THE WEEKLY ROUND UP....

or what should be called....

well heres a post I half prepared earlier....

Just found this in the drafts folder...so a weekly round up wasnt going to ever work! LOL

MONDAY

 I made my first cards on the weekend with the Cricut machine my BEAUTIFUL firiend Rose gifted to me recently.... I did find it daunting and I had my L plates on I made two of these in five hours!!! LOL I did spend a bit of time figuring it all out and next time it'll be quicker I am sure!!! 

Daniel and I start time sharing the New Percy Jackson book HEROs OF OLYMPAS and its 3 x the size of a normal Percy Jackson and hooked me three times faster!!! LOL  Here we go saving the world again  through the legends of the greek gods and with the help of the books modern day teenage heros !!! Timesharing your books with your 14 year old son is an interesting concept!

This is what I found after the boys went to school this morning
poor woody didnt stand a chance ....LOL

 Connor had a huge weekend apart from doing this mighty "trade" with a neighbours kid to get the NERF weaponry he had a birthday pool party on Saturday arvo and sleepover saturday night , another pool party sunday morning and rollerbladed all sunday arvo!!!! I had a nap for him sunday afternoon but it didnt seem to help he missed his favourite show "Terranova" cause he went to sleep before it came on on the lounge and none of us could wake him up Jarred thought it was hilarious to keep trying though!!!

TUESDAY...

AN EMBARESSING XMAS STORY THAT HAPPENED TO ONE OF MY FRIENDS...

Okay ....

Theres no friend ...

***sigh***

It was me! LOL

Well, for two weeks I have been trying to win a radio comp 

worth a $1000. 

I shoulda won it by now being 

I have tried ringing like 50 000000000 times 

 the competition is to listen and identify in order

the 12 famous peoples voices. 

It is called...

THE 12 Days DAVE's OF CHRISTMAS...

 Being that all the voices are Famous Davids....

Dave's happens to be my expertise

I have lived with one for 20+ years

sadly he wasnt on the list and  yep

... nope... 

no luck

that's right 

if there had been any luck..... I would have let the world know!!!

Anyway I have played each morning devotedly, 

sitting  next to the radio poised

( no bladder control comments here folks! ) 

finger over the redial button !!!

Even though I have  given everyone else half the answers 

I was still thrilled for a box of chocolates and a $50 gift voucher .... 

Mr Connor Casanova ( 10 no less!) took the chockies for his "girlfriend"

and then  ...ten minutes after I won the Priceline voucher my hair dryer blew up!! 

A bang, smoke N all so .... 

voucher = new hair dryer right?

Then I had the brain wave ...

I could use Daniels hairdryer and not buy myself one 

& save money on xmas presents!!! 

I'd use  my voucher to buy my favourite "pretend" sister in law 

and her two daughters a really lovely gift.

Sounds like a great idea eh? 

A beauty gift Box for a fun girls night in with her gorgeous girls! 

Manicure set,  hair treatments, aromatherapy facial packs, 

body lotions, scented candles, even the cutest wee little glitter toe 

spaces for a pedicure and foot balm. 

I wandered aimlessly around thinking I'll chuck $20 worth in just to spice it right up

and I might even get a invite to hang with the "sisterhood" 

as a mother with three boys and no local sisters I ***sob*** have none!

That would be awesome 

I could pretend to be a girl...

drink champagne and paint toe nails! 

So I shopped even a little harder 

after all $ 50 dollars worth was FREE 

wondrously  FREE!!

Got to the check out and looked at the trolley and thought .....

hmmmm may have over done it a smidge.

I can barely see the checkout chicks face over the pile of pretty pink sparkly girlishness...

"Bleep bleep bleep"... she whizzes it all through... 

I may have overdone it, slightly. 

I do a last minute paniced mental calculation 

as to what is in the bank  before my cards declined!!! 

OMG that surely would be  

the greatest embarrassment to ring up 

a mountain of stuff and then... have your card declined due to lack of funds!

Especially as half the staff have helped me find stuff and ponder over products!

They've all watched me traipse  backwards and forward admiring my dedication 

to my lovely thoughtful "grand plan"

.= $120.00 

*** mass panic...mild hysteria *** 

oh breathe I'll  just bring a couple things back at a later date..

It'll be find ....actually $70 for three people is quite reasonable !
 

 I joke to her about how My Dave doesn't need to know 

the WHOLE story...secret women's business 

RIGHT? LOL

AND BESIDES...

 I have a gift $50 voucher 

she waits for me to produce the voucher 

I hand it over....

 alleluia.  alleluia.....

golden beams of FREE light radiate off my voucher 

as I hand it over to her  

and then...

she says...

"ummm Miss I don't know how to tell you this 

but this voucher you won of the radio is 

for

PRICE ATTACK ...we're PRCELINE.

Oh ffff....PRICELESS I think! 

There is something more embarrassing 

than having your card declined ...

She goes on to say...

"If you like I could you like me to take a few things off 

make the total a bit ....smaller...maybe?"
 

so that's what I did ...

when really I just wanted the ground to open up 

and swallow me!!!
 LMAO!

HAVE A VERY

MERRY N SAFE CHRISTMAS ALL!!

:)

 

GO AWAY CHRISTMAS... I M NOT READY!

Makin makin makin ...

PANIC stuff to finish

stuff to post

and oh CRUD ....

I was gunna make christmas cards to send this year!!!

oh well scratch that ...

have to be NEXT YEAR AGAIN!

Christmas looming  has given me the kick in the butt i need

more often than not to get moving!

In a week I can show you my bestest made xmas present ...

once it arrives and surprizes and dear friend of mine but till then

I'll have to leave you hanging I am making these whooers ...

HERES A BIT OF A CLUE....

NO MY CRAFTING HASNT LEAD ME TO DRINK....

 And now you'll have to wait

for the big reveal .... LOL

These are just the prototypes but they are all but nutted out and are getting easier to put together. Despite everyones fears i hve been playing with sharp sharp bits of tin and big knives havent slipped once yet ...touch wood ***knock on her head*** probably because I did enter the ambulence and hospital number into the phone on speed dial!!! LOL Just in case! How very girl scout of me eh?

I am doing some  for both SCRAPTIVATE and I hope to create some

for my local markets in the new year.

In other matters this sunday.....

For years I supressed the urge for my sons to bear toy arms.

Out of principles long since obliterated I had a  being a peace love n mung beans type of attertude to parenting and raising my babies but... eventually I had to conside defeat when they'd make their connector textas in to rifles, pick up and hoarde gun shape sticks or chew their sandwiches in to pistols.

Then when all else failed they'd "Pow Pow " with their finger short  of cutting their tiny little fingers off I couldnt do a thing about it! LOL

So it was a quick N slippery slope to HERE....

to here....

Today my "big" two the 14 and 10 year olds went to
HUMANS vs ZOMBIES

NERF DART TAG

This is a picture of my

***sob***

once innocent boy Connor ...

The guns nearly bigger than him!
He said "hurry up and take the photo mum this things HEAVY! "

Oh at least I havent shown you the "costume" they adorn themselves with

camo paint, fake scars and blood.etc

I just keep repeating to myself

"RELAX...its just glorified cowboys and indians!"

Then in what I thought was an unrelated matter

Daniel asked me could we plant and grow a mulberry tree.... I asked why exstatic he was thinking about his five food groups and nutrian....

"oh cause Mulburries when you squash em make the BEST FAKE BLOOD!!!"

OH sheshhhh!

LOL

:)

STORAGE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND ...WHAT THE???

Okay so it
may not make the world turn
but storage for scrapbooker and/or arty folk alike
 is the bane of our existance.

I think I ultimately spend as much time organising

( eg cleaning up after creative tornatoes!LOL)

as I nearly do making stuff.

WHO DOESNT LOVE A GOOD MAKEOVER!!!

About a year ago
 I made over the boys Gaming central
in our backroom not jooshie just tidy and

I found these CD storage units as I looked for DVD storage!!!!

They were reduced from $25 to $2!!!

I bought as many as I could fit in my trolley

( some would say that because thats what hoarders do...LOL

wash your mouths out those who just said that! ) 

Anyways some I gave away and some

are earmarked for xmas presents for distant relos who still put their hands out

but this CD storage unit went

From This...

dull, unused, unloved, uninteresting

 

TO THIS...

{*** trumpets sound, crowds cheer***}

   EXXCITING,

  REPURPOSED,  

   ENVIROMENTALLY FRIENDLY, 

  PRACTICAL

   AND A JOY TO LOOK AT !!!!   

 

:)

MY LATEST CREATIONS FOR SCRAPTIVATE ...

As you who follow my blog would know by now

I belong to the SCRAPTIVATE stores Design team .

For those of you new to my blog or the the paperart world

that means every month the lovely people from SCRAPTIVATE

in Western Australia

send me a parcel of wonderous products from their shop in return

I create some thing for them to display in the shop.

SWEET GIG EH?!!! LOL

But for me this adventure has ment so much more I have

made wonderful friends on the other side of the country who

support and encourage me as no one in my immediate world does

and for that, I want to take a minute now to say

Thankyou ... I am truly grateful!!!

Now....

LOL 

 on with the show...

This is a canvas I made featuring a tree from the new range of WOW chipboard

available now online or instore at SCRAPTIVATE.

PRODUCTS USED: 8 x 8 Canvas, printed cloth, Wow Chipboard tree,  Darkroom Door Steampunk stamp set,  German Scrap embossed paper border, INKS,  Stampington & co stamps La Blanche stamps  Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso and a couple of my MOST FAVOURITE RANGER PRODUCTS- Tim Holtz Distress stain ink dabbers and Adirondak acrylic paint dabbers. Along with those products I used some stamps out of my own stash.... Crafty Secrets art stamps, Stampington & Co stamps, cherrypie red rubber stamp,  Grant and Friskers acrylic stamps.

The WOW chipboard tree was put through an machine called a Cuttlebug

which  can be used to either cut or emboss patterns onto paper or chipboard.

In this case I used a tool called an embossing  folder  to press a wood grain patern into the tree.

The same devices and technique have been used to create the "readig boy"s frame.

Then layers of TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INKS were used to give the naked chipboard some colour.

Some Texture paste was coloured green and slopped onto the canvas where the tree was applied its branches pushed into the paste to give it depth and a more realistic appearence.

This was a little experimental canvas I did first to test out the stamping over gesso

This one features TWIDDLEYBITZ chipboard tree and

Darkroom Doors red rubber steampunk stamp.

I have embossed the German scrap border on the either end of this canvas.

 so this was a sample of the fabric that came with my kit. Iwas quite cavas like

and I could have turned it over but the print worked to inpire alot of the projects

in addition to the canvases I made two postcard size images highlighting the versitility of a La Blanche.

Not only do La Blanche stamps stamp a crisp neat image but here I have shown you can play

with the image you would like them to present

Stay tuned for a step by step post here on my blog in the near future.

Here a quick pic of the divine mess I made as I revelled in my husbands,

recent absence for work, and took over the lounge room.

Dont worry ...I laugh now but if Id have dropped the permident Stazon ink pad

on the "good" lounge I woulda been running for the hills or ...

****insert evil laugh here***

devising a story about a child having an "accident" LOL 

so theres a few wee projects almost finished on their way ATCs an art canvas and the worlds longest "under construction" art doll is finished I just need to finish her "housing" LOL

So thats it ...if you've wadded your way

to the bottom of this post

I would like to say ...

Thankyou to you too! LOL

Add a comment at the bottom of this post to let me know what you think ,

ask me a "how to" question if you have one

and / or share me on Facebook if you like!

:)

A NEW ADDICTION & AN ART DOLL FINISHED...

Sorry my poor dear neglected blog….

Well I have neglected the old bloggeroo partially due to arty action

and in part because of my new addiction…. Reading! LOL

Who knew at 38^7%257ISH one could fall in love with reading books again. I can honestly say since I stopped reading sweet valy high romance novels in my mid teens I have never found books of a non artful nature compelling….

It began about two months ago I think I may have mentioned the PERCY JACKSON series my 14 year old son Daniel got me hooked on … I thought it was just the greek mythology/modenday fantasy combination that had me because I have always LOVED Greek and Egyptian Mythlogy since the very first old classic movie they showed us at school…”Jason and the Argonauts” made in 1963

I have just finished reading the 5 th novel in the series I think there are more to come …I hope there are more to come there better be Mr Rick Riordan!!!

My sister is responsible for my latest spell of obsessive reading. She sent Daniel a book called “THE HUNGER GAMES” by Suzanne Collins which has many great reviews and high recommendation including praise from Stephen King. I resisted reading it even though Daniel kept thrusting it under my nose say “go onnn you know you want to! “ and I read the back cover where it described children put into an arena to fight for their lives in an almost post apocoliptic world which to me sounded down right depressing so passed on it a number of times should have stuck with that thought. LOL

Once I got into the first book I would say about 3 or 4 chapters in I was hooked . The descriptive nature of the writing, the emotional investment in the characters, the plot development , the possibility of good triumphing over evil… oh and lets not forget a good ol fashioned love triangle thrown in for good measure! I could barely put it down I read the first novel in about 4 days. Soon realising I was in trouble and would probably …die if I didn’t get my eyes into the next one post haste.

So when Daniel handed me the second novel yesterday at breakfast CATCHING FIRE I was excited thought it would make great bed time reading over the next week or so…. How wrong could I get I was totally suckered in from the first page and finish all 473 pages… by breakfast this morning!!!! (and still managed the family washing and to feed and water the children!) WOW what a great writer my eyes just gorged themselves on chapter after chapter… the twists and turns of fanstacy, romance and danger…. I have actually decided to not buy the last book until our next holidays where lolling about devouring novels is an accepted pass time …gee I hope I can wait that long!!! LOL

the final book in the series ...one to go!

well I will definately have to read the last book before....
THE MOVIE COMES OUT!!!!WOO HOO!!!THE HUNGER GAMES the movie trailer

ON THE CREATIVE FRONT....

 I have been playing along a bit with a Facebook group called Artistic Journey Dolls

organised by the lovely Linda Baldock .

It involves the making, showing, sharing and swaping art dolls of all matter and description with other like minded people from the USA and England.

The most recent theme was "The Animal In Me"

  I love this group because its so free each theme unless stated otherwise,

is completely open to your own interpretation.

Whatever medium you would like and 80+ woman participate.

So I originally started with a wild Motherhood creature. I creature who had mutated to be the perfect mother part mother part lioness, 8 arms and eye in the back of head the wisdom to see all and know all. Sounded great then made my interptation and though… hmmm she is ment to be a lioness to “guard her cubs” …hmmm I put a maine on her….hmmm lions have maines NOT Lioness’s ….oh DOH!!! You dick marcy! ( I really did say something similar to myself cept bluer! LOL)

The whole time I was making her she was speaking differently to me I couldn’t help thinking wood nymph probably because I was reading about a wood Nymph in my PERCY JACKSON novel . A Dryaid called Juniper and I just kept thinking about her . So as I looked at my theoyretical error with the lions maine I decide dang shes a wood nymph and I just didn’t know it! So I rip off some arms and add some twigs to her hair dress yer appropriately and look at her and that’s what she was all along! LOL How that animally enough! LOL Nymphs are known for their insights into nature and are quite prophetic in their role through mythology so the eye in the back of her head is fitting as she can see all clearly in her woods in all dirrections!

 

so she needs a name so I'll just call her “Juniper”

She is made from scratch and is mainly jointed with wire.

Shes created out of air dry paper clay, painted then covered in a synthetic fibre.

The idea being to create the look of a pelt type skin.

Her hair is made of wool, dolls hair and twigs from a halloween broom! LOL
Her  dress is chanel ....

ha ha just kidding its scrap leather I wet scrunched up

then let dry and wiped Tim Holtz distress Ink over to pick up the creases.

Shes presently on her way to England to live with KRISTEN BOLTON.

Be back soon with my

SCRAPTIVATE DESGN TEAM EXAMPLES

:)

WIN MEGA STUFF FROM A COOL U TUBER!!!

SMSCRAPPERs FABBO GIVEAWAY!!!!

OMG awesome scrapbooking you tube clips, where smscrapper 

shares techniques and projects as well as product information.

Very useful clips especially if you mojos gone-a- missin, youre just starting out or

you are looking for inspiration!

Thankyou SM SCRAPPER from MS scrapper!!!LOL

dont forget to checkout her blog as well...

SMSCRAPPERS BLOG

:)

TIMEY WIMEY CARDS

Welllll actually nothing to do with the DR at all

(timey wimey is a DRism!)

just missing my weekly dose of DR WHO... LOL

They're all about the

BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE

Collection!

I made these after finding myself inspired to make more cards

 by the gorgeous examples created for the

SIMPLY SCRAPTIVATING  CARD CHALLENGE

bought to you by the lovely Naomi Cox

click on the link above and come and play along...

go on dare you!

PRODUCTS USED:BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE, German Scrap, German glitter glass,

Tim Holtz Alterations SIZZIX BIGZ Die " Gadget Gears"Black

Dimentional magic and Jacquard Pearl Ex powder Gold,

Pearl Ex powder green- yellow on Bazzill basics A7 cards

 PRODUCTS USED:

BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE , Graphic 45 patterned papers,

Walnut ink Tinted Dimentional magic, Stampington Company Lynne Perrella stamp,

German scrap Embossed Borders Lattice Black, Embossed Paper Shrine Black on  Bazzill basics A7 cards

PRODUCTS USED:

La Blanche, GERMAN SCRAP

Embossed Borders Roman Tassels Black German Scrap Large Wings White Antique Medallions Black Embossed German Embellishment Sheet Black Scrapware chipboard Tattered Angels Glimmer mist Olive vine.     New colours of TATTERED ANGELS GLIMMER MIST just arrived at SCRAPTIVATE      Cadillac Pink,  Bahama Blue and anawesome christmasy deep red called Mels Dinner   checkout the TATTERED ANGELS BLOG for some awesome examples   heres on I particularly like that uses that Bahama Blue.... Jamie D's canvas   okay back to work... ahh not really back to scraps! LOL   :)

BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE = LOOOOVE!

As soon as I saw the BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE range I was in love!
Those gorgeous chicks at  Scraptivate sent me nearly the whole range and stamps and all I was ecstatic.

So much so I've spent a month and half just playin with a couple of sheets!!! LOL

Well kind due if I am honest to a bit of scrappin slum, school holiday laziness and oh and a little of that "sheshh to do I have to cut it!" 

So I hope you love Timepiece as much as me cause I am determined to use it all...

just one tantalizing bit at a time and have a number of things planned for it.

ANYWHO...

on with the show....

I cut this DIECUT sheet into three component parts. Outer circle I didn't mount, just inked. circle frame I mounted onto about two cms high onto three layers of cork tile. Finally the  inner circle , the paper with the numbers on it,  I mounted onto a single layer of cork tile. now inside that was the centre circle (you keepin up! ;) ) which I kept aside and mounted my photo on sticking it down as the first layer on to the bazill cardstock.

PRODUCTS USED:

BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE DIECUT, BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE TICK TOCK,  BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE MOMENTS, Bo Bunny Timepiece Numbers, Bo Bunny Timepiece Gears BO BUNNY TIMEPIECE STAMP SET, Bazzill cardstock, GERMAN SCRAP Embossed Baroque Border Black,  PRIMA centres, Satin fabric, TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS INK,  Rub N Buff

I painted the cork tile and added GERMAN SCRAP Embossed Baroque Border to the inner and outer cork circle. It is a glossy coated paper embellishment which loves painting, embossing or most especially a rub over of gold wax called Rub and Buff as I have done here.

 To boost the layering and hold up my clock images I used air dry paper clay

to get the height as seen bellow:

I have also been on a bit of a trip combing the Internet for different ways to make flowers I try to share what I find on SCRAPTIVATES NING COMMUNITY FORUM  the links for the tutorials to make more flowers are there. Here are the links for these flowers

Rhonna Farrer makes DIY flowers on "heidi swapp live!"

this has the most awesome flower techniques on it only one issue ....it takes 20 minutes

to get to and its a bit flowery and fluffy

(shhh I think Rhonna Farrar drank WAY TO MUCH coffee this day! )

but I think worth suffering alittle for your art! LOL

CLAIREs Paper Craft

PLEASE NOTE: my flowers are VERY loosely based on these cornflowers Claire has made.

At the bottom of her blog there are the most popular tutorial blog links are so there are probably more flowers to be learnt if you have the time to wander through the blog ...

This chick is AMAZING!!!! This is an awesome link to a very patient TALENTED paper quiller.

If you speak Koren her blogs probably an absolute no brainer. If your like me, a very yokel Australian and English is your only language  you will need some patience. There is a translator button that turns stuff into English but sadly somethings definitely lost in translation BUT the pictures are EASY to follow and there are probably alot more flowers to be learnt if you have the time to wander through her blog.

The flowers I looked at were DEFINITELY worth it.

The die cut I used to make the layout displayed here is for sale HERE at SCRAPTIVATE along with a wide range of the Bo Bunny papers including Add lib, Gabrielle, Gypsy, Vicki B and many more including the most adorable kids range called Blast off for the wee adventures in our life who like rockets ships and the like! They even have small 6x6 paper pads  in couple of the ranges so you can have a nice lil affordable taste of the whole enchilada!

I am currently elbow deep in another favourite paper brand at the moment.... CRATE PAPER! They make the greatest versatile papers I have camo, wood grain and playful vintage papers here atm but you can use them in so many ways!!!  SHHH secretly I think I love em at the moment because just between you and me they are a little sassafras lassy in their patterning! Yee gawds if a non scrapbooking person read that line they have no clue what I was talking about!!! LOL

I also have a staggering number of UFOs half done including two clay dolls, numerous layouts (***smacks forehead N blushes*** one I found dated back about 5years ago !!!) two art journals and a fortune telling machine. oh and a gift I just realise was started as a birthday present for someone last year and might make it to them for this birthday ... OMG so embarrassed its not like I work or have a social life so I have no excuses!!! ANYONE KNOW A CURE FOR GUNNADOITIS????? NO SERIOUSLY I am sick of getting the greatest ideas and being the slowest cab of the rank!!! Any one would think I was ADBLOODLYD oh why couldn't I have got the H factor I've seen how well that works for wannabee artists!!! shhh ...actually a lazy TVnBEJEWELLED addicted  perfectionist I think ...LMAO

Anyway ...shutting up now!

so much for my resolution not to make crackin long blog posts

cause I do suspect they are a turn off and no body ever reads to the bottom !!!

It felt good to have done a "proper"  DT write up though!!!LMAO

Till next time

:)