all you need is love....

and seeing it valentines soon I thought I would sue some of my scraps to whip up a card. I used a happy heart set for this card. I versamarked onto black card then gold embossed the image. then went around it with some gold gel pen, cut it out and added it to some gold card. The whole image was then placed onto some newspapery background paper that I had sponged with some gold and choc chip and river rock inks. I actually then taped it ona dn added the staples for some extra "something"...I actually wish I had done the heart in bronze so that my metals matched but...meh...it'll do :>

baby baby i love you!!

I am doing a card swap with my good crafty friends at essential baby (who should send me their blog addys so I can put them on my listy list). Here are my efforts for January and February. february Involved a baby card with the optional extra of using ribbon. I decided this would be an excellent way to use up all those scrappy end of ribbons that are just not enough to do anything cool with. I made my baby using polymer clay and a ginger bread man cutter. baby got cooked in the oven for about 5 mins (imagine if our own pregancies were that quick :>) and left to cool. I layered baby onto some corrugated yellow card, bright orange Su card and finally some basic black SU card. I scallop punched the edge and added some left over ribbons and some stripey adhesive paper. Down the bottom I have stamped welcome baby from the short and sweet stamp set-one of the most versatile sets Su ahs to offer in my humble opinion...just because I probably use mine every time I stamp!!! My january card was a congratulations card with the optional extra of uisng metallics. I used the stamp set a happy heart from the summer mini catalogue. I stamped with versamark onto white gloss card. Then I embossed with gold (and a touch of cranberry added to give it a twist) powder. Then I rubbed over the image with my daubers a mixture of river rock, choc chip and some bronze inks. when they were dry I gave them a bit of a rub over with my sanding block to give it a more textured look to it. The I mounted this onto some scalloped black card and some newspapery paper I have had for yonks but never found a use for..until now :> I added a bit of gold ribbon leftover from my christmas card making stash and then stuck it all onto black card...ta da! oh and I rounded the corners too and wrote congratualtions insdie with gold gel pen. If you ever feel like joing our merry bunch of card makers at essential baby feel free to drop on in. You'll find us here...http://members.essentialbaby.com.au/index.php?showforum=169 thanks for looking cheers ears The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart: She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with apple-tart. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

turn back time

....way back in 2008 I was doing a lot of otp stuff with SU papers and embellishments. One of my faves was this wine box. I painted it with some cheery red paint and then covered it with dashing dsp and added some embellishments from the spring catalogue. I got the box from top dollar and I wish I had got a lot more because I really like the way it turned out and wanted to do more as gifts but alas, alack td had sold out before I could hoard them all for myself :> Let me know what you think cheers ears clare The cow is of the bovine ilk; One end is moo, the other, milk. ~Ogden Nash

we also have good news

we are having another baby...another aussie baby to add to the clan. this one is due July 10 but given previous baby sizes they are planning to induce us at 38 weeks so bring on the end of june! will now go and make something to put up on this crafty blog of mine.....

well it has been a long time between posts....

and it has been a long long long couple of months in our lives.... On the 6th of November I recieved a phone call which halted my life. My mum was gravely ill in a hospice and had been given a week to live. I was shocked to the core and nothing in my entire life had prepared me for such a moment. It was horrible and gut wrenching and surreal. After a mad dash to find a passport and book a flight I was able to get back to NZ to see her on the friday. I spent most of that night with her showing her pictures the kids had done for her and video of them playing. It was so sad to see my once vivacious and colourful mother turned nto a limp rag doll devoid of colour and passion. The next day she passed away at 3:30pm. I was present as she left us and gave her last breath-a moment etched in my memory forever and one I shall never forget. The following week was spent doing all the frantic running around of funeral organisation and disasembling a life held within a home and dealing with annoying petty family politics. It was weird not seeing mum walking and talking in her house and quite odd walking around the garden without her telling me the names of her plants and how they were all doing. Her essence was in so much stuff and I wanted to bring it all home with me on the plane so it she would never leave me. Now it is over 2 months since mum left us and there is not a day goes by when I don't think of her or shed a tear. Often it will be over the silliest and mundane things and I will find myself bawling my eyes out. Our little Monday afternoon chats have been really missed but I now find myself finding a quiet place and talking to her about everything and anything and not really letting her go...just yet.... I miss my mum.