Blog Award

Firstly I must apologize for taking soooo long in responding to receiving this blog award. Sometimes life is just so full of STUFF.




I was so touched to receive this award from my friend Jane. She is always popping in and leaving lovely comments that warm my heart. This lady has so much talent and I would recommend you go and check out her blog. Thank you so much Jane for this award.

Now I have to pass this award along to 6 blogs that I visit:

1. Ruth. I love visiting Ruth's blog. Her blog is very inspiring with so much to see and the journaling is from the heart.

2. Rica. If ever you need a sketch to help your creativity flow, then this is the place
to visit.

3. Mal's Stampz. This would have to be one of my favorite sites. Templates galore and so many tutorials you will need to pack a lunch and stay for the day.

4. Sam. Sam's blog is the Technique Capital. Here you will learn anything you want.

5. Maddy Hill. I can't go more than a few days before I have to catch up on the
Adventures of "Calvin the Mouse". If you are looking for anything
gorgeous, beautiful, cute or amazing then this is the place for you.

6. Leah Killian. Last but not least there is Leah. I love reading Leah's blog, she has a real
talent for journaling. One moment you are laughing so hard tears are
running down your cheeks, the next moment you are sharing in her ups
and downs. Then there are her layouts and projects. One word
BEAUTIFUL.
I know you girls have so many awards but if you would like to add another one to your blogs, then you are all very deserving. Each and everyone of you have either inspired, challenged or entertained me, so thanks from me.

"J" is for Jade

This is my entry for "J" is for Jade challenge over at Letters to Scrap By. I have hung onto this photo for so long just waiting for the right moment. When I was putting the page together, I felt that the outer space was quite plain so I thought I would give masking a go and I was quite surprised at the effect.




ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE.......
Many of you may have read or seen the devastation of parts of Victoria here in Australia.
It is hard to comprehend loosing everything bar the clothes on your back... worst still, someone you love. When the residents of Marysville were allowed to briefly return to their homes, all they found was ash. What didn't burn up, melted.

A beautiful lady with a HUGE heart Sarah Gladman as started up "Memory Gift".
She is calling on scrappers to create a LO and these LOs will be put into albums and these albums will be handed out to families affected by the horrific bush fires. To find out more about this project go to Sarah's blog.

Back Home

It's so nice to be back home but I must say, it was so hard to say good-bye. When I got picked up by the Airport Shuttle Bus, there were hugs and tears all over the place. The bus driver was very sweet and his comment "Don't cry cause it's over, smile cause it happened" actually really helped.

I had a wonderful time visiting with my daughter and grandchildren while hubby was away working. We played, watched The Fairies several times with Isla loving Buttercup's swim cossy and Mia wanted Rhapsody's cossy. So needless to say, we had a trip to Spotlight to chose fabric. Let me give you a little advice, NEVER ask a 3 year old to choose fabric. Little Mia loved anything that sparkled, any bright colour and anything we didn't choose. LOL We finally agreed that both girls were happy with Buttercup's outfit.

Of cause there was plenty of Craft Time. I took my Cuttlebug with me and a few templates, lots of sparkling stuff, papers, glues, fimo etc. We had a lovely time turning paper into masterpieces.

Isla loves any kind of craft and since she was tiny could handle things like glue, stickers and sticky tape extremely well. She loved making the butterflies and when I showed her how to roll up a triangle to form the body, she thought it was cool.




Mia gets so excited when there is any mention of craft and when her big sister is there, well, it's double the fun. Like most 3 year olds, she can't wait to get things done and at times I found it hard to keep up with her. It was hard to wait for the glue to dry or the flowers to be embossed but in the end, Mia was very happy with her page.

We also had time to make these cute little purses that I found on Mel Stampz where you can find oodles and oodles of free templates.

and these cup cake boxes

On the last day, we were supposed to have a play with fimo but that was the afternoon that daddy came home. He had been away for a couple of weeks and even though he phoned every day, there was nothing like having daddy home. Way too much excitement that day.

Then there was Hamish. If ever there was a cutest, cuddliest, gorgeous, sweetest little baby ever, it has to be him (Do I sound like a gloating grammy). Since the first moment I walked through the door, this special little person weaved his magic and totally melted my heart.

Now I must not forget my daughter Cathie. We finally managed to have that long promised coffee together......actually we had several, to make up for lost time.

Back in a week

I am off to Sydney to spend a week with daughter No 2 and my three precious grandchildren. Cathie has just informed me that her computer is down so I will not be able to post until I return. Hope everyone has loads of fun while I'm away. See you soon.
Cheers, Irene :)

Clear Acrylic Mini Albums

One of the hottest products on the market would have to be acrylic mini albums. For your chance to win head on over to Irene Tan's blog where she is giving some away. While there check out all the wonderful projects this talented lady has created.

Out of the Hat

Well I was so excited yesterday when the postman arrived with the book I won over at Sarah's blog, it is called BEAUTIFUL BASICS. It's a huge book packed full of inspiration and the back half is dedicated to a mini album with pop out pages, tags, embellishments and even chipboard front and back covers. I not only get a great read but I get to play and make my own album, what could be better than that. Thanks Sares.



Now if you haven't found Sarah's blog, then you are missing out on some seriously inspirational talent. Her blog is jam packed with tips and techniques and Sarah also designs amazing digi kits .

You can guess where I am off to...........make myself a nice cup of coffee, put my feet up and read my new book. YEAH.

"H" is for Hazel

The New Year has kicked off over at Letters to Scrap By with their first challenge. The next colour on the list is "H" for Hazel. Over the Christmas Holidays I visited my mum and DH took a photo of mum and I. Even though the lighting was not great, I didn't want to use the flash. It looked great on the LCD screen and even though the quality was very poor I printed it out, this photo means so much to me that I wanted to scrap it anyhow .



Well getting back to the challenge, I played around with a few ideas and came up with this one.

I had tons of fun stamping on acetate, cutting out piles of flowers, distressing, stitching and inking. I wanted to keep the journaling private so I left a pocket in the pp behind the photo that would take my journaling card.

If you would like to have a little fun and maybe win a prize, head on over to Letters to Scrap By and join in the fun. Every entry has a chance to win as they do a random draw.

Cheers for now, Irene :)

Challenge 5

Moxie's Challenge 5. We were given a choice of dresses and had to pick something from one of the dressed and incorporate it into a card. I chose this dress

which inspired this card.

I used white cardstock, Cuttlebug (dots) embossing folder, black lace, spotted black organza ribbon, assorted beads, Top Boss embossing stamp pad, Stamp World embossing powder (silver tinsel), Kindy Glitz (crystalina), Clear Acrylic word stamp ( brand unknown). Silver backing trim (homemade).
The Cup Cake template I used, I found on Mel's blog and was actually designed by Lindsey.

Lucky Me

A few days before Christmas Jennie was giving away 5 items per day up until Christmas Day. All you had to do was leave a comment and guess what, on 23rd my name popped up. Check out this cute little snowman/woman called Gladys from The Artistic Stamper.




Now here in Queensland we don't get snow but that ain't gonna stop me from playing with her and creating some cool cards for next year. Thanks Jennie and be sure to pop in and check out her blog, there is sooo much great stuff to see.

Mango Season

At lunch time I was cutting up some mangoes and started thinking.........it would be so nice if I could share some mangoes through my blog. Crazy I know, but it's mango season here and we have so many trees in the area laden with ripe fruit and lets face it, you can only eat so much.



Chat soon, I am off to have a little mango.

Happy New Year to one and all

Well I hope that everyone had as fantastic Christmas Season as I did. We have been away for a couple of weeks catching up with family and friends. I do have to admit that it was great to get home and have a rest LOL.

Firstly, I would like to share a little project I have just finished. Its a swap and I have never done one before but it should be fun. Over at The Technique Zone there are heaps of step by step tutorials and I had to use one of the techniques and make something, so here it is......a mini Tag Album.





I used the Cuttlebug Embossing with Distressed Inks. I was amazed at how great this tip worked and I will be using it again.

Next, I wanted to share a couple of photos of 3 Pull-a-long Sheep. I make these for my newest grandson. Since it was Hamish's First Christmas, I felt that a hand made gift, something to treasure for always was the way to go. Actually, it was a joint project. My DH Ross made the wheels and axles and I made the sheep.





The photos are not that great, I was in quite a hurry to get them finished and in the mail so that they would arrive before Christmas. They arrived the Christmas Eve......how lucky was that !!!!!

Well that's all from me for now, Cheers

Jennie's Give Away

I have just visited Jennie's blog where she is giving away blog candy. Head on over and check out her site, it is fabulous.

Blog Candy Give Away

Tis the Christmas Spirit, so many Give Aways. Rica is having a little celebration on her own and is giving away a yummy Basic Grey pack. For your chance to win this blog candy head on over to her site. Rica creates the most amazing cards ever.

Cosmo Cricket Give Away

One of my favorite blogs to visit belongs to Leah Killian. At the moment she is having an amazing Give Away, $150 worth of Cosmo Cricket products. Who wouldn't want to win this prize pack, so get on over and check out her site.

December Daily Album

I have finally taken some photos for my DDA that I am happy with. Most days were too sunny but Saturday morning was overcast and I find that is the time to take the best photos with my camera. I am a little behind in completing the pages but I have tried to stay up to date with my journaling. I am finding that it is really hard to remember exactly what I did a few days ago, so I have made a point of jotting down a few things at the end of each day on my computer.

Front Cover

Intro

Journaling Page 1

I have hidden the journaling in between page 1 and page 2. On the back of the journaling card, I have adhered the business card from Sweet and Shabby (which holds more information) where my daughter and I enjoyed morning tea.



Hopefully this week I will get more time to catch up on a few more pages. I love checking out other DDAs and at times I am in awe of all the talent out there. Every one has such a unique style and they are creating an amazing keepsake.