Scrap Teal You Drop 2014

Ovarian Cancer Australia invites groups and individuals around Australia host an Afternoon TealĀ® – a summer tea party for a great cause! Raising awareness of the symptoms, risks and impact of ovarian cancer, as well as raise vital funds to support their work in awareness, support, advocacy and research .

For the last two years mum & I have organised an Afternoon TealĀ® event called Scrap Teal You Drop. This year we organised a full day event and spent a couple of months planning and organising, sourcing donations for our raffles and supplies for our scrapbooking challenges.

We received some AMAZING donations from private individuals meaning those who have no scrapping ā€˜stash’ to raid had  an wonderful selection of papers & embellishments to use. Mum bought some gorgeous teal products from Sawyer’s Place to help create our Teal challenge pack but I’ll get to that in a moment.

Saturday night we set up our space, organised tables and packs for our attendees – a teal ribbon and information about Ovarian Cancer plus a symptom diary.

 Scrap Teal You Drop '14 setup 01 Scrap Teal You Drop '14 setup 02 Scrap Teal You Drop '14 setup 03

Sunday morning, the day of our event. Our all dayers and the morning crowd arrived and were welcomed and given a run down of our morning schedule. We had a couple of quick quizzes to warm up the brains and just for a little bit of fun. Then the ladies were shown a demo of some gorgeous handmade cards and an idea for using calico and stamping to make some lovely, individual gift ribbon.

Scrap Teal You Drop '14 stamped ribbon

We then had our first challenge of the day – a blind scrap. The ladies were given a list of products and after about 10 minutes sat down so I could read them their steps. Some followed along pretty close, others added their own spin and a few did their own thing.

Scrap Teal You Drop 14 - Blind Scrap Scrap Teal You Drop 14 - Blind Scrap Scrap Teal You Drop 14 - Blind Scrap

Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Blind Scrap page Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Blind Scrap page Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Blind Scrap page

Lunchtime and a wonderful spread provided by mum and a few others. A group photo was taken once the afternoon group arrived and before our morning group had left

.Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Group shot

Mum shared with us that the day marked 3 years since she had her surgery and was given 18 months to 3 years. In Australia, the overall five year survival rate for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer is approximately 43% so fingers crossed we make it past the 5 years and beyond. This set me off – thanks pregnancy hormones so I had to have a quick teary break before struggling to read the first part of my afternoon speech discussing Ovarian Cancer and the symptoms. So after that slightly teary start to the afternoon our group got stuck into our Teal Challenge. It’s amazing to see how everyone created such a wide variety of pages were created using the same supplies (some seasoned scrappers who joined us added their own supplies) and the majority used the same photo.

Our pack consisted of a white cardstock base, some Sawyer’s Place sticky paper (I love this stuff), flair and washi tape plus some other pattern paper, teal ribbons and a teal ribbon sticker.

Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Teal Challenge Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Teal Challenge Scrap Teal You Drop '14 Teal Challenge

We finished of the day with afternoon tea. Lots of yummy goodies including a fruitcake made by mum, a delish mars bar slice and my Teal Ribbon cake, teal ribbon biscuits and teal cupcakes.

Scrap Teal You Drop '14 food Scrap Teal You Drop '14 food Scrap Teal You Drop '14 food

I must give a few thanks. To the lovely Ruth from Polly Scrap Kits who, apart from letting me share about Ovarian Cancer on the Polly Scrap site, added some teal products to the February kits (& had a teal add-on kit) AND donated 50c from each kit sold to our fundraising tally. To the local George Town businesses who donated prizes for our minor raffle. To Hawthorn Football Club and Phil Kuruvita who donated prizes for our major raffle which is being drawn at the end of April.

After speaking to Mum today so far our fundraising tally is sitting at $1738! Thank you to all who have donated so far. If you’d like to donate, you still can by going to my GoFundraise page

100 things in 2014

I’ve been doing these lists now for 4 years and I still struggle to get 100 things šŸ˜‰

This year I’ve broken my list down into 6 sections – Blog (& Social Media), Family, House, Craft, Work and Me. As with previous years bold is started, strike thru is finished & red isn’t done

So here we go

  1. Increase my social media following
  2. Go to a blogger meet up in Tassie
  3. Get more Twitter followers (Jan 1 – 626)
  4. Get more Facebook followers (Jan 1 – 127)
  5. Organise my Pinterest boards
  6. Blog everyday for 1 month (March #30Lists)
  7. Learn a new recipe each month. Blog about it.
  8. Get a ProBlogger event digital pass – looks like this isn’t happening this year šŸ™
  9. Attend more Brand meets Blog Twitter chats #bmbchats
  10. Use twitter more, especially for my blog
  11. Sort bookmarks (not really a bloggy one but it does need doing)
  12. Do the June blogathon
  13. Create a back up of my blog monthly
  14. Try something I’ve pinned and blog about it.
  15. Finish garden beds and start to use them
  16. Get a garden shed
  17. Set up a gazebo/outdoor dining area
  18. Do HabitHacker –Nest
  19. Get front yard finished
  20. Finish custom recipe book
  21. Finish laundry – need to paint
  22. Finish lounge – need to paint and get curtains
  23. Finish kitchen – need curtains
  24. Start our bathroom reno currently getting quotes
  25. Organise RPG room (aka the garage) so hubby & mates are out there by August
  26. Re-organise K/bub’s room
  27. Re-organise our bedroom
  28. Pull up carpet in lounge/dining room
  29. Start a garden journal
  30. Work thru Creating your Goddess Haven e-course
  31. Redo the pantry
  32. Sort linens and make less cluttered
  33. Have a candlelit dinner
  34. Birth a healthy bub in August
  35. Tattoo for J
  36. Family holiday to Qld or Melbourne
  37. Have parents and in-laws over for dinner more
  38. Go to the Dawn service
  39. Get a family photo of me, mum, dad & bro done
  40. Get a family photo of me, J, K & bub done
  41. Have a dirty weekend away with hubby
  42. Put min. $5 a pay into Christmas club account
  43. Write a letter to Miss K to open on her 18th
  44. Have a family movie night (complete with popcorn & choc tops)
  45. Write a letter to bub to open on his/her 18th
  46. Spend a day at the beach
  47. Go on a picnic
  48. Go for a drive somewhere for no reason other than getting out
  49. Spend a rainy day in PJs watching TV/movies
  50. See more of Tassie
  51. Work on family tree
  52. Go to the Botanical Gardens
  53. Visit QVMAG
  54. Get some guinea pigs for K
  55. Get BAS in on time
  56. Keep up to date with work accounts
  57. Get office sorted and start using it!
  58. Work thru Business Goddess e-course
  59. Finish work portfolio
  60. Upgrade laptops
  61. Make laptop & pc better organised – less double ups of files
  62. Setup server
  63. Find an inspirational quote & make it into a piece of artwork
  64. Finish JYC 2012 & 2013
  65. Scrapbook with mum more
  66. Art journal once a week
  67. Finish wedding scrapbook
  68. Do #30Lists (started March)
  69. Organise all my paper scrapbook supplies
  70. Organise & cull my digital scrapbook supplies
  71. Scrapbook with others more
  72. Organise a scrapbook day
  73. Complete a cross stitch
  74. Work thru Creative Goddess ecourse
  75. Project life date one weekend a month
  76. Do some more classes & finish them
  77. Do Before your story class
  78. Create a scrapping binder
  79. Apply for more design teams
  80. Get dt work done before it’s due
  81. Actually DO some of the things I’ve pinned
  82. Create more pages about me
  83. Start bub’s PL book
  84. New tatt for me
  85. Get my L’s
  86. Rejoin the biz & life academy
  87. Raise at least $1000 at Afternoon Teal (we’re up to about $500 so far before the event!)
  88. Do Frocktober
  89. Watch sunrise & sunset in the same day
  90. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years
  91. Keep a gratitude journal every day for a month (0/30)
  92. Do Habit Hacker’s Create
  93. Get a massage
  94. Get a manicure
  95. Make a list of 30 books I want to read & then read those books (0/30)
  96. Exercise every day for a month (0/30)
  97. Create a mini Goddess altar
  98. Meditate more
  99. Enjoy life
  100. Live a more spiritual life

2014 Life Workbook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I use affiliate links to help pay for some of my blogging costs. All opinions are my own.

2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed)

I had grand plans of getting my Amazing Year workbook all started and ready to post about at the beginning of the year but a little person growing inside me had other ideas and my body decided to give me horrid morning sickness for most of December and January.

Now that I’m in the second trimester I’m starting to feel much, much better and made a Life Book date with myself.

Before we get started on my Lifebook journey, what is the Amazing Year workbook?

