changes changes everywhere

Just a quick note. Over the next few weeks this blog will be changing. The look, the challenges and the E2C committee.

As we have started gearing up for E2C 2010 everything about to change.

We hope you will stay on as our loyal blog readers, commenters and challenge participants. Thankyou to all for being so encouraging and positive in the past 2 years. We started the blog mainly for inspiration for local girls and also to get the retreat messages out there......basically to give us somewhere to 'hang out' and share our excitement about upcoming E2C retreats. It has snowballed into a challenge blog - which really wasn't where we were going when we started - and we do love seeing local girls (and sometimes non locals) work. It has been lovely sharing your stories, creativity and we have even had a bit of publication success from our challenges! Well done to all.

So as we seem to get so much support for the challenges they will continue. It will be a much different format.........although you will have to wait a little for all to be revealed.

Stay tuned :)

Message from Tiff.

re rabbit home ordering CD that was handed out at the retreat.

due to ongoing issues Rabbit has withdrawn the handout of that CD. They no longer support the product. I have checked by using it and discovered that it tried to charge me an amount that was about double of what the true price was.
I strongly recommend that people delete this program from their computers and toss the CD into the bin. I have.

If ladies edit their photos at home then they can use www.rabbitmagic.com.au to upload their pics. There is no ability to change anything with your photos with this www. nor does it offer 6x8 sizes. But it is much simpler, quicker and easier to navigate than snapfish.
I tried it and found it good. And the prices are the gold member prices with the 2 day wait but u can pick it up the same day with this website.

I was nearly caught out but a friend gave me a heads up on it, so I would really like to pass it on asap.


with many thanks
Tiff

marika's still over the rainbow

I think Marika's still hunting for that pot of gold.

lunar

isnt this frigging awesome. Taken by Trish in January this year with these settings.

night snapshot setting, it has a Tv of 1/400, an Av of 4.3 and an ISO of 160 auto.

sandra's heart tugger

the journaling on this made me go awwwwww.

Sandra says:

Scraplifted this one from here... http://jodywenke.blogspot.com/Love her work. so 2 in one day!!!

clean stylish, classic.

dont forget to scroll down to the next post to see what Meredith has challenged us to do...

Challenge 36 - reuse, go green ...

Okay so as of today here in South Australia we all have to take our green / pink / etc bags to the supermarket for our shopping.

For the next challenge I would like to see layouts that reduce, reuse, recycle!!

I have seen several articles in American scrap magazines with this in mind recently and felt inspired!!

Use something on your layout that is part of the packaging for a scrap supply that you would normally throw in the rubbish bin.

If you think of it take a photo of the item before you use it on your layout and send me a picture of the item and your layout.

Here is my example, albeit a small contribution ;-)

When you buy a paper pack you get a "cover sheet" with an example of each of the papers inside.

Instead of cutting up a 12 x 12 piece of paper for the leaves on my layout I cut them from the green sample of the Cosmo Cricket paper.

Another example of packaging that could be used on a layout ... the backing card in the packet of Making Memories mini alphas, as below.

So scrap and feel good about the environment!!

a day at the races

Sandra just dropped this into my inbox. Isn't it divine. lots of detail but still lots of white space. Sandra has set herself a personal challenge of not buying anything until she has 10 LO's done so this has all come from her stash. I spy hounds tooth, stamps, admission tickets, and lots of layers.

Very heritage and very lurvly.

cya at scrap chat at the Cummins Hall. I'll be there by lunch with Sean in the swag ( I hope)

racing the rainbow.

talk about the right place at the right time... and with a camera. just how amazing is the 2nd shot. the colours are stunning. I think I can reach out and touch it, or find that elusive pot of gold!!!

thanks Marika.

mooning the moon

had a play with the TV setting. I have never fiddled with the shutter speed before.

For this shot I had my big bertha lens 75-300mm lens.

TV 1/800 (this means it took 1 800th of a sec for the shutter to open and shut to take the shot. The quickest speed my camera is 1/4000.

f/5.6 (this is your field of focus. in otherwords what is in focus and out of focus in your shot)

ISO 1600 (I googled to find an explaination. ( In Digital Photography ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. - the lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) - however the cost is noisier shots.Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/iso-settings#ixzz0EG0x39TS&B)

a bit heavy. but if u go thru it step by step and set your cameras manual settings the same, and have no light other that the moon, a tripod or something to have the camera perfectly still, and a bit of cropping in a photo editing program, you should get something like this. (I hope)

pretty cool how u can see the craters and the dead seas on the surface hey.

the second shot had these settings.
lens 1:1.8mm
TV 1"3
ISO 200
f/100

not one to be left behind.....

lol.... this chick is always at the fore. and not a tragic either.

NO WAY.

We love and need you Sandra to keep the rest of us motivated. Flat out running to keep up with you more like.

Sandra sent this in with the following comment.

I knew I didn't delete these photos for a reason!I took these last year on the way back from Coffins.Had a play with my camera and took a photo of the same windmill using all of the different settings.So here is the end result... Amazing how different they are. Only problem is... I can't remember which photo had which setting!!!

the collage presentation of it is fabo Sands. would u like to let the girls how you did it??? (me too!!)

