Happy New Year!

Happy New Year readers! Cant believe we are at the start of not just another year but another decade!

Here is my last page for 2009 for my 365 and my Home for the Holidays Christmas journal.
Day 31:

• Write - New Years Resolutions
• Photo - Take a photo of myself
• Do - Think and write down resolutions
• Make - Make a tropical punch or Pavlova
• Remember - Past new Years celebrations
  

Be sure to check out the RTlicious website later today where I will be posting our first weekly challenge for 2010.

Hope you all have a great first day for 2010 and of the the new decade! May the new decade bring you health, joy and happiness!

Tenaha xo

Days 29 & 30

The last day of 2009! What can I achieve today that I promised myself to do in 2009? Lose another 10kg in one day - I doubt it! 31st December always makes me think of what we have achieved this year and what resolutions may we have perhaps overlooked? Well that's okay because we can set new resolutions today for 2010.... But i will have to leave these for my 31st Dec posting.

Here is Days 29 & 30...

Day 29:

• Write - Favourite accomplishments for the year
• Photo - Something related to love
• Do - Play a board game with Darryl
• Make - Darryl's favourite tea
• Remember - this year's achievements

Day 30:

• Write - the importance of Christmas cards
• Photo - Christmas correspondence
• Do - Send out thank you cards
• Make - Cheekah's favourite tea
• Remember - Traditions relating to Christmas cardsWishing you all a lovely New Years Eve!

Tenaha ;)

Day 28

Peace and rest at length have come

All the day's long toil is past

And each heart is whispering

"Home, home at last".

- Thomas Hood

Day 28 -

• Write - About the significance of home at Christmas
• Photograph - A favourite place in the home
• Do - Organise for New Years eve
• Make - Seekara's favourite tea
• Remember - Christmas spent at home in the past

Days 26 & 27

Day 26:

• Write & Photo - What we were up to after Christmas
• Do - Play with new toys
• Make - Thank you cards
• Remember - Any decoration take down traditionDay 27:
  
• Write - The best gift received - Seekara won a colouring in competition which she was very excited about
• Photo - The gift
• Do - Get batteries for new toys if needed
• Make - Get the girls to draw in the Thank you cards
• Remember - Some memorable gifts

I decide to just add my own slant on the Day 26 & 27 postings saying more what happened on these days.

Now to enjoy Day 28!

Tenaha ;)

Days 24 & 25

Uh-oh I have fallen behind again. but hey - its Christmas! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and Boxing Day.

Here is Day 24:

• Write - Write about Christmas eve traditions
• Photo - Something that means warmth
• Do - Go to Xmas mass (we did this Christmas Day instead)
• Make - Make a plate for Santa
• Remember - Christmas eve excitement

Day 25:

• Write - Describe Christmas Day
• Photo - Christmas Day moments
• Do - Have a relaxing day
• Make - A relaxing Christmas moment
• Remember - Special Christmas day rituals

Here are a few other layouts to share:

The layout above was made using Sassafras lass papers and ABCs and Kaiser bling - nice and easy!

The layout below was made using stickers, pops, lace paper and papers from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry Range - very cute range!I really enjoyed making the layout below of our little Miss Mischief. I used papers from Bazzil; Kaiser and Basic Grey; Trim from Websters; stickers from KI Memories & Basic Grey; letters from Basic Grey; flowers from Prima; bling from kaiser and rubons from Kaiser. I also coloured in the ABC letters with textas to match more page better.

Anyway -I better go and get stuck into the Day 26 posting. Enjoy your lazy Sunday!

Tenaha ;)

Day 23

Wow - It's Christmas Eve already! Merry Christmas everyone. The kids are so excited - especially Seekara who is seeing elves driving cars (seriously cute) and singing made up Christmas carols around the house. I must admit - i love Christmas too so i cant wait until tomorrow morning. We are planning to get up at the crack of dawn (because that's when the kids will wake up!); unwrap presents; have a quick breakfast; head off to morning mass; come back and rest ready for lunch down at Mia Mia restaurant; eat, drink and be merry; rest, swim and more resting - ahhhhh! Cant wait. What will you be doing?

