Where have I been?

I've been to London to visit the Queen  LOL     I wish!!
Nothing quite so lavish, but I have been 'busy' doing 'stuff' and simply losing track of time :)

I did realise that I hadn't blogged about some things ............... so here they are.

Back in December, I participated in a White on White with Bling swap for CraftMad,

and this is what I received from my swap partner

Beautiful!

as a reminder, here is what I sent

In January, I won a giveaway from Christina, from  Flowers Ribbons and Pearls, and here are some pics

I am so looking forward to using the bling ......... I love bling!

I just love all the embellishments .... look at that hat!

Such a wonderful prize, Christina was so generous!

I have just made a card using some of the pink gems in the above photo (see next post for piccies)

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

where are my manners? ;-(

A big thank you to Merry!
here is the prize I won for guessing  what this photo was

I am so looking forward to having a play with these stamps - I haven't made a card in what feels like such a long time ;-(
Merry, I love the card too, thank you so much for being a very loyal follower, please forgive me for taking so long to post. 

cards made with prizes won!

I have been lucky enough to win some challenges and blog candy here and there in blog land.

Here is my showcase of things I have made with my winnings.

Spellbinder tags won from SheetLoad

This is a thank you card made with a Flourishes Damask background stamp that was part of some Blog Candy won from Linda's Blog

This is Hero Arts stamp Garden Roses K5056 and is so beautiful to use.

White cardstock was embossed using Cuttlebug & Swiss Dots folder. Oval spellbinder die used to cut & emboss the oval. The embossing was not very obvious, so I highlighted the edge with a fine gold sticker. Hero Arts Garden Roses was heat embossed with fine gold and then coloured in with watercolour pencils and highlighted with chalk. Gold organza ribbon was placed across middle of background and stamped image attached using mounting tape. Corners were highlighted with 'left over' bits from a sticker sheet. Whole thing was layered on pink cardstock. Matching envelope is stamped with black STAZON and chalked. HeroArts Blog here

here is another card using the same stamp - this time stamped with STAZON and coloured with chalks

I recently won Set 2 of Flourishes A Year in Flowers here and have been having 'fun' colouring them in - I can see lots of uses for these images and am very tempted to buy the rest of the year ;-) 

This is August - Morning Glory

this is July - Tigerlily - I really like this one.

I am currently working on the June - Rose images - stay tuned ;-)

Cuttlebug Be Inspired Challenge #28

EDITED: My card was selected as a runner-up for this challenge! Such a wonderful surprise. Woo Hoo!! Will keep you posted on what I have won!

Over on Cuttlebug_Be_Inspired the challenge is to make a Home Sweet Home project.

As soon as I saw all the lovely examples, I just had to make the house card. It will be perfect for my niece who has just recently moved house.

I followed the instructions provided by Cassie Larson.

Using the Cuttlebug, I first embossed the 'house' section the cuttlebug using Swiss Dots, then the 'roof' using Tiny Bubbles. The bottom part of the roof section is raised using sticky dots, so that it slips over the 'awning'. Using my nestabilities, I cut out two windows and a door. Door & windows were attached using sticky dots. a stick-on 'congratulations' sentiment was placed on inside panel.

Hand punched flowers and handcut pots finish off my 'house' and turn it into a 'home'.

I am very pleased with how my little experiment turned out. I can't wait to give this one to my niece.

2008 Adelaide Royal Show - Open Art & Craft - 1st & 3rd Prizes

Here are my 2008 entries

the plate on the left got 3rd prize. This technique is known as French Dimensions and is applied a bit like icing using a nozzle. The plate went through 3 firings before being finished.

the soap dispenser on right got 1st prize. This technique is marbling, the gold overglaze is layered on top of a container of water, and then the item is gently placed in contact with the surface and rolled to get the marble effect. As the unfired gold liquid is black and the soap dispenser is also black, you have no idea what the end result will be until it is fired. It is definitely a leap of faith when doing this type of work.

Here they are on display at the Royal Show.
Now to decide what to enter in the 2009 show!

2006 Adelaide Royal Show - Open Art & Craft - Third Prize

As requested by my friend Linda - I will post some of my ceramic pieces.

here is my first entry in the 2006 Royal Adelaide Agricultural & Horticultural Show Open Art & Craft, ceramics section - I won a Third Prize!

Here is my next entry - hand painted kookaburra and wombat - the technique is known as 'dry brushing' - Third Prize as well!

I was so surprised to win!