nature thru my eyes

Here are some pics I've taken whilst away at the coast. Not exactly the norm, I'm afraid! I've been using the Landscape feature on my camera a fair bit.

Seaweed swimming 2012 (Eden - on the edge of the wharf looking down over the side)

Spotted Gum bark - barking. 2012 I love the variations on bark - particularly on gum trees!

Spotted Gum Reaching for the Sky 2012 (taken at Potoroo Palace near Merimbula NSW)

Sky Lines 2012 I love clouds - some days their patterns just amaze me. (taken at Panboola reserve, Pambula, NSW)

Sky Lines Too 2012 - this one has the starlings on the wires and the bushland on the edges.

December Birthday Girls... digital page



December Birthday Girls Bond & Sparkle 2012 for CSI comp #51 digital page




click to go to CSI website

 I really had no ideas about this page to start with. These colours, although very pretty, I was getting nothing, nothing and nothing for ideas. I didn't have any xmas pics as yet, and wanted to scrap something I already had. So I went back to my birthday pics on the 1st December when my Auntie visited me from Melbourne. It was just luck that what everyone was wearing on that day matches the colour palette for CSI comp #51!

This might be the longest title I've ever used, but I'm really happy with this page. I had to do a really dark page inbetween because I just wasn't getting anything with these colours. But once I got that out of the way I was off n racing. I made my own 'beads' by following the example chrissie decs in the photo. As a kid it used to really grate having your birthday in December, but it was the norm in my family; me, my grandfather, my auntie, my uncle and my mum are all December babies! My Auntie (Dad's sister) took these pics of me, my Auntie, and my Uncle & Auntie who aren't.

Ingredients : lacey white plastic from Prima packaging scanned, Dee Bee Designs Love Birds : Scatter Silver Glitter & ‘PaperScallop’, Yalana Design Light Feelings no 28 flower (used outline to create my own flowers), Dee Bee Designs Love Birds -Bow 4 (blue ribbon bow) & Ribbon Blue Velvet Voile (straight ribbon), Feli Inner Peace ribbon (white bows) & Pendant (glass), created my own shiny beads using the Christmas decorations in the photo, CSI coordinates kit #51 – patterned paper (Christmas decorations), various snowflakes, various filigree circles, CSI Cordinates kit #47 journal block, created my own tags, pink n white striped pattern paper I made myself, etc
PS the page doesn't look square - but it is. A weird optical illusion thingy? Or is it just me?

Christmas card for my nan 2012

I've been a little time poor all round, but I have just managed to whack out this card for my Nan for Christmas. I will spend tomorrow morning with her (opening her presents/cards and encouraging her to eat chocolates) and then go out to lunch with my Auntie & Uncle who aren't.

I don't drive to the coast until the 27th. Didn't get time to do any cards for anyone else. Next year's resolution is to start them in July!

Christmas card for my nan 2012

Ingredients: lots of different fonts from my computer, The Ettes Time 4 Dreams patterned paper, Laura Burger Time Travels doiley, PreslestnayaP Designs Because of You elements - white flower, holly leaves and berries did myself. Quote was from the movie Kung Fu Panda (but its probably older than that!!

So This is Christmas 2012 digital layout

I did this digi page for the Orange Papiere December 2012 challenge - and what a challenge it was!! darn hard!! A sketch PLUS no traditional xmas colours (red green gold silver) AND no christmas embellies!!!  http://orangepaperieandco.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/december-challenge.html. Amazingly, I've only got the one string of flags - but I was able to configure that enough to get a similar pattern to Leanne's amazing sketch!

The amazing Orange Papiere sketch by Leanne Jago. Not so bad - its the rest of the challenge that does your head in!

In the end, it was kind of refreshing and enabled me to put on paper how disjointed I am this year the way things have fallen. Even though this page is bittersweet, I'm looking forward to being separated from my family, attending midnight mass tomorrow night (if I can stay awake!) and going to my Auntie & Uncle who aren't for Christmas Day and their son, daughter in law and grand kiddies, even though my Nan has since had two more minor falls - possibly bruised ribs. She lost so much weight in hospital, I fear her balance is compromised now.

