Merry Christmas!!!

Just wanting to wish everyone a very happy, safe and joyful Christmas this year. Please take care on the roads if you are driving anywhere.

We are having Christmas here with my Dad and brother. Will visit OH's family in the morning and come back home for lunch.

I'd like to thank everyone who visits my blog and all the wonderful comments on my work. Thanks so much.

Be Merry Again!

I've so enjoyed making these Christmas cards. Here are two more that I finished a few weeks ago. For the first card I cuttlebug embossed the Basic Grey pink background with my new snowflake flolder. I made a Christmas tree using punches like Francie did. I think it looks fabulous. The star at the top of the tree is an acrylic embellishment out of my stash as is the lace and bling. Stamps are by Papermania and the papers are My Minds Eye Be Merry and Basic Grey.

The second card uses Nesties for behind the Christmas trees which have been cut out of the Be Merry paper by My Minds Eye. I cuttlebug embossed the pink layer with another of my new embossing folders from the UK. Stamps are by Papermania with Stampin' Up punches used for the greeting. Lace and bling from my stash.

Today I received some gorgeous crystals in the mail so hope to get some more of these cards made using them.
Jennifer requested that I do a tutorial on making bows. Well all I use is the Bow Easy and sometimes the rabbit ears technique. I'm not allowed to put the link on here where I purchased my Bow Easy but if you email me, larleigh@bigpond.com, I'll be more than happy to send you the link to where I purchased mine from and also on that same website is a fabulous tutorial on how to use the Bow Easy.

This last week has been spent in non crafting activities for the most part. CWA is finished for the year, the crafting groups I go to have finished up for Christmas and Sunday afternoon was spent with 4 other girls that I went to Primary School with. We have an annual get together at this time of the year.
The fine tuning of my craft room clean up is nearly finished.
Thanks for the many wonderful comments on my blog, I truly appreciate each and every one of them.

Christmas Past

Yep, more Christmas cards. I actually love making Christmas cards and always, always leave it to the last minute to do them. Every year I'm determined not to do that but it always happens.
Yesterday (Monday) was spent with a friend of mine who came down to help me tidy my craft room. I had moved all my sewing and cross stitch items into the spare room cupboards and so had that part of the work done. Thank goodness. It took the whole day but I can now see the floor (because all the stash is in the cupboards now), have tidy and neat shelves and I know where things are.

On Friday and Saturday I managed to make these cards while out crafting both days. lol
All four have been 'cased' from a lady called Debbie Olson, a very clever lady who did a series of Graphic 45 cards, part one and part two. I would wholeheartedly like to thank her for making these cards because I just love them. I did try to make them a little different but that was difficult because I loved the originals so much.
The photos have picked up the light on the Swarovski Rhinestones that I used, well I hope so anyway. My Bow Easy was used and the ribbon used on the bottom cards is gorgeous silk ribbon. I can't put the link to the silk ribbon on here but I can email it to you.
Hope you like these cards çause I have more of them to do yet. lol
Thanks for looking and all your wonderful comments that I know take time to leave. Very much appreciated.

Boxes, boxes!!

I saw a box that Beate created while browsing her blog. Well it seemed just right for the Christmas gifts I make for my girlfriends and for cent sale prizes. Sorry about the lousy photo, in a hurry as usual. In total I think I made 48 of these so I am definitely over boxes. 24 of them I filled with cellaphane bags of Christmas lollies and the others were filled with good quality mini chocs, like flake, cherry ripe etc. I used my big Bow Easy to make the triple loop bows and some lovely organza ribbon that I bought on sale at Anne's when she was closing down. The tops of most of the boxes is Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses 6 x 6 paper pad and the other 12 were done with some dsp that I had around. All the bottoms I matched up SU plain c/s in the A4 size.

I think that most of my friends appreciated the work that went into these, hope so anyway.
At the moment, I'm decluttering my house and trying to make Christmas cards at the same time. Not easy, especially when my craft room is part of the decluttering lol. My OH is on holiday at the moment, so I'm making use of that.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Chocolate and Pink

Another birthday card, this time my card for Chris. She loves lace and bears so I thought these papers from Basic Grey teamed with pearls, pink velvet, roses and lace would do nicely.
She loved it. I cased a card I found on one of the blogs I look at, changing papers, colours embellishmets and picture, unfortunately I can't read the watermark on it. I'll have to make sure I print the pics for my idea book at a bigger size.
I thank the original maker of this card, fabulously easy to put together.

Another hot day, yesterday was 39C and today isn't much better. The fog at 5.30 this morning was so thick I couldn't see more than a metre or so in front of the car.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Time Passes, Friendship Stays.....

This is a birthday card for one of the girls in our craft group that meets at Jan's place every month. There's 8 of us altogether and it's a fabulous little group. We celebrate each other's birthdays and this is the card Jan asked me to make for Chris's birthday.

It's the same sketch as my last sympathy card but I wanted to use this curvy verse and felt the book theme went really well with it. The roses and pearl spray with the lace and sprinkles just finished it off. I gave it to Jan last week and she absolutely loved it, so much so, that I have to make another one in burgundy tones for someone else in our group.

Very hot day here and I'm so very thankful that we have the house airconditioned because I wouldn't be able to craft at all otherwise.
Thanks so very much for visiting my blog and the lovely comments I receive.
Have a wonderful day everyone.

Nook and Pantry Birthday

I made this card for a friend of mine. She's having a birthday. The sketch is one that I found on one of the many blogs I look at but unfortunately I neglected to put on a name when I printed it out. The sketch does say © by Nadine. If anyone knows where I found it, please let me know.
A lovely sketch to follow and the card came together really well. The roses have kindyglitz on them as does the pattycake icing.
Thanks for visiting and hope you have a wonderful day.

Book Label Sympathy Card

Yes, another sympathy card. I wanted a book effect using my nestabilities with a verse on the top layer. I'm really happy with how this card came out. Beautiful white ribbon that I found in a florist shop locally, a lattice punch and silver pearls to finish.
Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has had a wonderful day.

Pink and Blue Christmas

A couple more of the Christmas cards using my lovely papers. I'm totally happy with my Joy card but the other one is a bit iffy. I tried Jak Heath's technique of using the Diamond Dust over acetate snowflakes. Unfortunately mine are certainly not as good as Jak's. I know you can't see them very well. I had a terrible time with this card. It took ages and the snowflakes at one stage were going in the bin. Anyway, they are there now and I know I need more practice at them. If you want to try these, be careful as the acetate isn't easy to punch.
The sketch I used for this card is from the Inspirational Card Sketches blog # 43.
I love my lace and ric rac but had to put a piece of blue underneath to make that feature stand out. The wreath has been silver embossed with little bling placed over the stars. I can't put a link to where I purchased the lace and ribbon I used on this card but it was from the UK and the US.

The Joy card sketch is a version from one of Francie's cards that she was making on the stamping weekend. This card came together really easily compared to the other one. The little pot the Christmas tree is in, is just punched from the border of the MME papers. I thought it a perfect way to recycle the bit I would normally throw away. I managed to make the Christmas Tree using Francie's idea with a punch.
Thanks for looking and once again, a big thank you to all who take the time to comment on my blog.

First Day!!

This is a picture of my son dressed for his first day at Eagle Boys Pizza in Sarina. I had a hard time even getting a half decent picture of him çause "Oh Mum, hurry up" and such like.
Mind you, he didn't come home looking as pristine as he looks here. Dough over his shoes, shirt and trousers. Oh well, I'd be worred if he came home clean!! lol Actually it hit me yesterday seeing him in his first dress trousers, just how old he is now, nearly 16 1/2. I thought he looked pretty good, despite the not so good photo.

Patterned Pines

Another Christmas card using my pretty papers, bling, lace and a charm. This one was made on Wednesday when I had a cardmaking session with a couple of girlfriends.
Thanks for looking and for the fabulous comments I receive.

Shimmer wedding

I was asked to make a wedding card yesterday morning to be ready for when I went to work at 4.30am this morning (Friday). Well I was out all day Thursday so could only do it after I got home. By the time I worked out what I was doing and how I was going to do it, the card took 2 hours to make. I know, ridiculous, but I'm super happy with it and I think the lady will be too.
The lace has been in my stash for a couple of months and I've been so wanting to use it. It's beautiful. I took a leaf out of Silke Ledlow's book and scored the card with silver pearls as embellishment.
Do you like it?
Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day.

