Just a quick post today to share some photos of layouts etc that I have done this week.

I have just come home from seeing about having laser surgery on my eyes to correct my long vision. I will still have to have glasses for reading. All I have to do now is decide whether I want to go ahead with it or not. Need to give this some serious thought for a day or so.

This layout was inspired by a sketch on Aussie Scrap Source. Just loved all the pennants.

This art journalling page is the next page in the Art of Wild Abandonment on-line course I am doing. It does not show it very well but there is a clear plastic pocket in the bottom right that hold leaves with word written on them. It is stitched shut

The layout above is the next class at Camelot. It shows how to use a grid in a layout.

That's it for today.
Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

It is Saturday night and we are at home!!!! Cindy is away for the night and we have Charli.
We took her to Semaphore and had fish and chips on the beach for tea then she went for a swim. She is a real girl and does not like to walk on the sand, the smell of the sea or swim in sea water so we thought our visit would be a short one. Wrong...she ate her tea, walked over the sand to the water and got in the water to play around then walked back over the sand. It was past 9 by the time we got home, had her showered and in bed. The poor little thing was so tired she could not stay awake for a bedtime story.

I have got some more photos to share with you tonight.

These first 4 were taken at "The Killing Fields". I do not understand how one person can kill another person but to see killings of this magnitude turns ones stomach. Not only were they killing human beings but they were fellow country men. The signs tell the story of what happened here. There are none of the original buildings left standing.

This view is of Phnom Penh from the boat. Phnom Penh was completely deserted during the Pol Pot reign. He gave the resident 2 hours to pack their belongings and get out of the city.

These next photos were taken in Chou Duc.

Another ride in a Tuktuk. Slightly different style to the previous one we had been on and not as comfortable.

Everyone over their rides scooters. The most people we saw on one scooter riding down the road was 5. It was an education to see what they managed to carry on these small bikes. Not only are they their personal transport but they use them as delivery truck and transporters to get their good to market. We saw them with crates of chickens, piglets and all sorts of things piled so high you had to wonder how they stayed there. Walking across the road was an experience. There are no gaps so you just step off the footpath and walk at a steady pace across the road and all the traffic goes around you. It takes a step of faith the first few times you have to do it but if you don't you would stay on the wrong side of the road all day.

A nice tidy little area on the river bank.

The tuktuk procession on the right taking us for a tour of the town. Typical shops/residences on the left. This is a quiet village hence the lack of traffic

This is a fish farm. The family also live on this floating building. They grow Basa fish and if you had visited here you would never eat basa again, just like I won't.

The fish in the pens. Disgusting.

Some of the floating houses along the river bank. I was fascinated by the number of TV antennae. They were everywhere.

Well that is it for tonight
Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

I have completed another Art Journal page for the on-line course I am doing with Christy Tomlinson/Junelle Jacobson. It is called The Art Of Wild Abandonment and I am really enjoying it.

The background is done with Pan Pastilles with a bit of stamping, the vases are pan pastilles as a base with rub-ons, glitter and acrylic paint used with punchonella. The flowers petal are acrylic paints painted onto baking paper then cut into required shapes and stuck in place with mod podge. The leaves are paper and the flower centres are Texture Paste coloured with acrylic paint. Detailing with black and white pen.

I really like the bright colours and the texture that is achieved with the petals.

Now I have some more photos to share of our Cambodia/Vietnam holiday. All of these photos were taken in Phnom Penh.

Ray & I in our Tuktuk's about to be taken on a ride around the town on our way to the Royal Palace

Typical street traders

The entrance to the Royal Palace

The Dance Hall at the Royal Palace. We did not get to do any dancing here.

The restaurant where we had lunch. Very pretty.

In the afternoon we went to see the Killing Fields, I will share the photos from there next post.

That's it for today
Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Hi...It has been about three weeks since my last post and just like everyone else I wonder where the time has gone. When did life get so busy that it all seems like a big blur.

We have been to Whyalla for 5 days at the beginning of November to visit Mum and celebrate my youngest sisters 50th birthday.

Rushed back to Adelaide on Sunday (4th November) morning for Ray to DJ at the Adelaide Rock and Roll Clubs Muster on Sunday afternoon, it is part of their annual Rock and Roll Festival which goes for 10 days. The following Tuesday we went to the Club Night and on the Wednesday night we went to the British to see the Greg Hart show, "Me and my Guise", Ray DJ'd here as well. What a great show, Greg is very good at what he does, so is Ray.

On Friday of that week Cindy and I joined a couple of my sisters for a weekend get-together and catch up. We had a fantastic time. Came home about lunchtime on Sunday in time to attend the final event for the Rock and Roll Festival which is a day at Sunnybrea with 9 bands, dance floors and lots of friends. I could not have asked for a better weekend.

This week we spent some time at Cindy's new house on Monday fitting a dog door and returning her "stuff" that she had stored in our shed while she was trying to sell her house. Tuesday of course we spent the day with Charli. I am always astounded at how good she is. A joy to have around. Wednesday Ray went out for the day with his mates doing "car" stuff so I had the day to myself. Cant remember what I did with the time but it soon went.

