Some Layouts & a Card Swap

Hello every one
How are you all going? I have been busy lately with a creative burst (no complaints here I can tell you!). I have completed a few scrapbooking LO's with a little help from both the 'net & some mags' that I borrowed from the library. Also I have re-used some LO's that I have done before from classes or kits, but as usual I have put my own spin on them.

This first LO I have done before but with the Basic Grey Lemonade papers in a kit I got from a LSS. I used the last LO as a template for this one & honestly I have changed it by turning the template on it's side & of course used completely different papers & embelishments. I am not sure if you have seen this LO before so appologise if I have posted about already.

This next LO I have done I used a template from a Papercraft Planet group Scrappy Sunday. I did have great intentions of doing at least three of the four sketches & entering the challenge. Unfortunately time is against me & I need to be more organised with the sizes of my photos.

I did however manage to do two more pages which I hope to share later in the week with you all.

These next five cards are my contribution to a card swap I am involved in. My dear lovely friend Helen, her sister Elisabeth & Belinda (Elisabeth's friend) have been swapping cards for a few months now. The rules are very simple you make five cards for each person in the group (plus a set for yourself if you want). The five cards are the same for each member of the group. I have been meaning to share some of my cards that I had made for the group swap but unfortunately I keep forgeting to take pictures

These first two cards where made from the same papers (that I just "had" to buy). I really thought this sweet girl looked right at home on these papers. I got her as a freebie from the Tiddly Inks Digitals group over on the Papercraft Planet site.

This cute whale also came from the Tiddly Inks group. I have been hoping to play along with their challenges as well, but as usual time seems to get the better of me. The card is based on a sketch that was part of this Caardvark challenge a little while ago as well. I don't know why but when I saw the sketch I imediately thought of this cute whale. Looking at the card now I think if I was to do it again I'd swap the red circle for blue & make the fish red. Not that it really matters I guess.
This Owl card I made because Helen gave me some chipboard moons. I was orginally going to have the owl sitting on his branch off to one side but thought that he looked more interesting on the moon. Then I added the cat since the ribbon looks sort of like a fence to me (it's the same ribbon I used on Linda's cards here scroll down to see the pictures).
This last card is one of my favourites & really is a fluke! I used versamark ink & one of my Hero Arts BG cling stamps Antique Brocade, then stamped over it with Versafine Black Onyx & a Darkroom Door deer image & saying. Because I did this on Bazzil the deer was a bit blotchy so I went over him with my black Copic marker. Unfortunately you can't see it here but the brocade stamp shows through the deer & looks really pretty.
Well I guess I have bored you all enough for one post. Thanks for stopping by & have a great week.

Some easel cards

Hi every one,

How have you all been? I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. My life seems to have settled down since my bad "country & western" week (It sounded like a really bad country & western song - had an op, the 'puter crashed & then the cat died). But at least now I can look back & smile.

Smudge is a different cat now without Tom, she's got a voice & is now naughtier than ever - grrrrrrrrrr! But we still love the rotten critter. Em keeps wanting to know when are we going to get a puppy. Em told her dad the other day that she wanted a black labrador girl puppy that she could call Sam.

Below are some cards that I have made in the last few days. This first one is for a really good friend of mine who's b'day was on the 5th October. Unfortunately I have yet to give her this card. Luckily for me Esther is ok with this & knows that she will get it eventually! I am also going to make her some cards as a gift. Hopefully today will be a good day for that.




As you can see I'm slightly addicted to easel cards at the moment as well as this paper pad from Kaisercraft.

Well folks I have to go, Lilly has just woken up. I am hoping to be back really soon to share some wonderful photo's that Helen has taken of LillyBug.

Thanks for visiting & hugs to you all xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Goodbye my three legged mate :( you will be missed

Hi every one,

I am very sad today as I had my dear old Tom cat put down.

I know I had just finished saying how he was ok & everything in the last post. I think I must have jinxed him or something. I should know better by now!

