Craaaaazy

**Wednesday Winners* - it's SMASHing!!

Have you heard about Smash Books?  

They were introduced at the January CHA show but have taken much longer to ship out than thought.  

We have several styles in the store arriving this week - but we already have the Black One!

So this week's winner can have a smashing time with their very own Smash Book.    The Smash Folios aren't just your ordinary journal pages, they're covered with Clean lines, stark patterns and with-it graphics imagery to make design a snap. They are all different.

Have a look at this short video of the one you can win this week - the Black Smash Book

 

 

 

Comment away to be in with a chance to win this fun book!

 

 

TRYAHWYANHAR - Sunday!

Finally getting to the post the last episode - Sunday - in my Retreat You are Having When you are Not Having a Retreat!   The weather was still puke and I had the whole day free or so I thought.   Started off by having to race out and drop something off to our daughter who was lifeguarding in the miserable weather - and as we were over that side of town - we went to the Big Lots over there as I needed another table and our local one was out of them.   Got that - and an obligatory stop at Starbucks and then back here.

First up I did some layouts.   It was based on a class at CHA - 3 layouts using the same sketch from the new Page Maps 2 book.

#Layout 1

I really like the way this one came together.   The line used for all 3 layouts  is American Crafts.

 

#Layout 2

As you can see the layout is almost identical to Layout 1 just using the sketch in a slightly different way, but based on using the same elements.  However it is a shame the paper was all doggy cos we don't have one!  

#Layout 3

This showed that you could use the same sketch and make it in 8.5x11

I don't overly like the colours in this one - did not help that my set of papers seemed to be missing one - so the piece above the banner is too close in shade. 

Oh yes I handcut the banner pieces - go me!

Once a photo and journalling is in there it may look better.

 

 

Then I decided I would make a little fun something using Kaisercraft's new Bubblegum Hills line.  This line is all springy and eastery - without being overly Easter so that you cannot use it for anything else.

It is Easter Bunny's egg making mill! 

I love the way this turned out - had so much fun making it.

All Bubblegum Hills paper used - although a few pieces crept in from other lines.   The butterfly is from LYB and the egg stickers I think are Mrs Grossmans, something I have had lying in a stash of old stuff forever.

 
I am going to change the bunny I think.  

The eyes on it were weird so I tried to fix them - but I only succeeded in making it look like death bunny!   Here are some more pics from the other sides.

So those projects were about all I got done on the last day.

All in all a very successful weekend - as you can tell by the state of my scrap desk at the end.   No room to do anything - it was a mess!

Since my *retreat weekend* unfortunately I have not got a thing done - too many work things to get finished and the tidyup because of the cancelled retreat.   It is raining here today - so I am hoping I might get to do a little something something - even though I should be carrying on with updating the store!  Maybe I will do a little of both.

SPA TREATMENT he ran me a bath - does not count!!

DINNER - Pork Chops, Mashed Spud, Homemade apple sauce and Asparagus YUM

DESSERT - I think he thinks I need to diet - so got stinkin nothing!!

PRIZE WON - as usual N.O.T.H.I.N.G

- I think Mr needs to rethink his retreat hosting skills!!

**Wednesday Winners** Kaisercraft!!

well I am still head down bum up entering new products into my store - but I finally finished entering all the new Kaisercraft goodies - so I thought today I should give away a selection of their new papers from all the new lines.

It will be a lucky dip of papers from Nan's Favourite, Bubblegum Hills, Lullaby, Chanteuse, Class of 87, Magic Happens and Timeless!

Which means you could create beauties like some of these from the KC Design Team!

So what are you waiting for... get those comments rolling in.

Tell your friends, your family, strangers in the street - anyone and everyone - because if we get more than 50 comments

- I am going to give away two selections of paper!!

Now get out there with your sandwich board and your loudspeaker and lets see if we can make 50!

 

Make sure too, that you

so you always know the latest updates for the store and retreats.

 

 

**Wednesday Winners** a walk in Elizabeth Park!

Do you remember this project I made at CHA?   It was using Little Yellow Bicycle's line - Elizabeth Park.

Scuse the crapola photo - it was taken in the back of my car!

This weeks winner gets everything you need to make this.  You can follow the instructions included to make it as you see here - OR you can actually make a little mini album.

It is cute as can be and SUPER SPRINGY!~

Just the ticket to brighten these last dreary winter days - which are hanging on way too long for my liking!! 

So comment away - and just for fun - tell me what the current temperature is in your neck of the woods.   We are meant to be having a high of 22C today and then tomorrow it is meant to be 26C - woo hoo break out the swimsuits!

When you have commented - check out the previous two posts to see some of the scrappiness I have been indulging in the past few week!   Check back too - as I will be posting more photos of my pro-jays! ;-)

And another photo of the project - to show you what it looks like when it is closed up.  KEE-YOOT!

 

 

 

 

TRYAHWYANHAR - Thursday!

by Thursday it was absolutely positively nastier weather down here and the retreat was definitely not going ahead.

So I hunkered down and carried on.

 

Oh btw TRYAHWYANHAR stands for "The Retreat you are having - when you are not having a retreat"!

The first thing I worked on was a project again from CHA - this from the C-Thru Ruler Company (LYB) - Art-C.    Some of the frames in the class were black and some were white - I got a white one and did not like it.   So I painted it black and then inked up some of the embellishments to make them a little less pink and purple!    Stuck it all down and voila - fini!   Sorry about the blurry photo on this one.

