Holidays!!

Hi Guys,

Warning: this is all about what I've been up to and not card related, aimed at my blog buddies :-)

You wouldn't know it from my blog, but I have been on 4 weeks of glorious holidays. It started with spending lots of time with my brother and his fabulous family who were having a visit home from Russia. Pete & Trac have three wonderful kids (despite being teenagers!), Luke, Jake & Becky, and Luke's girlfriend, Alina, also came over. It was great getting to be 'Aunty Fi' and spend time playing games, going to the movies, eating pizza and getting a gazillion hugs (oh I miss those hugs). We did go to Sydney one day & I got to spend some time with the kids while Pete & Trace went to a meeting. I don't think I'm biased when I say how good looking they are :-)

The kids:

And the family on steps at Manly:

I sure miss them now they are back in Russia but they are doing such great work with their drop-in centre, with big plans for the future.

The other thing I did was spend a week in Hawaii. I decided I needed a good break away after such a busy time at work. I stayed right on Waikiki (in the hotel's cheapest room I think) and had fun exploring Oahu. I did several tours, a catamaran ride, a trip to Pearl Harbor (amazing, so touching), and a day trip to the Big Island. It was lovely and relaxing.

Here's a few pics:

Sea turtles on the North Shore

 Me on a catamaran on Waikiki Beach

Waikiki at Sunset

Thanks for having a peak. I've been making earrings and candles for my yearly 'Christmas Shop' at work, plus a few Christmas Cards. Best keep moving.

Catch you soon,
Fi xox

A b'day card & Inkspirations Challenge...

Hi Guys,

Can't believe it's been over a month since I last blogged. Has been a very busy month but more on that in a later blog.

I finally got to play along with an Inkspirations Challenge. It is my good friend Bec's b'day and I thought this sketch would lend itself to a cute card.

Here's the sketch:

And my card:

I starter by flipping the sketch to suit my image. Keesh has got me into MFT stamps, although my colouring still leaves a lot to be desired. I used the 'Domestic Goddess' DSP as a starting point for my colours, adding 'Pool Party' and 'Calypso Coral', with a touch of brown for hair, and of, course, chocolate cake!!! Bec is studying to be a maths teacher so I embossed the background with numbers (non-SU). I even did some paper piecing, which is an act of love, as I don't like cutting (why else would I own so many punches & dies LOL). I added some 'Pool Party' ribbon (love the little ruffles), some sparkly glitter, and a sentiment from 'Teeny Tiny Sentiments' punched out with the word window punch. That's it, easy. I did intend for there to be more of the aqua than the coral but I ran out. Have to get some more as it is such a pretty colour.

Off to type another post explaining what I've been up to,

Cheers,
Fi xox

Father's day (I am behind...)

Hi Guys,

Just popping in with a quick post. Today is my only full day off (finished Sunday a.m, back Tues p.m) but I can't complain as I only four more shifts til hols!!!! I need them too, still trying to shake this chesty bug, think everyone at work got run-down with it being so hectic, some time out will be fab.

Anyway, I thought I'd share two cards that I made for Dad for Father's day this year.  I made one from Mum & one from me.

I was searching Splitcoast looking for some inspiration when I came across this cute card. My Dad is tall, thin, has grey hair and spends 99.5% of his waking hours in the garage. I couldn't believe it when I saw 'Gus' (my Dad even has Gus' nose, but, ssshhh, don't tell him I said so) and I really wanted the Gus stamp. Imagine my excitement when I found out that he also came as a 'digi' and I could buy him straight away, oh joy!!!. I even had the same DP as used on the original card, I just chose different papers from the set. I went with the nuts and bolts as Dad always has piles of them on the floor  (I even bought him a 'magnetic broom' for his b'day so he could pick them up) and he is always looking for batteries too, so I went with that sentiment.

The piece de resistance though, was finding this next 'Gus'. Mum is constantly washing chocolate off their sheets as Dad is a chocoholic who loves nothing better than a midnight snack. The only problem is that he sometimes falls asleep mid feast. I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this digi, so perfect!!!

I matched it with SU paper and SU chocolate stamps (retired, for reasons beyond my understanding...) I think Mum nearly liked this card more than Dad did, and Dad was pretty impressed.

I'm off to make a cuppa and relax for my last free evening before Saturday. Have a good week,
Cheers,
Fi x

4 year olds

Hi Guys,

I have had a few days off work and am starting to feel much better, although it still sounds a bit like a bear is living in my chest. I am going to work tonight, then have 2 days off, work 4 shifts & then I have a month off. I can't wait. I am looking forward to doing some crafting with my niece and my nephew's girlfriend while they are visiting from Russia.

Recently I had two cards to make for 4 year old boys. I usually go young and cutesy but didn't this time.

I wasn't sure of what to make for my cousin's son Byron, and as the card had to be posted to Cairns I was running short on time. Mum said that he likes guitars so I went with that:

I have CASEd this card from here and used my usual colour combo & Celebrations DSP (retired). Best money's worth I've had out of any DSP!

My friends' son Sam loves computer games and is the youngest of 3 boys, so likes to be treated as a 'big boy'. I CASEd this card from Nichole Heady (you ned to scroll quite a way to find the original). I brightened the colours and white embossed the game remote as Sam's is white. He was really thrilled with it.

As you would know, I am a huge fan of number dies. I have an SU set & a PTI set, and you can't beat it for kids cards. In two seconds you can make a card that much more personal, and kids seem to love age cards. Funny how that doesn't seem to apply to adults....

I have just made some cards for my nephew's upcoming 16th, will blog after the event, not that he's likely to be scrolling through my blog anytime soon LOL.

Better go have, a rather late, brekky. Have a great weekend,
Cheers,
Fi xox

Wow, it's been a while...

Hi There,

As usual it's been a long time between posts, much to my Mum's disgust LOL. This is just a quick one as I'm off sick with something chesty. The GP didn't exactly say what it is but by the scripts I've been given I'm guessing asthma exacerbated by underlying chest infection. She put me on prednisone (a steroid tablet), puffers & antibiotics and told me if I had trouble breathing to get to Emergency. I came out feeling worse than when I went in LOL. Anyway, I'm still breathing so thought I might pop up a few pics.

I've recently become a fan of MFT stamps courtesy of the gorgeous, talented & uber-lovely Makeesha Byl. Keesh has also inspired me to try my hand at colouring with Copics, only now I need a holiday in Cairns so she can show me how to use them!!!! Anyway I made the following card after I made my first MFT purchase and planned to enter it in an earlier Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge  but 'the best laid plans'...

Firstly, the sketch:

Here is the first card I made, intending to submit for the challenge. I turned the card around, as had a few of the other entrants.

I used the new 'Domestic Goddess' DSP which features the new in-colours 'Pool Party' and 'Calypso Coral'. Now I didn't think I'd ever use 'Calypso Coral' but I don't mind it in this colour combo. My colouring is a bit woeful, lots to learn yet. I think I used a mix of SU & Copic colours. The polka-dot brad is from the new catty, isn't it cute?

My friend (& work buddy) Trace had requested a card for her niece who is 22, so I thought I'd make a similar card but in different colours to make it a bit 'grown-up'. Trace loved it.

Trace also commissioned a card for her son's 18th. When I asked for a theme or idea she first went with soccer. After searching around I found this card on Splitcoast and CASEd it.

(Apologies for the poor pic quality, I must have taken recent pics with my eyes shut as they're all pretty dreadful. Comes from being in a rush I expect.) I had a soccer stamp from PTI That I stamped down a strip of WW CS. I attached it to Basic Black CS that I had white embossed with stamps from PTI. The '18' was cut out with PTI dies, stamped with the soccer balls and then covered with Crystal Effects to really make it stand out. Trace was also pleased with this one, not sure what Nick thought. He's 18, he prob didn't even look it it, sigh... Anyway a few of the work 'girls' saw these cards & I got a few more commissions. Pretty cool.

Anyway time to have a bit of a rest.

Hope you're having a great day,
Cheers,
Fi xox

Ooh baby, baby..

Hi Guys,

I was scrolling back through some of my card pics and realised that I didn't share the card and gift that I made for my friend Elise when she gave birth to her beautiful Ruby Jane.

I wanted to make a fairly special card and had seen a bunch of cards around that looked like little chest of drawers. I found this one by Sue Bayliss, but due to my poor interset in fussy cutting, I made a simpler version. I'm sure I saw a tutorial somewhere but can't think where.

Green might seem a strange choice for a girly card but Elise decorated her nursery in greens and neutrals and isn't a real pink person (you might remember the baby shower card that I made for her in green and cream).  I did concede to cutting out the baby suit and bear, as baby Ruby is pretty special!

Whilst perusing pinterest.com I had seen a pretty cool baby name frame and decided Elise might like it for Ruby's nursery. I stuck to pink, brown and green and used my computer and my PTI number dies to put it together.

Forgive the poor photography. I blurred out some of the details. Elise and Glen were pretty chuffed with it, which made me happy. I must catch up with them my cold is over so I can give Ruby some cuddles!

Better go & do something I suppose. Have a great day,

Fi x

Jealousy...

Hi Guys,

Can you believe I'm doing another post? I'm like the Australian weather, either drought or flood and nothing in between LOL.

 My neighbour is joining what seems to be a throng of people travelling overseas at the moment. She has had a bit of a hard time lately, she had to have her beloved labrador Shelly put down last week. Shelley was like another child to Maree, and was a really sweet dog. I used to laugh at the dog cause she wouldn't bark at me if I was in her yard but she's always bark if I was talking to Maree over the fence. I'll miss seeing her around. Anyway, I've made Maree a Bon Voyage card and a travel candle as a little token. I really hope she can relax and enjoy her time away.

I scrolled through Splitcoast and found this card to CASE. It is a rather unusual baby card that seemed to look more like a travel card to me.

I used the same DSP, just different patterns, as Maree is more of a 'blue' type of gal. I used 'Night of Navy', 'Soft Suede',  'Whisper White' & 'Crumb Cake' CS, and matching inks, also adding a touch of 'Bashful Blue' & 'Craft White'. The stamp set is 'Sentimental Journey' which was in a now finished mini cat. I bought it for Bon Voyage cards and to, maybe one day, use in my scrapbook of my travels (that I went on 6 years ago, but why rush???). I would like to see another travel type set, or at least a 'Bon Voyage' stamp. I finished it off with some NoN ribbon. I was happy with it as Maree is not a real girly-girl and I think she'll like this. better go and see if the candle has set, nothing like leaving things to the last minute!

Have a great week,
Fi x