It will be a long post...

For some strange reason I havent felt like turning on my computer in ages... My phone doesnt let me upload photos onto blogspot, and for this reason, I have lots of updates. Grab a cuppa :)

Firt is Eddie's Birthday Invitations. He is turning 4 in a couple of weeks and we are celebrating it with a small party for the kids at the Pirate Village. Because the place is responsible for activities and the food (apart from cake, which BTW is already ordered - Im so organized this time...) I had time to come up with some funky invitations. I googled 'Pirate Invitation' and this came up on images, so credit to Notablenest and thank you for the idea!

(I have finally learnt how to turn my photos!!)

I have copied the design and changed the text a bit and Eddie loves it! I have made 12 of these and the main reason is because some adults, while I was showing my prototype and asking for opinions, they've asked if they would receive one as well. I had so much fun doing these. We have cancelled all the previous parties (he was either sick, in hospital, or something bad happened..) so this is one is big to us!

And because I havent blogged in a while I have some stitching updates. Firts is my HAED. I have finished the first row and so far have worked 3 pages on row 2. Thats because Im working the main colour first so I can follow the swirls and then going back with the confetti stitches once the page is complete with the main colour.

HAED - Update Nov-13

 Then I have my ATW which is up-to-date. I have finished the latest part (cant remember now if 14 or 15..)

And finally, I've met with Maire this week, from Henry the Bear Blanketteers, for more squares to be made up for the hospital. I asked for lots to keep me busy and this is what she gave me

I guess I will have lots to work on :) I dont really mind because apart from the HAED and ATW I have no other projects. Im kitting up some patterns for next year, going through my To-Stitch list, cutting pages from magazines, laminating them and leaving things ready, but no stitching really. So on my days off (while Eddie is at pre-school) I can start adding them together and the edge is quite easy to work on once they are all stitched up.

I have warned you this was going to be a long post lol

Talk soon

Cami

Nothing like some 'me-time'...

to get you projects up to date!

It's mid-term and Eddie has no pre-shcool this week. So what to do when you have 2 days off during the week, lots of projects you want to touch and the feeling that the kid will get bored in the early hours of the morning? You book the kid to a Halloween camp. 9am to 3pm. Thats what I did and it was money well spent, if you ask me. It was only for today as he is back to creche tomorrow but today was really my only day off this week since Knit and Stitch show is on Thursday and I intend to stay as long as I can there, looking at all the pretty things I could buy....

Anyway, since I had morning all for myself, I've decided to stitch my ATW. I was a bit late with this one as Yvonne has already released part 15 and last part I stitched was 13. Here it is:

And I even managed to look after my herbs with some spare time. So it was money well spent!

Aiveen has kindly sent me some bats for my Halloween treat-boxes. I have made 11 boxes for family and friends but I thought the orange box was a bit to plain. So I inked the edges and stuck the bats. THANK YOU AIVEEN!!

And yesterday I finished the first row of my HAED but this will be another post.... (only 5 more rows to go, looking forward to it...)

Talk soon

Cami

Pink and Pink

I have this image for a while now. It was a freebie from a magazine and the designer is KennyK but I could never think of what to use it for but 'Pink Hair' theme for this week challenge suits her so well!!!
And I went looking for more images from this designer and I found a couple I could use in different occasions. Added them to my Wish-List :)

Image: KennyK Designs printed on Super Smooth 220g  Cartridge Paper (I finally found a paper I like!!)
Coloured with Promakers
Papers: The High School from DCWV
Sentiment: Lili of the Valley

Talk soon

Cami

Happy Dance!!

Hot off the press! Just finished Birds Sampler from Angie Designs.

(still havent found out how to turn the photo here. It looks right on my computer tho....)

So, in my WIP basket I only have Around the World and one HAED. Time to start another project!!!!
Yeahhhhhh!!!!

x
Cami

I Love Promarker Challenge - Oranges and Browns

This week's theme is 'Oranges and Browns' and this is what I came up with:

Stamp: Gorjuss Stamps coloured with Promarkers

Papers used are leftovers so cant name them

Paper Doily from Ebay

Have a good week 

Cami

Finishing projects and CHA Athlone

Hi all.
With all this climate changes, of course I would get a flu and a ear infection. Why not, right?
Not that I've had time off to rest or anything, but I have been busy trying to finish off some of my WIPs and I'm practicing my colouring skills on different medias, using different pencils and papers which is always lots of fun.

First things first: I have finished stitching a cover for my diary. Pattern is from 'World of Cross Stitch' Mag and I have used half stitches instead of full crosses on background. I thought it would look too bulky with full crosses. Fabric used is Printed heart Aida 14 count. Quick stitch this one...

Then I have finished my Tree of Stitched from Abi Gurden On Yahoo TSS Group. She added lots of extra details on her original pattern but I wanted it to be plain, so just added a bee button to it and off the roller it went. which means I have the roller back for my Filligree HAED which I have been using a hoop for lately.

And for last: last Sunday Myself, Jenny and Aiveen went to Athlone for the CHA hosted by Create with Kate. It was a day for crafting with a couple of workshops and demos. Nice to spend the day with fellow crafters chatting about new products and different ideas on projects. I made a small Christmas box decoration and spent the day colouring with promarkers and watercolours and making cards.

(One of the stamped images I coloured at the CHA event in Athlone)

I see this weeks I love promarker challenge is about 'Oranges and Browns'. I might give it a try if I have a spare time.

Talk soon

Cami

October is here....

I cant believe is October already. What happened with July and August is a mystery...
Work has been very busy as usual at this time of the year. It doesnt help the fact the boss has decided to expand the retail area and implement new system all around. That meant twice the work for this season.
This means very little time to stitch or craft. Husband being back to the barracks during the week doesnt help either. Son is finding very hard to stay away from me since Im the face he sees in the morning and at night.
Anyway..... I have been playing with my promarkers and made a Halloween card for an exchange I host in Card Making Ireland Facebook page. I think my partner doesnt follow my blog so it should be safe to post it here

Image is from La-La-Land and Die cuts are Sizzix

And I have started a new stitching project. It is a cover for my diary. I had this pattern on my waiting list for ages and Im a bit tired of all my big projects so decided to start something new. This one is for me and colours were changed to my taste.

It reads 'it's a new day'. Im so looking forward to finish this.
Fabric is heart printed Aida 14 count

Talk soon

Cami

I have been bold....

Very bold!
First you show my Tree of Stitch by Abi from TSS Yahoo Group. I have caught up with all the parts of this SAL, so very proud of myself. Everytime I read in the instructions 'place the thread and give a gentle tug' I know my stitches will look bad. I did my best and that's what is all about right. This is a learning piece and so far Im doing very well

Summer Tree of Stitches - TSS Yahoo Group SAL

Another thing this week was a card for a friend who had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. Im very late on this one but better late than never

Dont you just love Lili of the Valley images? I know I do.

And now for the bold part. Maud went to US on hols and you know, we, mortals who live in Ireland and dont have Joans or Michaels to browse around, gave her a list of I-want-but-do-not-need-stash. My list only had a couple of items but already made my day when she gave me a bag with my goodies. I got a Martha Stewart scoring board (the big one, 12x12), 2 Memento Ink Pads and some skeins for a new stitching project.

Then, when I was inquiring about rock-a-blocks on the cardmaking group, Clare told me she had one and wasnt using it so I could have it. BINGO! And she was selling her stamp collections, so off I went and bought 5 stamps. I see this as 'I'm helping a friend to de-clutter her house...' even if it means clutterng mine lol

And last, Lili of the Valley emailed on Monday a quick sale of 10%off everything until Wed noon. Got 3 stamps and still waiting on them to arrive. And I bought a Promarker too to try a new combo combination.

This week I will work on blankets for the hospital again. I wish I could make at least one blanket a month. Lets see if I can stick with that.

Talk soon

Cami

Part 6 finished.. FINALLY

This one took ages!!!! Part 6 of Birds Sampler is finished. Next part is out on the 25th Sep and Im not looking forward to touch this again so soon....
I guess it will sit on my basket for a while. But it does look lovely....

Talk soon

Cami

Autumn is here....

The cold days are back... and Im kinda glad to be honest.
Myself and Eddie have very bad heat rashes and my Hay fever was really bad this season, so roll on Autumn!

I have no updates on my WIPs but I managed to make a card this week. It is for a card swap that I run and I hope my partner is not a follower or surprise will be spoiled. Theme is Autumn and I had these coloured leaves that I was dying to use.

I forgot how fun it is to heat emboss. Had a blast doing the leaf and the sentiment (Note to self - Need to buy more embossing powder)

The paper doily has leaves and flowers embossed and it is a shame photo doesnt show it...

Talk soon

Cami

What I have been up to...

Nothing crafty I can say. Company I work for has been updating their system and expanding their shop unit so we have been all working like mad people, doing overtime, working from home, and all the perks.
I have been putting together things that I want to stitch and if I get 30min every evening Im happy.
Angie has already sent the new part with deadline for 27th September and I havent touched it yet. Need to start soon, or I will get behind on this one.

