Al's Archives

Xmas 09

2010-02-06T13:57:00.001+10:00

More Quick Pages!

2009-04-23T13:29:00.005+10:00

Here's an extra QP! I used the kit called "Every Day Matters, 2 - Home & Family" from Kathy at The Latest Scoop, Too. I met her at the Stuff To Scrap forum. She's lovely, and her kit is gorgeous! It's her first attempt without CU items and I think she's done an awesome job! She's put out a CT call, but I was fortunate enough to play with this kit beforehand anyway. Visit her blog to get the kit and grab my QP from the links below too!

8.5x11 12x12

Quick Page for "Sweet Cuts"

2009-04-20T10:55:00.006+10:00

Hopefully you've all been over at Jenasis Design downloading the bits and pieces for "Sweet Cuts" Girl and making your own LO's. If you're a little stuck and love using quick pages to save some time, here's one I did that you are welcome to download. Once again, this one's available in 12x12 and 8.5x11 formats.

12x12 8.5x11

Also, I've included the word art as a download.

Australian or American spelling.

Click the previews to download.

"Sweet Cuts" - New kit at Jenasis Design

2009-04-16T16:56:00.004+10:00

This is a gorgeous girls kit for all of your hair cutting memories.
I didn't really take any photos of my girls having haircuts (yet) so I came up with something else for my page...

Papers are already available to download over at Jenasis Design.
My LO will be available here as a quickpage in a few days.
Check back soon!

Another Speed Scrap!

2009-04-14T14:29:00.006+10:00

This was another speed scrap at Stuff to Scrap, and was a little different right from the start. The first instruction had us taking a photo of ourselves as we were - at that moment. Easy instruction, but a lot of us tried to get out of it! There were a lot of laughs in the chat room as we all compared how we looked. It was a fun hour!
These are all the instructions we were given...
Step 1: Take a picture of yourself right now, with your digital camera, don't pretty yourself up, don't look in the mirror to see what you look like, just snap it, and then upload it to your computer. You can take up to 3 pictures of yourself, no deleting them! (if you don't have a working camera you may find 1 picture to scan, or one picture you already have on your computer to use. This is ONLY if your camera is not working.)
Step 2: Find 3 papers, 2 solid 1 patterened. Solid will be your main background paper. The other solid will be the mat for your picture(s), and the patterned paper can be used however you like.
Step 3: You may choose any 1 of those 3 pictures to use. Only 1! We are going to be quartering the photo to create a visual sensation of observing a scene through a window. Cut your main photo into quarters and mat with the other solid paper. Works best as a 6.5x6.5 sized picture. Center on your page.
Step 4: Take this time to catch up on the above 3 steps. I know you need too! lol.
Step 5: Add whatever embellishments you feel are needed to make your page looks it's best. Try to keep it simple though. We are telling a story with our quartered picture.
Step 6: Add drop shadows and make your page look pretty. Catch up on any of the above steps. Use a different direction on your drop shadow than what you normally would use.
Step 7: Give your page a 1 word title and then journal and date. However, your journaling needs to be about you speed scrapping. What do you think about yourself in your picture, all ready to do a speed scrap. What goes through your mind. Journal that!
oops! Just realised I did more than a one word title.
Here's what I came up with...

Next Speed Scrap at Stuff to Scrap is on Thursday morning, 16th April at 10am for people on the east coast of Australia. American times are Wednesday 15th at 5 pm PST, 6 pm MST, 7 pm CST, 8 pm EST.
If you haven't had a go yet, register now...it's so much fun!

My Birthday

2009-04-10T17:47:00.006+10:00

Yesterday was my birthday. We've had a week of school holidays already so I had all the kids home. I usually think of my birthday as just another day, but the kids were rather excited and were expecting a party and cake and lots of presents and everything else that comes with kids birthdays...Aylish said we had to make a chocolate cake with pink icing, decorated with fairies, hearts and diamonds! (At least I know what she wants for her birthday cake!)

Anyway, since I still had to entertain the kids, we went out for donuts and milkshakes which we all love. We did a few other things including going to the playground - if the kids are happy so am I!

Before we went out, I took some photos of the kids and got some really nice shots. This worked really well because when we got home from the shops there was a speed scrap on at 'Stuff To Scrap'. I was quite late starting after getting the 3 little ones to sleep, but I was able to use one of the photos I'd taken that morning and participate in doing something I love on my birthday. It was fun and I love how the page came out...

Click image to enlarge

And since I'd done one of the girls I just had to do a facing page of the boys!

Hopefully it won't be long before I get my first album printed. I'll aim for it being my Christmas present for me!

Credits: "Sweet Flora" collab by AWP designs by Vicki & Digi-Designs by Nicole; brads (recoloured) from "Berrylicious" by Vicki; staples from "Best Friends" by Nicole

"Silly Star's" at Jenasis Design

2009-03-31T13:53:00.004+10:00

I have a rather busy week planned and probably won't get the chance to do this at another time so just a quick post from me to plug Shelby's latest kit, "Silly Star". Not that it's silly at all! I love it!

Here's my LO.

And I've made it available as 12x12 and 8.5x11 quick pages.

12x12 8.5x11

The kit is available for download at Jenasis Design this week.

We all appreciate the effort that designers go to to make freebies for us, so we need to remember to take another minute to leave a "thankyou" in the comments when we download! That's all that's asked for in return. As they say...leave some love!

Fairy Tale Wedding Add-on

2009-03-28T20:54:00.004+10:00

Ok, so I am still new at this, but just had to have a go at putting together some add-ons. Once again I used paper from Ellay's part of the "Fairy Tale Wedding" collab, and created some extra elements like frames and journalling boxes. They're basic, but sometimes I find that's all I need to go with some kits. Hopefully you'll find them useful too!

Any problems with downloads, let me know - it's my first zip file on 4shared.

Click on the preview to download.

"Fairy Tale Wedding" Bonus QP!

2009-03-28T12:20:00.005+10:00

Since I discovered how to do quick pages it's almost taken over from scrapping actual layouts!

This was QP I had done a LO for though.

Nicole's got a Forum Blog Train going and the first collab is called "Fairy Tale Wedding". I'm amazed at how many people put their hand up to contribute. The kits are all awesome and the colours match my wedding photos perfectly. I hadn't used any of my wedding pics digitally yet, but when this collab came out, I had to have a go.

This part of the collab you'll find at Scraps of Ellay. She was kind enough to send me her bits before everything else was released, and this is what I came up with...

The blog train was released this week and you can pick up all the different bits by visiting everyone's blogs...

Digi-designs by Nicole

Scrappy Cocoa
Scraps of Ellay
Nibbles Skribbles
JW - DigiScraps
Flower Scraps
Christie Dawn
KayPey

There are heaps of quick pages available too, and you are welcome to download mine here.

12x12 8.5x11

Come back tomorrow and I should have an add-on kit of frames and photo corners too!

Vintage Ruby QP Freebie!

2009-03-26T15:38:00.005+10:00

Well, it's been a pretty quiet week for me, having one of the kids sick and not having so much computer time but I did get a quick page done for Jenasis Design's new "Vintage Ruby" kit. It's a beautiful kit ideal for weddings, heritage photos, etc.

I used a photo that I love of my Grandma. She passed away a couple of years ago so it was nice to be able to use this kit for her.

Here's the page I did.

And of course it's available for everyone to download in 12x12 and 8.5x11.

12x12 here 8.5x11 here

Then make sure you go over to Jenasis Design and grab the full kit!

Rain Rain Go Away - Quick Pages

2009-03-21T08:59:00.004+10:00

Am feeling a bit "under the weather" today so won't write anything, but will give the links to the QP's. I actually managed to get another pink and black page done so you have a 2 page spread. These are only available in 12x12 this week, but if you're after 8.5x11 let me know and I'll make them for you.

Click on the images to download.

Rain Rain Go Away - Kit Release

2009-03-17T18:51:00.006+10:00

What a perfect kit for Queenslanders right now! I know some of us are still praying for more rain because of heavy water restrictions, but the rest of us are keen for the rain to stop so flood waters can subside. Either way, I'm sure most of us have some pics to scrap of our kids jumping in puddles or marvelling at their first experience of wet weather.

