Project Life 2012 - Week 43

Hello Week 43...a week where I thought I would struggle to find enough photos to make a two page spread, but ended up with plenty :)

 To be honest, it's the weeks where I have to search a bit deeper  that turn out being my favourites.

For example, the bottom left corner is a graphic from a series that Riley downloads off the internet each and every week as it's released...and then texts his mates discussing the latest instalment. I love that these little snippets of everyday life are recorded, and it's only because it was a "slow" week around here that I thought to include it.

 I caught Lydia one afternoon writing a list of all the things she loves about Christmas, so I handed her a journaling card and asked her to write it on there. Not only does it capture her excitement about Christmas (even though it is still October...she is crazy about Christmas!) but it's also  a record of her handwriting at age 11...love that ;)

Again, I used Linda's Clementine kit as the base for this weeks spread. I've probably used her kit more than I've used my own LOL! And just for the record...I keep on thinking I have the Cobalt kit, but it is actually the Turquoise kit...just in case you think I'm losing my mind :)

Have a great day

TTFN xxx

Playing with big paper :)

Big paper... 12  by 12 inch paper...is something I haven't had a chance to play with much lately.

Between finishing up quilting projects (hooray for finishes!) , keeping up with Project Life (hooray for being up-to-date!) and other crafty pursuits like stitching (hooray for variety!),  there hasn't been much regular scrapbooking going on around here...and I miss it :(

So with my craft desk looking quite empty on Sunday, I decided to pull out some photos and get scrapping!

I started with these cute photos of Lydia and her friend, which I had originally printed for PL but didn't use...love the smaller sizes. This rainbow chevron paper is part of the Snap Life range by Simple Stories, as is the "life is great" sticker...sigh, I LOVE that range :)

 I punched some circles from matching cardstock scraps and sewed them together to make a banner...too easy. The page came together quite quickly, so I pulled out another favourite photo...

...and started another page. I had forgotten how absorbing scrapbooking can be...I was immersed in my own little world for quite a while  (hooray for children playing happily together...hee hee)!

The inspiration for this page is from Kelly Goree, one of my favourite scrapbook artists. The basic design is hers, but I added a few little touches as well ;)

  The cloud sticker and rosettes are from the first Amy Tangerine line by American Crafts, and papers are a mix of Amy Tangerine, Lilybee's Handmade Collection and Echo Park Dots and Stripes (all time favourite!)

I really mustn't leave it so long between pages...scrapbooking is FUN!

Have a happy day

TTFN xxx

Project Life 2012 - Week 42

Hello Week 42...a week which turned out to be rather bright and cheery!  I guess that is inevitable when you combine hot pink, lime green and bright orange :)

The colour scheme was inspired by the title card which is part of the Hopscotch range by Fancy Pants. I added journal cards from both my Cobalt PL kit and Linda's Clementine PL kit...working on using up as much as I can  before the new year creeps up on me :)

I've also added some bits and pieces from my new favourite range, Snap Life by Simple Stories. I can't tell you how great this range is for Project Life...awesome awesome awesome!

 Taking photos is becoming second nature this far into the year, and keeping up doesn't seem quite so challenging any more...thank goodness :) Have I finally found that elusive Project Life groove?

I spent an hour or so this morning, flicking back through my first album from 2012...seriously, there is no greater motivator than that :)

Have a great Sunday afternoon...my sewing machine is calling me!

TTFN xxx

My Favourite Things...a finish!

Hello hello...happy Saturday!

Well, it's been almost a week since I checked in...life has been a bit busy, and my fabulous scrappy binding that I showed you last weekend didn't want to play nice... at all. (Thanks for all your comments, by the way...especially the ones that went along the lines of...nice binding, but where's the quilt? They totally cracked me up!)

 Just when I thought I had conquered my binding phobia , this scrappy binding came along and decided to throw me some challenges...but I didn't let it beat me! And for the record...I love the way it looks :)

I kept the quilting to straight lines...and lots of them! I had intended to add some stippling to the pieced blocks, but with Chookyblue cracking her whip and counting down the days (4 more sleeps till deadline!) , and things not going quite right all round, I decided to call it good.

I really enjoy being a part of this particular stitch-a-long group. This is my third quilt that I've made as a member of the group , and I find the encouragement and support to be a great motivator...keeps me on task!

 I'm not quite sure where this quilt is going to end up, but my youngest daughter couldn't help but remind me that she doesn't have a handmade quilt for her bed yet...

                                        
...and it definitely suits her bedroom. We'll see :)

No quilt is completely finished without a label, right? I got onto that straight away, joining some of my leftover squares and adding a blue border to make it stand out a bit.

Here is the full view...

...held up by my very tall son (thanks Riley!). It feels so great to have this quilt finished...another tick off my rather long to-do list!

Thank you so much to Chooky and all the SAL girls for your constant support and encouragement.  I'll really miss having this project to work on...fingers crossed that we start another, hey?

TTFN xxx

The best intentions...

I had such high hopes for my crafting this weekend just gone.

