A New Publication - Kaisercraft Paradiso

Good evening,

Today has been busy! I have done everything else but blog today, so I am just popping on quickly tonight to share my latest Publication in Australian Cardmaking Stamping and Papercraft.
You can buy your copy here.

My cards are the 12 Quick Feature.  I loved making this set.  I really enjoyed the holiday feel to these papers and accessories.

Instructions on how to create these cards are included in the magazine.

You can see more of my publications from previous magazines here.

I thought I would link up to Papertake Weekly's Challenge - Repeat Repeat. I repeated the same sketch for each of these cards...just changed up the embellishments slightly.

Lastly, I thought I would share a recent photo of our Nicky.  I make him a green juice every day to make sure he is getting his vitamins. He is getting better at drinking them.  Its a bit of an acquired taste!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. 

Have a beautiful evening.
Alicia xx

The Monday Message

(Source)

Happy Monday!

You have probably seen this quote on Pinterest - I have and something about it really resonates with me.  I thought it might resonate with you too.

Does crafting somehow help us remember who we are and where we come from?

I think crafting is about creating who you are, or is in someway a representation of who you are, because nobody creates exactly the same way you do.

If we were all given a little package with some paper, stickers, glue and scissors then we would all use those products in an individual way to make something unique.

Thats pretty amazing really.  Its amazing that there are so many people in the world but each person is a unique and special individual, yet we are all alike in how we experience emotions and events.  It is comforting to know that whatever you are currently experiencing, someone else has experienced a similar reality and we are not alone.

For example - we all love getting into our craft rooms/areas and making something!

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I have been considering some new storage options for the room we call our "computer/craft room".  Well it doesn't really have a name...but it is one of my most favourite rooms of our apartment.

I have recently moved Nicky's cupboard out of this room and into our bedroom and it has left a little bit of space that could be filled with some extra storage options.  Extra storage would be awesome!!!

I am considering something like this:

Click the picture to go to the store.

It is called a "Multi Purpose Wood Grain 8 Cube Storage Unit" from Target.  Looks very "Laundry" in this picture.  But I know you know what it is capable of.  Its only $89 so not a very expensive addition.  We have the 16 cube one in our lounge room for all of Nicky's toys and it really has been the most practical storage unit ever.  I was thinking that the 8 Cube might be better in a smaller room because it could be easily moved around to fit in with the current furniture.  Something like this could possibly fit into the wardrobe in this room as well.  I think I could use maybe three of these units!

I would LOVE to know what you think!

Do you have something like it in your craft room?

Alicia xx

Picture My Life ~ Chalk It Up ~ Pocket Scrapbooking Week Five

Hello,

I am very excited to share my completed School Album with you today!

I have made this for my sister.

This was such a fun and easy project that I really enjoyed putting together.

I was amazed at how simple it actually was to do!

 I have done Project Life since 2010 so I am not new to Pocket Scrapping.  But this is my first Theme Album that I have successfully completed and my first time using the Close to My Heart Picture My Life Scrapbooking Program.

It was not as hard or time consuming as I thought it was going to be.

It flowed easily and smoothly together. And it was fun to do!

Because this process worked so well for me I wanted to record some steps that I can repeat on future Scrapbooking endeavours. Also I thought these five steps might be able to help others who have School Photos that they want to display in an album.

These are My Five steps to Quickly and Easily Scrap School Photos

1. Collect all School Photos Together and Sort into Year Groups. Print any photos that aren't already printed so that you have all your photos ready to work with.  I find it daunting if I have some photos on my computer in a big mess and it seems like a huge task to sort through them all and find them.  Once you have a pile of photos sitting on your desk it is so much easier to plan your album.
2. Buy the Chalk it Up Picture My Life Scrapbook Program from Jessica at Craftin' and Stampin'.  This kit really worked for me.  At one point during my creative process I got some other cards out (that weren't from the kit) and had a play with them and I found it so much harder.  Nothing was matching, nothing was school related, it was taking so much longer.  I ended up packing away all the other cards and going back to the kit then I experienced success again straight away.  This kit just works! All the cards are there for you to use, they are all school-themed, a variety of the Memory Protector pages come in the kit as well.  You don't have to stress about which design you need because you have a variety to choose from so you just choose the one that best suits your current photos.
3. Set Yourself a Deadline.  I had to blog about my album every Friday.  So I had a deadline.  I also wanted to complete the project.  I made this project a priority in my life.
4. Slip Photos and Journalling Cards in. I worked away and slipped photos into pockets and wrote on the cards. A month was a good space of time to work on my album - not too long to lose motivation, not too short for it to feel like a stress.
5. Share your Album Progress with Family and Friends! Blogging my progress really worked for me.  Sharing with friends and receiving encouragement from others spurred me on! I felt like I was making something meaningful and special.  So if you do decide to scrap a school album share your progress with me! I would love to see it!!! And share your album with everyone else too!!

Here is a short video of the completed Album I will give my sister.  I do have some inserts in the album with their class photos, but I have not put those on the internet in order to protect the children's privacy.

Also today I wanted to share two Layouts I made at the end of the book.  These are an example of how you can do a very simple 12x12 Layout with only the products in the kit.  Nothing else was used except  white 12x12 card, scissors, glue and a balck pen

For the last year in this album I only had one photo for the whole year for each child so I decided to do a full 12x12 LO.

Layout #1

1. Layer the photo onto two 3x4 cards.
2. Cut the 3x4 card into diagonal strips and paste down.
3. Cut banners from a 4x6 card and journal over the top.
4. Cut the stars from a 3x4 card.
5. Outline with black pen.

Layout #1

Layout #2 

1. I layered the photo onto two 3x4 cards.
2. Then I cut a 4x6 card as the base and pasted behind the 3x4.
3. Then I cut the sentiment and stars out from a 3x4 card.
4. Then I added my journalling.

Layout #2

Thank you for joining me on this journey!
Please drop by Jessica's shop to pick up your supplies.

I cant wait to start my new project with you next week...a Picture My Life Baby Album using this kit!! You could do it with me! Get your kit from Jessica and lets do this together!

Picture My Life Baby Cakes Scrapbooking Program

If you have missed the other posts in this series see them here:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Thanks for stopping by,
Alicia xxx

Picture My Life%u2122 Chalk It Up Scrapbooking Program Item Number: Z2018 Picture My Life%u2122 Babycakes Scrapbooking Program Item Number: Z1943 2" x 12" Memory Protectors%u2122 Design 4 12" x 12" Memory Protectors%u2122 Design 3 Item Number: Z1950 12" x 12" Memory Protectors%u2122 Side Load (10) Item Number: Z1968 12" X 12" Outdoor Denim My Legacy%u2122 Faux Leather Album Item Number: Z1346 12" X 12" Dark Chocolate My Legacy%u2122 Faux Leather Album Item Number: Z1342 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock Item Number: 1385

InLinkz.com

Learn Something New 2014

Hello,

Just popping in quickly today to let you know I have decided to do Shimelle's "Learn Something New" course again this year.  I have done this course in the past...usually blogging my learnings.  This year I have decided to follow Shimmelle's suggestion of journalling on some 3x4 Pocket Scrapping cards and then adding them into my album.

I went through and counted out 30 something Project Life cards from the Seafoam Edition and I have already written down the first few days of learning.  This simple approach will hopefully allow me to take a few minutes every day and reflect on things I have learnt in the day.

At the end of the course I will pop them into a Memory Protector and add them to my Yearly Album. If I go well I promise to share the end result!

Are you doing this course this year?

Thanks for stopping by,

Alicia xx

I have been shopping ~ see my New Crafty Goodies!

Good morning Crafty Friends,

I have recently treated myself to three new collections!

The first one is the Pink Paislee Solstice range - I am loving this nautical/summer collection filled with stickers and lots of gold!

I have to admit I couldn't remember what the word Solstice meant so I borrowed this from Wikipedia:

A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year as the Sun reaches its highest or lowest excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In many cultures the solstices mark either the beginning or the midpoint of winter and summer.

The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction. At latitudes in the temperate zone, the summer solstice marks the day when the sun appears highest in the sky. However, in the tropics, the sun appears directly overhead (called the subsolar point) some days (or even months) before the solstice and again after the solstice, which means the subsolar point occurs twice each year.

The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the date (day) when this occurs. The day of the solstice is either the longest day of the year (in summer) or the shortest day of the year (in winter) for any place outside of the tropics.

I am guessing Pink Paislee were thinking the longest day of Summer with this collection - or maybe the sun being at its brightest and highest - a true, hot summer's day perfect for water activities and boating.

The second range is Notes and Things by Crate Paper.  Lots of yummy layered butterflies, corkboard and splashes of gold!

Notes and Things is a pretty straight forward name...pretty bits of paper and accessories to make notes for others...perfect for card-making!

 And thirdly Teresa Collins - Life Emporium.  I havent opened this set yet, but cant wait! Still waiting on my package of more white card stock to arrive!  This will be my first time working with Teresa Collins products.

Emporium means a large market place or retail store where goods are offered for sale.  But this was designed as a Gratitude/Thank you line of products.  How beautiful! Teresa talks about the thinking behind this line and showcases some of her amazing crafts using these products here.

So that is what I am playing with at the moment.

I know you know how inspiring it is to have some new crafty goodness on your desk!

What are you working on?

Alicia xx

The Monday Message

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

Mine was pretty emotional.

I've had a couple of disappointments in the last few days that have rocked me a bit.

But I am determined to concentrate on what I do want in my life, which is happiness.

My favourite resource of positivity is the Esther and Jerry Hicks recordings and books.  This is what I turn to when I need it.  They say when you aren't feeling the best - Go Global.

This means think big...all the things you are grateful for...things we really take for granted such as:

our freedom

our safe country and neighbourhood

our family that loves us

our house that has plumbing and electricity

our warm comfy beds we get to sleep in each night

our soft lounges we can snuggle up on

the food in our fridge

our washing machine that cleans our clothes

our dishwasher that washes our dishes

our craft rooms filled with yummy products

time to sit and create with those products

technology to interact with crafting friends

the love we share with our families

our beautiful and adorable children

how enriching they are for our lives

our friends we can confide in

our partners who choose to walk this life with us

the nature outside our doorsteps

the beautiful trees

the fresh air we breathe

the animals

the flowers

the sun, sky, the grass

our bodies that function correctly

our ability to walk, run, move, create

just sitting and feeling loved

feeling peaceful

feeling happy

These are some of the things that make up our beautiful lives.

This is what I mean when I say below my Profile Pic - Come and join me lets dream, create and record these beautiful lives of ours together.

We are so so lucky.  Our lives are beautiful creations.  Things dont always go smoothly and their are challenges we face, but we are still so fortunate.

After this little pep talk to myself I think I am ready to start a new week.

I have some exciting posts planned for this week.

My PML School Album is complete! On Friday I will share a video of the finished album.

On Wednesday I will be sharing a little shopping spree I treated myself to, some new crafting goodies! I have been playing with these over the last week or so and have some projects in the process.

I know one thing and that is that crafting makes me happy!

So I choose to do that this week!!

Are you in???

Alicia xx