Pretty Sketch

Morning all!!

I’m busy finishing off some wedding samples for a customer who’s coming to view them this afternoon – so hard working out pricing as I dont want to charge too much yet at the same time dont want to rip myself off for my work and time!

Its another Saturday – last Saturday of our school holidays here before the girls embark on a new year of schooling and with my youngest starting High School it is a bitter sweet time for me but glad they’ll both be in the same school now so wont need to worry if one is running late on the bus or not!

Being Saturday that means its time for another Utah Divas Sketch Challenge and here is this week’s sketch …

Diva Sketch 173

Easy enough … and look no rotating or anything …

So Sweet!

Recipe
Stamps: Up in the Air (Hostess – Summer Mini), Charming (Summer Mini)
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Subtles Paper Stack
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue, Peach Parfait, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Scallop border punch, Saleabration Organza ribbon, stampin write markers, rhinestone jewels.

How pretty and ‘springy’ is this card??  and what’s a ‘spring’ card without butterflies??

I love how this turned out and it seriously came about in like 25 minutes – must be one of my quickest sketch cards ever!!  This will be one of the cards for our next Stamp A Stack so if you’d like to make a couple of these be sure to book your spot for the 11th February!

Now be sure to hop over to the Utah Divas Blog and see what lovelies the other Designing Divas have got up to this week!

 

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Nature Walk

What a busy week its been and its only going to get busier!

What do you think of the new blog look? Like it? I do … I have been looking for that right theme forever – well it seems like it anyways. Then when I was browsing the Studio Press site by Brian Gardner the other night I came across this Pretty Young Thing them and it was ‘oh yeah’ and I just edited the graphics and took the hearts off and inserted the coffee cups!!

This Wednesday I fly down to Melbourne for the 2011 Stampin’ Up! Convention – its for 3 days of total Stampin’ Up! awesomeness and I cant wait!  This year I have the pleasure of sharing it with my gorgeous friend and downline Libby Dyson and being Thursday is Libby’s birthday it will be extra special!

So as you can imagine its only going to be busier this upcoming week. Convention finishes on Saturday night with the Awards dinner and then Sunday I’m hiring a car and driving over to see my mum, dad and sister in Cobden – just a little 3 hour drive!  Now I think I might have to stop in Geelong for a cuppa! I fly home again the following Tuesday – lets hope the family survives that long and the house isnt a total warzone when I get back!

Here’s a card I made a little while ago for a swap on ESAD – sadly my swap cards still seem to be travelling as they never arrived – obviously the Postie decided they liked them enough to keep them himself.

I really enjoyed making this card. I just love collage stamping and putting all the elements together and then sitting back and looking at the end product.

There seems to be lots of stamps on this card however its just the Nature Walk Stamp Set (Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue), Teeny Tiny Sentiments and the En Francais background stamp. I’ve also added a piece of the Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper and how cute are those little Library Clips??

I hope you like this card as much as I enjoyed making it … now I must duck up to the shops to grab some socks and a couple of scarves as it appears as hundreds of Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators from Australia and New Zealand descend on Melbourne so is a cold front! Talk about timing!!

Dont forget the great ‘Deals of the Week’ happening this week – just click the image in the sidebar or here to view them and dont forget they change each Wednesday so be sure to check back.

Now since I’ll be away you’ll need to email me your orders and from now until 20th May I am offering free postage on all orders so email or text me today with your order!

 

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Love my Job

If you are a regular visitor to my blog then you will know just how much I love being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. This past week has been busy again with getting in those last orders for February and being able to pre-order new stamps and accessories from the upcoming Mini Catalogue as well as the normal housewife & mother duties I have. My new stamps arrived yesterday afternoon so I get to play with them later today!

I feel pretty blessed to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator as its meant I can be home for the kids before and after school and keep the house in some form of order – now all these things I couldnt do if I was working in the workforce.  Not only do I have these blessings but I also get my stamps at a regular discount of 20% (sometimes more) and being paid to share what I love to do is just a bonus!

I always hear people say “I’d love a job like yours” well … guess what …. you can!  Stampin’ Up! always welcome new demonstrators and I’d love for you to be a part of my team.  During Sale•A•Bration you get an even better welcome as you can choose a bonus stamp set to the value of $79.95 – how nice is that?

But thats not all – if you join my team not only do you have access to the Stampin Up! Demonstrator website but you will have access to a variety of other forums including my private forum which is just for my team. You will also have me to help and guide you when needed. If you join with me you will also receive a bonus welcome gift just from me as a little thank you to for joining my Stamp A Latte team.

One of the forums you will have access to is the ESAD (Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators) group.  This group is great as we all share and encourage each other and with over 600 members there’s so much wealth of knowledge and experience there. We run cyberstamps, challenges and swaps and of course the odd blog hop.  Just recently we had a Summer Mini Catalogue swap and here is the card I made for that swap.

I do love how this card turned out and I might even do it as a Convention Swap! I used the colours from the Diva Coffee Break Colour Challenge #216 being Early Espresso, Rose Red and Blushing Bride.

Recipe:

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Well Scripted
Paper: Early Espresso, Rose Red, Blushing Bride and Very Vanilla
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Pinking Hearts Border punch, Basic Pearls Jewels and Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon

This card will be one of the cards for the Stamp A Stack on 12th March – it really is very easy to do.

If you like the idea of always getting your stamps and accessories at a discount but dont want to do all the party stuff then that is ok too – the beauty of Stampin’ Up! is that you can do as little or as much as you like. You can even pick the stamps you want in the kit as long as they are the same or lesser value than those suggested on the Demonstrator Kit Order form. Plus there is no annual fee to  remain a demonstrator like some other companies have.

If you join now you could even come to the Stampin’ Up! Convention in May with me!  Signing up is quick and easy as its all done online so no pesky forms to fill out – you just need to answer the questions online.

If you have any questions or would like more information about all the benefits of becoming a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator then please contact me for a free no obligation Information Pack and so I can answer your questions. 

Oh and dont forget to ask about my special gift to you for joining my team.

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Latte Storage

A few months back I shared this awesome storage unit that my brother in law made me for my ink pads, markers and ink refills …

Well now I’m happy to share with you the new unit he has made for me for my punches and Big Shot dies and folders ….

How cool is this?? It has 60 sections like the Ink Pad unit and you can slide out the shelves to fit taller items in like the larger punches. I cant tell you just how much this has helped me in keeping my table tidier.

I actually didnt put it on my desk for a while and now I’m not really sure why I didnt cos not only does it look fantastic its so easy just to pop the things away after using them.

Here are the 2 units together …

Looks good huh??

I’ve since comissioned Dave the Builder to make some paper cubes and a unit for the long Big Shot Dies and cutting plates.

Would you like one of these or both even?? Not a problem – just send me an email and I’ll give you Dave’s contact details so you can contact him to get your own.

These units are super sturdy and I dare say would survive earthquakes! Mine are not attached to the wall or leaning against one they are at the back of my desk and stand alone without any wobbling or anything.

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Stylish Blog Award

How special is this!

Last week I received this award from the loverly Tammy Fite – a fellow Utah Diva and Stampin Up Demonstrator from USA and then a few days ago I got the same award from the loverly Nikki Stalker – a long time stamping friend and fellow Aussie Stampin Up Demonstrator.

I am always humbled when I get these awards and especially when they come from fellow Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators.

Now as part of this award I need to share 8 things about me and to pass this award onto 8 bloggers and let them know they too have been awarded with this very prestigious award.

So ……..

8 Things about me ….

  1. I am a Christian and think I’d be in a very dark place if I didnt have my faith.
  2. I love coffee (you didnt know that did you??)
  3. I love to Stamp (didnt know this either did you?)
  4. I have a Cichlid Fishtank – and my fav fish is ‘Jack’ my Frontosa who is 15cm long & 7cm high (6″ x 2 3/4″)
  5. I was born on my Aunt’s birthday and share my birthday also with my Brother in Law (the one who makes my storage units)
  6. I cant wait till Stampin’ Up! Convention in May
  7. I cant wait till school goes back next week!
  8. I think I need another coffee!

Now to pass this award onto 8 Bloggers I love to visit …

  1. Lisa Ryder
  2. Libby Dyson
  3. Patty Bennett
  4. Melissa Garland
  5. Kerri Hunter
  6. Maxine Conrad
  7. Jo Dumbleton
  8. Gretchen Barron

Make sure you go check these ladies’ blogs out cos they are all uber talented and such lovely ladies as well ;)

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Love Sparkles

Last week I did a workshop for some lovely ladies from my Church and as part of the Workshop I demonstrated the Simply Scrappin kits using the gorgeous Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin Kit.

I love this kit and all the elements it has and the colours and the papers – its just gorgeous! Especially for anyone doing scrapbook pages for little girls and one of my favourite little girls is my gorgeous Emily!

Emily has a huge love for anything little and particularly little furry things!

You should see her Littlest Pet Shop collection – I’m sure we have more here than you’d find in the local Toys R Us!  or Uncle Pete’s store!

Everything you see here has come from the kit – well except for the photo. The paper, cardstock, adhesive die-cuts and decorative strip were all in the kit

This is a very simple and easy 6×6 layout to do using the Simply Scrappin kit -  and it probably took 5 minutes to create.

The hardest part was working out what photo to use!

I hope you like this little layout … it was fun to make and you could get these kits to show your kids how to scrapbook too!  Its a great way to get them started!

Have a wonderful long weekend!

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Dazzled Challenges

Hello!!

Yes today is Saturday and I’m here with  not one but TWO challenges!! Well OK I’ve rolled two challenges into one card ;)  so that counts does it not??

First – the Utah Diva’s Sketch Challenge

When I first saw this sketch I thought ‘how am I supposed to make something with that??”  (sorry Carol) but as I started working well I’ve had so many ideas through my head I’m dizzy!

I remembered the layered window cards I used to use a few years back and have noticed can you can still buy them but they cost more than regular card-stock so I figured I’ll make me own!!

So I just utilised my Stampin’ Up! square punches on the different layers.  You just need to remember to used the larger punch on the top layer and the smaller punch on the base layer – this gives you a little frame around your window.

Here’s my card with the window in it. The window is where the little bird is.  I am sorry about the picture – I had trouble getting a good image with all that white on the top level.

I have used one of the new sets in the Summer Mini Catalogue and its called For Everything and its a great set at just $47.95 for 11 stamps - that’s just $4.35 a stamp - what great value!!

Now for my second  card today ….

I’ve incorporated Carol’s above sketch with Makeesha’s Inkspirations Colour Challenge

and this is what I came up with ….

I am not a huge fan of Cameo Coral but I do quite like how this card turned out.

Can you believe that this card contains just one stamped image and NO ribbon!!!  Its just so unlike me.

This card is very quick and easy as the patterns and saying on the card are both rub ons! The patterns are from the lovely Dots and Designs rub ons and the sentiment is from the Chit Chat rubons and both are from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

The main image is from the Razzle Dazzle stamp set which I’ve coloured using my Stampin’ Write Markers.

If you would like to see more from the Summer Mini Catalogue and you’re free on 6th February, 2010 then call me today to reserve your seat at the Sale A Bration Spectacular I’m running with a couple of Stampin’  Up! demonstrators.  Its at the Ambarvale Re-Creation Centre from 11am to 4pm and costs just $25 – although if you book and pay before 21st January we’ll only charge you $20! Bargain – we’ll have raffles, door prizes, make n takes and lots of displays and demonstrations. Its going to be a wonderful day and I do hope you can come along and enjoy the fun too!

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Friends

Well its another chilly Sydney winter day here with the temperature just 7.5C (45.5F) so I hope its a little warmer where you are! No doubt my new little gas heater will be keeping me warm today!

As you may have noticed my blog looks a little different this morning and I hope you like the changes. I have been told that a change is as good as a holiday however I think I might like to try the holiday just once! I still have a little ‘tweaking’ to do so hopefully it wont take too long before I’m happy with it.

