.my adulthood as a child. June 28, 2012

I find so much enjoyment in experiencing childhood as an adult.

I know that is a very silly sounding statement.  But for me having children has been a little like that – experiencing childhood as an adult.

I had a childhood that is full of good memories.  Not perfect but pretty wonderful in the simplest of ways.  Long summer holidays spent with family, neighbours and best friends.  Birthday parties, weekend skating rink visits, playing board games with my brother, riding bikes around the neighbourhood, dressing up in Mum’s clothing…the list goes on. 

But before you know it, you are all grown up and  instead of being the carefree child of the family, you are required to be the responsible adult, and in my case, mother.  But I have found that in between the extremely challenging times of being a mum, I am really enjoying childhood again by joining in with them and thinking up ideas to help them grow their own happy impressions of these days. 

I am enjoying it in a much different way to how I did when I was a child.  I now know how fast it goes, and how the memories you take with you throughout your life are not archived minute by minute for you to replay when you’d like to, but more by the impression it leaves.  Details can sometimes be sketchy even though you lived through every second of those days/months/years of your childhood. 

One thing I’d play back if I did have a minute by minute archive would be the times when my Dad played with my brother and I.  I have lots of memories of playing with Mum, because she was at home with us much of the time.  But those times with Dad are vague in my mind, and although I know they existed, I find them hard to pull out of the memory banks.  Having said goodbye to him 8 years ago makes it all the more important to me that I remember these things.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for my excessive photo-taking…capturing as many moments as I can in visual form so it is not forgotten.  Then again, I hope my sons will not be as forgetful as I am!

I am happy to say I have no regrets from my childhood.  At least none I can recall!!  And I’m pretty determined to not have regrets from my children’s childhood.  I’m not intending to make it perfect for them, or even take away their hassles, crises or inconveniences.  I’m just making it as darned healthy as I can.

Love Ruth x

.love a challenge. June 8, 2012

I love online craft challenges, even if I only seem to do perhaps 1 in 20 that I come across! 

The current Embellish Magazine Collage Color Trends Challenge is very pretty, and perfect for the 6 year old girl’s birthday card I need for my son to give to a school friend. 

He is very excited about going to this party because some of his mates will be there – what I don’t think he fully realises is that it is a fairy party and he may have to wear wings or something else equally repulsive to him!!  He is such a boy…although he does get a sheepish grin on his face when we ask him if he likes the sweet girl in his class who has written him several love letters. 🙂

He is feeling a bit grown up at the moment, as he has his first “big” tooth…the only problem is that the baby tooth it’s meant to be replacing hasn’t fallen out yet or even become loose!  I’d never seen it before, but I’ve been assured it’s not that uncommon and doesn’t necessarily stop teeth from straightening up eventually.  Off to the dentist next week for us, then!

Love Ruth x

.craft drought. September 8, 2011

I have really missed being creative in the craft area in recent times…life has been full of many things, but that has not included much crafting!  So I am attempting to pick up somewhere I left off a couple of months ago. 

Here are a couple of cards I got around to, plus the original cards that got me started on them.

You’re So Special by Kiara Lee (Cards Magazine, Jan 2010)

 Happy Birthday by Alisha Gordon (Cards Magazine, Jan 2010)

I am about to head off on holiday with the fam, so I’m hopeful there will be some relaxing days whre I can enjoy making some bits and pieces again.  

Love Ruth xx

.so many ideas, so little time. July 22, 2011

I wish I didn’t need sleep.  Then I could complete all the things I need to do as well as enjoy endless creative time.  But as it turns out, I am one of those people that needs an optimum amount of 9 hours sleep a night.  So annoying.  That doesn’t work so well when you are a night owl and get woken up in the mornings by small people being very loud!!  But as much as I’d love to be a 7-hours-of-sleep-morning-person, I would not change the small, loud people part ever! 

So in the interest of not dropping off the blogosphere, I am posting these random creative projects tonight before heading off to bed.

(I like the fighting robots in the background!)

 

I didn’t make the dress, just the flower on it.

Lollypop birthday card… 

…with felt lollypop fridge magnet attached.

Hope you enjoyed these projects, and hope you have a fabulous weekend ahead of you!

Ruth x

.happy rainbow. July 7, 2011

Rainbows always manage to make me smile…they are so unexpected and downright beautiful.  (When I say unexpected, well, I know they come after the rain, but sometimes they just seem to appear before your eyes, and often fade while you are staring at them).  Having children around when they do appear is one of my life’s little pleasures.  My boys get so excited, jump up and down, and say delightful fairytale-like things, such as (5 year old:) “Oh Mummy, it’s so beautiful, isn’t it?!” (followed by 2 year old echo:) “Bootiful, isn’t it?”

Even though I do love rainbows, I don’t normally go for them in design or decor.  But the current Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge with Rainbows is just too pretty not to play along with.

(Image byTina Fussell of Flying House Studios, via Embellish Magazine blog).

So, inspired by these lovely images and the creations of the Embellish team, here is my card:

There was even some sunshine today to photograph it by…Tasmanian sunny winter days are fantastic!

Love Ruth x

.quietly busy. March 10, 2011

Well, I haven’t been here for ages, it seems.  Every day I think I will get to it, but it just hasn’t happened.

I’ve been busy making cards to order recently and have really enjoyed pulling together more than usual.  This one is the grown-up version of one I made for a little girl a while ago which you can see here.  I definitely prefer the grown-up one!

And I also enjoyed using some new papers and die-cut butterflies to bring this design together.

I’ve been trying to figure out why I enjoy making simple things such as cards so much, and I’ve decided it’s probably because they are something pretty that I can create out of almost nothing and actually complete, when many things in life require significant effort and often seem to be a work in progress.  A card can be made in next to no time, brings me enjoyment in the process, and hopefully and most importantly, brings a smile to the person who gets it.   

Well, I’m hoping you have something that you get to do that gives you a sense of accomplishment, big or small, and is also appreciated by others. 

Love Ruth

P.S. Thanks heaps for all the lovely messages, cards and gifts for my birthday last week.  How special do I feel!  xox

.six months old. July 8, 2010

I have been blogging for six months today, and it’s been so much fun and a great outlet for me to share my creative musings and little creations.  Thanks for your support and the time that you’ve taken to look/read/comment, it means a lot!

I am also nearing 2,500 visitors, so thought that a little giveaway was in order.  Either subscribe to this blog or leave a comment at the bottom of this post by the end of next Wednesday 14th July and you will automatically go in the random draw to win the following little pack of goodies:

  

I am loving the simplicity of the Just Add Ink current sketch challenge, (see below) as it gives so many possibilities.  So here’s a happy little card to {hopefully} brighten you day…

  

Love Ruth x

Beautiful Cakes image from Aesthetic Lolita