I've Moved

I've moved to typepad......You can now find me here:

http://www.kellystamps.com

Long Weekend

Well, the weekend has come & gone & now, we're well & truly on the way to Christmas.

Although Christmas is on its way I'm still not feeling the Summer vibe...overcast & chilly here...although its a bit milder outside than inside.

But I have been in the mood to create...although it hasn't been scrappy creating - I've decided to use for sewing machine for SEWING ...imagine that- my darling was kind enough to buy it for me to use for scrapping & I didn't think I would use it to make clothes - but here I am with 2 patterns - a skirt for Taigy & pants for Ravey & I have actually created one of each - I'm really quite proud of myself -

and am even tempted to make myself something - but don't want to get too carried away, cos I know what I'm like...will buy the pattern & fabric & then make another thing for the kids & the novelty will wear off before I get to me LOL!

Ravey cracks me up - he's got a thing for bread at the mo...Wayne was working on one of the cars & I was sewing Taigy's skirt, so Rave goes to the pantry & grabs the french stick & starts to have a munch...his portable picnic.

We went over to Mum & Dad's yesterday for a family dinner - nice to catch up with everyone & get some photos of the kids together.

I'm going through a weird feeling flat phase at the mo - I'm thinking its the meditation CDs I've been listening to ...messing with my brain...well, more like spring cleaning my brain, but its like all the crap is swept into a pile, that has to come out somewhere, somehow & its coming out in the form of a bad attitude - so I'm kind of trying to hibernate a bit so that as few as possible people are affected by it...but with my mind focused on its cleansing, there's little room left for creating at the mo - so I'm feeling kinda flat in the scrappy arena.....but this too shall pass - so I guess I'd better get on & get over it aye!!

Well, I might share some pics later, for now I feel like giving Rave a bit of a snuggle :o)

Congratulations!!

The 3 new members of the Scrapbook Studio DT have been named....so a huge congratulations goes out to:

Faye Gregory

Monique Darge

and last but certainly not least....

Louise Williams

Welcome aboard ladies. I'm really looking forward to working with you :o)

If you haven't heard there's a cyber crop on at Scrapbook Studio/SBD this Friday night...so if you're staying home for the long weekend, be sure to join us for some great challenges & delicious prizes ;o)

Soooo Much Fun!!

OMG these books are just tooo cool!!!

Now, if you know anything about me - you'll know I LOVE to have new stuff...but I must confess that I had been a little intimidated by these new see-thru acrylic books...I just thought they were a bit out of my league...my let me tell you - that are AWESOME FUN to play with!!

Lisa dropped a kit off on Friday night & by 1am I was 80% done...but bed was calling...the acrylic albums are just DIVINE!!!

I was fortunate to have quite a few 3x4 pics lying around (that were destined for LOs) of our weekend up North & so I just played with them

The kit has the most DELICIOUS DaisyDs rub-ons in it & those puppies go a looooooooong way

After I finished my album I still had rub-ons & bazzill left over, so I managed to whip up a couple of LOs too.

So these goodies are in the October kit over at Scrapbook Studio.

A Bit Slow on the UPtake

Well, the first of the month has been & gone & although I gave you some sneak peeks of my Embellished DT work, I forgot to post the pics so here you go.

Quite the delicious kit to work with...lots of patterns on the pp that can be played with hundreds of different ways..check out what Maz did with hers...just gorgeous!!

And because they're all double-sided pps the variety of LOs you can create with them is endless!!

With this one I've managed to start Nanny's album (my mum) hoping to fill it with pages of nga mokopuna (the grandkids)...just 10 more to go hahahahahahaha.

These papers are such a gorgeous weight & because I'm totally into tearing lately they are just PERFECT...just give a nice torn edge - love it!!

I'm so enjoying scrapping older pics too - Ravey was only a couple of months old when we went down to Napier to visit my bro & SIL - I thought I'd lost all these older pics in a corrupted drive on the laptop...but after almost a year of the laptop sitting dormant (due to a screeching fan noise LOL!) we got it repaired & hoked up the wireless network & I pulled all the photos I could off it to burn onto DVD (cos the DVD writer is ka-put on it)

My Phoenix LO is all about my Sissy - she's so fabulous, a never-say-die kinda gal.

She's the kid of girl who takes whatever life throws at her & looks for ways that it can make her a better person - she's freakin AWESOME!!! Love her so MUCH!!!

This pp was begging to be cut out - so I obliged, added a bit of stitching & grunged up the Bazzill...I also beached the background of the pic & sanded & inked it for a nicer look than 80's wallpaper & brown cupboard doors LOL!!

And finally we have little Reign with his Wise old Eyes & a grubby little face - he is just sooooo cute!!!

It's not too late to grab yourself a kit..the first mailout was done on the 11th - but the next one is due on the 20th.

Well I can smell delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen as my darling is cooking something delicious....so I'm gonna go scrap before I get summoned LOL ;o)

++ooohhhh just tried spell check for the first time...must remember to do that more often ;o)

Told Off

This crazy lady went nuts at me yesterday in Countdown...seriously man...I've never seen anything like it......

