Explore....you & me...

 

I gathered up some papers and embellishments that were upon my desk and I began to create...

Firstly I added some mists to my background... cut some papers and made some layers...

 



 added my photos, alphas and found some cute gold tape...put some cut-outs together along with a gold doily..

and together we explored....just you and me..
                                               in old London town...

Thanks for popping on by....

Hope ya having a nice day!! xx

Creating on funday Sunday....

I was just in the mood to disappear out into my crafty room and have a play. I had seen on pinterest some time ago and idea using crepe paper to make coloured background. So I had a small canvas and some bright coloured crepe paper and began...not too sure how it would work out..

First I wet the canvas in small sections with a foam brush and added various strips of torn crepe paper until totally covered...

 When it was almost dry, slowly lifted the crepe off ....very excited that the colour had transferred onto the canvas...where the crepe had tucked up left white of the canvas showing thru....but I was okay with that....liked the look...

 

 I let it dry totally and then got out my tub of rub-ons...and decided to use various inspiring words, added some doodley flowers and flourish rub-ons and punched out some butterflies....

I was quite chuffed with the end result....and certainly a technique that I could use to make backgrounds on other projects!! What did we do before pinterest???....I guess read magazines!!!

Thought I would share this with you who pops on by...

Have a nice day..

Sue xx

more mini retreat layouts....pt 2

Next it was time to catch-up with scrapping some boys birthdays!! First it was Mace and his awesome Ninja cake... Rachel does a fantastic job of making wonderful cakes for her boys! and this one was quite a treat!!

your Awesome Ninja cake:

 



 Then onto little Finn....who as every 3 year old is in love with Peppa Pig....a Peppa Pig cake it was to be for him!! I just love the pics of his dear little smiley face when he saw his cake....and of course he wanted to eat the pigs nose!!
Birthday time

 Then I came across this lovely photo of Jacob on the motor-bike with Johnny the blue heeler. Family pets and kids = special moments, especially when the pet wants to ride on the motor-bike with you!!

Jacob & Johnny:

I loved the papers on this one, thanks Bridgette Siebert who had this crate paper one in her stash!!

Well, that was my retreat layouts...now to find a moment to do another page...one day soon I hope!

Thanks for popping in on by,

Sue xx

E2C mini retreat layouts...

Two weekends ago I went to the Escape2create mini retreat at Trinity....and tried to scrap up some pages. After discovering I haven't scrapped for some time or taken many photos in the later part of this year...it was time for some scrappy catch-up. Birthdays a plenty.... to get the mojo happening I copied  the Gina Rogers class from the big retreat in March this year.

This was a photo from Rob's birthday shared with the Lukin boys...
Love this moment:

 

I used some pretty papers with this one, and added a touch a gold...with gold washi, and put some gold card stock through the dymo labeller to make some little word strips.

 

Then onto one of my favourite times and pics with the boys, when we went tadpole hunting at the waterhole.

The tadpole hunt:



I went for a smaller size page for this one....and felt that the page fills up way too quickly for me!! Quick and easier way to scrap I guess...I think I prefer 12 x 12 still, but it suited the smaller photos.

Will be back soon with some more from that scrappy weekend away.

Thanks for popping on by and hope you find some time to scrap this weekend,

Sue xx

Turning 10 today...

Finally quite time to finish this off and post it up...

Mr Ethan, who turned 10 back in January!!

 

I haven't scrapped in such a long time- I just pulled out some patterned paper, and started sticking, adding whatever I found within reach - no rules but it came together better than I first was imagining!!!
Now this week to begin getting organised for the mini retreat....I haven't printed any photos off since Feb 2014,  So i have gotten out my cameras....and ummm...yep there are some pics n more birthdays awaiting for me to scrap.- and that doesn't even included any travel photos!!  Off to the print shop i go!!!

Well, hope you are having a nice long weekend,

Thanks for popping by,

Sue xxx

I'm back....back to reality!!

I am back....and back to reality!! Holidays are wonderful times aren't they??

If any of you who don't know we have just spent the month of August overseas in Europe...visiting our AFS daughter Angela for her wedding in Germany, then we travelled onto London for a week and then onto Italy for 9 days. We did a 4 day tour of Tuscany and the Cinque Terre, then spent 5 days in Rome exploring.

We had the most amazing trip - my highlights were spending time with Angi's family and just been there for her wedding was incredibly special. Going to London - visiting Buckingham Palace, spending time with my pen friend Doris from Berlin, seeing those iconic Red phone boxes and Big Ben, visiting Stonehenge, visiting the Cinque Terre was ticked off my bucket list, and visiting the Colosseum and the Pantheon in Rome were my fav. parts if I just sit here and think back.

I posted a few pics on facebook or instagram along the way if you follow me....but I will post just a couple here. I just love Bavaria - the southern part of Germany...it is so beautiful!!

 Angi and Baris

 Those Red phone boxes and Big Ben

 Waiting for the Change of the Guards

 a coffee & scone at Buckingham Palace



The Colosseum

so that is just a quick look at our trip....wonderful memories. Now to decide what to do with all my photos, how to scrap them or which ones to go for.....pondering on this at the moment.

 

But in the meanwhile yesterday I sat at my scrap desk...struggled to find the Mojo and where to start, what is in this stash I got here and how do I do this again????? I will give it another go today!!

 

Stay tuned....and thanks for popping past here....

if you do pop in leave a g'day or say hello, it's always nice to know that someone does pop in for a looksee..

 

Seeya soon,

 

Sue xx



 











when you were One...

As I was filing old photos that were sitting in envelopes on my desk I came across these...oh dear little Eli back in 2008....and just couldn't file them away without scrapping them. That was enough inspiration for me to cut paper and do some sticking!!

Here is the result:

I've had the urge to use feathers of some kind lately....and found some already cut out in the Glitz "Wild n Free' range embellishment pack amongst my stash...so that was enough for me, then I found I had the matching stickers which had a dream catcher on it. I was on a win!! All completed without too much procrastinating (as I usually do!).

Hope you are finding some inspiration amongst your scrap stash in this cold weather!

Catchya soon,

Sue xx

love this....

It's been awhile since I have actually got into my scrap room and played with paper, glue and all things scrappy....but finally I did yesterday. I was inspired by Sharmaine and her recent layout(thanks Sharmaine)  with a large watercolour heart on it....so I dug out my gelato sticks and some water colour paper and had a play. It grew and grew....as layouts tend to do....then I also played with a Heidi Swapp stencil...and traced the word 'love' for part of my title. Found some stickers, a flair button, a brad, some enamel dots and also some sequins....

And here is how it ended up:

Oh that was fun!!! Hopefully it won't be that long between scrappy times again,

Sue xx

Love...

I have been playing with some lovely papers from the Amy Tangerine 'Plus One' range today. What lovely colours they are??!! Suited this pic of my Daughter and her family nicely, picture was taken a couple years ago. A few ink splots, some Heidi Swap rubons, some enamel dots and a couple different stickers bring this one altogether....oh and a Stampin Up leafy die!!



It is lovely to get amongst the paper again!!

Thanks for popping on by...

Sue xx

Together....

I found this page amongst others on my desk....it was the last one i scrapped while on the retreat recently. It came together quickly...once i decided to use lots of colour and bits n bobs. It's a page with a not so perfect photo...but it was a moment, a story....together...



It's the story of when these boys come out to visit the farm,  it means we all pile into the old ute and go for a ride around the baa baa's. Usually one perched upon Rob's knee 'driving' and a couple up on my knee for a good view out the window. It's squashy but it is always a load of fun n giggles!! Don't you love the look of the little ones 'thunder' face??.....obviously not impressed that a 'selfie' was about to happen!!

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend with friends an family,

Thanks for popping on by,

Sue xx

Birthday moments...

Birthday time again....always special moments to document as the family gathers around for each one that we celebrate. This time it was little Finn's turn, last August....and just love how they all want to help blow the candles out for him...

 i love to cluster things on pages....and here i have used some vellum shapes....and the black-board one i couldn't resist using the chalk from one of our goodie bags (from e2c) to write the number of his birthday on one of the shapes.

and i really wanted to add the yummy thickers i bought....the kal barteski font by AC- Amy Tan. Such a cool font!! Plus some kisses & hugs (xoxo) stamped from the same range.

Thanks for popping on by,

& hope you are having a great week...

Sue xoxo

Biker boy and a Snake Charmer...

Today i post 2 more of my layouts from the recent massive scrap weekend away.

Biker Boy:
This was another of my quick kits i put together before going away...and once i got it out to do i added some wood veneers, white stamping and a flair button.

This young lad just loves to whiz about on the little 50cc motorbike....and so cute he is!!

Snake Charmer:
Have used the new 'Boys Rule' range, by Crate Paper again....just love the colours and patterns in this range....so boyish....so suited to all my little subjects!!....and very cute stickers and chipboard too!
This young fella has been asking if i have done his snake picture taken at the Cleve Field days a couple years ago....he was quite chuffed that he held the snake when his big bro wouldn't even come near it!! (I'm with Master EJ....no way would i touch this critter!!)

That's all for today,

Cya soon,

Sue xx

Scrap Retreat layouts....

I have just had the most amazing long weekend scrapping @ our local Escape2create retreat- the best in the country i hear!!. I managed 9 layouts which included the class pages, plus a mini book and PL page/class. (Sorry Amanda & Meredith, blogger isn't allowing me to do the link thing back to E2C's page!)

It was a fantastic weekend meeting up with friends old and new, we all creating something....and boy there was some amazing creators in the shed. I did the walk around each day and saw loads of clever art, scrapping happening! It was just Wow!!

I scrapped my boys....again!! And i did notice the pages were mostly 'bike' orientated, which was not intentional but funny how it turned out. Riding scooters, learning to go with-out trainer wheels, motor-bikes....bikes galore, along with a birthday and a snake charmer!! I did up some 'kits' the weeks before the retreat, with papers, sketch and embellies all worked out, so i don't suffer from the sit an do nothing block!!
So here is the first couple..

Little Scooter Boy:
This was one of my kits...working with papers from my old stash- lemonowl papers and worked in with some new embellies, a couple flair buttons, a large ampersand chip and other bits n bobs.
This photo was a little while ago...in 2013, but he use to love scooting around on this little scooter as fast as he could get it to go!!

you can RIDE:
I couldn't resist some new product with this one, the Crate Paper 'Boys Rule' range, i just had to have to help me along....and the chipboard embellies are so cute...esp.that 2 wheeler bike!!

What a great weekend....and now that i am all unpacked, and settled back into home....i feel ready for another scrap!!

Hope you are having a great day!!

Love Sue xx

You 2...

Hello there,

While i have been tidying my scrap space and sorting thru my goodies, preparing for the up coming Escape2Create, i found this page partly completed underneath everything!! So i decided to finish it. I had experimented with some water colours and texture paste, added some stamping and thought it would make a good background page.

So here it is...

Nothing like a little cutting and gluing of paper to get the scrappy mojo going ey?? If you are coming along to the retreat hope you are getting your mojo revved up!

Thanks for popping on by,

Have a nice day..

Suexx

My Project Life 2013 journey...

I completed PL for one whole year....WooHoo!!...something that i thought when  i commenced, i wondered how it would pan out!! Would it fizzle out before June, would i loose my mojo for it?? Once i got to August i got keener to get to the end...it drove me in a way, not to get to the end of the year but to see it completed successfully. So this is what i found thru my jouney of documenting...

What i did do: i soon realised in January that i wasn't going to document day by day, or week by week. I would simply do a recount of the month over 4 pages...2 double.
- i kept a notebook/ diary to remember what we did, what happened and dates.
-this note book also contained scribbles of ideas, how to embellish, words, quotes that i had heard or seen. So it was my go-to PL bible.

What i loved: i loved capturing the little things in life....the new chicks hatching, the crops progress each month, the colours of the landscape changing from season to season, the sea of dandelions out my window...just all those things....and how much more i love the beauty of the everything around me.
- i loved that i took many more photos in that year...mostly on my point and shoot....but how i also felt i became more creative with taking my shots.
- i love to see my little family turning the pages of this album over to see where they are and making comments of various things...them remembering precious moments.
-i loved once i got into my own groove...it was quick, simple, effective way to document our life.
- i loved that i used stuff from my stash...old mixed with some new.
-i loved that i completed it.

What i used: I used a variety of plastic pocket pages. Some with horizontal, some vertical, a mix of 6x4 and 3x4 whatever suited my photos at the time. There are so many different ones...i just mixed it up!
- i loved to use washi tape, stickers, mini alpha stickers, enamal dots ++, wood veneers, and the slip in journalling cards....oh, and there are plenty of them on the market nowdays!!
- i used stamps ....but not as much as i initally thought i would thou....i used date stamps every page!
- i used my handwriting mostly...as it is the quickest way to document, sometime i would do typed strips.

What i found difficult: initially i found it difficult to get into my own groove of doing PL. Initial expectations of my self....but the journal/ diary helped just to go with the flow....whatever photos i had or didn't have, just document it....not over think it!!
-i found it difficult to photograph without a reflective look...so until i found the right time of the day...it was a matter of experimenting with my room. The not so sunny days were the best.
-doing PL took my time away from my usual 12x12 scrapping....but now i look back, i did actually manage 24 layouts for the year....so for me i am thinking that was actually not too bad!

So that was my journey and i acheived it. I am not going to do 2014 simply because i might do something a little different....do an album for birthdays as we have one in almost every month (except Oct & Nov)...and i will do an album of some kind of our 3 weeks travelling to Europe.

Hope you are inspired to do a Project Life album....it is really worth it!

Thanks for popping on by and hope ya having a nice day!

Sue xx

December - Project Life...

December Project Life....all complete...

December like January are two of the busiest months of the year...so lots of photos and i finished this month with 6 pages.

 Decorating the house and Christmas tree, end of a Kindy year for Mace....lots to document...

Time spent with friends, having christmas drinks....and visits to interesting pop-up shops!! Lunch out with our Beautiful girl for her birthday.

And the Christmas week....getting my 'real tree' for the first time ever!! Family get togethers..

Our Christmas....

And i completed 2013 Project Life....it felt good.....i just love my 2013 album!!

Next post i think i will write about the good, bad and lovelies of my Project Life journey 2013.

Stay tuned...

Suexx

November- Project Life

I have been working away at catching up and completing my Project Life 2013.... and i am almost there. Over the next couple posts i will show my last two months of last year..

So here is November: (Stand-by for a month of harvest filled photos....)

 with some kidlets in amongst it as well, of course!!!

.... and when i was rummaging thru my Studio Calico collection i knew i had to start using some of the PL cards and on this one - i even did some stitching around the printed fabric sample. And you will also see in the last month some insta-sized photos....thanks to my new phone!

So that was November.....a short month as far a pics for me....heaps of harvest pics sitting here on my desk but there is only so many golden fields and blue skied photos one can use!! ps: i do love this time of the year!!

So Thanks for popping on by here,

Do say a hi if you're passing thru

Catchya tomm,

Sue xx