It has happened...I have crossed over to the dark side!!!!

I have been fiddling on and off with digital scrapbooking. It started when we went on an extended trip back home to South Africa, and I couldn't pack my "essential" scrapbooking items so I decided to give the digital demon a bash...

I did a few pages, but wasn't totally hooked. I still love getting my "hands dirty" while doing scrapbooking, so the romance with digital was short lived....

That was until last night. I have recently moved from PC to Mac, and as a result, some of my previous software is not compatible (including that of my Silhouette!!!)

I was searching for digital scrapbook programs for Mac and came across iScrapbook. I have downloaded the free 30 day trial version and am totally hooked!!!!

I have a bit of free stash from my last digital adventure, as well as some purchased stash. I have used a mix of both to create the above layout.

I cannot foresee that I will hang up my scissors, but I think I can find space in my life for both types of scrapbooking!!!!

If you are keen on giving it a bash, I would suggest downloading the software and play around. It is suitable for PC and Mac (according to the reviews).

Would love to see some of your digital and traditional layouts. Please e-mail a low res image to jobrown0@gmail.com and I will post them on the blog.

Yours in technology (apparently!!!!)

Jo

Greetings fellow crafters!!!

I have been hard at work on my 8x8 album dedicated to my decadent days in Thailand!!! Working in a smaller size has really been great and I have found that I am exercising my gray matter something silly getting everything to fit. I am used to having plenty of square inches to work with....

It is International Scrapbook Day on Saturday the 1st of May, and Tracy Belling is hosting a crop day. For further details, please visit her website at www.pansyshellscrapping.com. If you can make it, it will be great!!!!.

My scrapbook time has been seriously eaten into with the kids being back at school. I am still cracking on with gym EVERY day other than Tuesdays at Tracey's (scrapping) and the weekends. I still am stealing seconds here and there to edit and print pictures, and have adapted my scrapping style....

I now am a relay scrapper.....sort photos, make dinner, print photos, bath kids, choose paper, put kids to sleep........it now takes me days to get my bits and bobs together and then sit and scrap in episodes!!!! Oh well, at least I am still scrapping.

It is a fine line between creativity and insanity. I am hoping I weigh heavier on the creative side of that!!!!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE try and come to the crop day.....I am sure it will be a HUGE blast!!!!

Happy scrapping....

Jo

This has to be one of my favorite layouts. I am a minimalist scrapper by first choice. I totally love the simplicity of using coordinating scraps of paper, cut into squares and rectangles, all bunched together in the bottom right corner, and offset my a totally understated title in the top left corner.

This picture optimizes my son. Just relaxed, chilling out on the side of a dune on one of the many desert safari's you end up going on with all the visitors you get while living in Dubai. Just a very simple layout using circles cut from scraps of coordinating paper. I printed the vellum quote on my printer at home and cut the title using my Silhouette. The quote on the top was cut out from a piece of printed paper with various boy sayings on it.

I just loved watching the process my daughter went through when playing in the sand at the beach. This is a very simple layout, single matting the photos, using chipboard letters for the title, adding some fibre ribbon as embellishment and printing out the journaling on to cardstock, cutting it out randomly and adding it to the page.

This is a page I did of my daughter, Amy....she was all dressed up for Halloween and I just couldn't resist taking a snapshot from this angle...it is one of my favorite ways to take portrait pictures. I added very little to the picture, just double matted the photo, added some ric-rac detail, used a rub-on title and added some paper flowers which I finished off with buttons or brads.

Velassaru Resort, Maldives

Koh Samui, Thailand

This picture of me chilling and totally zoning out in the infinity pool at Q-Signarure Koh Samui.

Updates

Hi!!

It has been so long and for this I apologise....I have no excuse!!!!

I have been enjoying cropping on Tuesday mornings with Tracey Flynn and have had a hectic month and along with being down with the flu and school holidays, I haven't had a chance to scrap with the girls in ages!!!

I have managed to catch up on scrapping since getting together with Tracey and the girls and have done quite a few pages...including my page nemesis, School Photos!!!! I don't know what it is about school photos, but I always dread doing them, and am never satisfied with the results!! I have tried everything for overstated to understated and it just never seems to be just right!!!!

I have been really lucky with travel to some fantastic destinations recently.

Firstly I was sent off to Thailand by my loving husband for a break from routine. I spent 6 glorious days in Kho Samui and then 2 days in Bangkok. It was the first time since having children that I travelled without them. This beautiful country provided me with many photo opportunities and plenty of pictures to scrap. I have started doing an exclusive Thailand Album and have decided to do it all in 8"X8" format.

As some of you will know, my husband is a corporate pilot here in Dubai. He left on a charter for Maldives last Monday. He called me on Monday afternoon and asked me to book a ticket to join him as he was there for a while....LUCKY ME!!!!

I phoned around and thanks to my awesome, ever giving friend base here in Dubai, I had plenty of loving care for the kids, so I booked my ticket, packed the basics and hopped on a plane on Tuesday morning and flew to the Maldives.

We stayed at Velassaru Resort. It is such a beautiful location!!!! Not only do I once again have a huge supply of pictures of sun drenched beaches, stunning sunrises and sunsets, but it was the first time we spent time away alone together since our honeymoon nearly 10 years ago!!!

I got home yesterday, so now I have to decide which are the most beautiful pictures, print them and scrap them!!!

It is the last day of spring break holidays so I am concentrating on entertaining the wee-ones today and then will try to settle into the routine of motherhood tomorrow and fit in some time to scrap too!!!