Darkroom Door background stamp

I've been going to try one of the Darkroom Door background stamps for a while now and I really like the way its turned out.

I used white ink and then clear embossing powder over that to give an all over design. Add a couple of butterflies that I've stamped in black and coloured and a strip of card and its done.

Brisbane Papercrafts Festival

Sometimes I wonder "What were you thinking?". It's like this.......on Friday I had an opportunity to book in as an exhibitor at the Brisbane Papercrafts Festival. Yes that's right....the one thats on in less than two weeks. So I said yes.

All together now.......what were you thinking! Now the initial excitement has gone anxiety and panic have stepped in to take it's place.

So a few deep breaths to calm the nerves and lets start by making a list of what I'll need to do and put it in the order of highest priority. Paperwork - stock - tables - accomodation etc, I won't bore you with the entire list.

So if you are planning on going to the Brisbane Papercrafts Festival come on over to stand 53 and say hello. I'll be the one with the silly nervous smile on my face.

Penny Black Cards

I was having a little crafty withdrawal the other day so decided to sit down and make a couple of cards from the Winter Swing Penny Black stamp that came in with the Christmas range, some people call this procrastination, I prefer to call it being creative. Although I was looking for a quick fix so I followed the colours that she had used on the packaging.

Thats one of the great things about the Penny Black range, as well as being great quality, they usually come with a coloured example. I think  this little girl is cute and she can be used for all types of occasions.

Half price calender

I was waiting to be served at the post office last week and spotted this calender at half price. It was too quirky to resist.

Front cover

January

Time Flies

Well we've been home for a week and as is human nature it almost feels like we didn't go anywhere. We had Christmas day with M's family which was lovely and then packed the car on Boxing day (I spent too many years working for a certain chain store to be excited about Boxing day sales) and left on the 27th. We stayed with my brother for a week (everyday we had rain) and caught up with the rest of the family before heading north for a few hours to Arrawarra where we had two nights and then onto Inverell where some friends of ours were tidying up their house before settlement.

Dad carving a roast.

Dad and Josh (nephew)

The verandah - a popular spot.

Sitting and talking.

Happy 17th Birthday.

We left Inverell about 6.30am and stopped at Tenterfield to have breakfast at the Willow Tree cafe, they have fantastic food so we always try and time it for a stop there. Continued on for a few hours and had a coffee at Highfields, it's a cute little place about 20 minutes north of Toowoomba. If you're an arty/crafty person it's well worth a look as they have a set of shops on the left hand side (forget what it's called) that has scrapbooking, a patchwork shop - gorgeous, a framers, a giftshop, a "lotions" shop and a great place to eat. They are placed in a sort of semi circle and theres a beautiful lawn that has tables and chairs and looks out over the mountain.

Just before Christmas a new little set of shop opened on the right hand side next to the service station and we had coffee there. They've done a fantastic job of the landscaping and about six interesting little shops to look at.

Highfields

Button atc

Just a quick photo of my button swap from last year. Be back later with an update on our time away.