Babies Again

Started making some more baby cards. Spring is soon, so will need them! Both my children are late spring babies. Not quite 'Christmas lucky bonus result' as some people have!

1. Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in whisper white and calypso coral. SU stamp sets 'fox & friends' and 'teeny tiny sentiments'. Ink - Momento tuxedo black and Tombow markers. Embossing folders - SU frame, Tim Holtz 'birch trees' Cuttlebug 'swiss dots'. SU word window punch.

2. SU cardstock in whisper white and so saffron. Stamp sets - SU 'animal crackers', Azardi 'for baby' (very old). Ink - SU chocolate chip, Tombow markers. Darice 'starry night' embossing folder.

3. SU cardstock in whisper white and pirouette pink. SU stamp sets 'fox and friends', 'a word for you'. Ink - SU early espresso. Punches - SU small heart, Other tiny heart. Cuttlebug 'floral fantasy' embossing folder.

4. SU cardstock in whisper white and certainly celery. PSX 'sheep border' stamp (very old) in Momento black. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

5. SU cardstock in whisper white and pink pirouette. Stamp sets - PSX 'bunny safety pin' (very old), Annette Watkins quote (very old) both coloured with Tombow markers. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

6. SU cardstock in whisper white and bashful blue. Stamp sets - PSX 'boy teddy' (very old), Azardi sentiment (very old). Ink - SU baked brown sugar, SU and Tombow markers. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

On a Personal Note -

Well our team got trounced again! Also some extremely ignorant morons have been racially abusing one of our best players by booing every time he gets the ball. It's been happening for some weeks now but last Sunday was the worst. The sports code and the teams have said it's to stop - but of course some of the minimally intelligence challenged shock jocks and their listeners/callers have been espousing all sorts of justification for the behaviour. Very disappointing. In my son's words ' I really thought our society had moved on and become more mature'.

Have started a new really strict and minimal eating plan. Started Sunday and must admit I am really hungry!! It's under medical supervision so I know I am receiving the correct nutrition. No carbs whatsoever - my kryptonite!! Once my knee heals I will commence a walking schedule and yoga. Hopefully in 12 months - a new forever me! I am making myself a fridge sign that will say 'The Bigger Picture', to remind myself when I want to give up or try and calm myself down with food.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Presents Galore - the joys of fussy cutting!

All of these cards (3) were made from the same 12 x 12 sheet of specialty paper. It's from Kaisercraft and was made up of all these random presents in the 3 colours. They are all glossy too. I cut them all out and then arranged them by colour group. I quite like the results!

1. Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in whisper white and bashful blue. Tim Holtz word die. Cuttlebug 'morrocan screen' embossing folder. On further reflection I think I will add a tiny scallop border in red to the bottom of the word banner. Seeing it again, it looks a little unfinished to me now.

2. SU cardstock in basic black and whisper white. Kaisercraft 'north pole' spotty paper. Tim Holtz word die. Quikutz 'polka dot' embossing folder.

3. SU cardstock in whisper white, pistachio pudding and real red. SU stamp (retired) in real red. Kaisercraft 'north pole' spotty paper. Sizzix 'nordic sweater' embossing folder.

So, there you have it. All those hours spent cutting out paper dolls clothes as a child are being put to good use as an adult! Granted this fussy cutting did not require much skill - but those childhood hours gave me an enduring love of cutting things out - the trickier the better!


On a Personal Note -

My daughter and her boyfriend made it safely back from their road trip to Queensland - and they had a good time. Phew!!

Our football team got totally owned - Boo Hoo!! Hopefully they will do better this week.

It's been a bit warmer but another icy front is due to roll through on Saturday so back to wearing all my clothes at once. LOL.

Panther has been glued to the faux fur throw all week - his new favourite spot (until he inexplicably, suddenly has a new favourite spot!). Schnitzel was very glad when my daughter got back. He doesn't like it when any of his 'pack' is absent! His favourite type of maths is when one person goes out and two come back! He is a party animal! - loves nothing better than visitors - except the mailman! Total cliche, but he has taken a wholly unfounded dislike to the poor mailman.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers

Susie

It's Freezing..sooo...Snowflakes!

Our cold weather has upped the ante again and there is snow in parts of Oz that haven't had it for over 30 years. Roads closed - and lots of hot chocolates being consumed I'm guessing. In honor of the weather I am sharing some of my snowflake featuring cards from the last month. (8 in all)


1. Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in bashful blue and whisper white. Patterned paper from a magazine. Hero Arts stamp in bashful blue ink. White snowflakes - MFT, Blue paint chip snowflake - Cheery Lynn.

2. SU cardstock in whisper white and wild wasabi. 'Snowflakes' fussy cut from Kaisercraft 'north pole'. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

3. SU cardstock in whisper white. SU silver glimmer paper. Patterned paper from stash. SU 'snowflurry' die.

4. SU cardstock in whisper white and basic grey. Patterned paper scraps from stash. SU 'snowflake soiree' stamps coloured with markers.

5. SU cardstock in very vanilla and lucky limeade. SU 'festival of prints' patterned paper. Mixture of snowflake dies from Spellbinders, MFT and Cheery Lynn. The darker snowflakes are from a paint chip.

6. SU cardstock in marina mist and whisper white. Patterned paper from a magazine. SU silver glimmer paper. Spellbinders and Cheery Lynn snowflake dies. Scallop scissors. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

7. SU cardstock in perfect plum and very vanilla. Pink glimmer paper from stash. Couture Creations 'tuscan tile' embossing folder. SU 'snowflurry' die - but this time I fussy cut the negative space (ie leftover piece from diecut) to make a new snowflake.

8. SU cardstock in wild wasabi and whisper white. Patterned paper from stash. MFT 'jumbo snowflake' die cut out of a paint chip. Wplus9 'hand lettered holiday' die.

On a Personal Note -

Big football weekend this weekend. Our team is up against the team that beat them in the Grand Final last year. This is their second match up for the season. We won the first one so here's hoping for a repeat of that win.

My son is live blogging the game so we won't be at the stadium. He is working steadily at building a body of work to help him get into his chosen field of sports journalism. At this stage it's all unpaid but that seems to be what you have to go through these days. He works two other paying jobs - one full time and one part time. I really admire his 'get up and go'. He has a lot of self discipline - something I did not learn til much later in life!

My daughter is off on a road trip with her boyfriend to deliver some things for her father and his partner. They are going all the way to Queensland. I suggested they go the inland route because there is less traffic (ie big trucks!) but now with all the icky weather/snow I think the coastal route will be safer. I know I need to trust that they will be okay - they are young adults after all - but I am still anxious! (Motherhood)

Hope you are warm where you are.
Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

The Man Himself!

Hello. Thought I would show today some of my Santa cards. Some current stamp sets and some 'ancient'.


Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in whisper white and cherry cobbler. SU ink in real red, cherry cobbler and chocolate chip. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder. Wplus9 'word balloons' die. SU stamp sets '25 & counting' (santa), 'no peeking' (rudolf).

SU cardstock in very vanilla. Scraps of decorative paper for sentiment and banner. Quikutz 'diamonds & dots' embossing folder. Kaisercraft Santa stamped in tuxedo black and coloured with markers.

SU cardstock in lucky limeade, sahara sand and river rock. Patterned paper from stash. Paper Smooches stamp set 'santa paws' in tuxedo black and coloured with markers.

SU cardstock in cherry cobbler, lucky limeade and whisper white. Patterned paper from stash. Hero Arts stamp in tuxedo black and coloured with markers.

On a Personal Note -

Well! We got through the Antarctic Vortex unscathed! Nothing as severe as the Northern Hemisphere Polar Vortex, but very cold for us. Did have the heater on for the weekend for the first time this winter. Just too cold to only rely on a lap rug.

Panther and Schnitzel took up very appreciative residence around the heater! You know it's cold when the animals don't want to go outside!

Had a girly morning tea on Sunday for some of my friends. I got to try out some new recipes and my daughter made some of her super yummy chicken pies. The ladies loved them! We also had caramelized onion and mushroom tartlets, raspberry brownies and homemade palmiers.

Sunny today but still quite crisp. Was going to try and sweep up some more leaves but my knee is still giving me grief. Well really it's my whole leg - but mainly the knee. Off to the GP tomorrow to get it looked at.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Christmas 365: June Update

Yes - late: but better than never!!

Have been trying my hand at paper ornaments. Quite a few at the almost finished stage. Hopefully photos later this month. The cardmaking has been continuing apace though. Here are a few of the latest... a bit of a gold affair!

Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock very vanilla and baked brown sugar. Music paper is from my stash and the coppery gold mount is a paint chip.

Same SU cardstock and stash paper. The Cuttlebug embossing folder has been highlighted with Wink of Stella - clear.

Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in so saffron and very vanilla. SU gold glimmer paper for mounts and MFT snowflake die. Websters Pages patterned paper and Cuttlebug 'snow dots' embossing folder.

SU cardstock in baked brown sugar and very vanilla. Couture Creations embossing folder highlighted with Wink of Stella - clear. MFT and Cheery Lynn snowflakes cut from a paint chip. SU stamp set 'snowflake soiree' in cherry cobbler ink. The sentiment panel was trimmed into a flag and pierced.

Something loud and blingy to finish! SU cardstock in lucky limeade and melon mambo. Lime glitter, gold foil and gold corrugated papers are all from stash. Snowflake dies are from MFT, Spellbinders and Cheery Lynn.

On a Personal Note -

Had a bit of a rough month mood wise - adjusting to new medication regime. Things are starting to look up so I will just 'keep on keeping on' as they say. One benefit of the med change is that my appetite has returned to a more acceptable level! Don't constantly feel like I need to eat a horse! Hopefully will be able to speed up losing some of the damned weight I gained. To say 'not happy Jan' is an understatement!!

Off to the football with my son tonight to watch our team hopefully win. It's our mother son activity and I cherish the time. The other week my daughter and I attended a craft show. We go to the same one every year and it's a special outing for us. We saw some great things and my daughter bought herself a new craft product to try - air dry paper clay. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie