Trish gets crafty

Time for another quote...

2011-11-04T20:41:00.003+10:00

This lovely green frame image, comes from Keren over at Free Pretty Things for You.

New items at Rosehip & Moon

2011-10-26T12:46:00.000+10:00

hi, new items have been listed at Rosehip & Moon. The Oh Golly! card. Inside reads: *Another* Birthday!? And of course, it comes in a polyprop bag with envelope :)

And.. for the person who has been having a erm..bad hair day...

These come in three colours. Purple (pictured), green and pink. Check them out here.

{twinkle toes}

2011-10-12T09:31:00.001+10:00

Hi there, just thought I would share what I've been up to with these cute purple sneakers - they belong to my daughter. These great shoes were purchased at one of the "discount" type shoe stores here in Australia, called Spendless. Aren't they great?! Now my sweet girl and I were keen to "bling" the front of them.

I found you can buy ACTUAL Swarovski round, flat back crystals online, fairly inexpensively. Although, I must be honest and say...that the crystals ended up costing a little more than the shoes!! ..blush. Here's the ones we bought: Series 2028, Swarovski, round flat back, Clear colour. They measure 6mm across, and we bought 144 - that's one gross of them. This was plenty to do the toes of each shoe.

My little girl is thrilled with them. It was fairly simple to add the rhinestones. You will need, an icecream container lid (something to squeeze the glue on to as you use it), tweezers would be very handy!, toothpick, glue - we used Tarzan's Grip..more on that later! I just squeezed out a little of the glue (enough for about 3 crystals at a time, as it goes tacky so quickly), pick up a little of the glue on your toothpick, and apply to the back of a crystal, that you will be holding with tweezers in the other hand, and onto the shoe. I just worked my way across, top to bottom, left to right. Arrange a couple of lines of crystals on the shoe without glue, if that helps.

And ta-da! There you go. I thought this job might be quite challenging patience-wise - but it really wasn't too bad. And even better, Miss E has worn the shoes a couple of times already - not one Swarovski has fallen off. Hubby thought maybe a urethane bond glue would have been better? but hey, the Tarzan's grip has been fine. No playing soccer in these twinkly numbers! Cute huh?! ;)

Oh, and one more thing. Let the glue cure for a good 48 hours before wearing the shoes :)

10 years ago...

2011-09-12T10:11:00.004+10:00

Firstly, a little thought and prayer for all those affected by 9/11.

Source

I've taken a walk on the wild side recently, with this amazing zebra-patterned paper. It was actually in my daughter's stash of origami papers, and I convinced her to give me one! She has two of each in her set, so it's OK ;)

That beautiful apple green, satin ribbon was just the smallest scrap that my Mum gave me. Knew it would come in handy for something! Thanks Mum. It picks up the green in the tea-bag folding papers that I also used. Prisma cardstock, in Ocean blue, perfectly matches the blue, and I coudn't resist using more zebra, in the form of ribbon! Again, I've taken out my trusty Martha Stoo-wart Scallop dot Border Punch to edge the gold card for the middle. Still had some red paper roses in my stash too.

And for this one, I've made up the card, 'tent' style. Ooh, and I forgot to mention..the little daisies stamped in white, were done with a stamp handmade for me!, by the lovely Sarah Kathryn from Creatiate on Etsy. Thanks Sarah Kathryn. Boy, are her prices reasonable too. Did I mention the stamps were handmade just for me!? ;) Have a lovely week.

Seam binding, butterflies, and bling...

2011-09-01T11:16:00.002+10:00

A couple of cards I whipped up, using goodies from Bluebird Lane on etsy, which I love, love. I even used some of the lovely little bits that were used to package up my order - thanks Bluebird Lane ;) I love polka dots..and once again, I've simply made my own with some 1" punchies of ivory cardstock. Went around the edge of the card with a Versa colour cube, in Bark. Little pink loveheart rhinestones to finish it off.

Now I apologise for the ordinary photo. ..hangs head in shame..;) Don't you love the little birds with silver, vintage-looking glitter on? They are all silvery and sparkly, I swear!! I used my Martha Stewart Scallop Dot border punch down the side. The blue gingham paper is made by Print Blocks (an Australian company) - it is a lovely paper, beautiful quality. Now for this one, I made a coordinating envelope in the same blue gingham paper, using my envelope template. This was a birthday card for one of my SILs, and I popped in a bookmark from the lovely Lyn's etsy store, Angelic Aspirations. Hmmm, she doesn't seem to have any bookmarks listed just at the moment, so check back for those. Any bookmarks coming Lyn? :) And the HBDAY is stencilled on with a sweet little stencil picked up in Kmart, of all places! and a Uniball Signo pen, in Angelic.

Meanwhile..back at the ranch

2011-07-08T18:26:00.000+10:00

Oops, haven't posted on here for a little while. Life got in way. Kids' parties, school fairs, you know how it is. Just a couple of cards I made the other day...

Birthday card.

Miss Eight tells me this is too girly to be for a male...hmm I guess she's right.

How about this?

3 x new Gift Cards at Rosehip & Moon

2011-06-02T11:45:00.002+10:00

There are 3 x new gift cards, on our Rosehip & Moon website. Check it out! The designs are L to R: Apples, Speckles, and Pink Floral. And don't forget, R&M takes wholesale orders, on the gift cards only. Thanks for popping by!

The perks of being crafty I guess...

2011-05-01T16:53:00.000+10:00

Look what the postie brought me (and my daughter). This huuuuge parcel turned up on the doorstep, yipeee!

And look what was inside....

Cut-outs, trims, beads, scrapbooking paper, rub-ons, background papers...the list goes on. Turns out one of my lovely sisters-in-law has been having a bit of a destash, and guess who scored the goodies!? Thanks M. We are very grateful.

If you have an envelope template, you can use up pieces of scrapbook paper and make them into very interesting envelopes. Like I did ;) And here's a view of the back of them...

{Purple and Gold Foil!!}

2011-04-22T11:35:00.002+10:00

I've been having a bit of a play with this wonderful *coloured* alfoil, that I found in my local Coles.

You may have seen the *really* expensive, novelty chocolate bars that you can buy. I used this beautiful gold foil, Christina Re paper, and a family block of chocolate to make my own. You could add any funny sayings, tags or labels that you like.

Ok..so Easter eggs is a pretty obvious one. But I think a lot of people would appreciate being able to make and wrap their own Easter eggs.

If you're really speedy...there's still time to make one of these from last year ;)

A really cute idea for those on a "lifestyle change" ;)

My kids helped with this one. It's an Easter Egg Piniata of course. Made with a balloon, papier mache, then fill with easter goodies. It has its own perfectly matching embellies, thanks to that gorgeous purple foil. No problems putting the foil in your craft punches!!

A hard boiled egg for kids lunch boxes...

I really went to town here on this card. I adhered the foil to one side only of JAC (sticky paper) and then stuck to some felt. Put it in my sewing machine for a cool, quilted effect. It was easy.. as I just followed the embossed lines on the foil!

..Another greeting card

I've had this tea cup chocolate mould in my cupboard for ages - Have never been able to use until now - I had no idea where to find foil for chocolates. Hope you have as much fun as I did ;)

Some Pinterest cupcake eye candy for you...enjoy :)

2011-03-29T14:22:00.004+10:00

Details

Someone else's craftiness...rescued!!

2011-03-27T15:38:00.002+10:00

They were throwing out(!) some "fabric" at the kids' school..it was about to go in the skip, or dumpster. Turns out it this "fabric", was a whole bunch of great costumes, left over from school plays I suspect. About 20 in all.

So...I am going to try and sell these, and use the proceeds to purchase any bits I need to make things for the school fair!! Clever huh?

Look at all the work that's gone into this cute apron! There are cloaks, cloaks with faux fur! fairy skirts, leather-look skirt, cute double-sided knights pop overs, and lots more. Heaps of fun, that I have rescued from the tip :)

A seam has come apart here and there..easy fixed. They are in pretty good shape!

This one, we're calling the Ninja costume ;) And as you can see, my kids have given them a test drive - they had a ball.

In the pile also...was a whole bunch of hessian, or burlap as you American ladies call it. What to do with all that!?

Color Throwdown card..

2011-03-21T12:07:00.001+10:00

Here it is. My card for the current Color Throwdown.

Well I think I've *really* used the colour pallette...tee hee hee. Think I may even be improving with my photography. That can be half the battle with this blogging caper - getting a good piccy.

Ingredients list: The actual card is Outback desert gold (has a small coloured fleck in it), Bazzill cardstock in Java, Mauve satin ribbon and paper flowers, cotton string, green buttons, Paper Shapers large flower punch, Kaisercraft adhesive rhinestones in Gold, and Bazzill dotted swiss cardstock in Plum Pudding, plus Botany cardstock (like Kraft). Off to pop on the linky.

{Can I handle it?}

2011-03-17T11:19:00.001+10:00

Well I think I can. This is the latest Color Throwdown. Very earthy tones aren't they, with a touch of eggplant, and plum. Shall see what I can come up with :)

What's black and white, and red.. a little bit?

2011-03-06T22:04:00.005+10:00

This is my entry in the Shabby Tea Room challenge, here is the inspiration photo they provided.

