Hello, World...

Long time no see, huh?  I cannot believe it has been so long since I blogged!  I have so much to tell you!  Well, actually, not really; it hasn't been a very exciting couple of years, lol.

I will catch you up next time; for now, I just wanna post a layout that I finished recently, that is due today.

I have been loving the My Mind's Eye products that have come out of their latest releases, so thought I would do their latest challenge - 10 photos on one layout!  Quite a few, especially when I don't do double page layouts, but I am really happy with the outcome, below.  I have wanted to scrap these photos for ages, and the layout came together very quickly, as I had already cropped most of the photos small in preparation for scrapping, and had the page layout in my head.  So, without further ado, here it is.  Hope you like it (just click on the pic to see it larger):

That is it for today; I have to get a wriggle on as I am currently making up a kit for Scrappin' Patch using mostly Websters Pages products, that will be available for sale soon. 

I also have my darling daughter's 8-year-old-birthday party on Saturday night; anyone wanna come over and run a sleepover for 7 or so 8-year-olds???  No???!!!   Shhhhhhsssss, don't tell her, but I think she is going to get what she has been dreaming of for ages, a sweet little puppy.  Little being the operative word!

But I do promise to come back and share some more; I have a few pages to show you that I have done recently, and I am determined to do more - I think I finally have my mojo back!  Nice to see you again; that is, if anyone is still reading my blog!!  Hopefully you will come back to see me some more when I start regularly blogging again.

For now, au revoir!!

Some layouts...

As promised, I am happy to share some more layouts with you. I'm so glad that I am enjoying creating again; and I just want to keep doing more and more.

These layouts are inspiration layouts for Scrappin' Patch, using some of the lovely, gorgeous Websters papers.

On this first page, I handcut lots of lovely pieces from the Garden Gala Refreshing paper, and layered them. I also made the lollipop flower from the Postcards from Paris vellum paper. The layout is all about how Aurelia loves the outdoors and collecting bugs.

This page uses the Garden Gala diecut paper, and a lovely big Prima flower. I really love the photo; Aurelia and her Daddy going on one of their 'dates'.

Ok, I would like to write more, but it's late again and I must go to bed... lots of scrapping to do tomorrow, and hopefully I will have more to share soon. 'Night!

Websters Kit for Scrappin' Patch

So here it is, as promised, a sneak peek of the kit I have just finished creating for Scrappin' Patch. Using mostly lovely Websters products, from their Seaside Retreat line, there are 4 layouts included in the kit. It should be available from the shop later this week.

Two of the layouts are seaside/ocean/fish themed, and the other two are more pretty and flowery.

Ok, I'm so tired I can't even think straight, so that will have to do for today. Night! Back soon with some more layouts to share.

Prima, Prima, Prima...

You may remember from my last post that I recently made up a Class Kit for Scrappin' Patch, which has now sold out. I was very lucky to play around with some of the new Prima products from the Raspberry Tea line - such gorgeous papers! - along with some Prima chipboard pieces, pearl and rose swirl and flowers. Here are the four layouts I made:

I made the flowers using some pretty pink organza, and covered the chipboard butterfly with crackle paint and glitter.

I love the bright colours in this one; they were perfect for this photo and theme I've been wanting to scrap for ages.

I did lots of handcutting for the layout above! I just love the frame that was part of one of the papers, and it was perfect for this layout of Aurelia on her 5th Birthday.

For this final layout, I made lollipop flowers from brown organza, melting circles of the fabric to seal the edges and raise them up a little.

I am busy creating a new Class Kit for Scrappin' Patch, and I will have a sneak peek of that for you soon, along with another layout, so keep your eyes peeled!

Have a great week.

Long Time Gone...

Have you heard that song by the Dixie Chicks?? Pretty relevant here... I've been very absent, and pretty non-creative too, but luckily, things have changed in the last month or so. The pills must be kicking in!

I've had a bit of a scrapping spurt, and thought I would finally blog again and share some of the layouts I've made... if anyone is still reading my blog, that is!

Adrienne and Pauline from Scrappin' Patch recently asked me to make up a Take-Out Kit for the retreat/shop (which I think is now sold out), and sent some items for inspiration as well, so I will post those layouts to my blog shortly.

