Christmas Wishes to you and yours.....

Merry Christmas! 

Wherever or however you spend this time of year, Walshie and I hope you enjoy a safe and happy time.

We won't be spending Christmas on a beach instead we'll be with friends in Victoria where we're expecting a very warm dry day. 

I'm looking forward to 2016  and moving into our new home.  I'm also really looking forward to having access to my craft supplies again ...... I've missed them.

Have a wonderful time.

Why would you.......

want to jump off a perfectly good hill?

That's what I said to Walshie when he told me his mad friend Kev from Perth offered the chance to do just that!

Paragliding is Kev's hobby and he travels over here to NSW for training.  It's great to catch up with him whilst he's here, even though I know the boss will be mad keen for some adventure!

Our weather has been lovely, just a little windy most days.  This said I believe on the odd occasion flying was possible over the coast with some wonderful coastal views to be had.  Hundreds of whale sightings too.

Sunday morning the flying team were heading in land, meeting up at Long Flat (such a great name don't you think?).  It's a small hamlet with a very convenient Pub which is the meeting point for all sorts including paragliding.

Ian was offered the chance of a tandem flight so off he went, leaving me firmly attached to the land enjoying a clean tidy 'van'.  I gave him strict instructions to call me after his flight so I would know he was safe and sound!   

Knead less    (oops thanks spell checker for missing this one and Karen for pointing it out LOL "needless") to say he had a ball, thanks Kev and the instructor who took him up and brought him back safely!!!  Hope it's not a hobby he'll take up ......I still think it's madness.................

Hello, hello,

What a terrible blogger I am, it's been months since I've posted anything here!

As my blogging friends know, the boss and I sold our house, bought a new one that won't be ready to move into until.......wait for it.........now it's confirmed .......the beginning of March 2016.  Oh my goodness, I was so hoping it would be Christmas this year.  Still never mind, we think it's worth the wait .......mind you the longer it goes on the more we question if this is going to be the right move.  

We bought a new caravan and moved into it at the end of Feb. which has proved to be very comfortable and we've had a great time in it, so far.   Met all kinds of lovely people, some of them in a similar position to us, waiting to take possession of a new home and still more who own homes but prefer travelling and living mobile.  It really is a very relaxing way to live, without houses and gardens to look after.  'Happy Hour' anytime between 4.30 and 6 pm is the time of day to share a glass of wine and catch up on all the days happenings! 

Oh, and we have spent 4 months in the UK catching up with some of the family and friends.  I posted the odd picture of some of the towns and sights we visited, over on Facebook.  The UK summer wasn't as good as last year but we still managed to pack lots in and clocked up just over 4,000 miles in the car.  

Now we're back 'home' and getting on top of all the paperwork you just can't escape.......tax etc. before heading down to Sydney for a couple of weeks.  It's great having a niece with an apartment in the city who is happy to lend it us while she goes back to the UK for a visit :-)

We're planning Christmas and New Year in Victoria with friends,  where we'll have a fun time before heading north again.  Before you know it March will be here and we'll be busy settling in the house.

 I can't tell you how I'm looking forward to getting all my craft bits out again!  I haven't made a card for so long and my Cameo is boxed away too.  I've been keeping track of all the lovely stamps available from some of my favourite company's though.......and Christmas without homemade cards just won't feel like Christmas! In fact we're saying NO CARDS this year please, as we won't really have an address.

I've been doing some sewing to keep my hands busy, a little cross stitch centre for a new cushion (just need my sewing machine to complete). I've started some EPP hexagons too. I've bought a crochet needle and some cotton  to try my hand at some easy crochet which has been fun .  

We arrived back in Australia in time to watch the whales returning south along the east coast.  It's a magical thing to watch them rolling and playing in the surf though trying to photograph them from land is less than easy.  I did manage a few shots this week and thought I'd share them here with you.

Sending all my blogging friends our best wishes, thanks if you've called past and read this post  :-) I'd hate Blogger to cancel me!!!!!

The Walsh Adventure

Week 1.

A truly hectic last last week  with my car going over to storage on the 24th, the removal men arriving early on the 25th. Final inspection of our home on the 26th and settlement on the 27th.

We spent our last night in the house exhausted, sleeping end for end of the couch.  The buyers wanted the room as it was so they bought the furniture.

One last look at this amazing river view.

Before we drive the 20 odd klm to Port Macquarie and the beachfront holiday park we plan to call home for a couple of weeks.

Looking back on Port from the north shore a short ferry ride  from the centre of Port Maquarie.

Finally, a quick look at the interior of our caravan home for the next few months.  The picture taken standing in the bathroom.

The weather has been good and we're starting to relax. Still a little business to take care of around here for the new house but nothing too taxing.

We decided to stay put for a couple of weeks to check that all works well in the caravan before we get too far.  So far there is a problem with the TV areal, though the DVD works! We have no radio or CD player either but the good news is the gas is all working. The Washing machine works well and the shower is pretty good too...........Happy days!

Home, where your story begins.

