CREATE THE WORLD YOU WANT TO SEE ~ SCRAP AFRICA CHALLENGE

Hello on this snowy cold day here. As I stated on facebook , I am glad Where I live has spectacular Autumns as every winter I dream of a warmer climate. 
Anyway Scrap Africa has a cool (no pun intended ) challenge to scrap your old stash, this is something I needed to do.

Create the world you want to see

This is our second eldest who at the time was living overseas and we had not seen him for two years, so it was truly special to spend four days in Rome with him. I know Jo can relate to this.

The PP's I have had for ages , except for the light one. I have stamped on a old tea bag that I dried. The bottle top I made ages ago. The music pp are old scraps . Golden glitz sequins are from StudioFourteen40, as is the file tab I have used to stick the Discover sentiment on.  Metal Cog is from The Trinket Track, Bronze clock charm and twine from Craftqueen

thanks for calling by and hope you are keeping warm
Love and Peace 
Mary x

PHOTO'S REMIND US

Hello on a day that didn't start off to bad and turned freezing and wet this afternoon.
I had my scrapbooking class today, I am so lucky to have such a lovely group . It is a social get together for us as well as making a layout along the way, and everyone putting their own spin on the example.

Today the layout we did was

Precious Memories 

My brother gave me a copy of this photo a few weeks ago and it is precious to me as it is a rare photo of us all together, it is just a shame my eldest brother is not in it, but I think he was taking the photo.
Love the bow plopped on top of my head. I am holding a very special doll here called Norma, which just happened to be given to me by my Godmother whose name is Norma. I thought my doll was called this because of my Godmother. But speaking to her the other night I mentioned this and she said no the  doll actually came with the name Norma! My Mum made it into a Bride doll for my bed eventually and I still have her today , not on my bed though but tucked away for a grandchild one day perhaps.

The gorgeous buttons are from Craftqueen as is the satin seam binding. I also got the Manor House Die cut from Craftqueen.

The pretty Sparkly pink Washi from StudioFourteen40 and some fussy cutting going on.
Gorgeous washi from Craftqueen

As I was doing the layout the thought came to me , that even though we may not see each other all the time ~ A family photo reminds us that no matter what we will always be connected ~ So I journalled this along the bottom of my layout.

Thanks for calling by
Love and Peace
Mary

HELLO I AM NOT A FAN OF WINTER ~ PIXELS & PAPER

Hello
This evening I would like to share a layout for the challenge at Pixels and Paper

The image to inspire is ~

I must admit this had me stumped for a little while as I was focusing on the umbrella, but then I decided why not just go with the colour scheme . So this is what I came up with

I took this photo for FMSPhotoaday where the prompt was this is what June looks like .
Well it was freezing, misty, sleety rain. I was standing in the middle of a park, fighting with my umbrella, which was trying to blow away and inside out and I was getting wet, the things you do!
Hence my title Hello I am Not a fan of winter

The fancy black and white strips of paper are from my birthday present from my boss and the red and black cardstock are from left overs.
The File tab and flair are from StudioFourteen40 , love them , they brighten the day :)

Thanks for calling by, I appreciate your comments
Love and Peace
Mary x

CSI #128 ~ LOVE YOU

Hello !
Gosh winter is well and truly here ~ I am not a fan. Anyway it is good weather for staying inside and scrapping :) 
I have done this layout for the CSI # 128 
I received a lovely RAK in the mail from Heidi and it inspired me to do the challenge, as the colours were perfect for one of my favourite photo's of my Daughter when she was little.

No use waiting for a sunny day to take the photo at the moment and I always find pastels and white hard to photograph. 

Evidence ~ Flowers, a rosette , distressing, punched edge.

Testimony ~ I have used a quote as my journalling, framed by the paint drips.

Love You 

Ribbon , Die cut flourish, pink roses and mauve pin wheel flowers are all from Heidi. Also the "Love" die cut

StudioFourteen40 flairs  Dali range my favourite and a green rosette . You should pop over and get yourself some StudioFourteen40 goodness, there is a Sale on :)

Thank you for calling by

Love and Peace 

Mary x

HOME AND SCRAPPED STEP BY STEP ~ MUSEE D'ORSAY

Good afternoon, weekend's nearly over :(
Heather over at Home and Scrapped set a step by step challenge. 
Mine started off along the same lines and then went on a little journey of it's own. But it started from Heather's prompts, so thank you Heather.

Musee D ' Orsay

I have used a mask and texture paste and mists for the background.

Also I have Modge Podged the Eiffel Tower Serviette on that was given to me by Annette.

Stamps, Plasterer's Tape and lace. The two chippies I have painted with Silks Solar Gold. The little glass bottle I have filled with old book paper and StudioFourteen Bitz of Glitz sequins and then had some tumbling from the jar.

Also I have twirled some thin gold wire  and added into my cluster. The Eiffel tower charm was silver so I added some inks.

The Musee D'Orsay was one of my favourite places in Paris. I actually got lost in here , but wasn't lost, as I didn't mind at all . It was like being lost in heaven

The little wooden heart I found on my floor after a scrap day, so if it is Kim or Annette's I owe you one, but it kinda of went here :) So I will replace for whoever I owe it to. 

