Busy doing Little....

Remember that song.....busy doing nothing, working the whole day through........Do you ever get that feeling - busy but not much achieved? Lately that seems to be my lot - might be the cold weather! Might just be old age. Anyway, today is sunny and blue and there is a bit of a breeze floating around so the washing might dry!

I made a set of male-type cards (another post another time) and I  have also made a baby set: card, gift bag and label - more on that later.  Firstly, some memories from the past.  The following three photo's were given to me last Sunday at lunch time by a person I knew when I was a child.  I have scanned them in, and posted them here because they may make all those who remember 1956 more clearly than I do go awwah!

That little girl  is me at my sister Anne (Elizabeth)'s wedding.  We always called her Anne but she is now known as Elizabeth. My hair is darker but still just as curly.  Don't you love those little lace mittens! If you look carefully and count those fingers on the right hand, there are actually five of them in place! This was taken several days before I lost the one and cut the other in two! And that hair piece and basket of flowers ..... yes, I was a flower girl!

The photo below is of the bridesmaids - my late sister Judy is on the left.  Not sure who the other one is really. This is not our house but the house of a friend - I think we got dressed there. 

Don't you just love those dresses! Anne is only about 18 and Judy is about 16 - too young to be married!

Enough of memory lane. Last week we went to the mainland to visit my MIL and SIL and families. My MIL is doing OK for 98 and three quarters, and is back home after a stint in hospital. My SIL is not that well but is very positive. We had a great visit and went for a drive to the country on one day, to Healesville and across to King Lake (where the dreadful bushfires were a few years ago). It was a lovely day together. I took this photo at King Lake Lookout, looking back at the city of Melbourne.

How green it now is, but the dead trees that will never recover are there along with those that are shooting against all odds. My telescopic lens was used to get the city shot below - looks a bit like Mordor I think!

The following images are of the baby set I created this week. Most items are from SU unless otherwise stated. Firstly I used the set Baby Prints and wet embossed  the feet stamp with pink EP some Pink Pirouette card. I used the Sixxix die cut Top Note to cut this out and use as the top of the card. 

The bottom DP is from a freebie set of papers from the Tatty Teddy range. I die cut some butterflies from some DP and edged it with Melon Mambo and added a button and put this onto a flower.  The ribbon is from my stash (Celebrate).  The sentiment is from the same set and again is stamped in MM onto PP card and another butterfly added with a bit of bling. This is a CASE from SU's Treat Yourself Card from June.

The tag is again using the Top Note die and then the Big Shot Labels collection and some DP and PP card. 

The hands were stamped in MM and perhaps this is a bit too intense - However, I used an old stamp for the sentiment and repeated the butterfly, bling and flower idea. 

The gift bag is old DP, the labels dies again and the elephant is the stamp Elebration coloured up with the SU pens. Some ribbon from my stash was used for the handles. Sorry about the shadows across the bag - I couldn't find another spot that was better this morning to use in a hurry. 

AN up-close of the elephant - he is stamped, coloured and fussy cut, and then the balloon is attached with a bit  of twine. 

They are kinda a set.

I thought I would enter them in the following challenges:
Hanna and Friends:   Celebrate
Samuel Taylors Challenge: Use a die cut


 this is the prize!
Fashionista Challenge: Babies!

Going Bananas!

The Lollipop Ladies 

Challenge #50

This fortnight we are going bananas!

That's right, the sweet sugary confection found in every lolly mix!

I really like these but they are flavoured with an artificial banana flavour - a chemical one - and sooo bad for you as a result! However,they are part of my childhood (so long ago its hard to remember it!).

The additional challenge is leaves

Guest DT spots are able to be won each fortnight
and our sponsor this fortnight is: Mad for Markers*

(thanks to Sammi).

A choice of 3 of her digi stamps.
So cool :-)

Please link up your entries in the sidebar :-)

* Prize will only be offered if 7 or more entries partake in the challenge.

Hmmm..... what do bananas remind me of.........monkeys!

Hey Presto!

This image is a digital stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps especially purchased as when I went through all my animal stamps - not one monkey! I hurriedly got onto the internet and googled digital stamps monkeys and found several! This one made me laugh! It cost the mighty sum of $3 and included the banana bunches as several sentiments, including the one I used here.

I printed it off onto X-Press card and coloured it with Copics, and then fussy cut the monkey and bananas, and used a rectangle die to cut out the sentiment.  I layered this up on some SU More Mustard, and used it to mount the other DP.  This is a bit of scrap SU and a piece of yellow stripes from Jillibean Soup. The base card is SU Glorious Green and so are the vines (leaves - get it?) which were cut using a die from Die-Namics. I used dimentional stickies to lift the monkey and the banana bunches up! I think its cute - made me laugh!

It DID rain!

