What have I been working on lately?

... well it hasn't been scrapbooking, although my supplies have certainly come in handy! I've been putting together a fairy costume for myself, for my first ever Halloween party this coming Saturday which is also combined with Guy Fawkes (and yes I've purchased fireworks for the first time in my life too!)

In all my life I don't ever recall attending a dress-up party, so I thought I'd do it in grand style: to go as a fairy. It's never too late to start is it? Even at 38? LOL

I looked on Trademe for a women's size costume but I was loath to spend $50-$90 on a made costume that may not even fit me!! So I thought, how hard is it to make one up? Get a white dress, some wings, make a headpiece and a wand, a petal shaped overskirt out of some pretty fabric... and voila!

So I found this pretty white knee-length skirt with beautiful embroidery on it, found a plain satin camisole at the local Savemart - and some white slip-on shoes too. $19 so far.

Then I went to Spotlight and found this gorgeous lurex organza fabric which I thought would be perfect for an overskirt. So a metre of that, a metre of purple sequinned ribbon, some satin ribbon, thread, elastic, a headband, fluffy pom-pom things from the millinery section, a papier-mache wand, beads and the wings: $42. Hmmmm ok, it may have been cheaper BUYING a costume afterall *sigh* - but on the bright side I know it fits me and it's unique LOL.

I spent yesterday afternoon and evening working on it, making up the skirt in 6 petal shapes (boy is that stuff hard to sew!!), added some more bling to the wings - the large Kaisercraft lilac rhinestones came in VERY handy here, plus some more Kindyglitz (silver and purple), then I stitched the sequin ribbon onto the camisole and made the wand - painted in Kaisercolour mauve, the stem covered in the satin ribbon, and then decorated with beads and more Kindyglitz. Oh and the headpiece using double sided tape to secure the sequin ribbon. Gosh it's great having a well stocked craft room.

I tried the whole ensemble on late last night and yay I think it'll work, but let's just say I'm not going to be a very "dainty" fairy. I've already nicnamed myself the Heffalump Fairy (coz I'm purple & white LOL). So just a few more finishing touchs tomorrow, Toby's lion costume is here in plenty of time (purchased from Trademe) and I have some Halloween party snacks to buy ingredients for, then roll on Saturday!!

My Idea of Heaven...

When I visited the Kaisercraft Outlet Store in Geelong in September, Graham (Liz's husband) offered to take my photo - thank you so much Graham! It turned out quite well and I just HAD to scrap it of course.

I had some half strips of the Everblooming papers which I decided to use, and I'm pleased with the finished layout. I crumpled some of the papers (never done that before) and used the alphabet stamps that I'd actually purchased there for the first time.

And rather an appropriate title for such a Kaiser addict don't ya think?

Congratulations to Artfull Crafts

I had the most fun time today, travelling to Timaru with Nic, for the Opening Party at Artfull Crafts (see the blog for photos). We got there at 12 midday and had a wonderful time browsing the shop, a quick tour of the complex, meeting Vicki (and Juanita when she popped in later) and many of the regulars - including Clarissa's mother and sister-in-law. Liz gave a wonderful opening speech then Graham said grace and we tucked into a yummy lunch. There were a couple of crop activities going on, but Nic and I hadn't thought to bring our tools!! Funny!! Nic, did manage to complete a card for the Christmas card competition (won by Clarissa's mother!!), while I helped Liz put together her advent calendar, but it was so nice just being able to hang out with everyone. I'd also taken along my completed advent calendar, the triple frame set I'd decorated with Kaisercraft Rewind, and my albums and cards, and I left the frame set, some layouts and some cards with Liz so she can display them in the shop - especially the Monthly Kits and other Kaisercraft ranges.

It was a wonderful day, and unfortunately we had to be back on the road at 4.30 for the 2 hour drive back to Christchurch. I didn't want to leave! So, a huge congratulations to Liz and her team for a fantastic opening party, and I'll certainly be back on a regular basis!!

Kaisercraft Advent Calendar

I'm attending a "Bag Bling" evening tonight, and at the same time I'm going to promote a class for Artfull Crafts, making this calendar. So of course it will be best to show off the completed calendar, and as mine is a demo for our class I've copied Melissa Kennedy's design (apart from the 8x8" layout in the centre of course!)

Close-up of the 8x8" layout:

And tomorrow I'm travelling to Timaru for the Opening Party at Artfull Crafts' new shop!! Nic is hitching a ride with me - yay, travelling with a good friend, it'll be a blast! I can't wait to see the new shop and hang out with Liz, Clarissa, Vicki and many others, and Liz has asked me to take the layouts I created for her Layout Kits. What fun!! I just hope my horrid head-cold has improved by then :-(

Another Doorhanger

My lovely friend Danielle (Sophia's mother) asked me to make a doorhanger for a wee girl's 2nd birthday, and as her name was Charlotte I had real fun getting letters small enough to fit! Danielle came over while I was making it, and we actually worked on it together! It's definitely a combined effort :-)


I used K&Company Sparkly Sweet papers again, and embellished it with Green Tara paper flowers, a Sparkly Sweet glitter sticker, and Danielle chose the ribbons and the pale green pearl strip (Kaiser Basics range). Fortunately the alphabet dies I'd got with my Cuttlebug were the right size to fit the name Charlotte on the doorhanger, and with cutting the letters from pink cardstock they looked 3-dimensional. I thought I'd cover them with Dimensional Magic to give them a glossy look but it came out too thick over the letters and Danielle then suggested Kindy Glitz. I was very pleased I had a bottle of Pink Stickles that my dear friend Nic had given me, and I also used this as an accent on the cut out flowers from the patterned paper. I finished it off with the purple rhinestones which matched the one on the Sparkly Sweet glitter sticker - I couldn't have asked for better matches with everything!

Just a little something to share...

Something different I wanted to experiment with: a little wall-hanging. I've really enjoyed using Kaisercraft's Lilac Avenue collection - the colours and flowers are so much fun.

Sneak Peek

I've been working away on the October Monthly Layout Kit for Artfull Crafts - a little late as we were waiting for the Q2 goodies to arrive, but they're here now (except for the 6x6" paper pads).

Here's a wee sneak peek of what I finished earlier today:

And the exciting news from Liz is that Artfull Crafts is moving to their very own shop - with a huge crop room in Timaru! Head to the website for more details and the blog for some photos of the progress. I'm so excited about this, and can't wait to see it!

I have a personalised banner!!

Woohoo I'm so excited! I've been wanting a personalised banner for a while, and when this lovely lady Carilyn joined as a follower on my blog and I saw HER blog there was no hesitation on my part to ask if she could create a banner for me. So, what do you think? I just adore old fashioned roses so it's perfect having this kind of shabby look... I love the swirly font too.

So go and have a look at Carilyn's blog and see all the amazing crafts she's involved in. She's also applied to be on the Kaisercraft Digital Design Team, so I'm wishing her the best of luck with this!

Pina Colada and Sparklers

I had these photos of Toby and some friends holding sparklers on New Years Eve, and was inspired to do a double layout using Kaisercraft Pina Colada. I actually started planning this last week at Kelly's place, but only managed to finish it on Monday! It was one of those layouts that didn't keep me glued to it til it was completed LOL.

I'm not able to show all of it as we're choosing to protect the friends' identities, but here are some photos of other parts of the layout:

More Cards from Scraps

On Friday morning Toby went to Gran & Papa's for the day and to stay the night, so after doing the housework (lol) I got stuck into making some cards from the scraps leftover from my last 2 layouts.

So here are 3 cards I made from the Little Miss papers (all for a mixture of occasions):

And 2 cards from the Pretty in Pink pieces, combined with the brown My Mind's Eye paper plus some pink cardstock with a linen texture. I had quite a few of the brads left which I really wanted to use up.

I enjoyed using my Cuttlebug for these cards, with a mixture of embossing and cutting shapes with my Nestabilities.

I also started working on a double layout but it's not "grabbing and consuming me", hence it is still incomplete on my table. School goes back tomorrow so I may get it finished then hehe.

And the Kaisercraft Q2 collections have gone on sale at Artfull Crafts - yay! I've put my order in for all of the new papers and diecuts as well as the Advent Calendar which I'm very keen to complete. It seems that it has been extremely popular as it's sold out already! Liz also has some other exciting news about which she has whispered a few details to me, but is being a real tease on her blog!! hahaha so funny. I can't wait to hear more.