Next up - I decided to start making some samples using Kaisercraft's new lines.    First up I used the new line Magic Happens - along with some of their new flowers, and their wonderful frame.   Also added some Kaiser bling and some little white felt flowers I had (cannot remember where from).

I am so pleased with how this came out - and I know EXACTLY what photo I am going to put in it.

Carrying on with my thriftiness - I then made two cards using the piece cut out for the middle of the frame.    The butterfly is one of the new Kaiser wood flourishes which I painted, and a leftover sticker from SRM Stickers

On this one I used (leftover!) Design Foil and Design Adhesives from Clearsnap for the butterflies.

In between scrapping on Thuirsday I had to do some work - boo hoo - and there was not much of my day left - so to tidy up the bits and leftovers on my table - I made two tags or they could be used as embellishments on a page.   Once again *leftovers* - a bit of everything!!  Some LYB Elizabeth Park paper and journal card, a chipboard letter, a piece of leftover chipboard, some Cosmo paper, a Hambly Screenprints flower that Rose from Hambly made for me at CHA.    I really love the way these came out!

 

SPA TREATMENT for Thursday - I received a nice foot massage for my poor dry feet!

DINNER - I made it again, another nasty wet day it was - so did a chicken, potato, cheese dish in the crockpot.   Just the ticket!!

DESSERT - yummy Apple Crumble with LASHINGS of cream mmmmm so not on the diet!

PRIZE WON - zip - nada nuffink~!

 

so that was Thursday!

The retreat you are having ... when you are not having a Retreat!!

well last weekend was a bust because of @#$@#!$ Mother Nature and her freaky deaky winter storm.   In the end I had to cancel for the safety of everyone - I know how disappointed I was and how disappointed everyone coming was too.   The conditions were terrible and it turned out the venue would have cancelled on me anyway - as they had no power, phones and the food delivery trucks could not get up the road.

But to try and make the best of it - I decided to have my own personal retreat here at home.  

All by myself.  

I informed the Mr that I would be expecting all meals laid on, housekeeping done, spa treatments, my retreat treat eats and I wanted prizes too!  Oh yes and dessert each night (which we never normally do) because there is always dessert at Old Oak.    He got 3 out of the 4 - I am never attending his retreat again cos I didn't win any stinking prizes!!  

But I did create like a madwoman!   I probably have not scrapped and created and made stuff that much in oh... hmmm... 6 years??   Basically ever since I started doing the retreats and having the store.   

Can I say here....

I HAD A FECKING BALL!!

I started on Wednesday.. and truth be told I am still going!   Want to see what I did??

Wednesday

This was the day I should have been driving up to OOR.  I started off by finishing the preparation for the card class that was going to happen at the retreat.   I still had some cutting and clipping and bagging.   Got that done - and then made a couple of extra little cards with scraps from the preparation and some leftover bits from other things that were on my table.   Thrifty me!

Next up - I started and finished my mini book from the Teresa Collins Timeless line - it was a Make N Take at CHA.  We made the cover at the booth but the rest had to be completed.   I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and know exactly what photos I am putting in there.

More thriftiness was next.   The espresso we use comes in cans - and we go through a lot of cans in a month.   They are ideal for storage.

So I tarted this one up with some SEI Happy Birthday paper and painted the lid to match.    This is now storage for various flower embellishments - the big bulky ones - that I have made or been given - you know the ones - sort of like this.

As I was on a repurposing roll - I went ahead and covered this little number as well.   Again being thrifty using leftover papers from the card class cutting - and the tin was an empty Berocca tube.  

Perfect size for Bazzill's Half the Edge strips after you have opened the packet!

 

SPA TREATMENT for Wednesday - I shouted myself a pedicure

DINNER - well I made it, I am nice like that *LOL*.   We had yummy chicken and potato chowder - perfect fare for the cold wet evening!

DESSERT - did not get none *boo hoo*

PRIZE WON - zilch!  bah humbug

 

more posts coming over the next few days with the rest of my wares!

 

 

 

Making Memories

introduced their new Bravissimo line... the jury is still out on this one.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM Maya Road goodiness

they have some fantastic new trims - including this zipper one - it is so cool!

the new JUMBO bottlecaps

 

 

Some fun photos

The wonderful folks at Kaisercraft - even though they are Australian ;-).   It was so nice to be able to chatter away at normal NZ speed and be understood - we had a lot of laughs.   The one on the left there - he is half right - cos his Mum is a kiwi :-D

 

The yummy new Smooch colours!!

 

Terri has been working out!!

On the way out of town I stopped at the New Zealand Icecream shop - and bought 8 pints and 2 quarts of all the different flavours.  

Put them in the icechest with 3 blocks of ice and they made it all the way home intact - I had some very happy peeps here at home!

7gypsies... yum yum yum

they never fail to disappoint.  I so wanted to steal the displays here... but someone was always looking *LOL*

 

I have always loved old bottles - and these bottles *swoon*

 

 

The new ticket holder (above) and the new Mini Library Drawer (below) are MUST haves

 

7gypsies have brought back their wonderful tissue paper - these flowers made with it, were gorgeous

finally .. I asked... I begged... I looked pathetic but all to no avail - when I asked could I have this after the show... I LOVED IT