Greatest View reveal...

Hello Friends.  Well as promised, here is my layout for Greatest View.  I had such a wonderful time playing with this new release that I've already created two other LOs! Gail has done an amazing job with the new birthday badges, countdown badges and a new colour selection of sunburst and chevron flair badges.  yummm...!  And to top it off, she has also including fabulous chevron ribbon in the shop.  It. is. to. die. for!  OMGosh!  Love, love, love it!  :)

Here is my layout featuring the birthday boy and countdown badges.

 

"two"

products used: cs - kaisercraft, dcwv; pp - echo park, october afternoon, crate paper, kaisercraft, lily bee design; GV - lime green chevron ribbon, mini doily, large paper doily (packaging), sunburst, chevron, boy birthday & countdown badges; alpha - pink paislee; other - PLS journalling card, kaisercraft die cut & ink, fiskars punches (small circle, he said/she said, scallop circle), martha stewart punch (pinking circle), typewriter, tim holtz distress ink & alterations embossing folder, foam tape.

If you want to check out some more details, head on over to the GV blog.  :)  Thanks for visiting..x

Greatest View Countdown!

Hello friends!  Are you excited about the next release over at Greatest View?  If not.. You really should be!  LOL!  Gail has created the most beautiful new badges and has got some a.maz.ing chevron ribbon in store!!! 

Want a little sneak peek to whet the appetite?  Here we go...

day 1.. Kim:

day 2.. Gail:

day 3.. Kerryn:

day 4.. me!

Don't for get to come back tomorrow for my full reveal.  Thanks for visiting..x

52 photos...week ?!?

Oh dear.  I have simply let this get away on me again.  So rather than go waaaaay back into my photo files, I am just going to start fresh.  hee..

For everyone who is not familiar with my quest, I am trying to document more.  I have been attempting to tell at least one story from the past week, every week.  I guess it is my way of fumbling through Project Life. Ha!  As you can tell, I am no longer fumbling.  hee.. I have clearly dropped the ball!  

So in an effort to get back into documenting the bits and pieces that happen around here  I'll start with this exciting news.... Aussie of the Month!

week 20

Yay Ethan!!  Some of you may remember this...  Mr Smarty-pants was one of the first recipients to be awarded Aussie of the Month in its introductory year - which really was less than 12 months ago (August, 2011).  Here is a little background behind the award...

Every week sees students being awarded on Parade by their teachers and peers, by receiving accolades and praise. Every month, one student from each class gets chosen by their teacher to get "The Student of the Month" award. But the school has just introduced a new incentive for the kids to strive towards....

"AUSSIE OF THE MONTH"

Only four students from the junior school and four students from the senior school are awarded. Eight in total out of those 1300 kids. These kids are not chosen by their "biased" teachers (LOL!), but rather nominated by them. The school Principal has the final say.

The awards are nominated based partly on courtesy, not necessarily academic achievements, being a good sport and of course behavior levels.

 

 

Last week, Ethan was awarded it for the second time!  OMGosh!  I am so proud of him.  When I got the phone call from the school I was actually driving at the time so Tahlia answered my phone.  At my end, all I heard from Tahls, was.. "a-huh.  yep.  okay.  I'll let her know. thanks.  bye."  And she continued reading her book.  me: ?  (don't you just love it when the kids answer the phone?!  LOL!)

 

"Oh.  That was the school, mum.  They want you to go to the office when you get there..."  me:?

 

"I don't know.  She didn't say."  me: !!  Grrr..  LOL!

 

So, by the time I got to the school and found myself at the school office, I really didn't know what to expect.  :)  When they told me Ethan was being awarded Aussie of the Month again, I was quite surprised!  Not that he doesn't deserve it, but more because it is a new concept, and the school is so very large.  I just thought they might want to spread the love around a bit.  IYKWIM... 

 

I was grinning from ear to ear (proud mama moment and all..) when I turned around from the office window and made an instant decision.  Ethan didn't know about it and I wanted it to be a surprise for him.

 

Later that afternoon he stood proudly on the stage and accepted his award and badge.  A big grin on his face too.  He was the smallest kid up there!  And he kept waving to me the whole time!  hahaha!  Too cute.

 

I'll leave you with the words his Year One teacher used to nominate him...

 

"Ethan is respectful of teachers and students alike.  His manners are impeccable and he is polite and confident.  Ethan displays pride in his school and in himself through his conscientious attitude for learning."

 

sigh.  Did I mention I am so proud of my boy... :)  Thanks for visiting..x

Sweet blooms and more...

Hello Friends!  Happy Monday! :)  I thought I'd start the week with a little bit of scrapping and share a layout created for The Papercraft Hub and Fancy That Dies.

