Christmas in January

Hello again,

Well we are well and truly melting (all week long again) our usual summer temperatures here don't often get above 30C but the heat is coming from the Aussie deserts to the mountains and the coast, roll on Autumn. Can you tell I don't like the heat? The native birds are sensible, out early and then they disappear during the heat, likely down the valley where it is cooler, my poor budgies are not enjoying the heat either, one is quite happy to have a fine mist bottle sprayed all over him several times a day, the other quite likes to come out and get put in the hand basin in the bathroom for a splash around to help cool him down.

I have been working on getting a few Christmas cards done for this years stash and want to try and get 4-6 done each month, I made this card earlier in the month for a DT challenge and had such a nice time creating the scrap edge that I made more and tried out a starburst background which I didn't quite pull off correctly.

Here are two more cards:-

What I used:
White 12.5x17.8cm card blanks
Scrap Christmas papers and card
Faber-Castell and Derwent pencils
Mo's Digital stamp Christmas sheep dog with hat
Make it Craft Floppy Digi Stamp
Impression Obsession Top Edger sentiment die
Naughty or Nice die (not sure of brand)
MFT Pierced oval die
Stamp It Australia 'Wonderful Christmas' stamp
Versa Color 'Raspberry' ink
Kindyglitz red glitter
Gold gel ink pen

I would like to enter these cards in:-
ABC Christmas Challenge A for Anything goes
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' 
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge
Merry Little Christmas Challenge 
Sparkles Forum Christmas Challenge #96 Add some Sparkle

No Rudolph Challenge this month while Mo is recovering from knee surgery, sending good vibes for a speedy recovery....

Thank you for looking in...
Keep cool to those down under, stay warm for those in cooler climes 
Have a wonderful week...
Megan

P.S. A huge thank you to all of my lovely blogging friends and visitors who take the time to stop by and leave me a comment, I truly appreciate them all!

Final Christmas cards for 2018

Hello again,

 Well I didn't anticipate that it would take me this long to make a new blog post in December, but with all the goings on and attempting to avoid the heat box I craft in during the hot summer weather today is the first time I have managed to find some time to blog. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year, Sydney is already on countdown for the big fireworks display, people already staking out their vantage points. Christmas Day down under was a hot day very much like Santa in the scene on the two cards below and there is no apparent end to the hot summers days we are having which are unusually hot for our area.

I have been making some changes to my blog in the wake of Google+ closing down in the next few months and as that was the only comment system available when I started my blog, in a simple click to swap to the now available blogger commenting system all previous comments have vanished, never to be seen again.

Two final Christmas cards which went to my city physio and local acupuncturist, this was my bank tellers favourite card last year and she has spent all of this year trying to find the red rubber version of the Aussie Santa from Make It Crafty which she found in November at a craft show.

Here are my cards:-

What I used:-
White 12.6.17.8cm card blanks
Cloud papers from 6" paper pads
Distress Oxide ink background (Broken China, Peacock Feathers, Faded Jeans)
Kaisercraft sand and boardwalk paper
Sugar Crystals Stickles
Ultimate Crafts Sydney Harbour and Opera House dies
Scrap papers, grey, off white (metallic sheen), sandstone and Christmas patterned
Make It Crafty Aussie Santa Digi
Beccy's Place Sentiment stamp (Aussie Christmas)
Fiskars corner rounder
Faber-Castell and Derwent pencils
Wink of Stella (liberally over beard and tinnie)
Clear embossing ink
Black embossing powder

I would like to enter these cards in:-
ABC Christmas Z is for Zero Embellishments
Christmas at Sweet Stamping Anything goes
Christmas Crafts All Year Round Anything goes
Happy Little Stampers December Anything goes with Dies
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge 418 Anything Christmas or a New Year card
Merry Little Christmas Challenge Anything Christmas
12 Months of Christmas Link-up Anything Christmas
Snippet's Playground #342- must use snippets

Wishing you all New year full of peace, good health, happiness, love and craft time

Have a wonderful week...
Megan

P.S. A Huge Thanks to all my lovely blogging friends and visitors, I love to read your comments. Thank you for visiting today...