The 2014 Create Your Amazing Year workbook & calendar is an incredibly popular & useful tool to help you plan out & make happen your most incredible year in life or business (or both!). Over the last five years, thousands of women have used this workbook with the most amazing results. It’s the best planning tool available to help you make your year your most exceptional yet!

Used by entrepreneurs, artists, mamas, creatives, coaches, teachers and women of all ages, the Create Your Amazing Year in Life and Biz workbooks are filled with dozens of pages of powerful worksheets & a printable calendar to help you create your amazing new year.

I’d already done the closure for 2013.

2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed) - Closure

I love this part of the workbook as it allows me to look back on the previous year and brings closure

I invoked 2014 listing things i want to experience, feel and give to myself. I gave myself permission to do more

2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed) - 2014 lists

I’ve started my list of things for 2014 but struggled at the start to get 100 things. A few are repeats rom last year or things I didn’t get done last year and some are from my 101 things list. I’ve broken my list done into topics to this year – blog (& social media), our house, our family, work, crafts, and me. The list will be posted in a day or two.

I loved having ritual days last year and have decided to make a few changes this year. I’ll continue with the Go to bed early Mondays (get to bed by 10pm), Foodie Friday (trying a new recipe) and Switch off Sundays (no laptop or social media time – this one was hard). In 2014 I’m adding Scrapbook Wednesday (making myself scrapbook at least one day a week) & Art Journal Saturdays (the new Art Journal Caravan prompts are released on a Saturday my time so I spend Saturday evenings working on them).

This year I even made goals for 2014. I’ve never been good at goal setting (or keeping) so I’ll be interested to see how I go. I even created a TO DO LIST BOOK in an old journal

2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed) - Goals

and finally I did my oracle reading for 2014. I used the Earth Magic Oracle cards online single card reading. I picked a card for each month. I really love this card deck and really want to grab the physical cards sometime soon.

2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed) - Oracle 01 2014 Create Your Amazing Year (Life Ed) - Oracle 02

So that’s my 2014 Life workbook in a nutshell. I’ve printed it A5 again this year and added it to my Inner B journal so I’ll have it with me at all times.

Do you use the Life workbook? If not, I can highly recommend it

Is teal the hot colour for nails this summer?

Well it is this February! Chemmart Pharmacies along with Ovarian Cancer Australia (OCA) are holding Colour for a Cause this month as part of Ovarian Cancer Awareness month.

Chemmart Pharmacies around Australia are stocking a limited edition teal nail polish pack during February with proceeds going to OCA to assist the delivery of its awareness, support, advocacy and research programs.

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During February, call into your local Chemmart Pharmacy to see if they are one of many stores offering an in-store manicure for a gold coin donation, which will also be passed onto OCA.

And girls aren’t having all the fun with guys being challenged to sport some teal nails in February. So guys, man up and go teal this February. My dad went teal on his thumbs and even some of the Melbourne Rebels rugby union went teal. I dared a few of the boys at Hawthorn FC via Twitter but none have done it yet.

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Check out this gorgeous mani over at More Nail Polish (I’m a little obsessed with her blog lol) and has another planned for 26th February (today) – Teal Ribbon Day.

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Mum & Dad got in on the action

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and Miss K and I have had some fun

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Have you gone teal with your nails this February? I’d love to see them if you have šŸ˜€

Fan-fairy-tastic party food

Invites were sent, RSVPs given, decorations and games planned, it’s time to think food…

The first thing on the list is fairy bread because what fairy party, well any kids party, is complete without it! Ours were cut into butterfly shapes. (and cause I was totally into party mode I forgot to take some photos)

Then cupcakes. We priced buying some cupcakes and at $8 each! I made my own.
Vanilla cupcakes with fairy sprinkles

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and orange jelly cups which were more of a pain than I thought. I was hoping to get the orange out neatly so I could make caramel oranges (another yum recipe for another day) but it didn’t happen. We did get a batch of yummy orange juice instead šŸ˜€

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and I decided last minute (like Saturday night) to make giant chocolate freckles and honey joys

plus the usual sandwiches, mini savs (cocktail savs/franks), mini party pies, mini sausage rolls and mini quiches. With 10 little people and 10 adults there wasn’t a lot of food left – which I think is always a good sign šŸ˜‰

and then there was the cake. It turned out ok. It got eaten so must have been alright.

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And with that, another party is done and dusted. Next year I guess I’ll have 2 parties to organise! Any tips for me?

Planning a fan-fairy-tastic 4th party

Miss K turns 4 this Sunday. Wow, feels strange typing that. Seems like yesterday I was still pregnant with her. Now she’s turning 4 and I’m pregnant with her little brother/sister (place your bets – I’m thinking a boy but I thought that last time round lol)

Anywho, I digress. When asked what she wanted for her party theme the answer was a very quick ā€fairiesā€ closely followed by her getting my well worn copy of the Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake book and saying ā€œwith this cake pleaseā€

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Insert a huge sign of relief from me cause that should be a lot easier than last year’s cake

pool-cake

mine looked nothing like this. The jelly melted and ran everywhere.

So we have a theme & a cake. I did a search for free fairy printables and found lots. We decided on this cute fairy invite and after much looking decided to use some of these fairy party printables

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Yup, this year I’m not making my own bits and pieces like invites & decorations. Don’t have the energy. Plus why reinvent the wheel šŸ˜‰
Next on the list was food choices. Still keeping it simple but that’s another post.

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day šŸ™‚

A little Thrill just in time for Valentine’s Day

Awhile back I reviewed the Thrill by We-Vibe and I’ve got a couple to give away to some lucky ladies.

In case you missed my review….

  • It’s won international rewards
  • It’s really quiet
  • Waterproof (so you can play in the shower or bath)
  • It’s got 8 awesome settings
  • Up to 2 hours play time

Thrill Shelf Talker MULTILINGUAL PDFs

For your chance to win one of THREE Thrill by We-Vibe (valued at $169), enter via the Rafflecopter below. Australian entries only please. Winner drawn Monday 10th Feb 2014 at 8pm

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Time to go teal!

February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. You may notice a change in my profile pictures around social media as I go teal for the month to show my support for those currently battling Ovarian Cancer and for the families who have lost a loved one.

Ovarian Cancer is a disease where some of the cells in one or both ovaries start to grow abnormally and develop into cancer. There currently is no screening test for Ovarian Cancer. If your doctor suspects ovarian cancer, there are a number of tests they can perform to help decide whether your symptoms are due to ovarian cancer or other causes.
 
 Do you know the symptoms?

Women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer report four types of symptoms most frequently:

  • Abdominal or pelvic pain.
  • Increased abdominal size or persistent abdominal bloating.
  • Needing to urinate often or urgently.
  • Feeling full after eating a small amount.

Most women who experience these symptoms don’t have Ovarian Cancer but if you experience these symptoms regularly over a four week period, please discuss your symptoms with a doctor and if other reasons don’t rule out your symptoms ask to be tested for Ovarian Cancer
 
What’s on?

  • If you are in Canberra, check out Old Parliment House as it goes teal.

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  • Visit your local Chemmart Pharmacy as they are holding fundraising and awareness events and activities in stores throughout the month.
  • Speaking of Chemmart Pharmacy, they are launching a new teal nail polish, with proceeds going to OCA. Wear teal nail polish throughout February and post photos to the OCA Facebook page (and check out the male celebrities who have been dared to Teal up on Teal Ribbon Day (26 February) to raise awareness. Challenge your friends to go teal in February

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  • Wattle Valley WNBL Teal Ribbon round – 7 to 9 February
  • Queen of the Lake (9th February).  This annual fun run/walk is hosted by OCA partner Brazilian Butterfly at Albert Park Lake in Melbourne and funds raised through participants’ sponsorship are donated to OCA. For more information and to register for this event visit www.ovariancancer.net.au
  • Teal Ribbon Day (26th February). OCA partners Chemmart, Brazilian Butterfly and My Size sell teal
    ribbons for $2 each throughout the month. If you are in Canberra OCA are holding a breakfast event at Parliament House in Canberra on Teal Ribbon Day.

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  • Afternoon Teal events

How can u help?

  • Buy a teal ribbon
  • Host or attend a Afternoon Teal event
  • Buy some Colour for a cause nail polish from your local Chemmart
  • Donate to OCA

I’ll be posting more through the month with information and sharing our Afternoon Teal event – Scrap til You Drop 2014.

Build a boat for the chance to win

Build Your Own Ship2

Spirit of Tasmania is currently running a competition where you build your own model of the Spirit.
There are four age categories each with a fantastic prize

  • 7 and under: WIN your choice of Lego valued at up to $350
  • 8 – 10: WIN your choice of Lego valued at up to $350
  • 11 – 14: WIN a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1ā€ 16GB WiFi White)
  • 15 and over: WIN a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1ā€ 16GB WiFi White)

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You’ll need to be quick though as the competition ends on the 27th January.

