Borders, matting and layers.

The majority of my card bases are half A4 card size, or  just under 4 1/4 by 5 3/4 inches. (10.5cm x 15cm).

One of my first cards

The majority of my square cards are usually 4 1/4 inches square, although occasionally I have done  5 inches square and even more rarely 5 1/2 inches square.

To make my standard card base, I cut an A4 sheet card stock in half, (Generally my white cardstock is Nopa from Officeworks) then I score & fold this in half and away I go.

Simple even sided layers is generally the easiest form of card making once the focal point is designed. It is a great way for beginners to start their card making until they are comfortable and confident to move on. I frequent come back to this even after 20 years of card making especially when making quick and easy cards in bulk.

When it comes to the size of my layers, it becomes less standardized. Frequently I work from the top image down unless it is 3 dimensional, layering as I go depending on my image size and the card design I have in mind. Many times I tend to stick with basic squares or rectangles, unless it is meant to be a specific shape eg one of my nestabilities shape or a trapezoid etc.  I only rely on my guillotine for the accuracy of my 90 degree angles. I really should think to use the many Nestabilities dies and labels I have... Um ... A new resolution??? I will try...It would certainly add more variety to my cards.

I rarely ever measure my borders or rather I tend to think of it as frames as I tend to eyeball it with my guillotine.  If I were to measure it, I suppose the majority would be a narrow 2mm border. If you want to make it quick and simple for simple matting, then you can't go past the Ezy Spacers from (Australia's) Stamp it, which gives you 3 different widths of a clear polymer 'stick or rod' so that you never have to measure again. These are approx 2cm, 1cm & 0.80cm, You can turn these on their sides to double the variety of widths. 

I also like to use my border punches and or my Nestabilities, so these might determine the size of my layers.

The Ten Commandments of Crafts

I have been thinking of the accumulation of all my stuff  and we all know just how expensive our hobby (any hobby) can be. This led me to think that maybe I should have a 10 Commandments of Crafting. I guess it would go something like this:



FIRST COMMANDMENT: Give yourself permission to have some time out! It is therapeutic.

SECOND COMMANDMENT: You shall not buy any more supplies without first using the stuff you already have. Don't be a victim to the advertisers and marketing people. As much as we love the new stuff, we really should make a commitment to use up the supplies we have on hand. Do you really need that new doovey lackey or that new pattern. I am effectively rediscovering stuff I had totally forgotten I had, so in a sense it is like a new item, but without the dollars being spent.

THIRD COMMANDMENT:  Life is too short for bad supplies. Depending on your craft and the purpose of it, don't buy cheap stuff as quite often it will not last the distance especially if you want to have something last a lifetime.

FOURTH COMMANDMENT: You don't need to be monogamous. Your taste and your needs may change. Your confidence will grow and you might want to try other crafts. Some will have an instant attraction, others may grow on you, some will be a trend or a flash in the pan.

FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Cover new ground, experiment and stretch yourself - you may surprise yourself. If you are into stamping, try stamping onto cloth or wood. If you are a machine quilter, try free hand machine embroidery or making a quilted vest! Do not conform to other's ideas. It is your craft and your time to use as you see fit.

SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Don't pretend to know it all. You need never stop being inspired and learning if you are open to new experiences, ideas and concepts.

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Always be welcoming and encouraging. Share your passion and make friends along the way - you never know who your new best friend will be. 

EIGHT COMMANDMENT: Evangelize..be willing to teach others about your craft. Unless this is your very first lesson, then you are at least one step ahead of someone! I had been teaching papercrafts for years, when one of my students taught me to look at colours in a whole new way! I taught her how to make cards, she taught me to be much bolder with my colours and how to combine them successfully! I am still learning from my students and friends.

NINTH COMMANDMENT: Share your tools and maybe they'll lend you that punch you got your eye on - that you know you would only use 5 or 6 times at most and can't really justify spending your hard earned dollars on.

