Phew! What a week!

My apologies for it being a while between posts, but this last week has been a little more hectic than usual. We had our Solar Electricity system installed, so I actually look forward to the next bill, which I am hoping will be minimal or even in credit! In addition to that, there was Stampin' Up! Regional training on Saturday and a Christmas Market at Normanhurst West Primary school, along with preparation of associated swaps and goodies to sell. Phew!

Regional training was a fantastic day, and my guest Kay also enjoyed herself immensely, and is ready to join me on the StampInkPaper team. It is great to catch up with members of my wider team, see presentations from top demonstrators, and stamp with a huge room full of happy people. Kim Tonnet and I, along with my Supporting Demonstrator, husband Andrew can be seen above enjoying some swap making, along with some liquid refreshment

The Christmas Market last year was a great day, this year however it fell on one of the hottest days in Sydney - 41 degrees of stifling heat... Sensibly, visitors thought better of an outing and stayed close to air conditioning! It was very quiet, and most stall holders packed up just after lunch. We headed home for a good swim in the pool. A pic above shows Ryn smiling behind our stall.

The top three photos are of some of the goodies we had for the stall.

First is a small box made from an A5 sheet of cardstock, decorated with some stamps in the about to end Spring Mini catalogue, Soft Summer and Great Friend. I made it using a half sheet of Pale Plum cardstock, then stamped using Perfect Plum. The butterfly was inked up with markers in Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Lovely Lilac, using the thumping technique, to give a tie-dyed effect. It was very easy to make, and would be the perfect size for something special for a special someone.

Next up are some decorated notebooks, using some of last year's Retired Designer Series papers - Summer Picnic, Ginger Blossom and Apple Cider. The pens I made to match by spraying the ink tube with adhesive, and rolling in glitter for a bit of bling! Just the thing for your Christmas list, shopping list, reminders, etc. The wire spirals have been prettied up a bit with some ribbon snips.

Then we have some more mini Pizza box notelet packs, with stamped sheets inside. These are similar to the other Pizza Boxes I made a while back, but in retired colours of Cranberry Crisp, and using the (sob) retired set Stem Silhouettes.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some more pics.

In the meantime, my Stampin' Crop day is on Saturday, 28th November, and there are a couple of vacancies. Great chance to stamp up a storm and finish off those Christmas cards! Interested? Call me on 9484 9447 if you're close enough to Cherrybrook to join us.

Tangerine Tango with a bit of Curly Label

Here is a card I made a while ago, duly photographed, and then didn't post for some reason!

It's a card I made for my son's birthday, when he turned 8 in September. His all-time-fave colour is orange, so I broke out the brighter In Colors for this year's catalogue to see what I could come up with.

The card base is Tangerine Tango, stamped with Tangerine Tango ink using the Polka Dot background stamp. Then I have a vertical band of Pacific Point striped grosgrain ribbon. Over this I placed a grunged up piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock, punched with the Spiral Punch, and distressed with the Cutter Kit distressing tool.

The image is from Fun and Fast Notes, and I have custom mounted this set so the Happy Birthday greeting and image can be used separately id desired. I coloured the image using my blender pens and markers, and inkpads for the In Colors. I have used Stampin' Up!'s lovely watercolor paper to stamp on, in Stazon ink, as it really makes it so easy to achieve a pleasing result.

I matted it onto a piece of Pacific Point cardstock, using staples to give it a masculine touch. The sentiment panel is stamped in Pacific Point using the Fun and Fast Notes set, and the frame is from the Cute n Curly stamp set that comes with the Curly Label Punch Bundle.

What?? You don't recall seeing a plain frame in that set? Well, there's not, but by the magic of marker omission, I often leave out the (useful but not what I wanted this time) "thank you" and ink up just the border. That means I can take my punch template book and peruse my sentiment stamp collection to see what fits in the cute n curly box. Ta da!! Gotta love the flexibility that Stampin' Up! offer with their products!

I used my trusty Paper Snips to cut around the framed image, which then meant I could use the Curly Label punch to mat the sentiment.

All done! He thought it was cool, so that's the whole point really.

So, what's all the Bold and Green stuff about? Well, this card uses several of the items listed on the Christmas Extravaganza flyer, more than enough to score a FREE punch, either the Scallop Square or the Boho Blossoms punch, each worth $30.95.

In fact, add a pack of Whisper White cardstock to those items, and some co-ordinating ribbon Pigtails Ribbon originals and you can choose BOTH of the punches, free, worth almost $62 .

This promotion is detailed a bit further down, so make sure to check it for must-have items, and get your order in before December 14th!

Parisian Breeze - yummy, don't miss it!

What could be better than textured, double sided cardstock? Printed even! That's our gorgeous specialty cardstocks, Slumber Party in the main IB&C and Parisian Breeze in the Spring Mini ENDING SOON! While some of the stamps may make an encore appearance in a future catalogue, we won't see Parisian Breeze in the versatile colourway of choc, cocoa, baja and white ever again after the 30th November. And the designs are just so use-able! There's spots, stripes, floral, damask.... It comes as a pack of 12 sheets, for $22.95, so it's great value for such a heavy weight textured printed cardstock.

Here are some projects I have made with it:

At the top we have some calendar panels made with a Close to Cocoa base, Parisian Breeze paper, and the Eyelet border punch. The stamp set I have used is "Dreams Du Jour" and I have inked the circular stamp first in Baja Breeze, before adding some Close to Cocoa highlights over the top. The ribbon is wide stitched grosgrain in Baja Breeze. The little calendar panels are available from school supply shops, but your could also add a photo here. I hope to sell these, amongst other goodies at a market to be held at Normanhurst West Public School, on November 22nd. Do stop by if you're around the area!

The next is a card I made for my husband's birthday, using the On Your Birthday set for the greeting and the dandelion from A Happy Heart for the image. This card also features the oh-so-must-have Corduroy buttons/brads, also in the Spring Mini, and matching Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon (from the main catalogue) He liked it, and I was pleased with it, the paper and the colourway are so versatile.

I have made sure that I have an extra pack of this paper put away for 'the future' - remembering of course that there is no such thing as too much paper!! Don't miss it, I'll be placing my last order for the Spring Mini catalogue on 30th November, so call me!

Spring Mini catalogue ends soon... don't miss out!

It's been a fast four months! The spring mini catalogue officially ends on November 30th. Many of the items in it won't be available ever again. Some may re-appear in next year's main catalogue, but since that isn't released until September 2010 you'll have a bit of a wait!

The images above show just three of my fave products from this mini - Ski Slope Designer Series paper, Corduroy Buttons and Brads and the Tree Trimmings stamp set. The Ski Slope paper in particular, along with the matching tree trimmings set is so easy to work with, you'll be creating beautifully co-ordinated christmas cards in no time!

Please, please check your wishlists for anything that comes from this lovely little catalogue, before it disappears. If you don't have a hard copy handy, you can click on the cover image link at the right sidebar. Call me, email me, last orders will be going in November 30th.

Sort your Christmas Shopping out now and get a free punch!

Stampin' Up! have presented a selection of goodies to make your Christmas shopping easy!

And, as a bonus, with each $85 purchased from the items listed on the flyer you can choose either a Square Scallop punch (112081) or a Boho Blossoms punch (110711) each valued at $30.95! Order $170 worth from the selected products and choose one of each!

There are some great gifting choices listed, including Simply Scrappin scrapbooking kits, and it is a fantastic opportunity to purchase a Simply Sent card making kit. The "No one like You" (116811) and "More thoughts" (116810) kits contain EVERYTHING you need to make the card designs. They come complete with stamps, ink spot pads, adhesives, pre-cut cardstock, ribbon, envelopes and more, with step by step instructions. They are a beautiful gift for any crafty person, new to stamping or not.

There are also some great basics to stock up on, including the wonderful Whisper White cardstock, the versatile Cutter Kit tool, Spiral punch, ribbons, buttons and more.

Here is a list of everything included in the offer for you, or click on the image above to visit the printable PDF version:

Simply Scrappin Kits

Petal Party $36.95 113059 Pg 136

Rock-a-bye girl $36.95 112165 Pg 137

Rock-a-bye Boy $36.95 112172 Pg 137

Sweet Nothings $36.95 113925 Pg 138

Hoppy Memories $36.95 113936 Pg 138

I wish $36.95 112193 Pg 137

Ribbons

Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon $14.95 109054 Pg 151

Riding hood red 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon $19.50 111374 Pg 150

Dress Up Ribbon Originals $24.95 114317 Pg 150

Valet Ribbon Originals $24.95 114318 Pg 150

Pigtails Ribbon Originals $27.95 114316 Pg 150

Simply Sent Kits

Thanks x 2 Simply Sent Card Elements and More Kit $48.95 116809 Pg 142

More Thoughts simply sent kit $83.95 116810 Pg 143

2U simply sent card elements and More Kit $48.95 116808 Pg 142

No one like you Simply Sent Kit $83.95 116811 Pg 143

Stamp Sets

From the Kitchen of Stamp set $52.95 115810 Pg 93

Just Jawing Stamp set $45.95 115828 Pg 67

Punches and Tools

Curly label punch bundle $65.95 112966 Pg 153

Cutter Kit $33.95 106958 Pg 155

Spiral Punch $20.95 108341 Pg 152

Buttons

Button Latte Designer Buttons $15.50 114333 Pg 151

Button Bouquet Designer Buttons $15.50 112092 Pg 151

Cardstock

Kiwi Kiss A4 cardstock $10.50 116204 Pg 126

Whisper White A4 cardstock $13.50 106549 Pg 127

Real Red 12 x 12 cardstock $14.50 106545 Pg 128

Bold Brights A4 assorted cardstock $14.50 106560 Pg128

Markers

Real Red Stampin’ Write marker $5.75 100052 Pg128

Brilliant Blue Stampin’ Write Marker $5.75 100057 Pg128

Glorious Green Stampin’ Write Marker $5.75 100047 Pg128

Other Items

Small flat cellophane bags $7.50 103104 Pg 130

On Board 5 x 5 Art Journal $13.50 108495 Pg 147

So, get your wishlist together, and give me a call (02) 9484 9447 or email me at michelle.dyson@bigpond.com. Or, hand your hubby your list and he can skip the Christmas eve last minute hoopla. Everybody happy! The offer closes on the 14 December 2009 so please don't leave it too late.

We're baaaaaaacccckkkkk!

Gosh, I feel such a slacker for not posting here in so long, especially since Kim Tonnet has not only posted a few times since our return from Fiji but also managed a couple of updates while we were there!! We all had a fantastic time, although as Kim also mentions, holidays with kids are never quite the same as the 'good old days' BC! We packed in lots of activities, interspersed with cocktails by the pool and a beach massage. I even took some Stazon stamped images to colour with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen, but didn't manage many!

It is good to be home though, travelling always makes me appreciate how good we have it here in Australia. One of the highlights was a village tour where we met some local children. Because it was a weekend, the tour of their school wasn't on, but the kids were around the village instead.
Just before leaving I was reading some reviews of various tours, and discovered that stationery supplies like exercise books, pencils, pens, textas etc are in very short supply in rural Fiji, and are beyond the budget of many village families. I raided my stash of school supplies and took a bag full of things with me to give the children. They were delighted, and I encourage anyone visiting similar places to do the same. One young girl was proudly telling me she wishes to become a nurse, so anything we can do to help them on their path will be greatly appreciated. I plan to stock up big when the 'back to school' sales are on and post a parcel with more supplies early in the new year. Many of the resorts have a village they sponsor, so a parcel addressed care of a major resort should see the items reach their intended destination.

Ah well, better get back to it, so many things on my to do list!
I leave you with a couple of photos taken by my 8 year old son, it's amazing what kind of genuine images you can capture when the photographer is a youngster! I think he did a great job. The top one is of a Firewalking Warrior, and the second one is of my son with some of his village friends.