Our Rosie

Well 3 months old and still getting into mischief?!!! Note the paint on her head from investigating the paint tin, while John and I were busy painting No.1 Child's bedroom :-)

She's lovely though and the best friend anyone could ask for. Such loyal and loving dogs.

Such a Cheeky Monkey

Yep he was at 2 and still is :-)

Wednesday Stamper - Autumn Colours

This weeks theme at WS is Autumn Colours. Although here in Aus it is technically spring, where I live way up north of Western Australia, it is like summer with the temps reaching up into the mid 30 degrees each day.

I have to say I love this colour combination and Autumn is one of my fav seasons.... anyway here is my entry.... dragged out my much neglected alcohol inks to make this card.



Thanks for looking :-)

GPP Street Team - Crusade No. 13

It's the Crusade's Birthday!! It's been one year since the crusades started and this theme is 'Get Gothic'. So here is my entry, which is a cover for a Gothic Arch Book (inspired by Belinda Schneider and also featuring a page from her), which had 13 other ladies participating in (you can see their pages in a few posts back on my blog)....



and here is my page for this book



thanks for looking

Another LO

I enjoyed making this LO, but tonight I'm going to work on something for Wednesday Stamper, which I haven't participated in a while. Feel like I need to get my arty juices flowing again.

BUT saying that, I still have oodles and oodles of pictures I want to do LO's for, so that should keep me busy for a while :-)

My first LO just of Luc

Oh and not to mention his 'friend'..... I am enjoying doing the scrapbooking for preserving memories of my family, but I must admit it is harder for me to get my head around doing stuff on a larger format. I keep wanting to 'arty' it up a bit too, but have held back simply because at the moment I'm trying to focus mainly on the photo...also until I get my confidence on working on this scale of work... I do love this photo of Luc and the obliging dragon fly.

2007 Darren Hayes @ Soundtrack To My Life - Ray Of Light

A beautiful cover of Madonna's Ray of Light by Darren Hayes

Puzzle Swap

I have been busy in the last week and a bit, finishing off pieces for a swap being hosted by a friend of mine, Annie. She doesn't have a blog, so can't give you a link, but let me tell you, she is one talented lady and I was chuffed that she asked me to play in her swap.

Themese were chosen by each person and we all had to make 2 pieces for each person.

Ok mine should be in the post to each person in the next day or two. Just have to stick labels on the back of the puzzles with name and details etc, so if you are in this swap and you dont want to spoil the surprise, look away NOW!! LOL

Some Pics to share

Tonight we had a power black out for about an hour or so. DH & I were sitting outside with a few candles (having a romantic moment LOL) and the 2 chiddlies came running out of the house to say a dragonfly had landed on my youngests nose. The insects were being drawn to a few of the torches that the chiddlies were playing with during the blackout.





Dragonfly was most obliging, as Emma then picked him up and put him on her nose.

For those not interested in Scrapbooking - look away now!!

Only my 3rd LO and it didn't turn out quite how I pictured it in my mind. Still getting used to working on a bigger canvas than my usual.

Just for a giggle

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Venerable Lady Natalie the Disheveled of Snotting on Wold Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

If you want to get a posh Aristocratic Title, click here

4 x 4 - Art Deco

Ok so this is DEFINITELY not a theme I would normally work in or with, so it's been absolutely FABULOUS to go out of my comfort zone. Thanks to Kelsey for selecting this for the ABC group.



So what do you think, is it Art Deco (ish) enough??

Any opinions welcome.

Have a great day
Nat

ps I'm loving my new Cuttlebug :-) I've used it on the last 4 x 4 page (Gothic) and for this page with the lettering

4 x 4 Gothic Page

Above is my page for the ABC groups AUGUST (yes I'm late) theme of Gothic..... Background heavily inspired by Belinda Schneider and her fabulous backgrounds she makes using acrylic paints and her hand carved stamps.

AWESOME work cont.............

Well I'm a part of a fortnightly dare blog, called How Dare You and let me tell you, you MUST go over there and have a look at this weeks dare. We had to incorporate nature from our own back yard in to our work and I am in total AWE of what the girls in my team have produced. I feel a little inadequate in the company of Maxine Hazebroek, Audrey Underwood, Susane Johannes and Tania Davey. These girls not only can do amazing scrapbook pages, but they can turn their hands to the most amazing mixed media pieces too.

Here is my piece for this theme -



Titled 'The Key to my broken Heart'

I must admit to having EXTREME doubt in my ability after seeing my piece compared to the other ladies work.

Look at all of my yummy goodies

From this gorgeous gal...............



and this wonderful card -



The bracelets and earings I bought off of Julie, but the other goodies she has generously shared with me. Julie I'm in total awe of how clever you are!!

Please check out her blog if you havne't before, to see all of her awesome work... not only jewellery, but other mixed media art.

Gothic Arch Book

Recently I put out a call for people interested in doing a Gothic Arch Page Swap with me. Well the response I got was AWESOME and now that they are all finished and posted off to their prospective homes, I'll post some pics of the work received.

Def some eye candy here -




Above page by Belinda Schneider



Above page by Carmel Trigwell




Above page by Dawn Thomas




Above page by Dot Christian




Above page by Jacky Williams. She doesn't have a blog but should have one!!



Above page by Jenny Crossley



Above page by Julie Quinn.



Above page by Kelsey O'Mullane



Above page by Lynne Larsen



Above page by Michelle Smith




Above page by Shari Schneider. Shari did 12 different pages for this swap, which you can see on her blog.



Above page by Sulea Lee



Above is the front cover made by me



And finally my page made for this swap

WS - Blue

As I haven't had a chance to participate in WS lately, thought I'd add my fish canvas to the latest challenge, as it def fits the bill. The only stamping is done on the background with the end of a pen nib and a glue stick end, so hopefully that qualifies :-) Thanks for looking.

Another Fishy...................

Fish No.2

I've been down here in Perth for 2 weeks now and yesterday I was starting to get really itchy and need of getting my hands dirty with paint. So popped down to the local art supply shop, grabbed myself a couple of canvas's, some paint and paint brushes and decided I was going to continue on with my fish theme and do a kind of series, so that I can put them up in my house (or maybe give them away) not sure yet.



Seeing as I dont have any of my normal supplies down here, it was good, as it made me go out of my comfort zone and use stuff that was around me. I missed not being able to use my crayons (they are at home) so this time I used just paints. I also missed my little helper (DD No.1) who did the fin and the tail on my first painting, which can be seen here - http://nats-ramblings.blogspot.com/2007/07/wednesday-stamper-open-theme-no2-entry.html

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.

Nice Matters

Isn't this the sweetest pic above :-)... I've been nominated for this award by the talented and lovely Debbi Baker. Who so beautifully put it -
"this is actually something I really believe is important in the world of the net and blogging as it is so easy to give a wrong impression or to be misinterpreted. Good manners rule!" I couldn't have put it better Debbi!!

So it is now my turn to nominate other bloggers and gee it is hard as there are so many wonderful and sweet gals & guys out there, so here goes -

Sulea - what an amazing artist this girl is. Not only is she EXTREMELY talented and sweet, she writes beautiful poetry and shares so much of herself so freely. Love her blog!!

Kelsey - so what can I say about this wonderful gal that hasn't been said before a gazillion times!! Love ya Kelsey!!

Dawn - check out her blog for a very cute and 'sweet' pic of her when she was a wee little prawn (her nick name is Prawn or prawn face :0). this gal is ubber talented and just the noicest person around.

Carmel - Love this girls free hand painting she does.... so ubber talented, she makes a painting look like a photograph it's that detailed.... Miss you heaps Carmel, my funny funny Irish Friend...

Julie H - what can I say about Julie. She can do collage, jewellery, painting, stamping. EVERYTHING so well and I just love love love everything she makes.

Jaimie - not only a wonderfully talented scrapbooker, but Jaimie was my 'life' saver when I first moved to Tom Price. Inviting me to here there and everywhere and introducing me to the wonderful world of Scrapbooking. She is a cracker of a gal.

And the list goes on.....France C, Dottee, Eve W, Nina Bagley, Misty Mawn, Judy (Red Velvet) and etc etc etc, so many to name. Thank you gals for brightening my week, each and every day with your wonderful posts on your blogs.

Still Away

Hi All

We've extended our visit to Perth, so that we can spend more 'quality' time with the family after my Nan's passing. After much discussion, my DH and I decided to fly the children down, so that they can spend a week with their cousins and family also. We were planning a visit during the school holidays in October anyway, so we've just bought that forward to now.... so we will also be taking them to some fun places like the Zoo (if it stops raining) and Scitech and a few other bits and bobs. It's also my mum and my nephew's birthday this week, so it's going to be a busy and fun week, which is just what we all need after the sorrow of the past week and a bit.

I haven't done any art lately, but just prior to me leaving Perth, I was asked to join the Aussie Dares blog as a contributor to the fortnightly dares there. Pop on over and have a look at the latest 'Dare' which is Fantasy..... there's quite a variety of work there and my effort was a canvas piece which you can see below -



Unfortunately I wont be able to make the next dare, but hopefully the one after, so I'll post my work up here after it's been posted on the blog.

Take care one and all
Hugs Nat

Thanks for the lovely comments my friends

The world is definitely a brighter and better place, with so many loving and caring people in it. Thank you to everyone who sent messages of comfort to me and my family during our time of loss. My Nana suffered a stroke on Thursday, the day after having her first lot of chemo. She was unconscious when I arrived on my flight from Tom Price to Perth and my family was originally told that she would not last 2 hrs. But my nana being the strong woman she is, hung on until well after I got to the hospital and managed to say goodbye. She was surrounded by her closest family and the ones who loved her so much.

Such a strong woman though, who will be missed so greatly. A rock, a giving, loving woman, who welcomed all into her home without judgement and would take the shirt off her back and give it to you if she thought you needed it, even if it was her last shirt.

Take care one and all, and dont forget to hug those that you love, often!!

Every now and then...........

My kids totally blow me away :-) Ok so they are like any typical kids and have their 'moments' when they are grotty. But today they blew me away with a special request. They asked me if they could make a gift for my grandmother, who is in hospital at the moment. We recently found out that she has 3 different types of cancer and as of today started chemo. She's 84 yrs old and as thin as a stick (40kgs to be exact), so not sure how she is going to handle that sort of battering to her body. I fly out on Thurs to be with my family during this time, so I will give her this gift then.




So here's what they came up with. My DD (7yrs) did the background and the collage, using some of my clipart and some of the Basic Grey die cuts to make the flowers. My DS (4yrs) did the frame with a little instruction from me.


Ok so yeah I AM bias.....


Stay safe one and all and I'm not sure when I'll be back to blogland.....

Share the love.....

hehe ok so that's a funny kind of title.... but it was so fab to read Belinda's blog this morning and to see that I've been nominated for this -



So here's where you can find the rules, but in a nutshell I have to nominate 5 people that I believe inspire others through their words and actions, with a positive attitude, and an uplifting spirit.

So I nominate -

Sulea , who blows me away with her art, her poetry and her loving/kind soul.

Julie H, there is no limit to this lady's talent and she has no hesitation in sharing how she does her art with others. Her love for animals, is also evident in her blog posts

Dawn t, who is just the loveliest, most sweetest, most talented woman and again is so sharing with her art

Kelsey This woman rocks!! and she is a totally awesome artist

Dot who I first met on line yonks ago and she makes the most uplifting art.

There are so many more bloggers I'd like to nominate, but I'm sure through this tagging system, those bloggers will eventually be tagged anyway.

Have a wonderful day :-)

Make some Noise!!!

Yay to Michelle Ward for coming up with another wonderful crusade.... although this would have to be the easiest one yet... The challenge is to add some music to our blog to share with one and all.... well I've decided to go with a flash back to the past... yes I'm an 80's music lovin kind of gal... call me old fashioned I dont know, but most of my fav music goes back to then.

IMO there were heaps to chose from, but I've decided to go with some music from Duran Duran, which was another of my fav groups from that time.....

So here's one of my favs..... dontcha just love the acting in this video

And I had to add this one, just purely for the black budgie smugglers that Simon is wearing


Again you gotta love that acting :-)

There are heaps more I could share, but I'll save that for another post or 2... Have a wonderful weekend

Second LO of my own design

Ok so here is my second LO ever of my own design. Still waiting for our new camera to arrive, courtesy of ebay. My son made the funniest comment the other day about ebay..... "dont you just love ebay mummy!!". I thought this was hilarious seeing as he's only 4. But he's discovered the joys of it, because Daddy and mummy are always getting packages in the mail because we've bought something on ebay!! Where we live (remote mining town in West Aust) there is not many facilities to buy 'stuff' here, so we get just about everything on line. Apparently our local post office is one of the busiest in the state, purely because there are so many parcels that arrive for people (town population roughly 5000) every day.

Hope everyone is having a great week :-)

Arch Page

Another Arch Page... these things are addictive :-)

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme - No.2 Entry

I made this canvas today, with a little help from my number one daughter who cut the tail of the fish and the fin. Stamps used are MM Foam Stamps and Hero Arts. This Canvas measures 30 x 60cm and it's something I've had in my mind for ages to do, and just hadn't got there until today. I've used acrylic paints and one of my new fav toys - water soluble oil pastels. Love those colours!! YUMMY. Although my photography, does not do these colours justice..... still waiting our new camera to arrive from ebay :-)

Titled Funky Fish and it's sitting on our kitchen wall....

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

Since the last Wednesday Stamper, I have been working on some swaps, done a couple of scrapbooking pages and this altered envelope. Stamps used are the Clearly Impressed Michelle Ward stamps. Crayons are used to colour and vioflex has been melted onto the envelope with black EP.

Had to add this picture below. This is what I would look like if I lived in Springfield (as in the Simpsons)....

Not sure how good a likeness it is, but it was fun :-)

2nd Attempt at a Scrapbook LO and this time it's my own design!

So you may have read in my previous post, that I attended a class with our very own talented Tom Price scrapbooker - Jaimie Emmerton on Monday. Well it kind of gave me a little bit of a taste for this addiction that so many women get hooked on, plus I DO have endless supplies of embellishments and papers, collected over the years for my stamping/art work that I can use....... So I thought I'd make another LO. This time I went with my normaly grungy/messy style and I'm not sure if I did my daughters pic justice at all, but here it is...

