Wild Card Cart

I have just received my Wild Card Cartridge. I put off buying any new cartridges because I make most things with Inkscape and SCAL now. Just before Christmas I was ordering some mats though and I was tempted by Wild Card and Storybook. Still waiting on Storybook but that's another story. I have just sat and read through the Wild Card booklet and OMG! This cart is so much more than a card making cart. It has the funkiest icons that would look great on so many scrapping pages. I am so glad I bought this cart/ DO you know what the best thing is? Dh and dd #1 are "camping" (in the back yard) tonight and so I can cut away and play with the card styles and icons etc!! Look for some posts of cards in the not too distant future.

Eyelet Scalloped Square

You may remember my Pirate page from the other day. I used a piece of the eyelet scalloped Bazzill on it and really liked the effect. Last night I was playing around in Inkscape and decided to make an eyelet scalloped square. I have it available for downloading here As always these files are for cutting on the Cricut using SCAL.

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Ours was a family affair and it was great to catch up with people we rarely see. We spent Boxing Day up Mt Buffalo and I can't think of a better way to spend the day after Christmas - certainly better than the post Christmas retail frenzy.

Fiskars Finger Tip Knife

The January Scrapaholics technique is cutting by hand using the Fiskars Finger Tip Knife. This tool really helps you to cut well. I don't often use a craft knife because I'm really not that adept at cutting with one but this tool makes it much easier. The tool is included in the January kit along with some simply stunning Crate Paper from the Prudence Collection. The Temperance die cut paper is my favourite and so I stretched it across 3 layouts. I'm really happy with how these layouts turned out. I will be demonstrating this kit in Balldale on January 7th and Albury on January 30th. Email me for details.





These 3 layouts count as challenge 13.

Gift Cards

Challenge 13 is finally completed. Considering how straight forward it is I took a while. I decided to give my day care mum a set of cards. I thought that would be a gift that is useful but in a good way. I don't really know her interests enough to buy her a present that I know she will use and so I hope this present hits the spot. I know she has a mother and 2 daughters and a son so I tried to make cards to suit these people. I also included a couple of Christmas cards just in case she was caught short (or to start planning 09!). I am going to box them up in a nice sturdy box so they will be protected all year. The box is my next project!

Divine gift bags

Challenge 12 is here and at this rate I may be done well before my end of year time line. However, once again I have been side tracked. I was all set to finish my day care mum's gift when Dan posted this gorgeous purse shaped gift box on his blog. I made one and showed my daughter and she immediately had the great idea of making these for her little friends. So here they are:




The svg file is available as this week's freebie on Dan's blog. I don't have a 12x24 mat and so these are cut on my Cricut using a 12x12 inch mat. This is the largest box you could cut on this size mat but it is a perfect size for a few chocolates. Make them for your work mates and put in some ferrero rocher chocolates or some home made fudge, make them for the teen girls in the family and put in some lip gloss or nail polish. A great file and a nifty little bag which is so easy to put together.

I have used a range of papers, we chose ones that were heavier weight papers. These are mostly Basic Grey and American Crafts, the Christmas one is Kaisercraft.

Now to find an equally cool box to make something for the boys she is friends with, anyone got any great ideas? Then I really must finish the gift for my daughter's day care mum!

Challenge 11: An svg Christmas tree

I got side tracked again! I have been working on a gift for my daughter's daycare mum and that was to be my 11th challenge, but it isn't ready yet. If I had spent the night working on it, instead of designing in Inkscape, I would have had it ready. But lucky for those of you with Sure Cuts A Lot, I designed instead. I have an svg file of a Decorative Christmas tree. As you can see, it is certainly not your typical Christmas tree. This tree is made using a couple of dings and then modified in Inkscape. I am really happy with the final product, hope you like it.



If you would like to use it you will find the file available here. I think it would look good on a card - mmmmm haven't made cards this year {dropping my head in shame}

Now to get back to the Christmas present!

Advent treats

I have eventually got myself organised and made my little Advent packages. Here are a few photos of them hanging on our tree.





My 3 year old finds them to be very tempting but so far is showing great restraint. I only made 12 as Emily is already finding the wait for Christmas to be long. This way the excitement will be heightened in the last 12 days!

I made another set of these with cardstock weight scrapbooking paper and they kept popping open, so I decided to use light weight paper. The paper is Sandy Lion, London Town and it was in the December Scrapaholics kit.

