Oh ive been such a slack blogger and thanx to Marie from EMM, Im here to fix that..

So where do i start. I went on my first retreat, with the girls from EMM, to Lake Ainsworth, NSW. Wow, i had such a great time, completed quite a few layouts, had very little sleep, met so many lovely ladies, ate so much, laughed lots and came home very happy and ready for the next one!!!!!

I was so nervous as i didnt really know any one exceot for online chatting and meeting one or two at night crops. But by the end of the three days i felt like i had known these girls longer, and I say that in a good way.
Scrapping??
Well i completed nearly all my pregnancy journal. One page left to go. So here are a few pages.To see all the pages go and check out my pregnancy journal, over on the side bar.....

And a few other layouts for various challenges..

Before i go ill leave you with some gorgeous photos from Lake Ainsworth.I took most of these but the gorgeous sunrise was from Sara, at EMM. tHANX Sara.

Chow for now!!!!

OMG blogger has just been the biggest pain. I had no buttons in my edit section in which to post...how annoying, its been days since they have gone..I thought it was my putter as the help section said to update my explorer..Hmmmm so i did and lost heaps of stuff, cause i cleaned out the whole computer..and then still couldnt get in to blog!!!!!!. So craig brought me a laptop just so i could blog..lol.well and as an early birthday pressie.....how desperate was i...lmao...but when it wouldnt come up on that i knew it wasnt me..it was BLOGGER!!!!!.

Oh and some exciting news..Im going on my first scrapbooking retreat this weekend...woohooooo.In 20 years i have not been away from my children. Not once have i not had a child with me... Oh my my time without kids.....Actually my first holiday since i fell pregnant with Michael and he is 20 this year...So i hope they all cope without me, but i will be too busy scrapping and having girl fun too care...lol..well ill ring maybe once..If they dont ring me first...lol..

But im back and really do not have a lot to share for all the time i couldnt get on...lol..

So i will leave you with some layouts to share from CCs..Cheers

NEWS FLASH!!!!\

Well i just came across this gorgeous layout using colour blocking..So just wanted to share....

I will definaletly be scraplifting some ideas from this...Page by April Peterson

CHOOKSCRAPS....

Well we are down to our final two on chook island survivor...Its just flown along and we had such a wonderful response..So congrats to the two finalists..

This last challenge includes two layouts..One is using a predetemined photo sent to both partivcipants and the other is a non photo layout challenge....

Here is my example, it is for my pregnancy album which i have nearly finished..lol

WHAT IVE BEEN UP TO(in the scrapbooking world)
Over at the Scrapbook chalet im still in the survivor competition..Gee the work is outstanding and each week its a struggle to come up with something new and exciting..lol.This was my last creation, that had to include at least 10 embellishments..I am not a girly pink scrapper but i so did enjoy using thsese papers and the colour pink..i want to do more pink!!!!.lol

At EMM on the weekend i only managed one challenge , an aqua and brown layout.. Love this photo of Jack..

Over at scrapbook city, in the reality scraps comp, we had to use the bling and scalloped bazzil.. no pp..wow..that was difficult..but i do love what i achieved even if it didnt get me through to the next round, im one of the others now...lol

And finally at Crafting in style we had to use felt as the main part in the layout.. Now im not a felt person but i found it quite easy to work with..when my sewing machine cooperated...
What ive been up to at home...

Well where do i begin,,,teenagers!!!!! grrrrrrrr My eldest son who has never given me grief, who has wonderful friends and is at university caused me to have heart ache on the weekend. My dilemma is , do i act (as a mother) or do i stand back and let him work it out..????My son was dragged out his car and beaten on, kicked in the head and hurt, by a gang of boys on the weekend..Now it seems he was in his car, with some friends. A young girl in the car, a friend of his friend wanted to go to see some people. My son drove to a park where a bunch of people were hanging. In a neighbourhood where he should know he shouldnt be, but.... They dropped this young girl off and promised to come pick her up 20 minutes later.. He arrived and the young girl was lying on the ground, throwing up and having a reaction to some drugs she took. My son tried to help her into the car. her brother and his mates turned up after being informed she had had a "bad trip" and thought my son was to blame. So needless to say this older brother and his mates took it out on my son..

So this is where i step in..What the ...#$%^& are you doing in that neighbour hood? Why did you feel the need to get involved she wasnt your friend as such just a friend of a friend?You must have known it was a drug area!!!! Why did you go there in the first place??

His response.Mum i can handle it..

my respons...

No you cant, you dont know how to handle these thugs..

Sit down, relax have a coffee. Do i ring the police and complain?

Do i let my 19 year old son work this out himself, now scared for his life as the fight as such was broken up by other people ???They still blame him...

Di i go around to this girls house and confront the parents?

Do i send around a friend who is a big scary bikie looking dude and get him to threaten the brother?..

All these things may only incite these boys to really hurt my son next time. Or do we just turn a blind eye and allow thugs and bullies to go around beating up kids because no one will stand up to them.???

Oh being a parent is the hardest thing in the world. When i saw my son my parental instict kicked in and i wanted to beat the guiys myself, lol,, now i think about it, i could make it worse by confronting them or briniging in the police?? what to do?

Any ideas??

Todays quote...

The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another. ~Quentin Crisp

Little children, headache; big children, heartache. ~Italian Proverb

cheers everyone..

NEWS FLASH!!!
Well i came across an interesting way to file and store your papers..
Check this out:
POWER CROPPIN PAPER SELECTOR

CHOOKS SCRAPS...
SURVIVOR CHOOKS ARE DOWN TO FOUR!!! Yes we are getting down to the business end of the challenge..
Well done to everyone who has taken part, and dont forget to vote this week!!!
tHIS WEEKEND ALSO SEE THE CHOOKS CYBER CROP..So come on over and have a go, start friday night16th..A weekend of fun and games and of course..scrappin!

What ive been up to: (in the scrapbooking world)
*Friday night saw me and my team mate join up at scrapbook city to complete a team challenge in Reality scraps. We had two hours to complete a layout..Mission accomplished, although we didnt win it was great fun.
*Little scrap book shop had their cyber crop where i completed a layout. Yu had to decorate the edge of a photo and the edge of the page..
Here is my entry that im very pleased with..and yes im still scrappin last years photos..lol..

Over at the Crafting in style they too had thier cyber crop where i managed two layouts
first one was a sketch challenge:
This was a challenge to used black red and white



Over at scrapapple into the third week of the challenge was to create a layout about an object that was red..
I chose the door to Jacks cubby house..

And over at Embeelished i finished the monthly challenge about summer..
I love this photo of Jack taken at Coffs Harbour last year..

wow i was busy over the weekend...lol

IN MY WORLD!

Not a lot happening on the home front, thank goodness...Except the usual teenage banter, hormonal whinging, testosterone induced maleness, that carries with it the rite of passageway into adult hood. The talk at the table is about board and how much they should pay. I have two teenagers who work. One is at uni, but works parttime at pizza hut.The other works partime and gets part youth allowance. So as Michael is at uni and studying and working his board is 40.00 a week. Stephanie since she works and gets youth allowance is 50.00 weekly. Well i never hearthe end of it.. The whys, the im broke, the poor me and other mums dont charge their kids board..Poor hard done by kids, their life is soooo hard.... Well payed board and now my kids do.. I dont think its a lot.. But what is the going rate?..I often question whether im doing the right thing...Hmmmm.... Being a parent is never easy..lol

TODAYS QUOTE...

If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders. ~Abigail Van Buren

Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy. ~Robert A. Heinlein

CHOW....

NEWS FLASH!!!

Well not long now to the Brisbane paper crafts festival.

Here is a link for those who are interested in going

papercrafts

Worth checking out if your in Brisbane!!!

CHOOKSCRAPS...

Whats happening over at the chook pen?

Survivor is in full swing, with six contestants left. Very nail biting. Judging starts tonight 12..am till 6pm tommorrow. So go on over and have a vote...HERE

The new competition "Right here, right now" is in full swing..Great prizes to win and you can start any time.. Check that one out HERE too!!

WHAT IVE BEEN UP TOO, (IN THE SCRAPBOOKING WORLD)

Well im into round five at the scrapbook chalet survivor comp.. I think i just barely scrapped in by the skin of my teeth!.

The challenge was" Two valentine cards and a valentine canvas"

With my canvas i wanted a different look, the photo to be a bit different so i cropped really close.

I wasnt really too happy with the design of my canvas, i left it too late and ended up rushing it, but i did like my cards..So whoever voted for me THANKYOU!!!

First my canvas

Second: my two cards using the blush basic grey range..
Ive also been busy over at Crafting in style....
They have their search for a DT member on.

First challenge: A layout with at least two frames.

