Okay ….

So … I have decided it is just not going to happen. I thought as kids got older & more independent … my time would be more of my own! Ha!

Yesterday: Menu … grocery list … pick up Stace from station … drop off Sandy at friends place … shopping centre … Coles … lost grocery list in the bakery section before I even got to the first aisle! … Race home … unpack groceries … take Stacey to SALE at Baby Zone … drop her home … race home … cook dinner … make up beds … welcome guests … clean up after dinner … wipe Skye’s tears (her recording for a Christian CD op is NOT happening … COMPUTERS!!!!) Flop into bed! Can’t sleep!

Today: Kids (all 9 of them) … off to beach … ring friend to help with recording & need to be in Gerringong ASAP with Skye who is at the beach 20 mins away … and not answering her phone! … Gav off to work … but both sets of car keys at the beach with the kids!!!!!!!!!! NO ONE answering their phones … Gav takes my car … I keep phoning. Have to cancel my nail appt … because I have no car!!! Kids arrive home … Skye & I jump straight back into car … head south 30mins. Do recording of track … very thankful for kind friend who rescued us! … .Drove home … made coffee … and … SAT DOWN FOR 15 MINS!
I am now just off to get lunch ready for the hoards!!!

HHHHmmmm Okay … so … no stamping … & no blogging (except for this “quickpress”) For some reason I felt the need to share this with my blog friends! See how much I have come to rely on you all to keep me going!!!!!
So … I am not going to make any more promises about card posts. Basically … you will see me … when you see me! Just know I will be here asap! I really DO WANT to stamp … but sometimes more important things do get in the way! If I didn’t have all these hassles with my kids … it would be because they had all moved out! And … I will be the saddest mum in the world when that happens.

See you all soon … fingers crossed … hoping … but not promising!!! Hugs xxaxx

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Busy Bee

Hi everyone!

I have 5 “big” boys arriving from Q’ld today to stay until Sunday (maybe Monday). They are on their way south to help out at our church beach mission next week. So … with that many extra mouths to feed … my priority today is to plan a menu & do my groceries! (This is going to cost me a fortune!!!) I do hope to be back later with a card post … but I’m sure you will understand if I don’t make it! Hope you are all having a lovely day. The weather is gorgeous here today! The kids are at the beach again this morning having a surf … Skye is loving her new surf board! I have been thinking about Lee-Anne the last few days during the heat wave in Perth! Hope she is surviving! Hugs xxaxx

Treats for your Sweets Promotion

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Treats for Your Sweets promotion

TREATS FOR YOUR SWEETS PROMOTION

Purchase a Sweetheart stamp set (wood or clear mount) OR a Full Heart punch and receive the new Heart Treat Cups FREE!

Promotion runs Dec 30 to Jan 24!

Click on pic to view PDF flyer

STICKY POST … SCROLL DOWN FOR LATEST CARD POSTS!

Yay! Stamping time!

Tags

Choo Choo, Curtain Call Colour Challenge, Great Friend, Just Add Ink Challenge, Right On Track Wheel Stamp

Hi there!

Well … I am a little slow off the mark today! All my good intentions of doing the post Christmas clean up yesterday … just didn’t happen! I wasn’t worried … though … because Stace & Jono ended up staying all day … and we had one of those lazy days … playing cards … eating Christmas left-overs … watching cricket (although I have no idea why we persisted with this … Australia was SOOOOOO bad!) We just enjoyed a nice family day. S&J ended up leaving about 10pm … so there was NO TIME for clean up! Sandy & Skye were off to the beach early this morning with Gav to have a surf … so at 7.15am I decided that I would start on the clean up. All the decorations came down … the tree was stripped … the windows cleared of all the Christmas stickers … and all the cute Christmas stuff was collected together. It took me about 2 1/2 hours … a lot quicker than putting it all up before Christmas … but still LONG ENOUGH! I was glad to have the family arrive home to help. The kids wrapped all the breakable stuff & packed all the decorations away in their plastic storage tubs … Gav got rid of the tree and swept & vacuumed the whole house. I put back pictures and collectibles … and all was neat & tidy again by lunch time! So … after being a “good girl” … I decided I deserved some time to stamp!

I saw this gorgeous colour combo from Stacey’s latest Curtain Call on Monika’s blog … and decided I just had to play along … it is a wonderful combo! I have combined it with the latest JAI sketch challenge … and I also set myself a challenge to use a stamp set that I haven’t used much – the “Choo Choo” train stamps. The “Right on Track” wheel stamp made a perfect “scallop” border. I know … I am stretching it a little … but I think the track shows the scallop element of the sketch pretty well. And … after all … challenges aren’t all supposed to be ‘clones’! Everyone interprets a challenge in a different way!

Another reason I am a little slow getting here … is that I tried to photograph my card … only to find that the camera battery was totally FLAT! No worries … I will pop in the back up  battery… ALSO FLAT!!!! So … I had to wait for the camera battery to charge! In the meantime … I did my “house-keeping” post … with a few updates … including my DRAW for the TWO FREE PASSES for the INKspirations 4U! classes. So … if you want to see who WON … then scroll down to my earlier post for today! Hopefully I will find some time for some more stamping … because I am a little empty in my card file at the moment! C U soon! Hugs xxaxx

FREE PASS Draw … a gift … an award … & I have been tagged!

Tags

"4 Things", FREE PASS, INKspirations 4U!, Lynda Shrimpton, Stylish Blog Award

Hello to all my blog friends!

I promised to do my FREE PASS DRAW today … but … before I get onto “business” … I just had to show you the wonderful surprise that arrived via the postie today. This was a gift from a wonderful blog friend … who has been so supportive and encouraging to me this year. We are planning to have a stamping play day sometime in the New Year … and I just can’t wait to meet her! Thanks Lynda for your lovely surprise and the gorgeous gift. Oh dear! I think I am going to have to get that owl punch after all. How can I resist it now???

So … I have just done the draw for the INKspirations 4U! Valentine’s & Birthday Extravaganza online classes.  I wish I had 10 free passes to give away … because I got so many lovely comments! I did the draw using an online “Quick Lottery Picker” … and here is the winning draw (13 & 8)! So … by numbering each of the comments as they were posted (& excluding Leonie’s 2nd comment & Sonia’s comment – cos she is on the design team) … the two free passes go to … drum roll please! … Gemma & Kim! I will forward your email addresses to Madeline … so she can issue your free passes!

For those who missed out on the draw … thank you so much for your interest and your wonderful comments. You might like to still participate in this FAB online class … meet some new online stamping friends … play along with the colour & sketch challenges … and receive access to 10+ project PDF tutorials to create at your own leisure! Just click on the button below to register for this class. Early bird discount applies until Dec 30.

A big thank you to Melissa for passing on a lovely award … it is always a thrill to receive this kind of acknowledgement from my stamping friends! I did post my “8 things about me” recently … but will take this opportunity to pass this lovely award onto these wonderful blog friends …

• Kay
• Lynda
• Lee-Anne
• Kez
• Sam
• Julie
• Leonie H
• Simone

Don’t forget … There are some rules to accepting this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.  √ check
2. Share 8 things about yourself  √ check See these here!
3. Pass it on to 8 bloggers  √ check
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award  √ check

ONE LAST ITEM … a big thank you to Jess for “tagging” me on her blog! (I haven’t been “tagged” before!) Apparently this involves making a list … and this one did have me thinking a little! It was an interesting exercise! So … here is my list … (click on pic to enlarge)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And … I also have to tag 4 other people …

• Lynda
• Sonia
• Lee-Anne
• Kim

Well … I think that is all the house-keeping for  today! I do have a card to show you … but I am waiting for the camera battery to charge so I can take a photo! So … pop back later to see my newest creation! Hugs xxaxx

Congrats to Ian & Christine!

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A Word for You, Dawn Griffith

Hi there!

Hello everyone! So … after a busy but happy weekend … Christmas is now over … and life has to get back to some sense of order. Stace & Jono stayed over last night … & are still here … so … perhaps the clean up that I was hoping to do today … may not happen until tomorrow! I do hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas! I guess we are all on the countdown to New Year now!?

