CRAZY Week

This week has been rather crazy!
Firstly .. I started back at work full-time this week - Monday-Friday 9am-3pm. There were a couple of mornings I REALLY wanted to call in sick but I fought my way through and made it through the whole week. I will be happier with myself once I get my first paycheck!!
The benefits of the job are ....
*Good Pay (we really need the extra money!)
*I can take Abbey with me (I'm a Pre-School teacher)
*They are letting me work school hours
The downfalls of the job are ...
*I have to go there instead of staying at home
*I am so tired I don't feel like crafting as much
Like I said, I'm looking forward to getting a motivational boost when my first paycheck comes in!
Secondly .. My Aunt and I dedcided to go to the local Craft Fair here that they have once a month. It was on today. I have been crazy crafting for it for the last week and I sold one thing. ONE thing, at least it paid for the charge of the table, but it was a little disheartening. I did get alot of interest in my items and a lady who is setting up a craft fair type thing asked if I would display my items there so that was a bonus. I have decided that this may be a good time to launch my Online Scrap Heap Store. I made the site a while ago but haven't advertised it, I guess now is the time so go check it out, buy my stuff (hehehe)
Thirdly .. My scrapbooking classes. Thankfully no-one booked into the crop this week so I didn't have to go out. Next Thursday is the next one so I have to get prepared for that. Because of the Craft Fair I haven't really prepared yet so this week will be mad preping for the Class!
Oh well I guess it's better than not having enough to do!

From Humble Beginnings ....

Last night at my Scrapbooking Class one of the ladies said Why don't my pages look as well put together as yours? My answer was How long have you been a scrapbooker?! Also on the TM Message board a similar topic is going around.
I have come a loooong way since I started scrapping 8yrs ago and it has taken alot of time of playing & experimenting to get to the place I am today.
EVERYONE starts off as a beginner and I don't want the begginner scrappers to feel over shadowed and intimadated by the more experienced. Scrapbooking is all about YOU not others and it's not a good idea to compare yourself with other scrapbookers. Somone who has being scrapping for 10mths is going to have alot less experience, knowledge and techniques than someone who has been doing it for 10yrs! If YOU like your LO who cares what it looks like! This is a recent learning curve for me, I scrap for me now, I don't scrap to try to please others. Getting nice comments etc is really uplifting but you really shouldn't be searching for that. Be happy with what you have done for YOU!
I wanted to show everyone my humble beginnings and talk breifly about how I became a scrapbooker. I challenge you other bloggers out there to do the same. My good friends Jennie & Kristine are going to as well so check out their blogs to see their first LOs too!

Almost 9yrs ago my Hubby Jason arrived in NZ for the first time. We met online and he traveled here to meet me (that is a long and different story for another time!) He used to be a US Marine and he bought with him a 'scrapbook' of Memorabilia from his time overseas during his Marine Tour. I fell in love with it (and him!) and I decided to do an album with things from our lives. I collected EVERYTHING! Movie tickets, resturant cards and reciepts, everything! and I put it together in an album.
Here are a few pages from that 'wonderful' (cough cough splutter) Album ....





A friend of my Brothers, Kerri, found out I was a 'scrapper' and asked me along to a 'Midnight Madness Crop' at our Local Scrapbook Store. This is where I was introduced to scrapbooking for real! Wow look at the papers, embelishments etc etc etc!! It wasn't until my Son was born that I started doing 'real' 12x12 scrapbooking. Here are some of my very first 12x12 LOs ....




My Son has just turned 5yrs old.
I have grown alot in my scrapping. I have learnt many things, and continue to learn. I don't want anyone to be discouraged or intimadated by more experienced scrapbookers work and just get involved in the fun and the reason why you started scrapbooking in the first place, because I'm sure it wasn't to show off to everyone and compete!
I hope to see lots more people sharing their works of art and encouraging the newbies to feel proud of their work!

3 Birdies 1 LO!

OK this LO has 3 purposes ....
TM Scrappers Weekly Challenge
Scrap Your Crap Challenge
Class LO with Acetate

Ahhhhhh nice to have it done!



I used MME Papers, Kaiser Rubons, Heidi Grace Alphas, buttons, embroidery floss and acetate. I also tried a little home-made rubon technique with the quote 'a mother's treasure is her daughter', check my class blog after Thursday for how I did those!
The photos were taken at my friend Katrina's wedding, it was Abbey's first time as a wedding guest!
And another LO with no purpose except my pleasure and it's about time I scrapped them since it was THREE Christmases ago!


I used Heidi Grace papers, chipboard shapes, plastic flowers, alphas & ribbon, kaiser rubons, brads and a Basic Grey magnetic tie back.
I just LOVE these pics of Abbey, Santa and Mrs Claus. They were taken at the Kindercare Christmas Party at Abbey's first Christmas. I just thought that the outfit she was wearing made her look like Baby Claus! Too cute!

Too busy to blog!

Sorry that this promise of blogging more often is continuiously getting broken!
I have been a busy busy scrapper preparing for my next Scrapbooking Class at Absolutely Crafty, I have also been working on a class blog. So now I am a double blogger!
So here is a little sneak peek at what I have been busy working on .... ACETATE





I have one LO to share with you ...


The photo was taken at Kindercare where Abbey got to join Riley in his classroom for his 4th Birthday cake.
This LO was for TM Scrappers Challenge. We had to take the first 5 letters of our surname and use those letters to use elements on our page.
Here's what I did ...
P - patterned paper
A - alphas
L - lace
M - metal frame
E - eyelets & epoxy brads