Too Cute and a fresh start

This month wraps up a big month of scrapping for me. I completed 15 layouts - not bad for someone who works full time as an English and History teacher (insert LOTS of marking here). I think part of the reason why I managed to do as much scrapping as I have is the fact that this year I am forcing myself to take timeout from schoolwork and put 'me time' first. I have been more motivated to get in and get marking done as soon as it comes across my desk. At our school, we have a two-week turn around policy meaning that assessment results need to be given to students within two weeks of the task being completed. So far this year I have made a point of working like a fiend for three or four nights after getting assessment handed in to get the marking out of the way so I can play. Looks like it is working so far! The latest layout I have created was for the 123 Challenge at Scrapbook Savvy. Check out the link for details.

The other thing which I think has made an impact on my scrapping is the fact that I have moved scrapbook areas. My old space was at the other end of our house in a small room attached to our bedroom. It was very isolating out there and while I loved being able to shut myself away sometimes, I was also aware that I was not spending as much time with the family as I probably should have. Solution??? I moved out into the main area of the house into what I guess you could call the formal dining room - not that we have ever used it as a dining room lol. In an ideal world, I would love a small half wall to separate the formal dining and lounge rooms. Unfortunately the house doesn't belong to us. I have plans to get a sideboard or something similar to create a mini wall one day but organisation was at the top of my list. My first step was a wall unit. My preferred option would have been the IKEA Expedit but with the nearest IKEA 3 1/2 hrs away, that was not going to happen any time soon. SuperAmart provided my solution and I am loving it. Still have not moved a lot of 'stuff' out but I am getting started. The best thing about this unit is that the Cropper Hopper 12x12 paper holders fit into the cubes - unlike my much beloved Expedit unit. So this is Step One of my scraproom makeover:I have got another bookcase to assemble but that will have to wait for the weekend. Maybe I will come back then with more pictures or even more scrapping showntell. LOL Enjoy your Thursday, hope it is a good one.

S. xoxoxo

Savvy Cybercrop Part 2

Instead of getting some much needed sleep last night, I stayed up and completed two more challenges for the cybercrop at Scrapbook Savvy. The first challenge was actually the second part of Kerryn's challenge - and that was to create a card. Now for those of you who read my last post, you would have read that I DON'T do cards. Sometimes I have so little time that the only thing I want to do is create layouts not cards. But sometimes you have to step out of your comfortable little zone and give things a try - even if the result is dismal :o The final challenge that I have attempted was Sara's. Our challenge for this layout was to use at least 25 items on the page - everything counts, cardstock, individual pieces of patterned paper, letter stickers, the works. I have to admit that I did struggle with this at the start - my scrapping tends to lean towards simple and semi-minimalist bt I got there in the end; I think I even broke 30 items lol. Just between you and me - I like this layout hehehehe

And some close-ups:

There is one challenge I have yet to attempt - San's. For this challenge we had to raid our scrap stash to create some gift tags. Not sure if I will get time to attempt this one but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Think that is me updated for another day. Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxoxo

Never in a million years ....

... did I ever dream that I would grow up to be a Soccer Mum. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the sport but I have never had anything to do with it. I grew up in a house where rugby league was the only winter sport that mattered so I always assumed that if and when I had boys, they would play league too. Well they have proved me wrong with both Mitch and Lachie starting soccer fixtures last Saturday. In some ways it was perfect timing because there was a Cyber Crop over at Scrapbook Savvy on the weekend. What better way to get into the mood for scrapping with a freshly printed picture. The theme for the weekend was Stashbuster which meant that all of the challenges were designed to help us use up some of the older items in our stash. I have yet to complete all the challenges but this is what I have come up with so far. The first challenge I attempted was Anthea's. In this challenge we had to create a LO using products released before 2010, no cardstock and one handmade embellishment. I will admit that this put me out of my comfort zone in the sense that I rarely create a layout that doesn't have cardstock as the base. That being said, I found some papers in my stash dating back to 2007 - unusual for me considering I have fairly frequent cleanouts of my papers and anything old usually gets donated. All of these papers come from Fancy Pant's 'Papa' Collection. My handmade embellishment was the spiral flower and the banner. Not sure what to think of it it be honest, I find the base too distracting lol. The second challenge I attempted was Sar's Blind Scrap. I was late getting started so had to substitute Glimmermist for the paint. Thinking I should have gone for a white or off-white base instead of the Kraft base I chose.

