Christmas 2024 Christ our Saviour has Come! + WOYWW + Snippets + NBUS

Well, 2024 has simply evaporated! And I haven't blogged since Oct! Happy Christmas everyone, and as it's Wednesday- happy WOYWW,  popping over at Sarah's Craft Shed. Here is my desk, posed a few days ago - Darnell's is the Joy to the World, above it is Mrs A.s, Neet has the Jesus, Mary and Joseph silhouette, she's used all Lavinia stamps, and Chris D has the one next to Neet with the beautiful star.  The others aren’t bloggers, but beautiful too.

This is a NBUS stamp set, the sub greeting. The JOY die is Christmas washi die cut. Linking up to Allsorts Challenge - Use your dies, sub greeting were die cut too. I made all sorts of these but only took this photo! BELOW: This blue in this Solar paste card is NBUS too, other colours are Lunar paste ( on black rectangle die cut,disc then used disc. EF. Below are my Lunar and Solar paste cards, you certainly get some different colours, I've used the Lunar paste before but the blue solar paste is a NBUS, (Never used before Schtuff) so I'm off to HERE - Darnell's NBUS challenge.

Everyone of these cards in the next two photos could be called Snippety but I'll chose the one in middle above which has "Christ is born " stamped in gold over a Shepherd scene. They were all upcycled cards. Very handy. The greeting are either digi or stamped. I made 76 cards, but gave some away. Linking some of 76 to Word Art Wednesday

The top left card tells us the importance of today. Jesus was God's greatest gift to us for through Him we have salvation and the promise of eternal life, if we trust in Him as our Saviour, which I did at 12yrs old down at our creek, see photos below. May we remember in all the gift giving to give the best we can to Jesus as it's His birthday, may we give Him our heart ❤️.. 

These are the beautiful flower boxes taken up in town, I'm glad I took them a week ago, when up there a few days ago the hot dry weather had frazzled some of them.

These are some of my flowers, the Christmas cactus on left, and some of my roses on the right.

Some of our Sunshine 🌞 on my walks. I am very blessed to live where I do. This bird below is a King Parrot, in our rose garden, I think he was eye-ing off the green tomato also growing among roses.

Here, may we always remember:

I borrowed this image from Betsy, Life of a Queen because it said what is often left out at this time of the year. Our greatest Gift is Jesus, may we give our greatest gift back, our heart. Praying this as our blessing in full today. Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.x

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WOYWW 800 in review + Snippets

(I unusually did this early as have medical entertainment today, found out after doing it we were if possible to share our first WOWW post. Mine is HERE January 2011. Oh, it took me back, over a decade!)

 Well, I've heard through email 2nd of Oct is a very important date... our 800th WOYWW! Hurray! So even though I've not blogged since June, I'm going to attempt a catch up share and reminisce as requested by Sarah at Sarah's Craft Shed, Head Desker of WOYWW.. this year Sarah kindly replaced our former Queen of Desks, Queen Julia. 

My desk shows some current cards and also my first item for my first anniversary from 2011! (I joined Jan 2011). We had a PiF or Pass it Forward then instead of ATC. My PiF was from Jozarty who had as I recall a round craft table with a strawberries 🍓 cloth on it, then as her craft interest changed it had a metal top then Jozarty went into making exquisite sewn bags with detailed embroidery.

My PiF was a kind of key chain, labelled with WOYWW icon, and is always on my desk, at the back, along with monkeys and their WOYWW Badges, WOYWW sign + lighthouse light pull from 2018 crop. I'm unsure of Jozarty all these years later. My most exciting adventures with WOYWW was when I met up with WOYWWers in UK.  Neet and Margaret were the two instigators. I think the most exciting was my visit in 2018 to Llundudno. I met Shaz Silverwolf who's sadly no longer with us.

From WOYWW crop with dear kind Magaret I received many ATCs. Tag was from Sarah (I think). I loved it.
Neet have me the gorgeous ATC holder above and glasses case from dear Jan and bear from Annie, spare ATC is Heather.

Here's the ATC cover that Neet made me for that crop and Shaz brought me a huge bag of crafty treasures too. I then met up with Sarah and lots of other WOYWWers. Margaret took me all over! to even see my friend Iris who lives near where Margaret's now living in Lincolnshire.

It's Spring in Oz, & I've picked in last 2 days 8 bunches of flowers, 5 of roses 3 of sweetpeas ... sharing a few here.

There are still more out there. I've 3 dozen roses, and I now have more help paid for by a government package as I couldn't manage otherwise. My health is very poor these days. God is good and kind to me though and I'm well looked after. I'm still crafting and learning new techniques. I just rarely come onto blog land to share. I'll share new cards now as my blog is also my creative record for myself. Some panpastel cards with PB Aspire stamp, Lavinia stamping and also a disc Bible stamp. Birthday cards too.

A surfer handcoloured free digi and die cut card for Eamon who's 9, I loved the purple card on this I used perfect pearls in interference violet on top of purple ink. It was WOW. Eamon loves purple.

As does Emily who's 13, loves her ballet and she has brusho deep blue and purple background with unamed stamp on it, greeting is celebrate die cut and digi. Inside I did photos of Emily over last 12 years and a poem. It was very special. Just adding cards now since June, sorry for overload as I said this is my record, a wedding card and other special ones.

