Everyday Creativeness

Shades of Summer

2010-07-19T15:41:00.000+02:00

We are just loving how many of the photos are coming in - and boy do you all look fab in those white sunglasses!

Here is the latest lot of photos

They are coming in fast! Shades of Summer

2010-07-02T09:00:00.001+02:00

Some more great photos have already come in this past week.

Thanks to Phyllis in Switzerland, Karen and her very cute kids in The Netherlands, and Gislea and her very cool dog and Kathrin in Germany. Way to go Ladies!

Who will be next??

Shades of Summer Europe is on its way ...

2010-07-01T07:55:00.000+02:00

And we are already getting photos in, thanks Ladies!

Barbara posted these first lot of photos on her blog already from the girls in Germany

Here are Nina, Anne, Maike und Erin

Look out for some more photos over the next couple of days!!!

Shades of Summer 2010 European Edition

2010-06-07T20:54:00.003+02:00

Well it's that time of year again.

Elizabeth Kartchner's Shades of Summer is back and again this year we will be doing it here in Europe!!!

This year to help me out, we have on board Barbara Haane from Germany. You can check out her great blog here

Here are the details

1. You can't be moving this summer (because the package gets lost or doesn't get forwarded) or traveling extensively.

2. First, you take a photo wearing the sunglasses and email it to us and Liz

3. Second, you will ship a small box with the sunglasses in it to the next person on the list we will include in the box.

4. You must ship glasses & list of addresses with in 2 days of receiving them.

•The first 300 peeps to email me are included in all the fun.

•If you can follow the above rules email me at ShadesofSummerEurope@gmail.com in this exact format:

Name

Street address

City, State, Postcode

Country

Are you in?

Then drop us an email ShadesOfSummerEurope (at) gmail.com

You can find out more about Shades of Summer on Liz's Blog

Week in the life - Thursday

2010-04-27T21:49:00.001+02:00

So i am rather behind.

I did take the photos but a cold and a very busy weekend got in my way.

So here i am playing catch up

Our thursday from last week

Dylan found his Wiggles hat and was almost going to wear it

But then thought his rain jacket was the way to go.

Alexandra didnt forget to brush her teether before school

And off to school we go

It was 9 degrees when we headed out to school that morning.

I then headed back home after drop off and attempted to do a tidy up

Tried to make Quinoa brocoli for dinner - only i ate it

It was even warm enough for the kids to play outside in the evening

Phyllis came back from the State and had lots of goodies for me including some great party bags for Ali's bday this weekend

and 2 real simples too

And the sunset at the end of the day

Week in the life - Wednesday

2010-04-22T10:34:00.000+02:00

Today started off really well but by the afternoon i was feeling rather off color so the photos stopped. I did though remember to take my sunset pic though

So Wednesday started off well. The sun was shining so we decided to head outside and do some gardening. Before i got out there i did some ironing and had a nice chat to my Grandma.
Kids entertained themselves

First plan was to take out all the stones out of the garden

Dylan has decided it would be fun to keep throwing them off the balcony so we had to get rid of them - too dangerous with kids walking near our balcony on their way to school.

Then we got to work planting the strawberry plants and tomatoes too.

We were very excited to see plane flying in the sky too

No TV week - 3rd day in went really well too

no kid asked for it at all today - except when we were at a friends place in the afternoon.

Slowly at around 3.30 i started to get a sore throat and by the time i got home all i wanted to do was go to bed. Some how made the kids some sort of dinner and then headed to bed once Rolf got in. I feel asleep at 8.15pm

Week in the life - Tuesday

2010-04-21T07:40:00.000+02:00

What a very busy day Tuesday has been.

We all got up a little earlier than usual and got ready to head to school.

As there is no TV in our household this week, watching the news has been the one difficulty so have resorted to the internet

Alexandra again today did not want to go to school and was complaining of a "tummy ache" to try and get out of it. But once we got in the car she had forgotten all about it. After a quick drop off, we got there by the way in record time as the local schools are on spring break i headed to get some diesel and go went to go meet up with Fiona and Logan

Fiona and i had made very last minute plans to drive into Zurich to pick up my seamless background paper and then head to toys r us.

We ended up detouring via IKEA for some lunch and some shopping too

Before we knew it what was going to be a quick trip ended up being a whole day outing and it was time to head back to Zug and pick up the kiddies.

On the way home from school with the kids we dropped into the Garden Centre.

When i got home there was a lot in the car, and took quite a number of trips to get everything inside

we got home just in time before the rain hit. I really thought we would of had a chance to do a little gardening when we got home - but that will have to now wait for Wednesday

Was able to get Dylan a Zhu Zhu pet while out today - he was happy to have one too now

Wasnt able to wait for exact sunset as I had to head out to Mahjong but was able to capture this

Played Mahjong and really had a lovely time

Week in your life - Monday

2010-04-19T22:43:00.000+02:00

It has come around again, time to join Ali Edwards and document the week in the life on the Reinhards!

Today got off to a great start.
Had the normal everyday things to do first

Last night Rolf and I had decided to start a no TV week today, so I was really interested as to see how the kids reacted. Alexandra remembered as soon as she got up but Dylan didnt and went to put a DVD on. I then turned the power off to the TV and DVD so that there will be no temptations. I was really surprised at how the kids reacted. Only when Dylan was napping was it a little more difficult. Alexandra looses her room and toys while he naps but she then decided to have some Mama time instead so we read Creating Keepsakes Magazines together.

In the morning the kids both did some drawing and cutting and pasting. The play dough also got taken out and there was lots of cutting out and rolling to be done. I was able to hang out in my studio room (the room that now houses my photography equipment and my scrapbooking supplies) and finally take some time to tidy it all up. Alexandra and Dylan popped in now and again and Alexandra also got to go through some of my supplies that i no longer want.

In the afternoon, Alexandra hung out a bit upstairs and I was able to finish off the room, hang the washing out OUTSIDE!,

and chill with Dylan. Dylan did ask for the TV to be put on when he woke up but once i told him that we werent watching tv today he said ok and found something else to do. The kids also played under the clothes stand too, pretending to be cats.

What was difficult TV wise was not being able to watch CNN when i wanted. I am obviously watching with much anticipation on what is going to happen with this volcano as I head to Australia in 13 days. So i spent some time on the net checking up on the latest -which is Zurich is closed till 8am Tuesday morning.

After dinner when we went upstairs I was able to catch a quick look at the news.

Oh and another exciting thing i did today :) I almost forgot. I finally registered my own domain name for my photography business!! Finally feel like the ball is starting to roll.

Wow what a day

Crafting

2010-03-12T16:05:00.000+01:00

Found 30 spare minutes yesterday to scrap - made a layout and a card and all thanks to this new class over at Shimelle.com it's just what i needed :)

My poor little guy ....

2010-03-12T14:02:00.000+01:00

We haven't had a lot of luck with this little guy since we have been back from Australia. He has had cold after cold which has turned into lung infections, ear infections and now Bronchitis. Too many Dr's visits in the last 2 months, too many bottles of medications, and too many days staying inside.

Fingers crossed Spring is around the corner and he recovers quickly from this one.

How much stuff do I have .......

2010-03-11T09:33:00.000+01:00

I am taking a new class. Something to get my back in the scrapping mood. The class is over at Shimelle.com and is called Something from (almost) nothing. Part of the pre assignment was to take pictures of our Stash - so here it is a sneak peek into my stash.

The sun ....

2010-02-28T21:17:00.002+01:00

The sun shone for a couple of hours yesterday morning and boy did we enjoy it. We are really getting excited to welcome Spring and say goodbye to Winter and all the layers that come with Winter.

Our little Artist

2010-02-23T21:25:00.001+01:00

Alexandra can really surprise us sometimes! She has really been enjoying drawing lately and i cannot wait to make her own little artist corner in her room soon.

Tonight she started drawing as usual and wouldnt let any of us look at it. And this was the result. I'm amazed at how much progress she has made in a couple of weeks.

First skiing lesson

2010-02-21T17:07:00.000+01:00

Today we were up and out of the house by 9am! Crazy for a Sunday right. We had Alexandra's first skiing lesson at 10am and we were all super excited about it. Yesterday we headed into town and bought Alexandra's first ski helmet and googles and she (and Dylan too) wore them all day.

Anyway the day was just beautiful. Blue skies and quite warm. There were a couple of tears in the first session. Alexandra just could not control her feet. But after a much needed break she was then up and ready to try again. She did such a great job and we are so very proud of her.

Repurposing and reorganizing

2010-02-19T13:24:00.002+01:00

We have had a big clean out, clean up and reorganizing out entire apartment. The first project was the kids room, but that has not been completed just yet - we then moved around our entire living space and we are loving the new functions is presents us. The best so far for me, is repurposing a lovely cupboard that we as our office storage.

I had all those IKEA boxes in our hallway in a bookcase and it was driving me insane at how messy it looked. But then i had an idea to see if they fit inside the cupboard where we moved our desk next to, and it does. Perfectly! As if it was made just for this. I love find like this.

Where have i been?

2010-02-18T15:32:00.000+01:00

So it for sure has been awhile.

It wasnt until today that I actually started to see some sort of normality around our home and felt that i could start blogging again.

We were in Australia for 2 months and boy did we have fun. But 2 months away is tough. It was tough to get back into the swing of things. Plus with both children being ill and having visited the Drs 5 times in not even 3 weeks - something had to give.

So now that is out of the way, here is to more blogging!

And a blog post is never complete without a photo

Before I pack it: My Travel Album

2009-11-13T14:02:00.000+01:00

I have really enjoyed putting my Travel Album for our Australian Road trip together. Here is the final product - obviously without the journalling and photos yet.

First Destination: Sydney

First Drive

Second Destination: Hunter Valley

Second Drive

Third Destination Port Macquarie

Third Drive

Fourth Destination: Coffs Harbour

Fourth Drive

Fifth Desination:Casuarina

By the time we leave Casuarina I will be able to stop my Travel Album (even though we are not coming home) and start on my December Daily to document the lead up to Christmas.

Shades of Summer !!!

2009-11-12T17:48:00.001+01:00

So the European Shades of Summer has come to the end in .... November. We waited and waited for the package to arrive from Finland but it didnt and so had to use the back up glasses for the last person in Switzerland - luckily I know her and she didnt mind at all - thanks Phyllis!

So we have had photos from Austria, Finland, Spain, Northern Ireland, The Netherlands and Switzerland!!!!

Thanks everyone who participated and look forward to doing again next year!

December Daily

2009-11-11T16:12:00.000+01:00

I love that I am organized this year for my December Daily. Last year I had hardly any Christmas supplies and therefore ordered Ali's Kit from Cocoa Daisy and had to wait well into December for it. This year the aim of my album was to keep it simple. I will be away from my scrapping supplies for the entire month of December so I do not have a lot of chances to add to it. I also used a lot of page protectors this year for the same reason - i want it to be protected.

So here it is:

I used mostly Pink Paislee Pattern Paper and American Crafts Cardstock

My Halloween Baby

2009-11-10T16:48:00.000+01:00

I am a little late posting this - but hey better late than never right?

Dylan is our little Halloween Baby! He turned 2 and we had a fab day celebrating with him.

Woke up in the morning and I had put out the presents from us. Mostly Thomas stuff as well as that train table top i made (ok painted)

He was so excited to open each and every present and said CHOO CHOO a lot.

Thanks to my Mum we didnt have an entire Thomas birthday. She got him this fantastic airport and airplane that he loves!

But all the rest of the Thomas stuff were still loved - he just got a lot of it.

And a huge surprise was that he did not get one double. Amazing.

In the evening Rolf's family came over for dinner and cake.

And he was one tired kid by the end of it all.

Travel Album - Part 1

2009-11-09T12:59:00.004+01:00

Somehow the days have gotten away from me. Sorry for not posting in awhile. Thought I would share my travel album that i have created for our trip to Australia. Today I will show the first part, making of the first pages and the front cover. Hopefully during the rest of the week i will be able to share the finished product, my finished December Daily album and some birthday photos - my little boy turned 2 last week.

Here is the outside of my travel album.

The inspiration from this Album came from Shimelle Laine's Tuesday Tutorial over at Ali Edwards' Blog I used a Making Memories Great Escape 8x8 album At this stage I am probably going to have to switch out the binding rings that came with it to larger ones as I have jammed it full of pages.

The Title Page

using Making Memories and Scenic Route papers with American Crafts rubon and used my Slice for the letters.

The Album came with 4 divider pages with tabs and we have 5 locations where will travel to - so had to rethink how I was going to use them. I ended up deciding to use them to document the actual road travel between each stop.

I printed out the actual Google Map for each of our drives onto Bazill Cardstock.

I watered down white paint and painted it over the maps, which were mounted on brown cardstock

I used distress ink and a square piece of cardboard to mask a shape onto the divided tab page and it gives a nice boarder around the map

I then layered some products onto the map to give it more interest.

I will then document our journey of the page - any funny photos, stories of getting lost (of course there are going to be some of those) etc.

I also made 2 title pages using some KI Memories Lace paper and some modge podge.

I stuck the lace on with the modge podge and then put more modge podge over the top to protect it more. I love the sheen it gives.

I will try and take some photos of the finished product to share tomorrow

The hills are alive with the sound of music ....

2009-10-19T14:43:00.003+02:00

Some quick photos from a great weekend away. I cannot tell you how much I love Salzburg - it is such a beautiful city and I really cannot wait to go back. It was cold and rainy and snow at times and I still want to go back! May want to go back in late spring though with a chance of blue skies and no clouds hiding the beautiful mountains though.

The train journey from Switzerland to Salzburg was just over 6 hours - a long time to sit on your butt but I had some tv catch up to do so my iPhone got a work out.

Loved the Sound of Music tour too - it is of course very cheesy but lots of fun and great to see the sights from my all time fav movie.

The Weather

2009-10-15T18:24:00.002+02:00

We have been having crazy weather here in Switzerland. Last Wednesday it was 27 degrees C and the sun was shining, fast forward just over 7 days and it is cold and you can see snow on top of the mountains. It is so cold today that the kids wore their winter coats and when you breath in the air you can feel how cold it is. Driving home from a friends this afternoon at 5.30pm and it was 5 degrees C.

I am heading out for the weekend - heading to Salzburg. Most might think of Salzburg and Mozart but not me. For me Salzburg is "the hills are alive with the sound of music"! This has been my the top of my list of places i want to visit here in Europe and after 8 1/2 years i am finally getting there!

Some Cards

2009-10-04T21:30:00.002+02:00

Made some cards over the weekend and thought i would share some of them quickly.

London Baby!

2009-10-01T09:00:00.000+02:00

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to head to London for three nights. Back in Australia it was my 10 year high school reunion and i would of loved to of gone - but hey cant have it all. So Rolf suggested i head to London instead. I have a couple of friends from high school living over there. I had a lovely and relaxing weekend!

Friday night Clare, Peta and I had dinner out at a great Thai place (and it just so happens that i had been there before with other friends last london visit!) We then went to see Grease the musical - was a little cheesy but still really enjoyed it!

Saturday was spent shopping. We then had a nice pub meal to finish off the day. My first visit to a real english pub.

Sunday was just an amazing day weather wise. Who knew London got such nice weather ;). Clare and I went for a walk down regent street while waiting to meet Peta and Bec for brunch. The sun was shining, it wasnt too hot or too cold. Perfect.

We then decided we didnt like where we had plans to go for brunch so out came the A-Z ( a bible for anyone living in London) and the blackberry and we found a new place.

After brunch, which was just amazing - banana and peacan filled french toast - YUM YUM YUM - we went for a walk in Regent Park (i think thats the name)

It was such a nice weekend, and so nice to be able to catch up with my friends.

Self Portrait by 4 year old

2009-09-30T21:08:00.002+02:00

When i uploaded photos from my old point and shoot that Rolf used on the weekend while i was away I was surprised to see a lot of photos that Alexandra has taken over the past months. We let her use this camera whenever she wants, and when Rolf gets his new point and shoot sometime before we head to Australia she will then be able to have this one as her own.

What amazed me was that Alexandra thought it would be cool to take some self portraits. She was using the shelf in a bookcase in my scrap area and when i walked in and saw it - i thought hey why didnt i think of that before!

I then put the self timer on for her and got these shots.
She has this little obsession with this pose. She makes Bethany pose like this everytime she is over here. Not sure where she got the idea from but i think it is kinda cute.

I have been scrapbooking!!!!

2009-09-20T10:44:00.002+02:00

I finally was about to scrapbook this week. I feels like ages since i got out my paper and adhesive and just got creative.

Firstly at Phyllis' on Thursday where i could scrap from 9am-2.30pm without any kids I got three layouts done

This morning I woke up and thought i really need to scrap so did this layout in between breakfast, watching the kids and getting ready for the day.

An award

2009-09-16T13:12:00.002+02:00

Well I have never got a Blog award before. So a big thanks to Martina on of my European Shades of Summer girls who gave me this award!

