All about the Grid

I spent a lot of the time in the days after my knee surgery, lying in bed with my leg elevated and surfing scrapping blogs. One thing I noticed was that grid designs have been used a lot this year. I was inspired by some of my favourites to create these two layouts:

Layout One: Love (Photography: Leanne Jago)

And some close-ups:

Layout Two: Dad Cut (not a haircut by Dad, but rather a crewcut just like Dad ... much to my disgust)

Close-ups: 

I am loving the ease with which grid layouts come together. No doubt there will be more created in the coming months :)
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxox

Christmas 2014

Christmas has been and gone for another year. For the first time in many years, we celebrated at home with my parents, sister and brother-in-law. The day was full of laughs and memory making. I am not one for creating a lot of Christmas-themed layouts but I couldn't resist pulling out some of Heidi Swapp's 2013 Christmas collection for the November-December Mood Board Challenge at Jot Magazine. Here is the mood board:

And this is my take on the board: 

Close-ups: 

Hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Christmas Day.
S xoxo

Masters ... Oh My!

It has been a big, busy month. Between the flurry of marking and report card writing, knee surgery, the boys swimming at the State Relay Championships and Christmas, I may have forgotten to mention this: 

Yep, that's right. Scrapbooking Memories Magazine selected me as one of their 10 masters for 2014. Very humbling indeed. To say it is an honour and privilege to be a part of this elite group is the biggest understatement of the century. Here's hoping I can live up to the title.

And for some layouts which I completed some time ago but hadn't shared:

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxo

Scrap The Boys December Challenge

December? Already? Where has the year gone? I don't know about you, but I am in denial that it is indeed December. The start of a new month means another challenge has been posted at Scrap the Boys. This month's challenge is based on a sketch:

I flipped the sketch to the left and this is what I came up with: 

Talk about a poser ;) Here are some close ups: 

Don't forget to link your challenge up to the STB blog before midnight on Dec 31 for your chance to be in the running for some great scrappy prizes.

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxox

More Catching Up

Here are some more layouts that have been waiting patiently for me to find time to share with you all.
Layout One is my take on a class taught by Anita Rodway at the Retreat. Waaaaaaaayyy out of my comfort zone but I had a blast doing the class.

Layout Two: Playing with the class kit ... and getting just a little messy in the process ;) 

Layout Three: Love ... enough said really ;) 

Layout Four: Moments. Mitchell checking out the wheat crop (photo Leanne Jago) 

Still have some more catching up to do.  See you soon.

S xoxoxo

A 'Dollop' of Inspiration

I have been a long time fan of Australian scrapbooker, Sharmaine Kruijver. Her layouts are regularly featured in Scrapbooking Memories Magazine and she is a Jot Girl - one of the design team members for Jot Magazine - an Australian online publication. One of the things I love most about Sharmaine's layouts is her journalling and the way she layers so many different elements on her pages - things that are showcased in this layout from the latest Jot Issue and also on her blog:

As soon as I saw her layout, I knew that I had to document at least one photo from the countless hours I spend at the pool during the week while the boys train. Same but different ;) Thanks for the inspiration Sharmaine :) 

And some closeups: 

So tell me, who inspires you?
Thanks for stopping by,
S xoxoxoxo

Crate Paper 'Notes and Things'

To say I am in love with Crate Paper's 'Notes and Things' collection is an understatement. The colours are absolutely beautiful - mint greens, creams, warm browns, deep yellow, blush pink, GOLD ... the list goes on. This is the perfect collection to scrap some photos I took recently of the boys in the wheat crop. Here are two layouts I created using different bits and pieces from this range.
Layout One: Free Your Heart

And some closeups:

Layout Two: (Enjoy the small things and) Always Smile

More closeups: 

  

I can't wait to create more layouts with this collection.
'Til next time,
S xoxoxo

Jot Magazine Issue 7 - Storytelling

One of the themes in the latest issue of Jot Magazine was telling the story behind your favourite childhood TV show.  For most of my childhood, we had two television channels - the ABC and 10-4-5A (which I think is now the 9/WIN network) and a television set where you had to push buttons to change the channels - yep no fancy, fang-dangle remotes for us, just three kids racing across the lounge room to be first to change the channels. 

While one of my favourite TV shows as a child was Mr Squiggle, what I remember most from my childhood are these races and the fights we had to decide who could sit closest to the tv so we could change channels with our feet. I decided to combine both stories and created this layout which is featured on page 87 of the magazine.

And some closeups: 

What was your favourite childhood TV Show? Go on, find a picture online and get that memory in your scrapbook for your grandchildren to laugh over one day ;)

Cheers for now,

S xoxox

Scrap the Boys October

It's the start of the month which means it's time for another challenge over at Scrap the Boys. The challenge for this month is 'Tech Savvy'.

I will be honest with you - I found this challenge a bit difficult. The boys are involved in sport a minimum of 6 days out of the week so there isn't a lot of down time for them. Yes they have iPods and they use the computer, but it isn't something they have a lot of time for. This holidays, they are been involved in a swimming training camp which runs for three hours a day. By the time night comes around, I have two very tired boys on my hands so much so that Lach fell asleep on my iPad one night - not really Tech Savvy as much as Tech Sleepy ;)

And some close-ups: 

Don't forget to load your creation to the Scrap the Boys website before the end of the month to be in the running for some great prizes.

Cheers,

S xoxoxo

Happy

Lots of things in life make me happy - too many things to list really. One of the things that makes me most happy is seeing the relationship my boys have with their grandparents. They are lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents living in the same area and love spending time with them. Sadly, school and weekend sport takes up most of their time so we don't get to them as often as we like. However, when the opportunity comes up, in the car we get and across to them we go. 
The boys and I had a flying trip across to my parents at the start of the school holidays. Like most trips, it wasn't long enough but we made the most of every minute. I snapped this picture of the boys with Nanny Goat and Poppy Choppy (that's a story for another time), just as we were about to leave. I love that none of them are looking at the camera but are caught up in the moment of sharing of joke.

S xoxoxoxo

There's Always One

Today I am sharing another layout using a photo from the drive around the farm the boys and I took recently. The photo sums up my boys perfectly - one always ready to ham it up for the camera, the other quite reserved. 

And some close-ups: 

Nothing else to say really - I love my two little pieces of chalk and cheese.

Cheers,

S xoxoxoxo

Little Farmer Men

Farm living means having lots of opportunities for photo shoots. Depending of the weather, each season sees different crops planted. At the moment we have paddocks of wheat and barley which are about a month away from being harvested. This meas the paddocks are still green but will gradually turn to gold as they ripen. The boys and I took a drive around last weekend to check the crops. I couldn't resist taking the camera with me.

Layout One - 2 (Based on the September 15 challenge for Stuck?! Sketches which I rotated)

Layout Two - Catch me if You Can - originally I was going to use all four photos on the same layout but once I found the Stuck?! sketch I used on the previous layout, I put the extra photo aside and used it to come up with this:

One day I hope to learn how to use my camera 'properly' (insert - get it off my favourite setting: Sports Mode) ... a girl can always dream ;)

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxoxox