Nephew and Belated Anniversary

Hello

Last post I mentioned my sister had given birth to a baby boy on Saturday but at that stage we had not yet met the little guy as there were a few birth complications that had us all quite worried. Well on Sunday we had the opportunity to go meet my new nephew. What a cutie!

His name is Caiden Callum and he was 8'5', so quite a big boy. He looks so much like some of his brothers already, especially with his cute button nose. Despite his rather tricky trip into the world, both he and my sister are doing great now. In fact, they went home on the Monday to meet the rest of the family... including his 7 brothers and sisters.

 First cuddle with Gran

 Still so tiny

 Excited big sister Shannon

After a feed. The big bandage thing on his arm is to keep some monitoring thing on him due to the difficult birth but it was due to come off soon after this photo.

It was so nice having baby cuddles so soon before we have our own little bundle due to arrive. I am hoping our little girl isn't quite that big though as Caiden was about a pound bigger than any of my sisters other kids. But it was a nice chance to learn a bit more about what to expect as we actually got to visit my sister in the hospital. Normally she is home before we get that chance.

Only 6 weeks to go before our own baby is due to make an appearance. I've started washing  baby clothes to prepare.

This week was also our 2nd wedding anniversary. Although it seems both Simon and I had a baby brain moment this week and we celebrated on the 24th instead of the 23rd without realising until we started getting messages etc that made us both re-think what date our wedding was hahahah Shocking. Normally I'm good with that stuff but my brain is definitely a little hazy these days. But the good thing was we actually got to spend the 24th evening together as the 23rd, Simon was working.

The card I made

We went to dinner at Ribs and Rumps resturant in Fortitude Valley which was a nice surprise for Simon as he is a fan of their food. And he surprised me with a lovely charm for my new pandora bracelet shaped like a little pram. So sweet!

Unfortunately I have been suffering from a stomach bug this week though and it didn't hit in force until 4am yesterday morning when I woke with horrible cold shivers. Yesterday was my worst day and I seem to be on the mend today but spend the day at home to recover. I went to the GP too as my appointment was next week so I brought it forward. The doctor was not worried about the bug and did all the usual baby checks to find that baby is facing downward and all is looking perfect so far!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Holly x

A2Z Scraplets October Releases Part 2

Hello

Well I said I would share the second half of my October A2Z scraplets so here they are:

 This first one was a project that I had begun a year or so ago and had left half finished so I am happy to have finally finished it and decorated it with a lovely embossed A2Z dragon fly. There are a couple of other older A2Z designs on there too. It is a kaisercraft recipe box with Kaiser papers and paint.

 

 

Weekend Escape

Family Portrait - Kaiser paper; d-lish doily; a2z scraplets chipboard; tim holtz distress ink; embossing powder; cardboard.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I am looking forward to meeting my new nephew this afternoon hopefully

Holly xo

A2Z October Releases Part 1

Hello

How are you all on this lovely weekend? It's extremely hot where I am in QLD. About 36 or so degrees so very summery already. And being 33 weeks pregnant, its not a great thing to be that hot even though I do love hot weather.

This morning a friend and I headed in to the Quilting and Scrapbooking expo in Brissie. There was not a great deal of scrap related items so amazingly I did not spend a lot. Mostly card marking supplies really since Christmas is nearing and a few other odds and ends.

Recently the latest A2Z Scraplets releases went up on the blog with some amazing inspiration from the DT. Here are my own October projects in case you missed the post:

Family Stories - This one is part of the 'Me' scrapbook project I recently decided to start and features my parents. There is hidden journally inside the envelope that tells a bit about my parents story.

 Materials: A2Z Scraplets heart border; Bo Bunny Timepiece collection; D-lish scraps flower & envelope.

Beware - It's a Baby Boom

 The story behind this one is that my sister and I were both pregnant at the same time. Big age gap between us. She is up to number 8 compared to my number one but we got the chance to get a couple of joint belly photos recently. Lucky too because her bub arrived this morning. A little boy. Unfortunately it was not a smooth labour as he had the cord wrapped around his neck but we are hoping all is okay and just waiting for a time to visit once my sis is rested. She was due Friday so we are only 6 weeks apart in due dates although with my first I will more likely have my bubs late but its nice they will have a cousin close in age.

 Materials: Echo park paper; D-lish scraps embellishments & twine; Purple pumpkin button; AC thickers; Jillybean soup alphas; dymo labeller; pink paint.

 Pretty hard to read my dymo journalling but its - I never expected the day would come with Tanya and I pregnant at the same time, me expecting my first and her with no. 8 due only 6 weeks apart. At the time of the photo we were 28 and 34 weeks.

The A2Z title was embossed with a spot folder in the cuttlebug and painted pink.

