Winner of the Scrapbooking Software

A big thanks to everyone who left comments and entered the My Memories scrapbooking software giveaway.

And the lucky winner is:    RHONDA

I numbered everyone except for Anonymous (Christine Bennett) who already has this software.  Using a random number selector 8 was the lucky number.

Congratulations Rhonda and I look forward to seeing some classy scrapbooking pages featuring your new grandson.  I will email you details of your win.

For those of you who were not so lucky don’t be too disappointed – just take advantage of the special offer (in my sidebar) using the promotional code for a $10 discount on the My Memories software together with a $10 voucher to use in their shop - $20 value.  My Memories is normally $39.95 USD so with the discount it is a very, very affordable buy.  Apart from scrapbooking, there are just so many other things you can do with it.  Try it.  I know you will be impressed.

Thanks again.

Our grandsons

Once again I am trialling my new My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software.  Made these two pages on our grandsons in a flash using the templates that come with the software.  Have used nothing else, just inserted the photos and voila!!  I will get more creative later and start with a blank page and pull in the different backgrounds and creative elements myself but for now am quite content to use their wonderful designs.  And you will never run out as there are literally hundreds of  cool design packs that can be bought at a small cost (yes I was amazed at how cheap they are) from the MyMemories.com shop.

Only another 3 days to go before I do the draw for one lucky reader to win a free copy of this fantastic software.  Just go to my previous post which gives the instructions for entering this giveaway.  Thanks to all those who have already entered by leaving comments and naming their favourite design or background pack.  You will soon know the winner and if that is not you don’t despair.  See my offer on the right of this page and save money buying the software suite with the generous discount My Memories are offering my readers.  The normal retail price is only $39.97 USD so with the discount and no shipping (just download straight on to your computer) this is a really reasonable price for such wonderful software.

Here are the pages I made.  By the way, by using the correct paper and printer settings I have been able to make a much better job of printing out these pages so that makes me real happy.  Might have to look around and see about replacing my A4 printer with an A3 one so that I can print them out larger.

 

 

Taken at the beach a couple of years ago.

Love these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Had a hard job finding photos of these two.  As it is the one of the two of them fishing was taken a few years ago.  I have got plenty of them when they were younger but no recent ones.  Must speak to my daughter and see if she can let me have some.

Scrapbooking Software giveaway

I am thrilled to tell you that I am hosting a giveaway of the top rating My Memories Suite Scrapbook software.  Scroll down and see some examples of what I have made so far using this software, not only quick, fun and easy to use but also utilises some of the nicest designs and templates I have seen.  Make scrapbook pages, photo books, greeting cards and much, much more.

To enter simply leave a comment either on this blog, or on Facebook when this Networked Blog shows up on my Facebook page and let me know your favourite digital paper pack or layout that you find on www.memories.com.  I will give each comment a number and the draw will take place on Wednesday 5th December.  I will use a random number selector to pick the winner.

However, do not despair if you do not win a free copy of this software as My Memories has offered my readers a special $10 discount off the purchase price of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the My Memories store - $20 value!)  To get this special offer just enter the promotional code STMMMS30955 when purchasing.

These are the two pages I have done.  My printer isn’t the best but hope to upgrade one day or get them printed out professionally.  I will show you 2 versions of each page – the first will be just as it comes using the My Memories suite and the second is printed out and has some 3D embellishments (using stamped images) to show how you can ‘lift the page’ a bit more and give it more dimensions.  Please remember I am a newbie using digital scrapbooking so hope to get more creative as time goes on.  I have been neglecting my scrapbooking over the past couple of years and am well behind so hope that now it is much easier to create my pages that I will get my enthusiasm back though I do like to combine the digital with the hand-made concept.

  

On the left is the original and on the right my printed and 3d embellished version. As you can see my stupid printer has got the colours wrong!!  I removed the original flower embellishment in the bottom right hand corner and replaced it with a stamped, cut out flower and added the butterfly.  Both are raised using dimensionals.

   

Once again the printed version on the right is different colours but you will see the only alterations I have made are the butterflies which I stamped, coloured and punched out and raised using dimensionals.  Only a subtle difference but in real life looks really nice.

Please also note that I did not print these in a photo format which probably results in a much clearer printout.

Anyway, please go check out My Memories and take advantage of these great offers.

Happy scrapbooking all.

Pretties scrapbook creation

Twice over recent weeks Jacque - www.stamphappynz.blogspot.com has created beautiful scrapbook layouts using SU papers and accessories. The last one was using the SU Pretties kit. Doesn't it look gorgeous and has made me now want to get this kit - it's next on my wishlist. This is my eldest daughter when she was just three - so sweet! That's why I need a Pretties kit so I can do a matching page for my youngest daughter.

This is another layout we did the other week. Know it's hard to believe but yes, that's me and yes, I know it doesn't bear much resemblance to how I look now. Methinks radical cosmetic surgery is what is needed.

Love the clean simple lines of these layouts - not too cluttered. Also feel that they were more suited to black & white or sepia photos rather than coloured which can sometimes overpower the layout.

I recollect .....

I don't think I'm really cut out to be a good blogger! I keep forgetting to post which caused me to think back to my youth (and that was a long time back!) and how utterly useless I was at keeping a diary. Each year my Aunt in England sent me a schoolgirls diary which I anticipated receiving with excitement and every good intention that this year, I would diligently keep it up to date. These were lovely diaries full of all sorts of information and advice for 'genteel' young ladies as they grew up - perhaps my problem was that I didn't exactly fit the criteria of 'genteel'. Anyway the first few pages would be painstakingly written in, then the entries would become less and less until the last 6-8 months of the diary would be completely empty! I think this bad habit is being repeated in my blogging.

Anyway on to more interesting things ...

I recently borrowed Karen's lovely Time Well Spent stamp set as we had made a lovely card at her home using this set. I have stolen her photo of the card (I'm sure she won't mind as I am not claiming it as my own creation). This is her card as I don't think mine came out looking quite so nice.

While I had this set here at home, I made three different cards with it - two of the cards were partly cased and the third was an original!

If I want to use this set again I'll have to borrow it from Karen as I don't think I'll ever be eligible for a Hostess 3 gift!

Last week at Jacque's class we did a 12x12 scrapbook page - see her blog - www.stamphappy.blogspot.com

I really enjoyed getting another perspective on doing scrapbook pages using stamps and d/s cardstock. Thanks Jacque.

Last Thursday I had my biopsy & ultra scan on the thyroid. Initial comments at the time indicated that the lump was not cancerous but I'm waiting to have this confirmed when the full lab results come through. I'm still waiting to find out about the PET scan and can't believe how long this is all taking.

Follow up photos - Auckland Extravaganza

As promised, here are the photos of all the groovy things I made at the Auckland Extravaganza under the watchful eye of the SU demonstrators:




A gorgeous box and in my favourite lilac and purple colours too - so elegant and easier to make than it looks.

This is a 6x6 scrapbook layout, ready for pasting photos in the centre. This theme definitely has a summery, beachy feel to it.

One of my favourites - just adore the colours and the technique. The picture is looped over the main card and kept in place by magnets. Just remove it and you have a novel bookmark.

Something new that I haven't seen before - a corkboard for all those pesky notes that keep getting lost. We also used the shrink plastic to make the two cute little flowers which were then attached to the head of drawing pins with Crystal Effects. Neat eh!!

Isn't this pretty. I wasn't sure when the Sellebrations catalogue came out with this stamp set in it as to whether I really liked it. After making this card I definitely changed my mind. This is a Jacobs Ladder card with a hidden panel where you can write a secret message (providing the recipient can find it!!) Lots of fun and still have not worked out how we get it to finish up like that.

Summer 2008 ... just perfect!

Had a lovely day today (Auckland Anniversary day). Took Rosie (our dog) to visit a friend who lives literally one minute's walk away from Kohimarama beach. We walked around to St Heliers Bay and had a lovely lunch at one of the restaurants there sitting at an outside table with Rosie tied up next to us. Quite a lovely spectacle with all the yachts on the harbour, a sea which was as blue as the sky, and a lovely, balmy breeze. Wasn't quite so easy walking back to her place because as usual after a larger than normal lunch, I felt more like just relaxing and putting my feet up!

Earlier in January went with Karen and Joan to an extra special scrapbooking class held at NZ Scrapbooking where they had Jamie Waters from the U.S. of A, and a well-known contributor to scrapbooking magazines and books who demonstrated and assisted us to do three layouts - see below:

Above left: Me & my eldest daughter Nicky

Centre, right & below: My husband (Nev) & I in Europe & England

Next day I got all enthusiastic and did another matching layout (on left) .... but .... haven't done anymore since!! No excuses but I will get on and do some more SOON.

Jamie is very much into random groupings of embellishments, and likes to 'pile' them up, one on top of the other. Must admit I do like the concept which is at odds with my tendency to want to balance everything out evenly on the page.


I have made some cards recently. The one on the left is a multiple congratulations card sent to my eldest grandson, Matthew for passing his NCEA exams, getting his learner's licence, and buying his first car (not that he can drive it yet without a qualified driver in the car with him). The other two cards are birthday cards, one for a friend and the other for a soon-to-be 14 year old niece in Australia. Details of the making of these cards are on my Picasa web album (see link at left).



Now for the boring and mundane ... my health ... had my scan and went back to see the doctors at Oncology but nothing had shown up yet although my CA125 levels had risen again and they seem convinced that there is a recurrent tumour somewhere so last Thursday had to go and have a colonoscopy and the less said about that experience, the better! They removed some polyps which have been sent to the lab for testing. I'm now waiting for an ultra scan of my neck and throat and if at the end of all this nothing is found, they are apparently considering funding me to go to Melbourne for a PET scan (we don't have one of these scanners here in New Zealand). Bet they don't include dinner and a show in the funding! All joking aside, I know it may be serious but as feel fine I'm just going to go on thinking positively. The only reason I am recording all this in my blog is not because I am feeling sorry for myself, but just so as I have a record of the sequence of events as my memory gets very hazy at times (actually, most of the time). Writing things down also seems to be a good way of dealing with issues I find. It's just like bringing them out, looking at them then filing it all away in a little box.

Family and friends can be so great and supportive. Thanks everyone for making all this so much easier for me. Even acquaintances I haven't known that long go out of their way to offer help and advice.

I'm starting back at card classes tomorrow night - and you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to being inspired and coming home with my completed projects to admire. I spend hours looking at other people's blogs and ooh-ing and aah-ing over their creations. It's such a fantastic community where everyone is happy to share their ideas with each other.

I know this is going to be one fantastically creative year!