Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Competition Cards!!!






These are cards I have done in 2012 for a competition for the magazine called "Simply Cards"(publishers are http://www.practicalpublishing.com.au/) . 
It is an Australian magazine which comes out monthly that my husband paid for a subscription for me 12 months ago as a gift. They have an annual "Cardmaker of the Year" compitition which I decided to have a go in. So far nobody knows who the winners are & from communications with the publishing site, I have been told it will be announced in the March edition of "Simply Cards". So fingers are crossed & have been for some time...lol (starting to get cramping in my fingers) to see who gets to cheer first. I was told that the compitition was very, very hard for the judges to pick as the cards that were sent in were all of a very high standard.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT EACH CARD
The Fairy with Lovebirds
The stamp for the fairy & birds were from one of the "Simply Cards" issues where each month you get a small gift with your magazine. I used Stickles for the glitter effect & the wing was stamped on a laminating sheet & then run through the laminator so as to give the look of veins on clear wings. The sentiment came with the set of stamps as well. The paper was from a pack of 6x6 papers I had.
The Kookaburra
This one I loved from the time I finished it... It has become the favourite around our home. I used a Kaszazz stamp of a kookaburra & stamped & coloured it a few times, then fussy, fussy cut pieces of it to make it more 3D. I brayered the background myself & found a tree twig in my garden that looked the right size & shape I was looking for. Glued the kookaburra to branch which then went on the brayered background, glued that then on black cardstock & finally mounted it onto Mustard colour cardstock.
Bunting Baby
Wow.... this one took the most time to complete!!! As you can see, most of it was hand built from other articles... the fence was made from toothpicks, the ball was a disc of flat plywood, teddy & butterfly were two things that came made... I just painted him. The grass was made with multi-bladed scissors (like the ones you can use to cut up herbs), I made the bunting from scraps of paper added twine, used two bamboo skewers (new of course) from my kitchen, a scallop & a circle punch for the clouds & sun, Oh & a couple of tiny trinkets in the shape of safety pins added to the "poles".

If you would like more details on any of these cards, please let me know here & we can organise it.
I hope you like these creations, they were totally designed & thought up by me.

2013 Stampin Good Time & What I've Been Doing....

    Yep, 2013 has already showed us all it's weather in approximately 6 weeks!! I can't believe we have had Summer, Winter, Spring & Autumn in this short time, but yes we have... At least in Australia..lol
Summer.... Wow!!! over 45 degrees celcius (we actually had 48 one day!!!!).... Then the other extreme... Flooding rains & even snow in some parts of this land we call home.... Spring you ask? well before the heatwaves the gardens were looking very pretty & the grass was green, birds chirping away to each other in the flowering & fruiting trees.... Autumn? well after those hot days everything in my garden looked rather brown in parts, so yes it had some autumn colours...lol
     Now we are getting tropical too!! Having the warm to hot humid days, then a thunder storm or two in the afternoon or night... this part reminds me of my trip (many, many years ago) to Western Samoa, the weather was just like this.... beautiful during the day & then "BANG" a thunderstorm.
    So with the weather report done with, let's get onto what I have been doing lately (apart from trying to get over the flu). Craft!!!! Of course..... Well, for starters my oldest daughter Amanda has decided that she wants to take up sewing... YAY!!!!!!!!! It's only taken her until 27yrs after her birth for her to actually be interested in sewing & wants to make things for her kids & also for around the house. We have done a couple of lessons but the WILL be more!!! So this is getting me motivated to do some sewing... lol... Yep, I get to do some "taking in" of clothes for my middle daughter Jessica. After all this time I have been making her clothes (not all of them) as she is a very large girl... BUT!!!! Now she is losing weight as she is heading off to get 2/3's of her stomach removed in April, so has been on a special diet to start getting her used to what she will & won't be able to eat after the surgery. The whole family are SO proud of her as in the past 3 months she has lost a total of 20kg!!!! Go Jess.... Yes, she is the one that makes all those beautiful cards we see on her blog & facebook....      Which now brings me to Card Making! Ok, I have been a lazy girl & not put up any of my cards I have been making, but hopefully this will change (crossing fingers..lol). After my epic story I seem to be creating here I will get to the uploading of my cards & other things I've been creating... Oh yeah, That is my word for 2013... to "CREATE".
    Now I know this isn't weather or craft related but I have mentioned 2 of my 3 girls & I know what will happen if I don't mention ALL of them, so here goes.... Rebecca my youngest decided to move to South Australia last year to be with her boyfriend & other friends she had made over there. She also got into the Uni over ther so she can continue her studies, in a way she is art minded too. She is doing Graphic Design.... Bachelor of. She loves computers & drawing so combined the two. Yes I miss her, but with mobile phones, Skype, etc. it helps & we hear from her regularly.
    There is one more girl I call a daughter, as she stayed with us for 10 months, years ago now but we keep in contact & we even when to her wedding... in Japan. She is my Japanese daughter I call her, & she calls us her Aussie Mum & Dad. I have to mention her too!!! She became pregnant last year after miscarriages & now she is approx. half way through so this bub is a keeper!!! When she told me & was so excited for her & I kept my fingers crossed that this one was going to make it.
    Ok, now I'm going to put this post up & go & make myself a cup of coffee so I can get ready to add all these pictures I have promised.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Ribbon, Ribbon, Ribbon!!!




