Next big thing???

We have been searching for a while now for something which will take Brayden's interest and keep him busy and active in addition to his love of soccer.  Earlier this year we thought we had found it in Taekidokai - a martial art which one of our friend's sons has studied for a number of years and enjoys.  We went along, did the trial classes - agreed it was something he thought he would enjoy - paid the membership, bought the uniform and started classes.  However, by the time soccer season kicked in again in the winter - Taekidokai didn't make the cut as something he wanted to keep up with. 

Personally I was a little disappointed, as I was expecting great things having heard Doshi on that first night talking to the kids preparing for their next grading.  She had told them they would be required to do a few extra classes between then and their grading and that their parents would be required to put in extra time to bring them to these classes.  She explained to them that as their parents would be putting themselves out for them, they should do the same back for their folks and that from that lesson on they were to keep their bedrooms spotless, take out the rubbish and wash the family car.  Doshi warned them that if there was a dirty car in the carpark on training night she would know they were not holding up their end of the bargain.  The children were all made to go and shake hands with their parents and seal the deal.  I giggled as the little girl who walked up to the lady beside me said quietly to her mum - "we'll just take the car to the carwash OK?".  Perhaps Brayden decided that going any further with this sport may require a lot more than time at training - it was as we approached his time to grade that he decided it wasn't for him :)

However, the good folks at Molossi must have telepathy and this month in my goodie box was a sheet of Karate chipboard to play with.  Four active little martial arts characters and the word Karate.   These were the perfect embellishments for this layout to mark our time in the hobby and encouraged me to print up the photos and documents this time.

In addition to the Molossi Karate characters, I have also used some Dusty Attic chipboard which is also available from Molossi.  The frame and the chipboard circle frame are both from Dusty Attic.  The title is Bella chipboard.

The papers I have used are from Bo Bunny and My Mind's Eye and a bit of corrugated card from the box my last batch of scrapping goodies arrived :)

I added a bit of stitching detail to the pennant piece of patterned paper, some white acrylic paint to the chipboard pieces and some blue and white twine wrapped around the frame to complete the layout.  Printed the journaling onto white paper and swiped the edges with blue ink before adhering onto the available spaces on the layout.

Thanks for stopping by and if you too have a hobby to documents in your family - pop over to Molossi and check out the available chipboard to make your embellishing job easier - whether it's karate, dancing, football, riding their scooter or even parachuting - it's all there.

Believe

The very talented Ali Edwards runs a class on Big Picture Classes each year called "One Little Word".   The idea is to choose a word in January each year and keep this word as your "focus" for the year - reflect on it, try and make it real in your life throughout that year.  If I could choose a word for my daughter right now - Believe would be it :)  I created this layout to show her how much we all believe in her and her talents.

As you all know, I'm lucky enough to be on the Molossi design team and October's little packet of goodies included this gorgeous scripty title - Believe and the ornate frame.  Immediately I knew what I wanted to do it was just a matter of finding the right photos.  As with all little people, selfies are a big part of their electronic devices - so, under the guise of backing up her ipod I managed to grab these couple of shots from her collection.

The flowers are a mixture of Bo Bonny - those gorgeous blue flowers, and some stunning mulberry flowers available at Scrap of Difference.  The papers are a mixture of Kaisercraft and Echo Park.  A small metal corner embellishments from a cheap store many years ago and some washi tape gives a pull out highlight to the hidden journaling card behind the focus photograph.

Again going through my "older" bits and bobs - I found a packet of small transparency cards from Bella - I have printed onto some acetate and hidden behind one of these cards the believe quote.  A piece of floristry wire wound around a pencil gives a bit more to the floral cluster and the edges of the spotty paper were inked with black.

thanks for stopping by - Happy Halloween - next time we blink it will be Christmas xx

More cards

With school holidays upon us in Queensland it is sometimes hard to find time to escape to the scrapbook room for any length of time and concentration.  However, sometimes enough time to create a card or two can be enough to recharge the creative batteries before going back to the ever busy schedules of an 8 and 10 year old's social calendar on holidays!!

First is a few cards I made with a range of chipboard borders I received in my kit from Molossi recently.

 

Next I played with a Spellbinders die that I purchased some time ago.  I have Pinterest to be a wealth of inspiration when it comes to playing with a new investment like a layered die set!

