A Walk on the Dark Side....

Hello lovely bloggers,

Sorry I've been a bit MIA lately, I've just been really busy with 'life'... lol.  What, with school hols, my mum and dad visiting (and the obligatory spring clean that goes along with that!!) .... not to mention the new 'fighting fit' focus since starting the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Challenge (I've lost 4.7kg in a week and a half!!)... all creativity has taken a little bit of a back seat unfortunately!  Dont' worry, plenty of new ideas are bubbling away in those deep, dark recesses.  :)

I did however, manage to squeeze this little guy in for the new Colour Room palette this week.  A little dark and moody for me I know, but the 'b' side of this Kaiser paper just spoke to me.... hehehe!  I was really inspired by how the one red chair in the inspo pic this week really dominates the room too, so I used this technique to draw the eye to my photo, which would have otherwise been a bit lost in the chaos!  I'm also hoping that this old pic of my little guy napping lightens the mood a little too.  :))

{pause}

Ok, back to my visitors... more are due to arrive any minute for lunch!!

Promise to be back soon to do some visiting.  I'm starting to suffer from withdrawals... :))

Cheers,

Jules
x

Yesterday.....

This little guy.....

turned 3.

When asked what he wanted for his birthday, his response?

"I just want cake!"

So......

What could possibly be better than a Ben 10 Cupcake Tower?

A sparkling Ben 10 Cupcake Tower of course!!!  :))

Yep, said Master 3 is a bit Ben 10 mad, so what do you do when you live is a town completely underqualified in the 'Ben 10 Suppliers' category..... (and you've left it too late to shop online for supplies) ??

1.  Download a couple of iconic images and make little toothpick flags out of them!  :)

2.  Cook some yummy cup cakes.

3.  Add a smidgen of black and green food colouring.

4.  Light those sparklers.

.... and we're Goin' Hero!!  :)

Happy Birthday little man!

Love,

Mum

xxx

New Leaf...

OK.... so spring has sprung and it represents a new leaf for me.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for this:

... and today is Day One!!

A full three months of winter have been terrible to us.  We have been hit with one flu bug after another, coughed, sniffed and groaned our way through the season, unable (or unwilling) to get out and get active..... and it shows!!!  I've hated every minute of it.  Enough.  That 'winter coat' just has to go!!  :)

My first (of many) early morning workouts are done and I feel FANTASTIC!  I coughed a lot, almost vomited, muscles burned and whinged.... but when all is said and done, I was quite surprised by how much residual fitness is still there.  They say muscle has memory.  All I can say, is that I hope mine isn't suffering from long term memory loss!  lol

I'm determined to give it everything and not get distracted.  I'm motivated.  I'm excited.

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Jules
x

My First Ever Digi!!

And my second share for today!  :)

I only got PS for the very first time a few weeks ago and really haven't played much with it at all, aside from a couple of little photo editing tricks.   When my awesomely talented buddies over at The Colour Room, Lydell Quinn and Emma Stafrace, offered all the DT girls a free digital kit.... well, what more incentive did I need??  These chickies are so talented and they make this digi stuff look so easy, when it sooo isn't!!  What a way to celebrate Palette # 75!!  Wow.... great achievement girls!

I won't tell you how long it took me to produce this... way too long!...  but I really enjoyed playing with it.  I know it looks a little 'amateurish' and I have plenty to learn still, but I think it passes as reasonable for a first attempt  :)

{rest}

Here's a little look at the kit:

Isn't is just amazing?!!  There is also a little giveaway on The Colour Room home page too if you want to have a little lookie.  There is a .jpeg and a .png file for you to copy for free!!

As much as I enjoyed playing with something new though, I think glue/paper/scissors will always be my addiction of choice.  :)   ... so of course I did a hybrid too.  I actually did this one first, before going back for a play with the digi version.

{take flight}

As you can tell from the inspo pic that was teamed with the palette this week, I was really taken with the opulence of the gold, so this really influenced my hybrid page.

So much so, that I added some tangled gold metalic thread....

 ... and some gold embossing powder...

 ... and a spritz of Walnut Gold Glimmermist on the Pink Paislee Mistables pp.  LOVE. THIS. PAPER!! :)

So, that's it for this week.  If you have never done a Colour Room palette before (and even if you have), then this week is definitely the one to do!!

I'm thinkin' it might be create night tonight.... i can feel some inspiration coming on!  lol

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. 

Jules
x

Things I Wish For...

... is the theme for my next 'Book of You' kit over at The Boxx.

This month is all about the things you wish for! This can mean many things to you.  It would also mean different things to different people.  I tend to think of wishes as a little less material than goals, less tangible perhaps… but just as important, if not more so. I chose to go back in time to when I was in my early twenties {just a few years ago.. lol} … with my whole adult-life ahead of me, and look at the things I wished for then. Yes, of course things like travel, romance and career featured high on the list… as it would for most young women. I remember though that healthy, happy children was something I always wished for, not that I wanted to start having them too early… I just new I wanted them. So, for me this month, it’s about looking back retrospectively and celebrating my most important wishes coming true.

You knew you were going to see this pic on a layout soon huh?  hehehee...

For my first layout, I used some of the yummy BG Sweet Threads pp, BG Sweet Threads layered stickers, Hambly frames, Kaiser alphas and buttons from the kit, rolled on paint full of texture and plenty of messy tangled up thread.

{things i wish for}

For my second layout, I couldn't resist scrapping the same pic!  They really are my dream come true... so what more could I want?

I employed lots of glimmermisting... softened with some water spray, a bit of stamping and stitching...  and lots of little strips and sneaks of these fabulous papers!  Here we have Pink Paislee Eclipse from the Twilight collection (big 'twerd' that I am), MME Stella and Rose, Hambly frames and mini frames and some more of those BG Sweet Threads layered stickers and buttons.... oh, and a little bit of book paper and tissue tape from last month's kit thrown in for good measure!  :)

{4 wishes}

I have plenty left over for more projects, so I'm sure you'll see many more of these left overs.  For a detailed tutorial on putting these layouts together, subscribe to The Book of You kits group over at The Boxx.

As always, the new monthly sketch was also revealed in the newsletter and the awesomely fabulous Belinda Lowe is this month's featured member.  Here is the sketch based on B's layout:

Yummy huh?  Pop over to The September Sketch Challenge thread at The Boxx for more details.

Please go and check out the Boxx Newsletter!  It really is full of awesome talent, ideas and articles.  It is with much sadness too that we say goodbye to the beautiful Jodie Butler and Elise McKay from the DT this month.  Love Jodie and Elise and their collective creative talent and she will be sorely missed.

Oh... and lastly, did you know that The Boxx Blog is now up and running??  Pop over and have a look and become a follower.  :))

OK, best be off... gotta go give some hugs, kisses and goodbyes.  DH and DS #1 are heading off for another Bow Shoot this weekend.  At their last shoot away, Cooper came home with a first for his division!!  My little Prince of Thieves!  Love watching him.... it's almost mesmerising.  I also love that he has something to do with his dad.... just the two of them.  One-on-one.  Camping, shooting, de-compressing and just enjoying one another.

My plan for the next 12 months is to endeavour to make time for one-on-one activities with all the kids.  It's really hard to do I know, especially considering all of our combined commitments, but I really see them shine when Troy and I spend time alone with each of them.  Got any ideas?  :)

Oh.... and Troy came third in the men's first division, which is pretty impressive, considering they have only been shooting for 12 months.  Most of these guys have been shooting their entire lives. That's my boys!!

Of course, whilst I'm happy for my boys bonding this weekend... it means the girls and I get a girly weekend again!!  woohoo... gotta love a weekend of chick flicks, chocolate and creating!  :)  Life is Good.  Little Lachy just goes with the flow ... he doesn't mind the odd chick flick or two!  lol.  I don't think I'll get away with that for much longer though.... Omgosh!  he's nearly three!  {sigh}

Ok... I really have to go now!

Thanks so much for popping in and thank you so much for your support and encouragement.  It really does keep me going!  :)

Jules
x

Love this....

My new fave....

Just sharin'  :)

Oh, and thanks so much for the well wishes.  Aside from the worst case of sniffles ever... that I'm sure would rival the absolute best residential water pressure, bar none... and the blocked ears that have left me with nothing more than 'huh?' as a conversation starter... I am actually feeling almost normal again!  :)

Hope you are having a nice weekend...

Cheers,
Jules
x

Hello Spring!

... finally!  My current flu makes it number 5 for the winter season!  Not loving winter any more... nor am I loving spending a whole day on the lounge, shivering and coughing... that was Tuesday.  DH even took days off work to run the kids around for me.  :(   I have high hopes for spring!

So, being the first of the month means new challenge time.  Kraft It Up would like to see stitching and fabric on your layout, using Kraft as a base.  So up my alley!  I'd be hard pressed to do a layout without stitching on it.  And Fabric?  Anyone who has seen a couple of my layouts might know that I kinda have a thing for muslin!  hehee.  And because I also had a bit of a thing for peek-a-boo's last month, I combined all these fetishes in the one page:

{beautiful}

I must admit to being a little inspired by the immensely talented Heidi Kelly for this one.  LOVE Heidi's work!  And I really did get my money's worth out of that piece of 'Authentique' pp.  I managed to spread it out over three layouts!  lol.  I misted some muslin with a teeny bit of 'graphite' glimmermist, which gave it a really soft, silvery look, that complemented the Authentique pp really nicely.  Oh, and here's a tip.... don't use Black Stazon Ink on your templates!!  What was I thinking?!!  Oh well, it still works ...   :)

This photo of Claire was taken minutes before she competed in a triathalon early this year.  I just adore her 'game face'.  It says so much about her character and spirit... :))

Now... onto the bigger issue of the day.  Should I get out of my pj's or not?  :)

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a lovely spring day... 

Jules
x