Christmas as a Kid...

Scrapbook.com Blogger challenge...

The best thing I remember of Christmas as a kid was the silly hats you get in the bon bons. We have so many photos in the kings and queens hats, too funny. I make my family wear thenm now too. Lol.

My parents had the policy if we got up before 7am, we didn't presents so we used to wake up real early and sit in our rooms, staring at the walls and fidgeting till it was 7am.

We used to rip our presents open and play straight away with them then when we were finished, we used to stack thnm on our beds, we always had a huge mountain of presents.

Christmas lunch was at out grandparents house then at night we used to watch the fireworks locally, we used to stand on the verandah and watch them crackling above us.

Christmas Wishlist...

Scrapbook.com Blogger Challenge.

This Christmas, the one thing I wanted was to go visit my husband's family for Christmas to sho off my little girl, then Peter's nana got diagnosed with liver and bowel cancer so we really want to go down now.

My material wishlist is:
* iPod Nano- to store my images on.
* Albums for my scrapbooking.
* Tim tam gift pack.
Tim tams are chocolate biscuits and are too die for. Lol
In the gift pack, you get 2 coffee mugs, a packet of tim tams and a packet of Vittoria coffee. Yummo.

Merry Christmas girls.

Re-do Christmas.

Blogger Challenge at Scrapbook.com

The best Christmas I have had was Christmas 2005. It was the first Christmas in 8 years that my dad was home with us as he is usually working away.

Mum, dad, Peter (DH) and myself (and bubba in tummy) went to the beach where we had the traditional lunch (chicken, ham, turkey) with prawns, oysters and salad.

After lunch we sat under the trees and had dessert and a drink, which at this point I didn't know I was pregnant then after we had enough, we came home and ate more, drank more and watched DVDs.

It was that special that we are planning another beach Aussie Christmas this year.

Merry Christmas Girls.

New Blog.

Hi girls....

Check out Through our Eyes for my new blog.

Have changed to typepad again.... so sorry for the trouble. Lol

Time to update...

I have not been too well this week. Peter started back at work after 5 weeks off and the baby blues hit me so I have been quiet this week.

Mum and dad have been so helpful this week, helping me with Lillee and just being there for me.

I love this photo of Lillee. It was taken at the window, she was looking out into the back yard and I couldn't resisit the adorable look on her face.

Will upload a LO I have created tomorrow.

Talk care girls.

October 1st.

October 1st and this marks Lillee being 1 month old.

Its hard to believe that 1 whole month ago I was having contractions and facing the scary labour process.

My... how my baby has grown in 1 month. She has put on so much weight and has moved into 000 clothing now.

Last night she slept for 7 hours between her feeds, it was a great nights sleep too.

Mum and dad brought her a bouncernett and it has a music box on it and it vibrates, She loves it and goes to sleep as soon as you turn the vibration on.

Well, going to scrap now and will update later.

Guest Design Team Work....

Guest Design Team work.... for Scrapbook Dreamer.

As I am September Guest Design Team member, I got sent a huge pack of baby girl papers and embellishments so I had fun creating a frame for Scott (my father-in-law), a canvas for Lillee's room and a beautiful layout about Lillee.

I still have more papers from the pack so will be creating more and uploading it too. So check out the gallery at Scrapbook Dreamer and chat with the girls there, they are all so nice.

Laura has great products in the shop and great prices too.

The frame was a How-to tutorial so there are step by step details on the forum.



Scrapbook Dreamer is looking for design team members now so check out the details on the main page of the shop: Scrapbook Dreamer DT

Here is a link to my gallery so you can see more of the creations I made with my pack:
Scrapadel's Gallery.



Thanks for looking at my work and thanks for all the comments.

My Angel...

I know Im a bad mother but I brought Lillee some Angel wings.... well they are really butterfly wings from the discount shop so I could take a photo and i might use it on our Christmas cards.I had to get Peter to hold the wings up so I could still see her face.I have started a new blog.... Through Our Eyes. This will replace Adel's Creations as I have uploaded all my layouts into a gallery there and it will be mostly a blog about Lillee.I have started this as most of our family and friends live interstate and this is a great way to let them know how much she has grown and share photos so if you want to check it out, the link is in my link side bar.Feel free to leave a comment, I will upload photos and post message daily (I hope, Lol)

L for Lillee.

Here is a photo of Miss Lillee with her big L. I am working on a canvas for her door using her Making Memories Monogram. I wanted to get a photo of it next to her to show how big the letter is.

The monogram canvas is part of my Guest DT creations for Scrapbook Dreamer. I was honoured to be chosen as the September Guest Design Team member.

I have also completed my "How-to" tutorial and now am working on my layout.

I love this photo of Lillee and Peter, how relaxed they both look.

Just wanted to say, Anthea, Shane and boys we are thinking of you and praying for strength for the funeral tomorrow.

If there is anything we can do for you, you know where we are.

New Toy.

Well I got my new toy on Tuesday and I have been taking lots of photos of my baby girl.

I love how crisp and bright the colours come out when using the Rebel.

Short post this time but another toot for me, I have another LO getting published in ScrapStreet Ezine. Its one of my EDM LOs for Family so I will have to do another.

Will link when the Ezine comes out.

Thanks for all the comments.

New Layouts Created.

These are the layouts I created this weekend.

We had a cyber crop over at Scrap Needs. For the 1 hour timed challenge I created the Remember LO and won first prize (for finishing first) and won myself a set of the Heidi Swapp foam Stamps.

Then over at Scrap Street we also were having a cyber fair and I created the Scrap Street LO and the So this is Love LO.

The LO titled "Scrap Street" is about my excitement of being published in the Scrap Street Ezine (online magazine).

I have a LO titled Sweet Girl due to be published in November.

If you want a great laugh and a great time chatting and scrapping, check out the Scrap Street link.

All the girls there are amazing, some I know from Scrapbook Dreamer but most I have only met.

Well my new post will have a photo taken with my new camera. I got my Canon Rebel yesterday and I am having a great time playing around with it.

The photos come out so crisp and bright.

Thank you for all the comments. Unfortunatly, I was eliminated from DT Survivor but i am happy to make it as far as I have.

Round 5.

Round 5 of DT Survivor at Scrapbooking Swede and there is now only 8 people in the contest with 2 more weeks to go.

If I was voted off now, I'd have to say Im pretty proud to make it this far. Out of 30 contestants that started, I am in the top 8.

So here is my LO this week. We had to draw inspiration from the colours in the pictures. Firstly yes i have her in blue Lol so I drew inspiration from the pink, yellow and white that is on the blankets and the Chatterbox PP matched the balnket so well.

The journalling reads: "Lillee, you amaze me with all the little things you do.
Like how you hold onto the blanket when you are asleep or how you hold the bottle in your little hands.
Its amazing how strong and independent you look at 2 weeks old when you do these gestures.
I love you Lillee."

I hope you like this LO of Lillee. Thanks for all the comments, I muchly appreciate them all.

Stay safe, Melanie.

First Layout of Lillee.

Here is my first layout of Miss Lillee. This was done for a Design team Call at Scrapbooking Swede.

Over at Scrapbooking Swede, they are having a competition to offer Design Team positions.

Just like the television show, you have to do challenges and contestants get voted off each week. I am currently in my fourth week of DT Survivor.

This weeks challenge was to use florals so I had to use some of the Oh Baby Girl range from Basic Grey that the lovely Jaimie sent me.

I hope you like this LO of my little girl. Thanks for all the comments, I really appreciate them.

Tagged by Alanna.

1. Which famous person would you most like to learn that you are descended from?
I have always admired Audrey Hepburn for her beauty, classy attitude and talent so I would have to say her.

2. Which famous person would you hate to learn that you are descended from?
Being German, I'd have to say Hitler or a Nazi.

3. If you could be ancestor to any living famous person, who would it be and why?
These are really hard questions. I think I would have to say Father Chris Riley, who I admire for his work with homeless youth in Australia. I'd be very proud to say he was a relative (if only I could).

