A Little Birdie

 Hi Everyone - a very late post tonight. January just aound the corner and that is my busiest month for birthdays.  This is the first of eight needed and it is for a long time friend.  I just bought a double instructional DVD on brayering techniques so I was practising on this card.  Still managed to get a few lines but not too bad.  I love the beautiful colours which result from layering two shades over top of each other.  Right I'm off to bed.  The rain is pouring down outside so hopefully the sound of it on the roof will lull me off to sleep.  I've had one or two bad nights lately that's why I've stayed up later tonight in the hope that I go off straight away.  'Night 'night and thanks for looking.

One Last Card

   It's hot as Hades here in NZ and we're all melting into grease spots I tell you.  We have had our Christmas lunch at the hotel and very nice it was too.  Just relaxing at home now.  My friend Ali and I have just been talking to each other via skype and she reminded me that I had said I would post the card I made for my husband . . . . . . . . so here it is.  I just love creating these little scenes  with torn paper masks, sponges, ink and the odd stamp or two.  Of course I had to add Santa and his sleigh to this one didn't I?  Enjoy your day whatever you are doing and who ever you are with.  Happy Christmas Everyone.

Merry Christmas

Well it's the morning of Christmas Eve here in NZ and Everyone will be busy, busy today.  Mothers will be buying the fresh fruit and veges and then doing as much of the preparation for tomorrow as they can to ease the task.  Children's excitement will rise to a crescendo as the day progresses contemplating just what Santa will deliver tonight.  Personally it is very strange.  For the first time in 45 years I am NOT preparing Christmas dinner for my family and it makes me a bit sad.  Our youngest daughter and partner are away on a cruise and out eldest daughter (and grandchildren) are spending Christmas Day with her in-laws (we had Christmas Day last year!)  So Harold and I are going out to an hotel for our Christmas dinner.  It means I have no real schedule to work to and that is throwing me off the rails a bit.  No list to tick off as I complete tasks.  I know I should be relishing the 'no stress' factor but I am just a wee bit sad as it is the end of an era for me and my family. We are going to spend Boxing Day with pur daughter and grandchildren so we are looking forward to that.  The main ingredient of Christmas, for me, is CHILDREN.  Anyway I have a card to make today for my wonderful husband  and I'll post that after the event but really I just want to say a big thankyou to all of you who have visited over the past year.  I do appreciate it and hopefully 2013 will bring me an un-interupted crafting year so that I will have more posts for you to enjoy.  In the meantime have a happy and peaceful Christmas with your families and loved ones.  Take care if you have to travel at this busy time of year.  May 2013 bring each and everyone of you good health and happiness.  Christmas hugs to you all.  Elaine (aka Crafty Granma).

Wedding Wishes

 Well I can tell you it was lovely to do a project that didn't involve Christmas in any way!!!  You do get a bit 'over it', as they say, don't you?  This card is for my Great Niece and her husband, to wish them well on their wedding day and through their life together.  Their wedding colour scheme is deep purple and silver and so I used that in my mcard.  The roses were plain white and I inked them with deep purple Versamark ink (even though they look brown in the pic!!!)  Now I have to pack it up so that it will travel safely to the other side of the world.  Then I will need to take out a mortgage to cover the postage LOL!!  Have a great day and be safe if you are out in the Christmas traffic.

Three More Tags

 I really love making these oversize tags and the people I have given gifts to with one of these attached have loved them too.  They really are a miniature work of art.  I think I have set a precedent for future years just like I did with my calendars about 7 or 8 years ago . . . .and so a tradition starts.  I still have one more tag to do and then I'm done with All Things Christmas for 2012!!  My Two Favourite Little People went home today having been with us since Tuesday.  We picked up their Big Sister from the airport on Tuesday too and she has been with us until today too.  She is just home for Christmas and goes back to Oz on Jan 2 but will probably be home for keeps in April.  It has been soooooo lovely having all 3 of our Grandchildren here together.  That doesn't happen very often at all.  Now I can have a few days cleaning the house up ready to enjoy the Christmas/New Year break.  I hope you are all coping well with this busy time and finding just a little time for yourselves.  If you have found time to visit today then I truely appreciate it.  Thank-you.

Sparkly Red . . . .

 . . . . .nails for Christmas and I love them!!!  I am just in the middle of a huge ironing marathon and was admiring my nails .  I thought why not share them both on FB and on my Blog?  So that is what I'm doing.  I hope all your Christmas preparations are chugging along nicely for you all.  Right back to the martathon (of which I've run 24 by the way!!! Those were the days lol)

Sparkly Decorations

 How do you like these two?  For a change I used glitter card to make my last 2 decorations for this year.  I thought they looked pretty so I hope you do too.  Right, now I can tidy up my craft stuff until after Christmas.  It just seems to spread and take over my house - a bit like fungus!!!  Now I can have a mammoth wrapping session.  Then I have a parcel to make up and get in the post to my friend Ali and the rest can go directly to Santa for him to deliver on the 25th.  Beautiful day here again.  We have the last Nifty Fifties of the year today followed by a sausage sizzle and shared lunch.  Very nice.  I hope you all have a nice day too.

