{Have a Merry Christmas}

Just popping in to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

 

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

A new look...

This afternoon, I thought I would quick jump on the computer, check my favourite blogs and generally waste some time. In the process, I thought it was time to change things up a bit. What do you think of the new layout? I do like mushrooms;)

We are having a very minor thunderstorm here at the moment, my girls are just terrified of thunder, and like to be very close to me during storms. I have a couple of pics to share of what I can see on the floor of my computer/crafty space. Poor little chooks were so tired after their busy morning, they have just crashed.

 

 

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

A pretty little bag and a card

Following yesterday's post, I have finished the {sshhh} task I was working on this morning and decided that I hadn't quite had enough Amy Butler just yet. Clint has taken the girls into work for the morning, so I found myself with a little free time to continue my Amy "Lurrve" obsession. My favourite fabric from the new collection is the Tumbled Roses. I have made this little number for myself this morning with yesterday's leftovers....

 

...pretty, don't you think?

 

I put a small yo yo under the button with some interfacing, just to strengthen where the button is stitched straight onto the cotton fabric, and add a different touch...

 

...one little pocket inside that houses my phone and lippy perfectly...

...and for the papercrafters out there who are growing tired of my personal and fabric posts, here's one for you;)...

 

I love cards with fabric... and did I mention that I like Amy Butler fabric?? My favourite hobbies are sewing with gorgeous designer fabrics, and creating unique cards for the special people in my life... I love it when the two collide.

Enjoy your week, only 4 sleeps til Santy Claus visits...

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

Amy Butler's "Love" and a secret little Santa project...shhh...

I got a little idea in my head last Monday for a special gift for a special someone. I ordered some of Amy Butler's gorgeous new fabric from her "Love" collection from the lovely Amber at Fresh Fabrics and it arrived a couple of days later. Thankyou Amber!

Isn't it lovely....

 

...so I have been busily creating a little something with these gorgeous fabrics, and one of my favourite old denim skirts that is just so out of fashion now, that I decided to hack into it to create something new and beautiful with it.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend, it is a lovely rainy afternoon here, perfect for a little sewing and a nice cup of coffee.

Smiles :) bye for now.

Kathy

The Birthday Post

On the 16th December 2004, our day was full of concern and chaos. Things happened so fast and it is all a bit of a blur to us now. The girls had become impatient in my crowded little tummy home, and decided it was time to leave the nest and meet us, only thing was is that they weren't supposed to do that until March the next year. They sure had an early and shaky start to life, and if you had of asked me this time 5 years ago about celebrating their 5th birthday, I seriously didn't think we would have got here. But against it all, I have two gorgeous healthy little girls, who can tackle just about anything thrown their way. They are the sunshine in our day, and an absolute joy to be around... most of the time, hee hee;)

Yesterday was their "real" birthday and we had so much fun. They had some of their kindy friends over for a little party...

 

...we played pass the parcel...

 

...pin the horn on the unicorn (I had never heard of this one, whatever happened to the poor old donkey?)...

 

... and had lots of fun playing with new toys.

 

My sister in law, Brooke, posted THIS over at her blog yesterday. Thankyou Brooke and Will, these gorgeous pillows are so beautiful and are now sitting proudly on the girls beds.

Thankyou to everyone for your birthday wishes, Lara and Tahlia had lots of fun, and Clint and I truly appreciate all of you.

Smiles:) bye for now.
Kathy

Cupcakes and Flippy Skirts...

I have discovered in the last couple of weeks just how much one can acheive in one's day when one's children climb out of bed for the day at 4.30am, it really is quite astonishing... perhaps I should have always been getting up this early... um no, I don't think so! I do hope it is a phase that will be short lived through the early Summer sunrise, then nipped in the bud very soon after. But for now, it is what it is, and I am trying to make the most of our early starts and get plenty acheived each day.

