Stuck?! sketches April 15

I loved the simpicity of this sketch and had the perfect photo in mind.

First Reconiciliation

I used a pretty patterned blue paper with some vellum over it, some simple floral trim, ribbons and chipboard corners painted white. The Kaisercraft doiley, a flower from I'm not sure where and some pretty pins finished it nicely.

Its hard to read in the photo but the white rubon alphas do look lovely on the vellum, adding to this simple, feminine page.

This is the sketch I was working to:

For those non-Catholics out there, your first reconciliation is a very important step in your religious journey. It is when you ask God for forgiveness of your sins - its what we called confession in years past. We had to have a laugh when she said she was going to ask God to forgive her for fighting with her brother, "because Mum, if God forgives me Connor can't complain any more". So ...we've got a bit of work to do on the whole concept of reconciliation, but it is early days yet.

Hope you like my take on the sketch. It's been a while since I played along, and the layouts I am seeing in the galleries are amazing! There certainly are some very talented ladies (and men) in our scrapping community. You all ought to be proud of yourselves for the inspiration you provide day in - day out!

CSI: Case File No. 16

Phew! Just in time! This is my first attempt at a CSI Challenge and I didn't pay much attention to the closing date. I have edited this post to include some better pictures of my layout, poor late evening light and tired eyes do not really make for great photography.

Sweet

I have used all 5 colors in the palette and my evidence is sparkly things, stacked elements and something sweet. I have used a Fancy Pants glitter die-cut title "Sweet", a stacked title and layered backgound and a photo of sweet marshmallows with my sweetie. My testimony is the word 'sweet' used both in the title and as the subject of my layout.



 

I have 'stacked' the elements that make up the background on my layout. First I scraped a raspberry shade of paint onto the background, then I glued strips of patterned paper randomly over this. The patterned papers were both the mid-shade of pink and the lighter shade of grey. I found a tattered die-cut paper and used it for a mask and tinted  my texture paste to a pale pink, almost white. After this dried I scraped some more paint over the paste.I have wanted to experiment with texture paste for a while now and was thrilled with the result. It looks kind of lush and fluffy, like thick pink icing smeared all over the page, perfect for my Sweet layout.

My journaling reads

sweet

fluffy

fabulous

marshmallows

made by my sweetie

This is what we had to work with on Case File No. 16

 There's no doubting that my sweetie and her marshmallows aren't sweet!

I had a great time following the case file and look forward to playing again - thanks for looking.



Scrap the Boys April Challenge

Scrap the Boys took a different approach to their challenge this month and forced me to think outside the square

RE-CYCLING....

We would like you to re-cycle some form of PACKAGING that is BOY related, this could be toy related, scrapbooking packaging, something from a magazine or book use your imagination....

swim stars

I rummaged through the third drawer in my desk, you know, the one where we put all of the goodies we might use one day, and found a die-cut negative from the kids' Simpsons board game.  When I unpacked the game originally I thought it might be handy since it has the Simpsons characters printed on one side, but I used the reverse on this project. I used it both as a mask for my Glimmermisting and as a photo mat.

I also used some Scrapware chipboard as another mask, a Shabby Chic Crafts journaling tag to house my quote (author unknown unfortunately) and some lovely AC Thickers for my title.

These boys - Liam, Lewis, Matt and Connor - did the school proud, making it all the way to the Regional finals at Sale. They didn't place but had a great day out of class in the sunshine and made a great team. And as always Connor made us proud, not because all those swimming lessons are paying off or because they had to beat so many teams to get this far, but because he tried his hardest and that's all we ever ask of him.

Swim stars, yeah, they are.

Share your comments and I'll be sure to drop by your blog too!

April Once upon a ...Sketch

Another great challenge from Once upon a ... Sketch to get the mojo flowing, well, kinda, sorta.

Home

 The theme of this challenge is HOME. 

We would like you to create a layout and interpret the theme "HOME" however you like based on the following sketch. You can journal as little or as much as you like, but your layout must incorporate this theme  and this sketch. 

These pictures are of our first place together, a little flat that we renovated completely, and then sold. We repeated the process at our next dwelling, and literally had the house on the market and sold within 2 days of completing the reno.

This time we have not done any work to our house. I love our home and where we live, I can see us growing old here with grandchildren and great grandchildren coming to visit. I guess I am a little afraid of starting any renovations because I might get it in my head that we need to move on when they are completed. Its not like they are not needed, believe me they are - some rather desperately - but I'm not ready for any changes here.

We have found our forever home.

I have altered the sketch to suit my layout, turning it anti-clockwise and using 3 photos where Nadia used one.  The die cut is by Making Memories and has lived in my paper stash for many years, just waiting for the right project. I have teamed it with some

Bo Bunny Et cetera papers and a fantastic Crate Paper woodgrain paper that I simply must buy more of - I love it!

I rummaged around to find some neutral fabrics and made some little flowers with Prima wood buttons for centres. My 'journal' button came from Eve at Evalicious, where you can pick up the most darling embellishments and kits. Finally I inked, embossed and distressed a chipboard key , just because I liked the idea of Home and a key, and tied it to my layout with matching ribbon.

Hope you find yourself at HOME here at my blog.

All comments greedily accepted like chocolate on Easter Sunday - thanks for looking.

Lest We Forget

We attended the ANZAC day march and service in Warragul and were grateful for blue skies before the rain set in. It is always wonderful to see how much the crowd numbers have increased compared to last year, particularly the number of children who attend.

My children were in full Cub Scout uniform and felt so proud marching with our brave soldiers and their descendants, alongside other community service organisations and schools.

As usual I had a tear in my eye, thinking of all that was sacrificed for us to live in peace.

After the service we went to the local RSL where my children volunteered to help. It makes me so proud to think they arranged to do this themselves, without any reward other than to know they were helping out. They had a lovely morning chatting with the oldies, clearing away dishes and stacking chairs.

Thank-you to all of our past and current Service Men and Women - your determination and sacrifices are gratefully acknowledged today and everyday.

If my children can already understand the ANZAC spirit I believe that this very important day in our history is in safe hands... and yes, We WILL Remember



Just for the memories...

Sports do not build character

My little girl played basketball for the first time during the Summer 11-12 season for the Gladiators U/10's, in the Waragul and District Amateur Basketball Association.

This cute picture was taken of her on the day of her 8th birthday just after the game.

The 'much loved' dog in her arm is Fleabag, the Grade 2 Kennedy mascot, that she got to take home for the weekend. He couldn't miss her game!

April Kraft It Up

So its a little later than normal, but a challenge worth waiting for!

This month KIU wants you to use Kraft CS or PP as your base and we want to see another THREE kraft items on your layout, these can be anything as long as they are KRAFT, everything is else is up to you!!!

Woo hoo! The perfect challenge for a kraft lover. Kraft, kraft and even more kraft!

The Mob

 

Yep, another holiday layout using the fantastic pics we had taken at Old Time Photos on the 

Gold Coast.

I have used a kraft base with 3 different kraft patterned papers from the MME Life Stories range. Again the Fiskars punch got a real workout and I have created some more little blooms to match. I'm glad I invested in some circle dies for my Cuttlebug, it saves so much time when I am cutting out multiple layers for the flowers.

I can't believe just how grown up my children look in these photos - at the time they were only 8 and 9 (Connor has since had a birthday and now he's in double digits).

The jounalling to the right of my layout reads;
17 January 2012
Reluctant to start, the kids quickly changed thier tune when the guns and loot came out.
Bonnie and Clyde look out!
Pics by Old Time Photos (copyright)

Your comments are always welcome and really appreciated, they are like 

sunshine on a rainy day! 

As always, thanks for looking xx

 

Scrap the Girls

April brings a lovely sketch from Scrap the Girls for inspiration this month.

 

With lots of cooking happening in our home at the moment, and so much family enjoyment from watching the latest series of My Kitchen Rules, I thought I'd run with the theme for my layout this month.

MKR 

I have used Kaisercraft papers as the base of my layout and some fantastic AC Thickers for my title, with my trusty Dymo labeler doing the rest of the work.

I wanted to document the recipe Savannah had prepared, so included a little book. It details the ingredients, method and most importantly the reasons behind her continued interest in cooking.

She made honey, chicken and vegetable skewers with cousous. 
 They were a delicious Easter Sunday lunch - and better still, she did the dishes!

I hope you like it!

Show us your stuff

Show us your stuff - April Group 1 Challenge

I will cheer you up with April Group 1 Challenge - Here is the picture (credit pinterest) to take your inspiration from !

... and using this inspiration I have created a felt Baby Girl canvas

I know its not a layout or card, but I have used a lot of my scrapbooking supplies to complete this little project, which measures about 15cm square. I have taken my inspiration from the delicate crocheting and the teeny tiny toes that will fit into these booties.

 I have so many lovely ladies around me with pregnant bellies at the moment, and I know for sure 2 of them are going to have sweet daughters, so I thought I'd get the jump on my baby shower gifts.

I have made the larger felt flowers and used some pretty Lime Tree Creations as the flower centres. The tiny Heidi Grace ladybug has been rattling around in my drawer for a while so I'm really glad it found a place here. The butterfly was also an odd find in Savannahs useful box of all places! I stapled  a whole sheet of felt on the base of the canvas and then stitched and hot glued my elements in place.

I was pretty happy with finished project and can't wait to create another 3 canvases for my ladies in waiting.

You must hop over to the blog and check out the amazing DT samples.

Once upon a ...sketch

You simply must participate in the blog hop over at Once upon a ... sketch to celebrate their 1st birthday.

Yes, there are lots of prizes up for grabs, but the best bit is you get a glimpse into the creativity of some of our fave DT members. Like you, I have checked out the blogs of some of these designers before, but by hopping to all of them I think I may have found some new favorites and have certainly picked up some great ideas to use in the future.

Hop on over really fast, it finishes at midnight on 5th April.

March 1st Journalling criteria/theme: All about me!

The focus of your journaling and the theme of your layout has to be based on YOU and something/s that you are really good at. Don't be shy! We are all good at something as small or as big as it might be.

I had a problem working out if there was anything I was really good at, this is the reason I completed the layout after the deadline. 

Biggest fan

When I sat down with my cuppa and had a think, a long think, I worked out that I spend most of my time being a mum. Now I am not the best cook, nurse, teacher or coach that my kids have, not by a long shot. But I realised that I am always taking them to and from their activities, supporting them and their class/teams/club to participate at their best and helping out when I can. I am the first mum with their hand up when they need extra parents, I change my schedule at the drop of a hat if the kids have a presentation at school or an excursion or sporting event. I spend hours guiding the kids through their Cub Scout achievement badges and love it! 

I am their support, their encouragement, their biggest fan. 

This is what I am good at!

This photo was taken on Saturday 11th Feb before the kids played their first games at the Warragul Junior Basketball Tournament. Over the course of the weekend their teams didn't have much success, but they all got lots of court time and experience, and most of all - had lots of fun.