Andrea Senn

365 Catchup

2010-03-20T20:40:00.000+13:00

About time I posted here again. Life gets in the way!
Anyway here is February's 365 photos.

Penscrappers contest

2010-02-25T09:26:00.000+13:00

With all the things I've been busy doing lately I wasn't going to enter the Penscrappers contest this month. I loved the kit by Anna Aspnes and did download it a few weeks ago. Over the past few weeks I've been doing the Tablet class at Jessica Sprague and she challenged us to enter the contest and she would give one person an Intuos 3 tablet - so of course I had to give it a go.
So here is my layout - you can vote for me here. Please vote!

Photo Fun

2010-02-19T14:37:00.000+13:00

I found this fun photo effects site today: Photo505 Bit of fun. So am I Team Edward or Team Jacob, lol?

January 365

2010-02-07T15:02:00.001+13:00

I've been doing Project 365 this year and so far I've managed to take a photo every day. I'm using this as an opportunity to practise using actions and other things on my photos. I absolutely love the actions from CoffeeShop - they are the best! I'm going to try out some textures soon too when I find the right photo. All my photos are on my Flickr webpage but here's some of January's pics.

Blogging again

2010-02-06T14:39:00.000+13:00

Setting up my new blog. Watch this space!

My TV fix

2009-05-21T11:29:00.000+12:00

So I love me a bit of reality TV and my favourite ever comes back on again tonight.

Can't wait for this, they're mixing it up again at the beginning of this season.

My other current favourites are this:

I'm picking Christobelle to win though I reckon Laura has a good chance as well.

And also love this show, the final is tomorrow night:

And not a reality show but the best ever Kiwi show is returning on June 2nd. Oh I can't wait - I have all 4 seasons on DVD, so looking forward to this:

Tilt-shift

2009-05-15T08:24:00.000+12:00

While browsing the net the other day I found this fun site called Tilt-Shift Maker.
You can upload photos and it will manipulate them so that look like models. Its kinda fun and some mindless entertainment for a few minutes. Here's a few I did:

My original picture of downtown Auckland taken from the Birkenhead ferry:

And here's the Tilt-Shift version:

Isn't that cool? Here's another pic - this time with people in it: Daryl and Isla sailing (original).

And here's the Tilt-Shift version:

I don't think that one's so good. It seems to work best on scenic pictures especially with buildings or vehicles etc in them. I really like the first one though.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T13:58:00.000+12:00

Yesterday was lovely. I got to have a sleepin - Luca was nice and obliging! While I was doing that Isla made me this card with a bit of help from daddy. She did all the green stamping - didn't she do well! Green is her favourite colour at the moment. On the front of the card she had drawn me a spiral. Well done Isla!

Then her and daddy went and picked me up these flowers. Aren't they gorgeous? She was so proud to be bringing them to me in bed. Thankyou Isla, I had a lovely day!

Kits for Sale

2009-05-07T10:33:00.000+12:00

So I have finally got some scrapbooking kits up for sale on Trademe. They're really great value - you get approx 6 sheets of cardstock, 25 sheets of patterned paper and various embellishments all in a coordinating kit, so everything's there for you to scrap with. I even have some on for $1 reserve!

All the kits are different - I have 5 on there at the moment but I still have some more to put up as well as some tools too. So it's worth checking out!

Here's an example of one of the kits:

Kit 1
Cardstock x 6

Patterned Paper:
American Crafts Play Pin The Tail
BasicGrey Blush Tease
Cloud 9 Chocolate Chalet x4
Cloud 9 Christy & Friends Alyssa’s Stripes
Cosmo Cricket Hello Sunshine Blowing Bubbles
Daisy D’s (part piece)
Heidi Grace Birthday
Heidi Grace Bouquet Flowers
Heidi Grace Bouquet Trim
Heidi Grace Bouquet Words
Heidi Grace Garden Flowers
Heidi Grace Garden Flowers Décor
Heidi Grace Garden Jersey Stripe
Heidi Grace Garden Mini Flowers
Heidi Grace Midnight Kisses Décor Stripe
Heidi Grace Only Time Mini Floral
Heidi Grace Heidi’s Cute Cakes Flower
KI Memories Bloom Canopy
Making Memories Audrey Scallop Circle
My Mind’s Eye Magnolia (part piece)
Prima Morning Song Collection Little Miss Sunshine
Prima Morning Song Collection Happy Go Lucky
Scenic Route Loveland Garnet Street
Scenic Route Loveland Ruby Ave

Embellishments:
7Gypsies 97% Stickers Princess
Cloud 9 Simple Thoughts Clear Epoxy Quote Stickers
Cloud 9 Vacation Title Rain Dots
Cloud 9 Vacation Words and Shapes Rain Dots
Cosmo Cricket Hello Sunshine Journalling Card
Hambly Journalling Spots Transparency (part piece)
Hambly Mini Graph Transparency (part piece)
Heidi Grace A Little Bird’s Tale Dimensional Word Stickers
Heidi Grace Heidi’s Cute Cakes Jumbo Cardstock Stickers
Heidi Grace Only Time Cardstock Alpha Stickers
Heidi Swapp Girl Fuzzy Rubons
Making Memories Friendship Velvet Stickers
Pink Paislee Vintage Moon Star Sticker

See! Heaps of stuff!!!

iNSD

2009-05-05T19:55:00.000+12:00

{Inter}National Scrapbooking Day has come and gone. The digi world seems to really get into it - loads of sales, contests and freebies to download. I spent a bit of time downloading some huge free kits only to delete them because they weren't quite "me". There are so many designers out there with awesome stuff but I am finding I am attracted to a select few right now. Which is good for the wallet, lol. I did manage to make a few purchases over the weekend:

Some wordart which I'm loving right now.

A 365 element kit. (Not that I'm actually doing a 365 project but will still be handy).

A couple of templates which I plan to use for a first year album for Luca.

And some kits. The first two were only $1 each!

And this one was a freebie, the only one I liked!

Sale time!

2009-04-29T11:16:00.000+12:00

It was sale time at a couple of my favourite digi stores over the weekend so this is what I got.

An absolutely gorgeous kit - I can't wait to play with this one!

Some paper block templates. I've been eyeing these for a while, I reckon they'll be rather useful.

Some monthly border frames. I want to do a monthly album for Luca's first year so these will be perfect.

And a tutorial on blending modes, something I want to learn more about.

Yum yum

2009-04-27T16:35:00.000+12:00

Mmmm, we made gingerbread cookies on the weekend. Ever since I bought a gingerbread man cookie cutter last year Isla has been hanging out to use it. Well it finally came out of the packaging and we did it! Mmm they tasted good. We made gingerbread men and gingerbears. I have thoughts of having a regular cooking afternoon with Isla though I need to make her a new apron at some stage. Her previous one has disappeared so one of these days I'll get around to making a new one.