So build your model, take a photo and fill in the entry form.

Good luck!

100 things in 2013 – Final tally

Well here we are at the end of 2013! What a year it has been
This year I blogged about my 2013 Goddess Workbook list of 100 things to do.
Things in bold are started, strike thru is finished. Red is didn’t do šŸ™

  1. Work out a decent filing system
  2. Double my twitter followers (currently 519. As at 31 December – 626)
  3. Go to ProBlogger event (or get digital pass)
  4. Book ticket for DPCON 2014
  5. Blogger meet up in Tassie
  6. Blog everyday for 1 month
  7. Organise our office
  8. Set up a veggie garden
  9. Get a shed
  10. Set up a composting system
  11. Do Habithacker – Nest
  12. Find an inspirational quote & make it into a piece of artwork
  13. Get the laundry finished (just need to paint)
  14. Paint lounge & dining room
  15. Hang photos of Kara & family
  16. Get curtains for kitchen
  17. Start bathroom reno
  18. Get front yard done
  19. Have parents over for dinner more
  20. Spend a day at the beach
  21. Go on a picnic
  22. Have a regular ‘date night’
  23. Buy a Thermomix (it’s coming soon – yay!)
  24. Do a recipe book cull
  25. Create a custom recipe book
  26. Have more TV free time
  27. Get K into daycare 1 day a week
  28. Learn to make sour dough bread/rolls
  29. Make our own bread
  30. Have a candlelit dinner
  31. Do something for our wedding anniversary
  32. Write a letter to K to open on her 18th
  33. Start putting $$ into K’s bank account
  34. Open a Christmas Club account
  35. Get a new tattoo.
  36. Buy J a tattoo
  37. make/buy Christmas presents through the year
  38. Get our wills written
  39. Finish JYC from 2011 AND 2012!
  40. Swim more
  41. Exercise more
  42. Organise digital scrapbooking stuff
  43. Scrapbook with Mum at least once a month
  44. Scrap with others (does online count?)
  45. Organise a scrapbook event
  46. Do Frocktober again
  47. Read more books – gotta love iBooks
  48. Drink more water
  49. Have a massage (thanks to hubby)
  50. Have a facial
  51. Have a manicure
  52. Create a book of advice for K
  53. Finish our wedding album – redoing in Project Life format (much easier & quicker)
  54. Go see Amanda Palmer in concert
  55. Get my L’s – got the book just need to book my test and find my birth & wedding certificates
  56. Take a burlesque class
  57. Spend a rainy day in PJs watching TV
  58. Banish bad memores
  59. Create a playlist of meditations
  60. Create a playlist of my favourite songs (part 1 & part 2)
  61. Watch 20 movies in our new movies folder (current count 10/20)
  62. Rewatch all 6 Star Wars movies
  63. Rewatch all 3 Lord of the Rings movies
  64. Go to bed before midnight
  65. Do every Fat Mum Slim Photo-a-day in 2013 (you can see my photos here)
  66. Go out for High Tea
  67. Buy mum something special
  68. Organise our MP3 collection
  69. Write J random love notes
  70. Complete a cross stitch
  71. Do 1 art journal page a week
  72. Catch up with friends more often – thanks to FB I’ve been catching up with a close friends lots
  73. Go watch an A League game live
  74. Go to Melbourne
  75. Xbox more
  76. Finally organise our bedroom
  77. Learn to play the guitar
  78. Go visit the snow
  79. Go camping
  80. Improve my cake decorating – thanks to Cake Decorating mag
  81. Photograph a lightning storm
  82. Take more photos of the moon
  83. Create a mini Goddess altar
  84. Watch all the James Bond movies
  85. Write/finish a piece of fan fiction – writing a Doctor Who fan fic
  86. See more of Tassie
  87. Celebrate the seasons
  88. Finish our work website – just our portfolio to go
  89. Work on family tree
  90. Do Fox in Flat dares
  91. Go fishing
  92. Go watch the cricket live
  93. Take K to the footy at the MCG
  94. Go to the dawn service – was sick this year šŸ™
  95. Go to the Botanical Gardens
  96. Buy K some guinea pigs
  97. Visit QVMAG
  98. Check out MONA
  99. Rejoin the Goddess Circle
  100. Enjoy life!!

So a few not done but hey, Bring on 2014!
I’ll be back later with my 2014 list šŸ˜€