Stand Up For Yourself! You Are So Worth It!

 As some of you are aware, I have health issues that put me in hospital without much warning. This has been happening to me since I was 12-13 years old. There have been 100's of hospital admissions, and it's not something I am  able to control. I do everything I can, at home, and take all the right medications etc, but once I reach  a certain point, and know I have done all I can, at home, I 'know' I need extra medical help and need to get to hospital. Like I said, this has happened 100's and 100's of times during my life.  So, going back to October last year (2024) and once again I was in hospital. I had been in the ED overnight, while they got things sorted out, and had then been admitted to a ward around 4 am the next morning. Later that day, and while I was still feeling unwell and unable to process things properly, I was visited by a General Purpose Doctors (Who knew nothing about my health issues.) and an intern. Long story short, I was verbally abused and bullied by both these people. I spoke to my nurse afterwards, and she was shocked when I told he what they and said and how they had acted, and she advised me to put in a formal complaint. I did that, and today, five months later, I have received a 2 page apology from the GP. I feel very proud of myself for standing up for my rights. It hasn't been an easy journey getting to here. The place I sent my complaint to in the beginning, took for ever to respond, then told me to send my complaint to another company, which I did. Then I got another reply saying it needed to be sent to the actual Hospital where it happened. That was about three weeks ago, and once again, I had been admitted to hopital...so I never got around to forwarding my complaint to the Hospital. However, they did get it, and today I got a 2 page apology from the Doctor involved! I am  not the sort of person who likes to create an issue, but I felt so strongly about the way I was treated, and I was concerned that if these 2 got away with how they treated me,  how were they treating other patients? So I am pleased that I persevered and got the apology I  deserved. Don't ever let anyone bully or verbally abuse you. You do not deserve that. You're worth so much more than that, and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.   Ok, I apologize there is no art work with this post! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

Auckland Pasifika Festival 8-9th March 2025 . I Was There!

 This is a long post, and I will try to keep the dialogue brief. Grab your cuppa, sit back and relax as you scroll through! Firstly, Auckland is the biggest Polynesian City in the world. we have residents from all the Pacific Islands living in Auckland. We have a great mix of cultures here, and I try to go to as many of the different festivals as I can. I went to the Festival Italiano a couple of weekends back, and that was lots of fun! I took the photo below, of part of the huge Lake, which is at Western Springs. A huge park area that has many pathways, and Chinese style bridges over parts of the Lake. There is also a big playground for kids to play in. The Auckland Zoo backs on to Western Springs, and if you're lucky you can sometimes hear the Lions roar! It can be a bit frightening if you're a tourist and not aware the Zoo is so close. So, back to the photo's...

There are hundreds of wild birds wandering around, as well as the usual Seagulls and Pigeons, there are also these birds, called Pukeko. You should hear them fighting, which I did! They scream, and it's loud! If you can't see them, and you hear them, you would think someone had been murdered!

A couple of the stalls selling all kinds of things, from clothing to jewelry, hand woven baskets, all kinds of things.

Below was one of the many Polynesian groups singing and dancing. 

Right next to Western Springs Park is MOTAT - Museum of Transport and Technology. I didn't go there as it costs to get it. I took the photo below, through the fence. It's a little Church. One of my cousins was married here, and I did his wedding photo's. I forget how many people it holds, but is very tiny. It' is a very popular Church for holding Weddings, and I believe you have to book it a couple of years (at least) in advance.

Below is some Historic house, also taken through the fence, at MOTAT.

Below are some of the old Tram lines outside MOTAT. I have been on the tram a couple of times. It runs from MOTAT and goes passed the Zoo, and then comes back to MOTAT. It's a very relaxing ride, and the interior of the Tram has been preserved, so it has all the original fittings etc.

So, back to the Festival...here's what I wore! It was a stinking hot sunny day, (Sunday) and I love to dress for the occasion! This (below) is my favourite summer dress!

