the amazing adventures of rachy

Well... big news... (for me anyway lol)...
I got into the top 10!
So excited.
Lots of work to do over the next two weeks.
Lots of fun though.
Will be back later with some pics!!!!

Written by Rachy at 8:42 AM 0 comments

before the top ten are announced in the Mystical Masters competition. So Ive done these two layouts and now I just wait... wait and see if I get to do more next week lol.


I love how this one turned out... especially the flower.



This one was fun... we had to do a layout resume lol. Im going to post the journalling here too so it can be read properly... too hard to see it in photos.

So... here is the journalling...

ABOUT ME
My name is Rachel Schryver. I am a 30 years young mother of two awsome kids and a wife to a wonderful husband. We are very blessed with a happy life full love and laughter. I love spending time with my family, hanging out with friends, baking, music, movies and dancing! But besides my family the thing I love most of all is scrapbooking.
I started scrapping late in 2006. I needed something to fill my spare time while the kids were at school... and after my first few pages I knew this was the real thing... LOVE!
Gradually I found out there was alot more to this art form than pretty paper and stickers. I found the online scrapping community and was so inspired by the wonderous creations that I discovered were possible. With the supplies I had I began trying out some of the ideas and techniques I saw and tried adapting and putting my own spin on things. I found forums, competitions and challenges. I found that the challenges and competitions gave me a point to start with which sometimes we all need. Entering challenges is great because you get fantastic feedback from other scrappers which then boosts your confidence... this helps me feel empowered to try more new things.
And now I am in the biggest challenge Ive done so far... vying for a spot on the Mystical DT! I cant put into words what it would mean to me to achieve this. Mystical is the best scrapping site and to be on their DT is my dream.

____________________________________________________________________
The reason WHY I scrap is because I want my children to have wonderful reminders of their childhood. To preserve the memories and details of the important moments in their lives. I also want them to always know how much I love them and one day when I am long gone they will still have my words to remind them that I love them and they are my world.
I have photos from my own childhood but often there are no dates or details. My parents memories are fading so the details of my childhood are almost totally gone. I dont want the same thing to happen to my children. Their lives are important... even the little things and the small details... their lives deserve to be preserved for future generations.

____________________________________________________________________
As far as scrapping goes... I dont have a list of publication credits, infact Ive yet to really achieve anything of great signifigance in the scrap world.
BUT I have achieved hundreds of photos & memories preserved for my children & grandchildren. I have achieved a passion for something I do. I have achieved something I can always get better at. I have achieved new friendships. And I have achieved the title of scrapbooker... not just someones wife or mother.

____________________________________________________________________

I ran out of room and could have written much more. lol. As it is this is without doubt the most journalling Ive ever done on a layout.
So thats it for today... just wanted to share my last effort in this comp. Ive enjoyed the challenges we have been given and it has given me a great insight into the role of a DT member... and made me realise it is something I really really really really want to do.

So tomorrow is catch up day... been so busy and working hard on the masters and potion challenges and havent had much time to get any other challenges done so tomorrow I will be working on some of the other challenges. So if I am lucky I will be back tomorrow night with more pages to share!

Written by Rachy at 11:12 PM 0 comments

Just another page done today...



Hopefully will have a couple more to post tomorrow night. Got plenty I need to get done and tomorrow is our day off dancing etc so I get to stay home ALL day lol.

Nothing much else happening here. Nothing blog worthy anyway lol.

Will be back tomorrow!

Written by Rachy at 12:41 AM 0 comments

well for another 20 minutes at least lol.
Not alot happening here... just thought I would post a few new layouts...


Rachy & Molly nailing singstar... as usual... hehe


Mystical Scrapbooks is running a competition to find two new Design Team members... I have entered and have been doing the weekly challenges. I would just adore to be on the DT over there... but so many talented awsome girls producing amazing work for this comp I dont think I stand a chance.
But ya never know if ya dont have a go... so Im having a go lol.

Here are the layouts Ive done for these challenges:

There is one more layout but it is part of a bigger project as well as this so I cant show it here yet. I will soon though.

And that will be it for today... will be back tomorrow!

Written by Rachy at 11:30 PM 0 comments

I can not believe that Abbee is 12 today.
I couldnt begin to put into words how much I love this girl. She truely is a light in our lives. She is smart (god knows where she got that from lol), she is talented, she has the brightest, bubbliest personality. A great sense of humour... she is funny... like really funny. She loves to dance and sing, she loves to draw and paint, she loves hanging out with her friends, she loves watching Adam Sandler movies.
As a mother she is the sort of kid you want your child to be. By no means perfect but she is a good kid. I someone had asked me 12 years ago what I would want her to be like now I reckon I would have listed all the things she is now.
But on a personal level... this girl has given me way more than she will probably ever know. When she was born she saved my life... I have no doubt my life would have gone down a very awful road had she not come along. She fixed me in many ways. I dont expect anyone to understand why I feel that way... but I owe so much to Abbee just because she was sent to me and was/is herself. It was/is perfect... its like someone with greater power knows just what I need and when I need it and Abbee is their tool for making it happen.
I know I spoil her... but I do that without even thinking most of the time... I think I just want to give her back the happiness and joy she has given me.
So today I hope she has the most wonderful day... she is at school and has dancing this afternoon... I hope her friends celebrate with her, I hope she has fun and lots of laughter.
And for the future... I hope she continues to become a young woman with loads of personality, a happy, joyful disposition, a young woman with a strong sense of who she is, someone who stands up for what they believe in, treats others with kindness and respect, brings happiness and light to the lives of those she comes in contact with and that above all that no matter what she always knows how much I love her and that I will be here for her... forever.
Happy Birthday Abbee.
I love you.
xxxxxxxx

Written by Rachy at 10:12 AM 1 comments

Just wanted to show off these pics I took today of Abbee...



She is going to be 12 on thursday... omg time has gone way too fast for my liking!

Written by Rachy at 9:16 PM 0 comments

As you can see... Ive changed things around a bit... a change is as good as a holiday lol... yeah right lol.
BUT... feeling alot brighter and cheefuller lately so figured my blog deserved to look happy and cheerful.
So whats happening?
Not alot really... just all the usual stuff. Running around madly with the kids etc. Cooking, cleaning and all that sort of stuff.
Been scrapping a bit... ok well alot lol.
Ive found my calling... I want to be a professional scrapper... maybe one day...

So here are two recent layouts Ive done...




I am very pleased with these two... especially the home one... Its still sitting on the hall stand so I can look at it often lol.

On to something new... there are tonnes of blogs out there and scrappers seem to have some of the best. So I thought I would post some links to some cool scrappers blogs...

Jen Hall's blog seriously rocks... I love her work and her gorgeous girls make her blog even more wonderful to look at. She lives not too far from me... maybe one day I will be lucky enough to take one of her classes.

Kayla Macaulay is a deadset scrapping hero. At just 17 she is so full of talent it is just rediculous lol. Kayla and I hang out alot on a forum and she just continues to amaze me with her work. So bright and cheery!

Elsie Flannagan is so awsome at this scrapping thing she even has her own range of products! Check out how good her photos are and how funky she is.

And finally I had to share this pic of some cup cakes I made last week...



I will be back tomorrow to finish off the changes and will do another post with some more pics and stuff.

Written by Rachy at 11:30 PM 1 comments

Not alot to report... life is looking brighter every day... spending time doing things that make me happy and take my mind away from the crappy stuff... seems to be working lol. So alot of scrapping been done lately hehe.
I have entered a competition at Mystical... they are looking for two new design team members... I would love to be on the design team there... just not sure I am good enough or what they are looking for which I guess is why they are having the competition lol. There are alot of very talented girls entered... really I probably dont stand a chance... but a girls gotta dream lol.

So here are some layouts Ive done over the past few weeks... loving the kaiser papers atm... as you might see lol.


A photo of Jed and I, kaiser pp, bella chipboard, paint and a kaiser rub on.


kaiser bling word, bella flowers, fabric from stash, kaiser rub on & flowers.




bella chipboard, paint, hessien fabric, staples.


