Wednesday, December 21, 2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

YAY - all the presents have been bought.... (including mine - a kindle touch YAY!!!!) Food shopping is done (apart from the fresh seafood and fruit on Saturday but that is just down the road - no big shops!) Alcohol (yes essential!) delivered yesterday :)Fridges are cleaned out and ready to go even Chionia's room has had a clean out Phew!!!!! and my scrap room!!! I am ready - bring it on!!!!!!! :) Although this Christmas will be quieter than previous ones I am really looking forward to it - no where near as much stress or $$$ - my lot are coming over Christmas eve and Christmas day is being spent with good friends and the pool! Today's plan is to cook up the Choc Chip Peppermint Pavlova (recipe below - so easy and yummy trust me!) and I have even made some special homemade Christmas cards.. :)

A few weeks ago Jen Crossley came to Perth and taught some pretty cool classes - I went along to the Etched metal book class and I LOVED IT!!!!!!! So much so have bought all the chemicals and when I got home I wanted to play a bit more - so using up my scrap pieces from the class I created some very special brass Christmas Emporium tags :)
using Graphic 45
Christmas Emporium stamps and stazon :)


You then neutralise them, sand them and I swiped some paint paint over the top to highlight certain area's





Then all I had to do was pop them onto some cards - using the Coredinations Graphic 45 Core dark card sets and some yummy Nestabilities I created some special cards for family this Christmas (Riss - yours will be in the post today rofl!)







and yes I have been busy hehe - another project for you today as well - Advent calendars come in many forms nowadays and I have at least 7 in the house rofl but had to make another using the new Twiddleybitz Christmas Countdown kit

and yes I did cut and sandpaper that fence!!








Mel’s Peppermint Choc Chip Pavlova

Tips

just turn the oven off and let it cool in the oven - I make mine at night and leave it till the next morning

Eggs at room temperature

Meringue ingredients
6 egg whites (at room temperature)
2 cups of caster sugar
2 tspn white vinegar
1 tspn vanilla essence
0.5tspn peppermint essence
1 tbspn cornflour
200gr chopped chocolate (I use the Nestle choc chips that don’t change shape when cooked!)
300ml whipped cream

Instructions
Preheat oven to 140degrees celsius
Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and whip with an electric beater until soft peaks form.
Gradually whisk in 1 cup of sugar and beat until the mixture is very stiff and glossy looking.
Gently stir through the remaining sugar, vinegar, vanilla, peppermint essence, cornflour and chocolate.
Line 2 baking trays with non stick paper and draw a circle on each about 20cm in diameter on each sheet.
Heap the mixture inside the circles and place in oven - after 5 minutes turn oven down to 120degrees celsius and bake for another 55 minutes (total of 1 hour cooking). Turn off oven and leave the pavlova to cool completely INSIDE the oven WITHOUT opening the door (otherwise it will crack and flop!)
Once cool place one layer on a serving plate - top with half the whipped cream place strawberries or any fresh fruit on top, place next layer on top and repeat

Now EAT YUMMO

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Isn't it just crazy at this time of year!!! Just back from helping at the school for the umpteenth time in the last few weeks - I hope you can all take a little time out to sit back and enjoy the feast that Graphic 45 and May arts have for you this week :)

Graphic 45 and May Arts are teaming up for a super fun blog hop December 12-16th! There will be tons of inspiration, fabulous prizes, incredible crafts and so much more! Behold the magic that happens when Graphic 45 vintage-inspired papers and embellishments join forces with gorgeous May Arts ribbons! Our design teams are going all out to bring you the most enchanting crafts! You'll discover lots of fabulous new ideas to inspire your holiday season! Have fun and get inspired every day of this fantastic blog hop with Graphic 45 and May Arts!

Want to learn more about Graphic 45 and May Arts? Here's some fun information about these two fantastic crafting companies!


Graphic 45 an award-winning scrapbook and paper crafting company­— owned and operated by a mother and her two daughters. Together we create vintage inspired crafting products that capture the flamboyant style of the 1920's and 30's - with vibrant color, irresistible texture and imaginative design to create products with decades-old appeal that's both fresh and familiar. Let our products inspire your next scrapbook layout, card, album, altered art project, or home decor DIY project.


May Arts is a ribbon wholesaler, based in Riverside, Connecticut, serving over 16,000 customers worldwide. We offer an exceptional selection of ribbons, including sheer, satin, grosgrain, silk and a variety of patterns and prints. We also maintain a steady stock of inventory so that orders can be fulfilled immediately. As one of the country’s leading wholesalers of decorative ribbons, May Arts has been providing superior products and the highest level of customer service for over 25 years.

And finally my project for you all :) Enjoy - and happy scrapping - may you all have a very merry christmas and have the time to spend with those dear to you. Stay safe :)









There are lots of exciting chances to win terrific prizes! Graphic 45 is giving away this wonderful prize pack that contains a Tropical Travelogue 12x12 paper pad, coordinating chipboard die-cuts 1 & 2, and some gorgeous May Arts ribbons! Check it out! It's easy to enter to win this awesome prize.