Below is my sun hat, yes I added the flowers to it! (That's Romeo in the background!) I wanted to wear my sunhat because it matched what I was wearing. I usually tie my hair up in the summer as it is so long, and it gets so hot. But i left my hair out so I could wear the hat.

wore this in 

I went to the Festival on Saturday as well as Sunday, and because it wasn't sunny that day, I wore these flowers in my hair! (Yes, I made that too!) I hand stitched  the flowers onto some elastic. I wore some shorts and summer top that day. Not a good day on Saturday. I ended up with a headache and came home after and hour or so. There were so many groups all with their own bands and music, and it was really LOUD. A lot of people were complaining about how loud it was. I also began to feel unwell, and so I left without seeing everything. Much better day Sunday...read on!

Even  my shoes matched my outfit!

This was my bag I took with me, and yes, I decorated that too! Give me a hot glue gun and colourful things get created!

Ok, here's the bit you've been waiting for ....I went shopping!! Below is a handbag, made from coconut shells and then hand painted. The guy I bought it from said his Auntie back home in the Island s makes these herself. I told him to tell her she was very talented! This is the front of the bag.

Below is the back of the bag of the bag.

The photo below is of a couple of stretchy bracelets I bought, I just love all the gorgeous colours! These are also made of hand painted coconut shells. The beads shape and colours remind me of some sweets we have here called Jelly Beans!

The next 2 photo's are also some ear rings I got. The ear rings directly below are hand also made from hand painted coconut shell.

These ones are made from tiny seashells.

Some bright coloured foam flowers I will weave into my hair!

A tiny (2 inch) bag from Samoa. I didn't realize until i got home that has a magnet on the back! Perfect on my fridge!

I love the deep Sapphire colour of this necklace! Sapphires are my fave gem stone. I am not keen on diamonds as I find them a very 'cold' gem. 

Oops! This ended up anything but brief! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bight each and every day!

 

Using Lavinia Stamps Sticker Stencils.

Here's a card I finished yesterday. The bottle is one of the new LS Sticker Stencils. It is 5 inches in height and measures 2 inches at he widest part. These stencils are 'sticky', (as the name say's) and stick to your card stock, and once you have finished, it is easily removed from your card, and doesn't leave any  sticky residue, or tear your card stock. The stencils can be re-used many times. I've had some for a couple of years and they are still 'sticky'. I'm not all that confident using them, and have several different ones, all from Lavinia. For some reason they intimidate me! It's just the bottle/vase shaped ones that do that.  I'm fine with other shapes, star, heart, circle, square etc, but not the bottle/vase ones. These new ones are smaller than the other bottle shape ones I have, and I prefer this size for dome reason. Anyway, I stamped the new "Shrooms" inside the bottle, as well as the Mossy Stones, and flowers. The Butterflies are some LS stickers. To make it look like the cork is inside the bottle, you cut a small piece of masking paper the size of the bottle neck, and place it over the neck when you brush ink around the bottle. Do this while the stencil is stuck on your card. Lightly brush ink around the bottom piece of the masking paper which then makes it look like the cork is inside the bottle. I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say! There is a video on you tube by Jo Rice, called Fish in a Bottle, and Jo shows how to do it. It's a super cool and easy  !I added some white dots of Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of the tiny flowers. I think that's about all I did. Well the weather here has changed overnight. We are officially in to Autumn now, and the temperature reflects that. It is much cooler the last few days, and although it is still really sunny with beautiful blue skies, it has  cooled down. We have dropped down about5-6 degree's, and I am not enjoying it! My cats have also noticed the cooler temperatures. I hope the temperature drop is only temporary! I want to go to the Pasifika Festival this weekend, and last time I went it was stinking hot! Auckland (the city I live in) is the biggest Polynesia city in the world. We have residents living here that come  from all the Polynesian Islands. It's a fun Festival, with plenty of yummy food to eat, and on top of that, it's free to go to! There are lot's of different things happening there, from music, dancing, the food to sample, and different craft items for sale. It's a very colourful Festival that runs over two days. I will no doubt blog about it, so watch this space!

Ok, thanks for dropping in! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

"The Empty Bench"."

This is for you, Patty. I miss chatting with you at the bus stop. The bench seems empty without you. Yes there's other people there, but I miss 'you'. I stamped the 'Pot of Thyme' beside the bench, because Patty always had 'time' for me. She knw my health issues often put me in hospital, and always asked me how I was. 

