Some Random Creations

Well I've been having a bit of a tidy up in my craft room and as I was getting organized I found some things that I've had tucked away and thought you might want to take a look. So here's some random creations for you to peek at...


I was asked to teach a little something at our church's Mums & Bubs group, so I put this 6x6 layout together. The mums had the option of either using it as an album page or for those that didn't have 6x6 albums they mounted it onto chipboard and either stuck magnets behind it for the fridge or punched holes in the top and threaded string through to hang as a picture. Gotta love quick & easy!!

Ok, this one's an oldie, but in my opinion a goodie! Just look at how adorable Jordy was when she was little ... she was just so cute!! I absolutely love this photo of her, I've scrapped it so many times in so many ways.

This is a Blessings Book that I made for Mikayla last year. I got quite ill at one stage last year and from that point she became really insecure and started struggling with school and friends and would cry when it was time to go to school and wouldn't want to leave me. It was a horrible time for both of us and absolutely heartbreaking for me. Her lovely teacher suggested that we get her a little book that we could all write positive things in to encourage her. But of course I couldn't just leave it at a plain note book could I???




Unfortunately, these aren't the most brilliant photos, I kept getting reflections in the glass but you get the idea. These were some window frames that I had a play with with the intention of selling at the markets, but I just don't know that I can part with them! I think they'll either find their way onto my walls or become gifts for people who I know will appreciate them. Does anyone else find there are some things you just can't part with?

Thanks for dropping in and have a fabulous easter!

Off the Page in a Big Way!

I haven't been doing much lately, or should I say, I haven't been doing much creating lately! (plenty of other not so fun things - likely swapping the boys bedrooms ... what was I thinking???) So I thought I'd show you something that I created a while back. Those of you who know me, know that I absolutely love to create off-the-page things. This canvas was one of quite a few pieces that I made for our church's art exhibition last year. This was actually one of the pieces that didn't sell so I was contemplating other places I could take it to sell but decided to hang it on our lounge room wall in the meantime to keep it safe. I put it up and straight away my hubby said "NO don't sell it! It looks perfect in our house!" and I have to agree with him! So I finally have a piece of work that I've created and kept just for us!! So here is my giant canvas with one of my favourite quotes...

And here's another picture that shows how big it is in comparison to our furniture...you need the full effect!

I painted the canvas with a neutral colour and then inked around the edges using my Basic Black ink pad. The Live, Laugh and Love words are Kaiser giant monograms painted around the edges and covered in scrapbboking papers (Basicgrey - Scarlett's Letter). The words fully, often and deeply I cut out with my cricut using the "Opposites Attract" cartridge. The flourishes were also done with the cricut.

Photo Fridge Magnets

Another quick post in between running children to various places, unpacking groceries and attempting housework (you can see why I've opted for a post!!)

I made this little magnetic photo frame as a birthday pressie for one of the little girls I look after (I actually made another one for the other little princess as their birthdays are two days apart).
I cut an A4 magnetic sheet in half to give me two A5's. I then cut out the centre leaving a 3.5cm frame all around. I cut it all with my Fiskars paper trimmer but put a blunt blade back in so I didn't wreck a good one (I save most of my "blunt" blades for heavy duty things like this, chipboard, transparencies, etc.) The magnetic sheeting already has adhesive on it, so I just peeled back the cover and stuck the paper onto it ... very easy!! Then the fun part was adding all the embellishments and personalising it, all with bits and pieces from my stash - another economical pressie that I think looks really sweet. Of course it's going to look so much better with a photo of the newly turned 2 year old in it - Happy 2nd Birthday Emily & Chloe! xx

Getting Organised!

On Friday my Hubby and boys went off to the cricket in Sydney with some friends for some "boy" time, so that night after I tucked the girls into bed (after a lovely "girly" day followed by a really nutritious meal of crepes with suar & lemon juice and reading a few chapters from Mikayla's fairy book) I locked myself into my playroom for some guilt-free scrapbooking :)

I've had these clipboards sitting on a shelf for ages waiting for me to spruce them up. My idea was to make one for each of the kids to hold their job charts. So, with back-to-school being just around the corner and a serious need for some organisation in our house I set to work making up some job charts as well. I found this fabulous site where you can make personalised job charts for kids. You can take a look at it HERE.





I covered some pencils with matching paper and attatched them to the clipboards so there's always a pencil at the ready and no room for excuses!! So now we're ready to go, only thing is I think it's going to be a shame to cover these up, LOL!

Which one is your favourite???

Hi everyone. Well here I am once again apologising for my lack of posting, but I'm sure you'll all understand why with this crazy time of the year - I know that everyone is in the same boat! So quickly now for your enjoyment I present to you my monograms made for some stamping friends of mine - "The Crafty Tarts". We enjoyed a lovely dinner together last night at the Turkish Grill (my absolute favourite) and exchanged gifts. It was a great night. So without further ado...

V is for Vivien

I used Fall Floweres DSP and Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon and then embellished with some flowers punched from Whisper White and sponged with Soft Sky ink and finished off with
silver brads.

T is for Tania

This one uses the Apple Cider DSP and "One of a Kind" stamp set from
the last mini catalogue - so sad it's gone :(
I stamped the flower with Chocolate Chip ink and coloured it with a blender pen and Really Rust and River Rock ink pads. I then used Crystal Effects and finished off with a Really Rust button and some Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched Ribbon.

D is for Deb

Of all the papers Stampin' Up has released I think this would have to be my all time favourite! Sadly my stash is slowly drying up. It looks fabulous used with the "Wild Rose" stamp set which thankfully is still available! The rose image was stamped with the old Cranberry Crisp and Mellow Moss for the leaves. I also use some Mellow Moss 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and highlighted the rose with some Dazzling Diamonds.

C is for Cydney


I've used papers from the Spring Fling DSP. The stamped image is from an old sale-a-bration set "Delight in Life". I've stamped the large flower with Pretty in Pink and then coloured it with Pretty in Pink ink and a blender pen. The smaller flower I've done the same but with So Saffron ink and placed a So Saffron brad in the centre. I've curled some really fine strips of Sage Shadow card around a pencil and then stuck them down behind the flower and then finished off with a dusting of Dazzling Diamonds.

C is for Coral


It's always fun playing with new things - new papers and a new stamp set. The paper is Ginger Blossom DSP and the stamp is from the set "Embrace Life" both available from the new mini catalogue. I've stamped the flower image with Groovy Guava ink and once again coloured with a blender pen and Groovy Guava ink. I've looped some River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon behind the flower and placed a Ruby Red brad in its centre as well as a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to the stamens - do you think I just might like Dazzling Diamonds???

And last, but not least ... B is for Bernadette


This one is probably my favourite! I just love anything that has that shabby chic look. The paper is Afternoon Tea DSP and the stamp is from the "Live your Dream" set also from the new mini catalogue. I've stamped the flower image with Groovy Guava and Mellow Moss and added some Crystal Effects and ... yep you guessed it ... Dazzling Diamonds!! The bow uses Groovy Gauava Double-Stiched Ribbon.

So which one do you like best?

New Goodies & Time for a Play...

I've just managed to get a few moments to myself (thanks to an overcast day and a dvd for the kiddos) and hide away in my room to have a play with some new goodies. As soon as I saw this little bookmark I thought it was such a cute idea and would just be the finishing touch to a book gift this christmas. It was so quick and easy and thanks to Stampin' Up's gorgeous coordinating papers, inks and stamps it really took the guess work out of matching. I found the instructions for this on the Kaisercraft website which you can get HERE.

I'm thinking I'll be making me a few more of these!!

Post-It Note Holder

It's been a crazy, busy week but I've finally made it back to the computer. I've just had the most fabulous weekend away scrapping with lots of other women. It was so fun and so great to escape - no kids, no cooking, no doing dishes, no cleaning ... just creative bliss!! But you always have to come back to reality and it tends to hurt a little when you do. I've had appointment after appointment after appointment this week and the sad thing is it's only Wednesday! Oh well, I know that it's just one of those weeks that I have to hold on and ride it through - I'm sure you all relate! So now here's a really quick and easy little project that is so simple to make. There's actually no stamping used on this one, just patterned papers, punches and a couple of brads. I was thinking of making up a few more for teacher's christmas prestents and those "secret santas" that we all get a bit lost with. So here it is ... a Post-It Note Holder.

It ties shut at the front with a piece of ribbon.

The top has a little pocket for you to slide a pen into so there's always one on hand.

And this is what it looks like inside ... pretty cool huh?

I worked from a tutorial that i found HERE and then played around with the measurements so that it would fit a larger Post-It pad and a mechanical pencil.

Materials Used:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, Tempting Turquoise
Paper: East Coast Prep Designer Series
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, More Mustard Brads, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon