Well I’m back,  I haven’t been away for long, but for me it seems like AGES.  Life has been very hectic of late.  Hubby is busy spraying summer weeds.  They have set up this new fang dangled sprayer that can sense when there is green matter to spray.  So in the past they would go out in the evening & start spraying, fill up the tank over & over again throughout the night, but now with this new machine, it only sprays when it “sees” something green…..so they are saving time, chemical & money……I’m likin’ it.  The only problem is that I am staying up till all hours of the night to wake hubby so he can go out to work.  We tried the alarm clock, but both slept through it…..I mean it’s not as if you are meant to wake up at 1am after going to bed at 10pm, that’s just when I’m getting into a good sleep
I’m trying oh so hard to be a “nice mum” & so far it is working.  The kids know I’m tired & they realise Robby is tired too, he’s only getting about 3 hours at a time a couple of times a day, so that’s not good
But it is nearly over.  Ok so while I’ve been up & waiting for the time to pass, no I haven’t been stamping…..naughty I know, but I’m honestly too tired to put full effort in, so I’ve been reading my Sookie Stackhouse books & watching the True Blood dvd’s I have.  True Blood is the tv series that is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels.  I read these books while we were on holidays & I decided to start them again, I really enjoy reading them. 
So blah blah blah……ok that’s enough of my babbling for now

Today I’m going to show you the wonderful parcel I received in the mail.

Kim( my secret sister sending to me) spoilt me rotten over Christmas…..I was actually pleasantly surprised becuase I received this after the New Year, with school holidays I only collected my mail every couple of weeks, so Christmas was spread out for me….yippee!!!

This is Kim’s Christmas card

Lovely notebook….I have te honest with you….I’m not keen on the Kaleidoscope dsp in the Summer Mini but I just love these colours & the butterflies

Gorgeous bookmark

A gorgeous stationery set

& inside all these goodies

Isn’t this set just STUNNING!!!!!

I love all of it & I have been meaning to make a set myself, but just haven’t gotten to it, this has definitely inspired me to have a go  

THANKS SO MUCH KIM

I will be back tomorrow with some more creations…..so till then, keep smiling

Yup more secrets……I love ‘em, don’t you??!!!!

I went in another Secret Swap, this time Secret Santa.  This is a lovely card I received from Margaret Knoops who was my Secret Santa Sender, she spoilt me with Stampin’ Up!  goodies & this wonderful card

I love this card & Margaret was very clever to make it for me

Tomorrow I’m going to show you a second gift I received.  So till then…..smile away

Hi there & I hope you are having a wonderful Friday.  I can’t believe how fast these school holidays are flying by, between Christmas, swimmign lessons & then a true family holiday it’s only a couple of weeks till the kids go back & I don’t even really feel like we have been on hols
But over the next 2 weeks I’m not going to be blogging much becuase I am commiting some time to my family, reading, sitting back & putting my feet up
Oh what BLISS!!!!!

So I am going to schedule some posts becuase of all the many many things I have to show you, so this is just a quick one to let you know there will be some posts coming up with minimal info & not much blubbering on (so it should be quite a refresher for you….lol)

Today I’m showing you um…..let me see…….I need to get my thumb drive &  find a pic

Ok I found this  picture.  It is a journal the wonderful & generous Lynda sent to me.  It is made with some STUNNING PINK paper & a SUPER DUPER lil’ butterfly along with some ‘bling’ . 

Lynda also sent me this Christmas card

Isn’t it lovely
Such wonderful colours & very elegant
Thanks so much Lynda, you are a TRUE friend!!

Ok so that’s it for me for tonight.  I’m going to do another couple of posts to schedule & then I’m off to bed, hopefully before 1am to read some more of my wonderful Sookie Stackhouse book

Nighty Night for now, pop a smile on your dial

Hey there, I hope you are having a super duper wonderfully spectacular day today

So I started this post thinking I had only Christmas cards to show you……..but I have a couple of other pics to show you too…….lol   & now that I’m typing this up I realised I need to go back through my Christmas cards & get the rest of them out that are handmade…..but I am running a little short on time today so i will endeavour to do that next week……

This card was sent to me by the wonderfully generous & talented Louise Ryan 

I love the colours Lou has used, it is gorgeous…Thanks Lou

This next card was sent to me by Andrea Eppingstall

I love how Andrea used the small star punch to create the wreath….this one is definitely on the case list

This card is a swap card I received from Tina Dickman.  Tina’s use of the vellum really sets this card off…….it is STUNNING

How lucky am I?………very lucky I think
The above card came to me from the generous & wonderfully talented Corinna Buchan.  Corinna sent this to me after receiving a birthday card I made & sent to her……THANKS CORINNA !!

Now the last picture I’m going to show you is from a variety of wonderfully talented ladies…….keep posted as I’m going to show you some “OH MY GOODNESS BEAUTIFUL, YUMMY & GENEROUS” gifts I have received recently.

So till next time…….keep smiling

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

Hi ho how do you go???  

Well I hope you have had a wonderful weekend, full of relaxing & time out

Last week I said I’d be back with some Christmas Cards I created for the cyberstamp & it never happened
So today I am going to show you the other 3 cards I made for the Christmas challenge I set.  The challenge that I set was to make  a Christmas card making your main image using  ”non-traditional” Christmas stamps , this is what I came up with: 
Sorry Lynda, they are very pink

All supplies Stampin’ Up!

