Full of Excuses???

Well no not really! In order to scrapbook life you have to live it first right? My last post was on 4 February which was a really really special day for me as my brother and Sister in Law arrived on holiday and I have been their tour guide during their visit. This means I now have a ton of new photos and memories to scrapbook - its been a long time since we got a chance to spend this much time together so we really made the most of it and are so pleased they enjoyed their time with us, as much as we enjoyed having them! 

So, does that mean I have not been scrapping - of course not I've been doing LOAD with Lain Ehman and Pretty Paper Party with Shimelle - Im also revisiting Cover to Cover and Scrapbook Remix also by Shimelle - so I have quite a few LO's to share! These are not in chronological order - but they are all here!!! I'll be back with more later once I have caught up with myself again!!!

This was a LOAD LO concerned with Goals - mine are pretty consistent these days.......

1 Loose Weight

2 Eat Healthier

3 More exercise 

2 and 3 I'm doing ok with - I should maybe have added eat less - but that is sooo hard in Singapore as the food here is sooooo good. Oh and if you thought you saw me you buying a chocolate croissant this morning at the Tiong Bahru Bakery - you must have been in the queue behind me and I wont tell if you don't!!! Oh and if you did I hope yours was as delicious as mine!!!

This LOAD prompt was to scrap something I have been meaning to scrap for a while........ These photos had been sitting on my desk and I didnt want the LO to look too heavy - so I was quite pleased with the finished item. I stamped on the flowers and got a chance to play with my new and current favourite camera and film strip stamps - They are from Bo Bunny and I picked them up for under S$7 at Papermarket Vivo City.............. Well I was just passing ............... it would have been rude not to go in - right?

This LOAD prompt was to scrapbook your significant other - it was a very rushed LO and was definitely a question of done is better than perfect!

This LOAD prompt was about a favourite place - for me it was easy - The Botanic Gardens Singapore - I'm there at least three times a week and love them!!!! You'll see I had to use that stamp set again! I think I'm in love with it!!!

This LOAD prompt was about smell - and I scrapbooked how the smell of delicious food is everywhere in Singapore. No wonder people often greet you with the words 'Have you eaten?'

This LOAD prompt was about a visual quilt of your life right now - This was quite topical for me as all too soon our time in Singapore will be coming to an end - Im desperately trying to capture the things that are all around me now, but wont be for much longer! I decided to make it a visual quilt with some woven ribbon PP, photos and journalling!!!

This LOAD prompt was a piece of wisdom I would pass on to my younger self - In my younger days I was very ambitious and driven - whilst I was very successful in that part of my life - I didnt have and probably wasnt a lot of fun! It took moving to Singapore to realise that work wasnt who I was - its what  I did - a valuable lesson - Ive been making up for it since I moved here!!!

This LOAD prompt was to scrap a photo from your childhood - this is the 6 year old me with my favourite uncle - we lost him almost 15 years ago and I still miss him very much - I need to scrapbook more of him because he was such a big part of my life - I just find it so painful!

This LOAD prompt was to write a love letter to an inanimate object - mine was to my iPad which I love and goes everywhere with me!!! I have taken a photo to add to the LO but need to get it printed!!!

This LOAD LO was to scrapbook something that could have been a disaster but worked out in the end! I took my Auntie to Bangkok - she is great but is the faddiest eater in the world - definitely a meat and two veg girl, no rice, noodles, sauces, curries etc. - you get the picture. Fortunately there was a creperie nearby and she liked them so much we had to go every morning for breakfast!

This LOAD LO was about something I am thankful for - I love living in Singapore, but you dont have to go far in Asia to see people living in real poverty. I am thankful this is not my life.

This LOAD prompt was to scrapbook a sound!  I scrapbooked the sound of the jungle - although this is only a few minutes from my door you really do feel like you are in the middle of the jungle here!!!

This LOAD prompt was to have a hidden element on your page! I made a pocket out of cardstock and patterned paper and made some tags, that I die cut the top of with my Pazzles, then I added photos of my step daughter. I have left one so that she can tell the story about how excited she was to finally be able to have a large Millie's Cookie. The problem was she didnt want to share it, so we also had to buy a birthday cake!

This LOAD prompt was about who is the optimist and who is the pessimist in your family - depending on whether or not their team is winning my boys can be either!!!

This LOAD prompt was to do something new on your page - so I washi taped a chipboard flower and Im really quite pleased with how it turned out!!!  The photos are the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore - they are quite simply beautiful!!!

This LOAD prompt was about something I did for love - my DH loves trains, we even got married on a train! He wanted to travel the jungle line from Singapore to Kota Bahru in Northern Malaysia before the old Singaprore railway station was closed. We set off at 0400 and travelled in a train with no first class, for 14 hours it was filthy and infested with cockroaches. On arrival we found we were at the number one Islamic City in Malaysia (so no wine with dinner) after arriving in a monsoon and taking the leakiest taxi in Kota Bahru - we finally arrived aching from the journey and soaked to the skin!! The hotel was lovely, the people were so friendly and pleasant - but I wont be going back anytime soon!!!

This LOAD prompt was about what home means - for me its having our kids with us, and spending time with our family - it doesn't matter where we are!

A Productive Day!!!

Well today Ive done some LO's I really like - Im up to date with LOAD and I've done almost two prompts on Pretty Picture Party - good to tell its rained all day!!!


This one was a yellow / grey / neutral theme - I have run out of ideas for titles for Wat Arun now - and thankfully I have almost run out of photos of this bit of it - Im onto the Buddha's next!!!

White / Teal and Pink love the colours in this LO!

My LOAD day 1 LO no words, which I thought was ok...................

Then I scrapped this LO - the photo was taken by my DS who is a pro - photographer and I absolutely love the way this one turned out!!! Tons of crystals and one of my favourite stamps - the most amazing thing to me is that when he took the photo, she was just being fed and was still for no more than a split second and he got this amazing shot of her - to me she looks beautiful, yet vulnerable - and its even better IRL!!




My DSD's 13th Birthday - so its all very pink and girlie!

LOAD Day 2 - My perfect day - a trip round Marina Bay - Singapore - Ive taken so many of my visitors there and it really is a fab part of the island!!! I thought this was a bit busy at first but its grown on me - it showcases the area well I think - and Im wondering if I ought to do the same for Chinatown, Little India and a few other places in this remarkable place!!!

Oh back to Thailand for a black and yellow creation with a bit of Kraft thrown in for good measure and I even managed to get some scraps used up on that border - I cant tell you how pleased I am with myself!!!

LOAD Day 3 - Gardens by the Bay - Singapore - The Chinese Garden - the prompt asked us to look at something we overlook - I loved the peace of a Chinese Garden but had overlooked until recently, that a Chinese Garden incorporates all aspects of nature - mountains, water and feng shui are all important parts of it and I wonder if that is why it is so peaceful!!!

 Sorry - back to Wat Arun again - well its amazing - and I was snapping the entire time I was there! I am pleased with the combination of teal and kraft on this one!!!!

Back to the Chinese Garden by the Bay Singapore for this one which incorporates both actual and digital stamping, die cutting, decoupage and water colouring - Im not sure if Ive overdone the flowers on this one!!!!!

Anyway this is what I have been up to!!!

Scrapping Like a Mad Woman!!!

I knew it would be this way - Im doing LOAD and PPP at the same time and Ive never been so productive so here is what Ive been doing - I cannot believe that in the last two weeks I have done 36 LO's and its only the first day of LOAD!!!!! I havent even started on the things I want to scraplift yet!!! 

Anyway this is the stuff I have been working on!  Still have more to photograph and upload when I have some daylight to work with in the morning!!! This one is a DLO of Wat Arun I have sooooo many photos because it is an absolutely stunning place to visit!!! From PPP - the flowers are printed from a free digital kit on Jessica Sprague's site! Here's the link http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&view=alphacontent&Itemid=92 and its from the Liv's kit! Dont forget to look at her digi shop too because she has some awesome stuff in there! 

Another hybrid page - this one uses a journal card that Shimelle recommends $ 4.00 USD from two peas! You can find them here! http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/jennifer-pebbles/55401-printable-swank-labels/?filters=_swank_%2Fdigital-kits

This is a page from a sketch used in the class! I didnt think I would get on with this one very well, but actually, I quite like it, in fact I liked it so much I used another sketch in the prompt to do a companion page!!!!

Ok so there was a question in the LOAD forum about the state of your desk before you start LOAD - and this was mine! I have made myself clear after every LO is complete, and whilst my stuff on the shelves isnt as tidy as it might be - it is in the right place and my desk is now always clear between
LO's and it does make it easier to scrap and find things!!!!

This is my day 1 LO for PPP - it took me ages to get round to sticking down that ribbon and the border strips above and below it, because I was unsure about it and the flower - in the end I just went for it and I have to say - I quite like it!

A very very loose take on one of the sketches in PPP! Once again Wat Arun, Bangkok, Thailand - did I mention its an amazing place? Oh ok only a dozen times - but it really really is.................

