Emerald Flood Thursday 30th

Is facebook totally down or what?  Thought I'd post piccies on here instead, because I know some of you would be interested....  These are record heights today.... but it's still rising.  Tomorrow is going to be interesting....  We are high and dry at my brothers place :)

 Above:  The end of the rock wall at the dam.  I still can't comprehend this.  Someone told me that rockwall was an 18 metre climb down to the water.
Below:  Amazing to think that smooth brown mass of pouring water is 5.3 metres deep.  Roaring and scary to see the broiling-churning-10m high cavorting-foaming mass of brown and white bubbles at the bottom (not pictured).

 Above:  At the top of the ridge at the dam, looking down towards the boat ramp.  If you look closely you can see the roof of another shelter level with the water.
Below:  Railway bridge is lapping.  The ripple in the water is the rails of the bridge.  This was early this morning, river height about 15.25metres.  75cm higher than 2008 and still rising.

A 10 day Christmas!

Well, I was a bit too busy to post a Merry Christmas message, in between a flooded farm, leaking bathroom and linen cupboard, stressing about flooded rivers and travelling, etc, etc, but NOW!

Well, we got there, and are flooded in at Emerald (on the eastern side once the bridge gets closed today) so our christmas holiday is suddenly going to be an extra week long :)  Soooo now I've got time to say... um.. well... HAPPY 2011!

The boys are helping evacuees to remove kitchens and carpet from their homes before the river floods them, but us ladies haven't got a lot to do since we stocked up the pantry yesterday.  So, we're just chillin. :)

The local fabric shop isn't open since we're all in flood mode, so I've raided mum's material cupboard.... :O :O :O  she's got some genuinely VINTAGE stuff!  Wow!  What do I do with it???  Some little rara skirts for the girls?  Or accessories of some kind? hmmmm..... ideas please!!!

Here's my fave piccie from christmas day...  I really do hope you had a nice one. xo 

Flowers :)

RACHEL, please check the comments on the previous post, and I'll send you a free one!  So far, the colours are Black, Dark Pink or Natural with Black centres, and Baby Pink or White with Clear Centres (not pictured).

Here's a close-up.  Can't believe I made it!  But I really enjoy making them, so they are going forth and multiplying and I'll have to sell them at a market or something.

There's an alligator clip on the back of it, just in case you're wondering.  I'm going to put some on elastic too, especially the Baby Pink ones. AND, I'll try and think of some other flower styles too.... any ideas, let me know!!!

A new craft :)

All over my craft desk, you'll see....


Satin
Glass beads
Needle n thread
Crystal Organza
Scissors
Matches
Alligator Clips
Candle
Glue


Any idea what I'm making?
First person to guess correctly gets one for free :D


Then I'll post some piccies...

I love this background!

I've just done 3 digiscrap lo's with this background and love them all!  Here's my fave...

hah!  can you read that?  it says six years old. innocent. intelligent. beautiful.  LOL! At the moment she is in the bath trying to scrub off house paint that she had a paint fight with, while she was wearing a skirt that she 'made' this morning from 30 year old daggy fabric that kept falling down coz it had no elastic... but how can I tell the truth on pretty pages like this????

~ Challenges ~ Creative Card Crew ~ Fab 'n' Funky ~

Fairyland

Here's my daughter dancing in the loungeroom.... I've tried to imagine her imagination and put her in the middle of it.  Believe it or not, the background is all googled;  'flowers in a field' + 'pegasus' + 'disney palace' + 'old script' and all photoshopped.  "Google-art"  :P

~ Challenge ~ Cute & Girly ~

My digiscrapping is getting envious

All this papercraft going on!  This digi-LO was fun.... so was the making of the photo.... they had a ball in the hay shed :)

I just selected sections of the photo and made a new 'layer by copy' and added different coloured photo filters over each one.
~ Challenge ~ Creative Card Crew ~

Recipe card

hmm.  got nothing to say.  no personality this morning.  sorry 'bout that.  another time.

:)

~ Challenges ~ City Crafter Challenges ~ Fab n Funky Challenges ~

Roses for a baby boy?

I was a bit apprehensive about making a baby boy card so PRETTY, but I ended up happy with it..... after about 6 hours..... just fiddling....

Hope you get to stop and 'smell your roses' today :)

Challenge:  Charisma Cardz

Those roses....

My first attempt... just out of normal printer paper.... aren't they gorgeous!  The link for the instructions is a few posts back :)

Have a great week!

Aquamarker Giveaway...

If you'd like to win some card-making pens.... click on the piccie and you'll find out how :)

Good luck :)  You have until the 17th of November....

