Christmas Ornaments

Just popping in quickly to show you this cute fella with his baubles. I coloured him up to match the decorative paper and used a jumbo eyelet and ribbon to jazz-it up. Greeting and two punches later, it was done. Voila!

Hope your Christmas-card making is more advanced than mine! Instead of making cards, I've been trying to clear out some household bric-a-brac and I'm on quite a roll. But do you think I can find anyone to take a large box of quality toys? We're not talking incomplete/lost/broken here, but good stuff. These days many charities accept only new items. Our toys just want to be loved and played with. To suit toddlers, a mix of boys and girls stuff. So if you're local to me (North West Suburban Sydney) and can use them, they're all yours. Just email me or leave a comment.

Back to card-making soon; my son finishes his current school year next week and the kids exchange cards and treats so I need to magic up 20+ items real soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

Soccer Boy

This was a card made in a hurry. No time for fancy stuff. But I reckon the image and background paper are big enough stars to pull it off.

I got this stamp from my friend, Julie. It really suited the occasion because Ashley's friend had a soccer-themed birthday party. Picture about 20 boys running around a soccer field. Then came a thunderstorm but the kids quickly adapted the soccer game to a water bomb site. One child proclaimed it to be the "best party ever".

Ashley is off at another party today in this Sydney heat. I left him slipping and sliding along a sheet of plastic sprinkled with water and soap. It's a pretty good life for an 8 year old boy in our end of the world. This time he made the card for the party boy so I'll be back at some stage to show you his work.

Happy Hot Sunday in Sydney and thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

We Stamp for Lara - Online Stamping Event

Just a quick note to publicise a great opportunity to get some fabulous paper-craft tutorials while supporting a special little girl named Lara May Dunn. You can read more about Lara HERE.

You can join by making a deposit into the account below. It’s going to be awesome! And did you see?? You can win A BIGSHOT!!! Yep, you read that correctly!!

Please note, YOU CAN JOIN ANY TIME IN NOVEMBER AND RECEIVE ALL THE TUTORIALS.

Heritage Building Society
Mrs M J Dunn T/F Lara May Dunn
BSB 638010
A/C #: 12189650

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Lara's devoted Mum, Madonna. She's an awesome stamper, proud Mummy to four cherubs and a delight to know.

What are you waiting for? It starts tomorrow...the target is 200 sign-ups, please consider being one of them.

Love from Crafty Kim

The Tooth Fairy's Been Visiting

Ashley has been later to lose his top two teeth compared with many of his peers. The dentist says this isn't a bad thing because the older kids are when their adult teeth come through, the more likely they are to look after them well. But Ashley was very excited to finally feel his top teeth wiggling. I was less thrilled; more evidence that he's growing up and in a few blinks, he'll be an adult.

Without much fuss the teeth were soon gone leaving "the gap":

I thought I would make this card to mark and celebrate the occasion. The tooth fairy paid his visit too, although in our house, he's quite frugal ;)

It's not a great photo thanks to being taken late at night but there is glitter on the fairy's wings. I wanted to use a star embossing folder for the red panel but alas, none in stock, so I approximated it by punching stars in the same card colour and gluing them down. As with most punch art, it was fiddly and I ended up with glue in unwanted places but no matter.

I'm enjoying Ashley's toothless smile while it lasts. Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Happy Birthday Andrew

One month and one day after my birthday, a friend celebrated his birthday. I made the above card for him using papers in some of my favourite colours and punches. Lots of sticking-down but apart from that it was very easy and I was chuffed with the end result. Another great way to use paper scraps (click here and here for other ideas).

We had a good night out at Gourmet Pizza Kitchen followed by a memorable walk through a construction zone (don't ask). I was a bit slow to capture the moment with my camera and he wasn't keen to pose so this is the only photo I managed to get:

I've been a very good blogger lately; still more cards to share so pop back when you can. And check out my links (on the right, down) which I've updated - lots of eye candy there.

