Monday 26 October 2009

Weekend Photo Post


This weekend I decided to take a complete break from scrapping & enjoy my family, which I did immensely. I finally loaded the photos from my little digital camera onto the computer & found a photoshoot I had done of Cami at a party a few weeks back. The camera is soooooooo bad that this was the only shot that was worth saving. I'm too self conscious to go everywhere with my big Nikon DSLR so at times like these I use my small, inconspicuous one & get very average shots, despite the 10megapix. I still love this photo & can see the change in Cami & how she is growing up, aswell as how much longer her hair is.

I took this one of Jack a few weeks ago whilst in the waiting room at the doctor, when he was about to get his cast removed from his hand/arm. He put on my glasses & I took a few shots of him being silly, this one being the only one worth keeping, but we both enjoy looking at it & having a giggle...

On Saturday afternoon I ventured off to Gateway alone, in the hopes of getting some Christmas shopping done. I really enjoyed some downtime on my own & a good look around but came back almost completely empty handed. As I had parked down the Cinema Nouveau end (because Shane was joining me in the evening to watch a movie) I had a good look at the furniture shops, bearing in mind that we are house-hunting at the moment. So much of what I saw looked like the photo below - shopsoiled - and still marked full price! So that was rather worrying...

I loved these reclaimed & distressed picture frames I found at Loads of Linen & Living - can't WAIT to decorate a wall in our new home with some of these!

And, for the first time ever, I walked into "Tall Trees"...I loved it! The woman within was so nice & let me have a good look without hassling me with any type of sales talk at all, which was a pleasant change for these parts, & I found an awesome dresser which I would love for our new dining-room. For now though I came out with only a trivet - but a mother of all trivets it was & a beauty!

I haven't measured it but I reckon it's about 10" across so it's pretty massive & it weighs a tonne!

It sits in the centre of our dining room table but I tried to photograph it against the wall to give you a clearer look at the design, as the red & white table-cloth is rather busy & distracting.

I found these artificial palms & ornamental banana trees & just had to photograph them for Cami, who wants to change her bedroom theme from Pink & Purple to "Hawaai!" so I thought the palms would be perfect for her new look...

Not sure if her new bedroom will have space for a ceiling height palm tree but it sure would be fun for her if we could squeeze one in!

I found & purchased these 2 photo boxes from "Mr. Price" to use for our Botswana holiday photos. One is for our family & the other is for Granny, so her next gift is sorted. These photos aren't the best because I had to take them inside today, using the flash, because the weather has been rainy & overcast of late. I chose the more intricately designed box for her & the simpler brown linen one with the bead detail for us.

My plan is to print the photographs out 4" x 6" {10 - 15cm} with a white edge & mount them onto chocolate brown bazzill & hand-journal on them using a white "milky" pen. I may lightly embellish them as long as there is nothing too 3D as I want them to all sit flush within the boxes. I thought this would make an interesting change from adding them to the next "Holiday" album & varies a bit from the standard mini-album too. My next task is to print the photos I have edited so I hope to be able to complete that this week.

I popped into "Claire's" & loved all the summer handbags they had on display. I thought the "Live, Love, Laugh" bag was rather scrappy looking & am considering buying it for Chelsea as her summer beach bag - maybe as one of her Christmas gifts!

We watched a movie called "The Informant" starring Matt Damon. It is based on a true story & was riveting. I dare not say more in case any of you choose to watch it but I highly recommend it. Sunday saw us out on the hunt again & we found the perfect house! Of course the only downside was the price...always the case! We are not in a rush to buy as we are still tying up loose-ends but we are ALL IN AGREEMENT that this is THE house & to get all 6 of us to agree on a house has been impossible until now!


9 comments:

Vicki said...

What a lot of fun shopping for your new house so hopefully you get the one you want! LOL

topkatnz said...

Sooooo, are you gonna try for the house???? and yes, my small handbag camera is no match for our large camera either - despite being same brand and higher mega-pix. I am told a small camera will never measure up because of the smaller light box capacity ....?????

Michelle Ramsay said...

Sounds like you had lots of fun at Gateway. I can just imagine a room with all the palm trees, you might just get lost in it, or maybe that is the idea ha ha. Lovely photos and lots of inspiration for decorating your new house when you find the right one. Happy hunting.

tania said...

I love Gateway!! Ah, i wish we could take a holiday:( I like this shopping of yours, megan will love those bags!! saw your challenge on journaljunkie!!

Shayne said...

Oh i love Loads of Living. Those frames are gorgeous.

I've taken a break from scrapping for what seems like forever. Don't know yet if this is good or bad!

Ella Swan said...

Thanks Vicki - can't wait to finally move in to a house of our own here...it will be close on 5 years of renting...Yes Heidi I've heard the same thing about the little cameras...I suppose once you have experienced the real thing then nothing compares...LOL Michelle...I think we could only afford one tree...they were pretty pricey...Tania looks like I may be having a "holiday" in your direction next year...Shayne don't worry, the mojo always returns, difficult to force it although I do try to do something useful if I'm not in the mood fro scrapping, like edit & print out my photos or something. At least then you feel like you are still working towards your goals.

Lynette Jacobs said...

Love those frames...thank you for taking us with you on your shopping trip:)

Desire Fourie said...

No reason to feel self-concious with your big daddy of a camera. Trust me, people think you are seriously professional! Loved shopping in my old fav shopping centre, Gateway, with you.
Hugs
Desire

iris said...

Helen you have a treasure in those frames! Beautiful! Looks like you had so much fun shopping and spending time with your family:)
BTW your fall layout is stunning. Love the technique you did with the butterfly:)