Stamps Ahead

Fishing down on the Farm. I stayed with my friends Carol and David down on their farm. Whilst Carol went to a meeting, David and I went fishing in the dams on their property. First I needed to be kitted out - gumboots, shirt and hat courtesy of Carol. I needed a little help putting the gumboots on and then we hopped onto "The Mule" aka jeep and headed to the ponds. We caught many fish and had a great fish fry in the evening. Now these pages did not really come together until I put the black wire (to represent fishing line) on it. Checking out scrapbook stores in America. After spending time with Carol and David, I headed up state to my friends Laura (Carol and David's daughter), Jason and their fantabulous boys - Casey and Cole. Whilst there Laura had to go to Kansas City for work and I went with her - and of course she had to twist my arm to visit the scrapbook stores on the way!!!! As we passed into Kansas state - she said we had to go to the best scrapbook store eve...

cards (c) Bianca Clarkson - Princess Bee's Designs - Classes at Fantasia. Yesterday, I made these cards at a workshop at Fantasia , Bella Vista. Lots of good techniques. Today. it is a beautiful winter's day here in Sydney,plenty of sun - I have really got my creating mojo happening - I have made some scrapbooks for SCKC (South Coast Kids Camp) and some christmas cards for Aussie troops overseas. I really need to get some photos of my holidays printed and start scrapbooking my holiday.

Where have I been? Well, for the past six weeks I have been travelling in The United States of America. I have seen so many wonderful places - a favourite was The Grand Canyon, this photograph was taken at sunset. Amazing. Of course, I have taken many more photographs and will begin scrapbooking them asap - stay tuned to see more amazing photos. One of the other wonderful things about travelling is the people you meet. This card is for Ruth Ann, from South Carolina, who very kindly gave me the book she was reading when she finished it. This card was inspired by a challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. More later and thank you for stopping by. Margaret

It is Easter Saturday and it is raining here in Sydney - just right to stay in and so some scrapbooking. Here are the two pages I have created already (and it is only 9.33am). This one is when the Bax family arrived in Australia from Missouri in December, 2010. It was great to welcome them to my country. The first place we stopped was at Kirribilli, on the north side of Sydney Harbour Bridge to view the Bridge, Opera House and the harbour. In October, 2010 I was invited to the naming ceremony for the granddaughter of my long term friends - Robyn and Colin. After the ceremony we all headed to Sutton Beach, Qld for a barbeque. I love the sayings on this page - they seemed just right - especially "Open your arms and Welcome the JOY of today!"

Sunday we are getting together for a friends birthday. Here is the card I have made her. I had the Cuttlebug embossing folder and Blushing Bride CS/ribbon out from yesterday's card, so I just continued with them. The set I have used is a new Stampin'Up! (r) set called Strength and Hope, I was drawn to this set because of its message and as well SU is donating $2 from each set sold to Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Inside the card and on the envelope I have stamped the message and scroll. For the front scallop/circle embellishment I was inspired by a card by Sandi Maciver in US. If you are looking for a demonstrator to support this cause then simply visit the Stampin'Up! website.

Tomorrow I am off to a wedding - here is the card I have made for the bride and groom. The colour is Stampin'Up! (r) Blushing Bride (BB). I have embossed some BB CS and used a Martha Stewart Heart lace edged punch at the bottom. I then embossed white CS and sponged them with BB, punched out the larger hearts and placed some random bling onto the hearts, then a little bit of BB ribbon. Not forgetting the inside I have put another punched heart and a greeting appropriate to the occasion. A long and happy life toether Tessa and Peter.

I met with my sister and another friend today and we did some scrapbooking and lunch, and cups of tea and ................... Here is a page I based on a layout from Splitcoast Stampers. I moved the top right papers down to the bottom as I wanted to ensure the journalling "How to kiss a kangaroo" was evenly spaced on the layout. Cole was quietly interacting with this kangaroo, there was no-one else around (well there was me with my telephoto lens). I was transfixed as the kangaroo allowed him to get so close and Cole seemed to be talking to him. I love it!!!

And now for something different............... I have been cleaning up and clearing out a lot of my craft supplies. I rediscovered these painted images and I picked up a needle and thread to complete some simple embroidery to finish them off. I used a candlewicking knot as I find this to be a very tactile knot.I have turned them into lavender sachets - again using fabric and wadding from my stash. The finished items are heading to Grafton to assist in raising funds for a missionary in Kiev, Ukraine. Enjoy.

My mother died far too early over 30 years ago - my how time flies - so I really enjoy making cards for others to give to their mothers. These are just two of the cards I am sending off to Grafton to be sold to raise funds for a missionary in Kiev. The inside greeting "hope your day is blooming with love." I have watercoloured the image with my SU markers - my favourite method of colouring by far. Thank you for stopping by.

Needing inspiration - I found a great book "52 more scrapbooking challenges" by Elizabeth Kartchner Creating Keepsakes. Challenge 1 find inspiration all around you......Get inspired by an outfit. The inspiration for this page are the bright clothes worn by the pre-firework entertainers on New Years Eve in Sydney. What do you think?

What have I been doing? Well for the past month or so I have been making 15cm x 15cm ( 6" x 6" for my USA friends) scrapbook pages that I have made for children who attend camps for abused children here in Australia. It has been fun and I must say slightly addictive - a 20 page album grows quickly. Tomorrow I am off to a friends 60th birthday celebration and here is a different kind of birthday card I have created for her. I followed instructions found the pixie cottage I have used a sheet of vellum for the envelope and created a card from some embossed paper left over from a previous card. Some lace and a flower from my stash finish the envelope wallet. Thank you for reading, have a great weekend everyone - celebrate everyday.

It is hot, hot, hot here in Sydney today (in fact we are breaking records for the number of hot days). I am off to an engagement celebration this afternoon. Here is the card I made for the happy couple. I found a long not used dry embossed sheet of paper in my stash and it suited the chandelier stamp (from Kazzaz). Many congratulations to Tegan and Ben. Happiness always.

Here is a card I got from Laura in USA - isn't it lovely? What are you dreaming about? Well in Sydney today it is a 'stinker' we are having a heatwave and it looks like it will be for a few more days to come. So I am dreaming of some cooler weather!!!! It is good to dream. Thank you Laura for a great card and your box of goodies as well.

Well, here is it's January again. And that means it's my sisters birthday. If you have read my blog for a while you will recall that she likes blue, shabby chic and all things Paris. Here is the card I have created for her this year. My birthday gift to her was I paid for 5 nights accommodation in Paris during trip she took there in September last year and this card pays homage to that trip. The clock face was one she picked up in the Paris markets.

I was lucky enough to win 5 tickets to watch the Sydney NYE midnight fireworks from the Cahill Expressway. I took the Bax Family from Missouri, USA and we had a "blast". There were crowds of people leaving and I think all headed for Wynyard train station at the same time as us - I have never seen so many people in one place at one time - estimated to 1.5 million watching the fireworks. Here are a couple of my photographs. Now to scrapbook - these photographs together with others taken whilst the Bax's enjoyed their holiday here in Australia. Happy 2011 everyone.

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.