More kaiser pp, bella sticker, kaiser flowers.


kaiser pp, ribbon & cardstock from stash, buttons and ribbon from stash.


fabric from stash, title is motif cut out of an old t-shirt, unknown rub on.


kaider pp, american craft thickers



Kaiser pp, pearl bling, felt, flowers... hasicallt everything on this page is kaiser lol.


I've got a few other small things to share but they will have to wait. hehe

Written by Rachy at 12:30 AM 0 comments

Just a few pages Ive done over the last few days...


This one is my fave... I used kaiser paper, bazzil cs, kaiser rub on & bling, green tara flowers, bella chipboard and ribbon from my stash.

Written by Rachy at 12:18 AM 1 comments

Just posting a layout that I did for a competition at Mystical.
I really love how this one turned out its not often that I look at one of my own creations and feel really satisfied with it... infact I dont recall ever feeling 100% happy with something... but this one comes really close.
In other news... not much happening here. Just taking each day as it comes and trying to stay positive. Life could be alot worse and I just need to keep reminding myself of that.
So thats it... hopefully a few more layouts to show off by the weekend. :-)

Written by Rachy at 11:45 PM 1 comments

Dont feel much like doing a huge post this week.
Just thought I would post these couple of layouts.

Written by Rachy at 12:13 AM 0 comments

Just a quick post with some new layouts... well not that new but I havent posted them yet so here goes...

This one is for a challenge at Mystical...


Just a close up of that layout...

This is a layout Abbee did for a challenge at mystical... she suprised even me!

This for another challenge...

And another challenge one!

Havent done much scrapping really in the last couple of weeks... got so many things I need to do... unfinished projects and new things I want to start on.

Hmmmmm who knows what next week holds?

Written by Rachy at 10:40 PM 0 comments

"Do you think you are happy with your life right now? Blog about the great things in your life or what you would like to change."

That is the prompt this week at Mystical... so where to start!

Well I am blessed with the most amazing husband... a man who amazes me every day with his love and his devotion. He is an awsome father and I am truely blessed to have found him.

Then there are my kids. wow. Those two little terrors are my reason for getting up every morning. Without them I would be lost. They are so amazing in so many ways and I could ramble on about their wonderfulness for hours. I dont know what I did to deserve to have these two people in my life let alone have them as my children.

I am also greatly blessed to have some awsome friends. Molly, Dea, Chelle, Cazza, Mel... each of these wonderful, amazing, beautiful women bring wonderful positive things to my life. They are all different and unique and to be honest I do not know what I would do without them.

On top of that I am healthy, I am free, I have a home, I have food, clothes etc.

So with all that I am beyond happy.

BUT...
There are some shitty things too... things that have gone on for years and things that have come to a head over the past few months that have caused me to feel not so happy or blessed or lucky.
I have had no contact with my mother for about 8 weeks now. I miss her but right now I can not put myself through what it takes. Its a long story... one that possibly goes back longer than my life... and one its not appropriate to get into in this type of forum. Mum has her own priorities and I havent been one for a long time... she doesnt need me and every day I dont hear from her tells me she doesnt want me either. Same as my brother... he and I are no longer in contact because apparently I know nothing and my feelings and opinions count for nothing. (And well... who wouldnt get it when they were told that?)
And then there is my dad. He and I are probably closer than ever due to the recent circumstances and that is another blessing really but it has come at such a high cost. But dad has his own issues... things beyond his control. But I know he loves me and thats all I need.

So the things I would change...
I would like my mum to see that she has some faults and that good work can be done at home and in the family as well as out in the community. I would like her to realise that not everyone is out to "get" her and there is no need to cut people off at the slightest hint.
My brother I would just like him to grow up finally. Get a life, get a purpose and some stability and cut the friggin apron strings. Maybe then he will realise he doesnt know everything.
My dad... if I could change anything I would make him better... turn him back into the man he was 15 years ago before he became bi-polar.

And for me out of that I would get a mother who loved me and wanted to spend time with me, a brother who treated me with respect and a father who was happy and healthy.
I dont know how to change any of this. Maybe one day I will work it out.

So thats it... yes I am happy and I know how blessed I am but underneath there is some saddness and some shitty stuff that kinda takes the shine off all the good stuff a bit.
Now that was deep wasnt it?
Maybe tomorrow I will manage a more upbeat entry.

