November Scrapboutique CyberCrop

This weekend marked the last CC on the Scrapboutique calendar. BC, i was able to participate in every single CC challenge every month. These days it's a bit more difficult!! I've only just rejoined the CC's in the last couple of months, and i got no where near every challenge!! I've done just 2 this month. The speed scrap which was on Sunday night (which is traditionally the roast night!), and one of Em's challenges.

The theme this month was "A Royal CyberCrop" since Kate Middleton is now engaged, and there is a Kate Middleton on our forum! A lovely girl who is on the design team at Scrapbooking From Scratch with Peta McBeth (the owner). Very funny coincidence.

Anyway, all the photos are quite ordinary, but here is what i came up with. Em's challenge was to scrap the little prince or princess in your life with lots of bling - including pearls! One of my favourite paper ranges right now is the MME Lost & Found, so i naturally gravitated towards this, given it's glitzy nature. I added some silver glimmer mist splatters and some zva pearl flourishes, and i'm pretty happy with the result.

The other challenge i did was the speed scrap challenge, which is based on a sketch. We were also asked to incorporate 'royal blue' or purple into it as these are 'royal' colours. I grabbed some crate paper for this one. I'm particularly proud of the little circle flower i made - i rarely think to do this sort of thing, so i was pretty happy with myself when i did!

A non-scrapping post :O

Most of my posts have at least SOME scrapping in it, but this one doesn't!! As some of you are aware, i have other creative outlets outside of scrapping. I recently finished a gorgeous little cardigan for some dear friends of ours in Wollongong. They had a little baby girl at the end of October and i only jsut put this in the post (such a slack friend i am!!):

I used a new technique in this pattern that i haven't used before - knitting single row stripes. This involved using either double pointed needles or circulars. Naturally, i was already using circulars so this wasn't too much of a problem for me once i figured out what i had to do. It made for a very interesting and enjoyable knit. I used a variegated for the contrast colour, and it gave a fabulous effect, wouldn't you agree?

Another share i have for today is a project that i've been working on for most of this year. It's a pair of bamboo overalls for Calvin. Well, at least it was for Calvin. The plan was to finish it for winter/spring this year, but that is long gone (especially in QLD!!!). I'll still finish them, but they will have to be for bub #2. I finished the legs quite quickly, but once i moved onto the body i slowed right down. It just became so BORING!!! It's just the same thing around and around and around again.... Not my style at all. I'm using it as an opportunity to learn continental knitting thanks to YouTube!!

My last little share for today is a gift card i won recently:

A few posts back, i did a post about what i would buy if i had $20 to spend at Kmart. They only had about 8 entries, so they just sent everyone a $20 gift card!!! How lucky was i? I actually ended up using the $20 to get a soda stream refill and some new flavours :) DH is very happy about that as he just loves the thing!!!

Well, it's getting to the hairy end of the day with Calvin. We've had a lovely day today - we went down to the Gold Coast to go to some markets, then spent a bit of time at Pacific Fair before heading back. Now we all enjoying the peacefulness of our backyard - the dogs are mulling around, Calvin is playing in his ballpit and on his see-saw and Jeremy and I have just finished a cappuccino. It's such a mild day here that it's really pleasant outside. Time to head inside to feed the hungry little man though, before a bath and some stories then bedtime. And tonight i'm going to SCRAP!!! Scrapboutique has a CC on this weekend, so tonight is roast night!! Can't wait!! Why don't you head on over and join me?

50th Post!!!

This is my 50th post on this blog - how exciting! To celebrate i'm starting a new blog:

Scrapping on a budget

On this blog i'm going to post at least once a week tips and tricks for saving money in scrapbooking!! I'll also have a monthly special on how to save money and still follow recent trends - this will be based on my own observations from magazines and sites i visit. Each post will have an example of how i have used each technique on a layout, so you can see how it actually works too!!

Go check it out right now!! There's even a chance to will a prize pack on the first post.

Another PageMap

Quick blog this morning as I'm away at a retreat. This is another PageMap I've worked with. Loving this new glitzy MME!!!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Another PageMap!

I so love PageMaps by Becky Fleck and i'm a particular fan of the blog. They run heaps of contests there. Lots of them are only open to US citizens (or with a US postal address), but i enter them anyway because i figure i'll probably never win anyway. If, by some slim chance, i ever do i could get the prize sent to my dad's US work address anyway!!

Anyway, this week there is a contest to win her second book, which i'll probably end up buying anyway! I have the first book and it's fab when you are stuck for ideas - especially when the mojo seems to have gone by the wayside. The pagemap looks like this:

and here is what i came up with:

This is a page about Calvin's first experience with fried rice - which he LOVES!! I've used some old Prima i had. I think the range was "Peaches" or something like that. The bit with the birds is actually some cuttlebugged coordinations whitewash that i've sanded and then kindi glitzed. It looks so cute!! I'm really happy with the outcome.