Stamp Set:  Le Jardin Botanique, Many Merry Messages

Ink:  Pink Pirouette,  Riding Hood Red, Versamark

Cardstock:  Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey, Whisper White

Accessories:  Clear Rhinestone Brads,  Silver Embossing powder & embossing buddy, Natural Hemp Twine, Distressing tool (cutterkit)

All supplies Stampin’ Up!

Stamp set:  Trendy Trees, Funky Forest wheel, Many Merry Messages

Ink:  Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose

Cardstock:  Pink Pirouette, Choc chip, Whisper White

Accessories:  2-way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

All supplies Stampin’ Up!

Stamp Set:  Friends 24-7, Occasional  Greetings, Season of Joy, Sanded

Ink:  Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Choc Chip

Markers:  Close to Cocoa, Choc Chip, Ruby Red, Old Olive

Cardstock:  Old Olive, Choc Chip,  Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

Accessories:  Distressig tool (cutter kit), Wide oval punch, Spritzer, 1 1/4″striped Riding Hood Red ribbon, 2-way Glue Pen & Dazzling Diamonds

So that’s what I have to show you today.  I hope you like my creations & they may be of some inspiration to you.  i’d love to hear your thoughts about them, why not leave me a comment

Till next time…………….stay happy & look after you !!!

Good afternoon world

I want to start off by saying a big SORRY I haven’t been around lately.  I planned on being here, but between one thing & another it just didn’t happen.  That is one thing I love about being a Stampin’ Up!  demonstrator, I can fit it in with everything in my life & my life has been quite full of late.

So as the title says, MIA which is what I have been from here.

Stamping which I have been doing a fair bit of over the last couple of days, trying to catch up & get in front before we get more men to look after.

Prep, this has a bit to do with the previous one, stamping related, I have been prepping for (unfortunately not workshops, but) my secret sister & my USA swap sister, plus a couple of other swaps I am doing right now.  Also I am organising another Cyberstamp for some Stampin’ Up! demonstrators, [if you are a demo & aren't a member on ESAD-SU, which is a fabulous Yahoo forum for Stampin'Up! demonstrators, click here, you can join up & join in with all the fun] & just trying to get some helpers with tutorials etc… This is all on the go now, so it is under control. 

Family, well that is really the highest priority, even if it is 4th on the list *g*.  I have had Maddi home all last week with tonsillitis, she is back at school now & much better, but Tom has come down with a temp & just doesn’t want to go to school, I’m now just waiting for the other 2 to get sick now & then they would’ve all had some ‘special mum time’ …lol.  Other than illness, it has just been great to spend some time with them, changing bedrooms around, changing over to summer sheets etc…

Farming, or should I say life….lol *g*  Harvest started on Monday & they were going along quite well until yesterday & today ….WE HAVE HAD RAIN……GRRRRRRRR .  Rain rain can’t you hear, stay away till next year.  So the paperwork is up to date, the QA  is going along well & record keeping for each tonne of grain that comes off has started, it isn’t hard, just a matter of dedicating a day to set all the worksheets up to keep record as well as I can.

So now it comes to me……some me time……no not really, well I spose you could say last night (or should I say this morning) between 12 & 2 am was some ‘me time’ , it was so quiet, apart from the rain & wind. Just lovely to sit & stamp & resize some pics…..Oooo pics are done & ready to post so here we go

I have been cheatingcleaning & rearranging in my craft room & I found a heap of old kits that hadn’t been used at workshops & I thought i haven’t even thought about my Christmas cards…..hmmmm I could use some of these, the colours could be a bit different, but I like Christmas cards that are a bit different in colour

Now that i have said that i am going to show you a traditional Christmas coloured card, lol
This is one I did at a workshop a couple of weeks ago, it uses the technique….nah can’t rememebr it, hang on I’ll go find it & be back in a tick, Oh of course it is, GHOSTING, ok so here is the pic

All supplies Stampin’ Up!

Stamp set:  Fresh Cuts,  Season of Joy

Ink:  Kiwi Kiss, Versamark, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive

Cardstock:  Real Red, Whisper White, Old Olive, White Gloss

Accessories:  Brayer, Wide Oal Pnch,Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Distressing tool on Cutter Kit, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I really do like the way this card came up & just love that little BLING on the tree
Because I always cut extra kits for workshops I had a couple left over & decided I could have a go at making a card similar but different, here it is

 I didn’t do the ghosting tech on this one & I’m actually happier with it, I love the effect of the red Fresh Cuts stamp on the gloss
So I made a few of these, unfortunately I didn’t have that many extra kits, so there is only a couple of these, but I have heaps of other cards that I have made.  Unfortunately I can’t show you just yet, because I am going to use them in the Cyberstamp, but I will have some other things to show you soon. 

I have received some lovely things in the mail again, they just keep coming in

So I will be back in the next couple of days to show you what my new secret sister has sent me, I also need to find the pics I took of the final gift I made to send to my secret sister last round, so I am working on that too

Till I see you here nex time…….keep smiling