December 28th

I got a call from Mum on her cell phone today… that NEVER happens! She usually texts me and then I call her.

Mum was SUPER excited. She’d bought a copy of NZ Paper Chase on her way to work but hadn’t had a chance to look at it until 4.30 pm.

At afternoon tea time she opened it up and started reading the ‘Letters to the Editor’ and that’s when she realised it was HER letter!

Months ago she’d scrap lifted an idea from a layout Gwen Kirman had done. Mum did hers using fabric for an album cover. It looked really good so bossy thing that I am I told her to send it into the magazine.

Not only did they publish Mum’s letter… they put her album cover in too!

Here’s a better shot of ‘The Letter’:

Mum has been a crafter all her life… she made just about all our clothes when we were little. She sewed, knitted, did crochet, covered boxes with fabric, embroidery, cross stitched, folk art painting… and now she does scrapbooking as well.

She quite often blends several of her hobbies into one project like she did for this album:

Congratulations Mum!!! I know it was a huge thrill to see your name in print!

Happy scrapping everyone xx

Lots of things to share :)

Hi all :) The girls and I have just had a marvellous weekend camping down in Taranaki and it was fabulous!! Lots of rest and relaxation... not quite as 'rugged' as last time... plus we got to catch up with some friends as well which was great :) I seem to have lots of bits and pieces to share this time so on with the post.

Starfish Club - My niece Kody has recently joined the 'Starfish Club' for swimming lessons. She sent me a really lovely email (her mum helped I think LOL) with some photos attached so I made this double layout for her album. She's got an 8x8 that my other sister started and it's the first time I've ever scrapped this size but I really enjoyed it! The journaling is pretty much word for word what 'Kody' sent to me :)

Christmas Card Swap - Recently I joined in a Christmas card swap with SbO. I'm starting to like making cards now LOL Here's the ones I made:

And here's the ones I received: This first one was made by Niella... love the way she used the transparency!

The next one was made by Kirstin... she's been very creative with punches!!!I'm not sure who made the third one (let me know if it's you). It's hard to tell from the photo but there is the most gorgeous little tag held on by ribbon :)RAK Thank yous :) I've been receiving lots of little treasures in the mail lately :) I've been feeling very lucky! The first thank you goes to Meg from Scrapbook Essentials. She sent me this gorgeous scroll (I've never seen these before!) which I received as part of her 'Blinkie Hunt'... Thanks Meg :)

Next on the list is Andrea and Ms Mouse from SbO. I got this lovely package of Heidi Swapp eyelets and a gorgeous little tin of Maya Rd Sunflower slides... think I might already know how I'm going to use them too :) Thanks Andrea and Ms Mouse (whoever you are LOL)!And finally Kate from Paper Pesto sent me this gorgeous RAK simply for leaving a comment on the PP blog. If you haven't visited it yet I would highly recommend it!!

Off the Page bits and pieces - I've been doing a lot of off the page stuff lately... mini albums and things for Christmas presents but here's a couple that I can share without blowing any surprises!!

The first is a bow I made using Kaiser papers. If you want to make one of your own click HERE for the tutorial. Super easy to follow and the finished results look great :)

The second thing is this Christmas ornament I designed using paua paper. I made quite a few of these a few years ago using fabric and hand stitching them but this time I used paper, mod podge, ribbon and beads. I like the 'kiwiness' of this one :)I've been published... kind of - A couple of months ago I participated in an ATC swap with Scrapbooker and Co and in the November newsletter they've published my ATC (it's on page 2!)Here's a close up view of my ATC which I called Butterfly Dreams :)So that's all from me... it feels great to have gotten all those bits and pieces documented now. I've got a few more things in the pipeline at the moment plus I'm still working on my Christmas traditions mini album so hopefully I'll get that finished this week so I can share it with you. Please leave me a comment because it's so nice to hear what you all think :) Have a great week!