The Colour Purple

Not exactly one of my favourite colours to scrap with purple, not by a long shot!, but it turns out its my friends favourite colour - after all these years of knowing her, I had no idea! I had a bit of a hunt on my hands trying to even find some purple paper in my stash but I found some Websters Hollywood Vogue and the reverse of a piece of Country Estate, again from Websters.

Her birthday was this month so I bundled up a package and sent it over,  all of it in shades of purple.  I made these wooden letters for her bedroom, and no its not purple :) but cream with a white duvet, so hopefully I can rely on her husbands colour description :) and it will fit in well!

And a couple of close ups for you........................................

Also inside the box I had some Cherry Ripe bars - she loves these things, yuck!, and some absolutely devine hand and body lotion from The Aromatherapy Company.  I wrapped that separately, added a tag I made from the scraps for decoration and then popped in a card.

Thanks for popping by!

The Explosion Box

Earlier in the year I was preparing to teach my first class at Scrappin Patch's retreat, held at Glentui.  If you've never been out that way, its a glorious place to hold a retreat. Its nestled in amongst the hills, surrounded in bush - sitting scrapping away listening to the birds and lucky for me not far from where I live :)

Ive taught classes before but this time I had to prepare for 20 possible students, the most Ive ever taught before this was about 6, so this was huge for me!  I also had to type up instructions - another first for me.  I hauled in my BFF Rebecca to read through and and see if it all made sense, or it sounded like a load of double dutch, thankfully it all made sense :) - then it was time to package together 20 kits.

Ive been to lots of classes before, and Ive been a Nurse Educator previously, so I knew what I liked about teaching styles and what I did'nt.  I really wanted to make people feel welcome and I have this thing that no matter what the question, it is never stupid because there is usually someone else out there that has the same question, they're just too scared to ask it in case they look stupid!  Actually thats usually me lol! :) And I would hate for anyone to feel like that in one of my classes.  I was also aware that some people need more help than others to complete projects.  I was also following on from Trina's class so I had a lot to live up to!  I liked how with each class of hers Ive been to, she has made a wee gift for each person, so I took her lead and made little pillow boxes and filled them with mini Easter eggs, only I forgot to take a photo of them, whoops!

So heres the box. The papers were Kaisercraft's Sweet Nothings and I used entirely Kaisercraft product to create the box and added in Martha Stewart punches, twine, chipboard, Cherry Lyn Flourish and muslin and a Dusty Attic ornate gate.

Explosion boxes have been around for a long time - I even have one a friend made for me years ago for  Christmas!  So, I really wanted this one to be different, not just a remake of the original, so why not try and fit a secret garden into the bottom  of the box, complete with rustic old penny farthing and ornate gate?!  The rest of the album I created around my grandparents, Grace and John.  The photos are from the early years of their marriage - there are no photos of them together in their later years, Granddad died when my Mum was little from a congenital heart defect that was picked up when he went to enlist for WWII, consequently he could never serve his country. All that history makes these photos all the more precious, they are all I have of him.

Kaisercraft sponsored this class, which was a very proud feeling for me!

If you want to make an explosion box, there are loads of instructions on the web, or if you like I could email you the instructions to make this one, just leave me a comment.

Have a great weekend!

A little bit of Kaisercraft

Hello again, yes I know quite rare two posts in one day, you must be as shocked as I am :))

I thought I'd show you my latest OTP project using Kaisercraft's new Kite - I just loved this project!  My lovely friend Karen way down south has just become a Grandma to the cutest wee girl called Indie.  She really is quite cute.  Usually as baby gift I scrap a wooden letter (or their whole name depending on how many letters there are), but this time I wanted to go a bit further and incorporate her name into the kite.  Ive used the final pieces of Bonjour I had, which is a shame, I loved loved loved this range!  But anyway here it is - I found it difficult to photograph without having it on the wall, so I ended up on a stepladder looking down over it, still not that happy with it but you get the idea.

Ived used some tulle to tie all the 'bows' together, and then added two pale pink tulle double bows to the beginning and the end.
And a few close ups, so show all the detail in the kite.

Ive made the flowers using a Tim Holtz die and  Spellbinders Anemone Flower Topper.  The wooden Kaisercraft leaves I inked with Versamark and rubbed two shades of Pearlex into them.  The bird and butterfly are both popped up with foam tape.  The punch in the background has become a big favourite of mine lately, its Martha Stewart Deep Edged Heart border punch.
With the leftover scraps I made a card, and I also decorated a Kaisercraft mannequin.

