A Sneaky Page, A Mini-Tute and Several Plugs....

So who wants to see a page from the "Waiting for You" album?? The album itself is a MDF product from Words or Whatever WOW - and it comes pre-drilled ready for putting together, but I decided I wanted to change mine - so have covered the pre-drilled holes and will be joining it at a paw and an ear instead of at the top of the two ears... If you check out the album at THIS LINK you'll see what I mean about it being pre-drilled at the top of the ears ;) And I hope you don't think I sound like too much of a nutter!!! LOL Don't forget that Words or Whatever are a wholesale distributor - if you want their products (and I know you will) you need to get your local scrapping or craft store to contact them and order it in for you if they aren't already enlightened enough to be stocking their wonderful products :)

Now as I said, I can only share part as it's a work in progress, but the page I am sharing today is beautifully complimented by a Pretty Paper Petal's Coloured Storybook Flower which I have done a super simple enhancement on further down the page. I hope you like it!

"My Wishful Dreams for You"
OTP Bear Album

It's a basic papering technique that I've used to cover the MDF page with. It's simply pink cardstock adhered to the surface with a simple acid free glue and then trimmed to the edges of the MDF page with a craft knife. I've then inked the edges, glimmer misted the surface with pearl GM and then laid on and adhered the lace and embelishments with double sided tape.

Dragonfly charms come from Tracy at the My2Angels online store

the Hand dyed lace was purchased from Sue at Lovelybugs Bits n Bobs

the journalling is a portion of a poem I thought mirrors my wishes for our new little girl,

it reads:

I Wish For You
Comfort on difficult days,
Rainbows to follow clouds'
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Gentle hugs when spirits sage
xxx
Friendship to brighten you,
Beauty for your eyes to see'
Confidence for when you doubt,
Faith so you believe,
Courage to know yourself
xxx
I Wish You Enough

*****

So, the flower doesn't look all that different from a regular PPP Storybook Flower does it - well take a closer look....

See the little sparkles dancing on the petals?? It's an incredibly simple enhancement - and I mean S.I.M.P.L.E!!!!

I'm sure most people have tried gluing glitter or the likes to the petals on flowers and discovered how difficult it can be - not getting the glitter any further than the edge of the petals and how messy the glue (and whole project) gets in particular. So, this is an alternative. Instead of glue use clear varnish/sealant spray!!! I purchased a can of this clear 'paint' from spotlight months ago and it lasts forever!!!

Now when I say it's simple, I really mean it...

Step 1 - put your flower onto a surface that wont be damaged if it get's sprayed. I've opened up an old pizza box.

Step 2 - Spray the flower you are wishing to enhance.



Step 3 - sprinkle glitter over the top.

And voila - flower completed!!! The varnish/sealant dries super quickly, it's clear and no one would even know that you had glued the little sprinkles of glitter on - they appear to be sitting ever so delicately onto your petals - but in fact the are stuck fast!!! If you want to be doubly certain the glitter will stay in place a light top coat of varnish/sealant will do the job ;)

Told you it was simple!!!!

The complete 'Waiting for You" OTP album will be featured on the Words or Whatever WOW blog in the first week in May - I really am thrilled with the way it has come together in the end (despite pulling it apart a few times LOL - one of the beauties of working with MDF - it can take a beating!!!!) and can't wait to show it to the world :)

OTP Sneaky Peek...

Ok, I've mentioned a few times about the "waiting for You" album I'm doing. It's all going to be revealed on the Words or Whatever blog in early May, but for now, here's a little sneaky of one page... I might reveal this page (and ONLY this page) early - I'll see how generous I'm feeling LOL

This page ALSO features a Pretty Paper Petals Storybook Flower which I've altered - I will have a super quick little tutorial on how I've altered the flower when I post the page... It's sooo simple to do and soooooo effective!!!! :) But for now this sneaky peek is all you're going to get :P

I've done something other than scrap!!!!

And I remembered how RELAXING it was!!!! It's knitting!!!! My nan taught me how to knit when I was tiny - in fact I can't remember a time when I haven't known how to knit or crochet - I can't even remember being taught!!! Considering I've very clear memories from back when I was 4 and 5 that says a LOT!!! LOL Ok, mum said she had a hand in it as well so I'd better acknowledge that too hehehe

Seriously I can remember holidays at nan's where pop would teach me drawing and his skill of signwriting, I'd LOVE the aroma or paint and solvents - I still love it ;) and of the afternoon and evening I'd sit cross legged in the rocking chair next to nan and either knit or crochet, she'd usually be crocheting something for a new cousin that was due (too many cousins in this family to count!!! LOL)

So, I've knitted a little hat and cardi for Aerynn. I'm not sure if I love it completely yet - the cream crochet edges were meant to be picot edges but they looked rather hmm 'silly' might be the politically correct term LOL and because I'm not sold on the colour in particular yet of the edges it's not tied off or sewn in so can be easily removed if when I pull it out of storage in a week or so I can remove it if it's still not sitting 'right' with me ;) Ahh such a perfectionist eh LOL Anyhoos, here it is.....

and it's salmon pink, not brown **sigh** LOL

The hat is my own design I roughed up when Domenik was a bubba, I didn;t write out a pattern this time, I had his hat beside me when I knitted it up and went from there ;) If anyone wants the pattern I can write it out - It fits newborn to 3 year old (Dommy's still fits him!!!! Got to love fisherman's rib!!!)

The jacket pattern is found HERE I added an extra 2 rows after the first row of eyelets so it was separate and an obvious waist tie, also I added quite a few extra rows to make it flare a bit at the waist to make it a little more girly :) It's rather heavy as the wool I used as an aran (Patons Washed Haze in Coral colourway)


So my next knitting project is apparently knitting another jacket for my nephew, i already did him a hat an the request is for a jacket to match (I hope I have enough wool!!! LOL) and I'm making a simple pram blanket out of lincraft 'giggles' yarn for Aerynn - nothing flash, no pattern really jsut knitting a big rectangle - and hoping it works out bahaha, ahh that is so my way in so many things!!! ROFL

PS - final touches are going on the "waiting for baby' album... I had a change of mind for some of it when it was almost finished so started a few pages on it from scratch again - more WOW product LO's to come soon!!!!! Wooooohoooo!!

BTW Words or Whatever WOW are almost at 1000 FB fans!!! Come on over and join the fun and be INSPIRED!!!!! :) Let's hit 1000 before Easter and make it an even more special time for the company :)

Drumroll Please.....

So I can now announce the BLOG HOP WINNER who will receive one scrumptuously GORGEOUS pack of....

...handmade Storybook Flowers (coloured) from Pretty Paper Petals!!!!!

So the winner is......


Actually first I'd like to thank EVERYONE who took part in the blog hop! It was so much fun reading everyone's comments and checking out all the different blogs, and the feedback has been awesomely positive :) I can't wait to see everyone start to create with these wonderful products!!!

And DON'T FORGET - the Sketch Challenge is still running until the end pf this month!!! you can win a 3 month subscription to the PETALS CLUB!!!! All details of the sketch challenge can be found on the Pretty Paper Petals Blog HERE :)


So back to the winner.......

...it was such a struggle to choose a winner...

.....To write down everyone's names knowing only 1 would be drawn.....

BUT

There can only be one winner....

And that person is.....

DALE TIERNAN!!!

Congratulations Dale!!!! To claim your prize please email Vicki, prettyppetals AT yahoo DOT com DOT au (no spaces and the little '@' instead of the word 'at' and '.' instead of the word 'dot' of course) with your personal details and you're prize will be soon on it's way to you :)


Again, thank you everyone for participating, it was a great deal of fun - and keep your eyes open, you never know when there will be another surprise Blog Hop or challenge around the corner!!!

Pretty Paper Petals BLOG HOP!!!!

It's all happening TOMORROW NIGHT (Friday, April 8th) from 7.30pm EST!!! And it's more than just a co-incidence that we will be also celebrating the announcement of our new DT members!!! Hmm I wonder who they might just be??? A very exciting time indeed - and what is a blog hop without NEW RELEASES!!! There are some sneak peeks already up on the Pretty Paper Petals blog *wink wink* very cute if I do say so myself :)

Oh and of course there will be the opportunity to win some GORGEOUS prizes!!! :)

So mark it in your diary (if you're likely to forget within the next 24 hours ;) ) and come along for the fun!!!!

Apologies

I've had a bit of an absence here and it has apparently raised some eyebrows so I guess it's time to come clean, time to share a little of what I've been trying to internalise of late...

I also feel the need to apologise for the fact that with all this happening this month and how I've tried to protect my family and friends from my concerns, worry etc etc that I've also apparently retreated too much and it's become painfully obvious in my lack of participation. I am sincerely sorry for this.. I've a room full of half filled projects that need final touches or the likes, and I've been unable to concentrate enough to do anything productive let alone finish them. I'm going to have to rectify that this week.

So, a little about what has been happening, it's not pretty and probably sounds like a heap of garbled gobbledy-goop... but this has been my life for at least the last month, and no matter what the outcome I need to do my best to at the very least protect my older children from the distress I've been feeling and am currently experiencing...

This last month has been a month of turmoil for me. There has been several celebrations and happy times that I've struggled with to ensure that what was going on in my life, and in my head wouldn't bring others happy times down, or at the very least let me to try and fit in and not appear to be the sad sack leaning on the back wall withdrawing from society. We've also had the joy of finding out our little Splodge is a gorgeous little princess and perfectly healthy and doing all she should be doing. We have already revealed her name (Aerynn Paige Nalani) and her siblings are very excited to meet her. But this high in particular was overshadowed by my appointment with my obstetrician the next day. I had previously been advised that the docs here in Mount Gambier would want to either induce Aerynn or ceaser her so she arrived to their schedule - this I had been kinda prepared for and had a minor panic attack and researched all my options regarding that to present to the good Dr to fight this move. What he presented me with instead has literally turned my life into a real tail spin...

Even though I have had 4 previous drug free labours, quick labours (3 hours from water breaking, 1.5 hours of contractions and super quick second stage), no intervention required labours the doctors have labelled me 'high risk' Their reason is that I am now 35, this is baby #5, I have had 8 miscarriages and I have also had 2 minor post-partum hemorrhages. These hemorrhages were due to midwife intervention and had they allowed my body to do it's job (as they had with my other 2 labours) I would not have had any intervention - as it was no intervention was required for these, they rectified themselves within an hour of my babies being born. I knew about this label a few months ago - I was shocked and felt sick that my plans for another natural, hands free, drug free, non-intervention labour were being thwarted...

So what has the obstetrician said that turned my life so upside down?? The fact that now the doctors are wanting to send me over 400KM away from my family 2 weeks before Aerynn is due, to a city I've never been to, in a city where I know no one (as in never met anyone - I know a couple of people online but that's not the same as 'knowing' them!). They want me to find my own accommodation in Adelaide, pay for it, pay for my transport, go to a hospital I've never been to, deal with midwives and obstetricians I don't know, have my baby with no support!!! My husband is struggling to get time off work as it is, to get time off for an approximate 4 weeks to be with me when Aerynn arrives is going to be impossible. He works full time - and what will happen to our other 4 children? One of whom has Aspergers and struggles with change??? There is no way that Nathan would make the trip from Mt Gambier to Adelaide in the approximate 3 hours that it takes for our babies to arrive, there is no way he can get an extended time off work with no repercussions... I simply don't know how we can make this work and keep a smile on our face and feel supported at the same time as trying to hold out family together...

So I'm in a constant state of panic at the moment. If the doctors here have their way there is no way that I would have any support person that I know for my labour. I wont have a friendly face I recognise when Aerynn is born... I will have no one for the following few days after our princess arrives... no one familiar to visit, to share their joy in person for my baby.. she will be several hours or even days old before her daddy sees her, let alone her siblings... This important bonding time will be lost :( I will be all alone in a city I am not familiar with, in a health system I am still struggling to understand etc...

Oh I know the most important thing is to have a healthy baby and mum.. I know that and I get that... I know they can induce her on a set date to fit into a schedule - however this comes with increased risks again that make my apparent 'risk factors' more risky... Having a baby is something that is natural, something to relish, enjoy (yes I enjoyed bringing my baby into the world) it is not something that should be done to schedule unless there is a medical reason that the baby needs to enter the world earlier than when they need to... Then that comes with it's own complications.... Yes we will be in a bigger hospital who can cope with these complications - but why create these issues in the first place???

I have an appointment this coming Friday with an anaethestist who will give me his answer as to if my fighting and research has paid off and I can have our baby here in Mount Gambier or if they are sending me on for whatever reason they see fit. It's times like these I love the Tassie health system - this would NOT have been happening over there!!! In fact my fertility specialist and obstetrician over there both were keen for me to have more babies because my antenatal care, labours and post natal care were so easy and uncomplicated!!!

So I've spent the month researching other options. I've been in a mad panic I guess.. trying to find something that can keep my family together as well as bring Aerynn into the world when she wants to arrive in the safest way possible... And to be honest it's not an easy thing to work towards when you're in a regional area. There are no independent midwives practicing around here, so the only choice I seem to have at the moment is to have what is called a "Freebirth" And to be honest the thought at the moment terrorfies me.

"freebirth" is where you birth your baby at home, with no assistance. There will be no one to help me if something goes wrong other than maybe a support person (my hubby) and the phone ready to dial 000. I know my previous labours haven't had complications, but that doesn't mean Aerynn's will either... I know this has been done several times and safely, I know that there is support for home-births and free-births and I've been doing my best to find that... But the reality is starting to set in about what we're facing, the risks etc... It's just sheer panic about the unknown I think coupled with the realisation at how much I was comforted by knowing if anything went wrong there was help just around the corner in the hospital... We live a 5 minute drive from the hospital at most and just around the corner from the ambulance station so in the scheme of things have help close at hand, but I've also been told that if I'm ordered to transfer the doctors can refuse to treat me unless Aerynn is already born - they can transfer me mid-labour to Adelaide!!! To be possibly forced into this position has me unable to sit still, unable to concentrate... in a state where I'm trying to control my emotions to not let on to the outside world that my plans for our new baby aren't panning out as expected...

So again I apologise. I have been trying to keep this personal situation out of the public eye. I can't have my children think anything negative about the arrival of their sister and I can't allow them to know how worried I am at the moment. This is meant to be a happy time., a time to be relaxing and enjoying middle pregnancy and baby kicking and growing etc... After Friday I'll at least know what path we're walking down with our baby and be able to concentrate rather worry about someone else making their decisions - I'll have a clearer picture and be able to focus on that... Hopefully I've been worrying for nothing, but at the very least I now know that there are alternatives, even though they're not what I planned there are ways to keep my family together... Until then I will make a more concerted effort to push my worries and fears etc aside and plug back in to everyone and life in general...