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!

A bit of Facebook inspiration

I found a quote on Facebook this week which really struck a cord with me.  I have a friend going through a bit of a tough time right now and I took the quote and made it into this card - hope it lifts her spirits

Again that gorgeous leafy swirl die from Fancy That dies and the film strip die from Tim Holtz alterations.  Add some of the gorgeous paper blooms available at Scrap of Difference and a Kaisercraft flower and gem and the beautiful damask paper from Teresa Collins and voila.

Thanks for stopping by

More fun with dies

This week feels like one of those where I seem to have been active, but don't feel like I've achieved much.  However, despite that - I did manage to have a play, scrapping with a couple of good friends on Friday night and use my latest purchase from   Fancy That  - a gears and sprockets die.  I discovered this line of dies at the recent Quilting and Papercraft Fair here in Brisbane a couple of weeks back and am really enjoying them.  Throw in some chipboard from both Scrapmatts and Dusty Attic and the gear die from Tim Holtz Alterations range and a few unknown bits and pieces from my stash and that covered the dimensional side of the layout.  For a bit of interest in the background I've used the chicken wire mask/template from The Crafter's Workshop with a black soot distress ink from Tim Holtz.  The tape was another treasure from my stash - in the days before washi :) but it linked well to the aeroplane chippy~

The border punch is from Fiskars and the patterned paper is a Teresa Collins damask range.

Here is the end result

Away from scrapping, I had a lady front on my doorstep the other day as part of her job and it ended up we used to know each other from High School - over 1200 kms and 20 plus years prior and here she was living not more than 10 mins down the road.  It prompted me to sort through some old photos and find our old soccer team photo with us both in it.  I've also found some other treasures in the old photos box (from those days when I was someone thinner I might add :) so expect to see some of those photos gracing my layouts in the coming weeks - time to get back to that Book About Me I'm thinking.

This trip down memory lane has also resulted in me thinking about the special people from my past that I sadly don't see too much of,  or if at all these days.  These people played such important roles in my life at one time or another and it's sad to think that with some of them I have no idea where they are now - I suppose people come in and out of our lives for different reasons at different times but I hope they all know the impact they leave behind. 

So, for those of you who are still a part of my life I take this opportunity to say thank you for the part you play and what you bring to my life xxx

Thanks for stopping by.

Return to normal - or at least my version of it......

The last 4 weeks have been a blur in my household. They included 2 dance eisteddfods, a tap dance exam, a ballet exam, a speech eisteddfod and school holidays with the usual sleepovers and playdates. We are still in preparation for a speech exam and before we know it Christmas concert, carols in the park and the other preparations for the end of year and Christmas will be upon us.

However, for a few brief hours this week my life returned to my version of normal. I even got to take a few hours out and wander around the Craft & Quilt fair here in Brisbane, where I got to see a whole heap of wonderful new dies released onto the market - and of course invest in a few.

My favourite new find of this expo was Fancy That dies on the Papercraft Hub stall. I invested in 2 of their dies and also one of the Dienetics dies - I have already been playing with them :)

Despite the lack of posts to my blog I have been doing some working out in the scrapbook room - 2 lots of wedding invitations (sorry can't post pics yet) and a couple of layouts have kept me busy.

My first layout for the month was Reef Adventure - finally scrapping photos from a trip to Cairns to visit my brother and his family last year.

I've used some of the wonderful Scrapmatts chipboard on this layout - colouring it with the wonderful Sakura gellyroll pens as per instruction by the designers Anne Patterson and Angela Peardon on the Scrapmatts stand at the June papercraft Convention in Brisbane. Love how these pens make colouring chipboard sooooo easy and also how they blend together and leave a beautiful shimmer effect on the surface (though hard to see here).

Add a couple of die cuts using Sizzix sizzlets dies, a transparency for the title and the wonderful May Arts mesh ribbon and some everyday gauze and a few shells to add to the beachy feel.

Today was one of the first days of the many to follow of hot weather, kids swimming in the pool and family popping over for a hello and a swim. Once the hot weather had sapped all our energies the kids and I escaped to the scrap room this afternoon for some time out in the aircond comfort.

I had taken a great photo of my little girl looking ever so grown up at last weekend's speech eisteddfod with her best friend - all ready to go in and perform in their latest pretty dresses.

Again, referring back to product I purchased at the June Papercraft Expo and some techniques I saw on display there - I finally pulled out the sponge dauber tops and some Glimmermist and created my own background to go with the very summery colours the girls were wearing.

The gorgeous swirly vine is using the new Fancy That die I purchased from The Papercraft Hub.

Flowers are cut from papers in the Kaisercraft's Tigerlilly range. I have used a range of Washi tape from both Sawyers and my mate Lisa Kauphius - thanks for aiding my washi addiction Lisa :) The other paper I've used is a freebie which came with one of the Australian Scrapbook Ideas magazines.

So, time to call it a night now - thanks for stopping by and catching up - see you back here when I have some more to share :)

Christmas is just around the corner

and to get us in the zone and prepared, Australian Scrapbook Ideas magazine has just released their issue #16 featuring a free Christmas ideas mini mag attached.  This issue also includes loads of Christmas layouts and off the page ideas inside the magazine also.

I'm thrilled to have 5 layouts featured this issue - four in the 2 or more section showing how to use multiple photos on a layout and one in the designer's gallery - this issue highlighting Grandparents.

Here's a couple to share - for more details on the layouts and for step by step instructions on how to recreate them with your own photos and products - go and grab a copy of the new Australian Scrapbook Ideas magazine on your newsagent stands now.

Thanks for stopping by xx