and the art OOZED from every pore (part 2)

I wanted to add a couple of extra photos from retreat for you all to enjoy...

The first is DJ Pettit's classroom - great views from the windows, and fantastic light!


This one is a snap of Joan McAlpine in Bernie's class with me. Boy, am I going to get in trouble for posting this one... but the concentration was something else!


You will all be aware of the 50 houses that I had to make for retreat (oh the pain), well I took a wooden ruler (an old yard one) for Joan and I, thinking that all 50 would fit. When we mounted them I had about 10 left over!!! Therefore 40 houses to a yard?

Here are some photos of the finished presentation :

and close ups of some additional decoration...

I have placed mine on the doorframe between the back and front part of the house. Having an old home, the ruler fits perfectly!


I will have some more things to share later today.

Liz

Well, hellooo

Hi all,

Things are hotting up around my house at the moment - I am rushing to try and get organised for Creative Soul Retreat 2009... In addition to packing bags (which is based on a loose "piling" system at the moment) I have been rushing to finish 50 - yes, you heard it right, 50, little houses. And they all look like this:


Whew! (sorry about the crummy pic....)

Competition Time

Beachhouse Boulevard is running a monthly comp for scrapbooking - and (gasp) I have entered! What am I thinking??!!?? Oh well, true to form I refused to be too traditional, and if you look back to last month's blog entries you can see a post about 1 of my comp entries (yes, I did a couple) .

If you head over to the blog you can see all the entries, and there is some stiff competition.

Up in Tumba

Since my last post I have been back up to Tumba for Tumba fest weekend. I had a great time, and th0ught I would share a few photos...

wine (from a great little winery - Mannus wines)

family


friends
and a creek

what a great day!

blog you later!

~Liz

Artist Trading Pins, Little Houses and Inspirational Women

Hi all,

Well, I have had a horrible week, down with a nasty cold - feeling miserable, and then a job "blowing up" at work - so I am sick and stressed... in a bizarre in between world of exhausted from the cold and sleepless from anxiety. All in all just terrible.

There's no weigh-in data either because I couldn't get there, but i don't think it will be good - I haven't been well enough to exercise at all....

AH BAH, WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING????

On a brighter note I received my pin swap back this week, and I am really impressed with the returns. All so great: These girls are just so clever!

This week (mainly yesterday) I did more little houses (told you that this theme hadn't worked its way through completely) for a swap on Arty International. They have come up fairly well...
Each one is different, so it will be interesting to see which one I get back! I will hand them on to Greta next weekend at a playdate at Gail's house.

I am now down to my last July swap to be completed - YAY!!!! I now have to do 14 ATC's for the Shoreham stamp camp. The theme is empowered / inspirational women, which has set me to thinking about who that that is to me - particularly apt as I am having such a crap time at work!

I thought I might share some of the front-runners I find to be inspirational.

Indira Ghandi: Born into the Nehru dynasty, Indira was always destined for great things. She served as the Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and to date only female Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher: She was the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK, and the first of only three women to have held any of the four great offices of state. Among other things, she defiantly opposed the Soviet Union, and her tough-talking rhetoric gained her the nickname the "Iron Lady". She served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and was said to only need four hours sleep per night.

Queen Elizabeth I: Dubbed The Virgin Queen, she reigned from 1558 until her death. Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, Mary I, during whose reign she had been imprisoned on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. Elizabeth is acknowledged by historians as a charismatic performer and a dogged survivor, in an age when government was ramshackle and limited and when monarchs in neighbouring countries faced internal problems that jeopardised their thrones. Such was the case with Elizabeth's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots whom she imprisoned in 1568 and eventually had executed in 1587. After the short reigns of Elizabeth's brother and sister, her forty-five years on the throne provided stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.

Oprah Winfrey: Oprah is a multiple Emmy Award winning host of her own and the highest-rated talk show in television history, Oprah can also boast being an Academy Award-winning actress, influential book critic and magazine publisher. The richest African American in the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time and some would argue, the single most influential woman in the world.

