So tell me how this happened ... ?

(Layout credits - Papers from Graduation, by Jackie Eckles, at DesignerDigitals. Font: Avante.)

... I was quietly minding my own business, creating something with Megan's new wordart, when this layout snuck into PS, and willed itself into existance. And now I have no layout to go with the new wordart ... so I'm disappearing and jumping back into PS, and hoping Megan hasn't noticed. She has some stunning new Wednesday Wordart, so make sure you drop by her blog and 'appreciate' it! More soon ...

Monday ... take two!

(Layout credits - Papers from Baby Girl Kisses, by Tracy Ann, at The Sweet Shoppe. White dot paper from Artlines 5 Sydney, by Tracy Ann, at SBB. Pink heart from Random Felt Combo, by Tracy Ann, at SBB. Cross stitch from Splendid, by Shabby Princess. Font: Avante. (Photo by Maxine, edited by me.)

I am sure that someone snuck an extra Monday in when I wasn't looking, it was so busy today. We had school photos, in the library, all day ... and I mean all day! When I wasn't teaching, I was shushing kids, organizing them from tallest to shortest, ringing teachers to find out where kids were ... and other associated tasks. This all boiled down to a day of total chaos and no work ... but it gets better ... another early day tomorrow, and then another one on Thursday, when the staff get to turn up early to have THEIR photos taken, and they are worse than the kids, particularly about getting there on time. *sigh*

A cheerful thought to finish the day ... it is almost over, I have my electric blanket on, and I've finished a layout for today! Must run, my bed is calling! More next time ...

My wish for you ...

(Layout credits - Papers from Green Freebie, staples from Elegant Evening, by Suzy Nunes, at The Digi Shoppe. Stitching by Shannon at SBB. Inked Edges action by Atomic Cupcake. Brush by Rhonna Farrer. Inspiration from a layout by AuntiePea, called 'Mark and Cobe'. Font: Arial Narrow.)

These pretty papers are a freebie ... can you believe that? Suzy has kindly created it, and it's available at The Digi Shoppe. So trot on over, and put it to good use. Cold Case is calling, so I'm off to watch it with DH. More next time ...

Layout #3 ... first car.

(Layout credits - Paper from Graduation kit, by Jackie Eckles, coming to the shop very soon, at DesignerDigitals. Font: Times New Roman.)

Now shhhhhhh! everyone ... if Jess catches me posting a layout a day ahead of where I should be, I'll be in trouble for sure, rotflol! She hasn't posted the prompt yet, which should be Week #22 ... How old were you when you got your driver's licence? I've sort of kind of maybe perhaps played with that theme, and have journaled about my first car, and my first accident ... nice little bonus is the strange hair, clothes and glasses on the subject in the photo! That's for Megan, who can't believe I ever had sunnies quite that large ... but hey, I have a bigger pair in a photo that's just begging NOT to be scrapped, lol.

Anyhow ... I believe I am now actually a week AHEAD in the Simply You challenge ... first time ever. I actually started scrapping something entirely different, found this scanned photo, and it all escalated from there. So Jess, if you do happen to wander past my blog and notice, it was entirely accidental, and I really didn't mean to do it!!!

Photo editing: this was a nasty scanned 6x4 photo. I edited it as follows, for those who are interested ... edited the Levels, took some black out of the photo using selective colour, played with Curves. Flattened the layout, Smart Sharpened it, then hit it with the chocolate filter from PhotoBlast, I think. Then I dropped the filtered photo on top of the original, and lowered the opacity to about 55%, letting some of the original colour through. Phew ... off to create something else ...

Layout #2 ... the truly fashionable ...

(Layout credits - Paper from Patriot Papers, by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. Fonts: Apple Garamond Light, Avante. Photo by Elizabeth's mum, editing by me.)

This pretty paper (with an amazing linen texture) hits the shop tomorrow ... so keep an eye out for it. Back to the creating ...

Layout #1 ... If you were a song ...

(Layout credits - Scroll by Rhonna Farrer. Grunge Frame by Jessica Sprague. Fonts: Georgia, Century Gothic.)

I'll be popping in and out this afternoon, posting as layouts are completed. This is my last one for the Simply You challenge, and NOW I'm up-to-date ... till tomorrow, when week #22 prompt is posted. Enjoy ... more later!

Twins anyone?

(Layout credits - Arrow from Lucky Star, from DDDE. Font: Century Gothic, Apple Garamond.)

