Lucky Last

My last Christmas card made for 2014.  It's the most important one as it's for my husband.  He is ALWAYS the last one to be done !  Like a plumber ALWAYS has a dripping tap in his own home because he's always busy fixing other peoples taps.  Back to the card -  I have to say I am very pleased with it.  It's a one of and I don't think it is a very practical one to do 'en masse' There is too much cutting, embossing etc for that.  Still I kinda like that his card is a Limited Edition.  He is so supportive of what I do and puts up with my craft mess all over the house.  He really is Special.  So that's me done for a little while at least.  I have a few other non-craft (oh no is there such a thing!!!) projects I want to tackle in the next couple of weeks and then it will be back to my desk which is one of the projects I have to tackle!!  I cannot see it at the moment under all the 'stuff' just dumped on there to be put away later.  Well 'later' is looming. Have a wonderful time with your Families and loved ones.  Don't stress (ha that's good coming from me lol) and be safe.  Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015  Thanks for looking at my blog.  I hope to be better at posting in 2015. xx

Beautiful Alura

Good morning Everyone and what an absolutely beautiful morning it is here in Upper Hutt.  Not only is the sun shining but it is our eldest daughter's birthday and that is certainly a day for us to celebrate.  I spent a very pleasant afternoon yesterday making the above card for her.  The image is called Alura, one of my digital stamps from Lavinia Stamps.  On the right hand side of the first image you can see how she started off when I printed them from my digital file.  On the left you can see her after I spent several hours colouring her. The second image is obviously the finished card after I had brushed some blue( TH Broken China distress ink) over the background and mounted my image onto toning/matching card.  I used my lovely Spectrum Noir coloured pencils.  Yum.  I bought them when I was in the UK mid year but haven't had much chance to use them .  This was the perfect opportunity and I am SO glad I invested in them.  I found a VERY good deal and bought all five sets (24 pencils per set)  They are so gorgeous one could spend hours just looking at them.  They are oil based pencils and completely blendable.  I must say I am VERY pleased with how Alura looks.  If you get the chance to buy some of these pencils and you can afford to then Just Do It as the slogan says.  You won't be disappointed. Enjoy your day. 

Filling in a Very Large Gap

Hello.  Please don't die of shock but here is a post.  It is exactly 3 months since my last one (sounds a bit like the Confessional!!) My life seems to have been very dis-organised and chaotic in that time I have to say.  I have struggled to feel in control ever since we came back from the UK at the beginning of August if I am honest.  Can't tell you why it's just how it's been.  I have still been creating but never got around to posting (sometimes even forgetting to photograph before dispatching in the mail).  I certainly spend a lot of my time researching and trialing class projects.  Sometimes things which I think will be suitable don't turn out to be in practice. Anyway yesterday I cleared the end of the dining room table where I have been camped for months,mainly because my craft desk is piled high with stuff which needs sorting and putting away.  Really my craft desk is too small now for the type of things I do.  Once upon a time it was fine but as my style has evolved I need more room for the things I do.  As I write I am trying to formulate a plan to make space in one of the 'spare' rooms to set up a bigger work space.  I always said I wouldn't do this because I would be in one room and my Long Suffering Husband in another but, since I now work mostly in the dining room rather than on my wee desk in the lounge, we are in different rooms anyway. So will my idea come to fruition? I don't know but if it does I will be sure to share my plans with you.  So as we close in on Christmas and the end of the year I thought I would post some photos of some of the things I have made in the last 3 months.  May I wish you and your families every good wish for Christmas and the coming New Year an who knows maybe next year I will be more organised and better prepared in the crafting sector of my life.  Merry Christmas. x

Loving this Stenciling

Good Friday Morning Everyone.  I hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend.  It is a Very Special Friday in our household as our eldest Granddaughter, Ashleigh, turns 25 today.  She lives far away in Surfers Paradise but VERY happy to say she is staying here with us at the moment.  She is an AMAZING young woman and my world is SO much brighter for having her in it - especially when I can physically hug her.  The top card here is the card I made for her birthday.  Funny story -  I actually was making the lantern card for her and had only got the Let Your Light SHINE Through label to add when she arrived home unexpectedly last night.  She admired the card but said I like the dandelion one better.!!! WHAT.  At that stage the dandelion card was only white stencil paste on black card!!!  So what does a G'ma do???  Of course I got out my inks and sponges and coloured the dandelions, made a new tag, decided on pink and green for the card and sat until 11.30pm finishing it off so that it would be all ready for this morning!!!  All that aside I am loving working with my stencils and grunge stencil paste.  There is something very soothing and satisfying about dragging the paste through the stencils and seeing the result at the end of the sweep across. Then the big reveal, when you lift off the stencil, is exciting. Have to be patient then and wait for the paste to dry PROPERLY before starting to transform it with colour.  Try it.  I heartily recommend it.  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for looking on this Special Day in our household.

