MerryMade Crafts etc ...

Morning everyone!  Today I have a soft toy that I made with a little inspiration from 'Crafty Brooklyn Army Wife' .  I saw her toys and thought I really don't need a pattern just make any shape I like.  So I have made this toy smallish about 30cm long and very simple as I didn't want to add buttons and so forth which could fall off and be swallowed.  I kept it small so that a small person would not have problems carrying him around.  The whole reason the this project is our June Sewing Swap over at Craftmad .  We have each made a soft toy to swap with one another and then we are going to release it in to the world in our towns.  We are doing this release and keeping a track of our toy through the Toy Society . Here is a blurb from the Toy Society: The Toy Society is a world-wide collective of toy makers – of varying skill levels– who make toys and leave them as gifts for perfect strangers. The project was started in Australia in June 2008 by a loca...

My second card for the Crafmad Monthly Card Swap .  Again I have used some wonderful Birch Haberdashery & Craft paper....GP203 (Blue Edge Crafts ).  I just love the pattern and the touches of glitter they have added to the design.  On the front of the card I have added some bling and lovely felt flowers from Stampin Up with a Stampin Up brad in the centre of each.  As there was no pink on the paper I dragged out a felt pen and coloured in a couple of stripes down the front.  I am just a little disappointed that I didn't think how the flowers looked when I closed the card and have chopped one off.   For the inside I have used the other side of this lovely design paper.  Also embossed the flowers along the centre with my Cuttlebug and a borders folder.  Finished with a touch of bling and a lovely greetings sticker ( Sticker Store )

This month over at Craftmad our monthly card swap is two Swing Cards.  This is one I have created with this beautiful paper which has a touch of glitter on each of the petals ..... Tropical Flowers from Blue Edge Crafts .  I have used an orange card for the base card and then layers of the Tropical Flowers design paper.  Also on the inside I have used some matching Bazzil Bling.  The leaf which has a lovely suede feel to it I picked up at Scrap Attack .  I think I will be heading back to Babinda soon for some more as they have been so handy.

Finally managed to finish a book. I have another three on the go and hope to finish them this coming week. I have really enjoyed being able to create a book again. So much fun seeing pieces of chipboard, pad of paper, ribbon, eyelets and design paper emerge into a book. Fingers crossed I should be visiting a little more regularly. The last month has definitely been full on. Started with me having to do Jury Duty for four weeks which ended last week. Last time I was called up the kids were much younger and I used them as an excuse to get out of jury duty. However, this time they are much older and I just could not come up with a legit reason to be excused. I managed to get empanelled twice during my four week stint. First case 1 1/2 days and second case 3 1/2 days. Definitely an interesting experience which I am glad I had the chance to do. This does not mean that I will be volunteering quickly again to do it and happy if that is my one and only chance. :-) Very nerve rackin...

Thanks for all the lovely comments that you leave when you visit. I am still here but just very busy. Next week however, I should have a post or two and will up date you with what I have been up to. :-) Plus I will get time to catch up on all your wonderful creations.

Yes, I got busy on the weekend and finished off these little notebooks I started a couple of months ago. I had seeing a few notebooks/journals around internet that used pages of different papers. I thought I could do that and use some of the school books that the kids have not used over the years. I have also added a ribbon and charm to each notebook as a page finder. The pages are torn from the kids unused school books through the years. So there are different types of lining rulings as they progressed in their letter writing. I have also used envelopes and pieces of my special papers to add a touch of colour. I like this book with it's bright and cheery green. Also some papers in there that I created using marbling paint and another using wet crepe paper. Here are the envelope and exercise book pages.

I haven't made any cards at all in the past week and a half.... :-0 Having the one extra person in the household certainly does knock the routine. I have been working on some new journals that are planned to go on sale at the newly revamped Bookbinders in the second hand book section. So that has kept me busy....just remembering how to create a book and doing it here from home rather than in the bindery. Amazing how we crafters can improvise. :-) I am at the stage of punching the holes down the side of the journal so that I can thread the ribbon through. The small drill bit that I used to use at the bindery broke ages ago. So I tried my leather punch last night and put too much pressure on it and it broke. Mind you this is waaaaay old as it is one that Mum passed on to me and I remember her using it when I was a kid. I think the power drill is coming out today. Another reason for no cards this past week or so is that the weather is just so lovely you can't help but be outside...

Here is the swing card I made in my last post to which I have added some roses. This was a suggestion from Kylie over at Kylie's Craft Corner . Thanks Kylie, I was so happy that I actually had these coloured roses in my collection and it just finishes the card off nicely. Now my friend that requested a card for her 90 year old Grandmother is so full of life and fun. I thought that maybe she would like a card that was a bit less Grandmotherly. Thought this was a wonderful excuse to buy a Bugaboo image that I see C heryl over at My Cardmaking Haven playing with all all the time. Bugaboo have such fun images I did buy two and I am sure I will return in the future. I think this is a really fun card. I have used a pre scored metallic white card from Blue Edge Crafts for the base card. Mauve Bazzill Bling and I layered the image up on some wonderful silver glitter paper (both from BE Crafts) . The greetings I printed out on my computer and backed with green card and finished t...

Hey everyone, Life has been busy yet again....become a habit which I am not keen on as I am not getting to my craft desk. I have tonight though. A friend has asked me to make a card for her Grandmother's 90th Birthday.....how impressive is that. The 90 that is. :-) I decided to have a go at a Swing Card which is what we are swapping this month over at Craftmad . I am having a practise run as we haven't found out our partners yet. I found a tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers. I have used burgandy coloured card for the base card. I have embossed this beautiful paper with the Cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder. I have also added these lovely butterfly and wavy border stickers and the greeting stickers. All from Sticker Store . Cuttlebug embossing folder Victoria. This is the inside of the card. A friend had gold embossed these lovely roses for me years ago. Been waiting for that special occasion. I have coloured them with my watercolour pencils and embellished wit...

This is the wonderful card holder I have made for my last three cards using the Kaisercraft paper. The holder is folded from one sheet of A4 card and I found the terrific tutorial here at Stampin n Stuff