Amanda - art challenge

inspired by this months Creating Keepsakes with the stitching and the mini letters.

November!

oh wow - it's November already! How did that happen??!

Amanda's Challenge

i saw this on someone's blog (sorry can't remember who!) and thought it was a great idea.... inspired by art.

So i have picked a painting by Australian artist Chris Wake and would like you to create a page based on a few things that have inspired me from this piece of art.

Your layout must contain the following:

*random green embellishment

*rope or twine

*a photo that is a 'less than perfect' image of you but you love it anyway.

*journalling or title to include a story about a great fun, (perhaps unexpected?) time you had with friends.

* at least 3 papers and one must be black and white spots.




in other news please stay tuned for the date registrations for e2c 2011 will be open. In the past few years spots have been hotly contested and we are usually sold out in a matter of hours. If you think you might come along, or know of anyone else who may be interested... please stay tuned and let them know to keep their eyes peeled also.

Enabling a purchase for scrappers!!

When I was in Port Lincoln today I bought one of these at Kmart ...

Only $49 and the trays fit 12 x 12 inch papers (actually bigger than 12 x 12")

Dee had one of these at the Trinity Scrapathon I think.

And it fits under my trestle table!!

Not sure how long the special is on for but thought it was worth mentioning!!

Drum roll please ...

so after our meeting on Friday we made the huge decision about our logo for the 2011 retreat ...

it was an agonising decision and we argued for a while ...

but in the end we all agreed this is the one we all loved ...

Sue has even said since in her emails to us

"I keep looking at the new logo and just LOVE it.....and can't wait for it to be popped up!!"


so for Sue and everyone else ...


here it is ...


I will leave it to Amanda to change it as our blog header later today ...

On reflection I think the designer has missed the actual reason for the retreat and I have some concerns in that department ...


I mean I am wondering what (or who) they were thinking of when designing ... microphone, iPod dock, wine bottles, vodka, blender, cocktail glasses ...


But I am sure that it will be well received by all of you as our 2011 logo


I bet you can't wait to have this one ironed on your t-shirts hey!!

Non scrapbook related post!

I thought this was funny and very clever - it gave me a giggle so i thought i would share.

From Momicillin - a source of really great articles on being a mum and all the joys that brings. Often written sarcastically as was that last sentence.

Dear husband,

We’ve been together a long time now, and after all these years, I’m happy to report that I’m still crazy about you. You’re my best friend, my favorite hanging buddy, and the man who makes this house my home. I respect and admire you now as always and love the father you are. And, much to my advantage, you’re a good lover, even a great one.

Most of the time.

But, occasionally you mistake me for a car. I am not a car, my darling, and never will be. This means that when you get a hankering for a midnight drive or a sunrise spin, I’m afraid that you cannot start me up by using only the key. It’s just not that simple.

If I were a car, getting this engine from 0 to 60 would take considerably more effort than putting in the key and pushing the gas. For one thing, I’d expect all my parts, exposed and hidden, to be thoroughly lubed and oiled before every driving session. I’d expect you, as driver, to admire the make and model, spit shine the headlights, and caress the steering wheel for a very long while—before pulling out the shiny little key—big key, I mean. Very big key. (No one is complaining about the key here!) I’m just saying that if I were a car and got that kind of treatment, that’d make the engine purr.

It’s important to note that the fact that I’m not a car is not my fault and is nothing I can change. It’s a design issue. I have several parts that need attention and one critical start button located near—but not-quite-near-enough—the ignition. I’m not responsible for this design but hope someday to talk to the Great Engineer in the sky, if only to ask, “Why?”

I’m the first to admit that life would be great for us both if I were a car. In fact, if I were in charge of my own design, I’d be built like our new car: the key to that car only has to be nearby, and it’ll fire up with the push of a button. A single touch, mind you,—not endless minutes of not-too-hard-not-too-soft play.

I think you occasionally mistake me for a Hot Rod car because my body has, once or twice, mislead you by jumpstarting with use of only the key. This is a rarity. I think it happens when Mars is in the house of Venus and the stars are aligned, and the Sun and Saturn are in conjunction. Maybe. I’m not sure.

Finally, know this: I recognize and value your continued, patient attempts to “rev my engine” and pray that, in the immortal words of what’s-his-name, you “Never give up!”

Christmas is coming ...

1.
Last year I did a December Daily album ...

here is the info from Ali Edwards's site about what she is up to this year ...

http://aliedwards.com/2010/10/december-daily-2010-creating-a-foundation.html

There are also more posts on how she created the cover etc.

2.
Over at Maya Road ... http://mayaroad.typepad.com/dt/2010/10/christmas-is-a-coming.html

some fabric banner pennants have been made into tree ... maybe try calico and stiffen it for a similar effect!!

3.
These could be adapted for a Christmas treat ...

http://noelmignontandt.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-treat-bags.html

4.
Over at the Kaisercraft blog ...

This would make a gorgeous gift for a little girl ...

http://www.kaisercraft.net/blog/beyond-the-page-with-candy-lane-2/ (scroll down to see more)

And ...

Have you found any great Christmas ideas ...

leave a comment with the link to inspire us!!

Trish - challenges and retreat layouts :)

Hi Amanda, I have sent 3 of my Lo's from the weekend. The one of Georgia,
some new things for me on this page and my apologies in advance if I offend
anyone or reduce anyone to tears. And I have Sue's sketch and the
punctuation challenge as well. Am loving all the pages on the blog and also
I think that the amount of people at the mini retreat and the fact that they
were all really enjoying themselves is a wonderful reflection on the blog
and the women involved.
Cheers
Trish

Sue's sketch.

Punctuation challenge.



Wow Trish you were super busy on the retreat - glad you enjoyed yourself and found some mojo to create these masterpieces!

The layout of Georgia is so sweet and pretty. Photos of your special girl will always be precious and difficult to scrap but you have done an amazing job. Such detail and prettiness is well balanced with the white spaces.  A beautiful girl, beautiful photo and beautifully scrapped xx.

Love the use of kraft in the ready bike ride page- the use of Sue's sketch is perfect! The little piece of book page peeking out the top is great!

Also wow at the punctuation challenge layout. What a cute photo and a great title which says it all! Thickers are so delicious aren't they!? (as well as tiny fingers apparently lol)


Fabulous Trish - thanks so much for showing us your creations. Wonderful work.

Marika - Sue's sketch

Hi Amanda,

Glad to hear everyone had a great weekend at the mini retreat just sending you my layout based on Sues sketch.

Thankyou Marika

oh of course i love the dots and the beautiful brights you have used here Marika - and wowee at that amazing ribbon flower. Looks awesome!!

Cute, cute, cute photo also - Simon's windblown mohawk gave me a giggle though lol.

lovely work!

sandra - punctuation / symbol challenge

Hi Amanda

Thanks girls for an amazing weekend.
Thoroughly enjoyed myself and found my mojo again.
attached is my layout for the punctuation challenge.
Challenged myself also by using wallpaper as the background...LOVED it!
And think I will be using it more often!!

and thanks to Wendy for the turquoise rope...it was perfect!!
cheers
Sandra

wow Sandra - that turquoise really pops against the grainy sandy coloured back ground - and doesn't that look awesome too!!! Wallpaper! Fantastic! Just loving how rustic it looks - which is brilliant when you pair it with the sea collection cluster.  Did you back it with something to add some strength as i am thinking wall paper is pretty thin and flimsy?

Stunning page - really beautiful work. Thanks for sharing :)

Amanda - punctuation symbols

Quick question for Scrapathon attendees ...

if you attended on the weekend and left this hanging by the fire ...

(the maroon one)

I have it, as you can see freshly washed!!

Let me know and I'll get it to you!

Meredith

PS I was going to be silly and post a lingerie photo first but the ones I found online were all a bit too saucy!! LOL

Sue's sketch & Amanda's challenge - Lou

Hi Guys

Please find attached my LO for Sue's sketch [the pink one] and Amanda's challenge.

Once again thank you to you all and sue for a fabulous weekend!! I loved it!

Lou :) xx

First up Sue's sketch ...

and Amanda's punctuation challenge ...

Oh there is a familiar face :-)

Great work Lou - I am intrigued at the "flowers' in the first one - how did you do them?? They look beautiful! The silver birds are gorgeous too (think I commented to you about them!) The pink is yummy too!

I agree with your dog lick sentiments too!! Great use of punctuation / signs!!

Thank you for your on going support!!

Tatum - Sue's sketch

Thankyou (and Sue & Meredith) again for such a fantastic weekend…it was awesome!

I did do Sue’s sketch over the weekend…I flipped it around to suit the photo and added the vertical piece of paper because it fitted well with the LO theme.

…3 years later it is actually Sebastian’s first pre-kindy session on Wednesday arvo.

Have a fantastic week.

Tatum xx

wow wow wow. I saw this irl and it blew my socks right off. The detail is amazing. Lots of creative yummy-ness going on here. Those primary colours, the paper choices and school embellishments are perfection together. Thanks Tatum - you clever chickie.

Julie - Sue's sketch + punctuation

Hi Amanda,
Hope this comes through OK.
Here is my answer to two challenges... Sue's sketch as well as the
punctuation challenge.  I've been wanting to scrap these silly photos for a
while, and this just seemed to fit.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, I'll be thinking of you as we prepare
for shearing next week...
Julie C
x

This is fabulous Julie - love the look on Jess's face and all those pegs is a bit of a 'what the ?' isn't it!!?? Naturally i love the black and white dot - team it with pink and yellow and it is totally WOW.

Awesome stuff!

mini retreat /scrapathon

Well it was called Mini but it was anything but!! So much food, shopping, and scrapping to be done.

There were 30 smiling, happy and relaxed ladies enjoying our weekend and on behalf of Sue, Meredith and myself i would like to thank you all. What a lovely, friendly bunch of scrappers we had at Trinity - just awesome. Walking around the room, talking and looking at the work was just so inspiring!

Massive thanks to our cooks - Tracey M and Kathryn. They provided the most YUMMO food that was a taste sensation.

Thanks also to the shops - how luck were we to  scrap and be able to purchase as we need RIGHT THAT INSTANT. We can appreciate how much work goes into packing up a shop and taking it to our retreats so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.

We also broke the news about our big retreat....


THE DATE FOR 2011 :  1st, 2nd and 3rd of April.

we will also have 4 special guest teachers.

Registrations are not being taken yet but stay tuned as it will happen within a few weeks - we will announce a date that the registrations will be open in advance so there is no guess work involved this year.

There has been a flurry in my inbox of layouts created over the past weekend so i will post them directly.

What to bring to the Scrapathon ...

Ali - 10.10.10

Hi Amanda, didn't have a photo right at 10:10am but here is Mia a bit later in the day out in the wildflowers just out of Andamooka!

See you soon. Yippee!

Ali

oh WOW Ali. This photo and the colour in the wild flowers and her dress look incredible. What an amazing environment you live in!!

Can't wait to see how you scrap this one...maybe i will see first hand on the weekend?

Kylie's 10/10/10

Hi Amanda,

Here's my photo from 10/10/10 ... (although this was taken in the afternoon ... not at 10am).

'Fun in the Sun' .. This photo cracked me up - Charlie 'airborne' off the end of the slip'n'slide - lucky the grass was soft !

It was such a nice warm sunny day for some water fun on Sunday.

Thanks,

Kylie

A great 'action' shot Kylie!! It was a beautiful day too - great idea getting the kids active and out of the house for their last day of freedom!

10am 10th of the 10th in 2010

Sandra sent in a photo of her very productive morning:

and in complete opposite here are my actions at 10am this morning:

(note price on book is in Fiji $ for those with keen eyes!)

