Memory Keeping Plans...

Hello and Happy New Year.

Yes believe me, I am just as shocked as you are.  Yep I am blogging again after a very long time away.  I won't get into the why's right now but I will say that I am going to try very hard to give this blogging thing a go.

There have been many changes for us as a family over the last two years, some good  but most not so good.  Keeping up with memory keeping and documenting our stories has been hard, I won't lie.  Mostly due to time restraints and me just not being into it that much.  There are several reasons but the biggest reason is that I am just not into project life anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I think its one of the best things that has ever happened to the scrapbooking industry but I have been doing project life for 6 years and I simply need a change.  I also want a format that is quick but still allows me to tell our story and to be creative.  My kids are getting older too, which means they are not around as much and not that keen at getting their photos taken.  I want something simple.

So my plan for 2019 is to document our everyday (whatever that is) in a travellers notebook.  I won't be doing weekly spreads as such, just documenting the stories that I think are important to us and I will  be using a mixture of paper and digital.  I will be keeping a TN for our family, a TN for just other stories that I want to tell (mostly about me) and a TN for documenting my OLW journey.  

... and I also intend to do the odd scrapbook page 😊

This is my title page for our family TN.  I used the digital kit "Habit forming" by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft.  I have added a "volume one" label because I am pretty sure that our whole year is not going to fit into one TN.  I also included a tag with our names and ages on it plus our current address (I have blanked those out for privacy reasons).  I am not sure if I will keep the same title pages for each TN but I have saved them just in case.  No sense in re-inventing the wheel right!

So lets get into 2019...

xox Tracey

Book review #2...

I have read my second book already for the year and it makes me so happy.

I was a little unsure how I would feel about this book.  I was scared that it might be a little too close to home.  A very dear family friend bought it for me so I felt like I needed to at least try and read it.  I loved it.  I loved it so much I read it in two days.  And yes, it was very close to home.  It was like reading MY story but it actually felt good to read it.  It sought of validated my feelings if that makes sense.  It was good to know that these weird thoughts and feelings that I have had/have are totally normal in a very "not normal" time in my life.  I laughed, cried and at times nodded my head saying out loud "yes! that is so right".

Andrea Hutton wrote this book in simple to understand language but also straight to the point.  It was clear and concise with a lot of great advice.  My favourite parts were her "top 5" list at the end of every topic.  So many great tips in those lists and if you are currently going through treatment for breast cancer it is a great read.  As I said it's not difficult to read, a nice simple book but with loads of great advice and great laughs along the way.

I added my review to my "Read" travellers notebook using papers from Felicity Jane Studio along with digital elements, die cuts and journal cards from the "Mark your Place" kit from Brandi Kincaid and Feed Your Craft.  The kit has sold out but the die cuts (my personal favourite) and digital elements are still available here.

I am really enjoying getting back into reading, now I only hope that I can keep this up.

Enjoy your week
Love me :-)

Gratitude and Grace...

One of my favourite things from the Comfort and Joy kit design by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft  is definately the die cuts.  And although the kit sold out you can still get the die cuts, the solid puffy stickers and the Comfort & Joy puffy stickers from Feed your Craft.

I used one of the journal cards (from the kit) to make the base of a cute gift card.  I then added some of the die cuts and a puffy sticker to add a little more interest to my card.  I also used some of the die cuts to decorate a small gift.  I love that they are different but still go together so well.

I would love to know how you use your die cuts.  Please leave a link in the comments so I can come and check them out.

Happy crafting

Love me :-)

Dear Santa...

Would you believe that there are only 9 Friday's till Christmas... at least that's what it says on Facebook so it must be true LOL!

Someone asked me the other day what I would like for Christmas.  My first reaction was, I don't know, I'm sure there is lots but right now I can't think of anything.  A little while later, while eating dinner I had this thought... I can't wait until food starts to taste like its supposed to.  Then it hit me.  Of course I know what I want for Christmas.  I want food to taste like it's supposed to, I would like to eat with proper utensils and not plastic ones, I would like to have hair, OMG how I would like to have hair.  And before I knew it I had a whole list of things that I wanted for Christmas.  Going through Chemo is tough and some of the side effects can be awful.  It's not until you go through something like this that you realise how much we actually just want the basic things in life until they get taken away from.