The rules are to tell the world 5 things about myself. Things that I like to do. Then I have to give the Award on to 10 more people who have a great blog (um, maybe i wont make it to 10)

1. Photography - Think people have gotten the hint recently that I have really gotten into photography. And everything about it makes me happy. I am still learning and have a long way to go but am really enjoying the process. FINALLY found something that i love to do.

2. Reading Information books - I used to read a lot of novels. But I don't really anymore, which is a shame but my brain just cant handle a whole book at the moment. But what I have always loved are books about things. Where I learn something. So currently I am reading Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Also next to my bed is a couple of Homemade Books and a ton of other photography books

3. Creating - I havent given up scrapbooking at all and still love the creative freedom it gives me. I love now that my photos are just that bit better then they were before and makes me enjoy scrapbooking even more.

4. Teaching Alexandra to read - I am teaching Alexandra to read in English and I am having so much fun doing it. Not only do we get to spend some 1 on 1 time together but I love how she loves to learn. She keeps asking me what that word says and starts to sound out words. Love it!!!

5. Organizing - I still love to organize. Currently high on my organizing list has been Dylan's 2nd birthday party in October and for our road trip to Australia in november. Lots of papers to file and ideas to organize!!!

So who will i send this on to.

Sara - love her daily blogs!

Angie - a blog friend who i havent chatted with in ages!

Christine - another great blog friend!!!

Marjo - in Finland one of our SOS girls! I don't understand Finish but love to look at the photos!

Shades of Summer Update!!!

2009-09-15T20:40:00.001+02:00

Well I think we are going to do it girls! I got an email a couple of days ago saying that the glasses are now on their way back to Switzerland!!!!!!! So just one stop more (and an easy stop - I scrap at her place once a week ;) ) and they will be back in my hands! Very excited!

As soon as I have the last photo in I will make sure I post all our great photos! Fantastic!

Christmas wish list for kids!

2009-09-08T12:59:00.007+02:00

I have been doing a bit of surfing lately looking for suggestions for when people ask what to get my kids for christmas.

If money were no issue check out these play rugs.

I think something like this would be perfect for Alexandra.

How cute are these fabric stickers

Love the idea of this found here

Think something like this would be a cool idea for a little boy

Ella Publishing is up and running!

2009-09-07T15:18:00.002+02:00

The moment I have been waiting for has arrived.
Ella Publishing is now officially up and running and you can go and check it out over here

Now to decide which book to buy first?
I am thinking Rebecca Cooper's photography book looks fantastic!

Also I am really looking forward to the Ezine that comes out tomorrow.

What a week

2009-09-05T19:30:00.003+02:00

There has been headaches, fevers, runny noses, bad coughs, tummy aches, vomiting, grumpy kid, grumpy parents and not much sleep.

Poor Alexandra really got the bad end of it, and most of today was laying down on the couch doing nothing.

But hopefully we are past the worst of it and the new week can be enjoyed!

This weekend I have been able to do a layout. This is one of the first layouts I have done in a long long time - well it feels like that anyway.

A card and a box

2009-09-01T19:56:00.004+02:00

On the weekend I was able to take some time to make some cards. I have been trying to use up my old scrapbooking kits and here is one i created - using mostly Crate products.

I have been waiting for a couple of boxes to arrive. Finally 2 of the 3 arrived today. I got my first Cocoa Daisy kit and cant wait to have a play. And then the second surprise was my warehouse box from Sassafras!!!!

I thought I would share what i got in the box!

Some clear stamps: Gas hogs and the other is an mix alpha

Buttons!!!! Love how these are already threaded and are self adhesive.

Had no idea Sassafras did 6x6 pages!

Some diecuts

Lots of die cut sticker sheets

tons of alphas

some felties and flowers

And then the pattern papers starts:

I did not own one sheet of any of these papers so it was well worth the purchase.

There was also some chipboard stickers, rubons and some stickers!
Now I just need to find time to scrap!

So where have I been?

2009-08-29T21:43:00.002+02:00

Well life has been truly busy.

1. finishing off my Photography Class with Karen Russell. So sad that it has comet to an end. I have one more assignment to post and hope to do that tomorrow. I have learnt so much from this class, and know that when i take my time and go over the lessons I will learn so much more.

2. Back to school this past week. Both kids started at a new school this past week. We had to change from their old school as we had a major disagreement with them and there was no way i was sending my kids to a school i didnt trust. Anyway so the first day of school went without a hitch - both kids went well, even little Dylan.

3. I have been working on a new photography blog. Over the past weeks I have been taking a lot of photos and some have been turning out really well. So i wanted one spot to keep them all together, hence the new blog. You can check it out at Kristin Reinhard Photography It is still a work in progress though.

4. I was in Geneva and Nyon over the last two days. Putting in Dylan's Australian Passport Application and visiting some good friends. I had a lovely time!

I hope to get back to regular blogging soon

Proud of my Dad!

2009-08-24T10:52:00.002+02:00

I am super proud of my Dad today!

The local animal aid shelter near him was attacked by vandals. I cannot imagine how anyone can do such a thing. Their van was also damaged.

My Dad went and donated a van to them. It was caught by Channel Nine News.

You can watch the video here

So proud of you Dad!

Back to School

2009-08-23T22:09:00.004+02:00

Last Friday started our School year for 2009/2010! Alexandra started back at her Swiss playgroup with a new teacher! And without many tears. This week will be the big test as she starts her new English speaking School - in Pre Kindergarten

Shades of Summer Update!!!

2009-08-22T21:56:00.002+02:00

I am happy to report that the Shades of Summer has almost done it's way round Europe. I think, if my memory is correct there is only 2 people left on the list. Think that its great that everyone has kept it going. Once I get the last two photos in I will post all the pics!!!!

Some recent Photos

2009-08-20T15:54:00.002+02:00

Yes, I said I would be back earlier this week, but the weather has just been too nice to stay inside. Plus we have had a lot going on getting ready for our first day back at school tomorrow. Alexandra's playgroup starts back up tomorrow.

Here are some recent photos I took of the kids: Alexandra Has to take a photo to school with her tomorrow and I think she choose the second one.

One thing before i go

2009-08-13T20:47:00.001+02:00

Check this post out if you are a Sassafras Fan!

Yes they are having their Warehouse sale - and are also sending out boxes too.

I have just emailed them to ask them if they will ship to Switzerland and what the damage would be if they can.

Taking a blog break

2009-08-13T17:21:00.000+02:00

Well if you hadn't noticed I have been taking a blog break. I hadn't intended on it but this week has been busy. Swimming lessons every morning is taking it out of me.

So next week when things calm down a little I will get back to blogging!

Messing Around

2009-08-06T23:15:00.001+02:00

Please excuse my Blog while I am trying out some new things.

It may look a little messy for a couple of days but will try and have things looking great before the weekend is over!

Wish I knew html!

I made my own frame today

2009-08-06T16:29:00.003+02:00

And it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I actually was able to guess some of the steps before Jessica mentioned them on the video. She really is an amazing teacher and if you havent yet taken one of her classes you really should!

Brush Abilities

2009-08-04T13:35:00.002+02:00

Day 2 of Brush Abilities - Today I was able to make a great background for a great quote.

I found my quote at Inspirationpeak.com and the quote is from Karen Ravn. I think I will be printing this out and framing it and putting it in my scraproom. Good inspiration!

Brush Abilities

2009-08-03T10:10:00.002+02:00

Today is Day 1 of my Brush Abilities Class over at Jessica Sprague!

I want to stay on top of this class, so got to work straight away. Here is my finished project. Love how i learnt how to make those butterflies in the background almost disappear and love the big butterfly - think its called a clip mask?

Recap from the 1st August!

2009-08-02T21:17:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we celebrated Swiss National Day. The weather was perfect, and we were up and ready by 8.30am to head out for brunch. A farm in Cham, a village about 20 mins from us, held the brunch. We met up with a lot of our friends and had a great time!

There was bacon, eggs, rösti (grated fried potato), cheeses, meats, breads, jogurts and then desserts. The kids were entertained by the animals. Here is Alexandra with a rabbit.

And Dylan loved the tractor. He kept heading over to where it was and wanting to sit up on it.
I got to catch up with a lot of my friends! Here is a photo of Kirsten and I!
And then a friend's father asked to use my camera to take a photo of Dylan and I, since i had been taking photos of everyone else all morning. How nice was that - and love how the photo turned out. Phyllis said i have to use this photo in the album about me I will be making with Cathy Z at BPS this September! I agree - despite Dylan not being too impressed.
Then at around 2pm we headed home and got ready for a little party. We had invited a couple of other friends over for dinner. We, the adults, had a lot of fun, and i think all the kids did too.
Then just after 8pm church bells, the alp horn was played down at the school below us and then the men with their cow bells walked down to the school from near our place (there was a village party down at the school) I got this photo from our balcony as they were walking past.

And of course there was cupcakes! Alexandra said that since it was Switzerland's birthday we have to make cupcakes. Love how they turned out. Thanks Phyllis for the cupcake holder - it works great!
Then finally it started to get dark and we were able to see some fireworks and some of the bonfires around the lake. They are the tiny dots on the Mountain.
The village across the lake had some great fireworks. Wish I had a better zoom lens cause they were great!

We had a great time! Loved spending time with all our friends, we are so lucky to have such great friends here in Switzerland!

1st August

2009-08-01T23:14:00.000+02:00

It's Swiss national day today!
Just getting into bed after an amazing day full of great friends!

Will blog tomorrow all about it - think I went a little overboard with the photos!

Have you met Ella?

2009-07-30T20:55:00.005+02:00

That seems to be the words on everyones lips, well their blogs and tweets anyway.

Ella Publishing

A creation by Lain Ehmann and Angie Lucas - formally of Simple Scrapbooks have some up with a new Publishing company that will focus of e-books! From what I have read, they will be reasonably priced too. Cathy Zielske is designing them all. And scrapbookers such as Stacy Julian, Rebecca Cooper and Wendy Smedley have been mentioned as future authors!

So what do you think about it all?

I think it is a fantastic idea. Something that I will for sure buy. Living in Switzerland, however beautiful, clean and safe it is, does have it down sides. It is expensive to buy scrapbooking magazines and books. So if I can buy things over the internet and print out if i need to here at home - PERFECT!!! It will save me money, time waiting for things from the States to be delivered and well that just makes me happy! Plus there will be a free eZine released every month!

So what are you waiting for, go over and sign up to their mailing list

And if you want to hear more go check out Paperclipping

American Crafts reveal

2009-07-28T18:23:00.003+02:00

Mellypea at Two Peas is putting up videos of all the new realeases from CHA!

Of course I have been waiting for the American Crafts full product reveal and Mellypea has put up part 1 of 3 of he American Craft reveal.

Check out:

Blue Skies

Merry Men (think thats right)

Their Halloween and Valentine's collections

Catching up

2009-07-27T20:18:00.002+02:00

I am playing catch up on my photography course with Karen Russel. I have been reading and downloading the lessons but just not 100% completing and uploading the assignments. So today my goal was to get weeks 2 and 3 up (thank goodness it's break week) and here are a couple of photos from those assignments.

I love this photo of Dylan. Using a fast shutter speed I was able to freeze the motion of water. He loved that i just left the hose and let him play. He gave me that look, am I really allowed to have free rain of the hose?!

Then this evening I worked on Aperture. I love this photo. This first flag is in focus and the rest of the photo isn't. The photo has a shallow depth of field as I used a wide aperture (f1.4).

While looking for baskets

2009-07-26T17:25:00.002+02:00

Of course, when you go shopping for a specific thing, you can never find it. Yesterday we all headed to Interio, a home decor store. Rolf took the kids to the outside ball pit and slide while i had 20 mins to myself to find some baskets for our shoe rack. I did not find any baskets that would fit (well i may of been able to, but forgot to bring the piece of paper with the dimensions on it - yes silly me - but hey I have been sick) But I did find some other things that i loved!

I did not buy them, started with a new theory of taking a photo of them first going away and thinking about them before buying!

Look at these chopping boards (i actually do need new chopping boards!) No cross contamination can happen with these ones - one for fish, one for meat, one for veg, the fourth one i can't figure out but maybe for dairy?

And then i came across these great soap dispenser and place for a sponge! Love the retro feeling and it came in some great colors!

How to manage a testing 4 year old?

2009-07-24T20:45:00.002+02:00

We are 3 weeks out from the end of summer holidays. I am very much looking forward to the routine of back to school, and with two kids at playgroup/pre kindergarten twice a week I am going to have 2 days to myself. I will miss the school holidays though - it has been fun not having to be somewhere at a certain time on most days. But routine really suits my kids. Alexandra has been a little testing over the past weeks. Not sure what it is exactly but something needed to be done and I think we have found the answer:

The flower!

Inspired by watching the Super Nanny one night on TV, I made this flower with Petals. I used a large sheet of black cardstock as the background. Cut out green cardstock for the stem. White for the pot, where i stapled a cut up page protector to be used as a pocket to store the petals. I drew a petal template and traced around it on pink cardstock. A yellow circle out of felt for the center and here is my good behaviour chart.

Everytime Alexandra is a good girl she gets a petal. To be more specific, We have divided the day up into 3 sections: Morning, Lunchtime/Quiet Time, late afternoon/evening. So she knows that around 11.30am, 3pm and 8pm we will discuss how she has been behaving over the past couple of hours. If she has been good she gets to add a petal, if she hasnt then she has to take one off. If she has though been really naughty (like running off in a car park or a huge tantrum for no good reason) she has to take one off there and then.

So far it is working well. She is really proud of getting petals and hates having the petals taken away. We have gotten up to 6 petals at one stage but a testing morning today means we are back down to 4. I must admit I am yelling less, trying to take deep breathes when she is testing me and try to get down on her level and explain why it is why it is. Hopefully by the time school starts we will be through the worst of it!

Got to love parenting dont you. You think you have it all under control and then they go through another phase. I am really learning what works for other kids doesnt always work for Alexandra. Every kid is different.

Any one have any other sort of bahaviour charts or systems that work for you and your kids? Would love to hear them!

Trying to make myself feel better

2009-07-23T17:29:00.003+02:00

So i scrapped.

Well actually this was from Monday when i wasnt feeling great but not too bad. Trying to convince myself that i wasnt ill. Got inspiration from the cover of CK August 09.

I used a monthly kit from Dani Peuss, not sure if it was this month's kit or lasts. And of course had to add some thickers! I have never used a tag like that on my layouts before and really like how it looks. Used a pop dot between the flower and the tag!

Feeling a little bit better this afternoon. At first did not know if it was the coke i drank at lunchtime or whatever i have passing. But now 6 hours later I am still feeling ok! Not 100% but much better than yesterday!

not feeling 100%

2009-07-21T22:35:00.000+02:00

I was on a roll there for a bit, blogging everyday! But yesterday I woke up feeling terrible. Today hasn't been much better. So very very tired, sineus pain, headache, cough oh the list could go on. So feeling sorry for myself. And just my luck the weather has turned beautiful and all I want to do is go to bed. Here's hoping I wake up all better tomorrow!

catch up day

2009-07-19T22:40:00.000+02:00

Today was catch up day:

Caught up on laundry!

Caught up on bills!

Caught up on a couple of to do lists including writing up the recipes we love in excel so no more excuses of not knowing what to cook (want to make them into a book once I am caught up on other projects)

I also compiled my list of half finished projects so that I don't start any others till I finish them.

Got to talk to my dad, my sister and my grandma

Talked with Rolf about our Australian trip but didn't book flights .....yet

Packed the swimming bag ready for Alexandras first swimming class tomorrow.

So I am ready for a new week!

Finally we go to the Transport Museum!

2009-07-18T20:09:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we headed out with Fiona with Harrison and Logan and Natasha and Nate to the Transport Museum in Luzern. We had a great time despite the weather playing games with us. Typically it starts to pour with rain and get harder and harder when i am pushing a pram with two boys in it from the carpark to the enterance!

We had a great time exploring all there was to see. Here are a couple of photos of my kids from the day.

Dylan playing with the cars

Alexandra played with the cars too.

Walking like they were in space!
They had a ton of scooters outside for everyone to use. They were all different sizes so there were some for everyone!

We will be back for sure! Especially as we found out that the yearly pass isnt that expensive!

Is it just me or ...

2009-07-17T18:51:00.003+02:00

is anyone else jealous of Mr Maker's Doodle Drawers?

Wouldn't they be the best drawers to hold all those scrapbooking embellishments :)

(For those of you who have no idea who Mr Maker is - he makes crafts for kids to do andwe watch him every evening on the BBC kids channel Cbeebies!

Scrapping the Music

2009-07-16T19:37:00.002+02:00

I have been looking at the Scrapping the Music challenge blog for months now saying I will participate in another challenge but the week somehow gets away from me. This week however when i stopped by the song I heard was one I loved and instantly a layout came to mind.

Here it is: You really know how to dance.

No matter how many times i tried to scan this, it just didnt give justice to the layers. Think next time i will be photographing my layouts.