TENTH COMMANDMENT: Learn to appreciate a great artist. Go to art & craft shows in your field of interest. Also go to shows of different mediums as there is so much to gain from new insights!

And as a bonus there is one more - it is probably the most important one!

ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Always remember that craft is supposed to be fun. It’s up to you to make it enjoyable. Don't let it become yet another stressor in your life. Take time out if you need to! I have a quilt I started when I was hospitalized for a couple of months some 20 years ago. I never did get back into it after I left the hospital - it served it purpose which was to help me pass the time. Maybe one day I will finish it if I ever find it again!

   

The re-location of my craft room

It is unbelievable how much stuff one accumulates crafting even more so when one used to teach it and sell some of the products as well, though it was never really a shop or business but rather a service that I offered when the local Spotlight store didn''t stock much papercraft esp in the early days of the craft.
I need to clear my craft room and convert it back into a bedroom in preparation for visitors esp my eldest son & his family, who will be moving to Sydney eventually but needs to have a few months 'breathing' space whilst they have time to look for the best accommodation rather than take the first one available.

This is just one corner of my messy craft room

So I had to start the mammoth  job of tackling the room. It was a large bedroom with a built in double wardrobe that was chokka black full plus 2 desks, 2 high bookcases, 4 smaller bookcases. Pegboards and cork boards lined the walls and were full. My son who finally moved the last desk and filing cabinet yesterday commented that he had no idea that there was so much stuff until he goes upstairs, which is where I am relocating to, and he sees all the boxes of stuff on the floor. I have not started to organize the stuff upstairs yet as with only 1 month notice that my son was moving in, my first priority was to get the bedroom back into shape. Hence the stuff upstairs is spread out everywhere mostly horizontal until I can get it into the cupboards etc. Not sure what I am going to do yet as I don't have a built in wardrobe up there. The 'old games' room up there is twice the size of the large bedroom downstairs. We are not going to spend a lot of money to make it all pretty and co-ordinated. It will be odds and ends and whatever wardrobes I can scrounge up from recycle centres and op-shops. I am not even going to spend the time and money painting it either. Sure it would be nice to have it all pretty, painted or newly co-ordinated but my priority is practicality and to be honest I have far too much stuff to pack away prettily!

I can only dream of making it as pretty as this

Is your craft area a pretty place or like a bomb hit it?

Christmas inspirations on Pinterest

There are so many inspirations for Christmas to be found on the internet, it can take you literally months to them all, whether it be some lovely crafts, scrumptious foods or decorating styles for your house this Christmas

Find inspiration fast

However you could easily find what you need on Pinterest. I love to spend time happily gazing at inspiring pictures of Christmas (and so much more!) that others have picked up & pinned.

My Pinterest Board

I’ve been pinning off and on for a couple of years. And just recently I have been putting together various Christmas boards that inspire me. These will give you a starting point. Here’s a sneak peek.

These and many more can be found on my Pinterest board  Christmas Love. If you haven’t used Pinterest before, you need an invitation so leave your email in the comments and I will invite you.

What about You?

Do you use Pinterest? Do you find it as addictive as I do?

Have you actually made anything you've found on Pinterest?

I am working on one project I found on someone else's Pinterest board. I will post it soon.
Do you actually use any of the ideas you’ve seen, especially if you have a pin board on Pinterest.

Crochet your own mini Christmas Stockings

Click on any photo to see it in more detail

Inspired by my Mother in law

I have made these cute little Christmas Stockings. They were inspired by my Dutch Mother in law, who passed away just 13 months ago. She would often make us something for Christmas in addition to her other gifts.

First I have to learn how to crochet

So after teaching myself how to crochet and doing a few granny square lap rugs, I had the confidence, and the encouragement of friends, to have a go at making a stocking or 2.

First off, I counted and made a stocking but it wasn't quite right. I then unpicked just one stocking that Mum had made for my kids and could actually see and count what she had done. I tweaked it a little to get  a bit more toe shape definition and away I went.

Tuturial offered...sort of

You can just make out the tinsel thread in the green wool

I am not able to write the tutorial 'properly' as I have only just learning crochet but if you are game, I am more than willing to send you the instructions as I have made them. one day i will attempt to write it 'professionally' and then come back and publish it on this blog.

Add caption

 

 

 

Available for sale 

I did get carried away and made a dozen more than I need for all my great nieces and nephews and my 2 grand daughters, so I am offering to sell them for $5 each plus postage.

Just leave a comment below or send me an email.

What inspires you?

I love looking and being inspired by many lovely blogs and I have pinned some here that I would love to follow through with.  I do have more Christmas crafts in motion. You will see them soon.

What crafts are you making for this Christmas?

Blanket Stitch Appliques

With my two delightful grand daughters coming to visit with us in Cairns recently during our road trip around Queensland, I just knew I had to make something special for them.

Here are the delightful results.

Butterfly Applique

Elephant Applique

I decided to applique something on a t-shirt for them both. The designs were chosen from some silhouettes that I googled up. A quick visit to a craft store nearby to buy 2 fat quarters and some buttons and stranded embroidery threads and away I went.

I don't ever recall doing it before though I may have learnt back in primary school. I noticed the size of my stitches became gradually bigger and by the time I reached the beginning, you could really notice it. But these are for my little ones, I doubt they will notice it at all.I am not going to tell them, are you?

You can read more about our visits with them on the Robbiebago blog here. Or you can follow our road trip and other bits and pieces on the general Robbiebago blog. Click here for the latest update.

I have recovered from my breast cancer

I have been absent for so long as I first recovered from my breast cancer. Then when we got the all clear my husband and I hit the road for a long awaited trip around Queensland to include Mt Isa and Cape York. We are still on the road but I thought it was time I posted an update to inform you all of my recovery at least. I did have to have a partial mastectomy though that sounds so dramatic for the little bit that they took out. Still it was surgery and one that potentially saved my life. I was extremely fortunate in that the surgery took all of it and I did not require chemotherapy at all. I will need to have yearly check ups but I have been cleared for now. For those that want the nitty gritty details I had DCI: Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Thankfully it is the most common non invasive breast cancer there is.

Sympathy Card made using a Z fold technique

Now to move on back to crafts, here is a lovely z fold card I made for a friend. I hand stamped and coloured the back decorative paper to match the commercial stripey paper I had in my stash/ The hearts were cut and embossed on my trusty cuttlebug and layered.

Hopefully we will keep in touch more from here on. By the way you can read about our trip on my Robbiebago travel blog. 

Even Miracles take a little time scrapbook page

Sorry I have been absent for a month. First off we went away for 3 weeks to Australia's largest Country Music Festival, which was absolutely fantastic and we are not even really country music fans but that didn't stop us experiencing all the different styles of music especially in the zagillion street buskers and the shows etc. We even sampled some bush poets. All this was just after being diagnosed with breast cancer and the doctor wanting me to be operated on immediately, even though it is not an emergency. We decided to go anyway but knuckle down when we come back which is now. I have another appointment next week and can expect to be in theatre within a week after that.

I love this title for an ultrasound page!

Getting news like that tends to make you stop and re-evaluate your priorities and as such one of the things I don't want to put off any longer is making a scrapbook of my 2 darling little grand-daughters.
So whilst away I did another page on a 6x6 inch scrapbook I started for the first one. Eventually I will show you the three pages I have done. I think I will have an animal theme on most of the pages - let's see how it evolves. I have even decided that when I am tied to a bed or lounge in my recovery period I am going to make mostly baby stuff and animals paper piecing and list them in my shop and then when I am up and about then I will use some of them on my future pages.

I hand cut and coloured these giraffes.

Here is my first page. It is an early glimpse of the joy to come - the ultrasound!

 PS Don't be alarmed about my diagnosis, we've caught it early - there's not even a lump - just some spots that were discovered in a routine mammogram. The prognosis is very good and they just need to take out a section of my breast. Apparently I will be tender for a few weeks and then back to normal. I am not the type to worry -it doesn't achieve anything. I  have all my family and friends to support me and most of all I have a heavenly Father who knows what and why and that is good enough for me.
See you soon with the next page.

Garlands and Banners for Valentine.

I’ve been working on some Valentine’s stuff. First off are some banners or garlands, which ever you may call it. I have 2 listed in my shop already to ship.According to Wikipedia, a garland is a decorative wreath or cord, used at festive occasions, which can be hung round a person's neck, or on inanimate objects like Christmas trees . A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message.

First there is my trendy and stylish Pink Hearts Valentine Garland/Banner

This banner is just perfect to celebrate your love on Valentines and versatile enough to be used at an engagement, wedding or anniversary party. Made from quality 180gsm card. Each of the hearts themselves are approx 9cm/3.5 inches high and 10cm/4 inches wide. The banner is approx. 2m or 6.5 feet wide and has 40cm/15 inches ribbon ties on each side for easy hanging.  The hearts are all hand cut and interlocked.

The second one offered is my Pink Valentine Garland which is just perfect. It is approx. 2.6m or 8' 6" long or rather wide and the scalloped ovals being approx 4 inches wide. The ovals can be slid closer or further apart as desired for your spacing.
The message on these ovals are "Love", "Be Mine" and "Valentine.

The ovals were cut on my Cuttlebug and the hearts were hand cut before being embossed. The word labels are computer generated.
Aren't these just great for announcing to the world your message this Valentine's Day. These are available in my Zibbet shop

Ladybug ladybug, fly away home

For the second part of my blog entry today, I wanted to introduce you to my ladybugs or ladybirds depending on where you live.

Engine Red Ladybirds in 2 sizes Card Candy

 I don't know anyone who doesn't love ladybugs. They are just great for many different themed pages, invitations, parties etc. Who says they have to be Fire Engine Red. I have made them in many different colours and sizes.I am even thinking of making them in a patterned paper... too many ideas... so little time.

Candy Pink Ladybugs set of 4

Magenta ladybugs set of 4

If you are interested in any of these adorable ladybugs then just click on the photo or go to my Zibbet shop to see what else is around.

Getting back in the groove

I have a number of paper craft embellishments available that will spark YOUR creativity!! These paper trees have a simple, clean line. I am making some more varieties of the Scrapbooking embellishments that I introduced into my Zibbet Shop. Now that Christmas is over and the kids are all back in their own homes and back at work, I need to knuckle down and get back into a routine. I love how some people are organized and structured in their daily lives and as such can get a lot accomplished. Each new year (or new week even LOL), I intend to be more organized and I am to a fair degree, but I am also a creature of impulse and flexibility.

The organized routine of doing the washing on this day and the ironing on this day etc is well and good and maybe even my ideal but I know I am an all or nothing type of gal. For example, I love gardening, but you don't see me in the garden on a regular basis. It frequently gets left until the weeds are a foot high and then I spend one or 2 full days going crazy on it and I love it too.

The same goes for my housework and probably most areas of my life. I am a great beliver in making a list. I tend to review my list daily and I rarely get frustrated that that I never reach the end of my list. It is a growing, living creature that alters frequently during each day.it's main purpose is to help me to stay focused and even if I end up spending too many hours cruising the internet or reading the latest novel, at least I know where to start and move along from there. Life happens and I want to grab it with both hands especially if it involves other people. House work will wait, circumstances and people can't always wait. I have found that as long as my house is not a health hazard then, it is OK to let it go a bit. I always catch up sooner rather than later. I am relaxed enough to know that if it doesn' happen today or even this week, it is not the end of the world.