Each year I make a calendar for my Mum which shows all the birthdays. I order it through Snapfish. I spent all day and night on Thursday compiling the calendar ready to be printed. I give one of the calendars to each of my siblings for christmas, it has become a christmas tradition now and several of my sisters get extra ones for their children. I had to order 18 this year.

Friday I spent the day going through all the photos I took in Cambodia and Vietnam on our recent holiday. I have picked out 117 to have printed and have ordered the prints. Several people have asked to see photos from the holiday so Brian has asked that we each choose 100 of our photos and we will put them together for a "slide" show one night and anyone who is interested in seeing them can come and have a look.

Here are a few of my photos, I will share them in small amounts over the next few weeks.

This photo is at Ta Prohm Temple (Siem Reap Cambodia)

These next photos are of our cabin on the Jahan. We spent 7 nights on this boat cruising through Cambodia and Vietnam. Very relaxing. Each day we had 2 excursions to see how the locals live and exist. Some of it was very good and some of it was quite confronting.

Some of the "better" housing in Cambodia. We stopped at this village to see their silversmithing skills.
I bought a nice silver bracelet.

At Wat Hanchey. Where the 300 odd steps were that I showed in a previous post. This is part of the village/monastery that is at the top of the stairs.

A monument at Wat Hanchey

Ray and I with the Mekong River in the background looking out from Wat Hanchey

Well that is it for today
Normally I would be at Camelot this afternoon teaching a scrapbooking class but all of my ladies are busy today so I am going to use the time to do some Art Journalling and some scrapbooking as I will be home alone tonight as well because Ray is DJ'ing at a birthday party.

I am looking forward to having some nice quiet creative time.

Till next time
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie

It has been a busy week. Cindy moved house so we have spent a bit of time helping her.
Ray did a DJ job at Kapunda on Saturday night and I went into the city and caught up with my sister and her partner and a couple of their friends who were in town to see The Jersey Boys.
Not much else to tell you about today so will sign off with the promise of doing a more informative post with pictures in the not too distant future.

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

While I am at it here is a layout I did yesterday.

Cheers
Julie

Just a quick post to share what I have created during the "Art of Wild Abandonment" course with Christy Tomlinson/Junelle (can't remember her last name)

When I looked at the first video for this course and saw that it was about sketching I thought I have waisted my money on this one. I can't sketch to save my life. But I stuck with it and watched a few more of the video's and when I realised sketching does not have to be life-like I figured I would give it a go.

The first exercise was to sketch some owls. Here is my version. I did it on some loose paper and have coloured it with watercolours. As you can see when I pasted it into my Sketch book I did not get it very smooth but I am not too bothered about that.

They are supposed to be whimsical creatures, just as well, I have never seen owls that look like this.

Anyway, I am happy with them I think they are cute.

Next up...Cupcakes

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

We are safely back in Australia

What a fantastic two weeks we have had.

We spent 3 days in Seim Reap (Cambodia) and saw Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, The Bayon, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King. These were built between 802 and 1432 so ..very old.

Then we got on The Jahan for our cruise through Tonle Sap Lake, Tonle Sap and the Mekong. Seven days in heaven. The accommodation was very nice and the food, service and attention to detail were second to none. I would recommend this cruise to even the most fastidious of travellers.

The cruise took us into Vietnam where we left the boat and spent 3 days at the Liberty Central Hotel in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City). It was right next door to the largest markets in Saigon so what a bonus for the shoppers amongst us.

I am going to post some photos now showing some of the holiday. I took just over 700 photos so there is so much to see. I will just show you a selection today and I will show a few more over the next week or so.

This photo is of all of us having a drink at one of the many bars in Pub Street in Seim Reap. We had just arrived and were having a walk around when we thought it was time for some liquid refreshment.

On the Wednesday night we had dinner at the hotel we were staying at. It was the Royal Bay Inn and every Wednesday night they have a dinner deal, for $20 you get a 5 course meal and a Cambodian Dance performance. This is us with the dancers after the show.

Ray and I in front of Angkor Wat. We had gotten up at 4am to make this trip to see the temples.

Some of the hundreds of carvings on the walls inside the temple. I must say it was not in a very good state of repair but they are starting to do some restoration work on it.

These next two photos are of Ta Prohm, a temple that is being taken over by trees. This is where they made the Lara Croft movie, I think it was called Temple of Doom.

Whoops, these next two got a bit out of order, they are of Angkor Wat again. They show the sun coming up. I am standing to the side of the temple not in the front.

This is the Jahan. A small river boat that can have 52 guests. There were 42 on our cruise and 38 staff. Not a bad ratio is it.

The next 4 photos show our cabin. It was a great size. Had Queen sized bed, sitting room, bathroom and balcony. Very nicely appointed.

The Bar

The Dining Room

The Lounge

The next two are of some of the Waterfront Properties in Cambodia

The next two are the view from the pre-Angkorian temple of Wat Hanchey. The temple was built in the 8th Century. Monks still live here.

These are the stairs that get you the view. 303 of them.

Well that is 21 photos for today. If you have got this far, thank you for sticking with me.

Lots has happened since we got back and I have run out of time to tell you any more today.
Will be back soon with more

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie