Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Wishing you...

...a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY Miss Maddie!


Now that she's opened it, I can show you what I made for her...

.
....hope she loves her bag as much as I do ;) I had a hard time parting with this one...something about the colours and those orange polkadots! But she's a very special little girl...
TTFN xxx

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A boost :)

Sometimes ordering new fabrics can be just the boost I need to get busy on my current works-in-progress....you're not too shocked that I ordered some Cosmo Cricket fabrics that I mentioned the other day, are you?

(LOL...thanks for the encouragement girls :) )

So here's where we stand...

Christmas stitchery:

All hand stitching completed and borders on...just need a trip to Textile Traders for a bit of extra Riley Blake Christmas fabric to complete the backing, then I can quilt, and attach the binding and quilt label. I bought some beautiful turquoise beads to decorate the Christmas tree, and couldn't resist sewing a few on, just to see how they looked :)

Little Bluebirds:


A looooooong way from completion. I've started stitching Month 5, and there are only 7 months in total...but lots and lots of hand stitching in between. Have renewed my love affair with the colours, though, so enthusiasm is back in da house!

Will share my new project with you when my fabrics arrive. In the meantime...I'd better keep stitching!

TTFN xxx

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Why is it so?

I don't know why it happens this way.

I really don't.

I can labour over a scrapbook page for days and days, swapping colours and embellishments and everything in between, and still not end up with something that I love.

Or I can whip together a LO in between ferrying the kids to sports and birthday parties, cooking meals and cleaning house and afternoon walks, and can love it to bits.

This is one of the latter. If I added up the minutes it took, it would probably come in under 30.

And yet...I love it to bits. Love the colour combination. Love the memory. Love those little Jenni Bowlin butterflies. Love that polkadot paper by Prima.
Is this how it is with you? Do we overthink this little hobby we call scrapbooking? What are your thoughts?
TTFN xxx

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Making do...and July Ribbon Club!

In it's previous life...before it became mine....my craft room was a home office. On the walls of this home office hung lots of sporting memorabilia - framed prints of football legends, golfing heroes and the like. When the sports fans moved out, they (thankfully LOL) took all their sporty stuff with them, but left lots of screws in the wall. Lots and lots of screws in the wall.

In an ideal world, I would call in the painters :) Not only would they remove all the screws and fix the holes, but they would revitalise my space with a stunning colour scheme to match all my brand new, colour coordinated, top-of-the-line custom built storage :)

In the real world...my world...we make do with what we have.

We hang a cute Welcome sign, and cover the screw with a bit of bling.

We hang a banner from two of the screws, and hang it strategically so it covers a couple more. And at the end of a week where very little craft has taken place and we are desperate to create something (anything) , we whip out the Slice machine and cut butterflies in various sizes and lots of colours to cover a few more...

Could I love it any more, if it was a professional paint job? Probably not....LOL...although that storage would be great!
The girls at Tomorrows Memories gave me the July Ribbon Club to play with, and this is what I made...


I deliberately kept the design simple...I think the gorgeous ribbon can hold it's own, don't you?
The LO is also pretty simple because...well....that's the way I do things :)

I've stitched the olive ribbon in place across the LO, and created loops behind the rosette with it too.

The rosette is created with another piece of ribbon from the Ribbon Club...I gathered one edge of the ribbon, pulled it up to form a rosette, then finished it off with a fabric brad. The pink flower ribbon is attached with coloured brads, and I cut individual flowers from it to create the background. There are lots of beautiful lengths of ribbon in this pack...and there are still some packs left at the shop if you'd like to have a play too!
TTFN xxx
P.S. The inspiration for the butterfly wall came from here.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Slow :)

Very slow today. I'm not sure whether it's the freezing cold morning that we had, or the fact that my sleep was interrupted by the smoke alarm near my bedroom blipping intermittently from 5am this morning, but I can't seem to get moving!

Here is my challenge from the Scrapsidaisy gallery for today...


It was my turn to set the challenge, so I kept it nice and easy....I chose a Pagemap sketch to follow! You should see what the design team have come up with!

I used Cosmo Cricket Delovely...bright is good, right? The green is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, then smeared with pink metallic rubons for definition, then stitched.

The flower is by Prima...the polkadot ones are my favourites!
Must be time for a cuppa...have a fantastic weekend....
TTFN xxx


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Indecision.



The week is flying by, and not a lot is being achieved around here ...except excessive chocolate consumption, and lots of umming and ahhing over this...