The layout I've done with Jenasis Design's "Rain Rain Go Away" kit is a combination of both. It was the first storm after a very long drought and it included hail! I'm pretty sure this is the first memory the girls will have of rain...

And here is Harrisson holding hail for the first time too...

Both of these LO's will be available to download here as quickpages later in the week, but for now you can head over to Jenesis Design to start downloading the papers from the kit. Elements and Alpha will be out in the next few days.

Click on the preview to get the papers...

CTing for Jenasis Design...

2009-03-12T16:36:00.008+10:00

It has been a long time since my last post, but I'll be doing this more often from now on.

I have been keeping up with digi-scrapping and have done some challenges but my newest challenge is about to start!

I saw a CT (Creative Team) call on Nicole's forum.
I haven't been game enough to have a go at one yet because I thought I was still too much of a newbie!
But, I have seen quite a few newer newbies than me having a go, so I thought it couldn't hurt to send off an email!

Here's a recap of how it all started...
I started with digi scrapping in about October last year after someone came and did a demo at our MOPS group with a downloadable pre-done program to create an album. (I had been paper scrapping for years, but after each of my kids (I have 4) were born, I just had less and less time for getting craft stuff out!) I thought it looked great and decided to give it a go. As I said though, it's a pre-done program and you use their papers and elements, and that wasn't enough for me...I needed to be more creative and figured their had to be more digi-scrapping sites out there.
I started Googling and was blown away! Nicole's blog was the first one I came across and I haven't looked back!

To start with, I thought I was really limited in what I could create because I didn't have Photoshop or anything that everyone else seemed to be using, but I was quite familiar with MS Powerpoint because I use it at work all the time and knew I could probably do most things on there anyway. My LO's (layouts)(up until today) are more like desktop sizes (or A4 landscape) but that works really well for an 8.5 x 11 album. And now I've just done a hands-on workshop (we had so many laptops there!) at MOPS and found a room full of new excited digi-scrappers who also didn't realise there was such an easy, user-friendly way to create LO's!

Anyway, my blog's been up and running for a few months but I needed something like a CT position to keep me spurred on!
So my motivation was that I have just discovered how to do QP's (yes in Powerpoint!) and I also love making frames and other bits and pieces from pre-designed papers. And, when I applied for the CT with Jenasis Design I was asked if I could make my LO's 12x12. I had a play around...and yay!! I can do 12x12 LO's!!

So, here I am about to post my first Quick Pages! It's a big step but will be fun and challenging.

Firstly though, here is my LO with Jenasis Design's "Cookie Monster" kit.

Click image to enlarge

And here is the QP preview.

I will aim to make all my QP's available in 12x12 and 8.5x11.

Here are your download links...

Cookie Monster 12x12 Quick Page

Cookie Monster 8.5x11 Quick Page

Since I'm new at this, please let me know of any problems so I can fix them ASAP! Otherwise, if you've done a page with one of my QP's please post a link...I'd love to see what you've done!

Don't forget to grab the whole kit here.

Next week's kit is called Rain Rain Go Away - should be fun!

Aylish started ballet!

2009-02-04T18:15:00.003+10:00

I signed Aylish up at Conroy's last week. She was so excited to be going to "her ballet school"! She goes on Saturdays. It's a pretty exhausting schedule for a little girl though because it's not just ballet. She does 45 minutes of ballet, 30 minutes of song and dance, has a half hour lunch break then does 45 minutes of jazz and tap. I'd be worn out!

She loved it though and can't wait to go again this weekend. She came home with 2 song sheets: "Tomorrow" from "Annie" and "Green Eggs & Ham". I didn't realise the latter was a song, but it is! You'll find both songs in my playlist on the right side of the screen. Not sure if they're exactly the versions that they're doing, but you get the idea.

I haven't scrapped any of her ballet photos yet. I'm still searching for the right kit. All the ballet kits I've seen so far have soft pinks. Something brighter would be better!

Anyway, here's a couple of photos...

Click to enlarge

First Day of School for 2009!

2009-01-27T15:32:00.005+10:00

The kids were so excited! Harrisson's in grade 3 and Aylish is starting prep.

Two of them gone for 5 days a week!

Click images to enlarge

David had the morning off to come and see them settled in and he took more photos than me!

Harrisson and Aylish had no worries of course and they were both happy to say "goodbye" to mum and dad and catch up with friends again...although... I'm not quite sure whether this is a happy look on Aylish's face?

After dropping off, I took the two little ones over to the church to set up for playgroup (unofficially-we don't start until next week). We were only expecting a couple of people to show up, but were really surprised to have about 12 mums come along. I think next week is going to be packed!

Anyway, Kaelan really enjoyed playing with some of the other little boys but Kiana was a bit out of sorts because Aylish wasn't there anymore. She cried so much I thought she might have been coming down with something. When we got home and I was getting her ready for her nap, I explained she was the big sister for now but after her sleep we'd be going to pick up the big two again. She settled down rather quickly then!

It's nice to know that even though the kids fight a bit, they do miss each other when they're apart!

Speed Scrapping

2009-01-21T19:52:00.005+10:00

I participated in my 2nd Speed Scrap today at Nicole's forum. So much fun!

You have to create a page using 7 instructions which are given over an hour.

I had to leave part way through to pick up Aylish from kindy though, so didn't get it finished in an hour.

This was a hard one because your photo had to take up 3/4 of the page. Made it hard to fit the other things on!

Anyway, here's my LO...click for larger view.

I used Nicole's "Garden Green" kit, and "Enchanted Forest" collab from Sweet Blossom Designs by Sara and A Work in Progress - Designs by Vicki. I think one of the ribbons is from "Just Blossom" too!

QLD School Fonts

2009-01-19T22:01:00.010+10:00

Years ago I started my search for the fonts that our kids use for writing in school. It's an exhausting search, and I know many parents, students and teachers are also having trouble tracking them down. I thought it was about time they were made available to the general public, so I have spent some time working on a few different sets. The first one is a set of the QLD Beginners Fonts. There's 4 variations in this set - regular(great for flash cards, name labels,etc), dotty(for tracing over), ruled lines(to practice correct heights), and dotty with ruled lines.

Each variation contains upper and lower case letters, numbers and basic punctuation. You are able to purchase a set here for just $10 by clicking on the "Buy Now" link at the bottom of the page. Include your email address and I will send your set through with instructions on how to install them.

I am also working on QLD Cursive and QLD Joined which should be available really soon! If you're after something in particular, let me know in the comments box and I'll see what I can do.

Wow...My very first post...

2009-01-15T13:04:00.005+10:00

Well, I'm not the best at writing my thoughts down, but it's about time I started.

My inspiration for starting this blog is my family. I'm married with 4 kids and haven't really put much effort into keeping track of what we do together...our memories.

I suppose it's also a place for extended family, and friends to see what we've been up to.

Something I have a new passion for is digital scrapbooking. It's proving to be a great asset with organising all the photos I take. I actually go through my photos now, digiscrap the best ones and archive the rest. I still have a long way back to go, but it's a start!

So, much of what you find on here will be scrapped...and I should really thank Nicole from Digi-Designs since hers was the first blog I visited when I googled digiscrapping a few months ago. I started downloading her kits and I haven't looked back. I used two of her kits, "Just Blossom" and "Chloe" to make the header for my blog. I even joined the forum she started where all we really discuss is scrapbooking! Make sure you click on one of her blinkies to check out her amazing stuff.

Someone else I need to thank is Stephanie at Scrappy Cocoa. She makes awesome blog backgrounds and headers, which is where I got my background. She also used "Just Blossom" from Nicole to make this one. I love it!

Before I sign off from my first post I should probably add a pic.

This is a page I created for my first recipe challenge at Nicole's forum. It's using some photos I took of Kaelan in March '08 when he was almost 6 months.

Credits: Digi-Designs by Nicole "Reflection" & "Just Blossom" kits, "Berrylicious" by A Work in Progress - designs by Vicki, and the word art is from "Sweet Dreams" by Sweet Blossom Designs - by Sara (some elements recoloured by me)