Beach Shoot - Gold Coast

I'm officially exhausted!

Three days this week of trying to keep up with some amazing photographers and going to locations I had never thought to go to. I've had a great time with a zillion images to look at and work on.

Here are a couple from today - on the beach at the Gold Coast and in a little forest like pocket just off the beach walkway.

more photos

I thought I had posted these images also but I hadn't. Isn't this little girl adorable? She is the daughter of one of the photographers that joined us on the day - Elina. Here is her photography blog - http://elfinaphotoart.blogspot.com/

Victoria Point beach shoot

I've been a little consumed with photography this week and after spending another fantastic afternoon with that same group of talented photographers and also Andrea Joki (from Finland), I have been spending most of my time proofing my photos. It's exhausting and I'm off for a quick afternoon siesta while Joshua sleeps after I post this shot. While we were provided with the most gorgeous models (children of all ages), I really ended up loving this shot of my son Ethan. That's OK for a Mum isn't it!



Yesterday, we met at a small beach at Victoria Point at 4pm. There were gorgeous coloured boats anchored in the sand and the children had so much fun in the water.
A couple of girls have asked about how this all came about. I visit a great photography site called www.ilovephotography.com. It's an international site with heaps of hugely talented photographers as well as beginners who are interested in child photography. These get-togethers were organised by a Brisbane photographer who flew out Andrea Joki, a well respected photographer from Finland, to be her Mentor for 2 weeks. She kindly organised for us all to enjoy some days out in their company along with models and props included - at no charge. I have learnt so much and look forward to my last day out with these girls on Sunday at the Gold Coast on the beach - should be so much fun!

Thanks always for your kind comments and hopefully I'll be scrapping some of these pics real soon.

Australian bushlands shoot

Yesterday I met with a group of photographers and models and we ventured into a bit of bushland and took some photographs. It was a great day and with the help of Andrea Joki, a hugely talented photographer who lives in Finland, we were able to pick up some tips. Check out her blog here. http://www.ajatonjoki.com/wordpress/
She is well known for her stunning landscapes and fantasy-like photos.

Photo Wall

Thought I'd share a couple of photos of my Photo Wall. Our home is very open plan and the wall space was so big and empty it was hard to decide how to fill it. I'm so pleased with how this turned out. We used STRIPA strips from Ikea as the shelving and ORSON and BLAKE photo frames. Now we can change our photos as often as we like and not worry about straightening up crooked frames every time we walk past.

Questionairre!

What's better than having a friend who's a scrapper?
a. a scrapper friend who has a huge scrap stash
b. a scrapper friend who lives just 1 minute away
c. a scrapper friend who you see at drop off and pick up every day because her son
and yours are in the exact same class at prep
d. all of the above

If you guessed "d" - all of the above well you're right!

And so I dedicate this layout to my "all of the above" scrapper friend - the talented, Michelle Jamieson (http://chellejamo.blogspot.com/) - for always being there with the just the right product that I need when I'm struggling to finish a layout. And with this layout, she didn't have just 1 choice of brown alphas but 2. To top it all off, the alphas were American Crafts - can it get any better than that?
Thanks Michelle.

Keeping It Simple

In the latest Scrapbook Creations - issue 57 - the Keeping It Simple Article focuses on Colour Combinations. All three of us girls (Helen, Belinda and myself) write about how we choose our colour schemes - if you've read it I'd love some feedback. My layout is called POP ART - I loved these photos that we had taken at the Andy Warhol exhibition - so very ... Andy Warhol - funny that!



On a separate note, thank you all so very much for your kind and encouraging comments about my mini album. I'm overwhelmed at how many of my friends left a comment. It's such a nice feeling to have so much support especially from new friends that visited for the first time - it means alot.

Last Years Masters!

I've been scrapping a bit lately but nothing that I can share ... yet.
It's an exciting time right now, with girls waiting for "THE CALL" from Scrapbooking Memories to narrow them down to the top 50 and then later on to the top 10 in Australia. For my friends that aren't Aussies, The Masters here is a little like CK Hall Of Fame. You have criteria set and need to create layouts and other items accordingly. I've entered the last three years and been fortunate enough to receive Honorable Mentions each year for pieces of my work - it's so exciting to get the call. I can only imagine that it is unbelievable to be chosen in the TOP 10. Unfortunately, this year, due to an exclusivity rule and me writing articles for Scrapbook Creations, I couldn't enter but since I've been thinking of the all girls I thought I might share the mini album I made for last years entry - the criteria was that the album had to be about yourself. I loved making this - it was complex yet simple at the same time. I didn't receive an Honorable Mention for this - the standard was so amazing!














Hope I haven't bored you too much but I really wanted to post something - hopefully I'll have something to share next time. Good Luck to all the girls this year!

CK layouts

I thought I might share some layouts that have been recently featured in Creating Keepsakes (the aussie gallery). It's exciting to see them published in this magazine.