Each day Graphic 45 will be featuring a sneak peek image from one of our design team member's blogs. Just hop on over to their blog and leave a comment! You'll discover some super inspiring crafts, learn some fun crafting techniques, and maybe even win a great prize!

A random comment will be chosen from one of our design team member's blogs and announced on Monday, December 19th! There's also an exclusive Facebook prize! Check out the Graphic 45 Facebook page and leave a comment for your chance to win!

May Arts is also offering gorgeous prizes on their blog and Facebook page! So you'll definitely want to check it out! Just tell them that Graphic 45 sent you! So much inspiration! So many chances to win prizes! This is going to be a great week!



May Arts Blog: http://www.mayarts.com/blog

May Arts Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/mayarts

This weeks scheduled hops are

Monday, December 12th
Lynette Carroll
Jane Tregenza
JackandCat Curio
Candy Rosenberg
Latrice Murphy

Tuesday, December 13th
Ellen Sosnoski
Laura Denison
Charlene Driggs
Melanie Forbes - ME!!!!
Jen Shears

Wednesday, December 14th
Robin Shakoor
Yuka Hino
Jenifer Cowles
Gloria Stengel
Jingle

Thursday, December 15th
Jinky Kowalski
Sherry Cheever
Britta Swiderski
Hilde Janbroers
Karen Baker

Friday, December 16th
Tara Orr
Kimberly Jones
Nancy Wethington
Peggy Cain
Nicole Eccles
Vera Yates


PS I would love to say a HUGE THANKYOU to May Arts for their wonderful ribbons that have been hiding in every one of my DT kits - so very generous and absolutely LOVE their range :) Check them out :)

Material List
Graphic 45
Botanicabella – Garden Suite
Christmas Emporium – Merry & Bright, Christmas Emporium
Graphic 45 Colourbox Decades Dark Cashmere

May Arts – Organic Cotton Stripes – red (385-58-14) & Green (385-58-46), Double faced faux suede red VX-14, Soft silky DC-66, Sheer SC25 1/4inch, Satin reversible SB06 3/8inch.

Twiddleybitz chipboard tag and numbers
Tim Holtz distress stain peeled paint
Gold embossing enamel
Florist – small berries, pearls, mini leaves
Mica Flakes
Tim Holtz paper rosette Die
Canvas
Helmar 450 glue & Scrap dots

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Have you been naughty or nice this year??

Well the year is flying past - I don't know where November went! And it is already one week into December with one week left of school before the summer holidays start.... Hopefully then time will slow down and we can enjoy summer!

Every year I tend to create something for Christmas for my home - before I discovered scrapping I would search the stores for the perfect piece! I have a beautiful collection of snowglobes...and candles.... and naughty elves tumbling down my stairs but it is the pieces I have made I do love the best so this year there was no way I could go past Graphic 45's new Christmas Range - Christmas Emporium LAtely I have also been trying to cull my stash and finish off those UFO's - yes un-finished objects!! hehe - I have had this Twiddleybitz house and frame sitting around my desk for a good 8 months or so just waiting to be inspired with the right idea! So I started with covering the Floating frame and then moved onto the house - now normally I cover the pieces before I assemble most OTP items - this one was given to me to do something with already assembled! But it wasn't until I saw Kelly Creates blog post with some Graphic 45 inspired cards that really got me going!! Follow the link to her blog to see how to create the gorgeous tree and wreath - I have used this technique a few times since too!! Thanks Kelly :) Add some mica flakes - some gorgeous snowflakes and berries from the florist along with a beautiful swirl from Flourish with a Bling and you now have my latest Christmas holiday piece :) Enjoy :)









My Life atm = a bit Crazy as it always is at this time of year - for the first time in 8 years I think we don't have any dancing concert or rehearsals or costumes or that stress - Quietly I am loving it and not missing it at all!! End of year always is busy - we have had presentation night for Chionia and her acro where she was awarded the Coahces award for most improved and a club champion trophy for her win in the Spring State Championships back in September - go my bubbalucha!! :) Very proud - Jess is working hard at school and doing so well - such a shame the first half of the year was a write off - we had her Yr 6 Farewell dinner on Sunday night - majority of the friends she has gone to school with since kindy are leaving and going to private high schools - this means they leave Primary school a year earlier - end of Yr 6 so they all had a wonderful dinner and night out on Sunday - the kids were so well behaved and looks gorgeous/handsome :) Good luck to all of you - you are a terrific bunch of kids :)


Today's job - includes getting another drivers licence and chasing up insurance etc - stupid me left my purse in my car accidently on Sunday night and of course it is the one time the car got broken into - the only thing they took was my purse but it has meant hours on the phone cancelling cards etc and reorganising paperwork sigh - just what I need at this time of year!

Happy holidays everyone - stay safe and love those special to you :)



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