Long time no see

Sooo its been more than awhile. I believe keeping this blog has been a seasonal project for me more than anything; it served a wonderful purpose for awhile there, deepening friendships, keeping up with and being inspired by eachother,a place to express myself and show my new projects. Not to mention it was plain fun!
But now i think the season has passed for me. My life is quite happily full with a number of things that require my time and creative energy.

1. Parenting and homemaking for one, which will always be my first priority. Learning to embrace my life and role. Not just accepting it, but enjoying it and finding new ways to serve and delight in my family. It's a full time job, as you all know, i am sure!

2. Stampin' Up. Business is going really well. I am really enjoying hosting workshops and now that we have moved closer (yess!!!) I am free to open my home for classes, crops and fun with girlfriends! This keeps me busy, motivated and satisfies my need to create and play with new ideas.

3. Encouragement ministry at church; Creating cards for the Pastoral Care department, birthday cards for the office workers and a couple of big events this year which i will be doing invitations and bon bonieries for; father's day, volunteer appreciation night, christmas projects etc. I love creating and serving; my desire to make things exceeds my needs and it is wonderful to have a purpose to use my gifts to bless others and serve God.

4. My newest commitiment; the Babes project.
It has been a slow burn over the course of time; I have felt such a stirring of my heart towards this incredible and God-birthed ministry. After much prayer and advice from my closest confidantes (my wonderful hubby and beautiful mum) and after going through the process with the Director of Babes, i have come on board with the wonderful ladies who have been working so hard this last year to birth this project
My commitments are for creative design with a view to connecting more to the heart of the project as time passes.
I feel honored, satisfied, full and excited with the wonderful things the Lord has opened up for me this past year.
I am so looking forward to the journey of learning, stewardship, time and life management and joining with others for a bigger purpose. My cup is truly full at the moment.

Our move has brought with it a new season; one of social freedom; having a comfortably sized home to share our friends and guests, and being closer to where our lives have taken us. It is allowing us to focus on the things that are important to us; friends, family, ministry, productivity. We aren't held back by geographical limitations any longer! Yaay!And it is enabling us to get on with life and expand and put our goals and dreams into action. We feel truly blessed for what God has done in our lives and with all the wonderful people we are blessed to share our life with.
So I am writing this for a little closure on my blog. I manage better with fewer things to invest more of myself in, so its time for this little lady to stop blogging for now!
It has been a pleasure getting to know you guys through your blogs and being inspired by all of your journeys. Thank you for your encouragement and lovely comments! I will still pop in to read your blogs from time to time! You are all lovely ladies who I look forward to spending more time with.
Happy blogging and God bless!
Love from Rach xox

My baby girl

I love this picture I captured of our little sweetie. Just thought I would share it along with a couple of others.Below is Hanny's newest little pout face. It melts me every time. The elephant she is holding is the one her daddy bought for her in hospital when she was born. I cannot believe how fast time flies!

This last pic was taken today, at Aces Spaces, a cool kids amusement centre in Lilydale; she had an absolute blast! I want to try and do more things for her to enjoy rather than just dragging her along to our things. It does my heart good to see her so happy!

Bon Voyage Card

Here's a card I made this evening after being inspired by a colour combo here. Anyways, its a going away card for a certain lovely lady who is travelling to England in a couple of days (shhhh!!!! fortunately she doesn't read my blog!)

More Projects

A little card using some new products.

This gift box is the right size for holding Stampin' Up's Love notes - they are miniature notecards with cute little matching envelopes. I haven't bought any yet but love the idea of making a little gift set using this box, filled up with mini matching cards.
Will post some more stuff shortly

Yay!! New Catty Stuff!

So I finally put an order in from the new Stampin' Up catalogue (see link at right) and it arrived yesterday! It is always so exciting to get things through the post, isn't it? So I made a few projects today using some of their AMAZING new stamp sets and papers. (I am in love!)

I have just bought heat and stick powder and glitter which allows you to actually stamp using glitter; so the outline is glitter! (see the big rose on the card below) I have always wondered how this was done - I love it!

I am planning to have a party soon, so let me know if you are interested. I am keeping it low key, low numbers (if lots of you are interested, I will split it into 2 parties) at my place, we can decide what we want to make or do, so if you want to come and learn a new technique or if there is a certain project you would like me to demonstrate, let me know.

