Summing Up

Hello lovely friends....

So, the kids are back to school and settled in nicely.  The holidays are well and truely over.  The torrential rain and dark skies are making it impossible for me to photograph my layouts that are waiting patiently in my nook.  Lachie is now on the casual short list at day care for a bit of social interaction with his own age group.... and started his first day today!  I'm all alone... and completely at a loss as to what to do with myself!!  I could do some housework or cooking.....  or not!  :)

Instead, I decided to play with my holiday shots from ... omg, was it only just over a week ago that we came home?  Feels like weeks already.  We had such a fantastic time.  We spent two nights at Cania Gorge on the way to the coast, then a glorious week right on Moffat Beach at Caloundra, with fantastic views from our balcony (and the Day Spa right across the road... how fortuitous... lol), then a few more nights in Brisbane with my family before heading home.  DH and I even managed a night in the city on our own... completely on our own!!  Only happens about once a year, so we really enjoyed it while it lasted....  :)

1. Moffat Beach  2. Brothers  3. Bird feeding at Cania  4. The view from our Moffat balcony  5. Cousins re-unite  6. Bird chasing at Cania (grrr)  7. Me & Him relaxing  8. Cania water park fun  9. Spiderman

By far the most exciting and momentous event in January for one girl in particular though, was the removal of the braces last week!



Beautiful girl.

She is just so happy with them and flashing them off to anyone and everyone!  :)

And I must also share another shot of my other 'beautiful girl' competing (and coming second) in the Australia Day triathalon!!  Well done sweetheart.  Boys and girls all competed together this year, so it was really fabulous to see the girls taking out first and second place against all the boys too!

And finally, just cause it's cute, a shot of Lachy this morning before day care.  It will only be a one day a week thing (if that), and he was so happy to go.  No tears.  No 'don't go mummy'.  Nothing.  Just excitment.  So cute!

So, that's my month in a nutshell.  Sorry for all the family shots... hope you don't mind.  Just felt the need to share... :)

I can see the sun finally trying to peek it's head out for a look, so those layouts might get photographed today after all!  Best be off before it disappears again!

Cheers for now,

Jules

x

It's all about the chipboard!

Hello lovelies!! 

We returned from a beautiful holiday yesterday, which was replete with lots of sand, surf and sea.... plenty of relaxation.... and tonnes of photos!!  I haven't even downloaded the camera yet, much less edited them for posting, so I guess I'll have to do that later in the week, once the back-to-school flurry of activity settles down!!

For now, I just wanted to quickly share with you my very first official Dusty Attic DT layout!  These pieces are from the new release, which is just completely gorgeous.  They are so new in fact, that we don't even have the names and codes for them yet!  I layered a few different components for the door piece and then set about weathering it with paint, glimmermist and ink.  For details, check out my tutorial over at Dusty Attic and keep your eye on the DA shop for the new release for 2012.

I had a lot of fun with this page, exploring a couple of new techniques and looks... just trying to keep things interesting...  :)  I actually fussy cut around the floral detail in the bottom left of the Kaiser pp and slotted the chippy door and the canvas tag/photo down inside it, further embellishing over the top also.  I tend to 'blur' the boundaries of large elements on a page in order to make them a little less imposing.

{seek}

For now, I have to try to snap out of holiday mode and get my mind into back-to-school mode.... no mean feat!!  :))  Good luck to all my Queensland buddies who are in the same situation!

I'll be back later in the week with more stuff...  :)

Cheers for now,

Jules

x

It's a Lift!

Hello lovely people!!

This is a scheduled post, so as you read this, I'll be either splashing around at the beach on the Sunshine Coast, or laid back at the day spa... probably snoring!  lol   We were so looking forward to this break away that I'm sure coming home is going to be a little tough!  :)

Anyway, back to business.  It is my turn to pick a layout from the Boxx Gallery ... and shamelessly lift it!  I couldn't go past this stunning page by the gorgeous and super talented, Heather Jacob.  I just love the white on white with a touch of cream and golden tones.  I've wanted to do something like this for ages and this gave me the perfect opportunity.  I also loved the layered strips of punched paper and the white chippy element on white cs... and of course the stitching (duh)  :)

I've also had this lovely Dusty Attic peacock feather for ages and just didn't quite know what to do with it.  I had seen it used so well by other amazingly talented ladies, that I just didn't know how to do it justice.  I love it white with the little metal detail in the head of the feather.  Even in this plain colour scheme, I think it still manages to stand out.

{my xmas gift}

Thanks for popping by... try not to think of me sipping mai tai's by the pool!  hehee

See you soon,

Jules
x

December Book of You

Hello Again... :)

The Winks household has been busy trying to catch up today, following all the general busy-ness of Christmas/birthday/New Years... it's a pretty big party week in this place!!  :) 

Somewhere in the middle of it all, I managed to scrap two layouts for my Book of You Kit project at The Boxx.  Out of necessity, they were really quick and simple layouts... no time for fiddling and playing.  Most of the time, my pages are a real labour of love and I actually enjoy fussy over them for a while.  Every now and then though, it's quite fun to see what you come up with when you don't overthink things.... just cut and stick.  And, difficult as it is for me to do, that is exactly what I did.  :)

The December Book of You is all about "The Things I Love About Christmas".

For me, Christmas means simply, spending time with my special people and really cherishing those everyday moments and taking the time to focus on the fundamentally important things... like just giving your children the gift of your time and attention. Only then can we really appreciate these special moments that might otherwise go un-noticed.

My first layout is all about a photo I took of my eldest son on Christmas Day this year. He’s a very active little man and just doesn’t stop from the moment his eyes open in the morning, until bed-time. It was nice to watch him find things to do on Christmas Day when we were camping at our local camping spot, especially in such a lovely tranquil setting.

{tranquil}

My second layout is all about my youngest son. He gets away with soooo much more than his brother and sisters ever did at the same age.... even chocolate before breakfast on Christmas Day! I just adore the ‘and what are you going to do about it’ look on his face... although I know I shouldn’t! :)

{sweetie}

Tutorials for these layouts are available to kit subscribers in the BOY Kit Group over at The Boxx.

This was my final BOY kit for now as I pass the flame on to Gina.  I'm absolutely certain you will love what Gina has in store.

Another busy week ahead with scrapping commitments, scheduling posts ... and packing for our holiday!!  I'm so looking forward to getting away... beach and day spa, here I come!  lol

Cheers for now,

Jules
x

Busting to Tell!!!!..... and Fond Farewell

Happy New Year lovely ladies!!  With it comes a tonne of happy news... :) 

I've been just busting to share a few exciting developments on the creative front!  Here is one of them...

I'm on the Dusty Attic Design Team for 2012!!

I'm just thrilled to be on board over at DA.  They have always been an absolute all-time favourite chippy product of mine, so I was sooooo pleased to be invited onto the team for this year!

Dusty Attic also have a new blog up and running to celebrate the New Year also, so come over and check it out!  A new release is coming this month also.  I can't wait to show them off!!  Watch this space.

From one extreme to the other, it is with much sadness that I post my last layout for Kraft It Up.  My two consecutive six month terms are up, so it is unfortunately time for me to hang up the kraft, so to speak!  :)  Promise I'll still use it from time to time though.

The challenge this month is to use this colour palette (some or all of them) in a layout, using kraft as your base.

I must admit to being a little bit overwhelmed when I saw this vibrant combination, but the kraft really does soften it quite a bit.  :)

Here is mine:

{in my happy place}

Hmmm.... wonder who makes those chippies!  lol   Dusty Attic and Prima really are made for one another huh?  and yes, I'm still in love with Prima's mistable canvas!  :)

Best be off.  We have just returned from our New Year's weekend away at our lovely friend's farm.  The kids just didn't stop from dawn to dark, so I think I need to finish the washing and get dinner on the table before they fall asleep in their plates.  lol

Here's to a new year filled with new creative adventures and friendships.

I'll be back really soon with a Boxx kit share.

Cheers for now,

Jules
x