My Life is Brilliant

update

2011-06-16T12:40:00.001+10:00

I don't like posting without pictures but I am still having "issues" with applemac.....I have plenty of pics to update and hope to soon......

Adorning Crowns...

2011-03-22T22:07:00.003+11:00

At the last Paperific I met Linda Baldock, doing a fantastic Make'n Take flower chipboard brooch, and we became Facebook friends (along with 100's of others! lol). Linda recently proposed a swap whereby participants made an embellishment to add to their own Crown - we are all Queens of some sort.

Today I finished my pieces, a combination of "Collections" dress form and butterfly, cuttlebugged, painted, embossed and gilded. I just hope they arrive at their destinations in tact. Swappers are from all over Australia and the U.S. I can't wait to see my returns...

* * * 2 0 1 1 * * *

2011-03-13T20:14:00.004+11:00

Because of problems with my new laptop (Christmas present) I haven't blogged for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaages! So I am back on the "old" one to solve these issues.

This pic is of a double page spread I did in a book for Nicky in our Beyond Altered Books swap. Sue provided the group with discarded school books to alter and swap. It's a lot of fun but also taking a long time as we only meet monthly and not everyone attends every month.

Nicky wanted elephants in her book, I bought this felt elephant in Torquay during the holidays and painted the background using one of my favourite Ro Bruhn techniques.

Felting!

2011-01-08T19:21:00.005+11:00

Organised by Greta, Teresa and I did the most wonderful felting workshop with Elizabeth Armstrong (elizabeth-armstrong.blogspot.com) today. I can't believe the fantastic, finished pieces we all made. Elizabeth is a very talented, experienced felter and inspirational artist and her workshop was so organised and full of her beautiful pieces. She is in the process of publishing a felting book which I can't wait to get my hands on!

Something Old, New, Borrowed and BLUE!

2011-01-06T19:30:00.005+11:00

With the renovations and the cleaning out of stuff accumulated over the 26 years we have lived here, my wedding dress was "re-discovered". Sarah is the only one who can fit into it now and was eager to try it on. It is still in perfect condition but I didn't want her to smile because she had just finished a "pushpop" lolly and her mouth was all blue!

Christmas Cards 2010

2011-01-03T22:11:00.002+11:00

A bit late with the blogging but at least I posted all my Christmas cards out on time this year! I made three different ones. I forgot to take a pic of the first lot and had to change design only when I ran out of supplies. The red and white ones were for my Crafty Mum friends, to surprise them as they had helped with the first lot (the silver "Merry Christmas" is a bosskutt die which took a lot of time to cut/remove from negative). They did a great job...

Crafty Mums

2010-12-18T23:02:00.002+11:00

We had our Christmas luncheon on Friday and this is the Kris Kringle I made (and wanted to keep). Helen was the recipient. It is a painted and stamped canvas. The beautiful bird is from Provincial Living.

Arty Oz Christmas

2010-12-04T23:18:00.003+11:00

I posted this Kris Kringle off yesterday, a bit early but I didn't want to lose/wreck it with the renovations going on here...

It is a 3D Scrapware house, you can't really see the detail - German scrap on the roof, cherub charm on top, beaded Scrapware tree. The background paper is an old K & C traditional Christmas paper.

ATC's

2010-12-01T22:38:00.003+11:00

The first Thursday of the month is when the Hannmade ATC Group meets and the December challenge was a Christmas triptych. I love traditional Christmas Colours.

2010-12-01T22:36:00.001+11:00

The last November birthday was Ruby's...I was thinking of writing Happy Bird day but I didn't think she'd understand.

2010-12-01T22:30:00.002+11:00

Marilyn's card was also made with Kaisercraft paper but it is a different paper, copper foiled and not double sided like the rest of the Kaiser range.

2010-12-01T22:27:00.001+11:00

I was on a roll with the Kaiser Birdie papers and had to buy extra supplies from DFO for cards for Noelene, Leseley and Cheryl.

2010-12-01T22:24:00.001+11:00

Nephew David turned 17 but his Mum is in hospital. The bright Kaiser papers were to cheer her up.

November...

2010-12-01T22:07:00.003+11:00

I have blogged almost every day for 13 weeks but it has all been about our home renovations. I have had time to make cards, there are SO many Birthdays in November, but I haven't had a chance to upload pics...until now..........

