Uncle Mitch and operation piggy nose...

Good old Uncle Mitch...

He is full of fun ideas....

Like taping the girls noses up and turning them into cute little piggys...

They thought it was hilarious....and so did I..

Jot Magazine - mood board challenge #3

The Jot magazine mood board challenge is a ripper this week....

its all about a... r a i n b o w of colours....

So here is my take on the challenge....

So jump in and join us...

There is a great prize sponsored by Scrappy Kapers to be won....and truly.... creating a layout from a mood board is easy peasy....all the thinking has been done....its just a matter of grabbing up supplies that match....and whacking them down.

Oh and the release of Jot Magazine is getting closer....make sure you have signed up for the mailing list so you are among the first to know.

Jot Magazine - Mood board challenge 2

I tell you what....

scrapping a mood board challenge is fun!

I love that the colour choices are decided...

and all I had to do was scrounge through my stash and pull out anything that matched...

So tada....here is my take on the challenge...

If you want to join in....

Pop over to Jot magazine...by following this link.

Jot Magazine....

Its June...

So that means....

very soon....

Kim Archer will be launching her....

brand new.....

 paper crafts magazine.

I am so excited....

It couldn't be happening at a better time....

its perfectly timed with my rekindled love of scrap-booking.

Make sure you pop in and check it out here...

....and to pass the time while we wait...

why not join in the fun...

and enter the mood board challenge....

Last weeks was a HUGE success... 

and looking at this weeks mood board...

I am super excited and cant wait to join in too.

All the details can be found at Jot Magazine ....((here))

Oh ...and make sure you subscribe to the newsletter....that way you will keep up to date....and not miss out on any of the details....

Making time for some crochet...

The temperature has really dropped  these last few weeks...

the days are shorter...

our heater is going 24/7

and  I've been looking for a crafty outlet that doesn't require leaving my chair.

Then ...Alex asked if I could make Brayden a hat...

that was just the motivation I needed....

So....armed with my hooks and  HUGE stash of wool....(kindly gifted to me from my Grandma)...

I set to work...

I chose to make Brayden a puppy hat.... its from a wonderful pattern found here.

"Repeat crafter me" is such a generous site....with easy to follow patterns...tutorials and links.

I think he was pretty pleased....although it was a little on the snug side....oops

Then while my hooks were warm.....I made a Bunny hat for Brookey .

....and seeing as bunnies seem to be her favourite thing lately...she loved it.

Of course.....the orders are rolling in now...

I need to make...

a larger one for Brayden...

a new one for Bella...

and one for Brent...

No pressure of course.

Bangkok to Beijing and home again.....

Its been kind of quiet around here....

you may have popped in and seen nothing but cobwebs..

and the odd cricket chirping.

That was because Ian and I were on the most amazing holiday with out dearest QLD friends...

We were away just over three weeks...

and had THE most amazing time.

I swear I may have been Asian in another life time...

I loved it...well of course we all did...

The people....the smells....the food...the history and the adventures we had.

I took one or two photos on out travels...so here is a snapshot....

Bangkok- Thailand

Highlights included:

Floating Markets

Bridge over the River Kwai

The Grand Palace

The Tiger Temple

Various other Temples.

Singapore-

Highlights -

Changhi Prison museum

Raffles Hotel and our $122 Singapore Slings (that was for 4)

China town

Marina Bay Sands Hotel skypark

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - Vietnam

Highlights - the lacquer factory..

Nha Trang - Vietnam

Highlight - Pedicab ride...

and I have to say....we were amazed at what could be fitted on a scooter... check out the fridge!

Hong Kong

Highlights -

The Peak Tram

The Big Bus tour of the city

Stanley Markets

Sampan tour

The amazing city and harbour at night.

Shanghai - China

Highlights -

The Super speedy Maglev train at 300km/hr

The worlds tallest observation deck at 474 metres

The beautiful gardens and streets...

The architecture...Shanghai is a beautiful city.

Nagasaki - Japan

Highlights -

The Atomic Bomb Museum

Ground Zero - where the bomb exploded

The Nagasaki ropeway (a cable car) that gave us a spectacular view of the city.

Beautiful peaceful Nagasaki and its lovely helpful and friendly locals.

Busan - South Korea

Highlight:in Busan was definitely the fish market...

Such a bright and colourful stopover... 

Beijing - China

Highlights -

The Great wall

The Forbidden City

Tiananmen Square

The Summer Palace

The Temple of Heaven

The Ming Tombs

The Night food markets and their very interesting menu

The Silk Markets

The Jade Factory

The Hutong Tour

Acrobatic Show

The Freshwater Pearl Gallery

The Birds Nest - Site of the Beijing Olympic games

So now we are home again....and back to work....dreaming of where to visit next.

I felt so touched in some way by our trip to Asia...

The people were beautiful...the history was amazing....

I came home feeling as though I had too much stuff...

We consume too much...

We surround ourselves with too much....

Does it make us happier?

I doubt it.

Adelaide Zoo visit...

Well we are home from holidays.... and my poor old blog has been very neglected.

I have so much to share from our travels....

but before I start....I really wanted to share some photos from our recent Zoo visit.

It began when we realised we would be away for Brookeys 3rd birthday...

We wanted to do something special before we left....

and as Brookey loves animals....we thought a trip to the zoo would be a lovely gift.

So....we gathered the family together...and headed to Adelaide for the day.

It was awesome....and I am so thrilled we did it ...

The girlies loved it...  they had a ball... there were happy smiles all day.

So I can honestly say.....the Adelaide Zoo was fabulous....

The animals were all so easy to see and we were able to get up nice and close...

The petting zoo for kids gave us the biggest laugh of the day when this overzealous goat continually harassed the kids trying to get the bags of chaff out of their hands. The most hilarious part was...he would flick all the chaff onto the ground and gobble up the paper bag.

He even bailed Bella up against the fence in his quest to score her bag..poor Bells didn't find it quite as hilarious as we did....I don't think eye-balling a goat wasn't her idea of fun....Brookey was more cautious...she hung back a little from the pack....which turned out to be a wise move.

We saw the Wang Wang and Funi the Pandas....who were just beautiful... as well as the Lions...Tigers...Giraffes and cutest little meerkats...among plenty of others.

 Bella was most intrigued to learn that the lions ate 'horse meat'.... she asked a few times if it was true...and I could see her little mind ticking over.

So that was our day.....

I am sure the memories of the day we all spent together at the zoo will last for many years to come.

PS: Some Holiday posts to follow....

a little about our incredibly amazing trip from Bangkok (Thailand)  to Beijing (China).