The craft continues:

I am not sure where the burst of energy came from..But I got scrappy again today..And I might add i,t was a much more pleasurable event - I CLEANED MY SPACE - you heard it here...I have given the space a complete overhaul..I can even get to the sewing machine..And I didn't even sew..Ah well....
Anyway here's what I created in CLEAN:

Bird Is The Word challenge:

 

Using the word Summer...I have had these photo's for AGES and have been dying to scrap them.. And this layout came together really easily..Probably because I could put my hand on whatever I wanted..I even sorted the stamps. which was awesome..I found lots that I had forgotten I even had..I think these big circles are Kaisercraft? I hadn't even opened them!

Purple Pumpkin sketch challenge:

 

Well that's my take on the sketch...I love a good Studio Calico Classic patterned paper background..So versatile...Haven't done bunting in a while?? So why not do 2 threads?? More the merrier I say! And I looove the big numbers by Prima..I want one on every layout!

These photos are classic. In the first one my little man was playing it up for the camera - as he knows is expected of him (hehehe)..But Will..Bless him doesn't play by those rules! In the second photo - Rylan is giving him 'the look'...Telling him to get with the program and start laying on the charm for the chick with the big black camera in front of you?? Don't you get it?? I adore these photos...

Kraft It Up: 

The challenge this month over at Kraft it Up was to use misting creatively.

Whoa? Really? My kind of challenge baby! So I got my mists out and went for it! I have used masking and normal spraying.. And I have misted book paper in various colour's and made bunting from them. Got noice and messy...

I used another Page Drafts sketch to boost my mojo with this one too...The photos are from Summer time in Kennett River..This is the first time my girls have let those god-damned birds land on them and we have been going there for at least four years! I had to get photos of that!



Thanks for looking.. Just made it at the end of the month..Phew...

xx

Getting scrappy:

Took the afternoon to puddle about in the mess I call my scrapbook space today. I really should clean it up. I could then locate more embellishments to use - rather than pushing through the mess and using whatever I come up with! But the energy required to do that - well..Let's just show you what I used that for instead:

Scrap the girls:

The challenge was to use:

2 alphas

flowers

more than one photo

staples..

Now at the time of creation..I couldn't put my hand on the stapler. ( Found stapler staples added and they are there to see now!) You can umm..probably work out umm.. why..With the mess I call a scrap space...So it is missing that..I will still enter it and be sure that I will add them later..It relates to the journaling from this post and I have a hidden  behind one of the photos to incorporate it..

Also, I don't know that my images are particularly clear at the moment?? Not sure what's going on there?

Anywho....Felt a bit inspired to mist and stamp today. Possibly because I had a bit more time up my sleeve..But I dug out some old stamps for this one. I started out quite slowly..The first layout I created I dumped. Seriously, struggled with a more 'arty' type of background, so I turned to a sketch to help get me off the ground.. I love Em Straface's Page Drafts sketch blog and I used this one:

  

So feeling inspired and with the children playing happily ( read: making a giant mess) I kept going and fluffed around in an old box of supplies.. I found some old chipboard letters and then came up with this:

This layout is for the Once Upon A Sketch challenge this month:

Again I used some stamps and a pen and bowl from my kitchen...To trace around..I misted on a tag again.. Oh and I flipped this sketch as well..

Thanks for looking...

XX

everyday routines: story time

I created this layout for an everyday routines challenge over at the Studio Calico blog. I had alot of fun with it. A bit of masking and misting..Always a good combo I think.

The mix of colours became a bit bolder than I had originally planned?? The black kinda crept in on me when I found the days of the week on a strip of patterned paper. The red also just appeared?I think it was the 'sit still' sticker? I just had to have it on there. I had to add more to balance it out and that's how the title ended up in red lettering!

I took this photo to remember these little moments that happen inthe evening in our home. I adore that they enjoy reading stories to the littlies..It is definitely one of the bonuses of the large family!

I also took the photo so that in years to come I can let the big girls know how much I appreciated them doing this. It gives us a little respite from the onslaught - yes I said it - onslaught that bed time stories can become after doing it for 11 years!

xx

Photo smarts: Recreation:

 

This is my layout for the Oct 15th sketch over at Stuck.... These photos are really precious to me..It was a regular thing - him playing with the potatoes..But it was night time thing. Needless to say - NOT a fabulous time to capture a candid moment I can assure you.

So as well as showing you this layout I wanted to take the time to tell you that you can capture those little things..but you can make sure you get a 'nice' image at the same time.

I often take a photo to document something. But I will take the time to 'pose' the shot too. The photos in the layout are a prime example. He played at night with these toys. So instead I took them in the morning in his PJ's..I just got the toys out then and let him play, so that I could capture this time - with nice light..

 

Another important memory I wanted to document was his love of banana's.A simple thing really that I could have simply captured whilst he was sitting at the kitchen table, but the light is terrible there, and I didn't want his booster seat in this shot. So, instead I gave his banana and directed him to the playroom. I know this room has the best available natural light in the late afternoon and I also wanted some colour in the background. I positioned him in front of the blue couch so that he would have the light from the window to his left. I made sure the banana was in focus.

Documenting the ordinary doesn't have to be ordinary. A little bit of planning and you can have beautifully posed images, that still carry the message you want:

 

The girls were playing dress-ups quite happily on their own...I saw them out of the corner of my eye and grabbed the camera. I wanted them to know in the future that the 'bigs' played with the 'little's'..The girls were already in the room with the best light and were already using the mirror. I just asked them to 'fake' the zip-up again as I had already missed the magic moment. And I love this photo so much. 

I treat capturing my kids on camera in a similar way to a photoshoot with clients. If I need the to recreate a look..I will do it...Better than missing it altogether or having the shot but with a distracting background or poor light...I am photographer after all!!

 

Reunited:

Well it finally arrived. After months of planning and some slight nerves this week..Our 20 year high school reunion was a smash! It was wonderful hanging out with our old friends again. We had a blast! Reminiscing about the old days and catching up with  what everyone has been doing..

Realizing too, that we were a bit young and short-sighted about things 20 years ago. It was comforting to chat to people about how we might have done things differently back then, with the wisdom we have gained since.. Friendships might have been different had we been able to be more open about what we were feeling and if were were able to comprehend our own teenage shortcomings??

What I am really trying to say I suppose is...that with the added comfort of some champers and in some cases tequila..You go Nell...We all opened up a bit more..Probably just the booze talking..But I had fun.. I really did...And with a bedtime of 4.15am...and a MAJOR hangover today..Yikes..You could say:

I partied like it was 1992:

 Oh my the hair in 1991.....

Fast forward 20 years:

Out on the town...First of 2 night club stops..WT??

And a few more from the night:

I think..Well last nigh I thought we scrubbed up pretty well for 20 years on..

This morning...oh boy..not so much...

XX

Showing my stuff:

......for Show Us Your Stuff October challenge..Which is a sketch challenge...

 Am still struggling to find the time to scrap that much...But I'm having a play now and then..

I was checking out Eb's blog and saw her take on this layout which inspired me...

Have been busy planning our 20 year high school reunion these past months and tomorrow it is finally here.....Will post some photos soon....

XXX

Photo smarts:

I have been taking lots of photos this month and I have been meaning to do a blog post about some of the tips I can give you from my own photography experiences. Some of these things come like second nature to me these days..But I realise they don't to everyone..

I found in my last group of photo I had quite a few shots that employed the good old ' rule of thirds' policy. I do it without thinking..

But here are some tips for you when having a go:

• Make sure your camera's focus point is set to the third you wish to capture your subject. When I took the photo of my husband and daughter above. I set the focus first and then snapped. It only took a second. But you are ensured you get a great shot. Practise at home with inanimate objects first.
• A distracting object in another third of the shot can ruin the effect. I made sure it was only the beach and the horizon behind them.
• When you can't avoid distracting objects..parties etc.. Setting the focus point in the third you want to capture your subject will ensure what you need IS IN focus.  In R's birthday image below I wanted the cake in the bottom third to be in focus and my children to be out of focus..I set the focus point and took the shot. Mind you I was also struggling for light..More on light another time though!

• Take a few snaps of the same shot. Always a way to get the right image. In the photo of my husband and daughter I moved my subjects further out to the right in some of my shots. But decided on this one at the time of editing.

• Rule of thirds can apply to photo taken in portrait too. For the photo on the left, I wanted a shot of the group of children. But I wanted to capture the boats and dock too. By getting down on my knees and setting the focus point in the bottom third as I did so - I was able to capture the image you see.
• The rule can also be twisted to suit your needs too. For the photo on the right. I wanted Miss M to be in the bottom third. But I angled her slightly to the left too. In this way she appear to be bouncing into the shot and I still managed to capture the boats behind her.

• Another way to use the 'rule of thirds' is to capture your subject- but to leave the remaining thirds out of focus like I did above. In this case I wasn't trying to include the background so much as make H the absolute focus. Mind you, I like that R is there and you can make out the birds slightly.. This type of image requires keeping you f-stop low if  you are using a DSLR. Having it on the portrait setting on a point and shoot will give a similar effect though. You still need to set your focus point as well.
• This type of photography I find works well with my scrapbooking. The photos above when printed - will be able to have embellishments on the 'negative space'.
• And lastly, try to remember to reset your focus point for other shots - I don'y always! And I get bugged by out of focus subjects back in the centre of my image!

Hope this helpful!

C xx

Lookin for Summer...

Around every corner lately..Bring on the HOT I say..Feeling this way made me scrap some Summer photos.. I scrapped this for a seasonal challenge over at Studio Calico:

Milla saw the finished layout displayed in our hallway..I always put the most recent one on display...And demanded to wear her 'flower bathers'...All good except they are probably a tad too small now and at the time it was barely 14 degrees...A quick and simple layout. Basiclly using whatever I could lay my had on on my desk!

Night xx

Some craft at last:

Have not had a spare moment to scrap lately. I hadn't really missed it. But the over the last few days..Well...I took some more photos..Had a blast editing...and thought I probably might like to scrap some of the trillions of printed photos I already have. So that one day, I can then print the recent images and not feel as though they are going to gather dust..

Phew..That was a mouthful...Anyway.. Here's what I came up with..Wasn't entirely pleased with the result. But it always takes me a couple of layouts to get my groove on again.

My desk is also a nightmare. And when I scrap with it like this - because I cannot be bothered tidying it when I just want to get crafty - I tend to be lazy and just use whatever is laying about...Hmmm..Hence the handcut stars leftover from a previous layout..The washi tapes that never get put away... My fave thing though is the tag. I stuck a letter sticker on it and quickly spritzed it with mist. I actually like the washi tape over the main star too. In fact the more I look at this layout on here..The more I like it.

But you know what I like the best?? Her cute-arse beanie and serious expression...To die for..

Nighty night XX

Capture more winner:

This a shout out to Terry D. My Studio Calico blog hop winner. I was unable to locate an email address for you and I would love you to be able to still join in the fun. Can you please drop me an email so that I can pass your details along to SC.

I have been reading all the class material so far, and drooling over the fantastic images some of the photographers have been showing. I take photographs for a living ( albeit a small living hehehe) - but I am still learning from this class! Here are my example from the topics so far - and with each I have used sometthing I learnt from 1000 words:Capture More:

 Outdoors:

I took this photo at the end of our time on the beach last weekend. We were walking back to the car. She was holding my hand and I had the camera in the other. A moment of oppurtunity. Perfect.


Sport:

My kids aren't really into team sports. So I thought this topic might be a little difficult for me to cover. But upon looking through my camera at the holiday images I had taken - I came across this one. Wasn't a fab photo SOOC. Boring background. I had quickly snapped her 'copying' a push up from my own workout earlier that afternoon. But when I uploaded it. I was able to play with the exposure and levels. In photoshop I changed it to black and white. I think I appears cleaner. She had on a bold yellow shirt and the tennis court grey concrete was really - eh... Cropped her to the right hand side slightly and ran a vignette - voila!


Beach:

The beach theme worked well for me. We had just stayed at Point Lonsdale. I chose this close up as I like to always capture the details of the day. Not always the faces. This photo is indicative of the sand present on ALL my kids by the time we got back in the car!


Relationships:

You know..This is NOT the perfect photo. I had asked them to behave like TOOLS..So that's fine and I love it. But Hallie and Milla aren't quite in focus. And well..That's ok by me.. The photo tells the tale of them. Bunch of TOOLS..My little TOOLS... If I could just put them in a cute little TOOLBOX...LOL

So Terry...Find my email in the conatct tab at the top of my email...And drop me a line... There are still more topics to cover....

C xx

Hammin' it up:

Need I say more????

Sweet 9:

I am sorry for my absence of late. My life feels like a whirl. I am very busy and blogging is unfortunately last on my list of priorities..Sigh.. But we had a lovely break and on the first day back at school my little twins..Well not so little..Turned 9. As it turns out the car had a flat battery. So my plans for a busy cake-making, present shopping and birthday dinner groceries became twice as hard. We caught the bus in to town and hoofed it. Apart from decorating a warm 'Hedwig from Harry Potter' owl mudcake - at the eleventh hour. It was okay..Plus the sweet nine year old pair were so divinely pleased with the cake and lavished delirious amounts of praise on my cake making abilities. Which broughy a smile to my dial:

STUCK...away...so..

this post is late...Late...Late..Late....

But it is the school holidays and we have been away to Yarrawonga...When we go there I tend to 'go off the grid' in terms of technology. I have no idea why? But it suits me..And it pleases me -and my kids too - who get a little more of me!
I would also love to share my many lovely holiday snaps BUT I didn't take very many at all - didn't feel like doing that either? I spent more time DOING stuff with my family. We took long bike rides together. Which was great - but gave me serious BIKE BUTT...(Marita will get a giggle and a kick out of that I'm sure!!)
I ran a couple of times too...A bit of a cheap thrill running from Vic to NSW..Hehehehe....I was just crossing the river...But cool to have the power of the hyrdo electric scheme roaring underneath as you run. I pumped my run across the river that day as I was determined to  'take down' a male runner in front of me! ( Jac and Jodes will get a kick out of that!) I did. I got him at the other side of the bridge and when I wast sitting having a coffee with Rod a little while later..He runs past..Hehehehe..I had my feet up. Was gonna wave..But though better of it...LOL..

Anywho..Weather was beautiful. Girls actually got into the pool fully clothed yesterday. It hit 30 degrees - and I didn't pack their togs! Rod did all kinds of reno's on the van - which was awesome. As we plan more. We need to reconfigure the sleeping arrangements. Little boyo will be out of the portacot soon, ( no more cots yay!) and we need the van to sleep FIVE growing kidlets comfortably and we hope to have some room to get a kitchen seating area back. Something we have been missing with baby stuff encompassing the entire area!

BUT I digress..I am really here to post my layout for the Stuck Oct 1st sketch:

I was working on this layout and for quite a while was considering turfing it..But then I added the letters and handcut arrows and it all sort of came together? The photos are SO her.. Silly, cute exasperating! God I love her....We got home after 11 last night. She ended up in bed with us as she can't go to sleep when there is silence?? WTH? I wasn't staying up watching TV after drining four hours so that she couls drift off!

Thanks for your patience and for always stopping by and leaving me lovely comments..

XX