2007 January | Scraps Of Mind

Archive for January, 2007

January 31st 2007

A Toast to Scrap Girls

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I’d like to dedicate this post to an excellent Scrapbooking site called Scrap Girls.

In a World Wide Web populated by many great scrapbooking sites what makes this one so special?

Well apart from the obvious: excellent quality products; energetic and vibrant message board; members’ gallery to publish your own work; warm and friendly community; classes, chat rooms and challenges, Scrap Girls offers much more. Read on.

First and foremost there’s the Free Newsletter; to my mind this is the jewel in the crown. Now I’m signed up to quite a few newsletters. By and large they tend to be a token ‘hello’ message and then a sales pitch for product. The Scrap Girls newsletter is so much more. Each one includes an uplifting or thought provoking (non-scrapping related) article by Ro, the CEO. I find the stuff she writes tunes right in to my life and thoughts. And it gives a great insight into Ro the person, too. Each Newsletter also includes two Freebies to be downloaded. And most will also include a tutorial on how to make something or how to do a technique. As well as all that there are the layout examples to provide inspiration. It’s absolutely the best newsletter I’ve seen. I don’t know how she does it because she pumps one of these babies out every weekday!!

The site has plethora of tutorials available free. Some of these are short ‘how to’ videos which makes learning so much easier. Just download and run on your computer at home. As well as this Scrap Girls runs specific classes and also sells a package of video tutorials for those who are just starting out in the world of digi-scrapping (and an advanced one for the more experienced). These are formatted for several software programs so you can usually find one that suits yours.

The site caters to paper scrappers and digi-scrappers. I find many sites are firmly in one camp or the other but here all scrappers are equal. The products all come in a .PNG format for digital manipulation and a .JPG format for easy printing to make your own papers and elements. Also two seperate monthly clubs you can join.

Although the page kits and elements offered in the Boutique are great, there is also a smorgasbord of templates for you to create your own papers and elements if you wish. With tutorials to show you how.

If you haven’t gathered, this site really impresses me. I think the thing that is most appealing is that, although it is conducted on a commercial basis, the approach of the people here is really friendly, understanding and caring. Communications are excellent and I highly recommend all scrappers to check it out and to definitely sign up for the free newsletter.

The layout on the right is of my niece Rebecca on her inauguration as College Captain for her Secondary College. I used a gorgeous Scrap Girls kit called Bookworm by Erica Hite and the layout is based on a sketch from Page Maps (another highly recommended site).

Orstraya Day

Australians all love ostriches
Four less one is three
…
Our land abounds in nature strips
Of beauty which is rare…

I really do know the words to our National Anthem, but I just love the mondegreens that kids sing before they learn the real words. And, let’s be honest, the real words are nowhere near as much fun.

Anyway Australia Day is here again. A celebration of our nationhood. Patriotic and family events going on across the country. And for me, a lovely afternoon picnicking at the Sugarloaf Reservoir.

But what a shock to see the depleted water levels. Intellectually I, like everyone else in Australia, have an awareness of the lower than ever water resources we are experiencing this summer. I know that our water resources are running at 37% compared to 52% at the same time last year. But actually looking at the vast expanse of uncovered banks of a depleted reservoir makes it all very real.

But nonetheless we had a lovely picnic. Allan, a card carrying 2-minute noodle man, is becoming really good at the spontaneous picnic (he does all the organising and I just go along; the way nature intended things to be). So we chilled out under the welcome shade of a group of small trees on our little low slung picnic chairs. Enjoying our cheese and biscuits, fruit and chocolate washed down with cider followed by champagne and strawberries. With a background of soft classical music. Just chatting and enjoying the panoramic vista. And as a special Australia Day bonus a small mob of four kangas came down to the reservoir to drink.

Pretty damn good.

Eventually we were evicted by a bunch of territorial bull ants so we took the little remote controlled plane that I gave Allan for Christmas to a nearby park. Well a couple of bottles of cider and a bottle of champagne may have taken the edge off our piloting skills. And the plane ended up in the top branches of a bunch of very tall gum trees. We could hear it but we couldn’t see it, much less get it down. In the end we had to give up and leave it there.

And to add to the Australia Day bonus we got a good dump of rain overnight. Just hope a lot of it landed in the catchment areas.

Oh, and in news just to hand, Allan has just rung me to say that he went back to the park and found the plane where last night’s wind and rain had washed it out of the trees.

A perfect ending.

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January 25th 2007

One Year On

A year ago last week I published my first post on this Blog.

At the time I had no clear idea of what I was doing or even why I was doing it. A year later I have a bit more of an idea of what I am doing but I’m still not entirely certain about the Why.

I think it’s the thrill knowing that someone is interested in reading what I have written. I love checking my stats and discovering it’s been a ‘good hit’ day. And it’s a great buzz when someone takes the time to leave a comment.

I’m not a ‘diary’ type blogger so I don’t write about all the minutae of my life. That means I have to come up with interesting (I hope) articles on a regular basis. That can be a challenge.

So here I am one year on: over 4500 hits, 200 comments and 52 posts later.

I’d like to thank all of you who have joined me on this journey of discovery, especially those who have become regular readers. I really value your company along the way, as we go forward into year two.

And thank you for reading this piece of blatant self-indulgence.

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