Chocoholic

Ok - 2 posts in the one day is absolutely unheard of, but I just had to share this layout. Unbeknownst to Mr10 and myself, whilst I was scrapbooking earlier today and he was playing the DS, Miss A found a bag of treat-size chocolate bars we had left out from our picnic dinner last night. 3 were missing. She will only admit to eating one. Wait till you see the evidence:
I had planned on using Basic Grey Porcelain for these photos, but I spied the box of Bittersweet papers instead - and couldn't resist! The colours are yummy and of course they're all about chocolates so it was absolutely perfect. The paper, rub-on, sticker, chipboard and brad are all from the Bittersweet range. I added Kaiser pearls, Dymo labeller and unknown ribbon and flowers. What do you think: does that face look like its had just one chocolate bar??

One Hand One Heart

As a youngster, my parents really enjoyed musical theatre. One of the local churches ran a musical society and we regularly attended all of the popular musicals of the 70s. As well, my dad had a reel-to-reel stereo and I vividly recall many soundtracks being repeatedly played. As part of growing older and more than a little nostalgic, I recently went out and bought some of these old soundtracks. One was West Side Story. When my dad died, I remember my mum spoke to me about his funeral and how if she had been brave enough she would have asked for "Somewhere" to be played, a reflection of her hope that someday, somewhere she will meet up with him again and rekindle their love. That's one reason this soundtrack has special meaning for me.
When I listened to it again recently after many many years, the song "One Hand One Heart" struck another chord with me, and how it encompasses all the wishes all couples have on their wedding day - one life together till death do us part. Thus came the inspiration for this layout. Here's hoping the parting stuff doesn't happen for a very long time ...
I have used LYB's Love Letters range of papers, cardstock and border stickers, and added Prima stamp, Bella journalling block negative, rub-ons from Basic Grey and 7 Gypsies, flowers from Imaginisce and Green Tara, Heidi Swapp chipboard clock, a pearl brad and Dymo labeller. TFL.

I'm Loving ...

These two guys:-
The 2008 school photos have been scrapped! Mr 10 looks so grown up - I can't believe how the time has flown, and in less than 2 years he will be at high school and even further on his journey out into the big wide world. And Mr 6.9 is so cheeky!! I hope he never loses his sense of humour. I'm really happy with these 2 layouts. They are still quite minimalist, but I have tried a few things I wouldn't have previously.
Love the colour combinations on both of them. Its hard scrapping these types of photos with the fuzzy background, but this isn't a bad look and the boys will be there in my album to look at forever! I've never used buttons much before, but received these Sassafrass lass buttons in a recent sale, and found a perfect use for them as soon as I took them out of the box!!
Now I have a stash of Basic Grey Marrakech and Porcelain crying out to be used - but I must say that Porcelain will probably all be used for Miss A and Marrakech ... well, I'm not quite sure how to approach that range! Will have to see how the creative juices go.
Enjoy the weekend, and don't forget Earth Hour.

Cool Canvas ..

Things have been a bit quiet on the scrapping front this past week - although I'm trying to set aside time on the weekend to get some scrapping done, sometimes it just doesn't happen! So last weekend, Megan from Allcraftz set a few challenge ideas for those of us lacking inspiration. One of her suggestions was an OTP project using paint, crackle or other medium.
I have 4 little 6x6 canvases waiting patiently for me to do something with them - I'm pretty sure I've had them for 12 months?? So thius challenge was the impetus I needed to get them out and start scrapping some OTP gorgeousness. And here's what I created:

I painted each of the 4 canvases in a different pastel colour - the first pink & green match the colours of Miss A's bedroom. The purple is my favourite colour, and the blue I thought would match the others for a fresh look. Then I found and printed onto canvas paper some Flower Fairies pictures (these are copyrighted to the Estate of Cecily Mary Baker) for added texture. I mounted the canvas prints onto Bazzil, inked the edges of the Bazzil and added a Prima silk flower and some Kaiser pearls in matching colours. They are very simple design, and easy to complete - best of all Miss A loves her pretty fairies!!
Thanks Megan for the challenge - just what I needed this past weekend.

Oh, its been a long time coming ...

