Imagine. Create. Express.

Just a happy feel good card

2012-01-28T15:44:00.010+11:00

I had intentions of making a modern, geometric card for the challenge over at Runway Inspired Challenge but it just didn't happen. A few of my closest girl friends are going through a really hard time at the moment and I want to give them cards to cheer up and make them realize what wonderful people they are. I think this is the card I am going to make a few of and give to them, who doesn't feel good with a bright and colourful rainbow?. I only had an hour to make this card and post it, gave myself the challenge to do this and I think its going to happen, I am a sucker for rainbows and so had to take part in this challenge.

For this card the rainbow and clouds is a digital image that I printed straight onto the cardstock with the sentiment. I printed the clouds again at the same size, cut out and added to the card with dimensional foam.I cut out the green hill and birds from patterned paper and drew on the flower stems and added the pink button flowers, the hot air balloon is a chipboard piece.

The Challenges I have included-

RIC #4-Runway Inspired. I was inspired by the beautiful bright rainbow and the awesome green shoes which is the colour of the cut out hill.

The cutting and trimming challenge-Moxie Fab

Anything goes in the linking party-Make it Mondays

BTW a miracle has occurred, it's stopped raining in Sydney, lets hope it stays this way :)

love love and more love

2012-01-28T02:11:00.006+11:00

Case Study inspiration photo

All you need is love, Paper Issues

I don't know if I am happy with this card but I had fun making it and so decided to post it. It's not intentional that all the cards I am making of late is to do with love. I guess I am getting ready for Valentine's day, my friends usually ask me for cards for Feb the 14th and this year they will have plenty to choose from.

For this card the main image including the sentiment, little birds and heart were computer generated. I drew on the lines with a ruler and the hugs and kisses is a rub-on. I kept the card simple as in the original inspiration photo, I only added a piece of twine to finish the card off, originally I had one more piece of twine but thought it made the card look too crowded.

Yesterday was Australia day and I have to say that it was the best Australia day I have ever had. The pop up shop that I volunteer in was nominated for a community award and as part of that we had to attend an Australia day ceremony, we didn't win but it was great being nominated, gave us all a sense of pride and achievement and I think this was especially important for my friends who started up the shop. We also got to meet a lot of the deserving winners who were of many ethnic backgrounds, it made me feel that everyone belongs in Australia and can make a go of it here. In the evening we got to watch a very enjoyable Australia day concert and finished off the evening with fireworks which were absolutely beautiful.

My Quirk-ability pop-up friends, husband and I at the Australia day ceremony

Hope everyone has a nice weekend planned, I have to do some urgent house work tomorrow, I will try and do it in the morning and go out in the afternoon, let's see what happens.

The challenges I have included-

CASE Study-#75

Paper issues-All we need is love

Anything goes in the linking party-Make it Mondays

Anything goes in the linking party-Passionately Artistic

Thanks so much for visiting and have a lovely weekend :)

I wasn't going to make a card today but I couldn't help myself

2012-01-25T00:22:00.004+11:00

I had no intentions of making a card today but after I came back from my mum's place I was blog surfing and I came across the black and white challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays and I knew I had to take part. I had purchased the black and white paper sometime ago for another black and white challenge that I didn't get the chance to enter so I am very happy that I was able to use the paper on this card. For this card I covered two chipboard birds with the black and white metallic paper and then drew on the simple stem with the heart endings, the word love is a rub-on. I might just give this card to my friend who is getting married soon, she is a minimalist kind of girl so I am sure she will appreciate this card.

Thanks everyone for putting up with my many posts this week, you all must be getting sick of seeing my work :). As I mentioned before my card making helps me stay positive and happy and that's exactly what I need at the moment.

The Challenges I have included-

CFC #36, Penguin suit-CASual Fridays

Anything goes in the linking party-Make it Mondays
All we need is love-Paper Issues
Anything goes in the linking party-Passionately Artistic

Thanks again for visiting everyone and indulging in my much needed therapy :)

Just a little bit of fun

2012-01-24T00:41:00.005+11:00

Today was one of those days that I was really missing my dad, I so wish I could have hung out with him today but I have to face it that it's not going to happen. In an effort to cheer up I made these fun cards, I put pen to paper and wrote my ideas down. The pencils in the card have been sharpened down to the size they are and the heart in two of the cards is traced from the cover of a heart shaped box. I am going to do the "c'mon baby light my fire" card with larger match sticks and see how it turns out. I have a few other ideas to use unconventional items in my cards with quirky sentiments, I will be giving them a go soon.

I have been blogging a lot lately, I am hoping to continue to do so as it keeps me positive and happy creating and I always look forward to reading everyone's comments after I have posted. Some people go to therapy, I create :) as I am sure many of my blogging friends can relate to. I have also noticed a few more followers on my blog, thanks so much for joining me on my creative journey and I hope you will be inspired with what I make and post.

The Challenges I have included-

Moxie Fab World-The around the house challenge

Make it Mondays-Anything goes linking party

Passionately Artistic-Anything goes in the linking party
Charisma Cardz-Clean and simple
Paper issues-All we need is love

Never know when an old Atlas will come in handy

2012-01-22T22:59:00.004+11:00

I just had to take part in the Moxie Fab maps challenge, the main reason being I love maps. I had been meaning to make this card for a long time but couldn't find an atlas that was cheap enough to buy and destroy. At the back of my mind I knew that there was an old school atlas somewhere in my mum's house. I was determined to find it and managed to do so this evening, it's pretty old and tattered and so I am happy that I will be able to put it to good use. I have many map projects planned now after finding my atlas that is full of colourful maps.

For this card I cut out a small section of a map and stuck it onto cardtock and punched out the small hearts, I did this to make the hearts more sturdy. The sentiment is computer generated, I don't have too many fonts on my substitute computer but I think this font goes well with the card. I stuck the hearts onto the card to form a square and then stuck one of my favourite chipboard pieces onto the cardstock with self adhesive dimensional foam.

I am so happy that I got to take part in the challenge at the very last minute :)

The Challenges I have included-

Moxie Fab World-The map to your heart challenge

Charisma Cardz-Clean and simple

Paper issues-All we need is love

hope have everyone has a great week, thanks for popping by again and I look forward to reading your comments :)

Not just a boring old square

2012-01-22T02:18:00.004+11:00

CASE study inspiration photo

hi everyone,

hope you are all having a great weekend. As I have mentioned before at the moment the Sydney city festival is going on and all I have to say is that all us Sydney siders are having an awesome time. Yesterday night my friends, sister in law and myself went to see a fantastic burlesque show in what is known as the Spiegel tent, it was such a great performance that we all thoroughly enjoyed. After the concert a dj continued to play some great music and we hung around and danced the night away, the music was just awesome. Today my pop-up friends and I had a market stall, it was lots of fun although the rain was heavy we persisted with the stall, I think we are going to do this regularly and hopefully soon we will start making some money, our stall looked awesome and all we have to do now is make a presence and get people to buy our wares, it will happen. The problem is Parramatta is known for a huge shopping centre called Westfields and everyone just go there to shop, we are hoping that one day people will become more aware of handmade and start shopping with us more instead of the generic run of the mill shops.

Anyway, this evening we were meant to go for the closing concert of the Sydney festival in Parramatta but we just too tired to go out. I instead stayed home and made this card. I was mainly inspired by the shape of the squares with the two rounded corners in the inspiration photo. At first I was going to make a more geometric card but then decided to make flowers and leaves with the shapes, I am happy with the way it turned out and will definitely be making more cards with this simple but very effective shape. I am giving my punches a good work out, it's been fun experimenting with the different shapes that can be made with a simple punch. On this card I attatched the main flower with dimensional tape and the sentiment is a rub-on and the birds have been cut out from patterned paper.

The Challenges I have included
CASE Study-#74
Punches challenge-Moxie Fab World
Anything goes linking party-Make it Mondays
Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic

CARDS-Using a square punch
Clean and simple-Charisma Cardz

I was chosen as one of the top 3 for this card at Case Study

Just two simple cards

2012-01-20T00:47:00.003+11:00

It was a real effort to make these cards but I was determined to make them. The reason why it was such a hassle was our laptop is still not working and I have had to transfer all my graphics images to another computer. I don't even know how this was all done but darling husband is in my good books for getting this done for me.

I made these single layer cards with a bird design using Tracy Ann Digital Art images. I purchased some of these images sometime ago and they are absolutely fantastic to make a quick card, we all need them now and again. Check out Tracy's Etsy shop when you get the chance, the images are so varied and beautiful. I have added chipboard birds to the card that I think lifts the card and adds some dimension, I have also printed the sentiments directly onto the cards. On the second card I printed the image on the envelope as well, I think it gives the card a nice finish.

The Challenges I have included-
One layer, birds-Less is more
Anything goes linking party-Make it Mondays
Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic

Anyway all I can say is TGIF !!!!, although its been a good week I am really looking forward to the weekend. Lots going on with the Sydney city festival and I can't wait to enjoy all the different festivities. Have a great weekend everyone :)

In the round

2012-01-18T00:22:00.007+11:00

Our lap top has stopped working, which is a huge inconvenience for me, I can do without our TV but not our main lap top, luckily I have my Ipad and netbook which will see us through until we get a new laptop, I am hoping to buy a mac but I don't think my husband will agree to it, I will try and convince him though . Because I can't print or use any of my digital stamps I had to think beyond the square to make these cards the other night. I have only used patterned paper, rub-on's, a little bit of bling and have drawn on some of the designs myself. I also wanted to use my round punch in a different way and so started experimenting with different designs. I have to admit I am really happy with the tree that I was able to put together and the scalloped bunting. In a way I am happy that my computer has broken down as its challenging me to come up with different designs I wouldn't normally try.

The challenges I have included

All three cards are for the Punches Challenge-Moxie Fab World

both "you and me" cards are also for the CFC #35 highs and lows-CAS-ual Fridays

Anything goes linking party-Make it Mondays

Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
All we need is love-Paper Issues

I have just gone and seen an awesome French/Nigerian hip hop concert as part of the Sydney city festival, too hyped to sleep at the moment, hope I will get some sleep tonight as otherwise it will be a very long and tiring day tomorrow at work :(. Hope everyone is having a great week and thanks again for visiting :)

My "You & Me" card was featured at Paper Issues

Trying a new technique is always so much fun

2012-01-14T19:44:00.007+11:00

Case Study Photo

Taking part in the Case Study challenge this week has made me try a new technique that I absolutely love. I have been wanting to try negative cutting for sometime but I am really lazy to use my cricut to cut out different shapes, sounds pathetic I know but I might start using it after I tidy up my craft room, at the moment I don't want to add to the mess. I made these cards using my large flower punch that I have at last found in my messy craft room. I punched out the flowers randomly and added the white cardstock to the card with dimensional self adhesive squares to add dimension to the card.The sentiments are rub-on's that I think go really well on these simple cards. These cards were really inexpensive to make and once I got the hang of the technique was able to whip these cards up really quickly.

The Challenges I have included-

Case Study Challenge #73-Case Study

Punches Challenge-Moxie Fab World
Anyway, I am now off to the Sydney festival which for the first time is playing a prominent part in my local suburb. I hope it stops raining as most of the activities are outside.

You never know when a font is going to come in handy

2012-01-13T00:52:00.001+11:00

I have been listening to some of my favourite 70's funk music and that's how this card was born.The design on this card has been put together with "my 70's dingbat" font. I downloaded this free font a few years ago and use it often in my creations. The main image is printed in about 350 point and I created the background stripes in open office. At first I only cut out a pair of pants for the lady and then my husband said that the image looked topless so I decided to cut her out a top as well, I don't think he was complaining LOL. I think this is a perfect girl power card and I am sure that I will be able to give it to one of my girl friends at some stage.

Today was a mixture of good and bad, I had my six monthly review at work that went really well. On a sad note I am really upset that one of the pop up shops I am selling my creations in has to close as the landlord has found a full paying tennant for the shop. It was such a lovely shop selling beautiful handmade creations, it will surely be missed, I hope they open again somewhere else at some stage but as yet there are no plans for this to happen.Also a very good friend of our family passed away in Karachi, Aunty Ruth had always been a huge inspiration in my life and I was hoping to see her once more but that was not to be, at least I was able to meet her a few years ago and have some very happy memories that will last a lifetime. I hope this is not all too depressing, just sharing my thoughts and I intend to be much more cheerier in my posts from now on.

The Challenges I have included-

Gareth Pugh Spring 2012 #3-Runway inspired challenge

Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic

Anything goes linking party-Make it Monday

Hope everyone is having a good week. I am going to the zoo with my cousins tomorrow, really looking forward to it. I should have been in bed by now as have an early start.

I just had to work with this sketch

2012-01-10T00:00:00.003+11:00

I saw this sketch the other day whilst blog surfing and just knew I had to work with it. I at first was going to use all different patterned papers but decided to try something different. I cut the print out of the digital image into panels and stuck it onto the same card stock on which the image is printed, I like the way it has turned out.

I had no intentions of making a card today but after the day I have had needed some stress release and nothing better than making a card to end the day. I am meant to be working on another project right now but couldn't get into it.

The Challenges I have included-

Design sketch #109-Skipping Stones Design
CFC #34, Chip of f the ol' block-CAS-ual Fridays
Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
Anything goes linking party-Make it Mondays

Anyway, hope everyone has had a good Monday, thanks so much for visiting.

Talking about dreams and aspirations

2012-01-09T01:20:00.002+11:00

My cousins are visiting Sydney from Singapore at the moment and we caught up today for lunch. Two of my younger cousins are waiting for their exam results and are hoping that they have got the marks they need to get into their university courses, I really hope that they have done well and get to study what they are aiming for and I hope all their dreams come true as they both truly deserve it as have worked very hard.