I got home yesterday afternoon to find a gorgeous little parcel of home made goodies from my friend Renee (Rhonda's eldest girl). Renee loves the Christmas and has such a lovely giving spirit. It was such a nice surprise and there is nothing like home made Christmas goodness - needless to say they are already consumed! Thanks Renee xo
And we were totally spoilt yesterday because we received another home made surprise - my Aunt's Christmas card. I was so excited about getting one of these. Aunt Deb is fabulous at making cards and is a design team member for magnolia Down Under - I love this cute card! Check out her blog at Inky Fingers - see my links at side of blog.

For Day 23:

• Write - Do you hang stockings? Do the stockings have special meaning?
• Photo - Stockings
• Do - Look at lights in town
  Make - Christmas Brownies
• Remember - Traditions relating to stockings and what normally goes in them

Okay - now I need to go out and do my last minute food shopping before a phone interview at half ten and work this afternoon at RTlicious. Crazy day but should be lots of fun.

I hope your Christmas Eves are wonderful!

Tenaha xo

Day 20 & 21

Yeay I have caught up again!


Day 21:

• Write - Significance of light in the holidays
• Photo - Holiday Lights
• Do - Sit out the front and chill
• Make - Paint and decorate paper mache
• Remember - Traditions relating to light

Day 22:

Day 22 was talking about holiday rituals - I think it has become a kind of ritual to cyclone track up here in the north of West Australia before and after Christmas!
Write - About the ritual
Photo - The ritual
Do - Read a story to the girls on the front lawn
Make - Jelly bean trees
Remember - Recollections of rituals as a child

Well best get on with Day 23!

2 more sleeps!

TFL Tenaha xo

Day 19 & 20

Day 19:

• Write - Something that reminds you of summer
• Photo - Take a photo of summer
• Do - Take the kids for a swim
• Make - Something from Seekara's cookbook
• Remember - Summer and the lead up to Christmas as a child

The actual holidays in hand asks about something you have inherited at Christmas but I don't have anything - plus I think talking about the heat and hot it is reminds me of the lead up to Christmas in Australia anyway.

Day 20:

• Write - Write something you feel blessed for
• Photo - Take a photo of smiles, hugs or laughter
• Do - Take the kids to the park
• Make - Shell of paper mache
• Remember - How the holidays have changed since before you had childrenLook what came in the mail yesterday..... my Websters paper range of choice and some gorgeous cameos for my participation n the 12 days of Christmas crop that Websters held. I never win anything so I was exited to win this pack - plus I really wanted those cameos. Now just to get a bit more time to play.
• 

Enjoy the rest of your day

Tenaha :)

Day 18

Well it has been a busy weekend - the weekend before Christmas. We had a few workshops over the weekend and the classes were a lot of fun. But I didn't get a lot of time to play myself so I didn't get to update my Holidays in Hand Album.

I guess the spare time I did have i was uploading my Gypsy - I love it. Cant wait to play. I got a pink one - so me. Will have to finish uploading today so I can start playing and sharing.

Onto holidays in hand...

Day 18:

• Write - About good will or giving and its significance at Christmas
• Photo - something relating to good will or giving
• Do - Teach the girls a Christmas song
• Make - Traditional Rocky Road
• Remember - A time when you felt the spirit of Christmas
  

I will try and catch up on Day 19 & 20 today.

Here are some other layouts I have been doing lately.

This layout was made using paper and chipboard from Cosmo Cricket; flowers from Green Tara & ribbon from Beary Patch. Letters were from Basic Grey.

The layout above is made using Basic Grey Eskimo Range - papers; chipboard; felties & rubons. The flowers are from Green Tara.

The layout below was made using Sassfrass lass papers; Sassafrass lass chipboard; Autumn Leaves rubons; Kaiser rubons; & K & Co stickers.This layout below was made from Little Yellow Bicycle paper and kaiser rubons.

Well better go and clean - Enjoy your Monday

Tenaha ;)

Day 17

Day 17 -

• Write - Traditions relating to Santa
• Photo - Santa
• Do - Send letter to Santa
• Make - Egg Christmas tree
• Remember - Recall traditions for Santa

Last night we did a workshop based on Colelctions large tags. I had the got idea from Julie van Oosten (owner/designer - Colelctions) and wanted to make my own version using Collections papers, chipboard, calendar, tags and A Child's First Year Cricut catridge. I used the Ciruct to cvut out solhoutwters that suited each month. Here is sneak peak at the project. I really enjoyed making it and I get to enjoy the calndr now all next year in 2010. I hope the giorls liked making theirs too.

Day 16

Day 16:

• Write - What are you most excited about?
• Photo - A close up of gifts (I put my mango!)
• Do - A Christmas connect the dots with my girls
• Make - Gumdrop pops
• Remember - Any gift wrapping traditions? (I just left this as I did my story about the mango tree - something that will reoccur every year now we live at this house! What a great Christmas gift from nature - yum!!!!)

Day 15 Posting

Hello

I hope everyone is getting all their last minute Christmas shopping done - without going too insane. It kind of takes away from that Christmas spirit really. We have such a crazy few weeks here with meetings and dinners and Christmas parties that I cant wait for Christmas Day to come around so we can sit back as a family and exhale! To top it off we have had sick children - one gets better and the other gets sick which means not a lot gets done except cuddles to comfort their woes. I am sure all parents can relate.

Anyways - on with the day...

Day 15:

Write - About hope as it relates to Christmas

Photo - Something that represents what you hope for

Do - Wrap all presents ready to send away

Make - Christmas wreath continued

Remember - Has your ideas of what you hope for at Christmas changed since you became an adult?

Just wanted to share these little notebooks I made yesterday for Seekara's teacher and her two assistants. i used Sassafras Lass papers and Collections chipboard to make some bright colourful little notebooks. These were inspired by one of our customers at RTlicious - Glenys Price. Glenys makes beautiful presents for people by using Collections and covering notebooks. I think its really personal and makes a really nice gift. Thanks for the inspiration Glenys.

Day 14 Posting

Day 14:

Write - Who do you normally spend Christmas with

Photo - the smile of a loved one

Do - colour in a Christmas page with the kids

Make - start making the Collections Christmas wreath you have always wanted to do

Remember - Recall the usual Christmas crowd

Days 11 - 13 & RTlicious Blogsite

Hi Everyone

RTlicious are starting the new year with a new blog site to keep everyone up to date with everything RTlicious. TO check out the blog look up http://www.rtlicious.blogspot.com/ You can also subscribe so you get up to date information sent to your email so you know news before anyone else.

I have been a bit busy over the weekend so did not really get time to get stuck into my Holidays in Hand. Here is what I have done for for Days 11 - 13.

Day 11:

• Write - I wrote about the Christmas parties this year
• Photograph holiday clothing - i did the girls in their party dresses fro the daycare Christmas party
• Do - organise a charity to donate to at Christmas time
• Make - shortbread
• Remember - A holiday party from the past

Day 12:

• Write - I wrote about another Christmas party that happened on the 12th
• Photo - i took a photo of some friends and I at the event
• Do - Have a chocolate fondue night
• Make - left blank but I ended up making gingerbread men for the Thermo mix Christmas party
• Remember - Family must watch shows
• 
  Day 13:
  Write - About the Christmas tree and the importance of it
• Photo - My tree
  Do - Checklist and organise last minute gifts
  Make - A Christmas tree centre piece with Seekara
• Remember - Traditions or rituals with the Christmas tree

We were write busy at RTlicious on the weekend too. We had two classes over the weekend including a K & Co layout and an inchies stand we made.

The layout below was based on Rhonda's lovely pink version of the K & Co range. I made a blue version using a photo of my boy Kya sitting on his ice block - we put a block of ice out in the summer and continually wet the papers down to keep him cool in the summer.

The Inchies stand below was lots of fun! This was based on something that Rhonda created also. Check out the different versions our class participants made on our blog site. We used bits of Collections chipboard, Accent Essential (Cricet), book paper, cardboard, gauze, calico and three papers from My Minds Eye and Jenni Bowlin. We also used a tiny bit of German Scrap and Blue Eye Dezines felt, gold ink, texture paste and a Collections image butterfly. Lots of fun.Below is a layout I made a while ago using the Kaiser range that i wanted to share with you. I wanted to keep it fairly simple because I did not want to distract from these gorgeous photos Tracy Monaghan took. I have now framed one of the layouts in my lounge room - I plan on doing lots of frames like this now.

To create this layout I used Websters lace; Kaiser papers; Kaiser pearls and odd buttons and brads.

Well I think i have an engagement on again each night this week so i better go and get this house organised!

Only 11 more sleeps til Santa comes!

TFL

Tenaha ;)

Day Nine & Ten

Day Nine Posting was supposed to include you favourite book but I really wanted to include this photo of the girls at the BHP Christmas party from last week - so cute. Cheekah did not start to cry until after I took the photo so perfect timing! BHP put the best Christmas parties on in the whole wide world!