This update, that is!!
I have actually been scrapping up a storm recently (and tidied up my scrap space a little too ... at least I can walk to the shelves now where the paints etc. are stored, even if I do need a ladder to get up that high!!)
This first layout is a colour combination I find very hard to use ... red, orange & pink. But the photos of Miss A in her gorgeous hat just had to be scrapped!! So I threw caution to the wind and found some reddish pattered paper, layered it on red cardstock, added hot pink and orange ribbon (just love how the velvet ribbon feels to the touch ...) with a fancy ribbon buckle, some bright coloured silk flowers from the Kaiser range with some bling brads and an MME title die-cut.
Whilst looking through my albums one day, I discovered I had absolutely no layouts for 2006. I know we went on a huge trip to Cape York that year, and Miss A graced us with her very beautiful presence ... but how did I manage to miss an entire year's worth of layouts?? So I set about putting that right!

Allcraftz had a cybercrop to celebrate the Australia Day weekend, with themes of green & gold and red/white/blue amongst others. I didn't get to complete these layouts in time for the CC, however they gave me inspiration to scrap these photos. The first is a set of photos for Mr C and his best mate at the cricket in Sydney - C'mon Aussies indeed!

The second layout is Mr C in his cricket gear - ready, set to play! I used Kaiser PP and felt, Bella fabric letters, Jenni Bowlin 4x4 paper as a journalling block and hand-cut felt star with some machine stitching as a border. I have several sheets of felt here in my stash, but seeing as fussy-cutting isn't my "thing" I Have been reluctant to get it out and use it. But what's the point of it just sitting there?? Absolutely none!! And it was the perfect red colour for this layout too.

I have had some Basic Grey Urban Prairie papers sitting there in my stash for a while now, just waiting for a photo to do it justice. And look what this little birdie came up with!! During our long hot summer, Miss A had a ball in our spa with Nan, and of course she loves to dress for the occasion. Here she is trying out Nan's glasses in the spa. She certainly does have her own free style!! The chip stickers looked gorgeous all by themselves so I didn't add much else except the hand-coloured journalling block and some bling.

I have had this SEI Paper in my stash also for a while, which came with a monthly kit I subscribe to. It was shown with vintage photos (which I don't have any of) and I thought it extremely hard to use. However one day Miss A popped herself up at the piano and started to play - the dark wood of the piano just cried out for these elegant PP and thus this layout was born. Adding the little sheet music was inspirational - I love how it turned out.

Scrapboxx is running a free intermediate scrapbooking course with Sheree McGee - the first class was blocking, and this is my layout using the kit and techniques taught by Sheree. Super-easy to follow, and the effect is really easy to achieve as well. I had to add the big flower at the bottom - it just matched the PP perfectly. The photos are my 3 Christmas angels from 2008 - all cheeky little monkeys indeed. I wouldn't be without them for the world.

Also from Allcraftz, the generous Ebony sent out a heap of Making Memories paper samples from the recently released Paperie range, then set us 3 challenegs to complete using the samples with 5 rules to follow. This layout uses 3 of those rules - a photo showing the back of something, 3 things matted on the layout and a one-word title ending with a ? I painted the chip letters, and love how they turned out. I will definitely be using that technique more often!
Finally, my second layout using the blocking technique from Sheree's classes at Scrapboxx. This time I used Basic Grey Euphoria PP, chip stickers and rub-ons. I added Core-d'inations cardstock which had been run through the Cuttlebug and sanded back to show the core colour. And there is a little bling here & there as well. My tiny dancer swirled around on the floor of my scrap room before she could walk - now she twirls around in the lounge room to the Spice Girls (among others ...)
Thanks for looking, and thanks also to those who leave a comment - especially the ladies from overseas!! It really is a small world these days ..
Take care, keep safe and love life.

What have I been up to??

Well, what have I been up to lately? The other day I found my pizza box full of layouts with no "home" to speak of, so I sorted them and they have gone into the kids' albums or the annual albums. And guess what? I missed 2006 entirely!! No layouts, no album ... must have kind of passed me by. So I have started making up for it, and I have some more layouts to share with you.

This first layout is of Mr C on his 7th birthday (the frightening thing is, his 10th birthday is coming up next week - how time flies!) He got this cool LOTR outfit, and it was the first time he wore a neck chain - I think it suits him, and have encouraged him to wear one more often, but it annoys him when he is playing sports or jumping on the trampoline. I used the Basic Grey "Boxer" range, added rhinestones on the photo matt, and an MME rub-on which teamed with the Boxer letters for the title.

This second layout is Mr A up to his cheeks in pink icing from a cupcake at the local school fete. From memory, I'm not even sure he ate the cake, just kind of smeared the icing around till it covered his face! I spied this little chipboard cupcake in my stash from the latest Boxx kit, and of course it was just perfect for this layout. Had fun painting it then sprinkling glitter over it too. The papers are from Basic Grey's "Cupcake" range, and the letters for the title are Pink Paislee. I also managed to use an old K&Co frame I found in my stash.

The final 2006 layout for now is The Wombat Hat - in Mr C's final year of junior soccer, the coach had this fabulous hat with a stuffed toy wombat on it, which the player of the match got to keep and wear for the week until the next match. You wouldn't think 7-8 year olds would fall for this stuffed toy animal, would you? But they did - in a big way! This match, Mr C scored his first (and I think only) goal of his career - I can still remember how it happened too!! He took the shot and kind of mis-hit it so it really just dribbled up to the goalie, and the goalie missed it completely and the ball then dribbled into the goals. Maybe not stupendous, but well worth the wombat hat and the cheesecake he chose afterwards. Now he tells me he doesn't like cheesecake - go figure ... I used Bais Grey's Granola range for this one.

The final layout is an newer photo - from 2008. Mr C just smiling and being happy. I tried something a little different with the PP and the ribbon & buttons, the silhouetted photo and the border. I also used Tim Holtz's distress powder for the first time - not sure if it turned out how its supposed to (it didn't 'bubble' up the way embossing powder does to coat the inked image) but it looks ok, so I'm happy with it!


Thanks for dropping by to check out my latest.
PS - Katie had a beautiful baby girl at 1.35am the following day - and get this, I woke up hearing a baby's cry (no, not my Miss A), looked at the clock and it was 1.37am. I don't know whether its Dad's way of letting me know she was ok, but it worked. Little Estelle Marie is actually not so little - 4.2 kgs, and Kate is quite a small lass. They are back at home now, and Kate says she is gorgeous and sleeping well. Hope to see some pictures soon! And we may get to pop up for a visit as well.

Oh the anticipation ...

My niece is in labour, and has been since about 6.00am this morning with her first child. She is barely more than a child herself to us, but we are so excited about this latest addition to our family!! We heard late this afternoon that there was some meconium in her waters, so as a precaution she was being transferred to a larger hospital, but the bub was not in any distress. We have our fingers and toes crossed for you Katie!!

But in the meantime, I will share some more layouts I have completed over the past few days.

These are my 2 boys mucking around on the rope swing at Millfield last October. A different type of layout for me - I tried a few different techniques like sewing and distressing, not to mention persevering with the felt border to actually get it (almost) straight! I used the Love Elsie Forrest range - love the little word tiles which came together beautifully with the words & colours of the photos. They do look like they are having a ball, don't they??


This little beauty is Miss A on her 2nd birthday, doing a spot of gardening. The light at sunset was just gorgeous, she in her jewelled crown and all! I couldn't resist scrapping this photo. The border scrolls are hand-cut (about the closest I will ever get to fussy cutting!!) and I love the bling. I tried something different with the large flower as well, putting rhinestones on the petals of the largest flower - a girl can never have too much bling, right??

And finally "what a mess!" Miss A got into some nappy cream probably 12 months ago now - one of those priceless photos which no doubt will surface on her 21st birthday - I wasn't really happy with how this turned out because I couldn't get the paint to splotch the right way. I loaded up the paintbrush and jerked it at the cardstock, but the paint wouldn't budge. Stayed on the brush. Wouldn't splodge the way I wanted it to whatsoever! So I ended up dabbing the brush all over the cardstock - and its just not the same to me. But given my usual layouts, this is a step outside the square for me!

Hopefully I can bring some news of the latest member of the family tomorrow! TFL.

One Day ...

This layout is 100% scraplifted from SC 62, a superb layout by Tatum Woodroffe on page 16. I have previously scrapped this photo of my boys in Canberra in September 2007 - the usual "this is where we are and what we are doing ..." but when I saw Tatum's layout and particularly the journalling it dawned on me to use the photo as the basis for a completely different type of layout.
I love my boys dearly, but I find it very hard to accept their constant arguments and teasing and general putting down of each other. I wish they were nice to each other; they have a friend constantly at hand, if only they realised it. The journalling expresses my feelings on how I hope their relationship as brothers will grow.
This year's tally has grown to 4 layouts and 2 cards - they're not up here yet, but they have been finished. I dragged out the sewing machine for 2 of them, and I'm very pleased with the results!! But the download limit has been reached for this month, and uploading 3 photos will take about a week by my calculations ... so I'll wait another couple of days till the meter ticks over to a new download limit. TFL.

The Last of '08 and the First of '09!

These are the final few layouts from 2008 - this one is actually a photo from Christmas 2007. We took the kids for our annual Christmas lights tour - it was the first time Alannah had taken notice of all the pretty lights and displays, and she was absolutely enchanted with them. DH was pretty much just as enchanted with her and her delight in the lights. A very happy tradition we hope to continue for may more years ...

Our own Christmas display was sadly lacking this year - the kids seemed to be at school until right up to Christmas and we never got around to putting them up. How Scrooge!!


On to this year's Christmas photos - one of the at any rate. One night when both DH and myself were out, she dressed the kids in their Christmas gear and took them out the backyard for a photo shoot. The photos are gorgeous, impromptu and show so much if the kids' character - it's beautiful to see. I love this photo - especially big A sticking his head into everything!! The papers etc came from a free kit which I received from Scrap with V - just perfect for this time of year.


And the final layout from 2009 - another gorgeous Creative Imaginations collection from Scrap with V - this photo was taken of Miss A in January 2008, just after she had started walking in earnest. Waiting at the train station after a big day out, it shows her gorgeous blue eyes. Not quite mine; not quite her father's - just very striking blue blue eyes. I am very happy with how this layout turned out.


And now on to 2009 ...
This beautiful little card just kind of fell into place! I used a scrap piece of PP, a frame from MME which was cut to size and re-fitted, a few flowers, some ribbon, some bling a rub-on and a few staples. I must like it, because I'm having trouble thinking of someone to give it to. It might just have to stay in my collection for a while ...


This last one is Mr C's birthday card. He is 10 in 4 weeks time. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone, and how much our lives have changed since he arrived. I hope he has an absolutely wonderful birthday and a fabulous 2009 - he deserves it after having a rough 2008.

Annual tally: 0 layouts and 2 cards.

Still Catching Up from Last Year!

I still have LOs left to post from last year - eeekk!! Can't start with this year's batch (not that I have actually finished any off so far this year ...) until I have closed off 2008. This is another FK entry - Anthony after bath time. He is so loud & precocious, yet every now & then I take a photo of him which captures the little boy inside - a little shy and unsure of himself. And those photos take my breath away. This is one of them. I experimented with stamping the background cardstock, and swirls and circles of water.


Some time in the middle of the year, Miss A started playing tea sets with Nan. Not just any old pretend tea sets, mind you - she had her own little china cup and sat up at the table to drink tea while Nan had coffee. Then they progressed to cake. She is lovely to watch, but quite often I get shooed away, because there's only room for two at this tea party! For her birthday, Miss A received a second tea set which lives in the big house (not at Nan's place) so now I get invited for tea ecvery now and again, and she knows that I have milk with mine as well!


Also in the middle of the year one day on the train coming home from the city I mused over the fact that Mr C was half way to becoming an adult - a scary thought!! He is a little lost at times, trying to keep up with what he thinks everyone else wants him to be and do and say. But he is so special, such a caring boy - I don't think he realises that all he has to do is to be himself. I so wish he can become comfortable within his skin, and reach his potential; have goals that he can fulfill. Find his place within the world. And enjoy the journey to adulthood.

And finally, my favourite piece so far. I just adore this photo. I don't know who took it, but its at that precise moment when Mr C handed DH my wedding band. Just perfect. It was so important to me that both the boys took part in the ceremony - and we weren't just getting married, we were becoming a new family. In a way, this photo is a giving of my heart from Mr C to DH, so they can all share in my love and care. I like the way the LO turned out too!

I tried the Wii fit for the first time last night - surprise, surprise my BMI is in the overweight category, but with my goal of 10 kilos to lose, that places me comfortably in the "ideal" range. Now I just have to get there!!!