Danneil Linardi

HUGE STAMPIN UP SALE.....

2010-03-05T20:09:00.022+08:00

I am no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (and never find the time to paper craft anymore) so I have decided to let all of my gorgeous Stampin' Up! stuff go to new homes. Everything is priced at 50% off the catalogue price. So if you have stumbled onto this blog why not take a look at what's on offer.......

1 x box AUS/NZ Catalogues 2009/10......$20. SOLD

PUNCHES
1 ¼” square......$20 SOLD
1 3/8” square......$20 SOLD
Large tag......$20
Word window......$20 SOLD
Scallop edge......$20 SOLD
¾” circle......$10 SOLD
½” circle......$5 SOLD
¼” circle......$5 SOLD
Corner rounder......$5 SOLD
Slit......$5 SOLD

ACCESSORIES
Heat tool......$30 SOLD
Clear emboss powder......$5 SOLD
White emboss powder......$5 SOLD
Emboss buddy......$5 SOLD
Crop-a-dile......$30 SOLD
Stampin around wheel guide......$10 SOLD

Regular Stampin around handle -plus 3 wheels –plus 3 unopened ink cartridges......$15 SOLD
Jumbo stampin around handle –plus 2 wheels......$15 SOLD

WATER COLOUR WONDER CRAYONS
*brand new, never used*
Brights......$25 SOLD
Earths......$25 SOLD
Regals......$25 SOLD
Subtles......$25 SOLD

2009/10 CATALOGUE STAMP SETS
Window dressing......$40 SOLD
Cheep talk......$25 SOLD
Heartfelt thanks......$30 SOLD
Loads of love......$20 SOLD
Loads of love accessories......$17 SOLD
Pick a Petal......$30 SOLD
Many merry messages......$35
Fresh cuts......$20 SOLD
Simply said.......$25 SOLD
Trendy trees......$16 SOLD

2008/09 CATALOGUE STAMP SETS
A little bit of happiness......$15
Hung up on the holidays......$15
Petal prints......$25 SOLD
Mixed bouquet......$30
It’s your birthday......$30
Snow flurries......$10 SOLD
Much appreciated......$10
Greetings galore......$30
So many sayings......$15 SOLD
Bodacious bouquet......$30 SOLD
Eat cake......$25 SOLD
Mostly flowers x 2 sets......$10 ea BOTH SOLD
Wonderful words......$20 SOLD
Fishy friends......$20 SOLD
Itty bitty backgrounds......$10 SOLD

BACKGROUND STAMPS
Paisley......$20
Sanded......$20
Floral......$20 SOLD
French script......$20

2007/08 CATALOGUE STAMP SETS
Everyday flexible phrases......$30
Holiday spirit......$20 SOLD
Flower filled......$25
Sassy Stems......$18
Warmest regards......$10 SOLD
Artifacts......$25
All year cheer #1......$30
All year cheer #2......$30

2006/07 CATALOGUE STAMP SETS
Art of life......$10

ASST. MINI CATALOGUE STAMP SETS
Live your dream......$15 SOLD
Congrats......$10
Big on spring......$15 SOLD
Botanical blooms......$10
Perfect ending......$5. SOLD

Most of the stamp sets are unmounted/unused and those that are mounted have seen very little ink. Everything is in EXCELLENT condition.

Seen something you like????
Email me at strawberrylane@netspace.net.au
I will post to anywhere in Australia.
Thanks for looking....
Danneil.

A blogging goodbye......

2009-06-15T19:15:00.002+08:00

If anyone is actually still out there and checking in on my blog to find it unchanged for so long........then I apologise to you for the inactivity here for such a long time!

I am writing this today because this will be my last post on this blog. I have decided not to blog anymore as I am extremely busy these days and just need to cut back on some of my commitments. I have had a lot of fun blogging and would like to thank those of you who have continued to pop in to visit me and leave such wonderful comments.
I will eventually delete the blog completely but at this stage I will leave it here until I have totally sorted out how to move my links into google reader.
Thanks again for all of your support and hopefully I will actually meet a few of you in person at either a regional event or convention in the future.

Danneil. x

Sorry about my long absence!

2009-04-20T19:09:00.007+08:00

I am back blogging again.....who knows for how long!
Anyway, the daughter of a very lovely friend of mine turned one yesterday and they had a lovely 'picnic party' in a local park for her. My girls had a wonderful time and this is the card that I made for the birthday girl.....
Here is a closer look at the "window". The butterfly has a bit of glitter on it (essential on a little girl's card!!)......

And here is what it looked like on the inside.....

I LOVE this little hedgehog from Fast and Fun Notes and this is the first time that I have had a play with him. The grass and flower are hand drawn and I have put glitter on the flower as well.

Hope that you like this little guy as much as I do and thanks for stopping by.Stamps: Polka Dot, Fast and Fun Notes. Inks: Pretty in Pink, Markers, Stazon Black. Card stock: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Spring Fling DSP (retired). Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Wide Celery grosgrain. Tools: Circle and scallop circle punches, Scallop edge punch, paper piercing, Stamp-a-majig, Blender pens.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #9.

2009-03-19T16:26:00.005+09:00

Hello again,
I visit Karen Giron's blog regularly. I LOVE her cards and have wanted to have a go at her "Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge" for a while. So this is my first attempt!!
And what a challenge it was!!! I don't have a circle cutting system, (I have been patiently waiting and hoping that the new SU! catalogue will have one in it....but alas.....they didn't include it) so with my choices being either trace around a piece of kitchenware or use my punches, I went with the punches.
This is what I came up with........

I wanted it to be something a bit different because the punches don't give you a very big circle so I needed something else to give the card a bit of wow!

I enjoyed making it so much that I whipped up a second one as a baby card as well.....

Anyway, I hope you like what I came up with. Sorry Karen that I had to put a bit of ribbon around the middle of the card so it's not exactly 100% true to your sketch challenge...but I needed to keep the cards closed somehow.
Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Greetings Galore (retired), All in the family, Family favourites, Polka Dot background. Inks: Soft Subtles, Bold Brights and Earth Elements Markers, Versamark. Card stock: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Old Olive, Petals and Paisleys DSP, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Pool Party DSP (retired). Accessories: Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon, Light Blue Gingham Ribbon (retired). Tools: Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

Casing Sarah-Jane

2009-03-19T08:16:00.004+09:00

This is a card that I just did recently for a workshop based on cards for kids. It is a complete case of one of Sarah-Jane Kale's cards that you can check out (along with her other beautiful card creations) on her blog here.
I love this card! It is so effective and such a great use of the Pick a Petal stamp set and every little girl that has seen it since I made it love it just as much as me!!
Hope that you like this one as much as I do and thanks for the inspiration Sarah-Jane. You can get all of the information to re-create this card at Sarah-Jane's blog here.
Thanks for stopping by and I will be back soon with a couple of cards that I have made for a challenge.

Casing Sarah J.K.....

2009-03-16T16:27:00.009+09:00

Hello,
I am still playing around with my blog but I thought that while I am tinkering with it I should post something as well. This is almost a complete case of a card made by Sarah Klass. You can check out Sarah's card here.
I loved her card so much when I first saw it that when I needed to come up with cards for a recent workshop (with a children's theme) I knew that I would use this one!
It also gave me the opportunity to use some of the retiring papers and a retiring stamp set.
This layout is so easy and so versatile...hope you like it as much as me!
Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Greetings Galore, Congrats. Inks: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Soft Subtles and Earth Elements markers. Card stock: So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Spring fling DSP, Watercolour paper. Accessories: Large circle punch, Scallop circle punch. Tools: Stamp-a-majig.

