Wordless Wednesday......{Disco Fun}

To play along with WORDLESS WEDNESDAY, have some fun, meet new bloggers & see some fun photos...head over to Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

New Stockist.......{SPR designs @ NEST}

A few weeks ago I mentioned that SPR has a new stockist...I didn't want to give too much away until I had created, printed, assembled & packaged the first wholesale order to this lovely store! But....I am soooo excited & bursting at the seams to announce SPR's latest lovely stockist and I'm even more excited...because this gorgeous store is in Tasmania....which means this order is the first time, SPR products have touched Tasmanian grounds :)

The lovely Nat from NEST store in Penguin, Tasmania made an inquiry about stocking some of my products & I couldn't more happier or proud! Nat's store is so incredibly cute....full of unique pieces of art, handmade goodness, homey products & pure loveliness in every corner :) Here's a little peak of the gorgeous store:

Isn't it divine???

I can not wait to step foot in this store one day....hmm...maybe a business trip on the cards? :)

And here.....is some of the SPR products that made their pretty little way down to NEST:

If you are a TAS resident or planning a Tasmanian trip...PLEASE stop into Nat's gorgeous store! 82 Main Street, Penguin, Tasmania! And....you can read Nat's blog here!

If you have a store/shop or online selling space & would like to stock SPR products, please contact me about wholesale orders! Email me at: scissorspaperrockdesigns@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you & broaden my products into the retail world :)

Happy Tuesday All!

Buried in Book....{At My House}

This afternoon, at my house, we've been buried in new books....which is a lovely place to be!! I love love LOVE children's books & love love LOVE that my little cherub has a passion for them too! I get so much joy from lying with her & watching her flick through the pages of a new book. I love seeing her eyes light up with each page & her curious fingers tracing each picture! I love reading to my little girl! I love when she repeats the words after me & I love that she genuinely is interested & wants to absorb it all :)

This morning we headed to our local library with some very special freinds & enjoyed an hour of imaganitaion, play & investigation. As always, Ella came home with lots of great new reads including some Christmas ones....YAY, I love that the magic of Christmas has begun!!

And, even though these photos weren't taken at my house, they were taken this morning at the library....Ella & her 1 of best buddies buried in the world of books:

And now....at almost 7pm, we're about to tuck our little Miss into bed & enjoy some more of today's borrowings :))

What's been happening at your house today?

I'm playing along with Lou's AT MY HOUSE! Pop in to see what other shenanigans people get up to in their houses :)

Week~A~Boo.......{Sun Kissed & Sweet Cheeks}

I hate that I may be a little predictable and well..... a little repetitive or even a little {or a lot} corny......but I have to say it.... "Our weekEND was nothing short of wonderful!" It was full to the brim of things.....you know....STUFF :)......experiences, places, people, chores {oh yes....unfortunately there is always chores}, family time.....and of course a lovely slice of relaxing home time too! 

In fact, the weekend was so lovely that it put me a foul mood at about 6:00pm tonight!! What...you ask?!!! You know that feeling of perfection & peace that only a weekend can bring? It was Sunday evening...the weekend had been full of fun....so full that my exhaustion was setting in! I felt content.....oh so content with the happenings of the weekend & as I sat in the bath with Ella washing away the salt & sand from today's beach antics....my mood shifted from good to bad!!

The realisation that the weekend was pretty much over kicked in! The 'Monday' feeling lurked it's ugly self in. My head starting thinking about clothes that needed folding, the piles of dirty dishes that needed cleaning. The week ahead worth of dinners I will cook. The massive amount of school & SPR work I need to get through! The bills that need to be paid this week! The floors that need vacuuming {again!}. etc....you get me?! I got out of the bath & start rushing around like a mad woman to get as much done as quickly as possible!!! My cranky pants were on BIGTIME!! However....a phone call from my Mum, Chris cooking dinner & reading bedtime books with Ella.....made all those feelings evaporate :) {moody you ask?! lol}

So...back to the weekend that was!!! Warning: photos galore are incuded in this post....but my regular readers will know to expect nothing less :) Since getting my new camera....I've hardly put the poor thing down...we've become besties...me & my Sony :) So, here it is.....OUR WEEKEND:

{Saturday morning! Chris had to work down the coast for a few hours! I had a mammoth amount of SPR orders to get finished {that's a good thing!} & posted off by 1pm! Ella was so good all morning whilst I worked away.....so off to the bakery we went for a Mummy & Ella lunch date as a Thank You to her for being.....HER! It was lovely....just her & I....my little buddy & I....just hangin'}

{Ella was fascinated with this little birdy eating our crumbs!}

{Oh my...this moment truly made my heart melt....I may have even shed a tear under my big sunnies!!! Ella asked if she could have a 'face cookie' for dessert. I was hesitant {for nutrition reasons}....as she'd already consumed a sausage roll & a choccie milk! So I said "If you go in on your own & ask the lady for one & give her the money by yourself...you can have it!" {keep in mind Ella is quite shy & always stays close to her Mumma!!} But...to my surprise...she strutted in, waited her turn, asked for a FACE COOKIE, paid the lady & strutted back out with the cookie in hand.....oh.my.god. Is there anything cuter than a 2yr old ordering & paying for herself at a bakery? hehehe! And as she came out, she said "One dollars change Mummy!!" Gosh...i love her!

{and the reward.....}

{this is the view from our seats at the bakery! This is our local shops! I love these shops! It's a small, open complex...but has everything we need...IGA, post office, Doc, Chemist, Newsagent, ATM's, the frame shop, florist, clothes boutique, Vet etc etc! We are regulars here as it's 2 mins down the road from our house! I love the 'country, small town' feel of these shops!!!} 

{Sunday was spent here!!!!} {yep that's me {well my feet} lying in the sun relaxing....and my 2 loves arm in arm in the water!!!!} {it was a moment of thinking "Life is Beautiful!!!" and it is!!!

{she ran...and ran....in fact I don't think she stopped today!!!}

{except when she was admiring the ocean and taking it all in!! Heeee I love this photo....those sun kissed sweet cheeks make me smile!!}

{they dug a mammoth hole....and buried ME in it!}

{and then to drag out the end of the weekEND....we headed to our local 'duck park' to feed the ducks, ride bikes & eat homemade chocolate brownies whilst watching the sunset.....you can't tell me that's not BLISS!}

So....now that I've bombarded your mind & eyes with photos of my weekEND {and as usual....photos of my Little Miss!}, I want to have a peek into YOUR weekEND :) If you're a blogger {or even just a Facebook user!} you can leave a link below to a blog post or images from your weekend!!! I'd love to have you play along!!

And now....I'm logging off to spend some more time with Chris....to breathe in what's left of the weekend!!  

Shadow Shot Sunday {2}

Taken at the Gold Coast on Tuesday 19th Oct 2010.

Play along with Shadow Shot Sunday with Hey Harriet!

Happy Sunday All!

This Saturday, I'm Grateful for......Hindsight!

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Dr Seuss.

Yesterday, I read Kelle's post about The Dove's Self Esteem Movement ! Her honesty, her words, her photos were heart-wrenching but so beautiful....I was left feeling emotional, empowered & inspired!

After reading the post, I watched THIS short video clip by Dove! It got me thinking about about sooooo many things....you know when one thought leads to another, and then another, and then you're left thinking "Wow....how did I get here?"

First I was thinking about BEAUTY! As a woman, feeling beautiful is important! It's not the be all & end all of life....but feeling a sense of beauty within yourself plays a HUGE part in the lifestyle you live, the people you associate with, the choices you make & the experiences you have! And I don't think beauty should be only related to a certain hair colour or a weight range or what brand clothes you wear! Beauty is soooo much more! It's accepting yourself for WHO you are, focusing on things that you LOVE about yourself instead of the things you aren't 100% over the moon with and finding a way to 'rock & flaunt' all your flaws!! I guess what I'm trying to say is.....CONFIDENCE is BEAUTY!! Not 'over the top, out loud, show off, i'm better than you' confidence....but a genuine, 'I love myself for who I am, I have accepted myself for all my perfections & flaws, I make an effort to better myself {on the inside}, and I'm truly smiling a real beam of happiness & acceptance!' type of confidence!!! As Kelle said...most of the woman she remembers for their beauty weren't slim supermodels.....but women who were graced with self-confidence....women who 'rocked' their wrinkles, braces, bad skin, greying hair, bodyweight or disability'. Women who smile from the inside. Women who give compliments. Women who put a lot of time into shaping their daughters into becoming confident women. You get my gist :)

{photo by Kelle Hampton}

Then my thoughts lead to my role as a Mother of a DAUGHTER!! This world is full of love & beauty & wonderful experiences, but it's also full of traps, disappointments, pressures, decisions & nastiness! I believe that being a teenager into today's world would be tough work! Peer pressure & media pressure is at it's peak! The stats are showing the scarily increasing number of teens turning to drugs & even suicide to escape their adolescent problems...this is something we need to focus on!!!

Ella will have a lot of influences in her life.....family, friends, teachers, celebrities, media forms etc! But as her Mother, it is my goal.....my choice......my RESPONSIBILITY to guide her as best I can. Teach her of the ups & downs of life. Explain the ins & outs of situations. Allow her to make mistakes. Trust her to make own decisions. Embed an understanding of consequences & ownership. And.....SHOW HER what confidence is, what love is, what organisation is, what hard work is, what fun is, what friendship means & how special she truly is! Who's with me on this one? Who else is as compassionate about leading their daughters down a path of goodness & happiness!? Sure, there'll be stress...there'll be tears.....there'll be mistakes....there'll be worries....but hopefully she'll have the self-confidence to be who she wants to be & feel BEAUTIFUL everyday of her life....and see true beauty in others too!

{Image: Ella & I ~ 2 girls having fun!}

Then....my train of thoughts stopped at the "HINDSIGHT" Station! I looked back, I reflected on my childhood & my teenage years! I'll be honest....I had a wonderful upbringing! We weren't rich, but my parents prioritised their finances on us kids having the best possible education & amazing family experiences! My childhood is full of sweet sweet memories! I was brought up in a house of love! For that I'm so very grateful! But not everyone is that lucky! Not every child is brought up with that structure or morals or freedom or love! That saddens me! I see it everyday in my job as a Primary Teacher....I see some children who are exposed to elements of neglect, who are not their parents priority, who have grown up in a world of drama & chaos & abuse! My heart breaks for these children...they didn't choose that for themselves :( I wish....oh how I wish, I had a magic wand & could make life beautiful & peaceful & passionate for these children! I can do this.....from 9am-3pm, but I wish they could live a magical life 24hrs a day, not just 6hrs!!

And back to the topic of HINDSIGHT.....Kelle prompted her readers with a question....."What would you tell your 13yr old self?" To that I responded: "I'd tell my 13yr old self that's ok to be immature at 13....there's no hurry to grow up...you're still young! It's ok to still have a passion for horses & collect Sylvanian toys & it's ok to have more time for friends & fun & giggling then for boys! And you will get heart broken along the way...by boys & even friends! But it'll be ok...stay true to yourself & treasure the ones who truly treasure YOU! Smile.....be happy and SMILE!!! And don't loose hope...a gorgeous blue eyed man will sweep you off your feet when you're older & bring so much joy & love into your life! He will fall in love with your smile.....see I told you to SMILE!!! :) Radiate confidence....your skin won't be perfect, so stop worrying about it & just rock on! Let people in....never shut out the chance to make a new friend, hear another's story or be there for someone!"

And on that note....I'm thankful for HINDISGHT...it leads you to wonderful realisations, treasured memories, lessons learnt & powerful thoughts! This is part of Maxabella's GRATEFUL linky post! Head over for a look :)

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR 13yr OLD SELF? I'D LOVE TO READ YOUR COMMENTS!!!!