To Do List Catch up.

These last few weeks I have been run off my feet.  I ran small Stampin' Up class fundraiser for my Cambodian Volun-tour; been visiting my gorgeous friend Sulea and her little baby (nicknamed Gizmo); started Millicent's sewing lessons; punched out thousands of little christmas trees, stars, snowflakes, stockings and mittens for a craft section at my church's annual Christmas production (yep that took forever); and made a nice dent in my to do list.

So far I have done the following:

 

SEWING

1. Finish baby quilt I started 2 years ago- Not even touched it.
2. Finish quilt that I am making with fabric I have won - close to finishing.  Maybe now the machine and the table are set up properly I might get a chance to finish.  Hmm that may be wishful thinking
3. Finish Christmas table runner I am hand sewing with small hexagons- I have made a huge dent in this but the fabric is dark and I really need to get myself some glasses.  Things up close are just all blurry now.
4. Start and finish 6 Christmas gifts - fabric is coming but not sure what I am making yet. - This list kind of grew.  Without giving it away I have finished at least 1 sewn item and started on others.  I still have two more to start on. I have also made around 10 other items that aren't sewn.
5. Finish pram toys - YES!!!! LOL actually only one ended up being a pram toy.   

This is all the toys.  Each one has a rattle or a bell inside.  The owl is the one that can be attached to the pram.  The balls are hexagons that I hand stitched together.  They are attache to teething rings as well.  

I made up the pattern for them all.

ETSY
Currently not happening.  I have made two sales (one on line and one off line).  I need to revise my prices and postage but that means time to sit down and do it.

BLYTHE
Also not currently happening.  Will get back to that in the new year.

PHOTOGRAPHY

1. Finish editing my Tassie holiday shots- Nope barely had a chance and I have take other photos since then that need sorting as well.
2. Hopefully make a photo calendar for my Aunts in the East- YES and it has been posted off.  Had some lovely feedback on it.

CAMBODIA VOLUN-TOUR

1. Book Flights- DONE
2. Get necessary clearances - Police; working with kids etc- DONE
3. Medical check up - Wasn't required.
4. DON'T FORGET MY FUNDRAISING LINK ON THE SIDE OF MY BLOG.  ;) - You still have time to donate.  Remember it is for a good cause and it is tax deductible.

 CRAFT

1. Start and finish soooo many kits that I have (especially the Christmas ones). - Not a Chance.
2. Make a fun album with some photos for a friend.- Hmm maybe for next year but not this year.  Not sure if I have the time.  Plus I want to write a story that goes with it and not sure what to write yet.
3. Clean up the craft areas (yes they have multiplied) and sort them out so that I know where everything is!- Started on this then most of my time was taken away by organising the craft for the annual Christmas Production.
4. Prepare 25 make and takes for a Card Christmas party in a week (plus cook cupcakes for it).YES,  Done and Done!  It was a great day.
5. Make maternity leave card. YES!  Not quite a card though. 

Maternity leave wall hanging.

I made the teddy from Fimo that is sculpted around aluminium foil.

 

 This is the card I made for the Christmas Party:

Whisper White card Stock

Northern Flurry Embossing Folder

Ornament Punch

Delightful Decorations - Joy ornament stamp.

I stamped the joy ornament stamp first in Versamark

Add white embossing powder and heat.

Once cool use a sponge to rub chosen colour into the areas not embossed.

(I used Crumb Cake)

Punch out using the ornament punch.

I have attached it to the card with Dimensionals

Twine was added to give the hanging effect.

I used the seam binding crumb cake ribbon for the bow and stuck it on with double sided tape.

 These next two cards and box were the make and takes at my fundraiser.

Riding Hood Red card stock was used as main card.

Snow Swirled stamp set was used to add character to the main card.

(stamped in riding hood red ink)

I also sponged the edges to give a bit of depth.

Whisper White card stock embossed using the Textured Impressions embossing folder

Cut around the outer edge of the embossing.

Sponge the top of the embossing with Shimmer paint

(I used Champagne Mist)

Place embossed card on red card.

 Stamp the oval from Joyous Celebrations Stamp set onto another whisper white card piece using Riding Hood Red ink.

In Garden Green Ink I stamped the little leafy stamp from Joyous Celebrations.

Punch out using the Extra Large Oval punch

On a separate piece of whisper white stamp the bow from Joyous Celebrations in Riding Hood Red and cut it out.

The bow is small so I used only half a Dimensional to attach it to the top of the oval.

I added a Rhinestone to fancy it up.

Again on a separate piece of whisper white stamp out the greeting and cut it out.

Place the greeting onto some Garden Green card stock and cut out a ribbon effect.

Sponge around the outside in Garden Green ink.

Tape the greeting to the oval.

Attach the oval to the center of the embossed card using dimensionals.

(Textured Impressions and Joyous Celebrations are only available for a short time in the mini catalogue - available till the end of Jan '13)

Totally in love with the new Glimmer paper.  I have used silver here.

Main card is Midnight Muse.

The white card stock is Glossy White (which no longer appears to be for sale in the Catalogue .. Nooooo!)

Down one side of the white I used the scallop border punch.

Using one of the Trees from the Evergreen Stamp set I stamped the card in Versamark (making sure it was off center).  

Cover with white embossing powder and heat.

Down the scallop side of the card I used sticky notes (post its)to mask off an area that I wanted to stay white.

Using the following inks I then sponged all over the exposed white area: Midnight Muse, Tempting Turquoise, Marina Mist

(I love this technique as it doesn't colour the heat embossing).

Peal off the sticky notes.

Cut two strips from the gorgeous new Glimmer paper.

One wide one for the side and a smaller one for the strip

(HINT: I put double sided tape on the card first and then trimmed it to the size of the tape in order to get the strip).

I joined the white card and the wide silver strip together first before adding them to the main card.

The small strip runs flush to your sponging.  

Punch out a star (from Merry Mini's punch pack) and attach with a dimensional.

The Christmas greeting is from the stamp set More Merry messages and done in Midnight Muse Ink.

(Evergreen Stamp set and Punch Pack Merry Mini's are only available for a short time in the mini catalogue - available till the end of Jan '13)

Box was cut using Night of Navy card stock and the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die.

Whisper White Card stock was used to punch out a lacey border (punch no longer available).

I attached this by running double sided tape along the center and then rubbing glitter on the exposed areas of tape.

The Snowflakes are using the Bigz Die Snow Flurry, silver glimmer paper and glossy white that I sponged with Night of Navy ink.

Last but not least is Millicent's sewing lessons.  She is the best student I have ever had.  In her first session she was sewing circles!  Remember she has not touched a sewing machine before. 

The first lesson was basically how to use a machine.  We ended up making three sized circle pin cushions, stuffing them and hand stitching closed.  In the third lesson, we used embroidery thread to pull the edges in like a flower and then join the three in a tower.  I am very proud of her, she has done a great job.  Though she did say I had made it!! Hello I helped but most of the work was hers.

 Just before the second lesson we went shopping.  She had a simple dress in mind that she wanted to make and I decided that yes it was simple enough for her first one.  We found the perfect pattern but it was out of stock so we chose another one.  This pattern really should be done in knit fabric but there was no nice knit fabric so we went for cotton while crossing our fingers. 

The second lesson was all about how to cut out a patter, reading what was on the pattern pieces, warp, weft and selvedges, and how to place so that you can save fabric.  It was also a lot of guess work trying to figure out the pattern pieces required.  The pattern we chose can be made multiple ways (at least 6 that I know of) and you have to figure out which pieces you need.

Here she is with her first pinned pattern piece.

 Now she is cutting out very carefully.

Today was the third lesson.  She was taught how to read the pattern instructions and that it is easier to decipher thanks to the pictures they have.  She also learned how frustrating some patterns can be as they don't always tell you what is needed (ie the collar needed to be cut 4 times not twice and once in interfacing - this was not mentioned on the pattern piece).  Zig zag stitch, and gathering has also been learned today as well as knowing when it is time to stop. 

We had been going at it most of the day and managed to get a fair amount done before we stopped and finished the pin cushion.

Here she is full of concentration.  Best student ever.  Why were my kids in high school not this conscientious. 

Well this has turned out to be a long post.  In fact it has taken me a couple of hours.  Darn thing better upload properly now.

Night all, I have to get up early, bath and trim the dog before her photo with Santa Clause.  Yes you can take your pets to see Santa at the shop on a Sunday.  :)

Xmas Special

I hope that every one has had a safe and a happy Christmas. Mine was certainly a lot better than last year.

My Aunt and Uncle have moved to WA and are currently living with us until their stuff arrives. This meant we had a Christmas day and then another Christmas day with the rest of the family on boxing day (Dec 26 for the non Aussies).

