Wow....Christmas is coming up fast.

Real fast.

AND...It has been 69 days since my last post.

Lots to share.  Too much for one post.  I probably should not save up!!!!!  I will just start somewhere.....nowhere in particular.  Here is a past sketch from Scrapz.Biz

 

Really loving Vintage ATM.  Can't get enough.

Another LO from Scrapz.  A challenge weekend we held for Thanksgiving got me thinking.  We were responsible for running a series of challenges over the weekend.  Great fun, BTW.....I did some research about what it actually is in the US.....I liked the idea so much that I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner this year with my family, (My Dad/Step Mum. My Mum/Step Dad, My sister and her family and us) and it was really nice.  We don't have thanksgiving in Australia, but I really enjoyed the reflection and the time spent with family.  I think I feel a tradition coming on.  I will do it again next year.  It is such a nice idea, to tell the people we love what we love about them.....while we can still be with them.

Another challenge on Scrapz.  This one was part of a huge series called The Scrapper of OZ.  There were many senarios ( all based around the movie 'The wizard of OZ') and 4 rounds plus the grand final.  If there is anything the site owner (Heike) knows it is how to dream up challenges.  She has THE most innovative ideas.  This particular one, had to include several things.  The title 'If only' ( from the movie- if only I had a heart, brain, courage) Two distict sides (Left and right sides of the brain)  a symbol of courage (the beetles) and a heart.  It was a fun one to do!  I hand painted some Websters paper with water colours, and went over it with luminous medium, making it all sparkly.  (adding a drop of Liquid Pearls to the centres)  The heart is just cut half way with a craft knife, then folded in half revealing the back side of the paper (stunning BTW)

and one just cause.

Well today includes making 100 place cards for a big Christmas dinner we are hosting at our church on Saturday......and some more shopping if I need a break from 100 cards... We have Denver's 7th birthday party here on Sunday also.  So there are a million things to do!  I also have photo catch ups to do for my intended Days of December album......which I have not started.  (we wont mention that again!!!!) 

DH just got up to make me a coffee......so I will wait patiently in bed for that to arrive......isnt it the life.  and yes I do realise I have it pretty good!!!! (That first morning coffee being so important and all!)

Until next time!  (not 69 days either!)

The Scrapper of OZ.......

The rules:

1. All entries have to be uploaded by the specified time to be considered for the round prizes.

2. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

3. Entries will be judged by the DT girls on:
- how well you have solved the challenge and met the requirements
- creativity and originality
-overall appeal

4. There will be four rounds and a grand final.

5.
Each contestant can only win one round in the competition, however can
be runner-up multiple times. All winners and runner-ups who have
completed all 4 challenges (maximum of 8 contestants) will go into the
grand final.

The Prizes:

1. Major Prize:

The
winner will win a spot as a guest designer. You will receive a Ticklez
kit full of goodies and feature in our newsletter, The Buzz, for that
month. You will also receive a $100 SCRAPZ.BIZ shopping voucher.

2. Runner Up:

The
runner-up will receive a spot as a guest designer. . You will receive a
Ticklez kit full of goodies and feature in our newsletter, The Buzz,
for that month You will also receive a $50 SCRAPZ.BIZ shopping voucher.

3. Round Prizes:

Furthermore,
there will be a $20 shopping voucher awarded to the winner and a $15
voucher awarded to the runner-up of each round.

4. Participation Prizes

Every
contestant who successfully completes all four challenges by November
22, 2009 and is not a major prize winner will receive a $10 SCRAPZ.BIZ
voucher at the end of the competition.


The challenge for Round 1 will be revealed on Sunday October 11, 2009.


Let the journey begin!!! Sign up Here !

WORLD CARDMAKING DAY

It is World Card Making Day on Saturday October 3rd. World Card Making
Day is a special day especially for card makers around the world, to
celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection
that they create, between friends and family. It is a day to connect
with fellow card makers both near and far, to applaud the creativity
that powers the craft, and to provide an opportunity for card makers to
connect and find resources that will empower, inspire, and encourage
them in their card making.

