A little dragonfly to try again...

I found some pictures of a card that I made just prior to our big move. I hadn't posted them before because the pics were pretty dodgy (and still are ;-). They were taken indoors on a rainy day and no amount of photoshopping has helped. Plus, made in a hurry, my card left a lot to be desired. I love the little dragonfly, and would really like to revisit this design once I get my hands back on my craftin' goodies. Having it here will remind and encourage me to do just that...well, that's the theory at any rate.

The dragonfly punch art is not my design. I first saw it here, but you can see it on Cristena's blog here. Cristena mentions that she got the instructions from Kim Score. Thank you for the fabulous idea ladies, I love him!

I was going to type up a recipe, but I can't remember any of what I used, and don't have an SU catty on hand to improvise. DOH!

The rub on is one of my old Kairsercraft ones, and I think you can see that I have had to scrub at the rub on until the textured cardstock has pretty much lost its texture! I recently saw some Kaisercraft rub ons that said they were a new design or some such thing. I can't wait to give them a try and see if they come off the sheet a bit easier. I like their designs....so I'd be very happy if they really did work better!

We are off to the house to think about where the furniture will be going, it is being delivered tomorrow....HOORAY! Have a lovely day...

Blogged to: Horror Movie - Skyhooks, She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals, No Lies - Noiseworks and You Keep Me Hanging On - Kim Wilde.

A Little More Magic

Uluṟu at sunset

What an amazing place!

Uluṟu at sunrise

Uluṟu at sunset again

Uluṟu in the afternoon

Dromedary Camels

...excited to see a herd of camels (even if they aren't native) near the side of the road on the way to Kata Tjuṯa. We stopped the car and leapt out to photograph them. Such odd looking animals. I think the camels thought we were pretty weird too. Well...they can just get in line ;-).

Thumper in Kaṉtju Gorge

I don't have anything more to say. The whole place is just...wow!

Blogged to: London 2012 Olympics

Taking it easy...?

Ha, ha, ha! This title couldn't be further from the truth. The last two weeks have been...well, hell. That word pretty much sums it up for me. We lost a very near and dear family member, and if that weren't enough, we were in the middle of packing and moving house at the time....an event that couldn't be delayed as our Canberra house had already been leased out. There were plenty of times over the last two weeks when I seriously doubted my ability to get through. Lots of tears and stress...but get through we have...and today we took a couple of hours off and went to find a tranquil picnic spot.

This is what we found...

So.......can you spot the intrepid explorer toddler?

There were flocks of gorgeous green Budgerigars and fabulous little Zebra Finches chattering in the trees. It was sunny and warm and we had the whole place to ourselves. It was a little bit of magic, and it was truly beautiful.

I hope that your Sunday was peaceful, with a little touch of magic too!

Blogged to: MasterChef Australia 2012.

And the piano, it sounds like a carnival...

...and the microphone smells like a beer...(well, maybe a white wine ;-).

I needed a card for our lovely piano teacher too... I left it to the last minute (like a well-prepared mum would) then I forgot to photograph it, until I was literally on my way out the door. Please forgive the poorly lit shots below...

I don't think there is much more needs saying about this. Note the use of gold-striped Washi tape to secure the pressie (which was a box of pretty washi tapes itself). I use Washi for all manner of things and love it to bits! My favourite supplier is Karen from Washimatta on Etsy.


Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Basic Black, Glossy White and Brushed Gold
Punches: Word Window and Corner Rounder
Accessories: Music Embossing Folder (PTI) and Gold Cord (SU - Retired).

Blogged to: MasterChef Australia 2012.

How to Catch Yourself Some Winter Sunshine...

At the risk of sounding like I'm whinging...it has been total mayhem here. Wrapping up work and school, packing, cleaning, fixing, exhibiting the house and working out all the administrative nitty gritty of moving interstate with three children in tow. Total mayhem. Even more so than moving onto the boat last year...this makes last year's preparations look like a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park. But I'm not complaining, we have lots to look forward to!

I haven't had the energy or inclination to blog, or in fact to do much of anything creative. I have been reading a little though, just before I go to bed. I guess it helps me to unwind...although I'm not sure that the books I've been reading are really that conducive to unwinding...Clive Cussler and Steve Berry... lots of action and intrigue, certainly great escapism material :-).

I did manage to make some sparkly little suncatchers a while back, as gifts for the kid's teachers. Our teachers have been totally awesome, so we wanted them to have something special...

The lampwork bells are all by Sari of Gaialai on Etsy. The sparkly crystals are by Swarovski and the silver beads and wire is all sterling. I found a new way to wire these suncatchers which is more economical, and much easier for me to wind and finish neatly. I was feeling very chuffed with the end results.

Now I'm going to kick back on the couch and watch some more telly. Hope your weekend was good.
PS. My face has healed nicely. Thanks for your messages!

Blogged to: MasterChef Australia 2012.

Black Zipper Orchid...

...not to be confused with a Slipper Orchid ;-)! I made another zipper flower today while the little guy was taking some Zzzzzzzs (I am in packing denial).

I got myself a thimble, and even though it was obviously made for bridezilla and kept falling off my finger (and I'm no small person) it made the job MUCH, much more pleasant. I also tried sewing the flower onto the felt circle. That worked well too....but I ended up applying a second, larger felt circle over the back once I was done...just to hide the really messy stitching.

I left the slider on this one, as a bit of a 'feature'. I also applied a button in the centre....which was SO much easier than sewing in the twirled up zipper end, although possibly not quite as nice looking...I'm undecided.