Cheeky Christmas

Hello again,

Well, I was busy, busy, busy last week making multiple Christmas cards including two cards with tongue most firmly in cheek. The first card I had an idea for a certain stroppy teen boy who lives next door, I saved one of my Aussie Santa images that I coloured and paper pieced the clothes and planned a graffiti look card with a bold sentiment heat embossed in white powder, a few smaller Christmas sentiments also heat embossed in red and black with a few tiny stamps added in for effect. unfortunately some of the tiny star stamps are hard to see, perhaps I should have used a different colour, but yellow did seem a good choice. The young lad was often caught hanging around at a local street art walk, not my cup of tea but bus loads of tourists seem to like it

My second card is for one of my Mum's kindy friends, who loves a good cheeky card, it features one of Bugaboo Stamps called Friends Don't Let Friends Wine alone 2, and a sentiment I have seen elsewhere which I typed up in two parts, the front has I'm dreaming of a White Christmas... and the inside has but if the white runs out I'll drink the red.

Here the first card:-

White Christmas:-

What I used:- Aussie Santa
White 5x7" card blank 12.6x17.8cm
White and black cardstock
Kaisercraft 'Basecoats' papers
Make It Crafty Aussie Santa Digi Stamp
Scraps of paper and card for Santa's clothes
Derwent and Faber-Castell pencils
MFT Stamp sets Gift Tag Greetings, Hand Written Holiday, Jingle all the way
Tiny Star stamps CTMH- The Thought that counts
Merry Christmas stamp- Papermill Stamp
Black, green, red, yellow and clear embossing ink
White and clear embossing powder
Wink of Stella on Santa's Beard

White Christmas:-
White 5x7" card blank 12.6x17.8cm
Kaisercraft Yuletide Patterned papers
Bugaboo Image 'Friends don't let friends wine alone 2'
Faber-Castell and Derwent Pencils
Impression obsession Snowflake die
Nesting rectangle dies
Tiny pearls
Wink of Stella over bottles and the ladies drinks
Sentiment typed on PC

I would like to enter Aussie Santa in:-
Polkadoodles Anything goes Week 50
Love to Craft Challenge Blog- Anything goes
Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge- Anything goes
Emerald City Crafts Challenge #6 Anything goes

I would like to enter White Christmas in:-
Naughty or Nice Challenge- Season's Greetings
Bizzy Bec's Store Blog December anything goes
Little Miss Muffet Challenge Anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge

Thank you for looking in....
Have a wonderful week...
Megan

P.S. A huge Thank you to all the lovely visitors who take time to leave me a message, I truly appreciate them all!

Outback Santa

Hello again, 

Today brings us to the final day of the month long Holiday Card challenge over at Beccy's Place and today the challenge is to do what you love. I love the Aussie Santa I used on these cards and had another two printed out and ready to go, but decided not to make another card with Sydney City as the backdrop, this time I grabbed some white core card stock and got ripping to create layers of the Aussie bush as a backdrop blue sky the green of the Aussie bush and the red earth of the outback with a new Windmill die, a very familiar sight once you leave suburbia. Many windmills have the property name either painted or roughly cut from the vane others (I've seen lots) with Southern Cross on the vane. 

Here is my card:-

What I used:-
White 5x7" card blank 12.6x17.8cm 
White card
Make it Crafty Aussie Santa digi stamp
Derwent pencils
Gray and black cardstock
Scraps of Christmas design paper
Kaisercraft Basecoat paper
DCWV white core card 'Neutrals'
Wink of Stella on Santa's beard
Clear embossing ink
Black embossing powder
Stamps:- MFT Gift tag Greetings and Stamp It Australia Christmas Wish
Adhesives:- Double sided tape, Double sided adhesive sheet, Foam dots


I would like to enter these cards in:-
Beccy's Place Month long holiday card Challenge
12 Months of Christmas Link-up  Optional theme Star Struck
The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #20 Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge 361
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge extra Anything goes
Happy Little Stampers Anything goes with Dies
The Merry Christmas Challenge #45 Anything goes
Little Miss Muffet Challenge Anything goes 176

Thank you for looking in...
Have a wonderful weekend...
Megan

P.S. A huge thank you to all the lovely visitors who take the time to leave a comment, I truly appreciate them all!

Sydney Santa Summer

Hello again,

Well I’m still making some more of my Christmas cards, as I haven’t made anywhere near enough, knowing that Mum had requested extra Aussie Christmas cards for our UK relatives I printed out four Aussie Santas from Make it Crafty on both plain paper and card, then paper pieced the singlet and shorts from my Christmas scrap bag before recreating the Sydney harbour I made on this card here using up more paper and card scraps to form the scene.

