Celebrate the Small Wins - a reflections back on the last 3 months

It has been a more than 2 months since I posted something on my blog.  But everything just seems to have stood still in a way since our motorway accident on the 6 March.

Taking a moment today to reflect on the last 3 months - with this message....

It has been quite a 3 month journey since our terrible motorway accident on the 6 March.  But today I wish to take a moment to acknowledge the small steps we taken to get back to a sense of having a normal life again.  Who would have thought that broken wrists could have totally thrown our life in a turmoil.  One day we could dress ourselves and feed ourselves and the next day we could not even achieve these simplest of activities that are so taken for granted.  Just normal every day chores like shopping, doing the washing, making a bed, making a meal had suddenly become one of the most difficult things to do.  And being stuck at home for weeks on end sore with pain and frustrated at the loss of our control over these things really challenged our spirits.

But slowly over the last  92 days we have gained back daily a slice of normal life.... Our left hands are getting stronger with physiotherapy, Edwin has been able to drive for a while and at last I have been given the go ahead to drive as well and life as we knew it is slowly coming back to normal.  We still have many things we cannot easily do but we can do a lot of things we could not do 2 months ago.  And all in all we still have a way to go to see if our left hands will function 100%.  It has been a huge unexpected journey for us, one that has surely tested our resilience

So on reflection,  I want to celebrate what I call the small wins - they were in reality huge wins for us during this time... for which each small thing we learnt to do, we overcame a hurdle and moved forward.  Life the last 3 months has been a series of baby steps all going forward towards progress.

We are still apprehensive about some things.... will I still need an operation on my hand, will Edwin regain full strength in both his hands and arms to ride his beloved Goldwing again, will I be able to have the courage to get back in pillion seat.  So much still to face ..... but for today and for each day going forward, all I want to do is to concentrate of what we can achieve, no matter how small they be.  And celebrate them with a happy and thankful spirit.

And a year from today, I would like to look back only to really see how far we have come.

Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2015

Oh my Goodness!  My heart is pounding and my tummy is full of butterflies ..... But I just have to do this!!  Since I recently saw the Graphic 45 2015 Design Team Call, it is a dream calling for me.  I look at all the wonderful creations of the existing team and just stand in awe of their beautiful and inventive creations.  But G45 is my passion, my obsession ever since I discovered these gorgeous papers and being on the G45 Design Team is on my dream bucket list - so it is just something I have to do.

So what the heck, I am going to toss my hat, or should I say my designs into the ring and see what happens.  Regardless of what happens, I will always be a G45 obsessed fan.  I will still continue to promote this brand of paper in New Zealand and still keep on encouraging my fellow scrappers in Kiwi land to get know and love these beautiful papers.  I would love crafters to see just how versatile and adaptable they are....  They are not just used for altered projects - they are just as perfect for traditional scrapbookers, card makers and paper crafters alike.

So what is my style?
It is a bit of this and a bit of that.  I do love shabby chic, vintage and romantic styles - these are definitely my favourite go to styles.  I love distressed paper, lots of layering and 3D elements and very happy to do fussy cutting... and now having fun with mixed media.  But having said that, I often need to do a lovely clean and classic project, just to have a bit of balance in my crafty life.  And probably 12 x 12 single page layouts is my favourite form of paper crafting.

So these are the projects that I am putting in for this audition.  I specifically chose these examples because I really want to encourage beginnerpaper crafters to use G45 in their craft.  I honestly think they are one of the very best paper brands out in the market.

Project 1:
My first project is a layout made from Once Upon a Springtime.  I was so so excited to see this collection come out again as a deluxe collection.  I have always loved fairies since I was a little girl and this is my dream collection.  For this page I wanted to do lovely cutesy layout with lots of fussy cutting and detail.

Project 2:
I made this baby boy layout using a combination of papers from Graphic 45's latest collection, the Precious Memories and the Botanical Tea collections. 

What I find though is that often scrappers love G45 papers but think the papers are very busy or intimidating with too many graphics and pictures that seem to require a lot of layering and fussy scrapbooking - so really just difficult to work with.  Whilst I personally love all the layering, fussy cutting and 3D style, Graphic 45 is really not restrictive to work with. These beautiful papers have a lot potential and uses for both conventional scrapbookers and cardmakers.

In doing this particular page I wanted to show that these papers are just as beautiful for clean and balanced classic layouts, perfect for those crafters that like clean lines and ideal for beginner scrappers. As the papers are double sided, there is always a lovely patterned side that can be used - like I used here. The papers are thick weight so they cut beautifully in die cutting machines and just are wonderful to work with.

