Crafty Shelly

A Weekend in Walcha

2010-10-04T21:05:00.007+11:00

Another, non-crafty entry.

If you remember I just bought a beautiful, brand new bike last month (if you don't, see the last post).

Now I don't usually complain about riding, anytime, anywhere, but the following are a few pictures of what happens when I go for a weekend ride with Bikie Chic Adventures. People kept telling me how dirty my bike was, and I'd look at theirs and it hardly looked like they'd been riding. Must mean mine is more "well loved"! lol Good thing it's only dirt and she'll get a bath tomorrow.

My newest "Fun"!

2010-08-14T19:06:00.006+10:00

Yet another off topic for a crafty blog... but it IS my blog! lol.

This is "Arabella". It's a 2010 Yamaha XVS V-Star 650 Custom. I picked it up Saturday morning August 14th, 2010. We went for a long ride after I got it and it was a great experience!

It looks a lot like my last one, it's just 400cc's bigger and a lot of the black parts were shiny chrome on the 250. Less to polish I say! I'm getting a luggage rack on the back and a windshield next week. Two things that are absolutely necessary on a bike you intend to ride all over and back! I probably should have taken the picture before I put the Airhawk on the seat. Oh well, you get the idea anyway.

Sorry, way off topic for a "crafty" blog

2010-08-14T18:59:00.010+10:00

This is our new office. We've been in it now for almost 2 months.

Christmas 2009 Cards

2009-12-03T19:54:00.005+11:00

Just a quick one because the subject of my last post has taken up waaayy too much of my time lately!

These are my cards for Christmas 2009. They're very simple because of the aforementioned last post, but I did so many they took me two whole days to complete.

Here is the front

We have simple Bazill Basics cardstock. I soaked the right side of the card with my aquwash brush, then pulled it/tore it apart to form a softly frayed edge.

The first image of the tree is stamped in Hunter Green Stampin' Up ink.
The second tree image is first stamped with VersaMark, then embossed in gold. Boy, does new embossing powder make a difference!

The words on the bottom are stamped in the same hunter green.
It's then finished off with a Hunter Green grosgrain ribbon.

The Inside

The inside left is stamped with a whimsical holly looking design in the same hunter green. I stamped off the stamp once to fade the ink.

The right side is printed on the computer.

Happy Christmas to those that visit my blog. I hope your new year is a happy and prosperous one!

Not Really Crafty, BUT FUN!

2009-09-27T19:04:00.008+10:00

Look what I got today!

It's a 2001 Yamaha XVS 250.

I've been looking for a bike for a few months and was actually looking for a Yamaha Virago. I found several that I liked on our good friend Ebay, but couldn't bring myself to actually bid on anything. A friend of ours had decided to sell his and the rest is history. It's pretty much what I wanted, except the color, which can always be changed someday. And it has all the extras I wanted as well. It came with the windshield and brand new saddlebags. The sissy bar was put on a while ago.

It's so shiny and pretty .

It may look huge in the pictures but it's really not. I can actually stand flat footed on both sides and I'm about 5'3". It's super comfortable, the seat is nice and cushy and the foot rests, since they're forward, don't hit me in the calves.

I haven't been able to ride it yet, just a test ride, because I didn't have a proper helmet, AND because it was so windy I probably would have gotten blown off. Tomorrow, however, watch out!

Finito! The Saga of the Bargello quilt ends!

2009-09-17T11:34:00.008+10:00

I'm finished! Finally! And with pretty nice end results. I wish the colors would have come out better in the photo. I loved working with these fabrics.

However, the quilting was another story. I did the best I could, there is no perfection in it, and my inner perfectionist will never let me live it down, I still have to admit I learned from it. And after taking it to Janelle and practically begging her to quilt it for me, and her telling me that I could do it, that I'd done harder things, I took the bull by the horns and just went for it. I had sharpened the photo, but realised you could actually see the quilting clearer, I did an "unsharpen", sorry. This way it just looks like it all flows! lol

The back was a bit of fun... no, really... I added a little foot pocket. I don't know about you, but in the winter, when you're trying to watch tv and all you want to be is snuggly, your feet somehow always find the "cold out from under". I wanted to remedy this for my friend as the idea came from watching her struggle to keep her feet covered one evening. I thought it was a pretty brilliant idea, and it wasn't that difficult. I had to make the binding a bit wider, but it really seemed easy to attach, and it didn't seem like there was too much there. That end is a bit heavier, but not much. It's only one piece of fabric, folded in half and one piece of batting in between. It ended up being about 15" wide, which I thought was sufficient without being over kill.

I took it over to my friend, just 4 days before the official end of winter. Hey, I made it at least! lol. It matched her couch so well. She has pretty little throw pillows and the cream colors on this quilt really matched well with them as well. I think she really liked it because mutual friends had approached me and told me she had shown them. It didn't actually stay on the couch though, it ended up being a sort of bed spread on their bed. I had thought it was a bit small for something like that, but it actually looks nice, kinda like a decoration.

I'm pleased. Now on to the next project... I wonder what that will be. Perhaps I'll go back to this one.

This time, however, my inner perfectionist will get her wish, even if it means unsewing and resewing several times, I have all summer before I need it!

Photoshop Crafty 2

2009-07-12T23:46:00.006+10:00

This is another PhotoShop thing I put together. Gotta love PhotoShop!

If you've been to my blog before, you know that I've been drumming for close to a year now. The company I go to for my lessons is In Rhythm. Most of the people that attend the classes are djembe players, there's only a couple of us that play the djuns. They have some of the coolest t-shirts they sell at events, but they only have them with djembes and djembe players printed on them. So I thought about it one evening and began playing with different images to see if I could come up with something that I could put on a shirt. It took me all evening, but this is what I came up with. I don't know why, but it's coming up green. The finished product is brown.

Each bit is from a different photo, the sticks, the hair, the torso, the drums were actually a picture of my own, and the feet even belong to someone else.

I sent it to my friend at In Rhythm to see what she thought of it, and the company wanted it! How cool is that! So I was able to broker a deal with them and they now own the rights.

It was a fun little project and this was another area where I learned some valuable lessons for the future. I can hardly wait to get a shirt of my own, with my own work on it!

Bargello Beauty part 2

2009-07-12T22:50:00.016+10:00

I'm getting to the home stretch of this gorgeous quilt, and wanted to share it.

When I was last here, I was off to cut the strips for this quilt... I just got done... lol, no not really.

First I needed to sew all these strips together in the gradient I wanted

Then I sewed two more of the same colour gradients on to this, so 33 strips in all. I then sewed the beginning and end strips together to form a tube. The tube is then folded to make it more manageable to cut.

From there, the new strips are cut, This is one of the two tubes I needed to create and as you can see, the farthest end is the one that has been squared up and that's the end I've cut the new strips sets from.

Following this pattern, I cut each of the strips in the size called for on the pattern

Like this. I then had to move each strip down, or up, following the pattern, pin them together, and sew them up. Sound easy? Not really, I kinda lost the plot a couple times and had to do some "un-sewing", but how are we to learn if we don't make mistakes? There's a step here that I'm purposefully not mentioning, 1) due to copy write laws, and 2) because I don't have the picture to accompany the step, but this step was my undoing a couple times. You canNOT watch tv while doing this part.

This is the first half sewn together.

And this is with the first and second borders. I went with one of the creamy colours for the first border, just because it's got such a pretty pattern. The second, larger border, I chose because it will match the couch it will be on really nicely. The little white marks are actually little red and white flowers.

And here it is hanging over the banister and then laying flat on the floor.

I just love the movement, and because the colours are so pretty and rich, you hardly notice all the mistakes!

The next step, I'm planning to make a foot pocket on the back... you know how when you're trying to cover up on the couch in front of the tv, your feet always stick out at the bottom... the pocket will be about 18" deep, go across one end of the back, and will also have batting so it will be cozy warm. I'll quilt it as well, in a diagonal pattern to make it stronger, then sew it to the quilt before putting the binding on.

After creating the foot pocket and before I attach it, I'll flip the quilt over, put the batting down, then the back, pin it all together and begin the quilting process. Since the fabric and pattern are so intricate, I'll keep the quilting simple.

After the quilting is done, I'll square it up, sew the foot pocket on, then the binding. Then it will be finito! Finished, yay!

But I really have fallen in love with this quilt, it's just too pretty not to love. I may have to make one for myself! With all the gorgeous fabrics that Janelle has at Pieces to Treasure, the possibilities are endless. You can also get this pattern from her website.

** Thanks for the question Marty Michelle. The fabrics I used were selected out of a whole bunch of different ones. I have to admit, Janelle helped by knowing where all of her colours were and pulling out a bunch in the same colour family. Out of about 20 she pulled out, I chose 11 for the final product. She has so much at her shop it would have taken me hours to find it all.

Bargelo Beauty

2009-05-26T15:49:00.008+10:00

I'm starting a new quilt today, well, I'm blogging about starting it anyway. Its called a "Bargello Quilt" I think it has something to do with the movement or pattern.

