Adore

I did another layout for Amanda and I know she has seen it and likes it so I thought I would share it, her son has the cutest little smile and it wasn't until after I compared this layout to the other one I did for her I realised that they are similar but different colourings, co-incidence hey...Well it is overcast with showers predicted here today so looks like after I go and pick up some necessities from the supermarket, I am going to scrap today, all going to plan that is. Hope whatever you are doing today, you have a fantastic time with your families. Love Melxx

Beach dreams

I captured these gorgeous photos of Nate at the Redcliffe Lagoon last year on a trip away for the day with Col and Jan, he had a wonderful time, got so wasted I had to carry him back to the car and he slept all the way home. (actually I think I fell asleep in the back also). I love the way he is just watching people, the water and is in awe of his surroundings. I love showing him new things and watching his face, when Nate goes quiet you know he is taking it all in (you know - he has the man thing, cannot talk and take it all in at once). Going to get the sizzix out today and try some new things, Jan is coming down as she is feeling a little better - she is even walking down (she only lives 8 houses up the road) but she has been so isolated at home whilst she has been sick, she really wants to walk. Then after lunch Nate is having a sleep and then has a party at Lollipops for his friend Cooper who is 5. That starts at 5.30 - 8.30pm and is a disco party, can you believe a 3 year old is attending his first disco, I think I was 14 before I went to the school discos. Life has certainly changed, the things he has seen and places he has been too, blow me away, they certainly have it different today than I did. Hope you all enjoy a wonderful day whatever you are doing, catch up with you on your blogs soon.

Buddies

Nate had a playdate in January and a friend brought her children around to play, Thomas is a yr younger than Nate but they had a ball together, he is a rough little tiger just like Nate is when he gets going. For this I had some cardboard wrapping off some product I had bought and I used my versamark water stamp pad to stamp the letters on then cut around them, I think it looks good. The journalling spot is also the packaging. A simple layout but I like the result. Hope you all have a fantastic day. Love Melxx

60 today

My good friend Jan had a surprise 60th b-b-q at Kholo gardens this day and well it was hard to keep it a surprise as she is very good at picking up on things, her husband and I arranged to take Nate to the gardens for a picnic, she seemed to believe it but I think she somehow knew. We had a great day, Nate took his bike, we played coits and totem tennis, ate way too much and all her family was their to help her celebrate.

No tea for me tonight mum

If Nate doesn't have his afternoon nap, by tea time this is what I find, he just falls asleep at the dinner table (around 5ish) so by 1.30pm I coax him into the bed after his bath and after I read 6,000,000 books to him and play with his book with the cat puppet in it, he tells Elliott the cat what he did for the morning, and then he goes off like a rock, mind you on hot days, I feel like staying in the air-con with him, but the couple of hours I get free is when I do my scrapping, or cooking the dogs their dinners, or house cleaning, or blogging. I used a cut out picture, something I never usually do, and added all sorts of ribbon coming out from him, another thing I never usually do. I hope you like it and have a great day. Love Melxx

Just for me layout

Some more of Nate mowing, I just love how he awakes everyday and wants to mow, we have a non motorised push mower too that he loves, but he just mows till he drops with exhaustion, I know when this is because he says "Mum you go now", isn't he adorable.

Photo and Layout swap with Amanda

I did this layout for my good friend Amanda Taylor, her little boy has the cutest smile so I cropped this photo and enlarged it, I used Rose Moka, Bo Bunny, Pink Paislee PP's, Fancy pants embellishments, and I just hope she likes it, it is fun to do someone else a layout, but also daunting at the same time. Went to the Handmade expo, took Nate to Granny and Grampsy's and then he had a big sleep, terribly hot here tonight, Bewitched (the movie) is on here, I hope you all are having a great day. Love Melxx

The look I love

I received a RAK I won a few weeks ago on Scrap that Poetry's Blog hop, this was from Nikki Antenello and I made this layout straight away. I love this photo of Nate looking out of the plane window when we went to Sydney last year. He was so in awe, and his shirt had the blue in it. This background paper is so bright and busy but I think everything on top of it makes the photo stand out. Sure helps when you have several papers and embellishments from the same brand. Hope you all have a great day, bit busy this end, but although I do not work at present, I still love my Fridays....Love Melxx

Just for me layout

Nate loves his bubbles so I did this layout for him just to remind him in years to come, I used some Fancy pants chipboard and some ribbon I got from the gorgeous Noel Mingon kit I received yesterday. Hope you like it. Love Melxxx

Challenge Heaven Christmas page challenge

I did this strange shaped page as the criteria was use Kraft as the base, I used a Fancy Pants Kraft Cuts piece, thanks Amanda for this, she sent me this in a RAK. You also had to have four photos and use chipboard on the page somewhere, it's an extremely busy page and I put pop dots under some embellishments to give some dimension to the page, I am not sure what I think of this one, but I know I love these photos of Nate and well he makes Christmas just so much fun now. I really look forward to seeing his little face when he opens presents.

Challenge Heaven Word Challenge

This is Nate at the "Nippers fun area" at Ipswich Railway Workshops on this funny looking bike, he just loves it there, I must take him again soon. The challenge was to use the word crazy, distress paper and stamp. I stamped a saying on the corner of the photo, I am not much of a stamper, but love them all the same, seeing so many wonderful stampers out there and what they can do frustrates me slightly, they are so clever. I loved this robot paper from Kaiser the robots are so cute, don't necessarily go with the theme but perfect for little boy pagers all the same. Thanks for looking, I actually think my mojo is creeping back this week. Yay!!

Scrap that poetry

My first ever entry for Scrap that Poetry. It was such a gorgeous poem and to me was about the bond that happens when you love someone, the unconditional feeling of total contentment. I totally enjoyed doing this layout and hope you like it.

Stick n' giggle challenge kit

This is my entry to my LSS challenge kit, you had to use a bit of everything in the kit, I struggled but then an idea came to me so I just went with it, we bought candy canes this year for the tree, Nate had more fun capturing them then actually eating them (which is good really) and I often caught him at the tree trying to get the top ones, he was a little bit young to still understand Christmas last year but this year I think will be just wonderful. He even sat on a Santa's knee when my friend's dad dressed up, still didn't get a pic with the Santa in the Shopping Santa he just didn't want to sit on his lap and just cried. I am so glad I have got these photos to look back on and am thankful the photos went with the kit.

Out of the Hat February Challenge

I just love this photo of Nate with vegemite all over his mounth, when he laughs I just seem to laugh too, his little eyes close up and well I just love him, so the title "Sunshine of my life" seemed very appropriate. This challenge you had to have some buttons and bows, a butterfly and a four word title.

Not much on today, I went to bed with Nate early last night and read the Scrapbooking Memories magazine. I am not sure if you saw the advertisement for the Scrappin Kats design team in it, but that is me, wow who would have thought my very first time officially published was going to be for an advertisement. But it was nice anyway. I hope you all have a wonderful day, relax and enjoy time with your wonderful families.

Challenge Heaven Colour Challenge

I love this photo of Nate, he is at the Railway Museum in Ipswich and being a boy is in awe at all the train things he is seeing, he is here on the little train that takes you for rides, he has just started to develop into a gorgeous little man, his attention span is longer and he actually concentrates on things, before 3, he just ran like a maniac when excited, so he is growing up, this is a good thing I know, but I still miss that little dependant boy I had. Selfish I know but time is just going by so quickly.

This challenge had the criteria "Black, White, Red and another colour, had to have a flourish and distressing (which I did on the bazzill and then inked)

Scrap the Girls February entry

This is my entry for this month's Scrap the Girls challenge, I found some covered wire in the wrapping of Nate's birthday present (it was a Thomas Train set) and I wound the little flowers and leaves around it and then tried to wrap it around to frame the photo, you had to add hearts also, but I used this gorgeous Franceville paper and cut the heart out, the title is "Dance like no-one is watching", This was taken when we put up the Christmas tree in December 09 and had the i-tunes on.

Challenge Heaven Quote Challenge

My dearest angel maxi or I call him "Master Hog" he loves to eat and I always know when he is under the weather as he leaves some food in his bowl, I make both dogs food up using mince veges rice and pasta so I am hoping this keeps Maxi around for a longer time, he is 15 this year. My first time at cutting around a photo like this, it is growing on me, I backed the treee with book paper and covered the front with pp, wowsers, this took ages. but in the end I like any layout I do of my old man. Thank you so much for looking. Hope you all have a precious day. Love Melxxx

Crafty Sketches February Entry

This is my February entry for Crafty Sketches, and this is Nate, with the useless little toy inside the bon bon on Christmas Day, so priceless considering he had received the most gorgeous presents and spent ages playing with this little plastic animal. PRICELESS!

Scrap around the Clock February Challenge

This layout is of me at 4 being flower girl at my Aunty's wedding, the criteria was distressing, glimmermist (which although I used it you can't really see it) I am thinking I might try to buy some of the new mists, they seem to show up clearer, and inking. I put my journalling on a pull out under the photo, I cannot put journalling on my layouts, I think I hate my handwriting and feel it makes me dislike my layout, crazy huh. Although I cannot remember much of this day, I am enjoying documenting these layouts for Nate to look back on in years to come. Thank you all for the wonderful encouraging posts you leave, so uplifting especially on days you don't feel inspired, have lost mojo and just tired. Love Melxx

Screen to Scrap

I have been without a computer up until yesterday, so that's why their is not so many entries, oh my goodness, how much did I miss her, my lifeline to my gorgeous cyber friends.

Here is my entry for Screen to scrap, had some tricky criteria this month, so I had to improvise, I made a sail for the boat out of onion wrapping, and used an owl for the pirate's parrot. I aptly named the title "Crawling the plank". Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Zoe & Nate

Just a layout to showcase Nate's first love Zoe, they had a love hate relationship with her being the Cougar in this relationship, she has now moved to Melbourne but before she left she said she would like to marry Nate when she is 5, so they are apparently doing the long distance love thing. He has mentioned her a few times so sounds like she is still in his thoughts.

The horse next door

Nate has a playdate with Cooper each Saturday morning, Cooper's mum and me have coffee while we watch the boys play together, she lives on property and the neighbours have horses, cows, ducks, pigs etc so Nate loves it, they were a bit pensive at first with the mini horses but now Nate sits and talks to them. I used MME paper and embellishments for this, I know, theirs flowers again on a boys layout but I still have the need to be girly so this is just the way it is.

Artistic challenge blog entry

This is my entry for Artistic Challenge Blog, the picture for inspiration was of a mother washing her baby, I unfortunately have no photos of me bathing little one as I am on my own and those extra set of hands I have prayed for have never arrived. So I documented how much Nate loves his bathtime, he was duly named Dugong at an early age because of his love of bathtime. I cut out the inside of this die cut paper and 3d'd the outside of it, I used October afternoon background paper and Fancy Pants Daily Grind chiboard pieces and Bixous bits and pieces, the Only smiles spot is from MME and the flowers are Prima. Thank you for looking and I hope you like it.