Create + Share...

Hi All!  I'm back again with another scrappy share already!!  hee hee.. I have the new Sketchabilities sketch to share with you.

And this my version of the layout:

[Sugar & Spice]

products used:  pp - kaisercraft (Chapter One), kaszazz; other - basic grey fabric brad, American Crafts thickers, embroidery floss, versacolor ink, kaisercraft: ink, pearls, paper blooms, paper flowers, wooden birdcage flourish,crochet doily, diecut shapes & mini alphas; paper doily, string, foam tape.  

I found this sketch a little bit of a challenge....After all,  I told myself, I'm not really a circle kinda gal! LOL!  But I actually like the end result.  Even with the lime green and black colours.  Go figure!

Don't forget to check out the other DT layouts here.  Thanks so much for visiting....x

Create + Share...

Hello Everyone!  Guess what?  It's time for a new Inspiration Challenge over at Get Picky.  And not only that, we are raising awareness for a brilliant and noteworthy cause... Daffodil Day.

Here in Australia, the Cancer Council celebrates an awareness day on August 26th with daffodils as their theme.  We thought this would be a great way to get behind the cause and also promote some awareness by providing you with a daffodil-inspired board for inspiration this month:

The DT has gone all out with this challenge!  Check out what the other amazing designers have created here...

This is what I came up with after seeing the inspiration picture:

[All the way to the Top]

products used: cs - bazzill; pp - kaisercraft, PLS; alpha - AC puffy thickers, kaisercraft mini alphas; other - kaisercraft: ink, wooden flourish frame, paper flowers, paper blooms, pearls & rhinestones; basic grey brads; prima flowers; ribbon; grace taylor clear stamps; stampendous clear stamps;  heart punch; scrapmatts kite chipboard; string; PLS bracket journaling card; black pen.

Cam was so thrilled when he made it to the top of the slide, all by himself!!  LOL!

 

The winner of this challenge will be invited to guest design for our next inspiration challenge in September.

And this month we are offering another random prize.  Everyone who participates in this challenge will go into a RANDOM draw to win a selection of gorgeous products from My Little Shoebox!

 

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

 

Good luck....x

Design Team Call...

Hi All!  Just wanted to let you know that Karan has put out the call for a new DT over at Sketchabilities!

It's a great site full of inspiration.  Go and check out the details!!! Good Luck.....x

Today...

After a few days of constant, miserable, rainy weather, we got to go out and enjoy the last week-end of Winter.  Yahoo!  So where did we go?  The beach of course! LOL!!

It was a beautiful day to go.  And late afternoon is my favourite time.  There's hardly any traffic - on the road or the beach - and the atmosphere is so relaxing. 

Well.... It was relaxing until this one came onto the beach!!  LOL!!

Little monkey!  hee hee!  It was like he discovered the world's biggest sandpit! HA!  And he just needed to feel the sand everywhere - between the toes, in his hair, down his nappy!

We ended up staying over on Bribie Island for dinner on the beach.  So nice to just watch the sunset and then head home....

I love sun-shiny days....  Thanks for visiting...x

Giveaway!!!

Hello Everyone!  I just wanted to draw your attention to the Pretty Little Studio Blog.  They are having a wonderful giveaway!  How exciting!!!!!  And it's not just a little one.  Melissa is giving away $100 worth of product!!

It includes fabulous product such as:

5×7 set of A is for Apple Flashcards

5×7 set of Animal ABC Flashcards

Mini Love Notes Papers Collection

4″ set of 26 Baby ABC bunting flags

Mini Hopscotch Paper Collection

Mary Paper Doll Set

Jelly Bean Brights Journaling Cards

Rough and Tumble Cookie Cutter Labels

Mini Little Boys Journaling Cards

A-Z Animal Mini Bunting Flags

Fruit Punch Mini Bunting Flags

Valentine Mini Paper Ribbons

5×7 set of 2011 Vintage Calendar Cards

$10 – worth of our new Scaredy Cat Collection

AND................................ All you have to do is leave a comment on this Pretty Little Studio blog post before August 31st! How easy is that.  So.  What are you waiting for?  You've got to be in it to win it.....x

Book Week...

Has it really been 12 months already?  Didn't I just finish completing a series of home made costumes...like.... last week?  And NOT last year?.... I'm sure that was the case.  So why did I find myself putting together another round of book character outfits, in the last few days....again!!

OMGoodness!  Time is flying.  I think it will be Christmas before we know it at this rate!  Aaaaarrrrggghhhhh! :D

Anyway!  The kids had been giving some thought to their characters.  The boys changed their minds several times.  But Tahlia, she knew exactly who she wanted to be, and put most of her character's traits together, all by herself.