Love from Crafty Kim

Hot Chocolate

Well Spring is upon us in the southern hemisphere so I'm a bit late posting this wintery card which I made for the occasion of my friend Leanne's birthday. Leanne really feels the cold and has endured a chilly winter while her home has been renovated (meaning part of the house was open to the elements and no central heating). She also loves hot chocolate (like me, she drinks neither tea or coffee).

So this image was perfect for her card. In keeping with hot chocolate, I used cocoa and chocolate coloured paper and card. The pink was only chosen because it goes well with brown and the blue, hmmm, it must have been to go with the jeans.

Anyway, hope you have a warm and sunny day tomorrow whatever the weather is.

Love from Crafty Kim

Swimming Congratulations

A small deal in the overall scheme of life but my son Ashley started at a new school this year which is fortunate to have its own aquatic centre. He'd been enjoying learn-to-swim lessons at a local swim centre but for the sake of convenience and consistency, it was decided to move his lessons to the school's facility.

His school's approach to swimming instruction differs from his past teaching so he's taken some time to progress from the class level he was originally assessed at. He's watched quite a few of his class mates get promoted while he's stayed put. There's been some comments along the lines of "they're so fussy Mum" and "it's no fun" and I've wondered whether I made the wrong choice. But to his credit, Ashley has stuck it out and after nearly three school terms, he's been promoted to the "Goldfish" class.

So I made this little card for Ashley very quickly late at night. It's super simple but I was really happy with it, especially when so little time and thought went into it. If you have any questions about the card, please email me or leave a comment.

Anyway, thanks for enduring my proud mother moment.

Love from Crafty Kim

Get to the Moscow Circus

This afternoon I had a really good time at the Moscow Circus with family and friends. I've been to a few circuses in recent years including Cirque du Soleil and Circus Oz and I have to say I enjoyed the Moscow Circus most. It's great value, the action keeps on coming for two hours. It's currently playing in Hornsby (Rofe Park, until Sunday June 27) but moves on to other suburban locations next so it's very accessible.

We all laughed alot, especially at the clown acts and the ring master. And some of us cringed as we saw what we thought was impossible. Our kids (aged 5 onwards) were entranced. Kids of all ages are welcome, the family behind us tried in vain to get their baby to sleep - even he was paying close attention. But it's not just for kids; I reckon the acts appeal to all ages. There was some distinctly Russian acts as well as magic and puppetry not always seen at the circus. Its big claim to fame is a motorcycle act like no other (and it wasn't an assault on the ears either).

At the end of the wonderful show, the ring master asked us to spread the word if we enjoyed the show. So here I am; I can not speak highly enough of the show. More details here or at Ticketek. I hope I'll be able to see the Moscow Circus again when they tour Australia next (about two years away).

Love from Crafty Kim

Mum, can we make a cake?

(Creation and photo courtesy of Margaret Crawford, Stamps Ahead)

Do these words sound familiar? Usually at a totally unsuitable time. But now, there's a fast and happy solution.

My friend Margaret Crawford scrapped this page above as part of a 21-day scrapbooking challenge she has undertaken to raise funds for homeless kids. I'm sponsoring her $1 a day and so far, I'm up for $10. Margaret has been such a good friend to me that I wanted to send some traffic her way. Click HERE to see her scrapbook pages, she's led a interesting life so lots of variety.

Back to the cake. Margaret's niece, Jess, shared a recipe where you put some very basic ingredients in a normal coffee mug, mix them together and microwave them for 3 minutes. Out comes a cake fit to feed two kids. Pretty good I reckon, here's the recipe that Ashley followed (originally off Facebook):


5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons self-raising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.


I don't have a picture of the end result. Would you believe my phone rang as the microwave beeped and by the time I got back to the action, the cake was almost gone, courtesy of Ashley and his furry friends, Holly and Toby Beagles.

Have a great L O N G weekend. I'm hoping to be back here before it's over.

Love from Crafty Kim

School Boy Card

My son, Ashley, changed schools this year, into Year 3 at his new school. Here are a couple of happy snaps from his first day there:

Looking a bit pensive, or maybe just embarrassed by Mum taking photos

Here he's thinking "I've almost made it to the
classroom where the photos will finally end"

In his first week of new school, Ashley turned 8 years old and in keeping with his new school colours, a friend made him a birthday card in the school colours (being red, white and blue) shown at the top of this post.

Now in his second term, Ashley is really enjoying it. In fact, he's coped better with the change than I have! Thanks for stopping by and reading. I'll be making a few more posts about family and friends as I'm now using this blog as an attempt to keep in touch. But there'll still be plenty of paper-craft to be seen so please keep following.

Love from Crafty Kim

It's great to be eight...

Back at the beginning of February, my son Ashley turned eight years old. Above is the card I made for him. It really is a great age; life is full of play, sport, school, friends and other fun.

Ashley isn't particularly into dirt biking or motorcycling but he's past the age where cutsie images appeal (kids grow up too fast). I wanted to make something a bit "cool". He liked it, that's what I was hoping.

He didn't have a big party this year but still managed a session of slot car racing, dinner at McDonalds and a sleep-over with three mates (I must be mad). Here he is with the figure eight cake I made for him:


Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

Happy Birthday Cards

Not too long ago, a friend had a birthday and I made her this card using a Stampin' Up! set from the USA that I have long admired, called Branch Out:


I love the boots and the swing. I was remembering a farm where they have a tyre hanging from one of their many trees so it seemed appropriate.

And then a little friend, formerly aged 4 and 3/4 years, turned the big 5 and I made her this card using a new Stampin' Up! set called Pony Party:


As an alternative to colouring-in the image, I've used a technique called Paper Piecing. You stamp the image onto different patterned papers and then get snipping, pasting the various components onto a base image.

Like the glittery five? I'm not much of a bling girl myself but the little Miss, she lurves sparkles. She is also a big fan of My Little Pony and horses in general. So Ashley and I gave her a craft kit to make horse pictures using mosaic tile stickers. And we couldn't resist buying her the new picture book called about the library cat called Dewey Readmore Books. It is adapted from another book of the same name, this one for grown-ups:

If you're open to a literary recommendation, this book is a heart-warming read for any animal lover.

Love from Crafty Kim

Looking Back at Christmas 2009

Hello. Yes, I'm still breathing. Thanks to those who have written emails to me in recent times and also to those who kindly sent me Christmas cards. I received some lovely hand-made cards, a selection is shown above. I apologise for not sending out many cards this year, hopefully I can surprise you with a card sometime this year. The last month has been very eventful and not always in a good way but most of it ended well and, hopefully the future path is less arduous. One of my New Year's resolutions is to start making my Christmas cards in January; all of my unfulfilled ideas are still fresh in my mind.

I've not been creating lately. My craft room has been in such a mess that the thought of having to tidy it first was enough to put me right off. That's another of my resolutions...to cut down on 8 years worth of clutter and not just in my office, but in the whole house. Watch out for some give-aways and 2nd-hand items for sale, most of my items are lightly or never-used and these days, I'm realistic enough to know when I'm never going to use my stash (as much as I would love to).

Anyway, I thought I would share a couple of Christmas highlights for me. The first being the humorous picture below. I love suburban Christmas light displays and my son and I spent more than a few hours trawling my local area looking at house lights.

This photo was sent to me by a friend but there was a similar situation in my very own suburb of Westleigh. When I spied it, I didn't have a suitable camera with me. I managed to snap this photo with my I-Phone (new to me, still trying to master its operation):


I went back a couple of days later but clearly the neighbours had got to the witty individual who was brave enough to twist a rope of lights into the shape of an arrow and the word "Ditto".

For the last two years my boy Ashley has been asking me to build and decorate a gingerbread house with him. I finally gave in and alot of lollies and sugar later, here it is:

This side decorated by Ashley

and this end decorated by me

I always feel a little sad when Christmas is done, the tree gone and the decorations wrapped up and stowed away. I hope you had a good celebration and are still out there enjoying our holiday period.

Love from Crafty Kim

In Sympathy

The card you wish you didn't need. Part of life, yes, but such a sad chapter. And the warm memories help sustain you but you'll always miss the person's unique place in your world.

