Back-Packs

In my last post I mentioned that last Tuesday the ladies had come to make a Back-Pack in class, so I thought I'd better show it before too much time goes past and it's forgotten.  My furry friend Jackson was the perfect model and he even brought a mate with him to the photo shoot!

Jackson is on the left modelling the Christmas version and Espresso has the blue one.  The pattern for these back-packs originally came from Liam at Stamp Camp a few years ago, and I've tweaked the inside a bit.

For the Christmas version, inside there are 4 tags and 4 gift cards along with a pen to write a message,

and the blue version has tags, pen and notebook.

The back-packs have a magnetic closure on both the flap and pocket, and are a fun little project to put together (and the bears enjoyed their outside picnic).

Thanks for visiting and always enjoy reading your comments.

Happy crafting!

Crafting in the 'alice-mobile'

What a busy week ...... Monday was off to work at Alice in Paperland as I usually do; Tuesday I was teaching a repeat of the Back-Pack class; and today I headed off with Alice in the 'alice-mobile' to visit a group of crafty ladies at the Uniting Church in Miranda. 

A few months back, Alice decided to offer a mobile service to craft groups who wouldn't otherwise be able to get to the shop in Rydalmere, quite often (but not always) retirees.  We headed off just after 8am and after driving through peak-hour traffic to get to the other side of Sydney, arrived around 9.10am, perfect timing to unpack and set up our tables of goodies.  I was demo-ing a couple of folds, 'Tea for Two' (thanks to Jenni for her instructions) and a 'Double Pocket Tag', both quite easy and also quite popular amongst the ladies.

And for those who may wonder, yes the paper is retired SU, but this particular sample remained at home and today I was using a variety of other papers.

This tag is perfect for popping in a gift tag and voucher, great for hanging on the Christmas tree.

I really enjoyed our morning with the friendly ladies from Miranda and you never know, we could be back there again next year.

Happy crafting!

Swing Card

October seems to be a very busy month for birthdays, I have 15 marked on our calendar and there have been a few more by way of friends of my boys.  So once again, DS#1 asked could I make a card for another of his friends, and reminded me that I'd made a Never-ending card last year so this years' would have to be different.  I have a spiral-bound book where I write down numerous things, including thoughts, ideas, quotes and patterns for cards I've come across on the net and in magazines, and over time it has become one of the first things I turn to when deciding on a card for someone.

The one criteria was "could it be blue?" and with a quick perusal of my book, I decided on a Swing Card.

I realise this is a bit of a hard card to photograph, but the middle section swings from one side to the other and so both sides need to be decorated.  I  decided to use Graphic 45 "Bird Song" papers again and fussy cut around the birds and blossom ('Bird Song'), popping them up on dimensionals and attaching to a background of chinese words ('Good Fortune').  When the card is closed this is actually on the back of the 'swing'.    The border ('Good Fortune' - [other side]) has mitred corners for a neat finish.

On the other side of the 'Swing' I decided the lovely blue background with the blossom ('Cherry Blossom) would work beautifully with the 'Tempting Turquoise' cardstock from SU, and this also co-ordinates with the tiny flowers in the border.

I was quite happy with the finished card, so was DS#1 and his friend really like it too.  With a handmade card, there is one thing for certain, the recipient wont get another one the same.

Enjoy the weekend and happy crafting!

Christmas Cards

Yesterday at Alice in Paperland, the ladies in the class made a start on their 2012 Christmas cards.  They made 6 cards from two sheets of designer paper from Hobby Fun Co., Ltd, two sheets of Bazzill and a piece of A4 white cardstock.

These papers are double sided, one side has glitter highlights while the other side has a co-ordinating plain (as in non-glitter) design.  The papers come in a big range of designs to suit just about every occasion.

I've just realised that the last two cards were still in the design stage when this photo was taken, so I'll update this post after I've photographed them, sorry.

