Finally - A Crafty Christmas Project!

Hello old friends!

I thought I would share with you a crafty project I completed for Christmas. As some of you are aware, my crafty mojo has all but deserted me so this blog has been inactive for quite some time. I can't say it has returned in its entirety, but I was sufficiently motivated to create some little cards for a Twelve Days of Christmas project.

This project was a Secret Santa of sorts - 12 anonymous presents inspired by the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas". Each present was accompanied by a hand-made little card featuring a poem written by me. Some of the presents were closely related to the song, some weren't - so poems were necessary to tie it all together!

They aren't terribly elaborate, but I was happy with how each one followed the same colour scheme and allowed the poem to take centre stage. Stupidly I forgot to note the name of the papers, so if anyone recognises them, please let me know.

It was a great deal of fun and I have written a post about the project which you can read on my other blog here. There you will find the entire story, and photos of all twelve cards. For this crafty blog, I thought I would just show you the ones where the cards looked best.

I am entering into the following challenges:

C.R.A.F.T - Anything Goes
Crafting for all Seasons - Anything But a Card
Divas by Design - Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas
Catch The Bug - Your Favourite Christmas Song

Ah, it's nice to be back.  I hope you enjoyed my first crafty project in a while. Remember to head to The Squirrel & The Fox for the Anything Goes challenge. The team have done a fantastic job with their DT inspiration for you.

Hopefully I will see you again soon!

Tracey
x

Boarding Up These Windows

Hello Blogging Friends,

Some you may have noticed things have gone a little quiet over here. I'm afraid to say that my crafty mojo has all but deserted me at the moment, and as a result there hasn't been much to post about.

I have come to the conclusion that forcing yourself to craft to meet DT obligations doesn't make your mojo come back either. Rather like dressing a cat in dolls clothes,where there might be a fabulous photo opportunity and all looks cute on the outside - inside there's one unhappy furry critter who would rather be doing something else (and let's be honest, will run a mile when the doll clothes come out next time). So rather than forcing the issue, I'm stepping back from crafting for a while.

I will still be around the crafting world, as I am carrying on as DT coordinator for The Squirrel & The Fox, and working with the fabulous team there. That might mean I create the occasional card and post it here, but mostly this little blog will be having a hiatus.

Instead, like that kitty who dreams of being somewhere else, I will be concentrating my writing on my new blog "Still Just Us". I would love all my friends that I have made here to visit me over there. You can find me at StillJustUs.com where I tell exciting tales from my life like "How a household appliance changed my life".

Much love,
Tracey
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Father's Day at Kenny K's Krafty Krew

Hello and happy Sunday!

This is a happier Sunday than most for it is a long weekend in Sydney this weekend to celebrate the Queen's birthday. As I am still a little under the weather I am very grateful not to have to go to work tomorrow.

It's time for a new challenge at KKKK, and this time the theme is

FATHER'S DAY

Unlike Australia, the United States celebrates Father's Day in June.

My card was made this week using Rock Dude, and to make it more in keeping with my Dad's, shall we say vintage, I paired him with some cool retro styled papers.

Sadly I had to take this photo after dark, so the light isn't as great as it could be. The accents in the papers are green and aqua. I added gold eyelets to the corners and some mesh brown ribbon for embellishments.

Rock Dude was coloured with copics.

Our challenge this week is sponsored by Kenny K and Marianne Designs - visit the challenge blog here to see the fantastic prizes on offer!

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Tracey

x

In the summer time..

I only wish it was Summer time here Down Under. Sadly I am not a fan of Winter. While I am a big fan of the knee high boots and lovely coats that Winter brings, I don't like the cold weather that comes with it.

So for the latest challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox

SUMMER OR WINTER

it's no surprise I chose Summer. Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by Saturated Canary and I adored colouring this summery, sunny image.

I found a sheet of gorgeous beach themed paper, although sadly I forgot to note what it was called. Don't you hate that??

I coloured this image with copics, giving her gorgeous beach blonde hair. I pulled out my ribbon border die to highlight some pink ribbon, and used a Spellbinders die for the image as well as adding some pearls for that little added something. My theme was inspired by the current challenge at Cupcake Inspirations.

I hope you'll pop over to The Squirrel and The Fox for your chance to win two free images from Saturated Canary. I spent so long agonising over which image to use for this challenge, I am sure you will have quite the wish list of images if you win!

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:
Cupcake Inspirations - at the beach
The Ribbon Girls - Die Cut
Sassy Studio Designs - Hit the Beach
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Summer Scene
Stamp and Create - Summer Fun

Until next time,
Tracey
x

Here come the girls..

