Guardian Peas

This mega kit will become available July 1st. Containing over 60 papers, 4 alphas, 150 elements and 12 quickpages, this kit is over 500mb and is absolutely amazing. Over 30 designers have participated in the creation of this kit including Brenda Kempf, Dawn Wilson, Mandabean, Kim Hill, Iron Orchid Designs, Robin Carlton, Doris Castle, Ztampf Fhung, Gina Miller, Jasbeanie, Mona Minnie, Miranda Reinhardt, Trish Jones, Peta Stokes and yours truly (just to name a few).
There will also be 10 pairs kits launched for sale on the same day in a wide variety of styles and themes (including a kit called "A Special Boy" by Kim Hill and myself).
The sale of all of these kits will benefit the families of three special little boys who all have cancer.
As a mother with a young child (and a couple of older ones), I truly don't know how I would cope if my child had a life threatening illness. I have a brother who has battled leukaemia and GVH (Graft versus Host) for the past 10 years. I also lost a step brother to leukaemia just over 10 years ago. I know how painful it is as a sister to see the effect this has had on lives. I can only imagine at the pain my mother feels seeing her son battle this each day.
Through the sale of these kits, we hope to help the families cope with some of the financial stresses that illnesses such as these place on the lives of those affected.
Check out the Guardian Peas Website for a sneak peak of what we have planned and some of the kits that are coming up for sale.
The site is still under construction but will be fully functional within a few days.

Seeing my layouts in Print..... and a layout

Some of you ladies from Macdigi who read my blog might remember Suzanne from OzDigi? Well Suzanne and her husband have started this wonderful business called My Reflections which prints up photo books. A couple of weeks ago, I answered a plea for help from Suz and as a thankyou she sent me a discount for one of their photobooks. So I decided to go ahead and get some of my layouts put into an 8x8 photobook album. I ordered a soft cover, spiral bound book that holds 60 layouts. Well today it arrived just before I was about to head out the door to go to the library (where I will soon be teaching scrapbooking) and also for lunch with the inlaws. I've got to say that I am absolutely thrilled with what I received. And so are my inlaws (and the library staff). They are absolutely in love with the album. The pricing for these albums is quite reasonable and they are packaged beautifully so there is no way that Australia Post could harm your precious layouts. And the customer service I received is second to none. I highly recommend My Reflections to you if you want to get your layouts put into book form. I'll be honest and say that the colour is slightly off to what I see on my monitor but that could be my monitor calibration and anyway, it hasn't made a bit of difference to how I feel about seeing my layouts in print.
I'm saving my pennies now to get another album done up of the hundreds of layouts that I have on disk.

So I have now officially created my first layout as part of Karen Hunt's CT and I've got to say that I love this layout. Some of you may recognise the gorgeous lady in the photo with me as Judy (thankyou Dr Tax for taking such a great photo). Okay, I'll admit to a little photoshopping of my face here but seriously, I so do not want the world to see my acne face (who said only teenagers get that horrid stuff).
So this layout has been created using Karen's Fresh Bloom papers, Funky Doodle Flowers, and Funky Doodles Scrolls.
The stitching is Kathy Smith's In Stitches. The chipboard alpha has been made by me using Karen's gorgeous papers. I'm so excited to be a part of Karen's team and I'm looking forward to some 'me time' scrapping.

ABC's of Me Crop

Join me in the Digitals Chat room on Friday evening (Saturday morning for us Aussies) at 9pm EST (11am Saturday on the east coast of Australia) as we crop and chat about the next letter for our ABC's album.
It doesn't matter if you have never done an ABC layout before - all previous crop notes are available in the Digitals forum so you can catch up if you want.
I reckon $2 for a crop kit and addons is a bargain.
*Don't forget, you don't get the addons unless you complete a layout though*

Stop the World.....

