I have moved...

I have moved you can now find me here:

http://reneedowling.typepad.com/focus_shoot_create/

National Scrapbook Day

So over the weekend I decided to Cyber Crop and participate in National Scrapbook Day, with Blue Bazaar..

I created some LO's for the following themes:
Firstly one of my favourites 7 Gypsies, how cute are those little 7G arrows!!I took this pic on the way home from holidays so naturally I called this Home Bound!

and for a close up of my little birds, I just luv these stamps from the 7 Gypsies Calis, Range..
The next theme was a Making Memories LO, so I had to pull out some old stash...and added a bit of new as well for this one, one of my favourite old products of MM, is their Mesh, you can see it on this LO here:

I also created my first ATC Card, the theme being Blue..so here's what I did;very basic..but it's a start!

And finally a LO that had to include some markers or Pens, I decided to go with oil pastels( very messy) be careful if you try this, I managed to get crayon all over my page LOL, once again this is the first time I had tried something like this!and for a little close up...

so I had a fun weekend, really need to stock up on some more creative stamps I think , especially if I want to create more interesting ATC's!

Inkurable Stampers April Challenge..

Birds and Butterflies, I don't think so..how about flies! This months challenge over at http://inkurablestampers.blogspot.com/ theme was "Wings" so I decided to use a fly stamp, that was begging for some use....
Here is my take on the challenge, a Happy Halloween Card!

Challenge 7 for the BOM

Ok , so challenge 7 is up for the BOM at Scrapbook Savvy, decided to go with a LO about the animal/ anomals you luv..I had this gorgeous pic of a polar bear that I took earlier in the year so, I was able to use it!!Who couldn't luv these beautiful creatures!

Here is the LO...

123 challenge April

So here is my take on the 123 challenge for April, these pics are from Elly and I at Ice skating, I tell you it was soo funny it might sound mean but taking your kids ice skating for the first time is something else, I couldn't stop laughing, they looked liked rappers on ice especially Zac, but we had soo much fun! A great family day out!

The challenge was

1.Use a hand made embellishment- top right paper clip, made by Melinda Taylor in a swapp

2. Use a household item, I used a dish sponge ( clean of course, lol)

3.Use the word Showers or April, well showers was my word of choice, please I was showered in laughter!!bottom right..

Here is my LO.....

Little creatures

When the kids arrived home yesterday after going to the park , Kye came in all excited with a box and said " look what I've got mum" , I looked and thought Ohh, what could this be, and when he opened it up I found snails, and all I could think was o.k I can deal with this , at least they aren't messy, so we set up a little habitat and as far as we know they eat lettuce and mushrooms, they are actually quite cute! So I couldn't help but take a few snap shots...

And we havn't got around to naming them all yet!

Last Friday..

So, I've decided to add this to my blog, last week on Friday, I decided to back to JC to get back on track with my weight issue, and I was shocked to see that I had gone from my goal weight at 50kg to 58.05, so I've managed to gain 8kg over a period of time..so this is it time to get my but into gear and nuckle down for real, so I'll go back each Friday and weigh myself and nothing in between..I've added a list in the side bar to keep me honest as the weeks count down...wish me luck!

As for this afternoon I posted the 6th challenge for the BOM at Scrapbook Savvy, this is a LO about, or a tribute LO on a grandparent..here is mine....

Back at school..

The kids are back at school, and it was a bit of a rush getting back into the swing of things this morning..but we did it, lunches packed, uniforms on and off to school..which gave me the chance to finish this LO I've had sitting on my desk for the last few days, while Elly watched a bit of playschool, this is an old pic, but a favourite..

Now off to do loads of washing that I nned to catch up on and get down to the post office and post a LO to SM, before it gets to late!!

CC at Scrapbook Savvy!

I had a great weekend, we had our second cyber crop at Scrapbook Savvy and it was fun chatting and joining in on a few games, Bingo was a roar and Sarah managed to trick us all again by calling an early Bingo! a bit dissapointed I didn't get all the challenges done but this is the last weekend of the school holidays so it was a busy time getting organised for the week ahead and getting my house back into some sort of decent order! I did get number 2 finished so here it is:

It was a great challenge, I used the rich colours that remind me of Autumn, we seem to get loads of leaves all over the place at this time of year, it probably has something to do with the tree's in our front yard! anyway this is elly taking her anger out on some of them!

Elly and I also made an effort to make a mother Day Card over the weekend, which she really enjoyed for the "Scrap outside the page" Blog, you needed to make a shapped card so we made a hat and stuck some feathers in it!

On Holidays!!

On Holidays...is so much fun, I can sleep in a bit without rushing around like a mad women trying to get all my kids organised for the day ahead...which means I can also have afew later nights without stressing about the next day!

So I have compleated a few LO's that I want to share!

This is such a fantastic way to keep in touch these days, my kids can ring all over the place to keep in touch with the family, without it costing a fortune!!!

this LO of my Daughter riding in the rain...reaching up to touch a leaf as she passes by..simple beauty

Another of Elly, not so happy with those famous last words "But why"

This one of her hangin upside down like a monkey!

And using some of the Cosmo Cricket " Get Happy papers" of Zac having a moment on the field!

Hippy Chicks!!

So here is the 5th Challenge for the BOM over at http://www.scrapbooksavvy.com.au/store/index.php for this challenge I wanted everyone to create a LO using a teenage memory! What fun those years are for everyone, I had an old pic of Simon and I that he's mum had snapped when we got back from a small trip to Byron Bay, gee what hippies we where

I used papers from the new Cosmo Range - Get happy, the papers are so bright and funky, and I couldn't go past using the BG - Obscure range for the background, these certainly suited the theme and matched the feel I was trying to create with this!

In Style

This can often be a hot topic for many of us scrappers " My work is the same, my LO's are looking similar" so I have come to this conclusion if you are feeling like this then rest your mind and be assured as many artists work from around the world is similar and their style is usually always the same...so your normal and be proud of it!
Look around and you will see great artists such as Picasso, Salvador Dali and Monet..you can't tell me that with each painting came a different style, only a different subject, so now I feel more confident when my LO's are similar , this represents who I am, what I luv and this makes me and my work unique .
There should be no judgement or criticism of others work, I luv visiting certain fellow scrappers blogs, sites and gallery's because their work does has a certain style which appeals to me and I look forward to seeing this style again , again and again. I never feel the work is boring or old , it is beautiful and captivating and that is why I return, just as you may revisit the same art gallery or listen even to the same style of music, or wear the same style of clothes,it's because you like it, this is what represents you and in suit this should follow into your scrap booking you should feel comfortable with what your creating not trying to create something different because you feel you need to change. Styles will grow and change given time just as naturally as do your choice of clothes.......free yourself from these trains of thought, be yourself and love it!

Just a few more LO's

It's been one of those busy but not really busy weekends , it seems that when one venture ends another one finishes, I finally have my bathroom back in one piece! and not a moment too soon, when you don't have all the facilities a house needs to function with 3 chn, it really takes the stuffing out of you, but now we have decided to sell our petrol guzzling cruiser and buy a new SUV AWD Klugger, and after driving a 4WD for so long I'm sure it will feel quite strange for a while, driving a smaller car...

So I had a an email from charm over at 123 challenge blog asking me to fill out a questionarre to be in the spotlight and I must say I was a bit surprised that she asked me but it did brighten my day , so you can check this out here

http://ourbrightstarsandus.typepad.com/123_cybercrop/2008/02/123-scrapper--5.html

I've also put up the photo challenge at Scrapbook Savvy , I got these awsome shots of Zac in the pool so I decided to make this months challenge an action shoot , can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!!these are my examples for this month

I also created these LO's using some more of the October Afternoon pp that I got in my pack from SS..I really love this sequence of photos of kye on his BMX

This shot was taken at the beach, and the one thing I remember him calling as he was running towards his brother and sister was wait for me , I don't know how many times I've heard that!

Yayyy!

I just got an email from SM, they want "Just 3 Seconds for their final encore Gallery..Happy days!!I've been working on my LO's for the newsletter article for SS in March, both are finished using the gorgeous October Afternoon pp you can see them herehttp://www.scrapbooksavvy.com.au/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=115&main_page=index, can't share them yet, you'll have to wait for the Newsletter! You can Subscribe herehttp://www.scrapbooksavvy.com.au/store/index.php to make sure you get yours

123 challenge

This is my entry for the 123 challenge, I used the no 3 in the title a Hambly Screen prints Overlay, and have strips for journalling..I luv this pic of Elly, I tell you she can be such a hot head when things arn't going her way, it takes about 3 seconds for her to get this face

More exciting news my DT pack from http://www.scrapbooksavvy.com.au/store/index.php ahs arrived containg some gorgeous October Afternoon pp, can't wait to get started on these! I also had an email from SM yesterday with an acceptance of my FLY LO to be published in the moments gallery! Yayyy!!

Quick catch up

I think it's time for a bit of a catch up, since my last post, Simon decided to pull the bathroom out of our house and get started on a new one, and although being extremely excited, it threw the whole family into a bit of chaos!!, we have almost finished now and it looks awsome, nice and fresh...plus a big free standing bath that I can't wait to get more aquanted with..


So here a few of my LO's that I have managed to complete in the past few weeks..within the madness of our reno!
This LO titled FLY is of the boys at the slipping sands...I just luv this shot! and I've used American Craft pp..just yummo!

This LO titled My Girl, is special to me as when I saw this pic , I just thought of her and me growing together and how lucky I was to have a girl, after the 2 boys!

Over the past weekend at Scrapbook Savvy we also had our first CC, witch was very exciting, and here I've compleated one of the challenges which was to create a gift for someone using an empty package in my scrap stash..so I used a prima bottle, and filled it with jelly beans for Sim

I also created this LO for the CC where a red heart needed to be used, this is a pic of my Grandma, and I do luv hearing all of her stories about us when we were kids so I wanted to share the memory of a story, she told me...when I was younger I could never say Grandma so I called her Mama..

January Aussie Scrapjack..

I have just finished my entry..for the Kim Archer Aussie Scrapjack for January.This jack seemed a bit more challenging for some reason, I guess because their are alot more pics on a LO,
I have used 7 Gypsies pp,BG chipboard monograms,American Craft thickers, Carolees Creations alphas, MM Noteworthypp, American Craft element brads, MM paint and hand cut chipboard, as well as Stazon Ink.

The Bosch..

My washing machine totally packed it in yesterday...it was about 9 yrs old, which I don't consider really old...but we had already had it fixed twice so that was it , we decided to get a new one , and can you believe he who never washes decides he must come to choose a new one! Anyway of we go and being good water wise people we are we decided to get a front loader, it save saround 100 ltres of water per wash!!! I've never had one before and it seems quite strange to be putting your washing in the front..but I just finished the first load and the clothes came out very steamy and considerable dry comparied to my old top loader machine..so here it is my new addition to my life (onsidering how much washing I do lol!)

Our weekend!

Well we have had a fantastic couple of days , before Sim goes back to work..On Thursday we headed down to Southport and took the kids to Seaworld, Nanna and Papa also came along so it was so much fun.Elly simply addored the polar Bear, she could have sat there all day and watched him. We also saw a dolphin show my goodness they are strong I got some amazing pics! We went on a couple of rides and elly just hit the 95cm mark so she just made it, but they had the Eye there and Maureen and I got in with the kids, as Sim and Ken are a bit funny with heights and at the top we could see the entire park as well as the Gold Coast, we were lucky to be able to experience it at it is only on lease to Seaworld this month!

The next Day we had some rest..and then we went up to the North coast to visit my family again and I was so excited about seeing my new little Niece who now has a name "Ebony" she has grown so much in just a couple of weeks and is now weighing in at 2.7kg which is what Elly weighed when she was born. She is just sooo beautiful, makes me feel sooo clucky! I just love her so much, and you can see how much the kids adore her. Sim just kept checking in her all the time too...

While we were up there we headed to Underwaterworld...which the kids loved of course , they had the special attraction of "Spider Crabs" and gee they are huge, these ones were only 8 weeks old and they looked pretty mean , but they do span up to 8 meters..yuck hate to run into one of those! Zac and Kye where also lucky to have a kiss from a seal..such a great experience for them..my kids seem to luv underwater life, they also experienced holding a native cochroach, I'm not sure what's worse the Spider crabs or the roach..and of course Sim started to think something like that would make a great pet, ooohh!.

And finallly for the most uplifting news in my scrapping world..yesterday I got 3 emails from scrapbooking memories with 3 acceptances and this morning another three came and 3 more LO's have been accepted, woohoo, I am compleatly over the moon , my whole family will be in print!

Cutting your Curls LO

I have just finished a DL that I'm pleased with...

I used BG Recess pp, American craft thickers,Hiedi Swapp chippe-lemonade stand pumpkin,Bazzil Avalanche ,Bazzill Basics Big clips, 7 Gypsies tags, 7 Gypsies little glass bottle...and some Bazzill thread..

I'm just happy with the design of this LO..