Scraps of Me

a catch up and a new year....

2012-01-12T21:18:00.000+11:00

Welcome to a brand new year and the first of what I hope to be many posts ;)

It's been months since I last posted anything on my poor neglected blog, but I guess real life well and truly got in the way of all things scrapping towards the end of last year.

That said... here is a little picture catch up of some of the things that occupied my time...

Miss Isabelle turned 6 in November. We decided to have a friends party and also a family party, which resulted in the two cakes and birthday which drew out to several days. Suffice to say, Belle was pretty happy :) Her first cake was a Little Miss cake...

and cake number two for the family celebration was a rainbow layered cake with meringue frosting... this one was a huge success and was actually quite easy to make.

Master Josh turned 5 in December.

and here is his cake. This year I took the easy option for Joshua's cake, given that this is the third tractor cake in a row he has requested. We have made a little red tractor cake, a green John Deer cake and this one here below. I am hoping by the end of the year, he may have broadened his horizon's a little.... I don't like my chances, so we'll just have to wait and see.

In a midst all of the madness of birthday's was Christmas. Here is a happy snap of come of the pressie opening with family. I was very proud that in amongst all of the chaos, there were three very grateful children who were thrilled with the gifts they received.

My first year of my Graduate Diploma in Autism has drawn to a close....

I am proud of myself beyond words, that I've not only completed my first year, but have done this while teaching 3 days a week and most importantly managing a family with 3 small cherubs and of course 1 big one :) I didn't really love University first time around, but at that stage it seemed like a natural progression...you finish high school and go onto Uni. This time around, I'm studying because I want to and I've loved every minute of it. I have learnt so much about Noah and the reasons why he does some things. I have come to understand how difficult it must be for him to manage and cope in this crazy world of ours and am so grateful to be better able to help him learn and grow.

In the past week, we have returned from a family holiday to the beach.... here are some pics of the cherubs at play :)

Stef and I decided that with our children the ages they are... family holidays are more about them having fun and experiencing new and exciting things - than us have a rest and a relax :) The holiday was lovely in that it was a change of scenery, but it also came with it's challenges for Noah with the change in routine and unfamiliar surroundings. That said, we all had some really fun times and Belle and Josh absolutely loved the time away too.

So there you have it.... a little snap shot into my busy world of late. There has been very little time for scrapping.... I think the last layout I scrapped was in November! In all honesty, I do miss it. I miss the time to myself and that happiness I feel when I get totally lost in creating. As a result, I am making a resolve this year to make sure I find some time for me to do some of the things I love.

Over the past two years, I have decided upon my one little word for the year.

Last year my word was learn....hehe.. I think that was a pretty good one :)

This year, my one little word is..

Balance.

I am going to concentrate on finding a better balance in all things this year. My life is really busy and is definitely a juggle and there were patches where I had to retreat within myself just to find the strength to keep everything going at once. There were patches where I hardly managed the time to chat with friends or to catch up, let alone do things for myself.

I still have as many commitments this year, but I want to make sure I keep things in better perspective.

I am setting the goal to scrap at least I layout a month for myself... it doesn't seem like much, but for me it will be a terrific start.

I hope your start to the New Year has been a fantastic one and that the year ahead holds the most amazing experiences and moments for you all.

Take care.

xxx

WOOOHOOO!!!

2011-10-20T23:02:00.000+11:00

If you're here for the Get Picky Blog Hop...

Please scroll down to the next post :)

I am a tad excited...hehehe...

A little while ago, I shared some sneak peaks that I'd been working on for the magazine,

Australian Scrapbook Ideas...

Well... one of my projects made the front cover of the Christmas Craft Ideas
magazine special...YAY!!!

It's my very first ever- cover. I'm a tad excited about that really :)

Here it is...

This is the project up close...

I used a shadow box to create a Christmas pressie for my Mum. I loved the idea of creating something with non-traditional colours and these papers from Authentique were just perfect. It's very soft and I think .. pretty... I love how it all came together.

I also made lots of little paper flowers and added little embellishments here and there. My favourite sort of creating :)

This is the actual issue the Craft mag comes with...

and inside this one, I also have an article with some Christmas gift ideas for men. It's always a hard thing to try and make a masculine inspired gift.... Stef did laugh (as he is a farmer) at how practical this gift would be for him, but if you have a husband or Dad that works in an office or has a desk area, then these gifts would be great. I made a calendar using a small canvas and easel and also some photo cubes.

And this is my first time to appear in the Australian Papercraft Essential Magazine. I've created a set of cards using some Paper Tole like flowers from a company called La Pashe.

Here's what they look like...

and some close ups...

I used Little Yellow Bicycle's Elizabeth Park papers to make the cards and they matched beautifully with the flowers, which were super easy to make. The come already in pieces on the sheet and you just have to cut them out, shape them and stick them back together.
They are really easy to make!

I know this has been a whole "magazine" post thing, but I'm really excited :) These days I don't get to scrap nearly as much as I would like to and am largely just scrapping my magazine commissions, so it's nice to be able to share these finally and also to see them in print.

Hope your coming weekend will be filled with happy scrappy moments
or just an all round wonderful time.
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
xxx

Happy Birthday Get Picky!!!!!

2011-10-15T10:00:00.001+11:00

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!

I am so excited to be able to share our very first birthday celebration with everyone. When Tanya and I talked about our vision for a multi-photo challenge site, we only hoped that people might think the idea was worthwhile and occasionally be happy to come and play along with some of our challenges. Now with a design team of 12 truly awesome and ridiculously talented ladies, a fantastic array of sponsors who have supported us and some 652 followers later....

we are still going and having a blast bringing our challenges each month and sharing some

truly beautiful work each month.

So, thank you all for your amazing support! I hope you enjoy the blog hop and the awesome talent ahead.

xxx

Welcome to the Get Picky 1^st Birthday Blog Hop!

We are celebrating our first year with a very exciting reveal as we unveil our 13^th Sketch with you today and share the beautiful creations of both present and past designers from our first year! Some of the team members will be offering prizes so you will want to visit all of the blogs to increase your chances of winning a prize. We are also offering a major prize along with the chance at a Guest Designer spot for the month of November if you visit and leave a comment at all of the blogs in our blog hop and participate in Sketch Challenge #13. The Blog Hop starts today and will remain open until midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on October 28^th so this will give you all plenty of time to visit everyone’s blogs and create a layout for the sketch challenge.

Here is Sketch #13

And here is my layout

As we mentioned, there are lots of great birthday pressies up for grabs along our hop today. Some of our designers will be offering a RAK of their own and I have a very special little parcel of goodies to giveaway myself. All you have to do to be in the running for my RAK is to become a follower if you're not already and leave a comment at the end of the post!

Of course there is also the chance to become our Guest Designer for November....but what's a celebration without that very special gift.

We are so very excited to also announce that Imaginisce have been kind enough to sponsor us with an awesome prize for our very special birthday celebration.

(Included in the prize..... the two latest collections with embellishments and stamps from both Geek is Chic and Bon Voyage plus an i-bond cordless glue gun with glitter glue sticks, a d-stress tool and a box of fabric flowers. )

Get Picky is the first stop of our birthday journey where you will find the complete list of all blogs in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play, just follow along the blog path in order so you don’t miss anyone.

Remember, if you want to be considered for the Guest Designer spot in November, once you have visited all the blogs and uploaded your entry for Sketch Challenge #13, please make sure that you go back to the Get Picky Blog and leave a comment on the challenge post.

The blog hop begins here: Get Picky Blog

Your next stop is here: Tanya Tahir

Thank you so much for joining us for this very special birthday celebration and for your continued support!

published work....

2011-10-14T10:00:00.013+11:00

It's always ridiculously exciting...well for me anyway.... to see my pages in print, and ever more so, when you're too busy to keep track of the issue numbers and get a massive surprise to see your own layout in the magazine...lol

Here it is in this month's issue of Scrapbooking Memories...

and they even made a sketch of my layout...hehe..I was excited about that part too!

Here is the layout and some close ups....

If you're looking for something scrappy wise to do this weekend...be sure to pop back on Saturday for a special little surprise....

I can't wait.

xxx

sneaky peaks....

2011-10-13T05:45:00.000+11:00

Just a quick update and some sneaky peaks to share....

I've actually created three layouts in the last week, which is no mean feat...lol.. some of my latest creations for a couple of articles coming up soon in Australian Scrapbook Ideas...

These first two using some of the gorgeous Authentique papers.....love the texture of these papers and of course those gorgeous flowers were just begging to be cut out :)

These next two were created using Bella Boyz Papers.....I'm not usually one for brights, but these papers were really easy to work with. The layout below of Noah is one of my favourites.

Be sure to keep your eyes out for the next issue!

Miss Dorothy.....

2011-09-22T21:46:00.000+10:00

This year we had our first Bookweek parade for Belle at school :)

Due to the craziness of my life at the moment, leaving things to the last minute is becoming my mode of operation. (As my friend Tanya says " you do some of my best work that way"...lol)

Well at 11:00pm last night I stuck the final red rhinestones to the ruby slippers and was all done! I had suggested earlier to Belle that maybe she might like to go as Little Miss Sunshine ( I was thinking...yellow cardboard circle..some texta..) but she didn't even remotely like that suggestion, so then came the list of other possibilities...some of which included a Beanie kid, or a Zhu Zhu pet?????? What the....hehe!

Anyway....in the end we decided upon Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.....

Don't ask me what was going on with her smile during this photo....(we do refer to her as our little space cadet...lol). I am pretty chuffed with how this all came together as I am seriously not a fantastic seamstress by any stretch. And below are the ruby slippers.

She had some old shoes that she has pretty much grown out of, so I covered them with red fabric and stuck on lots on red rhinestones. The pic below is of her doing her little walk in the parade.

As it so happen...she actually won......the best costume for the Infant area (Grades Prep/ 1 & 2) and she got a new book as a prize.....one about a Zhu Zhu pet co-incidentally..lol..

All in all a very happy little girl who had an awesome day.

One tired mumma, but hey, it was well worth it :)

Hope your day has been a happy one too.

xxx

Beautiful friend....

2011-09-14T22:28:00.000+10:00

It's hard to believe that all those years ago when I signed up to be on the Kaisercraft design team, I would meet and make friends with some of the most beautiful women I know. I am fortunate enough to still be in contact with many of them, but none as regularly as my stunning friend Tanya.

Earlier this year, we got to meet in person for the first time when she was in Melbourne and we spent a gorgeous couple of hours together in a street side cafe. Here is a little pic from our play date...

I love this pic of us even in spite of the fact that Tan is just as gorgeous on the outside as she is on the inside. You know how sometimes you are just so fortunate to be given the gift of a meeting and knowing awesome people that you just click with. Well , she is definitely one of those friends for me.

We generally speak every other week and email in between and when we're not chatting about Get Picky stuff, there is always other stuff to occupy a conversation.

Well, a little while ago was Tan's birthday, so I thought I'd make her a little something, which I can now share. Here it is....

I just made a little altered canvas with one of my favourite friendship quotes.

and used some of my beautiful flowers from Tessa over at Precocious Paper .

I am really blessed in my life to know and love some of the most spectacular women and equally fortunate to be able to call them my friends. Hope your lives are filled with such beauty too!

Australian Scrapbook Ideas

2011-09-14T21:46:00.000+10:00

The latest issue of Australian Scrapbook ideas (Issue 9) is currently out and I have an article and some layouts in it about great ways to use Jumbo stamps.

You can read the article in depth is the issue below...

The layout made use of one of Stanpendous' Jumbo stamps. This is the first time I've stamped with such a large image, and while I was initially a little daunted, these stamps are fantastic for creating your own background paper.

This layout below is my favourite in the feature.

I use the resist method with a paint wash and some mist....love the colours and these photo of Noah when he was tiny seriously make me smile. He wasn't quite walking yet, but sooo loved being outside in the garden. Pretty cute huh?

and here are the other two layouts and some close up pics....

So if you're looking for something to read over the weekend..go grab a copy!

Do you ever get the feeling....

2011-08-14T22:06:00.000+10:00

Do you ever get the feeling that someone is stealing hours from your day? That's very much how things have been here at the moment. There never seems to be enough time. Here is a little taste of what I've been up to...

* I've written a 2,500 word essay (the last time I wrote an academic paper was over 20 years ) that seriously had me questioning my intellect

* I am on on placement working with students who have Autism once a week.

* Have been down to Uni days in Melbourne for study

* I am working three days a week teaching

and not to mention the most important of all those jobs, juggling a home, husband and cherubs, while also finding time to catch up with family and friends.

No wonder time is disappearing..hehe.

All in all though, as busy as life is, I am absolutely loving every minute of it :)

I have even found some little snippets of time to scrap. Nowhere near as much as I used to, but here are some things I can share and some sneak peaks of some projects I can't ....

I used some of my Little Yellow Bicycle left overs to create this set of cards. I'm "trying" to use up all of my scraps in an effort to cut down on the amount of paper I hoard. I'll let you know how I go with that one..lol. And while I am certainly not the most skilled at Copic colouring, I really do enjoy it.

Here are some sneak peaks of some magazine projects I've been working on ...

In the past little bit, I've complete 2 sets of cards, 3 layouts, 2 articles and 3 off the page projects.

The commissions have been fantastic as they give me a reason to scrap, which I think I otherwise probably wouldn't do.

Well, I hope wherever you are your life is traveling along beautifully because at the moment, in spite of the hectic pace, things here could not be any better.

Take care xx

Get Picky Design Team Call....

2011-08-14T18:18:00.000+10:00

Get Picky

Design Team Call

www.getpicky.blogspot.com

It’s that time again here at Get Picky and we are looking to welcome some fantastic new artists to our creative family! We would like to extend our design team positions so if you think you would be perfect, please read on.

Requirements:

· Designers will be required to complete 2 layouts per month.

· Designer should have a blog – posting Get Picky layouts and linking back to our blog will be required. The use of any other online gallery / forum / social network to promote Get Picky or share your work is also very much appreciated.

· Designers will be required to leave comments for participants on their entries.

· Designers will also be required to assist in judging and choosing winners for each challenge.

· Australian and International artists are welcome to apply.

Benefits:

· Designers will be listed on our blog and also on a special designer’s page....along with your headshot and links back to your own blog.

· When appropriate, designers will also receive product from our monthly sponsor to use in the creation of their layouts.

· You will also have a designer blinkie to display on your blog site.

Term:

· Designers will be asked to commit to a six month term commencing October1st 2011 through to the end of March 31 2011.

To Apply:

· Please email the following details to Nikki and Tanya at getpicky@yahoo.com by

· Name and location

· Brief biography, including any crafting experience/interests

· A sentence of two about what you could bring to our Get Picky team

· Links to your blog, online galleries and any other places you would be promoting Get Picky.

· A list of past and current design team experience ( previous design team experience is not required)

· Photos of three layouts that best represent your style and showcase your abilities. (We are looking specifically for multi-photo layouts)

· Please put “Design Team Call” in the subject line of your email.

· Applications close on Monday the 29^th of August.

· All applicants will receive an email when their application has been received. Successful applicants will be notified via email on Friday 2^nd of September and the team will be revealed on our blog on Monday the 5^th of September.

Queries:

· If you have any questions, please let us know: www.getpicky.blogspot.com

Get Picky Inspiration Challenge #10

2011-08-05T09:37:00.000+10:00

This is our gorgeous our Inspiration Challenge # 10 for Get Picky this month.

We have chosen this butterfly image to inspire everyone. You are free to interpret it in any way you choose..... butterfly papers, embellishments, stamps, the colours.....the sky's the limit as long as you create a multi-photo layout.

This month we have also decided to have another fantastic prize giveaway! Everyone who participates in this challenge will go into a RANDOM draw to win a selection of gorgeous Prima goodies!

All you have to do to be in the running to win is enter our challenge - it's that simple! Everyone who enters automatically goes into the draw for the prize!

Here is a photo of exactly what you will WIN...

Included in the prize:

A selection of Sparkling Spring Collection Papers

A selection of Celebration Collection Papers

2 Packets of Prima blooms

1 Packet of Prima Butterflies

1 packet of Celebration Cardstock Stickers

So if you're looking for something to scrap this weekend, why not pop over and play along. The entries we've received so far have been stunning!

Take care xxx

I'm back....

2011-07-01T12:52:00.000+10:00

It would be great to be able to say that my hiatus from scrapping was due to an awesome holiday in some exotic, remote destination.... but that is sooooo not the case :)

Thankfully, the school holidays commence next week, so I have a little reprieve from the hustle and bustle of life and some well earned minutes to myself. Today I thought I'd finish this layout that has sat on my desk for ages....here it is...

I loved these LYB- Twig paper...perfect match for this photo of Noah. It was taken in my parents' garden when he was 2. It's hard to remember him being so little, but he still loves climbing those wagon wheels and the tree, so I guess not much has changed in that regard. These colours were inspired by the inspiration challenge we chose for Get Picky .

This month we have chosen the 'Sex and the City 2' movie poster to inspire everyone.

We are also offering a special prize to Everyone who participates in this challenge. We will randomly draw someone to win TWO Sassafras Lass Collection Kit packs, plus extra Foldies and Banner Stickers!! All you have to do to be in the running to win is enter our challenge - it's that simple! Here is a photo of this awesome prize...

Included is:

Sassafras Paper Crush Collection Kit (12 double sided papers, 1 sheet of glitter alpha stickers, 1 sheet of die cut journalling tag stickers, 1 sheet of cardstock "Sweet Treat" stickers)
Sassafras Ellie's Tale Collection Kit (12 double sided papers, 1 sheet of mini alpha stickers, 1 sheet of die cut journalling tag stickers, 1 sheet of cardstock "Sweet Treat" stickers)
Sassafras "Ellie's Pick" Foldies
Sassafras Ellie's Tale Flag Banner Sticker Sheet

So if you're looking for something to do this weekend...look no further. Be sure to stop by our blog and check out the stunning dt creations and of course our two new designers...Camilla and Piradee :)
I'm off to do a catch up will all of my blogging friends...it's been WAY too long!
Take care everyone xxx

Balance

2011-06-21T13:13:00.000+10:00

has certainly not been as easy to maintain as what I may have hoped! At the moment I am juggling lots of balls in the air...in the hope that they don't come crashing down around my ears :)

That said....all is good in our household at the moment!

Cherubs are well, reports have been finished, study is still frying my brain ( in the best way possible)...just scrapping has been thin on the ground.

I have completed 2 separate projects...some layouts and a set of cards, but I can't share those yet....and I have an unfinished layout on my desk, but hope to get back to that soon...

Life has been a matter of prioritising, and scrapping has definitely moved down on the list of importance. I will get back to it soon, but I need to get some other things taken care of first.

Anywhoo... there are still a couple of days left to get your layouts in for this month's Get Picky Sketch challenge.....with an awesome Wicked Princess prize up for grabs...

Here is our sketch..

Entries close on the 28th...so there's still plenty of time left :)

Get Picky Inspiration Prompt #6

2011-04-08T10:28:00.000+10:00

Well...here it is finally!!!!!

This post is a tad late...I've had parent teacher interviews for work, Uni, study, my turn for Kinda helper duty, help in Belle's classroom for a morning and just life in general ...all of which I am loving atm, but it just makes for very busy days and then very early nights :)

Here is Victoria, we are on the bring of school holidays, which is by far, my most favourite time of the year! Last holidays Noah was very sick with pneumonia, so we didn't really get to enjoy the break....this time round, things are looking good. I stocked up yesterday on paint, chalk, stickers, cardboard cutouts and some canvases for my cherubs to create with...and have plans to just enjoy their company and have fun.

So...onto my layout....

This month we went with an ad for our inspiration prompt....here it is...

There were so many colour options for this layout, but I was very draw to the blue and purple shades the most. I used a piece of muslin cloth with frayed edges as the base of my photo to replicate the girls fluffy jacket and add some texture to my layout. And who could go past the butterflies. I scattered them across my page in the blue and purple, but also used highlights of yellow taken from the words. The "love" words are spritzed with yellow mist to copy the yellow love in the ad and I've used my gorgeous SRM stickers as a little title in SPECIAL and as some journalling.

Be sure to check out the dt's gorgeous creations and just how differently we've all interpreted the prompt. I love that about these challenges!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Take care xxx

Cardabilities final sketch reveal!

2011-04-08T10:08:00.000+10:00

Where does time fly to....

This is my final sketch reveal for the Cardablities design team. I have had a fantastic time working with Karan's gorgeous sketches and am so grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Here is the final sketch for the month of March.

and my card using some of Tessa's beautiful Precocious Paper

Be sure to stop by the Cardabilities Blog and
check out all of the stunning cards the dt have created!

Time for a change!

2011-03-26T08:24:00.000+11:00

There is a really good feeling that comes with change!

I mentioned some time ago that I was going to be scaling back on some of my dt commitments...well, this month sees that comment come to fruition. I have recently finished up my guest spot for Scrapville, I have one more card post for Cardabilities and this post will also share my last project for Tessa over at Precocious Paper!

I thought I would be sad by letting so many fun things go, but the relief I am feeling tells me this is very much the right decision. For a while now, I've felt like I was in a bit of a creative rut and was very much designing around calendar dates....all the while trying to juggle family/ work and study. I love the idea of being able to sit and play! I'm not a quick scrapper by any means, so having more time to play is very appealing.

I've also felt like the juggle of time meant the kids were not always getting the best of my time and that just didn't sit well with me. SO, it was time for some changes to be made.

That said....here is my final project for Tessa over at Precocious paper.

To say I enjoyed creating this is an understatement! This is my first dip into the world of mixed media creation and I loved it..hehe...

Here is my canvas ...which can I say, took me a couple of days to create..(lol)

Now I know the techniques are not exact and I certainly have a long way to go, but I think it's okay for my first go. I've used lots of Tessa's gorgeous sewing petal flowers and combined them with some Cosmo cricket to create the flowers. Some I scrunched, some I misted and others I just layered. Along with Tessa's cupcake poppies, these were amongst my favourites.

I had a go at layering the background of my canvas first and then added detail and texture with paint, stamping, ink, doodling and rubons.

My work space was an absolute mess, but this was seriously the most fun I've had creating in some time. My beautiful friend Tanya said to me the other day..."you should do what you're passionate about..it always shows in your work when you love it" and she is so right.

So I think for the immediate future...I am going to just take my time and play! I want to experiment more with paint and ink and stamping and texture...lol....and colour and chipboard and canvas.....

hehehe..I think you get my drift. I will still be actively involved in Get Picky and am still designing for the magazine...Australian Scrapbook Ideas....but for the rest of time...I'm just going to create because!

If you're still here..thanks for reading :) I hope whatever you're creating at the moment takes you to a happy place.....I think I'm on the way to finding mine again :)

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Cardabilities

2011-03-17T16:23:00.000+11:00

Welcome to the first of this month's sketches over at Cardabilities...

Here is the fantastic sketch I got to play with...

and below is my card.
For this card I used some of Tessa's gorgeous "sweet spots" (Precocious Paper). I substituted the squares on the sketch for the little circles. It's hard to see from the pic, but they are made of felt with gorgeous little embellishments on each one. I also used some of my SRM stickers too.

I created the large flower using my Tim Holtz die - some calico, felt and tulle, with a sweet spot centre.

Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities blog and take a peek at the other stunning card creations. Link up your own to be in the running for this month's fantastic prize.

Thanks for stopping by
xxx

Get Picky Sketch #6

2011-03-15T12:10:00.000+11:00

We were so very excited to have the fantastically talented Becky Fleck as our Guest Designer this month and also to be able to use one of her fantastic sketches. Here is this month's sketch...

We were also very fortunate and extremely grateful for the amazing sponsorship this month from SRM Stickers. They very generously provided our entire team with some of their sticker goodness to play with and also sponsored our sketch winner prize!

Here is my take on our sketch.

You have to excuse my dodgy photography....I'm going to blame the paper being bumpy due to the paint/ ink/ and mist rather than my lack of great photographing ability...lol... I used some more of my gorgeous photos of Missy Belle. I stuck to the sketch in its design elements and decided to create a woven strip background as a matt for my photos. The SRM stickers were so easy to use and I decided to substitute them for journalling. I also used some as rope for the top of my bunting and for stems on the flowers.

Be sure to pop over to the Get Picky site to check out the dt's stunning layouts and also link up your own before the 28th to be in the running for the fantastic SRM sticker prize.

Take care everyone!!

Scrapville March Pack

2011-03-10T20:16:00.000+11:00

Here are some pics of the scrumptious March pack now out at Scrapville...

Pasta Fagioli by Jillibean Soup

2 x Cardstock

4 x Double sided Patterned Papers

1 x Cosmo Cricket Yellow Tiny Type Alphas

1 x Chipboard rectangle

1 x Coloured Clip

1 x Adhesive paper strip - doublesided

1 x Dictionary Page

2 x lengths of Jillibean Bakers Twine

And......in the Booster we have:

1 x Kraft Cardstock

1 x Double sided Patterned Paper

1 x Jillibean Alpha Cardstock stickers

1 x Mulberry paper piece

1 x strip Green Tara webbing

1 x Jillibean beaded pick

As soon as I saw these papers...I was drawn to the gorgeous bright flowers and bold patterns in this pack. Here is what I've created using the little memo board ...

and some close up details of the bunting, twine, some doodling, the alpha stickers and my little rolled flowers and leaves.

I love how this has come together. The colour combination makes me smile :)

Thanks for stopping by and for all the lovely comments I've been receiving lately. It really does make my day :) Take care everyone xx

Get Picky Inspiration Prompt #5

2011-03-04T15:57:00.000+11:00

Here is the pic for our Inspiration Prompt this month....

.....now as much as I would like it to be so, I have never walked into a room that has been so thoughtfully and romantically decorated! After almost 14 years of marriage...I am more than happy to get the card that Stef has taken the time to write his own personal message in.

Although I don't think I would be sad if he did go to that much trouble either...lol....

Anyway, here is my layout...

I loved creating this! I know I say that often, but I think I enjoy creating those layouts where I could have a bit of a play :) The pics are of my sister and her first born bubba Missy Itiyah! I remember this Mother's day so well, as it was my first one with Isabelle and Liza's second. We took these pics outside in Mum and Dad's garden. As I said , I played lots with this one....lots of misting, fabric, ribbon..... I may even be a good sister and give it to her next time I see her :)

And finally, a little up dated pic of Stef and I from our niece's 21st.

It's the first time I've realised....(LOL) that Stef and I are getting older!!! Surrounded by these little 20 somethings...we were feeling our age :) We managed to keep up until about 12:00 till Mum and Dad called us home for one of the cherubs...YEP, the party days are a bit of a distant memory me thinks...

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Cardabilities Sketch #26

2011-03-04T15:25:00.000+11:00

Welcome to our second sketch for this month over at Cardabilities...

Here is our sketch and my card creation..

I've used some MME glitter papers and the flowers are from Prima. Well they were in their original form, but the bllo was too big for what I wanted, so I separated the individual petals and added a button centre to create my own!
The prize for the winner this months comes from Paper Makeup Stamps!

Paper Makeup Stamps is a little company started by professional make-up artist Katie Cotton. An endeavor to bring her love of beauty, paper and card making together resulted in a company that prides itself on offering un-mounted deeply etched red rubber stamps that can be ordered the way you like!

Paper Makeup Stamps offers various styles of stamps from numerous artists to suit your taste. They also offer a wide array of unique quotes and sentiments in various sizes.

Paper Makeup Stamps will be providing one lucky card maker a gift certificate to their online store and all you need to do is complete this sketch and link using Mr Linky no later then March 13th! its that easy!

Be sure to pop by the blog for all the details and a look at the dt's gorgeous card creations.

Cardabilities Sketch # 25

2011-02-18T13:47:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another gorgeous Carabilities sketch.

This sketch was super easy to work with... I used some gorgeous Bo Bunny Papers and a Daisy Dandelions stamp. He's pretty cute isn't he :)

Here is my card creation...

Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities blog and check out the other dt girls gorgeous card creations.

Get Picky Sketch reveal

2011-02-18T09:35:00.000+11:00

This month we were so very lucky to be sponsored for our sketch challenge by PINK PAISLEE!!!

Not only did they offer our prize for the sketch, but they also threw in some gorgeous "Sweetness" packs for the dt to play with. How's that for generosity!!!!

Anywhoo, here is our sketch for this month..

and my layout...

The past month has been a really difficult one for us, which culminated in Noah having pneumonia and having to be hospitalised for days. I live by the idea that things always happen for a reason....I don't always love the things that happen...lol...but it always forces me to look that little bit deeper than I may ordinarily and find what my little life lesson for the moment might be. I don't think you can go through your life "fully present" without taking the time to stop and think every once in a while. That said, this layout journals some of those things I discovered about myself and some things I need to try and draw on a little more often.

Thanks so much for stopping by and your lovely comments too!

Take care xx

Get Picky dt call

2011-02-09T17:08:00.000+11:00

We are looking to welcome some new artists to our Get Picky family! We would like to extend our design team and also secure artists interested in our Monthly Guest Designer positions. If you think you would be perfect for either position, please read on.
Requirements:
Designers will be required to complete 2 layouts per month.

Designer should have a blog – posting Get Picky layouts and linking back to our blog will be required. The use of any other online gallery / forum / social network to promote Get Picky or share your work is also very much appreciated.

Australian and International artists are welcome to apply.
Benefits:
Designers will be listed on our blog and also on a special designer’s page, along with your headshot and links back to your own blog.

When appropriate, designers will also receive product from our monthly sponsor to use in the creation of their layouts.

Designers will also have a designer blinkie to display on your blog site.

Term:
Designers will be asked to commit to a six month term commencing April 1st 2011 through to the end of September 30 2011.
To Apply:
Please email the following details to Nikki and Tanya at getpicky@yahoo.com by Friday 25th February.

Name and location

Brief biography, including any crafting experience/interests

A sentence or two about what you could bring to our Get Picky team

Links to your blog, online galleries and any other places you would be promoting Get Picky

A list of past and current design team experience (previous design team experience is not required)

Photos of three layouts that best represent your style and showcase your abilities

Please put “Design Team Call” in the subject line of your email and specify whether you are interested in a dt position or as a guest designer

All applicants will receive an email when their application has been received. Successful applicants will be notified via email on Friday 4th March and the team will be revealed on our blog on Friday 11th March.

Queries:
If you have any questions, please let us know.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Guess what......

2011-02-06T21:46:00.000+11:00

In light of the past month, it's nice to have a little happy news :)

Some time ago, I applied for a dt possie at a new Australian scrapbooking magazine called

"Australian Scrapbook Ideas"

and I am soooo very proud to say that I've actually be chosen...YAY!!!!! hehe..

The magazine is very new in it's publication and is up to issue number 5. It's a fantastic mag .....filled with heaps of how to's and great instructions on a variety of layouts, projects and current techniques. I have written my very first ever...full feature article....can you believe that!!!!

It's a little hard to see but that's my btp project on the front cover :)

I created a shabby mannequin and a little mini album.

Here are some pics I took of the mannequin before I sent it in...

I don't think they do justice, cos' she really is a little bit pretty..lol..

So there you have it...I'm actually writing and designing for a magazine.. unbelievable huh?

Be sure to pop out, grab yourself a copy and let me know what you think :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Scrapville February Pack...

2011-02-06T09:21:00.000+11:00

This month's Scrapville pack is filled with gorgeous Bo Bunny goodness!!!!

Included in the February Monthly Pack is:

• Red Ribbed Cardstock

•White Ribbed Cardstock

•5 double sided Patterned Papers

•Red sticky Bling

•Crystal sticky Bling

•Black Tulle

•3 Buttons

•Red sheer stretchy Ruffle Trim

•Adornit Mini Alphas

And in the Booster we have...

•Pink Cardstock

•Bubblegum Glitter Thickers

•Crystal Flower Bling

•Black Grosgrain Ribbon with white dots

Here is my layout....

I decided to change this image of Belle into black and white and then added some pink to m colour scheme....I had planned to add some extra details to this layout, but with Noah getting sick...I ran out of time. Having said that, I still love the way it came together.

Here are some close up of the details..

Hope everyone is well in your part of the world...thanks so much for stopping by :)

Precocious Paper Feb Sampler

2011-02-05T22:32:00.000+11:00

Here are my some of the projects I created for Tessa over at Precocious Paper using her stunning flowers and embellishments from the Feb Sampler Pack.....soooooo love when I get 'Tessa mail' ...hehe...

Here is my first layout...

I used some of my pics of Belle in the garden.....these are some of me all time favourite images of her..and of course the fact that she's in pink doesn't hurt. I also loved the bright colors in these Bo Bunny papers too!

See the pretty flower in the middle with the love hearts??? It's a glittery one.....mmmmm...love glitter :) and there are the felt and satin flowers either side....cute huh?

This was my second layout using the pale pink flowers in the pack.....which I teamed up with some brown Satin flowers to match my papers.

Again, the large pink flower in the middle is all glittery...this is one of my favourites atm....I've actually re-ordered some for myself...hehehe...

There are still more gorgeous blooms left in my pack :) I've also created a Valentine's day card and still have some gorgeous lime green flowers ready to use in another project....but you'll just have to wait for that one... Thanks so much for stopping by xxx

Get Picky / Cardabilities....

2011-01-31T20:41:00.000+11:00

In the midst of caring for a very sick cherub, life has come to somewhat of a standstill here..... there has been very little scrapping but I do have a couple of things to share none the less...

At Get Picky we have just revealed our latest inspiration prompt....this month we decided to go with the following song lyrics....

"Forever Young" by Bob Dylan

May God bless and keep you always

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the lights surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy

May your feet always be swift

May you have a strong foundation

When the winds of changes shift

May your heart always be joyful

And may your song always be sung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young

May you stay forever young.

I so loved the lyrics to this song...there were many different lines I could have used and had lots of ideas,
but in the end, I went with...

"May your heart always be joyful"

As the journalling says....on this particular day, Belle decided to make a flower / bow out of the serviette she had wiped her brush on, while painting with her watercolours. Her creative talent just amazes me.....she is very natural and uninhibited and creating is such a joy for her...I just love it. As for the crazy faces...well that's just her too...hehehe....

and our latest sketch over at Cardabilities ....

and here is my card...

I loved how easy this sketch was to work with. I've used it to make up 2 more cards since :) I used a couple of my Martha punches and made the little flower in the centre. Too easy really. Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities blog and be inspired by the dt's gorgeous creations.

Thanks so much for stopping by and of course leaving your lovely comments :) I really do appreciate the time it takes to leave them :) xxx
Take care everyone!

blue eyes....

2011-01-18T14:58:00.000+11:00

This month's pack from Scrapville is a gorgeous collection of bright and colourful papers from Echo park..

here are some pics.

The pack is made up of lots of gorgeous patterned papers, some hessian, buttons, brads, ribbons and flowers and there is also a little booster pack (below) which had that gorgeous little stamp and some rubons too....

Here is the layout I've created....It's a pic of Master Noah when he was 1. How beautiful are those blue eyes...I mean really! The depth of colour has changed the older he has become, but there are still very striking and that little pouty face too...

I used lots of the hessian to make my own embelli's, as you do...lol.... the clouds, the starts and some strips in amongst the paper to add texture to the layers. I love how it came together.

I've also created a very girlie layout using the same papers, but you'll have to wait until I can share that one.

Take care!

Cardabilities Blog Hop

2011-01-15T11:42:00.000+11:00

Hello everyone and welcome to our Cardabilities blog hop!
This blog hop is run a bit differently then others. There is an order for you to hop!

Firstly..Begin hopping to Design Team Blogs as listed at the bottom of each Designer Blog. Your first Hop is over to Karan's Blog. Beware…there is an order for you to follow.

Secondly…For our followers to be considered for the final Sponsor Giveaway, you need to hop to all the Designers Participating in the Hop …On those blogs, you will find a highlighted word in BLUE. Find the highlighted word and leave some feedback. All these highlighted words, form a catch phrase about Cardabilities

Thirdly: You need to comment on each Designer Blog to be considered for each individual RAK the Design Team Members are offering,

Finally: You will need to put that “catch” phrase together and bounce back to the Cardabilities site to leave your final comment and the “catch” phrase to be considered for the Sponsor Giveaway.

You'll have three days to complete the hop… January 15th-Jan 17th

Winners of each DT Blog Rak and the Final Sponsor Giveaway prize will be posted Jan 20

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

As part of our little hop we have a gorgeous sketch and our latest card creations for you too. Here is Karen's fantastic sketch....

and here is my card...

Now I have to say..(again...lol) this was one of my earlier Copic coloured images. These CC design stamps are my favourites. To create my cards, I stamped another image, coloured the little flowers, cut and shaped them and then popped them over the top, so they added some dimension to the card.

I will also be offereing a little surprise RAK that I will draw for one of the lovely people who leave a comment on this post.

Your next stop is Elizabeth's blog.

Make sure you follow the blogs in order and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog to be in the running for some lovely prizes. Also remember to look out for the blue words and write down that secret phrase. Good luck and Happy Hopping everyone!!!

Get Picky Sketch #4

2011-01-15T11:03:00.000+11:00

Welcome to our very first Get Picky sketch of the year!

This month we are so very lucky to have Anna Bowkis guest designing with us, and she has also provided this months lovely sketch layout for us to play with. Here it is...

and here is my layout...

I made myself a promise this year to try and capture more of the every day moments that make up the beauty and the chaos of my life :) Noah is one of the hardest little people to photograph for lots of reasons, but when I took these photos of him over Chrissie, he had glimpses of the vacant little stare he sometimes gets. We try our hardest daily to keep Noah engaged and occupied with us and activities that don't allow him to drift off into his own happy little world. It's constant, but we can see the difference in him and his animation and speech when we do.....I guess it's the little things that make a difference :)

Be sure to pop over to the blog and check out the girls' stunning layouts.

You won't be disappointed :)

Happy Birthday Cardabilities

2011-01-10T11:31:00.000+11:00

Happy Birthday!!!

Cardabilities made its debut in January last year with it's gorgeous site full of amazing sketch designs and stunning examples for card makers. So , as a way of celebrating Cardabilities's first birthday we have lots of sketches and some great prizes to give away to some lucky participants.

In addition to the regular sketch reveals on the 15th & 30th of each month, there will be a new sketch on the Cardabilities blog, every Wednesday for the month of January! All you have to do is use the sketch as inspiration for your card and add your link on the Cardabilities blog.

To start off our month-long celebration, here is sketch #19 and my little card creation.

Now please don't look too closely at my colouring... this is one of the first image I coloured using my Copics :) She was too cute not to use, so here she is. I also covered the inner circle with a layer of Glitter....looks much nicer in real life! Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities Blog and check out all the birthday fun!

Happy 2011 everyone!

2011-01-05T15:47:00.000+11:00

I love the beginning of a New Year. The possibility of so many wonderful things happening, makes me smile :) For the past two years I have decided upon my "one little word" to focus on and while I totally support my choice at the time, it wasn't something I thought much more about by mid year!

This year I thought I would approach things a little differently.

My beautiful friend Al Hannah created what she called a vision board filled with images and words / quotes of things that she would like to focus on/achieve this year.

I like this idea of creating something permanent to display and remind me of where I'd like to go this year.

That said, my one little word for 2011 is

Learn.

This year I am undertaking study at the Autism Institute in Melbourne, which makes me really happy!

Not only for the insights it will give us about Noah, but also for the professional challenge it will give me and the depth it will add to my teaching.

Here are some of the other images that will make up my board....

it's a work in progress atm but I promise to share it when it's complete....

Towards the end of last year, I overextended myself somewhat, and have made a very conscious decision to NOT reapply for some of my current dt commitments :) I want to concentrate on finding some peace for myself and a bit more quiet time. Last year just disappeared before my very eyes, so I'm determined to slow down and enjoy every moment!

I hope 2011 holds the most wonderful things for you and is filled you with every sort of happiness.

My final little thought for this post...

Take care

xxx

Get Picky Inspiration Prompt # 3

2011-01-05T13:47:00.000+11:00

With the Christmas season still fresh in our minds, we decided to chose a stunning Christmas image as our Inspiration Prompt...

Here is our pic...

Here is my take using this gorgeous pic as inspiration...

" I loved the cool colours in this image and used that as the basis for my inspiration. I kept very much to a neutral colour scheme and converted my images to black and white to match and although it's difficult to see, the paper and embellishments have specs of silver glitter which upholds the Christmas theme. While I didn't choose specifically Christamssy images, I opted for pics of my three cherubs and related my journalling to the include what I give thanks for this Christmas."

Be back later with some Precocious paper creations.

Cardabilities Sketch #18

2010-12-31T12:53:00.000+11:00

I thought I'd be quick and get in a post or two before the New Year...hehehe...

Whatever activities you have planned...I hope your celebrations are lovely ones and wish everyone the most wonderful start to 2011, filled with much health and happiness.

On to my latest Cardabilities sketch and card creation...

and also here's something fun to look forward to....

Cardabilities First Birthday BASH!

January 15th – January 17th

It has been one year since Cardabilities began providing you with sketches!!
So be sure to come and join me and the other gorgeous Design Team girls

in our first

CARDABILITIES BIRTHDAY BASH BLOG HOP!

Our Hop will be filled with giveaways from our Designers along
with our main Sponsor Giveaway.

Come and Join in the fun…be sure to comment on the
blogs and watch for the secret catch phrase!

SEE YOU THERE!

JANUARY 15TH - 17TH

Better late than never.....

2010-12-20T10:42:00.000+11:00

Well, that is the entire tone of my existence atm......
although I seem to be erring more on the never side....

I love Christmas! I love the celebration, the sense of family, the joy and excitement of my children, all of that, but at this time of the year I loathe the crazy/busy/hysteria that surrounds and takes over in the lead up.
With school finished, I've taken a couple of days to try and get our life back on track. Sort my home, washing, cleaning....all Mum stuff that doesn't get done by itself!

That said, I have lots of scrapping things to share. I was going to do individual posts, but have opted for the long winded version instead :) GO grab a cuppa and come back if you're interested...
Here goes!

Cardabilities Sketch

Here is my take on Sketch #17. This was a really easy one to work with and despite the papers being oldies, I decided to use some Kaiser Chrissie papers. Be sure to check out the blog to see what the other dt girls have created. The cards are just stunning!

Get Picky sketch challenge #3.

This layout is one of my favourites for a long time. It is inspired by a conversation Joshua and I have often!
It came about some time ago, where after being scolded for being naughty, I had said to him, "even when you are naughty, I still love you the whole world".....I wanted him to try and understand that even though I didn't appreciate the behaviour, I still absolutely loved him. Since then, it's a regularly used phrase, and Josh will often say to me....usually after I've ticked him off about something...."I still love you Mum, even when you're naughty". Funny how him getting in trouble equates to me being naughty. Either way, it was one of those conversations I want to remember always!

Here is a little close up of some of the misting, some hand stitching and layering.....

The next two layouts I've created using the gorgeous monthly pack from

SCRAPVILLE
Janet owns the most scrumptious little store filled with the most delectable scrapping goodies. She has invited me to come and play once a month and create some layouts using the monthly kits. This month was a collection of Cosmo Cricket papers and assorted embelli's.
Here's what I've created....

Well, if you're still here, thanks for your perseverance!

I'll be back a little later on with my final posting of creations for Philippa over at Lime Tart.

See you soon!

Cardabilities Sketch # 16

2010-12-02T17:15:00.000+11:00

Welcome to Cardabilities Sketch # 16 reveal.
Here is Karan's gorgeous sketch.

and my little card creation.

The dt girls have created the most stunning cards. Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities Blog
and check out their blogs and also to add your card using the sketch above and be in the running for a great giveaway from Technique Junkie.

2010-11-30T20:53:00.000+11:00

It's been such a long time since I last posted....just soooo very caught up with day to day stuff :)

Little people, work - reports, end of term, home life...just stuff - all good, but crazy too!

Inspite of that I have been scrapping a little...here's what I've been up to....

Here is our gorgeous inspiration prompt #2 for Get Picky...this Audrey Hepburn quote is sooo very beautiful. I love the entire quote but especially the last four lines....

It prompted me to write my journalling about the things I believe in. At this point in my life, I believe I am at my absolute happiest :) Life is really wonderful atm and I feel very fortunate and blessed each and every day...in so many ways :)

I made this pretty flower using my Tim Holtz Tattered flowers die....hmmm..pretty isn't it :) I'm such a sucker for flowers, but this die is sooooo easy to use and it worked a treat in my little cuttlebug too!

Tanya also used hers to make a beautiful flower on her layout, great minds think alike :)

These next two layout I've created for Tessa using some of her beautiful Precocious Paper flowers.

I would have to say my absolute all time favourites are the

Cupcake Poppies.

These are the cutest flowers.....I've used some orange ones on the layout below and some pink ones on an older layout. Cute huh!

Tessa has heaps of stunning new flowers in her

Etsy Shop - Precocious Paper.

Check back in the next day or so for my new Cardabilities sketch and some exciting news I have to share :)

Thanks for leaving your lovely comment too. I appreciate the time it takes to write them and I really love reading them too :) x

Stamp Tote Competition....

2010-11-22T14:01:00.000+11:00

How do you store your stamps???

That is the question being asked on Lime Tart's Zest Blog at the moment and you have the chance

to win a mini fabric tote made by gorgeous dt member Rach.

Here is a pic....

"It holds 25 stamps and is made from Cosmo Cricket Early Bird fabric – totally cute. I’m sure that there will be a couple of stamps included to start (or add to) your collection."

To be in the draw, blog about your own stamp storage system and post a link back to Lime Tart on your blog, and be sure to add it to the bottom of the post....and Yes this is open to International entries. Rach will announce the winner on the 26th November.

Good Luck :)

Cardabilities sketch # 15

2010-11-19T17:17:00.000+11:00

Welcome to my cardabilities reveal..

Here is my little card creation. These cute little papers came as a freebie with a new scrapbooking publication called "Australian Scrapbook Ideas". I loved Karan's gorgeous sketch...as always... and decided to substitute the vase for some handmade lollipops to match the patterned paper.

Be sure to stop by the Cardabilities Bog and check out the dt's beautiful creations. The girls have made some spectacular cards :)

Get Picky Sketch # 2

2010-11-15T14:43:00.000+11:00

Welcome to another Get Picky sketech reveal.
Here is my take on sketch #2...

I decided to have a bit of a play with this layout and use some paint and fabric in place of the paper behind the photos. It's been ages since I've sat and had a really messy fun play and not only did I love it, but I am thrilled with the end result :) You'll have to excuse my photography though.....

as my layout was a bit bumpy from the paint and misting :)

Here are some close ups......

I sooooo loved this gorgeous photos of my Missy Belle in our garden. This is her to an absolute tee....her smiley face, her cheeky giggle....these pics just make my heart smile.

Be sure to pop over to Get Picky and check out the girls stunning layouts and of course our beautiful guest Iris Baboa Uy's layout....I know you won't be able to resist the temptation to play along and be in the running for an awesome Dusty Attic prize pack.
Can't wait to see your beautiful creations.

Lime Tart Gallery Reveal

2010-11-15T11:26:00.000+11:00

Yesterday saw the gallery release over at Lime Tart

Here is my latest little reveal of my November Half Tart creations....

I don't usually scrap in 11x81/2 but wanted to make sure I made the most of this kit....it's a great way to use up all of your paper pieces :) I love how it came together and this gorgeous photo of Master Josh and his beautiful cheeky grin....

This layout with it's patchwork background used up my little off cut pieces. Great way to create an interesting matt for your photos I thought.

This layout which has appeared on the LT blog ...

and my card that I created my step-by-step with.

Be sure to pop on over to the blog and check out all of the stunning creations from the other dt girls. Their work is simply amazing!!!!!

November Sneaky Peak

2010-11-02T20:06:00.000+11:00

Yesterday saw the release of Lime Tart's gorgeous November kits...

Here is a pics of the Half Tart kits that I'm lucky enough to be playing with atm...

Hmmmm...pretty I know :)

I've been a busy girl and have already been creating. In my post on the Zest blog today I gave some little sneak peaks of my first layout. Here they are...

.....gorgeous "Echo Park papers"

.....alphabet stickers, mini alphabets, cream buttons & button/flowers embellishments

and organza trim and cotton twill make up some of the goodies in this month's kit.

You will have to wait until the gallery release for the full reveal of this layout and my other little creations. Speaking of which...tomorrow on the Zest blog I have a little post showing my Cuttlebug Canvas Creation!

If you love the new Cuttlebug Quilling plates, be sure to pop over and have a look!

Finally....here is my gratitude for Day 2...

Today I am grateful for a new and exciting scrappy opportunity that has just been offered to me today :) I can't share the details yet, but it's a really lovley chance to do some extra creating and I am so very thrilled to have been asked! Hope your day has been a wonderful one too!

Attitude of Gratitude

2010-11-01T14:34:00.000+11:00

Welcome to my very first Attitude of Gratitude post!

Tessa has invited her dt and her blog readers to participate in a month long celebration of gratitude.

As today is the first of November I thought I'd pop on and share the first of many things that I am grateful for in my life! I love the idea of stopping in a busy chaotic day to take a moment of reflection and gain a little perspective. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, but in actual fact, maybe we should just take a moment to sit and enjoy the shade :)

So....today, I am grateful for Stef! This morning Belle had a pupil free school day, Josh is at home and I woke to find Noah unwell. As today is one of my work days, this could have posed a problem, but he very calmly said he would take care of the small people so I could go to work! As I left home I had a real sense of ease knowing that they would be okay! I am grateful for the fact that I can depend on him and he is there for me when I need him, but also the fact that he knows me well enough to know when I just need some reassurance.

Day 1 - I am grateful for my gorgeous husband's thoughtfulness!

What are you grateful for today?

Cardabilities Reveal....

2010-10-31T07:44:00.000+11:00

Here is our next sketch over at Cardabilities

and here is the card I've created...

I loved this sketch created by Karan :) I used some older 3 Bugs in a rug papers and I love how it came together. There were lots of gorgeous flowers to cut and and play with and I love this little birdie in the cage too. Just perfect for this sketch.

Be sure to pop over to the Cardabilities blog and check out the other dt girls gorgeous card creations!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Get Picky's Inspiration Challenge #1

2010-10-30T22:30:00.000+11:00

Today was the reveal of our first Inspiration challenge over at

Get Picky

How absolutely delicious is this image :) It takes me back to many happy childhood memories....... when I was a little girl, I would often get home from school and find a treat on my bed from Darrell Lea ...usually a little bottle of Bo Peep Lollies, but occasionally a lollipop :) I smile still at the thought and even as an adult today, still have a weakness for sweet treats. hehehe

Here is my layout...

I utilised lots of elements from the photo on my layout and while the stripey background and the bunting are obvious, I also used the overall colour scheme to guide my paper selection. I especially love those bright swirly lollipops, so I made my own by twirling a length of white muslin, which I then stuck in a spiral on a piece of circle card (I got this idea from a layout of Tan's). I also added the cloud and little picket fence to combine the outdoor theme of my photos and title.

Just on a little personal note...I wanted to say an enormous thanks to everyone for their wonderful support of our little blog! When Tanya and I started working on this idea, we thought there was a need fro a multi-photo blog site, and hoped that people might feel the same, but did not ever dream that it would be so well received. We really do appreciate the interest and support:) It also helps that we have the most amazing, spectacularly talented design team too, our girls are just awesome!

Also want to extend a huge congrats to the very lovely Ebony van der Starre on winning our sketch layout and also our honourable mention layouts Isay and Colleen B....thanks for sharing your beautiful creations girls. So if you didn't get a chance to play along in our sketch challenge, you've got until the 13th of November to play along and create a layout based on the pic above!

Precocious Paper Projects

2010-10-30T17:21:00.000+11:00

A little while ago I announced that Tessa has invited me to join her very first

Precocious Paper design team. I am so excited to share with you some of what I've been creating...

These gorgeous flowers were amongst my first parcel of goodies from Tessa..

My flowers had the most gorgeous buttons in the centre, so I chose my papers based upon that. I also decided to use kraft cardstock as a base for my cards, which matched perfectly with the flowers.

To show just how versatile these precious flowers really are, I've created 3 different cards a birthday, a best wishes and a Christmas card, all from the one set of flowers.

Attitude of Gratitude

Tessa is also undertaking a beautiful little challenge on her blog that she's created for herself over the month of November. Here is whatTessa had to say......
" I was recently inspired to give a great deal of thought to what I am grateful for and how I am showing it. It didn't take long to realize that I really could be living a more thankful life, including not only being more grateful, but also expressing my gratitude more often. So, to help myself develop a better "Attitude of Gratitude", I have created a challenge for myself, and I hope you will join me!"

"Each day in November, I will publicly express something that I am grateful for. I personally am going to seek out blessings in places I tend to overlook. I will post my thoughts here, on Facebook, and on Twitter. I hope that by the end of November I will have trained myself to be a little more grateful and to remember to express that gratitude.

How about you? Are you in? Should you choose to join me in these daily doses of blessing-counting, I have a $25.00 gift certificate to Precocious Paper that may be yours! Leave a comment on this post with a link to where you are posting your thoughts. In the beginning of December I will randomly draw a name. If you post about this challenge on your blog and send me a link, I will give you an extra entry. Feel free to turn the above graphic into a button for your blogs. "

I love the thought of this challenge as I know I have an awful lot to be grateful for. Taking a moment each day to acknowledge these things is such a beautiful idea :)

Maybe you might feel a little inspired to join Tessa's

Attitude for Gratitude challenge too!

and the winner is.........

2010-10-21T18:05:00.000+11:00

After much discussion over who would hold the container and who would draw the winner out....we finally came to a compromise...no mean feat with Master Joshua (aka Master Independent) and Missy Belle (aka I know more than you Josh).....lol.... I am not as computer savvy as I would like, so it would have taken me considerably longer to work out how to upload the random generator, so I just went with the lucky number out of the hat thing :):):)
Here are the two helpful cherubs....

CONGRATULATIONS TO.......

JACKIE

"i am a follower of your blog. am new to quilling and my tools as of right now consist of a toothpick. I would love to win. "
Will be in touch so I can grab your details and post your quilling tool off to you :)

Thank you everyone for your comments and help in promoting my little giveaway but especially to Philippa and Lime Tart for generously donating such a fantastic prize :):):)

Get Picky - Sketch challenge #1

2010-10-17T13:25:00.000+11:00

It is with lots of excitement that I can finally share with you the very first

Get Picky challenge- Sketch #1.

Tanya and I have been working away for some time on our gorgeous little site and are so proud to have finally got it up and running and absolutely thrilled with the lovely comments and support from everyone :)

So without further ado......
Here is our first sketch....

and here is my layout...

I've kept very much to the simplicity of the sketch and it's orientation. I did add a couple of little extras.....the gorgeous Cosmo paper always comes with these great strip pages, so I used the words from one as my journaling. I also added a little cluster of embellishments with a sentiment to serve as my title. How gorgeous is my spunky little man???? I love how thoughtful he is in these pics....I often wonder what goes on in his little mind and how he processes the world around him...I guess that's one of the great mysteries with children with special needs. I can say though, with absolute certainty that he is such a happy little camper who loves life and his family more than anything :):):)

Anyway...if you're after a little mutli-photo inspiration, pop over to Get Picky and play along with our sketch challenge. Tanya and our dt girls have created the most gorgeous layouts and there's a fantastic prize up for grabs from Anna's Craft Cupboard . Pop over and have a look :)

Cardabilities

2010-10-16T07:09:00.000+11:00

Welcome to my very first Cardabilities reveal....

I was so excited to start working on the gorgeous sketches created by Karan...

Here is this month's first sketch..

and my card...

I decided to use my Martha Stewart butterfly punch that I got from Philippa at Lime Tart to create the ribbon effect under the circle in the centre. I just pinched and folded the strip of punched butterflies and adhered it around the circle as I went. I love the effect it gave.

I also added lots of dimentsion and texture to the flowers, by folding and adhering with foam tape.

Be sure to pop over the the Cardabilities to see the other gorgeous cards, the dt girls have created.

Thanks for stopping by.

Lime Tart Gallery Reveal

2010-10-14T18:27:00.000+11:00

I can finally share my Lime Tart layouts and card with you.....

The gallery has been revealed today on the Zest blog and is full of the most gorgeous creations. The girls have made such beautiful layouts and cards.

This month I received October's full Tart, which consisted of gorgeous Prima paper and lots of lovely embellishments. Here are my layouts in full....

Layout 1 - Cheeky Fairy

There were so many gorgeous embellishments with this kit....

lots of trims, buttons, flowers and paper clips....

I used my WOJ - Citrus Tree Stamp to create my little butterfly tree...

Layout 2..... sweet, beautiful, crazy you!

I love the design of this piece of patterned paper. The minute I saw it, I thought it looked like it would be fun to colour in...so I cut our the flowers from underneath the matted photo section and used my Copic markers to create my own flowers. I love how they turned out :) How cute is that Jenni Bowlin butterfly?

Layout 3 ...she adores you

My children are very lucky to be the youngest of all the children in Stef's family, which means many older cousins to dote and fuss over them. And do they what!!!!

And who could go past the gorgeous Cuttlebug quilling plates. As I've mentioned, I also purchased the other 2 designs.....carnation and the chrysanthemum and am itching to find the time to use them.

All of the gorgeous bits and pieces can be found at Lime tart.

Tomorrow is reveal day for some more card creations. Be sure to pop back and have a stickie :)

Cuttlebug Quilling Giveaway

2010-10-09T13:45:00.000+11:00

Remember last week when I showed the sneaky peak of this...

Well....guess what.....

Philippa, over at Lime Tart has very generously given me a set of these gorgeous

Daisy Quilling plates to giveaway.....

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!

Here's what they look like.....

These plates are values at $38.00 retail...
how fantastic is that!!!!!
How do you win, I hear you ask...
Well.....you get one entry for doing EACH / ANY of the following steps...
* become a follower of my blog.....
* post this giveaway on your blog.....
and leave a comment to let me know you have.
Pretty simple hey!
I'll be drawing the winner in about a weeks time.
Good luck everyone :)

Monday Sneaky peak....

2010-10-04T20:35:00.000+11:00

Happy Monday everyone...

I'm not sure where the weeks are disappearing too, but I just know they are vanishing before my very eyes...

I have a little sneaky peak for you again with some of my work for Philippa over at Lime Tart

Here is a look at the gorgeous pack of goodies I had to play with this month...

This is a glimpse of the full tart and I can tell you. I've created 3 full layouts and 2 cards already and still have left overs to play with..There is sooo much in this kit. Here's a little look at some of what I've been working on ......

I know it's only a little peak, but how's that photo of Miss Belle....hehehehe

Be sure to keep an eye out for the full gallery reveal of all the dt work on the Lime Tart blog later on in the month. Hope you had a great day :)

Warning........

2010-09-28T15:59:00.000+10:00

This post comes with it's own little warning...

** read on at your own scrapping risk**

If you're like me, and you love making your own paper flowers..... then I have something for you :)

I justified this little purchase to myself as something I REALLY NEEDED....as it would help me save scrapping time...lol...had nothing to do with want.... what-so-ever...

Cuttlebug have released these gorgeous new quilling plates to make these scrumptious flowers...

I've used the daisy quilling plate...

but there's also the carnation

and the chrysanthemum

The very lovely Philippa Barr has kindly let me share her gorgeous card with some chrysanthemum flowers....this is simple stunning! In actual fact...I should blame her for my new found addiction...It came hot on the heels of seeing this beautiful card....

At Lime Tart , Philipa has just restocked the three flower types and the cuttlebug base plates. The set comes with the cutting plates, a leaf plate, some florists wire and a quilling tool. I used the quilling tool to create the little swirly flowers, which made that job so much easier, as I used to roll these by hand :)

Here is a link to a demonstration.....you'll be amazed when you see how easy these flowers are...
Cuttlebug Challenge site
Now please don't hold me responsible for any new flower making habits that may be formed.....I'm just doing my bit as a responsible scrapper...lol....AND as I said earlier...I really did NEED this in order to save more time....hehehehe..maybe you do too....

ANYWAY..

that's my story and I'm sticking to it

enjoy xxx

Sneaky peak.....

2010-09-27T14:49:00.000+10:00

Happy Monday everyone :)

I thought I'd start the week with some little sneak peaks of my creations for Philippa over at Lime Tart...

This layout is created with October's Full Tart...

This gorgeous pack is full of lots of beautiful embellishments...

how gorgeous is that Prima flower????

I also decide to have a play with one of the new Wiff of Joy stamps....this one is called Citrus tree, but I decided to use some little butterflies to create a butterfly tree embellishment.

I love creating my own embelli's for a layout....It was really easy to make as I just stamped the different sections onto the patterned paper I wanted, cut out each section and pieced it all together!

Stay tuned for some more little sneaky peaks of my other layouts and cards too :)

Guess What...again....

2010-09-24T08:19:00.000+10:00

This will be my last one for a while I promise.....

I got a lovely little email from the very gorgeous Tessa inviting me to join her lovely design team.....wooohoooo. I am just so thrilled to have been chosen and am very honoured. Tessa creates the most stunning handmade flowers and has an Etsy Shop where you can find her stunning creations. Here are some projects I've created using her beautiful flowers....

Be sure to stop by Tessa shop for some more of these gorgeous creations...

AND onto a little toot as well....I've just had my very first layout accepted for publication by Scrapbooking Memories. I am quite thrilled :)

Have a great day everyone!

Introducing......Get Picky :):):)

2010-09-20T12:30:00.000+10:00

Happy Monday everyone!!!!

I am sooo excited to reveal my brand new project. My very beautiful friend Tanya Tahir and I have created a new and exciting challenge site called..."Get Picky".

We will be posting creative challenges for multi photo layouts and have lots of great plans in store - including an absolutely amazing design team :) and some awesome prizes.

All of which will be revealed in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, go over to our blog (which the very talented Kristine Davidson has also designed) and read some more details, 'follow' us, 'like' us on facebook and very soon you'll be able to grab yourself a blinkie.

We hope that you will be inspired to play along with us. Tanya and I are just so very thrilled to have finally made this happen!

So more happy news.....

2010-09-14T21:28:00.000+10:00

Well, I said I had some more exciting news to share....

Guess What?????

I've just become one of the new design team members for the fantastic card sketch site....

Cardabilities

I am so very excited and absolutely thrilled to join the team of fantastic designers....

My fellow designers are:

Kristie Larsen

Char Dobson

Rhonda Van Ginkel

Cindy Coutts

April Walker

Wendy Jordan

Karli Miranda

Kristine Reynolds

Jeni Allen

Sharm Nidyanandan

Stacy Koo

Luzma Bruna

April Hall

Martha Pindea

Louise Forsyth

Abby Laubenstein

Kanatsu Sasya

Lindsay Amrhein

Nikki Antonello - that's me :)

Holly Brown

Tina Guigui

Be sure to pop over and have a stickie. Karan makes the MOST gorgeous sketches and I can't wait to get creating. I've has a sneak peak at October's sketches and they are just scrumptious.

ALSO.....

In the next little bit, keep your eyes out for my all new gorgeously designed blog!

The very talented Kristine Davidson

is designing my new blog. I've had a sneaky peak and her work is just amazing. Stay tuned!

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!

2010-09-13T12:57:00.000+10:00

I'm a little bit excited here.....well no...I'm actually ridiculously excited......

the very gorgeous Philippa over at Lime Tart

has invited me to become a guest designer for the next 3 months.....

Can you believe it... AAAAHHHHHHH.... hehehe

I am soooooo excited. I will be joining these gorgeous girls....