I don't have any black and white polka dot patterned paper. No troubles. I made my own using a 1" circle punch. I used a Versa Color Cube, in Bark, around the edges. Again, I took out my Martha Stewart scallop dot border punch, to do those strips. The actual card is made of Botany, (very similar to Kraft). Some 1/8" wide, black satin ribbon. The paper with text, is some 12x12 paper that I trimmed. I added a black, adhesive pearl to the centre of that sweet silk poppy.

Showed this card to hubby, and he said it looked like a garter :( No, I told him, lace is very big in card making at the moment. Really!

Ah, they just don't get it do they? ;) Now I have been a *bit* clever, and also entered this for the PDCC#71 challenge they are having over at the The Play Date Cafe. Those folks were having a challenge with black and white, and a splash of colour!! Here is the inspiration graphic.

ha ha, I can combine the two I thought. And so did a few of you other lovely ladies ;) Well, that's it from me. Off to pop this card on the linkies.

Keep a green bough in your heart...

2011-03-03T09:20:00.005+10:00

Here's what I came up with for the Embellish Magazine Color Trends Challenge, with Birds.

Went with a bit of a vintage look this time, so I used a satin, chocolate ribbon, made it into a bow and then pressed down for an olde worlde look. Took a chocolate coloured button and added black, adhesive pearls to it; large one in the middle, and smaller ones round the outside. The bird's eye is one of those little black, adhesive pearls too.

Here's the full ingredients list: Kraft cardstock, chocolate coloured satin ribbon, chocolate button (no, not the edible kind!) adhesive pearls in Black from Kaisercraft, patterned paper is Le Chateau: Lumiere from Kaisercraft, Bazzill Dotted Swiss in Riptide, and Bazzill cardstock in Canvas, scrap of black cardstock for the beak.

Here's the inspiration graphic from Embellish Magazine...

Off to pop my card up on the Embellish linky. Have just made it in the nick of time ;) What do you think? Are these challenges a bit addictive!?

Oh, I nearly forgot, you may be wondering why on earth the post title talks about a green bough? One of my favourite chinese proverbs ties in with this "bird" theme..

"Keep a green bough in your heart, and the singing bird will come."

chinese proverb

Some believe this means if you have gratitude in your heart, you will be happy. Maybe it means, if you have confidence, and faith in your heart that you can be happy, you will be!

PuRpLe

2011-02-26T07:48:00.001+10:00

Kim, from Off the Wall Craftiness has just started a colour challenge. It's Purple.

Click on either of these images to take you to her blog, and the rules. Here are the swatches.
Kim says she's not a big fan of purple. I kinda like it. Have fun ;)

♫ Brown paper packages... ♪

2011-02-22T09:21:00.005+10:00

A bit of blog love arrived in the letter box! I was the lucky recipient of a card, in a giveaway that Kathy, over at Sweet Simplicitee, was having. It arrived in a padded envelope too, but look what was inside...complete with colour co-ordinating bakers twine no less ;)...

Isn't it lovely? Kathy has come to the rescue and let me share her piccie of it. Let's just say I was having a bad day on the photography front :P I reckon she's the queen of stamping, it looks so perfect.

I had this card set up on the railing of my back deck to take a piccie. A slight breeze was blowing. You guessed it.. off it went, wooshka.. down into the back yard. I raced down after the precious paper and recovered it. Was focussing in for another pic, muttering to myself that that couldn't *possibly* happen again...when, you guessed it, down she went. The card was unscathed again, but I guess some of my neighbours think I'm a bit mad!! What have you done in your crafty pursuits that has made your neighbours think you're crazy!? :)

Keep Your Sunny Side Up!

2011-02-16T10:25:00.004+10:00

Must stop looking at etsy..must stop looking at etsy..must stop...
Hope this brightens your day as you look at my wee bloggy today! I had honestly never come across this little positive thinking sentiment before, but I just love it.
The lovely Christine, from ToTheMoonAndBack, has kindly agreed to let me share this wonderful graphic with you.
Oh, and if you would like to order a tshirt, sizes run a little small, so please check your measurements. You can order one here.

{Ta-da!!}

2011-02-13T19:20:00.006+10:00

Here's my entry in the Embellish Color Trends Challenge with Hearts. What do you think? It really *is* a bit of a challenge having to use certain colours, plus hearts. I will be using that gorgeous teal colour again :)

The "Be Mine" swag is a digital stamp from Tiffany Doodles. It's in her Sentiments range. I had never used a digital item like this - but they're great. Just download the item, do any colour changes, print on card, and trim. Easy!

I went around the edges of the card stock with a Versa colour cube, in Bark.

I used my Martha Stewart Scallop Dot, Border edge punch. Love it.

Anna's Craft Cupboard has these at a really great price btw ;) The neutral/brown coloured card, is Botany. This card stock has a recycled component, and is 230gsm in weight. Plaza DJ really helped me out with that! And I'm not on commission - honestly! ;)

A behind the scenes look at the making of this card. I gathered together any bits and pieces that might be useful, and just had a bit of a play around. I was looking for anything I had for that amazing colour combination: Hot Pink, Deep Red, Teal, and Olive Green. Yes, that's the "Marrtha Stoo-wart" border punch in the bottom right there ;)

Taking up the challenge

2011-02-05T08:52:00.005+10:00

Just thought I'd let you know about this great card making challenge from Embellish Magazine. I'm going to give it a go. Love those colours - not sure if I have any teal items in my stash at the moment, but see how we go.
This is going to tick a few boxes too... I'll get a Valentines card made, I'll have another blog post *and* I'll have an entry in this challenge :)
You can find all the details here.

Princess and the Pea sandwiches

2011-02-01T13:25:00.004+10:00

This was fun to make. To get the effect of different "mattresses", I used a couple of types of bread - we don't have white bread here ;) I cut the crust off some of the edges. As you can see, some I added sprinkles to, "glued" on with butter.
The princess's dress was cut from a crust of bread, cheese for the face, carrot trimmed with a cookie cutter for a crown. I just traced on a face with a toothpick dipped in some choccy sauce from the cupboard.
In between the layers is a little butter, but you could use any filling you like.

And what would be on the bottom mattress.. but a pea of course :)

The pink sprinkles you can see are "Fairy Dust" by Dollar Sweets. I found them at Coles.

Another close up look at that Fairy Dust. Enjoy :)

{a quick share..}

2010-12-31T11:27:00.009+10:00

..of some decos that are about to be packed away soon...This angel was given to me by my childhood art teacher! Very special. As it says on her dress, I hope "twenty-eleven" brings you joy. I hope this blog continues to bring you a little joy as well ;)

This is a hand crafted wooden piece, brought back for me, from Germany. You can see in the second pic down, the teeny tiny Santa at the bottom. Awwww!

Here he is.

Last but not least, a cross-stich worked by my sister, with the name of one of my children at the top. You wouldn't know it, but it is actually worked on...erm..plastic. No Zweigart Belfast linen for us. Apparently, plastic would be very faux pas in the world of cross-stitchers, but it came in handy for trimming down to the stocking shape! We are actually on the lookout for more, as there as been a third child for a while now, and he doesn't yet have one ;) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas cards with sound !

2010-12-24T16:50:00.011+10:00

blue board shorts for a boy

both cards together

green bikini for a girl

inside the card. it's not as lumpy as it looks!

You may have seen Christmas cards in the shops, that play messages. The thought occured to me that you may be able to purchase the sound modules...it turns out you can! I got mine here. They are 10 second recordable sound modules - quite inexpensive too! I've made cards for a special niece and nephew, who will receive them Christmas day, complete with a message from their cousins! :)

Yes..it's a bit late to be making Christmas cards, but you can adapt this idea for other greeting cards.

Instructions:

1. First, complete the front of your card. You don't want to be unhappy with the front, having already attached the sound module to the inside!

I used a background that I made in Word. As time permits I might put a link to the file on this blog. I also used a Carl Teddy punch, and small ume flower punches. The Christmas hats were hand cut. The teddies were stuck down with foam mounting tape.

2. Attach the sound module to the inside of your card. I positioned the play button, microphone, and record button, left to right across the top.

The middle piece has the circuit and batteries, the bottom circle is the speaker. I attached these pieces with double sided tape mostly. Carefully stick down the wires so they're out of the way. There is a red pilot light too, I covered that up.

3. Cut holes in another piece of card, so the top three pieces can be accessed. The speaker is mostly concealed, but there is a gap in the middle, plus vibration on the card, to help the sound be heard. I used a 3/8" circle punch for the microphone. I stuck this piece of card down with staples, and then concealed those with strips of white paper on double sided sticky paper.

And that's about it.

Hope you like it. I would put extra packaging on these before putting in the post :) Keep out of reach of children under 3.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

{A Friday Funny for you}

2010-12-17T16:03:00.003+10:00

Here in Australia we have a dip called "Skinny Dip" - it has less fat content, as you can see on the label. I couldn't resist taking this pic.... Skinny Dipping in the Skinny Dip!! ...:)

Card for a new baby...:)

2010-12-14T15:34:00.012+10:00

Bought a little bit of gorgeous ribbon from Etsy. (..must stop looking at etsy, must stop looking at etsy...anyways). It arrived! From everythingribbons, thanks girls! They call it preppy stripe ribbon, 7/8". Sorry about my pic, the top ribbon is actually hot pink! and black. Have made a new baby card with it already :) A different colour scheme - it's for a boy baby. You don't need to go to the expense of investing in die cutting tools and dies! The very cute tractor is a Quickutz die cut, it was ordered online from Scrap and Die .