The long weekend just gone was great! 3 days of Scrapbooking crazyness at Sacrapbooking & Paper Crafts Expo!

Working for Kaszazz at the show was excellent! So busy, but I got quite a bit of business out of it so I'm happy. I picked up some great bargains and all in all had a very succesful weekend. Cant wait for next year!

Today I had the absolute pleasure to meet and be taught by the wonderfully animated and exceptionally talented, Ngaire Bartlam.

For years I've admired her work, whether its in magazines or on her blog.

http://scrapblogmebaby.typepad.com/blog_me_baby/

She's fun, quirky, and outragously unique! This obviously flows through into her scrapping!

It was great day, with lots of laughs, and I came home with 2 gorgeous layouts inspired by Ngaire. So thank you Ngaire and thank you Jan and Ruth!!!

A few weeks ago I recieved the latest issue of 'Scrapbook Creations' magazine as I do every month. I have to say I really look forward to getting each issue in the post. Everytime I read it I tell myself 'you really should submit some of your work', but I just keep reading and never get around to doing it. My husband has been telling me for years, 'You should enter your stuff in something!' But I never knew if he was just being "nice" or if I should actually do it. After not much thought I entered the 'undiscovered talent' section of this months issue. I recieved an email today from the editor...

";-) I have a feeling we are going to see lots more of you coming up. Great work I will be in touch re publishing some of these."

I cant tell you how excited I am!!!

Already its the easter holidays! Usually I dread any holidays ("Mum, I'm bored.") but yesterday I decided to set up the dining room for a 'girls' mini crop! Mia, Tuesday and I spent all day scrapbooking, it was really fun! Its been a while since the 3 of us scrapped together so what better time to so it than before they say "Mum. I'm bored"! Tuesday did some of her 'Gilbert' Album and Mia scrapped a few pages of Sachi. I almost finished the 8x8 'Edwards Melbourne Holiday' (only 4 pics/pages to go!) Album and I completed one 12x12 layout and managed to get lunch & dinner organised too!

Here is my finished layout, 'Kellie & Mia'...

Well, I'm home sick with Tonsiltis and my wonderful husband is looking after me so yesterday I actually got time to sit down and scrap!
I've had 2 beautiful pics of my mother in 1961 when she won a beauty contest along with the newspaper clipping of the event! I wanted to scrap it in 'Antique' style and this is what I came up with....

'Bathing Beauty'

These masks, invisible products and clear papers look amazing I gotta get some! So easy. Heidi Swapp is a legend!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSeFNMATlXA

Yes, joy. Yesterday I had a sore throat, today I have tonsilitis. Both Tuesday and me have it, hopefully Mia doesn't catch it. The greatest part? I can't have antibiotics due to the Candidia treatment/diet I'm having. If anyone knows of an 'old-fashioned' remedy, please let me know!
Not happy :-(

Today, after waiting 2 months, plus the 2 years that we couldn't have him in Koala Beach (no cats or dogs allowed), to bring my beautiful boy home. I'm so happy to have him back, he's a complete snob but I love him so! My Versace (sachiboy)...

ME! Yey me! A competition was announced in Flourish ScrapArte Studio's newsletter, a competition to come up with a name for their weekend crop. I have spent the last 3 years coming up with stacks of sayings & slogans for our business so many possible names came flooding into my head! The more I thought about it the more names I came up with! Sorry Jan & Ruth for the bombarding of emails!
The Crop has been named "CropArte" which is similar to the name of their shop. And I am the very lucky winner! Yey!
What an honour to be chosen as the creator of the name for their crop! Thank you!
http://www.flourishstudio.com.au/

And thank you so much for my bag of goodies!!!

Last week we spent a much needed break in Forster. What an absolutely beautiful place! I also managed to get some great pics to scrap!

And my personal favourite taken by John (I'm going to put this on Canvas)...

I just love it, Tuesday on her way down the slippery slide with water splashing evreywhere! So fresh with a clear feeling of Summer!