Hello lovely blogging friends,

Once again I am late with my blogging duties, but hopefully it is for the last time. I have finally got my computer back, although sadly I have lost much of my previous work from the irreparable hard drive. Fortunately most of my photos were backed up on an external drive so there's nothing too dramatic lost, but it's still a sad moment when you realise stuff is missing.

Anyway, there's another challenge happening at The Squirrel and The Fox, and I just know so many of you will love it.

HERE COME THE GIRLS

Our challenge is sponsored by Make It Crafty, and I absolutely adore the image I chose for my DT piece. Her name is Can Can Dancer Sally and here's what I created with her:

 

 

I tried to girly this one up as much as I could and used lace, netting, a swirl die and some lovely pastel peach papers from the Prima Lyric Collection 'Overture'.  I splurged and purchased a set of matching brads, for I loved the gorgeous details in each one.

 



This one didn't photograph as well as I could have liked but it says "remembering the good times".

I layered the paper onto some cream and kraft card stock and distressed the edges of the image with Tim Holtz Antique Lace distressing ink.

Sally was coloured with copics, bought especially to match the papers. I went with a monochrome look, using E000, E00, EI1, C03, C05, C07, E93 and E95. I just adore how she turned out. This card is now marked for Mum's birthday.

I hope you'll join us at The Squirrel and The Fox with your girly creation for your chance to win a $15 voucher from Make It Crafty.

Creative Corner Challenges - A Song (Lady Marmalade)
Delicious Doodles - Lace
Polka Doodles - Spring Colours/Pastels
A Little Bit Crafty - Kraft
Mad for Markers -  One for the Girls
Creatilicious Challenges - One for the Girls
Sparkles Forum Challenges - monochromatic

Tracey

It's Steampunk at KKKK

Hello Friends,

Long time no write. I am sorry I haven't been around to say hello to you all lately, it's been one drama after another, with my husband sick in hospital, a dead computer and now I have been sick with laryngitis. I have to admit that with all that going on, plus a busy time at work, I lost my crafty mojo for a while there, but I am happy to report that it's back, just in time for me to share the latest challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew.

STEAMPUNK

ooh, it's a favourite! As a long time fan of Kenny K, I have made quite a few cards using Kenny K's fabulous steampunk images. For my card today I used the image Jayne Jetpack.

Jayne was coloured with copics. The papers were from Kaisercraft 365 Days Collection, Event. My sentiment is a brand new Stampin' Up stamp. Ribbon mesh and brown and cream cord are from my stash. I found some awesome Tim Holtz cogs and wheel embellishments which fit the theme perfectly.

We have some fantastic prizes on offer at KKKK this week.

with a rubber stamp of the winner's choice as well as a surprise gift pack from

 

 

I hope you can join us.

 

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

 

Southern Girls - You Can Say That Again (sentiment or quote)

Colour Me Creative - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes

 

Thank for visiting, see you again soon.

 

Tracey

x

 

 

 

Tic Tac Toe at KKKK!

Hello Crafty Folk,

It's time for a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and this one really made me put my thinking cap on.

TIC TAC TOE

For my DT piece I chose the fourth line down, but you can do any line you like, vertically or horizontally.

I also got to use a brand new release from Kenny K, her name is Texting Diva.

So you can see I have swirls (thanks to an embossing folder), digi image (Miss Texting Diva herself), ribbon (two types) and die cuts (tag, circle and the scalloped oval). I also added a cute little flower charm and a stamped sentiment to finish it off.

We have three awsome sponsors over at KKKK this week

 

with a $20 voucher

with a $10 voucher

with some fabulous crafty goodies.

I hope you'll come and play with us for your chance to win, and to show off your tic tac toe skills!

This card is also entered into the following challenges:

Paper Crafting Journey - Use a Sentiment

Sweet Stampin' - Anything but a birthday

Stampin' for the Weekend - Die cuts and/or punches

Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon

Tracey

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Dies and Punches at KKKK

Happy Sunday Everyone!

It's time for a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and our theme this week is

DIES AND PUNCHES

That's right, if you use dies or punches on your creation this week we want to see it!

For my DT card this week I used the awesome image Groove Dude. Kenny K has some great images for guys, and this one is my new favourite.

I made this card for a friend's 30th. I love the metal tag with its "Enjoy the journey" sentiment. I forgot to jot down the names of the DPs, but I love the colour combination of olive green, orange, brown and blue, and used that combination for colouring my image with copics.

I bought some mesh style brown ribbon and blue twine to finish this card - it's so hard to find man style embellishments isn't it?

Our challenge this week is sponsored by Kenny K with 5 digi images

and 

with a $20 voucher.

I hope you'll come and join us this week.

