May Scrap The Girls

Tehehehe...nothing like a last minute dash to enter at least ONE of the challenges I had bookmarked for this month!

I really loved the criteria over at Scrap The Girls this month

Scrap a layout based on an important female in your life.

Extra criteria: more than 20 words of handwritten journalling

Yeah. The most important woman in my life.

I've had these papers and the gorgeous crochet flowers and brads on my desk for about 2 months now. Every time I sit down to scrap I itch to use them, but I haven't had time.

Finally, I used them, and they make me happy :)
Lots and lots of layers and lots and lots of colour!

It was so much fun to sit and shuffle papers and just choose whatever made me smile. Lots of October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket...some Basic Grey even thrown in for good measure ;)
I just love this pic of me and my mum :)

She was such a young mum.

Only 18 when I was born. I wouldn't have been half the mum she was if I had had my babies that young. She truly was incredible.

I miss her so much.
Thanks for stopping by!

Have a beautiful week :)

Some more KaiserCraft

Whew!

Well, the whole KaiserCraft site went missing last week, so I thought I would share some more of my projects here!

A cute little pennant album(sorry Kate)
Showing off Sam's birthday photos from ages 2-6 :)
Each page is the same design, so it was quick and easy(the amazing patterns and colours in the Party Animals collection did all the work for me), and more importantly? He loves it!
And a LO from the gorgeous Party Animals collection!
Heeeee...my little man used to love that swing! You'd sit him in there and he would fall asleep within minutes! Handy for getting the washing in with both hands! LOL

Some More Chapter One!

Still loving this collection!

I took about a trillion photos on one of trips down to Ballina, so I thought I'd make a mini for the kids to flick through and enjoy :)
I love how the colours in this collection work so well with bright summery photos.
I kept the embellishing fairly simple..don't want to be distraught when the kids ruin it ;)
And managed to get a fair few photos inside here!

I also love how this collection pops when a little bit of black is used.
A LO about my charming son and his quest to ruin any chances of getting a good photo *sigh*

I tried to take some snaps the other week and he pulled faces and bounced around. I asked him "what are you doing?" He replied"Trying to ruin the perfect shot"

Those exact words.

The photos where he hadn't disappeared under the water? The girls were laughing so hard I thought they would bust something. LOL
Thanks for stopping by!

Altered Photo Frame

A quick post to show my latest project for the DownUnder Direct blog :)I loved making these flowers! I searched YouTube for some flower ideas and stumbled upon these.
Thanks for stopping by!

Some Cards to Share :)

Its my week to blog this week on the KaiserCraft blog...along with the gorgeous Karen and the wonderful Monika :)

This month the beautiful Chapter One and the fun and funky Party Animals collections have been released! two very different, but ever so lovely collections!

Now, when I love a collection or patterned paper, I am usually too scared to cut into it, for fear I will ruin it. If I am feeling like that, I will often make a couple of cards, just to get a bit of a feel for what works, and what doesn't:)

First up...some Chapter One cards...
LOVE the clear stamps that come with this collection!
And some fun bobble-head cards...
The heads on the critters move around exorcist style! (tutorial over on the KaiserCraft blog)
How cute are these guys? Just released this month to co-ordinate with the Party Animals collection!
Tomorrow, I am going to be tidying up some loose ends for my last ever uni course! Yep, I am SO close to finishing this thing that I can smell it! Bring on the kids!!! (I am about to graduate with my Bachelor of Education-Primary)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lets Get Shabby

Thanks so very much everyone for your beautiful messages, emails, texts and calls supporting me through this Mother's Day. It was awfully sad, but it meant the world to me knowing that I wasn't alone.

My brother ordered my mum some flowers, and I told dad to tell her they were from me when he put them on her grave ;)

She would have done the same.

She was tricky like that!

To help myself through the day, I scheduled nothing.

My kids made me some beautiful gifts, and my husband just quietly supported me all day long.

I scrapped a pic of my mumsy. Cheap therapy?

And I just loved this challenge from the Lets Get Shabby blog....to be inspired by this pic...

Who wouldn't be inspired???