My name is Sally. I am a Certified Scrapaholic. I have been Scrappin' since 2002 and havnt looked back! I was introduced to it by a friend and at first, to be honest, I thought it was lame! Yes, lame. Back then there wasn't much variety in the Scrapbooking industry compared to what we have now! But, I did have a photo that I took of my husband in a pair of pants with Japanese writing on them that he bought in Byron Bay. He was completely obsessed with the Samurai (thanks to Tom Cruise in 'The Last Samurai') and I knew we had an Asian shop just down the road filled with lots of goodies perfect to embellish that pic. So, I began.... 2017 and I'm still going!
Since then I started a business with the friend who got me into scrappin' in the first place. It was our idea and original creation - products so the obsessed scrapper can be completely proud and show it off!
We had a great time with this thriving little business but as time went on my business partner had more responsibilties with her unwell family members and I had to move to Brizvegas for my husbands work.
I have enjoyed creating an E-Newsletter for the business as I got to use and demonstrate new & exciting products as well as get to know many of the online scrapbooking shop owners and very talented scrappers. In doing this I became a design Team Member for 'Scrap With V' for 12 months. That was a lot of fun, teaching in Cyber Crops and creating Layout kits for her online shop.

I couldn't tell you what my style is as it changes depending on the pic, papers, inspiration, mood, etc. I get most of my inspiration just walking into a Scrap Shop! Its so motivating looking at all the amazingly beautiful papers & embellishments there are! And my husband lets me buy all the scrapbooking stuff I can hide!!!
Since 2011 I have been teaching Art Journaling, Scrapbooking - both single and double layouts, ATC's and cards at my local Scrapbooking Store - 
Somewhere To Scrap in Rochedale South, QLD.
I absolutely love my job!
In saying all this, I really think that even though life is complicated and full of trials & stresses, if we just take a few minutes each day to sit and remind ourselves of what we already posess we can have a more positive attitude. For me its 2 beautiful, healthy, happy girls, a wonderful partner, true freinds, a nice home, food on the table and as an added bonus - I have the absolute pleasure of being able to scrap! What more could I ask for???

I have recently been into Flourish ScrapArte Studio (http://www.flourishstudio.com.au/) and one of the talented teachers, Lorna, is doing a class called "12 Months, 12 Moments".
[12 Months 12 Moments: Lorna's ongoing monthly class. Create a beautiful album of your year, a page per month. Learn lots of techniques along the way. You can start this class at any time, don't worry if you have missed the first few months. The end result is an album bound with the Bind it All, with a review of your year. Sample in store. A kit is included in the initial class cost.
April 25th 10-2.30pm and continues monthly.]
http://www.flourishstudio.com.au/flourish_scraparte_studio/2009/03/class-timetable.html
Its a fantastic idea, I have already picked my 3 moments for the 3 months we've already had! and now I will be thinking about and keeping an eye out for a 'Moment' each month!

After all the unpacking a girl has to do when moving, I finally had the time & space to set up my scrappin spot. We only have a small office that I share with my husband (which we like to call 'The SCROffice') but its big enough for me to have everything I need close by.
Its all done and I actually love my little spot (if only I could get my husband to turn his desk around...Note to self - work on husband to turn it around!)

Can't wait to scrap in my new little scrappin' space!

Well, we're are finally here in Brizvegas with the net up & running (thank goodness!) and I'm starting to settle in. Having relly's here makes it much easier. I have done the scout for Scrap Shops local to my area and I have found some lovely little store's. One Stop Scrapping here in Birkdale has a good range but an extremely small shop. Another in Manly thats based in a lovely lady's (Tania) home, Scrapbookers Realm. She has a fantastic range of papers! My absolute fave is Flourish Arte Studio in Carina. Its just lovely, decorated with all the beautiful damask and flourishes to tickle my fancy & make me feel right at home! I'm sure I will be spending much of my time (& money!) there.

Since moving up here I have had the absolute pleasure to be spending more time with my best mate, Kellie. She used to be my sister-in-law but I have since been divorced from her brother so now she is just my friend, my very best friend. I cannot believe how similar we are from past experiences to present day opinions! I love her so much and I know that even though we have an unusual freindship, that friendship will never be broken.

She is hysterical (in the funny haha way!), she makes me laugh all the time and I completely admire her. She has been through so much crap and yet continue's to work hard at being the best mum and friend that she can be & she has succeeded every day. She is my idol.

She came to visit me when we were in the Potty house and I showed her my Scrapbooking (we hadn't seen each other for quite awhile due to her emotionally manipulative brother) and she was impressed... the only scrapbooking she had experienced was Creative Memories (no comment). So I printed out a pic for her to try her first layout and oh my goodness, it was beautiful! Now it was my turn to be impressed!

Now that I'm up here we'll get together more often to scrap, yey!