Whats in the box?

Here's a few little peeks of what was inside the goodie boxes at our November Retreat. Lots of handmade goodness and one of the latest paper lines from Crate Paper - aptly named "On Trend". Stay tuned as Tracey and I showcase some creative pieces that we made using items in the box in the coming days!

Fleur x

Drumroll please!

The winner of our Scrap Your Stash challenge is Carolyn Warren with this cute layout.

Look out for some new supplies to add too your stash Carolyn :-)

Scrap Your Stash Challenge Entries

I hope you have all been scrapping away, using up your stash to create lovely pages, and to make room for new and groovy things!

Here are the challenge entries, and just to remind yourself of the criteria, you should take a look at this blog post. 

Thanks to everyone who entered - we will announce the winner after our judges have time to look over the entries, so stay tuned!

Memories | Pam Casey

Liam | Carolyn Warran

Michael & Shelley | Gillian Hume

Good Luck Scrappers!

Tracey* xo

Scrap Your Stash Challenge

Lately I've been trying to organise my house and my life a bit better. I seem to be on a never ending quest for organisation. Chaos has descended on on my house - especially my scrap room. It's filled to the brim with crafty goodies and scrap papers - some of which I have held onto for 5 years or more!

I've cleared out some papers and embellishments that are no longer my style and plan on contributing them to the Swaps Table at the November Retreat. But I have so many pretty papers just waiting to be used!  

So I have set myself a challenge to scrap and craft more and to use more of my stash. I know this is a common scrapping problem, so maybe you all would like to take the challenge with me.

To help get you started we have a little sketch competition to launch. Like our other sketch comps, you can interpret the sketch any way you want - turn it, flip it, whatever. Your layout can be on any topic you would like to scrap.  But the main criteria for this challenge is to use your stash! That's right - all of your papers and embellishments must come from your scrapping supplies. Use your scraps, offcuts and half opened packs. NO MORE saving those papers for 'special'. Use them! Every layout is special!

The details - 

- entries must be in by 7pm 14 November 2012

- To enter, please email a photo of your layout to dizzyizzy@y7mail.com Please try to reduce the size of your photo to no more than 700 pixels. You can find details on how to reduce the size of your photos at www.shrinkpictures.com

- The winner will be announced here on the blog and on our facebook page after a brief judging period 

The Prize

Woohoo - nothing like cleaning out your stash to make way for something new and groovy! The winner will receive a pack of new Pink Paislee Artisan embellishment frames, just waiting for you to add your colours -  plus a roll of washi tape and some Prima Flowers!

Happy scrapping!

Tracey xo

Kit-tastic!

In the lead up to our November retreat Trace, Jodie and I have been busy designing and preparing new kits. Here's a few sneek peeks of some of our newbies!!! Kits are an awesome way to kickstart your scrapping mojo if you're experiencing a bit of scrappers block, to try different ideas and a speedy way to get through your photo stack!

 

'Grandma's 80th'



'Instagram'



'Graduation'

 

'To new too be named!'

'On the Road'

'Siblings'

Fleur x





It's been a while between posts for me!

It has been a couple of months or so (well more the so) since I last put type on blogger. A chaotic couple of months (or so) it has been. I transferred with my other job ( the bill-paying one) to Canberra for a couple of months and with the thought that I would have at least a spare 3 hours a day avoiding my usual commute I created a very long list of good intentions. The 20 or so blog posts I was going to write was right up there…. but for some reason Canberra wasn’t quite the time-rich experience I thought it was going to be … all those free hours were filled up with the bill-paying job. Stumbling back to my hotel room after long work days bleary eyed and headachy from staring at a computer screen all I had on my mind was food and sleep.

I drove almost 2000km’s in those 8 weeks - back and forth along the Federal Highway, remembering everything I had forgotten to pack and everything I had forgotten to do. Each time my well-loved Astra would lug a boot-full of scrapping supplies, bags of food (mainly chocolate and tea), half my wardrobe (especially the warm bulky stuff for the -6 degree mornings) and countless bits and pieces of reading material. On each trip I would lug up and down the 21 stairs at our house with the things I was returning and picking up.  I returned at the end of those 8 weeks to realise that rather than returning my possessions to their rightful homes I had created a dump of sorts in my scrap room and hubby had followed my lead. My beloved scrap room had been transformed into a nightmare!

The nightmare

I’ve been back for three weeks or so now and in that time everything except the nightmare got a makeover….. you should see my pantry, clean as a whistle washing machine and re-organised wardrobe (J ahhhh sweet smiling face at the thought of my pantry) . Yes I cleaned and re-organised just about everything except for the nightmare!

Loving tupperware's modular containers

So with a determined attitude and hubby engrossed in his computer -I finally confronted the messy demons in my scrap space on Saturday night (my social schedule is blistering at the moment ) – I’ve  turned the nightmare back into my happy place (albeit a serious lack of storage solutions) and somehow I think I’ve stumbled back across my scrapping mojo…. Let the creativity begin!



A big improvement - considering our serious shortage of storage solutions and
mismatched furniture it is a work in progress. Now I can actually get to my desk
without tripping over, my scrap supplies are close by and that overwhelmed feeling is passing!



I’m back on the train too and actually relishing the opportunity and the headspace to put type into blogger! Let’s see how long I can keep up my enthusiasm about my daily commute – hopefully for at least another 19 posts!



My attempts after the big tidy to find my scrapping mojo!

Fleur x

November 2012 Retreat News

Are you coming to our November Retreat?

Did you know that this Retreat will be held in the BRAND NEW, recently opened Acacia facility at The Tops?

Acacia from the front - Scrap Room is on the left

Fleur and I did a site visit just after it opened - WOW!!  The main meeting are where we will be scrapping features a floor to ceiling wall of glass and another of large windows - perfect for natural light!

the back and the grounds - plenty of room to get outside and relax

There are 2 breakout meeting rooms - one perfect for classes and the other a comfy lounge area for you to relax and enjoy a coffee while on the terrace.

The bedrooms are large and the beds are brand new. Oh, and did I mention that the mattresses have inner springs - hello comfort!!!

Parking is conveniently located right across from the front door and it is only a 2 minute walk down to the dining hall. The grounds are beautiful and we have an inspiring view out into the surrounding bushland. I even saw a Wallaby while we were there!

The wallaby!

You can take advantage of the facilities by going for a swim or playing a game of tennis, jump online with the free wifi to find inspiration or simply get your craft on and scrap until you drop!

The view from the back on the building - lovely and peaceful!

If you are still thinking about whether to join us, give Fleur or myself a call or send us an email, we would love to have you along.

Happy scrapping

Tracey xo