Friday 7 December 2012

Scrap the Boys

Hey there, this is my entry for the December Scrap the Boys.
The theme is to create a Christmas layout using non traditional colours. I decided to stick with a grey colour scheme in keeping with the colour of my sons Christmas shirt. I chose this photo from a couple of years ago.
In a recent shopping spree I seemed to have bought a lot of papers in these colours - never thought I'ld use them for a Christmas layout. I love how on-line challenges challenge you to change things up!

Saturday 1 December 2012

Christmas

Yay, a Christmas page. I don't scrap many Christmas layouts but was inspired by Scrap Sleuth #4 at Scrapz.biz to do one.

This layout features my Sophie proudly showing off her gingerbread house decorating skills Christmas. Each year the I bake two gingerbread houses for the kids decorate. It's fun for the kids and they love the idea of "playing" and creating with lollies.

As for my page I had a great time making my own hexagons and using up a 6x6 paper pad by Crate Paper (my favourite xmas paper of 2011) in addition to adding tons of Kindy Glitz (haven't used it in ages) and diamontes. I love this girly xmasy page. Yay!!!






Saturday 24 November 2012

Super Sleuth 3

Ok, I haven't been very successful so far in getting the 5 elements correct yet (ok almost there last week) but I've given this comp another go with the following layout. Of course what really matters is that I have created a layout that I'm happy with and that documents a little part of our kids life.
Thanks for stopping by.

Friday 16 November 2012

Winner!

Here's my second entry for Scrapbook Sleuth competition at Srapz.biz

This is a photo taken last year at my kids school fete. It was a great day out shame they didn't do it again this year.

Love this pic of Ben. It's the combination of the big and proud smile and the large gap that make it one of my favourites.

Once again I've managed to use some super cute stickers from a Basic Grey sticker sheet.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Scrap Sleuth at Scapz.biz

Yay, Scrapz.biz has a new competition running called Scrap Sleuth and this is my entry.

The challenge is to do some detective work. By comparing the three samples provided Design Team you have to work out the five common 'items' on the sample pages and include them on your entry. You must follow the sketch and list your five items in the description when uploading.


I have used sticker from Basic Grey PB&J collection. I'm a sucker for a sticker sheet like this and then find it difficult to use them. In this instance I tried to layer the stickers to give the scene a picnic vibe.

Tuesday 30 October 2012

More Stuck Sketches

I was on a roll today with the house to myself and some very gloomy weather. I love the October 15th sketch at Stuck and what with today being Halloween I had a stroke of inspiration. I have been wanting to scrap these photos for a while now - they're from 2010 and today was the perfect day.

 
I had the Dear Lizzy jar stamp sitting on my desk from another project and I thought it would be cute to put the pics in. I have to admit that I have been collecting Halloween papers here and there when I find them on sale with the intent of scapping these and some other pics sooner. Oh well, seems it was my lucky day.

We don't celebrate Halloween in my family but my daughter's best friend and family is from Scotland and they have only migrated here a few years ago and they had the party. It was a fun excuse to dress up and according to my kids - eat lots and lots of lollies.

Thanks for stopping by.

Monday 29 October 2012

Stuck Sketches

I have had my parents here as house guests for just over 5 weeks and I just never seemed to get a chance to scrap. What with all the cake and bread baking I was doing there never was a good time for pulling out the paper.

So now I have the house back to myself I wanted to get this layout finished for Stuck Sketches. In all honesty I did make a couple of attempts to complete this before the deadline (today) but it didn't come together.

Anyway this is my beautiful daughter chilling at the beach. The photo was taken in August this year in the late afternoon. I remember is it was a really warm day and it stayed warm late into the evening. I took both kids and the dog for a stroll along the beach but as kids do they end up in the water. Sophie was totally waterlogged at the end of our outing. Good thing there was a towel in the boot of the car and we only live a few minutes drive from the beach.





I have included a couple of close up shots of my heat embossing. I have glittered these chipboard stars (heat embossing is much quicker and neater than glue and glitter like I have done before) and also stamped this camera (Amy Tangerine stamp) and cut it out for an embellie.

I was at Big W a few weeks ago and they had a bargain table set up with lots of different stationery items. I can never resist a bargain so I had a cursory look over the table. I couldn't believe my luck when I found a small pile of heat guns in the mix. They were reduced to $10 each. I have been wanting a heat gun for ages but the cost put me off. Most heat guns I saw were costing around the $45 mark and upwards. I knew that if I was going to get one I would have to buy all the other bits that go with it for heat embossing. However, when I spotted the gun for ten bucks I grabbed it and ran to buy it. I have been a follower of Kristin Werner (http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/) for a few years now and she does all sorts of amazing cards using heat embossing. I love her style and I have learnt alot of awesome techniques through watching her video blog.
So far I have bought about 5 embossing powders and have a lot of fun testing them out. My favourites are silver and silver glitter.

Saturday 6 October 2012

Loving - Paper Stories ATM

Recently discovered the on-line scrap store, Paper Stories. I love the look of the kits and as I was in the mood for some retail therapy when I splurged on a two gorgeous kits. I was so excited when I got my parcel and of course poured over it for ages oohing and ahing over all the inclusions. I bought the Time for Tea kit and the Honey Bee Kit.

I feel like I'm in with the in crowd now with the latest papers and embellies. Great value for money and beautiful current fashions. Can't wait to get scrapping.

Could only find the image for the Honey Be Mine kit but just wanted to share the love.
This post is just my opinion and I am not employed by or paid by Paper Stories. Sometimes when things are so nice you just want to share them with like minded people. Hope to share some of my layouts soon. Just looking for a little window of time between entertaining the kids and feeding my hubby etc etc.

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Stuck Sketches

Edited to say: So thrilled, this layout was accepted for publication by Scrapbooking Memories Magazine.

Thought I'ld give this sketch a go.



I did have four squares in the middle of my layout but somehow managed to cover most of it up with the journaling and photo. I guess I oversized both. We'll call that my interpretation of the sketch. LOL.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. LOL
Please excuse the terrible cropping. I had to take the photo indoors because of the insane Spring weather we are having here in Perth at the moment. It's currently sitting around 14 degrees at present (2.30pm) and pelting down with rain. Don't get me started on the howling winds too. Hard to believe that 2 weeks ago the kids were swimming at the beach and got sunburn. Oh well, it makes me feel like I'm back in my hometown of Melbourne - 4 seasons and all that.


Friday 21 September 2012

Hello There

This is my entry for the September sketch challenge at Anna's Craft Cupboard. These photos were taken at the Polish Place a Polish restuarant in Mt Tambourine QLD. We had an awesome lunch while the kids fed the birds outside. As you can see, I'm still working through my stash of Amy Tangerine papers and embellies. Love 'em!


This is the sketch.
September 2012 Sketch Challenge

Sunday 9 September 2012

Do or Die

I did and I died.
I'm so sad that I have been eliminated from the first round of the Do or Die competition on Scrapz.biz. I thought I would have had my entry in with plenty of time to spare but no, I was too late and I'm out.
For the first Do or Die challenge the layout had to draw inspiration from the following DVD cover.

Dead Man Walking Poster

It had to have contrast, include a key and/or a lock and the word day. This is my entry. It's pretty minimalist but it just felt right for that photo. I love this picture of my dad and my daughter (my dog too) outside my parents house. We live in Perth and my parents live on the Gold Coast and although the grandies and the grandkids only see each other every six months or less they really are very close and loving of each other. Well things are changing with my folks moving to Perth tomorrow. They have had enough of being so far apart from me (their only child) and the grandkids. So tomorrow we welcome them to our home and in a week or so they'll move into their own place in Mandurah.

