A bit of this and a bit of that!

I've got a few cards to share today.

First up:  It's a new month so a new challenge at Die Cut Divas.  This month we have a photo inspiration from Paula.

Our sponsor is Bugaboo Digital stamps this month and I used Sunbonnet Fancy Umbrella and used the green colours as my inspiration

I used some PP to paper piece the image.  My background has been embossed and sponged with some green ink.

Next a card I made for Moxie Fab World Stencil challenge

My inspiration for this was a card from Donna Mikasa.  I CASE'd her design of the angled background.  My sentiment is a Stamp-It stamp. The inks I used are Hero Arts shadow inks with a stencil from Dylusions.  The sentiment is from Stamp-It. I've also entered this into Moxie Fab World stencil challenge.

And finally my card that I sent to Sally in England as part of Deborah's CCC.

This is another one I entered into the challenge at Moxie World.  I used some water colour paper and a stencil.  I used some distress ink to sponge through the stencil and then spritzed with water to give the idea of bokeh.   Sentiment is from Hero Arts.  

I still have a few more cards I haven't shared here.  But that's for another day.  

Thanks for visiting and persevering with this long post.

Black and White at Creative Craft Cottage

It's the first of the month so it's a new challenge at Creative Craft Cottage and it's my teams turn to highlight our samples.  The theme is "Black and White"

My card uses a Rubbadubbadoo stamp.  I stamped it in black ink on white card and white embossed it onto black card.  I trimmed 4 squares and rounded the opposite corners on each one.  I wish now that I had embossed the black on white.. The stamped the Hero Arts sentiment and double matted it with black and white.  Finished with a double bow made with gingham ribbon.  I had forgotten my BowEzy and used a fork to make the little bow.

Do pop over to the blog to see what the other's have created.

Southern Adventure - Part 4

sorry for not being a good blogger... life has been very busy.  Work has been full on coming up to the end of financial year.  Plus we headed off to Mangawhai for the weekend.

Anyway I thought I'd share the second week of our holiday.  We travelled up the South Island over four days.

We visited the Moeraki Boulders, went to the Whitestone Cheese factory in Omarau, stopped off at the dam at Avemore on the Waitaki River.  Our first night was at Lake Tekapo.  Next day we travel up to Hamner Springs, stopping off for wine tasting at Waipara Hills Winery.  Enjoyed a good soak in the hot pools at Hamner.  The following day, we travelled over the Lewis Pass to Greymouth.  The pass is full of amazing scenery.  We stopped at the site of the Brunner Mine (old coal mine)  and called into Blackball and had a drink at the "Formerly Known as the Blackball Hilton".  After Greymouth, we headed north to Westport, stopping to visit the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki
Next morning we travel the Buller Gorge to Nelson.  Of course we had to try out the swing bridge over the gorge.  It's the longest swing bridge in NZ.  Nelson is a pretty town and on our last morning we headed about 3/4 hour out of Nelson to amazing golden sands beach at Kaiteriteri.  This is a place I want to come back to sometime. 

I have to say that our two weeks in the South Island was an incredible trip.  The visit to where I grew up, visit to some places I'd never been to and visits to some old favourites. 

Thanks for sharing me my journey with me.  I hope you enjoyed.

Southern Adventure Part 3 - more nostalgia

Back again with some more of our trip.  We spend a day and a half in Dunedin.  We lived in Dunedin for a number of years when we were first married.  So on the Saturday we took a nostalgic trip to visit the houses we lived in there.

Top left ~ The first house we owned.  Right - Peter outside the house
Bottom left ~ my Nana's house where we boarded and right, me outside our first flat.

We also looked around Dunedin

Clockwise ~ Railway Station, Anglican Catheral, St Clair looking from St Kilda, The Fortune Theatre and then a photo of my husband taken in 1979.


I send a copy of Peter's photo to our son.... Kieran looks exactly like his Dad except he is fair where Peter is dark.  Quite amazing how alike they look.

I also caught up with my cousin, who I haven't seen in 12 years and an old friend from when I first started work.  

After Dunedin we travel about 3/4hr north to stay with my nephew and his partner.  Chris and Phillipa are share-milkers on a farm near Waikouaiti.

I haven't seen my nephew for a very long time either.  About 9 years we reckoned.  He has grown into a lovely man and his partner is a delightful lady.

Well that's the first week finished... more later of the trip up the island.  Saw so much!

Hope you are enjoying my photos

Southern Adventure Part 2 - a touch of nostalgia

Hi there.  Back again with some more of our Southern Adventure.  After a few days in Queenstown we headed off to take part in the Otago Central Rail Trail bike ride.   Peter was riding and I was part of the support crew with Sandra and Kevin.   Some of the area that we travel through was were I grew up from 6 to 14...so a touch of nostalgia.

