Welcome to stop #6 on the Snap and Scrap Progressive Blog Challenge!

Welcome to the Snap and Scrap Cybercrop Progressive Blog Challenge!! You've just arrived at stop #6. If you're just jumping aboard, here's the story.
Basically, the PBC is a blogtrain that you follow along to pick up all the freebies and then use them to create a layout. Upload to the Snap and Scrap Cyber Crop Gallery and post a link to the finished product in the Cybercrop forum before 9am Monday 1st Dec. It's heaps of fun and you get all of these freebies along the way:

PLUS this fabulous co-ordinating participation prize!!!


Here's your PBC freebie, courtesy of the lovely Bree. Remember, you MUST use at least 1 thing from this download on your layout!!

Download here


Once you've finished downloading, head on over to stop #7, it's the fabulous Bree! Click here to go to Bree's blog.

As we are co-ordinating this across quite a few different time zones, please be patient if all of the stops are not yet posted.

In case you've lost your way, or need to skip ahead, here are all of the stops on the train:-
Stop 1 - Katie
Stop 2 - Szilvia
Stop 3 - Gillian
Stop 4 - Charlie
Stop 5 - Christina
Stop 6 - Pene --------> You are Here
Stop 7 - Bree
Stop 8 - Sharon

Make sure you check out the other fun Cyber Crop Challenges!! and the fabulous Participation Prizes!!

Scrap Lift Participation Prize



Scrap Bingo Prize


List It Participation Prize



AND if that wasn't enough, if you stop by the shoppe and spend $10 or more, you get our AWESOME monthly team kit ABSOLUTELY FREE!!

Who says it's a merry christmas?

This photo was taken in 2006 at the Bulla Railway Park where we went for our playgroup Christmas party. Ben wouldn't have a bar of Santa - and who is the mean mummy who left him there long enough to get a few photos?! LMAO! We're going there again this sunday, also for the playgroup party - wonder if I can get a shot like this of Rachel...
All supplies from the Shabby Little Christmas team kit available from the Snap and Scrap Shoppe!

Woo hoo - nearly time! The exciting news is that I'm stop #6 on the Progressive Blog Challenge! Stop here tomorrow to get my part of the freebie, courtesy of the lovely Bree of Scrap'it Designs. So much going on for the Cybercrop - check it out here!!

Homer, please stay well!!!

Today I drove to Oakleigh with Mum to pick up Homer. Homer is my new car (not brand new, but new to our family). He is a beautiful white 1999 Honda Odyessey 7 seater mummy car that we bought about 2 months ago. We had him checked out by our mechanic and he seemed to be pretty sound. Within a month of having him, he was sick and $520later for a radiator top, thermostat and the brakes machined, he was running well again. Last week, he suddenly started making a really bad grinding noise, I mean really, really bad. Our friend and mechanic came and had a look and as soon as we started the car he raised his eyebrows and said 'oh'. That 'oh' was because it sounded to him like the transmission. He rang a couple of his contacts for us, while we rang some of the local guys, and we got prices from $1500 to $4000. Needless to say that once I stood up from having fallen down in shock, I cried!!! So he chased a few more contacts and got us in touch with a place in Oakleigh that does repairs for Honda dealers. They said it was a pretty common problem in Honda's and they suggested a reconditioned transmission with a 12 month warrantee on parts and labour fully fitted for $1850. Plus because I would never have driven it so far with that grinding going on, they arranged a tow truck to pick it up for $100. I'd priced a tow truck with RACV - it would have cost just over $220. So they picked him up on wednesday and he was ready to come home today.
Mum had the morning off work and was able to take me over, but she had to get back to work by 11.30. We went to the car place where I left the car seats and then she dropped me off at Oakleigh Central shopping centre. Two and a half hours later, with three kids who were almost as bored as I was of the little shopping centre (just speciality shops, no KMart, Big W, Target - we'd even browsed the aisles at Coles and Safeway!) he finally called to say it was ready! By the time I walked there - no pram, I hadn't realised that Rachel had put on all the weight she lost when she was sick and then some - the boys who were niggling at each other and the heat, I just needed to be out of there!
Ben and Rachel were asleep within minutes, and we drove home with no problems. Homer is running well and touching all the wood near me, I hope he stays that way for a while now!
Thanks for letting me vent all that - I feel much better now! I think a shower and an early night are in order and tomorrow is a new day! Bye for now :-)

Mmmmmmmmmm.....

I have just made the most incredible 'Tea and Fruit Loaf' from a Weightwatchers recipe. It has apricots, dates, figs, prunes, orange zest, cinnamon - smells absolutely divine! And don't think I won't share with you...


And that bit I cut off to show you inside - gone!!! Yum :-)

I have just made this LO for the Template Challenge at Snap and Scrap. The template is by the fabulous Mitzie of Made by Mitzie and I have used the Paper Princess Kit by the incredibly talented Sharlene of Charlie's Digiscraps - both items available at Snap and Scrap. I've also used the Adventure Frame Brush by LivEdesigns, which was a freebie from Designer Digitals.

I'm not sure if Rachel does make more mess than the boys or if it's because I have the boys trained to tidy up after themselves (well, that sounds good in theory, but the practice is somewhat different LOL!!) But I can always tell where Rachel has been by the trail of stuff she leaves in her wake! And how cheeky is she in these photos? She thought she was very clever to have emptied the toys out of the tub so she could sit in it! I think she was waiting for Christopher to come and give her a ride on the tiles in it. I love her cheeky face - she is so beautiful!

Cyber Crop at Snap and Scrap - a weekend of cyber-scrappin' goodness!

Yes, it's time for another Cyber Crop weekend at Snap and Scrap! Make sure you check back here over the week for another exciting announcement!

Christmas Countdown Challenge #4 at Snap and Scrap

With a lot of excitment and an equal amount of nervousness, I have posted my first challenge as a member of the Hybrid Team at Snap and Scrap. Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://www.snapandscrap.tv/forum/showthread.php?t=2439
I made a christmas photo cube:

Hope it gets some good feedback - my confidence needs a little help!

I wrote in yesterday's post that my mojo was gone. I'm not sure where or why, but it's been difficult for me create LO's for the last couple of weeks. The idea is in my mind, but I can't get it out and it is VERY frustrating! I can't seem to decide which kit to use, which colours, which elements etc, so I start a LO, delete it, start again and again until I throw my hands up in disgust and turn Photoshop off! So I'm trying not to stress about it, and I've made a few pencil sketches of my ideas and hope it all comes together some time soon.
Having said all that, I made this LO today (Ben's at childcare, Christopher is at kinder and Rachel had a sleep) which took me ages to do! Changed this and that, changed kits, colour schemes, word art, basically everything about 10 times. But I am happy with how it turned out EVENTUALLY!!!!!

I used the Kindness Returns mini by Scrapping with Katie (Snap and Scrap participation prize for last month's cyber crop). The frame and the Vintage Text paper (which I turned into an overlay) are by Katie Perteit of Designer Digitals.
I'll keep working on the mojo issue...

Ben's birthday has been AWESOME!! We have all had a great day - even Christopher, despite a few teary periods because there were no presents for him! I understood his frustration and desperation to play with the new toys and Ben was pretty good about sharing most of them, but not the new OMNITRIX!!! It hasn't left his wrist all day LOL!
I just did a LO with the photos of today. There will be more photos as we catch up with other family members over the weekend, so no doubt a few more LO's to be made. I haven't done a LO for about a week (a LONG time for me) but my mojo has gone on holiday. I used a template for this by Anna Aspnes, a freebie from Designer Digitals to help the juices flow. The kit I've used is Live Out Loud by Amy Riley, available from Snap and Scrap. I love the bright colours in the kit.

And here is a photo of Ben when he was minutes old!

My, so much has happened in three years...

Exciting times here today - my little boy Ben is 3 today! He is such a cool little boy, kind and generous and sweet, but he can throw a tanty with the best of them when required LOL!! He got a Bumblebee that talks and has about 2 steps to transform (finally a transformer I can work out how to change!!!!), a new Omnitrix that lights up and makes noises, Ben 10 figurines, undies and T-shirt - can you tell he's a Ben 10 fan? Christopher is being really good about it, but probably because there are enough things to share. So happy birthday to my darling boy Ben - have an awesome day!

Not much to report today. Rachel was up at 5.30am :-( so I'm a bit tired! We have an inspection tomorrow, so I spent the day cutting grass, sweeping the driveway, weeding, dusting, vacumming and general tidy up. Think of all the Weight Watchers bonus points I earned with all that activity! We haven't had an inspection for about 2 weeks, I was starting to think we must have dropped off the map...
Christopher is being a little 'challenging' these days. I've been told about the terrible twos and frustrating fours, but no one said anything about Feral Fives ( good name hey?)!! Perhaps he saved it up till now because he's been pretty good most of the time LOL. And with Ben's third birthday on Thursday, it'll probably get worse! Ben is into Ben 10 in a BIG way, so his birthday pressies include a lot of Ben 10 toys. Christopher likes Ben 10 too, so there should be tears here at about 7am! But Ben is such a sweet kid, I bet he shares everything with Christopher. If the shoe was on the other foot, I couldn't say that Christopher would do the same!
We got all the school orientation handouts today for Christopher. It's a little hard to know what to do at this point. We have decided if we don't sell by the middle of January, we are going to take the house off the market and stay here until I finish Uni - approx 2 years. That's providing I get into Uni of course! Anyway, what will be will be!
I finished my photo cube for Snap and Scrap, but I'm not going to post it here until next week so I don't spoil the surprise. I must say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.
I think I'll head to bed now - sweet dreams :-)

As part of the hybrid team at Snap and Scrap, I'm going to be doing three challenges - a photo cube, a door knob hanger and a special frame. Tonight I'm working on the photo cube, I might give you a sneak peak as it's not my turn on the challenge until next week and I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!
As many of you would know, my hubby is a gamer. For those of you who don't know, I had a group in Facebook called 'Widows of Guild Wars and WoW' (that's World of Warcraft for those who aren't in the know)!!! I put out a challenge that if I got 50 members Laban would have to give up the computer for a week! Took a while but we got there in the end and I got my week on the computer! Anyway, the newest expansion pack is out for WoW called "Wrath of the Lich King", so my time on the computer will be limited in the evenings! We are actually thinking of investing in a router or wireless or something that would allow us to use the internet at the same time! Anyway, I can here Labe's fingers taping as he waits in anticipation to use the computer LOL! Bye for now :-)

Christmas Countdown at Snap and Scrap

It's only 5 weeks until Christmas - OMG how scary, another year almost gone...
Stuck for ideas for Christmas presents? Well check this out!


Last night I finished a canvas for Sharon's first challenge:

Close up:


Supplies:
Digital products - Papers, tag and moth from the Pretty Grungy kit by Brianna Cox (available at Snap and Scrap).

Physical products - 6x6 canvas, Kaiser acrylic paints (white, green, violet deep and metallic silver), hatpin, pearls, beads and flower from the Stampin' Up Pretties Kit, Tim Holtz distress ink (Brushed Corduroy), Stampin' Up grosgrain ribbon (Elegant Eggplant), Adorn it Tiny Sunshine alpha stickers, 3D foam tape and double sided tape.

This was really easy to make, I got a 4 pack of canvases for $8 from Go-Lo. Because they're small (15cm x15cm), they are a great way to use all the little bits and pieces from your stash.

Thanks for the idea Sharon!

My hubby is the best

After a frustrating couple of hours trying to display my slideshow and reading numerous and confusing tutorials on how to do so, my husband came to the rescue and worked out how to get the slideshow exactly where I wanted it! On ya Labe - you're my hero!! So now all my LO's are up to have a look at! The credits for my LO's can be found on my Facebook profile, or if there is one in particular you want to know about, please leave a comment and I'II get back to you with the details.
I'm going to have a bit more of a play and see what else I can display - fav blogs and sites, blinkies and the like. Then I might see if I can find some free blog bling!
Back later xo

Yawwwnnn...

I have been on a shopping trip today as a fundraiser for our playgroup. I left home at 6.45am and got home at 7.30pm - 14 shops, a big lunch and lots of money spent! As a group we spent just under $10,000!!!! I got about 2/3 of my christmas shopping done. But I am exhausted!! Time for a cuppa and a relax. Back tomorrow to figure out how to load my slideshow!

Good Morning! What a beautiful sound to hear last night - RAIN!!!! Puddles on the ground this morning and that beautiful clean smell in the air.
Some exciting news to share - I am a Hybrid Elf on the Creative Team at Scrap and Snap! Very happy to be part of the team. As some of you may know from Facebook, I applied to the Digital Creative Team last month but didn't get through. So I'm happy to be doing hybrid with them. Hybrid is using a mix of digital kits and your normal scrapbooking stash - printing papers and elements. We're doing an amazing Christmas Countdown, so check out all the fun at the forum.
Tonight, Labe's mum is looking after the kiddies while Labe and I go out to dinner! Just like a real date! We're quite excited about it, going to a fancy restaurant with not a playroom in sight! It's been a while...
I'm still playing around with the blog, and have managed to add a slideshow! Credits for all the LO's can be found on my Facebook Albums - I'II get the link up as that is easier than having to go through all the slides and caption them. They add up when you look at them all!
Hope you have a great day and bring on some more rain :-)

Now I'm going to try and upload a LO that I did tonight for my very dear friend Lisa of her son Billy with his daddy Steve when he was just two weeks old! You forget how small and precious they are!

I have used the amazing "Boy's Club" kit by one of my favorite designers, Sara of Sweet Blossom Designs. Check out her blog - she is incredibly talented and generous, as her wonderful kits are free! http://sweetblossomdesigns.blogspot.com/. The date stamp is from Date Stamped vol 2 by Britt-ish Designs available from Scrap Matters.

Newbie alert!

I've decided I might try blogging to share stuff - my digi LO's, photos, and anything else that comes to mind! Like the pun on the name of my blog? My second name is Penelope, but I've been called Pene forever (pronounced Penny), so I thought it was a bit clever!
As this is my first post, I'm not really sure what I'm doing, so if you're reading this, please be patient and bear with me while I work it out! Glad you're along for the ride :-)