I took quite a pastel approach to the colour combo...
I even tried to mute the polka dotted pink with a layer of muslin over the top...
Lots of big blooms, like in the inspiration pic :)
The photo is of my mum and her dad. My aunt had all mum's childhood slides converted to photos and made into a hardcover book not long before she died.

When I was up in Charter's Towers following mum's diagnosis, I sat with her one day flicking through the book, asking questions and listening to her talk and share her memories.

I loved this photo, and I asked her about it.

I thought that they had been candidly shot on their way home from a shopping trip.

Apparently not.

She smiled and said "its totally posed. Look the Cornflakes box is actually open".
Yep.

Not so candid, but no less precious.

I am so grateful that we sat and talked for that hour.

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful mums out there :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day

Its getting scarily close.

My kids are super cute. They get so excited about little holidays like these, and I am trying to be upbeat about it, but I am so deep in my bones sad.

My first Mother's day without a mum.

It hurt to type that.

Its just another one of those 'firsts'. Very un-fun.

Last week was a bit rough. We heard from someone who has behaved pretty badly, and it was kind of like a punch in the guts. You know when someone doesn't own their behavior...its just hurtful and frustrating. Instead of an apology, they try and explain and rationalize their horrid hurtful actions. Not cool.

A friend lost her mum to cancer.

I had never met this lady's mum, but that knocked me so hard that I actually spent a day in bed crying.

I haven't had a day like that for a while.

Thank goodness I have a husband who lets me fall apart occasionally, and then helps to build me back up again.

And my nightmares have started again. Every single one, I am chasing my mum. I am trying to help her, and I just can't reach her. Some nights, I have up to 5 of those.

And then, on top of that...we are staring at Mother's Day.

Some weeks, are just harder than others.

This is a hard week.

She truly was an amazing mum.

The kind of mum that everyone should have and celebrate.

If you are blessed enough to have a mum to spend Mother's Day with this weekend, hug her extra tight for me, and take a moment to just be thankful that she is with you.

Thanks for stopping by...and sorry for the gloomy post.

Pretty New Chanteuse :)

This collection is lovely.

So is the name...Chanteuse(pronounced Shan-toozie). Yeah. Its one of those words that are just fun to say ;)

I love how it co-ordinated with this Ornate Frame to make this little project...featuring my Chari Beth's silhouette :)
And a card...
And a LO
Loooooove the colours in this collection, even more than I like saying 'Chateuse'. And thats a fair bit of like ;)

Go on...say it...its cool huh?

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Have you seen this month's releases?? Chapter One is my NEW fave range. And the mini stamps that co-ordinate with Party Animals??? CUTE!

Some more KaiserCraft Loveliness!

With the pretty Lullaby collection!

So many babies happening in my family at the moment...no, sadly not I...but my brother and his beautiful wife just had a gorgeous little boy Freddie, and my sister and her husband are due to have a little girl in August! So exciting!

This little project is for my sister's baby shower!

Funny story...I actually made these BEFORE she and her husband found out she was having a girl. I had a feeling this bubby would be a special little pink present from my mummy :)

I was so confident that I made 25 of these cards.

And then I got nervous LOL

Imagine if I had had to remake all of these in blue!!!!
I just loved the pastels, and the beautiful blue papers made me think of my favourite baby pic of Sammy :)

I remember taking this with my film SLR!!! No deleting there peeps!

We had just gone back to our room to have some lunch (Mick, Mum, Sam and I) And he was lying next to the window in his little plastic cot.

I was so worried about how I was going to cope with a BOY! I only had experience with little girls! I never realised how special a relationship was between a little boy and his mummy :)
I made this frame for baby Freddie...again before we knew whether he was a Kiera or a Freddie! (I know, I know...two for two on the gender predictions...I think I'll stop there LOL)
Love how the blue worked with white and just a smidgeon of black!
And some cards to pop into my card stash :)
So many babies arriving its handy to have a few cards in reserve!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

My First Project...

For....A cute little card featuring Spellbinders and Just Rite Stamps (with some of my current KaiserCraft fave 'Chanteuse' thrown in for good measure LOL)
For a full materials list pop on over to the brand spanking new blog!