Central Coast Arts & Media Festival

If you happen to be on the Central Coast on Friday, 30th March, come along and have a look at the Arts & Media Festival.  It is being held at Wyong Baptist Church, 100 Allison Road, Wyong, from 5pm to 10pm.  Bring the whole family, entry is FREE!

As part of the Festival, there will be a Craft competition consisting of art, photography, embroidery, papercraft, quilts etc, and as I'm not from the Coast, I've been asked to be one of the judges for the papercraft section.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the entries and hope I make a wise choice when deciding the winners.

It should be a really good evening with lots to look at, including a walk-through dramatisation of the Easter story. 

Have a crafty day!
 

Meander Album

I enjoy creating little albums and when I saw this one over at LakeAvenueDesigns.com I thought, "what a sweet little album, it looks easy enough, I'll give it a go", so I picked some paper (Graphic 45 - Tropical Travelogue) and got started.   Although this album is listed on Lake Avenue as a Brag Book, I called mine a Meander Album as I found I could put more pages in as I went and so you can "meander" through looking at photos (although my album doesn't have any photos at the moment).

 This is the front cover, with just a ribbon for closure, as I think the paper is gorgeous by itself.

This is the inside front cover.  You can slip photos or tags in behind the decoration, which means photos can be changed whenever you like without being stuck in permanently.

As you open out each page there is something new, and as the photo above shows, the middle page opens down.  The flowers are positioned for two more photos to tuck behind.

The next page opens out, each time revealing more of the gorgeous papers.

This time the middle page opens upwards.

Inside back cover has room for two more photos, just slip them into the bottom pockets.

This is such a fun album to put together.  I'm sure I could add a couple more pages as the spine, although not very wide, leaves enough space without being bulky.

I'm teaching this album at Alice in Paperland on Saturday, 24th March, so hope everyone has lots of fun making one for themselves.

Have a crafty day!

80th Birthday

Yesterday was my aunt's 80th Birthday and she celebrated it with lunch for family and friends at my cousin's home.  There was lots of yummy finger food, dessert, fruit platter and of course, birthday cake.  We had a very relaxing afternoon and it was lovely to catch up with cousins I rarely see.

Once again I've made an Easel card, though this one is longer and fits a DL envelope.  Cardstock is SU:  Pacific Point,  Pear Pizzaz,  Whisper White;  DSP is various - all retired;  Stamps: Heard from the Heart; Kaisercraft:  Tigerlilly. 

My aunt nearly always wears blues and greens, with a touch of pink added sometimes, and so I thought it appropriate to make a green and blue card.  The DSP all came from different collections but colourwise, they matched really well. That's what I like about SU, everything co-ordinates.

I'm sure she had a really enjoyable birthday surrounded by her children and grandchildren, sister, neices and nephews, other family members and long-time friends.    Happy Birthday, Aunty Elaine .... hip hip hooray!

Have a crafty day!

50th Birthday

Today the family headed up to the Central Coast to help celebrate my best friend's 50th Birthday, along with some of her close friends and family.  Lunch was relaxed and yummy, and she received some gorgeous presents.

You'll notice that my 'number' cards all have a similar look, but I'm on a roll using these letter/number templates, so why not, they are ideal for a special card.

This is an Easel Card, they are so easy to make, and sit up beautifully.  Cardstock is SU: Bashful Blue; shimmer (own stash);   glitter paper: Big W;  stamps: SU -  Heard from the Heart, Confetti;  Kaisercraft - Tigerlilly.

My BFF and I met 32 years ago today (St Patrick's Day), so it was really lovely to be able to be with her when she celebrated  her special day.  Happy Birthday, Bev  ........  I hope you have a terrific year, enjoy every moment!

Have a crafty day!

Card for Emma

March is one of those months when there seems to be a birthday every few days, and while not everyone over 21 receives a card, there are still 8 people who will.  Sometimes the card comes from my stash, at other times the card is made specifically for a particular person.  The idea for the "Emma" card came from my penfriend a few years ago, when I received a "Helen" card which she had handmade.  I thought it a lovely idea and tucked it away for future reference, but it wasn't until last week that the idea became reality.  Emma is the daughter of one of my friends, hopefully she received it in the mail yesterday and it brought a smile to her face.

The cardstock is SU Bashful Blue, DSP is Everyday Enchantment (SAB), butterfly stamp is Kaisercraft Tigerlilly.

