oh S{crap} I've done it again

Whats the story? I forgot.....

'If a story comes to you,care for them and learn to give them away where they are needed, Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive...' BARRY LOPEZ

I have been scrapbooking for about 9 years now and slowly my style has changed...and as I recently discovered a large stack of layouts to be filed away, it has not always for the better.

Natalie (from scraptivate) said to me in passing that one of her customers said 'great layout but it was obviously done for a show or magazine because there is no room for journalling, so what is the point of it !'

It wasnt said in a negative way but it got me to thinking... I love that someone reminded me that scrapbooking should be more than making photos beautiful. It should tell a story, a memory or a feeling..... I had forgot, along the way I had simply forgot.

somewhere inbetween all the chaos

ExhibitA

and the deadlines, and the specific needs for specific products I forgot why I started this great hobby.

So I am going to use more words and less S{crap}.... and I am going to clean more too.

But I am going to get better at telling the stories that need to be told.

 I love that initial quote by Barry Lopez..... I am that person. I need to remember the good times when I cant see past the darkness... I need to remember all the love when I come up empty.

 I am by nature forgetful,so I imagine the day will come when the kids will sit on the end of my bed in the nursing home and read me stories from our scrapbooks where I can relive the sounds,the smells, the giggles, the tears, the pain, the love that I have lived through my life..... I like that image.

I love that if anything ever happens to Tim or I we have left them a little letter every birthday that they can read to know that we struggled, we cried, we weren't perfect but by goodness we loved them... 

This is why I keep my stories....

so I cleaned my space..

and I picked a folder of many on iphoto and got to work telling some stories...

It was fun to tell some stories but I have a little addiction to the S{crap} so I need to find the BALANCE between the the stories and the embellishing...

wish me luck..

love naomi x

SCRAPTIVATE....

I love working with these girls they are so talented and masters each with their unique styles and I often wonder how I fit in their because I am your average everyday scrapper.... 

But I love a good challenge and Natalie always sends me the best products to work with and this month was no different... my favourite range Crate Paper Portrait collection.

I love the colours and Natalie made my day with Collection chipboard, lettering, german scrap and beautiful dollies and ribbons... I am a lucky girl.

and this is what I created this month...

Love these photos of Domi.... she was trying to blow the wishes and Rosie (our golden retriever was trying to eat the flying wishes, but they were going up her nose causing rosie to sneeze all over Domi.. disgusting but very funny.

Now I embarressed to say that I have had this Tim Holtz rossette thing for about a year and hadn't used it until Nat asked me too because she has a couple of them in store... and now I am addicted to using them on everything.... that and changing plain white doilies to rich colours by inking them. I cant imaging why I hadnt thought of this before but I hadn't. I have misted them but never inked them.

and because I love a stamp or two... no background is complete without a little unique stamping and embossing.

and now please dont judge me as a bad mumma cause I dont brush her hair somedays....

but how beautiful is she anyway???

and finally Cordelia gets a look in...

Broke out the Cricut for this one.... get Nat to give you a demo of this great little machine, and if you are after a specific cartridge drop her a line and she will do her best to get it for  you also.

and these are some of the other layouts I have done for Scraptivate in the past...

so that is it for me.....tonight.

I have been busy doing creative bits again getting ready for our Creepy christmas dinner party in a couple of weeks... so so excited and going all out with the decorations. and of course squeezing another celebration out of the christmas tree that has been up for some 290+ days.

cheers all naomi x

SCRAPJACKSCRAPJACKSCRAPJACK...

Keeping my mouth shut has never been one of my strong points..... but I have and I did, and thankgod Bec announced it a couple of days after telling me cause I have my doubts whether I could have done it for much longer!

But I am so so pleased, ok excited to be announced as one of the Aussie Scrapjacked design team.

I am hoping that you will come and play along with me here at http://aussiescrapjack.blogspot.com

Scraplift for prizes what could be better than that....

So in honor of my new appointment I 'Jacked' bec from this months DT.

this poor little muma bird was looking after someone else's chick because her egg had been tossed out of the nest to make way for this big brute of a bird.

Nature can be cruel sometimes... poor Cordy was devastated for this little mumma bird.

Well I hope you join me next month...

I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I have been up to for Scraptivate...oooohhhhh love my Design team pack this month.

cheers naomi

and the universe brings it.......

