a few favorite photos...

to share from New Zealand....and we have more (dave still has hundreds on his camera too) Loved being in Auckland...loved all the people I met...so nice...wish I could remember all the names...Yolande, Leann, Eileen, Y, Leslie, Deb, Andrea, Karen, Jo, Sam...hi to you all! Now in Wellington and meeting so many more nice ladies....Rachel, Carolyn, Elsa, Kay, and more. On our way to Sydney on Monday...xoxo

just...

checking in to let you know we are in New Zealand and having a great time! xoxo

leaving...

on a jet plane at this time tomorrow for the event downunder. Dave and I are so excited and can't wait to hang out with friends, take lots of pictures and meet all the great people with kiwiscraps! Don't think I will have a chance to update the blog until we return...but will be thinking of you! oxoxo

merry easter...

had these eggs outside my office all week...man the smell of chocolate was makin' this preggo crazy. There were about 20 of them all lined up in various sizes....along with beautifully decorated cookies. Hope you all have a happy day! We're just finishing up getting ready for our trip downunder. xoxo

lullaby...

this is the crib where our sweet little boy will sleep. Purchased it last weekend at Bergstroms on sale and such a good price...better than Babies R Us. This photo is from the store model. Ours is still in the box and will assemble it upon our return from downunder. So much to look forward to!

sweet...

love for these girls...my sweet nieces...always have a great time at the Henkel house! This time was to celebrate my sis-in-law's (adore her) and that sweet Ava's special days! Love that photo of miss lilly giving love to her cousin...even if he is a boy..."blagh" say the girls at that age about boys! ;-)

xoxo

and the winner is...JENI!

So excited to have you in class JENI! I had dave (my husband) pick your name out of a cup...and boy was he thorough in his selection...shaking the cup...dumping them all out and then putting them all back in! e-mail me and I will let you know the next step to get you in one of my classes miss JENI! Hope I get to meet all of you! Space is still available for all classes and if you're on the fence and just don't know yet, we are going to have a great time and don't want you to miss out! E-mail david at david@kiwiscraps.co.nz if you have any questions or go to the website for more details! xoxo

freebie...

love me some freebies...and even better to be the giver of a freebie? If you are in the Sydney, Wellington or Auckland area...or can get there in 2 weeks, post on my blog by Saturday and you can win one of the classes I will be teaching. Winner will be posted on my blog on Sunday. Each one of the teachers is giving away one of their classes and some of us (including me) will be giving away a handmade goodie. Trust me...we are going to have a blast learning fun techniques that you can incorporate into any paper arts project and you will love my old friends and my new friends! Thank you kiwiscraps for inviting me to be a part of such a fabulous experience!

check out my friends blogs here...

Emily
Rhonna
Tia
Nic
Zina
Wendy

and all the class sneak peeks here....

Looking forward to meeting everyone downunder! xoxo

p.s. photo is of the supplies used for my "forget me nots" class!

double dare downunder style...

a NZ dare site for scrapbooking is hosting a freestyle challenge to all those interested in playing. One lucky winner will win a free class at Crafting Connection 2007 in New Zealand or Sydney...or if you're not able to go then one set of Autumn Leaves stamps. The Aussie dare blog is participating too! Love seeing what everyone comes up with! xoxo
p.s. the page above is the one I shared. xoxo

meet my...

friend Rhonna Farrer (Ron-a Fair-er)! How cool is she? Featured in the new ME Home Companion magazine and a totally cool new website! Go check it out! Congrats to you my friend! xoxo

our passports...

arriving in the mail means it's a countdown for our trip! Really wish tomorrow was a stay-at-home kinda day! Got a lot done this weekend for our trip but nothing really fun to share! Went to Ruby's this morning for breakfast...yum! Hope you all had a great weekend! xoxo

bigger sneak peeks...

for the classes I'll be teaching downunder....less than 1 month to go! You can register here! Good times will be had by all! Excited to be traveling with my friends and our families...Emily, Tia and Rhonna! xoxo

stamps, stamps and more stamps...

yesterday at the Rubber Stamp Show with my mom! Went in the morning and had lunch on the way home at a yummy deli in Irvine! Love watching Tim Holtz play with his stamps and inks...so creative and inspiring he is! The second photo is from the studios blackbird booth...one of my favorites to visit at this show. They have a store in San Luis Obispo...maybe I will get there someday! Hope you had a great weekend too! xoxo

p.s. the baby bump is growing as shown above...23 weeks which means almost 6 months along!

shopping with grammie...

what a fun time we had on Saturday shopping for the baby-boy-on-the-way. Love the mobile my hip and funky mom (check out her cute shoes and outfit) bought and the bumper for the crib I bought. I have decided to stay away from the traditional baby boy blue room and going with a fun beachy, nautical theme Oh, and of course grammie couldn't resist that cutie dog from pottery barn. Can't wait to decorate and have the new baby smell surround us. xoxo

we're having a little...

BOY! Yep, a son...loud and clear he showed us he is a boy! We were able to see all his healthy parts...the heart, spine, all fingers and toes, brain, and even his mouth and tongue (sonogram scan shows his little profile, arms and hands)! We are beyond excited...can't imagine what it will be like when he gets here. sigh...a little boy of our very own...how blessed we are! xoxo

own your name...

and stand up tall! If you have yet to hear my buddy (i wish) jason mraz' song made for ugly betty, you must! Go to his website and take a listen! Such a good message...such an amazing talent he is! I wish everyone could see him in concert...the best I've ever seen! Gotta love the polaroid of the moment! You rock Jason!

So looking forward to going shopping today with my mom...get to go and pick out a couple baby things! Will tell you for boy or girl later!
xoxo

downunder...

countdown...Come mid-April we'll be leaving on a jet plane for our big trip to New Zealand and Austrailia for Kiwiscraps big freestyle downunder workshop! Space is still available if you live downunder and want to join us for loads of fun! From what I hear, Kiwiscraps puts on the BEST events ever!

p.s. here's a sneak peek at the projects I'll be teaching...lots 'o pipecleaners, felt and stitching!

xoxo

boy that...

weekend went by fast. been playing with inks and yummy things (hence the photo above is my blotter pad that I keep to stamp off excess inks and use it as a background when I am colorwashing...love that pad!) part of this was for my love letter to my valentine. Was hoping it was as warm today as yesterday...was in the 80's yesterday...love that! But not so much luck today...felt like it was 20 degrees cooler and so windy. Went baby furniture shopping this weekend...so much fun and so many choices! Hope you had a great weekend! xoxo

better...

than flowers anyday! love me some Sprinkles cupcakes! Hope you all had a good Valentine's Day too! xoxo

this is what...

19 weeks looks like for me.

Had a doc appt. Friday and many family and friends were hoping to find our boy or girl...but i had a feeling that would have to wait until March when I have that special ultrasound where you have to drink a ton of water...

so on to the story...we go into doc room and no ultrasound machine (Dave was with me) and i sighed...not going to see the little bean this time...dave said don't worry...you never know...so doc comes in and no ultrasound but get to hear the heartbeat...that satisfied me...so cool! doc said...looks like you have a galloping horse. doc leaves the room and then drummer boy hubby (been drumming since he was 14) starts to do the same rhythm with his hands on his chest...so i got to hear the heartbeat twice! gotta love that guy!

just wanted to get that story down on my little blog to remember for a long, long time...hope it brings you a smile like it did for me (us)! xoxo