The pink card is one I made and the purple one is my 10 year old daughter's copied version :)  These sets of dies make cardmaking a breeze.  Add in the poppy die cut from Memory Box, some leaf die cuts, a few beautiful blooms and a bit of patterned paper and inks and the job is done. 

 

Thanks for dropping by

 

School photos

It's that time of the year again when the school photos and the soccer photos all arrive back from the photographers.  Each year I start these projects and I'm sure each year I struggle with how to make the same uniform colours look like a different layout!

This year I decided to use the Kaisercraft paper range called "Class Act".  This made it easy to create the layout as all the papers blended easily and it even supplied much of the elements for the embellishments.  I simply added in some vinyl lettering for the title and a couple of die cuts and the layout was primarily done.

 

Now I just need to find the mojo to complete the class groups in the same ranges!

 

Elegance

My daughter has been dancing since she was 5 years old and I have tried over the years to scrapbook each of the groups and solo dances she has learnt and competed with.  This year is her last with the under 10s groups and it was fun to pull all the wonderful photos of one of her song and tap groups, "Elegance” , taken over a 3 year period and prepare this layout. 

My chipboard pack from Molossi this month included a terrific little park bench which was just perfect for replicating a photograph taken on stage by Dance vision with her "sleeping" on a park bench in the routine.  The chipboard fence also from Molossi added the old English feel of the song and for me works well with the theme of the routine.


Thanks for dropping by and checking it out - I'm heading back to the scrapbook room to play with a whole new range of fun chipboard pieces from Molossi which have just arrived - stay tuned and I hope you can drop back some time and see some of the new layouts :)

 

I could have sworn it was winter?????

Living in Queensland there is always opportunity to use beach or ocean related chipboard, so I was excited to receive the fabulous anchor and chain from Molossi in my pack for August. 

Despite being winter, my son and his mate hit the beach in early July for a day in the sun, sand and water.  The outside temp was a pleasant 23 degrees and the water temp was not far off at 20 degrees.  Resulting photo shoot seemed like the perfect excuse for a this layout.

 

For step by step direction on how I put this layout together, drop over to the Molossi Designs blog . 

Along with this one there are stacks of other new layout and card instructions loaded there from others on the Molossi Design Team.

thanks for stopping by

 

card class and a little visitor

The car is packed and ready to head to Brassall this afternoon for our card class for this term at school with some of the teachers and staff :)  Here is a peek at what we will be creating this afternoon -

My preparations were almost complete yesterday when I started to clear the scraproom of my mess and file away any scraps into the hanging files I have in a 4 drawer filing cabinet at the back of my scraproom.  I keep my patterned paper scraps in the top drawer of one cabinet and the cardboard scraps in the top drawer of the cabinet beside it.  The other drawers are full of plastic boxes housing my chipboard lettering & shapes as well as die cut shapes and stickers and all the other little bits and pieces.  My brother in law brought me home these cabinets when they were being discarded from his work during an office refurbishment and I just love them.  However, this little visitor found coiled up underneath my patterned paper scraps yesterday afternoon was not so welcome.

I am still waiting for an official decision from Wildlife Qld but the general consensus from those in the know is that it is only a brown tree snake and only mildly venomous.  Our concern was that he was an Eastern brown and therefore highly venomous - in fact the 2nd most deadly snake in the world.  The disturbing part of this story is that we actually evicted this fellow from exactly the same spot about 10 days ago - hubby bravely donning his welding gloves and grabbing him and taking him to the bushland at the end of our driveway.  The fact that he is back just 10 days later in the same spot  has led to him being driven 5 kilometres away this time before his release!  Hopefully he not a homing pidgeon and won't be returning this time.

I now have an hour before school pickup is due and I'm free to re-enter my scrap room safely so I'm off to play! 

thanks for stopping in.

One door closes another door opens

This quote was one used often in my family home when I was growing up.  It covered so many different situations - from walking away from a bad situation and looking to a brighter future to taking on a new challenge which required leaving behind the safety of what I knew. 

Some time ago I took a class at Big Picture Classes where I came across a blog link to one of their teachers - Jennifer Mohler.   She had started a project which she outlined on her blog (click her name to go there and check it out for yourself) called 100 Life changing moments.  Her story inspired me to start my own list of life changing moments and to start scrapping my life in the hope that my kids will, in years to come, understand a little more about who I am and how I got to the point of becoming their mum.

This layout is a result of that list and I thought the old quote I grew up with summed up this point in my life really well.  Add to this that Molossi had sent me some wonderful chipboard to play with in July which featured all kinds of hardware including doors, locks and keys and I was ready to have some fun. 

This layout tells the story and shows the pictures of my move from NSW to QLD in 1991.  I was lucky enough to have 2 parties - one with family and the other with friends to celebrate this bold move away from my family home, lifetime friends and everything I knew.  It was scary but exciting at the same time.   I didn't know at the time but these photos would also be the last ones I would have taken in this house as a couple of years after I left the house had to be demolished due to termite damage and a new home now stands in it's place.  For this reason also - these photos with those I love in them are very special.

The journaling for this layout is hidden behind the large Molossi chipboard door on the right side page - it opens on hinges to allow the journaling to be read.  The smaller doors, locks, keys and the gorgeous chipboard hanging sign which the title is displayed on are all from Molossi's stunning range of chipboard.  Follow this link to check out their entire range or ask your local scrapbook retailer if they can get you some - www.molossi.com.au

thanks for dropping by and checking out what I've been scrapping - I'm off to finalise the last card for my school card workshop this Wednesday so I hope to be back to share those cards later in the week.

Molossi have just sent me a beautiful new bag of goodies to play with for August so you'll be seeing something else with their stuff real soon :)

bye for now.....

The first of many

The May/June eisteddfod season has come and gone and thanks to the wonderful photography from Dance Vision I now have another couple of USB's full of wonderful dance images to scrap from.  Thank goodness for Hope from Dance Vision who had to teach me how to open their rather clever (but confusing for some of us) USBs.

So, this layout featuring my daughter and her friends from Dance Time Studios in their 10 & Under (yes, I do have to keep reminding myself they are only 10 years old) Neo-classical group to a song called "Pure Imagination" is the first of many I'm sure I will be scrapping over the coming 12 months.

The chipboard I have used here is from an old stash I had of Basic Grey chipboard and it went so well with all the colours I was using.  Add some lettering from Bella, some sparklets from Kaisercraft a die cut made from transparency and run through the cuttlebug with an embossing folder for a bit of added interest and a couple of handcut flowers from a Kaiser range of paper and the job was done.

I'm thinking as the last couple of layouts I have done have been about either my daughter or myself, it might be time to go search the files for something of my hubby and my little man and get a masculine style layout together - I've still got some yummy chipboard from Molossi to play with including motorbikes and barbed wire - I'm sure I can find a photo to suit :)

Thanks for dropping by, I hope your scrapping time is bringing you some joy this week

July catchup

Whilst I've been very quiet on my blog for the past month I have been busy scrapping away.  School holidays have been and gone in Queensland and this is week 2 back to school for my little muchkins.

In June, Molossi sent me a wonderful package of great chipboard to play with - cogs, kids on scooters, motorcycles and barbed wire.  Whilst I love my flowers, it's fantastic to do some pages with these more masculine style chipboard pieces.  Here was the resulting page - Scooter Patrol

I had fun playing with texture paste, some distress inks and even pulled out my poor Pazzle die cutting machine which I hate to admit gets no where near enough of a workout in my room :)  The scooter boy & girl and all those wonderful chipboard cogs are all from Molossi - drop by their blog and see the step by step instructions to this layout and also the wonderful inspiration from the other designers - Leanne has used some of the barbed wire chipboard on her layout this month featured here - it's magnificent - http://molossidesigns.blogspot.com.au/

Other than my work with the Molossi chipboard, I've also had a play with some Dusty Attic chipboard - also available from Molossi.  Here is a layout I created last month featuring one of my besties.  We met in highschool and I'm lucky enough to have her living close by and she also shares my passion for scrapbooking - it's lovely to be able to catch up weekly and scrap the night away

There is still journaling to be done which will pull out from the olive green punched piece on the right hand side but nothing like a UFO to work on when inspiration doesn't happen.  These photo was taken at Michele's daughter's engagement party - a great milestone!

Well off to do the usual school run so I'll be back in a day or two with some more scrapping to share.

thanks for stopping by xxx

WARNING! Children unattended in your scrap room could leave you with a dint in your stash

OK, so I knew this before I said yes to them going in there on Sunday morning for some quiet time with the little friends they had stay over but figured, hey they know the rules of what they can and can't touch.  Here is the result of just one of the layouts my little man scrapped - all featuring his favourite skylander characters - 76 eyeballs on just one layout.  I asked if there were any left and he said - of course, I didn't use the ones with coloured eyelashes :)

 

 

Apparently bling is another favourite product of the 8-10 years age group.  I recently re-sorted my clip it up into colours - I think I'm about ready to do that again after this weekend's scrap fest.  Brayden now has 3 layouts proudly displayed on the coffee table in the lounge area.  Casey gave the 2 layouts she did away to her best friend's baby brother and sister - she had created them for the kids who apparently loved them - one was of Thomas the Tank and the other was of the Snow and Lalaloopsie dolls :)  The friends took their 3 layouts each home with.  Wish I could be as productive as they are with a few hours in the scrap room.

 

However, even amongst all this creativity from my little people I did finally get out to the scrap room myself to play and not just tidy up after them.  Sadly, I can't show just yet as it is a gift for a friend but I will be back later to day to share with you my latest layout for the Molossi Chipboard team. 



Cards and a fun challenge

This week saw me holding a card class at my children's school for some of the staff.  This is something we try and do once a term and we aim to complete at least 3 cards in the afternoon.  As everyone is becoming more and more comfortable with the various tools and procedures we have been able to make the cards more and more difficult.  Here are two of the cards we made this week

I found a similar card to this on the internet whilst browsing Pinterest but I'm sorry I can't remember which of the many I pinned was the greatest inspiration :(

 

This card started as one of our Friday night challenge cards.  We each select a card we have pinned and then everyone who wants to play has to create a card using the initial pinned card as their inspiration - needless to say no card ever looks the same at the end.  Here are two others I have created this week using the same method.

 

On other news - the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo is in Brisbane this weekend.  This is a fabulous papercraft show and well worth the trip into the Southbank Exhibition Centre.  I'll be heading in on Saturday and am looking forward to catching up with friends I only get to see at Expo time and all the wonderful new products on display.  I'm super excited this Expo to be meeting the faces behind the folks of http://www.molossi.com.au/ (Molossi) who I now design for with their chipboard range.

 

The remainder of my weekend will be spent watching 10 year olds dance at our local Ipswich Junior Eisteddfod - kicking off by leaving tomorrow morning at 6am!!!  The things we do for our children :)  Honestly though, watching them up there doing their thing could bring no greater joy and let's face it - a whole load of new photographs to scrapbook!  Sad when the official photographers all know me by name - indication that I spend just a little too much money with them each year???

 

So, whatever the Queen's birthday weekend means for you - enjoy and stay safe :)

 

 

First design team layout for Molossi

I received my very first Design Team kit from Molossi the other week and tore open the padded bag with great excitement.  My 10 year old daughter was even hanging over my shoulder eager to see what goodies were inside.  I must say we were both thrilled with the contents.

My first layout using the kit included two pieces of chipboard - one a title block and the second a gorgeous flourish.  Both screamed weddings to me which bought me to a bit of a dilemma.  I've been married for 12 years and scrapbooking for 10 years but have always been waiting to be a better scrapbooker before I took on my own wedding album - anyone else share these thoughts about special photos???

However, I dove in and I'm happy with the end result of my layout - Two Hearts that Beat as One.

 

for step by step pictures on how I've created the layout including some techniques on colouring the chipboard pieces - go to the Molossi Designs blog by clicking on their name here.

 

Thanks for stopping by - it's cold here in Kholo this morning so I'm boiling the jug, making the coffee and retreating for a couple of hours of creative time in the scrap room to play with the remainder of the Molossi kit.

 

 

Design Team - Molossi Chipboard!

I am thrilled to announce that I have been lucky enough to join the Design Team at Molossi Designs to feature their chipboard range.  I'm so  as excited about this opportunity and showcasing the wonderful new chipboard designs Molossi produce.  Chipboard is a relatively new addition to the Molossi range and is growing on a daily basis.  They have a wonderful blog http://www.molossidesigns.blogspot.com.au/ - pop over and check it out and also a facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molossi/205866299435293?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/pages/Molossi/205866299435293?fref=ts
.

I look foward to sharing more Molossi news in the coming days, weeks and months :)

Thank you Suzanne & Josh for the opportunity to join you and the other designers - I can't wait to get stuck into it.

Back to school and back to busy

Well school has been back a week in sunny Qld and we are back to our usual routines.  The dance eisteddfod season kicks off in a little over a week and I'm sure the next time I look up we will be preparing for Christmas concert.


Scrapwise I've been busy playing with the new nestabilities dies I received a few weeks back and learning the tricks to making the most of them.  Pinterest has been a blessing and a curse these last few weeks as a troll for inspiration using these dies.  Here is a couple of cards I've scraplifted from Pinterest using the Nestabilities Decorative Label 8 die and the ornate squares dies - looooove both these dies. 

this card was inspired by one by Shellypop.com which I found via Pinterest on the Splitcoast Stampers website - always a wealth of inspiration!  So easy with the use of just two of the ornamental squares dies, patterned paper, cardstock and a varnished butterfly cut from a Prima patterned paper.

These two cards were created using the Nestabilities Decorative Labels 8 dies - again simply stunning dies which do all the work for you.

 

This card was inspired by one again via Pinterest from Splitcoast Stampers and the artist I was inspired by was Beate Johns.

 

I did however have a problem with this die in creating the shaped card idea which I studied many a video from Spellbinders on.  However, I was lucky enough to follow a link from their website back to the blog of one of their talented design team - Linda Lucas.    I sent Linda a message enquiring how to get a clean cut through the back of the card and she very kindly got straight back to me and told me to cut the die once, remove from the machine and rotate the die 90 degrees and then feed back through the machine a 2nd time - it works!!!! so simple and fabulous result.  Thank you so much Linda for this help, has made it much easier to get a great result with these intricate dies.  If you've never investigated the Spellbinders website - do yourself a favour.  Go to their blog and they have heaps and heaps of step by step tutorials on how to recreate the gorgeous cards and layouts on display there and of course the stunning work of Linda and the rest of the Spellbinders Design Team.

 

I continued on the card run this week with a quick few cards created from a tutorial by Jane Clark for Aussie Scrap Source using an older paper but again a die - this time the Tim Holtz film strip

Next was a challenge between my girlfriend Michele and I at the end of a crop night to create one more card inpsired by something we saw on Pinterest.  I must say neither card ended up looking like the one that inspired us but isn't that was being creative is all about??  Here's my card

and my final card for the week - again a Pinterest inspired one.  This one for a male birthday

Again the die cutting machine got a work out with the stars being from the Couture Creations star collection.  Freehand banners, a Kaisercraft happy Birthday stamp, some patterned paper, ink and a few buttons and of course a bit of embroidery thread.

 

So, with all this cardmaking you might ask if I've given up scrapbooking - no, definitely not.  This week's scrapbook page is another to add to my book about me.  I am gradually creating pages on all the important people in my life.  I used a quote challenge over at Mad About Scrapping to help me finish this layout on a dear friend whom I've known since I was a teenager.  The quote was "Friends are like stars, you don't always see them but you always know they are there".  Perfect for this particular friend as we go many years without seeing each other but I treasure him and his friendship very much.

Some of the Kaisercraft Tropicana range used here, some handcutting, Tim Holtz rosette die, Bella cork lettering and Martha Stewart border punch.

 

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments - they mean so much xx

 

 

 

Birthdays, banners and butterflies

This week at our house is dominated by friend's birthdays - we have 5 to celebrate this week! and one of our girls celebrates her birthday next Monday.   So, it was back to the scraproom to create some kids cards that will hopefully put a smile on the dial of the birthday girls and boys.

I did notice when I went to photograph them that there was a bit of a butterfly theme happening for the girls and banners for the boys - I suppose when you are on a roll you just have to go with it.

Add to these lot two a butterfly card which I've posted here previously starring a Purple Pumpkin embellishment and another card which I forgot to photograph before I darted out and handed it over the other day featuring an embossed background similar to the pink and black one above but all in whites and pinks and my butterfly theme is complete :)

One of the young boys celebrating is a Trash Packs fan - I have never come across this range before so I had fun researching a character to feature for his card.   I have found recently that where I usually reach for flowers to complete a feminine card, washi tape is my go to product for masculine stuff.  It added the perfect finishing touch for both the boys cards this week.

Tonight being Friday means I can escape back to my scrap room and am relieved from school holidays activities for a few brief hours.  Let's hope my mojo kicks in and I can actually scrap a layout before I return to my never ending April of cards ......

Scrappy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone and thanks for stopping by.  We have had a relatively quiet time here for a change.  Our older girls took off to visit their Mum and it was just hubby and I and the two little ones left behind.  We normally have a big Easter Sunday breakfast followed by the egg hunt and for the first time since the kids were babies it was just immediate family here for breakfast.  We were joined by some of our longest serving friends so the kids could do their hunt which made it so much more fun.

The upside to a quiet Easter is that I got some time in the scrap room.  I've completed 2 layouts and a card over the past couple of days - even with youngest daughter in there scrapping with me as well.  Casey completed a layout also and did a damn fine job too I might say!

Here are my efforts

These photos were taken on Australia Dayw hen we were isolated by floodwaters with both the nearby bridges under water.  The rain just kept coming but nothing could keep the kids from their new bikes. 

 

I have played with texture paste here and Dylusions and Glimmermist for the splashes of colour.  The bunting and cogs are all cut from scrap paper - throw in a few buttons and a Basic Grey chipboard flower with a Kaisercraft sparklet and most of the hardwork is done.  The alpha is Bella, painted and with a coating of Glossy Accents from Ranger.

 

 

I took these photos last weekend when we took our A Model ford out to my nephew's wedding.  They used the car for a few of the official bridal pics as well but here are my two babies posing in front of Dad's car.

I have used Kaisercraft's Pickled Pear collection of papers, some washi tape, a few acetate stars edged with mustard coloured Stazon ink, Tim Holtz alterations die - cogs and a Marianne Designs die which cut the gorgeous little old car in the top right corner.

The alpha is Bella cork and the chipboard cogs are Bo Bunny.  I have also used a Martha Stewart border punch.

Lastly, our little brood grew this week with the addition of a beautiful new niece.  Here is the card I made for her family to go with her welcome gift.

that's about all from my end of the world.  Hope your Easter has been happy and safe and loaded with all the goodies the Easter bunny could carry.

Stay safe and for those of you about to start school holidays - I hope you get through them with your sanity xx

Farewells, football and holidays

The end of another school term today and with it our family must say goodbye to Casey's Grade 1 teacher who is retiring :(  This lady is a very dedicated teacher and Casey thoroughly enjoyed her time with her during Grade 1.  The good literacy skills this lady instilled have helped Casey as she has continued her schooling so it is with a heavy heart we see her leave today but with joy for her for the next adventure in her life.  Here is the card I have made to show her how much we will miss her.  I love this quote which I found whilst scanning around the internet.

 

Casey is off playing touch football today as a gala day for school against other schools in the district - not usually the football player I am pleased that with just 30 minutes to school pickup I have not received a phone call advising me she's been carted off to hospital with something broken or sprained!  She was so excited to be playing today so we shall see at pickup time if this newfound excitement for football continues or has been sated.

 

As I head out the door for the usual 2.30 drive to school, it is with relief that it will be the last such trip for a couple of weeks whilst we break for the Easter holidays and with the realisation that those quiet few hours during the day where I get to create and occassionally blog will be minimal for the next couple of weeks.  If you don't see a blog post pop up for a while you know I'm out playing in the park, at the bowling alley throwing a few bowling balls or catching the last swims of the season in the pool with the kids.

 

I wish everyone a happy and above all safe Easter - may the Easter bunny bring you loads of chocolate and may you get to share the special meaning of Easter with those you love most.

Cards and banners

It was back to card making for me on Friday evening at the Scrap of Difference crop/workshop night.  I had my nephew's wedding to attend yesterday and was keen to make a card which matched their wedding invitations which I had made for them late last year.  Sadly, I forgot to photograph this card prior to heading out the door to the wedding so I can't share it with you here.

However, this card did feature banners with the bride and groom's names on one and congratulations on the other.  This got me started on a bit of a banners run and the following 2 cards came whilst I was on the roll.

I had a play with a new stamp - the grandpa kicking up his heels and my American Crafts Chromatix markers - I'm really enjoying these and love the shadings available.

The second card with the butterfly again featured a Purple Pumpkin spotty button - the perfect final touch to this card.

Well the storm is rumbling outside right now and the thunder sounds closer so think I'd best sign off and see if I can go and kit up a scrap project for tomorrow featuring some of the gorgeous photos I got at yesterday's wedding.

Thanks for stopping by.

Live Love Dance

Amazing as it seems I actually spent another afternoon in my scrap room this week and created a new layout - this time of my daughter and her friends, called Live Love Dance.  I used a challenge over at Scrap the Boys (OK so I didn't use boys as my photos so not real suitable, however, this is where the inspiration started.....) to use chipboard, mists or paint and washi tape.

I pulled out some mists which worked with my photo - in this case Dylusions Pillar Box Red and Lindy's Stamp Gang Luscious Lime & Hag's Wart Orange and got to work on a piece of white card - this I then cut into a circle thanks to the Crafter's Workshop Circles 'n' Circles template - love this template - it gives so many different circle sized options, worth having in any scrap tool kit.