We can shake up the traditional format, keep it more casual and stretch into an evening and have a fun night of it, if you like. Or if you are interested, we can make it more of a class than a party and do something really fancy! Only difference is that as we would be using a lot more supplies I would have to charge a couple of dollars for supplies (will keep at as cheap as I can, just to cover costs)

Next month there is a special on their papers and if you buy 3, you get a fourth pack for free. They are $16.95 for 12 double sided sheets. They are matched with all Stampin' Up's colours and they really are beautiful. Some of them even match stamp sets. Rather than buy 3 for yourself, if someone else wants them too, buy a pack each and split the free pack among the 3 of you. Alternatively, you could split all of them and that way you could have a few pieces from 4 different packs. If anyone is interested in a mini-album these would be good and we could do a class or two etc

I will post more pictures over the coming days which will give you more of an idea the sort of stuff we can make.

Comment on this blog or email me if you are in and any ideas or suggestions you have! Just remember, no pressure to buy (friend first, sales person second!), super casual and lots-a-fun! xox

My friend Kaz

It was Karen's birthday on Wednesday and she was coming up to visit so I made some cupcakes to celebrate. I used the pre-made flowers I had made at Edwina's using a push mold and we celebrated with some little sandwiches and fruit skewers. Of course the kids wanted to go straight to the cupcakes - that's the problem with tiered plates; they can see the dessert part straight away, so who in the right mind would eat the mains?? hehe

Anyway, we had a lovely day; Karen is my oldest friend and we have the kind of friendship that every time we get together, no matter how long it has been, we are always going through similar life seasons or God is showing us something similar at the same time. I love our friendship and the richness and challenges it has brought to my spiritual walk.

Karen always encourages me to reach higher, think positively and change my perspective on so many issues. She is amazing. In my Quiet Time this morning, I came across this Proverb; 'Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel that comes from the heart.' Proverbs 27:9 I think this verse could sum up our friendship. She is a true blessing in my life.

After a lovely and relaxing visit, I took some photos of Karen with her gorgeous kids, Bailey and Samuel. Hannah and Bailey are 2 1/2 months apart and really enjoy playing together. I always joke that they may marry each other one day! Wouldn't it be funny! But I do envision our friendship going right into our children's adult lives. She is a gem.

Some latest creations

This is a little notepad cover that I made for a swap with the ladies in my Stampin' Up team.
Very easy and fun and makes a cute gift! A swap is where everyone in a group is given the same item (in this case a notebook) to decorate then when you get together again you swap what you have made with what someone else has made.

With the second notepad I made this fridge magnet To Do list.
Am getting a bit tired just making cards so I whipped up this little accordian style album using 1 sheet of 12" double sided paper for the main album. It could be used as a special kind of card with lots of space for a personal message or you can put little photos and journalling in it for a mini scrap album.

These were a bunch of quick cards I made for Pastoral Care. They were really fast and fun; I made 30 cards in a couple of hours.

This is scraplifted from the current Stampin' Up Catalogue

I had fun with this card - it is 3D so you actually see inside the window - the pic doesn't show it too well. It was fun using bright colours and this little girl stamp reminds me of Hannah, which is the main reason I really wanted this window set.

KISS - Keep It Super Simple

I was having a breather this morning out on the deck. As per usual, I found myself feeling a little strung out about the days activities; how am I going to do what I need to do when I have a vibrant, vivacious and strong willed 2 year old following me around everywhere, wanting to 'help'?

I felt the urge to take a deep breathe and refocus. For too long I have found myself rushing around, trying to do too much or do things too complicated. These are the years to be cherished. I don't want to look back and see that I lived most of Hannah's early childhood trying to get time for myself.

So I decided to regroup and tune my attitude. Take a deep breathe and take each task one at a time. I focused on including Hannah in my plans, trying to find ways to make the day happy for her. We went to the shops together and she bought the eggs, I showed Hannah how to feed our dog rather than doing it around her, we made cupcakes and I didn't get strung out with the fact that she spilt the batter all over the tray and bench, because I remind myself, does it really matter? Isn't it more important that she have special memories with mummy and learn how to do things herself? It brought to mind the whole Mary/Martha dynamic - getting distracted with keeping house and neglecting the important things. Afterwards, she 'washed' the dishes while I folded clothes and made our lunch.

