Happy December.

So... I started doing the december daily. And then promptly gave up. My year this year is just not christmassy enough. Next year, when there's a child involved and I have a good excuse to do things like decorate and spend huge moneys on "The Elf on the Shelf" then I will definitely do it!

So, while I have been busy with non-christmas related stuff lately, I have managed to get a few pages scrapped with some very awesome kits. Here are three CT kits I have worked with lately -

First up is Truly Thankful by Pixelily Designs.

Grab it here!

Also, if you "Like" Pixelily Designs on Facebook, you can grab the cutest addon for free! Check it out here!

The next kit I have worked with is Cosy Christmas by Lacey Bittner!

Grab it here!

Then I played around with Vintage Holidays by Caged Bird Designs!

Grab it here!

I also made sure to try out the December Template Challenge over at Little Green Frog designs. I had a huge amount of fun and it gave me a chance to use some of the stuff I've bought lately.

Check it out in the DST gallery here for credits =)

Anyway, happy holidays all!

With Love Studio

Check out the grand opening events at With Love Studio!

Holy no posting batman!

Wow, so apparently I'm worse at this blogging thing than I thought. Anyway.... no real news from me. We are 26 weeks along and I am getting huge! And uncomfortable. And baby has settled himself down on what I can only assume is a nerve so every time I move my left leg I get this horrible pinching feeling in my groin :( But! it will all be worth it =)

Halloween coming and DSD right around the corner means HUGE specials everywhere in Digiscrap Land and I have spent far more than any sane person should this week already >.< But wow, have I picked up some amazing stuff or what. This post is really to post about a new kit by Pixelily Designs. It is GORGEOUS to work with! The name is Keep Your Chin Up and you can grab it here at FPD!

Also, make sure you drop by Scrapable.Co this weekend because there are some fantastic things happening for Halloween.

Oh, check out these great kits I've had the pleasure of working with lately. (I am insanely lucky to be a Scrap-a-belle!)

Baked Memories by ModernJune

Monster Mash by Designer Girl Scraps

Modern Family by Teresa Digi Designs

Anyway, that's it from me right now! Have a great and safe weekend!

(I really should make freebies so people actually see this, haha)

Major Pimpage (and falling off arms)

So... our weekend was fantastic... at least, our saturday was! We travelled to Auckland to go to the Parent and Child Expo and it was AMAZING! We got so many free samples and coupons and great GREAT deals. I got some awesome items that were on my want list including a Sangenic Nappy Bin! They were half price at the expo.... I also got some adorable dungarees from the Charlie and Me stall! Plus some neat compostable nappies/breast pads and wipes. We spent hours after the expo at one of the shopping malls also which was equally tiring but fun anyway :D So we came home and I have spent the past two days aching all over and completely exhausted, haha.

We had a midwife appointment today and that was good. I got a referral to go to a hospital to be fitted with a special belt to stop the back and pelvic pain so I'm looking forward to that =)

Anyway, I don't really have much to say right now so I'll just post some CT stuff I have done lately =)

First up, this is Spookable, a collab by the Designers at Scrapable.Co! It's gorgeous and currently free with any $10 purchase (or you can, of course, purchase it alone but why would you when there's so many things to spend your money on there!) Find it HERE



I also created a layout with this gorgeous kit "Visitors" by Pardon the Mess. It was a lot of fun to work with and it's available HERE



Now, the other CT I am on is for a designer who has just opened her first store at Scrapinsider - Paper Capers Designs! Check out these great kits (previews are linked)!





And that's all from me for now! Till next time, take care! =)

Reality Check

Disappointment. That’s the only word that can be used to describe the tone of voice that DP’s mother used on the phone today, upon finding out he is starting a new job tomorrow.

Why would she be disappointed you might ask? Let’s lay it out. I am 25. DP is 19. We have been living together for 1 year. And, until finding out we have a little one on the way, we were both full-time students. Yes, life certainly is easier if you have qualifications. But realistically, we can’t live on one allowance (as I would no longer be studying and receiving one). And I don’t want to put Baby into care and go to work. I want to see him grow. I want to see him hit all his milestones and be there when he takes a step and says a word. I don’t want to risk missing that.

MIL wanted DP to stay a full-time student. She wanted me to put Baby into care around 6 weeks and go to work so DP could study. Or, she wanted us to live off a student allowance. $169 a week. Goodbye baby clothes. It’s just not a realistic expectation.

We are thrilled that we will not have to worry about money. Right now, we are managing to go shopping and buy heaps of things. But we would have had to stress about me no longer being a student. It’s gone. A weight is off our shoulders. =)

Today I spent much of my day working on a layout for a scraplift challenge over at scrapable =) I had a lot of fun. It’s good to be scrapping again =)

It begins...

I wanted to start a blog because I always enjoyed it in the past. Plus, being in creative teams means I need somewhere to post.  =)

We are currently 21 weeks 5 days pregnant with our first child, a little boy.  The morning sickness has finally almost eased up. Unless I have fizzy drink with dinner. Then he kicks like crazy and makes me sick, haha.

How did we find out? I had been bringing up EVERYTHING (including sips of water) for around 5 weeks. I assumed it was because our oven was broken and we had been living on fried and microwaved food and so I went to the chemist to buy something to ease the nausea. Yes, I didn’t notice my period was late – it is ALWAYS late and sometimes I go months without getting it. There was also the fact that we’d never used protection for 7 months previous to falling pregnant and it never came to anything. SO it was a nice surprise. Anyway….. the chemist suggested taking a pregnancy test *just in case* as nausea meds would be harmful if I was pregnant. So we went to the closest (and very unpleasant) public toilets and here we are.

We have had 4 ultrasounds. We were 9 weeks pregnant at our first (dating scan). Then 12 weeks for our nuchal scan. At 20 weeks we had our anatomy scan. At 20 weeks +6, I was having a lot of pain (and I’m extremely paranoid) so had an extra scan to check everything was fine (apparently it was just round ligament pain).

A couple of days ago, my other half (the father) felt him kick for the first time which was fantastic as he’s been trying to feel it for weeks, haha.

Anyway, that is the background of where we are now and my first (and hopefully not last) post =)