Happy Mother's Day!

To all those lovely Mummy's I know out there....

The Crown of Writings.

I suppose I knew my Bible
Reading piecemeal hit or miss
Knew a bit of John or Matthew
Knew a bit of Genesis
Certain chapters of Isaiah
Certain Psalms (the twenty-third!)
Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs
Yes, I thought I knew the Word.

But I found that thorough reading
was a different thing to do,
and the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.

You who like to play at Bible
Dip and dabble here and there,
Just before you kneel, weary and yawn
through a hurried prayer,
you who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book -
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude, impatient look,
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view,
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through!

Many Blessings,
Tracy

Sunday Scrappin'

Ta-Da!

These are 4 cards that I made this week. The Happy Birthday card went in a present straight after this photo. The 2 Thank You cards are an idea that I got and I will be using them in the tea swap I am involved in. Sorry the pictures aren't very clear. I need to learn how to use my digital camera better.


I was very happy with the embellishment of the HB card, but I got a bit carried away with my Espresso Dabber down the sides.


I made this Australian themed card with one of my US penpals in mind but I'm not very happy with it. The paper alone was so lovely that I got a bit lost with trying to embellish it, now I'm not sure what to do with it, oh well.


One of my to-do's last week was finish embellishing the Menu Board I made. I really struggled with this as although I would have really like to write lists of things that we eat for breakky and lunch, we are far too random to make it worth doing. I did finally settle on two things. One idea I got from a card I considered making and the other is a list of snacks.

A bit closer...

I didn't do any of my Flourish Lace-it I mentioned last week but I finally got some Glossy Accents with my order from Kaszazz last week and so I finished this project....

It is one of our project kits using our Gelati paper range, very cute. I was waiting for the Glossy Accents to arrive so I could attach some rhinestones and make the final touches...

And if you are wondering what I use this tin for....


To-Do:

This week I need to make a birthday card for my Aunty as she is going on a trip to New Zealand for her actual birthday (50th) and so I need to post it early.
I will be making a Mother's Day card.
I would love to try a Mojo Monday challenge, but I don't know if I have the courage.
I think I will also work on my husbands scrapbook. I have a Navy Blue Creative Memories album that I bought a few years ago for my husbands pre-marriage to me photo's. I also have a pink album that I won! that I am using for my pre-marriage to him photo's, but that's another story. I recently heard that CM are changing their page sizes so I thought I'd better get moving on these albums in case I can't get page refills before long, that would be annoying beyond words. I love scrapbooking my hubby's photos because I don't have the emotional attachment with his that I do with mine, so I scrap a lot quicker, lol.
Oh I also have a workshop sample that I need to do, but I will leave that as a possibility as is getting back to the flourish lace-it I mentioned last week.

Did you go anywhere or make anything special yesterday for National Scrapbooking Day?
Sadly no. I'm not sure if it was National Scrapbooking Day here in Australia actually, but anyway. I actually got back to a quilt that I started making about 2 years ago. Does anyone know of a patchwork or sewing challenge?
Many Blessings,
Tracy

Show and Tell Friday!

For my first Show and Tell post I thought I would share a beautiful bed cover I have, which I have finally been brave enough to add to our bed. It has been packed away in our chest for the length of our married life and we finally have a room and home which does it justice, and so I decided it was time to bring it out. It is my husband's Mother's and I believe it may have come over from Portugal with my husbands parents many years ago. It is beautifully patterned and I just love it, it is a soft pink colour which may be hard to tell in this photo.


It is cooling down here at the moment and so I have our flannelette sheets on, the cover over and a doona folded at the end of the bed. These are my cushions I keep on the bed, two of the lace and then two of my small teacup cushions, just because I love them. ~smile~

I hope you have enjoyed my contribution to todays show and tell.
Blessings,
Tracy

What you can do with some A3 cardboard and a laminator!

