Welcoming in 2019

Yes I know I have not been around much this year

but that has been due to ill health.

I was iron deficient for over 6 months until in early October 

I was found to have Bowel Cancer

which was operated on a week later.

My surgeon was a master at his craft as he managed to remove

the Cancer fully contained about the size of an orange

with only keyhole surgery.

So I am one of the lucky ones who needs no follow up treatment.

It was never the less major surgery but I am well on the way to a full recovery.

Just to finish up the year I thought I would give 

you all a look at the cards I haven't put up this year.

This will be photo heavy.

With these 2 cards I pulled out some border dies

This die I used 2 different ways to get a completely different look

Here is a stamp that was coloured in years ago with Tombows

The flower was coloured in by my daughter and I just swished 

a coloured stamp pad over the embossing

A wonderful way to use up scraps.

Especially for those males

Another male card with a few leaf stamps

 Not a very good result of blended background and water 

colouring on the wrong type of paper of course.

  

With this one I brought out one of my very oldest

stamps Sweet Impressions Inc 1996.

Well there you have it a few of the cards you never got to see this.

Now to new beginnings with a lovely New Year.

May I wish you all good health and happiness.

Margaret M

Christmas is coming.........FAST

This is my last post as a DT with 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

I have enjoyed working with Hazel who is always so helpful 

and encouraging.

This is my card for December  so it had to be a Christmas card.

The paper was from a SW pad.  

The purple bauble has die cut silver gloss over it 

and the silver one

is recycled from the protective layer from a tin of Sustagen.

I then put it through an embossing folder.

Some silver ribbon and a couple of bows finish it off.

Have a good weekend.

Margaret

Roses in bloom

This is some beautiful rose paper that I have been hoarding for years.

I think this is the last of it but you never know 

there may still be some hiding away in my stash.

As the roses are now in full bloom I thought it only fitting

to use it for my November DT card at 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/  

I wish you all a lovely month of crafting.

Margaret.

2 of a kind

Where is this year going to October already.

Time to post my DT cards for

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/ 

I seem to be making cards in 2's  at the moment trying to use up 

odd scraps of paper that I have lying around.

I really haven't had a chance to shop much this year

and I hate shopping on line as I like to browse and compare

when choosing new craft so am being very good

and using what I already have.
Needless to say I have enough to last a lifetime with out buying more.
I think this DP was in a Christmas pack.
It has a red and blue stripe which looks completely
different against the Red and Blue card I have put with it.

Looking forward to see all the lovely cards you all produce this month.


Margaret.

Lets hear it for the boys

My daughter gave me an envelope with part of a card that she had 

received from Myer ' departmental store' 

and she said "See what you can do with this Mum".

I ended up with 5 cards but only took photos of 3.

Actually I did start on a 6th but that ended up in the bin.

I am having trouble with my MOJO anyway

hope it comes back soon.

The design of the pattern just lent itself to Black and White

and I am quite happy with the result.

It is about time I entered a few challenges again so here goes.

http://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://craftingwithanattitude.blogspot.com/

http://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://createsandmakes.blogspot.com/

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/

I am beginning to wish spring would hurry up and arrive

we did get 4 days of 17 and got lulled into thinking it had, 

but then we dropped back to single figures again and

I feel colder than I have all winter.

Have a good weekend

Margaret

Down memory lane

Today I have dug deep and pulled out stash that has not seen 

light of day for some time.

I am in the process of trying to get rid of things I haven't used

for years to make room for something new.

Alas I find it too hard to part with anything even though 

I do less stamping I can't part with any of them.

So today I did a little trip down memory lane and came up with

These two very quick and easy cards.

My DT cards for September's patterned paper challenge. 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

The papers are Nitwit which have been in my stash for ages.

2 sizes of a plain circle die and 1 of a scallop die.

both of which are the first I ever bought.  

The happy birthday and rose stamp go way back  

and the jewelled flowers were among my hidden treasures.

The border die would be comparatively new about 5 years old

I am looking forward to seeing all the lovely ideas you come up with.

Margaret M

Just Peachy

This has been a very up and down month for me what with health issues,

then my darling little 6 month old Great grand daughter

having to have open heart surgery to close 2 holes in her heart.

Thankfully she has recovered well it is mum and dad 

who have taken longer to bounce back.

I am rejoicing too with the safe arrival of  another beautiful

Great grand daughter that I have yet to meet as she lives in Melbourne.

Onto my DT card for August 

 http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

Come join us with your makes we love seeing them

and the prize this month is a beauty.

I have included 2 this month as they are the same design

On the first one I used SB hemstitched borders using the plain rectangle to

cut the patterned paper.

On the second I used SB A2 Fancy weave.  I cut 2 and layered them

to give them more stability.

The patterned paper I have had for 4 years and never cut into it before

I just used to take it out look at it and not wanted to cut into it.

Hopefully as my energy levels improve I will be able to start 

hopping around to visit you all again and get a few more cards up

and posted.

Margaret M

Pink Roses

Welcome to July with my DT card for

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

As you know I am a pastel person so this red spotted paper

was a bit bright for me but with the help of the

white die cuts from Downton Abbey it helped to calm it down.

The frame was made with a free die in one of the stamping mags.

The rose paper and the sentiment are both from Wild Rose Studio.

Look forward to seeing all the lovely cards you produce this month.

Margaret M

June DT card

Well here I am back home after my holiday.

The only way to fly I have found is Business class.

Nothing is too much trouble, never been so waited on in my life.

The flight both ways was really smooth it is tempting me to think I might do it again. 

Had a wonderful time with my daughter and grand daughter.

We had booked AirBNB accommodation which was excellent, thankfully.

Caught up with friends and relations

and I walked among the bluebells in the wood.

However even after a week I still don't seem to have recovered from the jet lag.

But back to business my DT card for June

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/  

This really isn't as pale as it looks but I should have used a brighter Yellow

but I have such trouble using brighter colours yet I love 

the look of the cards that those who use them make.

Do take a trip over to 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com/

to see the lovely designs that my team mates have made

and join us with your own card.

Margaret M

The Merry month of May

When you read this I will be sunning myself in Sunny Sussex by the sea.

Well thats the theory anyway.

I shall be in Sussex whether the sun is too remains to be seen.

As long as the bluebells are out I shall be happy.

Have now had to search among my photos to find the card I had 

earmarked for May.

Found I have a lot of cards that I have not yet posted

and what was my New Year resolution?

To post every card I made this year!!!!!

This looks a bit washed out in the photo but rest assured it really isn't

although looking at it I could have improved it by backing the yellow rose.

This card proved to be another useful way of using up odd scraps of paper.

Of which I seem to have a great pile.

Have enjoyed looking at all the lovely cards on

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

this month.

Hoping to see another bumper entry for next month.

Margaret M

Floral greeting

Oh goodness me April already time just flies.

Time for me to post my cards for this month DT spot on

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

I enjoyed seeing all the lovely cards you put up last month.

I have 2 cards for you today and I must say I was very happy with them

The greeting and floral stamp are from Wild Rose studio.

The oval die is a Cheery Lyn die and I { not that well I confess }

Hand cut the coloured oval behind it.

The papers are from Sue Wilson.

A touch of lace on one and some ribbon and a punched border on the other.

On a very happy note my daughter has at last got her passport

so our holiday plans can be confirmed.

This time next month I shall be in England.  Oh if only I could get there

without getting on a plane.

I do hope you are all having a lovely Easter and not

too much chocolate!!

  

Margaret M

Plain and simple Masculine cards.

Didn't get much sleep last night as I thought the wind 

was trying to get indoors.

The park behind my house is a mess of bark and leaves

from the big Blue Gum out there.

My back garden is covered too so when the rain stops

you know where I will be picking up leaves and bark.

My trip to the UK is fast becoming a reality now that my daughter has at last 

received her replacement citizenship  certificate.

She was one of a vast number of people who were issued with a certificate

which did not have a date on it back in the 90's.

She has at last been able to apply for her passport and paid extra to get

it fast tracked.

I don't think she will be happy until she has it in her hand.

I have quite a lot of birthday cards to make for elderly men.

As I know nothing at all about them, hobbies, likes and dislikes etc.

I have had to find something neutral.

SW banner die has proved very useful.

The card below used some of my many scraps of embossed card.

Just love those colours together. 

 Sharing these with 

http://abitmoretimetocraft.blogspot.com.au/ 

https://abitmoretimetocraftextra.blogspot.com.au/

https://alwayshappybirthday.blogspot.com.au/

http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com.au/

It is not going to be a good day for anyone in Australia today as it is
Wind, Rain, Fires and Heat.
Stay safe.




Margaret M

Mellow Yellow

I know that I am running a bit late with my DT card for 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

this month but my computer is on a go slow.

That is if it is going at all.

May be that I will have to lash out and buy a new one as technology

has now left this one far behind.

Without more ado here is my card.

This is another of the many flowers that my daughter has coloured for me.

She leaves me to do the fussy cutting though.

The background card is some I coloured when Copics first came into Australia.

It had been in my bit box waiting to be used ever since.

It was just big enough to fit into the die and makes,

well I think it makes, an excellent background. 

I also coloured the gem in the centre of the flower with copics.

The butterfly is an Elizabeth die and I cut it out then stuck it onto

some overhead projection film which I coloured too.

The  background paper was shimmer with swirls and leaves.  

I also made use of some scraps of the yellow card.

Do come and share your patterned paper cards with us at 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

we love to see them.

I am going to share this with,

http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com.au/

So I will pop over and see what Parsnip has been up to.

