Stamps Ahead

This layout was completed for a lift challenge at Soul Scrappers .  My layout is a photo of me taken on my birthday having a 'cuppa' and lunch at The Natural History Museum in Vienna. It was the coldest day we experienced whilst on our Trafalgar Tour, the coach had dropped us at the Marie Therese Christmas markets - but it was so freezing cold and seeing the Museum my sister and I both said "there must be a café in there - let's head that way out of the cold".  Well, it was a great find, beautiful food, magnificent building, and the most impressive dome.  We did a quick walk around the museum, found the café and sat there until the coach was to return to pick us up.  The challenge was to be inspired by this layout above  "You Love a Cuppa" by Heather McMahon. I hope I have done your layout justice Heather. I have used some long time sitting in my stash items on my layout - the beads, bead star and tatting remnant. ...

My tribute to Australia Day 2016.  My local supermarket had these thongs (flip flops to my American friends) on sale for $2 a pair.  So of course I purchased and made my sister, brother and sister-in-law wear them on Australia Day 26th January, when we went to my sisters for a BBQ lunch and Pavlova.

This past week I went down to 'my' beaches - Ocean Beach to Umina Beach taking my Samsung Tablet with me as I wanted to take a panorama shot.  This is the view I have after I have walked just 100 steps from my front gate and up and over a small sand dune - I never tire of this view. I have completed this layout for a challenge over at ARTastic Challenge Blog .  The challenge was to be inspired by the following artwork  -Bondi Scene by Isabelle May Tweddle. The criteria was Summer. Some particulars - I have raised the main photo with foam tape - both the photo and the corrugated blue mount. In real life it gives the impression of raising above the sand image on the patterned paper. I have used paper, stickers and die cuts from Kaisercraft Sandy Toes collection and scattered hessian twine, pearls and sparkles randomly. I love both the quotes - so I used both - I hope not too much.  At the bottom (for photographic purposes only) you...

It is very hot here on the Central Coast of New South Wales today (yesterday and the day before as well) so most of the day has been spent inside with air-conditioner on.  So I have managed to complete several layouts from my recent holiday. This double page layout is of Musee D'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris.    It was originally built in 1900 to be a train station but was closed in 1939 when its platforms became too small for the long trains of modern times. In 1986 it then reopened as a museum  featuring art produced between 1848 and 1914, the time period of the Impressionists and post-Impressionists.   The clock is a wonderful piece, you can look through the clock at Sacre Couer and we were so thrilled it was fabulous weather and we could spot it. The left hand side of the layout shows the clock.  It was so hard not to get a photo that did not have people in it (aka the top photo) but I was lucky when I went bac...

In my last post I wrote about my prize winning photograph taken on Christmas Market Magic tour with Trafalgar in December, 2015.   Here is a double page layout I have done that incorporates that photo and more of the demonstration and morning tea that we had - Apple Strudel of course! The left hand page shows our demonstrator pulling the strudel pastry and finishing off the strudel. My sister got to fill and roll and the strudel.  Also we had morning tea with you guessed it - apple strudel.  I have popped the recipe behind you can just see the tab above my head.  The right hand layout tells the story of my prize winning photograph.  I have used papers from Basic Grey that I picked up from a local scrapbook store to complete the layout.  Thank you for looking, Margaret :)  

This box of goodies arrived on my doorstep on 20th January.  What was in the box? Why? First this is what was in the box - a gourmet box of wine and cheese and goodies. This is the why.  On my recent Trafalgar Tour - Christmas Market Magic which was co-run with Australian Better Homes and Gardens there was a photographic competition during our tour.  My photo of my sister taking part in an Apple Strudel demonstration at Schonbrunn Palace on 8th December won the "Simply the best holiday, moment or memory" category.  And the box of goodies was my prize.  Trafalgar commented "We thought it reflected our pillars that show the best memory or moment and your photo certainly captured the moment". Thank you Trafalgar and Better Homes and Gardens.  The box is heading to my sister, as I am a non-drinker and not really a cheese lover (well other than Cheddar and Tasty - boring I know).  It is only fair that it heads to her, as she was the subject o...

One of the most beautiful days I have ever spent was at Mt Titlus in the Swiss Alps.  Endless snow and views for miles.  This photo was taken from a cable car as you wind your way up to the top. I called this mountain here "My mountain" as it was viewable from just about everywhere from Engelberg to the top of the Mt Titlis. I was inspired by a Tic Tac Toe challenge at Soul Scrappers  to create this mixed media page.  Here is the challenge: I selected the right hand column. I first put white gesso onto the patterned paper, let it dry and then sprayed with gold, when this dried I applied a chevron mask and used Distress Ink. The image is definitely frosty/chilly.  For the something recycled I have used the white paper that you get as inserts when you purchase inserts for your layouts - this is sprayed with the gold spray and cut into 2" strips.  I have also used buttons from my collection that I have found at op shops/fetes over the years and...

One of the fun things I got to do on my recent holiday was ride a South Devon Railway steam train with Santa!!!  Even got to have my photo taken! I have seen many grid type layouts recently on the net and this is my take on one.  I have completed this for a Using Up Scraps challenge at Soul Scrappers with the added criteria of using 8 of something - I have used 8 (really 9) stickers and together with the papers they (with exception of all aboard and departure time stickers) came from an old Kaisercraft range called Christmas Carol.  I now only have one and bit sheets of paper and a few stickers that were not suitable for this layout left. The return train ride was from Buckfastleigh to Totnes in Devon, I got to have a warm fruit juice drink and mince pie as we rode along.  All the passengers made their way to the back of the train for a photo with Santa and the kids all got a gift.  It was great to see such happy faces as they made their way back to ...

On Christmas Day evening, we walked from our hotel to view the Laserlight show on the waterfront. This double page layout shows photos from that show.  A kind professional wildlife photographer next to us showed us how to use the manual settings on our cameras. This page uses Stampin'Up! Project Life (all retired) product and a co-ordinating cardstock. I purposefully left this page plain, as I wanted the focus to be on the photo, in particular the top photo taken by me with my new found manual camera setting skills.  I was so pleased with the result. Thanks for looking, Margaret :) 

Today, I have a layout showing our visit to Patisserie Stohrer, the old patisserie in Paris.   We had read about this patisserie before we left Australia and of course just had to have a visit. It is notable as the founder Nicolas Stohrer (who was offical baker of King Stanislaus of Poland, before moving to Paris) created the Baba au rhum - or as we know it Rum Baba. I have used Make it Monday 51 Sketch from The Memory Nest - why not head over and check it out. It has been wet for a couple of days here in Sydney, so just the weather to get scrapbooking. Thanks for looking, Margaret :)

My sister and I celebrated Christmas Day 2015 in Singapore on our way home from our European/English holiday.  Of course, we needed our hotel room to be decorated.  I had bought the small foldable tree at Kmart before leaving, the banner I made several years ago and it came in my luggage as well. Around the tree we put mini-gingerbreads we purchased in Austria and chocolates from Brugge.  There is also a small knitted stocking made by my 89 year old neighbor and we filled it with candy canes given to us.  A small tree but a tree nevertheless. The layout is for a Soul Scrappers challenge MYC23. Thank you for looking, come back later and see more of my layouts from my holiday.

These photos of my sister enjoying the chocolate fountain at Roose's Chocolateworld in Brugge, Belguim.  I admit I did as well - dip the marshmallows into the chocolate - heaven. Did you know that there are over 50 chocolate shops in Brugge? Well, we found a few of them!!! It was happenstance that we ended up in Brugge - our Trafalgar Tour was due to go to Brussels, however due to security issues it was decided that we would head for Brugge instead - a great move, a great city and great chocolate. Remember, chocolate is good for you if you need an excuse to eat more!!! Enjoy, Margaret 

This photo was taken in Engelberg, Switzerland.   I was inspired by a layout in a French Scrapbooking magazine - Passion Scrapbooking (what a great name) No. 59.  Am I getting better at this selfie thing?  If you call cutting half my face off - I am not so sure!!! Cheers, and every good wish for 2016, Margaret