Last night and again today but not that much - enough to be annoying for the washing! However, I have another rain inspired card to show you.  Remember that image I used last time - from Annabelle Stamps? I had stamped it and coloured it three different ways - Copic, Prisma and Derwent Watercolour pencils - and this one is the Prisma one:

This card was made for my DIL's birthday which is today - Happy Birthday Bea!

I have used Stickles to try and get a water splatter effect here and it worked on the umbrella but not necessarily on her hair! Too thick there I think. In this one I used the negative from the umbrella die and added a handle.  The sentiment is from LOTV stamped with SU inks and aged with Distress ink. 

Some green ribbon, and the whole mounted on some shimmery card which had been put through the embossing folder and mounted on SU Glorious Green card. That is also used for the base card, and the bp used is from Basic Grey Nostalgia. Three Annabelle sprinkles added extra bling.

All glittered up!

The inside of the card. That sentiment is from Stamp-It.

I will enter this for the following challenges:

Meljens Designs; Happy Birthday

Pixie Dust Studio: weather theme (so suitable for this!)

Crafty Creations: Free for All!

A little rain......

Nope, none here.  It got to 12 degrees today and was still and quite nice but no proper rain for nearly six weeks now. A few showers - a storm that looked nasty but faded fast.  Our garden is in need of a water! It was too cold to go out - Hubbie went to watch the grandigirls play soccer (they won) but he said it was freezing!

I stayed home and played a bit.  Hand a bit sore and it gets swollen if I use it too much, so tend not to - I made a card for the Annabelle Stamps Monthly Challenge - polka dots. I haven't made anything lately for myself - mostly for DT work and the occasional birthday card. So, this was a bit of fun.

I used the image of Bella from Tomorrow's Dreams, one of the latest sets from Andrea. This one was coloured using Copic pens. She is also sprinkled with the AtYa Spika pen from Copic to indicate water drops and IRL it looks wonderful! She has been fussy cut and mounted on a piece of SU Garden Green, which has been embossed with polka dots and then smooched around the edges with TH Distress ink - Forest Moss.

This is the card, taken in poor late afternoon light but I wanted to show the depth of colours and the photo's taken at my desk were a bit wishy-washy  (see below)! The papers are from My Minds Eye - Nostalgia, and they have been smooched with the distresses ink. The ribbon is from my stash.

I diecut an umbrella using a Die-namics die and paper pieced the top (not that well now I look at it) onto a black background. The little cloud is from the same set as Bella but the rain is from a WMS set called Asian Gardens- Additions and so is the sentiment. I added some Cloud9 Rain Splats and Drops!  I have added some Spika pen to the cloud as well.

This was photographed on the desk using the light there. 

I will also enter this in the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin'Challenge: paper piecing

Crafty Annes Challenge Blog: paper piecing

A Better Place

There are many time when we think somewhere else would be a better place to be - warmer, cooler, nicer, more exciting. How many times have we been disappointed when we arrived at this place - it's not quite all it was cracked up to be. And isn't it so nice to get home again! I know it is mostly the people for me that make a place better - friends, family, strangers.  We have just returned home from visiting with a friend, whose father was celebrating his 90th birthday.  It was a good place to be on a cold day in June. Happy Birthday Fred.

Now, on to the next Challenge at 

Lets Ink It Up!

Challenge #25

Closes 30^th July 2012

 Theme – All Girl – think flowers, lace, ribbon, pearls.

Sponsor – Magnolia-Licious 

 http://www.magnoliastamps.us/

Magnolia-licious is an online store for Magnolia Stamps from Sweden. We have a new pricing policy for ongoing Collections that is going to give you the lowest prices online. We have an exciting new Club you can join for $15.00 a year. Membership is going to give you lots of benefits, extra discounts, freebies and lots of surprises. 

Prize Package – Snowman with  Snowflakes Stamp

My take on the Challenge!

Sorry about the photo's - it's late on a winter's afternoon.  My Tilda is stamped and then masked, and the chair is then stamped behind her.  I coloured her up with the Copics and then fussy cut her out, to put her onto the green diecut background. This was then mounted onto a doily that had been smudged with SU Pink Pirouette ink. The background papers are freebies from a magazine (as if I didn't have enough others to choose but they were so pretty and a pity to waste - what's a girl to do?!).  

The Prima roses are touched up with Stickles and the image has been scribbled over in places with an AtYa Spika pen. It glitters nicely IRL but doesn't show in the photos - not sure why.  A die cut vine, and some ruffled ribbon, a strip of washi tape under the ribbon, plus the sentiment from LOTV stamped with SU inks. My card blank is made from a sheet of bazzill and the green mounting card is also bazzill. The sentiment is diecut and the background scalloped circle is an SU punch. 

Is it girly enough?

Fantails and Layers

Lollipop Ladies

Challenge 49

(Sorry this is not up on time, but my scheduling skills are not good!)