Now it's time I went foraging in the fridge for some dinner! Wish me luck...

Have a good one,

Blogged to: 100% Pure Love - Crystal Waters, I Drove All Night - Cyndi Lauper, Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra and Bridge to Your Heart - Wax.

Zipper Flower Brooch...

Recently one of the other mum's at school wore an amazing orange zipper flower brooch to school on her coat. I was amazed, totally! What a fabulous idea!!

So this morning while I was out and about I stopped and picked up some 26 inch YKK zippers with metal teeth and did a bit of deconstruction and reconstruction. I trimmed the ends off the zipper (to release the slider and reduce bulk). I looped and stitched one half of the zipper into four petals and with the second half I made one more petal and rolled the remainder into a flower centre (I did trim off a little because it was too long) and then stitched it all down.

I covered the back with a circle of red felt (stitched on in a rather haphazard fashion) and then stitched on the brooch pin (don't mind the mess...this is the back after all ;-)...

I know people like tutorials, but I really didn't feel like making one (sorry)...so I took a bit of a look online and found this one...which is pretty much what I did (except that I didn't start with the felt circle...but that's a really good idea!!).

I gave this brooch to another school mum this afternoon because she liked the original a lot, and I think it'll look really nice on her too. I'll have to make another one for me later. Note to self: BUY A THIMBLE! There are lots of layers to this brooch, and pushing that little needle through with no thimble HURT.

Still recuperating here. The face is slowly returning to normal...wish I could say the same about life in general...but that won't happen until this move is all done and dusted. Still a few weeks to go.

Thanks for visiting,

Blogged to: The Block 2012.

...we have feet to climb and scale

...some more tinkering after completing Lesson 3 of Jessica's Photoshop Top 5 course.

I saw the skin specialist last night and he agreed with me... NO more cream! My reaction was excessive...I wasn't just imagining it. I am on an antibiotic cream to try and clean up the mess now. Fun times.

Blogged to: MasterChef Australia 2012.

Still Laying Low...

Hey there Bloggies!

Been a bit quiet in here hasn't it? I am still hiding out with my sore, festy face. Thanks for all your lovely comments and messages of support. Your thoughts are much appreciated! I did venture out in public on Sunday, to take Miss 8 to see the Imperial Ice Starts perform the Nutcracker on Ice at the Canberra Theatre. The show was absolutely fabulous, but I didn't feel very comfortable until the house lights dimmed and no-one could see me ;-).

There is no sign of my face healing yet. This course of medication is supposed to carry on for six weeks, but today I am going to tell the skin specialist that I am just not up to it. Two weeks shattered me, six weeks is not in my skill set! I'm thinking I'll just have to go back to the knife wielding surgeon instead. In addition to the four large, ugly, weeping lesions on my face I have had headaches, tiredness, mouth ulcers, weight loss (yeah, that one's not so bad ;-) and general discomfort. All of this on top of preparing to move house/life...like I said, not in my skill set. And when there is an alternative...well, you do what you can.

I was very fortunate to have been alerted to a fun online course on the weekend, by one of my buddies, Patrice. She emailed me the deets of Jessica Sprague's fabulous FREE Photoshop Top 5 course. So I started that last night and I am learning lots of great tips and tricks along the way.

This is the photo I edited from colour to black and white for Lesson 1...

It's no masterpiece, but I love the bright light reflected in my wee Thumper's eye as he stares out the window. What is he thinking?

More baby photo tinkering, because it is sooooo much fun...

Well, we're getting low on food here and I don't feel like taking my travelling sideshow down to the shops, so I think I'll go make a cake for the kids to have for afternoon tea. That'll have the extra benefit of warming up the house at the same time. It's very chilly here today!

ETA: My quick page from Lesson 2 of Jessica's fab course...

Thanks for visiting...

Blogged to: When Smokey Sings - ABC, I Feel the Earth Move - Martika, Rapture - Blondie and Around the World - Daft Punk.

Feeling Pretty Ordinary...

That's me right now :-(. Not in the best of spirits. I am having a bunch of skin cancers treated on my face and just now I look like an escapee from an advanced plague trial. I keep watching for people's reaction to my face, and assuring them I'm not contagious. I'll spare you the pictures...being near dinner time and all, but I wanted to let you know that I'm still here and I also wanted to say thank you for the recent comments (and apologies for not getting back to you sooner...I've been feeling a tad sorry for myself).

I do have a little Happy Hello to show you though. I made this a while ago, but had to wait until it had safely wended its way across the Pacific and arrived in the big ol' US of A. I was worried it may not make it through customs because the package contained tea...but I fully declared it all, and it was store-bought and vaccum-sealed, and it got there with no worries at all. Hooray!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Early Expresso, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake (all by Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Early Expresso and Cherry Cobbler Classic Inks (Stampin' Up!) and Timber Brown Stazon (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Pun Fun (Stampin' Up! - Retired), Lots of Thoughts (Stampin' Up! - Retired SAB) and Canvas Background (Stampin' Up! - Retired)
Accessories: Watercolour Paper (Stampin' Up!), Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (Stampin' Up!), Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up!) and Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!).

That's all from me right now. Gonna go back into hiding. Thank goodness I don't video blog!
Have a good weekend.

Blogged to: Celebration - Madonna, Message to My Girl - Split Enz, Dressed For Success - Roxette and Sweet Talkin' Woman - Electric Light Orchestra.