Scrapping Knights

Project Life 2011 detail shots

2012-01-10T14:12:00.001+10:00

In my last post I showed a video of the first 6 months of Project Life 2011. I wanted to share with you some of the detailed shots as promised. The main reason I wanted to show you these is to have a visual understanding of how simple it is to alter the journaling and filler cards a little. I didn't want Project Life to be a burden so I wanted to complete it as quickly as possible with as little thought as possible. I batch processed a lot of the journaling cards so they were already stitched, doodled or jeweled. These are a few simple ways to alter them. What are your tips for quick alterations? I'd love to hear. Share a link to your blog in the comments so other can see too.

Here I added a 6x12 American Crafts page protector to put my Mother's Day card in. I love Project Life because now I have a spot to store all those items you really want to keep but you don't know where to put them.

I used one of the filler cards as an extra journaling card. As you can see I'm a really big journalling fan. Don't you just love Lisa's jumpsuit?

More journaling on the filler cards. There must have been a lot to say that week.

Doodling on the filler cards and some jewels added too.

I laminated the movie tickets. It was the first time Kevin and I had been to the movies in years. It was the King's Speech. (Fantastic.) It turned the tickets a bit brown but you can still see the words. I hope this will help preserve it a little longer. I know if I hadn't it would have already faded.

This is a divided page protector from American Crafts. I inserted the invitation as well as extra photos from the week. I love these for my regular albums too.

The plane ticket in the divided page protector. I don't know how long that will last. Maybe I should have photocopied instead or scanned it.

Here's the divided page protector in the album. You can't even tell it's there until you go to turn the page. They fit perfectly with the Becky Higgins page protectors.

Extra pieces of memorabilia. An art exhibition we went to, a Valentine's card and an information sheet from school.

Jewels and doodling

My hospital bracelet. I also love this photo of me taking the washing off the line. It's not often I get to have a photo of me doing such a boring daily task. Thanks for taking that Kevin.

In the top right corner is the FREE photo program photosheet. This one uses 4 photos 3x2. You can use any size combination you like. I often print 2 photos 2.5 x 3.5 using this program. They fit perfectly in the smaller pockets for Project Life. It is excellent for printing at stores who charge a ridiculous price for doing this for you. I'll be printing a lot of my iPhone photos using this program this year.

I love this page. It has my dentist invoice (yuck), a note from kindy and a fuel receipt which I had to photocopy as I know it wouldn't have lasted if I hadn't of. I lived where it was 42 degree Celsius during summer and those carbon receipts don't last long in the heat . Lots of the things which will be fun to look back in years to come. Can you tell how much I love Project Life? I'm so excited about it. It is sooooo good. So simple. So easy.

Project Life 2011

2012-01-07T18:59:00.000+10:00

I have completed most of my Project Life 2011 album. I cannot praise this system highly enough. I was a little skeptical at first as to whether I'd be able to keep it up and whether it would impact on my traditional scrapbooking. Well I must say, apart from the last month with the big move, I have scrapped more than usual this year and I think it is because I don't feel the pressure of being behind. I have so many day-to-day memories recorded that I don't feel like I have to scrapbook every tiny little moment. I feel the pressure has been completely taken off me. I don't feel behind at all and I feel so relieved that Kevin and I have been able to have all of these memories recorded for us not just for the kids. Project Life is our scrapbook. The kids have their own scrapbooks which one day they'll be able to take with them to their lives.

Here is a quick 60 sec video of the first 6 months of our 2011 Project Life.

I will follow tomorrow with some page details for those of you who are interested.

Here are a few of my tips which have made this year's P/L so successful.

I have taken a no-stress approach this year. I haven't minded if I missed a photo a day. I have just made sure I have at least 7 items to include per week, be it receipts, photos, memorabilia, art work, school work, whatever happens in that week.
I have pre-stamped and day-ed the journaling cards so at the end of each day, or some times during the day, I can whip out a journaling card and get the information down.
I have also tried to include a variety of different types of journaling. Sometimes it's a list of food we've eaten, places we've been, times we've done certain things, other times it's a letter type journal to the kids about what they are doing in the photo, other times it is just a short story of what the photo is about. I think it adds interest. Stops me being bored of how I'm writing.
I did minimal alterations to the kit. Sometimes I added rhinestones, stitching, doodling, stamps, labels or stickers.

Scrap Room part 1

2011-12-16T07:34:00.001+10:00

My husband gets this........

but I get.......

THIS!

A whole room to myself.

Here are my scrapbooking supplies in boxes and that's not even all the boxes. I have 4 more to add in there.

Most importantly is this bargain I picked up. $200 for this shelving unit. Even more came with it. We just couldn't fit it in the room. I will adjust the shelves once it is all assembled but I was just too excited to not share.

How awesome is that for $200. Better than an Expedit. Bigger and more versatile.

My hope is to update you with a few photos of my scrap room once all the items are in place. Shaking with excitement right now.

What does your scrapping space look like? Do you scrap at the kitchen table, in the office or have a dedicated room?

Share links to your blog with photos so people can get an idea of what is out there and some different ways to sort and store their supplies.

Shimelle's 4x6 photo love October

2011-12-09T11:00:00.001+10:00

I have been waiting for some spare time to finish this project off. I finally finished on a rainy day. A bad day for photography and the weather set in so please excuse the photography.

You probably all know by now what a fan of Shimelle's I am. I enjoy her style and her instructions. I have thoroughly enjoyed her 4x6 photo love series on 2 Peas. Ten, yes 10, photos in one session, on one page is awesome. She just makes things so easy to follow. She is such an inspiration. Thanks Shimelle.

And the other side.

The journaling. It's a travel page so of course there's lot of journaling.

And some more details.

I love this idea and I think I'll be using it a bit more especially in the kids albums next year. It was simple and quick to do, enough embellishing and lots of space for the story.

My next post will show you my scraproom plans. As I have just moved 1200kms I have the chance to set up my space the way I want it, allowing for finances too. I'll show you the bare room (well it's not bare it's actually full of boxes so I'll show you how much "stuff" I actually own in my stash) so you can see me build my room up to how I want it to be.
Until then.

