Definition of a Wreath

Hello Blog World

So I did it!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been seeing all these beautiful bauble wreaths all over the net for a very long time and this year I decided I wanted to try one!

I ummed and ahhed for a long time trying to get the courage and Sunday afternoon I got my nerve up. 

I grabbed all my baubles



Fought with my hot glue gun again, I even have a bandaid this time!  I also fought with the wreath foam I bought, all I could find was florists foam.  Well let me tell you hot glue does not like florists foam so don’t even try it! Unless it’s just me, if it is please let me know.

So after that disastrous effort, I remembered seeing somewhere (and I can’t remember where sorry) using a wire clothes hanger as a base.

Well I knew I had them so off I went to the wardrobe dug one out and untwisted and formed a sort of circle.



Started stringing balls and started hot gluing until a basic circle formed, and then filled in the gaps with smaller balls.

So before I unveil the finished product for educational purposes I have…

Definition of the word “WREATH”

• A circular band of flowers, foliage, or any ornamental work, for adorning the head or for any decorative purpose; a garland or chaplet.
• Any ringlike, curving, or curling mass or formation: a wreath of clouds

It’s a bit bulkier than what I would have liked and a bit more ovalish than round but overall I am very happy with my first attempt and she now sits prettily on my front door.   Next miniature Christmas Cone Trees,  Until then Happy Crafting.

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Healthy Lifestyle Change Week 6 & 7

Hello Blog World,

So the healthy lifestyle change has been a bit of nothing the last 2 weeks, I have been on holidays and diet and exercise I think I left at home!!

So needless to say there isn’t much to write about this week, instead my challenges for this week are:

Exercise
I will aim to exercise at least 5 times this week

Source: a-fitspirational-blonde.tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Water
I will aim to get back to drinking at least 2 litres of water a day



NO Junk Food
I will aim to not eat any junk food this week, especially with Christmas around the corner, gotta save those calories for Christmas Day!

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via Sue on Pinterest

So after weigh in this morning I have put on 2kg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH Scary! See I am the type of person who just cannot stop I need to keep going.  (sings “Just keep swimming” in my head from Finding Nemo, as I type this)

So these are my goals this week, wish me luck and let me know what you do to keep healthy especially through the holiday season.

Until then happy crafting.

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Copy Cat Doily Wreath

Hello Blog World,

Wreaths, wreaths everywhere I look there are wreaths.

Today I am going to attempt my own bauble wreath (just need to get the wreath form first and some more hot glue sticks). I should have done this yesterday but while surfing blog land last week I came across this beauty.



Thanks to Aimee at Twiggy Studios for this inspirational beauty, it’s soooo shabby I had to try my hand at one. 

I have had these large doilies in my stash for so long but have never got around to using them and when I saw this I just knew I had to make it for our Christmas decorations this year.

So first I gathered my supplies

Made lots and lots of cones…



And then hot glued it all together (my hot glue gun and I have an understanding, it will burn me, it will get everywhere but in the end it will stick stuff together!)

Aimee didn’t mention on her post but I hot glued mine onto a round piece of chipboard so it has a solid base and as my large doilies weren’t overly large that way I could make them appear larger by gluing from the outside in and in turn making a larger wreath.

Anyway this is how the finished product looks.



I had a larger hole left over so I got my sticker paper, used my slice machine to make a 1 1/2” circle and then popped this snowy glitter all over it, I wasn’t content with only that much bling so I also grabbed my kindy glitz and glitz the edges of all the doilies.  Then I saw this little felt birdie I had in my stash and decided he needed a home and popped him on there and added a branch I hand cut from cardstock.  Wah Lah one copy cat doily wreath completed with a few of my own personal touches.  It was pretty simple and didn’t take too much time at all. 

So check out Aimee’s at Twiggy Studios version it is so beautiful, pop over and leave her some comment love, I love the branches she has behind hers!!!

Mine now resides in my entry way and it’s just sooooo shabby I may just leave it there all year!  So I am off to spotlight now to find a wreath form and then I am going to attempt this bauble wreath (I am a little bit frightened).  I will let you know either way how it turns out, until then Happy Crafting. 

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Aussie Christmas Subway Art (Free Printable)

Hello Blog World,

I love all the Subway Art out there in blog land, especially the Christmas ones.  However coming from Australia, I find it hard to download one without snow phrases all over it, and as mentioned before I would love a white Christmas but down under it just doesn’t happen. 

So I decided to give this new trend a go, whipped open paint shop pro, fiddled around with some fonts and colours, had my daughter Tiana help me come up with some phrases and this is what we came up with.

