World Cardmaking Day - Who Knew!

So, hands up those of you who knew there was such a thing as World Card Making Day (WCMD). Well, OK, there are a few of you since everyone is advertising the fact on their blogs, LOL. In order to celebrate WCMD, Stampin' Up! are offering 20% off each of the Simply Sent kits ordered between October 4 and October 8, 2007. You can see the kits here and here.

These kits are pretty cool. They contain EVERYTHING you need to make 10 cards, 5 off 2 different designs. In my opinion, the best thing about these kits is that the stamps sets in them are DIE CUT. What does that mean - no cutting or trimming before mounting onto the blocks!

I have the 'A Wish For You' kit, and I thought I'd show you a sample from the kit and then a sample using different supplies. I kept the layouts the same, I just wanted to show how easy it is to substitute other colours in to get different effects.


So this is the first - using Certainly Celery and Tempting Turquoise. This is the 'kit' card. It was surprisingly easy to line up the candles on the top of the cake, and it most time consuming part of the whole card was the ribbon tying!



This time, I thought I'd make it a more masculine card and substituted Kraft for the base, Chocolate Chip for the layering and the images are stamped on Very Vanilla using Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa inks. I also used that damned twill tape that I bought on my VERY 1st SU order over a year ago. I have immense trouble using this tape, I don't know how many times I have pulled it out, only to put it away just as quick. The piece I have used is actually the smallest width cut in half. It was too bulky to use as is and it gives it a bit more of a manly vibe than ribbon.


This is the second 'kit' card. Base is Rose Red, matting Certainly Celery. Ink is R/Red, T/Turquoise and C/Celery. Again, ribbon tying took ages, but as you can see, I also had trouble lining up the 'ribbon' image. (Sorry, the photo is a little blurry - didn't realise until I went to post and it's too late to take any more). As I was putting this one together, I thought to myself, wouldn't it look cool 'blinged out'. This lead me to the next sample.





I love black and pink together. For this I've subsituted Basic Black for the card base and Pink Passion for the matting. Since SU don't have any P/Passion ribbon (& I couldn't be bothered dying white to pink) I used black & white gingham. I stamped the image using black on W/White, (I cheated and used one of my old black pigment inks), covered with Heat & Stick powder, heated with heat tool to make it sticky and then covered in Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I used P/Passion for the ribbon (again, practice did not make perfect, LOL) Isn't it pretty? It is really, really sparkly IRL. Oh, sentiment is stamped in P/Passion too.

If you would like to take advantage of the 20% discount, make sure you get your orders to me ASAP. The deadline of October 8 will be strictly enforced so make sure you don't miss out! You can email me here


That's all for tonight, the dishes need doing before going to bed and I'm mega tired today. Had to be up early (5.30 am) for a job interview (which I think went well) and I got hardly any sleep because I couldn't stop my mind from buzzing! Hate that.

October Promotion

So, tomorrow hearlds the start of Stampin' Up!'s new promotion, 'Spring Is In The Air'. During the month of October if you purchase the Looks Like Spring Stamp Set and the coordinating Spring Bouquet Punch you receive either Spring Flowers or Spring Showers Double Sided Designer Paper absolutely FREE!


Now, I'd love to show some samples of cards I've made with this set, however, I think I must be the only demonstrator in Australia who does NOT have it! Am I going to get it during the promotion? - well, I'm still deciding. I just recived my lastest order on Friday and there are another couple of sets that I REALLY, REALLY want (that I didn't order and am now kicking myself). I figure that if I really wanted it, I probably would have got it by now. So for those of you interested in the promotion, here's a link to Stampin' Up!'s site.


I have actually done a little stamping over the last week, I just need to take photos, a task that is determined by the amount of sunlight that comes in my kitchen window. It has been a bit overcast this week and the only day it was kind of sunny, I was rushing out of the house for a job interview. Hopefully, the sun will be shining brightly tomorrow.


Instead I'll leave you with a photo of my gorgeous little boy. It's hard to believe a year has passed since he brightened our lives! His personality is really starting to bloom. He's learnt to wave and say 'bye bye' and now, when he's tired, he'll wave at us and say 'bye bye' and take himself into his room and laydown, ready for us to put him to bed. It is SO CUTE! This photo was taken at this 1st birthday party - he just loves cupcakes, not so keen on the sponge cake!

Warning - I've Been Enabled!

And I'm here to enable you TOO!

A couple of days, my friend and fellow M.U.D.D.Y. Girl, Naomi let it be known that Spotlight were having a special on the Crop In Style XXL Rolling Tote. Now, I'd see this little beauty in action, since Naomi has one herself. Naomi got hers when she lived in Canada and the ones I'd seen here were nothing like hers. I figured it would just be another of those things that I could dream about getting. That was until yesterday, when that dream turned into a reality, LOL!

Here's a photo from the outside, all closed up. It has a big handle and wheels that make it really easy to pull along behind you. It has really large front and side pockets and what I think is the best feature - ALL the pockets are LOCKABLE. Excellent for keeping little fingers out!

This is a view with the front pocket open. The 1st pocket in the top row contains all my embossing powders and embossing buddy, the 2nd pocket, Stampin' Dimensionals and Sticky Strip.

The 2nd Row has my Heat & Stick Powder, SNAILS and the 3rd pocket has my Craft & Rubber Scissors, Paper Snips, Cutter Kit, Bone Folder and a couple of small rulers.

The bottom row has my SU Corner Rounder punch, my stapler and the 1/16"and 1/8" hand held punches. There's also a storage pocket on the side that flips down!

This is the view with one of the side pockets open. In the pen loops are my B/Black Stampin' Write Marker, B/Black Journaler, White Gel Pen, Blender Pens and then some contraband, VersaMarker, another 'cheapie' white gel pen, X-Acto Knife, Sakura Quickie Glue Pen and Sakura Gelly Roller Pen in sparkly silver.

In the pockets on the right are some Sponge Daubers and Brads in Soft Subtles and Silver. Bottom row has a few Aquabrush pens, Scoring Blade and a pack of spare blades for paper trimmer. Other pocket contains a couple of Glue Sticks, 2-Way Glue and Stampin' Mist.

This is a view with the top open. The pocket holds my 12" Paper Trimmer, my smaller paper trimmer and a 30 cm Inch/Metric ruler!

This is the interior view. All the dividers are completely removable or you can adjust to your liking.

From L - R, the first pocket holds my expanding folder in which I keep spare order forms, my catalogue, current & previous minis, recruit info, door prize forms, wishlists, etc. Also have the plastic folders I use at workshops to hold order forms, pens, door prize forms, wishlists etc.

2nd pocket is holding my Stampin' Scrub, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and Crafter's Tool Kit. Once my new order arrives, the brayer will also find a home here.

3rd pocket is holding Stampin' Pastels, 4 colour families of Stampin' Write Markers, 5 colour families of Wonderful Watercolour Crayons. This pocket also divided up and in that area is my standard and jumbo Stampin' Around Handles.

Last pocket contains 8 catalogues and pens. LOVE IT!

This picture contains all of the above items but now shows the 5 stamp sets I have packed in there and my SU apron. There is STILL enough room to add more on top of this, and I think you could easily add another 5 sets. The sets I have included are Heartfelt Thanks, Linen Background, It's Your Birthday, Simply Said and Mostly Flowers.

I took all this stuff to a workshop on Thursday and I needed 4 bags to hold it all in. It now all fits into 1. How cool is that?!?

I also purchased this CIS 12 x 12 Paper Sorter. It has 3 main interior dividers and then 9 separate plastic dividers that slip inside. I needed something to store all my SU 12x12 stuff in. Not that I have that much but I needed something all the same.

This is what's inside: On Board Accents Chipboard, W/White 12x12 Cardstock, S/Sand 12x 12 Cardstock, Earth Elements 12x12 Cardstock, Treehouse 12x12 DS Designer Paper, Notations 12x12 DS Designer Paper, Recollections 12x12 Designer Paper and Pool Party 12x12 Designer Paper. There is room for more but that's all I have.

Here's what the divider looks like. It has this cool 1/2 pocket in the front so you can store your scraps in it. You can also buy additional dividers too. LOVE IT!

Another thing, the paper holder can slip over the handles of the tote so you don't have to carry it. Not that I think I'll be taking it anywhere, but it's cool that it does it none the less.

So my advice is, if you have a heap of stuff you need to cart around on a regular basis, you need to get yourself to Spotlight and snap one of these up for yourself!

A Bit of Fun - It's going to be a long one

When visiting Simone's blog the other day, she had a post re a Album of Me challenge she's participating in. One of the challenges was to put together a listing of what would be on your 'Ultimate Mix Tape'. Now, apart from stamping and my horse (and now my child), one of my other obsessions is music. A couple of Christmases ago, we decided to splurge and get the biggest & bestest IPOD we could to put all our, well OK, all my music on, LOL. I still haven't loaded everything yet - it doesn't take that long but it's time consuming, IYKWIM, it's on my ever growing list of things to do.
So to cut a long story shorter, I've decided to start of book of me too! My SU order will be going in tomorrow to get my Art Journal - hey, I may as well promote my business at the same time. My IPOD (yes, I've claimed it) has nearly 3,000 songs & counting, so I decided to limit my ultimate mix to 10% of that. I figured that my handwriting would look absolutely crap after writing all of them out, so I exported them out of ITunes and I'm going to print and cut them up, ransom note style for my page. I love reading about other people's favourite songs so I thought I'd share mine with you! Now I give you fair warning before going any further, Jarrod thinks I have questionable taste when it comes to music and also thinks that I have songs on the IPOD that no one else has ever heard of.

Here's my list, I tried to pick just my favourite song from each artist, but in some cases it was just too hard. I also grew up in the disco era, hence the disco songs and I also used to hit the clubs pretty hard in my early - mid 20's (I so miss this), which accounts for the dance floor anthems. I'd love to hear your comments - BE NICE. Oh, by the way, there's a story behind why I've selected each and every one of these songs too - I will elaborate if anyone's interested in any in particular

Voulez-Vous - ABBA
Tears Are Not Enough- ABC
Antmusic (Album Version) - Adam & The Ants
Killer - Adamski
Warning! - Adeva
Dirty Cash (Todd Terry Radio Mix) - Adventures Of Stevie V Featuring Nazlyn
If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys
Mr Damage - The Angels
Wish I Didn't Miss You - Angie Stone
Obsession - Animotion
Paranomia (Max Headroom) - Art of Noise
Found A Cure - Ashford & Simpson
Bang Bang (Shot You Down) - Audio Bullys
Lakeside - Australian Crawl
Since I Left You - The Avalanches
Give Me Back My Man - The B-52's
Private Idaho - The B-52's
Summer Of Love - The B-52's
Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland - The B-52's
Isn't It Time - The Babys
Yes Sir, I Can Boogie - Baccara
Robert De Niro's Waiting - Bananarama
Romeo - Basement Jaxx
Rok Da House - The Beatmasters
You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
Sex (I'm a...) - Extended Version - Berlin
Crazy In Love - Beyonce
The Globe - Big Audio Dynamite
Breakaway - Big Pig
Sweet Sixteen - Billy Idol
Playing With Knives - Bizarre Inc.
Ride on Time - Black Box
Shut Up - The Black Eyed Peas
Rapture - Blondie
Atomic - Blondie
Jackie - Blue Zone
Ebony Eyes - Bob Welch
Daddy Cool - Boney M
More Than A Feeling - Boston
Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat
Such A Good Feeling (Inspirational Delight Mix) - Brothers In Rhythm
Stomp - Brothers Johnson
The Bomb Kenny Dope Gonalez Presents... - The Bucketheads
Video Killed The Radio Star - Buggles
Jesse - Carly Simon
I Feel For You - Chaka Chan
Out Of Control - The Chemical Brothers
Le Freak - Chic
He's My Number One - Christie Allen
Almost With You - The Church
Rock The Casbah - The Clash
Doctorin' The House (Feat Yazz And The Plastic Population) - Coldcut
Fascinated - Company B
Round Here - Counting Crows
Time To Party - Craig David
She Sells Sanctuary -The Cult
Miss Me Blind - Culture Club
Why Can't I Be You? - The Cure
Baby, Do You Feel Me? - Danny Tenaglia
Turn Me On - Danny Tenaglia
Golden Years - David Bowie
China Girl - David Bowie
Needin U - David Morales
My Heart Goes Bang - Dead Or Alive
Deeper Water - Deadstar
Get The Balance Right - Depeche Mode
Behind The Wheel - Depeche Mode
Nasty Girl - Destiny's Child
Beautiful World - Devo
Hunter - Dido
Boys in Town -Divinyls
Bad Girls - Donna Summer
No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) - Donna Summer
Planet Earth - Duran Duran
I Can't Tell You Why - The Eagles
Boogie Wonderland - Earth Wind & Fire
Tender Years - Eddie & The Cruisers
Getting Away With It - Electronic
Watching The Detectives - Elvis Costello
What's It Gonna Be - En Vogue
Who Needs Love (Like That) - Erasure
Saving Myself - Eria Fachin
I Can't Stand The Rain - Eruption
Don't Ask Me Why - Eurythmics
Kiss You All Over - Exile
Insomnia - Faithless
One Step Too Far feat.Dido - Faithless
Chinese Eyes - Fancy
Slice Me Nice - Fancy
Love Can't Turn Around (Featuring Darryl Pandy) - Farley Jackmaster Funk & Darryl Pandy
Johnny Come Home - Fine Young Cannibals
So Long - Fischer Z
One Thing Leads To Another - The Fixx
Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock Of Seagulls
Everlong - Foo Fighters
Breakout - Foo Fighters
Aurora - Foo Fighters
Urgent - Foreigner
S-S-S-Single Bed - Fox
Rich In Paradise -FPI Project
Baby Wants To Ride - Frankie Knuckles
IOU (Original) - Freez
Sounds of Then (This is Australia) - GANGgajang
Vow - Garbage
Outside - George Michael
Salsoul Nugget (If U Wanna) - Girl Next Door
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
We Got The Beat (Single Mix) - Go-Go's
Pull Up To The Bumper - Grace Jones
The Message - Grand Master Flash
White Lines - Grandmaster Flash
Superstylin' - Groove Armada
Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent - Gwen Guthrie
Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
Love Plus One - Haircut 100
Out Of Touch - Hall & Oates
Searchin' - Hazell Dean
Magic Man - Heart
Temptation (Original Version) - Heaven 17
Malibu - Hole
Love Action (I Believe In Love) - The Human League
Walls - Icehouse
Candy - Iggy Pop
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (12" Mix) - Indeep
Good Life - Inner City
Big Fun (Original 12'' Mix) - Inner City
To Look At You - INXS
Fame - Irene Cara
Town Called Malice - The Jam
Soul Education - Jamiroquai
What Have You Done For Me Lately - Janet Jackson
When I Think Of You - Janet Jackson
Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
Real Thing - Jellybean
Somebody Else's Guy - Jocelyn Brown
Looking For A New Love - Jody Watley
The Floor - Johnny Gill
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
I'm Your Boogie Man - K.C. & The Sunshine Band
Constant Craving - k.d. lang
Too Shy - Kajagoogoo
Gold Digger - Kanye West & Jamie Foxx
Let Me Love You For Tonight - Kariya
Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
Babooshka - Kate Bush
Strings Of Life (Stronger On My Own) (Full Length Vocal) - Kathy Brown, Soul Central
Hey Hey Guy (Extended Mix) - Ken Lazlo
All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
View From A Bridge - Kim Wilde
My Sharona - The Knack
She's Fresh - Kool & The Gang
Hungry - Kosheen
The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue
Better The Devil You Know - Kylie Minogue
Confide In Me - Kylie Minogue
Lady Marmalade - Labelle
Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside
French Kiss - Lil'Louis & The World
Running With the Night - Lionel Richie
Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
People Hold On (feat. Coldcut) - Lisa Stansfield
All Around The World - Lisa Stansfield
Never Too Much - Luther Vandross
Popmuzik - M
Don't Call Me Baby (Original Mix - Edit) - Madison Avenue
Our House - Madness
Deeper And Deeper - Madonna
Rescue Me - Madonna
Causing A Commotion - Madonna
Buffalo Gals - Malcolm Mclaren
Double Dutch - Malcolm Mclaren
Madam Butterfly - Malcolm McLaren
If You Tolerate This - Manic Street Preachers
Got To Have Your Love - Mantronix
Echo Beach - Martha And The Muffins
Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
Read About It - Midnight Oil
US Forces - Midnight Oil
Midas Touch - Midnight Star
Go - Moby
I'll Melt With You - Modern English
Total Control (Single Version) - The Motels
60 Miles An Hour - New Order
Temptation - New Order
Thieves Like Us - New Order
The Perfect Kiss - New Order
Sub-Culture - New Order
World In Motion - New Order
Enola Gay - OMD
Forget Me Nots - Patrice Rushen
Born To Be Alive (Extended Version) - Patrick Hernandez
Because The Night - Patty Smyth
Love Comes Quickly - Pet Shop Boys
Heart - Pet Shop Boys
My Happiness - Powderfinger
Talk Of The Town - The Pretenders
Controversy - Prince
Erotic City - Prince
Baby, I'm A Star - Prince
Baby It's You - Promises
Dr. Mabuse - Propaganda
Love My Way - Psychadelic Furs
Creep - Radiohead
Break 4 Love - Raze
Strings Of Life [Piano Mix] - Rhythim Is Rhythim
You Used To Salsa [12"] - Richie Rich's Salsa House Feat. Ralphi Rosario
Superfreak - Rick James
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
Johnny & Mary - Robert Palmer
Uprock - Rock Steady Crew
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Everybody's Free - Rozalla
Theme From S Express (Overture) - S'Express
Stop - Sam Brown
Emotion - Samantha Sang
Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters
Stay - Shakespears Sister
He's A Dream - Shandi (from Flashdance soundtrack)
Let The Music Play - Shannon
Barbarism Begins At Home - The Smiths
This Charming Man - The Smiths
How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
Panic - The Smiths
Ask - The Smiths
You Got The Love - Source Feat. Candi Staton (played on the closing credits for the final episode of Sex In The City)
Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On) - Spandau Ballet
Cool for Cats - Squeeze
Edge Of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around - Stevie Nicks & Tom Petty
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Promised Land - The Style Council
Rapper's Delight (Old School Mix) - Sugarhill Gang
Alone With You Tonight - Sunny Boys
Perfect Motion - Sunscreem
You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) - Sylvester
It's My Life - Talk Talk
Girlfriend Is Better - Talking Heads
Do you want it right now - Taylor Dayne
Change - Tears For Fears
Pump Up The Jam - Technotronic
Lovergirl - Teena Marie
Dance Little Lady Dance - Tina Charles
Weekend - Todd Terry Project
Genius of Love - Tom Tom Club
Mickey - Toni Basil
Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos
Living on Video - Trans X
Two Hearts Beat As One - U2
Sister Havanna - Urge Overkill
Seether - Veruca Salt
Macho Man - Village People
Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes
Fade To Grey - Visage
Here Comes September - Waikiki
It's Raining Men - Weather Girls
Wham Rap - Wham!
If I Told You That - Whitney Houston & George Michael
Teardrops - Womack & Womack
Senses Working Overtime - XTC
If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
Hey Mr DJ - Zhane
Touch Me - 49ers
Pacific 707 - 808 State

