His Passion

My husband is almost as reluctant as I am to have his photo taken. Needless to say when I managed to capture some shots of him and the boys in the crops last weekend, there was no doubt that some would eventually make their way onto layouts.

Being born and raised on the land gave Tony a clear focus for where he wanted to end up in life - staying on the land. Sure, things might not have turned out quite how he envisaged in terms of owning a place of his own (I won't even bother with that story - there are not enough hours in the day for that one) but that hasn't stopped him from dedicating his life to the land. There are times when the boys and I come a very distant second to his work but that is what you have to get used to with the nature of his work. I have to respect him though because working on the land has never been 'just a job' to Tony, it is, and always will be, his passion.

I am pretty happy with the way this layout has turned out and I can't wait to scrap some more photos from our farm tour last weekend.
Happy weekend everyone,

S xoxo

An Unforgettable Day

... so this was my take on Jen's Colour Inspiration Challenge over at Scrapbook Savvy. As mentioned in my previous post, this was the last Savvy challenge I had left to do for the month. After marking Part A of some Year 10 exams this evening, I rewarded myself with some scrap time and I came up with this:

I think I did the challenge justice, well I hope so anyway. The title is wonky and truth be told, I made a BIG stuff-up with the title but a bit of creative thinking had that little problem sorted quite quickly ;)
It is hard to believe that we are a few weeks away from celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary ... and to think more than one person told us we would not last two years, but that is a story for another day altogether ;)
Yay for only 4 more days left of the term. Let's hope there will be a layout or three created in the holidays lol.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxo

I've been Savvy!!!

Scrapbook Savvy have an awesome range of challenges every month and for the first time all year, I have actually managed to play along - well played three times anyone; one more to go if I get a chance this week lol.

First up is Sara's Sketch with a Twist:

Next is Kerryn's Manufacturer Challenge, not too hard this month as the manufacturer of choice was October Afternoon (like only 75% of my PP stash) as well as using chipboard:

Finally is Tara's quote challenge, using another photo from our time at Hosier Lane in Melbourne:

So all that is left for me to do is Jen's Colour Inspiration Challenge and I will have completed all of the Savvy Challenges this month - not bad for someone whose scrapping has been restricted to the last seven days lol. Maybe I need to make myself do the challenges each month, at least that way I seem to get some scrapping done lol.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxo

Get Picky Mk 2

So it appears that despite being a relatively intelligent person (even if I do say so myself lol), I suck at reading instructions. Even though I have known it for quite some time, my memory had a temporary lapse, when I posted my original Get Picky layout, I forgot the whole idea of the challenge - to use multiple photos. Duh, what an idiot.

In an attempt to make amends, I scraped the sketch again, and yes, this time dill pickle here remembered to use more than one photo.

Have I redeemed myself???

I love these photos of the boys from our photoshoot last year. I have already scrapped them a few times but I am sure I will scrap them some more lol.
I actually managed to do some more creating today but that can wait for another post.
Thanks for stopping by.
S

Always so Happy ...

... is the perfect phrase to describe our youngest son. Yes there are moments when he is tried and irritable, but 99% of the time he is one of those happy-go-lucky souls. He has an infectious personality and I have lost count of how many times we have been told what a 'character' he is. I hope that as he goes through life, this will be a trait that will see him through the inevitable tough times and rocky patches.
This layout is based on the March Sketch over at Purple Pumpkin. Here is the sketch:

And this is what I came up with:

And, yep you guessed it, some close-ups and a Purple Pumpkin button of course ;-)I am still shocked at the fact that I have scrapped 4 layout this week - not too bad for someone who was feeling like they would never scrap again. Maybe I need to hit the sketch challenge sites more often lol.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxox

Stuck?! Again

In the spirit of re-discovering the desire to scrap, I spent time last night working on the second sketch challenge over at Stuck?! Sketches. This was the sketch:
And this was my take on it:
A few minor changes to the original sketch but still close enough ... at least I hope so.
And, what is a post without any closeups? Lol, I am so predictable aren't I?!
The painted lanes in Melbourne's CBD are amazing. Words cannot do them justice until you see them, and to think the State Government was going to get rid of them a few years ago. These pictures were taken at Hosier Lane - the colours were so vibrant and the artwork so clever and often insightful - nothing like the so-called reputation that graffiti normally has.
Finally another close-up showing another Purple Pumpkin XL button. Love the banner fabric and how the colours matched perfectly with the painted walls of the lane.

In other scrapping news, received an exciting email today but you will have to wait a while to find out what that is all about ;-)
Until next time.
S xoxoxo

Stuck?! Anyone???

After a marathon session of Parent-Teacher interviews last night, I came home to a desk with no marking, planning or organisation needing my attention. What better way to wind down than play with more paper - only this time it was pretty paper. I played with the March 1 sketch from Stuck?! Sketches. This was the sketch:

And this is what I came up with:
And some close-ups: Loving the pirate button from Purple Pumpkin - fits the 'tough dude' image perfectly. Did you know that PP now have an online store where you can buy some of their awesome products all the time, not just at sale time. Gotta love that ;)Banners and more PP - current 'must dos' on my layouts at the moment.
Want some more?
I actually forgot to show you a layout in my previous post. As much as the song has become a bit monotomous, Mitchell and Lachlan love it. When we were at Brighton Beach in January, I asked them to dance and play while I took photos. Without any prompting, both starting belting out 'Party Rock Anthem' by LMFAO and shufflin' their way along the fronts of all the beach houses. I think this layout is based on a sketch as well but to be honest, I have no idea which one :o and the obligatory close-up:Well, that is it for now. Not sure if I will get any more scrapping done this week - one can only hope :-)
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxo

Scrap the Boys and some more

Somehow not only did February manage to pass me by but it appears most of March missed me as well. No real excuse for my absence apart from the fact that work has taken precedence lately. In almost 13 years of teaching, I cannot remember a more frantic start to the year; so much so that I feel like it is Week 9 Term 3 (for those of you in the teaching game, you will know that this is about the time we hit the proverbial wall). Everything in life, scrapping and housework included, has taken a seat waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay at the back of the bus while I have been manically organise camp for my 'babies' - cannot believe they are in Year 11 already - , trying to adjust to an entirely new behaviour management system, meeting and getting to know 30 new 'babies' and the general day-to-day stuff that is teaching. I have lucked out again this year with my classes and am even lucky enough to be teaching the lovely daughter of a very special scrap buddy. It is going to be a great year work wise - I can feel it in my bones lol.
Lachlan was not feeling well today so I stayed at home with him. After I finished catching up on all of the housework and organising classes for the week, I decided to reward myself with a touch of scrapping. To be honest, recently I began thinking of packing up my stuff and giving it away - partly because I felt no desire to scrap but also because with everything so chaotic any chance I did get time to scrap I sat there thinking about all the things I should have been doing instead of playing with paper. Finally catching up on all the jobs around the house as well as the pile of marking that has been haunting me for the last few weeks, was just the thing I needed to spark the flame again.
What better way to find the spark than the latest challenge over at Scrap the Boys. This month's challenge was to use the title 'Life is Good', the colour red somewhere on the layout and handwritten journalling. I based my layout on the latest sketch over at Get Picky (although I used one photo instead of two - whoops lol). Here is what I came up with:

Not too shabby, even if I do say so myself, especially considering that I was ready to give it all away :o
The next layout was a work in progress for almost a month. It didn't turn out like I had it in my head but I am not too concerned about that because it the memory of what this layout represents far outweighs what the layout actually looks like (well I will keep telling myself that anyway). Lately, Lachie has taken to writing us love letters when he is in trouble for something. Cute I know, but I don't want him to get into the habit of thinking that all is forgotten if he writes us a letter.The next layout was supposed to be for a CyberCrop challenge over at Scrapbook Savvy in February but I just didn't get there. This is another one of those 'been sitting on my desk for ages' layouts. Totally loving the pink heart bird - found them at Typo at St Kilda in January. It was originally a paper clip but I pulled that off lol. The photo in this layout is one of my favourite photos from our time in Melbourne at the start of the year. It was taken in Hosier Lane - one of the painted/graffiti lanes in the CBD.The final layout was one that I started way back in January while the boys and I were visiting Rebecca. It wasn't until I got home that I realised the title was spelt wrong. Of course, I didn't get around to fixing it until today. Better late than never I suppose lol.I am hoping now that I am feeling on top of things again, I can grab a little bit of time every week just to sit and play. Life is better all round if there is play time in there.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxoxo