Incentive Trip Day 2

We woke up this morning to sunshine and just a light breeze, so all looked good for our Barrier Reef cruise. After enjoying the Hotel's buffet breakfast, we boarded the bus down to the Marina. We all hopped on board the FantaSea. Dave and I started off outside, but the hot sun forced us indoors pretty quickly. It was all good until we got outside the protected waters of the WhitSundays. As soon as we were out to sea, the wind and 2m swell caused a LOT of rocking and rolling... for the next 1 1/2 hours. Dave and I were both OK, but many others suffered really bad sea-sickness. I think the boat used a lot of barfbags today!! The crew handed out ice for us to suck on, and cool towels to try and alleviate the symptoms. We distracted ourselves as best we could...trying to talk with ice cubes in our mouths was one activity that passed the time. Here's Teresa entertaining us all:

You can see a few people looking rather poorly in the background!

It was quite a relief to arrive on the Pontoon, and escape the eau de vomit!! All looking a bit cheerier here:

Warren and Kim Gavarra, Jayne, me, Jo, John and Sue Madex, Yvonne.
We donned very glamorous Stinger suits to go snorkeling in:

Tanya wriggling into hers, my rear end, and Teresa. And here Tanya and Teresa look more like they are trying to BE jellyfish than trying to avoid them!
Dave reckons he looks like a superhero in this shot, with his undies on the outside:

I'm not exactly sure which Superhero he thinks he is though!

The reef was spectacular, and our tummies settled down enough to enjoy a delicious lunch out there too. The boat sold lots of Travacalm tablets for the return journey, and I think most people fared a bit better. It was nice to place our feet on solid ground again, although I still feel like the room is moving a bit. We've just had lovely hot showers, and now we are about to head to the hospitality room to spin the wheel, and then have dinner afterwards. I think we'll all sleep well tonight!!

Incentive Trip Day 1

I'm sipping champagne in my Coral Sea View Room in Hamilton Island at the moment (sorry, I just had to rub it in a little for those of you sitting at home! I'll try not to do it again...NOT!). We left home bright and early this morning, and had brekky at Sydney Airport with some other fellow travellers. It's always like a big reunion and catch-up session....a big part of the fun! All the Melbournites, Canberrans and Sydney people were there, and we hopped on our flight with Guy Sebastian (yes, really!!) and arrived in not-very sunny Hamilton Island a couple of hours later. Our Hotel is only a few minutes drive from the airport, in fact everything on the island is only a few minutes drive. There are no cars here, just a few courtesy buses and lots of golf buggies. Here is the view from our room:

Not bad!! Hopefully we'll get a sunnier day so we can see the sea looking really blue.

After dropping off our bags, we stocked up on US candy in the Hospitality Room and spun the Prize Wheel (Shimmery White paper for me!). Oh, and we also browsed through the NEW Summer Mini ....OMG Lots of gorgeous stuff coming!!!

Then it was time for some lunch. Here I am with Teresa, Miriam and Claire, having lunch by the pool:After lunch, the plan was to head down for a walk along the beach, but Tanya ran into people carrying lots of chocolates in the lift, so of course we had to investigate! We found a Food Convention being packed up, so we helped them clear some excess stock!!

After unloading our booty, we headed for the beach, only to be thwarted by heavy rain. Plan B was to hop on the Courtesy bus and take a tourist trip around the island. Here we are looking gorgeous and very touristy in the bus:

The sun did come out, so we were able to go for a walk along the Marina.
Pre-dinner drinks were in our room. Here are the girls, all looking glam:

Emma, Tanya, Teresa, Jo, Jayne and me

Then over to the Outrigger Restaurant, which was gorgeously decorated for us. We were even treated to a Fireworks display on the way, along with a Parade of dancers and drummers (which was all part of the Food Convention thing, but we were happy to enjoy it anyway!)
This was our table at dinner:

Jennifer and Dave Baugh, Donna and Jeff Calley, Teresa and Tanya.
Lots of laughs and chat over a really yummy dinner. We were even entertained by a cheeky possum. Here's the possum:
Just kidding - that's Kim, climbing on her chair to avoid the possum. Here's the possum, running away to avoid Kim:

After dinner it bucketed down, so we had to make a mad dash back to the Hotel. But worth it, when you find a pressie on your bed! Here's me, aka drowned rat, with my gift:

It's a special waterproof bag to take on our Surprise activity - a Reef Cruise tomorrow! Inside are underwater cameras and snacks to take with us. Let's hope the weather improves!!
It was getting late by this time, but we couldn't finish the day without singing Happy Birthday to Tanya. Teresa even brought her a slightly squashed cake from Canberra :o)

Now I really must get some sleep. It's after midnight, which is after 1am Sydney time. I've been up since 6am this morning and have a 6am start tomorrow too!

I'll be back with more hopefully tomorrow

Just Believe

Just a quick one from me today, as I have a TON of things to do, now that school holidays are over and I leave for the Incentive Trip to Hamilton Island on Wednesday morning (Getting excited now!!).
This was the next stamp set I reached for on my first inking of stamps - "Just Believe". It's such a pretty set. This was a Curtain Call Colour Challenge (#48) paired with a Clean and Simple Sketch (#93). Once I had the Stamp Set, Sketch and the colours chosen, the rest was easy!

TIP: My buttons are actually faux buttons, made using the Buttons die in the Big Shot, and then made shiny with a layer of Crystal Effects. Voila, cheap buttons that perfectly match your project!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Just Believe
ink: Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade
card: Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla
other:Big Shot, Buttons Die, Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch

Because I Care

I am currently enjoying a very peaceful household. It's just Coco and I chillin' out at the moment. Dave has taken the kids camping for a couple of nights. I've been getting lots of bits and pieces done, and it's been lovely to just clear my head.

'Because I Care' was one of the first stamp sets I pulled out to play with. I just love the hydrangea and it was begging to be inked up. This was a Sketch Challenge over on the Elite Challenges Blog. I love participating in the challenges over there, but I am woefully behind.


This was a tricky one to take a photo of. I had one pic that showed the flower clearly, and another (this one) that showed the Shimmer. I went with the Shimmery one. This card has a ton of my Top Ten on it - Shimmer Paint (on the flower and the raised embossing, in Frost White this time), Embossing Folder (Finial Press), a little stick on Pearl, the Scallop Trim Border, Patterns Stack DSP (in Sahara Sand - the script is Sonnet 83 by Shakespeare). And 2 things that didn't make the Top 10, but I'm still loving a lot - the Modern Label Punch and Organza Ribbon.
It was so lovely to be making a card, just because :o) Hope you like it!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!): Click HERE

My Top Ten!

In no particular order (are you kidding? It was hard enough choosing ten, without ordering them as well!), these are my current faves from the new catalogue. At the same time, you get a sneak peak of some of the stuff I have been making lately! (yes, I've finally taken those photos!)

1. Pearls and Rhinestones. It's hard to resist sticking these everywhere. It's so easy to add an extra special touch to your creation, and I love that because they just stick on, it can be an afterthought...not that I ever have those, cough cough
2. Shimmer Paint. I've already raved about this stuff. Enough said. It is awesome.

3. Scallop Trim Border Punch. Please don't scroll back and count how many cards I've used this on lately *blush* ....Love it!

4. Textured Impressions Embossing folders. OK, I'm cheating, since there are a five new ones, and I adore them all. I don't understand how I used to be perfectly satisfied with cards I made BBS?? (Before Big Shot)

5. Beautiful Wings Butterflies. 5 Butterflies of varying sizes cut out and embossed from a scrap of paper? Seriously Cool

6. Antique brads. Absolutely to die for. Not just for crafting - I want to wear these.

7. Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. I thought I'd find this too wide and too, well...stripey, but I love it. Stripes go with everything!

8. Stacks DSP. At less than $1 per sheet with subtle, but not too subtle backgrounds in every SU! Colour, I'm going to go through a STACK of these.

9. The new Colour Coach. I always coveted those paint colour fans that interior designers have. Now I have Colour Inspiration at my fingertips whenever I'm stumped. It's going to take me years to try all the colour combinations on this thing!

10. The Mat Pack and Paper Piercer. The Mat Pack has always been seriously awesome, but now you can buy it's perfect partner separately, and it comes in it's own little test-tube sized storage container. And then you have to go and treat yourself to a pack of 9 Ferrero Rochers, and you'll have the perfect sized container for your mat pack too (and what a shame that you have to eat the chocolate :o)

Now your turn...what's your favourite? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear what they are!

Shimmery Scribble

...or should that be Scribbly Shimmer?
Since I have still yet to take those photos of my latest creations, I am digging into the archives again...another card from last month's classes. This one was for my Shimmer Paint Class. I think just about every single person had Shimmer paint on their wishlist after this class! It's awesome stuff.
For this card, we used the Shimmer Paint to watercolour a line-art image. I chose 'Scribble This' because I hadn't played with it for such a long time, and it's a great set to colour in. We first embossed the image with Silver EP (not essential but it makes it easier to stay in the lines). We mixed Champagne Mist Shimmer paint with re-inkers (3 parts shimmer to 2 parts ink) and then just used a paint brush to colour in. Here's the finished card:

It has a gorgeous Shimmery lustre in real life (if you click on the photo you might be able to see it better). And don't you love that Satin ribbon? It's soooo nice to work with. My wide grosgrain ribbon is not getting much of a look-in lately!

TIP: I bought an eye-dropper from my local chemist to make measuring out the Shimmer Paint easier. They only cost a couple of dollars and increase the accuracy and reduce the mess (and wastage) considerably.

Tomorrow I'll be back to tell you my Top Ten from the new catalogue...

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Scribble This
ink: Versamark
card: Baja Breeze, Rose Red, Whisper White, Old Olive
other: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Silver Embossing powder, Heat Tool, Champagne Mist Shimmer paint, Ink Refills - Rose Red, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Old Olive Satin ribbon, Big Shot, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Mat Pack, Silver Brads



P.S. Thank you so much to the lovely people who take the time to comment on my blog. I read each and every one of your comments, and it means so much to know someone is out there reading this!

Did you miss me?

I've been having a lovely school holidays with the kids, with nothing much on our to-do list apart from catching up with friends and family (and catching up on episodes of Glee). Stepping out of the fast lane for a little while has been just what I needed. Now I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next few busy months - Term 4 of school and the lead up to Christmas!
I've even found some time to stamp, and today I'm hoping to find some time to take and edit photographs, so I have some new cards to show you. Until then, you'll have to put up with another Stamp-a-Stack design. This was September's Class Design:

Party This Way is a very versatile set to make cards for all ages, and it's the only set I've used on these cards (isn't that the sign of a set that has it all?). I've used colours from the Brights family (which now that it has been renovated, I find I'm using all the time!) paired with 2 neutrals - Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip. The only part that took any time at all was tying the knots in the ribbon.
I'm hoping to get back to posting more regularly next week, and then the week after that is the Incentive Trip to Hamilton Island, and I'll be blogging while I'm there too :o)

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Party This Way
ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip
card: Real Red, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
other: Scallop Oval Punch, Word Window Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Marker

Just clarifying...

...while I have a quiet chuckle to myself! It seems that many of you haven't heard of "Hump Day". I've had lots of emails asking me to explain...and no, it's nothing rude! ROFL

Wednesday is Hump Day. It's the hurdle in the middle of the week that you have to get over before you can see that the end is in sight.

I'm happy to report that I made it over my hurdles and I'm out the other side now. I'm having a lovely day today. The house is blissfully quiet - the kids are at Mum's, Dave is at work and I am playing! I've pulled out some new stamps and made some cards for some special people that have helped me through my busy time. They are now addressed in pretty stamped envelopes and will be on their way to brighten their day soon. That felt really good. It felt like absolutely the right thing to do to christen those stamps :o)

Hump Day

You can probably tell by my lack of blog posts that things haven't eased up yet around here. I'm in the midst of my last busy week, and looking forward to a well-earned rest next week! Today is hump day, and it's feeling like a BIG hump this week! LOL
I thought I'd pop in and show you the Stamp-a-Stacks that I've been running this month. Some nice bright Spring-y ones. I've used the Sweetheart set, that's designed to go with the new Heart-shaped Sweet Treat cups, but is also a delightful set to use without them too! I've paired it with the For You Flower (have I convinced you that you *need* that one yet, along with the matching punch?)
Hope you're having a lovely week!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Sweet Heart, For You Flower, Tiny Tags
ink: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, So Saffron
card: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper white
other: Fancy Flower Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Small Heart Punch, Full Heart Punch, Jewellery Tag Punch, Polka Dot embossing Folder, Big Shot, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Bards

Being Busy

I keep thinking things are going to start to slow down a bit, but they just aren't. I do love being busy (especially because I am busy doing stuff that I love) but I must confess that I'm looking forward to having a wee break towards the end of this month. People keep saying to me "You look tired" which I know is code for "You look terrible". LOL
One of the things that has been keeping me busy is that I'm running lots of Shares from the New Catalogue for papers, ribbons and embellishments. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you would have heard all about them. If not, and you would like to be involved, you can subscribe over there -->
After you've subscribed, send me an email and I can mail out the relevant newsletter.

I haven't had many opportunities to play with my new goodies yet, but one that I'm loving already is Shimmer Paint. It's awesome stuff, and highly addictive! You can give everything you stamp a beautiful shimmery lustre.
We learnt a few different ways to use Shimmer Paint (which is actually more like an ink than a paint) in this month's Technique Class. It's hard to tell from the pic, but the flower and stem on this card are lovely and shimmery:

One thing I love about the Shimmer Paint is that it's only $11.50 (gotta love that!) and you can mix it with your re-inkers (2 drops of ink to 3 drops of Shimmer Paint) to make any colour you like. Then, simply apply to your stamp with a dauber and get ready to go oooh and aahh.

TIP: you only need a very light coat of the paint on your stamp, so rather than dipping your dauber straight into your paint mixture and soaking it all up at once, just take a little from the side and dab it on an empty spot of your palette to blend it on the dauber, before applying to your stamp.

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Printed Petals, Perfect Punches
ink: Elegant Eggplant, Versamark
card: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Whisper White
other: Elegant Eggplant ink refill, Old olive Ink Refill, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Wide Oval, Big Shot, Lots of Tags Die, Striped Old Olive Ribbon, Scallop Trim Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, sponge dauber

Fancy Flower

As promised, here is the second make-and-take from my Launch Party. Another quick and simple one.
I love the Dynamic Duo of the For You Flower individual stamp and the Fancy Flower Punch. They make short work of focal image for a card, or a quick tag for a gift. They went straight onto my "Must Have" List (which is quite a long list, let me tell you!)
For something a bit different, I have layered Baja Breeze straight onto Baja Breeze. Because one of the layers in textured (with the GORGEOUS Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder), it works!
And did you spot the Scallop Trim Punch on there? I couldn't resist using it again, this time as a corner accent.
You could whip up a batch of these, in various colourways really quickly.

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: For You Flower
ink: Baja Breeze
card: Baja Breeze, Whisper White
other: Fancy Flower Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Scallop Trim Punch, Dimensionals

Crazy week!

You can probably tell I've had a crazy week...my presence on here has been virtually non-existent. Hopefully you've been too busy perusing the new catalogue over and over again to notice! I've been flat-chat getting ready for my Launch Party, which was on Saturday. It was a great day. I think everyone had loads of fun, and hopefully went home feeling inspired.
This is one of the make-and-takes that everyone got to make:

I know I'm going to love having a dedicated Neutrals colour family with 10 lovely shades in it to play with. One of my favourite pages of the catalogue is page 65. A neutral colour palette always seems so sophisticated and restful at the same time.
On this card I have only used Sahara Sand and Basic Black. The gorgeous Bella Toile background stamp (which I was lucky enough to earn as a Convention Award set) doesn't need much dressing up. I've also used the lovely Scallop Trim border punch and the oh-so-versatile Perfect Punches set (I think this set made it on to everyone's wishlists on Saturday). I've also used a corrugated strip of cardstock, which I made using the Crimper. It's a nifty trick to have up your sleeve if you don't have any co-ordinating ribbon.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you the other make-and-take!

Materials (all Stampin' Up!)
stamps: Bella Toile, Perfect Punches
ink: Basic Black
card: Sahara Sand, Basic Black
other: Wide Oval Punch, Crimper, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Dimensionals

September Promotion!

Stampin' Up! have an amazing Promotion on offer during September...if I wasn't already a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'd be taking this one up for sure!
With the launch of the new catalogue, the Starter Kit has been re-vamped - it's fresher, more fun and cheaper - and to sweeten the deal even further, during September you can also add $84.90 worth of free In Color goodies to it!
Sign up in September... it will be the best $289 you've ever spent (and you get 30% off your first order from the new catalogue!)
Email me if you have any questions!

It's HERE!

The day we've all been waiting for...the New Catalogue! Go HERE to see all the new goodies! The catalogue is available to read online, or save to your computer and read as a pdf file.

Of course the best way to see it is in the flesh, so if you would like your own copy, you can pick one up from me for $10 or have it mailed to you for $15 (anywhere in Australia). Every copy of the catalogue ordered in September comes with a gift voucher to use with your first order in September! Happy reading!

P.S. I'll be running Shares for DSP, ribbon and embellishments. Stay tuned!