Blogoversary Give Away

This post will stay at the top of my blog till the 15th September so you will need to go down to find any newer posts!

On the 15th September this blog will be 7 years old.  So as a thank you to all the lovely people that have been on this blogging journey with me, my time in Saudi Arabia, then Canada and now, Australia, and have been so supportive and kind about all of my mini books, weird projects, tales of abayah wearing and snow shovelling, I thought I would do a blogoversary give away.

I did think perhaps the way to go was to dig into my stash (it's not like there is a shortage of the stuff) but then I thought perhaps the person who won it might not be into stamps and paper and stuff... so I made something instead. The person who wins might now be thinking why didn't she stick to the stash idea!

So I found one of my precious Bisto Gravy Granual tubs and made a cotton reel...

This is the lid that lifts off...

The decorated sides... with dangly bit... gotta have a dangly bit!

and inside is the snippet roll I have been working on...

There are beads, bling, buttons, lace, Chinese coins... paper beads... yep, I flung the lot at it!

Close up of the paper beads I made... I love them!

I used Graphic 45 Communique papers for the cotton reel and Communique fabric in the snippet roll.

So if you would like to win this.... it is very easy! Just add a comment to this post....   which if I am successful will stay at the top of my blog till the 15th September, which is the anniversary and on the 15th I will use a random number generator to pick a number.  yep, that's all you have to do... no jumping through hoops and I don't mind where you live.... 

WOYWW 9th March 2011

This is my work desk on this WOYWW - obviously in the middle of making something and its all a bit of a mess at the moment... but it really is fun turning something mundane into something pretty!!

Well, I had another Bisto Gravy tub empty so I thought I would have a play and make another cotton spool/reel box like yesterday's version.

It's not finished yet, needs some bits and pieces here and there... and I have to make a snippet roll to go inside so that should keep me out of trouble for a day or two!!

The good news is that I finished the basement of my house!!

I added lots of bits from Saudi and a little Inukshuk for Canada...

and a red phone box and London Underground sign for England.

Re-glued all the bits that come apart after Tom-Tom knocked it over and it is almost as good as new!

I keep seeing all these photos of spring bulbs and stuff on peoples' blogs but there is no sign of it arriving here yet!  Though I am informed that we may actually get above zero in the next couple of days... well, I can hope, can't I??

Don't forget to pop over to Julia's and check out the list of WOYWW-ers... it will keep you busy for a week!!

Reel It In...

Isn't it weird how small the world has become?  Internet and mobile phones have reduced the distances to seconds... I grew up as an expat child in Libya (I can mention this now because people all of a sudden actually know where I am talking about) and distances were truly distant back then, we couldn't phone friends and family (most didn't have a phone), there were no computers and Interwebs or VOIP phones and we had to rely on snail mail for any news from back home.  We went home once a year during the school summer vacation, visited Grandparents, bought everything we couldn't get and then went back for another year... it was just the way it was and whilst we also didn't have televisions, news took a while to seep through and was old before we learned of it.
A few weeks ago I got a message on Facebook from a lady I have never met who mentioned that she had been reading my blog and would I be kind enough to tell her where the British Chippie was in Calgary that I mentioned going to!!  LOL  It seemed her husband was out here in Calgary working and rather fancied a nice fish supper and that she lived in North East Scotland not far from where my home is!!
Anyways, a few emails back and forth and Frances asked if there was anything I couldn't get.... YES!!  Bisto Gravy Granuals!!  So she kindly went shopping and bought me some gravy granuals and got her husband to bring them out to Calgary after his next trip home.  How cool is that?  Aren't people nice, especially scrapbooker type people who in my opinion are amongst the most generous and friendly types of folk that exist.
So I thought I would make her something to say Thank You... but what to make?  I made a small canvas and then wondered if it was her style... I thought about making a mini book but then decided that perhaps the weight might be an issue... then a light bulb flickered dimly for a few minutes in my brain and I made her this... now, I will point out that the cotton reel box is not my idea.... I saw a version of it on a blog a couple of weeks ago and loved it and I would like to be able to point you in the direction to see the original version but I can't find it again... do you have any idea how many blogs I visit in any given week?  I'm hoping that if she sees this, perhaps she would leave me a comment and I can then add a link to the original and thank her for the inspiration.  Oh how I love the blogging world!!  Michelle saw this and realised I was referring to her lovely cotton reel box!! Thank you Michelle, your little box was truly inspiring!!

Yes, it's a cotton reel (or spool if depending on which side of the pond you happen to be)!! And don't you love those teeny cotton reel hanging from the big one?

and the lid comes off and inside is a snippet roll.

