A LITTLE THANK YOU …

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas with your families!  We are finally back from a fun and fabulous week with family in Auckland, so hopefully things will start to get back to normal now! 

I had to make a thank you card for my Aunt Lynne and Uncle Graeme who were fabulous hosts and took us all in and put up with a house full of noisy guests for almost a week (there were 23 of us including their kids and grand kids).  It was loads of fun and I’ve got a few photos to share with you tomorrow, but first I wanted to make the card so that I could get it in the mail tomorrow, so here it is …

 
Stamps:  Cheep Talk
Cardstock:  Kraft, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Raspberry Tart designer paper
Accessories:  Small grommet, White grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

THANKS A LOT SANTA!

This poem came from Kelly Mayou, I’m not sure where she found it, but I laughed and laughed.  Unfortunately I know it is my room that Santa is talking about …


Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock, or inkpads, or lace?
Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that's when I heard him ...
"Hi Santa, " I said
He replied, "You know ... good girls should be in their beds".
"I know I should Santa, and now I've been caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work".
He shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough crap,
I'll see you next year!"

JUMPING INTO PUNCH ART!!

I made this cute punch art card with Helen (thanks Helen, you’re awesome!), and I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to start doing a monthly punch art class starting in January!  If you would like to learn new ways to use the Stampin’ Up! punches, then make sure you check out my class list so you can sign up for every class! 

You can find my class listing for 2010 HERE.

LOOK AT ALL MY CHRISTMAS CARDS!!

I’ve been a sick puppy for the past few days, so I haven’t even been near my blog, but since I’m actually feeling quite a bit better this afternoon I thought I would share some of the fabulous Christmas cards that I have received from so many wonderful downline and customers!  I’ve been rather spoilt, don’t you think??? 

This easel card came from Beth.  Thanks Beth, this is awesome!!!  I haven’t even opened your lovely pressy yet either, although from the crazy way the cat is acting around it I’m assuming it’s edible???

This one is from my fabulous downline in Upper Hutt, Diane.  Don’t you love the Celery and Eggplant together – just stunning!!

 

Season of Joy is such a fabulous Christmas set and I got 2 wonderful cards from 2 of my amazing downline made with it!  Melinda made the card in front, and she also made me the most amazing fruit mince pies made with apricot and no sultanas (whoops, sorry Harry, you missed out on those!).  Kathy made the 2nd card and took pity on my cooking skills and gave me a oven timer (twice recently she has dropped by for coffee and managed to save things in the oven that I had forgotten about!!)

 

The last card I have to share is from Debbie.  She was one of my very first customers and has put up with me ever since.  It’s been such a pleasure to get to know Debbie during that time, she is crazy but totally fabulous!!

Thank you ladies for your lovely cards, getting all these great cards has made me feel so special! 

 

I’m sure that by tomorrow I’ll be feeling well enough to actually stamp again, so hopefully I’ll have something new to share …

I’m hoping that you are not so wrapped up in buying gifts and sending cards that you aren’t taking time to enjoy your family and friends at this time of year and to remember that Christmas is not about who gets the biggest gift, it’s about celebrating the best gift of all – the wonderful gift of Jesus! 

TEACHER’S ROCK!

At this time of year we can’t help but appreciate how much the local teachers have put into our children through the year and we want to thank them and show them that we do appreciate it.  Well of course that’s the reasoning, but for some reason it always seems to wait until the last minute in my house … hence Monday night I was finishing putting together this box for Chase’s teacher since they finished school at midday on Tuesday.  I got it done and gave it to Chase to take to school on Tuesday morning.  


Outside of the box.  I loved how easy using the Circle Scissors made it to create the “window” on the front of this box.  I LOVE those scissors!!!  If you haven’t already seen them in action, then come and have a hands-on time with my scissors – I guarantee you will be totally blown away by them!!

Inside the box I have made a few gift cards with envelopes and of course some chocolates as well (she will need some energy for all the stamping that she will be doing over the holidays!!)

