It Wouldn't Be The New Year Without A Resolution Or Two ...

Well, here we are - New Year's Eve again. 2008 has flown past. Its had its great moments, and of course its not so great ones. But all in all, I am blessed to have such a happy, healthy family; a great job and really no worries or concerns. But it wouldn't be NYE without a resolution or two, would it?? So here are my resolutions for 2009:-
1. Lose 10 kilos - I know, just about every woman I know has this one on her list ... but I am heavier now than I have ever been save for the final stages of pregnancy, and I'm not happy about it. I don't expect to look like a 20-year old again, but 10 kilos is a reasonable amount and I think I will benefit physically and mentally from losing it.
2. Finish 50 LOs and 50 cards - that's not quite one a week, so I should be able to get that one done. I also need to put them into albums and send the cards out to people!!
3. Work 20 hours per week - I was fortunate enough to earn a pay rise starting in January, and because I don't need the extra money (read: it will only get spent on scrapbooking supplies, and I don't have enough room for more!) I could actually use the extra hours instead. So rather than work 24 hours a week, I plan to work 20 hours a week which should be more comfortable to fit in around DH and the kids, and leave me more time for scrapping, sewing, reading (I haven't picked up a book in what seems like years) and playing with the kids. I've been tidying Mr 6's bedroom and he has all this new Lego in boxes waiting to be opened ... and I'm kind of itching for him to get back this Sunday so we can open it up box by box and put it together. Just playing, just for fun.

I hope everyone who drops by has a fabulous New Year, and a safe & prosperous 2009.

One Day at a Time

This layout was part of my submission to the FK Elite team entry. I didn't make the grade, but a HUGE congratulations to the 4 girls in the 09 Elite Team! I can't wait to see the next issue with all the winners, and the next year of the magazine - I bet I will be drooling over their creations in no time :-)
But back to the LO ... I used the Basic Grey "sugared" collection for this one, so soft & flowery - just perfect for little Miss A. Its busier than my LOs usually are - trying to broaden my horizons so to speak - but I love the results. (Actually, I loved it so much, I re-did it a second time for her album!). Thank goodness she has a little more hair these days; the pic was taken early 2008 so its almost 12 months old. TFL.

Spreader of Love ...

OMG thanks Del for this lovely award! We can all use a little extra dose of love at this very hectic time of the year.
The rules: you must post the award on your blog, name the person who awarded you, then pass the award to 6 other bloggers and leave a message on their blog that they've received the award.

So ... now I have to select 6 bloggers to pass this on to. My nominees are:-

Krissy - a fabbadosey lady who does incredible work with flowers and pretty things.

Alice Fettling - this absolutely AMAZING young lady has been chosen as one of the Scrapbooking Memories Masters for this year. When I opened the mag and realised just how young she was, I was blown away!! I love that her work is so immediate, so here & now, so fresh. And she wants to inspire other young crafters to have a go - what a talent!

Ruby - another fabulous young talent, with a gorgeous spirit too! Keep rocking Ruby.

Julie - another "unknown" Master, as she calls herself. Who can't help but like a woman who admits that her scrapping space is completely disorganised?? A woman definitely after my own heart!

Lucy - another young scrapper who is super-talented. But you may need to update your blog Lucy, so you can share more gorgeousness with us!

~E~ - spreading love is this woman's business!

Merry Christmas to you all (its a bit early, I know, but you can never tell when I'll be back here with a new post!)

Something Borrowed ...

This idea came from numerous different sources - altered notebooks as teachers' gifts. I found it a bit daunting at first - I mean, these teachers are actually expected to like something that I MADE??!! But inspiration struck with the first notebook, for DS9's French teacher - I just love this Daisy D's range of papers, and this seemed like a really good excuse to have a play with them.

I was pretty pleased with how this one turned out, and Mme Adolphe must have appreciated receiving her gift, as she sent DS a special Christmas card thanking him for the gift! When I commented on how much I liked the papers, one of my scrapping buddies suggested I make another one for myself - so, the notepad is bought and waiting ready to be decorated for moi!





This second notebook is for one of DS9's school teachers. This time I chose Kaisercraft papers, which have more of an older vintage style about them. When I received some of the MM journalling notes with a very similar pattern, I thought they would look great together - and added a large flower in cream & brown colours. We are giving this gift this morning, so fingers crossed she likes it.



This notebook is for DS6's teacher, who is young and a lovely teacher. This is her first year of having her own class - she relieved last year on a casual basis and replaced another teacher on maternity leave for the second half of the year. She is very quiet and friendly, and has had a hard time getting DS6 to focus on finishing his work this year! But he has had a ball, and she is a wonderful infants' teacher. DS6 is looking forward to giving her this present today as well.

And finally, a gift for DS9's second school teacher. This teacher is very interested in science, and has introduced a range of topics to the class which DS9 has found really interesting. There's a possibility that she will go on to teach Year 5 next year - and if he was in her class, I think that would be great. DS9 asked for some science-based papers for this notebook, but I really couldn't come up with anything. So this notebook is rather plain, but hopefully can be useful.


DS9 has had a rough time this year. He has been introduced to a group of boys, one of whom is bigger/stronger/louder and is self-appointed leader of the group. DS9 dislikes the fact that this one boy gets to make all the rules and all the decisions about what the group as a whole does. And quite a few of the decisions are not made for the common good, but have a distinct advantage for himself ... A common enough situation, which DS9 will have to learn how to deal with in life. Except that he lacks self-confidence, and he believes that if he voices an opinion which differs from the anointed leader's opinion, he will be howled down by the rest of the group and barred. He has in fact been "voted out" of the group on several occasions - as he tells it, basically because the leader didn't like something that DS9 had done. Sounds a bit like "Survivor" in the school playground. I wish fervently that the leader would jump off a high cliff over the christmas break, or at the very least find someone else to pick on other than my son! I feel that advisig the school of what has been happening will not achieve much, as it doesn't really fall into the category of bullying as such. The 2 boys just don't like each other, and unfortunately one of them is strong-willed enough to get his own way every time; whereas DS9 backs down in the playground for fear of being left with no-one to talk to & play with, only to become supremely frustrated with having to back down, and is then in a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon.
If anyone knows where I can buy a good dose of self-confidence to give DS9, please let me know!! I would gladly slip it into his christmas stocking.
I'm off to check out Del's blog, as apparently she has granted me an award - catch you later and thanks for looking.

Something New ...

This layout was completed today - one of two, in what has been a productive day so far!!
The photo is Miss A at SeaWorld (again) and I used Basic Grey's Euphoria papers. The papers came in a kit from Allcraftz put together by Krissy. I don't actually have the instructions for the kit designed by Krissy, but the papers are just divine so I went with the flow! I added BG rub-ons, Making Memories journaling note and sticker, some flowers and bling brad as well as Kaiser bling in the bottom corner.


The second layout for today is inspired by the November Boxx of Scraps Kit from Scrapboxx. I tried out my new 1" punch. I wasn't sure about the crepe paper at first, but it looks quite good under the photo! The button is from one of Miss A's baby cardigans that my mum knitted years ago ... probably more than 10 years ago in fact! This layout was completed super-fast this afternoon - simple, but sweet.
Enjoy what's left of the weekend and take care.

Something Old ...

A little something old for today's post - a photo frame I made a little while ago. This was my first (and only, to date) attempt at using Tim Holtz's distress paint. I used a chipboard frame, painted it with Tim Holtz paint, rubbed ink into the cracks to accentuate them and along the edges of the frame. Then I added rub-ons, the flowers & brad which had also had their edges inked, the little clock face and the metal plate and key chain. The "precious" plate was actually attached to the chain originally, but I couldn't get it to sit right across the bottom of the frame. So I detached the precious plate and added it with brads to the frame, then used the chain to attach a key charm to the side of the frame. When the whole thing was finished, I attached a piece of thick cardboard to the back of the frame with foam tape, so there is a gap to insert a photo (except for the bottom ... otherwise the photo would fall out!).
It's not a colour scheme I would usually choose, but I am really pleased with the results.
I went shopping yesterday at Fantasia which was having a sale. It was lovely to see everything in real life before purchasing it - except that the card took a hammering I'm afraid. We picked up some lovely stamps and mini album kit for Scott's sister, Joy, as a birthday/christmas present. I hope it suits her tastes! So now I have a bag full of new goodies to sort through and store in my scrap room before my next project today.
I can't decide whether to start on the christmas cards, finish a layout of Chris's touch football or start on something completely different with my new goodies! We'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings ...
Its raining outside - wonderful for the gardens. The kids are ready to spend the day doing diddly squat (which is what weekends are for, right??)
Take care, stay safe and God bless you all.

Tiggerrriffic!

This layout was completed over the weekend - a gorgeous photo of Miss A in a tigger suit (just like her 2 older brothers!). Doesn't it show off her big blue eyes! Working with orange was not easy, but searching through my stash I found this PP with flowers and went with a matching blue background, and added more paper flowers with (of course) some bling! And for the first time I tried the print & cut method of journalling - I'm happy with the results.


The second project is an OTP I have had for quite a while, but hadn't finished until this last weekend also. Designed by Erica Glover for Scrapboxx it is a little bit of pretty that makes me smile when I see it. It sits in my craft room at the moment. To me, the US is not just DH and myself, but the kids as well. Life wouldn't be the same without each & every one of them.

The hectic-ness continues ... last Monday my tennis team played finals. After a dismal start, we got to the final set 4 games down, needing to win 7-1 to go through to the grand finals. Only slightly wavering in our belief that we could do it, Caroline & myself hung on grimly (with huge support from Christine & Alison cheering us on from the sidelines at 11.30pm!) to pull off the near-impossible. We won the final set 7-1 and go through to next week. During the last game I was absolutely exhausted and felt light-headed; my partner says she felt so nervous she was praying for the ball not to come anywhere near her. We were elated with the win, and commiserations to our opposition - the tennis all night was a great standard with plenty of long rallies. The match was played in an excellent spirit. It's the reason why we head out every week to play - getting together with a nice bunch of ladies for some good tennis. Thanks girls for making it so enjoyable - now its on to next week and the grand finals.
Thanks for visiting - God bless the firies.

Carefree & Fun-Loving

These are 2 layouts I finished off yesterday, in between loads of washing! Both fairly simple - I scraplifted the first from Scrapbook Creations Vol 7 No 9, page 22 - a layout by Lorraine Bate. I got to use some of the gorgeous cut cardstock, which I have several sheets of and haven't been game enough to use yet! The photo is Anthony being his usual carefree self at lunch with the entire family for Mum's 70th when we were in Coolangatta.


The second is a super photo Mum took of Miss A at SeaWorld recently - I just loved the colours, and her total fascination with the water. Plain & simple, but striking nonetheless I think.



Thanks for looking - the ironing awaits, and the weather has turned cold. I will try to finish an OTP Project I have been working on slowly for the past weeks/months from Scrapboxx.

Miss A spied the gorgeous little tin I showed off yesterday, and has adopted it - she carries it around with her saying "mine! mine!" so I promised I would make her one of her own (without the calendar!).

Take care, and give your loved ones an extra hug tonight to show them that little bit more just how much you care.

The Matchbook Album - as taught at PIXMA party by Melissa Frances

Well, here it is as requested by Danielle - the matchbook album taught by Melissa Frances at the PIXMA party.

The first photo shows the cover of the album. This album is for Miss A's second birthday. It is SOO EASY to make - you need one 12x12 sheet of cardstock weight paper - you can use patterned paper or plain to suit your theme. The inside of the album holds 5 wallet sized photos, and I have added another to the cover.


You can decorate the album with stamps (as taught by Melissa Frances or rub-ons as I have used here. You can add journalling to the album, or just use photos as I have done.


On the inside of the back cover, there is a spot for a journalling block. If you use double-sided paper or cardstock, you can add more photos to the back of the concertina pages, which would give room for 9 photos in total, plus the journalling block and the cover space. There's more room on the back cover too!

I used the new Bo Bunny range of PP, and added rub-ons, black ink for the edges of the paper & the photos, and flowers for the front cover.
The album is so quick & simple to make - you can leave it plain or decorate it heavily - the spine of the back cover allows room for the inside to hold lots of embellishments if that's your style. They are easily adapted to any theme - I'm thinking of making several to send to family in place of the traditional christmas cards!

PS - the MM trimmer works really well. I think I've used up my stash of pink & white flowers though, so I may just have to go shopping again to re-stock.

PPS - it's nearing the end of Movember: have you noticed men walking around with strange moustaches lately?? Its all for a great cause - the money raised through your donations goes towards research for men's health issues, focussing on cancer and depression presently. If you know any man who is taking part in Movember, give a donation please. Having been touched by both cancer & depression in my family, any advances in detection, diagnosis & treatment has got to be a fabulous outcome.
God bless my fireman - love you babe.

Perpetual Work In Progress

I'm so excited today, for a couple of reasons!!
Firstly, yesterday I got my mojo back in order and got to work decorating a metal tin which holds a perpetual calendar. Inside the tin is a 6x4" card for each month, which is the perpetual bit, and another 6x4"card for each month which I printed out on my pc with birthdays, anniversaries, school holidays etc. on it. The plan is to add little 6x4" LOs of the important bits & pieces that go on through the year (and the not-so-important but really fun bits). At the end of the year, I can take all the cards out of the tin and have a ready-made mini album with all of the year's events!! The tin & the month cards will be re-used for next year ...
So, this project I started absolutely months ago, with grand plans. Needless to say, the work slowed down after I printed to calendar cards and decorated the month dividers. But yesterday I spied the tin, and searched for some paper I thought I would still like looking at in a couple of years' time ... and this is what I came up with:

I used some older Daisy D's patterned paper, Some even older Colorbok sticky stitches trim, Daisy D's rub-ons, pink, black & white flowers, rhinestones & gem brads, and a black bookplate. I wasn't actually meaning to go with this colour scheme when I chose the paper yesterday morning, but when I added the first rub-on to the front of the tin ... WOW! I was hooked on pink, black & white. Not surprising actually - I love the Kaiser PP in this colour scheme as well, but haven't used it on any projects yet.

This is one of those projects which has actually exceeded my expectations, and I am really pleased with how it has turned out! It isn't completed yet - I still have to finish decorating the back of the tin, and figure out what to put on the top of the tin as well. But at least it should be reasonably finished in time for the new year.

The lovely Danielle {mwah!} has asked for some tips from the PIXMA party, and I have photos printed ready to make up one of the matchbook albums this afternoon, whilst Miss A is sleeping and the cricket is on.
AND the postie lady has just delivered to me a box from Allcraftz which I am pretty sure has my new Making Memories trimmer inside!! So, its time to dash away from the pc, open my box and start playing.
Hope you all have an enjoyable weekend - any of you in Queensland take care, and I hope you don't suffer any storm damage. Happy scrapping. God Bless the firies.

Wow - so much has happened since my last post!! Where do I start??
Firstly, the PIXMA party was great fun. I did my first ever scrapbooking class with Melissa Frances (and got in trouble for not paying enough attention in class - OOOPS!) She showed us how to make these lovely little mini-album matchbooks - the last lot I finished off went AWOL after the school fete, so I don't have any pics to upload, but I will create some more and show them off. They are (a) super easy to make - yep, even I can do it and it works out fine and (b) a lovely little size perfect for birthday party photos, or holiday snaps. The whole PIXMA thing was fun, we learnt about photography and got to use the great new printers. I have a gorgeous canvas A3 photo of the boys which I will frame and give to their dad for christmas. It was a pity I didn't win the printer they were giving away on the night ... but we can't have everything! I lucked out on the trivia quiz too. The organisers were very generous, and we did all receive the entire Daisy D's Chloe Marie range of 12x12 papers, a t-shirt and a pack of t-shirt transfers to print on. Thanks heaps Danielle!!


The following week my bosses arrived from the UK - the first time in 18 months that I have even met them. We spent 2 days in Sydney delivering a training course, and another day in Melbourne. I was worried I would look foolish and show up my lack of knowledge in our work system, but that didn't seem to be the case. It was great meeting some of "my" lawyers face to face too, rather than just emailing daily! So it looks as though the job is safe for another 12 months anyway! It would be great to get some more work in Australia, but not sure how the economic climate will affect our marketing push. And of course there's that huge dose of self-confidence I need to actually make the first move ...



One week after that, the entire family headed off to Rainbow Bay for a very relaxing holiday. It rained every second day or so, which was actually quite pleasant because we sat around and did - well, not much actually.
I haven't had much time to get to scrapping since we returned - back to work has been very hectic! - but I did finish off 2 pages just before we left, and 1 since we came back.



The top LO uses a photo of Chris at Millfield, hanging upside down on the rope swing. It was printed at the PIXMA party, and I was impressed with how it looked on matt paper. I have the same paper at home, but didn't really like the result - I think I was using the wrong settings, because since the party I have started using it again, and its quite good for some photos! I adore the Love Elsie "Forrest" papers, but can never think of how to use them without the LO looking corny - so I've used a little bit here. Tried doodling on the border too, which is a bit of a first.
The second LO I adore - the photo of Chris was again printed at the PIXMA party. The PP is Basic Grey "Granola" range and the rub-ons are Daisy D's.
The final LO - 3 goofballs - is a photo of the lads on holidays. I thought it was a great photo just begging to be scrapped ... until I saw the horrid colours, especially the green wall behind them!! I decided to ignore the green wall and focus on the striped lounge, matching it to the Sassafrass Lass "Life is Beautiful" paper. Then by chance I found some old jelly tiles I hadn't used - I intended to use just the red & black tiles ... when lo & behold I realised the fourth tile was GREEN just like the horrid wall in the background of the photo! So I added all 4 of them.

The list of UFOs is getting longer I'm afraid - I have finished the cover for my CJ album, but haven't done a title page yet. It will come!! And then there's a surprise for the girls when they receive my album ... but don't tell them!!! I am covering some A4 note books for the boys' teachers as christmas presents. Trying to use up some of that hoard of paper I have sitting in my craft room!! And I have seen some mini canvasses I loved the look of - so I plan on doing some for Miss A's room, all pretty & girly with flowers & bling. Well, that's the plan anyway. Then we have monograms to do, mini-albums to complete, frames to be mounted, photos to be scrapped ... so many things to do; so little time.

Thanks to everyone who has dropped in and had a peek into my world - I love your comments!

She's Off ...

to a Canon PIXMA party tonight!! The lovely Danielle won an invitation to the party, but she is not able to go due to distances and the ever-present Sydney traffic (bah humbug!!) so she has very kindly extended her invitation to me. I have been told to bring my scrapping tools and my photos, and enjoy the evening!
I have never been to a class or group thingo, so it will be a first for me. I hope I'm not completely overwhelmed by it all (how embarrassment ...)
So, I am trawling through photos trying to copy some to my USB key to have printed off tonight, then I will grab my tools and throw them in a bag - along with some bling, some flowers and some ribbon methinks, and maybe some of the yummy new papers I got from Allcraftz yesterday. The new Imaginisce range is just gorgeous, and I'm loving the funky Bo Bunny range as well.
I think I should be able to find some photos to print off, out of the 1000s we have taken recently ...

Happy Birthday To You

Happy Birthday Princess!! 2 years seems to have just flown by ... not a baby anymore, Miss A is a real little girl. Her pressies included a tea set, a bracelet, some new clothes, a hairband, a Dora dvd, some "Legos" blocks as she likes to call them, some sunglasses and a baby doll. Not sure yet which she likes best, but she did enjoy pizza for dinner on the day!!
She is adored by everyone in the family; she is most certainly Daddy's little girl; she has both big brothers wrapped around her little fingers; she is the apple of Nan's eye. She is definitely our little princess.
May you enjoy many more happy birthdays sweetie.

You Belong In The Zoo!!

On Wednesday we went to the zoo, courtesy of some free tickets from Bing Lee!! 5 hours of solid walking, ooohing & aaahing at the animals.

It all started with the koalas just inside the front gate, a baby with mum & dad. Very cute.
The boys loved the crocodiles, frogs & snakes. Miss A liked the babrbary sheep (there was a little baby one running around like crazy during meal times ...) and I liked the fact that we didn't have to pay to get in!! A fabulous day out, and there's nowhere else in the world with a zoo with a view like ours. Just magnificent!
If you haven't been there for a while, its time to take a look at what they've done.

The Last For A While ...

This is the most recent layout I have done for a while - Miss A out the back. The photo is gorgeous although the colours are quite washed out, so I had problems choosing papers again. So I stuck with a rosey red cardstock, and some gorgeous Kaisercraft butterfly papers too. Another reject, but I love it and I'm hoping she will too when she looks back at her scrap albums when she is older.
We headed off to the zoo today - it was a great day but very tiring! The boys took turns being the tour guide. Even though we spent the whole day there, we still didn't get around to seeing all of the animals. The kids seemed to have fun though, and Miss A was very good. She knew the lions and tigers and birdies, and had a ball watching a small mountain goat?? running around playing in its area. Have taken loads of photos and will check them out to upload tomorrow.

Thank you very much to the lovely Ebony at Allcraftz for her very generous prizes following World Card Making Day. All of the challenge entries look superb - I was completely blown away by the ATCs especially; they take a very special knack and Linda in particular seems to have this covered!! Her ATCs are spectacular. The shaped cards were all very clever and a wonderful tribute to Hannah, the longest serving DT member who has had several of her own cards published and is a very talented artist with cards, scrapping, stamping ... pretty much everything I have seen her turn her hand to!! And I love the sketch challenge too - I would love to create cards in honour of all the sketches created by AC4U members, and I will upload them when they are completed.
Thanks for looking ... catch you soon.

PS - happy 3rd anniversary babe. It is complete madness at times, but its OUR madness, and I couldn't do it without you.

More Gorgeousness

Hi all!!
Today has been a great day - the family went to see Wall-E at the cinema. Miss A didn't sit still the whole time, but (thankfully) didn't annoy the other moviegoers. She missed out on her afternoon nap though, and is coming down with a cold - fingers crossed she has a decent night's sleep tonight!
Some more of my layouts from last week:-
These are some pics of Miss A helping herself to chocolate bars from the pantry. I don't "do" bright layouts, but matching colours to these photos was proving to be a nightmare, until I hit on the pink and lime green. The embellishments are Love Elsie - they really are gorgeous, just not my usual colours!


And this is my favourite layout of this bunch - Miss A and her dad taking a walk together. I love the photo, but I also love the way the layout turned out. I have so many stamps but rarely use them - this layout I used Basic Grey stamps as the background on a muted MME paper, flourishes all around the border; then a larger butterfly stamp as an accent. I wanted to continue the line of the fence in the photo, and initially thought of stitching but decided on flowers which I think also turned out ok. The 2 acrylic butterflies I received in the last WOM swap, handmade and embossed, then I added pearls to the bodies.
We are headed off to the zoo tomorrow, so its almost certainly going to rain!!

More Cardmaking!!

I managed to finish off several more cards yesterday, most of them actually designed to use rather than just put away in my stash of pretty things!



There's a birthday card for Miss A, a congratulations card for my niece, an anniversary card for the firefighter, and a pretty one for my stash.



There are still 2 challenges left from WCMD - a shaped card, and a set of ATCs - unfortunately I think I have used up all of my creativity already, as I have absolutely no idea for either of these challenges.



And it has been back to work for me today after a very slack week last week. I have to earn some $$ to pay for the pretties I bought over the weekend at Allcraftz!!

Master 9 has just come back from a birthday party at Code Red - a laser skirmish type thing (its all like a foreign language to me ...) where the boys get dressed up in gear and run around madly trying to shoot each other. He had fun!! He's added that as another suggestion for his next birthday, along with a Wipeout party, a Wii party, a bowling party ...
I'm loving daylight savings !!! It is still light outside, and the kids have time to do something in the afternoon without it being pitch black and cold. And none of us are morning people, so the fact that the sun doesn't come up until 7.30am really doesn't matter for my family.
Thanks for looking - more layouts tomorrow, after the card fest has finished.

DayLight Savings

A day later than expected - but for a very good reason!! Yesterday was World Card Making Day, celebrated in great style by the girls at Allcraftz 4 You. A day full of challenges, games & excitement, topped off by a massive sale including $1 stamps (missed out on those) and half-price paper (stocked up on those :-)) and I purchased a new Making Memories Trimmer as well!!


One of the most fun challenges was a card hop -like Chinese Whispers, only with cards. It worked amazingly well on the day, and was a great quick way to complete a few cards in a set time frame. I completed 4 of the 5 hops (a later starter after a visit to the plant nursery earlier in the day ...). So, here are some of my creations.

There are more challenges due on Monday October 6th, so if you get in quick, you won't miss out!!

Thanks But No Thanks

Hey all!! TGIF - stinking hot here in beautiful Sydney today, but what better place to be, right??

Now, on to sharing some more of my recent layouts, which have already been given the thumbs down for publication, so HERE is the only place to catch them:


I am looking at getting a new trimmer soon - maybe an early christmas present for myself! I started my cj yesterday - an 8x8 all about friendship. It has ot be ready for take-off on November 1st.
Take care, stay cool, and keep smiling :-)

Do You See What I See?

Look at this picture and think of what you see ...
It's a photo of the recent White Bay Hotel fire. You can see the hotel, one of the fire trucks, the awning starting to collapse and maybe even the pouring rain. Some of the things you can't see are the two firefighters inside the building at the precise moment when the fire flashed over and the hotel exploded - causing the awning to fall, and their SO knowing he could do absolutely nothing to help his firefighters and hoping & praying he didn't have to make the terrible journey to their families to tell them they had suffered an injury or worse. Thankfully, both firefighters escaped without serious injury - they had gone inside the abandoned hotel because their SO knew that sometimes there were squatters inside the building, and if anyone was inside they needed to be rescued quickly. Shortly after they entered the hotel, the fire flashed over, as the accelerant probably used to start the fire exploded pretty much without warning. My husband was at the fire that night, on another appliance. He had to sit out in the pouring rain ensuring the safety of his fellow firefighter atop an aerial appliance, pouring water onto the fire. I can look at this photo and marvel at the power of fire and the bravery of the firefighters, but knowing the story behind it, I can also appreciate the terror of being caught in such a situation. May God protect all of those men & women who choose this as their career: putting their own safety on the line in order to protect the lives & property of others.

Today's quote: "When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work." ~Edward F. Croker

Some Recent Layouts

Hi again! I thought I would share a couple of my recent layouts with you - these are ones I completed over last weekend.



During the last school holidays, we visited Scott's parents at the new house. It's a lovely house, but all the doors look the same (I guess that's true of all houses actually, I just hadn't realised it until this particular visit). Chris got a little confused with all the doors, and on several occasions whilst he was searching for the bathroom, he ended up in the walk-in wardrobe by mistake!! He was able to laugh at this little confusion, so it was all good in the end. This layout uses new Vintage Moon papers from Pink Paislee, amongst other products.



