Bird is the Word Challenge - Dance

I guess this is a slightly different take on the word 'dance'; having a family of boys and one little granddaughter not yet old enough for dance lessons I needed to think outside the square for this challenge page.

This photo is of our second son snorkelling at a large aquarium in our city; the swim was a gift from his wife and I had jokingly asked if she had another motive for giving him this gift for his birthday! I was only slightly less concerned when the guide explained that the this type of shark would not normally attack humans and is kept really well fed. The large turtle is more of a concern as his beak is very sharp and our son was advised to keep his hands close to his body and not to wriggle his fingers. Apparently our son would have loved to have donned a scuba tank for this and actually been able to dive but he has had breathing issues in the past and this made snorkelling his only option.  

We were able to walk around the tank and watch our son from all angles as he made his way through the seascape in his dance with the shark and other creatures in the tank but also interact with his children and us through the water.

Thank you for looking and any comment you may leave, best wishes

http://birdisthewordchallenge.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/new-challenge-word-dance.html

Sketchabilities - Challenge #99

Book week can be quite a difficult time for parents; the little ones often have their super hero's that they wish to represent and those costumes can be very hard for parents to replicate. It is not surprising in this very busy world that parents are apt to hire or buy the costumes for the children, especially when there is more than one child attending school.

A previous post Jack Frost was made using this same sketch and explains a little of our past costumes and the one he is wearing. This photo is of our second grandson who wanted to be Leonardo Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for book week. He is a funny little fellow who can take on the persona of the character he is pretending to be. I had his face painted as a tiger once and he morphed into a big angry cat so quickly. I imagine his parents took some time to ensure he understood the rules relating to his behaviour when he was in this costume. The boys' dad had used a roll of gaffa tape and several newspapers to make the staff for 'Jack Frost' and the sword for 'Leonardo'.  Their Dad is FIFO and only home for seven days out of twenty one so he was thrilled to be there on this special day in his son's school year and to be able to help their Mum with their costuming.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

http://sketchabilities.blogspot.com.au/

123 Get Scrappy - Challenge #2

Stamping: the journal spot, Die Cut: the stars and small tag, Back to school: my second grandson on his first day at kindy.

This photo is a year old and I am trying to catch up on some album pages so this challenge was a great way to get another done. I have been carrying this paper and these photos around for some time and wasn't getting the inspiration I needed to complete them. I was flipping through my sketch file last night and found a wonderful sketch from Page Drafts that just seemed to be exactly what I needed; I am on retreat for the weekend so I stayed up until 3am this morning just so I could finish it!

I can't believe how fast time is flying; it seems only yesterday we were cradling this new little bundle, our second grandson in our arms and all of a sudden he is getting ready for his first day of kindy. He looks so tiny and just a little nervous. We have been honoured to be invited to his class room in the past two years for Grandparents day and it is lovely to see him growing, learning and interacting with  his teachers, peers and little friends.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

http://123getscrappy.blogspot.com.au/

Lets Get Shabby - Seasons

I love the seasons and those inspiration cards are so beautiful; I chose the winter one. I would love to see snow like this and hopefully will one day on one of my trips to Colorado to see my sister.
I have always made my son's costumes for book week; it all started with our eldest at Pre-School and a costume to go as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. I spent many hours over several days wrapping card stock with aluminium foil and tying the pieces together with macramé rope; I made the hat out of an actual kitchen funnel and punched holes in it to tie it on his head under his chin.

Several years and many costumes followed culminating in the whole family going to a friend's Medieval themed 18th birthday party dressed as the knights and lady of the realm. This was the last of my costume making days. My grandsons are now beginning to celebrate book week at their schools and I love receiving the photos their parents send through.

I recently purchased 'The Rise of the Guardians' DVD for the grandchildren to watch on the recommendation of my next sister. It is a beautiful cartoon movie celebrating the old characters we knew and loved as children; Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Man in the Moon and the Tooth Fairy fighting a dark character Pitch Black who sends Nightmares to children shaking their belief in the good characters. Our eldest grandson thoroughly enjoyed it and it has now become a favourite; he chose to be Jack Frost for book week and his parents did an awesome job of his makeup with white face-paint and glitter through his hair, on his face and sprinkled on his shoulders; he was the only one in the school as this character and won the day. I was so thrilled his parents when to such effort for him.

Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

http://letsgetshabby.blogspot.com.au/

123 Challenge Blog - September

I don't have very many photos of my brother, the eldest of the four of us. He was both a serving member of the police force for over 25 years and worked mostly in the north of our very large state; he also was a member of the reserve army which took him away for periods of time.
He has four children also; a son and three daughters, the same configuration as us as siblings. Dad left very early on in our childhood so our brother was the only male in a household of females; I guess he had plenty of history in dealing with women to enable him to bring up three beautiful girls.
The bride is his eldest, the second to be married, this photo being taken in December 2010. She is an accomplished teacher and now the mother of a gorgeous little boy. The middle girl is the middle sister, Bel Woods with whom I scrapbook by text and email as she lives on the other side of Australia, she is the mother of a little girl and three boys. The youngest of the three sisters has been travelling in Europe for the last few years and has only recently returned home.
I know my brother is very proud of his girls and the beautiful young women they have become; his sweet daughters.
Thank you for looking and any comments you may leave, best wishes.

 

 

http://123-challenge-blog.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/septembers-challenge.html