I am a very visual person and have been struggling this year with remembering all the things that need to be done each day. One of the reasons this is true is my husband has a very busy schedule now also and alot of various responsibilites to remember (or for me to remember to remind him) and so I asked the Lord what to do. My answer was rather unexpected but really good (which makes sense of course, lol).
In my Kaszazz training manual I had been reading about spliting the day into 3 parts for party opportunities, which I thought was a pretty good idea in general and so I created my 3 part poster using the children's A3 posterboard and my trusty laminator.
First I made them look pretty of course. Morning I have used chalk for the heading, some stickers that suit the time of day (down the bottom are some school stickers sorry about the glare) and my 2-step butterfly stamp.


Afternoon makes me think of relaxing in the garden and so that is the theme for this part I have used up some stickers from my stash and the letter stickers are from Creative Memories.
Even is dark of course and the part of the day which I try and take some time to be crafty and so that is what this part represents.
So these are all laminated and the idea is I write my jobs that need doing, any appointments or responsibilities that need to be performed on stick-it's and stick them on the relevant time of day and vola' it is a far better way to remember all the various things that can be happening in any part of our day. There is a very satisfying aspect of it also, which is riping the stick-it off when the responsibility is performed and throwing it away!
I also have a similar board for prayers, but it is out in our schoolroom and it's to cold to go outside right now, lol. Perhaps I will post that another time.
**A note, I used my extremely trusty double sided tape to stick this to our kitchen laminate wall and it hasn't budged (I use double sided tape for everything now).**

Blessings,
Tracy

Booking Through Thursday "Mayday!"

"Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember…."

Oh this is a funny one. I hope I can give a worthy answer.
I know if it was a family emergency I would be too concerned to be able to focus on reading a book. I would be more likely to thumb through the onboard magazine while overly analysing the situation.
I would probably browse through the airport newsagency, perhaps buying a reading or educational book for the children, while waiting for the plane to arrive. If I found a book or magazine that I particularly wanted to read I would buy it, likely holding it close while on the airplane trip.
Actually! I just realised I have a small Bible in my bag, which is a purse/bag and so that would definitely be the best book to be reading in this situation.
Blessings,
Tracy

Thankful Thursday!

• I am so thankful for true friends that allow me to talk and keep me grounded when I am almost ready to give up (sometimes they are unaware of that fact at the time their words of wisdom are given).
• I am thankful for a loving husband who helps me to understand my Lord more through his words and his example of loving fatherhood and patient husbandry.
• I am thankful for our healthy, happy family, even though I am so amazingly tired I wonder why I love being a Mummy.
• I am thankful that my Mother loves me enough to cook, so that I don't always have to.
• I am thankful that I get to be a Kaszazz consultant which is fun, gives me the chance to meet people I otherwise wouldn't and gives me a good excuse to spend time crafting, lol.
• I am thankful for the Word of God which gives wisdom in every circumstance and helps me get through the day with hope I/it will be a bit better tomorrow.
  

Blessings,
Tracy

Organising Roundup - Rounding up the Master Bedroom

I have been very busy in our Master Bedroom this month and a friend visiting told me it felt very peaceful, no doubt due to the lack of clutter and presence of cleanliness, lol. So here is a run down of what I have accomplished this month. Please follow the links.
I started the month with a general cleanup and my decluttering was helped along with the find of some great containers. I keep my patchwork and needlework in our bedroom and so this was a good time to have a complete tidy and reassess of my ufo's. Then it was time for the big assignment, the cupboard, this was a big job but so satisfying to see it done.
This week I finished off with some final decorating touches.
I am really enjoying the results of this months Roundup and it has certainly motivated me to clean up quick smart and keep the folding under control. Out of all the cleaning and decluttering I have done the one area that always makes me smile is under the bed, it is clear for the first time in years, lol.
Blessings,
Tracy

Wordless Wednesday!

Blessings,
Tracy

Tackle it Tuesday!

I am down to the final touches in my bedroom and this week I tackled a little decorating. First I asked dh to take down the curtain and rod that was meant to hide the aircon, but is doing a terrible job as it had broken bits. Instead I have painted the ply and put up some lovely pictures and mementos. I always used to do this thing when I was a teenager and it always made me feel at home, so I thought I would give it a try.


