Hush my darling, Don't fear My Darling, The Lion Sleeps Tonight...

 Or in the case of a slumber party for five seven year old girls...the lion doesn't sleep tonight!

I thought I'd show you the birthday card that I made for Miss 7. It was inspired by this gorgeous card that we received from my friend Di...but I've kept with the lion theme (as requested by Miss 7 herself)...

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Basic Black (Textured), Only Orange, Yoyo Yellow (Textured) and Whisper White (all SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (PTI)
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP (SU), Paper Piercer (misc), White Gel Pen (misc), Orange Zest Satin ribbon (PTI), Yellow Twisted Paper Cord (Annabelle Stamps), Simply Chartreuse Pure Wool Felt (PTI), Die-namics Fresh Cut Grass Die (My Favorite Things), Scallop Circle Punch (SU), Two-step Owl Punch (SU), Flower Trio Punch (SU), Dimensionals (SU), Mini Glue Dots (SU) and Tombow Mono Adhesive (Penwa).

If I were making this card again, I would run the Whisper White layer through my Cuttlebug with a simple, non-fussy design (can't think what right now though...). This lion reminds me a bit of another lion I made some time back (here...the lion fancy has been going on for some time now).

The slumber party was a success...I think. To the best of my knowledge no one spent the night crying into their sleeping bag...I checked about six times ;-), and eventually they all got some sleep (not a lot...but some). I wish I could say the same for me! Thank goodness I had the Sunday to recover before it was back to the weekly chores.

The girls seemed to enjoy the activities we had planned for them. These included alphabet beading, pillowcase decorating, and pom pom critters...

The pom pom critters were my favourites. Apart from the pretty coloured wool (from Spotlight), I got to play with my newly acquired (also from Spotlight) glue gun. ME LIKEY!

Gotta run! Thanks for visiting.

Blogged to: Touch - Noiseworks, Fall of Rome - James Reyne and Hungry Town - Big Pig).

I feel like a mile-high, pastrami on rye, on the fly from the deli in the sky!

Got your attention? Let me start by saying this blog post has nothing to do with pastrami on rye. If, however, you feel like checking out some delicious, beautifully decorated chocolate mud cake...this is the post for you...just read on!

Remember at the end of my last post, the tragic tale of cake woe and retail disappointment, I mentioned that I had a GOOD cake story to relate too...well, this is it.

Behold a rooley, trooley, super dooper skamooley...beautiful cake! One that was custom made, looked fabulous, tasted even more fabulouser (while I'm making up words here I may as well go all out), was made on time, was worth every penny and one whose creator (Sarah of Little Miss Cupcake) was a real pleasure to deal with...

 

Sarah, we loved the cake! The kids were rapt by the design (Miss 7 especially!!), and we really enjoyed eating it too. It was super moist and delicious, and I may even have gone back for seconds (this is just between you, me and the gate-post....and is significant because I don't usually like chocolate mud cake at all).

I can highly recommend Sarah's amazing creations, and we'll be ordering again if she can fit us in! If you live in the ACT, check out Little Miss Cupcake...even if you don't live here (your loss...hehehe) check out the photo gallery of kids cakes here (there is one of Sponge Bob Squarepants in there...oh no AVERT YOUR EYES! ;-).

My apologies for the over abundance of pics above (couldn't help myself) and the bodgy lighting too. It was indoors on a partially overcast day...and there was me not wanting to traipse outside with the cake in hand and have it pooped on by a passing Magpie, made off with by a rabid dog or have some other highly unlikely disaster befall it...that'd be WAY more than I could have handled at that point!

Just quickly...I also made some party bags...

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Riding Hood Red (Textured), Marigold Morning and Whisper White (all SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Wild About You (SU)
Accessories: Aluminium Metal Edge Tags (SU), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (SU), Limitless Layers 1 3/4" Circle Collection Dies (PTI), Washi Tape (Pretty Tape on Etsy), Dimensionals (SU) and Tombow Mono Adhesive (Penwa).

Sigh...more beautiful Washi Tapes here! Check them out on Etsy...from Pretty Tape, Sugar B. Supplies, UGUiSU and Washimatta.

PS. Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I needed a few sympathetic ears. You guys are awesome!

