New inspiration

I bought Scrapbooking memories masters magazine today and looked at all the awesome entries.Some of the people I know from Scrapboxx.The ideas have had the desired effect and now have me dreaming about things I can scrap.
Also I had an email to say my blind scrapping layout on mad about scrapping was the winner.There will be a RAK sent for that.
Allcraftz are having a big Christmas sale so I went online and bought some yummy new items. I can't wait until they arrive.

Getting prepared for Christmas-why do we do all this every year?

I've written and posted the cards,bought all the presents for family and friends, organised who is going where on Christmas Day and Boxing day,put up the tree,hung up the cards I'm receiving, been to a couple of Christmas get-togethers(and avoided one I dread every year!). Now all that is left is the grocery shopping. By the time cHristmas gets here everyone is tired and short tempered ,including me.
When I look back over the years,the photos always remind me of family arguments,wrong presents given and uncharitable moods,including my divorce on Christmas Eve one year.
As the titlesays:-Why do we do it? Christmas has become too commercial and lost its simple meaning.BAA_HUMBUG.
Hopefully this year we can all celebrate with simple love and pleasantries for one another.
To anyone reading this, HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Bling for Christmas

When I went to the scrapbook store to buy bling for this layout she only had red and gold left.I created this layout using those items plus flowers and paper from Sassafrass lass.I really am pleased with the way it turned out.

There are many different memories in this photo,taken in 1984.The decorations on the table were traditional ones and the champagne glasses Mum kept for "special occasions".

Another win

Purplescraps had a cybercrop last month and guess who won the Bingo! me. I received a $25 voucher from Allcraftz, which I spent on pretty papers.They arrived yesterday and I'm looking forward to using them over Christmas.

We also had a try this technique using up scraps where I produced this layout.The colours are muted but it works.I even succeeded in using a paper from Scrapbooking memories! The photos were taken at the Tassie Devil park near Hobart.

My prize and my daughter arrive

Today my dd came home for a long weekend.As I haven't seen her in nearly 3 months,it is a lovely surprise.It is her 22nd birthday on Tuesday so we will be celebrating while she is here.
Also in the post today I received a lovely set of clear Christmas stamps.They will be quite useful.
tHey were my prize from mad about scrapping's cyber crop last week.

Sunsets

I have always loved staring at sunsets,especially at the beach.I did this layout about that passion. I painted using 3 different shades at each side of the photo to make it look like clouds in a sunset sky.The orange/yellow ribbons were perfect for this too.I used word art to do the heading.

Blast from the past.

This is a photo of me at age 16.I always love turquoise and black together, so created this simple layout using those colours.It was for a sketch challenge on Mad about scrapping.I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Mad about scrapping

I joined in a cyber crop on mad about scrapping last night. They were fun ladies and we played a game,which was a scavenger hunt of scrapbooking techniques and products. It took hours to find them all, but I won a prize, so it was all good.I'm busy now making layouts for the other challenges.

More retreat layouts

I was pleased with all 3 of these but particularly like "flip Flops" . The colour scheme worked really well.The old church one is from a Becky Fleck sketch.

Online class

I've just uploaded a shaker box class on to Purplescraps. Hopefully they will all be able to follow my instructions. Happy halloween to my readers.
At the retreat I met Mel Nunn whose work I have admired for ages on Scrapboxx and in the magazines.I think she thought i was a stalker cause i kept going over and looking at her creations but it is good to watch how talented people come up with ideas.

Best layout I've done in ages.

I recently made a layout for "white with one' blog using a colour I detest...Orange.I threw everything orange I had at it and surprised myself by creating a really good layout (in my eyes anyway) I used a shaker box,several flowers,lace flowers I've had for years,painted chipboard and buttons. I photoshopped a coloured photo into a black and white one. The whole layout came together beautifully.

Layouts from the retreat

Here are 4 I did at the retreat. More will follow soon.

The A challenge

With this one we had to make all the embellishments start with A.I used a photo of umbrellas my mother has had for 90 years.I'm happy with the colourscheme and have received many favourable comments on this one.

I won a $20 voucher , yipee!

In last weekends cybercrop challenge on Purplescraps I won a voucher to spend at Bella-Kay. I'm so excited by this because the competition was fierce.There were so many good layouts!

Be prepared!

I'm off to the imagination factory retreat next weekend at Cave Hill Creek, Beaufort(near Ballarat,Vic). I've just had a heap of photos developed and I'm starting to pack layout kits so I can be prepared when I get there.As there won't be a scrapping store there selling stuff I have stocked up on cardstock, patterned paper etc and will pack ribbons,buttons,rhinestones etc to take with me.Luckily there is a spare bed here that I can make piles of stuff on until I pack.I'm really looking forward to it!

Kaisercraft ribbon box

Last year at a retreat I won a Kaisercraft ribbon box kit complete with papers and paint.I bought extra ribbon spools and have most of my ribbons organised on to them now. I finally finished the box over the weekend.It is colourful and easy to find in my craft cupboard.

Shaker boxes

My scrapbooking teacher(past) and myself have a joke going. Whenever I submitted layouts to magazines it seemed to be the shaker boxes they chose.I ring and tell her whenever I'm about to do another one.

For the Cybercrop challenge this weekend the theme was hardware so I made another one.This one was called Men at work.

My others are uploaded above as I have a few done now.Propellor was in Scrapbook Creations No 11. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was in Scrapbooking Memories around the same time. It features a channel containing microbeads but was fun to create.Two others I can think of were Erica's first fish with a fish shape containg blue microbeads and Pool with the oo's full of microbeads and punched vellum shapes.

Checking out mel Nunn's blog

http://livepink.ning.com/profile/MelNunn is mel Nunn's blog. I've been checking it out as I'm going to a retreat with Julie soon and mEl is the guest scrapping teacher. She certainly does some inspirational work!

Purple,green and orange.

Here's a layout I did yesterday that had to use purple,green and orange.I found these 4 old photos of myself and in all of them i seemed to be contemplating or thinking about something.I had lots of fun doing this as I couldn't get out to buy new stuff so had to improvise using what I've got.The green patterned paper edge was achieved by tracing around the lid of a jar.I used rub ons that I've had for ages but they suited these photos.I find orange very hard to work with since I dislike the colour.Overall I'm happy with the result.

A frustrating night!

I successfully uploaded the instructions for the blind scrapping and sat there awaiting feedback.One of our group, Erika sent me a message to say that one of the measurements were wrong. I went in to edit ONE NUMBER and accidentally deleted the whole post.
Then I had to re-type the whole thing as in my efficient way, I had deleted the word document I originally had the instructions on.
That left me red faced and feeling very stupid. Oh well, it could have been a lot worse!

Some feedback

I've had a nice comment from the Wagga Wagga scrapping shop about my layout and my daughter who called in there this week.It just proves that you never know who is reading your blog.My former scrapping teacher told me she reads it too.
Meanwhile I've just uploaded the instructions for the blind scrapping I'm hosting on Purplescraps tonight. I hope the others can make sense of them!

An old photo discovered!

We found this old photo from Dad's apprenticeship days and I had a close up of him enlarged. He doesn't look like the gentle soul we remember. I guess he had a rebel teenage time like most boys.
I edged the layout with walnut ink on a cotton bud to give it that "old" look.I also used a 7 gypsies tag which I've had for ages.
I think I found my mojo, which just proves all you need is the right photo or challenge.

Missing one mojo

I've been busy with other things for the past couple of weeks, so I haven't done much scrapping. Two of my close friends have had cancer operations.That stresses me because it makes you aware of your own mortality.Another cousin is going through a separation and taking it rather hard, so I feel for her too.
I'm running a blind scrapping challenge on the 19th so I will have to find my mojo for that.
White with one's challenge this month is white with brown.I have a great old photo of Dad to use, but need to start soon on it too.
Meanwhile work awaits....off I go.

Another birthday and another year older!

It was my birthday on Tuesday so I'm now another year older.Family arrived with yummy cake and lots of presents and nice cards.

I completed another bingo game (but didn't win this time) over at Purple scraps.Tonight I worked on a blind scrapping project.I used lots of pink bows on this one to make it girly. Love the result!

Final count.

I have completed 698 layouts over the past 7 years. That's amazed me as I didn't think I had THAT many.I guess weekly classes for 5 years then online challenges, it all adds up.I still have plenty of photos to go.

On a different note the stitches and craft show at Rosehill Racecourse was disappointing this year.There were hardly any scrapbooking stalls;those that were there were all selling old stuff. Nothing to inspire me!I picked up a kaisercraft brochure which featured a layout on the back page so I've reproduced that. I used some papers that I won on Purplescraps in one of the competitions.There's another live bingo game next Friday night to look forward to.

Counting layouts

I've been re-sorting and recounting layouts I have done. Found a few that need redoing and am also amazed at the quantity. Call me a nerd but I'm also writing a list of what is in each album so I can find it when I want to!
It has been a good job to do while watching the Olympics.
When I get the total, I'll put it on here.Then there's the off the page stuff...oh dear another job coming up.

Thinking while typing

With two family parties on the weekend I now have lots of new photos to scrap.There is an interesting one using recycled items eg bread tags etc that I'd like to try.There are lots of ideas for that one floatingaround in my head.
I was pleased to see a friend, Emily has been chosen for a design team.She does great work and it is good to see her succeed.

Lighter matters.

I've been very busy scrapping while watching the Olympics. It is great to multitask.Here's 2 layouts I've done.The first Grotto, is in green and gold, my 2 favourite colours.The other was required by white with one and had to feature purple and handsewing. I'm pleased with how they both turned out.

On a less happy note I'm still missing Tuppence's little face meeting me at the door when I come home.The kitchen floor is clean of cat scraps. LOL. It just isn't the same around here without her.

R.I.P. Tuppence

This afternoon I took our cat Tuppence to the vet to be euthenaised. She was almost 17 and in poor health.It is a very sad day for us here.There are reminders of her everywhere around here.

October Retreat

I have just booked in for a retreat in country Victoria in October.I will be attending with Julie, a friend I met through Purplescraps. We had such fun last year I thought another dose of "uberscrapping" would be good.

There are 2 new challenges to create on white with one,a yellow with flowers and a purple with hand stitching.I plan to start on these tonight.

I've also seen some cheap green buttons on ebay so I have put a bid on those.They will be ideal for scrapping layouts.

Cyber crop and another lucky win.

Purplescraps had another cybercrop on Friday night.I won the bingo competition online for the 2nd time in a row. This time I won a hot glue gun from Purrfect invitations. I'm looking forward to using it as I've never had one before. I'm sure it will increase my talents/skills in scrapbooking,especially for off the page ideas.

We had to do another black and pink layout which I have here.It was to include a black cat, the logo from Purrfect's website.

Missed out on a design team :(

I read on the mystical scrapbooks site that I missed out on the design team.I was sad in a way since I like using black backgrounds,..... but onward and upward.
There is another 2 I'm contemplating entering.

Ribbon Rocks! online class.

I did an online class teaching some of the techniques for using ribbons. There are 4 on this layout. Using scraps with a brad,pleating using loops then stapling them,and 2 flowers.The flowers are made by looping ribbon around 3 fingers then cutting them or sewing them then fanning out to make a rosette.I was really pleased with how this one came together!

White with one blog

I've entered my basic grey layout ponder in this month's white with one.I really loved the old postcard and had fun making the button frame.

A scrapjack entry

Here is a scraplift I did last year of Zina Wrights layout called "No sleep for Kody". It was on Blue Bazaar but I cannot find it there. I am now entering it in Aussie scrapjacked.

And another win

I'm on a roll so it seems. My blind scrapping layout from Purplescraps has also won! I get a mystery prize for that.I did a tribute to Sydney using pictures I took from the INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL roof swimming area.

New Challenges....yipee!

I've found a new website recommended by Emily from Purplescraps . It is called http://www.blackmagicsketches.blogspot.com/ and they are looking for a design team member. I'd really like to do this as I need something extra for my scrapbooking to extend my creativity and keep me motivated.
They have asked for an original sketch so I submitted my time layout from earlier blogs plus 2 layouts with black backgrounds. One has lime green and one with pink and orange.They can be seen at this website above.

I've won again.

The Simpsons layout featured below won me a $20 voucher to 3 angels scrapping on Purplescraps. I was pleased with the layout but others did just as well so I thought one of them would win it.
I'll be happy to spend the voucher on more scrap goodies though.

Here is a challenge layout we were asked to do on Purplescraps to reproduce the lounge scene using our own family.I went a bit mad with the doodling but like the result.

A winner!

I submitted the below layout to Purplescraps for a challenge and won a $50 voucher to the scrapbook hut in Wagga Wagga.This surprised me.Maybe it is a winner.
I've bought some Basic Grey papers and flowers to inspire me to more interesting scrapping.

Here is a different layout I've been working on for quite a while.The clock hands were unavailable anywhere until I saw some clocks in Spotlight being thrown out at $2. I pulled them apart and the hands were perfect.I tried to use as many rub-on numbers and stickers as I had. It took some organising.I cut a film strip outline into 2 and used 6 old photos of myself.The tiltle;In times past took a bit of thinking as I wanted the word Time in it somewhere.I've submitted it to all 3 magazines as an idea...we will wait and see eh?

Blind scrapping

I've done 2 episodes of Blind scrapping on Purplescraps lately and have been satisfied with the results.It is following directions without a picture to guide you. The results are sometimes surprising!

Pink phase

Some famous artist had his blue phase. I think I'm having a pink one!My 2 latest creations have both been pink but I'm happy with both of them. I created "Because I'm your Mum" for White with one blogspot.It was the first non-sketch layout I've done in ages and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

New site(for me) to inspire!

I've recently discovered "pencil lines" website which has a sketch each week to inspire me. I've completed one sketch 81 . I loved the way this one came together and I even used my sewing machine!

Graduation time.

Here is my daughter Erica at her Graduation in Charles Sturt Uni Wagga Wagga. She is now a B.A (Design for theatre and television).
I'm so proud of her achievements as this course has been hard going at times with lots of practical work and long hours at the theatre.It has been a growth time for her and she is quite the independant young lady now!

Back again-that 21st Album.

With all that is going on here I've been neglecting this blog. My daughter graduates next week. I'm so proud of her.She now is a B.A. (Design)
Thanks to Purplescraps I have a renewed interest in scrapbooking. I've been doing Erica's 21st album which has gotten me down because it is taking so long, but finally it is nearly there.She has commented on what a good job I'm doing so that is also motivation for me.
A friend , Kaye has had a layout published in scrapbook creations. It looks great!

Entry for design team

I noticed on Scrapware that there was a call for a design team so I have sent an entry in. It seems a lot of these sites have their friends as their design team but I thought I'd try. I need some new challenges this year since my scrapbook teaching has finished.I've been doing the sketch challenges on Purplescraps and still working on the CJ's.Other than that I only do occasional layouts for family etc photos. Hopefully the new digital camera will inspire me to get into it again.

She passed!

Finally we have had some good news.Erica passed her uni courses so she will now graduate as a B.A. I'm sooooo proud of her achievements. Now the next step is to get a job in theatre somewhere. Hopefully they need a costume designer.I don't often blog about personal things happening but this is a biggie. It may call for a layout I think.