Documenting Pregnancy With Project Life

 With a toddler and a bub on the way, my Project Life has fallen a bit behind in 2014 but I am making great use of the Project Life app to record my pregnancy journey this time.

The app  makes recording those important memories so quick and easy, especially since I've mostly been taking photos with my iPhone this time instead of putting up with the hubby whinging at having to take yet another belly photo for me.

My digital project life pregnancy pages still need a little bit of tweaking and I think I have a few typos... oops. But once I give them the once over and add a border in photoshop, they will be good to go.

Although I am undecided if I will make a mini photo book out of these ones or print them in 12 x 12 and add them to the baby album for baby 2. I didn't have a lot of the pregnancy side of things covered in my first daughter's project life baby album, which you can see in full.

I still need to add in my pregnancy announcement photos too.

Oh and please be kind with the fact that I am showing you my baby belly and swimsuit figure as it gets round haha The horror!

DIGITAL PROJECT LIFE PREGNANCY

The good news is this pregnancy is finally starting to get easier after a rough first trimester. I am 15 weeks tomorrow and my energy has improved and the nausea is gone. Still a bit of reflux though which is something I never had with Lily. It's horrible. But you will see all of that in my layout journalling no doubt. Lucky I'm a bit of an open book ;)

If you are not sure what project life is, I talk about both general project life and digital project life, so there is a style to suit anyone. Digital project life is more my style these days, as it is so quick and easy, plus the app makes it even easier for creating pages on the go. I have lots of full albums on my blog plus my 2014 album that is in need of some catch up.

Did you record your pregnancies? How?

December Daily & Other Projects

Hello

How are you all enjoying your weekend? It's another hot one here but that's to be expected now that summer has actually arrived. And I'm feeling every bit of it at almost 40 weeks pregnant. But I do still love summer.

Very sore and achy today. I think the baby is definitely moving into position but who knows how long til the big arrival. I am keen to get things moving today and had a bit of a laugh at some videos on youtube of women trying to induce labour through dancing. Unfortunately with my pelvic girdle pain/SPD, walking or stair climbing and all those type of things are a wee bit too painful, but lets hope the wait isn't too much longer. For now though, here is a funny video of a 40 week pregnany woman trying to induce labour with some vanilla ice dance moves:

At least I've had plenty of time to do scrapping over the past few days in my attempts to take it easy. My December daily is up to date so far, since I started it a week ago when the tree went up. Here are my completed pages so far:

November 25th and onwards

With the journalling insert flipped over:

 

1st Dec - Journalling in a handmade envelope:

 

And as per my post last week, my first toilet paper roll mini album is almost done. All it needs is photos, journalling and a few embellishments once our baby arrives and its ready to go to its intended recipient as an extra christmas present. Lets hope she doesn't read my blog posts. If so... mum... stop reading now or you'll ruin the surprise.

 

 

I am also making a boy themed one featuring my new nephew but have run out of toilet rolls for now. But I've already cut out all the tags and pp to do it so it'll come together quickly once we get a couple more spare rolls.

Could not be happier with the way the one above has turned out so far though. I will post some better pics once they are both completed but it is looking incredibly sweet and with a collection I love, Authentique Uncommon. So perfect for little girls!

Anyway, I think its time to go do some more scrapping in case things really do happen soon with bubs. I'm hoping all these aches and pains are a sign that we are near. Will keep you all posted.

Holly x

The Bump

Hey there

Well its December already and the shops are already crazy with people getting ready for Christmas.We went to pick up a few things this morning and it was kinda awful lol But that could have something to do with me being pretty sore and sorry with only 5 days left til bubs due. I almost finished my christmas present shopping, with the exception of one item that thankfully I don't have to go to a shopping centre to get. We also picked up some last minute baby items to save worrying once she arrives.

The other night I decided to do a bit of a just because layout. It's been a while since I've done any layouts for any purpose other than DT stuff so it was fun to scrap something random. This pic I chose to scrap was a brave one. Not really one to go around flashing my belly in its huge state but its important to record my pregnancy in its full glory lol The pic was at the almost 31 week stage so a while ago now. I guess I should do another bare belly one before the big arrival.

 Materials: Coordinations cardstock; Kaisercraft miss match mini pad & collectables; Scrapmatts chipboard kite and branch; AC thickers; Adorn it alpha stickers; other - flowers, twine.

Anyway I'm about to drag hubby to an advance screening of Pitch Perfect. It looks pretty funny and I'm a Glee fan so I like the dorky singing theme. Thought it was best to get in one last movie date before the big arrival.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.

Holly x

Baby Shower & Nursery Update

 

Hello

On Saturday I was lucky enough to have my baby shower. It was a great day and shared with so many lovely friends and family. The baby shower was held at my house as I liked the idea of having it at home and being able to be comfortable in my own surroundings and show everyone my nursery as it progresses. My mum hosted and one of my close friends took care of the games, so overall it went smoothly and was a total blast.

I had a bit of fun creating for the day so here are a few of the items I made:

The invitations included the following poem:

One small request that we hope won't be too hard, please bring a book instead of a card.
Whether Cat in the Hat or Winnie the Pooh, please sign the inside cover with a note to baby from you.
Your book will be forever cherished, well-loved or brand new, although please don't feel obliged; we will leave it up to you.

I saw this idea on Pinterest... of course! And thought that's such a great, sentimental idea. So now our little girl has a lovely collection of books to start her life out. Some aimed at very young babies with texture and others aimed later on, with fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

They will look great with the book ends I made to go in her room. Although I just realised I have not yet photographed them. Oops!

I also had some fun making home baked favours for my baby shower guests.. although you just have to ask mum how time consuming and painful they got by the end lol I made sugar cookies and cut them out with baby themed shapes and then we spent several hours the next day icing them ready for the shower.

 We discovered icing cookies is a long, tedieous and messy task. But they looked pretty cool and tasted even better!

And the very worst part... baby brain meant that I forgot to give half my guests a favour on the way out the door. Oops! Sorry to those of you who missed out. I was so proud of them too.

Baby brain also made me forget to put my cookies and cream cheesecake out for everyone to eat but a couple of friends and my parents stayed for a BBQ after and they were very happy at this memory lapse!

 Mmmmm yummies! Colour co-ordinated pink and a few splashes of green. Mum even used cookie cutters to shape the sandwiches into baby shapes.

And the most overloaded present table I have ever seen. The picture does not even begin to do justice for how incredibly spoilt our baby is following Saturday. Such kind and generous friends and family. It was so much fun opening everything and I've just spent the past couple of hours sorting and figuring out exactly what we now have. So bad but I'm paraonid our baby will turn out a boy now after all this pink has filled the babies room lol

So I finally took some pics of the book ends I made for the nursery:

 Kaisercraft bookends with the Kaiser tigerlilly collection of papers, collectables and rub ons and some D-lish scraps flowers.

And here they are with our babies well established book collection:

And some updates of the nursery and how it is looking these days:

Still a while to go before it has that finished look but that will be the plan closer to babies arrival.

And the latest bump photos:

 At the baby shower 30 weeks, 3 days.

And today's very brave bare belly photo, 30 weeks, 5 days. Can't believe the count down is less than 10 weeks now!

Well, its time for some crafting. Currently working on an OTP for a design team committment that I'm running a bit behind on. Now that the baby shower is over with, I can catch up again and relax. I have spent today and yesterday doing virtually nothing to recover from the big day Saturday lol

Hope you have all been having a good weekend, especially those of you who are lucky like me with a long weekend.

Holly xo

Wedding Card

Hey there,

Yesterday my husband and I had a friend's wedding to attend over the NSW border. We almost did not make it in time due to a massive accident on the Pacific Motorway. A bus and car. Not good. So our 2 hour drive took about 3.5 hours but thankfully we got there seconds before the bridal car arrived.

The wedding had a bit of a vintage theme so I tried to create a card with a bit of a vintage look too, using the current challenge criteria from Scrapbook Boutique for further inspiration. Mostly the colour palette and of course the butterflies. So here is my card:

 Materials: Paper - Kaisercraft; embellishments - D'lish scraps; other - doily, flower, card.

Here is a pic of Simon and I at the wedding, complete with growing baby bump. 24.5 weeks.

Have a great Sunday everyone. Mine has been a productive day of housework so far so hoping to get more done... plus baby shower invites :)

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