I made this card for a friend after she lost someone close to her but if this card speaks to you, please accept my sincere sympathy for your loss. I offer this poem "All is well" which brings me comfort:

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household world that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It it the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Henry Scott Holland 1847-1918
Canon of St Paul 's Cathedral

I won't dwell on this subject further but life is fragile so please make the most of the living years.

Love from Crafty Kim

Fiji Wedding

One of the reasons we travelled Fiji recently was to attend the "2nd wedding" of our friends who originally married in country NSW. Ten years later to the day, they affirmed their commitment to each other on a beach in Fiji, surrounded by their beautiful children, other family and friends.

It was a very relaxed ceremony, possibly a little less nerve-wracking than the original version. Here is a picture of the family just after the happy couple renewed their wedding vows:

Their daughters were lovely attendants. They were very excited to be part of the ceremony and were clothed in beautiful dresses.


Now I'm sure their eldest son was excited about the proceedings, he just kept his excitement on the inside, right? You can see him here with my son Ashley (they are good mates those two), playing on the beach:

It would appear that the waves, the sand and the passing snorkeller were at least momentarily more interesting than pretty dresses, bouquets, cameras and glasses of bubbly.

I made the card shown at the top of this post for the occasion. In keeping with the informal setting in Fiji, it's a casual kind of card. I added a bit of sparkle via Dazzling Diamonds to the champagne glasses:

Along with the rhinestones, this gave the card a special feel fitting to the event. And they are a "wonderful couple"; very much in love after ten years and four kids (their youngest child has just celebrated his first birthday). Of course, I only just gave them the card and gift some two weeks after the date but there wasn't any point taking it over just to bring it home again! That's my excuse ;)

It was indeed a privilege to share this time with them all, and we really appreciated being invited.

Love from Crafty Kim

Down at the Farm

During the recent school holidays, my son and I were invited to stay at a hobby farm in the Southern Highlands. It grows hazelnuts for sale at local markets as well running a few head of Dorper sheep. They also keeps chooks (which produce eggs with yolks the colour of Summer Sun) and grows a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Their jam is much sought after and was a big hit at the recent Christmas Craft Day.

I made this card as thanks for our farm stay which was full of such fun as performing sheep pedicures, spotlighting nocturnal animals, camping in a tent, riding motorbikes and swimming in the dam (that was Toby Beagle's favourite activity). I've used Thoughts and Prayers stamp set with the Faux Woodgrain Technique but this time I made the background look like floor boards. The card design is almost an exact CASE of a card made by Marelle Taylor which I loved as soon as I set eyes on it. Thanks for the idea Marelle. Notice the corners of the main image panel? I used the eyelet border punch as a corner punch - don't you love it when you get many uses from one tool?

Here are a few happy snaps from the weekend:

The Two Helmet Heads, Ashley and his friend

Ashley with Dorper Lamb

Toby Beagle enjoying a swim in and shake near the dam

It all ended well but we got a bit of a fright on Sunday morning when Toby Beagle ate some rat poison (buried deep under a stack of wood). But thanks to some quick action and a Moss Vale vet, no harm was done. Not sure how welcome Norty Dog is to visit again...

Love from Crafty Kim

Christmas Lights on Show

Hello,

I'm finally back. Thanks for your patience and I hope to be posting more frequently.

Christmas celebrations have begun and I wanted to share something special with you. In my local area, the Baynie family has created a wonderful Christmas light show in their front yard (at 47 Oakleigh Drive, Thornleigh) for all to enjoy. The display, which the family have been producing for a few years now, is dedicated to the memory of their daughter whom they lost to leukemia when she was aged only in her twenties.

Their neighbours have joined in as well so there are three houses to view. So if you're located somewhere in North West Sydney suburbs, it is worth the trip. Lights are on from sunset until 10.30pm. They are lovely people and most welcoming. While you're out this way, please take a tour of my suburb, Westleigh, lots of families have got into the act, including our family's modest efforts. Please email me for more details of the streets.

If you're not in my local area, there are other light displays all over Sydney. Please visit the 2GB web site for details of the Christmas Lights Hot Spots (make sure you scroll down past the advertisements to see the various homes and locations) and to vote for your favourite display (no prizes for guessing who I'm voting for).

