Match box Advent Calendar

So I'm a HUGE procrastinator ... always have been, probably always will be LOL!

Quite a few weeks ago, the very clever Karen from Scrap Therapy showed us how to make an Advent calendar using match boxes.  It was so gorgeous that I decided instantly to add it to my Christmas to-do list. Fast forward those weeks & it took me until the very last minute to finally sit down & get it done.  But I'm so happy that I did ... my kids LOVE it.  They're going to have a ball counting down the days now.

November's Kraft It Up ...

is all about creating a minimalist layout on kraft with lots of white space.  Should be easy huh LOL?!!  Nope, not so much :).  I think I missed out on that gene.  Thankfully, the Kraft It Up DT have some awesome examples to inspire & this is what I came up with.

This is my absolute favourite photo of Matty!  He was having a ball riding on the seesaw at the park.  The colours in the September kit from A Piece of Cake Designs were perfect for it.

If you're a kit freak like me, pop on over to Raquel's site to check them out 'cause they're gorgeous!

Thank you cards ... and Julie Dudley

Not too much crafting happening so far this month ... although I did go to my very first Stampin' Up party which I really enjoyed.

I've been procrastinating for much of the last month trying to work out how to thank the many amazing people who supported us in so many different ways when we lost Mum recently.  I knew I wanted to make a card but every idea I came up with just wouldn't come together ... gosh, I was getting frustrated!

Anyway, this is what I ended up with

and the inside ...

I must give a huge shout out to Julie Dudley ... Julie creates the most amazing cards & I found so much inspiration looking around her blog.  So THANK YOU Julie ... your creativity saved me xx

Scrapjacking Julie Winks

Another month & a new layout to scrapjack over at The Australian Scrapjacked Studio.  This month it's all about this stunning layout created by Julie Winks.

She's put so much detail into her layout!  The closer you look, the more there is to be discovered.  I really love the neutral background with the pops of colour, the circle elements & the butterflies ... beautiful.  So with all that in mind, here's my jack

What are you waiting for?  There's still a week left so why not pop over to The Australian Scrapjacked Studio & play along too.

Scrapjacking Natalie May ...

There's been a few changes over at ScrapJacked this month ... a new owner, new look & new format.  It's now called The Australian Scrapjacked Studio & this month we've got the task of jacking this layout by Natalie May.

It's stunning isn't it!!!  Lots of bright colours, flowers & bling ... what's not to love :)!  Here's my take on it ...

There's still a few hours of September left so why not head over to The Australian Scrapjacked Studio & get all inspired by the Design Team too.

I found some mojo!

I know ... I can't believe it either!!  I've had lots of time to blog hop recently & it ignited a little creative spark.

I love, love, love Mandy's sketch for this month's Scrap Therapy September sketch challenge.

A quick shop for some yummy new papers, a dash of texture paste & my very cool Sizzix tag die & here's what I came up with ...

Also inspiring is the Scrap the Boys September challenge.  The challenge is to create a layout using this image as a start-off point.

I got a bit over-excited with ink & water so it turned into a mess ... but that's what boys are LOL!

I never quite got the hang of boy layouts so my plan is to try & do this challenge every month ... how can I not improve with so much talent on their Design Team!

There's a few days left in September ... hmmm I wonder if I can get some more pages done.  Gotta make the most of this mojo whilst it's here.

Some sad news to share ...

So I haven't been around much lately ... again :(.

These months have been incredibly difficult for my family.  Our beautiful Mum became critically ill & we sadly lost her two weeks ago.  I really don't know where to begin or what to say.  For my entire life my Mum has been just a short drive away ... now she's not :(.

I take comfort in knowing that we were there every day that she was in hospital, a ninety minute drive each way.  We were able to spend hours & hours just hanging out.  Days seem to fill quickly with lots of
busy-ness ... so it was really special to be able to just stop & spend time together.  Sucks though that it takes that to make us slow down.  Lesson learnt :(!

These past weeks have been such a rollercoaster of emotions.  But we are so very thankful for that time.
Time that left no doubt how much we as a family mean to each other.  So today we mourn someone who is
worth every ounce of our sadness. A woman who was exactly what a wife, mum, friend & especially what a grandma should be.  We consider ourselves the lucky ones.  Mum, we love you with all of our hearts & you will be forever missed.

A quick post ...

Happy Easter!  My little hooligans were up bright & early looking for any goodies that the Easter Bunny had left behind.

Only one card to share today ... I had a fun scrappy day with my gorgeous friends yesterday but, as usual, more time was spent chatting than scrapping LOL.  Even though I only finished the one card, I do have a few more stamps coloured up ready to go.

and the inside includes a sentiment from a Cloud 9 Design called Simple Thoughts - Girl.

This card was made for the current Cardabilities challenge using a sweet digi stamp from Pink Cat Studio.

The sketch was so much fun to play along with & I hope you like what I created :).

Six months??? Oops!

I'm guessing that if there's awards handed out for bad bloggers than I'm definitely in the running LOL!  That missing mojo of mine went on such a looooonnng holiday that I thought it would never return.  It's only been in the last week or so that I've actually felt like playing with pretty papers.

So here they are ... my first cards in a ridiculous amount of months made for Julie's card challenge at Scrap Therapy.

The stamps are digis from CC Designs - Balloon Lucy & Birthday Lucy.  Digis have so much going for them!  No storage issues, no waiting for the postie & they can be resized or flipped or layered ... I {heart} them.

Here's a card I made for the latest High Hopes challenge using the super-cute Cuddle Cloud Baby.  The criteria, apart from using a High Hopes stamp, is (1) ribbon, (2) patterned papers & (3) flowers.  You may need to squint to see the patterned papers but I promise they're there LOL ... one for the leaves & the other inside.

So whilst I'm feeling all inspired, I'm off to find some more challenges to play along with :).  Thanks for looking!