Merry Christmas

Happy Yuletide, let's celebrate the Solstice or anything else that you're into!

The festive season is not so festive for me. I try for the sake of my kids,

but really it is a time that generally finds me harangued by the black dog.

We do the tree, the big feed, crafts and baking sometimes. But 

Santa is not our thing since our youngest decided he isn't real last year,

and religion just doesn't fit with us.

My history is full of memorable Christmasses for all the wrong reasons.

Coming from a poor, single-parent family as a child, trees falling over, no gifts or ones that you don't want. No batteries, toys broken from getting them out of the packaging, things that simply don't work, frustration and anger. Family that don't 'get' you and aren't open to the possibility that you can be your own person and not impinge on their lives. Blame, guilt, anger, lack of appreciation, denial, alienation, and absenteeism, it's all there. Along with history, memories, right or wrong, of misdeeds and abuses that refuse to be forgiven or forgotten.

It all ends in a 'not-so-festive' season for me and I am glad right now that it is Christmas night, I have a Jameson's nightcap, everyone is in bed and it is all over for another year.

On the upside I love my hubby and kids. They are the breath of me. They are what keeps me grounded and they give me the will to keep going. They support me and love me and they are my 'reason for the season'. Each one of them is unique in personality and talents, each one of them feeds my soul in completely different ways and I am so utterly grateful for their presence in my life.

So.................

This page is an artistic representation of the joy my kids bring to my life.

Inspired by the December challenge over at Kraft It Up.

Aren't they gorgeous kids!

I do hope that your Christmas was joyous,

spent with people you love and who love you.

And I wish that you all have an amazing year ahead,

full of friendship, laughter, prosperity, and happiness.

Thank you all so much for visiting me through 2013!

Yours in scrappiness

Trying to find the impetus.....

to scrap!

I had a play with the Scrap Around the World mood board
(click on the image to go to their blog)

and came up with this....

Miss Mojo seems to be giving me a break right now, I'm attempting to scrap through it but the drive and excitement of creating are sorely lacking.

I think it's the summertime heat and pre-Christmas chaos

(as much as I think I'm in denial!).

I have also started the Kraft it Up challenge but it is slow going,

so it may not be ready in time, especially as I'm working on my first ever December Daily as well.

New Paper Haus Issue

Welcome to the Winter Frolic 12 Days Of Christmas Blog Hop!

We are celebrating the release of the Winter Issue of PaperHaus Magazine and

also inspiring you each day with wonderful holiday projects, giveaways and eye candy!

Our blog hop will run from December 1st to December 12th!

Be sure to stop each day and leave comments to win some fabulous prizes from our lovely sponsors! Remember to check out the Winter Issue (click on the image below)

for additional inspiration, holiday cheer and amazing projects from our contributing team!

This is DAY 5 of our celebration hops

Visit and comment at each stop to go in the draw.

PaperHaus Magazine www.thepaperhaus.com
Anna Sigga http://anna-sigga.blogspot.com/
Peg Hewitt - You Are Here :-)
Audrey Yeager http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com
Graphic 45 http://g45papers.typepad.com

And here is a Santa page to keep you in the mood for all things festive.

Thanks for joining us for our new release.

Yours in scrappiness

City Boy

So I broke out some flair for the very first time recently

to play along at the Kraft It Up challenge blog.

I also added some wood veneer mushies

because I misguidedly thought I had to use both on my page.

I didn't, it was a 'use one of these things' challenge :-)

These pics were taken on the bus, Nan was enjoying showing Dex the ropes.

There is still time to play along this month.

And, if you are up for it, they are having a DT call.

Thanks for dropping by

Scrap Around the World

Is a fun, newish challenge blog full of amazing and inspiring creatives.

This is their November challenge...

And this is the page I made, inspired by the colours and drippiness of the paint.

I also used the sketch rotated clockwise.

I might have to retreat to my art room now as it is raining again today and such perfect weather for flinging around some ink & paint :-D

Thanks so much for dropping by,

Yours in scrappiness

Authentique & UmWow

Authentique & UmWow make a lovely combination.

I'm playing along with Throwback Thursday

using some old Authentique papers and stickers with

DeeDee's gorgeous UmWow chippy stars and clouds

(which I cut in half to look like piles of mud).

This is also the November challenge on the UmWow blog :-)

Maybe you will play along too?

There's a prize up for grabs, just follow the links above to find out more.

Thanks for dropping by

Hop with Scrapbooking Memories

Welcome to the.....

Have you guessed the theme yet?

I'm the last stop and your final hint layout

so if you think you know what the common thread is head on over to the

Scrapbooking Memories blog and leave a comment with your guess.

Here's my page

If you need a recap here is the complete list.

Thanks for hopping with us today and best of luck!

12pm – Leonie 

12:30 – Heather 

13:00 – Anita   

13:30 – Sue 

14:00 – Georgia 

14:30 – Tarrah 

15:00 – Beck  

15:30 – Kerryn 

16:00 – Kaye 

16:30 – Peg --> You are here :-)

Scrapbooking Memories Blog

Scrapbooking Top 50 Fun

I had an awesome scrapping weekend at the

Barraba Playhouse Hotel recently

with a bunch of amazing gals.

The food was delicious, accommodation very comfy,

and inspiration abundant.

The wonderful Peta MacBeth brought along her

side-kick Michelle and her shop chock full of brand new goodies.

It was an opportunity for me to hang out with kindred spirits

and catch up on lots of challenges without the

distraction of children, housework, TV, or Facebook.

So here are my pages for the Monopoly Challenge over at

Scrapbooking Top 50. I am a late-comer to this game and

had about 5 challenges to catch up which was a brilliant way to

kick-start my mojo for the weekend.

The first challenge was 'Go'

use the letters g & o at the beginning of your title

Week 1 - Glitter

I used Glimmer Mists, bling, and Twinkling H2Os 

This page was done for my new friend Shelly, she was kind enough to spare me

the divine picture of her daughter on her wedding day. Thank you Shelly *mwah*

Week 2 - Retro

I found a vinyl single at Salvos and a green doiley at Vinnies,

combined with a large pattern and slide frames for this page.

Week 3 - Visiting Jail

Black & white and something hidden. I used one of Charm's Creations

page runners as a pull-out tab for my journalling.

Week 4 - Sewing

Include a stitched border and some leaves

These challenges are great fun and it's not too late to join in.

I am going to work on weeks 5 & 6 this weekend.

I also got a few other challenges done in Barraba

I'll share them in the upcoming week as I get time.

Thanks heaps for dropping by

Yours in scrappiness

Mixed Media Gauche Style

This is a layout I made for the Gauche Alchemy newsletter

a couple of months ago. I loved working with these photos

gifted to me by my darling girl when she was playing

make-up dress ups with a girl friend.

I used lace, punchinella, ouchless cardboard,

and a vintage book page from the Ephemera variety pack,

along with Kaisercraft flowers,

Scrap Matrix chippy circles and pearl flourishes,

an acrylic butterfly from Clear Cut Crafts, Dymo,

and ink spray from Ranger Dylusions.

I have no idea what the patterned paper is, sorry.

Thanks for dropping by

Halloween Grunge

Last year the kids had a Halloween Social at school

and Ed wanted to be a Zombie.

The pics were awesome with him in costume and make-up thanks to

his wonderful (and skilled) big sister Ruby.

This is the page I did for the most recent issue of The Paper Haus e-zine,

you should pop over and check it out if you haven't already,

it is chock-full of stunning work!

I'm linking this up at Paper Issues for their Halloween theme

so head over there if you want oodles of inspiration.

Thanks so much for dropping by

Boy stuff

The last of my September challenge pages was for Scrap The Boys.

It had to be about the great outdoors, or in my case, backyard shenanigans.

