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!!!

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.