Christmas cards are now done...

I've been making my Christmas cards and today's the day I start to write them and post them too - especially the overseas ones!

 The card above features hand made paper, gold foil paper, a stamped sentiment and is finished with a button glued over ribbon.

These two cards below were made with hand made paper, recycled vintage sheet music and die cut trees. The handmade paper was made in Burnie, Tasmania, where a group of paper makers experiment with different fibres to make paper eg plants, cotton and even animal droppings from plant eating animals! Yes I've got some - and No - it doesn't smell!


Hand made blue paper made from denim fabric.

The handmade red paper made from towel offcuts from a towel factory.



The next cards are made using scrapbook papers, ribbons, embellishments and a stamped sentiment.

Christmas Greetings to my readers.

Wonderful Winter

I really love Winter - with it's excuse to stay inside and do lovely warming things, like playing with beautiful grandaughters, making cards, knitting, crocheting, watching films, meeting friends for lunches... an enjoyable life that's for sure, made even more so by the fact that I don't have to go back to school tomorrow! Yippee! Last term I had a few days working in a secondary college library - what a breeze - and I got paid! The great thing about doing casual work is that I can say yes or no, depending on what else is happening in my week.
I have a friend who is selling my cards for me - here's a photo of the 30 or so I finished recently. I am thinking of putting some on etsy, just as an experiment. Wish me well!

From The Card Factory!

Today I have just completed 4 hours of reinstalling programs on my "new" computer. The old motherboard died and now I am $$$ poorer and having to "find" programs, favourites, photos ... wish I had my personal IT tech (like I had at school - oh well - I am learning a lot!) Today Blogger even looks and performs differently, and so far, better!

As I've said before I've been involved in Lawendula's Paper Swaps - and met some lovely ladies and received some sensational packages. Her paper swap idea is just terrific - thank you Franca Maria.

http://lawendula.blogspot.com/

Shiela, one of my swap partners, had never sent anything to Australia and my lovely parcel was her first posting to Australia. The swap we were in was for a paperback book that we'd enjoyed. She sent me -Miss Pettigrew lives for a day by Winifred Watson and I'm saving it to savour when I have a weekend away soon. It was a great swap - thank you Shiela!

Beautifully wrapped inside the parcel...and a lovely hand made tag.

My new book, the tag - and a specially made -for - me collaged canvas that is now on my wall.

Her blog is called Tea and Toast - Living Gratefully, Joyfully and Creatively - a wonderful name for a blog. She has "Thoughtful Friday" postings and is currently showing Arty Index Cards that she is doing for a challenge. Some beautiful photography too. http://www.sheilasteaandtoast.blogspot.com/.
She recently sent me a very generous second parcel - full of so many wonderful things to use. Seeing a parcel in the letterbox is like having a birthday again.

"On holidays"

View of my garden in winter from the front door.



View in winter from the back door.

Pot of succulents on the back deck.

It's June already and winter has come to Melbourne. Crisp, dewy mornings and sometimes sunny days to follow, a few rainy times too - well it is winter! I am loving being at home wandering around the garden and just looking at it and picking and cooking home grown produce - a creative activity.

Pumpkins, Silverbeet, Parsley, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Rubarb, Rosemary, Chillies - in my winter garden.

I have done some casual work "freelance" as a teacher and have 5 more days coming up. One day as a University supervisor, and 4 days as a Library Assistant in a secondary school. Both much more 'grown up" than my previous primary school career! I am looking forward to it all - the challenge, the newness of each experience - and a chance to 'dress up' and put on the make-up!
Plenty of cosy indoor things to do too - knitting, painting, book making, card making too. Temperatures ranging from 4 - 19 degrees! I no longer have to go to work 3 days a week anymore as I resigned from my last school when the contract was up - long distances to drive, sometimes 1 1/2 hours each way because of traffic etc. So, I have been "exploring my options" as one friend suggested and I find I quite like the feeling of being on holidays!

Cards I've made...

Beanies I've knitted...
I have also been doing quite a bit of work in my travel journals (getting them up-to-date - ha!) and have been enjoying making small "Junk Journals" using collected papers from my travels, some hand painted papers, some vintage papers and plain papers too. I've given them as small gifts to the lovely friends I've met this year via Lawendula's Paper Swaps. Maybe I'll post instructions soon.