His usual mischief I expect.

Have a great day.

Margaret M

Thinking pink

Today I have one of those special birthday cards to show you.

I had the base of this card completed for something else but changed my mind

as you do. So when I was asked to make this card it was the perfect base.

I coloured the flowers with my copics and then fussy cut them out.

The numbers were die cut with a tonic die.

Am sharing this with:

http://cardz4galz.blogspot.com.au/ -   Think Pink

http://abitmoretimetocraft.blogspot.com.au/  -  Anything goes

http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com.au/  -  Anything goes

http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.com.au/  -  Anything goes

https://colourcrazychallenge.blogspot.com.au/  -  Anything goes

Have a good day.

Margaret M

Baby bunnting

Well here we are at the beginning of another month already

and today it is time for me to show you my February DT card for

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

You cannot have a new baby in the family without having a welcome baby card now can you?

That stamp is one that I have had for years.

Always in hopes! 

The sentiment and the ducks are from a Sue Wilson die

and the rhinestone feet, dare I say it, came from the dollar shop over the road.

The paper I used is just double sided wrapping paper.

It is a very good quality paper that the newsagent at the shopping centre

has just brought in.

I was looking at it the other day and there are some lovely designs

but I am on a very tight budget at the moment.

The beginning of the year is when all the bills roll in.

Must say there were a lovely lot of entries in January for 

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

Looking forward to see what you all come up with this month.

I scheduled this post to come up at a certain time which it did not do

but now as I edit it tells me it did.

Can some kind soul tell me what I am doing wrong. PLEASE.

Have a good day

Margaret M

A little bit of Distress Ink.....

.....goes a long way.

Yesterday I was making tissue paper backgrounds.

Cleaning up I was just about to wipe off the remaining ink from my 

craft mat with some paper towel.

Instead I picked up some small pieces of scrap white card

and soaked up the left over ink on that.

So instead of using the backgrounds here is what I did with the leftovers.

I just went mad cutting out banners and flowers even going back to

put out more green ink to cut out leaves and banners.

This one is very girly while the one below is for the boys.

http://cardz4galz.blogspot.com.au/ -Anything but square

http://southerngirlschallenge.blogspot.com.au/ -Something round

http://carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.com.au/- Anything goes

https://sunnydaycrafting.blogspot.com.au/- D for Daisy or other flowers

Happy Australia day not as hot here as they forecast thankfully.

Hope everyone had a good day.

Margaret M

3 Florals

I have 3 cards to show you today.

They have all been coloured with Faber Castell pencils.

The colouring in helps my daughter while away the time when she

has her treatment.

I let her choose what ever colours she likes and then match them up.

Clear proof that I have too much card stock yet still yearn for more!   

This is a beautiful floral design by the very talented Beccy

Teemed with papers from LOTV but I think they don't sell them any more.

This one was harder to match up and I think that I should have put it on a 

  dark navy card and not the pale blue.

This one gave me the opportunity to use up those strips

of white card left over when I die cut a border out.

I would not say I am a hoarder but I do have a whole box of strips like this

Am going to share these with:

https://beccyschallenges.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/january-challenge.html

http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.com.au/

http://ttcrd.blogspot.com.au/

https://digichoosday.blogspot.com.au/

http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com.au/

Wishing you all a wonderful day.

Margaret M

My first Christmas card

36 degrees yesterday and what did I do make a Christmas card.

Well you do don't you.

At least it was cooler indoor with the A/C on

I was trying repeat trying to tidy up my craft room and picked up 

this piece of gloss card that I had embossed with

a Spellbinders Impressability ages ago.

While looking for something to go with it I found Tilda

already coloured and cut out must be at least 3 year ago.

I scrap of mauve card and a Downton Abbey die make a new card

Sharing this with;

http://merrymondaychristmaschallenge.blogspot.com.au/

https://themerrychristmaschallenge.blogspot.com.au/

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.com.au/

Such good news my first Great Grand Daughter arrived safely.

She is such a tiny little girl but so so gorgeous.

Margaret M

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone who drops in a very Happy New Year.

May 2018 see all your dreams come true.

My new year resolution is to start posting all the cards I make.

Time for me to post my DT card for

 Craftyhazelnuts patterned paper challenge.

This is about the closest I ever get to shabby chic.

Would welcome any tips to improve.

The papers are Heartfelt creation .

The larger bunch of flowers are fussy cut.

I still have masses of these papers left and a whole drawer full

of other designer papers so why do I still buy more?

Do pop over and see the lovely designs of the other team members.

Well the start of a new year and I still have to pinch myself

as I can't believe that by the end of this week I will be a great grandmother.

Plus Christmas brought another wonderful surprise

of a second great grand child due the middle of the year.

Whoopy Doo again.

Add to that my planned trip to England in their spring.

2018 looks great from where I am standing.

Margaret M