This was for Nicky. Inspired by Ro Bruhn and the Scrabble tiles represent our online games.

5 years on...

2010-10-25T15:21:00.002+11:00

On the 25th of October 2005 I had a cancerous tumor removed from my left breast. Today I celebrated with my friends at the annual South Eastern Breast Cancer Breakfast. My Life is Brilliant.

Arty Oz Tag Swap

2010-10-18T19:01:00.002+11:00

The second tag for October is for Bevlea. I posted it from the "new" Thrift Park Post Office, opened today. Bevlea wanted the colours of white, cream and sepia. I tried to white/cream it but I am a sepia girl. The next tag is for Ruth who wants natural brown tones, phew!

Arty Oz Tag Swap

2010-10-14T20:03:00.003+11:00

The first tag I completed was for Ness and I loved her fabric theme so much I decorated tag and envelope both sides!

Crafty Mums

2010-10-12T20:53:00.002+11:00

We have finished the Welcome Home Doors project and these are my three. I still have to add a charm or two but I LOVE them! I will sit them on the mantlepiece at Christmas time.

Same but different...

2010-09-28T21:06:00.003+10:00

Because Gail and I missed the last Crafty Mum's day we got together to complete the second door of the Welcome Home project and this is the result. They are a lot of fun but a lot of work. Mine is on the left.

Tiles for Teresa

2010-09-27T18:45:00.002+10:00

Gail was kind enough to deliver these to Teresa when I wasn't well, I forgot to add them to my blog! That's it for birthday tiles for the year now although I am waiting on some to arrive....

RIP Stacey Apeitos

2010-09-25T18:54:00.002+10:00

So sad to hear Stacey lost her battle with breast cancer that began about 2-3 years before mine. She fought hard and was a lovely inspirational lady.

more tiles...

2010-09-19T22:35:00.002+10:00

Well Teresa, here are your little beauties, thank you so much, I can't wait to display them in our new family room (we are renovating, again) sometime next year.....

Birthday Tiles

2010-09-18T18:34:00.001+10:00

Gail created these beautiful tiles for my birthday last month, she was worried about the challenge - blue, white, sepia and silver. I think she has done a fantastic job, thanks Gail I LOVE them!

2010-09-11T20:25:00.000+10:00

Welcome Home Doors

2010-09-10T20:03:00.002+10:00

This project by Audrey and Maxine was in an old Stamping and Papercraft and Crafty Mums got together at Gail's to make the first (out of 3) doors. This is mine :)

Gail's Birthday tiles

2010-09-09T23:07:00.002+10:00

An ongoing arty tiles swap. I started these when Gail was in Bali but the longer I have to complete a task the more I work on it. Of course I made too many and had to cull them down to this final selection. Tomorrow's play day is at Gail's house so I will surprise her then. I hope she loves them as much as I loved making them.

Happy Birthday to me...

2010-08-25T17:16:00.003+10:00

I bought this gorgeous little kit ages ago from beadsonline.com.au and decided to make myself a birthday present, let's face it. I wasn't doing anything else today! I added the crown and the spoons but everything else was included in the kit. The hardest part was choosing the picture for the cabouchon.

Facebook has taken over

2010-08-18T21:11:00.003+10:00

I don't get much else done anymore! I spend the same amount of time on the computer but not blogging or blurfing as Teresa calls it. I hope I am not missing too much!

This marvellous creation is Sarah's, not mine! She made these delicious sticky date puddings at school last week. Yumbo.

Birdhouses

2010-06-29T21:27:00.002+10:00

Crafty Mums are in the middle of a birdhouse swap and I love what I have added to Gail's. The further you are down the list the harder it is to come up with an addition. Helen supplied the cardboard houses, the owner painted the backgrounds and then we started swapping. Gail didn't like her crackled green undercoat so Michelle added the black lace. Jenny added dragonflies and there are leaves on the roof of the birdhouse so using Collections frames and one of the new printed acetates I added windows to each side of the house.

It's that time of the year again....

2010-06-12T20:08:00.004+10:00

.....nearly! Teresa has gently reminded us that the Arty Oz Collaborative Book is due soon....and I have been working on my pages for weeks now. It is a wonderful thing when you can transfer an idea in your head into a finished piece, without too many hassles, here are my pages. Because the deadline is not for a while I am still tweaking with them, the longer I have them, the more I add, but basically I am happy with them and relieved. It helps when you only have to do 12! The only rule, apart from the size, was that we use an original piece of printed text.

Domestic Goddess strikes again!

2010-06-10T22:45:00.002+10:00

Almost. The moths constantly flying out from my pantry finally took their toll and I threw out everything with a use by date in the 1990's. I kept the unopened can of lemonade from 1995, somehow that was empty anyway!?!? And I will never buy brown rice again. No more weevils!

Capture My Heart necklace class

2010-04-11T19:58:00.002+10:00

Together with some very lovely friends I did a wonderful class with Chris Aitken today. There was lots of hammering and wire work today to make a "cage" for a special keepsake. I was fascinated with the riveting process which I haven't tried before and very happy with what I made. Inside my piece is an old Marcasite watch that belonged to my Mum (inscribed with her maiden name) and the dangly bit at the bottom is from one of Dad's cufflinks. Dad would have loved to hear how Jen and I shared his tools in this class. Thanks Chris for sharing your work with us and to Sue for the magnificent lunch!

Arty Oz Swap

2010-04-06T21:58:00.002+10:00

Things have been very quiet on the ArtyOz front lately, I didn't sign up for this swap but poor Ness did and couldn't get things going so I took her spot yesterday and today posted these tiles to Greta. I had to do them straight away, it's the second week of the school holidays and we are away for a few days, enjoying the fantastic Easter break weather!

2010-03-20T16:41:00.003+11:00

Dale's neice turns 21 this month and all 21 year old girls love purple. This Kaisercraft paper inspired me to make an explosion card (centre) for Tiffany and 6 other birthday cards. Gail even used my leftovers for another card!

The photo makes the colours look more blue than the bright purple they really are.

March 2010

2010-03-20T16:36:00.002+11:00

Enough has been said about the supercel storm we had 2 weeks ago when Paperific was washed out so I will move on... there are so many birthdays in March. My youngest nephew Edward turned 4 and as he has a Pirate bedroom I made him his own pirate book...

Long Weekend

2010-03-05T13:32:00.004+11:00

In Melbourne we have our Labour Day Public Holiday on Monday, just as well I have so much to do....

This morning Sarah and I were invited to an International Women's Day breakfast. Can't resist a free feed! LOL

Paperific is on this weekend and I am off with Sarah tomorrow and we are staying in town. Sunday we have tickets to see "Cats". Monday is the Moomba Day parade and MartheJane is taking (?) me to Mamma Mia on Tuesday night! I will need a holiday after that!

Patsy insisted we enter the Kaisercraft competition at DFO and these are our entries. We were given 3 wooden "tiles" to do with whatever we wanted. Patsy chose an "Egyptian" theme and joined her three pieces, beautifully painted and decorated front AND back! Thanks Patsy for sharing your workshop.

I was determined to only use Kaiser products (although you could use anything) and did one in my favorite sepia/vintage style "Boys" and painted the second in my favourite "Ro" style using Kaisercraft paints and stamps. Two very different pieces.

Scraptacular Class

2010-02-05T19:39:00.002+11:00

Gail invited me to join her in the "7Gypsies Printers Tray Class" today and we had a lot of fun! I know how precious Scraptacular are with their copyright so I am sharing another creation. Although I didn't really have a lot to do with this massive zuccini, I cooked up less than 1/4 of it to feed a family of 5. After today's class we couldn't afford anything else!

Arty Tiles

2010-02-01T22:18:00.002+11:00

It's Kathy's Birthday this week and these tiles are on their way to her, Happy Birthday Kathy!

Gail requested larger pictures, hope she can see these! LOL

Jayne's Birthday Card

2010-02-01T22:06:00.004+11:00

I spent the day procrastinating about cards for birthdays this month and settled on this one for Jayne, to accompany the tiles Gail and I made for her (14/1/2010).

Summer Holidays

2010-01-24T20:58:00.002+11:00

The weather hasn't been all that crash hot lately but we have just returned from a relaxing week in Torquay. I took my jewellery supplies (instead of papercraft) this time and and finished the flower brooch and made a pair of dangly earrings. I bought the supplies to make this brooch in Noosa last year and copied (with permission) it as best as I can remember. It was a lot of fun to do. The beads are wired onto a filigree brooch back. There is a lovely little shop called "Tiny Trinkets" in Torquay where I bought extras I needed to complete the earrings.