I also gave the top of our chest a tidy up and declutter. I tossed up keeping my stationary keeper here but decided it was still the most relevant spot, and it looks charming anyway, lol.

Below is my writing paper basket, with all my letter writing needs.


This is that area after. I probably should of done more of a close up but it was the best I could do at the time.This is our bed after I put new sheets and a very old and beautiful cover I have been wanting to use for a long time and if you look over our bed, this is a seriously impressive tackle for me. I got that lovely photo frame last Mother's Day from my family (I actually bought it and got dh to wrap it and present it on MD morn). It says "All because two people fell in love..." and it's lovely. I am so happy that I managed to put photos in it before this Mother's Day, which is just around the corner, lol.
Blessings,
Tracy

My Walk Monday

I just finished reading "Faith Life Potatoes" and thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually decided to read it after the Centerlink worker telling me we would no longer be able to get family payment, which wiped $350 from our fortnightly budget, suggested we needed to live more by faith and I should read the book she was reading, lol.
I so relate to the simple and trusting faith this man and his wife hold in their hearts. They have a God like mine, if He says so then that's all they needed to know. His word is enough, isn't that a beautiful thought?
Another thing that radiated with me is their lifestyle of community with other believers. My heart cry's out for community and I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is a hearts cry that the Lord has put inside me. Don't we all long for community?
They say it takes a village to raise a child, well although I agree with that statement I don't like the village on offer. Our society is no longer a safe and basically moral place. There is no longer such a thing as a Christian Nation, not my country and certainly not the US. Angus Buchan has the benefit of not being able to fool himself that Africa was anything like a Christian Nation and because of that he has impacted his country with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that turned not only whole families, but whole villages, towns and cities.
It was a refreshing reminder that simple faith can do miracles. I trust in that fact in my life, because my God is able.
Blessings,
Tracy

Menu Plan Monday

You can find out more about Menu Plan Monday at Org Junkie.
I am cheating this week and using the last menu I posted. This is because the last 2 weeks on the Induction phase of Atkins, we have basically been eating whatever I could find in the fridge and pantry that was aloud. We have been eating alot of eggs!

Monday: Beef Stroganoff with a green salad.
Tuesday: Chicken Cacciatore with a green salad.
Wednesday: Eating Out.
Thursday: Fish with Creamy Herb Sauce and a green salad.
Friday: Crustless Broccoli Quiche and a green salad.
Saturday: Creamy Spinach Soup.
Sunday: Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Dill and Salmon with Cucumber, Tomato and Green Onion Salad.

I will have to do a proper shop and start using the various recipes, because although I have lost weight in the last 2 weeks it has become rather weary eating the same things all the time. I will have to invest some time and energy converting this into a way that we can eat long term. For anyone that is interested in learning more about Atkins, there is an online course and discussion group.
Blessings,
Tracy

Sunday Scrappin'!

I have been wanting to join in with this meme for a few weeks now, but was waiting until I had some Ta-Da's to share. As time is flying by and I still don't have anything to share I thought I'd better just bite the bullet and join in anyway. Hopefully I will be motivated to turn some of my To-Do's into Ta-Da's!

To-Do's:
This week I need to make a card to send away with a Tea Swap package that needs to be posted.
I also want to tackle the below project which I have already started. It is a chipboard, Lace It, using Flourish papers which I sell through Kaszazz.

I also need to finish off the Menu Board which I made and put into use before I was completely finished with it. It needs some more embellishment, but I'm not quite sure what. Again I have used Flourish paper here. This is called Journal.



I also need to make up some more samples for an upcoming party, but I think I will stop there so as not to overburden myself and take all the fun out of it, lol.

Do you buy patterned paper just because you like it, or because you have something specific in mind?

I usually buy patterned paper just because I like it and also because we live in the outback, just to have stock available. The problem I find is that when I do want a specific paper, like at the moment I have a vision in mind for Autumn leaf paper, I can never find it! That's frustrating! Meanwhile I have lots of other paper that isn't getting used, lol. Oh Well, Such is life.
Blessings,
Tracy