7 YEARS ~ SCRAP IT WITH A SONG

Hello !
Today I am sharing my layout for the current challenge at Scrap it with a Song. The two song choices are ~

Radio Head ~ all I need
or 
Lukas Graham ~ 7 years

The song I chose is 7 years (as I do really like the song) and it inspired me to do a layout about the passing of the years (gees I have to say they pass VERY quickly !)

Once again I am using a Piece of PP I got for 20 cents ! I used it as I thought it was appropriate with all the numbers. I have misted, textured paste , paints and lots of stamping . The stamps I used are clocks and numbers, again alluding to the passing of time , Oh and a ruler stamp as well. I used the mistable numbers 7, 30 and 60 as in the song. Not sure how old I am in the top pic , I'm in my 40's in the second ( I realized I spent my middle 20's and 30's just taking photo's of my children every time they moved lol and the last I am in my mid 50's . Now I am very close to .......60 ! :{
I wanted to use the photo with Mum as again I think it represents the passing of time , Me heading towards 60 and Mum on her 95th Birthday. I also used the words from the song "I hope my children visit once or twice a month" I guess in the end that is all we hope for . The flair is from Flutterby designs

In the top photo I remember that dress , Green tartan , Mum made it , as she did with most of my clothes. I would say we have just got home from Mass as Mum is in the background with her hat and coat on and reading the Paper , which we would have picked up at the little corner shop just down the road on the way home. A little trip down memory lane.
"I'm still learning about life " again words from the song, as I think I am still learning about life, do we ever stop learning. Some lessons harder than others.

The orange and white daisy braid is from my Mum's craft stash as is the old pink ribbon . I always like to add these little bits of treasures (to me) on my layouts. A fellow scrapper from the states sent me the lovely leaf die cuts, I love them , thank You Mitzi.
This is what I love about Scrapping, it really does take you back to the time and the memories , that otherwise may stay locked  away somewhere in our minds, just waiting for that little opening to bring it all back.
Thank you for calling by and I hope your week is being a good one.

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

FROSTY MORNINGS ~ PIXEL AND PAPERS CHALLENGE

Good morning on this winters day.

 The challenge at Pixels and Paper this month is all about winter , so I thought I would like to join in, seeing it is cold and miserable here at the moment.  Here is the inspiration  , Criteria ~ winter

FROSTY MORNING

I took this photo on a early morning walk in 2008. I mustn't have been such a sook back then , as I haven't been walking much this winter.

I purchased  the pp yesterday for 20 cents and attempted to create a winter feeling with stamps , mists, texture past and I also sprinkled mica flakes for the frost and lots of silvery mesh fibres. The barb wire chippy I have had for ages from the Chip Chop Shop and I embossed it and added some mica flakes and grundged it up a bit with metallic rub on medium .

also added some plasterers tape and added Heidi Swapp Gold mist here and there

You often see spider webs glistening in the frost, so I tried to create this with mist and a mask

Thank you for calling by, please let me know you called.

Have a wonderful day 

Love , Peace and Kindness

Mary x

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL ~ SCRAP AFRICA CHALLENGE

Good Evening,
Tonight I would like to share a layout I did for the Challenge at Scrap Africa. I have always liked Scrap Africa's challenges, but haven't joined in for awhile and the DT always inspires with their amazing inspiration.
The Sketch for this challenge is ....

This really appealed to me and here is my take

Life is Beautiful

I have been pleased with myself using a lot of my stash lately , its a good feeling to be using it up. 
Thank You for calling by, I hope your week is a good one.

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

PISA ~SKETCHY BOARDS CHALLENGE

Good Evening, 
Tonight I would like to share my take on the challenge at Sketchy Boards , which is a sketch and a colour palette.
The Sketch ~

and the gorgeous colour palette

Here is my take

To try and create a rust background I put sea salt on my page and then misted with a copper toned mist and then shook the sea salt off ,leaving the white area. I painted the chipboard key with smooch and then added a crackle medium. The lovely die cut leaves were sent to me by a fellow scrapper in the USA . I rubbed metallics over the chippy rose.
I used the journal card to document our trip to Pisa, where I am afraid I lost the plot. I forgot my own advice of going with the flow and it's all part of the adventure etc . Now I know the nav man was necessary , but at times I wanted to put a axe through it, especially when it took us off a lovely highway , all signs to Pisa and directed us into a little town, and then proceeded to take us up little streets where are side mirrors were nearly touching the cars parked on either side and round and round in circles !  The final straw was when a dear old man with a bicycle just walked straight out in front of us!  I yelled "Stop the car , I want to get out " .Luckily my husband ignored me and just drove on calmly (nerves of steel) . Somehow we finally stumbled upon the leaning tower of Pisa (more good luck , than good management ). From that moment on my position in the car was the back seat , probably a wise decision .
Hope I haven't bored you too much with my little adventure to Pisa.
Hope the rest of your week is fabulous
Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

WRITE ON YOUR HEART THAT EVERY DAY IS THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR ~ DUSTY ATTIC CHALLENGE

Good Morning !
I was happy to spend the afternoon getting a layout done when I got home from work yesterday, the housework could wait, I was over cleaning ! scrapping much better thing to do :)
The moodboard at Dusty Attic this month really appealed to me and seeing I still have a little Dusty Attic chipboard left that the lovely Lizzy gave me, I thought I would like to join in with the challenge.

The Mood board

I just love the colours.
The night before I captured a photo of my Grand daughter with her arms around her Mum's neck, we had been out to dinner to celebrate Belinda's birthday and I thought it also suited the lovely quote.

Write in your heart that everyday is the best day of the Year

Last year Belinda's birthday was much different, she was as bald as a badger and extremely tired from the chemo treatment. As a family we have always celebrated events together , but now we enjoy them even more, we seem to laugh even more and just appreciate the moments of being together.

I used Orange embossing powder on the Dusty Attic Chippy. I also stamped a image and then decided to add blue embossing powder over the image and then stamp with black again on top of that. 
We were talking about dragon flies the night I took the photo so I added the dragon fly ribbon from CraftQueen, the little orange and white flower trim was from my Mum's craft bits and pieces ( always got to have a bit of Mum on my layouts )

My Penfriend sent me the stamp sentiment and I thought it is so true.
The weekend is nearly over :( they go so fast ! 
Hope the coming week is a good one for you.

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

EVERYDAY LIFE ~ SECOND REVEAL AT ARTASTIC

Hello, Hello !
Well the last couple of weeks have been a little hectic , but I am popping in today to share my layout as part of the DT second reveal at ARTastic
The Inspiration this month is to be taken from this art work 

by Elioth Gruner called  Spring Frost Study.

and the criteria is ~ Rural

I decided  I would scrap a photo I took driving into work one morning recently, on a very foggy day of the cows in the paddock.

EveryDay Life 

I have had this Kaiser PP for awhile so it was good to use it, and I thought it went with the theme really well.

I did some fuzzy cutting and layered the flowers, stamped and fuzzy cut the fox that was a gift from my pen pal in the USA .

The cloud made from dress pattern was from Leanne Jago, also had that for ages, old Button from my Mum's button tin, die cut the leaves to make it look like part of the trees (well that was my idea) and I have added that and the gold and black sequins from StudioFourteen4o onto a dried tea bag.

The little girl swinging from the branch I think may have been from Leanne as well

I really am lucky to work where I do. The Bed and Breakfast where I work is Called Arancia which means Orange in Italian. The town I live in is called Orange, and the scenery I get to enjoy at Arancia is truly like a little slice of Tuscany.

I hope the rest of your weekend is enjoyable and you find some creative time and join us at ARTastic. Don't forget to pop over to ARTastic and see the gorgeous layouts by the DT members and it would be great if you could leave them some love. 

Love, Peace and Kindness

Mary x

WE'LL BE FRIENDS FOREVER ~ SOUL SCRAPPERS CHALLENGE

Good Evening on this cold winters night in my home town, with snow predicted for tomorrow, oh winter be gone !
But enough of that, tonight I would like to share with you a layout I created for my challenge at Soul Scrappers , which is to document a friendship and the criteria to use a doily and feathers on your layout and of course a quote about friendship .I have used Kaisercrafts Boho Dream Collection to create with

We'll be friends forever won't we Pooh ? 

This is a photo of my best friend Leanne and myself when we were young and carefree

I have used a quote from Winnie The Pooh which sums up our friendship. We have been friends for over 40 years.
I hope you can join us in the challenge, would love to see you there.

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

DON'T LET ANYONE EVER DULL YOUR SPARKLE ~ CHALLENGE SOUL SCRAPPERS

Good Afternoon!
 It is a hectic weekend for me, I had my brother come from Melbourne on Friday , he left this morning , I worked and more visitors this afternoon :) But last night whilst the boys watched football I scrapped :)
The layout is for a Tic Tac Toe challenge at Soul Scrappers. I chose the row that required the word Extraordinary , flowers and Music/Dance. 
I chose to scrap a photo my son took on his recent trip to Thailand and he kindly let my use it. I thought it suited the challenge when I read his thoughts on this little girl.

These are his words about his photo, I will type it up and add to the back of my layout .
"Of all the photo's I took on my recent trip, this is standing out as a fav. This is Jipor, a little orphan who is without a doubt one of the happiest souls I've met. She loves to skip, sing and pick flowers. When ever the little ones put on a dance routine, they all look to Jipor for guidance . This pic warms my heart and also breaks it. It will remind me you don't need much to be happy." 
I have admit I tear up when I read this.
Thank you for calling by and enjoy the rest of what is left of your weekend.

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

ALL I WANT IS TO BE TOGETHER WITH YOU ~ JULY STASH BUSTER CHALLENGE HOME AND SCRAPPED

Hello !
Popping by this afternoon to share my layout for the Stash Buster Challenge at Home and Scrapped and the theme is florals.
Apart from a couple of things all the products I have used I have had in my stash for ages, so that makes me happy.

It is really hard to get a decent photo with true colours in this crappy weather.
The feather flowers and pins were sent to me by my lovely Irish Pen friend ,and the floral washi was from another lovely friend, other than that all the other products , including the pattern paper I have had for yonks.
You might notice the word Dolly written on masking tape on my layout ,well Dolly is what my family calls me and that is my Mum's handwriting. Mum used to put names on things that she wanted people to have.  I found this not long ago which must have fallen off something and it has been kicking around on my desk ever since, I couldn't bare to throw it out, so last night I though what better way of preserving it than putting it on my layout.
Thank you for calling by, wishing you all a wonderful weekend. I am having a weekend of visitors .

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

SHINE LIKE THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS YOURS ~RUMI . SHOP AND CROP CHALLENGE

Hello !
Today I would like to share a layout for the challenge at Shop and Crop .
The inspiration is this beautiful mood board

I

I was inspired by the beautiful quote and the petals look like feathers to me , so I have added feathers to my layout. My layout also has a touch of mauve and blues 

Shine like the whole Universe is yours ~ Rumi

This was taken at my Grand daughters year 10 Formal, to think she has nearly finished school for good ! 

I loved the quote for her, as she really does have a spirit that shines. She has a kind , sweet soul and that is what I love about her. 

Thank you for calling by and I hope the lovely mood board has inspired you as well.

Love, Peace and Kindness

Mary x

DARE TO DREAM BIG ~ WATERCOLOUR IN BLUES ~ MEGS GARDEN

Hello on this rainy day.

Today I would like to share a DT layout using the beautiful new range of papers at Megs Garden "Watercolour in Blues".It is a beautiful range and so lovely to work with.

Dare to Dream Big

How gorgeous is the braid with the attached tassels , I love it.

I fussy cut around the large rose with my craft knife and popped my photo under it to hide some of the black  and then I did the same with the 4 x 12 " matching strip. Each 12 x 12 sheet comes with a matching 4 x 12 strip , which comes in very handy :) , I placed the rose from the strip over the rose on my layout with foam dots to create a 3D effect 

The beautiful , blue organza ribbon adds a lovely softness

I have taken images from the Cut and Create sheet in the range and I punched decorative borders around them to layer under my photo. The "Dare to Dream Big" stamp is from Kaisercrafts new range.

So many gorgeous images on the Cut and Create Sheet, great for cards, mix media , layouts , journals .... endless possibilities , Pocket letters, snail mail !

And if you are still with me , my layout in full . Sorry for the long post, but I really love this range and how cool is the gold bird !

Every thing I have used besides the Kaiser Stamp can be found at Megs Garden Store. I hope I have inspired you to create with this beautiful range , I am now excited to go and create with some of the other lovely papers in the WaterColour in Blues Range, think that is what I will be doing over the next couple of days. :) 

Please pop over to the blog and see all the inspiration from the DT girls and leave them some love would be nice 

Love , Peace and Kindness

Mary x

DANCING IS DREAMING WITH YOUR FEET ~ KRAFT PLUS CHALLENGE

Hello ! 
Today I would like to share my layout for the challenge at Kraft plus. I really like the mood board, so soft and pretty and I knew I had some Sheet Music.
Here is the challenge inspiration

and this is my take

Dancing is Dreaming with your feet

I have used the mint green and pink in my layout and the sheet music of course and flowers.
The Paris Post card scene is from my Irish Pen Pal and I cut it in two , lace in my flower cluster from my USA pen pal as is the Ferris Wheel image ( I have awesome Pen Pals ) .
Thank You Lizzy for the "Amazing" word .
The photo is of my Grand daughter who looks so little here (She is 18 now, and yep I am in denial)
When we were in Paris in 2008 one night whilst on a bus I saw a advertising sign that had the word Meli on it (which is what we call Amelia and I said to my husband , "We will come back here one day to watch Meli Dance" hence the significance of the Paris scene I created. So that was the thought behind my layout, a bit of trivia :) and a crazy Nanna's thoughts..... but you never know hey.
Thank you for calling by, I appreciate your thoughts and comments
Photo credit RSVP Photography

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

CAPTURED MOMENTS ~ JULY CHALLENGE ANOTHER FREAKING SCRAPPY CHALLENGE ~ BUTTERFLIES

Good Afternoon !
Well being a new month I am posting another challenge that I would love you to join in with us at Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge.
The criteria is Butterflies, easy , peasy.
I came across this old photo of Dad walking me down the aisle on my wedding day and thought I would like to scrap it

Captured Moments

I have used butterfly background paper and added butterfly embellishments and butterfly washi tape.
The butterflies are also significant to me , as I like to think Dad is around me when I see a butterfly.
I would love you to join us in the challenge, in the meantime enjoy the rest of your weekend

Love, Peace and Kindness
Mary x

FAMILY MOMENTS ~ ARCHISCRAPS JULY CHALLENGE

Good Evening ! Another month has flown by, gosh the weeks just seem to gone in a blink. But a new month means a new challenge at Archiscraps and this month we want to see distressing and wood.
This is the inspiration

and my take on the challenge

Family Moments

As the weather has been dark and gloomy I found it difficult to get a good photo. Never the less I have gone to town with distressing , ripping and  adding torn cardboard under my photo. 

Thank You Sandra for the flower . I was lucky to have a visit from Sandra awhile back and Sandra brought Lizzy with her , we had a lovely day and Sandra gave me a whole heap of flowers (as she is not a flower girl ) and I am :) 

The photo was taken by my son at  a family Get together at Abercrombie River . My hubby at the back, (Probably thinking he is the head of the family , but we all know his beautiful sister is :) She is next in the photo with her hubby and Grandson and then me.

Thank you for calling by , I hope you can get your distress on this month and join us in the challenge.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope you find some creative time.

Love, Peace and Kindness

Mary x