Sunday, 22 March 2009

Easter cards

I am busy getting things ready for when we are away and one of them is the Easter goodies for the cousins. So, I have made bunnies using a heart punch (these ones below were with the Creative Memories large punch and the slightly smaller one on the same punch). I still need to stick them down onto card stock: This bunny was made using the old coloured heart punch - just cut the arms slightly smaller once I had punched them out and cut them in half. Then I just wrote on the back of the card.
They are so cute (if I say to myself) and although a bit fiddly to make, I had fun and actually had a bit of a production line going. Hope all the recipients enjoy receiving them.
Off to carry on with my BOM challenge #15 which is about 2 weeks late, but I have had other things to make and do which needed priority with us going on holiday in 1.5 weeks time - yee ha, I can't wait.
Bunnied out signing off ........

Friday, 20 March 2009

More Mosaicing Creations

Kathy, Shelley, Rayna and I went back to the Ceramic Craft Studio for another dose of mosaicing. Kathy and Rayna did bowls, Shelley painted her tortoises that she had finished mosaicing and I made a vase type container to put in my scrap room to store my tools. Here we are hard at work. Note the chocolate brownies we had for tea - they were absolutely yummy!! Here are the almost finished products, but finished enough for you to see what they look like.
We then came back to my house where we had chicken with salad and poppy seed cake. A really wonderful day crafting with special friends.
I finished all my tile setting on the Sunday and just need to grout my container.
Have also been finishing off some scrapy layout kits that I bought from Doing Life which I will photgraph this week-end in the light.
Mosaicer signing off ....

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

My crafting week-end

I had a busy crafting week-end which I thouroughly enjoyed and it was thanks to the cricket that I was probably able to get so much done as Dereck was kept occupied watching it which left me to my own devices!!
I bought the tiles on Saturday with a view to making this sometime after we come back from our holiday, but I was just itching to get started and so started and finished it to this point on Sunday morning. I just need to grout it and then put in the photo. I can't say who it is for and the person might read my blog, I will reveal later once it has been given to the recipient. I must say, I really enjoyed making this and will probably end up making some more. Kathy, Rayna, Shelley and I have another mosaicing lesson Saturday - I can't wait as I am making a pen/pencil/tool holder for my desk in my craft room and yes, it will be shades or purple.
I made this pencil holder for a good friend at work as her birthday is while we are in the USA. I just need to put a few more coats of varnish on it and then it is done. She does horse show jumping, so I thought these pictures were quite appropriate: When Leanne turned 21 two years ago, 2 weeks before she announced that she wanted me to make her a collage. We were out and she was asking me where her baby photos were. What could I say, they had all been scrapped into albums that she knew nothing about and would be given to her as a surprise 21st present!!! I made up some story and then gave the albums to Dereck to scan and then print off the pictures just on paper and made a collage. I must say it did look really nice and she loved it. But, for me that was not the real thing. So, with us going to the USA and then visiting her, I decided to reprint all the photos on photo paper and make the formal collage to take over to her and then she can get it framed (I recently had Grant's one framed and it looks great (will still have to take a photos - sorry). I haven't stuck down the middle pictures and will do that once I am in Wales with Leanne as I need to have this as flat as possible while we are travelling the USA. Because I had done this my style and cropped properly, I had a bit more space, so there are a few extra pictures in that weren't in the original one. I must say, I like how it turned out and I am sure that Leanne is going to love it too.

My family came round on Sunday afternoon and I even made spagetti bolognaise for them and after they had left managed to complete a double page scrap layout, but haven't taken a picture as I had some journalling to do first.
Last night I completed another double page layout and again, no picture as I am still putting on some finishing touches. Both these layouts were kits I received from the last scrap day I assisted Desire with in December 2008. Good fun to do and very simple, self explanatory instructions.
Happy crafter signing off ......

In memory of a special friend ... Jennifer Simpson

Jennifer had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and had been going for treatment. There seemed to be a question as to whether it was actually Cancer. Jennifer went in for an operation to treat the jaundice she had very badly and when they opened her up they removed the growth, but her liver and kidneys remained in a critical state. Dereck and I got the terrible news just now that she passed away at 5:00am this morning.

To Ian, Tyler, Wade and your family, our thoughts and prayers are with you as you come to terms with the tragic loss of your wife / mom.


