anita meade - simple.creative.life

Making Merry Monday #19

    Hi everyone and welcome to Monday number 19 in our Making Merry quest! Can you believe Christmas is less than 3 months away now? If you've been playing along with MMM, it is comforting to know you have made quite a dent in your Christmas card quota by now. If not, you'd better get cracking!

    Please excuse the dreadful photo of this weeks MMM card - unfortunately I have taken this at night with a flash - but I guess it's better than no card at all! :) Hopefully you can imagine how much lovlier this card looks in natural light. I have strayed from my SU supplies this week, using a Christmas tree stamp and some ribbon from my stash. I've coloured the image using my blender pens and SU Stampin' Pastels, and I've used my old fave "Warm Words" stamp set for the sentiment. The silver label frame is also SU - silver hodgepodge.

 

 

Here's a closer shot - please excuse the glare!

 

Busy with kids and school holidays here at the moment. Wish the weather was a bit more conducive to getting outside. Kids + holidays + rain = stressed Mummy! Ah well, only a week to go.....I am really enjoying the "sleep-ins" though!  

Thanks for stopping by. Have a truly Merry Monday and a great week.

                                    Love Anita. xxx

My creative space

I've scrapped a few layouts in the last week or so, and I've really enjoyed getting back to pairing photos and memories.  This page is of my littlest boy Corey having a snooze in my sisters car......the photo was taken a couple of years ago while the kids were on holidays at Jindera where my sis and her family live. Too precious!

I have been promising pics of my awesome new craft room desk for a while now, so I thought I'd share them today. I was planning on taking some pics with the new drafting stools that arrived on Monday, but I haven't gotten around to it. You'll just have to imagine the two new "higher" desk chairs that now live in here. We needed to get higher chairs because the desk is much higher than the old one. We designed it this way so that I can comfortably create standing up if I want to (which I often do). Isn't my hubby just too clever? I can't tell you how much I appreciate his handy-man skills - I am one lucky wifey.

 

 

Do you see the shiny, white plastic square between the sewing machine and the printer???.........

 

Well it is my built in light-box! Designed and built by my incredible electrician husband! It is 400mm square, and it will be fantastic for tracing stitchery designs on. How completely cool!

 

 

That's my creative space today. You can find more wonderful spaces over at Kootoyoo. Thanks Kirsty :)

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon, Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #18

I have just managed to squeeze this one in while it is still Monday ;)

Here's what I've used:

Cardstock: Mellow Moss and Very Vanilla

Stamps: Christmas Classics, Winter Post (and the sentiment stamp which is not SU!)

Ink: Mellow Moss and Bravo Burgundy

Ribbon: Mellow Moss Taffeta

Other: Burgundy button, Nestabilities labels dies

    It is school holidays here and the weather today was absolutely gorgeous. We spent as much time as possible outside. I enjoyed my morning tea on the front verandah watching my boys ride their bikes and scooters up and down the street. (Watching them flying down the hill took years off my life! Perhaps I shouldn't have watched!) I chatted on the phone to my best buddy Erica and did a little dishcloth knitting.  The boys washed down the outdoor table, which was very dusty, and then we made pancakes for lunch and enjoyed them outside under the pergola. In the afternoon, our new drafting stools were delivered so we muddled our way  through the instructions and put them together (will post some new pics of the craft room on Thursday). We enjoyed a visit from Tom and Will (Erica's boys) in the afternoon while their Mummy did some last minute shopping for Tom's birthday party tomorrow - the boys can hardly wait! In amongst all this there was 3 loads of washing to hang out and bring in, dinner to prepare and just a little bit of fluffing around in my craft room. I think I'll sleep well tonight!

    I hear the weather is supposed to deteriorate as the week goes on, so I'm glad to have enjoyed the sunshine (and gotten the boys outside for a play) today. Off to the movies to see "Up!" tomorrow for Tom's birthday. Looking forward to it :)

    Thanks for visiting today - I'm glad I finally got this card up here for you. Hope you like it.

                     See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx

A scrapbook page.....what a surprise!

