Artistic Musings

[Click here to see layout ... credits: Si Jolie kit by Lynne-Marie, at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB AmandaG.]

More pretties from Lynne-Marie ... I love her swirls, I've tried to draw swirlies, but I think I'm short of artistic genes, somehow, and mine just look like childish scribble. I am always in awe of people who can draw like this. My grandmother was an artist who dabbled in oil paints, but I seem to have missed out completely on that gene, which is kinda sad! :)

Cheryl, who is the queen of scrapping with fonts and no images on her page (how does she do that?) has created the following layout ...

[Layout by Cheryl... credits: Lynne-Marie: Paper, Mat, Border, Chocolate Prints from Chocolate kit. Alpha, Lace doodle (recoloured) from Si Jolie kit. Creashens: Clipped Flower, Stitched Heart – Silver Spoons kit. Both at twolittlepixels. Scarlet Heels: Alpha (no) – She’s so sophisticated. Amy Stoffel: Alpha (threat) – Shabby Love collab with Krystel Hartley. Font – CK Ali’s Hand ... ]

Well, Monday has come and gone, three working days left till the holidays ... sigh! Can't wait, and neither can the kids. We are planning a large-scale 'lazing around' sort of holiday, you know ... the sort where you get out of bed when you feel like it, laze around in pjs till you think you really orght to go have a shower, make the kiddies get their own lunch, perhaps throw a movie in (after you've had a shower, maybe late in the day!), certainly some shopping, bookstores, perhaps a games store if the boy puts on enough pressure. Oh yes, the girl is out to earn some money for a big project she is saving up for, so that means my ironing will be done, perhaps even the bathrooms cleaned, certainly some vacuuming. What's a girl to do, but sit and play on her computer all day? BLISS!!!

 

Another literary post ...

 

[You can find this layout here ... credits: Si Jolie kit, Creative WordArt 1 by Lynne-Marie at twolittlepixels. Font: Courier New, Mistral.]

Here's another layout using Lynne-Marie's pretty stuff, I love the gorgeous colours in this kit, and the whimsical feel to her swirls and doodles ...

[Layout by Clochette, using Si Jolie ... ]

Oh yes, the literary post ... I almost got distracted by the pretties by Lynne-Marie! :)

Here's another series you might like to read, young adult fiction, The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare. The best part about this series is that book 3 has just come out, so you don't have to wait for three years for it to conclude!!! :) But please be careful if you are a fairly conservative reader, there are things in the novels that may upset you ... I'm just saying ... you've been warned, lol! :)

 

Aren't these amazing covers? I must admit to being a sucker for a good cover ... they look better in real life, though. The Twilight covers pulled me in too ... and now I have four black and red books next to each other in my lovely white new Ikea glass-doored bookcase, and today I brought home book 2 and 3 of the Mortal Instruments series as well. And guess what? another comment by Stepenie Meyer on the front of book 3 ... 'A story world I love to live in.' Hope she is charging for all these recommendations ... first, the Hunger Games, now City of Glass. :)

I am up to page 171 in the first book, and I'm totally enjoying the series. A bit more contemporary than Twilight, lots of 'teen themes', but nicely written and totally engaging. Oh, a couple of norty words, I should warn you. And, if it's not too much information, a happy ending, which is always a bonus for me. Not for DH, he's the sort that half way through a movie when all appears lost, he is quite content to call it a day, mainly to tease me, I think. :)

Plot ... let's look at the blurb on the back cover! 'It's after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the nightclub just stabbed a boy to death - but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and there's something nasty lurking in her appartment. With her life spiralling into darkness, Clary realizes that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunter - a war in which she has a fateful role to play ... '

It's vanpires versus werewolves in Harlem, while sexy demon hunters prowl through downtown clubs and Brooklyn coffeehouses - City of Bones is epic urban fantasy at its demented, delightful best.' I found this quote on a fan's website ... *You will love it if you are a fan of Harry Potter, Twilight, vampires, magic, werewolves, urban fantasy or great books in general.* Oh yes, these previews make it sound a lot more intense and scarier than it is, I'm finding it a good read.

So there you go ... go read it at your peril! :)

Beginning the day with chocolate ...

[Click here to visit this layout ... Credits: Chocolate kit by Lynne-Marie, at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB AmandaG.]

Hands up all those people who have scrapped the same photo twice ... or even more, lol? Ok, I confess I've used this photo before, but after visiting Cream again last Friday morning, and working with Lynne-Marie's kit called Chocolate (on special at 50% off!), what else could a girl do, but scrap it again? :) This week I am going to feature Lynne-Maries products which you can find here ... here's a layout by Carol using some of these bits and pieces.

[Layout by Carol ... Credits: Si Jolie kit by Lynne-Marie Favreau Designs. White paper from Chocolate by Lynne-Marie Favreau Designs.]

My poor neglected Etsy shoppe ... it's been a while since I've popped something new in there, but this weekend, I've created three new pairs of earrings ... wanna see? Rhetorical question, that one! Of course you do ... :)

You can find sugaredbling here ... other pretties there too! I must admit that I've snuck a few pairs of earrings into my own collection that we've created, they didn't even get to the Etsy shoppe, lol. In fact, the girl the other day was chatting to me across our circulation desk at school when she stopped suddenly and carefully inspected my ears.

'Are those earrings I made for Etsy?', she asked.

'Could be,' I responded in a very casual, off-hand way. You know, the way you do when you really don't want to commit yourself, in any shape or form.

'Well, did you pay for them?', was her next question.

'Maybe!', I responded. 'Possibly. I might have!'
[Hmmm ... possibly not too!!!]

Have a GREAT weekend, everyone!

Collab time, Creatively Speaking ... :)

[You can find our 2lp Creatively Speaking Collab here at twolittlepixels ... ]

Oh wow ... collab time!!! There's something really fun about deciding on a colour scheme, then everyone rushing off to their own corner and creating furiously, then checking back to see what everyone else has come up with! Always so much fun to see the end result. I love the soft, pretty colours in this 2lp collab ... here are individual designer previews in alphabetical order, so you can get a close up. Oh, and some gorgeous layouts too, using the collab!

[Collab contribution by Ange ... ]

[Layout by Suzanne ... ]

[Collab contribution by cherpea... ]

[Layout by Bao ... ]

[Collab contribution by Click Photo LieN ... ]

[Layout by Carol ... ]

[Collab contribution by creashens ... ]

[Layout by Margote ... ]

[Collab contribution by Designs by Angelica E. ... ]

[Layout by Ciloo ... ]

[Collab contribution by [ksharonkdesigns] ... ]

[Layout by Clochette ... ]

[Collab contribution by NatashaNaSt Designs ... ]

[Layout by Cheryl ... ]

 

[Collab contribution by Pure Scrap ... ]

[Layout by Jodie ... ]

And now for something new ...

As well as our collab, we have some other gorgeous stuff, also at 20% off for the first 24 hours!!!

[You can find Paper Essentials - Shabby Sweetness by [ksharonkdesigns] here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Jodie ... ]

[Layout by Clochette ... ]

[Layout by Cheryl ... ]

[You can find Melody of Rain kit by NatashaNaSt Designs here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Marina ... ]

[You can find Template Enjoy by Ange here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Ange ... ]

[You can find Silver Spoons kit by creashens here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Marina ... ]

[You can find Silver Spoons Paper Pack by creashens here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Pretty Krafty 2 by creashens here at twolittlepixels ... ]

And because it's Friday, here's a little quickpage freebie ... :)

[You can find this layout here ... ]

[Thank you for your interest, but this freebie has expired ... ]

Waving goodbye to the weekend ... :)

[Click here to visit this layout ... credits: Circle of Friends collab, at twolittlepixels. Stitching from Starting Out 1 kit, by [ksharonkdesigns] at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB Angel Baby.]

Such a fleeting concept, a weekend, don't you think? You anticipate it all week, relish it at the beginning, take a deep breath, throw yourself in, but before you have time to enjoy it, it's over and it's nose to the grindstone again! Sigh! I'm hanging out for holidays in a couple of weeks ... say with me ... relax! PJs all day! Maybe even fast food! Can't wait ... :)

I did do a couple of exciting things though ... we picked up five Billy bookcase glass doors from Ikea late Sunday afternoon. I bought two bookcases and a dvd storage unit (like a bookcase only narrower) a few weeks back, and Ikea was out of glass doors, can you believe? Well, now I have my glass doors, just have to motivate the DH to hang them for me. I can cope with making up the bookcases on my own, but the glass doors make me nervous!!! Can't wait to see my books happily living dust-free behind the doors, in their lovely white new home! Did I mention I live in a dust bowl and have at last count 14 bookcases stuffed with books. Well, I think it's 14 ... no, wait, better make that 15, just remembered another one, lol.

And this leads me neatly into a literary post, lol. I've discovered a book you might like! Stephanie Meyers has recommended The Hungar Games, a book (first one in a series, fortunately) by Suzanne Collins. Well, I've been meaning to pick it up for a while now, so when I was in Borders yesterday, I grabbed the last copy off the shelf in the Young Adults section. And it was indeed the sort of book you pick up and can't put down, I had it read in a couple of hours. It really reminded me of John Marsden's Tomorrow series, only written for a younger audience. [Incidentally, the Tomorrow Series is recognised as the most popular book series for young adults ever written in Australia.] I was interested to see a comment by Stephanie Meyers on the front cover of The Hunger Games ... 'The Hunger Games is amazing!', and on the back cover, a comment by Stephen King ... 'Constant suspense ... I couldn't stop reading!'

This is the cover that we have on our books in Borders ... a tricky flap cover where you can fold it and either have the girl or boy protagonist showing through a hole in the cover ... very fun!

The girl (in our house, that is!) is currently making her bed with one hand and holding her book with the other, rotflol! I should have saved it until the holidays, but hey, when you have a good book, you are itching to share ... hence this post, lol! I guess she was struggling doing her piano practise with one hand and reading with the other, so she decided to leave it till she made her bed. :) I'll tell you about another good series I've discovered next post ... :)

That time of the week ...

[Click here to visit layout ... credits: Paper from Paper Essentials - Assortments, flower from Small Packages - Garden Delights 2, by [ksharonkdesigns] at twolittlepixels. Paint from Circle of Friends collab, at twolittlepixels.]

New stuff in the shoppe tonight, at 20% off for the first 24 hours ... from Pure Scraps first!

[You can find Bleus du Nord Paper Pack by Pure Scrap here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Miss Bubble ... ]

And two sets of overlays by Ange ...

[You can find Pattern Overlays Pack 01 by Ange here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Pattern Overlays Pack 01 by Ange here at twolittlepixels ... ]

And Click Photo LieN has 'emptied' her grab bag ... and you will now find her pretty things in the shoppe ...

[You can find Flower Potpourri by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Dreams of White by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Typewriter Words by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Words on a String by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Written Words by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

And because it's Friday, I have a little freebie for you ...

[Thanks for your interest, but this freebie has expired ... ]

True friends ...

[Click here to visit this post ... Credits: Circle of Friends collab, at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB Angel Baby.]

I'm having fun this week scrapping with our collab ... it's always a wonderful creative challenge when you get to play with more than one designer's creations, and I've scrapped with three here, I think. I'ts pretty amazing the way that all the stuff works so beautifully, considering how we different designers are. We just started with a colour palette and name for the kit, and it all grew from there. I'm working on another collab this week, one with all of our 2lp designers, which should be out in just over a week, so keep an eye out for that one! :)

One thing I would love to have done in my life is to be a food photographer ... to me it's all about the photo, less about the food, lol ... so I guess I would stay a skinny food photographer! ;) Some websites that I really enjoy visiting are Cannelle et Vanille ... B Comme Bon ... La Tartine Gourmande  Don't stop at the first post on these blogs, scroll down a little to see all the purty food!

Off to work ... heigh ho, I go! More next time ... :)

Did you have ...

[Click here to see layout ... Credits: Circle of Friends collab at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB Angel Baby.]

Did you ever have one of these at your house, a little baby/toddler boy, who moved at the speed of a whirlwind, and created as much disaster as one, leaving nothing untouched in his trail of destruction? :) Wow, he was a lot of hard work, this boy; someone had him in their line of vision 24/7, I can remember. He was so quick, and so curious, and so much on the move. When he slept, he slept well ... but when he gave up his day sleeps round about the time his sister arrived, things got interesting then. :)

Even though he was 'encouraged' to rest in his room for a little time each day, mostly this meant he emptied a bookcase, or a cupboard, or a drawer in short period of time! Thankfully, now that he is nearly 18, he has slowed down a lot, and is much more predictable, thank goodness ... yes, he is still messy, but it's much more a 'contained' mess, and usually he knows where he has put things. Oh yes, he also doesn't empty bookcases to find a book (he just asks me where it is!), or pull clocks to bits to see how they work, or post strange things into dvd players just because he can ... you get my drift!  Yup, life has slowed down a trifle ...

Weekend eye-candy ... :)

[Click here to visit this layout ... Credits: Circle of Friends collab at twolittlepixels. Font: DJB Miss Liz.]

I had a chance to play with our collab last night ... this layout uses creashens' bits and pieces in the kit. Such fun ... I so miss scrapping, now that I'm running a shoppe and designing, it was so good to make something! Our ct has enjoyed playing with the kit too ... :)

[Layout by Jane ... ]

[Layout by Tali ... ]

[Layout by Katina ... ]

[Layout by Brenda ... ]

[Layout by Shen ... ]

 

[Layout by Cassie ... ]

[Layout by Carol ... ]

[Layout by Jen ... ]

[Layout by Diane ... ]

[Layout by Jessica ... ]

[Layout by Kelly ... ]

And just in case you needed a little reminder of what is in the collab, here is a preview of the kit and paper pack ...

[You can find Circle of Friends collab here at twolittlepixels ... ]

It's weekend time at my place ... two are off surfing the wide blue ocean, one is surfing Pokemon sites, and I'm about to tackle the laundry! You can see who gets the fun jobs around here, can't you, lol? I hope whatever you are doing this weekend, it's more fun than the laundry ... :)

Collab time ... with Lynne-Marie! :)

[Click here to visit Circle of Friends 2lp Collab here at twolittlepixels ... ]

So pretty ... love the colours in this collab, and I'm hoping you do too!!! We've had a lot of fun creating this collection of pretty stuff for you to play here. Here are some ct layouts using the kit ...

[Layout by Suzanne ... ]

[Card by Lynn ... ]

[Card by Lynn ... ]

[Card by Lynn ... ]

[Layout by Jodie ... ]

[Layout by Cheryl ... ]

Lynne-Marie has a wonderful collection of goodies going into the shoppe this weekend, and at a 20% discount for the first 24 hours! Check this out ...

[You can find Si Jolie kit by Lynne-Marie here at twolittlepixels ... ]

You will find these beautiful papers and freebie quickpages below in this kit ...

[Layout by Lynne-Marie ... ]

[Layout by Karen ... ]

[Layout by Th!inkblue ... ]

[Layout by Suzanne ... ]

There are also some 'stand-alone' products up for sale by Lynne-Marie that co-ordinate with the Si Jolie kit ...

[You can find Si Jolie alpha by Lynne-Marie here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Si Jolie Swirls and Frames by Lynne-Marie here at twolittlepixels ... ]

And for a bite of something smooth and delicious ...

[You can find Chocolate kit by Lynne-Marie here at twolittlepixels ... ]

A pretty paper pack from Ange ...

[You can find Camaieu Paper Pack by Ange here at twolittlepixels ... ]

And last, but not least, a wonderful collection of goodies in a grab bag by Click Photo LieN ...

[You can find this grab bag by Click Photo LieN here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Carol ... ]

[Layout by LieN ... ]

[Layout by Clochette ... ]

[Layout by Margote ... ]

I've just got my computer back from the computer hospital ... seems I was lucky/unlucky enough to end up with a particularly nasty new virus, so new that it didn't have a name!!! I'm hoping they don't call it Sharon!!! It's been a big rush to get all the new goodies in the shoppe, and I haven't had time to run up a freebie, so I hope you'll forgive me this week if I create something new for you tomorrow or the next day!

Please don't forget ... all this shoppe goodness is discounted with 20% for the next 24 hours, except for LieN's grab bag. Oh, the Chocolate kit is even more heavily discounted, 50% for the next two weeks, so enjoy! :)

Visiting old friends ...

This was the view from my back verandah last night ... there's a cyclone called Hamish raging up north, and I think it might have something to do with the glorious colour here! My black beast is back in the computer hospital, so I am working on my laptop this week. No PS CS3, I using Elements 3, so these are straight out of the camera, no editing. :) The photos were taken about 6.30 pm.

Sometimes it's good to visit old friends ... this week, my creative team has been playing in the Paper Essentials range ... here are some layouts!

[Layout by Suzanne ... ]

[You can find Paper Essentials - Tattered here at twolittlepixels ...]

[Layout by Clochette ... ]

[Layout by Clochette ... ]

[You can find Paper Essentials - Serene here at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Nisha ... ]

Now there's some inspiration for you ... :)

My computer woes are beginning to really peeve me ... if I hadn't just spent a small fortune on some shoppe upgrades (pretty exciting stuff!!!) I would rush out and buy a mac! THAT'S how annoyed I am ... I've had the black beastie over two years now, and I think it's been back to the computer hospital at least four times, that I can remember. I was so annoyed yesterday that I did all the ironing, vacuumed the whole house AND washed the bathroom walls!!! And I should tell you that the bathroom walls and I don't have that sort of close relationship usually, lol.

This weekend, we have something special ... a collab with Lynne-Marie and three of our twolittlepixels designers ... soooo looking forward to sharing this with you on Friday night, when our new stuff hits the shoppe shelves! I'm pretty sure there will be some other exciting new additions too. So till then, may all your problems be little ones, and not all all computer-related!!! :)

Friday frivolities ...

[Credits: Shadowed QuckPage freebie, by [ksharonkdesigns] ... ]

Yes, it's Friday again ... and some new lovelies for the shoppe! First, a brand new kit from our brand-new designer, Ange. :)

Don't forget ... 20% off new products for 24 hours!!!

[You can find Sweet Time kit by Ange at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Dumpty ... ]

And something from Shen ...

[You can find Swell Set No. 2 at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Layout by Shen ... ]

[You can find Bits and Pieces Element Pack by NatashaNaSt Designs at twolittlepixels ... ]

[You can find Worn Paper Pack by NatashaNaSt Designs at twolittlepixels ... ]

[Thank you for your interest, but this freebie has expired ... ]

I am here ...

... in spirit certainly, though not always in body!

Things are busy ... we are planning some exciting 'shoppe things', which take some work behind the scenes, and I'm working on a couple of collabs at the moment too ... so not much time to blog or post photos or design or anything much else, I'm afraid.

Last day of the working week for me, which is nice! My coffee mate's been unwell, but is recovering nicely for her day off, which is the important thing, so I'm looking forward to catching up with her tomorrow. Kids are up to their eyeballs in school assignments and study, exams are in about three weeks, then we have some holidays. DH is running 10 km each day and working on his final year of some study ... so all in all, we are here, we are treading water, we would like the world to slow down a little so that we could stop and enjoy the view, but that doesn't look like happening in the near future!!! So wherever you are, whatever you are doing ... hope your world isn't spinning too rapidly ... ;)

Oh, one more thing ... I'm stealing some 'eye-candy' by Shen! Look what she has done with my Little Dancer kit, super cute!!!

[You can find this layout here ... credits:  mostly from Little Dancer by [ksharonkdesigns] at twolittlepixels. Extras ~ chocolate chips from Lynn-Marie's Chocolate kit; torn bits from Torn Bits I and heart doodle from When Lena Smiles by creashens here at twolittlepixels ...]

Aching bones ...

Sometimes you need to get back to the working week to have a break ... ;) Lots happened over the weekend! And I'm exhausted! The surfers took off just after 5 am, but were back in a couple of hours as there was no surf, but that meant the rest of the family got up with them! I ironed for several house, tidied up, thought about lunch (inlaws were a'visiting!) and after lunch, we visited Ikea where I spent some birthday money on a couple of white bookcases with glass doors.

Except there weren't any. Glass doors!!! We almost came away completely emptied handed, as I discovered the bookcase area in the warehouse was empty, but as I sobbed unconsolably in the aisle, an Ikea helper noticed, and pointed me to some bookcases piled up the the centre of the wharehouse area. No glass shelves, I'll have to get them later, but the bookcases have been built and are filled to overflowing with part of my library collection.

I am slowly replacing 8 ft by 4 ft open-shelved 90's dark timber bookcases with slimmer white bookcases with glass doors, and the dust problem thing will be a thing of the past!!! We live in a very dusty area, and I dispair of keeping the open shelves dust free, and I'm sure you can guess how good my white bookcases now look against my Sharon-green wall! :) I'll take photos later, when the doors are fitted!

Of course, putting the new bookcases up involved a major unpacking, repacking and moving of two of the big dark bookcases ... hence the aching bones! The girl now has them in her 'studio' with her desk and piano. So all is happy with the world, except DH who played a major part in the constructing of the said bookcases. He did hand me a hammer at once stage, so I promptly handed it back. I know exactly where my talents lie, and they aren't in the direction of hitting a nail or two. ;)

Of course, at odd intervals during the day, I was doing the usual four loads of washing, folding, ironing, putting away ... and badgering reluctant offspring to study, work on assignments, study for an English exam on Monday ... all the unpleasant things that their totally unreasonable teachers are expecting them to do. I mean, it's the weekend, why would I want to do school work? La la la ... their mother's not listening!!!

No computer yesterday ... it was kinda nice to have a break, but now all the things I put off are looming! I'm working on two collabs, and a freebie to go along with an interview I am doing for a mag, and did someone say I need to create something for twolittlepixels this week! Sigh ... did someone say 'go back to bed and pull the sheets up over your head'? No? Well, guess I better trot off to work and look busy ... have a great day/weekend, everyone! :)