My Life. The Blogable Bits.

Well, I had a lovely time in Melbourne. It was good to see my dad again and it was good to stay there so in all it was a cheap holiday for myself and the kids. We did heaps, but that’s a post for another day.

Today I have a couple of scrappy things.

Some layouts and even a couple of cards.

Using October Afternoon’s Fly a Kite range:

Hang on, you need your sunglasses for the next layout:

And a card for the Christmas in July comp at Ideal Papercraft:

I will update Journal Challenges over the weekend. We have 2 challenges this fortnight to make up for the last month so crack out your writing implements!

Yesterday Steve and I have been together for a grand whole sum of 12 years. I cannot believe where those 12 years have gone. It only feels like yesterday when we went out for the first time to the drive-ins. Ahhh memories.

He is off to New Zealand this week as it is his brother’s 21st birthday. I am sorely going to miss him. I already do and he only left this morning.

I have a layout to share though. It’s for Ideal Papercraft and it is for the sketch challenge this month. My first go at creating this layout, I absolutely killed it using black chalkboard Glimmermist. So, here is take 2.

And here is the sketch:

If you want to play along, just head over to the forums at Ideal Papercraft and join in the fun. While you are at it, maybe you can register for our Christmas in July Card Challenge?

And if you expected to see a C is for photo, sorry I haven’t taken one. The cat still moves too fast. Wretched animal.

Just two things as I have a cracking headache and I am heading off for a nap.

A Jack layout for Aussie ScrapJack which has moved back to it’s old blogger home:

And a card for the Cybercrop at Ideal Papercraft:

I am a little super excited, my holidays for July have been approved. A whole 4 weeks off work. Oh goodness. I have no idea what I am going to do with myself. Actually I do know. I am going to get my life back. My mental health will thank me for it! I really need to take time out from work and focus on me for a bit. Let’s face it, it is completely unhealthy to live the way I live on what little amount of sleep I get. I have aged so much in the past 2 years. However, I still like my job and I love the flexibility it affords me. I love being there for the kids and I enjoy my wage.

Enough of me rambling! Ready for some more layouts?

This one is from the retreat and it almost didn’t survive. The thing is I heard Amy talking and she said something like

“I glue it. Scissors.”

Ohhh my. I raced to see what she had done. Lucky she had just used my DM to stick a chipboard number in the middle of my journalling. Lucky because it was still wet and I was able to wipe most of it off.

This layout uses the same paper as the Big Boy Sleeps Here layout from my last post. That’s because I was so loving the colours that I decided to have another crack at them.

The next layout is one about Steve and Amy. I am not entirely happy with it, but it’ll do. (That’ll do pig. That’ll do. LOL!)

And now for a quick newsletter layout I created last week. How about those foam letters that I picked up at the reject shop for $3 a pack. Exactly the same font as Thickers. Mmmm. Love me an alpha bargain.

The retreat was good. It was great to get away and not have to cook and clean. Even if we did sleep in tent like structures and it was so cold the first night that it was difficult to sleep. The second night I was too tipsy to notice or care. That’s an advantage. I ended up scrapping 4 layouts. 2 I can share because one I made a bo0-boo on the title and I have to redo it and the other isn’t exactly finished.

Oh and this is one retreat that wont be forgotten in a while. It was great to meet some new fabulous scrapping sisters too. Fun times.

Is it possible that I have another layout to upload already? Indeed. I did this as part of a blind layout challenge over at Ideal Papercraft. It turns out that when you sketch something and then make instructions to create the layout, that the layout doesn’t actually end up turning out like the sketch at all. Not to worry. Yes, the background cardstock is a bit grubby thanks to a certain persons ‘helping’ hands. Ha!

On another note, only 3 more sleeps until I go on my scrapping retreat. Yay!

Before I go, I would just like to say a huge thanks to my pal Sarah who showed me how to use up the gazillion Prima Got Flowers I have. You make them into prettier flowers by just folding, squishing and gluing down extra petals. I love them and they put some old stash to good use. Which in my book, is pretty awesome.

And a close up of the pretty flowers:

If you have seen this post HERE then you might already know my news. If you haven’t seen the post and don’t want to click on the link, let me tell you what it is about. Yep. I am now an Aussie ScrapJacker!!! Here is the first layout I did as part of the DT. You may need to click on it to get a sharper view.

Not one, but TWO layouts! Yes, you read correctly!

The first one is a little one I scrapped last night. I was in the mood, and in the groove and this came together really quickly. I love those type of layouts. It made me realise that I shouldn’t fight my scrapping style/instincts. I do love little layouts like this which have lots of white space and are cluttered with embellishments. Who am I to fight nature?

The second layout is one for the mid-monthly challenge at Ideal Papercraft. The challenge was to scrap travel or landscape type photos because if you are anything like me, they always get put to the bottom of the pile because they are just so darn hard to scrap! I love that I had a souvenir paper bag that fitted perfectly with this layout.  Here’s what I came up with:

Nothing witty, just a layout for the new challenge up over at Journal Challenges.

The challenge was to not journal on paper or cardstock.

I have to thank Kate who suggested the whole stick thing. You know, she might make a scrapper afterall. Thanks babe.