Also entered into the following challenges:

Aud Sentiments Challenge - For a Guy

Anything Goes Challenge - Heavy Metal

Paper Creators Craft - All About Spots

Card Crafters Circle - Die Cuts or Embossing

Tracey

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Easter or Passover at TSTF

Hello again,

Another late post from me - this time it's my card for The Squirrel and The Fox.

Our challenge has been underway for a week, but what with holidays and then hubby in hospital I am only just now getting around to posting. Funnily enough I was super organised for this one, my card was made ages ago!

EASTER OR PASSOVER

Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy and I used this adorable image for my card.

I paper pieced the Easter Egg in the image, and coloured the little mouse with copics. The sentiment is a stamp from CC Designs.

Come join us at The Squirrel and The Fox for our Easter or Passover theme for your chance to win three digi images from Sweet 'n Sassy.

I hope you have all had a lovely Easter and enjoyed your break.

Tracey

x

Being Square at KKKK

Hello Everyone!

I apologise for the late post, this has been a bit of a nightmare week with my husband in hospital. He took ill when we were on holidays so needless to say that was not the most relaxing of holidays. He is home now and on bed rest, and finding it very difficult to keep still. I had to wrestle the lawn mower from him and do the lawns myself this morning.

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and this time the theme is:

BEING SQUARE

Fortunately I had a card made that fit the bill perfectly for my DT work and hadn't ever posted. So while it's not new to me, it's new to blogland and hasn't been entered into challenges before.

The image is Dirt Bike Mike, and isn't he just an awesome image for a guy card? I made this card for a friend's brother, and coloured him up to match his bike and bike gear. I used scraps of red and blue cardstock and a square of denim paper. Some chrome eyelets and a snippet of blue ribbon and it was done.

Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by Kenny K, with a $20 voucher

and Bearly Mine Designs with a £10 voucher

I hope you'll join us at Kenny K's Krafty Krew with your square creations this week!

Also entered into the following challenges:

Totally Papercrafts - Metal
Crafty Ribbons - Anything Goes with Ribbon
Divas by Design - Use some metal

Bye for now,
Tracey

One For The Girls at KKKK

Hello Friends,

It's here again, Kenny K's Krafty Krew challenge time! I honestly don't know where the time goes, how is it March already? I can't believe that Summer has been and gone, it's only the start of the foggy mornings that makes me realise that Autumn is here.

Our theme this week is

ONE FOR THE GIRLS

Team A (that's me), got to use a delicious Kenny K digi stamp to meet the theme for this week and I chose to use Capt. Locke. I love this sassy image! I thought long and hard about how to colour her, and in the end I let the papers decide. I have had this gorgeous vintage-esque butterfly paper for so very long and thought it was high time I used it.

I pulled out some of my antique lace (as I so very often do!) and a scrap of aqua ribbon for embellishments. The image was coloured with copics.

I was very pleased to find a gorgeous enamel butterfly charm that fit the colour scheme perfectly.

I hope you'll come join us at Kenny K's Krafty Krew for the challenge for your chance to win some delicious prizes, including 5 digi stamps from Kenny K

and a $20 voucher from Flonz

Also entered in the following challenges:


Crafts and Me - Ribbon and Lace
Scrap Creations - Favourite Embellishment (lace of course!)
Shopping Our Stash - Sassy or Snarky
Pretty Little Ribbon - Birthday
Heck of a Challenge - Spring/butterflies and pearls
Happy Campers - Flutterby Butterfly


Thank you for visiting and for your lovely comments as always.

Tracey
x

Lace and Pearls at KKKK

Hello Blogging friends,

As this post goes live, I am GLUED to the TV, for tonight my long awaited television commercial goes live. If you are interested, please visit YouTube to see it. It's truly the best campaign I have ever worked on and while the ad has been on YouTube for a week tonight it debuts on national TV here in Australia. Let's hope everyone loves it as much as I do.

Anyway back to the point at hand. Today marks the start of a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and this one seemed themed especially for me -

LACE AND PEARLS

Any of you who have followed me for any length of time will know that lace is one of my favourite embellishments. I inherited a box of lace from my grandmother and have adored using it on many, many creations.

This image is Scarlett West and this is my second time using her. I coloured her up in purples and greys this time. She's such a fabulous image don't you think? You can find her in the Kenny K store here.

I went extra fancy with the pearls this time, with a gorgeous strip of different sizes. I hand stitched the lace with purple yarn. The sentiment is from Wild Rose Studio and was cut out using a Die-Namic label die, layered on top of some purple card stock cut out with another Die-Namic label die. I hadn't thought to only partially use these dies before, silly me!

