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.