My Creative Space

My creative space has been fun this week and I thought I’d show some tags I’ve made ... a case of recycling the tags that come with clothing and pages from magazines.


I love clothing tags … they come in all sorts of colours and shapes and the tags of many clothing companies are quite distinctive … the red Esprit tags come immediately to mind.


And who doesn’t have an excess of magazines around the house. Well, I do thanks to Miss C who always seems to have a few kicking around.


So I like to reuse the tags to add to gifts … sometimes I write on the tag and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I add a separate tag with a message. It just depends on how I feel at the time.


Cheap and fun.

For moe creative spaces ... visit kootoyoo.

Good things: My Creative Space

I’ve been sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation of My Creative Space ... because I’ve been creating! Yes ... after so long not doing anything I have actually been doing something.

Knitting: I've started the lace scarf at least five times. This sounds bad but there's been such a huge learning curve like tension and learning the pattern so I now feel as though these are behind me ... and the rest is scarf! And I now have my seating issues on the train sorted out and about an hour per day to get some work done.


Wall plaque: I’ve had these papers for so long and I’ve been longing to do something with them. They’re so elegant and timeless ... and by the Australian firm Kaiser Scrapbooking. Their stuff is so nice.

Cushion: I’ve been promising myself to get to this for so long ... and on the weekend I picked up some vintage buttons from Cheeky Little Monsters at the Daylesford Makers’ Market. The buttons are amazing ... and Tania's stuff was really cute but I don’t have any littlies to buy for any more.


How's your crafty week been?

PS If you're interested in all things creative ... pop over to kootoyoo for more crafty spaces.

WHAT'S HOT & WHAT'S NOT/GOOD THINGS

It's hump day (again) and time for What’s Hot & What’s Not front … and yet again mostly in the affirmative.

What’s been totally Hot
Northern Craft Bonanza. I went to my second ‘meeting’ and it's so good. The gals are so warm and friendly, their crafty projects are amazing … and I just feel welcomed in every way. We even had a swap and I took some upholstery fabric and vintage pillowcases/table cloth and brought home some quilting fabric. My quilting stash is looking amazing.

Chinese New Year. I went to my third Chinese New Year in about 4 years and I love it. As usual we stood on the top floor of the car park on the corner of Russell and Little Bourke, and literally had a bird’s eye view. I also stroked the dragon more than once so I’m expecting lots of luck.


Cross stitch. The Be My Valentine cross stitch panel is finished … and I finished it on Valentine’s Day. What could be more fitting.


6x6 scrapbook layouts. I’ve had a bunch of 8x8 layouts laying around forever and I was recently reminded (through Facebook) of a Victorian based charity that organises 6x6 layouts for underprivileged kids on camps. So this stash is being cut down to 6x6 and will soon be winging its way to Southern Cross Kids' Camps.


Electrical renovations. I scoured the house for electrical stuff that needs doing and Mr H and I shopped like crazy on Saturday afternoon. In the end we took advantage of the Beacon Lighting up to 50% sale for the light fittings and ceiling fans, and trawled Bunnings for the extractor fans and 4 sock outlet. A good afternoon’s work!

Op shopping bonanza. I had the best two days of op shopping with four shops canvassed and the maximum number of scrumptious knitting patterns and a little sheet music from the 1920s extracted. My little stash is looking lovely at the moment … and I have a decent number of lovely knitting patterns from the 1940s to 1980s to share over the coming weeks.

Yoga. I did yoga again on Monday and I feel so good after I’ve done it … totally energised and ready to take on the world. And knowing I feel like that is what keeps me going back (oh and paying for the term in advance), because I spend the first half hour wondering when the class will be over! I hope that reaction doesn’t last.

What’s totally Not hot
Dentist. I’d been experiencing some twinging in one tooth and figured it was the nerve and thought I’d better get it checked out. I got the thumbs up on that tooth, no work required, and from now on it’s just watch and wait … but the dentist found 2 new grey spots (which indicates decay) that are all but invisible except to the trained eye. Bummer!

Being disorganised. I’m starting to push and pull myself into new routines that will help me manage life better … but I hate having to work so hard to keep it all together. Why does it have to be like that? Why, why, why ... oh, oh I'm hearing Julius Sumner Miller again! LOL

Good Things/My creative space Thu 4 Feb 10

GOOD THINGS/MY CREATIVE SPACE: Package from 7 Gypsies
I'm going to do a joint Good Things/My Creative Space because the two converge (my work just loves that word!) because my good thing for the day is something creative! Woo hoo! Thanks Kirsty at kootoyoo for hosting this, and don't forget to pop over there and add your name or to check out the others and leave a little blog love.

My creative space revolves around the box I discovered sitting on my door step last night.


Don’t you love parcels … so full of promise, so exciting. It’s like Christmas for grownups. LOL

The first thing I felt was annoyance … what would happen if it’d been stolen? I would never have known. And, of course, it reminded I need to get a replacement door chime set because the last one has gone to a better place.

But the contents of the package … oh joy, oh bliss. Not one, but two, kits from 7Gypsies.


Look how beautifully everything is wrapped …. I had to take everything out half a dozen times and turn the bags over because I kept finding something new every time I did it.

Last year I blogged about the Advent Calendar I wanted to make and I now have the bits for that. The calendar is absolutely gorgeous and will go so well with the cream/white décor I have planned … now I just have to restrain myself from starting it now and maybe wait until November. I think I might even take it to Ballarat and make it with Tamika … I know she would absolutely love that.


I can't wait to have this to count down to Christmas 2010.

The other thing’s an ATC spinner. Take a look at this baby and how gorgeous it will look when it’s put together. I haven’t decided what I’ll do with it … whether I’ll use it for photos or even something else.


I've wanted to make one of these for so long ... and the 7Gypsies is so beautiful.

But the last thing I have to say is how great 7Gypsies is. The parcel’s taken a while to arrive … what with Christmas and CHA getting in the way, but I’ve never felt as though I’d been forgotten by Paula (who I’ve been dealing with) and my stuff would never arrive.

And more than that … Paula went over and above to combine the two kits I wanted (and one of them was located half a country away), she got a punch for me from Michael’s that I couldn’t buy in Australia, and also found the cheapest possible postage to Australia because UPS was so high.

Better service than that you couldn’t find if you tried.

Thanks Paula … I love your work!

Project 365 Wed 16 Dec 09

WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT?
It's Wednesday again and time for What's Hot and What's Not ... brought to the world by Claire at Loobylu.

PS Claire is still to put up the joining thingie ... I assume we're still playing this week! LOL
Updated Thu 17 Dec 09: Claire is playing and we're on. Hooray! LOL

What’s hot?

Christmas mail. I finally mailed Wini’s stuff to her today. I got to the post office yesterday only to be told they don’t accept what I put inside … you’ll just have to put up with the crypticness now that the Christmas present has become a birthday present to be offered up in March when Wini visits. So I raced around last night at 6pm to get a replacement gift (which ended up as gifts) and the present was rewrapped and mailed at lunchtime today. Hooray!


Wini's gift before I tried to mail it yesterday ... taken just before I went to the post office.

Flashing Christmas lights. There’s a really cute set above my desk at work … and I’m loving them. Not very carbon footprint aware of me is it?

Work Christmas parties. I’m going to the bare minimum this year and on Friday I’m sloping off early to enjoy the extra time with Horace. Awwwwwwwwwww! Oh, and to the framer’s to organise Tamika’s frame. LOL

7Gypsies. I seriously love 7Gypsies—Debbie Crouse and Paula Cheney are the bomb. It started out with me looking for a punch for the Advent Calendar project they have on their blog ... and they went to the local Michaels to take a photo of the Martha Stewart punch for me because they didn’t have the packaging. What service, what amazing people. If I wasn’t already a 7Gypsies fan already I would be now … wow!

And who wouldn't want to make this calendar ... isn't it amazing? I can't wait to get the bits and pieces of stuff and have it ready for December next year. And if you're interested as well the instructions are on the 7Gypsies blog.


This is so gorgeous I can't wait to see it sitting behind the Christmas display next year.

PS You can also buy a kit with most of the stuff to make the Advent Calendar on etsy. I'm off to get mine now.

What’s not?

Postage from the US. I wanted to order some stuff from the 7 Gypsies Etsy site but it’s USD$60 for a 3lb box. Looks like it’s going to be shipped to Wini and then she can seamail the goodies to me. Patience is a virtue they say … wonder if I can order a little patience for Christmas?

Christmas cards. The sending that is … not the getting! LOL I am so seriously behind this year and I’m still tossing up whether I can be bothered.

The weather. It’s seriously hot outside … with fire warnings in place again. Summer in Australia sure is a scary place to be.

Project 365 Sun 29 Nov 09

SUNDAY STASH: CHIPBOARD ALPHABETS
I love Sunday stash run by Tamara at quarter of an inch ... and I thought I'd shared my stash of chipboard alphabets.


Just a few of the alphabets.

I love alphabets, especially the unpainted ones. I love uppercase alphabets especially ... ones with square edges in particular.

I use them all the time ... the same sort over and over again, and I don't mind seeing the same alphabet because they always seems to look different once they're painted.


A couple of my layouts using the alphabets.


And a few more layouts.

My absolute favourite is a small uppercase alphabet, by the Perth company Collections ... I wouldn't be without it.


The two boxes with my favourite Collections alphabet.

Project 365 Thu 26 Nov 09

CHRISTMAS TAGS
I worked really hard over the weekend on my Christmas tags and managed to make about 4 dozen for the various foodie presents for work colleagues and friends.

These were so easy to make ... a couple of sheets of 12x12 cardstock glued together and cut into rectangles. A few Christmas related punches--star, Santa, hearts and Christmas tree--and the paper left over from Wini's gift glued to the rectangles.


Four of my little pretties ... these babies come into their own every Christmas.

Add a hole punched in the corner of each tag using a standard two hole punch and thread household string through the corner.


A selection of the tags hanging from the my bed head ... the best place I could find to display them.

Now they're sitting on my bedside table crammed into a coffee jar until I use them.


The jar of Christmas tags ... I love how the string cascades out of the jar.

I am sitting here rubbing my hands with excitement and glee at the thought of using them! LOL

Project 365 Thu 5 Nov 09

FINALLY SCRAPBOOKING
After so long I've gone back to work on Tamika's present ... something I started for her before I left for overseas and something I want to get finished for her by Christmas.

So far: the background is put together and machine stitched. I love the Basic Grey scrapbooking papers I've used. It's so girlie but so bright at the same time.


The range of colours used and the machine stitching detail.

I've also used all sorts of chipboard shapes that I've painted and covered with a gloss called dimensional magic.


All the shapes are so sweet ... and all of them are Collections chipboard painted by Making Memories paints.

I still have to find the photos I want to use ... three to be exact ... and add a couple of strips of journaling.


The journaling and one of the photo spots.

Now next week to trek through some op shops, perhaps in Ballarat, to find a frame I can use. I'm thinking something chunky and solid, and something I can add a frame. I know I've seen really nice ones around here for $2, and then it's all done.

Woo hoo!

Day 9 Blogtoberfest 2009 Desperately seeking scrapping mojo!

I spent days putting together stuff to take with me to the all day crop at Scraptacular ... and spent most of the day desperately seeking my scrapping mojo!


It was a beautiful day: the weather was gorgeous and I had a great day with Cara and Didi and the others.

But I didn't get much done ... just a couple of layouts using scraps and no idea what to do with them.

I think I need to walk away from scrapping for a while and concentrate on other things ... like getting my holiday photos into order and return refreshed and ready to scrap.

Day 3 2009 Blogtoberfest 2009 I am creative ... Grand opening celebrations

I am creative ... that's a fact, not a mantra. I scrapbook badly, I'm an avid photographer, I'm a novice knitter ... and today I'm actually posting about my creative side. Yay!

The background is that while I was away my local scrapbook store Scraptacular moved from almost around the corner (yes, only five minutes drive from home) to about 15 minutes drive away.


The welcome sign as you walk through the door of the new door.


The display on the counter as you walk through the door ... absolutely gorgeous.


And some more of the flowers for the grand opening on the other side of the counter.

I've spent so many happy hours at the old store in Parkdale and met the most wonderful women.

The store's been sold, babies have been born ... and throughout everything the same level of service, dedication to delivering the best scrapbooking products available and for being a haven for clever, talented and caring women has been at the core of the store.

But all good things come to an end (in this case location, location, location) and the store has moved to 1297 Nepean Hwy, Cheltenham ... with today the grand opening for the new store.


The owner, Julie, cutting the opening ribbon.

This, sadly, is where creativity and this post part company because I ate food, drank cocktails, threw a few pieces of paper together ... and focussed on having a great time.


Didi and Wendy hamming it up ... can't take those girls anywhere!


Jodi laughing ... as she does most of the time.


A view across one of the tables in the scrapping room ... which is enormous (the tables and the room!).


The great spread on the nibbles table.

Sometimes it's good just to let your hair down and focus on the present ... and I'll just have to see if I can rescue the train wrecks (ie scrapbook pages) another time.

