‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the blog,
at the sight of a new post, the crowd were agog.
Though “crowd” is most likely too hopeful a noun,
since new posts around here are considerably down
from five posts in one day, believe it or not,
(on 6 August, ’07 for you disbelieving lot!)
to a single post (if you’re lucky) every month or two,
which I resolve to improve, I can assure you.

Next year, you see, the littler of my girls,
(the one with the brown eyes and gentle dark curls)
is heading to ‘big school’ – she’ll go every day,
which leaves mummy here with some more time to play.
And of course I will miss her – of that there’s no doubt,
but I figure it’s time to sort this ‘business’ out.

This ‘business’ that I started almost six years ago,
not realising back then quite how fast it would grow.
And therefore not doing it as ‘properly’ as I might,
had I foreseen the potential for it to take flight.
But soon with more time and opportunity to,
I look forward to starting it somewhat anew.

And I hope you will join me, both here and for real,
as I stamp and create with revitalised zeal.
For ‘to love what I do and share what I love”
is something I know that I’ll never tire of.
Huge thanks for your support of me, whether it be,
as someone already related to me,
or a person I’ve met on this stampin’ adventure,
so many of whom since became friends, I would venture.

So on this Boxing Day, I hope that it’s been
even better a Christmas than you had foreseen.
And here, from my family, best wishes to you,
and all our very best for a great New Year too!

Way back when I was in primary school, one of the games that was favoured at the time (although probably very un-PC these days and likely going by a different name) was Chinese Whispers.  The game where one person started by whispering a sentence to the person next to them, who in turn whispered to the next person and so on around the circle until it got back to the beginning, sometimes as a very different sentence to what it started out as.

“I went to the beach last week” could easily have become “I ate a peach with my beak” depending on the size of the circle and the listening skills (or not) of the small folk involved.

A more fun and current version of this game (at least as far as I’m concerned) is the one that transpired last week in my own circle of stampin’ friends and family involving a single card as the first inspiration that through the wonders of the internet and text messaging became a “same but different version” of the card once it has passed through several people a mere few days later.

The starting point was this lovely card…

…that my friend and A Klass Act team member Tracey used as inspiration for this card that she made as a swap for a stamping evening we had at her place last Friday night…

Not having seen the original inspiration card at the time, I used Tracey’s card as my starting point for this one that I set as the make and take in my workshop the following day…

…which I attached to a text message to send to my lovely Aunty Mair, who in turn used it (not having seen the original or Tracey’s card) as inspiration for this delightful creation that she posted to her friend that she had enjoyed lunch with the previous day…

Isn’t this FUN?!

It’s truly one of my favourite things about stamping and creating – the process of being inspired by fellow stampers in a large or small way, and thereby never having to reinvent the stampin’ wheel as it were.

Have you played any games of Stampin’ Chinese Whispers lately…?

“My Stampin’ Chinese Whispers card – Thinking of You”
Stamps: Silhouette Sentiments (L1 hostess)
Paper: Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade & Peach Parfait markers, Basic Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

These past few days, I have watched more daytime TV than could usually be considered healthy, thanks to a dose of shingles that started out in my right eyebrow and has made its was onto my eyelid as well as spreading its painful feelers across my forehead, temple and cheek.

Not to mention that its allowing me to do a very passable impression of the Elephant Man thanks to the swelling around my eye.

Yep, I’m smokin’ HOT right about now, let me tell you…

So I have been spending quite a bit of time inside, partly because I have been feeling so wretched and partly so as not to give nightmares to any small children that I might cross paths with on the street.

I thought it might be an ideal time to get on  here with some stamped creations that I made some time ago and have photographed, edited and all, just not managed to share.

This card was one that I made for a very special wedding back in January – one of the five weddings we went to between September last year and February this year (never have I been so very aware of a “wedding season” in my life..)

The gal getting married was someone I have known since she was about four years old and her dad used to coach my brother’s junior cricket team.  Her parents and mine are still the best of friends all these years later – wonderful people, all of them

With so many weddings to go to, I found myself with a go-to card design that I made for a couple of them, but for this one, I wanted to do something a bit different and special.

I started out (as I very often do) at the Clean and Simple Stamping blog and used this sketch as my starting point…

After changing the orientation, I set about deciding what to decorate my four squares with and hunted through  my stamp and embellishment collection for anything ‘”wedding-y”.

Here’s a closer look at the combination of elements I ended up with…

It was one of those times that I was happy to have a variety of embellishments on hand, as it was the little touches that finished if off I think.  Things like the Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the champagne glasses and the tiny heart-shaped clear button with a punched out Cherry Cobbler heart stuck on the top.

If you’d like more details on any of the products or techniques I’ve employed on this card, please don’t hestitate to get in touch.

And who knows, depending on what Brooke is up to these days on the Bold and the Beautiful, I may even be back later with more…  (Assuming that Brooke is still around that is – surely she’s not finished marrying every bloke on the show yet…?)

“Congrats Nat & Dave – Wedding card
Stamps: Cheers to You, Always, Simply Said, Occasional Greetings, Playful Pieces (L3 hostess), Basic Phrases
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White, In-Color Patterns DSP (Blushing Bride)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: 1-1/4 and 1-3/8 Square Punches, 1-1/4 Circle Punch, Two Step Owl Punch (heart), Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Early Espresso Marker, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin Dimensionals

…irritated?!

I must apologise for my extended absence from here.  Although I could almost justifiably claim that the Easter Hat in all its glory and over-the-top-ness had sapped my energy reserves for a whole month leaving me entirely unable to bash out even one blog post, I confess that that wasn’t the case.

What was the case, was that I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with ‘stuff’  and my coping mechanism when I feel that way is to withdraw from a lot of the peripheral things that claim my attention.  Blogging being one of them.  If you follow my Facebook page, you’ll have noticed me pop up over there from time to time, being that a Facebook update requires not much more than a lone sentence – something I felt was much more doable than whole cluster of sentences and accompanying pictures that make up a blog post.

I am still feeling a bit of a case of the “blahs” to be honest, but in the same way I would deal with one of my children when they are feeling less than co-operative and the toy room is a pig-sty, I have given myself a stern-ish talking to and set the timer for 15 minutes.  I love the productivity tool of setting a timer with the premise that “you can do anything for 15 minutes”, the idea being that once the 15 minutes is over, you will be knee-deep in whatever task you had been putting off and happy to continue.

And so I write this short explanatory post in the midst of editing photos from the recent Melbourne Stampin’ Up! convention.  My timer went off quite some time ago now, and I am still quite merrily cropping, brightening and saving.  My plan is that the pics and a bit of a convention write up will be up here shortly for your reading and viewing pleasure.  If indeed there are any of  “you” left

Back soon…

On the last day of school, my small girl took part in the traditional Easter Hat Parade with her Kindy class, and despite my belief that the hat itself was something that was constructed during class time, a note home advising me that it was in fact something that was to be done at home was all at once surprising and exciting!

Out came the Bigshot, Ovals die, and a large array of Punches, and in conjunction with some pastel coloured felt sheets from a local craft store, we set about creating the Easter Hat of all Easter Hats!

Here’s my girl modelling the completed hat with a not-too-small amount of modelling attitude…

And here she is during the parade itself a week later (yes I was that organised, why do you ask?!), bursting with excitement and pride…

For the full story surrounding the construction of the hat plus additional photos, head on over to my other blog, where I post bits and pieces about life in general, leaving this here blog to focus mostly on the papery-crafty goodness

There’s still an hour or so left of Chewsday – at least there are over here in the West, so amazing as it might be, I’m on time with my post this week!

This week my challenge was to make something more impressive and amazing than the paper flower that my handsome man left on our coffee table for me this morning, wrapped around a note he wrote to wish me a happy birthday.

It’s a challenge I am never going to meet and once you see it for yourself, I’m sure you will agree, so let’s go with Tim’s Perfect Paper Posy as the Challenge Chewsday entry for this week.

Check it out…

It accompanied the early hours Facebook message that he left me:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGEL! I tried not to use your good cardstock this year!

I have said to him recently that I would like to involve him more in my Stampin’ Up! business and having clapped eyes on this baby this morning, I may well start sending him out to do workshops

Do let me know if you’d be interested in having my handsome man come and show you how to create this delightful 3D rose embellishment.  Although judging by the state of my desk this morning, I can’t guarantee he won’t leave a trail of destruction in his wake.

Wait, that could be my left over trail of destruction, scratch that…

I have had the most wonderful day, with a constant stream of phone calls and messages, lunch with my man and my small girl plus an impromptu shopping spree at the happiest place on earth (Ikea – thanks to vouchers from Nanny & Poppop aka my gorgeous folks) and a lovely catch up and cuppa with my aunty  this evening *waving Aunty Mair*

Not to mention the handmade cards that have been arriving since last week and the shiny new camera lens that was my (much coveted) gift from Tim and the girls.

So it’s a very happy 30-something gal who is headed to bed to sleep the sleep of one who has just spent a chunk of the afternoon assembling Ikea furniture.

If you’re at all inclined, leave a comment to let my handsome fella know what you think of his paper crafting efforts, because you know as well as I do he’ll be popping in here to check

Just popping in to let you know of a fabulous bit of news and to show you a card that I made about a month ago, had sitting on my desk for approximately three and a half weeks and posted off about a week ago.

