.in case you’re wondering. April 28, 2010

If you see this picture (a collection of my past projects) in one of my posts, it means I haven’t gotten around ot doing a real post and this is my back up – kind of like the good old ABC test pattern from when I was a kid!

Yes I am still here but I seem to be finding it hard to get to post anything at the moment.  Funny, because I’ve still been making things & occasionally taking pictures of them but not getting around to the next step!  I also made a couple of cards for some challenges and then missed the deadline for the challenges – oh well!!

So I just wanted to say hello! and I hope to get back into the swing of it soon!

Love Ruth xx

.rainy days. April 23, 2010

Hope you are coping with the rainy days.  If you are like me, you don’t mind being forced to stay home for a little while, but it does increase the challenge of keeping two little guys happy and busy. 

It’s also a good excuse to make some crafty things like robots or aeroplanes or catapillars.  And to make a little craft project, or two, of my own.

Needed some napkin rings so took some ideas from the Embellish Magazine Colour Challenge.   

The front is made from kraft with a foam button, black rhinestones, ribbon and one of my favourite sentiment stamps.

The napkin holder is made using some heavy duty card that has been rolled with ‘Friendly Words’ stamp wheel from Stampin’ Up! (which I just found Eli chewing on like a corn cob as I type this!!) 

Hope you don’t get too wet today, whatever you’re up to.

Ruth x

.a cup of tea & a pink circle flower. April 20, 2010

Sometimes a cup of tea solves lots of problems.  At least, if you are a tea drinker, of course! 

And paper flowers always make me smile, so I figure cups of tea & paper flowers go together in the “bring a smile to my face” category.

I needed some cards for some lovely friends and thought I’d get a little inspiration from a sketch idea that I found here.  I’ve never used a sketch before but the idea is growing on me. 

So here are my two creations that will find their way to some special people very soon.

.pretty palace. April 15, 2010

I’m not sure why, but today, I felt a bit nostalgic for a certain palace that Paul and I visited in Portugal a few years ago.  It’s called Pena Palace, perched on the tallest mountain in the unbelievably gorgeous town of Sintra.  It is so ornate and beautiful and incredibly inspiring in so many ways, so I had to dig out the photos and post some of them.  

Sadly,  no photos are allowed to be taken inside, so I outdid myself with pics of the outside to compensate!

Yes, if you have good eyes, that is me and my friend Melissa in our very own turret each…*sigh* what a lovely day that was!!

So I hope you are having a very lovely day wherever you are – Launceston, Sintra, somewhere inbetween!

Ruth x

.late night edition. April 13, 2010

It seems the only time I have for doing posts is late at night when everything is quiet and the “can’t leave it any longer” list has been completed!  So I am not much up for words tonight (I know, that just doesn’t sound like me at all!) as I’m more tired than usual.

But I just wanted to include a card in the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger challenge (a recent birthday girl will recognise this one!) and wish you all a wonderful week ahead.

Ruth x

.buttons and lace. April 8, 2010

I sometimes find it hard to use lace on my projects.  Not because I don’t like it, but because it is a total throwback to the 8o’s for me, and for so long, we left everything from that decade well behind! 

I actually had a favourite piece of pink lace in the 8o’s that I used to wear as a kind of necklace, along with some fake pearls I had.  At the time it was seriously cool (at least to me!) but at some point, it because very not cool, and was a huge source of laughter from me and my friend who lived through that era with me!!

So to use lace in a creative way now is kind of like doilies for me.  Sweet and pretty but somehow a bit kitsch.  But I guess all things old keep making a resurgence, so I am just going with it. 

So thanks to designer paper, buttons and ribbon (in this case, lace), some cards are super quick to make and still look pretty ok!

This one is for a new baby girl and also for the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger Challenge that is currently running.

Have you seen any of your teenage fads appearing lately?  Maybe fluoro socks, jellybean shoes, huge elastic belts, (did they have a name?), banana clips…or was that all just me?!  Let me know and we can all share a good old-fashioned laugh about it!

.heart flower. April 2, 2010

Saw a little heart flower in a magazine recently and thought it was too cute, so tried out one of my own.  I have a feeling it turned out nothing like the one I saw (can’t actually remember where now!) but I like it anyhow!

Here’s the rest of the card, for a 5 year old princess’ birthday…

Enjoy your Friday night!

Ruth x

.happy easter.

I don’t normally make Easter cards, but this year Ethan gave one each to his pre-school teachers.  They are simpler than my usual ones but I am needing simple lately.  I have a theory that I go through “less is more” stages periodically in response to the fact that I am convinced I have more words than most and can’t seem to leave many of them left unsaid!!  (Even my explanation is wordy!)  So creating something simpler is my attempt at counteracting my busy/cluttered/chatty contribution to the world.

Easter always creeps up on me because someone keeps changing the date!  But, {speaking of simple}, even when I’m fully prepared for Easter, I still prefer it uncomplicated.  Maybe it’s because I don’t want to add 3kg thanks to chocolate, or because the informal family catch-ups are so relaxed and leisurely.  But mostly, I think it’s because I love the Jesus story of Easter so much that I just want to keep it as uncluttered as possible and not get distracted by another Christmas-esque kind of silly season.  {I love Christmas too, by the way, in case I sound a bit bar-humbug!  I just prefer the simple version of that too for all the same reasons, as those who know me have to endure me telling them every year (o: }

So I guess I’m trying to say that I hope your Easter is not just another long weekend, an overdose of chocolate (not that I’d ever turn away a lonely chocolate!) or a last-minute frantic trip to the supermarket.  But I do hope it’s full of great times with people you love, and appreciation for a life given that has eternal impact, even now. 

I found this fantastic verse that says it so much better than me.  Wishing you a wonderful Easter.

“Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole”.  {1 Peter 3b-5} 

Love Ruth x

My ‘Happy Easter’ cards have been entered in the lovely Just Add Ink Challenge #11 which is wonderfully broad and all-encompassing this week!