I know I havent posted in over a week and I apologise for that. I’ve had some health issues and been busy with classes and workshops and these two things have impacted on my time for creating and blogging. If anyone out there has some good time management tips then please feel free to share them with me!

BrocadeBurgundyLace

Here is a card I cased from Splitcoast Stampers last week.

I do love how this card turned out and it really is very elegant and very easy to do. Its done using the Friends 24-7 Stamp set and the Friendly Words wheel and really could be given for any occasion at all. There is some sponging involved in this card and really it wouldnt be a card from me if it didnt involve some sponging or daubering somewhere!

Recipe
Stamps: Friends 24-7, Friendly Words Stampin round wheel
Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla
Inks: Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Brocade Blue Stampin Write Marker, Pretties Kit (half pearl), Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Eyelet Border punch, mini glue dots, stampin sponges.BrocadeBurgundyLaceWbird

Here is another of the same card. This time I have included the bird stamp from Friends 24-7 which has been stamped and cut out and layered using dimensionals.

This is actually what the original cased card had however I find that leaving the bird off makes this card just as elegant and sometimes ‘less’ is ‘more’.

I do hope you like this card and would love to show you just how easy it is to make so why not email or ring me today to book your demonstration in? We still have the extra bonuses for Hostesses to the end of July so there’s still time to take advantage of this wonderful promotion from Stampin’ Up!®

leoniesig1

Gum Blossoms

This is the third card I’ve made using the new Bloom Away stamp set.

Its a stamp of our gorgeous Gum Blossoms which flower on the Eucalyptus trees – these are the trees native to Australia and which we get Eucalyptus oil from  Eucalyptus leaves contains compounds that are powerful natural disinfectants and which can be toxic in large quantities.The Eucalyptus is also the home of our beloved Koala’s and Possoms. Eucalyptus flowers produce a great abundance of nectar, providing food for many pollinators including insects, birds, bats and possums. Also, in summer when the temperatures rise the oil rises above the bush to create the characteristic distant blue haze of the Australian landscape – this is why we have what is called “The Blue Mountains” on the outskirts of Sydney. Eucalyptus oil is highly flammable (some trees have been known to explode) and bush fires can travel easily through the oil-rich air of the tree crowns which was evident recently with the Victorian Bush Fires.

The Eucalyptus also has many different types so the colours in the flowers can vary from white to dark red and the bark on the trees vary from smooth to rough and some have what looks like coloured squiggles all over them. Some can grow to a height of over 80 metres and are an evergreen tree so always covered in leaves giving lots of shade and a continual food supply for those animals who live in them.

gumblossomsSo there’s a bit of Aussie knowledge for you … and no I wont be doing a test later!

Back to the card ….

With this card I’ve stamped the image twice next to each other in the top right of the whisper white piece. I’ve then stamped this image again on another piece of whisper white, coloured & cut it out and layered it using Stampin’ Dimensionals over the other two images to give the effect of it being on a branch.

I’ve used Chocolate Chip for the base card then layered Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss. The ribbon is the Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon. The sentiment is from the God’s Blessings stamp set.

I do hope you like this card and have enjoyed the last couple of posts using the other stamps from the Bloom Away stamp set.  I’ve loved colouring these lovely images and sharing my creations with you. I know youre just going to love the new Idea Book & Catalogue and I am looking forward to sharing some more with you in the upcoming weeks.

Remember to email or ring me to reserve your copy and why not book in for a demonstration so you can get your copy leoniesig1for free!

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An Award … or three

I am really bad at accepting these awards and passing them on … after the initial shock of recieving them I think ‘yup I’ll do that & pass it on shortly’ then as usual one gets distracted with updating their blog, changing colours, stamping or that other thing called ‘real life’! So firstly my apologies for replying to those lovely ladies that have given me these awards and thank you soooo much for considering my blog worthy of such awards.

yoshida4a_as_blog_awardFor our first award we have the Sparkling Blogger Award from the lovely Stacey in Texas. Now this is a super special award as its one that Stacey created herself so I’m rather touched to receive this one!

Now she wanted me to pass on my favourite christmas or winter recipe but since we have our Christmas in Summer we normally have alot of cold meats and salads and our favourite is Caesar Salad with any type of meat. So not much in the way of recipes needed for those.