First digi layout

2009-04-23T16:11:00.000+12:00

Ok thought it was about time I shared my first digi layout. This is pretty special as it's Luca's first picture as well. I'm loving doing these - i just need a laptop now so i can be more portable!

Credits:

Photogenic Kit by Paislee Press and Audacious Designs

Wordart by TaylorMade Designs

Datestamps by Amber Clegg

Wire Heart by KStudio

Font is Travelling Typewriter

This is happy.

2009-04-21T08:41:00.000+12:00

We're getting lots of smiles and little gurgles now. So nice.

******************

Also I will be putting up some kits on Trademe tonight I think. Will post a link when I've got them up.

Ch-ch-changes!

2009-04-19T19:22:00.000+12:00

Yep times are a-changing! I've decided to no longer do paper scrapbooking - I'm going fully digital! I love digital so much, its actually something I've been thinking about for a long time now. The time just finally became right for me. I'd got to the point where I was really over the amount of stuff I'd accumulated and wanted to simplify. So the great thing about digital scrapbooking is that everything is on the computer - no mess! Will share some digi layouts soon but in the meantime I have to figure out what to do with all my paper scrapbooking stuff. So I thought maybe I'd make up some kits and try to sell them on TradeMe. So that's what I've been doing this afternoon. Not sure what price to put these on for yet but each kit is awesome value and is jampacked full of yummy stuff. Here's a peek.

Digi-shopping

2009-04-01T11:49:00.000+13:00

I decided to indulge yesterday and made some digi purchases. Thought I might have another go at digi-scrapping. Easier for me at the moment and no mess! I had a browse online and found some new designers I hadn't seen before - check out this coolness.

Photogenic Kit by Paislee Press and Audacious Designs

Little Daydreamer Kit by KStudio

and some freebie wordart by TaylorMade Designs

Yes it's me

2009-03-19T11:08:00.000+13:00

I'm here. Golly it's been so long I almost forgot my login and password! So what's new?

Introducing Luca! Born 26 Feb at 2.58am. Our wee bundle of joy is now 3 weeks old, man how time flies!

Handmade Xmas

2008-12-24T21:25:00.000+13:00

This year i've outdone myself with making some Xmas decorations. Admittedly I didn't get anywhere near the things done that I wanted to but hey gotta start somewhere right?

I received a Xmas theme kit from SBO so used that for the following projects.

A Xmas canvas.

Xmas banner. (Photo taken in very poor light so excuse the horrible grainy pic!)

Xmas house. House by Doodlebug. These are so cool, Isla really wants it but I've promised to make her one too over the holidays.

My December Daily album has stagnated due to my printer giving up the ghost and me not getting round to having photos printed elsewhere. I am keeping up to date with my picture taking and i'm noting what i want to do in the album so hopefully i will get it done. Fingers crossed.

Ok that's about it for now. A very merry Xmas to you all!

December Daily - Days 3, 4, & 5

2008-12-09T15:30:00.000+13:00

Catching up on the December Daily Album slowly.

Day 3 - this is an envelope I've cut to fit in the album. And also 2 photos from Isla's day at Playcentre. Inside the envelope is an observation done on Isla at Playcentre on that day. I've also put in a little journal card detailing what she got up to that day.

Day 4 - I bought a magnetic fishing game off TradeMe for Isla's birthday. The "Engrish" on the box greatly amused me so that's the photo for that day. This is on a transparency page.

Day 5 - Stamps by BasicGrey and felt number from Spotlight. Isla had been sick for a couple of days so this is documenting that.

She's 3!!!

2008-12-08T18:25:00.000+13:00

Can't believe how quickly 3 years have gone by!

Got a bit behind with the December album as she's been sick for a couple of days which unfortunately meant we had to postpone her party but she's fine now so we had a lovely visit to the zoo today. We had cupcakes for dessert last night, it was Grandad's birthday too. But she'll get a bigger cake next weekend for her party.

December Daily - Days 1 & 2

2008-12-04T09:12:00.000+13:00

So far so good, managing to keep up.

Here's Day 1 - putting up the advent calendar

Day 2 - yummy Xmas choccies!

December Daily album

2008-12-01T21:09:00.000+13:00

Have been meaning to post this for a while now but only just remembered to photograph it empty today before I start to fill it up. This is a December Daily album a la Ali Edwards. So now I just have to remember to take photos everyday throughout the month. The idea is to count towards Xmas Day but I'm thinking of doing the whole month but will see how I go with it. I really love this album already especially because I made it using stuff I already had on hand, nothing new. Even the covers are recycled from a SBO box and some of the papers are rather quite old. I also threw in some old Xmas cards too. I'm going to try and update it daily if I can, not sure how I'll go with that but fingers crossed!

SBO Xmas Comp

2008-11-26T21:48:00.000+13:00

The Christmas Comp over at SBO is currently going strong. I posted the latest challenge which was doing some handmade xmas ornaments or home decor. Here's a couple of things I made.

Sweet cones inspired by some I'd seen, though much plainer, on the Martha Stewart website.

A 3d star. The instructions can be found here.

And this awesome wreath which is a total lift of Elise Blaha but its so cool I had to do my own one.

I'm hoping to do some more too, though will see how I go - its so busy at this time of year.

My bag is handmade from the fun

2008-11-21T21:52:00.000+13:00

So today I went to the Calico Christmas show which is a quilt and craft show held every year and I bought my first Japanese craft book. I've been wanting to buy one for ages but wanted to see one in the flesh first before I took the plunge to see if I could actually make anything in it without actually being able to understand a word in it. And I think I'll be ok!

So this is what I got - its full of bag patterns and was sold under the name of "Joyful Handmade Bags" but the literal translation is "My bag is handmade from the fun" which just cracks me up.

All the examples in the book are made in the brown fabrics you see here but I can't wait to break out some lovely bright fabrics. Here's a couple of pictures from the book, aren't they cute?

I love the cute teeny bag in the top of this picture. I might do this one first, a nice easy one first up would be good. Tho not sure about that dog, maybe a cute flower instead.

I am here

2008-11-10T14:34:00.000+13:00

Been meaning to post, just haven't found the time lately. Anyway just been sharing some new layouts over at SBO. Here they are using BasicGrey Urban Prairie:

Hmmm, maybe i should try and get them into the BasicGrey gallery, never tried that before.

Starting tomorrow

2008-10-31T20:24:00.000+13:00

is this very cool comp at SBO. And you should see the prizes! I tell you its going to be sweet!

And also coming tomorrow is the latest Ezine too.

Surprise!

2008-10-24T20:36:00.000+13:00

The rain has now started - it's supposed to be a typical Labour weekend - wet, wet, wet!

So I've just been over at SBO and put up a new post on the Blog - go check it out. It's all about using Scenic Route Surprise which is a birthday-themed range. Scenic Route is not really my style so I found this a bit of a challenge but I managed to do 2 layouts and a card set for the kids at Playcentre. Here's the card set:

Stories in Hand

2008-10-22T13:42:00.000+13:00

I've just come back from a nice relaxing long weekend in Mt Maunganui and this was in my email so i've signed up to do it. Here's hoping I can find the time to complete it.

I'll try and upload some pics from our weekend soon and I should also have something going up on the SBO blog too. Keep checking back!

Alrighty

2008-10-10T14:42:00.000+13:00

I'm so glad that the new template and posts are working - it still took a good half day before they showed up on my computer but when i went into the editor everything new was there and I could tell i had comments. It just wasn't showing up on my screen, wierd.

Anyway so now that that's sorted (tho still to do a new banner, one day soon!) here's a layout I did for a challenge at SBO a few weeks back. The challenge was to document beginnings, new life, new job, house, school etc. So of course my layout was about expecting a new baby. All products from the August SBO kit.

Is this working?

2008-10-09T12:06:00.000+13:00

Well my last post and the new template doesn't seem to show up when i go to my blog. Hmmmm, is it lost in cyberspace somewhere. I wonder if this post will show up?

Updating

2008-10-08T22:10:00.000+13:00

Been updating my blog - wanted a slightly different look. What do you think? Did you notice the widget there on the left? Lol. I also want to do a new banner pic but haven't had time yet.

Yes a new post!

2008-10-02T15:52:00.000+13:00

Finally updating - haven't felt like blogging for a while but i'll try and get back into it i think now.

Here are some layouts from last month using the August SBO kit - these were in the last ezine.

SBO Ezine

2008-09-01T13:59:00.000+12:00

The August Ezine is out and has a couple of layouts in it that I did as an introduction to the new SBO Design Team. You can check it out here.

Also be sure to check the SBO Blog which has a giveaway on it and will be seeing lots more posts soon too.

SBO

2008-08-30T09:50:00.000+12:00

Well there was a cybercrop at NZ Scrapbook Outlet last night and the new Design Team was announced and I'm on it!!! Woohoo! Along with Lesley Cooper, Neen Sloan and Vicki Morris. And Vicky Gibson from the old DT is staying too. We're going to have such fun.

So the old DT challenged the new DT and vice versa. And here's my layout:

We had to use stitching, stamping, beads and an embellie made of 3 layers. Quite hard to see the beads - there is a single one at the end of each stamped swirl. I quite like this layout, was fun to make.

Final layouts

2008-08-29T08:50:00.000+12:00

OMG its been so long since i updated this blog i almost forgot my password! Lol.

So anyway these are my final layouts I did for NZ Scrapbook. My term with them is up and its time to move on but I thought I'd share these layouts using Prima products. I also did a card set as well which I'll share on the NZ Scrapbook blog once I get around to putting them up, hopefully today.

Fiskars Birthday Celebrations

2008-07-24T12:25:00.000+12:00

Yesterday was Fiskars 10th birthday in Australia. And next month, the Fiskars ANZ blog has been running for 1 year. Wow. Two huge milestones! To make it a fun birthday the Fiskars ANZ blog are having a big party. There are already a couple of challenges up on the ANZ blog (click here to see them), but come Saturday and Sunday we're going to be having a heap more challenges, games, inspiration, and fun!!!!

On Sunday we've also lined up the 5 USA Lead Fiskars Ambassadors to come and visit and have a 'live' chat on the blog. Here are the times around the world if you'd like to join us:
12 pm Melbourne (Sunday lunchtime)
2pm Auckland (Sunday afternoon)
7 pm Los Angeles (Saturday night)
10pm New York (Saturday night)
3am London (Sunday morning)

The way it will work is we'll be online at the above times and will 'chat' with them in a post on the blog. Just keep refreshing your computer to see more, new questions and answers. Can't wait!
And no birthday would be right without prizes and you can bet your boots we've got a HEAP of prizes to give away during the weekend.

So do come and join us and don't forget to tell all your friends!

More new Fiskars goodness!

2008-07-14T15:02:00.000+12:00

Fiskars is such a great company. Look at these cool things they're bringing out at CHA:

A new fingertip knife. This one swivels so I guess would be great for using with templates. There is also a fingertip tweezers tool too.

This punch makes me giddy! There are lots of shapes and 3 sizes.

And this is the Push and Print Stamp Factory. Apparently you can put any brand of clear stamps in and it is selfinking too.

The latest in trimmers!

2008-07-12T20:44:00.000+12:00

From Fiskars comes complete with speakers and Mp3/Ipod dock - how amazing is that?

Artwork from yesterday

2008-07-04T14:37:00.000+12:00

Here are the results of yesterday's spinart now that they're all dried. I think it looks so cool. I'm planning on trying this at Playcentre - i'm sure all the kids will love it.

Spin Art

2008-07-03T15:00:00.000+12:00

I think I saw this the other day on the Craftzine blog and it looked so much fun!

Take one salad spinner - i didn't have one but you can get them at Briscoes, Payless Plastics etc.

Cut circles of paper that fit inside the basket. I used my Fiskars large circle template which fits perfectly!

Blob paint onto the paper. We just used tempera acrylic paint straight out of the bottle.

Put the lid on and start to spin! Isla loved doing the spinning.

And voila! A cool piece of art.

Next time I think I might water the paint down a little to see if works differently - i think the acrylic paint straight out of the bottle might be a bit heavy for the paper we are using.

Bit slow

2008-06-26T10:55:00.000+12:00

Getting my layouts up this month, but here is another one I did for NZ Scrapbook using BasicGrey Sugared. Bit of a crap scan because of the lumpiness with the chipboard shapes on there. Did some stamping too and Cuttlebug embossing which i'm loving at the moment.

Also found out the other day that I won the first celebrity challenge over at the Sketchbook. I don't often get around to doing challenges, so that was a very cool surprise. It was a sketch challenge by Jennifer McGuire, i love her stuff so was very cool to be chosen.

Today's yumminess

2008-06-19T15:41:00.000+12:00

This morning we went over to my inlaws and my MIL came with us on a shopping expedition to Scrapbook Studio. I really wanted to look at the quilting fabrics they have, a lot of which are hard to get in NZ, as I have a project in mind for Isla's room with them. Stay tuned! Aren't these gorgeous?!!! Three of them are Amy Butler fabrics but the others are just as fab. I love the bold patterns and colours. Can't wait to get stuck in, just gotta find time, lol.

New DT layout

2008-06-06T13:44:00.000+12:00

DT news: A few weeks back I came to the decision to leave the NZ Dares. I just needed to step back as I was finding I was struggling to find time to commit to it. So I wish them all the best and I thoroughly enjoyed being on the team but it was time for me to move on. I will still continue to work with Fiskars and NZ Scrapbook.

Speaking of I have taken in 3 new layouts this week to the shop - i guess they've probably got them on display by now. Here is one of them - I had products from the BasicGrey Sugared line to work with - such pretty papers. I also got to use the Fiskars Threading Water punch too, borrowed off a friend. Mmmm love that punch.

A New Month

2008-06-03T15:39:00.000+12:00

Had a creative weekend - did 2 layouts for NZ Scrapbook (will share soon) and 1 Circle Journal.

I'm in a CJ group with some awesome friends I crop with each month and I still have 3 CJs here to do and then only 1 more till i'm finished. I'm planning on getting another one done over the next day or so - i want them out of here! Can't wait to get mine back - i've really enjoyed doing them too.

I did a minialbum a while ago for Fiskars so I need to organise a blog post for that.

Plus I'm doing next month's challenge so need to organise that - more soon!

Watched a DVD on Active Movement for Under 5s - was really interesting and informative. Had a bit on Playgym (gym for preschoolers) - the son of a friend of mine goes so I've been chatting to her about it. Thinking of enrolling Isla for that.

Dropped off my layouts to NZ Scrapbook this morning and picked up some lovely Kaisercraft papers and embellies to do some more layouts.

And here is another recent layout. There's those squares again!

Play

2008-05-30T08:30:00.000+12:00

Well today my scrapspace is being featured on the Fiskars Craft blog. Not sure what's happened to the post - the photos were supposed to be staggered through the post, would make more sense but ah well.

Have you checked out The Sketch Book yet? Megan's set up a great forum for NZ scrappers - lots of people have joined already, its doing so well.

Answering a question for Penny about my last layout - the date stamps are actually 2 stamps (months, years) and come from a Stampin Up set i got last year.

And here is another layout. Just wanted to use some cool products I'd had lying around for ages. The blue heart is quite puffy, v cute and came in a pack with the red flowers and other shapes from Spotlight.

Pure Joy

2008-05-27T14:24:00.000+12:00

I have a few layouts I've just finished so will post them over the next few days - I actually started them a few weeks ago at a crop but I got sick for several days and then went away so it was all a bit slowgoing getting them done. This first one is of Isla having lots of fun riding her bike down the ramp up at the bach at Easter. I was lacking in some mojo at the time I started this so its a bit of a scraplift with the squares in the background. I liked them so much I did it again on another layout.

BTW check out this cool site where you can download a pinhole camera with instructions on making and using it: http://www.corbis.readymech.com/en/camera/?camera=5

Fiskars card and initial letter

2008-05-15T16:24:00.000+12:00

Quick post. I can't believe its been more than a week since i posted last.

Anyway have just put these up on the Fiskars blog so thought I'd share them here too. These are made using Heidi Grace Baby Girl range. I don't think I'll ever get sick of this range - love the little birdies and the glitteriness and the flocking, oh i love the flocking!

These were for a lovely friend of mine and her gorgeous new baby girl.

KaiserCraft minialbum

2008-05-06T16:22:00.000+12:00

I've put up a post at the NZ Scrapbook blog about the minialbum I finished the other day but just because a blog post shouldn't be pictureless here are the pics of the album.

NSD

2008-05-03T13:35:00.000+12:00

So its National Scrapbooking Day today worldwide (yes, there is such a thing!). So go check out the FiskarsCrafts blog for lots of fun and inspiring posts and a bit of bloghopping.

And here's a look at what i've been doing lately for NZScrapbook - will share more soon!

Great book find

2008-05-02T15:30:00.000+12:00

When we were at the library the other day we found this book: The ABC For Kids Book of Things to Make and Do by Helen Martin.

What a fantastic book! It gives great ideas for making things out of boxes and other junk lying around home. We'll definitely be doing some of these.

I particularly like the train and the town. So cool.

I have finished my latest scrapbooking project, yay, so will be sharing that soon. And I am testing the new blogger feature of being able to set posts in the future so I'm going to set this to post at 3.30pm.

Wednesday's entertainment

2008-04-30T20:16:00.000+12:00

This morning we went to the library and got heaps of really cool books out.
We came home for morning tea, then went back out to the Warehouse to do a bit of shopping - got some clothes, cards, scissors and stickers.
And this afternoon's entertainment consisted of:

papercutting practice with the new scissors

shakers made from toilet rolls, crepe paper and staples

and jigsaws.

All in all a nice day.

Enabling

2008-04-28T17:25:00.000+12:00

I'm struggling with a scrapbooking assignment at the moment (although it is just starting to come together a bit, yay) so anyway I thought I'd procrastinate and do a blog post. I can't believe how many blog posts I did last week, must be a new record.

I'm focussing more and more on entertaining Isla as she gets older and am always on the hunt for new ideas to do with 2 year olds. If anyone has any great but inexpensive ideas I'd love to hear them. Here are some great websites for ideas i found:

All about kids art: The Artful Parent

And also this one: My Kids Art

Awesome ideas for activities for preschoolers plus a newsletter you can sign up for: Kids Craft Weekly

More activities for preschoolers: Let's Explore

I've only just discovered this one so haven't really had a good look at it yet but on first glance looks good: Make and Takes

More cool ideas: Scrumdilly-do

I like checking out some local blogs too:

My friend Jo's blog: Craft Yourself

Mel Goodsell - scrapbooking and crafting (she has older kids but still some fun ideas): One Crafty Mumma

And here's another picture from Thursday's paint session.

Potato and Leaf Prints

2008-04-25T08:31:00.000+12:00

Yesterday we went to a local toy shop who were having a "bubble fun day" but it was a big non-event so we came home and collected some leaves and then did some leaft prints and potato print painting. This is the first time we've done these. I cut the potatoes with my cookie cutters to get the shapes which was really easy to do. It would help next time to have rollers to put the paint on the leaves because it gets too thick with using a brush but we coped.

Isla wasn't really quite sure about the whole thing and just wanted to use her brush.

But later she got into it and was painting the potatoes and the leaves herself. She still wasn't really into actually printing with them a lot but she had a go and Mum helped a bit too ;-). Maybe this is one of those art activities that age helps a bit.

I seem to have created a monster though - she did 12 paintings today!

Ambury Park Farm

2008-04-23T20:09:00.000+12:00

Today we visited Isla's grandparents who took us to Ambury Park Farm. What a fantastic place and its free! Isla enjoyed looking at all the animals especially feeding the pig though I have no photos of that because the batteries died and then the spare batteries died!

Playing in puddles was a hit too.