         Yes, I know I have a lot of things in my craftroom, but now with the help of my dear husband (Pete) I came up with the idea of a ribbon frame using bits & pieces of stuff I had around the place. The timber were bits left from dismantling something pete had stored away (for that rainy day), the "sticks" I used were from inside a babies entertainment mat that had a cross-over of 2 long fabric covered lengths, which I cut the end off & found the plastic solid rods inside (they are a bit flexable). I got to them with a strong knife & cut them in half. Pete then got given the measurements for the holes to be drilled so I could have room for the large reels that I just got from Kaszazz. He made the frame up & now it sits proudly in place on top of my desk ready for whatever I am in the mood in creating.
          I often come up with ideas for things, whether they be funtional or decorative & now between my husband & myself we are starting to make these little ideas happen.
Take care for now, I hope you all have a great New Year.
Reggie
xxxooo

Monday, December 10, 2012

Christmas Stockings

     I just finished making these Christmas Stockings for my 2 grand children. I found some "pre-quilted typ red fabric (enough to make these two with a little left) from the op-shop a while back & also got the white cotton fabric from one of those op-shops too..... Love those op-shops!!!!! Anyway, the mum of these two kids wanted me to make one for each of the kids as I had made small ones for her & her 2 sisters when they were little. I used my computerised embroidery machine for the lettering (the font came with the machines program). Peter (my husband) made the choice to what font to use.... I think it has come out looking good... Thanks Pete. The MOST fun part..... Oh that would have to be trying to stuff the toe area with wadding!!! Not really a fun job when your hands aren't real good.
     Anyway, all turned out fine & at least got done for Christmas.
Oh & by the way, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas & New Year.
I have a feeling I will be making one of these to be sent over to Japan for next Christmas.... All fingers, legs & toes crossed. XXXXXX


Friday, November 30, 2012

Kaszazz Christmas Tag

Hi All,
Sorry I haven't been around for quite some time... I think we all get into that mode where we have SO many different things going on at the same time, we seem to get lost in it.
Anyway..... This is one of my Kaszazz featured pieces I have just made up (due to it being for a challenge & it has to be submitted today..lol). Yep, I finally got around to doing a challenge from "The Stamp Spot" blog. This month.. all be it over, was to create a tag of some kind & to have something that "The Stamp Spot" sells in their shop. I decided to use the washi tape (music notes). All except for the bells & a bauble I attached under the music are products from "Kaszazz" & "The Stamp Spot".
Kaszazz is featured as I have recently become a consultant for them.
I hope you enjoy my tag, if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate in asking or emailing me.
Have a great day... It is very hot here, so indoors is the place to be....... Crafting of course!!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Stampin' Up! "Faith in Nature" is great for the neutrals

This card is made with Sahara Sand Cardstock, using StazOn Black, background colours are Soft Suede & Old Olive, the pear & leaf were using Wild Wasabi, Old Olive, River Rock & a retired colour Cream Caramel. Using all four I have blended them to create a real looking pear, after cutting some shapes I had purchased elsewhere, I dappled around the edges with the Soft Suede & Old Olive. I used some twine I had & attached it to the card... tied it in a knot, then used a brad from the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration, 2012 book (which ends on the last day of March, 2012). Oh yeah, not that it really shows very well but the pear & it's leaf have been popped.
I an putting this into a challenge at The Stamp Spot, which is an Australian run Site. Click on the address to take you there.....
 http://thestampspot.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/new-look-monthly-challenges.html
Thank you for looking & take care,
Reggie

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Simply Adorned by Stampin' Up!

Just a quick note via Stampin' Up!
I thought those that loved these stamps, etc. would like to know this. If you want any of these from the book, please let me know before the end of March, 2012.

From Stampin' Up! site....

Simply Adorned

6 March 2012 We often carry over products from our mini catalogues into the following Idea Book & Catalogue. This time, however, we have decided not to carry over the Simply Adorned product line currently available in the Summer Mini Catalogue. This product line will be discontinued as of 31 March, 2012 and will not be carried over into future catalogues. Be sure to purchase your Simply Adorned accessories while they are still available!