Teacher's Gifts

Before I get onto my title's subject, Catherine asked me what fonts I used for the New Year's Party invitations. The fonts I used were:

• Palatino (standard with Photoshop)
• Bordeaux Roman Bold LET (standard with Photoshop)
• Chopin Script (downloadable for free from DaFont.com)
• Avenir LT (downloadable from LinoType.com)

I made a very simple homemade gift for them. I recycled some glass jars, decorated them and filled them with Quality Street sweets.

For Ruben's teacher:


The card was inspired by one of the DT members of Papertrey Ink:


For Rebecca's teacher:


This one was also inspired by a DT member of Papertrey Ink:


And finally for Renee's teacher:




And I was in the mood to make cards last night, I made another one. Not sure whom I'll be sending this one to yet.



Well, I got to... time for the school run. Thanks for stopping by.

Fleur's 9th Birthday

Today my niece, Fleur is turning 9. It isn't very often that we are in the country for her birthday, so it was nice to be here to celebrate with her. Of course I had to snap a photo of her as well. Congratulations Fleur!



And one of her sister Sanne...



Here's the card I made for her the other day. I made it with the new American Crafts papers Letterbox. The colours are very soft and beautiful. I really love them.



I also made a card with the same papers that my mum gave to her.



Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Papers + Chipboard elements: American Crafts 'Letterbox', Border Punch: Martha Stewart Deep Edge Fan, EK Success Double Scallop, Ribbon: Paperchase, American Crafts Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Ink: Staz'On (Timber Brown0, VersaColor (Umber), Rhinestones: Prima Marketing, KaiserCraft, Heidi Swapp, Corner Rounder: Woodware.

It was lovely to see my brother Eric, Ingrid, Fleur and Sanne again and to say goodbye to them as we don't know when we'll see them next. My dad also came by, so I had to say goodbye to him as well.

Tomorrow I'll go and have coffee with my Nike friends before driving back home again after lunch. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Christmas Cards for Faraway Friends

Last Saturday I sent of two packages to Australia with Christmas presents for our friends. I also included a handmade Christmas card for both of them.

The first one I sent to Beth (our babysitter), which I created when my mum was here.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper + Die-Cuts: October Afternoon, handstitching, Scalloped Square Die: Spellbinder Nestabilities, Rhinestones: KaiserCraft + other, Ribbon: local haberdashery, Ink: Rangers Distress Ink Linen.

The second one I sent to Beth, Stuart, Lauren and Aden, which was inspired by Ingrid's card.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper + Die-Cuts: October Afternoon, Cirlce Die: Spellbinder Nestabilities, Rhinestones: KaiserCraft, Ribbon: local haberdashery, Ink: Rangers Distress Ink Linen, Brown Marker: ZIG.

Bright (not really it was still pitch black) and early at 5.30 a.m. I got up to get ready to drive to Holland. We left at 6.30 a.m. and arrived at my mum's around 1.45 p.m. The children helped my mum decorate her Christmas tree. After they finished I took some pictures in front of it with my new camera, which I'm loving by the way.



Just recently Ruben decided to cut of his hair. I do love his spiky crop, but I miss his long locks too. What do you think? Does he look younger or older?







Thank you for stopping by... Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

New Year's Party Invites

Today was a gorgeous day. It was dry all day (yeah!) and the sun shone. This meant great light in the house to take pictures of the New Year's Invitiations. The game comes with invitations in the box, but instead of sending them we wanted to created our own. This way we could also include all the names of the people playing the different characters.

I initially wanted the invitations to slide in the top of the sleeve, but it wasn't wide enough for that, so I decided to leave the right side open to be able to get the invitation out.



I created the sentiment in Photoshop using two different fonts. I then printed six on one page, ran them through my Big Shot to cut the labels. I added the frame around the title after I cut them out.



I typed the text for the invitation in Photoshop in two separate documents. One for the front and one for the back. The front I copied into 14 different layers and each time changed the names and costume suggestion. By clicking on and off the different layers I could print each person's invitation.



On the inside it has a little blurb of the contents of the game and all the characters in the game. It's called Murder at the Café Resistance. Just imagine 'Allo Allo' and you get the picture of the scene. By setting it up into three columns I could print it on either side and then tri-fold the paper.



Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Cardstock, Patterned Paper: Making Memories 'Paperie', Fonts: Chopin Script + Avenir, Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes', Border Punch: Martha Stewart Combo Double Loop Punch Set, Circle Punch: Fiskars, Clear Stamp: Papertrey Ink, Ink: Palette + Rangers Distress Ink, machine stitching.

This morning Renee played Donkey 3 during their Christmas production 'Born in a Barn'. She looked really adorable. Here's a couple of images that I shot with my new camera (early birthday present).



Our weekend starts early tomorrow, we're off to Holland bright and early at 6.30 a.m. Well, I'm off as I've still got to pack.

Christmas Gift Box

Several weeks ago when I started making the party boxes for Renee's birthday party, I considered making them larger than the original size. I increased the size by 30 % in Photoshop and printed one off. It turned out they were going to be too big, so I decided to decorate it as a Christmas gift box instead.





Supplies: Box template Papertrey Ink, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Snowflake die: Cuttlebug, Ribbon: local haberdashery, Clear Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Tag: newsagent, Twine: Martha Stewart, Ink: Staz'On (Jet Black), Stampin'Up (Turquoise), Button: Basic Grey.

Tomorrow I'll be packing to go to Holland with the children for 3 days to say goodbye to my family as we're off to Australia in just over 4 weeks. For those who are wondering, we are moving back to Melbourne. Can't wait for that sunshine since it's been so incredibly wet here over the past month. However I'm also still looking forward to our Christmas Eve Pantomime, ice skating at Hampton Court, Boxing Day with the family and our Murder Mystery Party on New Year's Eve. If I get time to photograph the invites, I'll post them tomorrow.

Scrapbook Magazine Publication

No, not any of my publications... but my fabulous SIL. I received the latest Scrapbook Magazine in the post today and I was delighted to see my children inside. It was great surprise and thought Ingrid did an amazing job on the layouts. So, I had to share...

Besides Ingrid's layouts there are a ton of other fabulous creations in the magazine. If you would like to see any of those I'm afraid you will have to purchase the magazine yourself.

Happy Thursday!

Guest Design Projects for Jillibean Soup

Back in September I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen as guest designer for Jillibean Soup. Here are the projects I created using their delicious products:

Back 2 School:

Dream:

Lil' Witch

Brace Yourself:

I only... I knew:

This layout has hidden journaling regarding Renee's move to another school and now on top of that we are moving back to Australia:

And finally a card:

To find out what supplies I've used head on over here to find out.

I really enjoyed working with the Jillibean products and you might have guessed that the Soup Staples are my favourite. I hope you enjoyed my projects too.

Weekend Update

This last weekend was meant to be ultra busy with lots of different things, but it seems our health got in the way. It all started last Monday when I got up with a sore neck. I was a little under the weather, but nothing too serious. I went on with the week as normal. By Thursday the pain in my neck and shoulder had become so severe that I couldn't do anything. Even lying in my bed was uncomfortable. After seeing the chiropractor the pain became a little less, but I had to take Nurofen for the next couple of days.

On Saturday, Ruben and Rebecca normally have swimming lessons, but Rebecca had an orthodontic appointment to fit part of her brace and Ruben was coughing quite badly. Swimming was off. By the time Rebecca and I came home from the orthodontist and another appointment at the chiropractor it seemed Renee had fallen ill as well. She had a temperature of 39.4. She was meant to go to her best friend's party that afternoon, but that got canceled too.

On Sunday we had planned a party to celebrate Renee's birthday with the family, but due to her fever and my 'pain in the neck' we blew that one off as well. Even though Renee couldn't go to Juliette's party, I did make her a card:

Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill Basics Cardstock, Patterned Paper - October Afternoon 'Farm Fresh', Lace, Chipboard Frame - Tattered Angels, Paint - Making Memories, Glitter - Stampin'Up, Ink - Staz'On + Stampin'Up, Border Punch - Martha Stewart, Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug 'Daisies', Clear Stamp - Papertrey Ink, Ribbon - Local haberdashery, Corner rounder - Woodware, Flower - Prima Marketing, Pearl - KaiserCraft.

Also on Saturday it was my Australian friends, Beth and Stuart's annniversary. I kind of messed up the stamp, but I liked it too much to bin it. Apologies for the colour cast, but I left it too late the take a picture. The light already starts to fade at 3.00 p.m.

Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper + Die-cut stickers - Little Yellow Bicycle, Felt - Queen & Co., Border Punch - EK Success, Embossing Folder - Quickutz, Clear Stamp - Papertrey Ink, Ink - Staz'On.

Today my shoulder is feeling a lot better, but I still have to take it easy. Tomorrow I'll be back with my projects I made as a guest designer for Jillibean Soup.

Renee's 6th Birthday

Today my little baby is turning 6. For the first time this year Ruben and Rebecca both bought her a little present from their own pocket money. Ruben got her two Littlest Pets and Rebecca got her a little doll she can hang on her bag. David and I gave her an iPod Touch and a Hello Kitty Creative Station.

Here's the card I made for her:

Supplies: Cardstock: Doodlebug Designs (sugar coated), Patterned Paper: Bella Blvd, Border Punch: Martha Stewart, Ribbon: local haberdashery, Chipboard frame: Tattered Angels, Letter Sticker: American Crafts, Glitter: Stampin'Up, Button: unknown, Baker's Twine: supermarket, Corner Rounder: Woodware.

My mum wanted to make a card as well, but kind of let me do most of the work. Credit to her as she coloured in the stamp:

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: Sassafras Lass, Border Punch: Martha Stewart, Ribbon: garden centre, Die: Spellbinder Nestabilities, Clear stamp: unknown + Papertrey Ink Markers: ZIG, Embossing folder: Cuttlebug, Ink: Staz'On + Rangers Distress, Corner Rounder: Woodware, Tag: newsagent.

Here's a picture of the party bags that are waiting for them in the entryway for when they go home:



This is a close-up of the girls bags:



And the boys:

Supplies: Bag Template: Papertrey Ink, Patterned Paper: October Afternoon, Ribbon: local haberdashery, Star punch: Fiskars, Buttons: various, Circle punch: Fiskars, Flower punch: Woodware + EK Success.

Everyone has just left the party with smiles on their faces. I haven't had a chance to download the pictures yet, but they all most definitely had fun. Have a nice weekend everyone.

Scrapbook Inspirations Issue 60

On November 13th the last issue of Scrapbook Inspirations was out. Due to low sales the publishing company has decided to stop printing after the December issue. For this issue Shimelle asked me to create a Christmas layout and then lift that into a matching card. Here's the article from the magazine:



And here are some close-ups:





Supplies: Cardstock - Doodlebug Designs (sugarcoated), Patterned Paper + Die-cuts: My Mind's Eye, Ribbon + Holly + Tag: Making Memories, Rub-on: Scenic Route, Scalloped Square punch: Marvy Uchida, machine stitching.

I was also asked to create a layout according to a sketch for the January issue, but as that one will never be published I will show you it here. This is the sketch:



And my layout:

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye + Basic Grey, Letter stickers: American Crafts, AdornIt, Journaling circle: Jillibean Soup, Snowflake Die: Cuttlebug, Twine: Martha Stewart, Glitter: Stampin'Up, White Marker: Kikki.K, Buttons: various, Date stamp: newsagent, Brown marker: ZIG.

Last but not least... I was also asked to create a 'love' themed mini album for the Valentine's issue. Of course that one wouldn't have made it to print either, but instead of Scrapbook Inspirations publishing it, PaperCraft Inspirations will feature it instead.

I'll be back tomorrow with cards, party bags and hopefully some lovely pictures. Stay tuned!

Birthday Wishes

Today my very talented sister-in-law, Ingrid is celebrating her birthday. Congrats girlie! Here's the card I made for her:



Supplies:

Cardstock - Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: October Afternoon 'Farm Fresh', Border punch: EK Success, Ribbon - local haberdashery, Chipboard frame: Tattered Angels, Glitter - Stampin'Up, Flowers - Prima Marketing, Bling: Papermania, Me and My Big Ideas, Clear Stamps - Papertrey Ink, Ink: Staz'On (Timber Brown), Stampin'Up (Real Red).

With my mum being here with me at the moment, she had to opportunity to make a card for Ingrid herself too. As this was her first ever card I had her pick a card from Cards Magazine as an example. I helped her cut the paper and Rebecca helped her to adhere everything. Here's how it turned out:



Supplies:
Cardstock - Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: October Afternoon 'Farm Fresh', Border punch: Fiskars, Leaf Punch - Martha Stewart, Ribbon - Making Memories, Flowers - Prima Marketing + Doodlebug, Clear Stamps - Papertrey Ink, Ink: Staz'On (Timber Brown), brad, marker and cord.

That's all for today. Enjoy your weekend... ours is wet and windy so far.

You're Invited

In just 11 days Renee will be celebrating her 6th birthday. Rather then waiting two months before throwing a party like I did with Rebecca, I'm tackling this one head on. Friday night I started creating the invitations. I didn't have enough ribbon, so I went out Saturday afternoon to buy some more. I finished them this morning and Renee wrote all the names in them so that she can hand them out tomorrow at school.

Here's how they turned out:







Supplies:

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Clear Stamp: Amy Butler, Butterfly punch: Martha Stewart, Rhinestones: Papermania, Border Punch: EK Success, ribbon: local haberdashery, Buttons: various, Embossing folder: Quickutz, Baker's twine: supermarket, Chipboard frame: Tattered Angels, staples, Glitter: Stampin'Up, Paint: Making Memories, Ink: Staz'On (Timber Brown).

I hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend and ready for another week ahead. Until next time!

Halloween

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween over at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house. She's fantastic at organising parties. Of course a requirement was to dress-up. My mum was the only who didn't, but everyone else did. It was a great colourful bunch and we had a great time. Here's an impression of yesterday:

I hope everyone has had a great Halloween too! Tomorrow it's back to school.