Where Have I Been!!!

I've been to London to visit the Queen!!!

Well I'm sure it feels like that if there are anyone out there following this blog!!! Especially as I have been very absent for ages!!

Life is busy, no excuses but I am back creating, my mojo is back in fact watch this space as I have decided to venture into card-making and am considering joining a card-making club. I met two very lovely ladies when I ventured out for the sale at Photo Continental last weekend and fought the hundreds of women for the specials!!! lol ... they were members of a club and after chatting decided I would go along.

Here are a couple of layouts I have done recently!! One is very simple, I created this one for a male at work as a gift knowing he isn't into scrapbooking I kept it simple.

As you know some layouts photograph better than other and a couple didn't photograph well to their true potential, but I'm sure you get the idea.

There are a couple of layouts from the Rockhampton Retreat that I did, these are U Light up my Life, My Everything, Inner Peace (I started there and finished at home), What Matters Most and The Love You Give. The Airlie layout with the photo is a gift for a friend and am waiting on a photo as all layouts look better with a photo and it didn't photo well. My most recent ones are from the Queen of Hearts downwards!

So if you are still around, thanks for looking!

Commissioned Pieces

A friend at work has started scrapbooking, she has purchased lots of bits and pieces and is doing really well. She asked me to do some layouts for her, layouts of their trip to Fiji last year as she wants to give these to her partner for their anniversary next week. I hope I have done her proud and done her lovely photos justice! Its easy when you do your own layouts for your albums but when you do something for someone else you really want it to be just right!

I have done lots of male layouts especially as I have sons, lol ... but I haven't done a lot of adult male layouts so as it was a gift for him I wanted to keep it simple yet not detract from the photo.

Well I ventured to the local scrapbooking shop, $64.00 later, well I couldn't help purchasing more yummy papers for me and well you girls know what its like, you go in for some paper and walk out with the shop, well virtually you do, lol. I brought green, teal and blue ocean and shell paper, I ripped, I positioned I ripped again and positioned and gave up and went to bed, The next morning I threw the paper away in disgust it just didn't match the photo and decided the frame was better and there it grew from there. I knew when I saw the coral designed paper that I would cut out the coral, now that was a feat and a half, I drew inside the edges to make it stand out and I put the coral inside a frame to make it look like it was growing there. I used felt ribbon to symbol the ocean.

The second layout was of the both of them, I chose a black and white photo so I could use colour around them. I love this paper series and instantly knew what the title would be. I coloured the heart with red dimensional magic and again cut out the bird and leaves.

The third layout came together very quickly. I purchased these girlie papers and knew as soon as I saw the flowers they would be cut out, I added the beads to make it more feminine and cut the papers to look like ribbons, the circle framed the photo and there it was finished.

The photo were taken at night so are a little on the dark side but I think you can see what I mean.

Mid Life Crisis!!!!

Friday, 22 May 2009

Today I had a rostered days off as its my birthday on Sunday, so thought I would treat myself to a new hair colour today, its totally radical!!! My hairdresser had talked me into blonde all over as she felt it suited my skin tone and I have slowly been changing it back to a darker colour, you can see from my photos when I was up in Rockhampton just how blonde I was, personally I hated it being so blonde, I felt I was too old for that totally blonde look. I am naturally a brunette so I have now covered all angles, I am violet (I love purple), blonde and chocolate brown. I don't think the photos truly show you how violet it is, but I know after a few washes the colour will fade, but I am happy with it, nothing like being different, I say!

Shezzy xx

My Mojo is Back!!!

Well I am finally finding the time to get the balance between work and place!! I have managed to find the time to get on the computer but most of all I have been creating and it feels so good to be able to do that, I have so missed scrapping!

These are my latest creations:

Time of My Life - this photo was taken when I went home for Easter and spent the weekend with my two bestie friends.

Me - this photo was also taken when I went home for Easter.

Friends - this layout is made from a kit from my local scrapbooking shop and the photo is of my bestie friend Leeanne at Easter. This was taken of us at the Orbit Restaurant in the Sky Tower, the restaurant rotates around and it takes one hour to rotate, you get to see Auckland and its surround area, amazing view especially at night time when we went.


We Are Best Friends - This photo is of Delys and I, taken on Good Friday before we went out for tea to a seafood and steak restaurant. Are meals had arrived and then the fire alarm went off, we had to stand outside until the fire trucks arrived, then they had to recook out meal! The local backpackers is next to the restaurant and apparently it only takes someone to burn toast and it sets off the fire alarms.

The Dark Knight - this photo is Elliott at Movieworld with the statue of a knight.

Thanks for looking :-)

My Circle Journal Revamped!!!!!!

My circle journal arrived back on Friday, 1 May 2009 and after seeing how fabulous everyone's journals were I had to revamp mine. It was really basic when it left on its journal to all my scrapbooking friends around Australia, I had done it in a rush and also having been my first ever circle journal I didn't know how it should look. But when I seen everyone's journals it inspired me to be more creative with mine. The complete journal will be on display in Debz Forum once everyone has received their journals back, these pages are just my pages.

Crazy Cat!

Thought I would share that our cat Spike sleeps in the most stupid of places, everywhere but on the couch, if the kids leave a puzzle on the ground he will sleep on it, if there is a book left on the ground he will sleep on it, here he is sleeping on Harrison's school bag!!

Visit to Toowoomba - 8 May 2009

I had a rostered day off on 8 May 2009 and Debs was down in Toowoomba, so Lisa and I drove over to Toowoomba to catch up with Debs and also to meet Kirsten another scrapbooker. We stopped off at our local scrapbooking shop as they had a 40% off sale, where we did a small about of damage to our bank accounts!! We arrived at Toowoomba and picked up Debz and went out for lunch at the Chocolate Cottage. What an amazing place, the complex is set up with other little cottage type shops, a quilting shop with devine lace and material that was out of this world, a scrapbooking shop (of course, lol) and other crafty shops. A creative person's dream place to eat and shop. Of course we all had our cameras and I took these lovely shots of Debs and Lisa. After lunch and scrapbooking shopping, we drove over to Kirsten's house and met her and her darling and beautiful girls, Mackenzie her eldest daughter is very creative and she shared her album with us. Of course the cameras had to come out there and a photo of me, Lisa and Kirsten was taken. We said our goodbyes and hit the road arriving home at 7.30pm at night. Lisa had to then drive down to the Gold Coast and she didn't home get until 8.30pm. Thanks girls for a lovely day!!!!!

Latest Layouts!

I am getting back into scrapbooking, its been months since I have completed a layout as by the time I get home from work, cook tea and clean up its just to late but I have been having withdrawal symptoms from not scrapping and I have my Mojo back!

The top layout is of my mum when she was young, I especially love the cerise pink with the black, so striking and it goes well with the black and white photo. The second layout is a layout I have done for my friend Debz, its a layout of her and her son when I went to visit in Rocky in November. I am sending this to her as well as the layout underneath which is of her and I. I have done it in a collage style as Debz is the collage queen and she taught me how to collage so I hope I have done her justice.

I have also received my Recipe Circle Journal back and the pages that the girls from Debs Forum completed were fantastic and I can't wait to share it on the forum. I have redone my cover pages and will post them here when I finally get ink in my printer to print one tiny black and white photo as I have run out of yellow ink but it wont print black and white, go figure, lol.

Watch this blog, more photos and update coming shortly!!

Hugs
Shez

November News!

I decided it was time to catch up on some scrapping and my little Grand Niece has turned 1, so thought I would scrap her. Sorry for the quality of the photos, not sure what happened there. I did a layout of her from a kit purchase from my local scrapbooking shop where you create a layout from kits provided, shoppers get to vote for the one they like and if you win you win $20 and your layout gets to stay on display in the shop. I was late getting my entry in (ummmmmmmmm a week I think) but they allowed it. I really wasn't into winning I just did it for fun and have now purchase the Christmas kit to scrap which I must do as it is meant to be in by the 31st and I haven't started, lol. I enjoyed the challenge as they are paper I wouldn't normally pick so they really take you out of your comfort zone. This kit you had to doodle and doodle I did, the layout is of Kelsey with lots of doodling you can't miss which one I am talking about. I scrap Kelsey sitting on the grass, this was her 1st birthday. The one of her and I, this photo was taken when we all went home in May, I just couldn't help myself planting a kiss of her gorgeous cheek!!

The layout of Harrison in his boxes is derived from Elton John's song, rocket man and also Frank Sinnarta's song "fly me to the moon" hence the title. I couldn't decide which song title I would use but once it was finished I knew it was "fly me to the moon". Harrison loves boxes and is always cutting and taping and gluing something in our house. Currently his wardrobe is hosting his rocket and two other bix boxes are in his room. Mind you I remember when I was a little girl and I used to go and stay at my Nana's and Uncle's home, my uncle was an electrician and had his own business and always had boxes in the garage, I used to play for hours in them. Cheapest entertainment in the world!

The layout of all us girls is of my sister and her girls and of course me! I currently have this photo and layout sitting on my desk at work.

Not much else to report for November, it passed with a blurr. I still have December to write and I will do that shortly.

Rocky Visit!!!

On Friday, 21 November I flew up to Rockhampton to visit Debs, the owner of Debs forum. We have chattered for months on the phone and have developed a lovely friendship so it was time to finally meet her in person. The flight was delayed and I thought I am never going to make it up there but I did and thankfully no Brissy storms that night and the flight was smooth, except for the very bumpy landing that I wasn't expecting! Yes I am a nervous flyer and I put that down to Chris watching Air Crash Investigations all the time, in fact he watches them over and over, even I know some of them off by heart now!! Debs was exactly how I expected her to be, what a lovely kind soul, gorgeous lady with an amazing smile that made her face glow! We sat down underneath her home to catch up with a glass of wine and barcardi. It was a late night as Debs is a night owl and it was after 2.30am before my head hit the pillow!!! It was great to meet her partner, Pete and her darling gorgeous little man, Brods! He has the biggest eyes and I just love him. He is a special little man and I was allowed to make him a drink, so I felt very privileged. Debs and I chattered into the night and the next day walked down to her local scrapbooking shop and did a little damage to my bank account, lol. We then walked down to her local pub for lunch and for $8.00 you can get crumbed steak the size of a dinner place, it honestly takes up the entire plate and there is no room for chips so they put the chips underneath, in fact I should have taken a photo, gawd what a slack scrapbooker!!!! We enjoyed a beer as the weather was so so so hot up there, my makeup was melting!! So we had a couple more beers, I introduced her to the pokies and she introduced me to Keno. Debs won $15.00 and I lost $10.00 so all and all it was a great afternoon. We went home rather giggly and content! Debs gave me lessons on scrapping a collage layout which I called double trouble!! She is an amazing scrapper and very talented when it comes to collage! I had to fly out on Sunday morning at 10.15am so it was lots of photos in the morning. Debs is hoping to make it down here in February, can't wait!