I must say that Oprah is my current front runner for the ATC swap. The fact that she has been INCREDIBLY influential in getting America to select Obama as the democratic candidate for presideny is absolutely amazing. I am in awe of the fact that she was instrumental in breaking 20th century social taboos in the US and allowed gays, transsexuals, and transgender people to enter the mainstream of American life.

Most importantly to me though, is her incredible work as a philanthropist. Oprah's Angel Network is her charity aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others. Accordingly, Oprah's Angel Network supports charitable projects and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the world that share this vision. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000. Winfrey personally covers all administrative costs associated with the charity, so 100% of all funds raised go to charity programs. Oprah also personally donates more of her own money to charity than any other show-business celebrity in America. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million. Oprah has also put 250 African-American men through college.

A truly inspirational woman. If you feel in the need for spiritual healing, go to her website: www.oprah.com

blog you all later!

I'm Baaack (part 2, the delayed telecast)

Woops...

It has now been 3 weeks since may last blog entry so lets's call this post the long awaited delayed telecast of Part 2. (So much for blogging next day.)

Anyhoo, on to the weightloss stats from the last 2 weeks (valid to last Monday the 12th April)

Weekly Name and Shame: +2kg

damn.... brushing that aside lets get on to other stuff...

Stamp Camp (or as Monika calls it, scramp camp)

It seems like the camp was ages ago now.. so long in fact that I can't remember all the details and I want another one!!!!

New locale this year at Bacchus Marsh - all I can say is GORGEOUS... a bit more upmarket than the guide camp, and the views were stunning. Made having a ciggie outside a very zen experience.

The class I ran seemed to go fairly well, everyone had a good time and made some great little transparency books. (I blogged this one before in march if you want to view the sample). So much for my estimate of 3 hours to make the book - it was more like 5! I must learn how to judge these things a little better....

The card class with Joan was good too - the cards were fairly complex, ones that we had worked on for quite a few hours on the 2007 camp, so it was good to see them recycled as a class. Joan also won the Friday night challenge (be-atch), and got an unmounted plate as a prize.''

I was not as prolific this year as I have been in previous years in getting "stuff" done. All I really managed to do outside classes & challenges was a Gothica ATC swap, and to get impasto onto pages for the nature book swap that is due in July..... and now I am running well behind, but more on current projects later.

ANZAC Day

In part 1 I mentioned that I was off to a play date at Greta's house, and it was just great fun. I received a farily substantial Collections order that day that Gret's had organised. The result of this is a new-found love of little houses....

I realise that these little houses have been trendy amongst the "papercrafting" community for a little while now, but I am not known for being on the "cutting edge" of fashion - just ask anyone who has met me!

So, instead of doing things I was meant to do, I did lots of little houses with the girls. Here is a pic of them sitting on my tv in the back (craft) room....


cute huh! I would also like to mention that the fabulous Jen Crossley (arbiter of papercrafting fashion that she is) is being published with some great houses she has made in the upcoming (or just arrived) Somerset Gallery. Woohoo Jen - big round of applause!!!

I also caught up with Kath Thompson at Grata's house and paid for my spot in an upcoming Rho Bruhn workshop (13th July). I have never done a class with this talented artist, and am looking forward to it very much. Here is a link to her blog to check out her great work.

General & Other Stuff

In the intervening 2 weeks since Anzac Day (Ok, maybe more, but don't remind me of my blogging tardiness please) I have been SHOPPING! PtP was run weekend before last, and I managed to get this great new bag
Isn't it gorgeous! (My crafting luggage is almost as good as my normal luggage now). I also picked up STACKS of supplies - my credit card has an extra stretchmark on it. Most of it was ongoing stuff, but in addition to the bag I did get some new stamps and some great mags/books to get the creative juices flowing ....

now how to find time to play????

I am off to bake some cakes, and am hoping to get a little bit of time this evening to work on artist trading pin swap due at the end of this month... After I get this swap finished I am focussing on things due in July - a LOT of things due in July!

speak to you all soon.

Liz