It's a great time of the year to get started on making your Christmas Cards... before we know it the festive season will be under way and time will be flying by.  I've uploaded some new ideas for easy Christmas cards that I hope will give you some inspiration for making your own creations - find them here.  Happy card making :)

Need to make a quick birthday card and your are short on time or inspiration?  An easy an effective card can be made with hand-cut letters and an interesting background...find it here on the craftnhome website   

We had driven past the Coal Creek Community Park and Museum in Korumburra many times before deciding to stop in and have a look...and we were so glad that we did.  Entry is FREE, and the whole place feels authentic and is really well presented. We wished we had longer to spend here, and another visit is definitely on the cards...I'd love the chance of a ride on the train too.

Every building and object at Coal Creek has a story to tell, depicting a part of the history of Korumburra, from everyday life, the coalfields and the early agricultural development of the area covering the  1870s – 1920s period.

There are heaps of photos on the Coal Creek web site page and opening times and other information can be found at the Coal Creek Web Site.

I love a good sunset, and we've had some amazing ones here this winter...  Looking out over Port Phillip Bay is one of the few places in Victoria where you have the sun setting over the ocean...beautiful!
For a large collection of sunsets over Port Phillip Bay click here.

 There are five Togakushi Shrines, the best known of these being the Lower, Middle and Upper Togakushi Shrines. These three shrines are connected by walking paths and roads which wind through forests and villages.  
For more pictures and information on these beautiful shrines and the walks see my following posts:

Lower Togakushi Shrine
​Middle Togakushi Shrine
Upper Togakushi Shrine
The Walking Paths between the Shrines

These cards are incredibly simple but also striking...an easy way to make a card with an impact. Drag those punches out of the cupboard and  put them to good use making geometric shaped cards... Find the full post and instructions here on the craftnhome website.

The Togakushi Shrines:

Situated on the lower slopes of Mount Togakushi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, Togakushi Jinja Shrine is a complex of five shrines...

The Upper shrine -  Okusha (Oku-sha)
 The Middle shrine  - Chusha (Chū-sha)
The Lower shrine - Hokosha (Hōkō-sha )
Kuzuryusha shrine - (Kuzuryu-sha)
Hinomikosha shrine - (Hino-miko-sha)

The Lower Togakushi Shrine, is often the starting point for visitors coming to view the Togakushi Shrines, which are connected by both roads and hiking trails.  See the Lower Togakushi Shrine page on craftnhome for a heap more photos and information... and if you happen to be in Nagano, it is well worth a visit.