Dandenong Ranges

2010-01-15T19:44:00.004+11:00

Today was a lot of fun! The incentive to travel was the sale at Christina's and we weren't disappointed there. Gail, Kathy and I enjoyed lunch at a very busy Miss Marples in Sassafras and the weather was delightful.

more tiles...

2010-01-14T20:39:00.002+11:00

Sarah, Gail and I got in the swing last week for Ness's birthday so we made a few extras for our friend Jayne. Her birthday was this week as well and she loves all things Collections. I told Gail I would mount these tiles on a canvas but I was given a piece of vintage embossed wallpaper that I just had to use. There is also wallpaper on some of the tiles.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-11T17:40:00.002+11:00

A new year and new creations. Arty Oz has branched out to Arty Tiles to celebrate birthdays this year and lucky Vanessa's birthday is today! Happy Birthday Ness, hope you like your tiles. One set is from Sarah and I and the other set was made by Gail. I have been hanging out to post this as Ness got her parcel last week but had to wait til today to open!

Arty Oz Christmas Swap

2009-12-24T21:25:00.002+11:00

This fantastic present arrived today, just in time for Christmas, from Debra in outback Queensland. My photography does not do it justice- 3 mini canvasses, painted, stamped, embossed and collaged, joined with silver thread and beads, I was blown away when I opened it, it's a wonderful present, thank you so much Debra (and enjoy your holidays). Merry Christmas to all blogging friends, see you in the New Year.

Christmas Swap 2009

2009-12-23T23:28:00.002+11:00

This is what I made for the Arty Oz yahoo group and now Marg has received it I can share with the rest of you. I actually made 3, one for Marg, one for Gail who was unable to participate in this swap and one for the fantastic teacher Ro, who taught me everything I know about Ro knots!

Finished!

2009-12-21T19:34:00.003+11:00

I ran out of supplies for my Christmas cards so had to do another batch. They're all done now and in the mail, stand by your letterbox! ***** Merry Christmas *****

Retro Christmas Cards

2009-12-10T19:01:00.002+11:00

Yay! At least I have started, although I will have to start over as I have run out of supplies! The gorgeous paper is Cosmo Cricket and I should have bought more.

Art Swap

2009-12-01T16:53:00.003+11:00

A couple of months back I was asked to take part in a swap involving sending a piece of work, whatever you do (sewing, ATC's, cards, jewellery etc) to a recipient and then inviting 20 more people to get involved. I sent this concertina card to Sylvia.

Yesterday this lovely notebook arrived from Kylie. She apologised for being "late" but then I had to apologise for not remembering what swap I was in LOL! Thanks for participating Kylie, the surprise made my day.

Oh What A Feeling

2009-11-27T19:54:00.002+11:00

Whilst I have never had a car in my name, this is the second new car my husband has bought for me to get around in. Today we traded in the old faithful Falcon (which was older than Sarah) for a new Corolla. Strangely there are 4 white cars in our household now....

Indoor play

2009-11-22T15:55:00.002+11:00

I have had a very busy weekend. The purple explosion card was for Megan's 21st on Friday night. With all of Melbourne's November rainfall coming on this weekend, today was a great day to craft away. The "Cupcake" card is for neice Ruby's 7th Birthday, the "play" card is for nephew David and the middle piece is for my sister. Half way through 2008 Kathryn (and 5 of her 6 kids) moved in with my (poor) Mum whilst they renovated their house. They all move back this weekend!!!

Ro's Necklace class

2009-11-21T17:56:00.005+11:00

What a wonderful day we had today with a great bunch of ladies! Everyone finished their necklaces early and we got home before the rain. Thanks Ro for another fabulous class and to Steve for looking after our "inner" needs LOL.

If you ever get the chance to do one of Ro's classes you will not regret it. Ro is a wonderful talent, generous teacher and friend.

