STG February Challenges

This month's Scrap The Girls challenge was this sketch.


This was a great sketch to use and I had the perfect photo I had been dying to scrap!


Cruise countdown...25 sleeps!

Kraft It Up February Challenge

Kraft It Up had a colour challenge this month.




This messy background is very different to my usual scrapping style - but as soon as I saw the colours I knew I wanted to do a misted background! I am happy how this turned out :)

Cruise countdown...26 sleeps!

Two more cards

We went to Ollie's 2nd birthday party yesterday. The birthday boy is mad about monkeys - so I made this card for him.


It was a lovely, relaxing afternoon, just catching up with friends. Jeanie & Damo set up a mini water park in the backyard - so all the kids were running around playing in the water. We managed to stay safe and dry - pretty impressive considering Ollie was loose with the garden hose :) Check out the awesome (and delicious) birthday cake that Kimmie's Kakes created!


After the party we went to Mum's to have some nibblies & drinks and a photo night. We shared pics of our cruise and friends shared pics of their cruise to Vanuatu and New Zealand. We are getting so excited - less than a month to go now :)

Today is a lazy day - a bit of card making, watching movies and maybe some gardening this afternoon if it cools down....


Cruise countdown...27 sleeps!!

Sandie's February Challenge

Sandie's challenge this month is fabric and love . I made this card a few weeks ago, but forgot to post it-oops! I love the red, white, green and kraft colour combo! The cute red yo-yo covers the fabric part of the challenge and the white background embossed with hearts and the heart leaf covers the love part (plus there is a simple "I love you" rub-on sentiment inside.


Cruise countdown...28 sleeps!

Cherries

Okay, I confess...I'm a hoarder...I have a crate full of boxes, tins, and containers just waiting to be re-used / altered. I'm sure I am not the only person out there keeping them "just in case" LOL So, keeping with my scrappy goals I have started to use them and decorated this tin (old Gravox tin). How cute is this?!?!?


After decorating the tin I decided to make a matching card while I had all the papers, punches, etc out. I loved how this turned out - so I made another birthday card, then turned the layout sideways and made a Thank You card.




Cruise countdown...29 sleeps!

Basic Grey - Card Kit Part 2

As promised...here are the other four Basic Grey cards...








Cruise countdown...30 sleeps!

Basic Grey - Card Kit Part 1

I picked this kit up on sale last year when my mojo was a bit low. I usually don't buy kits - but thought this might 'kick-start' my creativity. Sunday night I sat down and made all 8 cards - they were quick & easy and I will be using the layout ideas for future cards! Here's the four of the eight cards...

A scrappy weekend

Saturday night I had a Stampin' Up party with friends. Paula showed us how to make this super cute owl card :)




It was great to learn the sponging / template technique to make clouds. Paula also shared some other ideas and techniques - thank you! My mum and Elena made their first card and had a wonderful time - hopefully they will join us for scrap days more often.

Sunday was Simply Crafty - another lovely day catching up with everyone and scrapping :) As usual lots of socialising and a bit of scrapping - I managed 2 layouts. I found this sketch here.


I used the sketch to scrap this LO - I only made a few small changes, preferring to keep very similar to the sketch. I will definately use this sketch again.


I finally scrapped a photo from the cruise last year!


Cruise countdown...5 weeks!

Reading

Over the Christmas and new year period I managed to find some time to read the books I got from the book exchange. They were both great books - definitely recommend them for any vampire, werewolves, etc fans :) I am now on the lookout for book 1 of the series.




I have always had a love of reading and have made it a goal to read more books this year. Feel free to leave a comment and share any great books (or authors) that you enjoy reading! It will give me some ideas when I am looking for a new book :)

Still on the topic of books...I have finished my bookmark!

Pincushion

I have been making some storage changes in my scrap room lately (will be sharing details along the way). I have a small collection of decorative pins and thought they would look really cute on display! Plus if I see them, then I'm more likely to use them :) I wanted to create something different and a little vintage looking - I LOVE how this turned out :)




Just in case anyone would like to make one too I thought I would share the (basic) instructions. First off I chose my base - I picked this cute little glass dish up at an op-shop for 20c sometime last year. **See Mum, I told you I would find a use for that little "dust-collector"** LOL


Basically the cushion is 2 yo-yos. For the top - I cut out a circle a bit bigger than the top of dish, then did a running stitch just inside the edge and pulled the threads. I stuffed the yo-yo with Hobby Fill and left an opening about 3cm wide. To cover the opening I made a smaller yo-yo and hand stitched it to the bottom for 2 reasons - 1. to provide a flat surface and 2. To give the cushion a tidy / finished appearance.


If I have inspired you to make a pincushion or you have designed your own cute pin cushion- please leave a comment and share your link :)

Thank You cards

After scrapping Craig's V-Day card the other day, I decided to make some Thank You cards while I had all my tools / papers out. Four cards in one day - I seem to have a lot of creative mojo happening at the moment :) I made the scalloped tags sometime last year when I was practicing with my watercolours - it's nice to be able to finally use them :) These cards are to give staff on the cruise.


A close up of each card... I actually re-made the purple one - I didn't like the multicolour ribbon and pink / purple torn paper combo that I originally had. I am much happier with the new version.

Valentine's Day card

Craig & I usually just exchange cards for Valentine's day - this year I decided to make Craig's card. I love the peg/hearts/string combo - I was inspired by a card in the current Stampin' Up IB&C.


Craig surprised me with this very cute teddy! He sings "Be My Baby" and dances/moves - sooo adorable!!


Cruise countdown...6 weeks!

I should have nanna naps more often...

I was feeling a bit sleepy after work yesterday and had a snooze on the couch. After an hours nap I woke up feeling motivated to scrap! This layout is from Clean & Simple #127. I really liked the idea of using string (no surprise there LOL) on the sample card. Here's what I created :)


I tend to make cards as they are needed, so I have decided to try and make a 2nd card (same or similar) while I have the papers and stamps out. I have scrapping plans for this weekend - a couple of challenges, a Valentine's Day card and 3 Thank You cards :) What are your plans?

Handmade embellishments

I've been keeping my hands busy while watching TV lately making handmade embellishments. First I made 4 of these cute bird cages. I just used wire and cardboard and it came together very quickly. Making the wire part was easy, but I got a bit stuck when it came to the bottom of the cage. After a quick look around my scrap table I found some pieces of corrugated card that were perfect :) I am really happy with how these turned out!


Yesterday I made some quilled roses - using the kit I got while I was on the cruise last year.


After making the embellishments I thought I had better use them to make a card and created this today :)


I was still feeling crafty, so I made this farm animal card for Connor's 2nd birthday. He's having a "pig" themed party - so this will match :)

Vintage goodies

Mum gave me these lovely vintage goodies on the weekend. Lots of doilies to use for scrapping, containers to store bits & pieces and how sweet is that baby clothes pattern?!?!




Cruise countdown...7 weeks!

Updating links / blogs

I've updated a few links / blogs -

Challenge blogs

White with 1

Creative Scrappers

Show Us Your Stuff

Scrapping blogs

My Favourite Things - I love Dawn's cards! Lots of inspiration here!

What a Beautiful Mess - Lisa has amazing step-by-step to make gorgeous flowers!

Inking Idaho - Lots of cute Stampin' Up cards and projects!