I hope you'll join us at Kenny K's Krafty Krew for Team A's turn to inspire you. Such a talented group of designers, you must see their fantastic creations.

Our challenge is sponsored by

offering our winner 5 digi stamps of their choice, and

with a prize of a $10 Rubber stamp. Woot!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

Brown Sugar - Greeting
Paper Crafting Journey - bingo (lace, gems, sentiment)
Stampin' For The Weekend - Lace
Moving Along With The Times - Lovely Ladies

Have a great week!
Tracey
x

Fairy Tale and Fantasy at The Squirrel and The Fox

Hello wonderful people!

I am writing this on an incredible high after reaching the finishing line on an incredibly intense project at work this week. After a long and hard slog, my TV ad goes live online on Monday and I am soooo proud of it. It's the highlight of my career so far and I am just itching to share it with you.

 Our challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox this fortnight is a new theme for us and I can't wait to see how people interpret it

FAIRY TALES AND FANTASY

Oooh, the places you can go with this one!

Our sponsor is the wonderful Zoe at Make It Crafty and I chose Witchy Wanda for my DT card

Isn't she fantastic! I have had this 'Witching you a Happy Birthday' sentiment for so long and I don't know where I got it. If you can enlighten me so I can give credit to the designer please do. I used a Die Namics label die for the cardstock behind the sentiment to pop it right up

The papers I have paired with this card are Wizard of Oz themed. I loved the deep greens and the hints of all the Oz favourites, like the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Dorothy. I coloured the image with copics.

I used a circle die to cut out the image and my Die Namics ribbon border die to highlight the two different green ribbons.

I was really unsure about this card as I was putting it together, but now I'm thrilled with how it's turned out. 

Make it Crafty are offering our winner $15 voucher to spend at their online store. There are so many gorgeous images to choose from, visit The Squirrel and The Fox to see what the rest of the DT came up with.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges;

Card Makin' Mamas - Happy Birthday

Crafty Catz - Dies and Punches (3 different dies on this card)

Created With Love - Things that fly

Jellypark Friends - Get In Shape

Sweet Pea Stampers - Use a Digital Stamp

C.R.A.F.T - Recipe. Two squares, one circle, one sentiment, use ribbon

Polkadoodles - Fairytale/Fantasy

Thanks for visiting and for your wonderful comments as always,

Tracey
x

Going around in circles at KKKK

Hello Everyone!

Now any eagle-eyed Kenny K fans out there will know that this post is late. I've been having intermittent internet troubles and of course I couldn't get on to Blogger when it was time to get this post live. Thankfully it seems to have woken up in a happier mood today so here I am!

Our newest challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew is

GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES

Funnily enough, I don't use circles very often at all with my card creations. I think I am just a big fan of squares!

For my DT work I used the fantastic digi image - Airborne.

Such a fantastic image for a guy card don't you think? I used some fantastic button design paper, used a die to cut out loads of circles from matching card stock and added some blue buttons. The image was coloured with copics and the sentiment is a Woodland Folk clear stamp.

Our sponsors for this week's challenge are

offering FIVE digi's of the winner's choice

 and

offering a $20 gift certificate to their shop.

I hope you'll play along with us!

Also entered into the following challenges:
Cards Galore - One for the men
The Corrosive Challenge blog - Rainbow Bright
Here come the boys - lots of layers
My Time to Craft - Men only

Tracey

x

Feeling the love at The Squirrel and The Fox

Good morning blogging friends,

I'm back after a very hectic work week. Sometimes there are just not enough hours to get everything done. I missed my beloved Zumba twice, despite my best efforts I just couldn't get out of the office early enough. I hope this week will be better, but knowing what I know is on the agenda I highly doubt it!

It's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox, and with Valentine's Day this week I'm sure you can guess what our theme is. That's right, it's

LOVE

We have a new sponsor at The Squirrel and The Fox this fortnight, and those of you who know me will know how thrilled I am to have them on board.

It's Kenny K! As you know I am also on the DT for Kenny K's Krafty Krew, so it's exciting to see them also sponsoring The Squirrel and The Fox.

For my DT piece I used the sassy digi image "Bow".

She was coloured with copics of course. The papers are from Bo Bunny's Love Letters collection. I got the sewing machine out and with minimal swearing and sweating actually got it threaded up, and managed some halfway decent stitching on this card. The fish tag die cut is from Die-Namics.

I hope you'll come and play with us at The Squirrel and The Fox for your chance to win those 5 free digi images from Kenny K.

Entered into the following challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges - Hearts, no red or pink
Cards for Men - All my love
Songbird Challenges - Hopelessly devoted to you
Totally Papercrafts - Valentine's or Love
Fab N Funky - Valentines/Hearts
Come and Get It Challenges - Show us your heart

Tracey
x

Hearts and Flowers at KKKK

Hello Everyone,

I am slightly damp as I sit and type this, for I just attempted to take the dog for a run and of course as soon as I left the house it started to pour! Loki and I turned back and raced home, but there was no stopping us getting wet. Ah well, he got a quick run in, and that's better than nothing I suppose.

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew! The theme for this week is

HEARTS & FLOWERS

For my DT piece I used the fabulous Kenny K digi image Happy Hour.

I apologise for the dark photo, the light has been horrendous.

My image was coloured with copics and everything, that's right everything else was from my scraps. I found 2 tiny little heart shaped brads and a teeny piece of netting and 2 pastel pink paper flowers. I decorated the pink ribbon ad flowers with pink pearls. The sentiment is from Wild Rose Studio.

Of course we have two amazing prizes for our challenge winner. The first is 5 digi images from Kenny K

and

a stamp to the value of $10 from Laura of

My amazingly talented teammates have done an amazing job with this theme. Head to Kenny K's Krafty Krew to check it out, and to join in!

Tracey
x

Something New at The Squirrel and The Fox

I'm late, I'm late... this post was supposed to have been done yesterday morning but I completely forgot about it. Thank goodness for my co-coordinator Linda who stepped in and did the official post for The Squirrel and The Fox -  for at the time I was camping on the mid north coast and without a computer!

I am home a day early from camping, as the weather turned nasty and we were washed out. It is always a fun experience packing a tent in the pouring rain, while our maniac dog races around in puddles getting filthy dirty. and then having to spend 4 hours driving home. I am glad we left when we did though, they are forecasting more severe weather as the result of ex-Cyclone Oswald. Our tent is not built for 80km winds!

Anyways, it's time for a new challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox and our theme for this one is

SOMETHING NEW

It can be something new you use on your crafty work or maybe a card to celebrate something new like the birth of a baby. Just let us know what's new in your post.

My card used all new papers, as well as some new copic colours.

I went with a grey and purple colour scheme, with silver mesh and dotted ribbons. The image is Little Foxes a clear stamp from Totally Gorjuss. The sentiment is from Wild Rose Studio.

Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by the Digi Garden, offering our winner 7 free digi images.

I hope you'll come play along with us!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin' - Ribbon
The Hybrid Chick - Winter
Di's Digi Designs - Winter
Totally Gorjuss - Flowers
Stampin' with the Dragon - In the Winter Garden

Tracey
x

Stop.. Sketch Time!

Okay,  Sketch Time doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Hammer Time.. but after a marathon of 80s music during 8 hours of driving the past 2 days it just seemed fitting.

It's time for a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and the theme is

GET SKETCHY 2

You can embellish as much as you like, but the sketch still needs to be easily identified.

It's Team B's turn to impress you at Kenny K's Krafty Krew this week, and they've done an outstanding job. I am sure you will be mighty inspired.

The challenge is sponsored by

with a prize of 5 digis, and

SUSIE LITTLE 

who has a basket of crafty goodies for our winner.

I hope you'll play along!

Tracey
x

Vintage time at Kenny K's Krafty Krew

Wow, another week has flown by already. I hope everyone had a nice week - we have been battling some scorching temperatures here in Sydney - Friday was the hottest Sydney day every recorded at 45.8C - that's 114.4F for those of you imperial folks. I live in the West of Sydney, and we had a high of 46.9C recorded at our house. Yowza.

A change came through at about 9pm and it dropped 10 degrees in only 10 minutes. Would you believe that yesterday was 20 degrees cooler! Insane summer weather.

Anyways, it's time to announce a new challenge at Kenny K's Krafty Krew. Our theme this week is

VINTAGE

I love vintage creations, mostly because it's an excuse to get out my vintage lace. I think I might need to start rationing it soon!

I have used the gorgeous Kenny K image - Wedding Dance.

Okay, brag time - look at my bow! I am still without any bow tying gadget (it's a MUST BUY soon), so I did my bow by hand. It only took about half an hour. Ha.

I hope you'll join us at Kenny K's Krafty Krew this week.

Our first sponsor is

offering our winner five digi images, and we also have

With a fabulous $20 prize.

I hope to see you there!

I have also entered this card to the following challenges:
Sugar Creek Hollow - Tic Tac Toe (middle row vertical - lace, pearls, ribbon)
4 Crafty Chicks - Pearls, pearls, pearls
Craft Us Crazy - Celebrate Love
Crafty Ribbons - Love/Romance/Anniversary
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Love

Tracey
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