I have however received a lovely parcel last week. Gaynor (Stitcheranon) sent me the halloween exchange from one of the Yahoo X-Stitch groups. It is one of her designs and Im honored to own a piece designed and stitched by her. Isnt it cute?

And she added in the parcel a pressie for my son Edward. A lovely wall hanger which Eddie thinks it is a blanket and we are fighting over it, because I want it on the wall and he wants to cover his teddy with it.

I found in my stash a lovely hanger I bought 2 years ago in the RDS show and it goes perfectly with the pattern. Thank you again Gaynor for my swap and pressie.

And last Sunday was our monthly stitching meeting with the Dublin ladies and it was my time to host. I'ce managed to finish my swap then and this morning got the sewing machine out to turn the stitched piece into a hanger and here it is

(sorry, cant figure it out how to turn photo here, when it is showing in my folder in perfect position... If anyone has any ideas would love to hear it)

Anyway, thats all my stitching this month. I have been bold and bought more stamps which I just managed to start colouring last night so watch this space :)

talk soon

Cami

Sumemr Tree of Stitch

Its a quick post. Have to run errands today, so just updating my progress on TOS (Part 6). Part 7 is out already but havent even had time to print it....

TOS Part 6 - TSS

And I have stitched something for Halloween already. Will turn this into a wall hanger as soon as I can

Witch Hat - Barbara Anna Designs

That's me for today.

Talk soon

Cami

Getting good at lazys...

A big welcome to new followers and hello all!!!!

Around the world has so many lazy daisy stitches that I am actually getting very good at it :)

This is part 13 finished. Im doing so well, keeping up with all the SALs at the moment. I might even have a new start soon....

This week will be working on Tree of stitches. Wish me luck!

Ow... and I made a card this week. The Bride handmade all her invitations which was very thoughtfull.
Hope she likes what I made for her/them...

Talk soon

Cami

Im on a roll!!! Another SAL part finished!

This is Around the World Part 12. Cant believe Im all up-to-date with all my stitching SALs!!!
I think it is time to get my HAED out of the bag and get some stitching done on it before it starts feeling left out :)

Talk soon

Cami

Getting pencils ready...

I have been watching lots of videos on YouTube on different Mediums to colour and I have to say, I wish I had an area where I could lay down all my pencils and pastels and just work all afternoon. My space is pretty limited and with Eddie around I need to hide the good stuff before he gets his little paws on it.
And I decided to give it a try on pastels, crayons and mineral oil to colour a couple of images I had stamped. I mixed the colouring with promarkers just because Im used to them and knowing myself, a stamp bad coloured would end up in the bin....
There is still a lot of room for improvement and I was thinking about taking up art classes when Eddie starts Pre-School in September. Its a big 'maybe' at the moment and considering I already have an art background, signing up shouldnt be hard, right? Lets see how things go...

Talk soon

Cami

Tree of Stitches

Remember last post when I complained I didnt have time to get anything done? Well... last week was different (for a change) I managed to get part 5 of Tree of Stitches done, and coloured 5 different images for future cards, laundry is up-to-date, we had homemade dinner every night and my house is sort of clean. Very proud of myself considering I work 30h/week in retail and by the time I get home all I want is my put my feet up and on my days off I work as a taxi-mum to Edward...

Anyway, photos! This is part 5 of Tree of Stitches by Abi from TSS Yahoo group.

Talk soon

Cami

Birds Sampler Update

I have been a bad blogger. I havent read any blogs lately, I havent posted in my own blog...
July is a busy month in work, and Eddie is trying to adapt to weather and normal life back again. Lets say he enjoyed a bit too much his hols, going to bed late, sleeping til late, eating whatever he wanted since Grandma would feed him anything.... Now is back to vegs and early nights. He is just not enjoying it.
Because of all of this, I havent had much time to do anything. If I get one hour stitching per night, Im in heaven.
Anyway.... I managed to finish part 5 of Birds Sampler from Angie Designs. It took me more than 2 weeks which really pissed me off. Parts werent that big and I could have done much quicker and started/continued another project.

When in Berlin, I have stitched an Owl for Eddies door. I have this pattern aside for a long time now and only managed to sew it together in Brazil, and it was my first time using the white little balls trim (cant remember the name now...) and I hate it! it looks cute but it took me over 3 hours to get this done...

Eddie loved it anyway

Talk soon

Cami

Back from hols and very busy

Hi all

Holidays were good but now it is time to catch up with my stitching.

I have managed to get part 1,2,3 and 4 of the Summer SAL Tree of Stitch from Abi - TSS Yahoo group.

Part 1 

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Angie has already sent Part 5 of Birds Sampler so will work on that this week. Still have part 12 of ATW to start too. And HAED that Im getting tired of looking at it... It is so big. Not something Im used to work on.

