Scrapbooking Made Simple

While I was at my SIL's house last Sunday I was saying how I don't really like doing a full 12 x 12 layout for just one 6 x 4 photo so she gave me this really great 8 x 8 album. So the first photo I've done for the album is this one of our MIL and FIL at my SIL's wedding (confused?)... this is my husbands' mother and father at his brother's wedding. This is probably one of the nicest photos' we have of my mother-in-law as this was before the illness that took her life, though she wasn't hugely healthy at this point either but it's still one of the nicest photos' we have. I loved this saying: "We sat side by side in the morning light and looked out at the future together." - Brian Andres. It's a very simple layout. The patterned paper is from the DSWV range and a 12 x 12 sheet cost me around $0.38c. The plain paper is from the same company and also cost around $0.38c for a 12 x 12 sheet.... so I still have heaps left as I only used a

This is the layout I did at my SIL's house. These are old photos (considering the baby is now 3 and a half)... and you can easily tell my photographic skills have definitely improved since then. I wanted to do these baby photos even though they're not the greatest photos because I don't have very many photos from when my daughter was a baby.... I had no camera at that time.... doh! Really tragic for a scrapbooker... no photos to scrapbook.... anyway as I was saying I really wanted to do these photos but I didn't want to do a girly pink page as I do lots of those for photos of DD. So I went with this blue, green and orange colour scheme. I also wanted a bit of bling so I inked these chipboard pieces (bella chipboard so very cheap... I didn't feel like cutting out my own... too hard on the hands) and then added kindy glitz to them to give them that sparkly look.

I finished this OTP project of a small suitcase for Nana over the Easter Break. This is for her to take to her Sewing and Quilting Classes. She can fill it with material and stuff and take it along with her. I did very little decoration to the outside of the suitcase as I felt it had a really great aged feel. Just adding the stamping a few paper cut out flowers and the ribbons and the chipboard letters. This project cost me $3.50. I got the suitcase for free from my Dad's house, the chipboard was free from the back of notebooks, The ribbons are left overs from other projects as is the paper. So a very miserly renovation! I think simple is often best when doing a present for someone else. I used a co-ordinating range of pink and brown papers to cover the chipboard which was left over from my book about me. I did step outside the scrapbooking arena when choosing my adhesive......lol..... I actually used liquid nails...... well I wanted to make sure those suckers were gonna stay put A

I'm very excited. Soon we'll be launching a web TV show. I don't have any details for you yet in terms of time, or the url.... the purpose of me bringing it up is to ask for your advice. I'm interested in what you'd like to me to discuss. What topics would you like to see covered? If you have any tips or hints you'd like to share with the rest of us I'd love to hear it! Any fabulous ways to save? Keep it in mind and log in during the show and share it with other viewers. I'd like this show to be very interactive and have input from all of my regular readers. So please leave me your ideas in the comments section. As soon as I have a screening time and the url I'll let you all know.

After my whinge the other day about the glitter stack paper pads from big W disappearing..... my SOL found an Australian online store where I could purchase them. So I was happy again! But now I'm even happier because in yesterday's junk mail I found a Big W catalogue and guess what? Yep you guessed it they're stocking the range again and wonder of wonders IT'S ON SPECIAL!!!!!! For anyone who's interested this is the DCWV range of bulk buy paper pads. I like the bulk buy option as it's much cheaper than buying by the sheet. So now my only problem........ today is a public holiday and the shops aren't open :(

If you're wanting to make some embellishments for your Easter Layouts I can highly recommend this method... very cheap! I was shopping in my local thrift shop and saw this chocolate mould. There are actually two sides both of which cost $2.95. I then made up some air drying clay (if you're interested in how to make this check out my previous posts for the video tutorial). I then pushed the clay into the mould after giving it a light spray with cooking oil. I let it dry for 24 hours then it just popped out of the mould. I'm going to paint these in pinks and blues and yellows. I only used one side of the mould as I didn't want a "solid/ rounded" item which would be too hard to stick to my page. By only doing one side of the mould I have a flat backed item that is easy to stick down.