So with the help of the Comfort & Joy kit designed by Brandi Kincaid for Feed Your Craft I created this layout.

The Comfort & Joy kit was the perfect thing for this layout.  I used a little bit of everything from the kit but my favourite would have to be the die cuts.  I mean just look at them, they are so cute.  Infact it was the die cuts that gave me the idea for the layout design.  As soon as I saw them I thought they would look great hanging on a tree.  I cut the tree out with my Silhouette Cameo and I cut the speach bubbles out using the Word Bubbles Framelits Dies from Stampin Up.  

What are you asking Santa for this Christmas?

Love me :-)

Week 49 - Comfort & Joy...

As you all probably know by now that I am on the Creative Team for Feed Your Craft which I am so excited about I can't stop smiling.  My first project is using the new Comfort & Joy kit designed by Brandi Kincaid and you are going to love it.  I don't expect this kit will last long so make sure you get yours now.

When you purchase the kit you also get the cards and papers in digital format which means you can start playing straight away.  I did this whole spread using the digital cards and papers and when my kit arrived I just added a few of the embellishments to finish it off.  You know that I am a fan of digital files because it means you can alter them to suit your layout.  

For excample, the "joy" card is actually yellow but that wasn't go to work for my layout so I changed it to green.  And because its digital I could make sure that I chose the same green to match the green in the rest of the kit.

L

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my take on the Comfort and Joy kit.  This is such a fun kit to play with and I can't wait to show you more.  As always if you have any questions just leave them in the comments.

Love me :-)

Project Life - Week 28...

Once again I am trying to make a huge effort to get caught up on Project Life.  I am not going to say how far behind I am, but lets just say that I have a big job on my hands.

I was totally inspired to get documenting when I saw the new kit "catch your breath" from Feed Your Craft and Brandi Kincaid.  I totally love the colours of this kit and I love that you get a copy of the cards in digital format as soon as you order the kit.  So, that means I can start using the kit straight away.  To be completely honest I love the digital part so much.  It gives me so much more freedom when it comes to using the cards because I can change them to suit my layout/story.

Here are some examples of how I changed some of the cards.  The first one was a 4x6 card that I changed to a 3x4 and deleted some of the flower pots to leave me with just one.

For this next one I deleted the words coffee or tea and added my own wording to match my story.

...

I also used some of the new digital stamps from Kellie Stamps that will be available soon.  This months release includes a Birthday stamps set and for the cat and dog lovers out there, there are two new sets coming your.  All are available in clear and digital...

Here is a closer look at my Week 28...

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week and happy crafting.

Love me :-)

Hello 2017...

Happy New Year!

Yes it's been awhile since I did one of these posts, but I am bringing them back.  Every month I will do a "hello" post to welcome in the new month.  It's my way of greeting the month, along with any new experiences and challenges that it will bring with it, in a positive way.  Sort of like  a "to do" list, something to keep me on track and focused.

Also at this time I usually let everyone know what my OLW for the year will be.  I am not actually doing a word this year, insert shocked look.  I know, I know, "You have always done one", I hear ya!  I will post about this a little later, but just quietly, I think it's going to be way better than a word.

I hope you have the most amazing year, you deserve it.

Love me :-)

Note: digital stamp by Kellie Stamps, digital paper by Paislee Press, flair by Feed your Craft

mmmmm coffee time...

As my term comes to an end for Feed Your Craft I am feeling a little sad that I will no longer be working with the lovely Elise and all the girls on the creative team.  It has been such an honour to be part of her first Creative Team and such an honour to get to play and create with her wonderful flair buttons.

I have had this layout in my head for some time and it finally came together during the week.  As you all know I have a huge obsession with coffee so finding photos to document is not hard and when I received these amazing flair buttons I was stoked.  As soon as I saw them the first thing that came into my mind was Coffee.

This layout completely explains how my brain works during coffee time - actually that's how I came up with the journaling on my layout (with stickers).

Other products used:- Kellie stamps, studio calico, stampin up & silhouette cameo

I sure am going to miss being on this creative team but I will definately be using these great mini flairs for quite some time.

Love me :-)

Note:  mini flairs are awesome.

FOCUS - March

As we move into March and as I settled in to work on my OLW prompt for March, 

my word sat heavily in my head.  

I find it very hard to Focus on any one thing.  

I am always thinking ahead, planning ahead and worrying about what is coming up.  

Sometimes my head is overflowing with ideas and sometimes it's just plain empty.  

I start way too many projects, 

and because I have way too much going on, I don't ever finish most of them.

I needed to empty my head of these "thoughts".  Not because I didn't like them or thought they were silly but because it was important to acknowledge these thoughts.  Too often I push things aside to rush onto the next thing, so it was time to stop, listen to myself and Focus on what I was trying to tell myself.

When I ordered these mini flair from Feed your Craft my intention was to do a layout with them.  But I think I will keep them and put them into my OLW album along the way, when I need a reminder to work on my word.   Having them scattered through my album will be a nice gentle reminder to FOCUS.

How are you keeping your word visible.

Love me :-)

Note:  these custom mini flair are available at Feed Your Craft and they are a great way to add your OLW word your album.

I finally gave in...

Just recently received some very happy, happy mail from Feed Your Craft which included the new die cut flairs.  I wasn't sure if I would like them because, well, they are not flair buttons which I love.  But boy of boy, how wrong was I.  I love these tiny pieces of  fun and I think I need to order lots more.

The best thing about these die cuts is that they are flat.  Perfect for those of you who want to embellish your layouts our Project life pages but don't want the bulk.  And for us Aussies the shipping isn't much because they are flat and don't weight anything.

I also recently received my very first set of water colour paints... and I am addicted to them.  I want to paint everything.  My only problem is that I don't want to get them dirty LOL!  I am hoping to push past that.

For my title I painted a piece of white cardstock and then cut out the letters using dies from Papertrey Ink.

I also painted the background where I wanted my photo to go and then added a few paint splashes.  I didn't need to add much because my title and those cute die cuts were all that was needed.

Have you received any happy mail lately.

Love me :-)

Try again...

It always amazes me how just one little embellishment can spark a whole layout.  Well two little embellishments actually.  

Back in September we had a family day trip to a small country town.  We looked around the town, had a picnic lunch and enjoyed being outside and together.  I thought it would be a great opportunity for a selfie with my kids.  While I was trying to get the photo, the two of them kept fighting and hitting each other.  I just kept clicking away, hoping they would stop so I could get a good photo.  I never really got a good photo but I did get some very entertaining ones.  

I printed off the photos ages ago but couldn't get inspired to create anything with them.  When my order from Feed Your Craft arrived I couldn't open the packet quick enough to see what was inside.  As soon as I saw the "try again" and "of course" mini flairs I thought about these selfie photos.

I also used my silhouette cameo and sketch pens to add the "camera" and "click" images on my layout.

What inspires you to create??

love me :-)

Happy 18th Birthday...

On Wednesday we celebrated my daughters 18th birthday.  It was such a wonderful day which started with going out for breakfast and ending with a dinner for friends and family at her favourite restaurant.

Several weeks ago I ordered "HB2U custom mini flair buttons" from Feed Your Craft because they would be the perfect addition to add to some projects that I wanted to do for my daughter.  These mini flairs are the best because you can have any age added.  Here are the projects that I made using these mini flairs.

This was her present - I cut some purple wrapping out to make two long strips. I then added some tissue paper which I cut a fringe into.  I used a paper doily plus a scalloped circle cut from a Stampin Up punch and cut the horseshoes out using my silhouette cameo. I put them all together to make a ribbon similar to the ones given out at horse riding events as my daughter is right into her horses.  The little acrylic heart is from Colorcast Designs.

My next project was to make her birthday card.  I decided to keep to the same theme as I liked the way they all looked together.  I cut the 18 card out using my silhouette.

Then I moved onto the cake topper.  Again I kept to the theme.

This project was very close to my heart so I wanted to make sure that it was personal and beautiful.

One of the best things about these mini flairs is that they stick to glitter paper really well.  I did not have to apply any extra glue which is what I usually have to do when using this glitter paper.

I couldn't have been more happy with they way they all came together.

But in the end, it was all about my daughter and she loved them so that's what really counts.

Now to go and sit, relax with a cuppa and flip through all the wonderful photos of my daughters special day.

Love me :-)