Week 2 for "To Die For" Challenge#67 at Unstampabelles

Hello Peeps - nearly Easter and the second week in April has started. 

As you might know if you have been reading my blog, Hubby has not had a good start to the year, so it was nice to be able to go for a drive with him yesterday to the seaside town of Orford on the East coast of the state and partake of a nice freshly cooked salmon pizza for lunch!

We went for a little tootle around the southern part of the town and I snapped this with my phone camera - Maria Island in the background and a storm over Shelly Beach. We got a few spots of rain.

Today it is raining - real proper rain!

Great for our garden.

Over at Unstampabelles for the month of April the challenge is 

To 'die' for.......   

TWIST  add a bird or two or three....

Prize - two small die sets

IO Dies - Bunnies 

AND

Cheery Lyn Dies - chicks

This last set was so cute I had to get myself a set as well. 

I cut out three chickens in sparkly green SU card

I also cut two eggs from Filigree Egg by Memory Box and interchanged the parts

(see below)

I used double sided tape below the egg to get the 'parts' to stay in place and then stick the eggs to my carton. 

I saw a similar styled (lunch pail?) carton (with no instructions to make it) on Pinterest, so I told myself I was an intelligent woman and could do this and proceeded to turn a 12 x 12 sheet into a box with a base measuring 3 x 4 inches x 2 inches sides plus the 'roof space'.

Bit of a surprise it worked really!

I wrote down the sizes as I marked the back of the yellow sheet, and used a pencil and eraser to great effect before I had my basic shape: then I  began to put in the folds and begin cutting tabs. The two side end folds tucked behind the real end (the one with the sentiment on it) and were taped in but that is all the tape there is. 

The top triangle has a slit cut into it and the two sides meet at the top and were slid through the slit to hold the box closed. The ribbon is really for show. I trimmed up the ends to make them easier to pull in and out of the slits. I hope you can see what I have done.

I do have a photo of a base template if you want me to email it to you but no further instructions.

I used the die cut chickens and eggs to decorate. 

It is pretty sturdy and contains a packet of Cadbury Dream Eggs.

I could take two packets if you wanted it to - but I didn't have any to spare. 

To open, slide one end out and untie ribbon.

I can see it would be prettier if I had used DSP rather than plain but didn't have any suitable Easter paper around.

So - add a die cut and a bird or two and you have met the challenge and the twist!

Enter your work by clicking on the link below and scrolling down

HERE

It's nearly time for the Easter Bunny.....

.....and death by chocolate. I am allergic to chocolate. It does not mean I don't eat it - it just means I have to be careful and not overdo it when I do eat a piece. I tend to avoid it though or eat the white chocolate but even that has some problems for me. It's a good thing Easter has other great food - Easter buns (when are you supposed to eat them? Sunday or Friday?), lamb or fish.

At Crafting with Dragonflies this fortnight the challenge is of course - an Easter themed card!

Here is mine (thanks Pinterest)

I die cut this lovely thing four times and then added the correct colour to the gold base to make the daisy. This comes from a thinlit's die set from SU called Timeless Tags and is a real beauty: it is in the Occasions booklet if you are interested. 

The sentiment is also from SU but is an old one. I don't have many Easter sentiments as I don't usually do Easter cards unless it is for Grandchildren. This one was first dipped in Versa Mark and then the Marina Mist ink (to match the ribbon) and them clear embossed. I fussy cut the mount as you can probably see......

The butterflies are from an SU punch

The card is all SU scraps and the embossing folder is from SU as well!

I am sure your version of an Easter card excels over this one so why not enter it at 

Crafting with Dragonflies?

Use a die or two or three...

Hello Peeps, today I am sharing an easel card I made for the new challenge over at Unstampabelles.

Challenge #67 is 

To 'die' for.......   

TWIST  add a bird or two or three....

One Prize - two new, small dies:  

IO Die - Bunnies 

AND

Cheery Lyn Die - chicks

Here is my card

There are four dies used in this but one is the tree canopy and  one lot's of small (very small) leaves.

These are Memory Box dies.

You can see the green sheet below on the left side where I cut the canopy die and then took each individual leaf and applied them to the die of the tree stem and branches.

The tree and leaves are from SU Moonlight DS paper stack.

I did this with tweezers and Tombow glue, by adding the glue to my rubber sheet and dabbling into it a sponge and applying this glue to the back of the leaves - time consuming!

I did the same thing to the die sentiment - small things like this work well with this system.

I store my sponge in the blue bowl and seal it with quite a tight lid between uses.

