Getting ready!

Our bags are nearly all packed and ready to go :)

I had my hair cut and coloured (red with highlights). I was tempted to do my usual trick of just getting all my hair cut off short, but decided to just get a trim with a few layers.

Today while out picking up a few bits & pieces, I brought some new jewellery. I love all the new summer colours and styles hitting the shops ATM!


Cruise countdown...4 sleeps!!

Out and about...

We have had a busy weekend! Saturday morning I brought some new scrapbook goodies. It has been ages since I've scrapped a LO - cards seem to be a quick & easy way to satisfy my mojo lately. I'm hoping to scrap up a storm once we get home from the cruise.

We went to the CQU open day Saturday afternoon. I got more info on a nursing degree and had a chance to do some hands-on nursing - was amazing! Then we went out to dinner with Craig's team - it was great to catch up with everyone :)

Today Craig, Diane (MIL) and I spent a few hours wandering around the Multicultural Fair. Lots of fun tasting the international foods, checking out the stalls and catching up with friends :)

Cruise countdown...6 sleeps!!

Christmas in July Day 26 - 30

I finished - woo hoo!! I have really enjoyed this challenge - thank you so much Sandie!!

C - Clip or candles or Christmas pudding or chimney


A - An angel


Another punch art card - I really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone and trying so many new techniques :)

R - Recycled or ribbons or rubons


I've used a recycled piece of string.

D - Die-cuts or the word "December"


S - Sketch




You can't see it very clearly, but I tried paper - tole on this card. Yes, another new technique :)

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about my cards / techniques.

Mitchell's 1st birthday

We went to a BBQ to celebrate Mitchell's 1st birthday this afternoon. Here's the birthday boy :)


Cathie asked me to make Mitchell's birthday cake. We had fun going through the old Women's Weekly cake books - there was lots of childhood birthday memories / reminiscing. The cake was a group effort with mum and Craig helping me decorate it. Check out the marshmallow mouse that mum made!!


Mitchell's birthday card - I used a new freebie stamp set (it was a 9 piece teddy theme set with a card magazine) and water colouring techniques. I'm getting better with the shading :)


Cruise countdown...13 sleeps!

Denim owl

This month's swap at Scrap the Boys is denim! I made 19 of these cute little owls - hope everyone likes them :)



My Kaszazz goodies have arrived!! Hopefully I will have a chance to play with it all next week!

Cruise countdown...14 sleeps!

Some sewing

I set up the sewing machine on Wednesday to make a sunglasses case for mum. It seems like ages since I've done any sewing :( Once I drew up a quick pattern the case came together really quickly. The closure is velcro dots and it is fully lined. It's a little big, but mum was thrilled with it - she had been looking for a case for awhile.


I also made a few 'thank you' cards to take on the cruise for our wait staff and cabin staff. I used a sketch from Got Sketch?. I really like the first set, but I'm not too keen on the second set...maybe it's the colour combo?!




Cruise countdown...15 sleeps!

Kraft & green cards

Last night I sat down to make a card for a special friend. I had the colour combo, stamp / embossing and LO idea in my head for awhile, but was finally motivated to make the card. I was really pleased with how it turned out and decided while I had all the materials out, to make a 2nd card. After I finished that I realised that the last strip of kraft c/stock was just the right size to make 2 gift tags! Out of one sheet of A4 c/stock, a scrap of green c/stock, and a scrap strip of patterned paper I ended up with 2 cards and 2 gift tags :) It was also a great way to use some of my rub-ons that I don't seem to use on my scrapbook pages anymore.




Cruise countdown...18 sleeps!

Road trip to Toowoomba

Craig & I spent a relaxing weekend in Toowoomba - travelling down for a friend's engagement party. It was nice to explore a new town. Saturday afternoon we spent a few hours wandering around the Botanic Gardens, then the Japanese Gardens.


The engagement party theme was "Dress as something / someone starting with the letter C" - so Craig & I dressed as a cowboy / cowgirl. The happy couple - Chris & Cassie :)


Sunday morning was a bit more sight-seeing - we went to Picnic Point lookout. Yes, Craig has a snow jacket on - it was so cold!!! I am glad I thought to pack jackets as a last minute decision!!


On the way home we stopped in at a few little craft villages / shops - I was in heaven!

Cruise countdown...19 sleeps!

Christmas in July Day 22-25

Sandie has extended the Christmas in July challenge till the 23rd August.

M - Metal


A - Altered Alphas - find an alphabet letter/s and alter it in some way.


K - Knit / use wool


I have seen this cute snowman (using Top Note die) on a number of blogs. I tweaked it a bit by adding a scarf (cardstock wrapped in wool).


E - Evles or Enjoy or envelope (mini envelope)

Still "Team Jacob"

Last night I went to see "Eclipse" with the girls - definitely still "Team Jacob"! LOL Can't wait to see the last movie now!! I also have finished book 7 from the House of Night series, now just waiting for book 8 to be released in September.

A HUGE congrats to Kylie - who had a her first LO published in Scrapbook Creations (issue 81)! Even more exciting..it was a full page layout!! Woo hoo!!

STB Kraft swap

I received my Scrap the Boys kraft swap - how amazing are these embellishments (pic from STB blog)?!?!?


This month's swap is denim - pop over to the blog and sign up if you're interested!

Monday

Yes, I have no inspiration for a witty title :) Just a whole lot of random-ness this post - just sharing what I've been up to.

On Saturday night I had a Kaszazz party - Pauline showed us a few techniques - marbling using Smooch (my new fav product), aqua crayons and some stamping. As usual lots of talking and laughing - which is just what I needed after being sick all week.




I have finished book 6 of the "House Of Night" series and have started reading book 7! These books are fantastic!!

I brought this fabulous tote from Spotlight - it is the perfect size to carry my Cuttlebug, plates, dies and embossing folders!


Mum has been busy at the garage sales - she managed to find another pair of flippers and a digital underwater camera (camera, cords, software and instructions - $5)!

I went to Simply Crafty yesterday - just a small group of ladies. Not much scrapping, but lots of chatting :)

Cruise countdown...4 weeks!

OTP

I made this cute tin as a unique packaging idea for a birthday present. I just used a gravy tin and decorated it with scrapbook products. I thought it was a great way to recycle :)

Scrapbook Apprentice - Round Two!

From the website -
For their second challenge contestants were given a selection of Docrafts creativity! colour themed products, a Blank Frame & Chipboard Album and instructed to make at least one wall hanging and one embellished frame using only one Capsule Collection for each (Monochrome & Aqua). ...Every contestant made an exceptional effort and judges will converge later this month to grade each set of projects and make their final decision on who will continue on to the next round.




Voting has started! I would love to make it through to the next round, so please pop over to HERE to vote for me!!

If you want a copy either see Joy (Joy's Floral Art Studio) at the Shalom Markets or call her on 0741518254. At $4.99 + a freebie and over 100 pages of great ideas for card making & scrapping it's definitely a bargain!

What a busy weekend!

Saturday morning we were up early and ready for more renovations :) Mum and Mike helped us to pull down the side fence (plaster board & wire) and replace it with a colour bond fence. The old fence was pretty decrepit looking - so the new fence is a 100% improvement. So that's 2 fences replaced now - I'm glad the other side fence is still in good condition :)

Last night we went out to dinner for Cathie's birthday. It was a great night - sitting around chatting and a lovely meal. It was also fun to get lots of cuddles with Mitchell - he is getting so big now!

We met up with Mum at the markets this morning - we brought lots of delicous fruit & veges and had a look around. I managed to find these 2 gorgeous necklaces for a bargain total of $5!!





Cruise countdown...5 weeks!

How exciting!

This round of Scrapbook Apprentice has been even more exciting for me than round one - the first surprise was to find that pics of my projects were sent out in the Docraft's email newsletter :) Then I was surpised to find that I had one point less than this round's top pick!!!

Also this time I received comments from the judges about my projects - very exciting!!
"This frame showed a fantastic amount of creativity and individuality. The detailed work that has gone into hand cutting the flowers and layering them together with the embellishments and buttons supplied in the pack is just amazing. It really stood out in the crowd! The Family Banner is also is very well created, and the mix of colours compliment each other very well, and the sewing, both hand and machine, also add a very nice touch to the finished product My only suggestion would be that the word "family" could have been a little larger to be more prominent in the banner."