And the winner is...

Thank you once again to all the lovely people who left a heart warming comment on my Bloggerversary post. And as promised, I have drawn a winner.....the old fashioned way! LOL!!

Besides, I don't think Cam would let me have the time to do a google search on a random generator. :D So it came down to paper and scissors. *wink, wink*!

Congratulations .........................................................................................!!!!

Thanks for your lovely words. Can you please email me your address to leanneallinson_at_hotmail_dot_co_dot_uk . I look forward to hearing from you! Woo Hoo!

And, because she is just so darn cute!!! Congratulations Willow!!

Willow is my daughter's school friend and a keen little scrapper! I'm sending a little something to you too! I hope you have fun.

Thanks again to everyone who played along...x

Week-end Adventure...

Yesterday we got back from a lovely week-end camping getaway. It was so nice to be able to relax and unwind with good friends and just let the kids be kids!

Of course now I have all the washing and sorting out of camp gear to do, but it is all worth it. Especially if we can enjoy each other as a family without any modern day appliances!! LOL! And let me tell you, I'm pretty sure we did our bit for Earth Hour on Saturday evening!!

We actually didn't do too much in the way of exploring. Apart from continually using the creek and a little bit of horse riding...

...the entire visit to this gorgeous area, Widgee, was very low key. *sigh* Now it's back to reality .... and a few piles of washing! LOL!

Thanks for visiting. Tomorrow I will draw a winner from my bloggerversary give away! So stay tuned!! hee hee...x

A Reminder...

Just a little reminder that tomorrow Scrapboxx will be having their Cyber Crop!! Woo Hoo!! And it is going to be fabulous. Check this out...... (just in case you needed the details!)

The hints and sneaks are starting to appear in the forum so get over there right now and do yourself a favour! hee hee... I know you want to... *wink, wink* Here's a little insight to what I'm challenging you to create...

No. I'm not asking you to go out onto your street and get the neighbourhood involved! And I'm certainly not asking you to start up a street party. But.... that could be fun!! So what am I asking you to do? Get over to the Boxx tomorrow night and find out! LOL!! I hope you can come..x

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I also want to thank each and everyone of you all for your lovely, heartwarming comments on my previous post. I'm so glad I can be a source of inspiration and make some of you giggle! (Thx Lisa! LOL!) I do enjoy writing this blog and to have this opportunity to document our journey - good or bad - between the scrapping, is soul searching. So I guess I do it as much for me, as I do for family and friends!

So thank you. For taking the time to leave some love.

The giveaway is now closed and I will do a random draw for a winner next week. (I'm going away tomorrow for a long weekend.) I promise not to keep you waiting....x Thanks for visiting.

Happy BLOGGERversary!

It's my bloggerversary today and I would like to celebrate with you!!

Image from here...

Three years ago today I started up this little blog to help family and friends keep up-to-date with the quirks and nuances of Our Little Family.

Since then, the blog, and our family has grown somewhat! LOL! I started to surf the web and found a multitude of inspiration from like-minded creative people. My next step was to find the courage to comment on these other amazing blogs and maybe... just maybe... start thinking about trying my hand at this scrapbooking thing! hee hee...

I love the idea that you can be creative and record you family history at the same time. I guess since that first scrapbooking post, I caught the bug. Big time!

So to help you celebrate with me, this is what I'd like to do. A giveaway! YAY! All I need from you is to post a little comment here to let me know that you have visited and to tell me why you keep coming back! (Hopefully!!)

Thanks for visiting... and goodluck! ...x

Aftermath...

Forgive me for not up-dating for a few days! LOL!! I'm still recovering from sleep-over-never-want-to do-this-again-ess!! hee hee!

A few people have asked me how it all went on Friday night. Well.....for the most part... The boys were really well behaved and for once, they actually didn't have any MAJOR disagreements! I couldn't ask for much more. But having two little boys and four big boys running around inside the house, due to nasty weather, well.... that just leaves it open for having a trail of destruction! ha!

And let's not forget the amount of food they consume! WOW! LOL!

Funny thing though... As soon as I picked the kids up from school on Friday afternoon, they started to negotiate with me about the ideal bedtime. I started the opening bid on a joking note, telling them that 6pm sounded good to me! LOL! They promptly followed up with a bid for an 8pm bedtime! hee hee! I promptly gave in and let them win! bwahaaaa! Well.... It wasn't going to get better that that! hee hee! The reality though - they were all fast asleep by 9.30pm! The down side....They were all up really early! 5am is too early right???? LOL!!!

Thanks for visiting...x

Create...

Today I wanted to share my very last Inspired Blueprints DT sketch. I feel quite sad that my extended term is over, but I chose not to re-apply. That of course doesn't mean I won't be playing along over there any more! LOL! I'm pretty sure they won't be able to get rid of me that easily. :P

Anyway, here is the sketch:

And this is what I came up with:

{Dear Australia}

Given recent global circumstances (both New Zealand and now Japan) maybe I should have re-named the layout, and addressed it to "Mother Nature"...