10am 10th of the 10th in 2010

How will you be spending your 10.10.10 at 10am?

Normally this is Meredith's domain but i just noticed this very special date is just around the corner (Man i love October!!)

I will probably still be in bed lol... if you feel enthused maybe a photo of what you are up to at that time!

October Sketch Challenge

Well, at last here is this month's sketch challenge for everyone. Sorry it has taken me a few days to get around to getting it done, and my example to show you.

Here is my example:

I am in love with both this little face at the moment ....AND the red, green and black colour combo!! This photo is not the best...over exposed etc....but he is soooo cute!!

I have also added an bracket on this page....which fits into Amanda's challenge??

Have fun with the sketch and i can't wait to see what you all come up with

Michelle - punctuation symbols

Hi Amanda

Here is my entry into this month’s challenge.

The title is probably not as big as one would like it but it encompasses the requirements.

The photo shows a little wrinkles on the cs due to handsewing.  Tried my best.

Cheers

Michelle

Ohhh wow at your big heart Michelle - this is amazing! Great job with the handsewing - very tricky to do and you are so neat! Love the use of the " and ! in your title. Your 'hold onto your knickers' made me laugh - great series of photos that really show the action!

great job thanks Michelle!

Kylie - something to share...

Hi Amanda,

Just sending through a photo of the page (and a bit) that I did in Mel Forbes' Class at the Nth Shields Retreat earlier this year.  I only got around to getting it framed last week (nothing like leaving it to the LAST minute !) ready for my Dad's birthday last weekend at Pt Neill.

Please excuse the 'reflection' of our shack on the top 1/2 of the photo ... I didn't really notice it until I got home.

Thanks,

Kylie

OMG Kylie this looks AMAZING. I bet there were tears when this was given as a gift! I am sure Mel Forbes will be totally blown away when she sees this. Beautiful work Kylie - you have put your own spin on it and it looks fabulous. The frame looks so yummy with the bronzey/brown tones of the page. gorgeous.

Hello October

Welcome to my fav. month of the year October. The time for spring flowers, warmer days while still enjoying cooler nights. Everyone seems happier in October!


(sorry we are a bit tardy on the challenges! So much to do and so little time to fit it all in!!)


Amanda's challenge

Use some punctuation symbols in your title. These symbols must be a key element in your title design. ie. they stand out on your page and make you go 'WOW that layout would not be the same without that amazing symbol!!'

I am thinking


: " ? { } & ( ) @ !


(no I am not swearing but giving you an example of the symbols i mean!!)


I know Sue and Meredith have some really great challenges in the pipeline for you too.


Also not long until our 'mini retreat' at Trinity Haven. There are a couple of last minute spots still available if you are interested but please let us know asap. This is shaping up to be an excellent, relaxing time in a no fuss, no dramas environment promising plenty of creativity and scrap shopping! An email will go out soon to those attending with what to bring along,  and all the detail you need. Stay tuned early next week for that one.

Amanda - more box challenges

and....

this next one is a scraplift from Moonko who i find hugely inspiring with her clean lines kind of scrapping. This is the layout in particular.

 (very random birdcage added lol)

Amanda - box challenge

from this box:

came this layout:

Amanda - Sue's sketch

Maryanne - box challenge

Maryanne chose this box:

and came up with this beauty!

Maryanne i think the non posed, not cheesy photos are THE BEST. They tell much more of a story imo. FABLICIOUS birdcage, and some very fancy stitching!

I think you DO do photos lol. Brilliant as always.

Julie - Sue's sketch

Hi Sue,

Here’s my take on your sketch – rotated 90 degrees, but all the elements are there!

The text: ‘...rolling down the base of Strawberry Hill with all the cousins (and Uncle James watching on)...another BBQ near Grandpa’s Creek at ‘Yarlee’... Grandma and Grandpa, the Walters, Forsters, Cafutas and us... SO much fun!!’

Thanks Sue,

Julie C

I just love looking at others scrap pages.......and Julie this one is just beautiful!! I love the colours, the crochet flowers and that title is stunning!! It has the whole WOW factor!!

Great photos and memory of a great fun times!!

Thanks Julie for sending it in!!

Suexx

Lauren - box challenge

Hi Amanda,

Attached is my layout for the box challenge with a birdcage + yellow + a new font. I actually completed most of the layout way back at the beginning of the month when I was visiting Tatum, but finding a new font and then actually printing out the journalling proved to be a very hard task...lol!! :)
Its a bit hard to read, but the journalling in my new font 'learning cursive' reads:

"Its no secret that my August was pretty sucky. Kiks you & Ali were close by with a hug and the friendship I needed. I'm so very lucky to have you guys. Thankyou xox"

Thankyou for the great challenges this month girls, can't wait to see what you have in store for October!...not long till the scrapathon...I'm getting REALLY excited!! :)

xx Lauren

Fabulous Lauren. I love that little birdcage with the sweet little birds inside. That purple is so striking with the yellow. Love it! The turned corner is a great touch too!

I am sorry you had a crappy August... hopefully you can put it behind you and move onto happier months. I just know October will be an AWESOME month for all us scrappers ;-)

Amy - box challenge and currents

here are my layouts for the box challenge and the currents challenge. I enjoyed doing them and I think I will get cracking on the other boxes now! cheers for the ideas - Amy f



Amy picked this box:

and came up with this cracker!

The clouds look so funky Amy! love the blue splats with the hint of kraft! Stunning!

and this is her gorgeous currents challenge. Love the sewn grid and the use of Carolees Creation little letter stickers for the journalling words.

Great work Amy. Hope to see some more inspiration from you soon!

home.

Bula!

Yep i am home again and able to take emailed challenges again!

Thanks so much to Meredith and Sue who have kept this blog absolutely ROCKING along. I can't believe all the action that has gone on while i have been away! Some amazing layouts, heaps of positive, warm fuzzy comments and a LOT of acceptances! Well done to all.


Hopefully i can force myself to get back into the scrapping scene with some holiday snaps and a lot of e2c challenges left to do!

Julie and a number of challenges!!!

Hi Meredith,

Here are a few challenges that I’ve finally managed to attempt! 

The first one is from last month, the colour challenge – not a colour combo I’d normally go for, but that’s what the challenges are all about I guess!

Next is the ‘currents’ challenge – I added a couple of Ali’s (reading... watching... ).  Colour is a bit blah.  And I don’t love pictures of me, but again, it’s all about the challenge...

Now, for the box challenges – box 3, the sheet music, colour pencils (white writing) and teal (see the petals?) – these are some of my Mum’s school photos, and the middle one is her with her music certificate when she was nine, so that’s appropriate to the challenge!

And box 4 (splats, Kraft, clouds).  I really enjoyed doing this one as it’s also not something I’d normally try. 

Keep the challenges coming, they’re great!

Julie C


Wow Julie thank you for sending those in!! Great work!

Gorgeous photos of Jessie, I really like how you have cut and folded the papers at the top right!

Love the photo of you - a lovely reflection of your personality!

A beautiful cluster of crochet and flowers in the layout of your Mum's school photos.

I love the mixed alphas in your title for the scallop shucking and the clouds are very cute!

Thank you - keep them coming ... we will have some more challenges soon with the end of another month ... can you believe it!! Eeeekkkk!!!

New scrap shop in Adelaide ...

Read about this over at Janine's blog ...

Adelaide has a new scrapbook store opening up this weekend in the Northern Suburbs.  

The Paper Flourish 

Sunday Sept  26th @10am-5pm

(Shop 18- Para Vista Shopping Centre, Nelson Rd Para  Vista )

open 6 days Mon-Wed (9-6), Thurs (9-9), Fri (9-4.30), Sat  (closed), Sun 11-4

Just information for anyone who might be in Adelaide and needing some retail therapy!!


Obviously I am all for supporting local shops (cause we have great ones!!) but sometimes other shops have brands that we might not see here!