The third challenge I attempted was Kerryn's and I haven't quite finished it yet. For this challenge we had to create a lo using papers from at least three manufacturers (all of which had to be released Summer 2010 or earlier), two different colours of cardstock and a hand-made embellishment. As soon as I saw the colours of Lachlan's soccer jersey, I knew this was the perfect chance to use some up some of my old Bazzill colours. I think this will be the first of many soccer layouts but for a change, this one is for me:

and some close-ups:

The second part of the challenge is to create a card using the scraps we have left over from the layout. WTF???!!! Me making a card????!!!! Cards are soooooooooooo not my thing. Oh well, I had better go try my hand at cardmaking lol. The challenges are open until Thursday so why not head on over to Scrapbook Savvy and give them a go. Take care S xoxoxo

3 posts in 3 days

Oh my goodness what is going on here??? I don't think I have ever managed to post three days in a row. Normally scrapbooking is relegated to weekend as week days tend to be tied up with planning lessons or marking and just life in general. Today was different though as I had part of the day at home. During that time I managed to create another layout using the traditional 'back to school' photo. This year's pictures were very rushed and I was not overly happy with them - oh well gives me something to work towards next year lol.

Not a lot else to report. Mitch had another appointment with his paediatrician late this afternoon. We have finally received some answers and are doing a trial run with some medication. Will be a rough few months but hopefully it will be worth it in the long run.

Til next time
Sarah

Some kind of Wonderful

My littlest mate really is some kind of wonderful. Don't get me wrong, both boys are wonderful but Lachlan just has a special quality about him that draws people in. Tony often comments that he is sounds like an old man with some of the expressions he comes out with. I don't know about that, but I do know he cracks me up with the funny things he says.
This layout was created for Kerryn's ABC Challenge over at Scrapbook Savvy. The criteria for the challenge were:

• Create your page/s using a specific letter as your main one word title and include the matching criteria listed below for that letter.
• Letters: W (writing and white); X (kisses, xanthian - Greek word for yellow)

I think I did ok, although a bit worried about the white - pretty much the only white is on the journal spots and the thin border I left on the photos. I did put the layout on white c/s originally but it just looked blah. I think the green pops better on the black.


Why not follow the links above and check out the challenge for yourself??? What have you got to lose? Nothing and just think, it will be another layout completed for your albums.
Hope everyone has had an ok start to the week. Take care

S xoxo

Sunday Roundup yet again

It is that time of the week again so that must mean it is time for a scrapbooking update. It has been a relatively productive weekend, though I am totally uninspired by what I have created. All of the layouts have the feeling of 'sameness' to me - same large block of patterned paper, same plain and simple style, same, same, same.

In layouts 1 and 2 I used photos from 2009 - the last time we grew wheat on the farm. I paid someone to come and take photos of us as a family with the instructions of 'natural, informal photos'. The results were mostly dismal. While she managed to take random shots of the boys as they played which were totally gorgeous, the rest were ugly as sin. Not one of them is usable. We all look like statues with sticks shoved up our butts. Needless to say, I cried a lot when I received them. Ever since then I have been on the hunt for a photographer who isn't going to rob us blind and actually let us have access to all of the photos without having to pay a small fortune for a 6x4 shot. That being said, I do love the pictures of the boys and have scrapped them a lot.

Layout One is of Lachlan - my little farmer. I don't know whether there is any hope of him doing anything else in life except farming (but sure as heck I will try to convince him to do something else before going onto the land lol) - it is his first love, hence the inspiration for the title:

The photo I used in Layout 2 makes me laugh every time I see it. It is so typical of our every day lives - Lachie always struggling to keep up with Mitch in so many ways. It was supposed to be based on the latest Stuck Sketch but somehow I managed to get all the elements in the wrong places lol :o

Layout number 3 is one that I am feeling a bit ho-hum about. I took Sar's March Random Kit challenge from the Scrapbook Savvy forum. The challenge asks scrappers to create a layout using one of the March Savvy Kits, fussy cutting, staples and two label stickers included in the kits. I have used the We're Savvy Kit (which has already sold out - just shows you how popular the Savvy Kits are!) to create my layout. I loved the products in the kit, just feeling a bit blah about the end product (hence my earlier comment about everything being the same, same, same):

The fussy cutting was around the sign post and watering cans - paper from Webster's Pages Spring Market Papers. Not sure if you can tell what the original looked like from the picture below but it might give you an idea:My final layout is my least favourite of the weekend and comes complete with button and bling chunder (what happens when you throw a heap of buttons and bling/pearls onto a layout). It was also my first attempt at making paper roses - another miss there too I think lol. I love this photo of Mitchell, it is his thinking face. You can tell that he is deep in thought whenever he sucks in his bottom lip - a regular occurrence in our house. That kid would have to be one of the deepest thinkers I know - hmmmmmmmm wonder where he gets that from :o lol

Not a lot else to report from the week. The boys were supposed to start soccer yesterday but it was cancelled due to the wet weather. By the looks of media releases, there has been mild flooding in town yet again. Hopefully the worst of this low has passed and the water will get away relatively quickly. On the positive side of things, the Condamine River is not in flood at the moment so the water from town should get away fairly quickly. You know you have problems when the Condamine and Myall Creek flood at the same time - a fact we learnt all too well in the floods of December and January.

