Life's a beach

...its a bit cold for this today, but what a thought!  Warm sun, a deserted beach and hopefully a good book.  Then of course there must be the hotel just behind me, with a waiter just about to wander down the sand and remind me that lunch will be served soon, or perhaps ask if I'd like something refreshing to drink?  Doesn't hurt to dream!!

I did sit on a beach a bit like this once on one of the lovely Whitsunday Islands..... no palm trees though, and DEFINITELY no waiter, or hotel for that matter.

This little slice of memory is for Opus Gluei #58.  There's some coloured CS from the boxes, a piece of red ribbon to match the stripes in the beach towel, and that umbrella, some sand which I think I saved from my sons sandpit (to have on the bottom of candle bowls so the sand absorbs the wax)(L-o-n-g story related to my fire-protection absorbed husband who hated candles), and some shells saved from a wander along a beach some time in the past.  The image is one I clipped from a magazine.  I was trying to duplicate the horizon with the two colours of CS - sort of matching the sea.  The passport stamp is one I've had for a while and its a really useful one to suggest far away places.

Maybe I should have used it on Ali's card too?? 

I can see clearly now (Opus Gluei #57)

I have very bad memories of acetate sheet.... once a long time ago I made a card that was supposed to take its inspiration from the movie "Singing in the Rain" and I went off on a crazy tangent that involved simulating water on a window, my cuttlebug and a piece of acetate.  I almost never recovered, and that particular card didn't make it to the archive.  It should NEVER have made it to the entry stage either but that's another sad story.  Well, we all have to start somewhere, some of us lower down the scale than others!!  

Made two cards and like them both.  Here's the first, and if you go down to the previous post you'll see the second.  I finally worked out that I have to post in reverse order.....  Anyway this one is a sympathy card destined unfortunately for a friend.  I know its mostly black, and maybe that's a bit maudlin, but I also think its a stylish card and think she'll like it because she's a stylish lady herself.  I left out lots of words because I want to write a message that doesn't need to jostle with a generated sentiment, and I'm not a big fan of gushing.

The acetate sheet is another pre-cut one (see the next post) with silver embossing, and there are a couple different ribbons (thanks for the spotted one Liz) and a layered Kaisercraft flower.

Opus Gluei #57 I can see even more clearly now

.... more acetate sheet.  This very minimalist attempt combines a Japanese image from my decoupage file with a pre-cut ATC sized piece of acetate with a silver frame embossed on it.  I was hunting around at the local Spotlight and found a packet of these Fundamentals with 5 different designs printed on acetate and ready to go.  I included the fragment picture just to show it is indeed acetate and terrible to photograph!

I know this will look too simple for most, but I seem to be on a "less-is-more" kick lately; plus it seems to compliment the oriental image.  Japanese things always give me the impression that everything over the top has been shaved away and just the bones remain.

Bon Voyage Ali

My very dear friend is off on the trip of a lifetime (until she gets home with itchy feet and plans the next one) catching up with family and travelling around the Mediterranean.  Lucky girl.  Can hardly wait for the photos because I know they'll be spectacular... not only is she going to be in wonderful places, but she has a great eye for the unusual so the holidays snaps will be anything but.........

Opus Gluei #56 Seasonal Icons

 Hmmm...dont know about this.  All that colour, and buttons no less.....

Well this is supposed to be about icons of a season but once I saw Jana's collection of cards I started thinking about something to represent each of the seasons.  I love the concept of ATCs, so that's what I chose.  The set is linked by colours too, with each using something of the card before it, just like each season leaves shadows of itself before the next one is really THERE.  The summer one has sunny sandy colours, a little length of blue rik-rak for the sea, and a fat fish blowing big bubbles.  For autumn I used the colours of the leaves outside my window today, including just a little bit of green.

 

Its nearly winter so that made me think of frost and fog, hence the snowflake rub-on and the blues.  There's just a wisp of cloud about too.  And finally in spring there is still a hint of winter around, and the promise of the warmth of summer, so I added a flower and butterfly.

Gulp, that's 4 buttons, 8 different papers (thanks to my April kit from Taylored Expressions), 4 different pieces of ribbon, and not a piece of black to be seen.  

Going to lie down now, feeling faint...............

Opus Gluei #54 "Fit to be tied"

I'm with you Rosemary.... I love ribbons and can never resist another roll, just in case......  Once I opened a surprise parcel from the other side of the world and there were lots of little rolls of black and white ribbons in it and I was in 7th heaven for days.  But do I use it?  Of course not, I might need it.  Go figure. 

Then there's the dilemma of black on black on black, solved by ignoring it, and so here's my response to your challenge.....  Black CS tied up with three different sorts of ribbon, mounted on gold just because I had some, and then on a black card.  The flower was instead of a bow because I couldn't decide where to put a bow so that the end result wasn't too........ frilly?  That's me sticking to my motto of straight lines and layers (I know my limitations!!).  Inside is a creamy square to write on so I dont have to find a gel pen that will show up on black.

NGV

Playing with the camera while waiting for the lift down to the carpark..... you may recognise this as a view through the water wall out to the concourse and StKilda Road.

Mothers Day #2

Mmm... high tea.....  a fine china tiered platter with the following: two tiny pies, a tiny pastie, three sandwich rolls (salmon, asparagus, egg)(but anything but plain like they sound), two hot scones with raspberry jam and thick cream.  And that was just the top...  add a collection of miniature cakes... a macaroon, a pistachio eclair, a vanilla eclair, a tiny perfect red velvet cake iced and topped with chocolate flowers, two little orange mousse served in chocolate cups, and a raspberry tartlet.  We shared a beautiful pot of green tea.

Forgot to add that my day began with finding these beautiful flowers on the end of the kitchen bench.  In his typical style, my sons card is fragment of recycled cardboard, hand lettered, and the flowers were gratefully soaking up water in a beer glass.  Wouldn't change him for the world.  The house is full of the perfume of Asiatic lilies.

Mothers Day 2010

The older I get, the more like my mother I find myself becoming.  To look at us, we dress similarly and our hair is cut the same way, and just today someone asked us if we were sisters.  Which probably means she doesn't look her age and I do!!

One of the other things we share is a leaning towards black and white, so this year it was even easier to make a suitable card for Mothers Day.  The DP is from the March Key Ingredients set from Taylored Expressions and I was so glad when I realised it was double-sided, because I've been struggling with the colours on the opposite side since I opened the box!!  The flowers are my old favourite SU Eastern Blooms, embossed in gold and terracotta, with a couple of pearls added.

 

We celebrate Mothers Day in a very old-fashioned way with flowers and a meal out somewhere special, so this year we're going back to the NGV for high tea.  We'll be the two women in black sharing a pot of tea while my Dad and my son work their way through the menu.

Midnight Madness Bog Candy

You must hop over to Priscilla's blog and take a l-o-n-g look at the lovely collection she's made to celebrate one year of Midnight Madness Sketch Challenges.  There's such a lot of things in this package and some lucky follower will have lots of fun playing with it when they win!  Click here to visit the Midnight Madness blog and see for yourself.

If you've never entered the challenges, now would be a good time to start, and you just might be the lucky winner of all this lovely loot!!