Yes, layout #20, so that means I am only one behind, and that is half-formed in my head ... just have to take a photo. The Simply You challenge is an excellent exercise in getting your creativity up and moving ... you listening there, Jodie, lol? Sometimes it takes me a week of two to get it the prompt organized in my head, but it makes me think outside the square. Here's the ad I found today that started this layout ... not much of it left in my layout, but I always need a jumping off point to start the designing process.

It's a quiet afternoon here ... very warm and balmy, the girl running on the treadmill, the boy annoying her from his laptop where he is watching a cartoon, DH helping my niece do year 11 (difficult) maths, my MIL doing a cross-stitch on the lounge, and me spending most of the day working on that deceptively simply layout above. It is just a matter of finding the right spot to put the very little that is on the page. It's more difficult than you would believe sometimes ... the trials and tribulations of a minimilist scrapper, I think.

DH and I are going to see 'The Divinci Code' tonight ... I have been dithering about going. I love all Dan Brown's books, as I am a prolific reader, but sometimes books don't translate well onto screen, and there has been such a fuss about this movie, some people saying they haven't seen better, and others saying it is a bit of a yawn. I'll let you know tomorrow, shall I? More next time ...

Super-fast Friday ...

(Layout credits - Quote freebie, paper from Botanicals Notebook Vol 1, by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals.Grunge frame by Jessica Sprague. Font: Times New Roman.)

We are very amused in our family that my musical dad can't abide violins, and that my talented daughter is passionate about playing one! I know this is a very simple layout, but I love Katie's beautiful papers in her Botanical Notebook series, and they need little to no tizzying up. If you have missed this series, No. 5 is coming out this weekend.

Aren't they delicious? And No. 5, coming out this weekend, is just as beautiful! Stop by the shoppe and see for yourself.

Super-fast Fridays ... always seem to move twice as fast as the other days of the week. Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that it is my day off? Hmmm ... possibly. I love my one day a week to myself, and I can be just as happy pottering around at home, as at the shops, spending up a storm. I'm promising myself some time this weekend, learning something new in Photoshop CS2. Even tho I seem to have put paper-creating on the back burner at the moment, I am still thinking about it. Wishing my creating skills were better. Watching enviously as others master the skill. Promising myself it will be me soon. *sigh* ... I have to go do some housework ... back to reality with a thump! Have a great weekend, everyone! More next time ...

Show me the layout ...

(Layout credits - Papers from Artlines 5 Billy, by Tracy Ann Designs, from SBB. Grunge frame on photo by Jessica Sprague. Font: Avante.)

Here it is ... but only because you asked me so nicely, Lanne! Serious scrapper's block at the moment ... I thought for one dreadful moment tonight that I had FINALLY used up all the layouts inside me tonight. No matter what kits I hauled out of the dusty corners of my harddrive, no matter what photos called to me, saying, 'Scrap me, no, scrap ME!', nothing gelled, and I thought perhaps flowers would feature again on the blog, but just at the last moment, literally ... this one emerged. It was a tricky photo to scrap, with Charlton looking up and out of the page, but as I wandered through my collection of inspiring layouts that I store in Elements 3, this one popped up ...

It is by Coop, at 2Peas, and I guess looking at it now, it is hard to see how that inspired me, but there you go! Life is full of interesting twists and turns ...

Rambling off on another random thought ... I was thinking today how much I enjoy blog-hopping. I have a huge list (no, I'm not telling you how many blogs are on it!!!) on Bloglines, and it is such an interesting mix of people, cultures, customs, arty-ness, creativity, humour, desperation, and other assorted bits and pieces. Today I was entertained by Mary Fran and her furbabies as they went camping, was amazed by the photography on several blogs, was inspired by the layouts on others, was relieved to discover that I am not the only tired, stressed, very busy mum around, learned a little more about autism, and ... well, you get the picture. Lots of schtuff to entertain, educate, enthuse ... long live blogging!

Note to self ...

Note to self ... make sure you have a blog entry and layout finished before you start playing with Megan's wordart ... or it may get to the end of the evening, and you have NO blog, NO layout, NO wordart layout and NO inspiration or energy to do anything ... AT ALL! So here's something I should have prepared earlier ... ROTFLOL!!!

So have a good day ... and I'll be baaaaaaack!

Before I toddle off to bed ...

(Layout credits - Patterned papers from Flutter, by Tracy Ann, at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Stitching by Shannon at SBB. Alpha stamp from Botanical Notebook Vol 1, by Katie Pertiet, from DesignerDigitals. White overlay from Flirty Girl, by Gina Cabrera. My kraft paper. Font: Avante.Inspiration from a layout by Digi Kitty, called Pure Adoration.)

Just happened to be chatting to Yvette via Hello tonight (7 pm for me, 11 pm for her, but yesterday, lol!) and she very kindly sent me this gorgeous photo to scrap. I am so lucky to have friends who share ... Tara is gorgeous, as you can see!!! Somehow this layout has taken me all evening ... often the case with my layouts. I thought someone might be interested to see where I began, with this layout of Digi Kitty that I had in my 'inspirations folder' ...

It is often interesting to track where creative wanders, as a layout emerges. Must off to bed ... more next time!

Always expect the unexpected ...

(Layout credits - Kit: Robin, Robin, Bo-Bobbin, by mandabean, from Sweet Shoppe Designs. Ribbon from Baby Girl Kisses, by Tracy Ann, at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Kraft paper by me. Inked Edges from Atomic Cupcake. Font: Century Gothic and Avante. Scraplift of a layout called 'Angel Kisses', Simple Scrapbooks, pg. 16, Vol 5, Iss 3.)

My goodness, what a long list of credits, for a fairly simple layout! I'm exhausted just typing them, lol. I enjoyed an unexpected holiday today ... the boy has had a heavy cold over the last week, and last night, it hit his ears, and he spend a restless night. He called me during the night, but I didn't hear, so he came to my door, wanting a Panadol. I tell you, it gives you a nervous twitch to wake up from a dead sleep to find a nearly 6 ft tall dark figure standing in your doorway in the dark. I warned him tonight not to stand right next to my bed, like he used to do when he was little ... I might rise up in fright and smite him, lol. Just call me from the door, I told him.

The upshot of all this excitement was that I got to stay home with him for the day. We dropped in at the drs and had the ears checked out, then relaxed at home for the day. It was very quiet and peaceful and relaxing ... a mental health day. Love these sorts of days. I worked on my layout for the front of SSD for next month, and created the above layout using another SSD kit. I love beach photos ... I find them easy to scrap, compared to some other photos which always end up in the 'too hard' basket. Maxine has more photos to share, so I can't wait to see what she is giving me, and Elizabeth's mum is giving me another cd, so I am going to have heaps of great photos to choose from ... More next time!

For Cassie ...

This is a very special kit available at Sweet Shoppe Designs at the moment. It's called For Cassie and all of the sales from the kit will be donated to Children of Promise for Robin's best friend's little girl. Here is a layout I have just created using this pretty kit ...

(Layout credits - Kit: For Cassie, fom Sweet Shoppe Designs. Photo and journaling by Jen. Font: Century Gothic.)

We shopped today, outfitted the dad in our family in new work gear, which was kinda fun. It was very surprising for him when he discovered that the 12 kilos he has just lost, meant he went down several sizes. I'll blog more about all the excitement of shopping on Sundays tomorrow ... right now I have to wander off and tackle the ironing! More next time ...

Just for fun ...

(Striped paper from Baby Girl Kisses, by Tracy Ann, at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Font: Century Gothic.)

Just something to make you smile ... recognize any of this???

Someone pinched Friday's blog ...

(Layout credits - Red paper from Sweet Sarah, by Kellie Hinze coming later this weekend, from DesignerDigitals. Edges Brushes-n-Stamps by Katie Pertiet. Alpha stamp from Botanist Notebook Vol 4 coming later this weekend, by Katie Pertiet, from DesignerDigitals. Font: Typist.)

Well ... something happened to it ... perhaps I didn't blog??? The problem was most of yesterday was spent away from the 'puter, and by the end of the day, it was movie date night with my DH, and we watched part of series 1 of Scrubs, and then it was midnight!!! I did intend to get back to the digi and blog world, but hey, we had a great time laughing and relaxing, and that was probably better for me. Love that series, love watching my hubby relax his way into the weekend, love that my three readers won't desert me entirely if I don't blog every day ... will you?LOL

Clean floors ... don't you love them? Two thirds of my house is tiled, as we live in a semi-tropical climate, and washing them seems to be the equivalent of mopping a small continent, but when I do get it done, the whole house sparkles. Clean enough to eat off, and I guess it will stay that way till the family gets up this morning, lol. But hey, for a few hours there, my floors were clean!

My online digiworld bumped into my everyday life yesterday ... I had morning tea with Megan and Maxine, my talented photographer friend whose granddaughter features in a lot of my scrapping, Juatia, my little beach friend. She is a gorgeous almost two year old, a beautiful little miss. Anyway, I sidetrack myself ... After morning tea, Megan and I did the usual 'wander through the shops distracting ourselves so that we don't have to go home and do housework' ... we are verrrrry good at that. We were in Pumpkin Patch, trying to find something for my long-legged daughter who has grown out of all her winter stuff from last year (funny that!) when I turned round and saw Lanne and Lochs behind me! Life is strange like that ... all sorts of unexpected surprises pop up every now and then, just to keep life interesting. We chatted, I headed off for home a little later, and guess who was making their way out of the shopping centre just in front of me ... Lochs and Mum in tow!!!

I'm off ... photos perhaps later today, of the girl in her new stuff. More next time!

It's totally official ...

Not only is my boy gorgeous, he is also very smart, lol! We got the above results back from the computer comp he did earlier in the year. Hard to tell who is the most excited, boy or mum, it's very close, I think. Is it just me or is it even more exciting when your kids have sucesses in life, than your own successes? Short post tonight ... Thursday nights are food shopping night for me, and I always end up back home exhausted, with no inspirational thoughts in my head at all, so I'm calling it a night, heading off to bed, basking in the glow of my son's achievements. More next time ...

Wordart Wednesday ... on Megan's blog!

(Layout credits - Wordart by Megan, aka *vintagecharm*. Font: Century Gothic.)

Now ain't that a purty bit of wordart? She seems to do this with such style, doesn't she? Wordart just doesn't come easily to me, but I just pop into Hello, say Help please!, and she makes me instant wordart, like the pink number below. I have always loved that quote, and when I found this photo, I knew they would work together. And of course, Megan helped with her pretty touch. But I digress ... back to the 'colour' wordart above ... should you feel the need to visit Megan's blog, you will find it there for the taking. Don't forget to send her a link if you use it in a layout ... it is so much fun to see freebies in the galleries! BTW, she has done a 'colour' and 'color' version!

(Layout credits - Scraplift of Katie Pertiet's 'Whoosh'. Striped strip from Flat Jacks Frolic, recoloured, by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. Frame brush by Jessica Sprague. Quote found by me, lol, wordart by Megan.)

At DesignerDigitals we have a new gallery called Creative Team Scraplifts. This is my second layout for the gallery, a scraplift of Katie's beautiful Whoosh layout. Make sure you visit the gallery to see the original layout, it is gorgeous! More next time, huh?

It all started way back when ...

... I unpacked the girl's bag Monday night. What do you suppose I found? A note from school telling me I had to drop her off for a districts cross-country meet! At 8.00 am!!! In the morning!!! 'Nuff said ... Monday night is a late one for her, so I let her sleep in till 7.15 this morning, then hauled her out of bed. I did feel sorry for her, so tired and sick still from the weekend, and my first motherly impulse was to say, 'No running!', but she has worked so hard to get this far!

I got as much done for her as I could, got the boy organized for school, rushed her to the park where 100s of excited kids were lining up, then raced back home to get the boy. Dropped him off at school a few minutes late, then got to my school even more minutes later. Worked for a couple of hours, then drove back to the sports oval just in time to see her run. She came 51st out of 75 girls her age, which isn't bad considering how sick she has been ... even though she wanted to stay, I brought her back to school with me, so that I could keep an eye on her. Tell you what ... some of those 12 year old girls looked bigger than me ... and that's no easy task! I was proud of my little munchkin.

The boy rang from school towards the end of the day, not feeling well. *sigh* ... I collected them both after school, raced home, Tash wanted to go to her swimming lesson, as she moved up a class last week. So into the swimming gear, out the door within 10 minutes, home well after dark. DH rushes in the door, onto the treadmill for an hour, while I kept the girl awake as she did her homework, organized dinner, showers, bedtime routine. I can tell you the girl didn't need much rocking tonight to get to sleep. Two loads of washing on, general tidy up and here I am at the computer ... and what do you know??? I have NO LAYOUT TO SHARE. Mmmmm ... wonder why that could be? ROTFLOL!!!

I do have a couple in the pipeline ... but alas, nothing ready to post. But I can do a little sneaky advertising for a friend. Check out Lanne's new venture, Once upon a storyboard! Such a clever idea, I love the simplicity and elegance of storyboards. Pretty cute, huh? Go visit her new website to see her beautiful examples of storyboards.

Oh well ... guess I had better go work on a layout for tomorrow, huh? More next time ...

Slow Monday ...

(Layout credits - Kit: Happy Birthday, by Tracy Ann Designs. Fonts: Century Gothic, Arial Narrow. Scraplift of 'Love of Music' by Rebecca Cooper.)

I have lots of questions tonight ... one of my blogging friends has asked this before, but I'm not naming names, lol! How come no one likes the layouts that you really like? I LOVE this one above, it just fell into place and I felt very satisfied as I clicked 'Save', beautiful colours, great photo (I didn't take it, so I can say that, lol!), good design (scraplifted, naturally!) and yet it doesn't get much of a mention on the boards. It just goes to show that I totally DON'T know what appeals to others, and it is so totally good that I scrap for me, rather than an audience, lol. Ok, moving on to next question ...

Why are Mondays always such unpleasant days? It's almost as if things conspire against me on a Monday, to make my 'not on the weekend any more' day worse. Teachers turning up late to class, or worse still, dropping their class at the door, and saying, 'See you in an hour!' when they are supposed to be 'team teaching' with me, computers not starting, programs not starting, classes who haven't done their homework, a bad headache starting half way through the day, the list goes on ... I was so glad to walk out the door at the end of the school day.

My house was trashed from the weekend, so I put the boy on my computer to stop me sitting down and veging all afternoon, and bustled around, cleaning up, loading up the machine, basically picking up and putting away. The muse is not here on a Monday night, I should let you know. I've played with a layout, then tipped it into the bin. I'm not feeling sorry for myself, just tired and a little unwell. I must ring my MIL and remind her to put her Lotto numbers in this week ... she has promised me a share of her winnings, if she ever makes it big, and then I don't EVER have to grumble and complain about my chronic Monday-itis! More next time ...

Layout city ...

(Layout credits - Scraplift of Deenaw's Soft Strong Sweet . Edges from Atomic Cupcake. Font: Bookman Old Style.)

(Layout credits - Pink spotty paper from Happy Mothers Day kit, by Tracy Ann Designs, flower hangup from Spring Hangups, by Tracy Ann Designs, at SBB. Messy White Stitches by Katie Pertiet, from DesignerDigitals. Fonts: Avante, Angelina.)

(Layout credits - Papers from Paper Flowers, blue paper from Fred and Tom Paper Pack, brush from Botanical Brushes, Messy White Stitching by Katie Pertiet, all from DesignerDigitals. Font: Loosie Script.)

Happy/unhappy cat, depending on the hour of the day!

(Layout credits - Alpha from ScrapArtist. Papers from Artlines Canterbury Avenue, by Tracy Ann Designs, at SBB. Font: Avante.)

This is Pusscat, (sorry Lanne, SIR Pusscat! She thinks he should have a more regal title!), enjoying the autumn sunshine on our back verandah. He has become quite demanding, in a non-threatening cat way. The minute we go outside, he is at our feet, looking hopefully up into our faces, and inadvertantly tripping us up. He is happy mid-afternoon, then looks very pointedly in the window as it gets towards evening, then finally we are faced with the glare below ...

(Layou credits - Font: Avante.)

Doug and I were shopping last Friday in a bookstore, and I came on the quote in a cat book, for the layout above. It struck a chord with me, so I took my trusty pencil and notepad out and copied it down. You see, that is Pusscat's exact look ... when he sits on the window sill and talks to us, and we all ignore him. The longer he waits, the more unimpressed he is, and the more evil his looks become. He is quite hysterically funny, quite a grumpy old man.

ScrapArtist 'Simply You' challenge time ... bit of a silly layout this week, but what else can you expect with ... 'What is your dream car?' Do you like my personalised numberplate?

(Layout credits - Photo from http://www.sxc.hu/home. Fonts: Avante, Book Antiqua.)

So what else have I done today? Two other layouts, but both to stay in the vault till a little later in the month, one all pink and white, one all blue and white, one with a photo, one without. ... *sigh* ... I hate scrapping and not sharing. So on that note, I am off to scrap something else today that I CAN share ... see you later, maybe, rotflol!

Scrappers' block ...

(Layout credits - Fonts: Avante & SA Cinta.)

The harder you try to create sometimes, the more illusive the layouts seem to be. I have been scrapping all night, and have very little to share ... more next time! I wanted to create something beautiful with this ...

or perhaps this ...

but apparently my muse has momentarily left the house ... perhaps I will be able to scrap tomorrow. Have a great weekend, everyone. More next time ...

[PS. The great kits above are available at ... ARtlines 4 by Tracy Ann at SSB, and Botanist Notebook No. 2 by Katie Pertiet at DesignerDigitals.]

Digging into the files ...