Add some patterned paper - in this case Basic Grey Lauderdale cut to shape with the help of a Crafter's Workshop bracket template and a piece of red cardstock run through the cuttlebug with the beautiful Couture Collections Drifting Endless embossing folder and then rubbed down with some sandpaper.

For the pretties I have again been playing with Purple pumpkin products including their small resin flowers, paper doilies and music washi tape.  Some amazing chipboard from Meant to Be along with their felt flower.  I changed the colour of the chipboard with the help of some Adironack Pitch Black Dabber and outlined them with a copper Sakura Gelly Roll pen and then glazed them with some 3D laquer from Scrap Matts .  This 3d glaze is awesome, it comes in a little bottle like nail polish which allows you to add gloss to the tiniest of objects.

Finishing touches included some chipboard leaves from Twiddlybitz also coloured with Sakura gelly roll pens, some Kaisercraft flowers, Say it in Crystals gemstones, a Martha Stewart aster punch and the centre glory floral of a Prima Baroque Sienna flower and a Fairy Flora smaller flower.

Thanks for stopping by

Leibster Award

I was thrilled to receive this lovely award from the beautiful Melissa at http://snipsnapcrop.blogspot.com.au

About the award:  This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion.
Once you have been nominated,  you award it to blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers to encourage new visitors to visit these new blogs.

Rules for Acceptance:
thank the person who gave you the award and link it back to their blog.  Post the award onto your blog.  Give the award to 5 bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers.  Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award.

So, here is my pay it forward time and here are the 5 bloggers whom I have given the award to:

Lizzy C at
http://crumbsofcreativity.blogspot.com.au
This lady is so incredibly talented that she only just makes the criteria for a new blog with the 200 followers just over the hill for her.  I hope this award takes her over the mark.  If you have never seen her work - do yourself a favour and follow this link and Lizzy's blog.

Michelle Wallace at
http://theartofscrapbooking.blogspot.com.au/

Michelle fits more into a day than I could dream of and still has time to scrap.  She is on design team for both Helmar products AND Mad About Scrapping.  check out her blog for some wonderful inspiration.

Leah A at
http://leahsscrap-a-holiclife.blogspot.com.au
This lady scraps more in a month than I'd scrap in 6 months!  Her layouts always feature something different and she is a fabulous source of inspiration.  She also designs for a number of online sites.

Heather McMahon at
http://heathermcmahon09.blogspot.com.au
I've been lucky enough to know Heather for many years from a life prior to scrapbooking and am thrilled that her talent has this year been recognised with a Scrapbooking Masters!  Her blog is still relatively new though so go and check out her incredible talent.

and lastly
Scarlett at
http://scarlettsscrapoirs.blogspot.com.au
I recently discovered Scarlett's blog after following a link from the Scrap FX site.  She is an amazing mixed media artist.  So, if you are a little like me and would like to know more about the whole mixed media scene or you are already into it and want some inspiration from a very talented artist - follow Scarlett's link.


Here is the award that Melissa gave me.
 

 

Back to Scrapbooking!

My gosh, it feels like forever since I've had the opportunity to simply sit quietly in my scrapbook room and scrapbook an actual layout.  Cards, off the page etc. have all featured heavily for me this year but this is the first actual scrapbook layout I've produced all year!  That seems incredible to me but felt sooooo good!  Hopefully my layout mojo has returned and I'm ready to scrap the rest of the year away :)

So, here is the resulting layout.  I had fun playing technique with The Crafter's Workshop chicken mesh stencil, some ink, a gorgeous Kaisercraft orange paint and a layer of Dimensional magic to give it some depth.  I also had a blast playing with some Purple Pumpkin products - the gorgeous spotty buttons and the crocheted doilies are from them.

Add in some Basic Grey & Bo Bunny patterned papers, My Little Yellow Bicycle cog brads, Silver Glimmermist, Orange Lindy's Stamp Gang dye spray, We R Memory Keepers twine, corrugated cardboard, Prima alpha stickers, Bella chipboard alpha, and a brad run through the cuttlebug and voila - here is the finished product!

Well the bug has bitten so I'm off to the scrap room to try and get another hour of creative time before school pick up and all the associated after school activities.  Thanks for stopping by xx

More off the page???

