A week for Stencil Crazy definitely not Stir Crazy

Hi Everyone!  Well I am back after a week of whirlwind adventures.  The past week we have been up the coast to pick up mum and dad from their holiday and where we celebrated 'A's 15th Birthday quietly following his return from a 10 Day Camp which involved hiking and canoeing approximately 85kms.  He was just exhausted and as the camp had previously been postponed till these dates it had ruined our previously arranged plans for his B'day which have been put on hold for a few weeks time.  On Monday we sent him back to school where he was off on yet another camp.  Late Tuesday we picked up our new car and Wednesday we drove it up the coast to fly out to Sydney for a 3 Day Conference for Foster Carers and have just arrived back this morning.

Our three days in Sydney were just fabulous between the wonderful speakers and learning at the conference to the fabulous people we met and the delicious food we ate.  I think I have come home at least 3 - 5kg heavier.  We stayed in the city center just on the edge of China Town which has such a wonderful mix of cultures from the shopping to the cuisines and I can highly recommend one Spanish and one Chinese restaurant to try if you are ever there.

So upon my return this morning I am in catch up mode with all things crafty.  This month's theme over at Unruly PaperArts is Stencil Crazy and we have two fun Reader Art Quests that you can play along with as well as a month of fabulous projects to share with our readers.

Before I left I was working on a few things for this issue.  One of my articles this month is a bit of a product review on Splash Inks.  And whilst playing with them for my article I had some leftover colored Impasto Gel and Spray Inks so I created the above tag for the Tantalizing Texture Reader Art Quest using of course one of my Favorite Stencils - TWC Swirly Garden and leftover papers and fibers.

If you want to discover lots of fabulous ways and ideas for using your stencils be sure to check out this month's issue over at Unruly PaperArts.

And speaking of challenges where you are needing to break out your stencils, my Unruly Counterpart Zoe also is involved with the Craft Room Challenge Blog and they are having a stencil challenge too.  So be sure to link up your stencil creations to both challenges.