OMG 10 years 11 days ago....

Our granddaughter Shyanne came into our lives. Wow where have those years gone...???(And also where have the last 11 days gone from when I first started this post..)
I remember the day she was born as if it was yesterday. I drove her mum and dad into the hospital at 5.30am on the 20th and at 6.14am she was born... And by 5.30pm I was driving all 3 home again! And so began the journey of Shyanne. They lived with me and my hubby for six months and then they moved into their own home.
So many memories.. was and still is a thumb sucker; always sniffed her food; doesn't like loud noises; loves to dance and sing; loves to rub your ear when she sucks her thumb (not with me tho I don't like it)
As her Birthday was after school broke up she had a party early so that she could invite her school friends. She wanted a pool party, like last year Nan Nan, so that's what she had. So easy and they entertained themselves.
On the night before her Birthday me and hubby along with her dad and Jacqui blew up heaps of balloons and at 6-30 in the morning we threw them up the hallway and then went outside her bedroom window with party hooters and started blowing them and singing Happy Birthday to her. You should have seen her face when she pulled the curtains back and then when she opened her bedroom door to see all the balloons. It was so worth the effort!!!!!
We then sent her on a treasure hunt - she found the first clue and a little present under the Christmas tree. She was running all over the section looking for the clues and finally found the last clue under the dining table. It was a big box but then she had to unwrap 3 more boxes to get to her real present (she was getting a little peeved by this stage - but it was funny for us to watch) Her present was a ticket to Taylor Swift in Auckland in March. Perhaps a piece of paper isn't that exciting at first but I can tell you she is very excited about the prospect of three days in Auckland.

Happy crafting

Dee

Yoyo Christmas Decoration

Here I am - I'm not missing... Busy times again.
When I went to Auckland for the SU Big Day Out Julia and I went shopping (of course we did!!!) and we bought some yoyo makers. What are yoyo's I hear you say? They are circles of fabric gathered up to make a puffy circle. Their proper name is Suffolk Puffs. They are so easy to make and can be made when you are watching tv of an evening. Julia was very industrious and made this whereas I kept it simple and made a Christmas decoration.



Happy crafting.

Star Book

Tonight at Crafters Anonymous we made a "Star Book" with the fab Deb Speijers. I really enjoyed making this. (It is also a great way to use up my retired SU DSP's.) I haven't finished embellishing it yet as I need to get some photos printed off of my grandson Reuben's 5th Birthday.


I made this one for my mum a few years ago. Can you guess she likes giraffes??? lol




Happy crafting.

I'm still here

I have been crafting up a storm but I can't show you yet.... I am involved in a few swaps at the moment and the recipients have not received them so I had better not show you first!!! But rest assured I will when they do.
I am also taking part in the Crafters Anonymous 4 Seasons ATC Swap. We are now swapping our last season of the year "Spring". Here are my ATC's for Autumn and Winter (for some reason I cannot find my Summer ATC and I haven't even got a pic of it!!!).


Happy crafting.

Would you like fries with that???

It was my turn to take the Monday night class at Crafters Anonymous tonight.
I got my idea from a MacDonalds large fries box - always on the look out for things to recreate!!! My family shake their heads when they see me looking on top and underneath things and then they start to giggle when I pull things apart.... Anywhoo here's the finished box. So much better for you than fries (well one of them is)

Happy crafting

What I sent to my Swappee

This is my swap I sent to Cara for the UStamp Friend to Friend Swap

I had made this box for another project but thought Cara would like it so I revamped it with paper roses that I had sprayed with smooch spritz. It sure looked cute and I filled it with Pineapple lump chocolates.

Happy crafting



Dee

UStamp Swap Part Three

The final two cards I received.


It is always great to receive "happy mail" and I just love being apart of the swaps as I always receive such fabulous ones.

UStamp Swap Part Two

Here's the next two swaps I received. Out of the six I received, four of them featured the top note die.



These two are gorgeous too.

Happy crafting

UStamp Swap Part One

As some of you know I was a member of the last UStamp round and of course I had to participate in the swaps that were going.

Here are my first two of my six that I received.

These two are from Nancy Horn (Swap Skipper) and they are gorgeous IRL.

Here is what I sent for my swaps - the design is a CASE from my good friend Julia.


