Happy New Year!

Today is a GREAT day to be inside in the cool, stamping away!  Sydney's forecasted temperature maximum today is a crispy 43degC, with low humidity and high winds.  My kids have spent the morning in the pool, basted with sunscreen, rashies and extra shade shelter and are now enjoying a movie with their lunch over the 'heat of the day' (or the worst of it, in any case!).  I'm really hoping for no fires or incidents, and I hope everyone stays safe!

I am pottering about working on partially completed projects, and thought my somewhat neglected blog was due for an update or two.

Firstly, the final installment of the Clearance Rack Promotion starts this Thursday night at midnight.  Over the last three batches, I have been mostly successful in ordering the bargain products for my lovely stampin' ladies, by staying up late with orders in hand ready for quick data entry.  For this to work, I need to have your wish lists by Thursday evening, 10th January.  You can view the final list of products here:

My picks?  Hostess stamp sets have never been available after the end of catalogues before, so if you missed your chance to earn one, now's your chance!  Of the sets in last year's catalogue, the ones I used the most were Array of Sunshine, now $15 in woodmount and Happiest Birthday Wishes, now $21 in woodmount.  This must-have set would have been $65+ if it was in the main part of the catalogue, so at 50% off the special low Hostess price, it definitely deserves a place on your stamp shelf!

Another must-have is Short and Sweet - a bargain at $15 and full of versatile and good-sized sentiments in a great goes-with-everything font.  This was a set that I would take away with me to retreats as it was compact and had something for most occasions.  This was also a set that I recommended to new stampers, and it would make a fantastic gift for anyone starting out!

For alphabets, Calendar Alphabet and Numbers ($18) is a great small set ideal for names and scrapping, while Just Perfect Alphabet ($18) is just that!

In accessories, take the opportunity to get the current In Color pads (Wisteria, Limeade, Pool Party, Island indigo etc) and selected 2010-12 colours (Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Blushing Bride), in the felt style for a teeny tiny $3.75 each.  Remember re-inkers are still current for the current In Colors, so it would be a good idea to add those to your order to ensure you don't miss out at the end of this catalogue.  A4 Cardstock is available in Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz, and I know several customers who have been in search of these!  At $5.25 a pack they will whizz off the shelves.  There's also a stack of brads in various styles, from bling to glimmer to jumbo.

To view the products, check out this online version of the catalogue, and you can browse by page order from the PDF list above.

First Stampin' Crop day for the year is scheduled for Saturday 19th January, in great timing to collect your new Seasonal Catalogue and Sale-a-bration brochure.  Bookings are essential, so please RSVP via txt to 0403 175 790 so I can keep track of spaces more easily.  You can view more details on the Google calendar at the side, or look at the word cloud index to read previous posts about these monthly events.

 I have earned most of the fabulous SAB goodies as part of the special Demonstrator promo, so I will hopefully be posting some sneak peeks soon!  Sale-a-bration starts January 22nd, and the Seasonal Catalogue starts on February 1st.  There are lots of perks for everyone, especially new members to the Stampin' Up! family!  If you'd like more info on joining my team, don't hesitate to contact me :)

A simple and fast card to finish, this is one that involved no stamping at all, apart from the sentiment and background stamp on the yellow layer!  It uses the Storytime DSP, with 1" strips cut from selected papers to turn into little banner flags, and a section of a large scale print as the main layer on the front.  I forgot to photograph the inside, but I used the co-ordinating Storybook Friends stamp set (from $33.95 in clear) to add another little fox.  The background stamp is 'netting', $30.95.

Off to do some creating!