Stamps Ahead

My wish is that you all have a happy holiday season and a great 2011. Thanks for visiting my blog.

This week was my birthday and I got some fabulous cards and wishes. I wanted to share with you all a card I received from Laura in USA. Laura made the card and it is just beautiful. I love the colour, the detail and the design. Thanks to everyone who sent me wishes.

I have been making some cards for a friend and I wanted to use a new Stampin'Up (r) stamp set called Artistic Etchings. It is perfect for vintage type cards and also images would be suitable to use for a male card. I went in search of inspiration and found this video . This is a complete case of the card as I loved all the elements that the artist has used. Merci for stopping by. Margaret.

I recently bought 3 bottles of Alcohol Ink, as I had seen them used and was interested to give them a go. Well today, I was over at Jennifer McGuires blog and she had a video on how to use these inks on watercolour paper. Now, I think I was a little heavy handed with my application of ink/blending solution (you should see me make a sponge cake!!!) but I still like the effect that my background achieved. I did not have any metallic Alcohol Ink so I used some Perfect Pearls to give a shimmery glow. I think this would make a great masculine birthday card - what do you think?

Jayne's final challenge for the night was to find a card, in current SU catalogue, that you like and turn it pink! You can substitute other stamp sets too. Just use the card you choose for inspiration. My inspiration came from page 90, top right hand corner, the one with hearts. Doesn't it look great with the flowers from my garden.

Challenge 2 - Sketch Challenge. Simply turn to page 56 of the current Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalogue.Using the card with the pram on the front for inspiration, create your own card or scrapbook page. I have called mine "Pink Paris" appropriate given that my sister has recently returned from Paris. You cannot see it clearly but I have used Glimmer Mist Chalk spray.

Last night, I and my sister headed out for a Girls Night In at Jayne's. . My sister is a breast cancer survivor and I was so pleased she could come with me this year. I am happy that I can support and donate to this worthy cause year after year. Jayne had prepared several cards for us to make and set several challenges for us to complete. Challenge 1 - Create a card, scrapbook page or 3D project using the following colours: Pink! Ok, you can add a neutral colour to the mix too! Mine is a 2011 calendar. These are the cards we made whilst at Jayne's. The flowers are from my garden. If you would like to support this worthy cause you can do so through Jayne's fundraising page here .

Today,I headed to Rozelle to finish off making my Christmas cards for the Australian troops. Paper Lady has been organising this effort and all cards will head overseas for the troops to send back to their families. You may remember an earlier post when cards I made last year made it to Jordan and I got a lovely thank you postcard from the troops there. Here I am creating. the cards and close up of three of the cards I made today. Images: (c) 1990-2010 Stampin'Up!(r) Artwork: Margaret L Crawford

For the past two weeks I have been in Queensland. I had a naming ceremony (for 2 beautiful girls) and a christening (another beautiful girl) that I was invited to, so I took the opportunity to have a holiday as well. My sister came and a friend joined us for 3 days as she was attending the naming ceremony as well. The weather was for the most part wet and windy but we did manage to get some glorious sunny days as well. Here are some pages I created one wet day, it was fun to stay in the cabin that we had and create with some new products that we purchased in Queensland. The first two photos show the naming ceremony. I have used some of the elements that I used on the card I created for the girls. My sister crocheted the white flowers to match the headbands that the girls wore (that their mother made for them). Unfortunately it was wet on the day of their ceremony and it was quickly changed to the unit their parents were renting. The last page is of a visit we made to Montville, in the...

Would more could we give to our loved ones. I have been catching up with some scrapbooking recently and here is a page I have created today - enjoy. I have used Prima flowers and pebbles (see detail above) that my sister got for me in a scrapbook store she found in Singapore recently, and the stamping and green background paper, well they are Tim Holtz, Stampers Anonymous. Some complementary and gold stamp pad ink around the edges and ribbon complete the look.

Spring has sprung! Colour is all around. This rose is from my garden, and its perfume is as magnificient as the bloom. I think the rose is called Ingrid Bergman, after the actress. My dad loved growing his roses, looking after them, pruning them - I am pleased that I have been able to continue his legacy and the roses continue to bloom despite my gardening skills. He would be pleased I am sure.

Images:(c)1990-2009 Stampin'Up! (r) Artwork:Margaret L Crawford Here is a quick card I made - I have used an old (2006) stamp set (it also includes a koala, a playtpus and several other animals). This stamp set comes out whenever I teach study tours from other countries as they love seeing our animals. An amazing fact - did you know that a kangaroo cannot walk backwards?

Back in the 1990's I volunteered as a demonstrator at Old Sydney Town (near Gosford). Once a month I would demonstrate quilting and embroidery. The quilt hanging is one that I made and sold not long after. We were required to dress in clothing appropriate for the era and not wear or use anything that was 'modern'. In winter the little cottage had a wood fire and I would have to look after it for the day as well, it was nice and cosy. It was a great experience. Unfortunately, Old Sydney Town closed several years ago. The something new - well yesterday I was watching Scrap TV and I have based this layout on one that was demonstrated, what I really fell in love with were the flowers. Recipe for the flowers: 1. Cut 3 circles (freehand okay and preferred) of varying sizes. Synthetic fabrics work best. 2. Light a candle (have water nearby just in case) and take the circles, one by one, and move the edges over the flame. You can get even more texture by putting them over the flam...

Images:(c)1990-2010 Stampin'Up!(r) Artwork:Margaret L Crawford Wow, 3 cards in 2 days - I am on a roll!! Again this card has a lot of pink - my friends have recently had a long awaited child - and this is my card I am sending to them. Welcome, little one, Welcome Eunice. May you have a life full of wonderful blessings and happiness.

Images:(c)Stampin'Up! 1990-2009(r) Artwork:Margaret L Crawford Well, I had the pink designer series paper out so I completed the final sketch challenge at Helping Hudson . As my card was not a square I put the strip of paper at bottom rather than the side. It has been fun creating again.

Images: (C)1990-2010 Stampin'Up!(r) Artwork: Margaret L Crawford A group of heartfelt stampers created a blog Helping Hudson to help a young boy Hudson get a Kid Walker. Over the past weeks there has been challenges and competitions. Here is a card I created for the final colour challenge - Pink with one neutral colour. Well done to all the organisers as Hudson is to get his walker.

Images: (c) 1990-2010 Stampin'Up (r) Artwork: Margaret L Crawford After a short break I am back again creating and I hope to do more this coming week. I am making these 2011 calendars (they have a magnet on the back) for a street stall to be held in Grafton in December to raise funds for a mission in Kiev, Ukraine. They are really quick and easy to put together. I have used a stamp set (Blooming with Love) that was not available in Australia - the images are just right for a little bit of watercolouring. I am going to make more with different stamp sets so that buyers can have a choice of images and colours.

And there is pansies, that's for thoughts. William Shakespeare This technique, to use a butterfly punch, to make the pansy flower, has been around for a while - I finally got around to trying it out today as I had a couple of cards I needed to make. A 90th birthday card for someone who has always had a great garden and one for a friend in the USA who is recovering from an operation and I just wanted to say I am thinking of you - friend to friend. I followed a video here by Dawn Olchefske - I used Very Vanilla cardstock (as this was the only one I could find when the urge to create came!)

I had a birthday last December, and on my actual birthday with my sister and friends, Robyn and Col we went to The Summit restaurant for dinner. Col helped by taking some of the photos above and Robyn found the 'sixty margaret' on a building in Sydney city and so I just had to use on the cover of this mini-book. It opens up as shown. This was not my original idea - I first got the idea from a Stampin'Up! (r) project. I had made this earlier but I did not want to post until they had received it. By the way the Strawberry Souffle was fabulous and check out the candle they put on it for me. A great night, great food, great company.

The final layout for The 21 Challenge. I have finished off with a recent photo of me. I have kept it simple and put in one of my favourite quotes that I have tried to live by: Whatever you are - be that! Whatever you say - be true! Straight-forwardly act, Be honest - in fact, Be nobody else but you. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has encouraged me, sponsored me and donated to The 21 Challenge. It is not to late to donate - just click on the link on the top right of my blog. Tonight is the longest night of the year in the southern hemisphere and I am blessed that I can spend it in the warmth of my home and that I have the warmth of my family and friends at all times - others are not so blessed, that is what this challenge has been about for me - making a difference in other people's lives.

The penultimate page. I have had some brushes with fame over the years - When I was bank teller Johnny O'Keefe came in for his banking, I cashed his cheque and he said "Thanks love!!!. I remember one time I had flown from New York to LAX, the plane was late arriving at LAX and even later leaving for Sydney that meant many hours waiting at LAX - when in came Hugh Jackman and he was rushed through to First Class - no doubt spending time in some first class lounge beforehand and not with me in Cattle Class. This page is dedicated to one other of my brushes with fame. The journaling reads: " My brush with fame. June, 2009 Great American Scrapbook Convention Arlington, Texas. When I first started scrapbooking I bought 2 books by Joanna Campbell Slan that are full of journaling hints and tips. Imagine my delight when I am came across her signing two recent novels, with a scrapbooking theme. I was starstruck! I bought and she signed the books and I told her I had her other boo...

This is my Grandfather (we kids called him "Pop") standing beside Crawford Rd sign, in Morriset NSW. He and my Grandmother moved from Hornsby to Morriset in 1930. This road was named after him, as he was a representative on the Morriset Farms Estate during the depression. This company used to show people farms that were for sale, selling off plan in Corranbong and Morriset and surrounding districts. He had a dairy up the road and used to supply milk during the depression - my Dad spent his younger years on the farm and would always tell us tales of life on the farm. In 1947 Pop and Grandma would leave Morriset and settle for the rest of their lives in Asquith. This photograph would have been taken in the 1960's - and yes the road is still there. As children we would many times make the journey to Crawford Rd, we would take friends and family to show them the sign. We would all have our photos taken to record the occasion (just can't find those photos). Towards the end...

The story of the clown. Okay sometimes I have been called a clown, but this is not my story. Just over 30 years ago my first nephew was born, and being a really proud auntie I went out and bought some soft toys, books etc for him to play with when he came to my place. At the time I was working in St Leonards, so I paid a visit to the gift shop at Royal North Shore Hospital and this clown just said 'buy me'. Some 2 years later his brother was born and over the years they enjoyed playing with the clown with the long legs. Then 21 years ago my niece was born and she too played with the Clown as well as any children who visited me. Here is the clown out and about now - my 2nd nephews children now play with it when they come to visit. I was inspired to create the woven page border, after seeing a challenge in the book "A designer's eye for scrapbooking with patterned paper" by Ali Edwards. Quite a lot of colours in the photo so I hope I have done The Clown justice.

Just 4 days until the shortest day of the year - or for many it is the longest night of the year. Why not consider donating to assist The 21 Challenge - see link on top of my blog. Thank you to all those who have already donated, it is much appreciated. In an earlier post, I did a layout of a visit that we did to Ginger Factory in July, 08. Now this was just one thing that we did on that holiday. I had found a box of these journalling notes and I asked Jess and Heather (and me) to write out thoughts on what we would remember about the holiday. I used the stamp set I had out yesterday, Scribble This, to stamp the background and then I put some stick-on rhinestones to add a bit of sparkle to match the fabulous beaches. I hope you can see them - I will wait for tomorrow and take a better photo in the sunlight.

Another layout with flowers! I here you say. But this layout is simply a very self indulgent bragging about myself!!!. Back in October last year I attended a Crop for Pink (to raise funds for McGrath Foundation) organised by Scrapapple Penrith. It was a great day with lots of classes and competitions. I was lucky to win a subscription to Scrapbook Creations magazine with the cards that you see above. And here I am with Donna Macpherson, Managing Editior of the magazine. Do I look happy or what!! I was so pleased. For the layout I have used all of the elements that I used on my cards with the exception of the darker green paper that I seem to have run out of. The card "From you to Me" went to a friend for a recent birthday.

I set myself a challenge today - to use my Circle Scissors Plus (CSP). I have had trouble mastering this 'easy' tool to create circles. So off to Goggle to do a search - I was not all that impressed with cutting photos into circles and I just did not seem to have photos that would suit circles as a key design feature, and then I stumbled upon Witty Images where they had made flowers using circles. I used this as an inspiration to create my flowers using CSP. I was very pleased and very chuffed with myself that I created perfect varying sized circles only to ink and distress them!! The photo is of my sister taken on Christmas Day, 1994. Now if you have read my blog you will remember that her favourite colour is blue and her favourite style is Shabby Chic (although these days she is moving towards French Provincial). I have done a lot of distressing and inking of edges and have used some vintage grosgrain ribbon. It seems as though I have a lot of single photographs, from th...

One of the things I have slowly been doing over the past few months is taking photographs out of old style photo albums. This challenge has led me to look at lots of them and I found this one. It was obviously a special occasion - looks like a trip to the hairdresser was in order - look at those curly locks (permed of course) and I am wearing make-up and earrings!!! I made the flowers this morning. Take a punched circle, about 30cm of lace (I used some old lace I had), then I put some Crystal Effects (CE) around the circle and using my fingers move lace around the shape and then into the centre of cirle (use more CE if needed), finally put a bard in the centre. This is a very soft page, very girly don't you think. I have not decided if or where to put journalling.

On June, 2009 I was staying with Carol and David, down on their farm in Doniphan, Missouri. Here is a layout of our shopping trip into town on 2nd June, 2009. Not sure what the man at the feed shop thought of this stranger from Australia taking his photo. The population of Doniphan was 1932 at the 2000 census (from Wikipedia), so it is a very small city.

Today I am very late - let me tell you why! My sister and I went for a drive, and then a little spot of dinner here. I asked her to set my challenge for today's layout. So looking in Scrapbook Trends (a great little magazine that comes from UK) for January, 2010 she found a page (101) with a single photo layout. Now this taken me some time to put together, notice there is some machining and much layering of different elements. I love the movement on this page - Jess dancing, Graeme clapping in time to the music, the circles, the hearts floating off the photo, the ribbon winding its way, the little bird and the gold button. Again this is a favourite photo from many years ago and as soon as I saw the layout I knew this was the photo I wanted to find - I just had to remember where I put it!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my challenge within a challenge.

Back in July, 08 my sister, niece and I headed to Coolum in Queensland for a week of sun, rest and relaxation. One of the side trips we did was to the Ginger Factory in Yandina - Jess and I did the Taste of Ginger Tour (Heather had done it before). As we waited for the tour to begin I had Jess pose with the Gingerbread Men (are you serious? > Yes! > Okay). I am in one of the photo's - check out the hand in the image in the circle - that is my hand!!!! If you are ever up that way it is a good tour to take - you get to sample ginger drinks and snacks made with ginger as the core ingredient.

A little late in getting today's layout finished.These photos were taken on my short holiday to Tangalooma Island Resort in April. Some magnificent sunsets each evening. Here I am waiting for the sunset you see in the bottom photo. The quote is "It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream." Bern Williams. I love that the Tim Holtz Muse Tokens - Wonderful, Journey and Thoughts are so appropriate for this layout. The CS is black but it has not photographed well. I never seem to be able to hold/control my hands in photographs - then I just looked at the photograph on the right - I have shaped (not intentionally) them like a heart, okay a slightly skewed heart and this is so true - I love the beauty of sunsets.

Wow, has it been cold in Sydney Town today!!! This photo of my sister was taken in 2008 whilst she was on a European Christmas Markets tour - it was taken in front of Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Shoppe in Rothenburg, Germany. I love this photo of her and the colours of all the presents on top of the vehicle. It also reminds me my visit there about 20 years ago and wandering about in wonder of all the fabulous Christmas trees, ornaments etc. The tag, tucked in under the photo, has the journalling. Not your traditional colours for Christmas and I had the gold embossing out from yesterdays layout. A bright layout for a cold day and evening to come. The inspiration for this page came from Scrapbook Trends, December 2009. I am nice and warm tonight - I am blessed that I can be, however others, in completely different circumstances to me are not as blessed. You can help - I'm participating in The 21 Challenge to raise funds for Open Family Australia to help at-risk and homeless young ...

These photos show just what fun can be had with a $2 bubble set. I gold embossed the letters of 'Bubble Fun" and then circle punched them out and placed large circles behind. I love how the kids (and their Dad) got into the fun -running and chasing the bubbles.

Well here I am at Day 7 - 1/3rd of the way through The 21 Challenge. I hope you have been enjoying my layouts. Today's layout is a photo of me at 11 - wearing a hand knitted jumper and skirt that my mother had made. The bike was hers, that she used when she was younger. I love this picture for a number of reasons - not only the memory of my mother but it was taken by a well-loved family friend. The buttons and lace are old. One fond memory growing up was my mothers box of buttons that we used to play with on wet wintery days!!! The journal block says "Memory is a way of holding on to the things that you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to loose."