Thursday 26 February 2009

Slowly but surely and an Award!

I am steadily getting some creating into my time and have booked an all day crop on Saturday. I need to complete some layouts and I intend to be fully prepared to get some serious scrapping done. I have learnt, the hard way, it is so easy to do a heap of layouts as long as I am prepared and have the design, photo, paper and embellishments organised and ready to go. It is so easy to waste time pottering around 'looking' for the right paper, design, colours .....

I made a card for Grace's birthday - verrrry bright, in fact much brighter than I would normally do, but I was very happy with it and Grace loved it. Turning 15 means a little more sophistication! I loved the Heidi Swapp mirror bird!


I have also been a lucky girl with an award from the remarkable Libby who is so focused and committed to everything she does! It is called The Premio Dardos Award that acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Thank you Libby - I shall now have to make a list of 15 other Bloggers to pass this award on to.


As soon as I have made my decision, I will let everyone know.

A short entry today, hopefully I'll post some new layouts and the 15 Bloggers names early next week.

So until next time ...

Thursday 19 February 2009

I've Finally Done Some Layouts!

Well it's taken me longer than I had planned but I've finally finished some layouts. I've also had to 'fiddle' and 'tweak' with my HP scanner and my old PC 'cos my new Lexmark scanner does a very mediocre job. I printed some photos a couple of weeks ago with my old HP scanner and realised that they are heaps better than the ones from the Lexmark - they actually dried really quickly also.

And I have re-discovered my ArcSoft Panorama to stitch my layouts - so I have been re-organising my PC (although I still love my iMac) for my scanning and stitching. I seemed to be loading, uninstalling, re-loading, cleaning up and so on and so on for ages - at least 2 days worth of fiddling! But it's been worth it!

So here are my latest layouts - I've decided that simplicity is much easier and quicker too!





The heart is actually a soft pink Heidi Swapp Mirror but it came out black with the scanner :-(



So until next time ...

Monday 9 February 2009

Devastation

This is a very sad and moving time for many of us here in Victoria. The absolute destruction of the bushfires is so painful to comprehend. There is not one Melbournite I have spoken to that doesn't feel the horror and sadness of the fires.

I liken it to a tsunami of fire - once people realised what was happening it was too late to escape. So many people were caught trying to drive though thick smoke and flames. The small country communities, on the outskirts of Melbourne, that were well known, idyllic places to escape and unwind from the city pressures, have been wiped out, together with many of their residents and enormous numbers of local houses and farms.

One place in particular is the township of Marysville with it picturesque, tree lined streets, the history of 100 year old buildings and very old trees and the beautiful bush arts. It now no longer exists!

Here is a picture of one of the streets in Marysville before the fire -


And this is what it looks like now -


But there are good stories coming out as well - this picture sums it all up -

Saturday 7th February, 2009, with record temperatures and 100kpm winds, will remain in Victoria's history forever now as one of the most devastating days our state has ever experienced.

I hope that everyone of you will support the Bushfire Appeal Fund in one of the following ways -
  • Phone 1800 811 700
  • Any NAB, ANZ, Westpac or Commonwealth Bank branch
  • Any Bunnings store
  • By direct deposit to the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund - BSB 082-001, Account number 860-046-797
  • Myer Bushfire Appeal - All proceeds to the Salvation Army. Donate at any Victorian Myer store
  • Baptcare or to make an offline donation, please call 03 9831 7222

Wednesday 4 February 2009

Thank you Libby!!

This woman is amazing! I am in awe of her continuous stream of creations and the way she blogs faithfully - even with a full time job and a family and other craft business creating! Thank you Libby, I feel humbled by the Marie Antoinette Award you have bestowed on me when your blog, Libby's Crafty Scraps, is always a hive of activity and sharing and her cuttlebug creations are out of this world!!

The rules are as follows:
  1. Put the picture of Marie Antoinette on your blog
  2. Link to the person who you received the award from
  3. Nominate at least 4 or more blogs
  4. Link to those blogs from yours
  5. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know you've shared the award with them
It feels like an eternity since I have done anything creative with my hands, I am in withdrawal mode!!! But, I am looking forward to spending Saturday with some wonderful friends in Mornington, at the Paper Squared Demo Day, getting my teeth into some layouts, doing some make and takes and browsing the shelves for some new products. Aaaah, my mouth is drooling just thinking about it! So hopefully, I will have some shares next week!

I have been committed to Project 365 and have a whole month of phots - very unusual for me. It is a challenge but I am enjoying it and it's certainly making me think about my photos. It's also making me think about the benefits of an SLR Digital camera ... but I need to get really good before I get a 'big girls' camera!

So, till next time ...