Posing, Dancing, Twirling....

Ohhh guess what, I finally have a layout to share.

I have been working on this layout on and off for a couple of weeks now just doing little bits and pieces when I get a moment of inspiration or time.

Inspiration for this layout came from here- 4x6 photo love March.
I absolutely love just how simple Shimelle makes her layouts to look and how straight forward her instructions are.  I have never really got into the whole online class or challenges, I did try a few years ago with a now defunct challenge site but I just could not find that place or class that clicked with me, until now.
I am trying to go back through the year and do the ones that I have missed and I like and luckily for me I had 3 portrait 4x6 in my to scrap pile, awesome :D

Christmas Cards

This year I was really slack and it was finally December and guess what, no Christmas cards. 

Whaaaat how did that happen?

Normally I am a good girl and start the process in about July and do little bits and pieces here and there using all my scraps up, this usually means that I usually have a multiple number of  different designs and I am all done by the end of November.  This was an exceptionally busy year and to be honest the whole craft thing has been a bit neglected this year. 

So cards, I finally got them done, it took me two days but it was a bit here and there in chunks of time that I could get away from the kids without fights breaking out and the total destruction of our house, such spirited children I have, sigh....

Christmas card design 1, all of these were exactly the same in design, the only difference was the paper was different, the reason for this is that I am so serious about using each and every scrap so rather than cutting up new sheets of paper it came down to using up what was already used and cut into.

Christmas card design 2, this was a again a really simple way for me to use up the paper that I have already used.  The idea behind the patchwork look is really simple, when I left my old work I got given a few packs of Cristina Re blank cards and these metallic lavender cards where in there.  I have never used cards with cut out windows in the front and I was having an issue finding a use for them, the patchwork look solved that problem.

Pinterest picks of the week....

1. Chocolate Ice Cube Strawberries

2. Glue Art

3. Tardis Tea Pot

4. Pallet Garden

1. Frozen Choc Strawberries.  How simple just put some strawberries in an ice cube tray and add melted  chocolate and freeze, bliss and I am so doing that this festive season.

2. Glue.  This is using Elmers glue but you could just use PVA glue.  Just trace over the image on a canvas with the glue and dry, that simple, I would paint over it but such a cool idea.

3. Tardis tea pot.  Seriously why don't I have this and where can I get one?  I am a huge Dr Who fan and I NEED this stat.

4. Pallet garden.  We have access to as many pallets as we want and Jase has made stuff from pallets in the past but not a garden, it is something we have talked about doing but seeing how simple and beautiful this is just makes me want to make my own now.

The Pinterest inspired peg advent calander....

So last week on my Pinterest picks of the week I posted this little gem

This week I decided to start making my own version.  I already had two planks of wood in the garage and a huge pack of wooden pegs that have been floating around for years doing nothing so it was time to make some advent calenders.

 I am so happy with the finished products.  The best part of these is that I only had to purchase a few small and cheap things to get them made.  The whole project was time consuming there is no denying and it took a few days to get all the components done but what a finished project.

The wooden planks were spray painted white using an aerosol can of undercoat white, I am not into gloss finishes and unfortunately all hardware and auto stores near me only seem to sell gloss so undercoat it was.

I had painted the pegs using acrylic paint from the cheapy store, they are a mixture of Chromacryl, Jo Sonja and Kaisercraft.

The paper on the front of the pegs is a mixture of new and old scrapbook paper, I only purchased four sheets coming well in at under $10 and attached using double sided scrapbooking tape.

The string was some kind of crochet stuff (I don't crochet and have no idea what the actual name is) bought from the cheapy store for $1.  I dyed the string buy rolling it onto spare pegs and dipping it in a mixture of regular food dye and water in a coffee mug for 24 hours, I did not rinse just squeezed the excess and left it in the sun to dry for a day, I love the imperfect colour effect that it has, almost like tie dye string.

The pegs were attached to the board using a hot glue gun ( the hot hot type, not the cool one), you could possibly use some kind of heavy duty glue but the gunis something I already own.
I did number all the little parcels using my cricut and some glue, next time I will be using a xyron adhesive runner to make the cut out numbers like stickers or I might just buy pre made number stickers, in actual fact the wrapping of the little parcels, the tying of the string and cutting and adhering the numbers was the most time consuming aspect of this project.

I attached the calenders to the wall using these Command velcro strips, we are about to move so don't want more stuff on the wall and these will only be up for 24 days of the year.  Why bother drilling holes and attaching hooks to the back of the calenders when two of the largest sized strips holds the whole thing up mess and fuss free.

At the end of the day I am more than 100% happy with the finished project, it took a lot of time but it was something that I could do in little bits a little at a time over a few days.  The kids LOVE them and the best thing is I can change the paper for a new look if  I want, I can reuse the calender every year from now on in and I have just created a Christmas memory for my kids and that is the most important thing to me.

Sassafras Lass Warehouse Sale

A few weeks ago I bought one of the Sassafras Lass warehouse sale boxes, I was waiting by the door everyday for my box to arrive as I had no idea just what was in it.  I have seen a few pics on Two Peas from the past sales and I had seen a few haul videos on YouTube but everyone seems to have been getting different stuff so the question was what was in that box?

 Sunshine Broadcast.  This pack was an extra/add on and in hindsight I probably would not buy this had I the option again, don't get me wrong I don't regret buying it it's just that it is very different patterns and colours to what I normally use.  I have no doubt that I will use them and it is nice to have a few bits and pieces to help you think outside the square but I could have gone without.

 The embellishments.  I am so happy with what I got in this pack, I know that in some of the earlier packs people were getting quite a few of the entwined blooms, the in a stitch blossoms (I got one of each) and felties (there was none), sure there was less embellishments this time but you know what I am really over the moon with what is there, the other stuff would have been amazing but I am not complaining with my fill.

 The sticker and foldies.  WOW, what can I say I am really pleased with this lot.  I got so many more sticker sheets that I thought I would and I am in LOVE with all those border stickers, will take me forever to get through them all.

The paper.  There is close to 50 sheets of paper in this lot, there is a couple of double ups and multiples which is fine but out of all the paper there is only one sheet that I absolutely will not use, way to go on great paper choices.

The verdict: Seriously there was so much stuff in this lot that I have no need to buy anything in a while.  The price was high almost $100 with the international shipping but there is way more than $100 worth of product in there and I will use everything.  Would I buy another warehouse sale box again?  Yep, obviously I wont be getting the Sassafrass as they wont be operating as they used to but I am keen to try other companies in the future even with the huge shipping fees it is worth it 100%.

Bargain of the week...

I love cosmetics, hate creams and lotions and hair goop and all that stuff but I love cosmetics especially eyeshadow and nail polish. 

Polish can change your mood, the look of an outfit, it can be natural and understated or it can loud and wild, there is millions of brands and colours and types you can get pretty stickers to go with it or you can paint & decorate with images and all kinds of different techniques. 

I love pricey brands of polish, not the highest end stuff like Dior or Chanel but the salon stuff like OPI, Essie, China Glaze and Orly.  I often get them reduced from a little salon around here and I have found an amazing US seller with really cheap prices and I have also been known to use the L.A Girl stuff but sometimes a bargain is just too good to pass up.

Take these for example, all Rimmel makeup $4 off, these little guys then came in at the princely sum of $1.75, what $1.75, yep awesome huh.  I have never thought to buy nail polish with those sales and I generally don't buy cosmetics from Target or Kmart.  I didn't get many as most of the colours were similar to ones I already own but it's not a bad haul for the price.

Pinterest picks of the week....

 I am a totally food driven person, I love to look at it, I love to read about it, I love to cook it and I most certainly LOVE to eat it....

1. Dole Pineapple Whip

2. Red Velvet Cheesecake

3. Broccoli Cheddar Soup

4. Coconut Banana Cream Pie

1. Dole Pineapple Whip.  We don't have them here in Australia, we do have Dole pineapple but I have never seen this delicious cold treat and I used to live 5 minutes drive from the Big Pineapple.  Anyways it has been scary hot here this spring so I foresee many of these in my future.

2. Red Velvet Cheesecake, its a cheesecake with a red velvet cake on top and coated in icing, what is there not to love...

3. Broccoli Cheddar soup.  Creamy cheese soups are not really that popular in Australia but I love cheese anything and Broccoli just happens to be in my top three veg so I think this is a must try.

4. Coconut Banana Cream Pie.  Dear lordy again what is there not to love?

1. Bird Art

2. Peg Advent Calender

3. Doilie Bowl

4. Record Dessert Stand

1.  Painting from Anthropologie, we don't have them here and I certainly would not be paying the asking price but I am certainly going to make my own version after we move.

2. Peg Advent Calender.  I have some wood, I have an abundance of wooden pegs, I believe that I have found what I am making next.

3. Lace Doily Bowl.  So easy, can't wait to make one

4. Record cake stand.  Seriously how cool is that, next theme party I am so making this.  

Kaiser Outlet, Brisbane

Quite some time ago I had to venture out to the other side of Brisbane to collect some stuff that I had bought from a warehouse and it just so happened that it was in the same area as the Kaiser Craft outlet and a Spotlight, double bonus I say.

I wont even vent about the fact that it took me over an hour to get there, I had to pay for four tolls in total and that it took me like an hour to find the Kaiser shop which I had passed all but about twenty times but when I finally found the place it was a bitter sweet moment.  Yes it was full of Kaiser products and yes some of them were deliciously cheap but I am not the biggest consumer of Kaiser products to begin with and I actually expected to be walking out of that place with bags upon bags and instead I spent a measly $32, give or take.

The purchase of the day was the brads and the rhinestones, they were all very, very cheap and in big bins I also figured that the epoxy brads could have the sticker pulled off and I could put on my own image of choice.  Some of the paper was cheap and the rest of it was full price, in fact I don't think I even bought any of the reduced paper.

I would loved to have got some cheap stamps but the newer ones were full price and the ones that they did have reduced I could get for cheaper on e-bay and I did not like them.  The other cheap options that were all in bins were mainly Kaiser wood products, ink pads, paint and wood backed stamps and I don't use Kaiser ink, I hate off the page/altered projects, I have enough paint and I don't want anymore wooden stamps so that option was out.

All in all if you love Kaiser stuff and searching through bins for that elusive item than by all means the Kaiser shop might be for you, I however will not be going back unless I am in the area as it is so far for me to travel and Kasier although I totally get the appeal is just not my favourite paper manufacturer, was good to see what all the fuss was about though :)

Wrapping paper

I love wrapping presents and I love all the little bits and pieces that you can buy to make presents look beautiful, ribbons, doilies, bows and tags and the shinier the better.  As a rule I always have a box of supplies that I keep on hand for present wrapping and an assortment of wrapping paper for all occasions but sometimes you just don't have that perfect wrapping paper or as in today's case you run out and I have no intentions of taking my two rambunctious children anywhere near a shop today so what do you do?

DIY wrapping paper, that's what.

(Stamps: Fiskers- Kids Birthday, Fiskers Ink by Steph- Skin And Bones)

(Ink: Versa Color- Cardinal, Fiskers- High Density Blue)

Kinda cool huh, I will be honest this totally works better with smaller presents or if you have bigger stamps but seeing as this paper is for a 6 year old pirate loving boy I hardly doubt he will be looking at anything more than the fact that he has a present and it has skulls on it.

I always have a roll of brown paper and white/cream kids painting paper on hand just for this reason and you know what it really is the simplest of tasks and tasks under 5 minutes to make your very own personalised wrapping paper.

 I decided to do up an example of just how easy it really is, all I used for this paper was one set of stamps, a couple of different ink colours, an acrylic block and paper it really is that easy.

It does not matter what order you stamp in or how straight you stamp, with a random pattern like this you can get as messy as you like.  I also like to tape the corners down on the surface that I am making the paper on, when paper has been stored in a roll it tends to curl up and it just means that I can use both hands rather than using one hand to keep the paper flat where I stamp. 

There you go all you need is a small piece of ribbon which I usually pick up from Spotlight for 70c for 3 metres, curling ribbon or raffia and a bow, I buy my bows at Christmas time in big bags, they only have a few colours in the mix but a bag will last all year and they are usually under $4 and come is so many different sizes.

Crafting to report

I have finally had the time to get some much needed scrapbooking time in, seems like forever since I last played crafty.

First up a card.  I do not celebrate Halloween, something to do with living in Australia, American tradition not ours, grumble grumble...

As a kid Halloween was some kind of magical concept as it was never a part of my childhood era in Australia, these days it is becoming much more widely accepted but I don't celebrate especially as I now have kids of my own and the thought of them with a bag full of lollies scares me a bit if I am honest, LOL.

I do however have a friend in England and apparently the sweets over there do not compare to our down under goodies so a Halloween parcel must be sent.

 Next up is a layout that has kind of been a bit of a hassle to get finished.  You know the ones, you have all these great ideas and nothing seems to work, yeah that was the Happy Birthday layout, probably did not help that my daughter did some impromptu pencil artwork on one side of the layout before everything was glued down limiting my choices, but perseverance paid off and I now have a finished layout.

 After I started this layout I saw that Big W was selling the DCWV Celebration stack so I bought it and got all my embellishments and title from it except the banner sticker, totally LOVE this stack.

And finally I scrapped a layout of one of my best friends weddings that I was in from 6 years ago and, I actually watched a tutorial and made a layout from it. 

I have never, ever taken a layout class and I have never done a tutorial.  All I can say is it was awesome and I love the finished product.

I am most certainly going to do another of the 4x6 Photo Love by Shimelle.

I can honestly say that I would never have thought to do a layout like that and I would never have done it before but I love the results and it has opened up a whole lot of new options on how to scrap all those events that I have multiple photos from and that I have been putting off for years.

 Makes me so happy to see these wedding photos finally scrapbooked.

Missing an action

So it has been rather some time since I last updated.
I actually have not done all that much in the way crafting but I have been in wedding mode number two for the year.
One of my oldest friends got married two weekend ago and it has been a blur of travel and invitation making and cooking and hens nights and kitchen teas and dress fittings.

Such a beautiful day and occasion but glad that the weddings are over for now.  Next year is going to be even bigger in the party stakes as I am still friends with a huge amount of  my school friends and many others born in 1982 and we are all turning 30, wow where did all those years go, seems like only yesterday that I was having my 21st.  Scary stuff that.

   

100% Boy

A few weeks ago I was in Spotlight for some fabric and I came across the new Bella papers.  I really loved these new lines so I got a couple of sheets of both the boy and girl themes.

It never ceases to amaze me just how boy like Zach is, he really is the A typical example of what a boy is and the things that they like and the funny thing is that although he has always been a typical boy it has only been in the last few weeks that his true boyness has come to shine.  It seems like almost instantly he discovered the sheer joy of footballs, trucks, cars, planes and trains, rough housing, action figures, getting dirty making noise, getting into everything and truck watching, in fact whenever we leave the house he spots every truck imaginable and rubbish day is a very exciting time in our house with lots of waves to the drivers.

On a loved up card making roll....

Recently I made a layout with some old Heidi Grace for Fiskars paper and had it laying around on my desk, I was also gifted a couple of old packs of Cristina Re blank cards from my old boss, what happened was a whole lot of Valentines day inspired loved up goodness.