Frameless :)

I like the effect of using a white background with no outside frame, so it looks like the LO is (words r failing me) umm free?  Anti-square?  Non-conformist? Whatever and wherever and however it wants to be?  If this doesn't make sense, don't worry about it.  I just like it :)

~ Challenges ~ Fab n Funky ~ Digital Tuesday ~

Gorgeous Paper Roses!

Look!  I feel like I found a treasure!  It's a link to the very simple instructions to make cardstock roses like this one.  Designed and shared by a clever lady, Tania Gould in Tassy...

Clean & Simple....

...is the challenge at Fab n Funky.... I'm not very good at this style, but it was fun for a change!

Now to apply that challenge to my house!  :S

Want something other than pea & ham soup?

Sorry I've left it so long!  Problem is that I'm getting my REAL life a little more organised :)  My canvas prints have arrived and are hanging in the lounge room - I'll have to show you a piccie.  I've got all inspired to try and make more 'canvas quality' layouts.  Here's one attempt.  It's a bit..... different.....

Made totally from photoshop brushes and one piccie.  Love those brushes!

Challenge ~ Crafty Cardmakers ~

Something yummy....

~ Challenges ~ City Crafter ~ Fab n Funky ~ Crafty Creations ~
My first attempt at hybrid scrapping.... must say that in some ways papercraft is easier than digital!!!  Just run the ink pad along the edge... don't have to search among 1000 brushstyles for the right effect, select size, select colour, apply brush, change brush so it's not the same shaped smudge all over the page, repeat, repeat, repeat!

He's the MAN....

Last night, when it was about 80% dark, I remembered to grab my washing off the line... out I go.... hear a noise... look up.... see a glimpse of a BIIIG carpet snake in the steel support beam above my head.... eek!! HONEEEEY!!!  So he catches it in a bag and puts it in the shed until morning.  That simple, my luv.  Never mind that it tried to bite him a dozen times coz it was so angry!  So here's a tribute to....

You know, he even hung around til I got the clothes off the line, coz I was a tad jumpy... wow... just when you think you know them.... :)

Challenge ~ Charisma Cardz ~

More links for freebies...

I forgot this one...  Another freebie site for Digital Kits ~ Shabby Princess ~ the Express Yourself kit here is BEAUTIFUL!  Also ~ Fish Scraps ~ is a site I just found with a couple freebies.  Cheers

Links to Freebie sites...

...coz it's about time I shared, hey?  These are the 3 sites I go to over and over again....

1. Photoshop Brushes ~ these guys have some AWESOME brushes.  Remember to leave them some love.  They have instructions on how to install your brushes onto photoshop too.

2. Digiscrap Kits ~ you need to register to access this site, then go to Digital > Shopping > Kits and change the order to 'Price Lowest to Highest' to show up the freebies first.

3. Fonts ~ they also have instructions on how to install your fonts.  Warning ~ browsing here takes hours.  Start with the popular fonts.

More Digiscrap Kits ~ The LilyPad ~ Cherry on Top ~ ah that's about it ~ if you have a monthly download limit, remember to keep an eye on your file sizes ~ kits can be over 100MB. :)

Gasp! A whole week!

Since I updated....how?  Oh, went on hols.  Forgive me?  Good.  And got the flu.  Again.  So over not getting over it.  Anyhow, here's a fab new LO I polished off today....

Loving this new 'arty' style I've found....  Lotsa fun, and it doesn't take long since I've bought some backgrounds already made....  Also, BIG thanks to kind people who make brushes (like the grey trees and pink squares) and whack them up on the net for free xo.

Challenge ~ Cupcake Craft ~

Dress Cards for Little Girls....

Papercraft for a change!  I don't really like the cardstock I used here, but I'd like to use the same design again...

Can you see how it works?  The back of the dress is the same piece of cardstock as the apron front.  The front of the dress is a separate piece, joined underneath.  I also added little tabs to the front of the dress to help strengthen the fold on top of the shoulders.  You can see below...just...

Challenge ~ Charisma Cardz Challenges
Have a good weekend!

2 down, 1 to go

I better be happy with these when they end up on the wall, coz there's HOURS n HOURS in them! 

Aaannd, I decided to try to make them match, even though they are different styled photos, so they can go side by side (not fighting for once) how lovely. :P

psst.  please excuse the dodgy edges.  they'll be wrapped around the back. Oh and here's a challenge that matches at Fab'n'Funky!  If you like pretty cakes, check it out ;)

40% off Canvas Prints at Harvey Norman!

So I'm racing time to finish 3 LO's to be printed on canvas for our loungeroom wall....  Finally, I PAID for some digiscrapping things, instead of trying to make everything from scratch, or relying on freebies!  The Harvey Norman deal ends on the 19th....

a cuddly one :)

I love this colour scheme!!  Pretty happy with it :)

First time I've tried a paint effect photo mask.  Would be better if I could find one in a higher quality.... that one is obviously meant for little things....

Challenges ~ City Crafter Challenge Blog ~ Fab'n'Funky Challenges ~ Charisma Cardz Challenges! ~

remember 'The Rose'?

Some sa-ay loooove, it issss a ri-verrrrrr.... (yeah, I love this song.)

I'm trying out the different blend modes in photoshop.  You're looking at a lot of linear burn, colour dodge, soft light and exclusion.... and many many layers! phew!

Challenge ~ Charisma Cards

Some randoms, coz I'm busy!

I haven't done a crafty thing at all this week! Unless you count shopping for it? heh heh heh..... So here's some simple pressie / envelope / tag crafty ideas from way back. 

See ya later... I'm going back outside.... this sunshine is just delicious!

Colourful Grungy Digikit

I've been enjoying Digital Scrapbook Place lately and used one of their freebie kits for this LO.

Here's a piccie of the page kit - you have to register on the site before you can pinch their freebies ;) If you have trouble finding it, let me know....

It's a fun one!

Kid photo competition!

At Harvey Norman - enter your best 'kid moment' piccie here for the chance to win a $10,000 Education Fund for your child.  It doesn't say that the photo CAN'T be edited....so.... I entered the piccie below :) 

"Wind"ing

Miss 3 at a windy beach... just ran up and back, up and back, up and back... 

I yelled out 'what are you doing?' and she called back 'I'm wind-ing!' like I should've known.

Pretty Petals giveaway :)

Aren't these sweet?!!!!  They'd be a great feature on a card, invitation or LO.  Check out the giveaway details here!

Imitation 'normal' scrapbooking....

Challenges ~ Cupcake Craft Challenges ~ Digital Tuesday ~ City Crafter Challenges ~ 

I'm stuck between 2 styles!  I like doing some digiscrapping that imitates normal scrapbooking and uses embellishments with shadows etc that look real BUT I love going with the classic, black-based scrolly/scripty digital look (like below).... and they are soo contrasting!   :S :S :S 

Doesn't everyone have a cousin who can do whip tricks on a unicycle?  :p 

Cute...

I love this photo, but the text needs work.  Different font for a start.  Do you know how long it takes to search through searchfreefonts.com and find 'the perfect font'???  Ridicerous!  Who invented perfectionism anyway?  They can have it back!  Well, when I'm finished with it....

Challenges ~ Crafty Creations ~ Creative Card Crew ~

Pinata cake

She wanted a cake she could WHAM!  So.... here tis!

More than 1 kilo of melted white chocolate there.... groannnn.... 'too much of a good thing' is true!

Bright enough?

I was trying to bring out the colours of the icings the girls were using, but I've totally swamped them instead.  Might just have to try this one again...  This is using the free Sweet Pea kit available at 'my FAV scrapping site'. :)

Challenges ~ Crafty Creations ~ By the Cute & Girly ~

Sweet Vintage is turning 1...

and is offering a gorgeous giveaway!  Click here for a chance to win it :)

And even if you don't win it... the inspiration is free :)

More handbag cards

The blue and orange one is what Flis made for me.  You can decorate them in so many different ways!

Handbag Cards!

Another fave card style of mine :)  I was given a handbag card from Flis years ago and have made a few since.... love it!  And yes, this is the style that opens like a handbag, not at the bottom....

Challenges ~ Fab'n'Funky ~ Crafty Cardmakers ~ Pile it on ~ Creative Card Crew ~

Guess where we are....

....with these guys!!!

We've finally seen our youngest nephew, who's as fat and cuddly as a balloon full of water, and just as wriggly!!  Good fun :)

A daisy type of day....

which is a me type of day.... 'come what may'.... this lo is about me head down tail up doing the office work and little madam banned from the office, as you can tell by this photo taken in the office. ;)

Something totallllyyyy different....

...I made a scarf!  Actually, I've now made 3, but the other 2 are knitted.  This one's crochet.  I made it up as I went, and I'm very surprised at how good it looks on!  It looks kind of weird by itself... Sorry, I can't seem to stick with any 'one' craft....

BTW, I'm selling the pattern for this scarf on a little Etsy shop I just started.... and I'd even make another scarf for just $50. ;)  I don't know how people can sell them for $15!  That's like $2 / hour! *swoon*