The tenth challenge is complete so 5 more to go. I am starting to find it a bit harder to get to these projects as there are so many other things to be done. However, I have already decided what my next challenge will be.

Ahoy there

My daughter absolutely loves this local park which has some official boring name, after an ex mayor or some such. The first time we went there she christened it the 'Pirate Park'. Whenever we drive anywere in the vicinity of this park she asks if we can go to the 'Pirate Park' so this layout is for her.



The skull is from My Crafty Files and the font for the title is Windlass. I have only recently learnt about opening a true type font and using it in SCAL without actually installing it. Installing too many fonts really slows down your computer. Both the title and skull were cut on the Cricut using SCAL.The cardstock is Bazzill.

At times I spend hours on the detail in layouts but often I find simple is good. I have way too many photos to spend hours on every layout. This will mean project 9 is done!

Challenge 8: Girl gift album

I love these word albums from MOSD I posted a boy album back in October and I have eventually got around to doing my girl album. This is a gift for my mum, so I hope she isn't reading my blog or she won't be at all surprised.

Dec 1 and the countdown has begun

I have only managed 5 projects so far so I really must get busy. I do have a few half finished though so stay tuned.

I had a few dinosaur chipboard accents left over after making the Boy word book and I decided to make them into cards. These cute cards are very simple but they look so effective and I am sure any young boy would be thrilled to receive them as birthday cards.



I also decided to make a card for a teen male, a much harder audience. I went for something a bit grunge inspired.



My list so far then
1. Wreath
2. Kaisercraft Days Til Christmas Tree
3. Christmas Morning layout
4. Joy Layout
5. Happy Holidays Layout
6. Dinosaur cards
7. Grunge card

Dino card embellishments are Basic Grey Archaic, Guitar Embellishment is cut on the Cricut using a guitar svg I got from Denise's blog

Inspiration hit today

While playing around in Inkscape I created a journaling block or label. I think it is quite cute so I decided to make it available through my blog. I am only an amateur so I was really quite thrilled with this, hope you can use it.
Journaling block
It cut nicely on my Cricut so I am off to make a card or a layout. Actually these would look nice on some clean skin wines to make a great personalised gift.

28 Days and another 2 projects done

I am on a roll! I still haven't got back to making the goodies to go with the Kaisercraft Days Til Christmas tree that I posted the other day, but I will.

Today I have the next 2 pages made with the Scrapaholics December kit. That's 3 pages made so far with the kit and there is easily enough paper left to make another page or a few Christmas cards. The cardstock is Bazzill Chiffon and Coredinations Burgundy. The patterned paper and diecuts are Sandylion. The journaling block was cut using SCAL and my Cricut. You can get a copy of one at the Frugal Crafter

Christmas layouts

I wish Christmas brought the best out in my photography skills but unfortunately it doesn't. I am usually busy with other things and thoroughly preoccupied so at the end of the day I have next to no photos and those I do have are average. There is also so much clutter around on Christmas Day, wrapping paper, presents, and other people that I find it hard to achieve great shots. As this is the case I have found it difficult to scrap Christmas photos. Tell you the truth I have actually avoided scrapping Christmas photos. Now I have 2 children I can no longer neglect preserving these memories. Plus, the Scrapaholics kit for December has a distinct Christmas theme! It took me along time to create these pages and although the colours aren't everyone's idea of Christmas I love the way they are not the traditional red and greens. The cardstock is Bazzill Chiffon and the trees and die cut are from the Sandy Lion Christmas Range.



As promised I have an svg file for the title I used on the Christmas morning layout. You can find it here It is in Inkscape and ready to cut with SCAL and your Cricut.

32 sleeps and the tree is done!

The tree is finished and the first of my 15 challenges is done! Today it was the Kaisercraft Days til Christmas Beyond the Page Project. I thought as I was counting done the days on the blog I may as well get the tree finished. The paper is Kaisercraft's Countdown range. The Bling is more obvious irl than on this photo and it is mostly Kaisercraft. There are original rhinestones and circle borders. I have added stickles to give the star, numbers and flourish some bling too. This was a fun project and we'll enjoy the countdown to Christmas. I'll be teaching this class in Albury on Dec 5th, if you are in the area there are a couple of spots left so you'll have to act fast. Leave me a comment if you want to join us and I'll email you the details.

I think we will need some goodies to unwrap each day to enhance the excitement so I am off to make these next!