 (Paper: Kraft base, Grant Studios, Ki Memories, Lexel)

(Stamps: Fiskars-Punch Love, Kelly Pannaci/Sandy Lion-Borders)

(Other: Brilliance & Versacolor Ink, lace, Kaiser gems)

(Paper: Cristina Re base, Heidi Grace/Fiskars, Lexel, Bazzill)

(Stamps: Grant Studios)

(Other: Versacolor ink, embossing powder, buttons, Anchor thread, Souffle pen, Nestabilities die, scallop scissors)

( Paper: Kraft Base, Heidi Grace/Fiskars, Love Elise, Grant Studios, Lexel, Bazzill)

(Stamps: Fiskars-Baby, Kelly Pannaci/Sandy Lion-Borders, Grant Studios)

(Other: Sticko- Ticket Love, Brilliance, Distress & Versacolor ink, buttons, Anchor thread, Cricut Doodle Charms) 

(Paper: Cristia Re base, Heidi Grace/Fiskers, Bazzill, Lexel)

(Stamps: Grant Studios)

(Other: Kaiser pearls, scallop scissors, Staz On & Brilliance ink, embossing powder

This Last card was a little different for me.  I decided to cut the base short and put a strip of pattern paper on the inside of the card.  It looks good but I doubt that I will do this again, made for a nice change though.

30...

Last weekend J turned the big 30.  Seeing as we only got married a few months ago a not so big fuss was made of his birthday just a teeny tiny group of very close friends, a few helium balloons, pizza and a Nigella approved chocolate fudge cake.  Normally I would go all out and do lots of handmade decorations  and make all the invitations and food, not so this year as I feel like I am still recovering from the wedding and I have a big birthday for Teela coming up and a Hens night to help plan, he did however get a card.

  (Paper: DCWV- The Green Stack, Bazzill, Grant Studios, Kraft Base)

(Other: Glossy Accents, Kaisercraft Jewels, Assorted Punches, Cricut) 

I don't own all that many stamps especially sentiments and I just could not get anything that I did own to work so, I fiddled around in Microsoft publisher till I had a design that I liked and I printed the Happy Birthday onto the die cut scallop, it takes a little bit of mucking around but it is worth it as I got an image that I was happy with rather than just using what stamps I had that may not have gone as well.

Naughty But Cute

This is possibly one of my favourite photos of Teela, all covered in hot pink lipstick and thinking that she was so special, as the layout title suggests, naughty but cute.

(Paper: Grant Studios, DCWV, lexel, Kaisercraft- Pina Colada)

(Other: Chipboard Alpha, Stickers- Craft Affair, Doodlebug -Sweet 16, Grant Paper Die Cuts)

So yet again and true to my form this was a layout made entirely from my stash and the best part was that it included my beloved budget friendly Grant Studios products, really old and cheap stash (the Doodlebug stickers which I swear I have owned for six or more years and the Craft affair buttons that I bought from The Reject Store for $2 a pack) and some of that recycled/saved paper from my old work.

The other thing that I am really happy with is the alteration of the lipstick sticker on the layout.  When I pulled this photo out I just knew that I had the perfect sticker for it, the only downside was that the black and white polka dots did not match in with the colour scheme of the layout and had to go so in order to change that I took some coordinating paper and glued over the base of the lipstick sticker, covered it with the paper and then cut around the edges, and voila a matchy matchy lipstick for my layout in under one minute.

Why did I not think of that....

Seriously, how easy is that.  I love it when someone comes up with an idea that is so simple but so effective.  might go and make some twine tonight.

Girly Cards

I generally don't make all that much in the way pretty girly cards but over the last couple of weeks I have made a few that fall into that category

 (Paper: Grant Studios, Lexel)

(Stamp: Melissa Fances, Fiskers-Baby)

(Other: Velvet Ribbon, Satin Ribbon, Versacolr Ink, Kaiser Pearls, Kindy Glitz)

Do you have scrapbooking paper that just wont work for you in a layout?  This paper was exactly that, I loved the design but I personally just can't fit paper with a big print into my style so instead of giving the paper away I decided to make a card from it, yes it is much taller than a standard card but I was lucky enough to have a matching envelope from a card that I was given that was the perfect fit.

