More Xmas layouts

We got a new camera this week, and have been playing hard with it - a new Canon 450d with a 18 - 200 lense! (it is latest of the Rebel series for my readers across the pond). We love it, we had a 350d which we gave in part exchange, we had taken 40.000!!! pictures on it, I think with this one, we may even beat the record!
Anyhow, we played by getting some family pictures for Xmas cards and things this week. And I got to use two of them in layouts already! But first let me show you the kit I got to play with
"First Noel" by Charlie's Digiscraps (image linked to store) Btw Charlie still has a sale on - hint hintAnd here are my layouts, this first is me and Richard playing silly before the pics were actually taken. Does that make sense?
Anyhow the boys were not really interested in having their pictures taken, they wanted to play Wii, so I had to try and somehow get them to smile for the camera, being silly worked. And it may also have had something to do with the fact, that they got to take turns in pushing the selftimer button!
And this photo of Richard was just me playing with the new camera, testing the zoom and new flash (yep we got a great external flash to go with it)CU again soon, I have been working hard on a hybrid project, it should be finished soon, so check back again.

Summer revisited...

well with the cold weather we are having here, I decided that I would scrap some of my sunny pictures! And what better to recall the warmth than a trip to the beach!
So I requested this lovely kit by Charlie's Digiscraps "Seabreeze" and a-scrapping I went! (image linked to store)

And you know me, I love to combine CT work (shh, don't tell anyone, but its not really "work", I have too much fun doing it) with a challenge. And Andrea's Quote challenge at DSO worked really well. The quote this month is "The world is mudluscious and puddle-wonderful!"

And then i just had to find a creative way to use the awesome alpha that comes with the kit! And here it is!Back soon
CU then

Hong Kong Revisited

I had a trip down Memory Lane today. The kit I got to scrap with from DSO is called Colors of a Geisha (and yes I do have a hard time spelling colour the American way!), by Charlie's Digiscraps (image linked to store)When I first saw it, I immediately thought of my trip to Hong Kong back in 1993. Well today I got the photos out and scanned a few in for some layouts. It was fun to remember the trip. I went there with my friend and her then boyfriend and another of her friends (sounds complicated doesn't it, but it wasn't). A friend of ours, Tom, had moved to Hong Kong after university, and we decided, that moving half way around the world wouldn't get rid of us, and we visited him. It was a brilliant trip, even if the most prominent memory is that Hong Kong smells! Anyhow back to my layouts
This first one is me up some mountain overlooking Hong Kong, it was a LONG while ago, and I never did get around to making a photo album, so I have no idea what the place was called anymore.
And whilst browsing the photos, I noticed there were a LOT of me with chopsticks, so I turned them all into one layout! (note the rice on its way back to the dish in the middle photo, that did make us laugh!)
Be sure to check back tomorrow, I got to do a One Kit Call for a great Designer Mandy King, I was going to show you them today, but the new kit isn't in the shop yet, and I do want to be able to link you up, so I'll post them tomorrow.
CU then

sneak peak at Charlie's bag

I was such a lucky girl, because I got to play with some of the awesome grabbags up for sale at DSO this week.

Today I am going to show you what I made with Charlie's bag. Here is a layout you have already seen, but I love it and I am going to show it off again!

Richard and my niece on the beach, the actual photo isn't that special, but I think this layout makes it that way!

(hint, hint - I used two of the products in the bag for this layout)

For this next one I went digging through Mums family tree site, and on it she has a folder that says "mystery photos" well, this strip of photos is one of them. These three ladies are sisters and are related on my Mum's side of the family, but Mum doesn't know their names, who knows maybe someone in the scrapping world will recognise them! That would be a coincidence!

(hint, hint - I used a third product from the bag in this layout)

And here is what I made for my nieces b-day. A lady-like card, she is growing up so fast now, she was 7 at the end of August, so I thought she might like a "grown up" style card. I think she did.

(hint, hint - and yet another product from the bag is in this layout!)
Additional credits: Wordart by Elegant Wordart by Bethany

Time to hurry on over to DSO to grab Charlie's PU grabbag (image linked)
I'll be back tomorrow with some hints about Andrea's Grabbag, CU then!

Grab a bag, ...or two... or three....

Well it is finally here PU Grab Bag Week at DSO, and today I am allowed to give everyone some sneak peaks to the contents

First of all, check out all the bags available:

And each one of them for only $3.00!!! And I have seen inside some of these bags and believe me you can't go wrong!
I'll be back over the next few days showing you what I created using some of the bags, but I will give you a little taste today (and if you check the designers blogs (see my sidebar) you will see many hints on their blogs too)
I have linked all the layouts to the respective grabbags, should you feel the urge to go and grab a bargain!

First up, using Lynn's Grabbag (LPand3dogs Designs), my Mum with her Mum (Nanny).

Then what about this one using Charlie's Grabbag - Richard and Zoe on the beach. (my first attempt and most certainly not the last using a photomask!)

Bored yet?! I hope not, cause here I have one using Jill's Grabbag - Richard just loves cutting and glueing so do I have a scrapper in the making!


And another one, this is using Andrea's Grabbag - this is the boys picking all the redcurrants for me!

Bunny was also going to make a grabbag, but Real Life got in the way, so the template I used for this layout of my boys looking for bugs is in the store now. I also used Melanie Ann's kit "Little Explorer".

OK, stop by through the week, cause these are not the only layouts I did with the kits! So lots more hints to come before the bags go on sale for full price next weekend!

CU tomorrow

A starry Night...

is the name of Charlie's Digiscraps new kit. And I got it pre-release to play with!
But today I can finally show off my layouts with it.
This first one is one of my favourite pictures of Richard from our holiday, he was reaching out for me, for one last cuddle before lights out. So cute!
and this one is a picture from Xmas 08, we took the boys on a night walk (don't think that is quite the right word, but you know what I mean) and we had REAL torches, as in with REAL fire. They loved it, I think we will have to do it again this year too.

And today I played with it again as I realised that the browny orange paper matched the owls eyes exactly. Its an owl from the Bird of Prey Centre in Newent, UK.

And here is the kit, I used to make these layouts, on offer at the moment with 30% off.
(image linked to store)

have a great weekend, I know we will, barbecuing with the family tomorrow, breakfast with friends on Sunday, can't be bad, eh?!