Last night at the Scrappin Patch crop I completed this layout using their March monthly sketch.

I love this page, the soft blue/greens and how feminine it all feels. I even managed to find a lovely wee umbrella to add, a sweet touch that reminds me of the day as it poured and poured with rain and the marquee flooded but the Bride kept smiling.

The Liebster Blog Award is meant for those blogs in Blog Land that have 200 or less followers. Liebster comes from German, meaning dearest or beloved but can also mean favourite. This award is such a wonderful way to show appreciation for those people who do beautiful work and inspire you but have a small following. As part of the tradition the award is passed along to five other blogs that have motivated and inspired you.

To accept the award you must:

1. Link back to the person’s blog who gave it to you and thank them.
2. Post the award on your blog.
3. Give the award to 5 bloggers (less than 200 followers) that you appreciate and value.

So here are 5 blogs that inspire me:

Janine – Such a sweet person and a blog that inspires and gets you to think about everyday things.

Vicki – A faithful commenter on my blog and I just love her scrappy style, such a inspiration to see!

Megan – Not the most regular blogger around but when this busy lady shares her amazing creations it’s worth the wait!

Michelle – Another kind and thoughtful lady who makes the world of blogging and scrapping such a friendly place!

Hannah – She has a great scrapping style, outlook on motherhood and posts that make you think.

We caught the first episode of Masterchef Junior the other night and Grace has developed a love of Masterchef. We watched the last two seasons of the Australian adult version and are hooked. Although the junior show is great should 10 years be able to cook that well?!? Blows my mind!

Anyhow because of staying home and being inspired if not a little scared of the talent on Junior Masterchef we decided to try our luck at making some homemade pasta this afternoon. Grace was excited the other night when I told her I had a pasta machine in the cupboard and has been keen to give it a go. I haven’t had a lot of success in the few times I’ve tried it in the past but today with the help of my own wee masterchef it’s work perfectly. I used this simple recipe that I found.

Then I was wondering how we could turn this pasta into our dinner, thinking about what was in the garden and remembering our mass of basil we made pesto. I’ve never made it before and had no idea how easy it is, defiantly be whipping it up again soon. Wonder if you can freeze it? I used almonds instead of pine nuts and blanched them, another easy skill I learnt today. So for dinner tonight in our is fresh pasta with basil pesto, grilled chicken and salad.

The other day was a dear friend’s birthday, we share a love of good food and she’s into more natural products so I decided to try my hand at some homemade vanilla essence. Then I whipped up some amazing smelling vanilla sugar, teamed them with a new Julie Biuso recipe book and it was a cool gift.

Another foodie share was what I made for our family to enjoy for Valentine’s Day. They were some chocolate & raspberry cupcakes with red decorations and little banners I found and printed from the internet. Delivered them around and they were a hit.

It’s also been the season for jam making and such delights. I’ve made several batches of jam this year. Firstly after some raspberry picking over our summer holidays I made a few jars with our haul before they all got eaten with ice cream. Then we bought buckets full of apricots and stewed them and at the request of Craig made jam as apparently you can’t have Easter hot cross buns without fresh apricot jam! lol Then after apricots the plum harvest was ready so I made bottles of my Dad’s delicious plum sauce, however I have done something wrong with the vinegar amount so I am yet to re-boil it and add more sugar, bugger!

We’ve spent a lovely relaxing weekend in Hanmer Springs with some very dear friends. We rented a home together and enjoyed just hanging out, letting the kids play and taking some time out. The plan was to check out the new and improved hot pools but the weather was good and we got lazy so never quite made it…oops! hehe

We had a few wanders around the township and on one of them I purchased this tea towel. A fitting purchase to the end of a long emotional week for us in Christchurch. I’m going to lace it onto a canvas and hang it somewhere.

I glad to see the beginning of a fresh new week, as helpful as it was to feel the sadness and upset again via the media etc. and grieve for what we’ve lost as a city on Wednesday’s earthquake anniversary it is now about moving forward where we can and rebuilding our future.

We attended a memorial on the banks of the Heathcote river called “River of hope”. There were little spots all over the city along the riverbanks where people gathered to share a few moments of silence and throw flowers into the river as a sign of remembrance.

It was a very special way to remember those that have passed and those that are left with a whole in their lives from either lost loved one, a beloved home or a crumbling city. We got our girls involved in picking the flowers and sprinkling them on the river and explaining what we were doing, they even stayed quiet in the 2 minutes silence. A little bell rung then there was silence followed but a soloist singing the national anthem in Maori as we threw our flowers onto the water. They had a tree of hope where messages of hope and love were attached to its strong trunk and they will be recorded and captured for generations to come

Such a beautiful sight, watching many hand picked flowers drifting slowly on the current down stream. Like my dad said, something we probably won’t see again.

A fitting way to remember and move on from what was a dreadful day and a very tough year for so many. I feel blessed that we have escaped so much of the damage from this natural disaster and feel for those who haven’t been so fortunate.

I made some gift hampers for friends with homemade food items in them. First some cookies for Santa, a jar of dry ingredients that you just add a few things to and get great cookies. Then some divine chocolate sauce that a friend gave me last year for Christmas, I just had to pass some more on! Lemon cordial has been a hit this year too with us, I’ve made quite a few bottles and have shared it with friends. Click on the photos to get the recipes.

Then as wee gifts for Grace’s preschool friends and kids we know Craig and I made these cute as Reindeer lollies. Marshmallows dipped in chocolate with pebbles for a nose all wrapped up with pipe cleaners for antlers.

Reindeer making in progress. I did make them all with the stick in the wrong end of the marshmallow but thankfully we were able to fix that wee mistake.

Then for the preschool teachers I made these cute wee bird houses and filled them with after dinner mints. I even got to use some of my new fave product, fabric tape! I added wee tags to wish them a merry Christmas and voila, some great gifts.

A wee village of bird houses.

Last but not least I came across the idea of Christmas play dough and since the pink sparkly play dough at Grace’s third birthday was such a hit i decided to make some more as wee gifts. Originally I was going to make gingerbread play dough but decided brown play dough was boring and not much fun to play with. I finally decided on peppermint red and green dough and layered in container.

Before we started our Christmas/Summer holidays I made this list with lots of things we could and should do during the warmer summer. I saw the idea on this blog, it’s written by and American mum of three kids who is into organisation, decor and raising her kids. I enjoy reading her blog. Anyhow she made one of these and I thought it was cool so had to share it, I’ve put it on the fridge so we didn’t miss any Summer fun.

We’ve ticked off a few of the things on the list but with sickness and our latest DIY project (painting our new garage addition) we’ve still got some fun things to do in the last weeks of our holiday.

Getting back to our DIY project. When we moved into our home one of the bonus’s was the huge garage, it was a 3-4 car space. However we’ve never used it for cars really, it got filled with stuff so we’ve decided to frame up the back space to use instead of fill with junk. We’ve spent the past two days priming, painting and cutting in, I’m well and truly over painting and we still have another coat and skirting boards to go before the carpet is being laid next week. It’s really starting to take shape now though. Will share a few photos once it’s finished and the carpet laid.

Another thing I’ve got sorted during the holidays is our bedroom. I finally got the bed linen all coordinated to match the newly painted walls etc. Ever since we had Fletcher’s complete earthquake repairs I’ve been making over the bedroom, we replaced our bedroom furniture and tried to work the colour scheme around the curtains we got last year. Now all I need is a occasional armchair for where the Christmas tree is standing.

We decided to have a Christmas tree in our room this year as we upgraded our family one to a 7ft instead of this smaller one and didn’t see the point of just leaving the smaller one in the garage. I then came across a silver pack of decorations at Kmart for $12 and thought a silver tree with clear lights would fill the space where the chair should go and voila it looked fab!

I’ve also finally framed up the three photos I took last year in Wanaka and have put them in our hall way. They look so striking!

Anyhow before I bore you all with decor and DIY I better sign off, we’re taking a break from painting tomorrow to tick a few more things off that Summer to-do list. Hope you’re enjoying your Summer holidays!

The new year is fast approaching and I can’t say I’m to sad to see the end of 2011, it’s felt like a year where I’m constantly trying to catch up. Every time we’ve got life back to normal we’ve had another quake, snow or something else to knock us off course.

The goal for 2012 is to slow down, right down and spend a lot more  quality time with Grace.

Funnily enough our plans for new years have been slowed right down, well even cancelled due to our colds. We had great plans to celebrate new years eve with a party, fireworks and bubbles but it’s all been called off so we’re bringing in the new year with a quiet night together. Even Grace enjoyed a wee cocktail tonight to celebrate, some cranberry juice in a special glass.

So far we’ve enjoyed a delicious dinner, a few drinks and Miranda on TV, such a laugh!

I hope you’re enjoying your new years eve! May 2012 bring you and your families much happiness, health and all that you dream of!

Last week we enjoyed the beginning of our holidays with Craig being off work although we probably shouldn’t call it a holiday as the week before Christmas is never slow paced. Although this year I did feel a lot calmer with having done my shopping and planning much earlier.

We were able to enjoy catching up with friends, getting some jobs done around the house, doing some fun Christmas activities and  Craig and I spent some time together whilst Grace had her last days of preschool for the year.

We indulged in some super pretty Christmas cupcakes from The Cupcake Collection. I was a little bit disappointed in the flavours but how cute are the decorations!

We had two visits to the Christmas Grotto. It was fantastic this year with some of the rooms changing from previous years. It’s put together by a local church and they go all out, must take months to organise and set up! After going the first time we just knew Grandad would  be into it, totally right about that as he loved it. They had a north pole room with polar bears and huskies, the history of the candy cane, Santa’s workshop and wrapping station, the toy shop with story teller, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and the wise men end even beautiful white angel bears bringing good news to all.