Thanks, Julie and everybody, for a great day.

Project 365 Tue 28 Apr 09

COLOR ME QUIZ
I loved this quiz on the Creating Keepsakes scrapbooking quiz to work out what sort of scrapbooker you are by colour.

The url is: http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/articles/may_2009_color_me_quiz

Apparently my colour is white, but with a little blue thrown in.


Clarissa in a white top; dishing up dinner.

So this is what they had to say about white and blue:

White Scrapbooker
People may have told you that your layouts look like magazine pages. You don't overembellish, and you prefer a clean, graphic style. You may take a very organized approach to scrapbooking. Your pages tend to celebrate the beauty in everyday life.

Blue Scrapbooker
You are a traditional scrapbooker for the most part. You probably started scrapbooking to document your children or grandchildren's lives. You prefer multiphoto layouts, and most of your pages feature your family. You favor classic designs and products, and you may organize your albums chronologically.

Absolutely spot on!

Project 365 Sat 4 Apr 09

I FINISHED ANOTHER LAYOUT
One of the things that's stopped me finishing layouts is the new printer I bought some months back. I'm not as familiar with it as my old one ... but I think I've conquered my fear because it's all getting so much easier.

Without further ado: Layout 2 ... one celebrating my love of the colour red.


My layout: Love red.

This layout is a scraplift of one of my favourite scrappers; Ali Edwards. I never fail to marvel at how amazing her stuff is and when I saw this layout in Creating Keepsakes (p44) back in January 09 I knew I had to make it mine.


The original and far more complex than mine: Ali Edwards' layout.

Project 365 Fri 27 Mar 09

I FINISHED A LAYOUT!
It's been so long since I've finished a scrapbooking layout. I've started half a dozen and all of them sit unfinished, except for the journaling. So I made a concerted effort to get one finished, and here it is.


I love this photo of Tamika; it's one of my favourites.

What I've found to be great for getting my scrapbooking mojo back is doing a challenge. And there are a million of them out there for scrapbookers.

One of the sites I've signed up to is 52 sketches 52 weeks at http://52sketches52weeks.com. The layout of Tamika was made using a sketch from this site; the sketch is #8 (21 Feb 09) at http://52sketches52weeks.com/?p=131.

Even though I love the sketch I still altered it a little: I swapped the letter T for the flower, replaced one of the photos along the bottom with journaling, and used a single large photo at the top instead of 3 photos to name a few.

I'm also working on a few other sketches and challenges from other sites which I'll post when I'm finished ... again mostly the journaling to finish.

Project 365 Day 31 (Sat 31 Jan 09)

DAY SCRAPPING WITH TINA
Tina, Wini's best friend Siobhan's mother, and I spent the most civilised day scrapping in air conditioned comfort at Tina's house.

Tina's one of those power house scrappers you envy: dedicated, focussed and yet involved in everything that happens around her. She got something like 6 layouts done over 9 hours.

I, on the other hand, 'faff' around and get nothing done. Oh, except have a good time! I got 3 half finished over the same time period!

But how nice was it to be doing something we both enjoy without the washing and cooking, and especially the extreme heat, in the comfort of Tina's dining room looking out at her garden? The first day I can say I've enjoyed since the heat began.


The table, complete with red wine and goodies. Some of us know how to scrap in style.

I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

Queen and Co competition

I've been pretty quiet about this (and I'm looking furtively around because this is a huge secret, sssssh) but my name is Susan and .... I'm a scrapbooker! (I bet you thought it was going to be something terrible! LOL)

And for the chance to win a Sampler Bucket of Queen and Co products, which I'm loving the look of, I'm posting on my blog and linking back to the Queen and Co website for all to see!


This is the Sampler Bucket prize I hope has my name on it.

Click on the Queen and Co post title above and it'll take you straight to the right Queen and Co blog post.

Fingers crossed I get me some of those pretties!

And thanks Queen and Co for the competition.

SYTYCS08 Round 5 layout

I 'm bummed because I didn't make it through Round 5 of the competion and I keep asking myself whether I'll continue. I've enjoyed myself, especially getting a layout done each week. But at the same time I've made a few layouts I'm still deciding whether to keep ... I like doing things my way too much to want to 'challenge' myself. I guess I've learnt something about myself.

In any event, here's my layout from Round 5:

This week I had to:

1. doodle - around the edge of the photo

2. handcut title - hand drawn and hand cut

3. paint - watercolour paints to draw the spiral for the journaling

4. protrude element or edge - scalloped PP edge

5. household item - a key and 50 cent piece

SYTYCS08 Round 4 layout

I've been lazy not posting this but I got through Round 4 with a layout I'm not very fond of. Some weeks are definitely harder than others. But I have this rule that whatever I've finished by Saturday night I have to upload Sunday morning and move on. This way I don't obsess and redo, and still get some of the weekend to myself.

So, this is it:



The criteria that had to be used are:
1. tape: Heidi Swapp decorative tape on the letter 'l' of the title
2. rub-ons: the centre of the circle is a Creative Imaginations rub-on
3. journal on photo: handwritten with black pen on main photo
4. bright colours: red, blue, pink and green patterned paper, with bright blue cardstock.

And I've already finished this week's layout which I'm going to upload a whole day early. That I'm happy about.

SYTYCS08 Round 3 layout

I got through to the 3rd round of SYTYCS08 and this is my layout (with a couple of close-ups):



This week the elements, and what I used, are:
1. PP background: MM Ledger (my absolute favourite for everything)
2. Mix of PPs: Cross-My-Heart (yellow), Creative Imaginations (pink) and Fancy Pants (orange)
3. Ink everything: photo, layout edge, embellishments
4. Embellishment cluster: bottom right, using lots of metal
5. Staples: used a couple of times as embellishments and to keep the journaling transparency adhered
6. One 4x6 photo: check

This week was extra hard for a couple of reasons: I don't really use a single PP sheet as background, and nor would I use such a small photo. I had to start over quite a few times and finally work out a compromise; use the smaller 8.5x11 layout size so the photo looked larger and then add an XL photo frame. In the end, my subtle mind game worked brilliantly (because I felt as though I was using a 5x7 photo) and work could commence!

It's getting harder to stay in the competition now, although I'm so glad I signed up. I've felt really challenged, but in the best and nicest possible way, and for the first time in a very long time I'm creating layouts I'm really happy with. Not to mention it actually feels good to be competing against such a talented and nice bunch of women.

Now to wait for Tuesday night and the announcement of who gets through to Round 4. People are doing such great work it's anybody's guess who makes it through; fingers crossed, of course, I'm one of them.

SYTYCS08 Round 2 layout

I got through Round 1 and I've finished my layout for Round 2 of SYTYCS08. I'm really happy with it; a layout using a photo of Wini and Clarissa at a wildlife park way back in 1990. For a very long time Wini wasn't keen on animals and she dropped some bread just out of reach of the fattest, laziest kangaroo that wanted the bread but wasn't going to move. Wini looked perplexed about what to do, and in the end I picked up the bread and gave it back to her. Such a fantastic moment to capture, and one that still makes me laugh.

Here's my layout and 3 close-ups:



There were 6 elements to this week's challenge:

1. PP 3+: 6 PPs & transparency: (Basic Grey x3, Sandylion, My Mind's Eye, MM Ledger Text (journaling strips & title))
2. Ink: red on red cardstock and squares, aqua on squares, one square stamped
3. Journaling strips: check
4. Weight layout to one side: layout weighted to the right and bottom using cardstock as border and title/journaling strips to the right
5. Dimension: various buttons & brads, bookplate, photo turn and journaling strips mounted on card
6. One large photo: size 10 x 5.5

Fingers crossed I get through this round!

SYTYCS08 Round 1 layout

I've never posted before about being a scrapbooker, and for fun I thought I would enter a competition hosted by the online store Scraptacular called So You Think You Can Scrap 2008--that's the blinkie on my blog to the website hosting the competition.

Here's my layout for Round 1, which closes in less than four hours, together with three close ups:

This round required seven elements to be included on the layout and I found it a real challenge because my work is usually very simple. The elements are:

1. Hand cutting: several flowers hand cut from Making Memories Animal Crackers paper
2. Edge distressing: patterned paper under the main photo distressed with sandpaper
3. Layering: several PP layered under the photos
4. Negative space: 40-50% empty space
5. Texture: brads, MM brad word, machine sewing and a couple of handcut flowers mounted on cardstock
6. Non-standard size photos: x3 cut to different sizes
7. Clustering: hand cut flowers in top left corner

Even if I don't get through this round I'm happy with the layout I've done of Wini from when she was about 12 months old. I love this photo by Horace ... he's such a talented photographer.

Another one for the album, and only 9,999 to go!