An Exciting Way to Count Down to Christmas... Day One

Last week I mentioned the arrival in the post of 11 gifts (12th being my own) - all handmade by some creative ladies around Australia. We get to open one each day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Each one has been uniquely wrapped and I've been waiting in anticipation to see what each parcel contains!!!


Day One is a gorgeous Klimt angel created by Jacky Williams. I love her sweet face, her sparkly sequined and beaded halo, combined with such wonderful fabrics. It won't be long 'til this sweet little angel is hanging on my tree (just as soon as I bring it back from my classroom).

I can't believe there are only two teaching days left for the year. I am going to miss my little bunch of Year Ones... they have been a most delightful class to teach - a real blessing!

I'll be back tomorrow to show you what is concealed in parcel number 2.

All I can say is this creative swap is making the lead up to Christmas very inspiring and exciting!

Turning Seventy-Two

On the weekend of my birthday it was also Dad's. He turned 72! And just to update you... he's recovering well from his knee replacement and has booked himself in to get the other one done in March, 2009.


I've used some scrupmtious goodies from The Stamping Queen to make Dad's birthday card. Paperbag Studios images: 'Seventy-Two', 'Spiral Bound' and 'Wherever You Go'. And some lovely embellishments to finish it off are 'Chipboard Branches' by Collections and 'Pearls' by Kaisercraft.


From my stash: paper Kaiser Craft (Old World Collection), postage stamp, vintage buttons

Packets of Joy

As seen in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine Vol.14 No.3

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted, so much has happened... some of which I'll have to fill you in on at another time... promise!

Just like many of you, this time of the year is action packed. Last week I was frantically completing some pieces for a '12 Days of Christmas' art swap I'm participating in this year. It's been lovely to be involved in a swap with some wonderful and creative ladies around Australia. I received my parcel of goodies yesterday... so from the 13th of December I have 11 gifts to open, one each day until Christmas - and my piece too! It's so exciting to see them all lined up, and very tempting to take a peek, but I'll behave myself and enjoy them one at a time!

'Mr Movember 2008' - Photograph by Joel Campbell - Image by Oxford Impressions

Joel came down last weekend and it was his birthday on the Sunday. :) We had a lovely, relaxed weekend!

Frenchmans Bay - Photograph by Joel Campbell

On Saturday, we went out to see the wind farm and then drove further around the coast to Frenchmans Bay. We meandered along the beach and had lunch out there. We virtually had the beach to ourselves, which was pretty wonderful! It was a beautiful sunny day (a rarity in these parts lately), so sunny in fact, that we ended up getting a little sunburned.

The weekend before that it was my birthday... one which I had been dreading a few months back, but it ended up being amazing! I was completely spoiled and Joel made a surprise visit - gatecrashing a very girly weekend! I'll definitely write more about this later... I have some gorgeous handmade birthday cards to share with you too!

Lady In Waiting

Here's the next two pieces I've created with my current The Stamping Queen Design Team pack.


'A Proper Little Lady'

I really enjoyed working with this image... she's so sweet and innocent... I wonder if she ever fights with her brother?


Products available from TSQ: Crafty Individuals (CI-083) 'Lady in Waiting', Kaiser rub-ons 'Elegance' and Collections 'Butterfly Print'

From my stash: beaded sheer ribbon, paper flowers and gemstones

And the tag...


'Lady In Waiting'

Some things are just soooooo worth waiting for!!!



TSQ Products: Crafty Individuals (CI-083) 'Lady in Waiting', Kaiser rub-ons 'Elegance' and Kaiser Wooden Flourishes 'Corners'.

My Stash: Manila tag, fibres, paper flowers, buttons, pattern paper scraps, velvet ribbon, dress-making tissue, chocolate pearls and postage stamp.

Not an Illusion!

Yes, I have been AWOL... sorry about that, but it was for a very exciting reason... I've still been in cyberspace (just not in Blogger Land) and having been getting to know a lovely, lovely man!!! More details about that later, haha!!!

But firstly, I want to share with you some of my latest design work for The Stamping Queen... This first piece, 'Not an Illusion', uses a number of yummy goodies from my October Design Team Pack...


Products available from TSQ: Rubber is by Paper Artsy 'Man of Numbers' Plate 6, I've also stamped 'illusion' on a piece of 'Measuring Tape' (lightly sanded), Kaiser rubbons 'Elegance', German Scrap 'Flowers', Kaiser Wooden Flourishes 'Swirls', Collections 'Old Tin Numeral Prints', Lil Davis Rockstar Ribbon 'Amber' and Magic Mount.


From my stash: Basic Grey Papers 'Ambrosia Collection', teal velvet ribbon, teal pearls and K&Company word.


The next piece is called, 'Keeping Score'. I've created a folder to hold a notepad which could be used for 'keeping score' if playing card games and such like!


Products available from TSQ: Again, rubber is Paper Artsy, 'Man of Numbers' Plate 6, Kaiser rubbons 'Elegance, Collections 'Old Tin Numeral Prints' and Magic Mount.

From my stash: Basic Grey papers 'Ambrosia Collection', vintage domino, fabric scrap and brass arrow/brad.

And can you believe I've run out of time... so you'll have to wait 'til next time to hear more about Joel!!!

Hope you're having a great Sunday! xo

FIRST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!!!!!!

Congratulaions and Happy 1st Birthday wishes go out to Barb and Ray at THE STAMPING QUEEN!!!! They have now been the proud owners of this wonderful store for one whole year!!!! Yippee!!! So it's time to celebrate!!!!!

And the best bit is that they have chosen to celebrate this great event with a huge SALE - 20% off everything!!!! So make sure you pop over and check it out!!!!

Dream

What are you dreaming about today? World peace?, freedom for all?, that the kids will stay quiet for more than five minutes?, that someone will turn up and offer to do all your housework (mine please) and the garden too! Anyway, here's another card, put together with wonderful supplies from The Stamping Queen and other bits from my stash. It's very Shabby Chic!



The following supplies are available from The Stamping Queen: Butterfly stamps are from the Kaiser clear stamp set 'Flora & Fauna', rubon word is Kaiser 'Inspiration' other words are Collections 'Birdie Words' and just for a little 'bling' some red rhinestones (Kaiser).

I'm heading to Perth soon. My Dad is getting a knee replacement today - OUCH!!! I'd value your prayers for him. Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll be back, so in the meantime, dream big dreams and I'll be doing the same :)

Encourage

Here's the next piece I've made for The Stamping Queen from this month's yummy Design Team pack.

'Encourage'

The butterfly stamp is from Kaiser's clear stamp set 'Flora & Fauna'. I've also used Rubons 'Inspiration' and 'Imagine' (Kaiser) and red rhinestones (Kaiser). The vintage fabric came from my Nanna (I absolutely love it!). Papers and button are from my stash.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone out there to 'encourage one another'. Life can have it's dark clouds at times and the encouragement of family and friends can help us get through the tough times, or even inspire us all the more, when life is going great! Have you encouraged anyone today?

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all those wonderful people that encourage me in many different ways and often at very appropriate times. You are such a blessing in my life and I thank God for each and everyone of you!

Take Flight

'Take Flight'

I created this ATC (artist trading card) using my lovely goodies from this month's Design Team pack from The Stamping Queen. I stamped the dragonfly onto paper, trimmed it to size, covered it in Versamagic and sparkly clear embossing powder, so it's quite sparkly in real life. The stamp is from Kaiser's clear stamp set 'Flora & Fauna'. Other TSQ goodies are: Birdie Words (Collections), German scrap 'Vine Leaf', Rubons 'Inspiration' and 'Imagine' (Kaiser) and a lime green rhinestone (Kaiser). Fabric and paper are from my stash.


This time I've affixed a rub-on word to fabric. Just a little tip here, make sure you well and truly rub it hard, otherwise it will just scrape off - learned this from recent experience ;)

Look who's ONE!

Sean greeted Grandpa and I on his brand new tricycle! He had the biggest grin on his face and a cute little giggle!


He was so tempted to touch the flame! And he loved all of us singing, 'Happy Birthday' to him.

My first piece for The Stamping Queen

My Design Team pack arrived from The Stamping Queen
last week - how exciting! I couldn’t wait to unwrap it and get working…
Here’s my first piece, ‘Home Sweet Home’!



The two bird stamps are from the Kaiser clear stamp set ‘Flora & Fauna’. I love all the stamps in this set - they’re just gorgeous! I’ve also used Kaiser rubons ‘Imagine’ and ‘Inspiration’ - what fun! The flower rubons were affixed to two large buttons. The birdhouse shape was created from Collections core board, so it’s nice and sturdy. 'Home Sweet Home' text is also by Collections. Gemstones and pearls are by Kaiser. All of these wonderful goodies are available from The Stamping Queen.


Daisy D’s papers, fabric scraps and buttons are from my stash. I used a little bit of Magic Mount under text and birds to add some extra dimension.

Stay tuned for some more work coming soon!

Heading north again...

I'm not sure where the last week or so has gone...??? I haven't managed to get any creative time :( Anyway, I'm heading up to Perth this afternoon for a conference - get to stay at the Sheraton, bit flash, eh! But the best bit will be catching up with Karli & Co. It sounds like Olly has been coping better with his latest cycle of chemo, which is good news... hopefully it will continue like that for the next 10 -11 months!




Here's a recent pic of Sean Alexander from Fathers Day... Smooches from Aunty Susie.

This little fella's turning ONE next Thursday!!! And is walking around like he's been doing it for months!!!!

Anyway, I hope you all have lovely weekends and I'll chat when I get back. xo

Thank You!

Thank You

How was your weekend? Creative? I spent the vast majority of Saturday morning tidying up... my art supplies have been overtaking the house and it was time to sort things out! (Knowing my friend Michelle was popping over for the afternoon to create, gave me some motivation to clear the decks, so that we had some space to work! hehehe) Now it's all sorted and I can't find ANYTHING!!! LOL. Anyway I had a lovely time with Shell and she made two gorgeous cards!!!

I made this card for an overdue thank you... so it's heading out to someone special today. (Can't say who, cause it's a surprise!) The image is Oxford Impressions and papers are Daisy D's.

Exciting News!!!!

I have just been asked to join the Design Team at The Stamping Queen!!!!

I'm doing triple jumps and a bit of a jig at being asked to join such an inspiring group of ladies!!!

Thanks so much Barb, for giving me this opportunity :D I'm really looking forward to working with Sephi and Gillian too! I've been an admirer of their work since I joined the blogging world.

MMM - Recycled/Repurposed

'Evelyn'

It was my Aunty Evelyn's 70th birthday last week. Yesterday we had a family gathering to celebrate with her, in Denmark. It was a lovely time to catch up with some family members that I rarely get to see.

I made this card for Evelyn using some vintage treasures I've inherited from Evelyn's mother (my Nanna). The rose image is from a Mothers' Day card that Evelyn gave to Nanna about 40 years ago, the fabric was possibly from a bridemaids dress that Evelyn wore to her sister Ruth's wedding (yet to be confirmed), buttons from Nanna's button jar, numerical table from an old book and the lace (I *love* the lace) all from my 'Nanna' collection. I did a little hand stitching with authentic vintage cotton just to finish it off.

My Nanna was an expert recycler (as were most of her generation). She would let nothing go to waste... even to the point of making us wash disposable plastic plates, so we could reuse them for the next family gathering, LOL!

I think this piece fits in nicely with the current theme at Mixed Media Monday - Recycle/Repurpose.

A blind date with...

'Guess!'

Hehe, don't take me literally!!! It's been quite some time between blind dates... maybe one day I'll find someone to love me :) In the mean time, the current theme at Think Monday, Think ATC is 'Blind Date'. I think this fellow is rather dashing... do you know him? First one to guess right will get a little surprise from me!

I've used lots of bits of fabric on this one, along with a label frame and word from Collections, and a rusty old key.

Footnote: Sephi guessed correctly!!! It is Mr Richard Armitage! Well done, Sephi. A little surprise will be heading your way shortly :D

The Rose - Layers of Color

'The Rose'
I was reminded of this song earlier in the week by my friend (and principal), Mim. She had the great priviledge of recently hearing Marina Prior (a favourite Australian singer of mine) perform, 'The Rose', live! As I started thinking about the Layers of Color challenge for the week, roses... I started to gathered bits that were close at hand and came up with this. There is a little stamping down the right hand edge.

'When the nights have been too lonely,
And the road has been too long.
And you think that love is only,
For the lucky and the strong.
Just remember in the winter,
Far beneath the bitter snow.
Lies the seed that with the sun's love,
In the spring,
Becomes the rose.'

Recorded by Bette Midler in 1979
Lyrics and Song Music by Amanda Mc Broom

Creative Wednesday: Twinchie

It's a beautiful day in my part of the world today... mind you, we are known to get four seasons in one day!!! So I wonder how the rest of the day will unfold?

'Bless'
I put together this little twinchie (2" x 2" Art) this morning for the latest challenge at Creative Wednesday - the theme being Children. The butterfly is Collections and the sweet image is ARTchix.

Have a blessed day!

Study in Sepia

I love seeing photo mosaics on other blogs and thanks to Chris' recent inspirational mosaic I had a little play today! It's so easy! I was going to try and explain how to make a mosaic, but Chris has done such an excellent job, just go and read her instructions!

1. Lily of the Valley 2. Flight in the Clouds 3. Dahlia 4. Heart 5. Dandelion Seedhead 6. Old Church 7. Peony 8. Monarch Butterfly 9. Bicycle 10. Lilac 11. Roses 12. Leaf

Why sepia? Well, I'm hoping to work on some sepia ATC's this weekend and I thought this might help get the ball rolling!

A gift and some prayer

Look at what my friend Michelle gave to me today. I just love it!!!! I think I may be turning her into a vintage treasure hunter - LOL :D


I already have a few ideas brewing about how I might use this book. Thanks Shell! xo


Sometimes it seems that there's not much else to say to someone 'cept... 'I'm praying for you'. Life certainly has it's tough moments, but I've found great comfort and peace in knowing that I'm not alone. Jesus is a constant companion, for which I am eternally grateful. I've been teaching a Colin Buchanan song to my students recently that reminds us that God is Everywhere. Here's the words to the second verse...

You can hang a left at Jupiter,
Fly to Saturn too!
Right across the galaxy,
One thing would be true.
God will be there, God will be there,
God is everywhere.