D-lish Scraps June Inspiration Board

When I saw the colours in this months Inspiration Board from D-lish Scraps I knew it was perfect for this photo of my daughter after I cut her hair, she had been so sick for weeks that she couldn't even sit up to have someone else brush her hair so her hair needed to be cut, such happy colours for a photo where she was feeling good about how she looked for the first time since Hyperemisis gravidarum reared it's ugly head.
Unfortunately I was not able to get the Just Add Paper Kit this month though I do love them but had fun diving into my stash for supplies in the colours and used parts from a past kit in my Scrap the Boys Challenge layout.

I randomly layed out some of the embellishments and the photo to see how I felt about it before making a flower with the vintage lace that I had coloured previously coloured with Dylusions Spray in Funky Fuchsia.

Gold was a challenge as I didn't have any embellishments that were gold apart from Beading Wire and some beads.  I created some half flowers out of the wire and really like their effect.  I tried 2 different ways of winding them and prefer the way I created the one on the left.  I will upload a video shortly on how I did this style.

You can just see some of the aqua journalling tag, unfortunately after sticking everything down I decided to do some drips and sprays of Funky Fuchsia and got it on the tag which altered the colour to a more lilac shade.
I like how the beads work on the lace flower I made and the other paper and resin flowers I used.

I used another piece of the necklace that I used on my Altered Book and Scrap The Boys layout which you can see on the left of this photo.  I love this bead, it was the biggest one on the necklace and just gorgeous.
Here is one of the 3 Gold Beading Wire half flowers I created, I think the give a nice accent to the embellishment clusters.

I loved the beads when I first sprinkled them but as I added adhesive they weren't going down in the same pleasant pattern, personally I am not happy with the end result of the beads others may like it though.
I added another aqua journalling tag and a rose to cover a mistake in my title and the damaged journalling tag.
Note to self don't get so excited that you forget to mask off things you don't want spray on ever again ;)

Scrap The Boys June Challenge

I first laid out supplies and rough layout for what I wanted to create shortly after my exam and Today I found the time to stick things down while the kids played with their friend who is visiting for the day.
The Scrap The Boys June Challenge was a fun challenge as I used metal buttons I got in a jar from the op-shop and parts of the broken necklace I used on my Altered Book.  I also used 2 of the view finder dies cuts from the July 2015 Just Add Paper Kit from D'lish Scraps.
I grabbed out a assortment of black papers and grey papers to play with.

I attached the metal components with Glossy Accents and then finished them off with a coat of Glossy Accents to seal them.
 

The chain wound up going down differently to how I wanted but I still really like the results.

So will you be joining in the fun of Scrapbooking Challenges?  I look forward to seeing your results.

Scrap The Girls June Moodboard Challenge

I really wanted to reward myself with completing some Scrapbooking Challenges this month.
I shared on my Facebook page a list of Challenges that had come to my attention at the beginning of the month promising myself I would do some.
When I finished preparing for my exam I started pulling out papers and embellishments that would suit some of the Challenges I liked, 2 Challenges used similar colours one of which was the Scrap The Girls June Mood Board.
Of the 6 papers I selected after studying I chose these 2 to use for this layout.
I loved all the embellishments, but I only used the selection in the bottom right of this photo on the layout.

The paper under the pile I rubbed some Mustard Seed Distress Stain on and sprayed with some Dirty Martini Dylusions Spray but you can't really see this in the layout as it was a test to see how they would look on the paper.

I chose White Cardstock for my background and used a diamond stencil with yellow paint spray and Dirty Martini Dylusions Spray on the right, then placed the side of the stencil that was covered in ink down on the left.
I rubbed the page with a wet wipe to spread and smudge any excess.
I then used a small chevron stencil with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain and again smudged it with a wet wipe after.

Subtle texture from the sprays and stains.

I chose this photo of my daughter that a friend took during Summer as it is such a special photo, the caption she included with it was very significant and was the reason for the Butterflies on the page and the Title being Butterfly.
The story is personal to her so the Butterflies and the Title is a good way to prompt the positive thoughts associated with the photo without everyone who looks at her album reading her story.

Rethinking toy purchases and toy purging.

Apparently I missed hitting publish on this post I typed up 6 months ago, hubby is currently on long service leave so we are hoping to finish this big project that caused this rethink on purging toys and craft supplies soon.

We are in the midst of completely reorgnising majority of our home, I rethought how we use our home last year, we only sleep in bedrooms and the rooms used as a office/craft room and a therapy/playroom were the 2 hottest in the house during the day in Summer and Coolest in Winter during the day (post coming when we finish) so we now have the boys sharing a different room as they only sleep in there and the room they were in is now despite being a bedroom our new office/craft/therapy/play room as during the day it is the coolest in Summer and warmest in Winter.

I do like the rule "Anything not used in 6 months purge." however since we started our journey with Occupational Therapy for myself and the kids I have realised the important value of many toys and craft in building fine motor and gross motor skills and changed the way I purchase toys and the way I purge.
So when purchasing I think about if this toy can improve fine or gross motor skills, when purging any toy if it can improve fine and gross motor skills even if it has not been used in 6 months I will not get rid of it.

The kids get very bored with their therapy and getting things needed is expensive so I am always thinking about what I have already including craft supplies and toys as to whether they will suit the outcome the exercise is geared towards for example Scrapbooking Punches are now part of the therapy budget as the motion using certain brands is a motion the OT wants them doing to build wrist strength as a example.

We do not refer to it as therapy but play or craft time or just let's have fun.

In addition to Occupational Therapy Art Therapy is also very important when you are in pain and Distraction Therapy so here is a list of some of the toys I won't purge, of course there are many toys that need to be in our Therapy Room that we don't have just yet or that I have neglected on this list.


Lego - the collection is huge, the boys get Lego from friends and family for Christmas and Birthdays, they inherited their Dad and Uncle's collection but Lego is great for fine motor skills, distraction, of course is great for creating and building.
Play Doh, Air Dry Clay, Plasticine - the OT gave them specific exercises with Play Doh and I try to get them to create a creature or something with it to make it fun.
Board Games - particularly those that require dexterity like Kerplunk, Operation, Wiggle Giggle, Pick Up Sticks, etc.  And kids can create new games with the supplies by making games up.  We have other Board Games also so that we can mix it up to keep it fun.
Marbles - flicking marbles can be good for exercising certain muscles in the fingers.
Toy cars and Hot Wheel Tracks - putting the tracks together involves dexterity so helps with fine motor skills.
Dress Ups - great for imagination and distraction, of course at 9 and 10.5 they are getting a bit old for the dress ups they have so Cosplay is on the horizon.


Transformers - transforming them from robot to car, truck, plane is good for dexterity.
Rainbow Loom - the recommendations for us are create something small every 3 days or so, so a charm or part of a bigger item, over doing it can aggravate things but the movement is very helpful for building certain muscles in the hands.  Our collection has grown quiet quickly.  Assisting with their first 3D item allowed my dislocated carpel knuckles to go back in, so it is on my must do list also.
Model Kits - again the dexterity involved is useful for improving fine motor skills and can be a pleasant distraction as they put it together and paint it.
Fun card games like Munchkin can be great for distraction when you are in pain as they are always funny.
Water Guns, Nerf Guns, Squirt Bottles - great for fine motor skills and lots of fun but of course safety guidelines are important.
Dominos - great fun to play the game and build with.
Silly Putty - squeezing it is great for building hand strength.  That reminds me I need to buy some more.  Stress balls will also work.
Action figures/Dolls - great for distraction via using their imagination to tell a story or something with the figures.

Connor's Minecraft Party 2014 And Dip Recipe

Connor had a Minecraft themed party for his 9th Birthday in 2014 and Eric had one for his 9th Birthday last year, funny how they seem to have similar wishes at similar ages.
Apologies for the poor picture quality, these were taken over 2 years ago with a inferior camera.

I purchased a couple of packs of the Minecraft Papercraft Sets and put a few pieces together as decoration.
Extra blocks were put out as a activity and each child got to take a block home if they wished.
I got 2 shades of green noodle boxes for treat boxes, some green snack trays and a green & brown plastic table cloth to cover the top of the cupboard.
The water bottle labels, food labels and the banner in the following photo were a free printable I found.

We hung the banner above the table the kids would be doing activities at.

I made a Minecraft Pin The Tail On The Pig with some paper and cardstock, as the kids could feel the legs everyone got the tail in the right place.

The wonderful cake my friend Shirlee made for Connor

Food list and Slim Dip Recipe below, unfortunately no photos for the food out were taken as the kids demolished it very quickly once it was out..

I grabbed some Natural Confectionary Company Berry Bliss lollies for Red Rock, Red Liquorice for TNT, Mini Meringues for Diamonds, as I had to cater to some food intolerances I got some Gluten Free biscuits for Cookies, some Rockmelon for Melon and cut some Carrot Sticks for the kids to dip into the Slime Dip. I also made some Chocolate Rice Treats with Green Icing for Grass Blocks.

Slime Dip - Also known as Herbology Dip at Connor's Harry Potter Themed Birthday in 2013 and Hulk Dip at Eric's Super Hero Birthday in 2014 (I used purple carrots for carrot sticks at these parties and they were a huge hit).

This is very simple to make.  Take a tub of Cream Cheese, a lump or 2 of frozen finely shredded spinach that has been thawed add some finely diced chives and mix together and refrigerate until you need to serve it.

When I find the photos of Eric's Minecraft party set up I will add them to this post.