This card came about after our lunch time conversation, I got the idea from this weeks inspiration photo at CASE Study. I combined a few digital stamps and the grass was done on photoshop. I paper pieced one of the balloons and added a recycled ribbon and a small diamante to the little girl's hair ribbon. I love this design and have saved it to make a quick and simple card which can be easily altered.

The Challenges I have included-
CASE study challenge #72-CASE Study

I have got the biggest collection of chipboard in the world

2012-01-08T01:29:00.003+11:00

I admit to owning a lot of chipboard pieces but most of the time they are put to good use and all my chipboard pieces will be used one day, I keep telling myself that anyway to justify my collection. I made this card using one of my favourite pieces as the main focus, I just love this chipboard bicycle, I stamped the bike several different colours before deciding on the light blue.

With the help of my husband I created the background (grass, sun and sentiment) on photoshop and printed it onto textured white cardstock. I have saved the background so that I can use it again if need be, the background design can be altered very easily. The flowers have been punched out and stuck to the card with dimensional tape dots to make them stand out, I of course had to add some bling to the center of the flowers.

I had an awesome day today, ended up working in the morning and for the rest of the day hung out with my pop up friends although I was meant to go for the start of the Sydney city festival in the city. We had a working bee at the shop, I really didn't do too much except stand around and talk which was lots of fun, I did do some sweeping but that was hardly contributing to the overall collective effort, I will make up for it another time.We ended the evening by having a delicious meal at one of my favourite Malaysian restaurants, we all ate way too much. Today was one of those days that made me appreciate the value of friendship, I am truly blessed to have the friends I have.

The Challenges I have included-
CFC #34, Chip off the ol' block-CAS-ual Fridays
Anything goes linking party-Passionately artistic
Anything goes linking party-Make it monday
Anything goes-Pile it on

I am having so much fun being back on my blog, thanks so much for visiting and hope you will pop by again soon :)

Gotta get on with it

2012-01-05T00:34:00.005+11:00

hi everyone,
it's been a while since I have blogged. I have had good reason to be away for such a long time, my dad very sadly passed away on the 14th of October and I have been all over the place since that time. Although my family and I have taken it well I have still found some things hard to do. One of the last things my dad said to me was "Susan, I hope you are still creating, it's the only thing that keeps you normal". My dad was a very creative person himself and one of the main things I miss doing with him is working on different projects. I remember a Japanese lamp that we both worked on, I gave him the design and he made the frame for me with recycled wood. I will share a picture of that lamp in this post, I was lucky enough to have it published in a craft magazine, my dad was very proud of this.Btw the photos used on the lamp are from a trip that my husband and I made to Japan in 2004, can't believe its been that long since that holiday.

Anyway, I have made a simple card today to start me off on my 2012 blogging journey. Although I haven't been blogging I have been doing a lot of crafty things for the local pop up project in the suburb that I live in. I have mentioned pop up a few times in previous posts, I just love pop-up. The vellum flowers that are featured in this card are what I have been cutting out for an instillation that I am involved in for the Sydney festival. We are planning to make 2000 flowers, hopefully more for a sustainable garden where all the flowers and leaves etc will be made from recycled products such as shopping bags, packaging etc, I am very excited to be involved in this and hope it all comes together.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish every a very happy 2012, hope its a really great year for you all. This year I am planning to focus on the things that I do right instead of always being hard on myself for the things that I should be doing better, a friend of mine from pop up reminded me about the importance of this the other day and this has made me deal with this difficult time in a positive way.Also, I haven't forgotten about my giveaway but will be announcing the winner at the end of Jan as I just need some more time to organize the voucher, I hope everyone who has entered so far will be understanding about this.

The Challenges I have included-
Vellum-CARDS
Anything goes linking party-Passionately artistic
Anything goes linking party-Make it monday
Anything goes-Pile it on

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

Blogging is for sharing giveaway

2011-12-31T22:11:00.027+11:00

I just had to spotlight Rhonda for the month of August

This is the card that Rhonda shared in one of her entries. It has been made by her little two year old daughter, looks like talent runs in the family.

Rhonda has been visiting my blog for sometime now and is a regular who leaves comments that I truly appreciate. She has entered my giveaway several times and she has so much to share on her blog and on the entries she has shared in this giveaway. Make sure to check out her blog at Rhonda's place to share,you will definitely be inspired.

I will be spotlighting a favourite entry by the end of every month until this giveaway is over. Rhonda has won a small prize that I will link up in the next few days.

The spotlight entry for the month of June was from Rochelle, Two tears in my bucket

The spotlight entry for the month of July was from Leanne, LEEARTS

*********************************************

It's time for a new giveaway on my blog, this giveaway is going to be a little bit different to what I have done in the past. With previous giveaway's people entering got extra points if they became a follower on my blog, this is not the case for this giveaway as I only want people to become followers if they are genuinely interested in my work and not just to win a prize. I would like as many people to enter as possible as I think this giveaway is going to be of benefit to everyone. All you have to do is share something that will inspire fellow bloggers.

This is my list of examples

*An inspirational quote

*Details of a challenge blog where people can enter their cards etc

*A creation that you are proud off and want to share with other bloggers

*Details of an online store selling handmade goods etc

*A book or movie that you have enjoyed and feel others would benefit from

*A tutorial of something you have made

*A music CD old or new that you think others will enjoy

*ways to raise money for a charity by selling your handmade goods

*ways to stay motivated and keep creating

*ideas to decorate your craft space and storage ideas

*ways to incorporate recycling in crafting
*Details of a giveaway you may be having on your blog

This list is only meant to give you an example of what can be shared, don't feel constrained by this list and feel free to just share, you can also get ideas to share from my "Check it out" section on this blog. If you can't think of anything that others might be interested in just leave a link to your blog for everyone to check out.

Extra details

*Everyone who enters gets five chances to win on each entry. You can enter as many times as you want and I would also appreciate it if you added the giveaway badge to your blog sidebar. The overall winner will be chosen using random org
*Everyone who enters Brittani's giveaway here will get an extra five points. Just make mention that you have entered the giveaway in your comment on this post. I would really like Brittani to get 30 followers on her blog as she will then have a great prize on offer.

*Please leave links that can be accessed easily, if any problems with this email me.

*The giveaway will run from 21.06.2011 to 31.12.2011. I will announce the winner on the 01.01.2012 and the prize details will be emailed to the winner by 05.01.2012. I am running this giveaway for so long to give people plenty of time to enter.
*You don't have to enter as an individual. If for example you are a member of a design team and want to make the team you design for known just leave a comment. You could maybe use the voucher as a giveaway for a future challenge.

*The prize is A $100 voucher to spend at a store of your choice

If more than 50 people enter I will have a smaller prize to give away. Also if you are not wanting the prize for yourself I am more than happy to donate $100 to a charity of your choice, I will just have to be given clear instructions on how to do this.

I will also be spotlighting an entry towards the end of every month until the giveaway is over. For the month of August I have spotlighted Rhonda's place to share. Every featured entry winner will get to add this badge to their blog sidebar.

I really want lots of people to enter this giveaway as I know we all have something interesting and inspirational to share. I would also encourage everyone to check out each others links as this is the main reason I have organized this, we can all learn from each other in everything we do.

Some more mini cards that I nearly didn't post

2011-09-21T23:28:00.001+10:00

I am on a roll with making mini cards. I recently purchased this digital tree stamp and will include the link soon, too lazy to do so now, some great and inexpensive images on this etsy site that I am sure all of you will go crazy over. These cards have the same sentiments as the other mini cards that I made, I will be making small envelopes for these cards as all my envelopes are way too big for these cards that I have made. I kept these cards simple adding just a small stamped chipboard bird on each card, don't think this set needs much else.

The Challenges I have included-

Mini cards-CAS-ual Fridays

Anything goes in the link party-Make it Monday

Anything goes in the link party-Passionately artistic

Anything goes-Crafty Ribbons Challenge

Anything goes-Creatalicious Challenges

No patterned paper-Wee Memories

Anyway, tomorrow is my Birthday and I managed to change my RDO to have the day off. I am looking forward to spending my birthday with family and friends.

On a roll with mini cards

2011-09-19T21:25:00.003+10:00

I have been really slack with my blog of late but I intend to make up for this soon. Although I haven't been blogging I have been busy making things to sell at my market stall and Pop Up Parramatta which is a really exciting artistic venture that has been set up in my local area. The way Pop Up works is that empty shop spaces are rented out to local artists for $25 a week, this rental goes on till the shop is actually leased again for commercial purposes. I have my work for sale on an ongoing basis at two of Pop Up's shops which is keeping me very busy, I am at last getting used to working with deadlines. I have also made some lovely new artistic friends through this program and have also started volunteering at one of Pop Up's shops, I am really enjoying being part of Pop Up and so happy that it's all so close to home.

I have always loved mini cards but until now haven't really had a go at making them. They are so simple and fun to make and I look forward to making many more. For these cards I printed out the pink flower scene several times and added different sentiments to the scene. I printed out the pattern on my PC and added the punched out flowers and bling to finish off. I added some of the flowers onto the card with adhesive dimensional foam to add some dimension to the cards.

The challenges I have included-
Mini cards-CAS-ual Fridays
Anything goes in the link party-Make It Monday
Anything goes in the link party-Passionately artistic
Anything goes-Crafty ribbons challenge
Dies and punches-PaperPlay Challenges
Anything goes-Creatalicious Challenges

At last I am able to share my recycled jewellery

2011-08-28T21:16:00.016+10:00

I have this jewellery for sale at suzARTe Creations on madeit

Hi everyone,

I haven't been blogging of late as I have been busy making things other than cards, I am currently going through my jewellery making phase and I am atlast able to show all you lovely people what I have been upto. I am also getting ready for my market stall that I am very excited about, I will be selling a variety of my handmade goods , I don't know if it will be a success but have to give it a go. I will be having my stall at Creative Lane markets on 11.09.2011, it's a monthly market in Marrickville, Sydney that sells only handmade items. I went to the market last month and it was awesome, I am really happy that I will be able to be part of the September markets.

About two months ago I was home on a Saturday night listening to my favourite radio station and in a mood to do something creative. I was going through my stash and wanted to do something different to what I would normally do. I thought it was about time I started working with the images I have been saving from packaging, magazines, free postcards, brochures and other such things.When I first started saving these images I didn't know exactly what I would be doing with them but I knew I would be able to put them to use one day and thats exactly what I did on that Saturday night, I ended up making several jewellery pieces that I have to admit I am very happy with.

I had come up with the idea to make recycled jewellery sometime ago but didn't know how I was going to do it. My friend had got me into making glass tiled jewellery, the general concept is to stick patterned paper on the tiles, cut or file the edges of the paper neatly and varnish the paper used on the jewellery to finish off. I have been making this type of jewellery for a while but got bored with using the patterned paper I was using and so put my jewellery making to the side for sometime. I have now been able to incorporate my jewellery making with recycling and I am totally excited about this. I have found it very easy to even use newspaper images in my jewellery making, just as long as you have the right glue and varnish the back all is good as the varnish/sealant makes the jewellery somewhat waterproof, I still wouldn't recommend wearing this jewellery in the shower. To jazz up simple images especially that with text I add rub-ons as I have done in the first and last picture in this post. This jewellery is really quick to make and makes a lovely eco gift.

I have shared this project at-

Going Green Crafters and Artists

Passionately Artistic
Simply Designing
Make it Monday

I am hoping to start blogging again on a regular basis, have some ideas for cards so hopefully will be able to make them soon. I also haven't been able to comment on my favourite blogs for sometime, intending to do a catch up really soon, looking forward to seeing what my blogging friends have been upto.

Thanks so much to everyone who has already entered my Blogging is for sharing giveaway. I would love more people to join in the fun, all you have to do is share, share and share until 31/12/2011.

I just had to make a simple birthday card this evening

2011-08-08T00:43:00.002+10:00

Life has been so busy and somewhat stressful, I just had to take a step back relax and make a card.

At first nothing was working when I started making a card this evening and I nearly gave up. I then started mucking around on open office and designed the simple base and stems using the line function. This simple card then started coming together and I was really happy that I got to make this Birthday card this evening. The flowers are rub-ons and the birds are chipboard pieces that I stamped and stuck to the card using self adhesive dimensional foam.

The Challenges I have included-
Birthday cards-CARDS
Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
Anything goes in the link party-Make it Monday

Hope all my blogging friends are well and have had a good weekend. Thanks again for visiting my blog, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I really appreciate the time you spend on my little part of the internet :)

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

My last card for the next few days, being on a roll has been fun

2011-07-30T02:26:00.001+10:00

I have had fun being on a roll for the last few days but I have to get some things done in the next few days so will give blogging a rest. I made this CAS card with purely rub-on's, I loved the bright flowers and was going to add papers etc but in the end I thought the design looked best on a single layer card. I did add some self adhesive pearls to lift the design and have also added some rub-on's to the inside of the card to add extra design.

The Challenges I have included-

CAS-Wee Memories

Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
Anything goes in the link party-Make it Monday

Hope everyone has a great weekend and happy blogging, I got a chance to check out some great blogs today. So much inspiration in blogland, no wonder I can't stop creating at the moment :)

I would love to sell my cards at Aussie cards for sale

2011-07-30T01:38:00.006+10:00

Double click on above image to get a larger view

Ok my cards are finally ready to submit to Aussie cards for sale.

Alicia McNamara is looking for some new designers to sell their cards in her online store. I have been checking out the store regularly and there are some beautiful cards for sale that have been made by some very talented Aussie card designers, check it out when you get the chance.

I have included different themed cards in my submission. I have altered a few old cards and made a few new cards as well. The competition is tough but as they say you've got to be in it to win it, I am just happy that I got to submit my cards. I came across some cards I had completely forgotten about in my stash when getting my collection together.

International card designers can apply as well.

Salvaged kitchen wood wall hangings

2011-07-29T01:28:00.006+10:00

I have this item for sale at suzARTe Creations on madeit

These are my recycled projects for the month of July, a bit late as I said I would share these projects on the 27th of every month, life just gets in the way sometimes. My good friend had a heap of wood blocks saved from her demolished kitchen. She was going to throw out the wood and it was only by chance that I asked her if she had any wood from her old kitchen, she very kindly brought the wood into work and I have eventually got it home and have started working on different wood block projects.

I decorated the blocks of wood with patterned paper and added the different elements to the wall hangings. The sentiments are rub-ons and I have attached a hook to the back of the pictures so that they can be hung on a wall. I am really happy that I was able to get all this wood and look forward to sharing the future projects I make from the wood. Always fantastic to make something out of things that would have otherwise been thrown away.

I have shared this project at-

Going Green Crafters and Artists

Make it Monday

Passionately Artistic

Simply Designing

Thanks so much to everyone who have already entered my Blogging is for sharing giveaway. I would love more people to join in the fun, all you have to do is share, share and share.

I just had to play along one more time with my beloved rub-ons and stickers

2011-07-28T00:50:00.004+10:00

I just had to play along once more with stickers and rub-ons this week. These two cards were very quick but I am really happy with the way they turned out. I have just simply used rub-ons and stickers to decorate the cards. I recently purchased these three dimensional stickers as I knew they would come in handy and they have. This is also the first time that I have adjusted the photos taken on photoshop and added the watermarks by myself, I usually get my husband to do this as he is the expert but decided to have a go myself and although the colour in the photos could have been brighter I am happy with the way they turned out and hopefully in time the photos will look better.

The Challenges I have included-

Anything goes in the link up party-Make it Monday

Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
Here's the rub-CAS-ual Fridays
CAS-Wee Memories
Less is more-Button or ribbon

I have been on a roll this week making cards, its always fun when ideas are flowing and I can make cards to post on my blog. Hope everyone is having a good week and not getting sick of seeing my cards :) :)

Sometimes you just have to follow your bliss

2011-07-27T00:53:00.004+10:00

I'm back at work, my leave went really quickly and although it was a mixture of good and bad it was still nice to have the time off. My first day back at work today wasn't too bad, the customers were actually quite nice to me so all in all it's OK being back at work (hope I haven't spoken too soon).

The other day I came across patterned paper with scooters on it and I just had to buy it. I made this card for a good friend who has always wanted to learn how to ride a bike, I wish she would just do it and follow her bliss, life is too short to not achieve goals. I know that bikes are dangerous but they are so much fun to ride and I have to admit that whenever I am in in an Asian country I like nothing better than going on a motor bike ride. I kept this card simple focusing on the quote, sun and scooter that has been cut out from my newly acquired paper.The sun,little circles in the sun rays,sentiment and bird are rub-on's. I am not overly happy with how the rays on the sun turned out but overall I like the card and will do another version of it soon.

The Challenges I have included-
Anything goes in the link up party-Make it Monday
Anything goes linking party-Passionately Artistic
Here's the rub-CAS-ual Fridays
CAS-Wee Memories

I hope everyone is having a good week so far, thanks again for visiting and I look forward to reading your comments :)

I was chosen as one of the VIP'S for this card over at CAS-ual Fridays

I have been waiting for this challenge for a long time

2011-07-23T00:00:00.005+10:00

Every time I make a card I always look for a rub-on challenge and atlast it's here. I love rub-on's and use them in almost every card I make. They are so easy to work with and I think they would have to be my favourite crafting embellishment.

The other day when I was in Spotlight I came across these awesome rub-ons and had to buy them to add to my collection. As well as crafting I have an interest in home design so I am always excited when I come across furniture images that I can use on my cards. I kept this card simple using the rub-on's as the main embellishment. The only things that are not rub-ons is the green polka dot paper which is meant to be a carpet and the red bling for the centre of the flowers.

The Challenges I have included-

Anything goes in the link up party-Make it Monday

Anything goes linking party-Passionately artistic

Here's the rub-CAS-ual Fridays
CAS-Wee Memories

Life has been busy with my dad still in hospital, I go there everyday and this leaves little time to do much else. As stress release I have been making jewellery over the last few days and will be sharing the pieces I have made on my blog soon. Hope all my blogging friends are well and thanks so much for visiting.

Just a reminder that my blogging is for sharing giveaway is still on, would love it if you all would share a special project or anything that you feel other bloggers would enjoy.

This card was featured at the Passionately Artistic link party

Sharing a blog award with some wonderful bloggers

2011-07-14T13:48:00.007+10:00

hi everyone,

I am on leave from today till the end of next week so I am relaxed and super excited, I'm not doing anything too exciting but at this stage I have got something planned for every day off, so nice not being at work and doing things that I enjoy.

I got this award from the lovely Dr Sonia and Leanne. Both Leanne and Sonia are extremely talented and innovative crafters, they have such great ideas. Sonia's tutorials are awesome and I love everything she puts together. Sonia recently shared a link to her tutorials on my giveaway, they are out of the ordinary projects that I am hoping to have a go at sometime soon. As I have mentioned before I love Leanne's recycled creations and her work in general, I am constantly amazed at what Leanne comes up with.

For this award I had to share 8 random things about myself-
*My next aim in life is to become organized so I can make the best of everyday.
*I now love winter, I used to hate this season before. Don't know if I am getting a bit weird in my old age :) :)
*I listen to loud rap to relax and get motivated, yep, I am strange to say the least.
*I am aiming to go on my treadmill every day till my birthday which is on 22nd September. I first wanted to do this till the end of the year but this might be a bit too difficult but you never know.
*I am aiming to read all my books on my book shelf within the next two years, I own a lot of books.
*I am hoping to go to Melbourne in October for about two weeks, was hoping to go Overseas but haven't saved enough.
*I want to win a Moxiefab challenge, I think I will be trying for a long time to come.
*I want to open an online shop on Madeit and have a monthly market stall. It will happen, I just have to get my act together.

I also have to share this award with 8 bloggers-
Shirley-Anne, Stamping for joy-I came across her blog through Make it Monday and so happy that I did as she has an awesome challenge going on till 1st December to make 50 Christmas cards. I am getting myself organized to join in the fun and encourage everyone to as well. I always get caught out at Christmas time without any handmade Christmas cards, hope it won't happen this year.
Brittani, Do all things with love-I came across Brittani's blog through her entering my giveaway. Brittani is always updating her new blog with so many different giveaways. She herself is having a giveaway when she reaches 30 followers, I am sure we can all help her get there in no time. I am also offering 5 points more if you join her blog and make mention of it when you enter my giveway.
Michelle, Pink Paper Paradise- I came across Michelle's blog through Make it Monday. I absolutely love Michelle's work, her cards are just amazing and the way she uses her copic markers is to die for.
Christina, cg says (something loudly)-I just love the title of Christina's blog and appreciate the comments she constantly leaves on my blog. She recently had a giveaway on her blog and after the winner was drawn she offered all the other participants a digi image up to the value of $3, I thought this was so generous and thoughtful of her.
Moonie, Through the eyes of Moonie- My good friend Yvonne lead me to Moonie's blog and I am so happy that she did. I love Moonie's enthusiasm for life and her creations. She recently shared this quote on her blog-

I absolutely love this quote and agree with it totally and hope that Moonie doesn't mind that I shared it here.

Chrystie, A pocket full of posies- I have recently come across Christies blog and I love her work. She makes some amazing creations using recycled materials. I especially love this 3d frame that she has made, make sure to check it out.

Charity Crafter- I really admire the generosity of this blogger. Have a look at her blog to see what she does and if you can help out in someway with her work I am sure she will appreciate it.

Anotonella, quilling art and expession- Antonella is a fantastic quiller and because of her I am hoping to try quilling in the near future. She has given me the idea to use my stamps on travel projects and I think this is a great way to use my stamps.

Ok, this took me a while to put together but all is good as I really appreciate getting this award and being able to share it with my blogging friends.If you get a chance check out the links I have included in this post, you will all definitely be inspired.

So much fun trying something new

2011-07-06T01:09:00.003+10:00

hi everyone,

it's been over a week since I last posted, life has been busy and stressful. My dad is currently in hospital so I have been spending lots of time at the hospital and with my mum. I hope my dad will be better soon, it's hard seeing him like this. Anyway, my dad is pretty tough so I am sure he will get through. I had to make a card to get my mind of things and destress. It's a very simple card but I am happy with the way it turned out.

I made this card following an online tutorial which I can't find anymore. I really enjoy taking part in the

the CARDS challenges and try to enter every other week. I always enjoy looking at the variety of work Paige includes in the gallery and the challenges are always so different and certainly get us crafters out of our comfort zones. The challenge this week is to include accordian flowers on a card, at first it was hard getting the shape and size right but after some trial and error I got there. I will have a go at making these flowers again in different sizes, I want to try having a scalloped edge to the flowers next time.

The Challenges I have included-
Anything goes in the link up party-Make it Monday
Favourite technique-Pals Paper Arts. One of my favourite techniques is to draw simple designs on my cards to add a personal touch. On this card I have drawn on the stems with leaves.

Hope all my American friends had a nice 4th of July and did something enjoyable to celebrate this special day. I can't believe that its already been three years since I visited America, I postponed my stay to leave back for Sydney on the evening of the 4th.

Whilst you are here I would love it if you enter my blogging is for sharing giveaway. I am sure all you lovely people have something you would like to share.

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

Imagine these stamps could have been thrown away

2011-06-27T23:33:00.008+10:00

I have this item for sale at suzARTe Creations on madeit

I have decided that on the 27th of every month I am going to share a project that is made from recycled items. I have always had a passion for recycling or upcycling and want to challenge myself on a regular basis to make something that uses a recycled element.

My mum had been collecting stamps for many years but one day she decided she was going to get rid of them, I really don't know why. The weird thing is she didn't want to give them to me and so gave it to my husband to leave at the local post office, I don't know what mum thought they were going to do with the stamps but I am sure she had good reason to do this. My husband had the good sense to tell me that my mum had given him the stamps and so I was able to salvage them. Some of these stamps must be worth alot and some of them are very historical showing the old names of countries such as Ceylon which is now
Sri Lanka.

I have found stamps really easy to work with and make the most amazing decoupage backgrounds. For the bangles and the treasure box I simply overlapped the stamps at different angles and stuck them down to form the pattern, I filed the edges to give the project a neat finish and lastly varnished to seal, add shine and make the items almost waterproof.

I have shared this project at-

Going Green Crafters and Artists

Make It Monday
Simply Designing
Passionately Artistic

If you have now been inspired to make a project out of recycled items or have a recycling tip please share it on my Blogging is for sharing giveaway.

BTW if anyone wants some of the stamps to get creative with I am happy to post them to you, just email me your postal address and I will send you a small pack.

My colour brain is working again

2011-06-21T22:32:00.002+10:00

I have had a nice day off pretty much catching up on different things that had to be done. It's really cold in Sydney today so I am happy that I didn't have to go work and could just hang out at home, gotta have days like this sometimes.

I made this card using a similar design to a recent card, I have just used completely different colours. I think all the elements stand out much better on this card than on the other one with the similar design. I am into smiley's and flowers at the moment so you will probably see them on a few more cards to come.

The Challenges I have included-

Color Cue-#16

Flutterby Wednesday's-Add a butterfly

Simply Create-Fly with us

I would love you to share some inspiration in my latest giveaway, all the details are here.You can enter as many times as you want and share just about anything. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

At last I am sharing an award that I was given way back

2011-06-21T13:12:00.002+10:00

In accepting this award I have to agree to the following conditions:

1) Create a post on your blog and post the award.
2) Link back to the person who gave you the award and say if you accept.
3) Choose 3-5 of your favorite blogs to tag, link these in your post too and tell the lucky people they have won the award.

As the aim of this award is to bring unknown good blogs to light, please don't tag somebody with 3000
followers

I have given this award by Leanne from LEEARTS some time ago now. I have been really slack at passing it on but better late than never. As I have mentioned before Leanne is currently living in Karachi, Pakistan. I was born in Karachi and Leanne is actually good friends of my cousin and the piano on which my mum learnt to play is currently lying in Leanne's house, it's a small small world. Leanne has to be one of the most resourceful crafters that I have come across, she makes beautiful cards from next to nothing and I find this totally amazing. THANK YOU so much for this award Leanne and I definitely accept it although a few months later than what I was supposed to.

The 5 blogs I am passing this award to are...........
CG-cg says (something loudly)
Jenny-Crafting in the country
E.T-Vibgyor crafts
Rhonda-Rhonda's place to share
Emily-My little slice of bliss

I am going to end this post with this quote-
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”~Nelson Mandelalla

I love this quote and the reason I have shared it is all these ladies are so talented and share their work on their blogs on a regular basis and this keeps the rest of us going.

I just love elephants

2011-06-21T02:30:00.007+10:00

From a young child I have loved elephants, I always wanted to visit Africa mainly to see elephants in the wild and when I did see them in their natural surroundings it was an absolutely awesome experience that I will never forget. Like my babushka doll collection I also have an elephant collection in the form of earrings, pillow cases, tea towels etc, I just can't help myself.

When I saw the animal- shaped cards challenge at CARDS I knew it was time to make my elephant shaped card that I have had an idea to make for a long time. I made this card following a very simple template, the sentiment is a rub-on and I drew the design on the feet and the eye was made by colouring in a black circle leaving the white spot, this was covered with a clear epoxy round sticker. The hardest part was attaching the flowers, I think the next time the stems will have to be made out of thicker cardboard so its not so flimsy. I have to admit I am really happy with this design and will be making some more of these cards that can be adapted for a variety of occasions and themes.

