Reflections

My First PhotoShop Brush!

I've loved the look of adding PhotoShop brushes to my photos prior to printing them BUT to actually develop some of my own brushes has been a dream of mine for a some time now.

SO . . . I've decided to become pro-active and see what I can come up with AND I thought some of my blog readers might be interested in some of my brush creations too - hence the development of this *new* section of my blog!

Just click on 'PhotoShop Brushes' in the left hand menu . . . and whilst there is only one brush there at the moment, this is a section of my blog that I intend on adding to over time . . . so I'll be sure to let you know when I've updated it again with my latest creation!

Until next time . . .

Getting organised & receiving a RAK!

Isn't it such a nice feeling when you get a little organised for Christmas? Aside from a couple of things on layby for the boys, I hadn't really done a great deal BUT today I went and did the bulk of it and I'd say I'm about 75% done . . . YAY . . . and the best thing is, I'm fairly certain I know what I'm going to get for the remaining gifts as well!

Actually, I can't believe that this weekend we will be putting up the Christmas Tree - it's always our December 1st Christmas tradition - the boys just can't wait! As for my Christmas Cards . . . I've still got a few more to go BUT I hope to get these done in the next week or so - that way I won't be sending them out late like happened last year!

I remembered this morning that I hadn't mentioned that I recently received a lovely RAK (Random Act of Kindness) of this lovely 2008 calendar & some metal corner charms.

"Thank-you Jan"

You know me too well don't you?

Oh . . .

And I received this gorgeous card from my dear friend Heather who thanked me for making the cards for her Pink Ribbon Fundraising Event . . . it was my pleasure H - glad to hear that they were well received!  Don't you just love the 'Pink Ribbon' that she's added to the front with a cute little silver brad holding it in place - such a great idea!

So . . . I've decided that since I've been the recipient of these lovely items . . . I'm going to return the favour by RAKing someone who leaves a comment to this post and shares their favourite Christmas Tradition . . . AND what will you receive? Mmm - well . . . I'll give you a little Christmas surprise! I look forward to you sharing your thoughts!

Oh - and I have to some wonderful news to share too - one of my Longford Scrappers members - Jan K, had a win in last weeks round of the Scrappit Photography Competition - such a gorgeous photo Jan - congratulations . . . here's hoping you enjoy your prize from Scrappit!

OK - I'm off to make up some samples for a new kit that Scrappit will be releasing soon . . . I've had them all sitting here to do BUT I've just been side tracked by other things - I'll share the results with you all soon!

Until next time . . .

Double Page Sneak Peak

Earlier this month I was asked if I'd like to be a contributor to a particular website (sorry - you'll have to wait until early December for me to name the site) by completing a 12 x 12 double page.

Of course I said yes . . . I was so thrilled to have been asked! Although, I must admit - I haven't done a lot of double pages in a while, so I did enjoyed the challenge! I seem to be mostly scrapping single 12 x 12 pages or various off-the-page items. Actually - that makes me wonder . . . what size do you tend to scrap in AND are you mostly a single or a double page scrapper? I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Anyway - I got the page done at the end of last week and finally got around to taking a sneak peak of the smaller details today -

I love working with pink, blue and brown - the colours work so well together - although I did get some help with the pattern papers and cardstocks because I used the ones in the Daisy Chic Scrappitpack for this page!

I also played around with my new Fiskars Lace Punch that I picked up at Paperific as well as my new Heidi Swapp Word Stamps I recently got from Scrappit as well . . . I can see that I'm going to get a lot of use out of these! As you can see, some hand stitching snuck it's way into this page too - nothing unusual there I know; as well as some handcut flowers and blossoms too!

Anyway - like I said . . . I'll share the full page with you all soon!

Until next time . . .

Season End for Go Karting

Yes . . . James' first season of Go Kart racing ended yesterday. There were 8 competitor's in the 'Midget' Class this time around and James finished a respectable 5th for the day - not bad considering the racing was in a 'clockwise' direction and he's not that keen on driving that way - he much prefers anti-clockwise racing! Although I'm sure with a little more practice, he won't care which direction the racing is!

