sorry...

I am SO slack! New Year's Resolution: Better Blogger. Promise. The winner of my RAK was Kerryn! I'm not AT ALL surprised! She wins Sunday Night Games at KTM WAY too often! I should have known she was too clever for me! LOL! And only 1 off the correct answer of 84 items in the Embellishment Jar! Well Done! I actually transferred the items to an organza bag for ease of posting and now it turns out I don't have to mail it anyway but I have no idea where the original jar is gotten to Love, Sorry! In other news, Christmas was of course LOVELY. K was SUPER spoilt - she got HEAPS of cool stuff (I wish I was a kid again! - Well a kid in our house anyway - mine never had many pressies! LOL) She got a digi camera - better than mine!!!!! So was assigned the task of Official Photographer for the Season. Her cute pics included approximately 75 of the dashboard on the way up the hill to Xmas lunch! And surprisingly few heads once we got there - interesting, considering how many people she photographed!!! I love her perspective of Christmas Day though - I urge you to try it some time, just refuse to take the pics. Hand the camera over to a 5 year old - I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the different view captured. Sharna is a DREAM. I can overlook her nighttime sleep issues because I am SO IN LOVE with her every sweetness during the day. I went to my Grandma's 80th birthday on the 23rd. (She shares her birth day with The Lord! LOL) I haven't seen her in 13 years. So of course she never met my girls. I made her this mini album to 'introduce' her to them. I figured she would see them for 5 mins by the time the day was over, and probably not even remember their names in all honesty so I wanted something for her to keep to remember them by. It just has pics and a few facts about each, really simple. Sorry about the little pics. You can see a bigger shot HERE. (I hope!) I have decided to start a LIFE JOURNAL on 1 Jan 2008. Too many little everyday moments go by without a second thought and I want to remember them. They are more important to me than the 'events' that get scrapbooked without a second thought. I want to record our REAL lives. HEAVILY inspired by LEE and JEN. Covered him today - so DESPERATELY can't wait to start - SUPER excited that I only have a few more days!

Expect to see some regular sharing! PROMISE!

the embellishment jar...

As promised, I am offering up a RAK.

Check out The Embellishment Jar and try to work out how many items are in there.

Post me a comment with your answer and the closest to the correct number gets the goodies.

some scrapping...

this one was a sample for Keep'n the Memories December theme challenge - SUMMER

and this one was for a Shallenge - to use arrows, 2 different pattern papers and a black and white photo. Exciting news too - I have had a LO accepted to Scrapbooking Memories. My first ever! WOO HOO!! I'll be celebrating with a cute RAK next week. Check back after the weekend... x

how bad am i???

World's most terrible blogger, I know... LOL Actually I SO know that is not true - I wait MONTHS for some people to update their blogs. I'm not THAT bad! But still, I was s'posed to post my PIF winners AGES ago.. Excuses: I had issues getting shots of THE DRAW which did, actually, occur on time! And have been reluctant to try edit and post them cause they are CRAP. SO I won't bother. LOL. Instead I'll just do... The winners were: karenjane Dianna and Delys I know how to get in touch with delys, but not you other 2 lovely girls, so email me your addy and I'll get to makin' you a gifty. aspinalls@optusnet.com Here's a last night LO for you. Based on a sketch challenge for KTM - win a $10 voucher HERE. We also have a criteria and theme LO up so SCRAP and WIN!!! DETAILS HERE and HERE. DO IT!! LOL...

for girly girls...

My big girl LOVES pink. LOVES it! This is what her new room looks like...

You can still comment for the pay-it-forward. I'll get someone to draw it on Monday. Any ideas what I should make y'all?

x

no pics...

Sorry I have no pics to share with you today. Everything I have been doing lately is secret squirrel stuff. For the Aussie Scrap Source blog and the KTM Christmas kit. Which, BTW is ridiculously CHOKKAS! Toni has been extra generous and PACKED the kit as a bit of a Christmas gift to you. It has a staggering $50 worth of product in it for only $34.95. I'm working on 4 LOs, 12 cards with 4 gift bags and 2 tree decorations. What a bargain. No wonder it is nearly sold out. I think there's only 2 left and it hasn't even been released yet. So if you're interested don't dilly dally! Check out some sneaks here and snag one of the last ones! In other news the girls' rooms are coming along nicely. Neither are quite finished but they are both in them anyway! Kirra is in love with her 'Barbie on Bubblegum Acid' walls. (Actually rather inappropriately named 'carnation mist' but I think my name is less deceptive!) Sharna spent the first night in her own room last night and slept surprisingly well for such a bad sleeper! It was very weird going to bed without tiptoeing past the sleeping baby. KTM has announced their Guest Designers too - I hope to get around to adding blog links to my sidebar soon so check that out when it appears! Oh and I won a pay-it-forward RAK from Sharon YAY so leave me a comment on this post and you will go in the draw for ONE OF THREE hand made gifts. Not sure what they will be yet! LOL! But you have to be prepared to pay-it-forward as well. (that is, give away 3 hand made gifts in return) Stay tuned for Chrissie project sneaks in the coming days...

an exciting opportunity...

YAY for me - I was lucky enough to win an 'exciting new product range' from the Aussie Scrap Source blog on the weekend. SO looking forward to playing with brand new stuff but feeling a teensy bit nervous as my work with 'it' will be featured on the blog at the end of the month. Can't wait to find out what 'it' is! LOL! And I got tagged - how sweet! Kim says I make her smile :)

I tag Toni, Kathryn and Sharon. Those girls make me smile!

while she did this...

I did this...

(in between making sure she didn't choke on a piece of ricrac of course!)

This one is for a Shallenge to use stripes, no blue or green and a song title. I did cheat a little bit - my song was You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) but I changed it to (Like a Tea Cup)!

I am very frustrated with my scrapping set-up at the moment. While I await delivery of a very cool scrapping desk, my stuff is currently piled up in boxes and shoved away behind the couch and very hard to get to so I am reluctant to pull everything out because it is just too tricky to put it all back! So I had to make do with the scraps from DD's birthday card and a few new bits that haven't been put away yet!

I think tonight I might make a massive pile of cards using only scraps as I have a whole bag full of scraps within easy reach!

Don't forget Sunday Night Games at Keep'n the Memories! we play from 8:30pm SA time - lots of fun and prizes!

hectic...

What a funny little word. Hectic. It looks wrong.

Anyhoo! Things are really crazy around here - there is shit everywhere as we shuffle around everything we own in an attempt to get some semblance of a life back. We are trying to clear the spare room (storage/junk room/office) so we can move K in there, so we can move Sharna into K's old room. SO we can get her out of our room and hopefully sleeping better.

So now to find a home for an entire room full of stuff (and I mean FULL) We need a bigger house. Office equipment moved into the dining room. Furniture and crap all over the place - sorting out the shed and garage to fit stuff in. I have been painting and sewing and shopping, trying to get Kirra's room ready for her, I am reluctant to simply relocate her stuff. I really want this to be a special move for her, to the 'big girl's room' So she has a new desk and chair, window seat, various bits and pieces of pretty stuff and 1/2 a quilt!! Painting to be done, LOTS of it! It's not much fun at the moment!

And some scrapping: Keep'n the Memories gorgeous November kit is available tomorrow.

Here's a few of the LOs I did with mine. Plus cards, an OTP item and another LO!

it's a small small world...

I can't believe it! How small is this world? Well, Adelaide in particular! Let me tell you a story... A few months ago Toni from Keep'n the Memories posted a call on Aussie Pub Calls searching for a graphic designer. When I realised she was local, I contacted her. We bonded instantly. After chatting a bit and sharing some work she invited me to kick start her frst DT. Woo hoo! We have been friends now since August. We 'talk' everyday. Last night she forwarded me one of those junk emails, she got from her Dad. I recognised a few of my Uncles names in the to: list. So, after a teeny bit of research we discovered that our Grandmothers are sisters! Our parents are first cousins! I think that makes Toni my 3rd cousin!? How WEIRD is that? No halves or steps or 5 times removed... We are truly, and quite closely blood related! We probably played together as kids (We had A LOT of cousins!) We share some of the same memories of Grandma's house (well, Great Aunty Bett to her) and her Grandma (who she adores and has spoken to me about many many times) is actually my Great Aunty Doreen, who I remember dearly. I am in a bit of shock! But it explains our instant connection and friendship. And is lovely to be able to truly call her FAMILY now! It IS a small small world!

time to play...

It's almost that time again! The November kit will be available at Keep'n the Memories this weekend. It's really lovely. Kind of rustic and sort of vintagey but with a surprising colour palette and lots of playful elements! This time I got 4 layouts, an off the page item and 3 cards. Here's a couple of sneak peeks:

I got caught a bit off guard by all the trick or treaters this year! The doorbell hasn't stopped ringing for hours! Lucky there was chocolate in the house! The teenage boys on their bikes with no costume and a plastic shopping bag were very lucky to get anything from me though! Surely if you're going to do it, you can put in a LITTLE bit of effort!

Well I'm on parent helper duty at Kinder tomorrow (groan!) but on Friday it's off to meet up with some of the KTM girls for a cuppa. YAY! I'll be back with more sneaks tomorrow night.

on being your mum...

Another Keep'n the Memories challenge. Buttons, Journalling and no plain cardstock. The journalling reads:

"On being Mum. I never thought I would be a perfect Mother. But I did think I would do a better job than I am doing at the moment. I used to be calm. I used to be encouraging. I couldn't get enough of you. I'm not sure when it happened but at some point in the last two years I lost all patience. I am too quick to anger. I don't give you the time you need. I am not positive enough. I say things I regret every day but I am too stubborn to back down and apologise. You are so strong. We clash constantly. I cry with frustration all the time. And I cry with fear. I am so scared that you will grow up remembering only our conflicts. Remembering only these last years that we have struggled together for control. I hope you remember too the intense love I feel for you. I will show it more. I hope you remember how proud I am of everything you do. I will tell you all the time. I hope you remember all the fun we have together. I will make more time for you. Because I love you. With all my heart."

merry christmas...

Here's the front of the chrissie card I have been working on. There's also a 9 month old cutie on the back cover holding the company logo. And of course the requisite greeting inside.

CUTE little bunch of kidlets. Notice my chooby munchkin in there... It was such hard work trying to get them all to look at the camera, smile AND hold their letter up THE RIGHT WAY!!! We nearly had a merry CHRISTWAS for a while there!!! We had one wanderer, more than one limelight stealer, at least one 'don't understand what your telling me to do' and several little perfect models. It was stressful but fun. The client loves the card which has gone off to print now, yay another job down. Some of you reading this might just be receiving one in the mail next month oooh eeer!! Now I have a little downtime. Yay for me.

Scrapping anyone?

a challenge

Over at Keep'n the Memories we've been challenging each other to scrap out of our comfort zone. Just for fun. It's been very liberating! And we're all scrapping up a storm. It's been great.

The current challenge is a double layout with doodling and felt. A real challenge for me, I think I've only done about 4 doubles in my life, so it was fun!

Here's mine, and some close ups cause you can't see much in the whole pic.

The next one we are doing is buttons, journalling and no cardstock. Join in!

12 kids under 6

What a nightmare!

Today I had a photo shoot for a Corporate Christmas card. Wow, what a day!

I have been run off my feet all week trying to organise props, wardrobe, refreshments, transport and imagine - coordinating 12 children and their families to be in the same spot at the same time, wearing the same clothes!! Not to mention that 1/2 of them are new arrivals with limited English and no car.

Late yesterday I realised I had taken on too much and hired a photographer to take over the shooting. I can't believe I thought I would manage it all alone! I was so busy non-stop and I didn't even pick up a camera!

So glad that it is over! Actually it went pretty well. I'll check if I'm allowed to share...

Here's a LO I did for a mini-challenge at Keep'n the Memories to use at least 3 different ribbons, polka dots and a one-word title. I set a personal speed record with this one - I had 20 minutes to spare so I had to act fast. I am such a slow scrapper, LOL!

a quilt.. and oops, it's pink!

Well, a pile of fabric actually.

But I do plan to make it into a quilt. For Miss K. Very inspired by Mel Goodsell - I found a link to an easy peasy quilt tutorial on her blog.

I am quite sure that it will get started very very soon. I am super excited to give quilting a go - a very easy design but still, a challenge for me. However we shall see if I actually get around to finishing it though!

I tend to do that... get excited, spend money, get started and then fizzle out! I have 2 headless rag dolls in the cupboard I really should finish, poor things! LOL.

more beachy goodness

Another bargain kit from Keep'n the Memories. Love this one - not a skerrick of pink in sight but still totally suitable for pics of my girls. There are a couple of white blossoms in there!!! But I so desperately enjoyed working with these colours. Not long now...

scrummy scrap stuff

YUM! The Keep'n the Memories October kit is all summer beachy goodness and is packed full of gorgeous stuff. Heaps of vintagey lace trim, 6 double sided patterned papers and a pile of chipboard scrolls plus a tonne more stuff. Again, I have made 3 LOs, 3 cards and a mini album. So happy there is not a hint of pink in sight! It will be available for sale this weekend. Here's some peeks for you in the meantime... I'll post some more later in the week.

It feels like Summer!

time to breathe

Well what a mammoth week from hell! I have been working my (not so) little butt off and finally went to print this morning so YAY for me, it is all over! Except that now I have to get started on the next job! rather like the washing, it never ends! We have crammed so much into this last week it is not funny. Including the girls' baptism. How super sweet they looked. Here's a fave pic from the day... LOL we need to mow the lawn! We also had a trip to the beach and took a million photos - filled our 1gig card and somehow got it locked. I don't know what is going on but we can't access the pics. It is infuriating. I s'pose much like getting a roll of film back that is all overexposed! Hubby is taking the card to a computer place today and hopefully we can get them off... Kirra spent her first night away from home last night - stayed at her cousin's. Funny how she gives me so much grief but I could just cry about her not being here... (read: i DID cry about it!) Spoke to her on the phone last night and again this morning just for good measure. I think I was bothering her! She doesn't care nearly as much as I do! Again - she is growing up way too fast for me. Speaking of growing up Sharna is turning into such a little darling. She was so difficult early on, very different to her sister. She still doesn't sleep so well but she is otherwise so relaxed and chill. Nothing bothers her. She doesn't cry. And kissable to boot. I could smooch her all day. So anyway, I was talking about how I have time to breathe a bit now. Hopefully you see some scrapping here soon! I am definately feeling withdrawals! x

mean mummy!

I must be the cruellest Mummy ever. My Kirra is a very difficult child. She is super intelligent but she is such hard work. Apparently her thought processes are too complex for a nearly-5-year-old brain to process. It overwhelms her and makes her very intense. Full on. In everything she does. I won't go into the details of her behaviour, I could be here for hours! But I struggle with her. A lot. And this morning I reached my breaking point. I now have a mountain of toys and books all boxed up in the corner of the dining room (GREAT!) and Kirra's room contains a bed, a bedside and an empty bookshelf. NO TOYS AT ALL. It is ALL gone. I even took away any hair ties with pretty bits on them! She needs a wake up call. OMG - How mean am I?

sunday night games

Please come and join us for our first organised games night in the Keep'n the Memories forum this Sunday 30th. From 8:30pm SA time we will be playing games and chatting and we have lots of prizes to give away! Come and join in the fun - we are a friendly bunch!

think pink

Everthing is pink. Everything.

I am so sick of scrapping pink pages.

Now that I have 2 girls this is what my laundry looks like after I separate out the darks and the lights/whites.

It's all pink!

PINK!

28 today!!!

I'm talking weather, not birthdays. (another 28th birthday would be just as nice tho!)

And I'm LOVING it. (But just wait, when it hits the mid 30s I'll start whinging!) For now, it's glorious and this is what I am about to do...

Ahh!! Saturday afternoon in Spring with a deadline behind me and the cheque 'in the mail.' My scrapping buddy Tess coming over tonight to chat and scrap (I chat too much and NEVER get a LO finished) and a lovely bottle of wine in the fridge thanks to my favourite husband. Feeling pretty good right about now! x

aarrghh

I have ZERO motivation at the moment. (well, for Council Policy Documents anyway) And SOOOO much to do! Surprisingly I am not really feeling stressed about it - I must be in denial. I have a prelim deadline tomorrow for a massive job that I am nowhere near ready for. oops. Of course I should be slogging it out on inDesign but what am I doing instead?

• Blog surfing. Of course - very productive that!
• Playing forum games. Fun - but it doesn't pay the bills now does it?
• Updating my blog. SO neccessary!
• Enjoying a glass of wine. Not a great idea whilst working. Well, actually I'm not working am I? So maybe the wine is OK!
• Staring longingly at the papers I'm using for the Keepn the Memories October kit and wishing I could justify a teensy little play.

The Spring kit is available for sale now, grab one REAL quick, here. There are not very many to start off with. Check out my full LOs here. This one's my fave:

and mini album about bubba's 'budding' personality:

I wonder how much longer I can postpone the inevitable... Urrghh I have to go

:(

a baby curl

Well Kirra was born with NO hair. And she took her sweet time growing it too. Sharna has more hair at 6 months than Kirra had at 2 years.

Don' t laugh. I am not exaggerating!

Anyway, maybe this is a bit of a bad mother moment but I couldn't bear to get rid of any of it once it started growing. She turns 5 in a couple weeks and until yesterday had never NEVER had a haircut. Not even an itsy bitsy trim.

