My Lil Patch of the Planet

Full reveal .....

2012-02-02T07:18:00.000+10:00

So I shared some sneaks with you a couple of posts back, now it's time for the full reveal.

I was given this awesome pack of Lily Bee papers and embellishments to play with and these are the 3 layouts I came up with:

It's a fantastic value kit, just $14 for all this:

If you'd like to purchase one head over to the Mad About Scrappin Facebook page ... but be quick cause stocks are limited!

TFL Star xx

She brightens my everyday ....

2012-01-31T14:35:00.000+10:00

So I know it's the last day of the month, so am cutting it just a wee fine but I really wanted to complete at least one challenge this month. I loved the criteria for the first challenge at Daring You to Scrap this month which was to make your background from scraps. Lets face it, no one has a shortage of those!

I was originally inspired by a pin on Pinterest but after choosing my photo decided to replicate the rainbow colours off her t-shirt.

That little face brightens my every day so I thought a rainbow coloured page was very fitting.

I raided the scrap drawers to get the right range of colours for the base and then cut a 1" square from each ... no two squares are the same. I then punched circles from some old Bella paper and folded each circle around a square.

I mounted the photo on thick chipboard and wrapped the twine bow around it. It was something I stashed away that was the wrapping on some handmade stuff I bought ... see everything comes in handy one day! ;)

Then anywhere 3 or more squares met I handstitched a coordinating button at the junction.

I really love how this page turned out and think it's my fave yet, even if it is very different to what I would normally do :)

TFL Star xx

A little slow off the mark ....

2012-01-20T18:11:00.000+10:00

So it took me a while to get going but I finally finished my first layouts for 2012. Shop life over at D-lish has been so busy and taking up much of my time. {not that I'm complaining by any means} That and spending the last few days with my little man before he starts prep next week. I'm going to miss having him around the house, he's grown up so much in the last 6 months into such a little gentleman. He adores his baby sister and I'm just plain going to miss how he manages to brighten my every day :)

I can't actually show you the pages as they are for an up and coming kit release at Mad About Scrappin, but I do have a few peeks to share. I'm lucky that my lovely boss lady Leanne handed me the gorgeous Lilly Bee Memorandum range and let me coordinate my own embellishments from the D-lish Scraps store.

Here are the papers:

And here are sneeks of the 3 pages I created:

{buttons, gardenias and resin flowers}

{mini metal flowers, doilies and rosette ribbon}

{mmm ... washi tape .... love washi tape :)}

To see the full reveal you'll have to keep an eye out for the kit release at the Mad About Scrappin facebook page.

TFL Star xx

Reflecting on 2011 ....

2011-12-31T20:10:00.000+10:00

I think I’ve written andrewritten this post in my head about 1000 times and many more on the screen astoday drew closer. I’ve been taking time to reflect on 2011 in the last fewweeks and have realised that I have learnt so much this past year. There havebeen many events that have changed my life for the better, even if they weresome of the toughest lessons to learn.

So I bring to you my list ….Lessons of 2011 … (in no particular order)

- I have learntthat my family may not be perfect, but they are perfect for me in every littleway and that’s all that matters.

- I have learntthat there is no greater gift than a beautiful healthy baby.

- I have learntthat my children complete me and I find nothing more fulfilling than being amother and the unconditional love I get in return.

- I have learnedthat all the money in the world will not buy you time with your loved ones.

- I have learntthat I will never be someone’s friend out of pity ever again, it only makes youmiserable.

- I have learnedthat I should ALWAYS be true to myself no matter what others opinions are.

- I have learntthat some people are just plain nasty and manipulative, call it what you likebut it’s true.

- I have learntthat I don’t need a lot of friends, just a couple of really special ones that don’tdrain the happiness out of me.

- I have learntthat the truth will always come out in the end even if it takes a bit of time.

- I have learntthat in the company of true friends I never have to edit myself, I can be freeto speak my mind and that’s okay.

- I have learntthat some people will just listen to the first thing they hear, even if it’snot true. This is their loss not mine.

- I have learntthat I am good enough and I should never let anyone make me feel otherwise.

- I have learntthat the only person who can motivate me is myself.

- I have learntthat I am only one person so I should stop anticipating that I can do the workof 3.

- I have learntthat nothing will change if you don’t start changing.

- I have learntthat sometimes life is cruel to the kindest of people while others who I can onlydescribe as assholes seem to sail through unscathed.

- I have learntthat if it’s not on facebook it can’t possibly be true. *wink* just jokes …threw that one in to see if you were still reading … lol

- I have learnt that no matter how bad today seems, a new day will always come .... you've just got to get there.

- I have learnt that one should smile a lot, laugh often and love with all your heart.

- I have learnt that the life you desire just won't land in your lap .... you have to get out there and fight for it!

All in all I would have to say that 2011 has been a positive yearfor me. I was blessed with the arrival of my beautiful baby girl, made it ontothe design team for a chipboard manufacturer, was published for the first timewith many more acceptances for the future and above all life has finally falleninto the groove I'm happy with.

I made a final piece for the year and my final piece as a DT member for WOW chipboard. I have used the 12x12 interconnecting squares to make a page summarising 2011 for our family. It includes a few pictures of our most memorable times during the year.

I've turned the square in the bottom left hand corner into a pocket and added a card for each member of the family. On it I will record our achievements and special moments from the year.

A close up of the banner I made.

As we embark on the journey that will be 2012, I leave you with this ...

TFL Star xx

It's nearly time to say goodbye :'( ....

2011-12-19T09:30:00.001+10:00

Well my time is nearly up on the DT for WOW chipboard. I have had a wonderful time over the past 6 months using their wonderful products. I have just posted my final scheduled post over on the blog. Here are a few sneaks of the pages I created ....

Make sure you stop by and check out the full reveal.

TFL Star xx

Just a little bit WOW .....

2011-12-04T16:02:00.003+10:00

So November was a bad month for me scrappy wise :( Somewhere along I lost my way and just couldn't seem to get back on the right path. Certainly not for a lack of trying though. I think I 'dedicated' over 5 solid days perfecting my art of paper shuffling but still nothing. It was really starting to get me down especially knowing that I was letting down those I have made commitments to. I even had to admit defeat on one kit and hand it over to someone else! (thanks Emma for saving my bacon ;))

Today I was more determined than ever .... I had to break this drought and scrap a page.

I FINISHED ONE!!!

Using some more of my wonderful WOW Christmas chipboard I created this:

Every year I take a photo of Cody with the Christmas tree. Last year was his last solo shot .... this year he'll have to share the limelight with his sister! lol

I decorated the WOW Bubble Christmas Tree by adding a button to the centre of each. Took quite a while digging through all my buttons finding the right size for each hole but well worth the effort! I was beaten by two of the tiny gaps where I had to use brads instead.

The tree was painted with h2o's and the stars coloured with gold gel pen. I also hand stitched each button on. Got this thing about 'naked' buttons.

I also used one of the banner borders when I discovered that they had the exact right number of pennants for the word 'Christmas' ... happy days!

The '2010' is using their new self adhesive alphas. OMG I loooove these so much! I have 6 sheets already and I can just see they are going to be a staple in my stash for a long time!

TFL Star xx

Sneak peek ....

2011-11-24T07:41:00.003+10:00

I've just posted my latest project to the WOW Words or Whatever blog.

Here's a couple of sneak's for you;

To check out the full post and finished layout head over to here and have a look!

TFL Star xx

Stuck?! November 1st .....

2011-11-16T06:21:00.002+10:00

Sketches are my fave 'go to' for inspiration these days. It eliminates much of the paper shuffling stage for me. Stuck?! is always one of my first calling points each month, they have awesome sketches to use :)

Been using up some more of my wonderful WOW Christmas chipboard too ... may just be the first time I have ever has the previous years photos scrapped before this one!

I've used the 'Trimming the Tree' title along with some Echo Park papers for this page.

I used some Music Note Washi Tape from D-lish Scraps with some cross stitching.

The title was coloured with my fave medium, Twinkling H2o's and highlighted with a little Stickles on the star and ornaments.

For my embellie cluster I've used a small paper doiley, a Jillibean corrugated heart that I stitched around, a Journal It's Mini Date tab, a button from Lil' Red Rocket and some more Music Note Washi Tape.

TFL Star xx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ......

2011-11-02T17:41:00.002+10:00

Well at least on the WOW blog anyhow! This month is Christmas month over at WOW and the DT have all been given a truck load of awesome Christmas chipboard to play with.

This is my first page for the month using some gorgeous papers from My Minds Eye 12 Days of Christmas range I picked up from Bella Paperie. I made this cute layout of my little monkey who jumped in this elf cutout while we were waiting at the bank last Christmas. I've used the "Santa's Little Helper" title and "Cute Rudolph" chipboard for this page.

Here's a closeup of rudolph ... couldn't resist adding some googly eyes! He's all painted up in twinkling H2o's.

I also used H2o's on the title and have simply added some pen to break up the lettering a little.

TFL Star xx

Crafty Thursday .....

2011-10-27T07:54:00.002+10:00

It's become a bit of a ritual for the little man and I {and the little girl} to have a crafty activity each Thursday. I think it may have started as a way to justify all the things I was pinning on Pinterest .... but that's another story ;)

For our first activity we decided to make what the boy refers to as 'monster rocks' which are pet rocks painted up like monsters. First up we had to get some rocks so we went on a little nature walk to collect some. We came across the scrub turkeys along the way.

Back home again and painting our rocks. Cody is painting his just like Sully (from Monsters Inc)

We did 6 in total .... here they all are. The green one is Mike (again from Monsters Inc) can you see the resemblance?? He's got this thing for monsters at the moment but only if they have happy faces ... lol ... apparently the red one is scary!

And here he is lining all his monsters up in a very straight line ... I wonder where he inherited that trait from???

The next week, inspired by grass heads, we decided to make pot monsters. Can you see the theme going on here?

Off to Bunnings to shop for supplies, he loved that he could zoom around the store with his very own trolley!

We painted up some terracotta pots and added eyes and faces from scrap cardstock. The seeds were planted in the cut off bottoms from softdrink bottles.

Here they are just 4 days later! Must have been the optimal growing conditions for them .... they were starting to sprout within 24 hrs!

TFL Star xx

Happy Days .....

2011-10-26T11:57:00.002+10:00

I've had these Echo Park Happy Days papers for a while now to make a sample for Bella Paperie, my lss. (oops!)

I loved the October 15th sketch from Stuck?! so I have used it to create this layout of my little Ellah Bellah in her fairy singlet.

I used my spanky new Martha punch on the edges .... adore this punch sooo much! I have also layered one of her doily tags with a WOW chipboard butterfly. And check out the lace .... isn't it just divine! Took a little bit of fiddling but I managed to get it to curve round the edges of the circle nicely.

I also made some rosettes out of the papers too.

TFL Star xx

Challenge anyone??

2011-10-22T14:52:00.004+10:00

Would you like to win this awesome collection pack from Echo Park? All you need to do is enter the monthly challenge on the Mad About Scrappin facebook page and you'll go in the draw.

This months challenge is a number one:

4 patterned papers

3 photos

2 ribbons

1 word title

Here's my sample for the challenge:

I've used some We R Memory Keepers paper and a WOW chipboard title "Ouch"

Your entries need to be loaded to their facebook page by midnight on the 25th of the month and the winner will be chosen at random.

TFL Star xx

It's been awhile ....

2011-10-20T08:59:00.003+10:00

Almost 2 weeks since my last post. Life has been busy to say the least, the shop has been travelling along nice and strong and it bringing my dream of being a work from home mum true!

I have managed to squeeze in a few challenges, scrapping keeps me sane and without it I think I would be lost.

Having limited time I thought it best to start with a few sketches .... eliminates some of the paper shuffling ;)

I started with the October 1st sketch from Stuck?!

I have to admit that the sketch threw me at first and I just wasn't sure what to do with it but when it all came together I think it's turned out to be one of my favourite pages. I think I like the limited colour pallette with the pops of red. I also got to use my new Mr Huey's white mist and splat Crafter's Workshop template (thanks Peta :) ) and what's a layout without a little bit of WOW ... I used the 12" Cog Border on this one cut into 2 pieces. Also a scalloped circle Journal It from D-lish.

Next up is the October sketch challenge from Lime Tree Creations.

I thought I would have the perfect doiley to go in that circle area under the title but once I choose my photo and papers I didn't have a colour to match :( So instead I punched a scalloped circle of patterned paper and used one of the trims to add a decorative edge around it. I've also used a little WOW chipboard on this one; the 'Proud Mum' title and the butterflies from the Girl card pack. I've also included a few D-lish goodies too, a Journal It Date strip and pink lace washi tape.

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - October .....

2011-10-07T17:02:00.003+10:00

At first glance this month's challenge seemed a little tricky but it was actually quite simple once it's broken down.

- complimentary colour scheme (I chose blue & orange)

- felt

- paper tearing

Once I had my colour scheme and photos I simply pulled some bits and pieces from my stash to suit. I made this entire layout from scraps!

I embellished with a gorgeous lollipop from Charms Creations and a cute tiger button from Lovelybug Bits and Bobs.

TFL Star xx

Ways With Washi - Day 4 ....

2011-09-22T13:25:00.002+10:00

Today I have shared a cool technique for wiring your washi tape with kitchen ties. I'm sure the possibilities are endless but here are some things I made from them.

Head over to the facebook page to see the whole tutorial.

TFL Star xx

Ways With Washi - Day 3 .....

2011-09-21T12:06:00.003+10:00

Bunting and Flags make for such fun and playful layouts so I just had to share how easy they are for the Ways With Washi feature at D-lish. I made this layout based on the September challenge at Kraft it Up! The criteria are fabric and stitching. I used felt as my "fabric" and have used both machine and hand stitching on my page.

Here's a close up of the washi tape flags.

Another of the bunting which I have added part of the title to.

To make my felt title I used an alphabet stencil and traced the letters onto the back before cutting them out. To add a fun look I did some random stitches to "hold" them on the page.

TFL Star xx

Ways With Washi - Day 2 .....

2011-09-20T17:15:00.003+10:00

For today's Ways With Washi tutorial on D-lish Scraps I made these awesome twisted roses. My layout was inspired by the Show us Your Stuff September challenge where the criteria was multi photos, stripes and of course something handmade.

Here's a close up showing off the washi tape roses. I added rhinestones to the centre and clustered them with a WOW chipboard leaf.

The title is also WOW chipboard which I coloured with twinkling H2o's and decorated with some more rhinestones.

I also added one of the felt butterflies at the top of a rhinestone trail.

TFL Star xx

Just because .....

2011-09-08T06:46:00.002+10:00

No challenge, no kit, no rules .... just because I can.

I dug into my WOW chipboard stash and created this page on the weekend.

I used some papers from the Echo Park Victoria Gardens pack and also some really old Kaiser.

I also "borrowed" some of the gorgeous gingham frill ribbon from the shop **ssshhhh** lol

All the chipboard has been painted with H2o's and then for the branch I inlaid the flower centres with some scraps of the purple paper, punched holes in the centre and added some flower stamens. I really like the 3D effect this gives the chipboard.

TFL Star x

Splash a bit of paint .....

2011-09-07T08:32:00.003+10:00

This month's challenge for Mad About Scrappin is just that .... splash a bit of paint on your layout! Post it on their facebook page and one lucky person drawn at random will win this awesome Graphic 45 paper pad valued at $17!!

Here's my sample ... although being on the DT means I can't win :( but it's always fun to play along anyhow!

I used Words or Whatever 12 x 12 Cog Set along with a mix of REALLY old pp's from my stash to create this layout of my little scooter boy and my not so little one!

I painted the cogs in black paint and the title in twinkling H2o's.

I swiped on some more black paint with an old credit card and added some joint tape over it. Love this stuff ... a huge roll was only $2 and the best part is it's already sticky!

TFL Star x

uncommon (full reveal) ....

2011-09-05T15:12:00.003+10:00

As promised here i am back with the full reveal of the layouts I made for Mad About Scrappin using the Uncommon range from Authentique.

As I suspected might happen, all these kits are already SOLD OUT.

TFL Star x

Paper Piecing with WOW .....

2011-09-05T08:41:00.002+10:00

So today is my scheduled day to post on the WOW blog. I have shared a technique for paper piecing with your WOW chippy.

Here are 3 simple cards I made using the technique.

To see how easy it is with my step by step instructions head on over to the WOW blog and take a peep.

TFL Star xx

Uncommon ......

2011-08-26T10:34:00.003+10:00

I love these papers from Authentique! If you haven't been lucky enough to see or feel them in real life you are simply missing out! They have a gorgeous texture not unlike the old school My Minds Eye if you remember those ... back in the "Tres Jolie" days ;) lol They are a great weight too, more like cardstock than paper and thicker than Bazzil which in my honest opinion seems to be getting thinner by the day :( They distress beautifully, which if you know me I'm not a messy distresser .... more of a gentle scuffer!

I was thrilled to be able to design a kit using them for Mad About Scrappin and thought I should share some peeks before their pending release in September. The kits always sell out so fast so I thought better to share a few peeks now rather than taunt you with what could have been after the fact!

Kits are always great value! You get everything you need to create 3 or more layouts with pictures/instructions for only $20.

TFL Star xx

MAS Sketch challenge ....

2011-08-18T08:01:00.003+10:00

This month Mad About Scrappin's facebook challenge was a sketch.

This awesome sketch was provided by the talented Emma Stafrace with the added criteria of texture.

I love the sketch so of course I had to have a go! I was given these lovely Simple Stories papers from my lss Paper Addiction so I used them to create a page.

To add texture I used muslin, jute and distressed the edges of the papers.

For added texture I also distress my WOW chipboard flowers. Simply spritz them with water and peel apart the edges with your fingernails. Once they were dry, I layered the smaller flowers in the larger ones and coloured them with some smooch spritz. I finished by adding some large rhinestones to the centres.

The banner was cut from the paper. I simply distressed and inked the edges before adding it to a string of jute twine.

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - August .....

2011-08-16T11:12:00.003+10:00

Another great challenge this month at Out of the Hat!

- use a square photo/s

- strip journaling

- paint

I've used this super cute sewing themed papers from My Little Shoebox and I just knew that teamed up with the WOW chipboard title and sewing machine, they would be perfect to go with these photos of my little man sewing his very own teddy bear.

I used twinkling H2O's and a gold gel pen to colour the sewing machine chipboard and then I just couldn't resist "threading it up" .... I think it looks so effective!

For the "Happiness is Homemade" chipboard title I first painted it in red and then spritzed with Pearl glimmermist. After I glued it to the page I have done some random tacking stitches over the chipboard to make it appear to be stitched to the page.

I finished it off with some yummy embellies ... a doiley from Chip Chop Shop, button from Lil Red Rocket and a bottlecap from A Lil' Somethin'

Hope you like!

TFL Star xx

Miss Nellie ....

2011-08-11T08:06:00.002+10:00

I adore these papers from Kaiser so I was very lucky to be given them by my lss, Paper Addiction, to make a store sample.

I used one sheet of paper for the background, the diecut and just one other sheet for everything else. I stitched on the diecut with some hand dyed seam binding and the butterflies are attached with crystal brads I got in Mad About Scrappin's last Flog it Friday. I finished it off with a piece of WOW chipboard mounted on one of the little tags from the range.

I enhanced the chipboard by first inking it in pink before running it through the cuttlebug in the swiss dot embossing folder. I then lightly inked the dots in white ink to highlight them.

TFL Star xx

My first blog post .....

2011-08-04T09:40:00.004+10:00

Today was the day of my first rostered blog post over at WOW. I created this set of 4 boy themed cards using the Boy Card Pack and some of the smaller frames from the 12 x 12 Cog Frame Set along with some flamed wings.

To see all of the cards individually and close ups head on over to the WOW blog and see my post here.

TFL Star xx

My first "official" WOW creation .....

2011-08-01T10:09:00.002+10:00

This layout has been, what it feels, a lifetime in the making! It's been on-the-desk-off-the-desk-packed-in-a-bag-taken-to-a-crop-put-back-on-the-desk-packed-up-again .... lol .... until this morning I f-i-n-a-l-l-y got it finished.

The shop had been uber busy, in fact more so than I ever could have wished for. Team that up with a 4 yr old, an almost 4 mth old and the duties of day to day life and you soon realise that there just aren't enough hours in the day. But slowly we are finding a routine and I refuse to let life take me over so much that I no longer have any time to myself. The best thing to come out of all of this ... I have learnt to scrap faster! Limited time means I just don't have the opportunity to keep second guessing myself if I ever want to complete a project.

