It's going to be a goody!

I have now seen all the amazing classes that will be on offer at the Scrappin’ Outback, 9th Wave Rock Scrapbooking Retreat and they are all absolutely fantastic. If you are attending then you are in for a real treat.

Here is my final class sneak peak - A Travel Album - designed to be made before your holiday so that you can collate it as you enjoy your vacation and that way you won't miss all the little details. If you have already been on your holiday and have happy snaps to include then you will need photos 6x4 or smaller.

If you would like to see the other classes being taught by Lis Cassey or Gayle Smith then go here and here or here.

If you would like to join us all for this very special retreat then Contact Karen Smith on 98805300 or email scrappinoutback@bigpond.com to book and for details and prices. Updates for the retreat can be found at Scrappin' Outback's blog.

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My big girl turned 17 yesterday! Unfortunately she is in the middle of her Mock TEE Exams and had to endure a Maths Exam on her birthday of all days. We will be celebrating on Sunday with a family dinner so she is very much looking forward to that. Stay tuned for some photos. I feel old!

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I'm listening to:

This girl has an awesome voice!
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I'm still reading:

Struggling with this one a little - I might have to put it down and come back to it as I have these three waiting in the wings....


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And some self portraits for a project I am working on at the moment!

The B&W one was taken looking into a mirror and then I flipped it horizontally in Photoshop so my moles were on the right side of my face. The colour one was taken at my desk using self timer. I don't look too bad considering I have had Gastro for 2 days! No one else in the family - just me - thank goodness really as Renae has had exams. I'm on the mend though and picking up this beauty tomorrow should cheer me up :-)

Eclectic post I know but it's been an eclectic week.

See you next time!

Amazing Day!

Wow I have had an amazing day today!

This morning I was very privileged to photograph the girls in Lis’ family! Morganne in particular, but of course we couldn't leave E out of the picture! She was such a good girl and very patient. I was pretty nervous to start with but once I got into it I was having a ball. I do hope Lis likes the results! I have been editing all afternoon.

Here are some after editing.......

There are so many to choose from! Lis has some of the originals on her blog too.
I will be posting some more in my Photography Gallery on my website in the next few days, so be sure to check them out. I would love to build up this side of my business some more, I love seeing the results!!! Thanks so much Lis for the opportunity.

Last week when I was out shopping one day I came across this book….

I was so totally impressed by it that when I was out shopping with Steve on Friday night I showed it to him. Guess what! He bought it for me today! What a great surprise, I can’t wait to sit down later tonight and devour it (the book that is!).

Here’s a little Synopsis….

This cutting-edge book presents in a luxuriously produced and embellished package Brew-Bevan's selection of 45 portraits - and the stories behind their creation. The format of the book reflects the richly layered nature of the material within. Finished portraits are accompanied by facsimile pages from Peter Brew-Bevan's visual journals, containing his working notes made before, during and after the shoot. These include preliminary sketches of his vision for the final photograph, lighting plans, thoughts on costume, hair and make-up, inspirational tearsheets, quotes from the sitters...and the photographer's observations on his interaction with his subjects. Proofsheets, 'out takes' and images pre- and post-digital manipulation are also included, opening a fascinating window on to the creative process, the personalities and the stories behind the celebrity images that intrigue us all. The subjects include Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Sam Neill, Blondie, Ian Thorpe, Barry and Miranda Otto, Rose Byrne and Jamie Oliver.

Not long now until the girls are back at school, we picked up the school books yesterday so I had better get onto covering them or showing the girls how to at the very least! I can't believe Renae is in Year 11 and doing TEE and Gemma is in Year 9 - wow where have the years gone?

OK I had better be off and get dinner on....very distracted today...I wonder why?

Revived....Not!

Well, Sunday was spent on the couch in front of TV and sleeping....Monday I woke with a very sore throat, like I was swallowing razor blades....fun....not! Monday night we went to Renae's awards night at the Belvoir function centre which was great - Renae was asked to take the photographs for the school for the evening which was a fantastic honour and she loved every bit of it.

The next few days were spent not doing very much at all....the house is a mess and I think I have 2 baskets of ironing to catch up on. I guess it was just my body saying you did too much the week before Sharon and this is your punishment.....thanks!

I made this on Wednesday......

You can find the recipe here, but I have substituted the cherries with Raspberry lollies - it is very rich and you only need a very thin slice served with ice cream but it is very very yummy!

Did anyone see the TV Mini-Series Long Way Round a few years ago when Ewan Macgregor and Charley Boorman rode motorbikes from London to New York? I loved the series and now they have done it again but have ridden from Scotland to Cape Town through some amazing countries and seen such diverse cultures along the way. I bought the book last week (something in my subconcious saying you are going to need a book to read in the next week or so because you are not going to be capable of doing much else). I can't put it down, it puts such a more personal perspective on the journey and I can't wait to see the visual account of their trip now - the DVD is out but I will probably wait til it appears on pay TV again.

Tomorrow we have a Christmas function at Oakover winery for one of the companies Steve works for which we are looking forward to. We have seen so little of each other in the last few weeks so some time out on our own will be lovely.

I have done very little creating lately although the photoshoot I did the other week was a huge success and I have two mini albums to put together and prints to get done ready for framing too. I will be uploading some more of the photos to my Photography gallery at sharonmanning.com.au so you can check them out over there if you like.

Congratulations to Lis, Ben and Evangeline on the birth of their precious little daughter and I'm sure Lis will be back soon to fill you all in on the rest of the details. I can't wait for a cuddle when I'm feeling better!