The new year is full of hope

Christmas has come and gone. It is easy to get carried away with all the Carols, extended family gatherings, visitors, Summer weather and the beach, holidays, etc.  and forget that the true meaning of Christmas is this is when God chose to send His Son to earth.  Now that is gone, it is time to make a fresh start on a new year. I love a new year. The old is gone along with any heartaches, mistakes and disappointments if there are any and the new is full of promise and hope. Without hope we have nothing worth striving for. I have a firm belief that God has the course of my life in his hands. This gives me the confidence to go forth in this world, to make plans, to reach out in love and to try to encourage others to have the same hope.

Busy Bees Card Candy

Dancing Dragonflies

Ice cream cones

On a personal level there is one thing I want to strive to be with God's help, that will impact all around me. I also want to expand my online shop to include other product lines. The first of these being the introduction of Scrapbooking Embellishments also known as Card Candy. These embellishments could also be used in card making, tag art, bookmarks, aceo's, gift bags, altered projects and various other crafts, in addition to various themed scrapbook pages on holidays/spring/summer/picnic etc... . Some have textures embossed in the card, others the tint of colored edges adding dimensions, some may be accessorized with bling, lace or other media. Mmost are hand cut and thus are one of a kind. Any one of these are just perfect for your projects.

Whoot Owls #2

Blue Mountains Forest paper Trees

Old Fashoin Ice cream sundae

I also love Mondays and greeting the dawn of each new day. They are all symbolic of the opportunity of a fresh new start.So lets go forth and see what this week and this new year has to offer. If you love to look at more of my Scrapbooking Embellishments, then go here to my Zibbet Shop Inkspirational Designs.  I love to custom make and designs for you too, so just send me an email and we'll see what I can do for you.

Happy New Year

I have had a lovely break over Christmas. Our son and his family come down a few weeks before Christmas and we also blessed to have the baptism of his second daughter whilst here. Below you will see Ezzy Jean in her 61 year old baptism gown that was handmade & embroidered by her great grandmother -  a treasured family heirloom. Ezzy's Groot Oma passed away just 5 weeks earlier and we all missed her, especially over the Christmas celebrations.

We were also grateful in having time to spend with all the family, extended included, in various family activities, parties etc. The Dutch foods mentioned in the earlier blog went down really well as did all the party foods.

One of the food tables

Edible Poinsettia flowers with chocolate truffle centres

Reindeer cake pops

Mini Mars Bar Christmas Trees

Cup Cakes

 The food was a labour of love and I enjoyed it all. I hope you had a wonderful time with friends and family too. My heart goes out for those who had a difficult time remembering friends and family who may not have been there for what ever reason.

Planing for the holdiays...food

In our family, food goes hand in hand with celebrating occasions. When planing for the coming Christmas, I inevitably recall Christmases past. My mind quickly drifts to the different foods that we love, have tried and enjoyed and decide if we will add them to this coming festivities. There are the home-made classics that are particularly popular with the kids and then there are the new foods or recipes that cry out to be included. This year, there is a strong inclination to remember the kids' Oma who died just weeks ago. We are going to include a lot of her Dutch influence in our Christmas buffet this year.  

Boterkoek (a Dutch cross between a shortbread and a heavy butter cake),  

 Speculaas (a spicy biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on St Nicholas' Eve),  

Croquettes (a sausage shape veal meat ball ) best served with mustard - my absolute favourite!

and Oliebollen (a fruity doughnut type dumpling) are just a few things that pop into mind.
Obviously there are other Dutch foods and likings. (Thankfully salted herring is not a favourite amongst my tribe!)

Now I am an Aussie who is fortunately married to a Dutchman and the only Dutch food I have actually made have been boterkoek and poffertjes (mini pancakes), so I need to expand my repertoire urgently.

So at this stage I have sent out a call to all my Dutch relatives & friends and hope to soon replace these stock photos with my own images. I know at a pinch I can buy in the croquettes and speculaas but it would be much more fun to make them myself or even better do it together with my kids when they come!.. Wish me luck!

So what foods do you & your loved ones celebrate Christmas with?