Latest book purchase

2008-04-22T14:24:00.000+12:00

Yesterday we went to Borders and picked this up. It has so many fab ideas in it - i spent the whole afternoon looking through it. We've already done some of the stuff in here but can't wait to try some more.

BOM Favourite Place

2008-04-21T13:17:00.000+12:00

Quickly posting this while Isla is watching Maisy, her favourite, lol.

This layout is for the Fiskars Blog Book of Me month and my topic was favourite place. I just love going away on holiday especially to somewhere that's warm and so relaxing. This is using Cloud 9 Chocolate Chalet, so nice to use.

And a big hi to Nina, thanks for your nice comments, I really appreciate it!

Latest dare

2008-04-16T20:54:00.000+12:00

The latest dare is up over at NZ Dares and I've finally managed to complete one. Its an ad inspiration challenge this week and just perfect for using lots of photos from one event. I went to a crop on Saturday where i started it and another later (which I'll share later) and then finished them on Monday, yay!

This dare has been kindly sponsored by The Scrapbook Store in Nelson and what a fab prize it is too!

Trip to the city

2008-04-09T20:26:00.000+12:00

On Monday we went on a Playcentre trip here:

We got there by this:

And also by bus (though I don't have a photo of that).
This girl loved it and has absolutely no fear:

She walked around the entire perimeter over all the glass floor panels, so of course I had to get over my own fears and follow her!

We even got to see 2 bungee jumpers - way cool!

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day, for both of us. And first time up the tower for me also!

New Layouts

2008-04-01T20:45:00.000+13:00

I'm not very good at updating this blog am I? Lol.
Oh well. Here are my 2 latest layouts for NZ Scrapbook using Making Memories 5th Avenue range.

Have to say I rather like these two and was a bit sad at handing them over at the shop today.
I see they are having another product launch this Friday with new Fancy Pants products so get in quick.

And check out the Fiskars blog - this month it's all about me! Well, not me exactly but ideas and inspiration for Book of Me projects.

Happy Mail Day

2008-03-25T15:08:00.000+13:00

Yay! This arrived last week just in time for easter.

Boat Build: Complete and Launched

2008-03-04T16:36:00.000+13:00

Golly where have I been?

Blog do you still love me? lol.

Where I have been is watching Daryl complete and launch his boat. This all started in our garage way back many many months ago (about 18 or so) and ever so slowly progressed until finally last Monday it was complete and he put it in the water and it floated! Yay! Such an amazing achievement for him to design and build this himself. I'm so proud of my boy!

New dare

2008-02-18T16:54:00.000+13:00

The latest dare by Lesley is a good one for using up lots of photos. I did this on our xmas holiday and managed to get 13 photos on there so i'm happy. The paper I've used is by Heidi Grace.

Also go check out Trina's and Nic's blogs for details of how you can contribute some 6x6 pages to a children's camp for abused and 'at risk' children. I will be working on some pages next. Heaps of people are getting behind this great cause, such a fantastic way to give something back.

January DT work

2008-02-13T21:06:00.000+13:00

So this is what I did for NZ Scrapbook in January. I had a challenging kit to work with consisting of 3 colours: black, red and white and also some Cuttlebug Disney dies. I also added some BasicGrey Scarlett Letter paper to add a bit of pattern and break up the blocked colour. But it all came together ok i think and here's the result. I did a layout, some flash cards in a Creative Imaginations B.E. napkin holder and a cute Mickey card (not pictured because my pic of it sux! lol).

Reality check.

2008-02-11T22:18:00.000+13:00

Saw this on a post at Blue Bazaar and had to copy and paste it here as a reminder to myself why I scrapbook.

Questions your kids won't ever ask (and 5 they will)

wont ask:
Why aren't you wearing mascara in this picture?
Why didn't you use the brads that co-ordinate with this paper?
Where are the 40 other photos from my first day of kindergarten?
Why is there a photo from 2002 and 2004 on the same page?
Why didn't you take photos of each of my birthday presents?

will ask:
Why aren't you in any of the pictures?
What was I really like as a baby?
What did the kitchen in our first house look like again?
Remember how you used to take us for icecream whenever our baseball team lost? Why didn't you write about that?
What was that song that Grandma used to sing me whenever I was sick?

It came from Simple Scrapbooks, May/Jun 07 edition. and the article was by Lain Ehmann.

Today's artwork.

2008-02-09T14:57:00.000+13:00

I've been sewing.

2008-02-05T21:33:00.000+13:00

Penny pointed me to another great local craft site called Felt. Well worth the look. Thanks Penny!

And I've been doing some sewing myself. I wanted to make Isla an apron for when she does baking with me and I've got heaps of quilting fat quarters and fat tenths so I looked for a pattern but couldn't find one I liked. I just wanted something simple - they all seemed to be pretty frilly, so I've made my own pattern. And its turned out rather well, I'm quite pleased with it actually. I made the neckline adjustable so she won't grow out of it too quickly. Also the white strip I've cut from an old shirt of hers that no longer fits but I loved the design on it so its good to finally use it for something. I've actually done that with quite a few of her old shirts that for some reason or other I couldn't keep or onsell but had cool designs that I could cut out. One day I'd like to make some cushions or something from them but we'll see ;-) Of course the little munchkin didn't want her photo taken so this is the best that I got, lol.

Support local.

2008-02-03T21:33:00.000+13:00

I love looking on Etsy but did you know that New Zealand has its own version called Toggle. Its not quite the same as Etsy in how its run but it does showcase homegrown kiwi crafters and artisans. I haven't looked at it for several months and see there are a lot more artists featured now. Here are some of the ones that caught my eye:

Birdspoke

Hollybush

Bags by Julia

Jo Pearson

Julia Vale

The Death Star Cafeteria

2008-02-01T20:55:00.000+13:00

Even the Star Wars Death Star needed a cafeteria. Where else could Darth Vader go and just chill out with the guys in between battles?

http://www.maniacworld.com/death-star-cafeteria.html

Goodbye. Hello.

2008-01-26T21:08:00.000+13:00

We bought a new tent this week so its goodbye to the old one which as you can see is not really big enough for a family of 3 now.

And hello to the new one. Quite hard to see it very well in this pic but it has 3 rooms and a nice sheltered awning off the left hand side.

Looking forward to using it now. What's your favourite camping spot?

Are you comfy?

2008-01-20T20:32:00.000+13:00

So NZ Dares has started up again for 2008 after our Xmas break. The dare is by Vicky and the theme is Tickle My Fancy. Here's my layout. It's all about how I caught Isla asleep under the dining table. It just makes me smile all the funny positions and places toddlers can fall asleep in. So of course I had to get out the camera before taking her up to her bed.