Once I had got the leaves stuck on, I put the piece through a circle die first and then through an embossing folder Culture Creations - Flamingos and Hedgehogs

A closer look at the effect

Another circle die for a mount and then this was mounted over a square of SU white (thick Whisper White). The mounts are Lost Lagoon card (SU). I used the same embossing folder but inked it with Lost Lagoon ink first and then added the thick WW card.

My plastic bird comes from D'Lish.

The base of the card has had a piece of DS paper from SU that is a scrap - and so Ihave no name for the series but it is old.

The sentiment is die cut too from LLagoon and added to a scrap of WW and then run through the embossing folder as well. Three pearls completed the card.

I will finish with a photo of our Government House and the Botanical Gardens taken across Cornelian Bay. The long roof line belongs to the workers cottages at the back of the house proper. the flag on the tower indicated the Governor was home that day - she is very hard working and often away around the state. The beautiful trees in the front down to the water actually belong to the Royal Botanical Gardens next door - a big tourist attraction, hence the car park at the back gate. These gardens are the second oldest in Australia.

What is the Difference?

Hi Peeps

Over at Eclectic Ellapu we are being invited to a new challenge for April

 - and it is simply the words 

"Vintage or Shabby Chic"

Now, I am not sure what the difference is between these two so I had to look it up!

vintage  Urban Dictionary

1. Too old to be considered modern, but not old enough to be considered antique. Often used to describe items for sale online such as ebay auctions or craigslist posts though may also be found in printed listings such as classified ads. Can also be a euphemism for "heavily used" items.

2. Retro, recently out of style with potential to make a comeback

Shabby Chic

Something (maybe someone, i.e., Joan Collins) that's rather worn out/tattered yet has a touch of understated class.

Example of a shabby chic attire: 

Slightly ratty but damn gorgeous Prada handbag, with a pair of Vivian Westwood slacks, and perhaps some frayed cashmere sweater.

or this one

A "style" invented by paint manufacturers to promote painting things then rubbing most of it back off, and people with no money who don't mind living with old crap battered furniture.

I love your shabby chic furniture, it looks so.... old and crap!

Now, did that help? No, didn't help me either. 

Anyway, here is my version of a Shabby Chic, Vintage card......

I used some texture paste and a stencil and created some words on a sheet of card packaging

and then smeared around some ink

I added some flowers and stuff I had including lace,  doilies and cameos

I roughed up the edges of the mounts and inked them again. 

It looks too fresh to be vintage and not shabby enough to be shabby chic - anyway 'tis done!

This happens to be a card as I needed one for a birthday but you can make any item you want for Eclectic Ellapu!

A reminder that you have a month to get something done.

More than Two Folds is what CWD wants!

That's Crafting With Dragonflies for the uninitiated. 

We are asking you to make a card with more than two folds.

Pinterest is very helpful if you need some assistance.

This card has four folds and was shared by Lyssa at Songofmyheartstampers

There is a tutorial on her blog on how to make this one and other multi-fold cards

I used SU papers and card and half of a sheet of 12 x 12 Bazzil for the basic card base.

SU Falling in Love DS set of papers

Mediterranean Moments Stamp Set

WC Pencil set from SU

WC card from SU

The front is the smallest size

Inside there are two areas for stamping - this sentiment is from LOTV

Keep turning and there are two more spaces to decorate.

It opens as a concentina and is small enough to be posted in a normal sized envelope. 

I will be writing on the back of the last page.

It would be good for showing off photo's too! 

There is no reason why you cannot decorate the back of each page either.

My Four-fold card for Crafting with Dragonflies. 

An end to Punctuation in sight!

ED: I cannot believe I didn't get this up yesterday! So sorry about that. Late AGAIN!!

We are coming up to the last week of the challenge at Unstampabelles to Add Punctuation to your work and to take the twist challenge and make it (slightly) amusing!

For my last piece I have reverted back to making a card and have CASed one from Pinterest as it made me laugh out loud when I first saw it. However, before showing that I will show you some more of my State Tasmania.

My regular photo selection this week contains three photos by Jason Robinson. 

He went up in a helicopter above the Huon River, in a valley just south west of my place. 

This is the river Huon with Huonville to the left of the bridge in the distance

Mt Wellington is behind the helicopter and they were travelling south.

This little township below is called Ranelagh (pronounced Ran-e-la)

You are looking south to the Hartz Mountains and the river 

This area used to be full of apple orchards and still grows lots of cherries

and a lot of vineyards.

Yes, we need some rain now - things are a bit dry....

Now on with my card

I started with some letters and a pencil and ruler.

Who still has letter stickers in their stash?

They do occasionally get a run now. 