So, I'm at the bakery section & there's a lady getting bread rolls, so she's using the one set of tongs that was available there, so I grab a pair of tongs from the muffin cabinet next door, thinking nothing of it & go to get some bread rolls myself...anyway this elderly lady starts telling me off...she says "You've taken those tongs from the cake cabinet & you're using them for bread" & I say "yes, I am"...then she starts getting quite aggressive at me & starts going on about how I'm not allowed to take the tongs from there to get bread with them & that I should just wait for the lady with the bread tongs to finish & that I'm impatient & rude....well, I think this may be the first time I've really stood up for myself to a stranger & I say to her EXCUUUUUSE me lady, the tongs are there so that people DO NOT HANDLE THE FOOD, so its perfectly fine for me to use these tongs to get bread rolls"....well, like a bloody dog with a bone - she wouldn't let it go.....she huffs & puffs & says something about me taking the tongs that she was going to use to get a cake..so I pointed out to her that there were 2 other sets of tongs in the next cabinet over that weren't being used & that she could use them.

By this time she was just furious at me for taking "her" tongs..."Well you're just young & selfish and very RUDE" so I said back to her "NO, you just don't have the iniative to take two steps over & pick up a set of tongs that aren't being used, there is NO problem with me using these tongs to get bread rolls" Then she huffs & puffs & storms off!!

Anyway, the lady who was getting the bread rolls says to me "was that your Mum?" and I said "No way!", then she says "Oh, if I had've known that I would've ripped into her - but I thought she was your mum"

Turns out this lady (bread roll lady, not the psycho one) works in a retirement home with 300 old folk & a heck of alot of them are like this...OMG how sad is that?

So, in the post match analysis I was wondering what the universe was trying to teach me ...and although my heart was racing & I felt guilty for making an old lady angry - I think the point was that I should stand up for myself more - cos at the end of the day you've only got one life - so you might as well live out loud!!!

So, that was yesterday's drama LOL!

In other news, if you're looking to give your mojo a kick in the pants check out the Two for Tuesday weekly challenge.

This week's challenge is 2 pps + buttons.

And if you're keen to give your weekend a scrappy kick start be sure to join us in Friday Night Live.

Oh & I had a great week last week publishing-wise - I got 4 acceptances YAY & a confirmation of a project in For Keeps #61 !!!! So keep an eye out for me in the Aussie mags :o) You can say "that's my friend Kelly" to your DH cos that's what I do when I get the mags LOL ;o)

I'm going to try a little harder to get into Up2Scrap starting this week- just got to pull my socks up...no piccys to share at the mo cos I've been doing DT stuff - oh but I can share with you some pics from our weekend away...we went up to visit my bro & his partner somewhere past Dargaville...about 3 hours north of Auckland, the kids had a ball...they were free to roam, there were chickens to feed, the weather was beautiful....Ravey's so funny though - despite having a great time, when the sun went down he says to me "Lets go home Mummy"...Then 5 minutes later, with his hands clasped like a beggar "Home Mummy.Please please please mummy" too cute!!

*** Can't share pics cos pc is being unco-operative :o(

Oh & I haven't given you the back to school update...Taigy is right back in the swing of things, loves her school...Ravey on the other hand, doesn't like his mummy to leave him - but I promised Taigy that I'd do mother help this term cos Ravey is at pre-school 2 days a week from 9-3.

So on Monday I dropped Rave off & he cried - my precious little prince - sucks to leave him - but I guess he'll get used to it. I rang pre-school after I did my mother help stint (which I LOVED...sooooo staying for morning tea next week) & they said he was all good, settled down OK & was enjoying himself - so I relaxed & went about what was left of my free time.

Then when I went to pick him up in the afternoon he'd been upset on & off for the last hour, so I've decided to pick him up an hour earlier until he's better settled...poor little tacker is sooooooo glad to see me when I get there

Might share some pics tomorrow.

Ohhh & did you check out Mrs Frizz's post about the Maggi Herb Roast vegetable bake...I managed to remember to pop some in the trolley yesterday despite my drama ;o)

Can't wait to try it!!

OK I've gotta go - I want to scrap

YeeeHAAAAA!!

Its official!!

Lisa asked Heidi & I to be part of the permanent Design Team for Scrapbook Studio/Scrapbooking By Design & we were absolutely thrilled to accept the 12 month position, the announcement went out in yesterday's newsletter & we are soooooo excited!!!

There are 3 remaining places on the DT & the call is open til the 15th of October so email Lisa or Lianne to get the details.

We have an exciting 12 months ahead of us....here are a few sneak peeks of what's in the pipeline ;o)

Scrap Pink Pic

As promised the lovely Ann sent through the pics she took & here's one to share with you :o)

And I thought I'd share the tutorial for making your own journaling cards...that's just over here.

I think I actually managed to get everything done that was on my list today...we got some DVDs, went out to lunch, dropped in to Scrapbook Studio & I managed to get a little bit of scrapping done - might work on some more now :o)

There's a good chance I'll be blogging again tomorrow & I might just share some sneak peeks...but first I'm going to head out & get some groceries...I've promised to get some ice-cream to make the kids banana smoothies...need some more carrots & fruit for the juice machine & probably should add meat to the list...oh & I'll be getting a pack of betty crocker's vanilla cake mix to make these with my little princess.

Well I'd best get off the computer & woosh myself over to the scrap desk so I can get some scrapping done.

ScrapPink

What a delightful Day I had yesterday at ScrapPink with the Paper Pesto girls!

Sad to hear Steph wasn't feeling well & couldn't make it, but there was a great turn out & lots of lovely ladies keen to scrap for a cause!

Living Doll is the LO class I taught - its so great to see how others take the LO & change it up - there were some gorgeous improvements on my version LOL!

Now, you'll have to forgive me cos I forgot to take my camera - but Ann took some snaps & has promised to share.

Kate's lovely hubby Dave was on photography duty too so there's bound to be some happy snaps up on the Paper Pesto blog for you to check out.

Dave was also o set-up duty, coffee duty, baby-sitting duty - he was absolutely fantastic.

So a HUGE thank you to Dave!!

I left the event early becasue my little Princess came home yesterday - Oh man it was soooooooooooooooo good to see her.

She decided that she wanted to sleep in our bed last night & I couldn't resist..Wayno lasted about 20mins with her wriggling & went to sleep in her bed & Ravey joined us half way through the night & thought it would be good to sleep sideways with his feet on my head...so tonight its everyone back to their own beds!!!

Well we have a big day ahead of us today...I need to get some scrapping done, we're going to get some DVD's for the kiddies to watch while the rain comes down & we're planning to duck out for lunch with Daddy-Boo & duck into Scrapbook Studio for a visit too.

So far we've managed to paint our nails this morning, clear the inbox, blog & now it's time to have brekky :o)

The Weekend Has Arrived

Yay!! only 2 more sleeps til Taigy comes home!!!

I saw her yesterday & she got all upset & wanted to come home..OMG it was heart-breaking!!!

My poor little angel was bawling her eyes out & wasn't brave enough to say in front of her father that she wanted to come home with me - anyway he had to take a call, so we had a chat while he was away...then when he came back she says to me "Mum can you tell him why I'm crying" So I said "she's crying because she wants to come home" and his reply is "I know that"...gee lots of compassion there NOT!!!

But he promised her that she can come home early on Sunday - so here's hoping!!

I must admit I feel sooooooo crap making her stay when all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms & take her home...I know she's not that upset when I'm not around - so I actually don't ring her while she's away so she doesn't get upset... I thought it would get a bit easier as she got older... I thought she'd just accept that this is the way her life is - but she's not silly, she knows it sucks & is totally boring at his place - even though its boring here too, at least she has company.

Oh this wasn't meant to be a bleat post - so I'd better pull my head in LOL!

Tonight there's a new Friday Night Live challenge over at Embellished its all about simple pleasures.

This is my take on the challenge...I just love the kids jumping into our bed for morning snuggles...so, despite the fact that we need a new bed its still a haven of simple pleasures ;o)

The Embellished Kit for October will be up on the first of the month, so here's a sneak peek at some of my work.

On Sunday I'll be at Atomic Coffee Roasters in Kingsland for Paper Pesto's ScrapPink event...I'm sooo looking forward to catching up with the girls!!

I had planned to scrap tonight - but it's really quite cold in here - so I might just call it a night & see if I can find my darling for a snuggle ;o)

10 Days Later..she posts again ;o)

Man oh man times flies!!!

I have been kind of busy...sort of ;o)

I have been teaching begginers classes at Scrapbook Studio & ABSOLUTELY LOVING it...the ladies are just soooooo lovely & enthusiastic - I get such a buzz from it each week!!

Its so funny to think I get paid to do something that is just soooooooo enjoyable - I have a chuckle to myself every time I say I'm going to "work" cos its soooo not like working LOL!

Well I suppose its time for a bit of a share...Growing Up is a class I taught last week at Scrapbook Studio & 8 Days a Week is my sample for the final round of Embellished Idol - to scrap a LO without pics, using a quote or lyrics...after uuummmming & aaaahhhhing for a couple of days this actually came together really easily & quite quickly - using none of the ideas I was umming or aahhing about LOL.

I've been having fun creating samples for Friday Night Live at Embellished...if you need some inspiration for your weekends be sure to head over & check out the challenge posted each week - with great prizes ;o)

FUN was Julie's Frame it With Words challenge.

Sare's posts a funky new technique every Friday & her challenge was to use 2 techniques on a LO - I used the lady writer & rub-on wash techniques - love them both & can't wait to get stuck into some more ;o)

This week Kirsty posted her sketch challenge & this was my take on it - love these pics of Ravey chasing a bird at Cornawall park a couple of weeks ago.

You still have time to get the sketch done..til 7pm tonight...that's nearly a whole 12 hours ;o)

Next week Maz is in charge of the challenge, so come on over & get your mojo revved up for the weekend :o)

Well, school holidays have started & wouldn't you know it - the first day of the holidays Taigy scoots off down the road for a little play date & next thing you know she's ringing to ask if she can stay for a sleep over & can I please bring her stuff down!!!

Hopefully she's had a good sleep & is bright & chirpy cos she has a birthday party to go to later on today for a school friend - this is actually her first school friend party ever & I'm sooo excited!!! hehehehehe

Tomorrow she's off for a week & then home for the 2nd week of the holidays - so I'd better plan something...bit of a bummer that all her cuzzies have been shipped off while their mums go to work...but maybe there'll be a friend at the party that we can organise a play date with.

I'd like to go to the pools - but its a bit much having to keep an eye on both of them at the same time & them wantingto do different things - might see if Wayno can wrangle a day off work & come play with us ;o)

Well, that's about it for now I think. Ravey is summoning me so I'd better skeddadle ;o)

Maaate...it's been ages!!!!!

Its been like 10 days since I last posted...what's up with that???

So, what's been happening...well my mojo went awol - I was in the mood to read, so I grabbed a book & really enjoyed it, then grabbed another & another & another.....I really should know better - last time I read a book mojo went awol, and so it has happened again.

But, I finished my reading buzz yesterday with an epic novel of 1200+ pages....it took a week to get through.

The books read were completely different to what I usually read - they were all set in medievil/ancient times...usually I'm a action/conspiracy kinda girl.

But holey moley after reading these books I am soooooooo grateful that I live in these times...I've been thinking I sooooo wouldn't cope if I went sent back in time, the TV, PC & all the gadgets I could live without...but electricity & a sewage system OMG I can't bear to think about it!!!

And, can I just say I can't believe that it is so recent that women have been acknowledged as equal to men...I mean that's just in the last century - so a big shout out to all the ladies who have gone before me & made my path smooth.

So you can see why I've been distraced from scrapping...one thought leads to another & another...which leads me to the anniversary of Sept 11.

Reading through some blogs I see the profound effect that Sept 11 has had on people....I can vividly recall being told of the events & I was like "no WAY!!"

I was pregnant with Taigy & was temping at Telecom in the city....I was covering for a lady on maternity leave & she planned to come back to work pretty quickly, so didn't think it was necessary to train me in the "hard" stuff...so I pretty much read novels for 7 months (cos she ended up not wanting to come back after all) and I had recently read a novel about a plane crashing into the pentagon - so I just couldn't believe it was possbile for this to REALLY happen.

And now here we are 6 years on, still feeling the effects...

But onto happier thoughts....

In my absence I had the pleasure of meeting Hetty in real life...can you believe neither of us had a camera on hand!!! So Hetty's lovely sister took a pic with her phone :o)

And on the scrapping front I did these 2 samples for Embellished Idol.

Round 6 was a challenge to use hybrid scrapping - a combination of traditional & digital elements.

I got my public domain images from here & here & used the butterflies from JulieH.

This was actually alot of fun & really easy once I decided what I wanted to do....the hard part was setting aside all the brushes & things & actually going with one idea.

And challenge 7 of Idol (the current challenge) is to use scrapbook packaging on your LO. In this one I used the "wrapper" from my Fancy Pants 12x12 stamp set - when I got my stamps a few months ago I couldn't bear to throw out the wrapper & had planned to use it on a LO - so I absolutely loved this challenge - the other thing I used was the round dividers from the Heidi Swapp decorative tape - they're like acetate donuts LOL & I had these sitting around as well - no wonder my scrap space is a bit of a bomb site if I can bear to part with anything "just in case".

Man oh Man there is some AWESOME work in the gallery this is why I no longer need to buy mags LOL!

Alrighty I'm off to do a spot of scrapping, I'll share soon.

OH yeah, before I go...I've completed the LO for the Paper Pesto Scrap Pink class...it's a nice quick & easy one.

If you're coming along, bring a 5x7 pic *wink*

An Invitation

I noticed blogger has added a video upload facility & I just couldn't resist trying it out.

Hopefully it works :o)......aaahhhh no - it didn't

So if you know how to convert a VGA(?) video clip from a fuji camera to an avi, MPEG, or windows media file for free - please let me know ;o)

Anyhoo, As part of a worldwide scrapbooking for breast cancer weekend at the end of September, Paper Pesto has decided to join Kiwi Scraps’ initiative and host a day to support this worthy cause.

The event will be held on Sunday 30th September from 10am -4pm at Atomic Coffee Roasters Cafe in Kingsland.

Cost will be $20 for the day.

All proceeds will go to the NZ Breast Cancer Research fund.

Paper Pesto will be donating all materials for the classes.

I will be taking a layout class, and other members of the Paper pesto DT will be taking card making class and make ‘n takes.

There will also be some great prizes and competitions running throughout the day.

Paper Pesto will provide ‘real’ Atomic coffee and some refreshments, but you will need to bring or buy your own lunch.

It’s going to be a fun and fantastic day and a chance to raise some money for an important cause.

Places are limited as the space is not huge so please pre-register your interest by emailing contactus@paperpesto.co.nz . A schedule of events will be posted shortly on the Paper Pesto blog.

If I can get this video thing working I'll give you a personal invite ;o)

Feeling Green

not as in ill...just have been stuck on green backgrounds this week..well, you've seen Mal (below), but check these out...do you ever get stuck in a colour rut???? check these out!

Don't get me wrong - I love them...but what's up with all the green?? Oh, perhaps I'm out of blue bazzill...hmmm something to look into LOL!





Hmmm wondering if there is any post-worthy news......OH, get this - how scatter-brained am I? (rhetorical question) I completely missed the dealine for the SE challenge - scrap a LO with no pics...I had all these ideas buzzing around in my head..and then Wayno buys me some Kahlua which came in this GORGEOUS packaging - totally tropical with a beautiful butterfly fit for Urban Lily rub-ons...and I was going to use this on my LO - well that was the plan anyway, so I'm happily contemplating sketches in my mind, then Tuesday night off I go to work - somehow thinking i still had a few days up my sleeve...and Wednesday morning at about 9am it finally dawns on me what day it is & that I have totally missed the dealine.....what an egg!!!





Oh well, you live & learn.





On a brighter note my goodies arrived from the US - yeehaaa!!!





I got my SiStv kit - delicioso!! and I made this puppy with it using my old pics...this is Tai & Creedy when they were about 3

Oh, I went & got my missing pics printed today too & did as Hannah suggested & asked for my 2ups (2 on a 4x6) to be printed onto matte paper...and they did - well the girl kind of made out that it might not work & that the paper may have to be changed over - whatever!!

Let's not get me started on the level of service at Harvey Norman...fortunately I love their prints ;o)

In other news, we were meant to go out for brekky today - we did a deal with Taigy that she could skip her bath if she had a shower in the morning...well, lets just say that didn't happen - so we didn't go out for brekky - she was happy to have a bath though & apologized for her behaviour (she LOVES supernanny!), luckily I was in the shower when she had her performance so it had no ill effect on my day ;o)

We ended up having a pretty good day - I went to the $2 shop witht he kids to get me some tattoos to try out Sares tatoo technique - flippen AWESOME, while Wayno & Dad went looking at cars.

Taigy had some spending money, so she was happy to shop & ravey was pretty well behaved..actually he was really good...so good that I took them to whitcoulls ( a stationery/book shop where they have lego, colouring, mini playground & things for the kids to play with for free) I did manage to lose him for a minute while instructing Taigy on where to give the Thomas train back...but next thing you know, there he is strutting around the corner with a big grin on his face...man he's cute!! And I really should know better than to take my eyes off him - even for a second!!

OK now its getting late...but before I go I just want to let my Pay It Forward girls know that their goodies will be in the mail on Monday..sorry for the delay - but I wanted to add something handmade & it took me a while to clear my desk to find the stuff I needed LOL, so my kiwi girls will have it by the end of the week & my aussie girls should allow two weeks (hopefully it'll arrive sooner).

Alrighty then, I'm off to see if I can conjure another LO before I hit the sack.

Nighty night.

NZ Dares - 100% Scraps

Alrighty..I am doing another post today - can you believe it???

This LO of my cutie-pie nephew is made of 100% scraps...all the pps came out of my off-cut box...the title is from a pack of Heidi Swapp plastic alphas which was already opened & used..the sad little embelly is made from a scrap of felt, fibre, scrap of Q&Co felt & staples - so sad...and yet so appropriate LOL.

I found a CD of pics from dec 2003- oct 2005..so I toddled off to Harvey Normans to get a bunch printed today - VERY HAPPY with the bundle I came away with...but do you ever find when you're looking through your pics after having them printed that there are some missing...now I don't know if they went missing at the exporting from my pc stage or if I somehow completely skipped them while going through the whole printing process...but they ARE missing...OH but I found out something wonderful today...if you are on the printing options screen & you hit the bottom arrow you get more options - 1 of the being 2 pics on a 4x6 - although this only comes in gloss finish I'm happy.

I actually did try this option the other day - but ended up getting 2 of the same pic on each sheet, so I was thinking - OK that's actually good, cos it means that Taigy can have the extras -I'm limiting her to 6x6 LOs at this stage ;o), but when I was looking through my prints I saw that each 1/2 pic was different (if you know what I mean)...so if you need some 3x2's (like fro an Idol challenge or something) that's an easy way to get them :o)

Anyhoo, now I have pics of Taigy's 2nd & 3rd birthdays to scrap....but I just remembered one of the missing pics was from the 3rd birthday series...ahhhhh may need to make another trip...lucky its only 5mins away!!!

OK...I'm going to try to keep away from the PC tonight & scrap, scrap, scrap...I managed 3 LOs last night...so we'll see what I can do tonight with fresh inspiration in the form of old pics ;o)

Have a good one :o)

** Oh, forgot to mention that the bazzill was scrap too - I cut it to 8x8 for a CJ entry...but the colour just didn't happen LOL

Rockin' Blogs

Holey Moley!!! It's Thursday already...almost Friday...I had planned to post this later on Sunday - but you know how it is aye??!!!

So, anyhoo I've been tagged by the lovely Michelle & Julie & now that I have been bestowed with the honor I get to choose to tag some lovelies...so I would like to award the Rockin' Girl Blogger to the following ladies - I really enjoy reading their blogs:

Anthea

Nic

Lisa

Jody

Gigi

Adrienne

Time For a Big Share

If I can fit it in before I get summoned....Wayno is cooking brekky (bacon & eggs - YUM!!) & he's got this thing about me coming to eat it as soon as its ready....which is probably a good thing, cos if I let it cool a bit while I finish my post it may just end up being a cold lunch LOL!!!

OK just got the call - be back soon :o)

OMG - he sooo knows me...I go out there & its not even ready, so I ask what's going on & he says "every time I call you I know it'll take another 20 minutes" hahahahaha

So, looks like I have 20mins up my sleeve LOL!!!

