I got a lovely email from a French girl the other day telling me their group had chosen me to scraplift, I was very chuffed, how neat is that. I think that is a huge compliment, that someone likes something you do enough to use it for inspiration.

Even now if I see something I really like I scraplift it too! The last one I did was a lift of Lisa McGarvey a Garden Girl at twopeas, I have just taken a stroll through her twopeas gallery and I am inspired all over again, I love her style and her photography.

I tell you if I had had all the product she used on her layout I would have done an exact copy, I just loved the simplicity but flow of her design, so here is my scraplift.. want to show yours?

I ordered some stamps from unmounted rubber, these scrolly swirls are so so cute and they sent me some freebies, love it! going to play this afternoon

edited to add: to mount these you can either use double sided tape on a acrylic or wooden block or (my prefered method) use EZ Mount and store then on EZ Mount Stamp N Store - Light weight Storage Tabbed Panels (i've just ordered some of these) so the EZ Mount is grey foam, you place your stamps on one side, trim them then peel off the back cover, this foam then sticks to acrylic blocks and for storage stick them onto the stamp'n'store sheets that go into a ring binder.

The foam isn't sticky on the back, it is the whole static cling thing.

I find I am getting alot out of Ali Edwards and Donna Downey's eZines, from Donna I get a challenge to make something with my off cuts and other household detritus and from Ali's I am being made to think more, reassess what I want from scrapbooking.

I applied some of Ali's journaling ideas when I finally did the journaling from Lis and my trip to Sydney and Kiwi Scraps, we did so much, talked to so many people it was too hard to get it in order and write it all down so I simply wrote the first things that came to mind about our trip away.
I've applied this to other subjects and it is great, while it is like journaling shorthand it is more than I have been journaling for a long time and that is a good thing. I was a huge journaler, writing and writing but then life catches up and I couldn't keep up the written record and the visual one so I resorted to post-it note sized bits of journaling in 10 words or less which left me feeling like a bit of a cheat. This is more satisfying, plus it will get me back into the habit of journaling.

We have had temps of 41 the last 3 days, not much scrapping done at all but some things organised and lots of washing done, it will be nice starting the school year with an empty laundry! it will give me more time to scrap those 'first day of school' photos.

When I was pregnant with Riley I was under the impression that he would just be this little copy of Alec, but out popped this baby that does not even look at all related to his brother.

They have gone through times when they look more similar but now isn't one of them. When I picked my glasses up Thursday the girl asked me if they were both mine!! They have my ears and nose but it was a fight for every other feature they have I think. Anyway I think they are both gorgeous, I did a new banner last night with the reasons why I scrap up there for all to see... Alec and Riley

was really really hot, so hot in fact it is 7:30pm and it is still 41!!

We had a nice sleep in had some breakfast and went back to bed, I watched a couple of episodes of FarScape took more mersyndol and wandered aimlessly until dropping back into bed around three to wake again at 7pm!!! so that was my day.. how was yours?

I'm off to the doctor on Thursday, I have my list ready and migraines are at the top of this list. I've had enough now, I'm tired of guzzling pain killers that have no effect and being incapacitated for days at a time. I'm over it.

I got no scrapping done surprisingly, I might do some tonight if the room cools down or it is more FarScape for me, Michael would like to go and watch some fireworks but I'm not leaving the house in this heat!

Looking forward to tomorrow, we are off to town for an early breakfast with Lis and Evangeline, we are going to meet up on the train. Then it is home again as we are looking at another day of 41! I'm seriously thinking of moving to Tasmania!

So I have scrap bags (bags of scraps LOL), we have cardstock, big PP scraps and little PP scraps, I pulled out three bits from the big bag, stuck them down and stuck in some staples, sanded my photo made some arrows in word, printed them out, glued them to the back of some heavy card, stuck PP from the little PP scraps bag on the other side and cut them out, sanded them and stuck them down around the WeR memory keepers distressed out word 'play' stuck down the little dot things from the pack, did journalling, justified text on white bazzill same height as the photo, inked it and stuck it down.

