The advent calendar activites are really proving to be a fun way to tick the days off, here is what we have been up to recently...

3rd December...Make christmas cards so we got busy with the good old potato stamping trick and some of Mums supplies and away they went!

4th December....Make homemade Lemonade....my helpers squeezed madly and even thought up a name for their brew! Samuel was chief taster and drained his glass in seconds(not taking after your Grandad there are you Mr Bum Bum!!)...must say its quite delicious with a drop of gin in it too!

5th December...a phone call from Santa!!!

6th December...Put up the Christmas Tree.

Sparkly twinklies!

and tonight December 7th.....a nice simple one...reading christmas stories..

Over to scrapping...it was my turn to create a sketch for the Monthly Sketch challenge at Scrapbook Studio....would love to see what you create with it...everybody is welcome and you may just win the $20 voucher to spend at the shoppe...now that would be a nice little addition to your christmas stocking!

I actually got out from under my little scrapbooking rock and went to a local Scrap n Chat last night...it was bliss! Got my layout done and met some other ladies who like to shuffle bits of paper round too, completely relaxing with no distractions...this could become my weekly escape lol!

The last NZdare of the year is going up tonight too... Everybody is sure to have something they can scrap for this one!

Woohoo the countdown to Christmas has seriously begun!!

Finally got the Advent calendar underway...a day late but the boys didn't mind...we still did the first activity on Saturday which in honour of a pinch and a punch for the first of the month we punched holes in tin cans to make tealight candle holders...well in the end it was too hard banging nails in so Dad got out the big boy tools...the drill and the grinder...and set too them...the boys were happy to cheer on the sidelines everytime the sparks flew lol! Then we painted them and let the boys stay up until dark to light the candles...a big hit!

Yesterdays activity was 'head to the beach and take a boat ride' so we took the ferry over to Russell and spent the day exploring, beaching it, climbing hills, eating fish and chips and icecreams and playing airdrums to the Foo Fighters full bore in the car! Oh yes you had to be there but lol!

Boats everywhere!

He's got that...'now what can I sell so I can buy a boat' look in his eye lol!

Being the true little pirate that he is...Patrick was quick to find the X that marks the spot!

Deep inside there is an artist trying to get out!!you could always take up scrapbooking mate heh,heh!!

Wave racing in ya undies, life dosn't get much better! Keeping cool...Long Beach (or as Joseph observed...a not so long beach), Russell

Ok so really! who would call their Takeaway shop Birdie Num-Nums!! Jim reckons we need to photoshop it to Nerdie Bum-bums lol! don't ask!

Uh-oh look out Patrick the Birdies are after your Num-nums!!

The ancient old Fig outside the ancient old (well for NZ standards!) police station in Russell...gnarly!!

We stopped at Paihia on the way and the boys were agog watching the hole in the rock jet boats getting ready and the sight seeing helicopter coming in...especially when 4 kids got out lol! I think now they have ditched the idea of spending their pocket money savings on scooters and skateboards and are now saving for rides on these lol!!

The Jack Me Up for December is Upppp!

A good night was had by all at Scrapbook Studio last night for the Christmas Cyber Crop...some cool challenges are still running so if you've got christmas photos to scrap...you are sure to find some mojo to scrap them when you check out all the layouts the DT have been working away on for the last couple of weeks! Lisa has some fabulous goodies to give away too...so enter a layout to be in to win!

My challenge is the Christmas Cheer card challenge...to create a card that will make someone smile this christmas...

Kelly's challenge was sketch based and congrats to Beverley (fifiscrapz) for taking away first prize for that one on the night...this was my 6x12 version of the sketch

My take on Liannes Non Traditional Colours challenge

My take on Heidi's OTP christmas table decoration challenge BBQ is our traditional Christmas meal so I combined my two favourite hobbies gardening and scrapping and created something for the outdoors table.

My take on Louise's Christmas Carol challenge ...a line from Joy to the World.

Oh yes I've become a Greys' anatomy addict like the rest of the female population of the world...well it was inevitable really so why fight it....she says after watching another 4 episodes in one sitting ha, ha...no ads for me!!

Have you ever tried to get a group of preschoolers to all look in the same direction with their tongues out like the maori carving...take it from me, don't even go there...its just not possible rofl! This is our playcentre on a little excursion to Rewa's village in Keri Keri on Thursday...

Yoohoo anybody home?

Sign for a clueless scrapper maybe?

Samuel practising setting the hangi for the royal visit....heh heh...wavies Aunty Celia and Uncle Maffo!!Its looking pretty zingy and colourful over at NZdares, have you checked it out yet...do the dare and oh maybe redecorate a room or two while you're at it!!

And a little peek at the Acrylic album project I completed for the Scrapbook Studio November 'dare to be clear' kit....why an acrylic album? why not...its funky and fresh and a little different than the norm and the clear pages combined with the hot pink, orange, green and blues in the kit are just perfect for a summer holiday album!

and don't forget its the Christmas Cyber Crop happening this Friday at Scrapbook Studio, the challenges will be open all week long but we would love to have you come along and say hi and join in the fun and games on the night...sneak peaks of the challenges are being posted this week...heres mine...Ho Ho Ho...a bit of christmas cheer to get things started....

Ha! made it!


have been meaning to get here for the last few days...I have to tell you it is so nice to have two big school boys! Watching them come tumbling over the fence (well its far too easy to just walk down the drive...you have to take a short cut cuz its cool man!)together after school is very satisfying.
Patrick was so ready for this and has taken to it like a duck to water! So very proud of his new bag, lunch box and drink bottle (he keeps coming up and giving me a big hug and says Thanks Mum...I say what for....for taking me to the warehouse to buy a new bag...oh to be five again!) In fact I do remember the wonder of my first school bag....it was a blue suitcase rofl! Puh-lease...laughing is rude...this was 1976 after all!! It was fantastic because I could sit on top of it while waiting for the bus...which explains its saggy demise towards the end of the year no doubt lol! The boys all had duffle bags...remember those?! Samuel sees all and wants to be just like his big brothers...he quite happily carries Josephs bag all the way home if we decide to walk down and meet them after school.... Isn't his blonde surfy hair cool! We are convinced that is his calling in life rofl...with hair like that how could it not be! Jim loves to blow dry it on end after his shower and he goes all fluffy and bouncy and loves to run madly about with it blowing back lol...we call him Dash off the Invincibles! Only then I have to go out with him the next day looking like that (only less bouncy after sleeping on it)I forget about it and wonder why people stare at him rofl!!

Here's the boys getting a taste of being behind the wheel at the BOI show up the road (this show has been at the same showgrounds for 165 years!! whoa!!) It was cool too, lots of animals to pat and farm machines to sit on and exhibits, rides and fun stuff for kids...they had been busy all week entering artwork, flower saucers and vegetable models and baking etc...I loved doing all that stuff at school. The food and wine tent was scrummy...could have spent longer there tasting and watching the cooking demos going on...but the kids dragged us off to the treasure hunt and the mini jeeps instead! Jim pretended to race Joseph and Patrick. Josephs face was just hilarious...a mixture of pure fear and determination as he screamed (it must have felt like that to him) around the tyres trying to pass Dad and Samuel...he "won" in the end and swaggered (or staggered away from the jeep) trying to look as if he did that sort of thing every day lol!

Its scrap a digi photo at NZdares this round...much to my horror!!! Mine was an example of using the basics that every computer has rofl! a bit of lighting improvement in word picture manager and a cute little telephone embellishment created with Paint! Sharon our resident digi expert has given lots of tips and links to help you out on the blog though, so if you are digitally challenged like me check them out along with all the gorgeous layouts the dare girls have created....cool prize too...I want that little space robot dude lol!

