Just before I go.....

I thought I better send my Inkurable Challenge before I chill out in Culburra. The challenge this month was Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate, or for those non foodies amongst us Beige, Pink and Brown. I hope I have put in enough Strawberry!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

I don't know how I'm going to cope!! No computer for a few days while we have a brief sojourn down to the holiday house in Culburra. I think I'll be alright, but I will miss my cyber/bloggy friends. I'll just wish you all a very Merry Xmas and hope you all enjoy the special day with family and friends and then I best get back to packing. See you back here soon.

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas

It must be Christmas I'm starting to panic! I'm sure I'll get everything done but you always worry that you have forgotten something. We are spending Christmas with our daughter and her partner and her partners parents. I am really looking forward to it! Although we were still with family last year, we didn't have either of our kids with us. This year we have Jess but Jordan is still in Scotland. Lucky thing is going to have a white Christmas, although I don't think a young hip 20 year old will fully appreciate it! I have been busy making journals for Christmas. I was pretty happy how these two turned out. In real life they are quite sparkly from the Starburst sprays used.

Are we tired of making Christmas cards yet?

The call went out for "more cards please". Thankfully it wasn't for christmas ones, so this is what I came up with for the lastest batch for Trin.

Look What I Got!

For the last two Christmas's the girls in our Decorative Artist Association have come together and painted a quilt. Each person paints a blank piece of calico dedicated to a theme and give them over to be made into a quilt. We then recieve a ticket in the draw to win that quilt. I was thrilled to recieve this years quilt, the theme which was either the sea or the Central Coast and the girls out did themselves. I don't know if the photos do it justice but each panel was a work of art (LOL). Thanks goes to the lady who made the quilt up. As an added bonus, the panel that I painted was made into a cushion.

Fig Salami??? No meat products in sight!!

Walnut, Prune and Ginger Fig and Walnut

Thought you all might like to share a recipe for a change. For the last couple of years I have been whipping up these little nuggets for gifts and in some cases I have been known to have made a small cottage industry out of selling them in great numbers! Don't be fooled into thinking they are actually salami, its just a play on words LOL! I weight them out at about 150 to 200grams and each batch makes about 4 to 5 logs. Word of warning though, if you are serving them on a lovely cheese platter, cut them into thin slices and arrange them creatively as they could look a little like doggies do do if you don't!

The Recipes:

PRUNE & GINGER SALAMI
440g pitted prunes
100g pitted dates
40g crystallized ginger
1-teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons Port
Icing sugar

Blend prunes and dates together. Add ginger, vanilla, mixed spice and port. Mix together.
Divide mixture into 4. Sift icing sugar onto some cling wrap. Place one piece of mixture onto cling wrap and roll mixture until approx. 12cm x 5cm. Wrap in foil and leave in a cool place.Serve on a cheese platter with a strong cheese such as pecorino.


FIG & WALNUT SALAMI
500g moist dried figs
100g pitted dates
40g crystallized ginger (optional)
chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons port
Icing sugar

Blend figs, ginger and dates together. Add walnuts, vanilla, mixed spice and port. Mix together.
Divide mixture into 4. Sift icing sugar onto some cling wrap. Place one piece of mixture onto cling wrap and roll mixture until approx. 12cm x 5cm. Wrap in foil and leave in a cool place.Serve on a cheese platter with a strong cheese such as pecorino.

Which ones do you like?

Just sitting in my little room at the back of the house codgetating, yes codgetating, over which one of these babies will become part of the annual christmas card production line. Can't quite decide. Can you help?

Journal

See you didn't have to wait that long! Just another Journal, not too sure about this one, I like the concept but I think I have gotten to be a little messy.

Gee is that the time already?!!

I have a little saying that you can often hear me say and its goes like ïts not really Christmas unless you PANIC!" Yup and thats just what I aim to do this year (again). I love Christmas! Unfortunatley I slide into that dreamy state of looking at the cook books, making cards (and not sending them), cruising the shops and soaking up the atmosphere. Yesterday coming home from work I was madly waving to Santa driving the bus! I got a little teary!! Anyhoo I just wanted to say, I'm back with the program and hope you will stay tuned because soon, very soon, I'll be posting some pictures of my manic dabblings and would love it if you dropped by to visit.

