Therapy Time.

There is no surprise that any type of craft has huge therapeutic benefits. These range from enhancing fine motor skills, the opportunity to be social with those of a similar interest & the elation of completing a given task, however simple or involved.

I have a friend who has had a rough time dealing with a brain tumour.
She had "Trevor The Tumour" removed & then began her long road to recovery.

After a while, my friend asked for some kits to be made for her, as she is spending a lot of time simply sitting. She needed something to do with her hands, that could be a challenge to her, but not so much that she couldnt achieve the end product. The other part of her brief was that the card could be used for her to give to those who helped her during her recovery.

What a beautiful gesture, hey?

Enter: Stampin' Up! products!! I muddled over this conundrum for a while, before I came up with a card design that she could use and that I felt reflected her.

This is my card design:

This card has 13 elements to it, between the 3 base layers, the flowers, embellishment and the sentiment. This was no mean feat for a woman who has been through a lot in the last few months! 

But at least she can take her time and choose to send off her cards as she makes them, one by one.

I wrapped all the separate peices and wrote an essay, just in case she was having a bad day or her short-term memory was playing games on her

Not long after I sent her parcel to her, she posted this photo. She is busy getting into her cards, when she has the time, energy and discipline :))

Sharing my therapy with others, makes me feel all warm 'n fuzzy, Im happy to give her a helping hand, considering we live away from each other.

I hope you get some therapy time, whatever your craft is....until next time, Jo xxx

Card In a Box have taken over my life!!

Have you heard of the little boxes that are taking over the world, let alone my stamp table?
They are, simply put, a rectangle box that stands either landscape or portrait and have a great display of flowers, butterflies, cupcakes etc, to represent the theme of the card...

On the front is the decoration and the sentiment, while there is a  blank peice of cardstock on the back, for the message...

And as they say: Here is some I have prepared earlier... :P

Ive made this Daffoldil Delight a couple of times now, as a birthday box, Get Well Soon box & a Sympathy box. The set-up lends itself to so many occasions!!

Lots of people like a bit a of sparkle, right? They were the finishing touch to these butterflies, after they were embossed in various folders and squeezed through the big Shot....

One of the best bits of making these, in abundance, is the fact that these little bits n peices use scraps!! And my scraps were building up.... How does that not put a smile on your dial, hey?

I just love how the Glimmer Paper is so shiny in this photo!! I hope it puts a smile on the person receiving it too!!

Now you can see how these Card In a Box have taken over my stamp table, right?

I have left a very special one for my next post, which certainly wont leave you hanging for too much longer, I promise!! The next one I have to show you, is very much made with love!!

See you then...

I Can Barely Contain Myself!!

I was almost ready to pack up all the items I wanted to take to the market, for a local event.

After I finished the bunnies and they were all on their respective container, I was talking outloud about how the containers needed to be 'up' and visable to everyone walking past the table.

So this is the way that my 10 year old son suggested to display my Easter Bunny containers.

Very ingenious, I think!!

This meant that all the bunny containers were seen by the children and their mum or dad!

Mission accomplished!!

I was so impressed with Darcy's thinking, well done mate!!

Forgive Me Stampin' Gods, For I Have Sinned...

I have come home from a long weekend here in Victoria, Australia & realise that I have 5 more days to prepare for a school market  that I am attending on Sunday.

I do believe I need to find my table first, though - ya think?


I always get so caught up with what I'm making & rarely clean up between projects. To be fair, my table is 1 x 3 metre long & it it VERY easy to "just keep going" with exciting new items to make, pushing supplies aside...

*Sigh* .....I should probably work on that.....

So if I haven't emerged within a couple of hours, please feel free to send in supplies of chocolate, wine & coffee, no particular order necessary :)
And should I find my table, (apparently it's white???), will edit this to show you the proof!!

Wish me luck - I'm goin' in!!


UPDATE...

In just 2 hours, I have found my table AND the floor AND the bottom of some containers that I cleaned out also!!
Go me!!

As you will remember, my table was very messy, but in 15 minute periods, I was able to put things away where they actually belonged, discovered school notices that had been lost misplaced, found enough Lego peices to build a fort & dug up a Tim-Tam single packaged biscuit that will not get eaten - sadly it was too far gone for human consumption....

When I found my table, I decided to hang up a decoration I had made a few years ago, but then Tiger discovered it too...,I wonder how long it will remain there, hey?

Once I managed to remove Tiger from my table, I could finish wiping everything down & complete  the last few things, to finish the job I began, even my husband was impressed!

"Let's see how long it stays tidy this time...", Im sure I mutter that often, hey? 

Maybe I should make a promise to clean up after each project? .....

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget to sign up to receive this as an email, that way you won't miss out on seeing how clean I do keep my table??? :P

Cards for Angel Gowns, Victoria

I recently heard about Angel Gowns, Australia, who donate their time to make incredible gowns for babies that either do not survive pregnancy, birth or pass away soon after birth.

They rely on donations of all materials, ribbons & embellishments to make these tiny gowns, often for sizes 0000 & smaller.

This is such a beautiful gesture, at such a sad and traumatic time for families. To have one decision already thought-out for them, of what to dress their baby in, would bring some comfort to Mum and Dad during this painful time.

Here is an example of their work:

While speaking to a friend and fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator,  Debbie about Angel Gowns, I decided to spend some time making cards for their use. They could choose to send these cards as a thankyou to brides who donated their wedding dress or businesses that have donated various items for this special cause.



With this in mind, this is my first group of cards that I made & sent. Vicki has received my cards & Im very happy to say she likes them!

I made 4 cards each of Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon & Blushing Bride, (appropriate, right??)

I'm sorry this is a bad photo, but I was rushing to send this off & remembered to take a photo of the other two designs that I sent, (in the Post Office, lol!!)...with a small note to Vicky, of course.

Im off now, to plan for my next group of cards to begin on, thanks for stopping by :)

Feather Card: 

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon, Blushing Bride, Whisper White.

Inks: All inks are the same as the cardstock colours.

Designer Papers: Favourite Thoughts, (retired).

Stamps: Flower Patch & Simply Wonderful

Big Shot Dies: Flower Fair

Embellishments: Pearls or Brads, Feathers.

Additional Items: Adhesive, Dimensionals, Brayer technique  used.

Button Card:

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Inks: Crumb Cake

Designer Paper: Bella Bleu

Stamps: Lotus Flower

Embellishments: Velvet Very Vanilla ribbon, (retired),Very Vintage Designer Buttons

Additional Items: Glue Dots, Adhesive.

Doily Card:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede

Inks: Soft Suede

Designer Paper Spice Cake

Stamps: Lotus Blossom

Embellishments: Paper Doilies, Venetian Crochet Trim ribbon.

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8 + 1 1/4 circles

Additional Items: Adhesive, Dimensionals.

Note Card:

Cardstock & Ink: Rich Razzleberry & Whisper White

Designer Paper: Polka Dot Parade, (retired)

Stamps: Hello There set.

Embellishments: Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot ribbon, underside shown.

Big Shot Accessories: Labels Collection, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder