Happy New Year to All

It was truly a Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day, not too stressful :) Ours was actually pretty wonderful, do I sound surprised? I guess I expect something to go wrong at some point, I'm a bit of a pessimist. So I thought I would share some Pics with you of my little reindeers and a little Christmas story. Dallas posing in his reindeer antlers

and Levi pulling his off and making a funny face. he actually enjoyed wearing the antlers more than his brother but did not want them on when the camera was about. Dallas was the complete opposite!

Santa has been... I tried to get a nice photo of the tree where you can see the lights, but they came out all blurry, so you will just have to imagine it.

So, it was the night before Christmas, at around 11pm, after Santa had been and the house was tidied that we decided that it was time for bed as we had a BIG day ahead of us, and then, as we were heading to the bedroom, Glenn remembered something we forgot...

THIS! It was in the garage in a flat box! so a reasonable 11pm bed time was extended until 1:30am, but it was all worth it, it was the first thing the boys ran to when they got up, and they got magnetic drawing boards from their aunt so they stand at their desk and draw on them, they are budding artists, lol.

Here is Dallas in his pj's ripping into his presents. He was really into the unwrapping presents thing, Levis was more interested in following him around and playing with the toys. Every time he opened a present he would say 'wow' (a new-ish word for him), too cute! He was a present opening machine, and if you left one unopened near him he would attack it :) luckily no one really minded the help too much!

Here is a rare one of Levi getting his hands on a present before his brother.

and the two of them opening one together! They really enjoyed the day, and were very well behaved considering it was a LONG day, and they did not have much of a nap, maybe half an hour, but I guess they wanted to play with all of their new toys :) When we were kids we were only allowed to open one present in the morning and had to wait until we came home from my grandparents house, we went there for lunch (nearly 2 hours away), to open the rest, it was torture!

I hope you all enjoyed you day as much as we did, and you all have a safe and happy New Year! Do you have any plans, we will be having a quiet one at home. I have always found new Years to be a bit disappointing and now we have the kids we don't bother doing anything. The next day is Glenn's nephews birthday (he was the first baby of the new year at out local hospital, even though he was born in he back of the car half way there,lol) so we will be heading around there at some point.

Congrats for making it to the end of my rants, I will definitely have a card for you by the end of the week, if not before, and a little surprise! Hope to see you then!!

Aussie Xmas

I received this in an e-mail today and had never seen it before. I found it pretty amusing and wanted to share. It is an old clip of Hugh Jackman from SNL, if you are easily offended I suggest you don't watch, it's not particularly offensive but thought I would add a warning for those of a more sensitive nature :)

Enjoy!

A little holiday love

Just dropping by quickly to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

I had hoped to be back and have one more card done before the big day, but I don't think that is going to happen, I have a big day of cooking, cleaning and last minute wrapping ahead of me today, but I will be back in the new year with a few things I have been working on, maybe sooner if I can find Mr Mojo, I think he has packed up and left for the holidays :)

Love and hugs to everyone out there who puts up with my rants and randomness, and sometimes a little paper craft, I hope you holidays are stress free and relaxing and Santa brings you all something crafty.

I think this is the last one...

Christmas card that is, not easel card, I won't even bother saying that I will stop making them because I can't! They just look so much more complete, or something, I'm not sure what it is but they are much more satisfying to make. I will try and make this quick (huh!) but it is a busy day today, we just went grocery shopping, we are all going out for dinner tonight for my brothers birthday (we are both December babies so it's a busy month) I have a few more gifts to wrap and cooking to do in between and our air conditioner is not working (which is why the baking I planned to do has not been done yet, I did not want to make it even hotter in the house!) I don't know if I mentioned earlier but we had an air conditioner installed maybe 2 weeks ago, and we have had the guys back 3 times, the first 2 because the vents were not blowing air into one of the rooms (the craft/study :( so not crafting in the heat) and not it has stopped cooling all together! something about not getting enough air flow, blah blah blah, MAKE IT COLD!!! Unfortunately we did not figure out there was a problem until we had a really hot day, ick!
So much for keeping it quick... lol, waffles! I made this card earlier in the week but am only now getting a chance to post. Unwrapped Tilda is getting a little more love as well as my magnolia wreath, with some crystal bling. the sentiment is a kaiser rub on, the flowers I got from spotlight (what a find) and the star charms I found amongst my sewing stash. The Green DP and card stock are from my stash and all other papers are magnolia (yep, I finally cut into them). Ticket sentiment is from Bizzy becs, and I think that is everything :) Card top up a bit closer:

With better light :)

A close up of Tilda:

The flowers (no glitter this time) and stars:

This little dear played along with:

Create 4 fun - easel card

Die cuts R us - naughty or nice (she has a present so she must have been nice)

Just Magnolia - Christmas

Magnolia Down Under - bedazzled

Roses on paper - colours Cranberry, hunter green and gold

Susies sassy challenge - Gold

Phew, not off to tackel the next task on my never ending list...

I'm humbled...

...and very honoured to have been chosen as a winner of Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge and the Top 3 in Susies Sassy Challenge!

I would like to thank everyone, I cannot tell you how excited I get and how much it brightens up my day.

I WON!!!

WOW, I was so excited when I woke up this morning and saw that I had won the challenge at Die Cuts R Us! I have just found this challenge and this was the first time I had entered and am over the moon to have actually won!!! Woo Hoo, can you tell I'm excited :)

Thank you ladies, you have made my week.

Deck the halls with bough of holly...

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

My unwrapped Tilda is finally getting some action, I have had her coloured for a while and i finally got around to creating something with her, and yes, it is another easel card. I LOVE easel cards, they are so much fun to make and it so much more impressive than a normal card. This actually did not begin life as an easel card, but evolved when I decided something was missing :)
The papers and ticket are from Bizzy Bec's digi store (again, I love this stuff)
I'm thinking of now giving this card to my mum, but if I make another card then I might change my mind again, lol, I'm hopeless. I wish you all could see this card in real life, the pictures just do not do it justice.

Here is the top of the card:
A shot of the full card:

A side view, you can see where I have raised things with foam adhesive:

This card plays along with:

Mojo Monday - Sketch

Creative Card Crew - Gold or Silver (I used a silver charm and brad)
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Sing a Christmas carol

Just Magnolia - It's Christmas

Create 4 fun Challenge - Easel card

Cooking it up with Katie - Recipe - A christmas theme, ribbon, a current sketch

...and did anyone notice, no glitter! It took a lot of restraint but held off on the glitter this time, but i have been working on a few other things that more than make up for it :)

Candy Time!!!

The wonderful, talented and generous Kellie from the Magnolia Down Under Store is giving one lucky winner the chance to win their choice of a personalised stamp! These stamps are so great, and there are heaps of different designs available to buy in her store.

If you would like to try your luck at winning one of these then head over here and find out how! Good Luck!!

More Xmas Fun

I'm back with another Xmas creation using my Santa's helper Tilda (she is so sweet and so fun to sit on things!) This time I have perched her on my 'noel' stamp, also from magnolia. I am loving how bright the blue colours I coloured her with have come up, it was actually a but of an experiment, I have been playing around with my markers and trying new things lately and am really loving just sitting around in the evenings colouring stamps.

I have kept this card pretty simple, a few snowflakes with my MS punch, the smaller ones come from a random small punch in my collection, and a large blue sequin snowflake. The digi ticket is once again from Bizzy Bec's, I am loving these, they are a new addiction. The large pearl brad I picked up from Target a few weeks ago when they had reduced a heap of stuff to clear stock. The ribbon I got from spotlight ages ago. The papers are all from the stash too. The fur trim on the hat and white snowflakes have all been glittered and I whipped out the sewing machine and did a little stitching. I finally got the tension right on my zig zags :) The large snowflake and small snowflake on the base and Tilda have been raised with foam adhesive for a bit of dimension.