Crazy, Crazy Times

Hi Everyone.  It seems/is SUCH a long time since I Blogged.We have been back just 4 weeks from our fantastic 8 week holiday and I think my brain is still on holiday somewhere. Hard, as always, to settle down to 'normal life'again.  This year has been harder because of lots of domestic things happening. Minor operation for my husband, major surgery for our eldest granddaughter, swimming carnivals for our two youngest grand children and an all important 11th birthday for a grand child. Plus I taught my first class since our return last Saturday.  I had LOTS of pre-cutting to do for this class (Butterfly Corner post from back in April/May) and as this class was over subscribed I get to do it all again next month as we repeat it for another class of Lovely Ladies.  Results of medical procedures are all good I'm pleased to say.  In between all of these dramas I had to be VERY disciplined to make the cards I am about to post. In order of appearance they are 11th birthday card.  60th Wedding Anniversary card.  Friend's birthday card. Three snowflake cards for a class in September and a Christmas card for a class in October.  Sorry they are all together in one post but I just don't have the energy to do them all separately.  I hope you enjoy looking.  I enjoyed making them even if a little stressed at times.  Hope it's not so long to the next post. Thanks for visiting today.

My Class at Wirksworth

Well who would have thought it?  Here we are on holiday in the UK (sweltering in temperatures in the high 20's) and I have participated in a craft class today.  I was shopping in a lovely craft shop in a little town called Wirksworth and saw this lovely triptych.  I loved it and so was delighted when the man said it was a class.  Immediately my wonderful husband told me to book in for it even though it meant he had to drive me there and then amuse himself (in this sleepy, wee town) for 6 hours whilst I had fun doing this amazing project.  Isn't he just The Best?  And so I have a wonderful day making my triptych.  I got paint EVERYWHERE and goodness knows how long it will take me to get all the paint off my nails but who cares?  I am one happy bunny.  This time next week we will be winging our way home to NZ.  I think I might have to pack a corner of my suitcase with some of this lovely sunshine.

My Class Whilst on Holiday

 Well who would have thought it?  Here I am on holiday in the UK (sweltering in temperatures in the high 20's) and I have participated in a craft class today.  A dream come true!!!  I have had such a lovely day.  I was craft shopping in a lovely craft shop in Wirksworth and saw this lovely triptych and was soooooooooooooo excited when the man told me it was a class.  My wonderful husband immediately told me to book in for it even though it meant he had to drive me there and then amuse himself for 6 hours (in a little Derbyshire town) whilst I had fun all day.  Now isn't he The Best?  The pictures show you the results of my efforts.  I ended up VERY messy with paint EVERYWHERE.  Goodness knows how many days it will take for me to get it off my nails but who cares?  I am one happy bunny!!!  This time next week we will be winging our way back home to NZ.  Might have to pack a corner of my suitcase with sunshine.  Thanks for looking today.

Beautiful Blue Tit

I fell in love with this stamp when I saw it.  Reminds me of my childhood when we used to hang out bacon rinds for these beautiful little birds to hang on to.  They are such amazing acrobats and show their beautiful colour off to full advantage as they hang, often upside down,  and eat the rinds.  This is a Barbara Gray creation right from the Clarity Stamp to the composition.  Can't thank all these talented ladies enough for being so generous in sharing their talents with we lesser mortals.  Thank-you.

Butterfly Corner

A big thank-you to Christina Griffiths for a fantastic You Tube tutorial on how to make this card.  I love it.  I have made several now and they are a pleasure to create.  This one (and another one the same) are for my niece's 50th and my great nieces 21st.  I just need to make boxes to house them now.  The pictures show front and back views.

Robots in a Box

And this is my version of Card in a Box for Trent our Grandson.  Again it is a just because card for when we go away on holiday.  I was SO lucky to get the lovely 'puffy'Robot' stickers as well as the bug stickers on his sister's card.  Yeah for the 1 2 3 Dollar Shop.

Bugs in a Box

This is my card in a box for our youngest Granddaughter Tayla.  It's a just because card to send to her in a few weeks when we go away on holiday.  I am thrilled with how it turned out and I think she will be too.  

Results of Dolly Day

On /Saturday I joined Kate (Sister Act Craft Shop owner) and 5 other ladies and we played dollies ALL day.  These JulieNutting doll stamps are VERY cute and super fun to dress up /(or down)  The very large tags are made especially to house the dolls but one of our group made conventional cards from her dollies.  It is a great way to use up some of those ENDLESS scraps too.  We all scissor cut our dollies and clothes but there are a couple of dolls who come with cutting dies so you don't have to scissor cut.  Just position the die over the stamped images, tape in place and run it through your cutting machine.  Thanks for visiting.  See you next time.

Special Cards for Our Special Girls

I've probably told you this before but here goes anyway.  When we go away on an extended holiday (which we are just about to do) I always make cards for our two daughters and three Grandchildren. These three cards, which I finished this afternoon, are for our two daughters and our eldest granddaughter (almost 25). I am VERY pleased with how they turned out.  It took me quite an age to cut all the components out on my E-Bosser but then I was able to sit quietly and assemble the cards last night and this afternoon I sat at the table in the cosy dining room and played with my flowers, ribbons, beads and glitter and decorated the front of each one.  I wish I could photograph them better.  They really do look better in real life but hey ho.  I hope you like them.  Now this evening I am going to start on box cards for our two youngest Grandchildren (12 and 10).  I got some pretty cool components yesterday so I hope they turn out as good as I'm seeing them in my head.  I will of course post them when they are finished.  Stay warm and dry if you live in my neighbourhood.