The Scrapbook Studio November Kit - Dare to be Clear...is here at last!!! yippee...check it out HERE it comes complete with an acrylic album and my very first DT task is create a project for you with it...very cool, I have seen some wonderful work using acrylic albums recently and can't wait to try one out! This months kit is jam packed full of great product so it was worth the wait!

The Scrapbook Studio DT are also busily preparing challenges for the Christmas Cyber Crop on Friday 30th November...come on over and pop your name down HERE for a fun nights scrapping and chatting before christmas...be inspired by the team with card ideas, layouts and OTP projects! The challenges deadlines will run through the week, so even if you just want to chat and play games on the night you will still be able to get the challenges done afterwards.

Lisa sure is one busy lady bursting with fantastic ideas for the shop...have you seen the wonderful fabric she now stocks and check out the great blog she has started purely to inspire you with ways to use it The Sewing Room. The message board also has a sewing section so if you have projects to share we would love to see them!

Thats me...done for another day! STill havn't got round to watching a full season's worth of Grey's anatomy from DVD unlimited lol! I never did get to see it on telly and people rave about it so didn't want to miss out did I!! Jims not impressed heh,heh!! He reckons its must be just like Casualty on steriods rofl!!

So after weeks of wondering just how I was going to make a 'Ben 10' cake it dawned on me the day before that all I needed to do was make something to 'put' on top of the cake! Yes it takes a while sometimes...blame it on the aging process lol!! A bit of printing out and sticking and pasting and ta da!!!

Patrick thought it was pretty cool....so yay the parents pass another year with a gold star!

So onto Christmas....50 days to go!! heh, heh...well people seem to take great delight in counting down the days so if you can't beat 'em....join 'em!!

I got the urge to create Christmas cards last night....

So fun what you can create with a box of scraps and left over embellies! If you have been creating cards in preparation for the festive season please come and share them with us at Scrapbook Studio HERE

Also did you know its as simple as putting your name in the draw to become a monthly guest designer at Scrapbook Studio...if you like the idea of recieving a box of goodies to create with and inspire others with...then sign up for December HERE

Well we have just tucked our little four year old Patrick into bed for the last time....tomorrow he's going to be a big 5 year old boy! Phew thank goodness his birthday is here at last, poor fella has been hanging out for it for weeks lol!!

Gran and Pop, the boys have had a great time on the bouncy castle this afternoon, thank you for such a wonderful idea....we put it up a day early because the weather forcast is for a bit of rain tomorrow and didn't want them to miss out....although once it was up we realised we could actually fit it in our lounge if we were desperate lol!!

Dad caused much hilarity by joining in the fun for a bit and I managed to catch this wonderful shot of his bouncy castle dismount rofl!!

Its been a lovely week with Mum and Dad coming to visit....Matt and Celia the re-vamped sleepout has passed their inspection and you are good to go at Christmas lol!!

Had a great week weather wise so we ate breakfast in the sunshine every day, Joseph walked to school with Nana and Grand each morning, we went to the beach (the little girl is Almari who has been coming to play recently while Mum works)and they got to experience Kai night at the local

Oh and Dad if you ever need a reference for a handy man job...tell them to call us lol, thanks heaps for doing all those little fix it jobs...I think you are right Mum...you definately need to buy a place that needs some work doing to it otherwise he is going to drive you mad!

If you are looking for some fun scrapbooking challenges be sure to come by the forum at Scrapbook Studio...Kelly has a weekly 'two for tuesday' challenge and there is a monthly sketch challenge AND a monthly challenge all with great prizes to be won from the shop...you'd be silly NOT to come and play! Also every month a forum member is selected to be the guest designer for the month, all you have to do is sign up to be in the draw...congrats Julie Maree for wearing the November guest designer hat this month!! It should be a goodie!

Oh and the new Kiwi Jack is up...go and check it out in all its gorgeousness!!