A Blog Hop is Coming!!!

A Room Fit For a Prince or Princess...

Heya

So even though there is around 5.5 months to go before we get to meet our little bub, tonight I started contemplating the nursery. Up until recently, the room has been a second spare room/musical instrument storage/ junk room. Right now there is barely any floor available to walk on. Hard to imagine it will one day accommodate a little person.

We are about 3 weeks away from our next scan, which will hopefully tell us whether to expect a baby boy or girl. Up until recently I never would have dreamed of finding out, but my husband wanted to and thinking it through, it seems like a good idea for the first one at least, so you can at least plan everything to suit. So we will be finding out.

And that leaves us with what could potentially be a problem. The room we plan to use as the nursery has previously been a nursery... to a boy. It has two tone blue and white walls with a wooden panel around the middle. It looks great... but it is hard to imagine a blue nursery and a baby girl.

Here is the current nursery situation (don't judge me... lol). The photos are a bit dodgy as I took them at night without natural light:

 Musical instruments, a basinent, lots of baby related purchases in the corner, other random junk.

 In fact there is even a spare wedding and formal type dress in that pile that I never used. Really need to get those things on ebay.

 Simon's band crap.

 OMG even the cupboard is full of crap haha Christmas decorations, band stuff, electronics, wrapping paper.

Of course the first step will be to empty the room and dispose of everything that is not needed and store the rest elsewhere. Plenty to keep me busy if I didn't have to work... But in relation to the blue nursery and potential daughter, I needed some inspiration. So tonight I went to my favourite place for inspiration... Pinterest.

Here are some awesome nursery ideas:

Plenty of inspiration that works for both boys and girls. And I think we have decided to go with dark stain nursery furniture now too like in the photos with the two tone rooms, since I now realise the white cot and dresser would kind of disappear against the white wall at the bottom if we did that. But it's  not too late to change my mind on that. But a wall decal and a splash on pink will certainly transform our blue nursery into a room fit for a princess if need be. Although I kinda want to add a chandelear now.. not that I can spell the word haha It'll be the fanciest room in the house come December perhaps!

What do you think?

Anyway, wish me luck. There is a big job ahead of me getting the nursery from the mess at the start to something stylish and functional. Stay tuned for updates :)

Holly x

Designer Scrapbooking DT News

Hey there,

How is everyone going on this fine Saturday? It is actually a bit overcast here so a good day to hopefully do some scrapping. I have not been out of bed all that long, with plans for a very relaxing weekend since my 2 week holidays have come to an end :(

I wanted to share some exciting news. I have been selected to be part of the design team at Designer Scrapbooking.

In case you have not yet discovered Designer Scrapbooking, they are an online store stocking lots of the big names in scrapbooking with all your essential scrapping items, such as albums, embellishments, papers, tools etc. They also have monthly challenges. Here is the current challenge details:

This months challenge:

THEME: Birthday Bash

To celebrate the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend we want to see your birthday bash double page.

REQUIREMENTS: A Double Page Layout, that includes a journalling block to sum up the eventful day.

PRIZE: This month a $30 gift certificate for our online store is up for grabs.

CLOSING DATE: June 30th 2012

Also, be sure to like their Facebook page and you could be in the running to win a great prize to kick off.

Designer Scrapbooking offers free postage for orders over $80, otherwise a flat rate of $7 shipping per order. There will be lots of new staff added to the store soon so be sure to keep an eye out and sign up for updates.

I got my first DT pack in the mail yesterday and I can assure you it is going to be a fun one to create with! Can't wait to get into it and be able to share it with you all. The item is not yet in the store but will be added once my version is ready to share. So stay tuned :)

Holly x

I'm a Winner!!

Hey there

Well I woke up this morning to some nice news in my inbox. I am one of the winners from the April/May Scrapbook Awards competition. Woot woot!

It was with this layout in the babies catagory:

It was also the people's choice winner for the most votes in the catagory so I did not expect to be the overall catagory winner as well. How exciting!



This is the second time I have won the Scrapbook awards mini comp. The last one seems to have disappeared from their website though and they are yet to put it back up.

I have an entry in the current all things catagory too if you want to take a look: HERE

Always nice to get happy news like that. And stay tuned, as I'll have some more news to share soon too and some new layout shares as well.

Holly x

Sunshine Blogger Award and a Some Big News!!

Hey there

So today I got a lovely comment from one of my lovely blogger friends, Alanna. You can visit her blog here. Alanna and I started blogging around the same time I think and were both newbies to the scrapping side of things around the same time. I know myself I'm amazed how far I've come in that time and she should be too with the beautiful work she creates. We both also have massive Kaisercraft addictions and could probably open our own Kaiser store with our stash combined hahaha So thanks Alanna for the lovely award!

Now for the rules of the award:

 

 

1. Include the award logo (above) in your post.

2. Answer 10 questions about yourself (self chosen... although I may steal some of Alanna's hehe).

3. Nominate 5-10 other bloggers, link them within your post, and comment on their blog to let them know about the award.

4. Link the person who gave you the award in your post.

 

10 Questions

1. When did you start scrapbooking?

Around 2007 or a bit earlier, AVON... yes AVON... had a few scrapbooking kits in their catalogues. Mum was a consultant for years and got me a massive stash of these album kits and a few other bits and pieces with a scrap trolley for a birthday around that time. I dabbled in a few basic pages around that time and then when we went to Europe for Christmas with my husband's family in 2008/09 I got  back and starte scrapping the trip. Slow progress.. I'd do a page or two here or there. Then we went to Europe again 2010 a few months before my wedding, followed by the fun of making my own wedding stationary and suddenly I wanted to learn more. I started looking online, discovered so much inspiration and have been completely and utterly addicted since around Nov/Dec 2010. So overall, still a newbie but my style has progressed so far in that time with plenty of learning left to do.

2. Where do you scrap?

All around my house, much to the horror of my husband. We have a computer room which I now call the scrap room that stores most of my supplies. I'm a bit of a clutterbug though so there is a lot in pizza boxes in piles on the floor haha But it's a work in progress. So I scrap in front of the computer sometimes. I also have a fold out table in the space between our dining room and kitchen where I do the messy stuff. And then if I want to watch TV while I scrap and I'm home alone, I scrap on the loungeroom floor haha There is also a  bit pile of boxes along the side of the loungeroom. So yes, I have a patient husband!

3. What do you get up to when you're not scrapping?

I am actually the senior psychologist of a male correctional centre and manager of a team of psychs/counsellors for the Throughcare department. Our department manages risk, runs programs to assist with rehabilitation and assists with release planning. Its a challenging job with no two days the same which I enjoy. I also love to travel and have plans to see a lot more countries. My hubby and I try to get overseas each year, however we've had to cancel our overseas trip this year and replaced it with Tassie. You'll see why when I get to that part later.

4. What is the last movie you watched?

We are currently on holidays and just got back from seeing What to Expect When You're Expecting. It was okay. Relevant... again... I'll get to that bit soon ;)

 

5. Do you have any pets?

Yep, 3 of the cutest cats ever. No, I'm not biased. They are cute haha Not everyone will agree. We have a siamese named Villain who is about 13 years old. She is a bit cranky in her older age but still loves a cuddle. She is not such a fan of our other two rat bags though so is currently having a break with mum and dad. Our other two are recent additions, Dexter, who was my christmas present from Simon is around 8 months old and is a Devon Rex. A total garbage guts, eating everything in sight with lots of naughty habits but full of love and cuddles too. Squeak is our newest baby, who was Simon's birthday present from me. He's about 3-4 months old and has doubled in size since we got him already. He is Dexter's full brother from a later litter and is totally adorable. He hasn't got much hair yet but its starting to appear so neither of our boys are bald devons. They have huge personalities and are great fun!

6. Family life/situation

My partner Simon and I have been together for just over 10 years now and got married in 2010... yep... took him a long time to propose haha But now we are well on our way to the next stage in our 'family' life. I have a brother and a sister, 9 niece and nephews and soon we will all be in the same state hopefully. My brother currently lives in Melbourne and the rest of us live in Queensland. I was born in Portland, Victoria, which is where most of my relatives are still. My husband is of Polish decent and his family also lives nearby.

7. What's your favourite food?

Hmm.. hard to narrow down. I love chocolate. And am a bit fan of Italian food. Garlic pizza bread is one of my loves. Actually I love a lot of food with garlic. Good thing I don't know any vampires lol Can't go past a good seafood marinara pasta either. Yum!

8. What's your favourite type of movie?

 

I am a fan of comedy, but I prefer American style comedy over British or Aussie. Yep, I know lots of people disagree. I also like a bit of horror sometimes although not as much as I did when I was younger. And a good action style movie is appreciated.

9. Who is your favourite author?

I love Jodi Picoult books. They always have such a big twist. I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and can re-read them over and over again. At the moment I am reading the True Blood series by Charlene Harris. Definitely not my favourite but its enjoyable trash haha

10. What kind of music do you like?

I am a bit of a metal head. My husband actually plays in a metal band so we kind of met through the music association. Kinda! I also really loved punk when I was younger and these days, as crazy as it seems, I don't mind a couple of pop related artists. My fave bands are Slipknot, Karnivool, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork, All that Remains, Birds of Tokyo, The Beatles, and in relation to the pop.. as tragic as it is to admit it, yep, a bit of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Adele haha

 

Now onto the people I want to give this award to (even though I want to pick all my bloggy friends)...

Award Winners

 

LizzyC

 

Barb

 

Ali

 

Jasmine

 

Sandie

 

 

Now onto my other news. To those of you who are on my facebook, you have probably already read this announcement today. After trying for a while and having our unfortunate setback early in the year, my husband and I are very happy to announce that we are expecting our first baby.

 

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

 

Our little miracle is due around 10 December so I am currently around 15 weeks. It has been a bumpy couple of months with morning sickness, fatigue and would you believe, quite a baby bump already... eeek! lol I think maybe I have just been eating too much because I sure have had a mega appetite since I've been pregnant. Oh well.. at least I have an excuse ;)

 

 Here are some pics from our 2nd scan, the 13 week ultrasound. Amazing how much you can already see. The technology is pretty insane these days. Our next scan is 14 July which is our 19-20 week one so we will hopefully be able to find out what we are having.

 

 

Anyway, that is my big news. It has been pretty hard keeping this secret for so long but we are happy that all is going well so expect some bump photos and future scan photos as things progress!

 

Holly x

 

 

 

Tasmania Holiday

Hi all

Not feeling the best today and am still wearing my pjs lol But I did have a chance to have a quick look through our Tassie photos. It is fairly overcast and rainy this time of year but not as cold as I expected with our average temperature around 15 degrees during the day. The sun doesn't really rise til around 8am though and dark kicks in soon after 5pm so short days but very European winter feel to the place.

Hobart was by far our favourite location, with the city on the waters edge, surrounded by mountains and greenery of trees etc. Very different to the flat and not so green urban jungle that is the centre of Brisbane. It's actually a really pretty place and if I didn't hate cold, I reckon I could live in Hobart.

Right near the city centre is the mammoth Mt Wellington. We went up there not long before dark so the views were not as good as they would be earlier on a clear day but still pretty impressive and on top of the mountain was freaking cold. It is above the clouds though, so no surprise there.

 Up in the clouds, it looked like a whole other planet.

The next day we went to Bonorong Wildlife Reserve, which are a research facility and reserve for animals who are unable to live in the wild. Their big focus though is on the hope of breeding Tassie devils and educating the community about the disease that is killing these cute little animals off. It was a great place to visit, with the most informative and friendly staff.

 Amazing how popular you can be with a bag of food...

 Tassie devils... we could not believe how friendly these two below were with the keeper. One kept licking his leg haha

Then to the Cascade Brewery for lunch... a delicious stout pie. One of the stand out meals of the holiday. We didn't do a tour or anything. I hate beer but the lunch was great lol

The next day we did the standout experience of the trip. A Tasman Island Wilderness Cruise which was simply amazing. If anyone is heading to Tassie, this is a must. They also do one on Bruny Island which I expect is just as good, if not better as it has won a lot more awards, but this trip was amazing. 3 hours out at sea, and we were lucky enough to have the best weather they'd had in a week so we had smooth conditions and even got to travel right around Tasman Island, which is rarely possible as it gets pretty bumpy. A little bit of white water rafting style fun haha But we got to see the most amazing cliffs, the highest sea cliffs in the world. The boat manovered right into caves and up close to animals. We saw seals, sea birds and had a massive pod of dolphins swimming along side us. Lots with babies. And the crew were so knowledgeable. We had 2 young men take our group and their enthusiasm is somewhat contageous. Truely love their jobs! And they give you a ginger tablet if you want it at the start and snacks along the way so my stomach was perfectly settled... which is a relief as I'm prone to sea sickness lol Oh and you get to wear these totally stylish water/wind proof suits.

 We totally felt like Slipknot! (For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, its a metal band that we love lol)

Into caves we go...

Water fall down the sea cliff

The candle stick... or the totem pole...not sure which but people like to climb it.

Mini waterfalls as waves crash over the rocks

Dolphins

Australian fur seals...largest in the world apparently.

Lighthouse on top of Tasman Island

Then we spent the afternoon at Port Arthur, which is an early convict prison settlement. Convicts were mostly sent from England but also from other parts of Europe and of course from other parts of Australia. What was most fascinating is that for me, working in the prison system, I was suprised how progressive this system was. They were focused on rehabilitation, so they had daily classes to educate convicts, as well as teaching them trades. They had an early system that very much resembled our current parole system and work release, and a seperate confinement that is not too much unlike our current maximum security system. Interesting... lol Only these days, prisons are much more humane in terms of space and providing healthcare, and some would say, luxuries.

After our 3 nights in Hobart, we travelled up through the west of Tasmania through the mountain and rainforrest areas. I spent the trip to Strahan and the next day, to Cradle Mountain, severely ill with motion sickness among other things. Not pleasant and it left me pretty exhausted and feeling a bit rough during our time in each of these places. Strahan was pretty but a lot of businesses were closed for Winter. We didn't have enough time for the must do Gordon River cruise either. Cradle Mountain was beautiful and isolated. We stayed in Lemonthyme Lodge which was right in the middle of the rainforrest and about 40 minutes from anything. Our room was a treetop wooden cabin with a gas fireplace and a veranda that looked out to a stunning view of rainforrest. The restaurant was great too.

In Launceston we stayed at Tamar Valley Resort and Swiss Village. It is actually styled on a real village in Switzerland which was pretty cute. We loved Switzerland so it was nice to feel like we were almost there again. The resort has everything you could want and so much for the kids to do. Water activities, play grounds, a giant bouncing bubble, putt putt etc.

While in Lauceston we went to Beaconsfield Mine which is apparently shutting down for good in 2 weeks. Many of you may remember the story of 3 minors trapped during a mine explosion many years ago. 2 of them survived after 14 days or so trapped in a tiny space underground. The museum tells a lot of this story and the history of the mine and the area. The picture below is the same mine shaft the men emerged from after their ordeal.. and still operating today... for a short time. It is a gold mine.

We also went to a platypus/echidna house that day as it was rainy and we couldn't do the Cataract Gorge as we'd hoped. Who knew platypus and echidna are directly related. I know I didn't.

So there is a snapshot of our Tasmania trip. Definitely worth a visit, even if you hate the cold like I do as it is truely beautiful and there is so much scenary to explore and sights to see. Now I just have to finish my smash book pages from the trip and I'll be able to post those up sometime in the coming days. I'm still on holidays for most of this week so hope to get some scrapping done over the next few days.

Hope you're all having a great Sunday.

Holly x

I'm Back...

In case you were wondering where I was... although probably not! lol

My husband and I just spent 7 nights in Tasmania and had a mostly wonderful time. There is something very spectacular about the Tasmania experience. The contrast between city, mountain and ocean is pretty awesome. We really enjoyed our time in Hobart especially. And the Tasman Wilderness Cruise... a must do!!!

As we have not long been home, I haven't the energy to upload photos yet but tomorrow I'll post up some of our holiday snaps. And some pics of the smash album I was working on during the trip. Such an awesome idea those Smash books. Far more interactive than a simple travel journal and far quicker than traditional scrapping.

Anyway...until tomorrow...enjoy your night.

Holly xo

Just Hanging Out

Hey there

This month over at A2Z Scraplets there is a challenge of a different kind. It's all about you and your family and what you love to do together.

As my hubby and I don't yet have children, I came up with a bit of a blank but then realised we kinda do... our fur babies. And one of our favourite past times is spending time with our gorgeous cats. So I did a layout featuring our two newer additions.. since our Siamese Villain is not yet a fan of the other two. She'll come around... maybe!

Here is my layout:

 

 

 

 Materials: Echo park papers & cardstock elements; A2Z scraplets title; dymo label; d-lish wooden flower; red paint

 And some recent photos of the fur babies - This one was all 3 cats snuggled up in bed with me... even though Villain hates the other two, even she joined this sandwich of warmth.

 Awww... aren't they the cutest... Dexter and Squeak.

 They are total posers, these two and just adore each others company.

Holly xo

Some More Retreat Shares

Hi all

How is your weekend going? Mine has been fairly relaxing, with a friend's birthday party (and engagement announcement) yesterday and a quiet day at home today. Well, as quiet as can be with some cleaning thrown in. Now I'm keen to do some scrapping.

I got my heat tool and a heap of embossing powders that I ordered online this week so I'm keen to get into this new technique. I have a great A2Z Scraplets item that is going to be my first heat embossed project. I do hope it turns out okay as it will be a DT share soon if all goes to plan :)

Here are a couple of more layouts from the retreat. Both are featuring gorgeous D-lish scraps embellishments. Unfortunately my time on the D-lish team has come to an end. It has been a wonderful opportunity and one of the easiest and most fun DTs ever. Be sure to check out their gorgeous range!

This first layout is using the current Bird is the Word challenge word - SMILE

 Wow, just realised I am linking up with barely 10 minutes to spare before the challenge ends LOL Talk about cutting it fine!

 This second one is a simple layout featuring our new kitten Squeak. He's so cute! Both layouts are using gorgeous Glitz Designs papers. They are  becoming one of my favourite paper manufacturers I think. So pretty!

Enjoy what is left of the weekend everyone. BTW, I have some big news to share soon. Stay tuned...

Holly x