(Paper: Grant Studios, Lexel, Cristina Re)

(Stamps: Kaisercraft- CS707 & After Five)

(Other: Kaisercraft Gems, Ribbon, Satzon, Adirondack & Brilliance Ink, Kindyglitz, Foam Tape)

This card was made using some left over scraps from when I was trialing my wedding invitations.   A fairly simple card the only thing that I did a little different from normal was stamp the pink background with white flourishes.  The plain pink was just too harsh so I added a contrasting pattern to make it softer.

 (Paper: Kraft Card Base, DCWV, Grant Studios, Bazzill, Lexel)

(Stamps: Bella Blvd- Flirty Clear)

(Other: Paper Mania Glitter, Zing Embossing Powder, Versacolor & Brilliance Ink, Pearl Ex, Teresa Collins Blingage)

I visited a scrap store I had not yet been to last week and manged to pick up the Bella Blvd Flirt stamps for $3.50 and I could not wait to play with them.

Ohhhh shiny Card.......

How lovely is that tinsel glitter, I have only used loose glitter once or twice before and it was not a good expeience, the Papermania glitter seems to be a bit more user friendly than the last lot I tried, can't wait to try the others I have.

Stash friendly cards....

I am generally pretty good when it comes to purchasing scrapbooking supplies and I do try to keep the spending and the amount of product that I have to a sensible minimum.  I have been a tad naughty in the last few weeks buying a few little bits and pieces here and there and seeing as I am trying to lower the amount of supplies that I buy till after we move and I have not actually crafted all that much lately I took it upon my self to use something from the stash.

A few years ago I won a competition from Scrapbooking Memories and the prize was a huge pack of Avery stickers, there was so many packs in that prize that there was no way I would ever be able to use them all so I kept what I thought I would use and I donated and gave away the rest.  That was three or four years ago and I have still hardly used a thing from what I kept, I decided that I was time to use something from my Avery stash.  

I Picked a pack of glittered flower stickers

 (Paper: Kraft base, DCWV, Bazzill, Unknown)

(Stamps: Creating Keepsakes KOTM, Melissa Framces)

(Other: Avery sticker, Grant Rub on,, ranger inks)

 (Paper: Card Base, DCWV, Bazzill, Grant, Unknown)

(Stamps: Kaisercraft, Melissa Frances, Fiskers)

(Other: Avery Sticker, Kaiser brads, Distress ink)

(Paper: Card Base, Grant, Bazzill)

(Stamps: Melissa Frances, Kaisercraft)

(Other: Avery Sticker, Grant Rub on, American Crafts ribbon, Paper Mania Glitter, Brilliance Ink)

I was so happy with the way that the first card turned out that I decided to keep going with the same look and until the whole pack of stickers was gone.  Goal achieved, used up one whole pack of the Avery stickers. 

Lately....

                                      

• The Easter decoration aftermath.  I do not really get into the spirit of holidays (8 years of retail in malls will do that) but I decided to go all holiday mode for the kids this year.  Should not have bothered, ten minutes hanging out the washing and that is what's greeting me inside.

• 
•  It has been hair clip central here for the last few weeks.  I am done for a while but the hard parts start now, choosing a name to operate under and selling some.

•   Enjoying the last of the warm sunny days, sadly I think that this day was the last that we will enjoy untill next spring :(

•   Helping my amazing friend out with her kids clothing stall, I love being around so many beautiful things that she has hand crafted on her own

•  Mixed berry cheesecake.  I used to make these bad boys for a living in so many diferent flavours, I used to make lots and lots of them every week, it has been two years and this is only the second one I have made.  It bought back all the good feelings that I get when I cook/bake and it tasted pretty amazing as well.

• J considers himself the baker in this house and weekends we are usually indugling in some home made bakery treats, usually bread but sometimes he will make something indulgent like this brioche that was not really anything like brioche but still tasted too good to be healthy.

• Scrubbing walls, yep scrubbing the walls of the house, not the greatest activity that comes to mind but something that must be done.  Two years of little grubby kid hands is starting to bother me, super spring clean here I come.