OK, so I had a SUPER FANTASTIC DAY yesterday!!

I "worked" at Scrapbook Studio.....had an 11year old birthday party & the 10 girls (9 girls & a mum, cos 1 girl couldn't make it) made a super gorgeous canvas. They all loved their finished product & all had a great time....they were an absolute pleasure to teach - such a nice group of girls..sweet as pie with just a touch of tween attitude - perfect...that's how I imagine Taigy to be at that age ;o)

Anyhoo, if you're in, or coming to Auckland check out the classes at Scrapbook Studio, there's going to be some cool kids classes in the holidays, so keep an eye on the calander & if you haven't already go & sign up for the newsletter so you can keep up to date with the goings on.

Speaking of goings on, Lisa is now running crop nights fortnightly - next one is August 31st - always a great night, there's a door prize & a challenge prize - the challenge packs are fantastic & its so awesome to see what people do with them....me I'm a bit of a cut & stick kinda girl...but after eying some of the other ladies' work I was thinking "Oh man! I could have made a couple of 6 x 12's" - not that the other ladies did - but something triggered the thought in my head LOL!

Speaking of Lisa, I've been trying to get a LO done using fibre (without buying any) & last night tried (and failed with) a couple of ideas....I think the real problem is that my fibre just ain't the right colour...so I might just have to ask Lisa if she has some bright stuff in her stash that I can borrow (forever) LOL!

Oh and I have some more super duper news.....I made it onto the Embellished DT..so proud to be working with the likes of Julie Heard & Sarah Gladman (SC colour comp winner) and ScrapperMaz (Marnie) & MessyHappyFun-K (Kirsty) are the two other wonderful ladies that are joining the team Yeehaaa!!! (links are to their galleries)

I suppose I'd better share some pix..as entertaining as my life is (LOL!) I'm sure you'd like to give your eyes a break from all that reading!

Summer Hats is created from Lianne's sketch for the SBD August Sketch comp...awesome sketch & entries are due 31st Aug - so go & check it out there's a $20 voucher up for grabs which can be used online at SBD or instore at Scrapbook Studio.

The monthly challenge is to use fibres creatively, stitching & a scalloped edge on a layout & the prize is:

One set of Fancy Pants Clear Stamps - Simply Stated $39.99

One set of Autumn Leaves Foof-a-la Rub-ons - Journaling Panels $9.99

How awesome is that!!!

Next, we have my Embellished DT entries...my single, this was a self-scraplift - I only realised on Wednesday that I hadn't missed the cut-off so I had to whip something up real quick...so I lifted this idea from one of my CJ entries...I always planed to lift it, just didn't know when LOL!

Next is my double LO entry - very simple, but I had fun placing the pics & loving Heidi Swapp masks at the mo.

I wanted to add something more to it, but just couldn't see that it would enhance it....meanwhile someone may recognise their RAKs being put to good use...I was rakked the photo anchors & flowers on "She" & on "Museum" I was rakked the little plaques.

And you'll notice HS tape on all three...when I'm on a good thing I obviously stick to it LOL, so slowly, slowly the stash is getting used.

I feel like I haven't bought anything for AGES...but in fact I splurged on a GORGEOUS tool tote on Friday. Lisa showed them to me on Wednesday night after class & I was thinking I'd like a hot pink one, or orange even...but then she mentioned "camo" & I had a look at my baby & fell in love - but was trying to resist, but I went up to the shop on Friday asked Lisa if she was still there, well, she hadn't been put out in the shop yet - so I was in luck!!!

Then I decided to get the little lady bugs, which are infact hole piercers for stitching...they come in a pack of two - single stitch & double stitch (like your levis ) Oh, and I got some Hambly transparency & a stunning piece of Anna Griffin pp which I have an idea for, but no pic...so we'll see how long that sits in the stash for :o)

On to other news...I was lucky enough to get my hot little hands on a Paper Pesto kit this month - man they are selling like hotcakes!!! Well done to Steph, Fi & Kate!!!

No, I haven't created anything as yet....I need to get some more pics of my niece & cuz...I have one - so we'll see if I can have something done by the end of the week.

Oh, the reason I feel like I haven't bought anything is because I'm waiting on an ebay purchase - which is taking FOREVER!! And also my SIStv kit got lost in a techno glitch after I ordered it - but that's now on its way too - so once again I am going to be inundated with kits - So I had better get my groove on & get soem serious scrapping done.

I was saying to Lisa the other day that I haven't been doing many LOs of my little Taiga-nui...poor little princess I just don't have many pics of her...she's always at school, or maybe its just that she's choosing her own clothes now & has lost her two bottom teeth - could I really be that shallow????

I don't think so...I've been taking more pics of her & Rave together too - and I think there's the fact that we always go to the same park & she always plays on the monkey bars - I mean how many times do I want to scrap that???

No doubt, when we get to the swinging from her legs phase that topic will be revisited - but until then that puppy can rest.

Meanwhile she's away this weekend, so no pics again - she went to her cuzzy's birthday yesterday - but I wasn't there - so no pics.

Oh well, this may give me incentive to scrap her baby/toddler/preschool pics...if only they were printed, or I could find the disc.

I remember one day when she was about 3, we got out all her dolls, put up a backdrop & had a cool photo shoot of her & her babies...I'd love to scrap those (if I could find them) and another shoot, with the tripod of her & I when I was 8 months preg with rave...some cool picks I can recall which woudl be awesome to scrap - IF I COULD FIND THE DISC!!!

OK, it seriously lunchtime now....I did stop for brekky...but I want to go out & buy something (don't know what yet) so we'll catch up later & I'll do the rocking blogger thing - cos that's another thing I was hoping to post about today....but at some stage I'm going to have to get off my widening butt & leave the house LOL!!

Have a fantastic day :o)

PIF Draw

OK I have printed all the comments & Taigy is drawing 3 names as I type.....



And the names drawn are:




Nicole said...
Gosh chick where do you get the time, I'm flat out getting two pages a week, and here you are doing two crops in a weekend. Love what you did for DT call at Embellished. Nicxx
12:51 AM




Siany said...
Congrats!! Ive already done the Pay It Forward on my blog! I think its such a great idea!! xx
10:30 PM



Lynda said...
Kelly how many albums do you have now?You are a layout machine.LOL.
3:56 PM




Roo said...
I love the pay it forward idea. Always cool to give and receive.
8:02 AM



So girls I'll pop by & let you know so you can send me your addresses.

Pay It Forward

I had a lovely little surprise today.

I got an email from Jess telling me that I was the winner of her PIF lucky dip from her blog - YAY!!

So it's now time for me to Pay It Forward

***copied from Jess' blog****

So.. here's the idea...I will send a gift (something handmade or something bought) to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog!! The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making the same promise on your blog. So, if you like this idea and a bit of 'happy mail', please leave a comment on my blog!!!

*****

So if you're a visitor just say hi & I'll add you to the draw :o)

Where did the week go????

So here's some more CJ love...apparently the Whirlwind Romance entry was for the wedding CJ - you may have guessed that I don't actually keep a record of what I create ;o)

So, today's CJs are: Romance...I think that may be Debbie's ...I loved this one & decided to try a red/green combo...I quite like how it turned out....wish I had done one for me too LOL!!

And the KMD was for LouLou's when I was a girl CJ...so much fun!!

Now I'm thinking I'm going to have to recreate some of these LO's for me...I really love them.

Oh, taking a closer look at the romance one I'm having a memory flash....I was wondering what the grey stuff is behind the photo...But I recall Ravey getting creative with this one morning (I left it overnight for the kindyglitz to dry) & he tried to ehnace the B&W photo that was originally on the LO, so I had to add the coloured one over top :o)

I don't have any more pics - how slack is that!!!

So, I'm hoping the girls take some good pics to share - cos I'm dying to see the Dessert Recipe one I did...I loved that one...xmas 2006 turned out better than I expected. I can't remember what I did for "this Word"...oh actually I do have "when I grow up" around here somewhere...I'll share that next time.

Going to go work on my SBD sketch now

CJ Share

OK, the CJs are on their last round, ready to be sent home...some have already made it...so I'm going to share some of my pages...now the CJ round started in February, & I forgot to take pics of some of my entries...but I'll share what I have :o)

All up there were 14 participants in the round & we had a two week turn-around & used couriers to cut down on our postage time...the girls who set it up had it running like clock-work (I was the cuckoo hehehehe)

The first CJ theme was friends, and I did a LO about Heidi & I...can you believe that we have lived in the same street for 3 years????...but it was only through the SE forum that we actaully got to meet each other...what a crack-up..the sad thing is I still don't know any of the other neighbours :o{

The second CJ was a Wedding Day theme...I totally LOVED this one




This was a 6x6 double about our whirlwind romance...yes I know you've all heard the story before but I love the fact that I got it right this time - even after knowing him for only a week before agreeing to marry him...anyone who tells you it takes a year to arrange a wedding ain't serious about tying the knot!!

I had my dress made from scratch, my bridesmaid & flower girls dresses too, arranged a photographer & venue, did the invites myself (yeah, that was stressful), made a wedding CD with songs to be played at the ceremony & during the reception, got a celebrant & wrote my vows all within 6 weeks....anything that wasn't done didn't need to be done...and to top it off I met my step daughter on the day...now any wedding day prep will give you some stress...but no point in draggin' it out over months I say ;o)

Well, I'd better change Ravey's sticky butt...will share some more CJs tomorrow :o)

Cyber Weekend

Friday night kicked off my weekend of Cyber Cropping.

Over at Embellished there were 3 delicious challenges.

Ang set challenge 1, which was to scrap 8.5x11 with "star" in the title & embellies...now I have only ever done 1 other LO this size & I gotta say it sucks LOL....not enough to toss or anything - it's probably just my least fave LO...but I think that's beacuse I had this notion in my head that I "had" to scrap it portrait style so that it sat right in the album (an imaginary one that I don't have LOL)...but that was quite a while ago & the limitations I put on myself seem to be falling by the wayside (ever so slowly)...so I got cracking with "singstar" (the LO, not the game ;o)) & I LOVE it!

