Marathon Stamping Session

Yesterday my local Stamping Group had our monthly meeting... I missed last month's - they have changed the times.... now it's from 10.00am till midnight.... yeah - a real marathon session.... well I have to say I did not make it till midnight.... no - I piked out at around 8.00pm.... that was around 10 hours,.... and ten cards later....so I was happy if somewhat tired....  It was such a fun day... we started with around 10 of us... and slowly as the day progressed we got less and less... three were still there when I left and I'm sure at least two of them would have stayed.... We had the most awesome shared lunch and then picked at the left overs all afternoon and evening.  We shared ideas, had a demo on making shadow-box cards, and generally had an awesome time.

I had to make a card for my hubby's birthday and after a bit of a funny start... took the unmounted stamp off it's backing sheet, and then for ages couldn't find it on my workspace... Sue looked all round, Pam looked all round and no-one could see it... then about an hour or so later, I looked down and it was on my leg..... fallen off where it had stuck to the steel rim under the table.... how it got there - well I'll never know... but finally got the card finished.  I'll post it next week after his birthday.... then it was onto Christmas cards....

I got the Hero Arts Starry Night cling - arrived on Thursday so inked it up and made an great set of cards.  I was inspired by this card from Tiffany.  I used my brayer to ink up the stamp with some Kaleidacolor inks and a Brilliance Multi coloured ink and then used Tomobow Mono Multi glue to highlight the snow and trees with Diamond Dust.

I was so pleased with these and I still have one each of the greens and blues to make into cards.   It is such a neat stamp.   I had so much fun doing them, deciding on the matting colours and what sentiment to put on the bottom.

I won't bore you with too long a post - so tomorrow will show some more of what I did.

Today we went down to Hamilton to see Mary, our SIL.  It was her 60th birthday today and 16 of us went out to lunch with her. Including her mother, who is 93.  Mary say's thanks to all who have kept her in their prayers.  She is coming along.  Still has issues with her walking and her sight, but is improving daily.  I thank the Lord for her still being with us.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bits and Peices....

Over the last few weeks with updating the blog about the holiday.... I haven't done a lot of cards.... and most of what I have done is reasonable simple....

However the other week I was playing round making flowers after seeing this video.  I made a little flower and then played around with some die cut leaves that the lovely Betty sent me and came up with this

I just love the sentiments from Inkadinkado - Kids Quotes and Tell it Like it is.  such cute sayings.

My next card is one I've made for my daughter's friend's little boy - turning 4 soon... His party theme is Firemen.... so found some clip art - printed it and cut it out and layered on the card base....

I'm sure he'll like it....

All my stuff is packed for my marathon card making tomorrow.... 10.00am till midnight - not sure I can stay awake that long.... we'll just see.  Totally looking forward to it....

thanks for stopping by..... till later  Ciao...

Large Flower

Another of the stamps that arrived just before I left was Hero Arts Large Flower cling stamp.... I have made a couple of card now using it - my first one is CASE'd from this one by Kristina Werner.

I changed the colours and the sentiment, added some ribbon.  It is for someone very special who shall at this point remain nameless..... but once she has the card, I will reveal....

I like the design so much that I decided to do another one.... this time based on the Embellish Magazine colour scheme.

 

I stamped the flowers in grey ink and clear embossed, then used yellow pencil to colour in the bits of the petals.  I added a gem I coloured with a Copic for the centre and then the sentiment stamped onto grey card.  The lot was then matted onto a white card base.  

Today I received my parcel from Simon Says stamping... boy are they great.  10 days from the USA and this time there was a large wooden background stamp and still only $13US for postage.  So three new stamps to play with over the weekend... all Hero Arts.  - the Ledger cling, Lace background and Starry night cling.  Looking forward to getting them inky.   

Well that's all from me for now.... Off to tidy up the craft table and get organised for the weekend's stamping.

Ciao for now

Poppies Galore....

Just prior to going on holiday my new stamps arrived.... I've been ordering some from Simon Says.... very reasonable postage from the States and in the end it worked out cheaper than buying in store....

One that arrived was the Delicate Blossoms by Hero Arts.  It really is a lovely set... two different sized poppies.  I had fun making some cards with them

For the top one, I used watercolour pencils and a Hero Arts sentiment and then matted onto some blue Bazzill.  The second one was stamped with black ink and clear embossed and then painted with Pearlescent paints.  I matted it and then added to the card base which had been dry embossed using my new Scor-buddy.  And the final one is a mini card 2 7/8 x 3 1/2 inches.  I masked off the bottom of the card and then stamped just the top part of the stamp.  I used some Aqua crayons to colour it it.  Sentiment again by Hero Arts. 

I can hardly believe that I've been back at work for 2 1/2 weeks..... seems like only yesterday we were still away.  Now it's only 7 1/2 weeks till Emma's wedding.... I bet that it comes around so quickly.

Now for some blog candy that Deirdre is having....

Pop over to her blog post and visit her.  She makes some wonderful cards.

