Busy, Busy, Busy.......

Just doing what I don't rightly know.  I have been supervising Year 11/12 exams in the last couple of days but before that, I don't really know what I have been doing except I have been busy! I have made lots of Christmas cards, as well as a couple of birthday card - lot of people with a zero in their birth year this year - from 40 to 60!

this card was for my dear friend Adele - who is more than several years younger than me I might add! The front of this card used a paper that came as a freebie in a scrapbooking magazine.  I used a  rubber stamp I purchased that had to be mounted using EZfoam, one of about a dozen I got several years ago when I first began to stamp.  It is hard to ink up, as it has a very fine surface, and you need to stamp off several times before you can get a good image. A bit of ribbon, some bling and the numbers (American Craft Thickers - Prancer) and the outside was completed. It  had the somber feel I was after - and I then needed to make the inside brighter and more joyous!

Again, the paper was a freebie - it took me ages to locate what paper I wanted as I needed something light and expressing a sense of fun, but after trawling though all my papers and offcuts, this seemed perfect. I then began to stamp it.  I had stamped another of the flat rubber stamps, and again had trouble with it as it kept getting ink pooled into the corners but this would have to do.  I tried to use my corner stamp expressing delight (a clear polymer one got in the days when I didn't record the names of stamps or store them well) but the slight raised edge on the picture meant I didn't gt a clear stamp.  However the sentiment was OK - one of those funny ones from Ann-ticipations - and a few stickers to complete the picture!  Adele replied that she wasn't sure about going to heaven, but I think she will be OK!

The next birthday girl was ten years younger again! I think I am feeling my age......however, I struggled on and used another one of the flat rubber stamps and got a good clear image. Stamped using Basic Black from SU on cream paper (SU), and liked the clean look of the image on the thick cream paper by itself, so just left it 'centre stage' as it is. 

Again, I used a funny sentiment stamp inside, by stamping onto the insert. This one is from Inky Antics. Some sticker numbers and rub-on for the HB and it was done.

My third card in the zero's was for my friends 60th birthday.  Again, I went to my funny stamps, and used this Clear Art Stamp  from Shirly's2Girls (I love their stamps) for the card.

I used some paper from one of the Hot Off the Press Cardmaker's Instant Card booklets, and coloured the image with SU markers. I added a little bling to make it sparkle!

That's it folks - must rush, I have a meeting and then we are flying to Melbourne for a funeral!  Cheers,

Bits of old tat, and then something new...........

Yesterday I got a parcel from Ireland (Northern) from Waltzing Mouse..............Irish Blessings stamps and a cute little house; I am currently thinking about what I can make with them! I have lots of ideas but nothing has eventuated yet.

The last two days have been BEAUTIFUL!  John is still in the garden, weeding.  At least the weeds come out fairly well after all that rain. But no rain lately ... we have had blue skies, no wind, warm without being hot, birds singing...........and the grandgirls came for dinner last night, rejected the idea of roast chicken, opting for that first summer BBQ!  Of course, the house husband (Llo) gave in and so number 2 (Miss nearly 14) and I went shopping for meat and salad (third visit by this house to the supermarket in one day!); she made the salad, cooked the BBQ AND completed her homework on Tsunami's! Number 1 (nearly 17) studied maths for her test today - she got 3 A's for her last assignment, so things are looking up there as well!

I made some more Christmas cards last week, inbetween painting with medium.  Here they are:

I used green scrap paper on white cards from Regal Press.  I have so much scrap paper and card that I decided I better use it all up before I purchased too much more. Some arecut-offs from A3 Bazzil card, some  SU card cut-offs and some I have purchased in various packs over the last few years. I put the smaller pieces into an A3 plastic bag (one colour family per bag), and use them for mounting and layering up or to make embellishments, but the stash has got too large, so now I need to use it up!

The stamp used was Baroque Motifs and I used a packet of 5 silver and white metal stars with silver wire spiral attached. I made five cards from this packet I purchased from a stationary shop (Frenchville label I think) last year after Christmas, so they probably cost me about $2 for the packet.  The greeting was either a peeloff or rub-on or stamped with SU Many Merry Messages using Craft White ink.  Some were embossed and some were not. Snowflakes were from SU The Snowflake Spot.  The middle card used torn whisper white card and green card to mount a pressed tin christmas square - again I have had a packet of 5 of these for a couple of years and no idea where they came from.  I used an SU marker to create faux stiches in the corners and just layered up. The star cards were layered using either grey or silver card from a variety of places.

