More Paper Flowers

 Good Morning Everyone and what a beautiful morning it is here in Upper Hutt today.  Yesterday was awful and there was even SNOW on the hill tops I see from my kitchen window!!!  It is pretty cool just now with ice on the puddles but the sun is just beautiful.  I have been pegging out washing so my 'fuzzy' hands are frozen as well today.  Anyhow before I start on the rest of the days tasks I just had to finish off my latest effort with the lovely paper flowers I recently discovered over at the Kitty Kraft site.  They are SO nice to do.  At the moment I am improvising with punches I already have whilst I await the delivery of a new foliage die cut and frame die cuts too.  You can see another punch-around-the-page effort this time using the Eyelet border punch.  Proves the old addage 'You learn something everyday' and with the Internet literally at our finger tips we are truely spoiled with options of what we can choose to learn.  I hope you are liking these little flower cards and are visiting Kitty Kraft to see the most beautiful creations ever and maybe have a go yourself.  Right off to do a bit of Spring Cleaning.  The sun is lovely but it sure does show up the dust and winter cobwebs lurking in the corners.  Have a good day and thanks for looking.

A Good Couple of Days

 Good Evening Everyone.  Well I've had a good few days here.  I've typed up class instructions and writen a couple of extra tutorials and typed them up too so I am in good shape.  Writing instructions is my least favourite part of teaching but the enjoyment I get out of it far outweighs that.  You will recognise the poinsettia on the front of this card from a couple of posts ago.  I made this one out of cardstock rather than paper and I like the results better.  I also punched-around-the -page with a straight border punch to make the lace edged mat.  This needs a little practise but I soon got the hang of it.  You can make square or rectangular mats.  Some border punches work better than others but it saves having to buy two punches (corner and border) to achieve the same result.  Right I'm off to have a go at some other flowers from the kittykraft site.  See you next time.

For Our Big Granddaughter

 Where do all the years go to so quickly?  This card is for our eldest Darling Granddaughter who turns 23 (OMG) next Wednesday.  She is so Special and I miss her terribly now that she has moved to Surfers Pardise.  She is having a great time over there and that is good for her. I loved doing this card.  I used  a CheeryLynne die cut for the doily.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the background paper from Kaisercraft Sweet Nothings collection.  I was very pleased that my still fuzzy fingers coped with the multi loop bow.  So I got it in the mail today and hope it arrives in time for her on Wednesday.  Not such a nice day here today dull and a bit blustery.  Spring equinox winds I expect.  Everything comes at a price they say so I will gladly put up with the winds if it heralds the onset of Sring and Summer.  Bring it on I say.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Paper Flowers

Hi Everyone - Blurry photo (sorry) but you can kinda see.  My good friend Ali has been saving this ladies blog details because she knew that looking at such things has been depressing for me these past few months  but now things are improving for me she has passed it on.  Go take a look at http://kittiekraft.typepad.com/kittiekraft/ and see the beautiful things this lady creates.  She is very generous with her talents too and has easy to follow tutorials.  This is my first attempt at her poinsettia and with Christmas looming I will be making more.  Of course the down side is that you have to make a box to house/post the card in and of course you need to take out a mortgage to post it to the other side of the world but hey!  good friends are worth it are they not???  Thanks for looking on this bright and sunny spring day.

Sweet Card for a Sweet Little Girl

Hi Everyone, long time no post!!!  My hands are still improving slowly I am glad to say  I am managing to do most tasks now but the feeling/sensation is slower to improve. Everything I touch feels like sandpaper whether it is a sheet of glass or a soft, fluffy jersey.  Still I can cope with things as they are.  So much improved from 3 - 4 months ago.  Enough about that.  Our youngest Little Lady (Granddaughter) turns 9 tomorrow and this is the sweet, wee card I made for her last night.  The circle cut in the front has acetate behind it  like a window. She has suddenly decided she wants a pogo stick for her gift and so today I have the job of trying to track one down.  I had the same problem a few years ago with her brother wanting one.  Never did find one in NZ!!  I have seen some on-line but that's not going to be here by tomorrow is it???  Wish me luck.  Have a good day Everyone even though it is raining AGAIN here in Upper Hutt.
PS I am going back on the craft class schedule to teach 3 classes over September and October I'm thrilled to say.

Not a Bad Effort

 I hope those of you who have kept checking my Blog every once in a while will be pleased to see this post.  It represents SO much for me I can't even begin to tell you.  Ten days ago I tried to stamp an image and couldn't control the stamp enough to get a clear, clean impression.  Since then things have begun to improve slowly. So last night I gave it another try and managed to get a few decent impressions.  Pushing my luck I then tried painting the image with DI colours.  Even though I do say so myself I think I made very passable job of it.  It took lots of concentration but I did it.  This morning I drew around it and then cut it out - with scissors!!!  Next challenge was to make it into a card and as you can see from  the picture I managed that too.  There have been times in the last 11 weeks when I thought I would NEVER craft again so this is massive for me.  I feel quite emotional about it as I sit here typing this.  Still a long way to go but long may the improvement continue.  Thanks to those of you who stopped by today 'just in case'.  I hope it was a nice surprise to find a new post after all this time.
PS  Please excuse any typos as my hands and fingers are sill very clumsy.

Hello Everyone
I'm sorry for my absence but since Easter I have been unwell.  I am afraid I will be out of action for some time to come.  Sadly I have lost the use of my hands so as you can imagine crafting is out of vthe question. I can manage to type with one  finger which is something at least.  I am awaiting an MRI scan which will hopefullyt shed some light on the mystery.  I will post as soon as there is any improvement.  Until then take  care and thanks for yor understanding and support.