Now I just need to do one for Parker’s teacher this afternoon to give her tomorrow morning …

Speaking of Parker, look at this cute photo that I nabbed of Parker relaxing with our cat, Tiger.  Aren’t they just too cute together??

WANT STAMPS AT UP TO HALF PRICE???

Stampin’ Up! have a “Inventory Clearance Sale” going on right now!!!  You can get great discounts on all sorts of stamp sets and accessories and the really awesome thing is that there is no minimum purchase to buy, and no limits as to how many you can buy!   YOU CAN SAVE UP TO 50% ON SOME ITEMS!

At these prices, stocks will run out fast, so e-mail me your order today and don’t miss out on these amazing specials!!

Check out the flyer with all the details by clicking THIS LINK, but here are the items available at a deep discount:

         

  

BUTTERFLY PRINTS

I’m loving the new butterfly punch, it makes the Butterfly Prints (and the Flight of the Butterfly from the main catalogue) soooo easy to “cut” out!   

Add some bullrushes (made with the Inspired by Nature set and the Horizontal slot punch) and you have a super easy card ready to send in 5 minutes flat!!

Stamp sets:  Butterfly Prints, Inspired by Nature
Colours:  Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango
Punches:  Butterfly and Horizontal Slit punches

Keep on stampin'!
 

SPECIAL SOMETHING FOR MY HOSTESSES AND JUST A FEW MORE SPACES IN STAMP CLUBS

If you have hosted a workshop with me during 2009 then be watching your e-mail today for a special offer just for you.  I have been so blessed this year with some down-right amazing hostesses, and I appreciate each and every one of you so I wanted to let you know just how much.

I will be hosting my “Hostess with the Mostest” appreciation evening in February for all my hostesses from 2009 (by then all the Christmas craziness should have receeded!).  You will receive an invite to that in the mail, but just be sure to block out the evening of February 16th 2010 to join me so I can show you how much I appreciate you.

It’s not just for my hostesses who hosted at their homes either, all my Stamp Club members are invited as they were hostesses during the year as well!   Join a Stamp Club and not only will you have loads of fun each month as we meet together, but you’ll also be included in all the Hostess Appreciations next year as well.

I still have a few spots left in all 3 of my Stamp Clubs, so decide which one works for you and give me a call to add your name to the group and be ready to have some stamping fun!!

Stamp Clubs run from January to October and you can choose from the following options:

2nd Monday of each month at 6:30pm
2nd Thursday of each month at 9:00am
2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30pm

When you belong to a Stamp Club not only will you will learn new techniques and ideas, you will get to create more detailed and 3D projects than we do in a workshop. You also get to hang out with a fabulous group of ladies! It’s like the best girls’ night out each month from January to October. Order $35 in product each month and you get an awesome class for FREE!

Everyone gets a free catalogue, free minis, and free hostess level 1 stamp set and $35 in free product during the year. Call me now to find out more details ...

EVERY ANIMAL HAS A STORY …

A quick card made with the brand new Animal Stories stamp set and the matching designer paper Tall Tales from the Summer Mini catalogue.  

If you haven’t seen the mini yet, check it out here – it’s awesome!!

Stamps:  Animal Stories, Really Retro
Inks:  Old Olive, plus Chocolate Chip and So Saffron Markers
Cardstock/paper:  So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, Tall Tales DP
Accessories:  Wide oval punch, Photo corners punch, Old Olive grosgrain ribbon

DON’T WORRY MUM, I’VE GOT IT UNDER CONTROL …

Parker (my 6 year old son) came home from school today with a tomato plant.  He was so excited and kept talking about having tomato sandwiches when it was “grown up”.   He told me all about what they had been told to do with the plant – “you have to plant it, and water it, and put a stick beside it so that it doesn’t fall over”. 

Well obviously I didn’t plant it fast enough, because the next thing I knew there was a small pile of dirt on the concrete beside the garden.  When I asked Parker what he had done he said that he had planted the tomato plant for me …  when I went to see this is what I saw.

He had dug the hole and “planted” it, and even remembered to put the stake in, but I guess his teacher forgot to mention the bit about taking the plant out of the pot before you plant it??

Isn’t he just too cute?!