Day 10 posting:

• Write - About your favourite holiday sights - I wrote about the South Newman Primary School Christmas concert last night!
• Photograph - Something that delights your eyes!
• Do - Play Christmas Carols for the kids
• Make - Fudge!
• Remember - Christmas sights from childhood. Do you try to recreate these now?

You can click on the images to enlarge them and read what I have written if you like.

Have a very merry 11th day of December!

Day Eight

Day Eight Posting:

• Write - About the significance of one of your decorations
• Photograph - A Christmas decoration you have inherited
• Do - Sing a Christmas song before bed
  Make - 10 gift tags
• Remember - Places you remember feeling warm, welcome and loved at Christmas?

Seekara and Cheekah have been doing swimming lessons over the past two weeks. Here is Seekara during her Stage 1 class yesterday - well done girl!

Day Seven

Day Seven Posting:
Write - Describe your favourite Christmas food
Photograph - An item of food that reminds you of Christmas
Do - Play a board game with Seekara

Make - Decorate that chipboard reindeer I have had in the cupboard now for several years!
Remember - Christmas food present in childhood memories. Why is food so important in our memories at Christmas time?

Day Six

Day Six Posting:

• Write - About a Christmas symbol that has meaning to you
• Photograph - Take a closeup shot of that Christmas symbol
• Do - Go to Carols by candlelight
• Make - 10 gift tags
• Remember - Traditions with placing meaningful decorations in your home

And here are some previous layouts to share:
Something different for me - a boy layout. Photo taken by Tracy Monaghan last year's Boxing Day of my two bothers and Dad. They wanted to pose with a serious face - dags! I used:

• Papers - Basic Grey, Collections & 7 Gypsies
• Rubons - Kaiser
• Chipboard - Basic Grey
• Prima - bling
• Flowers - Kaiser
  

The photo below was taken the same day of my parents with our two girls. Used in this layout:

• Papers - Making Memories
• Letters - Heidi Swapp and Basic Grey
• Ribbon and trims - Making Memories, Beary Patch & Websters
• Flowers - Kaiser
• Chipboard - Creative Imaginations
  

I had to share this one - the layout below was completed by my 5 year old daughter. She very much has a mind of her own and does not like me to help - she is very independent and likes doing it all by herself! I love her page - I think she did pretty well for her age and I was really proud of me when she showed me. She has used papers from My Minds Eye, letters from October Afternoon, Ribbons from Autumn Leaves, felt from Fancy pants and Rubons from My Minds Eye.

the next layout to share was taken last year at our youngest girl's christening. I wanted to fit a few pages on the on to tell the story visually as well as verbally.

• Papers - Basic Grey
• Flowers - kaiser and Green Tara
• Bling - Kaiser
• Letters - Basic Grey and Carolees Creations
• Candle diecut - Prima

Day Five

Day Five posting:
Write - Write about a Christmas song that has meaning to you

Photograph - Something that reminds you of that song
Do - Watch a Christmas movie with the kids
Make - Homemade Jam
Remember - An instance where you listened to a holiday song.

Day Four

Day four posting:

• Write - Talk about a piece of sentimental holiday decor
• Photograph - Favourite piece of holiday decor
• Do - Write in and send Christmas Cards
• Make - craft item with Seekara
• Remember - Decorating traditions that were handed down to you
  

Thanks for looking

Tenaha

Day Three

Yeay! I am up to date.

Here are my Day Three postings:

• Write - What does the word JOY mean to you
• Photograph - A photo of JOY
• Do - Print a photo of the girls to include in the cards
• Make - Paper chains
• Remember - A holiday joy, where and who was there?

Day Two

Here is my Day Two posting.....

• Write - Read the article "Welcome Home" and write your thoughts
• Photograph - Something warm
• Do - Write a letter to include in cards
• Make - Fruit cake
• Remember - A specific recipe I made with a family member.
  

For photograph I decided to think of something that warms my heart and I thought of the joy my daughter gets from Christmas. Every morning she wakes up we go to the advent calendar so she knows how many sleeps to Christmas (and to get her choccie). She loves Christmas time and everything is so exciting for her. That warms my heart.
Here is my Day Two page:

Now I had better get a move on and do the next two days...

Have a good day
TFL

Tenaha xox