Special friends and washi tape

We had the pleasure of attending the 21st birthday celebrations of a very special friend on the weekend...a girl that we have watched grow from a caring, beautiful teenager into a gorgeous young woman with a kind heart and generous spirit. Her parents should be so proud of her!

Making a card for her was always going to be a challenge...her Mum is a cardmaker! So I took a deep breath, pulled out my Cuttlebug, and went with white-on-white simplicity.

The rosette was from a pack by Amy Tangerine, but I altered it with a punched circle and chipboard numbers to refelect the occasion. The pearls and ribbon finished it off just nicely, without adding too much fuss!

With that pressure off, I fell straight back into my washi-tape comfort zone :) A friend had texted me earlier in the day with a photo of a washi tape card that she had been inspired to make from my blog (how cool is that?), which of course inspired me all over again...don't you love the way that works!

 This time though, I stepped it up a bit (LOL) and matched my washi tape to some pretty ribbons that I'd been hoarding.

Playing with the colour combinations really makes me happy...the inks, the enamel dots, the rolls of tape.  These cards are so ridiculously quick to put together, and provide instant gratification to a time-starved and usually uninspired cardmaker like me ;)

Have you given washi tape cards a whirl yet? If you haven't, you really should....the combinations are endless, and it's a great excuse to stock up!

TTFN xxx

12 Months of Christmas...the next instalment ;)

Hello, and happy Sunday to you!

I've had a few emails recently about the 12 Months of Christmas project, and thought I had better let you know what's next!

The project for June (for Linda, Tracey and I) was to finish off our Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Block of the Month, as we knew if we didn't schedule it...well, it may just not get done :) Thankfully, I put the last stitches on the quilt top earlier in the week, and have dropped it to the quilters....phew!  For you (if you don't have a MBOM to finish off) it was a free choice month...what did you go for?

For those papercrafters amongst you, you will be relieved to know that the next couple of months are all about paper!

At Linda's request, we are starting our Christmas cards in July...how is THAT for being super organised? If you're a papercrafter, that will mean making your prototype and starting the production line...or perhaps making those special one-of-a-kind cards...or preparing your Christmas card list at least :)

August is all about tags and wrappings...perhaps tying in with your Christmas card design to get a theme happening? Or coming up with different tags for different people? The choice is entirely yours, but I can't wait to see what you create :)

September is a catch-up month, since all three of us have holidays planned in this month :) If I have spare time, I'll be working on my advent calendar that was supposed to be made in May (oops!)

October is the month to create a Christmas gift for someone special, possibly inspired by something gorgeous you've pinned on Pinterest and have always wanted to make... paper, fabric or something totally different  ;) My plan is to prepare a photo album for my in-laws...I've been doing this for them for years, but they don't always receive it at Christmas...ooops again! (this year it was more an Easter gift LOL).

November is all about Christmas preparation, to ease the pressure in that busy month of December. It is the month to prepare your advent calendars (this will probably take Tracey the entire month LOL...she's a BIG advent calendar fan!), start preparing the bones of your December Daily album if that's your thing...or Journal Your Christmas album if that's more your thing (more details on both these projects closer to the time), and dig out all the fantastic Christmas goodies you've created through the year and start decorating!

December? Well, that's the time to eat, drink and be merry ;)

So there's your plan of action...will that keep you busy for the next few months, do you think? I know it will me!

TTFN xxx

Project Life 2013 - Weeks 21, 22 and 23

Hello again :)

Wow. Time really did get away from me, didn't it? Three weeks worth of Project Life to show you, plus another one that will be finished in the next couple of days...and an album almost full too ;)

For week 21, I used some pieces out of Echo Park's Here and Now collection...mainly because I LOVE those cute little multi-coloured cameras above ;)

I've been keeping up with putting the pages together fairly well this year, but my photo taking is still not quite up to speed...I don't take nearly as many as I want to. I do find though, that a lack of photos at the end of a week makes me look around and capture more details, even if there is no corresponding photo.

Week 22 was a bit like that...

 ...but that's ok because I had my son write out his exam schedule, and now I have a record of his handwriting in my album ;) I used bits and pieces from Simple Stories 24/Seven for this spread...I forgot how much I love the colours in that collection!

Week 23 is made up of all sorts of papers and embellishments!

 For this week I had my older daughter journal about her excursion to Perth Zoo, and got a little creative to fill up some of the other 3x4 pockets...more photos would have come in handy here ;)

So that gets us up to Week 24, which is sitting on my desk right now....wooohoooo!

I'm off to sit in front of the heater to warm up a bit...it's SO chilly in Perth today!

Have a great afternoon

TTFN xxx

Hello.

How are you? And what have you been up to?

 I have badly neglected popping in to share my crafty goings-on lately...and it's not like me to be quiet for so long ;)  There is no simple explanation... just the general busy-ness of life and the lack of time to gather my thoughts and put them in cohesive sentences, much less with photos!

I thought about doing a super-long post to show you everything I've been working on, but have opted for a simple catchup over the next couple of days...sound good?

Let's start with fabric :)

I received the last of my 2013 Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Block of the Month recently, and had a catchup on the blocks before attacking the finishing kit...just a little bit daunting :)

I put the final borders on earlier in the week, and it is heading off to the quilter tomorrow...YIPPPEEEE! I'll show you some detailed pictures after I sew the binding down...it's a very pretty quilt. I have really enjoyed receiving my package from the U.S. each month, and can't wait to start the 2014 program, featuring Avalon fabric by Fig Tree and Co...bring it on!

In a weak moment (when my sewing space was looking a bit empty) I signed up for Camille Roskelley's Craftsy class on piecing pre-cuts, thinking I would use some of my much-loved Bonnie and Camille fabrics.  Funnily enough, I totally balked when it came to cutting up my precious Marmalade layer cake to make the first quilt LOL...I just couldn't go through with it!

The class is aimed at beginners and I felt the first project, Piece of Cake 3, was just a bit too simple for my gorgeous Marmalade...so I started a different quilt which I've wanted to make for a while. I'm just stitching a little bit each day, and will show you when I get a bit more done...slow and steady :) Hopefully I won't have the same problem with the next quilt in the course...I'm hoping to use Happy-Go-Lucky!

Speaking of slow and steady, I finally have some progress to share on Scandinavian Rose...

...Block 4 is finally complete! Phew! This one took me a couple more months than anticipated, but my enthusiasm is now renewed, and I'm stitching madly away on Block 5. I'm using lots of my leftover MBOM Vintage Modern fabrics for the pieced sections, with some Bliss, Ruby and other favourites thrown in, and I LOVE how it's looking. If only I had more stitching hours in my day!

So that's what's been happening in fabric. I'll be back tomorrow with a Project Life catchup!

TTFN xxx