A 'Blokey' Christmas Present

I know I know, Christmas is over and here is a post about a Christmas present. So my heartfelt apologies that I am talking Christmas in February but I seriously feel as though its only December!

Its become a recent tradition in our family that the adults participate in a Kris Kringle when it comes to gift giving. It has become a really special tradition where we all really love and appreciate the year long thought that has been put into the present. When it comes to the gifts I like to give, it is usually something handmade by me.

For Christmas 2013 I drew my cousin's partner - they currently live in WA so I've only meet Russell a handful of times. Thankfully the wonders of a little Facebook stalking has given me a little insight into his hobbies and interests. Namely, cycling and triathlon, so I knew I had to do something for him along those lines - but I was super stumped as I am not great when it comes to doing 'Bloke' in my scrapping style. In fact I was a little stressed that I wasn't going to come up with the handmade goods, I thought he would simply have to suffice with a gift from the cycling shop. In the end persistence paid off and I made him his own one off album.

I was going to use the title 'tri-man' and show off photos from both his cycling and triathlon pursuits but Darling Husband vetoed that and I ended up limiting my photo selection to just cycling photos.

I used an Ali Edwards stamp to create the 'awesome' arrow and adhered it using a bit of mounting tape.

I think that Chevron's are particularly blokey! I love how with the acetate albums you can see your elements through the pages. I think it adds a bit of interest and its exciting to turn to the next page and see what's there. Its also pretty cool that you only have to stamp once and you can see it on the next page.

Geotags - another cool blokey element! I also really am in love with the word bubbles from WOW chipboard.

Here I've used another Ali Edwards stamp and cut it out them adhered it with mounting tape. I'm using a lot of stamps in my scrapping of late. It is just so using to create cool little embellishments using them. I've used the Pink Paislee Sentiment stamp in the picture below.

Stars and arrows were definitely the go in this album. On this last page I've used the the Luxe Chipboard Stars by Pink Paislee. Oh and the Papers are from Simple Stories 24/Seven range.

I'm really happy with how this turned out - in fact I'm totally stoked.... and despite the fact that Darling Husband said that the gift would only make an appearance to family on Christmas Day (thanks dear) it turns out Russell has shown it to his mates as well!

Happy Scrapping

Fleur x

Scrapping On the Go

As soon as I saw the Amy Tangerine Travel Kit, I knew I would LOVE it.

I just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to try it out. When my hubby dragged me along to a gaming convention called PAX in Melbourne with our friends, I knew my time had come!

Amy Tangerine Travel Kit Contents

  The Travel Kit comes complete with tools & fun things like rounded scissors, 2 types of adhesive (glue stick & runner), a self inking date stamp, needle & thread, label stickers, and a mini stapler! And it comes with a durable bag to store it in! Pretty much all you need to scrap on the go.

I knew we would be picking up lots of 'swag' (ie freebies), plus advertising, business cards, and who knows what else, so I decided to use a mini album to note down journalling, store any memorabilia we wanted to keep, and later be able to add a few photos to complete it.

My supplies - trying to be prepared for any crafty situation

I chose an Amy Tangerine Day Book from my stash, and decided to add some other supplies like alpha stickers, some stamps, a 6x6 paper pack, tags and of course some washi tape (which came in handy - see below) to add to my travel kit. Everything here except the day book fitted neatly into the bag, which took up hardly any room in the suitcase.

PAX was pretty crowded, but there was certainly lots of opportunities to collect swag and create memories. It was fun following Matt around, picking up fliers and freebies relating to the games we tried out. The stands that gave away flair badges were particularly popular, though I doubt others were grabbing them because 'flairs are so hot right now'.

On the last day of the convention, while Matt and our friends played some board games, I started to create my album. It was fun scrapping in an unusual environment. Very different to being at home or at a Crafternoon. I was glad I prepared by bringing some papers and extra items, and it pushed me to create differently, but I can recommend it especially if you are away on family holidays or travelling and want to get a little bit crafty.

Multitasking - Scrapping & playing Alhambra

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one scrapbooking!

Oh, and the washi tape? Came in handy when someone tried to steal our number plate and we needed a quick fix to keep it attached until we could get it repaired.

Is there nothing this awesome product can't handle?

Happy Scrapping!

Tracey* xox

I got published!

I am very excited and humbled that one of my beyond the page projects was selected for publication in this months edition of Scrapbooking Memories Magazine (Vol 15 #6).

The magazine only showed a few of the pages from my mini album and funnily enough Seanne (my best friend and subject matter for this project) and I both agree that they had the worst photo selection from the entire album. So I thought I would share some of the other pages with you.

I hid my journalling in this album so somewhere (somehow) on each page I have managed to disguise some special memories from 30 years of friendship.

Its been a little while waiting for this project to be published, however now that it is I am inspired to start submitting more of my work. If you ever want to submit your work to the magazine you just need to forward a photo in a jpeg format to submissions@scrapbookingmemories.com.au or you can post in originals (at your own risk). Generally the magazine seems to be on the hunt for engaging cover layouts (5"x7" photos) and beyond the page projects, however each month they do a call out for themed projects this month the themes are 'encore' (that means anything), 'digital', 'winter', 'sports & hobbies' and simple and stylish. Be sure to note the submission theme in the subject line of your email.

Another sweetener is that if your work gets published they will pay you a small amount - which means - more scrapping supplies! 

Happy scrapping all

Fleur x