A little bit of cardmaking

Lianne, Jen, Helen & I all descended on Lou yesterday for our monthly get together for paper crafting. I wasn't really in the mood for scrapping so took some bits to make cards with, including some Stampin' Up! supplies I purchased recently & had yet to try

A day of eating & chatting & a little crafting produced 7 cards - not bad, eh?

The birdie is a Stampin' Up! punch, as are the stamped sentiments. The doilie trees are based on an idea Lou found on Pinterest yesterday morning

A fabulous day was topped off with Lianne & I going to see the first part of Breaking Dawn at the cinema. Yes I am a Twiglet fan - great to get an RPatz fix after so long!

A month already!

Wow how time flies! I've had a busy sewing month and a super busy work month. Work-wise, we've had a huge Summer Sale running which has kept us rushed off our feet(!!)

Sewing-wise, I became a little obsessed with making Amelia dresses (she now has 4 from that same pattern) and a fifth is cut out. I have also made them for two friends little girls - Sophie and Penny but completely forgot to take pictures of them - I'm such a bad blogger!

 I have also started a quilt for Amelia using a block I created myself using Kate's "stack & slash" method. It's going to be a long slow process but I'm enjoying having a go when I can.

Finally, I've been making pencil cases galore!

The twins had their 4th birthday mid June & we had a little party with their cousins on the Friday at the local soft play centre followed by pottery painting & McDonalds with Penny & Sophie on the Saturday. I made them all pencil cases (including the twins) with felt tip pens, mini colouring books & chocolate bars for their party bags. They were well received (which was good) and here they are:

Initials on these for my nephews

 

For the girls - cute felt flowers stab stitched with a silver heart bead in the middle

 

All four of these were made using Osnaburg - I just love the textures & naturalness of this fabric (is that even a word???!)

I've since made another 3 for parties the kids are going to in the coming weeks. We had a last minute invite to another party tomorrow so that's another one to make to replace the one I'm pinching from next weekend's party!

I've also made the girls' cards - boys I struggle a little more with but I do have a few ideas

These were the two I settled on - like the doilies? We got those in stock yesterday - cute, huh?

I saw a card based on this sort of idea whilst blog hopping - sorry - can't remember the blog now - but decided once it was made up that it was probably a little too "mature" for a 4 year old girl so am keeping it for another birthday

 I've also finished quilting the picnic rug and chosen the binding fabric. Just need to get that sewn on and hand stitched to finish.

Oh and I'm off to Chicago a week today for CHA (Craft & Hobby Association - a huge buying trip for us plus a bit of r&r time for Lianne & I) - can't wait!!

In the meantime, the VAT returns are calling *joy*

Merry Christmas!

Completed a few last minute things today including the fabulous parcels that are Reindeer food

One for each of our twins and one for each of my nephews - can't wait to see their faces when we do this - priceless!

I also realised late this afternoon (well into the evening, actually!) that a few of the twins' toys have very small parts which could easily get lost in the family commotion of Christmas at my sister's. So, I whipped up two zipper purses for them to store these bits in:

I am really pleased with how these turned out - my first attempt at free drawing around appliqued shapes & it's surprisingly easy!

So, I leave you with the Christmas card we sent out this year & wish you all a very Merry Christmas xxx