Farewell Friend

Morning kind readers and commenters.....

Don't you hate it when a workmate whom you have formed a great working relationship leaves???? I know I do. Sadly we lost our wonderful pathology collector a couple of weeks back. I wanted to give her something small but memorable as a parting gift. I had an appropriate card in my stash, and I was also aware of the fact she was an avid reader...so bookmark was the logical answer!! Here is what I gave to her...

This is a slight change up on the butterfly bookmarks I have done recently in that the top butterfly co-ordinates with the card.

I think I made her cry a bit, which was not my intention, but I knew it hit the spot. Hmmmmmm....I am starting to get the hang of this whole co-ordination thing I think!!

Just a quick one today, lots to (try) and get done. Hope you get creative and a little inky today!!

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: (SU) Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Orchid Opulence (ret)

Stamps: (SU) vintage Vogue, Great Friend (retiring at the end of this month I think!!)

Other Stuff: SU Very Vanilla Grosgrain 5/8" ribbon, 1/2 Pearls fm stash, Dimensionals.

Lynda xx

A Little OTT Perhaps???

Good morning all!!

A courtesy head's up for you all....there are lots of pics in this post! You have been warned.

Miss 7 came home with a party invite for a school mate. She was FULL of ideas as to what she wanted to give her. So, we wrote them down, crossed off the "not quite appropriate" ones and focused on what we could achieve. She wanted the gift to be in her favourite colours (blues, read and greens) and also have butterflies. Definitely doable so far.....and.....she also wanted to give a candle!!! So....off to work I went......

Firstly the card. I had seen this card on SCS and put it to my CASE file. This was our version...

I sponged the edges of the embossed butterfly and mounted both on Dimensionals.

 Of course on the inside...I had to use my "ever so useful" big glittery numbers!!

Next....the reds and greens portion. I had recently acquired the Scallop Envelope Die and a basket was a good choice. We could fill it with red and green things perhaps?? The basket was born....

Now for the candle....

A little while ago through Debbie P's blog, I was introduced to The Craft's Meow stamp set - Butterfly Kisses here. I have used the large image on another candle which I have not yet posted, but I could not resist using it again. This was the candle....

Front



....and back

All together, this is what the present looked like...

Needless to say Miss 7 was over the moon with the gift and I must admit I was pretty chuffed with it too. I thought the wee tags with the birthday girl's initial on it were the perfect finishing touch. After the party, in the playground at school, the Mum of the birthday girl chased me down and told me how much she LOVED her gift. Mission accomplished (phew)!!

Thanks for enduring to the end of the post. Now there are quite a few things used in this set, so if you have any questions....please leave me it in the comments and I will get back to you.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, WW, Springtime Vintage DSP

Ink:(SU) Baja Breeze Not Quite Navy

Stamps: The Craft's Meow - Butterfly Kisses, Jemac "Happy Birthday"(W29B)

Dies: (SU) Bigz Beautiful Butterfly, Scallop Envelope Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet

Punches: (SU) Large and Small Tag Punch, Scallop Border Punch

Misc: Paper Fasteners "Blue Diamante" (fm Minibuckle), SU Designer Buttons - Sherbet, SU Square Lattice Embossing Folder, dimensionals and glue dots

Lynda xx

For A Friend

It is never nice to loose someone close to you, let alone 2 loved ones in quick succession. Sadly, this happened to a blog friend of mine. I wanted to let her know that she was being thought of and send her something to (hopefully) bring a smile to her face. Going through my files, I found this card on SCS. It appealed to me on a couple of levels.

1. It used Elements of Style....one of my fave go to sets at present
2. It had a vintage feel to it which I am luvin' also
3. It gave me a chance to bust out Life Definitions....ironically a set that I purchased second hand from this girl
and
4. There was no Whisper White or Very Vanilla to deal with.

This is my take on the card.......

Now there was a LOT of sponging involved with this card....but well worth the effort. I also changed the top left corner with the definitions as seen here....

The rest of the card is pretty much to the original, except for the wee tag. I did not have the jewellery punch nor the wording to go inside it....so I improvised with the word window punch (which I made smaller by double punching) and the sentiment form Wonderful Favourites.

The small piece of lace is from Singapore and I wrapped a small pewter brad around the end to keep with the vintage feel. Seriously.....pink ribbon?? (hee hee hee)

Now I also had a fair idea that this young lady was partial to the odd coffee.....so this led me to part 2 of the project. I think most of you are familiar with the chocolate pulls, well this was my (much) smaller version with some sachets of flavoured coffee....

and here is the set together........

Thanks for enduring all the pics in this post, but I was so very happy with the way this project turned out.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Crumb Cake (Kraft)

Ink: (SU) Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Stamps: (SU) Elements of Style, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Wonderful Favourites

Punches: (SU) Word Window Punch, Carla Craft 1" Circle Punch

Other Bits: Topaz Rhinestones fm stash, Lace fm Singapore, Mini Pewter brads, Chocolate Brown Ribbon fm stash.

Lynda xx

Asian Inspiration

Hi all.

When I was over in Singapore, I KNEW that my in-laws would be helping my DH a lot with kid wrangling and babysitting. I got them a special pressie from Singapore...and of course needed a suitable card to go with it.

Whilst blufing, I came across JUST the card on Kim Tonnet's blog .....in particular this post here. With the help of the tutorial Kim used for her 2nd card on the post, I came up with this......

Was soooooooooooooo happy with the way it turned out.....and made me look like I had put some decent thought into the whole thing...LOL!! I had not given Fresh Cuts an airing for some time and was considering selling it....but now I am having serious second thoughts. Many years back I received some GORJUS 6 x 6 Japanese papers....so these were perfect for this card too.

I used the colours in the Japanese paper to give me the inspiration for the colours on the flourish and background. There is actually a sparkle with metallic gold in the patterned paper. The hardest thing for me was doing her freehand eyes and mouth!!! Thankfully tracing around the base of a 1/4" circle was a great help. Best thing was the in-laws loved it!!

Thanks for popping by. Enjoy your day...whatever it may bring you.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Whisper White, Basic Black, Ballet Blue (ret), Very Vanilla (face), Japanese papers

Ink: (SU) Ballet Blue, SWM's in Rose Red, Brocade Blue (ret), Green Galore (ret) and Basic Black

Stamps: (SU) Fresh Cuts

Punches: As per listed in the tutorial Kim used

Other Bits: Pink Rhinestones fm stash

Lynda xx

Gratuitous Parental Post!!!!

No craft things this post....just gross parental pride!!!

A few weeks back Master 10 (nearly 11) had his sports carnival. It was freezing cold and very VERY overcast. I arrived in time to see him run 1 event, but I had heard rumblings that he had done well in other events too. The thought of him even making 800m was a little overwhelming....but he lined up for it with all the other boys. Long story short....he came in 2nd...and I will admit to perhaps having a little moisture around my eyes.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and he comes home very excited with the news that he has made it to the Zone Carnival at Homebush for the 100m and 800m. He then presents me with these.....

No less than 5 ribbons......2nd for the high jump and 800m and 3rds for the 100m, 200m and relay race. I was so very proud of him. He has since had the Zone Carnival this week and was up against kids that train and do Little Athletics (which he does not). I was so proud of his efforts and said to him that I would share this with you all.

Thanks for allowing me this wee parental boast.

Take care and create freely.

Lynda xx

Nicest Surprise

Yes...I am still here...although very infrequently and for that I am so sorry. There has been so much going on under our roof......mania has taken over with its close cousin chaos!!

Most of you I am sure are aware of the delightful Andrea Lowcock. Over a week ago (and I know I am so v v slow to do this) she passed on this to me....

I had to had to have a giggle at this...cause style is one thing I am rarely accused of!!!

Now as usual...there are things you have to do....and one is share 5 things about me...so here goes....

1. I am a passionate St George (Dragons) supporter

2. I so love Dirty Dancing (the movie) and watching it is my guiltiest pleasures

3. I am a "gunna" hoarder. I have lots of projects and techniques that I am gunna do...but never seem to get around to!!!

4. I am really loving "vintage" themed/looking crafts at the moment.

5. It IS really embarrassing getting sprung by your kids rocking out to 80's songs in the kitchen!!!

Now I also have to pass this onto 5 folks whom I believe have style.....

1. Debbie P

2. Kerry Bunting

3. Helen Williams

4. Katie Ridden

5. Patrice (I have just realised I cannot recall your surname...oops!!)

All of these uber talented ladies have amazing blogs and are wonderful talents. Please check them out if you feel so inclined.

Off to more madness......stay sane.

Lynda xx

Getting Crafty In Singapore - #2

Back again with one of those "WOW" finds from Singapore.

I read an article about Washi Tape on the plane. (The link is a v v brief description for those who have also never heard of it!!) I had never heard of it but I was intrigued by it's versatility. So....Bestie and I invested in a roll each and decided to have a play. She went for something bold and bright...I went for v v basic...LOL!!! The article I read gave 10 ways to use the tape, one was by using it as a frame. These are the 2 cars I have gone with so far....

and #2...

As the pattern on the Washi Tape was so bold, I wanted to let it be the feature...and I also love the impact of white, black and red. I also have to add sentiments to these cards too of course. I have nearly completed the cards I did with Bestie's Washi Tape, but they still need something to finish them off....just can't decide what yet!!

Hope you likes these cards too. My next crafty Singapore post will involve Bestie's kids. Thanks for popping by.

Stuff Used:

CS: CM red and a White CS fm Bestie's stash.

Ink: (SU) Basic Black SWM

Stamps: (SU) Pocket Silhouettes

Other Bits: Japanese Washi Tape

Lynda xx