The trail starts in Clyde and the first day was through to Omakau.  I went to Omakau school for one term, used to travel there to go to ballet classes...

This a collage of some of the trip.

Lauder was were I spent most of my childhood days.  The school I went to is now a B&B.  Sandra and I went to have a look and knocked on the door.  The owners invited us in and I spend some time reminiscing about the school.  I had spoken to an old school mate earlier in the morning as she was working at the accommodation at Omakau.  Joanne was a bit younger than me, but our parents were good friends.  She also works at the B&B that is was the old store next door to the school.  I also went in there and spend some time talking with the owner as well.  Quite amazing.  Sandra, Kevin and I also spent some time in St Bathans, an old gold mining town.  The trip took 4 days (150kms)  The final part was a train trip through the Taieri Gorge. 

I am thinking I might do a Project Life album - if I can get the courage to try it.

It's been hard getting back into routine.  But tomorrow I'm off stamping all day at Sandie's so a few card will get made I hope!  I've got some printed images to colour for my DT work.

Speaking of which, I have joined the team at Southern Girls Challenge...a few weeks till you see me there... but I am excited to be involved with this NZ based challenge blog. 

Virginia's View - a new challenge site.

I was very happy to see my blogger friend, Virginia Lu, has started a new challenge blog called Virginia's View... and what a way to start... She chose an awesome theme for her first challenge... "Watercolour" Virginia was hoping for around 20 enteries.... but she is a very popular contributor to the crafting blogging world and we've gotten behind her....to date 308 entries.

Of course I had to try my hand at the challenge.  I do a lot of watercolouring with my distress inks.  So to get me back into the swing of card making I did a few cards using this technique.

First up a very delicate looking water coloured card.

I started by stamping a free stamp onto a textured card base in London Fog Memento ink after masking around the edges.  I then used Distress markers to water-colour the flowers and leaves.  I outlined the panel with a grey marker.  The sentiment which came with the main stamp, was stamped in the grey ink and a few gems added.

My second card is a bit more colourful



This was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's masked frame technique from CAS one-layer card class.  I made a mask for the frame and used some Hero Arts flowers to make the frame.  Once I had stamped the flowers I used distress inks and a water brush to colour them.  This one has also been entered into the Hero Arts Birthday challenge.

And finally I did a card as part of my NZ Crafters monthly technique swap.  Our theme this month is "found" items.  You have to use something from around the house to do your stamping.  Can you guess what I used?



If you guess the end of a bunch of celery you guessed correct!  I had a half bunch of celery so stamped it twice for each rose on my background.  I liberally spritzed a piece of Tim Holtz water colour paper with water and then used Picked Raspberry distress ink to stamp the celery end.  I flicked some pink, green and black ink onto the background.  The roses (a free stamp from Visible Images that came with Stamp Crafter Magazine) were stamped and coloured with the distress ink mixed with some gold Spritz.  Once they were cut and mounted onto the card an added bit of Wink of Stella glitter pen was added.  Finished with the Hero Arts sentiment and some pink and green pearls and gems.   This will be on it's way to it's recipient shortly.

So you can see I've not wasted any time getting back into my card making.  I was too busy to miss it much but very happy to be getting inky again.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Southern Adventure....Part 1

Hi I'm back from my Southern Adventure.  We had an awesome two weeks... split into two different holidays.  Our first week was with Peter's brother and some of his friends on the Otago Central Rail Trail and then the second week, just the two of us travelled up the island, heading from Dunedin on Sunday to reach Nelson by Friday.

The first half was really fun.  I did not do the biking, but went by car with another couple as support crew!  We started in Queenstown on the 1st March.  I didn't take into account that it might have snowed on the hills surrounding Queenstown and it was COLD... We had rain as well which I hadn't planned on!  Still we managed to do a few fun things...walked around the lake edge, went up on the Gondola and had a few Luge rides.  And then did an awesome safari up the Dart River which included a bus ride, a beech forest walk and a jet boat ride. 

Here are a few pics from Queenstown

and some from our Dart River Safari.  We past lots of sites where The Hobbit was filmed and even got to see a Giant's chair

Doesn't Peter look just like a Hobbit!  And the one of him coming out of the tree.... it's all hollowed out inside.  Just incredible. 

Hope you enjoy seeing these pictures.  I'll share some more over the next week. 

it's a tad cool today!

Hi there  I'm enjoying the start of my South Island adventure.  Queenstown is lovely. But this morning its a tad cool after some snow in the mountains surrounding the town.  Yesterday we did some Lugeing and had a ball. Today its a trip further up the lake to the Dart River for a jet boat ride.

I was hoping to add some photos but my tablet won't let me  at the moment  so this is just a little update
Cheers Dawn