These cards are made with a diecut give-away I got on an card-making English magazine last year.  (English mags tend to be at least two months behind in the newsagents here, so I would have purchased it in February or March!) They looked very garish in the sheets (3 of them) but when I pushed out the individual pieces they were not so bad - and although you cannot see it clearly here they are covered with sparkle.  I put them onto a base card of BoBunny Holiday Cheer paper (the reverse side) - one sheet made all five cards.  The rub-offs were from American Crafts MiniMarks Christmas 2, or peel-offs, or Kaiser rub-ons. All left over from last year. So, 15 cards for very little cost - and I have reduced my stash a little. Means I can now go shopping, doesn't it?

Anyway, that's it folks. Thanks for reading this far!

It's beginning to look like Christmas......

Well, after being shocked by seeing all the Christmas cards being made by crafters and posted up, and then going into one of my favourite shops in the city and catching them putting up their Christmas deco's I eventually got into the swing myself and made some Christmas cards! You can blame Michelle Zindorff - she started me on this road to using my ink pads as a paint pallette and practicing brayering.  I really like this style.  The stained glass effect on the Christmas trees was done using peeloffs stuck on vellum, coloured with either gel pens or my SU markers, and then I turned them over and used an embossing tool on the back to create a 'puffed up' look (description courtesy of the nearly 14 year old granddaughter).  I then painstakingly fussy cut them and this took the longest time as my hands are not as good as they were doing this type of work.

I then grabbed the inkpads - mainly SU ones - and my brayer and began to either layer on the ink using successive layers of different colours (while I had my Michelle Zindorff file open on the computer, reading about how she did each thing and trying to replicate a similar look!) or swiping the pad directly onto the SU whisper white card or using ink sponged on with foam to add another dimention.  I used the punched out circle idea from a sticky pad, and the torn out hill shape to brayer over also to create the appearance of a moon and hills at night.  I then either embossed with clear or gold or silver embossing powder, or direct stamped various stamps from Snowflack Spot, Baroque Motifs, Snow Flurries, Many Merry Messages, and Merry, Merry.  Didn't realise I had so many until I started this! I also used gold peel-offs on some for the message.

Here are a few examples!

I had some stained-glass trees left over, and so used them on a piece of paper I had first embossed in my Cuttlebug with a folder called Snowflakes. They looked OK as well. I used either peel-offs or rub-ons for the message.

I have made some others as well, but will leave these for later.

What else have I been doing?  Nothing much but it seems I was always busy - went to a fantastic version of Miss Siagon last Friday night at our lovely old Theatre Royal in Hobart.  All the girls went with us, and we all thought it was excellent.  We were sitting right up front and the singing and music was loud, but so good - and the helicopter! I made my tummy rumble! Wow - what an excellent presentation of the events.  I can remember the storming of the gates by the Viet Kong and the images beamed around the world of it all; the people left behind - crying and begging and falling of the skids of the last helicopter out....... and when John and I were in Ho Chi Min city last year we were there on the grounds of the palace  as well.  It bought it all back to me then and to see the production it just came alive for me again.  We were so anti the Vietnam War in those days, and so the scenes were both good and bad - mixed memories that were represented well in this piece of theatre. Amazing how one's perception of something can be so influenced by experience and so different to someone elses. The granddaughters were intrigued by the love story and the universality of it,  and the music of course.

Well, that's enough - thanks for reading!

How does your garden grow?

Our garden is full of weeds - poor hubbie was in it for last few days and only managed to clear a small patch.  When we got back from the mainland, the rain and warmer weather had encouraged great growth so there were many, many weeds to be got rid of.............and it was green waste day yesterday. I cannot do much to help - my back is a good excuse - so he does most of it by himself. Today has been sunny and warm except when it wasn't raining, so no gardening got done. He needed a break anyway as he was a little tired - I forget he is nearly 75 at times.

Today was painting day and we had a demonstration on the use of galze mediums in your oil painting, and three different ways of going about it.  Still a little confused but will give it a go this week and see what happens! Perhaps I will show you what I have done, perhaps not.

Meanwhile I have made some cards! Suprise, suprise.  Again, they come from my collection of pictures I have torn out of various magazines, and so are to a great extent cased.  Please accept my deepest gratitude all you great card makers you, if you happen to see my attempts at your work. Most card used  is SU card and inks ditto.  The first card uses an Artee Stamp Double Daisy, which I masked to create 4 flowers.  I coloured it in using SU markers and a watercolour brush. The sentiment is a Virve Stamp from USA, one of several I got last month. The ink is SU Baja Breeze and I used one of those baking papers from the set I mentioned last time that the family gave.  I used gold card to back all these. Inside I used another Virve stamp sentiment as my verse, stamped in blue ink on a cream paper inset.

This one is on SU Craft paper, using SU Chocolate Chip ink to smudge the edges.  The little card has felt flowers on it and the 'parcel' was created using scraplings pasted onto cardboard. Inside onthe inset I used stickers from Joane's on birthdays.

This one is too big.  I am thinking of framing it rather than using it as a card.  The flowers were fussy cut from a sheet of Pink Paislee Spring Fling Collection: Spring Flowers, and placed over another piece from the same collection: Tree House. I hand drew and cut out the bird, and mounted it on left over gold card. I used a scrap to create the fence, after carefully giving it a scalloped edge. The letter stickers were from the many I have in the box - maker unknown. I 3-D'ed the flowers with dimentionals and only stuck down the bottom of the stalks and the center of the flower to give it more life. Inside I printed a sentiment I made up - and glued another flower next to it, plus one on the envelope. I must admit it is pretty.

Spring has come back.

Well, today is a beautiful day and the sun is shining although it is not that warm yet.  Took a photo the other day of the view from my standing desk in my craft room - cannot understand why I need inspiration sometimes with a view like that.  Around late afternoon the birds come to drink and have a bath in the dish and although they cannot see me I am aware that they know something is watching them!

I made a few cards too that day but the colours seem too strong for the subject material I think.  However, they are both made with card blanks, and SU scraps of card, and I embossed one background sheet (the Joy card) with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The stamping sets are SU Summer by the Sea and Uncharted Territory.  I felt like colouring in that day and so made two picture cards - I used my SU markers to watercolour the Joy card and my Derwent watercolour pencils for the other to see what the difference in tone and texture would be like - you be the judge!

Last weekend I went to my SU Demonstrator (Lynda)'s house and we made a small card tote there  - my attempt is pictured below but Lynda designed it and produced the template which is for sale. You can find it here.

It is a card tote and contains a place to put stamps and a calendar to record anniversaries and store the cards you make for them behind each month - how organised!  Now all I have to do is fill in the month sheets and create the cards to go with them!  Mmmmm.....

Just have to share the news that I went to the Clarence Performing Arts Esteiddford (?) yesterday to watch my very talented 13 year old granddaughter play her cornet in a solo competition (Under 16) and she WON!  Well done Hettie! Everyone there to watch her was very proud and all had a lump in their throats and some even had a tear in their eyes - no, not me this time, but Llo was a very proud grandfather I can tell you!

Rain, rain, go away......................

Well, it's October, and it's still raining!  What's more, it's bloody cold as well!  Spent all of last week crafting cards, but sold two today, gave away three and left the rest at a friend's business, to see if she can sell them (she offered!). Didn't even take any photo's of 'em before taking them out of the house! Have started to paint another Italian scene - an alleyway; I have blocked it in in sepia, and tried to get the perpective correct before beginning the task of painting it using a glaze or medium in the paint other than the turps which I have been using to date - mmmmm, could be exciting or disasterous. What is interesting is I have been 'allowed' by my teacher to move onto this method of painting!

I made the following card a while ago now - when I was practicing working with embossing and sponging ink.  It is made from scraps of paper and card, some buttons from my mother's old button box and a rub-on. The ink I used was a Tim Holtz distress ink on the edges of the rub-on and the brown was from Timber Brown Stayzon. I used  SU Glossy White paper to stamp and then emboss with white ink (Brilliance - Moonlight White) and clear embossing powder. The stamp was a foam freebie from somewhere that was one of my first stamps and I used with acrylic ink before using it here.  Once the brown ink was sponged on, I used a tissue to carefully wipe the excess ink off, and polish the surface.  Despite the fact that the embossing powder stuck to the surface and that it is a bit 'rough' looking, I like the look of it still. It was made when I was first beginning to 'play' with different styles!

The card below was also made ages ago - before I got a stamp for a bird that is similar to this, so this bird is drawn freehand, and coloured in using various inks.  The legs are drawn freehand on the ruled paper, and the 'for you' is also written freehand with a black pen. The ribbon is one that came tied around a present for me, and the scrap paper is stamped with SU Peaceful Wishes; the tail feathers are covered with glue and purple glitter, and the green background paper is one from a pack given to me by family - in other words, I have no idea what label it should go under!  The card is a Bazill card. I have edged the papers with SU Wild Wasabi ink.

It's Tulips in Amsterdam...... (well, not really)

As I said in a previous blog, we went to Floriade in Canberra, and thought the flowers were pretty.  However, the bulbs at Tessellars in the Dandenongs were beautiful, so I have just inlcuded a few here from both places to compare - don't you just love Spring! In Victoria, there were beds with over 80 ooo bulbs handplanted just for this event - and they were spectacular!

This was one of the beds - there were many more! The next one is of the view down the hill - by mid-morning this was swarming with people and kids, in among the plantings getting their photo's taken - the poor tulips were battered about!

 

Renuncula's were in all colours and superb - this one is almost like a rose and so delicate in colour.

John said to me that this one looked like it had tinsel on it! Have you seen a tulip like this before! And the red almost hurts your eyes.

Pretty in pink! So delicate and with the raindrops on them as well, they were lovely.

These last two were at Floriade - a different day altogether.  It was warm and a hot wind was blowing.  Many of the bulbs and flowers had been planted to come out over the next week or two, as the festival lasts for three weeks, I believe, and they obviously didn't want them to be all over in a rush. There was a theme to the plantings, around harmony and peace and each bed had been sponsored by various groups - so the type of flower varied, but tupils were there in plenty as were hyacthines; and grape hyacthines; and pansies; irises, daisies (the small tight round faced ones in multi colours from white to red, yellow and orange); and quite a few I didn't know.  No close-ups that are good enough from there to add to this page!

I'm baaaack......

Just arrived in fact - and had to put something up already! Came across to the island last night from Victoria on the Spirit of Tasmania II and after a pleasant dinner, and an early and relatively calm and peaceful night, we docked at 6.00 am in Devonport and finally got away at 7.45.  Stopped at the Raspberry Farm at Elizabeth Town for breakfast (YUMMM - can highly recommed this place) and arrived at home at 11.30.  Got greeted by a clap of thunder and a downpour! Now, however, the sun is shining. John has a load of washing in already and has gone to the shops for provisions and I have packed all the stuff away and gone through the mail. Apart from the potplant inthe kitchen (which looks a little ill) everything looks fine and the cleaning lady had been this morning - added bonus! Will try to get some photo's up from our visit to Floriade and then to the Tulip Festival in the Dandenongs, just near the Silvan Dam outside Melbourne on Wednesday - just beautiful!

In the picture in Canberra

We are currently spending some time with our grandkids in Canberra, and with their parents! Today being a school day, John and I spent the morning at the National Portrait Gallery, whcih was excellent.  It is a beautiful day again today here - went to Floriard yestereday and got sunburned a bit despite the sunblock being applied before leaving home. 

Our grandkids have been keeping us entertained, and jumping on us, or talking to us about their view of the world - very interesting - and we have both slept soundly each night as a consequence!  I will attempt to update the blog as we go, and maybe upload some photo's as well, but not today as we don't have the right access. Got lots of ideas for crafting!

Father's Day

Some of us still have fathers and some of us don't. My Dad died nearly 27 years ago now, and my Mum died about 20 years ago - so I guess technically I'm 'a horphin' but there are still a lot of other Dad's out there for other people - so Happy Father's Day to you all! 

We have been bidden to afternoon tea later today to celebrate Father's Day with the 'girls' and general others.  This should be fun.  Tomorrow we (the younger girls and I) will be driving up to Launceston - well technically, I won't necessarily be driving there, as I have volunteer to allow the learner-driver get some hours up on the longer drive. Better take some CD's and my nerve pills! No, seriously, I am sure she will do well. I am going to visit a craft shop in Launceston called Regal Press, which is one of my favourie places - I will be getting some card for Christmas cards, and maybe some other things........who knows until I have seen what they have in stock! Perhaps shopping will settle my shattered nerves (lol)!

I have not made much in the line of craft lately, just been planning stuff and playing around with my Cuttlebug. However I made a card for a friend's birthday (she is in her 8th decade).  I used the birthday embossing folder to create this after I cased the idea from a photo in a Creative Cardmaking magazine. Instead of stamping the sentiments on the candles, I used the appropriate wording from the embossed card.  I also handrew my candle, so they are not exact!  I used SU card  - Pink Pirouette, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, So Saffron with Tea Party DP, and some gold glitter for the candle flame. I also used several other embossing folders to create the work 'celebrate' and for a corner embellishment.  I used 'scraplings' for the candles and only placed them on the section of the embossing folder I was trying to get, and then cut out the candles after I had embossed. I drew around the edges with my black SU marker pen to create stitches to define the curve a bit more as well.

This is a close up of the candles and the embossing. I also used the DP inside the card and some of the embossed offcuts to decorate the inside before I wrote my message - plus I used a sticker that said "How many candles?"

Oils Ain't Oils............

Well, I painted yesterday afternoon - and this is the result. when I started it last week it was looking quite summery, but when I finished it yesterday, it was an indication of rough weather. Not sure I think it's any good - but for what i's worth, here 'tis.

It's of no particular place - just memories of cruising down the Channel with John and sailing generally.

Granddaughters....so cute and funny

What a lovely day it is today - full of sunshine and the scent of Spring! I went to work for two hours this morning (doing some relief teaching) and had a good time with a bunch of Yr 11/12's doing River Catchments for Life  Science.  I seem to be versatile - have had Life Science,  Chemistry, Japanese and ESL2 in the lst fortnight!  Earning some spare cash to increase my stamp collection and pay for some of our break on the mainland next week. The mainland is what we call the big island over the Bass Strait, or the rest of Australia!

I did get that granddaughter's card completed yesterday however. I made one for her mother's birthday in July which had a bird on it, with the sentiment saying "Happy Birdday".  Miss 5 thought that was very amusing, and she sent me one back for my birthday in August with a similar message.  She is an avid crafter and loves to make cards - to the detriment of my stash when she is here!  I have made her birthday card as big and bold as I could - its a 15cm x 15 cm so that it could hold all the elements! And it had to have a bird on it so I used the new free owl stamp I got from my UK magazine Crafter Stamper.  It is one by Sugan Nellie and very cute! She is very bright so I think she will enjoy  the play on words (Whoo's) but of course it has to have glitz and glamour as well!  AND be PINK! She is a girly-girl, this one.

The card used is StampinUp's In Colour Pink Pirouette and Whisper White while the ink used is Pink Pirouette.  The card and paper pieces are scraps from DCWV's All Dressed Up Matstock; DCWV's Whimsy card; SU's Sweet Always DP; and a piece of Alison Ellis - Flights of Fancy - Pastel Sky Stripes. The ribbon is just pink satin ribbon from my stash; the letters are from Pink Paisley stick on letters.  I used a SU edge punch on the Pastel Stripes paper - Eyelet Border.

A close-up of the owl - I used Superfine Crystal Glitter Cotton Candy to highlight and decoupaged the owl.  I drew in the branch and used the SU markers to colour this.

The inside of the card had some more Whimsy card and a strip of the Pastel Stripes - the sticker is one from my stash and I have lost the maker's name. The kids all call their grandfather Llo Llo and he chose the whelsh spelling as he didn't want to be 'Low Low'!

Wild and wet winter's last gasp........maybe?

