A Creative Life

They Make Me Proud

It has been another difficult week this week.  But the scrapbooker within has emerged a little as I couldn't resist capturing a few photos with the kids all dressed up.  Unfortunately I had Ashton in childcare until just before we left for the funeral so he isn't in some of the first pictures.

I then let Lachlan take a few photos of me with each of the kids. He did a great job and I think he will make a great photographer in the future.

and Cameron was very excited to get his hands on the Camera to take pics of Lachlan and I! Because he was taking the photo from lower down than we were standing, my face looks kind of weird shaped! Yes I have got rid of my pesky wrinkles in these shots!  If I can I will!

When you bury someone you love you can not ask for more than to feel like they would have loved their own funeral service and that is exactly how we felt after the funeral on Tuesday.  Of course it was sad, funerals always are, but it was such a fitting send off for a man who was so loved by his family.

I was so proud of my hubby who managed to deliver the eulogy, which I think is possibly the hardest thing to have to do at your own Father's funeral.  So proud of my children, the 3 eldest prepared a few words that were read out during the service.  I was so greatful I had read their messages the night before and shed a tear then, so I was more prepared on the day to hold it together when those same messages were read out.  I thought they had done such a good job:

Lachlan’s Words

My Poppa was the greatest Grandfather I could ever ask for because of all the great times we had and it is only now that I realise how much I will miss him.

I think the things that I will miss the most will be:

• Making bon fires with him
• Watching “The Three Amigos” with him
• Seeing him laugh at the cartoons that he watched that he laughed hard at when he first watched them and he still laughed as hard as he did after years of watching the same ones
• Going out to breakfast with him
• Going to the shops with him
• Working with him
• Seeing his face when he was having fun with me

I think back to these times and wish I could relive these moments again but realise that it cannot happen, all I can do is remember these great times we had and thank God that we were so close and able to have great times.

I think what I’m trying to say is that I loved him greatly and can’t wait to see him in Heaven, but until that time I can only say how severely he will be missed by his family and friends.

Lachlan

Camerons Words

What I Love About My Grandpa

• That he loves us
• That he took us out on Sundays
• That he taught us great lessons about life
• He taught us how to do things like make fires and plant plants
• He was there for us
• He was funny
• He was brave
• He built things for us like a fort
• He made time for us
• He was smart

I remember Sundays with him when he would take us out for breakfast then we would either fo to the shops or to back to his house, and if we went back to his house we would ask if we could work with him and there was always things to do like pick up scrap metal or make something or even plant some seeds.

I loved my grandfather and I miss him lots like we all do and I know that he would be missing us too. But I know one day we will see him again and he will look better than ever.

Cameron

Ethans Words

Bye to the greatest Poppa who shows us a lot of love

Love Ethan

So heartfelt and touching!  I love my kids so much!  Kaitlyn was so well behaved during the service as well, she just sat there for an hour, she didn't fidget or mess around at all, she seemed to understand the solemness of the occasion.  Ashton, well he was pretty well behaved, but hey, he is Ashton!!

It is nice to have a couple of nice family photos of us all.  I don't think we have had a picture of us all together for a couple of years now, so at least we have these now.

Onto scrappy stuff....

I was in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago teaching.  It was lovely to meet some wonderful ladies and I had a wonderful time teaching and catching up with people.  Sorry to those attending my classes who had to endure my hacking cough!  I did go back to the Dr when I got back and I had another infection in my lungs!  Nothing a double dose of antibiotics couldn't fix up, so finally I have kicked the "Walking pneumonia" to the curb now!  Huge thanks to my roomie Louise Williams, who it was fabulous to get to know a bit more and for our 4am chats, and also Giovanna Scott for being our wonderful taxi service to and from the airport!!  She is also the queen of self portrait photos.

This is the LO that I taught in Brisbane and I will be teaching it again at Paper Flourish in October.  If you would like a kit to create this LO, just email me via the link at the top of the blog.

I will also be teaching a Live With Prima Class at the end of this month, It will be Friday 30th Sept 5.30pm PST if you live in the USA, or if you are in Australia Saturday 1st October, 10.30am.  If you are in Australia and would like a kit for this class, my local Scrapbook Store, Paper Flourish will have some for sale.  

Thanks for stopping by and for all of you who have passed on your condolenses to Paul and I, we sincerely thank you.  



 

 

Sometimes a week is Harder

Sometimes a week is harder than most.  Sometimes it is for trivial reasons, the kids were a little more argumentative, the house a little more in disarray, sometimes it is just for lack of sleep.  Then there are times when there is really good reason for it to be harder and this was one of those weeks.

This week Paul's father died of a heart attack.  Even when you know it is a strong possibility (he had previously had a triple bypass almost 8 years ago and another heart attack in November last year) nothing can actually prepare you for this when it happens.

My FIL was one of those totally self-less individuals that would do anything for his family and friends.  If you needed something done, he would often stop what he was doing to help you.  Only a couple of weeks back my washing machine stopped working, so I called him (he was an electrician, so really good with this sort of stuff).  Despite him being at work he came over within the hour and spent 2 hours at my place fixing my washing machine.  That was just what he was like and he was like that with everyone, if they needed his help.  Where his family was concerned he could never do enough.  So many times he would just come over with a big box of fruit and vegetables, just because he wanted to give us something when he popped over.  So many little things he would do for us.

He was the most involved Grandparent in our childrens lives.  He adored the kids and would ring almost every weekend seeing if he could pick up the kids, take them out for breakfast and spend the day with them.  He loved to just spend time with them and they all adored him.  He would get the kids to do work for him on his garden (they have 5 acres) and then pay them way too much for their work!  The kids would always ask him if he needed them to do some work when they were saving up for something, they knew they were onto a good thing!

I have never felt at such a loss as I did this week, watching my 3 elder boys hearts breaking for the loss of their Poppa. I felt as though I had nothing to offer them other than my love and support, when all I wanted to do was fix it for them, take away the pain and change it back to the way it was.  At the same time I was so proud of them, for their sensitivity and understanding of the loss they had experienced.  They did not try and be tough and pretend it didn't affect them.  One of the most touching moments Paul relayed to me was Cameron asking to hold his Poppas hand and if he could talk to him as he lay on life support in ICU.  These are the moments that make you choke up with love for your child and the saddness they are feeling. 

Nothing will alter the sense of loss now that he is no longer in our lives, but he will always be loved and remembered!

 

Prima Tattered Angels Blog Hop

Welcome to those participating in the Prima and Tattered Angels Blog hop, here is my mini tutorial on some fun tips while using Prima products with Tattered Angels glimmer mists!

Sometimes, you just don't have quite the right colour in a Prima Vine for your page!  Don't worry though, they are super easy to customise with a quick and ultra simple technique with glimmermist!  In this LO, I made my vine 2 tone, by only misting a couple of the flowers!

This is how to colour those flowers without colouring the leaves and branches around the vine, or cutting the flowers from the vine first.....

•  Lift the flowers up a bit from the rest of the vine. Then tear around 1 inch into a piece of scrap paper, (I used a piece of photocopy paper).  slide your flower into the torn part so that the flower shows above the paper and the rest is hidden under the paper.  It is now ready to spray with your designed colour of Glimmermist.  I have used Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmermist (Cornflower) as I adore the depth of colour you can achieve using chalkboard mists.

I like to tear a fresh part of the paper for the next flower to avoid spillage from wet glimmermist left over on the scrap paper from coloring the first flower.

As you can see the final result is a dramatically different flower coloured vine.

• You can also use glimmermist to create the custom lace textured blocks in the background.  I cut chipboard to 3 inches x 3 inches and then used Helmar 450 over the entire piece, sticking on the lace strip by strip.  Use your fingers to push the wider parts into the grooves left from the previous piece for a more fully covered piece of chipboard.  Once covered, allow to dry and coat with glimmermist.

By colouring the lace after it is stuck down there is far less wastage than coloring it beforehand. It also colours the chipboard underneath, so it doesn't matter if there are gaps in the lace.

I hope you have enjoyed these couple of tips for using Prima and Tattered Angels Glimmermist!

For more blogs to hop on over to, you can find the complete list back on the Prima Blog  and you can also find out how to win this fabulous RAK.

Included are:

• Prima Innoscense alterable flowers-3 packs
• Prima Winter Roses
• Prima Royal Verbena Silver Flowers
• Prima Miss Sophie Lace Flowers
• Prima Sugar Plum Roses-Banana
• 3 styles of alterable Prima lace
• TA Glimmer Mist-Sunflower, Blackberry Cordial, Bronze and Timberline
• TA Glam-Nightfall & Dirty Martini
• TA Chalkboard-Cherry Cola & Monolith

 

For a chance to win the LOVELY prize above just visit some of the other blogs listed on the Prima Blog and leave a comment on the Prima blog to let them know your favorite altered Prima product spotted on one of the blogs!