Thursday 30 August 2012

Stuck! Sketches

Hey there, here's my (just made it in the nick of time) entry for the August Bonus Sketch 2 for Stuck Sketches.
I had heaps of ideas for this one and it caused a hell of a mess on my desk (ok, I didn't clean up from the last layout I created) so I have also included a non edited look at my desk. In the end I used a mix of old and new. I had a few pages left of an old Basic Grey 6x6 pad which I have used for my grid and the top layer and a couple of new things from my recent Amy Tangerine hall. I even used some Kindy Glitz on my page - haven't remembered to use this in ages - it use to feature in almost every layout. LOL
I love this sketch and I instantly knew I had the right pic for this one. I took this photo last week when the kids and I made a last minute decision to take the dog to the beach. It was such a lovely warm and still afternoon. Perfect for photos and some splashing around.


Monday 27 August 2012

Scrap the Girls - August

This is my entry for the August Scrap the Girls. This is my little super star, Sophie on one of those bungy contraptions you find around the traps when the holidays are on. This pic was taken about 5 or 6 years ago when were on holidays in Glenelg, South Australia. Sophie has always been a bit of a daredevil and really enjoyed bouncing way up into the sky.
Loved creating this page with my new bounty of Amy Tangerine products. I got the sales catalogue from Spotlight last week and I virtually flew out the door to stock up. They had so much to choose from and everything was reduced to 30% off. There are no scrapbook shops any where near me now so to be able to go out and touch feel and look at everything before buying was really nice.
Now I have my fingers crossed that I win the competition that went with those products - a trip to LA to meet Amy.
Anyway on with the show...so to speak.
Oh and those glitter stars are chippy stars by Collections that I have glittered up myself with Martha Stewart glitter. Nice to get your hands "dirty" once in a while creating embellies. Not the best idea however wearing a black jumper at the time. I have a real shimmer now. LOL

Thursday 16 August 2012

Gymnastics Anyone?


This is my entry for the Scrapz.biz.com.au Olympiad. This is for the gymnastics section and the requirements are to have a mat under the photo, bling, ribbon, strip journaling and follow the sketch.
I thought long and hard about this one and eventually it came to me while walking the dog. I get a lot of my scrapbooking ideas while walking the dog.

The sketch had circle elements as I have added here but I wasn't sure how to incorporate them. Then the other morning while watching tv I heard that Krispy Kreme doughnuts were celebrating their 75th anniversary in the US. That got me to drooling over doughnuts (yes while walking the dog) and thinking about the shape and one thing led to another and here you have it. It was fun making doughnuts and I have to admit these are much better for me than the real ones.

Tuesday 14 August 2012

On a roll

This layout was created for Scrapz.biz for their Olympics. The sketch was from Sheree with requirments being to include a wheel, a chain and the word ride.


Saturday 11 August 2012

I really should finish my quilt

I have a gorgeous quilt that is just needing to be top stiched but scrapping seems to have captured my hands at the moment. I have been really inspired by so many great challenges available on-line right now.
August 2012 Sketch Challenge
Today I completed this layout for Anna's Craft Cupboard August Sketch. I love this photo of Ben and Stephen that I took last month. This sketch was perfect for it. Whoops, looks like I forgot the embellies on the side. Ahh, never mind I'm just happy I scrapped it and I love it.


Thursday 9 August 2012

We really do love chocolate

This is a layout just for fun. On a recent visit to San Churros I bought a block of milk chocolate to take home. I was surprised to find a beautiful patterned paper inside the rather simple looking kraft coloured packaging. Being a true scrapper I held onto that paper to use on my layout. I don't think this photo does it much justice as I couldn't get the colour right however the paper is a very bright blue and gold. I also added a business card and part some other packaging I got the other day. Yep, we are big fans of San Churros.

Scrap the Boys

Here's my layout for Scrap the Boys. The requirement is to show a piece of your childs artwork on your layout and then have your layout inspired from that artwork!
Ben is a big fan of what he calls cooking clay (polymer clay that you cook in the oven to harden) and has recently created these terrific clay animals. These were made as a set and he spent many hours working on them.