Sponge Bob Squarepants is NOT Bob the Builder...got that?

Sorry for the long absence! First off, I had two birthday parties to prepare for last weekend (one of which was a slumber party for five seven year old girls...yes I may well need my head looked at). Then I managed to leave my laptop up in Sydney last Tuesday...so I've been pretty much incommunicado since then :-(. I have my laptop back now...I missed it sorely.

It is probably a good thing that I left my laptop up there, because it has given me time to calm down about an incident that left my blood boiling! I will now calmly explain the bizarre title I used for this post!

As I was getting ready for the two parties, with my 8 week old baby in tow, I decided that this year I would out-source the whole cake making circus. I ordered one cake from a local cake-maker that I found via the internet, and the other through a well-known cake store chain. Mr almost 5 was having the cake store cake, and earlier in the week we hiked up to the shopping centre and spent a while looking through their cake design cards (and ordering their very-expensive-for-what-it-was cake...[almost $50]). Mr almost-five settled on Bob The Builder, and the store assistant took my deposit and asked me to carefully read through the order notes (which I did)...you can see where this sad tale is going, can't you?! ANYWAY...on Friday, I rocked up to the aforementioned cake store outlet and requested my Bob the Builder cake. Off they went, to find the cake and eventually returned and opened the box with a flourish for my inspection. I was gobsmacked! If it didn't actually say Happy Birthday XXXXX (insert my son's name), I would have just indicated that they'd picked up the wrong box...but NO...his name was staring back at me in not-very-neat black lettering, alongside a large picture of Sponge Bob Squarepants. I was lost for words. The only thing I could say was "NO. No, no, no....that is NOT our cake". I then managed to squeak out "Bob the Builder....we ordered Bob the Builder!!!!!!!".

At this point the store assistant consulted her notes (which I could see clearly from my side of the counter, and which clearly stated BOB THE BUILDER...NOT Sponge Bob Squarepants). She excused herself and went around the corner of the shop (maybe for a few deep breaths...something I needed desperately), and then returned and apologised, and told me the baker had made an error...with all the sympathy of a 'talk-to-the-hand' type gesture.

The manager then came out and repeated a similar story with more talk-to-the-hand attitude. Obviously they had not made an error, it was the Baker!!! I am only hearing 'DOLLY DID IT' going through my head and started to hyper-ventilate. I managed to explain that this cake was for a five year old, who had hand-picked his birthday design...and the fact that the 'baker did it,' wouldn't really cut it (I was also feeling immensely guilty for having tried to outsource the cake in the first place now...this was my punishment for my poor parenting sins). The manager kinda shrugged and proceeded to tell me that I could buy one of his other cakes instead if I liked. GOBSMACKED does not adequately explain my feelings at this point. This guy really took the cake!!! I told him "NOOOOOOOOOOO, NO...I would not be buying another one of his cakes" ( I was thinking he'd be lucky if I EVER purchased anything from his crumby store again...I'm like an elephant this way...I will NEVER forget ;-).

I held myself together and in no uncertain terms told him to "GIVE ME MY DEPOSIT NOW...PLEASE!". He looked at me calmly and said, but then you won't have a cake...at which point I almost yelled hysterically "NO, NO I WILL NOT...AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT!" Didn't he know?....you don't mess with the breastfeeding mother of an 8 week old baby, who was sleeping peacefully through this whole farsical episode, warming himself up to be awake for 90% of the night...AGAIN?!

Deposit in hand I left the counter in a hurry, walked for a few minutes, found one of those seats in the middle of a busy walk way, say down and promptly burst in to tears. I've never seen so many horrified looking shoppers in my life! I almost burst out laughing as they all studiously watched their shoes as they walked past the sobbing mother with 8 week old baby in tow. I tried to call my husband at work to vent, but he...QUITE INCONSIDERATELY was off at lunch, and I got his assistant instead who sounded quite worried about me (I was probably still sobbing at the time).

That night hubby and I knuckled down to the business of cake making. He did some last minute running around purchasing the bits and pieces while I baked and shaped the cake, then he helped me ice it. In the end, it was a good thing that cake store outlet stuffed up....our cake was MUCH nicer than theirs, and it was the cake Mr Almost-five had originally wanted (before I gently let him know I wouldn't have time to make it for him).

WOW...if you made it this far...thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Here are some pics of our cake:

We used the Wally Whale cake from the Australian Women's Weekly Kids' Party Cakes book (our cake-making bible for the last seven years) as our inspiration. We re-drew the template though, as theirs was way too big for our needs. My kids ADORE this book. They will literally lie on the lounge room floor for HOURS choosing what cake they will have for their next birthday. I love it!

It was my husband's idea to crack out some of my coloured cardstock and make waves and sky for the background! Isn't he a clever cookie? I think I ended up using Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise and Soft Sky (all SU).

Here are a couple of pics of the party bags too. Because Master 5 had originally wanted a whale cake, I went with the whale theme and cracked out my lovely Fox and Friends stamp set again. It is getting a good work-out Di...thanks again!

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White and Vintage Violet (all SU)
Ink: Vintage Violet Classic Ink (SU)
Stamps: Fox and Friends (SU)
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch (SU), 1 3/8" Circle Punch (SU), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (SU), Black Polka Dot Washi Tape (Pretty Tape on Etsy), Dimensionals (SU), Large Cello Bags (SU), and Tombow Mono Adhesive (Penwa).

Japanese Washi Tape is my new LOVE. Beautiful, colourful designs, easy to apply and reapply and reapply again and easy to tear off. Check out some of the beautiful designs at Pretty Tape on Etsy!

I have another cake story to relate...but that one is a 100% positive story, so I'll post it separately!
Thanks for visiting,

(Blogged to: Ça Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand).

Bazillions of Blooming Bewdiful Buttons

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Papertrey Ink's Vintage Buttons? Well, I do! They are so pretty, and the best thing about them is that you never know what you're gonna get (a bit like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates eh?). I was particularly enamoured by the selection in my recently purchased Royal Velvet pack. Lots of groovy shapes and styles, and I love, love purple!

I had them out on my desk recently and decided that I really wanted to use them. ...lots and lots of them...so I did!

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Vintage Violet, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake (all SU)
Ink: Baja Breeze and Vintage Violet Classic Inks (SU) and Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Flower Fusion #1 (PTI), Linen (SU) and Curly Cute (SU)
Accessories: Large Scalloped Border (PTI), White gel pen, Paper Piercer, Edge Distresser, Flower Fusion #1 Die (PTI), Baja Breeze Patterns DSP (SU), Royal Velvet and Ocean Tides Vintage Buttons (PTI), Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals and Tombow Mono Adhesive.

As you can see, these cards are all much of a muchness. I was just fiddling with minor details and keeping myself amused while I was making the seven I needed (small attention span). I am very pleased with the way they turned out, and I am still really enjoying working with this colour combination (...I haven't put the Vintage Violet away yet ;-).

...and be-dee, be-dee, be-dee...that's all folks!

(Blogged to: Just What I Needed - The Cars, I Want Your Love - Transvision Vamp and I Can't Dance - Genesis).

More lovely handmade goodies from friends...

I have been sitting on a bunch of pics of some more beautiful creations that I received from friends following the birth of our wee Thumper.

So without further ado...

This creation by Di Barnes is so amazing I want to CASE it, but I don't have a month of spare time up my sleeve! Di even made matching wrapping paper and tag for the accompanying gift...

...just gorgeous! The inspiration for her card and parcel came from part of the gift itself...

...an adorable Pumpkin Patch set with matching onesie, hat and blanket! Di has given details on her blog about how she made the punch art zebra...so if you want to give it a try, check it out here. Thank you so much Di!

Next I have an absolutely adorable creation by Jocelyn aka JoBear2...

Such a sweet image from Penny Black. I have not managed to capture the bling on the flower petals very well...but it is there! I love all of the texture on this card too. You can read more details about this creation on Jocelyn's blog here. This card also arrived with a lovely parcel of goodies. Thank you again Jocelyn :-).

Last but certainly not least, I received a lovely card and accompanying gifts, from my friend Kim...

The stunning strawberry basket did also contain some delicious chocolates when it arrived, but I can't seem to find them now...I WONDER where they could have got to?! Kim made those gorgeous strawberry lavender holders (complete with zillions of tiny white knots) by hand...Eeeeeek! Where did she find the time? See Kim's post here for more details.

