Day to Day

Sunshine and snow

Tasmanian weather can be just so unpredictable - a bit of sunshine one day and a blanket of snow the next.  I kid you not.

A couple of weekends ago, we left home to drop James half way up Mount Wellington so he could ride down the mountain with some friends.  Shorts and sunshine at our house, thermals required with snow at the mountain - just twenty minutes from home.  

Bella was beside herself with excitement on seeing the snow - remember that wonderful feeling of playing with snowballs when you were small?  When I was little, we woke to snow covered trees and a pure white ground one winter, right in the middle of suburbia.  Oh, the joy of it!  I remember the thrill of building a backyard snowman with my friend and we were so happy that school had been cancelled for the entire day.

A few years ago it snowed in suburbia here too, school was closed and snow was thrown around in the back yard.  Since that day, Bella declares at the start of every winter how she's hoping it will snow again.  I guess one day it might, but until then she's pretty content with the odd mountain trip and the hope of making it to the ski slopes one year to see some 'real' snow.

I love days out with these two and I especially love this photo from our morning.  I'm trying to take a photo and stop my camera from getting snowed upon - yelling out 'keep still, keep still' but Bella can't contain her excitement and starts walking towards me with a snowball in hand. Those unplanned and imperfect photos are often the ones we love the most though, aren't they?

Here's to a little bit (or a lot) of local snow this year.

Project Life : Week 12 - Week 17

Here I am again, this time sharing week 12 through to week 17 of my Project Life album.  I nearly fell of the band wagon with week 12, only taking four photos during the week - so I went with a super duper simple page.

During week 13 I had the opposite problem, taking way too many photos (is there such a thing?) and struggled to know which ones to include. 

For week 14 I did one section of jot style journaling that included points from the week and popped a few photos in the remaining sleeves.  I love that Project Life can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it!

Above (week 15) is a prime example of a lot of my pages in the album - no photos taken or memories recorded throughout the week & using a one day event to fill the page.  Again, I'm just doing what works at the time.

And that brings me to my final two shares for the day.  I think week 17 might be my most favourite page so far, just because I kicked the journaling and recorded heaps of our every day happenings from the week.

I've managed to complete weeks 18, 19 and 20 too, so that officially brings me up to date.

Good stuff!!

Project Life : Week 7 - Week 11

Staying on top of my Project Life album has been a bit of a struggle for me, but I'm still hanging in there, if even by the teeniest thread.

It's a vicious cycle : catch up, fall behind, catch up again, promise myself not to fall behind ever again, fall behind, catch up, repeat cycle.  

I want to stay on top of this so badly though. I really do.  It's going to be so, so good when 2014 starts and I have 52 weeks worth of photos and journaling to look back on in my album.  Keep on going Mel, just keep on going.

I thought I'd share my pages from week 7 to 11 and pop back tomorrow if you'd like to see week 12 through to 17.  Tonight I'm going to try my best and finish weeks 18, 19 and 20.  Last year I only made it up 18, so I'm pretty happy to be passing that milestone!!

Most of these weeks I was naughty and forgot to take many photos or keep a journaling record, but I find a single page is great for these times.

I set up a Project Life pinterest board a couple of months ago and really want to start using it more to gather ideas around the net.  There are some great printables out there!  I'm also excited to be hooking up with the lovely My Poppet and we'll be bringing you a Project Life treat very soon, so keep your eye out for that.

Road tripping & rainbows

Something quite impromptu happened this afternoon - we all piled in the car and did a mini road trip.

Along the way, we came across the brightest and biggest rainbow that we've ever seen.  The pot of gold was unbelievable close and then, just like that, it was back out in the ocean forming a second rainbow.  No pot of gold, but ever so pretty nevertheless.

We stopped off at the sweetest little cafe, sat and filled our bellies with hot chocolate, English Breakfast tea and a Mocha for Mr Goodsell.  There was real apple pie to consume and many talks about our plans, dreams and how we could have stayed at that cafe all afternoon and drank more tea.

We looked in little shops and admired the old buildings.

We saw lamas, sheep, donkeys, cows and said hello to this guy on the side of the road.

We laughed at this little conversation along the way:

• Bella: Dad, can I go sky diving for my 18th birthday?
• Dad: Yes.
• James: Bella, I think you might be surprised at how high you need to go for sky diving.
• Bella: Well, I've jumped off my bed before James!!!

We drove home, had an easy dinner and cleaned up a little bit.  

And I felt so thankful and fulfilled that even though James and Bella are growing up fast (12 + 17) they still enjoy a family outing and are happy to hang out with their parents.

Here's to a zillion more road trips and good times together. 

Tutorial: Letter storage album

 

A few weeks ago I asked my Facebook followers what they would like to see more of on the blog and there were lots of requests for me to bring back creative tutorials again, so as a new regular feature I'll be sharing a 'mini' tutorial with you each week.  The feature will go up every Friday, hopefully in time to inspire you to create over the weekend.   

My first feature is for the snail mail letter writers out there, a letter storage album created from basic and easy to find supplies.  Perhaps you joined up for The Craft Revival creative penpal swap (I did!) and need somewhere special to store your letters or maybe you have cards and memorabilia saved away for a rainy day, and you'd just like somewhere nice to keep them.  

This project is suited for a beginner and you should be able to whip it up within the hour.  Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather your supplies!  You'll need:

• x2 pieces of plain cardstock - cut to size 23cm X 12cm
• x10 manilla envelopes - mine measured 22cm x 11cm  
• x1 envelope (for covering) - mine measures 16.5 cm x 9.5cm
• x10 large shipping tags (available at most newsagencies) or make your own like I did - you'll need a sheet of cardstock for this.
• x1 small shipping tag - for the front of album.
• String or ribbon - approximately 2.7 metres for the tags + 1.2 metres for wrapping. 
• x2 jump rings - available at most newsagencies.
• Hole punch, scissors, corner rounder (not necessary), double sided tape or glue, foam mounting tape (optional).
• Other supplies to have on hand - postage stamp, patterned paper, letter stickers, deco tape and any other scrapbooking goodies that you might like to use.

Step 2: Punch holes in all the closed ends of the x10 manilla envelopes.

Step 3: Corner round two ends on each piece of plain cardstock - use the photograph from step 5 (below) as a guide for this.

Step 4: Select a piece of patterned paper to cover the extra envelope with. 

Step 5: Let's work on the front cover.  Add a thick strip of washi/deco tape onto the front piece of cardstock, approximately 1.5cm in from the right hand side edge.  Cut the selected piece of patterned paper to size, so that it fits on the front of the extra envelope and adhere into position.  

Step 6: My envelope already had a nice patterned sealing flap - if yours doesn't,  just cut and adhere another piece of patterned paper into position.  Adhere the envelope onto the album front and wrap your 1.2 metre length of string/ribbon around the front cover, overlapping the envelope as shown and tying off into in a bow.  Use letter stickers up the side to create a title for the album.  Stamp or write the year on the right hand top side of the envelope.

Step 6a: Make the mini tag for the album front - adhere an old postage stamp on the lower area of the tag using foam mounting tape.  For those that haven't used this before, it's squishy tape that gives your embellishments a lift.  Type, write or print your text onto paper, cut out into strips and adhere onto the top of the tag.  Use the foam mounting tape to adhere the tag onto the album front.

Step 7: You're nearly finished, just the inside to go!  Using cardstock, cut out ten 12cm X 6.5cm tags or purchase some shipping tags of similar size from your local newsagency.

Step 8: Cut the 2.7m piece of string/ribbon into 10 equal pieces and tie a small bow on the end of each shipping tag.  Type, print or write 'Letters from ..........................' onto each tag and add a small piece of washi/deco tape, below or above the text.

Step 9: Use foam mounting tape to bond the completed tags onto each envelope.  Ensure the tag hangs over the edge of envelope about 1cm & adhere a small rectangle of patterned paper above the tag (5cm X 3.5cm) to finish.

Step 10: Punch holes in the front and back cover (to match the envelopes) and secure the project with two jump rings.  Alternatively, you could tie everything together with string, yarn or ribbon.

Now you just have to wait for the letters to fill your letter box, so you can fill the envelopes.  Remember, you can add extra envelopes to the project as they're required - each one should hold quite a few letters though.

Happy snail mailing & may all your letters be good ones.

How to be an explorer of the world

Quite a few of you asked about a peek inside our 'how to be an explorer of the world' book, so here we go!

It's a truly gorgeous book, full of prompts and activities to get your imagination flowing.  Every page encourages the little {or big} reader to explore the world around them and notice all the small things going on.

There a whole heap of 'field studies' to do, objects to find, ideas of where to explore and the back section of the book contains all sorts of wonderful pages to document your finds.

The pages open your eyes to a brand new way of looking at everything around you & I'd definitely recommend it for all the inquisitive and creative children out there.  On a side note, the author of this book {Keri Smith} has also written one of Bella's all time favourite publications  - Wreck This Journal and has lots of other good books out there too.

My only regret is not coming across this book a few years ago when Bella was into outdoor soup making and backyard exploring, it would have been so perfect to extend her creative mind.

Best hamburger recipe

Last week my scrambled brain threw a few random ingredients in a bowl and before I could say huzzah, I was serving up the best hamburgers that I've ever cooked.  Seriously yum!  I cooked these again tonight too - the recipe is definitely going to used as my 'go to' for burgers.

Incase you'd like to give them a whirl too, here's the recipe:

• 500 grams mince 
• 2 massive garlic cloves {we love our garlic}  
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 egg
• 1 level tablespoon dry mustard
• salt & pepper - nice & generous :)
• 3 rounded tablespoons shaved parmesan

Mix the above ingredients together and form into hamburgers.  Pop in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking.  We like to serve ours with caramelised onion, lettuce, sauce, tomato slices and delicious Gouda cheese.

Enjoy!

Lovely things

I'm heading off to Melbourne later today to join the other lovely Nuffnang Talent Bloggers for a Tuesday catch up, which I think will be a really nice way to spend the day.  My bag is packed, the house is clean and tidy, the {not so} small people will be looked after by Mr Goodsell and now I'm just filling in time waiting to drive to the airport. 

A few rows of cross stitch were squished in this morning, three cups of tea were demolished and I also had a nice write in my notebook. A couple of days ago I checked my mail box and found a special parcel from a blog reader and today there was another one.  I know.  It's just so heart warming to think that people would take time out of their day to send me something special in the mail, and write such nice things to go with their gift.

{Lovely writing pads from Suzan}

{Beautiful handmade pin cushions from Vanessa}

Aren't they just so nice?!  I'm trying to fill that notebook {in my first picture} with all sorts of inspiring and lovely things, a keepsake and journal of things that take my eye.  The card and note that these two ladies sent me is going into the journal, fastened safely with washi tape, so I can read them on a rainy day. Or any day for that matter.

Well, I must be off as I have a plane to catch.  

I'm feeling a little nervous.  Let's just say that those of you that watched the plane crash investigation on Sixty Minutes last night, will know what I'm talking about.

Stay safe, be good.

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day {for me} means a day of doing good things:  

Sleeping in and being woken up with cuddles from my two lovelies, hot tea in bed, a day free of house work & cooking - my family were in charge of this, seeing my own Mum and Mother-in-law, doing a little bit of craft and just chilling together for the entire day.  Bliss.

That's exactly how my day has rolled too.

Oh, and if Mr Goodsell is going to insist on making chocolate meringues to help celebrate the day, who am I to complain?

I hope your Sunday was a lovely one too.

How to grow a pumpkin

Yep.  How to grow 'a' pumpkin. Sigh.  

This darling sole pumpkin was my first ever home grown pumpkin and also my only pumpkin.

I can't quite believe it.

Six pumpkin plants were gently put in the garden.  Three plants were accidentally dragged out of their spot with the garden hose. Still, that left THREE whole plants.  One of them died a slow death - not quite sure why or how.  

That left TWO whole plants that went crazy around the garden and grew long and big and healthy looking and had lots of pretty flowers.  Six pumpkins grew and two turned into a soggy, mouldy mess. That left FOUR pumpkins.  Two were accidentally pulled from their home in the early stages by that wretched garden hose.  

I don't know what happened to the third one, but here my friends is the final pumpkin.  He grew big and healthy and is now sitting in the shed for a couple of weeks before I turn him into roast pumpkin soup.

So, please tell me what went wrong with my pumpkin growing?  What tips can you give me for next time?  I really wanted at least 12 pumpkins to keep us going with delicious soup through winter, but it wasn't to be.  I thought growing pumpkins was supposed to be easy!