Sadly, we also said goodbye to our beloved Charlie Cat on Thursday. I bought him almost 12 months ago (May 1999 to be exact) and in that time he became a much-loved member of the family. I have lost count of how many winter nights were made tolerable because of the fact that Charlie used to lie on my feet in bed and warm them up. He was my constant bed partner whenever Tony was out spraying or planting through the night. Charlie seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when Tony wasn't going to be home lol. It was a shock to find out that he was so sick. We knew that he wasn't well - the lack of eating and sudden weight loss helped us to that conclusion - but I never expected to have to decided whether to put him to sleep or not. In my head, he was just going for his check-up at the Vet, but by that afternoon, I was having to decide what to do. It might seem like the callous thing to do by not trying to see how he went with medicine but he was suffering and my one rule with all of our pets have been is that the minute we know they are suffering, then that is the time to ease their pain. Needless to say, ours was a house filled with tears for most of the night and next morning. Oh well, at least he isn't in pain anymore, not matter how much it hurts for us right now.

Anyway, I have prattled on enough for now. I should let you get back to doing better things like scrapping lol.

Thanks for stopping by

S xoxoxo

Monday Scrapping Goodness

I thought I would mix things up a bit and blog on a Monday instead of Sunday. Truth is, I didn't have any photos taken yesterday so I had to wait until today to take some. I didn't get home from work early enough to get daylight shots (my preference) but I think the ones I have taken will do.
This past weekend saw me packing up my gear and heading into my LSS for a crop night with some of my friends from town. Like most crop nights, I did far more talking than scrapping. I have decided that getting part of a layout done is better than not getting anything done at all. I surprised myself by getting almost two layouts done. Yeah I know, pretty pathetic compared to super speedy scrapper Donna (man can that woman scrap!).
This is the first layout I managed to do:


I love this chipboard bird and flourish from Dusty Attic. I misted it with Tattered Angels Chalkboard mist and then did a light spray with pearl mist. Will definitely been looking for more chipboard like this to add to my stash.

Oh October Afternoon, how I love thee. Yes, if you haven't already guessed it by now, October Afternoon is perhaps my most favourite line. I love the paper, I LOVE the sticker embellishments ... I LOVE IT ALL!!!
Layout Number 2 ended as a work in progress. Although I have already photographed it (usually my sign that it is done), I feel that it needs more, probably on the top right hand side. I have been playing with it a bit but can't come up with anything I am happy with. It wasn't until I photographed the layout that I realised how similar in design it was to Layout No 1.

Loving experimenting with material on layouts lately, although I think I really need to get something that is NOT gingham. I have four different sets of material all in the same gingham pattern left over from about 12 years ago when I first started teaching. I bought them so that Mum could make some skirts for me for work. She made two but I have enough material for two more.
I also actually managed to do a layout tonight. Scrapping during the school week is almost unheard of for me. Normally I am either too busy planning, marking or just trying to wind down to be bothered to scrap. Last night however, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish off some Year 11 English marking and plan the week. The loss of sleep was worth it - my week is pretty much organised and I am all up-to-date with marking. Yay! So I did this as a little reward to myself - the challenge for Out of the Hat challenge website. Donna, one of the ladies who I scrapped with on Saturday night is on the design team. For the challenge we had to make our own journalling spot, use twine and include a number in the title. This is what I managed to come up with:
I made the journalling spot by tracing around the backing board of something from Jenni Bowlin. After cutting it out, I used a fine script stamp to lightly stamp on the background (I inked up the stamp, stamped in onto a piece of paper then on to the cardstock so it was quite light). I finished the journal spot off with bird stamps from Grant Archival. Not too shabby if I do say so myself lol!
I wanted to take some of the 'blackness' off the Heidi Swapp verb sticker so I added a few coats of Tattered Angels Glaze. Looks so much better in real life.
Well, I think that it about all for tonight. Who knows, I might even manage another layout in the coming days ... it is nice to dream lol.
Hope everyone is well. Take care.
S xoxo

Another weekend gone

Yep another weekend has passed and I don't have a lot to show for it, except for piles of clean clothes stacked neatly in the drawers and hanging in cupboards. That's right, I spent most of the weekend dividing my time between the washing machine, clothes line and folding table. Who says I don't share the love around lol.

I did manage to find the time to scrap this early this morning while the first load was on. It is based on Anthea's March Sketch over at Scrapbook Savvy. Very simple but I love it. Simple is definitely my style I have decided.

Next is some showntell which I forgot to show as promised in my last post. This was my take on Sar Ward's Blind Scrap Challenge at the February CyberCrop at Savvy. If I learnt one thing from participating in the Blind Scrap it was that I SUCK at following instructions :-o
Last of all, a 'just because' layout. I haven't scrapped many of the photos taken of our wedding (about 3 layouts in almost 13 years). I knew that I wanted to use the Prima vines on a wedding page but could just never get it to work the way I wanted. In the end, I just gave up and did the layout.

Nothing else to report. Mitch is back of to his Orthopaedic specialist later this week for a progress check with his legs. He is back up on his toes again so we need to work out what the next plan of attack will be. Let's hope the week goes ok.
Until next time.
S xoxoxoxoxo