Congratulations if you made it all the way to the end! I'll try and publish this on ITunes as an IMix so you can have a listen for your self. Failing that, I can always burn you an Ultimate Mix CD of your very own.

Will have some crafty projects to post in the next few days - just need to get photos taken

Also, a big thank you for all the lovely, supporting comments I received about my last post - it's greatly appreaciated. THANK YOU ALL!

I Know, It's Been Ages

since I've last posted. I've got to tell you, blogging has been the last thing on my mind. I apologise for my general lack of enthusiasm.

So what have I got to show you tonight I bet you're wondering. Well, nothing creative AT ALL. I've decided to share my frustrations about searching for work with you. I thought I'd give you a bit of warning before I got started so you can 'turn off' cause it's not going to be a warm and fuzzy post.

Some of you may be aware that I recently lost my job that I had been in for 10 years. I had been on unpaid maternity leave since August last year and in June, when I rang to say 'Hey, I'm ready to come back to work' I was told 'Sorry, got no work for you'. Since then, I have been looking for a new full time job. We did the sums and going back full time is really the only way that we'd get enough money to make it worthwile. Anyway, I'm hoping that by venting some of the frustrations I'm experiencing, it will help me with this process, cause quite frankly, it's taking its toll on me. I'm finding it to be the most soul destroying, confidence shattering experience I have had to date.

Here's the most recent one. Applied for a position that sounded really good - in the CBD so a bit of travelling, nothing in the role that I haven't done in the past. Get an interview - I think it goes pretty well. As I'm getting ready to leave, the HR lady I'd met with says, 'We'll be in touch if we want to go any further in the process with you'. Cool. Well less than 15 minutes later, I get a phone call, 'We'd like you to come back to do some psych testing next week and if that goes well then meet with CEO as she likes to meet all prospective employees.' No problem, can do. Do the testing, obviously goes well cause next day get phone call to make appointment to meet with CEO. Very excited at this point. HR lady that I'd been speaking to had really pumped up the job and my confidence, was told the job had a lot of flexibility, could work from home if kids were sick etc, etc. Really good to hear considering some other responses I've gotten due to the fact I have a young child. Ah, discrimination - good to know it's still out there! Anyway, meet with CEO, I think it all goes well. Apparently it's between myself and another girl who wasn't meeting with CEO until the Monday (my interview was on the Friday). Was told that they would be in touch on Monday.

Well, Monday comes & goes - no phone call. I've since decided that NO NEWS IS DEFINATELY NOT GOOD NEWS. Wait till the mail arrives Tuesday to see if the 'rejection letter' is in mail - it's not, so I give them a call. Total change in demeanour with HR lady. SO NOT GOOD. Apparently CEO was concerned with my 'limited experience in one field'. I was SO SHOCKED that I couldn't even get a reply out to ask her to elaborate! They obviously weren't happy with either of us because I then was told that they were interviewing a 3rd (and possibily a 4th - I couldn't take it all in at that stage) candidate and that they would get back to me. Well, it's been a week since I made that phone call, and still nothing.

