A Beautiful White Rose...

I went on a nature walk the other day and captured a picture of a beautiful white rose...I just love it!

 Blessings,Kelly-Anne

Another Birthday Card

Hello everyone! I have another card to show you this week, this time one for a young girl who celebrated her birthday last week!

This is my first monochrome card – I love the vintage paper and the beautiful shades of – yes, pink! (My favourite colour!)

I used one medium flower and two small flowers for the right hand corner.  I glued a pearl in the middle of each one as well.

This is one of my favourite stamps!  It is too cute!  I also used three small pearls for the top left hand corner.

The sentiment says ‘Happy Birthday’ in fancy writing!  I used two pieces of pretty ribbon folded in half which I pasted underneath the middle rectangle.  I also used a small pearl for the bottom right hand corner.

I would also like to enter the following challenges with my card:

Digi Doodle Shops Best - Anything Goes

Dutch Dare Card Challenge - Birthday

Pixie Dust Studio - Monochrome using your favourite colour

StampInsanity - Use Your Favourite Colour

Amber's Crafts and Stuff - Patterned Paper

Little Darlings Challenge - Girly

The Paper Shelter Challenge- Anything Goes

Hope you like my card, have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

Tot School Notice

My mom and I are currently working on activities to do with toddlers for the time when she is in hospital to give birth to our new little baby who is due in October. Time for Tots will reopen once I have a list of activities to do. However, you are still able to share your ideas with me in the ‘Tot’s School’ page. Please go here for more information! I will be back soon – nothing can keep me away for very long!!!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

A Recipe for Tomato Chilli Jam

Today I’d like to share with you one of my favourite jam recipes...Tomato Chilli Jam! It is perfect for on top of pizza, pasta or in wraps and hamburgers! My dad loves ‘his’ jam and makes sure he gets me tomatoes every now and then so that he has a ready supply in the cupboard!

TOMATO CHILLI JAM

1.1kg very ripe tomatoes

50g tomato paste

3 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped

600g sugar

2ml freshly crushed ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

60ml lemon juice

20ml balsamic vinegar

15ml Worcestershire sauce

Puree half the tomatoes along with the chillies in a blender and roughly chop the remaining tomatoes.

Even if you don’t have plastic gloves, never attempt to cut up chilli without some sort of ‘protection’! Use plastic bags if you have to!!

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boiling point, stirring constantly. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove any scum off the surface. When reduced by half, pour into sterilised jars, cool and cover and store in the fridge or seal as for jam.

I would love to hear how your jam making session went, so please leave me a comment below!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

At the Beach

Don’t you just love going to the beach...? 

Beauty...

Puppies running...

The waves,

Footprints in the sand

Majestic rocks...

Beautiful flowers...

This is the life...!

A Birthday Gift Bag for Beth

Hello everyone, today I have another creation to show you! I made a gift bag for Beth’s birthday gifts I gave to her on Friday! I haven’t ever made a gift bag before, so I took apart an old one and copied the measurements and the folds!

So here is my gift bag:

I just love these papers and colours – they are so summery and bright

I decorated the back of the bag as well by printing out a letter to her on beautiful paper.  I added a piece of ribbon to the side to finish it off.

I put two rectangles on the sides of the bag and added a flower and a pearl to the bottom. I made the straps out of the same ribbon I used on the front of bag.

I love this stamp – Beth loves horses and riding so I thought it would work perfectly on her gift bag!  I coloured the bridle, reins and the numnah with pink to make it more girly!

This butterfly my mother gave to me. She used it on her birthday tin vases but after she was done with it, she thought I could use it on my cards! I love the colour and the gems!

I would also like to take part in the following challenges with my gift bag:

Southern Girls - Happy Birthday

Little Miss Muffet Challenges - Summer

Craft us Crazy - Anything Goes

Stampin for the Weekend - Anything with Four Legs

Paper Cutz - Anything Goes
Fairy Tale - Summer, Sun, Sunshine

This is my beautiful seven year old sister, Beth. She is such a wonderful little girl and I love her so much!