Here is a full shot of the easel card: A close up of the top of the card:

Time for your close up Tilda:

A close shot of the bow with the snow flake (you can almost see the glitter) and the digi ticket:

Down to business, this card played along with;

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Sing a Christmas carol (the first noel)

Just Magnolia - For someone special (either my mum or MIL, who ever does not get the last card I posted)

Pile it On - Tinsel town

Stamp Something - Glitzy somethings

A Spoon full of Sugar - Monochrome

Die Cuts R Us - A project with a holiday feel

Simon Says - Let it snow

Creative Inspirations - Non traditonal Christmas colours

Thanks for taking the time to look and I appreciate all of your wonderful comments.

christmas waffles :)

Good morning everyone, I'm back again with another card, and I have another to post after this one. I should apologize for the crappy photos, it was overcast and raining all day yesterday so my pics are a bit gloomy. we are having some very funny weather lately, even though the skys are clear and it is nice and sunny outside it is bloody freezing! I guess I only have myself to blame, as soon as we had our air conditioner installed and running last week the heat wave ended and the weather has been kind of miserable ever since, with the exception of Sunday, which was Glenn's work Xmas picnic, so the warm weather was definitely welcome :) The boys went on their first ride, little spinning teacups, they are nuts and love spinning around and making themselves dizzy so they loved the teacups (they made me fairly dizzy though, lol).

Anyways, on to the card. I have had this magnolia wreath stamp for a while and have not had the right stamp to sit in it... until now! I cannot get enough of this little cutie, I love her more and more every time i ink her up. The holly paper and ticket and from Bizzy Bec's digi store, the snowflakes are a Martha Stewart punch, I have glittered the white snowflake and sort of weaved it together with the red one. I have added glitter to Tilda's fur trim and red crystal berries to the wreath. I doodled with a white gel pen a little and the ribbons and crystals were from my ever growing stash.

I would have finished this card a day earlier than I did but I could not find the ribbon I was looking for, so I went ahead and used some different ribbon and which meant I could not do exactly what I had in mind, oh well, it came out ok anyway, but as soon as I had finished I stuck my hand in a box for something else and pulled out the damn ribbon I had spent AGES looking for! Don't you hate when that happens!! I cannot tell you how annoyed I was.

So, here is my card (after extensive waffles):

This card plays along with:

Magnolia Down Under - Bedazzled (I chose the sentiment to match the theme :) )

Just Magnolia - A card for someone special (I think this will be for my mum or MIL)

Pile it on - Tinsel Town

Stamp Something - Glitzy somethings

Stampin for the Weekend - red green and gold

Die Cuts R Us - a project with a holiday feel

Crackers 4 Christmas

I'm back again, would you believe I actually have 2 more creations to post after this, but it is getting late so I might leave them for tomorrow. I was on a bit of a roll today, I had several images stamped and coloured and just waiting for some love, and today was the day :) I hope this makes up for me not posting in over a week.
So, I had the idea to make a Christmas cracker in the back of my mind for several weeks but I had not gotten around to finding a template yet, then the other day the wonderful and very talented Debbie made up a template and posted it, talk about great timing, perhaps she can read my mind, lol.
i have used Santa's little helper Tilda from the new so jolly range, you can still get some HERE, I am resisting the urge to get a few more for myself. The more wonderful project I see around the more stamps I want.
The ticket sentiments are from Bizzy Becs digi downloads, I am LOVING them! The one on the card says 'wishing you joy this Christmas' and the cracker says 'sweet wishes for Christmas' which I thought was appropriate as the cracker is designed to hold chocolates, it looks about the right size for Lindt balls, but they are too yummy to give away :) on an unrelated note, I went to chadstone the other week and the Lindt store there had peanut butter chocolate balls, YUM, unfortunately they are exclusive to them, bugger!
It does not show up in the photo but i have glittered all the fur trim on tildas hat and the small fluer de lis die cut. It had a lovely sparkle in real life. Something you also don't see in the photo is that Tilda on the cracker is actually slightly bent at the waist and placed on one of the sides so she looks as if she is actually sitting up on there.

