Gingerbread

Frosty & Frozen..

Winter has really set in this week with some wonderful downpours and the last
couple of mornings we awoke to a rather frosty start.plenty of early sunshine
 and a few nice surprises can be found around the garden...

 Frosted foxglove & silver birch leaves

A rock collection frozen in this carved wooden dish (garage sale find several years ago)



Not many flowers can be found at the moment but this little native ground-cover is lovely



You can just make out the frost on the other side of our valley...



Thanks to the lovely Mel for giving me an Arte Y Pico award this week :)
If you haven't already visited Mel's gorgeous blog Day to Day, it's
SO worth seeing her beautiful crafts: knitting, sewing, card-making
and scrap-booking, scrummy recipes and recently some amazing
handmade soaps, that I can't wait to have a go at making!

...and today is her birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mel! :)

Another surprise this week was to see our Autumn lanterns from
 this & this post featured on a great kid's craft blog Crafty Crow!

...and lastly I would like to give a little Australian on-line
 shop a plug.  I recently bought some new stamps and other goodies
from The Scrappin' Kats and really impressed with the personal
service given by Kathryn and very reasonable prices she has
and such beautiful supplies, I will be back again soon :)

Hope you're having a fantastic Saturday..whatever you're up to! Gx

Sunday afternoon..

The girls and I spent a lovely afternoon together doing some paper crafting..
Rhiannon and I made cards while Jem did a couple of mini scrapbook pages..
(one of Jem's pages is a work in progress so I will share them next time)
Here is Rhiannon's gorgeous card using my new clear stamps and some chalk

..and below are 2 of the cards I made using an interesting technique called
'Faux Linen' which I found in the most recent Stamping and Papercraft
Magazine Yearbook (thanks for sending it Annette!)  I really love this technique!
It involves sanding (fine grade sandpaper) glossy card in horizontal and diagonal
directions  (oops I just  realised I did vertical instead of diagonal!!), wiping with
tissue, then rubbing a light coloured inkpad over it in the same directions, repeat
the sanding until the desired effect is reached, then stamping with a darker ink.

I used a bronze coloured gloss card for this one and a beige coloured ink for
the background, and then stamped in burgundy..
I adore this 'Crafty Individuals' stamp from Paper Forest



..and this time I used a blue glossy card and inked background with mauve (because I
didn't have any light blue ink) then stamped in dark blue.. it looked a little plain to me
so I added the paper trim.  Now I'll  go and make some more cards using the
diagonal strokes instead of vertical to see how it was meant to look!  :) Gx

Shadow Shot Sunday #2

Can you guess what my SSS is this week?
Yes it's me and the black dog (aka Jess) who actually managed
 to stay still long enough for me to snap this shot..(on the 5th
attempt anyway..the other 4 were just black blurs!)


There are some great collages of last Sunday's shadow shots over on
Hey Harriet blog and today's pics are flowing in.. Thanks again Tracy!
We had some very welcome rainfall this week and glorious sunshine
 today...  the best of both worlds!! Happy Sunday everyone.. :)

Apple Scones

My Nan used to make delicious apple scones but I couldn't find them in her handwritten
recipe book..so had to take a guess at the recipe.. can remember Nan's being a bit like
 these, but it's been 23 years since I last tasted one of hers..  Nevertheless, they went
 down well this afternoon..I've added my recipe to right hand side bar..or click here  :)

Shadow Shot Sunday #1

I've been planning to take part in SSS for a few weeks, but
haven't managed to get there until today.. Found this interesting
challenge on a new favourite blog called Hey Harriet I think it's such
 a brilliant idea and makes you look at things differently and wonder
how many amazing shadows go unnoticed everyday!  Hopefully
this will be the first of many SSS to come..  :)

Shadow courtesy of the clay bells hanging on the verandah
 (got them from  Oxfam 15 yrs ago and a favourite thing)..

If you would like to join in all the details are on the blog
above..lots of great images to see too. Happy Sunday  Gx

DCM: Just a quick one!

There's a great dare this week over at Daring Cardmakers ~ to make
a quick card in 30 minutes or less. This one took 20 minutes. I couldn't
wait to use this gorgeous textured paper that feels like fabric and my
new owl stamp from Inkadinkado  It came in a set of 6 clear stamps
 and if you're looking at the link I bought the butterfly set as well!
This is my first card using clear stamps..something I've been looking
forward to having a go at for ages.. (thanks for all your help Annette!)
 what better time than 'World Stamping Week'?  :) Happy Saturday Gx

Back...

It's been a while between posts due to a rather busy past
fortnight  around here .. I've missed visiting everyone and
 now  things have slowed down some, I'll be back around
to catch up on all your happenings very soon :)

I have some surprise birthday mail to share first though..

This sweet hand-made card came from the lovely Mel

...and this one from Annette, she made the gorgeous flowers from
ribbon and included the pretty green ribbon for me try them.. :)

This beautifully wrapped package arrived from M.Kate, all the way from
Malaysia..inside were postcards, gorgeous bookmark and this stunning
scarf. I love everything...talk about lucky! Thanks SO much!  :)
I've been enjoying M.Kate's beautiful blog La Vie Est Belle over the
last couple of months, and taking in her amazing travel photos and
posts about the rich culture of Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and more..

The photos don't do the scarf justice; there is a pretty pattern through the red too

TAG: 6 Unimportant Things

Thanks to Michelle from Hathersage Hall for this tag!
Here are 6 unimportant things about me:

1. When I was 9 I dreamed of becoming an air hostess
(probably because we flew to the US)

 

2. I do not own a mobile phone
3. I can't stand milk in tea, not even the smell of it
4. My favourite tv show as a child was Little House on the Prairie
(I still love it today and own 2 box-sets! :)



5. I am allergic to cats (good thing I like dogs)
6.  I cannot wink or whistle 


If any of you would like to play along (entirely optional of course!):

Louise, Fishing Guy, Cindy, Levin, Pat & Lisa

Just list the 6 things, link back to me and pass on 6 others,
remembering to leave a comment on their blog to tell them :)  Gxox

Mosaic

As seen on Driftwood.. this was a time waster but definitely fun :)
If you want to play along too, just follow these steps:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

THE QUESTIONS:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
 9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you?
12. Your flickr name?

MY ANSWERS: 1.Gina  2.satay gai  3.Clarence  4.purple  5.Mark Ruffalo  6.cappuccino
7.Alaska  8.sticky date pudding  9.photographer  10.family 11.expressive  12.gingerbread

Soup for wintery nights...

 

This Pumpkin Soup Recipe is my contribution to The Recipe Box Swap
which is being hosted by the lovely Randi from 'I Have to Say...' blog. 

It's one I've made up and has sort of evolved after several years of trying out
different recipes and this has the flavours I like and is a favourite in our house..
especially on cold winter nights like we are currently experiencing down here!!

Here is another link to the recipe swap.. click on it to see a great selection of recipes

 

Project Blue ~ Take 5

This shot was an accident.. I was planning to use the one below..
but after looking at this one on the computer I really like the way I
had unintentionally cast a dark blue shadow...(don't ask me how I
managed to make a 'V' shaped one!)  At the time of taking the
 photo, the sun was too bright to see the camera screen :)



Taken from the pool surrounding this bronze fountain by Tasmanian sculptor Stephen
Walker.. It represents early exploration of Tasmania. (unable to find a link) Stephen's
sculptures can be found in many of Hobart's public spaces including the Japanese
garden at the Tasmanian Royal Botanical Gardens. This sculpture is located at
Salamanca Square near Hobart's historic waterfront area.



This is not a good photo.. but I had limited time and didn't want to get a parking ticket!!
All of the Project Blue Participants' pics can be found on Anna Carson's Blog :)

Project Blue ~ Take 4

Project Blue today features the blue component of Jem's extensive Beanie Kid
Collection (101) We have from L-R: Gobble the Monster Bear, 'Best Dad'
(present from Jem to M..all Dads should have a teddy right?), mini beanie kid
G'day the Aussie Bear, Toddle (twin brother of Tot) and Blizzard the Ice Fairy..



Arrangement by Jemma (who wanted to dress all in blue herself for
another photo)...who could resist these big BLUE eyes? LOL

Project Blue ~ Take 3

Today's installment of Project Blue, admittedly was not taken today..as I have not had
 a chance to get out at all but is one from my M's collection of macros he took while
bushwalking in Tasmanian rainforest. It has not been digitally enhanced in any way
(except I did crop it on one side).. this is the natural colour of the fungi.. check out the
spores on the log.. they look like little eyes! :) Don't forget to check out Anna's Blue
pic for today and all the wonderful other blue contributions.. at last check there were
87 links on there.! Don't forget it's not too late to add your own link Happy Tuesday!  :)

Project Blue ~ Take 2

Project Blue is well and truly underway.. check out all the other contributions on
Anna Carson's photography blog :)  Today's blue features Jem's (now outgrown,
mum couldn't bear to part with) fairy dress! I have a purple one put away too..
maybe it will come out of the cupboard one day for Project Purple? hint hint ;)

Thank You :)

Thanks so much dear bloggy pals for leaving such sweet and thoughtful messages
 here on Friday! You made my day SO special, and I'm very grateful!! :) 
Sorry for not replying personally but I'm not getting any notification emails from typepad!

..and thanks to my little sweeties for these cheerful birthday cards!

Inside the cards are just as beautiful...

..and the back of Jem's card.. she knows how much I like the rain at the moment :)

This was my fabulous birthday cake...another of Rhiannon's own creations, this time
with banana, pear and apple and a treacle and pear juice syrup over the top!! Yummo

Thank you cheeky monkey :)

Project Blue ~ Take 1

Yes, it's that time again.. First came Project Yellow, then Project Green... now
it' time for Project BLUE!! If you feel like capturing and sharing some blue
 from your daily life.. check out Anna Carson's blog for all the details. It makes
 you  look at thing a little differently and it's fun to do.. it goes for a week so
 you can post a photo a day or just do as many as you feel like.

This is a close up of one of my indoor plant pots which I love..

DCM: It's all in the Shape

This week's DCM dare is to make a card using any sort of shape (other than
square or rectangle I guess!) This is my funny attempt. I really wanted to
 make an owl card, having a thing for them at the moment :) While looking
for ideas online found this (I want one!!) It's a bit rough but now that the
template's been made for all the pieces, I think he can be improved upon :)

Another Year Older...

Tomorrow is my 38th birthday. I didn't think I would ever post a photo of myself on
here, and gosh, now I'm posting 3! That's me on the right with my big sis Dee..
I must have been about 9 here and Dee 11. We're holding a friend's little pups
while at our the family shack in Bicheno (on the east coast of Tasmania)

That was our family car behind which happens to be the same age as me! According
  to my Dad, this 1970 V8 Ford Fairmont was a dream to drive and he was quite sad
to see it go but he had to buy a ute while building our new house.. What I remember
the most are the tan-brown vinyl seats which used to smell weird when the sun
 warmed them up and listening to the 'Hair' soundtrack over and over on the long
trips to and from the shack.. the car had a cartridge player and Hair was the only
cartridge my parent's owned (they were pretty rare down here)  LOL

I don't own a scanner so took a digital pic straight from the original.
It turned better than expected so I copied these as well....  



People often commented on my 'chubby chops' (now they just think it!)



I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow morning with my girls and taking them
to the indoor aquatic centre while M's at  work, then on to my parents for cake
followed by dinner out at an unknown location :)  then it's the weekend.. bonus!

Rain Again

We enjoyed the rain earlier this week..its been so long coming! It wasn't
enough to fill the tanks or get down deep into the garden but it was a start
and we are hoping for some more very soon. It was lovely to spend some
time outside this morning and smell that earthy smell that's been missing
 around here for so long, we're used to fairly wet conditions in Autumn but
this one's been the driest I can remember..ever

No rain today though, It was a beautiful morning with just a little mist down
 in the valley and plenty of sunshine, perfect for taking some photos of the
final days of the season....winter begins next week

I was delighted to find this work of art..



During the rainy spells I made some chutney..using a new recipe
from over on Willow House blog ~ thanks for sharing Carolyn :)
It needs to sit for a couple of weeks but a taste test was pretty good!

 ..and finally I wanted to share the present Rhiannon gave her teacher of 2.5 years,
who, sadly is leaving her school. Think I'll have to put in an order for one myself :)

DCM: 'Beady Eyes on You'

After a few weeks break from card-making, I've finally felt the
urge to make another card for the DCM challenge. This week's
 Theme is to incorporate  beads in the card. I'm not overly happy
with this one  I would have liked to make the beads a bit more of
a feature..and I had some trouble getting them to stay put (need
some decent glue ~ any suggestions?) But it felt good to make a
card and with any luck I'll knock a couple more off today. If you
 feel like having a go, details are on the Daring Card Makers Blog


Have a happy Wednesday :)

Happy Mail and Coffee Time

I have to share the fabulous parcel of goodies I got from the lovely Cindy this week..
we recently organised our own swap ~ lucky me got these cute stamps for card-making,
fab magazines, sweet dragonfly matches and coffee...yummy aroma on opening box :O)

 

...and this sweet little clutch purse Cindy made (a very good sewer I must add!!)

I've already had several cups of coffee in my new owl mug I bought from work

which went down very nicely with a piece of this coffee cake (recipe from Mel's Blog)


And a big thanks to another bloggy pal, Annette who recently sent down some wonderful
paper/stamping magazines and acrylic block to help me get started on clear-stamping
Annette's beautiful work is inspiring; she makes such creative cards and scrapbooking!

I think I'm finally getting the hang of typepad changes ~ maybe it will pass the test :O)
Happy Saturday,hope the sun's shining in your patch too! (as nice as it is we need rain!)