All Cards Done . . . .

 . . . .and in the mail!!! Hooray!!!  I seemd to have been saying 'I still have 7 cards to make'  forever!!!  Well they are now made, written and posted.  Today's post shows the last 2 of my 2012 designs.  The first one is a collection of different snowflake stamps I have.I just arranged them on a block, stamped with Versamark and embossed with white powder, added a bit of bling, used the Snowflake embossing folder in my Cuttlebug for a bit of dimension and mounted it all up on dark blue card.  Simple but quite effective (I thought so anyway!)  The other 2 are for my Two Favourite Little People (who are rapidly catching me up in height I might say).  Again very simple.  I used dimensional stickers which I bought severl Christmases ago and only just got around to using.  Anyway I'm VERY glad to say 2012 Christmas Cards - DONE AND DUSTED!!!  I have one more decoration to make and then I am completely finished for this year.  I will post when done.  Enjoy the beautiful sunshine we have today if you are in NZ and enjoy the Christmas frost/snow if you are north of the equator.  Thanks.

We Fish You . . . .

 . . . . . a Merry Christmas.  This might seem a bit odd as a Christmas card but when I tell you it is for the pool staff at the wee pool we swim at on Wednesday's then perhaps it will make a bit more sense.  They have a white Christmas tree in the foyer and the decorations are all blue and silver - such things as shiny fish, jandals and surf boards.  Very cool so I always try to keep in the theme with our card and gift.  I used my Stampin' Up Christmas ornament framelit dies to cut the fish and a Magnolia Christmas tree stamped and embossed in white for seaweed.  The bubble are a stamp I bought very early in my stamping life.  It's just a wee bit different but you can see even fishes under the sea like a wee bit of holly!  See you tomorrow maybe.PS Our daughter thought up the sentiment inside!!

Ten Thousand . . . .

. . . . .visits to my wee Blog!! I've been Blogging for just three years (in another few days) and while some clock up thousands VERY quickly  I am non the less proud of mine.  I thank those of you who visit regularly and thank you even more if you are one of the few who leave me a comment.  I do SO love getting comments.  So THANK-YOU and here's to the next ten thousand!!

Another Birthday Book . . . . .

 . . . . .  for a Friend.  It is her 70th birthday today so something special was called for and as I love making these it was a no brainer for me.  You already know how tight I am running with evcerything so it will come as NO surprise that I only started this at about 10.30am yesterday.  Of course it was our anniversary so we went out to lunch and then did some Christmas shopping before calling in on our daughter and her partner on the way home.  By that time it was tea time so it was probably about 6.30 when I got back to my project. I skype for an hour with a friend in the UK every Sunday evening and so true to form The Pressure Was On ----- AGAIN!!!!!  True to form I rose to the challenge and finished off about 11.30pm just in time to brush my teeth and literally fall into bed!!!  Beautiful day here today after a pretty miserable weekend.  Sad for those who have to go to work.  Right I'm off to the pool and to give Anne her birthday card.  Take care and thanks for visiting today.

Made it in Time . . . . .

 . . . .  just!!! It's gone 11pm and I've just finished my anniversary card!!! Cutting it fine or what???  These are two new stamps I've had for a wee while but this is the first time I've used them.  I'm pretty pleased with the finished card.  Now all I have to do is hide in my bedide drawer until the morning.  Right off to bed.  'Night 'night sleep tight.

This One I Like

At last I have created a card I really like!!!  I have four of these to make (1 down 3 to go!!) for the REALLY Special people in my life. This took an age to make but I was designing as I went along.  The other three won't take as long because I know where I'm going now and I will 'production line' technique them as well.  I have the poinsettias already done and the card cut so well on the way.  I need to colour TH Glassine paper for the holly leaves (I love this stuff. Try it.  Plenty of advice on You Tube from Sir Tim himself) and colour some more pearls for Holly Berries but maybe by bedtime I will have all four made.  Mind you I have just remembered I have got to make an anniversary card for husband for tomorrow.  45 years!!! Pretty Special.  So maye the Christmas cards won't be done by bedtime.  It's all a case of priorities, right?  Hope you're having a good weekend.

Still Plodding On

 Hi Everyone and I bet you're all glad it's Friday!!  I have plodded steadily on through our Christmas cards this week and I think the end may be in sight.  This is the latest idea and I have made eight of these.  Nothing great but a bit different.  Can't believe just how long it takes to get all the components ready.  Still at least the eight cards come together reasonably quickly once all the bits are lined up and ready to go with the production line technique.  I hope you all have a grea
t weekend doing at least ONE thing that you really want to do and not just the 'necessities of life' as Baloo the Bear in Jungle Book would say.  See you next time and thanks.

A Different Design

Hi Everyone.  What a GLORIOUS day here in Upper Hutt - and indeed in Wellington for the premier of the Hobbit.  Absolutely picture perfect but hope those waiting in lne by the red carpet have plenty to drink and plenty of sunblock on too. Anyway onto other things.  Yesterday I sat outside under the sun umbrella and wrote ALL (30) of our UK Christmas cards and then took them to the mail!!!  One huge block gone from my back so now I'm working on the other couple of hundred still sitting there!!LOL.  I made 6 of this design yesterday afternoon and evening.  I am quite pleased with this design - much more so than with the embossed ones of yesteray's mailing.  I have a couple more designs to work on over the next couple of days.  We have been running errands today and going to a fund raiser movie  tonight so not much (if any) progress today.  I have a card to make for my long suffering husband for out 45th wedding anniversary this Sunday, a wedding card for my great niece for Dec 8th and a birthday card for Trent who will turn 11 on Dec 7!!!  I told you there are still a couple of hundred still sitting on my back.  Better go and make a start.  Thanks for looking today.

Such Good Intentions . . . .

. . . . . and they always disappear.  EVERY year (certainly for the last 3 or 4) I have such good intentions early on in the year to be more organised with my Christmas cards and gifts but EVERY year I end up making things at the last minute in such a panic it takes much of the enjoyment out of making them myself!!  I should be REALLY glad that I am making my own this year after the dreadful time I  had with my hands earlier in the year so I'll stop whinging and get on and Just Do It as a famous brand tell us to do.
The card with the birdie and holly on was going to be my ONE design for this year but I got 10 of them done and now I am down to simple embossed designs like the other two.  I have enough (40) made to fulfill our Overseas Family and Friends needs, and this mornings job is to write and post them.  Then I need to create another 20 or so for New Zealand Family and Friends.  I have made 3 Specials for the instructors at Nifty Fifties and for the Pool Office Staff but I forgot to photograph them!!! Duh!!! I'll try to remember to take my camera to the pool on Thursday and snap them before they are given.  So I hope you are all in better shape than I.  Have a lovely day and thanks for looking today.  I hope you like my new Christmasy Blog layout.  Off to hit the cards and envelopes!!!

4 More Tags for Christmas

 Hello Everyone I hope this long overdue post finds you all well.  We have had a VERY busy spell here in our household  Hence the lack of posts.  In addition to preparing and holding classes we had a friend to stay for a couple of days which was lovely.  I then made a trip up to Tauranga to watch two  international netball games.  My friend Connie and I had a Thelma and Louise road trip one day to see the beautiful rhododendrons in flower.  Then we went up to Auckland with our eldest daughter and my Two Favourite Little People to see Mary Poppins live on stage.  What a weekend that was.  I can't even begin to describe how absolutely amazing the show was.  The songs are still buzzing round in my head some 2 weeks on.  It was also the first time flying tor the Kidlets which they loved AND we all went up the Sky Tower so all in all it was a very special time for us.  Last Saturday I taught two classes and tomorrow two more and then that's me done teaching for 2012.  In the morning tomorrow we are going to make a decoration as per recent posts and then after lunch we are making Christmas tree name tags and these gorgeous Tim Holtz style oversize tags.  The trees and the 2 tags we will make tomorrow are in earlier posts.  These 4 are others I have made for my own use and to give other ideas of what you can do.  I love doing them and they are a great way to use up some of those scraps that we all have a mountain of.  I am very tired after a couple of really hard weeks so I am going to have a soak in the spa pool and then retire to bed with my book - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.  It's a good read if any of you are looking for a book.  I hope you all have a great weekend and maybe with classes behind me I will be able to get some of my own Christmas stuff done!!!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Same ...but a little bit different

Hi again Everyone.  Well my Two Favourite Little People have returned to home and school today and of course the house is dreadfully quiet and empty.  I keep thinking I hear someone calling 'Hey Granma . . . '.  We had wonderful holidays and did lots of fun stuff together.  My waistline is glad they have gone home though as we did LOTS of baking and of course eating of the said baking.  Chocolate Brownie to die for.  Banana Cake . . . . with Chocolate Icing.  Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Are you detecting a theme here??? Yes you're right . . . . . ANYTHING with CHOCOLATE in it was the order of the day.  I have to say that they are pretty good Little Cooks for not quite 11 and just turned 9.  Tayla, the 9 year old, cracks eggs on the side of the bowl just like the professionals do.  Something I cannot do and never could even before my fuzzy finger days!!!  Anyway on to tonight's post - more Christmas decorations.  A silver version of the one I posted the other day and a slightly different one with a greeting across the front.  I just love making these.  You need to be patient as they do take a little time but so satisfying.  A friend and I are off on a wee road trip tomorrow to see the rhododendrons in full bloom (we hope) in Kimbolton, which is about a 3 hour drive from home.  Can I feel a Thelma and Louise day coming on??? Thanks for looking today.