THE MAN THAT IS LEONARD COHEN ~ TGIF CHALLENGE

Hello ,

 One of the loveliest Cyber Scrapping friends I have had the pleasure of being acquainted with Kerri Smith has just started a new challenge blog called TGIF  on facebook. So naturally I wanted to join in. The theme this week was to scrap someone or something you love, to also have some stamping and journalling. I scrap about those I love on a regular basis , so I thought I would go with something I love which is music.
I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen since my teenage years and when I had the opportunity to go to his concert last year  I jumped at the chance. He didn't disappoint, the concert was fabulous, one of the most enjoyable concerts I have been to. The man is 80 and can still get down on his knees and bounce back up again ( me when I get down I am worried I am never going to get back up again)

I have added random stamping and used a Georgia Heald stamp around the outside.
I have journalled  which is a bit hard to see because the paper is so busy , but it is above the Georgia Heald washi tape and also on the side.

I have added my ticket under the photo . Texture paste and mask and then I painted the pattern with gold. Used various washi tapes

The PP is quite busy, so hope I have done OK with it.

Thank you for calling by, I hope you can join in on Kerri's challenges.
Love, Peace and Happiness
Mary x

MEMORIES OF GRANDMA'S KITCHEN ~ ANOTHER FREAKING SCRAPPY CHALLENGE

Hello ! The new challenge is up at AFSC and I am running late ! 
The challenge is a beauty and I really appreciated doing this as it made me remember and document a wonderful memory for me.

This month's prompt is 

Scrapbook or art journal about a favourite recipe or a memory of something your mother/grandmother cooked for you.

Memories of Grandma's Kitchen

This photo holds so many memories for me. This is a scene that happened everyday at Mum and Dad's , "put the kettle on for a cup of tea" Here we are celebrating my nephew's birthday. 

Memories ~ I can see the lid of the sugar bowl , it is the only one I remember us having, besides when the fancy one came out on special occasions like Christmas. The teapot ( so many cups of tea came out of that pot) The teacup and saucer, the cream bowl and the lid of a jar of pickles . The cake tin in the background that at times had Mum's famous gem cakes in them ( Gosh they were sooooo good) . I have the gem irons, but unfortunately never thought to get Mum's recipe ( I guess you just think they are always going to be there to make them, and why interfere when they were already made by the best ) Gem cakes were round chocolate cakes, cut in half and filled with cream and chocolate icing on the top. Sounds easy, but I don't have the recipe for the cake part. My Mum was well know for her cooking ( shame for my husband it didn't rub off on me )

Gorgeous StudioFourteen40 Flair. A flair for every occasion , they are brilliant flairs. Little rosettes, pearl flowers and satin seam binding from Craftqueen. The brass butterfly on the ceramic block I got from my2angels ages ago.

I usually try and add elements to a layout that have meaning to the picture, so I have added a doily mask and texture paste ( Mum loved a doily or two and I am lucky to be the recipient of some beautiful embroidered doily's my Mum made ) A bit of lace curtain at the side of the photo , that reminds me of curtains Mum had. The lace was sent to me by my Pen Pal. I have also added stamping randomly.

Can you see the plastic doily poking out the side above the sentiment ? They were the go back in the day and I have a few of Mums . I cut this one up to use .
The other strong memory for me is Dad sitting at the end of the table. This is where he always sat. One of the hardest things after he died was having breakfast the next day and the empty chair. We must have all felt the same as the next time I went out my brother had turned the table around the other way. I think this is what scrapbooking is all about , preserving these precious memories, so that in future our children will remember also. I know my children have strong memories of their Grandparents and hopefully these pages will serve to jolt them back every now and then.

Looking forward to seeing your layouts of your memories
and joining us at AFSC 

Love , Peace and Happiness
Mary x

ARTastic DEC CHALLENGE ~ THE CHILDREN WERE ALL NESTLED ALL SNUG IN THEIR BEDS

Welcome to December and another year is about to speed past us.  Hopefully everyone is getting excited by the prospect of Christmas and spending time with family and friends.

This month we are being inspired by this painting, To wish you a happy Christmas and New Year by Ethel Spowers.

Criteria is to use this colour palette - your entry does not need to be Christmas themed

 (unless you would like it to be).

To read a little about Ethel Spowers pop over to ARTastic's blog and also be inspired by the DT members take on the challenge.

THE CHILDREN WERE ALL NESTLED ALL SNUG IN THEIR BEDS

I took my inspiration from the colour palette and also decided to scrap a photo of Christmas Eve , inspired by Santa setting off in his sleigh and all the homes being ready and the children tucked up in bed , in anticipation of his visit.

A StudioFourteen40 flair was just the thing for documenting the year, and they have a whole heap of new Christmas Products , very gorgeous indeed.

Little Reindeer is ribbon from Craftqueen that is great for cutting as many reindeers as you want. the gold beads are also from Craftqueen.

The Reindeer washi tape was on a parcel sent by my Pen Pal all the way from Ireland ( Erin Knows I have a thing for Reindeers :) )

Looking forward to seeing what inspires you in the prompt and seeing your lovely creations

Love , Peace and Happiness

Mary x

REMEMBER US ~ STUDIOFOURTEEN40 ~ HOME AND SCRAPPED

Good afternoon, TGIF and I finished early , so I got a chance to finish this layout using the gorgeous Flair from Studiofourteen40 "always" range. A lot has been happening at Studiofourteen40, they have just released a whole lot of Christmas product, including new Christmas flair and introducing wood veneer to their range AND they have also just released a Christmas kit and mini kit exclusive to StudioFourteen40.  The response has been huge, so if you would like one I would not waste time , I think there is only about 3 kits left !
Now to share my layout which I am entering in the challenge at Home and Scrapped , the theme ~ Love

Remember us

I came across this photo in my Mum's album and this is a photo of my Dad's best mate and his lovely wife. Dad and Charlie ( who's real name was Billy, but us Aussie's like to call someone by a different name to that which they were christened for some reason ) met in the shearing sheds and remained friends their whole life. I then decided this story needed to be told and documented as Charlie and Norma were a big part of our lives.

We often visited them for holidays at a small country town called Goolma. Goolma has a church, general store , pub and tennis courts. We would go to church on Sunday morning and then Sunday afternoon everyone gathered for social tennis. A trip across the road to the shop was always a treat. Charlie and Norma lived on a property which you had to drive through the paddocks to reach. I loved collecting the eggs and Norma made the best caramel pies ever. Norma was a wonderful cook. Charlie was a big, gentle man who spoke very slow and quiet with a dry sense of humour. Norma spoke at a hundred miles an hour a pocket rocket. I remember them and those times fondly. They always attended our family events.

The pearl spray and little pearl hearts are from The Trinket Track.

The pink, grey, white button hiding there in the cluster is from Craftqueen as is the little flower, brass flower and satin seam binding.

How cute are these chippies from Scrapmatts ? I have embossed the scissors and thimble and coloured the cotton reel with pens.The gorgeous papers are FabScraps
So if you are still with me here is the full layout

Thank you for calling by and have a wonderful weekend
Love, Peace and Happiness
Mary x

CLASS LAYOUT ~ REMEMBER THE WONDERFUL PARTS

Hello,

I don't know about you , but this time of year I find a little overwhelming with all there is to do and it comes around so quickly.
I have managed to do some creating, not as much as I would like, but some.
This is the layout I did for my class last weekend and I also added to The Flying Unicorns gallery.

Remember the wonderful parts

I found this fantastic photo in my Mum's album, unfortunately I do not know who they are. I have a feeling they may be two of  Mum's  brothers, especially the one in the front , I feel is my Uncle Harry. I will have to see if some of my relatives know.

I added an old zipper and button from my Mum's bits and bods tin . The canvas behind the photo I have stained with coffee.

 The key I embossed and I made the bottle top embellishment. The old car I stamped and fussy cut out

The gorgeous Paper is FabScraps .
Thanks so much for calling by. Hope you are not feeling over whelmed with the Christmas Season.

Love, Peace and Happiness
Mary 

SOME DAYS ARE YELLOW. SOME ARE BLUE ~ NEW SKETCH CHALLENGE AT ANOTHER FREAKING SCRAPPY CHALLENGE

Hello !

I am a little late posting this, ( need more hours in the day ! )
But...... the new challenge is posted at AFSC , it is a sketch challenge and we would LOVE you to join us 
This is the sketch, so would love to see the different interpretations 

Some days are yellow some are Blue

The Dr Suess quote is perfect for my little Grandson, who on this occasion my son got him to pull faces ( he is normally very sweet & doesn't like to get his photo taken ) . These pics were taken 6 Years ago, this week Jedd turns 13!

There are so many options with this sketch , looking forward to seeing many varied takes on it. Please pop over to the DT's blogs and leave them some love , they have created some fabulous layouts.

Love , Peace and Happiness
Mary x

SCRAP AFRICA ~ TWO TAG CHALLENGE

Hello !

This afternoon I would like to share a my  project I made to enter in Scrap Africa's two tag challenge. I encourage to head over to their blog to see all the inspiring and different takes on the challenge. Such a creative and clever DT .

So being Christmas just around the corner I decided on a Christmas Card

The reindeer is my latest addition to my little collection. Yep I love reindeers :)

Thank you for calling by, I hope your week is a good one

Love, Peace and Happiness

Mary x