So Happy Together

 Materials: A2Z Scraplets title; echo park paper; d-lish scraps flowers and doily; tim holtz distress ink.

The journalling is about the fact that we were at a friend's wedding and this was the first couple photo of Simon and I with my bump on display so its special.

Anyway, that's enough shares for now. I'll share the other 3 October projects in another post so as not to overload you. Also just got an update from mum. My new nephew is feeding now so that's a great sign after his scary birth experience. All is looking well.

Holly xo

Recent Creations

Hello

Thought I had better share something crafty to prove I have been doing some scrapping etc lately. Here are a couple of recent creations:

School Days - This one is for the Scrapbooking Top 50 North America challenge. I got Hawaii as my location so the layout had to include lots of flowers, a banner and some randomness. My randomness are the bling flowers scattered on the page. These photos are me from when I first started school. Prep in fact... back in around 1988 I think. Wasn't I adorable? haha

 The layout was done using the Lake House collection from Kaisercraft, with a Manor house flower, D-lish scraps flower and twine, AC thickers and some other random flowers and a doily. The other flowers were from a Japanese online store. Extremely cheap for a massive bulk amount of flowers. A lucky discovery by a friend and the flowers are great.

This next one is my latest creation for the Designer Scrapbooking DT. Don't you just love the fabulous wooden frames they have. I do!

 Although I apologise for the terrible photos. Bad light on a gloomy day. And also the photos in there are only temporary to give an idea how it looks finished. I plan to put photos of our new bub in there once she arrives :) This one was done with the Kaiser Tigerlilly collection like the rest of the pretties I am making for the nursery or baby related at least.

You would have noticed the cute pic of my fur babies in there. So a little update on how they are travelling following their vet trip yesterday.

Dexter is being quite odd, and spending most of his time hanging out in his cat carrier still. A bit sore and sorry perhaps after his procedure but he's very cute and affectionate when he gets pats. And eating normal. So maybe he just likes the carrier. It has given me a great idea to get the boys their very own plush pet bed for christmas since once the baby comes, they won't be able to sleep in our room for a few months.

Squeak on the other hand is just being Squeak. Completely oblivious to the fact that he has a heart condition and being his normal fun, cute and playful self. And snuggling up to bring brother to keep Dexter company during his quiet time.

Hope you are having a good day.

Holly x

Simple Day Turned Stressful :(

Hello everyone,

As many of you may have seen, we have two adorable Devon Rex kittens. They are actually full brothers but from 2 seperate litters so about 5 months apart in age. Dexter was my christmas present from Simon last Christmas following the loss of my fur baby Felix who was 16 and had to be put to sleep due to fluid on the lungs. Dexter was such a joy and so much different to any other cat that we could not help ourselves but adopt another.

Squeak was Simon's 31st birthday present in May this year. He was the tiniest little bundle when we got him. Barely a handful and even now, still only midsize compared to his 4.7kg big brother. Squeak is definitely in the gangly growing stage still with big feet, long legs but lots of wrinkly skin that he hasn't quite grown into.

The two of them have such different personalities. Dexter can be cuddly, but it has to be when he is in the mood. Same with playing... or at least he doesn't share well with Squeak joining in LOL He also has an annoying habit of trying to wake me up at the crack of dawn for breakfast with slaps to the face with his paws and a bite to the cheek if I'm really unlucky. Big personality indeed.
 
Squeak on the other hand is extremely playful but also very cuddly. His most annoying habit is if we leave a bathroom door open, the toilet paper will end up in a pile on the floor. He is a garbage guts too and quite dominent when it comes to food time. Or maybe big bro Dex just lets him get away with it.

But the two of them together... there is a lot of love there. They always snuggle together for naps and often clean each other. They fret if they can't find each other and do have a lot of fun playing together so overall, the perfect companions.

So we finally decided it was time to get the pair of them desexed as Dexter is 13 months and Squeak about 8 months now. We hadn't really been too fussed on doing it but decided with the baby on the way, maybe it would be a good idea in case the new baby smell does make them want to be more territorial. They were both booked in today and we felt like terrible parents but expected a routine procedure.

About half an hour after we left, I got a phone call to inform us Squeak has a heart murmur and there are risks associated with anesthetic and therefore they needed our consent if they were to desex him. Being that it was a grade 3 out of 6, it is considered significant and we decided against the desexing. Instead we have a referral to go see a vet cardiologist to assess the extent of Squeak's condition.

Of course we are both devastated. Our beautiful little boy who is so lively and energetic may not have the same life expectancy as what we would have anticipated. Sure you never know with pets what could happen, but having this fear in the back of our minds is so much worse. I spent so much of today crying. Could blame the pregnancy hormones, but I don't think that makes a difference because when it comes to our fur babies, it breaks me completely.

We may have only had our boys for less than a year but the love we have for them is the love of family members. We cannot imagine life without them already and will of course do what we need to do to prolong Squeak's life if that is something that needs to happen. Whether it be medication or whatever else, we'll do it because that's what you do for someone you love. I will cross my fingers and toes that it turns out that it isn't as serious as that though. Google tells the good and the bad side to heart murmurs in cats and many do live long, normal lives. It is the unfortunate trait of a Devon Rex or a purebred cat in general.

Our poor baby... not that he knows there is anything wrong. He is his usual crazy self tonight, playing and snuggling as always. He knows he's a lucky boy to have such loving parents!

World Card Making Day

Hey

So yesterday was world card making day apparently. I didn't have a chance to do any crafting much yesterday as my husband and I had our first antenatal class at the hospital. It was good, but a little boring at times. Another 4 hours next Saturday. But at least we are learning some stuff about the scary world of parenthood... at least the labour and immediately after parts lol

I do not make cards often unless for a specific event, despite my best intentions of having a whole heap ready to go for those just in case moments. But today I decided to make a set of cards for one of the Scrapbooking Top 50 Amazing Race challenges. The challenge was to use a foreign word/sentiment on a layout or card set. I could have done any number of overseas photos with this challenge, however decided to go with yesterday's word card making theme and make a set of christmas cards.

My hubby's family is Polish so my 3 cards include a Polish christmas sentiment. Don't ask me to translate. I found 2 versions online, with the long one being the formal version and the briefer version my hubby tells me means 'Jesus' birthday' or similar. Ahh well.. that still works.

Have a great week.

Holly x

Baby Shower & Nursery Update

 

Hello

On Saturday I was lucky enough to have my baby shower. It was a great day and shared with so many lovely friends and family. The baby shower was held at my house as I liked the idea of having it at home and being able to be comfortable in my own surroundings and show everyone my nursery as it progresses. My mum hosted and one of my close friends took care of the games, so overall it went smoothly and was a total blast.

I had a bit of fun creating for the day so here are a few of the items I made:

The invitations included the following poem:

One small request that we hope won't be too hard, please bring a book instead of a card.
Whether Cat in the Hat or Winnie the Pooh, please sign the inside cover with a note to baby from you.
Your book will be forever cherished, well-loved or brand new, although please don't feel obliged; we will leave it up to you.

I saw this idea on Pinterest... of course! And thought that's such a great, sentimental idea. So now our little girl has a lovely collection of books to start her life out. Some aimed at very young babies with texture and others aimed later on, with fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

They will look great with the book ends I made to go in her room. Although I just realised I have not yet photographed them. Oops!

I also had some fun making home baked favours for my baby shower guests.. although you just have to ask mum how time consuming and painful they got by the end lol I made sugar cookies and cut them out with baby themed shapes and then we spent several hours the next day icing them ready for the shower.

 We discovered icing cookies is a long, tedieous and messy task. But they looked pretty cool and tasted even better!

And the very worst part... baby brain meant that I forgot to give half my guests a favour on the way out the door. Oops! Sorry to those of you who missed out. I was so proud of them too.

Baby brain also made me forget to put my cookies and cream cheesecake out for everyone to eat but a couple of friends and my parents stayed for a BBQ after and they were very happy at this memory lapse!

 Mmmmm yummies! Colour co-ordinated pink and a few splashes of green. Mum even used cookie cutters to shape the sandwiches into baby shapes.

And the most overloaded present table I have ever seen. The picture does not even begin to do justice for how incredibly spoilt our baby is following Saturday. Such kind and generous friends and family. It was so much fun opening everything and I've just spent the past couple of hours sorting and figuring out exactly what we now have. So bad but I'm paraonid our baby will turn out a boy now after all this pink has filled the babies room lol

So I finally took some pics of the book ends I made for the nursery:

 Kaisercraft bookends with the Kaiser tigerlilly collection of papers, collectables and rub ons and some D-lish scraps flowers.

And here they are with our babies well established book collection:

And some updates of the nursery and how it is looking these days:

Still a while to go before it has that finished look but that will be the plan closer to babies arrival.

And the latest bump photos:

 At the baby shower 30 weeks, 3 days.

And today's very brave bare belly photo, 30 weeks, 5 days. Can't believe the count down is less than 10 weeks now!

Well, its time for some crafting. Currently working on an OTP for a design team committment that I'm running a bit behind on. Now that the baby shower is over with, I can catch up again and relax. I have spent today and yesterday doing virtually nothing to recover from the big day Saturday lol

Hope you have all been having a good weekend, especially those of you who are lucky like me with a long weekend.

Holly xo