Fun!

The next inspiration prompt is up at Get Picky today.

Wow! Isn't it a wonderful image? In terms of translating the imagery into a scrapbooking page, I had so many ideas I didn't quite know where to start for a while!

Journaling: This is what makes you happy - a good set of play equipment. You rate everything based on the quality of the play equipment. Childcare fails miserably; kindy is fabulous. You even relate everything to the available equipment - one nearby school is the "Shrek School" as it has a wooden bridge like the one in the the movie; another school is the "Pencil School" due to the large wooden pencils in the playground.

So, can you see how I've used the image? Colour scheme, check! Blue background, check!

Spiral circle elements, check! Banner, check! Lacey stuff in the front bottom container, check! Fun, fun, fun, Check, check, check!

I wonder if it's going to inspire you too? Hope so :)

We're off to a not-so-fun start to the weekend. DH's car got broken into last night and his laptop stolen. Wouldn't you know it, the one night when he got distracted (by Jamie, no less) when he got home and forgot to go back out to take out his work equipment and lock up, and we get burgled. So he's a bit upset this morning. Thankfully, most of the paperwork has been recovered - either it was not taken, or it was found up the road a bit where it had been discarded. The stuff on his laptop is all backed up, whew! But still... a bad start to the morning.

I'm off to Seriously Scrapbooking this afternoon to teach :).

Have a great weekend. What do you have planned?

Oh, and don't forget my Christmas give-away - it's open for a couple more days. Go here if you're interested, and leave a comment.

Kathie

The Color Room palette 30

This is the palette for The Color Room this week. And this is my layout:


Journaling: You've been saving your pocket money for weeks now, in order to buy some Ben10 lego. You saw it at Lucas' birthday party in early April and just haaaaaad to have it! Well, yesterday was the big day. We coundted out all your coins and took them up to the shop. you bought Humungasour. You were beaming! All afternoon you told me "Mummy, I'm soooo happy!!!!!"


The layout was printed as part of an article on The Color Room in ScrapInfo, a Russian magazine. Go here to check out the other layouts for this week's challenge.

Kathie

Sketch challenge winners

Congratulations to Megan Renfree, Leanne Love and Linda Langes. They are the winners in this week's sketch challenge at Aussie Scrap Source. They go into the final week's draw to win a prize pack of goodies and Becky Fleck's Pagemaps 2 book.

Entries for this week's sketches are up here on the blog now and voting is open to determine this round's winners.

If you are looking for a great challenge, then why not try out these? The blog is pretty popular. And you stand a chance to win!

So, anyway, ....Friday tomorrow. Work. Blah.

We got our notification about school next year today, along with information about transition visits for Jamie during November and December. My little boy. At school. I just can't believe that he's going to be going to school in a few short months.

We have a busy weekend planned. I'm teaching at Seriously Scrapbooking on Saturday afternoon. Hope to see you there :). Then, a date night for Phil and I. A weekend visit to Grandma and Grandad's for Jamie. And a Halloween party on Sunday. Jamie is dressing up as Harry Potter, much to his great delight.

We were at the party shop this afternoon to buy fifth birthday invitations and paraphenalia (who would be turning five shortly, I wonder?) - a Batman theme this year. And while we were there I stumbled across a Harry Potter costume complete with Harry Potter glasses (obviously - are they not the most important part of his look?). I bought it. Jamie was beside himself. And even more so when Mummy dressed up in it. (I make a pretty wicked Harry Potter, even if I do say so, lol!)

At the moment there's a little boy curled up in bed fast asleep with his Harry Potter cape and wand. The hat is hanging from the bedpost. And the spectacles are clutched tightly in his little hand. He's so sweet :).

More on Jamie and Jak

Aussie Scrap Source now stocks Echo Park - a relatively new scrapbooking brand. The ranges out at the moment are wonderful. Colourful, fun and perfect for kid pages. I worked with Walk in the Park for Aussie this week:


Journaling: You and Jak look to be in cahoots here - off to investigate something or other. You make such a cute pair - two little miniatures exploring the vastness of our back garden :).

The product is perfect for whimsical layouts like this one featuring one of my favourite snapshots of Jamie and Jak exploring the back garden!



Well I got my day started with a 5km run this morning. Up bright and early. A friend and I have started our summer walking program too. Three one hour walks every week. I love Spring :). The sky is brilliant blue this morning and we're heading for 22 degrees.

The only downside is Jamie has another cold. I kept him home from kindy yesterday, and he's still asleep in bed at the moment - 830am - so I think that he will be staying home again today. Not so good for my productivity. Good for spending time with my little guy though (although I'm hoping that he's not as grizzly as he was yesterday. Poor possum).

Hope your day is great! OK, I'm outta here. Got a dishwasher to unpack!
Kathie

A tormented dog, and recollections

Just popping in to share another couple of layouts I had published in Scrapbooking Memories Issue 12(9).

Journaling: Jamie adores Jak. Jak... well, Jak's not so sure. He treats Jamie with a health level of suspicion. All Jamie wants to do is to play, to catch Jak, touch him, pat him. But, well, Jamie's your typical two year old. He's rough. And Jak's had his hair pulled, his ears tugged and his eyes poked once too often. Look at him - pleading with me. HELP!

This is an oldie, but I just love the expression on our dog's face. Poor thing. He really is long suffering as he gets loved to within an inch of his life by our child ;)

Journaling: Journaling: Can't wait to meet you, I'm counting down the days. Sleepwalk beside you, I'm dreaming of your face. I'm shooting for the stars, killing time. 'Till the day I meet you. Can't wait to meet you. Bachelor Girl.

I had it in my mind for a while to use the lyrics of this song for a layout about being pregnant. The photo mat lifts up to reveal hidden journaling from my pregnancy diary; my daydreams about what Jamie might be like.

Have a great day!
Kathie

The Color Room palette 29

Can you believe that The Color Room has been going strong for six months already? There have been 28 colour challenges and the site has over 2000 members. The site sees an incredible amount of traffic each week, and is an overall huge success.

Lydell, Steph, Janine and Jing-Jing have done an awesome job, designing and maintaining a vibrant and creative place for scrapbookers all around the world to find inspiration.

This week sees several of the original design team saying goodbye and a number of awesome scrapbookers joining the team. While I'm sad to see the existing girls leaving, some of the new DT are among my personal scrapbooking favourites! What a treat.

The new color palette this week is from "her room" and comprises pastels, including two shades of pink. Eeek! I admit that I was totally out of my comfort zone. Pink and Pastels. Two things I don't use on a layout, singly, let alone together. Did I ever use them? Maybe once upon a time, before I became the mother of a colourful, energetic, boisterous, dirty little boy... Anyway, I plugged away because it's good to be challenged and this is what I made:


Journaling:You don't remember, I'll never forget that blessed day when we first met and I saw the face I always knew; the little smile, the little you. You don't remember, I'll never forget; one day in my life I will never regret; to feel such love I never knew, all bundled up right there in you. As I held you near my heart I understood at last, that part of me I'd never met; you don't remember, but I'll never forget. You don't remember, but I'll never forget that blessed day when we first met and when I heard your voice I realized the truth - everything in my life led me here to you. You don't remember, I'll never forget one day in my life I will never regret; a gift so precious given me, my angel love; truly a miracle from God above. Unknown


You will want to go and check out the site. It's a bumper reveal today. Sixteen design team projects. Sixteen! And a give-away.

Enjoy your day.
Kathie

Jamie's Special Sounds Book

Those of you who went to Shop and Crop's retreat a couple of years back might remember me creating this cute little board book while I was there.

It was published in issue 12(9) of Scrapbooking Memories a couple of months back. (Yes, that's how long it takes to get projects into print sometimes!)

I made this when Jamie first started his speech pathology sessions. The book concentrates on each of the consonant sounds that he had trouble with.



Which, at the time, was anything that was not a "g", really....




It's a wonderfully tactile little album. The product in it is all Scrapware chipboard, which I've painted using acrylic paints.




I just love it. So does Jamie :)

His speech is now vastly improved. We are so thankful for the wonderful attention we received. And Jamie is such a model student. We know we are lucky that he will be speaking pretty much normally by the time he goes to school in a term's time (Gulp! Where has that time gone?)

Back later with more of my work from Scrapbooking Memories!
Kathie

By the River

At Aussie Scrap Source we're all working from sketches from Becky Fleck's new sketch book. This is the sketch I had to work from this week :

(click on photo to get larger version)

Journaling: You love weekends when your dad's home and you get to spend time with him. On this particular day we had been to the zoo in the morning and afterwards we fetched a bag of bread and took it down to the river. It was a beautiful day and we sat on the banks of the river, admiring the peacefulness. Every now and then that peace was shattered by the Popeye chugging back and forth. You took great delight waving to all the passengers. It didn't take long for the ducks to realise we had food and come to investigate. But the highlight was the arrival of two black swans. You watched them with wonder... and some apprehension as they marched right up to you to demand food!

The layout records a peaceful afternoon lazing by the River Torrens in Adelaide, waving to the Popeye boat and feeding ducks and swans.

The page uses Pink Paislee 365 Degree papers and embellishments, with some Webster's Pages thrown in just to mix it up a bit.

Enjoy your Thursday! It's a beautiful 28 degree day here. Blue skies. Wonderful. Summer's on its way. Shame I'm stuck inside a multistorey building in the middle of the city, working. Pout.

Kathie

The countdown to Christmas

I can't believe that we're turning our thoughts to Christmas again! It seems like it was only yesterday we were scoffing on plum pudding and custard. And here we are, gearing up to do it all over again. Where has this year gone?

I see that Ali Edwards is gearing up to do her December Daily project. Who's doing it this year? I contemplated it. Briefly. But, you know? I'd already completed three Christmas layouts by the middle of October. I'm starting to feel a bit over it already. Lol. And I still have a stack more Christmas themed pages to make for various assignments. So no December Daily for me, I don't think.

What I do have, though, are some Christmas packs to give away. Due to a slight mix-up, Aussie Scrap Source sent me rather an oversupply of BasicGrey's Eskimo Kisses products a while back. And thanks to their generosity, that product is up for grabs here on my blog :).

I have three kits. Each contains five different patterned papers from the range, one lace doily, and a sheet of coordinating letter stickers.

Note: The images are examples only. Each pack contains different papers and may not necessarily contain the papers illustrated.

It's such a cute range. Let me know in the comments below if you'd like a pack.

And, while I'm in a give-away spirit, I also have around 20 pieces of 6x6 paper from a BasicGrey Jovial paper pad along with a variety of coordinating embellishments left over from another project. Does anyone want them to kick start their Christmas card making?

To be eligible, leave me a comment below, indicating whether you'd like an Eskimo Kisses or a Jovial pack. I'll leave this open until the end of the month. (Sorry, only open to Australian residents, due to postage charges.)

Have a great day!
Kathie

Homespun layouts

Last month I had an article in Scrapbook Creations on the carry over of the homespun trend into scrapbooking. These are the layouts that I made as examples of the various trends that seem to be occurring in our daily living, and which are translating across into the scrapbooking world.

I discussed the trend toward gardening and growing our own produce.



There are loads of scrapbooking products out with a gardening theme - including Cosmo's Garden Variety (used here) and Webster’s Pages Nature’s Storybook.

I covered the popularity of home cooking:

Journaling: Grandma made you a huge platter of cupcakes for your second birthday. Oh wow!

LOL, look at Jamie's little eyes just level with the cupcake stand. He was fascinated with those candles! I used Webster's Pages Sweet as Cherry Pie line for this page. But there are a number of scrapbooking lines out with cooking as the theme including BasicGrey's Nook and Pantry and Graphic 45s Domestic Goddess.

I explored the popularity of sewing, knitting, patchwork and crochet.

Journaling: Mum made all her clothes, even her wedding dress. She taught Sonia and me to sew too. Sonia still does. I got caught up with other things. I really should pick it up again.

In this layout I focused on my mother as a seamstress. The layout is based on a background of raw calico.

And I discussed our move towards buying locally, attending farmers' markets and having fresh produce.

Journaling: When we were kids we always had chooks in the back yard. They lived in a little ramshackle chicken coop that dad built for them. I remember that I hated having to go in there to collect the eggs. I also remember that the roosters were often fierce and chased us around the yard! But it was wonderful to have chooks.

I'm off to drop Jamie at kindy! See you.
Kathie

Snugglebug

I was looking through my photo archives when I found this cute li'l photo of Jamie and Phil. It was perfect for the Little Yellow Bicycle Snugglebug range I was assigned over at Aussie Scrap Source this week.

Journaling: You're 15 months old here and had just started walking. Daddy was busy renovating our old house - we would move in six months time. You persuaded him to take a break and walk around the back yard with you.


I hope you've had a good weekend.
Kathie

Get Picky Sketch

The first inspiration piece is up at Get Picky. This week you have a sketch to get you started with your creating.

This is my layout:
The other design team members have done a wonderful job with the sketch. And this month Taj White is the guest design member. Be sure to go here and check out what everyone else did.

Well, we had a brief taste of Spring here the last few days with temperatures heading into the mid-high twenties. But it's back to winter again today, with an expected maximum of fourteen, and loads of rain. I left Jamie crying at childcare because I wouldn't let him take his beloved Ominitrix with him (a Ben10 thing, for those of you who are not up on the latest Ben10!).

He told me in the car this morning that I had to change the radio station to "rock and roll". Rock and roll? Giggle. I don't think he's ever heard that term from me. I listen to an alternative dance radio station and you're much more likely to hear me talking about drum and bass or trance, than rock and roll. He's growing up so fast and learning from the world around him.

Anyway, now I'm at work and in need of a strong coffee ;). Better go and do something productive. Enjoy your day!
Kathie

End of the school holidays

Jamie's back at kindy this morning, Phil is back at work. And I'm sitting here in the quiet (aaah!) about to head up to the gym. Aaah, my weekly routine. It's back.

We had a great school holiday period, and did heaps:

Playing in the back yard

Afternoons at the park

Play dates

House renovations

Looking for house inspiration and decor ideas

A Ben10 Concert

Some running - no gym trips given that I didn't have a moment to myself - but I'm happy I actually did something

Even an afternoon at the beach

Now we have one more term of kindy before Jamie heads off to school. I am determined to savour it, and imprint on my memory what it was like to have a pre-schooler in the house. For those of you that remember I had a job offer the other week, after much agonising, I eventually turned it down as I wasn't sure it could be done comfortably in the time I was willing to work. This is the last term I have of my little boy being home with me, and I want to enjoy every second.

OK, I'm outa here.
Talk soon
Kathie