The fastest card in the West

Why is it the night before that you remember you need a card? Better than the day after I guess. This was the quickest card I have ever made - under 20 mins. I don't usually use premade embellishments (especially ones as gaudy as the chickies) but I bought them especially for a friend as chickies have a history with us. We had to deliver a parcel to the aforementioned friend before she left on a trip; I decided to whip up a bon voyage card with the aforementioned chickies. The paper came from a Webster's Pages paper pack that came free with the latest Australian Cards Magazine. As I flipped through I thought that particular paper would go unused in my stack (putting it politely). That was until I realised it would go nicely with the chickies! A match was made and a card was created in no time at all.

To be honest the time would've been quicker if I had more space to work with and if I didn't have to clear a space on my overflowing workspace to create it in. I did clean the stamps and put them back in the boxes after (but I will admit to leaving them on the desk).  I don't know why I am openly sharing my disorder: I should feel safe as the clean-as-you-go freaks should know not to read my blog by now! :) Anyway, it's still the fastest card in the West in my book.

Credit Where Credit is Due

In the weekend I made a card based on a card I had seen on the Scrappin' Patch Blog. I thought I was on to it making my Mother's Day card ahead of time instead of the usual mad dash to make a card the night before an event. Then I remembered that a certain special lady had a birthday only a couple of days later. What a stroke of luck that I had enough of the same DCWV paper to recreate the Mother's Day card with a birthday twist! I even managed to break out some of the $2 Washi Tape (Score!) I bought recently. In retrospect I would've used the red washi tape on the inside of the rosette instead of the pale blue one which you can't really see well as it is too pale. I don't want to load my Mother's Day card until after the event so you won't be able to compare the differences. I might also be holding back so that May's blog post is sorted in advance ;)

Forgive the not so perfect photo shots and the messy background. I only cleared enough space on my desk to complete the cards - maybe I should've began this blog with a warning for all the 'clean as you go' people?

Credit where credit is due: I came across the original card on the Scrappin' Patch blog (sorry, I can't find the original post or the owner's name) http://scrappinpatch.blogspot.com

Let's hope that I haven't forgotten any other important events that need a card asap.

Thanks Artfull Crafts

Thanks Artfull Crafts! I came home from a family holiday to find a parcel waiting for me. I was so surprised to find out that I won a prize on their blog event - Centre Stage. I can't wait to play with the kit but first I have to unpack and take care of a small mountain of washing. I love to travel but I really don't like unpacking :(

Keeping Karma Happy

I don't believe in karma but I find it interesting that on the day that I sent the parcel from my last post off to my friend I came home to find a parcel of my own in my letterbox! I was fortunate to win an unclaimed prize from Maya Road recently and it had arrived! I couldn't wait to open it up and I was like a kid opening my presents, ooohing and ahhing as I pulled each piece out. The envelope was stuffed with lots of bits and pieces of gorgeous stuff. It was brimming with trims, pins and mini stamps. I feel in love with the peachy pink trim at first sight! I can't wait to create with them. There was a double up of the mini clock face stamp so in the interest of keeping karma happy I have passed it on to the BFF.

Just in Time

This little parcel is packed up in a courier bag ready to be sent off to the recipient tomorrow. A dear friend of mine has moved out into her own place and I am so thrilled for her. BFF gave me the Stampin' Up! stamp set from last year's Sale-a-bration promotion and this is the first chance I've had to play with the stamps. As soon as I decided to make the recipient a 'welcome to your new home' card I knew I wanted to use this set. I searched Split Coast Stampers for some inspiration (easy designs only) and this is what I cam up with from my scrap stash.

There's been a bit of a gap since the last blog post but there's lots going on - some of it positive, some of it challenging and some of it unexpected. With the goal of blogging at least once a month, this blog post made it just in time ;)

Happy to be what I call "creative"

How good it feels to be creating again! I sat down and devoured the latest Creating Keepsakes magazine last weekend (Nov/Dec 2010) and I was inspired to use the 15 Minute Layout idea. Now, I don't normally scrapbook using a sketch but I thought I would give it a go. Trouble was: I had to clear a space on my desk which was still overflowing with bits and bobs from my last project (yes, unfinished - hangs head in shame). So, a quick 15 Minute (cough - 30-60 minute) layout turned into a 2+ hour marathon with the initial 1hr+ needed to clear a usable space on my desk. I still have three sorted piles left to put away but I didn't want to waste any more of my precious scrapbooking time/energy in cleaning up. I know the 'clean up as you go' freaks out there are probably wanting to put their two pennies in here but let's move on before they can :)