I have teamed up the gorgeous WOW chipboard spear picket fence with papers from the Making Memories Je t'Adore range.

The fence is bigger than what is shown, it's actually 12" in length but I have cut it up to suit my project. It just means I have some leftover fence to use on another project! ;)

Here's a closeup showing off the fence and the embellishing.

Off to start on my next piece ... I'm on a roll!

TFL Star xx

Show us your WOW .....

2011-07-23T07:16:00.003+10:00

Do you have a project you've used some WOW chipboard on??

Then show us your WOW!

Head on over to the WOW facebook page and upload it by Sunday night. One lucky person will win some gorgeous NEW RELEASE chipboard for their efforts.

You don't have to create something new, just share with us, we'd love to see your work!

Winner is drawn at random so what have you got to lose??

Star xx

Exciting news ....

2011-07-18T09:02:00.002+10:00

I am sooooo excited to announce that as of today I am officially a WOW dt chic!!

Along with these other wonderful ladies:

Sandrine Dawes QLD

Geli Duncan QLD

Tina Connolly QLD

Sami Cronin ACT

Liz Kordek SA

Kim Soloman NSW

Continuing on are:

Gilly Lester NSW

Sandra Staples (DT Co-ordinator) NSW

Renae Woods NSW

And also:

Linda Baldock (Product designer) NSW

You can see all the details on the WOW blog as well as having a squiz at their gorgeous new makeover!

Links to all the designers blogs are in my sidebar.

That's all for now Star xx

Time for a change ....

2011-07-17T09:17:00.002+10:00

They say a change is as good as a holiday ... and let's face it, I won't be getting one of those anytime soon ... so I decided it was time for a little blog makeover.

You like?? :)

I went with something bright and cute this time. Has taken me a little while to get it the way I wanted but I must say I am mighty happy now.

I've also decided to remove my blog feeds from my personal facebook and add them to their own page. Let's face it ... as much as all my friends love me, they don't all give a crap about my scrapbooking ... lol. This way it also means that people that aren't my "facebook friends" can follow my blog on facebook too ... so a win win situation all round I think :)

If you want to follow my blog on facebook you'll find the like box over there

--------->

in my sidebar.

That's all for today :)

TFL Star xx

Mad About Scrappin - July colour challenge

2011-07-04T12:36:00.003+10:00

The monthly challenges have returned at Mad About Scrappin. This month you are to create a layout using the gorgeous colour palette below.

The prize is a D-stress tool from Imaginisce and because Mad About Scrappin are turning 5, they are giving away not one but TWO of them!! Winners are decided by random draw so all levels of scrappers have an equal chance of winning.

Here's my take on the combo, a mix of old papers from my stash and 2 different pieces of WOW chipboard, the wreath and banner.

And a few close ups to show off the embellishing.

Hope you like it!

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - July

2011-07-03T15:41:00.003+10:00

Another new month and another new challenge at Out of the Hat. Criteria for this month's challenge is:

- a doiley

- negative space

- monochromatic colour scheme

This is what I came up with:

Papers are a mix from My Minds Eye, Daisy Bucket, Kaisercraft and Sassafras Lass. The WOW chipboard banner and twine from Mad About Scrappin. I have also used 2 of the new Journal It's releases, Scalloped Circle and Flags which can be purchased through D-lish Scraps. The cute crochet flower is from Lime Tree Creations and the button from Tessa Ann.

TFL Star xx

Simple Stories ....

2011-06-21T06:31:00.002+10:00

To be entirely honest I hadn't even heard of this brand till a few weeks ago, so when I was asked to use it for a sample for my lss, Paper Addiction, I was intrigued to test it out.

There was a great range of papers to choose from and a tonne of journaling elements. Very diverse in it's design with some great classic coloured sheets as well as some cutesy elements (like the sun) meaning you could create your layout either way.

I used a kraft background spritzed with my red food colouring/water concoction ;) and then cut away the centre of a sheet to create a frame. I only used 3 sheets of paper and everything except the chipboard and ribbon came from them.

TFL Star x

White with 1 - June

2011-06-17T08:59:00.002+10:00

As soon as I saw this months criteria I just knew exactly which photo I wanted to scrap .... and I hadn't even taken it yet!!! I had this gorgeous ladybug outfit for Ellah and I just knew a picture of her in it would suit the theme to a "T".

White + Red + Polka Dots

I began by masking and misting the background using food colouring and water ..... even my collection of 32 colours doesn't cover it all ... I had no red! :(

The spotty paper is Lillybee and the title is red core cs, embossed and lightly sanded.

I added some doodling to highlight the misting and finished off with a scattering of some of my fave embellies;

- Journal It's Mini Note Tab

- Lime Tree crochet trim

- Lovelybug Bits and Bobs button

- Nellie G Designs buttons

- D-lish Scraps red heart pin

- Meant to Be chipboard ladybug

- Handmade by Suzanne washi tape

(which I no longer own since a certain child decided that he had to wrap the entire roll round the leg of the table to stop it falling down ... and no, there was nothing wrong with the table!!)

Oooh and the ladybug ribbon came in a kit from Purple Pumpkin.

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - June

2011-06-08T12:37:00.002+10:00

So here I am :) back with another Out of the Hat sample layout.

The June challenge is:

- bright colours on kraft

- 6 buttons

- a bird somewhere

Couldn't resist the urge to dig into the My Little Shoebox stash .... one of the splurges I had using the line "But I've just had a baby" worked well ;) got me some special "mummy" presents.

Here's my two little cherubs ... he just absolutely adores her!! Sometimes a little TOO much if you know what I mean! :D

Finished off with a yummy splattering of embellies. A Purple Pumpkin button, some Nellie G clay buttons and some doilies from the Chip Chop Shop.

This adorable little metal birdy I got from the last craft show in Brissie ... tons of colours and super cheap!

And one can't forget the washi tape or Jillibean Soup corrugated shapes.

Oh and the hot pink lace (in the first picture) .... that's self adhesive and comes by the roll .... a new product that will be hitting the D-lish shelves real soon!

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - May

2011-05-19T09:11:00.002+10:00

So I was beginning to think that I'd NEVER get this layout done .... it was certainly a long time in the making. There just never seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment. :/

Anyway, this month's challenge was

- 3 different brands of patterned paper

- a bow

- no alpha stickers

I used Jillibean Soup, Pink Paislee and Upikit papers. The little bow is tied to the chipboard anchor and for the title I used the chipboard word "Pirate" from Meant to Be and also some stamped lettering.

Also I just couldn't resist adding one of the cute Pirate bottle caps from the D-lish Scraps range .... isn't the little pirate face just adorable?!?!

A2Z Sketch challenge ....

2011-04-30T14:01:00.002+10:00

I really loved the sketch this month at A2Z so couldn't resist having a go. My finished layout is a little different to the original design but I think it is definitely still recognisable.

I had this gorgeous scraplet heart frame in my stash and decided to team it up with some of the Blossom Soup papers from Jillibean Soup. Other than that I kept it fairly plain and simple.

Just a little embellishing with some Martha Stewart punched out butterflies and brads. LOVE these butterflies sooo much and seem to be adding them to everything lately. :)

TFL Star xx

April challenges - Show us your Stuff ....

2011-04-28T11:06:00.003+10:00

First up, sorry about the sub standard photos .... the sun is not playing very nicely atm at all. Out one minute, gone the next. It's very bleak here in what is usually the sunshine state but I guess that makes it perfect weather for scrapping :)

I'm loving all the opportunity I have now to get my girly on since the arrival of our little princess. This month I LOVED both the Show us your Stuff challenges and in fact this first one I bought the paper and had the layout in mind before Ellah was even born!!

This is Cody holding his little sister for the first time .... such a proud big brother!!

The challenge was to use a gorgeous sketch by Michelle Fowler in the colours of pink, blue and yellow and of course it had to feature a handmade item. I teamed up the Elizabeth Park papers from Little Yellow Bicycle with some of Becci's gorgeous Lime Tree Creations crochet flowers.

OUT FOR PUBLICATION :)

A close up of Lime Tree Creations crochet flowers which I finished off with some old K&Co fabric brads I found in my stash.

OUT FOR PUBLICATION :)

This next one is for the second of the monthly Show us your Stuff challenges. The only criteria was to use buttons. I used some handmade buttons from Nellie G Designs and an additional handmade item of a doiley from Chip Chop Shop. Papers used are the new Summer Days range from Echo Park.

A close up of the embellishment cluster featuring the handmade items.

TFL Star xx

Giveaway at Lovelybug Bits and Bobs .....

2011-04-27T06:44:00.001+10:00

If you'd like a chance to win some gorgeous handmade buttons, check out the details here .... but hurry, it closes today!!

Challenge Heaven - Word Challenge

2011-04-18T08:11:00.002+10:00

Glad to be back into the challenges this month and when I saw that the Word Challenge at Challenge Heaven was "baby" I just knew that I would have the right picture to scrap ;)

I used papers from the Prima Sparkling Spring Collection and the matching Whispers flowers. I added some handstitching, a paper doiley and luggage tags as well as some Maya Road trim. The gorgeous custom cut chipboard title was made for me by the lovely Terri from Meant to Be.

A close-up of the chipboard that I coloured with Smooch Spritz.

A close-up of the handstiching, flowers and handcut butterflies.

TFL Star xx

Every pirate needs treasure .....

2011-04-04T15:32:00.002+10:00

I LOVE these Hometown Summer papers from Pink Paislee .... they are just so bright and fun! This month at Kraft it Up is a number challenge and I just had to combine the two to create this page of my little pirate!

1 Kraft base .... check

2 Photos smaller than 6x4 .... mine are 3x4 .... check

3 Different alphas ..... matching Pink Paislee from Hometown Summer range and 2 colours and sizes of Jenni Bowlin ..... check

4 Patterned papers .... waves, yellow for island, black bingo and red star .... check

5 different embellishments .... embroidery thread, canvas pirate, coins, staples and journal spot ..... check

Mission accomplished!!

I also used some smooch spritz for the background.

A close-up of the coins that I "borrowed" from my little man ;) and yes .... he did want them back when he saw them .... so it took a little bargaining to not have them ripped from the page lol

Also check out the cool laser cut canvas pirate that I picked up from the Craft Expo. Just love him!

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat - March

2011-03-10T14:46:00.002+10:00

Well it's our 2nd month back at Out of the Hat and we kicked off with the reveal of our fabulous new team of Mad Hatters.

This month's challenge was:

1. A handmade journal box

2. String

3. A number in the title

Had an awesome day out with Lou last Friday. We took a trip to Reverse Garbage and I got some great stuff to use on my layout. The mesh, blue canvas and yellow fabric were all from there and the circle background was stamped with a foam offcut I got as well. Also the clear acrylic #2 which I got for 10 cents!! I just covered the back in patterned paper.

The journal box was designed by Heather Waldron ... you download an A4 sheet of them as a PDF and then just simply print them off and cut them out!

TFL Star xx

Baby themed ATC's

2011-02-26T08:42:00.002+10:00

I belong to a private group of ATC swappers called "Full Sleeve" and this month's theme was Baby.

I have used the Stars Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background and inked around the edges. The baby is a pic I sourced from the internet and then I tied him hanging from a tree branch with some blue organza ribbon. It's a "he" as blue was the only colour ribbon I had enough of in my stash ... well at least until 3 yr old hands got at it with the scissors ... so two ended up being in silver!

The branch is a real twig, carefully harvested off my hubby's topiary's while he wasn't looking ;-) and the leaves are stamped and then cut out and layered with foam dots.

TFL Star xx

Blog Hop

2011-02-18T18:01:00.002+10:00

Last Friday night I followed along with the A2Z Scraplets Blog Hop. During the crop on Saturday at Mad About Scrappin I was able to have a go at the sketch challenge from the hop. You can see the original sketch on their blog which I have flipped on it's side. The only other criteria was that it had to be a summertime themed layout.

I dug these Cosmo papers out of my scraps to create the page .... perfect to go with pics of my little man at the pool. I also used some twine and Jenni Bowlin alphas from Mad About Scrappin.

TFL Star xx

Something a little different ....

2011-02-09T11:15:00.005+10:00

I've had this idea for scrapping this "first" pic of our little girl for a while now so when this month's challenge came up for Show Us Your Stuff I decided to turn my ideas into reality. It's not the style of layout I would usually do (pink, girly and frilly) but with the birth of our little girl just around the corner, I guess it's something you will see a little more of from me in the not too distant future.

The challenge was based on the theme of love and you had to include a handmade heart. I made my own chipboard heart by first drawing it on some blank chipboard and then cutting out and covering in patterned paper. I added a lacy heart border to the outside and some pearl trim to the inside. I even pulled out the sewing machine and stitched around the edge of the page.

Also thought I'd share a few close-ups of the embellishing on this one ... the photo of the whole layout doesn't do it a lot of justice.

TFL Star xx

Aaaaaaarrghhhh - Negative Space ......

2011-02-08T15:15:00.002+10:00

Okay so while I'm not a have-to-fill-every-spare-inch-of-the-page kinda gal .... this whole negative space thing is really a challenge for me. I've tried a few times and failed dismally, so I'm hoping that this time I have kinda-sorta pulled it off. Maybe not as negative as others would do, but it's about as negative as I can manage! lol Mad About Scrappin run a monthly challenge from their facebook page and this month the challenge was of course negative space with a border around the page.

This is the first time I've used my Fine and Dandy papers ... I did pull them out for a Jan challenge somewhere but never got around to it. I've used the layered diecuts from the range and also some of the "holes" from the border punch .... seemed a waste to throw them away! ;-)

TFL Star xx

Out of the Hat is back!!

2011-02-01T14:22:00.004+10:00

We had a much needed break over the festive season but now Out of the Hat is back for 2011 with our fab February challenge.

1. Masking and misting

2. Clouds

3. A tree somewhere on the layout

I came up with this idea for my layout almost straight away and it only took me about an hour and a half to pull it all together!

Papers are October Afternoon Fly a Kite range that I got from Mad About Scrappin a while back ... just been sitting in my stash waiting for the right moment - lol

I have used some chippy clouds to mask with and misted with some Maya Mist in Hydrangea Blue and then hand stitched the outline. I also used the same mist to colour my chippy alphas.

The chipboard tree is from Meant To Be Scrapbooking which I have painted with Twinkling H2O's.

And lastly the cool striped twine which is also from Mad About Scrappin and costs a measly $1.10 for 5 metres!! At that price you grab all 7 colours ..... I did!! ;-)

I hope some of you find the time to join in at Out of the Hat this month.

TFL Star xx

My first time ....

2011-01-27T15:14:00.002+10:00

..... entering at Kraft It Up this month.

I have always checked out the challenges, but this is the first time I have actually managed to finish and upload one ... lol.

Pics of my little man having a blast at the local pool teamed up with some Fancy Pants Summer Soiree papers make for an awesome summer themed page.

TFL Star xx

My Space .....

2011-01-20T07:09:00.005+10:00

Donna is running a little challenge from her blog to share your scrap space so I thought I would join in too. I haven't shared any pics since I've had to move out of my room (this will be the baby's room when she arrives) so I thought this would be a good opportunity.

This is our home "office" which is where I scrap. And, yes it's always that neat ... this room only has a doorway not a door as such so the only way to keep little 3yr old paws off my stuff is to pack it up!! I had this table in my old scraproom though it did have an extra two extension pieces in there and was twice the size! I used to have my sewing machine set up permanently on one end though. I have two cookbook stands that I display my current fave layouts on up on the top shelf and just under this you can see my cricut. Also the printer and laptop live here.

This next pic shows my scrapping cupboard, it's actually on the back of the wall that the cupboard was on alongside my desk which is the wall that divides the office from the dining room. It's my version of one of those scrappin amoirey type things but thanks to Ikea ..... a fraction of the price!! ;-)

And here she is in all her glory with the doors open! lol If you bear with me I'll share some closer up pics and what I keep on each of the shelves. I will warn you though .... it is anally tidy .... and needs to be as I am limited to this space and this space only. :-(

**Warning Loser Alert** but I actually had a great time shopping for just the perfect boxes and baskets to house all my bits and pieces and maximising every spare inch of storage space. :-/

The top two yellow rimmed tubs have OTP stuff .... mini albums and the like. The hardware boxes have smaller embellishments, beads and stuff like that.

The blue tubs underneath, which there are four of, hold pkts of embellishments and bits like that.

The next little shelf is my "work in progress" shelf where I can quickly slip away any layouts and bits and bobs that I am currently working on when I need to pack up for the day.

And under is my tote with all my tools and also my cuttlebug in it's handy storage bag.

The two blue tubs on the left are both full of stamps and the two on the right are full of chipboard.

Of the green tubs one is full of ribbon and the other more dimensional flowers and sprays etc.

Paints, glitters and mists and associated stuff is stored in the red tubs.

And lastly in this row down the bottom is a home for my sewing machine.

This section is double the width of the first one. The top two shelves have all my albums and a few layouts that still need to be sorted into them. Last week these shelves were filled with 180+ layouts and albums still in the plastic .... oops!! Won't be doing that again!

The A4 drawers hold my scraps sorted into colours and the shelf next to them holds my magazines.

Next down in the purple boxes is spare adhesives in one and the other had things like my dymo, decorative scissors and the decorative blades for my trimmer. The jars you can see are two deep and hold buttons, flowers and ribbons all sorted into colours.

Next down I have two of the wooden Kaiser paper racks which house my papers and cardstock.

Underneath that are another 4 blue tubs which hold all my alphas. The blue baskets each have something different in them, one has rubons, one bling, one diecuts and the other cards blanks and envelopes.

On the other side, the folders hold my acrylic stamps and the purple folios my inks. The hardware style boxes beside these house my travelling stash of flowers, buttons, brads and ribbons. Each one contains a small selection of these items and they are also colour coordinated .... can you see a theme :-O ??

Moving down, the pizza boxes contain larger scraps that are too big for the A4 drawers and the purple boxes are full of unfinished layouts.

The bottom shelf has my mini wooden alpha stamps, a travelling box of my favourite chipboard and my punches.

Phew!! Are you still with me?? I just realised how much stuff I actually own. Hubby always makes comment about how much it all costs .... if only he really knew ;-)

Anyway, I'm sure that's more than enough for today, if you managed to stay with me .... thanks for having a peek at my scrap space, I have enjoyed sharing it with you!

TFL Star xx

On a roll .......

2011-01-05T16:01:00.004+10:00

On a bit of a scrapping roll atm and am happy to have found some time to do some challenges too. I have only just been managing to get my DT and class commitments out of the way so anything else had been put on the back burner.

It's been so liberating to get a couple done that are just for me and I've had sooo much fun digging around in my stash.

These next two are both for the current challenges at Challenge Heaven.

This first one is the sketch challenge:

I've used some Lilly Bee and Bella Blvd pp's over a painted background. Finished off with some random chippy, a Lil Red Rocket button and a My Little Bit of Whimsy bird pin.

This next layout is for the themed challenge which was Grandparents with a Kraft background:

This one has some Fancy Pants and other random pp. The chippy was painted with H2O's (not sure how I ever survived without them - lol) and I think it's RW lasercuts ... not 100% though as it had no packaging. The lettering I handcut from some of the leftover pp and the rest is just some random flowers, buttons and leaves from my stash.

I must admit I was ready to give up on this one a few times .... it just wasn't working out the way I had anticipated. But I am glad I pushed through cause I am quite pleased with the end result. :-)

TFL Star xx

A2Z - Jan Sketch Challenge

2011-01-03T08:57:00.002+10:00

Yesterday arvo hubby suggested that I go scrap .... so I did!!

I decided to have a go at the Jan sketch challenge from A2Z. Here is the sketch:

And this is my take on it:

I used a random mix of pp's from Reminisce, MME, Lilly Bee and Scrap Within Reach. The cs base and misted circle was something I did month's ago but didn't suit my pp's .... I knew it would come in handy one day!! ;-)

The A2Z chippy word was from Mad About Scrappin which I painted with H2O's and then decorated the splashes with kindy glitz. The flowers were made with my new Dienamics dies which I absolutely love!

TFL Star xx

ABC Challenge - Mad About Scrappin

2011-01-03T07:30:00.003+10:00

Well it's a brand spankly New Year and there are a tonne of new challenges out there to choose from.

The January challenge from Mad About Scrappin is to use something from each of the letters A, B & C to create a layout.

I chose:

A - Alpha stickers

B - Brads (which I made with my new I-top ;-))

C - Corrugated cardboard

I also used core cs, some ancient pp's from Daisy Bucket, Scrapware chipboard, twine from MAS and a Ledger circle by Journal It's.

Entries are open till 31st January and there is a $10 store voucher up for grabs! You can enter via there facebook page using the link above.

TFL Star xx

If only I had as much to show as the hours I put in ....

2010-05-03T15:21:00.003+10:00

Okay so I am on the homeward stretch of the most jam packed scrappy weekend ever, I just don't appear to have the layout count to back it up!! lol

I kicked off my Saturday teaching a class at my lss before heading home for a few hours to pack my scrappy stuff. Saturday night I went to the tail end of the 12 hour crop for Mad About Scrappin at Leannes house. It was such a lovely night with a group of lovely ladies. After the crop finished a few of us got to chatting and before we knew it the wee hours of the morning had arrived. I got home (when the clock started with a 4 - naughty me) and managed to squeeze in about an hour and a halfs sleep before having to head back to my lss for the breakfast crop. Managed half a layout before having to take cover at the counter for a few hours (those of you that get what I mean will be lol-ing about now) and decided that I would tag along for Jenny's 3 from 3 class in the arvo. I used some of the new pp's from the Max and Whiskers range from Basic Grey but didn't get any further then the bases ..... cause it was a last minute decision I didn't have any pics with me. :-( I then stayed for a further few hours after hours to keep one of the other teachers company while she worked on some of her class samples.

Then this morning I woke up (not quite as fresh as a daisy - lol) but awake none the less ..... and guess what?? I got straight back into it! hehehe

3 layouts is my effort for the weekend and two of them even have dates AND journalling!!! A finer detail that was falling by the wayside :-(

Happy First Birthday is the May Number challenge at Challenge Heaven.

Sweet Kisses is also for Challenge Heaven this time for the May Word challenge.

And lastly my sample layout for the May Out of the Hat challenge is this one titled "Family".

Gotta run ..... the boy is awake and I need to rescue my scrap stuff that is currently spread all over the dining room table! :-O oops

Ta da!!!

2010-04-27T14:10:00.002+10:00

I finally finished my latest tote design!! How cute are those bright pink spots and butterflies?? I just love it .... (if you can't already tell that by my excitement) .... hehehe. The bag measures 13" wide, 14.5" tall and 4" deep so it is perfect for carrying my 13x13 glass mat and some page kits when I go to crops. Those butterfly pockets are on both the front and back and as an added bonus it also has two huge internal pockets on one side that would be perfect for housing packets of alphas or similar type embellishments. This is the only one I have made so I don't have any on offer atm but if you are interested in having one custom done pricing would be around the $45 mark.

I have also managed to squeeze in some creative time. I started this page at my lss Pizza Crop on Saturday night .... and no I didn't get it finished! Geez ..... your expectations of a girl are a little high don't you think?!?! lol I finished it off yesterday morning and it is my take on the Challenge Heaven Themed Challenge for April. The theme was "learning" and you aslo had to incorporate hand cutting. The circle, star and tip truck were all cut by hand on this one. If you look carefully you will also spy a "Date Tab" from Journal It's .... funny cause it's got no date on it!! and I also got to use one of my super cute new buttons from Little Red Rocket!!

These next two were my attempts at the Cybercrop challenges at Challenge Heaven ..... I use the word "attempt" cause they don't really count if you fail to actually upload them!! Not one of my finer moments ..... must of been having a "special" day that day!

Fast asleep was a colour type challenge .... there was a picture of three different coloured eggs .... blue, green and pink .... and you had to choose one of them to team up with brown for your layout. I found these seriously old American Crafts papers in my scraps and created this layout. I even managed to "road test" the new Library Cards from Journal It's which are hot off the press right about now! I used the Library Pocket Template to make a matching pouch from the papers and finished it all off with some ribbon and chippy clouds from 2 Crafty.

This next one was also for the cc and was a scraplift challenge ..... and I'm sorry but I don't have the link to the original layout I lifted .... but I am sure if you went over and had a peek in the gallery it wouldn't be hard to find. Little bit of paint splatter and some of my fave papers from October Afternoon and whalla .... finished!!

Phew!! And if you are still with me .... either I am getting midly entertaining or you have nothing better to do with your time ..... most likely the last one ;-) But if you have stuck with me I think I have saved the best till last ..... hehehe ..... little bit chuffed with myself here!

I have been invited to particiate in a closed ATC group called "Full Sleeve". We work from a private blog and our first theme was "Something Sweet", I came up with this STUPID idea to make a miniture ATC sized box of chocolates .... and then to make matters worse .... I bragged about it to others members on the group! lol So .... either I pull it off or look like a dumb bum!!

Several expletives later .... here is the first one .....

First closed .....

And then open ..... to reveal the drool worthy choccies inside!! (Carefully sealed under a layer of acetate so don't get any ideas) and besides I am not sure how delicious 3D Kindy Glitz would be??

Okay .... so if you are still with me ..... thanks for hanging in there and having a look at my little creative efforts ..... and if your not ....... (well your not gonna see this are you??) ;-)

Some creativeness .....

2010-04-04T14:23:00.002+10:00

Have managed to get a little scrapping done lately. I created these first two at a staff only crop at my lss on Good Friday.

10 Tiny Fingers 10 Tiny Toes is my take on this month's Out of the Hat challenge; At least one B&W photo, a stamp and pop dots.

The bracket shape and lion are on pop dots and the fake stitched border is a stamp from Crate Paper.

This next one was a just because layout .... just because I thought the new paper from Memento was too cute to pass up!!

This one I made a few weeks ago at a crop night at my lss. I saw it in the folder when I was uploading the others and thought I would share it too. I think it was meant to be for the sketch challenge for Challenge Heaven for March .... but you know me .... start with good intentions but sadly never get the time to finish it all. :-(

I have used Sass Lass papers and embellies which I have had for quite a while and never used. Bit of a long story but I ordered the full range from an online store and only the papers turned up .... it took quite a while for the embellies to show and by the time they did I was a bit over it. Just goes to show that it pays to keep that "why did I buy it stuff" in your stash cause you just never know when it will float your boat again!! lol

This last one was the Puzzle Challenge at Mad About Scrappin's Friday night in. This would have to be one of my fave layouts ever!! I just love the bright playfullness of it all! Gorgeous new glittered papers from GCD and some of the matching diecuts.

I have also used the new chipboard alphas from Cosmo Cricket which I am in love with!! You will notice them on the Wild About You layout up /\ there as well ;-) I love them soooo much I bought two packs and am seriously considering a 3rd!! hehehe

You might also spy on the bottom two pages one on the new range of Journal It's by Star .... Mini Note Tabs ..... they come in packs of 5 for just $1!! Interested?? then go and see the full range here. :-)

I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend for Easter .... I know I am!! mmmm ...... chocolate!!

Asian Delights ATC's .....

2010-03-21T12:59:00.002+10:00

The theme for the Born 2 Create March ATC swap is Asian Delights. Here is what I made:

It's a hybrid ATC .... I've used photoshop brushes to create the Bonsai tree and pot using three separate layers and colours. I made one blue, one green and one brown and then erased through to colour the different areas of the design. The writing is two separate brushes also. The one in the top right says "creativity" and the one in the bottom left says "friend" .... two things I feel are indicative of ATC's ...... being creative and making lasting friendships!! For the "traditional" part I have used the Summer Flower Soft to create the leaves and blossoms of the bonsai.

Now I just need to wait for the glue holding the Flower Soft to set completely and put the backs on them .... reading for posting tomorrow!

How cute is this?!?!

2010-03-08T20:18:00.003+10:00

Shell is giving this away at Lil' Red Rocket so if you want the chance to win make sure you click the link and become a follower of her blog!! You can get 2 chances by posting on your own blog! I even spy some cool Journal It's in the mix!!! ;-)

Blog award ....

2010-03-08T15:59:00.003+10:00

..... from Lisa K!!!

I have to pass it on to 5 people so instead of choosing I am just going to send it to the last 5 people who left me lovely comments!! So ...

1. xoxoAlyssaxoxo
2. Corinna
3. Chris W
4. Shimano (aka Christine)
5. Pauly

... this one is for you!! For bringing me sunshine in the form of lovely comments, the Sunshine Award is all yours!! Mwah xx

Inspiration ....

2010-03-02T10:18:00.002+10:00

... for March Out of the Hat Challenge.

March challenge is:

- fabric
- 3 different size flowers
- chipboard

I made three types of fabric flowers using the cuttlebug, pinking shears and strips of denim. The scalloped star border and title were cut on the Cricut using Sure Cuts Alot. More details on the challenge blog.

And just a more detailed view of the fabric flowers.

TFL and I hope you will join in the fun!!

Haunted House!

2010-02-23T08:34:00.003+10:00

Over at Born to Create the February ATC swap was to use the house template to make an ATC. Straight away I printed out a brick wall pattern onto some cardstock then literally "hit a wall" .... hehehe .... pardon the pun!!! I have mulled over this for weeks and then with all the retreat organisation they sat on the backburner.

Yesterday morning I was searching for pics of gingerbread cottages (Lou's suggestion) when I found a pic of a haunted gingerbread house and thus the Haunted House ATC was born.

I finished them off yesterday and popped them straight in the post. Fingers crossed they get there in the 2 days that Aus Post said it will take otherwise Loobs might just fly all the way from WA to smack my bum!!!! hehehe

OMG!!!

2010-02-17T14:41:00.002+10:00

Scrapbook News and Reviews are publishing 6 of my layouts in the Toddlers and Tots gallery in the next issue!! I think it is out on Sunday the 21st!

I am a little shocked and very excited!!

New beginnings ......

2010-01-26T11:00:00.002+10:00

2010 for me is all about "BALANCE" and finding the happy medium between work, family and play. There were times in 2009 where the "work" aspect well and truly took over and left me little time for much else. During 2010 I inspire to be more organised and also adopting a "do it now" attitude which means not putting off those little things till they become one huge time consuming problem. I am also learning to make the most of my time by setting achievable goals and NOT PROCRASTINATING!!!! hehehe

My new outlook on life means I am finding more time to fit in the little things in life that I missed out on.

I love ATC's!! They are highly addictive and I just love having a little piece of all my online friends to treasure forever. I wonder if in hundreds of years these little artworks will be selling for big $$'s at antique auctions????