Introducing..... "Fern".  The little girl who rescues Wilbur the runt pig, in E.B White's "Charlotte's Web".

Don't you just love the effort she put into her spider's web! LOL!!

Liam put some thought into his character too.  Except, his thoughts translated to.... "Hmmmmm.  I think I want to go as Frankenstein.  Again.  Just like last year."

Mary Shelley would be proud, huh?!  Hee hee....  He found most of his bits and pieces from last year and played the part of "Monster" beautifully! Ha!  He even walked around on parade with a monster's gait!  Gotta love the acting skills!

The parade was pretty special this year.  Not only did heaps of kids put the effort in to dressing up, but it was Ethan's first Book Week parade.

His original thoughts had him being dressed up as a viking.  Oh!  How much fun would it be to go to school with horns on your hat and to wield an axe without getting in trouble with your teacher!  *insert dreamy look here* ...

(Okay... Maybe that's not a dreamy look.  But he was certainly practicing the part of being a mean and nasty viking!) Bwahaha!

But alas, his ideas focused to his favourite character "of all time!"   Scooby Doo.....

A little improvising here and there, but overall I think we made an awesome effort!

So.... Does anyone else participate in Book Week?  I think secretly.. I kinda love it.  The craziness.  The whimsical dreams that I can... maybe, just maybe help the kids pull their outfits together! Bwahaha!  Who am I kidding?  There's no secret about it.  I am just plain nuts. I have to love it.  After all, I spent most of today driving back and forth to school, to watch different grades parade around the school hall, at different times.  Yep.  To drag Cam and myself back there several times (on minimal sleep the previous night!), I have to tell myself I love it! ;)  Because pulling costumes together on a few days notice, well...  That's just craziness!

Thanks for visiting..x

Cameron...

Moody... temperamental... can throw a tantrum at the drop of a hat (and often does)... tired but fights it... wanders the house looking for his absent sister and brothers on school days... shy of strangers...  shy of friends.... even Grandparents have to let him warm up to them.  Clingy... alternates between being a mama's boy & daddy's little man.  Loves going in the car... even for a short trip.  Has discovered Play School, Postman Pat & Chuggington... TRAINS!!! ...where's the toot gone, Mum?... farm animals... horses... cows.... pink milk!

Outside... running... golf clubs... cricket bats... swords.  Balls.... water... Jack (our dog).  Blowing bubbles... snatching them out of the air.  Following Liam.  Following Ethan.  Sandpit... digging. Books... turning pages... pointing at different elements... pretending to read!  Loud...  boisterous... exuberant... joyful.  Building blocks... opening presents... his or anyone else!  Observant... watchful... understands everything you say.  Can easily follow instructions... sometimes chooses not to....  

Loves brushing his teeth... will easily consume a tube of toothpaste if he finds a quiet corner!... Loves to be helpful... set the table... school lunch boxes... feeding the dog...  Won't eat much.  Maybe corn... cheese... yoghurt... tomatoes... cucumber.  Not a fan of sandwiches... or bread in general... except garlic bread!

Wants so much to be bigger...  tells me he's not a baby...  gives squishy cuddles & sloppy, cute, little kisses.  I tell him he is my baby... he just laughs...

This is my reality.  Documenting the highs and lows of child #4.  The roller coaster ride of my baby (and he is my baby! LOL!) who has just turned two.

Thanks for visiting.

Shhhhh! It's a whisper...

Finally!!!!  LOL!  Isn't that right girls?  HA!  I can't even remember when we started, but I'm sure we all promised it was going to be a quick one!  Oh well.... Life gets in the way sometimes!

So here we go... If you haven't started at the beginning please visit the "Mastermind" of this challenge and an awesome scrapper.... Bridge!

This is my contribution to the whisper...

[Fun Fair]

The challenge also was to include a non-scrappy element on your page (the masking tape scallops) and no more than three flowers...

Now if you'd like to see more... continue hopping over to my fellow Sketchabilities Team mate and another brilliant scrapper... Jodi!!

Thanks for visiting...x

Create + Tutorial...

This is definitely a bit late.  But I still want to share it with you!  : D This post was also my very last blog post over at Kaisercraft!  The DT had the pleasure of working with some fabulous product provided to us by Glue Arts. 

[Wedding Card]

I had heaps of fun putting this little tutorial together.  And I haven't had a chance to share this yet since I was away on holiday when it was posted over at Kaisercraft and then when I returned home... well... I've been on a rollercoaster ride regarding my Dad's sudden passing.

So, here’s how I put it all together.

