Changes afoot...

With all that's happening lately I was beginning to wonder whether or not to continue my blog.
Considering that I've only been uploading scrapbooking projects, I was considering whether or not to continue and just post the projects on Pinterest.
After some considering I've decided I will continue to blog, but I'm going to change a few things I post.
One thing I've tried to do is the Photo a Day, but it just keeps falling by the wayside and I never get the photos taken. I run out of time, it's too dark or I simply forget, and it's like that rolling stone... once it starts it just continues.
So after a lot of soul searching and thinking about what I'm doing, I'm going to try to reorganise a few things. I tried after my last lot of holidays and some things have stuck like the washing. That's working a treat! So I'm going to try to apply that concept to a lot of other things.

So the changes... I'm going to try to blog once a week at least... I might spend 5 minutes drafting a post and adding to it during the week. This post could contain everything from the dramas of the week, scrapbooking projects or even photos... it's going to be a mix of a few things.
Maybe doing it this way I might actually post regularly... what do you think?
I guess I could just give it a try and maybe get things back on track and get my head above water for a change instead of feeling like I'm drowning in things!

So I guess we're really up for a big catch up... I've had a few things going on from the high school ball, Anzac Day march, U17 hockey, braces off, school holidays (not that the 2 younger boys did anything!), work, scrapbooking... I guess just life in general!

So we'll start with Anzac Day!
Kristofer did me very proud! As part of the school council, he and his fellow student councillors ran the school assembly for the Anzac Day Service. Unfortunately due to work I couldn't be there but I did have someone who could take photos for me (thanks Dave).
Especially as Kristofer had the honour of laying the wreath and from what I was told he did a very good job!

And following on from that the councillors then marched on Anzac Day.

Also at the end of last term we had the ESHS School Ball for 2013, and Nicholas being in Year 12, this year he attended.

 I think he looked very handsome dressed up in his suit... My baby boy is all growed up!!!

So how's that for a quick catch ... there's still more to come with hockey, braces and also there's the scrapbooking too!

I'm a little lost...

Well not really, but I want to scrap, but I don't...
And I have all these ideas rolling around in my mind....
It's just I don't have the motivation to actually scrap!
I've been like this for a little while now so I think I'm still a little burnt out after Kaisercraft. That was a lot of work!
So any ideas on how I get back into it...
I'm thinking of doing some online tutorials, and learning some new stuff....

Who's up for a holiday?

Well at Chooks we're having a Chook's Run Around Australia!!!
We're starting our run off in Collie and will be heading off to several towns and states!!!

The criteria is being kept very simple due to the quick turnaround we'll be having, but if you're interested head on over and check it out!!!!

Here's my sample layout for the first challenge....

Best I get the rest of my samples done up too, as I'm preparing the stopovers for everyone!!!
Come and join in the fun... we're travelling first class!!!!

Keep Calm & Create

We all need a good quote in our studio I believe, and I loved this one!!!
So out came an old canvas which was then painted, papered, sprayed stamped and embellished and this is what was produced...

I committed sacrilege with an Oxford Dictionary giving up many pages to create the background! What a sacrifice....
I then cut up a piece of Websters Pages paper for the roses....
I then wanted to gesso it, but due to the fact it was Easter, and the shops were closed so I couldn't get any gesso, I had to make do with what I had which was a cheap white acrylic paint. At least I didn't have to water it down... :)
Add some texture paste, gold netting and muslin for some texture...
From there I then played around with some of my Ranger Colorwashes, watering them down to get the pale yellow, pink and green that I wanted and then sprayed the whole background!!! Very subtle, but very pretty I think!
When it all dried, I then ran a black ink pad over the top to pick up the texture and add some shadow.

All of the chipboard around the edges of the canvas have been painted with a pearl paint and then sprayed with the Colorwashes. I used the same colours I sprayed the background with, but these ones weren't watered down. Because I used the pearl paint, the chipboard all shimmer...

The words were all painted with pearl paint, but they weren't going to stand out on the background, so I then painted them black and sanded them back, finishing with a coating of dimensional magic.
I tried several different techniques on the 'create' but nothing worked, so I painted them black with the higlight of the pearl, followed by dimensional magic.
That worked!!!

From there it was a case of deciding on placement of flowers (after I sprayed them with gold mist!) and glueing everything down...

Overall I'm very happy with it... the only problem is the frame of the canvas is a bit skew-iff... so the words look crooked, and they might not be quite centre ... damn!
I'm sure something will come to me to fix that as I doubt very much I can pull the letters off and restick them.
I'm also not sure if it needs something on the left hand side... any ideas?

Something different...

Since I've been tweaking my room, I decided I would actually get around to making a quilt to curl up under.
After looking around (alot) online, I decided a rag quilt would be the way to go... something quick and easy that I might just be able to manage considering I can't cut material straight!
In keeping with the shabby chic feel of my room, I've gone for pink, off white and a green rose fabrics.
Now after a lot of cutting (crooked squares!), sewing and then snipping of seams, I'm all finished.

It is 12 squares by 12 squares and works out to about 1.5 metres square. It's being held up by the youngest child!!!
I think the crooked squares add to the charm and the frays in the seams...

The back of the quilt is a pink and white check...

I've used 3 layers, cotton on the front and back with flannelette in the centre. Only because I couldn't find any flannelette in a pattern I liked.

And after cutting out the pink and white squares I decided on a different pattern before I cut the green floral, so I had squares left over. I've made cushions with these squares and still have some material left over to make some more but I will wait until I get new chairs for the scraproom first.

There are 4 cushions (1 is rectangular) and there's too many for my lone cane chair, but I figure when I get a larger cane chair to curl up in and read, and I get some more cane chairs for around my scrap table, there'll be enough!

I think I've done well for a first effort (but not sure if I will make any more!)

But yes, I can see me curling up under it on a cold winter night reading can't you?

Never enough hours

to get everything done that I need done, or even what I want to get done...
I have so much I want to do but not enough time now matter how much I try to organise myself... oh well that's life.

Over at Chooks I've set the monthly challenges for March...
I was nice... sort of! lol...
I'm going to share the samples, but if you want to know what the challenges are you'll have to head over to Chooks and have a look... maybe join up and have some fun!
Especially as this weekend we've got a cybercrop going.....

I will tell you that there is 5 challenges - quote, technique, colour, product and word challenge.
And if you're really keen, there's also card and sketch challenges!

Stop this merry-go-round...

please... cause I want to get off!!!
I thought life was mean to slow down and get easier at some stage, but it seems to be one drama after another.
February has passed in a haze, with a trip to Perth to visit a neurologist and for an MRI (no answers) and Nicholas off to Victoria for their State Fire Brigade Championships... and this all happened in the same week!
So needless to say, the only scrapbooking I did was what I had to get done, and there were no photos of the day taken!
As it is I'm still trying to get my head around things....

Nicholas did very well at the Victorian State championships, coming home with a 1st (4 man event) and a 2nd in one of the individual events!
His 4 man team came 3rd in dry work, and 3rd overall, and the whole Esperance team came 8th overall.
I think they did well!!!! Sadly though it was Nicholas' last championships as a Junior, and as he's doing TEE this year, he's not doing seniors.
But onto the hockey!!!

Chookscraps had their cybercrop the weekend I went away with the theme being surfing.
I can't remember what the criteria were, but here are my sample layouts...

And of course, we had a DT challenge...

The March CC is coming up so guess I had better get busy and get the samples done for that.
Unfortunately I've been playing in my studio and rearranging and sorting yet again! All because I wanted a 'wet' area for painting, etc. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)
There was also things that I had never really sorted so I'm getting stuck into getting them all done...