This second layout uses my new stamps from the MM passport range. It is the story behind the picture of how Miss A ended up wearing Anthony's t-shirt during a visit to Apple Tree Bay recently. You would think as parents of 3 that we would have learnt by now that kids cannot resist temptation, but it seems we have a lot of learning left!!

I have removed many of the clock widgets I found yesterday - they looked lovely, but many were simply the wrong size for my blog and overshadowed the posts (which is a bit silly, as the posts are what make the blog, right??)

And keep your fingers & toes crossed - I have sent off a few layouts for submission to the mags. I think it would be pretty cool to see your own work published, and it ain't ever going to happen unless I put them out there to be picked up, right?? And of course, there's always the Elite Team entry ...

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!!

You may notice during today that at various times new clocks appear to the side. I have found a site dedicated to widgets (which apparently is the technical term for the little thingies you can embed on blog pages and elsewhere on your pc) - so today whilst I am working I am searching for new clocks. When I have uploaded a few I will be asking for comments/votes as to which you like best. Some of them aren't displaying properly at the moment - not sure if it is this computer I am on today or if it is how I have set the widgets up ... anyway, if it looks strange - you're right!! Its not just your monitor or your eyesight, just my poor blogging skills. Wish me luck - I'm off to find some more ...

How Many Stamps ???

Whilst my work website was down today, I spent more time in my scrapbooking room. Do you know just how many stamps I have?? An obscene amount, given that I really don't use them very much at all... So I have set myself another mini-challenge - to use each of my stamps at least once in the very near future.
And here is the first result, a card using the Autumn Leaves Pansy clear acrylic stamp. I stamped the image on Basic Grey's Obscure paper, added some Kaisercraft rhinestones, mounted the 3 flowers on orange cardstock and then added a sentiment rub-on also on PP and cardstock - its bright and happy, and at last I am using some of my stamps. I am triply happy because I also practiced some fussy-cutting of the most basic kind and used the Obscure range which was provided with a min-album kit but isn't really me ...
I must take some photos of the layouts I completed over the past 3 days - I am really pleased with the results, and may even try submitting some!

AWOL

She's baaaack!!!
After almost 8 months missing in action, I feel the need to update this poor old blog again - prompted mainly by the efforts of the lovely Marnie who manages to blog daily ... that's a feat I can't hope to emulate.
Work is frustratingly time-consuming atm. Need to work to earn the money to buy more scrapping goodies, but then have no time to use them when they arrive as I am too busy working. DH not too happy either as he always seems to get lumped with the ironing lately :-(
Had a no-work weekend just gone, and managed to complete 4 LOs and do some of Chris's ME mini-album. Still working on so many other UFOs as well, its just not funny anymore!!
Still bemoaning my very "basic" style - planning on some stitching on the current LO. And stamping. Have to do my welcome page for the CJ too ...
The work website is down this morning - so what was going to be a couple of hours work before the kids got up & going, has turned into a new blog post and some more scrapping!!
Today is the first official day of the school holidays - we have nothing in particular planned, but Anth is having a friend from school over today - he is counting down the hours & minutes as we speak. In fact he was out of bed before 6.00am just in case he missed Dharun!
Chat soon (hopefully, anyway).

In Loving Memory

This LO was completed as part of the first-ever Allcraftz CyberCrop over the Australia Day long weekend. 3 challenges were set, and this LO was for the heartfelt journalling challenge. I stewed over it for a couple of nights, but for years I have wanted to write something to show how much my Dad meant to me, and here was a wonderful opportunity!
This photo was one of quite a few which I don't think I had ever seen until my Mum presented me with a scrapbook for my 40th birthday last year - she took some of the old slides and had them re-printed as photos. That's me in the christening gown!! And what a stunner is my Mum only 3 weeks or so after having a baby, she looks gorgeous.
But the journalling is about my Dad, and how loved and protected he made me feel throughout my childhood. He gave me the self-confidence to believe I could do anything. And for 22 years he made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. I know my daughter will have the same kind of relationship with her dad, because he is the same loving, caring, protective kind of man. I hope my Dad is proud of the things I have achieved in my life, as I have him to thank for a large part!!
And what began as a wonderfully cathartic LO became even better, when as a lovely surprise I won a store voucher in a voting competition. All of the CC participants uploaded their LOs to the gallery - they all looked fabulous for all 3 challenges. Thank you to everyone who voted (not just for me, but who took the time to look at all the LOs). Avie won #1 and there was a tie between Maxine and De for #3 - its a website you should check out!!

Sweet Dreams

DH and I thought Miss A looked so cute asleep on the floor on her lambswool rug, that we both took almost identical photos of her over a couple of days. We took her away on holidays when she was only 6 weeks old - were we mad??!! But we all survived, and she learned how to sleep through the boys noise.
She still likes to sleep in this position - I have been meaning to take a photo of her in bed the last few nights, with her butt in the air and feet crossed; only difference is now she is accompanied by slinky pyjama bottoms or boxer shorts. She steals them from anybody who happens to leave theirs lying around ...
This page has hand-stitching on the bottom border, and rounded corners on the photo and PP.
I wish I slept this soundly at night!!

Rainy Days and Mondays ...

The latest page of Miss A's album - the rub-ons worked a treat this time, after being in the freezer for a few minutes. I shall have to remember that, and try to do it every time I use these rub-ons. Still simple, but still my style.
We took the train to Brooklyn today, amid "occasional showers" as predicted by Bureau of Meteorology. Despite the sprinkling rain, we still walked around Brooklyn, played on the play equipment (twice), explored the seashore and generally enjoyed the day of being together. All 3 kids were quite noisy on the train - I hope they didn't disturb the rest of the passengers too much!
DH is back to work tomorrow, and we are in the last stretch of holidays. Planning for my eldest's birthday party this weekend - our first slumber party. I gather from other parents that not much slumber actually goes on at these parties ... but they have the long weekend to recover from it (the boys, the parents and US).
Back to the drawing board ...

A Busy Weekend!

This is the cover of Miss A's 9x9 album - I haven't done the centrepiece yet, as I am not sure if I want just a monogram, or a small photo of her on the front.
I am pleased with the way this turned out, with the exception of the rub-ons. It has been very frustrating with this particular brand of rub-ons, they take the top layer of paper off sometimes!! It doesn't seem to matter what type of paper, or cardstock for that matter; the sticky stuff is just a bit too sticky and although the rub-on has come off the backing paper, the PP or cardstock has become stuck to the backing paper!! Next time, I think I will pop the rub-on in the freezer for a few minutes before I use it.
But I absolutely adore the Prima flower - just can't get enough of them.

And this is the first page of the album, using the altered photo. As it is only 9x9 I figured I had to keep it fairly simple, with pastel colours so that the whole album blends in. I added to the digital swirls with the AL stamps; used Peacock ink - when I tested it on cardstock, it turned out a light black ... on the glossy photo paper it came out gold!! Not surprising, given the name, but an added surprise to the LO. And I knew I had to add some journalling, though not much - I found this journalling card with the roses on it, so thought I would use it too!! No extra flowers on the page, just a few pearls in the top corner and a gold baby feet charm down the bottom with a stray bead.
One down ... only 11 more to go!!


I also did a 12x12 layout for Miss A's personal album - the front page of it really wasn't up to scratch! Don't mention the rub-ons again ... but otherwise I am very pleased with the results. It has ribbon, pearls, flowers, swirls - what more could a girl want!! It fits very well into her album, and is an eye-catching first page.
And yes, I will re-do the previous opening page, which was a great idea but lacked in the application.
You know, looking at all of my recent layouts I have had to accept that my style is fairly plain and simple, not over-embellished.
Whilst I absolutely adore layouts by scrappers who can pull together a seemingly endless supply of items on the one layout, that just isn't me. I should get into adding more calligraphy on my work - it is a skill I have, so I should use it!
And finally, a start to one of my 2008 resolutions - finishing off some of those UFOs:
Over 6 months ago I hit the big 40 milestone. Whilst I was okay about it at first, after a short while I got spooked by the extra grey hair, the added weight and tiredness .. and 40 wasn't so hot anymore :-(
I started this OTP project soon after my birthday, complete with my absolute all-time favourite PP (I like to look at it, but it doesn't necessarily work well on any layout that I have contemplated) and a few of my other favourite things including pearls, flowers, beads, ribbons, rub-ons, charms and the stunning butterfly. I am actually a dragonfly girl more than butterfly, but the colour of this one was just stunning and fit so well with the rest of the project that it simply had to be there! This is now proudly displayed in my craft room, to help me remember all the good things about turning 40 and where I am with my life right now.

PS - we didn't make it to Darling Harbour this weekend. The rain coupled with a not-so-well DH and a possible unwanted job transfer lead us to the conclusion that it really wasn't going to be the celebratory weekend that we wanted it to be. So instead we had take-away Chinese, and sat in front of the tv watching the cricket and the tennis. We will do it, on another date when we are able to take the most advantage of my mother's kind offer.
I did go shopping at Spotlight yesterday, and picked up more OTP projects to do in the coming weeks and months. Next up is Miss A's baby keepsake box, then a DREAM album and LOVE montage. Along with more pages for her 9x9 album - and I must start the boys' albums too! Wonder when I am going to fit work in around all of this scrapping ...