Then on the other had you get this. Apply for a position that is about 10 mins from home and really good money. Job is advertised as Bookkeeper to learn all about importing. This position is being advertised by an agency that had advertised another job that I'd applied for (that fell through), so my resume got sent directly down to the client. After about a week, I still hadn't got an interview, so made some enquiries. Apparently, client wants to go with someone who has importing experience. HELLO, nearly everything we sold at my last job was imported from either the US (most), UK, Europe or Taiwan. Have got a little bit of experience with this. However, still can't get interview. See the position advertised again and again and decide enough is enough. I emailed the agency, explaining my frustrations about seeing job advertised again & again and not being able to even get an interview! Well, it turns out the client who had seen my resume thought that I would think that the job would be beneath me and that I would get bored and look for something else. ALL WITHOUT EVEN MEETING OR TALKING TO ME! Let me tell you, after all this, the LAST thing I'd want to be doing is looking for another job. It's one of the reasons I stayed in my last job for so long. It's just too hard to start again with a new employer.

So, sorry if this has brought you down, I've still got some more to tell you about, but this has got really long.

Hope you all have a good day/night, and hopefully we'll return to the scheduled programming soon!

While Waiting For My Dinner To Arrive

I thought that I'd post a couple of notebooks that I altered to add to my goodie box. The goodie box comes to workshops with me and my hostess gets to pick something from it for her hostess gift. The winner of the door prize also gets to pick something from it as their prize. And finally, for every workshop/party that is booked at the workshop, the hostess gets another choice. The goodie box contains a few different things: cardstock samples, pre-made cards & envelopes, stamps and now these altered notebooks.

This first notebook is covered with the retired Sassy designer series paper, the Daily Notes sentiment (from Office Accoutrement - Spring Mini) was inked up using Only Orange, Pink Passion and Green Galore markers, stamped on Whisper White and punched out using the 1-1/4" RD punch. It was matted on a 1-3/8" RD piece of Green Galore, attached to some Apple Green grosgrain ribbon using some pink brads (non SU). It's also popped up on a couple of dimensionals to keep it still. AND there is some BLING attached to the centre of the flower (althought it's pretty hard to see in this photo).

I then applied a coat of mod podge to all the covers (front, back and insides - these are also covered) to give it some protection.

Again I've used the retired Sassy DSP. The word 'notes' is Pink Passion cardstock that has been die cut with my Cuttlebug and Olivia alphabet dies. I added some Pink & Orange stiched ribbon and there is some more BLING on the top of the 'N'. I adhered the letters using the Sakura Quickie Glue pen. I've seen lots of mentions of this little gem by girls in the US but I've never seen them here until just the other day. At $3.95 I figured I didn't have a lot to lose to try it out. It's like a gel pen but with glue inside. It was really good to adhere the letters as they are quite fine in some spots and the glue rolled out easily and gave a nice coverage (without oozing out from underneath). I am really hopeless with any type of glue so I was pleased with the results.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Office Accoutrement

Ink: Only Orange, Pink Passion, Green Galore Markers

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pink Passion, Green Galore

Accessories: Sassy DSP (retired), Apple Green grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Non SU Accessories: Notebooks, Cuttlebug, Olivia Alphabet Dies, pink brads, pink/orange stitched ribbon, Sakura Quickie Glue pen, Mod Podge, Foam Brush, self adhesive gems (can't find them to get the name, sorry)

Here's Some More.....

recent workshop projects. This first one uses the new Scribble (a.k.a. Doodle) jumbo wheel from the Spring Mini Catalogue. The Spring Mini runs from August 1 through to November 30, 2007. For those of you on my mailing list, your mini will be out to you shortly. If you're not on my mailing list and would like a copy, drop me an email with your details and I'll send you one out.

Just a funny note, all of the U.S. 'Doodle' sets are known as 'Scribble' here in Australia due to the 'other' meaning doodle has here, LOL!

The card base is Tempting Turquoise and has been stamped with the Linen background using T/Turquoise. I used Basic Black for the Scribble image (on Whisper White) and coloured it using Wonderful Watercolour Crayons - Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Yo Yo Yellow, Lovely Lilac and Tempting Turquoise and my aquabrush. I did start with the Blender pen, however that made the ink run a little. I tried it with the aquabrush filled with water and no smudging. Go figure. I thought if anything was going to make the ink run, it would have been the aquabrush rather than the blender pen!

I made the scalloped border (Pixie Pink) using my corner rounder with the guard removed. When you take off the guard, it allows the paper to go all the way in, and you get the scalloped effect. I then punched a hole in each scallop using my 1/16" hand punch for extra effect. A bow made out of black/white gingham ribbon finished it off.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Scribble (Spring Mini)
Ink: Basic Black, WWC - Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Yo Yo Yellow, Lovely Lilac, Tempting Turquoise
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Whisper White
Accessories: Jumbo Stampin' Around Handle, Corner Rounder, 1/16" hand punch, Black/White gingham ribbon, aquabrush, dimensionals.

This 2nd card uses a tracing of the On Board Accents chipboard. Why a tracing I hear you ask. Well for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the workshop was a large one and I didn't have enough to go around and secondly, since we only have Classic inks here in Australia, I like to give the chipboard a coat of white before sponging the colour on. I feel it gives it a more intense colour. Down side to adding a white coat is that it takes FOREVER to dry! To get around this, I made tracings of the star on heavy duty (350 gsm) white cardstock and cut out. Then I sponged on So Saffron, pierced holes all around the outside edge using the piercing tool & template and used my white gel pen to give a faux stitching effect.

The card base is Bordering Blue, the patterned paper is from the Pool Party series and was also faux stitched. Happy Birthday sentiment is from It's Your Birthday set and is stamped using Bordering Blue ink (and my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig). I mounted the star onto the card using dimensionals.

Makes a great card for a boy (or man). I should also say that the sketch was inspired from 'Sketch This: Cards' blog.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: It's Your Birthday
Ink: So Saffron, Bordering Blue
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, 350 gsm White
Accessories: Pool Party DSP, Crafters Tool Kit or Mat Pack, White Gel Pen, sponges, dimensionals, SAMJ

Hold On To Your Hats!

It's 2 posts in a day time, LOL! I've got a few things to catch up on, so without further ado, here we go.

These are a couple of workshop projects that I did way back at the start of JUNE (I know, I've been very slack, but very busy doing other things).

This is pretty much a case from the latest techniques booklet. I'd had a request from my hostess to show the heat & stick powder and dazzling diamonds and this looked really effective. Card base is Cool Caribbean - I now know why all the girls in the US are so sad this has been retired there, it's really a very pretty colour, although I'd rename it 'Tiffanys Turquoise'. I stamped the flower image in VersaMark, and without cleaning, stamped into the Cool Caribbean and then stamped onto the W/White square. This method leaves the VersaMark on top so it can be embossed. I covered it with Heat & Stick powder and heated it up with the heat gun. Once it melted & turned sticky, I covered with dazzling diamonds glitter, tipped off the excess and then gave it another quick blast with the heat gun to set it. The Real Red layer was distressed using the distressing tool from the cutter kit and both the red & glitter layers are mounted on dimensionals. It's really hard to see, but I have stamped 'Happiness' from the Warm Words set on the LHS under with white band in C/Caribbean

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Mostly Flowers, Warm Words

Cardstock: Cool Caribbean, Whisper White, Real Red

Ink: Versamark, Cool Caribbean

Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Red Gingham ribbon, Red brad, dimensionals

This is the 2nd project we did. It's a CASE from the catty, I think it's really pretty.

The Chocolate Chip layer is stamped with the Linen background. The Vanilla layer is up on dimensionals and I made the tag by stamping 'Thanks' from Everyday Flexible Phrases onto Mellow Moss cardstock (inked up using the M/Moss marker) and then punching out with the word window punch. I then threaded the punched out piece back into the punch and punched again which shortened it and rounded the edge. I then made a hole in the top with the 1/16" punch and, voila, custom sized mini tag!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Everyday Flexible Phrases

Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Ink: Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip Classic Ink, Barely Banana, Mellow Moss Markers

Accessories: Vanilla Organdy Ribbon, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, thread

BIG NEWS

Bet you thought I was going to say I've got a new job. Well that's not it.

The Big New Is -

We're going to be exhibiting at the upcoming Stitches and Craft Show, to be held at Caulfield Racecourse on September 5 - 9th, 2007. A group of my fellow demonstrators - Naomi Mack, Gail Kirby, Karen Woods and members of their respective downlines have gotten together and secured a stand. OMG how exciting is that. Come visit us at Stand 206 - we'll be doing demonstrations, we're also doing FREE seminar workshops (the seating will be limited so get in quick for these) and on the Saturday & Sunday, we will be conducting some children's classes ($5 per child, also limited seating). We'll also be having some great giveaways and show specials, so come by and say hello!

Due to my job situation being so up in the air, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be at the stand - the way things are going I may be there everyday, LOL! Most of my input at this stage will be in the planning and organising phase (take note potential employers!) and in the building of our show website, which will be up & running ASAP!

As for the job hunting, I had to drop out of a really great opportunity - unfortunately the location was just too far away. I felt the driving to and fro would have been too much. I was supposed to hear back on Thursday regarding an interview I went to earlier in the week, but I've discovered that no new is generally NOT good news in the job scene, LOL. Since it's been all quiet, I'm figuring I've missed out on that one (it was between myself & another).

On a brighter note, I did go for an interview on Friday for a position that I would really love, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

It's Nice To Be Missed

Thought I'd better make a quick post, I've gotten some emails checking to see if everything is OK as it's been a while since I last updated. Until tonight, I didn't realise it had actually been SO LONG. OOPS.

So, yes I'm fine, I've just been super swamped with this job search thing. I cannot believe how much time I've wasted going to interviews with agencies about an advertised job, only to be given some sort of spiel about something completely different, and of course, not suitable!

Another annoying thing about looking for new employment is the number of people who do not acknowledge your application and then 3 - 4 weeks later call you out of the blue wanting to arrange an interview. You know, if you haven't got back to me in a week or 2, I've probably deleted your job from my saved list because I've figured you're not interested.

We also had Harrison baptised on Sunday just gone, so I've spent a bit of time getting everything organised for that. Harrison's godmother lives interstate, and she came down early so we spent a couple of days hanging out - read that as driving me to an interview in the city so we got to spend some time together and we spent Friday shopping to get Harrison a baptism outfit. I wish she still lived here, she's at least 6 hrs away - I miss her!

I've not done anything remotely crafty since my last post, I was hoping my Spring Mini mini Preorder would arrive today, but no. It better be here by the weekend or I'm in trouble. I've a workshop on Sunday and some of my ideas are based on those products in that BOX! I think I'll be putting in another pre-order next week for some more stuff!

The Wheel Thing

If you've read my previous post, you'll know about this card. If not, I'll tell you all about it anyway. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm always up for a chat!

Another problem I had with the flower card on the previous post, is when I rang my hostess to get a head count for the workshop, I realised I didn't have enough CTC cardstock for everyone! Dang it, another thing to add to my ever growing list of card to get and another reason to come up with another design!

I have plenty of C/Chip so I went with that and wheeled the Scatter Sunshine inked in C/Chip Classic ink across the card twice. As this is a jumbo wheel, it covered the whole card front. I also used my much neglected wheel guide, an absolute necessity for me, I'm so hopeless at getting things straight! I then randomly stamped the 2 solid flowers in C/Caribbean and overstamped the matching dotted image using C/Chip ink and the SAMJ to line them up. I stamped the sentiment and realised I didn't like the big gap I'd left under it, so I masked it off and added another flower. This gave me the idea of adding the extra line of faux stiching! Added some cream organdy ribbon and attached to the card base. I think this is really pretty too, I'm really getting into this Vanilla groove, so you'll see some more projects using this colour in the future.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Simply Said, Scatter Sunshine Jumbo wheel

Ink: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip marker (thin end)

Cardstock: Cool Caribbean, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Jumbo Handle, SAMJ, Wheel Guide, Paper Piercer & Template, sponges, Cream organdy ribbon.

I Love Chocolate!

Well, I do and I also love the SU colours of Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa and Cool Caribbean! I'm also becoming fond of Very Vanilla too!

Here are a couple of cards I created using these colours.

I had a recent workshop where my hostess requested a Stampin' Around Wheel project. We decided upon Simply Said and the matching wheel, Scatter Sunshine. This is what I came up with! It's pretty much a CASE of this card by Sharon. I stamped the dotted flower image 3 times on V/Vanilla using C/Chip Classic ink. I then coloured the flowers with C/Caribbean with my blender pens. I was very pleased to find that the ink did NOT run when using the blender pen to colour the flowers. I stamped Happy Birthday (from It's Your Birthday) in C/Caribbean and used my SAMJ to make sure I got it straight. I then created some Faux Stitching around the edge using the paper piercing template and piercer and the Chocolate Chip Marker (the thin end). I sponged some C/Chip ink on the edges as a finishing touch.

The vanilla panel was then mounted onto a piece of C/Chip and then mounted onto a piece of C/Caribbean that was distressed using the fabulous distressing tool that's part of the Cutter Kit. The whole lot is mounted onto the CTC card that was randomly stamped with the tiny flower (stamped in CTC ink) using dimensionals.

I was so happy with the final result, it looked so pretty, however I hadn't used the wheel anywhere, DOH. So I had to start again. I think I'll show what I finally came up with in a new post as this is getting a bit long!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Simply Said, It's Your Birthday

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean, Very Vanilla

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Cool Caribbean

Accessories: Paper Piercer & template, SAMJ, blender pen, distressing tool, dimensionals

I'm Back..

Well, I've been back for a while but I've feed Harrison and changed him etc, etc. He's not happy at the moment because he's supposed to be napping and he's wanting to get up. Never mind, he'll eventally fall asleep cause he's really tired. (Update - he's now up and about playing with his blocks and the dump truck they came in - block all over the floor, lol)

As I mentioned earlier, this is the Thank You card that I made to send out after Harrison's birth. I had around 50 of these suckers to make so I wanted something quick & easy. I attached a photo of Harrison to the inside using the 2-Way Glue Pen as a repositionable adhesive so the photo could be removed without destroying the card.

The image is from The Cats Pajamas Rubber Stamps and was inked with Night of Navy and stamped 3 times without reinking. The sentiment is by Stampa Rosa. How bad is it that I can't remember how I came to own this stamp, LOL! Does that mean I have too much stuff??? I'm not sure I've even used it before this card!

I did try adding some ribbon but it just looked like someone had plonked some ribbon in the middle of the card, um... that's because that's what I'd done...so I took it off. It looked better without it!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Rocking Horse (The Cat's Pajamas Rubber Stamps), Thank You (Stampa Rosa)

Ink: Night of Navy Classic Ink

Cardstock: Non SU White

For Mandi....

Sorry it took me longer than I said to post these. Unfortunately I only have 1 spot in the house where there is enough light to take photos and it wasn't light enough till today! This is the invitation I made for Harrison's upcoming Christening. Bear in mind I only made 12 of these!



This is a gate fold card that started as a piece of A4 Night of Navy cardstock. I scored at 2-1/16" in from each of the long sides. I then cut it in half (through the short side) to give me a A5 card. There is a tiny overlap at the middle but that was as accurate as I could get it as this silly trimmer only has imperial increments.

I ran a piece of W/White cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the Textile plate and then dragged the Night of Navy classic pad over the top to give it a slightly 'shabby chic' look. I then trimmed them down and layered onto a piece of Going Grey cardstock. I really like this colour - at first glance it looks silver! I then layered onto each side of the panels. I then made a slit along the fold line and threaded some silver organdy ribbon through and tied it in a bow to keep it closed.

I printed all the invitation details onto SU Vellum Cardstock using MS Publisher 2003, printing 4 copies on the one page. They ended up being nice & evenly spaced and made it a snap to trim them up. (They are trimmed to a little under A6 size). The vellum is layered onto a piece of el' cheapo' white card, attached using silver star brads. The white & vellum was then layered onto a piece of Going Grey (A6 size) and then attached to the base of the card.

I've got to go out now so I'll post the Thank You card later.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: None (LOL)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Going Grey, Whisper White, Vellum Cardstock, other White Cardstock
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Silver Organdy Ribbon, Silver Star brads (source unknown)

Since It's A Holiday Tomorrow

I figure I can stay up a bit later and post another card I made. See, I told you, I have been making stuff, just haven't gotten around to posting any of it!


This is a card I made for a little boy in Harrison's playgroup. He is the first one in the group to have his first birthday - a very exciting time for all of us.

I was very pleased to see that Wild About You made it into our 07/08 IB&C. It is just the greatest set for kids cards. I also stepped out of my comfort zone and used some patterned paper. I often don't like the results when I use PP, but this time I think I did good, LOL.

So, down to the details. I stamped Charlie the croc (I think he looks like a Charlie, so that's my name for him) in Old Olive and grounded him using a faux A Muse Oval. I haven't seen any A Muse stamps stocked here and with the changes in postage rates from the US to Australia, buying one has now dropped a little further down the list. How did I make this faux oval I hear you ask, well it was easy.

The A Muse site gave the dimensions of the stamp, so I opend my MS Word program and picked the drawing tool and made a circle. I changed the dimensions to those of the A Muse oval and then printed it out. I trimmed down the oval, cut out the centre, applied some 2-way glue and set it aside to dry. When it dries, it becomes a repositionable adhesive, how cool is that. I then made a mask for Charlie, by stamping him on a Post It and cutting him out. I then placed the cut out Charlie over the stamped Charlie and then positioned the oval at his feet, and then sponged Going Grey in the oval and voila - a faux A Muse oval. Here's a helpful hint, DON'T throw your masks away, just store them in the case of the matching stamp set and you're good to go for next time!

I then matted Charlie with some burgandy card from my stash that I'm pretty sure I picked up from Fern Gully Stamps. I have no idea who makes it but it was a perfect match to the PP which is Hang Ten from the North Shore line by Scenic Route. It's a double sided paper so the dots were on one side and the diagonal strips are on the other. The card base is Night of Navy and I've placed some SU Navy grosgrain over the join in the paper! The HB sentiment is from the Paper Tray set. It was stamped in Versa Mark and embossed with White EP. I usually use the W/White craft ink but because it is SO moist it doesn't alway emboss the best, especially with fine sentiments. I think the results using Versamark ink have turned out a little better. The 1st was made using Thickers. These are self-adhesive chipboard letters by American Crafts. I have used them before and they were so cool, I just had to get me some! I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Supplies Used: (SU! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Wild About You, Paper Tray (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Burgandy (unknown)

Ink: Old Olive and Going Grey Classic Ink, Versamark

Accessories: Dimensionals, Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, 2-Way Glue, Paper Snips, White Detail EP, Post It Note, Computer, Thickers by American Crafts

As Promised.....

OK, here it is, as promised, something that is actually creative!


Now, I'm the first to admit, I should have uploaded this a little earlier than now, but this is the card I made for Jarrod for Valentine's Day. It uses the stamp that go me hooked on SU! - the wonderful (now retired) Soft Swirls.

The Soft Swirls are stamped on Ruby Red cardstock using Ruby ink. The little bear is Bear Heart - Melanie (2230D) from Stamp-It. She actually holds a heart but I thought she'd look cute peering over the sentiment, so I trimmed her down. The sentiment is by Katie & Co and is stamped on W/White using B/Black ink. The heart is coloured with Ruby ink using a blender pen. I'm pretty sure I used my 1" RD punch to round the edges. I did this by trimming down the W/White and then pushing it through the bottom of the punch. I used my 1/8 punch to punch the holes in either end and threaded white narrow organdy through and tied a bow to finish off. The sentiment panel and Melanie are raised up on dimensionals and the edges of the card are sponged with Ruby. Oh, I forgot to mention I coloured Melanie using the Gamsol technique - using my Derwent pencils, paper stumps and Art Spectrum Odourless Solvent since I haven't been able to source Gamsol here in Australia. I found the odourless solvent at Riot.

Supplies Used: Stampin' Up! unless noted
Stamps: Soft Swirls (retired), Bear Hear - Melanie (Stamp-It), Happy Valentines Day (Katie & Co)
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Whisper White
Ink: Ruby Red, Basic Black Classic Ink
Accessories: White Narrow Organdy Ribbon, 1/8" RD punch, blender pen, dimensionals, stampin' sponges, Derwent pencils (had forever), 1" RD punch (EK Success), paper stumps, odourless solvent (Art Spectrum)

It's Been A While - Life's Been Interrupting

Yowzers, it's been ages since I last posted something. It's that long ago, I can't even remember if it was something creative or not. Oh, hang on a minute, it's coming back to me....it was a birthday card for my partner's little brother's birthday!

I have managed to do something creative in the meantime, however pictures are still to be downloaded from the camera......it's on the 'TO DO' list, along with a million other things.

So what would be on that very long list:
*download photos taken of project I have made
*upload here
*make & send out invitations for Harrison's Christening, to be held next month
*find a new job!!!

I guess most of you know that I'm currently on maternity leave. I was planning to go back to work in July, starting back a couple of days a week and slowly getting back into full time work. I had it all worked out in my head - was going to all slot back into place really well - as it does when it's in your head, LOL. Unfortunately, it looks like I don't actually have a job to go back to! Business has been a bit slow in the Machine Tool industry and there's no work for me (insert sad face). There is the possibility of part time but definitely no full time work.

It's a bit of a bummer. I've gotten myself all psyched up to go back to work, cause I'd much rather be a S.A.H.M. but the equation goes like this:
another baby = bigger house (actually we need a bigger house regardless)
bigger house = way more money than we have now
way more money = me going back to work so my SU! is really thick icing on the cake!

So tonight I've attempted to re-do my resume. I've been at my current job since '97 and boy is it hard to remember what it was I did before then! How exciting is my Saturday night!

Well, it's almost midnight, so I'm going to say 'So long, farewell, auf weidersen, goodnight' and I promise to upload something purty in the next few days.

It's Been A Long Time

Yowzers, it's been ages since I've posted. This is the card I whipped up this afternoon for my partner's youngest brother's birthday, which was today.



I never thought that I would ever use ribbon on a 'boys' card, especially for one who's turning 20, but you know what they say, 'Never say never!'


This was a pretty simple card. The ribbon determined my colour choices - Ballet Blue, Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Whisper White. The chipboard slider is from SU's On Board Accents - I am SO diggin' this chipboard stuff! This time I gave it a light coat of Jo Sonja's white paint before sponging some Ballet Blue craft all over. The white paint dried SO much quicker than coating it with W/White Craft. I'm thinking now though, I might trying mixing some re-inkers with the white, to give a deeper colour and so I don't have to sponge the colour on! The stamped images are all by PaperTrey Ink. The sentiment is from the Paper Tray set and was stamped in Ballet Blue. In hindsight, I should have used Brilliant Blue to pick up the darkest blue in the ribbon and so it showed up a bit better. Even though these stamps are clear, I wasn't sure that I could stamp exactly over the top with the darker colour, so I decided to leave well enough alone.