These little creations play along with:

Magnolia Down Under - Bedazzled

Pile it On - Tinsel town

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Matching Set

Stamp Something - Glitzy somethings
Die Cuts R Us - Project with a holiday feel

Getting 'round to it

Hello everyone, I'm back. I have been a bad blogger, it has been over a week since my last post but it has been a busy couple of weeks around here. The other half does his last 12 hour shift tomorrow, yippi! At one stage last week he worked 12 hour shifts 9 out of 10 days and it has exhausted us both. On top of all that Levi is teething again and waking me up at ungodly hours for teething gel and a cuddle. So apart from ridiculous exhaustion keeping me away it was also my birthday on Friday, for those of you curious (I posted a pic of my present a couple of weeks ago asking if I should open it or wait) I waited for my birthday to open it, it was a candy apple red Kitchen Aid, I am a very lucky girl!

Anyways, enough of the waffling (love that word, lol) and on to my project. The little red riding hood stamp is from the signature set from the greeting farm. I got these sets a few weeks ago and they have been a bit neglected as I got the Xmas sweeties at the same time and it is the season for them to get a work out!This is actually a round card, it folds out and everything, but with the lace you cannot tell. The sentiment tag is from Bizzy Becs digital store, I am loving these and you will be seeing a lot more of them.

This little sweetie plays along with:

Anya Ink - Odd shaped cards (no rectangles or squares)

Anyone for Anya - Anything goes

Susie's Sassy Challenge - Buttons and Bows

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

... or maybe just one that's not dreadfully hot :)
I'm back with another post, 2 in one day, I don't know what has gotten in to me. I think it's the general Christmas rush and panic rubbing off on everything else, I am already feeling like there are not enough hours in the day and i guess it will only get worse.
I'm back with my Xmas Sweeties, I think by Christmas the rubber might be worn away on these little darlings, they are definitely getting a work out!
So, every white surface on this card has been glittered. It shows a little in the photos but in real life it is amazing. I have stamped a 'Be Merry' sentiment next to Anya in silver and then went over the lettering in glitter, and then stamped a small 'Merry Xmas' sentiment across the front of the card, also in silver. The snowflakes are a Martha Stewart punch and the other 'snowflake' shapes are a spellbinders Fleur De Lis Die. Here is my sparkly little Ian, I am experimenting with a new colouring technique so he is a little bolder and brighter that he has been in the past.

Anya and a glimpse of the previously obscured 'Be Merry' sentiment

This card plays along with:

Anya Ink - Christmas

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Red and Green

Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge - Christmas, snowflakes, sparkle (you know the drill, this is my 4th entry :) )

Crazy 4 Challenges - Punch Happy

Creative Card Crew - Favourite Things (glitter, glitter and more GLITTER!)

Papertake Weekly Challenges - Christmas

Wow, 6, that's got to be a personal best :)

Thank you for looking and leaving your lovely comments, I read and enjoy them all.

A Festive Magnolia Down Under

It's not quite December yet and there are Christmas themed challenges all over the place, and I'm loving it! This was my first chance to get out my new Christmas Magnolia stamps, I also got my Magnolia Ink magazine today (I'm all inspired now :) ) and I will be pre ordering the next one tomorrow, if you want one too check out the Magnolia Down Under Store.
Unfortunately it is another overcast and crappy day so the photos are looking a bit washed out and you cannot see the obscene amounts of glitter I have used (but that is nothing compared to the card I have just finished!) I'm a bit over this weather, it's either overcast or terribly hot, sometimes both at once. I have had these ornaments sitting waiting to be photographed for a couple of days and I just gave up waiting for good lighting, it's not going to happen. I thought this was going to be a simple project but I had several small disasters along the way which meant something I could have otherwise knocked out in an hour or two took me days!!
Anyways, the snowflakes have glitter around the edges, it is deliciously sparkly in real life, I have also glittered the white stripes on Tilda's stockings, the red ribbon in her hair, the fur trim on her hat and the holly leaves on the noel.

I am playing along with the following challenges:

Magnolia Down Under - Christmas decoration/card

Stamp with fun - Xmas

Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge - Something for Christmas include snowflakes and sparkle/ glitter

Creative Card Crew - Favourite things (GLITTER!!!)

Papartake weekly challenges - Christmas

Roses on Paper Challenge - an altered christmas creation

Sigh, I really wish you could see the glitter, these photos are depressing me. Bring on some clear skys!!

Anya Ink goes vintage

When I saw the challenge at Anya Ink this week was vintage I thought 'Oh crap' none of my greeting farm stamps really seemed suitable for a vintage themed card, but after an enlightening visit to spotlight I was feeling a lot more excited. Unfortunately I have been having one of those stupidly busy weeks and it has taken me until last night to finish and then I had to wait for the sun to take pics.
I have used Anya from my Xmas Sweeties set. I Inked and slightly distressed all the edges of my card stock, you cannot see it in the photo but I went over the brown ink around the edges with copper ink so it has a gorgeous metallic sheen in real life. I have used my brand new spellbinders die under Anya and inked the edges the same as the card base. I stitched around the edge of the DP as I thought a vintage card should have some sewing on it. The Noel stamp is Magnolia from the So Jolly collection (I have more of those to show you soon!)
There are crystals in the center of the snowflakes on the base and on the holly berries on the noel. I also got to use my new Martha Stewart punches, the large snowflake and the doily border punch. Here is a closer shot of the top

and a side view

So, this card plays along with;

Anya Ink - Vintage

Anyone for Anya? - Make a fake (I used the border punch to fake a lace edge in my paper)

Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge - Christmas inc. snowflakes and sparkle

Thank you everyone for looking and leaving your lovely comments, I appreciate every one!

Yummy time

Just a quickie post tonight, it's late and I have heaps of stuff to get ready as the boys and I will be out all day tomorrow.
i cane up with this for Simon Says Challenge - Animal Antics, and Stamp Something Challenge - Thank you somethings (it's intended as a thank you gift, so I hope it fits the criteria without actually saying 'thank you')
I have used my adorable Hilda from Motivet, and don't you just love the little tea pot button, i think it is so sweet. Here is a closer shot, you can see the crystals either side and in the center of the flower.

A close up of Hilda

Sorry the photos are a little washed out, I'm just not getting enough sun light to get a good pic.

Award time...

I would like the thank the wonderful and amazingly talented Stephanne for this award. Make sure you check out her work HERE, everything is so stunning you have to stop to say wow!

With this award I am required to tell you 5 interesting things about myself, I cannot guarantee they will all be interesting, but here goes;

1. I have 7 piercings. They are very addictive and I would have more but I am running out of places that I am willing to pierce.
2. I was nearly 20 when I first dyed my hair, now it changes on a regular basis, blonde to black and everything in between, depending on my mood.
3. I also love paper, and did not realise how deep the paper thing went until something Stephanne said about wrapping presents made me stop and go 'wow, it's worse than I thought'
4. I love The Little Mermaid, it is my favourite Disney movie EVER! I have a crystal cabinet with an entire shelf devoted to little mermaid snow globes and figurines, but I am still hunting for a snow globe I saw probably 10 years ago.
5. I love Terry Pratchett novels, I am halfway through his latest book. My fave would have to be 'The Thief of Time', which is also the first one I read (that's not why it is my fave, it's just a coincidence)
   

Well, there you go, I'm not sure they are interesting, but I did think of 5!

I am going to pass this on to;

Tracey - I especially love her work with Magnolia and Greeting Farm stamps, I think I will have to hold her responsible for my growing love of the Greeting Farm, I bought a couple on a whim and now I can't get enough of them!

Sammi - Another friend of the farm who consistently produces beautiful work

Debbie P - Debbie makes some of the most beautiful cards I have ever seen, I'm still stalking :)

Please visit these wonderful ladies blogs, you will not be disappointed when you see their amazing creations!

Santa Ian is coming to town... and he has brought along the little lady

I had the idea for this in my head for a couple of weeks now and have finally gotten around to putting it together. These are my Xmas Sweeties Ian and Anya. Due to extremely unfortunate weather these photos are pretty pathetic. You can see most of the details on the individual pic at the bottom of this post. I have gone around inside the edge of the red die (cut with my nesties) with white gel pen and then between the pen and the outside edge with glitter glue. The white card stock has been embossed with my Textile Cuttlebug folder. I have joined everything together with small jewellery rings. There is a small snowflake brad up the top hiding where the ribbon hanger attaches. I have also heavily glittered all the white fur areas on Anya and Ian. Hope I have not forgotten anything :) This pic shows the shape of the snowflake, it caught the light in most photos and just came up as a flash of light.Here is Ian up close, you can sort of see the embossing in the background and glitter around the edge and fur.

And here is a happy little Anya

This little hanger/decoration plays along with:

Farm Fresh Fridays - No designer paper

Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge - something for Christmas including snowflakes and lots of sparkle/glitter

By the Cute and Girly - Winter Wonderland

Ahoy there Matey!

Hi everyone, this is a very late in the week entry for Anya Ink. The weather has been so disgustingly hot in my part of the world this week I have not been motivated to do anything much. The A/C is still on order, I was hoping it would come in this week but no luck :(

So, the theme at Anya Ink this week is a boys card, but I saw these door hangers the other week and thought this would be a great excuse to bring them out and have a play. I have used Pirate Ian from the Matey set from the greeting farm, I adore this little guy and take any excuse to whip him out for a project. I was a bit hesitant to use him in the end because I had seen a few other people using him for this challenge, but I went ahead and used him anyway :) So, it's not exactly a card but it is boy themed, so i hope to get away with it, lol.

Please excuse the appalling quality of the photo, for some reason today has decided to be overcast and miserable (but not stinking hot, so I will forgive it, just this once).

I'm sweet on you :)

I warned you that she would be making another appearance soon and here she is (I already started colouring another 60's Tilda in today , I can't help myself). This Tilda was one of those stamps that I knew I had to have as soon as I saw her, and when she arrived I knew she would be the perfect size to use with my Edwin! They make a cute couple, don't they?
When I started making this card I was following a sketch but I thought Tilda and Edwin were getting a little lost amongst all the papers and mats, so I left this one pretty simple, in fact, I have not used any DP's (I only just noticed this) but I did use my cuttlebug folder to emboss the mat the images are sitting on. The monthly challenge this month at Just Magnolia is distressing so I have distressed the mats under Tilda and Edwin with ink and scissors and inked the edges of the base card and the circle and scalloped circle of the sentiment.
The brads in the corners are glittered but it had not shown up in the photos and the lollipop in the middle of the sentiment is a brad, I bought some of these just to go with this Tilda. The hearts are actually shapes punched out when I was punching my border, they were so cute I wasted to use them somewhere. i am also entering this into Simon Says Challenges who's theme this week is 'Thinking of you'. This is a photo I took a few hours later when there was a bit more sun, the colours are a bit more true to life and you can see that the sentiment and Tilda and Edwin have been mounted with glue dots to give them a little dimension.

Here is a close up of the cute couple.

I'm not sure I'm happy with the card, but I love these stamps and was fairly happy with the colouring, which I usually am not. Oh well, I might have to have another go at this one.

On a completely unrelated topic, my other half came home with this today.

Despite the fact that it is not for another 18 days, this is my birthday present! I know what it is, so that is not the problem but he gave me the option to open it tonight. I don't really know why but I am reluctant to open it, I guess I like the anticipation :) What do you ladies think I should do?!