Watering cans and banners.

This is my little block for Day 5 of the 39 squares project... (www.39squares.blogspot.com)

A flowery watering can! My photo is a bit dull today...the colours are quite a bit brighter in real life. Thanks to all the girls who have popped by from the flickr group, especially those who have left a comment (it means I can visit you back!).

I've been having a play with Sassafrass Lass Nerdy Bird goodies...the banners are fun :)


My photo is crooked...LOL, yes I am having some photo issues today :) The aqua border really does extend around the whole LO!

The range is lovely and bright. The paper is called "sprightly", the letters are AC Thickers and rubons, and some really old AMM ones from the bottom of my sticker box. It seems I am very short of orange alphas (and was too lazy to cut some with the Slice).

Another bright one...

I'm loving the banner stickers! The flowers are from the Making Memories Flutter Button Box...and are gorgeous :) Again, the border does go around the entire LO...when I have an off day, I REALLY have an off day!

I stitched along the banner first, then got carried away and stitched some more. The papers are Bazzill Swiss Dots, and the purple is Kaiser La Di Da...LOL, yep, the back is covered in green paint splotches from Merryn's little "accident" a couple of weeks back :)

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

TTFN xxx

Now...where were we?

First things first...here's my little stitchery for today...

This is a very special little block to me (for reasons that I won't go into here)...but if you know me well, you will know that little girls and helium balloons hold a special place in my heart :) Can you tell that's what it's meant to be?

Talking of "project-a-day" stuff, I was cleaning up my desk yesterday and unearthed all the supplies I had left out to complete my December Daily album...shock! Horror! So I did the last two days...

Day 24...

...and Day 25...

I think Day 25 is my favourite of ALL the days....something about the white bauble trim and the red felt :) I set out to make the cover, but realised I had nothing to make the covers with...sigh...so it looks like December Daily lives on for another blog post! I wonder if it will be finished by this December???

I'm off to enjoy my Sunday (and get out of my pyjamas!)

Thanks so much to the girls who left comments yesterday...especially those from the 39 squares project. I will visit you soon ;)

TTFN xxx

Lollipops and Spiders :)

Did I mention how much I am loving this 39 squares project? Committing to just a one inch square of stitching each day is so much fun!

Here is my block from yesterday...

In case you can't guess, it's a lollipop :) I spent hours stitching spirals of really long French knots using a fine varigated thread of blue, orange and green, but got to the end and didn't like it! The new version uses a different varigated thread...it's called Iris by Edmar, and is usually used for Brazilian embroidery. Luckily, I have lots and lots of these gorgeous threads in a whole rainbow of colours...they are super shiny and lovely to work with. I created the tiny bow and secured it with a fine thread of green.

I got in early today to create my block...wouldn't want to run out of daylight again LOL!


I went under the first block...because the spider really needed a corner to spin her web in, don't you think? I deliberately made the web quite messy, because spider webs are not ever really perfect...I guess that could be used as a metaphor for my not-so-perfect life too :)

All of my squares so far are original designs, but when and if I run out of ideas, I won't hesitate to copy some squares from the flickr group...there are some divine squares happening over there! That said, I have started a little list of ideas for my next few blocks...this project is really capturing my imagination!

If you are visiting me, and are taking part in the 39squares project, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me a comment so I can visit you too...I'd love to see what you are making!

Have a fabulous weekend!

TTFN xxx

A note of explanation :)

Dear Blog Reader,

It is now Day 2 of the 39squares (or in my case, 38) project and I don't have a square to show you.

While I have made every endeavour to finish and photograph my block, natural daylight is now eluding me, and I am unable to capture an adequate photograph until tomorrow.

Please accept my sincere apology...

Kind Regards,
Susan

I have a new block...really I do.... LOL

I stitched it in a park this afternoon, after unpicking (cutting, actually) many many 30+ wrap french knots when I didn't like the look of them in the square, and in between pushing kids on swings and making sand pictures. Ho hum...thats perfectionism for you! I like the new version much better :)

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow :)

TTFN xxx

15 Years...and 38 Days :)

serendipity: n. faculty of making happy discoveries by accident

Often you discover snippets in your travels that just make you happy, but it is a wonderful thing to find something that makes your heart sing, and your creative juices flow, and your mind race with possibilities.

Last night, I followed a link from here which led me to www.39squares.blogspot.com ,and I knew straight away that this was something I HAD to start...and now! Imagine the fun!

From the little bit of reading I did, I discovered the idea is to create a 1 inch x 1 inch square each day, for a set number of days, celebrating your life...like a life journal in stitches.

I went to bed with my mind racing, imagining all the cute squares I could create, with all my favourite things....but how many? I am currently 38, so thought that would be a good number. Today is March 11...my hubby and my 15th wedding anniversary...which is a great day to start. But wait...that means it's around 38 days until my 39th birthday...PERFECT!!! A beautiful, hand-stitched birthday present...from me to me!

So my first job this morning was to pick my colours and fabric...I've gone with rainbow brights on white trigger cloth, but mainly focusing on my standard colour palette of red, pink, turquoise, apple green and white. Shocking, I know :)


The first block had to be a heart to mark our anniversary :) I chose this shade of red because it was the colour of our bridesmaids dresses all those years ago, and stitched 15 pink colonial knots on the background to represent 15 years of marriage....this whole concept is making me so excited!

I really don't know if I can wait until tomorrow to start my next block :)

I also can't wait to use some more complicated embroidery stitches...it's been quite a while since I used anything except blanket stitch, back stitch and french knots, and I have lots and lots of beautiful specialty threads that haven't seen the light of day for years....imagine the fun!

Would you like to join in? Pop over to 39squares to sign up (as I am planning to do in a minute) and please let me know so I can check out what fun you're having! There's also a flickr group with lots of other yummy squares...I dare you to check it out and not be tempted to start one of your own!

Lydia is planning to make one with 9 squares...but I think it might have to wait until the school holidays....unless, of course, she can't resist starting sooner.

Better get onto the housework...I've had my fun for today :)

TTFN xxx

Time for a new challenge!

It's March (and has been for a while now) which means a new challenge over at Scrapsidaisy.

This months challenge is to scrap a layout featuring a male and using the colour green. It should also include a title with more than two words and a metal embellishment. Sound easy?


The moment I took this photo, I knew what the LO would be about :) So when I saw the challenge requirements, it was just a case of printing the photo, and choosing elements based around the challenge...love it when I have a plan!

I rarely print photos at home anymore (just TOOOOOO expensive) but went the whole hog on this one...nice and BIG and black and white! The green paper is Daisy Bucket My Little Monster Share Your Toys topped with KI Memories lace cardstock. The journal block is from a sheet of paper by Teresa Collins, and the alphas are by Bella, Carolees Creations and Basic Grey. There's stitching...but it's white on white, and a little hard to see on the photo.

Happy Wednesday!

TTFN xxx

Loose Ends.

Do you ever have days when you are at a loose end? You have heaps of stuff you should be doing, but can't seem to settle into anything at all? Today seems to be one of those days for me...and that means I make FAR too many trips around my kitchen bench, so that I can grab an M&M or two as I stroll by...not good.

Something I have achieved today (besides excessive M&M consumption) is to finish this little project off.

Lydia picked out the fabric at the Craft Show last year, so I thought I'd make her a journal cover with it.

Something about the cats sitting in the trees really tickled her fancy apparently :) I used the Thelma's Day Out pattern by Janelle Wind...as well as a bag, it includes a matching journal cover.

This is the inside view...now I just have to find a notebook to fit :)

A belated Happy Birthday to Vanessa for Sunday...it is always a happy coincidence to find that other special people share your children's birthdays!

I'm really looking forward to teaching my "Butterfly Kisses" class at Tomorrows Memories on Friday....some of my favourite girls have booked in :) I've been told that lots of new release products have started arriving at the shop from CHA 2010, and you know how I love new scrapbooking paper! Have you checked out all the new goodies yet? Is there anything that I am going to have to buy?

Have a great day....I am off to hide the M&Ms :)

TTFN xxx

Birthday girl.

My kids birthdays are always a little bittersweet for me. While I love watching them grow, on their birthdays I can't help but wonder where the years have gone :(

Today my girl turned nine. Nine! She was so very excited, and it was wonderful to get caught up in her enthusiasm.

Ice skating with her friends was such a blast...we had a fantastic time! She invited just a few of her closest friends, and their families stayed as well to join in the fun...I think I was probably the most uncoordinated of the Mums who skated but hey, it was my first time on ice skates :)

We put together some cute party bags..

...and made matching cupcakes...

...which were yummy! The party cake was an echidna, complete with chocolate spines...

...and we later added some coconut grass to finish it off.

Tonight I'm feeling pains in places I didn't know existed, but my girl has gone to bed with a smile on her face, and lots of beautiful memories. Happy birthday Lydia...I love you sweet girl :)

TTFN xxx

Sidewalk Chalk!

Just a quick double to share today.

I am slowly making my way through some of the photo piles that are sitting on my desk...and it feels good!

And as the photo pile gets smaller, so does the pile of patterned paper sitting next to it...and that feels even better! I've used October Afternoon Farm Fresh Farmhouse...that's the yellow polkadots...and took my colour inspiration from the "straight from the bottom of my stash" Bazzill chip topper, which is the big round sticker on the right page. I found many Bazzill Chip Toppers when I was looking for bees yesterday...I must've really liked them a few years ago (but obviously not enough to actually use many of them!) Ho hum.

Hope you are having a fantastic Tuesday...why does a long weekend always make Tuesday feel like Monday????

TTFN xxx

Looking for Bees :)

I have spent far too much time today looking for bees.

Bees just like the one in that photo...little ceramic bees that I knew would be perfect on a LO I've been working on. I know I have at least one somewhere...but where? The one in the picture is on a cushion I made a long time ago, and I had at least one leftover...but where did I put it?

I gave up in the end...

....and cut one out of a sticker sheet (after searching through my sticker drawer for ages) , then inked it to make it "less white". I'll probably find the other one now that I've replaced it...isn't that always the way?

This paper is Prima Animal Bash Collection, and has so much detail. I decided to go with adding texture, rather than cutting into it :) The clouds are white felt, stitched on messily with my sewing machine.

I also added some buttons and felt, stitched and distressed around the outside edges, then matted onto black. The alphas are Basic Grey chocolate chip, and the rust coloured font is cut with my Slice. How perfect would the ceramic bees have been?

Long weekend here in Perth...what are you up to?

TTFN xxx