Project 3:

Here I teamed up G45 Sweet Sentiments odds with some lovely soft vintage papers from Maja Design to make this shabby chic Valentine Card.  I just love how G45 papers are just perfect to use with other complimentary papers and patterns.  Once again to show just how versatile G45 really is.

Project 4:

Another one of my favourite collections is the Couture Range.  I just love the sophisticated and classy look of the images.  This collection makes just the most beautiful cards.

Project 5:

And I have had a play with a mixed media project.  I have a lovely little pile of G45 scraps and thought how wonderful it would be to use them on a canvas.  So I made this lovely little wall hanging sentiment to keep for my scrap room or give to a special friend for a gift.

Thank you so much to Graphic 45 for putting out this call.  I have my blog but also very active on Facebook - on my personal page and also my scrapbooking page called Jannee's Scrap Shack.

14 March Workshop - Reschedule

Hi all, just wanted to let you know that hubby and I were part of a 5 vehicle accident in Auckland on Friday, 6 March. We both have left broken wrists and hubby has radius injuries and lots of aches and bruises. But otherwise OK - could have been so much worse!! I need to make sure my wrist starts the healing process this week, so I am going to postpone my workshop. If all goes well with my healing process, I am looking at re-scheduling the workshop for 28 March.

Back scrapping some of our old family photos. I have always loved this photo of mom sitting alone and quietly at the side of the Olympic pool in my childhood town. There is just something so beautiful and serene about this scene. To compliment the vintage layout I used the gorgeous soft, muted papers from Maja Design. I played with a little gesso on the background, distressed the papers, added some delicate stamping and some complimentary flair buttons and embellishments.

Graphic 45 Baby Layout

I have been wanting to work on some boy pages, so I started with this baby boy layout using a combination of papers from Graphic 45's latest collection, the Precious Memories and the Botanical Tea collections. As you are well aware I have a passion for G45 and absolutely love working with it.

What I find though is that often scrappers do like them, some love them but think the papers are very busy or "loud" with too many graphics and pictures, and seem to require a lot of layering and fussy scrapbooking - so just difficult to work with..... Whilst I personally love this layering, fussy cutting, 3D style, Graphic 45 is really not that restrictive. These beautiful papers have a lot potential and uses for both conventional scrapbookers and cardmakers.

In doing this particular page I wanted to show that these papers are just as beautiful for clean and balanced classic layouts. As the papers are double sided, there is always a lovely patterned side that can be used - like I used here. The papers are thick weight so they cut beautifully in die cutting machines and just are wonderful to work with. I did a lot of cutting here with my Silhouette Cameo machine to create the rounded edges and trellis overlay - whilst using a classic layout design. And the Graphic 45 papers I used here all came from a 8 x 8" pad. 

Oh the totally cute baby here is my great great nephew who has just about to celebrate his 1st birthday soon.

The cute rosettas I cut with my Silhouette Cameo machine.

Graphic 45 Once Upon A Springtime - fairy paper!!!

Fairies!! Fairy papers!! Just arrived in. At last Graphic 45 have re-released their beautiful Once Upon A Springtime range in a special Deluxe edition of the most beautiful papers full of fairies. Oh my gosh, I so love this collection!! Here are a few photos of some of the sheets of paper.  Love Love Love them!!  Can't wait to play with them!

14 February Tag Workshop

Thanks to all the lovely folks who came to my Tag workshop today. I had so much fun and just love all the wonderful tags you all made. 

Here are all the gorgeous tags made today!!  I love them - what awesome work!

February Mixed Media Tag Workshop

Okeee Dokee - so you want to know what you could make at my workshop next Saturday, 14 Feb?? Here you go ... A gorgeous mixed media tag, all done with spray mists and gesso. 

If you have never really worked with inks, sprays and mixed media techniques, it is great fun!  Hoping to have a nice full class.

Playing a bit with Prima papers

I decided to have a little play with some Prima papers and made this quick little scrapbook page one evening using the 6 x 6' Prima Princess Collection pad. This super little pad has the most gorgeous soft patterns - 48 sheets in total and the papers are a lovely thick weight quality, more like light cardstock. 

This layout is actually a 8 x 8" page and this 6 x 6 pad is just perfect for the smaller layouts like this.  Little pads like these are wonderfully versatile and so cost effective.  

I normally take my time, hours and hours to do layouts, but just was spending some time in my craft room and honestly rustled up this layout in about an hour.   Record time for me!

HOT trends for 2015

Hot Trends for 2015 : Just been doing a snoop around the scrapbooking circles to find out what is hot for 2015 in scrapbooking and paper crafting, especially as a lot of these hot trends are introduced or visible at the big Craft and Hobby Expo in January in the USA. So what are they:

1. Gold is HOT, HOT, HOT - gold in paper, gold in embellishments, gold in everything
2. Naturals, i.e., Kraft, whites, blacks and grays were clearly visible in embellishments and accents.
3. Smaller pages or albums, 8 x 8', 8 x 11" and 6 x 6" the size for mini albums
4. Travel themes and collections as well as party themes
5. Bright fun colours in paper, even watercolour themes
5. Stars seem to be featuring, so looks to be trending in 2015
6. Mini embellishments all layered up seem to be good trend for the year
7. The in colour for 2015 is Burgundy, or what the experts call Marsala
8. Puffy acetate stickers.
9. Mixed Media is still very in and trendy for the year. So all that goes with mixed media will be hot.
10. Filofaxes and planners are apparently huge this year - so crafters will be doing them up with all sorts of creative projects. Suppliers are already busy working on all sorts of new releases to suit this hot trend.

Right there you go - that is the hot goss from CHA2015 and other scrapbooking fundis out there!

But remember there is nothing wrong with being untrendy!  Some of us like to be unique and different - so use your unique style to be your point of difference!!

But I must say I do like the gold trend .....  so GO FOR GOLD!!!

Whoop Whoop!!!  Doing happy happy dance!!  Got invited to be part of the Funky Flair Studio design team!!  Did not expect it but so stoked.  I recently went on scrappy spending spree and put the cutest, most awesome flair buttons, all beautifully handmade by Funky Flair Studio.

So I had to quickly put together an example for the group.... so here is a shabby chic Valentine card I made using Maja Design scrap paper, some Graphic 45 from the Sweet Sentiment collection and an oh so cute little heart flair button.

Reflecting .... What to do for my workshops ...

OK, so I have been mulling of what to start off with in 2015. I have decided to go with a scrapbooking page kit using Maja Design papers.  The kit will come with a sketch, the layering papers and primary embellishments to make up a easy but beautiful page - all you will need is your own 12x12 background paper of your choice. And this is what the finished page could look like.... but with your own photograph (or two) and your own journalling. And you can add a title if you wish. And I am happy to put together a separate add-on kit for the 2nd page so those of us that like to do double layouts.

And this is what I am also thinking of doing at my first workshop for the year. The kits will also be available for posting out to those who aren't able to attend the workshops. I get out more details over the next few days.

And some close ups of the flowers, die cut from scraps of Maja Design paper.

2014 Relections

Although 2014 was not totally my "annus horribillis" year - it was a bitter sweet year for me.  A year of huge ups and terrible lows.

Sweet, oh so sweet in that our 6 year very expensive immigration journey finally came to an end with New Zealand citizenship and lovely new Kiwi passports.  That journey in itself came at a huge financial cost to us over the last 6 years, was filled with a number of anxious times, but it has finally come to its conclusion.  We have never regretted it for a moment, although we have shed many, many tears along the way, tore our hair out in frustration and have asked ourselves at times whether we completely mad to do it.  Despite the financial setback, we have never looked back and regretted our decision and love our new life here in our new country.  And slowly, slowly as the years pass by, we have become more settled and starting to feel like we belong.

And the lows, loosing beloved family family along the way.  In April I lost my darling mother at the age of 88 years, after a 2 year battle with the effects of a devastating stroke.  I did expect to loose my mom due to her age, but it was still heartbreaking when she passed away.  I miss her dearly.

The lowest and most unexpected blow of all in 2014 was loosing my cherished sister in law to cancer and a very aggressive brain tumour in October.  So unexpected and so quickly.  From the time of diagnosis of brain cancer resulting from breast cancer, she was gone in 6 weeks.  This loss has been huge on my poor hubby who spoke to Linda on Skype just about every day and on me as well as I looked upon her as my own sister.  It is a difficult loss that we cannot reconcile with and still leaves us reeling in shock.

RIP mom and Linda, we love you and always will.  Till we meet again.

Happy 2015

Happy 2015 to you all. May it be crafty, may it be prosperous, may it be joyful, and healthy too! 

Looking forward to an exciting new year!!