Christmas Pages using Kaisercraft again

2011-11-19T14:20:00.000+10:00

I've shared with you a lot of Christmas pages over the last few weeks. I have just one more. This is of Jessica's first Christmas. She was only 4 months old at her first Christmas and still wasn't sitting up so we propped her against the couch to get some photos of her with the tree. I love working with photos from a few years ago. It allows me to remember the times all over again. Jessica is the poor 2nd child who doesn't have her first year album completed yet. Well come to that I don't know when they'll ever get completed. I sometimes just like to scrap those newborn days or them crawling even if I've already scrapped them.

We are just about to return to our home (we have been away for 4 years) and our little baby is going to have her first Christmas in our home where all the other children have had their first Christmas'. We were lucky enough in 2009 that our tenants moved out so we returned to our home to spend the holidays renovating and Hannah was able to spend her first Christmas there.

I think this Kaisercraft range, 25, is just gorgeous. The angel paper I used there was so lovely with it's gold embossing.

I'm off to get ready for our first Christmas party. Oh the silly season has began. HELP! That means tonight I'll be working on my first page of my 2011 Christmas album. Not December Daily because it's only November but a Christmas album.

Until next time my lovely friends.

Another challenge layout UFOed

2011-11-18T12:42:00.000+10:00

I can't even remember which challenge site this came from it's been that long since I started the layout and finally got around to finishing it off. The challenge was to use red, yellow, blue and green. I know there is only a little bit of yellow visible but it is there. See in the centre of the flowers?

These are Scenic Route papers I've had for years and are the last in this range. I know you wouldn't believe they I generally don't scrap using bright papers because a lot of my uploads recently have been just that - bright papers but it's true.

I quite like the colour of the doily. It is actually more red than it appears in the photo but it matches perfectly with the flowers. I'm happy to be able to finish off a paper collection I've had sitting around for a while. It makes me feel really good. Calm, happy, relieved that I can use my supplies.

There isn't much left to pack in my scrapbooking room. We got a kick up the butt last night when Kevin had misplaced the presents he'd bought for his graduating class. They were last seen in the office so we spent over 2 hours cleaning the office so we were able to find them. OMG the stress of not being able to find something he needed for this morning. Well we did find them and the office now looks a lot cleaner and more organised. Maybe God was trying to tell us to stop procrastinating and just get the office packed.

We are off to the formal tonight. I just had to mend my dress. I still don't know what I'm doing with my hair and I haven't made the kids their dinner yet so I'd better go and get it all organised before the mad rush of school pick up occurs.

I big hello to all my new follows and to those of you who have been kind enough to leave me comments. You have know idea how much it means to me. Thank you.

Bon Jour pages

2011-11-15T20:00:00.000+10:00

I'm including two layouts I have recently finished using the Bon Jour collection from Kaisercraft. One with photos one without. I recently posted about a 3rd layout I created using this lovely collection and the sketch from the Kaisercraft blog.

I created these pages with specific photos in mind but I can't find the photos. I'm hoping my MIL has then on her computer because I can't find them on mine. That being said the photos I'm looking for are also from a time when my photo storage system was inadequate and confusing. I must go back through all my photos and rename them (from this era anyway) to make it easier to find photos to scrap.

The photos I'm looking for feature my daughter at about 14 months old wearing a dress from Paris hence the Eiffel Tower in the fussy cutting.

These pages are inspired from a class I took at BPC on double page layouts. If I remember correctly the example didn't have photos either so I guess it is only fitting I do the same. The blue in these pages matches perfectly with my memory of that Paris dress.

I haven't scrapped many of my wedding photos since I first started scrapping so this layout won't fit in with that album however I thought the papers suited the colours of our wedding, my dress and my bouquet so I scrapped them anyway.

I really like the butterfly stamp with this range. Very beautiful.

10 projects I'm working on

2011-11-11T12:47:00.000+10:00

I know it's not the 10th here anymore so I'll start by saying, "Lest we forget" as we remember all those who die or were injured defending our country and our sense of freedom.
I'll begin my 10 of the 10th now and apologise for not uploading this yesterday. I also apologise for the poor quality of photos as my DSLR is being silly.

Here are my 10 big projects I have on the go at the moment. I know I'm crazy and should see things through but some of these projects are never going to be finished.

1st is my Project Life
My photograph is of a very plain week. No extra embellishing. Just using the kit the way the kit was designed to be used. Just slap everything into the pockets and move on.

2nd is my Becky Higgins Sweet Baby kit for Lisa
Not much progress has taken place since I posted my video which can be seen here.

3rd is last years Project 365
It is my Projecct Life but without the kit. I made my own kit, something I'm not doing again. I just didn't keep up to date with it. I did manage to take almost a photo a day. This year I'm a little more relaxed with the project and thus have managed to stay more up to date with it. I have recently printed all the extra photos for the Project 365 and have set about finishing the journaling. All my journaling for this year is up to date. Yay for me.

4th is my Korea album
Stupid me started this 6 years ago as my first scrapbooking project and thus it has been difficult to pick up again since my style has changed so much. I am not ripping up all the work from way back when but modifying some of the pages so they all fit together a bit better. I chose a really silly system for completing this album. It forced me to scrap the trip chronologically and that just didn't work for me. I have made huge inroads in the last week. I'm hoping by December it will be finished.

5th December Daily
It won't be a December Daily. It won't be like Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas but more of a combination of the two. I have started and I have created an album in 8 1/2 x 11' which is a format I haven't used before but am increasingly drawn to. I am keeping my pages very simple.

6th About Me february 2011
Yes, I know. I know. It's November so what am I doing working on an album about me from February? Well all the journaling is done and I just have to finish putting the album together.

7th 4x6 photo love for November
I don't know why I started this when I have so many projects on the go but I was so inspired by Shimelle's examples (and I had been working on my Korea album) that I just had to get the photos out and the divided page protectors out and give it a go. I have the embellishments I want to use and it all set to go. I just have to go.

8th My UFO (UnFinished Objects) pile
Check it out. All these pages just need journaling or a title. Can you believe I have such a huge pile? I just need to get them finished so I can put them in sleeves and then when I move, into their album. All the albums have been packed away for 3 weeks.