Heidi printed off the transparencies for me a while ago & they have been sitting in my stash waiting for the right moment...and now it has arrived :o)

Challenge 2 was to change the use of a coaster....I had some double-ups of pics from Harvey Norms & I had these magnet coasters sitting around for a while..now I haven't done much to them in the way of embellishing cos I didn't want to take away from the pics, so I have turned them into hanging pics instead - too cute...I showed them to Rave & said "who's this ravey" and he says "cheeky Taigy"

And for challenge 3 JulieH gave us an awesome sketch to work with and I came up with this LO of my cutie-pies wating for the train at Glenbrooke station.

a big thanks to TRACE from SE - she sent me the Rhonna Farrer rub-ons for my b'day & I have finally cracked them open :o)

While I was waiting for the crop to start I finished off my CJ entry for Karen's CJ...When I Grow Up. I might have a big share later of in the week of the entries I did (that I remembered to take pics of) oh & get this...I'm SUCH a DORK!!! It wasn't until about 2/3rds of the way through the round that it "clicked" that the pages are totally small enough to scan, so I didn't need to be waiting for decent light, fighting with flashes or anything dramatic...I tell ya the lights are on, but nobody's home sometimes!!!

Oh, I must say this round of CJs has been super-well organised, everyone has been on time- or pretty close in my case ;o). So a super huge thanks to tanyaleigh for the organisation & to Karen for hooking us up with the spreasheet/schedule - that was a life safer!

I'm really looking forward to getting mine back..no rush Michelle ;o)

Oh & while I'm on the topic of challenges...Lisa has some awesome prizes to give away this month at SBD....the monthly challenge gives you the opportunity to win some Fancy Pants stamps AND a set of Foof-a-la journalling panel rub-ons...YUM!!

And Lianne has whipped up a gorgeous sketch for the August sketch challenge...prize: $20 voucher which can be used in store (Scrapbook Studio 62 Lunn Ave Mt Wellington) or online at SBD .

You gotta be in it to win it ;o)

I'll be back later with a post about the SBO cyber crop :o)

Cyber Weekend pt 2

Now, my 2nd cyber crop for the weekend was Saturday night at SBO, it was great to catch up with the girls & meet some new ones :o)

First challenge up was Lara's...she always likes to dish out a doozy ;o) The challenge was to create 2 cards: 1 birthday & 1 wedding one, using the same pp.

Not sure what I was thinking here...but I REALLY liked the pp..it was a big off cut & I thought it could do the trick...well for the birthday card part at least LOL ...now, someone asked what pp it was & I didn't know because the name had already been chopped - I said it's bound to come to me in the middle of the night - and sure enough, just before I was about to fall asleep "Fancy Pants, Key Lime Pie" pops into my head...so I'm thinking its from that collection ;o)

Anway it turns out that my niece is turning 6 in a couple of weeks, so I decided to make the birthday card for her...although the thought never even entered my head when I started the challenge - don't you love how some things just work themselves out!!!

Rach had a FABULOUS challenge of scrapping a diffferent size & suggested giving a 6x12 a go...so I did that & I've gotta say I LOVE it - it was soooooo easy & such a great way to use up off cuts - I can see my box of scraps rapidly diminishing over the next couple of months!!

Donna's challenge was just perfect...the theme was Names...your name, nick names - whatever name turns you on ..I loved it because its one of those topics that I always intend to scrap - but never actually do..and so for this challenge I did Taiga's name...well I managed to cover one aspect of it - what the name conveys to me ;o) (click for bigger pics)

And finally there was Vicky's challenge, which was to use just cardstock, rub-ons, alpha stickers & pens...I saw a waaaaaaay cool LO the other day which used American Crafts stickers as a photo matt & was going to do something similar..but as luck would have it I couldn't find the stickers (so we'll save that for another day)...but I had printed off these 1/2 size pics of Rave when we went to trial playgroup & to be honest they're making my piccy piles a little bit messy, so I wanted to get them scrapped...I was thinking of doing a double...but then once I put them all down they seemed to fit OK...actually they worked perectly the first 2 times I put them on the page - but when it came to sticking them down, they went a bit haywire & I ended up with the gap where I have the stars LOL....I'm actually realy happy with how this turned out becasue as much as I love to buy rub-ons, I'm not all that good at placing them, so this was a good practice...I think I'll do some more LO's with these elements.

Oh, i just had a thought then...but I lost it..so I'll change the subject LOL

The first round of the Ultimate Scrapper had us creating our own embellishments & I really enjoyed this...I would say I had fun - but that'd be stretching the truth...it was frustrating & fiddly - but I love the end result & I could be tempted to do it again & then I'd have no more of those thing-a-mee-jigs that have been sitting in my stash wondering if they're ever gonna get used :o)

The LO's are under wraps until Tuesday night I think...this is actually a pretty interesting comp becasue its Meg & the DT who get to judge - not the voting public - I kinda like that, just because its different.

And over at Embellished Idol the gallery is rapidly filling with AMAZING works based on Ali's sketch... like this little number from Binxy, this one from Michelle W, Maggie's entry is just precious & Hetty's is just sooooo pretty - I love pretty things...don't you??

My LO is of my Bro & SIL...they were over the other day & I managed to grab some snaps before they left...don't you just LOVE willing subjects.

Well I think that about wraps up this post...I'm going to get to work on my SBD entries soon & then I might work on some class layouts for the shop.

Time to pick Taigy up soon - so I'd better get little Prince ready :o)