Mo's Sadie Meets Sketch Saturday #122

I just LOVED this image from Mo Manning when I saw her - she called 'Sadie with Apples' and is available from Mo's store HERE. I could almost smell the freshly picked apples she's carrying and imagine the juice dripping down my arm as I bit into one. I used this week's Sketch Saturday sketch to help me with the layout - I was having a bad day with my crafting and it's amazing how a good sketch can get you right back on track! I'm really pleased with how Sadie turned out after the initial frustrations. I'm also hoping to make the deadline over at Mo's Challenges for this week which is Bling, bing, bling

The DP and sentiment are from K&Company, while the flowers were made with my MS hydrangea punch. The leaves are from my SU bird and leaf punch - I love these leaves for my floral arrangements and one day will use the bird too - LOL. The corner was cut using a cuttlebug die.

Now For Something a Little Special

We will be celebrating 1 year as the Dream Team for Mo on 21st October in our Blog Hop and we would dearly love it if you could join in. The theme that were are working on is ...

Frogs and snails and puppy- dogs tails, that's what little boys are made of.

So If you would like to join in by making a card we will add an Inlinks on Mo's Dream Team Blog on October 21st so that you can add your link to it and then your card will be on display. We think with so many of you following Mo and loving her designs we could end up with a feast for the eyes of wonderful projects but we need you to make it happen. Hope you can join us!

xXx

All About Betty Blog Hop

The lovely Eulanda came up with the idea for all of the gals from The Burtonesque Dolls, Simply Betty Stamps and Simply Betty Challenges blogs to put together a surprise blog hop of our very own to honour our wonderful Boss Lady SIMPLY BETTY.

Eulanda is kicking off the hop for you but if you're already on the hop you should have arrived here from the amazing Nicole's blog.

This hop is ALLLLLLLLLLLLL about Betty and since October is Betty's favorite month and there are sooooo many exciting things happening, we decided to be a step ahead of the game and do it just before?!! This way we can get things warmed up for the whole October and Halloween theme - in case you haven't gotten into the mood yet - LOL. We also decided to only use the Emo Betty images from Simply Betty Stamps to make sure the spotlight was all on BETTY.

Betty is a super generous lady who I have gotten to know through my computer - we've shared laughs, frustrations and deadlines together. When I actually got to spend the afternoon with Betty a few weeks ago in California it was one of the highlights of my trip - she's just as much fun IRL as she is on the other side of my keyboard.

For my card I decided to go with a lighter and brighter feel - to match Betty's bubbly nature. I know she loves Halloween but I just wanted to make this card a little more upbeat!

I know the rest of Betty's DTs feel the same affection for our leader as I do - which is why I know there will be some AMAZING Betty creations along the hop. But please note because this is an appreciation blog hop there are no prizes - it's just a little bit of fun and to let Betty know how we feel about her.

So LET'S KEEP HOPPING!! Your next stop is the lovely Patricia's blog.

xXx

Burtonesque Dolls Challenge #20 - Edward Scissorhands, Cutting Edge Design

This week at The Burtonesque Dolls we have a fabulous sketch for you - created by our very own past Doll PaperAddict Catherine. Since the film we are channeling is Edward Scissorhands I knew exactly which image I wanted to use - Freddy Kruger Boy from Simply Betty Stamps Punky Teens collection. I used some K&Company DPs and embellishments to amp up the funky feel and make it look like Freddy was busy carving up pumpkins for Halloween. A computer generated sentiment finishes it off.

Hope you can play along with us this week - after all - everyone LOVES a good sketch don't they?!?!?!

xXx

A Bit of Chocolatey Fun

Apart from my family and my crafting one of my other passions is cooking - a passion which my kids share with me! I bought  a fabulous Brownie cookbook and some funky chocolate moulds home from my trip and yesterday my son and I spent some quality time together in the kitchen cooking up some delicious brownies! If only he'd enjoy making salads I may be able to spend time with him AND not gain weight - LOL.

And this is the result of putting my 2 purchases together - how fun is THAT - LOL. And not only did they look good but they were delicious - the brownies were all soft and gooey on the middle - YUM.

Now if you're looking for some fat-free eye candy this is my second post for the day - I have a card using a Just INKlined image just below.....

xXx

A Wishing Well to Wish You Well

Over at Just INKlined there are some fabulous images that can be used for all sorts of occasions - this is the Wishing Well and it can be found instore HERE. There's something very appealing about wishing wells - you can't help but want to throw a few coins in and make a wish. At least most of the ones around these days have the money collected going to some worthy cause - so at least someone's wish may be granted - LOL.

Sorry this is a short post - have spent the morning shopping for a dress for my daughter to wear to the Spring Racing Carnival - am exhausted - LOL.

xXx

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #65 - Lace and Flowers

This week over at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we have a challenge after my own heart - lace and flowers - two of my favourite embellishments! I decided to take the opportunity to get another Christmas card made and I used some of the DPs I bought in America - but they weren't in a pad and I threw the packet away without writing down the manufacturer - will blame jet lag for THAT stupid mistake!!!!

I've used one of my favourite Tilda's from the 2009 Christmas release and also managed to play with my new Magnolia Doily DooHickey Die that just arrived from Tickled Pink Stamps. I know there has been some frustration that it's only half a die but it made me think that it could look great as a partial doily - even though Magnolia have put out a tutorial on cutting a full doily - which you can find HERE. I loved being able to cut my own doily out of DP. I did back this with a white piece offset slightly as it needed to stand out a little more.

I hope you can come along and play this week at MDUC - we have some amazing new DT members on board so the rest of us have had to crank up our own work and the inspiration from the girls is truly GORGEOUS! Check it out at our blog HERE.

xXx

Mo Helps Me Say Thank You To Someone Special

I made this card to take away on my trip for my special blogging friend Lisa Hjulberg from The Craft's Meow. Lisa was one of my very first cyber buddies and it's been a friendship that has lasted the test of time and distance. I was lucky enough to be able to stop over in Los Angeles for a few days on my way to Washington DC - and Lisa and her family were just wonderful to me during my stay. For a couple of gals who'd never met IRL before it was like we'd always been friends - Lisa's poor husband Paul found it hard to get a word in once we started chatting, and that took all of 2 seconds - LOL.

While I was in LA I also managed to meet Betty from Simply Betty Stamps - one of my U.S "bosses" and Alicia Garcia - one of my fellow SBS DT gals who took time away from wedding preparations and a new job to have lunch with me - she was married 3 days later and had family and friends arriving in town too! It was soooo great to meet these gorgeous ladies. Lisa, Betty and I went and did a little craft shopping together after our lunch - here's a pic of the 3 of us in front of the Halloween display! (from left to right - Me, Betty, Lisa). This is Lisa, Betty and Alicia's local scrapbook store.

I used Mo Manning's mermaid Melia on my card for a very special reason. A few months ago Lisa and I were suffering similar work stress issues and I sent THIS card to her as a "pick-me-up" - but unfortunately it never got there. I know Lisa was upset when I told her I'd sent it and it hadn't arrived so I decided my Thank-You card had to have the image I'd used before. I wanted card to have a different layout though - so some swirly "waves" were just the right touch.

If you love Melia too you can find her over at Mo's store HERE. You can't tell from the picture but Melia is quite sparkly with mini rhinestones and glitter - one day we'll be able to photograph it properly!

xXx

My Dog Holly

When I saw this image from Just INKlined I knew I had to have it - why??? - check out this photo of my son and our dog Holly - yup she's a Cavalier King Charles. Holly is very much a part of our family - in fact I think she believes she's no.2 in the pecking order - she knows I'm no.1 - LOL. She loves to have a chair pulled out for her at the table so she can be a part of whatever is going on. I'm not quite sure what computer game she and Toby are enjoying but they look like they're having fun!

You can get this gorgeous image from Just INKlined HERE - even if you don't have a cavvy of your own - LOL. And there's a spooky new limited time freebie up for grabs at our blog too.

Now apologies for still being a little MIA - I forgot how much jet lag can knock you around and I'm trying to catch up with some DT work that's happening soon and I think my mojo is still in baggage claim somewhere - but I'm getting there - LOL! I'm itching to do some blog hopping to see what you  lot have been up too!

xXx

Burtonesque Dolls Challenge #19 - Trick or Treating

It's coming closer to the time of year when our American friends are thinking about costumes for Trick or Treating - I went into a store while I was there and was AMAZED by the choices!!!! I very nearly bought a cute little costume for my dog Holly - didn't think the kids would be interested but thought Holly would look kinda cute all dressed up - LOL.

Our challenge this week at The Burtonesque Dolls is to create a project for Trick or Treating in Burton's neighbourhood. I used the gorgeous Evie from Tickled Pink Stamps, the sentiment is from TPS too. I combined her with a door to knock on from Darkroom Door and a Doo Hickey lantern die from Magnolia. The DP is Bayberry Cottage.

Now I've had a sneak peek of what the other Dolls have come up with for this challenge and I must say it's an honour to work with these talented gals! If you want to check out what they've done pop over to our blog HERE. So happy Trick or Treating!

xXx

I'M HOME!!!

Hi Everyone - I'm home after a wonderful 2 weeks in The US of A! I didn't have much time to spend on the internet but I did manage to check up on my emails from time to time and make sure my scheduled posts popped up - now to catch up on everything else - LOL. What makes it even harder is that by flying from LA to Melbourne I manage to lose all of my Saturday - 23 hours of travel plus crossing the international date line - my poor body clock is a little messed up!

But it was sooooo good to get home Sunday morning and see my kids again - this is the longest I've ever been away from them and many cuddles were shared as I tried to stay awake during the day - LOL. They seem to have grown up sooo much - they were looking after themsleves while I was away and my 12yo was telling me he was making himself some AWESOME lunches. My 18yo now knows how to use the washer and has tried some new meal ideas out which they both liked - think I may just have to let them KEEP some of their newly found skills - hahahahaha.

I don't have too many photos to share - I didn't take many! My time was spent craft shopping - gotta LOVE that - LOL, meeting some of my blogging friends (more on that later) and catching up with friends I haven't seen since we moved home to Australia after living in Virginia 18 years ago. During my shopping I found some fun new crafting tools which I am itching to play with - although with Halloween and Fall in full swing I was a little disappointed there wasn't a lot of Christmas stock out yet. I'll be back soon with some eye candy for you - but it's school holidays here now so I plan to catch up with my 2 kids a bit too... One day soon I'll get back on top of everything - but first there's that mound of washing awaiting me in the laundry - LOL.

xXx