As I haven't been doing too much in the crafting world I will post the rest of my swaps over the next few days.

Happy crafting


Dee

MIA

Gosh where has this past week gone... Life has certainly got in the way. My family have a weekend business (we own fairground rides) and our A & P Show season has started. We travel around the top of the South Island attending Shows and other activities. This "silly" season lasts for 6 months. Yes, that is my summer apart from the odd weekend off. Hence, I haven't had much spare time for crafting - grrr. Hopefully this week.

I managed to get some baking done. My first attempt looked awesome when I took them out of the oven, but they didn't taste the best as I had not put butter into the mix (it was still in the microwave!!!). I wasn't going to throw them out (I had used 6 eggs) so I split them in half and put in a dollop of butter.
My second attempt was so much better with all the ingredients lol. I decorated them in Halloween style and my grandson took some to school for his classmates.
Reuben looked so cute when he was carrying them into school - some of the kids squealed when they saw the spiders... lol

Have a good day - happy crafting


Dee

Monday Night Fun

Here's what I taught at Crafters Anonymous Monday night class. Super easy but lots of possibilities. My class one is sort of traditional and my second card is a fun one that I think kids would like to make.








Happy crafting

YAY ALL BLACKS..

What an awesome day it is today - we are the winners of the 2011 RWC. Its taken such a long time for us to win the Webb Ellis Trophy again - 24 years. OMG it was such a great night but I did not like watching the game... It was nail biting but at the end of the day we won!!! A win is a win and we will take it.
I went with a group to the Motueka Recreation Centre where they had an official fanzone area. What an awsome atmosphere... They had a guy playing music for a couple of hours before the game and then we watched the game on the big screen. Lots of cheering and shouting when we won ( and a big sigh of relief too!!) then alot of us went in the big impromptu haka. A big thanks to the team at the Rec (Ria, Brent, Jody and their staff) it was a great place to be if you couldn't be at the game (like my hubby)



Can you see the gorgeous cupcakes? Aren't they just so cute with the little rugby balls and rugby boots. My neighbour got them from a fabulous shop (Chocolate Velvet) in Richmond and gave me and my grandys one each. They were yummy too!

I hope everyone has had a great long weekend (in NZ) whether you watched the rugby or not. Now our lives can get back to normal but I think we will enjoy the win for a few more days...

Happy crafting

Butterfly Notes

If you ever want a simple, quick gift here is the ideal thing. A mini notepad made with the Stampin Up Beautiful Butterflies die.
I covered two coasters with dsp and then using the die I cut two butterfly shapes from the coasters. I found a notepad that was in my stash and cut (in bundles of 20/30) approximately 100 pages with the same die. Using your cropodile or hole punch make a hole at the tip of a wing on every butterfly making sure the hole is in the same place. It is a good idea to use your first set of holes as your template. Attach all pieces onto a ring, add some ribbon and "voila" you are done.


How cute is that???

I will be away until Sunday so I wont blog again until Monday. Its a long weekend in NZ and best of all its the final of the RWC and the All Blacks are going to win!!!! Fingers crossed!! Power of positivity......

Happy crafting

Look what I got...

I was a part of a UStamp swap this last round and this is what my Swapper Cara sent me. A fabulous spinner card made in my fav colour, purple. I must admit I tried to make one of these a few years ago and it was a disaster, Cara's one spins (unlike mine). She also sent me a Twashi scrubbie. It is a hand knitted dish/body scrubber.
I really enjoy doing swaps as you get to see what other people create. Bring on the next round....


Happy crafting.


Dee

Cheap trick...

Our son has got engaged and this past weekend him and his fiance had their engagement party. We got them stuff for their house including coffee cups. Have you ever tried to wrap them??? The shop where I bought them wrapped them in tissue paper and I thought why bother re-wrapping them so I just grabbed a heart stamp set and a reddish ink pad and stamped the tissue paper. I wrapped their other presents with plain white paper (well it was originally) that I had stamped all over with the same stamp set. Easy huh!!

Its cheap and easy enough to do and you can coordinate the paper, card and gifts.

Happy crafting.

It's not that hard, after all....

Rebekah took Crafters Anonymous Monday night class last night.