I've also put this layout up on the Fiskars Craft blog. My first post for Fiskars, yay! This layout is all Heidi Grace papers and elements and a stamp also (the swirl). Other stamps are by Fiskars as well. The Fiskars Craft blog is really rocking at the moment, lots of posts on there everyday. Great inspiration. Go check it out.

TGIF

2008-01-18T08:39:00.000+13:00

Yay its Friday, had a lovely week. On Wednesday we had a nice morning at Milford with Trina, Donna and Jo. I ran out of glue so had to make a quick dash to the shops to get some. Gotta have glue! Yesterday we had swimming and Isla's 2 year Plunket visit - it seems she is normal, lol. Today we're off to a friend's house for a playdate and tonight I'm going to crop at Jo's house. All is good. I have mojo. I have photos to scrap so I'm a happy girl. And I've been enjoying watching the Australian Open tennis too. I would love to see Roger Federer play, maybe one day I'll make it over to Melbourne to see.

I also finished this layout last weekend. It was for Fiskars but this range is not available in NZ or Australia so I can't put it on the Fiskars blog but can share it here. The range is called Heidi's Cute Cakes by Heidi Grace.

OK later.

Classes help.

2008-01-15T21:35:00.000+13:00

Get your mojo back that is. On Friday I went to NZ Scrapbook to take a class with the fabulous Jamie Waters, one of my favouritist scrapbookers. I love her style so much and she was so sweet. Such a lovely person. I had so much fun with Jo there too, it was a great night. I hadn't done any scrapping since early December so the good thing is i now feel excited about doing it again and have already done another layout since (will share soon)! Here are the pics of the layouts I did. I was debating about whether I was going to be able to convert them into A4 which is the size I scrap in but I was able to so I'm really pleased how they turned out. And also a pic of me with Jamie but OMG I can't believe how sunburnt I am!

Summer '08

2008-01-12T21:38:00.000+13:00

Summer holidays 2008 is all about going to the beach, walks around the Mount, enjoying the sunshine, playing with the hose while "helping" to fill the paddling pool, washing the car, painting pictures or painting yourself, having fun in the sandpit, enjoying all the new xmas toys (far too many of them) but particularly the tea set, playdough, the doll's house, kicking the ball around outside, going on picnics, sleeping in the Dora bed, trying your first fluffy, looking for airplanes, enjoying time at Nana and Grandad's, too many chippies and Shrewsbury biscuits, saying so many new words. It's all good. Happy New Year.

The night before the night before Christmas

2007-12-23T20:18:00.000+13:00

Only 2 sleeps to go and all the presents are wrapped, yay! Been busy the last few weeks so had no time to update. Wishing you and yours a very merry and safe Christmas and happy holidays!

Christmas craft

2007-12-16T11:56:00.000+13:00

So lately i've been collecting a whole lot of Christmas craft ideas that I've been wanting to try, just haven't found the time to do any of it of course. Until last week.

I've admired those cool button trees and other types of trees around ever since I saw this one by Tia Bennett. How cool are they? So I thought I'd give it a go but discovered that the pins I bought were too small in the head - they just let the button slip through. Turns out you need the pearl head pins. So anyway I thought maybe I'd try it with all those little Prima flowers that I've got sitting on my shelf gathering dust and I really like the result. I added a bead and a sequin onto the pin before putting the flower on.

And thanks for the comments about becoming a Fiskars Ambassador. It turns out we made it onto the Scrap Scene blog so that's pretty cool!

Big news!

2007-12-13T08:43:00.000+13:00

And its rather exciting - I've been asked to become a Fiskars ambassador along with these fab ladies:
Beverley Warwick
Donna Meuli
Evana Willis
Jo Burney
Lesley Cooper
Lianne Gray

So its all rather exciting. I get to play with awesome tools and products and you'll see me post on the Fiskars blog too. Can't wait to get stuck in and play!

She's 2!!!

2007-12-11T14:11:00.000+13:00

Well Isla's birthday has been and gone for another year. We had a really enjoyable day. Isla had a lot of fun opening her pressies and she's now reached the age where she knows how to get the paper off. The tearing the paper off is a lot of fun and even better there's something inside - bonus!!! lol. So here's a few pics from the day.

Playing with her new doll. She's a real girly girl and loves to tuck her dolls into bed and feed them.

The new easel - she really loves drawing and painting. We had to go and buy paint the next day as we didn't have any, duh. I took these photos from behind because i wanted to show her Maisy sticker on her back which says "I am 2".

Looking cool in her new shades. This is the first pair she's had tho not sure how long they'll last as she tends to bend the frames a bit. These are from Pumpkin Patch, i think next time she'll get some real cheap ones, lol.

Looking gorgeous in her party dress and crown. She actually wore this dress for her 1st birthday but wanted to wear it again and it still fits, yay! I think it looks so lovely on her. I made the crown last year as well - her head is now a bit bigger so it might need to be adjusted soon or I suppose I could make a new one. This was really funny. She was unwrapping this present and once she got the wrapping paper off she stomped on it. Good thing it wasn't fragile, just clothes. Rofl!

And the cake. Have to say that it turned out great and I'm rather chuffed with it. And it passed the taste test of Isla. She got her finger into the icing straight away and picked off as many pebbles as she could. We lit the candles and she blew them out straight away so we lit them another couple of times so we could get pics of her doing it!

Well that's it for another year!

Some layouts

2007-12-07T14:24:00.000+13:00

I did these 2 layouts a few weeks ago but hadn't got around to sharing. I really like them.

The first one is using BasicGrey Mellow range plus the letters are Making Memories Noteworthy and they're flocked too - i love them!

The second one is actually a lift of Jamie Waters - love her stuff and don't forget she's coming to NZ to teach at NZ Scrapbook in January. I know the classes are filling up fast. Isla's grin in this one is a bit cheesy but hey its the best shot of us in a long time. Might have to put it in my banner I think.

Busy weekend coming up. It's Isla's 2nd birthday tomorrow and I'm baking a cake tonight so hopefully it will turn out to be edible, lol. Wish me luck!

Dec update

2007-12-05T15:32:00.000+13:00

For lack of a more interesting title I am going to call this post "Dec update", because its December and its been so long since I blogged. Lots of fun things have been going on since my last post.

We were in the local Santa Parade with Isla's Playcentre. Was so much fun. All the kids had reindeer antlers to wear and Isla actually wore hers, yay, she was so cute!

Nana and Grandad came to watch swimming so we got some photos which was nice. One of her favourite things is the shower afterwards!

Daryl's boat is getting closer to being finished. He is on a fast-encroaching deadline as he wants to sail in the Nationals over New Year. We'll see! Fingers crossed for him.

Isla has an advent calendar for December this year. Nana made it last year and this year its filled with lots of yummy and fun things. The first day it was up we soon realised it needed to be up higher, a lot higher cos little hands can reach high these days or they can get chairs to stand on, lol. And also having to wait till tomorrow for the next thing is not so easy to understand.

