It's all in our perspective!

Greetings from Down Under 

where the birds are in full flight 

for spring has well and truly sprung 

and many noisy critters are are out there

having lots of fun!

About this time last year I was anticipating my very first project and blog post 

here at My Sweet Earth.

So much went through my mind as I ventured down an unknown path.

There certainly are differences but so much is warm and familiar.

Crafters are sharers and the women on this team have been carers.

This, my last post ( maybe) has a little crafting about 

my Super Star and his Happy Place.

Whilst Super Star has not painted the town yet Idyll Hours is certainly a place to live 

In Full Color!

The Laughing Birds are from his vivid imagination.

Yes, I smile every time I hang clothes on the line as they watch me with their steely gaze.

Living and loving and enjoying all that is good in our amazing world 

is something we both try to do every day.

Not always easy.

Not always achieved!

But an aim to reach for.

Super Star's happy place as you can see,

has lots of stuff that's a mystery to me.

As Susan's sweet sentiment says:

There are good moments that will run away...

 if we let them.

If you would like to know the how's and what's of my happy bit of creative time

you can find it here on my blog post. 

If you would like to follow this passionate Aussie Crafter

from my Perspective-

I'd be honoured .....

and it has been an honour and a privilege to play here too!

Don't be a stranger ... I am a mouse click away.

Julie Short

Choices and Chances

Hello Everyone!

Don't you hate when a favourite shirt becomes shabby and stained.

I loved the softness of the linen shirt but not the stains!

So I set about to remedy the situation

Quick as a flash the dowdy old collar came off.

Then using Jacquard Lumiere Paints and a big selection of 

Susan K. Weckesser Stamps for Unity I got to work.

Here's the front

A little advice if you want to try this.

Try on your shirt and plan where you want to dress up.

Work slowly and let each section dry.

Heat set each area with the iron as you go.

Limit your colours and stamps and repeat little elements where you can.

I love to have the back of my clothes look interesting too!

To pull the design together I used black thread and outlined each section with my handmade braiding.

Just when I thought I was finished and was ironing for the last time I spied

A nasty little stain in a prominent section of the front.

So...

The cutie heart stamp came to the rescue.

My revamped jacket has already had an outing to a Craft Show!

The reaction....WOW!!

Especially when people realised I had created it myself.

The choices we make and the chances we take

 are what keeps crafting such an interesting adventure.

Julie

Tough to make but so appreciated!

Hello this is Julie.

Do you struggle with Sympathy Cards....I do!

In fact, sometimes, despite my best intentions, they neither get made nor sent.

This past weekend after a conversation with a widowed friend about the loneliness of grief I thought long and hard about my feelings. Loss of family and friends is an experience we all face, often quite unexpectedly.

After my friend had gone I had to make two sympathy cards and so rather reluctantly I began.

Now Susan K. Weckesser is known for a whimsical and light style but it was in fact some remnant papers and her super Washi Tape Stamps for Unity that began a creating session.

Using Time To Create Handmade Embellishments meant I had my two cards done in a little time.

Why not, I thought, create some more cards to have on hand?

Inside this one it says "I'm thinking of You!

I don't like "With Sympathy", so instead I use words that will have meaning for the recipient and enable me to be personal in what I write.

If my card can reach out to a bereaved friend and let them know I care then perhaps the loneliness will be lessened a little. I know how I have appreciated the thoughtful gestures and kindness we have received over the last few years.

 

After all, a response that is heartfelt and real will always ease sadness, even if it is just a little.

Thoughtfully yours

Julie

Getting organised...one project at a time!

Hi there, it's Julie Short here and I am on a bit of an organising kick at the moment.
The other day I was wandering through our local op shop and this little treasure caught my eye.

 I don't know about you but I seem to spend too much time looking for business cards, paint chips for yet another pot of my current favourite colour as well as warranties and instructions for recent purchases.
The accordion folder certainly deserved a makeover and could be a perfect catch all.

So out came the Susie B range of papers, the Unity Susan K. Weckesser Washi stamps, Pan Pastels and Viva Decor Pearl Pens.
In pretty quick time I jazzed up the accordian file.

This is the front with the wonderful house and alpahbet letters individually cut. Because I intend to use this, when I had finished decorating with Pan Pastels - how smooth they are, I gave both sides a very thorough spray with fixative.

I was pretty pleased too that the "Live in Colour" came from a remnant paper piece and it fitted perfectly.

Now we just have to get into the habit of using our organiser so that we can be ..... a lot more organised.
That should leave me more crafting time ...shouldn't it?
Julie

Tickled Pink

Hello and Welcome this is Julie Short here to share my Design Team piece.
Don't you love when you flick through photos and a wonderful memory comes jumping at you?

This past Easter there were;

You see my Super Star loves to recycle and create just as I do. His material of choice, usually rusty stuff and mine - paper.

In my "could be useful" stash I found three tags from Susiebee Studios Inc ( Susan's Paper Range) which had the perfect krafty feel I wanted. This range, by the way is available from Want 2 Scrap in the USA and Time To Create in Australia.

Now the very first Susan K. Weckesser stamp I owned was this one.

 Followed very quickly by this set which I adore for the markmaking possibilities. On my layout edges and frames have been added unevenly to enhance my handmade feel. When it is a favourite we reach for those so often, don't we?

Now every time I go out to the clothesline the Laughing Bird Family giggles at me and in turn I am Tickled Pink by the generosity of  Super Star.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone and share some love,
Julie

Make - over Mayhem!

Hello I am so glad you dropped by! This is Julie Short from a miserable and chilly Australia.

Does this sound familiar - " I think I'd like a small can of paint to jazz up the  ......"
Here we are a year later and the one can has become many and the jazzing up has spilled outside the house, inside the house and has now ventured into wardrobes, cupboards and seriously now, I am looking at me!

Yes MakeOver Mayhem has certainly hit at Chez Short.

It all starts with a seriously critical look around.

Then come the paint charts. Punchy and bright - flashes of delight was the aim!

The amazing frangipanni wire sculptures are almost a metre in diameter - eventually there were three!

And here is Phase One of our experimenting.

Now when putting this page together I also got to use something else I love! Stamps! Susan K Weckesser Washi Tape Stamps for Unity. The originals and still the ones I reach for!

Take a scrap and stamp - Voila! Washi embellishments as you like it.

So.... what needs a makeover around your place ????
Be warned though .... it can be .... a never ending story.
Have fun
Julie