4. If you could go back in time and meet any known ancestor(s) of yours, who would it be?
My grandmother Mabel Lillian, she was mums mother and my daughter's namesake. My aunty said nana would have been proud to have a great grand-daughter named after her. Unfortunalty she passed away when mum was 17 so i never got to meet her but have heard so much about what a wonderful lady she was.

5. Tag five others.
Anthea, Francine, Tess, Karen Haywood and Penny.
Have fun girls.

Introducing Lillee.

Our precious baby girl arrived on Friday September 1st at 10.35pm.

My Aunty Ann is so stoked that Lillee was born on her birthday. So Im introducing Lillianlee Louise to all the cyber aunties.

We had a fairly good labour. Had minor contractions since 11pm Thursday night, then on Friday at 8am they started to get a bit more regular and we took a trip to the hospital at lunch time for a checkup and some testing that my GP hadn't done.

They sent me home as I wasn't dilating but by 6pm, they were coming on so strong and at 8.30 pm we left for the hospital again. Travelling 30 minutes to get to the hospital and by the time we got there, I was 8cm dilated. Lillee was born 1.5 jours later.

We are so stoked to have a healthy baby girl, she is sleeping great now that she is on the bottle.

Thanks for all the well wishes, the emails and phone calls. Can't wait to scrap some of these photos and share with you all.

Challenges at Scrapbook Dreamer.

I am having fun at Scrapbook Dreamer. We are having a month long cyber crop in the style of Back to School. We have been doing Layout challenges along the lines of maths (using top 10 lists on your page), literature (using book titles as page titles) and much more.

I am goign to miss it when it is finished at the end of August.

This is the store that I am guest Designer for in September, check out the link.

The above LO is a mini book I am making to document all the new emotions I will feel as a new mum e.g. fear, scary thoughts, happiness. Its about 6x6 and spiral bound.

I hope you like it.

Blogger is playing up.

I think Blogger is playing up on me. When I open my blog it doesn't show anything.

I hope you girls can read it.

Well Im still here, waiting patiently for bub, Peter is not though. Everyday he has a stern talking to bub to tell bub its time to come out. Lol

This is a 6x6 canvas I did at Shop and Crop, they had a cyber crop on Friday night and we did this Father's Day canvas in a class with Sally Donovan. I love this canvas, the whole canvas was so easy to make and i think it looks great.

Well better be off to bed, Im hoping you girls can see this.

Great news and an update.

Just thought I would update the photos of my belly. These were taken today so I am exactly 39 weeks.

Mum took the one of Peter and I and Peter took the one of me alone.

Good news. Over at Scrapbook Dreamer, they had a Guest Design Team call. I was emailed today to say I am Septembers Guest Design Team member. This is an American store so I am very excited to be part of the team for a month.

Laura even asked me if I wanted to pick what supplies I recieve but I said Id love to get a surprise and get a pack right out of my comfort zone. Can't wait to recieve my pack and start.

Today was mums birthday so we baked her a Roast chook and baked vegies, also a chocolate cake for dessert and choc chip cookies for a snack. It was a great day and we all had fun.

Will post a LO tomorrow, been very slack this weekend. It has been busy but also with the pains last night, scrapbooking was the last thing on my mind last night. Lol

Thanks for the comments girls, I really appreciate them.

I did a Layout class with Beth Jarrett on Friday night at The Scrapper Stash and this is the LO I created. Beth, I loved this class, love the chat and loved the whole atmosphere. You did a great class and should be very proud of yourself.

Been cyber cropping this week at Zig Zag but so far haven't completed my challenge LOs.

Last night I wanted to scrapbook but started to get painful contractions/BHs and walking around was all that could help it so we decided to go to bed at 11.30 to get an early nights sleep but when I woke up this morning.... nothing. Grr When is this baby going to come out and meet us?

Its mums birthday today so she is hoping I have bub today but it really doesn't look that way at all. Stubborn bubba must want a birthday all for its self. So we are having mum and dad over for tea, a roast chook and baked vegies and mum and I are going to do some scrapping.