My Uncle is a bit of cheek so I devised a special gift for him. On Christmas morning I knew something was up because he was dying for me to open my presant from them. A whole newspaper later I found it. I also found out it was my Aunt's idea so I began to think I did the gift thing to the wrong person. Anyway it came his turn and he got a box, full of paper and then a tiny little note that went like this:

1. If you want your gift, you will have to hunt for it - next clue was taped in the lid of the box
2. I live high amongst the fir, though this year it is rather short - in the top of the Xmas tree. We only used to top of the larger tree this year.
3. You will need to use this after Chrismas this year - next clue on the treadmill
4. Think I will catch 40 winks first - taped to the bed under his pillow
5. Time to freshen up - Taped to the shower
6. I wonder where you will find me? I am one of three - Tucked under a dogs collar
7. Make sure you tell me how good I have been, before you look under the real Christmas tree - he was to tell the dog it had been good and the real Christmas tree was outside.
8. It's in a dark and purple place in which I am caged - A purple box in the lounge room with purple written on it.
9. I live in cold conditions until I am needed - the fridge
10. I am a stirrer - Under stirfry vegies in the freezer is where he finally found his chocolate.

I also took photos of all the dogs looking christmassy but you will have to wait for another post on that one.

My Uncle at the second Xmas day with the fake moustache he got in his bon bon

Uncle and Aunt

See how many men it takes to get a remote control car working. In the end it was Kathy who figured it out. The men then went and crashed it into a building. Luckily spare parts are readily available. Oh there excuse is that it went out of range and out of control even though the manual stated that going out of range it will switch off! Who do you believe?! LOL

2 sisters

You may remember this photo from a sneak peak a couple of weeks ago. It was part of a bag I made for my niece who is currently living in Africa. Well Christmas has come and gone, and she now has it and apparently loves it.

This is the satin inside which I stole from a shirt my cousin had started making me back in 1986 when she lived with us. It never got finished and has been sitting in the material bag all this time. Memory lane for you Maree, though I know you won't remember! ;0)

The handle is plaited. Don't like how I stitched it to the bag though (hence no photo) as it is a bit messy. Considering I made the pattern up myself though I am rather chaffed at how it turned out.

Of course no bag is complete without a dangly.

And here it is

Now considering my niece has barely been on this planet long enough, she seems to have developed a liking for bags. Unfortunately I found this one in the shops 3 days before Xmas so it is still with me and not with her. I also know that one of her favourite toys is a hand knit zebra, so considering this is a backpack made by Zebra Crossing, and includes a Zebra, I think I hit the jackpot. I fell in love with it at first glance and bought it on the spot. It wasn't until I was back at the office (yes I was working) that I realised a few secrets about it.

The backpack

has a zebra dangly to one side

The straps over the Zebras shoulders are attached to the nappy like seat by velcro. This allows you to pull the zebra out with ease.

he is sooo cuddly

and he is a bag himself!

I wanna keep him he's so cute, but he must return to Africa.

Well I just realised I haven't blogged about my work Christmas party (we had 2), or about my weight this week (that was intentional as I did not get on the scales), so my next blog may be a little catch up one. Right now I have a brandy snap with cream waiting with my name on it.

Holidays

You can tell I am on holidays. I seem to be doing about two posts a day. I am not sure why but I think my Christmas Spirit missed the post this year. Even putting up the tree and listening to carols hasn't made much of a difference. This is not me. I love Christmas. Maybe it is because my cousins kids are all growing up to fast and the fun of hiding presents and planning little things for the day has gone.

Yesterday I had Carmen from my JJ group come down for a visit. It was nice to have her here and show her around. We are both around the same weight so after Christmas I am joining her in a diet. We are going to be diet buddies. Yeah I know you have heard this all before but I am really hating myself and I am sick of hiding away from society. I can't say I will be successful but I will give it a good try. Carmen has already started hers but I have a big family Christmas and a wedding in my near future. Starting a diet is immediate diet suicide. I don't gorge myself which is a good thing and I think God has blessed me with a cavity which means no overly sweet stuff either.

Mum and I will be up way past midnight tonight as some friends of hers have invited us back to their place once they get back from mass. That means around 1am. Luckily our family Christmas is on boxing day this year which means I can sleep all day tomorrow (that of course depends on the noisiest neighbours in the world who live next door - the second noisiest are on the other side). Ruth has asked that I take photos of my Christmas decorations. I think it is because her daughter is very mobile now and loves shiny things, hence not many decorations up.

Back on the subject of Christmas I have posted pictures of one last gift I made. This is for my cousin who is a chef. I doubt he is interested enough to read this blog but just in case I have waited till now to put his gift on. He flew in today with his family and most likely will not get onto the Internet in the next 48 hours.

The ingredients for this masterpiece were:

• 2 flat canvas boards - one as the main and a small square one in the centre to raise up
• Modelling paste that I textured with a palette knife and Making memories sponge stamps
• The cutlery and the coat hanger I got from scraptivate (where else)
• The ivy leaves and the black border at the top are from the German Scrap Collection. I used luminart paint on the ivy leaves to make them shine.
• Last but not least Tim Holtz alcohol inks. I just love how they look on the modelling paste.