Scrap the Boys October

This month at Scrap the Boys, the challenge is based on this mood board:

And here is my take on the challenge. This design is something I have seen used before - not 100% sure who by, but I think perhaps Jen Schow or Adele (from Inkie Quill).

And some close-ups: 

Don't forget to link up your layout to the website before the end of the month to be in the running for great prizes.
S xoxo

Scrap the Boys - September

Hello there.
Welcome to the start of another month over at Scrap the Boys. This month, we have a sketch challenge for you.
This is the sketch:

And here is my take on the challenge:

You have until the end of the month to link your take on the sketch to the STB blog.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxo

Stuck?! Sketches August Challenges

Today I am sharing the layouts that I have created for this month's challenges over at Stuck?! Sketches. Here is a look at the first sketch:

And this is my take on it. The weather here has been very overcast so getting clear pictures has been very challenging.

This is the second sketch for the month:

And here is my take on it - rotated 90 degrees: 
  

I have a few other layouts to share so will be back when I have a few spare moments.
S xoxo

Home

Last year, talented photographer and scrapper Leanne Jago paid a visit to the farm to take some photos of the boys.  She also snapped a few random pictures of the crops. I have used one of my favourite photos from the day on this layout:

A super simple layout but I love it.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxo

Meeting Taylor

Back in March we travelled to Toowoomba for the district's annual swimming presentation dinner. Lachlan won an award for the junior distance champion at the regional titles. The guest speaker was Taylor McKeown, a gold medalist from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She was so awesome to listen to and had lots of great advice for everyone. The boys were so excited to meet her and it blew their mind to watch her on TV a few weeks later at the National Titles as she competed for a spot in the Australian Team for the World Championships. I love girl-ifying' this layout ;)

A few weeks later, we headed off on holidays to Caloundra were we spent one of our days at Aussie World. This layout is all about the boys going on the Redback - watching them was a total crack-up.

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxo

Let's Celebrate

Our youngest son turned 10 a few months ago. I am sure all of the parents out there can relate to me when I question where those years have gone.  Lachie had a quiet birthday at home with the family. His favourite part about his birthday? The cake ... always the cake.  This year was the year of many cakes - cake for his classmates at school, cake with his squad mates at swimming training, cake at home the night of his birthday with his brother and I, and finally, cake the following night because Dad was home to celebrate with him.

A few weeks later he was awarded 'Student of the Week'. He was pretty chuffed with this as his teacher was married the previous weekend so he was the first person to be given the award by Mrs O - apparently there is a big difference between getting an award from Ms H and Mrs O ... even if they are the same person. This layout was based on a sketch from October Afternoon's blog.

Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxo

2015 - The Year that Kicked my Butt

I always knew that 2015 was going to be a monster year work-wise. I thought I was prepared. I thought I had the year all mapped out. I thought I was on top of things. How wrong I was.
The upside of all this is that I am fortunate enough to have a job I love and to live in a country where I get to enjoy so many freedoms that a lot of women can never image. OK, enough philosophising and on with the scrapbook shares.
Layout One: Scrap the Boys June
This was a sketch challenge. I used photos from Lachlan's first competitive swim at the State Relay Titles at the end of last year.

Layout Two: Scrap the Boys July
This layout was a mood board challenge. I love this photo of my littlest man.

Layout Three: Scrap the Boys August

This is my take on the current challenge.

Well, that's me all caught up with my shares for Scrap the Boys. Stay tuned over the coming days for more layout shares.
S xoxo

Swimming Shares

I am back again today with two more swimming-related layouts.

Layout One doesn't have a title as such but I think the Heidi Swapp 'Adore' Project Life card is an adequate substitute. I used one of my favourite go-to designs here with one-third patterned paper and two-thirds cardstock. What I love most about this design is that you can get four different looks just by rotating the paper 90 degrees - the perfect way to create layouts quick without having your albums all look the same.

Layout Two - Happy Day. While I love the simplicity of this layout, I am not 100% happy with it. As much as I tried, I just couldn't get all of the emotions from that day transferred to the layout. Yes Lachlan has won lots of medals and trophies for his swimming but this was the first year he was eligible to participate in representative swimming at a school level and I just don't know how to get all of that emotion onto the layout. Maybe it is one of those things that can't be put onto paper - perhaps being there in the moment was enough. I know I will never forget that day and I hope Lachie doesn't either. 

So here is my question - what do YOU do to transfer the emotions from real-life onto the page. Ideas greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

S xoxoxox

Flying

If you have been a follower of my blog for a while, you would know that our boys are swimmers. During the swimming season, weekends find me travelling all across our local area so the boys can compete in club carnivals. Of all the photos I have snapped throughout the season, the one on this layout is my favourite by far:

And a close-up of that photo.  

I love the simplicity of this layout. The black and white striped background paper from Maggie Holmes' Confetti collection is perfect for letting the blue of the water stand out.  The boys have been out of the water for just over a month and are already asking how many days until training starts again.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxo

Kraft + May Challenge

A new challenge site  - Kraft + - opened a few months ago dedicated to all things Kraft. I loved the monthly challenges from 'Kraft it Up' and see Kraft + as an extension of that. May's challenge is a Mood Board challenge which look like this:

The green and orange tones in the mood board were perfect for this picture I snapped of my husband on his way home from a day out on the tractor.

And a close-up of the orange and green tones. I dug into the depths of my scrap bin to find some older Kaisiercraft and October Afternoon papers and paired them with some newer releases: 

I am pretty happy with how my first attempt at playing along with the new site has turned out.
Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxo

Stuck?! May 1 Challenge

Stuck?! Sketches has long been one of my go-to sites when I have spare time on my hands. While it has been quite a while since I played along with the challenges over at Stuck?! Sketches, when I saw the challenge for May 1, I knew that I had to give it a go.

Here is the sketch:

And this is what I came up with. Same but different.  

And some close-ups. The doily came from a local cheap shop and I sprayed it with Heidi Swapp Colour Shine in Coral. Love the soft tones of the layout mixed with gold: 

So in love with Crate Paper right now, especially anything where Maggie Holmes has collaborated. 

Counting down the days to Stuck's mid-month reveal and hoping that I will be able to find some time to play along.

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxoxo

Scrap the Boys - May Challenge

It is the start of another month which means a new challenge is up at Scrap the Boys. This month's challenge was based around this image:

Although both boys ride bikes and play a wide variety of land sports, I couldn't resist using this photo snapped during the Sept/Oct school holidays last year. I have scrapped this photo before but it was for my album - that layout talked about how my view for the holidays was watching the boys train while I tried to catch up on marking and lesson planning.

 And some close-ups:

I hope to see you over at STB this month. Don't forget to create your exclusive layout for the challenge and link it up to the STB blog to be in the running for great prizes.
Cheers,
S xoxo

Final Holiday Share

I am here today to share the final layouts from our holiday.

Layout One: Friday Selfie

A fun layout of Lachie and I one random Friday afternoon while we were waiting for Mitch to finish his weekly round of tennis fixtures. I love the one-on-one time I get to spend with the boys - they are both so busy with sport and school that it doesn't happen often enough.

And a close-up: 

Layout Two: Love this Moment

I love this photo from a photoshoot with Leanne Jago in September last year. The layout didn't turn out quite like I had planned, but it's another one done for the albums.

And a close-up: 

Only 9 more weeks until holidays roll around again. I don't think we will be heading away for these ones though but that's ok, I will carve out some 'me' time at home.

Thanks for stopping by.

S xoxo

Holiday Shares Part 3

Continuing with the holiday shares Today is all about our eldest son.

Layout One: Student Council 2015

It is our eldest son's first year at high school this year. He has started the year in fantastic fashion. In the first week he put himself out there and nominated himself for selection as a Student Council Representative. He was one of four Year 7 students elected to the position. Couldn't have asked for a better start to a new schooling experience.

Layout Two: Being a Tween is Tough Sometimes

A reflective layout about Mitch's transition into the world of teenage-hood. In so many ways he is already there but not in others.  I find myself caught between wanting to loosen the mothering ropes and holding onto them a little bit tighter. Our personalities are very similar which will make the next few years very challenging no doubt. This layout is a reminder for me as much as him about his transition into the next phase of his life.

Thanks for stopping by.
S xoxoxo