Card and a half sketch...

I made this cute little card for a gorgeous friend of mine who's been helping us out a lot lately.

I based this card on one of the gorgeous sketches from Card and a Half, and am loving the muted tones in these OA papers and the simplicity. I would've added a bow, but the style didn't really suit.

My bad

I've been so busy with life, that my poor little blog has been badly neglected yet again.

Lots has been happening of late, but something kinda scrappy and something cute coming up. A card for my gorgeous niece's 1st Birthday and Christening, and a cute photo of her at her little lady bug party.

Dedicated to Helen & the boys

This card was going to be for the Sketch Challenge over at Card and a Half, however I didn't get it finished in time. Then came some terrible news from the owner of the blog (a gorgeous friend), so I have dedicated it to her family xx

Forever Friends card

This card is for a friend who hasn't been well. I got the gorgeous Forever friends stamps with a magazine my MIL gave me. I hand cut the window so you could see him from the front, because he was too cute to hide!

Tooth Pillows

I've had my eye on this cute tooth pillow pattern from mmmcrafts for about 6 months, and since Aiden's first loose tooth was getting wigglier by the day, I thought I'd better hurry up! I ended up making it just in time, and also made one for his little girl friend's birthday as well. I used the basic pattern and dressed them up pretty similar to the examples, so I didn't have too much guess work.

Erin suggested we make the wings out of pink tulle (which turned out awesome), and she also chose the sequin ribbon for the ballet shoes. Lucky we have some left to make one for her soon!

Aren't they adorable!

Thanks to Larissa from mmmcrafts for sharing her awesome pattern for free! Make sure you check out the rest of her cute little sewing patterns in her etsy shop.

And here is toothless Aiden with his tooth officer waiting for the tooth fairy. He was so excited, and even more so because he helped me make this gorgeous little officer.

It's that time of year!

It's that time of year when everyone seems to be having babies! My niece just had a beautiful little girl, giving me an excuse to create a cute little girly card using these gorgeous Echo Park papers. I've also just heard through the grapevine that my cousin has just had a little boy, so off to the craft table again! xx

Jack's card

I had heaps of fun making this card for the arrival of a friend's little boy. Welcome to this world Jack! He's such a little cutie, even though he never woke the whole time we were there. Hope he doesn't wake his Mummy up too much tonight! You have one gorgeous little man there, Fiona!

Card Sketch Challenge

Another challenge over at A Card and a Half was to make a card using Helen's sketch. I used the sketch as inspiration for this card I made for our friends' gorgeous little girl, Emily. I love how it turned out, although it doesn't look much like the sketch now! LOL! Honest to goodness, I did start with the sketch! I used the girls paperie 'kitch' range, which is super cute!

A Card and a Half challenge

My gorgeous friend Helen has started a little card challenge blog - A Card and a Half. Her latest challenge was to make a male card using embossing and punches.

I chose to use the Spotted Owl Soup range from Jillibean Soup to make this card for a friend. I've kept it really simple and embossed stars on the spotty paper in the background, which I then sanded to reveal the pattern, and have punched the paper around the little owl.

7 years on the 7th!

I couldn't resist making a cute little card for hubby for our Anniversary on Monday.

I've entered it at the Show us your stuff blog for their February Challenge to make something with a handmade heart. I hand cut the heart shape as the base and then added some string and a cool flower I just made up in the moment! Love how it opens to a full heart. Even hubby noticed.

Family Time // Digi Scrapping

There's no time like the present, and I didn't feel like sitting at my scrap desk tonight, so I thought I'd have a play with the free Sweethearts digi kit I downloaded from ScrapOrchard by the awesome SuzieQScraps. I got a Christmas layout done too! Now I just have to work out the cheapest way to print these digi layouts.

A little sew-a-thon

After I made Erin's dress last week, I wondered how hard it would be to whip a smaller version up for Erin's Baby doll? I cut a few corners by not using bias binding for the armholes, and just sewed a small hem and was surprised at how quick it all came together.

The pillowcase is another from a thrift shop and came complete with the lace border and embroidery. I just had to re-hem it. I had a bit of leftover fabric, so created this cute little headband to match.

Last year a dear friend asked me to make a car roll for her eldest son, as I'd made her youngest one for his Birthday. I modelled it on one I'd bought at Handmade Heaven a few years ago for Aiden. I found a little iron-on letter motif to dress it up a bit. Hope you like it PJ!

And while I was at the sewing desk, I made one for Erin's Polly Pocket cars, using some gorgeous girly fabric I purchased from Bubbamia Fabrics yonks ago. Was so good to get these little projects finished, as they've been sitting on my desk for about 3 months. 

Thanks for visiting. xx

Giving and taking

While stopping at our local thrift shop earlier this week to deliver a load of goodies of my own, I picked up these gorgeous vintage pillowcases for $2. Bargain! (I'm so like Dad)

My mind started ticking over and although I have a half finished pillowcase dress for Erin sitting on my desk, I thought I'd have a go making one out of an actual pillowcase (in case I stuffed up). I was pretty impressed with the result. It even fit! Leone, you will be proud, I even made some cute little yoyo flowers to match.

There's nothing quite like the feeling of seeing something come to life that you've made with your own two hands.

The floods

This week has been most difficult to endure. The floods around Queensland and throughout Australia have brought so many horrific scenes to mind.  Etched into our memories forever, much like the floods of '74, this week will be part of our country's history forever. Whether directly affected by the floods, helping or onlooking, I don't think anyone could be prepared for such a tragic start to 2011!

While we are thankful that our little plot of land and belongings were not tossed into the giant bathtub that is the Brisbane River, there are so so many who aren't so lucky and will have to start their lives from scratch.

Sleeplessness has been my friend, as the scenes repeat over and over in my head, from those who have lost everything they own to those who have lost friends and loved ones.

A special birthday

I can hardly believe Dad is turning 60 in a little over a week! He certainly doesn't act or look his age, and I can only hope I look as good at 60. We're organising a special little do up at Tamborine Mountain at the Polish Restaurant for lunch with the family and a special gift. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but we're sure he'll love it!

I put together this card and little voucher pocket (recipe from a Christmas Card magazine). I used a super old plastic credit card star as the template for the stars, some old star brads and the papers are all from my off-cuts basket. Feeling great about using up some old stuff.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bring it on!

I hope you've had a super start to 2011!  I'm positive this year is going to be 100% on the last. Almost everyone I know says they're happy to see the end of 2010! I say, ditto! Good riddens and bring on 2011!

I've vowed this year to make less impact on the environment, aiming to reduce our household waste and reuse as much as we can. It only makes sense that my scrapping goal this year is to use something recycled on my layouts, whether it be fabric offcuts, packaging or something that would normally be thrown in the garbage.

I'm also going to use as much of my old stash as I can before buying new stuff, as tempting as it is.  I think that's going to be the hardest part for me :)

To start the year off on the right foot, I'd like to thank White with 1 and their January challenge.

Here's my take on "white + navy/royal blue + a banner".
I used some old demin offcuts to make the banner and dug a heap of old blue stuff out of my stash. I even managed to use the negative from the threading water punch. Can you pick it?

May your year be full of blessings - here's to 2011!

Inspiration

I've been exploring and found some cool blog challenges - Kraft it up and White with 1. Far out, it's been way too long since I scrapped! Can't wait to get stuck into these. I miss my gorgeous scrappy friends. Definitely need another scrappy session together soon! xx