I think she thought she was missing out on something cause she took it upon herself to cut a fringe. sigh.

It wasn't too much of a disaster. It pretty much still fits in her pony. But we agreed that it's not such a great idea to cut your own hair. And she convinced me that she needed a trim. So she now has the bottom 2 inches of golden baby curl missing. I could just cry.

But now I have a baby curl for her book. 5 years later. oops.

And you'll never guess what? I made something else with my Keep'n the Memories kit. (you don't say!?) I still have another layout to show too. Great great value.

is this getting boring yet?

Here's a sneak of the greeting cards I made with my Keep'n the Memories 'spring' kit. I can't believe how much I got out of this bargain kit. There's more to come!

It should be released for sale early next week. Ooh exciting! Shopping was good BTW. Noice to see my sister, who spoilt the girls for me so I didn't have to get them anything myself! LOL. Thanks to Aunty Rachel Kirra is now the very proud owner of a new Barbie scooter and various other clothing items and board games, stickers and a lunch box, a gorgeously sequined butterfly cushion, Bratz show bag and chocolate! (No it's NOT her birthday!!!!)

I'm not complaining.

And Kirra certainly isn't!

another sneak

A peek at the 2nd LO using my Keep'n the Memories September 'spring' kit. Feeling a teensy bit stressed about my workload at the mo. My Client just did a complete about-face and I basically have to start my current project again AND they brought the deadline forward. Eeek! So my part-time job is not quite so part-time for the next week. At least they had the decency to double my budget! I'm shopping up a storm with my Momma and Lil' Sis tomorrow. I need some summer goodies. And I am still on that never-ending quest for the perfect pair of jeans. Sigh. Betcha I end up buying for my girls instead of me. I always do!

and the winner is...

I was just putting Miss K to bed when I realised I hadn't drawn my RAK - so please excuse the flash photography and pajamied name drawer. The winner is Mel Goodsell. I never did work out how to do a link to my email address on here so Mel I will send you an email from your blog so you can respond to me with your address and I will pop your polka dotted felt and goodies in the mail. I'm off that way in a minute to check out your cubby house - I know a completed pic will be on there because you said it will be and you are such a reliable blogger!

I've been working on a project kit for Keep'n the Memories.

It's spring themed; quite girly, very fun and bright - lots of bling, ribbon, gorgeous papers and candy coloured bazzils, shimmer alpha stickers, rub ons, handmade journalling cards and more and it is only $29.95 with instructions to make a mini album, x3 LOs and cards. Bargain! VERY limited edition though - watch this space for more sneaks and a release date.

(Mothers of boys don't despair - the October kit will be all beachy in anticipation of warm weather. Think denim and sand. Waves and sunshine. I'll keep you posted.)

my girls

are growing up WAY too fast. It doesn't seem real that Sharna has been in our lives for 1/2 a year. Surely it has only been a matter of weeks? Before I know it she will have been out longer than she was in and then she'll be sassing me all cheek and know-it-all like my other baby who is very definately not old enough to start school next year. It doesn't make any sense. When I was pregnant for the first time I thought I was having a baby. I imagined my life with BABIES. But we don't really have babies do we? We have CHILDREN who only pretend to be babies for a short short short time. I'll be buying A-cup bras in a minute. It's not right.

oh and you can still leave a comment for the RAK. I will draw it in a couple days.

free stuff!!

I'm in the mood for celebrating!

DD#1 is at Day Care so I have relative peace and quiet, I found some cool summer bargains for the girls today, the weather is so lovely and I'm still excited about my DT spot with Keep'n the Memories!

So I'm gonna do my first RAK.

Well actually I'm mostly just bored and thought it would be fun to put together a little kit. (interesting how one can be bored when there are dishes, vacuuming and laundry to do!)

And to be honest - it is also a blatant attempt to get y'all to comment! Actually I do have WAY too much stuff here and I am never gonna stop adding to it so I should try to pare it down a teensy bit!

So if you want this cool polka dot stuff leave me a comment during the next week. I will have my biggest girl draw a name next Thursday (ish)

very exciting news

Well, for me, anyway! The lovely Toni has invited me to be the first DT member for her fab store Keep'n the Memories I am working on a couple of project kits at the moment so stay tuned or check out our forum for updates... I am so excited! YAY!

a layout share

One about me for a change. Still loving these infuse papers.

how cool is this?

you'll need your volume up

a blog

Well, here I am. blogging. Finally. Talking to myself no doubt. But why not? dum de dee