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.

boy at play

Sandra's jumped in. Well sort of. Read below.

Finished this layout last night.... has got no pins or needles.. but my butt did sitting on the cold bench today watching the footy lol

tee hee Sandra. Thought your comment worthy of being here. Great collage. lots of pics with plenty of white space to balance it all out.

Challenge 33 - pins and needles.

It's Friday.
Yay
It's raining.
Yay.
It's time for a new challenge.
Yay.

what can u do with pins and needles.

hat pins, sewing pins, map pins.

sew with a needle, by hand or machine.

whatever takes your fancy.

don't get pins and needles in your butt thinking about.
:-D
t

ps. send your lo's to me as the others girls are all away, off line or enjoying their grandsons atm.

move over, Marika's here

the kids have been tree climbing in the holidays had to get some snaps

Saw a couple of these LO's being born last Friday night at Sheoak Cottage Scrap Nite.

this one is my fave. The rubon arc is very eyecatching. Markia, your colour co ordination is lovely.

maryanne's snap

I enjoy school holidays, lots of just hanging around the house, and sleep ins with no routines, or having to hurry teenagers out of bed in the morning[hard work].



most of this school holidays the boys have been focused on footy, getting ready for the first game , training, just practising their kicking with each other and friends etc.Also have the shed partway set up,so they have the xbox and tv with the stereo surround set up in there.They have been enjoying a new xbox game with the sound cranked way up

lol Maryanne. those trackie daks are so close to black in the pic and the red shirt, I just knew it had to be a pic from you.

crikey, Kylie you are busy

Here's a snap from yesterday ... 'School Holiday Fun' - the kids and Dad cooking marshmallows on the fire we made for lunch. I enjoy having the kids home on school holidays and try and spend quality time with them.

We often have a simple barby somewhere on the farm with snags in bread followed by marshmallows, such a quick and easy lunch but so enjoyable ! I've been entertaining the kids with of some of the things I used to enjoy on my school holidays when I was younger ... play dough, cooking, painting, mud pies, gardening, bike riding, footy and cricket in the back yard, playing with the animals (we've gained 2 pups this week so it's kinda busy around here!) and the odd DVD here and there ... I don't like to plonk the kids in front of the telly too much though, there's so many more fun things to do outside ! It's been great these school holidays as Ted's been around (he's normally off working in Edillilie during the week) so the kids have also been able to tinker around in the shed and under the airseeder helping Dad get ready for seeding.
Happy Holidays !!

sandra's snap

School holidays usually means later nights and pushing the kids out of bed in the morning (well Teagan anyway) :)And of course sorting out the clothes, buying new clothes etc etc.But one thing the kids look forward to during the holidays is seeing more of Nanna.Due to school and work commitments they don't see her as often as they would like and they love catching up with her during the holidays.So here is a photo of the kids with their Nanna. They just love her to bits... and vice versa ;)

thanks Sandra. Just knew you be on the ball ;)

quick pic mini challenge

rito.

lets ramp up some action.

While Amanda is off line and Granny Sue is with her newest grandson and R, and lucky Meredith is off to a sewing retreat shortly, send your quick pic challenge to me. Address on the right side bar.

take a pic of what school holidays mean to you.

is it

1. a mountain of washing.

2. PJ clad people at 11am (it is here now and then)

3. is it bodies on the floor with their mates chilling in front of the big screen.

4. could it be that the computer is ALWAYS occupied when u want it.

what's your impression of having the family home from school.

mine is later than normal bedtimes and sleep ins. LURVE em.

Kids in bed normally by 8pm on school nights, usually in bed by 9pm during the school holidays.

(doesn't always mean they sleep in tho) lol

email pics as a small file please and we'll pop them up asap along with your explanation of its importance to you.

A short interuption to usual service ...

Just to let you know that Amanda is "Internet - less" at the moment until further notice

so if you have emailed her a layout please resend it to me so I can post it for you!!

She was shaking slightly when I saw her today but was in denial I think

... she didn't take up my offer to check her emails on my computer ;-)

inspire me.

hmmm. had a good long hard think about this one.

And I think my photoshop is the most influential thing that has a hold over me. Oh and my printer. It doesn't matter where or what grabs my interest, as long as I can adapt it to scrapping, that is what's important to me.

AND I found some absolutely gorgeous brushes that I just had to have on the www. The first time I have actually coughed up $$ for downloads. find them here.

So I had use them straight away. So that swayed this LO which I have printed the pic and the brushes directly onto the cardstock. You can do exactly the same with 8.5x11 inch format in an A4 printer. I always to a fast greyscale test print on reflex paper first to make sure it's all how it should be and then use that as a template to attach the PP or card onto.

:)

Sandra

Well this www inspiration challenge must have you all thinking very hard.

Here is the first entry for the challenge and she has outdone herself (again)

Sandra says -

Here is my entry for the www dot challenge :)

My inspiration was a stamp.I went blog surfing recently and came upon Sonia's blog... I think you have a link to her blog on your blog. She uses stamps on her layouts.. not inking stamps but postage stamps... which got me thinking... I had a sheet of stamp stickers in my stash.

I also had photos which went with the era on the stamps (the forties) and the layout evolved from there. Google imaged 1940's posters and got the colours for my layout there.. otherwise I would never have thought of yellow! (not a colour that I use).

