Happy Admin Professionals Day :)

This is the card I made for the great team of ladies that I work with :)  Ingredients:  A Magnolia stamp colored with copics, an oval cut from the Lacy Label Cart, Light Blue paper embossed with the cuttlebug, some 'Got Flowers' Mulberry Paper Flowers with brad centers and of course, Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Ink :)

Blog Candy Winner!

And the winner is..... #6  Misty
Misty said "That is an awesome collection!  Hummer Hugs!
Congrats Misty!

Wild Wild West

Pee-ow, pee-ow, pee-ow.......the 'out-laws' are here!  Andy's Mum & Dad are visiting from the UK.  They arrived 6 days after my Mum & Brian jetted back via LA, darling...

It was very hard saying goodbye at the airport and resurrected some of the old feelings from last August when we left the UK.  Tears and hugs were had and all too soon the 5 weeks were gone and they jetted out, with the promise of an impending return.  It really helps having the plans set for the next time we will see each other.

So we are now having some lovely family time and enjoyed the Easter show yesterday while the sun shone.  It was like a very large Bath & West show which is the one we frequented every year while living in Somerset.  It was very, very busy as expected and we managed to negotiate the throngs of people with a pushchair and 2 little people pretty well.  We had an amazing time in the animal barn where you could walk amongst the kids, lambs, chickens, etc petting and feeding them.  Isla was mesmerised and slightly infatuated with one little goat that she took a shine too.  She spent a good 1/2 an hour with this one, stroking and musing about how beautiful/soft/fluffy/lovely this goat was.  It almost convinced me to purchase a goat for her in the future.  Almost.

We spent the previous day in Darling Harbour at the Hoopla festival and exploring the Chinese Gardens and in between the rain showers we watched the Circus Acts and street performers.  All of this for free and put on for the people of Sydney.  Amazing really!  We watched an 11 piece band and dancing quartet called Miguel and Lady Torpedo who were amazing!  Lovely eats were had in the Asian food courts above Paddy's Market and then the weary people wound their way home....

 Hugs in the Chinese Gardens - I have a fantasy of visiting these gardens at a quiet time during the week and enjoying a serene pot of Jasmine tea while contemplating and gazing across the ponds...not achievable with a 2 & 3 old!

Easter show roller coaster ride

 Myself and Isla enjoying the horses

 Feeding the goats

 A little girl in love..  :)

 Finn loving the pet time

 Finn 'high fived' the Storm Trooper and made his Daddy very proud!

Flaunt it Fridays Challenge #20

I love the FIF Challenges - its always keeps me on my toes and using cuts in a cartridge that I normally might not have thought to use so check out the weekly challenge at flauntitfridays.blogspot.com!  This week the challenge is to use cricut cart Cindy Loo - I LOVE THIS CART so i was very excited!  And the cut - ANYTHING GOES!  We even got to pick our own cut so I chose to use 3 cuts - the deer, the tree and the flower!

Home Decor Hop Day 3

Welcome to the last day of the Home Decor Blog Hop!  I am Vicki and if you hopped here from Angelica (http://handmadebyangelica.com/)  then you are in the right place - if you just happen to hop here and would like to join in on the fun then you can start with Faith at http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/!  Thanks for hopping by, I hope you enjoy the hop, the projects and find a little inspiration to do something new and exciting in your own home!  I will be giving away blog candy on Monday (see below - Day 1).  Your next stop is listed at the bottom of this post :)

Vicki

So My Day 3 Project was the result of my sitting at my desk most of  Day 2 wishing I had a calendar to refer to and a project idea for day 3 :)  Well, after debating where I would find a calendar that I could just pin up on top of my desk I decided to make one myself!  Here it is....

Its not a huge, elaborate, complicated project - but a pretty useful one!  I knew I wanted to see two months at a time so I used a blank calendar template in microsoft publisher and arranged two months on one page.  Then I imported two of my favorite digi images and printed it out on white cardstock.  I colored in the images with my copics, wrote in the things I needed to remember and in less than an hour, I had a calendar that suited my needs, I like to look at and didnt have to leave my apartment, spend a dime on gas or supplies, gave me a post for day 3 and had fun creating!   I'm thinking when May is over I will cut out the digi images so they won't go to waste and use them on a card or scrapbook page :)

In case you missed it yesterday.....

My Day 2 project is not one that I just whipped up over night - It is one that I already have had done but couldnt waste the opportunity to share because it is one my favorites.  Its a TV stand that I designed around the baskets.  My kids are forever not picking up after themselves (imagine that! lol), leaving video games and controllers, dvd etc all over the floor so i thought putting the stuff all in baskets that they could just pull out as they needed would save me some time and stress :)  So here it is....