33 sleeps til Christmas

I feel a need to get into the Christmas spirit and as I avoid the shops at all costs it means decorating our place. As there are 33 sleeps til Christmas I thought I would start by making a wreath. I have used the fantastic files and instructions from Dan's blog. This blog is a great source of inspiration and svg files! Dan has great freebies up for a week at a time and if you miss out he does have them available for sale. If you want to buy the files for this wreath in SVG, DXF, PNG/JPG format then go to Dan's other site
The holly is cut on the Cricut using Bazzill Bling and Leapfrog, the berries are accented with Ranger's Glossy Accents and the ribbon I picked up at Spotlight.

I think it is time to issue myself a challenge. I will do 15 projects by Christmas. They won't all be Christmas related but I am guessing at least half will be. I had better get off the computer and get started on my next project! How about you? Care to join me in this challenge? I think I will make an Advent calendar and some Christmas decorations, maybe some bonbons and of course some cards.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I have eventually got my act together and made a start on Christmas cards. I know it is already November and so I really am going to need to get a move on and produce a lot of cards. I have been cheating a little and using SCAL and my Cricut to cut cards. It is certainly much quicker this way. I have used KJtagsXmas font to cut both gift tags and cards. I didn’t come up with this idea myself, check out Denise’s Blog for this and other great ideas. Denise has a heap of SVG files she shares so if you have a cutter and SCAL take a look.

Also went to the Albury Botanic Gardens yesterday for the Fairy and Dinosaur Stomp. I took the camera along, of course, and took some cute pics of the girls and couldn’t resist sharing a couple.



I also made have the SCUT file to share for the scallop I used on the November Scrapaholics layout. I usually make things in Inkscape but for some reason I did this in SCAL so sorry no SVG this time. You can go to the following link to download it http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=b38accfabc050c8bd2db6fb9a8902bda

Kaisercraft papers

Had a play with some new Kaisercraft papers last night. Monday night is the only night I watch tv and so while I sat in front of the idiot box I did some card making. It must be a mum thing - doing more than one thing at a time! The papers were from Kaiser's latest release and they are the Waterberry and What a Hoot Ranges. The papers are so new you won't even find them on the site yet! They are a great paper to work with as they are thick, double sided and have great colours and patterns.


These 4 cards were made using a half a sheet of the Brood paper from the What a Hoot Range and a half a sheet of the Enticing paper from the Waterberry Range. Don't you just love the names given to Scrapbooking Papers, who comes up with these?

I really like their new Sakura Park range too so keep your eyes out for upcoming posts with cards made using these papers.

Scrap the Day Away


Saturday was full of laughs, relaxation and scrapping. The walls of Scrapping Away were bursting with the happy sounds of ladies relaxing and reminiscing. I'm not sure how much scrapping got achieved but it was a lot of fun. I know I only managed 3 pages in the 12 hours Cool. Two of mine were for the November Scrapaholics club meet.




Pretty sure the award for achieving the most goes to Nicky, I do remember at one stage early on in the evening hearing her say she'd completed 9 pages.I do know we all wished we could spend 'just a little longer', but don't you always? There never seems to be enough time to scrapbook. Luckily at Scrapping Away there is always a table to scrap on and a bed to sleep in. We'd love to have you join us at the next class, All Day Scrap or Retreat.

Til then, scrap whenever you can

Cheers

Ruth


Card Making with SCAL


I have been having so much fun lately learning how to use Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL). I love my Cricut cartridges, don't get me wrong! I wish I owned Graphically Speaking and Wild Card. But SCAL opens up a whole new world of fonts, dingbats and image files. In this economic climate SCAL gives you more bang for your buck. Here are a couple of cards I have made in the last few weeks using SCAL.

Thanks to Linda for the use of the card pattern shown here




So far I have only used SCAL for titles in my scrapbooks. Can't see me needing to buy many more chipboard alphabets in the future.

I have found SCAL to involve a fair bit of practise in order to use it properly. One site in particular has been invaluable in my learning is http://susanbluerobot.blogspot.com/ This lady is absolutely amazing and anyone purchasing Design Studio or SCAL would be wise to bookmark her blog.

Boys Word Book

I have been having fun this week working on a word book for my friend Susie. She has been looking after the girls for me while I tutor on Wednesdays. I got this word book from MOSD, they have great products. If you have been reading my blog a while you may remember the acrylic album I did that I got from them. I absolutely love the Word Book. It was really easy to work with and the Basic Grey Archaic papers that I used are really striking. Hope you like it too.

Cricut just keeps getting better

Have you heard the news? Cricut just keeps improving and maintaining a competitive position in the die cutting business. They have just released information about a new blade which can cut chipboard.

Slice thicker material with ease! Shorter housing provides greater clearance for heavier materials, allowing you to cut material up to 1.5 mm thick. Use it for chipboard, wood veneer, magnet sheets, vinyl, and much more.

This product will work with either the original Cricut machine or the Cricut Expression. This product will also work with all international versions of the original Cricut machine and Cricut Expression.

How cool will this be? I can't wait to give it a go, believe me I have already got my preorder in!

12 Hour Crop

We had a great 12 hour crop at Scrapping Away yesterday. It was one of those days that was relaxed but productive. I managed to catch up on some of Em's baby layouts that have been waiting to be finished for the last 3 years. Most of us managed to complete between 8-12 pages while having a good catch up. We had so much fun using the Accent Essentials cartridge on the Cricut. We cut 12 inch snow flakes and nested circles to use as backgrounds for our layouts and we also found the coolest alphabet on the Cuttin' Up cartridge - Wholly cow is awesome so check it out.

Our next event is a Scrap Night on Friday and hopefully I will manage to get a few more layouts caught up. I am planning to finish some birthday pages and also make a start on some new baby pages.

Ranger Glossy Accents

I seem to be working my way through Ranger products lately. This month it is glossy accents. You are all no doubt familiar with similar products to Glossy Accents eg. Dimensional Magic. My main complaint with the similar products was their drying time. There is nothing worse than going to a workshop and creating a gorgeous layout that isn't dry for the trip home and then ends up getting damaged in the car. Glossy Accents has over come that issue as it has an exceptionally fast drying time.

When using the product I wanted to try something different from the usual - you know giving chipboard a glossy look or creating water drops on a pool layout. What I ended up doing was using the glossy accents to doodle on a plain piece of Bazzill. It really gave the layout a lift and added dimensions. I also used it to add glossy to a chipboard letter that had been inked.




Next month using glossy accents and Tim Holtz Fragments to create embellishments.

Absolutely Awesome Acrylic

What a busy time it has been recently. I have barely had time to scrap and yet I have so many new papers to play with. I have been working with Acrylic pages this week and they result in beautiful pages but are quite a challenge too. I continually had to remind myself that the page is two sided.

The next workshop is on July 4th and I will be demonstrating the use of acrylic pages. We will complete two 12x12 acrylic layouts and 2 cardstock layouts as well as make some acrylic embellishments.

July is sure to be a creative month as we also have a Scrapaholics workshop on the 18th July and a Scrap Day on July 26. The Scrap Day is 12 hours of scrapping fun so be sure to register soon. Email me for further info info@scrappingaway.com.au What could be better than spending a cold wintery day scrapping away?

Here are a couple of acrylic tutorials


This one has some great tips to help you avoid errors! Always great to learn from other's mistakes.

Playing with felt

I have been doing a bit of experimenting with felt this week. I have been using it on layouts and also doing a bit of sewing. Winter is a great time for doing craft isn't it. I came across this fantastic tutorial by Noell Hyman on distressing felt with Tim Holtz distressing powders

http://www.paperclipping.com/2008/05/18/paperclipping-44-altering-felt/

I love Noell Hyman's tutorials, she has great ideas which she clearly explains and she creates wonderful layouts.

August Scrapaholics Retreat

There is only one spot left in the August Scrapaholics Retreat now. Email me soon if you want to attend a great retreat with at least 36 hours of scrapbooking time, two Scrapaholics classes and plenty of fun.

Retreat Vacancies

We have had a few retreats booked lately and there has been interest by groups smaller than 8. Please, if you have a group interested in coming and there aren't 8 of you, contact me as we can always accommodate you. In August there is a Scrapaholics retreat with some vacant spots so if you would like to attend give me a call or email me soon. The retreat includes scrapping time from 3pm Friday until 3pm Sunday and 2 Scrapaholics classes during this time.

Tim Holtz Grungeboard

This month's Scrapaholics kit uses the cutting edge Grungeboard by Tim Holtz. This stuff is fabulous, it's like chipboard underwent a revolution. You can cut it, paint it, ink it, sew it, emboss it, die cut it, grunge it up by sanding for a brilliant effects. This stuff is totally flexible, you can even screw it up and flatten it back out and it will retain its shape. Check out this video demonstration by Tim Holtz.

http://www.timholtz.com/vid_grungeboard.html

The Boxer Basic Grey papers in the kit have a grungy feel to them which really works well with the Grungeboard.


Join a Scrapaholics Club now to get great kits like this one.

Not one in your area? Start your own. Email me

Sketch challenge

Are you up for a challenge?

After posting about sketches I became inspired to offer a challenge.

Use the following Becky Fleck sketch to complete a layout about your mum or motherhood and send me an email of the layout before Mother's Day. If I get more than 8 entries I will place all the names in a hat and draw out a winner and send them a prize. Looking forward to seeing your creations.

Do you create layouts from sketches?

I am a real sketch fan, how about you? I love Becky Fleck sketches (http://www.pagemaps.com/), and when I get new mags I will often sketch layouts that I like, but I also love to sketch ideas from in my head before I create a page. The thing I really like about sketches as opposed to looking at actual layouts is, I find sometimes the paper that was used, or the photos used can put you off. Where as a sketch has no colours, patterns or distracting photos. Another great thing about sketches is that everyone interprets them differently.

Another great site to find sketches is Pencil Lines http://www.pencillines.com/ this site has about 8 sketch designers on their team from around the world and also guest designers so there is always something to suit most tastes.

Introducing Lucy Grace

It has been a busy couple of weeks due to the arrival of Lucy on March 28 and unfortunately I haven't made it into here to update class information. Hopefully I can get it done while she has a sleep and Em is reading. First off here's a couple of photos.

Scrapaholics classes are up and running again starting April 25th and then May 2nd. The technique this time is wet embossing and the layouts use gorgeous Making Memories Travel Series Papers and of course Bazzill. The papers are very versatile and would suit a myriad of themes.

I have chosen to do a daddy and daughter page as the grungy colours really suit a masculine page. But as you can see in the second layout the colours a also great for a non-traditional Christmas layout as well.

The April 25th class is almost full so contact me quickly if you would like to join us. The May 2nd class still has a few spaces left but as always I recommend acting quickly as these classes do fill fast.

Scrapping Away Retreat Special

Do you want to organise a small group retreat?




How's this for an incentive for you!



To celebrate the imminent arrival of our baby we are offering a hostess special.


Book your retreat for 8 people before April 30 2008 (and pay your deposit) and as organiser/hostess you will stay for free.


Yes, you read right! Pay for only 7 people to stay at the retreat.


You deserve a break and we will reward you for doing all the hard work to organise your group by giving you free accommodation.


Get in quick to book the dates you want.



Email us today



Check out the website too

Fabulous Felt

The March Scrapaholics class is already upon us and the techniques this month are using felt and a monochromatic style. What a challenge this turned out to be! Once upon a time I was a Bazzill scrapper and then something happened - I discovered that patterned paper is not only fun to own but great to use too! I have become so use to scrapping with patterned papers that to face a kit of only Bazzill, felt and ric rac was a bit scary. Mind you it was very yummy Bazzill in 6 different purples. So, if you are up for a challenge of scrapping in a monochromatic manner join us for the class. Email for details if you are in Albury/Wodonga region or if you would like to buy a kit

I had a lot of fun in the end with using my photos as the focus of the page and not letting patterned paper be the focus. I used passport sized photos on the expecting Em page and let them tell the story of my joy while pregnant. The look is really quite effective. I guess it isn't truly monochromatic as it has green paint on it, but it is close enough.

For my second layout I really wanted a double page and this proved a challenge as I have never done a LO with 2 pages that are different colours. In the end I decided not to have two different coloured pages and cut away at the Bazzill creating two 12x12 papers from strips of Bazzill. The effect was just want I was after and it suited these great photos of Emily at the Swan River perfectly. Man she was a chubby bubby!

In both cases the felt has added a bit of dimension to the layouts. It is an interesting fabric to work with. I found it works well in the Sizzix if your dies are thick but when you try to do fine cutting it easily loses shape. Also I tried stamping on it but wasn't thrilled with the result. In the end I found the best result came from using acrylic paint.

Next month we are using wet embossing and then the following month Scrapaholics UK has designed the most gorgeous, nested, star acrylic stamps. Get in quick to own this fantastic set as there was a limited run produced.

Retreat Bookings and more exciting Cricut news

It has been a busy week since I last wrote. Our Scrapaholics class on Friday night was a huge success with some stunning pages created. There were kindy and newborn photos scrapped as well as beach and picnic photos, showing how versatile these Scrapaholics kits are designed to be.

At the end of this week is the Rutherglen class working with the scrumptious Crafter's Workshop scallops and swirls template. If you'd like to join us just email me.

The Retreat Grand opening is in a couple of weeks at the Feb 29 class and the champagne will flow in celebration of having finished the renovations!

Retreat bookings are steadily arriving and we have also introduced a class option at the retreats. You can choose to have one or two Scrapaholics retreats included in your weekend for only $5 a class. On that note we are also seeing our inaugural Scrapaholics Retreat in June filling up. For more info on Scrapaholics Clubs click here.

About a month ago I shared with you all the trial version of the Design Studio program allowing you to weld letters from cartridges you already own. This time I have some even bigger news. I came across a program that allows you to use your Cricut to cut any true type font down loaded on your computer - HOW AMAZING IS THAT! I know! The link is Sure Cuts A lot Now I haven't downloaded it yet but I have heard it is pretty good. As this is an early version I think I may wait for them to iron out any flaws before I buy it!

Great Products and Fabulous Classes

The month of February is full of great classes you are sure to enjoy. It is looking to be a very busy month with Scrapaholics classes on Feb 8 and 29 in Albury and Feb 15 in Rutherglen.


Feb 8 class is using beautiful Hambly overlays and stunning black and white papers.

The Feb 15 and Feb 29 classes both use a Crafter's Workshop Scallop and Swirls Template and some gorgeous 7 Gypsies Papers. In this class we explore doodling as a stylistic element and the template makes it easier for those who are a little intimidated by freestyle doodling.

There will also be a class in early March (14th) where we we explore using felt to add texture to your pages. The pages we will create in this class are monochromatic. With so many fabulous patterned papers on the market it is rare to complete a totally monochromatic layout with only the use of Bazzill and so this one is bound to challenge you to think outside the box. Sneak peak coming later!

If you are in Albury or Rutherglen (and surrounding areas) and would like to join one of these classes email me. There are, at the moment, only vacancies in the Scallops and Swirls and Felt classes

Scrapaholics Retreat

How exciting! The date has been set for a Scrapaholics Retreat.

This is a chance for

• Those of you who are interested in having a look at a Scrapaholics class
  
• Those of you who attend Scrapaholics workshops and would love a weekend away scrapping
  
• Anyone who wants to come to a retreat at the Scrapping Away House and doesn't have 7 other scrapping friends available when you are to share the cost with!

The dates are June 27-29

The Cost $170 per person (plus a $25 security deposit refunded after retreat)

Price includes:

TWO Scrapaholics workshops with instruction and enough materials to make 6 or more pages (these will not be kits already completed at other Scrapaholic workshops but one off kits)

Accommodation in our comfy self contained retreat house

Space for scrapping your days away - one trestle per person

Full use of the studio with all of its wonderful tools

There are strictly limited places available so please contact info@scrappingaway.com.au as soon as possible to reserve your space.

Resolutions

This is the time of year that everyone makes plans to improve, do better, achieve something. I tend to stay away from making official resolutions but I guess I still look to make positive changes in my life in general.

Did you make any New Year's Scrapbooking Resolutions?

I have seen a few around from the general

Do more scrapping

To the specific

Complete 24 LOs a week

Wow! Imagine having the time to do 24 LOs a week. I am a slow and steady scrapper most of the time and so I doubt there are enough hours in the week to finish 24 LOs. Lately, if I do more than 36 in a year I count it an achievement. I must have a weekend retreat to get some more done. Anyone want to join me for a retreat at scrappingaway.com.au Retreat House. I have been so busy setting it up for others that I have neglected to factor in some time for myself. Guess it will have to be later in the year as I am sure to be rather busy with a new baby in the early months.

I would like to catch up on some of Emily's photos before the new baby arrives. Heck, I still have photos from her first year to do and I hate that I have forgotten the stories behind a lot of those images. Perhaps, my resolution should be to jot down more of the stories of our life. I use to be good at that. Once upon a time I had a little booklet full of anecdotes all ready for journalling. Sometimes life takes over though and you forget to take the time to record these incidents.