Again, I have to say thanks to Jenelle Kent at Pieces to Treasure, for spending so much time with me figuring out what I wanted to do, and she is great at picking colours out of her vast array of fabrics. I really don't think, I'd want to have to figure this out on my own! It would take twice as long and I'm sure I wouldn't be as completely happy with my own selections. She has such a gift.

So here is the pattern

And here at the stars of the show. This quilt will be created with some deep blues and creamy colours.

To begin this beauty, I'll start by cutting all this fabric into 2 1/2 strips...

I better get cutting... stay tuned!

New Legs!

2009-05-26T15:38:00.006+10:00

I finally got the legs my duns dreamt of! Just wanted to show them off.

Before - You can see that 1) they don't match; 2) they don't match the wood of the drums; 3) they are made from what looks like floor moulding, nail holes and all. I wasn't all that happy with them.

After: Look at these fantastic things! The wood matches, and the new legs are a lot more stable than the old ones. These are the legs that were meant to be on these drums!

Thanks to Graham for his "craftiness" and for making my drums look the way they're supposed to.

Back to Cards

2009-05-18T21:07:00.015+10:00

Back in October, I went with Michelle to a big paper craft weekend. We had a great time and the following are my results. Funny thing is, I took off right out of the gate and had heaps of cards on Michelle, but in the end, at the last day, she had me, of course, just like always, she made double what I did, and hers are always a lot more intricate than mine. I wish I had some of hers to show you.

So here we go. This isn't all of them, and the pictures are mostly blurry, so sorry about that, but you still can get the idea of what they looked like. I PhotoShopped the heck out of them just to get something I could use... got a new camera in the US, too bad I didn't have it in October!

I used Michelle's Cuttle Bug to create this beautiful textured background paper. I have to get one of these things.

This stamp was so cute, but I overworked the auqwash pen on the cake and ended up buckling the card stock, so to fix it, we made the buckling more pronounced and put foam tape on the back of it so cake stayed uniformly puffy. I also used Kindy Glitz to shiny it up a bit. The Happy Birthday is stamped in black, then over stamped with VersaMark and embossed with clear embossing powder. You'll notice there's also some handmade pink paper in a strip behind the stamped part, and little pink flowers stamped all over.

My favorite card I made, all weekend, was the one on the left. The card stock was a very light green and I put it through Michelle's Cuttle Bug for the embossed look. Then I stamped the tree and the greeting in a deep garden green. When it was dry, I Kindy Glitzed the tiny leaves on the tree. I love the tree, and it was an inexpensive stamp!

The card on the right, I had the flower brad and was lucky enough to find paper to match in my box.

Another couple of stamps I bought just for that weekend. The Birthday stamp and the cute little bird.

The card on the left was the first one I made, followed closely by the one on the right. The one on the right has acetate fastened on with the flower brad. The Happy Birthday is stamped on the acetate. I thought it was a cool idea. Unfortunately it was the only card that worked that way, proving that once you have a good idea, it might not work again the second time around!

These two cards were simple and quick as. The lavender one was just card stock ran through the Cuttle Bug for the embossing. I put a little Kindy Glitz on it and hand wrote Happy Birthay, and added the gross grain ribbon. The one on the right was even quicker. Patterned paper with Kindy Glitz and a chiffon ribbon. Simple.

Another simple, quick card. Again, patterned paper, a bit of glitz, a bit of ribbon and a couple of brads.

Gotta love that Cuttle Bug!

Even Birdies Need Crafty Stuff!

2009-05-18T20:18:00.015+10:00

Before we left for our month long holiday, I figured I'd better make a good woody toy for Tirsa so she didn't drive the fiddy sitter mad.

I just took the old toy that I had made a couple months ago and replaced a lot of the toy parts with new bits. I get most of these new pieces from Fowl Play. I think they are really good value and of excellent quality. Check out their site, if you have chewy feathered friends. If I would have thought about it first, I could have made the blocks read her name. Oh well, next time, I'm sure she didn't catch it.

In fact, I think she rather liked it. "Hmm, this looks yummy!"

However, like most kids, she liked the box as well.

The BEFORE
picture
Of course I
took all of the
tape and
stickers off

3 days into it

The AFTER

picture
no, really, she DID

In fact, she looks rather proud of herself, don't you think? I think if I could have heard her thoughts, she would have been saying "it's still mine!"

She literally worked on this for 10 days straight. She has to be the most determined bird I have ever met! And it's taught me that she's a cheap bird, give her the box instead of the expensive toys and she's just as happy! Just like a human kid.

Crafty Friends 2 The Price of Friendship

2009-05-18T19:29:00.006+10:00

My best friend has always been a blessing to me, and she has taught me many many things about being crafty.

Every year for our birthday's and Christmas, we have vowed that we would never just buy something for each other, but spend time creating something from our hearts.

This year for Christmas she created a beautiful bag for me. Michelle doesn't sew, she hates it, but she also knows that I've been quilting for over a year now and wanted to put her hand to it, just for me. Not many people in our lives would completely go against their better judgement to try to create something, when they have no idea how to go about it... oh wait, I guess I did that, didn't I? Well this is just one more way we are so alike.

So after researching and looking for a pattern, dragging out her old sewing machine, and probably having to learn how to use it again, and through all the tears of frustration, and temper tantrums (I know those tantrums, been there, done that), this is what she came up with for my Christmas present this year. Honestly, I think she did a beautiful job and I so appreciate all the work that went into it.

The front

The back

And she even quilted it!

I use it for my drumming bag, to tote my sticks and accessories in. It gets a lot of use!

Thanks again Michelle!

Crafty Friends 1

2009-05-18T19:07:00.005+10:00

Since this is a crafty blog, over the next two posts, I'm going to share some craftiness from a couple friends.

This first one, the gentleman that created this masterpiece is a dear, dear friend of mine. His son in law is in a band and picked up this guitar and asked Mike if he would do some feather work on it. Because I wasn't there, I couldn't tell you the exact conversation, so don't quote me... The guitar had all the hardware taken off and it was sanded down to bare wood, then feathers were carefully placed and glued on. After that, there were several coats of resin (don't quote me on this either), and it was hand sanded and finished to the perfection you see here, then all the hardware was added back on.

Anyway, this is the final result, and I think it turned out gorgeous, and the son in law agrees with me! I believe the feathers are grouse.

Lets get updated!

2009-05-18T16:22:00.017+10:00

It's been a while, and in that time away, I've gotten to spend a month in the US with family and friends. That's always a good thing. So I know I will be forgiven for being slack.

The first thing I want to share is the finished quilting project I was working on last year. It was the red, black and white quilt. I finally finished it and it was given to the happy couple on their wedding day... yes, I made the deadline! Yay me!

So here it is in the actual quilting process. I drew out the leafy patterns on grease proof paper and carefully pinned it onto the quilt, where it was to be quilted.

Then as you can see in

this picture, I carefully

pulled the paper off
and lo and behold I had

a nice quilted pattern.
I'd be lying if I said the

quilting process was

made easier using the

paper, because it wasn't.
But I learned a lot and

that's what matters.

This is where the quilt is cut down and squared up.

An this is where the binding comes in.

With the binding, I had a bit of trouble getting it on the quilt right. I had sewed one side on and realized that it felt wonky and the reason was, it was sewed on just slightly crooked. Slightly always makes a huge difference in the end, it always ends up being a much bigger issue if it's not fixed in the beginning. So I took the binding off, I'm becomming the queen of un-sewing, and drew my quarter inch seam on and began the re-sewing. When I was done, it turned out brilliantly, I was glad I fixed it sooner rather than later. The binding went on beautifully and properly. I would suggest that if anyone has the slightest problem sewing a straight line, you draw your quarter inch line on before sewing. It makes the process a lot easier and quicker.

This is the finished product, and I'm happy to say that the couple is really happy with it. I hope they get lots of use out if it. It's going into winter here in Australia so it's probably well timed.

Bush Fires 6th February 2009

2009-02-07T20:41:00.005+11:00

We've had several fires around because of the extreme heat, and I really wanted to share a couple pictures we took yesterday.

About 5pm, the smoke started billowing into our area, it almost looked like fog, and the smell was so overpowering it made us feel sick. But look at the beauty it created. Out of bad, comes beauty...

My picture

My DH's picture

YAY!

2009-01-20T18:08:00.004+11:00

I got the email I've been waiting for since the end of October. My djuns (African drums) were ready! It was fairly simple "give us a call to let us know when you'd like to come pick them up, however I won't be around on Friday".

If you're anything like me, exercising patience, practicing really, you would have to know they didn't have to tell me twice! I was pretty much on the phone within minutes telling them I wanted to collect them right then, I'd be right over!

The place I went to get them was up a long dirt road in a huge A-frame house. What space! And the surrounding area was all bush. I can imagine the wonderful drumming parties that happen there...

Anyway, here is the end result

The only thing I have a problem with is the legs. They are made out of scrap wood and they will need to be replaced. They look like they were scraps of floor moulding taken out of an old house, nail holes and all. And as you can see, they don't match either.

Now, I understand that these are hand made and I love them because of it. I'm so appreciative of the work that went into them, but why cap them off with pieces of scrap wood? I did pay enough for them to expect to get something that looks nice.

Enough of that, before too long the new legs will be ready and everything will be perfect.

I start a new drumming class on the 9th of February (my third), but there is a local drum circle they will make their debut at this week. I'm so looking forward to being the best djuns player I can be so any practice I can get is a bonus.

So let me formally introduce you to "Sandy" (the Sangban, far left), "Danny" (the Dundunba, middle), and "Kenny" (the Kenkeni, right).

A Special Book

2008-12-15T19:03:00.015+11:00

I was asked by a client of our IT business (after receiving one of my Christmas cards!), to make a very special birthday card.

The gentleman is turning 90 and just recently had to put his beloved wife into a nursing home. Not a really good week for him, his friends decide to throw him a birthday bash to be held this evening! This gentleman is apparently a favorite within his club, so I knew this had to be special. The person that commissioned me to make it asked that it have space for about 50 people to sign. They suggested maybe A4 (8 1/2 x 11...kinda). As I thought about it, I really couldn't bring myself to make something that size because I knew from experience it would just look a bit tacky.

So off to my local favorite scrapbook shop to see what inspiration I could glean. On one of their shelves someone had created this fabulous mini scrapbook for display, and the inspiration began to take shape. I didn't have any pictures, that probably would have been so good, but didn't have any... Then it hit me, they need places for 50 people to sign. TAGS! What a great idea, and hey, I could make each page a different colour combination, and, and, and... It all got a bit exciting! So below is what I came up with...

If you have looked through my entire blog, you may have recognized the design for the 90. I did a "50" like this on a card in the past. It's just foam core with Japanese paper put on with Jac paper. I cut it all out, stuck it together, then filed the edges with a fingernail file, to age them a bit.

When I saw the mini scrapbook, the person that created it had used this wonderful stamp that said all kinds of nice things, and they had clear embossed it onto the cover, I loved it and decided to borrow the idea. The "celebrate" is a clear plastic thing I thought would work. I used my ever present favourite Dimentional Magic to glue it on, but because I didn't know exactly how to do it, it looks a bit daggy, but A LOT better than the first one I tried, which will continue to rest comfortably in the bottom of the garbage can...

They suggested this for the inside greeting thing. The leaves and branches are done in Versa Mark, as a watermark.

This is the blue page, the first page. Because this is supposed to be a greeting type card/booklet, I decided that the less I embellish the better. I wanted the words that are written to the birthday boy to be the embellishment. I tried to make the tags little handle things different, although I did digress later in the book, it was getting late.

This is the green page. I think I liked this one best, just because its green and it has leaves on it, two of my favorite design things. The tags on the left just have a leaf punch on the top of them, and of course I had to use my Fiskars leaf border punch.

The yellow page

This page was supposed to be brown, well, one side looks brown. They actually look a lot brown-er in person.

The proverbial purple page.

I know, I know... "orange?" I really love the background paper I used on the left side and when I tested it together with this tangerine-ish colour, I really liked it, and I had to make the facing page match a bit. The words say "You are Brilliant, Marvelous, Awesome, Amazing and a Wonderful Friend" and apparently this is the exact sentiment they wanted to communicate. I stamped it in black, then used a positioner to stamp over it with Versa Mark to clear emboss it, so the letters are raised.

When I delivered this little book, the clients were so pleased, and almost speechless. They hadn't expected something quite so elaborate. I also went and found a box to put it in, but it was a very plain box, so I stamped some leaves on that as well. I also included some archival pens for the party attendees to use.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a phone call tomorrow!

Pastors Christmas Card

2008-12-10T14:33:00.008+11:00

Each year I'm asked to make a special card for our Pastors. In this card is placed a love gift from all the congregants. Its a special request and I'm always honoured to be the one asked to make it. So this is what I came up with this year. I had initially planned to make a beautiful shaker card with Christmas trees and white glitter laced powder, but when I saw something similar to this card, I thought this would be better, easier and it wouldn't take as long to create. I think it turned out pretty.

This is the front, of course. The card stock is gorgeous white striped shimmer, that looks a bit silvery.

I carefully spread Dimensional Magic on the back of the lacy ribbon and attached it to the card. I discovered the best way to do this is to spread some DM on a small piece of card stock, then drag the ribbon across it. It tends to cover all surfaces instead of globbing it on the back directly. This reduces the risk of getting too much on and having it come up through the holes in the ribbon.

The dark blue happens to be left overs from my other Christmas cards (see below). I used Fiskars scissors to cut the scallops in it. (What a pain!) Then I cut some gorgeous silk paper with my Aquwash brush and let it fray a bit, and taped it to the blue.

The bauble is a sticker (shock, horror!) and they are stuck on white cardstock. I tried putting them directly on the blue but that turned out to be too dark. I then taped that on to the silk paper.

The individual bits are put on with foam tape, to add dimension.

This is the inside where I provided a little slot to put the gift. In the past, I've just cut two slots, but this year I wanted to try something different. I really like the way it turned out.

I printed up a little greeting for the other side and taped it in. I also made a custom envelope because it was just a bit bigger than a standard legal size envelope.

I've just received another request for a birthday card from a client that received one of my Christmas cards (!), so I need to give them a call and see what they'd like.

Look what I'm getting!

2008-12-04T22:05:00.021+11:00

I've been getting into playing African drums for the last 4 months. I started out trying to play the djembe, but I just couldn't do it, my hands just didn't want to hurt like that all the time! I still don't know how djembe players do it!

After the first class, I approached this wonderful lady, Kate, who was playing what are called dun duns. I told her that I was really expecting the drum I was going to play to be more like hers. She was playing with sticks and the sound coming out of her drums was amazing. I'm not saying the djembes don't sound nice, but the duns (or djun djuns) are so IT for me. I was in love. She said "well, next week, you're playing the djuns!" Cool, I was ready. By the time the next class was over, I knew I would own my own set, I just didn't know when. When the next 8 week term started, my mom had been very generous and I was able to get them.

I've now been waiting over a month. BUT being a crafter, I know what it takes to put real quality into something. I know they're on their way, I know love and attention to detail is going into them, I just have to exercise patience... lol

These are just the shells. They're hand carved and from Ghana West Africa.

When I saw the middle drum in person I could even see where the crafter took a chisel to the inside to make them hollow. All three drums are carved with three designs and each design has a different meaning. I'm having a hard time finding all the meanings, but this is what I know, or what I think I know...

The large drum is called a "Dundunba" and is usually about 15" across

Gye Ntame – 'except God'
Symbol represents the omnipotence of God
and the fearlessness of the faithful.

This could mean one of three things

Nyame dua (an altar to the sky God). Altar, place of worship.

(or)
Nyame nwu na mawu. If Nyame (God) dies, then I may die. Perpetual existence.
(or)
Nyame Dua (God's tree) or (altar of God) Symbol of the Presence of God & God's Protection.

I'm not sure what this one means

The middle drum is called a "Sangban" and is usually about 12" across

Because I have birds, I was most excited about this carving in particular.

However, I don't know the meaning of it.

Pa gya (to strike fire or make fire).
This is said to represent war.
(I'm thinking war on evil!)

I'm pretty sure this means...

Bese Saka (Bunch of cola nuts) Symbol of Affluence, Power, Abundance, Togetherness & Unity.

The small drum is called a "Kenkeni" and is about 10" across

I believe this one is a form of

Kurumah Kese (The big okro.)
Symbol of Greatness & Superiority.

This is the same as the one above,
although it's ever so slightly different.

Again, I think this symbol means the same
as the other two, its just slightly different again.

Aren't they beautiful?! I can hardly wait to get them and will post pictures of them, you can be sure, once they are safely in my home.

Now it's just a matter of getting the skins on with the ropes as you can see in this picture. My skins will still have hair on them, which will kinda freak me out a bit, but I did have the choice of getting them shaved or leaving them as is. I decided to preserve them a bit longer, I'd leave the hair on.

Anxiously awaiting... hmm, seems to me I waited and waited for something else in the near past... I really must pull that sewing machine out. I still haven't finished that black, red and white quilt. It needs to be done before March. Deadlines, gotta love em'!

Christmas Cards 2008

2008-12-04T20:58:00.008+11:00

I waited as long as I could to put these up. I realise that some people that are actually getting them, will see them here first... sorry.

This year I had the idea for my cards way back in April when I got the stamp set I used for the design bottom right. I like trying to think outside the box when it comes to stuff like this, although I think about things I've seen before, try to change them, make them better... or, as I do, make them more complicated. Since she's known me, my best friend Michelle always shakes her head as I'm trying to make my day dreams become reality. She sits across from me cranking out 10, 20, 30 cards, to my 1. To this, I shake MY head because her's always look better than mine!

The front

These cards are about 7"x 6", done on acetate. Every piece of cardstock is cut exactly the same, although this is my prototype and doesn't look as perfect as the others.

As you can see, the dove is silver embossed on Midnight blue shimmer card. That then is mounted on a piece of plain white card stock.

Front Detail

I used Staz On Cloud White to stamp the "Joy To The World" and the top left corner design. I then tied the silver cord on the side, just because I thought it needed a little something extra.

For the inside I used White Bazzil Basics, I tried to get something that wasn't textured, but I put it off too long and couldn't get plain stuff so some is textured and some plain.

I used Michelle's "Peace Joy Love" stamp and a stamp from another set I just recently got. It has some gorgeous swirls and such in it. I stamped the words in dark blue brilliance, then stamped off the swirl twice so it wasn't so dark. For the other side, I printed out what I wanted to say, then signed it for a "personal" touch (as if a handmade card needs a personal touch!)

And the back, just another personal touch!

So you can see how the individual pieces of card HAVE to be cut exactly the same, but you know what? They didn't all cut the same. I wish I could figure it out. I even made templates out of really thick opague acetate and drew the lines around it so I'd have guidelines and they STILL didn't cut the same. You just can't imagine the stress this puts a perfectionist under!

Wanna know how many I did? I started out with JUST family, close friends and those I know would appreciate the work put in... this number was 12, and I WASN'T going to do anymore. None. They were done the first weekend in October and I was pretty proud of myself. Then my husband asked me if I was going to send cards to our clients. "Oh, alright, I'll do them for the clients as well." I ended up making 39 in total. And if someone doesn't get one that sees this post, well, I'm really sorry, but I'm so over these cards! There's always next year! And the really fun part is, I've already got ideas rolling around in my head. Perhaps I'll get them done waaay in advance.

Starfish Shshshaker!

2008-09-04T23:40:00.008+10:00

I was commissioned again to make a couple of special cards.

As you all must know by now, my favorite types of cards are shaker cards. Even though they are a pain in the rear, I just love the interactive-ness of them, and the surprise of the recipient is enough to make these cards worth the time spent.

This first card was made for an 18th birthday, for a girl who loves the beach. I had these cute little starfish laying around for a while and felt this was the appropriate time to pull them out. I think these could have been some of the very first embellishments I bought when I started paper crafting almost 8 years ago. The sand is real sand from a beach near our home. How authentic! lol

I started out with white Bazzil Basics cardstock. The frame is a sandwich of Bazzil ribbed cardstock, then a piece of Jac paper, a piece of acetate, another piece of Jac paper, then a piece of thin foam core board to make it a bit stiffer. I only had thin foam tape so there's a couple layers of that.

A shaker secret I learned from a pro (Michelle), is to use Dimensional Magic in the corners on the inside, so just in case you didn't get the tape in the right places, all of the filler won't fall out. I love Dimentional Magic. Its almost a good as super glue!

So after the DM dried, I very carefully flipped the frame over, being careful to leave the top tape paper on so I could funnel the sand in, and placed it. Unfortunately, and this is where I get very real and admit that things don't always work the way they're supposed to... after I had put most of the sand in, for some reason, the frame had gotten stuck down crooked. Grr, I hate crooked and pride myself on things always measuring up, almost perfectly. So instead of being able to just pull it off and replace it, the tape was so sticky it took half the cardstock with it, and some of the tape actually stuck to the card. (rolleyes) So I had to go on a search through my paper box looking for another sheet of this cardstock, come back to the table, clean all the spilled sand off my work space, and give it another try.

The Happy Birthday is stamped with a dark blue Brilliance ink on matching cardstock, which has the edges distressed, then layered on dark blue Bazzil Basics. Then to kinda tie into the Nautical theme, I tied it all together with the red and white ribbon. I have to admit, I did play with it for a bit after it was done. ;-)

The next card was a wedding card. A few years ago I had found this gorgeous pack of scrapbooking paper that I always felt was just too pretty to use for just anything. I had to wait and use it for something special. I KNOW that all serious paper crafters can relate to this. Come on now, admit it, you all have that special piece of paper or card that you can't bare to use...

there, now didn't that feel good to admit that?! lol

Again, I started with Bazzil Basics cardstock, this has the crosshatch design, I think its so elegant. The paper I wrote about above, is the paper on the left side. It's some of the most gorgeous, textured stuff I've seen. It was also matched in the package, with other equally gorgeous papers, this was just my favourite.

I wanted to try something different and used some of the netting I used on the gift I wrapped a couple of posts ago... and I tied it over the left side. I could have used ribbon but didn't want to take anything away from the paper. This netting added a bit of interest.

You can't see it in this picture, and you have to really look for it in person, but I used a stamp that says "love" with VersaMark ink, which provides a bit of a watermark. Just a little detail I like to add. The stamp was big enough that I only stamped it, at an angle, three times.

The hearts are embossed gold on the same colour card and carefully cut out. They are attached with foam tape to give it a bit of dimention.

For the Congratulations, I used my Marvy Marker in red and coloured onto my stamp, stamped it on the same card stock, layered it on a hairline bit of red cardstock, then on some of my favourite gold paper. This is also attached with foam tape for dimension.

Both cards are fully lined with plain paper, and have custom made envelopes.

For the benefit of my Eclectus friends

2008-08-18T15:10:00.017+10:00

In a way this is pretty crafty. We just bought our birds a new cage! Yay! However, it required putting it together, which my husband did a great job with, AND a new cover for night time. I got the cage from a shop in Queensland called Pet Luvers. A nice gentleman by the name of Michael, was very patient with me as I called every week for almost two months asking if they came in or not.

Saying this cage is HUGE, would be an understatement. Measuring in at 5'4" across, about 6'1" high, and about 2 1/2' deep, it would actually look better either outside or in a much larger house.

This is only three sides of one side of the cage. My husband is a little taller than 6'.

Putting the second side on.

Almost finished, just needs the trays on the bottom, and the wheels.

Cage in place and Jonah exploring

Jonah, enjoying his deck.

"Hmm, this is different"

Our tiny little living room , so you can see, we need a bigger place!

Now on to the cover.

Fitting the top... I laid the fabric across the top and let it hang to where the sides would hang straight down.

This is the hardest part and it takes the most time to get this part right. This is pinning the front top together... you can see the little pins, then I cut carefully around the corners to make it a little easier to sew and find the right seam line. I also did this on the back, it just makes it a bit more stable and fitted.

Putting on the sides. Yep, I had to stand on a chair to get the cover over the top.

And here is the finished product

Does inspiration ever take a break?!

2008-08-06T22:48:00.018+10:00

There I was, minding my own business. On Sunday mornings I sit in the sound box at church and project the song words and scriptures from a computer for the congregation. I was keeping up fairly well with the Pastor as she called out the scriptures she was going to read.

Then in happened...

All of a sudden this gorgeous fabric that Janelle has at Pieces to Treasure, came to mind. I swear it was almost tangibly in front of my eyes. Crystal clear. For the next few minutes I had to really focus on my duties, but secretly, I started drawing.

There is a couple in our church that are getting married and their engagement party is this weekend. No, I didn't decide on Sunday to make a quilt for them, well, I did, but I don't plan to give it to them this weekend. I had already bought them some gorgeous towels and a game, but this latest inspiration was so meant for them. So I figured I would just give this to them as well, perhaps for a bridal shower gift or something.

This is the pattern that Janelle
deciphered from my drawing.

I also have to say that Janelle was an absolute life saver with this. I told her what I wanted and she figured out all the measurements and how much fabric I'd need of each colour, she's just amazing!

The stars of the show, aren't they lucious?! The white swirl was the culprit. You can't really tell here, but the red fabric has red roses on it and the gray has a leafy pattern. You can click on the pictures and they will come up in another window so you can see more detail, but you'll need to hit the back button on your browser window to come back each time.

And here's the progression. You'll notice there isn't a 3rd border listed, I guess I forgot to take a picture
Cutting, cutting
and more cutting

There's still a red binding to go on, but I need to get with Janelle again to get the batting and some final instruction as far as quilting goes. I'm not really sure what I want to do with the quilting, it really needs something, there are some ideas and inspirations wafting around, but I'll probably have to wait till next Sunday morning for them to show up! lol

A different type of gift box tie

2008-08-02T02:02:00.006+10:00

Where in the world has all the ribbon with the wire on the side gone?! I went to four different shops today trying to find it. Each time I was told the shop didn't have it and the sales person didn't know where I could get it. I just thought they didn't want to promote another store! But literally I only found one, but it was ugly and Christmasy. Wouldn't work for a wedding present in August!

Spotlight was my last stop and I just thought I get something that would "do", like satin ribbon or some sort of organza, didn't really know what I'd come against.

Again, no wired ribbon...

When I asked a sales person, she took me to another section of the store where they kept the wedding supplies. They had one or two wired ribbons but neither worked for me. I grabbed some organza and headed to the register. But even before I got out of that aisle, I spotted this great meshy stuff and my wheels were once again turning! And it pretty much matched the box I was using. I didn't want to cover the box with satin ribbon because it's just too pretty, so this mesh really seemed to be the way to go.

It's wrapped around the box lenghthwise and tied. Then I brought the organza ribbon around just toward the end of the box... see where the dark ribbon is laying on the left? It's kinda covering the organza.

Because the contents are yummy, beautiful chocolate brown (but NOT chocolate!), and very soft, I wanted to bring some of that brown out of the box, so I got some small satin ribbon that really matches, just for interest. I got two colours and tied them together.

This is the whole thing all finished. It's very different, but it looks contemporary. I really like it.

The next post will be the wedding card.