I know heaps of you mums out there have been doing this for years, but its new to me. I sometimes get so overwhelmed in my little world that I forget to take time to nurture Hannah and create special memories for her. I felt convicted this morning for not appreciating my family more. God has given me a strong willed girl. At times, she is impatient, demanding and sometimes too smart! But I see that her strength and will is teaching me the lessons of patience and boundaries and grace.

I am still such a newby mum, but today really went well. Simple, peaceful and meaningful. And I love the cupcakes!

Comparisons

'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge...' Prov 1:7

'The fear of man brings a snare...' Proverbs 29:25

Ok so I have been thinking a lot lately about how much I think about other people and their opinion of me, as I mentioned yesterday. It seems to me that women are particularly vulnerable to the old comparison game... Looking to see how we measure up compared to others, to see if we are better or at least equal as those around us. Am I pretty enough? Thin enough? Smart enough? Talented? In church it can look like, 'Am I as good a wife as Mrs Proverbs 31 over there?' 'Are my children under control and following God?' 'Am I in ministry? Am I patient and calm and spiritual at all times?

I don't know about you, but its a game I unwittingly play far too regularly for my own liking. Something deep inside of me is desperately longing for the approval, acceptance and even admiration of those around me. I waver between vulnerable honesty and transparency in my friendships, to erecting a wall of 'I'm doing fine' when I am feeling particularly down.
One side of me longs for genuine, humbling relationships with those around me, and the other side of me wants to portray perfection. 'Im doing well, everything's fine.' Its exhausting to waver between 2 world views and even more exhausting trying to appear perfect.

So why is it so easy to become consumed with what the proverbial 'they' are thinking of us?

Who is out there with a measuring stick to see where we are at in life?

Honestly, often ourselves. Women. Often we are own worst enemy, looking at eachother and assessing eachother, feeling inadequate, subtly competing with others, trying to convince everyone that we really are ok. But at what cost? Even if we succeed and people think we are 'all that' all we do is feel like a fake and begin a new mantra of 'Yeah they only think that cos they don't really know me.'

Why is it, that deep down, so many of us think so poorly of ourselves?

Lately God is showing me the reality of just how much I live for other people. How often my life feels like a play, where I play different roles to meet the expectations of whoever I am with at the time. Don't get me wrong, I am not a complete chameleon, but i do tend to play to the beat of other people's approval and i often feel annoyed at myself for not being more of me.

So these verses are really getting to me lately. The fear of man, or what I would redefine as 'Worrying about other people's opinion' brings a snare. A trap. A cycle of unhealthiness. It distracts and robs us and those around us of the blessing of who we genuinely, uniquely are. The role that only we can fill. Being us.
On the other hand, prioritising God's opinion of us is the beginning of knowledge. Its where joy and future and purpose and adventure meet in a big tangly life well lived.

So what is God's opinion of us?
Is His voice constantly criticizing us, telling us we will never fit in, never make it, never be good enough? NO! Does he rub our nose in each failure, snidely adding 'Yeah, I knew you wouldn't make it? It sounds absurd when we see it in print, but how often do we have that subconscious thought of God beating down on us? That is the voice of discouragement, the lie that would have us live forever as a shadow of ourselves.

God feels pretty passionately about the beauty and freedom He created in us. There's no way its His voice psyching us out. He didn't create our value to run on a sliding scale depending on how good or not-so-good we have been. Its not about what we do or don't do, its about who we are. We are His. Adopted into His family. Created in His image. Blessed, forgiven and righteous in His sight. Of course there is a place for repentance, but our worth has got nothing to do with this. We are worthy simply because God loves us and deemed us as His creation. I am determined to pay more attention to what God says of me rather than what others say (or what i fear they will say!).

I want to leave a cool scripture with you, one that describes our beauty in the eyes of our God, as His Church, His bride, his True Love.

'The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors...

So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him.'

Psalm 45:11,13,14

We are clean and acceptable and beautiful to God. Not because of what we do or don't do, but because of what Jesus did. Because of our faith and reliance on God. The robes we wear are the robes of righteousness as we are boldly brought to our King. That is an image I want to remember next time I am tempted to compare my outfit to someone trendier! xox

New thoughts, new seasons

Ok so I am reading this FANTASTIC book at the moment. Seriously, one of the best reads ever, am only halfway through though.

The book: Mirror, Mirror (Discover your true identity in Christ), Graham Beynon

What its about: It addresses the complex issue of self-image and the basis for developing a healthy and biblical view of ourselves

Why I love it: Totally modern and relevant (starts with our fascination for browsing Facebook profiles), new lines of thought, realistic and not pseudo-spritual or old themes regurgitated.

Controversial bits: Challenges the 'Princess' view of self esteem (I am God's daughter, I rock! etc) and yet also stands apart from 'I'm just a Poor Sinner' view of yourself (Praise God!! lol) Comes up with a uniquie view called 'Humble Dignity' which is accepting a realistic, warts-and-all-and-yet-I-am-still-priceless viewpoint of ourselves. Found this very interesting, but may put some off. Still digesting it

Putting it into action: Am finding myself feeling strangely more free from the addiction of worrying what people think of me. Cos honestly, this is an addiction. Am often torn between a desire to be transparent and genuine, yet at the same time appearing confident and in control. Yeah. Not working so well. LOL

This book has seriously gotten me thinking about the motivations and concerns that tend to drive my daily life. Recent incidents had shaken my self esteem and I had found myself feeling overwhelmed by the shortcomings I keep finding in a certain aspect of my personality. After lots of tears, chocolate and an honest chat to God, I can actually feel a positive change coming into play in my life. I feel like God is lifting the lid on my life, pointing out some realities and helping me to recognise and make changes where they need to be.

Its a new season, one for growing up. One for renewed commitment. Honesty with myself and transparency in my relationships.

Time to turn away from idle desires, from things that distract and to make the best of what I have got.

A tentative new start.

Every time I encounter God, I keep finding that He is so much bigger than my limited perception of Him. I am glad He is smarter than me, I am celebrating the fact that we serve a mysterious and unfathomable God, cos if I could completely figure Him out, He wouldn't be very God-like, would He? hehe

Camping

Here are some pics from our time away over the Easter Weekend. Among our activities camping at Bimbi Park 'under the koalas' with good friends, we visited the 12 apostles, did a horse riding trail, shopped at the local craft market, ate many a toasted marshmallow, staged Hannah's first easter egg hunt and just breathed in the incredible surrounds. Hannah had 3 beautiful friends to play with and the local park was within fingertips of our campsite, which made for plenty of fun for the kids and time alone for the adults! It had its interesting moments. Overall; very memorable.

Just Amazed

I have been spending time lately with a neighbour who is undergoing radical treatment for what was a very advanced cancer. Its been one of those God things, where I have been given opportunity to get to know her better. And after spending the morning with her, I am just sitting here at the computer, gobsmacked at the amazing strength and positivity and resiliance of this incredible woman.
She has blown me away with her amazing spin on life.
I really struggle with negativism, pessimism and fear. I sit here with emotional baggage for things that have never happened to me, I just fear they will. Here is this lady who is going through what so many of us fear, and she is like a ray of light to be around. She counts her blessings, looks for the best in things and hopes for the best outcome despite months and months of appalling health, painful treatments, near death experiences and a whole bunch of other non-cancer related trials. If she read this, she would tell me that she has had her days of wanting to give up, of being angry, tired and feeling ripped off. But despite those down days, she just keeps pulling herself back together.
She is not a Christian but would give many, many of us a run for our money when it comes to faith, hope, perseverance and courage.
Amazed is an understatement for how I am feeling right now.
Some encounters just turn your world on its head.

A Few Randoms

Just a couple of cards and boxes I have been making lately; Thank yous for guest speakers at our upcoming church conference, some ideas for mothers day, 2 of the projects I demonstrated at my last Stampin Up Party and a few random cards and things.

Been playing around a bit with my camera, but haven't ventured past the auto settings. It's quite an intimidating piece of equipment, especially since seeing all the incredible photography skills of some of my fave bloggers (yes I am talking about you, Lou and Helen!)
Ironcially my favourite photos were not taken by me, but my hubby. I love them! Its rare to find any photos of yourself that you like, but these one's are special to me:

1. Because I am not wearing any make up and don't look anywhere near as hideous as I imagined! heehee

2. They are the first real pictures with my new nose stud. (It's kinda hard to see, but its there!!) I love that I got my nose pierced at 28. Have loved nose piercings for years, but now it is more about knowing who I am and letting it show rather than trying to find who I am, which is what it would have been had I done it when I first wanted it at 16.