No layout tonight, but I've dug into the photo files, and found this one of the girl 'fishing' at the beach ... roll on, summer, for all my overseas friends in the northern hemisphere. Need I tell you we are enjoying lovely balmy autumn days down under ... cool nights, but just tshirt/shorts weather during the day. Just gorgeous ... tired tonight, lots of stuff to do before the weekend, so I'll disappear now ... more next time! :)

Show us the papers!!!

(Layout credits - Wordart by vintagecharm. Font: Avante.)

Quick quiz ... why hasn't Sharon posted her paper yet?

1. cos she was too busy making heaps and heaps of papers and didn't have time to blog, or ...
2. cos she had to go out for a haircut and foils last night and got home waaaaaaay too late to blog, or ...
3. cos she was too worn out from walking fast (for FORTY minutes) on the new treadmill, or ...
4. cos she had to take kids to and from various sporting and musical practises the last two afternoons and didn't have time, or ...
5. cos she was trying to create order out of total chaos in her house (created, incidentally, by her family), or ...
6. cos she was busy creating a layout with Megan's beautiful wordart (did you remember it was WordArt Wednesday on her blog?), ... or
7. all of the above, except 1.?????

What do you think, rotflol? It will happen ... the paper thing, and thank you for all being eager to see it ... just have to be a bit patient. I have hardly touched my computer over the last couple of days, but I do have some free time coming up this weekend, and will get back to it, I promise. I am having problems with texturizing my paper, I always too, so if you know of any good PS2 tutorials, please send me links, lol. So goodnight ... and more next time.

Rats! I got done!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know ... I was supposed to be making paper! But you see, I was checking Cass's blog ... and hey, she tagged me. What's a girl to do? So quick, quick, quick ... before the rest of the world is tagged, and I have no one left to tag, lol ...

In my Fridge ...
1. 2 cucumbers
2. lite/regular custard
3. apples
4. vanilla coke
5. 3 shrivelled-up ancient carrots

In my Closet ...
1. horde of sloppy love stories
2. 12 inches of plaited hair
3. my wedding album, videos of the kids as babies
4. insulation that falls out the manhole, everytime someone goes up into the roof
5. oh yes, clothes and shoes

In my handbag ...
1. 4 flash disks … ok, I’m an IT nut
2. a recharging chord for the mobile phone
3. my new purty green mobile phone
4. a resuscitation mask … just upgraded my first aid certificate
5. oh yes, purse, diary and keys … somewhere in there, I’m sure!

In my Car ...
1. empty water bottles
2. children’s shoes and clothes on the floor in the back
3. handcream
4. blanket … did I mention I just upgraded my first aid certificate???
5. 1 axe ... *cough* ... we use it to cut trees apart, when we find them on our 'bush' adventures in our 4WD ... promise!

On my DVD / Video player/Computer
1. Roman Holiday
2. Chocolat
3. backup cds
4. cds of photos
5. cds of kits

I tag ...
1. Megan
2. Lanne
3. Peta
4. Jodie
5. Krash

More next time …

Early post ... cos I'm on a mission!

(Layout credits - Kit: Sweet Abigail by Suzy Nunes, at The Digi Shoppe. Font: Arial Narrow.)

A mission, I hear you ask? Well, I have a relatively quiet Monday night ahead of myself, so I thought I would try out a few tutorials and see if I can create a piece of paper. And maybe even share, if it is halfway decent? I don't want to become a designer, so all my designer friends can relax, but I do like experimenting and learning, and I thought it would be nice to give something back to all you nice people who read my blog and comment, all three of you, lol! :) So I thought if I told you what I was up to, then you could ask rude questions when nothing appeared on my blog to download, like ... 'Where's my piece of paper?' and stuff like that, to keep me motivated and on the straight and narrow.

Soooooooo ... it's out there now, recorded for posterity ... I need to make some paper! And by the way, congratulations to all you guys who made it thru to the next round of Ultimate Digi-Scrapper ... your layouts ROCK! More next time ...

Did you survive NSD ...

(Layout credits - Kit: Botanist Notebook Vol 1 Kit & Date Stamps Vol 6, by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. Metal binder clip from Book Bag Essentials Kit, by Gina Cabrera, at DDE. Font: Typist. Photo by Maxine, edited by me.)

Sorry, but I didn't shop yesterday. Hard to believe, I know ... but there you go. And I didn't shop for a couple of good reasons. One, because I am on several great design teams, I have more beautiful kits than I can EVER scrap, and for another, I was out for most of the day, away from the 'shopping trolley', my computer, lol. So I am just admiring all your purchases, as I flit from blog to blog, ker-chink, ker-chink, ker-chink ... that's the sound of the cash registers, in case you are wondering, lol!

