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.

I Love This . . . . .

. . . . .decoration.  I just invested in the new bundle from Stampin Up.  As many of you will know this gorgeous decoration is on the front of the Holiday Mini Catalogue.  I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.  I have to say a BIG thank-you to all of you lovely ladies out there who have been so generous in putting YouTube videos on line showing just how to make this.  I took the best bits from several to create  mine.  I have more planned some the same and some a bit different.  It takes a wee while but SOOOOO worth it don't you think?  Trent and Tayla have made mini Christmas trees but I haven't managed to snap them with them as yet.  Trent isn't very co-operative when it comes to photographs!!!  They have also made a storage box each and today made Dancing Aliens at the library program.  I'll try to get photos to post.  Thanks for looking today.

The Last Three

 These are the last of my October birthday cards so now I can relax a bit and play with some things I have sitting calling my name from my cupboard.  I think I told you that I participated in an all day class last Saturday?  Well these three cards are direct copies of some of the lovely vintage cards we made.  So thanks Ali for the class which was fantastic and I just know my three friends are going to love their cards.  We made a really neat folder to house the cards too.  Teresa Collins design paper.  Yummy!!  It feels like it's late but it's only 9.15pm.  I might retire to bed early with my book.  Trent and Tayla are here at the weekend and for the following 2 weeks of school holidays so I need to make sure my batteries are on full charge - at lease for the start of the hols!!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Maybe we will have some kid's art/crafts to post over the next 2 weeks??? (Apologies for the colouring on the last image.  The flash was playing up on my camera.  It is really in the same tonings as the other two!!)