Written by Rachy at 10:31 PM 2 comments

My parents did not die,
But God took them away,
I know that I am a grown up,
But I wanted them to stay.

I don't know what I did wrong,
To deserve this awful plight,
I know they are not dead,
But something is not right.

My mother doesn't want to know me,
I guess I deserve that pain,
She must really hate me,
Or else she'd talk to me again.

My father's gone away,
He needed more than I could give,
I want to give him reasons,
Lots of reasons he should live.

My brother thinks I'm selfish,
My feelings count for nothing,
Apparently I've no knowledge,
And he knows everything.

So this is my life right now,
And it makes me want to cry,
Because now I am an orphan,
Even though they did not die.

Written by Rachy at 11:40 AM 0 comments

So tomorrow is Good Friday and the easter long weekend begins.
I would love to be sitting here saying that I am going to be doing loads of fabulous things or going somewhere amazing.
Like I could be here getting ready to fly to bali for the weekend.
Or I could be packing my bags to go to a scrapbooking retreat.
Or I could be packing the car up to take the kids to a gorgeous resort where we could chill out for four days.
Or we could be going to the Easter show.
Or Rod and I could be going on a romantic weekend away somewhere.

BUT... I cant.
So what will we be doing instead?
Well Rod is working on saturday and on sunday the kids are going to their grandmothers for a few hours... but otherwise we have no plans. We will probably end up cleaning the house, doing some gardening and general slothing about.
Sounds fun eh?

Oh well... thats whats happening here!

Written by Rachy at 2:31 PM 0 comments

Things are good... life is pretty good. There are things that still suck but I cant change them and all I can do is get on with life and worry about the stuff I can do something about. So yep... its ALLLLLLLLL good!


Anyway... did this layout for a challenge over at Mystical... we had to use at least four different chipboard shapes. I love how it turned out and guess what... I won the challenge! Woo Hoo! So excited by that coz there were some really awsome entries from the other girls!


And this one was a dare kind of challenge at mystical that was just for me! I got given the challenge of creating a layout with the criteria of a photo larger than a 6x4, use a flourish and make it monochromatic! I was sooooooooooo scared of the monochromatic thing but omg I love how it all came together in the end. How good is that photo? love it!

So thats it for today.

Written by Rachy at 11:06 PM 0 comments

Ive seen these sort of things around the place... love the idea so thought I would create my own!
So this is my ME journal.


This is the cover... had fun using random bits of scrap papers and fabric and lots of glitter!



About the only half decent photo of me ever... and lots of doodles and watercolours.



random pics that I colourised in psp.



My kids... love this page... was really happy with how it turned out.



Roddy... more doodling and water colours as well as a tonne of stickers.


My fave city! All the pictures on that page were taken by me! Would be hard to take a bad pic on that harbour though.

Thats all Ive done so far... its a work in progress. Will show off some more pages when I get them done.

Written by Rachy at 11:02 PM 0 comments

Well its been a while since I posted any of my scrapping. To be honest not alot of scrapping has been done here of late. Its really only the last week or so that I have got back into it.

So here is my latest efforts...


Love this photo of the kids... little buggers are always blaming each other for stuff... so it was a perfect candid shot.



Just love how this turned out. Bright and funky just like our princess!




This is for a challenge on a blog called White With One. The idea is to scrap a layout using only white and one other colour... well this month its green!


This one is for a challenge at Mystical. I am really pleased with this one too.

So thats all the pages Ive done in the last week and a bit. I am hoping to get a few more done this week!

Written by Rachy at 11:52 PM 0 comments

We were given the prompt this week for talking about our names or our kids names for the "Rock your Blog" challenge over at Mystical.

So this got me thinking... what is in a name? What makes us choose certain names and avoid others like the plague?

Ok... so my name... Rachel.
Ive gone through phases where I hated it. Its a fairly popular name I spose particularly for women/girls around my age. I like it better now days than I have in the past. I am not 100% sure what made my parents choose it. I think they just heard it somewhere and liked it (and agreed lol) so that was that.
My friends call me Rachy. I love that. Makes me feel special and loved. And I am more Rachy than I am Rachel.
Now... I could have been Carmen... yep thats right. Im glad I am not. Ive only met one person named Carmen in my life and she was much older than me... older than my parents even. Ive not really got anything against the name... I just dont particularly love it and could not in a million years imagine it as my name. I was always told that Dad liked the opera Carmen... which he does... and thats kinda cool. As a kid I was told thats why he wanted to call me that. BUT Ive been sworn to secrecy but recently my dad has informed me of another reason why he loved that particular name. lol.

Then there is my kids names... Abbee and Jed. I love my kids names. They go well together and I couldnt imagine my kids being known by any other name. Their names suit them to a t.
Abbee was going to be Scarlett at first. A name I still love. Ive always loved Scarlett. (Yep Gone with the Wind... lol) Until one day someone said "Scarlett is a whore's name." OMG I couldnt name a baby with a whores name! Scarlett was off the list. Much to my dismay.
Then it was either going to be Taylah or Maddison... I still dont mind these names but they are EVERYWHERE! Every second girl around Abbee's age is a Taylah or a Maddy. I wanted a name that was going to be uncommon but not weird. (I cant stand those names that look like the parents threw a bunch of letters together and went "oh cool name")
So finally Abbie/Abbi/Abbey came to me. I loved it. It was unusual. And it was still a proper name. Then not long before she was born I was trying to decide which way I was going to spell it... coz there are a few choices lol. And Mum & I wrote out a list off all the different ways of spelling it... and the last on the list mum wrote down was Abbee. Perfect... made the name that little bit more unique. Ive still to see or meet anyone with the name Abbee spelt like that.
Abbee is almost 12 now. Her name still suits her. She gets Abbee, Abbles, Ab's, Abbee-dabby and Ab.

Then there was Jed. Now this name was ALOT harder to come up with. Boys names I find alot harder. There are tonnes of girls names I love... not so many boys names. I had Rod to contend with and get to agree to anything I liked. He veto'd a few of my favourites. Angus, Oscar, Oliver. I veto'd a few of his faves too... Geoff being the main one. (No way I was naming my baby after a manly footy player!)
Then one night we were watching the west wing. At the time it was our most favourite show. The president on that show was named "Jed Bartlett". Suddenly we both looked at each other and went "I like that." And that was it... Jed was Jed from that day on. Funny thing was the following week the presidents wife made her first appearence in the show... and was introduced as "Abbey"... omg we thought that was a sign lmao.
So no my Jed was not named after the Clampett bloke. He was named after a PRESIDENT!

If we had anymore kids I really have no idea what they would end up being called... alot of the names I love I know Rod will knock right on the head. Banjo, Matilda, Lola, Roxy... and there are probably more! One thing I can assure you... any more kids in this house and they will most certainly not be named after manly footy players! lol.

So I hope you all enjoyed my little exploration of my name and my kids names!

Written by Rachy at 2:26 PM 0 comments

So this is a competition over the Mystical Scrapbooks... pop over and check it all out!

So what would I like to achieve this month?
Well so much has been happening here recently. (Anyone who reads this would notice Ive not updated for a while.) I cant really get into the details etc on here... I will say life has been chaos and nothing will ever be the same I think. The past 6 weeks have been a struggle to adapt to new circumstances, keep like normal for the kids and to basically stay as sane as I could. Fun times... NOT.

Anyway... my goals this month are not spectacular. They are not world changing or even life changing really. Simple and basic.
I want to get my scrapping mojo back... after 6 weeks of virtually nothing I have really struggled with the few layouts Ive done this week. I am going to play, create and generally have fun with stuff until it reappears.
I want to get my house in order... atm its a disgrace. Because of everything thats happened Ive had very little energy or even motivation to get things back to the way they were.
I want to stay up to date with everything I need to be doing as far as the kids school, dancing etc goes.
And finally... I want to get my P's. I should have had them well and truely by now. Again because of everything that was happening here I have not been in the right headspace when I have gone for lessons recently. As a result my lessons have been nothing less than awful... and in turn my confidence has suffered big time. So I need to focus and build my confidence back up and get that bloody licence once and for all!

So there you go... nothing exciting but to me its important and hopefully I will achieve it!

Written by Rachy at 9:11 AM 1 comments