Two photos? Two layouts.

And yet another Friday is upon us. Another fabulously spectacular Autumn day, clear and sunny, with an early morning briskness definitely happening. Love Autumn.

A few weeks ago I was scrolling through old photos and stumbled across a photo of eldest girl, Amaris, at her first ballet lesson in 2006. It was just after the lesson, and she was showing me what she learned. She was six. It certainly isn't a fab photo, and at the time I didn't scrap it cause it was so 'not great', however, now that I look back on it, and things have changed so much with her, it was hard to resist scrapping it as a reflective 'then and now' type page.

The second photo on the layout was taken last October, exactly three and a half years later. Even Amaris was amazed at the change in herself, and was laughing at how little she was. Here are two photos, that probably would otherwise have not been scrapped, so it was good to find a way to use both on a layout, and tell the story at the same time.

Here's the 'then & now' layout.

The second layout is also about daughter #1. She is a grungy kind of kid, and you would never know she was a little ballerina. She certainly isn't your typical little ballerina girl. Doesn't wear pink, certainly doesn't wear skirts or dresses, and only likes her ripped jeans - not her unripped ones.

She recently saved up her own money, and bought this hat. Apparently it is super cool, and I'm "so old that I don't know what's fashionable". I think it's super super UGLY but she adores it, and it hasn't been off her head since she bought it about two months ago. For the journaling, I gave her perspective on the hat (I got her to write why she liked it) and my perspective on the hat. I think it'll be a good memory for her to look back on what she was wearing at 10, and to remember the first clothing item that she purchased out of her own money (cause there was no way I was buying it!). There are a couple of typos in the journaling, but I'm okay with it. I'm embracing imperfection.

Thanks for stopping by - let me know you were here if you would be so kind, and I'll see you next week. Til then, Happy scrapping.

What the heck - still Christmas??

It's a beautiful, sunny but not too hot, clear Friday here in Sydney, so happy Friday to you all.

Today I am going to break a promise (how unusual) and show you just two more Christmas layouts. It is a third of the way into the new year, and this is embarrassingly late, but I remembered I never showed you what I ended up doing with my DD (December Daily).

But first, speaking of late, check out this Christmas picture below that I scrapped a whole two weeks ago. It is from... 2008!!! Oh yeah, I am over two years behind scrapping this one! Nice. I would normally have stuck it in a normal slip album for the girls, gotten over the fact that I will never get around to scrapping it and be done with it. But the problem with this one was that it was a 5 x 7 print, therefore couldn't fit in to the 4 x 6 slip album. And couldn't really crop it down to make it fit, cause would have chopped the tree, so it sat it my 'waiting to scrap' pile, irritating me the whole time, for over 2 years. So I finally pulled it out, said 'you WILL get scrapped today' and did it super quick with no computer needed. It's not that I didn't like the photo, cause I did (otherwise would have chucked it or given to the girls to trash), I just didn't have too much to say. When one doesn't have a big story behind the pic, the computerless hand written page is a very quick and effective way to go about scrapping it. I have started a label for 'computerless pages' in the column down the right hand side bar under 'labels' cause I think they are a good thing. Will chat more on this next week.

Here's my Christmas layout from a photo that was two years old.

The photo was taken in Hyde park, Sydney, and the reason I took the photo in the first place was because I was liking the contrast between how small the girls were compared with how big the tree was. Hence, the title of the layout.

My advice on the subject is AVOID having to go back in time with scrapping photos, because 'in-the-moment' scrapping is so much more inspiring and fun, because your head is still there. Nothing thrills me more than scrapping a layout from a photo taken within the last few days - I feel like I can give it my best energy and attention cause my head hasn't moved on yet. The exclusion or disclaimer to that statement is, of course, heritage scrapping, or scrapping your childhood, or scrapping for the purpose of journaling your reflections on the past. Or a 'now and then' type layout (one of those coming up soon!). All those things require that you go back in time, and that is fun. What's not fun is scrapping your child's first lost tooth, 9 months after the event. The moment has officially past. (Note to self - must scrap Lucy's first lost tooth SOON!).

Last December, many scrappers and blog-type scrappy people embarked on what is known as, in scrap world, the 'December Daily' project. Probably invented by the brilliant and way, way too inspiring Ali Edwards.