On the home front, my DS#3 started his HSC exams this week, the two english papers are now finished, just the remainder of his subjects over the next couple of weeks, then his school life will be completely over.  He's hoping to study at uni next year, so we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Edited - here are the other two cards that were part of the set of six:

Happy crafting!

Techniques with Tim # 2

Brrrrrr ......... it's back to winter today and this morning it was snowing in the Blue Mountains.  The photos I've seen look like a winter wonderland, and to think this time last week we were basking in 30 C + .  In Sydney it's been raining most of the day although at the moment the sun is out - crazy weather!!

Yesterday I got to get inky again at Jenni & Kerrie's Tim Holtz # 2 class.  This time around we were playing with Distress Inks, Alcohol Inks and Distress Markers with some really pretty results.

We used gloss card stock for the alcohol inks, drying with the heat tool between colours to stop them running and becoming muddy, then overstamping using black Archival Ink.  We also used alcohol inks on foil which had been run through a cuttlebug.  This was a really colourful result.

I think my favourite tag in this class was scribbling a small amount of metallic mixative onto a craft sheet, then scribbling alcohol inks next to it followed by blending solution.  Then put down gloss card and twist to mesh all the colours together.  I managed to get two tags out of this method and both looked quite different from each other.

This one doesn't have quite as much colour as the first one, but I really liked the effect that the metallic mixative made, sort of a "fine root system" look.

Each tag has a sticker on the back with the method  included to refer to at a later date.

My BFF and I both bought alcohol inks when were in Brisbane back in June, after watching a demo, and I know Bev has used hers but mine are still in the bag - hmmmm I definately think it's time to bring them out and play some more.

Thanks Jenni & Kerrie for sharing Tim's techniques with everyone - you both ensured we all had lots of fun getting inky.  Oh, and to get the ink off your fingers really easily, soap your hands and grab yourself a Craft Scrubbie (made by Ranger), they work a treat!

Happy crafting!

Canberra Mini Break Away

My DH and I have just enjoyed the last three days away on a long overdue mini break.  Originally this was planned for about this time last year but then we suddenly had aging parents who weren't well and we really needed to be around for them, then mum died just after Christmas and after the last couple of months with losing both fathers too, we decided it was time for that break.

We headed to our nation's capital, Canberra, starting with a visit to the National Gallery where there was an exhibition on Australian artist Sydney Long.  We were able to join a most informative talk from the curator on this artist and so when looking at all his paintings and etchings afterwards, saw things that we may not have noticed had they not been pointed out.

We splurged on dinner that night at the revolving restaurant on Black Mountain, where the food was absolutely delicious, while enjoying wonderful night views overlooking the city.

This is a view across Lake Burley Griffin towards Black Mountain with the communications tower on top.  There is a viewing platform on the level above the restaurant which is open all year round to visitors.

On Friday morning we went to visit Floriade, a wonderful spring garden display that has been an annual event for many years, and something I've wanted to see for a while now.  I can honestly say I've never seen so many tulips before.  Each garden bed has a particular design which on ground level is a bit hard to see (you would need to ride the ferris wheel for an overall view of the gardens) and there are all sorts of other spring flowers planted in and around the tulips.

There was a huge bed of poppies which I think had a stiletto shoe design formed from low growing annuals.  Poppies always remind me of my grandmother, who planted annuals in her front garden each season and had vases of flowers including poppies and pansies inside as well.

We spent a very pleasant morning wandering around these beautiful gardens before heading off to Cockington Green, a miniature village at Gold Creek, Weston.  Each building has taken hours to construct and there are all sorts of funny little things around each display, the crocodile in the lake, nessy in a canal, the person thrown from a horse and landed head first in a bush.

On Friday evening we went to the cinema to see Hotel Transylvania, lots of fun!  Yesterday, we woke to grey skies and drizzle and so visited The Mint, quite an interesting place showing all the processes in how coins are made as well as the history behind how Australian coins came into being.  We finished our trip to Canberra by lunching with my Aunt and three cousins who I rarely see.  It was really lovely to catch up.

And so we are now home again feeling refreshed from our mini break away.

Have a crafty day!