Anyway, over at Scrap n Art the theme for February is "New Beginnings" and this idea popped into my head right away!

I have created a chrysalis hanging from a branch using stamps and 3Ded leaves.

When you open the chrysalis it reveals a beautiful butterfly!!

A wonderful New Beginning!!!

See .... I DO scrap!!!

2010-01-17T09:56:00.004+10:00

Hehehe ..... The amount of times I turn up to crops and do NOTHING .... my friends have been beginning to doubt that I actually do scrapbook!

I started these two at Lisa's yesterday .... got the papers and photo's down and then struck a wall with both of them. Mojo came back to play this morning and I finished them off over a cuppa!

Taking a Dip with Dad is the numbers challenge at Challenge Heaven this month. 1 heart, 2 lines of journalling, 3 buttons and 4 photos. I used Sassafras Lass Bungle Jungle pp's which I love!

This second one is the sketch challenge for Scrap N Art this month. The base of this one is similar to the layout I did for Leanne the other day. I just loved the way it turned out so much I had to do one for myself! I used Coredinations Whitewash CS as the base and the papers are Vintage Valentine by Fancy Pants.

Another layout .....

2010-01-09T14:54:00.002+10:00

.....wow ...... my mojo took over me this morning and my little brain was going faster than my poor little finger could cut! hehehe

Last Saturday night at Leanne's (for Coz's birthday) we decided amongst ourselves that it would be nice to scrap each others wedding photos as a present in the month of their anniversary. Leanne's was in December so we did hers first.

I used core cs which I cut into the shape and then lightly sanded around the edge. PP's are Bloom and Grow by My Minds Eye and the alphas are Bella.

And a close-up of the handcutting and layering. Also you can probably just see the Stickles on the birdie!

Hold onto your hats .....

2010-01-09T07:24:00.005+10:00

..... not only is this my 3rd post this week ..... but ...... I have also scrapped more layouts!!

"Present from Santa" is for the January word challenge over at Challenge Heaven. Had to use the word "present", a scalloped circle and striped pp.

My layout uses pp's from the Collage Press - Joyride collection. It's a bit hard to see from the pic but the outer frame is mounted on foam tape ane the fringe is sticking out from underneath it. I have also used 2Crafty chipboard that I painted with Twinkling H2O's, inked and then Spritzed.

The pics are of Cody opening his wheel from Santa .... it is now mounted on his fort in the backyard and he absolutely loves it!!

"Babysitting Pop Style" is my take on the sketch challenge over at Born 2 Create. I have used the new Origins range from Basic Grey for this one. The sketch is from Pencil Lines #113.

And just a little close-up of the handcutting and layering I used to create the flowers ... it was a little hare to see in the main photo.

January Inspiraton for Out of the Hat ....

2010-01-03T12:16:00.003+10:00

This is my take on the January Challenge over at Out of the Hat. Challenge this month is Striped paper, circles and a one word title ..... a pretty is one to ease us all back into the scrapping for 2010.

I love this pic of me and Cody and thought that the new Sugar Rush range from Basic Grey would be perfect!

Photo credits: Christine Wormald

Hmmmm......

2010-01-02T08:32:00.001+10:00

Maybe my New Years Resolution should include something about updating my blog?!?!?!?! ;-)

Albert Kit ....

2009-10-04T15:03:00.003+10:00

Have been working on some sample layouts for the Albert Kit at D-lish Kits. I decided to add some cardstock to my kit and have made these two layouts. I still have loads of leftovers ... over one whole sheet of pp if you add all the scraps together and still quite a few embellishments. I reckon I could do another 2 layouts if I added more cardstock and maybe just a few embellies from my stash.

This kit is great value at $24.15 which is 25% off RRP!! The word "Play" in the second layout is from the Heidi Swapp stamp that comes with the kit .... NOT a stamped image ... but an actual stamp you can do yourself and then you have it to keep forever!!

There are 3 other kits available at the moment too .... and there are more great examples on the D-lish Kits blog. Be sure to head on over and check them out!!!

Scrappy Sunday ....

2009-09-13T17:39:00.003+10:00

I decided this morning that today would be a day just for me!! I put the whole day aside to scrap and although I didn't get done as much a I dreamed ... I did finish two layouts so am super happy with that!

This one is for Lets Get Shabby ... this month's theme is white and/or cream with a hint of one other colour. I created the rose trellis out of the left over "rails" from the Collections picket fence chipboard. I have painted it with distress paint and then weaved the pieces together. I then twisted the stems of the roses around the trellis to make it look like a rambling vine. As a finishing touch I added some leaves from the D-lish Scrap store. The papers are Pink Paislee and Crate Paper which have been distressed and machine stitched around the edges. The heart shaped paper doiley is also from the D-lish Scraps store. I have also added the tulle which I gathered at points with more leaves and roses and then stitched to the page. I finished it off with some punched out butterflies with kaiser pearls on them.

Not quite as shabby as I had first envisioned but this is where it told me to stop! hehehe

My second effort for the day is for the Artastic chalenge blog which is run by my friend Shazza. I took inspiration from the colour scheme and since it was a painting I figured that I had to use paint!!

Well that's the efforts from my "selfish" day ... tomorrow it is back to the DT stuff, class prep, kits and the like ..... humph!!

Out of the Hat - September challenge

2009-09-10T08:24:00.002+10:00

I just love September's criteria for Out of the Hat .... Black & White with 1 other colour, distressing and multi alpha title.

This is my sample layout for the challenge .... A mixture of all my fave things at the moment:

- great finds at the markets
- Websters Pages papers
- goodies from my online store ... D-lish Scraps

You will be seeing a lot more of my wedding photos scrapped in the future .... my love of all things girlie/vintage is seeing me fast run out of pics to scrap!! I have always wanted to scrap my wedding pics and did start an 8 x 8 album for them. But I just can't get my head around the size and my stupid idea of having them all in the same colour scheme gets boring really quickly!!

I know I have been a really bad blogger the last few months. It's not from lack of trying though .... it's just that most ot the work that I produce I can't share .... DT stuff and class samples etc. I really think it may be time to get back to some scrapping just for me again ....

Time to share ....

2009-08-19T09:09:00.003+10:00

Firstly I have my sample layout for Out of the Hat. This month's challenge is to use bling on a boys page, minimum of 3 circles and staples.

I had chosen the photo and decided to use the papers from the Basic Grey Lime Rickey collection and it wasn't until I was putting it together that I realised the die cut sticker set had the words "You're the Coolest" in it ..... just perfect for the pic!!!

There is still plenty of time of you would like to join in this month at Out of the Hat .... entries are open till midnight on the 25th. Head on over to the blog for full details.

I have also been working on some ATC's for various swaps. This one is for Uproar and the theme was "A Splash of Colour", background was done with homemade alcohol inks on glossy cardstock, butterflies stamped on acetate and the scroll is silver ink that has been embossed in clear.

And this one is for the "Shabby Chic" swap at Challenge Chics. Edges are embossed with Queens Gold emboss, fence is Collections chippie that has been distress painted with distress ink rubbed into the cracks. The small roses I made myself from pink photocopy paper .... the smallest was a 3/4 inch circle!!

OMG!! I won again!!!

2009-08-07T07:45:00.003+10:00

I can't believe I won another prize!! I guess it really does pay to be in the right place at the right time!

I will be the proud owner of a complete set of 5 storage units for RW Lasercuts!! You can see the little beauties here, these ones have been decorated but I am assuming that mine will come undressed.

Wow!! Now if only I can make all this good luck transpire to the lottery .... hehehe.

On another note, if you have nothing planned this weekend then pop on over to The Challenge Chics where I will be hosting this weekends cybercrop from 7.30pm tonight!!

Some sharing ......

2009-08-03T08:36:00.002+10:00

Okay, so I meant to put this up on Saturday but seriously ran out of time! I was asked by Shazza Bishop if I would be the Movie Extra (guest designer) for her new challenge blog, Screen 2 Scrap.

The blog uses movie postes as inspiration for pages as well as using a few criteria. This month's challenge is from the movie "Fire Walk with Me" and the added criteria were, one photo, paper tearing and zig zags.

I have taken inspiration from the colour scheme, folded the dark burgandy paper to mimick a red velvet curtain, used a paper doily as the half heart and used lots of gold and velvety embellishments to give that decadent feel to the layout. To see the movie poster and also have a look at the other pages head on over to their blog. The challenge is open for the whole month and this months sponsor is D-lish Scraps.

Two reasons to celebrate!!

2009-07-26T09:56:00.002+10:00

WAHOO!!!!!

Firstly ..... Happy 100th post to me! This is oficially my 100th post since starting my blog .... even though sometimes they are few and far between! lol

And secondly ......

TOOT TOOT!!!!!

I awoke this morning to the news that my June Bug layout has been accepted for publication in the Basic Grey gallery!! It is a store sample that I have made to showcase the range for my LSS ... Paper Addiction. It's called "Mun and Her Girls" and you can see my layout here.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

2009-07-24T08:16:00.002+10:00

(for yesterday) I was a very spoilt girl! For anyone that knows me you would know that I just loovvee my bracelet! It also makes it wasy for the boys to know what to get me without having to ask .... or sending me to get my own present! lol

They surprised me with these four new beads .... a little teddy, a seashell, a crab (cause I am a cancer .... look at his cute little face!) and an I Love You bead! I love you both too!

And if they weren't enough my lovely girlfriends, Corinne and Lisa, got me this gorgeous genuine Pandora bead. It's silver and 14ct gold on the starfish! I love it sooooo much and am not sure what I have done to deserve such a generous gift. I am so chuffed and grateful! I love you girls!! Mwaah!! xxxx

Derek took this snap of me and Cody just before we went to dinner last night. This was right before the "chucking" incident that almost put a premature end to our night! Yes, you heard right ... my darling little boy decided to throw up on himself 4 times as we were heading into the club! A quick trip to K-mart for a set of new clothes saved the day and we were able to continue on with our dinner plans!

He was clearly okay ..... he ran around like a mad man while I went to the shops and then pigged down about 3 platfuls of food from the buffet! That's kids for ya! hehehe

Overwhelmed!!

2009-07-06T07:38:00.002+10:00

WOW!! I have been absolutely overwhelmed at the response I have had since opening D-lish Scraps last week. Some lines SOLD OUT on the first afternoon ..... which is amazing!

