Mother's Day ...

... has come and gone for another year without a single photo with me in it. Oh well, at least I snapped a few pictures of the three boys together. I don't like this layout but it is another memory captured and that is what matters.

I really should try and get myself in a photo next year ;)
S xoxo

Something a Little Different

It's no secret that I am not into 'messy' scrapping. While I love nothing better than splattering droplets of mist on a layout or distressing the edges of paper, anything beyond that almost has me hyperventilating. A lot of my scrapping friends have totally embraced the 'messy' thing and man, their work rocks but something just holds me back.
So imagine my surprise last week when I actually felt the urge to pull some paints and masks out of the deep dark corners of my scrap space to come up with this:

Not only is it quite different to my usual 'clean' style but purple is a colour that I rarely, if ever, use and I cannot remember the last time I used ric-rac on a layout. From the first time I laid eyes on the colours in Lachie's soccer jersey, I have been thinking about how on earth I would scrap something using the colour purple. I think it is at least 4 or 5 years since I used deliberately chose purple to use on a layout. 

A close-up of the handmade heart that came in a prize pack from Charm I won after the Easter Cybercrop at Scrapbooking from Scratch.

So not only did I use paint, purple and ric-rac, but I also pulled out the sewing machine ... wonders will never cease ;)

What did this layout teach me? Well I learnt that:

• paint and masks can be your friend (but ssssshhhhhh don't tell certain people I said that)
• using paint and masks doesn't have to equal messy
• there is a scrapping use for empty toilet rolls
• I should consider getting more purple things for my stash, if only to scrap more soccer photos
• I survived stepping out of my comfort zone

Maybe I should step out of my comfort zone more often - lol who am I kidding ... this probably won't happen again for quite some time.
Cheers,
S xoxo

A Confession ...

I will be honest with you - I scraplift. Sometimes it is just the basic design, sometimes it is the papers or the embellishments, sometimes it is everything. I know that some people will look down on me for this and there are two very definite schools of thought (as in yeah, sure it is fine VS it is wrong) in the scrapping world about 'lifting'. Me, I am in the school of 'if it works for you and you give credit where credit is due, then just do it'.
Some days when I get home from work my brain is totally fried. These are also the days that, no matter what I do, I cannot wind down and relax. The result of this is very little, if any sleep. My solution to this is to scrap. On days that have been particularly trying, I find 'scraplifting' an easy way of helping me wind down. The past two weeks have been frantic with a mountain of exams to mark and report cards to write so I have definitely been in need of some relaxation therapy. After finding this layout on the blog of MercyTiara - one of my favourite scrappers (who just happens to do awesome process videos too), I knew that something like this would have to make its way to my album.
So this is one of those 'lift the whole thing' layouts. I loved the simplicity of Tracy's design and wanted to recreate the same effect with this photo of Mitchell. I added a few extra embellishments, including a first for me - bits of cotton thread scattered around the layout.

And some closeups: 

 Love the randomness of the cotton thread - will be trying that again one day soon.

So that's it - another one of my deep, dark secrets revealed. Tracy, you will probably never read this but I just want to say thanks for inspiring me.
Take care
S xoxo

The Reason I Scrapbook

One day while I was marking some assignments, the boys came into my office/scrap area and pulled some of the albums off the shelf. They spent almost an hour going through the albums, laughing at the pictures and asking each other if they remember where they were and what they were doing. I stopped marking long enough to grab a few photos and that was my inspiration to come up with this:

And some closeups. I hid some journalling on the manilla shipping tags. I had quite a bit I wanted to say but knew that it would throw out the feel of the layout as I wanted the photos to speak for themselves. 

This is what my journalling said:

'I am not always comfortable telling people that I scrapbook, Over the years I have been told that it is pointless, a waste of money and the typical 'what's so special about gluing photos onto colour paper?' I used to try and justify it, but I eventually gave up. To be honest with you, I scrapbook for me. It is my time to sit and forget about work, deadlines, life and everything in between. I won't deny it - yes it is great when a layout is accepted for publication. And yes, I am chuffed when a layout wins a prize in a cybercrop or for a monthly challenge. But these things come and go. What matters most is that this is something I love and something I can leave for the boys later in life. I love it when Mitch and Lachie drag the albums off the shelves and flip through them. They laugh at the photos and share stories of how they remember different events. Once in a while, they even say thank you. Times like these are the reminder of the real reason why I scrapbook.'

So tell me, why do you scrapbook?
S xoxo

Look Who's 8

Our baby turned 8 at the end of May. It has hard to believe that he is 8 already. Where has that time gone? Deb Alexander has created this fabulous sketch for her monthly challenge over at Scrapbooking from Scratch:

And this is my take on the sketch using a photo of the Birthday Boy:

And some closeups: 

And my journalling: 

One more share and I will be up-to-date.
S xoxoxo

Longing for Summer

I am just putting this out there - I HATE winter with a passion. We are barely into the season and I am already longing for those long hot days of summer. Oh how I wish it were summer every day. I can't wait for it to roll around again. In the meantime, I will just have to console myself with scrapping photos of summer like this one:

This boy is a total goof ball. Not sure what the tongue thing is but he sticks out like that ALL the time. 

Love me some Dear Lizzy, Freckled Fawn and My Mind's Eye. What are your favourite scrapping products?
S xoxo

Chilling with Goatie

Long story short, the boys call their grandmother (my mum) Nanny Goat or Goatie for short. Mitchell is especially close to Nanny Goat and they share a very special bond. He was recently selected in the local soccer team to represent the district at the Darling Downs Trials. The trials were held in Stanthorpe, about 30 minutes away from Mum and Dad's place so there was never any doubt that Nanny would come along for the ride. It was a freezing cold day but Mitch had a blast even though he wasn't selected. I snapped this photo of Mitch and Nanny at the end of the day - he was pretty tired and busted by this stage. I am so proud of him for getting out there and giving things a go.

And close-up. Cannot believe that he is almost as tall as his Nanny. It won't be long before he will be taller than her I am sure. 

Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxo

Life ...

... It's what gets in the way of day to day stuff like updating this blog. No excuses for my absence of late other than work and playing taxi driver to the boys' various after school and weekend sports. My scrapping has been quite limited over the last two months but I do have a few shares for you, starting with some soccer layouts.  Mitchell and Lachlan are both playing their third season of soccer. I was unsure if they would play again this year; however, they were keen and so far, they are having a ball.
Layout 1 - Bend it Like Beckham

Really original title hey? The background was designed by the super-talented Lisa Kamphuis. That lady what Usain Bolt is to the 100m - speedy, speedy, speedy. It is a long standing joke between us that I scrap one layout to every three or four that she does. It is amazing to sit and watch her do her thing.
I couldn't resist a close-up. This would have to be one of my FAVOURITE photos of the season so far. 

Layout 2 - Hello Saturday Soccer
Scrapping exactly the same photos again, only in a smaller size this time. Not that all dissimilar to Layout 1, although I was much happier with how Layout 1 turned out compared to this one.

Layout 3 - The Goalie

This is the first year that Lachie's team have a goalie. For the last two years he has been playing 4-a-side soccer so he was very excited to move to a bigger field and start playing in 'proper' positions, especially the goalie.
And a closeup: 

Well that is this update done. I have a few more layouts to share over the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxo