Look at Where all of My Retired Coloured Card Stock Ended Up!

My friend Lis and I had two afternoons where we spent time 'crafting' with the children at the Widhya Asih V Orphanage. I cut and scored about 100 boxes ready for the children to decorate!

I took along a heap of stuff that I had grabbed from my stash, from craft magazines and some non-SU punches I didn't use plus all of my retired card stock which kept these children intrigued and super busy. Lis and I showed them how to put the box together and Lis had done a sample box to show them that they could use the patterned paper and punches to decorate them with.

Their creations were truly amazing, considering most had never made a box or used punches! The only thing I showed some of them was how to make a paper rose and the creative talent of all these gorgeous children just flowed!

A Card and Box using Paper Roses to Decorate

Lis, showing Adi how to put his Box Together.

The Boys had just as much fun as the Girls getting all Creative!

A Paper Rose in the Making

Just one of the Tables covered with Paper and Card Stock

Four Gorgeous Boxes

Everyone was so Proud of their Achievements

This Guy was Extremely Talented. Check out the Finished Product Below!

Oh! Wow!

Some more Masterpieces in the Making

Super Clever!

A Photo Frame - Front View

Side View

The Detail was Amazing!

Another Amazing Decorated Box

Lis and I were blown away with the talent and creativity of these children.


Please note, these photos have been published with permission from the leader of WA V Orphanage.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at just a small sample of what the children made. Thanks for dropping by!

Bali Highlights - #2

Here's some more photos of my trip to Bali. I'm trying to get caught up on some posts while unpacking, washing etc. so I can then sit down later and open up all the boxes of SU goodies that have been sitting near the front entrance way calling my 'name' ever since I got home last night!

On our last night in the Widhya Asih V orphanage in Melaya, the children put on a farewell concert for us. Here's some of the girls in their traditional Balinese costumes.

Our friend Wayan selling the tastiest kebabs in all of Bali.

Green bread at the supermarket near Wayan's 'take-away'.

The beach at Gilimanuk, West Bali, looking towards the coastline of Java.

Two young girls from the Orphanage at Blimbing Sari looking out at all the senior school students camping on the nearby grounds.

The entrance way to Blimbing Sari, an orphange for elementary (primary) aged children.

A young girl at Blimbing Sari.

The Beach at Seminyak

Cardboard boxes are usually more fun to play with than what's inside! Some boys playing near the Beachside Markets at Sanur.

The sign over the toilets at Sanur. You can just make out Jeff's, Byron's and Lis' reflection in the mirror below.

The next post is also about Bali but it will highlight some of the gorgeous papercraft creations from the children at the Wihya Asih V orphanage.

Bali Highlights - #1

Here's just a snippet of some of my favourite photos from the 300+ that I took of my trip to Bali. Enjoy!

Me, with Menik and Dora, two of the girls from the orphanage that made Lis and I feel right at home.

Some of the beautiful flowers in the grounds of the first hotel we stayed at on our arrival in Bali.

The grounds of the orphanage which has had a major re-vamp thanks to a dedicated gardener amongst the staff.

The view from one of the girls' dormitories.

Idi teaching Lis how to play the Gamelan.

Having fun with the instruments. The Gamelan is usually just for boys.

We watched Gamelan practice three times over the course of the week!

Gamelan Teacher Extraordinaire

My son, Ryan, donated some T Shirts. Here are the four boys who received them. They were asked some trivia questions in order to 'earn' them from the leader of the orphanage. It was all in Indonesian so I didn't understand much of the 'process' but the boys who 'won' were pretty chuffed with their prize!

The guys on the team spent ages in the local hardware store at Negara getting supplies for two of the orphanages. Here's Lis and Komang waiting patiently outside in the heat! We were able to get some 'payback' when we hit the markets a couple of days later in West Bali.

I just love this shot of the pigs in the pen at the orphange. They don't have names because one of them will be Christmas dinner.

Tea Time at the Orphanage

I hope you enjoyed having a browse through the first lot of photos. I had better go and dish tea before I upload another post. Rest assured rice is not on the menu at our place tonight!

Just Add Sympathy

Just Add Ink Challenge #35 - Just Add Sympathy

This week at Just Add Ink, the challenge is to make a Sympathy Card/Project. It's certainly not a 'fun' thing to do but the satisfaction comes from being able to pass on a little comfort to someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

I must admit I never usually make Sympathy Cards in advance as I usually make one especially for the recipient. However, I rose to the challenge in more ways than one.

The other challenge for me involved using the brayer - a little piece of equipment that hadn't seen daylight for awhile. However, I was highly motivated after Rochelle's Workshop Wow to brayer the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and run it through the Big shot for a fabulous background effect. I used Night of Navy Ink on Sahara Sand Cardstock.

Then I took Delys' advice on her tutorial and started brayering the background for the stamped image, starting on the scratch paper - good tip! It wasn't the greatest of efforts but I was pretty happy with how it all came together.

I love the new stuff! Check out the cute 2mm Basic Pearls. They can be found on page 140 of the new Australian/NZ Idea Book and Catalogue.

I hope you're able to get some crafting time this week and join in the latest challenge. Be sure to check out the other DT members' work as there's some truly inspirational projects this week.

As this post goes live, I'll be enjoying the last few days of my time in Bali. I've been spending time with some children in a couple of the orphanages that the church I attend, help support. I hope to be back next week with some photos to share and 'rescue' my family from the endless domestic chores (Mmmm, they'll have a new appreciation of what mum does for sure).



Project Recipe for 'Just Add Sympathy':
Stamp Sets: Thoughts & Prayers, Baroque Motifs, Autumn Days
Ink: Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Glossy White, Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls, Lots of Tags Sizzlit Die, Brayer, Crimper, Dimensionals, Big Shot


Thanks for stopping by,

Launceston Swaps

Meegan Dale

Lauren Birtwistle

Suzanne Cook

Lots of Swaps

I love swapping cards at SU Events. At the recent Launceston Regionals it was a great way to meet some local demonstrators for the first time and to also meet up with some familiar faces and spend time with friends.

Thanks to everyone for their gorgeous creations!


Here's some of my personal faves -

Carolyn Robinson

Amanda Aitken

Rochelle Wright

Mae Collins

Sharon Walsh

Jacquie Penney

Julie Leeper

Catch you again soon,