New and Fresh

Last night we held the May CC themed, "New and Fresh" at Scrap-pile and I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for all the challenges.

My challenge was to:

Create a layout about something new or fresh in your life using two colours you wouldn't normally use together and incorporate one or more of the following techniques (that you haven't tried before).
Doodling, Paper piercing, Painting, Sanding, Stamping, Sewing/stitching (hand or machine), Hidden journalling/photos, Altering embellishments, Paper folding, Bubble-wrap painting, Paper rolling (Quilling).

You can view the entire thread here.

Here's my example...


and with the tab pulled out...


I also published a little tutorial on how to make your own pockets for hidden journalling or photos just like the one above.

Some new work

I've been trying to get a few of the challenges done this month at Scrap Pile and here's some of the outcomes...

This is for Deb's Purple colour challenge and I have also used the PP from this month's Design Team Kit.

This birthday tag is for Jewls' weekend tag challenge


This is the outcome of Melanie's partner challenge. I had so much fun with this one, as I rarely scrap myself. Thanks for the challenge Melanie!


Here's a simple little card I made for a friend of Erin's. I am really loving those little cupcake stamps! I also added a little flap (which opens under the photo flip).


I also created this door hanger for Erin's room from the Design Team kit this month.

Our little baby is growing up!

We've been trying to toilet train Aiden for a number of weeks now, having some good days and some bad... Today, we finally had a breakthrough... he did his first #2 on the toilet! YAY! We were so excited. The first thing he said after he'd done it, was... "Now I can have the big chocolate Easter Egg" (which we'd promised him). On top of that he's worn undies to bed for the last 2 nights in a row, so we're very proud of our little man.

We went to the Carebears concert today at Garden City. This is Aiden's favourite smiling face at the moment...


Erin loved it too, bopping around. I had trouble keeping her in one place (as usual!)... so I was running around chasing her most of the time.


They both had a great time though and are sleeping well this arvo!

A lovely day was had by all...

My Mother-in-law & I decided that since the boys were away, we'd shout ourselves to a lovely breakfast at Sizzler with the kids... so off we went at 8am this morning. What we didn't realise, was that every man and their dog had the same idea! We waited in the line patiently for around 3/4 hour, and the kids were surprisingly very well behaved, considering they hadn't eaten anything since waking up about 2 hrs earlier. We had a great time and the kids had a ball, eating ice cream, smarties and jelly beans for breakfast! I think we'll be back for a lunch soon (and hopefully without the line-ups).

Al left for Gympie karting early this morning, and will hopefully be home before the kids go to bed. They really miss him when he's away. We celebrated Mothers' Day yesterday, with a lovely cooked breakfast and take-away Thai for dinner.

Happy 21st Birthday Dana!!

I can hardly believe my little sis is 21! Well, not officially until the 9th, but the big celebration was held on the weekend at our parents' place in Kingaroy! It was 80s theme, and almost everyone was dressed up, which made it heaps of fun!

I made a signature book and matching card for her using mostly Kaiser PP and lots of bling. I love this range.



Here are some pics of us all dressed up...



Al was Maverick from Top Gun & Aiden was Alvin from the Chipmunks...


Dad, Dana & Mum - during the speeches. The cassette tape cake was a hit and matched the fluro invitations!


Dana & her friends - watch that tail Courtney!


Dana & I - thought we'd prove that we didn't look alike at all. Everyone kept coming up to me all night to wish ME a happy 21st!! I was thrilled that I could pass for 21 though! LOL!!


Erin just loved her fluro pink mesh gloves!


Dana hamming it up for the camera with Mum & Dad


Aiden all dressed up as Alvin from the Chipmunks! I still remember Mum had their original record! I used to love listening to it on the old record player!


Firebug Aiden... he just loved sitting around the fire and toasting marshmellows with Daddy & Grandpa!


Alan & Dana... love Al's tracksuit and the rip-off velcro shoes!! Good job Al!


You might remember some of these famous characters from the 80s... my favourite were Alf & Gumby!


Overall, we had a fantastic night and Dana did too, judging by her hangover the next day!

We also managed to fit in a trip to the big Kingaroy show on the Sunday, complete with the traditional Dagwood Dog lunch, while watching the ring events...


and Aiden had his first go on the clowns... and surprise, surprise, he won a little prize. He was so excited...


After such a big weekend, we were happy to curl up on the couch and have a relax!

Our little Dolphin

Today Aiden had his first swimming lesson in the big pool by himself. He is now officially a Dolphin! He wasn't real impressed at first, screaming for the first 10mins or so, but he soon calmed down and really enjoyed his lesson with the 2 other little kids and was chatting away to them by the end. His confidence comes with time... you can really tell he loves the water though and is so good at kicking and paddling now. We're taking him twice a week for a while to use up some of our make-up lessons, so hopefully he'll have the hang of it in no time!

Here's our little Dolphin in action...


and his darling little sister wishing she could join in the fun!


On the work front, I've been as busy as ever, which is really fantastic, however I'm really craving a break before I have a breakdown! haha!! Oh, and I'd love to get some time to scrap. I have a beautiful pile of goodies here from Scrap Pile to start working on for the Design Team, which I'm dying to get stuck into! Patience...

My lil' sis is turning 21 on 9 May & is having a big 80's themed party this weekend. I have to finish making Aiden's Alvin (the chipmunk) costume (still searching for a plain red cap - so if you know where I can get one, please let me know!!) and I've finally found something I'm happy with for myself! Al still has to try on his skintight jeans to make sure they fit and Erin, well most of her clothes are 80s style anyway (cute), so I'll try and dig something out! I'm really looking forward to heading home and catching up with everyone too! And looking forward to taking some time out from work for a couple of days too!

Pity I'll be missing out on all the action over at Scrap Pile on Saturday. They're celebrating National Scrapbooking Day with a day/night crop!

You wouldn't believe what I did?

I was making my Mothers' Day card for Jewls CC challenge. Now it takes me ages to make just one card, as I am usually quite pedantic about the placement etc. Anyway, I damn well stuck it down the wrong way, so the card opens from the wrong side. I could kick myself, I was soooo mad at myself! I'm sure I will be checking next time... I think I am a little overworked - can you tell? LOL!

Anyway, here it is....


at least you can't tell from the front!

Sketch Challenge

Although I've been flat out with work lately, I did manage to squeeze a little scrapping in for the Scrap Pile Mothers' Day themed CC on Friday night. I designed a sketch and my challenge was to use the sketch as a base and scrap about a favourite Mother memory.

Here's the sketch...



and here's my example...



I'm looking forward to scrapping some of the other challenges, as they looks like loads of fun. Deb's challenged us to make flowers from scraps, Jewls put a gorgeous flower card challenge forward and Melanie challenged us to make a heritage layout with pearls. A great opportunity to create some beauty for Mum on Mothers' Day!

New look

I've spent all afternoon creating a new banner and customising my blog, when I should have been working! Well, I feel better for it now I have a new little look. Now to get to my work and some more scrapping.. Chow!

Four Generations

This photo has taken a long time to come about, and I really wanted to do it justice by making a special layout with it. When I opened my DT kits this month from Scrap Pile, I saw the perfect opportunity! I especially loved the chipboard frame in this kit, which I covered with the gorgeous Carolee's Creations Timeless stripe paper!



The four generations are of our kids, Allan, Al's dad Geoff and his Pop, Dick Mayes. The photo was taken at Erin's 1st birthday party.