Kiva - May 2014

Before I go any further, I have a great offer to share with you:

Currently on Kiva, you can sign up and make a FREE donation to any micro-loan (funded by a generous donor) and in doing so, the donor will make a second FREE donation for me to use!  This limited time offer is only open until June 30 so if you've been thinking of getting involved with this worthwhile project, now is the time!  Myself and the thousands of loan requesters looking to improve their lives and the world around them thank you!

And now back to my post...

Right, so while I did make my monthly donation to Kiva in May, I never actually got around to sharing it with you.  Now a month later, it seems like time - better late than never, after all.

Carlos Alberto (Mexico)

A loan of $3,900 helps Carlos Alberto to buy a plastic compactor machine to start a community recycling program.

Carlos and Alonso are two community firemen fighting forest fires in Villaflores, Chiapas. They need 50,000 MXP to start a community recycling program. The program will reduce landfill pollution and provide an extra income source for more than 10 families.

Carlos and Alonso have already set up the collection routes and they have secured a buyer for the 5 Tons of plastic they will collect each month. With this loan, Carlos and Alonso will have the money to buy the plastic compactor machine they need to start the recycling program.

Goodbye, 2Peas...

Those of you in the online scrapbooking community have undoubtedly heard the news from 2Peas regarding their sad decision to close.  I'd heard the rumours earlier in the year but it seems the time has finally come.  It's all the more bitter sweet that I've not been scrapbooking much at all this year, with other irons in the fire.

So I've caught myself up with the last few Glitter Girl videos, finished downloading my purchased workshops (and annoyed/disappointed that they've closed purchase on workshops - was hoping to buy Wilna's art class workshops and download them before the site closed...)

And tonight I also put in my final 2Peas order and boy, was it a doosie!  Admittedly, it's 90% papers, which is good - the embellishments were severely picked over.  But with my local scrapbooking shop having closed recently and now 2Peas going under, I'm feeling at a bit of a loss for where to go for supplies.

What online scrapbooking shops do you recommend?  I'm specifically looking for somewhere with a wide variety of the big manufacturers (similar to 2Peas) and good international shipping prices (not similar to 2Peas - I certainly won't miss that part).  So please, share with me your top online shops; I'm all ears!

Thanks a bunch, 2Peas; you were my scrapbooking home, my mentor, my inspiration, my 'dealer' and I'll miss you.

WIP Wednesday

Well, despite all the baby craziness going on, I have managed to make a wee bit of progress on my Nice People, Nice Things embroidery quilt designs.  Ironically, I started stitching up this party-themed block while keeping my friend Alice company and distracted during the first stage of her labour.

Partytime Front

Needless to say, there was much to celebrate over the weekend.  The matching saying for the back is a bit on the long side so not sure how much I'll get done by next Wednesday but we'll see.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced:
 

What a Weekend!

So, intended plans for this weekend:

* Saturday - Midsummer Day, lounge quietly at home
* Sunday - hold baby shower for friend Alice (due date mid-July)

Then, actual weekend reality:

* Saturday - text arrives; water has broken, baby is coming!  Spend all day at Alice's helping out, keeping her calm and pre-occupied, coaching her through contractions and getting her to hospital later that night.
* Sunday - Wait at hospital until baby is delivered (June 22, 12:12am, 48cm and 2.87kg), just made it to term by a mere 12 mins!  Finally crawl into bed after 2am, sleep fitfully, get up and return to hospital to visit mum, grandma and baby Saga!  (Baby shower has been postponed to August.)

Anyway, despite all of that excitement, I did a little crafty work this morning before heading over to the hospital.  I've had some supplies to make a bump book with/for Alice but we've both been so busy that we haven't gotten started on it (and we thought we'd have 3 more weeks into the summer holidays to get to work on it - wrong!).  I had bought a package of Project Life journaling cards for her to add to the album so I decided to prep a handful with some misting and stamping, which she could then start to fill in while in hospital while things were still fresh in her mind (in between all the breast feeding, nappy changing and sleeping...  Haha!).

Bump book journaling cards.

Stamped cards - rag dolls & circular phrase icons.

Misted cards - various stencil patterns.

For the stamped cards, I stamped the images on both the vertical and horizontal sides so she has flexibility in which direction she wants to use.  Since the misting tends to warp the paper, I only misted one side of those cards but did some in each direction to still give her choices.  Then I threw in some blank cards to round out the starter pack.

Now I have some cot sheets to sew up and clearly I need to get working on that bump book for real!

Hexie Birthday Wishes

I am sooo behind in card making it's honestly embarrassing.  However, I did whip up a quick little birthday card for a friend last month and just haven't gotten around to posting it.

Hexie Birthday Wishes

Since I've been in a bit of a crafty funk lately, I pulled out a free kit from Papercraft Inspirations.  I really like the look of hexagons but don't have a punch so I fussy cut them from some hexagonal paper.  Then I layered up some chipboard flowers, bird and sentiment and added a few sequins for some sparkle.  Finally, a little black pen outline around the edges to keep everything grounded.

Nice and easy...  Just like getting back into blogging.  ;)  FYI, I spent today working on a little surprise that I'll be able to share next week so stay tuned!

WIP Wednesday

Hello, hello and welcome back!

Whew, it's been a long time since I last blogged - over a month (sorry about that, honestly)!  Real life has had a full rollercoaster of ups and downs lately.  So as not to bore you with the details, here's the Coles' Notes run-down: end of school year, report writing, new job accepted (squee!), sick and dying kitty (not squee).

Okay, moving on to WIP Wednesday...

I will admit that I haven't had much motivation to craft recently with all of that (^^^) stuff going on.  I'm hoping that with the summer holiday now underway that that will change.  I've been continuing to progress on my Nice People Nice Things embroidery quilt, mostly stitched in the sunshine of my balcony with Oskar for company.  Here is my latest completed set:

Front

Back

Please excuse the wrinkles and PJ bottoms.  ;)

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.