Punch art snowdrops

Introducing my Snowdrops punch art instructions inspired by Vera....thanks :) I remember these growing in my Mum's garden as a kid and looking closely at them thinking how can something so tiny be so amazing I loved them and was eager for next spring to come so I could see them again. I hope you too will enjoy this new pattern as useful spring cards, more pics in the instructions.
Snowdrops punch art instructions $5.95


So we've done some cooking for the kids ........ Rainbow cupcakes this time :) and just finished making some Yum picnic food too. catch you all later :)


Blessings to you

and a last thought

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us
in triumphal procession in Christ
and through us spreads everywhere
the fragrance of the knowledge of him”
(2 Corinthians 2:14, NIV)

Simple punch art Tulips

Hi all, I'm glad this week is almost over the past couple of weeks have been a worrying time with my brother in a Sydney hospital with a heart attack. But he is home now and on the mend thank the Lord! lots of prayers and FB communication has gone up and around during this time which we were grateful for. We are heading down to see the kids at Uni this weekend which we are excited about, there have been a few calls home saying how they miss the home cooked food so I'm planning a nice picnic lunch for us all and I'll do some special cup cakes too ;) (got some ideas in mind)

So this card i have made goes to my brother and I thought I'd share it with you also. The name of the bird dies are called "Birds" from QuicKutz, all info is in the instructions and on the video. I have a video below and you can also purchase the written instructions for a small price
I would also like to add could you please not redo my instructions on your own blog / YouTube especially if they are for sale, I have come across a few blogs that are doing this and aksed them to remove the instructions. Just a finished pic and a link back would be enough please. And I have had a massive out break of people leaving spam and advertising on my comments which I have to moderate, please stop wasting mine and everyone's time! Ok enough with all that rot sit back and enjoy the video and if you'd like the written instructions they here
Simple punch art Tulip Instructions $2.95


Blessings to you

and a last thought
“I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well”
(Psalm 139:14, NIV)

Calla Lily punch art

Hi all, Firstly thank you for all you love support and comments each one has been very much appreciated thank you also for your fresh enthusiasm toward the things i do here on my blog. It's interesting how when you may be battling other problems something always happens just to test you a bit more and how important it is to have people helping to put things back into perspective and to listen, I also realize that my small problems are nothing compared to others... always a good lesson to learn. My heart goes out to my friend Judy and her husband, please pray for them.
Well Ben went back to Uni yesterday a sad but good thing, sad as we all miss him here at home already but I know he is happy with where he is in life.. Beth too :) I made sure they had some goodies from home though

so now I'm introducing my newest instructions the Calla Lily. These large flowers are amazing and you will love how quick and easy they are to make using only one punch leaves and all.
Calla Lily punch art instructions $5.95

Blessings to you

and a last thought

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God’s will for you,
which is good and pleasing and perfect”
(Romans 12:2 NLT).

fringe scissors flowers

Hi all, Ive been playing with my fringing scissors from Martha Stuart (see some more ideas here ) and thought I'd show you these flowers I've made. The first experiment was with recycled paper I got between a new dinner set using a large pearl for the center, they were nice for a box or something 3D but I wanted something that sat a little flatter for card making so I made some white ones with button centers and they worked great. Craft Critique has a great product review of these scissors here


These were made in the same way as the heart wreath I made for Valentines day. see all my details in both my videos below on how i made these flowers.

I was really disappointed to get and email from someone telling me the things I have on my blog should be free and I should give freely of my talents I quickly let them know that they should have a look through the rest of my blog as I have so many free tutorials, patterns and videos and give very freely of my time and effort in showing and sharing with the world what I know. I know God has given me a gift in this area and I also know that God would not want our family without their bills paid or no food on the table and if He has given me a talent to be able to supply this them I thank Him daily. I thank all those from the bottom of my heart who have purchased patterns from me, since my husband was redundant my income from my blog has helped to keep us going. So before you judge please browse the rest of my blog I have so many ideas for your personal use.
Blessings to you

and a last thought

“God shall supply all your need according
to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 4:19, NKJV)

Sturt's desert pea punch art instructions

Introducing my Sturt's desert pea punch art instructions this native flower is the Floral Emblem of South Australia and was a request from Viola. This stunning flower comes from the pea family and grows only in central Australian desert regions.... read more here http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/sa.emblem.html
you can buy my instructions here
Sturt's desert pea punch art instructions $5.95

Also Happy Valentines day and a big Happy Birthday to my mum!!! I hope she had a lovely happy day :) Beth has gone back to start another prac and then on to Uni ... we miss her already so here is a snap shot of what I've been up to lately ... enjoy!

Blessings to you

and a last thought
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;
do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and
streams in the wasteland”
(Isaiah 43:19, NIV)

Blue, Red & Yellow angry bird cards

Hi all I had a request to make some of the birds from the Angry bird game. You can see some of my pigs and the patterns that i made earlier here http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/angry-birds-king-pig-and-helmet-pig-fun.html
These were fun quick cards to make using a paper piecing method. Patterns and video below, enjoy!
Blessings to you

and a last thought
“I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forward
to those things which are ahead”
(Philippians 3:13, NKJV)

Blue Red & Yellow Angry Bird Paper Piecing Patterns

Australian native Waratah punch art flower

Introducing my Australian native Waratah punch art flower the Floral Emblem of New South Whales. Read more on this here http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/nsw.emblem.html
I love the Australian bush and the native flowers that grow here. As a child i have very fond memories of my mother and me walking through the bush and teaching me the names of some amazing Australian wild flowers that grew along the coast of New South Whales. It would be a dream of mine to eventually get over to Western Australia and see the stunning wild flowers in spring, I'm told they are awesome. Thank you Lorraine for inspiring me to create the stunning flower using only two punches and I hope others will enjoy making this flower. oh and the rain has started again :( more local flooding going on around here ......

Australian native Waratah punch art instructions $5.95


Blessings to you

Toilet roll pillow box

HI all, more than a week solid of rain here with lots of local and coastal flooding along NSW and today its finally stopped and come out hot humid and steamy! very draining weather.... a lot of work outside the home and family coming and going to summer camps etc. I also got to see my older brother and my twin sister which was nice. Happy belated Australia day to all my Aussie blog readers it was so rainy that day we just ducked (pun not intended) out to visit some friends and give then a cake and lamingtons... no BBQ this year :(

Madaleine started back at senior school yr 11 only this and the next year and all our kids will have finished their schooling .... where dose time go! have a happy day Madd we will miss you... she worked almost all holidays and her bosses gave her a $50 gift voucher in appreciation of her working hard without complaining. Good on ya darl!! very proud.

Beth and Ben are relaxing before they start back at Uni, Beth goes straight back to another prac at Cessknock primary teaching grades 1 & 2 towards the end of Feb. Ben has bought himself a cool little sports car ..... still not sure how he's going to fit all his stuff in to go back to Uni though! Dave started back at traffic control just before all this rain and received in the mail a $50 appreciation gift voucher from the company thanking them for the great work they did at a bad truck accident site last month, that was nice :) anyway enough of my ravings .... here's the link where I first seen these great toilet roll pillow boxes http://bellsinspires.blogspot.com/2011/07/tutorial-tp-roll-pillow-boxes.html
I though I'd put a comparison up of the sizzix die compared to the toilet roll box, not that much difference in size. This is recycling at its best!


and a step by step of how I made mine :)

Decorate these any way you wish..... cover in designer paper, paint it, glitter it, etc. To decorated mine I first ran it through an emboss folder keeping in mind there will be an emboss and emboss side to your box. I left the colour of my box the natural toilet roll look, I then cut a grapevine wreath die and wrapped it around the box added a few diamonds and lastly tied on a hand made crochet heart. These are so easy to make here's the link http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-crochet-heart.html
I can't read a crochet pattern all that well but I could follow this very easily, plus there's a video YES, love those instructional videos!
You can also follow me on Pinterest lovin this site for all sorts of DIY crafts etc

So not my original idea here but I was keen to share what i had done with mine... enjoy!
Blessings to you

and a last thought
Psalm 149:5 "Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds."

"Joy doesn't have anything to do with happy circumstances, rather it has everything to do with looking into the face of Jesus and knowing He's all you'll ever need."

Making a bird nest with your grapevine wreath die

Hi all, well its been a strange day here ..... the weather has been strangely cool for mid summer which I guess it's good to have some relief from the humid days and nights.....I watched the Australian movie called "Jessica" with my girls, good movie but it left me feeling really strange about the whole issue of injustice for the rest of the day...... extended family can be a strange thing too, the first two I can figure out but not so sure on the family one, a little wake up call for me today to show what really matters I think. sigh.......

well I'm still playing here with my grapevine wreath die from memory box, just love it! I know I'm not the first to make a tiny bird nest like this but I thought I'd show you how I went about making mine. Using the grapevine wreath die cut I basically wound it up like you would a rolled rose. I had some mini fake bird eggs (bough ages ago from a cheap shop not real sure where you can get them now) but though I'd go with a couple of pearls as eggs. These would look great for Easter, Valentine or even a baby shower card. I finished my card with a new die that came in the mail today called Branches from QuicKutz or I think they now call themselves Lifestyle crafts. (bought mine on eBay) you get three different branches on the one die. I tore a piece of card stock for the tree trunk and added the branch using small hearts for leaves and adding the nest i reckon it came up pretty cute! anyway enough talk watch the video for all the details and enjoy!
Blessings to you

and a last thought
“The tongue has the power of life and death...” (Proverbs 18:21, NIV)

Making roses for weddings / Valentines with one circle punch

Hi all, Ive been playing with my punches again and come up with theses cute roses all made with one circle punch, pretty cool hey! I am always aware that some people don't have lots of different punches to make flowers but most have a circle or can easily buy a circle punch.
My written instructions only $2.95


Another little cool trick I did on this card was to use my round grapevine wreath die from memory box to make straight borders. I cut the wreath in half and thread them through my Xyron sticker maker making sure you keep the going through the machine fairly straight then added them to my card. Another cool use for that wreath die. In my next post I'll show how to make a birds nest with the same die.... for now the rose and wreath details are in the video below!

I hope this has given you another fresh idea and use of those many craft gadgets we have sitting around.
Blessings to you

and a last thought

“Jesus looked at them and said,
‘With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible’ ”
(Matthew 19:26 NIV)