More birthdays...

Hi all,
Hope you have been keeping well and much better than we have in this dormitory!

Literally since Rhiannon's 21st there has been someone sick in this house and it's been awful!!
The following night of the party Jedd woke up with the most violent stomach bug ever which had him down for the count for 48 hours. Monday night Michael started to feel unwell and by Tuesday night he was gone with the same thing and Josh got it Tuesday afternoon. Ewwwwwww...
Had to laugh when a telemarketer came to the door though...our bedroom is right next to the front door and all you could hear was Michael being rather intimate but very loud with a bucket and Josh echoing from the bathroom down the hallway doing the same thing. I can't believe this guy stood there and asked me if he could come back!!

Then the filthy flu found it's way in and smug 'ol me who thought it was great that I didn't get the above virus was in for a very rude shock.
Anyway enough of all the illness talk...

As I've mentioned before May is a massive month for us. My birthday was on the 18th and I was spoilt rotten by my lovely family. Michael cooked an awesome dinner...garlic, chilli prawns with Pepper steak and delish veges. I got some lovely pressies...a Tom Ang Photography book and a Pandora bead from Michael and the boys (which says Forever Always...nawwwww), a Cuttlebug I bought from Josh and Rhiannons birthday money and some yummy new scrapping stuff from my daddys birthday money. :)

Here I am sick as a mangy dog and not far off Rookwood with my cake...and yes I was 21 so don't even ask!! P.S Look where Michael has put the knife...I wasn't that sick love!!



And with all my boys...who look so excited to have a photo taken with me don't they? PMSL



Jayden's birthday was the 22nd and he was 17! We had a homemade pizza party which was mmmmmmmmmm.....and this fabulous white choc and passionfruit cheesecake. OMG it was divine...



Here's my beautiful birthday boy:



And what's a 17th birthday cake without a Thomas candle? Hehehehe...



Unfortunately I haven't had much time to scrap but I managed to get this one done. Isn't she just the cutest little possum ever?



I have some news I'd like to share as well. I have just become a Kaszazz consultant! I am so excited and haven't even got my kit yet, it will come some time next week so it's very new news...LOL
Will chat more about this when I know more but just wanted to tell you.

Have a good weekend all and stay safe in this horrid wet weather if you're getting all the rain.
S
xx

Layout share

Wow it's been a while since I've been able to use that as my title...LOL

Hope you're all good and looking forward to a relaxing weekend ahead.
We have two cricket presentations to go too but I'm not sure we'll go to one of them. Two in one weekend is a bit much I think especially as they'll both go for at least 4 hours each.

I've been lucky enough to get some scrapping done this week. I'm loving the whole process from choosing the photo to deciding on what papers and embellies to use but most of all I'm having a ball coming up with new and innovative ways to use things from my stash that I've had for a while. I've recently been through it and gave a heap of stuff away to soeone who's just starting out in scrapbooking but I still have so much stuff to get through before I race out and buy anymore new things. So...to solve this dilemma...I'll just scrap more. :)

This layout I completed for a colour challenge; white, yellow, light blue/aqua and grey. Not really colours that I'd usually use but I'm very happy with the way it turned out. This photo was taken by Chrissy Collier at the last Forever Always Retreat we went on with a 70's theme. Was awesome fun!



I did this one for a sketch challenge. I adore Scrapware chipboard and have been trying to use what I have in my stash...how cute is this whale? Check out the cool chipboard journalling spot by Tammy Templetons Pumpkin Pink line. Very cooolllll.....



This one is a just for me layout. I bought some Webster's Pages papers last weekend and was busting to use them. I scrapped this stunning photo of my niece and daughter and added a few little extras. Also loving the paper doilies by Paper Inklings at the moment. They are so versatile and come in heaps of differnet shapes and sizes.



I only finished this layout last night. It's a photo of my spunky boy, Jayden that was taken about 2 years ago. I added an action to it in PS and the result was really cool. See the fabbo chipboard shapes framing the photo? Their from Paper Inklings also and are awesome for boy pages!



I had the pleasure of spending time with these two little little poppets yesterday morning and I took them down to feed the ducks. I got some great photos of them so I have plenty to scrap.





This is a really fun little park to take kids as the ducks come right up when you feed them.



Have a safe, relaxing and fun weekend everyone.
Chat next week
S
xx

Happy Mothers Day

Hi everyone,
Did you all have a nice Mothers Day? I hope you did. :)
We just took the boys down to the local park to ride their scooters and for some lunch.
Jack has croup at the moment so I'm a bit wary about taking him too far with the weather changing all the time as it has been lately. Jayden has the flu too so he didn't feel like doing too much either.

Saturday my father gave me my birthday money early (woot woot!!) so I took myself scrap shopping. I went to one of my LSS who I hadn't been to for ages and wow...I had so much fun. I really haven't done that for ages. I bought lots of papers...mostly vintage as I love anything and everything vintage. Can't wait to have a play with it.

As I've mentioned I've done some designing for the lovely Kris Pace from Paper Inklings. I just love the AWESOME BOY range as it's grungy and bright and suits my boys perfectly. I had a ball grunging up the chipboard title with inks and paints too.
Here's a layout I did with the range:



And an acrylic album I made for Jedd as his prize posession at the moment is his scooter:










Speaking of Jedd and his scooter, he had a stack and a half last night and fell, hitting the side of his eye on his friends scooter. He is very lucky it didn't hit his eye. Here's some pics that don't really do the size of the lump justice as I was trying to keep the flash out of his eyes...hehehe





So as you can imagine the poor kid has a pretty big black eye this morning. ;(

Well that's it for another post...have a great week and we'll chat again soon.
Sharryn
xx

Tutorial - Topiary tree table decoration

Hey hey :)
Wow 2 blog posts in 2 days...go me!

Last Saturday night was our daughter's 21st birthday and I wanted to make my own decorations just to add a more personal touch. I decided on topiary tree table decorations as I love topiary trees and think they lend a touch of class. So I made my own and took photos along the way for those of you interested in perhaps making your own one day as they are much more cost efficient than purchasing them. With the basic steps, you can create your own topiary tree to suit any occasion.



YOU WILL NEED:
2 x Styrofoam balls (depending on the finished size you want)
1 length of 6mm dowel
1 x paper mache gift box
bag of glass crystals
patterned papers in colours of choice
acrylic paint
ribbons
small flowers
chipboard butterflies
ink
clear drying craft glue
flower punch

TO MAKE:
1)Paint your styrofoam ball in a colour to match the patterned papers you will be using. This will hide any unneccessary white patches that you may not fill. Set aside to dry.



2)Take your paper mache gift box:



Paint the lid and the main part two different colours. The lid will become a holder for the bottom of the box. Set both pieces aside to dry.



3)Take your large flower punch and start punching flowers from different co-ordinating patterned papers.



Mark a hole where the dowel rod will go on the styrofoam ball so as not to cover with the flowers.
Using a clear, strong craft glue attach the punched flowers to the styrofoam ball.I only glued the centre of my flowers as I wanted a 3D effect on the finished product.



Continue glueing flowers on until the styrofoam ball is completely covered.



4) Measure the length of dowel you will need and paint to suit colour scheme. Set aside to dry.



5) Get your small flowers and other embellishments for your styrofoam ball ready. I didn't have the right colour flowers I needed so I inked some small paper flowers silver.



Ink some small chipboard butterflies to suit. (I then added some 21 embellishments over the top however you can change this to suit the occasion).



6) Now that your dowel rod is dry,glue the end and pierce it through the styrofoam ball at the spot previously marked.



Take the second stryofoam ball and cut it to fit inside the paper mache gift box. Take care with this step as pieces of styrofoam will harm small children if swallowed so be sure to clean up properly. It doesn't matter at this stage if the styrofoam in the box looks a bit skew whiff as it will be covered later. Just ensure it is a snug fit and will hold the topiary tree upright. Glue the end of the dowel rod as in the previous step and insert it through the styrofoam in the box. Hold gently for a few minutes to ensure it dries in the correct position.



7) Now that your topiary tree is in place, add your small paper flowers and chipboard embellishments. This gives you a better idea of placement.

8) Now the fun, but very messy part. Pour some glass crystals on to a paper plate. You might want to grab yourself a spoon at this stage!



Pour some clear, strong craft glue over the glass crystals and mix up with your hands ensuring the glue covers all the crystals. (Ewww...I really don't like this part) TIP: If you can't find glass crystals you can use spanish moss.



Spoon the mixture carefully over the styrofoam base making sure to get into all cracks and crevices. Keep adding crystals until they are level with the top of the paper mache box lip. Again, gently hold the topiary tree in place for a few minutes so it will dry in place. The crystals took a couple of hours to dry completely.



9) Measure the length from the base of the topiary tree ball to the top of the crystals and cut lengths of co-ordinating ribbon.



Tie them in a knot around the base letting them fall freely.



10) Let topiary tree completely dry then enjoy your lovely new table decoration.



I hope this tutorial was clear enough to understand, if not just email me and ask away.
Cheers
Shaz
xx

A 21st birthday and some scrapping...

Hey all :)
Hope you've been well and settled into the new month of May.
May is one of those months for us where it's just go, go, go...and spend, spend, spend!
We have Rhiannons', Jayden's, my, our niece, my father, Michael's little sister and her mums birthdays all in May. We have both cars due for rego one day apart and then there's Mothers Day. Plus all the boys friends seem to have a birthday in May as well. Grrrr......
Speaking of birthdays it's our gorgeous girl Rhiannons's 21st birthday today :)
We had a family party for her on Saturday night which was heaps of fun. She wanted a purple and silver theme so purple and silver it was. (Keep in mind...purple would have to be one of the hardest colours for a party theme...LOL)
I thought we managed to do OK though as we had purple and silver balloons, cutlery and plates, I made purple and silver topiary tree table decorations and 21st birthday balloon table decorations and instead of a 21st key I made a book that everyone cold sign and she can later put her photos in. I even made a trip to the cake decorating store and bought purple icing and silver dust to paint on the tiny flowers. Here'a s peek at the decorations. The topiary trees:





The balloons: (TIP: I bought a balloon pump for $5.50 at Spartys and let me tell you it made our lives so much easier!!)These are only the table decorations I made we had HEAPS of balloons hanging from the top of the decking.





The sign-in book:



The cupcakes:



The champers....mmmmmmmm



Our girl and us:


Just before getting organised for the 21st I was busy, busy, busy getting some layouts and BTP items done for the lovely Kris Pace of Paper Inklings for SIA. Her new FAMILY range is just gorgeous.
I posted one in my last blog post but here are a few more:





I also made a canvas featuring my three gorgeous nieces. Unfortunately the photo I took made the Mod Podge over the photos look like some sort of filter but I'm sure you get the drift.





Last but not least I made a sweet little banner for Michaels' cousins new baby girl, Layla.





Forever Always held it's very last cycber crop last weekend which is a bit sad as I've had some great times there over the years and met some of the most wonderful women ever.
This layout I did for a challenge using only sepia tones. Just a simple one.



This one was for a 'Good Old Days' challenge where we had to use those words as either the title or in the journalling. I used it as my title and scrapped photos of us all when we were on the FA DT together...they really were 'The Good Old Days'. (Sorry again for the flash on your face Paula but you know it's not there IRL...LOL)



Well that's it from me for now.
Off to do a blog hop to see what you've all been up too.
Stay safe
S
xx