It's a little hard to see in the photo but there is faux stitching around 3 of the 4 letters with the butterfly M having pearls, just to add a little something extra.

Have a crafty day!

Magnolia - Tilda

This weekend was very quiet with DS23 and DS17 away at camp.  On Sunday I took advantage of the lovely weather by weeding, not my favourite task but way overdue and very necessary.  Three hours later and it was done, phew, so I headed inside and set to work on all those birthday cards that are needed for March.  I'll post them after each recipient has received them, just in case they happen to look here first.

Todays card is a new stamp I bought a few weeks ago.  It's Tilda from Magnolia stamps but I don't know which one, it's not labelled and I'm not sure how to find out.  I'm wondering if she's holding mistletoe?

I've watercoloured her using SU's watercolour pencils and aquash, so easy to get the right depth of colour.  All materials SU, cardstock: Bashful Blue, Confetti White, watercolour paper.  DSP and ribbon  from SAB.  I've mounted her on a Centre Stepper Card.

Have a crafty day!

Soggy Thursday

Soggy Thursday, who calls their blog post that?  But it's been raining all night and hasn't stopped, our driveway has turned into a lake and it's cold and miserable.  Even our cat Frostie thinks so, she's been happily sitting on my knee while I 've been on the computer and it's a bit early in the day for her to do this.  Normally she is curled up on someone's bed, dreaming .......

Yesterday was a busy day, but I had lots of fun playing, with cards and paper, of course.  First up I headed off to a Stamp-a-Stack class where we made 4 masculine cards and 4 feminine cards.  Masculine cards are always more difficult so it's great to have some in my stash.  I don't think they'll last long.

Next I was off to have lunch with my Mother's Group girls.  There were only the three of us today but we always enjoy each others company and catching up with news.

Then off to another friend whose daughter is planning her 21st birthday and they needed some help with the invitations.  We had made a start with them on Monday but realised we had under-estimated the amount of patterned paper, so with another couple of sheets of paper and some brads, we were able to finish them all.  They look lovely and the soon to be birthday girl was very happy with how they turned out.

This coming week is one for birthday cards - I need to make a 21st, a 50th and an 80th, so I'll finish up here, put my creative hat on and go and play.

Have a crafty day! 

Cascade Card

Earlier this week, it was my friend Marelle's birthday, so I thought I would make her a Cascade Card.  I've seen them on other blogs but it wasn't until last weekend that I found a pattern for it over on Splitcoast Stampers.  It was reasonably easy to construct, decorating on the other hand, took a lot longer.  The end result is a bit busy but it was my first attempt at this design, so I hope Marelle enjoyed it.

All supplies are SU - stamps: Fresh Vintage (SAB), Elements of Style, Happy Moments (retired);  DSP:  Bella Rose (retired);  two-step bird punch;  cardstock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White;  markers: Cherry Cobbler, Regal Rose, Old Olive.  

Have a crafty day!

21st Birthday

In early February, DS#2 celebrated his 21st Birthday.  We had a lovely lunch at a local italian restaurant with 22 family and friends to help celebrate his special day.  The day was perfect, brilliant sunshine and blue sky.  Considering that this summer has been one of the wettest on record, the weather couldn't have been better.

This card was made using glitter paper (Big W), shimmer card (own stash), and Bashful Blue card (SU), with the numbers being popped up on dimensionals.  'Congratulations' was stamped randomly across the shimmer card using Bashful Blue (SU) stamp pad.

Time has whizzed by, our boys are turning into young men any parent would be proud of!

Have a crafty day!

First Time Published!

Last month I had a lovely surprise in the mail - in a black plastic bag was a copy of  Australian Cardmaking Stamping & Papercraft Vol 18 No.1.  This is strange, I thought, as I subscribe to this magazine and it has never been delivered like this before, and what was making it lumpy?  Imagine my surprise to find returned two cards that I had submitted months ago with a letter congratulating me on being chosen to be featured in the Reader's Gallery.  Wow, I've never been published before, so I was really excited!  I have used a Bargello technique using Graphic 45 "Le Cirque" collection.  If you're in the vicinity of Rydalmere, you can see an identical card on display at Alice in Paperland.  The shop is at 6 Bridge Street and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm.

I'm feeling very inspired, so back to my craft table and perhaps I'll think about submitting again soon.

Have a crafty day!