Happy Snowmen

On the stamping weekend, we met a girl called Francie who was making absolutely wonderful cards using these papers. Well I managed to find some and these cards are the results of me casing one of Francie's cards. I haven't any of the crystals Francie was using so made do with what I had (yep, I know, shock horror, "made do with what I had") lol
Hope you like them and the biggest thank you to Francie for sharing her inspiration.

Good Cheer

I love this set that is in the current SU Mini catalogue. At stamp camp, Nela had it with her, so she very kindly lent me the Santa and Reindeer stamp. Mmmmmm, I tried quite a few times to stamp a decent image. This was the best on them. I like the sketch, it gives you an opportunity to layer and use different papers. Gold pearls and gorgeous organza ribbon finished this card off. Actually, I'm still not certain about this card, perhaps I should have added a bit of colour to the image but didn't want to take away from the vintage look too much. Anyway, it's done now.
Thanks for looking at my blog and the many comments I receive, I love them all.
Hoping to fill some card orders today and play with a new stamp, amongst other things, that I received in the mail on Friday. lol
Sorry about the crooked photo. Too much of a hurry.

Thoughts and Prayers

A big thank you to Cheryl for the idea of using these colours and papers for a sympathy card.
The ribbon and silver pearls idea I saw on Silke Ledlow's blog. I found a place in Australia that sells similiar pearls that Silke uses and bought some. I can't put the link on here but if you would like to know where to purchase them, please email me. My bow is something I'm very proud of...courtesy of a Bow-Easy.
Another card that once I got the main image done, came together easily. This card was ordered by a friend of mine and I think she'll be happy with it.

On another note, we've had RAIN!!! Very exciting. OH reckons maybe 50 to 75 mls (2 - 3 inches) which is just fabulous. It's rained practically all day here and it's just wonderful to see.
Happy Monday everyone.

More Poinsettias

Another couple of creations from the Stamping Weekend. I used a new punch that I purchased in Brisbane while I was there. Very nice. The ribbon is a gorgeous organza that makes beautiful bows. Love those papers. lol The greeting is from the set Christmas Classics. I mention it because it is slightly curved and fitted on to my image nicely. Gold pearls in the corners.
We've had a little bit of rain so that is the best news I can give you at the moment and it's still overcast and looking very promising. The crushing is nearly finished here in the Plane Creek Mill area so it's all over for another year. Very early though.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Oops... Tails of an Artist

Well I've had this image coloured for some time and it was meant to be made into a card for someone's birthday a few weeks ago. It is now a belated birthday card.
Yes, I know there is a bit of white left on the image but I wasn't prepared to put a greeting there çause I felt it would take away from the humour of the image, which is one that gives me quite a laugh. I was even laughing as I was colouring it. lol I used Mojo Monday Week 111 sketch. The pink rose is from my new stash bought in Brisbane and the rest was already in my stash.
Thanks for looking and I'll have more of my Stamping Weekend cards to show next time, unless of course, I manage to make something else.

Stamping Weekend!!

Well what can I say? We had a fabulous time on the weekend, Kerry and I. There were 6 of us in the one unit, Jane, Nela, Jean, Venessa, Kerry and I, and we were all then together at the one table to craft. Heaps of laughs, creating and just plain enjoying ourselves. You've only got to look at Kim's photos to see the mess we had in the room but soooo much creating and soooo many fantastic ideas were floating around.

Jane had made special gifts for us, thermo mugs, each one had our names printed on different dsp and then put inside the lining of the mug. How cool was that? So here we are, all toting our special mugs. Inside each, was a survival kit, maltesers, mars bar, coffee, bandaid, aspro, and most of all, ear plugs. I had sets for everyone and there were sets in the rooms, plus Jane's gift, we had them coming out our ears. pmsl Pun intended.

Before we even got to the camp, Jane and Petronela took us to a Scrapbook shop and we went shopping!! Fantastic. Then onto Woollies for snacks for the weekend and we were set.

Thanks Jane and Nela.

I found it very inspiring to see SU stamp sets, that usually are teamed with the same papers, same colours, same card sketches, which I find boring, used in different and innovative ways.

Kim's challenges, make and takes, gifts and lucky door prizes were excellent. A huge amount of work was put into these. Thanks Kim. Thanks to all the girls who attended who all made it into the fabulous weekend it was. Looking forward to next year. Woo Hoo.

