Hello out there!  Yes I’m still here.  It’s been lovely to have a break since Christmas and we certainly had a most enjoyable holiday down south with our 4WD Club families.  We spent two weeks at Walpole in the caravan park with 7 other club families enjoying relaxing, reading, swimming, fishing, camp fires and fantastic company.  Their were loads of kids who all thrived on each other’s company and the adults got along quite well too! 

Whilst we’ve been back a week it’s been a busy one unpacking, washing and repacking to go away yet again at the end of this week for more camping, fishing, reading, swimming and fantastic company but this time with a great bunch of families from school.  It will be our first trip together but something tells me, not the last!

I’ve hardly had a chance to touch the stamps since Christmas so I don’t have a lot of new things to show you but I thought I would share with you this little token gift I gave some of my very special girlfriends for Christmas.  The weekend before Christmas I had the absolute pleasure of having a great night out with some of my bestest stamping girls.  It was a stinker of a hot night but a most enjoyable one with good friends with lots of laughter and fun!

Here we are enjoying our desserts!  Me, Vick, Charmaine, Keesh and Mon. 

and here is my little gift to each of them….

Here I have embossed the large solid image from Organic Outlines using White Craft Ink and white embossing powder onto Kraft cardstock, layered it onto Whisper White and then onto Real Red.  The sentiment is from Warm Words and I’ve used Jumbo White Brads and the GORGEOUS  Polka Dot Real Red grosgrain ribbon from the new Summer Mini to wrap around the card and tied it off with some silver cord. 

The little box is made using the same products however I’ve also added the flower image from Organic Outline and punched a half  1″ circle to help open the box. I’ve also lined it with some Ski Slope DSP just to finish it off.  As you can see it is just a little gift of some Apple Tea-lights. 

Don’t forget the Inventory Clearance Sale is still on until 24 January so hop in quick for some fantastic bargains! Check out this post below for more details.

and here is a pic of my gorgeous friend Makeesha and myself at our dinner. 

Tomorrow Keesh leaves the West to head for a new adventure in Cairns and whilst I will miss her terribly I know we will always be dear friends forever more.  Keesh and I met at a team meeting at our upline Ngaire’s almost four years ago and from the minute we were introduced just hit it off and have built a special and strong friendship that goes beyond our love of stamping!  I know there will be long chats and online antics so whilst my heart is sad tonight, I know we will be the best of long distance friends and I’ll just have to chalk up some visits to Cairns!  I’ve always wanted to go there anyway!!  Best of luck to you Keesh.

Hi all.  I just thought I’d pop in and say Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year and thank you for your continued support and custom.  This year has certainly flown by and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my blogging and sharing projects and ideas with you.

We had a lovely day yesterday with my family, firstly with my own little family and then with my extended family at my sister Jule’s for lunch.  It was a really nice day and I think a highlight was when mum asked us all to go around the table and tell what good things had happened to us in 2009.  We all had lots of claps and cheers and laughs and it was a fun moment.  Something we’ve not ever done before and more than likely a spur of the moment idea but something I’d like to continue with each year.  We all have a lot to be grateful for!

I had hoped to share with you some little card and gift sets I made for some very special friends the other night but unfortunately time has gotten away with me (again) and I haven’t had time to take and edit a pic.  It is almost midnight and we are leaving early tomorrow morning to go down south for two weeks.  I’m still fussing around with various odd jobs before we go and am a little torn at the thought of leaving my craft, blog and facebook behind!  Oh well, it will do me good and no doubt I’ll soon be in the full swing of relaxing, reading and fishing!  I got a couple of fantastic books for Christmas so look forward to getting stuck into those.

Anyway, I promise to upload my little goodies when I get back and wish you all a lovely break with your families.  See you in the New Year.  Stay safe. 

Lou
xo

I thought I’d share with you the little package I put together for the boys’ teachers this year.  As I’m still such a big fan of the retired Parisian Breeze DSP and I have quite a bit left over, I thought I’d work with those. 

I made a tall fliptop box which housed five cards and envelopes, a corner bookmark and a pocket diary. 

Here is a closer look at the cards, all using minimal stamping but various punches with buttons, brads or felt flowers as accents.  They were all simple designs but quite striking I think.  I love how the Kraft cardstock comes up with these papers! 

Well things are certainly busy in this household and I’m sure they are in yours too!  I still have an awful lot to do before Christmas day plus we are going away two days later so I’m prepping for that too. 

Thanks for looking.  Take care.

Stampin’ Up! have announced their first ever Clearance Sale and you will be amazed at the specials!  Some items are up to 50% off!  Check out these incredible prices! 

Aren’t those alphabet prices incredible?!  I am still writing out my wishlist!  There is no limit on what you order and no minimum purchase required so grab your catalogue and call or email me today with your order.  At these prices you could even order a gift for friend’s birthday present and be super organised for the New Year.

On sale until 24 January 2010 so be quick!

I am so excited to share with you some fantastic new products from the Summer Mini Catalogue which launches today!  I’m also taking part in my very first Bloghop which I’m sure you’ll get a buzz out of too.

I am a member of a Yahoo Group called ESAD (Extra Special Australian Demonstrators) and some of us are taking part in our first bloghop to showcase the great new products in the Summer Mini Catalogue.  ESAD is a fantastic support network for demonstrators and as well as helping each other out, we have challenges, cyberstamps, tutorials and I’ve formed some great online friendships!

There will be 30 blogs to hop to along the tour so you may need to make a cuppa and settle in for a while.  You may have arrived here from Lisa’s blog and seen her gorgeous projects but if not that’s ok too, you can continue on the tour until you get back here if you like.  If you visit all 30 blogs and leave a comment on ALL 30 you will go into the running to win some gorgeous Blog Candy!  Demonstrators from all over Australia are donating all sorts of goodies so you know what they say…. you’ve got to be in it to win it.

First I must apologise for the shadows and lighting in my photos.  I had my projects all ready to photograph in the gorgeous sunlight and then discovered Paul had the camera in his car at work, so I had to wait until the evening and the light just created shadows no matter what I did.

Ok… so here we have a new fun stamp set called Something Sweet.  It has 14 stamps in the set is $44.95.  The images are so much fun and there are so many ideas to chose from, it automatically made me grab the Bold Bright colours.  I know they are not traditional baby card colours but who says we have to have soft colours? 

Stamp set:  Something Sweet (NEW)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Inks:  Tempting Turquoise, Real Red
Accessories:  Scallop Edge punch, 3/4″ Polka-Dot Grosgrain (NEW), Playground Designer buttons (NEW), hemp twine.

Here’s another fun card using the same stamp set, Something Sweet.  This time I have chosen the gumball images and used the exciting new Sweet Treat Cups.  I have filled it with jelly beans and also made a pull tag so that the recipient can actually eat the goodies inside! 

Stamp set:  Something Sweet (NEW), Occasional Greetings (inside sentiment)
Cardstock:  Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Whisper White
Inks:  Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red
Accessories:  Sweet Treat Cups (NEW), 1 3/4″ circle punch (NEW), corner rounder, Crop-a-dile, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, 1″ circle punch, 3/4″ circle punch.  

Here’s a pic of how it looks from inside….

This card is also my entry in Keesh’s colour challenge this week, using Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Whisper White.

Last but not least we have a cute little project using the Sweet Treat Cups.  I’ve had these little buckets forever and am always looking for something to use them for and thought this would make a great additon to a party table.  I have used the Die Cut Blooms and the NEW 1 3/4″ inch circle punch to inset my Sweet Treat Cup. I’ve used a kebab skewer as my stem and adhered it to another larger die cut at the back, wrapped some Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon around it for leaves and voila!  Bright, fun, and yummy too! 

Well I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at these new products and of course there are soooo many more.  If you’d like to receive a copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue, please email me or call and I’ll pop one in the post to you.  Or you can check it out online here. 

Don’t forget I’m holding Christmas classes here on Thursday at 7.30pm and a Christmas Gift Ideas class on Friday at 10am.  I still have a couple of seats at each if you would like to come along and then you’ll be able to see the new goodies in the flesh! 

Righto…. off you go now to visit Lyanna and continue on your journey.  Have fun and don’t forget to leave your comments for your chance to win the blog candy! You have until Wed midnight EDST to submit your comments.

Thanks for looking!

Hey there!  I hope you’ve had a great week.  I’ve had a funny kind of week, really busy but really enjoyable.  I started off the week having lunch with my three sisters and Mum & Dad which is a very rare occurence these days.  I hatched a scheme to make sure Mum was going to be home and then organised that we four girls turn up with lunch.  It was a nice change of pace and a much needed catch up for all of us.  Of course it went way too quickly and before we knew it we were all rushing off to various duties.

Tuesday I had a super quick but lovely catch up with Keesh and her little monkey Jayana (who is always a charmer) then managed to squeeze in my first touch of Christmas shopping and get my hair done!  It’s amazing how good you feel when those greys are chased away!

The past few days I have been busy prepping for a class, a workshop and getting ready for our long weekend in Margaret River.  No, you can’t have a long weekend – we are making our own!  Throw in a bunch of other families in caravans, a bit of off-roading, some camp fire cooking, toasted marshmallows, lunch at a winery and the odd bakery visit and you get the idea of what lies ahead.  Such is life! I may even have to sneak in a visit to the chocolate factory!

I haven’t had much time to create this week at all so I decided to show you one of the cards I made for a recent Christmas card class.

Stamp sets:  Snow Swirled, Best Yet (Level 1 hostess)
Cardstock:  Whisper White, Real Red, Baja Breeze
Inks:  Baja Breeze
Accessories:  Scallop square punch, lge square punch, silver brads, wide grosgrain Real Red ribbon.

Don’t forget you can earn the Scallop Square Punch for FREE when you spend $85 or more on items on the Christmas Extravaganza Gift Giving Guide.  See here for more details.

Well, I’m off to finish the packing.  See you next week. 

Cheers

Hi all.  Another busy week gone by.  Boy it’s just gets a little crazy at this time of the year doesn’t?  Well at least school fete is over and I can concentrate on some other things for a while.  It was a very successful day for our little school and hats off to all those involved.

My stamp club met on Wednesday and I thought I’d share with you this gorgeous little gift box/drawer we made.  I just love it and the girls all did too. This is the one I made to start with.

This box uses Choc Chip, Real Red and Whisper White card stock together with Ski Slope DSP and the Tree Trimmings and Best Yet stamp sets. I have used Crystal Effects with glitter on the baubles and the Crop-a-dile and jumbo eyelets with a rhinestone brad and ribbons to make the drawer pull.

It also has the added bonus of a gift card attached to the top which is kept closed with the silver hodgpodge brad.

 and here is the one we made as a group. 

Here I have used Real Red, Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock and Ski Slope DSP .  I’ve made a bauble with the Red Gingham ribbon, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch and the Snow Swirled image with a Fire Rhinestone brad.  I’ve also used  Warm Words and a  Baja Corduroy Button for the drawer pull which works extremely well. 

Don’t forget the Spring Mini catalogue finishes at the end of this month and a lot of these items will go with it.  I don’t know how I’m going to survive the lead up to Christmas without my much loved Ski Slope designer papers!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers

I enjoyed this week’s sketch so much, I thought I’d have another go at it.  This time with a Christmas card.

Here is the sketch again:

and here is my card:

Stamp set:  Snow Swirled, Spotlight on Christmas
Cardstock:  Baja Breeze, Real Red
Inks:  Old Olive, Real Red
Accessories:  Ski Slope Designer Paper, Old Olive wide grosgrain, Bouquet Buttons, silver thread (retired), large star punch. sponge

Just between you and me I think this is a stunner!  Simple and stylish…. bit like me really!

Have a great weekend.

Hi all.  I haven’t had a chance to play Mojo Monday for soooo long so whilst I’m excelling at procrastinating in other areas of my life I thought I’d sit and play!  Oh well as long at tea is on the table and the washing is done, the rest can wait I say.

Here is this week’s Mojo Monday sketch:

and here is my take on it:

I made this card with a girlfriend in mind and even though it is quite a simple card, the sentiment and the reason behind sending it were all from my heart.  I love the Sweet Always papers and they are quite versatile in that the selection of papers go from super girly to cute, smart, sassy and even masculine if you need.  Of course it also has Choc Chip in it which always helps!!

Stamp set:  Occasional Greetings
Cardstock:  Choc Chip, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose
Inks:  Regal Rose (for sponging)
Accessories:  Sweet Always DSP, Stampin’ Write Markers Regal Rose & Chocolate Chip, Build-A-Brad, 1/2″ circle punch, glue dots, Felt Fusion, Felt Fusion Too, vintage brads, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for looking.  Ok I’m off to package up some more craft items we’ve made for the school fete on Saturday.  Whilst it’s been fun, I’ll be glad when its over as it gets a bit hectic with the lead up to such a big day and I’m kinda glad it’s only every second year!  The kids are so excited it’s funny to watch them. They just love it!

Yay I finally got the chance to play in one of Keesh’s Inspiration Challenges!  I haven’t done one for so long but as soon as I saw this week’s pic I knew what stamp set I wanted to use and was determined to get it in on time.

Here is Keesh’s inspiration pic:

and here is my card. 

Don’t ya just love this dude?  Unfortunately he’s from the US Stampin’ Up! catty.  My girlfriend visited from the US a few weeks ago and bought me some pressies which was soooo exciting!  This guy is a single stamp named Extreme Guitar and the other images are from a set called Extreme Elements.  I’m just busting to use them more so I’m saying a little prayer we will get them in one of our catalogues one day soon.  Fantastic for male cards. 

Stamp sets:  Extreme Guitar (US), Extreme Elements (US) and Occasional Greetings
Cardstock:  Basic Black, Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Inks:  Black Stazon, Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray
Accessories:  Cutter kit to distress, Silver hodgepodge brads, Word Window punch

Thanks for looking!