9 years....

It's our wedding anniversary on Wednesday. 9 years. I wish it was 29.

This is us, in Busselton, on the 2nd of December, 2000.


And this


is my anniversary present. It's a frangipani, my favourite flower, and it's mother of pearl... just beautiful! I feel very spoiled and treasured =)

DECEMBER ATCs

WE are running an ATC swap at AD for December.
If you haven't seen ATCs before, they are little cards, measuring 3.5 x 2.5 inches, and you would normally make a 'set' (usually 9) and swap with other scrappers and artists.
Well this month we are doing ours based on the famous Christmas poem -- The Night Before Christmas -- yeah, you know, 'twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse'....
... turns out there are 14 verses!!! so we choose just one verse and then make 14 cards based on that verse (all the same or close) and send them in. Once the swap is over, we will each have a set of 14 cards, depicting the whole poem.
It sounds like a lot of work, but if you get a little production line happening, and do a bit at a time, it really is quite quick and so much fun!
So if you would like to have a go, we have several spots left. Hop over to AD, register (very easy process) and then look up the ATC section on our forum.
I have nearly finished mine and will post a pic later.

more Christmas scrapping.....

Kaisercraft have these gorgeous advent calendars out. They come as a flat kit which you put together yourself, but they are so well-made that it's a very easy process.
I bought these as a kit with the papers (Christmas Carnival), paint, bling etc all supplied, and I have made 2 for the grandkids, and have yet to do the one for our family. And I havent shown the LO in this calendar as it is a gift for someone!
I havent been able to get a good photo of mine, so I'm including 2 pics from the Kaiser website as it shows the raw calendar, and the example made by Melissa Kennedy.

been busy crafting......

I've been busy with Kaiser!
I've had these gingerbread men in my stash since last Christmas but I couldn't think what to do with them. In the end, I decided to try Tim Holtz alcohol inks (caramel and ginger)which worked beautifully though the inks are designed for non-porous surfaces, and the chippie sucked it up like a thirsty man at closing time! I used half the bottle of caramel to do 8 gingerbread men. Still, the inks allow some texture to show through, and paint wouldn't, so I'm really pleased with the result.
The currants are Kaiser bling (black), and the icing dots are Kaiser pearls (Blush)
I used scraps of ribbon as well, and the backs are papered with leftover bits of Christmas papers and I also used K&Co chippie alphas that I've had forever.
These ones are made to hang on the tree, but the men have little holes in their hands so you could string them together as a garland, or join them to make an album if you preferred.