Pretty in Pink

Made this card a couple of days ago.

I just love this new silhouette die cut by

 Marianne Design Creatables, Charleston Lady.

I ran a pretty Kaiser Craft Journal Tag, English Rose Collection 

through my Cuttlebug,

mounted the lady on it & then layered onto a

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four.

The 3D flower & leaves LR0164 & die cut borders LR0155 are also by

Marianne Design Creatables.

I backed the cut outs with Scor-tape and sprinkled with glitter purchased from a cheapie shop.

The pink glitter card was purchased from a cheapie shop as well, in a pack of 4 with matching envelopes.

I added some green crystal stick-ons and some rose patterned ribbon from my stash.

Our scottish terrier, Liza, would like to show you around our garden.

Bee on Lavender

Plum Blossoms

More Plum Blossoms

Goldfish pot with wire lid,

no more stolen goldfish...

To all you cats & birds, sorry...

NOT!

Hoping to replace these crooked

stepping pavers soon,

they were here when we bought

the house 2 yrs ago

Bought these Australian Magpie garden ornaments in Canberra a couple of years ago, they are made from pre-loved corrugated iron..I just love them & when we 1st got them our dog actually thought they were real...
funny story!

Our outdoor area,

Aussie rustic style.

Bench style seat made by DH

a couple of weeks ago.

We got this timber from the end

of the street where a neighbour

had dismantled an old cattle loading ramp.

Bird Cage with ornamental bird

I could never cage a bird, even feel guilty about this fake one being caged.

Hope you have enjoyed the tour

of our spring garden.

It's a lovely time of year.

Still cool days and cold nights

but all around

the plants are blooming.

We take full advantage of this type of weather because soon the long days will be hot & rapidly becoming hotter....

YUK!

So for now it's goodbye from us

and our scotty,

Liza.

The fruit of the spirit is in all goodness.

Ephesians 5:9



A quick postcard style card

         A quick postcard style card..

Tried out my newly purchased pre-loved rubber stamp

Antique Floral Postcard 

made by

River City Rubber Works

This is the back of the card

For the front I used quite a few of my newly purchased goodies

Martha Stewart border punch

I just love it!!!

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four

Marianne Silhouette Die LR0140

Cuttlebug Vintage (4 Dies in the pack)

Fiskars embossing corner punch

I made this tonight in just one hour.

Must be a record for me!

I am so happy with my new 'toys' and pleased with the completed card.

The yellow colour is out of my comfort zone but the I know my friend will love it. 

Hope you like it too, let me know what you think?

I'd love to hear.

Have a good day and thanks for looking at my card.

Cornucopia and hopefully new beginnings

This is a sweet little gift I made for a friend a while ago.

It was a lot of fun to make, in fact I have made a few of them now and have given them all as gifts.

One day I will have to make one for myself.

Hope you all have a great day and get a chance to make something.

Today I want to try out some new

Spellbinders Nestabilities

I recently bought on ebay and maybe just maybe I will get a card or two made....

very optimistic of me.

My back is no better.

I am still taking very strong pain killers and valium for the muscle spasms.

Why oh why was I such an idiot to be up on a stool and get off safely only to overbalance and fall completely backwards????

This occurred 10 weeks post-op and 6 weeks ago, when I was starting to feel quite a bit better and wanted to change something in my sewing room after I was inspired

by

Where Bloggers Create 2011

It makes me so cranky and sad to think I may have ruined my operation.

I'm sure you all know what it's like....all the time thinking of creating and making your home, garden, sewing room, whatever more appealing and just so.

I have not been for a decent walk since the fall and it's all very upsetting to me.

Just before I fell I was walking up to nearly 3 km in half an hour.

Now I am flat out walking around the house.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Oh well what's done is done.

I just have to hope that this is a temporary set back and things will right themselves eventually. 

All the thoughts I had lying in hospital for the 10 days post-op are now maybe just dreams.....

Thoughts of maybe I can be comfortable in a car as a passenger. maybe I will be able to go to the shops without pain, maybe just maybe I'll actually be able to drive a car again after 16 yrs. Maybe I'll be able to hold my soon to be born grandchild.....

Lots of maybes..... but also lots of hope.

Oh well in the end I know GOD has me in the palm of his hand and what will be will be.

Maybe my life will never be as I want it to be, but it's hard seeing other people just go about their business without restrictions due to immobility and pain.

And I did have a normal active life until 1994 and even for quite a few yrs could vaccum and clean etc then sewing became a problem and everything seemed to slip away until last October 2010 when I was rendered un-able to hardly much of anything.

My parents are like 20 yr olds compared to me, so I did not inherit this bad spine from them.

I know there are plenty of others in the world way worse than me but this disability takes it toll mentally and my husband, kids, parents and friends are all very supportive and helpful.

I would just like to take that worry away from them and get on with life.

I thank GOD that throughout all of this my sense of humour is always uppermost.

I love a good joke, crack plenty and love to hear them, so that is a major blessing especially in the face of the unknown outcome of my back operation and subsequent fall.

I'll leave you with this sentiment.....

Expect the dawn of a new beginning

in the

dark nights of life

Lloyd John Ogilvie

Happy 27th Birthday Dear Daughter and Father's Day in Australia

My daughter celebrating her 27th Birthday one day early.

No doubt she will be spoilt by her DH when she arrives home today.

He might even make her a cake as well.

My one and only DD has been staying with us for the last week.

She wanted to visit us and then travel to our home town for a few days and catch up with relatives and friends but the dreaded morning sickness really took hold and she spent the entire time with us, feeling sick.

Not a good way to enjoy a holiday but she did get a lot of rest which is great as she never lets any grass grow under her feet and a good self imposed rest is probably just what she needed.

Here in Australia, yesterday was Father's Day.

 My parents travelled one and half hours to my place on The Darling Downs, mainly to see my daughter as she was not able to get to see them so we spent a lovely day together.

They had not seen her pregnancy bump before either.

We have always lived no more than 30 mins apart and in the last two years my DD and SIL

moved to Gympie

and

DH and I moved to The Darling Downs so it is rare for all of us to get together anymore.

Anyhow DD set off for her home this morning bright and early because her morning sickness is really more like afternoon sickness.

Therefore feeling fresher and chirpier in the morning was the wisest time to set off for an approximately 3 hr trip to Gympie.

DF & I, Father's Day 2011

DH, DD and me.

Sadly our son lives 6 hrs away and was not with us for DD's birthday, I think for the 1st time ever.

Dear Daughter (& her 17 week old baby bump) with her Dad  

&

me with my Dad. 

My DM, DD & me

We spent quite a lot of time walking around the garden.

Mum and Dad love gardening and always enjoy looking around at our new plants,

 especially here on The Darling Downs

as the seasons are so pronounced 

that we have had to learn to adapt to the very different gardening conditions,

especially what plants will survive the successive harsh frosts we endure in winter.

Gazanias, salvias, petunias, sweet peas, diosma, coastal rosemary

and

 primulas are just starting to either bud up or flower.

Spring has sprung!!

The 1st of September is the first day of Spring in Australia.

Rusted garden ornaments are from my parents and some even from my grandparents.

My parents lived on a beef farm until 6 years ago

and

there was always plenty of garden art to be had.

DF calls it junk....how hilarious!

It's win win for me and him.

Bought this at the plant sale on Saturday....a faux tap plant stand.

The petunia and dianthus were free as we bought a lot of plants,

for every $50 spent we received 2 plants.

Ornaental garden wheelbarrow made by DH years ago

and rusted wheel courtesy of my cousin

who used to work at the local dump....how exciting for me!!!!

I got lots of treasures from him over the years.

Bought this beautiful little lavender on Saturday at a garden sale at Kingsthorpe.

It's so sweet I put the bird cage over it as I did not want to risk it being dug up by my dog or a stray cat that has been hanging around.....

SO

   anyhow....

Dear Daughter

Happy 27th Birthday

for

today

5th September 2011. 

Love you lots

xoxoxoxoxox

God Bless You Always!

I have some lovely new and pre-loved goodies!

Some of the 

ebay purchases arrived by post & the wait always seems so long... 
Some other bits and pieces were purchased on my 1st outing
purely for pleasure for the 1st time in 4 months.
DD & I went to a cute shopping precinct at Highfields called
Abbie Lane
and another one just across the road called
Village on the Green.
It was my 1st shopping outing for 4 months or more and the 1st one with DD for nearly a year as we now live 3 hrs apart.

Can't wait to try these retired stamps...especially the postcard one, it's exactly what I have been looking for, for ages...so authentiquely vintage looking.....
Also the beautiful Martha Stewart
border punch and some pretty brads.

Cute little die cuts...just love them... I quickly tried them out this arvo.

Some beautiful JustRite Stamps and Spellbinders diecuts

Finally got a good stash of Distress Inks thanks to ebay.