Lots of new layouts to share!

Well the girls and I have been the Hunter Valley and we're now firmly back on the north coast.  It's the middle of November but you wouldn't be able to tell with the way the weather is at the moment and Christmas and the end of the Year is approaching at break-neck speed!  End of school concerts, dance rehearsals and concerts, Christmas shopping, holiday entertainment plans and too many birthdays....the mad season is well and truely upon us. 

Keeping me sane is the little bit of me-time that I'm sneaking in here and there.  I went away with my two best scrapping girls to a retreat while I was south.  It was our first one and being so close to home-base for all of us made it easy.  We have a lot to learn though about what it is to go on retreat.  There are some hard-core scrappers out there and but by the end of day two, we were burnt out!!

My two scrapping besties and I have a monthly challenge that we do and when-ever we get the chance to scrap together (rarely) we give each other a theme, idea or layout that we love.  From this we either take inspiration, used as a sketch or completely compliment the person and do a scraplift.  This time we shared two layouts each to do a scraplift and we all went prepared to get down to it.  All up we managed to finish around 15 layouts each over two days (massive achievement for us) and here are a few of my favourite LO's of the weekend:

 '3 Steps Back' was Mandy's pick and a scraplift from Georgia Keays.  My youngest is so funny.  She sees you sitting on the floor and happily toddles up to you, about-faces and then takes three steps back before plonking herself down in your lap.  Bless her!!!!  Also thanks Michelle for the little vellum butterflies.  They just added that finishing touch!

This next one of the 'City Farm' is Donna's pick and a scraplift from Tiff Firth.  When I saw these October Afternoon papers of Central London I had to get them as a commemoration of our 8 years there.  They were perfect for these photos of my eldest daughter on her first visit to the city farm.  I've now been holding onto them for 2 years waiting for the perfect opportunity to scrap them...and this was it.  Thanks Don.

'Princess Vanilla' was my pick and scraplifted from Lisa Warren.  Again this is of my eldest in one of her dress up moments and was just to adorable not to scrap.  Lisa Warren's LO was great for it!

I had a great time with the girls, Amanda, Lois and Teresa - laughed so much there were tears running down my face.  Can't wait until we can do it all again.  Thanks Peta at Scrapbooking from Scratch for a great weekend.

These next two I also love.  The first is again of my eldest.  She's turning into such a girly girl which really isn't me...not sure where she gets it.  But the dress she is wearing was mine as a little girl and I just had to scrap it with the Dr Suess saying - 'Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is Youer than You.'

And this one is of my youngest who had just learnt to sit up.  I think it's the colours in this that I love and the fact that the papers are all different manufacturers.  I love mixing it up, but they all went together so perfectly.  She is so very cute!!!

So I will leave you with those as I go inside to relieve my poor suffering husband from his very full on day with the girls, especially since he has a gig at a wedding tonight!  Probably needs to have a nap!!!  It's not often I get to escape but sometimes you just need to....right?!

See you soon with some more new layouts and one OTP that I'm very excited about!

Back in the swing of things!

Wow, have things been busy!  Things are happening so fast around here it's hard to keep up.  Visitors from Brisbane were here for the weekend, wood fired pizza's didn't work as planned, packing is taking longer than expected, preparations to rejoin the ranks of the employed over self-employed are progressing, plus the normal school runs, swimming lessons, dance classes and getting groomed and ready for a trip south is all taking their tool.  I'm so tired, I really should be in bed already!!!

I'm busy packing at the moment to go down and visit my family and go away with my two best scrapping buddies.  I've got some projects I want to finish and some new challenges that I want to attempt - hopefully I'll have enough time for it all!  Plus there is the pedicure and manicure that I'm taking my mum too for a very long overdue and long awaited birthday present - she's so worth and and I just might treat myself too!!  I just hope I don't leave anything behind in my rush to get out the door in a few days - namely the girls, but I don't think I could leave them...they're too vocal!!

Can't wait to share what I've been up to with you, but you'll have to wait a bit longer for that.  For now though, here's a new layout that I finished for the Creative Girls Blog over at Scrap N Craft with T.  I'm in love with this one and think I'm back in the drivers seat again.  Mojo is swinging and who am I to deny or fight it!!  Hope you like it as much as I do!

See you in a couple of weeks!!!
x

Beautiful Girls

I don't have any sisters so I remember talking up the impending arrival of my second daughter with Coco telling her how lucky she was going to be to have a sister.  They already seem to be the best of friends, with Milla plonking herself down to Coco at every chance she can and Coco showering Milla with kisses, cuddles and rumbles.  The joys of girls hey.

Well my baby girl had her first birthday this week and she had a lovely day.  Being one, there was the expected moments where it was all to much but generally she was in great spirits, bless her.  Here's a few of my favourite photos of the day.

 

I've also found an older layout that I've done for Scrap N Craft with T using the Crate Paper Brooke Collection.  It's based on a sketch by Tanyah Payne and I love how it all came together and the jornalling for my big girl who is growing up way to fast!  Click on over to the Creative Girls blog for more info on this sketch and layout.

 
Got a big couple of weeks coming up so will have to check back in with you later with some lovely stuff to show you.  Till then, see you later x

Scrap N Craft with T Design Team Callout

There is a new vacancy on the Design Team of Creative Girls @ Scrap N Craft With T.  You will need to be able to create one project (layout, card or OTP) each week from the products supplied from Tanyah's shop.   You will also need to post this project onto the Creative Girls blog with photos and instructions.  If you haven't done this before, don't worry....I wasn't a blogger and it's really easy to pick up.

Tanyah offers her Design Team a very generous 30% off purchases in her shop, and each month supplies at least $25 worth of products to use for your projects.  The position on the Design Team will run up to March 2011.

