a place in my dreams

challenges...

2012-01-17T00:30:00.002+11:00

I'm still trying to get through some of my Christmas scrapping and have joined in on a few challenges to help me get up to date.The first challenge was to create a layout using blue, white and a splash of red for the Show Us Your Stuff December challenge

part of the challenge was to use some handmade items on your page, so I used some of my scrAp this! fuzzy felt jotters and embellishments

I've also added a cute krafty koncoctions cardstock doily

this next photo was actually from 2010 but I thought it would be perfect for a sketch challenge that is part of the Scrapz Biggest Loser competition over at Scrapz.Biz where the mission has been to sort through and organize our supplies while using them up for various challenges.

it feel so great to get organized and even better to use up some of my older supplies

I've used a few new items but most of this layout was made using some old Making Memories papers that I've been hoarding for ages ;)

I still have a lot more Christmas photos to get through, so I'll be on the look out for more challenges for inspiration... have you scrapped all your Christmas pics yet?

scrapping again...

2012-01-07T21:12:00.000+11:00

After packing away all my scrapping supplies over Xmas, I couldn't wait to scrap again and thought that using some the Christmas pics would be a good place to start.

I created this layout for the Scrap the Boys December challenge using the following colour combo

I've mainly used a mix of Echo Park along with some of my {scrAp this!} xmas themed fuzzy felt embellishments which I hope to get up onto my blog soon :)

this layout is all about the countdown to Christmas and Cayden telling us everyday that "Shanta is coming"

I layered up lots of scraps to create the banners and added in more fuzzy felt with the candy cane flag pick

I've already started another page so I'll see you in a couple of days... in the meantime I am excited about organising my stash over here!

twenty twelve...

2012-01-06T19:26:00.002+11:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are all set for a brand New Year! I always like the start of a new scrappy year as we reflect on our favourite layouts and set ourselves new creative goals for the year ahead.

This year my top priority is to get more organised with my supplies so that I can make the most of my creative time. I also hope to broaden my style by trying out more techniques and while I can't really see myself lasting with a 52 week or Project Life commitment I am going to try and capture more of the 'everyday' moments and plan on doing a month in review type layout at least once a month. What creative gaols have you set yourself this year?

I am very excited to get started but before I do I think it might be a good idea to firstly get caught catch up from last year ;) and have found a couple more layouts that I forgot to share.

This layout was all about the journalling for my Scrap Write Now challenge over at Scrapz.Biz

I don't usually add that much journalling to my pages so it was good to challenge myself to try and come up with a creative way of including it on my page

I came up with the idea of using a few masked clouds to journal about my sweet little dreamer and really like the way it came together using some cute Crate Paper Neighbourhood

This challenge will remain open until the end of January so if you'd like to have a go at creating some masked journal spots of your own, then check out the details here

I also have a bit of chevron goodness to share for my step by step tutorial over at Scrapz using American Craft's fun Amy Tangerine collection

this was meant to be a feature running across the whole page, but I had a bit of an 'accident' with my sewing machine so I ended up creating a bit of a chevron accent instead ;)

I have to admit that I didn't really do any scrapping during Christmas and am itching to get stuck into it all again and if this sounds like you then why not join in the 2012 Scrapz Biggest Loser comp kicking off this weekend for a fun way to sort through and use up some of those supplies that have built up over the year for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

You can sign up and check out all the details here.

November catchup...

2011-12-03T23:43:00.000+11:00

Ummmm I'm not sure what happened to November? It was a busy month and I can't believe how fast it has come and gone o.0
I thought it'd better catchup with the layouts I created last month for the Scrapz.Biz daily challenges before sharing the new ones I've come up with for this month ;)

First up is a Scrap a Rainbow layout I created a couple of weeks ago using the gorgeous Sidewalks range from October Afternoon. The theme was 'wild encounters' and I know that geese might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of something wild but these ones were not that friendly ;)

this was the inspiration pic and colour palette I chose for the theme

next was a page for a Base Jump challenge with a 'wet n'wild' theme.
this is how my base page started

and this is how it turned out using the fun Pink Paislee Hometown Summer range

I played with Crate Paper's Random collection for the 'wild about' Scrap it Blind challenge using one of my favourite pics of Matt and Cayden

I've also put up a new Scrap Write Now challenge...here's a little peek of my page

you can see the full page and find out what this challenge is all about in the forum, and the good news is that all our December challenges will remain open until the end of January so there's plenty of time to join in for the chance to score yourself a store voucher :)

Have a great weekend

my little monster...

2011-11-25T00:35:00.000+11:00

It's been a month of 'wild' challenges over at Scrapz.Biz this month and I had a lot of fun coming up with a layout of my cheeky little monster to go with the theme :) Here's my layout for the Fetch a Sketch Pretty Wild challenge

and this is sketch I came up with - perfect for using two 4x6" pics

I have always loved the playful designs of the Sassafras Lass Monstrosity range and thought it would be a perfect match for our theme :)

All our challenges are open until the end of the month, so if you need some inspiration and would like the chance to score yourself some store vouchers for playing along, then come and check out the daily challenges!

thank you...

2011-11-14T23:14:00.000+11:00

Just wanted to say a BIG thank you for your wonderful support of my scrAp this! stall over the weekend :) I am so happy that so many of you liked my goodies and wasn't quite expecting that you lovely ladies would order 46 packets of my Fuzzy Felt Jotters along with lots of owls and birdies and have been busy making them up so that I can get them out to you as soon as possible.

I did mention there would be a giveaway and got everyone's names together for my boys to randomly select three winners

Sarah

Donna

Vicki

Congrats ladies, can you please make a selection from my stall and email me agnieszk@tpg.com.au so I can get your goodies out to you.

If you missed out on placing an order this time round, don't worry because I will be back with another stall soon and am also working on listing all my items directly onto my blog so that you can order at any time.

Thanks again xx

fuzzy felt giveaway...

2011-11-11T20:40:00.001+11:00

The Scrapbooking Top 50 Crafter's Market is open for business!

Here's a little peek of my Fuzzy Felt jotters which are available for purchase at my scrAp this! stall

I've got a few packs of my Fuzzy Felt Jotters to giveaway so let me know if you stopped by and I'll put your name into the draw to win a pack of your choice. Every purchase made will automatically get a BONUS entry into the giveaway!

Hope to see you there :)

base jump...

2011-11-11T19:24:00.001+11:00

If you're looking for a fun scrapping challenge to have a go at over the weekend, then come and check out our fun new Base Jump challenges over at Scrapz.Biz! If you're not familiar with our Base Jump challenges...it's where we provide you with the basic elements on our base page design which you then build on by adding in your photos, embellishments, title, extra papers and any other elements you which to include. Sounds like fun right?

Here's a little peek of my finished page...

you'll find the 'base page' and all the details in the forum.

step by step tutorial...

2011-11-08T01:26:00.000+11:00

Hi again, just letting you know that I've got a tutorial up at Scrapz.Biz creating a fun chevron technique using American Craft's Amy Tangerine range. Here's a little peek...

get the step by step instructions here!

up in the sky and footprints...

2011-11-08T01:14:00.000+11:00

I've got a few pages to share that I created for last month's Daily Challenges over at Scrapz.Biz.

Firstly the layout I created for our 'up in the sky' themed inspiration challenge

which was inspired by this image

mainly using a mix of My Mind's Eye Lime Twist range

I also introduced our fun new Base Jump challenge where you are challenged to use the basic elements of the 'base' page and then building on this by adding any extra papers, embellishments you wish to create your final page. This is what I started with

and in keeping with our 'footprints' theme I came up with this page using Echo Park Splash collection

and if you're looking for some inspiration to get you scrapping, why not stop by and check out all the new challenges we set daily...
here's a little peek of a Fetch a Sketch challenge I set a few days ago with a 'pretty wild' theme :)

you can see the full layout and details here.

Thanks for stopping by

a month of ticklez...

2011-11-05T23:32:00.001+11:00

Last month I got the chance to play with the fabulous October Ticklez kit from Scrapz.Biz and wanted to share some of the pages I created - here's a peek of what's included in the kit...

as you can see it's jam packed with so many gorgeous goodies and at just $29.95 plus $5.95 flat rate postage it really is excellent value! for a full list of what's included see here.

I love all the fun bright colours in this kit and used a mix of pretty much all the papers to create this page about Cayden always trying to keep up with his big brothers.

I had a play with a transfer technique using the sticky backed canvas inclued in the kit to create the blue clouds

and made a few layered pinwheels to embellish my page

The papers are really versatile and I chose a fun girly combo to scrap this pic of my gorgeous nieces

I took advantage of the printed words on the Webster's paper and was able to create an instant title by simply stitching around one of the words with some black thread.

Up next was another boy page this time featuring the Prima Iron-ons which I used to frame my photo

I was even able to change the colour of the fabric alphas using a bit of ink to better suit my page

and check out this little cutie :) my adorable niece Lexi

again using the sticky backed canvas, this time to make the pink rolled flower.

I still have heaps of left over pieces from the kit to play with and could easily have made several more pages if I didn't run out of time... and if you like what you see you can get yourself a kit here.

Have a great weekend

Melbourne Cup flutter...

2011-10-30T03:31:00.001+11:00

Fancy a bit of a flutter this Melbourne Cup Weekend? then why don't you join in on the fun Melbourne Cup challenge over at Scrapz.Biz.

All you need to do is create a layout using this Pencillines sketch

using this fun image as your colour inspiration

and add some twine or ribbon - easy right?

Be one of the first 24 to upload into our MELBOURNE CUP FLUTTER gallery and receive an entry into our Melbourne Cup sweep. Multiple entries are welcome. First in, best dressed!

Entries close at midnight on Monday October 31, 2011.

First prize $20 voucher, 2nd prize $15 voucher, 3rd place $10 voucher and a little RAK for lucky last.

this is what I came up with

catching up...

2011-10-30T03:30:00.001+11:00

I have been having a few issues with my computer and have been a bit slow to update my blog while it's been off getting fixed, but thankfully I have been able to borrow a laptop and have a few layouts to share that I've completed over the past few weeks.

First up is my layout for the Scrap a Rainbow challenge I set over at Scrapz.Biz

next is a layout I created for a previous Scrapz challenge - a bit different to my usual style but I like how it turned out

and a little card using an easy 3d technique to create the balloon

I also have a couple of sneaks at some current Scrapz.Biz daily challenges which you can still join in on until the end of the month

this one is for our fun new Base Jump challenge

and a peek at my Inspiration challenge

Hope you're having a great weekend

generation gap...

2011-10-26T00:49:00.000+11:00

I have completed my final page of the Aussie Scrap Source Generation Gap reader's challenges! It's been a really great series to take part in and I love that it got me to reflect on so many wonderful childhood memories and then share some of these memories with my own children through the pages I created.

Week 10 looked at Birthdays, Christmas and Celebrations and I decided to go with the Christmas theme because it has always been my favourite celebration.

... I have always loved Christmas and although it might seem a bit strange to celebrate a traditional Polish Christmas on the other side of the world in the middle of summer, that's how Christmas at Baba's (Nan's) house has been for over 30 years since we moved to Australia.

Wigilia which means 'vigil' is traditionally celebrated with a Christmas Eve supper after the first star appears in the evening sky. It always begins with the sharing of Oplatek (a blessed Communion like wafer) by everyone at the table to wish good health and prosperity and is followed by a meal of beetroot soup (borscht) with mushroom dumplings, sweet & savory pierogi and various fish dishes. We always have Polish cheesecake and a rolled poppyseed cake for dessert before moving onto the fun part of opening all the presents that everyone has put under the beautifully decorated tree.

I created a little accordion book to hold my journalling and extra pics, and here's some of the other details...

Week 9 looked at homes and lifestyle and I focused my layout on some of the changes in decor that have occurred in our family home.

I was recently looking through some of my mum's old photo albums and loved seeing how much things had changed inside our family home since we were growing up there. My mums house has made a dramatic transformation since the 80's and it's funny to look at all the daggy furniture and decor that use to fill it back then.

I wanted to be able to share a some of these old photos on my page and I created a pocket to hold them - these are some of the pics I've placed inside...

Thanks for stopping by!

blog hop winner...

2011-10-18T11:26:00.001+11:00

A big thanks to everyone who played along with our very first Scrap.Biz blog hop!
Here's the full page I shared a peek of in my last post created using a mix of Echo Park Happy Days and Imaginesce Let's Roll ranges

and now onto the winner......

Congratulations to

TAKAKO!!!!!!!!

Congrats Takako, please contact me at agnieszk@tpg.com.au with your postal details so I can get your goodies out to you :)

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and left lovely comments :) make sure you visit the rest of the team's blogs to see if you're a winner...

And don't forget to check the Scrapz.Biz facebook page to see if you're the lucky winner of the $20 voucher! ;)

scrapz.biz blog hop

2011-10-12T08:53:00.001+11:00

Hi and welcome to day 3 of our week long Scrapz.Biz blog hop! If you've already started playing along then you should have already been to visit Natalie's and Sheree's blogs, but if not then please head back to Natalie's blogs to play along from the start.

I am so happy to be a part of the awesome Scrapz.Biz team and have really enjoyed diving into all the fun new challenges. If you've a scrapper or card maker and have never heard of Scrapz.Biz or had time to pop over for a visit then why not check us out today? You'll find all the latest products at very competitive prices and shipping is a flat rate of only $5.95. Love working with kits? then you'll love our monthly Ticklez Kit! It's full of beautiful papers plus a fantastic assortment of embellishments and is great value for money at only $29.95. Make sure you check out the gallery too where you'll find loads of inspiration! The forum is always a lot of fun and everyone is supportive and very friendly plus you'll find new challenges to keep you crafting every day of the week! Enter our daily challenges and you'll go into the random draw at the end of the month to win a voucher to spend in store. The more challenges you enter the more chances you have to win!

And speaking of challenges, here's a little peek of the new Fetch a Sketch challenge I have set this week inspired by our fun Driving Force theme.

you can see my full layout as well as the sketch and details of how to enter the challenge here.

Getting back to the blog hop here's a list of the blogs you'll need to visit to play along...
Monday 10th Natalie's blogwith her "What's Cooking" challenge
Tuesday 11th Sheree's blog and her "Scrap a Rainbow" challenge
Wednesday 12th Aga's blog with her "Fetch a Sketch" challenge
Thursday 13th Shell's blog and her "Scrap Write Now" challenge
Friday 14th Chloe's blog and her "Noteworthy" challenge

Once you've finished the blog hop and left a comment on each blog stop along the way, make sure you go over and 'Like' us on Facebook and leave a comment there telling us what you thought of the journey. Then you'll automatically be entered into the draw to win a $20 voucher to the store.

Also..... if you become a follower of my blog (or you already are a follower) please leave a comment here to let me know and I'll enter you into a separate draw to win this little bundle of blog candy! :)

Don't forget to let me know you stopped by, and be sure you head over to Shell's blog tomorrow for another challenge peek as well and another chance to score yourself some goodies :)

holidays & outings...

2011-10-08T04:28:00.001+11:00

That was that theme for last week's Aussie Scrap Source Generation Gap reader's challenge. I chose to scrap about our family trips to Oberon to gather forest mushrooms and wild blackberries.

One of the things I looked forward to most as a child was our annual trip to the NSW Central Tablelands in search of forest mushrooms and wild blackberries at the beautiful Oberon pine forests during the Easter break. It was so much fun to spend the day collecting bucket loads of the Saffron Milk Cap mushrooms that were often hidden under pine needles on the forest floor, making sure you didn't pick up the wrong sort which can be poisonous, or eating juicy blackberries straight from the bush. Several years ago we started making taking the trip with our children and they absolutely love it and also look forward to it every year.

I realised after sending through my pics that I totally forgot to include any journalling on my page, and so I've added a little map of the area as well as some memories on a couple of tags that slide under the frame and created a bit of a forest setting by free cutting a few trees and dug out some 'vintage' Sassafras Lass that I've been hoarding for ages :)

scrap a rainbow...

2011-10-05T00:25:00.001+11:00

Here's a little peek of a brand new challenge up at Scrapz.Biz!

You can see the full page and find out all the details here :)

happy news to share...

2011-10-01T19:54:00.001+10:00

I am very excited to announce that I have joined the Scrapz.Biz design team!!!You may have noticed that I have been playing along with many of their challenges and am thrilled to be joining their awesome team :) you can meet the rest of the team here.

Speaking of challenges Scrapz.Biz is celebrating World Card Making Day at the moment and have been busy putting together lots of fun card making challenges to mark the occasion

The challenges range from super easy through to advanced with lots of awesome prizes up for grabs! hope you'll come along and play :)
and just in case you need to stock up on some stamps or stamping supplies you can get 20% off in the store all long weekend. Details and discount code available here.

school and soccer...

2011-10-01T02:35:00.001+10:00

Week 6 of the Generation Gap reader's challenges over at Aussie Scrap Source blog was all about our school days and I decided to do a layout about Matt's school yard memories after recently coming across this photo of him from year 2 of primary school.

I asked Matt what he remembers most about his days at primary school and he says that 'while the school work seemed a lot easier than the work our kids bring home today, the teachers were not as relaxed and even though he was a good student he still remembers the sting of the cane' and our boys listen in disbelief that this was the normal type of punishment back in our day.

I have included some of these memories in the pull out tag under the photo and used Studio Calico's Elementary range.

Week 7 had a sports and hobbies theme and I created my page about our family's passion for soccer

I never really played sports when I was a child but I did grow up with a love of soccer and have many memories of watching the English Premiere League with my dad. Manchester United was our favourite team long before stars like Rooney and Ronaldo came on the scene - back then it was all about Eric Cantona and a young David Beckham thrilling the crowd. But it doesn't compare to the excitement of being there when my children started playing the game, cheering them on as they scored their first goal and being able to share a passion for the sport with them has been wonderful and it's nice to see that at least one of the goes for Manchester too ;)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

birthdays...

2011-10-01T01:39:00.002+10:00

I don't know about you, but for some reason I draw a blank when it comes time to scrapping birthday layouts.... the photos are busy and the colours seem all over the place and I never really know where to begin, so I really jumped at the chance to take part in the Scrapz.Biz 2nd Birthday Cyber Crop for a bit of birthday inspiration.

First up was a great virtual class taught by the lovely Kerryn, where she walked us through the steps to create this fun layout

I used Kerryn's fabulous instructions to create a layout using an old photo of Christian when he had just turned 5, and love how easily it all just seem to fall into place.

I also put together a bright and happy page for Cameron's 1st birthday back in 2003

and was inspired to make a few birthday cards for the occasion using a paper pleating technique

location location...

2011-09-23T01:51:00.003+10:00

I'm catching up with a few layouts I completed for the Location Location comp at Scrapz.Biz Week 5's challenge was about what's in your handbag and my layout is about some of the things I usually have in my bag

part of the challenge was to use a store/credit card on your page and I decided to run my card through the cuttlebug to get an embossed impression and really like how it turned out.

Week 6 and all about what's on your TV screen and I went with a renovation theme because of all the reno shows I've been enjoying lately.

the added criteria was to add a tv screen and tv guide and I found a cute clip art image which I played around with and added a portion of an online tv guide into before printing. I also added in a few reno inspired items like the little tools in my title, paint swatches, masking tape and floor plans to go with the theme.

Week 7 took a look in our scrap rooms and my page was based on my organised chaos, and the contrast between my nice and tidy storage but huge mess where I do my scrapping

here's a better look at what my work area usually looks like after some scrapping o.0

Week 8 got us digging into our junk drawers and I scrapped about all the little treasures that end up in ours and used an old envelope for the criteria of using something from your drawer.

and here's a re-cap of the previous locations we visited

week 1 started with what was in your shopping trolley/basket

& week 2 gave us a peek into our wardrobes

week 3 was about what was on our plate & week 4 got us into our cars

It's been a really fun comp to take part in and it got me scrapping about a lot of things I would never have recorded otherwise

soup & grass...

2011-09-20T00:59:00.001+10:00

I'm still taking part in the Generation Gap reader's challenges over at Aussie Scrap Source and last week was all about meals & food which was a perfect way to record my mum's recipe for a traditional Polish broth style chicken noodle soup called Rosół pronounced (Ro-suh). Soup is a staple part of the polish diet and and this particular recipe was always a favourite in our household when we were growing up.

My mum still makes a serving of soup for us whenever we go to her place for lunch or dinner and she passed the recipe down to me (which I have added to the back of my journalling tag) because all 3 of my boys enjoy it so much

I actually had to print this photo out twice because my 18 month old got so excited when he saw the picture of soup that tried to eat the first photo :)

I also completed the chores and pocket money challenge and reflected on my least favourite chore of having to mow the lawns when I was younger and my relief that our new house has no grass for anybody to cut!

I was inspired by Sue's fabulous use of a denim pocket on her layout, and added a little pocket of my own along with a couple of coins to emphasise the pocket money theme

Thanks for stopping by!

ticklez...

2011-09-10T00:15:00.011+10:00

I haven't really bought a lot of scrapping kits before, but when I saw all the fun bright colours and gorgeous elements in the July Ticklez kit over at Scrapz.Biz I simply couldn't resist, and boy am I glad I didn't because I really love all the different pages I've been able to create so far.

First up is a page about Cayden's favourite pastime before he learnt to walk... zooming around in his walker.

Next up is my little birthday boy turning one and all the colours just seemed perfect for Cayden's rainbow coloured party

and then another page about Cayden, this time it was about his first trip to the beach and his fascination with the sand :)

I also wanted to use some of the adorable hedgehog stickers and created a few happy cards

This is what I started with and I still have heaps left over to play with and at just $29.95 I think it was really great value too.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

game on...

2011-09-09T17:56:00.001+10:00

Anyone that knows us could have probably guessed that I would eventually do a scrapbook page about our Playstations ;) and even though I don't really play video games that much myself, gaming has always been a part of our household and I thought it would be the perfect topic for the technology challenge of the Aussie Scrap Source Generation Gap series.

I focused my page about how much gaming has changed and included pics of the consoles we've had over the years and listed how things have changed in a hidden journalling section under the main photo.

The next theme in the challenge was all about The Daily Routine and I've reflected about the freedom of just playing outside everyday when we were growing up.

hidden journalling reads - I remember when we were kids and spending all your time outside was a normal part of the daily routine. It seems like such a different time, where parents were laid back about their kids safety and it was normal to stay out until dark every day. Hours were spent exploring the neighbourhood parks or swimming in creeks and waterholes with friends. And while our children have a chance to do these things today... time like this needs to be scheduled to fit in with a busy routine and mum or dad are never far away!

off to market...

2011-09-03T02:10:00.000+10:00

I recently discovered that Scrapbooking Top 50 holds a monthly crafter's market, and decided to join in on the fun and set up my own stall :)

Come and check out what I'm selling here http://scrapbookingtop50.forumotion.net/f204-scrap-this
Aga xx

generation gap...

2011-08-22T02:27:00.001+10:00

I spotted a new reader's challenge at the Aussie Scrap Source blog last week and couldn't resist the opportunity to play along. It's called Generation Gap and is all about the differences between our own childhoods and what our children are experiencing today.

Each weeks takes you to a different area of childhood and we began with Playtime and Leisure and I thought it would be the perfect theme to scrap about our much loved 'Fisher Price Happy Apple' that has been in Matt's family since he was a child. It got me thinking about how much toys have changed since we were kids, and how good it is to see that there are still things that remain timeless and don't need change! This simple musical toy has been passed down from one generation to the next and has been enjoyed by all three of my boys over the past 14 years and I hope that one day they will be able to give it to their own babies :)

You can have a look at what everyone else has created for the challenge and read their stories here.
Have a great week and thanks for stopping by :)

scraps...

2011-08-22T02:03:00.002+10:00

Not too long ago I came across Amy Heller's gorgeous work via Pinterest, and have been admiring her fabulous blog ever since! One of the things I've enjoyed the most is Amy's Scrap your Scraps Summer Challenge, and thought it would be fun to dig into my ever growing pile of scraps and play along.
I went through a few of the boxes where I keep my scraps and kept noticing bright bits of yellow so I gathered up a few different patterns and teamed them up with various shades of grey.

I was lucky to have a good amount of larger scraps to use from recent projects and decided to cut them into horizontal strips to balance out the long photo of my little honey bunny :)

I've added in a little bits of black and white for contrast

I even managed to use up one of my many paint swatches that I've been hoarding to create a custom tag

and used a couple of the paper strips to make my own accordion folded flowers

It was a really fun challenge and it felt great to put a little dint into my rather large stash of scraps and the good news is that there's still a few weeks left of Amy's challenge and you can join in at any time to go into the draw to win yourself some goodies :)

location location...

2011-08-22T00:32:00.003+10:00

I know I've been a bit of a slack blogger lately, but I have been busy playing along with a fun comp over at Scrapz Biz called Location Location. So far we have headed into the supermarket and scrapped about what was in our shopping trolley/basket, then we ventured into our wardrobes for a peek inside, next we had to serve something up and scrap about what was on our plates, and last week we headed into our cars and here's the layout I created

part of the criteria was to use a map on your layout and I decided to make some buttons by covering a few chipboard circles with an old street directory and actually used portions that I travel along during the daily school run.

It's been a lot of fun to scrap something different and think it will be a good insight into our daily lives for future generations :) and if you'd like to try something like this for yourself you can still catch up and join in at any time - this weeks gives you a look inside your handbag o.0

modern vintage...

2011-07-15T00:55:00.001+10:00

The final week of the Aussie Scrap Source Style Lounge series used the beautiful work of Louise Williams as inspiration for a Modern Vintage theme.

This was definitely not a style I am use to doing but I guess that's the point of the challenge and I was surprised to see how many products I actually had to work with the theme :)

I used an old photo from Austria (that's me on the right) with my mum and my sister and made myself a few vintage inspired flowers to dress up the page

I've really enjoyed playing along with the Style Lounge challenges and am super excited to have won two of them! Here's a bit of a re-cap of what I created for all the other styles in the series

as you can see the styles are all quite different, and I'm happy to have picked up a few bits and pieces from each of them that I can incorporate into my own style of scrapping - which I am yet to define.. any ideas of what you'd call it?

detailed layers...

2011-07-14T03:37:00.002+10:00

Week 9 of the Aussie Scrap Source Reader's Style Lounge Challenge was inspired by the beautifully layered, detailed style of Suzanne Tonga. Here's what I came up with...

This style is all about the details, so I tried to incorporate plenty of layers as well as some pretty finishing touches

like these gorgeous spotted Guinea fowl feathers I picked up recently

I could really see myself using more of this style in the future and I got an awesome surprise tonight to find out that my layout was chosen as the winner of the challenge!!! OMG I'm very excited and think this was just the confidence boost I needed at the moment...check it out here :)
Thanks for stopping by

Polly!

2011-07-10T01:08:00.000+10:00

There's a new kit club in town... Polly! Scrap Kits is launching their very first kit on 10th August, and Kayla Renee is holding a giveaway to celebrate! You can help to spread the word and find all the details here :)

white...

2011-07-09T23:20:00.004+10:00

I've been playing over at ScrapzBiz again and got a couple done for last week's challneges inspired by the use of 'white'. The layout was for the sketch challenge using 'white' space

and a white on white card for the monochromatic challenge

Hope you're having a great weekend :)

simple arty...

2011-07-05T00:37:00.000+10:00

Week 8 of the Aussie Scrap Source Readers Style Lounge Challenge, had me reaching for my mists and paint because the inspiration came from the superb talent of Louise Nelson.

I have always loved Lou's unique arty style and had a lot of fun trying to recreate a little bit of Lou magic of my very own... not sure I did her style justice but did enjoy the process :)

Hand made with love...

2011-07-02T01:09:00.001+10:00

I'm a bit excited to say that I have finally learnt how to crochet :) it's always been one of those things that I have wanted to do but just never got around to - but thanks to the help of YouTube and several practice runs, here is my very first project!

I probably should have started with something easier but couldn't resit giving it a go after spotting a pattern for this adorable owl ear flap beanie over here, and here's my not so co-operative model wearing his new hat

I finally got a decent pic a few days later lol

I've also been making a lots of crochet flowers, and since I don't really need that many flowers for my projects (I have 3 boys) I thought it would be good to share... so stay tuned while I get a few more together and organise a giveaway :)

Aga xx

Patchwork Inspired...

2011-07-02T00:06:00.002+10:00

A couple of weeks ago I spent the weekend doing some challenges for the Scrapz Biz Life is a Patchwork Virtual Crop filled with loads of great patchwork inspired creativity.

First up was a fun virtual class held by the lovely Sheree Forcier. I loved that there was lots of hand and machine stitching in the class, and a great excuse to dig out my sewing machine there was lots of

next up was a What's Cooking challenge where the ingredients were fabric, buttons and stitching

the Scrap it Blind challenges have quickly become one of my favourites, and I was very happy to finally use up some old papers that I've never really knew what to do with before

and finally the Noteworthy challenge had me creating this very patchwork inspired card

I didn't manage to get all the challenges completed, but it was fun to spent the weekend scrapping and an added bonus to win some great prizes along the way :) ... Scrapz Biz also holds awesome weekly challenges, so if you're in the need of some inspiration from a fabulous and friendly team you should definitely join in!

Thanks for stopping by

Aga xx

style lounge continues...

2011-06-27T23:38:00.001+10:00

I'm a bit behind with getting my layouts up, but what can I say... there just aren't enough hours in the day!!! Anyway week 6 of the Style Lounge Reader's challenge at Aussie Scrap Source blog, the theme was Detailed Whimsy and the inspiration came from the beautiful work of Iris Babao Uy and this is what I came up with...

I was inspired by Iris' use of misting, pretty details and bright happy colours

Suzan Doyle was the inspiration for week 7's challenge with her wonderfully Graphic Colour Blocked style.

I focused on using nice clean lines and tried to recreate Suzan's sense of everything being in it's place

I've got plenty more uploads to catch up on, so I hope you'll be back soon :)

Aga xx

Customer pick...

2011-06-06T22:16:00.000+10:00

Just letting you know that you can pick up this customer-pick bundle of warm neutral papers paired with a pack of craft tags that was part of my recent order at Blue Bazaar for just $2.47!

If you follow the Blue Bazaar blog then you would have seen that Louise puts together some fun little bundles of products based on what customers are ordering and offers these at 15% off the normal price. Blue Bazaar always has loads of awesome products at fabulous prices, and as an added incentive to shop if some of the products you order get selected for a bundle you'll get a $5.00 credit to your account... thanks Lou :)

Clean and simple...

2011-06-06T00:11:00.003+10:00

that was the theme for the last Style Lounge Readers Challenge over at the Aussie Scrap Source blog. The inspiration came from Caroline McLachlan and the brief was to use clean lines, minimal embellishments with a focus on the photo and journalling. Here's what I came up with...

Journalling reads: I never want to forget the time that little Cameron, who was about 3 years old at the time freaked out while he was on the toilet, screaming at the top of his lungs that there was an animal in there!!! I ran in to find him looking terrified and practically standing on the bowl pointing at the ground... I started laughing so much because the animal that had frightened him so much turned out to be a little ant crawling along the bathroom tiles. For some reason ants were a bit scary for him and he would do his best to avoid them, so who would have thought that the little boy who was terrified of ants would grow up loving to catch lizards and play with all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures.

I have to admit that I don't normally add a lot of journalling to my pages, so it was nice to scrap a page using this style so I could record some of the memories that might otherwise be forgotten, and I am very excited to say that my layout won the clean and simple challenge :)

Have a fabulous week
Aga xx

Freestyle whimsy...

2011-06-01T01:55:00.001+10:00

I'm still playing along with the Style Lounge challenges on the Aussie Scrap Source blog, and absolutely loved last week's 'freestyle whimsy' style. The inspiration came from the very talented Danielle Quarmby and the brief was to use some of the key elements that Danielle uses when creating her signature style.

I focused on using colour to set the mood, hand cut embellishments, book paper and whimsical elements, using song lyrics for my title as well as adding a small floral background.

What do you think?

Do you Pinterest?

2011-06-01T01:41:00.000+10:00

I am absolutely loving this site, and have to admit that lately I have been spending most of my computer time on Pinterest! ... incase you haven't been there before it's basically an online pin board where you can create collections of all the things you love and then share them with friends and follow the boards of other people with great taste.

What I like most about Pinterest is how easy it is to access all the great finds you have pinned along the way, because I don't know about you but normally when I found something I liked online I would either save a pic of it or add the page to my favourites folder, but then always struggle to find the source when I wanted to go back to it - but on Pinterest you have not only a picture of what it is you like but also a link straight to the site where you found it all in one. Brilliant!

There are so many inspiring ideas and awesome tutorials, and here's just a small sample of some of the things I've been pinning...

here's a link to my boards, feel free to have a browse or add anything you like...or if you are already on board leave me a link, because as they say - it's more fun with friends :)
Aga xx

Catching up with layouts...

2011-06-01T01:24:00.001+10:00

I've been doing a bit of scrapping... but because of my slight obsession with Pinterest I haven't had time to update my blog for a while ;) So first up is another layout for the Style Lounge challenges at Aussie Scrap Source blog. The challenge was to create a layout based on the awesome 'Artsy Grunge' style of Leanne Pearce. I really liked playing with this style and am thinking that it will definitely be something I want to try again!

I also completed a few pages for the Desperate Housewives theme over at ScrapzBiz. This page is about just some of the things I would rather be doing than housework, because let's face it... it will still be there in the morning!

and the next one is about my least favourite chore - the dreaded ironing and my recent revelation that sometimes it is OK to go out into the world with a few wrinkles ;)

I had also planned to complete 30 layouts for Blue Bazaar's Crop Bootcamp, but I left it a bit late to get started and in the end only managed to upload 2 layouts.... a long way off I know, but hey it is better than none, and I did manage to organise a lot of my paper into mini kits in the process!

*also just realised that I totally forgot to add my journalling for this one...oops

Thanks for stopping by
Aga xx

Playful fun...

2011-05-19T23:29:00.001+10:00

I'm a bit late in getting this up, but here is my layout for week 2 of the Style Lounge reader's challenges over at Aussie Scrap Source blog. This time we were challenged to get 'Playful' with the gorgeous style of Kathie Link. I'm already a big fan of Kathie's work and love her great use of colour and the whimsical backdrops she pieces together and really enjoyed having a go at her playful style.

Not too shabby...

2011-05-06T01:36:00.000+10:00

I thought it would be fun to try something new and have joined in on the Style Lounge reader's challenges over at the Aussie Scrap Source blog. The first style in the challenge was Shabby Chic inspired by the beautiful work of Janine Koczwara. This is often the type of style that I love to ohh and ahh over but hardly ever try - mainly due to the fact that I have 3 boys, so it was nice to play with some flowers and try something pretty :)

I still used soft shades of blue, but teamed these up with warm and creamy creamy neuatrals, along with a touch of green, and if you look close you might notice that I snuck in a little pink.

I tried to build up some interesting layers and focused on adding a few shabby details and was very happy to have this gorgeous selection of goodies to play with, which I was wrapped to win a few months ago from this lovely lady.

Overall I am really happy with how this page turned out and look forward to trying out this week's 'Playful' style!

Thanks for stopping by...please don't be shy and let me know you were here ;)
Aga xx

Super cutie ♥

2011-05-01T20:36:00.001+10:00

I was creating the page for a challenge but just realised that it was infact due in yesterday o.0
Oh well, I've been wanting to scrap these pics of Cayden in his superman outfit for a while and so I used the theme of his outfit as my inspiration and created a superhero scene to match.

I wanted the page to have a bit of a comic book feel and love the way the blue Crate Paper border works as a backdrop to my cityscape which was made from simple layered shapes of black and grey cardstock. I also created my own sunburst sky using a few different shades of yellow.

and because I didn't want the photos to get lost on the busy background, I decided to keep the colour palette pretty simple and drew inspiration from the outfit and used just a few pops of red and yellow to accent the page.

Thanks for stopping by
Aga xx

Easter Decorating...

2011-04-27T21:34:00.001+10:00

I was feeling a bit 'Martha' inspired this Easter and took on a few decorating projects for the occasion. To begin with I gathered a collection of twigs and and other bits and pieces and built myself a nest :)

I decided to fill my nest with speckled eggs after seeing these little beauties {not by Martha...but still so pretty} To make my eggs I sponged on layers of acrylic paints in shades of blue onto blown eggs, allowing each layer to dry in between. I then watered down a little brown acrylic and used an old toothbrush to flick on the speckles. I skipped the painting stage for the brown eggs but did add the speckles as well as a few sprays of iridescent glimmer mist for a bit of shine and it's a good thing that I made a few spares because some little guy (Cayden ) broke a few when he tried to eat them ;)

On Saturday we had an Easter lunch at my mum's place and I created a few cute napkin bunnies to dress up her table using this tutorial.

I was very inspired by this gorgeous Martha cake, and used the same concept to decorate my layered chocolate and cream cake with a nest made of shaved chocolate.

I also got the idea of making a cake border from here but changed it up a bit and drew up my own template onto plain paper then traced the design onto a sheet of long of cardboard (the type you get at the newsagents) and used a craft knife to cut out my design.

I went with a simple grass design and added a few bunnies and chicks along with some scattered eggs amongst the grass and love how it turned out. The cake lost a bit of it's icing during the drive but here's the other side of the border ;)

I'd love to hear your thoughts... perhaps you made something creative too that you'd like to share?
Aga xx

Baskets...

2011-04-22T01:52:00.004+10:00

I thought it would be nice to get a few projects in before the Easter weekend, and decided that the ScrapzBiz 'basket' challenge would be a good place to start. I went with an Easter theme and made a little woven basket from strips of cardstock.

I pre-inked the edges of each strip before forming the basket and curved it a bit before attaching it in place for added dimension, then dressed it up with a handle made of twine, a cute little chick, a few embellished flowers and a printed sentiment stuck on a toothpick.

For the layout I scrapped about our traditional blessing of the basket on Easter Saturday.

The challenge was to use some non traditional scrapbook papers so I used a strip of paper doily layered over some tissue paper, and some more weaving - this time through the border strip.

Speaking of Easter, I have also been busy blowing out some eggs and have gathered a stack of twigs... can you guess what I'm making?

More Easter crafting...

2011-04-22T01:52:00.002+10:00

Hi again, I almost forgot to share a card set I made last week. I was planning on making just one card but couldn't decide between the egg and bunny designs so decided to do both.... then I started thinking that chicks would be cute and one card quickly turned into a set of three :)

The cards were really simple to make once I found images to use as templates, and just incase you'd like to make your own I found cute bunny templates here, here and here, some cheeky little chicks here and here and well there were eggs everywhere but I used mine from here.

To make the cards I scaled the templates down to the size I wanted then printed them in reverse on the back of white cardstock and used a craft knife to cut out the design. I added a little stitching a few simple embellishments before backing the cutouts with some matching paper and the cards were done... which left me plenty of time to whip up some pretty envelopes to match.

Happy Easter and thanks for stopping by!

Aga xx

Chocolate...

2011-04-14T00:48:00.004+10:00

I've really been enjoying the Scrapz Biz weekly challenges and couldn't resist playing along with the chocolate theme! I took up the blind scrapping challenge and scrapped about our little guy being busted eating nutella straight from the jar after he raided one of our cupboards while we weren't looking :)

I used some of these cute fabric covered buttons which I which I was lucky enough to win from Little Red Rocket in a previous giveaway.... good news is that they are having another fantastic giveaway one on their blog right now so check it out!!!Aga xx

Leaves...

2011-04-13T21:15:00.006+10:00

Hi, I've got a few layouts to share all with a 'leaves' theme for one of the weekly challenges over at Scrapz Biz, where I was one of the challenge winners :) The first leafy challenge was to create handmade leaves (not using patterened paper) so I used layers of cellophane and organza to make my leaves for the birhouse and added a few smaller leaves from a piece of trim to my hand cut tree. The next one was for a sketch challenge and I had a play with some For the Record papers by Echo Park {love this range}

I paired up some LYB leaf pins with handmade flowersNext up was a colour challenge using this lovely combo...The leaves were hand cut from a sheet of Prima paper And lastly was my first attempt at blind scrapping, and I went for an Autumn theme.Oh and this is what I won for playing along - an adorable set of Social Club Butterflies & Doilies :) Thanks for the visit and don't be shy to leave me a comment ;)

Aga xx

Rainbows...

2011-04-11T11:45:00.004+10:00

I still had rainbows on my mind after Cayden's birthday when I created this happy rainbow card for a Scrapz Biz 'Melancholy' challenge.

Playing catch up...

2011-04-11T11:15:00.013+10:00

Catching up with a couple of layouts I completed a while ago for a Scrapz Biz challenge. Love these pics of my little guy being cheeky for the camera :)

here's some of the details...This next one is about packing up 7.5 years of memories when we had to move house. I included some hidden journalling to tell the story and a photo of the truck all packed up as it drove awayI've got more layouts to upload... so until then thanks for stopping by!

Aga xx

Cayden's 1st Birthday ♥

2011-04-01T00:02:00.003+11:00

Hi :) just wanted to share some pics from Cayden's first Birthday, which we celebrated last weekend with a family picnic at the river. It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since this little bundle of joy came into our lives.... but time flies and our baby is growing up fast!

Cayden had a wonderful day, and as you can see we went with a rainbow theme for the decorations and Christian spent hours blowing up water bombs to make a super cute rainbow arch for his little brother :) I also made lots of bright and happy treats which included my first attempt at cake pops (they were so yummy) rainbow jelly cups, mini cupcakes topped with colourful frosting and adorable personalised flags - you can download the free pdf here!! We also set up a mini lolly buffet which was very popular... even with the big kids ;) and to finish off the theme I also made a big layered rainbow cake with fluffy meringue frosting. I somehow forgot to get a photo of the cake, but you can see Cayden enjoying his piece below! Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon with some scrapping.... yep I have actually done some LOL

Aga xx

Papertrey Button Challenge...

2011-02-11T21:49:00.005+11:00

I was feeling a bit crafty tonight and knew I found the perfect project when I stumbled across a fun button challenge on this awesome blog...

I decided to make a card featuring some fabulous chipboard buttons that I was lucky enough to be sent to play with by the lovely Michelle Jamieson of Chelley Bean Designs.

The buttons are such a great size to work with and made perfect centres for these Maya Road Kraft Doilies {which I adore} and the rest of the card just seemed to come together after that :)

You can check out these buttons and all the other gorgeous handmade goodies over at Michelle's Etsy store.

Have a great weekend

Aga xx

Aussie Scrap jacked...

2011-01-31T15:29:00.006+11:00

I was very excited in the lead up to the January challenge on the Scrap Jacked blog... but as it turned out other things just kept getting in the way, so when the boys went fishing on the weekend I cleared the dining table and finally got started!

I couldn't resist jacking Lisa's layered circles, and although I went with a totally different colour palette I'm loving the results :)

I also really liked the arrangement and cool bubble wrap stamping on Mel's layout and also went for a boy theme with my layout and scrapped about Cameron's love of catching lizards.