WRITING - CK issue 10/5
KID K'nex - CK Issue 10/6

Been meaning to say ...

I've said it before and it's a little earie, but I often think of things just before they are about to happen - like a type of ESP. Today on my drive to work, I thought I should blog about the inspiration behind my SHOUT layout for the American Crafts Design Team Competition. When I got to work, I checked my blog comments only to see an email from the person who inspired me - Anita Meade - a regular visitor to my blog. Check out this talented scrapper's work - http://anitameade.typepad.com/
You see it was Anita who left me a lovely comment about 'good men being celebrated' and it was referring to my wonderful husband - that was a while ago. It prompted me to use her words on the SHOUT layout and they were just perfect. I kept meaning to thank her for the inspiration after the DT was announced and I kept forgetting. So when I read her comment today about her noticing the journalling that I used on my SHOUT layout, I was disappointed that I hadn't surprised her first and also I was spooked that we both must have been thinking of the same thing that morning. So thank you very much Anita ! Could you send me your email some time please?

If only I could come up with some Lottery numbers - now that would be cool ;)



The journalling reads : "A friend of mine once said, 'Good men should be celebrated and those of us who are lucky enough to have them should shout it from the rooftops.' Sp here I shout as loud as I can ... Manuel, you are the love of my life, the one who makes each day more wonderful than the last, I will love you always and forever - 10 July 2008"

Mesmerized

I was given a packet of goodies by Pam, the owner of Scrap Art at Capalaba, and invited to create something with it. Inside was the gorgeous chocolate/latte colours in the Kaiser range of papers. I added a few of my own favourite bits and pieces and this is what I came up with. I hope she likes it. Of course I had to use my new favourite photo of Joshua - with his big brown eyes.





Something about this layout reminds me of sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows - kind of wintery I guess - very creamy looking colours.

I can't resist another photo

There is nothing that makes me feel happier than when I hear my children or my husband laugh. Really, it's amazing and this photo is of Ethan laughing so hard because my photographic assistant (also known as my darling husband) was throwing the soccor ball against that very wall Ethan was leaning against and trying to 'near miss' me with it. Anyone interested in a job? Might have one available soon - hehe.

Also, it's so great to read your comments when you drop by and I'm so happy to be get to know a few new people that have been saying hello. Thanks again, Leanne

Photos, photos, photos

I had a chance to take some photos this afternoon of my 2 boys - wow are they tough. But it's good practice for me because I can't imagine too many other children being as tricky as they are. I thought I'd share my favourites. Whether they are technically good, I'll have to wait for my critique to come through from the expert (Rachel ... are you there?)

One of the images of Joshua I snapped yesterday while he was digging the pebbles in the front garden - I love his big eyes. The one that makes me smile though, is the 2 boys together loving each other - doesn't every mother want to see their children like that?

Thanks always for visiting and have a great weekend!

I had a spare half an hour today while Joshua was sleeping and managed to plan this layout. Tonight after dinner, I glued it all down. Now that I'm feeling ready to scrap again (after being sick with that dreaded flu for so long), I need to get some photos printed and get the camera out on the weekend - looking forward to it.


Also, thank you to my friends who left comments about my American Crafts Design Team entry. Your kind words and encouragement really mean alot to me and I'm so pleased I was able to give it a go. And Katherine, if you feel you need to start a petition ... go right ahead ... heheheh!
Might need to employ you as my PR person :)

Home Sweet Home

Back from Melbourne late last night. I had a great time and always love the city - so very cosmopolitan and stylish. Enjoyed some shopping and then worked so hard and walked so much that I ended up rubbing arthritis cream into the soles of my feet at night.


While I was down there, I found out that the new American Crafts Design Team had been chosen. Sadly, my name was not on the list - I gave it my best shot and that's all you can do. I adore the products and you'll still be seeing heaps of layouts with American Crafts all over it.

Thought I'd share my 2 pieces of work that I submitted for the Design Team position.



Congratulations go to the new team especially the aussie girls, Belinda Venables and Jill Geraghty-Groves and also to the talented Moon-Ko. Looking forward to seeing some beautiful work. Check out the new team here - American Crafts - http://americancrafts.typepad.com/.
Also, farewell to some of my favourite scrappers and friends from that team. In particular, my really beautiful friend, Severine Di Giacomo http://simply-s.blogspot.com/ and here is here blog translated into English for us 'non french speaking girls' - http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://simply-s.blogspot.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsimply-s%2Bblogspot%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4WZPA_enAU259AU261%26pwst%3D1. Also farewell to Celeste Smith - http://www.celestefs.blogspot.com/ - who's work I really like too. Of course, there are plenty of girls who are staying on for another year. Love checking out Melanie Louette's style - http://melanie-notesfromhome.blogspot.com/.

Anyway, I need an early night tonight to so I can get back into scrapping mode tomorrow. Thanks for visiting!