Ro's blog will have more pics up soon... http://robruhn.blogspot.com/

Paperific

2009-11-15T12:59:00.002+11:00

On again this weekend, the first under the new owner. 36 stands/exhibits at the Showgrounds. Luckily Gail and I went Friday as so many bargains sold out that morning! This is my stash- love the Graphic 45 papers, quality double sided to die for! You had to shop around because there was a big variation in prices between retailers. The Nestabilities were $30! The special jewellery pliars were $15, Jen put me on to them! It's great to catch up with so many familiar faces again, not that we could spent any time with Teresa, she was working flat out at Little Bits :(

ArtyOz Collaborative Book

2009-11-15T12:46:00.004+11:00

It's all over for another year! There were only 16 participants this year, not as much pressure. These are my pages and the completed book we put together at Greta's house yesterday with the help of Gail, Sue, Georgia and Liz. There was no theme this year but we had to include stamped images. Thank you to Kerry for lending me Tim's "Umbrella Man" and to all of the other talented ladies who participated.

Collections Box Swap

2009-11-03T19:04:00.002+11:00

This one was due in October and because I did JVO's classes in April I made my boxes early - and I am so glad I did! These were for Teresa. I think mine were the last to arrive but they did so safely last week, thanks Vanessa for hosting and making my boxes.

Doll Book

2009-11-02T19:09:00.004+11:00

You may remember a book swap that began at the beginning of 2008. I chose Doll's as my theme and enjoyed it so much I finished the covers before forwarding off to the next artist. Well, my book was never returned! Someone must have loved it so much.....

But I am loved even more. Unbeknowns to me Gail, Greta, Donna, Ness, Teresa, Kylie and Debra did brand new, even better, pages for me and now it's up to me to make new covers. Thank you lovely ladies x x x.

2009-10-27T20:11:00.002+11:00

Yesterday was Pink Ribbon Day. It is 4 years since my first surgery to remove Breast Cancer. This photo shows a group of wonderful friends celebrating our achievements at a breakfast that turned into a very long day! I can't think of any better way to celebrate.

Leaving the best until last....

2009-10-26T22:00:00.004+11:00

A wonderful collaboration from all of my arty friends far and wide. And it was a complete surprise. Gail organised this Collections Tiles Canvas for me and there was a lot to organise! It sits proudly in the family room now after travelling for the past few weeks to show off to those who generously contributed. There are some who haven't seen it finished because many live interstate. Thank you to Teresa, Gail, Michelle, Jayne, Suzanne, Helen, Jennifer, Greta, Vanessa, Debra, Jen, Donna, Ro, Patsy, Nicky, Sue, Raylene, MartheJane and Marilyn!

2009-10-26T21:58:00.001+11:00

I treated myself to an original Worledge creation for my birthday.

2009-10-26T21:52:00.002+11:00

These gifts I collected at Altered Books. Book charm from Sylvia, Handmade book by Ro and Mini canvas from Patsy.....

Happy Birthday to ....me!!!

2009-10-25T20:50:00.005+11:00

It's old news now but I want to show off the talents of some of my wonderful crafty friends.

My 16 year old presented me with this book in Noosa! She wouldn't let me check her case before we left and now we know why.

Jayne made me a special mini canvas and Gail made another personalised book.

New Millenium

2009-10-24T22:05:00.003+11:00

I have tried to change the look of my blog many times, unsuccessfully and begged Gail to help me out, the old blogger she is knew what to do and I love the new look! Thank you Gail x x x
I have got so many photos to upload but I will take is slowly, so much to do, so little time!

Let's do the time warp again!

2009-08-20T16:05:00.002+10:00

We were invited to Clare's Rocky Horror 21st birthday but can't go! :(
This is her card.

A work in progress...

2009-08-20T15:59:00.002+10:00

These bits and pieces are going to Noosa with me, a record of my trip and something to keep me busy as well but it's taking me so much time to get organised!

Canvas class

2009-08-09T12:10:00.005+10:00

Together with a group of fabulous ladies, Gail and I did Ro's Canvas class yesterday and the results were amazing!

This is what I achieved before lunch!

And the camera flash really picked up on the quin gold later!

Thanks Ro and Steve for being such wonderful hosts.

Kids are a headache aren't they....

2009-07-31T17:10:00.002+10:00

It's about 13 months since Emma had her first car accident and this afternoon was her second. I am just back from Frankston Hospital where they checked out the bump on her head, she has whiplash and is sore and sorry but it wasn't her fault this time! She was doing a right hand turn and a ute rammed her from behind. Looks like we will be sharing my car (again) for a few weeks now.

