ames designs

I have been creating:

Kreative Team Layouts like this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

and this:


Christmas card challenge cards like this:

and this:


And a few layouts "just for fun", like this:

and this:

and this:



I have been creating the above in between everything else, including putting in my official paperwork to do my Masters by Research next year... eeekkk!!!

And now it's off to an all day crop. Oh happy day!!

Long time, no post... again. I've been busy these past 6 or so weeks working on something big (and non-scrapping related) that I'm not quite ready to share with the world...

I took some time out though to do a layout for the My Mind's Eye challenge. This was a great catalyst for me as lately Mike and I have been having a lot of deep discussions about the injustices of the world, and our role in making a difference. So this challenge was a great kick-start to get some of those thoughts out on paper.


From the Stash: MME patterned papers and diecuts (Penny Lane and Breaking free collections); AC thickers and pen; 2crafty chipboard; MM paint.

And now to get cracking on my DT stuff for this month... I've only managed to get 2 layouts done, and the first is fast approaching!

July has been a very productive month for me, scrapping wise. I'm not entirely sure why, but I've just been in the zone. I had my DT stuff for August done in the first 2 weeks... a record for me. Usually I get most of it done, but there's always one or two layouts which are done at the last minute. So with this productiveness means I have done a number of layouts that are non-DT.
Firstly, I was very excited to be a winner of a Collage Press "Sweet Shoppe" collection pack after commenting on their blog. Even though it's a lot of pink, I just love this collection. And I have added most of the "Knave of Hearts" collection to my stash. Collage Press have definitely made their way onto my fav manufacturers list.

July has seemed to be the month of circles for me, perhaps inspired by those diecut circles, but it seems every second layout I've done has circles.

In other happenings, Mike and I spent most of Sunday afternoon rearranging the spare room, where my scrapbook corner is. Mike has recently taken up electronics (or re-taken up as the case may be) and had been doing it on the dining room table. We decided he needed a desk of his own. We've rearranged it so he has a desk next to my scrapping desk, so we can sit side by side and "hobby" together. Awww...

Before joining TSK, I'd never played around with scrapping kits before – I thought they were too restrictive, and that I'd much rather buy things that I'd actually use. Joining the design team changed that. As I used these page kits, I began to realise that rather than being restrictive, using a kit actually forced me to “think outside of the box” and use things (colours, embellies, product lines) that I normally wouldn't have selected myself... great example of this: flowers and the colour pink... especially the colour pink. I had never scrapped with pink before, and I rarely used flowers.

I had to smile when I was putting together my July KT page kit and found myself choosing some pink AND flowers... how times change.

Here is my layout using my kit.
I tried something a little different, and printed part of the photo on swiss dot for a different look. It doesn't line up with the rest of the photo as well as I was hoping, but it was fun to try.

Products: Bazzill swiss dot cardstock; Pink paislee diecut paper and patterned paper; Elle's studio tags; Kaiser pearl strip; A2Z chipboard; grosgrain ribbon; brads; green tara flowers


A few weeks back, mum gave me a box of Grandma and Grandpa's old photos. I loved going through them. I have many more ideas for layouts I want to do, but here are a few that I did for July...
The first two are both created from a page kit available soon at The Srappin Kats. The kit was perfectly suited to older photos.

The third is using leftovers from my page kit, with the addition of the background bazzill cardstock and using my new favourite punch: Effervescence.

Remember to go and check out the rest of the Kreative Team's July offerings at The Scrappin Kats

Wow... it's been awhile since posting. A lot has happened in those 6 weeks or so, the majors being:

• A colonoscopy/endoscopy procedure, the results of which I still haven't got because...
• We had to rush to the US after receiving the news that Mike's brother, Pete was tragically killed
• Spent two weeks in the US with family
  
• Came down with the flu on the way home and spent 4 days in house quarantine waiting to be cleared for swine flu... which we were yesterday (thank God)
  
• Our budgie, Piper, passed away suddenly yesterday morning.
  

Needless to say, we are looking forward to life returning to "normal". Despite the awful circumstances, it was great to see Mike's family and friends, and meet some I hadn't yet met.

Grief is still raw for everyone. I know I'll be exploring it further in some layouts in the near future. I have realised that I have very few layouts of Mike's family, and I need to change that, as I want to be telling both our stories.

I didn't get to complete all my design team duties this month, but had finished a few finished before we went away, and got a few more projects finished in the early hours of Monday morning (yaay for waking up at 3 to 4am the last 4 days!). Go check out everyone's fantastic work in the gallery.

In other scrapping news, I did a little cleaning/rearranging of my scrap area yesterday, particularly my stamp collection. As I sorted through all my clear stamps, I realized there were one or two (okay, 4) sets that I hadn't even opened, let alone used. So I'm challenging myself to 1) stamp something (no matter how big or small) on every creation I make for the month of June, and 2) use those stamps I haven't yet used!

It was 12.30pm yesterday afternoon, and I was at our monthly scrapbooking morning. I had already completed one layout (my last KT layout for next month... which in itself is amazing. I've never been finished this early), and had some fun using mum's Sizzix and cutting out a few bits and pieces. That's a productive morning for me. I usually barely get one layout done. Anyway, I challenged myself, with the gals as my witness, to finish a layout in the remaining 30 mins... and I did it with 5-10 mins to spare. Yaay!

From the stash: Bazzill cardstock, Kaiser craft scrap; My little shoebox letters; zig pen; EK success ticket punch.

Ok, admittedly it is only a 6x6, and the photo grid was already done for me (I just printed out the grid I posted below... great idea, Mel). But still, it's a record for me. Usually I take at least 1.5 hours to finish a layout, and that's a quick one.

This week, I also completed my "All About Me" challenge. This was a great excuse to use up some of those scraps I've been hoarding... I have a hard time throwing any reasonable size scrap away.
From the stash: Making memories, Kaiser, Sassafras, American Crafts, SEI, Basic Grey & Fancy pants patterned paper scraps; Bazzill cardstock (Kraft and white); KI Memories alphas; Carolees creations mini alphas; zig pen; assorted buttons.

Oh yeah... and the title is from Fat Boy Slim's Rockafella Skank song. I can not hear the phrase "Right about now" without feeling the need to follow it up with "funk soul brother".

Finally getting around to sorting some photos for printing that have been back logging.

Here's a grid I just whipped up of my conference trip a few weeks back. I took a few self portraits there, just for fun. The dolphin cruise was amazing, but hard to get photos with a little point and shoot. This was a mother and calf who swam beside the boat for a good 15mins or so. Oh and btw, that pizza was one of the best pizzas ever had. Seafood marinara, with beautiful fresh seafood. Mmmmmm.

May you and yours have a blessed and safe Easter break.

I had the day off today... yaay! It's amazing how good it feels to wake up and know the rest of the world is off to work, and I have the whole day ahead of me to do what I want.

And what did I want? A new do. It had been waaayyyy to long since I had a trim, and I wanted a change and decided today would be the day. My DH obligingly took some before and after pics - he's learnt what it means to be married to a scrapper.

So here are the before pics:

Yeah... I really needed a tidy up. Way too many split ends.



But before I show you the after shots (oh the suspense!), here's a layout I did on the weekend:



Recording this conversation was the perfect way to use those radish stickers.
From the stash: Kraft cardstock; SEI papers; AC thickers; BG offbeat chipstickers; ribbon; zig pen; Fiskars circle punches.



Ok... so here are the after shots:


Just a bit of a change... :-). I am loving it, but adjusting to it. For one, it's way lighter; I haven't had hair this short since highschool and I haven't had a fringe of any kind for years before that. And I may just have found a hairdresser I like and will stick with (after 3 years in the Ville, I still haven't found a regular hairdresser).

...with new products. I should be working on April DT stuff, especially considering I'm away for the last week of March, but I just couldn't resist playing with new BG Marrakech and new MME Penny Lane that recently arrived at The Scrappin Kats.


From the stash: MME Beauty collection pack; Carolee's Creations mini alphas.




From the Stash: Coredinations CS; BG patterened paper and chipstickers; AC thickers; KI Memories alpha stickers and Carolees Creations mini alphas; scrap of fabric.

I discovered Qtea kits back in January after following some links around the web, and was smitten... they are filled with "non-traditional" scrappin supplies that are just so arty and awesome.

My first Qtea layout... using the Feb QTea kit "Hearty Gelati", with the addition of bazzill cardstock, lil davis chipboard letters, carolee creations tiny alphas, and a gel pen.

...bring on the first!

Don't you hate it when you get up half an hour earlier to take photos of your March layouts in decent light, so you can post sneak peaks, only to have your camera batteries die on the very first layout...

I really need to get into the habit of charging a spare pair of batteries. Totally one of my bad habits.

Sneak peaks will come... but not today. They are still a sneak if they are posted the day before upload, right?

Mmmmm... love me a piece of lime tart. We had our first ever cypercrop last weekend over at The Scrappin Kats. Lots of fun with chat on Friday night, and Tracy set three fantastic challenges - the results posted in the gallery are amazing. Check them out here. This is my take on the sketch challenge.
From the Stash: Bazzill swiss dot cardstock (love this!); Bella patterned paper; RW chipboard circle (painted with MM paint); BG chipboard heart (painted with MM paint and covered in Pink Paislee glitter); MME transparency border; AC thickers; note paper; flowers; assorted buttons; white flourishes cut using mum's sizzix.

This is a simple and fun layout I did last week. I was re-organising my layouts, and couldn't help but take a photo of the stack. And you know, I've since been thinking that probably about 50-60% of these layouts have been done in the last 5-6 months since joining The Scrappin Kats.

And of course, today being the first, The Scrappin Kats gallery is all abuzz with the latest uploads from the Kreative Team. Check it out.

I promised a sneak peek of my kit... and here it is...


The kit is all about journalling, and will include journalling prompts, hints, tips and ideas to help you record your special memories.

Looking forward to sharing the full reveal with you on the 1st!

...for sneak peeks of my February Kreative Kit.

I was really quite nervous putting my kit together; that I'd get it and not be able to create anything with it. But having been busy with it for the last 3 weeks (hence quietness on here), I'm really pleased with how it's all coming together. I just hope others will enjoy creating with it.

This photo was taken about an hour ago. It's mid January, in Tropical North Queensland, and I'm in winter pj bottoms, and socks (and a tshirt)... what the!! It's been raining all day, and instead of the usual make-you-even-muggier rain, it's a quite chilly rain. Perfect for a hot chocolate, reading the latest Creating Keepsakes magazine, and maybe a little scrapping later.

I had every intention of posting timely seasons greetings, but time got away from me. I trust everyone had a lovely Christmas, and have a happy and healthy new year ahead. We had a lovely Christmas in Brisbane with the family.

January 1st heralded not only a new year, but a new month of TSK inspiration. Check out the gallery.



And I'm sorry for tooting my own horn, so to speak, but this had me practically jumping up and down on Friday morning:



In the last few months, I have uploaded a handful of layouts to two peas. For those who don't know, two peas is about the biggest scrapbooking site/community online. When I first got into scrapbooking (and still), I would spend hours on two peas, being inspired. To see one of my layouts in the top ten (be it ever so briefly, it was gone by Friday arvo) was a thrill.

This is what our couch has looked like (or, admittedly, even worse) for most of the week (yes, I have a very patient husband). I've been busily working on Christmas and DT projects and by setting up at the couch, I am: 1) able to watch tv while scrapping and more importantly 2) directly under a fan, which is a necessity for these Townsville summer evenings. One draw back of my scrapping desk is that it is in a corner of the spare room, and doesn't get much of the ceiling fan.

I have been playing with Tracy's gorgeous December DT kit. I never got the "big deal" about Basic Grey until recently when I started really playing with their products, and I have to admit, I'm becoming more and more a fan. And this kit just seals it. Such great value, and Tracy's projects are so inspirational.

Here is a layout I created with the kit:



I have also made a few cards, but haven't yet managed to get a photo of them...