It's my Birthday... and a Winner!!!!

So with out further ado..... the winner is

BARB

 Congratulations.... I will be in contact to confirm I have your address.... and a huge thanks to all of you who left me such lovely comments... I wish I could sent you all something....

And yes today is my birthday... 53 years young!!!! and loving every minute of it.  Having a lovely day - read all the lovely comments on Flickr Hero Arts group.... thanks everyone.  Did have to do a fasting blood test this morning.... upside of which was a lovely fresh fruit salad and a hot chocolate on the way to work....Got a lovely card from Hubby  ( one I had made myself and which he found in my work space!!!!) as well as some delightful cards from my stamping friends here in Auckland and a really special one made by my Mum and Dad

Isn't that just so special.  I am so looking forward to catching up and spending the weekend with them.  They are kindly picking us up at Brisbane airport and coming with us to Mooloolaba for the Friday to Tues...and then dropping us back at the airport on Tues evening.  

I've been working on some cards but no time to show them yet....the weather here has been atrocious.. lots of rain today.  

Take care everyone... and many thanks again for all the wonderful people who follow me and leave such nice comments.

One of those days....

when my Mojo was on a break..... Yesterday was stamping group at Stamp'n'create.  Usually I have a great day - but for some reason ( maybe was too tired after the trip south) I struggled to get motivated or inspired.  Even seeing all the lovely things the others were doing didn't really get me moving...  Still I did manage 4 cards for the day....
I started by using some of the watercolour backgrounds I had made using Joy's technique - basically copied a card I had already done but this time in blue rather than purple.

Next I decided to try making some flower embellishments I had seen in my Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine.  It involved using punches and cutting the petals down the middle, splaying them apart and then putting 6 large and two small together.  Quite pleased with the results despite how fiddly it was.  Once I made the flowers I followed the design in the magazine to make the card.

I did have a bit of a hitch.... first off I embossed the lines upside down and they ended up at the top of the card!!!!  So put that one aside and started again.  Still have to decide on what sentiment to use and how to put it on the card,

I needed to use the card I had the embossing at the top of, so I made a very simple card.  I trolled through my stash I had with me and found a butterfly I had stamped onto some pink vellum.  I stuck it onto a piece of alcohol inked card I found and cut it out.

Added some ribbon and the butterfly and the sentiment which is from a Stampin Up! set.  I think this will make a nice sympathy card.

And then I finally put together a card with a piece of acetate I had stamped and coloured iwth alcohol inks a few weeks ago,  NOT AT ALL HAPPY with the result.... just couldn't get it how I imagine it....

So this is going to be a sample card!!!!  Just to show the technique.

I didn't really feel happy with any of these.... but I did have a great day chatting and catching up with the others.  And I did manage to get a couple of stamped images from one of Sue's lovely stamps - for a special card.

Hope the week is good for you all.... Going to be awesome for me... My birthday tomorrow and then on Friday ( very early) hubby and I are off to Australia for 5 days - a mini break-.... meeting up with my parents and going to spend a few days in Mooloolaba.  This is where we are staying.... but before then I will be drawing the winner of my giveaway... stay tuned tomorrow.

A little bit of snow....

On Tuesday I was wondering if we would be able to make down to Levin to attend our friend's funeral as the main highway through the Desert Road was closed for most of the day due to snow and ice.  However Wednesday dawned a reasonable nice day and although the road has been closed overnight it was due to open around 8.00am.  As it takes around 4 hours from here to there I knew we would be okay.  And what a lovely sight it was too....

These were taken out the window of a moving car so excuse the quality

It was a real winter wonderland.  This had been the first big snow dump on the Desert Road this winter.  The snow in places was right to the edge of the road.   However all that snow did mean it was quite cold down in Levin.   Today travelling back along this road - NO SNOW-  it had been raining so it was all melted.

Glad to be back home in the warmer climes of Auckland and catching up on all the wonder creations people have done.

The wonderful Kathy is having a giveaway for her first year of blogging and it is a BIGGIE - see my side bar and go visit her blog... you will just love it... she is SO talented!!!

Well I'm off to pack the stamp kit up for stamp group tomorrow.  Have to get hubby to drop me off as the car still won't go :-(  Have to get the AA out tomorrow to have a look.  So with him taking me I have to par down what I take!!!!  Have a couple of ideas in mind as I have a birthday or two coming up, some challenges I want to enter.... and with going away for 5 days next Friday need to get the A into G and get them finished!!!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend. - and please enter my giveaway by commenting here.

250th post give away-

This is my 250th post...so I thought I'd have a little give away

The above plus a couple of other bits and pieces - a bit of a surprise~

Here is the info on how to win...

You can comment on this thread, If you blog about it, add the link and comment again, you get another chance to win..

I will be keeping it open till Saturday night ( will do the draw on Monday NZ time so as to cover the time zones)
                      ********************************************

Now onto a card I made yesterday.... ( did lots of crafting over the long weekend)
Tiffany's Doodles are having their first challenge.... a great sketch by Jenyfur- and to incorporate an image from Tiffany's Doodles.  Tiffany has a whole heap of freebies to get you started!!!!

I started with some of the Grant Archival paper I used the other day on my tag and this is what resulted

I used this image - the butterflies and printed them out and coloured with aqua crayons.  I cut two label 4's on the CB.  Stamped the craft one with a Hero Arts cling stamp and Antique Linen distress ink.  I edged them all in the distress ink.  The sentiment is also from Hero Arts.

Well that's it from me till the weekend.... and Saturday is my monthly Stamp Group at Stamp'n'create, so that's something to look forward to.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week. Thanks for visiting.

Farewell dear friend......

It was with great sadness that we learn yesterday morning that my hubby's best mate passed away....  I am so glad that hubby got to spend some time this past week with him.  He was in intensive care in Auckland but on Saturday was transferred back to his local hospital in Levin.  At least he was home ( sort of anyway)  We will travel down on Wednesday for his funeral on Thursday and then back home on Friday.  It is an 6-7 hour trip down to Levin by car.

I quickly managed to get a sympathy card made for his partner and his brother and sister and the families.

I saw a card by Terry on Flickr   and it was my inspiration for this.  I stamped the Silhouette Grass onto wheat coloured card and embossed it in clear EP.  I then used a number of distress inks and sponged them over, finishing with Aged Mahogany.  I edged the top and bottom of with a gold marker.  I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of the wheat card in the Aged Mahogany and added brads to secure it.  Finished with a little dragonfly stamped in Aged Mahogany onto gold vellum and secured with a glue dot.
( a big thanks to Hero Arts who tweeted the card on Flickr- much appreciated)

Today we had our friends Michael and Yvonne round for lunch to finalise some of the plans for England.  Michael heads over in about 2 weeks - and as he is the chief organiser of the canal boat trip we needed to get everything organised.    After they left I managed to put together the card I started yesterday.  I've done a pile of watercolour backgrounds using Joy's technique... this one used one of the shell stamps from Hero Arts 

Used two colours of the distress inks on my craft sheet and stamped the shells all over the background.  Then stamped the shells onto white card and cut out and matted with black.  Sentiment is embossed - it's from a set by Sullivan's - made in Australia. The base card is a lovely olive green.  I had to take the photo in my window ledge as we have had rain and more rain all weekend... I waited for a break to get the photo taken but it was too wet to go outside.  Tonight poor hubby had to go out into the torrential rain as a drain has block - water from the two downpipes out the back were overflowing as it is blocked somewhere under the house.... calling a plumber tomorrow!!!!

Well thanks all for stopping by... take care and hope you all have a great week.

Music Tag - Tag Tuesday challenge

This week Karen's Tuesday Tuesday is Music....I was inspired by tags by Jacqueline and Suzz to have a go,... must admit my tag is much more simplistic than the masterpieces these two create...

I started with the patterned paper by Grant Archival. - incorporating my favourite butterflies with the theme of music. I cut out a tag with a Spellbinders die, centring the butterfly music. Added the stamping from a Hero Arts sparkle set - ( stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink) and a couple of butterflies cut from the rest of the paper and a piece of music sheet, added a couple of pearls and the ribbon.

Our weather has really packed in and has become very wet and windy ( not too cold though) but a good excuse to stay indoors and craft and blog hop.  I've been working on some cards for this months Card chain challenge - plus I also made a card for someone who's feeling sad at the moment... ( will post once I know she has it)

thanks for stopping by...

Loving the colours....

of all the lovely distress inks and what you can do with them.  I had some fun trying out the distress inks dabbed onto my craft sheet and spritzed with a mixture of water, PVA glue and gold Pearl Ex  and then smooshed onto cardstock.  I made an A5 sheet with a mixture of blue, red, green, orange and purple...Once I had all the colours on and dried I used my Ranger blending tool to add some extra colour to the sheet and then gave it another quick spritz with the mist.  I then cut it into ATC sized pieces and stamped on them with the Dandelion Frame and some sentiments.

As the watercolour paper is slightly lighter weight I mounted it onto the black card for stability.  You can see where I spritzed the mist.  For real these are very glimmery.  They are available for trade ( or just if anyone wants one- first in first served)  

Just want also to send my best wishes to Virginia who's father passed away in the last few days - hugs and prayers being sent your way and also to Paula... who was going in to be induced with her baby... I pray all went well for you.

This weekend is Queens Birthday weekend for us in New Zealand... so we get an extra day off on Monday.... and boy do I need it.  The last two days at work have been hectic... did an 11 hour day on Thursday  and was at work at 7.10am this morning.  Both days at a workshop over the other side of the city ( 30 kms from work) - making my way home Thursday night at 5.00pm in peak hour traffic!!!!!   Glad I don't do that every day that's for sure!!!!

So have a great weekend all.

WOO HOO........ I've been published,.....

Doing a happy dance today.... I am so excited... I have had a card published.  First time I have ever submitted a card and it was accepted and today there it was.... It is in Scrapstreet.com -- an on-line magazine.  Pop over and there I am on page 50.  If you haven't seen this magazine, you really need to.  It is just like a paper magazine - full of interesting articles and lots of lovely scrapbook layouts, cards, digital and hybrid, and they even have a free giveaway each month.  This month it is lovely papers, elements and overlays all to do with summer.

And added to this, I am running the June challenge over at the Die Cut Divas Flickr group while the lovely Paula takes some time to have her baby.  It is a fun group so come over and join us.  This month's challenge is "Shades of Blue"- anything goes as long as there is some blue and you use a die cut machine on your project.  And there is a prize pack

Just a few wee goodies that will go to a random contributor.  I'll draw a name out of the hat at the beginning of July.  So please come and play!!!!

Well that's it for tonight.  I've got a set of ATC's to finish off... and a new stamp by Stampendous to play with.

Thanks for stopping by...