Storing those punches

2009-07-15T09:23:00.004+02:00

I read a post over at Scrapbook Obsession today about how she organizes her punches and thought that i would share how I organize my punches.

I have these rails and baskets from IKEA, they are so cheap and were easy to put up (well they were for me as my husband got the job to put them up!) I really love having my punches right there above my workspace. My larger punches are up the top, smaller ones just below and then those that don't fit hanging on the metal rods are in the basket below the smaller punches.

The only down side is that i have little marks (which are there because I am not so careful when taking them off and putting them away) on my walls from some of the punches - but that doesnt bother me at all cause it's hidden when the punches are in the place. Got to compromise somewhere!

Before I had this I used to store them in a little tote just like Erika over at Scrapbooking Obsession!

Loving the Sneak Peeks!

2009-07-14T18:02:00.004+02:00

Have you been loving the sneak peeks the manufacturers have been giving over the past weeks getting ready for CHA at the end of the month? I sure have been really excited about some of the lines that are being released.

Today i saw that Cosmo Cricket have sneaked their new lines:

Loving this one from the Earth Love line:

This one from the Boyfriend Line

And this one from the Jolly by Golly line

American Crafts have also given some great sneaks over the past weeks.

Loving all the new Thicker Fonts but these are for sure a fav:

Loving this from their Halloween collection, especially as it has the OCT 31 date on it - just happens to be my son's birthday!

Also love this made from the collection. Think i am going to use it as inspiration for Dylan's birthday invitations.

Love these stamps as well as the pens for stamping as well as the pink Embossing dryer.

What are you fav sneaks?

Shades of Summer European Edition!

2009-07-13T11:23:00.003+02:00

Today starts the Shades of Summer European Edition! I am sending out the first box today down to Spain - so watch your mailboxes if you signed up!!!

So they are on their way

Update on my paper storage and a layout!

2009-07-12T20:52:00.005+02:00

Not sure if i ever updated after i did some organizing of my cardstock and patterned paper and my monthly kits. So here are some photos.

I have organized my cardstock by color. I have mostly Bazzill Cardstock, but have started stocking up American Crafts Cardstock too. I really love AC Cardstock as I use AC pattern paper a lot so i love that it is easier to match! Just wished someone here in Switzerland would start stocking it and I didnt have to keep getting it from the UK.

At the front of the cropper hoppers above are 3 file folders. I love them, and don't know what i did without them. The hold my current projects that i am working on and so if i get a spare moment I pull one of them out and work on a project. It also works well for me to stop myself starting more projects that i can handle (which i am well known for doing)

Here is my pattern paper. I sort firstly by manufacturer, which really works for me. Then there are some papers that i don't have enough of to sort that way so i sort them by color or multi color/ pattern.
This is my new kit club organizing system. I have used 12 dividers with each month labelled on each divider. As a new kit comes in each month, i take out the old kit and replace it with the new one. I then try and use the old kit for a couple of days and then the leftovers are then sorted into my regular stash.

Each section in my cropper hopper has a zip lock bag in the front of the papers. Here i store all the scraps that i want to keep together. It's really working well and I have them also in front of each month for my kits.

And finally I started scrapping again and have a layout to share! I used the July kit from Dani Peuss and that ribbon is from Making Memories.

Today I finally was able to take my photo for Shades of Summer and will be sending on the glasses tomorrow!

Why is it .....

2009-07-11T21:15:00.002+02:00

.... that when i want to take my photo for the Shades of Summer the sun disappears.

I promise, promise, promise to get those boxes out to the first people on my list on Monday. I really have no excuse as I live above a post office.

And in true Switzerland style - of course i could not find two of the same glasses. So they are different shades of pink :(. Hopefully though I will be able to find some more so they can all match.

Is it too early to plan for Christmas?

2009-07-10T13:27:00.003+02:00

Yes you read right!

I have started thinking about Christmas. Not sure what started it. Maybe that we are now under 6 months till Christmas, or maybe it's that we have been planning our Christmas holiday to Australia these past weeks. But whatever the reason, I really need to be organized this year. No last minute presents, all well planned out is my goal this year.

We are going on a road trip for a couple of weeks before christmas so i have to have all my presents done before then. And as we will not be in Switzerland for christmas this year i have to make sure that all the presents are bought, wrapped and delivered for all the famiyl here, before we head down under in the middle of November. Yes the MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER. Thats when i usually start thinking about christmas.

So things on my to do list this month:

1. Make a gift list

2. Figure out what gifts i want to make

3. Start process of making calendars.

- choose photos

- choose design

4. Start making Yearly highlight DVD - super easy now i have my seasonal highlights set up from Library of Memories.

5. Make Holiday card list

6. Start looking around for 25 days of christmas album.

7. Start gift suggestion list for our presents (my parents and grandparents always want to know what to get the kids! The gifts have to be smallish and light cause we have to bring them back home from Australia - not an easy task)

So do you think i am crazy? Do you usually make Christmas gifts? Any ideas you want to share?

Enjoying my Photography course!!!!!!

2009-07-09T18:34:00.001+02:00

I am really really enjoying my photography class with Karen Russell. Everything so far is going great, and she gave such a in depth critique on my first assignment.

So here are three of my photos that i submitted for our assignment last week on composition.

Summer is here!!!

2009-07-05T20:49:00.002+02:00

As of this weekend, we are on Summer holidays!

Alexandra had her last day of Swiss playgroup on Friday. After the summer i have one girl in pre Kindergarten and a little boy in playgroup. Where does the time go.

To celebrate the start of summer, the weather actually played and was beautiful yesterday. We went to the Badi and hung out with some friends who just happen to be there too. Great minds think a like.

Will be sending out the Shades of Summer Glasses later this week - so those who have signed up here in Europe watch out for an email sometime before Wednesday!

WOW ....

2009-07-03T19:24:00.004+02:00

Check out this

Ck has apparently been sold and a lot of layoffs have occurred. It is unfortunate about the layouts, especially in these terrible economic circumstances, but hopefully this is the shake up CK needs.

Look what arrived yesterday .....

2009-07-01T08:14:00.003+02:00

Good Morning everyone, I had actually planned on blogging everyday over summer, but have already missed a day. Yesterday was super busy and I am not sure where it went :). We had a 4 year old birthday party, parent teacher meeting and 4 guests over for dinner. But one the of highlights was for sure this package i got in the mail:

I read about Pink Paislee having a warehouse sale on the Scrapbooking Obsession blog. I just had to buy it, even with the international shipping. Well what a surprise when the package arrived yesterday morning! It had soooo much stuff in it. A ton of pattern paper, 5 or so transparencies, 2 packages of chipboard, brads and ribbon. A ton of alpha stickers, a ton of rubons and 2 sets of stamps. Now i just can't wait to get scrapping with these goodies!

Summer is here!!!!

2009-06-29T20:37:00.004+02:00

Wow! Today was a hot one. After the cold weather of last week, where it felt more like the starting of winter rather than summer, its a huge surprise! And guess what - its tipped to get warmer! Think its time to go out and buy a paddling pool for the kiddies.

We are in week 1 of the photographer's workshop with Karen Russel and boy, does the work start today! I was nicely surprised to see how much work was put into just one lesson today - we are covering composition this week. We have 3 assignments to cover with 2 photos per assignment to upload. So i should get back to my desk and do some reading :)

There are still some places in the Shades of Summer Europe Edition :) - will keep it open till the end of the week and then once that passes - i will start the fun!

Some paintings!

2009-06-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

All the way back in February I think it was I came across Jana Beck's paintings on Elizabeth Kartchner's blog. I loved how she did them and thought straight away of my husband's birthday. Well last month it was his birthday - and these lovely paintings above were his present. Thanks so much to Jana - they are great!

Talking of paintings, did i mention that i took a painting class while we were on holidays in Austria earlier this month? Well here is the finished painting. My first ever painting. I really really love the background and had to get the teacher to convince me to actually paint the flowers i was to paint. I'm for sure not going to give up my day job (actually what day job ;) ) but it sure is fun.

When I need inspiration .....

2009-06-27T09:00:00.000+02:00

I have been going through old magazines and tearing out pages that inspire me. So yesterday I took the big pile of torn out pages and made them into a booklet of inspiration. I think I got the idea to put them on a binder ring from Lain from one of of Scrap Happy podcasts. Sorry if i am wrong.

I have stuck each layout onto a 6x4 index card (that i had bought for another purpose and never used - so repurposing!!) and the next to the layout i have written who made the layout and why i love it.

I have also made a project ideas booklet, and a layout idea booklet.