Ingredients : CSI Coordinates kit #50: lace (changed to pink), CSI coordinates kit #30 spotty patterned paper (changed to pink/white), my own striped patterned paper changed to pink, Sweetly Scrapped paper black striped 8434600, Sweetly Scrapped bunting pink 550193, vintage roses free download internet, FAYette Happy Face elements (Buttons - changed colours to pink, Spotted Border-White), etc

Cheeky Squirrel 2012

2012 Cheeky Squirrel digi layout CSI comp #50

I really enjoyed this CSI Coordinates Pack #50! Isn't this a cheeky squirrel? I made my own striped pattern paper from the kit (a first for me), and constructed the frame from one of the swirls on the paper in the kit too. journal text says : "My brother Scott has lived in London the past 10 years or so, and like me, loves the park squirrels, whom the Brits put somewhere between the pigeon and the rat!" I used the "gather ye rosebuds" poem in the book but changed it to "acorns". (PS Oh, and it was hell knocking out all those holes from the lace. Hope I don't have to do that again any time soon. Should have used a white background!)
colours - yep,

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/photo/csi-49-giggler-2012?context=user#!/photo/2012-cheeky-squirrel-csi-no-50?context=user

Ingredients: Sweetly Scrapped butterfly, Squirrel pic (my brother's), squirrel (CSI Cord 27), woodgrain on acorns I created (CSI Cord 27), and from CSI Cord 50 : blue ribbon frame (put together by using mirroring), open book), numbered list, scroll title, tag, stamp, light stripes from patterned paper, blue/white patterned paper, etc

earned these CSI flairs :



Giggler 2012 digi layout

2012 Giggler digi layout CSI comp #49 take 2

I was at a bit of a loss tonight, and with no energy to look for other comps, I thought I'd try no CSI #49 again and see if I could get the colours to sit better on the page than my first attempt and try a non-xmas layout. I also wanted to try out one of these paint brush effects. I've never done two pages for the one comp before. This is me as a baby! I was inspired by the amazing layouts of Wilma Voermans at CSI.
Colours - yep, Evidence - numbers, buttons, ribbon, Testimony - used the 25 words - that's how many words are in my journaling!
Ingredients: will complete later. too.. yaawwnn.. tired now.

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/photo/csi-49-giggler-2012?context=user

Magic in a box 2012 digi layout

CSI comp #49. I found the example photo in this one very fiddly, and as a result, my layout also seems fiddly. The colours also seemed lovely; but putting them together was challenging for me. I loved my ViewMaster and used it for many years. I really did think it was some kind of magic!
Ingredients : [CSI Coordinates no 49 : cloud journal block (coloured red), ‘Do you believe in magic’ block, Houndstooth patterned paper, numbers, snowflake patterned paper (make into buttons), trio of flags] , background paper (created it myself – traced around the “scene photo” to get the box like pattern), [Yalana Design Light Feelings no 80 (white lacey bit), Dee Bee Designs Love Birds – ribbon Bow1 (blue ribbon), Sweetly Scrapped flower blue (coloured red), Inner Peace Elements Swirl (green scroll swirl), joy star – made that myself, Fonts: (2 peas in a bucket : AL Playbook, Fancy Free), general Windows font Calisto MT, etc
oops - yes - another digital layout!

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/photo/magic-in-a-box-csi-49?context=featured 



Magic in a box 2012 CSI # 49 comp digi layout



Top 5 winning page

Recipe 4 Creativity 2012 digital layout

I was really inspired by this case file to highlight my inner struggling artist. I have used two recent paintings of mine. The main theme of this comp was to do with a recipe - so I used a recipe format to do my journalling. It was very popular but the layout itself is very personal to me and shows my recent artwork and I really pushed my digital boundaries with the Coordinates kit to get the effects I wanted.
Ingredients : digital layout using Adobe Fireworks, CSI Coordinates no 47 : Curly frame, outline leaves (changed to blue), CSI Coordinates no 48 : Blueberries (coloured blue/green) and made into balloons, Recipe card, quotes (two written out on text paths), patterned tags (cut squares and butterflies out of them), patterned paper (background), clock face, apple. Scanned : doily from ChipChopShop, crochet daffodil (my nanna made it – incredibly fine work) coloured lime green, CSI Coordinates No 30 : hinge with bolts (made silver brads from bolts), Fonts: AL Playbook, Arial Narrow, Times New Roman, paintings : mine

Recipe 4 Creativity 2012 digital layout

CSI Flairs I won for this page:

My Auntie & Uncle Who Aren't 2012 digital layout

My Auntie & Uncle Who Aren't 2012 (for CSI comp no 47)

I was going for old fashioned yet retro. Not sure if I got there. Another digital layout. These are special people in my life. I always feel welcome and a part of the family. I used "kraft" background to help balance out these lovely colours, and grabbed lots from the Co-ordinates pack! I really enjoyed doing the patchwork hearts - the patterned paper in the kit was all these tiny squares, so I went online to patchwork quilt sites and saw how they did hearts, and then 'cut out' my heart from the patterned paper.