9th My farewell album pages
I created kits which can be seen here for my farewell album. Here is the title page I made. I've already received two pages back. It's amazing how different they are. It's going to be so good to put this album together. I can't wait to see what people have come up with.

10th My Christmas cards
I'm moving at the start of December so I won't be able to have access to all my supplies. I need to get these done ASAP. With a little "help" from Hollie (my DD5) they have ended up being a little more colourful than I would like but they are a true gift from our family.

However, probably my biggest project at the moment is packing my scrapbooking supplies. This is probably the hardest and most involved project. I've been packing and organising my scrapping stuff for a month now. How do I pack all this stuff. I barely looks like I made a dint in the room. OMG it makes me nervous just thinking about starting this again.
What are the projects you're currently working on? Share a link below in the comments so we can all see.

My farewell album

2011-11-09T15:02:00.000+10:00

As most of you know I'm moving a long way in a few weeks. I have asked my friends, scrappers and non-scrappers, to create a small page for me about our family, our relationship with them with journaling or not (they have been asked to at least include the names of the members of their family) as well as a photo of them or us together.

I put together small page kits. I kept it to 8x8 which is not my normal size so it was do-able for everyone. Each kit included a photo mat, small paper, a journaling sticker, the Amy Tangerine camera image stamped and cut out and another item. It was a lot of work to put it all together (well it was and it wasn't. More time than effort.) but I'm so glad I have made the effort.
I haven't received any of the pages back yet but I'm so excited to see what people come up with. I'm hoping it will be a fantastic reminder of this wonderful town we are leaving. I know it will. How can it not be? Pages made with love by those we love.

I also created a few pages with everything already adhered for those people too scared to do it however I did give people the kit with pieces positioned in a way they could use. Most of the people receiving the kits were not scrapbookers and were a little intimidated by the process.

So without further ado here are some of the page kits I created.

These are really simple to create. I would suggest if you had kids who were wanting to get into scrapbooking that this be the format you choose for them. It only requires one photo or a few smaller photos, the paper can do most of the embellishing for you and there isn't a lot of white space to fill in. Give it a go. Use a 4 1/2' x 6 1/2' photo mat, a few left over pieces of paper, somewhere to journal and some small pieces cut from your die cutting machine. Simple.

What memory projects have you created of your friends?

More Kaisercraft Christmas pages

2011-11-04T21:45:00.000+10:00

I have been using the Kaisercraft Christmas range again. Here are 3 pages I’ve created. I’m not so happy with the double page layout but I thought I would share it anyway. What I do like about the double page layout is the photos. Not the quality of the photos but the story behind the photos. These were the first lot of photos taken on my very own camera. My Dad gave me the camera that year for Christmas. How special is that? I remember having to save and save to get the photos printed and to be able to afford a new film. I remember being very careful about the photos I took. Now we snap away willy nilly without a care to how many we take. Often there are far too many photos of the one thing. I guess that is what happens with digital photography but it is also a downside to it too. All these perfect photos and the not so perfect ones deleted. So many photos there are too many to print. Maybe some of the not so perfect photos actually tell the best stories?

The first layout is Kevin's first Christmas. These photos were scanned and printed. I asked his mum to write a story of his first Christmas. I am lucky because she is one of the original scrapbookers. She kept records of everything. I may curse her in her grave when I have to clean out their house but right now it is fantastic. She dug out an old diary and was able to tell me all the details of the day and days surrounding Kevin's first Christmas. I love the stories of people's lives so I am so grateful I have a mother-in-law who recorded so much.

Have a look at the photo in the double page layout with the pink wall behind us. My Dad’s house was painted pink. The walls were pink, the furniture was pink, the outside was pink. Now you might be thinking my Dad was a little strange for a having a pink house but it was like that when he bought it. Under the layer of pink was green, then blue, then yellow (I think that is the order it went) and it was that old thick lead paint. Probably so unhealthy to live in. It was a nice house though and the furniture that came with the house was beautiful, under the pink.

I apologise for not taking a photo of the double page as a double page. I'm going to blame the kids for distracting me or possibly my Mummy brain.

The wreath is a stamp from the collection.

I cut small designs out of the paper then put them through my Cuttlebug with a sizzix die.

Shimelle's starting point

2011-10-30T19:48:00.000+10:00

I've done a few of these. I think they are a wonderful way to get your mojo going. This week she used a border punch and layered the punched piece over the top of a strip of paper with the same patterned paper. I've wanted to try this for a while now. I've seen how effective it can be with just plain cardstock. I used two lines of border punches instead of the one Shimelle used. You can see hers here. Have a go. It's lots of fun.

This is another layout using old Scenic Route collections. It's another bright layout. I must be inspired to use up my stash at the moment because my job should be packing them away but I just can't bring myself to do it yet.

The flowers were created using the various Spellbinder blossom dies. There are 4 in total. I haven't made flowers for a while and it was a first using these dies even though I've had them for a while.

These brads are pretty cool. They are kind of fluffy. You can't tell in the picture.

I like the layering of embellishments in small clusters. I've repeated the type of embellishment in each cluster. I think it looks pretty good. Simple but effective.

See the 2 layers of border punch?

I had to use the negatives of the letters because I'd run out of letters. I don't mind the effect. I hate my hand writing and I think it ruins the layout but I also think the kids will value my efforts in years to come.

I'm into challenges at the moment. It is keeping me focused and inspired. What do you do to keep you inspired and keep your mojo flowing?

Kaisercraft Saturday Sketch October

2011-10-28T20:33:00.000+10:00

I created this layout at the start of the month when I received my Bonjour papers. I really liked this sketch as it allocates enough space for 3 photos which I just love. These days everyone has sooo many photos and they just don't know how they are able to scrap all of them and thus feel the need to catch up and that they are never up-to-date. Sketches like this one allow you to get a numerous photos down at once. This paper range is perfect for girls and for travel. I think it would be fantastic to use for pages about your mother or grandmother too. I really enjoyed working with this range. So here it is.

Here is the sketch.

Here is my take on the sketch.

I really like this method of creating a banner. Cut a strip of paper the length and width you want, fold the paper in half length ways and cut a 'v' out of it starting from the edge of the paper and cutting up towards the middle/fold of the paper. Simple but effective.