Sarah's Birthday Canvas

2009-07-30T20:51:00.003+10:00

This fantastic creation was made by MartheJane. The card I believe started out as a wedding card class at Little Bits but that's typical of MJ!

Puzzles!

2009-07-20T19:07:00.004+10:00

Crafty Mums are meeting again tomorrow and hopefully everyone has finished their pieces by now. A few have had some setbacks along the way and when I finished mine I was so excited I swapped them before I took a record!

S = sewing for Jen, T = tea, given to Jayne, U = unicorn is mine, V = violet for Suzanne, W - I can't remember! and X = x-ray is mine to keep.

Puzzles

2009-07-20T19:07:00.001+10:00

Farmtown

2009-07-06T21:10:00.003+10:00

This stupid game is taking up all of my computer time, not to mention Virtural Memory, of which I apparently have none, so blogging goes out the window! What did we all do before Facebook?

There are some things you don't share with every Tom, Dick and Harry so I am sharing a pic of Sarah's birthday card. My baby is turning 16 on Wednesday and is celebrating with her friends at the movies. Her present from me is a ticket to see Britney Spears later this year. Her and Emma had such a great time at Pink's concert so I hope Britney is worth the $$$.

2009-06-22T22:15:00.002+10:00

As a follow on from Ro's brooch workshop Sylvia and I ended up at East Coast Imports (165 Nepean Highway Mentone) at the same time. They import lots of cheap stuff and are trying to clear stock before ending their lease. They have heaps of jewellery pieces at half of their already low prices. There are huge necklaces, ready for dismantling for our art, at crazy prices ($5 necklaces now $2.50) I spent a fortune and will now have to find the time to take them all apart ready to re-use! But that's what we do isn't it?!

Ro's Brooch class

2009-06-20T21:18:00.002+10:00

I have been looking forward to this class for ages. Ro is such a talented artist, an expert in papercrafts and jewellery. A group of lovely ladies travelled to Belgrave South to be fed wonderfully by Steve, Ro's husband and trained in wire art to produce some wonderful pieces. I chose a blue coloured kit but added lots of other bits and pieces, mostly supplied by Ro. Wearing the creations will be the next challenge, being heavy and dangly.

ATC RAK's

2009-06-18T16:25:00.002+10:00

I haven't done any RAK's for a while and my new Heidi Swapp mask needed a workout. These ATC's are for the Paper Journey group. I sent them ages ago and haven't heard anything.....there are only 7 in the RAK list which isn't too much trouble.

Masterchef

2009-06-01T20:01:00.003+10:00

Gail dragged me to Teresa's on Friday night, it was good to catch up with friends.

On Saturday Dale brought home this HUGE pumpkin from a client. I had the help of lovely Sarah to get through it and we had soup all weekend. I still have a fridge full of pumpkin chunks as well as giving Kathryn a bag full and taking soup around to Jim!

Sarah's interest in cooking has me watching Masterchef and finally fulfilled my wish for stickydate pudding, butterscotch sauce and almond praline. Yummo!!!

:(

2009-06-01T19:43:00.003+10:00

I haven' t felt like blogging for ages but life goes on and cards have to be made.

Clockwise from the top is Liam's 21 st card, his Dad's 50th, Charlotte was 9, Pauls is 11 later this month and his mother, Theresa was born 25/5.

House of Music

2009-06-01T19:37:00.002+10:00

The final page posted off to Linda this was a great swap, thanks to all involved.

House Book

2009-05-04T13:20:00.001+10:00

My final Lace page arrived this morning from Nikki, beautifully decorated, front and back. I can't say my book is finished now because Nikki included a lovely story behind her page and I have to incorporate that into my book somehow. I wish I had written my thoughts down too when doing other pages.

Crafty Mums

2009-05-03T22:25:00.002+10:00

Got together on Friday and some of us made Mother's Day cards, I made my aubergine house for Somerset Studio submission. Yesterday I made Adam's birthday card, I can't believe I have a 22 year old child! Time flies when you're having fun!

2009-04-30T22:59:00.000+10:00

I must remember to never photograph on a craft mat again! Not a good look.

Puzzles - the third row

2009-04-30T22:53:00.002+10:00

Finished just in time to swap tomorrow! M (music) is mine to keep, N (numbers) for Suzanne, O (Owl) for Jennifer, P (Paisley, pretty, pink, pearly princess) for Michelle, Q (Queen Victoria) for Helen and R (Rust) for Gail. I can't wait to see what everyone else has come up with.

Look Good Feel Better

2009-04-30T22:44:00.003+10:00

Michelle and I did a fantastic beauty workshop on Tuesday. It is an initiative of the cosmetics industry to assist women during Cancer treatments. All of the products were donated and we got to keep them after spending the morning learning how to use them. We were also shown how to use scarves, head coverings and even try on a few wigs. (I hope those photos don't surface!) The dozen or so who attended certainly looked and felt a lot better on leaving. And my girls were very happy to see what I had brought home in my goody bag.

House page

2009-04-30T22:39:00.003+10:00

I did manage to finish another one this month, only two more left to do for May.

This one is "My Mother's House" for Glenda. I had lots of problems with this one, the image is nothing to do with my Mother's House but it was my first choice and I never found a better one so it stayed. I also lost the first "Home Sweet Home" frame I made so had to make another. I bet it will turn up now this page has been posted off.

Collections Art Boxes - the third class

2009-04-30T22:27:00.003+10:00

The latest Collections range includes these tricky little boxes. They come flat packed, great value, six to a pack and take quite a bit of work to put together and decorate. By the third workshop Gail and I had worked out that getting to class early and painting/staining/cutting whatever we could first was going to save a bit of time. The work on the torso piece has to be seen to be believed. Even JVO underestimated how long this would take, we only got 4 done in class as there was another class starting straight after ours we couldn't stay back. I spent the rest of Saturday getting them finished, they were so much fun I couldn't stop. We were given a piece of 8x8 cardboard to hold them until we decide how/where to display them. I can't wait to do more.

2009-04-30T22:20:00.002+10:00

The first class was titled "Butterflies". This was a real challenge because we had to cut out all of the butterflies and I really struggled with getting the glue/paint dry in the time slot. It looked dreadful the next day but I later re-painted the frame to get a better result.

The Friday night class was "Home is where the art is". I can't believe how beautiful this piece is, mine don't usually turn out as good as the original but I am very proud of this piece. And we finished it in class.

Collections Workshops

2009-04-30T22:16:00.002+10:00

We were lucky to have Julie Van Oosten come to Mentone to teach workshops last weekend. Gail and I did 3/5 classes and they were such fantastic fun. We learnt heaps of techniques with each different project and the results speak for themselves.

2009-04-30T22:11:00.001+10:00

Our download limits were used up when we were away hence the catch-up posts. These ceramic plates were painted at MartheJane's birthday party last month and have only just been fired. Emma's nickname for Sarah is Booney for whatever reason, so you know which plate is hers. MartheJane is planning next years birthday already. We have painted mugs, bowls and now plates. What next?

Another month gone!

2009-04-30T22:02:00.002+10:00

Easter has come and gone and the School holidays went way too quicky with the fantastic weather we had in Lorne. The last day of the holidays Sarah and I spent at Kaisercraft in Geelong. Cheryl organised a group to meet there and do workshops. We made a fairy house and then a box of tags. Sarah is still adding bling to her house, I used the new Baboushka papers.

Jigsaw pieces

2009-04-06T19:54:00.002+10:00

These are the second row of the Crafty Mums puzzles, continuing the alphabet from left to right, G - Golden Guitar for Jennifer, H - Handbag for Michelle, I - Ink for Helen, J - Jewels for Gail, K - Keys for Jennifer and L - Lighthouse for Jayne.

Tomorrow we get together and swap our latest creations and hopefully make a few more.

House page

2009-03-29T20:50:00.004+11:00

This is from Kylie who is hosting this fun swap. I am waiting on only one more page and then my book is done.

The other two pages are for Evelyn and Philippa, Dragon's Den and Bird House.

March madness

2009-03-28T21:15:00.002+11:00

My goodness just where has this month gone?!?

I am sitting in the dark (Earth Hour) pondering how busy March has been. It seems like yesterday was Christmas.

Being busy has a lot to do with it. I spent a week at the Stitches and Craft Show, re-visited Moomba, sat through 12 hours of Sound Relief (in the pouring rain), survived another tremor (I was in the same place as the first - on the couch!), ate my way though Alana' s 21st and Jessica's 18th, dined in Black Rock, Ricketts Point, Tyabb, South Melbourne, Mentone and Beaumaris, spent time in hospital with Mum (she's home again now). Completed another Scraptacular class (Tim Holtz tags) and did a fabulous *free* Make and Take at Littlebits this morning. And now Emma wants me to go to the footy with her tomorrow! She is at a loose end because Liam is going to the Grand Prix (with the tix I won). Sunday is my day of rest!

I have done two more house pages but because of the end of month problems with download limits I haven't been able to blog/upload. Today I spent catching up on emails and then find my camera batteries flat and I can't see in the dark to re-charge them. Earth Hour is nearly up, we can put the candles away.....

Earth Tremor

2009-03-06T21:51:00.002+11:00

This evening I discovered something scarier than waiting for the electricity to come back on after a power surge in the middle of the night - an Earth Quake!!!!

Whilst there are many countries that experience this on a regular basis, I have never felt such a wave!

Just before 9 p.m. a quake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale was felt throughout the whole of Melbourne. It was so eerie, the entire house just shook but there was no sound!

So far there are no reports of damage, Dale walked through the house but all of our cracks are old ones LOL. I wonder about the pool.... and after shocks - yikes!

Puzzle Pieces

2009-03-01T21:59:00.003+11:00

I have been crafting but not blogging lately because when our download limits are up and everything slows to a crawl there is just no point trying!

A new month means I can start posting again.

These puzzle pieces are for the Crafty Mums. We are doing the alphabet, Airplane for Helen, Beach for Jayne, Clock (mine), Dragonflies for Michelle, Egypt for Suzanne and Fence for Gail.

House Page

2009-03-01T21:55:00.002+11:00

My latest page received came all the way from Western Australia, from Evelyn, this one is titled linda loves lace! I love it.

House Page

2009-02-16T16:11:00.002+11:00

Another beautiful Lace page arrived today, all the way from NT! Thank you Linda :)

Bush Fires

2009-02-13T22:55:00.003+11:00

There is so much coverage of this dreadful event that I do not need to go into it. Although not directly affected, living in the suburbs of Melbourne, you cannot help but be touched.

Yesterday I spoke with a 93 year old lady who lost her daughter in the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bush Fires. She was in a fire truck with 4 others who also perished 25 years ago. You never forget. Poor Dorothy is re-living this all again and can't watch any news or read any papers at the moment.

This eerie sunset picture was taken from our bedroom balcony looking towards Port Phillip Bay. The smoke haze from the bush fires turns the sun orange and it looks very fiery between the trees. I just hope we don't have another hot weekend.

February House Pages

2009-02-10T21:16:00.002+11:00

Vanessa's theme is fabric - I loved doing this page and Kylie's theme is Asian. I am still playing around with this one, the longer I have them the more I add!

Puzzle Swap

2009-02-09T20:39:00.002+11:00

This fabulous swap was returned to me today. Measuring 30 x 30 cm the pieces were done by (from top left) Anne, Marg, Helen (hostess), Lucy, my piece is in the middle, Elaine, Nicola, Nikki and Teresa. They all look stunning together, thank you Ladies, special thanks to Helen.

2009-02-08T21:03:00.003+11:00

This is a sample of the etchings we produced in Jen's Metal Etching Class. Sarah's (unfinished) piece on the left, my necklace, and I haven't decided how to finish the house yet. A public apology to Gail, the holes you can see in my mat went straight through her dining table! Her husband was suitably not impressed. Sorry :(

Bravehearts

2009-02-08T20:50:00.002+11:00

None braver than Jen Crossley, on the hottest day ever recorded in Melbourne (46.4 degrees), trekking from Ballarat to share her etchings with us. Gail made sure we were as comfortable as we could be in the heat and Jen was so generous with her class, the results were outstanding. It was so much fun to get together with lovely friends and create stunning pieces of jewellery, we proudly display our work. Thanks Sarah for taking the photos!

2009-02-06T18:07:00.002+11:00

Did I mention the drought? This is our front yard (Sarah is on the porch).

Collections Swap

2009-02-06T17:47:00.003+11:00

This chunky canvas is a very detailed piece, not picked up in the photo is the texture and crackle paints, a beautiful swap made for me by Rhonda. She also sent me my House page in the same parcel.