The bling is something i picked up at some random scrap shop. Had it for ages, so again, good to use up some old stuff!!

How often do you use 'old' stuff you have in your stash? I find it really difficult, but i really need to do more of it because it just seems to accumulate so quickly!! Either that or stop buying new stuff, but that's not going to happen...

There is another comp at PageMaps finishing next week. The PageMap is:

I'm going to give it a go - hope you can join me in the challenge!!

High highs and Low lows - Ellen Barron Part 2

The rest of our week at Ellen Barron was filled with lots of highs and lows.

We were up at our usual 5am on Wednesday morning - the very pleasant surprise about this was that i wasn't up during the night!! I think he may have had a couple of whinges, but he self settled, so that's all good!! I was on such a high when i got up that morning!! After the two hour long sessions of crying he had the previous day, i was hoping that he might have a sleep during at least one of his day sleeps on Wednesday. This was not the case. Trying to settle him after his second failed nap attempt took me to my breaking point for the first time during the week - not bad really to be able to make it half way without crying!!

See how grumpy he is when he doesn't sleep!! This was him after he didn't sleep through either of his naps!!

After 2 failed naps, the nurse suggested that i get him up for a bit (again!!) and then try something different later in the afternoon. So, i ended up staying with him, patting the mattress, until he fell asleep. The nurse said it was better that he had a nap in his cot than the stroller. I tend to agree with this, but it did mean that next time i tried to settle him, he thought i was going to do it again, which made for a very trying night. It took until 10ish that night to finally get him down. I was so upset that one of the nurses ended up putting him down the same way as how he went to bed in the afternoon. After a discussion with that nurse, she and i agreed that the next day we would go back to leaving him to cry instead of staying with him - otherwise it was just too confusing for him.

Thursday morning was the first day he had a day sleep in his cot on his own. It took me just 15 minutes to get him to sleep and then he slept for an hour!! And the most amazing part was that he woke up chatting!! He hasn't done that since he was a very small bubba!! The afternoon yielded another failed nap attempt, which meant that he was so tired by bed time that he wouldn't drink his milk and it took less than a minute for him to go down!!

I figured that this did not bode well, and i was not mistaken.

Midnight he woke. After ~45 minutes of unsuccessful resettling i got him up and gave him a bottle. It took another hour for him to fall back asleep. Not good!!! He wasn't asleep until 2am. My i hate that hour. On the up side, he didn't wake until 6:30!! That was a very pleasant surprise - it's the latest he has slept in ages - he usually rises with the sun!!

Friday had finally arrived and we were able to go home. We had such a lovely morning playing in the enormous play area with all the other lovely little boys there. He really did have such a wonderful time playing with them the whole time we were staying. After a huge play, all of the mums headed down to the kitchen for a last goodbye cuppa. I brought along my Moccona, so we didn't all have to drink international dust and we all just gathered and chatted like we'd known each other for years. We had all been through so much growth that week, and we'd done it together. One of the dads took down all of our details and vowed to email it all around and arrange a get together in January at his place (they have a pool!!) for all who could make it.

Our first night home and Calvin cried for 2 hours before going down. Not too bad considering he was testing the waters yet again. The most pleasant surprise was that he slept until 6:30 again!!! We actually woke before him. He thought it was the biggest treat to be greeted with 2 very happy parents and wagging doggies on Saturday morning!!

Saturday was a day of no day sleeps for Calvin - the first day of his life (i think!!) that he's never had a day sleep. He just wouldn't give in - what did i say about testing those boundaries!!! He actually feel asleep in his high chair - to which we both were yelling "Calvin, wake up!!!". There was NO WAY we were letting him have a cat nap so close to bed!! He was in bed at 5:30 and asleep by 6. Poor little guy was so tuckered out. He's still asleep now, so we're hoping for a good night, but you just never know with our little guy.

It's hard, and we've got a long road ahead of us still i think, but i am really looking forward to knowing what to expect from my little guy each day and night in terms of naps. Jeremy and I have decided to just try him with one nap tomorrow and see how that goes. If that doesn't work, then we'll go back to 2 on Monday. That's all you can do!!

Ellen Barron: Days 1 & 2

Well, as many of you may know, we've been struggling with Calvin's sleeping (or lack there of) for some time now. He's almost 14 months old and not sleeping through the night - it has gotten so bad that 9.9/10 nights, he ends up in bed with us - not something we ever wanted, but something we started just so we could cope!! Anyway, after a long haul, we are finally in the Ellen Barron Family Center, which is a center designed to help out families with children experiencing problems such as sleeping, eating, social etc. About 90% of the people here are having problems with sleeping. That makes us feel a little better :)

The first day we got here about 9am (after a grueling 1 hour long drive through peak hour traffic across Brisbane...) and we were shown around the center. Calvin had a sleep in the car on the way so he was good for the morning until the afternoon sleep. We enjoyed playing on the great outdoor equipment they have here with lots of other kiddies. Notably a family of 3 rangers - the youngest 2 twins. Interesting talking to the mum because she said it was a bit of a shock for them - neither her or her husband are rangers!! Anyway, finally it was time for Calvin to go for his afternoon nap. They always take it easy with the first nap, since they are still getting use to the new surroundings etc. So, after about half an hour of him crying, we ended up rocking him to sleep. He had a half hour nap as usual. The policy here is that they only try and make them stay in bed for an hour during the day, so since he cried for half an hour and then slept for the rest, it was up time after that.

There's a fair bit to do to keep us busy here during the day. We've been to a talk both afternoons - the first day it was about sleep (what it is, why we need it, how it happens in littlies etc.) and today it was about connecting with your child - i found the first a little ho hum because i've read LOTS on the topic and there really wasn't anything new there for me (plus Calvin behaved VERY badly and a missed lots of it due to taking him out and bringing him back in...). The second was really great. It made me feel like i was doing a great job as a mum for Calvin, and to keep up the good work - reminding me how important my job is, and how much of an impact i really am making on his little life.

The facilities here are really great. We've got a room with an en suite and a separate room for Calvin (thank goodness!!!), and even a communal courtyard. There is a play room and a huge outside play area with lots of equipment to keep little people busy. The kitchen is very well set up with a play pen to put bubbas in while we are in the food prep area. All meals are provided, so it's really just fetching our prepared meals and coordinating it all. We each have a designated highchair for every child and there are a number of tables to eat at. It's a great time to meet other ladies and swap our war stories!! Plus, i have found that the kids tend to keep each other amused while we are in the food prep area - otherwise there can be tears with mummy more than 2 feet away *lol*

Onto last night. Calvin had dinner at around 5pm followed by a bath as usual. By 6pm he had his bottle and was put down wide awake and the game was on. He managed to scream fairly consistently for 1.5 hours until he finally gave up and had a half an hour sleep. After this half an hour the fun really began. He cried off and on from 8pm to 10:30pm - we had 2 or 3 times where we thought he'd gone to sleep, but he woke 10 minutes later just to prove us wrong. Most of the time his crying was quite intense, but it slowed up a bit around those 10 minutes until finally he could cry no longer and gave into it. Peace at last. He slept SOLIDLY until about 3:30am - a good 5 hours. From then to 5am he woke a number of times, but each time he self settled. True to form he was well and truly up at 5am. The nurses said that he'd had a really good night, so this morning was not the time to begin trying to fight that battle (i was a bit disappointed about that, but i saw that they did have a point!!). So, overall i am labelling the first night a SUCCESS!!!

The next morning was not so successful.

After breakfast we had a bit of a play, but by 7:30 he was rubbing his little eyes and pulling his ears. Poor little fella was tired (i wonder why...). By the time i fiddled around with cleaning bottles (not use to having so few...) and this and that it was 8am before we put him down. He cried solidly for A WHOLE HOUR!!! So after an hour we got him up and went out to play for a bit. After he'd had some morning tea and a good play it was time to try again. He cried solidly for ANOTHER WHOLE HOUR!!! I was planning on walking up to Chermside Westfield after his morning nap, so the nurses suggested i take him anyway - he needed the nap and the comfort since he'd not slept a wink all morning, and just about cried himself hoarse.

Sure enough, within a minute of me putting him in the pram, he was asleep. I'd hardly done the buckles up!! By the time i washed his bottle, filled up my water bottle and walked to the shops, he had half an hour sleep so we sat and had some lunch together. It was a lovely bonding experience. We had both missed each other so much that morning and really needed some mummy-son time together. I got some Oporto and Calvin and I had a great lunch together. Him in a highchair enjoying some chips (one of his favourite foods!!) and me with a Bondi burger (the food at the hospital is pretty dismal - not that Oporto is any better, but at least it had some flavour!!!). After lunch we had a nice wander around the shops, and wouldn't you know it, he fell asleep again. So, he had 1.5 hours sleep in the pram in total in the afternoon.

The nurses said to not feel bad about this - it's not that he had won or i had won, but we had both made a huge amount of progress and we both needed to spend some time together having some cuddles and playing together to just re-cement our bond.

