Think Happy Thoughts

SBM

2009-11-18T15:45:00.002Z

I was delighted to be asked by the Scrapbook Magazine to do an article on journaling a few months ago. And the issue with the article is finally in the shops ... I just picked up my copy in Easons today. I'm really excited as it's my first proper article :) I'm also inside the front cover in the 'Meet the Team' section. Here are a couple of los from the mag ...

look what I got ...

2009-11-17T17:11:00.003Z

... the week before last I got all my projects back from the scrapbook apprentice competition. It was a nice full box and all the los should practically fill an album! Just in case you didn't know, the winner of the competition was Melanie, so well done to Melanie who did lots of lovely work. I actually found out that I hadn't won back in August but we weren't allowed to say anything until it was officially announced. I was a little bit disappointed at the time (of course it would have been nice to win :) but things have a funny way of working out for the best sometimes as it was just a few days later that I found out I was expecting a baby!

I still can't seem to get my head around doing much scrapping but I did make a start on my Christmas cards. I used BG Eskimo Kisses which is very cute but I don't think I like it as much as Figgy Pudding from a year or two ago!

chopping and changing ...

2009-10-26T14:20:00.004Z

Not a whole lot of crafting going on here! I still haven't really got back in the flow. I started this lo the other day ... moved things around ... cut things up, but it just wasn't working. So I left it for a while and then came back with a fresh perspective ... made a few more changes, moved some more things around until finally I had a page I was happy with! I live such a complicated life :) The photo is of Dec with Oisin on his first day of first class and it's one of my favourites. Not that I'm biased or anything ... but I have such handsome boys :)

progress ...

2009-10-17T11:21:00.002+01:00

at last!! I finally got around to a few crafty projects this week! I did two exploding box albums which I'll probably give as Christmas presents, though only one is completely finished. The green one was done using BG Lemonade and the red using BG June Bug. The photos below don't really do them justice as they look a lot nicer IRL. Oisin thought they were really cool so we made another one for him which he decorated and gave as a present to Daddy :) We had great fun making it and Oisin told me I was a fantastical artist :) He really makes me laugh sometimes!
And I even got a lo done. This one was done with a Studio Calico kit I treated myself to this month. I had to stop my sub quite a while back as I just wasn't getting to use the kits while I was busy with other projects. I really really love those corrugated letters by Jillibean soup.

scrap at singing

2009-10-07T12:21:00.002+01:00

I'm so glad X Factor is back! I'm a self confessed addict but isn't everyone?? And oh how I wish I could sing. And I guess I really mean ... sing well :) I love to sing and am always singing along to the radio in the car, with my ipod in the house and while I scrap. But alas it's probably not a very pleasant experience for anyone within earshot! I'm also really enjoying the Apprentice and I'm so glad they decided to do an Irish version.
I just wanted to say thank you too for all the good wishes on my last post. I'm hoping the nausea and tiredness will pass soon so my scrapping mojo will reappear. I'm also looking forward to starting my Christmas craftiness soon and ordered my BG Eskimo Kisses today. (oooohhhhh it's lovely:) So as I still haven't got to do any new los I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pages that I haven't posted here before, that were in some of the recent(ish) DoCrafts magazines.

Excuses, excuses

2009-09-30T11:47:00.003+01:00

You may have noticed that there has been a distinct lack of new los (as well as very few blog posts!) from me over the last while (other than a couple of projects I can't share yet), but I have a really, really good excuse ...
see ...!!

coughs and weddings ...

2009-09-15T13:54:00.003+01:00

So the first week of September didn't go exactly according to plan! My poor little Ois had a bit of a cough and a cold and missed most of his first week of school. He didn't seem too upset about it but he was getting a bit bored. He was in an arty mood though and wanted to do lots of scrapbooking so I did get a couple of los done for a little something I'm working on.
I was at a wedding on Saturday and it was just a beautiful day. The service was lovely, the bride (my cousin) was beautiful and the weather was glorious. After the church we headed to the Glenview Hotel in Wicklow. At the hotel there was a wonderful little outdoor reception with the most magnificent cupcakes, and a very talented guy playing his guitar and singing. All this with the most amazing view of the Wicklow mountains bathed in sunlight for a backdrop. Later we all enjoyed a gorgeous dinner and it was great to see so many (of our very large) family all together!
Here's a little lo that I did for the stitching challenge for sa.... love that big smile :)

And so ...

2009-08-26T15:46:00.002+01:00

... the end is near! The end of the summer holidays that is ... and I can hardly believe it. I still feel like I'm waiting for the summer to begin, for those clouds to disappear and for the sun to become a constant fixture in the sky. But alas, the weather has been pretty rubbish ... but we still managed to get out and about and I think Oisin had a pretty good break. We even made it to the zoo yesterday :)
With Oisin heading back to school next week I'm hoping to get a bit more scrapping (and blogging) done. I got a grand total of two los done over the summer ... this being the second ...

This was Oisin having fun on the kids go karts in Trabolgon in July. I used the lovely bright Lime Rickey papers from BG.
The new issue of the DoCrafts Creativity mag is also out now and we were pretty lucky to have a few pieces in there. I have a page of Christmassy stuff in the Quick Makes section, a lo in the 'Christmas Past' article (I do not love that lo ... though I do like the photo!) and the other lo from the space challenge (and a card) in the scrapbook apprentice section. (The other one was the birdhouse lo on the CLBlog). Here's a glimpse at some of those ...

the wonderful world of ...

2009-08-08T12:50:00.003+01:00

IKEA!! That's where I went yesterday and it was fab :) It was my first trip to the Dublin store and I couldn't believe how busy it was! Think I'll wait for a quieter time to visit again though!
I still haven't got around to doing any new los but I am getting lots of reading done! I finished New Moon when we were on holidays in Cork and I have to say that I really liked it ... more than Twilight. I'm not sure why though ... it's totally not my usual kind of book. I'm not a big fan of love stories (or vampires and were-wolves for that matter!) but I got completely engrossed and am now about half way through Eclipse. I also read Michael J. Fox's new book, Always looking Up (while I was waiting for my sister to finish Eclipse :) He has Parkinsons disease but the man is so unbelievably positive, proactive and upbeat it's inspiring.
Thought I'd share a lo that didn't end up getting posted for sa (first lo). This one was for the ribbon challenge. I liked it so much that I ended up buying some more of the Doodlebug paper (and I don't know if I've ever bought any DB before!) and did a similar version (second lo) as a present for my sisters birthday (as that's my niece in the photo). I mounted it on a canvas so she could hang it on the wall.

I also just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who voted for me in the scrapbook apprentice competition. I'm delighted to have made it to the final :) There will be no more public votes but you can see all the finalists in the September issue of Creativity. Unfortunately my los and cards didn't turn out so great for the mag ... think I'm just way too slow to do work I'd be happy with in a day and a half :( Oh well ... at least I was pretty happy with all my other work in the other rounds. Have a great weekend!!

been busy...

2009-07-23T15:29:00.004+01:00

but not with anything crafty!! We spent most of last week in the fabulous Castlemartyr hotel in Cork for a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. The weather was mostly good ... pretty sunny between the torrential downpours! We got to visit Some of Decs family, spent a day at Trabolgan (where we had a hard time getting Ois away from the kiddies go-karts), went to Ballymaloe for a scone and a hot chocolate (yum), swam in the pool, and got to visit Cork Art Supplies (well that one was just for me :) ... and even got to do a little relaxing.
The lo below is the sum of my craftiness for the last few weeks. I thought of doing it when I heard the Baz Luhrman song, Sunscreen, for the first time in ages on the radio ... and the words really rang true. Obviously, it's an old photo of me!

All done ...

2009-07-09T15:02:00.003+01:00

Well all the work is now completed for the scrapbook apprentice ... the last los and cards for the mag were sent in last week, and a card commission, also for the mag, was again completed in super quick time ... I got my package on Monday morning and was done by dinner time that evening! It felt quite strange to be doing Christmas cards in July!
Ois and I went to see Ice Age 3 the other day, and I haven't laughed so much in ages. It was soooo funny!! I'm such a sucker for a good kids movie :)
I also finished Twilight last week and was a little disappointed. Bella was just a little too gushing for me ... I actually preferred the movie (and I don't think I've ever said that before!) But I still think I'll give New Moon a read ... just to see what happens!
The lo below is another from the class with Celine Navarro. We used lots of masking tape for added dimension and painted over it with some acrylic paint.

Round 8 and class layout

2009-07-01T16:32:00.002+01:00

Firstly, a big thank you again to everyone who voted for me in the last round of the scrapbook apprentice. It's getting close to the end now with only four people left! Round 8 has now gone live over on the Creativity Life blog so head on over if you would like to see this months projects and you might even think of voting for me if you like what I did. I really like how that birdhouse lo and LOVE card turned out! The projects for the next round (if I get through this one) are going to be in the next issue of Creativity and needed to be completed in a very short time ... I got my pack on Monday and they had to be ready to post this morning!!! After a late night of crafting last night I managed to get it done on time ... quite a feat for a sloooooow scrapper like me :)
I wanted to post one of the los I started at the class with Celine Navarro. For this lo we learned how to do photo scratching ... I'm not sure if it's something I'd do again but it made for an interesting page!

I love summer

2009-06-27T15:00:00.002+01:00

It finally feels like summer is here now that Oisin has finished school! And the weather hasn't been too bad for the last week either ... which means a lack of crafty projects to share as it's been too nice outside :) The next issue of doCrafts Creativity magazine is out (the Creativity and Creativity Life magazines are now combined into one mag) and has a few los from the scrapbook apprentices that we did for the stamping challenge ...

Mine is a wedding lo and it's only the second wedding lo I've done! Tut, tut.
It's my lovely Mams birthday today and I made her some birthday blooms similar to the ones I did for the current round of SA. Happy birthday Mam :)

mega scrap, sneaks and Oasis!!

2009-06-22T12:11:00.003+01:00

Firstly ... Oasis?? So Oasis played in Slane on Saturday and although I didn't get to go, it did remind me of the last time I saw them ... fourteen years ago in Slane when they supported REM. I feel so old!!!! Declan was playing some Oasis in the car over the weekend for Oisin and now he's singing 'Whats the story Morning Glory' all the time (or as he sometimes changes the words a bit ... 'Whats the problem morning glory'! It doesn't have quite the same ring to it :)
I had a fantastic day on Saturday at the mid summer Mega Scrap with Celine Navarro. I got to try lots of things I had never done, or seen before ... lots of paint (which I'm usually afraid of!), gesso (which I had never heard of before, never mind used!), photo scratching and more. We painted on masking tape, newspaper, painted with our fingers, created a lo on a canvas ... It was so much fun. I didn't get anything finished but I'll post up some pics when I do. It was so nice to see so many people there too ... hi to Simone who I got to sit beside for the day, and hi to Joanne who I met at my first CraftEire and hadn't seen since and all the other lovely ladies :)
I have a few sneaks for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice where we got to use the lovely Tiffany range from We R Memory Keepers. Hopefully you'll get to see them in full on the CLblog if I make it through the current round :)

books, cards and movies ...

2009-06-16T18:47:00.003+01:00

So I actually managed to finish another book! The Appeal by John Grisham was a bit of a disappointment though. There were too many characters, leaving it difficult to keep track of everyone, the story was too complicated and the ending was terrible! Over the years I have read about 17 of his other books and enjoyed those so I was surprised at this :( Not one to leave a book unfinished though, I had to see it to the end. But today I picked up Twilight, and my hopes are high for this one. I finally got around to watching Twilight the movie about two weeks ago and was surprised how much I liked it. I also went to see Star Trek at the weekend and loved it!!!
As for crafting ... I've been working on some cards ... Fathers Days cards, birthdays cards, teacher cards etc. So I thought I'd post one of my older los which I did early last year. Even though it's a pretty simple page it has always been one of my favourites ... maybe it's that BG Archaic paper!

Back to the books

2009-06-09T10:52:00.004+01:00

Over the sunny bank holiday weekend I actually managed to read a book! In the old days (as Osin would say) I used to read mountains of books ... I loved reading, but since I started scrapbooking I have hardly read any! (I have read lots of scrapbooking magazines though!) So while the weather was unusually sunny, I dug out a book I had been wanting to read for ages and read in the sun. (I'd highly recommend Harlan Coben books by the way :)
Before I was distracted by sunshine and books I did get this lo done though ... more Lime Rickey and more stitching. When I showed it to Oisin, he wasn't impressed saying ..."but I don't even like chickens!" I tried to explain that it probably wasn't a chicken and it was just for decoration anyway, but he was having none of it!

Round 7

2009-06-01T14:40:00.005+01:00

Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted for me in round 6. Round 7 is now up over the the creativity life blog (http://creativitylifemag.blogspot.com/) if you fancy voting!! Challenge 7 was great fun as we got to try doing a few different things to normal. I did 2 los, 2 cards, a picture, 4 ATCs (my first time to try ATCs!), an ATC holder/envelope, a fold up mini album, a box for the mini album, 3 flowers in a 'vase' (these were my favourite and I'll definitely be making more) and a bookmark! Hope you like them :)
I didn't get to do too much crafting over the last couple of weeks but I did do two los with the new Lime Rickey range from BasicGrey. It's bright, bold and fabulous! This is one of the los I did with it which I was really happy with. I had some lovely bright embroidery thread which I used to add some stitching and also added some stickles to emphasize the watery theme. I'm not usually much of a 'stickler' but I thought it worked well here.

a few more ...

2009-05-26T13:31:00.002+01:00

sneaks ...

sneaks 'n stuff

2009-05-22T11:36:00.003+01:00

How many times do you think a very excited boy can ask "How much longer until my party starts?" I think Oisin may have broken some kind of record on Saturday morning! He was just so excited I thought he was going to burst. Well 1 0'clock finally arrived, and so did all his friends... and they had a ball. I'm still trying to recover from the shock that my baby is now 6 :)
I have quite a few sneaks this time for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice, so I thought I'd spread them over two posts. Here's the first few...

Rain, rain go away!

2009-05-14T14:11:00.003+01:00

It's a grey, rainy day here today and I really do hope things get a bit better for the weekend ... Oisin is having his birthday party here on Saturday and I hope to do some games and things outside. I finished up all my projects for the next round of scrapbook apprentice last week and had great fun this time making some cool stuff that I've never tried before. We had to do one lo and one card and whatever else our little hearts desired :) We had to work with a kit and all I can tell you is that it was purple! When I first saw it, I thought purple ... what am I going to do with purple? But everything turned out really nice and I can't wait to show you some sneak peeks next week. I really hope I get through this round so you can see them in full. I'm still working on my write up though and haven't got to start any other projects yet so I just wanted to share a page I did a good few months ago at one of Laineys crops...

Untitled

2009-05-07T15:26:00.003+01:00

After going for a good swim this morning and doing a few extra lengths, I have no energy left to think up a witty/clever/apt title for todays post so it will just have to remain untitled :)
I signed up the other day over with the Scrapbook Store for the Midsummer MegaScrap with Celine Navarro. Sounds like it will be a good day and I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques. Celine was a guest designer with StudioCalico a few months after they started up. Oisin is counting down the days to his birthday party now and I just hope he hasn't got orders in with his friends for presents!
I have a bit of a love/hate thing going on with the lo below. Its one I did sometime last year and I love lots of the individual elements like the papers, the colours, the felt rocket, the title and the memory but it's a bit all over the place. Oh well :)

round 6

2009-05-01T13:04:00.003+01:00

As always, it's hard to believe how fast time is whizzing by! Round 6 is now up on the Creativity Life blog and there are only 6 apprentices left! These last few months have gone by so quickly.
I would just like to say a big thank you to anyone who voted for me last month ... thank you :). Challenge 6 was all about stamping so if you would like to have a look (and maybe even vote if you like what I did :), just click here. I was a bit worried when I saw the papers at first as the colours were so muted but I have to say I was very happy with the finished pages and cards ... in fact I think the lo on the blog now might be one of my favourites!
I'll leave you with a lo I mentioned in my last post, done using the scrummy gorgeousness that is BG Marrakech. I really love this photo of Oisin, his eyes look so big and blue. He was going through a phase at the time of saying 'oooooh mamma' and 'oooooooh dada' and was only about 16 months old. He'll be 6 in 17 days ....aaaahhhh!!

all going swimmingly!

2009-04-27T17:56:00.002+01:00

Nothing much to report today! I only got two los done last week ... but I did get three swims in! I broke open the BG Marrakech goodies I've been hoarding for a while after seeing a lovely card by Julie and I have to say I just adore those colours. But the lo below (which I'm not sure if I like or not) was done with some Pink Paislee.

Sneaks

2009-04-21T09:18:00.002+01:00

Just wanted to post a few sneaks for the next round of Scrapbook Apprentice. The challenge this time was creative stamping and we got some lovely new papers by Jesse Edwards (which aren't in the shops yet!) and some pretty flowery swirly stamps. The colours were much more muted than the bright bold colours we worked with for the last round and looked very pretty and elegant. I had lots of fun rediscovering embossing powder ... which is like sand: it gets everywhere! And I tried chalks for the first time which I really liked. Note to self: stamp more and make more use of the gazillion stamps I own!

suuny Saturday

2009-04-18T19:47:00.002+01:00

It was a beautiful day here today and I think the sunshine really lifts everyones mood! I finished my los and cards for the next round of scrapbook apprentice earlier in the week (I'll post a few sneak peeks soon :) but didn't seem to get much else done since then, except these ...