Today is my last  post for Scrapbook Boutique after joining the design team back in October 2011.  Thankyou Evelyn and all the girls on the design team past and present for their friendship and inspiration, it's been lots of fun.  I should also  thank the Scrapbook Boutique customers who drop by my blog on a regular basis. I've enjoyed seeing all your makes and  really appreciate you taking the time to leave comments here :)

Tomorrow is the day we hand over our home  to the new owners.  With that in mind, I thought this card might be appropriate  to leave for them.

You can read about how I used the Cameo to make this chalkboard label over on the Store Blog today.

'The boyfriend' and I have bought a caravan and plan to see a bit more of Australia before returning to the UK for another extended visit. Hopefully when we return our new house will be ready to move into :). I'll be popping in here from time to time  and hope to have more time to visit some of my favourite blogs.

Thanks again everyone :)

SBB White Smooth Cardstock 12x12	SBB - Simple Stories 6 x 6 paper pad Snap Colour Vibe	SBB-Silhouette Cameo 2 Digital Cutting Machine
SBB-Silhouette Cameo - 12inch Replacement Cutting Mat (1)	SBB - Scrapbook Adhesives - 3D foam squares 1/4"	SBB - X-Press It Double Sided Tape - High Tack 6mm X 50m
SBB - ScorPal Score Board 12"x12" Imperial

InLinkz.com

Some Valentine Goodies......

Hello Bloggers,

I'm sharing some Valentine goodies today........You can read all the details over on the Scrapbook Boutique Blog.

I had some fun with brown wrapping paper and Silhouette's Printable Magnet Papers.  It's so easy to drop free images from the web to use in the Print and Cut feature the Studio software offers.

These goodie bags are going to be on the fridge door with some little treats ready for the boss.  He's always first up to make a pot of tea......

How cool to use the Sketch Pens to draw designs as well as Sentiments.

Hope you enjoy some Valentine goodies on the 14th :-)  Thanks for dropping past today.......

Click on the following links to take you to the product in the Scrapbook Boutique Store:

Silhouette Printable Magnet Paper
BoBunny Gold Glimmer Mist

SBB-Silhouette Cameo 2 Digital Cutting Machine	SBB-Silhouette Cameo - 12inch Replacement Cutting Mat (1)	SBB-Silhouette Electronic Cutter - Sketch Pen (24 pack)
SBB - Ranger Inkssentials - Kraft Cardstock - 10 Sheets	SBB Textured nCardstock Pack - Christmas Colours 12 x 12 (30)	SBB White Smooth Cardstock 12x12
X-Press It Glue Pen 1mm - 10g	SBB - Scrapbook Adhesives - 3D foam squares 1/4"	SBB - Art Glitter - Designer Dries Clear Adhesive
	SBB - ScorPal Score Board 12"x12" Imperial

InLinkz.com

Scrapbook Boutique February Blog Hop and Challenge

Time for another BLOG HOP and Inspirational Challenge from Scrapbook Boutique .

The Hop starts and ends at the Scrapbook Boutique Blog.  If you're following along you should have arrived from Narelle's blog and when you leave me you hop over to Therese's Blog.

The hop is open for one week, closing at midday Tuesday 17th February. 

To be eligible to win the prize, leave a comment on each of the blogs, with the SB blog being the last one.  The random winner will be drawn from the  SB blog and announced on Wednesday 18th.

Unfortunately the blog hop prize (and the inspiration challenge) are only open to anyone with an Australian mailing address.

Join the Blog Hop and you could be the lucky person to receive 
a $10 gift voucher to spend in the store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join us if you can for our regular monthly inspirational challenge.

   Make a project using the following picture as your inspiration.

You could be the winner of a $30 gift voucher for Scrapbook Boutique.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I thought it might be fun to recreate the inspiration photo using the Silhouette Cameo.

My challenge was to create a scalloped card from scratch.  I tried drawing a large circle followed by smaller circles around the the edge but there was a much easier way......Thank you  Google  :)

• Follow this tutorial to draw the scalloped circle.  
• Enlarge to measure 5 inches then mirror it above.
• Overlap the scallops where the two images meet and weld.
• Draw a dashed fold line at this point. (to stand the card on the bottom two scallops, the fold will be at approx. 10 o'clock.)
• Send to Silhouette and cut from white card.
• With the scalloped card still on the desktop, draw a circle and size to fit within the scallops. For now click on 'no cut' in the cutting window.
• Move base card off the desktop. Chose a font and type happy birthday. Double click on the sentiment and drag it to fit within the top of the circle.
• Exchange the cutting blade for a black sketch pen. Send the file to the silhouette and watch in wonder as it writes your sentiment over your chosen DP. Don't remove the cutting mat between writing and cutting.
• Replace the sketch pen for the cutting blade and in the cutting window click on 'cut edge'.
• Adhere the sentiment DP to the front of the scalloped card.

• The cupcake was designed in three parts, filled with colour and welded together.  The fonts were added to the cream topping and slate, then filled with colour.
• This image was being printed to white card first, so I added the registration marks.
• In the software I selected cut edge in the cutting panel. Added the printed image to my cutting board and cut the cupcake out.

• To complete the card I popped the cupcake over the DP using foam squares.

Now on with the hop.......thanks for your visit :)