Ingredients [CSI coordinates no 47 (birdie, hydrangea flower, outline leaves, red line frame, patterned paper hearts are 'cut' from, journal block (oval), journal block patch square], [CSI Coordinates 27- stitched cloud, squirrel], mesh (made it myself), Sweetly Scrapped flowers 8091652 (coloured blue), Yalana Design Light Feelings no 122 (crochet flower coloured red/white), my own scan of a ChipChopShop doiley (coloured brown), CSI Coordinates no 45 - buttons, my own poor effort drawing of a house, etc

CSI Flairs I got for this layout :

moving nan

Today I'm moving things into nan's new room at a high care aged care place which is close to her sister's house. I'm really excited to get nan out of the hospital, where the care was just not high enough for her needs.

Can't stand around to gossip - need to get going!!

Happy christmas to all if I don't get back in time for more comments!

Kylie gW
xxxx

nan.. and me

a new card for nan (digital)

I feel like I'm split into two people at the moment. On one hand, I am enjoying digital scrapping and doing amazingly well considering I've never really done it before, and people seem to like my pages. But on the other hand I'm still in an odd place emotionally, trying to dig myself out of a bad place. I've made a very slow start. I've started to tidy up my house again, and actually went into the back garden (The Jungle) and pulled some weeds and tidied up a tiny area. That's the first time I've been out there in six months and touched the garden (I've only been out there previously to hang up clothes on the line).

Nan is still going well. But unfortunately, it looks like she will need a home that has full care now. Not that this is a bad thing; I actually feel quite good about it - knowing that she will be less likely to have another fall. But it just means that now I've got to wait on an assessment team (maybe next week), this weekend I've got to go to the place where she has been living for the past few years and clear everything out from clothes to squirrelled items, and some smaller furniture, and store it in my shed until we know where she is going and what she can take.And of course, no family are coming to help - it will just be me as usual. I can't really ask her 95 year old sister to help - she's been really supportive in other ways.

The hospital where she is currently for the rehab just don't have the staff or time to really assist nan properly. She's not been eating as well as normal (and she eats like a horse!) because they kind of drop a tray in front of her and just run. She can't read the bits on the menu to know what everything is or where it is (everything is in sealed containers) and sometimes she thinks she's not hungry now - but she is not very long after. So I've been visiting her at meal times to help her out. Last night was good. I left early from work and arrived before the food. She had Fish n Chips and icecream. She used the fork and spoon herself (with a little help from me so she didn't drop what was left on the utensil in her lap) and I helped her chop the chips into small pieces.

Then she announced something was in her pocket, and found a stray two pieces of chocolate (in foil) which she insisted I share with her. It was actually quite nice.

It was good to see her eat a fair portion of her meal. We sat, talked, watched the TV a bit, held hands (ouch she has a grip!!!) and then I gathered the laundry and left. She was a bit teary when I got there and said she had had a sad day, and I just said that was fine - we all have days like that - she said she felt like crying - I said that was fine too - we're girls - that's what we do - and if wanted to cry she should just go ahead and do it. Then she brightened up.

I don't know what I'm doing for Christmas. I would normally go to the coast to be with my parents and my brother, but I can't even think about christmas. There's not enough head space for that. If Nan is still in hospital I just don't feel comfortable abandoning her. Plus, there's still her washing to be done.

My Nan.. my birthday

OK, I've grown a bit since. This is my 7th birthday party in 1976.

My Nan is still moving at a rapid rate. It's just amazing. I really really hope that she will be able to go back to her aged care home before Christmas instead of being in rehab/hospital. She has been moved to a room where she shares with another lady, and she is loving her hired TV. She is a great cricket fan, so she enjoyed that the last few days.

I had my birthday on the weekend - a bit of a non-event usually, but my Auntie came up from melbourne to be with me, and it was really great catching up with her, and seeing pics of her new home in melbourne after her move from perth.

She told me alot of things from my past which I think will be really helpful to me. The weather was not very kind; very steamy and icky, although Sunday was the best of them. I had a little tear in my eye when I popped her back on the bus at the station (another classic train trip - by bus!).

I saw Nan last night and she was happy to see me and is the best I've seen her yet. I have now worked out how to do her laundry - I have re-discovered my container of Nappysan!!!

I have the day off today just for me to catch up on chores/get groceries. I'm going to take it slow, but not too slow - I still want to get things done!

I really want to get onto my CSI challenge page no 48 if I can. I didn't have any time or energy over the weekend.

I watched the digitally re-mastered Star Wars original saga IV, V & VI during the week. WOW. The additions are quite amazing and give it a well rounded feel. The only bit I didn't like was that Anniken Skywalker the younger was the ghost you see at the end, rather than the old self one. Ahhh... memories. I was too small for New Hope or Empire Strikes Back (plus our parents felt they were too scary), but I saw Return of the Jedi at the cinema, in 1980something.

I got some nice practical birthday presents (my favourites) mostly for my garden. My hoses are tired, my fittings leaking, and my gardening gloves ready to run away. My Auntie gave me scrapbooking tape - lovely patterns and plains.