I did it!!

Hi again :)

Well, finally, I have done it ... tonight, after much mojo-searching over the past week or so, I have completed my first round of the Use Your Stash challenge from Scrapchat! Phew!!

Gypsy posted her latest sketch challenges tonight, and the card sketch took my fancy, and so I've just completed my little effort. It's too late now to take a pic tonight I think, so I'll upload it tomorrow for you.

It was a hard challenge to complete ... I did end up receiving some of my pre-ordered stuff (that I had already deemed as admissable supplies :D), but didn't end up using that much of it during my challenge, so I don't even need to feel particularly guilty!

I'll have to think long and hard though before I decide to go in for another round of the challenge ... it's not as easy as it sounds ....

Well, the boys and I had a lovely day today - Mum and Dad were due home from their lovely little jaunt overseas, so I decided to take the boys to the airport to surprise them. Even now, at the ripe old age of 36, I still love going to the airport ... reminds me of all the fun holidays I've been on over the years and brings back lots of warm fuzzy feelings. And, the best thing is that I get to go back there in a few weeks time, but next time I'll actually be the one flying somewhere! Yes, the Warana retreat is now only about 16 days away, and I can't wait! Now to decide what to actually take with me ...

I'm off to my SILs tomorrow for a visit and to stock up on some more photos of Mia to scrap ... and I have to take my poor dog back to the chiropractor ... her back has stiffened right up again and she's in so much pain all the time. Doggy doctors aren't cheap, but I can't stand to see poor Zali in pain ....

Well, I hope everyone had a lovely long Anzac weekend, and managed to pause, even for a little while ,to remember what it's actually commemorating.

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

Want to win a tote??

Hi all -

Feel like winning a prize? (Who doesn't??)

Well, A Passion For Craft is having a raffle! Details are as follows:

One lucky shopper will be in the running to win a Jnr Tote from Crop In Style. It is valued at $90.00.

All you have to do is spend $30.00 (before postage) and you will get 2 tickets and go in the running to win. The more you spend the more tickets you get!

$30.00 buys 2 tickets
$50.00 buys 4 tickets
$70.00 and up buys 6tickets!

The winner will be drawn on the 31st of May! and will be notified by email and announced on the store front.



Happy shopping :D

I won a voucher!

Guess what??

I won a voucher from The Stamp Shak for winning Challenge 2 at their recent CC :D It was for the card I made (see previous post!).

I'm so chuffed - thanks to everyone that voted for my card!

And on another note, it's my last day at work tomorrow YAY! Well, in this current job anyway ... and what a way to celebrate - we're heading out tomorrow night to see Karnivool - one rocking band!

It's gonna be awesome ... I'll write again (probably with a slightly heavy head) on Friday and let you know how the gig was!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

My latest card ...

Hi all -

Just thought I'd show you a card I whipped up last night - my version of Challenge 2 from the Stamp Shak CC ...

Card had to have only a raised stamped image, coloured pencils, an additional stamped image or sentiment, and kindy glitz. No patterned paper allowed!

Here's my contribution ...




I also have some wonderful news - I resigned from my job on Thursday! I've accepted another position where I can work only 2 full days a week, instead of all the half days and Saturdays ... it's very exciting - although it's never an easy discussion to have, even when you don't like where you're working! The boss was shocked to say the least ... I finish up next Thursday, and start in my new job on Friday the 2nd of May :D

Anyway, just a quick one from me today ...

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

Slight change to my blog set-up ...

Hi there ...

Just thought I should let you know that I have now changed my blog set-up, so that I have to approve comments before they are published.

I've had a few little spam nasties appearing as comments on my blog in the past couple of weeks, so I thought I'd try and cut them off at the pass, and now I authorise all comments (if they're not spam!) before they appear in the blog ...

So, please leave me a comment - who doesn't love getting feedback! - and I will authorise the comment as soon as I can :D

Thanks heaps, and I'll talk to you soon,
Ness.

I've been given permission ...

to upload the pic of the layout I did for the April Photo Swap at Scrapchat.

I did this layout for the lovely Susanlhl ... and I'm really pleased with the results! I get so nervous scrapping someone else's photos ... hope you like it - I'm so relieved that Susan does! :)

A couple of my latest pieces ...

Hello again -

Just thought I'd share with you a couple of my latest pieces - the layout is my interpretation for the April Sketch Challenge, and the cards are for the April Card Swap, both at Scrapchat.

I've also done a layout for the April Photo Swap, but I'm waiting on permission from my swap partner before I put the layout up on my blog :D


Sorry about the picture of the card, but I took it at night time, and forgot to take another pic in daylight before I packed them ready to post off ...


And here's another recent layout that I did as an example for the Allcraftz Cybercop back in March ...



And also a layout I completed as part of a class run by the beautiful Hannah at Allcraftz ...




Well we've had a lovely relaxing weekend ... Nick's been playing with his new 'toys' (TV and playstation - *rolls eyes*), and I've got some scrapping done (as you can see!).

And, after a lovely morning lying in bed listening to the rain, which doesn't happen very often any more in Melbourne, we had my friend Vicki and her daughter Emily (Ashton's girlfriend!) around for the afternoon, and then Kathryn and Justin came around with the kids as well - it was a full house here for a while, with 5 little tackers running around!

A quick fish and chips dinner was all I could come up with tonight, and now the boys are yet again racing eachother in Gran Turismo 5. But that's cool - more scrapping time for me :)

Well, I hope you all have a lovely week, and I'll talk to you soon,
Ness.

I need a bigger white board ....

Hello again !!

I'm sitting here lamenting buying such a small white board for my to do list ... because I keep signing up to swaps and challenges, and I'm rapidly running out of room to write everything down that I've committed to!

On top of my Babyjo bits and pieces, and the wedding invitations that I'm doing for our friends Greg and Brooke, I'm doing the Use Your Stash challenge over at Scrapchat (as you may already know from my previous ramblings), but I've also signed on for the April Photo Swap, and the April Card Swap!! I'm also making Mother's Day cards for Jess's stall at school, and there are Gratitude Journal pages that I'd like to have a go at, as well as some interesting challenges from the recent CC. And then there's the sketch challenges as well ... I'm going to need a bigger whiteboard for sure. If you're looking for some inspiration, or you're wanting to push yourself or step outside your scrapping comfort zone, there are heaps of interesting challenges being posted at Scrapchat all the time - well worth a looksie ...

I thought I should probably upload some pics of the chippie album I did recently too ... my first ever attempt at an album, so please be kind :) This was what my class was on over at Allcraftz last week ... a nice, simple, 'blokey' album. I'll put the pics at the end of my post if you want to check it out. Follow the links through to the forum there too, because the wondeful Megan is always listing fantastic sketch challenges as well :D

We've been out TV shopping today - Nick has been dreaming about a wide-screen LCD TV for a long time now ... and so far I have been successful in stopping all attempts to purchase one! But, with his long service leave having been paid out (he starts his new job on Monday), he's got money burning a hole in his pocket now, so I don't think I can hold him off much longer. I will admit though that the one he's got his eye on IS rather yummy :) I think it's only a matter of days, and we'll be the proud owners of a Sony Bravia X series ...

And finally, just a quick thank you to those that visit and read my ramblings ... I'm amazed that my little visit counter is constantly ticking over! I wonder what would happen if I actually started to write about something vaguely interesting LOL.

Hope everyone has a great weekend ...

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

It's class night ...

Well, the time has finally come for me to run my OTP class at Allcraftz tonight - and I have to say I'm really looking forward to it. It seems like ages ago that I actually created the album ... will be good to get the class (and the nerves!) over and done with. And alas, my time on the DT comes to an end on the 1st of April, so this is my last 'hurrah' so to speak :D I hope it all goes smoothly ...

And how's this for timing?? My hubby has just informed me that he's going to have drinks after work tonight, and will be later home than first thought. He has been duly warned that he will be shot on sight if this is the case .... :D

I've just realised that there's also not long to go until the Scrapchat Warana retreat will be upon us (mid-May), and I'm sooo looking forward to meeting all the girls IRL ... after chatting online for a year or so now, it will be fab to actually meet them!

After looking through my scrapping stash last night, I've taken a bit of a leap here, and decided to take part in the Use Your Stash challenge on Scrapchat too - I really should start using up some of the stuff I've got, especially paper, before I go buying much more. However, I am being realistic about it - I'm off to Paperific on Sunday with Vicki, and there's NO WAY I can really expect to walk out of there having not spent any money. So, my 'use your stash' attempt will commence as of Monday. Oh, and I should mention that cardstock and adhesives are excluded of course :D So too are the pre-orders that I currently have on the go, that will be shipping next week. They've already been paid for, so they're technically already part of my stash LOL.

Well, I'd better go and read over my class notes, so I can remember what I'm supposed to be teaching people! Wish me luck ...

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

E for Excellent!

Just a very quick post from me tonight to let you know that the lovely Gypsyangel has nominated me for an Excellent Blog Award :D

See - here it is!


Thanks so much to you Gypsy for your friendship and support - it means a great deal to me :D

And now, it's my turn to nominate someone, and I'm going to nominate the wonderful Bubblefrog! While she may not update her blog that regularly (but I'm guilty of that too!) Hannah's work is truly inspirational - she is one talented lady!

My latest offerings ...

Hello ... and sorry that it's been a couple of weeks since my last post ... things have been a little hectic in my neck of the woods of late.

But anyway, I've had a chance to get some scrapping done this past week, and thought you might like to see some of my latest offerings.


I hope everyone has a happy and safe Easter - and if you're heading away, please take care on the roads!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

My class kit is now available!

Hi all -

The date for my first ever online class is rapidly approaching ... Friday March 28th!

And now, the class kit has finally been listed today for purchase on the Allcraftz website. Here 'tis, just in case you're interested :D

http://allcraftz.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=303&products_id=3973

Very much looking forward to running my first class ... and there are a few people interested in it too, so at least it looks like I won't be talking to myself all night! LOL

And, we have some wonderful news in the Bradford household - Nick has finally received the offer in writing for the job he has been applying for (actually, they approached him!), and he's signed it, so it's all official! He's resigned today, and starts his new job on the 7th of April.

It's just in Box Hill too ... so it's about a 15 minute drive from home - much better than the 1-1.5 hours he was travelling EACH WAY each day in his current job!

So, we're all very excited indeed ...

Talk to you soon!
Ness.

Babyjo is GO!

Hi again -

One other thing I've been working on lately, and so has Nick, is helping my sister-in-law get her online store up and running.

My niece has suffered with eczema and so Jo did some investigating and found that bamboo fibre clothing is GREAT for babies with eczema and other such skin conditions, and decided to create her own babywear and try and spread the good word of bamboo fibre. It has helped Mia's eczema so much - Jo wants everyone to know about it :D

And, bamboo fibre has many benefits over cotton (eg. thermo-regulating, more absorbent, hypoallergenic and naturally antibacterial) - so it's good for babies of all varieties :D

She's got some cute little things available now, and there are more items and sizes on the way, and she's also selling gift packs as well.

Check it out at www.babyjo.com.au - and recommend it to your friends!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

I've been accepted :D

Hi all -

My main piece of news from the past few weeks is that I had a layout accepted for publication by Scrapbooking Memories :D

I was so thrilled! I sent off an email with my layout attached - it didn't match an advertised theme, but I liked it, so I thought they might! And, I had a return email within minutes, asking me to send the original in. They want it for the Travel theme, but I'm not sure when this is planned for as yet. I've only ever sent in 4 or 5 layouts in the past, so I was quite chuffed to have been accepted.

Of course, it might still get the boot if there's not enough room for it, but here's hoping it makes the cut! I've had to amend my blog too, and remove that particular layout from public view until it's published ... but I'll put it back once it hits the mag :D

I've been fairly busy of late too with my DT commitments - there was another cybercrop at Allcraftz on the 8th of Feb, and I had to do an example for the sketch challenge.

Here's what I came up with:


Being February, it was of course a Lurve themed CC - and I managed to do a Valentine's LO without even a hint of pink. :)

I've also got a new favourite photo of my boys, and have done this LO just for my collection ...


I did another Christmas LO of the boys too ... nice and simple :) (sorry about the crooked pic!)


I also had the opportunity to meet up with Gypsyangel from the Scrapchat forum last weekend as she came down to Melbourne for a little weekend getaway. I met up with her and her mum and sister out at Puffing Billy, and took them for a little sightseeing trip up to Skyhigh on Mt Dandenong, and then dropped them back to their hotel in the city. It was great to actually meet her after chatting to her online for 9 months or so now. I'm looking forward to heading up to the Scrapchat retreat in May so we can catch up in real life again :D

And, my first online class at Allcraftz is rapidly approaching. I received my goodies for the class a couple of days ago, so now I've got to sit down and plan the class. There was a slight hiccup with the product though - unfortunately, the wrong paper range was sent by the manufacturer, so it's not exactly what I thought I would be working with, but I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something! Wish me luck ...

Oh, one more thing - I had a totally crap day at work last week, and unfortunately, this was just the last straw. Things have been pretty average there for a while now, for many various reasons, and now I've just had it. So, I have written my resignation letter :D It's all ready to go, and I'm planning on handing it in some time this week hopefully, when the time is right :D Feels very satisfying knowing I will be out of there soon.

Well, that's all the ramblings from me for the moment - thanks for reading!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

Some of my latest offerings ...

Hello all! Well, I've been getting quite a bit of scrapping done lately, which is always a good thing:) The Allcraftz For You Design Team details are coming along, and I'm planning classes and preparing layouts, and it's all great fun! I thought I'd upload a few pics of what I've been working on of late so you can take a sneaky peek ..

This first pic is of a canvas I made for my SIL for Christmas.

And here is a Monogram that I made for my niece Mia - it was the OTP component of my Design Team application.

And here are a few LOs I've done for various sketch challenges on the Allcraftz forum.

(One pic has been removed pending possible publication in Scrapbooking Memories :D )

I think I'm having a bit of a black cardstock phase atm ... :D

And one final layout (not done for a sketch challenge but using Pagemaps) to prove that I can do work that doesn't involve black cardstock in any way ...

Thanks for looking, and I'll talk to you soon :D

Cheers,
Ness.

Happy New Year to All!

Well hello again ... and a very Happy New Year to everyone! I've just got back from our usual camping trip up in the hills - it was 42 degrees in Melbourne yesterday, and it was a stifling drive up, but spending the day by the river in the relative cool of the mountains was most enjoyable indeed. We've come back to a 40 degree day, so we've parked a** in front of the air conditioner for a while, and will probably take the kids down to the pool later this afternoon.

Last night was spent sitting around the campfire with good friends, a few drinks, and many laughs, as we saw in yet another New Year with the obligatory sparklers and marshmallows :) I think this is the 9th one in a row we've been camping with our friends, and I think next year we'll be having a change of venue, back to the original site up on the Bluff overlooking Mt Buller etc. for our '10th anniversary' :)

Have been quite busy of late with Christmas and all, and trying to organise my scrap room (yes - I now have my own DEDICATED scrapping room YAY!) so that I can start off my year as a DT member in a relatively organised fashion ... I think I'm going to have a fairly busy year ahead of me so starting off organised will hopefully help! I am sooooo looking forward to the challenges ahead, and to learning so much more from my fellow DT members, some wonderfully inspirational scrappers, along the way :)

Well I hope the festive season has been kind to everyone ... and I look forward to keeping you up to date with my little part of the world over the next year!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

Shellshocked

Hi there all ...

Just thought I better make it official and let you all know that I was taken by complete surprise and selected to be a member of the inaugural Allcraftz for You Design Team!

I shrieked when I saw my name on the screen, and virtually fell off my chair! I read the words over and over and over again ... thinking surely there's been some sort of mistake ... but no, I'm in!!! Soooo excited, if not a little overwhelmed, and really looking forward to working with my fellow DT members Hannah and Jo, along with Guest DT members Sandra and Alishia, and of course the lovely Mandz. Some very talented ladies there - I'm going to learn so much myself in the next little while ... I can't wait to see where it all takes me.

So, I'm sure it will take a little bit to get everything sorted out and up and running, but keep watching this space to see some of the creations my fellow DT members and I come up with!

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

To submit or not to submit ...

for the Allcraftz for You Design Team Call ??? I'm really torn here - I am seriously considering applying, but I also know the quality and standard of work of some of the people I'd be going up against, so therefore give myself a snowflakes chance of being selected. Can I handle the rejection :D

To be a part of this DT would be absolutely amazing ... such talented people associated with it and such great products to work with .... oh well, as they say, you're only young once! I may as well give it a go ... now I just need to decide which 5 pieces to submit for consideration ... how on earth will I choose? I have made a few new pieces for this submission especially, but going through the back catalogue and choosing others to complete my 5 pieces is going to be SOOOOOO hard. At least I can hope for some 'constructive criticism' about my work, so I know where I can look to 'improve'.

Wish me luck! Submissions close on Wednesday 12th, with the winners to be announced on the 13th I believe ... I'll keep you posted :)

Talk to you soon,
Ness.

Oooh, it's been a while ...

since my last blog entry - sorry about that! Guess I've been pretty busy just with day to day life lately ... and trying to get some things sorted out before the mad Christmas rush. I've already got 4 presents sorted - most unlike me :)

Well, Family Bradford had a lovely day again today - we decided to head down to Werribee Mansion for the annual Harvest Picnic - never been before, but heard through a friend that it was a great day.

Was great wandering around and trying all the food - pastries, olives, dips, nougats, spanish donuts, bruschetta, sausages, kebabs - and the boutique beers, wines and ciders were a nice way to wash it all down of course! And the homemade icecream was a hit with Ashton too! In fact, he was having such a good time he actually agreed to have his face painted for the first time ever - he's always been to shy for it in the past. So, we spent the day wandering around with a little spiderman - he looked especially cute when he had licked off the paint around his mouth while he was eating his icecream ...

We called in to Williamstown on the way home and Nick and I had an icecream, and we all wandered around on the foreshore, and then walked out along the pier and Ash and I went on the the retired navy ship that's moored there and had a little sticky beak. He loved it!

Another great family day ...

Talk to you soon,

Ness.

I have been tagged by two lovely ladies - Gypsyangel and Lexie - and I'd like to nominate them right back for this wonderful award, as well as Chelle and Miss Cropalot.

Thanksfor thinking of me ladies ... :)

Talk to you soon,
Ness.