Have yourself a very merry Christmas

Wishing you a joyous festive season

A white Christmas...

No, not here, lol. Yesterday was forecast to be 42 degrees (celcius); thankfully a cool change has moved through and today is cool and rainy. Christmas Day is forecast to be in the mid twenties. Perfect!

But my thoughts were recently on all things frosty and white, when my host sister Kathrin made contact with me via Facebook. In the early eighties, when I was fresh out of school, I spent the Winter (our summer) in Germany, in a little town near Heidelberg. I was hosted by a wonderful family, spoke almost entirely german, and went to school. I had not spoken to Kathrin since the late 80s. Twenty years! It has been wonderful to catch up and hear what she's been doing in the intervening time.

That Christmas, in 1982, was my first and only white Christmas. I have a heap of frosty photos that I took at the time. Unfortunately they suffer a bit from being taken on a really cheapo kiddy camera (I was only 17 at the time) and have become faded and brown. Nothing that a little Photoshop couldn't fix though!

Here's the album I made to showcase these beautiful memories. It's showing on the Aussie Scrap Source blog at the moment.




The album is a Twiddleybitz tabbed album. The chipboard snowflakes and trees are also Twiddleybitz, coated liberally with glimmermist and then glitter and even more glitter!





I've decorated the album with Websters Pages papers and some Pink Paislee to add some contrast. Love the look of the glitter on the foliage cut from the Websters papers!

I've whitewashed some of the papers, in keeping with my frosty theme.



And I've used frayed calico, feathers (see the feather at the bottom of the photo there?), trims, and twine to add to the vintage feel.




I just adore it - the photos have so much meaning for me, and I love how the album came together - it turned out exactly how I envisaged it in my mind.


OK, well this is my last post for 2009. Thank you so much for visiting here with me this year. I'm always humbled that so many of you choose to visit and find inspiration in what I do. Thank you.

Have a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year. I hope 2010 brings you love, happiness and creativity :)

Love
Kathie

Jamie-ism #1635

J: "Mummy, I don't want beakfast"
Me: "No?!! You don't want breakfast? Why not?"
J: "Because I full of beans"

True!

10 Favourite layouts of 2009

Once a year, I reflect back and choose my favourite ten layouts of the year. They may be favourites because of the photo, the journaling or the design. This year I found the task difficult, but here are my final ten:

The Uncooperative Carrot.
This layout is one of the Masters challenge projects in Scrapbooking Memories this year. I just love the story that the pictures tell, and it's made all the more precious by that funny ol' expression on Jamie's face. This was one of those "he's growing up" layouts.

T-Shirt Love
A rare layout about me. I want to try to do more of them next year. Love this t-shirt. Love the design of this layout. Did you know that I am circle challenged? I don't know how many times this year I have gone to create a circle design on a layout and ditched it... because IT JUST WOULD NOT WORK!

The Beach
Another Masters challenge layout from Scrapbooking Memories. When we were challenged to create a project using the Xyron, I decided to use it to adhere fabric on my layout. I had found some quilting fabric featuring vintage pictures of children at the beach, and based my page on that. I also love the photos on here... Jamie running into the ocean with glee, carrying his little plastic shovel.

Magical
I adore this photo of my mother and will probably scrapbook it several more times before I'm finished! Love also the mushroom, which is from Tia Bennett's Grove digital kit - I've used it a number of times now. This year I also developed a love of sillhouetted photos. Not all the time. Just when I want to create a 'scene' on my page. I expect that this will also continue into the new year :).

Dear Rabbit
My very first Masters challenge in Scrapbooking Memories, so naturally it falls into a "milestone" layout category :). I also love this because of the story. It's one of my monthly letters to Jamie documenting his growth and all the cute things he's being doing. Love the photos too!

JML - The Cutest Tigger
Talking of loving photos.... love, love, love this one! This layout was created for Pencil Lines sketch blog when I was guest designer there this year. Love that little tree! Love the colours and whimsy on this. Loved having the opportunity (as scrapbooking so often affords) to look back and reflect on what a cutie Jamie was, and how fleeting his baby hood also was. It was also a bit bitter sweet, as I scrapped this just after we discovered that it would be pretty much impossible to ever have another child. I guess that's what prompted the journaling - the thought that I'd never again get to experience a child at that age. Sob.

Jak
Love this one! A rare page about our four legged family member. It was done for ScrapzBiz, when I was guest designer for them earlier this year. It contains lots of hand-stitching, painting; lots of eclectic little bits and pieces. Suns, clouds, grass (can you tell they're my favourite design motifs yet ;) - well if you can put a flower on every single girly page you make, I figure I'm quite entitled to use clouds, trees and grass on every single boy page I make. Right?) I am aiming to do more painting, stamping and stitching on my pages next year :)

[oops, sorry, no 9 is actually out for publication! It'll be back soon]


The Tractor
Love the whimsy of this page. It featured in an article I wrote for Scrapbooking Memories about double page layouts. It's just quintessential Kathie Link. Don't you think? I think that's why I love it. Because it's different and so very me.


Let them Talk
Aaah. What's not to love about this layout? It was done for the German Scrap the Music blog, when I was honoured to be guest designer for them earlier this year. The journaling is about our journey this year with speech pathology. I almost cry when I read this piece of journaling, because Jamie has truly come so far since this page was created. And it reminds me to have a thankful heart. Love the photo too. I am truly thankful for this gorgeous, handsome little boy who we are lucky enough to have in our family.

Well, that's it! My top 10. It's a great exercise to reflect back on your projects you made during the year. Do you have a favourite? I'd love to hear about it, and why.
Kathie

Creative Blog Award and other inspiration

Nikki has awarded me a Kreative Blogger award. Thanks so much Nikki!

Now I have to tell you 7 things about myself that you don't know. Argh! I always find this one difficult.

1. I chew my lip when I'm thinking.
2. I used to be a medical researcher, specialising in cancer research.
3. I have a poor sense of smell.

4. I was born with a hole in my heart - between the two ventricles to be precise.
5. I didn't get married until I was in my late thirties.
6. I have a fear of spiders.
7. Tomato soup makes me gag.

And I am to forward the love to 7 other people, whose blogs inspire me no end:

1. Deb Godley - beautiful, beautiful Artwork, and guest artist on Tarisota
2. Belinda Richardson - more gorgeous artwork, and the two cutest daughters :)
3. Christiane Mueller - a fantastic scrapper, my german tutor ;), and a knitter to boot!
4. Nicole Wood - check out Nic's Christmas craft blogfest!
5. Kate Mason - I am a kate fan from way back... lovin' her mixed media projects - check out her Etsy shop... AND I see she has now designed some papers. Wow! Can't wait to see them Kate!
6. Nic Howard - fellow DT member at Aussie Scrap Source, and I have yet to see a project she's made that hasn't made me gasp aloud. Beautiful, beautiful work!
7. Mel Goodsell - one crafty mama - this is one seriously crafty blog!

Dear Santa....

Dear Father Christmas,
Happy Birthday. Thank you for all my present that I want for Christmas.
A black Spiderman, red Spiderman, and a Stormtrooper with a spaceship.
I have been a good boy this year.
I have been listening to mummy, packing up and brushing my teeth.
I also want a transformer.
Father Christmas, we will have a chocolate and milk and water here for you.
Happy birthday for all my presents!
Love Jamie.
Age 4.

It's beginning to look like...

Here is another of my projects for the Aussie Scrap Source blog. I used the SEI Wintersong range. Now, on screen these papers are, like, well, you know... your everyday paper. In real life though? Gorgeous! Glittery! Frosty!

(click image to enlarge)

The layout is of Jamie, last year, decorating the Christmas tree. Goodness he's grown up so much in a year.

I loved the paper with the fir trees and deer on it, and decided to get two sheets and use them whole, as the background for the layout. That's how much I loved them! To add some texture, I've coated some strips of white cardstock with glitter, then distressed and rolled them and added them along the base of the page.

Look at the glitter on the bottom photo corner. Deliciously frostly. And see at the top of the paper? - that's all raised and glittery. Devine!

The little die-cuts are also all frosty and sparkly. Aaah.

I stuck to a white/green colour scheme with just a dash of festive red.


And those brads are simply elegant - rhinestones, pearls and epoxy brads. Beautiful!

Are you making anything Christmas-y at the moment? Or are you being inspired by something Christmas-y? Let me know.

Kathie

Anyone gotta Xyron (or want one)?

I am selling some Xyron product on ebay at the moment.

I have a number of refill cartridges for the Xyron 510 up for auction - I'd love to keep them as they include magnet and laminating cartridges, which I'm sure will come in useful for BTP projects. But I just do not have room to store things. I have to keep my scrapping simple because of the lack of storage space; we are stumbling over all my stuff in the spare room and I just can't stand it. LOL, self confessed neat freak here :)

I also am selling a 5 inch creative station and a refill cartridge.

I intend putting up a few more items over the next few days.

Check here.

On the home front - Jamie is sick again - it's the ninth week in a row that he's been sick, I reckon. This time he has a throat infection, that he's been on antibiotics for since last Thursday; conjunctivitis, that he's been having drops for since Monday; but now he's also got a stuffed up nose and cough, and a fever. Will it ever end?!!!!

I had a minor meltdown on the weekend as I felt like I was getting no time to get anything done. And then I realised that this is probably why. I am having to take a day off work each week, on average; I end up cancelling one kindy session a week, on average; and I cancel one gym session a week, on average. Shopping sans child has become shopping with grizzly child. Housework sans child has become sitting on the couch cuddling whingy child. I knew I was behind with everything, but it wasn't until I reasoned it through that I realised why. I feel marginally better. But only marginally.

Oh, there he is. Again. It's 10pm.

He wanted a bucket. Poor little sausage - he keeps feeling that he's going to throw up.

Sigh.

I forgot...

I actually had another layout in Scrapbooking Memories magazine a couple of months ago. I'd completely forgotten about it. I stumbled upon it by surprise, as I hadn't been sent any commissioning paper work and didn't realise it was going to be published in that issue.

Here it is:

Journaling: My little boy, before you came along I had no idea that having you would change me so much. After all, I was forty. I thought I knew myself and knew the world. Ah, I had no idea!
Only now do I understand how a parent can say that they would do nything for their children. You know, I never got that before. You have taught me selflessness, Jamie. I really would do anything for you.
I used to take my time for granted. Only now do I look back and realise that was because I had so much of it. Having you has taught me to be more organised, to be opportunistic - to seize the moment and get things done while I have the chance.
At the same time though, you've taught me to slow down, to see the world around me and not to race through the day blind to my surroundings.
Having a child has also taught me the meaning of the word worry. I worry that something might happen to you, I worry that something might happen to me so I can't care for you. I worry about everything.
But you know what changed the most?
I had no idea how much love I would feel, indeed how much I could feel.
I had no idea how sweet the sound "mummy" would sound.
Yes, you changed me.

One of those projects where I wrote an essay ;)
Kathie

It must be December...

This is what we did after tea tonight.

Decorated the Christmas tree.

Jamie was so excited.

He wanted to get all those baubles up so that we could turn the lights on.

After a while of structured activity though, any four year old mind turns to more errr .... imaginative pursuits.


Like fun with the bauble packaging :)

Once the tree was decorated, he sat there in the dim evening light, drinking his milk, the Christmas lights reflecting in his bright eyes.

Yes, it's starting to look a lot like Christmas :)

Kathie

Another double layout

Playtimes Past
Journaling: At four years of age these are the ways you often spend your time. Trains, trucks and bikes are favourites.

I am finding myself creating more and more double pages lately. And being really happy with how they turn out. Strange for me! This is one that I taught at a class this afternoon.


The class was super great. A really great bunch.

And I loved being able to catch up with Tatum and Lauren afterwards.

Amie, missed you! I hope you're OK and just got caught up with something else that needed doing.

The layout's really quite detailed and everyone did amazingly well following my tricky instructions and getting their layouts finished to the point of adding their photos when they got home.

I am thinking that tomorrow we will put up the Christmas tree, I have a stack of ebay items that have sold that I need to figure out how to invoice and send off (I'm such a novice! And, so like me, I listed 40 items all at once, the first time I have ever sold anything on ebay, so I've really put the pressure on.... don't do anything by halves, do I? lol).

Then I think we might go to a friend's for coffee :) or something stronger if the ebay packaging and invoicing and whatever else needs doing runs off the rails......

And then I might work out how to put some of Jamie's little clothes on ebay too. I think in the aim of moving on from my four year goal of having another baby, I really do need to get rid of all the 00000, 0000, 000, 00, 0, 1, 2 and size 3 clothing I have been hoarding... holding onto.... can't part with.... that are taking up almost the entire closet in Jamie's room. That's a whole STACK of clothing. It's gonna be hard though.

Sob!

I can do it.

I still have a heap of scrapping stuff that I need to list too, which I'll share more about down the track - after I finalise all my current sales :).

'Night all!
Kathie