G'day

A series of photos taken during a weekend visit with my family in ‘the bush’.

Kangaroos on the horizon, we could not get any closer than this

aussie cows for my friend prolix

Merci - Thank You Friends

Thank you card to all my friends scattered about the globe who cheer me on to create.

Beginning

“With each sunrise it is a new beginning”

A cool morning on the boardwalk.

Brisbane

This was created as part of a challenge project to use a variety of patterned papers.

Heidi Grace series is an easy mix and match as they have some lovely things to choose from but then to up the challenge we went outside that range all the way to Rusty Pickles Ornate Tapestry a deeper shade of the tan colour in the background paper of Meadow Mini Flowers.

Cutting out the flourish was easy enough, bit of ink around the edges to help it all blend together and hey presto bingo it is as easy as all that.

Tomorrow

All the flowers of all the tomorrows

are the seeds of today

A piece from my favorite Altered Book that was featured in

Allyson Bright Meyer's Complete Idiot's Guide to Altered Art.

Courage

All your dreams can come true,
if you have
the courage
to pursue them.


Walt Disney

Altered Puzzle
as seen in Allyson Bright Meyer's Complete Idiot's Guide To Altered Art

Happiness

The happiness of the butterfly and the dolphin is to exist.
For man it is to know that and to wonder at it. Jacques Yves Cousteau

Recyled Wisdom

Teach us to number our days, so that we might apply our hearts to wisdom.
Psalms 90:12

An ‘Altered Book’ is when we take a discarded old unloved book and by alering with paint & paste, return it to that special state of being special & unreplaceable. The ultimate in recycling.

Fruit Tingle

Cut one medium sized pineapple in half
Chop out core and recycle
Leaving a 1 inch shell scoop out pineapple and chop into chunks, sprinkle with 4 tbps something yummy like Malibu or a coconut flavour syrup and leave for an hour to marinate.

Meringue, use very clean bowl to whip 3 egg whites till stiff (when you lift the beaters the peaks stay up) gradually add ¾ cup sugar and ½ tsp vanilla. Spoon meringue into a piping bag or plastic bag with corner cut off.

Pour pineapple pieces back into shell, spread 2 cups of the thickest richest full fat ice cream on top and seal with 1 inch slices of pound cake. Splash a little more Malibu if you like the taste. Pipe up meringue over the cake pieces. Bake 380F or 200C

for 5 or 6 mins to set the meringue and serve

Yummy sweet fruit tingle with ice cream and more.

Dreams & Determination

As you travel through life
your dreams will guide you
determination will get you there
& love will provide the greatest scenery of all

A page out of an Altered Book titled Madam Butterfly and themed on Love.

Views

If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it.

Our office had an athletic challenge event early in the morning. My disability prevented me from joining in and got to play team photographer instead. While I was waiting for everyone else to run the course, I took photos of Brisbane River at Sunrise.

Considering I was sitting out on the fun, it was not too bad a morning. For which this saying was just perfect for the Secret – embracing the good that one does have.

Song of the Sea

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever
Jacques Yves Cousteau

Happy Birthday to all my summer birthday friends living on the beach.

“S” themed challenge

Sheet music
Seaweed
Sand
Sea glass
Stamps
Sea shells
& Starfish

Art & Papercrafts

As part of the challenge to Scrapbook the Secret, we are working on pages with the topic of Shifters & Triggers, the things that put us in a such a strong positive frame of mind that it is impossible to feel bad. For me that has always been arts & crafts, more recently paper crafts and of course sharing them with friends. http://www.scrapbookingthesecret.blogspot.com/

Mail Art

Virginia Woolf is quoted as saying “ when I receive a letter, I feel loved “ such a nice sentiment as we all feel better after connecting with the special people in our lives.

This is a sample of some of the mail art classes we have taught recently.

More designs on the work table to share soon.

Life’s a Beach

Warning: readers from the Maritime to Cape Cod can skip this page or at least try and not to giggle while we share this recipe for left overs.
That’s right, left overs. When we travel it is natural to learn customs of the places you go and share a little of your own culture. For some lobster or crab is plentiful and we are always looking for creative ways to use it up in recipes like this one.
The first time I served this dish down under, people did the whole OMG this is incredible you must share the recipe dance. I laughed trying to explain it is just a bit of this and that stirred together but for them it was a delicacy.

In the spirit of sharing this is my ‘secret recipe’ for Seafood Dip which can double as a sandwich filling.

2 cups shreded crab or lobster meats
no extender please!
½ cup diced red/yellow/green bell peppers
depending on where you are from that is capsicum
¼ finely diced salad or red onion
¾ cup Miracle Whip -no not mayo
that’s the secret ingredient as it gives extra zip to the flavour
stir everything together
best to leave sit for a hour in the fridge to let your flavours mingle

To shake it up a little give the top a light sprinkle of smoked paprika or parsley

Adding a couple of shrimp or prawns on the top helps people identify it as seafood

You will have to excuse me know my fingers are a little sticky and there are left overs to deal with.

Family

This is a mini book I recently taught a class on. The brief was to make it a bit kitchen’y homespun which of course made me think of warm comforting quilts to base the design on.

Our family quilt was started generations in the past.
Designed with love, its pattern's rich in values that will last.
Each person sews another square of special memories that endure.
While challenges add strength that makes our family pull or add stitching to hold it together.
Threads of closeness, warmth, and caring make it cozy and more comforting with every year of sharing.






Recipe
for a happy family

In a bowl of loyalty cream together
A family of loving hearts
Mix well with respect & trust
½ cup of friendship
1cup of thoughtfulness
1 pinch of powdered tenderness
1 cup of hope & charity
Add gentleness, laughter and joy
Pour in much understanding (and don’t forget patience)
Moistened with tears of heartfelt sympathy
Bake for a lifetime in a good natured pan
Serve repeatedly to yield one happy growing family

Life Is.....

Life is not about "finding" yourself,

it is about "creating" yourself.

And of course it is the You that you put into anything

that makes it uniquely You.

Not sure if this is for Ngaire’s Beautiful Challenge or Scrapbooking The Secret Challenge

or a little of both.

Collage

Are you into sketches or collage?
This is a link to a page on the All The Rage blog as a sample of some of the columns that we are writing for the ezine. The launch date was postponed due to server and technical problems but in the mean time, that means you get lots of sneak peeks.

Check out the full column for how to directions on how to create your own picture collage. http://www.alltherageezine.name/2007/05/sketch-lesson-on-collage.html Feedback always appreciated.

Merci & Riconoscente & Agradecido & Thankful

Are you into ‘the secret’ Scrapbooking the Secret is a web site that is exploring the concepts in a creative forum. Links on the left if you would like to see more.

This is my first week’s submissions for the Secret, the dedication page of my gratitude journal and a page for my siblings who I am so proud of and forever linked to in so many ways.

And if anyone can tell me how to hot link the buttons to the web sites I would have even more to be grateful for.