More on Melbourne

So, apart from going to the Paperific Expo, we also went to the Melbourne Aquarium.  If you haven't been there yet, believe me it's well worth a visit.  We were there a few years ago and thought it was good then, but they have made some improvements and it's even better now.  Along with all the fish they have a flock?? of King Penguins and they are absolutely gorgeous. 

These pictures don't do them justice.  I've only ever seen them on photos and film but to see them in real life ... they are magnificent. They also have some Gentoo penguins as well. These guys are great swimmers and really cheeky.

These pictures are not the best but I only have a small camera and the shutter speed is not really fast enough for action shots, but these guys are really cute.

And then there are the fish ...

 

 

And the jellyfish ...

And crabby things ...

And Nautilus Shells ...

 And Cuttlefish ...

 

And the big boys ...

 

You can't really tell from the photo but this Groper is enormous.
 
They also have Seahorses and Sea Dragons but, unfortunately, my photos didn't come out too well.
This is a very small sampling of what you can see there and believe me it is well worth the visit.
We spent quite a few hours wandering around, it was a great day.

That's all for now. Thanks for visiting and God Bless.
xx Marg

Melbourne - Paperific

Hi everyone!  I'm back home in Adelaide again. Yayy!!  Had a great trip to Melbourne. Went to the Paperific Expo, saw the family, checked out a few of the local sights, and all in all it was a good trip.
Paperific was good but a bit smaller than I expected and I didn't find the show specials I was hoping for.  Perhaps I was looking for the wrong product.  I met some really lovely people though and my friend and I did have a good time. Not so sure that my brother did though.  He was our taxi driver and decided he would come in and have a look and then ended up carrying my bag for me (a pink bag).
Just as well he's got a good sense of humour, but he wouldn't let me take his photo.  Hmmm.

 

It's obviously a very popular show and became quite crowded later in the morning.  We had trouble getting into some of the stalls.

This little chap had all the mod cons in his stroller. He even had a DVD player. I obtained permission from his mum to put him in my blog because he was so cute.

There were some classes and some make and takes but we didn't join in.  Too busy looking around.

We had a great time and spent quite a bit of money, but then, that's what the trip was all about.

Thanks for dropping by.  God Bless.   xx Marg.

Paperific

I am flying to Melbourne today with a friend to go to the Paperific Expo.  Really looking forward to this, it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm also visiting family while I'm there.  (So good to get cheap accommodation) Taking the camera so I hope to get lots of photos to show you what it's like. Will be back early next week with lots to talk about.
Take care and God Bless.
xx Marg

More Class Cards

Hi everyone!  I have a couple more class cards to show you. The first is a teepee card I made for my granddaughter.  She turned 10 this year.  She's beautiful, inside and out. Love her to bits. Anyway, this is the card I made for her.

She's a real girly girl, so of course it had to be pink.
 

The small roses are from Kaisercraft and the large pink one was in my stash. I added some die cut leaves and a couple of white spirals. Her birthday is in winter but I wanted the card to be light and summery because that suits her nature.

 I painted the little Imaginarium frame with crackle paint.  Had never used it before but I was quite pleased with the result. Inked all the edges of the papers of course and die cut the butterflies with Magnolia Ink Doohickeys.

The back I stamped with 'Umber' Versa Color ink and added a few tiny pearls. I used a ribbon to keep it closed. I'm happy to say she loved it.


The next card I'd like to show you is one I made for my daughter-in-law's birthday.  Our baby's Mum and an awesome Mum at that.

I hand stitched around the edge of the front with metallic thread and I painted the tattered clock with crackle paint. The butterfly is a Magnolia doohickey.

The flowers are from my stash and I really can't remember where I got them from.  The darker blue ones I made myself from a tutorial by Natasha Naranjo Aguirre (Moments of Tranquility) she has some fabulous flower tutorials on her site. You can find her site HERE.

This is not the card I made in class. The inspiration for this card came from one of Meg's Gardens Design Team members.  She made a number of cards with butterflies etc., and I thought something similar would look great on the Touch of Acetate card my teacher showed us.
 

Inked the edges of the papers, die cut some tiny butterflies and sprinkled them around and also stamped the corners.

That's all for now.  Thanks for visiting and God Bless. xx

Card Class Cards

Hi everyone!  So, I go to card class each week, mainly because I love crafting with other ladies who enjoy it as much as I do.  It's a lot of fun and we get to try different styles of cards.  I may not always like the cards we make but I do always get some new idea or technique that I can use in other projects. I thought I would show you a small selection of the cards we have made.

This is a calendar easel card we made.  It has four small drawers in the base for trinkets etc. and was great fun to make and easier than it looks.

 This is a waterfall card. I gave it to a male friend for his Birthday.

 Our teacher shows us the technique for making the different cards and we choose the papers and embellishments we want to decorate them with.

   

 

 I really enjoyed making this centre step card and I used it as a get well card for a friend who was in hospital at the time.


This is just a small selection of the cards we have made and, as I said, I really enjoy the process and the company.
Thanks for visiting and God Bless.   xx Marg

Gate Fold Card

I've created a gate fold card for a friend's birthday.  The inspiration came from a couple of sources.  I know one of them was Graphic 45's blog where they showed a gate fold card with a pocket in the middle for a sentiment tag but I can't remember where I saw the other card.  I've tried to retrace my steps but have not been able to locate it.  It never mattered before, but now that I am blogging, I'm going to have to make notes when I find things on the net that I like so I can give credit where it is due.
I like the gate fold as it is different from the norm and when you add the pocket and a belly band it becomes something even more special.
 

I've punched the borders on the belly band with a Martha Stewart border punch and added a small chipboard frame from Imaginarium.  Papers used are Kaisercraft from their Sweet Nothings Collection.

I did some hand stitching around the edges of the front panels with metallic thread, then added some Kaisercraft flowers and created a small pearl spray to add more interest.

I painted the frame with gesso first and then with soft moss acrylic paint.  I sprayed it with glimmer mist and when dry I lightly inked the edges and added a few tiny pearls.

For the inside I simply created the pocket with matching paper, added the side panels and then, for the tag, I added a few pearls and a flower charm.

The flower charm is attached with a small brad.

Thank you for visiting.  God Bless.
xx Marg.