First it brings me smiling eggs....

Cause it must have known today was going to be hard because I should be somewhere else doing something else.

A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to my jar of journalling prompts, and today it was rainy and the kids were busy painting and messing in the studio so I thought I would whip out a prompt.

and this is what it delivered me...

Well how apt is that question today of all days.

Today I should be running in my first half marathon. The one that I have strived and trained so hard for for the last 12 months. The one thing that made the kilos slowly melt away, the goal of 12months of running starting by huffing and puffing from electrical poles to racking up some 35kms per week....

Boy I miss it. I miss running and freedom, having those conversations in my head without offending anyone, singing at the top of my voice because no one can hear me above the traffic, and if they do I pity them and they need to turn up their radios.

So armed with some anger, some saddness and the need to get messy to pass the time when I should be huffing and puffing my way around Albert Park, Melbourne. I got cracking and deviated from my usual style of scrapbooking to something a little harried, 

you can fill in the blanks as to what comes after "go take a running........" ( and you might be right in assumming there is an expletive in there...)

because today I am angry, disappointed and frustrated. But as Tim reminded me this morning amid my tears it has not been a waste of time - my life has changed, my wardrobe has changed, my mind has changed.

So to anyone whom wants to make a change it all starts with a little belief that you can do it. Time passes so quickly and I want to live my best life, have no regrets and not be held back by

.......the dreaded "i cants"

I think I have rounded up a few like minded running nutters for next years Melbourne Marathon. Because next year  I WILL DO IT.

So what do you want to accomplish before you die? Do you have a bucket list?

I think my bucket list is another layout in the making.

cheers naomi x

getting my colour on....

So I have not visited 'the Colour Room' since about number#7 room... and they hit  #79 this week so yesterday I got a little inspired and tried out a few colour combinations to coax my mojo out of hiding.

And guess what it was good to cut and paste again 

My take on number #78

can I say I love these Doilies, made from the 'die-namics' they cut beautifully and perfectly everytime love them...

I have also started collecting digital elements, which I love for the fact that you can resize, edit, type over the top of and reuse time and time again.

and then my take on number #77

Once again I used the 'die-namics' dies for the rolled flowers out of felt....so cute and so easy.

and finally my take on number#64

all the papers and elements in this are digitally printed out and cut out .... so it is hybrid. I am slowly learning how to become a digital scrapbooker. It is slow but alot of fun, and portable too.

You know these photos are really really terrible but sometimes it is not about getting the perfect shot it is about quickly grabing the camera, not checking the settings and just going for it... I remember once upon a time when it was all about these moments... I think after getting things published and used as display in shops I became hypercritical of how my photos looked, I didnt use those less than perfect ones because I was selling a product.

but I have made peace with that side of myself and I am proudly bringing out the crappy photos cause there is still a story to tell....

Well I have to get back to my real life of cleaning,washing and cooking now... before I hit some more challenges tonight

cheers naomi x

 

'all about you' and I am FINE on 'RUOK" day....

staying true to my form I signed up for Tracy Clark's photo inspiration course at Big Picture waaayyy back in January and some 28 weeks later I am starting it...heheheheh

One of the aims for this year was to work out how to use my camera properly, an I figured that this might be a way to keep me focused, well that was a epic fail... but never one to give up I have charged up the camera, read up on apeture and I am going forth.

this challenge started with asking you to photograph you... so 

  (no camera with this just photo booth and a snapshot of the mess room where I paint, and play with the girls and create stuff.... it is rarely clean but always fun in here.)

I look at this person and I dont recognise her....some 35kgs later she looks normal and together, not broken and sad.

For the longest time I havent taken photos of myself or been photographed, I rarely look in the mirror because I never liked the person looking back, for the longest time I saw every fault, every mistake, every heartache I caused and I truly believed that everyone saw them too...

So that leads into my second reason for blogging...

RUOK? day.

For those of you whom know me you will know my answer will be FINE (F=fucked up, I=insecure, N=neurotic, and E= emotional) followed by a 'thankyou it'll be all good', then they will laugh with me and realise that there is strong truth behind that little word FINE 

After a very public meltdown and about 2 years of flying well under the radar, giving up everything and everyone to concentrate on getting healthy I know I can and will answer that question incredibly honestly tomorrow.... 

I have days of darkness, days of pure high, I have days when I cant drag my butt out of bed and then I have days where I cant sleep.... but they are more managable, I have surrounded myself with people whom prod and poke and ask that question regularly, not just once a year..... I now dont take offense anymore, I listen, I talk to those I trust and I know I am never alone, regardless.

I beg of you to ask that simple question to the someone whom you know is struggling, do it with an open heart. Listen really listen to them. Remind them that they are strong and brave and are loved and it is not a sign of weakness to say 'no, I need help.' From personal experience, get ready for denial, shrugs and topic changes....but if you really care about this person keep asking, often the strongest, happiest faces displayed to the world are the ones that are breaking behind closed doors....

Be honest, dont try to heal them yourself...you cant, but you can be a friend and it all starts with a simple 'Are you OK?' and keep asking it until......

{my kids always ask my definition of until, and it is until I get the answer,response that is required}

  so just buckle up it could be a long ride down a bumpy road, but stick in there they/we/I need people like that in our lives.

love naomi xxx

 

do you ever wish.....

 
I have this really big jar on my table in the studio...

 

Like many memory hoarders, I have collected titles, questions, ideas from people/blogs/books/magazines and this is the result a jar of chicken soup for the soul !

It is full of journalling prompts and ideas all printed onto white paper and carefully folded so I can't edit what I pull out. I am a great believer that the universe delivers you what you need for your path through this life, good or bad.....and this is already proving to open a can of worms. I was going to try and do it for Tim as well so the kids can learn and giggle about him. (OK maybe that giggle would be me because I know what is in the jar....)

So this is my leap of faith... I have made a promise to myself not put the question back if I dont like it. I have to do it be it writing, painting or a letter that is my only choice in this whole jar full of over 500 little questions.

so this is the first one....

....... Do you ever wish?.......

Well obviously yes, today I wish for world peace (spoken like a true miss universe), that my family and friends will get through life knowing little pain, I wish for people taken to early, I wish for happiness without darkness, wish for kindness, I wish  ... I wish for ....so, so many things.

My wishes are so different today from twenty years ago when I was leaving home bound for college and ready to take the bull by the horns and live life with no regrets..... ummmm well that had its own set of problems and a whole new conversation really.

So this is my response today to that little question..

These three little people are my every single wish.... my life changed dramatically when I lost my first baby before Fletcher on that heartbreaking day I realised after growing up and telling everyone I knew that kids were simply not on the agenda.... I wanted them, I wanted to take back everytime I said it... I knew that without a shadow of a doubt my life and my every wish,  my every dream for the future had irrevocably changed.

With my whole being that I would give up every single one of my wishes to travel, to be that artist in france, to be that free spirit nomad. Just to be someones mum....

and for me my every single wish came true.

so what do you wish for? I would love to know.... and by the way not all my wishes read like Miss Universe I still wish every night that my tatts lotto ticket numbers will fall into those pesky little slots just once!

cheers all

love naomi x

 

oh s{crap} I've done it again....literally

Too many reasons to explain so I am going to pretend the last 6months of none blogging hasn't occurred and I am going to launch right back into it....

For some time now I have been trying unsuccessfully to send more letters, more cards, and more love to the people in my life that I often forget about. You would think as a scrapbooker with numerous tools, paper and goodies I wouldn't find it that difficult but I did.

I always used the excuses like I'll get to it, then it is too late, and how about doing it but never sending stuff...OMG I have done them all. So I am putting a huge sorry out there to everyone whos birthdays, holidays, births and losses I have neglected. 

A heartfelt apology....really

So in an aim to right some of those wrongs I have started a 52week Card Challenge with the lovely Natalie from Scraptivate. I am sending a card a week to someone to tell them....

I thought of them today

thankyou so much....

Happy birthday..

or simply Hello...

which brings me to our first week with the theme of HELLO. So here is my first card.

and then this weeks theme set by Natalie was Birds, because she keeps adding to her bird family daily I think.

so I made this little gift set to send this week off to someone...

the little gift is a post-it holder you can find directions on how to make one of these on the Scraptivate blog. These are so easy and quick to make, erfect teachers presents for the end of the year....{Hmmm, might get a start on those now actually.}

So go check out the blog and join us in the 52 week challenge and put some good Karma out into the universe and you never know what might turn up in your mailbox....

cheers 

love naomi x