The Enemy - ACID

Do you have days like this? One thing leads to another. . We were meant to be painting the ceiling in the lounge room but with the weather like it is, that has been postponed for another weekend. I had cleared all the family photos off the entertainment unit so it could be covered and noticed that it needed a dusting. Then I noticed the bookcase could do with a bit of attention. I started pulling out the photo albums and that's when I found this.................





To my horror, when I opened my album of my daughter's wedding, I found that the album was not acid free and it was covered in yellow spots. I had bought the album many years ago way before I knew anything about scrapbooking and the major enemy ACID.

I spent the afternoon literately tearing up the album to remove the photos. The album is now in the recycle bin where it can RIP. Now I have the dilemma of how to remove the sticky residue left from the double sided tape left on the photos.

The gorgeous ladies from The Boxx have given me some helpful ideas so as soon as this rain and wind dies down, I am off to Yeppoon to see if I can get some Un Do or a Rub-on remover.
So all I can say now is go check your albums especially your Wedding Albums. Back in the 60's and 70's they probably didn't use acid free.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs, Irene xx

Bear with me.....

OK, so I tried to add extra information in the last post but Blogger and I didn't get on very well. I wanted to mention that on Day 14 the red envelope contained my flight tickets and on the reverse side, I made a pocket from the Hot Chocolate Cup I bought at the airport. It contains a journaling card about how I spent some quality time with my daughter Cathie before I flew home.







The next image I wanted to talk about was Day 25. My best friend Trish gave me the most beautiful Christmas card. The Christmas Tree is in 3D snowflakes and I wanted to use it on my Christmas page.




Our day was spread over two venues and I wanted to use quite a few photos on this page. So I put together my version of an exploding present. It represents the "Gift of Christmas".




The ribbon is adhered to the page and when untied, you can remove the mini album. It contains 12 photos and three journaling cards.



I have also included a DVD which has ALL the images I took over the month of December, not just the ones that I have used. Also, a few little videos. I looped a piece of ribbon through the center hole of the DVD. It is not attached but makes removing the DVD from the pocket so much easier.



My final thoughts on this album:
This year I chose and 8x8 post album with protective sleeves and I also covered it in a raw silk fabric. I love the size of the pages but I felt restricted by having to put them in the protective sleeves - I do like layers and textures on my pages (I call it "Lumpy Bumpy").

My choice for next year will be something where I can use split rings. That way, if I want to use a large photo and maybe split it over two pages, it would work much better.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Irene xx

Project DDA 2009 Finished !!!

I know it's been a while since my last post but I have been working hard on completing my version of Ali Edwards' DDA for 2009. I was so happy to have my pages all ready to go for the start of December and thought it would be a breeze to finish off. WRONG !!! I had all sorts of problems with my photo developer. In the end, I printed off quite a few of my photos at home.

Anyhow, getting back to my album. I was determined to finish this project first, before starting anything new. I know me, and if it was put aside, that's where it would have stayed for months if not years. Ali seemed to breeze through hers but it was not so easy for me. I wanted it to be interesting without being over the top. So far my DH has looked through it and was quite excited about the memories it recalled. As far as I am concerned.......MISSION ACCOMPLISHED !!!

I hope you enjoy looking through my DDA as much as I did putting it together. Just click on the photos for a larger image.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.

Hugs, Irene xx

Lets Get Shabby

Lets Get Shabby - Challenge 7
This is my entry into this challenge. Not sure if I would call it Shabby. I did give the photos a good roughing up though, but it was the colours that inspired me.

I'm sure that I am no different to any other scrapper who carries her camera around like a piece of jewelry and takes a few hundred photos especially on Christmas Day . We had Christmas lunch at my daughter's in-law's home and after lunch a water slide was set up in the back yard (they have the perfect angled back yard). All the kids had so much fun sliding, slipping and getting very wet. I was there too, behind the camera of cause - standing, sitting, squatting, on the ground, trying to get some good shots. You know what I mean......you have all been there.

I had so many photos from which to choose and I thought about doing a double layout - I should have done a double layout. I culled my selection of photos to 9 and then to 6. I still may do another page, one for Lachlan's Album and one for Benjamin's Album. In the mean while, here is what I ended up with.


Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Irene xx

DDA Covered Album

Morning all, hope your day is a good one. I am slowly getting my DDA (December Daily Album) completed. I am still waiting on a few of those final photos and when all the pages are completed, I will post them, hopefully in a week or so. Until then I can show you the album cover. It is the first fabric cover I have attempted so please don't be too critical.

I found this gorgeous rich red pure silk fabric which I felt had a great Christmas feel. I have kept the embellishments very simple - the focus being on the fabric. With the inner front and back covers, I wanted to tell the story of what Christmas is all about.


I am a true scrapper at heart and never through anything away. I made the Christmas Baubles from the gold foil that you peel off a tub of cream cheese. I ran the foil through my Cuttlebug, glued it onto some cardstock then cut out the desired shapes. Made the loops from gold wire and attached with ribbon.

The Inner Front Cover

I downloaded the images off the internet, flipped the "Three Wise Men" image so they were traveling in the right direction and cut them out with a craft knife.

Inner Back Cover

This was a little time consuming but well worth the effort. I used basic black cardstock and added a layered gold star.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs, Irene xx

Treasure Box

I can finally share some photos of the box I made for my daughter Debbie. Since we were going down to spend Christmas with her, I felt it would be much safer to take it down rather than trusting it to go by Post. Oh, did forget to mention that I only just finished it the day before we left to drive down to Samford Valley for Christmas. This is the reason that I chose the word "Organize" for my New Year's Resolution.

I have a connection with each of my 4 daughters and with Debbie it is fairies. My favorite flower is the Sweet Pea and when I came across a picture of Fairies and Sweet Peas, I knew that I had to create something using this image. It took me a few weeks during Art Class to paint the lid and the rest was pretty straight forward.

I know that she kept mementos in a plain box so it gave me the idea of putting together a "Treasure Box" for all her special pieces.








I have added a personal message on the inside of the lid but with it being so busy with Christmas preparations, I forgot to take a photo if it.


Being ORGANIZED in 2010
My first step to being organized in 2010 is to write down everyone's Birthday in the appropriate month in my diary then 2 weeks before their Birthdays, I will give myself a reminder, then 1 week before, will be the deadline (that is if I need this prompt as I hope to be totally organized this year LOL).

Mango Feast
Last night the Fruit Bats devoured the last of the mangoes on my neighborer's tree. It was such a shame to see half eaten mangoes covering the ground. Then this morning a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets flew in and had a feast of the golden sweet flesh of the mangoes. They ate so much, I was surprised that they could fly.



I don't usually write such long posts and I am completely tuckered out. I am off to enjoy a nice cup of tea. Have a great day.

Hugs, Irene xx

HAPPY NEW YEAR

To all my friends and those who have visited my blog throughout 2009, I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year. I hope that 2010 holds everything at you wish for and that you all keep safe, healthy and happy.

Each year I make a New Year's resolution and try to keep it for as long as possible. I figure that even though I go off the tracks, at least I tried and hoped that it did make a difference. This year my resolution is to be more organized. I hope that by sticking to it, I will have more time and less stress.

I would love to hear what resolution you have made for this coming year and maybe we can help each other stay on track.

Hugs,
Irene xx