Be sure to pop over to over and have a look at all the gorgeous goodies Philippa has in the store and pop onto the bog for some amazing inspiration.

Can't wait to get started!

Oh and I have some more little surprises to share too. Be sure to pop back later for more updates.

Myrtleford Floods 2010

2010-09-06T11:36:00.000+10:00

Just thought I'd pop some pics on that I took yesterday afternoon....

Here is the North East of Victoria (Aus) we are in the midst of floods. Here are some pics of the roads into town...

We are fortunate enough to live out of town and quite high up on our property and are very safe and dry. School had been cancelled for little people and as I type this it is still raining. I had sort of thought it may have begun to recede today, but not sure now with fresh rainfalls. My thoughts go out to those people who are in immediate danger or have lost property and homes.

Hope wherever you are, is safe and dry!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Scrap that Poetry.....

2010-09-04T17:02:00.000+10:00

Here is my layout for our Scrap that Poetry challenge, the first one for this month.

The poem is called

"Ode to the end of Summer by Phyllis McGinley".

I chose to abbreviate the poem's title for my layout title and used this beautiful photo of my best friend's little boy. How cute is he......

This happy snap was taken last year on a family holiday to the beach with friends of ours. It's the first time our kids have been to the beach and they absolutely loved it!

This next layout is one I created last weekend, while on a scrapping trip with my bestie Mel :) Makes me smile thinking of our time away...Anywhoooo here it is...

I can't say how much I love these photos of Belle and Smokey our cat. This smile is only the tip of the level of emotion Belle has for her. She just adores her. I actually feel sorry for Smokey most of the time as the phrase 'killing with kindness' absolutely applies, but much to our surprise, Smokey never runs away, she just allows the kids to pick her up each and every time. Perhaps not the brightest cat, but certainly the most loved. Here are some close ups...

Hope you are enjoying your weekend wherever you may be. We are currently on flood watch here is Victoria (Aus).....lots of rain and perfect weather for scrapping!

Thanks for stopping by :)

My Little Shoebox - Sketch Challenge

2010-08-30T16:26:00.000+10:00

There is a gorgeous sketch challenge running at My Little Shoebox at the moment....I love the gorgeous colours and bright bold patterns of their papers....perfect for layouts of my little cherubs.....

Here is the sketch...

and here is my layout using the gorgeous MLS papers.....

These pics are from some time ago during Summer... Noah loves playing outside on the decking and on this particular day I found him laying under the play equipment driving his cars. He looked so cute curled up under the slide...hehehe.....

Here are some close ups...

Thanks for stopping by :)

Pretty in Pink - Butterfly Nora

2010-08-30T15:48:00.000+10:00

Happy Monday everyone!

Well, what a huge weekend that was! My beautiful friend Melli and I headed away on a little scrapping trip together for the weekend...talk about giggle! My throat is sore from barely drawing breath from soooo much talking and laughing....one word Mel.....AWESOME!!!! ...well there is actually another, but I can't share that one...lol.... As busy Mum's we don't often indulge ourselves in some time away without getting the guilts, but a break is just so good for the soul. Nice to remember what it feels like to be in my own skin and to have only myself to look after.

Anywhoo, here is one of my little projects I made while away...I used some of my new Swiss Pixies stamps from Phillipa at Lime Tart

Here is my little Butterfly Nora...

Just very simple...isn't she sweet....

a little hard to see, but her wings and the butterfly are covered in glitter..

I have some other projects that I completed too, but will be back a little later to share those.

Hope your weekend was lovely too!

Beginning School

2010-08-20T11:38:00.000+10:00

I decided to create a page about Noah and Belle commencing school this year.... onto Belle's page next, but Noah's one is done so I'd thought I'd share that. I used some gorgeous October Afternoon papers and was really pleased with how this came together. Thankfully both of their uniforms are blue, so co-ordinating papers wasn't too difficult.

I can't say how much I looooove this photo! Getting Noah to stay still for a photo is no mean feat, but Stef snapped this one and I was so pleased when he showed me afterwards. How gorgeous is this little man...I mean really.....lol! I wanted to record my thoughts about that first day and also the whole starting school thing, so I used half of the page for my handwritten journalling. It's the first time I've written such a large block on a layout, but I really like how it looks, so I think I may replicate this entire layout when I do Belle's page. Here is a close up of my jounalling....

and a close up of what I made with my new toy....see that perfectly co-ordinating flower brad...I purchased the i -top tool by Imaginisce the other day and am a little bit excited...lol. It is really easy to use and I was chuffed with how well my little brad came out :) Thinkin' I may have to make a habit of this :)

Well, that's it for now!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Scrap that Poetry and some Fancy Pants!

2010-08-16T14:42:00.000+10:00

Welcome to our latest challenge over at Scrap that Poetry....

The poem for our mid month challenge (#22) was

"Home Sweet Home"

by John Howard Payne.

Instead of creating a layout this month, I decided to make a little wall plaque,

which is now happily sitting on my scrapping desk....

I chose the following as the lines to use on my plaque...

" Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home"

and a layout I started a little while ago and just finished on the weekend. I've decided to make a concerted effort to scrap some more layouts about Joshua. As he is child number three, it just stands to reason that there are more photos and pages of his brother and sister, who logically have been here longer than he has............... at three, he's still a bit little to fully understand that, so I think I need to make him feel like his photos are just as important....:)

Here's the layout.....

Thanks for stopping by!

2010-08-14T22:19:00.000+10:00

Look at what I've just created!!!!!

After a very trying day with Miss five and Master three, I decided I needed some timeout. Copics in hand, I thought some colouring therapy was just the thing. Here is my latest creation.....

(can I just say.....this is colouring effort number two.....lol)

I'm quite happy with how this came out! I used another Stampavie stamp by Penny Johnson.....how cute is this little guy? I decided to stamp the image twice and cut out all the little blue flowers to make them pop off the card. Here's a closer look.

Well that's it for now...2 posts in one day is nearly a record...lol..

Have a great Sunday!

Copic creation and a sneaky peak!

2010-08-14T16:44:00.000+10:00

OH DEAR....OH DEAR....OH DEAR...

I have made mention earlier of my new- found addiction and I'm sad to report that I think it's seriously taking hold....hehehehehe.

I'm referring of course to my discovery of Copic markers. Certainly not new in stamping circles.....but relatively new to me...lol...

Well, thanks to Phillipa and the gorgeous girls over at Lime Tart I have joined their Copic Club and have been receiving my little bundles of Copic goodness....

Here's a little peak of what I mean....

This resource manual is the best idea. For a novice such as myself..it's been invaluable. The tips and techniques are explained really clearly and I'm just itching to get busy and try some more out! Here is my very first copic coloured card.....what do you think????

This stamp is from Stampavie - Tina Wenke - called "mouse on orange daisy"....I love it! I've got some other cute Stampavie stamps and today I ordered some beautiful new Swiss Pixies stamps...Can't wait for these to arrive....This is one of the stamps I purchased.....cute huh!

Will pop back when they arrive with what I've created!

AND now for my little sneaky peak....here is a look at part of my creation for our next challenge over at

Scrap that Poetry

Will be back in a couple of days with my reveal.

Till then....take care:)

Scrap that Poetry - Challenge #21

2010-08-02T13:31:00.000+10:00

Edgar Alan Poe is a wonderful poet and he brings us our poem at Scrap that Poetry at the moment. It's a gorgeous poem called "Annabelle Lee" with this challenge continuing until August 14th.

I must say this poem really had me thinking and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of using it to create this layout.

The over-riding feeling I got from reading this poem...was an overwhelming feeling of love, the sort that you take with you your entire life, that simply takes your breath away. With that in mind, I created this layout based on that sentiment. This photo is of my daughter Belle, on the day she was born. Her labour was the most difficult of my three children as she came out facing the wrong way and weighed 91/2 lbs....she was a chubba...hehehe....but from the moment I saw her....I was so totally and absolutely overwhelmed by how very beautiful and precious she was. I chose the line..."we loved with a love that was more than love" and added..."from the very moment we saw you face!

Remember, with each challenge this is a prize RAK up for grabs., but this month Jennifer is offering an extra little something.....here's what she had to say....

"Each designer has a story behind each layout... please click on their blogs to the right and go visit them to read how this poem inspired them. 1.One of the designers loves Poe's dark side, but decided to create with love instead. 2.One designer used creative license and changed the words to the poem. 3. Another designer tells a story with her pictures about envy while 4. another tells the story of her son's trip to France while on leave from the ARMY. I am sending you on a scavenger hunt this challenge to learn more about the designers. 5. One named her own island! 6. How many designers created layouts about love and marriage? 7. How many chose "to love with a love that is more than a love"?

Extra bonus... if you come back here and post who each of the above mentioned people are... I will give out a RAK for the scavenger hunt to one lucky random generator chosen winner!

So if you're looking for some inspiration, be sure to have a look :)

Thanks for stopping by.

A little blog love....

2010-07-27T21:46:00.000+10:00

Look what I got today....

Thank you sooo very much to the beautiful Sam for giving me this gorgeous award. Not only are Gerberas one of my favourite flowers, I was seriously chuffed to get this particularly from Sam...hehehe..... Be sure to stop by her blog...her work is absolutely stunning and she makes the most gorgeous hand made flowers :)

Thank you again lovely!

Well , onto my info.... I thought I'd share 5 things I love.....hmmmmm.

1. I loooove my Ugg boots.

2. I love Coles Brand Honeycomb crunch biscuits and have been known to polish of a packet by myself within days....how disgusting :)

3. I love the way Joshua cuddles me and wraps his little legs around my back.

4. I love the way Noah says....."ankooo Mumma"...hehehehe

5. I love the way Belle cacks herself when I tickle her...it is one of the happiest sounds ever!

Now onto my recipients.....

These are some of the blogs I visit all the time as their work is just sooooo very beautiful and inspiring. Be sure to pop over to their blogs and have a stickie.

Thanks again Sam.

Have a great day everyone :)

Colour Me...Addicted!!!

2010-07-26T13:30:00.000+10:00

For the longest time I have resisted the temptation to stamp and colour......I think I should have kept resisting...hehehe.....

I recently purchased my very first selection of Copic markers from Lime Tart. They have a great Copic Club running and along with my first set of markers, I also received a little binder with helpful info. For me this has been a great way into colouring as I seriously have no idea.

So armed with my markers and stamps, I thought I'd have a little play.....

The image on the left is coloured with my new Copics and the image on the right is with my water colours.

Now don't look too closely at my colouring and the dodgy smudging on some of the edges. I think it's okay for a first effort. I prefer the brightness of the water colours, but as I'm just starting, my Copic collection is quite limited. I love the way the copic colours blend though! Oh dear....I don't think I'll tell Stef about this

..hehehehe...

Will be back later with some card creations using my new stampy images.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Up. Up and Away and a Sneaky peak!

