I scrapped - again!

Woohoo! Anyone who's had a bad case of the blahs knows this fantastic feeling. Although I have to admit, cleaning out the cupboards still holds a lot of appeal, it feels good to have scrapped. I have heaps of ideas for layouts floating around, but not much ideas for execution, yet.

I used Ashley Olson's new Delicious Breeze papers and alpha. Fonts used are Pine Casual, Arial, Porcelain, Vladimir Script, Carpenter and Bosshole. I had a lot of fun making this word art.

I used Michelle's lovely Simply Spring Mini kit off her blog (thanks Michelle!) for the papers and elements. Doodles are from DDE's Spring doodle download collection. Fonts used are Eliot Swonger, Arial and Digs my Hart.

I guess I'm in a bit of a pastel, softer kind of mood at the moment. Well, we'll see how long it lasts. But now I have 2 or 3 garbage bags of clothes that need re-sizing, sorting and storing calling me. Lame, aren't I!

sudoku

I know that I have a new addiction, and unlike digi-scrapping it doesn't require electricity, or a computer even.... however I seem to have infected my Sammy with it too. So funny. Although that is definitely my idea of a challenge, to explain the complicated ways of working out sudoku to a 6 year old.

I made this layout last week, and showed it to a couple of ppl and guess I thought that was it... forgot completely about blogging it.

Papers from Amy Knepper's Style kit, stiching by Ashley Olson, Alpha by Miss Mint. Inked action from Atomic Cupcake. Fonts used are Miserable and Digs my Hart.

So it seems like the tissue salts that I have been madly popping have worked on my sinuses, they have really settled right down, although I now have a sore throat. I had so many tablets last night I slept in really late, which was probably the best thing for me. Maybe I'll amuse myself this afternoon by finally re-building my blog.... and I've got a layout from yesterday to finish up too. And some phone calls to make. And a run to the shops for milk and dog food. I don't think I'll die of boredom at any stage, although the kids are threatening too - but that's just the school holidays talking.

Ok, now I'm just rambling.... :P Later people!

New layouts! :)

So, I did get some scrapping done after all yesterday... but by the time I had uploaded them into galleries, gotten sidetracked commenting in galleries etc, I ran out of energy to put them up here...

So here they are now!

Papers from Ashley Olson's new paperset Funktabulous, elements from her Comforting Quilt elements, slightly recoloured, both available right now from Ashscraps. Inked action from AtomicCupcake.

Papers and elements from Ashley Olson's new kit, Comforting Quilt (just like a good friendship!) available at ashscraps. Staples are from her Fresh and Funky boy kit. Fonts used are Arial and MA Fishy.

We're expecting visitors for afternoon tea, so that's about all she wrote today....

Thanks for stopping by! When I was offline I missed out on my 5000th visitor... but thanks to everyone who visits, and double thanks to all who comment. I feel sad sometimes that I'm not a designer... I have nothing to offer you all but my thanks. But those are sincere.

She's ba-ack....

Hi all my loyal and faithful readers... sorry to leave you so unexpectedly, but you know, life happens like that. *skips* motherboard died on us, so I'm working on a half cobbled together pc. I have my hard-drive with all the important goodies on it, but I'm using his monitor and mouse/keyboard which is taking some getting used to. I'm currently without a dvd burner, but I think we're going to have to renegotiate that for back-up purposes. :(

So, what did you miss?

Friday's great IKEA visit!! It went so well. I was soooo sick to my stomach driving to the store. We had to take a trailer because our shopping list included some large furniture items. Would it rain? (it had rained for pretty well the WHOLE week) Would it be packed? Would we even get a park? Would they have (one day after they opened lol) sold out of all the stuff we wanted? I have been an Ikea fan for years. I have catalogues dating back to 2002. But I've never been into an Ikea store - EVER and I was really excited. We got there an hour before the store opened, and that was a GOOD idea. The queue was only about 4 or 5 family groups long at that point, we got a great park right near the loading area etc etc... stress over. The boys and I sat on the concrete verandah in the queue and did Sudoku puzzles to amuse ourselves for the hour wait. By the time the store opened, the queue was HUGE.... it was very crowded moving around the showrooms, but we survived somehow. The kids didn't get lost once, and we got almost everything we wanted, but most especially we got all the big things that we took the trailer down for. I'm planning a follow up visit in a week or so, and anything I get then will be simple small stuff. In fact, the trip was so efficient that after the store opened at 10, we had loaded the car and trailer, tied it all down etc, and were driving off by 12. By 8 pm that night, everything had been put together. What a wonderful feeling.

So, you wanna see??

The piles of stuff!! The blue bag has lights, frypans, teatowels... fun stuff :)
The boxes have 2 desks, a bookcase, wall unit & drawer unit.

Our favourite item.

I'll have to clean off the new desks etc to show you them - they are against the wall behind where *skip* is standing in the last photo.

So, what else?? School holidays continue apace. The boys are alternately best friends and worst enemies. However, things have gotten a bit worse today because I have woken up with a proper sinus infection... not just the severe sinus headaches that I have been battling for weeks. So I ran off to the healthfood store and got some Sinus tissue salts and I'm desperately popping them, trying to get on top of this. Ick... and OUCH in fact. It's really sore.

Preparations for the Baby Shower are travelling apace. I'm making an altered PAPER scrapbooking item for a present, as well as whatever else I'm giving her. Probably a sheet set. So there's paint and paper and flowers and ribbons all over the house as I'm rushing to put it together so I can move on. Less than 2 weeks to go, so I've got a lot to do.

And in other news, congratulations to Amy on one year of selling her designs.... and here's to many more. She is just the greatest. Luv ya babe!

Finally, you should mosey on over to Ash's new store.

http://ashscraps.com/ashscrapsshoppe/

She's been mastering Zencart and all sorts of other fun things to set up her first shop, and it's looking good! I've got all the new papers and hopefully my head will let me come up with some funky new layouts asap. And currently, she's offering a free gold clip alpha with any purchase - so go purchase something cos these clip alphas are just the bestest!

Ok, so that's a quick update. I'll try to catch up on emails, blogs etc etc real soon. I'm sharing a pc with *skip* from now on which basically means that I'm mainly online during the day - he's got the pc after dinner for work stuff, and for most of the weekend *pout*... Oh well, can't have everything!

Truths...

These three things I know to be true:

Sleep deprivation is dangerous.

A pot of oil on the stove really WILL catch fire if left unattended.

It NEVER rains but it POURS.

We are all ok. Just paddling like mad at the moment, like a duck. You know - serenely gliding along on the surface - but how much EFFORT goes into that is all underneath.

Night-night!

Peppermint WOW!

Ok folks, there's a new store in town and I'm loving it!

www.peppermintcreative.com

The designer is MissMint and has she got some good stuff for you. Including a beautiful free spring kit that I just had to have this morning, and have managed to actually SCRAP with! Best of all, the layout is totally gorgeous and I love it!! Hehehe got to toot my own horn sometimes!! I love it especially because it has my honey on it. He's not so impressed, but we'll wear him down eventually.

Papers and elements all from Spring Jellybean by Miss Mint. Stitching by Laura Alpuche from her Jack Frost kit, bought at TheDigiChick. Shmootzy alpha from Scrapartist. Fonts used are Arial, CBX Labelmaker and Civilian.

Meanwhile, I am sincerely grateful for this week to be finally over. The past 2 weeks have been beyond hectic and all of us are totally worn out. Apart from the doing some gardening, I hope we'll spend some time this weekend re-connecting, re-charging and hopefully getting some new photos *evil chuckle*

Although, you have to admit, I get good mileage out of ONE photo shoot. I have scrapped so many photos from our trip to the River Torrens in February. Actually lost count of the layouts I've done using photos from that day, and I've still got more to use. So, I'm a good girl! :)

Ok, so I'm tired. Later all! :)

Cute baby alert!!

And guess what! It's one of MINE! I have SOOO many photos of Tyson, and he's smiling in so many of them. Awww.


I used Amy K's new Forget Me Not kit from Scrapdish, and this kit is HUGE and awesome! AND on sale - honestly for $3 this kit is a steal at the moment. :) I put flowers on a boy layout, so there you go! Fonts used were Kingthings printingkit and snowshoe.

So.... now school holidays are upon us. Hmmmm. Oh well. Tomorrow I am having a well earned sleep in before *skip* and I tackle some long overdue garden issues. Gotta get it done before winter cos around here the clay soil is so thick that after an hour you go inside 6 inches taller. I am NOT kidding. Next time, I'll take a photo of my own shoes and show you! Icky stuff. But the roses love it, so there you go. Silver linings everywhere today.

And meanwhile, we very pathetic and cheap furniture starved people are well and TRULY into our Ikea count-down. We have been dying for one in Adelaide for years, and finally on the 20th of April it will OPEN!! We already have a list of furniture that will keep our spending down for at least 6 months. I hope. Unfortunately *skip* doesn't get the 20th off... but the 21st. So that is my countdown.