Having a play around.....

2009-03-15T16:12:00.002+09:00

Hi all,
I am going to be having a play around with my blog and blog header. So if you are visiting and things look a bit strange it is probably because I am doing something to the blog. Thanks for your patience.....
Danneil.

To blog or not to blog?????

2009-03-12T10:43:00.004+09:00

That is my question!
I am trying to decide whether to continue to blog or not! I am SO busy with my children and general family stuff that I am lucky if I can fit in the odd workshop, let alone keeping my blog up to date. I put a lot of pressure on myself to have something new to show you and when I haven't posted anything for a while I feel really bad. I know that there are people who check in on my blog regularly (Hi Sarah-Jane) and I don't want to disappoint anyone if there is nothing new to see!
I keep telling myself that things will be a lot easier when all of my girls are in full time school, but with Hayley only being 11 months old that seems a long way off!
Anyway, I would love to hear what you think before I make any decision about closing my blog.

This card was one of the projects that I made at our last team stamping day. We used two of the gorgeous background stamps (Floral and Linen....that are now retiring) and the faux tearing technique.
Thanks for dropping by and I look forward to reading your comments about my blogging dilemma.

You can find all of the details to re-create this card here on Sarah's blog.

My Team Day 'swap'.

2009-02-17T10:46:00.005+09:00

This is the card that was supposed to be my swap for our recent Team Day, but true to my usual form, I only managed to get this one made and didn't have time to get any others done!!
I am in awe of those ladies that can churn out bulk amounts of cards in a single sitting!! By the time I have a few minutes in the evening to stamp I am usually exhausted and opt for going to bed over stamping until the wee hours of the morning.
I keep telling myself that once all of my girls are in school I will have more time....hopefully!!
Anyway, I came up with the idea of an envelope with hearts coming out of it after I used the little envelope and hearts stamp, here, from the Greetings Galore stamp set for a recent Kristina Werner challenge. After a bit of Internet surfing I found a template for a 'Mini Envelope' and the rest just came together from there.
I hope you like the card and thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: A Little Bit of Happiness. Card-stock: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Bali Breeze DSP. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Light pink Gingham ribbon. Tools: Paper piercing, Dimentionals.

Team day swaps.......

2009-02-12T16:43:00.015+09:00

I recently attended our team stamping day and, as usual, I had a fantastic time!! It is always great to catch up with the other girls in the team and this time Sarah, (our team leader), Jaz, Amanda and Chantell had organised some great projects for us to do. We can also make cards to swap if we want to and there is usually a theme for the swaps.....this time the theme was "Love or Friendship". True to my usual form, (see previous post), I didn't end up getting any swaps made on time and ended up with nothing to swap on the day!
But that didn't seem to bother some of the other girls who kindly gave me one of their swaps anyway! (even though I had nothing to give them in return).
These are the gorgeous cards that I received;

The 1st of these stunning cards was made by the very lovely Sarah-Jane (her cards are always gorgeous).....
This sweet card was created by Annie (love this stamp, so pretty).....

I always enjoy chatting to Leanne at our team day and she gave me this lovely creation (I would never have thought to put these colours together Leanne, you're very clever!).....

And finally, I also enjoy seeing Karen at the team day and this is the cute card that she kindly gave me.....

So there you have it! Four gorgeous cards made by 4 really lovely ladies!

See you next time........

Another blog award!!!!

2009-02-12T10:56:00.003+09:00

I was so surprised to see that I had been given Blog Award by Di Barnes and a really pretty one at that!!
If you haven't done so already, I highly recommend checking out Di's blog! She is a very talented paper-crafter!
I don't really think that I deserve a blog award because my blog always ends up being the last thing on my REALLY long list of things to do!! With running my 3 older girls back and forth from Pre-primary, 3 Year Old Kindy and Ballet lessons, as well as cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing and trying to make sure that (baby) Hayley still gets her sleep time during the day......I never seem to have any time left over to update my blog!
Sound familiar, anyone????

Anyway....thanks so much for the award Di, I really appreciate that you think that my blog is worthy of an award!

Casing Christmas cards.

2009-02-03T11:35:00.007+09:00

I think that it was only 2 weeks before Christmas that I actually decided to make some cards to send out. My problem was that I didn't have much time and I knew that I wanted designs that were simple, effective and easy to mass produce! So after a bit of Internet surfing I decided to go with these 2 designs.
The card above is a case of one made by Marelle Taylor (with a few minor changes) and the one below is a case of a card by Tracey Wilson, which you may have seen before on my blog because I cased this one a while back. I decided to change the colours of the 2nd card from blue and white to the traditional Christmas colours of red, white and green.
Both cards have Dazzling Diamonds glitter on them to add a bit of Christmas 'sparkle'.

Well that's Christmas wrapped up....finally! Hope that you like the cards and I will be back soon with some stuff that we did at our recent team stamping day.
Thanks for stopping by....

Card 1:

Stamps: Snow Flurries, So Swirly wheel, Many Merry Messages. Inks: Brocade Blue, Encore silver. Card stock: Brocade Blue, Whisper White. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon. Tools: Stamp-a-majig.

Card 2:

Stamps: Hung up on Christmas, So Swirly wheel, Many Merry Messages. Inks: Rose Red, Always Artichoke. Card stock: Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Whisper White. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds. Tools: Stamp-a-majig.

Some Christmas catch up.......

2009-01-28T09:44:00.008+09:00

Isn't this a gorgeous card?!?!
I received this beautiful Christmas card from Sarah Klass and I still hadn't gotten around to posting it here because I haven't been blogging much lately. Now that I am back into the swing of things I am trying to do a bit of 'blogging catch up' and that means posting a few Christmas cards that haven't made it on here yet!
Anyway, Sarah is such a talented paper-crafter and she really sets the bar very high! She has such a beautiful style and an eye for balance, which means that her cards and scrapbook pages have enough detail and interest without being too fussy. And this card is no exception!!!
I hope that you love this card as much as I do and I will be back shortly with the 2 Christmas card designs that I sent out this year.
Thanks for dropping by......

You can find all of the details to re-create this card here on Sarah's blog.

Look what I recieved.......

2009-01-26T09:30:00.008+09:00

Isn't this just a STUNNING card!! This beautiful card is a Sam Post original and I am the very proud owner of it!!
I have taken quite a while to post this card to my blog (sorry Sam!) but as most of you know, I have been recovering over the Christmas holidays from surgery that I had back in November and I have not been blogging or card making!
This gorgeous card was sent to wish me a swift recovery from my surgery and accompanied a lovely little 'get well' care package that was full of goodies to make me feel better....and believe me they did make me feel better...especially the boiled lollies!!!
Sam and I have never actually met and only know each other through the Internet and emails, so receiving this card and gift from her was a wonderful surprise and put a big smile on my face. It also reminded me that there are still some really wonderful, caring and generous people in the world.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that someone makes you smile today!

(You can check out Sam's blog here for the project recipe for this card.)

Kristina's Colour Challenge #39.

2009-01-23T09:39:00.007+09:00

It's time for another one of Kristina's Colour Challenges (gosh that week went fast!) and this time the colours are Basic Black, Real Red, So Saffron, Whisper White and Green Galore (or another green).
I don't know why, but as soon as I saw the colours for Kristina's Challenge I immediately thought of shiny black gumboots! Weird, I know!!
Anyway, armed with the idea of gumboots and after a lot of mucking around with the colour combination, this is what I came up with......