So no more keeping magazines and not going back to look at them.

What do you do with the layouts you love from magazines?

Shades of Summer season 2 comes to Europe!!!!!

2009-06-26T10:45:00.005+02:00

photo from Elizabeth Kartchner.

So excited to be hosting the European version of Shades of Summer. Elizabeth Kartchner started this great idea up last year. Sending sunglasses from Blogger to Blogger around The States and everyone taking a photo of themselves in the glasses! This year the fun is coming to Europe!
Are you in Europe? And interested in joining in on all the fun?! The keep on reading!

Rules for Shades of Summer 2009:

1 Open Box (Take out sunglasses and don't loose paper with other addresses on it.)

2 Take photo with sunglasses on

3 Print out 4x6 photo and include in box with sunglasses

4 Email Liz and I a photo of you wearing shades to ShadesOfSummer(at)gmail.com and Everydaycreativeness(at)gmail.com.

5 Send out glasses within 3 days

6 Each person will pay for their own postage to ship glasses and photos. I will try to organize those who sign up by countries - so that we can keep postage to a minimum.

7 If you are going to be on vacation for longer than 14 days, sorry, please don't enter. And if you will be on vacation please include the dates in the email and I will work around it. :) thanks.

8 Please do not enter if you are moving this summer

Ok I think this is it! So excited to get things going. So email me at everydaycreativeness(at)gmail.com if you want to join in on the fun!

Shades of Summer European edition

2009-06-25T22:56:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone!
Just a quick note to let you know I am helping out Elizabeth Kartchner this summer with her great idea, Shades of Summer.

If you are if you are in Europe and want to participate email me at: everydaycreativeness(at)gmail(dot)com

I will post more info tomorrow once I pick up my mac from the dr! If you don't know what I'm talking about check out this:
Elizabeth Kartchner

iMac at the drs

2009-06-25T13:38:00.000+02:00

So the day I have been dreading has arrived. This morning the kids and I got out of the house early and headed to the apple store in zug. We got there just after opening and brought my iMac to be checked over. It's now 2pm and we still haven't heard anything, hoping no news is good news right?

Emotionally Perfect Photo

2009-06-23T22:37:00.002+02:00

I LOVE THIS PHOTO.

Its not just that we are laughing together, but its the memory of how it happened.

I was about to head to Australia with just Dylan. Rolf and Alexandra were to follow about a week later. Alexandra and I were so sad that we had to say goodbye and the almost 3 year old brain just did not understand that Mama was not going to be there when she got home from playgroup. So I said why don't we take a photo of the two of us, print out a copy and we can carry it around while we are apart. Good idea Mama! So we got in front on my iMac and took some photos. She took her photo with her to playgroup and held it as i walked back home to head to the airport. When i looked back to see if she was ok, she was standing there all sad but that photo was clenched tight in her little hand.

We have been talking about emotionally perfect photos and everyday photos in the class with Karen Russell and i rushed to upload another photo (very cute photo of Dylan as a Baby - a photo that melts my heart) But i think this photo would of probably fitted better to our assignment this week. Note to self, don't try and do everything straight away - give the old brain some time to think!

It all begins today ....

2009-06-22T20:24:00.003+02:00

I am so so excited that my class with Karen Russell starts today.

I have been wanting to learn more about photography and how to shoot in manual for awhile now. And even though i have been reading up a lot about my camera and how to use it - its going to be fantastic having a "live" class to follow.

So far I love the set up for the class. As you read and listen to a lesson there is a check box next to that lesson so you know where you are and what you have done. However looking at how many lessons are ahead of me is a bit daunting - 8 weeks of 5 lessons a week is a lot. But I am totally up for the challenge and hope to come out the other end a better photographer.

So a big shout out to my fellow class mates! Look forward to getting to know you all over the weeks ahead!

Those monthly kits ...

2009-06-21T15:39:00.002+02:00

I get 2 monthly kits at the moment. One is a mid monthly one from Scrapmuse and the other is from a Germany company called Dani Peuss. I love getting kits! and I am seriously thinking about adding to them and getting Studio Calico too (although my husband will probably have something to say about that too). But before i even go ahead and try and make that decision I have to deal with the kits that are taking over my scrap space.

Currently when a kit arrives in the mail, I divide it out straight away. So the embellishments go into a zip lock bag and marked with kit club and month and year and the papers stay in the bag they came in and are marked then put into my cropper hoppers. But two cropper hoppers and two "self made" cardboard holders later, I have run out of room for my kits. Also, I tend to forget that I have these older kits and work only with the newest.

So I have a lot of supplies that i don't use cause they are not in my system - and therefore dont us them.

I currently organize in a couple of ways. Cardstock is by color. Pattern paper is firstly by brand (American crafts, cosmos cricket, pink paislee, making memories, basic grey, scenic route, sei, jillibean soup and sassafras las) and if they dont fit into my fav brands then they get put into another cropper hopper divided by color. Also i have a small amount of paper divided by "theme" (birthday, christmas, wedding etc.)

So i am seriously thinking about either dividing kits that are older than a year into my system. But the problem here is, if i regret it I cannot go back - that would be impossible. I am then thinking that i will divide the current cropper hopper into 12, one for each month, and then as a new kit comes in i take out the old kit and either use it, divide it out or put it in my give away box for my friends who are just starting out to scrapbook.

So what do you think? do you get a monthly kit? how do you deal with them? Would love to hear from you!

A week

2009-06-19T13:50:00.002+02:00

This week has just gotten away from me.

I have no idea where it went.

Friday already.

Hopefully i will have some time over the weekend to work on some photos to upload from our recent vacation.

Happy Birthday Phyllis!!!!!!

2009-06-13T18:30:00.000+02:00

Today is my good friend's birthday. Happy Birthday Phyllis! She is totally responsible for introducing me to scrapbooking too. For her birthday among other things I decided to make her this:

Its vouchers to use when she needs a little help with some german phone calls. I know she sometimes feels bad asking me to help her out and thought this will take any guilt away!

I really love how it turned out. I cut two pieces of patterend paper in different sizes and used my sewing machine to sew a pocket. The dark green cirlce was done by cutting out a circle from a piece of cardboard and using it as a template to use some distressing ink and an inking tool to blend the color in. Finished off with some ribbon from Making Memories and of course a thicker! I made the vouchers in Word and just printed them on some cardstock. Used my new fav font too - American Typewriter.

I hope she likes it :)

Having fun with my camera .....

2009-06-13T15:32:00.002+02:00

I have been reading a lot lately about my camera and trying to learn as much as i can before my class begins with Karen Russel at the end of the month. This morning we woke to a beautiful almost clear blue sky. A huge change to the rain we have been having lately. Anyway I thought I would go and take some photos from our balcony.

And here are two of my favorites.

Yes that is a hot air balloon and the moon in opposite corners. I kept wishing for the hot air balloon to get more in line with the moon but no - the wind didnt want to help me out.

I almost missed this shot - was to busy looking at the settings on my camera and then all of a sudden Alexandra yelled plane. Would of bee cool when it was closer in line with the moon.

What i can't get over is how well my camera shoots blue - when reviewing the photos I almost couldnt believe that was the sky.

This Day in Reinhard History!

2009-06-12T15:27:00.003+02:00

Yes I have been missing in action.

A lot of things have been going on. We were away on holidays last week. Had a fantastic time in a place called Saalbach Hinterglemm, a village 90 mins from Salzburg in Austria. Will hopefully get a post about that soon. We had a lovely time and came back all relaxed! But as soon as we got back we started having problems with one of Alexandra's schools. Which is slowly being sorted out.

Anyways

Wow - was so inspired when i read Cathy Zielske's Blog today. She has started a new series called This Day in Zielske History, which is a look back at what photos she took on this day over the years. So I have gone straight to my iPhoto program and checked out what photos I have taken on June 12th since going digital (or actually since I got this computer).

First one I found:

My daughter with no neck ;). She is about 6 weeks old here and just starting to smile.

Fast forward 3 years and another moment caught in her everyday life. She did love to wear anything pink, ballet, fairy related. She loved to skip around and dance and twirl

Loving my new camera ......

2009-05-25T19:58:00.002+02:00

I am very much still learning how to use my new camera. I have done some basic reading and tried to read the manual and have now the book on the camera. So many things to learn. But i am having a lot of fun trying things out.

Old friends of mine came over from the UK this weekend. And so i got to take a lot of photos. These are some of my favs.

We are having the most amazing weather here at the moment. Over 30 C and so spent the whole day yesterday at the park. But its not meant to last - cooler weather and rain is on its way.

2009-05-24T10:08:00.001+02:00

My layout that I made from my blogpost yesterday.

It's someone's birthday ......

2009-05-23T09:00:00.002+02:00

Today is my lovely husband, Rolf's birthday. He is an amazing person, Papa, Husband and friend. He even doesn't mind at all that I have some great friends popping over from London for the weekend.

So in honor of this special day, I have been working on this list. Think i will have to make it into my layout of the day today!

38 reasons I love you, Rolf Reinhard.

1. I love how you get up to the kids in the morning when they deceide to get up early. You even close our door so that they don't come in a wake me up!

2. I love that if you brush your teeth before I do you put toothpaste on my toothbrush.

3. I love that you work so hard and set a great example for others

4. I love that you try your hardest to get home before the kids go to bed - so they can have some Papa time

5. I love that you are a great Papa - the best and the kids love you for that.

6. I love how you take Alexandra to the driving range even though you know you won't get any practice in.

7. I love that you take the rubbish bags down (I hate doing this)

8. I love that you will take the kids out of a Sunday afternoon if it looks like i "need" to scrapbook

9. I love that you have never complained that i go out too much

10. I love that you never complain about the amount of scrapbooking supplies I have - or buy.

11. I love that you encourage me to go home to Australia every year even though it makes out budget a little tight.

12. I love that you will spend time with my Grandad chatting about anything he wants to talk about. I love that and it makes me happy to see you two get along so great.

13. I love that you are really into a sport i totally understand!

14. I love that you will come to all those kids birthday parties and will watch the kids so i can chat with my friends!

15. I love that you see how important that the kids learn english and have made it our "family" language!

16. I love that you love watching Charlie and Lola with the kids as much as I do!

17. I love that you read Alexandra a story every night you are home - she loves her Papa time.

18. I love how you sing the Goodnight song on Cbeebies

19. I love that you try and have Breakfast with us as often as you can - and I love that Alexandra LOVES this part of her day.

20. I love that when you print something out for me you put it into a folder so its already for me to use

21. I love that you never comment on how bad a i look, or how tired.

22. I love that you helped me out so much when i had back issues. Holding my hand at the DRs. Driving me to the physio or for injections

23. I love that you were with me for the birth of both of our kids! Helped me to keep on going when giving birth to Alexandra and holding my hand during the c section with Dylan

24. I love that you didnt let Dylan out of your sight after he was born.

25. I love that you change as many nappies as I do!

26. I love that you think every piece of art Alexandra brings home from school is a Master piece in your eyes

27. I love that you are great on the BBQ!

28. I love that you try and bring as much as Australia into our life in Switzerland as you can

29. I love that you got our flag pole fixed and that you only ordered an Australian flag.

30. I love that you are a fantastic cook and that you clean up after you cook!

31. I love that you put my grandparents and my family first and chose to get married in Australia with none of your family present

32. I love that you never complain that I haven't ironed.

33. I love that you love quality things and try to buy local as much as you can

34. I love that you try and buy as much fairtrade products as possible

35. I love that you take Alexandra to church

36. I love that you donate to special causes and don't tell anyone about it.

37. I love how you help out people in need with your finanical knowledge and expect nothing in return.

and most of all

38. I love that you married me!

Happy Birthday Rolf - hope that you have a really special day!

Love you heaps!

xxxxxxxx

Amazon box has arrived!

2009-05-22T10:12:00.002+02:00

These are the two books that arrived today.

I am really excited to get into the photography book. My class is still a month away so want to try and get to know my camera a bit more before than. Perfect holiday reading material.

Looking forward to looking through the type book. I had never really wanted to get it but saw it on amazon and thought hey, havent bought a scrapbooking book in awhile. And also the pink cover is a little cute.

Have you bought any books lately?

So what have i been doing ....

2009-05-21T13:31:00.003+02:00

So i really do need to update this blog more with some of my scrapping projects. Cause that is the whole reason i started this blog in the first place. So as I have mentioned this is a busy month for me - soo many projects going on. Firstly I am doing LOAD (Layout a day) Challenge, then there is my LOM class and Everyone can write a little class at BPS and then to top things off there is a Color Class I am taking. So there should be lots to share with you, shouldnt there ;).

So here is a little peek at what i have been up to ....

I just have too much stuff

2009-05-20T14:30:00.002+02:00

Today I am so frustrated with my scrap space. I have now outgrown the storage I have in place and I am unhappy with how my embellishments are organized. But currently do not have the energy to do anything about it.

Not sure if it is the mess from making a layout a day and then not tidying up afterwards or maybe its the box of things i bought when i was in Australia that arrived today that has made me felt like this but I am feeling a little uninspired.
Anyone else feel like this? I love my space and I am so so lucky to have it and all the stuff but I am unsure where to go from here. Can't say this to my husband, then he will know how much i actually buy ;) .

So what happened to the spring cleaning ....

2009-05-17T17:01:00.002+02:00

.... well it went out the window.

I did manage to do most of this place with the exception of our bedroom and a good clean of the kids room but i am happy with what i did for now. We have a couple of huge weeks ahead of us so I am just happy with what i got done.

There is a ton of ironing though piling up now. And of course there is my new camera to play with. Figured out today that the old lenses from my Grandad's old SLR work with my new baby - so i have gone to having one to three lenses! I just cannot wait for class to start

My new baby

2009-05-15T20:24:00.003+02:00

No I did not miraculously give birth today (although a good friend did - congrats Kimberly!), but I did pick up my new camera yesterday afternoon and my new lens arrived this morning.

The only problem is that the manual that came with it is only in german, french or italian so need to print out the english version (over 200 pages though) soon. It was not the best of days today so i didnt get to have a real go of it outside but did take some photos around the house.

The first ever photo taken with it - my little boy. Did i say that i am using a 50mm f1.4 lens.

A self portrait. It is much heavier and larger than i thought it would be and will take awhile to get used to - but i hope to sell my old camera and with the money from that get a tiny camera to keep in my bag all the time.

My mother's day flowers - still surviving - just.

And Dylan - being Dylan. He is now climbing up all over the place - on top of the tv (yes we still have an old fashion tv) on the kitchen table, in the dolls house, over the couch.

Hopefully tomorrow I will get a good chance to go outside and give it a good run. I am so excited!!!!

The playroom .......

2009-05-14T14:21:00.003+02:00

I am a couple of days behind the Spring Cleaning Party. Life has gotten in the way and also my hand has been cramping a bit - so you will have to excuse me. But today, instead of going to Mums and Kids I stayed home to tackle the playroom. You probably know that the playroom is shared with my scrap room - it's divided by the couch. We have the mattress on the floor there cause the kids love to jump on it - but it does make it hard for them to play as there isnt much floor space. (we do intend to buy Alexandra a new mattress sometime in the future and we will put her old smaller mattress in here) The toys have been hard to control considering the good storage we have here. So it was a big job - and a 4 year old and 18 month old arent the best of help.

Here is my before photo

The after photos:

I don't have one of the entire room as my daughter loved the fact I had tidied up all the toys and wanted to play in there straight away. But hey, I have now made great labels - that have been on my to do list for a long long long time. Finally took the time to do it today and happy with the results.
You can see how happy she is with all the labels on the front - its like i have done something special for her.
Each box has a photograph of what is inside the box. From top to bottom, left to right: Puppets, Wooden Train Tracks, Barbies, Music, Shopping, Baby Things, Duplo Grocery Store, Make Believe, Wooden Train Blocks, Duplo Zoo and Bus, Duplo house, Cars Trains and Planes.

These look a bit empty but I didnt get to take a photograph before Alexandra took things out. From top to bottom - Little People 1 and 2. Food and Kitchen, Sesame Street, Alexandra's things, Wooden Animals, Dylan's things and the box that is missing is for soft toys
I love this idea I came up with. I have made a drawer each for Alexandra and Dylan. This is for things that don't fit into the other categories, and once this fills up we will go through it together and get rid of things.

So how is your kids room coming along?

What have i done .....

2009-05-12T20:42:00.002+02:00

.... I have gone and bought a new camera.

I actually chose the Canon EOS 50D instead of the new Canon that has just come out. Sounds crazy at first but when i saw the small difference in price, i new i wouldnt regret it. So hopefully will be able to pick my baby up tomorrow or Thursday. And while i was at it i bought a second hand 50mm f1.4 lens!!!! Saved a packet and hopefully that will come asap so i can try out my new camera on the weekend.

I AM SOOO EXCITED.