^{Click on the images for a larger printable version}

I don’t think it’s too bad for my first try, maybe a bit messy but I still like them. I personally like the dark red one more than the green and will be printing this out today and popping in a frame for our continuing Christmas decorating.  Feel free to grab one if you’re from down under :)

Now I am off to do the housework, and then get stuck into some wreaths before heading off to my daughter’s little athletics state finals for high jump and long jump.  Until then, happy crafting.

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Christmas Traditions

Hello Blog World

The silly season has definitely arrived.  Our Christmas tree is up, we are knee deep in other decorations and I am still trying to recover from holiday and get used to working a full day again!  it’s still a bit hard to get up at 4:30am after 10 days of sleep ins!

I have a very small family and while we don’t have many traditions here are a few that we do every year without fail!





We don’t open presents on Christmas Eve at all, but we do go for a drive/walk and look at all the beautiful homes with their Christmas Lights on Christmas Eve, can’t wait to see what the neighbourhoods come up with this year! 

After that we come home and watch the national Carols by Candlelight and sing along.



This is last year’s tree. We have kept it the same this year due to time restrictions.  I will change it next year I think, but I really do like the pink and white, it’s something different and I love the simplicity of just baubles and lights.

Check it out at night!

Christmas Morning we get up early and we open all the presents!

Even the pets have theirs too.

Then we have a big feast of good food, drink and sweet stuffs!

These were my first attempt at cake pops last year for Christmas, I thought they came out great.  I covered an old computer part box with left over Christmas paper and just poked them in there and they were in the centre of the table.  They looked and tasted great!

After all this on Christmas day, we are normally stuffed! and all we want to do is either play with our new toys or have nanna naps (mainly the adults)

Well I bought some cheap baubles on clearance at K-mart last night, so I am going to try making my own bauble wreath this year(usually we have a big red bow on the door), wish me luck.  I have also seen some beautiful doily and book page wreaths out there on the net this year so I am thinking I may be giving one of them a go to, so watch this space!

So they are our simple traditions, whatever yours may be I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.  Until later, happy crafting.

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Chocolate Makes My Clothes Shrink!!!!

Hello Blog World,

Ok so I am back from Melbourne, I had a fantastic time!  Visited old friends and family, drank copious amounts of wine and ate excessively well!!! (hence no lifestyle change post this week, I will combine last week and this week next Monday)

So today I have an older project for you while I sort through my holiday photo’s and plan some new crafts (I am thinking of making a wreath this weekend, there is also a new watercolour and even a work in progress on a new drawing!)

I mentioned in my last post that I had not long ago decided to learn how to cross stitch properly.



I started with this little fellow, and was very happy with how he turned out that I went out a bought a kit at a craft fair. I saw this lovely lady and this saying and knew I had to have it!!!  It describes me all over!



Again, I was very pleased with how she turned out, and she now resides in a frame on my book case! (sorry about the photo, so need a new camera!!!!)

Now I am off to sort through my holiday snaps (I did use a much better camera).  Until then happy crafting.

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First Cross–Stitch

Hello Blog World,

Firstly Happy December, Christmas is right around the corner. Is anyone else panicking???




Well I am still in Melbourne having a blast, been visiting old friends, having lovely dinners and lots of wine.

So as promised there are no new projects as I am away but when I was a younger girl in my teens, my mother taught me how to do long stitch. I always enjoyed it but also loved the more intricate details that cross stitch provides, unfortunately she never got to teach me that before passing but I have not let it stop me. Earlier this year after seeing what my sister in law can do with some floss and a needle she showed me the basics of cross stitch.

So I already had heaps of floss from my other crafts, and she even had some aida cloth I could use, and instead of going out and buying a pattern for my first attempt, she has a program (I can’t remember what it’s called sorry, but there are heaps of different ones out there) where you can import a photo or any picture and it will convert it into a cross stitch pattern and even list what DMC and/or ANCHOR Threads  you need to use.

So off I went and played, didn’t buy anymore thread so just improvised with what I had if I didn’t have the correct DMC Colour and WAH LAH, my first ever cross stitch completed!!

This is partially done, you should be able to tell what it is.

So it is a reindeer in case some of you cannot tell, I do not know what I am going to do with it, I may clean it up a bit and pop it on a card? I think it is good enough (the photo doesn’t show this as my camera was broken when I took it).

I really enjoyed doing this and have completed another small cross stitch since (which I may show before I go home) and I am also currently working on a massive one which I am about half way through but have had to put aside as life and other crafts have come first for the last few months.

Now I am off to to an Art Society my friend Jenny is involved in, gonna get my groove back and try and do some sketching and/or painting, Until then happy crafting

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