For now though, I have the following layouts which were made for Prima Build-A-Page monthly competitions. Neither of these layouts were winners, but the first 'Curls' layout did get a mention on the Prima blog, here, which was quite exciting! I'm sure you know how much I love Prima, lol.

Made using mostly lovely Prima products, of course! And, as usual, photos of my darling girl - can I help it that she's so photogenic? I love the baby photo; she was such a cute, roly-poly, gorgeous wee girl. As for the Love The Curls layout, I wanted to scrap about her curls because, as she tells me, when she is grown-up, she is going to straighten her hair! So at least I will have the memory of her curls... why is it we always want what we haven't got? And noone told me that girls were so looks-conscious at such a young age. Talk about 5-going-on-15!!

We are in Tauranga with my sister at the moment, and Aurelia is having a fantastic time playing/arguing with her cousin, Gaby. And I am enjoying spending time with my Sister, so it's all good. Looking forward to getting back home though, and scrapping some more layouts.

Ok, that's it for today. I have at least another 6 layouts to share with you, so I will be back! In the meantime, have a great weekend.

Gotta love all this...

... gorgeous Prima stuff. Lovely bright summery colours; just perfect for going into summer over here in NZ.

Read all about these products on the Prima blog here. Right, now I'm off to do a layout for the October Prima Build-A-Page sketch, shown here - a very cool sketch this month. And perfect, rainy weather for scrapping today, too. Have a great weekend!

Bits and Pieces...

... today. First of all, a few worthwhile causes:

Iris Babao Uy, a very talented scrapbooker, is raising money for the victims of "Ondoy" - the tropical storm that killed hundreds and left thousands of Filipino people homeless. She is selling an on-line class for only US$5. You can read her blogpost here, and sign up for the class here. You really can't beat that price for a class from one of my fave s/bookers, and you are helping a great cause as well.

Plunket are selling a Christmas music CD here, featuring kiwi artists. All proceeds from the sale of the cds go to Plunket - and I can tell you, I don't know what I would have done without Plunket when Aurelia was younger. So, go and buy a CD!

We are home now from visiting Leanne in Tauranga, and it's actually quite peaceful - Aurelia and her 3-year-old cousin, Gaby, are just like siblings and fight a lot! But as soon as she's home, Aurelia misses Gaby and wants to go back, lol. Of course. We did have a lovely time though, as always.

I'm very sad because my other sister, Nicky, in London, is getting married this month and noone from our family can make it; it's just so far away. It is a very small affair in a Registry Office, and we only found out about it a month ago, but Leanne and I still wish we could be there to support Nick on this special day. So Nick, I think you will probably read this; just know we will be thinking of you and wishing we could share the day with you. Love ya, babe. Sob sob. I miss my sisters.

Lastly, although I have not been very creative this past month, I have made this card: for my lovely friend Kim, who does make my life more beautiful. Happy Birthday, baby! (Ok, so I'm late, but you know I'm always late!!) Made using mostly Websters products - just can't get enough of that Websters and Prima stuff, man. I got some lovely products in the mail from Websters - thanks Iris and Terri for arranging it - after winning the monthly challenge on the Websters site last month; including the trims and fabric fancy I used on this card. I just had to play with them; lovely colours! Hmmm, I suppose I have to make a wedding card now too...

Aurelia is back at school this term, and has settled in very well now. No more bed wetting - thank goodness!! - and she tells me she doesn't even feel like crying anymore during the day. I feel much happier about it all now. So I didn't need to implement your ideas, Hannah, but thanks anyway, lol. I'm quite glad; I'm not sure I'm consistent enough to do a reward chart!

We have Ag day tomorrow, so I'm hoping like crazy that it doesn't rain - I don't fancy being soaking wet all day. We have been very busy growing plants, making paper-mache caterpillars, treasure boxes and flower sand saucers for tomorrow so it should be a fun day. It's a pity Aurelia's grandparents are away and she doesn't have anyone else to show off to other than her father and I, but that's ok, I'm sure she'll show off to us anyway! That girl just loves an audience - I'm sure she'll be an actress or something similar one day.

Ok, time to hit the sack; it's an early morning tomorrow and I'm still recovering from a cold I've had for a week now. Nearly better, though. I hope you all have a lovely, warm, dry and sunny weekend. Cheers!

