Layouts, Loaves and Lovely Lighting...

These two layouts are from my Design Team projects for Little Scrapbook Shop this month. This layout of Mikaela uses the Bella Bella Range by My Mind's Eye.

Nic challenged us to use two ranges on a layout and I chose the Fancy Pants Kraft Kuts and the My Mind's Eye Bloom and Grow range.

I played with my camera remote this week and took some wintery self portraits on the freezing cold day we had last week. I played with some lighting actions in Photoshop and quite like this one...I might have to scrap a wintery layout :)

The wintery weather has brought on the baking bug in a big way. Last weekend I had a baking marathon and cooked up a storm!

Honey/banana muffins and chocolate caramel muffins...

Banana Bread....

Triple Choc Chunk Cookies...

Mmmmmmmmm it was nice while it lasted...

I'm back!

I've been offline for a couple of days with some computer issues and am back online tonight after a visit from the friendly Dell delivery man with a new power cord for my laptop. The old one frayed away from overuse I think!

I have a layout to share and more to come when I get around to photographing them. I am also busy working away at some secretive projects I need to finish and will share them soon.
Monday was Jarred's 14th birthday! My first born is 14 already...amazing!

We took him to the Presets concert on Sunday night as a surprise birthday treat and he had no idea! We took him for a quick dinner and walked on down to the botanical gardens River Stage where the concert was to be held and he was clueless until we handed him his ticket to get in...he freaked! It was so much fun :) Until the next morning that is when I could hardly walk...I am getting old!
Rich was tickled to see his big surprise go off with so much success hehe.

Here is the birthday boy on Monday...



And with his proper birthday present from the whole family...


There was tiramasu torte made by my sister....

And chocolate cheesecake as requested by the birthday boy and made by The Cheesecake Shop....

There were cuddles with cousins......

And there was the passing on of old Ipods to younger siblings.....

Now there's another child in the family who shall be impossible to properly communicate with ...awesome! Like the male deafness genes aren't hard enough to infiltrate.....

Brown Paper Packages

I love, love, love receiving packages! Today was quite a haul, and I was super excited knowing exactly what would be in one of them!

First one was my prize from last week's Scrapbooking Memories Magazine's Cybercrop. I won one of the challenges from the weekend from the couple I had time to enter, so was very happy to spot the little Express Publications box today.
I won a Xyron Sticker Maker and a heap of Buzz and Bloom chipboard journaling panels and frames. Very cool indeed ;)
Big thanks to Buzz and Bloom and Scrapbooking Memories for my great prizes :)

The next package was a pack of layouts and projects returned from Scrapbooking Memories Magazine in super swift fashion as usual ;)

Now the last package had me hyperventilating in my car...seriously. I emailed the store Memories to Remember very recently in huge excitement about their upcoming October Afternoon shipment.

They replied almost immediately with an offer for me to preorder what I wanted....which I quickly took them up on!

Shan (who hasn't updated her blog since Valentines Day for goodness sakes) and I preordered the new Cherry Hill and Ducks in A Row ranges and they arrived today!

Oh my goodness!

The Wild Cards pictured below are the cutest things you've ever seen! I love October Afternoon and have some very special projects in mind for these ranges.


Huge thanks to Memories to Remember for my order and their fantastic service. Jo and I had a hilarious email, blog and Twitter 'relationship' there for a bit while I waited for the shipment to arrive. It may have been slightly one sided, but it was a relationship nonetheless.
Jo even appeased me by calling me when the stock arrived in as she could sense my fanaticism...that's service ;)

I have slunk back into regular admiration status and slipped out of my stalker role for a bit...until the next OA range is released anyway.........or when the rubber charms come in........