A Christmas/Thank you card

This card is for my beautician who is leaving the industry and going back to uni. She has been looking after me for about four years and I do like to spoil her from time to time. This card is going with a box of chocolates to say "Merry Christmas" and "Thank you".

I am entering this card in the 8 challenges listed below:

MDUC - Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Christmas Crackers
Creative Card Crew - Favourite things (I love the glass baubles for the tree)
Charisma Cardz - Anything Christmas
Colour Create - Green, Red and White
Stamp Something - Thank you
Creatalicious - Christmas Challenge
Just Magnolia - Sketch

The green DP is from the Kimberly Poloson range - "Nature's Flora". The other card stock is SU Real Red, Old Olive and Whisper White. I used the Cuttlebug to emboss the white and green strips underneath the main image. I added lace, pearls, leaves and flowers. I coloured in with SU markers and I used Heat and Stick powder and Dazzling Diamond glitter on the bauble. I coulred her hair with Close to Cocoa and Chcocolate Chip. The card looks much nicer in real life. I hope she likes it! Thanks for visiting.

Sketch and Stash Card

After a busy Tuesday I am here posting a card....Its is a birthday card for my Auntie Mary who lives in Coffs Harbour NSW. She is a special Auntie to me because she often comes and visits me on the Gold Coast so I wanted to make her a special card.

I followed the Sketch from Sketch and Stash Challenge this fortnight. I really enjoyed the sketch. My new stash is the gorgeous SU DP, the lace, flowers and oval punch. The neglected stash is the blue ribbon and the SU stamp set (window, cat and vases of flowers).

I also decorated the inside of the card very simply. The main colours I used for the card are Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, and White. Thanks for popping over and visiting my blog.

A beautiful gift...

Yesterday I received this beautiful gift from my teaching friends at school...and there is a long story behind it....

Ben and I have made the decision to move to Tamworth. We both grew up there and our families live there so after 12 years of living away we are moving back in January. We have both resigned from our jobs on the Gold Coast. I have resigned from my teaching job and Ben has resigned from his Finance job.

This was obviously a big decision for us to make but we do feel like it is the right thing to do at this time. For those of you who have never heard of Tamworth you can see a few pics here. Basically it is in North West NSW. It gets very hot and pretty cold! It is a regional centre, but we will be living out of town. It will be nice to get out of the city and slow things down a little bit.

Yesterday we had plans to go to Jo and Adam's house for an early dinner, but when we arrived it turned out to be a surprise Farewell party! I was so shocked, I was shaking! Both of us did not have the slightest suspician about the party. We had rocked up in casual shorts and t-shirts ready for a relaxing evening. Many teachers from work were there. It was a lovely night. I felt many emotions, and have still been trying to sort them all out today. I am still blown away that they organised such a wonderful night for Ben and I. It was very kind and thoughtful.

Amanda and Lucinda organised this gift for me. It is truely beautiful and captures five years of memories at our school. A lovely keepsake that I just had to share with you...and some big news!

The reason I haven't posted anything for 10 days on my blog is due to my dreaded reports. I finished them yesterday thank goodness. We have two weeks left now of school. Lots and lots and lots to do. It doesnt seem to ever end. But it will and everything will get done.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. Enjoy whats left of your Sunday...

A Card for Sam

This card is for my brother-in-law Sam. It is his birthday today. I am entering this card in two challenges:

Creative Card Crew - Strings Attached (Where you have to use hemp, twine or string)

and

Crafty Creations - Metal or Metallic Finishes (Where you have to use something metal)

Because Sam is a mechanic and a farmer and he loves fixing things I thought these tool embellishments would be perfect. I found them at Spotlight yesterday when I went in for one thing and ended up coming out with a bag of goodies $110 later!

And finally a card...

I have been working on this card for a couple of days...little snippets of time here and there and I wanted to post it last night, but didn't make it so here it is tonight.

I have been trying to "multi-challenge" so this card is for the following challenges...

Kellie's MDUC - Yummy for your Tummy

Flutter By Wednesday - Scene

Just Magnolia - Distressing

Well that's three challenges - pretty good for me! I sometimes have trouble getting my head around multi-challenge cards!

Now I thought I might tell you about my card! The base card colour is SU Mellow Moss and the deeper purple paper is from the Kaiser Craft Lilac Avenue Collection. The Blue Berry paper and the spotted mauve paper used for the floor is from Kellie's Magnolia store as is the kitchen cupboards. Tilda is from a blog giveaway on Kellie's blog I was lucky to win a few months back now.

I distresesed averything I could! I coloured with SU markers Creamy caramel, Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss,Lovely Lilac, Summer Sun, Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery.

My card is for my teaching partner I had when we were living in Newcastle. Her name is Cath and I learnt so much from her. She is a good friend, and although we dont talk or see each other that often she has a special place in my heart. I hope she likes the card.

Friday tomorrow and then the weekend. Busy times for me at the moment (how unusual!). Three more weeks left of school - I can hardly believe it! Lots to do and then holidays. Should be good.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Take care.

A Lovely Award

I have been spoilt by two lovely blogging buddies;

Fran from Raiding the Scrapping Stash and

Jeannie from Dragonfly Journeys.

Both these ladies make the most amazing cards. I thank them very much for this award. Pop on over to their blogs for some inspiration!

I have to answer these questions in one word...here I go...


1. Where is your cell phone? bedside table
2. Your hair? washed
3. Your mother? home
4. Your father? home
5. Your favorite food? salad
6. Your dream last night? awful
7. Your favorite drink? hot chocolate
8. Your dream/goal? family
9. What room are you in? card-making
10. Your hobby? cards
11. Your fear? none
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? country
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren't? nasty
15. Muffins? yum
16. Wish list item? house
17. Where did you grow up? Duri
18. Last thing you did? Marking
19. What are you wearing? pyjamas
20. Your TV? off
21. Your Pets? Honey
22. Friends? the best
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? positive
25. Missing Someone? yes
26. vehicle? Ford Focus
27. Something you're not wearing? gloves
28. Your favorite store? Portmans
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today
32. Your best friend? Ben and Alli
33. One place that I go to over and over? school
34. Facebook? Yes
35. Favorite place to eat? Ioesco

The 5 people I would like to pass this onto are:

Amanda - Blop Blop Blogger
Lucinda - Stampin' With Lucinda
Annette - My Pommie Purple Patch
Linda - Linda's Craft Creations
Loz - My Free Time Filler

I am hoping to start a card tonight...but by the time I hop around and visit everyone it might be time for bed. Have a lovely evening.

A Doodling Recipe...

This card is for my cousin Danika. I wanted it to be a bit funky and different. I had this image stamped when I was card-making with Amanda and Lucinda and was waiting (all coloured in) to be used one day. I thought this would be the perfect image for my "funky" card.

I chose bright colours to go with how the image was coloured.

I am entering this card in two challenges:

Creative Inspirations - Doodling

Lili of the Valley - A Recipe: 3 Papers, 2 Stamps and 1 Embellishment.

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday and today giving my blog a fresh new look. (Thanks for noticing Carol). Perfect for coming into Summer I think. The weather has been lovely lately and we are hoping for some more rain tonight. I love it when it rains at night-time. Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Celebrate with Ribbons and Gems

Hi everyone,

I can't believe it has been a week since my last post! Time is flying! I have been tutoring most afternoons after school and going to bed early every night so I haven't had time to get on and post many cards. I did make this card during the week for my friend and Assistant Principal at school Emma. She is such a lovely lady and so generous. She loves chocolate so I bought her the biggest box of Lindt chocolates I could find and wrapped them in shiny pink paper with silver ribbon. I made the card to match the colours of the paper.

I am entering this card in two challenges:

Crafty-Anne's New Challenge Blog - Celebrate

Creative Card Crew - Ribbons and Gems

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

A Kitchen/Cooking Card

Two posts from me today! Unusual..I know...but this can make up for my lack of posting during the week. This card is for my Nan's birthday which is on the 3rd of November. Can you believe we are in November! Not long till Santa comes now!

I am entering this card in A Spoon Full of Sugar's Kitchen/Cooking Challenge. This card is set in the kitchen - note the Magnolia Kitchen cupboards with jars. This stamp I bought from Kellie's store along with the Magnolia DPs. I also used my Magnolia Background stamp with the sun and the clouds.

The little girl is from the SU set "A Kind Word". I loved this stamp when I bought it and have hardly used it much. The colours I focused on were Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, Baroque Blue, Ballet Blue, Lavender Lace, Pale Plum, Orchid Opulance, Pretty in Pink and Green Galore.

I bought my Nan some crossword books, blue eyeshadow and hand cream to send down to her. I hope she enjoys her little birthday package. I am heading upstairs now, I might try and make some lunch box treats for this week before starting dinner. I hope you had a lovely weekend and thanks for visiting.

Happy Birthday

This card is for the Sketch and Stash Challenge and my for my Uncle John for his Birthday. I wanted to use bright colours, because he lives in tropical Queensland and loves wearing bright-coloured boardies and thongs. I coloured with my SU markers, ink pads and aqua painter. I added crystal effects and dazzling diamond glitter. I used the colours Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Summer Sun. I haven't entered a Sketch and Stash challenge for ages, my stash is all neglected...nothing new and exciting on this card. But I do love these Pink Flamingo SU DPs. Thanks for visiting.

Sympathy Card

I have had another very busy week. I seem to get lost in life mid-week (lately) and come back to blogging on the weekends. I had to sacrifice card-making for early nights this week as school is getting pretty intense at the moment. Today I am very proud of myself because I completed my General Comments for my Reports. I am very keen to get them "done and dusted" because reports stress me out BIG time!

Anyway, onto my card. I have made this card for a lady in our community who lost her baby very late in her pregnancy. It was extremely sad news and devastating for her and her family to go through. Sympathy cards can be quite difficult I think, finding the right words to write on them is evn harder. I did my best.

I am off to catch up on my blog-hopping now. Thank you so much for visiting and for the lovely comments you leave. They really make my day.

Two cards...

I have two cards to share with you tonight.

The first card is a wedding card. My hairdresser got married (surprising all of her guests) at her and her partner's 40th Birthday/Halloween Party. Wow! Talk about getting married in a unique and spontaneous way! So I had to make her a card. And after so much distressing talk over at MDUC this fortnight I have the distressing bug! I distressed nearly everthing on this card. The hearts, sentiment and strip across the middle of the card are from the SU Love Sparkles Scrapbooking kit. I embossed the pink card with the cuttlebug.

My second card is for a male friend of ours for his birthday tomorrow. I heat embossed the stamp with silver embossing powder. Can you spot the Magnolia DP? It looks great on this male card (I think). I added a bit of netted ribbon that I am obsessed with. I cant help it - it is such a great space filler! The card colours are Night of Navy and Whisper White with more distressing.

I had a very busy, and pretty average day at school today. The end of year wind-up has already begun and it feels so massive! So much to do mounting up over the next five weeks...The kids in my class already seem so tired...At least I have card-making for my relaxation time (or should I say survival time?).

Hope your Monday was better!

MDUC Distressing - Guest DT

Good evening, this is my second and final Guest DT creation for Magnolia Down Under. I have been so lucky and honoured to be a Guest Designer for the month of October. I am sure you agree the beautiful projects the MDUC Design Team create are just amazing!

This fortnight's theme is Distressing. My sister wanted me to make a journal for her friend, and because purple is my sister's fave colour I used these gorgeous newpapers from Kaiser. They are from the Lilac Avenue collection. I distressed the edges of my Tilda and her cupcacke and the paper behind the word "journal" that I cut out using the Cricut. I added pearls and rhinestones to the centre of the flowers, some little butterflies, netted and silver ribbon and a hat pin. I hope both my sister and her friend like it.

You should definately pop over to Magnolia Down Under and participate in this fortnight's challenge. Distressing bits and pieces of a project creates a great look. Plus there is some gorgeous soaps to be won from this fortnight's sponsor. I will come and visit your blog and comment on your creations.

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Thanks very much for visiting my blog.

Surprise!

I know you are all going to fall off your chairs when I tell you I had time to make two projects tonight! But they actually took me less than an hour to make...so unusual for me, because I am usually fussing over everything and it takes me such a long time. But, I am actually finding it really liberating not going in any challenges lately and just making what I feel like on the night. No competition, just creating. It is fun...I guess until I run out of ideas and need inspiration.

Anyway, tonight I made a simple baby girl card for my sister to give to her friend. The Kindy-glitz glitter is still a bit wet in the photo. I also made the title page for my baby album. The album is actually starting to come together now. I did use a sketch for this page. I printed the sketch out ages ago from the site wittyliving.com but when I went back tonight to try to find it I couldn't.

Another busy day for me today and another one again tomorrow...

Hope you had a fun Thursday...thanks for visiting...

A card thats a bit different - no stamping!

Well I didn't get a card made last night (Carol, we both had high hopes for me, he he he) ... I got sidetracked on facebook and then ended up going to bed. I whipped this one up tonight. It has no stamping on it! I cut the sentiment out with the cricket. It is from the Don Juan font. The blue butterfly felt is by Kaiser. The papers are SU Whisper White and Tempting Turqouise. I had a craving to make something a bit different tonight. I have no idea who I will give this one to. You never know, one day it might come in handy.

Another busy day today, tutoring after school...so I didn't get home 'till late. Can't wait 'till things slow down a little. Thank you so much for visiting and have a peaceful evening.

Finally, something to post!

Hi fellow bloggers,

I have been waiting to post this for a few days now, but I had to add the last finishing touch tonight after a quick phone call to Mum (which lasted for an hour and then I forgot what I had to ask her and had to ring her back anyway, lol).

This is another scrapbooking page for my baby album. My Grandma died the year I was born which is why I feel she needs a special page of her own in my album. Her name was Alice and I am named after her. My second name, Maree, is after my other Nan - Marie. Both my Grandmas are such beautiful ladies and I always hope that I have traits of their personalites in me.

I started off following a sketch, but then I got a little side-tracked and it didn't end up looking much like the sketch at all.

Life is busy at the moment, end-of-year testing, reports, class-lists, and portfolios are all looming. I need to get back in the routine of making a card one night, then posting it the next night and beginning a new card ready to post the next night. Does that make sense? It helps me feel like I am on top of things! I will hopefully get one finished tonight and have it ready to show you tomorrow. I truely admire the most regular posters and aim to be one of them...but usually life gets in the way!

I hope you have a great evening.

A Crazy Week

My week has been enormous! I have had things after school every night and each time I would get to crafting I would find myself too tired to create. When I would blog-hop around I couldn't find a challenge to inspire me...finally tonight I had to prioritise. With my eyes almost hanging out of my head with tiredness I made this card. I didn't even bother finding a challenge to go with it, so it is a card for a card's sake. My own sketch and my own choice of colours. I like these colours, So Saffron, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst and Cameo Coral. The window stamp is the SU Hostess Stamp Level 3 that I received when I had my SU party awhile back now.

I hope you have a lovely weekend planned. I can't wait to have a bit of a rest! Thank you so much for visiting my blog and thank you for the sweet comments you leave. I hope to blog-hop tomorrow so I will get a chance to see what you have all been making!

Until then...

Kellie's Guest DT Call for Magnolia Down Under Store

Good evening blog friends,

I hope you had a lovely Tuesday. Mine was a busy one.

Kell is looking for a Guest DT for her new Magnolia Down Under Store. I thought I might as well have a go at entering. You need to attach some of your recent creations, some of which that have Magnolia Stamps. I went through my cards with Magnolia stamps and tried to pick out the better ones. I was actually surprised with how many I have made! Above is a selection of some of my favourites.

Why don't you enter as well. It would be super special to be a part of Kell's team and have an excuse to buy all the latest Magnolia Stamps. You have until October 17th to enter. Click here to find the details.

I am off to find a challenge for inspiration. I might get a start on it tonight and post it tomorrow. Thanks for visiting.

Magnolia Down Under Guest DT

I am very excited to be a Guest Designer for Magnolia Down Under for the month of October. Here is my card that I made. The Haunted House is a digi-stamp from Digital Delights and is coloured in with SU Markers. My Tilda is not a "Halloween" stamp, but she does have a broom!

The theme for this fortnight is TRICK OR TREAT….

HOW TO JOIN IN…
Your card MUST have a Magnolia stamp to join in. Doesn’t have to be a Tilda or Edwin, it can be a butterfly, background, table, animal etc, as long as it’s made by Magnolia. This fortnight they have a fantastic sponsor Bloomin’ Pages. It is an Australian based company that not only stock Magnolia stamps but SOOO much more for every card maker…..Papers, Card Stock, Chipboard, Ribbons the list really is endless and you should not just take my work for it but pop over HERE…. and see for yourself. Bloomin’ Pages is sponsoring this gorgeous Alota Stamp…..

The DT have made some simply amazing cards for your inspiration, why not pop on over and enter the challenge yourself. You could be the winner of this super-cute stamp! I can't wait to see all the spooky cards everybody makes! Thanks for visiting...

Magnolia Down Under - Buttons

Just a quick post tonight because it is getting late....Here is my entry for the Magnolia Down Under Challenge. This fortnight you have to use buttons. I used two clear buttons on top of flowers on my designer paper. I cut the Happy Birthday out on my Cricut and covered it with Crystal effects and dazzling Diamond Glitter. I think it looks so much cuter in real life! Must go and sleep...I have had late nights and very busy days since getting back to school...am struggling to fit everything into a day. Take care,

Sweet Sketch Wednesday and a present to myself!

Well, I went to my friend Renee's 30th Birthday last night at the Story Bridge Hotel in Brisbane, and I hadn't finished her card. So I had to give her Chris' card and make another one for Chris. I thought I would use the second sketch for Sweet Sketch Wednesday. Its certainly not as glitzy as the first one! I did add a little bit of Kindy Glitz to the lace frill at the bottom of her dress. I purchased some of that mesh ribbon at the Scrapbooking cupboard in white and wheat. I embossed the Baja Breeze section across the bottom with a Cuttlebug folder.

Papers: DCWV The Sweet Stack, SU Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and some retired DP.

Image: Another stamped one from my friend, coloured in with SU markers.

Embellishments: Mesh ribbon, flowers from my stash and brads from SU Pretties Kit.

Well, I went back to the scrapbooking Cupboard yesterday and bought some accessories for my present to myself! With 40% off it was the perfect time to buy some accessories! I have decided I really wont be able to wait until Christmas, so I plan to get it out of the box and set it up today! Here is a picture of what I purchased - A Cricut Create machine. I also bought the software so it can be connected to the computer and the paper Dress-up Doll Cartridge. Looks like it will be a lot of fun and I hope it will help me with my Scrapbooking.

Back to school tomorrow - holidays are all over...ready to start the last term for the year. I am looking forward to reading "The Twits" by Roald Dahl with my class. I love that book! Have you read it? The kids just love it, because of the disgusting words and events in the book. Hope you have a lovely Sunday and thanks for visiting!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday ~ 17

I haven't played along with Sweet Sketch Wednesday for ages and I was looking for some inspiration...The Design Team there have the most amazing cards! So if you are looking for a bit of inspiration, head over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday and see their work!

This week they have two sketches to choose from. I chose the above sketch for a a card for a teacher aid at my school Chris. Chris helps me out so much during the term, photocopying, laminating, marking, testing my kids on their sight words and in so many more ways. I wanted to give her this birthday card and a little pressie to say thank you for all her hard work.

This card was a bit different for me...I have bought some new papers and embellishments from a scrapbooking shop nearby. They were having a 40% off everything sale! My dearest friends let me know about it and I bought myself a large Christmas present...I will tell you what it is soon. I am still deciding whether to wrap it up for under the tree, or, open it up and use it straight away!

Papers: Welcome to Asia Collection from "Far and Away", SU Basic Black, Mellow Moss and Elegant Eggplant

Image: This was stamped for me by a friend, I'm not sure what brand it is...maybe Penny Black, but I'm not sure. Maybe somebody can educate me on this. Coloured in with SU Markers.

Embellishments: Black leaf ribbon, aqua flower, silver ribbon and black button all from my stash. SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Hope you like the card...and I hope Chris likes it too.

Thanks for visiting.

Magnolia Down Under Store

Well, Kell has finally announced her big news that I have been dying to hear...she is opening her own Magnolia Down Under Store online! To celebrate the occasion a HUGE candy is on offer. I have had a look and there are already some gorgeous stamps, papers and even magazines for sale. You need to enter this candy! Pop on over to Kellie's blog here to enter for yourself! I hope the store goes really well for her...I know I will be shopping!

Back from Holidays...

Finally back from my holiday at Hayman Island where we had a lovely time. If anybody feels like a luxury holiday, then Hayman is a wonderful spot. Guests from all over the world visit. I have included a couple of pics for you to have a look at. We did lots of relaxing, eating, swimming, snorkelling and even went on a bush walk across the island. We did get quite a bit of dust from the dust storms. You can kind of see it in the sky in the picture below.

Since we have been back I have been trying to catch up with cleaning, washing and card-making. I made this card for my brother whose birthday is on Sunday. He has been known to sneak into the bath with a beer for some relaxation so I thought this Penny Black image might suit him! I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly, but missed the cut-off date for the challenge. I wanted to keep it simple and quick to make. I did add some glitter and crystal effects to the bubbles to give them a watery look.

I used the colour yellow because that is my brother's favourite colour. I added a navy background to keep the card masculine. I hope to catch up on all your blogs over the next day or so. Thanks for visiting.