Week 31.....has got to be done.

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
Another double page spread this week and I switched brands to use the WRMK Memo range.
So, how did I go with my embellishment count this week: word title stickers, wood veneer, paper flowers, thickers, SU border stickers, Echo Park stickers, flair, Studio Calico die cuts: Total of 19.
Here's the left hand side (although taking photos out of pocket ive got them in the wrong order)

 

 and the right....

 

and here is the double spread.





What I have noticed is a lack of photos of my older son and hubby....need to work on that too!
Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Don't get dirty....its just Week 30

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
Time for week 30 and I used the BH Honey kit - so bright and great graphics.
Continuing my goal to use up my embellishments here's what I managed to use this week: AC thickers, Echo Park alpha stickers, MME enamel dots, title word stickers, snap stickers, SU border stickers, some flairs and die cuts from Studio Calico, some Kaiser paper flowers, some wood veneer, Amy Tangerine stickers, and some Basic Grey alpha stickers.  Total items added: about 31.
Left hand side:

 

 Right hand side:

And here is the spread together:

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 29 is here!

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
Week 29 and it was back to a one page week - even if we did have another birthday in there and I used the BH Jade kit for this week.

As well as my new "rule" about only doing as many pages as the week needs I am also trying to use at least 10 embellishments of one sort or another on each page.  Yes, I have a stash of pretty things that I love to look at, take out and consider often but just don't use.  This has to stop!
So, for Week 29 I used: AC thickers, rhinestone candles,  Freckled Fawn wood veneers, Studio Calico wood veneers, MME enamel dots, and some title words from a brand that is not on the sticker sheets. Total embellishments: 23 if each thicker is one item.

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Don't be late....its time for Week 28

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
Week 28 has really proved that some weeks require a lot of photos.  It was our younger son's birthday so there are photos from the day itself and his party.  Doesn't look like we did much this week except celebrate.
I used an older Stampin Up birthday range of papers for these pages - with lots of embellishments.
Page 1 is Samuel's actual birthday...

...and later in the day

Followed by his party photos...

and more...

And that is how a week turns easily into 4 pages!
Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 27 - A new approach

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
So, here we are starting the second half of the year.  And with that it's time to re-evaluate a number of things. For me, this included looking back at the first half of the year's album and identifying what I liked and didn't like - not just the photos and the way the pages had been put together, but also the process.
The outcome is that in the second half of the year I will NOT make myself do a double spread just to have the pages even in my album.  I will do one page, or two pages or more, as the week requires.
The only rule is that there will be one page per week at least.
And with that......week 27 was pretty quiet on the photo front.  Lots of other things happening at work taking up too much family time and that's what happens.
So here is my page for the week....

With all the new BH kits out, I bought 1/4s of several kits so, unlike the first half of the year which was predominantly Seafoam, this second half will see me use different kits as the week requires.

Thanks for visiting.
Amanda

Week 26 - Album 1 complete

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
Wow, can you believe we are half way through the year already.  I'm a little surprised that I have kept up (mostly) with my Project Life - I'm normally someone who can work on a big project for a short period of time like a madwoman, but falter on the longer term goals.

So here is my Week 26 layout....although I do have to admit that I haven't finished my Week in Review card yet.

It also marks the end of my commitment to the BH Midnight kit on a regular basis, so rather than pick one focused colour from the kit, I used a bit of everything.  I have quite a few part kits just itching to be used so looking foraward to starting Week 27 and a new album as well.

So here is my week.....The left hand side - sick, movies and poor night vision shot!

 Followed by the standard right hand side..

and here they are together...

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Christmas in July Blog Hop

Hi, and welcome to the Christmas in July blog hop.  When I put my hand up to take part in this I thought it would be easy....lots of Christmas photos to scrap still but, as with most things, time got away from me.  And the creative time needed for a traditional scrap page just wasn't there. I'd already scrapped last year's Christmas photos in PL style so what to do......?

Well, I hadn't put any Xmas photos into each of my sons albums for last year (their PL style albums for last year are still a WIP) so I decided I would do my elder son's pages.  I thought I would get it all in 2 pages....WRONG!  I decided that rather than big photos in all pockets I would print them smaller to make more of the Xmas paper behind them and allow a bit of embellishments. But I could't decide which photos wouldnt make the cut....AND i wanted to do these all at once to ensure consistent approach.

I used an old Kaisercraft range called Belle for all the backing and most of the embellishments, a couple of flairs, some journalling cards from Pebbles (not Xmas ones, but colours were good) and a punch art elf.

Here is what I came up with....the first page is a Right hand side page...

And then came....

......followed by.....

....and the last page looks like this.......

Of course, now Mr 6 is asking where his Xmas pages are from last year!  Guess that will have to go on the To Do list.

Hope you've enjoyed having a look at these pages and would love for you to leave a comment.

Here is a list of all the participants in today's Blog Hop......go on to the next person or go back to the start......Merry Christmas in July!

Ruth - http://scrapmachine.com/

Bernice - http://btsoi.blogspot.com/

Theresa - http://himynameistheresa.com/

Holly - http://harmonydiy.blogspot.com/

Sandar - http://www.thecraftybunch.com.au/

Melissa - http://digitalscrapbookinghq.com/christmashop

Kimberly - http://kimberlymariekett.blogspot.com/

Stella - http://myscrapbliss.blogspot.com/

Alanna - http://scrapping-and-life.blogspot.com

Megan - http://meganlianesblog.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://myreillyboysandme.blogspot.com

Lisa - http://mykreativepursuits.blogspot.com

Margareta - http://www.paperpilekitten.com/

Taniesa - http://thecraftypickle.com/

Smitha - http://www.smilingcolors.com

Catherine - http://paperaddictcatherine.blogspot.com

Kate - http://www.funkytales.blogspot.co.uk

Tasha - http://tashascreativejuice.blogspot.com/

Melissa - http://yesterday2day4ever.blogspot.co.nz

Alison - http://magicalmesses.blogspot.com/

Cat - http://decisioninspired.com

Manda - http://www.mandalikadesigns.com/

Madeleine - http://senoritaml.wordpress.com/

Melissa - http://www.scrappyjedi.com/

Amanda - http://amandathemadscrapper.blogspot.com/  YOU ARE HERE

Ali - http://www.moloneystylestamping.wordpress.com

Jenny - http://scrappinjen-partyoffive.blogspot.com/

Ros - http://noteverypicturezperfect.blogspot.com.au/

Sue - http://themakingtable.blogspot.com.au/

Julie - http://plywthpper.blogspot.com/

Thanks,

Amanda

Week 25 - its Black and White

Hi, and thanks for visiting my Week 25.

I decided on a simple Black and White approach for this week as there is a fair bit of colour in my photos.

My left hand page uses journalling cards from the Seafoam kit, including one of the 'last page' cards as a filler. More alphas from a Studio Calico kit were used for time stamps on photos.  Wood veneers from Studio Calico added to the wintry theme on the page.

The right hand side focuses on Samuel having fun at a 6th birthday party for one of his school friends.  Plenty of colour here.  There was a Super Moon on Sunday night and, although my photo isn't that great, it does represent my take on it.

And here is what the double page spread looks like.

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Fawning around Week 24

Hi, and thanks for visiting my Week 24.

My left hand side uses a variety of items, but all with a fawn/tan colour base.  "The Story" flair is from a great set made by Raquel at A Piece of Cake Designs specifically to go with the Seafoam kit. The cute wood veneer clip on the Marmite photo, together with the alpha stickers, are from various Studio Calico project life kits, as is the journalling card far right.
The filler card re Details is from the Becky Higgins Turquoise kit.  And finally the 'jelly stickers' on the Ouch photo are from a pkt I've had in my drawer for several years.

The right hand side is another simple page.  The cork looking arrows, alpha stickers and the doily journalling card are all from Studio Calico kits.  The filler card at right is from the Seafoam kit, with a hand made doily and a My Minds Eye enamal dot in the centre.  So simple and straightforward to put together.

And here is what the double page spread looks like.

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 23 is a little green....

Hi and thanks for visiting my Week 23 - which has been done for a while, just running a bit behind on blog posts.
This week the aqua - both pale and dark - from Seafoam was my predominant colour.  My left hand side sees a flair from Greatest View on top of a doily for my title card.  Alpha stickers by Basic Grey (part of a Studio Calico Project Life kit) and a wood veneer heart round out my embellishments on this page.

The right hand side was fairly similar.  Wood veneer brackets and washi from a Studio Calico project life kit was used on my bi-fold card at far right (journalling inside is my 12WBT progress information). A lovely wood veneer speech bubble from Studio Calico went very well with my french toast photo.  The 4x6 phrase card bottom left is one from a Pebbles stack.  Chosen for the colour as well as the sentiment.

And here is how the double page spread looks.

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 22 is here....

Hi, and thanks for visiting my Week 22.
I received the Studio Calico PL kit for May (I don't subscribe...someone else does but I buy them from her) and loved some of the cards so had to use them (with some cards from previous kits too).
My title card contains 3 of the transparencies from the kit.  Due to the bright colour of the title card they didn't "pop" enough for me, so I backed them with white card stock before sticking them on.  I like the extra colour they add.  The rest of this page came together easilyusing brightly coloured journalling and filler cards from Studio Calico, including using some of the gorgeous alpha stickers.
Lots of people would like to see these alphas available on their own - I am one of them!

The right hand side was just as easy, again sticking to the Studio Calico cards.  Another transparency on the trampoline photo backed with white card stock, and the 'amazing' on the 'Simple & Real' card is also an added transparency.

The 'weekend recap' card has a Studio Calico flair from a previous kit, and alpha stickers from the May kit.
The only non Studio Calico item on this page is the Running flair which is from A Piece of Cake Designs - as soon as I saw this kit I knew I had to have it.  And the colour, while not in line with the orange theme of this spread, goes so well with the new running gear from Active 1 I bought!

Here is the double spread...

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

21 Today.......

Hi, and thanks for visiting.
I have to say Week 21 passed in a blur.  A lot of that is just the routine of work/life/play but also the extra time for 12WBT is having an impact.
My title card uses another of the Cheery Lynn dies with a Greatest View flair on top. My filler card on the left hand side is made using brown cardstock and some dies from, I think, Studio Calico (....I mixed a few packs from different brands together so can't be sure).  I also used one of the wood veneer frames from Freckled Fawn to draw attention to my two boys NOT playing tennis!

Can you tell by the right hand side I struggled?  Not too many photos so I had to get creative with the flyer from the play I went to.  Another die cut added to a basic Seafoam journal card and a phrase card from Pebbles.

And here is the two page spread...

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 20 already?

Hi, and thanks for visiting Week 20.....
This was the first week of the 12WBT program - so there were lots of changes to our routine.....most of which don't make it into photos.....including when I do my PL.  Still working on the adjustments.
My left hand side is focused on my boys school photos.  I know we all think our kids are gorgeous but I love it when it translates to school photos.  The colours in their school uniform helped dictate the colours for this week.....the pale aqua and yellow from Seafoam.
On my title card you can see a yellow lacey doilie....I bought a few different dies from the scrapbook store and spent Monday evening cutting lots of these from my seafoam cardstock stack. Its topped off with a flair from Greatest View.
I also got some wood veneer frames from Freckled fawn this week.  While I couldn't use the frames themselves, they each have words cut out of them, and you get the cut out words.  I used 'Favourite' although I had to take a 'U' from another word to get the Australian spelling.  Also on that card is an Amy Tangerine camera stamp.  Some of my filler cards are from Pebbles Family Ties line.

Lately my boys have been driving me mad on Thursday and Friday mornings. Even though we have over 2 hours to get ready to walk to school (as opposed to 45 minutes on Mon/Tue/Wed) they argue about wanting to play the computer (not allowed before school) and we are still rushing to get out the door.  So this week I used some bribery......they had to be showered, dressed, bags ready and then I made pancakes for breakfast.  It worked......but is a lot of hard work!
Given that I am trying to do a workout every day with 12WBT it was only appropriate that my runners made an appearance.......

And here is the double spread.

Thanks for visiting,
Amanda

Week 19 .....Mothers Day

Hi and thanks for visiting.....
OK, so the first thing I have to say is yes, I know the date is wrong - it should be May 12th, not May 19th.  In my defence, this week has an insert so I think I just worked out two weeks.....it will get changed....eventually!
I have used some of the green cards from various Studio Calico PL kits as well as quite a few of their wood veneers, and the 'Win' flair on the title card.

The first page of the insert is all about Samuel attending his new best friend at school's birthday party.  I offered to take photos for Michael's Mum so she could concentrate on entertaining the Mums......I love the photo of the kids jumping off the log (I did get a sensible one first). The clouds and weather wood veneer on the cloud card are new from Freckled Fawn

Here is what these two pages look like together.  It's sometimes a challenge to balance the colours across the pages but I think I am getting a little better at it.....

This is the reverse of the insert page....continuing with the Studio Calico kit elements of alpha stickers, and the 'Nice Shot' label.  The autumn leaves card is cut from a Stampin Up range, with the 'oh so lovely' banner from a die cut pack (I think Studio Calico too, but not in the kit)

The final page for this week focused on Mothers Day.  I love the leaf angel photos Jason took on his phone.....sometimes he surprises me with photos and these are some of his best!  I also took a photo of the little gifts the boys got me.  And finally...warning here....a photo of me before starting the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation.  Mothers Day seemed the best day to sign up for this and I am determined to make the most of this. I have put a side angle (very scary) photo and my starting statistics inside a fold out.....for my eyes only.

And here is what the double page looks like together.  It was a great week to put together!

Hope you like these pages,
Amanda

Life. Paper. Scrapbook Blog Hop - Week 18

Hi, and if you are visiting as part of the Life Paper Scrapbook blog hop Welcome!  We were told we could pick any topic for our blog post. I hope you like what I have chosen.

My week 18 is a good way to demonstrate my answer when people ask "why do you do Project Life?" or "why do you do Project Life instead of 'traditional' scrapbooking?".

But first, some background......
I did my first scrapbooking class with Kaszazz almost 5 years ago. I loved the creative process....I loved the papers, embellishments, tools and I loved that I could get my photos off the computer, out of drawers and into albums.
But what I found was that I could never keep up scrapping all the photos I was taking. So the number of photos on the computer grew.  Sure, I would go through and print a lot of photos too.....but they just added to the number of photos in the photo drawers and boxes (I had started sorting the boys photos into their own boxes).  I would go crazy on scrapping retreats trying to get as many photos scrapped as I could, but still ended up just scrapping the "big" events.
And, of course, I spent a small fortune on supplies to scrap all these photos!

And then I found Project Life...and the Project Life groups on Facebook.  I observed for a while, before taking the plunge.  And boy, it was a big plunge!  I have managed to sort, discard and scrap all the photos in the drawer into various albums and it feels great.  There are NO photos in the drawer waiting to be scrapped or put in albums (Hooray!).
At the start of this year I began our first family Project Life album.  I don't do 'photo a day' which means some weeks I have a few photos and other weeks I have lots of photos.  Most weeks the photos are a mix of my boys, what they are up to and random things that appeal to me at the time.
But the part I like most is that the photos really do reflect our life...as it is.

So, without further rambling....here is Week 18.  This week I decided that, in addition to items from the BH Seafoam kit (the dark yellow this week) I would add some blue to my spread in the form of journalling and filler cards from the Pebbles range. (This has nothing to do with the fact I follow the West Coast Eagles right?)  The left hand side of the page shows how 'real' the week was.....untidy rooms driving me mad and a sick 5 year old who needed a bucket all weekend.  The speech bubble "It is what it is" from  Studio Calico was so appropriate.

The right hand side called for more embellishments in the form of a wood veneer (Studio Calico but purchased from Polka Dot Creative), another Studio Calico label, some enamel dots from Scrap Therapy - the yellow centres on the flowers - and a flair from Greatest View).

And here is what the weekly spread looks like together.

Hope you've enjoyed reading this post, and that your journey through the Life Paper Scrapbook blog hop is an inspirational one.  If you are following the order, please click LPS Blog Hop - Next Stop to go to your next stop.

And don't forget to enter one of your Project Life layouts ENTER HERE in the LPS competition to WIN a mini kit and album.

Thanks for visiting and would love to hear why YOU do project life.
Amanda

For reference purposes, here are all the blogs participating in today's blog hop.

Kellie Winnell - http://kelliewinnell.typepad.com/

Kylie Bellar - http://simplybella-ky.blogspot.com.au/

Amanda Watkins - http://amandathemadscrapper.blogspot.com.au/  (You are here)

Bernadette Miller - http://weekendatberniis.blogspot.com.au/

Ali Moloney - http://moloneystylestamping.wordpress.com/

And the Winner is........

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway by leaving a comment on my blog in the past week.

My 5 year old Samuel drew the lucky winner this evening and the name he picked was......

Susanne Singh.

Congratulations Susanne, and I will be in touch to arrange your voucher to spend at Polka Dot Creative

Amanda

And now it's Week 17...

 Hi, and thanks for visiting.  Week 17 was a good one, as my sister visited for most of the week - living in another state and country from relatives means these times are especially precious.

It also meant there was someone to take a photo of the 4 of us - again....doesn't happen that often!

I love the "fawn" colour in the Seafoam kit so this was the base of  the week.  The flair on my title card is from Greatest View - it just added that little something extra needed on the flower I used.  

I made my Anzac filler card using some paper and collectables from the Kaisercraft range "Remember Me".

 The right hand side has a photo of my sister and her partner before they headed home to NSW and the rest is filled with photos from Patrick's Scout Camp.  I couldn't decide which photos to use, so used most of them.  I took a lot of photos both horizontal and landscape so I could work out afterwards which ones would go best in the album.
I love the fact that this week has so many photos in it.  We took lots of photos of the animals at Werribee Zoo so I may go back and do an insert for this week at some stage.

And here is what the whole week looks like.

Thanks for visiting and remember, if you leave a comment below by 9pm Sunday 5th May you go in the draw to win a $20 voucher from http://www.polkadotcreative.com.auPolka Dot Creative.
Amanda