New Video: How to Make No Bake Clay (Part 1)

Long pause between posts this week.

There was a long pause between posts this week. My husband was away at a Seminar Saturday Sunday and Monday so I was operating as a single mum for three days. Then we had a public holiday this week which meant after leaving work Monday (late) I had to get home and help my son do a weeks worth of homework in two days. We had a public holiday mid week for ANZAC Day. My son wanted to march in the parade on behalf of my grandfather. Which was fine. But then after watching the dawn service on television he kind of lost his nerve a bit. Can't say that I blame him. He is only 5. I wish I had my grandfathers medals though. I'm not sure what happened to them. My grandfather went to France in World War I and was sent home after he was wounded. I'll have to see what my Aunty says... maybe she knows.

So the public holiday being mid week did blow out my entire week and my usual routine which didn't leave much time for my blog. So sorry guys. I haven't forgotten you! I enjoy reading all your comments and hope you get something useful out of this.

Hair Clip Packaging = Ribbon Slide

I discovered that if I cut up the packaging that my daughters hair clips come in I have a very cheap ribbon slide. It is really easy to attach the little knick knacks that come off all the clips to this plastic or to write on it. You can even use it as the mechanism for attaching your ribbon to the page by adding a second one at the other end. And its FREE!

I go through ALOT of Hairclips! My daughter seems to have an amazing way of only getting one wear out of a clip! Problem is she needs to wear them otherwise there is a mass of curls in her eyes. So seeing as how I have to spend money on hairclips I 've been finding ways to make them into a scrapbooking supply.

For instance all the little bows, bling and flowers are used as embellishments on my layouts and now the packaging is used too!

What kind of intelligence do you have?

I also saw this quiz when I was checking out Angie pedersens' blog. It's pretty cool..... give it a try and see if you think it matches you... I'd be interested to see how many of you who take the questionaire feel it is acurate?

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence

You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others. Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel. You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations. A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict. You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

FREE Scrapbook Clipart Source

This is a great site. Check it out for Free Scrapbook Supplies. You can print everything you need to make great acid free scrapbook paper, right from this website. They claim to be the only site with over 2500 pages of instant 'Print your own scrapbook supplies. I haven't researched that claim to verify it but there is ALOT of stuff on this site. And it's FREE!!!! All of their sets have been converted to PDF format, so that PC and MAC users can all enjoy them. They also say that they are now making their new sets in both U.S. Letter and A4 Format !

2 Peas Wed Blog: Share your fave beauty tip

2 Peas Wed Blogger Challenge: Share your fave beauty tip with the rest of us...

I'm not very good with keeping up my beauty routines. If I have an hour of time to spend on me I'd prefer to spend it scrapbooking than cleansing toning etc...

BUT I have found that as I enter my 37th year that a little maintenance is now becoming necessary so......... I will have a shower (cleanse in the shower) get out tone then put on a face mask (choose one that doesn't dry hard!) then I'll sit down to do some scrapbooking. If it's not too cold I'll sometimes also put in a conditioning treatment in my hair, wrap in cling film and then a towel or hat (I have a towelling hat specially for this) so while I'm really treating myself (to some serious scrapbooking time) I can also do some maintenance!

I have found though that my juice is having a remarkable effect on my skin. (My husband and I started drinking Mona Vie a couple of months ago and he has lost 6kilos or around 13.2 pounds and I have had alot clearer skin. I read somewhere that Angelina Jolie was drinking it to help stop the ageing process so thought I'd give it a go. I have alot more energy than before, have lost a little weight {I didn't need to lose much in the first place so that was just a nice bonus} and my skin is now breakout free! If you want more info on this you can check it out at our site: www.mymonavie.com/scottpatterson )

Guess What? - I LOVE YOU!

I was looking through the 2 Peas Message Boards tonight and came across an entry that I loved. The author of this post: Noell Hyman sent me to her blog (see link above) to read a story of a conversation she had with her child. Then she said: "Did my story trigger any kind of memory for you? Even a totally unrelated memory? Write it down, right now.
If you have a blog, post your story and then leave a comment here with a direct link to the entry. If you create a layout with it, that is even better! Share the layout with us!
If you do not have a blog you can participate, too. Just share your story by leaving it as a comment. I’m so excited to see what you come up with."

I love this idea so I'm participating here.

I have an ongoing conversation with my kids where I say "Guess What?" and then we race each other to say "LOVE YOU" fastest! I started this because my mum was never very good at saying "I Love You". Now I know she did love me. I've never doubted this. I know that I was her happiness! But she wasn't very good at saying it....... because it wasn't said to her very much.

So I wanted to be able to say I LOVE YOU to my kids FOREVER! I didn't want this ritual to end when they got too big. Or too embarrassed by me. So we have our own secret I LOVE YOU code word. "Guess What = I Love You"!

I also have stolen Dr Phil's conversation with his kids and every night when I tuck them into bed I say "Out of all the little girls/boys in all the world I got the best one!" My daughter says it with me and says "No I got the best one!" I'm sure she will when she has a daughter one day.

I love how they call me "mumma" at the moment! Wish I could keep that title forever!

Did this trigger a memory for you? I'd love to hear about a regular conversation you have with your kids.

Martha Stewart Scrapbooking Contest.

While having a look on the web tonight I stumbled across the Martha Stewart website. Martha Stewart is running a scrapbook competition for US Residents Only. The blurb on her Website says: "Are you a master scrapper? Send us a page from your scrapbook (scan or take a digital picture of your masterpiece) and let Martha be the judge! We'll be announcing a winner every day of Scrapbooking Week on "The Martha Stewart Show," beginning May 7. Good luck!"

The Prize is VERY COOL! If you win you get: One HP Photosmart c7180 All-in-One, One HP Photosmart R837 Digital Camera, HP Premium Photo Paper (15 sheets, 8.5 x 11-inch), One HP Custom 02 Series 150-Sheet Photo Value Pack, One Gift Certificate to Michaels Stores for $250

I've had a look at her site and it looks like Martha will judge the entries and then annouce the winner on her show. So not only will you win some great prizes but you'll get your 10 minutes of Fame on her TV Show.... So get scrapping girls!

Room Decorating Idea on the Forum

Check out the forum guys. (Button over to the right of this page) Have a look at the post {OT: what i did today} by redrhiannon.

She had a really fabulous idea for decorating her kids bedroom.... for FREE!

I think it looks great!

Free Sketch by me.

Here's a free sketch to try. I used the "Pages by Design" sketch system. Which I can highly recommend! One of the childcare workers at my daughters' day care centre recently bought this system and I took it for a test drive. It is very quick to design a page. This sketch took me 2 minutes.

I'd love to see what everyone can do with this.

So if you use it for a layout send me an email at: cheapscrapbookingideas@yahoo.com and let me know if you give permission for it to be posted on my blog.

Kyaking layout

Here's a really cheap layout....

Background paper (came free with the album which was a gift)

3 x patterned papers (half a cm strips) $0.30

3 x plain papers $0.90

Letters (left over from other projects) $1.50

Some ink $0.10

Total $2.80.

This layout was really quick and easy to do. I wanted the background in white even though I had some great water effect papers because I wanted to have this stamped title really "pop" from the page. I love using stamped titles because they're cheap but to get that "pop" of colour you need to get the stamping on white paper. So I'll often stamp the title and then cut around each letter but this time I wanted the title on the page. I'm also a big fan of bulk paper packs as these bring down the cost of your papers dramatically.

I know you have to think harder because you don't have the ease of walking around a shop with your photos in your hand and matching them perfectly to the paper. But I think that helps your creativity.... It certainly helps mine. Problem solving... mmm I need a pink paper in a shade I don't have.... how about if I stamp onto a lighter pink paper to create a patterned paper that goes perfectly with my theme?

Smile Layout

Here's my latest layout. This one is probably a little more expensive than most of my work at $3.63.

Cardstock $0.80Patterned Paper Free with a magazineChipboard Letters Free off a notebookFlowers $0.40Buttons $0.80 ($2.00 packet of 16)Brads $0.08 ($2.00 packet of 100)Stickers used for doodle swirls $1.05 ($2.10 a sheet used half)Acetate Overlay words $0.50 ($4.00 packet of 6 -12 x 12 Sheets used 1/3 of one sheet)

First Day of School layout.

Today I managed to do some scrapbooking with my best scrapbuddy. We had a great day! We exchange tools, share supplies, talk, scrap and share the duty of watching our four kids play. I love these days as we share information on where we found the best deals recently and any sales we might be interested in. Today I finished this layout and planned another two.



Well it is the end of the first school term and I have finally done my sons first day of school page. I had a creative block on this page as I'm not very keen on this shade of green. After posting some help questions on the message boards I went away in search of paper that would follow that advice and here is the finished page. It didn't turn out too bad. Not one of my best but certainly not one of my worst!

So to all the scrappers who graciously gave their advice thank you. I don't feel so put off by this uniform now and feel better equiped to do the next six and 3/4 years of photos!

Work Provides Free Supplies

I was at work today and in my usual fashion of seeing everything as a possible scrapbook supply I discovered a few great supplies.

First I found that the labels you put through the computer and print addresses on and such... well I've kept the outside pieces after the labels have all been used. This is great cause it's sticky backed and I'm just going to stamp it and make borders I can use on my layouts (not on the photo's though as I'm not sure if this is acid and lignin free). I've also discovered that alot of packaging gets thrown out with free chipboard in it but also lovely clear plastic shapes you can use as a shaker. And then there is the CD's we print on and burn our own product to..... any mistakes are mine! These are great for layouts where I'm using a song as my title. There is also a clear plastic CD in the packaging that the CD's come in so I can design my own CD with a really different edge to it.

Of course there are the usual supplies you think of from the office like paper clips and staples and discarded folders.

And finally there is a clear sticker on my laptop to protect it in transit... I think I'll take this off and stamp it and decorate it then put it on a layout..... or I could leave it there and just have the funkiest laptop in the office! Add some bling! I like it! This might just have to be tomorrows project....mmmm.....

Attended my first LSS class!

Well I finally did it! I've been wanting to do this ever since I started scrapbooking (nearly 3 years ago now). But there was always a reason I couldn't manage it. 1. Not enough Money 2. Not enough Time 3. No Baby Sitter 4. Class was full 5. No Classes I liked the look of.......

Anyway long story short this time the planets were aligned perfectly and everything was perfect for me to do a class. The class I did was "Scrap a handbag mini book" at my LSS: Passion for Paper. We used the Fancy Pants range of papers and Bazzil Bling.

I also found my scrapmiser tendencies came in very handy! Everyone was cutting off thin strips of paper and throwing them away and I was gathering them up just as fast as I could. This was used to cover the strip of un-designed paper where they write the name of the paper and it's code etc at the manufacturers. All in all it was a great day! So I think today's tip is never throw anything away and when scrapping with other people check what they're throwing away! A miser will find a gold mine of free supplies in other peoples bins! One man's trash is another mans treasure.

I do love my handbag! It's so gorgeous..(I'll upload a photo of it in a day or two)... I don't know what photo's I'll put in it but I've definitely decided to make some more of these... My Cousin and his wife went on a holiday through Europe recently and I think this would be a fantastic album. I'll do a mini album on each place they stopped.... Can't wait!

Only problem is I have enough of a backlog of projects to tackle without creating new ones for myself... Oh well the work of a scrapper is never done! (Sigh)