One photo of our table crafting, with Venessa hiding. lol

Here are two of my cards that I managed. At the beginning of the weekend, I was making two of everything. Towards the end, it was one. lol

I used the Holiday Treasures paper which I absolutely adore. Not all of it though, so when Kim suggested a swap, her big Poinsettia paper like this for the papers I don't like in the set, well I was definitely in that. Another girl Tina, also did a swap with me. I was so excited çause this paper is so gorgeous. Pink flowers are from my new stash, Joy stamp and roses from my old stash and of course, my standby, the branch punch.

This is first chance I've had of posting since I've been back. Monday was spent at a friend's place crafting, then a CWA meeting in the afternoon. Tuesday I had to work all day in the Post Office, Melbourne Cup day too. Mind you, I didn't even know what horses were running. A bit out of touch there.

I've got a few more cards to show you so will be back tomorrow with them.

Thanks for looking and all the wonderful comments I receive.

To the Extreme!

Just a quick card using Beate's weekend sketch #103 again. This is one for the boys, either a get well card or just a boy card. The papers are Kaiser and the broken arm and exclamations are stickers by Jolee. My son reckons it's a cool card so I'm happy with that.
Yes I know, there isn't any stamping!
I am going to be flat out in the next couple of days. Kerry and I are going on a Stamp Camp in Brisbane on the weekend, so hopefully lots of crafting and chatting will get done. Probably more chatting perhaps knowing me. pmsl

Another weekend sketch challenge #103 card

I cut the papers and embossed the centre piece yesterday when I started the other card for this challenge. I kept this card simpler çause I wanted to showcase the ribbon and the brad I made.
Inspiration for this card came from Beate's weekend sketch challenge as well as the card DT member, Laurie made for the challenge. Of course, my bow is not a patch on Laurie's but hey I've got to start somewhere.

I took the opportunity to use some new stash, Papermania's make your own brads. This one is using the small Antique Gold brad. I punched a bell from the dp I used, Graphic 45, put the sticky fix on first, added the punchie, then the clear dome on top. I was pretty impressed with it actually. I purchased this set at Sue and Robyn's shop in Sarina called Papercraft Central.

The ribbon is some more of my Townsville shopping spree, lol, I had a wonderful time in that shop. It's called Scrapbook Shenanigans. Great place for ribbon.

The stamp is from Stamp It and I gold embossed it on smooth cream c/s then layered with brushed gold and red, all cut out with my nesties. Gold pearls in the corner finished it off.
Thanks for the wonderful comments I have received on my cards. I so much appreciate them and love reading them all.
I'm off to finish cooking the tea.

Weekend sketch challenge #103

Here is the card I made for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I'm stoked with this card. For some reason, it didn't come together until I had added my flower arrangement in the corner.
The stamp is by Stamp It and the papers are Graphic 45 bought from Brenda. Gold pearls, flowers and ribbon are from my stash and of course my MS branch punch. Love that punch. lol Oh sorry, the rose is actually one I purchased from here, thanks Debbie P for the link.
Cardstock is a mixture of Coredinations and Bazzill.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog and hope you like my card.

Christmas Holly remake!

Here is my remade Christmas Holly card. I think it's come up heaps better this time. I've also covered the Holly in Dimensional Magic. I took away the panel under the ribbon and now looking at it, I reckon that was the problem. I know, it's not stamping, lol. Sorry. I like these sorts of cards too.
I have done a stamped card for Beate's weekend sketch challenge so I'll be back with that later.

Christmas Robins

This is another Christmas card I made using the Robins from the same sheet as the Holly. I'm very happy with it. The papers are from Papermania, ribbon from my stash and so are the flowers. Pearls are Annabelle sprinkles.

I've remade my Holly card. Feeling a lot happier with it now.
Yesterday while I was in town, I paid a visit to the doctor. For many weeks now, I've been battling the itchy eyes, runny nose and all the allergy things. He has put me on antihistamines, thank goodness, but while I was there, he suggested I have the swine flu needle. So I did that and was warned that maybe I might have fluey symptons, like headache etc. So here's hoping that doesn't happen. Haven't got the time for that sort of thing. lol

ETA - New picture of same card but I've covered the image with Dimensional Magic.