I have reordered top up's of all the sold out lines and also some new products. I also am waiting on orders from 2 new suppliers so there will be heaps more in store real soon!

Thanks to all my friends for their support ..... I really appreciate it!

Open for business!!

2009-07-02T13:39:00.003+10:00

If you have been wondering of my whereabouts of late ..... well here's the answer ..... I have been hard at work getting ready for the grand opening of my online store, sorting and packaging all the lovely products, photographing them and loading them to the store.

It's called D-lish Scraps and I have moved all of my handmade products there and as well have added about 60 new lines to tempt you! I am specialising in low cost and affordable embellishments for scrapbooking and craft. Lets face it .... there are plenty of places that do papers and cardstock well .... and quite frankly I don't have the room! lol :-D

There are lots of flowers, leaves, ribbons, laces and trims as well as paper doilies, metal embellishments and mesh. I will be continuing to add to the inventory so be sure to sign up for a newsletter while you are there.

As a special offer for our opening month of July only, everyone** who registers as a customer will receive a sample pack of our products for free!

You will also find instore my new range of handmade flowers ..... Floral Felties! They come in six different colour combo packs and are all handstitched with pearl centres. Here is a sneak peak of the Turquoise/Sea Green pack:

Postage is a flat rate and cheap fee of only $3 to anywhere in Australia ..... making it affordable too. Almost everything in store is less than a couple of dollars a pack ..... so cheap, cheap, cheap!!

**to be eligible you must register your details as a customer with D-lish Scraps, no purchase necessary, limited to first 50 customers or 31st July, whichever comes first.

We've moved!

2009-06-30T14:23:00.001+10:00

You can now find the challenge chicks here on our brand new Ning community!

New members are always welcome so feel free to join us for a whole heap of chatting and scrapping!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Cody!!

2009-06-23T08:44:00.002+10:00

My little boy is 2 today!! We had a small family party on Sunday to celebrate .... despite the rain and the jumping castle getting full of water (which we are still trying to dry out) ... the kids had a ball and Cody was just on the go all day!! He only had 6 hours sleep the night before and no sleep all day .... but that didn't stop him from enjoying his party! Come 5 o'clock it all came to tears .... but I kinda expected that!

We had a jungle theme for his party .... here he is blowing out the candles on his Crocodile cake!

HIP -HIP - HOORAY!!!!

A close up of the crocodile cake ..... it's constructed from cupcakes!!

And one of the monkey cupcakes!!

We are heading to the playcentre this morning as a special treat for his birthday .... and to fill in some time while we wait for Daddy to wake up from night shift so that we can have presents!!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!!

2009-06-15T16:32:00.002+10:00

Sorry :-( but I had to say it ...... we watched 21 on the weekend .... was a great movie, you should check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

Anyway the reason for my post is to share my good news .... my entry for the Inkurable Stampers May challenge won!! Wahoo for me!! I won a set of Darkroom Door stamps ... the flora ones and I am very excited to be getting them. As most of you know I have a small obsession with stamps so these are right up my alley!!

I have been a very slack blogger lately ... but oh so busy ..... lots of orders to fill which is good for the $$ but bad for my own scrapping time, which suffers badly. I did manage to make 2.5 layouts at a crop night last weekend but haven't had a chance to finish them let alone photograph them to share.

But I am slowly crossing the jobs off my to do list which was HUGE!! Hopefully I will get to the end of it before it grows any longer .... but if not .... such is life!! :-)

Another page and some ATC's ....

2009-05-26T16:48:00.002+10:00

A layout for the Scrapping Word Pictures blog. It is like a blind scrap ... a list of materials and instructions are posted and then you take that and your imagination and create! THis is anther page for my mum's album. The little fella to the very right of the picture is my dad! Cute trunks! :-)

When Corinne decided on the theme for the May ATC challenge ..... Arabesque .... I am sure there were quite a few people who wanted to kill her!! lol Here is what I came up with .....

I took inspiration from the architecture and made wrought iron scroll windows with my cuttlebug. The windows really open and close!

On a sad note ..... Cody smashed my EK success glass cutting mat on the floor yesterday afternoon .... I am devistated! It took me so long to get one and I really feel lost without it .... I use it for all my handcutting .... soooo much easier than cruddy self healing mats ... YUK!!

3 New Layouts ....

2009-05-25T11:27:00.002+10:00

Here are the two layouts I finished over the weekend and also another one that I whipped up this morning!

Dad & Me is for the monthly challenge over at A2Z Scraplets.

My entry for the Sweet Treats - Sweetie's Sketches blog is titled A Time to Celebrate ..... it is my dad's 3rd birthday party!

And last but certainly not least ... Play Time which is my entry for the Inkurable Stampers blog challenge. You always must use at least one stamp on your project and ths month's requirements were ribbon and lace.

Have a few more challenges scribbled down to have a go at before the end of the month ..... so best get back to it!

I hate bugs!!!

2009-05-24T21:22:00.002+10:00

It was certainly not how I planned on spending my Sunday but I have cleaned and scrubbed the kitchen cupboards to within an inch of their lives!!

I discovered this morning that we had an infestation of flour beetles in our pantry. Has anyone ever had to deal with these pesky little blighters before ... they get into absolutely everything. I did a bit of googling (gotta love google) for some advice on what to do and discovered that they are really hard to get rid of. I literally had to throw all of the food in the pantry away ... about 5 garbage bags full ... such a waste! Apparantly they can even chew their way into sealed bags which is amazing considering they are only about 1-2mm in size.

I had to vaccumn out the cupboards and then scrub them out with hot soapy water before fumigating them. All the storage containers and jars went through the dishwasher ... about 9 cycles I counted and then the bottom dishdrawer started leaking!! Some dishwashing detergent got spilt in one of the containers and when I put it through the dish drawer the detergent foamed up which confused the drawer sensors and caused it to leak all over the floor!

Gotta love our new spanky wet/dry vac though ... I sucked up all the water out of the drawer to drain it and then vaccumned up the water off the floor. Phew .... crisis averted!!

Once the fumigation had settled down I was finally able to put the pantry back together .... which I can tell you is not a lot! I had to throw away nearly everthing that wasn't in a can to eliminate the chance that they may reinfest. It will take me weeks to restock all the food that was lost and very expensive!

I HATE BUGS!!!!

On a good note I did manage to finish two layouts this weekend ..... I was really hoping to finish a few more but it took nearly 6 hours to sort out the kitchen! I will take some pics of the pages tomorrow and upload for you all to see.

Well I never did buy that lotto ticket .........

2009-05-23T12:16:00.002+10:00

...... but I've had a few more wins!

I was the 20500 click winner over at Kathie's blog which was kinda cool. I am not sure exactly what is in the prize pack but I have been told that she is super generous and that her prizes are well worth winning!

I also was lucky enough to come overall 3rd place at the RSS cybercrop from last weekend which means I get a $20 prize pack. I am soooo happy about this ..... I missed out on 2nd place by one point. The competition is tough over there .... a super talented bunch of scrappers and since I only did 3 of the 9 challenges I honestly thought I wouldn't have a chance. Some people did all 9 and I seriously don't know where they find the time!

I am working on some stuff at the moment so will hopefully have work to share before the weekends out!

From Dusk till Dawn ....

2009-05-20T21:25:00.002+10:00

... was the theme for the CC this month at Ready Set Scrap and this month I actually found the time to join in and scrap! It was an awesome CC ... lots of laughter, fun and games.

All the challenges were themed to movies. Nat's was Thelma and Louise and since she fell asleep watching the movie, the only stipulation was a B&W pic. I scrapped this pic of my Dad and his brother on their dad's motorbike.

Ann-Marie's challenge was to use the quote "A person is a person no matter how small" from the kids movie Horton Hears a Who. I love this pic of Cody ..... it was taken a few hours after his birth ..... check out the little fishy lips!

There were 9 challenges in total and no way I could get them all done so my last choice was Rach's challenge, The Little Rascals ...... scrap a pic of the kid getting up to mischief! No shortage of pics like that around here! I chose to do a digi page for this one .... kit from Suzyqscraps.

All this rainy weather is great for scrapping ..... good excuse to stay indoors. Have some monthly challenges I would like to have a go at this month so hoping to have a crack at those tomorrow.

Woohooo! I won something!!

2009-05-16T07:01:00.002+10:00

Over at the Scrapbooking Top 50 forum there was a comp to win a double pass to the Papercrafts Convention on the June long weekend here in Brissie ........ and guess what .....

I WON!!!!

So very excited since I never win anything! All I had to do was reply with my name in the thread to go in the draw ..... how easy is that. Now the hard part will be deciding which friend to take ...... hhmmmm ..... just jokes!!

Then last night I was lucky enough to win "Pink Flamingo" over at Ready Set Scrap Cybercrop!

Wow two wins in one day ..... don't they say that things happen in three's??? Maybe I should get myself a lotto entry for tonight ..................

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-05-12T11:19:00.002+10:00

I have been very MIA of late, keeping myself busy with a truckload of work and ventures! I always manage to bite off way more than I can chew! lol Have had a big digi job on .... banners and logos for an online store and lots of other things to keep me busy. Will see if I can bring you up to speed in one large post!

We went away for the long weekend (Labour Day hol in QLD) to the Gold Coast for a few nights. We stayed at Breakfree Savannah Resort at Broadbeach which was lovely. Buffet breakfast included every morning means I didn't have to cook for three whole days! We did some shopping and Derek got a new mobile phone (a Nokia 5800) that comes with free music for a year .... so I bet you can only guess what he has been doing.

Cody had a lovely time ..... self contained apartments are in no way child proof! so you can only imagine the fun he had! Emptying cupboards, playing in the fridge and "ordering" roomservice on the phone to name a few. On Sunday we went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary (my mum's shout) to see the animals. Cody was by far the noisest kid in the place, screaming with excitement at the top of his lungs for the most of the day. His favourite were the kangaroo's ..... he even tried to pinch a joey out of one of the mother's pouches ...... I am so surprised she didn't wallop him ..... they must be so used to human contact.

I was lucky enough to be able to take a workshop with an enormously talented and awe inspiring scrapper named Jude Harvey. (thanks Dad for minding my rugrat) Her workshop was teaching the principles of Shabby Chic and this is the layout that I created through taking the class.

The photo is a picture of my Grandma (who I never actually met, or remember meeting) on my dad's side.

And a little close up of the detail for you to look at:

It was part of the scrapbook that I gave my mum for Mother's Day ..... I am going to scrap all the old family photos and give them to her to keep in it.

On other news I have been making shop samples for my local scrap shop Paper Addiction. I have done quite a few so far and you can see some of them on their blog. I will be teaching my first class there in June so have also been busy making up sample layouts for this. I have one more to finish off by the end of this week and then they will be displayed instore till the class takes place.

Mothers Day was lovely! I was spoilt with two new beads for my bracelet. I don't have pics to share but one was a silver butterfly with a pink stone centre and the other a silver flower with a blue stone centre. We had afternoon tea in the park with the family and the kids got to have a play as well .... it was a lovely day in all. I was so exhausted I fell asleep at 7.30 and didn't even bother with dinner.

Anyway I think that's enough for now and will help catch you up during my absence. Gotta run as I have an $80 order for some of my handmade flowers to get ready for posting!

Hop to It Cybercrop!

2009-04-26T07:20:00.000+10:00

This weekend we are having our April cybercrop over at Uproar ...... the theme is Hop to It! It's our way of celebrating Easter but not in the exact way you would expect!!

My challenge is inspired by chocolate .... yum!! But not the kind you eat!! It's a colour challenge ... you may use the colours of milk, dark and white chocolate and one other if you choose. Here is my sample page ..... the pic is of my dad and his brother about 60 years ago.

This page was for Lisa's challenge. Her challenge was based on "traditions" and you had to use the word somewhere on your page. It didn't have to be about Easter so I made mine on our Australia Day traditions. All the scroll work you see was hand cut from a sheet of pp ..... it took hours!!

My little ATC challenge is proving to be popular too ..... I set a theme and requirements to suit the CC and people enter by making an ATC which is a one of. We all vote on our fave and the winner gets the unique set of ATC's. This month was pastel colours and it had to have a bunny or chick/bird on it. Here is mine:

And last but not least, a card for the monthly mini RAK challenge. The host sends everyone an identical pack of goodies and we each make a card from our little kit. The winner, decided by poll vote then becomes the host for the next month's challenge. Here is what I made from the kit:

More scrapping on the planner for today ..... oh and the washing ....... blaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Bug Bags

2009-04-25T11:24:00.000+10:00

This is my latest creation ......... a Bug Bag for the owner of my local scrap shop, Paper Addiction. I took in some fabric samples and these are the ones that she picked out. While I am a fan of the bright prints I do love the way that this one turned out.

I designed the bag perfectly to fit a Cuttlebug machine and all the box and dice! It has internal pockets as well as front and back on the outside to hold all of the cutting mats dies and embossing folders. If you are interested in purchasing one they are $39.95 so feel free to email me for any other questions you may have.

Some latest work to share.

2009-04-23T16:32:00.000+10:00

Been working on challenges for the Deb's cybercrop the last few days so thought I wold share my latest creations.

This layout was for Gayatri's challenge. She challenged us to use only Kaisercraft products (except alphas) to create a layout. (I guess inspired by her recent application for the Kaiser DT) You had to use mre than one range of pp (the more the better), b&w/sepia pic & hand journalling.

I used about 5 different paper ranges I think and this is what I came up with. (Oh and the layout was also based on one of sketches)

This one was a blind challenge set by Vicki. I love blind challenges as you don't have to think too much and the pages come together really quickly ..... but only if the instructions are clear otherwise you can spend hours pushing bits of paper around! I have learnt this from previous experience! Papers here are Cosmo Cricket - Jacks World which I think really suit the page. Also used one of my Journal It's by Star word tickets and 2 Crafty chipboard.

This one was based on a sketch provided by the lovely Angie. I have used My Minds Eye Penny Lane pp's and a collections birdy. The ribbon was sent to me by my lovely friend Corinne - mwah! Love it!

This last piece of work is for the Deb's Master Blaster challenge. This is the 3rd of 6 challenges in total. You had to make a sign that Deb could hang in her shop in the colours of the forum logo. I am not sure where my crazy idea came from but I woke with this idea in my head and it just grew from there. I was at it for 4 hours straight and this is what I came up with.

The frame was made by layering strips of chipboard to raise the sides and then I covered it in bazzil embossed dot CS. The big flowers are my Handmade Flowers by Star which I have added other lace and velvet flowers to. Flourishes are from Scapcutz. The hanging butterflies were made from digital images which I printed twice and back to backed. I then set eyelets in them to hang them between wired strands of beads. While I was looking for beads I found some bells so I attached them to the bottom so that it can twinkle in the breeze. They are all hanging off a coathanger that I cut up and attached from the back of the sign.

Have a few more challenges to complete before the Cybercrop at Uproar starts tomorrow night. Theme is Hop to It and it should be a heap of fun!

Crop Night .....

2009-04-19T09:31:00.000+10:00

Last night I went to the Pizza Crop at my lss with my BFF, I made this page for Amanda's colour challenge at Deb's for this weekends cybercrop. Lots of people were stopping to admire the page while I was putting it together ..... the experience was quite humbling .... I am not really used to so much attention towards my work.

The page is for an album I am making for my Mum for mother's day ... it's a collection of all her and dad's old family photos.

Cybercropping at Deb's this weekend!

2009-04-18T09:36:00.000+10:00

We are having a CC at Deb's this weekend ..... it is hosted and sponsored by some or the challenge chics who were kind enough to donate their time and prizes!

This layout was from an inspiration photo of someone's scrap space. It was black, white and lime green. I was also inspired by the clean and tidy look the room had with everything in it's place hence the minimalist layout I have made. PP's are MME Just Dreamy 2 and I have also used one of my Journal It's saying tickets.

Finished off a set of ATC's this morning also. Theme was set by me and is your favourite quote. The quote reads: "Reach for the moon ...... if you fall short you will land on a star!"

This is a set I finished the other day, the theme for these was Vintage. Arrgh .... forgot to rotate .... sorry!

Heading off to the local tonight for a Pizza Crop ...... hmmmmm pizza ...... should be fun and I will finally get to catch up with my BFF.

My loss is your gain!

2009-04-17T07:29:00.000+10:00

After a long day at work I decided to pop by the newsagent and treat myself to a new magazine. (Something I don't do very often as I never find time to actually read them) I get home and pop my feet up to read my mag only to discover after opening it that I already have it ..... a project jogged my memory ..... I just had never found the time to actually read it yet!!

So in a way to share the love and also to celebrate the release of my new product "Journal It's" (link over there to your left) I am giving away blog candy!! The magazine and three packs of my journalling products (pictured below) could be yours!! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post and make sure you are following my blog if you want to go in the draw!!

I will draw one lucky winner on monday morning so make sure you are in the draw by then if you want to win!!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T07:47:00.000+10:00

To all my cyber buddies ...... Happy Easter to you all!! Hope you are all having a happy and safe Easter and trying not to overindulge in too much choccie!!! :-D

I'm SUPER excited .....

2009-04-08T06:50:00.000+10:00

..... it's been a lot of hard work ..... but finally my handmade products and designs are available for sale!! I have set up individual blogs dedicated to each of my products ..... I have even opened an ETSY shop! There are links to them all just over there to your left ..... it's not far to go, so go on .... do yourself a favour and check them out!!!!

More products will be loaded to etsy soon, so keep checking back and I am working on some new designs as we speak!!

Blog Candy!

2009-04-08T06:43:00.000+10:00

If you love blog candy as much as I do then check out Rachel's blog, she has somw awesome candy up for grabs ....... you'll have to sign up as a follower to enter.

DT work ......

2009-04-06T14:54:00.000+10:00

This is my DT layout for my challenge blog ...... Out of the Hat. This month's challenge is to use: A shaped layout, a non-traditional scrapping item and lace in an interesting way. I used the bazzil CS as my base and cut it out to look like clouds, I used the lace to frame my photos and my non-traditional scrapping item is the title which I have cut from the packaging of Cody's new winter PJ's.

We have had some great entries already and there are awesome prizes up for grabs ..... so check it out at Out of the Hat.

I am starting a Conga Line ......

2009-04-04T07:09:00.000+10:00

I made this cool image and people can click along the conga line on each blog to take a fun filled scrapping journey!

Basically when you receive an invitation to join you add the image as a sidebar picture widget and then link the image to the one person who's blog you want to be next in line.

Rules:

- You can only join the line if you are invited
- You can only pass it on to one person
- Lets make the longest conga line in the world!! (wouldn't it be cool if it went all over the world and back??)
- Make sure you follow through until the person you invite has added it to their blog otherwise the chain will be broken and it won't work
- If you receive an invitation and don't want to be in the line then kindly let the person know who sent it to you so they can invite someone else.

I am really excited to see where this will end up!

My invite goes to Our little Slice of Paradise - Lisa Kamphuis.

Cybercrop weekend at Uproar.

2009-03-30T23:46:00.000+10:00

It was an awesome weekend with heaps of cool challenges and games. Everyone had sooooo much fun and the quality of work in the gallery is second to none! We went Green and Reduced, Reused and Recycled our hearts out!

This was an inspiration challenge - there was a pic put up by Lisa, and this is what I made from it. It's called Mr Damage and yes that is my DS eating my DST!!

This next layout was for my own challenge which was to use junk mail on your layout. The words "you could be this perfect" were cut from a Home Ice-Cream catalogue. I used my new Coredinations Whitewash CS that I got from Dee on Saturday night. I love it soooooo much!!! The supplier pics are crap!!! it is much nicer in real life! The colours look nothing like the images on their website.

I also threw in this extra challenge for fun. It was an ATC challenge to make one in the Go Green/Recycle theme. It had to have the colour green on it somewhere and be in the theme. I made this cute little froggie ATC ........ the winner of the challenge (voted by poll) wins all of the ATC's entered into the comp!

I have been doing quite a few other things which I hope to catch you all up on soon. I had a lovely weekend, cybercrop on Friday night, Craftfest on Saturday and then cropping at Uproar on Saturday night! I picked up my cuttlebug which I am very excited about. But alas ..... it's monday again ...... so all that means is work, work, work!

Followers where are you??

2009-03-20T06:31:00.000+10:00

I have just realised that I lead a completely tragic existence and only have ONE follower. :-(

I have added a pretty little follower section to my sidebar in hopes that a few of you may like to sign up so you can get your pretty little mug shots displayed there. You never know, if I get enough there may even be a little RAK given out!