This time I used a Stampin Up border punch to create the white edge and just mitred the corners to create a frame around the base layer of paper.  Then Ive layered Spellbinders Romantic Ovals and Martha Stewart Heart Scroll, with a single pale pink tulle bow layered with a double bow of seam binding and rose.
Apparently I made Indie's mum cry when she unwrapped her gift, which makes it all worth while - not that I like to make people cry if you know what I mean!

So, the mannequin, here she is in all her Bonjour glory......................................................

As you may have gathered I have a love of all things heritage, so the idea behind this was to create an old fashioned dress with a bustle.  To create the bustle I shaped squares of paper into cones and then layered them on top of each other with flowers over top and a double bow ribbon.

And the front, with her wee apron..............................................

Well I think thats about all folks :)
Have a great day!

And the winner is.......................................

Hi de hi everyone!

Heres hoping everyone had a wonderful mothers day, goodness knows the weather was absolutely beautiful here - 20 degrees according to the car when I was driving to work :) , that smiley face is for the weather not work incase you were wondering lol.

So, enough babbling :) I have roped my husband into picking a winnner, all official - names in the hat, very hightech :) and the winning name is.......................................................TRACE!!  Congratulations!, and a big thank you to everyone for joining in the polkadot door blog hop.

A parcel of goodies is on its way to you!
Enjoy!

Polkadot Door Birthday Blog Hop

Ok, its the 1st of May and that means today is my very first ever blog hop!!  As part of the hop if you post a comment on my blog and/or particitpate in the challenge I have  a RAK to give away, and if you know me well you know how generious I can be! :)  So read on further and join in the fun!

Its our Blog-iversary!

We're so excited to be celebrating 2 years on the web, and in the spirit of celebration, we are having a bloghop where you'll find lots of prizes and inspiration along the way. Hurrah! 

 

A bloghop on the Polkadot Door wouldn't be complete without an inspiration challenge. We asked each one of some of our favourite friends throughout the world to create a project based on the above inspiration challenge.

Here's what Rebecca created using the Inspiration as a starting place. 

• Plus, there's a chance to play along with us! Use the inspiration we gathered, link your entry back here on this blog post, and you could win a shop credit to Scrappin Patch. 

• You have until May 10th to complete the hop and link up your sketch challenge entry below to be eligible for the hop prize! 

• But that's not all! If you leave a comment on this post you are eligible to win a this fantastic blog candy from us, The Polkadot Door! There is vintage song sheet paper, dictionary sheets, chipboard, buttons, ribbon, cardstock, patterned paper and a few surprises too!

Hop along with the lovely ladies below and have even more chances to win prizes as well as be inspired to use the inspiration before May 10th.

Dee Dee

Lisa

Rebecca

Cheryl 

Geri

Megan (You are here)

Scrappin Patch 

The Polkadot Door  

Thank you so much for hopping along with us for our 2nd blogiversary! We are thrilled to be in the company of these talented ladies and hope you'll find the hop fun and inspirational, as well as motivate you to play along with the inspiration.

This is what I created using the gorgeous colour scheme, the perfect summer hat - and what better way to decorate it than with gorgeous Prima products!

Can't wait to see what you all make using the inspiration!

Have a great day!

Megan

Mini Albums

It would appear that I have a few followers who have been checking into see what I have been up to, only to find nothings changed!  I caught up with some friends to crop with last week and heard about my lack of blogging lately, so, I got the point lol!  Incidently we were cropping in what has turned into an amazing cropping space without really meaning to be - my friends husband had turned the back of the garage into an office for work; office space being the premium that it is in Christchurch since the earthquake, it makes sense to use whatever space you can find! So it was built with four work stations the perfect space for us to crop in too - I wonder if her Dh foresaw that happening :))

I have had quite a bit going on lately, with work, MIL moving house for what seems like the hundredth time, really its five moves in 8 years but it seems like a lot!, my health and my stepfathers health. But I have found the time to scrap!

Ive made three mini albums lately, two using the small rectangle Kaisercraft albums, and another using an old Creative Imaginations album and box. Ive also been determined to start using up old stash, some of which I bought because I absolutely adored it, but I did'nt want to get into the situation where in time to come I'd pass it on because tastes had changed and I would wonder what on earth I was thinking when I bought it!  Believe me that has happened :(  I have also stuck to my habit of making a card with the leftover scraps - I like the way it ties the whole project together, especially if giving it as a gift.