I hope you like my gift bag!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

Beth’s Seventh Birthday Celebration

Yesterday Beth, (the middle girl) celebrated her seventh birthday! We had a lovely morning giving her presents, and tea and cake later with friends. In the evening, after Dad got home from work, she went on a ‘date’ with him. She received some birthday money from friends and family, so she and Dad went to choose something from the toy store. They then went out for pizza (Beth’s favourite food)!

These two paw print packages contain...

What could it be?

Goodies for Zac, Beth’s puppy, including a bed, a ball, treats, a lead and collar, bowls and a Frisbee – lucky pup!

She received a purple (her favourite colour) blanket and face paints and pencils from Mom and Dad.

Nancy made her a beautiful necklace!

I made her two Barbie duvets and pillows and a few towels. I also made her a patchwork handbag (I will post about that soon) which I put in a gift bag I made out of my scrapbooking and cardmaking things.  I also made up a little parcel of china Barbie doll tea cups and plates!

Then it was time for tea...Mom made a delicious chocolate cake with cherries on the top which we enjoyed with our neighbour friends.

Beautiful Beth with her chocolate cake and seven candles!

Then it was Beth’s turn to have a photo shoot! I love taking photos of my beautiful little sisters, but I can’t say they are always as enthusiastic!

Miss Beth

Beth and Zac.

This is a stunning photo!

Don’t you just love the socks?

My absolute favourite – I adore all the colour!

This is my second favourite picture.

I love the angle at which this picture was taken and the blue of the sky.

It is amazing that seven years ago I was Beth’s age waiting for a phone call from my dad to tell us (Nancy and I) whether our new baby was a boy or a girl! My granny stayed with us while my mom was in hospital that day. I remember walking into the bedroom at the hospital and laying my small eyes on a sweet bundle named – Beth! It is funny because I had lost my front teeth and couldn’t say her name – all I could say was: ‘Bef’! Now Beth is the one who has lost her front teeth! She is our wild, full of energy, got-it-under-control girl and oh, I just love her so much!

My dearest little seven year old sister, Beth,  I pray the Lord will always be with and that you will dwell in His house forever and ever and that His divine love will always be your help, strength and comfort!  Lots of love, Kelly-Anne – your big sister!

A Special Birthday Gift Box

Hello everyone! Today I'd like to show you a special birthday gift box I made for a very dear friend of mine!

I found this gift box tutorial on her blog, Heidi’s Crafts. I am very happy with how it turned out and I just love the colours.

I love this vintage pink paper! A few of Heidi’s favourite things are: Ribbon, lace, pearls, pins, flowers, glitter and light pink with maroon...she also likes bows! I tried to include everything on her present! We have very similar tastes when it comes to our favourite paper craft things!

Here are a few pictures of the other sides of my box without the packages inside:

I used a Whiff of Joy stamp on one side of the box.  I also decorated the remaining space with some small and medium flowers and pearls.

I used dotty pink ribbon and a few more flowers for the second side.  I also stuck two heart pins into the flowers, which I think looks so pretty!

The third side has the sentiment which says ‘You are so special’.  The tiny pearls are an added extra to the sentiment.

The last side is decorated with pink pearls which I laid out to create a swirl.  I also used a piece of big, white lace and pink ribbon on top.  To finish is off, I stuck two small pink flowers on the right-hand corner.

For the present, I made four packages up of some delicious goodies! The first one contains three Lindt chocolate balls; the second assorted pink buttons; the third contains half a metre of different ribbons and the fourth six different coloured butterflies.

I also made a little card to put with the box.  Since I couldn’t be with Heidi on her birthday, because we live so far away from each other, I wrote a little prayer inside especially for her!

I would also like to take part in the following challenges with my gift box:

Lollipop Crafts - Anything Goes

Sparkles Forum - Elegant and Lace

Bling it on - Anything Goes

Emerald Faerie Challenge - All Things Girly

Deep Oceans Challenge - Ribbons
Crafts and Me Challenge - Add a Flower

I hope you like my gift box!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne