If you have been there you would know it is a mammoth of a place and the biggest museum in the world. Well we only had a week in Paris so as much as we could have easily spent half of it exploring the Louvre, we had far too much else to see. And funny enough, it took us over an hour to find the exit. Still cannot believe how hard it was to find a way out of that place. Its like a maze. You see an exit sign but it leads to another display room and another and finally, we were near desperate when we did reach the surface again. I think I’m too scared to go back again now in case we get lost in there again!

These scrap layouts were done in honour of our day at the Lourve. Let me know what you think, remembering I’m a scrapper newbie and have a lot of learning to do. I haven’t yet worked out how to photograph a 12 x 12 page very well either. Advice much welcome.

These days it is more and more popular for brides and grooms to attempt their own stationary. This is great fun and allows you to be as creative as you like, for a fraction of the cost of a professional. The colour options are endless, as are the styles.

There are thousands of online resources available these days for creating your own wedding stationary, but often it is as simple as having a bit of a play around in a word processing document and buying the right materials. Then all you need is patience and time and you have yourself a very lovingly made DIY stationary set that will wow your guests.

In future weeks I will go into detail on some of my own wedding examples, as well as future invitation samples I will be creating. I’m a bit short of time this Wednesday but I promise more informative posts will be headed your way

I had read something about a Cuttlebug and had no idea what it was so did a bit of investigating and realised it was awesome and I had to have one. Lucky enough its my birthday next month so I ordered it this morning and it will technically be my birthday present from my hubby. So excited! I ordered it from www.ohmycrafts.com and the postage was pretty steep to Australia, but overall with their current special and all the extras I am getting, it worked out better than it would if I’d purchased it here. The current special is $59US for a starter kit with accessories. So hopefully in a couple of weeks my Cuttlebug will arrive and I will be able to create far more with my scrapbooking and other DIY!

Stamping is also something I’ve never tried so I’ve also ordered a stack of stamps off eBay this week. Overall its been quite the craft shopping frenzy. Cannot wait to receive my new goodies!

Again this was early in my scrapbooking stages. It’s a pretty basic spread, before I discovered more advanced embellishing skills . Let me know what you think.

The floods here in Australia have reached their peak level in some areas but still to rise in Brisbane over night.

Here in my own city of Ipswich, it has been surreal. Restaurants we’ve eaten in completely under water. So many homes & businesses ruined. No power to many homes. Its so sad.

The death toll has reached 13 but will rise with more than 60 people reported missing.

My own suburb has been impacted but not near our home. We went for a walk today though, to see the local area.

The local park looks like a swamp and what was once a bridge has completely disappeared to the point where we could not see where the water ends on the other side.

So many roads are flooded and I’m devastated we will most likely be unable to get to my parents area for their 40th wedding anniversary dinner tomorrow night. Neither will my sister, who narrowly missed a landslide on the highway near her home last night.

Very tragic times. So many sad stories. Thousands of people in emergency evacuation centres.

Budget is of course one of the important factors to consider before searching for a wedding photographer. Right at the start when you do up your rough budget, decide with your partner how much you are willing to spend on photography, remembering you may also wish to hire a videographer too. It is also important to know what type of style you like. Some prefer the traditional portrait style, however these days candid photos are much more popular and capture the true vibe of the day. The best way to do this is online or by flicking through bridal magazines. Once you have made these decisions, then you can begin searching for quotes.

One of the best parts of wedding planning these days is how easy it has become with the internet. This is where most of your wedding research will take place. Start by searching for wedding photographers from bridal websites or magazines. Once you find a handful that you like, request a quote via phone or email. Make sure you find out exactly what is included. Through this process you will be able to shortlist a couple of photographers whose work you like, who is available on your wedding day and who fit with your budget. Try to keep this number between 2-5 to avoid the decision being too hard.

Meet with your short list of photographers. While they may create stunning photos, you need to feel comfortable on the day So make sure you find a photographer who both your partner and yourself like and feel relaxed with. It will show in your photos.

Most photographers offer different prices packages so know what is most important to you. Do you want full coverage of the entire day or just the ceremony? Do you want an album or are you happy with a disc of images? Do you get high res images with your package or does this cost extra? All of these are important in making your final decision.

My sister is flooded in about 20 minutes down the road. Her horses have been moved to higher ground, as her fences are under water. So scared for her. She is 6 months & has 6 children & many animals to care for.

Things are bad. 8 lives lost already & 72 people missing. Many suburbs being evacuated. We should be fine here but who knows for sure. Such a sad & scary time.

For our engagement party, I liked the idea of a photo guest book, using a polaroid camera. We couldn’t find a polaroid so I came up with a new idea.

I covered all the pages with paper, in the party theme colours. Like a scrapbook, but minus the photos. I used a lot of plain black & white cardstock & paper, mixed with patterned pages.

At our engagement party, we set the book up inside with different coloured pens & our guests signed all through the plain sections of the book. Afterwards, I decorated the patterned sections with photos from the night, trying to put photos of guests near their messages.

We now have a wonderful photo guest book to remember the night from.

This can be done with any spiral style book. The scrapbooks with plastic sleeves won’t work as well.

I am currently working on a new guest book for my parents 40th wedding anniversary dinner this week. It’s their ruby anniversary, so decorated with lots of red papers. I will be scattering the pages with photos from their wedding day & life together, then again adding more photos of the night afterwards.

Here are some page examples:

This idea works well for pretty much any special occassion. It can be done for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and the list goes on. All you need is a suitable book, with thick pages, and lots of acid and lingin free scrapbooking papers, a glue stick or double sided tape and photos, depending if you want the book completely blank or already pre-filled with a few related photos. Its always good to have a front page photo as a title page but pretty much the sky is the limit when creating your own guestbook.

In the weeks before and after christmas 2008, my husband & I, and his family travelled to Europe for a holiday. These photos were taken on our first day in Paris. It is also one of my early attempts at scrapbooking. I used a map and metro tickets to embellish the pages, along with 3D France inspired stickers. It also includes our Air France on board menu, which can be opened up and read. Nice way of saving the memory.

Sorry the photos are terrible. They were taken on my phone.

Let me know what you think.

The only negative is that there are now a few big boxes of stuff that I have not found a home for. Most of it will hopefully sell at a garage sale at Mum’s in February. But some will need a different home in the house.

One thing I do know is that I am going to be soooooo sore tomorrow. I can already feel my muscles starting to ache after all the heavy lifting and dragging of furniture. But I am proud of my effort!