This is glittery but photo won't pick it up. Lavinia, new stamps as are pair of birthday cards below, also NBUS Lavinia stencils.

SNIPPETS CARD, mostly kraft like packaging from freezer goods, coloured with inks and Lavinia red brick stencil (a NBUS), the gold bronze in back ground is heat and dry embossed CB cogs folder. Gold cogs and number 5 are years old and heat embossed. Linking to Snippets Challenge here.

Now to Oz photos! Mostly nearby.

I've just realised I've laser surgery on cataract today so glad I've done this early. I maybe late in comments, depending on eyesight.

And NOW thought of the day.

Living as I do with precarious health, I've become very conscious of life's brevity and to make every moment count for Jesus. I don't want to be ashamed when I stand before Him as my Judge. I want to be always ready .. "ready for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh ". Matt. 24:44.

1. As well as Snippets with link above in post, I'd like to link up to:

2. NBUS Challenge here red brick stencil by Lavinia is new on 5 y.o birthday, the ballet stamping on 13.y.o also, and are Lavinina stamps in mauve encouragement card with bible verse.
3. Allsorts Challenge 800! A hearty congratulations,  to Brenda and crew... how amazing is that 👏👏👏 exactly the same as WOYWW 800!!

See over here Anything goes so linking the 13 y.o birthday card which uses brushos and NBUS stamp.
 4. I'd also like to link these cards over to this wonderful challenge - Word Art Wednesday- Anything goes.  Linking the 5 cards as chosen, I think it's best I can do, hopefully ok. I'm struggling doing this post so hope this is okay.

God bless and have a great day everyone. Shaz in Oz.x

Birthdays + Snippets, NBUS + WOYWW Moved to Sarah's from Julia's

Well, I've had a long hiatus due to two ill periods. On 20th March, I had a lower shin skin graft for a skin cancer. I was still recovering from it when on 12th April an overly friendly virus arrived that hung around for two months. Was very ill in April. Two months later am pretty much over it, praise God. Grateful Easter was early I was still able to post at end of March.

I hopefully will make this brief?! Apologies as is difficult! It's WOYWW or What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday I need to show a desk! Several as made a host of cards before op on 20th March, thankfully made cards all the way to July!! Just as well, I didn't know I'd be so sick but God did. The mantle for WOYWW has passed in May from our wonderful Queen of Desks Julia of the Stamping Ground to Sarah after 15 glorious years! So pop over to Desks of the world here at Sarah's Craft Shed hopefully I did it correctly!

Sarah & I met at crop in Sept 2018. She is a most wonderfully talented crafter, I'm extremely grateful for her willingness to take over. I'm sadly sporadic in my attendance to WOYWW but love to pop in when health permits. 

Desk 1 & 2 shows making of ladies cards with a new set of stamps and dies. A dear friend gave me an Amazon voucher for my birthday, so using Origarch greeting set and painting up flowers stamped with my new Prima metallic accent watercolour paints, another birthday (from Feb) present. 😊 

The next desk is card being created for Mister 11 who happens to love Cricket, is brilliant at it playing well above his age . As his birthday is 11yrs  the stumping with two stumps standing still showed an 11!

Here's finished cards...

These are mostly birthday cards for April and May. I 3D'ed a Google image here.

For a dear friend who loves RED! EF is by Altenew. Stamp set a NBUS.

 

It was a certain sisters very special birthday, everyone was there but 😔 I was too unwell to be there in person sadly. At least I'd made a special card. 

This snippets card was a reject brusho piece in reject drawer. Was accidentally debossed with clear ink.. instead of embossed so I then brayered it with gold acrylic paint and made frames of image and greeting to match it. All but base snippets, frames are with cereal box card, painted.. My favourite verse stamp. "With God All things are possible."

A vellum card painted with Prima metallic on reverse with and frames to match. 

Now to Aussie photos. I'm sorry not many as life has been quiet. Firstly a pineapple in our pineapple patch.

Next is a Harleqin beetle, very pretty but actually a pest to citrus.

However he escaped. 😊

Also the white with pink tips camellia flowered for the very first time.

Lastly the requisite sea view, I had to go all the way back to Feb 20th for this.

We have had stunning weather like this for our winter but I've not been out and about. No walking since March. I enjoy it in our courtyard each day though. 

Finally the end of my marathon WOYWW post with Sarah.  I'm glad I can meet up with all my friends still so thank you very much to Sarah and Julia, you're both on my prayer list each day.

May God bless your day wherever you maybe and keep you safe. Happy WOYWW 😊. 

Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.x.

Thought for the Day:

This verse has always meant a lot to me especially in times of trouble with ill health. It's a blessing to remember that all things work for our good, God's good, in the long run and our Heavenly Father is our stronghold in our troubles,  no matter what. Yes, my anchor will hold in the storms of life!

I'd like to link these up with the following:

1. Snippets challenge Green gold butterfly card, snippets listed in post.

2. NBUS Never before used Schtuff - the floral cards, the stamp set is new as is the greeting set and paints.

3. Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes, five cards, red and prayers card in floral and rest as shown on blog.

4.  Allsorts Challenge blog - Flowers or Anything Goes. (red floral). Greeting set is by Origarch and flower die set is a CCD from 2018. Ie no name brand. The embossing folder background is by Altenew paints by Prima Metallic.