Plenty of messy mists on this one along with a  couple of Chic Tags, some washi tape, twine, and a scrap of art paper from Somerset Memories magazine.

Showing stuff...

Aaaaand another challenge for September

This time it's SUYS, use red and white and something hand-made.

I used a Charm's Creations yellow banner flag for my hand-made,

I cut the corners off and stuck them as arrows to the right of the pics.

Some Dylusions ink spray, Glitz Designs chevron tape,

alpha stickers and red mesh. I haven't shown Ruby,

not sure she would approve ;-)

Krafting it Up

Here is my page for the KIU September challenge based on this sketch

 I took a bit of liberty with the circles :-)

Pistachio

September's WW1 challenge was white with pistachio.

Seemed perfect for Ireland.

I never get tired of scrapping these pictures

taken nearly 2 years ago at Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland.

If I ever win lotto I'm going to buy a house in Ireland and

live there every winter 'coz I love the cold!

(And the whiskey ;-)

Thanks for dropping by

For Charm

Here is my page for the third challenge over at Scrapbooking From Scratch,

set by Charm of Charm's Creations.

It's thrown together with a bunch of stuff (that would otherwise

have gone in the bin), and under sufferance of constant interruptions.

And I'm sorry to say that it looks it!

Still, it's done...

Thanks for coming by :-)

Love being inspired

I had a fun time this month playing with the Scrap Around The World

September challenge

I used the sketch combined with the

high contrast black & white patterns from the mood board.

The white cardstock base was salvaged from the awesome

Ebony's bin at Camp Mojo, I used it for a kick-start :-).

The fabulous hounds tooth is wrapping paper from an order at

Paper Issues (thank you Cassie x), Dylusions ink sprays, washi tapes, and a few ancient things from my stash.

I also want to thank the gorgeous Sharmaine for the inspired journalling,

I saw it on a page she did and just had to borrow it.

Thanks for coming by

A 'thank-you' scrap

I have met Peta a few times at various retreats,

she brings along the best products and most well-stocked shop

I've ever seen on the road!

So much so that I have increased my mandatory spending budget for getaways.

Awesomely you can also shop with her online here, and

keep up with what she's got going on here.

So I had a go at 2 of the 3 challenges up at

Scrapbooking from Scratch this month just to say

thanks for being fabulous!

First up is the sketch by Anita

Patterned papers, die-cut tags, flowers and buttons from Graphic 45.

Glitz Designs woodgrain alpha stickers, Crate Paper wood grain paper,

Tim Holtz filmstrip ribbon, Dymo, twine, Bazzill white cardstock

and a wet tea bag.

and secondly Donna's colour challenge

The sweet layered banner flags are from Charm's Creations.

Background done with bubble wrap and Tattered Angels Chalkboard mists,

Glitz Designs patterned papers, Chic Tags,

and cardstock & alpha stickers from Crate Paper.

It's school holidays here for the next 2 weeks so 

I'm hoping to get in some more play time :-)

Thanks so much for dropping by,

Hope your world is being wonderful.

Still in love :-)

With Gauche Alchemy of course!

Here are a couple of recent pages I did for them.

 One for the blog which is always chockablock full of inspiration

and information from the Alchemists.

Details and a close up here

And one from the August Newsletter; if you still need to sign up

you can do it right here on the side bar where it says 'Get All The Dirt'.

Here's my new page for this month, I have been getting very messy :-D

I have had these 3 pics of my gorgeous girl for ages

(there were originally 5 in the sequence)

but I have been struggling to fit them on a page while not being too overwhelming. I know I should have printed them smaller to start with but....

well, that just didn't happen.

So my answer to this problem was to overlap and hinge them.

The little yellow gingham tabs are for flipping them up to see the one underneath. You should check out the shop for tons of awesome Washi tapes!
I also used a vintage magazine page from a themed kit

and some sweet UmWow Studio chippy clouds and chevron borders.
And then there's the mess made with Ranger Dylusions ink sprays.

Thanks heaps for coming by,

yours in scrappiness