Yes, you read the title correctly. This morning I scrapped a page using some photos which I came across while fluffing around in the craft room. I just love the combination of colours in these photos - the pale blue, red and white. I used them as the basis for this layout. I need to get a longer USB cable for my printer since setting up the new desk, so my printer is not connected at the moment. I decided to just handwrite a little bit of journaling in white gel pen. I don't love my handwriting, but it is a part of who I am so I think it's important to use it on my layouts from time to time. Our boys really are our whole world. Having this happy little family is a dream come true for both myself and Danny. We really do thank God every day for blessing us with happy, healthy, gorgeous little boys.

Thanks so much for all your comments on yesterday's post. It is nice to know that other creative folks out there just "get" my passion for making things. While I was quite shocked at the lack of manners from this particular person, I can't say my creative spirit was dented in any way. It would take more that one thoughtless comment to impact upon my need for creative expression. While I don't claim to be the world's greatest artist by any stretch of the imagination, I would never allow anyone or anything to take away the gift of creativity from me.

Thanks so much for visiting my little blog today. I hope your day is a happy one.

                                     Love Anita. xxx

My Creative Space - still stitching.

 

                

 

    Still stitching in every spare moment. This week it is more beautiful designs by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched. I really must start constructing some projects from my stitcheries.  Picked up these yummy fabrics, including a buttery-coloured strip of chenille, on my visit to Gail Bs last week.

I was quite taken aback by one of the Mum's in my son's basketball team at training last night. Upon seeing me stitching away, she rudely commented that she could "think of better things to do with (her) time". I was gobsmacked! And of course I couldn't come up with some witty retort on the spot. I'd like to know what life-changing activity she does in her spare time. I could guess at a few of them, but I'm not rude enough to write them down here. Anyhow, I don't feel the need to justify my crafty pursuits to anyone. I pity her for not having the joy of creativity in her life. I intend to keep on creating as long as I'm breathing, and when I'm gone some day, my children and grandchildren will have my lovingly made creations to remember me by. What better way to spend your time is there?

    Thanks for visiting my creative space today. More inspirations can be found over at Kootoyoo.

                          Have a Happy Thursday. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #17

     

    Hi everyone and welcome to another Making Merry Monday! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Ours was busy but fun. Jayden's basketball team won their match by just one point on Saturday morning, and they are now into their very first Grand Final next weekend. What a thriller of a match it was. The other team had a shot for goal with only 11 seconds to go and it missed, and we were able to hang on! They did such a fantastic job. I was a very proud Mummy.

    I'm sitting at my amazing new craft room desk typing this post. My wonderful hubby has done a fantastic job building a new desk that will be so much more functional for all of us to use. And it looks so clean and neat.....not sure it will stay that way once I get creating! There are a few very special finishing touches he needs to add to it, so I'll save some photos for when it is completely done - in a couple of days.

    Anyway, onto today's Christmas creation which features a soft, subtle earthy look. Again I've used "Lovely as a Tree" and "Many Merry Messages" stamp sets. I've stamped the trees in white craft ink first, then heat set it to dry quickly and stamped the image again in Chocolate Chip, using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the trees exactly where I wanted them. This technique was inspired by a gorgeous Father's Day card by the lovely Christing Blain. (Thanks Christine). It's a little hard to see in the photo, but I've added small rhinestones to the middle tree to make it the festive feature. The kraft background cardstock has been stamped in Sahara Sand in with my Aida Cloth background stamp for a bit of texture. To finish it off I've added a pretty Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon.

    Thanks for dropping in today. Wishing you a Merry Monday and a wonderful week all-round!

                    Love Anita. xxx

My creative space......peace in stitching.

    I have a yearning to hand stitch at the moment. As I've said before, I've learned to just go with whatever creative inspirations strike me, not fight against them. I don't think "ooh I should be scrapbooking, or stamping, or crocheting" for example. I just go with the flow and do what makes me happy and nurtures my creative soul.

    Anyway, at the moment it's handstitching. I have dug through my pile of Homespun magazines, had a couple of visits to lovely patchwork shops (Mrs Martins Quilt Shop in Monbulk and Patchwork with Gail B in Bayswater) and even sketched up a couple of my own designs to stitch. Here's what I've stitched in the last week. The redwork stitchery is my own design and the little ladybug stitchery is by one of my all-time favourite designers, Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched.

 

 

 

    When I went up to Monbulk and met the lovely Karen Martin at her shop, we were chatting about the friendships that are formed through craft. It is true that some of the most wonderful bonds are formed through sharing a love of a particular hobby or craft, whatever it may be. I have made some dear, dear friends online and in real life through my papercrafting. I think it is that crafters all understand the passion we have for creativity - how integral it is to our happiness and wellbeing. What joy there is in encouraging each others talents and applauding each others beautiful creations. The list of projects to create is endless. I think I am going to try to get to some sewing classes sometime soon. I have many long hours at home alone these days and whilst I love the solitude, I think a regular get-together with other crafty chicks would be really good for me. It would help me to grow my skills and stop me from being such a recluse! I tend to be self-taught in most crafts as I have a steely determination to "work things out for myself" and I don't want to be seen as the "dummy" who doesn't know how to do something. I need to get over myself and start taking advantage of the talent and experience of the creative women in my community.

    I've got lots of stitcheries scattered through the house that I've done over the years. I generally favour a "country" style with warm, rustic colours. Some of my stitcheries are still folded in the sewing box waiting to be turned into wall hangings, or cushion, or bags etc. Clearly I enjoy the handstitching more than the "construction" side of sewing. I think it's just a confidence thing. I will have an exciting change to "my creative space" next week as I'm having a new L-shaped bench installed (by my fabulous hubby, Danny) in my craft room over the weekend. Can't wait to get it all set up. It will have a dedicated spot for my sewing machine, so hopefully I'll be able to improve my sewing skills with a bit of practise.

    Stop by Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo to see some more creative spaces. (Thanks Kirsty)

     See you again soon. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #16

Here is my first Making Merry Monday on Wednesday! Variety is the spice of life, so the saying goes......at least I'm not predictable! lol!

Played with my white craft ink and embossing powder for this weeks cards. I've used the "Christmas Classics" stamp set as well as "Lovely as a Tree" and "Many Merry Messages". The cardstock colours are Purely Pomegranate (retired), Whisper White and Night of Navy.

As usual, simple style and not too many ingredients. I did make up a few of these however because getting the embossing stuff out is a little bit of a pain, so I make the most of it while I'm set up!

        

         

You'll have to tilt your head on that second one as the photo's a bit crooked :) Ooops!

Thanks for dropping by and, again, sorry it's a little late in the week.

See you again soon.  Love Anita. xxx

   

Christmas cards coming tomorrow.......

Hi and, first up, an apology for not having a Making Merry Monday post for this week. Some weeks you have it all together and some weeks.....um....not so much! Just resting up a bit and attending to unexciting matters like tax returns, fatigue,fibro-pain, visiting the Dr, and trying to keep my head above water. Nothing dramatic, just having a few "not so brilliant" days. I have actually made several Christmas cards but I haven't photographed them yet.......that's why you haven't seen them. Anyway, thanks for popping in.......I'll post my cards tomorrow. I hope.......

My creative space

Time for a tour of my craft room. It is not immaculate, but it is tidier than it has been in a while so I'll let you have a little peak :)

Here's the door......do you recognise the sign?

Come on in! 

              

This is the wall opposite the door - a bit chaotic, but I know where everything is ;)

Here's the peg board my honey made me........

            

And here are all my stamps..........

 

This is my desk where the "magic" happens ;)

  

I just love my little ink pad shelves that Danny made for me.

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And this is what I've been working on today. Some stamped Christmas cards......my stash is growing steadily. I'm up to about 30 now.

 

Thanks for visiting my creative space today. You can find more creative spaces over at Kirsty's blog, Kootoyoo. Have a happy Thursday. Love Anita. xxx