Well thanks all for stopping by.  Hope you enjoy my flowers...
Take care

Photo cards

This month the technique at Hero Arts blog involves using photos on cards.... particularly for the holidays.... but last month I made a couple of photo cards to say thank you to some people... one who lent me a bag to take away and one to thank the couple who house sat for us.... so I'll have to get organised and make some more....

I started by printing out on my computer a couple of the photos I took at Monet's garden in Giverny in France and then using Stazon added the sentiment.....




I was very pleased with the photos and how they looked as cards.  I took so many photos of the flowers and the pond, that it is hard to choose which ones to use.

So now it's back to normal for me.... and getting a start on the Christmas cards.  I have stamping group this Saturday.... a marathon event this month... 10.00am till Midnight!!!!  Not sure I'll last that long as we are heading to Hamilton the next day ( a 2 hr drive) to visit our SIL Mary....  She is improving and coming along well.  Her tumours were benign but still affected her sight and balance.  Still a long ways to go.... but she is very positive.
Many thanks to all who have been praying for her...

Thanks for visiting.

Holiday instalment #12 - The Final Day...

Turley's tour of England and Europe 2010 was coming to an end..... our last day in Rome was spent re-visiting some of our favourite spots.... the Spanish Steps, the Trevi fountain and of course Pepy's Bar and Cafe - on the corner of the Piazza Barberini ... a great spot to sit and watch the traffic whizzing around and to have that last Bellini.....

The last photo is of an elephant at the base of an obelisk we came across in our walking round the city.... we had not seen it till the last day.... so there really is more for us to see when we go back again.... Don't know when, but I did throw my penny into the Trevi fountain which according to legend ensures a return to Rome.

So at the end of the day, we travelled out to the airport and boarded our plane to head home..... with a touch of sadness that this wonderful 4 weeks was coming to an end.... this really was a trip of a lifetime for us.

thank you to all my followers who have come back day after day to read my journey and leave me such lovely comments.  I appreciate it.

Now back to normality and catching up on my crafting posts in the coming days....

Holiday instalment #11-Naples and Pompeii

We were up bright and early on our second to last day in Rome as we were heading south... doing a tour to Naples and Pompeii.  Our bus set off in early morning traffic heading towards Naples first. 

Along the way we saw Monte Cassino - and the replaced monastery in the distance.  This was special for Peter as his father was there in WWII - and involved in the Battle of Monte Cassino.  We also cross the Appian Way.... this was the original Roman road that led from Rome to Brindisi in the south east of Italy.  Parts of this are still visible and used today.

Once we got to Naples we meet with a local guide who took us on a quick walking tour of the city... we saw the Castle Nuovo, the Piazza del Plebiscito ( Square of the people) and the Opera House (Real Teatro di San Carlo) where famous singers like Caruso, Maria Callas and Pavarotti sang.  Quite spectacular.... as well as the harbour

Next we headed to Pompeii where before having lunch we visited a Cameo factory to watch a demonstration on the hand carving of the sea shells that goes into the making of a true Cameo.  Of course I had to have one.... very expensive as they are all hand carved, but I decided that I would wear it for my daughter's wedding, so got one that can to either a brooch or a pendant.  It is simply gorgeous.

Then it was off to explore the ruins.  Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried by ash during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD...Excavation started in the 1700's and is still going on today. 

Some of the mosaics are incredible... as you can see above... that one looks 3D but is just a single layer of tiny little bits of colour.  On the temple photo you can see Vesuvius in the background.  It was quite stunning how clever the people were - the roads had stepping stones in the middle so you could cross without getting wet feet, but the chariots could still travel down them - the wheels passing each side of the stone. They also had running water - through copper piping...

All in all the day was fabulous.... we finally arrived back in Rome around 8.30 that night and ended up visiting the Trevi Fountain and finding a little restaurant to eat at about 10.00 at night.   The owner of the restaurant had a bit of a party going on with some friends and there was lots of singing and laughing - made for a fun end to a fun day.

And so the holiday was nearly at an end.... just one more day to spend in the city and then the long trip home.... more next post....
thanks for visiting

Holiday instalment #10- Rome - the ancient City

Back again...

Rome is a city of so many contrasts.  Parts of the city are SO old - over 10 centuries BC... can you imagine that!   We did a walking tour around the oldest parts of the city... parts that are still being excavated.  Totally mind blowing... to think I was walking on the same paths that Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and all those other famous Roman's  walked on... yes some of the paths we walked were the original stones....

 We walked through the old city, saw a small stadium where there would have been sporting events, saw the forum where the senate sat, and the final photo shows the shrine where Julius Caesar's body was cremated.   Following on from the ancient city we arrived at the Colosseum.  This is a stunning piece of architecture.  For it's size and the time it was built ( 72AD) it took only about 6-8 years to build, mostly with the assistance of the slaves captured during the Roman conquests.  It was partially destroyed in the middle ages by devastating earthquakes....

You could almost see the gladiators and the wild animals... the atmosphere was incredible.  I thoroughly enjoyed this tour we did... having a great guide helped as she gave us some insight into the lives of the ancient ones.  We did have a few minutes of rain while we were walking.... some thunder as well.... but within 10 minutes it was  all over.

My next instalment will show you some more ruins and another Italian city - Naples and Pompeii.   See you then....