A couple of layouts from this month...

Hello!

Ok so another month has just flown by again since my last post!! It has been a busy one for us with my daughter celebrating her 9th Birthday with a sleepover party... and the school holidays. I do like having a break the school routine though and having the kids home from school. We enjoyed a few days in beautiful Port MacQuarie as a family over the holidays, so that was lovely, but even that already feels like a year ago!!! My kids are back at school this week, and so I am using the quiet today to jump online and do some blogging :-)

I thought I would share a couple of layouts that I completed this month...

Here is the first one:

5 years ago we were lucky enough to be able to be able to have an amazing holiday at Club Med Lindeman Island... and 5 years later I am still scrapping the photos!!

Here are some closeups of my layout:

I matted the alpha stickers onto white cardstock to help them stand out on the page a little more. I also overlapped the title onto the photo as there was an ugly sunscreen bottle that I wanted to cover up... and I liked how it looked!!

I love the Bazzil swiss dot cardstock... It just gives it a little something extra!!

The chipboard stickers are Bo Bunny and have been in my stash for awhile. The canvas tags and die-cuts are Kaisercraft.

And here's another layout that I completed this month...

I love the bright colours in these Pebbles Inc papers and they work perfectly with these photos of my daughter on a pony ride :-)

And a few closeups:

I love this cluster of embellishments... so many sweet little girlie things!

And my journalling... I used a Kaisercraft journal card... So handy for when you want to just jot down a sentence or two!

I had a bit of fun with a new TCW template that I bought and some white Dylusions spray. I just wanted to give the background a bit of subtle texture. I'm getting a little braver using ink sprays on my layouts!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your comments... I really love to read them! Happy Scrapping :-)

Mandy x

Turning 30

Hi bloggers!

Well, I can't believe that its been nearly a month since my last blog post!!! Where does the time go?!? I've not had nearly enough time to sit at my scrapping desk this last month. Life shouldn't be this busy right? Well today I finally have some time to sit and do some scrapping and also do some blogging... Yay!! I'm needing some inspiration, so I will be doing some blog hopping today, in the hope that some of you fellow scrappers might be able to re-ignite my inspiration!

I thought I might share a layout with you today that I created a couple of months ago. It is a layout about me... which is something that I rarely scrap about (it fact this is the first time that I've ever created a layout about myself!!). The photo was taken nearly 3 years ago on my 30th Birthday...

I used the Kaisercraft Miss Match Collection of patterned papers as well as the die-cut stickers from this range.

I wanted to create a layout that was both feminine but bold at the same time and I think this came across with the use of floral papers, flowers and butterflies combined with black & white polka dot paper, splatters of Tattered Angels Glitter Paint and a bold title.

Here are some close-ups of the embellishments...

And the title...

It was fun to create a layout just about me and it was therapeutic in a way to reflect on this significant milestone in my life. Turning 30 wasn't as scary as I thought it might be. In fact I'm quite enjoying this next decade of my life! My 20's were such a significant time of change... getting engaged and then married, becoming a mum, buying a house! And while all these life-changing events were awesome and fun, I'm happy to be at a stage in my life where I'm content with where I am at, and I love that I get to share it all with an amazing family and beautiful friends. I'm also at a stage where I'm beginning to realise that I don't need to please everyone, that I just need to be me, and people will either like that person or not, and that's ok. I need to be someone that I am proud of, and while there are things about me that I would like to change, I think I'm working towards being that person.

Anyway, I won't go on any longer with my life details, but as you can see, creating this layout was a good chance for me to reflect on my life and I've realised that once in awhile its good to create a layout just for yourself!

Well, hopefully it won't be so long in between blog posts this time!

Happy scrapping to you all and thank you for your time in coming to visit my blog :)

Vanuatu

Hi Scrapbooking Friends!

I'm here today to share a layout that I created about a place that is very special to me... Vanuatu!!

My husband Andrew and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last year with a cruise to the South Pacific Islands. One of our favourite destinations was Vanuatu as this was where we spent our honeymoon 10 years ago. It was such a great experience to take our children to this beautiful island which brought back some wonderful memories.

I think my favourite part of this layout is the photo of Andrew and I on our honeymoon which is encircled by a handmade shell necklace that I bought from the markets when we were on our honeymoon. This piece of memorabilia reminds me of the carefree days that we spent wandering through the markets buying souvenirs and talking to the beautiful people of Vanuatu.

The other two photos on the layout were taken on our recent visit to Vanuatu. We had such a lot of fun at Crystal Blue Lagoon where we got to feed some turtles and also do some snorkelling.

I wanted my journaling to highlight not only the time that had passed since our last visit to Vanuatu but also how our lives had changed in that time. This layout helped me reflect on all that has transpired in this first ten years of our marriage and the journey that we have come so far.

I'm so blessed to be able to travel the journey of life with an amazing man who loves and supports me in every way and I look forward to seeing where the next 10 years will take us!

Thank you so much for popping by to check out my blog. I love to share my creations with you and I really appreciate any lovely comments that you leave for me :)

Card Set

With Mothers' Day in just a couple of days, I'm sure we are all busy creating beautiful cards for our Mums, Grandmothers, and other lovely ladies in our life. With this in mind, I thought today that I would share a card set that I created recently using an older Kaisercraft range - the Devonshire Collection. I love the colours in this range...perfect for feminine projects. I've recently discovered how handy the 6.5" Paper Pads are for creating cards. They are the perfect size, so you don't have to cut up a whole 12 inch paper, and they also include die cuts.

Not sure if you're like me, but I always seem to find that people's birthdays sneak up on me and then I've got to throw together a card at the last minute or I end up buying one. So on my last craft day with my scrapping friends I decided to make some cards instead of scrapbook layouts. That way I have some on hand when those birthdays roll around :)

So this is the set of cards that I created with the Devonshire Paper Pad:

This one I gave to my lovely sister-in-law for her birthday...

This one I made for my beautiful sister for her birthday...

And this one was for my gorgeous Mum for Mothers Day (which I had to give her early as she is enjoying a holiday in Europe at the moment)...

I think most people really appreciate the love and effort that goes into making a card, so I am trying to keep on top of my card-making this year. We'll see how I go :)

I hope that all of the lovely mums out there have a very Happy Mothers Day and that your family make you feel loved and appreciated!

Thank you for visiting my blog today and for any lovely comments that you may leave - I so love to hear from you!!

Mandy x

Preschool Graduate

Hi there!

Today I thought I would share with you a layout that I recently created about my son's preschool graduation:

Of course it was a bittersweet occasion - I was so very proud of him, but at the same time so sad that it was end of a season for both him and me. He is the baby of the family and everybody tells you that the years will fly by quickly once you have children, but I didn't quite realise how fast! I felt like he had only just started preschool, and now he was already graduating and getting ready to head off to big school!

While I was feeling emotional about it, I wanted the layout to reflect the excitement that Isaac felt about the occasion. The 'Class Act' papers by Kaisercraft were perfect for the layout and with the co-ordinating Collectables from the same range, the layout came together quite easily. I love how the bright colours in the papers really pop off the page with the neutral background. The inspiration for the design of the layout came from a recent BasicGrey page of the month that I thought would work well. I liked that I could include 6 photos on the layout without it looking cluttered. 

I haven't quite brought myself to scrap his first day of Kindergarten yet!! I'm still missing him on the days that we used to spend together, but he has adjusted so well to big school and is loving it!

Thank you for visiting my blog and for any lovely comments that you may leave!

Mandy xx

Family Holiday Time... and a little Scrapping Time too!!

So we're holidaying on the Gold Coast this week, and before we left my hubby says to me "Why don't you pack your scrapping stuff to bring away with us". I'm not sure he quite knew how much room my "scrapping stuff" would take up in the boot, but he even packed a trestle table for me!! Love it!! He is awesome!! Here is a pic of my scrapping setup in our apartment:

It has been so nice to get some quality scrapbooking time in (in between visiting theme parks of course!). I even found a local scrapbooking store only 5 minutes from where we are staying!

The first layout that I've completed while away is one of my beautiful daughter when she was 5 years old. The inspiration for the theme actually came from a Little Yellow Bicycle banner that I had that said "Enjoy". When I looked at the photos of my daughter that I wanted to scrap, I thought "She really enjoys life!". She is such a happy and joyful girl, and I wanted my layout to convey this. I chose some bright and happy Kaisercraft papers that I thought really reflected her personality, and the layout flowed from there. Here is the completed layout:

Here is a closeup of the little felt bird embellishment on my layout that I picked up from Typo - so cute!!!

After completing a "girly" page, I was in the mood for something boyish, so I decided on a layout of my son when he was only 4 1/2 months old - what a cutie!! I loved the bright reds and blues in these Merci papers and thought they complemented the photos perfectly. The theme flowed from the stars on the papers - He is my little star! When I look at these photos, I think of how much potential he has. He has his whole life ahead of him, and it makes me wonder what great things he will do. I know that as long as he shines that light from within, he will touch many lives and achieve many things. Here is how the layout finished up:

And some closeups...

Well I might take a break from scrapping and head to the pool and a relax on the sun lounges (will take a scrapping magazine with me though)!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

 

My layout in Scrapbooking Memories

Hi & welcome to my blog!

So I thought for my very first post I would share my excitement with you about having one of my layouts published in this months issue of Scrapbooking Memories magazine!! I can't post photos of my layout at this stage so if you have a copy of Vol 15 no 8, head to page 53 to see my double layout of my daughter's 2nd birthday (She's now 8, I'm a little behind in my scrapping!). This is the second time that I've had one of my layouts published & I must say I feel rather privileged to have my work in print! For many years I have gained inspiration from scrapbooking magazines & now my work is in there to inspire others.

So I want to encourage any scrapbookers out there who have never submitted their work for publication... Give it a go! You never know whether your style might be just what they're looking for! This issue of scrapbooking memories actually has a great article with tips on taking photos of your layouts & they are looking for submissions from newbies!

Well, I'm going to sit down with a cuppa & my Scrapbooking Memories magazine to gain some inspiration before I head to my scrapping desk!!

Happy scrapping!!