(photo source)


I particularly like the print in the bottom left corner, and am picturing a new quilt based around those colours....but have I bought it yet? No. Have I ordered it? No. Do I want to order it? Yes...and no. My head is telling me that I have too many other projects on the go, but my heart is telling me how fun it would be to join another online stitching group, and play with these yummy fabrics! So I will put it off for another day :)

Hope you are having a MUCH more productive week than me!

TTFN xxx

Saturday, June 19, 2010

There's bright....

...and then there's Cosmo Cricket's new paper release called Delovely.

Do I love it to bits? Oh yes I do :) and had a chance to have a play with it this afternoon.


These photos have been on my desk for quite a while, waiting for just the right paper to come along...and eventually it did! All my favourite colours are here...hot pink, apple green, aqua and yellow... along with matching aqua and hot pink tiny alphas. Yes. Heaven.

I punched these little flowers out of cardstock scraps, and added a brad to finish them off...I think I must have brads in every colour of the rainbow.

This LO records how strong advertising worked it's magic on Merryn, who spent all her birthday money last year on a Swimming Baby Born, which took weeks to even make it out of the box, and has been played with just a couple of times since :) I LOVE making layouts that I know are going to make my kids smile when they read them in years to come...don't you?
TTFN xxx

Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy Scrappy Friday :)

Happy Friday everybody!

Friday means a new challenge over at Scrapsidaisy...not sure if they are up in the gallery yet, as the Wingham girls are having a retreat this weekend (lucky ducks!!) , but here is my take...

The challenge was set by Mel, and involved using butterflies and flowers on your layout. I kept mine fairly simple because there is quite a lot of journaling, but managed to include both :) The story is about Merryn's battle with ecsema, which thankfully is all under control now!

The paper is by 7Gypsies and The Girls Paperie, flowers by Prima and butterflies by Jenni Bowlin stidios. I cut the alphas and swirls with my MM Slice.
I had some time to play with the new challenge over at The Colour Room today...


Thought I'd get straight onto it this week, as I haven't done one of these Colour Palettes for a while now...and the colours are so yummy!


This is an older photo of Merryn at a school fete. I used October Afternoon Fly A Kite Ice Cream paper, and cut more scallops to echo the design. The back of the paper is the green checks, and I cut the banner from the rest of it...and that's the whole sheet gone!


I stitched around the edges, and attached some velvet ricrac and bling to finish off the banner.

The alphas are American Crafts Thickers, and extra stickers are October Afternoon Farm Fresh.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend...mine is FULL of trampolining (State Championships on Sunday) with hopefully some fun and friends thrown in.
TTFN xxx

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Parties and cupcakes!

There's a birthday party happening around here next month, and I've been having fun browsing for party goodies...not usually my thing, but look at these...

Prima is a scrapbooking company , well known for their gorgeous flowers and papers. Me? I'm loving their stationery items so much more :)

I know a few friends who would love these...



Spotty cupcake boxes? Hellloooooooooo!!!

They are all by Prima Stationery and look like they will be available in Australia mid July....a little late for a certain little girls' party... :(
Back later with my Snapshots
TTFN xxx

P.S. No...I don't work for Prima ...LOL

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ducks and tissues :)

Hello hello :)

Just popping in to post my Snapshots in June pictures for the last couple of days.

It's been raining here in Perth lately...great weather for ducks!


We live near a man-made lake, and every now and then this little family of ducks come to visit. We've watched them grow from babies, and just love when they pop over to feed on the grass on our nature strip...a source of endless joy for the kids :)

Today's snapshot ...


(photo source)
I have a headcold at the moment, and my box of tissues are my constant companion. I'm very thankful that we no longer use hankies to blow our noses LOL...the thought of a washing machine full of dirty hankies is revolting!

It's great weather for crafting...or baking...or scrapping. Might have to get motivated :)

TTFN xxx

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Snapshots X 2

Can't choose a favourite photo from today for my Snapshots in June project...here are the top 2 :)


My girl cleaning up the kitchen, after baking us a delicious morning tea...fresh scones with jam and cream...yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

...and my boy, ripsticking at breakneck speed around Hyde Park this afternoon.
Life is good :)
TTFN xxx








Saturday, June 12, 2010

Saturday Snapshot

Seriously love shopping at the Fruit and Veg Markets on a Saturday morning...

(photo source)
...even if I did forget my camera again LOL.
TTFN xxx

Friday, June 11, 2010

Moving on to Plan B...or C?

It would seem that I'm having one of those weeks where nothing much is going to plan...ever have weeks like that?

Yesterday, my "plan B" photo was this yummy little bundle of supplies that I was planning to use today..
...to make one of these...

...from this book that I received for my birthday.

And it was a good plan too....my current ironing board cover had seen better days.
BUT...it turns out that my ironing board was hiding a secret...



...it was disintegrating! LOL...I really can't complain, I've had my trusty ironing board since I was a teenager :) It now seems that a new ironing board is much more urgently required than a new ironing board cover.
So moving on to "Plan B" it was ...or should that be "Plan C" ?

When I made my Christmas Belles quilt, I had lots of little squares left over. I had stitched them into a larger square, which was going to become a cushion...I had just never made the cushion :) So that's what I did today. I attached some satin mini-piping around the edges, and made a decorative closure for the back...


...and that's another project out of my "Works-in-Progress" pile :)
Being Friday, it's also time for another challenge at Scrapsidaisy, this time by Leah. This is the picture we were given..


Oh my, oh my...this was enough to throw me into a tail spin for a bit. I DON'T DO OFF THE PAGE! I must've forgotten to tell Leah that :)
So I didn't (hee hee hee)..
I used the colours of the tin as my inspiration...cheating? Perhaps :)


I wanted to document how, even though only one of us jumps, we all head off to trampoline training at an alarming frequency, and what the girls and I do to pass the time. I wrote the journaling back in March, and already lots of the little details of our routine have changed...love that I recorded them back then.
If you have stuck with me until now...thanks! This has been a long one :)
Have a fabulous weekend
TTFN xxx
P.S. My Snapshot for today is the top photo of buttons...I am grateful that I have supplies on hand, so that when one plan fails, I can go with Plan B...or Plan C when necessary hee hee hee.


Thursday, June 10, 2010

I had a plan...

...for my Snapshot today...and it was a very good plan too. I even took my camera into the city with me so that I could capture my shot. Shame I forgot to put a memory card in my camera, huh?

So, instead, here is my default picture...

...my fabrics and ribbon all ready for my next sewing project, which I am hoping to begin tomorrow. The floral fabric is leftover quilt backing from Lydia's An Angels Story quilt...love using fabric from my stash. Oh....and my love affair with polka dots continues :)

TTFN xxx

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Snapshots in June...today.

New books. Good friends. Tea. Home made macaroons. Polkadots. Parcel deliveries (yep, two!). Crafty chit chat. More tea. Chocolate slice.

So much to be thankful for :)

TTFN xxx

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Lots to smile about!

It seems I've fallen a wee bit behind with my Snapshots in June photo challenge...as is the way when you have a long weekend, and you forget to take your camera with you wherever you go, and....blah blah :)

(photo source)

So what made me smile today?


My DH taking it upon himself to clean the windows...sigh....love that man :)

And yesterday? A picnic in the park with friends, the perfect way to spend a long weekend.


I forgot to upload Sunday's photo, but getting started on covering the pelmets in my living area was the subject...the photos weren't that interesting anyway ;)
Thanks for visiting, especially those of you participating in the challenge...I will be popping in on you soon :)
TTFN xxx

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Scrapping Overload :)

I got on a bit of a scrapping roll yesterday...love it when that happens :)

I started with a DT task (which I will show you next week) and then just kept on going! This is what I made...


I've loved (and have been collecting...oops!) the Basic Grey doilies since they were first released, but hadn't actually used any, so that was my challenge to myself. This one is from the Lemonade collection, and I couldn't bear to cut it, so added some simple bits and pieces and called it good.

Still loving the look of ribbons and pins...these ones are by Making Memories, as is the journal block.
On Thursday I was flitting around, cleaning up the house before my husband flew in, and it occurred to me that I should document the little rituals I do on "fly in" day....so I wrote a list right there and then.

Over the years I've done several LOs about "fly out" day which have been a bit blues-y and sad, so thought a light hearted look at "fly in" day would be fun! The paper I've used is so sweet and cute, and perfect for the look I wanted.


I've used Bo Bunny Love Bandit paper, AC thickers, My Little Shoebox Tiny alphas, Basic Grey Woollie Owl, and the tree is by October Afternoon.
While I had the Basic Grey Lemonade range sitting on my desk, I made another LO! (I tell you, I was seriously inspired by this point LOL)


I've blurred the faces since I don't have parent's permission to show them...and I promise it is straight in real life! This is mostly from the Lemonade range-Pretty Petals, Sunshine, chipboard, buttons and the doily- with a bit of Making Memories, American Crafts and Prima thrown in.

My Snapshots in June photo for today...


...SMIGGLE! I went to Smiggle to buy a gift today...the rows of bright colours are enough to make anyone happy :)
I'm clearing off my scrapping desk...and bringing out my fabric stash.
Let the fun continue....
TTFN xxx
P.S. A note to Vanessa...so glad the Weetbix slice was a hit :) and yes, it is totally delicious made with lemon instead of orange! Hugs to you and your sweet boys xxx