  Oooh Wat Arun again! Amazing place did I .................... Oh right I did! This was a sketch that I really liked in the prompt, but it was a bit too far outside of my comfort zone - so I used the triangles in a more organised and ordered way!!!!!!

LOAD 213 Bloghop

Hey there - you found me!!! I've got to say I'm just a tad intimidated and very proud to be following on from our very own Scrapper on the Street - the fabulous Dani! She is sooooo cool - if you are new to LOAD - you are going to love her daily videos and I know she has something extra special lined up for us this time - which I am super excited about!!!  Anyway Im going to stop being starstruck and say a huge big - Welcome to LOAD 213!!! Well OK we havent actually  started yet and it is 7 sleeps before we do - but I have to ask - Are you excited yet? Have you been shopping yet? Are you like me ............. hoping to make a dent in that stash mountain? Are you thinking that unless you do LOAD, and maybe a few more classes, its going to take several lifetimes to shift all the stash you have been hiding all over your craft space already? Hey! no innocent 'who me' looks - I can see that mountain from here, love that collection pack and sticker sheet just behind you by the way!!!!! Do you have a massive pile of photos ready? Is your freezer groaning because you have been cooking for weeks - so you don't have to cook during LOAD? Great!!!!!!! YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS!!!!!! 

But just a minute - what's that - You're worried you wont keep up!  You're worried your pages wont be perfect! And was that somebody in the back who hasn't read THE BOOKS ..................... Ooops me too!!! Well we'll just stay in our craft rooms an extra hour and give ourselves a scrapping detention - shall we????? Seriously .... Are you just putting yourself under too much pressure?


Does every page have to be a masterpiece?   NO
Does every page have to use the latest products?  NO
Does every page have to take all day to complete?   NO NO NO NO NO!!!


Sooooo, lets just PAUSE A MOMENT, lets just have little reality check shall we? The theme of this LOAD is Scrap Happier! The thing is, we are all here to check out of our crazy lives for a little time, every day for one month, to do something we love doing and have a good time!!!! Its really really that simple!!! You can even break the rules,  Lain hasn't expelled me from Scrap Happy, or  stopped joining in this or future LOADS on account of my being a rebel! Well not yet at least!!! So the first thing to do, is take off all the pressure you have been putting yourself under - grab your favourite drink, comfy chair, deep breath ......................breathe out .................... hmmmmmm and again ...................... ok and RELAX - EZ VOUS!!! Doesn't that feel better? 

Right hold onto that calmer mindset - You've signed up for LOAD, so that Lain can inspire you to scrap more, and for one month (and its the shortest one of the year),  we are going to be thinking about our......................

Mondays        GOALS
Tuesday         RELATIONSHIPS
Wednesday   SCRAPBOOKING 
Thursday       THE WORLD AROUND YOU
Friday            SENSES
Saturday       ALL ABOUT YOU
Sunday          POSSESSIONS

You will scrap things you never imagined you would scrap, and in ways you never imagined you would scrap them! We all love encouragement - so visit the gallery upload photos of your completed layouts and please leave some love for other members of the group! You don't have to leave a comment on every LO - but I love to look at how others have interpreted the prompt anyway - and because I always get a ton of inspiration from my uber talented fellow LOADsters - I also love to jot down ideas to scraplift. Im big on sketches but I always add a note of whose work it is, so that if I upload it here or anywhere else - I can properly credit the person who inspired me -  which only seems fair really!!!

OK so preparation wise I shared what I do during the last blog hop - you can find it here if you weren't around last time or just want to refresh you memory! There's a ton of links to other good stuff too - if you have a little free time in the next week to browse!!!!
http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/scrap-happy-load-blog-hop-1012.html

If you don't achieve the upload every day - don't worry! I haven't yet and this is my Third LOAD!! Although on my first LOAD I did manage to do a LO every day!!! I'm unlikely to win any prizes - but the motivation for me is getting more pages done than I would without LOAD. I'm looking forward to  spending the next month with you all, and that is what will make my scrapping happier!!! I cant wait to see what you do and look forward to seeing you in the gallery and on the message boards!!!! And just remember - it really isn't supposed to be stressful - your doing LOAD for fun!!!! Thanks for stopping by - please come again and visit soon!!!! Missing you already - I'll see you on the message boards because I really dont think I can last 7 sleeps before we are able to hang out together!!!!

Heather Dubarry: http://noexcusescrapbooking.com

Alison Day: http://adayinthelifeor5.blogspot.com/

Danielle Taylor: http://scrapperonthestreet.com You came from here

Alison Charlton: http://scrappinginsingapore.blogspot.com/ You are here now!

Christy Strickler: http://myscrapbookevolution.blogspot.com/ You are heading to Christie next!!!!

Lynnette Nagle: http://sassyscrapper2010.blogspot.com/

Julie Shepler: www.sheplerfamily.com

Joy McHargue: http://www.studiowowjoy.com/

Kelli Panique: http://scrapbookgirl71.com/

Cathy Holiday: pikespeakscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Smith: http://lcsmithsaved-outofthemire.blogspot.com/

Lori Martin: http://Www.chaosandcraziness.com/   <<<<<<<<<<------- website change!

Connie Hanks: http://ClickyChickCreates.wordpress.com

Betsye Erazo: betsyerose.blogspot.com

Marcia Fortunato: mfortunato.blogspot.com

Regina Huminski: http://ginabeth1.blogspot.com/

Beth Soler: http://www.scrappingwonders.com

Kristie Sloan: http://kristiesloan.com/blog/

Danielle Hun<scraphappier slide-1.jpg>

PPP - and Im Distressed!!!

OK this is the last distressed LO I have done for this prompt and I think its my favourite of the party so far!!!!! It only took me 45 minutes too!!  I used cool dawn colours and a flash or orange to tell the story of Wat Arun - The Temple of the Dawn in Bangkok - Not only did I use another 'Say it With Crystals' embellishment on this one, I also used half a pack of special Prima flowers too! Im not sure what came over me!!!!!

 

PPP - Still Partying!!!!

Im really enjoying this class and today I had another moment of  pure magic - to some people this might come as a total shock, but today I actually let myself use some of my extra special stash (and not just a bit - this was a serious stashbusting level of special stash usage). If you havent read Shimelle's story about the Special Paper you can check it out here http://www.shimelle.com/paper/261/the-story-of-the-special-paper/ Well I have the same thing with my extra special Prima supplies and bits of vintage jewellery I got to go on Layouts - I love them still - but I love them so much I couldnt bring myself to put them on a layout  - until today that is!!!!

Ive been working on a distress theme in PPP the last day or so, and I have made two LO's - both about my Aunt, who is now 87 - please dont tell her I told you - she doesnt act, look or feel a day over 65! Anyway I want to do a scrapbook about her as part of my heritage album collection and have decided it would be fab if she would do the journalling on the pages for me! When I go back to England next Im going to take the almost completed pages for her to do, and Im hoping she'll agree!

When it comes to distressing I love the work of Nic Howard - she is the queen of distressing and shabby chic as far as Im concerned - you can find her here http://nichoward.typepad.com/my_weblog/ so my first page was an exercise in me getting in back in touch with my distressing tools and toys and breaking out a few new things! I actually sprayed glimmer mist on both of these LO's - Im normally too scared - but my all but forgotten bottle of sand glimmer mist has been shaken up more than a two year old on a trampoline - and used as intended - thats real progress!!!


So here's the first LO - Auntie's wedding photo from 1951! Please note the extra special flower bottom right -

Today however I looked over Nic's gallery on her blog, and scraplifted her Love - Friends LO from her 2012 gallery - I used Prima Paper, Prima flowers, a WHOLE say it with crystals embellishment and some bits of vintage jewellery - as a tribute to May Flaum's tatoo (dont ask) suffice it to day it was part of the prompt :lol: She's certainly a lot braver than me!

So, on to LO two! To be honest, if this layout was any more distressed it would be on the phone to the Samaritans! I really like this one - I even took the photo in my posh vintage 12 x 12 frame on the balcony rather than just on my desk! I should definitely do this more often!!! This photo is from about 1930 - and is of my mum's two older sisters!

 Seriously a WHOLE say it with crystals on one LO - I might need to lie down a while!!!!

As an homage to Nic, I added a tag which is also very very distressed too!

Other LO's I have done in the last day or so, are a combination of dots and stripes  so if you'd like to take a peek - they are right here! Im busy gearing up for LOAD as well at the moment, so hope my scrapping mojo keeps on the go until the end of February - I wonder how many more LO's I'll have done by then?

PPP The Story so Far!

I love Shimelle's classes and have taken a ton of them! If you are the only scrapbooker who hasnt met her yet you can find her at Shimelle.com! Im busy doing her Pretty Paper Party class at the moment and Im loving it! Its fair to say Im not a fast scrapper by anybody's standards - Im the girl who can go to a crop and make nothing more than a mess! Last night something amazing happened through the jetlag - I scrapped 10 pages in 4 hours!!!!! Now for some that might not be remarkable, but for me that is completely unprecedented - wanna take a peek - they are all below!!!!!