The circles are from PaperTrey's Green Thumb (the biggest circle) and Butterfly Kisses (the 3 smallest ones). I used my markers to ink them up. This is the first time I have used either of these sets and unfortunately I could find my eraser to remove the residue left from manufacturing process and they didn't ink up as crisply as they do using the actual pads. (Never mind, 20 yo guy's never gonna notice, LOL). The C/Chip layer is raised up using foam tape (didn't waste my lovely dimensionals on him either!)

Quite like the way it turned out!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Paper Tray, Butterfly Kisses, Green Thumb (all PaperTrey Ink)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Ballet Blue, Brocade Blue Sampin' Write Markers, Ballet Blue Classic Ink
Accessories: Jo Sonia's Titanium White paint, Stampin' Sponge, American Crafts ribbon, Foam mounting Tape

A Bit of Housekeeping (only not in our house)

You may have noticed that I have updated my list of Blogs I Like. This is a listing of all those on my Google Reader. This is THE best thing since sliced bread and there's no way I could possibly read all of these blogs without it!

My partner was looking over my shoulder the other night whilst I was posting and asked how I came up with the name M.I.S.S. InkyFingers. I thought I'd explain it whilst I'm here. The M.I.S.S. is the name of my company that I established when becoming a SU demonstrator. It stands for Maximum Impact Stamping Supplies. At the time, I didn't realise the first letter of each word spelt MISS until my boss at my 'day job' pointed it out (I was pregnant, LOL). It was inspired by our dog Max, who does everything at maximum pace, speed and enthusiasm and I had come up with the corny line 'Create Maximum Impact with Stampin' Up! (I know, it's bad). The InkyFingers part, well that's kind of self explanatory - without fail - everytime I stamp, that what I end up with!

Anyway, that's it for tonight - The Amazing Race has started - can't wait to see who gets eliminated this week (I'm cheering for Oswald & Danny since Jill & her partner (forgot his name) got elminated almost the first week in)

Feel Better Soon

I made this card for one of the little girls in Harrison's playgroup. She is going for surgery this week to correct a problem with her hip that was not properly detected at her 6 week check up.

This is a really big card, it's a piece of A4 cardstock (Almost Amethyst) folded in half. It needed to be big so there would be enough room for everyone to sign it! The inspiration for it came from my downline Anna, who did a scrapbook class using this paper (or something very similar). The paper is Basic Grey Romany from the Gyspy line. I highlighted all the veins in the leaves and the white parts of the surrounding flowers with some Diamond Stickles that I found here. The center of the flower, along with the name plate are from my new On Board Accents that were covered with W/White craft ink and then sponged with A/Amethyst classic ink. (btw - how long does the W/W craft take to dry using this way??) I hit it with the heat gun several times & it still refused to dry completely! In the end, I covered the name plate with Versamark and covered it with clear EP. However, when I did this the A/Amethyst kinda melted into the white and it's really hard to see that it had been added at all. I also covered the flower centre with Versamark and applied H&S powder and then covered with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The sentiment is from the Paper Tray set from Papertrey Ink and was stamped in W/White craft & embossed with white EP.

I find it SO hard to use patterned paper, however this BG paper is SO beautiful it just seemed to make itself.

We hope everything goes well during her surgery (she will be in our thoughts and prayers) and we look forward to seeing her back at playgroup as soon as possible.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Paper Tray (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Whisper White craft ink (Stampin' Up!)

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Real Red (Stampin' Up), Romany P/P (BasicGrey)

Accessories: Big Flower (Bubble Bee Crafts), Diamond Stickles (Ranger Industries), On Board Accents, 2 -Way Glue Pen, Sticky Strip, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Clear EP, Red Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

Better Late Than Never

Here are a couple of project from the workshop I did last weekend. I was meaning to post these on Tuesday, but with the US retired list being released, I got kinda sidetracked. It took me ages to mark off all of the retiring sets as there are HEAPS going, but boy, I'm excited to see what the new US catalogue will look like when released July 1.



This is what we did. My hostess had asked if we could do a Bag-A-Lope, but since it was an experienced group of stampers I figured that would take about 10 seconds to complete, so I thought we needed to do something else as well. Since Mother's Day is coming up (YES, I'm excited about the thought - it's going to be my 1st), I figured that would be the go!




I channeled my inner Angie (aka Duckwaddlequack) for this layout. I LOVED the card of hers that I 'cased' as part of the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS and I knew I wanted a design that incorporated cut out floweres popped up on dimensionals. After lots of false starts, this is what I came up with. The base of the card is stamped with the Linen background using Pretty In Pink ink. I also stamped the Happy Mother's Day panel before re-inking, so it's just that little bit lighter. The sentiment (from All Year Cheer II) is stamped in Pretty In Pink and mounted onto a piece of Rose Red cardstock. The flowers are from my new, beautiful Bodacious Bouquet and are stamped in Pretty In Pink and Rose Red. I used Always Artichoke for the leaves. All the centres of the flowers were dotted with 2-way glue and the sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The big ones are popped up on dimensionals (the leaves are attached to the flower) and only the middle one of the smaller ones in popped up.



With the card done, I figured a matching Bag-A-Lope would be cute. I used my Word Window punch to create the handles, an idea I found here. I then stamped the small flower with the For You sentiment underneath on a scrap of Whisper White, and punched out with my new Tag punch (love it). I then used the 1/8" punch to punch a hole in the top and attached the tag using some Olive organdy ribbon.


Now, I must admit, when I have previously given these as hostess and door prize gifts, I've just used envelopes that I've had to hand. I figured that an envelope is an envelope and there wouldn't be too much difference in quality etc. Well, I stand corrected! These SU envelopes are nothing short of stunning. They have such a smooth, beautiful finish, guests thought they were made with patterned paper before I showed them how they were made!


Supplies Used (for both projects):
Stamps: Bodacious Bouquet, Linen, All Year Cheer II, Happy Everything
Cardstock: Whisper White, Rose Red, W/White Envelopes
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Rose Red, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Tag Punch, dimensionals, 2-way glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Olive Organdy Ribbon, Sticky Strip

Smart Start Promotion

During the month of May, Stampin' Up! are offering the Demonstrator Starter Kit for $299, a $25 dollar saving off the regular price of $324 as part of their Smart Start Promotion - meaning you get $585 worth of stamping supplies for $299, plus an ongoing discount on your stamps & supplies!!

So, if you've gone through the new Idea Book & Catalogue and have a wish list as long as your arm, maybe this is the promotion for you, LOL!

If you would like some more detailed information on becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, email me

Lots of Things Going On

Firstly, my trial versions of the photo editing software that I was using has expired :( So, to work around this, I am putting all the copyright info at the bottom of my blog to ensure that I am compliant with all the rules!