Here is the snippet roll...

I had fun decorating the top with sewing paraphanalia...I painted it so that the chipboard would have a wood effect look about it.

and look what I made it out of!!  LOL  A Bisto Gravy tub... it seemed fitting to upcycle it for her.

WOYWW 23 February 2011

Here we are at What's on Your Work Desk Wednesday again... time flies and policemen look like they should be in school... both definite signs of getting old!!  If you have chanced upon this post and are wondering what I am waffling on about then please go to Julia AKA Specialist in Snooping and keeper of the blog roll where all will be explained! In short it is the day when many peeps from around the world take a peek into the craft spaces of others to see what sort of mess their desk is in and what they are up to, it's fun and it's informative, so join in if you will!!
My desk this week just has some chipboard pieces I am working on, the plan being that I will hang from the dress form of last week, though that idea may change in the next day or two as Chris came up with a fab idea that I might have to try out!!

The now notorious d.stress is evident, it is a whizz with chipboard!

Here is a close-up of the chipboard pieces, they are a work in progress at the moment.

On my other desk is another snippet roll that is awaiting the sewing machine.

I have more snow... shovelling snow from the path and driveway has become monotonous... no sooner than I have it all clear and looking nice and some more of the stuff comes down - and today was pretty nippy, -15 degrees C but with a bit of a breeze that made it feel a lot colder!  

The sides of the driveway just keep getting taller and taller...goodness knows what will happen to it all when it thaws in the spring - I think I will invest in some sand bags - just in case!  It is completely white out there again now... and still snowing, in fact, I could have saved my energy as nobody would be any the wiser but the local government bylaws say that you have 24 hours from snowfall to clear your path in front of the house or they will come and do it and then bill you! Why this worries me I have no idea, as there are houses on my street that haven't cleared the snow since November and nobody has been and cleared it for them.... but SOD's law says if I leave mine....  LOL

What's on Your Work Desk 16th February 2011

It has been one of those weeks where I seemed to spend most of it chasing my tail.... so not much new on that front then!  Here it is Wednesday again where heaps of peeps reveal all where there work desk/table/floor is concerned and it is amazing the things you learn on the way.  If you want more details then pop on over to the Leader of the Gang AKA Julia where all is explained.

This is my workdesk today and as you can see, there isn't much in the way of scrapping going on which is entirely the fault of Margaret who had a lovely little snippet roll on her blog and then gave a link to the tutorial by Carole  on how to make one.  Well, I had to give it a go, didn't I? LOL  Just a couple of problems, I haven't got any wooden cotton reels and they want silly money for posting them to me here in Canada from the States.... you'd think I was five continents away instead of next door!  But, that didn't stop me attempting it and I even got the sewing machine out and had a play with it!!

So here is a photo of my first attempt...

I'm hoping the next one will turn out better...

This little photo in the middle of it is of my great great great Grandmother taken circa 1835 - her name was Anna Maria Parker.

This is a scan of the original which is on metal and has a weird name.  I think I actually look a little like her!!

The other thing on my desk is a card... and we know I don't really do cards but every now and again I feel I have to make the effort.  My younger brother recently had big problems with his leg and the doctors wanted to amputate it, so we were all dreading him going into hospital and awaited the outcome.  Luckily he had a brilliant surgeon who has used some new techniques and they have saved his leg, but there were doubts about the foot which had gangrene and he had to go back into hospital last week to see what they could do.  He is back home again now and minus a toe, the toe next to his big toe, and in normal circumstances we would have felt terrible at the loss of it, but given the alternatives he has had to face in recent weeks, a toe seems small in comparison and he is feeling much better and happier.  So I  made him a card...

I know, I'm terrible, aren't I?  It's a good job all us kids have a similar sense of humour, as it was my older brother who sent me the pic!! 

It was all change in the scrap room earlier this week, mainly because I needed to find a home for the new toys I got last week which included the paper stand.  So with much huffing and puffing and sorting I moved everything about and managed to fit it in!

I have turned the desk so that it now faces the wall and much prefer it this way as stuff doesn't fall off the back when I give it all a good shove out of the way.

and this is the other wall, which is looking pretty neat and tidy now too!

When I was out shopping the other day look what fell in my basket!!

OK... I admit, it didn't fall into basket... as it is as tall as I am... but you know what I mean? So I thought she could use some brightening up and got the embossing powders out and some chipboard circles...

so now I have to decide what to do with the other bits... I thought maybe hang some chipboard tags and some metal bits and pieces?  Any suggestions welcome... I am thinking of maybe using her to hang all my ribbons.