When Doug came home early this morning he found Tom couldn't move & was having trouble breathing. I found out when I got up to feed Lilly at 5am. So I decided to stay with my little mate after I had finished up with Lilly & then at 7.30 I got him to our vet. Kim is an awesome vet & he was really understanding when I brought Tom in to him. I could have taken Tom to an afterhours clinic about half an hour away, but I knew that it was Tom's time to go & didn't feel like taking him somewhere where no one knew him or his history. Kim was really nice & made me feel a whole lot better about what I had to do, even though I pretty well knew it had to be done. I got to stay with Tom right to the end & Kim didn't rush me out the door even though he had patients waiting.

So now we are a one pet family - poor Smudge, I guess she's going to feel a little lonely for a bit. Em wants to get a puppy now, specifically a Labrador (she's been hanging around me too long!) I have to keep explaining that we need a fenced yard first. So I guess we'll have an interesting week or two ahead of us.

Take care everyone & give your pets an extra pat from me xoxoxoxoxoxo

Oh what a week!

Hi there,

I know it's been absolutely ages since I last did any blogging! I miss it terribly. A lot has happened since I last posted & some of that has been craft related (Yay!).

This week has been an interesting time in our household. Firstly on Sunday Tom (the three legged, one eyed Tom cat without his boy bits) started to bleed everytime he went to the toilet. Which had me rather upset as you can guess. He hasn't been in the best of health for some time now. (We resorted to putting his "bucket" back on a while ago, as he keeps licking himself raw on his underside .) The worst part was we couldn't get him to the vet until Tuesday. Luckily for Tom the vet thinks he had a cyst burst in his bladder & it should get better now he's on meds. I am so thankful that Doug was okay about going to the vets as I usually have to sneak around behind his back when it comes to vets.


On Monday I had "Day Procedure" surgery. I got my Tubes tied, or as I told the nurse I was in to be neuted, when she asked why was I there. After a fit of giggles the nurse suggested that I shouldn't say that when they asked me that same question again down in the theatre, but guess what I did it anyway. It was good for a laugh! I'm sure that they didn't mind & I got a giggle out of it. Mind you I've been sore & sorry ever since though! Oh well that's the joys of these things I guess.

Then on Tuesday after taking Tom to the vets, I thought I'd do a spot of blogging only to discover the computer packed it in! Apparently cat hair isn't good for a computer. When we got it back today the lady that fixed it said we should get our computer serviced twice a year like a car. The vents, fans & some part I can't even remember where clogged up with cat hair. It's the first time I think it's ever been in to a computer store & we've had it longer than Em has been around so that's at least 5 years.

This card I did as part of a swap group I am in. I like the way it turned out as this is another one of my "Scrappy" cards. I also used my Copics to colour the ribbon to match. I made this card for Belinda to thank her for sending me a catalogue. So I will share the five cards I made for the swap once they are at their final destination ;D.

These next four cards I did just because..............I'm addicted to my Copics & The Greeting Farm stamps. I originally was going to use one of these images for Deborah's latest CCC. But because I got carried away again! I decided to send these four cards to Linda aka Oz along with the last card.

As you can see I kept the sketch the same but mixed up the colours on the images & used up what ever scraps fit the best. I altered the ribbon with Copics, just to see what it would look like.

I also altered the gems as well. I don't normally do Halloween cards, as we don't celebrate Halloween that much here in Australia. So I am not 100% sure these cards would be classed as Halloween cards. I think it's more the colours of Purple, Orange & green that make them Halloween"ish" to me.

I also decided to give this last card to Linda as well. Now I'm just hoping that they get to her in time.


Thanks for putting up with such a long blog post. I hope you all are having a great week & finding time for crafting.
Hugs to you all & TTFN xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

September's CCC

Hi every one,

I know it's been forever since I last did anything on this poor neglected blog! In fact it's been forever since I've done anyting on the 'net. I am hoping to start blogging regularly now that Lilly is settled & in some sort of routine & I'm getting a lot more things done.