And today we went for a visit to the zoo with Playcentre. Here's my little tiger.

Heard the latest?

2007-11-22T14:56:00.000+13:00

Jamie Waters is coming to town! One of my most favouritist scrapbookers - can't wait!

For more info and how to book check the NZ Scrapbook blog.

Latest dare

2007-11-16T14:16:00.000+13:00

Go check out NZ Dares for a fab dare using digitally altered photos. I had a lot of fun with this one. Here's my original photo:

I made 2 copies of the photo, then on the first one i used a colour pop action to give the colour a boost and I also lightened the photo a bit and played with the contrast a bit. Then I used a filter called Accented Edges on it. This gives it a bit of a painted-type look but with almost glowing edges as well. Then on the 2nd copy I put a Graphic Pen filter on the photo.

Then I layered the 2nd copy on top of the first one and erased over my daughter so that the coloured copy shows through. Here's the photo after all the changes:

And here's my layout for the dare:

Stand Up and Scrap

2007-11-14T14:31:00.000+13:00

So a few weeks back I took part in a digi-scrapping competition that ran for 6 weeks with different challenges each week. It was called Stand Up and Scrap and all proceeds from entry fees went to the Alliance for Climate Protection which is run by Al Gore. In return for our entry fee we got a fab digikit designed by some awesome digi-designers. The competition itself was run by Little Dreamer Designs, Sweet Shoppe Designs, and Disc Talk Radio, and was run very well I thought. Everyone had an entry number and you could only load your entries to the gallery by this number so theoretically the judges wouldn't know who you are (unless the people in your photos were well known in the digi-scrapping world). Also there were different judges for each week so no bias also. This is the first competition I've ever entered for digi-scrapping so didn't really think my chances would be good - I was just pleased to complete 6 layouts!

I didn't find out until the end of the contest how I did. There were over 450 entries split into 2 categories - Advanced and Intermediate (that's me!) but in the end I came 40th in the Intermediate category out of appox 150 entries that actually received points. I don't know how many didn't receive any points and I was thrilled to find out that I actually received points for all my layouts except for one so that was pretty cool. So here is my layout for the first challenge which was "Dream" and also had to use brushes. This is the layout that didn't score any points. I guess its quite hard to read but the journalling basically says how my dream is to be there later in life for my family, to grow old with my husband and to see my daughter grow into a woman.

Happy Mail Day

2007-11-09T14:27:00.000+13:00

Yay, this turned up in the mailbox this morning.

I've had a quick flick through it and it looks really cool and inspiring - just what I need right now. And the best thing is that it's all Ali - no contributing artists, just her.

And this caught my eye - love this philosophy.

BTW: Isla was 23 months old yesterday. Eeeek! Only 1 month till she's 2!!! Where does the time go?

Baking

2007-11-08T08:50:00.000+13:00

So the other day we did some baking for the first time with Isla. We made shortbread cookies, yum yum. We even had an apron for her and she looked so cute in it! Though its a bit big so might have to make her another one. The only apron i had was my Fiskars one so I had to wear that, rofl! She didn't really want to get her hands too mucky in the dough mixture but was keen to try out the rolling pin and make shapes - just like playdough! Then we did the washing up together and by then the cookies were cooked. And they tasted really good!

Latest Digi purchases

2007-11-06T14:04:00.000+13:00

So on Saturday it was Digital Scrapbooking Day which of course meant there were lots of sales over the weekend and some during the previous week so naturally I had to partake. This is what I got:

Some cool alphas:

I think this is my favourite one:

A few other things:

A couple of cute kits:

And this very large but free kit from MSA:

Can't wait to play now!

Scrapjacked!

2007-11-03T21:10:00.000+13:00

So the fab girls over at the Kiwi Jack Me Up blog have picked me for this month. How cool is that? Go check it out and get scrapjacking!

Hello Blog, it's been a while ...

2007-11-01T08:21:00.000+13:00

Yes, a bit slow (or rather nonexistent) on the blog front. Life got in the way during October. But hey now its November (or should that be 'Mo-vember', lol). Maybe I'll post a bit more often this month - that would be good.

So anyway here are a couple of layouts from NZ Scrapbook for October. Using BasicGrey Mellow range. I had a lot of fun using my Cuttlebug alphabets for these ones, just love those!

Window dare

2007-10-06T14:08:00.000+13:00

Here is my latest layout for No 8 Wired - the theme was 'out your window'. I decided to go digi for this one. Have to say I'm really pleased with this one and also because it took me way quicker than I usually take to do a layout. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and a procrastinator and really like to mull over how things look for a while before i stick things down so this was good for a change.

Credits:
Background paper by Jackie Eckles - Chirpy Days Kit
Paper by Amber Clegg - Scrapartist InVogue kit
Frayed Fabric Template by Leora Sanford
Stitching by Jackie Eckles - Chirpy Days kit
Circle stitches by Gina Marie Huff - Stand Up kit
File tabs by Amber Clegg - Date stamps brush set
Felt circle by Tiff Brady - Stand Up kit
Felt flower by Tiff Brady - Stand Up kit
Fabric flowers by Sara Amarie - Stand Up kit
Large photo frame by Katie Pertiet - Vintage Photo Frames 2
Smaller photo frames by Christina Renee - Stand Up kit
Ribbon by Christina Renee - Stand Up kit
Journalling brush by Nancie Rowe Janitz - Scrapartist Journalique kit
Wire word by Weeds & Wildflowers freebie
Date stamp by Amber Clegg - Date stamps brush set
Font: MA Fishy

DT - September

2007-10-03T21:20:00.000+13:00

Thought it was about time I shared what I got up to for NZ Scrapbook for September.

I got to play with some fab Amy Butler paper for K&C0, souffle pens, Fiskars stamps and stamp-press and some Bazzill bling cardstock. So I did a layout and also made some cards. Loved the colours and the stamps are so cool!

Animoto

2007-09-27T13:52:00.000+12:00

I saw this on Sharon's blog and had to give it a try! It's so cool! I think I may yet have to sign up for a full subscription cos I can see me making these all the time. Just so much fun.

Here's my vid: I-Snaps 2

More Actions

2007-09-26T13:48:00.000+12:00

I couldn't resist it, I had to go and buy more actions and now I want even more! lol.

So I got the Pro Black & White which is just so much better than the Demo Black & White. I love the contrast but again like all the Pro versions you can control the contrast and tones etc.

