Another completed project.

In 2009 I was invited to join a miniature journal round robin with some lovely ladies in various corners of the world. The format was very small - 2" x 3" - with lots of different themes. On the weekend, I finally finished the outer cover and put the little book together and it's so nice to have another project finished.

The theme of my mini album was "Childhood" and each participant could do what they wanted as long as the page had a picture of their face as a child ... it's so cute, I love the pages that were created.

"Childhood" Collaboration cover and inside cover.

My pages.

Pages by Suze Urquhart from Essex,UK.

Valerie Brincheck from Michigan, USA.

Ali Brandist from Warwickshire, UK.

Joni Owens from South Carolina, USA.

Treez  Malyon from Essex, UK.

Sandra Zengler from Scotland.

"Believe there is a great power silently working all things for good,
behave yourself and never mind the rest."~Beatrix Potter, 1866-1943, Author and Illustrator~

Unfinished projects!

Ever since I moved back to Sydney and started working full time, I really haven't found much time to dabble in the arts and crafts like I used to.  I made a pact with myself that I would do a little bit of art of some kind every weekend or every other weekend in an attempt to finish all those half done projects.

Like most of us crafters, I have unfinished projects all over the place.  I feel great that I finally finished scrapbooking my mum's wedding photos a few weeks ago, the mini album of my sister's pregnancy of my nephew and a couple of weekends ago I finally made the cards from a card kit I bought in Brisbane in June ... and here they are.

Details of the kit and how to make 9 cards ... I managed to make 16 with some other leftover papers & flowers.

   

Measure not the work until the day's out and the labor done.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806-1861, British Poet~

ATC Quarterly

When I started creating ATCS in early 2008 I became really active in a number of Yahoo Groups. On one of those groups (ATC World - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATC_World/) I became a moderator and met so many wonderful friends all over the world.  One of those friends introduced me to a small ATC publication called ATC Quarterly (http://www.atcquarterly.com/) published by Ronna Mogelon http://ronnas.blogspot.com/ out of Canada.

Issue #24 has just been released and an article I wrote on making Non-paper ATCs was published.  In the list of items you need, gel medium is listed because some products in Canada are different to here in Australia, but I used an inexpensive Impasto / texture paste found in most discount stores ... anything with substance that dries clear will work for this technique.

An ATC of mine also featured in the Centrefold ... the theme this time was 'Dog Days'.  The focal point is my beautiful dog Beau on an ATC made completely from fabric.  Pam also had an ATC feature ... a hand drawn picture of Beau ... he's a bit of a celebrity in this issue of ATC Quarterly.

Here are some other ATC Quarterly Centrefolds where my ATCs have been featured.

ATC Quarterly Issue 18 Spring 2010. Ob la di, ob la da ... Beatles theme.

ATC Quarterly Issue 21 Winter 2011. Moo... Cow theme..

ATC Quarterly Issue 23 Summer 2011. Queen Bee ... Birds and Bees theme.
Pam's card also featured in this Centrefold.

The very last issue of ATC Quarterly will come out by the end of November 2011 ... the centrefold theme will be 'Goodbye'.  Will have to create something special for this publication that has been a part of my ATC journey since the beginning.

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."

~Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962, Former American First Lady~

Getting some creative time in ...

Friends of ours Pam and Barry travelled from the Gold Coast to Sydney for a visit last weekend.  Pam and I always try and fit in some creative time and this time we had a go at a technique in the September 2011 Craft Stamper (http://www.craftstamper.com/) by Trish Latimer called Lemon Juice Backgrounds.  My card didn't turn out as nice as the one in the magazine, but I think for a first attempt it's pretty good.



Pam also taught me how to make these flowers ... very cool.

It was beautiful sunny warm weather the weekend before our visitors arrived and then this particular weekend it was arctic!  We decided to make a day trip down to the Southern Highlands (about 1.5 hours south from Sydney) and visited an old wares / antique store in Mittagong, had lunch at the Elephant Boy cafe in Bowral ... a sensory indulgence from the days of the british raj.



After lunch, we ventured out in the bitterly cold windy 8 degrees celsius and made our way to Berrima.  We found a wonderful little shop called Berrima Patchwork Crafts (http://www.berrimapatchwork.com.au/) that sold the largest and most beautiful range of quilting fabrics I've ever seen ... we had to get Pam out of there quickly as there were so many fabrics she just had to have!!!





Next stop was a quaint shop called The Art of Bookbinding (http://www.artofbookbinding.com.au/) ... again we had to get out of there quickly as they had the largest range of beautifully printed papers I've seen!

We just had to visit the Peppertree Trading Company / Antique shop in Berrima.  The place was fantastic.  Pam and I could have spent hours there ... we even lost each other a couple of times inside.  The shop was a feast for the senses ... there was so many old things it was difficult to take it all in.  On top of it, they had a 50% off everything sale.

There were buttons galore ...

I bought a couple of these ...

Just had to have these old bus tickets ... awesome!

"Find something that feels good, that resonates with your heart."

~Dr John Gray~

Spring has sprung down under ...

We have had the most beautiful weather this weekend ... the first weekend of Spring 2011 in Australia.  The Jasmine is growing and smells beautiful and today is also Father's Day here ... so congratulations to all those dad's out there all over the world.

My dad ... love you!

I started my crafting life with scrapbooking many years ago and still love looking at beautifully created scrapbook albums. When my sister Sylvia was pregnant with her first child, we'd taken a photo of her belly every month so we could keep an eye on progress.  I put together a little mini album covering the pregnancy, which I presented to her when my niece Alexis was born.

We did the same thing when she fell pregnant with her second child ... took photos of that ever growing belly.  My nephew is now 2.5 years old and this weekend I finally finished the album to send to my sister in time for her birthday ... how slack am I!!!

Anyway, here's what I created ... now there are a few pics of when my nephew was just born as I was lucky enough to be at the birth, so if you're a bit squeamish do not go any further.

I have not done anything creative since July and feel fantastic that I finally made time to finish one of the many unfinished projects lying around in my craft room.

Enjoy!

A father carries pictures where his money used to be.
~Author Unknown~