Endo High Tea

I am hoping to get this post up quickly as I think it is important I share it today, the last day of Endometriosis Awareness Month and the day after my Endo High Tea.

Next weekend is the next Aussie YouTube Hop and the theme is based on Awareness raising and using a ribbon on your project so you won't see all the photos from the High Tea in this post as one of the decorations I made was for the YouTube Hop, so make sure you check out the Hop next weekend to see how that came together and how it turned out.  ;)

I also filmed my process of making the door prize so I will try to get that edited and up asap.

I decided to host a Endo High Tea this year as it is so important that awareness is raised of this painful and debilitating that is suffered by 1 in 10 women and the High Tea sounded like a great way to raise awareness and funds while enjoying lovely food and company.

I spent some time over the last couple of months looking for Yellow items for my Endo High Tea.  I found my gorgeous yellow table cloth, the doilies and the Yellow Cupcake Stand at my local op-shops over a period of about 5 weeks. 
I often see people say they can never find what they need at op-shops but I have found the key is going regularly and having a basic sort of list of what you are looking for.  I have a lovely collection of solid coloured tablecloths now but that is another post I think.

I found my gorgeous Teapot set on Gumtree and pick up was right near my daughter's boyfriend's work so he picked it up for me and I collected it when visiting my daughter in February.  A very round about way to do it but it all lined up and worked well.





 

Now onto the food.  With how hectic life is right now it was really important I keep things as simple as I could for myself but I also wanted to explore some foods (preparing and eating them) with my boys I otherwise would not get around to.

I decided to try making cucumber sandwiches, my sons love cucumber so I knew if no one ate them I wouldn't be stuck with something going uneaten for long but I know cucumber sandwiches can have a bad rep so I did some research online and after reading several recipes with good reviews in the end I winged it on the day.  My sandwiches were a big hit.  There was very positive reactions and feedback from guests.
To ensure they were as fresh as possible for guests I prepared my fillings at home but didn't assemble my sandwiches until at the venue, as I went a hour early to set up and once I had everything set up started assembling sandwiches.

Cucumber Sanwiches
1 225g packet of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
1 15g packet of fresh Dill
Juice of half a lemon
a crack or 2 of salt from the salt grinder.
Place cream cheese in a bowl and with a fork stir until creamy and free of lumps.
Add Dill, Lemon Juice and Salt.  Stir to combine.
Refrigerate overnight.

On the day thinly slice cucumber in sandwich sized lengths.  Pre-butter bread with a thin coating of butter (you could probably skip this but I was planning on doing a assortment of sandwiches and most needed butter so it was easier to do it this way).

To assemble spread a generous amount of the cream cheese mix on each slice of bread.  Cover 1 slice with cucumber and put the other slice on top.  Cut and Serve.

Low FODMAP Quiche Cups -  note only lofo if you tolerate dairy

Another easy recipe we made was Quiche cups.  I tried doing the bread base option but you can skip this if you have a silicone muffing tray.
This recipe make 12 quiche cups but you could spread it out if you want flatter quiche cups.





4 Large Eggs beaten
2 slices of ham cut into small pieces
Diced spring onion greens
300ml Milk
100g shredded tasty cheese
Bread flattened with a rolling pin, crusts removed for the crust.  You can do 1 slice per Quiche Cup or a half slice if you wish but the egg mix may go through the bread.

Preheat oven to 180c.
Spray muffin pans with cooking oil spray.  Place bread in them.
Mix beaten eggs, milk, chees, ham and spring onions in a bowl.
Spoon evenly into muffin pans.
Bake until golden on top.


I also made mini Caprese Salad with Yellow tomatoes.  E and my first every attempt at making a Balsamic Glaze, it was so yum.
And Mini Cheesecakes which I merged 2 recipes to create, the base was not the best so I won't use the base recipe again but the filling was delicious, I did put way more lemon juice in than it called for.  Instead of measuring with a spoon I used the juice of 1.5 lemons.  Here is the link to the recipe that is the filling I used.  I made 20 in a mini muffin pan and 5 in a standard muffin pan.  I baked until they were just starting to crack on top.  Next time I will do a base with arrowroot biscuits, butter and sugar I think as the one I tried used vanilla wafers and it wasn't as good as a arrowroot biscuit base I have made in the past.

To reduce how much work I had I bought a Lemon Slice, Madeira Cake with lemon icing and some yummy shortbreads.  I cut the Lemon Slice and Madeira Cake into small squares.

My friend Tracey brought some delicious cupcakes and mini banana muffins so we had a really wonderful spread for our small group of attendees.

We had a lovely time chatting and we all knew multiple women with Endo who had had dreadful experiences with Doctors dismissing them so hopefully with the improved awareness we are now seeing this experience will become a thing of the past soon.

For more information on Endometriosis visit Endometriosis Australia and Pelvic Pain Foundation
The Pelvic Pain Foundation has some great info for parents, teens, women, men and health professionals.
Here is a link to the website
https://www.pelvicpain.org.au
Here is a link to the parents info.
https://www.pelvicpain.org.au/for-parents/
Here is a link to the teens section which even has links to a children's book that is about children having pain, all types including migraines so a great resource.
https://www.pelvicpain.org.au/category/for-teens/
Here is a direct link to the children's book.
https://www.yumpu.com/…/61002…/a-journey-to-learn-about-pain

#100outof100 Together Always - Journal tip in

On March 20th I started seeing posts about horrendous, ignorant and ablest advice Dr Phil gave a couple on his show and like every disabled person in my feed that was sharing their outrage and hurt I too was feeling deeply hurt.   
The hashtag #100outof100 started that day with so many lovely interabled couples sharing their successful relationships and I really wanted to share mine but as I was not feeling up to posting a photo of myself that day I took a photo of us holding hands and me wearing my oval8 finger splint. 
I typed up my post that spoke so much of our journey and I wasn't feeling up to sharing all that with the world so I hit delete.  I tried again a few hours later and once it was all typed and I found I wasn't up to hitting publish.  The act of typing up the post was so mentally draining that I couldn't hit publish.  I had this beautiful photo though so I kept it in my phone thinking when I am feeling up to it or can find better words I will hit publish.
When printing my photos on Thursday I included this beautiful photo as a 3x4 thinking I would just add it into my journal and journal about how wonderful it is to see so many people educate Dr Phil on how epically wrong he was, I didn't think I would scrap it though.

On Saturday when I was setting up to make decorations for my Endo High Tea next weekend I had to move the printed photos off my desk and I was drawn to this photo and I just had to scrap it.  I stopped doing everything I was meant to and just zoned out creating something that I feel is beautiful from the harm Dr Phil's words have caused.

I grabbed out my half used sticker sheet from the Simple Stories Kissing Booth range, Doodlebug Designs Petite Prints 6x6 paper pad, a half a red doily from Scrapping Fun Kits Gaming kit, some baby girl thickers, Maggie Holmes Willow Lane alphas, Fundamentals tag, pink twine.

I just played with my supplies but one thing I did know I wanted to do was create a pocket from my photo mat so I could use tags for hidden journalling with what I wanted to say but couldn't publish.
When creating the pocket I used The Stickmaster Heat Resistant tape to ensure it would stand up to the climate here.

I loved all the tiny words on my sticker sheet so used a bunch that seemed appropriate down the left of my layout and cut 2 of them to add to the end of my title so my title read #100outof100 together always.

I finished things off my inking the outer edge and tag edges with a mini Distress Ink in Spun Sugar.

So while I am not up to sharing what I wrote I thought I would share my layout to show that this horrible ableism inspired me to created something out of my and my husband's love.

Easter the good eats - CraftOnline Creative Team

When I saw the new Echo Park Easter Wishes range I felt it was perfect for getting the some of the photos from Easter 2017 scrapped.  I made some changes to our Easter traditions that year so I have been waiting for the perfect supplies to scrap it.

Items used in this project include.

Poppy Crafts Wreath Die 
Poppy Crafts 6x6 textured cardstock pad
Poppy Crafts A4 Kraft Cardstock
Echo Park Easter Wishes 12x12 Collection 
Law Cuts Hoppy Easter Die 
Helmar Acid Free Glue 
Poppy Crafts Easter Blessings die
Fiskars Surecut Deluxe Trimmer 
Doodlebug Petite Prints 6x6 paper pad (no longer available)
Sue Wilson Easter Basket die (no longer available).

I love how the wreath turned out and the Easter from the Easter Blessings die is lovely and delicate.

How adorable is this basket?























I love how my layout turned out. 

Happy Times - Scrapping Fun Kits Design Team

I haven't added Easter photos into my journal from 2017 yet so I decided to do a standard TN sized layout that I can tape in as a tip in to my journal for that year for my next layout using the March 2019 Kit.

I used some of the tiny scraps I tore while making my Easter's On It's Way layout and tucked one in behind my photo and placed the other 2 in corners.  To add another layer behind my photo I added a small scrap of torn purple cardstock behind it.










For my embellishment I added the teal bunny from the cut apart and some of the washi from the kit.

I finished it off with the tiny word from the word cut apart that says Happy Times and journalled briefly about the photo.










I love how it turned out and can't wait to add it int

Easter's On It's Way - Scrapping Fun Kits Design Team

I had some photos of the boys preparing treats for our Easter celebration in 2017 that I really wanted to get scrapped but one of them the lighting angle has affected the quality so I knew it needed a darker background than the usual spring themed Easter supplies provide so this Autumn Easter themed kit was perfect for getting these scrapped.

I love the torn paper look on layouts but I often forget to do it when I am speed scrapping so for this layout instead of pre-cutting my papers into smaller scraps ready to use when layers I took inspiration from Julie's layout and tore 2 thin strips off each paper, 1 of each I tore into smaller pieces for my corner clusters.

I matted my photos with a scrap of Kraft Cardstock and glued my layers and photos down with Helmar Acid Free Glue.

For my embellishments I decided on the eggs from the cut apart and some stickers from 2 Echo Park Easter themed sticker sheets; this year's Easter wishes and last year's Hello Easter.  I pulled in some chocolate bunnies, eggs and a cute chicken and Easter bunny from the stickers to build my embellishment clusters.
For the tiny eggs I cut them from a border strip from the Easter Wishes sticker sheet. 

When cutting the pieces of sticker away I noticed the waste piece between this border strip and the one above it and thought it would be a cute extra layer in my papers so I cut some off to add to my paper layers.  When adding it I carefully peeled back my papers a little and just sort of poke it in so the white was under the papers and just the colours were showing I then glued the edge of my papers back down with Helmar Acid Free Glue.

I used a tiny word sticker from the Echo Park stickers and added the Easter Eggs tiny word from the word sheet I just trimmed the outline off so they looked like they were meant to be together.












I finished my layout off with the year and a doodly boarder.  And then I decided to move a sticker so my date looks like it is floating but I still love my layout I just have to decide what to add next to the date.

There are still a couple of these kits available so if you would love one of these kits head to the Subscription Tab and fill in the form.  :)

Bubbles I must get them - Helmar Creative Team

Our dog Lily has always love chasing bubbles.  She will do all sorts of interesting and goofy leaps and runs around in pure delight trying to get them.  It is something I have wanted to document for years but Lily hates having her photo taken, if she sees you with a phone or camera she will stop having fun, turn away or put her head down usually under something so you can't get her photo.  So this time we played with the bubbles outside which made them much harder to catch for her but it meant I could be standing back enough that she wasn't worrying about whether I had a scary camera.  I took dozens of photos and had 4 good photos that I felt showed how much she loves chasing bubbles.

To create my layout I wanted to use Kraft Cardstock for the base and photo mats as it is the perfect colour for pulling your attention to Lily as it is close to the colour of her coat.  And I decided to combine it with some Kaisercraft Open Road papers I had in my stash as they would be perfect for coordinating with it being in a backyard, a stamp by Katzelkraft called textured droplets and a mini Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire.

I started by matting my photos, using Helmar Acid Free Glue to adhere them to the Kraft Cardstock.  Helmar gives a much better hold on Kraft Cardstock than other adhesives in my experience.

I then grabbed out my stamp and stamped my bubbles all over the page in my Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, not re-inking as I wanted the different faintness to represent the bubbles.

I then took my simple background outside and gave it a coat of Crystal Kote Matt Varnish to ensure the Distress Ink won't run if it were to ever get wet for any reason.

I pre-cut my papers in random sizes to make pulling the layout together quicker.  I started doing this in the last year or so and it really has helped reduce my indecisiveness when scrapping as I just have to use these pieces and make them work.

Next I glued down my papers and matted photos with Helmar Acid Free Glue.
And then added my title with some very old alphas from my stash, added my journaling and doodly border and called my layout done.

I love how it turned out.  It is a really simple layout but it tells the story and that is what was important for this layout.

What quirky things do your pets like to play with?  Have you thought about documenting them?

March 2019 Challenge List

Welcome to another month  of stunning scrapbooking challenges.

I will try to update this list throughout the month as Challenges become available.

Please if there are any Challenges you are aware of that I have missed let me know.

I am really loving participating in Challenges, even if I save them to do at a later date.  It is getting me to craft more often which is always a good thing.

So now for the list, I will provide a link to each challenge that has a direct link for it and either their Facebook page, website, shop, whichever is appropriate so you have all the details you could possibly need.

Those that are in a Facebook Group I will link to the group, please contact admins of the group to let them know you are joining to participate in the challenges or look at the challenges as some admins have requested this due to the waiting list.

White with 1 is red this month and has a fun sketch to help inspire you.  Here is their Facebook Page.

 

 

Scrapping Good Time - Scrapbooking Group Australia is a Closed Facebook Group that has multiple Scrapbooking Challenges and sometimes a Card Challenge each month.  This month they are having a special giveaway and to be in the draw you need to enter every one of their Challenges and participate in some other things throughout the month. 

 
Scrap the Boys has a cool moodboard this month. Here is a link to their Facebook Page.  Make sure you check their blog for the rules of their Challenges.

Scrap the Girls has a cool moodboard this month.

 

Kraft+ Challenge has a fun prompt this month, make sure you head to their blog and read the requirements for this one. Here is the Facebook Group.

ARTastic has a lovely artwork on a plate this month.  Here is their Facebook Page.

Scrapping Clearly has a lovely moodboard this month.

Sketchy Boards Challenge has a great Sketch and prompt this month and a fun prompt this month.  Follow the link for inspiration and rules.

D-lish Scraps Inspiration Board this month is a lovely, make sure you follow the link for inspiration and the rules of this Challenge.

Use Your Stuff is a great weekly challenge that is all about using the stuff you have.  

Archie-scraps has a interesting prompt this month.

 

 

 

 

International Challenges

CSI Challenge - Color, Stories, Inspiration is a fun challenge formatted as a case file for you to do.  There are 3 case files this month.

 
Crafty Creations Challenge is a bimonthly craft challenge.  Make sure you read their rules as entry closing dates are different to most challenges.

Pixel Scrapper is a Digital Scrapbooking community that has a monthly challenge.  I am so glad I found this wonderful community. 

More Than Words has a great prompt this month.  Here are the Rules for their Challenges. Here is their Facebook Page.

 

Lasting Memories Scrapbooking Challenges have multiple challenges each month to inspire you.

Creative Inspiration is a online forum/group that features multiple challenges throughout the month.

Counterfeit Kit Challenge is a great concept where you take inspiration from a new kit that is out and create a kit from your supplies using that inspiration and so create layouts with your own kit.  They do a blog hop with their team showing each person's kit and layouts.  Well worth checking it out.

Scrappy Land is a bimonthly challenge that is all about getting out those dies and using them.  Make sure you list  the brand of die you used and that it is one their store stocks.

Craft-Dee Bowz is a monthly challenge that involves using a bow.  Head to their blog for more details.

 

Stick it Down has 3 Challenges a month, a card sketch, a single page sketch and a double page sketch.  Head to their blog for further details. 

 

Rochelle Spears has a new Scrappy Friends Challenge.   She also has a bonus challenge this month

Scrap Our Stash has a fun prompt this month.

The ScrapRoom is a bimonthly challenge starting with a sketch this month.

Altenew has a inspiration challenge this month.  Head to their blog for rules and inspiration. 

 Project Life

Here is a list of Challenges that would suit creating Project Life layouts.  Note I do need to check the challenges that are new to the list and update this sublist.  I will update shortly.

Scrap the Boys have said they will accept PL layouts.

Scrap the Girls have said they will accept PL layouts.

Kraft+ Challenge accepts tradition layouts, art journalling, tags, etc so this challenge would suit PL I think.

ARTastic Challenge Blog accepts all forms of Scrapbooking as entries.

Scrapbook Boutique accepts scrapbooking, off the page, etc so I think it would suit PL.  The new challenge is posted on the 10th of each month.

Dusty Attic states in the August Moodboard Entry Rules (so assuming it is the same) that your project can be anything you desire including layouts, cards or off the page so it sounds like PL will be accepted.

Previous Lists    

February 2019
January 2019

December 2018

November 2018

October 2018

September 2018

August 2018

July 2018

June 2018

May 2018

April 2018

March 2018

February 2018

January 2018

December 2017

November 2017

October 2017

September 2017

August 2017

July2017

June 2017

May 2017

April 2017

March 2017

February 2017

January 2017

December 2016

November 2016

October 2016

September 2016

August 2016

My scrappy friends who only scrap when at a crop, or who have stopped or reduced their time scrapping for any reason I think you will love some of these, have a look at each one.