Beautiful Christmas Papers...............

Meg, from Meg's Garden, sent me a box full of Christmas goodness........exquisite papers, both 12'x12" and 6"x6", vintage Christmas collage sheets, ribbon, bells, fabulous German Scrap ( the gold Italian flourish is my favourite thing at the moment) holly leaves, lace and the most beautiful jewelled pins. You can visit Meg's online shop for all these things and more.

Chocolate Box........

Christmas Posy Box....

Shabby Box.....

Used Meg's Garden Christmas Stripe 12"x12" paper, gessoed then sanded it. Added some German Scrap, painted gold Christmas bells and an image from Meg's Garden Vintage Christmas Collage Sheet #2.

Lets Get Shabby Challenge #29.........One And One Only !

Challenge #29 at Lets Get Shabby is to create something in ONE colour.........a monochromatic colour scheme. No other colours allowed to sneak in any where. The exception is a photo or in place of a photo a picture or main element. My butterflies are my main element. It's hard to do, and I failed at my first attempt, but it's a wonderful challenge. Check out the Lets Get Shabby blog for all the details you need to know and be inspired by the clever and beautiful examples done by the DT girls. 

I chose pink not because it's my favourite colour but because it's Pink October, Breast Cancer awareness month. My butterflies are from the beautiful Kaisercraft Bonjour range and even though they appear to have grey on them, its really a pinkish, metallic foil, and was difficult to photograph as the shiny bits appear grey. I would love for you all to have a go at creating something in just one colour, its great discipline and pushes your creative inventiveness.

Its On Its Way..................

We all know it's just around the corner. Are you in the mood for a little Christmas shopping? Meg, from Megs Garden has some really, really beautiful Christmas paper in her shop. If you are looking for something a little bit different and some lovely, whimsical, vintage images, Meg has a great selection. Visit here for Megs online shop, and while you are there you can also get to her blog and see the beautiful Christmas projects created by DT girls Adriana and Denise. I have been playing with some goodies Meg sent me too, and will post soon.

The Color Room #80......

Played in The Color Room today. Could not resist creating with these beautiful shades.

I used Prima stencils and Prima stamps.......

Found these sparkly little gems in a craft shop. They are called "flats" and they're made by Dress It Up.......nice flat back so easy to attach.

Tea and Jelly Cakes...........

The warm spring weather lately has made me think of Jelly Cakes and the near by Mount Compass bakery make fresh Jelly Cakes every Friday, so I bought some to have with my tea.

A Jelly Cake is basically little sponge cakes, dipped into half set, thickish ( consistency of egg white ) jelly and then filled with cream. When making them, the jelly of choice to use is Aeroplane Jelly, and just like Vegemite and Tim Tams, Aeroplane Jelly is an Australian icon.

It was first made by Adolphus Herbert Frederick Norman Appleroth, known as Bert Appleroth, in Sydneyin 1917. He made jelly crystals using gelatine and sugar in his bath tub. He first sold these jelly crystals door to door using his tram route to transport him around Sydney as he was a tram conductor. A company was formed in 1926 and as planes were considered new and exciting at that time and Appleroth was an aviation fanatic, he named the brand, Aeroplane Jelly.

         Over 19 million packets of Aeroplane Jelly are sold each year.

         Regular Raspberry flavour is the top seller.

         In 1953 the first low calorie jelly was made.

         In 1988, in honour of the Australian Bicentenary, jelly was made in special Australian flavours like, Lilly Pilly, Quandong and Midjinberry. These were phased out by 1992.

As a kid growing up in Australia in the 60's and 70's we all knew the words to the Aeroplane Jelly song....ah sweet memories.

http://youtu.be/dJZ2w6Q_Uww

To visit the other ladies for tea, visit Kimmies blog, Art In Red Wagons here.

"The Left Overs" Book...........it's still going.

I have this book: an actual book with pages of text in it, that I have been sticking random bits and pieces into. There is paper, laces, flowers, chipboard, punched boarders, anything that has been "left over" from another project. I toss these bits and pieces into a box, a sort of recycle bin; then when I have a quiet moment and not much on the go, I will rummage through this "treasure" and see what I can make with it. These two pages turned out to be very red and 'romantic' in style....maybe inspiration for a valentines day card.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend. xx

Kraft It Up ......October Challenge

Kraft paper is something I don't often work with, which is a bit weird because it so lends itself to shabby,vintage style projects as well as arty, grungy styles which I seem to be swinging between at the moment.

Anyway, this month I was so inspired by the beautiful pages done by the KIU Design girls, that I thought I would have a go.

I actually had 4 pieces of plain Kraft paper in my stash as well as a whole pad of that amazing Tim Holtz Kraft Resist which is almost too beautiful to use.

This months October challenge was to do a LO using one of the following styles:

                Monochromatic

                Minimalist

                Vintage/Romantic/Shabby Chic

I know I should have tried something different, like minimalist, but that would have been torture for me.....I love shabby chic, with lots of layers and texture and scruffy edges.   

Just Messin Around...........

A new 'experimental' page in my art journal. Played around with stamps, embossing powders and gel medium. None of this is new to most of you I know, but I have never been an "embosser" so am just starting to experiment with different embossing powders, their different qualities and what you can do with them...love the textures.

Thanks for dropping by.......have a great week every one ! xx