My first card using some of the new stamps that arrived today. I have used the 'Bench' stamp and the 'Organic Root", and the 'Pot of Thyme' stamps. Thanks for looking! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright eac and every day!

 

Lavinia Stamps "Herbs and Nature" -They Have Arrived!

 Let's introduce them...below are the "Shrooms", small and large.

Below are the Herb Garden sign, Dill and Sage pots, and Rosemary and Thyme pots.

Next are some Dill and Sage words, with Thyme and Rosemary words. Then there are some Sage stamps.

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Next are the Mushrooms, Dill and Thyme stamps.

Below  are the Rosemary, Bench and Wheelbarrow stamps.

These 3 cute guys below are the Herbalums! Their name are (l-r) Bob, Baz and Ben! Too cute!

The stamp below is Organic Root.

As well as the new stamps, there are also some new (smaller) Sticker Stencils 10 and 11.

But wait! There's more! These below are not part of the latest stamp release. These were stamps I liked and added them to my order. A set of Zen Houses, and a sentiment stamp.

These are 3 of the new Mica Mineral powders. And I totally 'forgot' to take a photo of the wee cork that fits in the Sticker Stencil bottles, as well as the label stickers to put on the bottle stencils, oops! I'm sure you will eventually see them as I use the stamps!

I was surprised when my parcel arrived at mid day. Usually I am almost the last delivery stop, which means my parcels arrive around 4-5 pm.  So it was a nice surprise when I saw Mr. Courier coming up my front path with my parcel in his hands! (It was at that moment I thought to myself, I've got to marry this guy, he brings me all the things I want!' Then I thought, you silly thing, I am the one that pays for it all! So there will be no marriage proposal to Mr. Courier!!)

Ok, thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

'Mooch"

Here's a quick and easy mini card I made yesterday, using scraps of card I had lying  on my desk. I used a Lavinia Stamps stencil for the background, then stamped LS Orchard Grass stamp on the left and Mooch on the right. I used Versa Fine Clair Nocturne ink. The card measures 3 1/4 inch square. I also added a few LS Butterfly stickers. I'm not big on using stickers, but these seemed to work. I stuck the bigger Butterfly on a scrap of white card fist, then cue it out. I added a dot of glue to the center of the card and carefully 'opened' the wings so the Butterfly appears to be flying.  And now for some long awaited GOOD NEWS....... my Lavinia Stamps parcel is 'with courier for delivery TODAY'!! Eeek! Cancel everything! Close the doors! Pull down the shutters! Put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door! Turn the phone off!  Finally I will be able to have a play with the new stamps! They've been a long time getting here. Watch this space! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

New Cards

These 2 cards with the car on, were inspired by my friend Andrea (Snippets by Andrea). She has made cards like this, on her blog, and I loved them so much I bought the stamp set. It is a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous set, Home for Christmas. I used a red brad for the door handle on the car, just to give it a tiny pop of colour. I like that you really don't have to colour the images. I stamped in Versafine Clair Portobello ink, and stamped on an un branded cream coloured cardstock. I also mounted the stamped card onto some SU Evening Evergreen and Soft Suede cardstock. 

Below is a DL size card using another THSA stamp set called Holiday Sketchbook. There's six stamps in the set. I used all of the stamps on this card. 

The next 4 cards also use the same stamp set. I have added a bit of colour  to some of the images. I used water colour markers for this.

The card below uses Lavinia Stamps products. It's a small 3 x 3 inch card.

I'm still waiting on my new LS stamps to arrive, and I am sooo frustrated. I ordered them Feb 7th. They left the UK on Feb 13th, which would have been the 14th for me as we are a day ahead of the UK. I cannot track the package. It just says they left the UK Feb 13th.  I have been in touch with Lavinia Stamps, and all they said was to let them know if the package hasn't arrived by March 3rd. Lavinia Stamps don't seem to be interested that my stuff hasn't arrived. I've also made an enquiry with NZ Post, who haven't given me an answer as to where my package is. They just say it's 'in transit'. It does not take 12 days to fly from the UK to NZ! Where is my package?? I'm no longer excited about the new LS stamps and have pretty much lost interest in them. Not good. There are other from NZ also still waiting on their packages from LS. I hope we all receive our packages soon. Watch this space.

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!