Hi there oh stamping ones,  are you fingers inky today? 

Here I’m going to show you how easy it can be to make & decorate things to give as gifts.  I love to make a collection of gifts & send them off to someone special.  This is a parcel I sent to the lovely, kind & generous Linda Craven  Linda was one of the members of the ESAD group who joined in on a secret santa gift giving swap & I was lucky enough to have her as my recipient.

So ths is the gift in total that I sent to Linda & below you will see a close up of a couple of items

Linda has on her wishlist a stampset that she really really wanted & had refrained from buying it, (good girl Linda)

I made a box to put the stamp set in (that is on the left at the back) & here is a close-up of the front of the box

I love how this turned out…..oh & guess what lInda’s favourite colours is…….PINK (yup I was in my element

Linda also wanted some embellishments, so I made a collection up & bagged them & topped the bags.  I then decorated a tin & popped them in there.  Here’s what was inside the tin

Some felt flowers, rhinestone brads & some of those YUMMY calorie free cupcakes

Linda also loves dark chocolate, although I was a bit worried about sending chocolate in the summertime I did up one of my favourite slider pouches & popped some chocolate in there.  I decorated the front of it with a  couple of butterflies, this is a close up of them……….

So that’s what I made & sent.  I know LInda enjoyed receiving it as much as I enjoyed making  & sending it.  I hope this was inspirational & maybe sparked some ideas on gift giving/making.

Till the next time we cross paths…..keep smiling

Hey hey it’s time for the ESAD blog hop.  I’ve been looking forward to this,  I’m really hanging out to join in & see what everyone has been up to.

Ok so ESAD-SU is a wonderful Yahoo group I am lucky enough to be a member of.  It is a group for Australian & New Zealand Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators.  We have online chats, challenges, cyberstamps, tutorials etc… all to share with each other.  It is also a wonderful place to ask questions, there is always someone there willing to help out if they can.  If you are a demo but not a member, click here & you can join up. 

Being a demonstrator I had the chance to pre-order a stamp set from the Sale-a-bration catty & I decided on Vintage Labels, then I got it & thought….Oh my!!!! what am I going to do with this?
I actually had ALOT of fun with it

Here I made some little boxes with some love notes in

Stamp sets:  Kindred Spirits, Vintage Labels

Ink: Choc Chip, Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Curly Label punch, Paper piercer & mat pack,

Then I made this version

Stamp sets:  Vintage Labels

Ink: Choc Chip

Accessories;  Brads, Paper piercer & mat pack

Then I decided to have a play with some of those wonderful  ‘no bad bits’ cupcakes

here is a close up of the label

don’t you just love the versatility of this stamp set!!!! I DO….SERIOUSLY

Ok now onto the last card I have made using the Vintage Labels stamp set

Oh I LOVE this card too.  I honestly haven’t done much stamping at all lately, but this is one of a few I made to go into a swap recently.

So the deal with the blog hop is that you post a comment on here, then go to the next blog & comment there & so on….until you have visited all the blogs & commented on them all.  Once you have done that you will need to send Leonie an e-mail to leonie@stamp-a-latte.com to leter know you’ve been to them all & commented. The precious Leonie will then pop your name into the draw to win some wonderful Stampin’ Up!  products blog candy….YAY!!!

So I’m the last one on the list but if you started here you need to pop on over to Alana Galagher’s blog here  & comment, follow all the links, comment on all the blogs & then pop Leonie that e-mail.  You’ll love all the blog candy you’ll receive if you win & ya gotta be in it to win it

That’s it from me today, I’m still on holidays & thoroughly enjoying the down time, reading, swimming, NOT COOKING!!! (gotta luv that) sleeping in……am I making you jealous yet??? LOL!

Take it easy & I’ll get back to my regular posting soon.

Hi ho so I’m hoping it is Tuesday today

Today I am going to show you a couple more creations I made & sent to Nikki  (my secret sister recipient).  This is what I made & sent for November

 This is the first card I made……I love it
I was so please with the way it turned out, I do love that birdie

This is the second card I made & sent to Nikki.  I used one of the new stamp sets from the Summer Mini, I received this at the Perth Regional Stampin’ Up! meeting.

This is the November gift I made & sent.  It is a liuttle draw with some cards & Kit Kat in it.  I’m not sure if Nikki likes the just jawing stamp set, but she did say it was one she doesn’t have, so these cards will be good for her to display at events.

Here is a close-up of the card.

& here is a little gift I made for each of Nikki’s girls.  A small test tube filled with mini M&M’s……yummo.  I thought I’d personalise these with a name label for each of them too

So that’s what i made & sent for November.  I know I’m being quite slack with not making recipes up for these, but if you would like to know what I have use, just pop me an e-mail & I can send you the details.  I will endeavour to start recipes again once the kids go back to school & I have a little more time to blog.

So I’ll see you in a couple of days with some Christmas cards I received in the mail
& I’ve got Secret Santa gifts to show you & some lovely gifts I received from my Secret Sister over this last round, so till then…….Put a smile on your dial

Hey there happy Sunday to you
Yesterday I said I would show you what I made & sent to Dana, well this is it

Now I’m looking at this pic & I’m trying to remember what the rules were for the swap…..I think we had to make & send a holiday season card(??), a gift & a treat from your own country.  So I based my swap around the card I decided to send to Dana.  The good ole’ chocolate pouch again…. Gee I LURVE making these, they are so super easy & they just tizz up that chocolate bar that bit more without having to “wrap it up” , then I also covered a journal for Dana, this is one I found while I was waiting in the airport earlier in the year (waiting to come home from Regionals).  On the journal I covered the letter d with some Pink Pirouette card, then rubbed a little Riding Hood Red ink around the edge & covered it with Cyrstal Effects to give it a glossy finish. Once that was dry, I thought I’d like to add a bit more “bling” (gotta love bling !!) so i popped the Clear Rhinestone Brads on it then tied some Taffeta ribbon around it.  I was so chuffed with how it turned out. 

I don’t think Dana has it yet
but hopefully it will turn up soon.

I hope this project inspired you a little.  I’ll be back with some more soon.

Till then…….keep smiling

Hey I hope it is Saturday, I posted this on Thursday knowing I have a fair bit to show you over the next few days & knowing the end of this week & beginning of next week is super busy

So I went in another swap.  This time it was with Dana Walker.  This is the lovely gift I received in the mail the other day

Isn’t this just gorgeous

Inside the bag was (yup was……) Toffee nut Balls which apparently are famous in the Brigham City – Utah area (where Dana comes from).

I would like to know hoe Dana knew I loved these colours…..lol they are just so lovely & go so well together.

THANK YOU DANA!!!!!! You truely brightened my day with this

Ok so tomorrow I’ll show you what I made & sent to Dana, till then…………..keep happy

Hello world !!

I hope today is a pleaseant one for you.  Today the weather isn’t all that nice  here, a bit windy & cold.  Robby & the boys have been trying to put up more silos & when they started it was ok but then the wind came up ….really quickly & I have just been chatting with Robby, he said he was quite worried becuase a couple of times he thought the silo was gone
So they have given up for today….thank goodness

I was just having a look through the pics on my thumb drive & found some more things i made & sent to my first round secret sister.  I had a look back on my blog, but couldn’t find them so if i have shown you, I’m sorry to double up & if I haven’t shown you , then you get a nice new idea….:P

Ok so here goes

This is a chocolate pouch I made to cover a family block of peppermint chocolate…YUM!!!

Here I decorated the front of a brown paper bag & I can’t remember what I put inside it, but there was something

I think I have some more on my thumb drive somewhere so I’m going looking & will show you some more soon

Enjoy the rest of your day

Till next time…..keep smiling

MAN I am on a roll today, it is still Monday & this is my 5th post for the morning, & it is only 11am

I love being in the secret sister swap group.  It is somuch fun making things for people & posting them away & they don’t know where it has come from……unfortunatley I think my ss would have worked out who i am as there is only one of us in Mingenew & the other day I blew it by signing my name on the parcel…..der

Oh well it is still nice to make things for her & pop them in the post.

Ok so I’m going to show you the lovely things I have received so far from my Secret Sister (ss)

This is a card made with Always Artichoke cardstock & it has the dsp Holiday Treasures on the front.  Now my ss has been very clever, what she has done is actually put the dsp onto the front of a cd envelope & then added a piece of card on the inside which has the stamped image from Simply Said (which is a set I haven’t used for ages, but do love) & then there are some super sweet hearts inside the cd envelope too, this is too clever

oh & I can’t forget to mention the ribbon on the front……I just lurve ribbon

Ok so here is the second parcel I have received

The card here is made with Close to Cocoa cardstock with some dsp from Good Morning Sunshine.  This colour combo is fantastic, I find yellow a bit hard to match but it goes so well with browns

The little boxy thingy (yes very technical terminology I know) at the front was full of jelly beans…..notice how I said was…..the kids beat me to them (lol, but that is usual anyway)

At the back on the rhs is the lid to the box that is in the middle.  This is such a super sweet box & I don’t know that I have ever made one this size before, I will have to see if I can work out the measurements because it is a perfect size.  Inside the box was a set of love notes (& these I have hidden from the kids, becuase they love love notes, they are always makeing little notes to give to me & their dad)

Thank you so much secret sister, it is so nice to receive happy mail, it always puts a smile on my face

Ok so today should be Friday & I should be in Geraldton…..(yup another schedule).  I am picking up my nephew that we are having out here for the weekend.  My younger sister & her hubby have asked us to look after him, he is about 8 1/2 months & crawling around everywhere.  The kids absolutely ADORE him & they have been counting down for ages, it is finally here & I bet they will be so super super excited when they get home from school

I will try to pop back next week with some more creations, but I do feel that I might be a tad busy getting sorted with the farm paperwork, but I’ll see.

So till next time………………stay happy

So this was supposed to be Monday’s post but I have changed it to post on Tuesday, I should have gone to bed when I thought I was tired on Sunday, lol, must make a mental note of that for next time…..heheheh ;P

I posted a little while ago a couple of pics of some things I sent to my swap sister in the USA, well here are the 2 lovely & wonderful cards I received in the mail

These cards are just gorgeous & I am so lucky to have them in my collection

Thanks so much Wendy for making these lovely lovely cards & sending them to me. 

Unfortuntately Wendy doesn’t have a blog so I can’t head to over her way to see more of her wonderful creations, but hopefully we are going to be able to keep swapping, so I will be posting more of Wendy’s wonderful work.

Have a super day & keep smiling

Hi, this is going to be another quick post tonight. Life has been super busy. We had our camping trip & it really was just a tester, & we weren’t away that long & it was only over the road, but I think that is one of the best things about it because we were lucky enough to just pop over the road & found a fantastic camping place. I will try to get a couple of pics up of us “roughing it” lol
Ok so I have lots of pics to show you, but I just don’t have the time right now
We have had the big reveal for the secret sister & I’m going to show you something I sent to my secret sister. I have also found out who my secret sister sender was & I have again been SPOILT ROTTEN.
Here’s something I sent over to the wonderful Christine Tuff (this is who I sent to for 3 months)

Here I have made a pouch with some cards inside, a littel chocolate tin & a card.  This is what I sent in July.  I thought i had a heap more pics of EVERYTHING that I had sent, but I just can’t find them atm

Here’s a close-up of the cards I had in the pouch.

So that’s it for now,  I am going to cheat a little & set up another couple of posts so you have a few things coming through over the coming days.

Thanks for stopping by & I really am sorry I haven’t been around as much as I would have liked to be

Take care of you & I look forward to catching you again soon

Keep smiling

Hi, hello & how are you doing?   I joined another swap, but this time my sister & I know who each other are.  We only do 1 swap too.  We are supposed to only send 2 items, either cards, 3D or a mix of both.   My swap sister is in the USA & I posted off her parcel early last week.  This is what was in it

Ever since Leonie showed me how to decorate paper bags I LOVE doing it.  I have covered the front & back of a brown paper bag here & inside I put the handcream, soap & little cards in their slip.  I am really please with how it turned out too

All supplies Stampin’ Up!

Stamps:  Inspired by Nature, Say it with Scallops, Lovely Labels

Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Going Grey, Basic Grey (re-inkers for colouring the flower)

Cardstock/DSP:  Urban Garden, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey

Accessories:  Grey Taffeta, Kiwi Kiss  & Baja Breeze Double Striped Grosgrain Ribbons, Aquapainter,

With the flower on the card & the front of the bag I used my re-inkers & Aquapainter to colour directly onto the rubber, then stamped it.  It sort of gives it a bit of a watercolour effect (& yes I know it is cheating, but I have told you in the past how useless I am at colouring…:) )

This is the second item I sent to her

This is a rectangle wallet that Makeesha very kindly shared the tutorial on her blog here

This is what was in it

I really hope my swap sister enjoys her package

I have to dash now so I will catch up with you soon