I thought I would take a quick “time out” before we work out what we are doing today … and show you the card I made for my sis’s 25th anniversary (21st Dec). This was a CASE from Dawn Griffith … although a little ‘tweaking’ has been done! Sorry … the shadow kinda spoils this pic. The impact isn’t so “wow”! This is sooooooo pretty IRL!  I hope you can see the pretty punched hearts that I have covered with Dazzling Diamonds? The blue hearts are actually the “frame” of a row of punched hearts … that I have added a strip of card behind … and then “filled” each heart with the blue supernova glitter – using the 2 way glue pen. Can you see my new toy??? Yes … I have just purchased the new Pinking Heart Border Punch (as well as the matching corner punch) from the Summer Mini Catalogue … and it is just the sweetest punch! I am happy with the “clean” cut that I can get with it … considering how fine the punched image is. I will just keep this quick today ‘cos the family is now up and about!! Skye, Sandy & Gav have already been down to the beach to try and catch some waves with Skye’s new board (they went yesterday morning too!) but … the water is freezing! 16 degrees!!! I think after Christmas shopping is needed! Perhaps a wetsuit might be a good investment!? Sandy is thrilled with his new motor bike … and all other pressies were a “hit” too! (No … we do NOT usually spend that much on the kids … but Sandy had outgrown his motor bike … so better to combine it with Christmas!!!!)

I will need to do some stamping so I have something to show you … but hopefully I will be back tomorrow with something new! See you all then! Hugs xxaxx

Recipe Correction: Ooops! The ribbon I used for this card … is actually … Whisper White 5/8″ Organza Ribbon … not the taffeta that I listed on the card recipe below!   

INKspirations 4U! Valentine & Birthday ideas

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Design Team, FREE PASS, INKspirations 4U!

STICKY POST ALERT! Scroll down for today’s post!

Hello again!

Just popping by to remind you all that there are only 3 days left before I do my draw on Dec 29 for the TWO FREE PASSES … for the next INKspirations 4U! classes. All you need to do to get your name in the draw is to leave a comment on THIS POST >> INKspirations 4U! – Design Team Gig … or submit a $50 SU! order with a comment (for a double entry).

This Valentine’s / Birthday session begins on January 10th. So … if you would like some fab ideas and projects to try out over the holiday period … as long as you register by Dec 30 … you will get the “early bird” price of $20US. (Registration after Dec 30 is $25US.) There will be lots of great downloadable tutorials for projects … online challenges … heaps of ideas & fun! And … woo hoo! I have been asked to join the team … so you will get to play along with ME!!!

Click the INKspirations 4U! banner at the top of this post … to register … and join in the fun!

I am looking forward to seeing my blog buddies there!

REMINDER: The December Frenzy SU! promotion is finishing on Dec 29 … so check out the flyer … and pop your order in by email if you are keen to take advantage of these super specials!

25 Days of Christmas – CHRISTMAS DAY!

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25 Days of Christmas Cards, Always Elegant, Christmas Greetings, Snow Swirled

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Hello my friends!

No … I am not blogging on Christmas Day! This is a scheduled post that I prepared for you all on Wednesday … to complete my “25 Days of Christmas” series of posts! Yes! I made it! Today I am sharing some of the gorgeous cards that I received from blog friends and class buddies over the last month or so! It has been so lovely to open the mail and find such wonderful creations. Thank you for taking the time to create and send each one to me. Your efforts are truly appreciated! (Sadly Lynda’s didn’t arrive in time to include! )

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You can click “stop” on the slideshow if you want to have a good look! So … just one more little creation to share on my last “25 Days of Christmas” post. Another quick tag that I needed to make at the last minute … for those extra gifts we finally got wrapped.

Yes … I kept to the theme! These were a single layer tag … very quick & easy! And … more of those gorgeous sponged ornaments! I think I can promise you won’t see any of these for a while now! The background idea is from a card that Connie Babbert created in Oct 2009. I created a mask of punched circles … and this was easy to keep things consistent on each tag!  Sorry … but I can’t keep these tag pics from showing in the slide show! One annoying feature of a WordPress slide show is  that you can’t be selective … it picks up all the images from a post and includes them all!

I would also like to take a moment to wish all of my blog readers a very happy Christmas. I do hope it is a special day for you all!  Thank you for the amazing care, concern, warmth, encouragement, support and love that you have shown to me throughout the past year. Thank you for the giggles and tears that we have also shared together! I truly appreciate your loyalty and friendship. And … I look forward to sharing many wonderful moments with you all in the New Year. Big hugs to all my lovely friends! xxaxx

PS: I think I might take a couple of days off from posting. I hope that is ok??? I will see you sometime between Christmas & New Year … once I have recovered from the busy-ness! Take care, everyone! I will be praying for a safe & happy holiday for you all!