Saturday, November 17, 2012

Merry Monday Challenge #41

Hi everyone.  I decided to play along with Merry Monday sketches again this week even though I was too late to post it to their site last time, I am in time this week.  The sketch we were to follow is below. . .



This is what I decided to do with the sketch.  I used October Afternoon paper collection from last year.  Spellbinders snowflake die, Stampin' Up! stamp set for the sentiment, stickles and bling.  I put it all on a base of Crumb Cake from Stampin' Up!.

That is all for now although I have been busy making christmas cards and will post a pic of them all tomorrow as a group.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Monday, October 15, 2012

Merry Monday #36

Hello again everyone.  Just a quick post today as I wanted to get this card up before I missed out on it.  The challenge sketch is for Merry Monday.
I chose once again to use October Afternoon Holiday Style and the stamp set is again from Stampin' Up! as is the ink and cardstock.  The wood veneer is from Studio Calico which I am in love with lol.
EDITED ON 15th Oct, 2012. . .I was too late to post it to the challenge site, never mind maybe next week.


This is the sketch. . .



Okay that is all from me for now but you never know
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch #87

Once again here is another sketch I did using the same paper collection and the same stamp set for the tree and Circle of Friendship for the sentiment both from Stampin' Up!  The sketch is by Try Stampin' On Tuesday  Below is the sketch and my interpretation of the sketch.



Okay so that is all for now.  I will try and get some more challenges done this week.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Freshly Made Sketches #56

Here I am back with another card sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches.  I chose to start some serious cardmaking so I was ready early this year lol.  Below please find the sketch and my interpretation of the sketch.  I used October Afternoon Holiday Style collection and a Stampin' Up! Season Of Joy stamp set and ink.



I will be back tomorrow with another card from another sketch.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Monday, October 1, 2012

Halloween Cards

Hello once again people lol!  Here it is in less than two weeks I have done three posts hehehe.  I absolutely love Halloween and we don't celebrate it here in Australia unfortunately which is a damn shame because I think a lot of people would get involved if we did celebrate it.  There is stuff available in the cheap shops but nothing scrapbook related at all.  I asked my friend Sherry if she would purchase the new October Afternoon Halloween collection for me and send it to me.  I just put the money into her paypal account and when it cleared she ordered it for me.  It is an amazing collection to say the least and I will be doing a mini album with it when I get it.  We will be travelling down to my eldest daughter's home in Sydney for Halloween and because her partner is Columbian as is his family of course lol, they will be celebrating Halloween so this year I get to go all out so be prepared for lots of Halloween projects including some wonderful 3D candy boxes etc.


The stamp sets I used are from Paper Smooches and they are adorable lol.  I used some old Memory Box halloween papers for the second card and Basic Grey Eerie papers for the first card.


That is all I have today but in the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cameo Spotlight Triangle Challenge

Hi Everyone!  Here I am with another challenge for the Cameo Spotlight challenge blog.  To take part you  must use your Silhouette Cameo to create each challenge.  I chose this Halloween cut file from the Silhouette store because of the triangles in the house itself and because I absolutely loved it.  It took ages to cut the little yellow cardstock window infills as I did this by hand hehehe, but I must say the final product looks amazing to me lol.  I am so not biased . . . .much!!  I hand cut the moon which you can tell as it is a bit rugged lol.




This is the inside of the card using another cut file which had various Halloween cuts like a pumpkin, cat, a spider web and the bat and cauldron.


I hope you enjoy the card as much as I enjoy gazing at it sitting on my desk lol.  That is it for today so in the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with absolute beauty.
The Gypsy


Monday, September 24, 2012

Sweet Sunday Sketch #168

Hi everyone!  I have been in a cardmaking mood lately and made this card while skyping with my friend Sherry in the US.  I love Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday sketches so I chose this one to work on today.




I used an old paper collection from 2010 by Fancy Pants and loved how it turned out.  Let me know what you think.  In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with artistic beauty
The Gypsy

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Merry Monday #28

As promised here is my second card for today.  If you would like to see my other card then scroll down further.  I chose Merry Monday for my second card which is getting some christmas cards done early in time for christmas.  It would be lovely to be on time for a change.  Below is the sketch. . . .


Here is my interpretation of the above sketch. . . .


I used October Afternoon Christmas collection from last year which I just adore, again Doodlebug twine, Paper Smooches sentiment, and SU cardstock colours.  I also used Frayed Burlap for distressing the edges. That is it for today people.  I will try and get some more done during the week.  It feels very strange to be making cards again after so long. Bye for now and in the meantime . . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Freshly Made #48

Well finally I thought I had better get my hand back into card challenges.  I sauntered away from the vintage look and got into the modern funky paper collections to  my detriment lol.  I have become a slave to the new collections you could say.  I thought I would start my card making again with a challenge from Freshly Made.  Below is the sketch we were to follow. . . .


Here is my interpretation of the above sketch. . . .



I used Echo Park Everyday Ecclectic which I fell in love with.  I used an Ali Edwards sentiment, Studio Calico wood veneer stars, Paper Smooches background hexagon stamp and Doodlebug twine.  I will be back shortly with another card I finished.  In the meantime . . . . 
Walk about your day with beauty
The Gypsy

Friday, June 29, 2012

Just Because. . . .

Good morning everyone.  I was skyping with my friend Sherry this morning and I did this layout using Basic Grey Lime Rickey paper collection which I just adore.  The pic is of my 5yr old grandson Elijah who started school this year and I think this mask was for a carnival at school.  I cannot believe how well his mask suited the Lime Rickey papers hehehe.


Just a quick post as I have a few clients booked in for massages today.
In the meantime . . . . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Challenge for ColoredSprinkedGirl.ning.com

Hello everyone!  Here I am with another layout for an online class I am taking with Sherry over at ColoredSprinkleGirl.ning.com site.  I did however forget to put the white paint where the embellishments were to make them stand out more but I forgot to and because I had glued them on I could not take them off again lol.  The pic is of my little grandaughter Lily waiting at the bus stop to pick her brother Elijah up from school.  With her glorious brown skin and tight curly locks I adore her as I do her brother.  

I am thoroughly enjoying the class where we had to make our own kit from our own supplies and use only that kit for the class which lasts a month and it does prove challenging to say the least but you can make it work it just takes a little concentration and a lot of creativity *grins*.


I will post my layouts as I do them and I do think I have another one to do as I type this so it will not be too long before I post again.
In the meantime. . . . 
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy



Monday, June 4, 2012

At Long Last. . . . .

Hello everyone!! I bet you all thought I had fallen off the face of the earth.  Well a lot has been happening down my neck of the woods as they say.  The most exciting is that I will be officially retiring from the workforce and taking my superannuation as a lump sum then Ray and I are going to buy a 4WD and a caravan and pack up the house and put everything into storage except for what we will take with us of course and head off on a very long leisurely trip around Australia.  My big sister who is on 15mths older than me but nevertheless she is still older hehehe, she is also retiring at the end of the year and her and her partner Alan will also be doing the same thing so we may just do it together.  I said to Ray that I had to have a few home comforts to travel with and that would be my ipad (of course lol), the purchase of a satellite dish for Australia wide tv for those darkest of nights out in the bush, a mobile internet connection so I can skype my bestie in the USA as well as regular contact with my grandbabies and my two precious girls.

I thought about all the scrapbooking supplies I would want to take but then decided to just take my Project Life supplies and album and all my cameras like my large digital SLR, my video camera,  my small compact camera and my Instax camera as well as my new little Pogo printer for on the fly pic printing.  I think the rest of my supplies can be stored. I have taken so many pics lately whilst creating Project Life it has become quite the obsession and the funny thing is I take a selfie of Ray and I each week to add to the weekly layout which are really funny.

Why are we doing this you may ask. . .well since I have to wait a few years before I can have my double knee replacements I decided that I did not want to sit around and be miserable and I am thoroughly sick of the tiny little country town with it's nasty community but that does not include everyone here just some.  The longer I sit and mull things over and over in my mind the more miserable I become so bugger it I said to Ray lets just do it.

a couple of weeks ago Sherry and I signed up to do this scrapbooking class which started on the 1st June.  Below is my first layout that I completed using different techniques for me at least.  The pic is of two of my grandbabies and it is a black and white pic.  Who knows what will be next.  