...... I want to get off!!
Seriously, I want everything to stop! Stop the clocks! Stop the wars! Stop the heartache! Just stop.
I think I want to just step off for while and do my own thing, at my own pace before I step back onto it's mad spinning.
Okay, got that off my chest now. Those puppies sure didn't need the extra weight either (put that bit in for you Miss M).
So where has the past week gone?? hmmm I wish I knew. I seem to always be busy but not accomplish much.
So what have I done in the past week??? hmmmmm LOL
Here is a brief rundown in no particular order...
* Went shopping at the new Woolworths here in town. The verdict? Although it is new and everything, I didn't find much difference in the prices as compared to Coles. I think that they must set their prices according to the locality of the store. We got confused because we didn't know where everything was and still had to go back to Coles to get the stuff we couldn't find. Will we shop there again? Maybe. At least I know where everything is at Coles.
* Spent the weekend finishing up my contribution to the Kaleidescope of Hope kit being put together by the Guardian Peas and also my half of a pairs kit for charity. I was teamed up with Kim Hill and I must say that I am really happy with the result. Check my blog at the beginning of next month for all the details of this one.
* Staff meeting at work. The verdict? Boooorrrriiinnnnggg
* Follow up appointment at the local hospital with the doctor from Logan after my recent stay at their fine establishment. My question here is - Why make a 9am appointment for me if the doctor doesn't even arrive until just after 9.30 and then has his cup of coffee before starting seeing patients?? My bosses were not happy at the time it took for a short appointment.
* Sunday drive to the in-laws and then over to SIL's house to deliver niece's birthday present. We packed a picnic lunch to take but MIL fed us there so ended having our picnic on the lounge room floor that night when we got home.
* Organising child care for Miss Four since the boss has told me they are going to change my shifts (and duties). It will mean 5 am starts for me twice a week for a short time and since the Man of the House starts work at 6.30am, Miss Four will have to go into child care and then they will take her to preschool.
* Finally finished my next ABC kit. It's a bit different to my usual style but I'm really happy with it.
(I am trying to put a preview in here but Blogger isn't playing nice, so you will have to wait). It's called Summer Home anyway.
* I've been accepted onto the legendary Karen Hunt's Creative Team and I couldn't be happier. I have decided to make time for myself to scrap. Scrapping is therapy and I need that time out. And what could be better than working with a cool designer's stuff. And she's not only a cool designer - she's also a cool friend. I think that is a great combination. I just hope that I don't stuff up too badly now I have pressure to perform. lol
* The girls (chickens) have been good - well Fleur has anyway. She has now layed a total of 7 eggs!! woo hoo. So we're having chops and eggs for dinner tonight! Bring it on.

Well, I am going to get some scrapping done over the next couple of days. And I'll start right after my Pilates class in the morning!!

What's New @ Digitals (and a layout)

Stacey has been busy, along with the whole Digitals team, making improvements to the site. Many have been implemented and more are to come.

If you can take a few minutes to complete a 13-question survey (click on the link at the top of the store http://www.digitalscrapbookpages.com/digitals/), we will reward you with a beautiful free kit by Lucy Hampton. And maybe you will see some of your suggestions implemented next!

Take a look at what has already been done:

I've been pretty busy this past week. I was sitting outside dancing and chatting to some of the other mums this afternoon and I suddenly realised that the week is almost over and I've accomplished next to nothing.
Sure, I've worked two mornings and I spent most of yesterday at the gym (oh I ache today) but where has the week gone?
I have such a huge digi 'To Do' list due this weekend. Not the least of which is my next ABC crop kit, my contributions toward the Guardian Peas kits and my contribution toward the Digitals Challenge kit for July.
As some of you know, things haven't been too great the past week or so and I guess I haven't really given myself time to deal with things. I would like nothing more than to just go and sit in a corner by myself and cry a river. But what would that accomplish?
Sorry - just feeling sorry for myself there.

On another note, I finally finished my layout of Murry that I have been working on for over 2 weeks. Once again, I have used multiple pieces of Carrie Stephen's kits (with a bit of recolouring in some cases) and and overlay and wordart quote from my Meyar kit.

Well, I've just cancelled out of doing the Pilates class tonight because I don't feel up to it, so I'd better go and finish cooking dinner.
I really need to keep up with this blog a bit better.

What Came First?

The chicken or the egg?
In this house, it was definitely the chickens. We bought two bantam chickens a couple of months ago. One is a Pekin and the other is a Silkin (cross between a Silky and a Pekin). These birds were given the names Rosie and Fleur by my children and have proceeded to entertain us with their personalities. Bet you didn't know that chickens have personalities? These two do. Rosie is the bossy one. She doesn't like being handled too much and she is also the adventurous one. She's the one who we found sitting on the end of the dog's bed and she's the one who likes to wait outside our back door for us. Fleur is quieter and doesn't mind being handled. Which is just as well because Miss Four just loves to carry her around everywhere. Although I think Fleur drew the line when she was introduced to the trampoline.
So, for the past couple of months these chickens have been trying to rule the roost in this house. (Would you believe that if I haven't let them out of their pen and they hear me out at the clothesline they will pace along the fence of the pen and put up a racket until I tell them to be quiet??)
So where was I? Oh that's right - the chicken takeover. These girls have been eating, eating and then eating some more and not taking care of their part of the bargain. That being - laying eggs!! So I made a couple of threats about their future in this household. To which Miss Four responded "You're joking right mum?"
Then yesterday when I went to let them out of their pen and found an egg. I couldn't believe it.
Miss Four's response to this miracle was "I know why they laid the egg Mummy. It was because they heard you say that you were going to cook them!" Then in the next breath she asked if we could get her a basket so that she can collect eggs. I admire her optimism.
So basket in hand, she headed up to the pen this morning and found..... NOTHING!! That's right. These birds have not delivered anything since the miracle egg. So the question remains.... will I make good on my threat??? Probably not - but I'm not going to tell the birds that!

You can find inspiration anywhere!

Just ask the girls at 2Peas. The challenge was issued, create a layout or design something inspired by a pair of undies. So the search was on in my house. There was no way I was going to show the world my granny knickers - they're too boring (not to mention quite large). I couldn't stand the colours on my son's boxers. Miss Four's knickers are just plain colours and I won't tell you what the man of the house suggested.
Then I found these hidden in the back of the drawer. From a time in the past when I could wear things like this. LOL And you needn't think this is a photo of the whole shebang either. You get to see a corner so you get the general idea.
So without further ado, here is my mini kit based on the above mentioned unmentionables. I hope you like it.
You can download this here

I had a bit of fun putting it all together but I've padded it out with some basic textures.
So, I have a million and one things to do before I start work tomorrow. I was supposed to be doing my housework today but I spent it designing instead. LOL
So now, I am off to put my nose to the grindstone and tackle the endless piles of folding. (Will someone tell me why the washing increased when the weather gets colder?) Don't answer that. I know. I just feel like I've been washing several loads every day at the moment.
Okay, whine over. Crack that whip!

New Layout

I had all these grand plans for today but I've just done one layout (and four loads of washing).
Now I'd better get off the computer and do the shopping list and menu for the coming week. *groan*
I've used some more of Carrie Stephen's kits and I've got to say that I love her work. Of course the fact that she has 10% off at the moment and that every $10 spent puts you in the draw for either a Canon Rebel, a Wacom or $100 Gift voucher didn't have anything to do with my spending spree. rofl
So, I have now done a layout of my oldest child. This photo was taken by R's boyfriend at a bbq they were at. He called her and snapped the photo as she turned. I have played with layers and blending modes to get this effect but I really like it because it has brought out her freckles.
Of course there is soppy journalling on it but if want to read it you can view it in the gallery at Fishscraps or 2Peas.

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's the first day of winter here in beautiful Queensland but I reckon it hit us yesterday. brrrr Don't get me wrong, I love winter. It's much easier to make yourself warmer than it is to cool down. My FIL and I have the same discussion every year because he loves Summer and I'm a Winter kind of gal. He doesn't understand my reasoning for liking the season but I told him that in summer, he can take his shirt off but when I'm really hot I don't have that option and baby... you so don't want to see me in a bikini! LOL
Yesterday was so cold that I couldn't even type because my fingers were going numb, so I spent most of the day curled up on the lounge (under a rug) and reading. Today, we are going down town to the library and to run some errands. I have now realised that I don't have any decent jumpers to wear. My old faithfuls for around the house are just not going to cut it when I start work next week (it is so cold inside that sports centre that last night my feet went numb on the sand) so I have to look around for a new jumper. Preferably long (to cover the hips) and deliciously warm. Hold me back - I'm on a scrapping roll. lol I'm trying to step outside my comfort zone of straight clean lines and no journalling these days. It's a steep learning curve I can tell you. My inner self keeps wanting to put things in straight lines all the time. The background for this layout is from my NSD freebie, Heart stamps are by Eugenia Bacon and the papers and alpha are from the Secret Garden Kit by Denis Liemert. Fonts are Carpenter and Labtop. If you're nosy and want to read the journalling, you can find it in my gallery here.

Volleyball was okay last night. We must be catching the vibes from Lee's daughter's netball team because although we still lost - at least we weren't thrashed last night. It helped that the team we played against were a lot of fun and we had the best time laughing at each other. We've still yet to win a game (winning a match is a bit out of our reach at the moment) but we're starting to really gel together as a team. And it's a great time out during the week.

Well I suppose I'd better get some housework done before I head out the door. Last time I didn't do any before I went out, M came home early. rofl