The Challenges I have included-
Anything goes-Make it Monday
Anything goes-Southern Girls Challenge
Anything goes-Scrap-Creations
Seeing spots-My mum's Craft Shop
Spotty Dotty-Just some lines
Anything goes-Hookedoncraft Challenges

Tomorrow is my RDO, it's always great to have a day off every fortnight, I am planning to clean up tomorrow as I didn't get the chance to do any domestic duties on the weekend, lets see if it happens. The winter magic festival in Katoomba on Saturday was really awesome, I really enjoy this yearly event. I discovered so many great little shops whilst at the mountains which I will have to visit again soon. Yesterday my husband and I went to Newtown which is my favourite suburb in Sydney and we watched a movie called Oranges and Sunshine which is based on a true story and was very thought provoking and enjoyable, I would highly recommend it.

Anyway, I have carried on a bit too much. Thanks again for visiting I really appreciate the time you have spent here.

BTW, there is a giveaway happening on my blog, all the details are here it would be fantastic if you took the time to enter, I am sure you all have something you can share.

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

In my world there are blue hills

2011-06-18T00:30:00.000+10:00

My colour brain hasn't been working for the last few weeks, I seem to go through phases. I really wanted to play at ColourQ this week but at first couldn't think of anything to do with the colours. I then said to myself I am thinking too literally. I have had this chipboard flower for sometime and really wanted to use it on my card that is when I got the idea that the stems and hills in this card don't have to be green and the flower can be orange and red although this may not be the case in real life. I am happy to be living in my world where hills can be blue and everything I make can literally be any colour. I think this card is a true reflection of the title of my blog being "Imagine, Create, Express" as this is what I have done in making this card with such an unusual combination of colours.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going for the Winter Magic Festival in the Blue Mountains. We went last year and had a great time as I am sure we will have this year. I have to get up early to get to the mountains early so should going to bed very soon.

Challenges I have included-
ColourQ-Challenge #89

It was very difficult to get the colours right in this photo, hope everyone gets the picture.

Keep on keepin' on

2011-06-14T23:22:00.001+10:00

It's good to finally be able to make a card although it is an extremely simple one. I have been really sick with the flu and today is the first day that I am feeling ok which means tomorrow I can only feel even better.

I made this card with a modern look in mind. The repeated text is meant to reinforce the message and forms the background of this card, my husband helped me do the word art on photoshop. The main sentiment is the same wording and font used in the background except has been printed alot larger.The two Converse shoes are rub-ons that I have had for a long time and atlast have been able to use on this unisex card. I have to admit it was very difficult not adding more to this card but off late I have been enjoying the challenge of working with the less is more concept. I was going to add a colour challenge to this card but I am still not fully functional so hopefully will get back to working with different colour combo's very soon.

The Challenges I have included-
Less is More-One layer (with the use of a frame)

Anyway, my header and footer are finally ready and have been uploaded on my blog :) :). I absolutely love the job that Karen did for me and all the details of Karen's work can be found in the "check it out" section. I can't recommend Karen highly enough, she did exactly what I was after at a very reasonable price, what more could I ask for.

Am I becoming a girly girl ?

2011-06-07T15:46:00.001+10:00

The other day I was showing my mum my latest cards and she started laughing, I thought it was because she didn't like my cards so got a bit upset. Her actual reason for laughing was I have tried all my life to not do anything "girly". I am a typical tomboy in most things I do, I mostly wear jeans, my favourite sport is boxing, I love loud rap etc etc. I think my mum thinks that I have finally become more "girly", I don't think this is the case but I do think I am more open to pinks, blues, flowers, hearts and butterflies which was definitely not how I was before. I still am not at a stage where I will wear a summer dress with lace or anything but you never know this might just happen in the future :) :)

Anyway, the challenge this week at Less is More is monochrome. I had intentions of using a colour other than "girly" pink but decided to go with pink as I wanted to use these felt flower stickers that I have been hording for a long time. My husband helped me design the variations of pink background scene on photoshop. I added the text in a darker pink and also added a few pink diamantes to give the card a lift. I have made this card for my friend's mum who is turning 80. My friend initially asked me to use red, green and white but all I could do with those colours was a Christmas themed card so asked her if I could use other colours and she said yes.

I am still having problems commenting on blogs, I am not being rude its just not working for me although I have tried many times. Hopefully this problem will be solved soon and I can start commenting on all the beautiful work I am seeing everywhere.

The challenges I have included-

Less is more-Monochrome

Thanks for visiting and hopefully by the end of this week I will have my new blog header and other design elements up that are currently a work in progress.

I just don't do guy cards

2011-06-02T00:53:00.001+10:00

When I saw the Fathers Day cards challenge over at CARDS I was stuck as I just don't make guy cards. Every year I give my dad a ready made fathers day card and I always feel bad about it as for years I have given my mum handmade cards for her birthday and mothers day.

The other day as a customer was screaming at me on the phone at work I decided to distract my self from the situation by googling ties, shirts etc to see if I could get some ideas for this challenge. With all the images I came across I got the inspiration to make this card. The background is part of an actual newspaper that I thought would make a "manly" background and also another way of recycling something that would normally be thrown away. I am happy with the way this card turned out and might start getting into making guy cards, it's great to get out of my comfort zone.

I want to apologize about the lack of comments from me to all the lovely people who have commented on my cards of late. I have attempted to comment several times on many blogs and its just not happening, I believe there are some issues with blogger at the moment. I truly appreciate all your comments and will try to comment again soon.

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

A little bit of green goes a long way

2011-05-30T21:50:00.003+10:00

Just a quick Monday night post, it has not stopped raining the whole day, one thing good is that it wasn't like this on the weekend, I don't mind when its bad weather during the week as all I am doing is going to work. Today I worked a long day but it was alright, the customers on the whole weren't too bad. Another long day tomorrow so I will go to bed early tonight.

Ok, these two birds were stamped green about six months ago, I had plans of using it on another project that just didn't happen. On Saturday night when I was thinking up an idea to do for the colour splash challenge I saw these two birds lying on my desk and this simple idea came to me straight away. I drew the simple hill, the spotted hearts were traced from the hollow love heart in the birds and the sentiment was printed on my PC. I didn't want both birds to be the same green and so re stamped one of the birds with a darker green. I am really happy that I got to use these litte birds at last, I guess I just needed the right project.

The challenges I have included-

PDCC-#83

Less is more-Pick a square

I was chosen as part of the fab 4 for this card over at The play date cafe

This challenge came just in time

2011-05-29T20:51:00.002+10:00

hi everyone,

it's Sunday night already, I have had a productive weekend. Yesterday I got rid off anything I didn't need from my over crowded very small cupboard. I am forever dreaming of the walk in closet but until then I have to make do with the small or more so tiny cupboard that I have and that means keeping my clothes to a minimum, I now only have what I actually need and this has made things alot simpler and tidier for me.

On Friday night my husband and I went to see a movie called Get Low which stars one of my favourite actors being Robert Duvall and the rest of the cast is great as well. I am really surprised that this movie hasn't done better in the box office as it is fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good movies. After the movie we went to the VIVID ligt festival which is all around Sydney city. Alot of the highrise buildings including the Opera House is lit up with beautiful patterns and there are light instillations all over the city as well. I will be going for the festival again and will take some photo's to post in the "check this out" section of my blog. I just want to show off what a gorgeous city Sydney really is :). Today I spent a nice day with my my husband and parents. I am doing some long hours at work in the coming week so I am happy that I had a nice weekend before the hard slog.

Anyway, my good friend is graduating very soon from her University course which seemed to go on forever. She has been buying my cards for sometime and so I am sure she wouldn't forgive me if I hadn't made her this card to celebrate this special and long awaited occassion. The owl image was scanned from a graduation party invitation that I got some time ago, I am not sure where the image was orginally from but I loved it and had to use it on this card, no stealing of images or anything intended. I paper pieced the owl and book, added some bling just before the tassel and I just had to add the googly eyes as I am a big kid, the sentiment was printed on my PC.

The Challenges I have included-
CAS-ual Fridays-Graduation

TPV-School

I have made another card as well but too tired now to post it so will do it tomorrow. Hope everyone has a nice Monday and a good week :)

Nothing like an old pair of jeans to embellish a card

2011-05-25T23:20:00.004+10:00

It is freezing in Sydney but I have to admit that I am really enjoying the weather. I used to love the summer before so this sudden love of winter is all a bit strange to me. I think its going to be a very cold winter but much better than stinking hot days which I can only tolerate now if I am at the beach.

Ok, I have to admit that this card turned out to be more of a challenge than what I had anticipated but I am happy that I stuck with it. As soon as I saw the denim challenge over at CARDS I knew I had to play along. The denim on this card is from an old pair of jeans, I love it when I am able to re use an item that could easily be thrown away. I drew the clothes line and the flower stems,printed the sentiment on my pc, added the peace, flower and smiley buttons to the stems and hand cut the blouse and jeans following a simple template. I used the reverse of the denim on the background as it was lighter in colour, I didn't want the background to be too dark. I even managed to find some thin denim ribbon in my stash that I was able to add to this card.

The challenges I have included-
Make a scene-Some odd girl
Favourite embellishment-Craft us crazy
Anything goes-Truly scrumptious

I hope everyone is having a good week, thanks for visiting and happy crafting :)

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

Bringing on the bling CAS style

2011-05-23T00:21:00.004+10:00

It has been a busy but good weekend, I can't believe how quickly every weekend goes, it's just not fair. On Friday my husband and I went to the finders keepers markets, I have posted about the markets in my "check this out" section of my newly designed blog, have a read if you get the chance. I also went to see "Born to be wild" again yesterday with my friend Susan, this is an awesome Imax documentary about orphaned elephants and orangutans, my friend who watched the movie with me had actually been to the elephant orphanage in Kenya featured in the movie, it brought back some very happy memories for her. Today, I just cleaned and cleaned and now I have a cold because of all the dust, this should hopefully be gone by tomorrow.

Anyway, after having such a busy weekend it was nice to just make a simple CAS card with one of my favourite rub-on's I have been hording for a while. I added the bling to two of the balloons and the sentiment was printed on my PC. It's always nice finishing the weekend in a creative way, hope to make a few cards this week, lets hope it happens.

The Challenges I have included-
CAS-ual Fridays-Bring the bling

Thanks so much for visiting, have a great week.

I was chosen as one of the 4 VIP'S for this card over at CAS-ual Fridays

An excuse to make another card

2011-05-16T01:05:00.003+10:00

I made this card for my good friend who has just purchased a new home and like any new home owner he and his family are super excited about their new abode. For this card my husband helped me create the blue and yellow polka dot paper on photoshop, it was a bit tricky but we got there in the end. The house is a chipboard piece theat I covered with the polka dot paper, I added what is meant to be yellow curtains behind the windows, stamped the windows with a yellow stamp pad. The chipboard tree has been stamped with a green stamp pad and I left the brach the original craft colour. I am happy to say that the background papers are scraps, always feel happy when I can put them to use.

The Challenges I have included-

ColourQ-Challenge #84
Little red wagon-Houses

Anyway its way too late for me to be awake on a Sunday night. Have a great week everyone :)

I was one of the Colour queen courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

In the pink

2011-05-15T00:39:00.003+10:00

I have to admit I don't work much with pink at all so when I first saw the 100% pink challenge at CARDS I was like can I do this but I am always up for a challenge and so decided to play along, it certainly took me out of my comfort zone, but that is what a challenge is all about. I kept this card simple focusing on the message of the card. I punched out the little pink ribbons, added pink self adhesive pearls to the middle of each paper ribbon and adhered them to the cardstock with adhesive dimensional foam. The pink lady image is a free digital image that I found on the internet, I printed the image in four different sizes.

Later on this year I might be helping a friend organize a fundraising breast cancer ladies luncheon, I think this would be a good design for the invites, what does everyone think ?

Today I went for my first class on how to use copic markers, I have never been good at colouring in so I think it might take me some time to get the hang of it. I don't think I will become a Copic addict but want to learn some basic techniques that I can use on my cards, hope I get there in the end.

The Challenges I have included-
For the girls-Here come the girls
Southern girls challenge-Lets hear it for the girls

Hope everyone is having a good weekend crafting, relaxing and generally having fun.

This card was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery

A purrfectly CAS card

2011-05-10T20:33:00.002+10:00

Ok, its official I am addicted to making cards, I guess there are worse things one could be hooked on.This card came about as my good friend Louise mentioned it was her mum's birthday, Louise's mum is a cat lover and so I now had a good excuse to use my Scrapmatt chipboard cats. I volunteered to make her a card for which she was very happy as she is sick of buying all the mass produced cat cards that are around and wanted something different. Louise is giving her mum the card tonight so lets hope she likes it.

I was looking at the cards I have been making of late and I have to say I am getting more in more into making CAS cards, don't know if this is a good thing but atleast I can now define my style. At first I was going to add more to this card but thought less was more and so just painted the cats with red smooch and added the diamantes to the tips of the tails, the sentiment has been printed on my computer.

The Challenges I have included-

Catch the bug challenge blog-Anything goes
One Stop Craft Challenge-Birthdays
Crafty Anns Challenge Blog-Birthdays
Divas by design-Anything goes
Papertake Weekly Challenge-Anything goes
My time to craft-Red and white

Hope everyone is having a good week so far, thanks so much for visiting :)

A groovy kinda love

2011-05-08T01:47:00.005+10:00

Today was another awesome Saturday. It was my good friend Meg's farewell lunch, and all of us "hello girls" (this is what we call ourselves) had lots of fun eating way too much and chatting away on various different subjects. The majority of this group of friends are alot older than me but we all get on so well and I absolutely love catching up with them every few months, we have all worked together at Energy Australia at some stage. Everyone signed the book I made for Meg and and we took some great photos today that I will add to the book, I will eventually post this to Meg. A funny thing that happened today was my friends nearly fainted as I actually wore a skirt, I am normally quite the tomboy and they were absolutely shocked to see me in a skirt.

After coming home I realized just how blessed I am and how days like this make up for all the bad days. In the mood I have been in the whole day I think that its appropriate that I made a "love" themed card. Using Microsoft Office I printed the white text on a yellow and red background. I then punched out the hearts in two different sizes and added the Scrapmatts chipboard. Some of the hearts have been added to the card using dimensional foam to add some dimension to the card. I have to admit I am really happy with this card, I think its modern and will be appropriate for any young or young at heart funky couple getting married. Btw I didnt photograph this card in my bathroom, according to my husband the background looks like tiles in a bathroom.

The Challenges I have included-
CAS-ual Fridays (their first ever challenge)-Texting skills
PDCC-Challenge #80
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps-Die or a punch

Anyway, wishing all the mothers a very Happy Mother's Day, hope its a lovely day for all you all. I am looking forward to spending the day with my mum.

Always fun trying something new

2011-05-06T23:59:00.001+10:00

Ok, I am not going to say it was easy making this flower but after some trial and error and plenty of glue I got there in the end. I made this card for the CARDS challenge this week following this Fabric flower tutorial. I have always wanted to make my own fabric flowers and glad that I finally got the chance to do this, certainly took me out of my comfort zone.

I am going to be sending this card to my best friend, I had a long chat with her after some time today, it was great catching up with her. Today was my day off and I think that I am finally getting rid of my flu, hopefully I won't get it again this winter. I also made a book today for my good friend who is leaving Sydney, we are having a lunch for her tomorrow and all of us will sign the book, I will take some photos tomorrow to add to the book, Meg always appreciates anything handmade so I am sure she will like the book.

Anyway, have a lovely weekend everyone and I hope to post some more in the next few days

This card was was chosen to be part of the CARDS challenge gallery.

Can you tell I love flowers ?

2011-04-30T23:56:00.006+10:00

Saturday is always my favourite day of the week and let me just say I had a simple but awesome day today. Firstly, I have known about a scrapbooking shop called Alice in Paperland which is only down the road from me but I haven't bothered to check it out till today and let me just say I am stoked to have such a fantastic shop down the road. Every where I go takes a bit of effort as we don't have a car but now I just have to walk down the road to visit what I would consider one of Sydney's best scrapbooking shops, I am a lucky girl. I also went out for lunch with my husband and parents and had one of the best doner kebab's I have ever had, it was absolutely delicious followed by an equally delicious cinnamon doughnut. I am now listening to my favourite radio station and they are playing all my favourite songs, the simple things are often the best. I do have to go to sleep early tonight though as I am working tomorrow, its going to be difficult but a one off on a saturday night is no big deal.

Ok, so the colours are not the best in this photo but I hope you all get the general picture. I have been using flowers alot in my recent cards and wasn't going to use flowers on this card but I did it again, it's becoming a habit. This card was originally going to be a Mother's day card but I didn't leave enough room for the sentiment and so made it into a Thank you card which I am sure will come in handy soon.I cut out the green hill, drew on the stems and leaves. I punched out the small green flowers and the two large flowers are fabric stickers that I recently purchased.

The Challenges I have included-
ColourQ-Challenge #82
Pals Paper Arts-Buttons

I was one of the Colour Queen Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

I just thought I would also share one of my favourite published LO's with you today, it pretty much sums how my day went today and how important the simple things in life are. I can't believe this LO is nearly four years old. Hope all you lovely people have had a nice day as well and enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

Royal Wedding fever hits Sydney

2011-04-30T01:32:00.007+10:00

Royal Wedding fever is certainly in the air in Sydney, I have to admit at first I wasn't really interested in watching the event but closer to the time I joined in the fun and watched all the coverage of the wedding with my mum, it was such a beatuiful service that has certainly made it's mark in history. I absolutely loved Kate Middleton's dress, I think she looked absolutely beautiful. A few of my friends are attending royal wedding parties, sure they will have lots of fun, good to see everyone getting into the event.

Anyway, talking about weddings I made this card for my friend who needed a card for her cousin''s wedding. I at first was going to give her another card I had made but wasn't too happy with that card and so made her this one instead. The main image is a Softpencil image that I absolutely love, I paper pieced the birds and small heart. I made this card very late last night so needed to work with a design that I knew would work, I was way too tired to be experimenting with different designs. I am happy with the way this card turned out and now have a pattern to work with when I need to make a quick wedding card.

The Challenges I have included-

CR84FN-Challenge #25

Open theme-Creative Friday

Paper piecing-Wee Memories

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. I am working 4 hours on Sunday but still looking forward to the rest of the weekend which is going to be a crafty one as I have to work on a few projects that friends have asked for.

I was one of the honorable mentions for this card over at Wee Memories

Such lovely colours again at ColourQ and a beautiful trigger at Moxie Fab

2011-04-23T03:53:00.005+10:00

hi everyone,

this is just a quick post tonight, not that any of my posts are extra long. I made this card after spending Good Friday with my family. We did get to go to church today and the service was really beautiful, haven't been to church for a while and so this mass was extra special for me. Anyway, tomorrow we are having an Easter party, normally would do this after Easter Sunday but most of my friends are either going away or too busy after Easter Sunday so will have to settle for tomorrow evening, really looking forward to getting together with everyone.

Anyway, I think the rest of my Easter break is going to be very busy so I am glad I got the time to make a card late this evening. I just loved the colours again at ColourQ and glad that I got the chance to play along, I can safely say that this is going to become a weekly thing for me as I always love working with ColourQ colours.

This is just a simple card on which I stamped the chipboard fence white, the chipboard tree was stamped green and the little yellow bird was stamped yellow. I put the scene together and added the buttons and rub-on sentiment to finish off the card. All the cards I am making these days are being put too good use and for this I am extremely happy as I hate not being able to doing anything with my cards.

The Challenges I have included-
ColourQ #81-ColourQ
Tuesday Trigger-Crepe bouquet, Tuesday trigger . I was influenced by the beautiful spring/pastel colours, open space and simplicity of this trigger photo.
Drunken Stampers-Technology sucks

Anyway, wishing everyone a Happy and Holy Easter, hope it is a really special time with friends and family.

I was chosen as one of the ColourQ Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

It's been a crafty weekend, Thank God for bad weather (sometimes)

2011-04-17T22:19:00.008+10:00

It's been a very crafty weekend, due to the rainy weather. I was too lazy to go out and after having such a late night yesterday I pretty much stayed home to craft, sleep, clean and generally hang out, gotta have these type of weekends now and again. Can you believe my husband and I ordered take away which would normally take about half hour at the most but has now been close to two hours now, needless to say we are now starving.

Its funny how things happen, with the balloons on this card they came about by a mistake I made. I had originally put the lace paper on the white cardstock on another project that I just wasnt happy with. I didn't want the balloons to be made out of plain paper as I wanted to use white and to make the balloons stand out I felt they had to have some texture and pattern. I cut out two different sizes of a simple balloon pattern , traced this onto the back of the lace cardstock and cut out the balloon, I was really happy with the way they turned out, I was able to salvage a mistake as well as have my textured hot air balloons. I have adhered the balloons to the card with dimensional self adhesive foam. The sentiment is a rub on, added clear buttons onto the balloons so as to not distract from the colours of green, brown and white.

A good friend of mine is leaving Sydney, embarking on a new adventure in her life, I think this card will be appropriate to give her when she leaves. I will certainly miss my good friend Meg, she has been a huge influence in my life. This is a woman who has had a heart transplant and has kept on going no matter what has come her way.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-PDCC #77

Moxie Fab World-In my beautiful balloon
Art Impression stamps-Anything goes
Pixie Dust Studio-Say it out loud, include a sentiment
Drunken Stampers-Technology sucks

This is the second card I made. The black chipboard images were also part of the project from where I salvaged the lace cardstock. Ok, you might say what does hot air balloons have to do with a couple? Sometime ago I saw a vintage picture somewhere with couples in beautiful outfits and gorgeous hot air balloons, that picture also had the Eiffel Tower in it but I thought that would be a bit too much for this card. Two of the balloons in this card has patterned paper behind the lace paper, did this to add some colour to the card and give the card a different look.

The Challenges I have included-
Moxie Fab World-In my beautiful balloon
Truly Scrumptious-Vintage

Anyway, I have now eaten after waiting so long for the takeaway food, happy to say the food was delicious. Hope all of lovely people have had a great weekend. Thanks again for visiting and I always enjoy reading your comments which keep me motivated.

Another great colour combo I had to play with

2011-04-17T06:07:00.003+10:00

Yes, I am still awake, the music on the hip hop special is way too good to go to sleep. I am having lots of fun blogging and watching Rage, no doubt I will be very tired tomorrow but it will be worth it. Oh my goodness the sun is coming up, thats kinda scary.

Anyway as I mentioned in my last post I have to make a few Mother's Day cards and now I am upto my second one. The story of where I got the inspiration to make this card is in my last post, it's amazing where us crafters get our ideas from. I am on a roll with this design and think might stick to it to make the Mother's Day cards but will use different colours.

The Challenges I have included-

Totally Hues-Challenge #6

When I was least expecting inspiration for my next card

2011-04-17T03:27:00.007+10:00

The other day I was walking to the station and have to admit really didn't want to walk on this particular morning. As I was walking I noticed a small white brick house I don't normally pay any attention to. It is a small cute house that has all these flower pots with gorgeous colourful flowers that really stand out against the white bricks. Suddenly my mood improved as I had found inspiration for my next card and couldn't wait to do my version of this gorgeous little house on a card. It never ceases to amaze me where one can find inspiration.

For this card I created the brick background by cutting out strips of white cardstock and sticking them down on white cardstock to form the design of the bricks, it did take a long time to do this but it was worth it in the end. I made the flower pots out of craft cardstock. I drew the stems and leaves and punched out the flowers which I adhered to the cardstock with dimensional foam, added some clear buttons to finish off. The sentiment has was done on my computer.

I have to do a few Mother's day cards this year. One of them ofcourse is for my mum but the others are for my friends who are not into card making but want to give their mothers handmade cards, think I will be able to get them done on time if I get myself organized.

The Challenges I have included-

ColourQ #80-ColourQ

Flowers-The Paper Variety

Flowers-Fresh Brewed Blog

My favourite things (flowers)-Amber's craft and stuff

At the moment I am watching a music show called RAGE, its a hip hop special so needless to say I am not going to sleep tonight. Hope everyone is having a good weekend, thanks a gain for popping by.

I was one of the featured artists for this card at over at TPV

A blast from the past

2011-04-12T22:42:00.008+10:00

Many years ago I started drawing stick figures mainly because I couldn't draw actual people. I actually got the inspiration for these figures from one of my favourite soul bands "Soul to Soul", I loved their bright outfits and their platted hair.I remember making a picture for my best friend that had all these colourful figures on an orange background, I have to admit it came out really well and she absolutely loved it and always put it up in her lounge room whenever she moved, she was a bit of a nomad back in the day. She cherished this little gift for many years but in the end it was stolen by a malicious flatmate and she was devastated, maybe now I can make her a replacement picture.

For this card I drew the figures and made it into what maybe called a digital stamp. I can now use this image over and over again, something I couldn't do when I first started drawing these figures. Making this card has made me realize how much I depend on my computer to create, I don't know if this is a good thing but I have to admit I appreciate the convenience of designing this way.

The blue dresses have been attached to the card stock with self adhesive dimensional foam and I added diamantes to the figures hair. This was a very simple card to make and it took me back years when I just had fun and enjoyed life, have to admit I am pretty much doing the same thing now.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-PDCC76
Wee Memories-Twine

Another great ColourQ Challenge

2011-04-11T01:16:00.007+10:00

I absolutely loved the Colours again at ColourQ and played along at the very last minute. I know I say this often but this was another tricky colour combo for me. I had quite a few designs in mind but went for this one in the end.

I love the background lace paper that I used, the only thing is it was quite tricky to stick to the cardstock as it wasn't self adhesive, it came together in the end though without too much of a mess. The main image is white chipboard that I acquired recently, I have painted the birds with green smooch. My friend asked me to make a simple wedding card for her, think this might just do the trick.

The Challenges I have included-
ColourQ-Challenge #79
Charisma Cards Challenge-Weddings/Anniversaries

I hope everyone has had a nice weekend, they go way too fast.

I was chosen as one of the ColourQ Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

A blooming good Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger

2011-04-08T11:36:00.009+10:00

This is a simple card that I made for the Moxie Fab World ~ Tuesday Trigger. I loved the flowered design on the Japanese scarf and tried to in my way replicate the layering of the flowers. I punched out the flowers in three different sizes and layered them with dimensional foam, added a clear button on top of the flower to finish off.The sentiment is a rub on. Haven't played along at Moxie Fab for sometime, it's been fun.

The Challenges I have included-
Spring-Tuesday Throwdown
Fresh Brewed Blog-Flowers
Clear it out Challenge-Make a flower

I am planning to get a few cards done on the weekend, lets hope it happens. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks again for visiting.

Slowly but surely I am getting better at stamping

2011-04-05T00:08:00.004+10:00

Happy Monday everyone,

My day wasn't too bad for a Monday. It was my good friend's birthday and we all tried to make it a nice day for her at work. Simone loves owls and all the cards she got given had owls on it including the card I made for her. Even the jewellery she got given had owl designs, she absolutely loved all her gifts and I think she enjoyed her special day.