Now this photo of Jack ive had floating a round for soooooo long and decided now was the time to scrap it!!!

I sanded and used rubons on the photo for a framing effect. i made a collage background to frame the photo, i stitched around the boarder and then added small bling flowers to give another framw. Lastly i cut the bazzil in a scalloped edge to give the layout a frame.

I also made this tag as a side challenge in the DT search.. Just a quickie for Jackson.

Also over at Scrapbook city, ive made it into the final tweenty for their Reality scraps. Ive been given a partner and the game has begun. The first challenge was to scrap about a passion using papers from a kit you purchased.

Here is mine, about books of course.

Well thats all in the scrapping world for now. A few CCs this weekend so ill see if i get any done..

MY REAL WORLD..
Not a lot happening on the home front..
Except my daughter now thinks its cool to put a strecther in her ear lobe. for those not up on peircings and such it is a large plastic, cone looking thingo, about 3cm in diameter and about 6cms long. You push it through your already exsisting earring hole, yes ouch, and stretch the hole till it goes all the way through and then just sits there.(for us who have had children the word stretching and hole do not go togther the same ever again).. After a while you can take it out and.... you have a large hole. Now forgive me if i dont seem to excited about the whole thing, thats because it looks disgusting and makes my blood run cold. She says its hip, and the in thing..Hmm. ive told her that i can only see one benefit for this large ugly peice of plastic in her ear. And that is..that when she is 90 years old, big , fat and a granny. Sitting in the nursing home, waiting for the kids to visit. She will have no problems getting her old gaudy hoop earings into the hole. And i guess she wiont be wearing studs in the hole ever again.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY
A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future. ~Author Unknown

CHEERS ALL!!!!

NEWS FLASH!!!
Ever had sooooo many paper alphas you cant seem to get them organised.. Well thats me but....
I came across this fantastic idea...
Letter organiser
I really think it looks fabbo!! So im gonna put it on my list of must dooooossssssse..lol.
If any one does try it and makes one, let us know and put a link to it, Id love to see it!

CHOOKSCRAPS......
Well survivor chook island has started again.
We have just voted on bringing back two memebers to the island. Congratulations chooks.
Now for the new challenge.
Here is my example.Cant say to much about the challenge as its not up on the forum yet.

Oh and have you checked out the new comp at Chookscraps?
Its way cool and an easy way to win scrapping stuff!


WHAT IVE BEEN UP TO..(in the scrapbooking world)
Just been enjooying a few cyber crops this weekend.
So i have a few layouts to share..






Yes i had to do a card, over at Embellished...and im not too good at cards. This is a practice as over at the Chalet, the survivor comp there requires two valentine day cards anda canvas...So need to practice cards..
Not much happening oin the home front..might update later..

QUOTE OF THE DAY.....
My grandmother made me a scrapbook because I was once too young to remember; I am making scrapbooks for my family because one day I may be too old to remember. ~Author Unknown

So cheers for now and ill catch you all later!!!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Found this great site for sketches Pencil Lines.

We actually used a sketch for challenge one over at the Chalet.

So go and check it out!!

PENCIL LINES

CHOOKSCRAPS...

Wow the new competion has started over at the nest!!!

Here and now..

great challenges and great prizes, so go on over and find out more about it..

Also our survivor has started back again. Voting starts this weekend for our ellimination challenge..

So pop in and have a look around.(find link in sidebar)

WHAT IVE BEEN UP TO IN THE SCRAPBOOKING WORLD:

Well over at the Scrapbook Chalet there was an immunity challenge that i felt inneded to win in order to get through to the next round. It was a scraplift from the gallery challenge..I enjoyed doing it, but just missed out on winning immunity,so had to take my luck with voting in the pole.

So here is my immunity scraplift:

Love without limits

Good news though i made it through to round foue with my altered box...yay!!!

Ive also completed the sketch challenge at Embellished.
Loved this sketch..

Used some of the product from the Tarrisota pack..

And not to forget the challenges over at Scrapbook city, Reality scrap.. I really hate doing layouts about me and im not a pink person, usually. But lately ive been using a lot of pink on my layouts!!!!So here is my qualifying challenge layout about me. And last but not least my cj for Crafting in Style:Out my backdoor.