I bought the blank letters in Wal Mart when we were in Florida last year and have been meaning to cover them ever since. So I finally dug them out and covered them with some gorgeous BG Phoebe papers that I have been saving for ages and put them over the doors in our sun room, which is where I do my scrapping.

Easter weekend...

2009-04-13T14:25:00.002+01:00

We had a lovely Easter weekend ... Declan was off work on Friday and got to do lots of bits and pieces around the garden. The glasshouse is full and I'm looking forward to a flower filled summer! We went to the Botanic gardens after church yesterday and got some nice pictures of the beautiful tulips ... the colours were just amazing. I do feel like I need a bit of a detox now though after too much Easter egg. I felt like I had chocolate running through my veins when I was going to bed last night! (Not that I ate that much ... just more than normal :) So I went for a swim this morning to try and undo some of the damage and feel a lot better now.
I did this lo a couple of weeks ago, about a visit to Dublin Zoo last summer. I love this StudioCalico paper ... yum!

Tuesday musings

2009-04-07T10:19:00.003+01:00

Well the Easter hols are in full swing and it's so nice not to have to get up early ... and spend some 'quality time' with Oisin. My little monkey will be 6 next month!!!! I really can't believe it.
I did the lo below a few weeks ago about one of the funny things Oisin keeps saying at the moment; Are you thinking what I'm thinking? (Sorry the photo's not great).
Now to try and decide what we'll do today .....

Round 5

2009-04-01T09:54:00.002+01:00

Firstly, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who voted for me in the last round of the Scrapbook Apprentice competition . I'm very happy to have made it through as there was a huge number of votes this time and it was very close! Voting has now started for round 5 so if you would like to take a look just click here. The challenge this time was ribbons and I have to say that everyones work looks lovely ... who knew you could do so much with ribbon!!

It's a fine line ...

2009-03-30T11:23:00.003+01:00

Had a conversation the other day with Oisin that went something like this:
me: I hope Ryan (Oisins friend from school) is better from the chicken pox. I had them when I was small and still have a few marks from them on my forehead!
Oisin: Oh yeah, I think I see them. Is it all those lines (said as he runs his finger across his forehead ... repeatedly! )
Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed and had to go check in the mirror to see just how bad those lines on my forehead were:)
I had been wanting to scrap this photo for a while and realised last week that I had the perfect papers in a StudioCalico kit from a few months ago. Of course this was before Oisin was old enough to notice Mammy's wrinkles!

Tomorrow is the last day to vote for this months scrapbook apprentice (and it's really close!) so if you haven't voted yet, head on over to the Creativity Life blog.

monday ... again!!

2009-03-23T12:47:00.002Z

Is it just me or does time speed up ridiculously the older you get? The weeks seem to be flying by at the moment. Hope you had a lovely mothers day ... Oisin made me three lovely mothers day cards, and a poster so I was a very lucky mammy :) Of course I forgot to take a photo of the card that I made for my own mam ... must see if I can sneak a pic next time I'm visiting. I actually managed to get two los done on Saturday (almost unheard of for me). It's the first time in about a month I got to do some pages just for myself, although I have done quite a few cards over the last week or two. I love the photo in this one below.

And you still have time to get you name in for the Creativity Life blog giveaway if you would like to win some scrapping goodies.

Giveaway!!

2009-03-20T11:43:00.003Z

Thought I'd let you know that there is a giveaway on the Creativity Life blog at the moment. The prize is a set of goodies just like the ones we got to use this month. The colours are bright, bold and gorgeous! You can see them used in my sneak peeks below and here is the picture of the prize. All you have to do is become a follower of the blog. Good Luck!!

sunshine and sneaks

2009-03-18T21:19:00.002Z

Well it has been a gorgeous few days and the sun continued to shine today. I know its only the middle of March and I know there was snow less than two weeks ago but it's hard not to get that summer feeling! Where's the sun screen ... where's the ice cream :)

I have a few sneak peeks for the next round of scrapbook apprentice and actually have five pics for you this time as we had to do an extra item this month! Hopefully you'll get to see them in full if I make it through the current round ... voting is very close so far!

Blog Birthday

2009-03-13T10:27:00.003Z

I just realised that it was a year last Saturday since I started my blog!! So, dear blog ... happy birthday:) Haven't been up to much crafty stuff this week for some reason but I am heading to Laineys crop tomorrow and hopefully will get something done there. I need to do quite a few cards with Mothers Day and lots of birthdays coming up, and I still need to finish all my CraftEire projects.

The lo above is about my littlest sis who just loves dogs. And yep, she is a good bit younger than me ... there's twenty years between us!

It's a beautiful day ...

2009-03-11T11:31:00.002Z

... the sun is shining, it's not freezing (in fact it's actually a bit warm!) and I have an article in Scrapbook Magazine that just came out today!! I'm so excited as this is the first time I have ever had a article in a magazine. The article is called 'Introducing' and features four of my los :) So I'm feeling a little giddy today :) :) :) :)

I think I have posted some of those los here before except maybe this one. I really love this page even though it's a pretty simple design. I like the big photo and the clear buttons and of course the BG archaic papers which are some of my all time favs! Have a great day :)

Round 4 ... and a double surprise

2009-03-02T10:32:00.003Z

Firstly I just want to thank everyone who voted for me for round three of the Scrapbook Apprentice :) Voting has now begun for round four and you can click here to take a look at all the entries. I hope you like what I did ... though I think I preferred my other layout, it was a bit more Boho -ey! We got a bit of a surprise this morning when we checked in to see who got eliminated as there was a double elimination! So only eight candidates left!!

I'm surrounded by oodles of ribbon at the moment as I work on my projects for round five. I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far (unusually!) but still need to decide on what I'm going to do for my 'additional item' ...hmmmmm. I have lots of ideas but need to decide soon.

My lo below is one I did last year about the first time I heard 'You're ruining my life' from Oisin. I do hear 'you're wrecking my life' on quite a regular basis now though!

CraftEire ... and other stuff!!

2009-02-23T16:26:00.002Z

Oh, I had such a fabulous time at CraftEire!! I got to meet so many lovely ladies ... some new faces, some not so new! The hotel was gorgeous and we had a beautiful dinner there on the Friday night. On Saturday, (after some more top nosh for breakfast :) I did four classes and also got to spend plenty of time in the crop room chatting, shopping .... and a bit of crafting too. (I even got to sit at the same table as Jane Dean! ) My first class was at 9am with Eva, but it was well worth the early start. We made a vase of K&Co flowers with a mini lo on one of the stems ... it was just beautiful! I also did both of Elisa's classes ... a very cool wall hanging with mini los in four frames, and a lovely lo with some bright and funky Cherry Arte papers. My last class was with Jane Dean where we made a lo with a very cool popup house. Of course, I didn't finish anything (I'm the slowest scrapper ever!) but I will post photos when I get things finished. I probably wont get to finish them until I'm finished my SA stuff for this month (just got a big package of gorgeous stuff at the end of last week ... lots of ribbons :) but I definitely will finish them coz I love them all:)

I got the new issue of Creativity life today in Inspiring Ideas. Our other los (the ones that didn't appear on the Creativity Life blog) are in there.

I'll leave you with a few cards I made in the crop room at the weekend. I just adore these Japanese doll stamps from hero arts and was inspired to use them after seeing a gorgeous card on Jackies blog. (Jackie did some fabulous make and takes in the crop room at the weekend too!)

Feeling sneaky!

2009-02-18T16:52:00.002Z

Oisin and I went to see Bolt (again!) today. It is just sooo funny. Go see it if you need to be cheered up, or would just like a good laugh:)

I'm so excited about going to CraftEire this Friday. It should be a great couple of day and I can't wait to see everyone and scrap to my hearts content!

I also have a few sneaks for round four of Scrapbook Apprentice. For this challenge the theme was stitching and the Boho Chic style.

Love-ly day

2009-02-15T16:46:00.002Z

Hope you had a nice Valentines day! We decided to go out on Friday night for a meal and a movie thinking it wouldn't be as busy as Saturday night. We had a gorgeous dinner but the movies we wanted to see were both booked out ... maybe everyone else had the same idea as us?? So we decided to rent a few movies, go home, light the fire and cosy up ... just me, Dec, Ben & Jerry :) Then on Saturday evening I had another gorgeous dinner, cooked by my wonderful hubby ... and he even did all the washing up! What more could a girl ask for :)

I only managed to do one card (Valentines) and one lo this week. But I really love how this lo turned out ... it could be that gorgeous map patterned paper from StudioCalico! I also decided to add a little bit of stitching ... now that I've got the bug!

Snow and stitches

2009-02-09T14:57:00.003Z

I can't believe it has been a week since my last post. The weeks just seem to be passing by so quickly. The snow has been crazy ... I can't remember so much snow since I was a kid. Last Thursday I decided to go to the Dundrum shopping Centre and thought I'd be fine as the snow seemed light, but when I came out afterwards ... it was like a blizzard. There was deep slush and snow on the roads and everyone was driving at about two miles an hour and I thought I'd never make it to the other end of the M50!

Anyway, I finally finished my los and cards for round 4 of scrapbook apprentice (I'll post a few sneaks next week). They seemed to take me ages this time and even though the papers were pretty, they were totally not my style. What I did love though was that I got to try stitching. I absolutely love the look of stitching on a page but never do it myself as I struggle with a sewing machine (can't use the foot pedal ... though I'm sure if I thought about it hard enough I could find a way around that!) and even though I have one of the mini machines, they are not very versatile and don't reach very far into the page. But I did do lots of hand stitching and used nice new stitching templates from PaperMania and have to say, its definitely something I'll be doing on los in the future.

The lo below is a Christmassy one I did a couple of weeks ago with some lovely BG Wassail. Thought I'd post this one as all the snow makes it feel like it should be Christmas :)

Round three and silver linings...

2009-02-02T12:29:00.007Z

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who voted for me in round two of Scrapbook Apprentice. Voting has now begun for round three and if you would like to have a little looky, just click here! For this round we were not allowed to use any patterned paper which was certainly a challenge, but I think I was pretty happy with how things turned out.

Thought I'd post a layout I did last week at a crop at the lovely Elisa's house. I'm really looking forward to doing her classes at CraftEire which is in less than 3 weeks!!!!! Yipee!!!

I've had this photo of Oisin for ages but never seemed to have just the right paper, but this kit from StudioCalico was perfect (with the addition of some very cute PaperMania small brown letter stickers). I don't know if you can see it too well in the photo but I outlined the edge of my cloud with some stickles to give it a silver lining!! :)

Monday musings...

2009-01-26T14:41:00.004Z

We had a long weekend this weekend as Oisin had no school on Friday, and boy was it great not to have to get up early three days in a row! I used to be great at getting out of bed in the mornings but am finding it a bit more of a challenge these days:) I didn't have a very productive scrapping week last week and had the same lo on my desk the whole time ... which isn't good as it was one I was working on for round four of Scrapbook Apprentice. The week before, I got five or six los done (the week I was sick!). My mojo has just up and left!

Anyway, here is a Christmas lo I did the week before last. I used some tags for the title that I got in a kit a few months ago that I thought I'd never use. The photo is not great but I love it :)

Sneaky, sneaky!!

2009-01-19T21:00:00.004Z

Thought I'd post a few sneak peeks for round 3 of Scrapbook Apprentice. Hopefully you'll get to see them in full at the start of February if I get through round two!

I had a great time on Saturday at Laineys crop and even managed to get a layout completed (despite all the chatting:) I always feel inspired after seeing all the wonderful creations by so many talented ladies.

This lo was one I did last week with the December StudioCalico kit. I remembered to take a photo of Oisins letter to Santa this year and couldn't wait to scrap it! The title was done with gorgeous stamps exclusive to StudioCalico and I just love this font. In hindsight, I think I should have stamped each letter individually, so that they looked 'joined up'... but hindsight is a wonderful thing:)

Jinx

2009-01-15T14:33:00.002Z

I think I jinxed myself the other day when I said I thought I was getting better. The next day I felt awful! So I'll say nothing about how I feel today!! Because I haven't been getting out this week except for school runs, I did get to do a few lo's. The photo in this lo here is from a trip we took to the Botanic Gardens last September. Oisin had a go at trying to lift some of the 'art' on display ... it did actually look like that before he touched it though !!! :) I really wanted to use some of my fruit and veg paper and chipboard stickers from the BG offbeat range so the journaling is about Oisins fussy eating. And if anyone has any suggestions on how to get a five year old to eat their veggies, please let me know!

On the road ...

2009-01-12T10:20:00.002Z

... to recovery. I managed to pick up a bit of a cold over the weekend but am feeling a bit better today thank goodness. Thought I'd post up one of the los I did last week. I did this one with last Octobers StudioCalico kit which I have used for my last six or seven los (and still have buckets of it left as I got three add-ons that month!). I really REALLY love this kit but have packed it away for now so I can dip into some of my other kits which I haven't had time to even open yet as I have been so busy with scrapbook apprentice stuff. This is an older photo of Oisin which I love and had wanted to scrap for ages ... and I had great fun doing it as I finally started using my threading water punch and got to try out my newly acquired Hero Arts basic Alpha stamps :) I tell you, I'm like a kid in a candy shop when I get to play with scrappy stuff!!!!

Lip service ...

2009-01-09T15:10:00.003Z

My lips (or at least a photo of them:) are gracing the pages of Scrapbook Inspirations this month! I did this lo a few months ago about my lipgloss obsession (though I think I did post it here before :)

And since I have my projects all finished and posted for round three of Scrapbook Apprentice, I finally had a good run at doing some of my own los. I started this lo at Annamarie and Laineys Christmas party but didn't get back to it until this week. The photo was taken on Sanibel Island while we were on holidays in Florida a fee months back and as I was writing the journaling, I was reminded of something funny Oisin said. As Declan and I were talking about the first time we were in Sanibel, which was before Oisin was born, Oisin said " Stop talking about that! Stop talking about things before I was born. Stop talking about the old days!!"

Round 2 and thumbs up for Santa!

2009-01-02T17:38:00.002Z

Well I made it through round 1 of the Scrapbook Apprentice competition! Yay!! And thank you to everyone who voted for me. And it's starting all over again as the los and cards for round 2 are now up on the Creativity Life blog and voting has begun again. Just click here to take a look :) We got some lovely stuff to work with for challenge 2, although I have to say I was a bit afraid of some of the strong colours when I saw them first. I really liked how the card shown on the blog turned out (my first acetate card!) and was pretty happy with my lo's (though I think I preferred the one not shown on the blog).

I have actually already finished my los and cards for challenge 3. And it really was a challenge as we got quite a small kit with mostly cardstock ... no patterned paper allowed! I think it was the first time I ever did a lo with no patterned paper. The cardstock was core'dinations though, which I have grown to love over the last few months!!!

And of course Santa has been and gone since my last post. He got a major thumbs up this year from Oisin (and me :) We had a great Christmas and are still enjoying the festive season ... and not having to get up early for the school run!

Hope you all have a wonderful 2009!

QVC

2008-12-24T15:31:00.002Z

If you were watching Becks Fagg on QVC on Monday you might have spotted some of the los from round 1 of the Scrapbook apprentice competition. One of the los I did was shown when Becks was talking about Doodlebug flock. It's called Cookie Love and you can have a peek here if you fancy!!

sneaks and stories

2008-12-18T12:53:00.004Z

Oisin usually gets a bedtime story from me or Declan but last night he read to me! He read The Enormous Turnip from start to finish :) You only realise how complicated the English language is to learn when you have to keep explaining to your five year old that lots of words don't actually sound the way they are spelled (or is that spelt??), or are not spelled the way they sound ... Oisin calls them 'tricky' words.

Voting is still going on for round one of scrapbook apprentice, but the next round will start at the end of the month. (And we have actually already received our packages for round three). So I have a few sneaky peeks for challenge 2. Hope you like them:)

SI

2008-12-16T14:50:00.003Z

Forgot to mention in my post yesterday that I have a lo in the reader gallery of Scrapbook Inspirations this month. It was one I did with one of my first StudioCalico kits.

scrappy stuff

2008-12-15T15:00:00.002Z

Well Oisin is still a little sniffly (he's had a cold for the last week), but cruel mother that I am, I sent him back to school today! He told me he had his best day ever when I picked him up:)

I had a great day on Saturday at Lainey and Annamaries crop in Donnycarney. I didn't get many lo's done but I did get to chat to lots of lovely ladies. I have to say a special hello to Fiona... (got your name right this time :) The lo below is the only one I managed to complete on the day.

I was lucky enough to win a lovely Christmas table arrangement in a draw on Saturday too ... thanks Lainey and Annamarie :)

When I got home on Saturday I found a package from my cara crafts secret santa!! I got some lovely things including some Basic Grey goodies (my favourite!) I was able to figure out who it was pretty quickly though (I had spotted a card just like the one I got on her blog!) ... so a big thank you to Dianne :)

I'll post a few sneak peaks of my los and cards for the next round of SA in just a few days.

Always in three's...

2008-12-11T14:20:00.003Z

Why is it that when things break, it always happens in three's. Since my last post, the fridge broke (we were able to get it fixed, but it did cost €135 to fix it!), I had a punctured tyre that had to be replaced (it burst on the M50 on a busy Friday evening and cost €120 for the new one) and a special chair that I need to use in the shower broke and will cost €280 to replace (and if that's not a sign I need to go back to weight watchers, I don't know what is!) So as well as breaking things, I have been busy finishing the next challenge for the Scrapbook Apprentice. I just need to get it posted now but I don't think I'll get to the post office today ... Oisin has been sick for the last few days and has been off school. But I'll definitely have to get there tomorrow to make sure it's there on time. I also want to post my Kris Kindle for the Cara Crafts Forum ... hope the person I have likes what I'm sending!?!?

Thought I'd share a LO I started before we went on holidays. I'm not quite sure if it needs anything else??

And this is what I have on my craft table at the moment. It's some gorgeous Christmas paper from Pink Paislee which I plan to use to make a few Christmas cards. I'm finding the Christmas cards hard to get my head around this year as I have a backlog of StudioCalico kits calling me very loudly :)

And this year I got a few new decorations for our tree ... here are my favourites ; a very cute Santa and a lovely big red star.

And so it begins....

2008-12-01T14:39:00.002Z

Well D-Day has finally arrived... yes voting for the Scrapbook Apprentice has begun! Having seen everyones work, I'm feeling very nervous. If you would like to vote then head over to the Creativity Life blog here. Of course you don't have to vote for me, but I do hope you like what I did :)

catch up

2008-11-24T11:21:00.003Z

I've been trying to catch up on my Christmas craft projects over the last week before my box of goodies arrived for the next scrapbook apprentice challenge. I got two calendars done using the new BG calendar kits, which I'm going to give as prezzies. They are absolutely gorgeous ... though I can't take any of the credit for the lovliness ... the very talented Kelly Goree designed them! I picked up my kits while I was on holidays but I think CardznScrapz also have them. I also started making my Christmas cards and planned to get a few done today but my SA box has just arrived (YAY!) ... so I know there's not going to be much Christmas card making done today!!

I'll leave you with a few pages from the calendars and then I'm off to check out my new box of goodies :)

sneaks ands snaps

2008-11-15T16:54:00.003Z

I can hardly believe that we are home more than a week. This week has flown by, but mostly because I have been busy working on the first scrapbook apprentice challenge. The theme for the first challenge was chocolate (as in colours) and layers and we were asked to complete 2 LOs and 2 cards. The box of goodies we were sent to use was very generous ... lots of cardstock, papers, rub-ons, letter stickers, stamps and more although I was a bit apprehensive about scrapping with so much brown! But as always, it's surprising what you can come up with when you try something new :) As promised I have a few sneaky peeks...

The holiday was great. Plenty of sun, but not too hot. No queues. Lots to see and do. Scrapbook shops!!!! We had lots of fun in the theme parks: Oisin got to meet Spiderman, Wolverine, Cyclops and a few other superheroes. I was very proud of myself for finally getting up the nerve to go on the Hulk rollercoaster in Islands of Adventure (I had wussed out every other time I was there:)

And then of course there were the scrapbook shops. Let's just say it took about three minutes for my receipt to print out in the very gorgeous Scrappy Boutique! What a treasure trove of scrappy goodness. There were heart palpitations, let me tell you, being surrounded by endless shelves of Basic Grey, Thickers, Making Memories and more:) And then of course I picked up a few bits in Michaels. Anyway, better go for now, but hope you're having a great weekend.

And by the way, hi to Julie who I met in Inspiring Ideas today:)

Scrapbook Apprentice

2008-11-07T14:54:00.005Z

Well it's cold, it's windy and it's wet... but I am happy. We arrived back this morning from a wonderful holiday in Florida. I didn't manage to get any sleep on the flight back so my brain is a bit fuzzy but I thought I'd just do a quick post. I can finally spill the beans... I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 12 Creativity Life Scrapbook Apprentice candidates!!! Yay! You can see all 12 on the CL blog. I am so excited about this competition I think I'm going to combust! I've been dreaming in LO's since we got the details of the first challenge. All the other girls look fab so it's going to be a great competition. Voting will take place after every challenge (which I think will be monthly) and will be by the public (on the CL blog) as well as by a judging panel. Voting starts on the 30th of November. I'll try to put up a few sneaky peaks when I get started (though I'm still waiting on my supplies to arrive... but hopefully they'll get here soon).

I'll try to post tomorrow about the many scrappy temptations (and my lack of resistance) in Florida when my brain de-fuzzes, but for now I'll leave you with one of the LO's I submitted for SA. Have a great day :)

Countdown

2008-10-23T08:44:00.002+01:00

The holiday countdown has begun! We are heading away this weekend so I'll be off the air for the next little while.

The lovely and super talented Elisa came over during the week for a StudioCalico crop. It was great fun and I even got to see some of her gorgeous work IRL!! I did this LO about Oisin who has really amazed me with how well he's doing with his reading and writing in school. These papers were perfect for it. In fact, I think they probably gave me the idea for the page. Have a great day:)

Shades of Autumn

2008-10-18T13:49:00.004+01:00

After the other day, I had a look through my sent mail to see if I had submitted anything to Creating Keepsakes and found that I had back in June (I knew I was planning to but didn't remember if I had actually done it!). I wonder if they choose the SR names from their online gallery or from people who submitted LO's (and were rejected!! :) ??

I finally got my StudioCalico kit on Wednesday and all I can say is YUM! I sat looking through everything for ages! Isn't it fantastic that a grown woman can get so giddy simply being in close proximity to scrappy goodness. Well everything was soooo pretty!

The colours are gorgeous autumnal shades which are a particular favourite of mine and I really liked the Tim Holtz Sprocket Gears and Game spinners. There were lots of Sassafras pages, which I don't normally go for, but after this, I'm a fan!

This LO is about my wonderful little man who is just full of attitude at the moment. The journaling reads :" 'That's so annoying' is just one of the wonderful little phrases that Oisin has picked up in school. Other favourites include: 'You're not my friend', 'I'm telling on you', and 'I don't like you anymore' "

CK (just a mention!)

2008-10-16T19:00:00.003+01:00

I got my November issue of Creating Keepsakes in the post this morning and had a quick flick through before I headed out. At the end of the reader gallery they have a list of names they call 'more standout readers' and I noticed Davinie Fiero's name (she's a fab designer on the StudioCalico site) but as I read further down the list I noticed another name I knew... mine!! It's been quite a while since I uploaded anything to the CK online gallery (the last time was August when I uploaded the 'Cheeky' LO) so I thought that maybe it wasn't me! So I mailed CK to check... and it was me!! I know it's not quite the same as having a LO published but it's not too bad!

If you click on the image below you can see my name (if you look really hard!!) on the bottom left:)

Less is more??

2008-10-11T19:09:00.004+01:00

I have to say that I absolutely loved the last kit from StudioCalico. I got more LO's done with this one than with any of the others and it was the first time I got no add-ons. And I still have lots of bits left for a few more pages. Maybe I get more done when I have fewer bits 'n pieces in front of me! (Though hopefully thats not the reason as I got 3 add-ons with this months kit which is due any day!) Or maybe I was just having a good creative spell! I even got a couple of LO's done this week with some of my older kits. Anyway, I'm off to watch X-Factor so I'll leave you with another LO from last months kit. Have a great weekend :)

On a serious note...

2008-10-07T16:30:00.004+01:00

... just kidding! After the last 'serious' LO, I thought I better do something a bit more cheery. So the next day I did a page about my lipgloss addiction! I don't normally scrap photo's like this but thought it might make for a fun page. Also did a page today about my one and only stint as a flower girl. Realized when I was done that I had written 'sixteen years' instead of 'seventeen years' in the journaling. I hate when that happens. Also made a bit of a mistake in the lipgloss LO, writing bad instead of bag! Any one have any hints on how to erase pen?

journaling...

2008-10-02T18:52:00.003+01:00

I love to write journaling on my scrapbook pages but I have never really done a LO with 'serious' journaling. The challenge on the StudioCalico blog this week was to do a LO with some journaling from the heart. While it didn't have to be serious, I took the opportunity to write some thoughts about my MS. Disclaimer: I try to be a happy, optimistic person who knows she's blessed in so many ways, but it felt quite good to write down some of the things I wouldn't usually tell people and told myself that it's ok to be a little sad sometimes about the things I can't do!

just not happening!