Secondly, I have something to show you. This is the card we completed at a workshop I did on Saturday. It was very heavily 'inspired' from Kyla's card, which you can see here, but I changed it up a bit. The set is Wild About You and I {heart} it SO much! I just love the crocodile, he looks so happy (probably because he's thinking how nice all the other animals would taste, lol)

I decided to use Old Olive for the croc and More Mustard for the lion and carried those colours through. I distressed the O/Olive panel using the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit, used the word window punch to punch out the hole in the M/Mustard panel so I could pop the Wild About You sentiment in the space (stamped in B/Black on W/White) and added brads that I changed from silver to black by heating them up with my heat tool and dipping into black embossing powder and heating again to melt the powder. It gives them a kind of powder coated look and is a neat way to get 'matching brads'. I used the 1-1/4 RD punch to punch out the animals and the 1-3/8 punch to punch out the black mats. They are all popped up on dimensionals. After I put this all together, I decided that it probably would have looked heaps better if the mustard panel had been stamped with the Rough Texture wheel but since I don't have it - I left it alone. I have put the Rough Texture wheel on my ever growing wish list though!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Wild About You

Ink: B/Black, More Mustard, Old Olive Classic

Cardstock: W/White, B/Black, M/Mustard, O/Olive

Accessories: Distressing Tool from Cutter Kit, 1-1/4 & 1-3/8 RD punches, Word Window Punch, Heat Tool, Black EP, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Paper Piercing template from CTK (to help with brad placement), 1/16 punch

This was my first workshop featuring the new catalogue, so I thought I'd let you know what the ABSOLUTE favourite item is so far - The MAT PACK - I'm sure this is going to be my biggest selling item this year. I cannot tell you how many people had said to me 'I wish you could get this without buying the complete tool kit' - well now you CAN.

Tagged (For The Very First Time)

How much fun is this - I've been 'tagged' . The object is to list your 5 (who can stop at only 5) favourite blogs. Since most of my favourites have already been tagged, I've tried to find some that haven't:

Anna - Creative Delight

SpAzzGiRL - Daily Dose of Spazz

Bety - Iralamija

Angie - Quacking Creations

Emily - Stamping & Stuff

Hope you all have a great day

Hello, I'm Still Alive (and thanks for checking, LOL)

Big thanks to my wonderful downline, Anna, who sent me an email today to make sure I was OK since I hadn't posted in AGES (sorry about that). We went on a road trip over Easter, covering around 1,800 kms all up and came home to messed up Foxtel, messed up internet connection (read as NO internet for 2 days) and the whole family (well, there's only 3 of us) ending up sick - so NOT fun, especially for poor little Harrison.

In some good news though, during the brief nano second the computer was up & running, I found out that I won some Blog Candy - yay for me. A big thank you goes out to Emily - I am so looking forward to receiving my new goodies. By the way, it's Emily's birthday today, so drop by her blog and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Also, BIG THANKS go out to Erin who sent me out a HEAP of Inspiration Sheets. These are way cool and something I wish SU would bring out for us here in Australia (somehow I doubt it though, as it appears that they are being discontinued in the States). Specific to a stamp set, Inspiration Sheets have 6 samples using the set, with a complete 'receipe' so you can recreate each one.

I haven't had a lot of spare time to get anything much that's stamping related done, but this is what I did get done. The first is a birthay card I did for my BIL's (for ease of explanation) birthday. I used my Papertrey Ink - Papertray set and did a CASE of Nichole's sample - so simple and effective

Supplies Used: (All SU unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Paper Tray (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Whisper White Craft, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy Classic)

Cardstock: Craft, W/White, NQN

Accessories: 1-1/4 & 1-3/8 RD punches, dimensionals, sponges

This is Harrison in the Bunny Ears that we made at Playgroup. How cute is does he look in those ears? (I know, I'm biased).

Supplies Used: White Paper, cotton balls, sticky tape & glue!

Well, that's about it for my papercrafting to date. I promise I will have more over the coming weeks, really

Happy Easter

I'd just like to wish everyone a very happy Easter. If you're travelling, please drive safely & have a good time whilst you're away. I'll catch up with you all on Tuesday (hopefully my new stamps will have arrived by then - fingers crossed)

The New Catalogue Has ARRIVED!!!

Whoo Hoo, the new Australian/New Zealand 07/08 Stampin' Up! Catalogue has arrived. I know that you will all be pleased with what has been included, here's a quick summary:

• Lots of New Stamp Sets, including some of my favourites - Wild About You, Bodacious Bouquet, Eat Cake, Bugs & Kisses, Unfrogettable, Warm Words, Happy Everything, Linen Background, Paisley Background to name just a few, LOL
• The paper piercing template is now available without having to purchase the entire Crafter's Tool Kit. Check out the Mat Pack, 105826, pg 147
• Stampin' Spots (1" x 1") ink pads are now available in Classic (dye) ink, pg 128 - 129
• A4 Cardstock is now available in individual packs in all colours, pg 128 - 129
• Classic Ink (dye) refills are now available in individual colours, pg 128 - 129
• New Punches - tag punch, sm & lg ovals, pg 140
• Chipboard - On Board Accents, On Board Simon Lower, pg 136
• All NEW Simply Scrapping Kits, pg 134 - 136
• ALL NEW Simply Sent Card Kits - an easy wasy to create cards for a variety of occassions. Each kit contains all the supplied needed to create 10 cards (5 each of 2 designs), pg 18

How do you get your hands on this super duper new catalogue I hear you ask -

• Host an In-Home workshop and it's yours for FREE
• Purchase one
• View on line (link on left)

If you would like more information on hosting an In-Home workshop or would like to purchase one, just email me. I'm all booked out for April and have a few spaces left for May, so what are you waiting for. You won't be dissappointed!!!!!

I'm Falling Apart At The Seams

I can't believe my luck (or lack there of) with injuries over the last two weeks. Not Sunday just gone, but the Sunday before whilst I was rushing around to get ready for brunch for my Mum's birthday, I hurt my neck. How - who knows, all I know is that I moved, and not all that suddenly, and I felt a definite pinch. The pain from moving, even just the slightest movement, got progressively worse during the day, until it became unbearable. At this point, we made a trip to the hospital - mainly because I figured it would be the only place with a physio working on a Sunday and for some advice on meds because I'm still breastfeeding. Turns out, not suprisingly, not much available in the way of medication. A physio eventually saw me, however, she was not able to treat me, only refer me for treatment the next day. Luckily I have a fantastic physio and he was able to fit me bright & early the next morning. A bit of a massage and a few 'adjustments' later I was able to move almost pain free. Another adjustment on Wednesday and Friday (fixing up lots of pregnancy related aches & pains) and I was feeling as good as new. Until Sunday.

This Sunday, I moved my pony, Herry, to a new temporary paddock. Unfortunately, the other horses that were in the paddock didn't take too kindly to my little guy and proceeded to chase him to the bottom corner of the paddock, where he stayed - too afraid to move. When attempting to move him into a smaller paddock to feed him, the big ones (3 of them) decided he was too close and chased him again. This time I was on the other end of the lead rope and as a result of him going one way and my arm going the other, my shoulder ended up getting dislocated. Straight away I knew I was in trouble - it was such a strange feeling - my arm was SO loose, limp and floppy. Luckily it found it's way back in, but my physio was none too pleased when I rocked up today. I figured that since my arm had popped back in without any trouble, and that I was pretty much pain free, I was OK. Apparently you can do major damage with a dislocation - and he was very angry that I hadn't got it checked out before today. So now, I'm sitting here, trying to type, trussed up like a Christmas Turkey. It turns out that my joints are quite flexible, so hopefully, I should be able to start some strengthening exercises next week.

As for Herry, he is OK (I was eventually able to get him away from the others), but will be going to a new, permanent, private paddock on Sunday. Here is a picture of us, taken quite a few years ago now. It's one of my favourites - I'd gotten the giggles because the photographer's assistant was throwing a toy in the air to get him to prick his ears foward and everytime she did it, he'd shy (move quickly to one direction, often in the opposite direction to you, thereby dumping you on the ground, LOL)

Photo Credit: Copyright - Julie Wilson Equine Photography