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

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

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

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

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

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

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

December Daily - Days 3-6

Here I am once again with Days 3-6 of my December Daily as promised. The bingo card on top here is a genuine vintage bingo card that I was gifted last year and this is the very first one I have used to date hehehe. I used an Echo Park reindeer sticker and a little plastic button in the centre.

The next page is the actual Day 3 and it is about traditions so I did some journalling and then Ray and I decorated the tree. Last year we did not even put it up but this year the grandbabies are able to comprehend what Christmas is about so I had so much fun putting it up and then today Sophie came over and said "WOW Nannie this is bewiful, verrrrry bewiful!" It was all worth it to see her little face light up and now I hope Elijah and Lily do the same when they arrive on Christmas Day *grins*.

This little page is the other side of the bingo card and I used Echo Park stickers again hehehe.

This is day 4 and this was Sunday and Sophie went to the Pony Club and she was the youngest rider there. She has pink riding boots and a gorgeous little pink cowboy shirt her little helmet is also pink. She has only been practising for a couple of months and she is only 3 yrs old. At the end of the day she got seven 2nd place ribbons and one trophy. . . not too bad for a new girl. The crowd absolutely loved her, she is an absolute natural and I am so very proud of her.

Day 5 shows Sophie in the back yard with her Poppie behind her while she gets a bindy out of her foot. In the second pic she is showing off and in the third pic she is in her pool which is two days old lol.

And now we come to Day 6. . . . Today I finished off my handmade christmas cards. This is the first year I have actually made my own even though I am a cardmaker lol I know I am soooo bad! On the handmade kraft envelope (made to look like Maya Road envies) I put rub ons on it and I will put a few extra pics in there.

This is where I was happily colouring in using my brand new Copic markers and I have to say I am having a ball using them. I got out all my old stamps that I have had in my stash for nearly 20 years and went beserk stamping and colouring them in.

So that is all for today and I hope you have enjoyed all my pics to date. I will be back tomorrow with Day 7.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

2011 December Daily Day 1

Well finally I have made it back to my blog and what a long spell away from it wasn't it? I don't know what was up I just had no love for it so this weekend I am overhauling it with the help of my daughter and then perhaps I will give it the attention it needs. For now though I have decided to do a December Daily as created by Ali Edwards. So here is day one. . . .

Which is deciding what was going to be on the Christmas Day Lunch menu for my family this year. . .

It is a big thing to try and outdo what was on offer the year before and because it is so darn hot here in Australia at this time of year everyone well almost everyone has a cold spread for the big Christmas lunch. So as I said in my journalling we will have the traditional baked ham, roast pork, roast chicken and then of course a huge platter of prawns but I might do Thai style prawns on the BBQ this year. It is the salads that are the thing to beat each year and all year I keep my eye out for new salad ideas lol.

Julie Goodwin a previous winner of Australia's Master Chef brought out a fabulous cookbook with some great Christmas recipes in there so I will be using some of her ideas for sure.

This is the front cover of my December Daily which I did make last year and had big chipboard 2010 on the front cover at the bottom but had to take it all off for 2011 and in the process I ripped some of the scrapbook paper so had to do a cover up ROTFLOL. I will be updating my blog daily with new pages and new photos so stay tuned and I will also intersperse these with Christmas cards I have made using my brand new Copic markers which I have fallen in love with.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

Card Gift Box

Hi everyone,

Yes I know I am so slack not doing anything but I have been so taken up with art journalling etc that I have not really created anything card wise for ages. I will load some of my art journalling pages up gradually because I am new to it so I am a tad fragile about criticism.

I was skyping with my lovely friend Sherry who makes me laugh continuously. She is good for my soul and I am honoured to have her a part of my life. We met doing card challenges a few years ago now and remain constant friends who skype regularly. My whole family have met her on skype and usually they can all hear me laughing out very loudly when we are crafting together ROTFLOL. Sherry had this tutorial so we both made it together even though Sherry had already made it prior. Sherry did a Christmas orientated gift box and I did mine using Echo Park Victoria Gardens paper. Inside the gift box there are four assorted cards and I have yet to make the envelopes. This is such a good teacher gift or for someone you don't see often etc. So here are my pics of my finished gift box.

I am hoping to put some more work up over the coming days so please stay tuned for more to come.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Moxie's Fab World Vertical Sketch Challenge

Hello everyone! I was skyping with my friend today Sherry and I had commented on her finished card which I loved because it was a halloween card lol and said I would make one. I checked to see who the sketch was by first and then went to work on it. I have not done a card challenge for Moxies Fab World before today but I can promise it will not be the last *grins*.

Below is the challenge we were to follow. . . .

