Oh Baby mini album

for Amanda.  Lets go back a couple of years.  My daughter Debbie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  Debbie was blessed to have so many wonderful, supportive friends.  Amanda was always there ready to give a helping hand so when I heard that she was expecting a baby I wanted to make something special for her.  
I don't normally like yellow but in my mind's eye, I visualised a Black and White album with a touch of Yellow filled with tiny black and white photos.  This album will take up to 26 photos with plenty of room for journaling.  I challenged myself to use what was in my stash and the only thing I bought was yellow cardstock.  I wanted this album to be interactive so I added several techniques.

 I covered a box with coordinating paper

 

 The centre piece is chipboard, inked black with 3 coats of embossing powder

 

 

Photos slip in behind vellum

I want it all

BasicGrey have just released a new line called Capture and it is divine.  I haven't been so excited about anything for a long time.  There is nothing I don't like about all the albums, mini stacks, die-cuts, journalling cards, tags...the list goes on and on.  You need to head over to their blog and check it out for your self.  I promise that you will not be disappointed.

 

Guess what..........

my foot is all better, my scrapbooking supplies have all been lovingly unpacked.  My new Craft Room is still a work in progress as I am working out where I want things to go and I will share some photos of my new storage systems.
I have noticed that over the past couple of years, I am more into making albums.  Here is a sneak peek of  the 2011 December Daily Album and a Mini Baby Album both of which I will share in more detail in the very near future.  

 

I am also working on my 2012 December Daily Album which is near to completion. But first I must finish the "Stubby and T-shirt" Holiday" album that I am doing with Noell's "Play Along" from Paperclipping.  Because of visitors and an unexpected surprise trip to Sydney (Grandparents Day) I am running a little late but should have it completed in a week or so.

 

And the excitement continues...

Well, all my scrapbooking is still in boxes.  They are however in our new house but that's where they will be staying for a few weeks yet.  On our 4th day of moving in, I took a tumble out of the laundry door and broke a bone in my foot - need I say more.
So I am resigned to sit and surf the net to see what everyone is up to and of cause to enter the odd competition. Today I found out that Basic Grey have released a new  Soleil collection. I totally love this collection. And I can see myself making a mini album about my childhood. 
Basic Grey are giving this collection away so if you would like a chance to win, head on over to their Facebook page and leave a comment.

Basic Grey giveaway

Time is what I have plenty of at the moment.  June was spent packing moving boxes.  So you know what that means - all my scrapbooking supplies are buried somewhere deep in a container patiently waiting to be freed on 3rd August.  That's when we move into our new home.
Until then, I am surfing the net, reading blogs and to have a little extra fun, entering a few competitions.  The latest being Basic Grey.  For your chance to win products from their Clippings range visit their blog but be quick because there are only a few minutes left.

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

Usually on a Thursday afternoon you can find a lovely group of ladies called "All Sorts" playing Mah Jong at our local RSL.  Yesterday we had 40 ladies join us for the Australia's Biggest Morning Tea fund raiser.  It was a fun afternoon with lots of prizes and plenty of yummy cakes to go with that cup of tea/coffee.
We managed to raise over $500 which will go towards cancer research.   I made these not so little white chocolate mud cake cupcakes with  a frosting that is half way between marshmallow and meringue.

 

WHITE CHOCOLATE MUD CAKES

125g butter chopped coarsely

75g white eating chocolate, chopped coarsely

220g caster sugar

1/2 cup milk 

75g plain flour

75g self-raising flour

FLUFFY FROSTING

220g castor sugar

80ml water

2 egg whites

Pre heat oven to 170C/340F.  Line 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.

Stir butter, chocolate, sugar and milk in small saucepan over low heat until smooth.  Transfer to medium bowl; cool 15 minutes.

Whisk sifted flours into chocolate mixture, then whisk in egg.  Drop 1/4 cups of mixture into paper cases.

Bake about 30 minutes.  Stand cakes in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool.