Basically, for those who may be unaware, you take at least one photo of each day in December, recording all the activities and festivities, and put the photos into a mini album or hang them off some cool photo display carousel thingy, or find some other way of assembling them. Due to the utter chaos that was my December last year, I refused to take on any more commitment in my life, but then by about 28th Dec, regretted the fact, and saw the folly of my ways and wished I had participated. However, on looking back over all the photos I had taken in December, I realised I pretty much had most day's covered with a photo, and I decided to do what I could in a DD attempt. I compiled it all onto on 12 x 12 layout, instead of the mini-album concept.

I went with my usual photo collaging techniques in 'photoshop elements' - I set up a 8 x 12 'canvas', placed all the photos on it, and dragged them down in size until they all fit. I then added a date and two or three word of text per photo (this was easy as I just copied and pasted over all the photos, then changed the date and the words on each one). Then I saved the whole thing as a jpeg and got it printed at Harvey Norman as a 8x12 layout.

I ran through what happened each day in a calendar style for my journaling on a white strip of cardstock and stuck the 8x12 photo to it, along with a little strip of gorgeous Chrissy pp and some letter stickers for the title. I realised I didn't have the year on the page, so I added this with a date stamp at the end of the journaling - (just stamped the year, not the day and month - a tricky trick!)

Incidentally, I was 16 in 1989 - see last post if confused.

Scrapping for someone else.

Ages ago (feb), I scrapped a layout for a blog reader as part of me trying to do something kinda fun for my first blog-aversery. That reader ended up being Caitie, and here's the photo that Caitie sent, via email.

It was a photo of her self and her sister as kids (she's the big one), in the late eighties. Apparently Caitie had scrapped the photo a few times, as it was meaningful to her, but hadn't been happy with the results, and so she sent the challenging pic on to me.

I asked Caitie, via email, if I could make the photo black and white, to make it super easy, but the colours were an important part of the memory as the dresses were favourites. I totally get that.
So Caitie provided the journaling, and this is how it ended up scrapped.

I printed the photo as a 4 x 6 and I went for a basic black and white background (mostly white with the photo being made up of lots of dark tones). Then I just added some SMALL bits of the four strong, but nice colours coming through on the pic. I finally got to use some really really old bright blue letter stickers by 'Creative imaginations' and found some little strips of bright pp in my pp scraps. Loving my pp scraps. I have them organised in big clear plastic envelopes. The pp scraps are organised by colour. I go to the scraps constantly - a bright piece of pp can last me years if I only use small bits as I have have on this layout. There was orange tones coming through on the photo as well, so I added some orange brads to finish it off.

Apparently Caitie liked her layout, so thanks for letting me scrap for you, Caitie. Always fun to scrap for someone else. It's actually quite a good thing, because you are not emotionally attached to the photo. So it is quite easy. Maybe you can pal up with someone whose scrap style you like, and you could scrap a layout for each other. Just make sure you provide them with the journaling!

P.S If this was Caitie in 1989, then she is several years younger than me!! Anyone want to admit how old they were in '89?

Sketch challenge results No. 8!

Yes, this is the eighth sketch challenge that I've done here on the blog. The rest were so long ago that I can' t even remember them, but they are here, and if you want to check them out, they are all under the 'sketch challenge' label on the side bar.

To refresh your memory, here was the sketch.

My layout for this sketch is about the weirdness of Easter in the Australian public school system. If you non-Australians have this tradition at your school, do let me know, so I can revel in the fact that we are not the only ones who have to endure such frivolities.
Our schools have an 'Easter Hat parade' and they have been making children wear weirdness on their heads for at least 30 years. I know because I had to wear a cardboard rabbit shaped hat covered in cotton balls when I was in school. It's a chance for all the Martha Stewart's of the school gate hang area, to get out the glue gun and show their prowess and brilliant creative hat making skills. It's a chance for the non-Martha's to freak and panic, and eventually desperately staple some chickens from the dollar store onto a toy hat. You can tell by the level of hat brilliance, how much spare time the mum has!

The Easter parade is topped of with the enthralling event of walking around in a large circle twice, before sitting down and allowing the next class to 'parade' around, usually in the boiling sun. Some first-time-hat-parade mothers who have never experienced such an event, top their child's head with real chocolate eggs, only to see the folly of their ways when walking around in the hot sun does very bad things to hat decorations.

I tried to talk my middle child out of it, by promising a day off school and an ice cream at the beach instead. But no, she wanted to participate, and who am I to rob her of such a childhood right of passage. My biggest apologies to those Mum's out there who love this event, and who throw their heart and soul into such preparations and are shocked and horrified at this Mum's bad attitude. Bless you! I wish you could send some of your enthusiasm my way. Am I a bad Mum? Quite possibly. My kids don't appear too damaged, as their hats are forgotten by the next day. Anyway, here's my layout about the Easter Hat Parade, using 2 photos.

The first reader who responded to the sketch challenge was Sharon, from Queensland. Sharon did her layout digitally, and used 3 photographs. Although the photos appeared initially quite alarming (small child lying face down on concrete), the story that goes with them is utterly charming.

Second person responding was Di, who actually did TWO layouts both similar in simple-style to Sharon's though hers used 4 photos. Good on you, friend, points for most dedicated!

I missed the next layout when it originally came in - SO sorry Agata. And how could I miss this?? It's gorgeous! What a great colour scheme, and SIX beautiful pics. This layout has so far been adapted to use, 2, 3, 4 and 6 photos! This was the only layout that wasn't based on a white background. Thanks Agata.

And last but not least, Nathan, an Aussie living in USA, used photos of his daughter and scrapped another Spring layout to which the journaling I can SO relate! I lived in Canada for a few years, and after six months of the Canadian winter, I couldn't put my finger on why I was having such a hard time. Sure it was 40 degrees LESS than anything I had experienced, but that wasn't the real problem. The problem, which took me about three years to establish, was that there was no colour for that time. Greyness had overtaken. I wasn't at all used to this phenomenon and I was surprised how much it affected me. I remember when spring finally came I actually got down and kissed the first patch of grass that arrived. The first colour of the year. Here's Nathan's lovely digital layout - thanks Nathan, possibly my one and only male scrapper friend.

Stay tuned for more scrapping - lots more where that came from!

a photo post

We are on the home stretch of two weeks of school holidays here. It's been a very busy few weeks, but it's been good fun. First we went to Sydney's Royal Easter Show.

Myself and the older two girls went on some flying chairs, and that would be yours truly with the jeans and the sunnies feeling particularly nauseous at this point.

Then Marc was hanging to see this 'robosaurous' that eats cars.
I looked at him questioningly at the idea, and he said that it sounded great on so many different levels and the 'girls' will love it. So off we go to see this thing, and by the following photo, you can see how much the 'girls' were loving it.

The girls did actually very much enjoy the car eating robot dinosaur thingy, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you who thought it was the coolest thing ever!!

Then we went back to girl-type events with free cake decorating at the White Wings stand,

and then the city dwellers got up close and personal with the farm animals, which is always a hit. Though probably would have been cheaper to fly to Queensland and visit Sharon for the farm animal thing!

Then the next day we had a birthday party with the youngest turning six, and being in FULL control of her cake. She knew exactly how she wanted to decorate it. We were at the grocery store and Lucy says to me "Right, I need big and small pink and white marshmallows, silver ball sprinkles and icing that is the same shade of pink as my new nintendo". Right. She says "I will help you make the cake, but I am decorating it all by myself". She is so definite, and driven, and focused, and determined. I was terrified to make the wrong shade of pink on the icing (frosting). Where does she get such obsessive colour issues anyway?? A lovely child, she just knows what she wants. The days of me deciding what the cake looks like are so long gone. She was the same last year with the smartie cake. Remember the rings of smarties? Lucy totally ran that operation too. She had it in her mind, and I just followed my instructions. So here's Lucy at the crack of dawn present opening (bad light)

and here's the cake that she decorated.

The flowers were not in her original plan, but at the end of the main decorating, she ran off to the neighbours house and came back carrying a load of frangipanis in her T-shirt. She decided the cake needed a floral finishing touch. This cake was for the family dinner we were having that night. Lucy's very, I mean slightly, neurotic but lovely, non-blog reading, old great-Aunt gave her some flourescent blue fish net stockings for her birthday gift. Just what every six year old girl needs, right?? After said neurotic Aunty left the party, Marc and I nearly laughed til we cried. What a bizarre gift! Sure, my extended family is quite known for 'what were you thinking' gifts, but this one wins, for sure.

The following day, we had a little party for Lucy's new school friends. We tend to find it easier to not combine large neurotic family with lots of little friends. Easier to do it separately. Does anyone watch 'brother's and sister's'? That's kind of my family. So the following day, Lucy wanted to repeat the marshmallow decorated cake in mini form, with cupcakes (which is why she needed small marshmallows). She patiently sat there for about half an hour decorating each and every one and looked so flipping cute, I couldn't resist but take, and now share, too many photos. My apologies in advance.

So that has been my last few days.

This post was going to be the sketch challenge results but that will totally come in a couple more days, cause this post is already way too long, and if you're still with me, has already taken up way too much of your time. Thanks for sticking with me.

Back to scrappin' in about 2 days time.

pages with lots of journaling!

Here are some layouts from photos that I shared about 2 months ago, when my youngest girl started school.

I did a collage in photoshop elements for the bulk of the photos.

Skip next bit if you're a photoshop guru already, or if you know how to do it.

(HOW: When using photoshop elements, First I set up the page size as an 8x12, because that's the size I plan on printing the whole thing as a photo enlargement. I took the 9 photos from my photo program and saved them, or dragged them onto my desktop, for easy access. Then, in photoshop under 'view' on the toolbar, I go to 'grid, so I have a grid on my page which makes it quick and easy to line everything up and make each photo the same size. Then I go to 'place' which I think is under 'file on the toolbar and place the photos onto my page one at a time. To reduce the size of the photo, when it's on the page, and it's selected, I grab a corner and, hold shift key so it retains it's proper proportions, I drag it in until it goes as small as I need it. Continue with all other photos, and then place them nicely around the page, how ever you want them. You can zoom in to check that gutters are even and things line up. I'm sure there's better and easier ways to do it, this is just how I do it.)

I designed the collage so it did not fill the whole page, so I could trim a tiny bit off the top and especially the sides so it fitted into my 8.5x11 album. I could have done it as an 8x10 and not trimmed any off, but I went with the 8 x 12 this time so the photo collage went mostly the full length of the page. I printed out my collage at harvey as a 8x12 enlargement, and it looked like this.

Then I trimmed bits of top and sides and scrapped it, and the double page spread ended up like this. Lots of photos and a big long story describing her first day.

Now before I get in very big trouble for not having a photo of myself on the collage, I share the next layout, which has a photo of just her and me. And a nice long piece of journaling talking about the fact that I'm OKAY with her being gone, and I didn't think I would be. I would have titled this page "I'm OK' but didn't have room. And that's okay.

Last reminder to do that sketch from the last post - thanks to the lovely dedicated girls who have already sent theirs through! Nice.

Have a GOOD Friday!

It's Good Friday here, so Happy Easter break to all. After attending church this morning (very cute man preaching), I have SCRAPPED all day! Nice. I did give family a decent lunch, but apart from that I decided to sit on my toosh (sp???) and scrap til the cows came home. Or scrap until dinner time, which it now mostly is, being 6'o'clock-ish. So far, have scrapped 6 pages. Yay, many using photos taken in the last few days. I know, terribly up to date, but remember I have a HUGE pile of very old photos that I haven't scrapped - and may never have the inspiration to get back to! I find I scrap best with very current things, cause my head is still there.

Today I have two more layouts that show the photos Rachel Richter took of us last October. There aren't a huge amount of stories to go with photos like this, because you didn't take them, and there wasn't a story behind it, however with these two layouts I did find a little story to go with the photos. The first one is how my husband loves to throw the kids (!?) and hold on to your hats friends - I. USED. GLITTER!!!! That's right, ME!!! Di, the eighties glitter queen, is loving this. For the first time, in my entire life, I used glitter, in the form of an embellishment, sent to me from the lovely Alexandra from USA. There was deep breathing, and much encouragement from eighties glitter queen, and I did it!! Oh, it was so exciting. And freaky. Are you proud of me, or what?

The second layout shows the photo that was my husbands favourite of the whole shoot. Sorry you've seen similar photos before on my layouts, just trying to scrap the faves, I think this will be it for a while.

There was this photo below that Rachel took that I love (I love the colours and my favourite bit was how Lucy is holding Amelia's hand!) but I don't know if I want to scrap it, so maybe I'll just stick it in a frame and be done with it. It was taken on Elizabeth St in Sydney, one of Sydney's busiest streets, right next to a bus stop full of many people unloading off buses! Who'd have thought looking at it, hey?

So, the next sketch challenge (no.7) - totally hope I haven't already given you the same or very similar sketch before. If I have, sorry - that's pretty me right now. Not a lot of 'new-ness' entering my brain. Just lifting old stuff is all I can manage. Anyway, if you want to join in, you have about 10 days - until April 12th to email me an image of your scrapped layout. Looking forward to seeing how clever you are - and it's school holidays here, so NSW people, no excuses! Get to it.