And finally... Birthday Book Number 4!

Yes, this is the last of the birthday books that I made last week... this one is mine and I used Graphic 45 papers that I have had for ages and ages.... 

and it opens with me and my January birthday...

and my nephew

onto Christopher 

my Mum,

Chris in May with my niece,

Eldest brother and niece in July

and second eldest brother also in July...

My nieces and nephews...

and my little brother to wind the year up...

with photos of my niece and nephew and my Mum.

I had great fun making these, they have a purpose which suited my need to make something with a practical application as well as just looking nice.

WOYWW 223 and the Fairy Castle

On my desk this lovely spring morning is a fairy castle! I used Graphic 45 Once Upon A Springtime papers.

I used my Tim Holtz bird cage to make the front door and then used foam pads to add back on the offcuts to make it look like a solid door.

and it had to have a dangly... I added lots of little fairy bells, they ring when a new fairy gets her wings. I used shell offcuts for the rocky front garden, they have such pretty colours and shine, perfect for a fairy tower garden.

On the main tub I added a platform and made a tower... the Queen of the Fairies Tower.

Three fairies guard the tower and the gold key...

and the tower opens up to reveal the Fairy treasures.

The lid can be removed and inside is a fairy room...

Used my bird cage die to make the windows by cutting the top bit off.

I added a little battery operate candle so that it can be used as a night light.

and the fairies dance to the flickering lights....

This is the back of the fairy castle... a little door for the tradesmen to deliver fairy groceries.  I added a flag pole and fairy banner to the turret.

Don't forget to pop over to Julia's for the linky list of desks to visit and craftiness to see!

If you haven't entered my Blogoversary Giveaway you only have till the 15th September! 

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday 221

This is my work desk this Wednesday morning... you can see I am in the process of altering a Pringles tub into a cotton reel.  Graphic45 Secret Garden papers and a TH bird cage are on the desk.  A small pile of stamps that I bought at the weekend and a lovely card from Annie... you may just be able to see the cutest wee teddy in the shopping trolley at the back of the desk, he really is adorable and I have no idea how Annie makes something so small!

Close up of the cotton reel... its work in progress...

the birdcage... not sure if it will end up on the cotton reel yet, it may just end up as a card to go with the reel.

Last weekend Chris took me up to Melany at the Sunshine Coast, its about an hour and half away by car, and we passed the Glass House Mountains on the way up... this one is Tibrogargan... in Aboriginal legend he is supposed to be a hunched gorilla looking out to sea... can you see him? 

So it was a lovely day and we visited the quilt shop in Melany, Quiltopia, and I bought some fabric.

and Ann, the lady that owned the shop gave me a fat quarter of cow material that I had been admiring...

So I made myself a messenger bag! LOL  I think I may be the only person in Brisbane who has a cow bag...

and on the way back down the mountain roads we passed a scrapbooking shop!! So Chris pulled in and I got to do some stash shopping.

and we had lunch out too.. so it was a really good trip and cheered me up after a miserable allergic to the tape on my stitches week! :)

If you would like to check out all the other desks pop on over to the leader of the desk snoop, Julia and link yourself up for a tour of the world!!

T on Tuesday

I am joining Elizabeth for T on Tuesday with..... TEA! Chai tea to be exact.  It's my first try at making it myself... and it has a lovely scent of cinnamon and spices and tastes pretty good too!

I have taken the dress form wire thingy from the family room and thought I would make her a dress with the offcuts from my Graphic 45 material.  I think she is meant to hold necklaces and things but she is very handy for holding all the charger wires for the cell phones and tablets, which is why she lives in the family room, next to the drawers I decorated for chargers.

so the chai and dress form are joining me for T.  I know, all dress designers and seamstresses the world over can sleep peacefully in their beds tonight, having no fear that I will be running rampant with my dressmaking 'skills'!!  I am hoping she will look a bit better once I have added one or two (or more) touches... LOL

WOYWW 218

I have moved desks for today's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday... I am around the corner at my sewing machine.... see what I got???  I saw this Graphic 45 Communique fabric on Mary Anne's desk a few back and when I asked her to give it to me (LOL) she told me that Julia and her had gone fabric shopping at a store near Julia.... so I asked Julia if she would mind getting me some and she did, what a star!  It arrived on Monday and I have been itching to play with it since I opened the package.

This panel is fabulous and has all my favourite images from the paper range and I was sort of stuck as to what I could do to it... it would be a crime to chop it up, but like scrapping paper that is too finished, you are left wondering what your input to the process could be that wouldn't be detrimental.

So last night in bed, when I should have been sleeping, this idea came to me... if I padded certain images and sewed around them... then put the entire thing on quilt matting, they might stand proud from the flat... so if anyone out there has done this and can tell me the pitfalls... would you yell now please?

It is still winter here... but I can't compain because though the nights get cold the days are a balmy 23 - 25 degrees C.  In my front garden there are numerous palms of different types and this one fascinates me...

Doesn't that look like some sacking or hessian to you?  I would love to peel some off and play with it but I am thinking spiders might live in there.... big fat hairy Australian spiders... urgh...

and I loved the effect of the sun shining through the underside of this palm leaf....

Don't forget to check out Julia and the linky list for lots of lovely desks!!

WOYWW 216

Here we are again with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Check out the leader of the desks, Julia, if you wish to join in or find out more.

This is my desk bright and early this Wednesday morning!  A cup of tea, a mini I just finished off for my Granddaughter with the letter that will go in the post with it and that unopened project... yep, still procrastinating on that one!

I have been watching YouTube video by Kathy Orta and just had to try out her hidden hinge binding system!

Brilliant isn't it?  Love the gusset gaps between each page so that you can embellish to hearts content without making the book totally unmanageable. 

 Inside front cover... I am hoping that my Granddaughter will add all the treats and special days she enjoys during her summer vacation.

 The pages are those little coin envelopes... so you can see it is a wee little book but with all the tags and pull-outs and fold outs she should have enough room for some favourite photos and journaling.

 Little booklet slides out on this page...

 A little pocket on the front with a tag, and larger tag inside the envelope page.

 A side pocket with tag on this page and larger tag inside.

 A fold-out page for photos and journaling and larger tag inside.

 A slide out tag plus the larger one inside...

 and this is the spine... it looks so neat and square... I hope she enjoys it and it encourages her to look at the everyday things that make life special.
I am off out for coffee with a couple of ladies this morning but will be back by lunchtime to start on my rounds of desk hopping!!

Oops... got Kathy Orta's name wrong, thanks Caz!!! :(  Have added the link to the hinge binding video.