Enjoying the sun on our deck.


A very sticky visitor .


Waiting for Santa.

We get lots of visitors in our garden .The birds and geckos are easy to spot but the stick insect is not always easy to see with it's great camouflage.

How much plum pudding did you eat.

I couldn't resist making one last Christmas card for the challenge at The Lollipop Ladies.
The Lollipop Ladies - challenge - 36 -Christmas puddings -It wasn't enough to use the photo as inspiration for colour I wanted a pud as well. Sentiment stamp is Hero Arts,pudding image is fabric .

How much pud did I eat - none at all.

A sprinkle of glitter

This is my last Christmas card post for 2011 .A touch of gold glitter really made this card shine.I made this for special friends in SA.

Jolly Holly

Paper from Kaisercraft ,sentiment from The Graphic Fairy.

Christmas Party

My post title is the name of this vibrant green paper,it has lots of white snowflakes and comes from Momenta. The purple glitter and stickles are a great contrast to the green.

Birthday Tipple

I seem to be on a roll with the gatefold cards ,I'm keeping them simple relying on the paper for focus.This was for a male birthday in December .

Christmas Blues

This is my take on the photo inspired challenge at The Ribbon Reel.

Challenge 17 - Shabby Holiday Winter. I think all the papers are Kaisercraft ,stickles are from Annabelle stamps.

Red and Green ,it must be Christmas

Part Time Tuesday - challenge 46 - Use Red and Green as the main colours.I don't know where the image came ,obviously a freebie from some very kind and talented person.The image was done with watercolours and when it was dry I gave it 3 coats of clear nail varnish ( no glossy accents,had to improvise .The paper is from Kaisercraft.

Do you believe

Lexi's Creations - challenge -55 -No red or green on your Christmas card.The grey paper is Francis Meyer 'Paris da Vinci Grey',not sure where the pink is from.Just added some stickles and a few snowflakes .I was supposed to post my overseas cards on Friday ,I guess they may be late.I made this little card yesterday and have almost done a second in lime green ,it's good to be different.Enjoy the rest of your day.

Birthday Butterfly

Cupcake Craft - challenge 172 - Don't look at the light -bright,sparkles,glitter ,you get the idea .

I made this gatefold card for my MIL .The black paper is from a stacker pack called 'Weddings'from Rosie's .I used foil,gems ,acetate and silver stickers to complete this butterfly (butterfly from Rosie's )card.The sentiment was made using the alphabet letters from Ippity.


We've been away again this past weekend and I know I shouldn't complain but walking out the door all I could think of was boxes ,boxes still waiting to be unpacked.It was a quick trip to Hobart to see Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac fame) in concert ,Dave Stewart and Brian MacFadden provided support.It was well worth the money as the show started at 7.00pm and finished at 11.15pm . We got back late Sunday afternoon with lots of food shopping and before I had even unpacked some friends arrived who live close by .I roasted a chicken and did lots of salad ,copious amounts of beer and wine were consumed ( not by me I'm TT )and I think we made them too welcome as it was after 11.00pm when they left .A good evening was had by all but those boxes are still there waiting to be emptied.

Yummy gingerbread men

Over at Bows and Berries this is the last challenge for 2011 ,it's also a blog hop and a free gingerbread man to use on your card and a 50% discount on all their digis . How good is all that ,you can play along until December 11th so if you haven't already entered then get a move on.

Challenge 15 - Blog hop and card using gingerbread man .This image is so cute I couldn't just have one ,my little men are white as they are covered in icing, supposedly. I've added red gems ,pearls and glitter.

The First Noel

Thought I'd have a break from ironing and make a quick Christmas card .

Incy Wincy Designs - challenge 123 - Non traditional Christmas colours.I chose dark brown ,gold and a light caramel colour. The paper is HOTP and came in a book of Christmas paper which I've had for about 10 years.

Come along and play

I've been very busy over the past few weeks and only managed to make a couple of cards for the challenges at The Lollipop Ladies .Lucky me I've won prizes for both my cards ( previous 2 postings ).They always have great prizes and 2 weeks to get your card made.Come along and join in the fun .A big thank you to the team .

An Apple a Day

Lollipop Ladies -challenge 34 - Toffee Apples and Acetate .
Another tricky challenge especially when you only have 3 hours to get your card made and posted.Did I chose something easy to make ,hell no .As I folded the strips of paper for the iris folding I edge each piece with a gold marker pen ,the acetate I used for my shaker part of the card adding a few small beads.Sorry about the quality of the pic ,the camera is obviously on the wrong setting ,I've pushed a few buttons but I think Steve will have to take a look this evening.

We have been in our new home for 3 weeks and this is my first post ,I had forgotton how time consuming it is both with the packing and unpacking of boxes .It doesn't help that we have been away for two weekends and will be away again this next weekend . Every day is a challenge in the kitchen as I try to remember which cupboard things are in .I've unpacked all my craft things but I haven't managed to find my acrylic blocks ,they are there so I will have to spend a bit more time in the craft room.

chocolate and swirls

Paper from Kaisercraft "Elegance ,Eleanor"
Stamp sentiment from Kaisercraft "C5929 Life "

The Lollipop Ladies challenge 32 - inspired by chocolate spiders plus threads .A difficult colour scheme to work with but I got there in the end .My thread runs through the tape in the centre.The flower is hand cut from the reverse side of the paper.

Papercraft Star challenge 69 - A flourish - I love these pearly strips ,all spaced out and ready to go.