This one was a real challenge for me because I started off with a Real Red card base that was layered with So Saffron and I had every intention of using layers of Green Galore as well, but after giving that about 3 hours of my time I just couldn't seem to make it work! So I decided to start again, simplify my card and change from Green Galore to Old Olive and it finally just came together! (No extra points for me Kristina!)
To add some dimension I have popped the whole white section up on dimensionals and the 2 Saffron flowers are also popped up on dimensionals. Then to add a bit of interest I have paper pierced a 'frame' around the picture and put Crystal Effects on the little boots to make them shiny! (you may need to click on the picture to see the shine).
Hope you like my card and thanks for dropping by,

Stamps: Simply Said, Flower Filled (retired). Inks: Basic Black, Old Olive, So Saffron, Real Red. Card stock: Bali Breeze DSP, Old Olive, Whisper White. Accessories: Crystal Effects, Rich Regals Brads. Tools: Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-majig, Paper piercing.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #38....love is in the air.

2009-01-17T08:25:00.008+09:00

It has been ages since I have posted anything on my blog and I decided that it was time to get back into the swing of things and what better way to start than by joining in on one of Kristina's Challenges!
The colours this time are Ruby Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie and while I was doing a bit of browsing on the web I noticed that there were Valentine cards everywhere!
So going with the Valentine theme and Kristina's colours, this is what I came up with.

I wanted to make a square card this time.....so I used Whisper White as my base, which I have layered with Pretty in Pink card stock and some Pumpkin Pie DSP (from the Bali Breeze DSP). I then hand drew a heart onto the DSP and cut through the 3 layers with my craft knife to make a heart shaped 'window'. Then I decided to add a bit of sparkle to the window so I ran my 2-way glue pen around the edge and added Dazzling Diamonds to it. The "FOR YOU" is hand written.

Then on the inside of the card I have stamped the 'envelope and hearts' image from my Greetings Galore stamp set (I haven't used this set for ages!), which I have coloured with markers and then I just hand wrote the word LOVE and added a bit of glitter to the hearts.

And that's it.......a very simple card but I had a lot of fun trying this challenge and getting back into making cards. I really hope that you like my card and thanks for visiting me.

Stamps: Greetings Galore. Card stock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie. Ink: Stampin' Write Markers. Accessories: Dazzling Diamond. Tools: Craft Knife, Stamp-a-majig, Blender pens.

Blog awards!!

2008-12-14T08:48:00.024+09:00

Wow...how exciting!!
I have received a blog award from my very lovely blog buddy, Rebecca Ross. Bec is just so lovely and I highly recommend checking out the gorgeous stuff on her blog. Bec and I started emailing each other over a year ago and we have been "cyber pen-pals" ever since. I feel humble that she thinks my work is worthy of a blog award (especially since I haven't posted anything for a while!), so thank you Bec...this was a really nice surprise!!

And on the subject of awards......
Receiving the award above from Bec reminded me that I also received the award below from Sam Post a while ago (back in July!) and I hadn't thanked her for it. BAD, BAD, BAD Danneil!!! I am so sorry Sam! I was so SHOCKED to see that you had given me an award and I am embarrassed that forgot to thank you.
Anyway, if you haven't checked out Sam's blog yet then you are totally missing out because Sam's work is astounding. She is mega talented and creative and I want to be just like her when I grow up :0)
Thanks so much for these awards girls....they make me smile.

Now, the rules are that I need to award another 5 bloggers, so here goes......

Sarah Klass Sarah is my up-line and has been my friend for a very long time. She is majorly talented (if you have checked out her blog you would know what I mean) and I am sure that she was paper crafting long before she could walk.....is that right Jane? She is a constant source of support and inspiration for me and I value her friendship dearly.

Janeybell Sarah-Jane is just the sweetest person! She recently had a new baby girl and still finds the time to post her gorgeous card creations on her blog. We regularly email and comment on each others blogs and I recently met Sarah-Jane at our Regional event and hope to see her again soon.

My AddINKtion Tracey is a fellow team member of the "A Klass Act" team. She always comes up with the most beautiful and interesting cards. She sources great ideas from the Internet and then puts her own spin on them. She is so clever, I love her work and I have cased her ideas a few times.

Makeesha Byl Keesh is just plain AMAZING!!! This girl has 4 children, a husband and a house to run and still manages to post multiple projects on her blog, as well as doing tutorials for her 'Make it Monday' projects AND running challenges!!! AMAZING I tell ya!!!

Butternut Sage Designs........... I LOVE Donna's blog. Her cards and off the page projects are always so beautiful and super, super creative. I also LOVE her tutorials and have learnt so much from them. (Make sure you check out the one on how to make cup-cake frosting!!) She just seems like the sweetest lady and I am always inspired by her.

Along with Sam and Bec's blogs, these are the blogs that I follow and they are all very talented women. I get a great deal of inspiration from them.......so thanks girls, you deserve these awards.

An update on me....

2008-11-24T18:55:00.013+09:00

I am at home now after having my operation (hysterectomy) last Tuesday, 18th, and I am feeling very tired, VERY sore and just generally YUK!
The operation was a bit more complicated than expected so rather than the original "small" 3 centimetre incision that I had expected, I woke up to an incision that runs all of the way from my left hip to my right hip!!! DOUBLE YUK!!
Anyway, it is what it is!! And there is nothing to do about it now but rest and concentrate on getting better. My doctor says it will now take about 8 weeks until I am feeling better and about 5 months until I am completely recovered, so it is still early days.
I would really like to say a HUGE thank you to those of you who have posted comments and sent emails......Bec, Sam, Sarah-Jane Kale, Makeesha and the very lovely Jane M. Thank you so much, your words have meant a lot to me.
Well I hope to be back on here typing away and posting cards soon, until then......keep safe,
Danneil. x

Out of action......

2008-11-16T21:25:00.003+09:00

Well, that is it from me for a while.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am going in for a rather big operation on Tuesday morning and I will be spending the next few weeks recovering and resting (if possible!). Tomorrow I will be preparing meals for my family and getting some of the washing done so that Paul has everything that he needs to look after our girls while I am away from home. (so I won't have time to post anything else here).
I hope that some of you will still pop in to visit me and check out my work when I get back to card making and blogging.
Where ever you are in the world.......I hope that you are safe and happy.
(Oh, and don't forget to try out the chocolate cake recipe below.)
Danneil. x

Easiest chocolate cake recipe ever!!!!

2008-11-16T21:01:00.004+09:00

Hello ladies,
Thought that I would pop this up here for those of you who might be interested.

Chocolate Cake.....
50g butter.
1 cup self raising flour.
1/2 cup of milk.
1 teaspoon vanilla essence.
3 tablespoons cocoa.
1 cup white sugar.
2 eggs.

Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend with electric mixer for one minute (until combined).
Pour into prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for around 40 minutes or until cooked.

Chocolate Butter Icing.....
1 1/2 cups icing sugar.
60g butter (softened, NOT MELTED!).
2 tablespoons boiling water.
1/4 teaspoon vanilla.
1/4 cup cocoa.

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined to make a thick and creamy chocolate butter icing.
Do not add any more liquid than what is required by the recipe or the icing will become runny. You will need to stir it a bit until the butter is mixed in.

THAT'S IT! How easy is that?!? I love those "just chuck all the ingredients in a bowl and mix" recipes, don't you?
Try it out and let me know what you think.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #30.

2008-11-13T20:39:00.007+09:00

Last night I sat down at the computer, after the children were in bed, to read the news and I read the story about 2 children that had died in one of our local suburbs here in Perth. It made me feel very sad for the family and feel very lucky that my children were all safely tucked up in their beds. Then I started to check out a few blogs and when I came to Kristina's blog and saw this colour challenge it immediately made me think of leaves blowing in the wind and a sympathy card. So this is what I came up with for the challenge....
The wind is drawn by hand and because I don't have a Sahara Sand marker I had to draw it with a blender pen and the inside lid of the ink pad! I added a bit of glitter to the wind to give it some shimmer (not sure if it is appropriate to put glitter on a sympathy card?? What do you think?). If you click on the picture you can see the glitter.
Anyway, thanks for looking.

Stamps: petal prints, warmest regards. Inks: sahara sand, old olive, certainly celery. Card stock: sahara sand, old olive, certainly celery, whisper white. Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds. Tools: stamp-a-majig.

Christmas baubles....

2008-11-10T22:19:00.005+09:00

OK, so if you regularly surf the Internet then you have probably seen these 'bauble' cards on a few blogs already. Sarah has recently done one here and a while back Tracey did one here.
So when I had to come up with a make and take for a workshop that was planned at very short notice, I decided to go ahead with this idea because it was quick, easy and effective.
In the first photo the strings that the baubles are hanging from are a bit hard to see because they are stamped in silver but I think you get the idea. If you need to click on the image to make the picture bigger.

We made the blue version of this card for the workshop which was a huge hit with the ladies on the day, but since then a few people have commented that they like the traditional red and green Christmas colours so I decided to see what it looked like in those colours. Not sure which one I prefer. What do you think?

Thanks for dropping by. My eldest daughter turns 5 years old tomorrow so I won't be back until Thursday with another offering....see you then.

Stamps: So swirly wheel, Many merry messages, Hung up on the holidays. Inks: Encore silver, Brocade blue, Real red, Always artichoke. Card stock: Real red, whisper white, always artichoke, brocade blue, night of navy. Accessories: Dazzling diamonds. Tools: Jumbo wheel, stamp-a-majig, circle punches.

A baby card for Neila.

2008-11-10T21:46:00.006+09:00

My niece Neila, who lives in Melbourne, recently gave birth to a baby boy, Dylan. So while I had out the Greetings Galore stamp set to make a card for Sarah-Jane's baby girl, Ella, I thought that I would put it to good use and make a card for Neila as well.
The two cards are very similar because I used the same template for both cards but I changed them slightly to suit the gender of each baby. Hope that you like the card and keep visiting because there are more cards to come.

Stamps: Greetings galore. Inks: Pretty in pink, Brocade blue, Chocolate Chip, Close to cocoa. Card stock: Brocade blue, Bashful Blue, Night of navy, Water colour paper, Pool party DSP (retired). Accessories: Blue Gingham Ribbon. Tools: Scallop circle punch, Blender pens, Mat pack.

A cyber congratulations for Sarah-Jane.....

2008-11-09T11:35:00.008+09:00

As promised in a recent post, I am trying to get a few projects up on here this week (with Paul's help) because our computer is still a bit 'under the weather'. So this morning we managed to import a few photos from the camera so that I will have some projects to post on my blog over the next few days. So on to the first card.....

If you have not yet visited Sarah-Jane Kale's blog then I recommend that you do. Her cards are always beautiful and she is just a really lovely person. Anyway, Sarah-Jane and her husband recently welcomed their newest family member, baby Ella and I wanted to make Sarah-Jane a card to congratulate her on the safe arrival of her baby girl. This is what I made...

I had no idea where to send the card so I thought that I would 'post' it on the Internet and send a cyber card!! Heheheh.

Hope that you like the card and especially that Sarah-Jane likes it! I will be back later with something else to show you. Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Greetings galore. Inks: Regal rose, Pretty in pink, Chocolate chip, Close to cocoa. Card stock: Regal rose, Rose red, Pretty in pink, Palette 'o' prints sampler pad DSP, Spring fling DSP, Water colour paper. Accessories: Regal rose wide grosgrain ribbon. Tools: Scallop circle punch, Blender pens, Mat pack (paper piercing).

A present for Lucy.

2008-11-06T22:21:00.003+09:00

Last week I took Miah to her first Fairy birthday party. The birthday girl Lucy, who turned 5, invited all of the girls from their kindy class, no boys, (there are only 9 girls in the whole class) and they were all dressed up as fairies. We bought her a Disney Princess DVD and this is how I wrapped it....

This is the first time that I have made a "tag" for a present and I was so pleased with the way that it turned out and how easy it was, that I will definitely make more of them (probably for Christmas presents).
I love these colours together and I love the effect that a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds gives to the tag.

I will try be back with more to show you tomorrow, hopefully with Paul's help. Keep safe and thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Riveting. Inks: Soft Subtles markers. Cardstock: Slumber party DSP, Palette o Prints DSP, Perfect Plum, Pretty in pink, Whisper white. Accessories: Celery wide grosgrain ribbon. Tools: Circle punches, Scallop circle punch, Mat pack (paper piercing).

Do things really happen in 3's?

2008-11-06T10:16:00.008+09:00

They say that things happen in 3's.....and even though that is just a 'saying' it really seems to happen that way....at least, it does to me!!!
The first thing that happened recently you would already know about if you regularly pop in to check out my blog. I was absent for a while due to my children all being sick but they are all better now and we are back on track.
Then just when things were back into the normal groove, Paul decided to put an extra "hard drive" into our computer and in his haste the whole system CRASHED and it looked like we had lost EVERYTHING!!! So anyway, after a lot of research and what has seemed like an eternity he has finally gotten it back up and running but the computer doesn't detect that thingy that comes out of the camera with the photos on it anymore, so I can't upload any photos of my cards unless Paul is home to sort it out for me. I will try to get him to upload some for me tonight when he gets home.
And finally I will be absent again for a little while because I am going in for surgery on the 18th of November and have been told that I MUST REST for at least 4 weeks after that.
See....things happen in 3's.
Anyway, between now and the 18th I will endeavour to post a few cards with Paul's help and maybe a couple of great recipes while I am at it.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #26.

2008-10-17T09:45:00.006+08:00

It's time for another one of Kristina's Colour Challenges and the colours this time are: Rose Red, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White.
I don't have any Wild Wasabi so I had to substitute with Certainly Celery and this is my card......

I wasn't going to do any card making last night because I was tired and just felt like blobbing on the couch and watching mindless T.V.....which is exactly what I did until around 10pm when I decided to quickly check if there were any emails and go to bed. Just before I turned off the computer I checked what was new on Kristina's blog. Big mistake! Of course I HAD to play along with the challenge and I ended up heading to bed at midnight! Anyway, hope you like the card and thanks for visiting me.
Stamps: Time well spent. Inks: Stazon black, Rose Red, So Saffron, Bashful blue, Whisper white. Cardstock: Certainly celery, Bashful blue, So saffron, Rose red, Water colour paper. Accessories: Sweet Shop ribbon. Tools: Mat pack (paper piercing), 1.3cm circle punch, small corner rounder (guard off).

Happy Birthday Poppa!

2008-10-14T11:45:00.006+08:00

Gosh, it feels like it has been absolutely ages since I've posted anything to my blog!! I am so sorry that I have been out of action for so long but it has been such a struggle with all of us being sick.
Anyway, we are much better and I am finally getting back on track.
I made this card for my Stepfather, who is the most wonderful Stepdad and Poppa. I always find boys cards soooo hard to make but I am pleased with the way this one turned out.

Miah (miss 4) stamped and coloured some images to represent herself and her sisters, which I stuck on the inside of the card.
Needless to say Poppa loved his card and made such a big deal about the coloured animals that we had a very happy and proud little 4 year old girl!!!
Thanks for visiting and I will be back soon with another card for you to see.