I finally got our two Christmas cakes iced for our family and extended family. They have been well cut into now and the reviews are that they taste great, phew!

Dumpty the elf did a few more things, nothing to mischievous though.

He was found napping in a Santa hat one morning.

Then having a chat with Care bear that had been left out in the living room, he always normally gets taken to bed with Grace.

Then after several days with no movement Dumpty was found on Christmas morning perched on Grace’s Santa sack surrounded by balloons that he had blown up.

As I’m sure you’ve all heard we had some more nasty aftershocks here on Friday, a Christmas present we all could have happily lived without. Craig and I were out and about delivering Christmas goodies on the other side of town when the first struck, we were parked beside an old stone church that got badly damaged in the first few quakes and boy did that church sway. We made a dash back to our side of town to get Grace whom we had just dropped off at preschool. Thankfully by the time we had the second big one we were home, another sleepless night though with rumbles almost every hour. The numbness that comes over you is awful, just like shock after a car accident. Even though I don’t get really scared by them you still get a massive emotional rush and when we spoke to our friends that night about it I wasn’t alone in bursting into tears several times that afternoon. I really do wonder how much more we can all take, I fear these may go on for a long time yet.

Anyway on to brighter things. Grace is at an age this year where she has fully got into Christmas, Santa and all the traditions.

She loved setting everything up on Christmas eve so Santa would come and enjoy the treats she left for him. One of her reindeer cookies, a glass of homemade lemon cordial, a carrot left outside with a bowl of water for the reindeer and she sprinkled reindeer food all about the garden. She worked on a beautiful card for Santa with a Christmas tree and stickers on the front. She got to open her Christmas eve present of new PJ’s to wear, cute jammies with wee owls on.

Christmas day arrived and she loved finding her sack of pressies and special letter from Santa himself.

We visited grandparents on Christmas morning who couldn’t share Christmas lunch with us and then enjoyed a delicious lunch outside in the warm sunshine with family.

Grace, Maddi and Georgia had a blast playing with Grace’s Christmas present, a Slip n Slide during the afternoon. Great fun!

Boxing day was relaxing and quiet, we headed out for a long walk and got some lunch which we enjoyed at the park. Then the next day Grace and I came down with a cold so the rest of this week has been spent at home on the couch, we’ve watched a lot of movies! She got a worse dose than me and was very hot with fevers but we are both feeling a lot better today so fingers crossed we are over the worst and can get on with our holidays.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and spent it with family and friends. May 2012 bring you all much happiness and hope.

I’ve been doing some fun little craft things with Miss Grace, there are so many cool ideas to do with kids. I found this idea in the latest Treasures magazine and loved it! I got some brightly coloured ice cream sticks  from The Warehouse and with my hot glue gun we set about creating little Christmas tree ornaments. Grace has fun adding bling and stickers to them, she defiantly my daughter!  hehe They’ve turned out much better than I thought so we may have to make some more.

Then last weekend we got out the paints which Grace has wanted to do for ages and we painted her hands and feet and made reindeer. This idea was care of Pinterest, so many things you can create with a bit of paint and some hands and feet. I’ve also seen Christmas angels created this way too, might give that a try.

Then I came across this great wreath on Pinterest. Click the photo for the link to full instructions on how to make one.

Mine didn’t turn out so well, the colours on mine are all wrong for my liking but I’m happy to have it finished. I’ll maybe try again next year, the stars were super easy to make and could be used on all sorts of crafts.

Last year I made a Christmas tree with Hersey kisses then had the foam tree left after the kisses all got eaten so I painted it red and have hot glued red and green buttons all over it. Love my button tree!  Thanks to my sister for the idea.

I  saw a bauble wreath on Pinterest and really wanted one so bought some glass baubles at K-mart and got painting a polystyrene wreath red then with my hot glue gun I glued them all on. I also came across the red glittery “Noel” at Ballentynes and thought it would look fab on my wreath so I cut off the bit to hang it on the tree and glued it on too. I love my new wreath and it really brightens up my kitchen sitting up on the range hood. Check out my new tiles too that we’ve just had done, the last owners never felt the need to install a splash back when they installed the new kitchen which equalled the wallpaper getting really yucky. It’s the small things that make me happy lol. Also the beautiful tin sitting beside the wreath has been kindly made for me by my friend Megan, she’s so clever with her OTP projects! It had the most stunning glass bell Christmas tree ornament in it. Hope she doesn’t mind but I had to share a close up photo.

Just a quick share to show off these fab Christmas paintings Grace and I did. We did some stamping with her feet and hands to create Reindeer, such a cute idea and easy too. Grace loved getting all mucky with the paint too, normally a preschool only activity! lol