The Art With Heart Team today celebrates the Women in our Lives, with a blog hop to remind us of those women who have shaped (or continue to shape) our lives.

Who is the Art with Heart Team & What is a Blog Hop?

The Art with Heart team consists of over 80 Stampin’ Up! demonstrators across Australia. We have a great team forum and heaps of support from like minded demonstrators. If you’d like to become part of this fun team just email me for more details.

The blog hop is a monthly event, on the last day of every month. There are 14 stops today, and you may have just come from Nicole Rouillon’s blog or you might be starting here.  At the end of each post there will be a link to take you to the next stop on the tour. 

If you leave a comment on each and every blog and then email Nikki at [email protected], your name will be put into the hat to win some beautiful blog candy. There is a deadline of 72 hours to leave your comments and only non SU! demos are eligible to win the candy - although we'd love all visitors to leave some comments please.

Now, about those “Women in MY Life” . . .

Since the Australasian Quilting Convention is on in Melbourne right now, and I spent ALL DAY Thursday there, being awe-inspired, I thought it very appropriate to celebrate all the quilt-makers and patch-workers in my life.

I have chosen to make three quilt-block cards, including a log-cabin quilt block, pinwheel block and an appliqué inspired block.

The Friendship Pinwheel card uses Green Galore and Gable Green card and ink, a super-cute button from the Button Latte collection,  Friendship stamp from Think Happy Thoughts stamp set and floral background is from Vintage Vogue stamp set.

I have mounted the pinwheel on Whisper White textured card to replicate the texture of the calico or Aida cloth often used in quilting.

The appliqué inspired “Sweet Hearts” card has no stamping at all, but uses the very delicious Tea Party Designer Series Paper from Stampin’ Up! I have made “patchwork” borders and punched out the appliqué hearts.

My Embrace Life Log Cabin Block card is made in Lavender Lace, Lovely Lilac & Elegant Eggplant card and ink, using three of the floral images from Pocket Silhouettes stamp set and greeting from Embrace Life Stamp Set.

I have also used my favourite scallop oval, scallop circle and circle punches from SU!

Quilt block patterns make a great sketch for a cardfront, and I hope you have found these inspiring.  Thank you mum, several aunties, two sisters, two sisters-in-law, my two quilting friends Vickie & Elizabeth and my brand new mother-in-law whom I only met three weeks ago, for being collectors of beautiful fabrics and for shaping them into treasured gifts.

Remember : Blessed are the piecemakers, as they shall inherit the quilts!

The next stop on the blog hop is the very creative Ros Davidson.

 Have a nice journey, and don’t forget to leave comments for everyone!

I mentioned recently that the Art With Heart team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators would be holding another blog hop soon.  It's is a monthly event and I am really looking forward to this Friday to see what the talented girls produce.

This month, with Mother's Day fast approaching, we are celebrating "The Women in my Life", and it will be lovely to see how each of our bloggers have interpreted this theme and what projects they have come up with to celebrate their mothers, sisters, cousins, friends, grandmothers, teachers and role models.

In the meantime, I am off for a bit of inspiration tomorrow, attending the Australasian Quilting Convention at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne.  I can't wait to see those amazing quilts and check out the fabulous colour schemes, and since so many of the women in my life are quilters and patchworkers, you are sure to see the inspiration emerging in my blog hop submission on Friday morning.

Catch you then!  Kathryn.

I really learned a lesson today about the resourcefulness of ants!  I don't know how they did it, but I noticed a trail on my kitchen floor - very noticable since the tiles are off-white!

I started following the trail so see what they had found so attractive and then back the other way to see where they were coming from and I am completely blown away by their hardwork and navigation skills!

I discovered that they really liked Tony's beautiful Proteas - which are in a vase with the bluegum from my bridal bouquet, on top of a chest of drawers in the kitchen.

Once I discovered that, I followed the trail, back down the side of the cabinet, diagonally across a green shopping bag full of serviettes and things left over from the wedding, right along the floor the full length of the kitchen, including around a heating duct vent, into the meal's area, around the front of a bookcase, across a doorway, up an archway, right across the loungeroom ceiling, down the wall to the top of a window, across the top of the blind pelmet, and then, disappearing through a tiny hole in the corner of the wall above the blind!  A journey of around 12metres, which must be like the Oxfam walk to an ant! And there were hundreds of them!

So, what did I learn from this?  Well, after quickly whisking the vase of flowers outside, I decided, that even though I want my loved one to enjoy his flowers, and celebrating his team selection for the Triathlon World Championships, there is obviously a time limit to how long they can stay displayed indoors!  Cute little ants, you belong outside!

The very cute ant stamped on these card fronts is from one of my favourite Stampin' Up! sets, Bugs & Kisses.  If you're new to blog surfing, there are some more photos of Bugs & Kisses cards in my art gallery. Just click once on each thumbnail to get a better look.  Have fun!

I haven't quite finished with the wedding topic yet, as I just HAD to show you this amazing card which Tony & I received from the Art with Heart Team, lots of the ladies that you will have seen in our monthly bloghops - in fact the Art with Heart Team has another gorgeous blog hop coming at the end of April which I know you will thoroughly enjoy.

This heavy tri-fold card has a pocket envelope for a gift voucher, gorgeous paper ribbon roses on the front and then a lovely heart inside from each of the ladies who contributed. It's quite the loveliest piece of collaborative artwork I have seen in a while!

The card is Basic Black, Whisper White, Perfect Plum & Pale Plum, which coordinates beautifully with our wedding stationery. 

And since I love those paper roses so much, a close up of them - thanks so much to the very talented Genna for coordinating and assembling this masterpiece.

Thanks so much to Claire, Di D, Nikki, Kimmy, Marls, Sue, Tina, Tanja, Ros, Jo, Judy, Fiona, Alisha, Kristine, Christine B, Rachel & Genna!!  Can't wait to see more of your fantastic work in the next bloghop.

Everyone's heard the old saying "A place for Everything; and Everything in it's place" . . .

It's so true in today's busy world, that we need to be super organised, and thankfully my stamping space got a huge rejuvenation over Easter (yes, in those busy days before the wedding) with the addition of a whole wall of shelving.  I love it so much, and wanted to share it with you, just in case you're looking for ideas on how to organise your craftroom.

I have to thank my brilliant new husband for his ingenious invention of the rack for all those larger Stampin' Up! punches - they look so good like that and are SO easy to find!

And now it's so much easier to see everything, I can see that I need more roller wheel storage, and which card stock I have heaps of, and what's about to run out - and very soon I will have all that ribbon sorted into nice neat tubs as well, instead of all tangled up in a shoe box.

With the wedding now in the past, I can't wait to get stuck into creating some things in my lovely new space, and organising some classes and workshops so I can actually use some of that stuff I can now see.

I probably never realised when we started this journey 8 or 9 months ago, that there would be so many "Pretty Things" to organise and enjoy.

Our wedding was going to be fun and casual, so we weren't going to have placecards, but once we tried arranging the tables at the community centre, we learned very fast, it was going to be a tight squeeze and we would have to make sure there was a seat for everyone.

Luckily my delicious new Big Shot and Top Note Die had just arrived from Stampin' Up! which made the job very quick and easy - 100 placecards in a couple of hours.

Then, because our ceremony was to be in a gorgeous garden, Weddings by the Lake, we felt maybe we would need the words of the ceremony written down, in case people wanted to follow along and it was a little hard to hear because of wind / rain / distance, so next thing you know, we were compiling Order of Service booklets. 

That Big Shot and the Crop-a-Dile came in real handy again!

Love that Manhattan Flowers embossing folder! And as you can see, I stuck with the Perfect Plum and Pale Plum which I used for the invitations. 

There are lots more photos of the actual wedding in the Photo Gallery up on the top left column of this blog - enjoy!!

Hugs, Mrs Ruddick.

I was asked what colour pendant I would like for Christmas from my brother, and I rarely wear necklaces, so after thinking about it for a few days, I asked if he would like to buy me a pair of earrings to wear to my wedding, instead.

We went shopping together and found the perfect, long, thin, very simple, tear drop, mother of pearl and silver things, and just for fun added a second pair with dragonflies to the shopping bag.

As it turns out, after going to the most beautiful memorial service on Friday afternoon, for my dear stamping friend, Di, I decided on my way home, that I would wear my dragonfly earrings for my wedding in memory of Di.

I am so glad I did this, as for the rest of my life, each time I look at my wedding photos, I will also remember my beautiful smiling and bright friend, Di. 

Thank you Steven for my beautiful earrings, and thank you Di, for blessing my life with your presence, even for such a short time.   

Among my stamping friends was a darling lady who had a delightful and endearing habit of using the expression, "Cheerio!"

The time has arrived to bid a very sad "Cheerio" to Di, who slipped away from us yesterday after a painful battle with cancer.  Di, rest in peace now that your pain is all gone, and know that you will be very sadly missed in our circle of stamping friends. Our get togethers won't be the same without you.

There was a gorgeous dragonfly flitting around our garden last week, which made me think of you, knowing how much you love them. From now on when I see one, it will remind me of you and I will wonder if an angel didn't send it my way.

Hey Everyone,

Have you had a chance to look through the new mini catalogue yet?  It has so many yummy things in it! 

I have been having a ball, finalising all the stuff for my wedding this coming Saturday, and the timing has been just perfect as I have been able to use my new Big Shot, dies and embossing folders to put together place-cards, order of service booklets and start planning our thank you cards.

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting too many messages, it's because I have been busy stamping!

As soon as I have finished a couple, I will post some piccies for you to check out - as well as some photos of my lovely renovated stamping space - a very exciting Easter project, that was!  Be sure to check back in a couple of days to check out my handy work!

Talk to you then, Kathryn.