over the last few months I've been loving butterflies so I thought I'd give it a go and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I used watercolour pencils a zig pen and finished it off with a little bit of bling for the body :)Week 38: I wonder. I think/wonder about a lot of things... what my life will be like in 5 years time... what if I won LOTTO (I like wondering about that one LOL)... what life would be like without kids (mostly think that one on a bad day!)... what if I'd never gotten divorced (can't imagine still being married to the ex!)... but mostly I think what the girls will do career wise once they leave school... will they be able to look after themselves out in the 'real world'?... have I done a good enough job raising them for them to be able to stand on their own two feet?... will they be happy?? I definitely hope so!Week 39: someone special. I've been really lucky in my life to have a lot of people that have been very special to me. My great grandmother (Nana) was the first person I thought the sun shone out of :) I'm related to a few wonderful people... I'm related to a few nutcases as well!! And I've had some really special friends over the years! This time I thought I'd dedicate a card to my relationship with Dave. We've known each other our whole lives (I'm only a few weeks older than him), we've loved each other, tried living together, gone our separate ways for 10 years, gotten back together and tried living together again but it just never seems to work out the way we hope it will. In some ways we're really alike and at our best we are best friends... we sit up and talk to each other until sunrise regularly and we enjoy lots of the same things. At our worst we can't stand each other... nobody else can make me as annoyed as Dave! He really knows how to push my buttons!!! But in spite of all that there is an invisible link between us that has lasted for 37 years. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that he will always be important to me.Week 40: Not anymore. Not anymore will I wear glasses in public... not anymore will I be pregnant... not anymore will I eat food I don't like just to be polite! But more than anything... not anymore will I live my life based on what others think!!! This has been a hard one for me and something I've been working on a lot over the past 18 months. I'm learning to stand up for what I want and need. I'm learning that I don't have to be liked by everyone. I'm learning to follow my dreams and I'm learning to live my life based on MY beliefs. I'm getting there... I'm making progress... I'm learning a lot about myself and I'm really beginning to understand WHO I really am. It's a journey... it's hard work at times but it's really, really worth it!Week 41: Magic carpet. If I had a magic carpet where would I go??? ITALY!! I've never had the desire to travel... I was quite happy to get married at 19 and settle down. Lately though when I think of the girls leaving home (luckily it's still a few years off yet!) I think about what I would like to do... and I'm thinking that I'd live to explore some places that interest me. I'd like to go to Europe and see some of the amazing things I've only seen via TV and the internet. Mostly I'd love to go to Italy! I'd like to eat fresh pasta made the traditional Italian way... I'd like to visit the wineries and drink some of the local wines... I'd like to explore the art world and visit local markets. Maybe I should go and learn to speak Italian!Week 42: a grateful week! I've made it a routine now that when I go to bed I think of at least 3 things that I feel grateful for. Some days I barely get me 3 and other days I get to 30 in the blink of an eye... it all seems to depend on what's happened that day and how I'm feeling. Having an 'attitude of gratitude' really does work for me! So that's my update... I'm feeling really good again now :) It's amazing how just a few hours to yourself can make such a big difference! Thanks again Marjolein!!