2010-07-25T22:57:00.000+10:00

Well, I guess old habits die hard, as I find myself scrapping Kaiser's new release...Up, Up and Away...... hehehe..I love the beautiful warm colours of this collection and have had these Autumn photos of Noah for the longest time, just waiting for the right papers...

These happy snaps were taken at my parent home in their front garden. They have the most enormous Liquid Amber tree and every Autumn the leaves change to provide such a beautiful display of colour. On this particular day we tossed leaves up into the air and Noah had an absolute ball. I looooove how happy he is in these photos...I can't help but smile every time I look at them....

and a little close up....

and here is my little sneaky peak of our next challenge over at Scrap that Poetry...

As the weekend comes to a close...I always find myself wishing for just one more day a home to enjoy before the start of another busy week. Hope your weekend was a good one.

Thanks for stopping by!

Scrap that Poetry ~ Challenge #20

2010-07-17T06:53:00.000+10:00

Welcome to our second challenge poem for July.

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Here is my layout......

I used the line from the poem "always hold fast to your dreams" as the title of my layout. I have used this photo before, but it's one of my absolute favourites and a bit of accidental photographic excellence on my part...lol... I love how Belle looks in this photo and the way the image pops from the layout too!

Be sure to pop over to Scrap that Poetry and check out the gorgeous layouts from the other DT girls and maybe even have a play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Canvas

2010-07-03T21:59:00.000+10:00

Look at what I've made.......

I have been wanting to dabble in some mixed media for ages, but haven't found myself with enough time to sit and play, and now that my Kaiser creating had come to an end, I find myself with some extra time!

I've made this using a 12x12 canvas.....I'm not sure if it's complete yet. I think I might add some more layering to the flowers along the bottom....not sure.

I've gotta say..I think this might become a little addictive. I created the background by mixing my water colours straight onto the canvas, until I got the colour variation I was looking for. A little scary at first...but once I started blending the colours...I loved it! I then splattered different colours and also glimmer misted the background. Once that was day I treated the canvas as I would a regular paper background. I think I may have to keep trying so more! What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by :)

First Love

2010-07-01T16:36:00.000+10:00

As promised I'm back with our next beautiful poem for challenge #19 at

Scrap that Poetry

First Love

by John Clare

I ne'er was struck before that hour

With love so sudden and so sweet,

Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower

And stole my heart away complete.

My face turned pale as deadly pale.

My legs refused to walk away,

And when she looked, what could I ail?

My life and all seemed turned to clay.

And then my blood rushed to my face

And took my eyesight quite away,

The trees and bushes round the place

Seemed midnight at noonday.

I could not see a single thing,

Words from my eyes did start --

They spoke as chords do from the string,

And blood burnt round my heart.

Are flowers the winter's choice?

Is love's bed always snow?

She seemed to hear my silent voice,

Not love's appeals to know.

I never saw so sweet a face

As that I stood before.

My heart has left its dwelling-place

And can return no more .

Here is my layout....

This is a portrait photo taken of Noah at about 6 months old. It's one of my favourite, with his little spiky hairdo....hehehe....I used some old Kaisercraft Pina Colada papers as they matched his outfit perfectly. I chose to highlight the title of the poem for my journaling as it seems so appropriate....Noah was our first baby, the first grandchild for my Mum and Dad and our first love as parents. I love how this layout came together.

Be sure to stop by Scrap that Poetry and check out the other DT girls creations. They are just gorgeous. And speaking of which ....Tessa has a fantastic giveaway running on her blog Precocious Paper, head over and take a look at the details for a chance to be in the running.

Thanks for stopping by.

Footprints in the Sand

2010-07-01T11:48:00.000+10:00

In the chaos of last month I didn't post my work for

Scrap that Poetry.

The poem for our last challenge was

Footprints in the Sand

Mary Stevenson

One night I had a dream --

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and

Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;

One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of my life flashed before us,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that many times along the path of my life,

There was only one set of footprints.

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life

This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,

You would walk with me all the way;

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,

There is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why in times when I

needed you the most, you should leave me.

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious

child. I love you, and I would never,

never leave you during your times of

trial and suffering.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

I love this poem...and as it so happens, this is also one of my Mum's favourite's too. With that in mind I decided to create a canvas for her. Here's what I came up with....

Be sure to check back soon for our next poem !

Thanks for stopping by!

2010-06-30T22:04:00.000+10:00

Well, I can't believe an entire year of design for Kaisercraft has finally come to an end! I have had the most wonderful year and have been so very luck to not only work with beautiful products, but also to be given lots of fantastic creative opportunities. I have also been truly blessed to have met the most spectacular women who I am now lucky enough to call friends. Too happy really :)

Anywhoo...here is my last lot of Kaisercraft projects.....

Le Chateau Collection...

This layout was part of an inspired by post. I based my inspiration for this layout on techniques used by the very gorgeous Renee Ludlow. I used lots of texture and the papers gave a really lovely vintage feel!

This little canvas was created using some of the new wooden flourishes. I love this little Chinese Proverb and the bird and birdcage were a perfect match. Love how you can use these raw and they look fantastic.

.....a 21st birthday card.....

....this is one of my favourite pieces. The frame is a btp - 'framed album' and the lines are from one of my favourite poems..."the Desiderata". This piece sits happily on my scrapping desk and inspires me each time I see it. Makes me smile when I create something that I love to look at over and over :)

Konstrukt Collection

My double page layout ....love these photos of Joshua. What a cutie!!!

and another 21st birthday card. The wooden flourish keys are the perfect embellishment for these cards.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by :)

2010-06-14T11:47:00.000+10:00

This months sees the end of my Design Team Term at the fantastic Kaisercraft. I will have lots of new projects to post next week as that will be my last blogging week also. Here are some of my latest Kaisercraft projects. I have lots and lots to show......

Hey Birdie collection.

These photos were of Noah and Belle in the mud again!!!!! I really must do a layout that chronicles these photos from each year that has passed....and a close up....

a layout using the beautiful new specialty papers and organza ribbon packs.....

.....a close up of my pretty organza flowers...

and a btp...the gorgeous little trinket box....

and the very cute Jungle Bug collection...

This layout below is my very first in the 81/2 x 11" size and it was sooo quick and easy. I was inspired by the lovely Christine Rumley who scraps in this size. I think this is the first of many more to come :)...

and a cute little card....

Well that's it for now...will be back again with the latest gorgeous poem from Scrap that Poetry.... here's a little sneaky peak..

Thanks for stopping by....

Scrap that Poetry

2010-06-06T09:33:00.000+10:00

Well, it's been an entire month without blogging and 3 weeks of that time has been consumed with caring for sick children. It's the one thing I loathe the most about Winter....all the coughs and colds and germs!

Anywhooo.....here is the first poem for June over at Scrap that Poetry .....

The Giving Tree - June 1st

by Shel Silverstein

Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.

And everyday the boy would come to play

Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade

Laughing all the summer’s hours away.

And so they love,

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

But soon the boy grew older and one day he came and said,

"Can you give me some money, tree, to buy something I’ve found?"

"I have no money," said the tree, "Just apples, twigs and leaves."

"But you can take my apples, boy, and sell them in the town."

And so he did and

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

But soon again the boy came back and he said to the tree,

"I’m now a man and I must have a house that’s all my home."

"I can’t give you a house" he said, "The forest is my house."

"But you may cut my branches off and build yourself a home"

And so he did.

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

And time went by and the boy came back with sadness in his eyes.

"My life has turned so cold," he says, "and I need sunny days."

"I’ve nothing but my trunk," he says, "But you can cut it down

And build yourself a boat and sail away."

And so he did and

Oh, the tree was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

And after years the boy came back, both of them were old.

"I really cannot help you if you ask for another gift."

"I’m nothing but an old stump now. I’m sorry but I’ve nothing more to give"

"I do not need very much now, just a quiet place to rest,"

The boy, he whispered, with a weary smile.

"Well", said the tree, "An old stump is still good for that."

"Come, boy", he said, "Sit down, sit down and rest a while."

And so he did and

Oh, the trees was happy.

Oh, the tree was glad.

and here is my layout....

When I read this poem, I knew exactly what photo I wanted to use. This photo of Noah was taken last May at my Mum and Dad's home. They have an enormous Liquid Amber in their front garden that Noah absolutely loves climbing...all year round. We have happy snaps of him when the leaves are a vibrant green and like the shot above...in all their Autumn glory. I decided to hand write the following verse as my journaling....

Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.

And everyday the boy would come to play

Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade

Laughing all the summer’s hours away.

I always feel some trepidation before I start journaling by hand straight onto my layouts, but I love that they have some of my handwriting on them....and while it's not the most beautiful handwriting...it's mine!

The very talented Tessa has offered a gift certificate from her gorgeous Etsy shop...

Precocious Paper

as a prize for the winner of our first challenge this month. Tessa makes the most scrumptious flowers, so this is definitely a challenge to take part in!

Well, I'll be back a little later with some posts of my most recent Design Team work for Kaisercraft. I have lots to share, so stay tuned!

Scrap that Poetry ~ Challenge #15

2010-05-03T16:12:00.000+10:00

With Mother's Day in mind, this month our poems over at Scrap that Poetry are a celebration of our beautiful Mums. I don't think anyone ever really tells you how challenging a job being a Mum is, and not that we would probably believe them before having our own kids, but it really is. Challenging in every possible way....both positive and negative sometimes :D.

Having three small cherubs of my own, I understand how one minute they can drive you to the brink of insanity, only in the next breath, will they do something that fills your heart with so much love, that it takes your breath away!

Ahhhh...... the joys of Motherhood!

(as I type this post Belle and Joshua are arguing over stickers and where to put them...hehehehe)

Anywhoooo, here is our poem....

A Mother's Love

by Judy Dowling
June 2, 1978

Mother's are the very best

That God has ever made

The love they give their children

will never ever fade.

They give without thinking

They love with no bounds

Welcome you with open arms

With smiles and not frowns

A Mother's love is special

In every sort of way

It stays with you forever

She never lets it stray

And here is my layout......

This photo is just a candid shot taken on the day of my wedding. I chose this photo because my Mum is such an enormous loving support....... every single day of my life, before I was married and still living at home on this particular and every day since. I love her with all my heart and it's nothing for us to speak every day, sometimes more than once a day. I chose the last verse of the poem as my journaling and wrote it on a tag that I stamped and cut out. Here are some close ups....

AND........ Scrap that Poetry is also running a DT call for some new designers from June to September. Applications are open now and will close on May 15th, with successful applicants being announced on May the 17th. So what are you waiting for. If you love poetry and scrapping, this is the perfect possie for you! I know how much I've enjoyed being inspired and challenged by the beautiful verses Jennifer finds each month!

Well that's it for now!

I'll have my head down and tail up with some new

Kaisercraft goodies in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by!