Set me free

The bird cage and the sentiment are Kaiser craft .The green paper is 'Pack your bags' from Kaiser craft,the bottom panel and tartan leaves are a double sided paper from Graphic45 Eden's Symphony .


Papercraft Star - challenge 66 - A leaf or leaves.

I haven't been around much and that is not likely to change for the next few weeks.After months of house hunting we finally found a place we can hopefully call home ,unfortunately the house move coincides with a two week holiday in Koh Samui and 2 long weekends away . I'm trying to pack boxes and suitcases at the same time ,always fun lol.

A leafy affair

I stamped the leaves with avocado green onto cream paper ,then stamped on the reverse side with a hessian or linen design (my stamp is from Ippity).Using a craft scalpel I cut around a half of each leaf and then folded it back ,using a piercing tool I did around the edges .

I mounted onto dark green card to provide some contrast.



I love the sketch from Card and a Half and really enjoyed putting all the elements together .I noticed Rachael from the design team didn't put her sentiment as the main feature of the card so I hope my entry will be OK.

Not just distressed,almost suicidal

The light is a bit better now so I've taken another pic of my card.



My take on the Papercraft Star sketch above -challenge 63.



The Crafty Pad - challenge 139 - Diamonds are a girls best friend. Diamonds come in many colours ,mine are lilac.I love the addition of the gems,they lift an otherwise very dull colour scheme.

I think I got carried away with the distressing (my card is suicidal). I quite like the colour combination ,brown and lilac are not usually used together.

Blue Bird Birthday

I'm always tempted to add lots of extras but this little birdie from Momma MC designs is just fine on his own.

Crafts 4 Eternity - challenge 37 -Recipe = Leaves,Birds,Glitter.
Creative Craft challenges - Buttons and Bling .
Top Tip Tuesday - challenge 51 -A card for kids .

Pretty in Pink

The cute image is from Meljiens which I did with water colours,the paper is Petit from Rasberry.

Crafting for all Seasons - challenge 9 -Birthdays .

Sadly this the last challenge over at Fuzzy Wuzzy and theme is Pink as the main colour.

Dutch Dare Card Challenge 130 ,Monochromatic challenge.

A quick card

I've called this a quick card when it was anything but quick. The only thought I had was to use purple,grey and white.The top boarder and heart were hand cut ,the little flower made with lots of scrunched up circles of paper.Music stamp from Ippity,birdcage from Kaisercraft.Purple paper is a drawer liner .Ribbon,lace and buttons from my stash.
Crafts and Me -challenge 52 -Add a Heart
Papercraft Star -challenge 62 -Anything goes .

Birthday Butterfly

My TOP TIP for TTT is all about being lazy ,I love to have all my stuff close by when I'm crafting. I store all my scissors on this old mug tree which sits on my craft table.My card continues the Birthday theme which you can see at the bottom of this post.


This sketch is from Card and a Half challenge 4 and my take on it is shown below.Big hugs to Helen and the boys.




It's been over a week since I was last here , a bad sinus infection wiped me out (the most painful thing I've ever had).My face is still tender and my head is fuzzy .

These are my favourite colours at the moment and I just love all the stuff from Graphic45 (butterfly tag ).

My version of Steampunk

I've used a mix of Graphic45 stuff along with hand cut mannequin,star and some chain from an old necklace.


Papercraft Star - challenge 60 -Steampunk - I'm not really sure what defines Steampunk , I've tried to add the right elements and make my card colourful and feminine .Does it work ,I'm not sure .Anyhoo this is for Jan .

The Crafty Pad - challenge 137 - Blue and Brown - The Crafty Pad have just released some new stuff and guess what, Steampunk is the theme,pity I didn't have some to make my card.

Spring has certainly arrived with some beautiful warm sunny days ,our house hunting is on a go slow at the moment ,we only looked at one house on Saturday.The property had fantastic city views but this comes at a price,to get the garbage to street level for collection I would need oxygen to get up there and for a quick descent a tin tray to slide back down.

Quick cards for men

Both of these cards were made using wrapping paper. If you have a little spare paper after the gift is wrapped then make a matching card.The shirts and the cars were raised on sticky dots.

Flower cushion

Another cushion cover ,blackwork is used to provide a striking background to the flowers.

Christmas cushion

I usually only post my cards but I thought it might be a good idea to show you my other interests. Sorry the pic isn't too good,the cushion is a bit squishy.I enjoy cross stitch but never know what to do with it when it's finished. My solution is to make them into cushion covers.The gold stitching across the top is from 'Twas the night before Christmas 'verse.

happy birthday

I'm having a love/hate relationship with this card ,I love the papers and colours but not the layout.
Card and a Half- Extra challenge 3 -flowers.

Spare a thought for the lovely lady Helen who runs Card and a Half who has tragically lost a husband and father to two boys.My heart is heavy for Helen at this sad time.

Watering can

It's been a while since I posted ,my time seems to be spent working at the Red Cross shop or looking at houses.I love moving to a new place the problem seems to be finding one that we both like.

I thought it might be fun to make this little watering can (template from SCS).Once the template was cut out and all the fold lines scored I patiently pricked out all the holes and then sewed with pink thread.I had lots of tiny beads in my stash and added them to the centre of each swirl.A few flowers and a butterfly ,easy but a little time consuming.
Allsorts challenge - week 116 -Anything but a card.
Crafty Purple Frog - Anything but a card