I already had this photo printed and had been planning to scrap it so this challenge came at a perfect time.

Thanks  for visiting - I'm in Perth, Western Australia



Sunday 5 August 2012

Stuck?!

I was totally inspired by the current bonus sketch at Stuck. I am a slow scrapper but this sketch had me churn one out (hope that doesn't sound rude) in under 20 minutes.
I love this pic of Ben with all those lights and colours in the background. Of course this was set up especially for scrapping. Fortunately Ben is still at that age where he is not embarrased to do things like this for his mum. He is only 9 and the place was almost empty so I guess I got a lucky break. Anyway I also love this range of patterned papers from a DCWV book I got at BigW a couple of years back. It's called the Generation Tech stack and is full of terrific cardstock thickness techie related themes.
Thanks for looking and please leave a comment to say hi. You don't even have to say if you like my layout or not just a hello woud be nice.



Saturday 4 August 2012

Challenge 3


Challenge 3 is to follow the sketch, three photos and include a tape measure or ruler.

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Challenge 2 completed

I love a scrapping challenge and especially so when I have a huge pile of NEW photos to choose from. As a typical scrapbooker I took loads of photos on my recent holiday so I have plenty to showcase.
This layout is for challenge 2 - Archery. Quite obviously arrows and a bullseye design had to be featured in addition to the word - aim. I have used the word in my journaling.


Monday 30 July 2012

Scrapz.biz Olympiad

Until mid-August Scrapz.biz is holding it's very own Olympiad hosting a number of scrapping challenges.
To start things off is challenge 1. The first challenge was to use the sketch (provided by Chloe), and this had to also include the word Start or Begin, a banner and/or confetti and something that opens.
After spending a week on the Gold Coast last week, visiting my folks I have lots of great pictures that I want to scrap.

My parents have just sold their house and are going to be moving to Perth in late September. I love this picture of them. They usually hate being photographed (I must have got that trait from them) but were obliging for such a special occassion.





Monday 9 July 2012

Washi Tape

Gotta love a scrapping trend, don't ya?
I have fallen for washi tape. Maybe not as hard as some others but I am the proud owner of 12 tapes, to date.
I think I have found a  handy solution to washi tape storage as can be seen below. I had the tapes in a drawer but of course I kept forgeting about them. I was straightening things up on my desk recently and had this spare candle stick holder there from a sewing project. I popped a roll of tape on candle holder and found the cirlces to be a match. Now they neatly sit on my desk as a reminder to use them.

Friday 29 June 2012

Anna's Craft Cupboard

This is one of my favourite places to shop online for scrapping supplies. It's great because I pay a flat rate for postage and my parcel usually arrives first thing in the morning the following day after ordering. Does help that we are both in metro Perth:)

This is the sketch and here is my layout
.
June 2012 Sketch Challenge
3 July 2012 - OMG I won! Yay, I just received confirmation that I won the June Sketch challenge and I have $40 credit with Anna's Craft Cupboard.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Scrap the Girls

This month at STG it's all about being outdoors. Well you can't get more outdoors than Sophie is here. We spent the Australia Day long weekend this year in an stunning spot - Denmark WA. It's about 4 hours south of Perth. We stayed in a little stone cottage in the bush and this was just a few steps from our front door. Beautiful. Sophie loves to sketch and she's quite good. Got her mums creative touch I have to admit. Here she is drawing a visiting Kookabura.

Thursday 10 May 2012

What is it with kids and snakes

It would take a lot of money to get me to hold a snake but not my kids.

Sunday 6 May 2012

Stuck Sketches

I knew I had to scrap this moment and the current sketch was perfect. I don't usually journal alot on my pages but I knew these photos needed the story to go along with them.
Edited to say: wooohoo, I've been selected for publication in Scrapbooking Memories magazine.





Sunday 29 April 2012

Made!

Isn't she sweet.