Another dreadful photo of my work, but the exciting news is that our NEW camera is on it's way... ordered from Ebay yesterday. So I'm hoping that my photography work will just automatically improve with this transaction... .hehe I'm a point and shoot kind of gal and as Jaimie will testify from Monday's class, technology and I don't get along all that well. I managed to gunge up her sewing machine I don't know how many times, when everyone else could use it perfectly without a hitch! So I believe the software that comes with the camera is dummy proof (perfect for me) and that I need to get Photoshop??? Any tips on how to get good photo's, would be much appreciated :-)

I have some more photo's here I want to work with, so I'm hoping that I can combine scrapbooking now with my other art... but like I've said before, I just need a few more hours in my day (without losing sleep!).

It's been a while...................

But I have something to share!!! Today I went to my very first scrapbooking class :-) Thanks to the wonderfully talented and gorgeous Jaimie Emmerton, who patiently showed a group of us gals how to put this fabulous page together. We all made it our 'own' slightly and it was great to see the difference a picture makes to the LO (lay out for those that dont know Scrapbooking terminology). Jaimie designed these paper flowers, isn't she a genius!! AND she shared how she does it with us....so here's my take on Jaimie's LO, using a pic of my Number 1 girl - Emma who was 6 months in this pic.

Sorry for the blurred bit on the photo, it's not on the original LO. I couldn't take this photo earlier on today as I had to work, but I couldn't wait to share, so I took the photo tonight. Oh and the most excitement thing!!! IS we are buying a new camera.... so hopefully better pics of my work on the way :-)

Check out her blog for some other magnificent eye candy.

GPP Street Team Crusade No. 10

Michelle Ward has come up with another fabulous theme for her challenges over on her GPP Street Team Blog. This time it is mail art. I have to admit to being a bit of a slacker normally when it comes to decorating envies. I normally just stamp maybe one image at the most, so this was a great challenge to get me out of that 'slackness' and come up with an interesting piece of mail art.

Background has been done with Distress Inks and some crayons. Michelle Wards funky stamps from the Clearly Impressed line stamped randomly over the envie and then black distress ink powder melted on to fusible webbing to add texture.

Make sure you take the time to jump on over to Michelle's blog, to check out all the fab stuff over there.

A bit of fun

Got this great idea to show case your art in a museum from Debbi check it out for a bit of fun!!

Wednesday Stamper - Buttons

Here's my entry for this weeks Wednesday Stamper - theme buttons. Stamps used are Stampington and Stampers Anon. Background is made using water soluble crayons and the blue splatter (hard to see in the scan) is made using Moon Glow Starburst Stains (Have to get me some more of these colours as I love the look!!). The buttons are the flowers and the black round ones down the bottom of the clown.

As usual my scanner doesn't like lumps (or is it the user doesn't know how to scan lumps!), so the scan is not the best.

Thanks for looking :-)

This and that

I just dont seem to have enough time or energy to make as much art as I would like too lately and I'm getting niggly. If anyone comes up with a formula for adding a few extra hours into your day without losing sleep, please let me know!! Working 2 jobs and having small children, plus trying to play sport and have some sort of social life, just doesn't leave enough time to do ART!!!

I was looking through some of my old work today (made nearly 3 yrs ago) and was deleting some of the scans off my hard drive. I was shocked at how bad some of the stuff was, but I guess we've all gotta start somewhere and at the time I thought they were ok.

Saying that, I came across this card which was the first thing I ever made that won a prize!! When that happend I was over the moon and my addiction to stamping/card making/art took off from there.

Our weekend was great and the weather here is just perfect ATM. I wish it could be like this for at least 10 months of the year and it would certainly make living here in TP a lot more bearable. But apparently air conditioners generally start going on again here in September!! Not looking forward to the summer months as it is, then I heard that and nearly fell over. Oh well, for now I'm just enjoying this beautiful weather and the fact that we are able to play and enjoy sport without dying from heat exhaustion.

DH and I played our mixed soccer on the weekend and what a game it was!! 6 goals to nil..... but the best part I have to share is, there were 4 girls on one team (mine) and none on the other (which happens to be the team my DH was put on) and we ended up having 2 extra players because "all the girls are on one team" and of course we are the weaker sex!! Well I scored a goal and one of the other girls did too and another set up quite a few of the goals that the guys got on our team. GO THE GIRLS!! At half time, they ended up taking one of our stronger male players and putting him on the other team, so that the guys could score some goals and we still beat em!! Seriously though, it was such a fun game and I really enjoy our Sunday's that are full of soccer and laughs. And believe it or not, the games are generally pretty even and social.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend.