DOES THIS MAKE ME FAMOUS....???

THIS appeared on the RJR blog this week.
so i ask you.....does this make me famous....????

i have been a slack blogger
I KNOW

but thought i would post these

my BOM challenge for this month....to scrap about your school years.
i was 16 in this photo...so self concious and finally emerging from a very troubled period in my life.
i had just met mark so things only got better from there on.

this was scrapped using the challenge pack from EMM.
i have wanted to scrap this pic since i had it printed but i'm not sure i am happy with the result.
oh well...it is a very important memory scrapped now.
move on.

and next week...with the school holidays here and a bit more of a laid back approach to life, i will have time to post a bit more of a meatier update.

hope you enjoy your weekend and if you are lacking inspiration you can head over to EMM for the latest cybercrop challenges and also rondelle is having a great 30% off storewide (except for cricuts and their bits) but it ends at midnight tonight.

also the sale at RJR ends tonight too.
great bargins to be had.

remember...look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
i have people in my life who care for me and who love me and that in itself is such a blessing.
one friend in particular, and you know who you are, is my voice of reason in the darkest hours and has such a calming influence on me and ALWAYS seems to know the right things to say to me when i am falling apart.
thank you.
i love you my friend
xxoo

BARGAINS TO BE HAD

jenny over at really just ribbons is having a great stocktake sale.
every single ribbon in the store has been reduced by a minimum 10%, with American Craft ribbons reduced by an amazing 40%.
the sale ends on june 30, so get yourself over there and grab yourslef a bargain.

jenny is also now stocking the new and exciting Ribbon Stiff which is the latest and greatest product to hit the scrapping/card making scene.
i can't wait to get my hands to some of this stuff because i hear that it is great.
and as jenny says in her sales blurb
"an essential for any ribbon addict"

and speaking of ribbon addicts -
not that i am one to point fingers but....check this out.
toni is one of my new fellow RJR DTers and man.....has she got it bad !!!

not much scrapping going on here at the moment....i have almost finished my first RJR DT project using the gorgeous ribbons that jenny sent us but have struggled a bit with the design.
jenny has been most generous with what she sent us
"thanks jen"
so hopefully i will be able to get a few LOs and some cards done.

we have had kait ill all weekend with migraines and high temps and a very sore throat. she has spent most of the weekend either on the lounge watching DVDs or asleep in our bed.
i had the fire going all day yesterday to take the chill off the air so today it was off to visit "big Al" the dear old fella out at the wood yard and get a bootload of wood.
matt and jake were with me and kept me laughing and giggling all the way with their banter and stories of their soccer team mates.
i feel so lucky and blessed that my sons are great mates as well as being brothers. i have friends whose sons seem to be constantly at war with each other but my boys really are the best of friends.

anyway....not much of a post so i won't bore you any more.

remember...look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
how blessed i am to have two wonderful sons who love, respect and care for each other.
love you guys
xxoo

SOME LAYOUTS TO SHARE

my latest entry in the june EMMies at EMM - the challenge was to use flowers as a feature, e.g. to form a frame, as part of a journalling block, etc + use bling.

love the colours in this one and i love this photo of kait.

this was a quick LO i did one night when i was at a loss as to what to scrap. the photos were taken at the EMM retreat in march and i taught jay, along with a few of the other girls, how to do french knots.

thanks for looking and remember.....

look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY PHOTO FOR TODAY

this little girl really loves her daddy.
and he loves her right back.

ON A BRIGHTER NOTE....

...after many many tears and lots and lots of talking and clearing the air, mark and i seem to be slowly rebuilding the bridges that we burnt over the past few weeks.
there isn't much i can go into because it really is a private issue but i think we have a better understanding of where we are in our relationship. but more importantly what we have to do to keep our family together and happy and stable.

thank you to those of you that emailed me, concerned about what was going on.
your friendship and concern really does mean a lot to me.

now onto some pretty exciting news.
all that "secret" scrapping that has been going on over the past few weeks is a secret no more with the arrival of an email on friday night from the lovely jenny over at really just ribbons telling me that i was one of the lucky for people that she has chosen to be on her very first design team.
and with this announcement on her blog it was suddenly all official and very very exciting.
i am truly honoured and i can't wait to get started on some scrapping using some of the totally gorgeous ribbons that jenny has in her store.
i am also looking forward to getting to know jenny much better as well as the other girls chosen for the design team.
here are my pieces i scrapped for my application to be a part of the team.

this is a ribbon album i created by weaving ribbon to cover an album i bought from rabbit photos. i am planning to photocopy my favourite LOs and carry them in this album when i travel to see friends.

the back view of the album

a close up of the closure.

the album open

the album open showing the spine

a LO of my guy using lots of ribbon attached in different ways. i love this photo of mark looking so happy and relaxed
the card i made for my niece and her partner for their engagement...lots of delicious ribbons and i LOVE that allison ellis PP.
a close up of their initials....chipboard inked and layers and layers of UTEE (love the stuff)

a close up of the ribbons and charms

so that is my exciting scrapping news.

i want to congratulate my wonderful friend julie for winning the may round of the EMMies over at EMM. julie's work is amazing and you can see it all here in her gallery.
she is an amazing scrapper, a gorgeous gal, a great friend and SIL to the beautiful ruthy (my favourite of all time scrapper) - couldn't ask for me really could you.
well done julie and a well deserved win.

and on that note it is time to go and feed the troops.
teenage boys are always hungry....has anyone else noticed.
and they travel in packs....i have just had my two babies arrive home with a couple of friends in tow....hope i have enough spuds for dinner.

remember.....look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY PHOTO FOR TODAY

my beautiful boy drumming at his CAPA performance last week.
he had the crowd on their feet, the girls screaming his name and his mum sitting in the audience with tears in her eyes and her heart so full of pride it almost burst.
his teacher tells me that he is one of the best drummers she has ever had the privilege of teaching.
and he plays a pretty mean guitar too.
(not the best photo but photos of drummers rarely are)

DOIN' IT TOUGH

it's been a tough week that's for sure.
on so many levels and for so many reasons.
sometimes i wish that life, just for once, could be easy...
that relationships could be black and white not these deceptive shades of grey.
*SIGH*

and on that note remember.....look for the things in your life that make you smile
~~ and let those you love, know that you do ~~

~*~ shazz ~*~
xo

HAPPY THOUGHT FOR TODAY
things can only get better
things can only get better
things can only get better
and with that she knocked her ruby slippers together and was transported home to where she was loved and felt safe