Blog Hop.. Time!

"Time is more valuable than money.  You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." ~ Jim Rohn

Yep, couldn't agree with this more!  Thanks for joining us on our blog hop.  Here is a list in case you get lost along the way:
Chloe
Karen
Kerri <<< You are here!
Marcia
Sharryn
Sonia
Susan
Wendy

The theme this month is 'time'.  Well I'm sure I could waffle on for hours about this theme, but I think I'll just pop up a few random images related to time.

Here are some recent photos of my three boys.  Evan dressed up as a farmer for his school concert.  They sang 'Home Among the Gum Trees'.  Too cute!!!  And I couldn't have been any prouder of him :-)  A cute photo of Royce taken in Queensland a few weeks ago when we went up for my cousins 18th.  I couldn't be any prouder of this little feller either... he just oozes personality!  And last, but certainly my hubby.  He's been spending his time off renovating our kitchen and dining room!  LONG over due... but like my husband says... patience is a virtue... good things come to those who wait... blah, blah, blah lol.  But in all seriousness, he truly is a wonderful husband and father.  And I have had to be VERY patient (like 9 years lol), but I know it was the sensible thing to do and we are definitely in a much better financial position because of our/his patience.

At this point in time we also have some local magpies who have taken up residency in our front yard.

This little guy fell out of a tree outside our house so I brought him into our front yard to keep him safe.  It would have been the funniest thing to watch.  His dad was attacking me relentlessly as I move him from the footpath to our garden.  Lucky I took advice from the local wildlife sanctuary and took the umbrella with me.  He's growing so quickly under the care of his mum and protection of his dad... who absolutely hates me and has drawn blood more than once!   As much as it is a pain (we have not been able to go into our front yard for a few weeks now) I love that my boys are getting to see this little guy grow!  It's experiences like this that are completely priceless!

Finally, something crafty!  I'm going to be OH SO brave.  I'm going to take you back in time and share my VERY FIRST layout!!!  Here it is:

Yikes!!!  Not even any cardstock used here.  I didn't even know what that was lol.  But even back then I included journaling... it's hidden behind the photo of us.  I know some people who have thrown out their earlier layouts they hated them so much.  But I really love to see how they have changed over time.  So you can see (hopefully) some improvement, here is my most recent layout... I haven't had too much crafty time lately, so this one was completed in record time!

I guess this relates to the 'time' theme as well... Woody has been a part of our family since Royce could walk.  As you can see we've been through a few of them over the years.  I have a really bad memory, so I love that in years to come I will be able to look back at these pages and remember and cherish all these beautiful moments :-)
OK, I will stop waffling now :-)  Thank you so much for stopping by.  It's now time to hop on over to Marcia's beautiful blog to see her take 'time'.  

Scrap the Boys - August Challenge

Scroll down if you're here for the YELLOW blog hop :-)

I thought I would quickly sneak this in.  I'm getting an ever growing collection of artwork from my eldest son, Evan.  But Royce really is just not that 'into' it.... although in saying that, neither was Evan until his hands had the control and coordination to do what he wanted them too (he's quite fussy lol).  I think Royce might be very much the same.  Anyway, the week before last I did get a little something home from kinder.  Royce made a magic wand!!!  Very cute... and he spent most of the afternoon and evening turning the very obliging Mummy and Daddy into frogs!  So, once he was all magicianed out I asked him if I could scrap it... and yes he knows exactly what I mean by that!  He said no first, but with a 'pretty please' thrown in he replied 'sure, no worries'... he really is the dearest little mite!  SO... here's the layout

I've used My Minds Eye (On The Bright Side... LOVE this range) paper and lots of other bits and pieces :-) I'm going to enter this into the August Challenge over at Scrap the Boys.  I remember reading about this challenge a while ago, and thought it would have been last months... but no, I'm just in time!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're having a wOnderFul day!

YELLOW blog hop :-)

Hello!  Thanks for joining in our blog hop.  Here is the list of where you need to go just in case you get lost:

Karen
Kerri - you're right here!
Leonie
Marcia
Sharryn
Wendy

Yellow... well, would you believe it is my favourite colour!!!  Well, yellow and green come equal first for me.  I think I love green because it always reminds me of nature, and yellow, because it is just so bright and happy :-)  I even had yellow bridesmaids dresses for our wedding!  What to take a photo of for this month though... my very first thought was wattle!   There just so happened to be some beautiful wattle at my sons school... the problem is, that it has already started dying off, and just isn't the same as what it was a few weeks ago.  So the next best thing... a layout with wattle on it!

I did this layout a while ago at a retreat I attended.  This is my beautiful boy, Evan, and his pet budgie, Cocky.  Yep, you read right, a budgie called Cocky.  His yellow like the crest of a cockatoo ;-)  Evan has Autism.  It's mild, but one of the things about Autism is that you can be a little (or a lot) obsessive-compulsive.  Evan use to be 'mad' on Buzz Lightyear and then Ben 10, but through lots of encouragement he has broadened his interests... now he has many, MANY interests... and generally just decides when he wakes up (for what ever reason I don't know) which one will be top of the list for the day.  One of them his interests is Cockatoos.  He would LOVE one of his own, but in suburbia they can be a little annoying  (for the neighbours anyway).  So for Evan's birthday this year I found this beautiful little guy who I thought would be the next best thing.  He was promptly named 'Cocky' by Evan and has very quickly tamed down and become an important part of our family.  I was a little worried to begin with as Evan does have some sensory issues, particularly around his ears and neck (haircuts are H.A.R.D.), but he seems to cope incredibly well.  Cocky does get 'ticklish', but Evan has been so careful... he really does have such a beautiful, gentle nature, particularly with animals xoxox

Here he is helping Evan with his reading... the photo is from my phone so you'll have to excuse the quality.

He's starting to talk now too... it's very cute he waits till he thinks no one is listening before he starts practicing.  He has also started mimicking some of the birds outside... and our microwave :-)

Look at that cheeky li'l face.  His sitting on my shoulder here... it is not easy to get a photo when he's on your shoulder.  Thank goodness for my cameras flip-screeny thing-a-ma-bob lol  Well that's just about enough rambling from me.  If you're still with me head on over to Leonie's gorgeous blog next!

Purple Pumpkin - August Challenge

Hi!  I'm on a roll.  Two layouts in two days... that's just about a record for me!  And I plan on getting a few cards made tonight too!  Anyway, I decided to have a go at the challenge over at Purple Pumpkin since I have a HUGE pile of their goodies in my stash.  Here is what you needed to include:
1.  Paint
2.  Use a Button
3.  Add some twine
4.  Include some fussy cutting
5.  Spray ink
6.  A flower
7.  A doiley
8.  Use two different alphas for your title

Here is my result:

Not bad... a layout completed in one day with no sketch!  Although I must say this basic layout design can be seen A LOT in my scrapbook album lol

For this layout I've used a Purple Pumkin button, flower, doily and twine.  I've rubbed paint around most of the paper edges and around the photo.  This really makes the layers pop a lot more than they would if I had used white ink.  The background has a layer of gesso and then some Glimmer Mist brushed over it with a few splatters for good measure.  I've fussy cut the Bella Boulevard (Super Stud) paper... I'm not sure whether it is technically 'fussy cutting'... but it did take me a while, and even used my craft knife to pop out a few of the squares... I don't very often use the old craft knife (I lack both the patience and skill lol), so that's pretty good for me.  And finally, I've raided my boys craft stash for a few sparkly stars and beads.

If you want to check out the DT examples and the other lovely entries head over here.  Well that's it from me... busy day ahead!  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're have a wonderful day xoxo