A  just because card – my favourite kind…

“Fill your cup card”
Stamps: Share a Cup, Playful Pieces, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, In-color DSP Stack
Ink: Early Espresso, Versamark
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border, Wide Oval & Boho Blossom Punches, Lots of Tags Sizzlets, Brights Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals

You will recall that after the devastating floods that hit the state of Queensland, followed by the equally devastating cyclone that ripped through the northern parts of the state a mere few weeks later, Stampin’ Up! announced that they would be donating $2 for every stamp set valued at $39.95 or more from mid January to mid February.

Well the fundraising period has now ended and Stampin’ Up! announced on their website a few days ago that the final total to be donated to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal was a truly inspiring $11, 862.

Thank you to the many of you who supported this appeal and to Stampin’ Up! who are the biggest-hearted company I have ever had the pleasure of being involved with.

Two weeks in a row – I’m on a roll folks!  And you’ll note that Challenge Chewsday got the nod from the majority of commenters (commentators?!) on the last post – not that I was taking a poll or anything, but since you offered your opinions, let’s go with it!

This week I headed back to Inkspirations HQ and used the fabulous sketch on offer there…

Combined with this PRETTY colour combination from ColourQ…

And this is what I turned them into…

On Thursday just gone, our gorgeous across-the-road neighbours added a beautiful baby girl to their already sweet and lovely family, so as a heartfelt thank you for giving me a brand new baby to sniff, with a little bit of congratulations thrown in, this is the card I made for baby Lily, that we headed over this afternoon to give them.

I also made a little matching gift tag to hang from the bag…

So there you have my challenge entry for this Chewsday!  Hope you’re enjoying my new blog feature – I certainly am!

• An oldie but a goodie – sponge the edges of your cardstock and paper for a lovely vintage look
• Punch a strip of cardstock with a border punch, feed it through the Crimper, then concertina the straight edge together and stick it behind an oval or circle shape for a pretty border
• Use a White Gel Pen in conjunction with watercolouring for some great highlights

“Happy Birth-Day Lily!”
Stamps: Awash with Flowers, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper, Cherry Cobbler, In-color DSP stack,
Ink: Versamark, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Ovals die, Eyelet Border Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Neutrals Brads, Crimper, 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Bitty Buttons, Owl Punch (heart), Blushing Bride Stitched Poly Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin’ Sponges

I have a couple of layouts that I did way back in September last year, around the time of my new catalogue launch, and I thought it was about time I shared them here…

This one was based on a layout I found in a magazine and loved, but do you think I can – for the life of me – find it now?!  It’s very likely to have been from the pages of a Scrapbook Trends mag (rather a fave!) and if I can track down the actual issue, I will be sure to edit this post with the info.

The oldy-worldy map paper from the Newsprint DSP was perfect for this layout about the little girl from Ethiopia that we started sponsoring last year.  The story of how it came about is written in the background of the layout and reads like this…

“For the past few months, every time the World Vision commercial came onto the TV, you would stop everything you were doing to watch.  And every time the commercial was over, you would ask “Mummy can we sponsor a child..?”  We would talk about all the things we have – simple things that we don’t even think about, like clothes, food, clean water – and how some people in the world don’t have those things. Last week the ad came on TV again, and this time, as I waited for the question to come, I thought to myself that this time when you asked, the answer would be YES.  I love the way you are so thoughtful and sensitive to the needs of others and I love that you are always looking for ways to help.  We went onto the World Vision website and found Biftu – a seven year old girl in Ethiopia, who is born on the exact same day as you.  We completed all the sponsorship details and read how the little bit of money that it costs can help Biftu with her education and her family with food and water.  When the information came in the mail, you opened it up to read all about Biftu and you put her picture by your bed.  Thank you, my angel, for having such a big, beautiful heart…”

Next week I’ll show you the other layout that is also very close to my heart

Speaking of scrapbooking, with the poppets now happily back at school, or off to school for the first time, as is the case with my small girl, I’m dipping my toes back into the waters of the stamping class!

If you get my newsletter, you will have seen in last month’s edition that I am offering two classes this month, one of which is a scrapbooking class next Monday night.

I have three places left in this class and am SO excited about the layout, so would love you to join me if you can!

Here’s a peek at the layout we’ll be doing…

I used a pic of my scrumptious baby nephew for my layout, but it’s not specifically designed as a baby layout – any pic that will fit with the delicious colours of the Elegant Soiree DSP will do the job!

The class is $15, with all materials provided and will be held at my house in Perth next Monday, 21 February at 7.30pm.  Be sure to let me know if you’d like to nab one of the remaining places!

And don’t forget to pop back here tomorrow for the latest installment of Challenge Chewsday…!

“One World 12×12 Layout”
Stamps: Circle Circus
Paper: Garden Green, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Old Olive, Newsprint DSP
Ink: Garden Green
Accessories: 1-3/8″ Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits, Cropadile

A quick note to say thanks for stopping by and checking in on my stampin’ adventures this past year and cheering me on with your lovely comments.

From my family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases and a happy and healthy New Year!