So thanks so much Stacey and hope you have a totally blessed 2009 and no more headaches or illness!

kreativ_blogger_awardI had this awarded to me yesterday by the very talented and very lovely Steph. I had also received this award from the very lovely Libby.

Libby is a wonderful friend and great promoter of my Stampin’ Up! business – not to mention a wonderful customer and forever friend. We’ve gone through a lot of trials during our friendship and always there for each other when needed.

proxinidade_awardfrom-1

lovely-blog-award

Libby has also sent me these other two awards  ….

It is always a huge thrill to have people read and leave comments on my blog let alone give me these awards and I love each and every one of them!

Now to pass these awards on – I should be passing them on to five blogs but since there is more than one award I’ll award them to my top 10 blogs I love to visit and get inspiration from – now these are in no particular order – I just love them all ….

  1. Makeesha Byl
  2. Beate Johns
  3. Patty Bennett
  4. Kerri Hunter
  5. Andrea Lowcock
  6. Andrea Walford
  7. Nicole Stalker
  8. Libby Dyson
  9. Stacey Aannestaad
  10. Stephanie Pike

Now I know youre not supposed to give them back but Libby, Stacey and Steph really do have awesome blogs and are very talented with what they do and all the ladies in that list are very special friends and its a blessing to know them and have them as my friends.

I did make a card today but I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post.

Go grab yourself a latte and put your feet up …. until next time.

leoniesig1

Echuca – the old port

We left home Thursday morning for our holidays. We left at 9am and arrived at Echuca at 7pm and it really did feel at times that we’d never get to our destination!

We drove to Echuca which is on the NSW/Victorian border and it would have been nice to spend a little more time there learning about the history of the town. The cabin we booked was lovely with a decent bed which made for a good night’s sleep which is always a good thing when your travelling! It was great to sit and relax with my sister Jo, her hubby and a couple that are their friends.

Friday morning we breakfasted at McDonalds (as you do when travelling) and as I’d noticed some rather old churches as we drove in that was our first ‘to-do’ after breakfast – to get some photo’s of some old churches for a scrapbook I’ve wanted to make for a while now.

We then headed to the Old Port of Echuca where there was a thriving business up and down the river in the 1800′s. They still run some of the paddle steamers from that era and no doubt have spent a small fortune in their maintenance. Some of you may remember a mini series on TV called “All the Rivers Run” – it had John Waters and Sigrid Thornton in it to name a couple – well one of the steamers they had in that show was the “Emmy Lou” and is driven by a completely restored 1906 steam engine, and built to the highest world classification standards. She was built locally during 1980-82 in the style of the 19th century paddleboats, and is 30 metres long and 10 metres wide, steel hulled and timber decked.

The port is lovely and have set it so its like stepping back into the 1800′s with the sand roads and cobblestone footpaths. You can taste the local wine and fudge as well! You can stroll through and see how they did wood turning and the original tools the blacksmith used and all his gorgeous items for sale.

There is the stagecoach you can take for a ride through the town and these Clydesdale horses are just stunning animals and so well groomed.

They didnt budge when Caitie wanted to give them a pat and the handler was great and let her pat them but just asked her to stand beside them for their safety and hers!

Down at the old port they have these trees with the signs for the level particular floods got to. Its hard to imagine the water rising so high but it did.

These days the water is controlled from the Snow Mountains therefore they regulate the amount of water over flowing to the surrounding areas.

This photo shows you just how high the floods actually got in previous years. I got the girls to stand in front of the tree to give you an idea – have you noticed the one right up the top which happened in 1874?

We are now staying in Cobden with family till 8th October but plan to do a few ‘sight seeing’ trips while we are here.

Although I got a great picture of the Cathedral at Bendigo I need more photo’s of old churches and know there are a few in and around Warrnambool so no prizes for guessing where one of our trips will be to! Hopefully it will stop raining long enough to enjoy a couple of day trips while we are here!

I do hope the nephew is looking after my stamps and fish and they arent missing me too much!

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