I don't like this photo of my card at all but its the best my husband and I could take this evening. I was hoping that the photo would have a softer look but after many attempts I settled for this photo. I absolutely love these colours together. I stamped the background with my sakura flower stamp and drew on the stems, I think my stamping is getting better. With the butterflies I stamped plain paper with a watermelon stamp pad then punched out the flowers on the stamped area, had to get innovative with getting the colour's just right. The sentiment is a rub on that I thought went well the card.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-PDCC75

I just can't get enough of my chipboard pieces

2011-04-03T21:37:00.007+10:00

hello everyone,

Hope everyone has had a good last few days. I have had a great weekend, it was my mum's birthday yesterday and we all had a nice day out, I made part of my mum's gift that she loved so I am extremely happy about that. Today I went out with my girlfriends and again had a nice lunch, calories galore all this weekend, will have to watch what I eat for the rest of the week, its good to indulge now and again.

Doing colour challenges these days is not coming easily to me. I have to really seek lots of inspiration before attempting to make a card, its good to finally be able to come up with an idea, I just wish it didn't take quite so long to happen.

As I have mentioned before I purchased a supply of chipboard pieces at the last craft show I recently attended and this gorgeous teapot set is part of that collection I acquired. I was a bit stuck at first on how to decorate the craft coloured chipboard without loosing the craft background, I atlast came up with the idea of embellishing the chipboard pieces with flower rubons, it worked well as it added the colours I needed to use for this challenge without loosing the craft background. I added diamantes to the teapot and cups. I stuck lace to the paper table cloth and the sentiment is a rub on that I thought went well with the card.

The Challenges I have included-
ColourQ-Challenge #78
The Shabby Tea Room-Flower Palette. Inspiration photo for this challenge is on my previous post.

Have a good week everyone and thanks again for popping by :)

I was chosen as one of the ColourQ Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

An excuse to use my favourite chipboard embellishment

2011-03-30T00:51:00.002+11:00

I purchased a whole lot off chipboard embellishments at the craft show the other week, this little table was one of the pieces I got and absolutely love. I was worried that when I stamped the image that it would loose the engraved design but it didn't. I wanted to keep this piece for just the right project and when I saw the inspiration photo at The Shabby Tea Room I knew I just had to use my special little table.

I paper pieced the simple lamp design with paper that I have only recently purchased. I stamped the table with a light green stamp pad. Added the patterned paper on the bottom edge of the picture to form the carpet and added the lace, twine and little flower to give the card a shabby chic look. I have to admit I am really happy with the way this card turned out and wish I could get some more of these little tables.

The Challenges I have included-

The Shabby Tea Room-Flower Palette

Scrapbook Sisters-Mothers Day/Card for a special lady

Hope everyone's week is going well so far, mine is certainly better than last week.

Trial and persistance got me there in the end

2011-03-27T13:23:00.008+11:00

Ok, so the weekend is nearly over. It was an election weekend for us in Sydney, Labour lost out which was actually expected but I have been a Labour supporter ever since I have been voting so it was really sad to see them loose, my husband is devistated. I hope for all our sakes the the Liberals will deliver.

Anyway, I was really baffled with this colour combo, I found the colours really tricky but I was determined to make a card with these colours and after a few attempts came up with this card. I have to admit I am really happy with the way this card turned out. Purple and blue really does look lovely together.

For this card the background flowers are rub-ons and the three raised flowers are felt stickers. On the initial design of the card I added stems to every flower but it looked a bit too much. As on my last card I added the purple bird button which I love, have to go and get me some more of these. The sentiment is a rub-on and I have added purple jewels to the middle of the flowers mainly because the centre of the flowers are yellow.

The Challenges I have included-
The Play Date Cafe-PDCC74
DeNami Design Blog-Rhinestones
Wee Memories-Anything goes

I am off to have lunch with my mum and dad, enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone :)

I was chosen as part of the Fab 4 for this card over at The Play Date Cafe

The Versatile Blogger Award

2011-03-26T22:34:00.004+11:00

My lovely and supportive blogging friend Pat from My Paper Playground passed this award onto me a couple of weeks ago. I am so appreciative of this award especially since I am not the most reliable of bloggers but this time round plan to stick around for a long time to come.

The story goes that this blog award has the purpose of bringing to light bloggers who are creative, make wonderful creations, but have less than 300 followers. And the rules ask that you
1. Thank the person who sent you this blog. done
2. List 7 things about yourself (seven? really?)
3. Send this to 15 bloggers

7 things about me
1. I am addicted to chilli, have to eat chilli with almost everything I eat.
2. I love music, have no issues starving to have enough money to buy tickets for a good concert.
3. I love travelling, try and go overseas every two years, money permitting.
4. I am extremely determined and force myself to keep on going no matter how difficult things get, nothing good comes easily.
5. I don't cook, luckily I have a husband who cooks amazingly well. I don't mind doing any amount of house work.
6. I have worked for Energy Australia for about 14 years, the main reason I stay at my job is because of the lovely people I work with and my RDO.
7. I don't own a car, not only because I am an eco warrior but also because it forces me to exercise.

These are the versatile bloggers I am going to share this award with-
1.Priyanka
2.Emily Keaton
3.Lada
4.Rhonda
5.Leanne
6.Patti
7.Sabina
8.Tenia
9.Smita
10.CG
11.Manasa
12.Germaine
13.Sudha
14.Shalini
15.Martha

All these ladies are extremely inspirational, check them out, such a variety of style that I am sure you won't be disappointed with. Thanks again Pauline, I really appreciate this award.

This time I am really playing along at the last minute.

2011-03-26T14:48:00.003+11:00

hi everyone,

this is a card I have made for the colour challenge over at

CR84FN. I just loved the colours and had to play along.

A very simple card on which I stamped the chipboard images with the appropriate challenge colours and added the little bird button to the card. I am happy that I just made it to join in the fun.

My cold is gone and I can go about enjoying my weekend. Have a lovely weekend everyone and thanks so much for spending some time on my blog.

I knew my epoxy raindrop stickers would come in handy

2011-03-25T23:14:00.002+11:00

All I can say is TGIF!!!!

I have a rough week and happy that its over. Got a bad cold now but will rest up and hopefully will be better by tomorrow.

Anyway, this is going to be a quick post as I am not feeling the best. The other day when I was at Riot art store I came acoss these aqua clear expoxy raindrop stickers. I had no idea what I would use them for but now really happy that I purchased them as they were just perfect for this card.

I got this free umbrella image on the internet, I printed it out in different sizes. I paper pierced sections of the umbrella with the colours of the challenge and added the simple sentiment that I think goes well with the overall theme of the card.

I am going to be making some cards to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross, I think this would be a simple design to do multiple cards with. BTW, if you want to donate some handmade items for this worthy cause the details are on my sidebar.

The Challenges I have included-

ColourQ-Challenge #77

AIFactory-Under the weather

Atlast I got to play along with these great challenges

2011-03-22T21:20:00.002+11:00

I just loved this colour combo and knew I had to play along again at the Play Date Cafe. I have to admit I tried several ideas that I just wasn't happy with. I think that my very difficult day at work yesterday inspired me to make this card. I wasn't going to let a few horrible customers ruin my day and so when I came home I made this card.

I stamped the chipboard biycle with a dark pink stamp pad. The little basked on the bike has been stamped a deep yellow on which I put dimensional magic to make the basket stand out and I added small purple flowers to the basket. The sentiment has been done using open office on which I used fontwork tool to put the text in a curve, I only just came across this tool by chance and its really easy to use so will be working with it some more for future projects.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-PDCC73

I just loved the inspiration card over at CASE Study. I was attracted by the summery feel and brightness of the card. I was going to copy the card closely but as I started making the card it took on a different look to what I initially invisaged.

I handcut the waves and embossed them using my cuttlebug. I did a simple design of the sailing boat and cut out the image. I have used my favourite dimensional foam on parts of the card to make the different elements stand out (unfortunately you can see some of the foam being a side on photo)

The Challenges I have included-

CASE Study Challenge Blog-Challenge #31

Paperplay Challenges-Embossing

The last card I made was for the button, button Tuesday Trigger challenge over at Moxie Fab. I was inspired by the cluster of buttons sewn on in rows on the cardstock, it's amazing how something so simple can so so lovely.

I purchased a whole lot of chipboard squares at the craft show, for this card I covered th squares with patterned paper. I drew the stems onto the squares and stuck on the clear buttons. I have made this card for a good friend of mine, I hope she likes it.

Anyway, It's been so much fun making all these cards. I am also happy that my whole day wasn't ruined due to the nasty customers that I had to deal with yesterday.

My husband is still working on revamping my blog, its definitely a work in progress that will get there in the end.

I just love these colours

2011-03-20T20:47:00.004+11:00

hi everyone,

hope all of you are having a good weekend. Its been raining quite heavily in Sydney over the weekend , some suburbs lost electricity during the storms and so I was called into work as on pager , didn't end up working for long so all is good, hopefully I won't get called in again this evening.

Anyway, have had a pretty relaxing weekend otherwise which is what is needed sometimes. I saw a movie called "howl" on Friday which has one of my favourite actors being James Franco and is about the beat poetry scene in San Francisco in the late 1950's, a very unusual movie that I thoroughly enjoyed, I am a fan of arthouse movies. I also discovered an art shop that sells inexpensive nice envelopes , stoked about this, I go through envelopes very quickly.

made this card for a good friend who is pretty sick at the moment, she is normally a very happy go lucky person so I think she will enjoy getting this card. I atlast got to use my acetate cloud stickers, the tree and birds are rub ons that I put on cardboard cut out and stuck onto cardstock with dimensional foam to make the images stand out.

The Challenges I have included-

ColourQ-Challenge #76

AI Factory-Things with wings

Shelly's Images-Show us what you got! Anything goes!

Have a good week everyone and thanks so much for spending some time here on my blog.

I was chosen as one of the ColourQ Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ

An oldie but a goodie

2011-03-15T23:29:00.003+11:00

One of the things I purchased at the craft show were gold stickers in different designs. I have been using these stickers ever since I have been crafting but stopped using them for a while as they are not exactly trendy. After I saw these revamped stickers it renewed my interest in them and so I purchased quite a few sheets, they are inexpensive and so easy to work with.

I will be making these cards for my friends who are not into my cute style of cards. I think they can be used for a variety of occassions and for any age and I think I can even get away with giving them to my guy friends.

The lucky bamboo image is a rub on that is part of a cluster of bamboo. I have used the part of the rub on which looked best in the vase, I still have plenty left for this design of cards. To make the vase stand out I have used self adhesive dimensional foam to adhere to card. The sentiment is also a rub on, we all know how much I love rub on's.

The Challenges I have included-
AI Factory-Luck of the Irish or green project
Shelly's images-Something green
Little red wagon-Green
PaperPlay Challenges-Shades of green
Penny's paper crafty challenge blog-Going for the green
Easy craft projects-Green
Pattie's creations design challenge-Go green
Delicious doodles challenge-Green
Allsorts challenge blog-Green
Tellen's Palace-Green
Craft Ho's Challenge Blog-Green, gold and white
Crafty Sentiments Designs-Just for you
Paper Sundaes-Keep it simple
One Stop Craft Challenge-Clean and simple

I haven't entered so many challenenges in a while, its been lots of fun. Hope everyone is having a good week so far, thanks Iso much for visiting my blog, I really appreciate the time you have spent here.

Lucky to be chosen as the random winner for this card over at Aifactory

This blogging is becoming a daily habit

2011-03-13T23:51:00.007+11:00

This is another card I made to today to take a break from cleaning. I have had a pretty uneventful weekend which is ok as I got lots done that really needed doing. I did go to the Stitches and craft show on Friday which was awesome. I only got there at about 3.15 and the show finished at 4.30 so really didn't have too much time to look around which may be a good thing as I would have purchased more.

I made this card for my best friend, I have actually already written it out and its ready to post tomorrow, I am pretty organized this time for a change. It was a quick card but I had lots of fun working with the bright and happy colours.

I am going to start working on some more detailed cards soon, have been making quick cards to keep my momentum going and to stay positive, its working.

The Challenges I have included-

ColourQ-Challenge #75

Hope all of you have had a lovely weekend.

By the way I am currently re organizing my blog so if the colours etc seem out of whack its only because I am currently re designing everything, its a work in progress.

On a more serious note please spare a thought and prayer for the people of Japan, I have spent some time in Sendai and Tokyo and am deeply saddened by the recent earth quake and tsunami, the Japanese are very resiliant people and I am sure will make it through this very difficult time but they could certainly do with the world's support.

I was chosen as one of ColourQ Courtiers for this card over at ColourQ.

Doin' it Old Skool

2011-03-12T18:38:00.001+11:00

I made this card today to take a break and to stop me from going mad whilst cleaning. I am getting there but I tell you what I can't go through this again. It's way too tiring cleaning up the mess I have got myself into. I was going to take a photo of my craft area and post it on my blog but I didn't want to scare my blogging friends.

I live in my jeans and have to admit text all the time, I guess I am just a product of the modern age. I got the idea of making this card the other day when I found my phone in my back jeans pocket, not exactly the best place to keep my phone but the good thing is it did inspire me to make this card, its funny the things that give us creative inspiration. I found the jeans pocket picture on the internet and added the rub on and heart sticker for decoration. I added the jeans pocket tab later on as I wanted to add the phrase "old skool" somewhere on my card without making it too obvious. I found the mobile phone image on the internet as well, I added the text of "Happy Birthday" onto the screen. I have added dimensional magic onto the screen and buttons of the phone to make the phone look more life like. The sentiment has been done in a font that resembles phone text.

I have atlast found a quick card design that can be adapted for both and female, atlast I can start giving my male freiends handmade cards.

The Challenges I have included-
In my pocket-City Crafter Challenge Blog #47

Getting my weekly fix at the Play Date Cafe

2011-03-12T01:10:00.004+11:00

I have to admit when I first saw these colours I was like what on earth can I make with this unusual colour combo. I nearly gave up on making something until I acutally put the colours together and thought that a modern and striking pattern might just do the trick.