Stamps: Artifacts, It's your birthday. Inks: Chocolate Chip, Cardstock: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Recollections DSP. Accessories: Moss Gingham Ribbon, Vintage Brads.

An update.

2008-10-06T20:09:00.003+08:00

Hello everyone.
I thought that I should give you an update about what has been going on around here lately, just in case anyone was wondering where I had gotten to.

Well here goes......

We all came down with VERY bad colds which I still haven't been able to shake off yet and Miah, my eldest, got a case of Chicken Pox.
Then Miah was playing in the backyard and decided to go down the slide sitting on her knees and peeled back a large amount of skin on the top of her foot as a result!! (friction burn!). So she has needed an antibiotic ointment and clean dressings to help that heal.
At the same time Grace got an ear infection and is on antibiotics to clear that up AND Emily fell off our bed, while I was running them a bath, and put her tooth all of the way through her lip which needed stitching!!!
Of course that just leaves beautiful baby Hayley who is now sporting a terrible case of Chicken Pox!!
Can you believe all of that?!?!?! Because I have been living here and even I have trouble believing that it has all happened in my house over the last 3 weeks!!!
Anyway, now you are updated and because I am feeling a little bit better I hope to be back making cards and posting them here within the next couple of days....hopefully!

Out of action!!!!

2008-09-25T07:49:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone,
This is a quick note to let you know that I am out of action at the moment and won't be posting anything for a few days.
My children and I are all very sick with bad colds! We all have very bad coughs, temperatures, sneezing and just feeling really miserable! Also my eldest is recovering from a case of Chicken Pox, on top of everything else!! Chicken Pox and this viral cold seem to be all over Perth at the moment...so many people are sick.
Anyway, I am planning to TRY to rest (a bit hard with 4 sick children) and I will hopefully be back with something new to post very soon!
I hope that where ever in the world you are reading this, that you are safe and well.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #23.

2008-09-17T08:13:00.004+08:00

I decided to have another go at one of Kristina's challenges this week and I must say that these colours really were just that.......a challenge!!
This time the colours are: Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron and Old Olive.
I don't have any stamp sets that represent Autumn and I think that they are very Autumn colours and I had this idea in my head from the start to do a bunch of flowers!?!? I don't know why but I just had this thing about doing a bunch of flowers tied with a ribbon!
So that is exactly what I did and this is what I came up with.

The base of the card and the centre flower are Bravo Burgundy and the sentiment is Chocolate Chip. I know that it is a bit hard to tell the difference, but that Bravo Burgundy is a hard colour to photograph because it is so dark!

Anyway, thanks for visting.

Stamps: Bodacious Bouquet, Greetings Galore. Inks: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Earth Elements Markers. Cardstock: Bravo Burgandy, Whisper White. Accessories: Wide Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Rich Regals Brads. Tools: Stamp-a-majig

My Perth Regional Swap Card (2008)....

2008-09-15T13:09:00.010+08:00

As promised, this is the swap card that I did for the Perth Regional's that were held on Saturday. I had a blast at Regional's learning, swapping and meeting some of the other talented demo's, on what turned out to be a very full and very enjoyable day.
I didn't know what to do for my swap card but I knew I wanted a Christmas theme and I wanted to do something quick and easy, given my hectic lifestyle. I decided on this card which was inspired by a card that I saw on Splitcoast and it fit all of my requirements so I ran with it!!
The pine cone has Dazzling Diamonds on it for a bit of *Christmas Sparkle* which you can see if you click on the image to enlarge it.
I am really happy with the simple design of this card and it has inspired me to make a different one that I will post here at a later date.
Hope you like it too.

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes, Perfect Ending.
Cardstock: Stamps: Peaceful Wishes, Perfect Ending.
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.
Tools: Stamp-a-majig.

Picture of me....

2008-09-11T18:45:00.004+08:00

Yes, that is a picture of me over there on the right!!! I thought that I would add a picture of me to the blog because we are having Regional's here in Perth on Saturday and I would love to meet some of the Perth Demo's who visit my blog. So now that you have seen what I look like please come up and say "Hello" on Saturday.
I will be back here to tell you all about Regional's on Sunday and to show you the swaps that I made and received.

Father's Day cards...

2008-09-11T16:43:00.004+08:00

When I first saw these gorgeous Father's Day cards, on Sam's blog, I knew that I had to have a go at making one. I followed Sam's advice and joined the 'Stamping School', which is a great resource, and learnt how to make them.
Aren't they great!!!!
They are so addictive and easy to make that just I couldn't stop at one and I ended up making 5 of them!! ( The ones that I made for my Step-father and Brother-in-law aren't pictured).
I hope that you like them as much as I liked making them and thanks for the inspiration Sam!

Kristina's Colour Challenge #21.

2008-09-05T09:52:00.004+08:00

I haven't participated in one of Kristina's Challenges for a while but when I saw this one, while surfing the net last night, I thought that I would play along.
The colours this time are:
Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Regal Rose and Whisper White.
I had to substitute with Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive because I don't have Pacific Point or Kiwi Kiss.
And this is what I came up with.
I have put Crystal Effects on the vase to give it that "glass" look and then I sprinkled a bit of Dazzling Diamonds into it for a bit of sparkle.
You can see it a bit better in this picture.

I was up far to late last night putting this one together so that it could be in on time and I hope that you like it. Thanks for looking.

Stamps: Sassy Stems, All Year Cheer. Inks: Stazon Black. Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White, DSP Sampler Pad. Accessories: Chrystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds. Tools: Water colour crayons, Aqua pen.

Bronte's 1st communion...

2008-09-02T08:39:00.005+08:00

I spent the better part of Saturday baking a chocolate cake and a carrot cake because on Sunday, 31 August, we went to celebrate my niece Bronte's 1st Holy Communion.
I had no idea what to make for her card, so I struggled pulling this one together. I didn't know where to start because I don't have any religious stamps and I wanted her card to be subtle and girlie at the same time. Not sure if I pulled it off......but this is what I came up with.....

I just started to play around with ideas after I decided to go with pink and brown as my colour scheme and I knew that I wanted to use an "On Board Accent" because I have never used one before.
I thought that I could make the cross out of ribbon in the background and then *bling* up the 'b' (for Bronte) with Dazzling Diamonds because what little girl doesn't like glitter!!! I just popped the flower on it for a bit of colour.
Anyway, let me know what you think.

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Berry Bliss DSP.
Stamps: Time Well Spent.
Ink: Basic Black.
Accessories: On Board Accents, Rich Regals Brads, Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Stamping projects...

2008-08-31T20:03:00.007+08:00

I really should be doing the washing and cleaning up that HUGE pile of dishes in the kitchen (that has grown from the baking frenzy I had over weekend) but instead I am sitting here posting some more stuff for you to see from the team stamping day.
We did 3 projects which all used products from the new Spring Mini Catalogue, which you can view here. They were...

A card: using the Summer Picnic DSP and the Die Cut blooms. (Fresh summer/citrus colours and designs).

A gift card pocket: Using the gorgeous Holiday Harmony DSP and Season of Joy stamp set.
This is another view, with the pocket open. Isn't this a great idea for putting a christmas gift card into instead of a plain envelope!
And we also did a scrapbook page but as I'm not a scrapbooker I didn't complete one of those. I think that I would give Sarah a huge shock if I actually did a scrapbook page!!! Maybe I will attempt one in the near future. I do have a LOT of photos of my 4 girls so watch this space.

Cleaning, cleaning....

2008-08-29T13:59:00.004+08:00

While my eldest daughter was at kindy today and my other 3 girls were sound asleep I spent an hour tidying up my half of our office. I am sorting out my cards because I have just recieved the album that I ordered online to put all of my cards in so that they can be displayed at any future workshops.
I love the album and will take a photo of it over the next couple of days to show you.
Anyway, while I was cleaning up I found another swap that was given to me at the team stamping day, that I hadn't posted. Oops!!
This swap was made by a lovely fellow Leo, Kylie.

I am so sorry that I didn't post it in my previous entry Kylie! Better late than never I suppose! It's amazing what I find when I actually tidy up!!

Stamping Day Swaps....

2008-08-25T15:08:00.010+08:00

As I have mentioned in a previous post, we recently had our team stamping day and these are photos of the swaps that some of the girls gave to me on the day.
I am not a very good team player because I didn't manage to get any swaps done but these gorgeous girls gave me one of theirs anyway!!

This first one is a Sarah Klass original.

The second one is made by the very talented Jasmine.

The third one is made by the very lovely Leanne.

And I was also given a fantastic chocolate holder that was made by Chantelle but my darling little 2 year old twins got their hands on that one so you can check out what they looked like on her blog here.

Aren't they all just stunning?!?!

I will have to be more organised and get some swaps done for Regionals!!

"h" is for Hayley.

2008-08-20T18:40:00.009+08:00

I seem to be posting a few cards lately that have been made for me by other people and this is one no exception!
This card was made for my youngest daughter's recent baptism by my dear friend, Paula.
Paula attended Sarah's team stamping day with me recently, where she learnt a bit about 'On Board Accents' and this is the first time that she has used them to make a card.
I think that you have done a fab job Paula and I am sure that Sarah would be very proud of you!!
The second picture is of the gift that came with this beautiful card.
It is "The Magic Pudding Coin Collection" which is a collection of the Australian coins that were minted this year.
I thought that it was such a lovely gift idea to give someone a collection of coins from the year that their new baby was born (as a treasured keepsake)....that I just had to share it with you.
Thanks for visiting.

Welcome little one.

2008-08-17T22:51:00.004+08:00

This first card and gift box are from Sarah Klass as a gift for my newest little addition to the family.
This little gift was one of the gifts that Sarah handed out at the team stamping day. (You can check out the other gifts that she gave to the other team members on her blog here).
The box contains a little pair of pink baby Ugg Boots and a quilted pink baby beanie.
And the gorgeous card reads....

"You have the most divine little (OK....big!!) family and we love that we get to call you our friends. And not to forget a HUUUGE welcome to the sweet little bundle herself.....you chose a fabulous family little one.....love always....Sair, Tim, Hannah and Sophie."

What can I say! Gorgeous words. Gorgeous team leader. Gorgeous person. Gorgeous friend!
I hope that you like the card and box as much as I do.

I'm back....

2008-08-17T16:18:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone....I am back! Thanks for hanging in there with me over the last couple of weeks! It has been chaotic here but things are slowly settling down now and are finally getting back to normal.
Hayley's baptism was a really great day and went off without a hitch. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Perth for the baptism and the gorgeous weather has continued until now and looks like it will continue for the next week! We have had temperatures in the low 20's and sunshine, sunshine, sunshine!!!
Thanks to those of you who wished me a "Happy Birthday." I had a great birthday this year and was VERY spoilt by my wonderful husband and my beautiful girls.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I have lots of things to post from our team's stamping day and a few other little projects for you to see.....so it's back to business now and I will post the first one tonight!

M.I.A.

2008-08-04T11:53:00.005+08:00

Ok, so I know that I have been "missing in action" lately but it seems that it has been CRAZY hectic around here!
Not only did I celebrate my birthday (see previous post) but my team leader, Sarah Klass, held our quarterly team stamping day, which was a huge success, and I seem to be forever buried under a pile of washing and housework here at home!!!
I have some great projects that we made on the team stamping day to share with you but I won't be posting them for a few days because I am going to be really busy this week as well.
We are having Hayley's baptism on Sunday and my very best friend, Lee-anne, who I have known since I was 12 years old (I just turned 37, so it's been a few years!!) is flying in from Tasmania to stay with us for a week because she is going to be my darling, little Hayley's God Mother.
So I hope that you can wait a couple of days and I promise that I will have some new stuff up here for you to see, as soon as I can.

(I wish I was more like Makeesha. I don't know how she runs a home, with 4 children and manages to post multiple projects regularly!!! How do you do it Keesh? You are amazing!).

Happy birthday to me!

2008-08-02T11:04:00.005+08:00

Can you believe that yesterday was the 1st August already?!?!? Well I can't! Where has this year gone?
Not only does the 1st of August signify "The Horses Birthday" (the official day when all horses around the world celebrate their birthday) and the launch of the Spring Mini Catalogue (view catalogue here), but it was also my birthday and I wanted to share with you this beautiful card that my good friend, Paula, made for me.
I had a wonderful day yesterday thanks to Paula and another friend of mine, Jodi. Because my darling husband was at work all day, Paula and Jodi hatched a plan to come over and surprise me with lunch, cake and chocolate. They had even organised lunch for my kids so I didn't have to do anything except sit back and relax, chat and eat loads of chocolate. I really had a fabulous time...so thanks girls, you are treasured friends and thankyou for my beautiful card Paula.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #16.

2008-07-19T09:19:00.002+08:00

I wasn't going to attempt this week's challenge because life has been extremely busy, but I must say that it is a bit addictive and I couldn't help myself...I just had to give it a go.
When I was trying to make a card for Kristina's last challenge, (no. 15), I went straight for the Big and Little Pieces stamp sets but I couldn't make them work and I had to come up with another idea.
So when I decided to give this challenge a go I was determined try again and come up with something using Big and Little pieces and this is what developed...
I don't have any Pumpkin Pie Ink so I had to just stamp Pumpkin Pie cardstock with versamark and cut the images out. I also don't have any soft sky so I have used Bashful Blue instead.

I hope you like the card.
Stamps: Big Pieces, Little Pieces, Riveting.
Inks: Versamark, Softsubtles Markers.
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue.
Accessories: Soft Subtles Brads, Light Blue Gingham Ribbon.
Tools: Circle Punches, Dimentionals, Mat Pack (paper piercing).

Hayley's Baptism.

2008-07-17T15:04:00.003+08:00

I can't believe that our newest little angel, Hayley, is already 3 months old!! Where has the time gone?
She is being baptised on the 10th of next month and this is the card that I came up with to use as the invitations. I wanted something very simple but elegant and also soft and babygirl-ish.
I always knew that I wanted to use Blush Blossom and I am very happy with that choice combined with Whisper White. The cross is pierced and then I used my White Gel pen to do the Faux Stitching technique but I didn't like the way that it looked so I went over the cross with my Two Way Glue Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds and the finished effect is just gorgeous.
I have tired to take a picture of the cross on a different angle to show the effect of the Dazzling Diamonds so if you click on the second picture you will see the glitter a bit better.
Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks for looking.

Stamps: French Script.
Cardstock: Blush Blossom, Whisper White.
Inks: Whisper White Craft.
Accessories: White Gel Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.
Tools: Mat Pack for paper piercing.

Kristina's Colour Challenge #15.

2008-07-11T22:10:00.004+08:00

This is the very first time that I have attempted one of Kristina Werner's Colour Challenges.
If you haven't visited her blog before it is definitely worth checking out. She has regular colour challenges, makes a card every Monday in a video tutorial and has numerous other tutorials on techniques and projects. Kristina's blog is a great resource and source of inspiration.
I have been wanting to join in the challenge for a while and I loved this colour combination when I saw it, so I decided that it was time to give it a go.
I wanted to get my card made and posted by the deadline so I have had use the flash when I took the picture because it is 10:40pm here but I will re-photograph it tomorrow in the natural light and re-post it so that the colours look more natural.

Hope you like the card and thanks for looking.

Stamps: Bodacious Bouquet, Seeing Spots.
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery.
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Palette 'O Prints Sampler Pad.
Accessories: Chocolate Grossgrain Ribbon.
Tools: Dimentionals.

I'm still here!

2008-07-09T21:17:00.002+08:00

OK, I found a few minutes last night after all of the girls were in bed to whip up this card and have found a couple of minutes this morning to post!!
I had so much fun making this flower for Alisa's Challenge that I thought I would make another one in different colours and on a different layout.
I am quite happy with the way it has turned out and I love these colours together.
Hope you like it too.

Stamps: Time well spent, All year cheer.
Inks: Basic Black, Black Marker.
Cardstock: Rose Red, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Palette 'O Prints Sampler Pad, Whisper White.
Accessories: Rich Regals Brads, Sweet Shop Ribbon (retired)

What to buy?

2008-07-09T15:35:00.004+08:00

My birthday is coming up in about 3 weeks and my Husband asked me today to think about what I want for my present.
I am so confused about what to get that I thought I would post the question "what would you buy if you could spend $100.00 on Stampin' Up! stuff."
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I don't have either the Hodgepodge Hardware or the Pretties Kit (can you believe it!?) so should I get those? And which Hodgepodge? The one from the Catalogue or the one from the Mini?
Or should I get stuff from the Spring Mini? I don't have the Flower Punch but again...which one would you get? The catalogue one or the Mini?
I would LOVE to hear how you would spend the $100.00. Please give me some advice.

If all else fails he could buy me the Wii Fit!!

I look forward to your thoughts.

Busy, busy,busy..

2008-07-06T08:09:00.003+08:00

If you are anything like me then you are always checking your favourite blogs for anything new and get a bit disappointed when there is nothing new for days!
Well, I thought that because I feel that way and because I have noticed a few people come to visit me regularly that I would let you know that I won't be posting anything this weekend due to family stuff and the school holidays have just started here, so I will be posting every couple of days when I can fit it in around the kids and their activities.
Please hang in there with me and I will get some new stuff up here ASAP.
Oh, and by the way, thanks for visiting me. I get such a kick out of seeing that people have been here and come back regularly.

Petals for wings.

2008-07-03T20:35:00.003+08:00

I have really liked the idea of using the petals from the Pick a Petal set as insect wings.
I have seen a few cards using this idea and decided to give it a go myself.
This is my first attemp at a butterfly made from the Pick a Petal set but since making it I have come up with other ideas of how to use it, so don't be surprised if you see another version posted up here soon.
The wings of the butterfly are made out of Vellum paper, in an attempt to give them that fragile look and I have dusted the edges with a bit of Dazzling Diamonds to give them some sparkle.

Stamps: Pick a Petal, Riveting, Bouquet Jumbo Wheel.
Inks: Brocade Blue, Versamark.
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue.
Accessories: Rich Regals Brads, Dazzling Diamonds.
Tools: Circle punches, paper piercing.

Origami Box.

2008-07-03T18:23:00.004+08:00

I love to visit Kristina Werner's Design Blog and recently I watched her tutorial on how to make an Origami Box.
She gives a really clear and detailed tutorial that is easy to follow, so after I had seen it done I just had to give it a go myself.
This is a picture of the Origami Box that I made and I am quite pleased with the way that it turned out. It was so easy to make and a lot of fun.
If you haven't already checked out Kristina's Blog then I recommend that you do. The cards that she makes are beautiful and her tutorials worth watching.
Cardstock: Bold Brights 12x12, Petals and Paisleys DSP.

Gorgeous four year old daughter.

2008-07-01T21:24:00.004+08:00

Today during our lunch time my 4 year old daughter told me that she wanted a Vegemite sandwich. When I reminded her that she had forgotten to use her manners, she replied..

"Oh Mummy, I just don't know where my manners goes, sometimes it gets lost out of my voice!!"

Hehehe..so cute! Had to share.

TIME for another post!!!

2008-07-01T20:21:00.004+08:00

I really liked this card when I first saw it and I decided to use it as the Make and Takes for 2 workshops that I was doing just before Fathers Day last year.
I originally cased the card from Alisa Tilsner's blog but because it was going to be used as a Fathers Day card I decided to change the colours a bit to make it "manly". I also taylored the card colours to suit the taste of the workshop hostesses. (Hense the two colour schemes).
The technique used on the clockface is "Crayon Resist" which was a really fun technique to do.

CARD 1:
Stamps: Artifacts, Itty Bitty Backgrounds.
Cardstock: Kraft, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Glossy White.
Inks: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Stazon Black.
Accessories: Soft Subtles Brads,
Tools: Sponges, White Crayon.

CARD 2:
Stamps: Artifacts, Itty Bitty Backgrounds.
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss, Not Quite Navy, Glossy White.
Inks: Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss, Stazon Black.
Accessories: Earth Elements Brads.
Tools: Sponges, White Crayon.

Ironing out the blog bugs...

2008-07-01T08:49:00.003+08:00

Just wanted to quickly apologise for the few problems that I am having with my blog.
If you have logged on and realised that the Header was missing and so were some of the card photos in a couple of posts, it is because I have had a few hiccups since adding the slideshow but I am sure that I will have them ironed out soon.
Thanks for being patient with me as I am still learning.

My very first challenge.

2008-06-29T13:39:00.002+08:00

Hi all,
I have been watching a few of the challenges that go on in blog land and I finally decided to play along, so when I logged on to Alisa's Blog and discovered that she had posted a challenge...well I just had to give it a go!!
At first I thought that these colours would be difficult but once I got started it all just flowed and this is what I ended up with.
Click on the image for a closer look.
Hope that you like it :o)

Stamps: Time Well Spent, All Year Cheer.
Inks: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip.
Cardstock: Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie.
Accessories: Soft Subtles Brads, Dimentionals.

DRY EMBOSSING.

2008-06-28T11:44:00.003+08:00

I made this first card at one of our team meetings a fair while ago and it is a small miracle that I actually made a complete card at a team meeting because I would usually spend the whole time gossiping and eating chocolate!
I really like the technique that was used to make this card "Dry Embossing" because I think that it gives the card interest but still remains simple and elegant.

I also managed to make a few templates at the team meeting so that I could try my hand at the Dry Embossing thing at home and the second card is the result of doing just that.
I really hope that you like them.

CARD NO.1
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Warmest Regards.
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Confetti Cream.
Inks: Soft Subtles Markers.
Accessories: Celery Grosgrain Ribbon.

CARD NO.2
Stamps: Seeing Spots, Wonderful Words.
Inks: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue.
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Confetti Cream.
Accessories: Soft Subtles Brads.

TIME FOR SOME GLITTER.

2008-06-27T18:07:00.004+08:00

I have been going through a real glitter stage lately. I think the last four cards that I have made have all had glitter on them in one way or another. I will be posting some of them in the coming days.
I really like sparkly things...what girl doesn't?....and suprising as it may be, I don't yet own the Hodgepodge Hardware or the Pretties Kit so I use the glitter to give the cards a bit of *bling*.
I plan to buy both Hardware sets and the Pretties Kit at tax time.....hehehe....already spending our tax return before we even have it!!
Anyway, this is a glitter window card that I made. Hope that you like it.

Stamps: Seeing Spots, All Year Cheer.
Cardstock: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana.
Accessories: Light Blue Gingham Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds.
Tools: Circle punches: 1 1/4 inch, 3/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and packing tape.

BLOG MAINTENANCE.

2008-06-24T13:12:00.006+08:00

I am having a bit of a play around with the settings and format of my blog today, so please bear with me if things change while you are visiting. The disturbance won't last for very long.
Thanks for your patience,

Time to post!

2008-06-23T13:29:00.009+08:00

I have got a little bit of time up my sleeve so I decided to do a quick post to the blog.

The twins still have an afternoon sleep, usually for around 2 hours, baby Hayley is also fast asleep and little miss 4 (Miah) is playing on the swings in the backyard. This is one of those rare moments when our house is lovely and quiet!!!

It won't be long before they are all awake and the house becomes chaotic again and I will need to get back to doing the laundry and dinner!

Anyway, I can not remember where I got the inspiration for this card or if I cased it from someone (because it was made quite a while ago) but I do know that I have used this one as a make and take for a workshop. Hope you like it.

Stamps: Simply Said, It's your birthday.

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue.

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Old Olive, Kraft.

Accessories: Soft Subtles Brads.

Embossing!

2008-06-22T13:14:00.016+08:00

This card is the first card that I made using Designer Series Paper and I also tried my hand at embossing with this one!

This was a really easy card to make and I didn't get inspiration from anywhere else, it just developed on it's own. A lot of my friends really like this card, which is baffling to me since it is a really simple one but maybe that is what makes it so nice. Don't they say that the simplest things are often the best?!?!

Stamps: Mostly Flowers.

Ink: Versa Mark.

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Pool Party DSP (retired), Old Olive, Bashful Blue.

Accessories: Light Blue Gingham Ribbon.

Tool: White embossing powder, Heat gun.

Warmest Wishes.

2008-06-22T12:30:00.011+08:00

This card was inspired by the one on page 3 of the 2006/07 Stampin' Up! Catalogue.

I was just starting out as a Demonstrator and I didn't have a lot of stamps, etc... but this is what I came up with what I had at the time. It was used as the Make and Take for a workshop.

The good thing about this card is that it gave the girls an opportunity to play with the Stamp-a-ma-jig and to have a go at tearing.

Stamps: All Year Cheer, Flower Filled.

Inks: Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue.

Cardstock: Confetti Cream, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery.

Accessories: Chocolate Grossgrain Ribbon.

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig.

First card I made completely on my own!!

2008-06-22T10:46:00.007+08:00

So after that first workshop had bitten me with the stamping bug, I signed up to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.
This is the very first card that I made on my own and I am quite pleased with the way that it turned out.
My upline, Sarah, gave us ("her team") a card layout (is the correct term a "sketch"?) to work with and this is what I came up with. I recieved heaps of positive feedback from the other team members about my card which gave me the confidence to start doing workshops and it cemented to me that the decision that I had made to become a Demonstrator was the right one.

Stamps: Mixed Bouquet, Much Appreciated, Floral.
Inks: Ruby Red, Old Olive.
Papers: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla.
Accessories: Very Vanilla Grossgrain Ribbon.
Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Pastels.

Where it all began.....

2008-06-21T12:32:00.009+08:00

OK, so this card takes us back to the beginning of my Stampin' Up! journey.

This was the first card that I made at the first workshop that I hosted, demonstrated by my friend and now upline, Sarah Klass.

There are a couple of the tips missing from the leaves but seeing as though I had never even handled a stamp before this I am resonably pleased with the way that it turned out.

I don't even know what this set is called because it is before my time as a Demonstrator. If anyone knows the name of this set, please leave me a comment because I would love to know what it is called. Also, let me know if it was from the catalogue at the time or if it was from a mini catalogue.

Stamps: Unknown?!?

Paper: Kraft, Old Olive, Very Vanilla.

Inks: Close to Cocoa, Certainly Celery, Old Olive.

Accessories: Caramel Gingham Ribbon.

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Yay....my first card uploaded!!!

2008-06-20T14:47:00.012+08:00

My dear friend recently celebrated her birthday, (Hi Paula!), and this is the card that I made for her. Well, this is really a copy of the card that I made for her! I gave her the card I had made without taking a photo of it so I whipped up this one to post to my blog. My intention was to start the blog with some of the very first cards that I ever made but somehow I have ended up posting this card first because it was photographed and ready to go. (I will post the others in the coming days).

Please forgive me if I jump back and forth a bit with the order of the cards that get posted but once some initial cards are up on the blog I am sure that I will settle into a nice rhythm.

To create the card I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and stamped petals from Pick a Petal in chocolate chip and pretty in pink ink to make the flower look like a "Gerbra". The centre of the flower is the spotted petal from Pick a Petal stamped onto Whisper White C/S in close to cocoa, then I stamped the "3 ring" circle stamp from the same set in chocolate chip and stamped that onto the spotted petal. Then I cut it out and glued it into the centre of the flower. I then put Crystal Effects onto the centre piece and sprinkled it with a bit of Dazzling Diamonds to give it a bit of *bling*. The edges of the Whisper White C/S are sponged with cocoa and the word "Celebrate" is from Wonderful Words and is stamped in chocolate chip. Add pink brads to the top left and right corners and a bit of chocolate chip grossgrain ribbon...and you are done!

Stamps: Pick a Petal, Wonderful Words.
Inks: Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip.
Papers: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White.
Accessories: Chrystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, Soft Subtles Brads, C/Chip Grossgrain ribbon.
Tools: Mat Pack (to pierce holes for brads).

Same...but banana this time.

2008-06-20T07:05:00.013+08:00

I can't believe that I have managed to get 2 cards up onto my blog...this is just so much fun!!!!

This is the same design as the previous card but I wanted to see what it looked like if I mixed barely banana to the chocolate chip and close to cocoa combo. I'm not sure which one I prefer.... I think that I like the way that they both turned out. Which one do you like?

Please feel free to leave me a comment because I would love to hear from you! Your comments will help me to decide what will feature on the blog and also the comments will motivate me to continue to create cards and post them for you all to see. :)

Stamps: Pick a Petal, Wonderful Words.
Inks: Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa.
Papers: Whisper White, Barely Banana.
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Soft Subtles Brads, Dazzling Diamonds, Chocolate Chip Grossgrain Ribbon.

My First Post!

2008-06-19T13:14:00.007+08:00

Hi everyone,

This all feels so familiar!!!

I tried to embark on this blogging journey nearly a year ago but just as I seemed to get it off the ground I found out that I was pregnent with my 4th baby!! The pregnancy was extremely unplanned (definitely not unwanted) but it did send our world into a bit of a spin until we were used to the idea of having another baby.

I have been very lucky with my past pregnancies because I haven't had any major comlaints (thanks Mum for the great genes!!) but this time I did feel a bit off colour, I was very tired and my legs really ached, so the stamping and blogging thing were all put on hold.

I am happy to say that my DH and I were blessed with another beautiful baby girl (that makes 4 girls!!) on the 12th of April and now that we are two months on, I am back into my stamping and ready to try this blogging thing again that everyone is doing.

My intentions haven't changed.....they are to have a little space on the web where my family, friends and customers can see what I am up to and where I can share with you what I have been stamping and making. I will also post images of projects, details of classes and any other Stampin' Up! related news on here.

I am still learning about this blog so please be patient and I hope that you will enjoy taking the blogging journey with me.

Danneil.