Toadstool Makeover

I just love a good before and after makeover story...what about you?
This may not seem very exciting to some of you but this little makeover has been on my to do list for years now. We moved into our house in 2006 and the toadstools were already here and painted blue and green. Once I spotted them I knew they'd look so much better painted up like proper toadstools!
I must have realised in the back of my mind somewhere that it wasn't going to be as easy as just whipping out a paintbrush and getting on with it because I only just got around to doing it now...nearly 6 years later! (and also prompted by adding the task as a Summer seasonal project to my 30@30 list).

So here's a little before picture for you to see the ugliness of the blue and green toadstools...

As well as a good scrub with the tough-bristled orange brush you see there we also had to break out the wire brush to get some mossy type stuff off them. In fact looking at this picture - this isn't a true before shot because the toadstools had already had some cleaning by this point!

Once that was done we headed off the the DIY store and purchased some special primer that works on concrete/stone and is suitable for being outdoors. Hubby took delight in spraying the toadstools with the primer and we gave them about 2 coats.

Note: I already did some other spray painting for a project I can't show off just yet so was happy for hubby to have a go with the toadstools.

And then New Year came and went and with it a lot of rain so the toadstools stayed white for a while.

Once Hogmanay was behind us we headed back to the DIY store and picked up some red spray paint.

To make the white spots on the top I punched some cardboard circles with my circle punch and bluetacked them randomly atop the toadstools. I then spraypainted the red over this. Once I'd applied a couple of coats and let it dry I peeled back the punched circles to reveal the spots.

Where I had used bluetack and hadn't got a sealed circle there was some uneveness to the spots so I touched them up with some white emulsion we had in the garage.

And finally, here are the finished toadstools...

Cute huh? I'm hoping to find some little elves or pixies on my travels to bring home to sit atop and amongst the toadstools to make a little magical scene for my baby boy to admore when we rummage in the garden!

Scrapbooking: Document 2011: December plus finishing touches

I got my Document 2011 album finished - woo hoo!

Here's a look at the last month of the year...

I decided to cover up the calendar image this month (it was a swan) - mostly because I run out of room and I really wanted to fit the giraffe card in...

My pocket pages are very busy and I used my new (to me, secondhand) scallop circle punch throughout all the pages...

the printout in the bottom left pocket is an email from my Dad which I wanted to preserve in the album

the main page features photos from Christmas Day. The background circle paper has been stashed for a long time and it was time to use it. It makes the page quite busy but I quite like it. I also used some buttons and more scallop circles...

So that's the last month done and here's a peek at the finishing touches to my album...

I made a title page and featured one photo from each month. I printed 4 photos to 6x4 prints and then trimmed them down to 2x2 inches...

For the back page I printed a small portrait photo of each of us and surrounded those around a long journalling strip. The journalling lists our names, ages, address and why I made the album for future posterity. I thought the quote at the bottom suited the project well "May you live all the days of your lives" and is by Jonathon Swift apparently.

I also scrapped a title for the album for the front window - here's a look at that (I actually did this a while ago when the project got it's own album but hadn't got around to sharing it before now)...

I added a scallop circle with the year to the spine of the album so I can see at a glance which one it is when it's tidied away on a shelf or in a cupboard...

And here's a look at the complete album - bursting with photos and stories from 2011 and something we will treasure for years to come...

And that's that. I am so pleased to have finished this project all the way to the end and I am looking forward to completing a similar project this year with a few changes to keep it fun :-)

You can see all of my Document 2011 pages and posts here.

Things I'm loving

Linking up with the first of Paisley Jades Things I'm Loving for 2012.

So here goes...this week I'm loving...

My new iPhone thanks to my super awesome husband that ordered it for me

My newest order from Scrappin Patch featuring some cute mini alphas, a 6x6 pad and some new multi-pockets ready to start documenting 2012

A beautiful bunch of flowers from hubby's mum

My gorgeous doggy sprawled out and snoozing while the baby naps (if the baby is awake the dog would be in danger of being jumped all over!)

and finally, Instagram which I used (on my new phone!) to take all of these pictures!

Thanks Paisley Jade for the linky!

A Break in the Bay

G's Mum is here at the moment and it was her birthday at the weekend so we booked a little break (2 nights) over in the Hawkes Bay as part of her birthday present.

