Did Ya Miss Me??

Hello my long-lost blog darlings!! Actually, I'm the long-lost one, aren't I? hehe

How are you all? I'm good, just been busier than you could ever have imagined and had my focus off of all things creative/crafty in the recent weeks/months. Forgive me??

The little fellas are doing well. I hope to pop over and have afternoon tea with the dudes and their mum tomorrow afternoon. Yay!! I haven't actually seen anywhere near enough of the family lately and can't believe wee Charlie is 10weeks old already!! What?? Where?? When?? How did that happen??

Since I last posted I have made a total of 2 cards. Yep, count them......one.....two!! That's it. Seriously, two cards in three months - that's outrageous and way tooo sad. And only one of the cards I'm about to share is one of those two. The other I'll save for my next post. It was spesh enough to need its own write-up. :)

And, for the record, just because I haven't been creating doesn't mean I haven't been buying!! I've added an air compressor and attachment for my Copics so I can do airbrushing (thankfully, some lovely peeps in my world contributed too so its part b'day pressie - phew, it was a lot of $$$).....and lots of yummy new DSP's (I actually cannot physically walk past a new 6x6 pad without purchasing it.......and am NOT interested in any 12 step programs for this, lol). And have almost the entire range of Distress Ink pads now. Three more colours to go and I'll be there. And the new SU catalogue has just launched here in Aus - so there are a couple of new stamp sets and (FINALLY) Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) ink!! WooHoo!! And now I really need to get started on this year's Christmas cards. Someone kindly (or not) shared today that it is only 96 days til Christmas!!

Anyway...that's enough words from me for now, right?? Onto a couple of cards right?!!

This is a card I made for a dear friend, Pri, for her birthday. I whipped this up in about an hour (maybe two, including all the creative processes that go on in my head before I get started....layout, colours, papers, etc....). It came together reasonably well and quickly considering how little I've been playing recently.

She is expecting her first wee bubba in a couple of months and wanted pj's for her birthday, so my roomie and I went in together to get her some truly yummy pj's that she can wear in these next "growing months" and thereafter as well.

They were in pinks and blues and lilacs, so I kinda went with that for my colour choices. And I stamped the damasky-type flourishy thingy on the envelope too to tie it all in together as well as the wrapping paper, which of course I didn't photograph. :(

The photos of this card were taken on my new iPhone 4.0 and I'm so in love with it!! The camera is soooooo much better than on my ol' iPhone 3G......as you can see in the photos of my next card below. I promise to only use my phone camera when I 'forget' to take shots with my DSLR before giving my cards away though. I was recently given a white photography tent too and I can not wait to try it out. Yay. :)

My dear ol'd friend Les has had another birthday. I can't believe I've been blogging long enough to now be showing you birthday cards for friends for a new year. Last year's card was a CASE of one of Julee Tilman's Verve creations, but this year's was a card I made way ahead of time for her. I made her card before I made her husband's, though her birthday is two months after his. (Jeff's card will be in my next post as it was rather spesh.)

I wanted a go at resist embossing and went with my ol' favourite Upsy Daisy. I paired it with Kraft and PTI's Hawaiian Shores ink, paper & ribbon. This also came together well and I was so happy that an idea I had in my head actually turned out much the way I had planned.

And there you have it. Not gonna say sorry for being away so long as I also can't promise it won't happen again. We're heading into our busiest time of year at work in the Clinic and I have a couple of "events" between now and Christmas as well. More about those later.

Love to hear from you and I'm so happy I've managed to post for you, my faithful friends.

Much love,

Michey xxxx

Pri's Birthday Card:

Cardstock: SU Mellow Moss, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum; Basic Grey Kioshi

Ink: SU Perfect Plum, Pale Plum

Stamps: Kaisercraft Lilac Avenue, PTI Signature Greetings

Others: SU Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon (discontinued), Kaisercraft Rhinestones, SU Top Note Die

Lovely Les's B'day Card:

Cardstock: SU Kraft, PTI Dotty Biscotti

Ink: Versamark, PTI Hawaiian Shores

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy, Hero Arts Friends (background)

Others: Clear Embossing Powder, PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon & Twine, Random buttons from stash. SU Top Note Die.

I've just realised that I've used the Top Note Die on both cards. Totally random and not intentional. :)

And.....just a little whisper to you, my fave peeps, I've got some candy coming up too, to celebrate my first year of blogging (even though that was a month ago). Stay tuned. xxx

I'm am still around :)

Hello blog friends,

A sorta quick post to let you know I'm still here!! I've been peeking in from time to time - but haven't really had the time or the energy to hang around too long.

And, just for some eye candy, here are a couple of cards I made last year. One is for a fellow crafter's birthday and the other for a friend who has been through a tough time.

If I had to pick a card stock colour that was my all time favourite, it would be Kraft!! Anything goes with it....colour or black or even Kraft on its own - its sooo versatile. I had the idea for this card floating around in my head for a little while and was so grateful it came together as well as it did. The photo isn't the bestest, sorry, but I took it at night - about 10mins before the birthday girl came over to celebrate.

And the second card used the two colours that my sweet friend Rosa loves. I'm not much of a lover of yellow. I don't have anything against it, lol, I just can't wear it (is the one colour that makes me look ill and all washed out) and so tend to steer well clear of it......fortunately it is Rosa's all-time favourite colour and I had no choice but to get creative with it.

Can you believe that I have stamped only on both of these cards - not a single COPIC in sight!! They are definitely feeling the neglect here. I haven't even been able to pick up a single one of them to colour for almost 2 weeks now!!

My mojo and motivation is currently on holiday in the UK - and I wish, oh how I wish, it had taken me with it, hehe.

Michey xxx

CARD DEETS:

Priya's Birthday Card:

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy

Cardstock: SU Kraft, Urban Oasis DSP, SU Basic Black

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Others: SU Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, SU Top Note Die

Rosa's Thinking of You Card:

Stamps: SU Botanical Blooms (Saleabration 2009)

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Bazill Yellow and Pink Textured Card

Ink: SU Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink

Others: Random Pink Chiffon Ribbon, Pink Kaisercraft Rhinestones

And an update: for my dear friends who have read this far and care to know, life's throwing a few too many challenges my way at the moment. My mum went home from hospital on 26th Feb, however, was readmitted as an emergency via ambulance four days later with a widespread infection. This was managed fairly quickly with strong antibiotics, but she's not bouncing back quite so well this time. She's still in hospital now and I think the medical team looking after her are doing a better job of it this time. We've come to the realisation that treatment for Mum is now palliative and, at best, we probably have 6-9 months left. Mum has loads of medical issues, which, when looked at all together are pretty significant and challenging. I'm coping with the reality much better this week, last week was all about floods of tears and making some pretty tough decisions regarding surgery/palliative care. Its Mum's 63rd birthday at the end of this month and my brother and sister and I made the decision not to tell Mum how bad things are until after then. I think she has an idea, but it's not been voiced amongst us yet. I'm still believing for a miracle and all but at the same time, want what's best for my dear Mama, and I think a new, fabulous heavenly body might be just the thing.

So there you have it....plus works insanely busy with new patients at the moment and I'm supposed to be off to a church conference for the next few days and a work conference at the end of next week, eek!! There is little time left over to play. :(

So please excuse me if I'm not around as much as I want to be at the moment. I'm desperately in need of some crafting therapy and may well pack a few Copics and a couple of images along with me to play with at the Conference I'm going to for the next couple of days.

xxx

Several Birthday cards....

Since its already been a wee while since I've been able to find the time needed to post.....I thought I'd upload a few of my creations in one post.

I'll try keep the chatter to a minimum with this one too (though I may find it a wee bit difficult). :) These were all cards I made for various birthdays.

Dave's Card:

Here's a card I made in May for my Pastor. His birthday is the day after mine and he and his wife have been great friends of mine for several years now. I first met them when they were just pregnant with their first bubba, and she's now a stunning girl of sixteen. You really see how the years have gone by when you see the little ones you used to babysit grow up, hey!!

I tried my hand at creating a graduated background for this card - a little challenging without a brayer (which I now have) and required lots of daubing. Again, the photos aren't so great - but my previous apartment was very light challenged. :)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Here's a card I made for my Mama to send to her oldest sister, who also happens to be my Godmother.

Not that I see her very often at all these days and she is no longer required to be my legal guardian should something happen to my folks.

Anyway, I really wanted to use Bella Rose DSP for her card and used that as my starting point.

The ideas sort of flowed from there and I played around with the layout for a little

bit until I was happy.

My Mama loved it and was more than willing to send it on to her sister. :)

Lesley's Card:

One of the longest and dearest friendships in my adult life has been with a treasure called Lesley. We met during my first year in Sydney and became firm friends. We just about did everything together even though she is just a year or two younger/older than my parents.

She got married to a lovely chappy 12 years ago and we've managed to keep the friendship alive over the years. She had a big birthday this year - 60!! And I wanted to make her a spesh card - trying not to resort to her favourite colours - being a Kiwi that means Black and White. I used this lovely set that I had just received from Verve and also used Julee Tilman's sneak peek card for the layout and design.

Fereen's B'day:

My dear Fijian friend Fereen (try saying that ten times fast) was seconded to Canada for the first seven months of this year and I missed her dreadfully. She's just a whole bunch of fun to be around. I was late in getting a birthday care package in the post for her, but when she did receive it she was very, very happy.

A box full of many different types of Tim Tams and some yummy, yummy tea from T2 (or so she said. I wouldn't know as I really don't like black tea at all).

The parcel arrived just as she was starting to pack up all the things in readiness for being sent back to us who love her here in Sydney. She had accumulated quite a bit of stuff during her stay and the Tim Tams got her through the trauma of packing (though most of it will be of no use here - we just don't have the same winters that you Northeners do). :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Michey xxx

RECIPES:

Dave's Card:

Cardstock: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Inks: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy

Others: Misc White Brads, SU Slit Punch (to make scallop border on sentiment), Clear Embossing Powder & Heat Gun (on flowers)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive (sentiment); Versamark + Versacolour Gold (on presents)

Stamps: Verve Birthday Surprise

Others: SU Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Curly Square Punches x 2, Kaisercraft Rhinestones (coloured with Copics to match cardstock)

Lesley's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Kraft & Old Olive DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive, Baja Breeze, VersaColour White

Stamps: Verve Just For You, SU Oval All

Others: SU Hodgepodge, White Taffeta Ribbon, Kaisercraft Pearls

Fereen's Card:

Cardstock: SU Riding Hood Red (I know it looks quite orange, more poor lighting); Kiwi Kiss & Kiwi Kiss DSP

Inks: SU Riding Hood Red & Kiwi Kiss, Versamark

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy & Verve Thankful Blossoms

Others: SU Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Random Red Brads, Embossing Powder and Heat Gun