Funny thing... IB are encouraging the use of mini, multiple photos. Right up my alley right? So I choose to use just one photo! Go figure!! LOL!

..................................

Another little share I have at the moment is this little pillowbox gift idea. If you would like to see more, including a tutorial, please feel free to visit Kaisercraft.

They would make a great Easter gift for school teachers! And the bonus is...... They are so simple to make!!

Thanks for visiting... I'm off to prepare for an invasion of three extra boys for a sleep over tonight. Wish me luck, as I am going to be hopelessly out numbered by the male species this week-end. Even Tahlia is abandoning me!!! *yikes* :D

Create...

Hi all! I'm back! LOL!! (Told you I would be...) hee hee!

I have some more Kaisercraft love to share with you today. Bubblegum Hills. I love this collection. It is incredibly girly - very pretty with soft pinks and greens. And the polka dot "Blue Lemonade" is to die for!! So what do I do with it?? Change it up and create a boyish layout. Typical huh?! LOL!

{You & Me}

Last week over at Kaisercraft, Karen sent out a challenge to create a boyish layout out of predominantly girlish papers. How could I refuse the chance to challenge myself.

This layout reflects how the house is sooo quiet at the moment. Especially with the older kids at school. Cam and I can actually focus on having time to ourselves. Not that we don't love having Tahlia, Liam and Ethan around. It's just a different, dare I say, rambunctious atmosphere! Boys!! And when I say the house is quiet without them, well.... That's all relative really. Cam has a voice that booms!! Attention getting - much? LOL! Maybe it's all about expressionism! hee hee....

Anyway, back to the layout.... I wanted to recreate a celebratory look and put a twist on the patchwork squares, which I am seeing a lot of lately. I'm calling it square confetti! ha! Maybe this is my own expressionism!!

Thanks again for visiting! I love reading your comments, so keep them coming! LOL! :P Have a great day and.....I will be back with more soon....x

Create...

Hi all. It's my week to share in the blogging again over at Kaisercraft and this month we have two new gorgeous releases to play with!! Nan's Favourites and Bubblegum Hills. I am totally in love with both collections. I cannot put them down...so.... You might be seeing the full collections, in various forms, over the next little while! LOL! *You have been warned*! :P

Today I can share with you a layout created with Nan's Favourites...

{The Big Boy Spoon}

Now, Cam has been very independent with a spoon and fork for a very loooooooooooong time! LOL! Little master bossy boots loves to do things his own way. This was just the perfect opportunity to put it down on paper!! LOL!

He's not shy either when it comes to making a mess. I just wish more food would go into his mouth rather than on the floor! hee... Ahhhh! The joys of being a toddler!

Thanks for visiting. Come back tomorrow for some more creativeness...x

Woot Woot!!

Happy news!!! I am so excited to share this because I have been sitting on it for a little while..... I am a new design team member for........

tah dah!!!

And WOW!! Have you seen who else is on the team!! Some amazing talent and I can't wait to get started! *squeal*!!!! LOL!

Thanks for visiting....x

Pay it Forward...

Pay it forward for creative people: I promise to send something handmade to the first five people who leave a comment on this post. They must in turn, promise to post this and send something they made to the first five people to reply. It must be sent sometime in 2011. Mix tape, postcard, jewellery, sewing...it all counts.

I have been lucky enough to be one of the five lucky people to comment on Anita's blog. As promised I too will Pay It Forward to the first five people who comment here. :)

Create...

Here's another sketch challenge for you. Sketch #67 is up and running over at Inspired Blueprints....

I just had to take this opportunity to start scrapping some of Ethan's birthday photos! I also LOVE Kaisercraft's "Class of 87" patterned papers too. Combining the two just seemed like a good idea! hee...

{Five Today}

Thanks for visiting...x

Create...

Today over at Kaisercraft, we are showcasing the fabulous Bubblegum Hills collection and the super sweet flutterby embellishments.

It is my turn to create a layout and I couldn't go past my photos from a Spring fair we attended last year!

{Spring Carnival}

If you are heading that way, please leave me some love! LOL!! I'm feeling a little bit left out! Ha! No. Not really. But I do appreciate the lovely comments.

Also while there, please check out the monthly sketch challenge. You can win some awesome prizes. Kaisercraft is incredibly generous and they are open to sending prizes overseas as well!! Yay!!

This is my take on last month's sketch #3:

{Beautiful Friends}

The two Tahlias! hee hee! Aren't they sweet.

Thanks for visiting...x

Family Photo...

Has anyone else been run off their feet before they get out of bed in the morning? It certainly feels like that for me at the moment! LOL!! And guess what... I knew I had forgotten something. March has rushed up upon us and because this photo was taken in mid- February, it just got pushed aside! LOL!!

So, here it is... Our "February, photo of 6".

This was taken on a little scouting trip for a new camp ground. We went out to Wivenhoe Dam to check out the water levels and see for ourselves any damage that was caused by the January floods.

We had this photo taken from under one of the many barbecue shelters near the dam. And on several of the structure's posts, you can see where the water mark was left by the floods!!!

Can you see the current water levels of the actual dam in the background of the photo! Just incredible...

Anyway, I can now tick this item of my list of things to do! LOL! Well that is until we have our March, Family of 6 photo!! Heehee...

Thanks for visiting....x

Okay.... Now here's a little something for those of you visiting from The Boxx!!! My clue has been hidden in this post. *wink, wink*!! For the next one, head on over to this fabulous lady's blog here. Please leave a comment on this post to let me know who has travelled through. :) Goodluck...x :)

New Smile...

Yesterday was a big day. And long. Let's not forget long! :) It started at 5am (or 3am for me if you count Cam waking up and being restless!!). Ethan had the day off school to go and visit the dentist. But not just any dentist.... Unfortunately he needed to see a paediatric dentist and a surgery ward. Time was not my friend yesterday. Every five minutes seemed to drag.

Due to undiagnosed reflux and the constant grinding of teeth caused by it, our poor little boy's teeth had started to really deteriorate. As his Mum I feel totally responsible. And my guilt increased ten-fold yesterday during the 3.5 hour wait while he was in surgery.

My pacing and nervous twitching was getting some sympathetic glances from the volunteer hospital worker. After those methods and Mark's reassurance didn't calm me, I think I started to drive the poor lady crazy with all my inane questions as to what she does and why! LOL!! She humoured me gracefully though. :)

Ethan needed stainless steel caps to protect his damaged teeth and prevent them from wearing out before his adult teeth come through. He was the perfect little patient though. Very calm going into the surgery ward on that huge bed...

And he was absolutely amazing coming out. I was expecting tears and lots of them. Nothing. For that I was grateful. He just looked up at me and slurred..."I love you Mum". The best words ever.

The lovely nurses put a movie on for him to be distracted with. I'm just not sure when the clown fish Nemo, from "Finding Nemo", was trying to escape from the dentist office and was causing excessive amounts of chaos and screaming (in the movie only), was appropriate!! LOL! Mark and I just started laughing.

Ethan wasn't interested anyway.

He just kept asking to go home. Until they brought out the big guns..... Ice-cream and jelly!

So today, he had a sick day. He has recovered quite well but the after effects from the anesthetic are still in his system. A slight temp and feeling very lethargic...

Although... this has all been forgotten since he received some happy mail! Yep the real deal, snail mail. A "Get Well" card posted to him from his teachers and classmates. Such a lovely and thoughtful thing for them to do. Considering his schooling career to date, has only been six weeks long! Gotta love that...x

Scrapboxx create...

Guess what!? Have you caught up with the latest newsletter from Scrapboxx? There are some exciting and stunning examples of work from the DT. Not to mention the fabulous deals you can find in the pre-order shop! Go and check it out.

The DT challenge for February was to create a layout using monochromatic RED!! Yep... There sure was a lot of lovin' happening! LOL!! Here's my example....

{Cherry Christmas}

yeah ok.... I'm still working through some Christmas pages! LOL!! Well, at least these memories are being recorded.... even if it was in February! hee...

And while we are chatting about the Boxx, I want to let you all know about this!!!:

Woo Hoo!! We all had so much fun last time. Get ready because I really hope to see you there!!! Thanks for visiting...x

Create...

I have been playing with paper. And scissors. And glue. And new birthday goodies! Yes siree! Lots of fun for me! LOL! Happy, happy, joy, joy!!!

For my birthday, I went shopping at TwoPeas and came home with a few punches (ummm... No. There wasn't a fight at the bargain bin. The punches are the good scrappy kind! LOL!). I can't wait to really get the chance to put them to work! hee!

So, let me start by sharing with you my latest projects with Storyboard Kits. "Hudson" is just delightful! - (but unfortunately sold out!). You still have the chance to win a kit from Storyboard though, if you go here... :)

There is such a good mix of patterned papers and Bo Bunny swiss dot cardstock available in this kit. I couldn't resist mixing it all up... just little!

{Ticket 2 Ride}

journalling: Finally you are old enough to ride the mower. Daddy showed you the controls, but there was a problem. Your legs are not quite long enough! Thus Liam gets to ride too...x

{So Worthwhile}

journalling: even though you keep me awake most nights and your favourite word is "mumma" on repeat... It is still so worthwhile.

With this layout, I gravitated towards the We R Memory Keepers patterned paper and used the Fancy Pants as the background. (LOL!! Just re-read and realised how crazy these words together must seem for the non-scrapper!)

Anyway, happy scrapping folks. For the past week I have created a page each day! I am on a roll....and there's more to come! Yay! Thanks for visiting..x