I have also set myself a mini challenge which I saw on the www. A forum member (scrapbooking memories I think) set herself a challenge where she would not buy ANYTHING until she had completed 20 layouts.Well I have set myself 10 layouts. do not have the will power for 20) A Day At Brighton is layout number 19 to go. ;)

and its difficult already!!

wow at all those cool old photos - what a brilliant find! You have showcased them excellently Sandra - the buckles and colours are fantastic. This page really pops and reflects the era perfectly.

Thanks for all your hard work surfing the web Sandra! Top work!

What is your favourite?

Wondering what everyone's favourites are..........

1. Magazine (can be scrapping or otherwise) and please share why.

2. font and where to find it.



My favourite magazine would have to be Scrapbook Trends. This is an American publication that Meredith and I stumbled upon when in Melbourne on our retreat adventure. This magazine is my favourite because the layouts featured in them are so beautiful, balanced and well designed. To me they are the absolute benchmark of scrapbooking. Another thing that i love about the magazine is the photography of the layouts - STUNNING! It really puts the Aussie mags to shame with their amazing true to life colours and display of the layouts.


My favourite font would have to be Type Ra (of course!) I started using this font quite a bit many years ago and still love it. It just seems to be 'me' although that sort of type font is everywhere you look now days. I get all my fonts free from da-font. I like how type ra is a little bit grungy as well........totally me :)


I would be interested to read your comments on your favourites!

Well i know 3 out of 4 E2C committee members are...

out scrapping at Leah and Lindy's new shop. Guess who the one at home is? LOL.


Today i finished off a layout i have had on the go for some time. It is a little different and used a technique that i had not tried before.


I got my inspiration from here - mooo where the Silhouette Canvas Art section is. I decided that i could easily (*cough cough*) make my own girls silhouette out of a photo with a bit (*cough cough*) of fiddling in photoshop. Well after many hours in photoshop fiddling, i was pretty happy with the result and i think i can tell it is my kids really quite well. I was scared turning the photo into silhouette would lose their 'personality' but i dont think it did at all!





(i should also add that mooo is a fundraiser for the Cummins Child Parent Centre and if ordering from their amazing site there is some section where you add your fundraising charity and they donate a percentage of sales..........i think that is right - Marika or Kylie please elaborate or correct me!!!!!!)










title is borrowed from here

The distressed folding thing is also a technique which is new to me but apparently is fairly big in the digi scrapping world at the moment. Inspiration from this clever chickadee





A couple of years ago i was also inspired by a website design. It was Clair Bremner the Melbourne Childrens photographer (also a fabulous friend). Her website has changed since then but the opening page was set out in a series of little squares and photos. I loved it and it inspired me to create this -

So since i am the only one home tonight i thought i would set everyone a little challenge to see what you can find that inspires you on the www. NOT really talking about sketches or scraplifting here but it may be colours, design, a font or just a series of photos.

Go for a surf and see if you can catch some inspiration.

MIA me ...

Hi all,

Been busy with things but finally finished off a couple of layouts ...

This layout has actual Lego (don't tell Lachlan!!).

I also used the Bazzill swiss dots cardstock (black) to resemble the dots of the Lego pieces.

The alphas are the Collections chipboard.

I am loving the Jenni Bowlin calenders too, so far I've used Jan, Feb and April ;-)

The title on this one ... some sticker alphas that I have had for ages and they match up really well to look like cursive writing ... they are called "Big Honkin' Stickers" by Mustard Moon.

Trish's here!!

It's been a bit quiet in here, is everyone busy enjoying this lovely weather and the school holidays??

But Trish just popped these two lovely layouts across to me to share with you all...... they are great Trish and glad someone finding time to do some scrapping.

ALL WET - loving these papers!!!


LIFE'S SO GREAT- love ya buttons, oohhh.. and i would so love a walk along a beach!!

Thanks for them Trish....and hoping to see some more soon. I will be away for the next couple weeks....heading down to help Rach out, her hubby is a fisherman and heading out to sea Sunday, so i will be getting lots of cuddles of Mace ....and doing lots of running with Evan!! :) I will try to pop into have a looksee over that time so please send any pages onto the other girls....and the keep the blog a buzzing....

Catchya,

Suexx

just love this Girl

Sandra has been a busy girl, she did this LO and posted it to me yesterday. It is a layout for the puzzlesketches blog which had the had to have the following - 9 squares, a star, and arrow, and some paint. And Sandra's version of this has sure WOW factor, i am sure you will all agree!!

This is just fantastic Sandra, i am loving it all, the colour combo, inked edges, the coffee ring, buttons ....etc,etc... Thanks Sandy!

Waiting

Loving all the action here!! It is great to see all your pages!!

I have a page to share with you all. I finished this LO yesterday, initially i had abit more pink on the page, but now knowing it's a boy, i adjusted it slightly...

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

she's on a roll

holy cow Marika. When youre hot, youre hot. Love Kraft. Just cant go wrong with that stuff. Marika says

the one of molly and dad is a lift from the cover of the latest sm mag great way to use scrap papers

Little Man took my eye. I think its the colour co ordination. the thickers ribbon and PP are all so similar.

using the torn strips with the sewing makes a great border effect in Eli.

top stuff Marika. looking forward to more from you this week.

this week's challenge posted by Sue is to send in whatever you are currently working on. So any medium will be fantastic. on the page, off the page, cards etc.

impeccable manners

lol Sandra.
thanks for the nudge.
A lo of Annie done just before the Easter weekend. I havent been home to do any others but have plenty of photos to work on.

hope your Easter was fantastic.