It's a typical Spring day again today - windy, showers, cold and sunny - usually all at the same time. However, it has been very wet and wild, and with the wind in the west we have had a leak in the downstairs window - again! Lots of towels and wet carpet, but it seems to have stopped now. It only happens when the wind blows hard from the west behind the rain. Consequently I have spent several days laying around in the warmth of the heater, reading. Did take the curtains down in the lounge room on Thursday and take them to my wonderful curtain lady around in the village to have them repaired - they were sun-rotted down the edging of four big drops.  Thought it would take several days to repair, but she got them back to me by 4.00 pm that day and they were back up before the temperature fell too far down. Hopefully that will hold them for another couple of years before we have to replace them - they are nearly 20 years old so I cannot complain about them - they have done good service.

I have not done much crafting - a few father's day cards - but I need to be inspired today to make my granddaughter's birthday card - she will be 6 next week. If it come out OK I will post it up before sending it to her! Meanwhile, I made these cards several weeks ago - what do you think of these?

Saw something similar in a magazine so this is cased, of course. If it is yours, please let me know as I have thrown out the magazine it came from!

Recipe: everything is just layered up and edged in ink

Card - Riding Hood Red from SU; Scraps of Bazzil; strip of Kraft paper from SU (put through the crimper)

Paper - Francis Meyer Paper East India; + scrap of another from Francis Meyer but I have lost the name of it (pretty thought, isn't it!)

Letters - Carolee's Creations Etched Natural sticker letters

Other - dimensionals from SU; brad for door knob; Timber Brown StazOn ink

Again, I cased this from a magazine.  I stuffed up the wings on the butterfly because I didn't think of the direction of the music on the wings when I cut it out and I wasn't until I had completed the card that I realized one wing was different from the other! Say's a lot about me but is fairly typical - rush it, get it done, don't stop to check until it is too late...and I hate going back over things.

Recipe: I used the SU scallop-edged punch and a small hole punch to create the edging on the paper and just layered up. Stamped the music sheet onto scrap blue paper, and then drew a set of butterfly wings onto the back and cut out. Stamped the flower onto card scrap and cut out

Card - SU Red Riding Hood; SU Very Vanilla

Paper - scraps from give-aways in crafting magazines

Stamps - SU One of a Kind; Sheet Music by Imprint Stamps K111

Other - Kaiser pearls, Carolee's Creations Etched Natural sticker letters; ribbon scraps; Tim Holtz Grungeboard Heart; SU Red Riding Hood and Baja Breeze ink; double sided tape.

A masterpiece.......NOT!

I have just returned from my oil painting class. It is the last one for this semester - next one starts late September. I listened to our teacher talk about the various kinds of Linseed Oil around and which one to use in a 3 part medium (there are quite a few you don't use!) as well as why you should varnish your work (and how to varnish it).......and all the while my hand was trying to sketch out the figure of a woman on the paper. When she had completed her talk and I was ready to paint, I mixed up three sets of colours on my pallette  -  sky, sea and cliff! NOT what I had been sketching, I thought, so turned over my board and prepared another piece of paper and rough painted in a cliff and beach scene in about 20 minutes - even looks OK to me! Why does our brain work like that? Was it fear of figures and failure so go for the familiar or was it something trying to wriggle out of my subconscious? Oh well, will finish off the beach scene over the next little while and see what becomes of it.

In the meantime, I have been making a few thank you cards, so have decided to put up another couple for you to view. If you see anything you like, they are usually for sale - make an offer!

All material is StampinUp unless otherwise stated.  Both cards are made on a commercial white card;

Card One:

Paper: Tempting Turqoise and Tangerine Tango; backing paper from stash

Inks: Tempting Turquoise; Basic Grey

Stamps: One of a Kind (both flower and sentiment); a banner clear stamp from a set by Kaiser

Embellishments: Rhinestone Brads - blue

Card Two:

Paper: Tempting Turqoise and Tangerine Tango; DP Bali Breeze

Inks: Tempting Turquoise;
Stamp: Say it with Scallops
Embellishments: Brads from stash

Thank You's are due..........

Despite the rain last night it is still feeling like spring, even though the temperature is less than it was and far less than it is on the mainland! Heard on the wireless that Brisbane was going to be 33 degrees today and its only August (still winter). Well, it is only 10 degrees here at the moment but the sun is shining and there is no wind - pretty!

Been making 'Thank You' cards and practicing techniques all in the one go. Cased both cards - one from Lynda Moss (my SU supplier) and one from Michelle Zindorf's site. I have wanted to have a go at brayering but am still very bad at it (and sponging). However, here they are:

This card is made from all Stampin Up items unless otherwise stated: card is glossy white, and uses Uppsy Daisy stamp for flowers and sentiment; One of a Kind stamp is used for 'sun'; both flowers and sun are stamped with VersaMark and then Basic Black and clear embossed. The inks used are So Saffron; Summer Sun; Tangerine Tango and Taken with Teal, as well as StayzOn Timber Brown; Card is Black; mount is Only Orange and Tempting Turquoise.

This card is on SU Handsome Hunter, and then Brilliant Blue; the flowery paper is DCWV Adhesive Paper Prints Sticker Paper; the stamp is SU Oh, So Lovely, coloured in (badly) with SU markers on waterproof paper; sentiment SU Warmest Regards; stamped outlines with StayzOn Black; ricrac ribbon from the stash. The circles were cut using SU punches.

Spring is Springing............!

Spring seems to have arrived. The weather is getting warmer, and the bulbs are bulbing in the garden and blossom is blossoming. Many of my friends children are also having children lately! I have been to a number of baby showers and had to visit the 'baby shop' (a bit like an Alladin's Cave - all those goodies!) to purchase suitable gifts. I have been playing with my new American stamps too, and created a couple of baby cards for the new mothers. There certainly seems to have been a lot of activity around pre-Christmas last year, as many of these babies have been or are being born over the six/seven weeks from the middle of July to the end of August (so many Leo's) or early September.

Went to a dinner party on Friday night at a friend's house and discovered she had gathered three Leo's together (and their partners) for a combined celebration! Had a beautiful dinner and a yummy and spectacular cake that said "Happy Birthday Leo's"! Got to catch up with old friends as well. Thanks, Lari.

Made these two cards with papers taken from magazines (freebies) and such.
The stamp used is a Clear Art Stamps one I got from Shirleys2Girls and is called Stork Delivery (SG80); the card for both is SU card - Card one uses Garden Green, Ballet Blue and Barely Banana; Card two has Barely Banana, Garden Green and Tangerine Tango. Both images are coloured using SU markers after I stamped the images onto watercolour paper, using StazOn Black ink; the messages are from my stash of Joanne's Baby Stickers, purchased in Denver when I was there two years ago visiting family. (Joanne's is my idea of Heaven). The green ribbon on Card one is a piece of srap off a t-shirt.

Getting the hang of things

I made this card late last week for a friend's birthday. The face stamp is from Shirley's2Girls Clear Art Stamps and is called I'm Knot (505G) and the sentiment is one of Ann-ticipations 9466G; the card used is SU card (Pink Passion, Bashful Blue and Green Galore) ; embossed with Cuttlebug folders and the flowers and brads came from all over! Really it was made with offcuts where I had been practicing using my new Cuttlebug which my dear husband gave to me for my birthday, along with a number of folders for embossing! It's a great toy to play with!

I have started to get the hang of this now!

Hope you like my blog picture? It is a photo taken off the west coast of Tassie, near Strahan, late in 2006 on a cool Spring day - next stop is the East coast of Africa! There were only myself, my husband and some seagulls on the beach for miles to see.

I spent this morning listening in to the Billy Hyde School's Band competitions in Melbourne, streaming live performances - we lucked into being able to watch one of our granddaughters play her cornet with her High School band in this competition, and were able to listen to the adjudicator giving the kids some advice on how to tackle several of their pieces. It was excellent entertainment and very exciting to realise it was live streaming! Yeah for technology!

A New Beginning

It is with some trepidation I begin this posting - I expect I will get very frustrated with this as I already feel that I need some additional help to format my layout (very basic) and to download some images. I will perservere, however. My ever-loving is upstairs cooking dinner (he has just completed the ironing) - what a gem! I have just consumed my usual GnT before dinner and am feeling guilty for continuing to work on this rather than assist the cook!