Like this card that I made for Deborah's latest CCC challenge. I sent this card (& a pirate card that Helen made) to Barb. I used scraps on this card. Plus an image from the Greeting Farm that my wonderful friend Helen stamped for me. Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to remember to take a photo of Helen's card so if you click here & scroll down to the fifth card you will be able to see what it looks like. Thank you so much Helen for letting me gift your wonderful card on :D.

Well I'm off to create cards for another challenge & open my mail from Linda Wetterlin (I love the postie!!!) so I can ooh & ahh over her fabulous card.

TTFN xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Our day at Australia Zoo

Hi all,

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged. Things seem to be getting away from me lately. But as you can see from the following photos we have been to Australia Zoo. If you go to Australia Zoo in August you can get a pass for the rest of the year. All it costs you is your entry. So for Em & myself it cost us $91. But now we can go as often as we want for the rest of the year. Pretty good deal I think. So our Mothers' group has decided that we'd try for at least once a month at the zoo. That way we get lots of value for our money ;).

Em had a wonderful time riding this pony, her friend Emily rode a littler grey pony while Em was on this one.

I just love the tigers, they would be one of my favourite animals. I think they are such a beautiful creature, Em thought they where pretty good as well.

Em just had to go to the Kangaroos!!!! She drove me insane until we got there ;). All the kangaroos are fairly placid, as long as you are calm. So we got to pat some. I made sure that Em understood that you can't pat the wild ones that roam around her Pa Pa's place though.

This poor wombat was being picked on by the other wombats, which is why she's wearing a "Dryasabone" dog coat. So her bald spots heal & she doesn't get too cold.

I tried to convince Em to sit in this croc's mouth but she wouldn't be in it. Instead she was happy to sit on his head. We had to be quick as there where heaps of people wanting to get their photo with this croc.

Thank you all for stopping by & I hope you all have a great weekend ahead :D TTFN xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Thank you from my "little Dear" :D

Thank you from my "little Dear" :D
Originally uploaded by pajalu (Paula)

Hi all,

I am sorry I haven't been online that much of late :(. I have been staying away on purpose. I tend to want to check out lots of different things & of course that all takes time. So I've been staying away so I can get more organised with Lilly & the family.

This picture is for everyone that took part in the blog hop for me :D. Thank you so much ladies!!! It was such a wonderful surprise & so unexpected. This is the only way I can think of to thank everyone straight away. I was going to upload all the cards I have recieved but unfortunately that takes a lot of time that gets spent looking after kids (husbands & cats). Mainly because I would then want to add links to each person that sent me a card.

At the moment half of my craft room is upstairs around our kitchen table (we very rarely use it for eating at). I wanted to be able to craft with in ear shot of Lilly, plus it's a lot warmer upstairs at this time of year. So as you have probably guessed Lilly is on the kitchen table ;) posing with the card.

Sorry if I am not making a lot of sense at the moment - sleep depravation is not good for the brain cells lol.

Em & Lilly are both doing ok. Last week they got their immunisation needles - Lilly's 8 week needles & Em's 4 yr needles. Poor babies, they where so brave. Em didn't cry at all, I guess the promise of a Freddo frog & Macca's (McDonalds) afterwards was a good reward. I also didn't cry (this time) as I was trying to not put my fear of needles onto Em. Lilly was a little unsettled but did really well.

Poor Em is in the wars, not only did she get her needles but she is also teething again. Had I known this last week I would have put off her needles till after her b'day. Em is at home at the moment as her school called as she was feeling poorly today. So after a quick trip to the chemist on the way home she should be right to go to school tomorrow I am hoping.

Well I had better be going as I'm making a cassarole for tea & it is going to take a couple of hours to cook.

Have a wonderful week everyone & happy crafting xoxoxoxoxo TTFN