This layout is one I finished the other evening. I love the simplicity of this one. This colour scheme is very unusual for me but I think it works o.k. The background paper has a simple heart embossed on it. This paper came this way but it would be very simple to duplicate if you had the patience. The two black white and silver papers used on the chipboard letters are from a "stack" (bulk buy pad of papers). P.S..... my two are the oldest boy to the right of "Pa" and the baby girl on his lap. This photo was taken in 2005.... Oh how much they change...lol!

These are the paintings I did on our holiday. I love watercolour pencils they're so "mobile". These are all size A5 so not very big but they were so therapeautic to do.

I was just watching craft tv weekly and on the "plum and verdigree" channel saw an excellent idea! This episode is about how to make your own beads out of paper. I thought this was a fabulous idea of how to use up those scraps of paper! (Very miserly!) Check it out at: http://pnv.tvweekly.com/thisweek.php Also it allows you to make a bead that would perfectly suit your layout or card perfectly! The other great thing about this episode is it shows you stamp embossing techniques. So if you're looking for a video that shows you how to do stamp embossing this is a great episode to watch.

I'm going through all my paper this evening as I search for the right paper for my project. Sometimes this is easy. Sometimes hard. I find it's hard if I already have an idea of what I want. When that's the case I can never find the right paper. When I'm just searching through my stash looking for possible scenarios I find LOTS of papers I like for my project. I have alot of paper (cause I always buy in bulk) and I can make a plain paper into a patterned paper very easily but I'm still sometimes stumped for the perfect paper??? I know crazy huh? I love buying my paper in bulk as I can get the price dow from $1.10 per sheet (which is the cost here per sheet) to 37 cents but unless you don't mind using out of fashion papers (which I don't) you should share your bulk purchase with a friend. Big W had a beautiful range of papers which you could buy as a bulk "pad" of papers but for some insane reason it's not available anymore???? This always ha

Hi Everyone, We're back! And we had a great time! I took my computer away with me and each night uploaded the photos from that day and dropped them into these premade pages I did before we left. I've sent them off for printing and when I get them back I'll be using my binding machine to create an album of our trip. On day 1 we left our house and headed up to the coast (about an hour and a half trip). We stopped at the Big Pineapple for the kids to have a look and would of stayed there for lunch but the prices were rather LARGE! ($8.90 for a sundae?). So we left there and headed off to the nut factory where the kids got to watch the chocolate coating process. We then had lunch. DH and I enjoyed a lovely macadamia flavoured coffee. Then we checked into our hotel and bought our groceries for the week. (this was alot easier than normal as the supermarket was across the road). Our resort was right on the water. And I mean right ON the water. In fact you could probably go fishin

On Day 2 of our holiday we went to Sunshine Castle. This was great fun for the kids. There was a treasure hunt and when they solved all the clues they got a treat. We had lunch here as climbing all the way from the dungeon to the top tower used up all our energy so we needed replensishing. After lunch we went shopping along hastings street and then had ice-cream. We then came back to the aprtment for some swimming but I didn't do a layout of this as I'd already done two swimming pages.

Here's day 3 of our holiday. We started at the Eumundi Markets, where I got some lovely macadamia nut butter, and a spicy pear dip and beautiful handmade soap for gifts. Then the kids had gorgeous cupcakes for morning tea. After that it was off to the park for a play and then home for lunch and a swim in the resort pool.

These are the pages from day four of our holiday. We had a lovely day. We went for a walk around the area our hotel was. Walking along Cotton Tree foreshore we found a lovely park for the kids to play at and then we wandered along the beach and found some great finds (which DS will take to school for show and tell on his return).

This family portrait was taken last July so we're nearly due for another. This is the next project on my "must do list".... which I hope to get to sometime after this week... We'll be away for the next week so you won't be able to contact me via email until next Saturday. We're taking a holiday to the Sunshine Coast so I should have lots of lovely photos to scrapbook on our return. While I'm away why not take the opportunity to talk to other scrapbookers on my forum about ideas for saving on your scrapbooking...... or whatever else takes your fancy.... You've got the place to yourselves for a week without my looking in so make the most of it! This is a long overdue break for us. It's been two years since our last vacation to the coast for a few days and prior to that 10 years since our last holiday! So we're going to make the most of it no matter what the weather! Though I'd like some sunshine if it could be arranged (cross your fingers f