I only wish I had time to do more because there were so many inspiring pieces, but unfortunately I'm a pretty slow scrapper... maybe next month :)

Aga xx

Get Picky...

2011-01-13T17:49:00.009+11:00

I've been scrapping again :) and still using the fabulous inspiration on challenge blogs to keep me on track. I couldn't resit creating a layout when I saw this gorgeous inspiration challenge image on the Get Picky blog.

I really like the soft neutral colours and I instantly knew I wanted to use photos of my mum's Christmas village, which she sets up under her tree each year for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

This was Cayden's first Christmas and he was in totally in awe of all that was going on under his Baba's tree, and he especially loved the train coming through the tunnel.

I really liked the soft colour scheme and the simple but spectacular tree and tried to re-create this by making a couple layered doily trees and dressed them up with some sparkly rhinestones.

Thanks for stopping by... let me know what you think :)

Aga

A Bo Bunny challenge...

2011-01-06T18:26:00.006+11:00

Hi again I'm back with another layout :) this time inspired by a fun challenge over on the Bo Bunny blog which was to use wrapping paper on a layout. As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted to have a go because I had plenty of left over wrapping from Christmas and thought it would be a fun way to scrap Cayden's first Santa photo.I cut out several baubles and trees from my wrapping paper and teamed them up with papers and the transparency birdies from the Flirty range and although this is not a Christmas range I think the colours worked well. I also added a strip of shimmery paper from the Holiday Magic range and used Double Dot chipboard alphas for my title and finished it off with a couple of All Stuck up Buttons. Here's some of the details:

Thanks for having a peek :)

Aga xx

Page Maps & Storyboard Kits...

2011-01-02T23:49:00.010+11:00

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and are making a great start to the New Year! I know I've had a very long break from scrapping but I plan for this to change, and to get myself back into the swing of things I've decided that this year I would try my hand at some of the challenges out there and was inspired by this Page Maps sketch for the Storyboard kits challenge. I turned the sketch on it's side and this is what I came up with...I know the photos are not that good, but it was getting late and I had to get it uploaded before midnight ;) so will try and get some better shots in the morning.
Thanks for stopping by

Aga xx

M.I.A...

2010-06-28T19:19:00.001+10:00

I've been missing in action for a while because we have moved... which was pretty stressful to do with a baby but we are all settled in now and after weeks of waiting our Internet is finally up and running :) although we did have to switch providers so please use the new email addy in my profile in case you need to get in touch with me.

As for scrapping well I still haven't done any since my last post and here's the main reason why...

Our little peanut has been quite a handful but his reflux seems to be settling so hope to get stuck into some scrapping sometime soon. Cayden is now 3 months old and already weighs in at just over 7.5 kg. He is making lots of new sounds and is totally obsessed with his hands, he loves bath time and tickles and I can't resist those adorable gummy smiles :)

Aga xx

Happy Easter...

2010-04-05T13:26:00.009+10:00

Just a quick post to wish everyone a very Happy Easter!!

our little bunny slept through most of Easter... but he is doing well and we really appreciate all the sweet messages of congrats :)

Our bundle of joy...

2010-03-28T18:25:00.011+11:00

Introducing baby

Caydenborn 23 March 2010 at 2:38 pm

weighing 3695 gm - 8.14 lb

measuring 54 cm - 21.3 in

After what seemed like ''forever'' waiting for this day, our little bundle of joy made his arrival 6 days after his due date. My labour began at around 4am on Tuesday morning and after several long and painful hours of contractions, I had my waters broken just before 2pm followed by almost 45 minutes of intense pushing before our little Cayden was born. I have to admit that this was the most painful of all the labours I've gone through, but most definitely worth it all once I held our perfect and healthy baby boy.

Christian and Cameron are both loving being big brothers and Matt and I are still marveling at the pure bliss of having a newborn all over again :)

Finally some creating...

2010-03-09T21:26:00.002+11:00

It's been a long time since I have done any scrapping, mainly because it has become increasingly uncomfortable to sit for long periods of time but also because I just haven't been feeling all that creative lately... so it feels great to have finally had a little burst of creativity :)

The first is a page for my art journal using the February mixed media prompt at Blue Bazaar
but I didn't stop there, and also created a layout inspired by the little house in my journal pageI'm really liking bright colours at the moment and was happy to use up lots of bits and pieces from my stash of scraps :)

10 days and counting...

2010-03-07T19:12:00.005+11:00

Thought I would do a bit of a baby update since there are only 10 days left until our baby's due date :0
All has been going well, that is if you don't count the swelling, the pain in my ribs or the constant fatigue... but these are a small price to pay for what is to come! I have been getting lots of braxton hicks false contractions this week and actually thought I was going into labour at one stage, but it looks like bub is staying put for now so I guess I will have to be patient... although I've got the bags packed and am ready to go lol ;)

I'll keep you posted

Aga xx

A calendar and some cards...

2010-02-21T20:04:00.000+11:00

Just wanted to share a fun 3d calendar I found over at the Canon Creative Park website which I couldn't resist printing out and assembling for my desk... cute huh :)I also have some cards to share that were done for a Stamper's Challenge in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine using this cute little Printblocks owl stamp - these were the cards I came up with for the February issue.

Now to get onto those scrapbooking projects I keep planning on getting done ;)

Aga xx

Blog award...

2010-02-18T18:09:00.001+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I received a very sweet blog award called the "Happy 101 Award" from the lovely and very talented Michelle :) Thanks so much and sorry it has taken me soooo long to get it on here!
If you receive this award you are to list 10 things that make you happy...

1. The adventures of being a mum of boys :)

2. My pregnant belly

3. Morning giggles and night time huggles

4. Blue skies and fluffy white clouds

5. Hanging out at the beach

6. Getting creative

7. My mums home cooking

8. Prince music

9. Spring trees and Autumn leaves

10. Being outdoors

The second part of the award involves passing it on to three people that make you happy :)

so I'm passing it on to these fabulously inspiring girls...

1. Kim

2. Tanya

3. Kathleen

I have been busy getting things prepared for baby's arrival and think I am definitely going through the nesting phase lol - so I don't really have anything new creative to share this time but have plenty of ideas floating around in my head so hope to turn some of those into layouts soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aga xx

34 weeks, a birthday and a baby shower...

2010-02-07T23:35:00.000+11:00

This week has been a busy one - starting with a 34 weeks check up at the hospital, all appears to be going well with baby which is great news, and while I'm really excited I am also starting to feel a bit freaked out at how little time is left before our baby arrives :0 On Thursday I celebrated my 34th birthday, and yesterday my sister and mum put on a baby shower for me :) and while they took care of most of the food and preparations I was still able to get a bit creative with some of the decorating... starting with the invitations
and these cute cupcake toppers

little toadstool appertisersand I even had a go at these Martha style pom poms

It was a great day shared with family and friends, loads of yummy food and plenty of wine (not for me of course) and I wanted to say a big thanks to everyone for your genoristy with all the gorgeous gifts - I will have plenty more pics on facebook soon ;)
Aga xx

SM Masters...

2010-01-20T22:01:00.001+11:00

I finally got myself a copy of Scrapbook Memories magazine and have been soaking in all the scrappy goodness all afternoon :)

A BIG congrats to all the Masters, everyone did such an awesome job and an extra special congrats to Hetty, Kim and Sarah :) not to mention all the fabulous work featured from many of my scrapping friends with their beautiful honourable mentions!!

I was really happy to receive an Honourable Mention this year - here's a little peek of my mystery project that is featured in the magazine

and this was my shaped layout... which was my personal favourite :)which opens up into a cloud shape

my double layout, turned out a bit too simple (even for my standards lol)but I had fun working with these stamp collection pockets
and lastly my single layoutwhich had me giving my craft knife a workout to cut the design from the blue paper so I could slide the scalloped circle underneath
So there you have it.... these were my efforts, and I will no doubt do it all again this year ;)

Thanks for stopping by

Aga xx

Breaking the drought...

2010-01-14T14:26:00.006+11:00

After being stuck in a scrapping rut for the past few months, I am very happy to have finally broken my scrapping drought after creating this layout :) I have also been working on a Mother's day project for SM Magazine, but I can't share that one just yet.

OMG I have been jacked...

2010-01-09T13:52:00.001+11:00

Remember this layout?
well I'm proud to say that it has been jacked....

Aussie Scrapjacked that is :)

Check it our here!!!

Another page from my journal...

2010-01-04T13:45:00.007+11:00

Hi again :) I have just completed another page for my quote journal using the Blue Bazaar monthly art journal prompts - this is a whimsical collage created using magazine cutouts, paints, pens and markers Teesha Moore style, and I have to say I had so much fun using these techniques and already have a heap of cutouts for future pages ;)

and speaking of Blue Bazaar....
BLUE BAZAAR is offering readers of my blog a 10% discount on their next order over $40.00. To receive the discount include the following code in the comments field of your order: JANBLOGA.

Note discounts do not apply to items already discounted, on sale or subscriptions. The code is valid for this month until the 31st January 2010.

And the New Year begins...

2010-01-02T22:21:00.001+11:00

Hope everyone has had a good weekend and are ready for 2010!!! We went to see the fireworks at Panthers, then the next morning our boys headed out to Colo river for a bit of camping with family, so it's been pretty quite here.

I'm still on a scrapping drought and haven't created a layout for over 2 months... not sure what's going on there? but am hoping to get something done soon and in the meantime I have created another page for my quote journal using the Blue Bazaar monthly prompts - this one was to create a monochromatic background and I ended up with a textured wallpaper lookand have also made another card... as you can see I am still going through a bird phase LOL

Thanks for stopping by!

Aga xx

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-26T13:33:00.008+11:00

We've had a lovely Christmas so far, and after spending the past two days with our families, filled with joy and loads of yummy food :) I am now enjoying a quiet moment while the boys are out at the movies with their cousins.

Here are some before and after pics of the scene under our tree yesterday morning :)

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas

and wish you all a safe and happy New Year

Christmas creating...

2009-12-18T14:30:00.007+11:00

In between last minute Christmas shopping, cleaning and trying to put my pregnant swollen feet up, I finally managed to do some creating.

Firstly I've used a Kaiser birdhouse to make a door hanging, I was going to hang it on our front door but considering last year's wreath kind of melted in the sun I think I'll have to find another spot for this one ;) it's a bit hard to see in the photo, but the whole thing is very glittery and sparkly and although I'm not exactly sure what birds have to do with Christmas, that's what's been inspiring me lately ;)

and while shopping the other day I came across these adorable love birds at Bed, Bath and Table and added a couple of branches and berries to make it more festive for a simple centrepiece.
Our tree is up but I need some better light to get some pics, oh and we have half our outdoor lights up too.... so will get onto Matt to get the rest up this weekend!

I've also started making some Chrissy cards, but might have to end up using store bought ones at the rate I'm going lol, as I still have a load of things to get done, and am on my final weekend of doing the Christmas baubles (Yay) and I think I have already written every name possible over the past few weeks and am starting to feel slightly over it now!

That's it for now, but I'll be back over the next few days.

Aga xx

It's that time of year again...

2009-12-04T22:05:00.000+11:00

I can hardly believe that it's already December and Christmas is just weeks away, and while I don't really feel prepared this year I am starting to feel a bit more festive now that I'm back to writing on these gorgeous hand painted Christmas baubles again

so if you happen to be heading out to Penrith Plaza on the weekend, I hope you'll stop by to say hello... just look for the pregnant lady covered in glitter lol

I also got a bit of a production line happening last week when making these cards for the Christmas card drive held by Monk at Blue Bazaar. I had wanted to use music notes on my design but because I didn't have any paper like that I decided to make my own by printing a music sheet from the net onto some brown paper bags - too easy and very cost effective.Have a great weekend

Aga xx

Still here...

2009-12-03T07:25:00.006+11:00

I know it's been like a long time between posts, but yes I'm still here :) and thank you to the lovely people who have emailed me to ask how the pregnancy is going... and I'm happy to report that I'm already 25 weeks and everything appears to be going well, although I have really been feeling the heat lately.

I was pretty shocked to realise that I haven't scrapped a single layout since October!!! which is so unlike me but it's been a combination of things that have kept my creativity at bay and I guess most of it has come from my need to head to bed early rather than my usual late nights which is when I got most of my scrapping done.

Also our landlord has put our house onto the market and I have been trying to keep things clean and clutter free as people come to view the house, which doesn't help when your scrap space is located in the dinning room for all to see.... and I guess we all know just how messy things can get once you get started lol, so I thought it would just be easier to just pack it all up for a while.

I have manged to get a couple of little things done though, firstly these little toadstool tags for the Scrap the Girls embellishment swap held a while ago

and also a couple more pages for my quote journal using the mixed media prompts over at Blue Bazaar

I guess that's it for now - thanks for stopping by :)

Aga xx

20 weeks...

2009-10-28T22:47:00.001+11:00

All is going well as we reach the halfway mark in my pregnancy, baby is growing at a steady rate and after another ultrasound we have discovered that inside my growing belly is another boy :) it did come as a bit of a shock, as I was pretty sure we were having a girl this time because the pregnacny has been so different but it appears that I am destined to have boys and just have to go with it ;) and as you can imagine my boys are thrilled that they have another brother on the way.

Here is a little peek of our baby boy :) from the ultrasound

I'm loving my growing belly which is getting nice and big and I've even started to feel lots of steady kicking inside
and I just had to share a pic of these adorable and very tiny shoes we bought the other day that make me smile every time I look at them because they are just sooooo cute :)

Aga xx

A bit of everything...

2009-10-16T11:36:00.013+11:00

Firstly some wonderful news... in case you haven't heard I am thrilled to announce that I've made the Scrapbooking Memories Masters Shortlist!!!! Thanks so much to all the lovely people who have sent their congrats :) It's such an honour to be chosen among so many talented scrappers - Congratulations to everyone and best of luck for the top 10!

and speaking of SM magazine I have some cards featured in this month's awesome pink issue

although I'm not quite sure how the card in the front ended up being photographed the wrong way around... but you get the idea ;)

I also have some Christmas cards and tags to share featured in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine

Onto other news I have decided to cut down on some of my scrapping commitments due to my pregnancy, and this will be my final layout for Remember When - I think a layout featuring our first ultrasound pics was an appropriate way to finish up lolI will continue on with the Aussie Dares challenges, although these might not be as regular. Here is my layout for this month's I wish challenge...I am also going to be finishing up with One Little Aussie Word challenges, but will still be doing DT work for Scraptapestry - yay :)

and last but not least, check out the awesome goodies I won over at Vita's blog right in time for Xmas :)

Take care and have a fabulous weekend!!!

Aga xx

Layouts and giveaway winner...

2009-10-15T19:23:00.005+11:00

Sorry to keep you all waiting but I'm finally back to announce the winner of the gorgeous Scraptapestry A Walk in the Park Kit thanks to the lovely and generous Naomi.

Using the Random.org number generator, the winning number chosen was 19!!!! making Carol the lucky winner

- Carol wrote "OH MMYY GOODDDWhat a beautiful looking kit....Your Lo's are fab....oh the things I could do with all that wonderful paper.....MMMmmmCarol" on October 4, 2009 11:26 PM

Congratulations Carol, please email me your details so I can organise for this fantastic prize to be sent out to you :)

I also have a few more layouts of the 10 I have created using the kit, and I still have a great assortment of gorgeous products to get through.

and it wouldn't be a Scraptapestry kit without the details....
Hope your week has been a good one, and thanks for stopping bye!

Aga xx

More layouts...and giveaway reminder

2009-10-03T23:39:00.009+10:00

I hope you've had a fantastic lonnnnng weekend, due to rain, rain and more rain way we had a quiet one although I did end the weekend on a good note after a trip to the shopping centre where I found myself wandering the baby section with a permanent smile on my face, followed by a stroll through the Xmas section - more smiles there :) anyway....

I have few more layouts to share using the gorgeous A Walk in the Park collection from Scraptapestry

and don't forget there is still plenty of time to put your name down for the fabulous kit giveaway here!!!!!

Scraptapestry giveaway...

2009-09-27T16:26:00.013+10:00

Thanks to the lovely and very generous Naomi I have the pleasure of hosting a fabulous Scraptapestry giveaway, giving you the chance to win this month's A Walk In The Park kit.
This awesome kit is jammed packed with a gorgeous assortment of goodies that are bound to get your creativity flowing, and to be in the running to win all you have to do to is leave a comment in this post over the next two weeks - good luck :)

and to give you a better idea of what this wonderful kit includes, I have a few of the layouts to share that I have created using this kit

and if that isn't enough Naomi also has a very fun giveaway over at her blog, so be sure to check it out too!

I'm back...

2009-09-27T14:31:00.006+10:00

It's been a while between posts due to an endless amount of computer and Internet issues - and to cut a long story short... we've had to buy a new computer along with a new modem/router so fingers crossed things will finally be sorted out now!

I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who has been leaving me congrats and well wishes both here and on facebook :)

I have been feeling a lot better now that the morning sickness has settled, although I think I may have discovered a whole new past time - napping ;) which is how I seem to fill every afternoon lately.

On the scrapping front, I will be back tonight with some Scraptapestry layouts to share along with a giveaway... so stay tuned! but in the meantime I have a layout to share using these cute RW mushroom lasercuts for the Remember When blog

I've also been making some trees for the Scrap the Boys embellishment swap

and my first attempt at inchies for The Scrapbook Establishment inchies swap with a spring theme

Thanks for stopping by and I will be back tonight with details of the Scraptapestry giveaway

Aga xx

Happy news...

2009-09-15T23:37:00.004+10:00

I can't contain myself any longer.... I'm going to be a mama (again)

we had the first ultrasound today and am so excited to finally share that I am almost 14 weeks pregnant with baby number 3 :)

Scraptapestry peeks...

2009-09-13T22:52:00.005+10:00

I have a few sneak peeks to share of what I have been creating with the gorgeous new Scraptpestry kit, due to be released in just a few more days. Naomi has again put together a fabulous collection of colours and textures that just makes you want to play :)
Be sure to check into Naomi's blog for more sneak peeks of the new kit, and don't forget there is a fantastic SCRAPTAPESTRY GIVEAWAY over at Kim's blog, where you can win one of these gorgeous Songbird kits!!!!I will have more to show you in the next few days, as well as a bit of happy news to share... so stay tunned ;)
Thanks for stopping by
Aga xx

Swaps...

2009-09-04T19:19:00.005+10:00

I've been at it again - yes I signed up for a few more swaps, I just can't seem to help myself with these things ;)

I've only completed one of them so far, which was the Vintage Girls Embellishment swap at Scrap the Girls, not because I really do many vintage pages, and come to think of it it wasn't because I really do many girl pages either... I think I signed up for this one just so I could make something pretty lol and this is what I came up with
I also put my name down for the trees/clouds swap at Scrap the Boys and an inchies swap at The Scrapbook Establishment, and if you happen to know of any other cool swaps happening... let me know :)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend planned

Aga xx

Basically bazzill...

2009-09-02T20:35:00.007+10:00

I didn't get a chance to put these up last week, but I've got a couple of layouts to share that I did for Remember When focusing on Bazzill cardstock, and although I did end up sneaking in a little bit of patterned paper into both layouts - using mainly cardstock was not as easy as you'd think ;)

This first layout was made using the August colour inspiration pack
and this one created for the sketch challengeI went for a really basic design for this one, but added some interest by making this cut out tree design to frame the photo.

In the limelight...

2009-08-25T23:40:00.000+10:00

I'm very excited to be featured as Scrapper in the Limelight this month at Scrapbook Hub!!!

This was one of the layouts I created for the site and if you happen to have a thing for clouds like I do - I have included instructions and templates for making these floating cloud tags.

And speaking of clouds, I made these for the Blue Colour Swap at White With 1 this month :)

Layouts...

2009-08-23T14:49:00.006+10:00

You've seen the sneaks and chances are you have been over to Scraptapestry by now, so I thought it was about time I shared a few more of the layouts I created with the gorgeous Limited Edition Headlines Collection.As you can see the kit is jammed packed with loads of beautiful detailed pieces that were a pure joy to work with and really suit a variety of scrapping styles! Also letting you know that the new Scraptapestry kit arrived at my door earlier this week - and let me just say Naomi has done it again!!

Thanks for stopping by

Aga xx

Scanner Art...

2009-08-20T17:05:00.002+10:00

It's been a while since I've taken part in the mixed media art challenges at Gary Reef's Art from the Heart because my scrapping has been keeping me busy, but as soon as I saw the Scanner Art challenge I just knew I had to give it a go! It turned out to be a really good exercise in lighting and composition and after plenty of trial and error I settled on these framed collections of bits and pieces ...There are loads of really cool results on the site which you can check out here.

Delightful...

2009-08-19T18:58:00.001+10:00

This month's inspiration at One Little Aussie Word is 'Delightful' and I ended up going with some of the new Kaiser papers to create this summer delight page.it was a bit hard to get a good photo of this and it really looks a lot better in real life than it does here, but you get the idea :)

Colours and words...

2009-08-19T17:55:00.000+10:00

I'm a little late in putting this up, but I've completed another layout for the Colours and Words challenge at Aussie Scrap Source inspired by this combinationWhen I was putting my pieces together I realised I didn't have any lilac paper, so I thought it was a good time to put one of these gorgeous yet inexpensive flocked gift bags to use that I purchased from Target a while ago with the pure intention of cutting up to use on my pages :)

and this is what I came up with...
You can check out what the everyone has created with this combination here and don't forget to vote for your favourite.

Aga xx

The wait is over...

2009-08-15T19:40:00.010+10:00

Just in case you haven't heard the news... Scraptapestry is open for business :)
Naomi has already started taking orders for the gorgeous first collection, so be sure to get in quick to avoid missing out.

Sneak peeks...

2009-08-09T00:17:00.005+10:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and it's great to see so many of you visiting Naomi's blog for the chance to win the very cool prizes in the lead up to the Scraptapestry launch :) and with the launch date getting closer I wanted to share a few sneak peeks of what else I've been creating with the gorgeous Limited Edition Collection to give you a better idea of some of the goodies you can expect to find.
There are still plenty more prizes up for grabs, so don't forget to leave Naomi your comments :)

My new toy...

2009-08-08T23:58:00.000+10:00

Well it has been a long overdue purchase, but I finally upgraded my camera to this...Isn't it lovely :) I decided to stick to the Canon Ixus range - although this one has quite a few more pixels than my old model (which only had 5) the new one has 12.1mp, a wide angle lens and some very cool features like face recognition, a blink detector which the kids had a lot of fun testing and if you tilt it to the left or right you can scroll through your images without having to press any buttons - gotta love that!

Scraptapestry countdown continues...

2009-08-03T20:28:00.000+10:00

The countdown continues for the Scraptapestry launch and with only 13 days to go I am very excited to finally start showing some of the layouts I have been creating using the gorgeous Limited Edition Collection. The kit is jammed packed with a beautiful assortment of goodies and I really fell in love with the colours and gorgeous details Naomi has put into this kit and cannot wait to show you more - and don't forget to leave a comment on Naomi's blog to be in the running to win in the daily giveaways.

catching up from July...

2009-08-02T18:40:00.010+10:00

I know we are already in August, but I have been really busy and still have some catching up to do from July ;)

Last weekend our gorgeous boy turned 7, and celebrated with a yummy mud cake with family and of course getting very spoilt with loads of presents.

it was really nice to get such a great reaction to my little flower posts from my previous post - thank u ;) and these are the yellow goodies I got back in return for the White With 1 colour swap. Now I'm racking my brain for something blue to create for the next swap... sign ups ares till open if you'd like to take part :)I've also got a layout to share I did a couple of weeks ago for the 'I remember' dare at Aussie Dares, although Rebecca has been away on holidays so you might not find it on the site yet, but there are plenty of wonderful ideas there to get you inspired.
Oh and don't forget to visit Naomi's blog for 15 days of great giveaways!!!! I will be back soon with a few sneak peeks of what I've been doing with one of Naomi's gorgeous Scraptapestry kits.

Hope you are all well, and ready for another week *sigh*

Aga xx

15 days to go...

2009-08-01T11:39:00.004+10:00

There are only 15 days to go until Scraptapestry goes live! and to celebrate the launch of her fabulous new site Naomi is kicking things off with a giveaway each day until the site goes live - so be sure to head over to Naomi's blog to leave a comment for your chance to win some awesome prizes!!!

Yellow...

2009-07-18T02:09:00.002+10:00

Had a plenty of other things I should have been doing yesterday, but instead spent the afternoon making these for the Yellow Colour Swap at White With 1 :)

Colours and words...

2009-07-15T19:55:00.004+10:00

Had another go at the Colours and Words inspiration at Aussie Scrap Source, and although this isn't really the sort of colour combo I would normally go for, I really like how the colours work together.don't forget that you can vote for your favourite *here* or maybe even join in on the next challenge yourself :)

Aga xx

Somehow...

2009-07-12T21:11:00.004+10:00

This month's inspiration over at One Little Aussie Word was 'somehow' and after putting this away in the too hard basket for a while - I finally came up with this layoutand because I've used a young-er photo of me, it was nice to play with flowers and pretty things which is not something I get to use alot on all the boy pages I mainly do ;) also I forgot to share this earlier but I had a card featured in a special edition of Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft magazine (Vol 15 No1) Cardmaking For Any Occasion, where I was asked to do a card for dads.

We had a very hectic few days last week, and it was nice to enjoy a pretty quite weekend, although it may just be the calm before the storm because school holidays start tomorrow ;) I did try and make the most of the weekend though by catching up on a few things - I still need to get pics though, so until then... thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a fabulous week ahead :)

Aga xx

If you love mini albums....

2009-07-03T20:11:00.004+10:00

Scraptapestry is almost ready to launch it's beautiful kit collections and if you love creating mini albums then you need to check this out! Naomi is on the search for someone who would like to play with gorgeous mini album kits, and if this someone sounds like you then she would love to hear from you!!