Things were quiet here today ... most of the family (not me!) was busy lining up to try out the new treadmill, which kept them occupied. The kids had a workout each, the boy doing 40 minutes of walking, which impressed me. He was watching a dvd, and playing on the PS2 at the same time, which is the important bit. For him to workout, he needs something to keep his mind constantly busy. Tashy just ran for the sheer pleasure of it. And when DH got on, the house thundered and shook as he ran at somewhere between 10 and 12 km for 40 minutes ... they are all mad, I tell you.

In between the usual Sunday chores, I scapped the above layout, using beautiful schtuff from DesignerDigitals coming to the shop tomorrow. I am fortunate enough to have a good stock of great photos still that I can dip into, taken by my friend Maxine. And just below is a layout finished late last night ... and it's all about ME, ME, ME, lol! I don't scrap many photos of me, but since I started the SA Simply You challenge, I do one every now and then.

(Layout credits - Kit: National Scrapbooking Day gift, by Tracy Ann. Font: Two Centuries MT, Century Gothic.)

I enjoyed using Tracy Ann's free gift, which you can get at her blog, so rush over now and enjoy it! You can join her mailing list and hear about sales, and Photoshop tips! If you want to see what the freebie looks like, wonder no longer, but look below ...

So how come you're still here, rotflol!!! ... more next time! :)

Hot off the press ...

Layout credits - photos by Maxine, edited by me. Kit: Grace by Sara Carling. Zigzag stitching from Sweet Shoppe Designs. Messy White Stitching by Katie Pertiet. Font: Times New Roman.

Pretty exciting ... I just noticed that this layout is Digi Pick of the Day ... always a thrill. This is what Melissa wrote ...

Layout of the Day - Childhood ends so quickly. and that sense of wonder at the world, and the ability to exist totally in the moment is replaced by cynicism and speed. I look at Gracie so often and wish that I could keep her just as she is now, but I know that won't happen. What I can do is preserve those perfect moments of childhood as a reminder of how I should be. Ksharonk has preserved just such a moment in Beach Girl . The photos of her beautiful daughter at the beach at sunset are so precious. I love, love, love the large ghosted photo of her looking out to the horizon! It seems like she is looking into her future. The journaling is so heartfelt and poetic. It captures the moment without too much exposition...we just feel it. The embellishing in this layout enhances the feeling and the photos with out taking away the spotlight. This is what it is all about folks. Happy NSD!

This is a scraplift of 'Go Belle Go' by C.D. Muckosky, and you will find this layout rotating (can't think of the right way to phrase that!) on the front page of Sweet Shoppe Designs for the month of May. Next layout ...

Layout credits - photo by Maxine, edited by me. Messy White Stitches, Paper Flowers 1, by Katiet Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. My kraft paper. Edges by Atomic Cupcake. Font: Arial.

Another 'borrowed' little one on the beach ... having a great time! I love kids on the beach ... they nearly always seem to me to be totally in another world, relaxed and having fun. Next layout ...

Layout credits - Paper from Frazzle, by Tracy Ann, at Sweet Shoppe Designs. My kraft paper. Font: Avante.

I wonder if the rest of the world does 'Shave/Colour your hair for cancer' day ... We do it every year for a fund raising exercise for leukemia research, and each year, we do the colour thing, and end up with headaches and mess and tangled hair. This year is the last time we will colour Tashy's hair, so I thought I should document the occasion by photographing one of her purple and yellow plaits. Tracy Ann's kit was perfect for this ... simple layout, but I like it. More next time ...

NSD ... a touch early!

Yes, it is already NSD for part of the world ... there are wonderful events going on, on most major sites today. Here is something you need to check out at Sweet Shoppe Designs ... Click on this link to find out more about a special offer!

Full steam ahead ...

(Layout credits - Staples, from Adeline kit. Notebook, from Journals, both by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals.Jewel, from Ronna's Essential Notions Ribbon Shop, Vol. 2. Fonts: Avante, Loosie Script.)

Journaling reads - This is not probably something that I would admit to in public, but I would like to have been a girly girl, curvy & gorgeous, with loads or charm and personality, but the truth of the matter is that this is just not going to happen … ever!!! I am tall, lean and angular, practical in nature, organized and driven with few social graces, but I do have a passion for pretty costume jewellery. It is a cheap, relatively harmless, and wildly satisfying indulgence that I spoil myself with … (frequently, lol!!!).