November Challenge for Inkurable

Whew made it.......! My submission for November is finally done. I think the hardest part was getting the wire to fit snugly between the back to back twinchies. I had to carve out a groove in the MDF so the wire would allow the two pieces to fit snugly together. I love how it turned out and I'm sure this will be a lovely christmas tree decoration for one of the kids. If you want to read how it was done go to the Inkurable blog. Thanks for checking it out.

Gift Cards for Xmas

I'm having the best time with my Darkroom Door Stamps. Here are some more I made. Of course I love my Tim Holtz as well.

Cards for Trin's

Here is a few cards that I just recently delivered to Trin's shop in time for Christmas. Just love the Dardroom door products and of course Tim Holtz.

A happy Accident

There's no such thing as a mistake. Just a happy accident. This is one of the times when you know whats in your head but it just doesn't materialize. Anyhoo here is the result.

What happened here was first off I gesso-ed the tag in white and coated it in a thin layer of texture paste, got my Tim Holtz stamp and pressed down hoping to make an indentation of the trees. Well that didn't work! Der! Waste not want not, so I whacked a bit of paint on, a couple of red pearly studs and a little bit of Santa Snow. Finally I got my red ink pad and sponged lightly around the edges. Sorta worked out don't ya think?

Some More???

Just a couple more....

View of the people, yes thats a giant drinking straw in the water!Time on the Beach
Wicker horseman

More Sculptures

Here's a few more...

Totems

Stone Money

Sand Shoes??

Little??? Boy Lost

Sculptures by the Sea

October to November Sydney hosts a fantastic event. Sculptures by the Sea runs from Bondi to Tamarama which is a distance of at least 2kms. I thought I would show you a some of the spectacular Sculptures that were on show this year. They were amazing! What a lovely day we had.

When you just stop and live in the moment.

View of Sydney Harbour Bridge Chatting with Jess

The last couple of days has been fantastic! Thursday night saw us in North Sydney where Jess's company invited all the parents of their employees to a meet and greet. What a generous gesture! Chatting with your daughter, drinking Moet on the 32nd floor with a view overlooking the Harbour Bridge on a Thursday summer evening.........what more can you ask?

Feeling a little blue

This tag was first painted with black gesso. Stamped with Tim Holtz and Stampin Up! stamps in Versamark and heat embossed. I then painted over with a pretty blue colour that I have presently forgotten the colour of. Get a damp rag and gently rub to expose the black stamped area. Sponge lightly with some iridescent ink and add a little bling.

Tag Candy

This tag was spread over with gel medium first and then painted with white gesso. When this dried I painted over with iridescent ink. Using Tim Holtz stamps I stamped reindeer/stag?? in versamark and embossed with bronze embossing powder. I used the swirly stamp from the same set and stamped in black. Cut out above said reindeer/stag?? and attach to tag, add the obligitory bling and your done. I have actually forgotten how I achieved the background on this tag but its one of my favorites.

I remember it involved a spray bottle, red ink and a lotta water. I remember it being very wet and hitting it hard with the heat gun, well not actually hitting it, heating it I mean. The result was like a crackle effect. I grunged it up a little with a little Raw umber paint sponged onto it and gave it a sand to reveal some of the white underneath. I used Stampin Up! stamp in black. You can't see it but the gorgeous little birdy is painted white and then with Jo Sonja Opal Dust which gives it a sparkly effect. A little bit of his tail fell off, can you tell? The star is a brad.

Back to reality

Back to the daily grind. How lucky am I though? To be able to travel to these amazing places in the world and have the experiences that I have just had in the past two weeks. Vietnam is an incredible country and the people are so friendly and welcoming. I would definitely go back. There is still so much to see. Next time we hope to go to Cambodia and Laos which I've heard is very beautiful. Oh well back to work tomorrow so I can earn some more money to do some more travelling.

More VietNam

Cocktails at Mango Mango Hoi An
Cruising and Lunching on the Mekong Delta

Today is our last day in VietNam. Here are just a couple more photos of the highlights of our trip.