Will post later if anything else happens.

Good news about bub.

I went to the doctors today for a check-up and he said bubs engaged and finally head down bum up.

This is great news as I was dreading the possible breech situation, althought I would have done anything to ensure bub arrives safely.

Peters getting nervous and everytime I ring him at work, he thinks its time. Lol

Mum and I are going in to Kmart tomorrow as they finally have a white cot and as the sale starts on Thursday, the lady said we could layby it early. I have been wanting a white cot but couldn't get it in so now Im excited that bubs white theme is going to work.

Well better go, will upload my LOs to Adel's Creations. Just editing to say I completely forgot to upload my LOs so have done them now. I also added my Masters LOs.

Its 10.30pm here and Im buggered so Im off to bed. Pregnancy must be catching up with me now. Talk soon.

Loving the postie. Lol

Don't you love the postie when he is nice to you.

Today my postie dropped in my Heidi Swapp Love your Handwriting book that I brought from Scrap World.

Not only that but the Rebekkah Erickson frames I won in the mini cyber crop and my order from Scrap Heap.

Love the look of this book and can't wait to try out some of the exercises.

Thanks for the comments girls, I had to laugh at your comment Fran about telling Peter to do what I say in labour.

I will keep you updated and post when I have bub.

Until tomorrow, stay safe and take care, Mel.

Still here. Lol

Hi girls, just wanted to let the girls at Memories and More know that Im still in one piece and have been busy scrapbooking instead if chatting.

I had to get my Embellished DT entry finished and it took longer than expected so I had to limit my chatting time to finishe the entry.

Sorry for giving you a jump but I wish I was in hospital too. The last 3 days have been so painful, I have been aching from head to toe, getting pressure pains down south and pains in my lower belly.

Im hoping to have bub soon. Lol

Thanks for the wishes and thoughts girls, its nice to be missed.

Day 2...

Day 2. Mum came around today and we scrapbooked. We both did a bit of sewing on our pages and they looked excellent.

My technique today involved tracing my flower mask onto white cardstock, cutting it out then colouring it by mixing Perfect Pearls with texture paste and painting it on. For the stem I used green and brown chalk.

I then added some flowery fuzzy rubons which is a technique mastered in itself Lol. I hate rubbing them on but love the texture and effect you get from them.

I will upload tomorrow when I take a good photo of it. Well I better start on my other LO that I am planning. Using photos from Claudia's 1st birthday. Will edit this post tomorrow with the Blossom LO.

Night girls, Mel.

Editing to add my Layout- not the best photo as it is overcast here and I blurred out her face for privacy.

21 Day Challenge...

When I was reading Beth's blog today, I was reading about the 21 day challenge by Rhonna Farrer.

I have decided to join this idea and my habit I want to break is that I take my scrapbooking for granted. I know this sounds like a weird habit to want to break but I want to focus on technique and doing each LO for quality not quantity.

So each day for the challenge, I want to focus on learning new techniques and how I can apply them to my pages. I am not going to burden myself with a goal like I want to get published because this is about me and my time.

I want to learn to journal more, like my handwriting more (my Heidi Swapp book is ordered) and I want to work with the photographs and products more.

I am loving the LOs I did on the weekend. The handcut LOs took me half a day but the effect was so worth it so thats what I want to do more of. Even if I only get 1 LO done a week, I am not going to scrapbook just to quickly get the photos on paper, Im going to do it to create a master peice.

So tomorrow, I am going to alter an ideas book then on Thursday I will buy a spiral bound journal to write in then I can start my 21 day challenge.

I hope I can do this. Mel

Broken Wings

This is a LO I did on the weekend of my nephew Jack. The challenge was to use 4 different PPs and 1 had to be floral.

He is such a cutie here, I can't believe he is now 7 years old. Where does the time go?

I had a heap of fun cyber cropping over at Top 50 on the weekend but only did 2 of the 3 challenges.