Just a Quickie...

... because, for about a week now, we have been on dial-up, having used all of our broadband allowance - mainly due to DH being home on leave, and looking at car sites!! And we still have a couple of days to go until a new month starts, but I can tell you, I can't wait! I don't know how people on dial-up do it; there are so many sites that I can't even open, and others that take more than 15 mins. It's driving me crazy! Never mind, only a couple more days, right?

Anyway, here is a layout I did for the Prima September Build-A-Page challenge that didn't win! But I love it, it's one of my faves in a period where I'm not scrapping much, and not happy with what I am doing.

and a close-up:

Love all that Prima! I love that photo of Aurelia too; I think she looks so old and, as the title says, I can almost see her future face.

Oh, and I was pleased to be asked to feature as Inspiration of the day on the Craft Gossip blog; my Golden Girl layout was posted on 26 Sept along with links to my gallery and blog, so to anyone who is visiting here from that blog, hello and welcome!

Onto more mundane, everyday things, we are, of course, on school holidays at the moment, so I've been spending lots of time catching up with friends and their kids, and I feel like we've been so busy. We went to see Jack and the Beanstalk, a play at the Bruce Mason Centre, over on the Shore today, and Aurelia loved it. My sister was here at the end of last week, and Aurelia had a fantastic time playing with her cousins. We also went rock-wall climbing with Kim and Luke on Sunday, which Aurelia loved - after saying it was going to be 'boring'! Unfortunately, Luke wasn't so keen, and didn't want to climb, but we spent the rest of the day at parks and playgrounds, feeding ducks, watching eels and catfish swim around, and just generally enjoying the only sunny day for a while.

Aurelia and I are off to Tauranga at the end of the week to see my sister again, so will be in for a busy and loud week, I'm thinking. I'm just really hoping it stops raining so the girls can play outside.

Ok, it's taken me about 20 mins to download the photos above, so it's now my bedtime. Night night all. Enjoy the holidays!

Prima Gorgeousness...

Ok, so you may have noticed that the last couple of months I have put an entry in the Prima Build-A-Page monthly competition. Very soon I will show you my August entry, but for now, here is why I love Prima:

I mean, who wouldn't?? Look at all that lovely, pretty, gorgeous STUFF!! Flowers, pearls, pebbles, felt stems. And yes, I own most of the stuff in that picture, albeit in different colours... however, I am definitely pining for those pretty flowers top centre, called Fleur Danseur; I haven't seen them for sale here in NZ ... yet... I'm hoping! Anyway, to see some Prima DT samples of work with these products, just go here.

Better get a cuppa...

and a comfy seat, 'cos this is gonna be a long one!! I have so much to share, I even had to write some stuff down, so I wouldn't forget it. I write blog posts in my head as I am doing housework and errands, and then totally forget them when I sit down to write - does anyone else do that?

So, I have had a hard time from family members eager to see some photos from my baby's birthday party. But you know, there are over 500 photos to sift through!! So, I'm writing this post first, saving it for later, then sorting and editing photos, and adding them last. Although, by doing that, it mucks up my whole blog post ... adding in hundreds of empty lines, which is totally annoying. Does that happen to anyone else?? I really must move to Wordpress. Anyway, I will add the photos later on in the post, to save any scrapbookers having to wade through hundreds of boring kids party pics, to get to any scrapping stuff, lol.

I'm totally excited today; I entered a layout into the Webster's Pages monthly challenge, and I won. And even better, my layout was picked by one of my all-time favourite international scrapbookers, Iris Babao Uy. She's so awesome, and she, and I quote, 'loves my work'!!! (Sorry, just had to put that in there.) Her challenge was to use photo silhouettes on a layout, which I did find hard, but I found this pic of Aurelia and her best friend, Mikayla, and thought it would work well. I kind of did a garden theme. Unfortunately, Aurelia and Mikayla are in different schools now, and we don't see them very often. Anyway, I digress. Here is the layout:

I only managed to complete 2 layouts in the whole of August; this one and one for Prima, so I'll save that for another post! I've been so busy with the party, and school, etc. Anyway, I sure hope to get more done this month. I have a whole big bunch of lovely new Prima flowers from Scrappin' Patch I need to get through, lol. Don't you just love Prima??!!