Baby Shower present

2009-05-08T13:40:00.003+02:00

Here is a Diaper (well Nappy cake depending on where you are from) Cake I made today for a friend's baby shower. Another friend bought some presents to go on it. I am so impressed with how quickly I got it together and how great it looks. I even used my AC baby pattern paper. I made it in about 30 mins in between the kids screaming. Wondering maybe this could be my new business idea. Have rarely seen this in Switzerland

Spring Clean update:

Not sure what I am going to do today. I am still at a loss as to where to put back some of my things. It is really frustrating and I think I am going to need to wait for a second opinion - or at least someone to bump ideas off.

Spring Cleaning Day 3

2009-05-07T21:13:00.003+02:00

Today was an amazing day, weather wise. We woke up to blue skies. Not a cloud in sight. Not the best weather to want to stay in and spring clean. So instead of doing that this morning we went to the park with all our Mums and Kids friends. We had such a nice time.

But when i got home it was back to work. Today is the first day working on the kitchen and at first I was going great. But as 5pm came and went I very quickly lost my steam and had to stop for the day.

Here are the before photos:

Looking to the kitchen from the office area.
Looking to the kitchen from the dining area.
I have tapped up the "kitchen" section from Simple Mom's e-book. It was a great help being right there for quick reference.

So two hours later.........

The counter is now spotless - all sorted out and only what i need on top. The outside of all the cupboards are all cleaned too. I started to take out all the food, snacks and baking supplies but i slowly got stuck with putting them back. Can not figure out how I want to do it (as my tuppaware and baking supplies were not working where they were) So I am going to sleep on it and work on it tomorrow morning.
Another look from the office area. Love how clean it looks!

Spring Cleaning and Eye for Design

2009-05-06T18:52:00.003+02:00

So today hasn't worked out how i wanted it to :(. My 18 month old has decided to cry - allllll day long and now has left me feeling drained and tired - so today will be an official break day for my spring cleaning. I have done all the work on the living area so i think i deserve it! Tomorrow starts the kitchen (my worst nightmare - and even thinking of changing out the days of the bathroom and kitchen)

Anyway, yesterday I did this layout for my Eye for Desing (Color creative) class at Got crafts? with Chritsy Thomlinson.

The sketch I used was from the Scrap Review (i think). I drew inspiration for my color combination from this ad from Home Depot in an old Real Simple. I used more muted tones. This ad really grabbed me when I was flipping through the magazine and it has been sitting on my bedside ready for me to be inspired to use it. So glad I am taking this class!

Spring Cleaning Day 2

2009-05-05T13:09:00.002+02:00

Yesterday I actually worked so hard on doing as much as I could around the house. So after picking up the rubbish etc and going through and decluttering the open surfaces i continued on to the living areas.

We have a really open living space so the dining, lounge and office areas all blend into each other (The kitchen does too but i didnt touch that yet!)

Here are some before photos - looking from the lounge area over to the office area
The office area is the place where most of the clutter gathers, including our recycling and lots of toys and anything that doesnt have a home.

I almost dont recognize the office space now. Looks fantastic. I am going to buy some baskets to fit into the glass shelves so i can store things better without making it look messy. I usually collect our recycleable papers here.
The lounge room looks great. I really cleaned and tidied EVERYTHING. Went through all the cupboards and drawers and got rid of things we dont use.

This is looking over from the dining area over to the lounge and office areas. Looks so great. Wouldnt let the kids play there in the afternoon at all - wanted to savour this clean and decluttered space as long as possible.

The dining room wasnt hard to do. Just a good clean and dust. I went through the books in the cabinent and got rid of some of those!
The only thing I have left to do in this area is to clean the windows - any guess what, thats not my job to do! hopefully Rolf will do it on the weekend - otherwise my Father in law (who usually does it this time of the year when we are on holidays!) will do it. Lucky me!

Spring Cleaning Day 1

2009-05-04T09:04:00.004+02:00

So today start's my Spring Cleaning. Have you ever been over to simplemom.net? Great blog and she is motivating us all to get on the spring cleaning band wagon!

My tasks today

- Go through the entire living space of my apartment and pick up any rubbish.

- Go back through the entire living space and see if I can get rid of anything - Do i love it? Do i need it? If i answer no to both then it goes. (Thank goodness the dumpster is still outside ready for my junk and the bags to go to charity havent gone yet)

Do you want a before photo? I am a little embaressed at how bad this place has gotten since being back from Australia. We have too much stuff for this apartment.

Just full of clutter and not a relaxing place to be. So off I go. Wont post any photos from my work today - not sure you will see the difference, but from tomorrow I will

May is a little busy ....

2009-05-03T14:39:00.002+02:00

As usual I have probably taken on more than i can chew this month.

I am still doing Library of Memories with Stacy Julian at Big Picture Scrapbooking.

We are currently still on break week until Thursday. I have a lot of things to do still. Today I am planning on finishing up my category drawers.

Then tomorrow this new class that I radomly came across on a couple of blogs and figured I just had to try it out. Eye for Design (color creative) with Christy Tomlinson at Got Crafts.

I have never taken a class at Got Crafts but i am sure it is going to be great. I am really interested in learning more about color and color combs, so hopefully at the end of the class I will have learnt a lot.

Then in just under 2 weeks, Cathy Zielske's class Everyone can write a little at BPS is starting!

Again, super excited about taking this class, cause Cathy is a fantastic teacher and very entertaining!

Then there is LOAD

So all of these classes will keep me busy so that I can keep posting a layout a day over at the LOAD group on Flickr. 31 layouts is going to be more of a challenge than just 28 like in Feb.

My layout today

From Jessica Sprague's free class on her website.

Also there is my Gratitude Spinner Class from Ali Edwards that I need to start at some point, but think that might just have to be a June project!

So what do you have planned for May? Anything exciting? Lots to do.

Oh and I almost forgot that I am trying to do the Spring Cleaning this next weeks. Now I am going to be super busy!

My little girl is 4 years old

2009-05-01T10:21:00.005+02:00

Here she is a couple of hours old

Here she as an 18 month old - same age as Dylan now.

And she is last week with her friend at her first sleep over.

She is really growing up, so fast. We all woke up and had breakfast together. Alexandra requested Fairy Bread for breakfast (For those of you that dont know what it is thats bread with butter and sprinkles - an Aussie Party must) We then opened presents with Aunty Mellie on Skype. Then after Papa went to work we iced the cupcakes and headed to her playgroup.

Also a layout a day challenge starts back up today. Very excited but its daunting at the same time - May is not a slow month by any means so it is going to be a challenge to keep up this time. But fingers crossed i can.

My little boy is 18 months old

2009-04-30T17:54:00.004+02:00

A couple of hours old - awww

On his first birthday

And a couple of weeks ago

And tomorrow I am going to have a 4 year old too. Time goes by way too quickly.

Why is it ....

2009-04-23T18:27:00.002+02:00

.... that I always find what i am looking for when I don't go out specifically to look for it. I spent a good part of last Saturday searching for a cute yellow handbag and cute yellows shoes. I dragged my friend Fiona from shop to shop and to find NOTHING.

But then fast forward to today and I got our babysitter over to watch the kids so I could go to the Physio. I had 1 hour to burn afterwards so just walked around the town in Zug. And I find a ton of yellow bags and a ton of yellow shoes. (I actually went to the camera store to see if they had any new cameras in - they didnt )

So here are my purchases.

SO SO cute. And a perfect price for shoes I am not sure I will wear next season - but knowing me they will become favs and I wont be able to find them again when i wear them out.
And the bag. Now this is not the type of bag I was looking for in the beginning. But when i saw it I was drawn to it. Its not as yellow but super super cute and I can see me using this for years to come - so an investment right. LOVE IT!

Perfect spring accessories.

Spring Cleaning

2009-04-17T13:01:00.002+02:00

I read this post today over at Simplemom.net and it could not of come at a better time.

I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. That i should get a group of friend's together and we focus on one part of our homes each week (not day like at Simplemom.net). But i think her idea is fantastic and I am on board.

So come May 4th you will (hopefully) see a daily progress of my spring cleaning and making my place clutter free. Hopefully lots of before and after photos to be shared! I wonder if my Father in law will keep the dumpster that we have currently outside until the middle of may?

I am still finding it very difficult to get into the swing of things, so hopefully this will get me going! So who is going to join me???

Speaking of getting going. Scrapbooking hasnt been a big feature of my daily routine since i have returned from holidays. :(. Just can't seem to get going. But yesterday I came up with an idea (my first in awhile) while listening to my iPod. So I took the photos for the layout out this morning and I have been thinking about it all morning. Now I am going to go and choose some product that I think will go with the photos. Tonight, hopefully I will be filled with motivation to create!!! Heres hoping