Sunday, July 31, 2011

Catch up time!

I haven't been on here for ages!! I've been so busy and it feels like I haven't really done much.  Not a great feeling, but I suppose that how it goes some times.  I do have some scrappy stuff to share though.  First is a card that I made with my left over papers from my DT kit at Handmade by Suzanne.  By the way, I LOVE these papers! :)
I've used Kaisercraft 'Velvet Ensemble' pattern papers, Kraft cardstock, Kaisercraft 'Moments' rubons and WRMK Sew Easy Stitch Piercer.   All products are available from 'Handmade by Suzanne'.
Next is a layout I've done for one of Scrapbooking Top 50's monthly challenges.  The pic is of my mum with my DS and DD taken in July 2007.  I've converted the photo to a pencil sketch and printed it on canvas. 
 I've used Cosmo Cricket 'Odds and Ends' for this.  This is such a beautiful range and all available here.
The following layout I finished about a week ago.  These little guys belong to a friend of mine and they are just the cutest.  I was so happy to get some photos from her to scrap as I love to scrap little ones sometimes and don't have many unscrapped pics of my kids when they were little left.  It was before the digital stage. :) 
I've used the Kaisercraft 'Party Animal' Collection. I bought two of the background papers and fussy cut the animal stack on the left to lift it with some double sided tape.  This way I could also add a banner to the one that was already printed on the paper.
 Love the little animals and they are so easy to fussy cut too.
I think I will stop here for today.  There is one more layout to share but I will keep that for another day. I'm hoping to get a bit more done during the next month, although we have something planned for all the weekends in August already. I'm sure it will be exhausting but a lot of fun. :)
Hope to catch up with all my favourite blogs soon.
Thanks for popping by and have a great week!
M xox

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kaisercraft Velvet Ensemble

Cutting it a bit fine and doing an almost midnight post here. :)  Have to get my Bird Is The Word entry in though before the deadline, which is in about.... 7 and a half hours and since I am not an early bird, I thought its safer to do it now. :)
The pics are of my DD on her way to her Year 11 Ball earlier this year.  We had to use the word 'admire' this time and I thought that this quote was perfect for the pics.
I've used Kaisercraft Velvet Ensemble collection for this.  The colours in this range are so gorgeous together.  All the products used in this layout are availble from Handmade by Suzanne.
 A little close up of my cluster.  The flowers are Green Tara Calla Lillies that I tied into a bunch with some twill.  And I just love the butterflies from Collections.
The next layout is another one I did with my DT kit from Handmade by Suzanne using the same fabulous Kaisercraft Velvet Ensemble range.  The pic is my friend's little boy. Isn't he the sweetest?  I've also used some Kaisercraft 'Moments' rub ons (one the photo), Collections 'Creative Butterflies', a Crafter's Workshop 'Time Travel' template and some gorgeous Scrapware Correboard Alphas.  Handmade by Suzanne is getting so many exciting products in all the time.  You can check it all out here.
A little close up to show the title. I added some twine for a more 'boyish' look.
 And some more gorgeous butterflies. :)
That's all for today. I better go get some sleep. Thank you so much to everybody who wished me well with my back ache.  All your well wishes must have worked, as I feel so much better!  I'm going to attempt painting DD's room this week, so don't know how much scrapping will get done.  There might be a card or two in line though ...
Wish you all a fantastic week!! Thanks for visiting!
Until next time.
M xox

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Where has the week gone?

I mean, seriously... the one moment is was Friday and now its six days later and almost Friday again!! Or maybe its just called school holidays. :)  Whatever it is, its making me very behind on the blogging side.  I've done these 2 layouts about 2 weeks ago for the Scrapbooking Top 50 Cyber Crop and forgot to share it on here. :( 
The first one was for Sue's Colour Challenge.  The pic is of my DD and one of her best friends before they went off to see Rihanna in concert.  They were SO excited!
I've use Bo Bunny 'It's a Girl' pattern papers and stickers that I've had in my stash for a while now. The colours were perfect for this challenge.
 And another close up. :)

The next layout was for Vicki's challenge.  The pic is a family photo of my mum (when she was 18) with her parents and 4 younger siblings.  I remember this photo, but bigger and in a frame, hanging above my grandparents bed when I was a kid. Sadly, they've both passed away since.  I was very lucky to get the smaller version of the photo from my mum.  She is the one second from the right at the back.
The paper is Prima 'Reflections' and most of the flowers are Prima too.
 I just love doilies and lace with a vintage photograph. :)
 That gorgeous butterfly is a from Pink Paislee and the little cream flower was crocheted by me. :)
I've got more layouts to share soon. I think this weekend is going to be a cold, wet one in Perth. Hopefully that will give me time to get a bit more 'blog active'.  Now, if I can just get rid of this terrible back ache I've been having for the last two days. :(  Now thats enought complaining for one post... Lol! Life is good! It's almost weekend!
I hope you will all have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for visiting and for you always beautiful comments.
Until next time!
M xox