Oh and I made a little heart from the gold wire and stapled to my photo :)

Thanks for popping by, hope your week is a good one.

and just so you know and can get yourself so beautiful flairs

from StudioFourteen40

Love and Peace

Mary x

FAMILY ~ SCRAPPING OUTBACK JUNE CHALLENGE

Hello on the start of the weekend :)

The Challenge for June at Scrapping Outback  is to use any 7Dots Studio products and at least two chipboard pieces.

Family

This is my hubby and his sister , a bit cute.
Using Nature Walk PP from 7Dots Studio
You and Me vellum file tabe and flair StudioFourteen40
Bronze flower ~ Trinket Track
Collection butterflies, Satin Seam binding, flowers, Prima heart and key chippy (which I have used crackle medium and inks to age) and Feather chippy that I have embossed , are all from Craftqueen.
Film Strip washi tape is from Marally Craft

Thank you so much for popping by, I appreciate your comments.
Have a wonderful weekend
Love and Peace 
Mary x

LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK ~ ANOTHER FREAKING SCRAPPY CHALLENGE & CHALLENGE YOURSELF

The new challenge is up at AFSC and it is a sketch challenge
So here is the sketch

We would love to see your take on this funky sketch. Pop over for some inspiration from the DT, all fabulous and all very different.  Here is my take
And as the challenge over at Challenge Yourself is

Challenge #7: Oh Boy!

 Create a layout about YOU AND THE MALE(S) in your life.  

This could be your father, grandfather, husband, son, a furry family pet. {yes... we love our pets too}.

Remember to include YOU in the layout.

So I would like to enter my layout about this beautiful boy in my life, my beautiful Grandson  

Love you to Moon and back

This is my beautiful Grandson and this was such a proud moment . He had just received his badge at assembly as the year 6 SRC (Student Representative Council) I hope I got that right .  He seemed to grow 10ft tall that day and it is so good to see him growing in confidence. You see my Grandson has autism and I was just bursting with pride and so happy for his achievement. 
The gorgeous flair is from StudioFourteen40 "A Happy Life Range and the us chippy was a gift from Lizzy. I have use texture paste, stamps, water paints and mists.

Thanks so much for calling by, I love to read your comments and hope you will join us in the challenge
Love and Peace 
Mary x

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS ~ ONCE UPON A SKETCH CHALLENGE

Good afternoon where it is a brisk 6 degrees here at the moment brrrrr.
The prompt at Once Upon A Sketch this month is the saying ~ "The Best thing in Life Aren't things " and my take on this is ~ the Best things in Life are the people you care about , being together and creating good memories.
This is the sketch to give inspiration

and here is my take on the challenge

I have typed out my journalling which is quite long and adhere to the back. First a close up .
The "Happy" vellum file tab is from StudioFourteen40, they are so versatile!

I have used the 7dotsStudio "Cold Country" range of PP, which I just love ,along with "Nature Walk" Embellies, also love. 2 Crafty chippy which I have rubbed gesso over. Flowers and satin seam binding from Craftqueen. A bit of  Stamping, rubons, misting , water paint , a bit of everything and a lot of fun. Sometimes when I start a layout & I am not liking it  I keep telling myself ,"just keep going" and like the quote from the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ~ " It will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright ~ it's not the end " LOVE that quote.

Anyway I digress 
Now I have left the journalling till last , as it is quite long, so if you want to know the story behind the photo read on , if not don't worry

The Best Things in Life aren’t things

The best things in life to me are not things, but the people you care about, being together and creating good memories.

This photo was taken At Pievescola Tuscany in 2008.

It was a trip of a life time for us. It was always a dream of mine to go to Tuscany.

We could have renovated our bathroom, but it could never have given us the memories travelling gave.

We still have our old bathroom, but we have seen amazing and beautiful places and created fabulous memories with wonderful people along the way.

This picture is a memory ~ In the little village of Pievescola , we would stop every afternoon after our daily travels at a little cafe/restaurant/ bar/ place for the men to meet and play cards (it was a little bit of everything in one place). The boss who spoke no English would have a long neck beer ready for the boys , and me and Leanne would have a cappuchino. The girl who worked there Elona spoke English which was a great help for us. This particular day she asked us would we like to come back that night as the World Cup was on and Italy was playing Holland and they were having the equivalent to a Aussie Barbie . So in we went, we were ushered to a table in the middle of the hall surrounded all sides by passionate Italians watching the world cup.

The Pasta, Pizza and wine kept coming. The Italians are very well know for being passionate and they are quite passionate about their soccer.

It was fun for us watching them being very loud and demonstrative . Unfortunately Italy did not win, so they became quiet and left with their heads down after the game.

At this time Elona’s boss brought the Grappa out, I declined my glass, it smelt rather strong. We spent the rest of the night talking with Elona and her husband , who also spoke English and with her boss that just smiled big smiles and trying to give the boys more Grappa.

It was a fun night, an experience and a memory I will also think about with a smile and I hope to visit them again one day.

Thank you for stopping by and if you managed to get to the end !

Wishing you many wonderful memories , spent with people you care about.

Love and peace 

Mary x

HELLO LOYAL FRIEND ~ LESSOLOGY CHALLENGE

Good afternoon on this wet, foggy day here. Today I would like to share the challenge at Lessology , and the challenge is.....

Hello there friends! It's a new month and time for another fun challenge! This time we want you to go wild...with animals! Yep...we want to see you incorporate an animal on your project for LESSology Challenge #37: Animal Kingdom!

Remember, you can create any project you like as long as it includes at least ONE upcycled item. Please mention what this item is as it may not be apparent in your post. 

Of course I had to do a layout of my loyal little mate of 16 years.... Scruffy ! Who is snoring loudly next to me at the current moment.

For my upcycle products ~

I have used left over scrap papers which I have cut into strips and layered under my photo and then rubbed gesso over.

Also the twine and cotton were my Mum's . Some baker's twine from a parcel in the mail.

The gorgeous Hello flair from StudioFourteen40 Everyday range. A true Friend chippy from Scrapmatts and satin seam binding from Craftqueen.

Isn't he a gorgeous boy :)

I have used my roller stamp for the sentiments . PP is 7DotsStudio Nature Walk range. The second minimalistic layout I have done in a row, don't know what's come over me !

Thanks for calling by

This is our weather today, a good day for staying inside and scrapping I reckon ;)

The pic is the remains of a hay shed on our drive this morning.

Love and Peace 

Mary x

LOVELY DAY ~ SCRAP AFRICA SKETCH CHALLENGE

Hello on this wet day here
Well Helen has set a challenge for me and Lizzy to scrap the same photo, for the Scrap Africa Sketch Challenge,  so we have agreed to take the challenge.
I had a lovely visit from Lizzy a couple of weeks ago and we had a laugh trying to take a decent selfie ( it took a few attempts and a lot of laughing ) 

The Sketch 

and my take

LOVELY DAY 

Lizzy gave me the beautiful tag as a gift, so I wanted to use it on my layout and it was a lovely day , well a couple of lovely days actually.
The pair of scissors because Lizzy was a hairdresser at one time.

How gorgeous is that tag ! and I have used a StudioFourteen40 "So Funny" file tab, and the little flower sequins are from Craftqueen

The layout came together really easily and quite quickly, I felt like I should add more or it should be harder , but I decided I liked it how it was. Now I am sure Lizzy will come up with a amazing layout as she always does. Lizzy is such a inspiration and as the little tag says on my layout I am sew glad we are friends .

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend thus far and it doesn't fly by to quickly
Love and Peace
Mary x

LIVE LIFE FULL OF COLOUR ~ CSI #126 & SCAP SANITY SKETCH CHALLENGE

Hi all, 
Today I would like to share my layout for the Case File # 126 at CSI  and also using the sketch for the challenge at Scrap Sanity ( which are also looking for new DT members at the moment )

My evidence is as follows ~
Chevrons, I have used a chevron stamp
Flowers
Rub ons ~ the bird near the flowers is a rub on
textured paper ~ I have added texture to my page
Testimony ~ I have journalled on a card and slid beside my photo's
Today our walk turned into a 3 hour adventure. We ended up in Cook Park, enjoying the Autumn colours and lazing in the sun talking about how we could really handle retirement. Then a stop at a nursery/cafe for a leisurely coffee  . Autumn 2014

Because I love the 7Dots Studio Cold Country range so much, I hadn't actually meant to cover so much with the mist, but sometimes they have a mind of their own !

This is the sketch from Scrap Sanity that I have used 

My layout has gone off on a little bit of a journey on its own, but you can see the sketch there right ?

The "Today" vellum tab &  gorgeous flairs are from StudioFourteen40 . The the flowers are very Old ( they were on a hat that was very vintage and belong to one of my old Aunts, I hate to think how old they are ). Thank you Lizzy for the little gold thingy. I have done a bit of stamping and used a mask and texture paste.
Thanks so much for calling by. Hope you can join in the sketch challenge , email your layout to Tiff to be in the running for a prize. The Details are on the Scrap Sanity Facebook site

Love and Peace
Mary x

MA AND PA AT "THE GLEN" BORENORE NSW

Sharing some more "Cold Country" Range from 7DotsStudio
This is a layout of my Grandparents Ma and Pa sitting on the front steps of their home "The Glen" 

Gorgeous flair from my favourite range at  StudioFourteen40 the Dali Range. Bronze Butterfly from Craftqueen

When I spotted the Button at Craftqueen  sitting amongst a pile of buttons I had to have it. One of my memories of my grandparents home is running down to the mailbox with a hat on that had a tassel on the back , I was pretending I had long hair and it was my ponytail swishing from side to side , next thing a magpie swooped and picked my on the head, luckily my hat gave me some protection! so the button had to go on this layout. The lady and man above the button are from the Cold Country Die Cut Collection.

brass button and little pearl heart from the Trinket Track and brass flower and charm from Craftqueen

Love and Peace
Mary x