So first I bought the baskets, then I drew the tv stand (which I had someone else build for me to my dimmensions).  Then I stained the entire thing and stenciled stars on either end and the saying in the middle.  A coat of poly, thow the kids 'junk' in the baskets and in the tv they go... It serves my primitive taste, holds my big tv with a little room for a primitive display and when the kids need something, they just pull out a basket!!

In case you missed it yesterday here are my Day 1 Projects!
My 1st project is a stamped and colored framed print.  My 1st Project is also going to be my BLOG CANDY!  So leave me a comment and become a follower and this can be all yours! :)

This fun project can either stand up or be hung up :)  I started with an unfinished wooden frame that I got at Michaels.  I painted the frame with black paint.  When the paint was dry i sanded down both the outside and inside edges to give it that old, distressed look and then used a spray sealer.  On the inside I took a 5x7" piece of ivory cardstock and added some tea dye Ranger distress ink in a circular motion and then a touch of walnut.  I stamped the sentiment on a piece of cardstock 3x2" using Adirondack black ink and applied the distress inks as before.  I then used a piece of striped, distressed looking backround paper our of my scrap bin (about 3"x4 1/4").  I glued the backround paper on the top and the sentiment in the middle.  I then sewed on two wooden buttons in the corners (1 star and 1 heart).  The bear and honey pots are from Stampin' Up and I colored them with copics and popped it in the frame!  The frame came with a peg to put in the back for standing up but i also added a picture hanger in the back so it could also be hung.

My 2nd project was to transform a plain milk can that I had picked up at an antique shop near home.

This was a simple but effective transformation.  I cut a star on my cricut (you could use any shape you wanted) and then use the negative space as a stencil to paint the star on the front.  I then tore a strip of homespun fabric (the entire length of the fabric) to make the bow.  Lastly, some sunflowers from Michaels and wah lah! from plain to country in less than half an hour!

Well, anyone who knows me knows that my country, primitive dolls are an important part of my home decor.  In the spirit of the holiday weekend here is a bunny doll that I just love!

It would be hard to post sewing instructions on a blog so I chose to go with a doll that although I made I did not design myself so that I can direct you to threadbareprimitives.com for the pattern. 

This doll was handmade from scratch and has been treated with a mixture of coffee, vanilla and cinnamon and then baked in the oven so not only does it have that 'older country' look but it smells good too!

Now that you have seen all of my projects let me show you how they all look together!!!  And now you all know what my house looks like!  Lots and lots of country, primitive stages such as this one :)  I hope you all enjoy the hop as much as I have - with this hop I was able to share a big piece of who I am!

You're next stop!!!!!

DoBea:  http://www.dobeaalberts.blogspot.com/

Happy Hopping and Happy Easter!

Vicki

Beautiful Tilda

I had fun with this Magnolia Stamp - Beautiful Tilda.  I had colored two, one for a card for a friend and one for fun.  I just needed a quick fix so I took advantage of my already colored image and cut it out with a spellbinder die.  I put a little Ranger Distress Ink on the edge of it and was ready to assemble!  I decided to go with a brown card, a piece of backround paper from DCWV's Matstack called "Garden Party", a purple strip of cardstock I ran through my cuttlebug with a Tim Holtz embossing folder, 4 mulberry flowers from the Got Flowers? Collection and two purple crystal brads and wah lah :) Sweet and Simple!

Visiting oldies...

We have done so many things in the last 2 weeks of which there are far too many to list.  Saturday just gone was a particularly good day when we saw The Gruffalo's child at The Seymour Centre, then went swimming at the Olympic pool, back to Darling Harbour for tea at Nick's......breath...there's more.....  We then walked around the wharf to have a look at a P&O cruise ship waiting to depart, watched it sail then walked back around the harbour for the fireworks!  Wow, so tiring but so good.  :)

School has now broken up for Easter so Finn is at home for the last week for our visitors who depart on Saturday - where have those 5 weeks gone?  I have no idea, but they have been good.

 My Mum & Step Dad at Nick's enjoying the seafood....and the wine..  A little rosy cheeked!

 We all visited my family up on the Central Coast on Sunday for a day of lovely food, great company and a splash in the pool.  Finn & Isla had a blast diving for toys and sliding in - as demonstrated by Isla above!

Today we have been to a new little beach I have found at Nielson Park, Vauclause.  Here I am with the old dragon....!  A nice, balmy, Autumn day.

 More swimming progress for Isla who has moved up into the new swimming class

 - after giving the instructor a slightly frosty reception she started to warm up!

 Independent girl.

 Most favourite activity in the World for Finn

 Shark Bay, Vauclause

 Scooter girl

 Happy, sunny, scooter, smiley days

 Autumn is here, the temperature has dropped to the mid 20's during the day and it is perfect to be on the sand.

My Mum making footprints in the sand.

