Friday 25 December 2009

Today's the day - Celebrating & Woot Wooting!!!





Finally Christmas has arrived - the preparation seemed endless but of course it was well worth it in the end.

We have four exhausted but very happy children & I think we were pretty much spot on with the gifts we selected for them. Cami & Reilly are worn out from boxing {Wii} & Chelsea & Jack have both had music blaring & booming out from separate docking stations {okay, now maybe that wasn't such a good idea...} but finally they have what they all have been hankering after for months & I don't think that's a bad thing as long as they are not over-indulged. After the best part of 40 years living in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - of which during the last 10 - 15 years we had to do our Christmas shopping in a neighbouring country - here in South Africa - I'm all for a modicum of commercialism once a year!


I also have a Christmas gift on the way to me from Prima, in the form of this! This is the international prize pack I won for my layout in Iris Babao Uy's "Class for a Cause" - as per my blog post here.


Remember when I showed you this layout below? I loved the $5 class, with all proceeds going to charity, & I am so happy to have won all the lovely goodies above - especially the canvas mini-album, I've wanted one for some months now & can't wait to fill it ;-D

I also have some MORE scrappy goodness on it's way to me too for the layout below - winner of November layout of the month over at The Scrappiest. My prize being November's kit "Grandma's Attic" from Jen's House of Scrap. Read all about it here - it definitely is a buzz seeing your name "up in lights" on another blog!! I have all of this on it's way to me as we speak! 2010 is going to have to be a prolifically scrappy year for me to get through all my new stash!!!



And on the home front my resident Mr. Clause has a few things on order for me from Amazon - currently snail pacing their way to me here in darkest Africa...

At last I am getting my Nikon DSLR sorted out with just a couple of basic accessories. For my birthday in March I have this coming...
After all my reading & my photography lesson I have decided to prioritise these two as I'm not going to be able to achieve the type of shots I am wanting to take without them. I wish I could be happy with a point & shoot, from the convenience aspect, as I feel very self-conscious shooting with a DSLR in public, but that is just something I am going to have to overcome because there really is no comparison between the two.

I also have some scrappy books coming my way soon...

Elizabeth Kartchner's latest offering - I LOVE her blog, I LOVE her work, I can't wait to work my way through her book!


And this one from Anna Bowkis, the founder of Pencil Lines, Pencil Lines - The Sketch Book, sounds exciting - especially as I recognise quite a few names on the collaborative designers list. I KNOW I have told you all in the past that I am not a fan of sketches! What's the saying about it being a woman's prerogative to change her mind?! I have come to understand the advantages in terms of getting a head start on a project & think that in order to maximise my time usage sketches are definitely useful as a starting point!

Click here to order your signed copy {Anna has offerred this on her blog but you'll need to let her know that you would liked it signed - if you would!} I love this kind of personalisation ;-D

That said I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Christmas day! Hope yours is special too!!




7 comments:

Andrea said...

Sounds like a lovely christmas all round....nothing better then happy children at the end of Christmas day. Enjoy your new stash!
xxx
A

Diana said...

So much good stuff! Love everything--the gifts, layouts, prizes, books. I too, as you know, am a huge fan of EK and I got that book and a copy for a friend (unfortunately I ordered them before I saw that she was selling signed copies on her website :(. That said I am heading over to get meself a copy of the Pencil Lines book now!

Desire Fourie said...

Trust you had a wonderful Xmas Day in the company of your loved ones. Wishing you a wonderful and happy 2010.
Hugs
Desire

somebody who needs to love herself said...

lovely LOs! great stuff :) and yes a lady has the prerogative to change her mind..anytime she wants.

xoxo
Mariam

Lynette Jacobs said...

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family.

Mia Castrillo said...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Helen! Congrats on your Iris' win. Love the layout! :D

Hugs,
Mia

Jessy Christopher said...

I remember that layout & congrats on winning all the lovely goodies!! Can't wait to see what you gonna come up with. Wow, you gonna have a great time with those new camera gadgets!! Have fun!!