Thank you again ladies for the lovely cards and gifts. I really do feel very special to have received them all! The cards are still up on my sideboard and attracting many compliments from our visitors.

Best wishes,

Racing towards five...

The birthdays are drawing nearer, and I am pretty much on top of the birthday cards. I finished Mr Almost 5's card early last week, but have been madly studying for my MROCP up until this morning (when I sat for the test...fingers crossed I passed)....so I haven't managed to post it yet.

I am really happy with the card that I made...and am totally in love with the colour combo...which includes some of my carefully hoarded Vintage Violet cardstock (be still my heart! I'd forgotten how much I LOVE that colour).

List of ingredients:

Cardstock: Vintage Violet, Baja Breeze, Whisper White and Crumb Cake (all SU)
Ink: Baja Breeze Classic Ink (SU) and Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Linen (SU), Calendar Alphabet & Numbers (SU) and Birthday Bash Sentiments (PTI)
Accessories: Orange Zest Satin Ribbon (PTI), White Twisted Paper Cord (Annabelle Stamps), White Gel Pen (misc), Large Scalloped Border (PTI), 1 3/8" circle punch (yacht hull), 1 1/4" square punch (yacht sails), two step owl punch (yacht number circles), heart to heart punch (seagulls), Tombow mono adhesive (Penwa) and Mini glue dots (SU).

I also have one wee bubba shot to share with you too...sorry, I just can't seem to help myself...

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend! I did, except for having nightmares about how my exam would go this morning. It is the first exam I have sat for since I finished up at UNSW in 1997...and I'd forgotten how anxious I get about them. My dream involved me sitting for the exam in a local McDonald's store, and it was so noisy I couldn't think straight...and when I opened the exam all the pages were cut up in weird papercrafting shapes!!!!!!). I think it went ok in the end...and that I'll be able to make all the necessary VHF/MF/HF calls that we might need to make en route, without making too much of a fool of myself ;-).

Thanks for dropping by today....OVER and OUT.

(Blogged to: Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve and Born This Way - Lady GaGa).

Letting the cat out of the bag, the horse out of the stall, the boat out of the harbour…

In my last post I alluded to a big adventure that my family and I will be embarking on in the very near future. Use of the term 'embarking' is a big clue ;-).

I have been sitting on this info for a long time…more than a year in fact. I have kept my life compartmentalised for numerous reasons, but mostly because…well, because this blog is about cardmaking and scrapbooking! However, this blog is also about things that make me smile - my tiddlywinks, my garden, my lampwork jewellery…and this little secret that I have been sitting on also makes me smile!

Today, Di Barnes awarded me a Stylish Blogger award (thanks so much Di) and I decided that I could use the 'eight things about me' requirement to let the cat out of the bag (and hopefully also help keep a tight rein on my tendency to natter on about not much of anything). Soooooooooo, here goes…

• My husband and I bought a 1992 Lagoon 42 TPI catamaran the Christmas before last and we have been working on sprucing her up ever since…she is called Lucey Blue.

• My family and I are about to move out of our house, and on to this catamaran…for an 8 month adventure up the coast of Australia, hopefully as far as Cairns and back. We anticipate leaving Sydney in about 55 days time.

• I am currently studying for my Marine Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency (MROCP) …everything you ever wanted to know (and some you didn't) about operating a VHF and an MF/HF radio.

• I get seasick (JOY!), and won't be able to take my usual preventative drugs due to the fact that I'll be breastfeeding Thumper (double JOY!!)

• We have another blog which documents our preparations for this voyage, and to which we will post about our adventures along the way. If you are interested, you can check it out here...but be warned, lots of the recent posts are focused on boaty fix-it type things, including installation of a vacuum-flush toilet...scintillating stuff I assure you ;-).

• I am not sure how much cardmaking I will be able to achieve while we are away, hopefully a little…but I am also going to teach myself to crochet! One day I want to make awesome, rainbow-coloured bundles of happiness like Lucy from Attic 24.

• We have a whole heap of things still to do before we leave, not least of which is packing up the house and finalising enrolment of Miss almost 7 in Distance Education for terms 2 - 4 this year.

• I am very, very excited about this adventure...seasickness and all.

If you made it this far thanks for reading about our plans!