We would like to invite you

To celebrate

World Cardmaking Day

with us at SCRAPZ.BIZ

Challenges will be posted in the forum starting on Friday 2nd October
and will continue over the weekend. All entries are to be uploaded in
the WCMD Members Gallery by Wednesday October 7th Midnight. Each entry
will earn you a ticket in the random draw, to win one of three prizes.

Come and join in the fun!!  

Also shoud mention There is 20% off all stamps ATM too.....come by and check it out....

Pincushion

I am trying to take pictures each time I do something, or make something, just so I can add details here.  Maybe someone can get a prompt or an idea of something to create, from something I have made, which was probably prompted by something I had seen somewhere too.  Pass it on I say!

My pincushion........
My old one was one I made while at college.  Dare I say....quite a few years ago.  It was time!

I had a cute vintage looking eggcup, and I decided to use this as my base.  I got the idea from someone i had seen make a pin cushion from a little white square ceramic condiment bowl.  I had nothing like that.....but I did have a few egg cups......
You will need fabric, cotton is perfect and pins and needles slide beautifully in and out with out catching.
Good fabric scissors, a threaded needle, a glue gun ( plug in to heat up now)  You could just use craft glue, but it will take a while to dry. Polyester stuffing, and Pins and needles

Cut a circle from fabric....I guessed how big.  In the end it could have been a little larger.  I was after a toadstool type of look....but never got it!

Thread a needle and baste stitch with double thread ( to prevent
breakage) right around the edge of the entire circle so you can gather
it (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in from the edge)

Gather it enough to be able to stuff.....

and stuff with polyester stuffing....or what ever stuffing you have......
Stitch tightly shut and tie off.  Make sure your hot glue gun is heating up

Prepare your base, by adding some stuffing, and glue in a smaller piece of the same fabric over the top. press down around the sides to make sure the glue has adhered well.  Put glue all over this mound inside the egg cup, and just around the inside of the eggcup 'lip' and press your pincushion top into it.  Hold for a few seconds to make sure it has set nicely.

Add all your pins, needles, and a couple of safely pins to be prepared for anything!

And it is done.  A fun quick and very simple project......and it is awfully pretty sitting next to my machine as I sew!

New Challenges up at Scrapz.Biz....

The ladies who design for Heike are one talented group of people.  This weeks challenges, (found here) like the ones before are really inspiring.  There are four challenges running each week simultaneously, you get to choose what you would like to create.  You can download the tutorials of the projects, to keep for later, or just go on a creating frenzy and take advantage of someone else giving you some great ideas and inspiration to create something great.  There is always a Sketch, a Colour Combination, a Card and an Off the page project to do, so what ever you feel like creating, there is an idea for you to get you going.  You can then upload it into the members gallery of which ever challenge you took part in and be in the running to win a voucher to use next time you shop.  Well worth your while.  That does not mention all the lovely feedback people are so forthcoming with, which makes you feel great about your accomplishment! 
Here is mine for this week.....The theme this month is spring, thus the flower frenzy!
The detailed instructions and the flower template can be found Here.

I am in love with this garland satin leaf ribbon.......I could use an entire spool I think!  See it here (scroll down to find it)  If you have some time, head over and joing in the fun.....creating something along the way!

Giving Back.....

I have been blog surfing lately.....A LOT.  But not within the scrapping world.....just a little out side of it.  Still crafting of course, but the amount of stuff I have come across having a week of being a little under the weather, and with the motivation of wanting to sew my kids some clothes, and costumes for their book week parade at school.... is phenomenal.  I have learnt so much from people not wishing to make money out of everything they create (don't get me wrong, that is ok too, I admire people who are able to turn crafting into money)  But I so appreciate those people who do what I am doing, mum's wanting to use their skills to benefit their family, with the added benefit of thoroughly enjoying the process.  I have learnt how to draft my own patterns, and I have made several things for my DD.  I have decided I would really like to offer things that I have found out, and some projects I have created, here on my blog.  If it teaches just one or two, something that I was taught a long the way, then I have accomplished what I set out to.  I am a teacher.  I no longer teach in a school, but I think I have an inground desire, that knowledge should be shared.  So with that thought in mind  I will set off to load photos and examples here and there, to add a little to the pool of creativity, that this world wide web offers.  Should you find yourself here....I hope you have seen something you would like to give a try.  I am not an expert in ANY way, but I have worked out I can get results from just trying things out, and learning from others.  I am creative....I just don't look at my finished things too critically!!!!!

Please note, that I will attempt to acknowledge anyone whom I have gleaned information and ideas from.  I am a strong believer people should receive the recognition they deserve from creating something and being kind enough to share what they have learnt, but I have seen soooooo many things, and I don't always recall where I saw something.  Just know that almost every idea comes from someone else first....I might alter it to suit my needs, or change something about it in some way, but ideas are always inspired from somewhere or someone in someway.

It's a go......

Scrapz.Biz opened today.  It's an amazing new online store, and I am Lucky enough to be starting on their Design Team right from the get go!  It is owned by the Lovely Heike Brennan, and is also a bricks and mortar store based in Toowoomba....We can't all get to visit that....so we are very lucky so much time and effort has gone into making the store chocka-block full of new products, motivating challenges and inspiring competitions!

Have a look here

There are many goodies instore, and there are some fabulous competitions and challenges each week, with great prizes and givaways.

sign up for the newsletter and get informed of all the new stuff in store (Heike has great taste, and there is lots more expected soon straight from CHA!) find out more about the weekly and monthly challenges and the competitions that are running.

Go visit the forum too,  there are already some lovely ladies frequenting, chatting and socialising.  Look forward to seeing you there!

I am off to go check what's on!

Hi All....
Wow, August is here already, well almost!  That makes just a few months until Christmas!  My Goodness....Should start on the Christmas lists and gift/card ideas, all the goodies that go hand in hand with Christmas, but need a little time to organise....maybe I am getting ahead of myeslf, just a little, but usually I am deciding to do some major creation just a few days before and find myself majorly stressed and staying up late to finish, Not good!

I have done a couple of LO's for Color Combo's Galore #128 AND #129

#128 Pallette

 
This is slightly toned down a little, all those colours are in the print of the 'patchwork' paper, but in small amounts.  The combo did freak me out slightly...The colours were so bright, but I did it in my style.....make the colour you like the least..... least featured!!!  They are still all there, just in small amounts! 
I hand made the book page roses and wired them onto a wire stem....then just added the tiny Prima roses in at the bottom.  The centres of the roses also have a little Prima stamen that the trimmed pages are wrapped around too, and a couple of leaves taken from a cheap bouquet.  I just cut the petal shapes by hand into rough little 'oval' shapes cut in halves, then just wrapped and scrunched around the previous one with a dob of good glue.  Not too tricky.

and #129

 

Loved this colour Scheme.  It came together so easily!
I have just completed the next one, which is my pallette,  But it has not been revealed yet!  Next Monday I hear....will probably be a little later than that, but it is a challenge....so I picked challenging colours.  I thought they were very pretty and I enjoyed them,  I would have liked more paper to choose from though!  My stash did not hold much in the colours I needed!  I guess if nothing else these challenges let you know where you have holes in your stash!  As well as using up papers that may have been sitting for ages, and you would not usually go to!

Ok...best get cracking on the next round of things I have due!  Will share as I can!
Hope you are having a good week!

A few more to share......

CCG #127.....

  

Such soft pretty colours, I stitched torn strips of organza to white cardstock, then made some folded roses with the same torn strips.  I made these years ago ( and LOTS of them) for my wedding.  They turned out really beautiful as pew decorations in the church, They were out of heavy satin ribbon, I am still using them on the odd 'special' gift atop of the wrapping ribbon.