The 15+ Minute layout turned out quite well but of course it took me longer because a) I don't have a complete, coordinating line to work with and b) I have to ink the edges of everything so that there is at least one unifying thing that ties it all in together (because it's not from a complete, coordinating line). It is A4 size and now I have the problem of where to store it as the only A4 album I have is for the dog (yes, he has his own album!). I must confess that I popped it in the back of the dog's one - must get on to creating either a new A4 album or more A4 [human] layouts to join it and thus making it not quite so weird. I'm not ready to share it as yet, need to get the parents permission as it has a pic of BFF's second daughter - Miss 2.

Currently I'm working on my 2010 double layout. Yes, I may be a bit behind (ok, 1 year) but at least I am getting back on track in early 2012. Every year since 2007 I create a double layout using index photos from that year. It is very simple and follows a similar design each year: Black cardstock (although 2009 broke the tradition & used green), index photos, [handmade] chipboard numbers for the year spanning both pages two thirds the way up the page, photo corners on the four outside corners, and mini journaling. Of course, I don't want to show that on here either - too personal to share with all the cyber stalkers out there!

Instead, you get a picture of some fridge magnets I made for my Mum. Those of you who actually read my blog will see that the paper on the pegs matches the paper used on the recipe folder I made for her last year. They were super quick and easy to make (yes, might even be doable within the 15 minute mark). Now the fridge has a set of magnets that blends with the kitchen design instead of a mishmash of all the free, advertising, rectangle magnets that you get given. Ah pretty!



Just as a final note: I watched a rerun of one of my favourite shows last night (Miranda) and I fear that parts of this blog may have been influenced by her style - apologies. It really is lovely being what I call "creative" again! Such Fun! ;)

What's On My Desk?

What's on my desk right now? A lot! I'm working on a little something for my niece which has turned into a little something multi-layered and time consuming. The first photo (below) is what the album started out as - $1 target mini album. It is no longer pink and I've had to make spacers for all the items I needed/wanted to add to the album. Still not finished which is why there is literally so much on my desk right now. I keep losing things and wasting time looking for things that I know are under the mass (not a typo) somewhere. You know you have to tidy up or reduce your stash when you can't find things. I 'lost' a new porcelain sanding foam within days of placing it on my desk. I can't find either my half-full large bottle of Kraftex or my glue gun. Neither live on my desk or in my creative space but I still can't find them. I ended up having to open a new, large bottle of Kraftex and buy a new [mini] glue gun. It's getting too expensive to be overwhelmed with mess (which is why I only replaced the glue gun with a mini version for $8). I think I may have lent them out and they never made it home again along with my chiffon ribbon spool that went missing over a year ago. Note to Self: maybe a New Years resolution should be start making notes/lists of items I lend out. I don't do New Years Resolutions, but if I did, I think that is a good one to start.

Lots of Blog-hopping going on at the moment - lots of competitions and inspiration on offer. O and I've recently discovered Pinterest! What an amazing, wonderful, distracting site! As well as the constant distractions there is the little issue of getting 4 weeks of work done in 3 with the Christmas break rushing it's way towards us. Plus: it's the Silly Season! So, there's a lot of celebrating going on. Not just Christmas celebrations happening around here either: I've had four birthdays to celebrate in the past three weeks (not all mine!). On top of all that, there has been some visiting friends from away, a wee bit of socialising, and maybe, not that I am confessing to anything here, a little, coughalotcough, of online shopping. O yeah, I am also contemplating submitting for a design team again - sucker for punishment? (That would require finding some time to actually create some submissions though). Phew! That's a lot going on which is why I hope you will forgive me for not updating or inspiring you.

The above picture is something I whipped up for a birthday - there seems to have been a real run on 40ths this year! I have Pinterest to thank for the idea - thank goodness the recipient had a sense of humour too! I think that this idea might be one I pull out again in the future (if the run on 40ths hasn't stopped).

Now, if you were reading closely you would've seen me mention blog-hopping and competitions. Well, I found out I received a prize from one of the blog comments I left! I was so stunned and blown away to receive the prize from Jennifer McGuire's blog. The prize was a Gift Certificate from Simon Says Stamp! I'm sure I will have no problem spending the voucher (and then some).

As a small way of showing my appreciation for their generosity I thought I would add links here for both of their sites:

Jennifer McGuire:http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/

Simon Says Stamp:http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/servlet/StoreFront