Talk soon

Cami

Enjoying my holidays

Hello all,

I miss blogging so much but at the moment Im off on holidays back at my parents in Brazil and online time is very rare with my son running wild. And i still havent figured out how to upload fotos from my tablete (blogger app keeps saying photo format is not supported, so not sure what it is, and havent had time to look into it...anyone ideas?)

Before I left Ireland I finished part 4 on Birds Sampler from Angie Designs

This part was easy compared to the previous ones. Quick too...

Good thing about coming to Brazil is that I buy a lot of stash (threads, fabric, ric-racs...) much cheaper I would get in Ireland/UK. So bag allowance is off already (Im not even weighting all the food I want to bring with me) Might have to add another lugagge.

Most of my craft things are still here so Im having a great time doing lots of decopatch boxes. I just need to finish them before posting photo. Mum has been helping with varnish and last details.

Talk soon

Cami

Part 11 ATW Finished

This one was fairly quick. Started Monday night and finished last night. And I only stich for 1.5h/day.
I guess I got used to the fabric by now.

Here is the photo:

And Im the happiest Mum today: Hubby gave me a late Mothers Day pressie. A new hair dryer! The brush type, the one the styles the hair and bla bla bla. He knew I was looking for one for ages, and every time I save enough to buy a good one Eddie gets sick and I end up spending on meds (because you know, this is not an essential item - I already have a good normal hair dryer - so it has to be bought with spare money...). So Im happy!!!

Thats me for today

Talk soon

Cami

A Happy Dance!

It's finished! Finally finished! This one was defo not enjoyable to stitch at all, even tho the finish piece looks very nice. The whole thing is 1 over 1 on 28 count. My first time doing that, and the last. The empty square is for a key charm, which I already have, just need to add to it.

I hope to stitch part 11 of my ATW next week. Hubby has been away a lot lately and Eddie has been on a good phase, going to bed early and staying in it (which is more important) so I have been having more alone-time lately. My way of coping with not seeing hubby as much is by cleaning the house like a crazy person and stitching A LOT. More of the latter of course. But house looks pretty clean and tidy too.

And I have been cutting scraps of paper into octagons for some patchwork cards (this fits into my cleaning/organizing time). This is still a plan and I'm cutting loads at the moment and will put them together in panels so when I get the sewing machine out, I only have to add the stitches. Watch this space ladies :)

I haven't touched my mini album this week. I have cardboards cut to size and the acrylic paint right beside the bag, staring at me. I'm dying to buy the travelling designs paper pad from Do Craft but haven't had time (or the spare money) to go to an ArtsnHobbies lately. Silly life getting on the way again...

Talk soon

Cami

Where does the time go?

Im not sure whats happening at the moment. I blinked and it is May already.... Where all the other 4 first months went???? My son is 3y5m already... It seems like yesterday I was pregnant, grumpy, fat and tired... (because NOW im just grumpy and tired lol) July is our 3rd wedding anniversary (dont do the maths...). This is my 7th year in Ireland. Better stop now...

I have an update on my HAED. Too many reds if you ask me but so far so good. Have finished page 3 and started page 4, so next time I have it on rotation, I hope to finish the top row with page 4 and 5. It's not your normal HAED with 10 pages per row which was why I went for it. From my list '10 things to stitch before I die', I can cross HAED patterns off it!

I have been on a mad moment for Mini Albums (the Scrapbook kind). Not sure why it appeals to me, but I have been mad for them lalely and watching every single YouTube video about it. I did my first one out of a very heavy cardstock I had at home. Then at to work decided to take a walk in our depot and found out the guys were throwing good cardboard in the bin for recycling. So off I went to look at the bin (it is just a Cardboard/Paper bin, not really dumpster diving...) and I managed to find perfect good strips of cardboard which I cut into size and now I have 10 pages and 2 sets of covers for a 7x7in album. Will probably turn it into 2 albums with 5 pages each, not sure yet.  But will keep you posted on that :)

These are pages from the mini album I made last week. I showed you the cover already, and these are some of the pages. I did a rookie mistake on the biding so It doesnt open properly which is a pity, but still good enough for a first

Eddie in his hold in Brazil and at the Glendalough Park, Ireland

Myself and Eddie - Eddie and my Brother

I still have 2 tags to finish for this album and 2 pages (which Im waiting to print some photos to add to it). My Mum got a hold of it the other day and ask if I would consider give it to my Dad as birthday pressie. What can I say? It will go straight into the luggage as soon as finished as we are off to visit them in June.

Hope you enjoy the reading.

Talk soon

Cami