This is my card which I also love because it has my fav paper collection of all time. . .Basic Grey Eerie collection. I absolutely adore it and I usually keep it in the stash vault but I thought it needed some air today and whilst it was taking in the view from my craft room I took a small piece from the pack lol. The mini alpha stickers are from Cosmo Cricket, the button is from the Eerie collection as well. The twine and Halloween stamps are from my stash. Okay until next time. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Our Vintage Affair Aug 10th Altered Item/Card

Hello everyone. Well it is a little past the 10th of the month and I should have done this post already but I was busy studying and starting my assignment so crafting takes a back seat then. For this challenge over at Our Vintage Affair we are to use triangles in whichever way we could, either as a card, an altered item or even as Polly did a banner which is gorgeous. I made an individual cake slice box using SU Crumb Cake cardstock and October Afternoon Modern Homemaker DSP and their tin pin. I used my tag punch and some twine I was gifted by Sherry. All in all it was pretty easy to make but I would hate to production line them for a wedding lol.

For this month over at Our Vintage Affair our sponsor is. . . . .

and the prize is a £20 voucher to spend in their store!!

"We are a UK based business selling a wide range of craft supplies including stamps, dies and embossing folders, punches, an extensive range of items to alter and decorate and much more for your scrapbooking and card making projects. We are committed to providing the best, most up to date craft products at great prices, coupled with first class service.

Some of the leading companies that we stock include Stamping Bella, Ranger, Tim Holtz, Crafty Individuals, Martha Stewart, Katzelkraft stamps, Nestabilities, Craftwork Cards, Copic Pens, House Mouse, Viva Décor, Eco Green crafts and Cosmic Shimmer to name but a few.

We are constantly adding new products to our range of craft supplies so be sure to add us to your browser favourites so you can pop back and see us - there really is something for everyone."

I hope you can join us for the challenge this month as I would love to see what each of you create.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Card Patterns - #127

Hi everyone. Well it is very late Sunday night here in NSW Australia and I am about to head off to bed but before I went I thought I would post this card that I just finished for Card Patterns. The sketch we were to follow is below. . . .

Here is what I made for the above sketch. . . .

I used SU Crumb Cake cardstock and vintage lace as well as Early Expresso stamp pad, I Am Roses flowers, one of MFT's new stamp set/die combo as well as their doily die, Basic Grey DSP and a Making Memories garment pin. I love how this card turned out don't you? Okay I am off to bed as I am closing my eyes as I type lol. Why don't you pop over to Card Patterns and join in the sketch this week.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Our Vintage Affair Aug 1st Layout

Hi everyone!! Well here it is another month and of course that brings brand new challenges over at Our Vintage Affair blog. Now don't laugh okay. . . . this is my very first scrapbooking page that I have ever loaded up to my blog! I know right *grins*. I am a cardmaker and a mini album creator and an off the page lover. Polly and Loriete over at Our Vintage Affair gave me some time off as I dealt with family issues concerning my daughter and little grandaughter Sophie. It has been a very long hard road but hopefully there is light at the end of a very lonnngg tunnel. So here I am creating a scrapbooking page.

We have a new sponsor for this challenge and that is. . . .

And here is a little about the company itself:

"Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker is a scrapbooking company specializing in premium papers and embellishments that will make you smile. From whimsical designs to cute, cuddly creatures, Nikki Sivils designs straight from her heart hoping to inspire creativity and expressions of love and life.

http://www.nikkisivils.com/

http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/"

And here is a prize for challenge winner: the collection from "My Friend Birdie"!!!

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

Here is one of my gorgeous grandbabies. . .Sophie!! I had this black and white pic that my daughter gave me so I thought why not create my page using this pic. The challenge is to also include a bird on the page and I chose a SU DSP pack that has birds etc all through it but I had to cover the gorgeous bird up with the pic so I used a SU punch to put a bird there.

I hope you can join us over at Our Vintage Affair for this months challenge and that you are a lucky winner if chosen for the prize pack on offer this month and there will be another challenge but possibly a card or an altered item for the 10th August so stay tuned for that. Please join us as I would love to drop into your blog and leave a comment on your creation.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with artistic beauty.

The Gypsy

Card Patterns - #124

Hello once again everyone. Here it is another day and I have another card for you. I did this one at the same time as the other one yesterday but I thought that I would put them up a day apart. Below is the sketch that we were to follow over at Card Patterns and we could turn it whichever way worked for us.

Here is my card following the above sketch. I used Basic Grey's Curio 6x6 paper pad, SU cardstock (of course lol), stamp pad in Early Expresso, stamp sets Aviary and Short and Sweet for the sentiment, ribbon from my stash, flower from I Am Roses and the pearl hearts I have had in my stash for over two years and only now decided to use them hehehe.

Well that is all for another day but in the meantime. . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

Sweet Sunday Sketch - #126

Heeellllooo Bloggers!! It has been quite a while since I did a post and there have been extenuating circumstances that have kept me from blogging or crafting for that matter. I won't go into it here as it is rather private and to do with my family but I have not felt much like crafting for some time. Today I had to teach a private scrapbooking class and decided to work on a couple of sketches after my student went home. I looked for a challenge or two and found Karen's Sweet Sunday challenge which I used to do on a regular basis with my friend Sherry. What better way to get back into the swing of things. I had so much fun making this card and it did take some time as I am so anal about where things go etc lol. Below is the sketch we were to follow. . . .

And here is my card following that sketch. I really love how it turned out. I used The Timsters Vintage Shabby paper pad and Basic Greys Out of Print 6x6 paper pad. I used SU cardstock, inks, and pom pom trim as well as the eyelet border punch. My flowers are from I Am Roses and I cannot do without these flowers now. The stamped image is from Kaisercraft and the sentiment is a SU one.

Okay until the morning that is all from me tonight.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

OVA - June Card Challenge

Good morning everyone. Here it is a cold and cloudy Monday morning and it is a public holiday in Australia, so I am still in my PJ's and it is after 9am. I have no grandbabies to take care of and nowhere to rush off to so I am going to play for the whole day in my craft room hehehe. . . sheer bliss for me I can tell you after the last six months.

Our Vintage Affair has a new sponsor for the month of June The Craft Barn and the winner of the card challenge will receive 20 pounds English sterling to spend in their store and that is a darn good prize I can tell you because for me it would be nearly $35 Australian dollars worth of goodies. So this month there is a sketch to follow but you also have to include two different stamps in the background of your card and I know everyone will find this challenge easy. So pop into your craft space and get cracking girls and good luck to everyone.

This is the sketch you are to follow for this months challenge but don't forget the two different stamps as above. . .

Finally here is my card for the above challenge. I was a bit rusty I can tell you lol. Not quite sure if I love my card but I will let you all be the judge of that one.

So until next time ladies. . . .

Walk about your day with artistic beauty.

The Gypsy

Winner of my OVA Blog Candy

Hi everyone. Sorry I have been MIA lately but I have had major family issues and just recently I have been so very sick with a virus which I am so sick of. I have used Random.Org to choose a winner for my personal blog candy and there were 24 comments and the number chosen was number 17 who when I counted down was Maremat - Marlies. Congratulations Marlies and if you would like to contact me with your details and home address I can get this posted to you as soon as possible.

Thankyou to all my followers who have stayed with me during this time, I promise I will make it up to you all. Projects will commence very soon.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy

OVA Blog Candy

Hi there everyone. How are you all this fine public holiday? For us Australians this year. . .we get five days off instead of the usual four days as Anzac Day falls on Easter Monday so we get an extra day to make up for it.

I have some exciting news for you. Over at Our Vintage Affair we are having a giveaway of individual blog candy on each design team members blog. There are a few guidelines or rules if you will that you need to be mindful of if you want to have a chance at winning the candy and they are. .

If you want to win one of the OVA's candies, here are the 5 requirements:

1. Write about OVA's Blog Candy in your blog.

2. Leave a link to that post in Inlinkz under this post. (over at Our Vintage Affair)

3. Post a candy badge in your blog side bar with a link to OVA blog:

4. Leave a friendly comment in every DT member blog.

Anna

Anna

Elena

Kate

Loreta

Michelle

Polly

Toni

5. Become a follower of OVA's and every DT blog if you wish, but it is not a requirement...

The OVA CANDY is open until:

24.00 on 31st of May!!!

Here is the candy on offer on my blog . . .

So good luck everyone and I hope you enjoy playing along.

Walk about your day with beauty

The Gypsy

Our Vintage Affair DT Entry #4 - March Tag Challenge

Hi there everyone! Here I am with another design team entry for Our Vintage Affair. For this challenge you are to do a tag to put on an Easter gift but the challenge is to use the pic below on your tag hehe. Now I don't have any coloured ink in my printer at the moment so I printed it out on my laser printer and then used my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to give it that old world look. So please make sure you copy and paste the pic below or go to Our Vintage Affair blog and choose whichever process you use to be able to print the pic so you can create your tag.

The sponsor this month is Inkido and the prize is lovely so make sure you take part in our challenges.

This is the prize that you could win from Inkido. So come on girls why don't you join us over at Our Vintage Affair.

In the meantime. . . .

Walk about your day with beauty.

The Gypsy