I absolutely love handbags and own way too many, just call me Amelda Marcos. I have recently being seeing handbags on quite a few cards and projects and thought I would come up with a simple bag design and use it on a card of my own. I kept the card simple focusing on the handbag and the sentiment. For a different look I didn't use patterned paper on the card.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-PDCC72

Alphabet Challenge Blog-S is for stripes

I have to clean and clean this weekend. So going to try and keep the house neat from now on, I have much better things to do with my time than clean for hours and hours but it has to be done.

Hope all of you have a lovely weekend, not full of domestic duties.

Thanks "Sew" very much

2011-03-10T00:10:00.003+11:00

My week so far is going well, have been busy at work but the customers haven't been too bad, hope I haven't spoken too soon. Yesterday one of my bosses celebrated 25 years in the company, we went out for drinks and dinner which was lots of fun, it turned into a very loud sing along, think we kept everyone entertained at the club.

I really enjoyed getting the theme of this card together. I used a sewing font, measuring tape ribbon, a chipboard sewing machine, a button, lace, and patterned paper with a stitching pattern on it. I have been wanting to make this card for sometime and happy that I finally got to make it. I also really enjoyed working with this simple sketch, thought I would have issues using all the layers on the card but in the end I am happy with the way it turned out. Hope I get a chance to work with this sketch again, I will try and make the time to do so.

The challenges I have included-

Sketch-Waltzingmouse sketch #37

Anyway, thanks "sew" much for visiting my blog and I especially want to thank all the lovely people who regularly visit my blog, your time here is really appreciated.

Black and White with a splash of orange

2011-03-08T09:22:00.008+11:00

I have been meaning to design a gift bag template for sometime, just haven't been motivated to do so. Yesterday my husband and I put our heads together and came up with a bag template that still needs some work but will do for now.

Once the template has been fine tuned I will post the template on my blog, its a really easy design to work with.

I came across this free clipart image of the stylish lady on the internet the other day and just knew I had to make something out of it. It has been so easy working with this image. I have just paper pierced the skirt, scarf and hand bag. I didn't want to do exactly the same pattern on the bag and so just added a splash of orange for the skirt and a black and white scarf. I will be making more of these little bags from now on, will try making different sizes.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-Black and white with a limited use of colour.

Prairie Fairy Fridays-Inspired by a song. This card and gift bag was inspired by one of my favourite songs "Girl From Ipanema". I imagine the girl from the song to look like the stylish lady featured on this project.

Alphabet Challenge Blog-Ribbons.

thanks so much for visiting my blog, hope you have enjoyed your time here and I look forward to reading your comments.

A little yellow inspiration

2011-03-07T00:27:00.002+11:00

hi everyone,

it has finally cooled down in Sydney and I am absolutely loving the weather, I couldn't handle any more hot days. Today I spent the perfect Sunday with friends on a paddle boat cruising down the Nepean river, it was a really lovely experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Currently enjoying a three day weekend, I am lucky that my RDO has been added onto the weekend and I think there are a few more weekends like this before October so it may not be so difficult lasting till October for my leave, hope I haven't spoken too soon.

I was inspired to make this"home"themed card by "an idea in yellow" Moxie Fab World Tuesday trigger. I was especially influenced by the yellow door and the white furnishings. The windows in the chipboard house resemble the window on the yellow door in the trigger picture. The tree image has been stamped onto the card, the trunk of the tree on the wooden stamp wasn't long enough so after stamping the tree I have drawn the extension of the trunk. I also downloaded the free cross stitch font for the sentiment, I think it goes well with the overall theme of the card.

The other challenges I have included-
Catch the bug Challenge blog-Anthing goes.

Music and card making, that's my kinda mix

2011-02-28T23:17:00.004+11:00

At the moment I am watching the Academy Awards, I always have to watch this annual event. Love seeing all the beautiful dresses and the not so beautiful dresses. The Aussie's are certainly making their presence known this year which is just fantastic. The glitz and glamour is all so much fun and I also have to add that Mr James Franco who is hosting the show is looking kinda good, he is one of my favourite actors.

Getting back to reality, tomorrow the company I work for is going to be owned by a new company, I think we will finally start experiencing the changes that will be in place due to the sale, anyway we just have to wait and see what happens. Today Energy Australia's sign was removed, I actually felt really sad when this happened afterall it has been 14 years since I have been there.

Anyway, I will now stop rambling on and get to my card which I made last night in a simple and hopefully funky style. I have mentioned before that my favourite card style is CAS, and when I want to make a quick card its such a great style to work with. The robots on the card are rubon's, I added "googly" eyes and rounded the corners with a round corner punch. One of my favourite songs is "Rock with you" by Michael Jackson and that is where I got my inspiration for this card.

The Challenges I have included-
Prairie Fairy Fridays-Inspired by a song.
Paper romance challenges-Anything goes.
Paper crafting journey-Anything goes.

Hope you have all had a good start to your week and thanks again for visiting :)

Bright and happy colours are always my favourite.

2011-02-27T03:19:00.010+11:00

I went out last night for a movie and dinner with a friend and although I didn't have a very late night I was really tired today at work and was determined to come home and go to sleep. It's now 3am and I still haven't had a nap so I guess tomorrow I will be sleeping in.

The colours are not very clear in this card, attempted taking the photo a few times and this is the best my husband and I could do. I have had this idea of a little envelope with hearts exploding from the envelope for a long time. I originally wanted the sentiment to be "sending all my love to you" but I changed my mind and will use it for the next card I do with envelopes and hearts . I did this card using up rub-ons that I have had for some time. To me the border rub-on resembled stitching, I was originally going to hand stitch around the envelope to give the card a homely look but was way too tired to put the effort in so settled for faux stitching, shortcuts are always good.

The Challenges I have included-

The Play Date Cafe-Colour challenge PDCC70.

The Paper Variety-Sew much fun.
Prairie Fairy Fridays-Inspired by a song.This card was inspired by one of my favourite songs being "Please Mr Postman" by the Marvelettes.
Tuesday Throwdown-3D.
Scrappy Frogs Challenge Blog-Love is in the air.
Stamping Vacation-No Flowers.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing Sunday, I was going to tidy up my craft room but I think that can wait, it will be done eventually.

I was chosen as one of the "cream in the coffee" winners for this card over at The Play date cafe.

There's just nothing to it

2011-02-24T00:23:00.004+11:00

This is my kinda challenge. Today was my first day back at work, I have to admit it started off badly. My husband and I walk to the railway station in the morning every day. For the last three years we have been greeted by the cutest cat who always put a smile on my face. I am not an animal lover but I thought this cat was adorable. Very sadly today whilst we were walking "fat cat" had been run over by a car and was in the middle of the road, I was horrified and had to stop myself from crying. My husband picked the cat up and put it on the nature strip, we knocked on the owners door to advise them about what had happened but they weren't home, hope they weren't too shocked when they found out the sad news. I will miss this little cat on my morning walk.

I made this card basically to cheer up. It is a card following the challenge over at

City Crafter Chalenge Blog. The challenge is to make a creation with no bows, no lace, no flowers and no buttons. I love simple cards and so thoroughly enjoyed making this card that includes very little. I have had these rub-ons for a very long time and happy that I have been able to use them atlast.

The other challenges I have included-
Guylou's Inimitability Blog-Anything goes.
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge-Someone Special.

Anyway, hope all of you lovely people are having a good week. Keep smiling and thanks so much for visiting my blog. I have said it before and I will say it again, I really appreciate the time you have spent here.

I wish my holidays weren't going by so quickly :(

2011-02-22T02:01:00.003+11:00

I really can't believe how quickly my four days off is going, I am having so much fun hanging out, crafting, reading and doing all the other things people do when on holidays. After this break I don't have time off till October which for me is major, I hope I don't go completely mad at work. Tomorrow I have decided I am going to my favourite scrapbooking shop, I don't have too much money to spend but it will still be fun going there.

I made these cards last night, at the moment I have got a thing for owls, I just love them. For the first card I used a blue wood grain background. I punched out the hearts and cut out the stems free hand. The owls were cut out from patterened paper and adhered to the card with foam mounting tape to add dimension. I have put the same sky paper I used for the hearts on the inside. I have to admit I am really happy with the way this card turned out, its really simple but I like the overall CAS look of the card.

The second card was used making similar papers. I cut out the stem free hand and curled it at the end so that the stem looks like its coming out of the paper. I also used alpha stickers on this card which is something I haven't done in a long time. I had so much fun making these two cards, so happy that I got an opportunity to make them on my time off.

The challenges I have included-
Card Patterns-Sketch 103.
Digi doodles shop's best-Anything goes.
Paper crafting journey-Anything goes.
Guylou's Inimitability Digistamps-Anything goes.
Shelly's images-Show us what you got.
Little Claire's Designs-Anything goes.
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps-Punches.
Stamping Vacation-No flowers.

The Challenges I have included-

Sketch-TPV.

Card makin Mamas-Happy Birthday.
Fairy Knoll-Happy Birthday.
If the shoe fits scrap it-Happy Birthday.
Stamping with the dragon-Birthdays.
One Stop Craft-Birthdays.

Thankyou so much for visiting my blog, I really love reading everyone's comments, it truly keeps me motivated to keep on creating.

Can't sleep so will create to the wee hours of the morning, life is good.

2011-02-20T14:27:00.012+11:00

Sketch Used

Source of Inspiration

At the moment it's still really hot in Sydney, I normally love the heat but because we have had so much of this weather I am looking forward to it cooling down. Yesterday I just couldn't sleep. I set myself up in the lounge room with the airconditioning, a glass of wine, put on my favourite radio station which was playing some fantastic music and crafted away to the wee hours of the morning, had a ball. I did get up extremely late today but all is good as its a Sunday and I could sleep in.

I have been seeing bird houses everywhere used on craft projects thats what gave me the idea for this card, I was especially inspired by Patti's card over at TPV. Planning to use their sketch for my next card. I cut out the bird houses, stems and leaves and created this scene. I used twine to give the look of attaching the little houses to the stems, it was alot easier to adhere the twine than what I thought it would be. As usual I used foam squares to give the houses dimension, because this is a side on view of the card you can sort off see the foam squares in the photo, this is not the case when looking at the card front on. I have a few more ideas of projects with bird houses, looking forward to making them in the near future. I am definitely on a roll at the moment and enjoying every minute of it. As the title of my blog says "imagine, create, express" and I am certainly doing this and hopefully will stay motivated from now on.

The challenges I have included-

Sketch-s'Sketches

Source of inspiration-Wee Memories.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and doing something enjoyable. Thanks again for visiting, I really appreciate the time you have spent here.

Playing along at the very very last minute

2011-02-19T15:24:00.010+11:00

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, its another hot one here in Sydney but nothing like the heat wave we experienced a couple of weeks ago. I have got a few days off from work, really looking forward to the time off. Yesterday we went to see Kool and the Gang in concert and they were fantastic, excellent and brilliant. I have listed to their music from a very young child and it was really awesome seeing them live.

This is a simple card that I have made using Brenda Walton papers by K&Company that I have had for a few years. I love this pad of papers and so happy that I have finally been able to put some of it to use. I kept the card simple focusing on the colours. My friend has asked me to make her a wedding card, I think this will be suitable.

The challenges I have included-
Color Challenge-CR84FN.
Anything goes-Paper crafting journey.
Weddings and anniversaries-The Crazy Challenge.
Valentines/Love-Pear Tree Designs.
In love with Valentines-The sisterhood of crafters.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and thanks so much for visiting :)

A belated Valentines Day card

2011-02-18T01:04:00.009+11:00

Hope everyone has had a good week so far, mine hasn't been too bad although very busy. I made this card last night as I had to somehow get into the Valentine's day spirit. Randolph and I have never been big on celebrating Valentine's day but we did manage to watch a movie Monday night which I thoroughly enjoyed. We watched 127 hours which was an absolutely amazing flick, not exactly romantic but certainly inspiring.

Anyway I love hearts and roses and wanted to combine them on my card in a simple and effective way. Although this card was simple to make in the end, I have to admit it took me ages to come up with the design but I am happy with the way it turned out in the end. The stems and leaves have been drawn on, the hearts have been punched out and attached to the card with self adhesive foam squares, the ribbon is maroon although it looks black in the photo and the bird has been cut out from patterned paper.

I have included the card in the following challenges-
Off the Wall Craftiness-Hearts or Vintage.
2 Sisters challenge blog-Hearts.
Polka Doodles-Thats Amore.
Stamp scrap and doodle Saturdays-Love is in the air.
Crafty Ann's challenge blog-Love is all around.
Delicious Doodles-Valentines Day.
The Crafty Calendar Challenge-Love.
The Stamp Man Challenge-Hearts.
Totally gorjuss-Love.
My time to craft-Hearts and flowers.

thanks so much for visiting my blog and I look forward to reading about what you think of my card.

This card was chosen as the winning card over at Polka Doodles for the "That's Amore' " challenge.

A tricky colour combo

2011-02-14T00:13:00.009+11:00

I just loved this colour combo when I came across it but have to admit found it very tricky to work with due to the varying shades of pink. I challenged myself to use my old stash in this card and was happy to be able to use the chipboard flowers that I painted white and different shades of pink. The patterned paper at the base is from packaging, love it when I am able to recycle something that would normally be thrown out.

The challenges I have included-

Colour Q-ColourQ Challenge #71.

Mami Doodles-Flower card.

Phindy's place challenge-Spring is on the way.

Little Claire's Designs-Anything goes.