Also got Goldenrod which is a lovely almost sepia-like black and white and my new favourite is Midnight Colour - lovely warm tones to it. Check it out:

Actions

2007-09-24T08:13:00.000+12:00

Finally bought some actions yesterday - have been meaning to for ages! These are EZActions but are also available from Digi Scrap Shak which is where i got them as they had a 50% off sale. I'm not quite sure but i think the standard actions are just a one-click action but the Pro versions give a lot more flexibility and control so I got those versions. The cool thing is these work in Photoshop Elements - yay! The Demo black and white I don't really like - i find it a bit flat. I like my black and white photos to have quite a bit of contrast so I may buy the Pro version of that one too. I really like the Vivid Color one and I like the look of the Acid Wash too. Some of the photos I've darkened up the backgrounds as well with the Paint with Light feature - which is very cool Here's some examples:

Home again

2007-09-17T13:57:00.000+12:00

Back home again after being away most of the past week in Mt Maunganui with a daytrip to Rotorua too. We had a wonderful relaxing time. Was just really nice to spend all that time with Daryl and Isla and of course the grandparents got to see Isla again which they loved. Here are some pics:

Her first visit to a big swimming pool which went really well - she pretty much just walked straight in and later we took her into the big pool, walked her in right up to her neck. Must start considering swimming lessons now.

We also went to a petting zoo. Her first closeup encounter with animals apart from the zoo. Was really funny because we kept getting hounded by chickens for food i guess. Isla had the death-grip on daddy's hand! Lol.
On Saturday we went and visited some good friends of ours in Rotorua. Went for a lovely walk through the Redwoods Forest and then later drove up to Lake Tarawera. Good times.

Today's artwork.

2007-09-07T15:23:00.000+12:00

Today we went to Playcentre for the first time. Was sooo much fun, so much to do and play with. I have been thinking about some form of Early Childhood Education for Isla but don't really know what yet so its good to go and try some out. We've been to 2 different playgroups as well recently but I did really like the Playcentre best i think. And we would most likely enrol her at kindy or a preschool as well for when she's a bit older. I know there is a lot more parent involvement but I'm probably ok with that - wouldn't really want to leave her at this age anyway. So things to think on.

So here is the artwork she did today:

News!

2007-09-05T08:11:00.000+12:00

So the news is out: http://nzscrapbook.blogspot.com/

I've been asked to be on the NZ Scrapbook DT. I'm really excited about this as they were the first scrapbook store I ever went to and I also took my first class there. They're not that far away (about a 10min drive) from where I live and I might even get to teach some classes as well. The other 4 team members are Jo Kneller, Megan Renfree, Ilka Adam and Sarah Groen who are all just fab scrapbookers. Just too cool!!!

And can't have a post without a photo can we? Bit of a crap photo but anyway. So here is Miss I yesterday sitting in her doll's pram. First time I've seen her do this, good to know it can take her weight! Tho for how much longer I wonder!

New dare

2007-09-01T20:05:00.000+12:00

The latest dare is up over at No 8 Wired and its mine this week. All about the numbers. Use 1 patterned paper, 2 rubons, 3 pieces of fabric or ribbon and 4 embellishments. So here's my take on it. I actually found it quite hard to restrict myself like this but I really love the result. I always enjoy when I do layouts of me and Daryl because most of the time they're all about Isla.

Also found this cute kit club site:http://qteakits.blogspot.com/

And this is cool too - a charity digikit for the environment with challenges and a competition attached to it. I think I'll definitely get the kit - not sure about the comp yet though.

http://standupandscrap.blogspot.com/
And I have some news coming soon ;-)

End of the month

2007-08-31T08:40:00.000+12:00

And where have I been this week?

Last weekend we went for a drive up around Okura and Stillwater just to check it out really. We're quite keen on moving out of the city and thought we'd take a look. We liked Stillwater more than Okura but despite its size there is no school there or even a dairy or service station so its still a bit of a drive just to get your milk. We used to live in Dairy Flat a few years back and quite liked that but not really sure we can afford to buy a lifestyle block when anything decent is upwards of $700k.

On our way back we stopped in at Snowplanet for a coffee and noticed that its changed a little bit since we were last there. They now have a kiddie's slope for playing in the snow and tobagganing for only $15 which I thought wasn't too bad, so maybe in a few months time we might take Isla there and see what she thinks.

Then Monday and Tuesday Isla was sick and still has a real hacking cough and runny nose, poor thing. We'll be glad when the warmer weather comes.

Weds we went to the library and yesterday went and checked out the new mall at Albany. So nice to have a KMart on the Shore now and i'm looking forward to a flash new Farmers store and especially Borders.

Oh and I've been doing a few layouts too. Here's one I started at Donna's house last Friday and finished over the weekend for Scrapbook Studio. Ok so the picture of this layout is a bit washed out or something but you get the idea.

Zoo Photowalk

2007-08-24T14:28:00.000+12:00

Was such a gorgeous day yesterday. Met up with Sharon and Penny at the zoo. Was great to meet you Penny and your little ones. Unfortunately the new baby giraffe was a bit shy coming out so we never got to see her. Nevermind, there's always next time. Here's some pics including my little monkey.

Another digi.

2007-08-20T13:41:00.000+12:00

All of a sudden the mojo has hit! So here's another one I did using a template. And I think I've figured out drop shadows now as well. I've realised I didn't have any on my last layout but I don't mind. Since doing this one I've also done nearly 2 paper layouts too so I'm onto a good thing at the moment.

Had a fun weekend - finished our last Fiskars class at NZ Scrapbook with Trina and Donna - we had 23 people in the last class so it was full on! Anyway here's my layout - will share more over the next few days.

Credits:

Template by Two Sisters Designs - ScrapArtist InVogue kit
Papers by Nancie Rowe Janitz, Sara Carling, Dianne Rigdon - ScrapArtist Journalique kit
Large photo frame by Lauren Reid - ScrapArtist InVogue kit
Small photo frames by Rhonna Farrer - 2Peas Office Supply Tool kit
Flowers by Weeds & Wildflowers - ScrapArtist Lazy Days kit
Alpha by Nancie Rowe Janitz - ScrapArtist Shmootzy Alpha 4 kit
Coffee Stain Brush by Jackie Eckles - ScrapArtist Journalique kit
Circle Brush by Jackie Eckles - Designer Digitals Big Circle Stamps
Font: PeaJenny

I did digi.

2007-08-16T20:04:00.000+12:00

So I follow a few of the digi sites and their blogs and this week Scrapartist featured such a gorgeous kit that I couldn't resist getting it. And there are so many yummy things in the kit including a template which I've used to create this layout. I've added a few extras to it but it was so quick and easy to do. I have done a few digi layouts in the past but i'm feeling the buzz for them again!

Credits: Everything from ScrapArtist Reverie kit, except for:
Photo edge from ScrapArtist InVogue birthday kit
Date brushes from Rhonna Farrer Old Stamps from 2Peas
Font: Travelling Typewriter.