My Ramblings: :(or what ive been up to in the my real, partner, housewife, teacher, mum and taxi driver world)

Well not a lot happening here on the home front.. Kids went back to school, Alex grade 8, nik grade 11. Mike starts uni soon, so that is exciting. Not a lot happening on the work front me yet as i think teachers are happy and content after their holidays so noone has a day off for a while..lol

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

A true scrapbook addict is one who stages photographs to match paper she likes. ~Author Unknown

Cheers everyone!!!

NEWS FLASH !!!

Ever been stuck with no ideas for a layout.. Hmmm i know i have..Well i have stumbled across this wonderful invention..

RANDOM CHALLENGE GENERATOR..

Its from Creating Keepsakes..

Go check it out..Its fun to have a go at..

CHOOKSCRAPS:

Chooks scraps survivor is about to start up again. We have a few chooks vying to join once again chook island and the original survivors.Last week for those chooks to get their layouts into the gallery.. Voting starts Friday. So pop over and have a look.

What Ive been up too, (in the scrapbooking world)

My week three cards for the Emily Falconbridge challenge.

The challenge

I AM:

I have also joined the challenge over at Scrapapple. An eight week challenge to complete a layout a week.The first weeks challenge was a double, on something about your life.

Mine was on my fav scrapbooking colour.(I must admit i got my ideas from a number of layouts i have seen around. So i just want to give credit to those i have used ideas from, but i cant remember whom those layouts they are. So if you happent to read my blog let me know so i can give you credit)

Also i have movee through to the next round of Chalet survivor.

This weeks challenge is to complete an altered item.Hmmmmm, well im not an alterer, and have struggled with this weeks challenge, But!!!! There is hope, There is an immunity challenge this week. To scraplift from the gallery..Already there are a few in the immunity gallery so a few ladies must feel like i do...lol.Sohere is my altered box

I decided to alter my new phones cardboard box.. Its all i had...lol

My Ramblings: :(or what ive been up to in the my real, partner, housewife, teacher, mum and taxi driver world)


Australia day 26th January: two reasons to celebrate


Firstly a holiday to celebrate the founding of Australia:


Australian all let us rejoice for we are young and free,


You`ll come a Waltzing Matilda with me...


Secondly: Craigs birthday.


and so here are some pics to share.

Quote of the day:

Scrapbooking isn't about scraps of paper and photos. Scrapbooking is about scraps of life - yours and those special to you. ~Rebecca Sower

Cheers to all!!!!!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Trying to find new and exciting ways to add more journalling to your layouts? I know i am always wanting to put in more journalling but i want it to look intersting. And i think ive found it!!! Check these out!!!

COOTIE CATCHERS..

A new take on an old favourite.

CHOOKSCRAPS....

Have you been over to the nest yet, there is soooo much happening!!

Check out the new competition, collect some clues and see what its all about....Voting for the weekends cyber crop is now taking place, wow so many gorgeous layouts!!!!......Sign ups for a new cj are on.....and Januarys newsletter is out, packed with inspiring layouts and great information. So go on..go check it out. Oh i forgot to add i received the most gorgeous DT box. Full of beautiful papers. I couldnt wait to start on them. I soooo want to show you, but i cant, so ill just give you a little preview of what ive done, its all in the shop. I want more!!!!

WHAT IVE BEEN UP TO! (in the scrapping world)

Well i have managed to finish emilys second challenge. A word that is powerful to you. For me the word is love. A powerful word when spoken, a powerful emotion when felt.

Oh and im into week two of Scrapbook Chalets survivor comp. This week was to do a layout about your town.What a great way to learn more about the contestants in the competition, and i love seeing where everyone is from. I of course chose Brisbane, and decided to focus on our heritage buildings. The challenge was, "3 photos, 2 metals and 2 pp". I really like what ive done so we will have to wait and see how i go...


MY RAMBLINGS:(or what ive been up to in the my real, partner, housewife, teacher, mum and taxi driver world).
Well not a lot happening, oh only that Stephanie got the permanent job at Dreamworld. She is sooo excited. She has been working there over the holidays as a casual, with many other young kids and they were only going to hire a few for the rest of the year as a permanent, and she was one of them.So great for her confidence, and her bank account. So that is exciting.
Craigs birthday this Friday, Australia day. Got him a siver bracelet and ring to match. Not a surprise as he had to try them on, so im off to find a surprise present for him.. Not sure what to get him jusdt yet. Guess ill just have to shop around..

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
No scrap of paper bigger than my smallest punch shall be thrown away. ~Author Unknown, "The Scrappers Creed"

Ok thats all for today, have a good one and dont forget to scrap!!!