I then studied it and my 'stuff' for 10 minutes before deciding it was finished. In an ideal world it would have taken about an hour but in my world there are errands, children, spills and bumps to contend with so it took an hour in bits and pieces over a 24 hour period! I like it, I like using up my scraps!

Some days I spend an hour trying to match papers to photos other days I pick up a photo and it just works, today was a 'it just worked' day, you need to have those every now and then.

woohooooooooooooo..... I am going to spend 2 of the three days of this long weekend scrapping!

I have 2 more projects to do for Buzz and Bloom this month plus the dreaded Christmas photos to do, I'm hoping the parcel man brings me my Font Werks stamps and my stamps from Unmounted Rubber. That would be super special, I thought by now post from the US would be a little faster but it is slower than before Christmas.

Now I am torn between finishing a layout and taking a nap while the boys are down, I can always sleep tomorrow!

Once Michael reads this he will never let me shop with Lis again LMAO, but i tell you it was fun and we were only online! imagine if we had actually gone to a store. I suppose with a store you are more wrapped up in what you want, where as here we sat together and ordered.

We ordered from scrapbook.com superstore and even with $34 postage we still came out ahead. We went looking for things that we can't find anywhere in Perth or were out of stock in the online stores, plus our big bargain to which Lissy said ' see if we hadn't looked at everything we would never have found it!' made it well worth while, I also had to remind Lis that nor would we have added $100 on to our original total if we had stuck to our initial order!

So our bargain was Heidi Swapp decorative tape kits for $15 for 30 rolls of tape!! They had 2 of each kit and we bought them both, I'm pretty into tape atm, such good fun. So that amount alone if you bought it by the pack comes close to being $100 worth of tape.

So anyway shopping with Lis was an experience! she was almost manic at some points when it looked like we had skipped past a companies product and we had to go back and just make sure we didn't miss anything, we laughed and laughed, luckily we have pretty much the same taste. I just know that by the time we get all that scalloped paper it will be patted and admired but we will have no idea what to make with it!

Somehow the house ended up cleaner at the end of the weekend than it was at the beginning. Didn't put much effort in but 'not much' is a lot more than 'none' which was what it was getting during the week.

I did manage a few layouts, had a nice time, did something simple, something quick and some DT projects that I can't show yet, I can do show and tell with three.. I have to confess the photos were all taken on the same day, each had a different story and because I just liked them!

such a lame title but so many things popped into my head as I woke this morning.

My first waking came at 3am, for some reason I could only feel the last 2 fingers on my hand, carpel tunnel has hit in a big way again, I had been really careful with the way I slept in case that was causing them to go to sleep, this is the first time only 1/2 my hand went to sleep.

The next waking at 6am when mac-a-cat decided to be my friend and sit on me, then at 6:20am when he decided he wanted to go out, but no not out the front door, the back door, that is when i decided it was time to get up and enjoy a little quiet time before the rowdies woke up.

The next thing I realised was that I would have to sit down and copy some 200 posts into word if I wanted a record of my blog. I don't know why it only became an issue this week, I mean this blog started in 2001, 5 years of blogging, even before I scrapped, but i hosted that myself so I have all the posts. One day my web host had a glitch and never again did greymatter (the blog I used) work so we went on hiatus for a year until this.

Now it's sunday, the house is slightly tidy, I need to do some serious washing today and then I'm scrapping (in between loads) just 2 more weeks until Alec starts pre-primary, I'm going to do lots of relaxing and hanging out with my boys because once school starts no one has much time to stop. Hopefully early intervention get our schedule to us this week, They moved over break and will now be behind the Autism assoc main building, hope all the kids don't get thrown too much by the new venue.

well my first project went up last night, these chipboard letters and flourises are very yummy and so nice to use, and check out the stamps! they so match my Riley!

Buzz and Bloom - Rascally Riley

I found this yesterday, I hadn't done the journalling and it had been put aside for finishing, well I journaled, love this photo of Lissy, we were on the Manley Ferry, love the reflection of the Opera House in her sunnies. Click on the image for a bigger version.

It was a great adventure, such fun travelling with someone, I could have done 20 classes.

Anyway I am off to find a corner rounder online.. still can't find that stupid thing, I really liked it too!

in the most loose sense of the word. I had fun though, hands are a bit sore now but you get that.

Once again Ali Edwards has sent us off on a journey of discovery, I ran off to Inspiration Peak and did a search for quotes using my word.. which is - CREATE. Well I found a great one and would like to think I can strive to be a little like this, here is the quote -

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt.

Leo Buscaglia

And here is the art, I experimented with new things and dragged out some old, like my chalks, funnily enough the chalk is what I was happiest with, what didn't thrill me was the mess the alcohol inks and the stupid applicator made, that will come with practice and a little knowledge, but who wants to find out what to do, I just wanted it on the paper so that is where it went
I also broke the drought and did a page. My pack from Buzz and Bloom hasn't arrived yet but I found I had some of their chipboard so I did a practice.
and finally... Riley did a wee in the toilet!!! He went to bed in undies, I just know i will be changing the sheets unless I sneak in and put a nappy on him but I don't want him to feel like I have betrayed him. It has been a long process, he wants to stay the baby, this was the very first time he used the toilet, the last week he has gone pant less and peed on the lawn..

so YAY for Riley!

but while looking I did a total clean and organise, it was so bad I needed the trestle table put up out in the lounge so I could sort it all. For once I actually threw stuff away, not as much as I should have because you never know when I might need it!Edited 38 minutes later to say: the cleanup did nothing for my creativity I'm afraid, I've spent the last 10 minutes staring at the wall. I haven't done a page for 10 days, I so want to create something, I though by creating order I would be inspired, while it was nice rediscovering things I had 'forgotten' I am still uninspired.

you know what else I have discovered about myself.

I suffer from product envy. Admit it you do too, and if you don't then I want to come and play at your house! I mean admit it, who didn't drool then sob when they saw the pack of Ali Edwards favourite products she selected for the January Cocoa Daisy kit, I was so sorely tempted but postage was $14USD on top of the kit price, it was glorious as were the samples Ali made.

I work best when I have everything I want for a project. I did some layouts and a mini album/book for Kell at Scrap Needs and Kell said.. choose what you want to create with! well the 3 layouts and the book are what I consider to be the best works I have done in a while, I came to this conclusion while making Alec fruit toast as I thought about the loathesome BTP class sample sitting 1/2 done on my desk. This is the LAST BTP class I am doing, until I chnage my mind or am talked into it again.

Then there is the me that gets a commission and a pack arrives and I jab myself in the rear and tell myself do your job.

Then there is the me who has an extensive collection of 'stuff' yet can't find anything I like to go with anything. I will also add I am really bad at scrapping Christmas photos. I'm trying to do them now as I have trouble even going back 6 months to catch up with anything.

I'm nervous, my pack from Buzz and Bloom should arrive next week and I hope I can do a good job for them. I am still in that blah self doubt and negative creative energy place.

Tomorrow I'm going to do a complete clean out of the studio and maybe try and more the kids playroom from the front lounge to the spare room, I will have to negotiate with Michael, the mess and confusion is stiffling my creativity man! LOL

previously on Useless Ramblings...

I said I wanted to
OK sounds good, but I'm shy, awkward around strangers, a bit of a wallflower and not the best at meeting peoples eyes. This is my ASD trait (autistic spectrum disorder) for some reason I would rather eat dirt than look you in the eye, I think Alec makes more eye contact with people than I do.

I excel at avoidance. As I had a shower this morning, that place where I am friends with everyone and can compose witty and well commented upon blog posts so we aren't talking reality here, my shower exists in that land of "IF" If I was braver/younger/thinner/more talented where we all exist at one time or another during the day, that is unless you are brave, thin, young and talented which would make you a melded stuck together mutated version of Donna Downey and Ali Edwards.

So back to stronger bonds, how do I do it? I feel I could do a bit more work to make these deeper stronger friendships but lets face it we only have so much time in a day, so much of that is surrendered just to that mind numbing revolting stuff like laundry and grocery shopping and emptying the dishwasher. I have friends who excel at these tasks and enjoy them, I also aspire to be them when I grow up as well as the mutated Ali and Donna number

My big excuse is always that I don't want to disturb people so I put off that call or that email, maybe that is where I will start I think.

all this because I can't find my corner rounder

*edited to say* I exchanged 2 SMS with Lis and 3 emails, called my friend Ali who lives around the corner and called my mum, I also checked my email 11 times but you are all obviously busy somewhere else LOL

so I checked out the kitchen and was very very frightened, so i came back. I have time for a cup of tea and a blog post before Michael's train arrives.

In my previous post.. did you see the fuzzy photos? well it was a rather tragic environment for photos at the terminal but I wanted to share with you some pretty cool shots taken with the 2MP camera in my phone! I love this thing, it has a great depth of field and they print out really nicely!

Well we took two very sleepy little boys to the airport this morning to see off grandma
Mike's mum had been with us for a month. It was just the best holiday, it gave them plenty of quality time with grandma, lots of stories and bed time cuddles plus we did loads of outings and Christmas was fantastic. I was spoilt by having her do the laundry and ironing, will have to reaquaint myself with the washing machine this afternoon.

The big drawback today, I didn't take the phone off the hook when I fell into bed at 9am LOL and ofcourse the phone hasn't stopped ringing so I got no sleep, don't they know to just send me an email LOL

Lots of adjustment this next week, getting our routine in order and trying to get the boys asleep before 9pm, need to hit kmart tomorrow for yet more storage items for my desk (anyone else have this problem? I can never find the right thing) and reorganise so when my Buzz and Bloom goodies arrive they have a home! really looking forward to working with all the DT girls and Helene and Devorah. Check out their blogs, they are listed to your right LOL

I'm off to inspect my kitchen, it doesn't look good.

In last weeks AEzine Ali Edwards urged us to select a word as our word for the year, I chose

CREATE

This year I will CREATE a happy home
CREATE an environment where my children can flourish
CREATE peace in my heart, accept me as I am
CREATE stronger bonds with those around me
CREATE with paint, bits of paper and photos a record of us, the everyday things that make us who we are
to CREATE, to leave my mark, to say this is who I am

I now have it as a reminder on my wall, I had done these just before Christmas at Alec's last therapy session while I waited, I put them up last night. Sorry about the tragic photo the light at night is pretty dreadful I'm afraid.

and here is my secret!

I am so excited and honoured to have been invited to join the Buzz and Bloom design team for 2007, check out all the other talented girls I will be working with at the Buzz and Bloom website!

hehehehe... ok that's over with! So what has been happening?

I got my Donna Downey camera bag!!!! so so very gorgeous, pics soon

Went to Yanchep and Two Rocks yesterday little places 15 minutes up the coast, it was a bit rough on the ocean so we just watched, the boys played while we had an icecream at the lagoon then we found a great little restaurant in Two Rocks called Sea Salt, Michael was even more impressed as they had good coffee. Then last night we went to Lis and Ben's for dinner, really nice night, the boys love playing with Evaneline.

Now the bad news, my blood sugar levels are up, they were at 12 last night where they should have been around 6 and this morning I got a fasting reading of 6.5 where it should be under 5. I will have to do 3 days of full readings I also need to see the dr for my quarterly check up, my diabetes has been in great control until now, hoping it is just a matter of being more conscious of what goes in my mouth! I know I have eaten way way too many cadbury chocolate coated almonds for my own good!

I have a secret
I have a secret
I have a secret

I can't tell, but I'm excited!!!

You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this LOL