FLUFFY FROSTING.  Combine sugar and water in small saucepan; stir over heat without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.  Boil, uncovered, without stirring, about 5 minutes or until syrup reaches 116C/245F on a candy thermometer.  Syrup should be thick but not coloured.  Remove from heat, allow bubbles to subside.  Beat egg whites in a small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form.  While motor is operating, add hot syrup in a thin steady stream; beat on high speed for about 10 minutes or until mixture is thick.  

I found these cupcakes are best eaten the day they are made.  I have no doubt that they would not last 24 hours any way.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I found this recipe in the Australian Women's Weekly Classic Cupcakes book.

Thanks to Heidi Swapp

because I found some wonderful videos that she shares on My Craft Channel.  As I was browsing through the videos I came across the Stand Up Album that she had created and at that moment, I knew that I had found my inspiration for a Birthday Gift for my eldest daughter.
She definitely doesn't get it from me but Stacey has a passion for running, so my creative juices started flowing and I put together this inter-active album.

Stacey opened her present while we were talking on the phone and she totally loved it.  She was amazed when she realized it was inter-active with loads of space to document, add photos, make lists etc.  While flipping through the pages she said that there was so much more she wanted to include and asked if I would make some more pages.  With Heidi's great idea of using binder rings, that is going to be no problem at all.
I also must mention that I tried Heidi's method of making a book (mine is a mini) in her video Magnetic Book Part 2.  I need more practice as I did get a little confused but it all worked out in the end.

365 Day Later.....

and I am back.   The past year has been a roller coaster to say the least.  I wont bore you with all the details but I can say that Debbie has responded very well to treatment and at the moment is leukaemia free.  I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who has been there to support our family through this tough journey.  Like Debbie, I am overwhelmed by the love and generosity of those who have come into our lives this past year.
With so much focus placed on disasters,  tragedy, financial turmoil and politics ( I do not dismiss the importance of these issues)  but we rarely here of the Earth Angles who walk among us.
WOW, I didn't mean to get so heavy in my first post in a year.  I am really happy to be back and hope to share a couple of projects that I have started working on.

I will be missing for a while.....

because our world has been turned up side down. A couple of weeks ago our daughter Debbie was diagoised with Acute Leukemia and will be in hospital for around 8 months receiving treatment after which, she will spend a further 2 months for a transplant. Debbie and Craig have 2 little boys 6 & 3 with special needs and are going to need extra help in the months ahead.

We have been considering moving back down closer to our family and friends and this latest event has made the decission to move ASAP much easier. So we have put our house on the market and now the waiting game starts.

In the meantime, we will be travelling down to Brisbane mainly during the school holidays to help out with the boys and give Craig and his family a break and also to give our precious daughter all the support we can.

Not only that, it will also give us quality time to strengthen our bond with our grandsons. When you live so far away, 9 hours by car, we only get to see these gorgeous, loving boys a couple of times a year.

So I don't know when I will be posting agian. My scrapbooking has been put on hold but I am journaling so there maybe a mini album in the future.

To all my wonderful scrapbook friends who have visited my blog, I say a warm thankyou and I hope that you will all still be around when I come back.

It's so Confussing.......

whenever I take a photo. I don't have a SLR but my camera does have manual settings - it's just that I get so bamboozled with the aperture and shutter speed that I revert back to AUTO. I would love to be able to snap those perfect shots and I do realize that using the manual settings I can get a greater shot.
Well, thanks to Kayla Lamoreaux of Digiscrap 101 I found a link to muddyboots where I found a link to this awesome site.
There is a SimCam where you can try out different apertures and shutter speeds to see what effects they have on the "sample" image. I found it a lot of fun as well as learning to understand the applications.
All of the links I have given you today are packed full of tutorials to help everyone from digi scrappers to hybrid scrappers to beginner photographers so I highly recommend you go take a look for yourself.

Gotta be quick.....

if you want a chance of winning this Mandala Reflections Board. For more info on how to win, click on the image in the "Candy Bar".








It is designed for card makers but really, anyone who crafts with paper will be inspired by this board. I can already think of several ways I can use it. So, if you would like to know more about this board, then I suggest that you visit ikki's cuttlebug cupboard where you will find more inspiration and heaps of great tips on how to use your Cuttlebug.

If it looks lika a snake.......

and it moves like a snake, then it must be a snake. Well not exactly. A couple of days ago, I was about to fly out the door to rescue my washing from a pending storm but I stopped dead in my tracks. There, under the clothes line, was this reptile warming it's belly on the pebble concrete. At first I thought "SNAKE" but it didn't look quite right.



Bec took a photo of it and researched it on the web and found it to be a Burtons legless lizard. Their average length is 29cm and this one was a monster at around 60cm. Mind you, I had no intention of getting the excat measurement.

I've said it before.......

"I'm Back". Well this time I think I have out done myself. When I looked at the last time I posted I was shocked. So many reasons (or are they just excuses?) why I have been away for so long. I am a very organized individual (NOT) and well, life has been very busy and so much has happened - all good.

At the moment I am working on an album that I want to document a trip/holiday we had last year. I am trying to follow Noell's Task Batching to help me finish it in record time. At the moment I am tackling the journaling, next will come the photos and finally the embellishments.

If you are looking for a site that is packed full of video tutorials, examples, techniques and very entertaining podcasts, then I highly recommend that you visit Paperclipping.

Well, that's all from me today - better not go overboard on my first post in eons.
Now back to my Task Batching and to finish my cup of tea before it gets cold.

p.s. It's good to be back.

Find something good in each day and enjoy...........
Irene

Introducing Ella Joy

Last week my niece Melissa and hubby Richard were blessed with a precious little baby girl Ella Joy. Both baby and mother are doing very well. The look on Melissa's face says it all. I know that the years to come are going to be filled with so much love and happiness and priceless memories.

This is a card that I made for the baby. I looked at all the baby cards that you can buy but I really wanted to make one. I struggle when it comes to making cards so I have kept it simple.

Thanks for stopping by,
Hugs, Irene xx

My Tasmanian Holiday

Last week the Annual National Mah Jong Tournament was held in Hobart, Tasmania. The venue for the competition was Wrest Point Casino and most of the players stayed there too. We had 4 half days of competition and while we played, the husbands that came along were free to do a bit of sight seeing.

Wrest Point Casino by night. Our room was the

top left of the 3 level Water Edge wing.

This is the amazing view from our room. Each morning we would draw back the curtains and feel the window to see how cold it was outside. I think that I will be painting this view as a reminder

of our first visit to Hobart.

The main reason for being in Hobart was to play Mah Jong.

Here are a few of the 120 ladies that participated.

The Dinner and Presentation Evening was a Winter Wonderland theme and there were many wonderful costumes. I went as the Snow Queen (always knew I had royalty in my blood LOL). There were penguins, snowmen, snow flakes and icicles, but I was lucky enough to be awarded First Place.

I had two wishes while in Tasmania. 1) Was to touch a Koala. DH took several photos but this is the only one that came out. I think it might be time to start researching a new camera.

AND

2) Was to see snow. There were 5 of us in the car including my Best Friend Trish, and as we climbed higher and higher up Mt. Wellington the excitement grew. It was freezing, between -3deg to 3deg, thick with fog and a biting wind but it would take more than that to cool my fun.



Gloves off, I had to feel the snow and even made and threw snowballs. In minutes, my hands were numb but I had the best time EVER !!!!


On our Bus Tour, we visited historical Richmond. It is full of wonderful old buildings. My only regret is that we didn't have much time here. This is the oldest bridge in Australia which was built by the convicts. I couldn't help but notice the contrast of the bitumen road and the hand made sandstone of the bridge.



Our last free day was spent at Port Arthur. We spent most of
the day wandering around. So much to see and feel. This photo
of the Church, is one of hundreds that I took.

Well, that is only a tiny glimpse into my holiday in Tasmania. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my adventure.

Hugs, Irene xx