8 SLEEPS TO GO!

I know we're sad and pathetic and all that. You don't need to tell me! ;)

Layout catch-up

Some of these have just not made it to the light of day. Don't know why...

But here they are!

This layout was for a ScrapArtist Challenge, but I never got it quite finished... and now I've moved on. Papers from Amy K's Shabby Geek. Marsha Zepeda alpha from TDC. Fonts used are Pushkin, 2Peas Well behaved and Terminal.

Ok, I worked on this one for AGES and then just plain forgot to upload it. Oh well, better late than never!
Paper and elements from His Collection by Meredith Fenwick and Kim Christensen from SBB. Index cards by Maya from ScrapbookGraphics. Wild tear from Atomic cupcake. Fonts used are Times and Times again, TopSecret, FB Sunrise and Excellentia in Excelsis.

I started this one, but just found myself going round and round in circles. LOL.
Papers from Jen Wilson's Mud Room. Font used is Glider girls.

This is today's creation. Wasn't sure where it was going, but happy with where it ended up!! Man it was hard/fun going through all my old photos looking for ones of the various woofers....

Paper, Dogs stamps, tag all from His Collection by Meredith and Kim. Chunky staples by Kim from her Dirty Shirt collection. Heart from Sara Carling Sweet Nothings. Friends word-art from Simple Scrapbooks. Fonts used are Greer, Kingthings Printingkit and Vaguely Repulsive.

I felt compelled to do another doggy layout, because if you scroll down a bit, Jester has had to go AWOL. And I couldn't take her completely off my blog in one hit!!

Now it's time to go get the washing in and start dinner, so I'll see you all a bit later!

Effers and others...

Ok. I've had their link, since, like FOREVER... but either forgot or never felt good enough to play. Today I DID!! Effer Dare 23 - Real women.....

Wow, this was soooo far out of my comfort zone, I had a compass, flashlight and a lifejacket. I mean, have you EVER seen so much stuff on one of my pages before? And I just love love love it! So much fun.

Papers by Meredith Fenwick, Jen Wilson, Michelle Coleman, IOD. Stitching by Kim Christensen (Dirty shirt elements). Love heart stamp under title by Mari K (Romantique). REAL chipboard letters by Meredith Fenwick. DMM Winter leaf overlay by Jen Pebbles. Red stitched heart by Michelle Coleman (Black tie). Heart tag with ribbon (recoloured), stamped corners by Gina Cabrera (Aqua dreams). Stamped square with text by Andrea Victoria (Sweet stuff) with extra text added. Fonts used are Stamp Act, DSP Old General Store, AL Constitution and Bosshole. Inked action by AtomicCupcake.

I've got more stuff to share but that's just going to have to wait a while... can ya cope?

Save me from LAVENDER

and MAUVE and LILAC and purple in general.

I'm not sure who it was that decreed that the advent of Spring in the Northern climes had to be heralded and indeed over compensated for by purple, but there it is. Please don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the colour. I might even wear it one day. But I just CAN'T scrap with it. I get over 100 ads for digi-scrapping through my email every week. I just wish I had a dollar for all of them that had kits that had purple. I'd be able to go out and afford to buy a kit that didn't with all that money!!

Meanwhile, I just came across something really cool, and in fact, un-purple.

Cyclone Larry

For the benefit of all my US and other visitors, Cyclone Larry (equivalent of a hurricane) was a category 5 storm that hit the northern queensland coast a few weeks ago. It devastated several communities, north of where my DH grew up. 3 Great Aussie designers have gotten together to make a charity kit for helping out the victims who in one fell swoop lost their homes, their jobs and their industries. Please go look at this gorgeous kit and consider buying it. It's huge, it's NOT purple and I think it's good value! And pass the word on! :)

{{hugs}} to you all!

My fur-baby!

I don't post a lot about my darling baby, except, of course, when I'm washing her. You wouldn't recognize her then.

So here she is actually in a LAYOUT! I got these good photos of her ages ago, and had never scrapped them. Well, finally, I have!

Papers, ribbon, stitching, staple and sweet tag from Not so Tough by Kathy Moore. J is Christy Lyle's cardboard alpha from Sweetshoppedesigns. Love pebble from Andrea Burns Lucky boy kit. Brackets from DMM Spring Sweet Renewal Kit. Fonts used are Linenstroke, Sweeep and Nora casual.

Meanwhile, I am SUPPOSED to be at sports day. But you should see the weather outside. It's very overcast and misting rain. Ewww... and as I pointed out to one mother when we were watching them doing thier warm-ups... well, one of the family has to stay well so that there's someone to nurse the kids when they both have pneumonia. What good would it do if I got sick too? I'm due back in just under an hour for a couple hours in the canteen, they put on a special bag lunch for sports day and it's going to be bedlam! However, it is also going to be warm and dry, so I'm not complaining too much. I don't like my chances of getting any decent photos though....

Here's last year's sports day. I didn't actually do any credits on this layout, I don't know why. I am so evil. It's one of my earlier digital attempts, and my first digi 2-pager...


You probably can't read the journalling, but at the same time last year, we had over 30degree heat, and we were worried about the kids getting heat exhaustion. Whereas this year, we're worried about frostbite!!

Well, I'd better get back there and shake my pom-poms or something. Blah.

Boy, haven't my layouts changed a bit... rofl.

After the famine, a feast!

Well, 2 layouts in one day isn't *quite* a feast, but you get the idea...

This layout for the current colour challenge at TheDigiChick, which was to use yellow. Very challenging. I find it very easy to use orange, but yellow is quite different.

Background paper, toned down a bit, from Kim Christensen's Cassie kit. Other papers, flower and bling (recoloured) from SweetMindy's Touch of Spring. White chipboard alpha by Jan Crowley from TheDigiChick. Font used is AL Aunt Marie.

It sure does pay to go blog-hopping, as the Kim kit and the Mindy kit were both free off their blogs. What wonderful generous people the digi-girls are... :)

Oh, my poor neglected BLOG!!

And all my lovely readers that I have also been neglecting!

I'm sorry I've been MIA lately... I haven't even been putting up lovelies for you to ooh and aaahh over.

Here's one that I've been working on for a couple of days to make it up to you...

I love this photo... Sammy said "look Dad, I can wink!" and Dad was smart enough to get a photo...... (isn't he well trained!!).

I used a cool Sampler by Christie Putz called Casual Collection from ScrapArtist for the paper and the WINK alpha.

Hanging A by Mandabean from Sweetshoppedesigns, N O D stamps by Meredith Fenwick from His Collection from Kim and Meredith at SBB. Fonts used are Vaguely Repulsive and Typewriter.

I've been in a total total ALPHA mood lately. No elements, just give me good alphas. And *skip* even let me buy a couple, including this funky new Hanging one by MandaBean. And I bought the new SweetShoppeDesigns Sampler - way cute! Now all I need to do is find some inspiration.... *looks under desk and up on top of the bookcase* Nup. Not here. Maybe I'll have to go do some sketch/colour/scraplift challenges to get my going.

I need a new magazine or something to read to get my creative spark jumpstarted!! I've been waiting patiently for For Keeps to send me my copy of the current issue, with their track record I guess I'll be waiting a while.

However *skip* gave me the OK to buy a subscription with the current SM offer which works out to be just over $5.60 a magazine which is pretty good - and it's 14 issues so I won't have to worry about getting a new one for AGES! and the best part is? I'm IN the next 4 issues!! rofl. So of course I'd be kinda buying them anyway. Tee-hee.

I love red!!

Well, actually it's Sammy's favourite colour, but I couldn't help "borrowing" it for this layout!!

I wanted to do something cute with this photo of *skip* and little Charli!!.... Love how it turned out!

I used Michelle's Awesome Vintage Ragtag papers, Trish Jones A Touch of Red stamp and the awesome stamped Dirty Alpha is from Tammy Bankston.

See, I did get another layout finished yesterday! But we watched a movie last night, so I didn't get it uploaded! I picked up Paycheck at K-mart for $8 something, so we were pretty happy with that.

Meanwhile I'm dying with anticipation for the new Assortment to go up at Sweetshoppedesigns, as I saw Mindy's contribution on her blog and it looks fantastic - can't wait to see all of them.

I've been cleaning off my computer, using some software to delete some pesky psd's that refused to delete - what IS it with those files? They drive me insane! But I do now have a whole 22 GIG free on my hard-drive - plenty of room to go shopping, eh *skip*??

And of course, how can I forget - The new Digital Memories Magazine has just come out! I downloaded it this morning and it looks fantastic! and the team kit is so cute and candy/springy. Big shout out to AMY who had her first layout published in there and it looks gorgeous! I had one in there too, using Ashley and Dawn's express yourself CD. Unfortunately part of what we sign for the magazine is that we can't upload it for 6 months, so if you want to see it, guess where you're going to have to go? *evil chuckle*. Enjoy!