Crop checking and scrapping with friends...

Matt, the kids and I got out on Monday to check our crops - or Matt's garden as he sometimes refers to it. He's a good gardener on a broad acre scale. These are his little babies...canola...




...and barley...




...and here are my babies checking his babies...




On Tuesday the studio was packed out with a full house of scrappers. It was so good to have the room buzzing with friends who lave to scrap.



Then Wednesday in Newdegate was even more of a full house. It was a great day and most of the girls took advantage of the album sale and almost cleaned me out! There are still more albums coming though and the sale still runs till the end of June.



Other than that I've been cleaning up (it never ends) and packing. We are off to Brisbane on Monday for a break and for me to attend some trade classes at Printblocks which I hope to gain great inspiration from. The thing I love most about this is I will get to see lots of new products with my own eyes so I can order products knowing what I am getting. I also love rubbing shoulders with inspirational people who share the passion. I hope to come home with some great ideas to pass on to all my fellow scrappers and of course with a whole heap of new photos to scrap and implement those ideas.

Thanks for looking! I'll be back.

Glorious rain and layouts to share...

Yes, we had an inch of rain over the weekend which was more than we expected but we are very grateful and we finally have water in our dams that have been empty for 6 months. It feels so good and we are so blessed. There are still alot of people in need of rain and we are mindful of them. We dont realise how much we depend on it until its not there.

We had a weekend away in Esperance catching up with friends and family and of course some retail therapy and a few doses of cafes and coffee. Then it was home again last night to get back to reality. It feels good to come home and not have any seeding to do although there's still plenty of other stuff to do. I've been preparing for classes at Newdegate on Wednesday and I finished the 2 layouts I had started late last week. A fresh look gave me the motivation to complete them although I may add a few more touches.

The first is of Phoebe with her homemade crown. It reminded me of a pair of pajamas that I bought her a while ago that had a funny and fitting saying on it. I used the new Sassafras Lass papers and journalling card, and a piece of die cut Pink Paisley paper - all yummy.

The second layout I did of a little girl and her Grandma's dog. Can you guess who she is? She has a cheeky little 4 year old girl of her own now. I used Basic Grey Mellow papers. Its a bit busy but I think I'm ok with that.

I also unpacked more new stock today. More albums for my album sale (20% OFF until end of June) and lots of other goodies. I'm stocking up for the Condy retreat in July - its creeping up fast!

I havent forgotten about the Perth retreat for July next year. I'm still working on finding the right venue so bare with me for a while - it has to be perfect!

Thanks for looking!

GRRRRR...

I did 2 layouts yesterday and couldn't come up with a title for one and the title for the other one took hours, literally, and it still didn't look right so I'm starting it again for the fourth time. I'm having trouble with the Cricut cutting letters that are small enough for a long title - it wont do it so I've reverted back to letter stickers but don't quite have enough. I ended up with such a headache that I gave up in frustration in the end and decided to leave it for another day. I do take it all a bit seriously don't I? But you know when you can picture something in your mind but then cannot reproduce the idea? Well that's how it is for these 2 layouts. So when I've got over the hurdle and completed them I'll show and tell.

I mentioned earlier that we have finished seeding which is a wonderful thing, but my dream of never seeing a container again has been smashed. Throughout the last few weeks I've been sending out packed lunches in Chinese takeaway containers and when they ran out I was sending Tupperware out and then there were none left and although it was frustrating having none left, I didn't really mind....but alas...now they are all coming back..and their breeding...I have so many to wash that I've run out of dish washing liquid! They have been stashed in vehicles and machinery all over the property and they bred and now they are returning...thank the Lord for dishwashers! Sorry...I'm being a drama queen aren't I?!

I'm off to Newdegate again next Wednesday, the 28th of May for classes...cant wait to see the girls over there.

Also, I'm going to some trade classes in Brisbane in a few weeks which I'm very excited about and cant wait to see some new products and ideas, and see whats happening in the wide wide world of scrapbooking, outside my own small nook. We are going as a family and are looking forward to the break.

Thanks for all the comments on my last post - its so good to hear from visitors.

Layouts to share...

I managed to finish 2 layouts today that I had started on and hit a brick wall. Funny how walking away and coming back later can give you a fresh view. I chose the Deja Views - Sharon Ann Timeless Collection papers and embellies to scrap some sepia photos I have - both old and new. I intend to do about 6 layouts and frame them all and display them on the wall in my hall way which I am painting a colour called 'warm neutral' - a taupe colour (when my husband can lend me a hand - this could be anything from a week to 2 years HA!). I am hoping that the collection of framed layouts will look good grouped together in Rosewood frames, bringing together 4 generations of family photos. I have been working on the first 2 and got them completed to the stage that they only need journaling. I will only put names and dates though, not the stories. The first one is of Matt's Nanna and Poppa and 3 of their 5 children. I have another one to do with the whole family of seven.




The next one is a professional photo taken by Miller studios, on Canning Hwy in Perth, of Phoebe when she was 5 and half months old. She has a big dribble on her chin, which we love - makes us chuckle. I must admit that I have wrestled with these papers and the layouts but I am hoping that what I visualise in my mind will look good when it all comes together.

I also started and finished a quick layout of Phoebe and her cousin Asher using Sassafras Lass papers and journaling cards, and an old metal sign for the title, which 'says it all'.

In personal news, My Brother, Dean, and his wife Cassi, their kids and my parents all came for the weekend and we celebrated a late Mothers Day together as a family. This time spent was priceless..very special. Dean started chemo again on Monday and we were warned this one will be brutal but we are hoping that the end will result will be remission. Dean and Cassi are amazing. They have incredible attitudes that will get them though the really tough times - I feel pretty weak in comparison but I guess you can rise to the occasion when you are in these situations if you make up you mind to. I hope to.

Also, some good news...we have finished seeding...WOOHOO! I couldn't care less if I saw another container ever again. The washing up I will not miss!

Thanks for looking...and don't be afraid to leave a comment to let me know who is visiting!

New products...

I recently received some new stock I had been waiting for with great anticipation. I've been wanting to carry Technique Tuesday products for a year or so and finally have some. I'll build the range up but here's some stamps and chipboard to get started. I'm yet to have a play but hopefully will soon.





2 new Sassafrass Lass paper ranges have arrived, Robotics and Sunshine. They are very bold busy and FUN! I love the scalloped and pinked edges on the patterned papers. Cant wait to have a play...got lots of playing to do...







And then there's the new Pink Paisley range of papers also with scalloped edges...more playing...




...and some new felt ribbon from Queen and Co. Love the trains and cars! I'm currently playing with the brown vine felt on a heritage layout...having a little trouble with the layout but I'm sure I'll finish it soon..I hope!

Announcing...

Scrappin’ Outback

Presents

Condingup Scrapbooking Retreat

25th – 27th July 2008

Come and join in on a relaxing and friendly weekend of scrapbooking in Condingup. This is an opportunity to dust off your supplies and equipment and be inspired.

Contact Karen Smith on
98751021 or 0427977672
for booking, details and prices.

Warning...photos may offend.

I just completed another layout and wanted to post it but I must warn you that some of you may find the photos offensive so please do not scroll down if you think you may be offended. The layout is about a fox shoot that Matt participated in recently. I used the new Little Yellow Bicycle papers again and I tried Grunge board for the first time ( a little bit behind the times I know) and I love it. The pieces I used suit masculine layouts - another good find. I simply just swiped Sepia ink over the pieces and because they are embossed it creates texture and dimension. I'm trying to get more of it but it is in great demand and on back order at the moment. I'm hoping to stock up on it, then do some classes in the coming months.




I also wanted to mention something that I am passionate about. Thursday the 15 of May was Compassion Day. Compassion Australia is a child sponsorship program that Matt and I support. Compassion has an excellent track record of helping thousands of children and communities living in poverty. Soon I will be an advocate for Compassion so I can raise awareness and help people learn more about it. I encourage you if you have ever thought about sponsoring a child, to do so and you can do it online at http://www.compassion.com.au/ We sponsor children ouselves and so does Scrappin' Outback and we feel that even though it is such a small contribution every bit makes a difference. I'll leave it with you.

Thats all for today folks. My little King has cut his day sleeps short this week so I'm short on scrapping time for the moment hence the quick and simple layouts. Bye the way we got more rain and the end of seeding is in sight (about a week away)...YEEHAH!

Update...

Firstly, thanks for all of you who have placed orders. I appreciate your support. There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the paper tote sold to a lucky girl but my wholesalers are out of stock again so we wont see any more of those for a while. I also sold the Making Memories Desktop Caddy but the good news is that I managed to get 2 more and they are currently on there way so let me know if you want one. Here's a picture again.

Also, I thought I'd update you on Deans progress as I have become aware that some of you are interested in knowing. We were told he would have to wait until next Wednesday for test results to show whether the cancer cells were reducing in number. We had good news yesterday, the test results came early and they are saying that he is not yet in remission but that there are now fewer cancer cells. Dean will start chemo again on Monday which means he wont get a break but they are interested in progressing quickly to get him in remission. Dean, Cassi and the kids are coming to the farm this weekend to spend some time with us...YAY!

I have a layout to share. This is my little bookworm. In fact both of my kids are total book worms which we are stoked about. They are like sponges. I used Basic Grey Recess papers. This was a quickie - half an hour I think!

Brrrr...

Baby it's cold outside! I aint complainin' tho. We got 8mm of rain which has put a smile on our faces, an answer to prayer. This week is going better for me. I had a great day scrapping with friends on Tuesday. Thanks girls, your company was wonderful!

I finished a work in progress yesterday. A layout about a little Drama King that resides with us. It turns out there are quite a few drama queens and kings in my family. I come from a long line of them and there is one or two in Matt's family as well...hey Chrissy?! So it was inevitable...he was such a nice little boy and still is but has episodes from time to time, like this one...

For this layout I used new Little Yellow Bicycle - Zach's Life papers and chipboard - Love it!

Thanks for the huge response to my Sale and storage solution tips. I'm amazed at the response. I'm so stoked in fact that I'll add a free gift to anyone who places an order and I'll do all orders freight free until the end of June. Thanks for your business!

Thanks also for the many kind words, thoughts and prayers regarding my brother Dean. Things are a little better this week although it changes so quickly. We are playing a waiting game this week for test results. The support you have shown is overwhelming.

Storage Solutions

As promised I photographed some storage items today to show you how I store supplies for both home use and travel. There are a lot of photos so this will be a long post!
Firstly, I just received my Making Memories Desktop Caddy that I ordered yonks ago. I have seen these in Magazines and always wanted one. I am so wrapped with it. You can fit quite a bit into it. I have one more in stock if any of you desire one. It's $79.90. I can order more if more than one of you want one.

Also as far as tool storage goes the old time favourite All My Memories Tool Bag is a ripper for travelling scrappers. It retails at $59 and I have these 2 on special for $40 each plus a small one for just $20.

Cropper Hopper make a tool centre that's pretty good.

Then there's paper storage. There are a lot of options but my favourite for home and mobile usage is the Cropper Hopper paper tote that is like a mobile 12 x 12 filing cabinet I have one in stock. They are $99 and they are hard to get because they are so popular.

Ribbons can be messy when they are not stored right. I use a Birch embroidery floss storage container and floss cards. They are compact and inexpensive.

Also I discovered these Cropper Hopper ribbon roll storage containers. They are fiddly to set up but are great for pulling out what you need for a project and they come in different sizes for different size ribbon rolls.

One of my best finds was this Cropper Hopper photo box which is the perfect size for Heidi Swapp chipboard letters - if you have them in every font and colour! This box is $15.95.

Then there's the Cropper Hopper Zip n Flip for small embellishments. It's handy for flat packing embellies and the pages fit a 3 ring file that I got at a stationery store. I also fit doodling templates in the same file.

Stickers are a tricky one. I've tried everything! I like the Clip it Up sticker storage for home and also the Cropper Hopper Shelve It range which I use to display stickers in my shop. For mobile storage I recommend a divided A4 expanding file or a good ol' shoe box!

Thats all for today but theres more for later and a layout to share tomorrow. Bye.

SALE

I thought I should mention I have a sale on until the end of June. All albums are 20% off (albums currently in stock). This is the perfect opportunity for you to get one if you've been thinking about it for a while. I have We R Memory Keepers post and ring bound albums in both leather and fabric and 12 x 12 and 8.5 x 11(A4) in stock. I also have All My Memories leather 12 x 12 albums (limited colours), American Crafts A4 albums, a few K & Co and some new Making Memories 12 x 12 ring-bound albums in stock plus a few other one offs. The albums moved really quickly this time last year!
Also, due to the exchange rate Bazzill has come down in price so I'm passing on the saving to everyone. The new price for Bazzill cardstock is just 80c per sheet (12x12). This doesn't happen often - price reduction - I can tell you. All scalloped and Bling Bazzill are still at regular prices though. My favourite range at the moment is Double Mates double sided card stock (different shades off the same colour on each side), the colours are TDF and the best part is that it is also only 80c per sheet.
I have a large selection of products at bargain prices for you to pick through if you dropping in or coming to a class. These items are reduced to clear as I have to stock take at the end of June - its a huge job (isn't it Jo? - she helped me a couple of years ago).
I have just received confirmation today that I now have a credit card facility which will be up and running shortly so if you see me and want a swag of stuff or want me to mail product out you can pay by credit card and pay it off.
All patterned paper is still $1.50 per sheet and a lot of it retails for around $1.75 so it will stay at the lower price until July. I do still have boxes of 50c papers and $1 papers that I keep adding to so there's always a bargain.
I'm about to photograph some storage solutions to show (later on today if I get a chance) and a page in progress that I hope to finish so stay tuned.

Back on track...

Life is back to normal - for today - so I took the opportunity to scrap while Jett was down for a sleep. I finished another layout that I'd started previously. For some time now I've been scanning Phoebes artwork and saving it to my hard drive. It means that if we lose the piece or it gets damaged or ripped then there's no loss. I cant physically keep everything she does anyway so this is my attempt to preserve it. I was impressed with her people drawings she started doing a couple of years ago. I printed them onto photo paper and came up with this layout. I wont do this with all her artwork but I consider it a milestone when a child learns to draw people and animals so this one was special to me. I used old Sassafras Lass papers, American Crafts Thickers and a Heidi Swapp journaling block.




I also knocked up this framed layout for my Mother-in-law for Mothers Day. It is of Matt's sister Kimberly who lives in Montana with her son Miles. The photos were taken at Christmas time during a family photo shoot while Kim and Miles were visiting Australia. I know this will mean a lot to Mum so she can see her girl everyday. I used Bazzill, K& Co Ancestry papers and paper ribbon and 7 Gypsies stickers. Very happy with how this turned out although photo does not do justice.

I have been working on my holiday album, on finishing off the pages with embellies and journaling. I'll get it finished eventually, then show and tell.

Sarah reminded me the other day in the comments that I've had an artical written about Scrappin' Outback in the latest edition of Scrapbooking Memories. Ann also spotted it. I was so excited to be asked and stoked to see it in the magazine although I was a little dissappointed that the write up didnt read how I thought it would, but its out there and hopefully people will notice it.

Other than all of that I've been tidying up again - it never ends does it?! and back to cooking for the boys after a weekend off. At the moment we are planting seed and praying for rain!

Happy Mothers Day...

...to all you Mums out there - you deserve a medal! I was thinking about how undeserving I was of celebrating mothers day and then I got to thinking about all the little things that a mother does and knows. For example, my DH (dear husband) babysat the kids yesterday while I was in Ravensthorpe and he did a great job...apart from watching them and cleaning up after them and so on. I found a teddy in my toilet, almost immersed in water, and the whole roll of toilet paper unwound, and a plastic toy sitting on the lamp light bulb slowly melting, and many other minor details. Of course, the State of Origin football match was gripping and could not be disrupted by seeing what the kids were up to. So I do deserve a special day even if its just to celebrate the little things I know and do. I may not earn millions, and achieve great things but my kids are happy and healthy and I guess I have something to do with that.

My Mothers Day wish was to have our yard tidied up and my wish was granted - it looks a million bucks compared to what it was...oh and then there's the Pandora charms I bought myself on Matt's behalf (he told me too).

I had time to scrap (a little) and I managed to finish yesterdays layout and another I had been working on for a while. They are both older photos but I felt inspired to record the moments. Firstly I have this one to share of Jett as a 6 month old - gosh that seems so long ago! I used Bazzill Bling, K & Co stickers and Lil' Davis chipboard scalloped frames.

Then there's this one of Phoebe in our canola crop. I've had these photos for ages and thought I'd do something with them. I hardly ever use purple but these photos looked so good on it - a contrast. I used my favorite new product - K & Co silhouette stickers - they are TDF. Crop-checking is a favorite family pastime - we've done it for as long as Matt and I have been together. We check their progress and boy, do we love it - when they are looking good! I have many stories I could tell about crop-checking. This is one of them although I have not incorporated journaling yet - not sure how I'll do that.

Hopefully this week will be a bit more settled than the last and I'll get back into some sort of routine and find time to scrap a bit. I have loads of ideas. Bye for now.

I must say...

...a few things.

1. I apologise for not posting much recently...I have a heavy heart as my brother is not doing so well. I think he'll be ok - it's just so hard at the moment.

2. Thanks for visiting - AND PLEASE DONT STOP! I'll be back on track soon. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see that people are visiting my blog, and how wonderful your comments and emails are. I am so blessed.

3. A huge thank you to the girls at Ravensthorpe for having me there for classes today. It was a great distraction and I thoroughly enjoyed the day out, the food, the company and the inspiration I got too.

4. A couple of dates to remember; 28th of May - scrapbooking in Newdegate and 21st of June in Ravensthorpe. Also, there will be a craftathon on the 17th and 18th of July 2008 in Hyden fundraising for Breast Cancer. All crafters are welcome.

I managed to start a layout today at Ravy with some photos of Phoebe when she was 2. I'm surprised I found a creative bone - must have been because I was watching all the girls play with supplies. I'll post it tomorrow. Have a lazy Sunday!

Crazy times...

I know it seems as though I dropped off the face of the earth for a minute there and it feels like I did. I have had the craziest 7 days. I've been to Perth twice and only home for one day. Hopefully I'll find some normality now - whatever that is!

My Mother-in-law, God love her, offered to stay with my kids so I could go to see my brother, Dean, who is having chemo for Leukaemia in Perth. It took a bit to convince me to go but I'm so glad I did. I got to spend quality time with him without distractions and it was precious. He's doing ok - not easy though.

Just before I left to go to Perth on Friday (for a wedding) I got lots of parcels of new goodies in and want to share them. One crisis I have had over the years is finding masculine and boyish papers and embellies. Well there is no shortage of them now. Here are a few new ranges that are sure to please all of you out there who love doing boy/men pages. Firstly, there's the new Crate Paper - Static range. Its a little 'surfy' but would suit any theme and there's lots of products to choose from. I have some pages in mind for this range so when I get some time I'll go to and do some layouts with it.

Then there's the brand new range - Little Yellow Bicycle - which once again is very boyish. I love the intense colours. I have papers, chipboard and rub-on's in stock - must haves.

There are heaps of new Basic Grey clear stamps and I have some in stock - they are really TDF.

And lastly, and oldie but a goodie - I have lots of Scenic Route chipboard letters in stock - the colours are amazing.

I don't have any other scrapbooking news to share except that I had an awesome day teaching in Newdegate again - always do. I'm looking forward to sitting down to my pages-in-progress tomorrow. Bye for now.