Lately I've been admiring all of these talented scrappers who use flowers.  And lots of them.  haha.. I'm usually a little bit more reserved with those sort of embellishments but I thought I'd try my hand at it too.  But.... I added a little twist to challenge myself somewhat....

I had to make all the flowers myself.  Therefore no pre-made/manufactured flowers allowed! Argh!  I know right..?!  What was I thinking!  hee..

So what did that leave me with?  Sweet Blooms from Fancy That Dies of course.  And (because I love layering so much...) I added the Small Scallop Floret to some of the base petals of sweet blooms. sigh.  I also love the flourish script that was printed onto the Bo Bunny patterned paper.

Adventurous?  For me... definitely! But I enjoyed creating these embellies.

{My Girl}

products used: pp - Lily Bee design, Bo Bunny, Kaisercraft; alpha - American Crafts, Authentique, Sassafras, Bella!; FTD - Sweet Blooms, Small Scallop Floret, Leafy Swirl, Doily Duo; other - Sassafras (indie girl) border sticker, string, machine stitching, Jillibean Soup die-cuts, Greatest View chevron badge, Lily Bee design sticker, ink: kaisercraft & versacolor, rhinestones: kaisercraft & Abi's crafts, My Mind's Eye brads, Hambly Screen Print, Maya Road kraft doily, small flower punch.

So... I'd love to know what you think.  Please don't be a stalker.  :D  If you have the time please leave a comment.  Thanks for visiting..x

Stuck?!...

Hello friends.  The new sketch has been released over at Stuck?! Sketches where I am delighted to say, I am the guest DT among so many VERY talented designers!

Sara has provided another fabulous sketch, one that I really didn't have to stare at for ages before I used it.  LOL!

Admittedly, I was going to use more photos but in the end, I settled for a single image. :)

{true bliss}



products used: cs - bazzill; pp - Echo Park, Bella!; alpha - sassafras; other - sizzix heart die, martha stewart punches, kaisercraft; ink, paper blooms & rhinestones; FTD sweet blooms die, MME rhinestone brad, versacolor ink, typewriter.

Miss T still loves her ballet.  Probably even more than when she started!  LOL!  But that is a hard call because I'm sure every little girl starting out in ballet probably thinks it is the best thing.  Ever!  However, she is working very hard and rarely misses a lesson - 3 times a week after school.  The cute thing now though, is she helps out her ballet teacher with the 5 & 6year olds.  :)  Her ultimate ambition today, is to be a ballerina/dance teacher.  :D

So, don't forget to join in the fun and visit the Stuck?! website for some more inspiration.  Thanks for dropping by..x

Fancy That...

Today I want to share another layout created for The Papercraft Hub.  This image of Liam has been sitting on my desk for some time.  I guess I've just been waiting for the right kind of inspiration to scrap it!  LOL!  So with ANZAC day recently past, I decided it was time to document the story...

My son Liam, celebrates his birthday on Remembrance Day - November 11.  Last year he claimed it was his "luckiest" birthday ever with the date falling on 11.11.11.  :)  But regardless of it being lucky or not, Liam has always had a deep interest in knowing more about the day itself.  Remembrance Day is a favourite subject of his, at school.

Last year, during our big family camping trip, we took an opportunity to visit Canberra's War memorial.  It is such a spectacular place and we would have loved to have spent much more time there than we actually did.

What we did do however, was take a guided tour at one stage, and I was so proud of the way Liam stood so attentive, asking many questions.

This photo was snapped as he stood in front of the wall of Remembrance.

{Remember}

products used: cs - kaisercraft; pp - Pretty Little Studio, Nikki Sivils, Jillibean Soup; alphas - Jenni Bowlin; FTD - filmstrip, build a bloom, scallop floret; other - buttons, machine stitching, crate paper sticker, bingo marker, maya road transparency & kraft calendar, string, glimmermist (juniper), paint, the crafters template (small circles), d-lish washi tape.

I have used the new release Fancy That Dies filmstrip, build a bloom and the scallop floret.  I've torn the filmstrip in half again and used only half of the build a bloom to replicate the poppies in the photos.

Thanks for visiting..x

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Mother's out there who has someone chatting your ear off or asking you to get them a drink or is waiting for you to change the TV channel or is giving you a chance to hear their ingenious plan... etc, etc... I hope your day has been full of surprises, loving cuddles and smoochy kisses!

To all the mummies who have had breakfast in bed, shared said pieces of vegemite toast,  and have been waited on today by doting slaves sorry... gorgeous children... :)  I hope you have made special memories.

To all the Mums, Grandmas, Nannys & Great Grandmas who received phone calls from eager little voices wanting to say "helwoo" and desperately wanted to give kisses and cuddles via the phone... I hope the voices touched your hearts even if they could not touch your hand.

And to  my Mum, Mother-in-law, Nana & Grandmother-in-law... Happy Mother's Day.  We love you & hope that you had a wonderful day today...x

I've scrapboxxed!...

LOL!  I feel like I've not posted a layout for Scrapboxx in such a long time.  I assure you though, I have been plugging along behind the scenes creating a fabulous kit available later this month!  Yay!  I will share more on that soon.  However,  it is currently my turn to host the latest fortnightly challenge.

I am challenging everyone to use a few of my favourite techniques that are so familiar on my pages to create their own layout or, dare I say it, a card!! :D  Here are the details:

1. White space. LOL! Yep. There it is... But I want to see a nice big area of clean space.
2. Paint. You can swipe/splatter/ sponge it on. Have fun with it!!
3. Four (4) different patterned paper manufacturers!
4. Multiple photos (not required for the card)... and ...
5. Finally a banner!

products used:  cs - Kaisercraft; pp - Kaisercraft, Bella!, October Afternoon, Jenni Bowlin, Sassafras, Echo Park; alphas - American Crafts fabric thickers, Jillibean Soup; other - Greatest View: sunburst badge & Elle's Studio date card; kaisercraft paint; ink: kaisercraft, versacolor; sewing machine; black pen (sharpie).

Yes.  I just had to throw a banner in there.. LOL!  So... Are you tempted to play along?  I really hope so because I'd LOVE to see your interpretation with the techniques I use to create.  Visit to The Boxx forum to enter your layout or card.

Thanks for visiting..x

Fancy That & a winner!...

Hello Friends!  Did you all enjoy the NSD Scrap Kitchen Blog Hop?  It was a big one right?!  50 awesome bloggers all sharing their love of scrapping.  :D  I have a winner.....  but will share at the bottom of the post.  Thanks so much to all the fabulous crafters out there who have left beautiful comments on my blog.  And to all my new followers... WELCOME!!!

Today, with Mother's Day looming(!), I thought I might share some really easy (and I mean really easy) Mother's Day cards. So for the next few moments.... Can my mother, mother-in-law & grandmother-in-law, please look away! hahaha...

These cards were created using the wonderful Fancy That Dies from The Papercraft Hub.

I love the new release Dotty Doily Duo.  It makes a beautiful blank canvas to frame the new release Butterfly Quartet (I have used the largest solid butterfly)... But... You can also layer the smaller dotty doily, inside of the larger one...

With this card I have also used the Scallop Floret inside of the Sweet Blooms die.  :D Regulars to my blog will know how much I love playing with "this" die! hee hee..

And finally, I have also played with the Dragonfly die.

So there you have it.  Three very simple cards for Mother's Day.  Don't forget to visit The Papercraft Hub to see more great dies.

_______________________________________________

Now on to my randomly chosen winner for the Scrap Kitchen blog hop.................................

thriftycrafterMay 6, 2012 10:01 AM

Loving that zingy LO, lots of other nice things too, and a good sketch.

CONGRATULATIONS!   Please leave me an email at leanneallinson (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk  and I will get some Greatest View goodies out to you asap..x

Thanks for visiting..x

Happy Birthday Tahlia

My sweet girl turns 12 today.

It is extremely hard to believe that another year has passed and that time refuses to stand still.  We are so lucky and blessed to have her in our lives.  So very proud of everything she does and pleased at the young lady she is becoming.

We love you Tahls.  Have an awesome day.  Mwah..x 

Knock, knock...?

Hello.....  Is anybody there? 

OMGosh!  I have been bust neglecting my poor sad little blog.  :(  I am so sorry about that.  I've also been doing a lot of crafting too.  Not much I can share (sorry about that too!!) but I can let you all know that I am the Guest Designer over at Stuck! Sketches!!  How exciting is that!! LOL!  Okay.  It's really exciting for me because this is my second GDT role.  ever.  hahahaha!

Sara was kind enough to ask me to play along and I really loved these sketches!  Wow!  Check this month's first sketch out:

Fun right?!  And of course I love multi-photo layouts (nothing new there!).  So I've condensed, flipped and played til my heart was happy! :)

{peace out}

products used:  cs - Kaisercraft; pp - Cosmo Cricket, Kaisercraft, My little Shoebox, Echo Park; alpha - American Crafts fabric thickers; other - Greatest View chevron/sunburst badges, cosmo cricket chipboard stickers, hambly screen prints transparency, bo bunny buttons & brads, skewer, twine, typewriter, black pen (sharpie), glimmermist, Kaisercraft: paint & ink.

These photos were taken on "Harmony Day" where the kids wore orange to school.  And yes... I broke out the zesty orange and lime combo again.  :) 

I ended up removing one of the photos from the sketch and added extra journalling.  Just the facts but I still like the way it comes across.

I hope will go and visit Stuck! and leave some love for the amazing DT over there.  And even better... I'd love to see you enter your own LO.

Thanks so much for visiting..x