Today is all about ...

... our oldest boy, Mitchell.  In a few months he will be 10 - OMG how did that happen??? He was just a babe in arms yesterday?! He is definitely his mother's child in the sense that he has inherited so many of my quirks and mannerisms.  Sometimes it scares me to see how similar our personalities are and i fear that when the dreaded teen years hit, he and I are in for some rough times. I just hope I can steer him through life and teach him how to cope with the rough times.  I love him to bits, even if I struggle to show him at times.

Layout One - Player of the Week. 

This year is Mitch's second season of playing soccer.  Most of the players on his team over the last two years have been playing upwards of four or five years.  It took him a while to catch onto the game and he still struggles with his positioning at times but he LOVES it.  His coach often likens him to the Energiser Bunny because he just keeps running and running all game long.  It has been great to see how far his skill level has improved from his first game last year to the point of being awarded Player of the Week. We are so proud of him for never giving up and always trying his best.

A close-up of some of some of the embellishments - Ormolu tag and Greatest View button <3 

Layout Two: He Loves School

We are lucky as parents to have children who honestly love going to school, especially Mitchell.  He is keen to learn new things and loves to tell me all about his day when we are driving home of an afternoon.  I hope he is still this keen to go to school in a few years time ;)

 A closeup of some of the yummies on the page:

Wow, just realised that I have posted three layouts in a row that have not used Kraft or white cardstock for the background - lol I surprise myself sometimes hehehehehehe
No other shares for me tonight.
Take care
S xoxoxo

In This Moment ...

... was part of the quote challenge set by Tara Coles over at Scrapbook Savvy this month.  Tara's challenge revolves around including the selected quote into a layout each month. Here is the quote: 

And here is what I managed to come up with using some more photos from our recent holiday at Burleigh Heads:

I used a combination of alphabet stickers from Crate Paper's Storyteller line for the start of the quote and finished it off with my own handwriting:

And another close-up of these crazy boys and some embellishments from October Afternoon, the Greatest View and a combination of old and new school Heidi Swapp (just between you and me, I will be devastated when I have used the last of my stash of Heidi's verb stickers.  I know she is not with Advantus any more but I really, really, REALLY wish she would re-introduce these to her 'stuff'):

Now that the Olympic Games are on, I am hoping that I might be more productive scrap-wise as I stay up late into the night to watch all of the amazing athletes compete.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

S xoxoxo

She Scraps / He Scraps

The boys have always had an interest in the layouts I create for them but it is rare that they actually want to sit and shuffle papers with Mummy.  On one of my scrapping nights while on holidays, I had a little scrap buddy join me at the table. Lachie was keen to scrap, as was I, so who was I to disappoint him??!! 

Layout 1: One Cool Dude ... literally.  The biggest downside to holidays at the beach during the winter months is the cold but the boys were still totally keen to hit the surf.  Lachie had a ball running and and out of the water to tell me how freezing it was.  This layout has a real 'Lauren Bell' feel to it I think with the strips of patterned papers and washi tape.  I am quite pleased with how it turned out. The button flair, journal spot and linen tag are all from the great folks at Ormolu.

Layout 2 features a picture that I have blogged about a few posts ago, although this time, there I have not process the photo anywhere near as much as the first ;)  I have used a sketch from Pinterest but again, can't remember which site.  I really must take better note of my pins lol.

Layout 3 - Lachie's first layout.  He chose his papers, told me how he wanted them all cut and very firmly informed me that 'he would stick them where he wanted'.  Funny how he went for a very similar design to what I would have done.  Apart from cutting the papers to his instructions, the only thing I did for him was mist the cardstock and stick the twine down for him.

Layout 4 - Lachie's second layout.  For this one, he wanted no help at all.  He told me that he knew how to scrapbook and I could just do my own thing (cheeky little brat lol) ... that is until he needed me to stick down the twine.  That kid is such a dag at times but I love him to bits.

I'm not sure if Lachie will scrap with me again any time soon. As soon as he had finished both layouts he was all 'yep been there, done that'.  Oh well, at least I won't have to share my scrap stash lol.

Off to scrap with some of my friends tomorrow which will be great as we haven't got together as a group for a few months.

Take care

S xoxoxo

Holidays = Fun

There is nothing like seeing holidays photos to make you wish you were right back there.  Even though it has only been three weeks since we were at the beach, it feels like a lifetime.  So much as gone on in those three weeks and like everyone's life right now, it just seems to be getting busier by the minute.  How I wish I could pack myself up and head back to the beach to sit and soak it all in. Here are two more shares from my scrapping time at the coast.
Layout One - Fun in the Sun. Used some photos of Mitch from last year's holiday. Based on a sketch I found on pinterest - one of my new favourite sites lol.

And a close-up of some scrapping goodness from the Greatest View and Ormolu. 

Layout 2 - Nah Nah, you can't got me. Yes I know that for an English teacher, the title if grammatically incorrect but this is exactly what Lachie was telling me while I was taking these photos.  That boy is such a goose but I love him regardless (well most of the time anyway lol). Had fun using more of the papers I found at Typo, papers and embellishments from October Afternoon, Washi tape and another button from Greatest View.  Sorry about the dodgy pic, the layout is actually straight in real life :o

And some closeups:

That is all the shares from me tonight. I am hoping to find some 'me' time over the weekend to maybe churn out a layout or two.
Happy Friday everyone.
S xoxoxoxox

Scrap the Boys July Challenge

... has been up over at Scrap the Boys for a few weeks now but I am only just getting around to sharing my take on this month's challenge. This month's challenge was just that - a real challenge - to scrap SCHOOL PHOTOS.  Every year I order every single style of  photo available, telling myself that I WILL scrap them and every year they remain in the envelope they arrived in. I am hoping that this month's challenge is the catalyst that gets me motivated to scrap all of the rest of those school photos. I decided to use Lachlan's photo from 2011. I am happy with the general design of the layout so I am thinking I might repeat it for Mitchell's school photo too.

A close-up of some of the embellishments - a definitions badge from The Greatest View (love their stuff), The Twinery twine, a little apple from A Lil' Something and of course, products from my favourite scrap company October Afternoon. I recently scored a vintage typewriter from a colleague at work and despite the fact that it spent most of December 2010/January 2011 submerged in flood waters, all it needed was a new ribbon and a little bit of a TLC to get it going.  I have been wanting an old typewriter for so long and I can't wait to use it again on my layouts.

I am hoping that seeing the completed layout on the WWW, I might finally get around to scrapping more of those dreaded school pics ;)

I hope that you are all managing to get some creative time somewhere in your life.

Take care.

S xoxoxoxo

Holiday Scrapping

It has only taken me two weeks to get around to unpacking the scrap supplies I took on holidays.  I didn't achieve a great deal in terms of the number of layouts created but I passed many happy nights pushing paper around while watching Wimbledon (tennis) and the Tour de France (Cycling).  I am a bit of a sports buff and love almost every sport going so I am always happy to have commentary running in the background in the wee hours of the morning.  I will start with sharing my favourite photos taken while on holidays ... and yes, some of the photos are repeats in different sizes ;-)
Layout One: Lachie is definitely a water baby.  He would have spent all day of our entire holidays in the pool if we let him.  Thank goodness for heated indoor pools when you are destined to always have holidays smack bang in the middle of winter. I am loving using little 2x3inch photos at the moment.

 Layout 2: same photo, different size. Unusually bright for me but I am actually happy with this layout.  All of the patterned papers used on this layout are from TYPO (I love, love LOVE that store)

Layout 3: Another one from the lens of my good friend Sarah B taken in Sept 2011 over in the cattle yards.  I was inspired to use some of my new Ormolu purchases on this layout ;)

Layout 4: My FAVOURITE photo from our holiday.  This was a total fluke as Mitch was jumping around like a mad-man.  Lucky for me, I had the camera set on sports mode and was able to capture this one. A touch of editing with Pic Monkey was all I needed to fix up his eyes and the shadows on his face.  Check out Pic Monkey for a FREE, quick and easy to use online editing program ;)

That is it for now. I have some others to share, including two layouts that Lachlan did while we were away.  Hopefully I will be back in the coming days with more updates.
Enjoy what is left of your weekend.
S xoxoxox