The flower is from the sticker sheet as is the butterfly border.

The heart were cut using my spellbinder dies and I've used pop dots to give them some dimension. I love the Kaisercraft pearls I've used too. They work really well with this range.

Some really simple techniques in this layout but I like the overall effect. I like the banner. What do you think?

Kaisercraft Hunter & Gatherer collection & masculine pages

2011-10-26T12:15:00.001+10:00

There was an interesting discussion on scrapbook.com forum on masculine pages and in particular papers and supplies for a male scrapper. Can you believe it? It reminded me of some pages I did a while ago. I haven't uploaded them because for the life of my I can't find the photos on the external hard drive which I was planning on using with this layout. I also have a laminated moth to go on the first layout. Don't worry it was dead before I laminated it. My daughter at about 18 months was fascinated with the moths we had in our house. She used to call them Moh hence the title of the layout.

I really liked this Kaisercraft range. At first I thought it wasn't one I could use. The large insects and the fish paper but it has been really effective.

I really like this fiskars border punch for masculine pages. I know this is a layout about my daughter but it still has a bit of a masculine feel to it to me. Kevin, my DH, told me I needed to buy these papers because there aren't many truly masculine papers around.

Don't you just love the cardboard tags that come with this collection?

I'm really into my Tim Holtz distressing inks at the moment. Where have I been all these years? I just thought everyone was jumping on this fad so I steered clear of them. I don't think I do a page these days without them.

This is a page of Kevin's cub years. I like the simplicity of this page. The banner is actually a border sticker I have cut up and stuck over a piece of twine. The rope is a stamped image I created from the stamp set with this collection.

For some reason I am unable to upload the other layout and the details of this layout. When I figure out the problem I will be back with some more masculine pages.

These pages were made only using the Kaisercraft Hunter and Gatherer collection and a piece of craft cardstock by an unknown manufacturer. I love this collection. What is your favourite collection for masculine pages?

School pages

2011-10-24T09:30:00.000+10:00

Hollie started prep this year. I still don't know how I ended up with a school kid. I know everyone says it but where did all the time go. She is the youngest in the school being born on the 29th June. Our School in take is 1st July to 30th June with the preppies needing to be 5 or turning 5 in their first 6 months. She just looked so small. Still a baby face. Now she's a reader, writer, counter and expert colourer.

This first layout is of Hollie's first Principal's award. She didn't want to have her photo taken but I had to have one. Of course I didn't attend the parade the week she got the certificate. Every other week. Lisa must have been sleeping that day. :(

I used Kaisercraft papers for this layout. I really liked working with this range. The colours are so bright and work so well with younger years at school. The paper pad was excellent. Great little journaling blocks, die cuts and borders in there.

This following layout is Hollie's first day of school. She was so excited. Of course. I mainly used core'dinations on this layout, ran little squares through my cuttlebug and rounded the corners. The other paper used was Scenic Routes. Very old papers there but perfect for her school colours.

2 punched circles to make the apple and a leaf punch. Pretty cute I thought. I'd been trying to find some apple embellishments but there weren't any at my LSS. I think this is a better alternative anyway.

Don't you just love the cuttlebug? I find I use it so often. I love the embossed effect. I also use it frequently with my spellbinders. Gosh I love them. I think I could buy every die they make.

What about you? What's your favourite thing about a cuttlebug?

Creating Keepsakes 15 minute layout

2011-10-21T15:41:00.000+10:00

I have been going through all of my magazines, taking out the articles, layouts, techniques I'd like to use and throwing the mag to the op shop. It took me a week to do but I have them sorted really well now.

I have one folder for layout designs, one for techniques, one for quick layouts, one for 4x6 layouts, one for page protectors, one for scrap room ideas and another for general scrapping/journaling tips and ideas. I have also added notes on the particular element I like so I don't forget why I cut it out in the first place. I am quite happy with my organisation. I am pleased I managed to toss out so many mags because with the big move coming up I don't want extra things to move.

Here is one of the pages I created from the Creating Keepsakes 15 minute layout section. I can't remember who designed the layout as I have since thrown out the cutting as I won't be using it again.

The longest part of this process was writing the journaling.

I have recently joined this forum. I have been lurking and not really participating. It seems like a really active forum with some really good ideas. They have a section called Scrap it Blind where they give you the instructions and you have to create a layout based on those instructions. Here is my take on the instructions.

I quite like the simplicity of this layout. I didn't add the stitching like the instructions said. It is packed away and I didn't feel like getting it out to do. Gosh I hate moving.

The instructions called for an unusual banner made up of stickers and any other items not usually seen in banners. Theses are made from the Scenic Route sticker sheets.

I like the brightness of this layout. It's a bit unusual for me to use such bright colours in a layout. Do you usually scrap with bright colours? I have trouble matching my photos. What do you do to match you photos to bright papers?

Instruction sheet for a boy layout

2011-10-17T13:56:00.002+10:00

Here is the instruction sheet for Cubs which is a layout I created using Kaisercraft's Hunter and Gatherer range. I love this blokey range. At first I wasn't a fan but as soon as I showed Kevin he said I had to make some pages for him using it. There are many more layouts to come using this range. Following the instructions and make your own pages or use the measurements to create something similar from what you have in your stash.
Cubs Layout and Instructions by Amity Knight

I'll be uploading a few more of my instruction sheets in the coming days. Make sure you have a look back here to get some more ideas for your scrapping.

Page protectors, layouts and shopping

2011-10-15T15:00:00.001+10:00

I had these extra photos that I wanted to include in Hollie's album so I used the American Crafts page protectors. It was a great way to use the scraps from the layouts I'd completed using this range also. It is Toot Toot by Kaisercraft. Such a perfect range for our house.

I'm not really happy with this layout. The stamping went all wrong but Hollie likes it and it's for her album and I just want to get the memory recorded and I'm just going to suck it up and deal with it.

The following layout is about a train chase we went on. I like this layout because it is interactive. I like that you can hide the journaling and cut the page protector so it is still easily accessible. That is my biggest gripe with hidden journaling. It's hard to access. Sometimes that's a good thing but I love the stories behind peoples' pages. That's the voyeur in me.

