School holidays...

The two younger boys have been creating with paint.  Which is a hard task to monitor when they can't really play outside.  School holidays = rainy weather at the moment ...  :(

But we made it work and when there was a break in the weather I quickly snapped a few photos of their messy glory!

Thank goodness for old plastic tables, right?! 

Hope you are having a heart felt, messy day...x

Birthday Week giveaway!..

Hello Friends.  We have started mid-semester school holidays here in Queensland and life has just become extra busy!  Mum?  Can we cook... paint... play computer... etc.. etc.. The crazy thing is, as soon as we hit school holidays, well... it starts to rain.  And all activities are moved inside.  yikes.

But rainy days also mean I can do a little creating while the kids are snuggled up on the couch watching a favourite movie.  :)

Greatest View has also started the school holidays by celebrating BIRTHDAY WEEK!  And I have to ask... Are you interested in a giveaway?  I'll let you think about that while I share my Greatest View project.  :)

Birthday Week gave me the opportunity to scrap some photos from Miss T's 12th birthday last month.  sigh.  It feels good to be on top of something like that!  LOL!!  I don't know how long it will last, considering Cam turns three next week!!!!

{Birthday Wishes}

products used: cs - kraft, stampin' up; pp - kaisercraft, crate paper; GV - Happy Birthday badges, Definition badges - birthday, Triple Pearl stick pin, ivory twine; other - Elle's Studio journal card, Manor House: flower & leaves,  kaisercraft: paper bloom & clear stamp, machine stitchine, typewriter, ink: Tim Holtz distress ink, close to the heart.

I've played with the badges to created a banner of sorts and added the ivory twine to back up the idea.  I also wanted my layout to have a whimsical feel to it.  Afterall, my 12 year old was wearing a tiara and enjoying every minute of sparkler fun!

So, how about that giveaway?  Would you like to have the chance to win the birthday badges that are featuring on the GREATEST VIEW blog all week as well as a sampler of small chevron bags and a couple of metres of coordination chevron ribbon, simply leave a comment on >>>>this<<< post and tell us if YOU use banners in your projects!

The giveaway will run all week so come back each day for more chances to win! The winner will be announced Monday July 1st.

Good luck!  And thanks for visiting..x

Greatest View + create...

Hello Friends.  Have you noticed the new trend of confetti on so many layouts at the moment?  I must confess I've been a fan of this for some time.  :)  I love that extra oomph it gives to my background as a texture.  My lovely friend and fellow Greatest View DT member, Kim is a big fan too!  I love how she adds confetti directly to her patterned paper!

Why am I talking about confetti?  Because at Greatest View we are about to celebrate Birthday Week!

And as a pre-cursor to Birthday Week, I've created a layout about the birth of my youngest son. AND it has confetti on it! Double Yay!!

{#4}

products used: cs - kaisercraft, stampin up; pp - kaisercraft, crate paper; alphas - October Afternoon; GV - yellow chevron ribbon, love definition bagde; other - Elle's Studio layered circles & journaling card, prima flower, kaisercraft:ink, clear stamp & paint, glimmermist, mister huey's mist, machine stitching, crate paper border stickers, typewriter,star punch.

Don't you just love that ribbon!  Gail has some more in stock now.  Go and check out all the other beautiful colours while there too!

If you would like to know more about how I get back into creating after the mojo has been lacking, go and visit this post over at Greatest View. It has a little something to do with the hidden journaling I've shared in the photo above.  :)

Thanks for visiting..x



Finally...

yes.  Finally.  I can share some of the inspiration that has hit me since going to expo.  :)  Hello Friends.  I've been scrapping.  :D  And after dragging myself up and out of bed last week, I've found that getting crafty yesterday and today, have left me with itchy fingers.  I just needed to play with some paper.  Forget the housework.

{Sunset}

products used: cs - Stampin' Up, bazzill, kraft; pp - Crate Paper, Bo Bunny; alpha - kaisercraft; FTD - Delightful Doily Duo, High in the Sky,Zippity do da; other - Elle's Studio journal cards, PLS vacation card, twine, Dear Lizzy embellishment, staple, MS pinking circle punch & small circle, black pen (sharpie), Tim Holtz distress ink, Versacolor ink, Kaisercraft ink, Mister Huey's mists. 