Yesterday, the girls and I made their little party favours for tomorrow. I had ordered the BasicGrey Cupcake favours, but had thought once they arrived that they were way too small for anything, but we decided to use them. They are quite cute really. I kind of figured that at this time of year, kids don't really need a full size lolly bag loaded with lots of goodies, a few little things works well too, right?

So we wrapped up some yummy jelly beans...

 

Popped in some pretty hair accessories...

 

...and voila! All done. The girls really like them.

 

Once all the washing was done, and the floors were clean, I got a little sewing time and made these skirts, they are part of a little someone's Christmas goodies. I so love these fabrics, a little Alexander Henry and Riley Blake to brighten any little girl's day.

 

These early starts even let me get in blog posts!

Enjoy your week, smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

Berries and Birthdays

We had a busy but fun weekend with the girls family and friends fifth birthday party, we line up to do it all over again on Wednesday, which is their actual birthday day, with their kindy friends, so that should be fun. I had two very shy little girls on my hands, so photos are somewhat limited this year unfortunately.

Thankyou to our friends and family who shared the day with us, you all made it very special for the girls and Clint and I.

 

Tahlia chose a caterpillar cake for her special day, and Lara wanted a Merry-go-round cake, and both had to be pink of course, they were lots of fun to make, and yummy to eat too!

Clint was having a little wander and a wind down yesterday afternoon, and snapping some piccies around the yard. He took this cute photo of a strawberry in our garden, and it reminded me of a card I made, so here's the strawberry and a card to share.

 

 

 

Card ingredients: Kraft card, Chocolate Chip ink and Chocolate Chip ribbon - from SU!, Nook and Pantry 6 x 6 paper pad and die cut from the Cupcake favour set - BasicGrey, Lizzie Anne stamp, EK Success corner rounder.

The blogging will be taking a back seat with the fun and festivities of the season. It is a busy time of year for all, and I am really wanting to enjoy this time with Clint and my girls. It is the beginning of a new chapter next year with the start of school for them, I am so used to having them by my side so much, so want to really just hang with them over the holidays, and just be.

I hope your week is off to a good start, thanks for checking what we've been up to. I'll pop in from time to time over the next couple of weeks with little shares for you.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

Kraft cards

Hi all. I have another couple of cards to share today using BG's Diecuts from the Cupcake Party favours pack. Super easy cards, and very quick to whip up.

 

 

Ingredients: Nook and Pantry Favour kit from BasicGrey; EK Success large corner rounder; Great Friend stamp, Chocolate Chip ink and ribbon, Kraft cardstock - all from SU!

Enjoy your day!

Kathy

Nook and Pantry Play

Good Morning All. Sorry for the blog absence, I think it will be the trend for this crazy month {commonly known amongst some as December}. I do have a funny little story to share... just to prove that my head really is a little crazy at this time of year...we recently had electric gates fitted across the driveway at home, and I am struggling a bit with the remotes - two separate ones for the new gate, and another for the roller door - they look nothing alike, I just don't cope real well with change is all. Well, I got home a couple of days ago after Christmas shopping with the girls, they were arguing in the back of the car - so I pressed the remote for the gate, all good, pressed the remote for the garage door, all good, then when I was halfway into the garage, I stopped and pressed the remote for the gate to close (or so I thought), I then heard this loud bang on the roof followed by a shrill beeping. I had pressed the garage door one instead, bringing it down onto the roof of my car with a loud crash. I have roof rails, so no damage luckily, and the girls immediately went quiet, so it had it's benefits I guess. Anyways, I told Clint what had happened, through fits of maniacal laughter, and he just shook his head and mumbled some comment about how that wouldn't have happened to him, because he can do multiple things at once... okey dokey... walk away.... walk away now I said to myself.

Now for the card part, I was putting together the little party favours for the girls party, the teeny tiny cupcake favours from BasicGrey's Nook and Pantry range, and I was inspired to make a few cards from the cute little die cuts that came in the pack - I tend to do that often... halfway through one job, something catches my eye, immediately making me lose interest in the job needed to be done, and moving onto something entirely different {some would call it 'manic', I prefer the term a 'creative mind'} I made 5 different cards, I will keep some up my sleeve for the coming days, so as not to leave you all for so long;)

 

 

Ingredients: Nook and Pantry Favour kit, N & P 6 x 6 paper pad - from BasicGrey; EK Success large corner rounder; Great Friend and It's a Loop Thing stamps, Chocolate Chip ink and ribbon, Tangerine Tango ink, Kraft cardstock - all from SU!

Enjoy your weekend... only 20 sleeps until Christmas now....EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

I got nothing...(nothing creative to share I mean;))

After a nice family weekend, I am a little sluggish at getting back to the creative side of life... but wanted to let you know I am still here and haven't forgotten my blog friends. Your comments on my special anniversary post were just lovely, thankyou. We had a lovely day and weekend and I am sporting a beautiful new band of diamonds that are a-twinkling away... I am still having a little trouble looking away from them.

I am getting myself busy with some birthday preparations for the girls and the like. My mind is a little jumbled with it all, December birthdays really make the Christmas time come up too fast for me, I need to finish the birthday prep and fun stuff so I can have a clear head again and then hit Christmas prep head on.

 

I hope you have a lovely first day of December and enjoy a little splash of colour from my garden.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

10 Years

 

I will pre-warn you that this is a personal post today, I'll keep it relatively short and sweet, there is a card to share, too, but just wanted to let you know beforehand;)

Tomorrow is a special day, it is our 10 year wedding anniversary. We have changed a lot in the last 10 years, grown a lot... are a little squidgier around the edges, learnt a lot; the beauty of it is that we have done it together. Anyone who knows Clint and I, knows, that above everything else, we are best friends, he is my life, and I love him dearly.

Now for the card, I wanted to make a masculine Anniversary card, I think I have achieved that:

 

 

Card ingredients: Kraft and Choc Chip card, Choc Chip ribbon, MM Slice - Thoughts and Expressions card, Cosmo Cricket Nutmeg Mini Deck, EK Corner Rounder.

I am going to take a little blog break over the next few days, take some time to focus on the family and some one on one time with my lovely boy. I'll be back next week with some fun creative stuff to share.

 

Enjoy your weekend, wherever it takes you.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

Faa laa laa-ing.... again...

Good afternoon all. So, yep, the Christmas cards are all but done, these ones are from that big pile from last week again. I have been having a little crafty rest the last few days, realising that my girls are rapidly approaching their first year of school, and wanting to have fun and lots of nice days together in the lead up, it all is coming to an end a little too fast for me.

First up in this little lot:

 

 

Ingredients: Lizzie Anne design Holiday Script stamps, October Afternoon's Good Cheer 8 x 8 paper pad, cream card from my local, Riding Hood red card, Riding Hood red ink, Old Olive ink, Whisper White ink, Scallop edge punch and Tree Trimming stamps - all from SU!

Next up I am really unsure of. I do like to stray from the traditional colours of Christmas, but, this one, I am just having trouble even looking at it. I think it's too, um, what's the word... yellow? What do you think?

 

Ingredients: Red card from my local, Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly mini deck, Riding Hood red ink, So Saffron ribbon and punches from SU!, button from my stash, sentiment by Lizzie Anne's Holiday Script.

Finally, I have used this layout in the pink Chrissy set a few days ago. I like this one;)

 

Ingredients: Kraft card, Riding Hood red ink and card, Very Vanilla ribbon, button - all from SU!, Fiskars border punch, Lizzie Anne Designs Holiday Script stamps, Jolly by Golly mini deck - Cosmo Cricket, EK Success corner rounder.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Playtime!

I have been sitting on Basicgrey's Nook and Pantry range for a little while... just waiting til I had completed enough of my Christmas "chores" so I could break them all out for a play. So I ended up with two of the stamp sets - Cakes and Cup of Tea, the 12 x 12 collection pack, the Greeting card kit (which I didn't want but got sent as a mix up... oh well, I am sure I can put it to use.. hee hee), and 2 of the 6 x 6 paper pads... hmmm, I think it is safe to assume that I did quite like this new range!

So, a couple of days ago, I did get a chance to have a little play with some of these delicious goodies, and here is the result, I did make a couple more cards, but they didn't photograph well.. and I am feeling a little too lazy to get the camera out at the moment, so here is the one that came up well.

 

 

All ingredients are from the BG Nook and Pantry packs and accessories listed above; plus: Martha Stewart ribbon; Chocolate Chip and Whisper White cardstock, Chocolate Chip marker pen, Scallop edge punch, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White ink from SU!; Versamark, Corner rounder from EK Success.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

More Christmas Cards

Another couple of Christmas cards today. These ones were super quick and simple, I think I'll be making a few more of these to finish off my Chrissy cards for the year.

 

 

Ingredients: White cardstock from my local, Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly Mini Deck, EK Success Square punch, Lizzie Anne Designs Holiday Script stamps, Riding Hood Red ink from SU!

 

 

Ingredients: Cream cardstock from my local, October Afternoon's Good Cheer 8 x 8 pad, EK Success Square punch, Lizzie Anne Designs Holiday Script stamps, Old Olive ink fom SU!

Well, it is a bit of a scorcher here in sunny Queensland today, so I think a cool drink and an afternoon in the pool with the kids is in order. Enjoy your day, wherever it may take you.

Smiles:) bye for now.

Kathy

More of those Christmas cards...

Good Afternoon All. Thankyou for all the blog love over the last few days, it has been so lovely to know you are out there and taking the time to see what this crafty little bunny has been up to, it really does mean so much:)

Today, I have a quick share of some more of those Christmas cards from that lovely colourful pile. I have gone Kraft with traditional for these ones.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients: Lizzie Anne's Holiday Script stamps, Green patterned paper - October Afternoon's Good Cheer 8 x 8 pad, Red patterned paper - Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly 6 x 6 pad, Kaisercraft Holiday stamps, Nestabilities label 4; Wide oval punch, scallop edge punch, Corner rounder, Very Vanilla and Kraft cardstock, and Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon all by SU!, Red satin ribbon from Big W, Bamboo and Cardinal versamark ink.

Enjoy the last little bit of the weekend... I am hanging onto it so tightly... I never want the weekends to end. When I become Prime Minister, I will endeavour to make it a 5 day weekend, with a 2 day working week!

Smiles:) bye for now

Kathy

A First for Me...

Good Morning all. I have often looked and loved the Colour Inspiration Challenges on some of my favourite blogs, but have never participated in one. So today, to shake things up a little, I have decided to have a go. I am a huge fan of Dawn McVey's gorgeous creations.

 

I have used the product as close as I could to Dawn's piccy above. I have to admit to being a little afraid of all of the colours, I am usually pretty simple and only choose a couple of colours for my creations, but I must admit it was a little fun to go rummaging through my goodies on the hunt for some new colours to try!

 

 

 

Ingredients: Chocolate Chip and Pale Plum card, Chocolate Chip ink, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, Curvy Label punch bundle, Scallop edge punch, Felt flowers - all from SU!, patterned paper from My Mind's Eye "Be Merry" range, square punch by EK Success, Pearl from Prima, Polka dot embossing folder from QuicKutz, button and choccy twine from my stash.

I hope your weekend is filled with fun things, enjoy. Smiles:) bye for now.

Keeping it Simple

I love single layer cards that just let the stamps do the talking. Here are a few more of those Christmas cards from yesterday.

 

 

Ingredients: Kraft cardstock, Corner rounder punch, Whisper White and Riding Hood Red ink, Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon - from SU!, Basic Grey's Santa Baby stamps, Lizzie Anne Holiday Script stamps.

Bye for now:)