If you're interested, please email Tanyah at cardartbytanya@yahoo.com.au with 1 x OTP, 2 x layouts and 2 x cards and she will send you more information about what is required. Good luck! x

So it's been a while between posts....

OK, it's been over a month!!!  Things just seem to happen, life gets way too busy and before you know it a month has gone by, your baby girl is about to turn one!!!  So try as I might at the moment to keep on top of things, they've had their little way and sneaked up on me.  I then find myself walking around in circles wondering where to start first.  

I guess first was Milla's turning blue episode which now has us going off to see pediatricians and cardiologists with a genetic heart condition in the family we need to have that checked off.  Coco's princess and swirly dress phase which, whilst lovely and very creative, is overwhelming when your meant to be the queen and the prince and it's from dawn to dusk every single day of the week.  Plus add the end of the hockey season (made it to the grand final but lost), school holidays with non-stop rain, final renovation painting project and then back into Coco's school activities, dance classes, swimming lessons, play group and constants requests to go to the park and to see her little best friend - yep, it's been tiring!!!  

But creatively, what have I been doing....well of late I've been doing stuff for Scrap n Craft with T and for my Best Friends Scrap Monthly Challenges and that's about it.  The energy has been completely zapped from me (it's got to be a boy) and my nana naps have taken precedence!!!  Thought I'd share some with you though so show I haven't been completely idle.

For my Scrap n Craft with T design Team work, I made this one.  I had a bit of a play with Radiant Rain Daubers and created my own patterned paper.  It was a bit of fun and experimentation and think that the whole thing has come out great.  How I've done this one is over on the Creative Girls Blog for Tanyah - check it out.  Now just need a really pink photo of the girls to use it...stay tuned for that one as the photo could take a while!!

Next came a project for my Best Friends Scrap Challenge that I procrastinated over for so long.  My best friend decided to challenge us to do a LO with layers, layers and more layers.  I knew exactly which papers I wanted to use - Crate Paper, Paper Doll Collection, but the LO was still fuzzy in the planning.  Finally I came across a photo of Coco just before we left the UK in a friends back garden, and that was just want I needed to hit the challenge with renewed enthusiasm.  I love how it all come together.  

Now having a look at these two previous LOs, you would probably think that I'm a fan of pink.  Can I, right here and right now, assure you that I'm not.  It is probably my least favourite colour of them all and one that I struggle with.  Probably not so much in the scrapping sense since it seems to pop up time and time again, but I really don't like to dress my girls in pink.  Unfortunately I'm given very little choice at Big W, Target and Kmart!!!  So for Scrap n Craft with T, I decided to scrap a photo of my pink washing line using the colour I dislike the most with the Fancy Pants, About a Girl paper range  For a step-by-step of how I did it, check out the Creative Girls Blog...but again pretty happy with how this turned out with my little cluster of embellishments down the bottom.

Now we come to the time when I'm stuck with Coco inside over the school holidays, very little time to myself and going completely bonkers.  To keep her busy, and realising Christmas isn't very far away, we decided to make some Christmas gift tags.  Again, if your interested in how to make your own, click over to the Creative Girls Blog for Scrap n Craft with T and find out how to do them...all I can say, life saver in the holidays!!!

To bring you pretty much up-to-date with what I've been doing, here is another LO that I've done for Scrap n Craft with T.  This one was using a kit, which I have actually never done before but it makes things easy when everything is coordinated for you already.  I've scrapped Milla in this one when we were playing out the back together.  She is so relaxed, always happy and I just love her smile, but once again, just can't seem to get away from pink!!!  Instructions for this is also on the Creative Girls Blog.

So there you have it.  I have more stuff coming up for Scrap n Craft with T that I'll share with you shortly and my next Best Friends Scrap Challenge involves ribbons and that will be on it's way soon too.  For now, my scrap space needs a serious clean and I need a lie down LOL.  What to do first??!!  


Till next time
A x

Whoops...still getting the hang of it all!

You know when you think you've done something and it's all set to go and then nothing happens when it's supposed to?  Well it happened.  This post was meant to show up yesterday but it stayed in the world of cyberspace not to be seen by you.....Oh well, it's here now.

Things have been crazy in our house of late with LOTS going on.  Hopefully things will start to slow down soon as I'm fast approaching exhaustion.  Anyway, to make things brief, here is my latest LO for Scrap n Craft with T.  It was a tough one that had me stumped as the new Meadow Lark papers by My Minds Eye are not what I would normally pick for myself.  So with a little bit of head scratching and lots of procrastinating, here's what I came up with.

 I decided to paint the papers with a coloured wash to add some colour.  I also like the quite simple layout, I think it works best for this photo but what I'd love to do next is mix it up with lots of doodling.  For a step-by-step on how to do this layout, head on over to the Creative Girls Blog ....

Ok, now time for a nanna nap....later
A x

Did someone say "Father's Day"?

Yes, that's right "Father's Day", it's today!  I hope where-ever you are you have a lovely day planned.  My dad is a little way away so I'll be calling him to wish him a lovely day.  Then I'm sure it will be a picnic lunch with the girls and their day.  I just hope the weather says nice or it will be a picnic on the patio out the back!


Have been a bit quiet of late.  Massively busy at home - but here is a little Father's Day card that I made for the Scrap n Craft with T .  I made it in next to no time at all and what I love about it is that is uses up some of my seemingly endless supply of scraps.  Plus by changing the frame it's in, I can do something similar for Christmas cards, Valentine's cards and Birthday cards.  A little imagination and it can be adapted for any situation!

For a step-by-step of how to make this card, click on over to Tanyah's Scrap n Craft with T's Blog and get busy in time for Father's day.  


I'm off to enjoy the day.  Hope you do the same and if not, happy scrapping.
A x