2008-10-01T15:09:00.002+01:00

Well it hasn't been a very scrappy week. I have only managed to complete one LO since my last post. That's only one in a whole week! And it's not like I didn't try... I sat in front of the same photo and papers, moving stuff around for the last few days. But it just wasn't happening! I often sit down to start a new LO and think... where will I start... what will I do... have I had all my good ideas... will I ever do another LO I like? And then other times (though very rarely) I look at a photo or some stash and think... I know exactly what I'd like to do with this.

On another note, last weekend was the reveal for the next StudioCalico kit and OH MY GOODNESS, it's gorgeous. I managed to get no add-ons last month as I'm trying to put some money by for my upcoming hols (ok, for stash shopping on my upcoming hols :) but this month I got all three add-ons. There was no point even trying to resist. All I can say is... Yum!

The journaling reads : " Oisin really 'got into' the art in the Botanic Gardens! September 2008"

2008-09-25T21:19:00.002+01:00

Not really a full post ... but I thought I'd add in a close up photo of yesterday's LO so you can get a better look at the very cool ribbon and yellow topped pin I used from the SC kit.

Feels like a long time.....

2008-09-24T18:50:00.004+01:00

.... since I blogged. I had a great weekend - the weather was unusually gorgeous. On Saturday morning I went over to the Art n Hobby shop in Santry to see Mandy doing her DoCrafts demo. She was really good and I picked up a few new tips (and a few new items for my ever growing stash). I only intended staying for a few minutes but ended up staying for an hour or two. Thanks Mandy :)

The weather was so nice when I got home that I grabbed a few of my Scrapbook mags and went outside to sit in the sun and read.

Today was the first day I got to do some actual scrapping since the weekend and I did another LO with my SC kit. The photo from my last LO - 'He Knows', was taken at the same time as this one when Oisin decided to give us an impromptu concert with his guitar one sunny summer evening in August. I used a lot of the same papers here - I think the two LO's might look good side by side in my album :)

Shock, horror!!

2008-09-19T18:38:00.002+01:00

I was very excited to get my StudioCalico kit yesterday, but when I took the kit box out of my postbox, I had to take a deep breath. To my horror, the box was badly squashed in one corner. Amazingly, nothing was damaged! I guess there wasn't as much as usual in it this time as this was the first month I managed to resist buying any add-ons.

The kit this month is gorgeous. I just love the colours and I got a chance to do a LO with it this morning. I was a bit disappointed with how my LO's from last months kit turned out but I feel inspired again with this one:)

Monday again!

2008-09-15T12:20:00.002+01:00

Can't believe how quickly the weekend went by. And it was so nice to get a bit of sun on Saturday :) The sneak peaks went up yesterday on StudioCalico for Octobers kit and I have to say, they look gorgeous. Thats not good! All of the add-ons are calling my name and I'm trying not to listen. We're going to Florida in a few weeks and I'm trying to keep my money for that... coz I know I'm going to be like a kid in a candy store when I get into those scrapbook shops.

I'll leave you with a few LO's from this months SC kit. Have a great day.

anniversaries...

2008-09-10T21:56:00.003+01:00

I just realised a few days ago that it's been two years since I started scrapbooking. I did my first scrapbook page in September 2006! And I also realised that it was twelve years ago this month that Declan and I went on our first date! How time flies!

Got a bit stressed out earlier today when Oisin got home from school. Is it normal for a five year old to cry for half an hour because there are no clean track suit bottoms for him to wear? I told him if he cried really really loudly, one might appear. He gave this theory a good try, but surprisingly, still no tracksuit!

I've been struggling a bit with this months StudioCalico kit. The main kit had a lot of PP I wouldn't normally go for, but I have found when this happened with previous kits that I usually manage to surprise myself and come up with a few LOs I really liked. I have done four LOs with the kit so far and have only done one that I like - which was the shell collectors one below. That one actually looks much better IRL than it does here - the brown paper with the circles is a gorgeous shimmery paper but it is from an add-on. Anyway, I'll try to get a few more LO's done before the next kit arrives.

This LO is one of the ones I wasn't that happy with. I like how the green rik-rak looks with the pins and the staples, but the rest??????

Scrap Saturday

2008-09-08T12:37:00.002+01:00

I got to go to Lainey's class on Saturday and it was great to meet up with fellow scrap obsessed ladies! It was so nice to meet Elisa, Linda, Rachel, Ann, Liz, Isobel, Jaime .... and all the other ladies whose names I can't remember! And happy birthday Annamarie!!

I didn't get to finish my LO in the class as there were some things I wanted to add in when I got home but I'm still trying to decide what way to finish it. I left it a bit too late to start another LO of my own at the crop and thought I would head home to a quiet house (as Oisin had gone to a party) and do a LO there. But of course as soon as I got home I got distracted ... I put a wash on, did some cleaning up etc. But I did manage to get one LO done later on :) This LO was done with a gorgeous add on from last months StudioCalico kit.

Drumroll please.....

2008-09-05T16:35:00.004+01:00

And the winner of the RAK (as drawn from an Indiana Jones hat by our very own Oisin) is .....

Jan!! Well done Jan. If you pm me your address I'll get that prize out to you ASAP. :)

Sharing the joy!!

2008-09-02T14:51:00.002+01:00

CardznScrapz certainly didn't delay in getting my prize to me. I got a big box in the post this morning!! There was lots of scrappy goodness inside and as I'm lucky enough to already have some of these goodies, I thought I'd share the joy and do a RAK. So if you would like to get your hands on a BasicGrey Rub On Roller, a BasicGrey precision file set, a Creativity! Life mag and one or two other bits n pieces, just leave a comment and I'll pick a winner this weekend.

And here is a LO I did with a photo of Oisin and friendly woo-woo at Howth Harbour! Have a great day.

yay!

2008-09-01T16:34:00.003+01:00

I just found out that I won the August scrapbook competition over on CardznScrapz. I'm really thrilled... it's so nice to win something!! To enter the competition you had to do a LO with a holiday theme using yellow and green or yellow and blue. I had this photo of me (back in the days when I could wear a bikini!) from our honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.

End of the summer

2008-08-29T15:25:00.002+01:00

Well summer really IS over now. Oisin went back to school yesterday and seemed to enjoy it. He has a lovely new teacher (who looks far too young to actually be qualified!) and walked in all by himself this morning!

Next week I plan to get back swimming as I no longer have any excuse not to! I really need to get some exercise (and lose two stone before I go on holidays... any tips?)

I did a LO today with a photo of Oisin during a water fight with daddy. Photographic evidence that there was actually one day of sunshine this summer although it felt like there was none!

Thank you for the music...

2008-08-23T14:44:00.003+01:00

It was my birthday yesterday and my wonderful hubby got me an ipod. They are just the coolest little gizmo's. So I ended up spending practically the whole day putting my music collection on itunes. I even dug out all my old cd's that were starting to feel quite neglected. It was quite therapeutic actually and going through some of my older stuff brought back lots of memories. Isn't it funny how music can get you all nostalgic :)

I got a BasicGrey card kit form CardznScrapz a week or two ago and made all the cards this week. I felt like I was 'cheating' since all I had to do was punch out all the right bits, assemble and stick! But it's great if you need a few cards in a rush. (And I was in need of a few baby cards this week). It may have felt like cheating - but they did turn out gorgeous! Love BG!!

We went to see Get Smart the other night, and I haven't laughed so much in ages. It was kind of 'stupid funny' but funny. If you need to be cheered up - go see it !!

Wanted: Ark!

2008-08-18T17:13:00.002+01:00

Well it's official. According to Met Eireann, the Dublin region has had over 400% of the usual rainfall for August already. It's been a bit of a wash out of a summer but I did really enjoy the time off with Oisin. I can't believe he's back to school next week and that he's going to be a senior!! I have to admit I'm not looking forward to the early mornings :)

I did a couple of LO's with some October Afternoon stash over the weekend, and I have to say that their stuff is just gorgeous. It didn't exactly call to me when I saw it initially but it just looks so good on a LO!! Here's one of the OA LO's and one from July's StudioCalico kit.

clarification!

2008-08-13T09:15:00.002+01:00

Did I say say 'niece' in my last post??? I meant nephew. Not sure what I was thinking .... yet more evidence I'm getting old. (I'll be 33 next week !!)

Rain and scrappy news

2008-08-11T18:42:00.006+01:00

Can you believe the crazy weather we are having? I don't think I have ever seen rain like the rain that poured on Saturday. I now know what our garden would look like with a pool!

I was disappointed to find out that the Scrapbooker of the Year competition in Scrapbook Magazine is only open to UK residents this year. But I can console myself in the fact that they are going to feature me in their 'Introducing' article next spring. According to the mag ; 'As part of our quest to discover fresh new talent, we'll be introducing a new designer every issue...'. I get to pick out four of my favourite LO's to be featured. I'm really excited about it, but since the article won't appear until well into next year (haven't got an exact date yet) I'm hoping the excitement doesn't wear off before it's in print! It's hard to pick out four favourites, but I don't have to send them in for a few months, so I have a while to decide. My favourites change all the time!

I also found out I'm going to have another LO in the next issue of Creativity! Life. I do have one other piece of scrappy news but I can't share yet :)

It really has been a funny old week or two; I was all excited about my good news and my SIL had a new baby. But sadly, my uncle passed away the same day my new niece was born. Made me think I should live each day to the fullest.

My LO for today is another happy memory from our honeymoon!

Revamps and 'back story'

2008-08-07T21:40:00.005+01:00

I have had the same LO on my desk all week and can't seem to bring it all together. So I decided to make some small changes to a couple of LO's that I was never completely happy with. Here are the 'before' and 'after's. They were only minor changes but I think they make a difference.

I was reading Stephanie Howell's blog entry for yesterday and as she was having a scrappy slump, she decided to talk a bit about her back story and shared a little bit of info about herself. It was really interesting to read. I'm not sure if that just makes me nosey or means I'm just curious about others peoples lives! Either way, I thought I'd do the same. Here goes;

1. I'm the eldest of nine kids. (I'm not sure how my mother did it as sometimes I think I struggle with just one!)

2. I met Declan when I was working for the summer between my third and fourth year of college (and just a few weeks before I turned 21). we started going out at the end of that summer and I knew he was the one for me after just a few weeks.

3. We got engaged on the beach, on the Greek island of Kos.

4. I have degrees in Electronic Engineering and Maths.

5. I worked as a software engineer for five years but don't think I could ever go back to it. I'd much rather do something more artistic... like scrapbooking!

6. I have MS and have had to use a mobility scooter for the last three years to get around. I know it's an unusual sight to see someone so young (32 is young, isn't it!) on a mobility scooter, but I really wish everyone would stop looking at me when I'm out and about :) It makes me even more self conscious than I already am!

7. I wore braces on my teeth for just over two years and got them off about a year ago. It was well worth every penny.

8. I have lived on the same lane my whole life, but in 3 different houses (and one mobile home, while our house was being built).

can't think of any more for now!

Rollercoaster

2008-08-03T19:59:00.002+01:00

Well it has been a week of mixed emotions for me this week. I got some really, really, really good news (of the scrapbook variety) on Friday, and them some more yesterday. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share yet (but I will as soon as I can :) But on the other hand, my lovely uncle is seriously ill in hospital and has been on life support for the last few days. It was very unexpected and he is only 54. His youngest daughter is only the same age as my youngest sister (12). I am keeping him and his family in my prayers.

On a cheerier note, this is a LO from our honeymoon. We went to Cancun in Mexico and it was the most incredible holiday. The photos are of a place called Chichen Itza where there are fabulous Mayan ruins. Interesting fact ; the Mayans were the first to use zero!

Resistance is futile

2008-07-30T14:58:00.004+01:00

I haven't got to do a whole lot of scrapping over the last while, maybe just one or two LO's a week, if even that! And I'm finding the that the months are going by so quickly that I'm not getting to use up as much of my monthly kits as I would like before the next one arrives. Every month I tell myself that I won't get any add-ons, but every month (so far) I haven't been able to resist those tempting little beauties. This month I didn't even set my alarm for 5am in the hope that the add-on I wanted would be sold out by the time I got to go online later in the day. But wouldn't you know it... this month they were still available later than usual! I had no choice but to give in :) I did manage to feel slightly better about my ever growing stash when I saw this though : http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id1285148.

This is another LO about our trip to Venice. I still remember taking that photo of Declan doing his tourist pose!

rank 23,208,167 ???

2008-07-29T12:01:00.002+01:00

My dearest darling hubby got me this t-shirt, and according to it, 0.000001% of internet users say my site rocks! Well I'm not quite sure if that's a complement or an insult! According to him, being ranked 23,208,167th is pretty good considering there's over 100,000,000 sites! I'm not so sure. I guess I could always wear it to bed :)

My Indiana Jones LO was returned today from the lovely Creativity! Life people and I got another copy of the mag as well as some of that lovely new Core'dinations cardstock.

holiday memories

2008-07-26T12:16:00.002+01:00

July's StudioCalico kit featured the very lovely Passport line by Making Memories, so I spent quite a while looking through our old holiday snaps trying to find the best photos to scrap. I was quite surprised at the bad quality of some of the pics from our old camera. Thank goodness for digital cameras (though we only got our first one when Oisin was born!) This LO shows me on a gondola trip in Venice. We spent a week in Italy for our first wedding anniversary and had a fabulous time. It's so beautiful, and the ice-cream...mmmmm.

In the Pink!

2008-07-18T18:02:00.004+01:00

Declan and Oisin went on an 'adventure' to Wicklow yesterday so I had the day to myself. I got started on my quest to do some pages about myself, starting with a LO about how old I'm starting to feel:) I know I'm not that old (I'll be 33 next month) but time seems to be flying by. I think it was celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary last week that did it! And I did another page with some random facts about me. I have to say that it was quite theraputic doing a girly, pink(-ish) LO and writing about myself.

Also, StudioCalico are having a Friends and Family promo from July 28th to August 20th. If anyone is interested in trying out a kit, you can get $10 off if you enter the promo code 0728 at checkout. And did I mention that I got a boxful of Thickers from the postie this morning? I ordered about 20 packs from ebay last week. You can never have too many thickers. (I must have momentarily forgot that my car insurance is up next month...oh well!)

Thanks

2008-07-16T16:12:00.002+01:00

The very talented Elisa nominated me for this blog award the week before last. Thanks Elisa and sorry for the delay in posting about it :)

The rules are that I have to nominate 7 other bloggers whose blogs I admire and visit frequently. Each award winner must show the award and link seven nominated people from their own blog then post a message on the seven chosen blogs. I still have to decide on that. (I'm not sure if a blog can be nominated more than once).

I got my fabulously gorgeous StudioCalico kit yesterday and I can't wait to play! I've been thinking about doing a few LOs about myself! Something I've never really done. I wrote down a few ideas in my new 'Layout Ideas' notebook and I think I'll take the plunge. Problem number 1: finding photo's of myself that I like. Problem number 2: knowing how much to write; do I want people to know goes on in my head? Though I guess most people who would read my pages wouldn't actually know me!

Anyway, here's a LO I did a few months ago about my wonderful and crazy little Oisin...

Everybody was Kung Fu fighting....

2008-07-14T20:23:00.003+01:00

I got to go to the cinema twice last week with Oisin. The long awaited Kung Fu Panda was out at last and Oisin loved it. (Ok we both loved it!) We also saw Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

I got to meet Liz (aka Littlebit) from the Cara Crafts forum today at the ATM in Blanchardstown! She recognized me from CraftEire. You never know where you'll meet fellow scrappers! Hi LittleBit :)

I finally got do do a couple of LO's at the weekend, which is just as well, as I'm trying to use up some more of my current StudioCalico kit before the next one arrives. I love the photo in this one with my niece and Oisin posing while licking the chocolate chip cookie bowl.

10 years...

2008-07-11T14:18:00.002+01:00

Well I haven't got to do any scrapping yet this week, but I did get to make an anniversary card for my gorgeous hubby. It's our 10th wedding anniversary today!! I got the idea from a LO I saw somewhere a few months ago. I can't find it now (to give the right person the credit) but it was probably on the StudioCalico site. The papers are from a StudioCalico kit. Have a great weekend :)

a sunny day

2008-07-06T19:16:00.003+01:00

Well it was nice to have a little bit of sunshine today. We even went to the Botanic Gardens this evening for a stroll amongst the flowers! We had our wedding photo's taken there almost 10 years ago....it's our 10th wedding anniversary this week. ( I'm really starting to feel quite old. Happy anniversary babe, if your reading this :)

Anyway, I got a few LO's done over the last week or two. And I decided to cover a sketchbook I picked up in Borders a couple of months ago. I was inspired by a gorgeous binder that was an add-on in July's Studio Calico kit. Although I really would have loved to buy it, I had already snagged myself two other add-ons and couldn't really justify buying any more. So I decided to cover the notebook I already had and use it to write down some of the LO ideas that are always swimming around my head.

And this is one of the LOs I finished during the week. I love the bright green and yellow. Makes it feel summery!

Published!

2008-07-01T12:14:00.002+01:00

Got my hands on my copy of the brand new Creativity!Life magazine this morning and was very happy to see my Indiana Jones LO in the readers gallery!

I have to say the mag looks very impressive, and it only cost €1.50 for a special bumper pack!!! The magazine is full of lovely LO's and there are lots of articles which I am am now off to read in detail :)

For my LO I used some of the BG Archaic range and some doodlebug letter stickers. The kraft cardstock, red paper and journalling card are from a StudioCalico kit.

Finally here!

2008-06-27T16:19:00.004+01:00

Well Oisin is finally on his summer holidays (though it's hard to believe with the gloomy weather). But at least we didn't have to get up early this morning!!

I'm still amusing myself by opening and closing the fabulous popup ball from Lances album. Doing this album was a great way to use up some of the many left over photos I had lying around that never made it onto LOs.

I also managed to get the album from Donna Downeys class finished yesterday. I decided not to add any journalling and have to lay my hands on a grommet tool to finish the cover but it's pretty much complete. I really love the colours and all the sticky-outy bits. (not sure if sticky-outy is actually a word, but you know what I mean :) Here's a few pics.

And I finally got to get back to my fab StudioCalico kit which got temporarily sidelined while I finished my albums! I have only got two LO's done with this kit so far and the reveal for next month's kit is tonight (though I probably won't actually get it for another two weeks). And since I don't think I can resist next months add-ons, that means a 5am alarm call to bag the goodies.

Had a browse on TwoPeas today and I am tempted to stock up on AC Thickers and a few other bits but the delivery price is crazy at the moment. I haven't actually bought anything there since I started getting my StudioCalico kits but I'm a bit tempted. Maybe I'll wait until I see how much I spend tonight! I'm also going to Orlando in October so maybe I should be saving for the scrapbook shops there. I was there last year and found a beautiful shop called Scrappy Boutique. I could have stayed there for hours oogling scrappy goodness (though I'm sure my husband would tell me I actually did spend hours there!)

Busy, busy...

2008-06-24T21:56:00.004+01:00

Well it's been a busy few days! Last Friday was the official opening of the extension to Oisin's school and Brian Lenihan, minister for finance, attended. I got to see a few old faces from my primary school days!

On Saturday I got to go to the midsummer megascrap event in Donnycarney and got to meet 'famous scrappers' Lance Anderson and Donna Downey. I really enjoyed both classes and it was great to get some new tips and ideas. (It was also great to see some of the scrappers I met at CraftEire and meet some new people too :)

In Donna's class I got to use more paint and fabric than I've used in all my other scrapping projects put together! And the colours were just beautiful.

I'm not usually the biggest fan of Rusty Pickle products but I was very impressed with the pop-up ball album we did in Lances class. I can just hear the 'oooohs' and 'aaaaahs' every time I open it!! I got it finished today and have posted a few pics below.

All about the boys

2008-06-13T17:22:00.003+01:00

I cannot believe that my little boy is almost finished his first year in 'big school'. Only two more weeks and he'll be officially on his summer holidays. I can't wait. I hope we have better weather this summer than last!

Oisin had great fun at his sports day last week and he went on his first school tour on Wednesday too.

I got my StudioCalico kit yesterday and it looks GORGEOUS. I wanted to dive straight in but I really needed to get some Father's Day cards made first. I made a few with my BasicGrey Archaic papers which are suitably manly!

!!

2008-06-05T20:53:00.006+01:00

Monday was such a fabulously sunny Bank Holiday. Oisin, Erin and two of my sisters had a ball playing in my mams new inflatable swimming pool. Poor red-headed Rachel was burned to a crisp! But alas, the sun is gone again. Hope the rain stays away tomorrow though as it's Oisins first school sports day.

Have you read Becks Faggs blog http://www.scrapgenie.blogspot.com lately ? She's looking for someone to become a scrapbook apprentice! What a great idea and what an amazing job that would be! Paid to scrapbook and free stash! Scrapbook heaven! Stop using exclamation marks Lynn!!

a slow week

2008-05-30T18:28:00.003+01:00

Well I planned to get back swimming three times a week this week! I managed twice, but that was it. I really need to get back to it as it's the only exercise I get. It's so easy to find excuses when you're out of the habit! Only managed one LO this week. I think I've lost my mojo a bit as I haven't been too crazy about my last few LO's. But anyway...here's my latest effort....

Scrappers block

2008-05-24T21:25:00.002+01:00

I think I've had a touch of scrappers block the last couple of days. I knew what photo I wanted to scrap and I knew what papers I wanted to use, but when I tried to put it together...nothing...nada....no inspiration. In the end I just kinda forced something together! The photo was taken the day before Oisin's birthday. He had just gotten new goalposts for the garden and new football gear and still managed to look sad! He was upset because the sleeves of his new jersey were too long!

seriously...

2008-05-21T18:04:00.002+01:00

Where are the warm sunny days gone?? Well at least it's easier to stay inside and get a bit of scrapping done! I liked this photo of Oisin that was taken while he was 'playing' his guitar. He looked so intense and serious. The papers for this LO were from one of the add-ons from this months StudioCalico kit. The robot papers are really cool and matched nicely with the robot pajamas that Oisin is wearing in the photo. I really like the colours in this LO, but when I stood back and looked at it, some of the spacings were a bit off...but it was too late to change! Oh well...

Saturday scrapping

2008-05-17T19:42:00.002+01:00

Oisin is 5 tomorrow (I cannot believe it!!) and we had a little party for him today. Just a little family gathering. He had great fun playing with his cousins and aunties and even managed to fit in some fishing this morning with Daddy.

Somehow I managed to find the time to have a little play with my StudioCalico kit. I have to be honest...when I saw this months kit online I wasn't overly excited. But, in reality it's beautiful, and the possibilities are endless with the fabulous papers and embellishments. I really love the chipboard letters and the black letter stickers that you can see in the LO below. (and the black chipboard shapes, and the papers, and ....... ok, all of it!)

Buzzted!

2008-05-16T14:07:00.003+01:00

Today I got my prize that I won on the ScrapDreamie blog! They were giving a prize to someone who posted a Buzzted Blinkie on their blog and I was lucky enough to be picked! Yay!!

I got a kit from Three Bugs in a Rug which has some patterned paper, die cuts and stickers. I don't think I've ever tried any Three Bugs stuff before (not something I would normally choose) but, as I have noticed more lately, it's always good break out of your comfort zone and try something different!

Box of Delights

2008-05-14T20:11:00.002+01:00

Got my box of scrapalicious goodness that is my StudioCalico kit yesterday and as usual, it looks gorgeous. I managed to get a couple more LO's done over the last few days with BG Cupcake. and it's just as well! The kit is calling to me and I think I'll have to answer soon!

I do love the Cupcake papers though...they are lovely and bright, and as usual, I used lots of buttons. And I do admit it... I have a thing for buttons:) I love how the Buzz Lightyear LO turned out but I'm not too crazy about the Bike one.

Mmmmmm...cupcakes

2008-05-09T17:39:00.000+01:00

Did a LO today with BasicGrey cupcake papers. It's the first LO I got to do all week! I think it was easier to stay in and scrap because the sun was hiding for the day. This week has been so nice (until today), in fact the photo's I used in the LO were from a visit to the zoo earlier this week. The sun was shining and there was a bit of a buzz around the zoo...it felt like we were on holidays! I think Irish people get a bit giddy when the sun comes out!

early days

2008-05-07T23:07:00.000+01:00

I bought my copy of doCrafts Creativity magazine today. To be honest, I don't usually find it great but it's always worth a look for €1.50! The new doCrafts scrapbook magazine, Creativity Life, is coming out in July and looks really good. (And not just because one of my LO's will be in it :) It will be be great value if it is only €1.50 too.

I did however, scraplift my very first LO from a DoCrafts magazine. The LO below was my first LO ever and it really inspired me to keep going.

My second original LO was 'The things you say'. Although the design was pretty basic I really loved that I was able to record all the funny little things Oisin said when he was 3. I loved the idea of this page so much that I did another one about a year later and it was one of my entries for the Scrapbooker of the Year competition. You can see it on one of my older posts or on the slideshow. (What do you think of my new slideshow by the way? :)

I booked my ticket for the Midsummer MegaScrap event with Lance from Rusty Pickle and Donna Downey yesterday. I'm not really a big fan of Rusty Pickle but hopefully it will be a good day.

At the NOO ????

2008-04-30T19:25:00.000+01:00

I did a LO today and came across an interesting problem. I put the title around the edge of the photo (I seem to be doing that a lot lately!) but when I stood back and looked at it, it looked more like it said 'At the noo' than 'At the zoo'! I think it only looked wrong because there was a 'z' in the word.

So I turned the 'z' around and I think it looks better now!

I used the beautiful Saffron range from K&Co. I don't know if you can see that well in the photo, but the fabric brad is just gorgeous. The felt flowers, the paper....in fact the whole range is gorgeous.