As often happens though, life got in the way of those good intentions...but in a good way :)

So here is what I achieved from my list of weekend to-dos...

...some rather fabulous scrappy binding for my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt...TA DA!

Why have I never made scrappy binding before? It is so cool, so stash-bustingly awesome, and is going to add so much life and colour to my rather subdued (for me, that is) SKoW quilt...I AM EXCITED! So excited, in fact, that after completing the straight-line quilting this afternoon ...I have attached it to the quilt! A bit naughty, perhaps, but the clock is ticking for the October deadline for our SAL group, and I'm not totally convinced that I'm going to add free-motion quilting at all....so I just did it ;)

My hair survived the chop...but only because my darling daughter insisted on accompanying me to the hairdressers  to ensure that I didn't get it cut super short again. I guess you could say that is another of my goals achieved? LOL...ok, I'm desperate to tick something (anything) off that list!

Here's to another busy week...

TTFN xxx

Project Life 2012 - Week 41

Hello Week 41...probably one of my favourite layouts of the year so far :)

I've based these pages around the grey elements of the PL Clementine kit (thanks again Linda!) but added the yellow ...you know my motto...everything looks better with polkadots! The "41" brads are leftovers from my Studio Calico card kit that were still sitting on my desk :)

The word "escape" was cut out on my Cuttlebug using some MFT letter dies...seriously one of the best investments I've ever made :)

 The movie poster image was printed straight from the net, as my photo of the poster at the cinema was pretty blurry...and the photos of us jumping down the sand dunes makes me smile every time I look at them ...they capture the day perfectly!

And that was our week :)

All of a sudden it's the weekend again!  I'm going to be trying very hard to...

a) resist getting my hair chopped right off ...it's at that very annoying, every-day-is-a-bad-hair-day stage.    
     Appointment booked at 1pm today....eeek!

b) finish the quilting on my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt so I can move it out of my craft room

c) make a couple more Farmers Wife blocks

d) scrapbook a layout or two (I know...wishful thinking!)

e) empty my ironing basket and

f) do some baking.

 Have a great one yourself!

TTFN xxx

Studio Calico Card Kit...

So, it turns out that working with the Studio Calico card kit was enough to get my cardmaking mojo flowing...wooohoooo!

I made a little pact with myself, that from each kit I should try to make 5 cards at least. After all, the last thing I need is more supplies sitting around in my craft room, right?

I probably should tell you (just in case you don't notice LOL)...I am a very simple cardmaker :)  

I like to play with colours and simple embellishments...nothing too flash or ground-breaking happens on my cards!

Simple? Classic? Basic? Whatever!

I love the classic combination of gold and white...it's one of my favourites :) I found the embossing folder I used above at my local scrapbooking shop...a very unassuming little shop that has some treasures to be found if you're prepared to look ;)

I can't wait to see what next months Studio Calico card kit contains...and it's such a surprise to me that I'm so excited about a card kit LOL!

Happy Monday!

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife - The "Duh" Edition :)

I had a chance to make another couple of Farmers Wife blocks yesterday...and they played very nicely without the need for too much unpicking...always a bonus!

I'm at the point in my FW journey where I'm starting to fill in the gaps. Since I haven't been constructing the blocks in any sort of order, I'm now going back through the book each week, looking for blocks that I've passed over before. Mostly I've left the ones with lots of little pieces, which is not such a good thing LOL.

There are still a few easy ones left, like Number 54 Kitchen Woodbox...

...and Number 53 Jackknife, which wasn't quite as easy, but on the same page in the book :)

 I finally caved and ordered another charm pack of Rose Parade, which is the main fabric I've been using for my Farmers Wife quilt. It's starting to become a bit difficult to find, so I figured I should probably buy it sooner rather than later, especially considering the dilemma I've been facing over adding new fabrics vs buying more Rose Parade :)

 Of course, seeing it as a charm pack with all the pretty fabrics together, made me fall in love with it all over again :)

As you know, I've been agonizing for weeks over adding different fabrics to stretch my stash and allow me to complete the quilt, but have never found just the right fabrics to add. Well, when I went to take the photos of these blocks, I decided to place them onto my little ironing board to take them outside, as the weather hasn't been great for inside photography just lately. And what do you know...

...they go perfectly with the fabrics I used to cover my ironing board a couple of weeks ago, Gypsy Girl by Lily Ashbury. DUH!

Oh well...you can never have too much fabric. Right?

TTFN xxx

Cards...yes, cards!

It's been a while since I've made a card  :)

Just lately, the call of fabric has been much stronger than the call of paper, if you know what I mean? This could all change, though,  now that I have started to receive this...

...the Studio Calico card kit! What appeals to me about this concept is that, should I not be the least bit inspired to come up with my own design (highly likely!)  there is a whole gallery of beautiful cards made by the Studio Calico design team with the exact same kit that I can copy...YAY!

I decided to challenge myself to make a card all by myself, this being my first kit and all  :)

 I even dug out my Cuttlebug for this special occasion...and my pinking shears....and stitched on it too! Spurred on by this early success, I decided to make another...

...and used the stamp set in the kit! Yes....I stamped....and then coloured the arrows with Glimmermist! Will wonders never cease? LOL

I got totally carried away with myself, playing with all these fabulous new goodies. I admit it.  I've even made another card that I haven't photographed yet!

 All of a sudden, the "5 Cards" target that I've posted on my monthly to-do list each and every month this year but never achieved seems almost achieveable. I love that :)

Here's to a fantastic weekend!

TTFN xxx

Project Life 2012 - Week 40

Hello Week 40...can you believe I just typed Week 40?

That means 12 weeks until the end of the year, folks. I'm not sure how that makes you feel, but in my mind I am still somewhere back in April :)

After playing with the Clementine kit for Week 39, I decided to use my own kit, Cobalt, for this week. There aren't many weeks that I've just used the kit, but it was definitely quick :)

 The whole left side I devoted to our visit to the Perth Royal Show, and the right side was the usual bits-and-pieces of life.

 Through the week I purchased a set of my very own PTI stamps, and those are the stamped circles you see. Such a versatile stamp set! They will save me a fortune on stickers, that's for sure :)

And that was Week 40.

I didn't get to my Farmers Wife blocks today :(  but am still quilting along on my Some Kind Of Wonderful quilt...so far, so good.

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for popping in!

TTFN xxx

Time Out

I really struggle with hayfever every Spring, and sometimes it feels like it's ruling my life. If you suffer from hayfever...you may know what I mean ;)

So today, we packed the car and headed up the coast in search of clearer, salty air and some relief from the revolting symptoms that have been plaguing me (and two out of three kids to a lesser degree) for the last few days.

Surprisingly, thankfully, it worked. Relief, even if it's short term, was very welcome today :)

Hope you had a great day, and if you know any miracle hayfever cures, please let me know!

TTFN xxx

Project Life 2012 - Week 39

Hello Project Life Week 39...a week dedicated to my dear friend Linda :)

 Linda (and Tracey and Josh too!) came to visit me the other day, and brought with her a box of Project Life Clementine kit goodies. She has been using Clementine for her PL this year, but has made some decisions on where her own PL journey is going, and decided to part with her kit...and gave it to me! How lucky am I?

Of course, I had to break into it straight away. It is so so different from the Cobalt kit that I am (occasionally) using...I put it down to Clementine being released in the second year of PL. It seems to be so much more versatile, easy to use, and I love the colours in it!

 I added the orange polkadots and a few other bits and pieces, but mainly stuck with the kit. Of course, in my head I am now thinking the purchase of the Olive kit for next year might be not such a bad idea...LOL...so so naughty!

Week 39 marked the end of Term 3 of the school year, which is a frightening prospect! Next year I'm looking at, not only two high school students (arrrggghhh!) , but three different schools. It's enough to make me shudder! LOL

I really do need to thank you so much for your kind comments here lately...I appreciate them more than you know,  and feel blessed to have such encouraging blog readers. A  special welcome to my new followers too :)

Have a wonderful Sunday

TTFN xxx

Chevron + polkadots = cute!

After what turned out to be a crazy busy week around here, I finally had a chance to add some polkadottie goodness to my Sweetwater Label Crew tablerunner today :)

Can I just say,

chevron + polkadots = cute!

I'm sort of wishing I had some more of this gorgeous Annie's Farm Stand fabric in my stash...but then, I usually think that about most of my fabrics when I use up what I have :) Thus why I hoard my favourites...a tendency I am trying to overcome!

I tossed up not adding the label, but came to the (very sensible) conclusion that I can't keep on collecting the labels either ...I'm running out of room around here, and the whole point of Sweetwater Label Crew is the labels. Right?

Yes. I have issues :)

Did you have a lovely Saturday? I had a couple of hours alone in my house today...and it was blissful :)

TTFN xxx

The start of my Christmas wish list :)

Do you realise it's only 84 days until Christmas? AAARRRGGGHHHH!

I hadn't really given it much thought until I looked at the photo below...

 ...which was actually taken to show you my completed Block Four of my Vintage Modern BOM. It's called Breezy Afternoon, and was designed by Aneela Hoey..cute, huh?

When I look at the photo, however, all I see is the cutting mat....the filthy dirty, terribly marked cutting mat which has squares coloured in (thankyou darling children) and big chunky holes hidden underneath the patchwork block, which make my rotary cutter go crooked. I've had this cutting mat for probably 20 years or more, and I'm thinking that it might just be time to hit Santa up for a new one :) What do you think? LOL

I had a lovely crafty day with Tracey and Linda today, chatting, eating, and working on our Sweetwater Label Crew project for September...a cute chevron tablerunner.

I used fabrics from my stash this time...

...some of this divine rose print along with red polkadots...such a yummy combination! They are from a gorgeous range called Annie's Farm Stand by Lakehouse Dry Goods which I've been saving for something special for a while now ;) I'm up to the binding...will share some pics when I'm done :)

What are you working on at the moment?

TTFN xxx