A week of nostalgia...

It's hard to believe April is ending.... the last week has been a week of reflection on our holiday from last year. 12 months ago we were heading off on our trip of a lifetime, living it up in London and Dublin and packing up to head to New York. We had such a fabulous time, so it's been sad reflecting on all the adventures we were having 12 months ago. It's hard to believe that we were standing in Harrod's watching William and Kate's wedding!

This is one of the rare group shots we got on our trip....

This was in New York at an amazing steakhouse. It was our splurge night and was so worth it!

While catching up last week, we were chatting about what we've been up to since we've been back. Our gorgeous nephew was born, we have been to 3 more weddings (one of which was their amazing wedding weekend!), been to 2 funerals, had my ankle operated on, been through months of chaos with my wrist injury and am just about to get my sinuses operated on. That's all just the top line things! For the rest of the year we are looking forward to celebrating our nephew's first birthday, celebrating our good friend's 30th, heading to Bourke to visit cherished friends and heading to the Gold Coast for baseball later in the year.... Ben has been waiting for this one for a very long time! 

It has re-energised my longing to complete an album from our holiday.... hmmm I am guessing that in 12 months time I will be still trying to complete it! There are a lot of other things on my list before I will get that wish complete! I have however been able to get some scrapping work completed.... if you head over to the Scraploot blog you will see all the details and close ups.

 

 

And for something new... a sneak peak at my page featuring on the blog this week....

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday... I'm off to have a bite to eat and then back into getting some work done at home!

Have a great week and happy scrapping!

xx Renae

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday!

And happy birthday to my gorgeous husband! He was born on a Good Friday, so this is the closest he has come to reaching that day again. In tribute, we held his celebrations on Friday instead! There are a few happy snaps below. We all had a great day.

So he has now reached his milestone....35... oddly enough he hated turning 30, but 35 is something he has been counting down for a long time. No it's not for some lifetime achievement... it's so he can play baseball at Masters this year with his mates! He has been counting it down for quite a few years now, so later in the year we are descending on the Gold Coast for nearly 2 weeks all in the name of baseball. It's been a few years since I've been to tournaments and thankfully given they are all getting old, they don't play 3 games a day like the Under 14 matches that I was usually involved with at tournaments when Dad was coaching and I was scoring. It will be our holiday for the year, so now it's my turn to countdown! We will have a number of friends going (and a few family on the opposition too!), so we anticipate a few fun (and late) nights.

Now those happy snaps....

 The birthday boy blowing out his candles....

And still going... I only had relighting candles in the drawer, so he got them! I didn't realise the smoke was going to be that bad though!

The birthday boy and I (above) and below, with our adorable nephew... he had us in hysterics, he is such a little character now.

 

Ben & Chase having fun (above) and Ben with his Dad, Debbie & Orren (below)

 And Ben with his mum (below)...

Now onto some scrapping....

This is my latest DT page for Scraploot from last week, featuring Jenni Bowlin ranges. Head over to the blog to see the full details and close ups. There are step by step instructions for you to recreate it as well..

Enjoy the rest of your long weekend and happy scrapping!

xx Renae

Playing catch up...

What a crazy few weeks! I've been off work resting my arm as the RSI has been quite bad and have been able to get nothing done, so I've been going crazy! I was finally back to work this week, albeit half days and on minimal PC use, so getting something done takes me forever lol! Thank goodness for being able to briefly use my left hand and Dragon Dictation on my phone.... they have made things a bit easier! The next few weeks are going to be slow going with the hope that it gets back to normal and I can't wait!

With the injury, it has also killed my scrapping time, however I did have a few pages up my sleeve before I was out of action thankfully! These are recent DT work for Scraploot. Head over to the blog to check out the full posts and close ups.... there are instructions for the first page as well.

Don't forget to check out the new sketch comp for April over at the Scraploot blog.

Here is my interpretation of the sketch, featuring the lovely Jenni Bowlin range.....

There is a great prize up for grabs, so give it a go! Keep an eye out for Monday's DT post, I will have a step by step page for you to have a go at.

Have a great weekend and happy scrapping!

xx Renae

Welcome to the weekend!

Given I've been struck down with tonsillitis this week and my crappy RSI in my arm, it's a low key Saturday for me.... I'm doing this post and then it's off the PC for a few hours. Hubby has joined me on the couch and we are watching the first race in the 2012 V8 season. He is super excited.

So needless to say, not much scrapping has been done lately. However I can share my DT post over at Scraploot from earlier in the week...

Check out my full post for the close up details.

And here is a sneak peek of next week's inspiration for you.... this is a step by step page to start off your week.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and happy scrapping!

xx Renae

Design Team Work

I've just realised how neglected my poor blog has been over the past few weeks. I've been suffering from bad RSI and working long hours at work, so my PC time after work has been extremely limited and I am trying to rest my arm as much as possible. I'm giving myself tomorrow off to watch my husband in his baseball semi finals, so I figure I will smash the PC time today instead and rest tomorrow!

In case you have missed my posts over at the Scraploot blog over the past few weeks, here is a recap of some of the work... head over to the Scraploot blog for all the finer details and stock lists. Don't forget each Monday I have a new page for you and a step by step tutorial once a month.

Here is my example for the sketch challenge for February. Only a few days to go, so don't miss out...

These few feature the Echo Park Yours Truly range...

This is the start of the Bo Bunny Enchanted range...

And a small sneak peak at this Monday's layout... make sure you check out the Scraploot blog to see the full reveal.

Have a great weekend and if you have the chance, happy scrapping!

xx Renae

Scraploot Monthly Competition

Here's a competition you won't want to miss! Scraploot have released their monthly competition and Rach has created this gorgeous sketch for February....

Head over to the Scraploot blog to check out Rach's gorgeous page. After a few hours work today, I am hoping to kick back and have a go and bring you some inspiration for it as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

On the first Saturday of the month Scraploot will announce a new challenge that will run for the entire month, giving you lots of time to get your entries in. To kick off the monthly competitions, this month there is a Sketch competition. You can interpret the sketch anyway you like, as long as is is still recognisable. You can complete it in whatever size you feel comfortable working in (8.5x11, 12x12) or even as a card sketch. This month the prize will be a $20 voucher to spend in the Scraploot online store. To enter this months challenge, email your layout to info@scraploot.com.au and keep an eye on the blog, where the entries will be shared.
All entries must be recieved by 11:59pm, Wednesday 29th February 2012.

Scraploot also have some fabulous offers on the gorgeous pre order stock at the moment... you can save up to 25% off RRP depending on what offer you choose. Head over to the Scraploot online store to pick up a great deal and some goodies for your scrapping stash!

xx Renae

Sneak peek??

Want a sneak peek of my layout over at Scraploot for tomorrow??

Head over tomorrow morning to check out my layout for this week using the Echo Park Yours Truly range.

In the meantime, check out another gorgeous new Echo Park range.... I must say they have some beautiful designs lately. This little gem is A Boys Life and the gorgeous photo subjects are my ever adorable nephew and my beautiful Dad.

 

This is such a cute range! I even have the next photo of my nephew lined up for it.. I am doing a layout a month for his first 12 month's album, so we are half way through now. The little munchkin was 6 months old recently and is such a little character! We spent a bit of time with him on Australia Day playing (since he was in no mood to sleep!). This is the adorable photo lined up for the next page....

Before I go, I have another photo of a beautiful man that I want to share...

This is my beautiful Great Uncle Phil speaking at our wedding in 2004. His lost his battle with life this week and passed away on Wednesday afternoon at 94 years old. He is an amazing man who we cherished and admired. In 1996 he was awarded Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the welfare of veterans as an active member of the RSL since 1944, president of Corrimal Sub-Branch since 1970 and vice- chairman of the Corrimal Diggers Rest Home since 1991.

The pic below is of Ben and I at our wedding day with Uncle Phil and his gorgeous wife (my maternal grandmother's sister). They are both so special to us and our family.

We lay him to rest this week and hope that he has finally found the peace he so truly deserves.

xx Renae