The Shabby Tea Room - week #190 Pumpkin Spice

Hi there and thanks for calling by.

This is my last week as guest designer for The Shabby Tea Room and I have to say it has been a very pleasant experience. A big thanks to Debbie for having me.

This is the inspiration for this week and your project is to contain pumkins and glitter.

So glitter I can do, pumkins not so easy. Tried all I could to find something suitable to no avail.  I decided to try and paper piece some together.  I used my oval spellbinders die and cut 5 of the same size and placed them behind each other (inking the edges first).  Begs the question "why buy something when you can make your own".  I think sometimes its the easy option.  Anyhow here is my card using the above photos as inspiration.

The Shabby Tea Room #189 Fall Florals

Hi and thanks for popping by. 

This week on The Shabby Tea Room the theme is Fall Florals.  Well at the moment you would be forgiven for believing that we were in autumn and not spring.  There is a real "nip" in the air and last night it got down to 4 degress (celcius), not your typical spring temperature.

Anyway this is the lovely photo for inspiration at the Tea room this week and your project is to include flowers.  Make sure you take a look at the DT projects this week as there are some very lovely lanterns the talented ladies have made.

I took the whites and greys from the picture and used the splash of autumn flowers to create a pop on this card.  The papers are some I had in my stash and I think they are from Kaisercraft. I die cut some swirls thinking of the vines the pumpkins are attached to and added a little seam binding ribbon tied with a piece of hessian string with a little stamped tag.  This is how I interpreted the photo.

The Shabby Tea Room Week #188 - Fall

Hi and thanks for popping by, this week at The Shabby Tea Room its a celebration of Fall or Autumn to others of us. This is my second week as guest designer and I had this spectacular image as inspiration.

Now this posed a slight problem as I needed to include pumpkins in the design.  I do not have a pumpkin stamp in my collection and could not find any paper, charms, brads etc etc with pumpkins.  So I decided short of downloading an image I would have to make some kind of pumpkin to fit the theme.  Out came the fimo and do you know how easy little pumpkins are to create? I have no idea why I was worried as they are pretty cute and as nice as anything I was ever going to buy. I think possibly I could have added a little bit of inking to them.  Next time!!

I'm going to pop this into

Make It Monday Always Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create Challenge # 41 Anything Goes

Sister Act Card Challenge #28 Anything goes



Shabby Tea Room October Challenge #187

I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised when the lovely Debbie from the Shabby Tea Room asked if I would be their guest designer for the month of October. What an incredible honour.  My feelings went from those of surprise to excitement to being very nervous.  Oh my goodness "these girls at the tea room are really good".  But I had said yes (duh! like I would have said no....) so I had a committment to fullfill, all those feelings had to be pushed to one side......I have some projects to create.

The inspiration for this week is the following sketch.

This is the card I came up with using a lovely Melissa Francis cutout that I had been saving for something special.  I really love the hues of aqua, they can be so peaceful and pretty. The background paper is from the Prima Devine collection.  I added some ribbon, lace a little rose and some cutout butterflies.  Behind is a paper doily and a little bit of bling.

Thanks for stopping by and if you feel inclined please join us at The Shabby Tea Room for another fun challenge.

Happy Hippo.....

Thanks for stopping by.  This is my last week as guest designer for Gerda at Gerda Steiner Designs.  I feel a bit sad actually as I have really enjoyed colouring and creating with Gerdas lovely digi stamps. Surely September can't be nearly gone already???  Gerda is a very lovely and talented lady.  Thank you Gerda for having me.

This stamp is called "just here to say Hi".  I have made this as a gift card holder as it is a friend of my daughters birthday and she just so happens to love hippos. This cute little character is coloured in pencils.  (still struggling with markers)  The patterned  paper is from Bazzill Basics Love Story collection.  I punched some hearts and added some bling to finish it off.

The outside of the card, isn't this little hippo just so cute!!

when the card is opened this gift card pops up.  Cool huh! 

 I am popping this into Make it Monday challenge #159 always anything goes and 613 avenue create also anything goes.

The white challenge

Today is a very grey ole day, nothing very white about it at all.  The wind is blowing everything about like crazy.  Its days like these at school that turn the children into these mad little versions of themselves.  It invigorates them beyond belief and turns them somewhat wild. Thankfully its saturday so no school today.

The challenge this week at The Shabby Tea Room is white or variations there of and twine.  This is the inspiration photo which I have to say is rather lovely, these look to me like knitted pumpkins.

 

Now pumpkins of the crafting type are not so readily available here, I suspect its because halloween is not really celebrated and it would seem that pumpkins are synonymous with halloween and also fall.  So I used handmade flowers instead. I found this pearl twine ( I think its twine, its cotton not plastic)  in my stash so added some loops of that also.

The girls at Southern Girls Challenge are hosting a monochromatic challenge so I am going to enter this there also.
Thanks for Stopping by.

Wish Upon a Star.....

This week as guest designer for Gerda at Gerda Steiner Designs I used her super cute digi stamp "Goodnight Moon".  I coloured the image and decided that I would decorate a little paper maiche (spelling not sure)  box.  I inked the edges and then covered the sides and lid with an October Afternnon paper.  The added some die cut stars and swirls. finished it off with some pearls and glitter which doesn't show up in the photo.  Wouldn't this make a cute little box for babies first curl or teeth that the tooth fairy collects.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to check out Gerda's website.

Entering into Make it Monday  @158 always anything goes
                    Southern Girls Challenge  Make Believe
                   

Giraffes...

This is my second week as guest designer for Gerda at Gerda Steiner Designs.  This week I used these super cute little giraffes.  They are two separate images that I then combined into one to make somehting that resembles a comic strip.  I just happened to have some Bo Bunny Giraffe paper hidden in my stash that was perfect for this.  Gerda's stamps are such a delight to colour and so very cute to work with.  Pop on over to her site and you will find a freebie of Tom the Turtle.   Create something with him and then enter in the september challenge to win digi stamps of your choice.

Thanks for stopping by.

Entering this into
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes
Make it Monday Anything Goes # 157
                         

Sweet Summertime

This week on the Shabby Tea Room the theme is sweet summertime, and yes summer is coming, all be it a little slowly.  As my friends in the Northern hemisphere are waving summer goodbye we look forward to welcoming it down here in the Southern Hemisphere.  Spring is definitely here as all the flowers are starting to bloom and there are little lambs bouncing around all the paddocks. The inspiration photo this week, yet again a stunner was this.

I took inspiration from the colours of the flowers and came up with this card soft pink with the addition of lavender. I cut a frame from a piece of paper to form the window in which one could look through to the flowers in the garden beyond.

Going Batty....

I was explaining to Gerda that down here in NZ Halloween is not really something that is widely celebrated.  We follow the English tradition of Guy Fawkes on the 5th November. Here's a little history lesson for you.

Way back in 1605 A gentleman by the name of Guy Fawkes and 16 of his co conspirators decided to blow up the houses of Parliament with King James 1 inside.  Fortunately he was found hiding amongst 36 kegs of gunpowder in the cellars the evening before.  Londoners celebrated the failed plot by lighting bonfires.The 5th of November was officially declared a day of thanksgiving and knowns as Bonfire night or Guy Fawkes day. 

We still have Guy Fawkes night and let of fireworks on the 5th November.  It is only possible to buy fireworks for the 2 days leading up to Guy Fawkes. Many communities now opt for making it a family evening out in a park with local performances leading into a big fireworks display.

All that being said Gerda from Gerda Steiner Designs whom I have the great priviledge of Guest Designing for this month sent me these adorable Halloween digi stamps.  Thinking "trick or treat" I decided to make a little box to fill with sweets decorated with the images with the addition of a little tag. Also decided to leave a white border around the images to make them stand out against the black. Thanks for stopping by.

Popping this into Make It Monday Challenge #156 who are celebrating their 3rd birthday this week.

Introducing Tom...

Now Tom...the turtle that is....is the September freebie from Gerda at Gerda Steiner Designs.  You can download him from the link I just posted. Turn him into a project and enter it in the monthly challenge and be in to win images from Gerda's array of cute and whimsical digital stamps.

I am doubly excited as Gerda has also invited me to be a guest designer for September.  This is a first for me and I can't wait to share what I create with her wonderful images.  Yay for me!!!!  I can't believe my luck. So with that said here is a little step card I have made using Gerda's very cute Tom the Turtle. (The sun, cloud and butterfly are all part of the set).  I have coloured him in a mix of pencil and markers.

Time for Tea

I love a nice cup of tea. Good old English Breakfast with milk.  I do enjoy a nice Chai Latte and the odd herbal as well.  I usually start and finish the day with a nice hot cuppa.  This week at The Shabby Tea Room its a "Tea Party Picnic" Theme inspired by this picture.

The image I used is a LOTV image of 2 little girls having a tea party,  I pieced together the background paper to make it look like it was a border all the way around and cleverly covered the seams. I made some diecut flowers and softened the circle by adding lace.  This is the finished card.

Popping into these challenges
The Shabby Tearoom  - #181 Tea Party Picnic
The Paper Shelter - # 126 Lace & Pearls
613 Avenue Create  #34 Anything Goes

                      

Happy Wednesday!!

Its wednesday already, I have a few moments before the kids get in from school so thought I would pop in for a quick review on Swan Lake the Ballet and share a little card.

The Royal NZ Ballet Company are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year.  The company was formed in 1953 by Danish Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Poul Gnatt.  He had come to NZ and realised the need for the addition of ballet into the NZ culture. The performance of Swan Lake was outstanding. The costuming and portrayal of the story was just beautiful, especially when the ladies were in white tutu's symbolising swans - just gorgeaous.  We loved every minute of it.

It was held in the Civic Theatre in downtown Auckland which is the most beautiful theatre.  It was first opened in 1929.  In the late 1990's they decided that it would be torn down due to needing major renovations.  Aucklanders opposed such a terrible decision and in 2000 it was reopened after extensive renovations.  I cannot relay what a great decision is was as for us to have lost such a gem would be unthinkable.  Inside it is built to make you think you are outside in an ampitheatre, the roof sparkles like the night sky.  It is a remarkably beauitiful theatre and just perfect for the ballet.

I also have a little card to share.  This is an image from GerdaSteiner.  If you haven't you should take a look as on the 1st September she will post a new image for you to download free to create something to enter in her new challenge. Her images are very cute and a delight to colour, this is a combo of pencil and markers, I find actually they work really well together.

Off he goes into theses challenges

Southern Girls Challenge - Warm Fuzzies

Make it Monday - Always Anything Goes

Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C200 Animals



Material Girl

This week has been a very wet week, last night the thunder rumbled overhead much of the night.  They are saying this is perfect tornado weather.  I am not so sure that perfect and tornado should actually be in the same sentence. 

Today I am off to the Royal NZ Ballets production of Swan Lake with my daughter.  We have not seen Swan Lake before so I am really looking forward to it.  Going to the ballet is such a girly treat and such a nice thing to do together.  My favourite is still Cinderella which we saw performed by the Russian Ballet Company but all the others come a close second.

So using the inspiration photo supplied by the Shabby Tea Room and thinking of the ballet I created this card.  The criteria was fabric and flowers.  I have a handmade flower as the centre piece and used some lace to drape in the background along with some roses and pearls, all those graceful girly things we love. The light is pretty awful today so apologies for the shadowing in the photo.

Time to get the garden ready.

Yes indeed it is time to be preparing the vegetable garden for planting.  I had thought to make a start this weekend but the weather is not co-operating.  Last year we were a bit late getting it planted so our harvest was not the best.  Once the patch is dug over and prepared and planted Nick takes it over.  He will water and weed (usually we weed together) and then he will harvest.  He gets so much pleasere out of picking the vegetables we will have for dinner and the lettuces for the sandwiches.  And of course nothing beats fresh from the garden.

To get me even further motivated The Shabby Tea Room offered this image to use as inspiration this week, in addition you had to use text.

  Here is the card I came up with in reply to this challenge.  I found the image online.  Seed packets really were little works of art in days gone by.  Its a little harder to know exactly what vegetable these seeds would produce but the images were just wonderful.

Bloglovin

Just doing a little maintenance here.  Bloglovin tells me that to claim this as my blog I need to post this<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/7525621/?claim=x9xtnqtsf4s">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> so thats exactly what I am doing.

Feathered Friends

I really love birds, birds of all kinds but most especially owls.  They are the most amazing creatures and if at any time asked "whats my favourite animal"?  Owls are always the answer.  Having said that I could never own a bird in a cage, to me they should always be free to fly.When I think of lazy summer days I think of the sound of the waves against the shore and chatter of the birds. So when I looked at the image supplied by The Shabby Tea Room as this weeks inspiration I immediately thought of sitting in one of these chairs with the windows open listening to the birds in the trees.

So with that in mind I created this card and as something should have it, luck maybe, when I changed the pillowslip on my pillow out flew all these little feathers, yes indeed I have a little hole in my pillow. So being the good crafter that I am I collected them up to use.

Otto the Octopus

I have discovered a new digital stamp designer by the name of Gerda Steiner.  Her stamps are very cute and whimsical.  Gerda has just started a challenge blog and she offers a freebie for you to create and enter with. You should pop on over and take a look. The August image is this adorable little Octopus called Otto. He was really fun and easy to colour.  I cut him and his little bubbles out and mounted him on this fishy paper I had a scrap of, I think it is from Jillibean Soup.

Here's a little closeup of Otto

This is another image from Gerda that I turned into a quick card using the Happy Mail sentiment from Tiddly Inks, Quick and easy yet oh so cute.Who wouldn't like to get mail from this little sweetie?

Make sure you visit Gerdas etsy store as well as her blog, You won't be dissappointed if you like cute little images with a touch of whimsy.

I am also entering Otto into the Southern Girls Challenge something starting with F (F for Fish)
Make It Monday Always Anything Goes.

Shades of White

I have never really had much call to make baby cards so when The Shabby Tea Room challenge called for a baby card I thought now thats something I don't make every day.  I have this cute litte onesie die that I have never used before so I decided to somehow incorporate it to make the card subtle "baby". This photo is the one you were given for inspiration. 

This is what I came up with for my card.  I guess you call this monochromatic, in shades of white.

  

I have also entered this into Eclectic Ellapu  challenge Anything Goes

Tiddly Inks Challenge #114 - Summer TREATS! YUM

Well I do know summer won't be far away and whilst we have have some cold days winter generally has been pretty mild.  The blue bells and daffodils are showing their shoots so spring is just around the corner.
Tiddly Inks challenge this week is summer treats so I have made this little card using Fairy Wryn and one of her sentiments. The ice-cream is a little freebee from "Janes Doodles".  Coloured in pencils as although the afore mentioned markers have arrived the fact that I have reverted back to my pencils should be a clue as to how successful that purchase was.!!!!! Suffice to say "you get what you pay for". I am not sure what the people used that reviewed them but in no way do they come close to Copics or Promarkers.  All is not lost though as I am sure the kids will enjoy them.

Animal Antics...

The sun is shining on this cool winters morning.  Its the last day of the school holidays.....tut sigh....I love the holidays but not all bad as in 9 weeks time we shall be having holidays all over again.  I wonder how we ever managed with only 3 terms when I was at school.

Yep times have changed as the kids will be off to college next year armed with a Think Pad (new word for a lap top??) in their back packs.  Going are the days of exercise books and text books.  This is the first year for the college my kids will attend that a device will be part of the stationery requirements.  The kids are excited thats for sure. My reaction was more like yikes!!! "I have to buy two".

Anyway Southern Girls Challenge this time around has the theme "Animal Antics".  I have made this little card using a House Mouse image.  The papers are from Bazzill Basics, I fussy cut the diamonds to cover the paper join. I really like the colour combination of grey and red its very clean yet quite striking.
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Colour Throwdown #252

Have you heard of Color Throwdown?

I hadn't till recently, if you want to take a look you'll find them HERE.  They host a weekly challenge where you need to create a card using primarily the colours they post for that week. Its really interesting to see how everyone interprets the colours. 

This week the colours are Coastal Cabana, Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush and Rich Razzleberry.  Well as it happens I have none of those colours, although they all sound like names of smoothies to me, yummy ones I would like to try.. I wonder who has the job of coming up with such lavish names for hues of pink, blue and yellow.  Fascinating huh! Anyway I used what I thought came close to create this little card. The floral paper is from October Afternoon and to finish it off I added a cute Tiddly Inks image from the Wryn collection.

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I notice from a little counter thingy where you write a post that I am getting way more views than I have followers so please don't be shy I would love to grow my little list of followers, my link button is at the bottom of the page,  just in case you are looking for it.

Tiddly Inks

Tiddly Inks are having a DT call with a difference.

Usually Tiddly Inks hand pick their Design Team but for the first time they have decided to open it up to give everyone a chance.  Now ordinarily I am intimidated by DT calls but I really like the way Tiddly Inks are running this as you can see all the entrants blogs and their creations, somehow it makes it way less scary.

All you need do is create a special card using one of the wonderful  images from Tiddly Inks and post a link via their linky.  The hardest thing is chosing an image to work with.  My favourites have to be the super cute Wryn and Annabelle & Faythe Colllections. If you haven;t already you really must pop over and check them out and if you hurry you can get 25% discount. 

For my card I have used the sweet little digi Image Bugs N Kisses which is coloured in pencil as I eagerly await my markers to arrive (as mentioned in a previous post).

Wish me luck!!! This would be a first for me and I would love to be on the Tiddly Inks Design Team and create with the wonderful Tiddly Inks people and these gorgeous images.

Fingers and toes crossed.

xo

Karen

A Summer Breeze on Monday

I know that is just what a lot of my northern hemisphere friends are wishing for, A summer breeze on Monday..  Down under it is grey and dreary, its not raining though so that is good.

I just heard the royal baby is born, a little boy, how wonderful.  Imagine having the eyes of the world upon you from the minute you are born.  I do think that William and Catherine will do their utmost to give this little fellow as close to normal a life as is possible.  Despite being royals they seem very level headed, I hope the press give them some space.

Back to the summer breeze on Moonday.  "The Shabby Tea  Room" challenge for this week is cream/aqua and pale pink with lace and flowers.  "Make it Monday" is a chance to showcase your creations.  So I am entering this card into both challenges.

Something Shabby

I just made this little gem using the sister image to the one I posted earlier (Sherri Baldy).  Different style completely. Oh so cute and oh so shabby, the look I like the best but one I seem to have misplaced for a while.  It felt good to create in pinks and with lace and pearls and flowers and to just keep adding little extras. I do believe the over embelishment fever is back.....yay!!!  The Shabby Tearoom Challenge this time round is "Romantic" I think this qualifies.

No Spoolin and Foolin with Markers

Yesterday we sat and watched the Hunger Games.  I have to say it was not what I expected at all, I kind of knew a little of what it was about but I didn't realise it was so literally a game.  I did enjoy it and a friend has lent me the book so it will be interesting to see how they align.  I can also fill in the little bits I missed whilst checking on the dinner cooking.

I have been practicing using the Promarkers that I was sent by a friend.  I actually really enjoy colouring images and for some time now have yearned for Copics but they are so darned expensive to buy here (Ciao's $9). I have found an Art store that sells Promarkers but only in sets and each one comes with a blender and not really the colours I want and again a little costly.  I know Kaisercraft are about to launch a marker, they will retail around the $6-7 mark, cheaper than copics but about the same price point as Promarkers and Specturm. Thats still $60 for only 10 pens.  So I decided to do some surfing and discovered Shinhan Touch Three Markers.  I have never heard of these before but the reviews are very positve they seem to come up well as a Copic Alternative and wait for it......60 pens for $75 with free delivery, choose your own colours.  Worth a try right...yep I think so....I will let you know the verdict.  

Over on Southern Girls Challenge the theme for this fortnight is nothing on a spool.  So no ribbon, no twine, no trim, no anyhing that comes on a spool.  Not so easy as it sounds as ribbon, twine and lace are those go to items that you always use, well I do anyway. My card for this challenge uses an image from Sherri Baldy Designs. She is coloured in Promarkers except for the skin which is Copics (the only ones I have) and her hair in pencil (haha no brown markers....yet).

Colour or Color......

I don't know if you have noticed that the English way to spell colour is "Colour" and the American way is "Color".  I always have this urge to correct it when I see it as color and even spell check on word wants to change it for me to color.  Seems it is the same with honour, harbour, neighbour and labour.  One of those funny little idiosyncrasies of the english language.

Anyway talking of colour heres a little card I have made using the colours as chosen for the Color Throwdown Challenge.  They are not the exact colours but pretty close.  I was inspired by the idea of beach balls. I haven't participated in a challenge for quite a while and this is the first time at the Color Throwdown and it just so happens that it is their 5th Anniversary Celebration. http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.co.nz/

Revamp Complete

I came to take a look at my little blog this morning and thought hmmmmmm...not great.  It was dull and boring and desparately lacking.  Is it any wonder I find it difficult to visit myself let alone anyone else.  So here it is in its new form, bright and cheerful and lovely to visit.  I have removed some things and added a pinterest key so you can follow me over there and see what inspires me.  That and all the "other" stuff is now at the bottom of the blog.  Its taken several hours I have to say but I am pleased with the result.

Anyway I found this whilst I was taking a break from blog revamping and thought I would share it.

You know the plastic animals all kids love to play with, well this is a fantastic use for them when they have outgrown them.  (I currently have a supermarket bag full sitting in my garage).  You simply cut them in half spray them with paint and mount them to a frame.  I think this is very clever and very effective.

Looking for a reason

Its been a little while, actually longer than I realised before I popped into blog land and made a post.  I think I need a reason to post more regularly.  Its not that I don't have things to share or a point of view on many subjects, just not a specific reason to blog about them.  I may have to try and change that and come up with a reason to share more often.

I am looking out my window as the day comes to an end the leaves are yellow and hang limply on the trees.  The watery winter sun is nearly gone for the day and the air is very chill yet also very still.  We could be in for a frost in the morning, it just has that feel about it.

These are a couple of recent little projects I have made.  The first is a card with a tea theme I made for a swap I actually used an empty tea bag wrapper on this.  I like the bold colours and the simplicity of this one.  If you lift the lid you can pop a tea bag inside.

I have also been playing around with altering things that are just laying around the house looking for a use. This is a frame that I distressed and decorated. A great way to turn an old frame into something more useable and to make something old new again.

 

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The Humble Paperclip

Actually not true...the paperclip is not so humble after all and is a very useful peice of stationery that I suspect most of us have a wee stash of.

Here is some useless information you can share at your next dinner party....The first patent for a bent wire paperclip was awarded to a certain American gentleman by the name of Mr Samual B. Fay in 1867.  Originally intended to attach tickets to fabric,  it was also recognised that the paperclip could be used to attach sheets of paper together.

These are slightly bigger than your bog standard paperclip about 2 inches at a guess. Really fun to make and still functional.



A Red theme going on here, the wooden bird is embossed and the others are made from paper.





A spring theme in this set, a fabrc yo-yo flower, the butterfly is covered in paper and then
a coat of dimensional magic applied, my favourite is the sheep made using a variety
 of pieces from a couple of punches.

 I wonder what Mr Samuel B. Fay would make of these paper clips, bet they would still attach a ticket to some fabric though.


Bye for now.

The fear of responsibility

Well on Friday both children came home with invitations to try out to become School Councillors, not sure what you call them elsewhere but in other words student leaders.  By Sunday the thrill has worn off and the fear of responsibility has set in.

The doubt of not knowing what is expected, how much time will be spent out of class, having to speak at assembly in front of their peers. Do they in fact even want this honor.  As a parent of course I am thrilled and yes of course they should be councillors, how good is that for the future.  I often say be a leader not a follower, but I have to also admire the foresight of not wanting to spend time away from learning in the class.  Both want to earn places in the advanced classes at College which means a head down bumb up year this year.  They also don't want to let the Principal down by saying no.

 I am so very proud of the grown up way they are approaching this dilemma, how they are reflecting on the situation and trying to come up with a solution. Today being Monday they are going to talk to their teacher and ask him just how much time they will spend out of class and what the expectations will be.  Researching to make an informed decision.

This is such a great test for their young minds and a sign of their character. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out, but either way lessons are being learnt and I am very proud.