Be warned this post is long and is very photo heavy!

The first album I made was for my sisters best friend, her daughter was getting married, and she thought this would be a really nice way of holding onto those memories.  The bridesmaids were dressed in a lovely sage green colour, so I chose to use an old range from Kay&C0.

The lid has a magnetic closure to it. The gems dangling down from the corner are part of a Prima Angel Eyes   range of flowers, I just separated the flower from the gems and used the flower  inside the album.

Lastly the scraps were used to make a card and decorate a gift bag.

The second album is for another wedding.  Ive used a Kaisercraft mini album and allowed for only a few snaps - this wedding is quite small with just the respective parents, at a ceremony in a Registry office in England. The paper and embellisments this time are from Basic Grey Capella.  Apologies for the quality of these photos, I needed to get this in the post quick smart and the weather was not co-operating!

The album this time was placed in a little wooden book I found ages ago. The card is made from the left over scraps from the sticker sheet and canvas tags.

The final album I have to show you is for a friends son's baptism.  I used another Kaisercraft mini album and this time I used the Little Darlings range of paper and chipboard embellishments, with some Kaisercraft rubons that I have rubbed onto transparencies leaving enough room to pop the photo underneath, so that the rubon still shows.

I have intentionally blurred the left hand side of the invitation for privacy reasons.

Phew! Finally you can breathe a sigh of relief Ive finished :)  Hope you enjoyed!
Have a great weekend!
Megan

St Bathans

I have a particular interest in history, not any topic in particular, I just find it fascinating, all of it!  It was Forbes's idea to head over to the Blue Lake and St Bathans while we were in Cromwell.  We had planned an extra day into our trip to have a look around the district, and I had never been here before.  I had no idea it was part of the  Otago Goldfields, and predictably I loved our wee visit - there was land for sale which I was dying to buy to build a holiday home on, of course my idea of a holiday got squashed pretty quickly, since I wanted to research what was there and try to rebuild it, Forbes said he should have known I'd take a simple idea and turn it on its head lol, that and the bank balance would shriek at the idea.  But you know dreams are free!  Its so peaceful there and the scenery is beautiful, sigh.

So, a bit of history.  2834Kg of gold was extracted from this area, which encompassed three mines, one of which was the Kildare Mine and it was this mine that later formed the Blue Lake.  It operated the highest hydraulic lift in the world at that time with two vertical lifts, one 165ft and one 60ft.

By 1864, 1000 people live in Dunstan Creek.  In 1866 the Dunstan Creek was dropped and renamed St Bathans, the original name given by the first surveyor of the district.  In the late 1860's it boasted 15 hotels, a number of gambling and dance halls and many businesses.  Many of the miners came from Ireland, and there were also 50 registered Chinese miners.  Most of the dwellings disappeared after WWII.  The sun-dried brick buildings, like other dwellings in St Bathans suuccumbed to the weather after their roofs were removed for their iron.

I love this photo! does'nt the sky look so dramatic in the background?!  Thats our beloved 1967 Mustang parked in the front by the way.

The Vulcan hotel was originally called the Ballarat Hotel, built in  1882.  Its name was changed after the original Vulcan Hotel further down the street was destroyed by fire.  The shamrock you can see in the middle of the facade is an original relic from the times of the rivalry between the Irish settlers from St Bathans, and the Welsh settlers from Cambrian just down the road.  Their rivalry was known as "The War of the Roses".  Theres also a friendly ghost that is said to have taken up residence in Room1!  In 1967 all 22 residents voted for 10 o'clock closing - it was the only place in NZ which had made a unanimous decision.

On a clear gorgeous sunny day the lake apparently is the loveliest shade of blue - a shame the sun was'nt playing ball that day :(  You can drive right down to the lakes edge and canoe, speed boat etc in the lake.  The colour of the lake is a direct result of the mining that went on.

We did'nt get to see everything and so we're going back.  You can stay in the Policemans cottage, which Im dying to do! and wander through the old cemetaries - theres two, one for Catholics and one for Non-Catholics.  So much history still to discover, we will back next year!

I discovered when we got here that we had left the memory chip for the camera at home so I only had room in the memory for four photos - the rest was taken up by car photos and  there was apparently no way in hell I could delete those lol!  When we left here we went to Alexandra for lunch and found a camera store - you can't go to a car show without taking loads of photos.  How exciting!  Im kidding, really!

Have a good week