Thursday, July 07, 2011

July Sketch

Hi everyone! I hope your week was really good and that your plans for the weekend are even better!  Today I want to share Handmade by Suzanne's July Sketch with you.  It's another gorgeous sketch designed by our own Michelle Fowler.  All you have to do to be in the running for a $30 store voucher from Handmade by Suzanne is to create a layout based on this sketch and upload it into the gallery by the end of the month! Easy peasy!  The winner gets determined by a random draw, so anybody can win!
This is my take on the sketch. The pic is of my mum and her dad on her wedding day. I thought these papers were perfect for a wedding photo.  I've used my gorgeous DT kit from HBS for this. Kaisercraft Velvet Ensemble pattern paper and die cut, Kaisercraft 'Moments' Rubons, Kaisercraft Pearl flourish, Prima flowers, Kaisercraft flower, AC Elements Pearl brads, AC Thickers, Basic Grey mini alphas and Collections butterflies. All products are available from Handmade by Suzanne.
A close up of my embellie cluster.
The next layout is one I did for one of the monthly challenges at Scrapbooking Top 50 last month.  I've used an older Kaisercraft range called 'After Five' for this. This collection is 30% off at the moment at Handmade by Suzanne! The background of the pattern paper was cut away and replaced with a transparency.  Lol! I put a piece of black cardstock behind it to photgraph it, but iIt didn't matter what I tried I could not photograph it without getting some reflection on it.  I really like the look of this and might try it again soon,
Here, I held my layout up so the you could see the transparency better. :)
A close up of some of the yummy Prima flowers.  You noticing my MS 'frond' punch again?
A close up of some more yummy Prima flowers.
I really enjoy scrapping my parents wedding pics atm. Lol! When I'm done, I'll have to start with mine!
I've got some more scrapping to share but don't want to overdo it in one day.  Will be back in a few days!
Thank you so much for popping by and for all your lovely comments.  I appreciate each and every one of them.
Have a wonderful weekend!
M xx

Monday, July 04, 2011

My scrap space

Hi there everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend and had a bit of time to be creative. I managed to do some baking, scrapping, socialising and relaxing. Even though the weather was wet and cold, I had a great time.
Today I'm back (as promised) with pics of my 'new' scraproom. I almost chickened out again! Lol!
WARNING: Photo heavy post ahead!!
I'll start with the before photos.  This was the view from our lounge room taken towards my scrapping area, which used to be the dining room to the previous owners. Messy hey?
This was the view from the door to the kitchen looking towards my scrap space.  When we move in 6 and half years ago, I used to have a lot less stuff. :)  I bought the brown cubes for my scrappy stuff a few years ago and the white wardrobe which used to be in the baby room 18 years ago, held all my other hobby things (sewing, decoupage, fabric paint, jewelery making, etc).

These 2 stationary cupboards belong to my DH and myself. His is on the left and mine on the right. You don't really want to know what's in there. :)
This is DH starting to assemble all the new shelves.  I was doing the unpacking and making space.

 A pic of some of the new shelves in place.
And a view of my finished scrap room taken today. This is taken from the same spot in the lounge room as the first pic in this post.  It looks so much better with those 2 big stationary cupboards out of the way. It looks and feels so much bigger.  Unfortunately, we had to keep them in this room as we didn't have anywhere else to go with them and we need the packing space.
 Another view of my room. This part of the floor is raised by a step level and I now overlook the lounge room and can sit and scrap while DH is watching tv and still feel part of it. He likes it too. :)
A pic of my desk from the side. I've got drawers with all of the little items I might need in the shelves next to me and a great lamp shining straigt over my work.  My Silhouette machine is now right next to me for when I need it and is in easy reach of my laptop.  In the cubes in the front, I have containers with all my flowers, stamps, punches, etc. Most of my containers are labled but I haven't done them all yet.
 Here are my shelves again, but full this time. :)
 A close up (because I love close ups so much) of my taller shelves. The 3 containers on the top has all my cardstock, my left over cardstock and left over pattern papers in. The cube on the top left has my Circut cartridges and my glimmer mists in the container in front of them. To the right of that are little spice containers from Ikea with buttons and flowers.  The second row has 3 photo boxes, my Cuttlebug and a small carry container for all my loose pearls and rhinestones (from HBS).  The 4 baskets at the bottom have various things in, like one is for cardmaking stuff and already made cards, one is for all my felt, crochet cottons, etc.
A close up of my lower shelves. The thingy hiding under the cloth on the top left is my sewing mschine. My Cricut machine is in the middle and my Clip It Up is on the right where I hang all my rub ons and stickers sheets, etc.  I've got 2 cubes with drawers in them, but I'm planning to add 2 more to the left of those.  The cube on the top left has a container with all my Thickers and some cubes have magazines, albums and containers with chipboard, ribbon, Cuttlebug dies, etc.  The blue totebag in front of the shelves houses most of my pattern papers which are all in plastic ziplock bags in manufacterer and collection order.  I was thinking of putting those in a cube too but because I regulary go to crops, I like to keep my things quite mobile IYKWIM. ;)
A view from the door to the kitchen.
DH is going to get me a nice comfortable office chair next weekend to complete the picture. He is such a star. :)
I still have a few things up my sleeve to organise my room even better, but for now I'm happy with it.  I am loving creating in there and have quite a few layouts to share but I'll leave that for another day.  This post is already SO LONG!  If you made it this far, you've done very well.  I hope you can get an idea of where I create now. :)
Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful week.
Until next time.
M xox