3. My little girl tends to be a daddy's girl, so a lot of photos are of her and him, which is lovely; I am thrilled she has such a close bond with him and he is an incredible daddy, but it is also nice to see us connecting even more as she grows up. I love being a silly mum, one who gives a 30 second kiss until dad figures out how to work the camera, one who tickles at the last minute and jumps out to say Boo! when my daughter least expects it. I never want to forget to be silly. I think it does kids a whole lot of good.

He did it!

My husband is the sweetest. He has been making calls behind my back, sneaking around and telling porkies to me. How does this make him sweet, you ask?

Well it's all because he was planning something special.

Just for me.

He came in last night with a bunch of white roses and a card that told me to go to the car.

Bring in the yellow bag.

Brace myself

and prepare NOT to feel guilty.

(He knows me so well!)

So I did, and you know what he had done?

He had bought me my camera.

My beautiful, SLR Nikon D60, just the one I wanted. With an extra lense, beautiful case and massive memory card and just in time for a holiday we are taking with friends over Easter.

He is so beautiful. He has such a lovely heart and delights in seeing me happy. I am so blessed. Its not just about the camera, much as I love it. Its about his love for me and the way he went that extra mile to show he cared. Not just the camera, but the flowers and card. So thoughtful. So loving.

So I have gone from blurry, icky phone pics, to beautiful, bright, bold photos that capture my world. I am so estatic.

So here is a little sneak peak of my favourites today. They also highlight a lovely day I had with my good friend Edwina and her daughter, Talei, who is Hannah's favourite friend. We made icing flowers for cupcakes and watched the girls play, and tried to stop them eating all the icing sugar we had to keep sprinkling on the bench. Not very successful! Hannah came home on a sugar high, and crashed without dinner! But it was a lovely day and I am so excited to finally have my camera! I have the loveliest husband. On top of what he did, he actually sat through the whole stamping up catalogue with me as I excitedly pointed out all the products for 2009!

This is a very happy day.

Ok 2 things:

1. I am not so great at organisation and deadlines
2. I have decided that my 'Week of Homemade Goodness' was a business week... hehe

Just been too busy!! Will blog soon! xox

A Week of Homemade Goodness: DAY 5: Mini Journals with Case

So I was inspired to do this project on Saturday night: (my week of homemade goodness hasn't strictly been a week.... hehe) I saw a gorgeous little set of mini books in a case in the latest Creating Keepsakes magazine and it inspired me to make a set. I used an A4 exercise book and cut it into quarters. I then bound 2 of the pieces (the parts that were not cut next to the spine) using a simple pva method (can't remember where i found it- you basically peg the sheets together and smear a layer of pva over the loose edge, creating your own spine. Let dry and add another layer. Easy way to bind handmade books). Covered them all in pretty paper and used an old box, refolded and covered to house them. Problem is the box only holds 3 of the books (my measurements were a little out) Oh well, I still like them. They look pretty on my nightstand and each book has a different theme and title.
Beautiful Girl - A place to journal random snippets of Hannah's daily life; funny things that she has said or done.
Believe - A small journal to record verses, images or random little things God has been showing me
Favourite things - Maybe like a little gratitude journal, where I can record things I am enjoying in life at this time.
Dream - A place to record my goals and dreams for my future

A Week of Homemade Goodness: DAY 4: QUILT TOP

So this isn't a completed project yet, but I am very pleased with my progress. I made 12 of these squares a couple of years ago (I think they are Ohio Star- I can't remember) Anyway I struggled for ages knowing how to set them; (The perfectionist thing again) so they sat in a box under the bed. I am sick of clutter and sick of unfinished business. I've been reading Ecclesiastes lately and it has been speaking to me a lot. I found this verse which has challenged me to complete the loose ends in my life; whether it be a UFO or an unfinished task of any kind, I think that they clutter your mind and take away your ability to venture forward.

The verse is Ecclesiastes 7:8, it says 'The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. ' It has been speaking to me about how many things I begin in zeal but then fail to follow through with patience when the task gets difficult or uninspiring. I am praying for patience to finish the things of value, and wisdom to close or dispose of the things I should never have started.

Its time to declutter and free my spirit and creativity so that I can stay fresh, relevent and moving forward, not just in craft but in life. I am going to try to be wise in what I take on, and only do what I know I will follow through with and what I am meant to be doing.

SO I sewed these squares together and I bought the fabric for the borders, so I can finish it in the coming days. A finished quilt is a good quilt and of more value than a bunch of squares gathering dust under my bed!