Today I pulled out my Fancy That Dies from The Papercraft Hub and played with High in the Sky - a gorgeous little hot air balloon.  I've been wanting to use the silhouette of this die for ages and just couldn't find the photos I wanted to pair it with.  :)  After listening to the other Scrapbooking Memories Masters talk, I realised I just need to stopping holding (hoarding) the photos I want to scrap and just document the story.  I'm sure we all do this from time to time.  Have a fabulous photo and instead of writing down the story of that moment, we wait, until we have the right paper, the right embellishments.  Well today I just wanted to scrap.  And I didn't want to have to go shopping first!

(high in the sky) 

Another "light bulb" moment I had after expo was looking through my layouts and remembering other gorgeous pieces of "art" I had seen and just wished.. I had it in me to use different techniques.  Louise Nelson's art is divine.  I adore her story telling on her pages and believe me she does document her stories in such a unique way, that looking at a colour on a layout will trigger a memory for her.  I love her misting techniques on her backgrounds and the movement she can create from drips of paint.  So uniquely beautiful.  And here I was wishing I could try my hand at that method and still retain a little bit of me.

And then it hit me.  I do that already.  LOL!  Sure, not to the extent that Lou does, but there on my background papers are splashes of paint and mist.  Colours dotted together to help me tell my story.

 (delightful doily duo)

The scary thing for me sometimes, is that I do this in reverse!  I will layer and adhere papers before I pull out the paint.  Just adding a dash here or there always completes a layout for me.  :)

I love how in this industry we can be so inspired and motivated by others to document our own stories that are unique to us.  And I know when the mojo is low, my scrapping friends can lift me.

(zippity do da)

Again I will share, just how wonderful it was to meet up with my on-line friends.  Thanks for the snippets of inspiration that I have gathered from you all.  And hopefully now I can pass along a little inspiration to others.  Thanks for visiting..x

Greatest View sneak...

Hello Friends.  This week-end I have plans to play with my new Scrapbook & Papercraft Expo purchases!  LOL!  All I really need for that to happen however, is for my head to stop spinning and there will be no stopping me! laugh.  Well that and a few stolen hours to sort it all out.  :)

But what I can share today are a few sneaks for Greatest View's next Guest Designer....

... and if you can guess who it is, you can win a gorgeous RAK from Gail.  Just pop on over to the blog and leave your answer in the comments section.

Good luck...x

Three days of craziness! (and then some..)

OMGosh!  I'm not even sure I know where to begin!  What a truly amazing and exhilarating long weekend!  And then I get home and it all crashes around me.  LOL!  If you have never been to the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo before, then you are missing out!  Just meeting many of my beautiful online friends in real life was one of my many, many highlights!  Meeting and making new friends was a little bit of the icing on the top! But the danger of being around sooooo many people during flu season is easy to work out.  :)  I started this post on Tuesday.  Today is Thursday.  I have spent the last two days in bed.  Bleh!  But if that's the price I pay for having a terrific time, I'll take it gladly!

Of course being in attendance as a 2012 Scrapbooking Memories Master and talking to people about my layouts was an "out of this world" experience.  I am so glad I did it.  Nerves and all!  LOL! And I am hoping I inspired a few people to look differently at the items they put on their layouts.  :)  Thanks to both Cassie and Vanessa for all their support!

Because I was talking at the expo, I got to sneak in early (before the crowds) and managed to have a photo taken with Tim Holtz!  And lucky too because there were five to six people deep around him at all times.  He was really lovely and extremely willing to sign autographs and have photos taken with random strangers (!) when he probably was supposed to be setting up his work area for the day.  :)

Without a doubt though, one of the best parts of the week-end was catching up with some of the 2012 Scrapbooking Memories Masters! 

from L to R: Sophie Sim Lawrence, me, Kim Jeffress, Cassie Bellemore (SM editor), Louise Nelson, Renee Iveson.

Another bonus (and there were so many!) was catching up with the Australian contingent (minus one person) of the 2010-11 Kaisercraft contributing team.  Sorry Ladies, if any of you have a non-blurry photo, please pass it along! LOL!

from L to R: Nerrida Mitchell, Trudi Harrison, Kerryn Lawson, Karen Shady & me.

And even though I am still coughing up a lung right now, I am already looking forward to next year.  Thank-you to every one who came to my little chats, stopped me to say hello, admired my work in the gallery and then told me as much (blush), and to Kim, Gail and Kerryn from Greatest View.  Best. Weekend. Ever.

Some more Scrapboxx...

Hello Everyone.  I'm back with a little more Scrapboxx May kit and this time I have created a layout that is utterly boyish with very feminine patterned papers. :)

I've also reverted back to my patchwork style of scrapping - using all those odds and ends of scrap paper.  After all, the patterned paper is so beautiful, you really do need to use it all up.  laugh.

 {camera shy?}

products used - May BOS @ Scrapboxx.

The stitching, stars elements and general LO design are an uplift from the very talented Tina Walker.  Check out her style.  Very gorgeous.

Thanks for visiting..x

Etzcetera, Etzcetera...

Read all about it!!  Literally.  I am not sure if many of you know as there hasn't been a huge announcement as such... but I am truly excited and honoured to be a part of Kim Archer's fabulous online magazine Etzcetera, as a regular contributor.  Wow!  Seriously.  Have you seen the talent who are proudly doing their bit creating fabulous things??!!!

In this issue, the team are celebrating the magazine's first birthday!  I had the pleasure of designing some cupcake toppers and a few chevron party bags.

But just so you know, this magazine is so much more, than just about craft or scrapbooking.  It's a fun and fabulous lifestyle magazine.  And for the tiny cost of $4.50! You can't go wrong.  There is so much content that you will be sitting back and reading cover to cover for some time.  So relax, grab a cuppa and steal some time away from the kids.

Check it out.  You will be doing yourself a favour...x

A little Scrapboxx...

Hello Friends.  I'm just popping in briefly to share this layout I created for the May BOS kit over at Scrapboxx.  I love the versatility in this boxx of goodies!!!  You can easily create four layouts plus a few cards if you wanted to!  Here is the first ...

{12}

products used: May BOS kit found @ Scrapboxx. 

Thanks for visiting.  I will be back later in the week with a another Boxx layout...x

Fancy That...

Hello Friends!  TGIF!  Before we get started, I just wanted to remind you that Greatest View's latest release, goes on sale tonight at 7pm Brisbane, Australia (EST).  I would hate for you to miss out!! Have a little look at this awesome sneak....

Gail has worked extremely hard putting all this fabulous-ness together.  You really won't be disappointed. :)

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

Today I am sharing with you a simple birthday card that I have created using a few co-ordinating scraps of patterned paper and the Fancy That Dies sweet blooms.  And the best part is, these paper scraps aren't even from the same manufacturer.  :)  So it's time to break out your stash and create.

I've started with cutting out my flowers and layering the petals until I found a combination I was happy with.  This little die set is so versatile that you can layer the petals as many times as you like and still obtain a gorgeous flower.  Check out my post here.

I wanted to make this birthday card bright and fresh so that the flower embellishments become the immediate focus.

The leaves (included in the sweet blooms die set) have been cut from felt off-cuts and then teamed with some lime green chevron ribbon from Greatest View.  The buttons fit perfectly into the center of the flower and finish the card off nicely.  :)

Now all I have left to do is write a special message inside the card and give it to my dear friend over the week-end.  Quick, easy and super simple.  My kind of card!  LOL!!

Thanks for visiting..x

products used: cs - stampin' up; pp - Echo Park, October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket, We R Memory Keepers; FTD - Sweet Blooms; GV - chevron ribbon; other - kaisercraft clear stamps, versacolor ink, stampin' up ribbon, bo bunny buttons, machine stitching, felt.