I made her from a pattern downloaded from the DIY Dish. She can either be used as a pin cushion (I just couldn't do that to her) or a jewellery stand. Ok she doesn't hold much but she does look pretty wearing my wrap-around Pandora leather bracelet, as a necklace.
The base of the manequin is a candle stick holder. I didn't have one at home so went to look for one at my local op shop. I found this cute one for $2 in the first shop I visited, score!!! So this was quite an inexpensive project with the free downloaded pattern, fabric, ribbon and button from my stash and a two dollar stand. So pleased with the finished result. Will look great in my room.

Saturday 28 April 2012

My baby boy

Ok, well my boy is no baby but his babyhood has been caputured here for a Scrapz.biz Baby Month Challenge.
All my baby pics are on film and therefore to use them on a layout I had to scan them. Unfortunately my scanner only scans pics at 600dpi which means they're grainy. I just changed them to b/w and printed them small. That seemed to work.
So here is my baby in all his glory from birth to age 1.
So pleased I finally used my Hambley overlay. I have had that for years but could never find a layout to use it on.
Ever since the Biggest Looser Challenge I have been trying to use up my stash - I've got a lotta stuff. Going well so far and havent bought anything much in a while.


Wednesday 25 April 2012

Paper Planes

In the past my kids have tried selling stuff out the front of our house during the holidays. Once it was a lolly sale. But unfortunately it was a no sale situation.

Then they tried selling paper planes and chatterboxes that they made themselves. Unfortunately they had no luck with that one either. I didn't even bother to scrap that one. LOL

So when Ben told me (on Tuesday) he wanted to make loads of paper planes and sell them out the front of our house I reminded him of his lack of success in previous years. He was not put off and proceeded to make about 20 paper planes using his favourite paper plane making book that has some really awesome designs in it and fly really well.

So he sat outside with the heavy table and chair that he dragged out by himself and within 10 minutes he had his first sale - 2 planes to the next door neighbour for the grand total of 50cents. Wow, was he excited. He came running in and told me all about it. He sat outside making more planes for the next half hour or so. That's when he came up with the idea of knocking down his asking price from 25 cents to 10 cents a plane - he felt they were over priced and that's why they weren't selling so well. Not long after that he sold 10 planes to two little boys that live nearby. I was floored and he was over the moon. After that he sold another 5 or so planes and put in about four hours sitting out the front of our house. He made $1.70 that day.
Not long before Ben was going to pack up for the day the two boys that bought all the planes came by again but this time they brought Ben a thank you card and one of his own planes all coloured in. How sweet is that. That really made Ben's day.
So with so much success Ben couldn't resist trying his luck again yesterday. Ben set up his "shop" (with dad's advice of putting up the price to 50cents) and got ready for the customers. He sat out there as happy as Larry and believe it or not made over $11. Good on you Ben!

Saturday 14 April 2012

Don't want to make anyone jealous

I thought I had better do a similar page (as the previous one featuring Sophie) for Ben. This one was a based on the fact that I was tidying up and came across a package of Heidi Swapp ghost shapes. I've had these shapes for at least 3 years (possibly more) and even though I use them from time to time they never seem to run out.
The shapes are crowns, flowers, butterflies, bookplates and stars.
I was looking at all the crowns and wondering how I was ever going to use them up. One thing led to another and I stuck them down and then got out my huge collection of Kaiser Rhinestones (I think I have a pack in almost every colour) and put them together.
I had fun fiddling around with all the elements and although the photo itself is a bit grainy (not the best) I'm pleased with the end result.



Tuesday 10 April 2012

My baby is soon to turn eleven

This month at Scrapz.biz it's baby month and I'm excited.
I started scrapbooking when Ben was about 18months old and Sophie was almost 4. I haven't done many baby pages mainly because I was trying to keep up with them growing and to be honest I don't have a lot of nice baby pics of them.
So I am going to delve into my photo albums and use my scanner for photos as I have done for this page.
This is Sophie in 2001 aged 3 months.