I actually also have a card to show you...but with the dreary, rainy day we had today I didn't get a chance to photograph it for you. I'll have to get back to you later

Bedtime...ciao, ciao!

It's my Party

We've got parties (yes...parties plural) coming up here soon. Both Miss almost 7 and Mr almost 5 are due to celebrate their birthdays in the next few weeks. We have actually brought their birthdays forward almost a month due to a big, big adventure that we are embarking on in late April (more on that exciting story later).

This year I have scheduled both birthday parties on the same day. Crazy....? Maybe! But at least they'll be done and dusted in one go, and then we have to launch the big house pack-up.

Miss almost 7 has a 'thing' about lions. No lion in particular...just lions in general. I don't know where it came from...it just is. So I decided that her party invite would be lion-themed. Her current favourite colours are red and yellow...so a red and yellow, lion-themed card it would be!

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Miscellaneous Red from local paper store (close to Cherry Cobbler or Cranberry Crisp), Marigold Morning and Whisper White
Ink: Marigold Morning and Cherry Cobbler Classic Inks (SU) and Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Fox and Friends (SU) and Birthday Bash Sentiments (PTI)
Accessories: Scallop Squares Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Polka Dot Basics II Impression Plate (PTI), Limitless Layers 1 3/4" Circle Collection (PTI), Tombow Mono (Penwa) and Dimensionals (SU).

I only recently got the ever-so-cute Fox and Friends stamp set from my stamping buddy Di...who very kindly sent it along for me when she sent a card (I still have this beauty to show you too :-) and gift on the birth of our wee Thumper. Thanks again Di, I love this set!

Well, its way past my bedtime...I can barely keep the little peepers open here.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

The long road to nowhere...

We had a wedding to attend in Sydney last weekend. It was hubby's sister's wedding...so it was a big deal. We packed our 15 bags, dismantled the kitchen sink, loaded the camels, stowed six weeks rations and commenced the trek to Sydney on Friday. It was a long weekend in Canberra, so we didn't even try to pack light (HAHAHA....AS IF!).

Upon arrival Mister Almost Five's bad cough/cold....which he'd had for almost two weeks already, and which we thought was finally clearing up, got much, much worse. He coughed so much on Friday night he vomited, he had a fever, and he barely slept a wink (ditto the rest of us). We decided to take him to see a Doctor on Saturday...because we were worried he may have Whooping Cough. He has been immunised, and he didn't have a 'whoop' but apparently those are not deal breakers when it comes to the big WC.

With the young Thumper on the scene, and not yet immunised for WC...we started getting worried. Not to mention all the people we would be potentially exposing at the wedding. We got a test done on Saturday, but the results weren't due back for days...so we decided that Mister Almost Five, Thumper and Myself would miss the wedding...with me keeping my two boys as far apart as humanly possible (not far enough IMO).

Anyway...long story short (bit late for that now you say!!?), we don't have WC (THANK GOODNESS), but we missed the wedding anyway.... :-(. It was still a nasty cold (and chest infection), but the antibiotics are helping enormously.

I did also manage to make a card. It is not your usual wedding-type card (and not what I had originally planned either)...but I was very pleased with the way it turned out:

I'll have to come back and list the ingredients later. Thumper is currently trying to chew my boob off and I'm anxious not to be his first foray into solids AND...OH JOY! He has also filled his nappy, and if the sound effects are anything to go by, it is a DOOZY.

ETA - Here is the Ingredients List:

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant Textured (SU), Soft Sky (SU) and Shimmer White (misc)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant and Pumpkin Pie Classic Inks (SU)
Stamps: Heart Prints (PTI) and Enjoy the Ride (PTI)
Accessories: Haikou DSP (SU), White Gel Pen (misc), paper piercer (misc), Royal Velvet Twill (PTI), Mat Stack 4 Die (PTI), Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (PTI), mini glue dots (misc), Dimensionals (SU) and Tombow Mono (Penwa).

I am going to leave you with this last little pic of Thumper chilling. At least we got to enjoy the wedding flowers...

And before anyone has a coronary...the large, mostly empty, foil bladder near the flowers is water NOT Chardonnay (although I may have been wishing I could indulge in some of the later over the course of the weekend ;-).