Thanks to the girls who left comments on my scrapping space, I love it but do miss my room now. Peter has said when bub starts to crawl, we will either install a gate and railing to keep him or her out or I will share Peter's room with him.

Its a scary thought that bub could put buttons in his/her mouth that I drop so we have to be safe than sorry.

I was complaining to Peter about my uncomfortable computer chair so he brought me a new one which is so much kinder on my hips and back. I can actually scrapbook now without being in pain. Gotta love my boy.

Last night, Peter and I went to mum and dads for tea to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. Wow, 30 years. Well done mum and dad. Peter and I are coming up to our 2nd wedding anniversary in November and 5th 'dating' anniversary in October, wow how the time flies. I told Peter we are taking baby down the coast for the weekend as Im still waiting for my honeymoon. So that should be nice to get away, just the 3 of us.

Well Im heading over to Adel's Creations to add this weekends creations, I did 4 LOs this weekend but will only upload 2 as 1 is for a DT application at Embellished and the other I have uploaded here (Broken Wings).

Thanks for all the comments girls, I really appreciate them. Mel

Scrap Space.

This is my scrap area. Peter helped me rearrange it the other day so I had a permanent home for the sewing machine.

Top left photo is my scrapbooking table. The $1600 dining room table that I begged Peter to buy, and as we weren't using it, I pinched it.

Peters concerned I'll put an eyelet through it, Lol.

Bottom left is my sewing machine table, I pinched the computer table so Peter is using the smaller table.

And the right hand side picture is my tower that I brought from my LSS, it holds my prima stand, my paints and all my other supplies, and my 4 paper racks that are looking bare as I sold all my papers that I didn't really like.

So this is my creation area, love it all as its not cramped but its cozy.

I am heading over to Adel's Creations to add my latest 2 LOs and BTP item I made, so if you want to have a look, the link is on the right.

Until tomorrow, stay safe.

Tagged.... your it.

Four Jobs I’ve Had:
1) Babysitting (when I was 15, Lol)
2) Waitress
3) Bar Attendant
4) Cashier (Keno and TAB)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over And Over:
1) Dirty Dancing
2) White Chicks
3) Grease
4) Titanic

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch:
1) Ghost Whisperer
2) All Saints
3) Prison Break
4) Desperate Housewives

Four Important things to me:
1) My family
2) My health
3) My happiness (and sanity saved from scrapping)
4) My friends

Four Tunes That Play In My Head:
1) The Day you went away
2) Escape
3) Hero
4) Always (have been listening to these songs in the car)

Four Favorite Food Dishes:
1) Anything Chinese
2) Satay Chicken
3) Mexican food (mild side)
4) Subway (my fast food)

Four Websites I Visit Daily:
1) My Blog
2) Bloglines (easy way to know when my friends have updated their blogs)
3) Scrapbook Dreamer (lots of cyber crops there)
4) My email.

Four Scrap company’s I like:
1) Heidi Swapp
2) Basic Grey
3) Wild Asparagus
4) Lil Davis

Four Favorite Colors:
1) Purple
2) Brown
3) Blue
4) Pink

Four bloggers to tag:
Alanna, Carolyn, Sheree and Penny.

So girls, just copy and paste and fill in your answers.

Why?

This is a LO I did for a mini cyber crop challenge at Scrap World. We had to use 1 sheet of Cardstock, 3 PPs, buttons, ribbons and the title WHY?

So I did it about my feelings of fear as a mother, how I want to protect my child with all I have.

I have been scrapping today and have completed 3 cards and 3 LOs this weekend.

Wasn't feeling too well Friday and Saturday so i had a quiet one and watched a movie both nights instead of scrapping.

But Im feeling so much better now. Thanks for the comments girls, I really appreciate it.

New blog for Layouts.

I have added a blog to this one so I can upload my layouts without clogging up this blog with so many images.

The URL link is: Adel's Creations and can be found in the links on the right hand side.

Please feel free to have a look and leave a comment if you so wish to.

Editing to add: I made myself a banner. Not the best looking banner but for a first attempt, Im pretty proud of it. Might look around and download some digi scrapping kits and make a new one when bubba is born.

Thanks and happy scrapping, Melanie.

My baby's here....

Well okay not the human baby but my new Janome sewing machine.

I have been playing around with it and practicing the different stitches, now just have to practice sewing straight. Lol

I have included a LO I did of me at 2 days old. I think I was rather cute for a newborn.

Thanks for the comments girls.

Freestyle LO.

This is a layout I did for a freestyle challenge over at Scrap Needs. Although I had fun with it, I struggled and I think its not me.

The doodling was fun and sanding the photo but it really isn't me. But hey, now Ive tried it, I can be honest and say that.

Although the photo looks like a dog poo, its the yummy double choc chip cookies I cook for Peter.

Well this is number 10 of my 20 project challenge. Halfway there... Peter said as Im a good girl, I can get my sewing machine tomorrow. I put it on layby a month ago and have $170 to pay off it so as Im not spending on scrapbooking this fortnight, thats what Im spending my money on.

So this challenge has worked out well for me.

Well until tomorrow, Mel.

Today's project.

This is a brag book I made today. I made it blue with butterflies so its not gender based.

Inside it, it has plastic sleeves and black paper between each so you can journal about the photo. I have had it sitting in my BTP drawer for about 2 years so thought I'd better alter it.

I am really happy with how it turned out, I was a little worried the Making Memories paint would be too bright but it is great IRL, a bit bright in the photo, darker IRL.

Hope you like it. That is project 7 of 20.

Also Chris Millar told us of a challenge blog, so for the girls doing the scrap 'n' shop challenge, check this out: How much is too much?

Until tomorrow, stay safe. Mel.

35 week pictures.

Mum took these photos the other day when we were over there as I don't have any of the 3 of us. Can I say that?

So there I am big in the picture but not that big IRL.

I wanted to wear this top so i could use Wild Asparagus paper. Lol

Why can I never get my boy to smile in photos? He always looks like a sour puss.

Mum checked out my blog the other night and said she cried at my journalling for the "If I knew then" LO. Glad you liked it mum.

Here is another photo of my belly. Peter couldn't get his hands around my belly anymore, PMSL.

You have to ignore the fact that I have my eyes closed and I have a scar on my belly button. Thats from a blotched naval piercing that got infected.

Well I am going to scrap this photo tonight so will share when i do.

Talk soon, Mel.

Sunday....

Today I got mum on the net. God bless Ebay, Lol and dads wallet. Only joking.

Here are two LOs I did this weekend. The "If I knew then" LO is a case of Jos on Scrap Needs.

The journalling reads:

"If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t have been so emotional. I wouldn’t have been so ashamed to tell people why I wasn’t pregnant.

If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t have cared what people thought of me, I wouldn’t have been so eager to please and I would have taken time for myself.

If I knew then what I know now… I would be more honest about the way I felt, I mean really felt inside. I would talk about my real feelings a lot more.

But If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t know the miracle of life, I wouldn’t know the feeling of overwhelmed happiness of a new creation.

If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t thank god everyday for my precious child, for the time I can carry my baby and love and cherish the kicks and movements.

If I knew then what I know now… I wouldn’t have the experience that I do have, the life path and history. I wouldn’t understand how much this really means to me.

I am just glad now that I could walk down that path and know the meaning of life."

Soppy but my story.

The other LO is a challenge LO for the Scrappers Stash cyber crop. Had to use only black, white and grey.

Tomorrow I will upload a photo that mum took of Peter, I and baby (belly).

Scrap and shop challenge: 4/20.

Getting Big!!!!!

Mum took this photo the other day when i was 34weeks and 4 days. She thinks its cute that my belly button has popped! I don't though.

I couldn't believe how big i looked in this top until she mentioned that it wasn't the top, it was all belly. Im finally popping out.

Its not a good photo of me, Im going to get Peter to take a better one (with my head attached) on the weekend. I have already picked out the top to wear, it matches Wild Asparagus paper. Lol

So here is the latest LO I did, I rescrapped the bikini photo of me because I love it so much. This is the 2nd Everyday Moments LO for the theme of Family.