And did you notice ... I am EARLY this week with the SA Simply You challenge ... all 18 layouts to date finished! The layout above's prompt was ... 'What did you spend your last $10 on? And I'm already thinking about next week's prompt, as I have a copy of January's CK mag, where the prompts are found in an article. Cheating, probably, but sometimes the layouts take a while to think out. Next week's involves a red sports car and me in the driver's seat ... well, I can dream, can't I?

Full steam ahead? Well, I was going to have a 'full steam ahead' Friday at home, with a heap of tasks to complete, but I had an unexpected visitor that took a chunk out of the morning, and before I knew it, it was time to pick up the kids. I did a little bit of house work, and this layout and half of another, but I would have loved a few more hours tucked on to the end of the afternoon. It is a good thing I didn't make a list ... or else I would have ended up rather sad! Might share the 2nd layout later tonight, if I get back to the computer, but as per usual, dinner hour is here, and dinner isn't, rotflol!!! More next time ...

Not much to report ...

Last day of the working week ... tomorrow, a day at home pottering around. I am SO looking forward to that. Perhaps some (a lot?) of scrapping, some photography, some house-tidying up, maybe some cleaning ... maybe not, lol.

I enjoyed reading Ronalyn's list of things that made her happy, the other day on her blog, so I thought I would list a few tonight, as they came to mind ... so things that make ME happy include ...

a new cd of mellow music ... catching up with a friend for a relaxing coffee after a hard week ... my childrens' successes ... extra-nice compliments on layouts ... clean sheets ... clean floors ... clean kitchen benches (do you sense a theme here, lol?) ... peace and quiet ... a happy husband ... a new book by a favourite author ... bling ... a layout that 'creates' itself ... pretty shoes that are comfortable ... a new scrapbooking mag ... a haircut and colour ... sparkly earrings ... paper scrappers who discover digiscrapping and wonder why it took them so long to see the light (I know a few of these, lol!) ... no class marking to do ... staff meetings that finish on time ... brand-new kits that magically appear in my mailbox (from my ct's) ... emails from friends ... ok, there are lots of things that make me happy ... but probably having a happy, contented family is at the top of the list ... more next time!

Wednesday has come and almost gone ...

(Wordart by vintagecharm. My kraft paper. Font: Avante.)

The best plans of mice and men ... or do I mean 'mice and mothers' ... whatever ... oft come astray. I sat down at my computer for a quiet moment last night. Tuesday night means digi chat, so I log in, determined to actually scrap AND chat at the same time. For some reason, when I am off looking for a photo and a kit, people chat heaps, then I rush back to see what I have missed, and then I waste time scrolling back up to see what has been said, then I forget to chat ... you can see where I am going, can't you? Often I don't get to chat, and I certainly don't get to scrap ... but my intentions are very good, lol.

Enter a third factor ... more chatterers!!! I was about to launch into the chat room when Suzy popped in, having trouble getting INTO the chat room. So we conversed (another word for chatted ... can't say 'chatted' everytime I say I chatted, can I?), tried to work out what was wrong, attempted several restarts ... all to no avail.

Then Tashy's teacher popped in to say Hi!, and we discussed a staff meeting that I had missed.

Then Lanne Hello'ed me, to show me a GREAT layout that she had just done ... what was I supposed to be doing? Oh yes, scrapping ... so I dive into the digital depths of my computer to find a kit that would work with the photo I had, that might end up somthing like the inspiration piece.

Rats! Now the chat has got away on me, scroll ... scroll ... scroll madly ... and oh, Megan has just sent me a riviting conversational gambit, 'Guess what I've just made?' You don't have to ask me twice ... off to see the stunning piece of wordart 'All Boy' she had created for WordArt Wednesday on her blog (see layout above, lol), after playing 'aunty' to her three lovable but very extraverted and inventive nephews for the evening. And THEN I have to scrap with it. Are you tired after reading all that? All I can say is that I am glad my typing skills are up to scratch, lol! So it is 11 pm, the rest of the family is snoring, I have new wordart and an urge to create ... thank you, Megan. Hope you like it ... I've just realized that my entire post has been about Tuesday, not Wednesday, but hey, that's life ... Today is a completely different story ... more next time.

Tuesday nights are busy ...

(Layout credits - Kit: Book Bag Essentials, by Gina Cabrera, at DDE. Fonts: Clarissa, Century.)

Tuesday night is chat night, and tonight, I've chatted in one chat room, and with four other people at different times during the night, so no scrapping tonight. Fortunately I have a spare layout to share, lol. I loved using Gina's kit with this photo. Hope you have a restful night/busy day, whatever is happening in your part of the world ... more next time!