Oh the other great thing I have got lately is my new Silhouette Cameo which I also bought one for Sherry as I got a deal on Amazon.com.  I bought two machines and extra mats etc and it came to almost the same as one machine would cost me here in Australia.  I had them sent to Sherry's address and she shipped mine out to me.  It won't take the place of my Cricut because I think they do two different things.  The Cameo is so detailed and can cut the finest of lines whereas the Cricut is better for cutting larger things.

Well I think I have you all up to speed with what has been going on lately lol.  Suffice to say that Ray and I are having a wonderful time making lists etc of our requirements, searching on the net for the right caravan and 4WD that will tow it as not all 4WD's are created equal hehehe.  There will now be regular posts while I do this course and if you want to see my Project Life layouts on a regular basis leave a comment and I will make sure that I start taking pics of the weekly spreads.



In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy (now you know why the name lol)


Friday, April 6, 2012

Sketches In Thyme layout and DT Entry

Hi everyone, I told you I would be back with some layouts and this is one that I just did today as I am going to apply for the DT over at Sketches In Thyme. Very clean layout with no fuss just the way I like them lol.


The pics are of my grandaughter Sophia she is going to be 4 years old in June. The papers I used are varied and I used Thickers for the large heading and LillyBee alphas for the text.


I hope you are all enjoying your Good Friday with family and loved ones. I am just waiting for my sister and her partner to arrive for a few days and they will also be taking my mum back with them when they go back to the Gold Coast. Mum has been here for 3 weeks and we have had such a good time. I will be travelling to Sydney with hubby and my daughter and grandaughter to spend some time with my other daughter and her family as soon as they leave.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Monday, March 26, 2012

Finally Let Go!!

Hi everyone, I know it has been some time since I posted and I will be getting back into regular posting very soon I promise. But first let me tell you a story about what has been happening in my life of late. . . .First off never work with friends or family. . . . . . EVER!! I have finally let go of a friendship that was close to 17 years long and I never thought I would be saying that but it is very very true. After telling another staff member that she would be getting rid of me in a few weeks, it made me realise that she was never a friend, maybe a long time ago but that disappeared into dust. Now with all of this going on in my life I was far too stressed and far too upset to be working on projects in an uplifting manner because I was dealing with that loss of friendship and trust. There are now only a small handful of people in my life that I trust implicitly and two of those are my husband and the other happens to be a wonderful woman I have not personally met but we skype several times a week and have done for the last couple of years. I will never allow myself to trust anyone (other than the ones I mentioned) again like I trusted this other friend. I had been the victim of bullying in the workplace at my previous job and I can honestly say that I and others have been the victim of bullying in my current job. Well no longer current as I resigned last Friday because I was sick of taking crap and made to feel less than.
So now that I have made the decision to finally let go of all that stress and anger I can now move on in a positive way. I did however make some lovely friends whilst I worked at my job and they know who they are and we get together on a very very regular basis either at my place or out for a meal. We will be doing a road trip soon to see another friend who left the same workplace due to the same treatment as myself. I cannot wait to see her and I am so looking forward to the road trip with the girls.
I know this was long winded but I wanted my followers to know and understand what has been going on and why I have not been producing any projects of any worth although I have taken to scrapbooking in a big way so I will be showing a lot of that in the coming weeks *grins*.
Thanks for your continued support girls.
The Gypsy (Michelle)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Merry Monday #8

Hi everyone. My friend Sherry and I skype on a regular basis and this week because Sherry is a guest designer at Merry Monday I decided to play along. I made this card and a layout which I will post tomorrow on my blog.



The above sketch is what I had to follow for the challenge. I used October Afternoon paper, chipboard and ephemera and jute twine from my stash. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up! Make sure to come back tomorrow for my layout.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Friday, February 17, 2012

A layout I completed. . . .

Well it has been a little while again but to be honest I am in a rut and sick of making cards that just sit in a box. So I have decided to take on scrapbooking in earnest. I did not follow a challenge or anything. This is completely my own design lol. The pictures are of my youngest daughter Ashleigh and my grandaughter Sophie. These pics was taken last Sunday just gone when they went over to the coast for the day.


I am really happy with how the page turned out and it is now the 4th page I have done in this style which I am totally loving. I love the sprays Mister Huey's by Studio Calico and I have two with two more coming. I would like to get them all. I used various paper lines - Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee and October Afternoon. The Alphas are from Basic Grey. I hope you enjoy it but in the meantime. . . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Just Because. . .I felt like making a card!!

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY for all the Aussies out there in blogland. . . .YAY!!!!!!!

I have been putting this card together for nearly a week but when Sherry and I skyped the other day I put it aside and only finished it off tonight so I thought I would put it up here on my blog as I really like how it turned out eventually lol. This card is not for a challenge or anything it was just because I felt like making a card.


I have used SU cardstock, Modern Label punch and Early Expresso ink pad, I Am Roses flowers (totally in love with them), MFT Dies for the dress form and sewing bits and bobs as well as the doily background and stamp set, some jute twine and a Making Memories vintage garment pin. Oh I nearly forgot the most important bit I used OA Thrift Shop paper pad. That is it for now.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with artistic beauty.
The Gypsy

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Clean and Simple Stamping - #174

Another day another challenge people lol. Once again Sherry and I were skyping and we both chose to do this weeks Clean and Simple sketch. Below is my interpretation of that challenge.



This is the sketch we followed. . . .


Okay hopefully I will be back before the end of the week with another project.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Christmas Card Challenges - #7

Well here I am another day another challenge lol. Once again during the same skyping session with my friend and partner in crime and laughter the other day here is another challenge from Christmas Card Challenges - this week being using flourishes on your card. I used my beautiful christmas gift from Sherry which was the WHOLE collection of Holiday Style by October Afternoon and I was going to put it away until next christmas but I promised myself I was going to try and not hoard so much of my stash hehehe. I used my lovely Flourish die my MFT which I absolutely adore as it always looks fabulous no matter what you use it on.


Once again the twine is from my friend Sherry. Cardstock is from Stampin' Up! and the chipboard Santa is also from OA same collection. Okay once that is it from me for now.
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #35

I was skyping with my friend Sherry and I decided to do a couple of card challenges while we chatted (4 hours of chatting lol). She told me about CAS-ual Fridays Challenges and what the challenge was for this week so I decided to make a card to meet that challenge and for this week it was a clean and simple card using scallops. Below is the card I entered.


I used October Afternoon Farmhouse collection, the sentiment I typed out myself using an OA Ephemera piece laying it on an A4 piece of paper and putting it through my printer using a typewriter font. The cardstock is by Stampin' Up! The twine is from my friend Sherry and the chipboard house is also OA. The scallops I cut out using an MFT die. Okay that is all for now. . . .
In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty.
The Gypsy

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Marion Smith's 31 Day Challenge 2012

It is time for Marion Smith's 2012 - 31 Day challenge. . . YAYYYYY!!!
This year will be a little different from last year in that for each day of January we are to take a photo and create a photographic journal for them. Marion does have downloads to make a beautiful journal with all the inserts etc. but because it is just after Christmas I have no funds to purchase any of them at the moment but maybe I may down the track a bit. I have used Kaisercraft's Sweet Nothings collection and it is very shabby chic. I fell in love with it when I saw someone showing it on You Tube. I have had this collection in my possession for not even two weeks lol and I am cutting into it already why you ask???? Because I made a vow for 2012 that I would use my stash and not lock it away in the hoard vault ROTFLOL. I have a tendency to do just that but not this year! I will be doing videos during the month of my progression but not every day maybe every 2-3 days we'll see.


The first pic is of the front cover and I have not added any embellishments yet until I finish the month as I do not want to knock it around unnecessarily.



The second pic shows the inside of the journal and I have used random envelopes, paper bags and those vintage envelopes that was all the rage last year. I will also be cutting my own envelopes using some of the Sweet Nothings paper but for now I am far too tired so maybe in the morning I will start that but for now I just wanted to post on the blog for the day. I am off to bed but in the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day in beauty
The Gypsy


Monday, January 2, 2012

Spicy Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Penne Pasta

Hi everyone. Well here I am as I promised with my meal from last night and the recipe that I created myself to go with it for those that want to give it a go. . . .

Spicy Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

500gms/1lb Mince/ground steak
1 small Spanish onion chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 tablespoon fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
1 tablespoon fresh Basil
2 fresh cloves of Garlic finely chopped
salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
1 can of diced tomatoes in their juice
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 small Spanish onion chopped
1 clove of Garlic finely chopped
further 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
further 1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1 Beef stock cube
1/3 cup of water
a large handful of fresh Basil finely shredded

Mix minced steak, onion, garlic, egg, oregano, thyme, chilli powder, paprika, fresh basil and parsley together in a bowl and once mixed roll small amounts into individual balls until done, place vegetable oil into pan and heat on stove. Cook all meatballs until almost cooked through, then remove from pan. Drain most of the oil from pan whilst retaining the pan leavings there. Add chopped onion, oregano, thyme and finely chopped garlic to pan and cook until onion is transparent, making sure not to burn the garlic as it will become unpleasant tasting if burnt. Add undrained can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed beef stock cube and water to pan, stirring lightly to assist in the de-glazing of the pan. Once it comes to a boil turn the heat down and add the meatballs to the pan, at this stage add salt and pepper to taste. Place lid on pan and simmer until sauce thickens and meatballs are cooked right through, usually another 1/2 hour is required.
Serve with Penne pasta and top with finely sliced fresh basil leaves.

Okay until tomorrow that is all I have for now. In the meantime. . . .
Walk about your day with beauty
The Gypsy

Sunday, January 1, 2012

WELCOME 2012 With A Few Changes

Hello everyone! Happy New Year for 2012!

Well 2012 for me will bring many changes especially for my blog. I have decided that I am going to change it up some here on the blog as I am quite tired of just doing cards and things. My daughter Courtney will be re-designing my blog in the near future to reflect these changes. So let me share with you what I will be doing. . . .my main love is cooking especially with fresh ingredients and I have not had much of a chance to do that in the past two years as I need to have a double knee replacement. I have finally seen the specialist and after checking out the x-rays he said to me I am surprised you can walk at all judging by these pics. But I have decided that if I want to cook then I will just have to do it and push through the pain or take extra painkillers when I do cook. I have a stool in my kitchen thanks to my scrubby and that helps heaps. So what this means is I will be doing recipes and taking pics of the finished dishes and putting them up on my blog with the recipe included for those that want to try it for themselves. We put a small vegetable garden in this year and in the first pic is our very first crop of cherry tomatoes and there are more ripening as I type this post hehehe. The second pic is of my daughter Ashleigh and grandaughter Sophie with my very first bunch of shallots/spring onions and we were as proud as new parents when we picked them lol.


Second I will be starting my Remains of the Day journal now that it is completed and I can just work in it so there will be posts about that. I want to do a Photo A Day or a week. I will be tossing up as to whether I will do a fav supply of the week as well and then doing scrappy projects but using a main colour and working all my projects on that colour theme. Of course mini albums will be making a regular appearance. I am going to try and do some scrapbook pages as well this year. Some of these offerings will have a Mr Linky attached to it so you can join in with your fav supply or your fav recipe to share etc. So please stick with me and enjoy the ever changing journey of a Gypsy as she walks through her life.
I went to a New Years Eve party last night to my besties house and made Spanish Meatballs (my own recipe) and Garlic Prawns (also my own recipe) but I forgot to take pics so I cannot post the recipes but I will make them again down the road as I have fallen in love with Tapas and my daughter Courtney bought me a variety of traditional tapas dishes and a traditional Paella pan for christmas so look out for all the tapas dishes to come.
In the meantime. . . .
Always walk about your day with absolute beauty!
The Gypsy