This is the first Tri-Shutter card that I have ever made. I have always admired them but have been too afraid to cut into dsp just in case I mucked up! With Beks great tutorial there was no fear of mucking up and this is my semi finished card. I decided I would not put any sentiments on the card and put it into my stash for when I need a card NOW!!

I have used one of my fav dsp's (sadly retired). I love pink and orange together... This style of card is a great way to use up some of your scraps... I know I will be making some more of this style of card.

Happy crafting.

Who's my Secret Sister???

I have been involved in a Secret Sister Swap at Crafters Anonymous. On the 14th we had to reveal our gifts that we received and here are mine. I just love them as she has used my fav colours and also the butterfly die. Inside the petal cone were yummy Bounty bars and the best thing was that the grand kids didn't like the coconut so I had to eat them all... lol. The covered book will come in so handy (Shyanne has her eye on it too!)
I have no idea who my Secret Sister is - I am not a good detective - but thank you for being her and thank you for the lovely gifts.


Happy crafting.

Why don't you join in the fun???

In August I was lucky enough to win a free entry to Stampin Fun & Friends round of projects. It was so much fun, the projects were great and the people were fantastic that I didn't hesitate to sign up for the second one.

They have their Christmas Dreams round coming up in November and of course I have signed up for it, and I think you should too!!! lol Stampin Fun and Friends is run by the lovely CherylAnn. Click on her name and it will take you to her blog where you can get some more info.

Happy Crafting

Dee

Sparkly Medallion

Tonight we are celebrating the engagement of our eldest son and his fiance (and watching the semi final RWC game between France and Wales.) Here is the card I have made for them. The photo doesn't do it justice. I stamped the medallion stamp with versamark, then sprinkled dazzling diamonds onto the stamped area and clear embossed it. It is very sparkly IRL. Thanks to Gill for the inspiration.


Congratulations Brad and Jacqui - bring on the champagne!!!!

Happy crafting.

Xavier's First Birthday Card

My son and his partner have custody of a little boy called Xavier. When I say little I mean little - he was a prem baby born at 24 weeks, weighing in at 740g. He was four months old when he came into their care and he was so tiny and fragile. Today he turns ONE and to look at him now it is hard to believe that he was so little. In fact we now call him "Buddha" lol.
This is the card I have made him - isn't it cute. Now I am going to be a bit philisophical so bear with me. The lion represents how brave Xavier has been, the giraffe represents how big he has grown and the monkey represents how cheeky Xavier is - he has the most beautiful smile. I have CASED this card from Lisa.


Here's the Birthday boy when was 4 months old about to start his new life with Jacqui and Brad.

And look at him now at 11 months. (Playing with the paper from my SU parcels)


Happy Birthday Big Boy. It will be a sad day too as he was one of a twin but his brother died a week after birth.

Happy crafting.

CAS Baby Card

My computer tecky's daughter had a baby girl last month and since I have met her a few times over the years I thought I would get her a little gift and a card. As she is young mum, I didn't want to make a card that was too frilly and fussy so I went with Clean and Simple and I also decided not to make it in a "baby pastel" colour.

I am happy with how it turned out. Enjoy being a mum to Ruby, Skye.

Happy Crafting.

70th Birthday

This is the card I made for my Aunty who turned 70 yesterday (she doesn't look a day over 60). Her favourite colour is yellow and she is a dab hand at sewing - she made my wedding dress 31 years ago when she was training to be a nurse. I immediately thought of the stamp set "Sew Suite" (for the sewing side) and I had seen these dresses on blogs and thought I would make it in yellow (for the favourite colour) and "voila" this is what I came up with. I got my inspiration from Connie Collins.
The dress was a bit fiddly but the end result is pretty neat I think. I added pearls as she also liked to get glammed up every now and then.


Happy Birthday Aunty Cyn - I hope your day was awesome!!

Happy crafting.


Dee

You need balls....

"What" I hear you say. Yes, we had to find balls for this project - about 14 were required. It was a bit of a mission finding them in my town but find them I did!
Last night at Crafters Anonymous the very talented Julia had a doosy of a class. We made a necklace out of fabric and balls. It was so much fun to do. I love the idea so much that I will make another one out of better fabric.


Happy crafting


Dee