anita meade - simple.creative.life

My Creative Space - a longstanding UFO finally finished.

About four years ago (yes I said four!) I started to make this Christmas tree skirt. It was intended to be a "practice project" that would be for the kids Christmas tree in the rumpus room (We have two trees - see this post from last year for an explanation).  Anyway, life interfered and every Christmas since then I have sworn that I would finish it. Yesterday I finally dragged it out and finished it off. After all this time I'm not sure I even like it any more! My fabric choices would be very different now, but it's complete, it's festive and the kids like it.

Corey is always enthusiastic about whatever my latest project is. Here he is checking it out. He thought the name "Christmas tree skirt" was quite hilarious! Fancy a tree wearing a skirt! lol!

 

I have been making more items for my new Etsy Christmas store "The Making Merry Shop".

Here are some of the latest additions:

These are gift tags. I'm putting them together in a pack of five.

 

 

And these cards, in a set of four, will be added to the store today too.

 

 

Of course, my creative space wouldn't be complete without a knitting or crochet project to take along to swimming lessons or school pick up or basketball training etc. At the moment its another dishcloth in lovely green using my favourite waffle pattern.

I don't think I've shown you this little basket of homemade goodies which I recently gave to my friend Kellie who'd just given birth to her third precious daughter Mataya. It contained two crocheted beanies, a little pair of booties a little tree ornament (or door handle decoration after Christmas) with an "M" on the front and "2009" on the back, and a pretty pink fleece blanket.

I have so many projects buzzing around in my mind at the  moment that I don't know where to start. I think I need to get better at keeping a notebook of my creative ideas. Some of them fly out of my mind before I can write them down.

And there's always more inspiration to be found over at Kirsty's blog Kootoyoo. Pop over there and check out lots more creative spaces.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great Thursday. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #24

Well then, after another busy weekend, I actually do have some new cards to show you.

I've gone very traditional with the colours this week. I've used Handsome Hunter, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White cardstock this week, (with their matching inks). The stamp sets I've used are Punches Three (hostess) and Holly Jolly Holiday. I've also used SU! patterned paper (Holiday Treasures) as well as some Riding Hood Red and Mellow Moss ribbon,  some twine and a few buttons and brads too. Hope this satisfies all those traditionalists out there (my hubby included!) I've made a whole stack of them.......

 

          

The big news is ...........

........that I have made so many Christmas cards I've decided to open a brand new Etsy store completely dedicated to Christmas - "The Making Merry Shop".

 

Along with Christmas cards, I will be listing Christmas creations of all kinds, from tree ornaments to table linen and much more! All lovingly handmade by yours truly. I know lots of you out there in blog-land can probably create your own cards and Christmas goodies, but if you find yourself out of time, materials or just out of your depth with a particular craft, please pop over and support my little Chrismas shop. It will keep me off the street and in the good books with my hubby if I can sell some of my creations. Plus I just can't help myself - I'm always making something new, and there is only so much we can keep in our home!  Pop in often as I'll be adding items to this "all-year-round" Christmas store continually.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope this Monday is a truly merry one for you :)

                                Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #23

Not much to show for MMM this week. We've been feeling the effects of a very BIG week! Jayden has tonsillitis, and I have had a horror couple of days with my fibromyalgia. I have just popped a photo in of some of the cards I've been making that are sitting on top of my printer. Same materials as last week. If you have any specific questions please let me know and I'll be happy to answer them. Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back, and better, very soon I hope. Love Anita. xxx

Making Merry Monday #22

Today's MMM cards are the simplest of simple, but the use of Stampin' Up's gorgeous ribbon gives them just the right amount of embellishment. Their ribbons are just delish! I'm especially smitten with the super wide stripey ribbon from the current spring mini catalogue.

The "Merry & Bright" sentiment is is not a stamp at all - I've simply used a "Christmassy" font to type "Merry & Bright"  in an MS Word document and printed it out on my ink-jet printer. I told you it was simple!

INGREDIENTS: (All Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, River Rock (retired), Riding Hood Red, Whisper White.

Ribbon: Riding Hood Red 1 1/4" striped grosgrain (spring mini catalogue), Riding Hood Red5/8" striped grosgrain.

Other: Antique brass hodge-podge buckle, ink-jet printer and MS Word.

I've started on a few little Christmas stitching projects too. Here's some cute little tree ornaments I've whipped up recently. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I really love Christmas! :)

   

 

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a very Merry Monday. Love Anita. xxx
 
 

Making Merry Monday #21

Hi again. Has it really been a whole week since I last posted on my blog? I have been kind of pre-occupied this week - I had a little surgery last Wednesday to repair a hernia I've had since I was pregnant with Corey 6 years ago. I thought it was finally time to get it attended to, as it had become more and more troublesome over recent months. All went well, and while I'm a little sore and sorry for myself, I'm improving every day. I'm sure I'll be back to normal very soon. I'm hoping to use my quiet "recovery time" this week for a little creating. I've been working on my crocheted blanket today - it's coming along beautifully but I've run out of black wool, so I'm hoping to pick some up this week so I can finish it off.

This weeks Making Merry Monday card is a bit of a cheat :) I actually made and photographed this one last week, but I kept it up my sleeve as I wasn't sure if I'd be well enough to come up with much after my surgery. Turns out I would have been fine, but I have this one all done, so I'll share it with you today. The photo is a little crooked - sorry about that!

SUPPLIES USED (all Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Riding Hood Red, River Rock (retired), Always Artichoke

Stamp sets: Spotlight on Christmas, Winter Post, Best Yet

Other: Square Punches.

I really like the "old world" feel of this card - it's really super simple (just cardstock and ink) but it has a lovely charm. Using the Naturals Ivory cardstock instead of Very Vanilla adds to the effect, as it just has a bit more warmth and character to it.

Anyway, that's my Making Merry Monday #21 creation. Hopefully I'll be back to normal programming here on my blog in the days and weeks to come. Thanks for visiting today. Hope your weekend was fun. Looking forward to doing some blog hopping this week - if you've got something you think I'd like to see, please leave me a comment/link. I'm always on the lookout for creative inspiration. Have a great week. Love Anita. xxx

 

Making Merry Monday #20

Hi everyone, I'm back! Didn't know I was away? Well we skipped out of town for a short holiday at Echuca last week. We went along with my Mum & Dad and my gorgeous nephews Jack and Cooper (unfortunately their parents had to work so they couldn't come with us). I will share a few pics of our holiday soon, but first I think we need to get on to this weeks MMM cards -  there are 2 of them!

  

 

These cards use basically the same ingredients, I've just varied the size of the card. Here's what I've used:

SUPPLIES USED (all Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Old Olive

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, River Rock (retired)

Stamp sets: Spotlight on Christmas, Merry Merry (retired)

Patterned Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP

Other: Old olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive button, 1 3/8 " square punch, Large 5 petal flower punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crystal Effects,

Thanks for visiting today. I'll be back with some more holiday details and pics later on.

Hope your Monday is turning out to be a Merry one! Love Anita. xxx 
 

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

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

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

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