It has been a fantastic few days. As you may already know I love my music and even if it means starving I will spend my last cent on a good concert. On Thursday Randolph and I went to watch De la Soul, its our second time seeing them and they put on an unforgetable show for all us hip hop fans, its so great that I am still able to listen to them now just as I used to when I was a teenager. Yesterday we went to Good Vibrations which is a yearly summer festival in Sydney, haven't been for many years so it was great to be able to attend. At the festival we watched many amazing performers, Damien Marley and Erykah Badu were my favorite. Can't believe what a fantastic show they put on. I pushed my way to the very front of the crowd and stood there for about seven hours, I wasn't going to loose my spot no matter what and believe me it was worth it. I got some really good photos for a change.

I hope everyone has a lovely Valentines Day, spread the love around and celebrate.

So much fun using new products

2011-02-08T23:16:00.002+11:00

As much as us cardmakers and scrapbookers say that we will never go craft shopping again somehow it always happens. I was really in the need of a pick me up the other day so I went craft shopping and picked up some more chipboard pieces which I love using on my cards.

I am sorry if my posts are all over the place, I pretty much put my thoughts down spontaneously and hopefully I make sence in what I am trying to convey. Today was actually a really good day at work, we all had a good laugh and I won a fun comp where I get to wear casual all week at work. This will come in handy for Thurs night as I am going to see De la soul straight after work and don't exactly want to be in work clothes at the gig.

Anyway my husband doesn't like this card but its all good as I am quite happy with the result and Randolph doesn't have to like everything I make. Atleast this time I didn't get upset when he said that he didn't like it, I must be growing up. This card is different to my usual style where I keep everything to a minimum, its great to do something different.

The challenges I have included-
Sketch 101-CardPatterns.

Sometimes you just have to make a simple and happy card

2011-02-07T22:53:00.006+11:00

I made this card yesterday after the Southerly came through, yes it's cool again in Sydney and I'm loving it. We experienced the hottest weather in 50 years in the last week and it was horrible but atleast we didn't loose electricity at home which thousands of people did.

I have made this card for my good friend who absolutely loves owls. Its really funny she normally gives me presents with Babushka doll designs and I give her presents with owl designs, we both know each others taste so well. I wanted this card to be bright and happy and I really wanted to show off the pattern of this beautiful paper, I have also decorated the inside of the card. Simone's birthday is not until April so I have to keep it safe somewhere. I often give my cards to my husband to keep until I need them, this is mainly so that I don't start altering it to the point where the card gets destroyed, in the past I have done this many times.

I have included this card in quite a few challenges, it's always fun doin this

The Challenges I have included-
Sketch-S'sketches #48.
Catch the bug-Anything goes.
Stamping vacation-No tags.
Pile it on-Bright and breezy.
Sew many cards challenge blog-Anything goes.
Little Claire's designs-Anything goes.
All that scraps-Anything goes.
Craft us crazy-Anything goes.
Stampin with the dragon-Anything goes.
The fuzzy wuzzy challenges-Birthday wishes.
The crazy challenge-Birthdays.

hope everyone has a good week, and yes I think I am going to stick to my resolution of my Monday night post.

I don't think it could get any hotter in Sydney

2011-02-03T14:46:00.001+11:00

Today is another unbelievably hot day in Sydney. For me we have had a mild summer but at the moment it's so hot and muggy. Lets hope the weather cools down soon, its just too much. I work for an electricity company and yesterday we got absolutely hammered at work, thousands of people lost electricity for over 12 hours, lets just say that it wasn't a nice day to loose electricity for that amount of time and people were naturally very unhappy about the situation. Its my day off today so hopefully when I get back to work tomorrow everything would have calmed down.

My friend has given me a project to make 10 cards for her in the next month or so this will make me make cards and blog regularly over the next month. She has left the designs completely upto me which is fantastic but also a bit daunting as I am hoping I make what she likes and needs.

I have been seeing bunting everywhere on cards over the last few months. I have managed to atlast find chipboard bunting which I was able to used on this card. I also used cloud paper which features in alot of my cards, to me it always adds to the theme of a happy and sunny day. I made this card using the sketch over at Card Patterns. I loved this sketch and just had to play along, its the first time I have worked with one of Card Patterns sketches and I am sure it won't be the last time.

Anyway, I am now off to have about my 50th cold drink and this evening I am atlast going to watch Black Swan which is Natalie Portman's new movie. I have heard great reviews about it, looking forward to watching the movie in airconditioned surroundings.

All that glitters and sparkles

2011-02-01T21:05:00.001+11:00

Believe it or not I am posting for a second day in a row, miracles do happen. It is extremely hot in Sydney so instead of doing my daily excercise I am blogging. Hopefully it will cool down soon, I normally love the heat but this is way too much, maybe I would be thinking differently if I could be at the beach or in the pool the whole day but dealing with angry customers at work and stinking hot weather is too much for me.

I came across this challenge over at Leearts. It's a very small world, Leanne lives in Karachi, Pakistan which is where I was born, my family migrated to Sydney, Australia about 27 years ago. My family are good friends with Leanne's inlaws and she knows my cousin Marie as well, I was pleasantly surprised about all this at first but then I realized we are all connected in someway.

I am including this card for a challenge over at Flashback Friday Challenges. This is an easy challenge as I wasn't required to make a card in a hurry. The challenge is to post the first card made with glitter. I don't often work with glitter mainly because it gets everywhere and when I was very young child I was making something out of glitter and made a huge mess. As my punishment I wasn't allowed to craft for a week which even at that age drove me mad and this has stuck in mind everytime I make something out of this shiny stuff.

I made this card for a glitter challenge and yes I did make a bit of a mess but it was worth it as I ended up winning the comp and got a nice prize for it as well. I ended up selling this card to a friend at work who gave it to his mum and she at first thought that he may have made it but then Daniel had to come out with the truth.

Ok, it's been a while

2011-01-31T22:51:00.002+11:00

hi everyone,
yep, I know its been a long while since I last blogged, I am an extremely bad blogger but on the positive side one of my many goals this year is to become more regular with my crafting and blogging, I have to make it happen.

Hope all you lovely people had a lovely Christmas and New years, I can't believe how quickly it went. During the month of Jan there is the Sydney festival which I absolutely love, have managed to attend some fantastic free concerts that I have thoroughly enjoyed, sad that its all over now.

This is a card that I made following the challenge at The Play Date Cafe.The challenge is to use black and white with a splash of purple. I was going to make the dolls faces white but it blended into the background too much. To make the doll with the purple kimono stand out I stuck it to the cardstock with mounting squares.

Anyway, I am planning to blog at least once a week and I am hoping that the day is going to be Monday. If I get to blog more often that would be fantastic but I am going to try for once a week at the moment and see how I go, better than not blogging at all.

And the winner is...........................

2010-11-10T23:30:00.003+11:00

Hello everyone,

the day is finally here and the winner has been chosen by Random.Org. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for entering my little giveaway, your support is sincerely appreciated and I love having all my new blogging friends around. I have come across so many great blogs due to all of you lovely ladies entering, I have tried to visit all of your blogs and will visit again in the near future.

List Randomizer

There were 246 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. SABINA

The winner is SABINA. Congratulations Sabina, I hope you will enjoy all the goodies I have included in the pack.

Stay posted for my next giveaway which should be in the very near future :) :)

It's about time I posted something

2010-11-08T21:34:00.002+11:00

Ok, so I am not the most consistent of bloggers as I have said before I truly admire the crafters out there who post every other day, I have to admit no matter how I try to be more regular with posting it just doesn't happen, I go through my stages.

Life has been really good and busy of late. My Aunt visited from Germany and we had an awesome time hanging out with her in Sydney, I am missing having her around, she went back last Tuesday. My family lives all around the world and so obviously we don't meet on a regular basis, I wish we could meet more often but that little thing called money gets in the way. I am going to get skype so atleast we can pretend we are in the same room.

Yesterday being Sunday was such a lovely and spontaneous day. On the spur of the moment I called friends over and although I was still getting dressed when they arrived everything fell into place and we had a lovely day drinking wine, eating and catching up. Randolph (my husband) cooked up a quick and delicious meal that we all enjoyed thoroughly. We should have friends over more often, its so much fun.

Anyway, back to business. I made this card for my mum's cousin who we visited when Aunty Phyllis was in town. Although they only live 20 mins away I hadn't seen these relatives in over four years, hopefully it won't be that long before we go there again. Aunty Yvonne who is my mum's cousins wife was complaining that she hadn't recieved a handmade card from me in years so hopefully this will make up for it.

I kept this card simple by only using plain cardstock and adding very little to the card. The butterflies are punched out, the flowers cut out from patterned paper and the branch with leaves is a chipboard shape stamped with a green ink pad. I am really happy with the design and this is another quick card I can whip in a hurry when I need to.

The Challenges I have included-
Creative card crew challenge-Lets Punch it

A little bit of this and that GIVEAWAY, a celebration of blogging

2010-10-30T23:36:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone,
I have decided to have a giveaway on my blog. There were a few months there when I wasn't blogging at all as life got a bit too much for me. Now that I am back and blogging I realize how much I enjoy it and just how much my blog motivates me to create and for that I am extremely thankful. I have had the opportunity to come across some fantastic artists, have had the chance to take part in some challenging challenges and keep my motivation by the encouraging comments left on my posts. I haven't taken the best photo of the giveaway but I have listed everything that is part of the prize.

How to enter

1. you get two chances to win if you leave just a comment by itself
2. you get four chances to win if you are already a follower or become a follower and leave a comment on this post.
3.you get five chances to win if you are already a follower or become a follower, leave a comment and post about this giveaway on your blog. (this is obviously the best option :) :)
*Please indicate in your comment what you have done so that I am able to keep a track on things. In your comment simply put "1", "2" or "3"

This is what's included in the giveaway

*1 Ruby Rock-it, Upstairs downstairs photo corners (Australian brand)
*1 Ruby Rock-it, Upstairs downstairs, self-adhesive flutterbies
*1 Ruby Rock-it, Upstairs downstairs, self-adhesive florets
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house, self-adhesive florets
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house, felt oval frames
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house, felt frame square
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house,Crochet flowers
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house, Narratives
*1 Ruby Rock-it, The summer house, Icon Rub-ons
*1 Franchville, Cutie pie expoxy stickers
*1 Sam and Lucy, stuck on you epoxy stickers
*1 K & Company, Roam grand adhesions
*1 K & Company, Happy trails grand adhesions
*1 K & Company, Kazoo kids grand adhesions
*1 Anna Griffin, Riley Collection epoxy stickers
*1 Bella, Expressions chipboard stickers
*1 Bella Chipz stickers
* 4 My Minds Eye Summer Rule tags
*2 Abbey Road die cuts
*1 Cute world (boy) epoxy stickers
*Fynmark, white celebrations ribbon
*1 Basicgrey, Pops layered stickers
*1 DCWV, Circus pop-ups
*1 Craft Affair, Princess stickers
*2 Craft Affair fabric brads
*1 Glittermania, Chipboard Christmas stickers
*1 Paperchase, felt stags
*2 designs of pretty ribbon
*1 The Paper Mill, adhesive papercraft lace border
*1 Metal thankyou tag

I really hope all you lovely bloggers out there join in, I have tried to put a mixture of things together that I am sure you will enjoy if you win. Unlike previous give-aways this one is much more organized and I promise to get the prize out in a timely manner.

This Giveaway will be till the 30th of October 2010 and the winner will be announced on the 2nd of November 2010.

A Simple Thank You card

2010-10-19T00:41:00.002+11:00

This is a simple card that I did following the colours over at

Curtain Call Colour Challenge.The main chipboard image has been used before this is just a smaller version. I love the simplicity of this image and the message it conveys. I will be giving this card to a friend of mine who has done alot for me lately.

My internet service is really quite bad at the moment, it has taken me over an hour to post this so I will be signing off now. Hope everyone is having a good start to their week. I will post again soon once my internet service is working properly :(

Oh my goodness I did some stamping

2010-10-13T23:00:00.001+11:00

I am not a very good stamper, I have to stamp and image about ten times to get it right. As they say practice makes perfect and maybe one day I will be an OK stamper. I absolutely loved this stamp though and had to use it on this card, I know it is an extremely easy image to stamp but I still had issues with stamping it properly, I am happy with the way it turned out in the end, gotta start somewhere. I cut out the flowers and punched out the butterflies with my new butterfly punch that I absolutely love. The paper for one of the butterflies is the packaging in which the punch came in. I love to be able to recycle things and have to admit have been extremely lazy in doing this but will make an effort from now on.

The challenges I have included in this card-
Take Flight-City crafter Challenge Blog
Something Punchy-Stamp Something
Anything Goes-Ellephantastic Challenges
Anything Goes-Craftylicious Challenges

My craft area is now extremely neat, it took many hours to get it that way but it did get done in the end. Hopefully I can keep the room tidy from now on, believe me I would rather be doing something else other than cleaning up, I am sure many of you can relate.

My tribute to the Commonwealth Games

2010-10-12T14:51:00.013+11:00

At the moment the Commonwealth Games are on. After seeing the amazing Opening Ceremony I have re gained an appreciation of Indian art. I love the intricate designs and bright colours that are prominent in most things Indian. Paisleys is a common and beautiful Indian design and so I decided to use them when making the patterned paper for this card. The Paisleys are part of a 1970's dingbat font that I have got, they always come in handy. This is another card design that I will use for the many cards that I have to make.

The challenges I have included-

Melon and Green-The Play Date Cafe

Sketch (in previous post)-Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge

Things in threes-Pile It On

Today is my day off and I am supposed to be cleaning up, I will start in about 15 mins and get the house back to a normal state. My Aunt is in town at the moment and I want the house to be presentable before she comes over. It will get done :)

I was chosen as one of the "cream in the coffee" winners for this card over at the The Play Date Cafe