Just clowning around :)

Busy times here - School holidays have come and gone and we are now into our final term of the school year in the lead up to Christmas which will be here before we know it :) Unfortunately I got the dreaded flu half way through the holidays which then meant a few boring days at home for the girls :(

But before that we did the Royal Show thing and we even caught the train into Claremont which was great but we were packed liked Sardines going home with nowhere to sit and tired feet. It didn't help that we had to change trains not just once but twice! Next time I will take the car hehe!

We then went to Dunsborough to check out mum and dad's new house - whilst it certainly isn't Views of the Bay (miss those coffee's on the balcony overlooking the bay) it is warm and cosy and we had a ball!!!!!! We are always busy when we go to Dunsborough and this time was no exception - lunch in Busselton followed by the 2km walk out to the end of the jetty which has just recently opened again - we even beat the tram back to the shore. Would you believe though that after walking all the way out there you could not buy an icecream at the shop!!!!!!!! Now there is a wasted opportunity if I ever saw one!!!!!

Next day was the flea markets in Busselton followed by a yummy lunch with the Curry Van - a wet and windy day so the curry went down a treat. Then we went to Wonnerup House to show the girls what it was like in the olden days :) Followed by a quick pitstop at Bunnings on a Sunday afternoon which then resulted in an hours wait for the RAC to come and jump start my car as the battery decided to go just like that!

THe first day there went and did the obligatory food shop for bits and pieces whilst staying at mum's and dad snuck in a packet of glow sticks for the girls to play with that night....unbeknown to me he had ulterior motives.....Out came his camera for some glow stick fun!!! The girls had a ball and Chionia was so excited that the next night she wanted to start early in the day - it all went sour after one of the glow sticks spilt on her hands and she had a panic attack lol! Check out dad's blog for the end result

Home again the next day and that night the flu visited the Forbes household again which then meant hubby caught it by the end of the week and Chionia has had a day off school as well... So over it atm - roll on summer and healthy times lol!!

Been busy with scrapping deadlines..Loving playing with Graphic 45's new ABC Primer range of papers.. Graphic 45 have also just released some sneak peaks of their newest range to be released next month - Tropical Travelogue - I can so see this with my Bali photo's - isn't it awesome!

Finished off several projects over the weekend for an upcoming article in Scrapbook Creations and projects for more G45 blog hops...keep an eye out for next week! But I do want to share with you my family of Clowns :)

I bought these in Bunnings a couple of months ago with the intentions of creating something.....and I took them along to the retreat Camp Mojo back in July on the other side of Australia. Well they lived on my desk and each night they got up to some naughty stuff so I figured that I had best scrap them and put a chastity belt on her!! The challenge for the day was creative stamping so after painting the clowns and decorating them with G45 Le Cirque range of papers (which are so bright and happy - love these!!!!) I decided to use the new G45 coordinating stamps to create clothes for them :) I love them - it depicts my lot lol hubby me and my girls :) I must say a HUGE big Thankyou to the talented Deb Godley for painting their faces - she simply made them come alive - there is no way I could have done anywhere near a good job :)

Naughty naughty Miss Sherry - do you know anything about this!!!!!!!!!!!

Hence her chastity belt rofl!

Our State Champ - Blog hop with G45 and Scrapbook Adhesives

Good morning everyone :) For the first time in a couple of weeks I am feeling better YAY!! Dreaded lurgy flu finally came and visited me :( So I am behind in posting sorry!!!!!

A few weeks back when I received my G45 DT kit I was overwhelmed by all the extra goodies!! Scrapbook Adhesives were very generous in supplying loads and loads of tape and runners and my favourite - 3D foam dots WOOHOO even better was they were in BLACK!!!!!!! I love using black as I find it tends to be more discrete - not as obvious to see. If you look at my work I use lots of layers which means lots of 3D foam tape - until I got hold of these Foam DOTS - LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!

Today is the last day of the blog hop with Scrapbook Adhesive and Graphic 45 - there have been some awesome projects go up so if you have missed a day or so please go and have a look at everyone's work for some wonderful inspiration. Robin has made a beautiful cupcake stand in today's post and I did a LO - I only had a couple of days between getting my kit and getting my project in before the deadline. That particular weekend my youngest daughter had her first Acro competition - she was selected for squad 2 Acro back in July so has only been doing this a couple of months before entering in the Spring state Championship at the start of September.... Needless to say the LO says it all - perfect combination of ABC Primer with loads of foam dots!!

Hopefully blogger plays nice for me and I can load up all the photo's I took as I constructed the LO....

Our State Champ

Now fingers crossed the photo's are loaded in order....

Pop dots around the edge border

Next to make the title pop!

Then time to assemble the layers :)

If an embellishment is the wrong colour - simply change it with some ink to suit like I did here with the My 2 Angels hatpin

And finally some close ups to try and show the layers for you!!

Happy scrapping all ..

oh and PS SSHHHHHHHH but a little birdie told me of some sneak peaks happening towards the end of this month on the G45 blog - I wonder what it could be of...........

Final day of "Magic of Oz" hop :)

And WOW wouldn't you say!!!!!!!!!

( EDITED TO ADD AT 9pm my time - lol PS my cold has got the better of me and I am off to bed - so this is posted at what I believe 2 hours prior to Graphic 45 's post!!!! )

From Hilde's Candy Time bag yesterday along with Yuka's Green and purple themed bag where even the sides were embellished!! Laura's depth in her window featuring Dorothy and Jane's see through middle of the bag (to check the level of your treats of course!). I have been inspired :)


And what has it all been about... well...

Each day you'll see a sneak peek of a fantastic Graphic 45 trick-or-treat bag designed by our design team members. Just click on the link to their blog and you'll be transported to a magical world of craft bliss! See the full unveil the trick-or-treat bags on our featured design team member's blog each day and get inspired by their amazing projects! We are offering two awesome Magic of Oz gift packs as prizes this week!


Want the opportunity to win? Just click on over to our featured design team member's blog each day and leave a comment. We will choose two random winners from our design team member's blog comments and announce them on Friday, September 30th! Sound like fun!? You bet it does! Check out this amazing prize! A Magic of Oz 12x12 paper pad, Chipboard Button Staples, 3 chipboards from Imaginarium Designs, and some beautiful bling by Want2Scrap! Remember, there's two chances to win this week! Wow!

In case you couldn't make it every single day this week, here is the schedule for our featured design team member blogs. This shows you who will be featured on what day so you can check out all the fun! Don't forget to leave comments for your chance to win!

Monday
Lynette Carrol:
Jane Tregenza:

Tuesday
Laura Denison:
Robin Shakoor:
Tara Orr:

Wednesday
Sherry Cheever:
Jack & Cat Curio:
Nicole Eccles:

Thursday
Nancy Wethington:
Hilde Janbroers:
Yuka Hino:

Friday
Melanie Forbes:
Gloria Stengel:



So without further ado - my Magic of Oz Treat Bag :) which along with a LO was proudly on display at the CHA back in July - still pinching myself my work was there on G45's display! Also please remember to pop over to Gloria's Treat bag as well today!!!!

PS - If anyone can tell me - I am waiting till 11pm tonight (unless my eyes tell me otherwise!) to post this - just so I can time it with Graphic 45's post at 8am Pacific Standard TIme which is 15 hours behind me :) so last time I tried to schedule my blog to post it didn't - what is this computer illerate blog person doing wrong lol?????


Also



A little bonus project I worked on a couple of months ago at Camp mojo - I will be creating a home for them next, out of, of course the Le Cirque papers :) SO enjoy your peak at my Family ;) I must say a HUGE big Thankyou to the gorgeous and very talented Deb Godley for painting their faces - she made them come alive!!!!!!!

There is a little story about these clowns - but if you are interested and come back and leave a comment for me when I update this post in the next week - I will send out a little RAK to one person. International comments welcome! :)

And last but not least EVERYONE CROSS THEIR FINGERS AND TOES AND HOPE TO HIGH WHATEVER GEELONG WIN TOMORROW"S AFL GRAND FINAL :) We will - big party plans here :)

As we have done for 4 out of the last 5 years - GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graphic 45 + Fiskars =

a whole lot of fun!!!!!!!!!! One of the perks of being on the Graphic 45 DT is the companies it teams up with for blog hops and promotions!!!! It is so exciting to not only receive a huge box of G45 goodies but to also have a play with new products and old favourites... Just like Fiskars! Ever since I started scrapping I have used the Fiskars trimmer - light and compact - easy to get new blades etc.....Their scissors I love as the rbight orange never gets lost on my desk and the border punches.... well they are just too easy to use!!!!!!!!! This week we are hopping around with Fiskars :) Each day you will be inspired by new projects showing you how versatile and easy it is to use Fiskars and Graphic 45 together :) In fact don't forget to swing on by the Graphic 45 Facebook page and the Fiskars Facebook page to see more wonderful crafts. Leave a comment on both pages for your chance to win a spectacular prize this week! Just write "Graphic 45 + Fiskars=______" Fill in the blank with your own words and you'll be entered to win! Two random winners from Facebook and our blog will be chosen and announced this Friday! So what are you waiting for!!!!!!!! OK So today is my project - along with stunning Layouts from Jane and Yuka With the arrival of Graphic 45's new ABC Primer range and some devine Fiskars Border punches it was a perfect match for a sporty LO on my daughter who took out Yr 1 School girl champion and her state acro Level 1 trio championship all in the one day!!!

Fiskar's tweezers - great for little alpha's

Border punches - Leave it to Weaver for the ribbon threading, Notebook and postage stamp to help create layering on your LO

Twiddleybitz feather and swirl

Scrapbook adhesives 3D foam dots are great for adding dimension!

Simply line up the punched area with the border punch and voila.... beautiful edging!!

My good old trusty Fiskars trimmer :) Having tried several brands and expensive ones... this is my favourite

Graphic 45 Papers ABC Primer – Happy go Lucky, Grammer School, School Days, Jumping Joan, Calico Kids, Primer Chipboard diecuts 2, Cling An ABC Primer 3 stamps. Core’dinations Signature Series – Heritage Kraft Colourbox Graphic 45 Decades – Venetian Lace, Dark Cashmere, Photogenic, Triumphant Red FISKARS – Border punches in Leave it to Weaver, Notebook & Postage Stamp, trimmer, scissors & tweezers Twiddleybitz – Feather & swirl FLOR021 May Arts – 3/8” Metallic Velvet Black ribbon 377-38-10 Scrapbook Adhesives – black and white 3D foam squares Basic Grey – Delilah White Choc Chip alpha’s Carolee Creations Adorn it - Buckaroo alpha’s Tattered Angels - Glitter Glam Blue Suede Shoes White Gesso Thanks for popping by and Happy scrapping :)

So many exciting things :)

where do I start...

Obviously first up is how proud we are of Chionia :) Back in June she was asked to try out for both gymnastics squad and acro squad. Being new to all this we tried out for both and were told we could pick :) So we went with acro - the other girls were wonderful to her and the coach Alida made her feel at home - it was a small group which we thought would be good at letting her settle in... Fast track a month and whilst I was at Mojo we were asked if she could compete in the Go for 2&5 Spring State acro championship at the beginning of September so we signed yes and the last 6 weeks has been learning all about routines - dynamic and balance etc - then came the leotard and all its sparkles...all set for Friday 9th Sept....

Last week was also sports week at school so it was a huge week for Chionia - she did well in her jumps and throws - she surprised us all by coming first in cross country and shaving 3 seconds off the school record for her year. (Jess also did really well coming first by 100m or so in her cross country!) Then Friday was sports day - we decided that as she had the states that night that we would let her stay at school till lunchtime when I brought her home for a rest... She came first in her running race and then disappeared before receiving her ribbon or standing on the dias...she said her feet were cold from running on wet grass and that she already had a first and someone else could have it! How cute!!! Fast forward to pick up time for Jess where we arrived early to see the results from the day and Chionia got named School champion for Year 1 girls :) A trophy :) YAY thank goodness I brought her back to school with me and managed to get a photo this time!

Off to states - it was interesting to see it all first hand - Chionia did so well and the scores reflected all the hard work her and her 2 friends had put in - They entered at Level 1 trio so they work as a team :) At the end of the night they were named winners overall and also took first place for their dynamic routine and their balance routine - we have a state champ in the house rofl!!!!! :) Well done gorgeous - we are very very proud!!!!

And in the midst of all this I was asked to join the Design team for Scraptivate Of course!! Can't wait to start creating :) Thanks Nat! Keep an eye out from next month!

Also Graphic 45 are having a rather cool comp.....

"Graphic 45 is pleased to announce our Halloween Rejuvenaiton Challenge! Fall and Halloween are definitely on the way and we thought it would be fun to have an altered art challenge that's inspired by this colorful season. We're asking you to take an old object and bring it back to life with Graphic 45! We've all got stuff around the house that could use a little dressing up. Maybe it's something you found at a garage sale, thrift store, or even an old item that's been sitting in the basement since forever. We want you to create a beautiful Halloween or Fall-themed altered art project from any old, random objects you might have using Graphic 45 products. It's the perfect craft challenge to jump-start your holiday crafting!

The submission deadline is September 25th. Email submissions to charee@g45papers.com. On September 26th all of the submissions will be uploaded to our Facebook photos and you will get to vote for your favorite submission by "Like"-ing it! Voting is from September 26th to 7am on Septmeber 30th. The TWO projects with the most likes win! Winners will be announced on Friday morning at 8am on our Facebook and on our blog.

The prize? You could win our entire Christmas Emporium collection! A 12x12 and 8x8 Paper Pad, both coordinating chipboard die-cuts and one of each cling stamp! That's a $76 value! Wow! We can't wait to see what you create!

We hope you are all excited about this great challenge! We certainly are!
Happy Papercrafting!

So what are you waiting for - off you go and rejuvenate that project!!! I have a few special ones up my sleeve to share with you soon :)

hhmmm What else is there..... need to find my list!!!!! Too many things - will be back :)

Le Cirque

Who doesn't love the circus.... Over the years we have been too many a different circus and loved them all - Cirque du Soleil is one of my favourites!! Will never forget the first time we saw Saltimbanco!!!!!

Anyway I digress lol!! When Graphic 45 brought out their new Le Cirque range I couldn't wait to get my hands on it - it is bright and fun and full of character... some have even said it is scary!!!! But no - once you start playing with it is makes creating so much more fun - the papers simply work together so well that despite a few of them being very busy in design they work together!!!!!!!!!

For something a bit fun and to go with a few of my Cirque Dusoleil items I made this mini village tent!! The minature houses, shadowbox and circus tent are all by Twiddleybitz and work so well with the Graphic 45 papers I had.

Add in some smooch'es and the new VIVA precious metal colour paints I have just discovered (available from Rachel Greig at Darkroom Door ) and voila!!!!

Material List
Graphic 45
Le Cirque range
Le Cirque 4500303
Circus Parade 4500305
Manifique 4500306
Extravaganza 4500310
Dazzle and Delight 4500309
Greatest Show on Earth 4500311
Le Cirque tags 4500314



Twiddleybitz
Circus Friends CIR001
Circus Big Top CIR 003
Rectangular Shadowbox SBR004
Miniature Houses TMH001

Flourish with a Bling – Rhinestones Black and Silver
Smooch – Moonlight, Sundance
VIVA Precious Metal Colours #603 & #404
Tim Holtz Distress ink – vintage Photo & Black Soot


Thankyou all for your kind words and messages left - I do love reading them all :)

Magic of Oz

My spook!! Love this photo of Chionia - she started out as a ghost but had to have her face painted at a friends Halloween birthday party :)

So when I saw the papers in Graphic 45's new collection Magic of Oz I knew exactly which LO I was going to do - add into the mix the stunning Staples - metal flowers, doorknobs and buttons and voila!!!!!!!! I just LOVE the metal staples! Check out Graphic 45's blog to see some world wide inspiration from Jane and Hilde as well using this magical range of papers :)

Material List
Graphic 45
Magic of Oz – Journey to Oz #4500343
Emerald City #4500347
Chipboard Die Cuts 2 #4500355
Staples Ornate Doorplate & knob #4500297
Metal Flowers #4500300
Paper Flowers #4500 230
Alpha Stickers #4500235
Envelope Tag #4500233
Twiddleybitz Vintage overlay (OV001) with Crafty Notions Black Gold Jewel Enamels CCE15D
Curved Name plate (NP002) with Crafty Notions Apitie Jewel Enamels CCE17
Thickers Alpha’s
Flourish with a Bling - Jack Vine Olive
Gauze
Tim Holtz key
Twine
German Scraps
My 2 Angels hatpin
Prima flowers