I WANT TO GO - PERHAPS 2013!!!

I was just looking through some of the Archiver's photos on their facebook page and drooling. I would love to go to this!!! It looks absolutely fantastic. I'm assuming that there is accommodation at the mall of America so everybody stays there as well. Wow!

Well we were supposed to be in the US for my birthday this year, in January, and it just didn't happen. The finances were under way too much strain so we had a week in Warrnambool instead.

 Now don't get me wrong, I just love Warrnambool and would move there tomorrow, (Warrnambool in Victoria, Australia for those of you that don't know) but it was a bit of a disappointment for my big birthday!

 This is Honeysuckle Cottage where we stayed! :)

So what about next year! Well, I can dream, can't I?

Have you ever been to this event? Please leave a comment and let me know what it was like. Or have you been to another scrapping event that was fantastic? I'd love to hear about it.

Archivers Scrapfest

Did you get a chance to attend Archivers Scrapfest?

As always, the buzz from the event was huge! The event took place September 14-16, 2012 at the Mall of America in MN, and featured classes, make & takes, shopping, celeb sightings and more. Here are links to some reports & photos from the show:

·         Heidi Swapp reports that ScrapFest Was Amazing!

·         Archivers Facebook Page - Photos

·         Doodlebug shared some photos snapped by fans

·         Tim Holtz shared some 'behind the scenes' photos from ScrapFest

If you have links to additional ScrapFest 2012 photos, share them in the comments! Meanwhile, the ScrapFest for 2013 date has been set for September 20-22, 2013 so go ahead & mark your calendars!

Well I'm off to a fabulous weekend of scrapping in Lancefield in a few weeks on a slightly smaller scale that the Mall Of America event - I think there are seven of us - and I just can't wait! 

 This is Sewjourn where we stay. A gorgeous little cottage on the main street of Lancefield.

And this is the studio where we scrap which is a few steps away from the cottage in the yard.

I know from previous experience we will have lovely food, because our personal chef is a legend, and we will scrap feverishly, and laugh, laugh, laugh until we cry! It really is better than therapy - and cheaper too! I will post some photos of our event as soon as I can. Perhaps just as glamorous as when we all had homemade facemasks and cucumber slices on last time!!!

Shell

New layouts and stuff

Oh, what a slack blogger I am! I will add some layouts now and try to add some tomorrow.


Life has been particularly crazy lately, full of junior football finals, footy club meetings and newsletters, broken telephones, emails, a mad shopping tour, computer breakdowns, head colds, sore throats, fevers, aches and pains, headaches, one red rashy face out of three (so it was probably 'slapped cheek'), 21st birthdays, dress up parties, a desperately needed clean out and makeover of my office, washing, washing and more washing, and I took two weeks off school on long service leave as I was utterly exhausted and the kids were all sick and at home with me and, of course,  I got  a runny nose and a headache and ended up as sick as all the others had been. I finally went back to school for a rest!


Sometimes I think my scrapbooking is the only thing holding this crazy person together.

I've uploaded some layouts, some of which I did at Fiona's last crop day which was ages ago. The layout above and below are a double page of course. The photos were taken on a crazy evening when I realised we all had our new pyjamas on. The layout is boringly simple as the colours and patterns in the pyjamas were more than enough. I was particularly pleased with the chipboard alpha which I had for ages but looked a million dollars with just some stickles added! I think stickles are my new favourite must have!

Here are my totally shy models in their pyjamas. Sebastian slapping his little bottom is hilarious!

This is a close up of the title and journalling. I found the title image on Google, printed it, cut it apart to add the extra word and added some flower stickers. I've just noticed that the word model might need a bit more adhesive under it!

More pyjama photos. yes, probably too many pages on the one event but i love these photos and wanted to scrap them. Again these were incredibly simple, quick pages but not everything has to be over the top! This is another double layout with the one below. The fancy scalloped frame is made from border stickers cut to the right length! And I love using up odd letters in titles like this.

Georgia's 7th birthday party in 2010. She had it at the local ice skating rink which is really weird as it is not ice at all but some sort of white waxy surface- how bizarre, must be cheaper than maintaining real ice! Georgia certainly didn't care. I numbered the photos to make sure viewers looked at them in the correct order.  I was amazed that I had caught her intake of breath and then the blow itself - too cute! These photos of the double layout don't really do it  justice as all the pictures were mounted on different pastel coloured glitter paper. which gives it a much more festive, girly birthdayish effect.

Oh, I don't think I'll tell Georgie I put this single layout in. This was taken on the pyjama model night and something didn't go her way so she was having a typical Georgie tantrum, with few tears and lot's of noise. Her tantrums were never indulged, believe me, but although they are much less frequent NOW SHE IS 8, they still happen occassionally - hence the large number in the title!

Another double layout of Georgia's 7th birthday party. There were swirly white lines on the mauve paper in the middle so when I mounted it and the photos on the darker purple it all looked a bit too blank so I used a white gel pen to draw more white swirls on the dark purple cardstock. All the title letters are glittery but again you can't see it.

What a funny evening this turned out to be below. We were sitting out the back on a sunny evening last summer, having a BBQ and Georgia and Sebastian were skipping with Adam's skipping rope. Yes, Adam has a skipping rope since he started going to the boxing gym! Funny thing is though, as i pointed out to my sister and brother in law who were there for tea, Adam can't skip! Well, that's not quite true. He can skip now but he absolutely COULD NOT SKIP then and it was truly hilarious to watch his uncoordinated attempts! How on earth did he grow up having never jumped with a skipping rope!!! There are several photos of Adam which are layered in little flip pockets (well long ones actuaslly that I snipped down to the right size) in the top left hand corner. Does anyone know where you can buy these flip photo thingys as I've had these for ages, have only got a couple left, and I can't find them anywhere? They have a pink strip on them which you peel off to expose the adhesive. You can see it clearly in the photo below. I really want to get some more of these so any help would be appreciated. I have looked on ebay with no luck.

A double layout of bald, bald Georgie watching her favourite television show, "Play School" when she was about two. She is sitting on a stool right up close to the huge screen as her vision is very poor and she really needs to sit this close. She looked so cute swinging her little feet in time to the music as she sang along I had to take photos of them. There were many, many times I was so glad that it was time for "Play School " to come on for half an hour's peace and quiet!

Double layout of new shoes that Georgia got for her 7th birthday. I only tossed them out recently as she wore them nearly every day until they fell to pieces!

Georgia also got a Hannah Montana dress up outfit for her 7th birthday - hence the title! Shy isn't she!
Again, the floral orange strips behind the photos are glittery and you can't see it.  The pink Hannah Montana tag, which doesn't really blend in with the layout because of it's colour, came off the packaging that the outfit was in.

Georgia got her ears pierced for her birthday and the other side of the double layout shows the necklace I bought for her on etsy. It is a lovely g from a typewriter and I let her go when she ran around telling everyone that the letter came from a WRITETYPER, as, of course, Miss Georgie doesn't know what a typewriter is!!! Used up oot's of number sevens from my stash too!

Sebastian was home from school feeling unwell, one day last year, and as usual, I found him playing with his beloved wrestlers.  No boy has ever played with his as much as Sebastian plays with his, every day and every chance he gets! I stuck the boy chipboard shape on and realised I had lost it's head. It looked odd without it so it was very lucky I have such a humungous button collection and just used up one as a head on this layout. It looks perfect!!!

Adam in our pool with Georgia and Sebastian and two of Sebastian's mates from school. We just love our pool!

I will load up some dates for crop nights at my house as soon as i get my act together to think sbout when they will be.
Hopefully it won't be so long between posts again. Didn't I say that last time???
Shell

My bum is numb!

Oh I am not kidding! I have been in this computer chair more than I have been out of it today and with a bum my size that can't be good. I am in danger of becoming some sort of geriatric geek if I keep this up. And the only thing I have figured out for certain is that all geeks must have numb bums or very expensive computer chairs!!!!
I uploaded some extra bits to etsy today. I will figure out how to put a direct link on here at some stage, with Sam's help of course. I plan on extending the range of bits and pieces I have available through my little shop but it is all so time consuming as the washing and all that other garbage that goes with two adults and three messy kids all living in this house still has to get done. I think I need a wife, yes, that would certainly help me - or do I need a slave - oh, silly me, I forgot that they are the SAME THING!!!!
Enough of my ranting, I will upload some photos of the flowers and stuff I put up today and a few more layouts. Sam is going to help me put up one of those fancy slide shows that looks like a telly that I saw on Francine's lovely blog http://exclusivelyoursdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/christmas-bottle.html#comment-form and then I'm sure it will be bed time on this All Hallow's Eve and if Sam scares me by putting on that stupid mask one more time I will do more than scream, I'm telling you!

                                   Click here if you want to look at these in my etsy shop!

They all got fake moustaches in the lolly bags i made up for Sebastian's 9th birthday last year. Who would have thought that such a simple thing would be so much fun - or that Bastian would put his moustache on upside down!

I love this shot of Sebastian and don't care if it is a bit blurry. He looks so peaceful and dreamy!

More of Sebastian's 9th birthday.
Hope you enjoy these,
Shelley