I started with the letter A in the middle of the card and built the word letter by letter out each side until I had the whole word. You can see the ruled line to keep me on the straight and narrow. 

I winged it with the words on the top of the sheet - not too badly out of alignment.

Die cut of a pair of spectacles and some small googly eyes....

...and some pen work...

...then some mounting onto the card to complete.

Isn't that too cute!

Love a good pun. 

You still have a week to complete a project and enter it at Unstampabelles 

Go HERE and scroll down to the link to enter. 

Toowhit, Toowhoo!

It is midway through the current challenge at Unstampabelles, which is to Use Punctuation somewhere in your entry piece. Before I show you my latest bit of inspiration, here is a lovely photo of my home state to drool over.

Another superb dawn at Freycinet National Park this morning... What a privilege to be out there and watch it unfold.. Tassie always turns it on!! 

Thanks to Ian Rolfe for an amazing capture and beautiful words

www.instagram.com/iancrolfe 
www.ianrolfelightscapes.com

I have walked those beaches and across the Hazards - often accompanied by myriad kids on a school camp. I have sailed around them too back in the day. It is truly a beautiful spot. 

On to my latest piece: I made a tag

I have a lot of chipboard and it is carefully put away and rarely see's the light of day. I decided it was time to raid the stash! One problem with it of course if that it soaks up paint so it took me several goes to get this own painted - I originally intended him to be green!

I used TH Distress Paints to get the final coverage. 

The foliage is a mixture of stencils and ink, ribbons shaped like leaves and diecuts.

The background is texture paste and stencils with paints

My word - WHOO!

I added a Scrapmat HB bit and inked it green to match

I added some ribbons to the tag and was going to add some glitter but decided against it.

A fun tag to add to a birthday present. 

You can go to Unstampabelles and see what else the team have created - be amazed!

Second Week of Unstampabelles March Challenge

The days are winding down a bit earlier and the chill is beginning to make its way into the evening but I just went outside and my tomato plant is taller than me and laden with fruit, the sun is shining and the air is laden with steamy moisture, as it rained last night and again this morning. It is probably only about 21 but it feels warmer. Autumn is upon us but my tomato's don't want to know about it!

This photo was taken several weeks ago

Now you can see it is taller and leaning over to the right because it is so top heavy and I need to restring it to the balcony for support. Also the leaves are turning yellow.

You can see how the chilli plant is also much bigger and is flowering

These are the other ones on the other balcony below. They are also taller and fuller and yellower now and producing lots of green fruit with a few yellow and red ones gradually appearing.

They are all potted and so need to be watered every day

The fruit is still primarily green but everyone is experiencing the same problem apparently unless you are growing them in a glasshouse. 

I have had a very busy fortnight with my husband rushed off to hospital again with a temperature of 40 and quite sick. He spent 10 days in there and has just come back home. His diagnosis was an apparent bacterial infection in the blood. Many antibiotics later he is home and seems to be getting better.

I could not really settle to make anything crafty so started to tidy away some of the mess that has built back up after Christmas and found a photo of my husband and myself taken quite a time ago in Melbourne at a birthday party for hubby's best friend. Ian was just turning 70 - he has since died and so the photo was quite poignant for me. Instead of putting it away I stopped cleaning up and scrapped it!

It was put together using another kit from D'lish and some pretty and bright buttons given to me by Meg at PMT (Polly and Meg's Treasures). The buttons were on my desk so I just picked up stuff from the stash that went with them and built it around them, the kit and the wooden sign. 

I added a line under the wood - an you see it does not have any colour or sparkle on it here?

The stencil was part of another kit from D'lish and I used some Cosmic Shimmer paste

This stencil was with the kit I used called 'Geometric Crush' 

I decided to colour up the wooden sentiment and used Copic pen and then went over it with Kiddy Glitz to get the same look as the Cosmic Shimmer.

The heart die is Elliana Heart Memory Box and it is cut from SU Curry Crush card

The paisley shimmery card is from packaging that came with Christmas present of PJ's - they arrived in a box with a sleeve, and this is part of the sleeve. The box is now being utilized to store my bling! The glassene envelope was in the kit as was the journalling card.

I apologize for the red hair - I have no longer got henna in my hair but it was all the rage in 2002 I believe! I still have the curls and the double chin and that scarf! The clothes have long been passed on - no longer fit me!

This is a photo of it with the wooden piece uncoloured. 

Which one is best? Not sure myself but what is done is done. 

It took me about an hour to pull stuff out, put it together, apply the paste and dry it off and journal. 

Where is the punctuation? 

In the journalling!

I don't think a plus sign is punctuation.

You can enter HERE by scrolling down to the linky at Unstampabelles!