I am 18 months old in this photo.

Sheree and I have a challenge going on at Shop and Crop to get 20 LOs done before we can shop again. Its a great way to use up our old stash and save a bit of money in the process.

We're going to keep each other honest, I have so much stuff here that I can use so it should be good.

Well goodnight girls, melanie.

New tag.

I stole this tag off Rachel Greig's blog. Lol I know your supposed to wait for someone to tag you but anyway.

1. How old are you? 27 years young. Lol
2. How many kids do you have if any? Currently 34 weeks pregnant with my first, but also 2 if you count fur babies. Xavier (my 10mth old kitten) and Tyson (the boxer).
3. Are you married, single, divorced, widow? Married
4. What is your occupation? I am a Bar Attendant but am on maternity leave so I say SAHM-to-be.
5. What are your passions? Photography, traveling and scrapbooking.
6. Are you a dreamer or a dream seeker? I am a dreamer.
7. Are you happy with the way you life has turned out? Yes, I originally wanted to travel more but I met Peter and couldn’t stand the thought of spending 12 months in another country so chose marriage over travel.
8. Are you a scrapper and if so how many hours a week do you scrap? I am a scrapper, I scrap daily so I can't even estimate the hours, Im always thinking of scrapbooking even when not scrapping.
9. What do you want to do before you die? I want to travel to England, Ireland and Spain with Peter. I want to see my kids grow up and have their children, live life to the fullest.
10. What is your favorite food? I love Chinese and Mexican foods, also fruit and yoghurt and a little chocolate.
11. What is the food you hate the most? Watermelon, it makes me vomit.
12. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? Probably the old falling over in public or putting my foot in it, I have the worst case of foot and mouth disease.
13. What is the happiest day of your life thus far? The day I married Peter, the day I found out we were pregnant and will be the day my children are placed in my arms.
14. Are you a neat freak? Or a dirty house cleaner? I’d like to say clean freak but really as long as the house is clean (not dirty), I really don’t care. The scrapping table is a different matter, it has to be organised and cleaned up after each page.

I now tag Kelley Forrester, Anthea, Carolyn and Alanna.

Grrrr to Blogger.

I have good news and bad news to share.

Firstly a big GRRRRR to blogger. Why? Well last night I thought I would change the appearance of my blog so I did, then blogger deleted the 37 or more links I have. I was devestated as I had to stay up till 1.30am recopying and pasting the links. Bugger I say. So to the Blogger girls, don't try to use a different template to change the colours of your blog. You will lose your links. Lol

And the good news. My Father-In-Law is coming up to meet his grandchild in mid September, this will be the first time my parents meet Scott and the first time we have see him since September 2003. It will be great for Peter to spend some time with his dad again.

Peter and I worked out Peters leave, as the Navy owes him 45 days (9 weeks), he is taking all of Septmeber off work to spend time with me, bub and his mum and dad when they come to visit.

He is starting his leave on the Monday 21st August and going back Monday 2nd October. I'll probably be sick of him by the second week. Lol

Also the wonderful girls over at Blue Bazaar are organising a South Coast crop on Sunday 13th of August out at Jindy Andys Mill so mum and I are going out. I can't wait to meet all the girls that are coming down from Sydney and Wollongong and Tammy that is coming up from Batemans Bay. It will be great to catch up with Fee and Margie again and crop for the day. Its an all day crop, can't wait. Peter thinks its great that he's going to get rid of me for the day too.

Can't wait, thats my last outing (scrapping) before bub as bub is due 2 weeks after the crop.

So I will leave you with my newest LO. Over at The Scrap Heap we had a daily challenge to do a LO without patterned paper so I found this water transfer (the bottom bear) and used that instead of PP, the top bear is a wall paper decoration I got from Spotlight.

That is Jack when he first started to go to Preschool, I think he was 18 months or 2 years. Will have to ask mum. I had fun with the LO, something different.

Talk soon, Melanie.

Chizzle It tool.

This is for the girls at Shop and Crop that were asking me about the Chizzle It tool. So here is a photo of it, sorry for the blurry photo, its my cheap Kodak digi camera.

There is 6 attachments to the Chizzle It, its battery operated, I am currently using 2 lithum batteries but normal AA batteries would be fine.

In the photo, the first attachment (at the top) is the brush that I use to chalk with, Im sure you could use it to ink as well but it gives a great subtle but interesting effect with chalk.

Next attachment is the buffer, use it to buff photo edges and what ever else, I haven't used it much.

Next attachment is the Embosser, use it to dry emboss on pages.

Next up is the Metal engraver, you can use this to engrave onto metal, wood and whatever else.

Next is the sander, which is the device that I use to sand my chipboard letters. It is so useful as it gets right into the corners and smaller sections of the letter.

The last one is the smaller embosser, once again, I haven't used this one.

So I hope this was helpful girls. I'll have another post for tonight with a LO to share, have completed 2 LOs so far today.

Talk soon, Melanie.

Friday 14th.

Just wanted to start by saying, Happy Birthday to my nephew Jack. Its his 7th birthday today. Where does the time go? One minute they are a newborn in your arms, the next they are 7 and have a mind of their own. Lol

He told me tonight on the phone that he is having a pizza party on Sunday and going to see 'Cars' with his school friends.

Okay, I finished my first LO for the Queen of Paradise competition and uploaded it, so now Im working on the second LO. Its a single LO with the title "Famous Last Words", it has to be any size and contain at least 1 of each: PP, brads and/or eyelets, circles and has to have handwritten journalling.

After much thought, I printed off a couple of emails from Peter when he was in Banda Aceh (I know it was in January 2005, better late than never) and I have a couple of photos of him when he got home from Aceh. When he was there, I was starting to question my role as a defence wife and he said to me "Your stronger than you know" so this is the theme of my Famous Last words LO.

Better keep on with it, it has to be uploaded at midnight US Mountain time (14th July) which I calculate is around lunch time tomorrow, give or take an hour.

So goodnight and I'll talk to you soon.
Mel

Greetings...

Not much has been happening in my life lately. Have finished the Chatterbox album and posted it away, althought I didn't get an email to confirm its arrival. My friend Karen did, althought I didn't when I submitted my Chatterbox DT work either and everyone else did. I hope it got there, and the Masters are off in the post so the question is What next???

Well, this little girl can't rest for anything so i have been working on a LO for an American competition at Croppin' Paradise.
The competition is called Queen of Paradise and you have to submit 2 LOs. One is a double with the title "If I could turn back time" and the other is a single LO called "Famous Last words".

Although I know I won't get into the second calling, I thought I would submit anyway. The first prize is $500 cash (store credit for international scrappers) and there are scrappers from all over the world entering.

So unfortunalty when I finish my 2 LOs, I can only share when I get knocked out of the running.

So not much happening here, just working on my double LO, which is a heritage LO about how I wish I could turn back time and ask more questions about my heritage, family tree and relatives.

Thanks for the visitors who have kindly left messages for me, I appreciate the visits and the comments.

Well, better be off to bed now, have to visit the doctor in the morning, then have lunch and a cuppa with mum before going shopping with Peter. Talk soon.

Mel.

For Keeps Everyday Moments.

I have decided to enter (or at this stage, complete) the Everyday Moments Album Competition that is run by For Keeps magazine.

I am doing a 12x12 album so i have plenty of room to journal, use lots of photos and also lots of yummy embellishments.

Here is a LO I did of my grandparents wedding day in 1954. I used Junkitz Grandparents Collectionz paper and lots of Heidi Swapp.

1 down 2 to go. Lol

I posted off my Masters Entry this morning, what is a girl like me entering the Masters for? Well purely for a goal of mine to complete the big competitions this year. I know I have no chance in hell at getting selected but at least I have 4 beautiful items that i am happy with.

Bye for now, Mel