Coaching children towards their targets - Part 1

Firstly, a big thanks to Run Fun Starz Group for inviting me to guest blog!

For this blog, I've chosen a topic that's close to my heart. I've worked with children for over 20 years – teaching, mentoring, and more recently coaching. But I don't mean coaching in the 'sports coach' sense, although the style of coaching I use is derived from sports coaching (see Tim  Gallwey's “The Inner Game of Tennis”).

The link you could add here could be:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-Tennis-W-Timothy-Gallwey/dp/0330295136/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299001907&sr=1-1 (which I've used from Amazon)

Having coached teachers and head teachers for several years on areas of personal performance at work, I was intrigued by how the performance coaching tools and techniques used with adults could be applied to children and their school targets.

School targets

All children have some sort of targets to work towards, whether these be end of year targets, termly, half-termly or weekly ones. These are usually curriculum or behaviour-based. The ones I was initially interested in were behaviour targets, which led to a pilot study with a group of teachers.

The study

A group of 6 teachers, who I'd trained in coaching skills, used these skills as part of their work with children who had been identified as having special educational needs for behaviour.  Some key things to mention here:

1.    The aim of the study was to support the children towards:

- greater self-awareness

- taking accountability for their own behaviour / learning

- developing their own solutions to problems

2.    The children were encouraged to come up with their own targets using coaching techniques and models – even if they originally had been given targets for the term by their class teacher. This resulted in greater target ownership, and accountability.

3.    The coaching approach was never intended to replace the teacher's existing methods for helping these children, merely to enhance what they were already doing.

The study provided us with positive results and measurable progress over a 2-term period. The work continues, but I will leave you with a few starting points if you're interested in maximising children’s performance towards their targets (curriculum or behaviour).

Getting started ...

Ask the right questions

Encourage the child to come up with their own target, using questions such as:

·         What would you like to get better at this term?

·         What would be a good target for (maths / your behaviour, etc.) which would help you over the next 6 weeks?

·         If you could pick a really great target to work on, to help with your (co-ordination skills / literacy work), what would that be?

The last question is more advanced and perhaps better for children who are more familiar with the concept of personal targets.

Create a picture

Help the child to visualise what achieving their target will look like.

·         How will they feel when they achieve it?

·         What will people notice about them that will be different?

·         What could their friends / other teachers be saying about them when they've achieved it?

Set time scales

This will depend on the age of the child, the size of the target and what else is going on for the child. Share with them your thoughts on when would be a realistic deadline and why you think this is the case. For example, there may be class targets to achieve by the end of the year / term, which are linked with their target. Or you may believe they have set themselves a small target that could be achieved quickly. However, my experience has shown me that children will often go for big targets!

Happy target-setting, and let me know how you get on!

By Debbie Inglis

Director
Square Two Development Ltd
01629 706 100
0779 161 0215
www.squaretwo.co.uk
Twitter: @squaretweet (businesses)
Twitter: @TeachersCoachUK or @HTcoach (schools)

Girl in Purple :)

I just love the digi images from sassycheryls.com - they are so cute and fun!  I had a great time coloring her in with my copics and then I cut her out with a speckled rectangle spellbinders die, surrounded her by some dark purple cardstock and put her on card covered with some purple polka dot paper from  Nana's kid pack and a cuttlebug embossed strip of olive green cardstock from stampin up.  I embellished with a blingy butterfly from Recollections and a silk flower from the Paper Studio with a purple stone brad :).

Thanks to All My Friends

Even though the past few weeks have been difficult, confusing, scary and sad I learned to appreciate my friends and how blessed I am for all that I have.  When life seemed like there was no hope there came randoms act of kindness that gave me the strength to get through.  So this card is a tribute to my friends "Friendship is Shelter From Life's Little Storms".  Thanks to all of your for your words of love and support, thanks for being patient during the weeks I wasn't able to post to my blog, thanks to all of you for listening, for helping me move, lifting furniture and boxes up two flights of stairs, for helping me get ready for my craft fair, for sharing your creativity on your own blogs to keep me inspired for the time i'd be able to create again myself.....  FRIENDS ROCK :)  Thank you! xoxoxo Vicki

FIF Challenge #17

Well, if feels good to be back crafting and doing challenges after all the chaos!!!!  This card is for the Flaunt It Fridays Challenge # 17.   The challenge this week is to use 3 BIRDS ON A PARADE cartridge and the cut choice this week is Disguise Bird Page 36.   I don't have this cartridge so i decided to use a bird from the Create-a-Critter Cartridge, along with some posies stamped from Heartfelt Creations and an Inkadinkadoo Sentiment that seemed appropriate :)  As most times, Tim Holtz distress inks and tearing are involved!!!
Miss you all!!!  Vicki