Normally I would say that Off the Page projects are something I just don't do - so who would believe that 2 blog posts in a row would feature exactly that???  In saying that, I've always said that the only off the page projects I'm interested in are those that have a purpose. I hate dusting so pretties that just sit around are not on my radar.  However, the craft cady which featured in my last post and today's Gratitude Jar are both pieces that I feel have a purpose for me.

I first saw the Gratitude Jar via Nic Howard 's blog where she created one for 2013 for her family and featured it on the Prima Educator's blog also.  The idea is to have strips of paper and the family simply write out any little notes about good things or challenging times conquered and put them into the jar - at the end of the year you can revisit all the positives of the year. 

I felt this would be a great new tradition to start for our family with an opening of the jar on New Year's Eve.  OK so it's taken me 2 - almost 3 - months to get it ready but with a quick flick through the calendar and some time chatting with the kids it didn't take us long to catch up for the past couple of month's blessings.

Here's my version - go look at Nic's for more inspiration.

thanks for checking in.

Taking my new craft caddy for a spin

One of the advantages to having a bit of a break over the Christmas period from my scrap desk was the renewed enthusiasm to get back in and rearrange it before I kickstarted again.  For a while now I have been frustrated by the number of caddies I own to store my product and that the top of the one holding my taller items seemed to constantly be on a lean and tipping over the caddy itself.

During a trip to Kaisercraft at Browns Plains on one of my recent Scrap of Difference scrapbooking tours I was instantly drawn to the carousel caddy the girls there had on the front desk.  I eagerly purchased one and am pleased to say that now that I've put it together and stocked it full - it holds almost 2 of my caddies in one AND the carousel on the bottom makes it so easy to work from.  It is sturdy and has enough dividers to stop things from falling over.  The drawers mean that my sharps are now safely away from the accidental stabbing of the finger when you reach for something else.

If you are looking for a home based caddy for your products to sit on your desk and work easily from - this could be for you.  I know I'm thrilled to bits with mine.

 

 

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Check them out at Kaisercraft - http://www.kaisercraft.com.au/newsite/products.php?prod=SB2161

New Year and new projects

Well the end of last year seemed to disappear in a blur for me and from those I've spoken to I was not alone.

It feels like the year has just begun with the kids now back at school for a full week and the first crop / workshop for the year kicking off tonight.  However, in reality I look at the calendar and realise that we are already a third of the way through month 2!!!  Let’s hope the remainder of the year doesn’t fly by at this rate.


So, what have I been up to in this absence time from my blog.  Well I'm pleased to report there was quite a bit of crafty time involved :)

Here are some of the layouts created kicking off with a double layout featuring my little dancer and outlining the achievements she made with her Demi Character dance which has now been retired.  This is the first time I've featured a montague of all the photos of one dance over a number of years on the one layout and the journalling noted all her places.  I now intend to do this each time she retires one of her solo dances.  This means I've got 2 more already stacked and ready to get started on!

sorry but I'm having technical issues today and despite my trying 6 times now I can't get these pages to sit side by side on the blog!  Hope you can still get the gist :)

I also had a fun time in December helping to run the Christmas stall at my kid's school. To help instill the Christmas spirit with the kids we also offered they could come along and make a Christmas card or decorate a bauble. For the younger grades we went and did this in the classrooms but for the older ones they came to the stall and participated in these activities in their lunch hours. It was a great fundraiser for the P&C and loads of fun for the kids. We went through a batch of cards and about 150 baubles and bags of glitter - I shimmered for days!!! It was lovely to hear the kids tell me that their parents loved their gifts.

December and January in my calendar is jam packed with birthdays and of course we had Christmas thrown in there too.  I did a couple of card classes in the lead up to Christmas with a variety of different techniques.  My 2 little people both had birthdays as did my brother, husband and mother – in that order J  We had a 21^st to prepare invitations for and of course a card - here's the 21st invitation - I can share with you now that the party has been and gone.  The young lady who celebrated told me she wanted a country and western theme.  Together this is what we came up with

Nothing like Tim Holtz distress ink, a simple die cut and a distressing tool to add a western feel!

I've spent the past couple of days scouring the internet for wedding invitation inspiration as I have someone close to me getting married at the end of the year.  More fun on those ideas over the coming months!

So it is with much excitment that I anticipate tonight's first crop of the season and plan the many scrap pages to come for the year.  Hope you can all drop by and say hi throughout the year.

Happy scrapping!