The games started much sooner than i expected this evening. After dinner i took him back to our room and popped him in the bath. To say he hated this would be an understatement. He had obviously caught onto the fact that he has a bath every night before bed and as such did not want a bath. The same thing happened when i tried to feed him his milk. We ended up in the play room with some nice dim lights and just 2-3 toys. He played a little and then eventually cuddled up on my lap and took his milk. Thank goodness. I think it's time to start giving him milk with his meals so that i remove that bed time association.

After he drunk his milk, we popped him to bed. It was about 6:30 by this point. He cried fairly consistently for about 40 minutes before giving up and going to sleep. I got straight in the shower to enjoy some freedom at last. Sure enough, half an hour later he was awake again. This time it only took about 20 minutes to get him back to sleep, and i only had to go in once. I'm so proud of my little boy. It's now about 9:15 and he's still asleep. And i think that's probably where i should be.

I'm fairly sure not many people are still ready by this point, so thanks for sticking it out if you did!! Please continue to uphold us in your prayers if you have been, and i'll (hopefully) pop another update up here later in the week!!

And since no blog is complete without a photo, here's one from September which i like to call "Calvin and Hobbs". A very aptly named photo, and very fitting for this post :) Enjoy!

Christmas Cards Share

Here's a few of the Christmas cards i've created so far. I've used some super cute Paperie papers - all i've bought for Christmas cards this year is a 6x6 pad, and i'll just base them all on this. So far i'm loving it!! The stamps are all Stampin' Up, and the flowers are some yummy Prima from last year. I haven't used them in LOs yet, so i decided to use them up on my Christmas cards since they are so nice and Christmassy!!

Scrappin' my Boys in November

The first Scrap the Boys challenge for November is "Super Who?". I've done a LO in 15"x6.5" for Jeremy's calendar. I haven't shared any of this yet because it's not finished (even though i've been working on it for ~12 months!!). I'll share the whole thing when it's finished :)

Anyway, this LO is about how Jeremy is a super here because he's such a super dad. I've used some Fancy Pants for this one as it really suited it to a tee!!

The paper already had "Super Dad" on it, so i just jazzed it up with some silver pen (i ran out half way through though!!! I have to get myself a new one to finish it off i think!! The star was in the paper too, so i cut around the points with a craft knife before popping them up with some foam dots, curling them over and adding a bit more silver. I think it looks tops!!

My other creative little bit for this page is the stamp on the photo. It's just a matching sticker in the same paper range, but once i stuck it down i decided that a stamp that fab just had to have a postmark!! What a fantastic way to add the date and location to a photo. I think i'm going to have to use that technique again :) I used stays on ink so that it wouldn't smudge on the photo - always works a charm when you are stamping directly onto photos!!

A Dreamy Nightmare

Last weekend was the October CC at Scrap Boutique - the theme, a very spooky "Dreamy Nightmare" thanks to it being Halloween weekend. I entered 2 pages:

This was based on a PageMaps sketch, with the added criteria of using black and white and 1 other colour. After a very long 'flick' through my photos, i found some photos of Sarah and Matt at their engagement part which had a black and white theme with a bit of pink thrown in, so that was easy from there!!

Check out how cute all the embellies are. I love Prima!!

The ticket stub and a few of the papers are an old Terresa Collins range that i've had hanging around for ages. So glad to rediscover them and have them get some use!!!

The other challenge i entered was Em's Sunday Roast - a blind crop style challenge where we were given the instructions, but didn't really like what we were doing - just following the instructions blindly!! I'm quite happy with this page - it's very different to what i usually do!!

Something really cool about this page is that i actually made an embelishment myself! The 'Z' was made using some clay that you form then bake! How awesome is that?!?!?! I got a heap from Riot the other day because i had been inspired by an article in a magazine, or maybe it was someone else's blog... Anyway, i have some sparkly ones too that i'm sure are going to come in handy!!

Last night i went out to Scrapbooks etc. at Underwood for a night with the girls. It wasn't an overly productive night, but i did do a LO based on a sketch that was provided that i quite like:

I love this range from Kaiser. It's called "Peachy Keen". The embellies are SO cute, especially the pearl images. I even did a bit of machine stitching which i haven't done in ages - it's something i LOVE to do on my LO's, but it's usually too much of a bother to get the machine out, plus i would often wake Calvin if i do since i tend to scrap while he's asleep!! So, it was good to have a machine set up last night, just begging to be used.

Other than that LO, i did a couple of LO's for the calendar i'm making for my husband, plus a bit of painting for Christmas gifts. More to come on them...