I'll be back posting about paper-craft next.

Love from Crafty Kim

BOO! My First Halloween Card

Perhaps it should be WOO HOO instead because I'm very happy my camera is back in action. Have you noticed that it has become more common in Australia to observe Halloween? When I was a child, I don't think I even knew it existed or what it was about. But this year the "$2 shops" were full of things Halloween and in my bushy suburb of north west Sydney (Australia), kids were out trick-or-treating. This year I was slightly more prepared for the door knockers, last year they got sultanas.

Now, before you think this here Aussie country has gone the way of the Americans, did you know that Halloween originated in Europe? It has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival, known as Samhain (a word of Irish origin). Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient Celtic pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. Costumes and masks were worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them (Source: Wikipedia). And something wonderful has come out of the modern day Halloween; it is estimated that children have collected more than USD119 million for UNICEF since the inception of "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF".

But for me, Halloween represents another card making opportunity and I've been quite attracted by the images of owls, ghosts, cats, witches and the like. So last night, I had a play. Using Sharon Davies' card for colour inspiration (thanks Sharon) and a sketch challenge from Makeesha Byl:


The use of purple with the traditional orange and black really lifts the card in my view. I had fun making the scalloped circle edge by punching small black circles and adhering them to the back of the main image card stock. I originally intended to watercolour the ghost stamp but after a few attempts I wasn't satisfied that it was bright enough so I took the easy way out and stamped it on Lovely Lilac cardstock. I was desperate for wide black ribbon too, until I decided to put two strips of narrow black grosgrain together. Good enough.

Thanks for looking. Have a great week.

Love Crafty Kim

Pink October - In Support of Breast Cancer Patients and Research

Some of you will know that I am a Breast Cancer survivor. So, please indulge me when I write to publicise Breast Cancer Awareness Month or what I term Pink October. You'll see lots of pink this month in Australia.

Pink Ribbon Day on the 27 October 2008 is a joint initiative of the National Breast Cancer Foundation:


and the Cancer Council of Australia:


There are various fundraising activities happening this month such as the sale of Pink Ribbon Merchandise, Girls Night In and the Pink Ribbon Motorcycle Ride.

I'm pleased to report that Scrapbooking Memories Magazine has a special issue planned, with heart warming stories and stunning projects to inspire. Plus, they are donating 10 cents of every copy of sold at Australian newsagencies and major chain and grocery stores to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. So look out for this issue:


And it is never too late to book a Stampin' Up! gathering for a Girls Night In. If your October is already booked up, consider November, the NBCF and Cancer Council of NSW gladly accept money for breast cancer causes at any time.

Lastly, for all those readers who do support the breast cancer cause, please accept my heartfelt thanks for helping people like my family and I. And to young women especially, please examine your breasts regularly to detect a breast tumour early. Don't think it can't happen to you, I was 34 years old with a 12 month old infant at the time of diagnosis. And my cancer had already begun to spread beyond my breast. But don't be scared to get any abnormalities checked because most breast lumps are not cancer.

Thanks for reading this message, I very much appreciate your attention to this compelling subject.

Love from Crafty Kim

Is there a Baby Boom happening?

My friend, Mia, who is an early childhood nurse, tells me September/October is the peak period for births. That's certainly true for my circle of friends, there's plenty of new babies around.

While I was up in Queensland, one of my SU! team, Kendall had a baby girl, Savannah Dawn. A new daughter for husband, Daniel, and a little sister for Amelia (Millie). Here's the card I made for them all:


The design is largely inspired by a card from Marelle Taylor. I've used the big and small flowers from the Little Pieces and Big Pieces stamp sets, stamped in Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose on Whisper White card stock. I've pieced together a baby from the All In The Family stamp set and mounted it on a scallop made using the Scallop Circle Punch.

The "Welcome Baby" greeting is from the Short & Sweet stamp set which is great value this month at 20% off its normal price. Both words and graphics for under $24!

Thanks for looking,

Love from Crafty Kim