Cutting the page protector. I use a pencil or something sharp to trace around the item I want cut then I remove the layout and replace it with a piece of heavy cardstock so I can cut the lines I've just traced with a pair of scissors or my knife.

There are some more kid pages coming and some of the new range from Kaisercraft too. I'm looking forward to sharing with you.

Christmas Pages using Kaisercraft

2011-10-09T15:51:00.000+10:00

These are using the new Kaisercraft Christmas range. I really like this range because it uses traditional colours which I prefer for Christmas.

The first layout is called Collier Christmas memories. It is the only Christmas I remember having with my Nanny and all the cousins. This picture is special to me too because I don't have many pictures of my Mum and her brother and sister. It's their birthday day today too so Happy Birthday Uncle Brian and Auntie Carole.

This layout includes the only photo of Christmas I have from that year. The family Christmas celebrations were held at my cousins house.

I love how goofy we are being.

It is my aim to get a few more layouts up this week. I'm very slack at uploading my finished work. Well if the truth be told, I'm actually slack at photographing them. Once I photograph them I usually upload them. It's just scheduling the photography I find difficult. I'll blame the kids.

Some blokey pages

2011-10-03T14:11:00.001+10:00

I have yet to do the journaling on this. It has been written but as I want to hand write it and I don't like my hand writing I'm trying to work up the courage to write this long story.

This kit is excellent. Some of the papers and embellishments you might look and wonder how you would use them but they are just wonderful and so perfect for blokey pages.

This layout is inspired by one of the DT at Two Peas. I see so much of their stuff I don't know where I get it from. Pinterest may be the answer but I still haven't got how to use it properly. It wastes so much time that I don't know if I can be bothered to try to learn.

Sweet Baby Kit by Becky Higgins

2011-10-01T15:56:00.001+10:00

I am including a video of Becky Higgins Sweet Baby kit. I love this kit because it has everything you need to complete a whole album. I have included pink cardstock from my stash as the background for all the monthly pages. I have prepared the kit and put it in the page protectors so when I have spare time I am able to complete a page, crop photos, get the journaling completed. It is all there ready to go. I just have to do little bits at a time to get it all done.

I have a special folder on my computer to store the photos of her I want to print for her album. They are also in the main folders. My plan it to have it completed by the time Lisa is 13 months old. As I get more pages finished I'll upload a video to show you my progress.

Let me know if you'd like any more details about this kit or any other pictures. When I upload the more complete pages I will post photos of the individual pages.

Project Life August photos

2011-09-29T13:18:00.001+10:00

I just wanted to update you with some of the photos I havetaken for my Project Life 2011. I have been pretty good this year and have onlymissed a few days worth of photos. In those weeks I have had ample photos tomake up for the missed photo. I used Becky’s kit this year and it has made sucha difference to the process.

I have recently stamped all the journaling cards until theend of October which has made it even easier. I take out a journaling card atthe end of the day when I write my daily journal (yes, crazy I know. I write anaccount of my day in a lot of detail AND I do Project Life.) and I write thedays journaling on the card and know when the photos are printed everything isready to go. I love it. This year I have included a lot of “other” things in myProject Life and I believe I have now made it a true account of our lives. The “other”things include receipts, pictures by the kids, cards for Kevin and I (the kidscards go into the their scrapbooks), relevant information from the day forexample a handout the dentist gave me about my root canal and any otherinformation I feel fits into our lives. You know all those things you keep butreally have no designated place to store them or preserve them and they justhang about creating mess and if they are stored in years to come will becompletely out of context where they are? That’s what I put in Project Life. Ireally wish I had started this before marriage and kids. Imagine the insightinto my life you would have. I am so excited about this year’s Project Life.

31st Lisa's 8th month photo

31st Playing tea parties with Hannah

30th Lisa showing off her chubba

Painting on the veranda. This was the reward for Hollie who got all ticks on her job chart. She got the paint and shared the experience with her sisters.

Lisa finally fell asleep in the roundy-roundy. It's only taken her 3 months.

Me after a run.

Hannah wet two sets of clothes at playgroup by playing in the tap. This is how she left playgroup.

I think this space needs cleaning. Anyone want to clean my scrapping space for me?

Kindy had a bake sale. We all baked to raise money for the kindy.

My contribution to the bake sale. Yummy lemon icing on those patty cakes. So delicious.

Hannah waiting to get out of the car at Playgroup.

I woke up in the morning to find Hannah reading this book to herself.

Hollie playing Auskick.

Hannah at Auskick

Hollie's bags on a Monday. She has her school bag, her Auskick bag and her library bag. A lot of bags for a 5 year old to carry.

Jessica's birthday party

13th Jessica getting a kiss from Daddy on her birthday.

12th Patty cakes at kindy for her birthday.

The Variety Bash came to Longreach. The girls got lots of freebies. Not as many as most thank goodness.

Cards I made for a swap.

Scrapping goodies from a garage sale.

The high school captains with Kevin at the primary school hall opening

Jessica's kindy excursion to the sale yards

Hannah and Jessica looking at the cattle. The pen had a lot of calves.

Nana's birthday cake. We usually bake a cake for the family member whose birthday we miss.

Hollie practicing for Auskick.

Kevin made this for the modelling competition. He hand built the cattle dock by drilling holes into the posts, threading wire through the holes and then soldering the wire to the posts. Each post is only 1cm high. Took many, many hours to get it to this point.

Lisa had a bottle of formula. It made me cry. She still didn't sleep properly so that won't be happening again for a while.

I have kept up-to-date with the journaling. Now I just have to print the photos and put them in the album. I'm so happy with this project. It's probably one of the most important ones I'll do. It is fantastic to look back on.

Using up some scraps

2011-09-13T21:41:00.001+10:00

I have had this one for a long time to upload. I really liked this Kaisercraft range. It's papers like these which make me want to have boys. They worked well for Hollie's love of the outdoors. You know me. Just simple pages. I really like it though. I like the orange and the blue. They go so well together.

These are papers I've had for years. I had some scraps left and thought I might do a page using them. It is roughly based on one of Shimelle's sketches. I can't remember which one to link it so I'll just reference that it was one of hers.