Gather your supplies.  Materials needed are: kaisercard, 3 strips of patterned paper from the 6.5″ Pink Gelato paper pad (2″, 2.5″ & 3.5″ in width), Pink Gelato paper pad die cuts, organza ribbon, Pink Gelato sticker sheet – sticker borders, ink, Glue Arts Glue Glider PRO and the Glue Arts micro extreme adhesive squares.

Step 1.  Choose and cut the desired patterned paper from the paper pad to the size of the kaisercard or slightly smaller.  Ink and stitch around the edges of the patterned paper and attach to the card using the Glue Glider PRO.  This tool makes life so much easier for paper lovers!  All you need to do is press down and move the Glider towards yourself in one quick and smooth motion.

Step 2. Ink the edges of the pre-cut paper strips using Kaisercraft ink pads.

Step 3. To create the bottom tier of the “Wedding Cake”, take the smallest strip of patterned paper and add a sticker border to the top edge and trim to fit.  Score a line 1.5″ in from one of the short edges and 1″ from the other.

Fold back the edges until they touch, allowing the paper strip to form a “D” shape.  Add some adhesive strips like a bandage to hold the shape in place.

Step 4. Take the next strip of paper (2.5″) and score two lines at 1.5″ in from each of the short ends.  Fold back and overlap the edges by approximately 0.5″ and using the Glue Glider to adhere together.  This creates the middle tier of the wedding cake.

Here’s where it gets tricky!  Add the micro extreme adhesive squares to the lower back of the middle paper tier.  Slip it inside of the first tier and press the adhesive squares to secure the second tier to the first.

 

Step 5. Add another border sticker to the top of the remaining paper strip.  Score lines at 2″ and 1.5″ and adhere as in the step 4, but overlap the edges to bring the 2″ score line, overhang, all the way over to the other scoreline.

Insert this tier into the other two tiers and attach as in the steps above, using the micro extreme adhesive squares.

Step 6. Attach the “cake” to the card base using the Glue Glider.  Add your sentiment from the paper pad die cuts, to the front of the “cake”.  Finish dressing the card by adding the paper blooms and ribbon.

Thanks for visiting and leaving me some love....x

Create + Share...

Who's ready for some "Clowning Around" and another Pretty Little Studio challenge?

This week we have a sketch challenge.  Check it out!

Not bad huh?  And all you have to do is leave a comment on this post, with a link to your layout and you could be a winner!

 Here's what I came up with...

[Full of Energy]

products used: cs - American Crafts; pp - PLS Clowning Around; alpha - American Crafts; other - PLS vintage tags, staples, twine, office stamp, pom pom, bingo marker, fiskars speech bubble punch, machine sewing, shipping tags, glimmermist (candy apple), black pen.

Thanks for visiting..x

Create and Share...

Hi All!  We've just recovered from a long week-end here that's also just happened to include my hubby's birthday yesterday!  Happy Birthday Mark!  We love you lot's!! Mwah...x

(I LOVE hipstamatic!  hee hee..)

Today I also wanted to share some more Sketchabilities and Get Picky layouts.

Firstly Sketch #53 is up over at Sketchabilities....

 [Fly to the Moon]

products used: pp - October Afternoon (Rocket Age), Kaisercraft (Party Animals); Alphas - October Afternoon, American Crafts thickers; Other - Bella! chipboard borders & brads, machine stitching, Basic Grey brads, versacolor ink, kaisercraft clear stamps.

Karan does an amazing job with these sketches and they are so versatile.  If you are looking for a starting point, head on over.. :)

Get Picky also has another fabulous sketch to try and this month they are being sponsored by Scrapmatts!  My wonderful friend, co-DTer for The Boxx and all round super-star, Leanne Jago, is Get Picky's guest designer this month too.  So if nothing else, you need to visit just to check out her work!!

Here's the sketch challenge...

And here

And, here's is what I came up with...

[Come in Peace]

products used:  cs - bazzill; cs - October Afternoon (Rocket Age), Kaisercraft (Party Animals), We R Memory Keepers (Geo-hectic); Alphas - October Afternoon, Basic Grey, Collage Press; Other - 2Crafty alien chipboard, Autumn Leaves & Kaisercraft clear stamps, versacolor & kaisercraft ink, Crate Paper stickers (toy box), Bella! chipboard, toothpick, measuring tape ribbon.

Liam is always coming up with silly/quirky/sometimes downright contradictory sayings!  Just like this one.. "I come in Peace!" At the same time, he's pointing a water pistol at at his next victim!  Hmmmmm...  Trust worthy?  I think not.  We're working on that one though! Hahahaha!

Anyway.. There's a few challenges for you to try out.  Good luck and I hope to see you participate in the fun.  Thanks for visiting and leaving such lovely comments...x