Yay, Yay, Yay!!!!!!

(I love this photo of you Shaz - you have such a nice face!!!!!)

I am a winner!!!!!

Thanks to my new found friend Shaz I am a lucky winner of her blog draw.

For some stupid reason I can't seem to view Shaz's blog - it keeps aborting me out of it............I don't know what to do-shall have to get Sean to check it out because there's lots of things to see at Shaz's blog. Make sure you pop in there for a little lookie.

Thanks heaps Shaz - I managed to pop in via another browser but unfortunately couldn't comment either but I got to see some spesh things that were going on.

Luv ya.

Sandie

My Neices 18th Birthday

Forgot to show you the card I made for my neice's 18th and I also just HAD to show you a shot of the cake.........yummo!!!! A friends mum made it for her as the present - great idea.

Luv Sandie

Alphabet Soup and Monday Mornings

Hello to all wherever you are. Hope all is well.

We are off and running with our creation for "g"

Make a card, layout, OTP, ATC etc using one or more of the following ideas.

G is for

groovy, green, grow, gemstones, girls cards, girlfriend, glitter, gingham, graph paper.

For my card I just HAD to use my fave colour - green - and I also added graph paper and gingham ribbon and a "get well soon" stamp by StampinUp. I have also used one of my fave layouts for a card - I tend to use this over and over again - but I just reckon it works.

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Luv Sandie

Let's Get It On..............

..............well..........not really..................LOL!!!!!

Just wanted to share one of my fave songs from one of the American Idol contestants who has now been pipped out but I saw him on Ellen Degeneres' show a couple of weeks ago and immediately loved it.

What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ncX-WJ4aiU&feature=related

Luv Sandie

Definately getting old!!!!!

Well we just came home from my niece's 18th Birthday family meal and I've gotta say that Sean and I are definately feeling old.

It was a family affair for dinner and then the young ones started to roll in - or should I say stumble in - some of them anyway.

We were heading out to the car and 3 cards pulled up and out piled the young ones - some had already had a few to drink we think - and loud. What is it with kids these days and having to YELL everything that they say?

They all looked like they were having fun that's for sure. It was only 8.30 when we left and the music was pumped right up.................goodness knows how the rest of the night will end up........LOL. Oh to be young again............NO thanks!!!!!

Luv Sandie

Here is my long awaited "f" card

Using flowers - of course!!!!!

It is mum's birthday on Tuesday so I made this card for her and as part of my Alphabet Soup and Monday Mornings challenge.

I like the soft colours.

Luv Sandie

I just noticed..............

that I have just ticked over 1,000 POSTS.

Now that's some serious talkin goin on!!!!!

Thanks to all who drop in visit and comment. It really makes me happy and keeps me smiling!!!!!

I am going to have a little giveaway - just leave me a comment to this post and I will draw a winner.

Luv Sandie

Forgot to mention......................

Because I have been a bit upset about our friends leaving town I failed to mention something I did on Thursday.

I was out shopping for my niece's 18th Birthday present (which is today) and I decided to do something I've always thought about doing but always chickened out.

I went to see a movie at the cinema.

I had the best time and I will say that it wont be the last time I decided to do it either. It was a midday session. I walked in and for a few minutes I was the only one in the cinema - I felt a little funny but all the same I was excited to be there. We don't go to the cinema much as a rule anyway so I always luv to go.

I saw Matthew McConaughey's latest movie "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Hello..................isn't he just the cutest thing - especially on the BIG screen...........drool!!!!! I have to say it was a typical "chick flick" but I was lovin every minute of it.

Luv Sandie

Anyone???????

Anyone watching Masterchef here in Australia? We are all watching it and loving it.
Off to watch now.

Luv Sandie

Just want to say....................

sorry I haven't been around much lately. I have had lots on my mind - nothing I can't handle but just haven't been myself.

I made an appointment with the Podiatrist - they said I am in a bad way at the moment but things can be done. I cannot wait to get some custom orthodics made as I am not sleeping with aches and pains and can't walk. The Podiatrist explained what was going on and that I should just take it easy for a while.

Fingers crossed things will improve for me soon and I will be able to walk without pain.

Thanks for listening.

Luv Sandie

Double Choc Scones

I made these the other day - they were a hit!!!!!!

I will pop back with the recipe sometime over the weekend.

Now DONT take this recipe as gospel - it was adapted by someone on the net somewhere so I tried it - they left a few things out so I just adapted it again..........LOL.

DOUBLE CHOC MUD SCONES

1 3/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup choc chips

Milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Combine sifted flour, cocoa, caster sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter to form breadcrumbs. I added half the pack of Home Brand Choc Chips (you can go as light or as heavy as you like at this stage......LOL) Then form a well in the centre of the mix and slowly add milk and vanilla essence (this is the ingredient that was left out of the recipe - doh). I just added a little each time until it was the consistency of normal scones - slightly tacky - don't make it too dry.

Knead on a lightly floured board/bench, cut using a cookie cutter of your choice.

Pop in the oven 190 degrees for about 10-15 mins. Keep checking so they don't burn on the bottoms.

You may like to tweak this recipe a little - I had to. The scones are rather dense rather than light in texture. The kids and Sean raved over them and said they are "goers" for sure. Enjoy.

I actually tasted my first mud scone at Bakers Delight and thought "I must be able to make these" - so I did!!!!!

If you attempt them, pop back in and let me know what you think and if you altered the recipe to make it that little bit better.


Luv Sandie

Sad but good at the same time.

I received some sad news yesterday - our little Sudanese family are going to be moving town. I just cried as soon as I heard the news and my heart ached.

It will be a good move for them I think - but we are sure going to miss those adorable little faces. I have grown so close to them - I think it had to do with helping Medina with her first pregnancy and then helping to deliver those precious bubs into the world. We are truly blessed.

I wish them all the very best as they start on their next journey.

Luv you guys.

Sandie

As promised.................

here is one of the photos from our 60's/70's night. I tried to play with the red-eye reduction but it didn't work. Oh well.
How's Sean's look - he just used some ash to give him "the" look. He looks like someone out of Underbelly. LOL!!!

Luv Sandie

You need to look HERE

Go take a lookie HERE!!!!!http://www.craftqueen.com.au/index.php

Lots and lots to look at!!!!

Luv Sandie

Alphabet Soup and Monday Mornings "F" is for

Here we are again - gosh these weeks come around quickly!!!!

Righto - "f" is for the following

flowers, friendship, fabric, feathers, frills, fairies, fathers day, fruit, felt, flags.

Go for it - create a card, otp, layout etc and just leave me a link here.

I had such a busy weekend that I haven't had a chance to have a go myself - I have ideas for a card so that is a start. Will pop back in here with my creation when I get a chance.

Happy Creating everyone!!!!!

Hope all is well in your part of the world.

Luv Sandie

(Keep checking my Slide Show of Alphabet Soup as I keep adding creations as they are sent to me - great work too by the way girlies. Well done and thanks for joining in)

It's a 60's and 70's Theme Night

In a couple of hours Sean and I are off to a Bunnings do - the theme is 60's and 70's so Sean and I are dressing up as hippies. I will be sure to share photos with you.
ALL day yesterday I walked my poor old feet off in search of the perfect outfits for both of us - nothing like leaving things til the last minute!!!!! I'm a big shocker.

Sean's mum and dad are looking after the kids for us which is nice. It's not very often that we get a chance to do our own thing so it will be an extra treat.

I've gone for the good old mission brown look and loads and loads of jewellery - oh and heaps of makeup. I also have a long black wig.

Hopefully it will be a great night.

Luv Sandie

Picture 2 Page

Took off with our girlies to Picture to Page today. Gosh it was jam packed with so many yummy stall holders. I was a little bit excited too as Scrapsadaisy was selling my daisies - Linda said they were going well which was a bit of a hoot.
Bought some lovely things - all bargains of course!!!!!! Plenty of bargains to be had too. If you are in the area be sure to go - you wont be disappointed.
My work was on display at Alison Ellis Designs too - they have a new party range of pp out now and its got cupcakes on it - so it was extra special getting to work with this range.
Leslie from Little Bits Keysbourough was there - I whispered to her "where's the other half of you?" She looks amazing - she said she has lost 60kilos. I couldn't believe it - she looks amazing!!!!
Caught up with my mates Vicky and Lyn - great to see you girlies. How did you finish up? Buy up big????????

All in all a very happy day!!!

Luv Sandie

Recent card for Craft Queen

I got to play with some ever so yummy, cute as ribbons from Craft Queen.

My cards are in the Craft Queen Gallery and I'll show you them here too.

Luv Sandie

Happy 60th Soccer Theme

I was asked by one of the mums at school to make her a special card for her dad's 60th birthday. She requested a soccer theme. After some serious scratching of my head I came up with this simple card. She absolutely loved it - she said " oh that looks so much like my dad and we had a dog like that!!!" She said her dad is gunna luv it too. So pleased she liked it - it's always a bit tricky to know whether someone will be pleased with what I create.

I have used StampinUp stamps and Inque stamps and my mate the Cuttlebug.

Thanks for looking

Luv Sandie

Happy 4th Birthday Little Scrapbook Shop

Over the weekend the Little Scrapbook Shop celebrated its 4th Birthday. I joined in some of the fun and created a card for the Sketch Challenge and I also managed a layout.

I created the card using the gorgeous We R Memory Keepers "White Out - Nonsense" pp range - which I just love and hate cutting into. But I can tell you I did some serious cutting out for this card. I was really pleased with it - I'm thinking I may just sit this card on my desk - a gift to me..........LOL!!!! I also added touches of kindy glitz to give is some pizazz and doodled a border using a brown marker and coloured it in with colouring pencils. There's nothing i love more than doing a follow up card using a great sketch. So I completed another card using one of my Handmade Daisies and also some Heidi Grace Rubons - I don't normally use rubons but when I saw these in Spotlight - I simply had to have them. Glad I used them - they are so soft and feminie.

The layout challenge called for 6 photos - now I'm not one for mulitple photos so I came up with idea of enlarging the photo and then cutting it into 6 photos - pretty clever I thought at the time..........LOL!!!! I kept this layout VERY simple - in fact it's probably the most simple layout I've ever done. I believe the photo says it all on its own and wanted to leave it that way.

Thanks for looking.

Luv Sandie

Remember I said I challenged myself to use of some scraps on my desk…………….well…………

………………….I did!!!!

I had an extra busy day Friday creating Mothers Day Cards for the local florist - nothing like leaving things to the last minute!!!!!! I managed to make some cards using the said scraps from my desk. Even some of the smallest pieces I simply couldn’t bear to throw out came in handy.

It really is amazing and a great challenge to see what you can come up with.

A couple of the cards – the ones with the heart punches and cuttelbug embossing were inspired by Jennifer McGuire.

Thanks for looking – keep watching for more scrappy cards.

Remember – the rules are – there are NO rules!!!!!! You know when I look back over my cards - there is always a certain style that pops up again and again - but you know what - if it works - go for it!!!!!

Luv ya……………….Sandie

How are your challenges going?

Just wondering how our challenges are going for the Alphabet Soup. I have just added my "e" is for elephant card to the previous post.

Luv Sandie

Alphabet Soup And Monday Mornings "E"

(Here is my card - I used a cute little elephant stamp by Prima. I coloured in the elphant using Twinkling H2O's and added some rhinestones, pearls and seed beads to him - oh and I also embossed the image using clear embossing powder to give it a raised look. For the border I added a doodled border and also added some brads to which I curled some wire around and popped some beads on there too)

Here we are again - today's challenge is to create something - card, layout, OTP, ATC etc with the letter "e"

Here are some ideas

e is for

elephant, embroidery, engaged, embellishments, eggs, embossing powder, enjoy, exclamation!!!!!

Pop back in here when you've created your work and leave your link so I can include it in my Slide Show.

Back with mine later.

Happy creating everyone!!!!!!!!.

Luv Sandie

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there.
Hope you have had a great day - I know I have.

First up I recieved my lovely pressies from the kids - and a cuppa in bed with my new mug - yummy!!!!!

Then we all got up and had breakfast together and then headed off to Josh's footy match. His team won which was fantastic and it was a really good competitive game.

We didn't get home til just after 2 o'clock which was late. We had lunch together and then popped around to Sean's folks to say Happy Mothers Day there - stopped for a quick cuppa and then headed back home again.

We started to tidy up the backyard from the concreting that we had done. There's lots of bits and pieces of concrete and junk on the ground so we got to with our buckets and picked them all up. Then we started to work out how we were going to get the big tree stump into the trailer - it took some work I tell ya!!!! Don't think I'll be able to move tomorrow......LOL.

Off to do some creating me thinks.

All in all a great day. Hope yours was a good one.

Luv Sandie

Makeesha's Challenge

I have just completed a card using a sketch over at Makeesha's Blog.

I used some of the bits and pieces from my pile on my desk and also some of my all time fave stamps by StampinUp and a music Cuttlebug folder.

Thanks for popping in - hope all is well.

Luv Sandie

Weekend Giveaway!!!!!!

This is the prize up for grabs - I am going to add to it as I find some more goodies. Kaiser Chipboard Hearts and some new mauve/white Handmade Daisies.

(Righto - this is just some of the bits and pieces I found on my desk...........what a shocker......I am challenging myself to create a handfull of cards. Wish me luck.....LOL)

Hello to everyone - especially those mums hope you all have an extra special Happy Mothers Day. I always luv the handmade cards the best from the kids.

I have a challenge for you all and there will be a little prize for one random winner. It's open to anyone and everyone. So come on - get creative.

All you have to do is to use up some of those scraps you have just sitting on your desk or in a pile somewhere.

Put some scraps together to create a card - it can be anything you like - maybe you haven't made that Mothers Day Card yet - you could use up those scraps for that.

Once you've completed your card, drop back in here, leave me a link to your creation and you will go into the draw for the giveaway.

I will be back later with a photo of the giveaway.

Now I NEED to see at LEAST 5 entries - so come on!!!!!! Your time starts now and will finish at midnight Monday 11 May.

Good luck.

Luv Sandie

Scrapbook Capital Build It Up “2” Week 3 and 4

Gidday girlies, I have just completed my cards for Week 3 - “distressed” and Week 4 “buttons” challenges over at Scrapbook Capital.

Thanks for looking.

Luv Sandie

Doing some revamping

You may or may not have noticed but I've taken a couple of my Slide Shows out as we discovered that they were chewing up some of our computer usage thingy!!! LOL.

So I have added some "Labels" which will just mean clicking on "cards" for instance to take you straight to "my cards".
I have just been through over 300 of my posts to add labels - and I have about 700 to go. You can't rush these things.............LOL. Slowly but surely.

Should really go to bed I suppose.

Have a great sleep everyone.

Luv Sandie

The BIG 40!!!!

Sean has finally caught up to me - yay, yay, yay!!!! Happy 40th Birthday babes. Luv ya!!!!!


Busy, busy day today.

Firstly I am catching up with a friend in need for a cuppa then I am heading off to Josh's school for a Mothers Day Luncheon - 3 course meal and then tonight we are all going out to dinner to celebrate Sean's 40th. Gosh how am I going to fit all of that in? I don't know. More importantly how am I going to fit all of that food in....................LOL!!! I'm sure I'll manage.............LOL.

The kids all made Sean a card which was gorgeous - Josh included a little poem

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Mum is 40
And so are you!!!!!

Funny kid!!!! And oh so true.

Well that's it from me. I had better go and get ready for my first of many things on the "to do" list.

Have a great day everyone - whatever you get up to.

Luv Sandie

(P.S. gosh its great having my computer back - its just like new)

Today is the day - yay!!!!!

Well today is the day - the concrete will finally be finished.

What was supposed to be done in only 2 days has turned into 2 weeks - the much needed rain decided to come, of course, as soon as we dug up the old concrete. What was underneath was so, so wet due to the existing concrete being cracked the weather got in under that and it was so gluggy it needed time to dry out. Of course, we had extra rain didn't we - LOL!!!!
Oh well.

It's been done in steps - the first step was the pergola area - the kids have been using that to play on already - they love it. They have been so used to NOT playing on the existing concrete under the carport as it has been so chopped up.

Today the carport is being poured - just now actually. I have been sitting in my car for the last 10 minutes after dropping the kids off to school. When I got back I couldn't even get in the drive way. I eyed off the side fence to see if I could jump over that way - thinking they could be there for ages, and then thought the better of it................we could have ended up needing an ambulance........LOL. I could just picture me either half over the fence - stuck, or on the other side of the fence with injuries - this is while blokes were laying concrete - NO the thought was all too much........LOL.

So in a few days we will be able to drive back under cover and then make a start, hopefully, on the pergola. Can't wait. We are ALL so excited.

Luv Sandie

Alphabet Soup and Monday Mornings "D" is for

Today's challenge is to create a card, layout, ATC, OTP etc using one or more of the following things starting with "D"

Thanks to all the girlies who have sent me their cards - I will get to upload them tomorrow.

(Sean has been working on my computer ALL day today - giving it a clean up - gosh it took a long time - I wouldn't have the patience for it but he persevered with it - hopefully and fingers crossed it is all fixed - thanks Babes and thanks also for everyone's patience)

Ok - now for the items

dog, diecuts, dinosaur, dots, doodling, daisies, dimensional magic, distressing and dymo label.

For my card I have used dots - Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, dotty patterned paper and my good old Dymo Label.

Good luck and happy creating.

Don't forget to reply to this post with your link to your card - or if you would prefer you can email me your image.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Luv Sandie

May Card Kit for Craft Queen

(this is the image of the stamp that comes in the kit - you can see where I cut the top of the bow which I used for flowers on the white/beige card - something different)

Last month I got to work with some lovely bits and pieces sent to me by Nicole at Craft Queen.

These are goodies used in this month's Card Kit - EVERYTHING needed to create 6 cards is all in the kit.

The ribbons are always yummy - it takes me a while to think about how I'm going to use them before I cut into them..............LOL.

There are 2 boy cards - which are always the hardest to do - Nicole sent some gorgeous little blue stars (you can see them on the presents).

There is a great little stamp in the kit - its a present - for one of the cards - the white/beige card I stamped the present stamp out and then cut out the bow which revealed a flower so I added that to the card. Don't ya just luv things that are versatile.

The other thing I did was to use the gorgeous organza ribbon to make a little flower - just gathered it up and attached a button.

Thanks for looking.

Luv Sandie