Ok, so back to my little sweetheart. Her party was a complete success, despite my stupid nerves; mostly due to the wonderful pirate we had, and his very cool ship. Check out the photos (there are heaps of them mostly for family):

The last one is cutting the cake, which lovely lovely Liz made for us! It was so cute, a pink girl pirate! Aurelia loved it.

Aurelia had the best time, and I can't recommend him enough. He let the kids play on the boat for about 15 minutes while he got himself ready, then he entertained them for an hour, playing tug-of-war, treasure hunt, and other fun stuff. He also kept us adults entertained; we were laughing our heads off at the kids' trying to "grrrr" like a real pirate. If anyone wants his contact details, leave a comment and I'll let you know - he does all over Auckland, apparently.

Ok, so then the party was over and reality hit; my baby started school. And she was so cool! Her whole first week, she was totally fine, and not a tear in sight - well, except mine, of course. She declared her first day "boring", and her teacher said she was confident and fitted in well. And then we started her second week. Hmmm. Not quite so good. She told me she felt sad and like crying the first day of the week, then by the third day, she was actually bawling by the time I left her. Which was so blimen' hard!! And it's not her usual, attention-seeking, loud tantrum-crying. Oh no. It's the desperately sad, quiet sobbing that absolutely breaks my heart. So not great. Couple that with the toileting regression - she's wetting her bed about every second night - and all is not well! I'm hoping things get better soon. Luckily, her Dad is home nearly every day for the next month, so he can take her to school - for some reason, she's not clingy with him. And I can pick her up; hopefully should work ... Here she is on her first day, looking like such a big girl! I was only allowed to take 5 photos!! Luckily, they are ok.

OK, so I guess that's enough for today, huh? I did warn you. Have a great week!

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

Five years ago today, at 8.13am precisely, our darling, sweet, lovely little baby girl was born. And now she fills our lives with her energy, enthusiasm, charm, determination, laughter, joy, and sweet sweet love.

Love you so so so much, baby. xxx

Finally...

Ok, ok, I know, I'm a shocking blogger. Totally useless. But let's move on.


In the first few weeks after finishing up on Scrappin' Patch, I didn't go near my scrapping, really. And then in the 4th week, I did 3 layouts! Pretty good for me. Since then, I haven't had much time, but more on that later. Right, here are the pages I did:



This was for the Prima Build-A-Page (monthly sketch) - I figured I love Prima stuff, so I may as well try to win some! Well, I didn't win, lol. I like this page, I love the colours and the photo of my gorgeous girl.



Then there was this page, which I did for the Websters July monthly challenge - birthdays. These photos were taken as Aurelia saw her new 4th birthday present - a trampoline - for the first time. I just love her face, she can't quite believe what she is seeing! This page is ok, I wasn't completely happy with it, but never mind. I like how I pleated the vellum, though; it looks pretty cool and I'll definitely do that again.


And finally:
this page, which I did for Heidi's sketch challenge over at Scrappin' Patch. As I said over there, this page has the dubious honour of being my quickest page ever! It's a bit of a sticker sneeze, but overall, I'm pretty happy with it. It took me about two and a half hours, from choosing the photo to photographing and posting it in the gallery. Phew! For those of you who know me, you'll know how fast that is for me!! It's about how I love the way Aurelia loves me... I love how affectionate and loving she is. And it's one of the few photos of us together, which is nice. I don't usually like getting in front of the camera... but then, that's not unusual for us scrappers, is it?

One of the things I have been busy doing lately, is planning Aurelia's 5th birthday party. Yes, my baby is turning five and deserting me to go to school. Can you tell I am a little upset about it? I just can't believe it. What am I going to do with her in school EVERY day? Ok, so we'll have the weekends, and I'm sure I'll manage to find stuff to do, lol. But, I am just so terrified that my baby is growing up so fast. I feel so sad every time I think about it. I know, I shouldn't be sad, but I am. It's just me. So anyway, this is what the invites look like:

and yes, she wanted a pirate party. We are having a pirate and his pirate ship coming to the party on Saturday, so please keep your fingers and toes crossed for nice weather!!! Friday is her actual birthday, and her last day at pre-school - hmmm, wanna take bets on if I'm gonna cry?? I'm such a sap.

Right, that about covers it for now. I promise my next post will be not too far away - I have to post photos from the party, anyway. And I know, I promised that I would post about my plans for the future, but I'm not in the right head-space for that right now. Hopefully soon. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Big Happenings...

...in my life the past couple of weeks. First of all, I finished my Design Team term at Scrappin' Patch. Adrienne and Pauline are just fantastic, but I decided not to continue on for personal reasons, although I was tempted. I need to change my focus right now, but more on that in the next couple of weeks. I have to admit, though, I am already missing it. It is strange; I have all this time and nothing to do with it but housework, lol!! I want to say thanks to Adrienne and Pauline, and all the girls on the Design Team; I loved working with you all and miss you all terribly! Although, of course, I will still be hanging around the forum heaps, to get my fix! Oh, and congrats to my dear friend, Liz, who is now a part of the Design Team.

I mentioned, over at the SP forum, that I will make an announcement with my future plans, and so I will, but not just yet... and just in case you are wondering, I am not pregnant, and it's not scrapping related either.

Secondly, I am very excited that I was picked by Kelly Goree to be the 'favourite find of the month' in the Basic Grey newsletter; you can see it here on page 3. Here is my layout, using the BG Wisteria range, tulle and an embossed Bazzill cardstock for the background:

Oh, and thanks to Adrienne and Pauline; I actually made this layout using my last SP DT kit, and they were nice enough to let me remove the layout from their gallery, forum and blog until it was published in the newsletter.

Ok, it's getting late now and I need to go to bed. I'm off to Tauranga soon for a week, so hope to catch up on all my blogging on my nephew's laptop - thanks, Caleb! Then when I get back, it's SENZ, and Liz and I have a class on the Saturday -inking - and then the crop on Sat night. I hope to see some of you there; please come and say hi if you spot me - I am a little shy, but would love to see/meet you.

Enjoy the rest of the school holidays!

So It's Been A While...

... again!! But I have some good excuses this time, lol! Well, first of all, my poor sweet little girl has had a fairly mild case of chicken pox, and had last week off kindy. Luckily, she is all well again now, and I actually have some time to do stuff. And by stuff, I mean housework, paperwork and lots of computer stuff like blog reading.

Then, about a week ago, I slipped over in my backyard, and fell right on my tailbone, and I guess I bruised it. It is still really really sore; sitting and lying down are very uncomfortable, and forget about driving!! Well, obviously I have to drive, but I am avoiding any long drives, as I have to drive with my rear lifted a little above the seat, and I can only do that for so long!!! No laughing...
Anyway, at least it is slowly getting better, and I can spend some time at the computer. I have so many blog postings to read and comment on, and I will get to them over the next couple of weeks.

Here are a few of the projects I have been working on for Scrappin' Patch. I received a kit a few weeks ago, and it has taken me a while to complete it, what with all the great stuff happening in my life, lol. We'll start with a couple of layouts made with the very pretty Basic Grey Wisteria range, available here in the shop:

In both of the above layouts, I used the following Wisteria papers: Tea Lights, Wind Chimes and Primrose. I love the subtle colours, and yes, they are not my usual colours, but I really like them. I am very happy with the Golden Girl layout; all that handcutting was worth it! My DH told me I need to scrap more 'occasion' photos, rather than just lovely portrait photos of Aurelia, so I obliged and made the second layout - hmmm, and that's kinda why I don't usually do occasion photos!! Didn't quite work out the way I wanted, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It's ok, but I don't love it. Might have to do a few more busy photos to practice.

The above layouts were made using the very very good value (!) Prima Breathe paper stack; on sale at the moment for $19, and you get 24 patterned papers!! Can't beat that. As I already had the pleasure of working with the Breathe papers, I ordered the Sasha paper stack which is similar but different colours, also on sale for the same price. Click here to see them in the shop. I love the top page; those photos of my very cheeky darling are so cute, and just show her personality to a T. And I like the beachy one too; one of the few photos you'll see of me, and it's nice to have photos of us together. I really must get more of us a family, with DH as well. Oh, and I made those lollipop flowers with the papers; quite proud of them, I am; they turned out pretty well IMHO. And I even cut up a bling flower and used the petals as leaves! Goodness, I'm clever.

Now, I have lots more to show you, but will save them for another day. Keep your eyes peeled for a bit of an announcement from me in the coming weeks, not what you might expect either; not scrapbooking related and no, I'm not pregnant either. But I might be asking for your help, kind readers...

My behind is beginning to ache now, so I must take it off to bed. Happy scrapping all, and I will be back soon.

Scrappin' Patch DT Kit

Just thought I would give you all a taste of what I have been playing with this month in my Design Team kit...

Full images to come soon...

Happy Queen's Birthday Weekend!!

I hope you are all having a lovely long Queen's Birthday weekend. I have my Design Team kit at the mo, so am busy creating, which is a nice way to spend the weekend. There is a lot happening over at Scrappin' Patch, so if you have some time this weekend, come on over and check it out.

First up today, I have some layouts I created using a gorgeous flocked 7 Gypsies paper - Jai from the shop.

Now, as you may have noticed, this is quite an unusual page for me, but I really wanted the focus on the journalling rather than the photo. I used a strip of the paper as a piece of ribbon. Oh, and the cute butterfly is from an Amy Butler sheet of die-cut butterflies available in the shop, along with some Graphite Glimmermist.

On the page above, I used a photo I love of my sisters and all our kids, and another piece of the Jai flocked paper, out of which I handcut the flourish/flowers. I also used the following products from the shop: Basic Grey Urban Prairie Paper: Kettle, Making Memories Tiny Alphas: White on Black (sold out, but other colours available), Kaisercraft Bling: black, and Tattered Angels Glimmermist: Graphite.

Click here to see what Heidi and Annelie did with their different flocked papers. Very cool!

Also at the Scrappin' Patch forum, we are having inspiration and challenges all weekend relating to the Queen's Birthday. Heidi's challenge is to create a layout about your little Prince or Princess - here is my take on the challenge:

Very pink!! I love the new Prima Vines, and the papers - Collage Press Sweet Shoppe - Chocoholic (backside), Basic Grey Bittersweet - Essence and Truffle, Websters Storytellers letter stickers - Magical, Fiskars Border Punch - Apron Lace, and Melissa Francis crown are all available in the shop. So come join in the fun.

Ok, so it's getting late now and I still have more DT stuff to work on. Keep your eye out for my next projects using some of the Prima papers in the shop...

Yes, it's me again...

and I know it's been a while, but I have a good excuse; I am having major computer problems. First of all, we had no phone line for 2 days, but some internet, although it was down for a whole night - shock, horror, how did I cope??!! - and now, although we have it back now, uploading and downloading often takes an absolute age - hence, there won't be too many pics in this post, lol! That is also why I haven't commented on your blog for a while... yes, I'm talking to you! But I did want to share the following couple of layouts that I have just posted over at Scrappin' Patch for a Scrap Tech Tuesday on machine stitching.


I'm really liking this page, but I'm also thinking I really need to get a new sketch or something... I can't seem to do anything but this page layout lately! The journalling on this layout is particularly funny to me; it reads: You are such a clever girl. Your Daddy was trying to explain something to you, but your reply was "Well, I know somebody who knows better... my Mummy." That girl really is smart!




And then there's this one, which I also really like, and is just a reminder to Aurelia that I do love her - sometimes, you get caught up in the day-to-day routines, and the time-outs and telling offs, and you forget the most important things. I don't ever want her to forget how much I love her.

The lovely product on these layouts is mostly available over at the Scrappin' Patch shop; I am loving all their new stuff, especially the Prima vines and felt gates. Oh, and those Melissa Francis and Websters papers... I could go on...


But it's late, so I won't.


So much to do this week; our bathroom needs painting, and I received my Scrappin' Patch Design Team kit today, so look out for my work from that - very pretty product, so hopefully some nice projects should come out of that.


Oh, and Scrappin' Patch is also having some stuff happening over the Queen's Birthday weekend; some inspiration and challenges, so drop on by and join in the fun.


I must go; layouts and cards to make, and a lovely warm bed awaiting me too... have a great week, and a lovely long weekend, all.

Hope You Had A Happy Mothers' Day...

whether you are a mother or a daughter. We had a nice lunch out with Robin's Mum, and I did a bit of scrapping in the afternoon. In honour of Mothers Day, I made this layout below about my Mum, who passed away 5 years ago. It's the first layout I've done about her, and so it was really important to me to make it really special... it's not quite as awesome as I pictured in my head (they never are, lol!) but I think it's quite pretty. I ended up not journalling quite how I wanted, so will probably scrap this photo again, maybe next time in sepia or something, with more journalling that's a bit more... I don't know, heartfelt. I really wanted to express how I feel, but it wasn't easy. Anyway, here it is:

As you can tell, I'm still loving the Prima, Melissa Francis and Websters, all available in the Scrappin' Patch shop!! Now, if you want to do a Mothers Day layout, shabby chic style, visit the Scrappin' Patch forum here, to get the details on Annelie's Monday challenge, for which I entered this page as an example.

In other news, we finally picked a name for our new little darlings... drumroll please... Felix and Lucy. We had the hardest time deciding, but we liked these names the best. I don't think any of you suggested these names, but I need to go have another look at the comments...

Oh, and had a really nice, quiet day at Trace's crop on Saturday, too. It was so nice to meet Jane and Angela, people I had seen online but not IRL. Good to catch up with everyone else too. And yes, as usual, I got next to nothing done, but that's ok; I'm beginning to accept it now, lol!

Nothing much else to report at the mo, so have a good week.

Another Post...

I'm on fire! Yes, another post! I have had a bit of a crappy weekend, just because I've managed to completely block one of my ears, and I have had a headache since Saturday morning. All my own fault though; I just can't resist sticking those cotton buds in my ears... I'm gonna have to visit the Dr, I think. I've also had this blimen' cold for about 3 weeks now; it's not too bad but still not 100% well. So, all in all, I am pretty pleased I managed to get this layout done:


It's for a Product Challenge over at Scrappin' Patch; the challenge is to use 'bling' on your layout. Come on, everyone loves bling, so come over and play! Here is the link to the details in the forum.

Here are some close-ups:















Now, I have to say, I am a little disappointed in how the photos turned out; I'm really happy with it IRL. And such different colours for me, but I really like the pp, from 7 Gypsies. I also really wanted to use one of the Prima felt gates, so I Glimmermisted it with Graphite to make it darker, and it turned out so cool. I actually used heaps of my new stuff from the shop. And cute photos too - actually taken 2 years ago; time is just going by so fast.

Oh, and I wanted to thank you all for your comments and name suggestions for our darling kitties; we still haven't decided but will let you know as soon as we do. Actually, in regards to your comments, I am pretty sure that sometime soon I am going to move my blog over to Wordpress; I would love to be able to reply to your comments, which I can't do on blogger. So that will be exciting! Well, for me, anyway...

I'm off to Trace's farewell crop this coming weekend, which means I really must put a kit or two together - who am I kidding, I probably won't get anything done, as usual, lol. Am going with my good friend, Liz, so should be lots of fun. Lucky Trace, moving back to my home town of Christchurch - although, I'm not sure I could cope with the cold winters anymore! Best of luck, Trace!

Ok, you've probably had enough for today, so have a great week!

(Inter)National Scrapbooking Day...

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Scrappin' Patch's (Inter)National Scrapbooking Day!

Adrienne and Pauline have organised a challenge for this weekend to celebrate Scrapbooking Day, and that is to create a layout based on a 'recipe'. That is, a list of items you need to have on your layout. The twist is, to get the list, you need to visit the Scrappin' Patch blog, and also the blogs of the rest of the SP Design Team and Guest DT. You need to read the first post on each blog to get a clue, which will lead you to one 'item' that needs to be on your layout. The item will be highlighted with a lightbulb, just in case you don't quite figure out the clue! You will end up with 7 items that need to be included on your layout.

OK, so my clue is: Kiss Kiss. And another clue, it might not necessarily be on the first page, so you may need to click on 'older posts' at the bottom of the page. Look for the lightbulb for the next item to go on the layout list.

Once you have my item, you need to visit the other DT and SP blogs; all the links are just over on the right-hand sidebar, under Scrappin' Patch DT Blog List. Then you create your layout, and post it in the gallery by Monday 4 May by 9am. And be sure to read the Scrappin' Patch blog post well, as there are other ways you could win a RAK too...

Have fun creating your layout; I can't wait to see all your awesome pages. Happy Scrapping Day!!