Teeny Prima flowers, Heidi Swapp paper and K&Co 'Amy Butler' butterfly die cuts with Kaiser Pearls and of course Thickers.

 

CCG #126

I sprayed the background with Glimmer mist in two colours ( a pale pink and a green) then traced around various droplets with a fine black pen.  It made for an interesting finish.  Leaves are just hand cut out then designs stitched into them with 3 strands of embroidery thread.  My sister drew a series of trees in her little inspiration book, that she had seen somewhere in her travels, have no idea where, but I thought some similar would be cute, sitting on top of the uneven scallops.  I Just free hand cut them, out of various patterned papers.

That's it on the creative front.....I have been spending my time this week, cleaning out cupboards and under the stairwell downstairs, things that have been in place for 6 years, since we moved in......What a job.  Apart from that our household has been blessed with yet another sickness...or mix of!  I have a headcold, DS managed to bring home some sort of gastro bug from school.  So far DD and DH are fine.....touch wood!

TFL x

Be back soon!

I am in Love......

with this .  My new toy!  A brother Innovis 900D.  An embroidery sewing machine.

I have been playing like crazy!

Mostly things for Mykenzie....so little, relatively quick....and there is room for 'pretty'.

 An altered skirt. 

Made from fabric which was once a curtain, (from my stash!)

Pyjamas for Madam.....note the embroidered butterfly on the shirt!  Pretty, pretty!!!

I made a pair for Denver too, but they are already in the wash.  They have skull and crossbones, so absolutely had to be worn the minute they were sewn.....(skulls....Not so pretty!)

These turned out really well, they have an elasticised back, with faux pocket.  Very cute!

And the floral embroidery....yep...pretty!

I also made her a black pair very similar, with out the embroidery.  I have been making my own patterns, (or slopers) to be the base of any pants pattern, so small alterations can be made to the one pattern.

Some tops are next!

The last couple of Colour combo's....... (Colour combos galore)

The pallette.....#123

 

 

  

The pallette....#124

 

 

All good fun!

Ok....We have colds in this house at ATM....(not swine flu.....despite John travelling to Canada)

I shall go and have a coughing fit elsewhere!

Here we go again.....

We are on our own again for a fortnight.  DH is on a business trip again.  It happens at least once a year, for the longer trips....and I HATE it!  But we will survive!  Even if it is with just a shred of sanity left we always make it.  Both kids have got something 'on' this time.  Denver has school and Mazzie for the first time has kindy, so this will break the monotony a little I guess.  The start is always hard....I have to get into the 'mode' which takes a couple of days....This time has been the worst for me.  I have been anticipating for a week before.  To date...these trips have always brought some sort of crisis I have had to deal with on my own... My back went one trip, and I could not walk let alone lift a crying baby out of her cot.  My parents had to make an emergency trip down and Mum had to stay for a week until I could walk upright again.  Another time Denver got croup really badly and I had to make a trip to Accident and Emergency at 2 am...ewww.  I don't gererally go out in the middle of the night with two small children.  Another trip, the last one actually, and another emergency, I found my beloved old boy (dog) down a ditch under the deck and unable to walk, so I had to carry/drag a HUGE dog up the ramp to the the back door and pay hundreds to get a vet out, then another couple to get him put to sleep.  That would normally have been DH's job.....It was quite hideous, and extremely unfortunate that it had to happen when John was away.....Then mixed with the emotional drain of having children who don't understand and 'lose' it when their dad is away....Denver in particular has struggled majorly with this since he was very little.  It is heartbreaking.....and immensly difficult, as he gets very frustrated and has quite a little temper, and challenges my every instruction.  He is a little older this time and hopefully I can talk with him about how he is feeling a bit more this time.....It started last night already....he lost the plot and there was yelling and screaming and gnashing of teeth before we finally calmed him a little long enough for him to sprout "I hate this...why does Daddy have to go...this is gonna be the worst two weeks in the world" .....(Said complete with furrowed brow and stamping of foot...)  Poor kid.  Mazzie cried inconsolably for an hour one time J was away, after speaking with Daddy on the phone and would not let me hang the receiver up...Like I said....heartbreaking!  Anyway.....he left just a while ago....so it is finally underway....I can stop anticipating....and just do it....

So this is my last Color Combos challenge.  #121

  

Pretty huh?...so this was mine....

 

It was nice actually, because I was running late, and racing against the clock to get it in on time, I did this LO from start to finish...in just a few hours.  Rare for me!  Usually there are so many little distractions, that it sits for a while and I add or take every time I walk past!   The next one is due Sunday....so even though DH is away.....on Mothers day.....I will scrap..... and again start AND finish a LO to make the deadline of 5pm.....cause I have left it late again!!!!

Well....that about covers the way it is today.....Be back soon!

A few weeks worth......

OK......Creative stuff first!!!!

Colour combo # 116 for Colorcombos Galore

  #117

#119

 

#120

 

After googling "making your own flowers" and seeing several examples online of a japanese form of flower making with fabric....which I tried with paper ( not used on this page though- but very cute....I will share that later) I made the flowers here, (with exception to the centre darker pink ones, and the leaves.....they were a cheap shop bouquet I pulled apart) 

I made the tiny roses from toilet paper ( LOL)Well -it was nice and soft and fibrous, and the tissues were in the car!!!  I used a quilling tool for those and the small yellow flowers.

The large pink ones....were cut out of a scallop punch and trimmed into flowers with a few well placed snips with scissors,  I made the stamens by balling up toilet paper on the end of the off cut wire from some bought craft flowers and coating with white glue, The tiny flowers are a tiny flower puch and some of thise afore mentioned snips with scissors....with a pearl in the centre....They look very similar to the tiny flowers you can buy....it is amazing what you can glean from the net, and get ideas from

And yesterdays effort......I am quite happy with how this turned out!

 

I cut out letters from Chipboard, painted them brown, covered them with dimensional fluid, wrote 'Quin' on the wall and glued my letters on top.  Worked quite well.

OK.....I think that is about it for the moment....I have some cleaning to do before I get creative again!  I am cleaning out my dining room/craft/scrapbooking cupboards!!  Huge job, and the dining table is covered!!!!  I conveniently left that out of the above photo!!!  Ok....here i am going.....really....now..... Maybe a coffee first though?

Finally....she's here!

I have 'owned' her since she was 3 weeks old, but she is now old enough to come live with us, and she is delightful.  This is Holly.

And it is just as hard to get good a photo of her as it is to get good ones of the kids!

Oskar thinks she is great....but usually waits till she has turned her back before attacking in stealth mode!

and then planning the next attack.....

It's quite funny to watch.  Holly doesn't pay him much attention.  Perfect for Oskar.  Maximum attack, no consequences......yet!

Yesterday's effort!

My Mum is down for the week....so we are scrapping.  John took the kids to School and Kindy for me....leaving me with the entire day free for creating!!!  Bliss!

Mykenzie affectionately refers to Kindy as "Kindy-garden"  It's so much fun there...it must be like a garden!

I enjoyed making these little guys.  I stamped the paper first using a variety of background stamps and pink ink, then pieced the little birds together.  Black rhinestones brought them to life.

OK....There is a new challenge up on the Color Combo's Blog .......here I go  (again!!!LOL)

Wednesday...

I have had a bit of a creative 'stint'.  I entered a DT competition, but only made the short list....so these are my entries.  I used spellbinders scallop circle dies to make the flower.  The backing piece and the scrunched centre of the flower is actually cut from aloevera tissues.

 

And one I did a while ago, but never posted! 

well...off I go again.....the end of another day, start again tomorrow!