It was also a special day of racing because, unbeknown to him until they arrived at the track, his Nana & Grand-dad had come to watch him race as well!

Anyway - the same night, the club had their Presentation Night and we all received the shock of our lives when we learnt that even though James had only raced since June this year, he had finished the 2007 Championship season in 3rd place! How's the size of that trophy!

Needless to say he was so thrilled . . . infact, after cleaning up his go kart, he couldn't resist getting out all his medals and trophies from this year for a photo!

Congratulations James! What a wonderful achievement!

Until next time . . .

{Friday} 'Scraps' Card Challenge

Here's my {Friday} 'Scraps' Card Challenge creation -

This time I grabbed my blue bag of 'scraps' and some left over coasters that I had too! There's so many little bits & pieces that get popped back into containers to use 'one day' and there they sit . . . it feels so good to be actually using some of these up with this weekly challenge!

Here's a close-up shot too -

Until next time . . .

'Bind It All' Mini Album & an Echidna

I thought I would start today by sharing my version of the the little mini albums that the Longford Scrappers made at our local scrapbooking day yesterday, using my 'Bind-It-All' - it was just wonderful to see the variety of albums that were all produced!

I've used some left over pattern paper from the November CLUB Scrappit and added some blossoms, brad, gold stickers and ribbon to embellish my front cover! Vey simple, but I think it looks quite cute!

On the home front - we've discovered that we've got a new little native creature in our garden, although as we've seen him around now for 3 days - he's digging himself into the garden under a ground cover bush outside the front window in the late afternoon - we're actually wondering if he's making our place his home! He's so cute don't you think?

Yeah he's spikey BUT you should see all the ants he's eating! *grin*

When Stuart came home last night he heard some noise under the BBQ and upon closer inspection found him hiding underneath it . . . we think he might have been in the garden near it and then when he heard footsteps, he's taken shelter as quickly as he could. Anyway - I hope he stays around . . . it's nice to look out the kitchen window and see an echidna walking along the window sill eating up all the ants!

Until next time . . .

My Etsy Shop, Advent Calendar & Random Answers

Yes . . . it's official - I've got my Etsy Shop up and running - not a great deal in there yet - BUT - give me time - just click here or the link in the left hand menu! I'm not sure how successful this venture will be BUT I figure it's worth giving it a try! Thanks in advance if you happen to stop by to take a look!

With Christmas approaching much faster than we would all like, I find it amazing the unique & creative ideas that people come up with at this time of the year. Check out this neat Advent Calendar that Helen Williams has made - how clever AND being someone who decorates their own tree with blue & silver, it just appealed me to straight away - I just love it Helen! I can't wait to hear what Erin's response to it is on December 1st!

I was reading Toni's blog this morning and thought I'd take up her challenge to blog these 21 random questions

1. Who am I? Shirley - Wife, Stay-At-Home Mum, Volunteer, Friend, Design Team Member and former Early Childhood Professional
2. Who knows me best? My husband - Stuart
3. How old am I? 39
4. How old do I feel? Depends on the day - *grin* - seriously . . . I wouldn't say that I feel any older than what I did 10 years ago though
5. The most important thing in my life is... My Family
6. I always carry... My Sunglasses & My Mobile Phone
7. Something I always do is... Give & receive kisses & cuddles, scrapbook (either physically or I think/read about it) & I love to check my emails
8. I'm at my happiest when... I am spending quality time with my family
9. On a Monday morning, you'll find me... Going for a walk, having breakfast, cleaning up after the weekend, doing a load of washing, taking James to school, reading stories or playing cars with Adam, checking emails and making a start on the web work I do for an online store
10. My favorite mode of transportation is... Our car
11. My eyes are... Blue - just like my Dad's!
12. My favorite material possession is... My photo albums & photo CD discs - they have so many memories in/on them!
13. To relax, I like to... Swim, scrapbook, read or listen to music
14. The town I live in is... Quiet, relaxing & in a rural environment
15. What's my worst habit? Leaving some things to do until the last minute
16. My guilty pleasure is... Musk stick lollies
17. When I look at someone, the first thing I see is... Their smile (or the lack there of one!)
18. I think ....................... is beautiful. The sound of birds in our garden
19. One thing that I can live without is... Stress! If only I could get rid of it!
20. One thing people don't know about me is... Whilst I might appear to be highly organised, it just isn't so in every part of my life. However - having said that - when I commit to doing something, I will get it done when it is required to be done
21. My life is... Full of fun & happy times, loving & caring moments and although often very very busy at times - I wouldn't change it for the world!

OK - I'm going to tag Sarah Kylie Cathy & Karen now . . . I look forward to reading your random answers girls!

Until next time . . .

CLUB Scrappit - Scrapbooking Pages & Cards

Yes . . . that's right - the November CLUB Scrappit Newsletter has been released and so now I can share a number of the Christmas projects that I created for it!

Here's one of yours truely experiencing her First Christmas - lots of gold hand stitching & Kindy Glitz on this one! (Oh, and the red border does go all the way around the page but my good old scanner has just chopped off the bottom section)

And some close-up details -

And here's one of our two boys with their first and only cousin back in 2005 - I just loved the tonings of these papers!

And some of the smaller details of the page - 

Oh and I thought I'd share a couple of the card designs I did too -

Of course - just check out the newsletter if you want to see all the projects that Sharon and I did - I can assure you that there is a number of them - *grin*

On the home front - it's official - I am no longer the President of our local Pre-School . . . we held our Annual General Meeting last week and then had our handover meeting last night. There's just a few loose ends that I'd like to tie up for the new Committee (I'm waiting on a couple of return phone calls) BUT basically my job is done! Best wishes to the incoming Pre-School Committee for a successful year ahead!

Last night we had some lovely thunderstorms pass over us, delivering some much needed relief from several warm days - it was so nice to wake up this morning and have the house so much cooler and the garden looking that much fresher too!

Until next time . . .

My 2008 Desk Calendar

As I predicted, there were too many distractions going on over the weekend to achieve a great deal BUT I did manage to do much of the domestic side of things that needed to be done AND I did manage to complete my Design Team challenge for the Scrappit newsletter.

Kylie challenges us this week to create a 2008 calendar and so here's my desktop version -

And a close-up -

It's made using Wooden front and back covers that I've covered in some of the gorgeous pattern paper you'll find in this months' CLUB Scrappit. I then sealed the inside and outside surfaces before then decorating with blossoms, brads, gyprock tape and number stickers.

The inside pages are made of plain white Bazzill that I cut to size, printed the monthly calendar onto and then adheared one of my favourite scrapbooking pages from this year off to one side (not sure why they appear so dark in these photos as in real life they aren't like this - oh well!). I've kept the inside pages relatively simple with just a thin strip of the pattern paper to add a little colour -

And here's February's one -

I won't share all the pages, cause I'm sure you get the general idea - I've just alternated one of the boys favourite scrapbooking pages throughout the whole calendar!

OK - that's it for me today - stay tuned tomorrow when I share some of my creations using the new CLUB Scrappit with you!

Until next time . . . have a wonderful Monday!

{Friday} 'Scraps' Card Challenge

Yeah- I knw it's Saturday BUT here is the card I made last night for my {Friday} 'Scraps' Card Challenge -

As you can see, this week I grabbed my yellow bag of scraps and added a little chipboard heart (that I covered in pattern paper and then chalked the edges to compliment the colours in the flowers), a rubon word, some ribbon and embroidery thread (green & gold) to finish off the design. The flowers were all cut out and then raised on foam tape, whereas the leaves were just stuck flat to the card - overall this gives a little more dimension to the design.

Here's a close-up shot -

Looks like it's going to be a warm one today - summer is definitely on it's way! I'm hoping to do a little in the garden after we get back from town this morning - but with the Cricket also on, it's very easy to get distracted - *grin* - oh and it's the V8 Supercars this weekend too, so even more distractions - *grin* - oh well!

Until next time . . .