You've seen the photos before ...

but I overlooked sharing the layout ...

oh well, guess that happens from time to time.

I put this layout together for one of the Saturday sketch challenges on the Kaisercraft blog, ummmmmmmmmm back in December.

Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for their Saturday sketch challenges. You have to be in to win ... two fabulous collection prizes every month are up for grabs.

Happy creating.

It's nearly time ...

January is almost done and dusted.

How scary is that ... one down, eleven to go.

The first month, gone in a flash.

School is just about underway for another year.

Woo hoo - just quietly.

N is in Year 13 this year - last year at high school.

I've got a funny feeling this year is going to disappear on me ... in a flash.

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

A wee sneak peek ...

It's nearly time for another new release from Kaisercraft.

Just saying ... a little outdoorsy and a little vintage ...
Keep an eye out.
CYA
M

Another one ...

Gorgeous paper, gorgeous collectables [die cuts], throw in a little seam binding, a little ink.

and voila ...

Handmade embellishments

I've been having a wee nosey and clicking here, there and everywhere else ... as you do, and one clicks leads you from one site to another ... nothing unusual in that ...

Have a looksy here ...

Welcome & Giveaway! - Greatest View

Too cute.

Spread the word.

Sweet Nothings ...

Valentine's Day is coming up ... definitely not too far away.

I was playing with the Sweet Nothings collection recently and put together a couple of wee pocket envelopes and some tags.

They were painless to put together and I thought they might just make their way into DH's lunch box at some stage.




Why wait until then?

A work in progress ...

It surely is ... a work in progress.

A huge area of green grass and a garden space is now gone.

Kaput ... no longer.

Mr Friz has dug it up.

Right down to to the ball of string ... all gone.

Watch this space ... there's a little something or other happening in our backyard.
It's going to take a while and I have to be patient ... patience and I don't always see eye to eye.
Forewarned.
CYA
M

A little pink and green together ...

guess you thought that I was going to show you a little creativity ...

wrong ...

just sharing my ferns and cyclamen basket from the conservatory ...

A little creativity in the kitchen ...

Once upon a time, I used to be a whole lot more creative in the kitchen.

In fact, every week I used to make, bake, cook [or do something] with a new recipe, every single week.

Okay, let's be honest, not every single recipe was one that I would bother with again ... there were some duds.

The majority though that I chose would be repeats.

Last week at work I was flicking through an old mag in the cafeteria and I came across this recipe and I thought to myself sounds like me.

I swung passed the supermarket on the way home from work.

On Saturday I decided to spend a little time in the kitchen.

I whipped up said recipe - instead of using smoked chicken, I used a plain chicken breast and I didn't use the chuck whatever veges the recipe called for. I used plain old mixed veges with beans in them.

Would I make said recipe again ... ummmmmmmmmm ... that would be a yes, most definitely ... it was divine ...

The kumara was yummy, the leaks were yummy, the mixed frozen veges still slightly crisp ... and the ground pepper and salt on the top just before serving ...

yummy ...

Check it out ...

A new challenge site ...

Scrap Africa

Happy creating.
CYA
M

Friendship cube ...

I have to be honest ...

This would be one of my most favourite off the page projects.

It all came together so easily - it truly did.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that ... duh duh duh duh duh duh.

Are you all singing the tune now ... just kidding.

I've used the Lil Primrose collection from Kaisercraft ... and I have I had a real play with this one – I've made up a friendship cube for a very special friend – using papers from the Lil Primrose
collection, a little crackle paint, the gorgeous friendship quotes, a few
flowers, a little bling and I was done.

Truly, this didn’t take long at all ...

it all came together, just like that.

P.S. hot glue guns ... best ever!!!!

Being creative ...

Most of the time ... ahem ... I said ... most of the time, I like to stay ahead of my crafty/creative schedule. I try to look ahead and kinda plan, [I said, kinda plan] what is due and when.

Doesn't always work ... as I found out this week ... I missed one. Oops ...

So I got home from work and whipped this card up.



Materials used : Hummingbird PP860 paper pad, F631 paper blooms – sea breeze, foam adhesive

Extras : Kraft cardstock, ink, metal dies

Michelle says “okay, let’s be honest, I’m not the only one, and I know that I won’t be ... I find out in a blind panic that I need a card and I need a card now! There’s no need to rush to the shop.
Nothing beats handmade. It shows that a little thought has been put into the card, sometimes, a whole lot of thought.

Kaisercraft takes the guess work out. They make creating a whole lot easier. They truly do.

I’ve grabbed my 6.5 inch pad and using the gorgeous colours and papers from the Hummingbird collection, I’ve whipped this card up in literally no time at all.

My base is Kraft cardstock, which I’ve cut at 6 inches square, I’ve lightly inked around the edge of the cardstock with an ink pad.

I’ve cut squares 1 ¾ inch square and used adhesive to stick them down.

I’ve run two metal dies through my Cuttlebug, I’ve layered them together with one of the wee die cuts from the same pad [raised a little using foam adhesive]and then I’ve popped on a paper bloom.

Life just became a whole lot easier ... thanks to Kaisercraft.

Happy creating everyone.”


Yep ... I'm thinking this is now going to be my 'go to' card design when I need one in a hurry.
Just sharing.
CYA
M

Shake, rattle and roll ...

yep ... that had me going ... I was sitting there watching the idiot box ... I actually had a foot up on the couch beside me ... I looked at N and said OMG did you feel that ... I'm moving.

I'm looking around, thinking to myself, OMG, am I dreaming ... is this for real ...

Yep, it's for real ... when is it going to stop ...

I was up, outta my seat on the couch and under the doorway ... my legs were still going ...


... scary really, I had only just been on the geonet website to see what had been happening around the countryside today and then that happened.

This came up a few minutes ago.

Reference Number: 3645115
NZDT: Thu, Jan 19 2012 7:48 pm
Magnitude: 5.8
Depth: 12 km
Details: 180 km south-west of Tuatapere


Just sharing ... not a very nice feeling, I kid you not!
CYA
M

I forgot ...

... yep siree, I forget really what it's like to play with a brand spanking new black ink pad ... it's been a while since I opened one.

It's kinda messy really - how's that for honesty.

It's even messier when you are playing with black, orange, white and pink ... yes it is.

What a gorgeous colour combination.

There have been quite a few trips into the bathroom in the last few days to wash with hot, soapy water.

I don't really do messy, just quietly.

Just saying.
Later
M

Wrapping ...

Some of my Christmas parcels looked a little flash this year.

Only cos I wrapped these ones up, nice and early ... just saying ... scrapping supplies come in handy.
CYA
M

P.S. last of the belated Christmas posts ... promise ... well I think so ...

A few more ...

of my wee friends that were out on display.

Now safely packed away.
CYA
M

MIA ...

My dining room looks kinda bare now ...

My wee Christmas friends have been packed away.

Still finding bean bag baubles here and there ... I scatter them amongst the branches on the Christmas tree and in amongst my Santa and Snowmen displays.

Just as well I've got a decent lux.
Later
M

Oh wow ...

Have a look at this ...


Make Your Own Lace Scarf! - A Beautiful Mess


I think I'm going to be doing a little shopping.

Very 'noice'.
CYA
M

Lil Primrose ...

The second release from Kaisercraft this month ... Lil Primrose ...

Gorgeous colours in this collection - nothing surprising in that.

The little die cuts are so very easy to use and with this collection a whole range of clear stamps ... very 'noice' ladies, very 'noice' indeed.

I received some Christmas junk mail, as you do ... and at the time I thought to myself, that would be fabulous to keep and to use as a template for a card – so that’s exactly what I have done.

I’ve used the template and cut out a card using double sided paper and then I thought to myself, that’s not quite sturdy enough, so I’ve cut out another layer and adhered it to the front and the back of the card.

I’ve made an envelope to pop my card in and then I went another step further and made up yet another type of box and because the theme is tea for two, or time for tea, I thought that I would fill the box with tea bags and send it on its merry way to a friend who lives in another part of the
country. Just to know that I was thinking of her.

Well I got the card and envelope sent away without the box full of tea bags ... didn't quite work out ... so will save that for another day.

CYA

M

Metal dies ...

there are lots of them out there available in the big wide world ...

the gorgeous poinsettia above and how about this absoluely delightful Santa's clothesline ...

I grabbed another one too when I was shopping online - a gorgeous cupcake, but they no longer have that particular image in the shop, so I'm thinking that it might be temporarily out of stock.

I'm having a little trouble using the Cuttlebug and cardstock and getting a clean cut, but pop some patterned paper through the wee green bug ... and it's not a problem ... fun, fun, fun!!!

Cottage Cutz is an American website and with the way the dollar is atm, not a bad wee price even with the exchange rate ...

CYA

M

Gorgeous colours ...

truly gorgeous.


No idea why that decided to bold itself, let alone, underline it ... technology gremlins at work me thinks. But I'm not playing around with it, just in case I lose this post ... grrrrrrhhhhhhhhh!!!


But let's get back to the gorgeous colours in this collection from Kaisercraft - that would be the Hummingbird collection ... bea-u-ti-ful ...

Another round card, yep, I can’t seem to stop making them for some reason and they all come out completely differently using different Kaisercraft collections – well I figure that I am on to a good thing, so why fix something that aint broke, the saying is something like that anyway.

I also decided to make a card sleeve. I’ve cut this one 7 inches wide by 12 inches long, folded it in half and hand stitched down each side, then I’ve used my circle punch and cut out a half circle, just to make it a little easier to pop the card in and obviously to remove the card from the pouch.

There you have it ...

Later

M

Just busy enough ...

Yep, you could say that ... I'm just busy enough and it's only the start of the year.

Big weekend last weekend - I had a date with a scrubbing brush, a bottle of jiff, the lux, a can of oven cleaner ... you know how it is!?!?!?!

It was time to attack some of the jobs that you do once in a blue moon ... and it was my turn to clean the oven ... yep siree, we take turns in our household doing the oven thing ... I must admit, I left the oven sparkly, well as close to sparkly as it's ever gonna get, unless it is straight out of the box ...

Just about wanted to put a sign on the front saying ... DO NOT USE ... just to keep it that way - lol.

Oven cleaned - check
Christmas decorations boxed and put away - check
Fridge cleaned - check [well sort of] ... but it sure doesn't look like it now
Luxing done - upstairs and downstairs - check
Floors cleaned and disinfected - check

I tell you, I was on a roll and washing and folding up doesn't count on the list either ... but there was a whole lot of that going on as well.

Didn't quite get time to get the iron out ... but it's still on the 'to do' list and not going anywhere fast.


And something totally out of the ball park ... got home from work last night, sat out in the conservatory and read my book for a wee while ... now remember I said that I had the lux out in the weekend, well I kid you not ... there must have been over 100 dead ladybugs/ladybirds out there ... no idea where they have all come from, or what made them die in our conservatory ... but they did.

Tonight I get home from work and there are a whole lot more of the wee critters out there ... any ideas?

And ... another quick one ... I hear that there are a few boxes and envelopes turning up around the countryside at the moment ... I'm still packaging up stuff, so please do not think that I have forgotten you, because, truly, I haven't ... let's just say it's a work in progress.

CYA
M

Need a little boost ...

to crank up the ol' mojo ... check out this week's Kaisercraft sketch ... click on my sidebar linky thing and it will take you there.

Love it ... might just have to play along too.

Happy creating.
CYA
M

Flowers, flowers and more flowers ...

I've always said that a girl can never, ever ... have too many flowers ... and at this time of the year with all those bleedin pollens about, these would have to be the best flowers to be surrounded in ...

So ... to be in to win ... you need to visit Manorhouse Creations blog to find out more. http://manorhousecreationsblog.com

Good luck.
CYA
M