I used my spray inks to create the sky and water on separate pieces of card and watercolour paper the ocean turning a little greener than intended, but still looks ok.

These two cards were finished off with some 3D Crystalina Kindy glitz to the waves and the edge of the sand before I popped Santa up on foam to add dimension. Sentiment was added using clear embossing ink and some black embossing powder.

Here are the two Sydney Santa cards:-

What I used:-

White 5x7” card blank (12.6 x 17.8cm)

London Blue and Cut grass ink spray-Dylusions

White card 

Make it Crafty Aussie Santa Digi

Sights of Sydney Die Ultimate Crafts

Scrap card and papers

Kaisercraft Base Coat papers

Wink of Stella Clear (added to Santa’s beard) 

Derwent and Faber-Castell Pencils

Kindy Glitz 3D Crystalina 

Adhesives:- Double sided tape, Double sided sheet, foam dots

Stamps- Magazine Freebies

WOW! Ebony embossing powder

Ranger Clear Embossing ink pad

I would like to enter these cards in:-

Southern Girls Challenge Lets get inky (inky sky and ocean)

Snippets Playground week numbers 307-308 Anything goes with Snippets

Crafts Galore Encore Anything goes

Beccy’s Place Month of Holiday cards ‘S’ Summer, Sydney and Santa

Crafting by Design Get ready for Christmas November edition

 Daisy Chain Challenges- Christmas/winter

Christmas at Sweet Stampin' Anything goes
Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge November- Optional Tag

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Anything goes
12 Months of Christmas Link up optional theme Star Struck

Thank you for looking in...

Have a wonderful week

Megan

P.S. A huge thank you to all the lovely visitors who take the time to leave me a message, I truly appreciate them all! 

Bush Santa

Hello again,

Sorry I’ve been missing for a while, I have jumped two feet in to one of my family tree branches and been totally absorbed by the information, certificates newspaper articles etc. which we have been able to gather, I still have a pile of information beside me at my desk aka craft zone to enter into my family tree, but I cast it aside to join in with this years First Rudolph Days over at Scrappy Mo’s.

I made a true Aussie Christmas card today… Santa dressed for the hot weather down here, which is currently a melting 36C here in the mountains and for those between here and the big smoke (Sydney) a balmy and melting 42C. The wild birds who are usually frequent visitors in our garden are nowhere to been seen or even heard today. My bath loving budgie has already had multiple dips in the water dish and enjoyed a light spray of water, giving me one of those excuse me you stopped looks.

On to my card, I bought an Ultimate crafts die set featuring the well known Sydney icons the Sydney Harbour Bridge and The Opera House and have used them for the first time today creating a scene with a bush Santa wearing some other Aussie icons first the shearers blue bonds chesty singlet, I added some holly leaves to it to make it a little more festive, second a pair of Aussie thongs (these are worn on the feet- for those who live elsewhere and have a completely different item of clothing known as that), I’ve also coloured the bush Santa's tinnie in the colours of Fosters Beer.

Here is my card:-

What I used:-

12.7 x 17.8cm card blank (5x7”)

Merci branded watercolour paper (BigW for those in Aus)

Kaisercraft basecoat papers

Aussie Santa Digi stamp from Make It Crafty
edit: Oops I used- Faber-Castell and Derwent Pencils to colour the image

Digi sentiment from Beccy’s place

Ultimate Crafts Sights of Sydney dies

Scraps of card and paper in grey, red, green, beige

Black fine line pen

Sprinkled Sugar Stickles (along the sand edge)

Clear atyou Spica pen (invisible but there, as waves, also on sunnies and tinnie)

Adhesives:- PVA Glue, Double sided tape, foam adhesive tape

I would like to enter this card in:-

Rudolph’s Day January 2017 Anything Christmas 

Snippet’s Playground week 265-266 Anything goes with Snippets

Bizzy Bec’s Store blog January Challenge Anything goes

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge #318 Anything Christmas goes

ABC Christmas Challenge A is for Anything goes and something beginning with B Bush Santa ;-), Bridge, birds and Boardwalk

Thank you for looking in...

Have a great week... 

Megan

P.S. A huge Thank you to all the lovely ladies who leave me a message I truly appreciate them all!

P.P.S I've already had a request for extra cards like this one for our Overseas Relatives....