Tracey's temptation

Tracey says :
Are you shocked?? Hell yes, I am too. A layout completed!! I started this on the retreat amid the crisis of a brain drain and never finished it. Today I added the journalling tag section and the ric rac. I totally love my journalling tag and its bits, tried to use a few different things.

So loving all the details on the tag. lots of texture. esp the twine and the crochet flower centre. and oh lookie there I spot a pin.

manual pic challenge

hiya bloggers.

as things have slowed a bit with the cooler weather, then got busier with sports and kids at school, the blog has been a bit sluggish.

So lets fix that.

The current challenge of pins and needles will be still around for a few more days, and until then if you would like to drag out the camera and try out something different. (my favourite kind of challenge)

So this is a self assessed wedgie challenge. Choose yourself a setting you have never tried on your camera and have a play. Shoot any subject. Be it the moon (if you can find it amongst the clouds) for a night shot but not using the moon setting, a sports shot but using some other setting other than the running man on the dial, a landscape without the mountains setting. Try your hand on exposure for the shooting of the clouds. Read your little book that came with your camera for tips and how tos.

Whatever you can think of. Extend yourself. Send me the pic as a small file and I'll post it. If you try out a few over the next few days and have a few pics , well send me them as you shoot them to keep the blog rolling along. Dont forget to mention what settings you used.

I dont have to show yet but will in a bit.

question time

What is one item from your stash that you seem to reach for time and time again?
are they:

Carolee creations little alpha stickers?
a gel pen for some doodling?
flowers - if so do you have a favourite type?
a particular rubon?


I think a recent favourite of mine would have to be the American Craft Thickers - they are just fantastic. Prior to that i was a big Heidi Swapp chipboard alpha fan......hmmmmmm still am i think as i really love her chip alphas and could probably use them on every page i do! I guess all up i am a bit of an alpha junkie!

So stash wise..........not tools (and yep the computer/printer comes into the tool category) what is your most used and precious item?

I would love to hear your responses in the comments box below!

A very warm welcome to Alison

Hi Alison *waves*

So wonderful to see you here. I am very chuffed that you have sent a LO to be posted here on the blog.

Even tho, as you said, it has nothing to do with the current challenge, we love to see what everyone has been working on.

I think I'd be safe to say that we always go dotty over spotty. lol the blue picks up Bradley's shirt very nicely.

Is that the same floor in the photo of him as the photo of the lo iykwim????

thanks for sharing Alison. send some more our way.

maryanne's masterpiece

oh my. What an initmate shot of B (?) I do really like how you view the world thru your camera. Busy PP but the large pic tones it down nicely. Great to see a small flower on a bloke's page too.
nicely done. very nicely done

sandra's here

love the BG paper, love the strip of Hounds tooth PP (black and white strip), love the delicate scallop edging, at most definitely love that dance ticket. Correct me if I am wrong Sandra, but did u mention u had the original dance ticket with the photo.

Karen's Car

oooooooooh love this Karen! I have taken photos of our new BLACK car too - but haven't had inspiration to scrap it until now!

Love the squares and the title.

everything actually - bloody brilliant.

She says -

HI Amanda,
glad you're back on line! This is my answer to the pin/sewing challenge. I must say the car isn't "black and shiny" anymore it is "black and very dirty" (LOL). I haven't done any sewing to speak of but I have put a thumping big black pin in there!! You were saying about you LO's just coming together the other night. Well this one has been sitting in the office for a month, I have been really stuck on it (go figure, it is really simple!).

If you have had an experience anything like us you will be bloody sick of people commenting 'OMG why did you get a black car? You will be forever washing it'

*roll eyes*

but a big fan of your new car bud. Looks awesome (even if it is muddy now like ours!)

i am back :)

Hiya all!

woohoo i am back online after nearly a week! phew.

I have been busy scrapping so will show them in here now, go cook some tea and be back to comment on all the fantastic work that has gone on while i have been AWOL.

bit of the bottom cut off here...

bigger versions are on my blog.

The last photo is of a mini book for my brother's birthday - he is 30 today and on Friday i am going to Melbourne to see him! This holds lots of photos, pages for birthday messages, notes from G, K and P and a CD copy of a home movie of Ryan.

Geez it is good to be back online :)

SBT

Scrapbook Trends fans. want the mag cheap. check this out.

found this on my forum friends blog and asked her if I could share it with you girls in mind.


https://scrapbooktrends.securesites.net/subscribe_online1.html

It's monthly at $10 which means you get every magazine as well as all the back issues - Every magazine. Or if you click on the above link you will be able to chose what options you want and can just buy the magazine you like. For an extra $5 USA you can get access online to every single on of their back issues. I kid you not.So for around $20 AUST dollars you can get every ideas book, card trends, Simply Handmade, beads, stamping and god knows all of their other books.So I joined up immediately of course and will be putting all of my new and older books on Ebay as of tonight.Bargain go look here http://www.scrapbooktrendsmag.com/ and you can download straight away Scrapbook mini albums.

Thanks Flick.

Markia's p and n

yay. Marika has answered the call. Luv the colour combo. Bold, masculine, perfect. Pin fits in perfectly.
and the little heart, date and star button balance it nicely.