Have you got your movie trivia brain switched on? This fortnight our challenge is based on those chocolatey chewy goodies: Fantales!

With the additional challenge of Text.

We have another new DT member to welcome this fortnight :-)
Keep an eye out for the inspiration of Michelle
 as well as our monthly guest, and GDT spot winners...

Guest DT spots are able to be won each fortnight

and our sponsor this fortnight is:   Annabelle Stamps *

$10 Voucher (thanks to Andrea).

* Prize will only be offered if 7 or more entries partake in the challenge.

So why not have as go and enter this great challenge - here is my addition to the DT team's inspiration!

Fantails are wrapped in paper, and actual sweet is coated in chocolate and then has a chewy centre - yum.  Great for removing old-fashioned fillings from teeth, as I remember! The paper is predominantly yellow, with blue and red ends and covered with information about movie stars for the "fans" - get it? It tells tales (tails) for the fans........My card therefore has some layers - some text and my wrapper is yellow!  

My base was stamped with a text stamp from Stamp-it, and embossed with clear embossing powder onto shiny while SU card.  I then introduced some TH Distressed Ink pads (Faded Jeans, Barn Door and Squeezed Lemonade), and rubbed the ink over the card and the embossing . I wiped off the ink then from the embossing, and used half the card to die cut some flowers (Creative Flowers No 11) and edged the flower petals and the main card piece with the Faded Jeans ink. I stamped the Kaiser image Lady Jude with TH Black Soot ink.  I took a Kaiser wooden flourish - Dress Form and coloured with with various inks and finally smeared it with Tsukineko Frost White ink. After tying a small yellow ribbon scrap around the form I used Dimentional Magic to attach it to the base. I then mounted all of this onto a scrap of blue card.

I used a couple of papers from Jilly Bean Soup  - Home Made 6 Bean Soup 6' x 6', and some red card to build up layers on a base card of SU Daffodil Delight. The sentiment is stamped in black on this and punched out using an SU punch.  The sentiment is from Stamp It - Sentiment Set 2. I added bling (from Bella) and the flowers and doodled some faux stitches.  I think it is missing something in the construction - not sure what to do so have left it as it is - any suggestions welcome!

I will enter this in the following challenges:

The Stamp Man - bling it on

Its all about the Vintage - vintage!

Celebrations!

It is time to Congratulate  Merry and the Belles who started this monthly challenge blog

UNSTAMPABELLES 

12 months ago - it has gone from strength to strength since then, and is now in a 

Celebration Mood!

July Challenge #13 - Celebrations

Firstly. to celebrate Merry is giving away some blog candy!

3 Australiana Phone Charms, Cadbury Chocolate 5 x 15g pieces, A5 Textured Paper Pack, 30 Diecut Paper Flowers, Grand Adhesion Stickers, 40 x Rhinestone Florettes.

The blog candy  will be offered to a random winner from people who leave a comment answering these questions.

We are going to make you work a little bit to be eligible for a chance to win this Blog Candy you will need to:

1. Be a Follower

2.  Leave us a comment; 

1. What your favourite post from the last year?
2. What you would like to see more of?

Now, on to the Challenge itself:

Your entry must signify a celebration of some kind. 

The prize for Challenge #13 has been donated by Cairns Bookbinders

You can find them here also onFacebook.  http://www.facebook.com/CairnsBookbinders

The prize is: One handmade A5 Journal and three lengths of ribbon.

Yes, we have a second prize on offer this month.......what a celebration!

Cardmaking Online is offering a $25.00 voucher to their store.

Cardmaking Online has been running for two years and offers a large range of card making products, including Parchment Craft, European style card making, card stitching, 3D Decoupage, embossing folders and dies, Hobbyjournaal magazine, cardstock, peel-off stickers and more.

I don't know about you but June always seems to me to bring an influx of new babies into my sphere - seven so far and one to come soon!  So I have to make a few baby cards!  What better reason is there to celebrate than that of a new life and the enjoyment of new parents and grandparents! So here is my DT entry for the challenge - Celebration!

The base card is folded Bazzill. I wanted this one simple and easy to post, so I add the soft flowers and three strips of washi tape.  I have seen this tape around on the internet, but not been tempted to buy it - however, four reels were included in a giveaway freebie with a magazine recently, and so I acquired some.  To the tape I added some bling pieces (Kaiser) coloured with a Copic pen to match the sticker of the baby and used also to colour up the rub-on sentiment.

The sticker is one of a sheet I have had for a long time - maker unknown to me. Cute little things. The paper doily was trimmed to fit against the edges of the card. That's it - sweet and simple. 

Oh, except for the inside! A sticker and some doodling and the paper was a scrap from my basket!

I shall enter this in the following challenges:

Crafty Ribbons - Clean and Simple

Southern Girls Challenge - Oh Baby