We set out on Friday and took the Saddle Road as the Manawatu Gorge is still closed. It's been ages since we took the Saddle Road and it was a lovely day for it with some amazing views...

I know the windmills are a bit love 'em or hate 'em but I must say I'm a fan and took a few pictures of them...

Once we got to Woodville we stopped at Yummy Mummy's Cheesecakes and bought some birthday cheesecake as well as stopping for morning tea (their Woodville Slice is YUMMY!). No pictures unfortunately as I was too busy scoffing :-)

We got back on the road and had another stop in Hastings for a spot of lunch. I love how the railway there goes right through the middle of town and they have built a water feature around the trainline...

They have a pretty cool clock tower too...

After lunch we headed to Te Mata Peak with it's amazingly stunning views and we were all in awe at what we could see. Thank goodness for gorgeous weather so we could see for miles...

And here's a taster of the drive back down from the Peak. They close the road coming up when the buses go back down so we snuck behind them to make our way a little easier!

After this we headed to Napier and checked in at our motel. We stayed at Bella Vista which was lovely and so close to everything. We could walk into the CBD and to Marine Parade in minutes!

Here's a look at the seaside...

On the Saturday we went to the Napier Farmers Market which was fantastic. We had freshly squeezed fruit juice (juiced right in front of us), free range bacon and sausage sandwiches and bought some yummy strong cheese and delicious peaches, apples and cherries which had been grown locally. We also got some jam doughnuts (first time I'd seen them in NZ, that doesn't mean they didn't exist here - just that I hadn't noticed them before!) and some sauces and chutneys. 

I declared that I could happily drive over on Saturdays just for the market and will definitely plan future visits to the Bay to coincide with the market times so I can re-visit!

After the market we went to Silky Oaks which is a chocolate factory, museum, shop and cafe. We sampled some yummy chocolate, had a look round the museum and grabbed some lunch in the cafe. I also had an Iced Chocolate which was the yummiest one I've had in a long time...

G and I got a date together on Saturday afternoon while baby was napping and headed to Starbucks. (They closed Palmy's Starbucks in 2009 and I miss it so much - used to be there at least once a week!). It was lovely to be able to walk down the road hand-in-hand minus a buggy and sit and chat with each other with no distractions <3 

That night we ended up at Cobb & Co for dinner which was just round the corner from where we were staying. After dinner we walked along by the sea to walk off our dinner and I snapped a picture of the public toilet (which you may say is weird but they are all painted with Art Deco scenes - how cool is that?!)

Overnight on Saturday the weather turned to custard but we knew that it was likely so we saved the National Aquarium for last and did that on Sunday morning. G and I had visited the aquarium years ago and remembered it being quite good and were so glad we made the decision to go back. The baby LOVED it! He was amazed by the fish, the turtles, the seahorses and everything else they have on display. He was running as fast as his little legs could carry him to point out all the things he could see in various tanks. It was lovely to watch.

I also really enjoyed the kiwi enclosure - they have 2 kiwi's in there and they move a lot. On both visits to the Aquarium now I have seen more kiwi action then all the other kiwi places I have been put together!

Once we were done at the Aquarium we braved the downpour of rain once more to load back into the car and headed off home...with a couple of stops along the way.

It was an awesome weekend away. G and I both commented how relaxed and rested we felt. Travelling with toddlers isn't always described as relaxing so we were pleasantly surprised!

(A rather belated) Happy New Year

I've realised I haven't actually got around to wishing everyone Happy New Year yet...so here I am now.

I've also been quite slack at responding to comments and visiting other bloggers lately and I am sorry about that. We will be getting back to a bit  more of a "normal" routine next week so hopefully I will be a better blogger then! 

In the meantime I thought I'd share this series of photos we took at Wellington Zoo on Wednesday (wow, was that really only yesterday?!)...

I hope that 2012 is treating you well so far and hope everyone finds some happiness this year.

Much love,

Me 

x

JYC Update 5

Here's the latest lot of my Christmas Journal pages...

Boxing Day (hubby put the swing up in the garage for a practice run before we put it on the tree)...

On the 27th December we headed to the park and baby had a run...

Not much happening on the 28th so I took the opportunity to include details about the NZ Handmade Swap...