This was a great day. Hollie's school dressed in pyjamas to raise money. I was a little jealous on this day because I would have loved to spend the day in my PJs. Not such a good look for me though.

Here is the rest of that range I had in scraps. Another really simple page. I love the multiple photo layouts and I love using 4x6' photos. Don't you just love the Martha Stewart punch I've used?

The story is pretty funny. Hollie and Jessica played Mummies all the time. When Hollie started kindy last year, I became the baby when Hannah was having a sleep. Jessica would make me have a sleep on the couch, bring me water and tell me to get back in bed (Sound familiar?). On this day she went into the kitchen, moved a chair in there too and started to unload the dish drainer. She got most upset that I said she couldn't do it because she thought, and rightly so, that that's what Mums do. She was being the Mum so she had to do the jobs. If only this is the mentality in 10 years time. Oh what am I talking about? It will be the mentality. That's a job for you, Mum.

Sketch of the Week Challenge

2011-08-24T13:15:00.000+10:00

This is a layout I created based on Shimelle's Sketch of the Week. I'm in love with Shimelle Laine at the moment. She has some of the best videos on her blog and I have been so inspired by her. Check out some of her work because she has some really simple ideas which help you to create fantastic pages.

This one was created using a Becky Fleck sketch. This was actually a double page spread. I only used the left hand side.

I will attempt to update with some pages from the new Kaisercraft range. I'll see what the kids let me get away with today.

Finally, finally. Something.

2011-08-14T16:45:00.000+10:00

I've had these to upload for quite a while now but you know how life is and right now my scrapbooking is not high on the priority list. Here are a few to show you.

This is so simple, allowing the paper to be the embellishments.

Just a quick cut out from the spellbinders, some cooking twine and a cut out from the paper.

These are using my left overs from a class I taught. There was so much in the kit and I think I could keep making pages. These papers are so perfect for photos of little kids.

Party Animal by Kaisercraft

2011-07-12T21:33:00.000+10:00

Kaisercraft have some pretty lovely papers coming out. I particularly like the party animal range at the moment. Here are two pages I have done with them. I hope you like what I've done and get inspired so do something similar.

I think they are fairly effective. You have to mind my hand writing of course but I can't help that. I have tried to improve my hand writing but it takes a lot of time and time is one thing I have very little of with 4 kids. I guess the good thing is they will all have a record of my hand writing. I wish I had hand writing like my Mum. I've always loved hers.
Thanks for stopping by.

More Kaisercraft papers

2011-06-15T15:56:00.000+10:00

As you can tell I'm a lover of Kaisercraft papers. Here are my latest layouts for class using predominately Kaisercraft products.

This is such a simple layout letting the papers and the photos shine. I have used minimal embellishments here.

The photo is matted twice. 5'x7' for the first with a 4 1/4' x 6 1/4' smaller on under the photo.

I used half a doily sticking out from the photo.

The journaling block comes from the paper pad.

Kaisercraft rhinestones add for a bit of detail.

These flowers are super easy to make. All they are, are 3 scalloped circles. One you cut a 1/4 out of, the other you cut in half and the 3rd you leave whole. Scrunch up the pieces and ink them. Lay the whole scalloped circle down first, then join the two edges of the 3/4 circle with tape and attach it to the whole circle. Next join the edges of the semi circle and attach it to the other layers. Lastly, and most difficultly, join the edges of the 1/4 and stick it to your flower. I find it easier to snip the point off the 1/4 to make it easier to attach.

Thanks for stopping by.

New things to play with

2011-06-14T20:39:00.000+10:00

I recieved my latest things to play with today. A heap of Spellbinder Nestabilities. I'm so excited but haven't had the chance to play with them yet. The twins got picked up a bit late today and then the girls wanted to see what was in Mummy's parcel. Being the fantastic mum I am, I let them have the first go and they loved it. Hannah had a bit of trouble winding the Cuttlebug handle but wanted more, more, more.
I got them from creativeplaystamps and they arrived within 2 weeks, the postage charged was only the postage they paid and I got a freebie too. Very impressed. I LOVE internet shopping.

Maybe I should say goodbye so I can go and play.

I promise to update tomorrow with my layouts from the class once I have taken photos of them. I hope there's better light tomorrow. It was a miserable day today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Inspiration

2011-05-10T13:41:00.002+10:00

I have a few layouts to share with you. These have been inspired by Shimelle at Two Peas where she has a tutorial and the other Mel Nunn whose layout appeared in one of last years Scrapbooking Memories. I have scraplifted from both. Thanks ladies.
The first one is from Shimelle's tricky tute. I've photographed it in the page protector so sorry for the poor quality. The title block is actually on the outside of the page protector. It is on a piece of 6'x81/4' patterned paper with an extra piece of 4x6' stuck on top because I didn't like the reverse side of the patterned paper for this layout. It was green and didn't fit with the pink and black theme. If the reverse of your patterned paper fits you won't need to add another 4x6' on top. I have just used strips of paper and ribbon to embellish this layout. It is very simple but I like the strip design and I also like that 4 photos can be displayed so easily on one layout.

Here is the other photo on the inside of the title.

This is very simple too. Not overly embellished which I like. I like the detail in the doodling and the few accents from the Kaisercraft paper pad as well as the die cuts.

I have a heap more layouts I need to upload. I'm having some serious trouble with time management at the moment. I don't think it has anything to do with having 4 children under 5 it is just my laziness really.

Thanks for stopping by.

Special photos

2011-04-20T11:05:00.000+10:00

Here are some of my recent layouts. I have more to upload I just have to find the time to do it. Just do then hey.

I have this very special photo of my Nanny. I have wanted to scrap it for a while and haven't known how. I thought it was better to scrap it than have it sit there with the words unsaid and the photo in a box. My Mum fixed this photo up years ago. I love this photo of my Nanny.

I used Scenic Route chipboard alphas here and put them through my Cuttlebug. I love how they've turned out.

The large flower was made by cutting out circles, tearing the edges and then tearing towards the centre to form the petals. I then inked and scrunched the flowers to give them the aged look. The smaller flowers are just a circle torn into a spiral, inked and rolled around. I think they are cute.

This is a special photo because there aren't many photos of Jessica. I don't know what happened in her first year of life, probably having 2 children 13 months apart is what happened, but there aren't many of her. This one is particularly special because she has always had a really special bond with her Grandpuff, Kevin's Dad. This was her Christening Day. She was the only child who fit the family gown properly even though she was the eldest at the time of her Christening. I love this photo too because Kevin is such a good grandfather and I think you tell that by the photo. He loves his little Jessica as much as she loves her Grandpuff.

I love the Cuttlebug embossing folder used on the photo mat. It is Goochie Script by Provo Craft and was designed especially for Print Blocks. It is so good because it is 5x7' so the whole photo mat is embossed.

The lace here is so fitting because I found it while walking back from the shops at Nundah where Kevin and Pauline live so it is good to be able to use it on a page with Kevin.

I love any journaling block and this one is Kaisercraft's Journal Boxes. I cut the Spellbinders lacey circles first then I stamped the image because the good thing about clear stamps is you can see where you're stamping.

Kaisercraft Peachey Keen

2011-04-12T09:23:00.000+10:00

Here are few of my lastest layouts. I love this range by Kaisercraft. I thought it suited a beach theme so I have scrapped a few pages for the girls about one of their rare visits to the beach.

I really like this distressed window look. This layout is so simple but effective. A 1' window border with 2' squares of different patterns from the range and embellished with a bird (pop dotted up) and leaves cut from one of the patterned papers. Lovely.

I can't work out a title for this layout. I want the title to go next to the journaling block and I'm planning on using the kaisercraft mini alphas but I can't work out a title. Any ideas people?

I covered the raffia in mod podge to stop in breaking up and to adhere it a little better. I like the look it gives. It reminds me of wet grass washed up on shore.

This is another really simple layout. I have sanded the colour core white wash, stitched a border, matted the photo with a 7'x5' piece of patterned paper, 2'x6' piece and a 2.5'x 4.5' peice over the top with the bird cut from a piece of patterened paper. So simple. I love it.

These are the Kaisercraft chipboard alphas. I inked them, embossed them with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder then inked the dots before doing a clear heat embossed top layer.

Thanks for looking and don't forget to leave a suggestion for a title.

Class layouts

2011-03-10T20:22:00.000+10:00

Here are the pages I created for the classes at Scrappy Tech (or try their FB page ScrappyTech FaceBook) this week. Next week we are doing two pages about friends. Stay tuned for more class updates on their site.

Here is page two.

For some reason I didn't get a photo of the third layout. Must remember to do so when I pick them up from the shop. Here are some close ups though.

Project Life or Project 365

2011-02-16T14:19:00.001+10:00

For those of you who don't know what this is it's a photo a day for a year. You can check out Becky Higgins' blog here Becky's blog. I did this last year and created my own kit. This year I bought one but am still awaiting its' arrival. Oh I can't wait so this morning I have uploaded all my pics so far and am ordering them from Harvey Norman. I am going to try to upload photos weekly to my blog of the photos I am using. As I am 6 weks behind I will just share with you a few from the 6 weeks.

Kevin's first photo with Lisa more than 24 hours later.

All the girls ready for bed

Using my cake stand for the first time

Lisa's peeling skin. Poor girl.

Lisa's first plane ride

Nappy bag contents

Brisbane Jazz Club under water

Patty cake cases after afternoon tea for my birthday. Made by Pauline and Hollie.

The ruined road into Mum's

3 generations

Hannah fell asleep taking off looking out the window.

Returning to Longreach was hard with no fresh fruit. We thought it was bad when we left. Do the pineapple lollies count.

My clean scrapping space

My dumping ground after returning from Playgroup

Desk clean up

2011-01-31T14:05:00.000+10:00

Well I did it. I clean my desk. Now it's a matter of keeping it clean. Let's see if I can do it for more than a week. I've managed to keep it clean for 2 days. 5 to go.

Pretty good. Now I have to sort through my stacks of photos and put them in some kind of order. Anyone got any tips for storing chipboard alphas?

Here are some of my recent layouts.

This was just a real quick and easy one. Cute as a button.

Christmas layouts. I love Christmas paper and every time I see some I want to buy it.

When I get my layouts back from the shop I'll upload those too.

Nanny Time

2010-11-12T14:24:00.000+10:00

Nanny Time is a layout I've been wanting to do for a long time. My kids don't get to see their Nanny very often but when they do they always have lots of fun.
This layout uses Scenic Route papers and embellishments as well as some Papermania brads.

I've fallen in love with making these flowers lately as I think they add something special (and cheap) to a layout.

Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment.
That's all for now.

The last lot I think

2010-10-31T23:04:00.000+10:00

Layout 16

Title 2nd Honeymoon

Layout 15: Bright Colours

Title: 2nd birthday

Got the theme and the sketch this time.

For some reason I can't post this pic the right way around. Must be something to do with the way i took the photo. Sorry everyone.

Layout 14: Moments Bestfriends

I thought my second honeymoon with my best friend was very fitting for this theme.

Title: Caloundra 2010

Layout 47: Design Creative Edges

Got both the sketch and the theme here too. I really liked this sketch and have had these photos for a few years now waiting to be scrapped.

Title: Cousins

Sketch 29

Title Practically Perfect

Sketch 48

Title: Tired

Sorry about the orientation again. Can't fix it.

19/50 layouts completed. I'm pretty happy with that effort.

I didn't get the 50 layouts done but I got more done than I would have. It has been great to challenge myself and I love all the sketches too. I can't wait for the next bootcamp next year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Next installment of Bootcamp Layouts

2010-10-31T20:23:00.000+10:00

Here is my next installment of Bootcamp layouts.
Check out what other people have done at Blue Bazaar.

Sketch 42
Title: First Santa Photos
I change the sketch a bit but I still kept the image of the tree. I only used one though.

Sketch 43: Floral paper.

Title: Hannah's baptism

Another one that I used the sketch and the theme for. This is Hannah's baptism. She was so small. Not even 5 days old.

Sketch 13: Circles.
Made it with circles on the paper, included the circle from the sketch too.

Title: 2

The poor 2nd child always misses out. I finally did a page on her 2nd birthday. The other page that goes with this is somewhere in the 1200 photos on the camera. I will try to sort them tonight to get them uploaded.

Sketch 24

Merry Christmas

I had to cut the photo with the presents to make it fit the sketch but I think the cut photo works.

Sketch 33 & 34. Multiple photos

Look What I Can Do!

I did it again but I changed the sketch a little to suit my photos and I slotted the journaling between two of the photos.

Sketch 26

Sweet.

I just love this photo of Jessica.

Hopefully I'll be able to get the rest up tonight.

Finally some pages to share

2010-10-17T15:38:00.000+10:00

I've been working on completing at least two layouts a week for a while now. I guess now would be a good time to share with everyone what I have been doing because, a) I have a new camera to be able to take photos of my layouts instead of the one I washed and ruined and b) I have a new screen for my laptop which is now a desktop because I can't get a replacement screen for the laptop just a monitor. Really I have no excuses left but to photograph them and upload so give me a few minutes to photograph them and get them ready.

Here are some of the layouts I created using the sketches from Blue Bazaar bootcamp.

Layout 22:

Layout 2: EVENT Holiday/travel.
I was good this time I used the sketch and the theme and not just the sketch.

Layout 31:

I've actually created two layouts from this sketch and I'll get around to photographing and uploading the other version. It's amazing how different they look with two different paper ranges. That's what I love about this hobby.

Layout 23:

Layout 1: A Day in Your Life

The last two layouts use Papermania's Hampstead range. I love the colours in this range.

Thanks for looking.

Mojo returning

2010-08-19T12:03:00.000+10:00

I have entered a few of the challenges posted at soul-scrappers. I haven't done anything in such a long time it was difficult to get started. Here they are for you to look at. Us was very very challenging for me as I was sent this bag of embellishments and had to create a page. I tried to think of ways to alter the embellishments and use them in interesting ways but I couldn't so this is what I came up with.

I used all the embellishments in the pack.

Here's some detail.

This was a sketch challenge. I have been wanting to create a layout with these photos for over a year but haven't really known what to do with them. Thanks to Broni for taking the photos at Mum's birthday. I was trying to organise kids and didn't have time to get mine out. This is a photo of Mum's family minus my Kevin and her William but at least all her kids and grandkids are in the photos even if they aren't that happy about it.

Sorry about the photos. I washed the good camera and now have to search for a new one. It's very difficult online shopping for a camera but that is the price you pay for living out here.

Thanks for looking.

Two layouts one sketch

2010-04-25T21:22:00.000+10:00

Here are two layouts I did using the same sketch. I layout is just rotated. The double is the same sketch repeated. On each layout I used a cuttlebug embossing folder to add a little detail and depth.

And here is some detail of the two layouts.

Thanks for looking

Finally some more of my layouts

2010-04-07T12:57:00.000+10:00

These pages were part of the Blue Bazaar challenged mentioned in the previous post. I was so slack in taking photos of them and then uploading them that I ran out of time. It just so happened that the computer was out of action for the few days leading up to the deadline and I didn't get organised enough to get them into the challenge folder before the computer was sent away fro repairs. Don't you love technology. Can't live with it. Can't live without it.

Anyway enjoy what I've put up today. Computer still having issues so it takes a life time to get them to upload but I will get more of my work up here soon. I promise.

This uses the same sketch and papers as 2nd cousins in the post below except I've rotated it 90 degrees. A like the simplicity of this layout.

This layout was done while waiting for people to arrive at scrapbook club at the start of March. It was also part of the blue bazaar challenge which I never got a chance to upload to their gallery before the closing date.

And some detail.

And some more.

Thanks for looking

Crop Bootcamp

2010-03-23T15:41:00.000+10:00

Here is one of my layouts from Blue Bazaar's crop bootcamp. This is bootcamp sketch 7.

http://www.bluebazaar.com.au/

Check it out. Some of the entries are amazing.

So flat right now

2010-03-22T13:02:00.000+10:00

I have hit a bit of a flat spot with my scrapping. Life has got in the way and I've lost my mojo. We've had computer issues too so it has made staying in touch and surfing really difficult. I have a heap of LOs to photograph for the Blue Bazaar challenge and I really want to upload them to get stuff happening again.

After our last crop I just hit a wall. I did so many pages there and ran the sketch challenge so I don't know what happened. I've created one page since then and it didn't turn out at all like I imagined it would. Argh. I hate it when that happens.

I will put Hannah to bed and take Jessica outside for a swing so I can get the photos I need. I just thought I'd post or it'll never get done.

New Scenic Route Papers

2010-03-08T22:24:00.000+10:00

Here is my loot for today. I've been trying to decide for months whether I should fork out to buy this stuff from Scenic Routes in the USA. They are closing down so all of their stock is really cheap. I finally did and am really happy with it. I'm not happy with the hugely expensive postage though. They charged me almost double what it cost them but I guess that's the price you pay sometimes for shopping online and overseas. It still worked out heaps cheaper than what I could have bought it here for. I love the papers and just can't wait to finish these projects to be able to get stuck into them.

Something bright

2010-03-03T19:13:00.000+10:00

I did this layout using some My Mind's Eye Papers. They are very bright and not what I would usually go for because I think they clash with photos too much. I think they work ok with these photos. I just wanted to do something a little different.

Some cards I did using my scraps

2010-03-02T17:26:00.000+10:00

I've had this idea for a while now that when I finished a project I would use the left over pieces of paper, ribbon, flowers and whatever else to complete cards. That way I wouldn't have a heap of little peices of odds and ends and I would have a pile of cards. Well I haven't really been all that successful in this aim but I finally did get some cards done.

Latest work

2010-02-15T13:55:00.000+10:00

This is part of the Blue Bazaar Bootcamp challenge found at http://www.bluebazaar.com.au/index1.php The sketch was tilted 90 degrees and the theme was birthday. This is a layout about a birthday but not a happy kind. The kind where you go into hospital and you don't come home with a baby. You come home feeling empty. I guess I have to feel grateful I didn't carry any further because I think that would have made it so much harder. A good layout to do. Good for the healing of me.