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

Project Life 2012 - Week 38

Hello Week 38...another fairly ordinary week in the life of us :)

It's now the first day of October, and I'm happy to say that I finally feel like I'm in a groove with this Project Life stuff. Pulling out my camera has almost become automatic (even if it IS the camera on my iPhone) and I don't seem to be scratching around for photos quite so much...which believe me, is a great thing!

I haven't run out of things to document either, which surprises me a little...I thought by October I would be struggling badly!  Life with 3 kids is busy every day, and there always seems to be something going on...big things, little things, and everything in between :)

 I find it interesting that a lot of PLers around blogland plan out their pages quite extensively...I am NOT one of these people :) I print my photos first to get a general idea of what colour papers I'll use and go from there. I usually print photos from my big camera at K-Mart (and make collages if I have lots of photos from the one event), and then print iPhone photos at home...sizing them to fit what pockets I have left in the page protectors.

I usually choose 2 sheets of co-ordinating patterned paper for the double spread, and other bits from my stash to finish off. This week I borrowed some great PTI stamps from Linda, and they are so so perfect for PL...I'm going to have to buy some very soon :)

Keeping it simple and using my stash seem to really work for me, and I love the variety of using different papers for each week...it keeps me interested :) Now that I've typed that sentence, I'm wondering if I really do need to order the new Olive Edition for next year? Probably not...but I DO love it so :)

How about you? Have you ordered a kit for next year yet? (Australian PLers can pre-order all the new goodies through Craft House in New Zealand)

TTFN xxx