On the next day I added in an envelope to include lists of the presents we gave and received (reminder to self to get the lists typed up and printed to go in!)...

On the back of the envelope I thought I'd list our favourite presents...need to sit down with hubby to get his and also see if he agrees with me about what baby's favourite is...

On the 30th hubby's mum arrived for her visit so I included a picture of her with baby opening presents...

For the last day of the year I did a 2 page layout featuring a print-out of my 2011 ta da list...

And on the 1st of January we headed to the park and I got this AWESOME photo so had to include that!

That's where I'm up to and to be honest I'm feeling done now. I know some people take this right up to the 6th January but I think I'll be finishing sooner than that. We took the Christmas decorations down today so I'm feeling like I need to finish this book and get that put away too.

I've hole-punched the cards that me, hubby and baby gave each other and added those. 

I'm thinking about writing some highlights plus some reminders for next year and sticking those down as the last page.

Once I do get finished I'll probably add a picture of the finished album so you can see how fat it's gotten. I even had to upgrade my book-ring size because there are so many pages!

 I'm so glad I kept it simple and managed to keep the momentum going :-)

2011 Ta Da List

Each year since 2006 I've come up with a Ta Da list for the year. A list of things I am proud to have achieved that year. Some of the achievements are pretty big and others are just fun.
For 2011 I compiled this list by looking back over my calendar, gratitude journal and document 2011 album to make sure I didn't miss anything. I think this is the biggest list yet - possibly because I have been so busy documenting 2011 in various forms :-)
You can see my previous years here: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. (Note: 2006 - 2009 link to an old blog).

1. Rode the train at the Esplanade (twice)
2. Visited Wellington Zoo (twice)
3. Had an Encounter with Red Pandas
4. Celebrated the Royal Wedding
5. Found an awesome child minder
6. Returned to work (part-time)
7. Had a handful of baby-free dates with G
8. Celebrated all the nights that baby slept all the way through (with stars on the calendar)
9. Held a joint 1st birthday party with our antenatal group
10. Farewelled a friend (RIP Michelle)
11. Joined Weight Watchers
12. Met Wendyl Nissen, got my book signed and learnt how to make my own baby wipes
13. Looked after another baby overnight
14. Aqua Zumba'd and looking forward to more in 2012!
15. Hosted a baby shower complete with games that people enjoyed
16. Crocheted lots (finished my rainbow granny, learnt to hexie and made a table runner and baby blanket, made bags, crocheted balls and Christmas puddings and learnt to ripple and made a baby ripple)
17. Juggled being a mother, wife and employee among other things
18. Completed 26 of my 29@29 list
19. Created my 30@30 plan
20. Potato stamped our own Christmas wrapping paper
21. Made up a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child
22. Bought and learnt how to use (well the absolute basics!) a sewing machine
23. Gave the garden a makeover
24. Got professional photos of the baby plus some family shots too
25. Listed a daily gratitude every day between March and December
26. Celebrated our 2nd anniversary by treating ourselves to new cotton sheets
27. Had fun when my Mum visited
28. Documented 2011
29. Became Editor of the Scrappin' Patch newsletter and created 8 monthly issues
30. Celebrated my 1st Mothers Day
31. Grew my collection of Cornishware
32. Got baby his 1st passport and successfully renewed ours
33. Purchased washi tape and used lots of it in crafty endeavours
34. Turned 2 years of photos into videos
35. Blogged regularly, hosted giveaways and gained followers
36. Made 2 sides of my seasonal blocks
37. Made friendship bracelets
38. Made a superhero cape
39. Learnt how to make chalk paint
40. Submitted our citizenship applications
41. Saw my 1st Santa Parade
42. Bought and used my Instax Camera
43. Volunteered at my local Parents Centre and wrote a lot of minutes
44. Participated in Week In The Life
45. Enjoyed Snow in Palmy!
46. Participated in RAK day
47. Took part in the tea towel, Rugby World Cup, NZ Handmade Christmas and Kiwi Christmas Ornament Swaps
48. Grew our own strawberries and tomatoes (we are yet to taste the tomatoes, ripening takes ages!)
49. Enjoyed being part of the country that hosted (and WON!) the Rugby World Cup
50. Finally finished this list! It's taken me ages :-)

Well done if you managed to read this far :-) What are you proud of achieving in 2011?