Artful Delight #30 March challenge

Well as promised here is my other card that I made which I love due to the simplicity of it.  This card is for the March challenge over at Artful Delight  I am loving those enamel dots that are out at the moment or have been for a while but because I haven't made any cards I haven't used any lol.

This is the sketch we were to follow for this month.

I hope you come back again to see what I have created next time.  But for now. . . 

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Seize the Birthday #9

Hi there everyone.  Here I am back with a couple of card challenges.  Slowly getting back into the things I love most to do.  I have found that my craft room has been so neglected since before Mum passed that is was time to try and get back into it and with the help of my beautiful friend Sherry I have achieved a small measure of success. . .what do they say? Small steps!

This card is for Seize the Birthday and it is the birthday card for a female this week so below please find what I put together, a little rusty still but not too bad.  What do you think?

On the MFT Pure Innocence stamp of the little girl I used Copic markers and used my colourless blender marker to make polka dots and to also make the diagonal stripes on the paper dollies.  Love the effect.

So I will post the next challenge tomorrow morning but in the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with artistic beauty.

The Gypsy

Seize the Birthday #3

Hi again everyone.  Sorry for another delay I'm just not dealing with the passing of my Mum as well as I thought I would.  That's all I'm going to say about it.

I thought that getting back into something I love. . . .crafting might be just the ticket and so here is a card I made for a brand new challenge blog Seize the Birthday  

I hope you enjoy it and perhaps you might also swing on over to their blog and join in

That is all I have today for you but will be back tomorrow with a scrapbook layout.

In the meantime. . . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Retro Sketches #44

Happy New Year blogging friends.  I hope 2013 is everything you wished for and more besides.  I am going to be overhauling my blog in a major way and simplifying it so it doesn't take long to load.  I will also be including other things like cooking, preserving and bottling,  art journalling etc. So I hope you stay tuned for those positive changes as they occur.

I didn't come anywhere near my blog in December as my Mum passed away on the 7th Dec and I am still trying to deal with the grief of losing her.  Some days are good others days are really bad. I feel lost without my Mum here she was a major part of my life.  Anyway just wanted to share that now I will get back to my post.

I have chosen Retro Sketches to make a card to start the new year off and it was nice, clean and simple something I need to learn more about. . . .to simplify things more as I said hehehe.

Below is the sketch. . . .

Here is my take on the above sketch. . . .

As I said clean and simple wins the day here lol.  I made this while I was skyping with my bestie Sherry.

Okay that is it until tomorrow when I have another card to share with you all.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy (Michelle)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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