Day 2 thermal pools.... and zorbing.......

Today was the day Zoe had gone on about since we arrived......Zorbing. going down a hill in ,well,what looks like a hamster wheel. So we arrived paid for zoe and rob to go down together in the same ball,they got changed,went to the top,zoe got in....screamed.....cried and demanded to get out she was to scared! typical! so rob went by himself! here are the pics......

Next we went to Waikite thermal springs to have a soak. we hired a private pool first for 40 mins which was great. then went into the other pools. after that we went for a small walk to see where the hot spring water came from. it was amazing! the hot water came up from the ground at 98 oC then it ran into the pools via a bunch of rivers to cool the water down. very cool!

We are here! ready for the world cup! Rotorua day 1.... Waimangu volcanic valley

Today was our first day at Rotorua. the smell of sulphur was not as bad as i thought... it smells like guy forks night in England!
Rob picked today's activity, Waimangu volcanic valley, so we drove there, only 14 km out from our hotel, which can i add ROCKS!!! the Silver Fern is GREAT!!!! a massive outdoor spa in our apartment!
Anyway we drove out and it was a 4km walk to check out all the volcanic activity.

above is the crater with red fern growing on it and just above this is the other crater that is filled with thermal waters. the last eruption was 1975 so not that long ago!!!

 the hot mud bubbling away!

 more hot water, it is so amazing that it is hot not cold!

this is rob caught on camera right at the moment he put his hand in VERY hot thermal water.....55 oC LOL!!

 the hot stream.

 this was amazing another crater filled with water that was 75-90 oC and the colour was perfect!

 a little geyser we saw on the walk.

this flat behind zoe was a crazy 95 oC very hot!!!

After the trip there we went to the food market in Rotoura for tea. it was great Zoe wanted the worlds largest hot dog so we got it for her!

Then she had a massive ice cream!

Notice the ice cream on her nose!

Poppy enjoyed the food too......

On our way home we had the best photo opportunity ,there was a garden of Poppies so i just had to take a picture!!!!

How cute is she!!!!
tomorrow we are off to the thermal spas to have a soak, then Zoe and Rob are off to go Zorbing.... that is the 2 of them in a giant blow up hamster wheel filled with water getting pushed off a hill! should be  good photos!

Hero Arts Presents… a Sketch Challenge!

Lilly pad cards have a hero arts challenge with a sketch.

here is the link.

and here is the sketch.....

and here is my card.....

I have used Hero arts woodgrain background stamp, lawnfawn stamp, fiskars my funny valentine squeeze punch and several fiskars border punches. the paper is bo bunny.

Tara :)

Lawnscaping challenge #17- embossing....

Hello there!, Today i want to share with you all the  lawnscaping challenge #17 embossing.

I needed to create an embossed card, now it can be dry or heat embossing ,so i decided to do both!

first i needed to create my own embossing folder. i stamped 2 of the lawn fawn snowman's from the new set called making frosty friends on to some box board.

Then i cut them out and stuck the cut outs where the holes were but on the other card at the back. creating my folder.

And there is my embossing folder.

I then embossed my card with the snowman and popped on their faces. added arms and buttons. I masked some trees from lawn fawns critters in the forest and coloured in.
To create the sky i heat embossed with white embossing powder snowflakes from lawn fawns making frosty friends,and critters in the snow. Then i used distress inks to blend a fading night sky.
lastly ii coloured and cut out the snowmans hat and scarf, added some texture by putting colourless blender on to some knitted wool and pressed on the copic colours i had coloured in with. added the bunny and robin then dry embossed with my cuttlebug the "snow" with dots ripped it and layered to make the snow at the bottom of the card. added some distress stickles in picket fence on the trees and snow and done!
Here is the card.

and here is a close up of the embossed snowman with my home made embossing folder

I hope you like it and even give making your own embossing folders a go!
Tara :)

wonky block quilt part 3 putting it all together.

Good evening everyone, Well after a busy 2 days i can finally share with you all part 3 of my wonky block quilt...well duvet cover actually!

Ok, once you have put the quilt together you now need to attach the edges of the quilt. by accident i ran out of material so i managed to get a similar colour to edge the quilt.


cut your fabric to the width you need and then sew to your quilt. i recommend to do the long sides first.

once both sides are sewn on, trim the ends.

once this is done sew the top strip on to the quilt.

Now as i am making this quilt into a duvet cover you need to reinforce the bottom strip as you will have to sew on buttons or clips to it.
So firstly make your last strip twice as wide as the other  strips. fold in 1/2 and iron.
then with some webbing or iron on interfacing place a small strip(approx. 2 inches) at the crease and iron on.


Then iron the fold over again.

Now you can sew the last strip to your quilt. make sure you sew the rough end to the quilt not the folded end with the interfacing.
Now Zoe wanted sponge bob to have something to play with and what better thing to applique onto the quilt than jellyfish! So i grabbed my Making memories Slice and cut out a LOT of jellyfish with the Zootopia design card. Then i appliqued them on. it took a LONG time!!!!!

Now it is time for the Back of the quilt. I have decided not to actually "quilt" my quilt as i am making it in to a duvet cover...plus i am a little lazy when it comes to quilting!
So to make this quilt into a duvet cover i purchased a Flat sheet from spotlight to use as the backing. Make sure you buy a good quality sheet as the cheaper ones are way to thin.
Line up the flat sheet so the "top" or double thickness part of the sheet is at the bottom of the quilt. this gives strength to sew on buttons and clips. pin the flat sheet to the quilt and sew. Remember you need to keep the bottom open so you can put the duvet in!( i say this but you can be assured i have done sillier things!)

Sew on your buttons or clasps, pop your duvet in and there you have it!

Zoe is a very happy girl! and as i have a spare wonky block left i am going to make a matching pillow case.
Tara:)

simon says multifold cards.......

this week simon says has a challenge for multifold cards so if you want to join in here is the link.
they are offering a $50.00 voucher to simon says for the prize Yeah!!!!
here s my card.

and a side on view....

I have used a stamping bella stamp, kaisercraft papers, copics to colour ,fiskars snow bubbles corner and border punch and my shape express templates
Tara :)

Robs 40th birthday.

Yesterday rob turned 40. i decided to make him a cake so asked him,"what do you want as a cake"
 he replied " a boob cake!" so i had to make it!
here i is with out 40 candles.........

Here it is with 40 candles..........

(i need to add....... i had a brainwave to put on the cake magic candles not normal ones....you know the ones that when you blow them out they re light........)

Here is us singing rob happy birthday......not realizing that we are about to burn down the sports club.......

Here is rob attempting to blow out the cake.........meanwhile im thinking maybe 40 relighting magic candles were not such a good idea...........

Here is the NSW fire brigade  coming to put out robs cake and the sports club.............

Only joking!!!!!.......

Here is rob playing with his cake...........

see how Zoe did not look impressed. she was so embarrassed when we had to carry the cake into the party!!!
All in all a great day for Rob!