Wednesday, 04 March 2009

Mosaiced Ladybug

Here she is!! I think I will have to call her Petronella. I think she is really cute and I so enjoyed making her. I just need to paint her little feeler thingies on top of her head and her underneath and then find a spot for her to live on.

Petronella's creator signing off ....


Photo Challenge


I was challenged by Helen to show the 8th photo from my 8th folder. This is it. It was taken of Dereck and I at the Barnyard Theatre in 2006. I can't remember what show it was, but all I do remember is that it was a great show. I had arranged it with a crown of my Run/Walk for Life members and we had seats at the back. I can't believe how blonde I was, I am now back to my normal dark hair colour.
I challenge the following people to check out their 13th folder for the 13th photo - hopefully it is lucky 13:
Number 8 signing off ....

Monday, 02 March 2009

I am a Winner (again - ag no I hear my family say!!)

I entered one of the online competitions Shape had and this is what I received in my e-mail today:

"Dear Winner, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have won one of nine Ocean Basket Sushi Meal vouchers valued at R1000 each featured in our February issue of Shape Magazine (page124). Your details will be sent to Ocean Basket who will then distribute your prize to you. Please allow for 6 to 8 weeks delivery time, should your prize not arrive within the designated time, please feel free to contact me directly. Once again congratulations from Shape Magazine, we hope you will enjoy your prize. "

How cool is that!!!! I had completely forgotten that I had entered.

Sushi signing off ......

Sunday, 01 March 2009

A Little bit of This and a Touch of That ...

Had a fairly eventful week-end.

Left work at 5:45pm on Friday and it was just Dereck and I at home as Grant and Lauren had gone out. Watched a movie that Dereck had been watching.

Saturday morning, I got up earliesh, washed and scrubbed the two birdbaths in the garden. The Hadedas love them and often sit in them and have a bath and of course they get really dirty. Then I washed down the windows on the side of the house where the hosepipe could reach. After that I gave Izzy (my black sausage dog) and Jemma (my brown sausage dog) a bath and cleaned their teeth - say cheese!!!!

Then I showered and went to the hairdresser for a colour touchup and a trim. Straight after that I went for my monthly pedicure but before that I managed to do some shopping at Everfresh.

During my pedicure, it started raining and got gradually harder. I waited for my nails to dry and for the rain to lighten and then drove home. What a scarey experience!! It was raining so hard that I could not see in front of me even with the wipers going full ball. The roads were soooo full of water that in some places you felt like you were driving through a river! There was a mini river going down Fields Hill and as the water hit the drains it shot upwards due to the sheer volume. It would normally take me about 15 minutes to get home from Hillcrest and this took me 40 minutes!

Once home, Dereck was watching sport on TV which was my cue to do something crafty. I carried on with my ladybug that I am mosaicing. I managed to do 3/4 of her crown. Then I had to get ready to go to the Heritage Theater to see Aaron McIlroy in "The Golfer" with friends, Darryl and Bev. If you ever get a chance to see it - make sure you do, it was hilarious.

Sunday, I got up early to let the dogs out, collected the paper and climbed back into bed to read it (this was at 6:00am mind you!!) After reading the paper, dozed off and eventualy got out of bed at about 8:30 - yikes that is soo late for me!!!! Had breakfast and while Dereck was sorting out my new laptop, I carried on with my mosaicing. At 12:30 we went to a Paul and Patricia's pub in Queensburgh for lunch, met Jennifer & Ian and her sister there. We had roast pork or chicken with veggies - very yummy, and we stayed there until about 3pm. They had a lady called Tammi playing music and singing and it was my type of music - she was really good and had a lovely voice. I could have listened to her all afternoon.

Came home and while Dereck had a snooze, I finished my ladybug. Just waiting for all the glue to set and then I will grout it tomorrow. She really looks cute and now I just have to decide where to put her.

Regarding my laptop ... I had joked to Dereck that I would like a laptop. No particular reason, just because. Anyway he had been thinking about this and decided to buy me a small Acer Apire (it is only 25cm x 16cm, so is small) with a cordless mouse that we can take with us when we go to the USA next month - yes, we leave on 2 April 2009 - I can't wait - as this will be so much lighter and less cumbersome than his current one. It also has a 3G built into it, so he has set that up as well as Skype. Nearer the time he will load his stuff on it so that he will be able to manage his business while we are away. It is so cute and looks like an A5 diary!!

Anyway, that is about everything I did this week-end. Nothing too strenuos, but got lots done.

Ladybugger signing off ....