Ooh, Look - Craft

Christmas cards 2012 - merry and bright

2012-12-11T22:45:00.001+11:00

Yay! Christmas is coming and my cards are done.

This is a fairly simple design inspired by this gorgeous effort.

Less work on my part in the stamping/embossing department this year, and it does make things a lot easier when there's no fine glitter powder being discovered in strange places weeks after the holidays.

Work in progress.

A spray of white Mister Huey mist, a bit like snow, no?

Patterned papers: Cosmo Cricket (also used here), Basic Grey

Stuffed reindeer: Borders (also used here)

Inside greeting stamp: Hero Arts

Ink: Stampin' Up!

Butterfly Wedding Card

2012-10-02T16:00:00.000+10:00

This is a card I made after taking Online Card Classes' Kick Start class. You are meant to be inspired by the card creation of a number of very talented card-makers and designers, and it was certainly a fun and motivating couple of weeks.

I love the colours and design of this card very much - even though I nicked the design part of it. Alright, I was inspired by a number of cards in the class! 

 The card is a large square, so I had to make an envelope to fit it. The envelope flap has the same doily edging as the front of the card.

Inside of the card has a sentiment and a matching stick-on button.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned paper: Various (forget which ones, sorry)

Stamps: PSX (old)

Ink: Stampin' Up!

Punch: Martha Stewart
Jewels and Button: BoBunny Design and American Crafts

Wedding Card - Love

2012-07-31T12:00:00.000+10:00

Here's a Wedding card for my cousin in Canada - the third and final sister getting married. The cards for her sisters are here and here.

This card was made using some pretty patterned paper and the Hero Arts starburst lace stamp printed onto paper and vellum and cut out. I do like the dreamy turquoise colours in this card, even if I say so myself.

Inside of the card has the starburst lace stamped in shadow ink, with a Stampin' Up! greeting.

VIVID Sydney 2012

2012-06-13T11:00:00.000+10:00

The VIVID light festival in Sydney has just finished for another year. 

Although it was on every night for a couple of weeks, we left it until the final Saturday before taking a look. Seems like the rest of Sydney had the same idea, as it was packed around Circular Quay.

There were lighting installations from Customs House down to Dawes Point under the Harbour Bridge, but we mainly hung around the Quay area.

 This is the facade of the original Museum of Contemporary Art building.

This is the front of the new MCA wing, with lighting of handprints: 

  For a daytime view of the MCA, click here

The Opera House 3D projections by Urbanscreen: 

Giant chandelier and light art sculpture at Campbell's Cove: 

And finally, the Harbour Bridge doesn't need special lights to make it picture-perfect: 

MCA Sydney - arty

2012-05-06T00:00:00.000+10:00

The new extension to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney opened in late March, and it's a wonderful addition to the harbour foreshore. This is a quick visit, in pictures.

First, though, we took the ferry from Balmain, past Luna Park and under the Harbour Bridge to Circular Quay.

The new wing is all white and stark and modern, very different to the Art Deco original building next door.

The MCA Cafe occupies a prime spot next to the Loti Smorgon Sculpture Terrace.

The menu and dishes look fab.

Here are some of the exhibits.

Royal Easter Show 2012 - a Sydney tradition

2012-04-14T23:00:00.000+10:00

The Sydney Royal Easter Show is reassuringly the same every year.

The only thing that may change is the price of entry (transport plus show entry via Showlink was $32 this year), the showbags available for sale and the novelties you can win in sideshow alley (Angry Birds and Muppets were popular).

I went to the Show in 2012 and these are my pictures.

Read on and marvel at the colour and spectacle.

Or click and play 'spot the difference' with Easter Show visits from 2010 and 2009, here and here.

Starting the kiddies early on the not-so-scary rides.

Looks like fun!

This year, we had gourmet sausages in a roll, aka hot dogs. My bratwurst was bland, the kransky in a roll (with onions, extra 50 cents) was better.

Cafe Grande flavour ice cream from Connoisseur was sensational.

Warm sunny weather calls for a Frozen Coke - love it!

BMX riders getting some air.

Horses being judged. See the unusual zigzag markings on the chestnut horse.

As usual, the cake decorating was spectacular, including Pippi Longstocking.

The district display was super-crowded. Love the Western District fruit and veg arrangement.

The woodchopping arena looks like a Quidditch stadium.

A burly New Zealander won this heat of the woodchop.

Q: How much wood does a wood chopper chop if a wood chopper does chop wood?

A: One small log

Had to visit the cat pavilion to see some judging (I think this white cat is a Maine Coon).

The Hello Kitty breed is slowly infiltrating the event.

Clowns usually give me the heebee jeebies, but these are okay.

Keep your arms inside the carriage!

It was a long day.

But I wouldn't miss the Easter Show for quids.

See you next year!

Fireworks! Sydney 2012

2012-01-01T22:00:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year!

Here are some pics of the fireworks over Sydney Harbour.

I was feeling a bit too settled in front of the television when midnight rolled around (does that make me sound old or what?), so these photos were taken from my upstairs window. Please excuse the telegraph pole and wires, though at least you can see the top of the arch of the Harbour Bridge!

Christmas cards 2011 - hole in one

2011-12-13T10:00:00.002+11:00

Here are my Christmas cards for the year - this is one of the simplest designs I've made in ages, purposely so because I've left it so late...

Never mind, I was inspired by a card from the Hero Arts flickr pages and simplified it because I had to make several. There are two versions here, a pink card and a green one.

I used the Cuttlebug machine (with Nestabilities die) to cut a circle in the card and patterned paper.

I love the colours of this card, so girly and pretty.

This green one is more Christmassy in flavour.

Inside of the cards.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up!

Patterned paper: Jillibean Soup

Stamps: Hero Arts

Ink: Stampin' Up!, Colorbox

Ribbon: Stampin' Up!
Jewels: BoBunny Design

Christmas scenes in Sydney

2011-12-06T09:00:00.002+11:00

Here are some images of the 2011 Christmas decorations around Sydney town, taken a few days ago.

This is a modernist 'tree' at Westfield Sydney. It goes with the recently revealed storefronts of the Prada and Gucci temples of consumer heaven:

The windows at David Jones department store are filled with slightly creepy puppets that represent Christmas carols. The mechanised sheep are very cute, from Silent Night:

The Strand Arcade tree is a massive red edifice with lots of sparkly lights strung around the balustrades of the arcade. It looks pretty good against the Victorian shopfronts:

The 3-storey crystal-bedecked tree at the Queen Victoria Building is spectacular, as always. Look how great it is reaching up to the central dome:

Hope you're preparing a wishlist for Santa, and hope he delivers:

Art and About 2011, Sydney

2011-10-18T22:03:00.000+11:00

Art and About Sydney is about 'transforming the city into a canvas'.

Part of the project is a series of laneway installations.

We spent a morning trying to find them

(Sydney's laneways are not as well known as Melbourne's).

Mooncakes galore - Sunday adventures

2011-09-11T22:00:00.003+10:00

It's the time of the August Moon, according to the Chinese calendar, and this means mooncakes everywhere in Chinatown. I took a stroll around Sydney's Dixon Street to take in the festivities.

There were lion dancers, snatching red envelopes of money hidden inside lettuces strung up high above doorways:

And more mooncakes than you could poke a bamboo pole at:

Clashing cymbals and pounding drums and prancing lions:

Happy Moon Festival!

Double yolk, white lotus mooncake:

David Jones Flower Show 2011 - Floriography

2011-09-03T22:00:00.005+10:00

This Saturday was spent wandering through a department store.
Nothing new in that, but the David Jones flower show is on and it is a riot of colour. This is the 26th anniversary of the show and the theme is 'Floriography, the language of flowers'. There are over 30,000 flowers and just as many camera-wielding 'shoppers' enjoying the spectacle. Definitely worth a visit.

The David Jones flower show is on at the DJs Elizabeth St, Sydney store, from 1-11 September 2011.

The purple ball of blooms is an allium, from Holland.

There are also 3000 cymbidium orchids and 4800 phaeleonopsis orchids (the lovely white ones in the first pic) on display.

The Waratah is the state flower of New South Wales.

scenes from Sydney city on Saturday

2011-08-13T23:31:00.002+10:00

There's nothing better than popping into the city on a Saturday for a spot of shopping and yum cha.

The Victorian architecture in Sydney shines even on a cloudy day, and the city streets are an interesting mix of modern sleekness and more traditional sandstone and ornateness.

Queen Victoria Building

Sydney Town Hall

Castlereagh Street

speak-easy cool

2011-06-20T16:00:00.001+10:00

A lovely food issue of the 'speak-easy' zine is available now
(from here, be quick).

So even with all my going on about cutting down on magazine and book purchases and e-reader envy, this is a really great little issue and a keeper.

One of the best things is the food-related articles, written by well-known foodies and bloggers including @lemonpi and @leetranlam (who is also the creator of the zine).

And the other thing is the delightful hand-made touches, such as the photos stuck onto the page with washi tape, a diecut doily, and the cute stamped images of forks and spoons.

This is what I want to do with my recipes and craft stash one day...

Gorgeousness.

Nice day for a white wedding (card)

2011-04-24T22:04:00.001+10:00

Woohoo! I've been invited to a wedding.

Boohoo! I can't go because it's overseas.

No, silly, it's not that wedding. This one is for my cousin, and it's a beach wedding in sunny San Diego. I love San Diego, and it's a shame I can't make it. Hope they have a lovely time.

Here's a card I made. Not a red card. It has a bit of a Miss Haversham feel about it because I used some white spray mist but it goes on quite wet and in my dimly-lit house (plus short-sightedness), I thought that not enough had gone on. So I sprayed some more, and then some more. The next morning, I saw the full effect of the ghostly whiteness. I quite like it, after all.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Kraft from Stampin' Up!
Doily: Martha Stewart

Patterned paper: Crate Paper (Portrait)

Brad: Pebbles inc.

Stamp: PSX

Spray mist: Studio Calico (Mister Huey's)

Ink: Stampin' Up!

Scallop punch: Fiskars

Another Red card - sick of them yet? Not likely!

2011-03-07T10:28:00.001+11:00

Do I make too many red cards? Probably not, since I don't make many cards at all!

The brief for this card was: for a lady who is turning 60, preferably red, ideally with a Chinese character for longevity. All right, if you say so, one red card coming up...

Supplies:

Cardstock: White from Stampin' Up!, Red and liner from Paddy's Market

Doily: Martha Stewart

Paper flower and brad: Maya Road

Patterned paper: October Afternoon

Stamps: Starburst Lace by Hero Arts; Happy Birthday by PSX, Longevity by Hero Arts

Ink: Stampin' Up!

Happy Chinese New Year

2011-01-24T10:00:00.002+11:00

Another year has passed, another new year draws closer....
Wait a minute, didn't we just have a new year? Oh, right, this is Chinese new year, which is based on a different (lunar) calendar.

I love Chinese new year because, being single, I am the recipient of the lucky red envelopes that are (hopefully) filled with money. And I say this every year - it's a good reason to stay unmarried!

There are lots of superstitions - or should that be traditions - surrounding Chinese new year. Things like cleaning the house beforehand to welcome good luck into the household, paying all debts (and no lending of money on the day) and having a new year feast that honours our ancestors. Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing to have Chinese new year every day...

So here are some cards to celebrate the new year. The cards highlight the cute prosperity boy stamp from Hero Arts that I just had to get as soon as I saw it. It is perfect for a happy, prosperous new year.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Vanilla from Stampin' Up!
Flocked paper: Doodlebug Design

Patterned paper: Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Prosperity Smile by Hero Arts; happy new year (inside card) from Paddy's Market

Ink: Stampin' Up! and Tombow

Longevity birthday card

2011-01-13T11:24:00.004+11:00

My aunt asked me to make a card for a friend whose birthday is coming up. The brief: Asian-inspired, maybe red (friend is female) and maybe ‘long life’ stamped on it. Well, as luck would have it, I have a set of Hero Arts stamps bought several years ago with Chinese characters for longevity, prosperity and double happiness, and they’re worth their weight in gold considering the number of times I’ve used them for wedding cards and the like.

For this card, I pieced together some paper from Cosmo Cricket’s ‘circa 1934’ line and topped it with a Martha Stewart doily that is sponged with red ink. The sponging on the paper underneath also gives an interesting effect, like a stencil, so I’ve replicated it inside the card.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Stampin’ Up!, Paddy’s market
Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket, Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: Hero Arts, Stampin’ Up!
Ink: Stampin' Up!
Doily: Martha Stewart

Shabby chic Happy New Year card

2010-12-26T22:35:00.000+11:00

One of the advantages (and/or disadvantages) of making your own cards is that family members get wind of it and start asking for 'just something simple, for Mabel's birthday'. I don't mind making cards with this type of brief, because it's so vague that it leaves lots of room for interpretation.

So, on Christmas day, Mum asks for a card to send to friends that she received a Christmas card from, but didn't send one to. Solution: a new year's card!

I went with a shabby chic country theme because the friend is from the country:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Kraft by Stampin' Up!
Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket 'Circa 1934', October Afternoon 'Modern Homemaker'
Brad: Pebbles Inc
Rub-on letters: American Crafts
Scallop and circle punches (for flower): Stampin' Up!
Border punch: Fiskars

Christmas cards for 2010

2010-12-14T10:43:00.001+11:00

This year's Christmas cards were finished with a bit more time to spare than usual. Of course, I spent the requisite ~~hours~~ days covered in bits of paper and embossing powder before deciding on a design.

This design was inspired by a card on the Hero Arts site which had a circle cut from the starburst lace on the front with a stamped reindeer peeking out. I had picked up some little felt reindeer decorations last year from Borders and fortunately came across them, hidden in a drawer, and was able to use them on the cards.

Supplies: Cardstock from Paddy's Market; Stamps and rhinestone by Hero Arts; Ink from Versamark; white embossing powder from Stampin Up!; felt reindeer by Paperchase

Christmas card from Tabitha

2010-12-13T14:44:00.000+11:00

Tabitha cat's former owners were kind enough to give her some handpainted cards for her birthday a few weeks ago (which I completely forgot about, sorry, Tab). So Tabitha, being a polite and well-mannered kitty, asked me to create something worthy in return.

Here is a simple card for Christmas:

Supplies: Patterned paper by Cosmo Cricket; stamps by Hero Arts; ribbon, square punch, ink and cardstock by Stampin' Up!

The inside of the card is autographed by Tabitha using her former name... =)

Hello Dora! Big sister owl

2010-11-03T10:16:00.001+11:00

Here's another Craft Schmaft owl for my owl family - her name is Dora.

She's a lovely big sister to little Jet and she happily and efficiently looks after the nest (or barn or roof or wherever these owls live) when Mother off at work.

Since I've started 'sewing', I've been on the lookout for appropriate accoutrements:

The local weekend trash-n-treasure markets are an unexpected source of old sewing needles and embroidery thread. I love (and miss) that the needle and cottons are 'made in England'.
One thing I do want, though, is some decent woolly felt. The felt that I've been using on the owl wings is too thin - some old-fashioned post-war fabric is what I need!

Hello Dora!

And be good, Jet...

Boo! The Vampire Owl

2010-10-26T12:00:00.001+11:00

Boo! flies around at dusk on Halloween

Looking for small children to spook, he's so keen.

But be careful, Boo! 'cos Tabitha cat is on the prowl

Watch your back, you little vampire owl!

Say 'Hi' to Boo! the Vampire Owl!
Just in time for Halloween, this cutie owl has a black cape with a silver racing stripe. All the better for swooping down on unsuspecting little children .... eeeeeeek!!!!

Happy Halloween from Boo! and Tabitha

Woohoo! Hello Toot Jet - junior sock owl

2010-10-20T01:00:00.003+11:00

Recently, I read about Claire Waring, a clever mother, craft blogger and soft toy designer. She is the one who came up with the idea of turning socks into toys. Not your old-fashioned sock monkeys, but a modern, delightful range of giraffes, monsters, dogs and owls. Her company is called Craft Schmaft.

I sent away for a kit with pattern, and in less than an hour, I had created my first sock owl!
Here is Toot Jet, a junior (and founding) member of the Ooh, Look owl parliament.

Hello Toot Jet. More of the owl parliament will be flying in soon.

Hi there - welcome to the neighbourhood

2010-09-30T20:53:00.000+10:00

This card is for a new neighbour - or for someone you haven't seen in a while!

I loved using the American Crafts papers for this card; the bright colours and clean graphic designs are both happy and sophisticated.

Welcome!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned papers: American Crafts - Teen (Debate Team), Craft Fair (Ida Zipperelli), Abode (Shady Lane)

Chipboard stickers: American Crafts - Dear Lizzy

Letters: American Crafts - Apartment