MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

Just dropping in to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope that you take the time to relax and enjoy this special day with your family and friends. Here's this years photo of my family.

We had our annual Christmas Eve Eve dinner last night it was a truly magical night.

 

A special thank you to all my friends! I value your friendship and your support and look forward to more good times together in 2011.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

and

A happy and prosperous New Year.

Love and hugs

ADVENT CALENDAR PRESSIES

Over the last few months I have been creating Advent Calendars for two of my friends .. Francie and Belinda. It's taken so long because I had a trip to hospital and then a couple of complications but am lots better now.
I gave the girls their Calendars on Wednesday night so I am now able to share them with you.

I'm not going to list the ingredients because as you will see there are way too many.

 

The girls were thrilled with them and so was I. Am actually thinking I might make one for myself next year.

Merry Christmas to you all!

STAMP CLUB CHRISSIE PRESSIES

The first three months of Trish's Stamp Club are finished and we are having a break for Christmas. All the girls now have their November orders so I thought I would share the little Christmas present that I made for each of them.

This is before packaging:

 and this is packaged and ready to go.

I'm not sure if you can see what it is, so let me tell you.

I found these gorgeous black and white melamine drink coasters in the kitchen section of Big W and wanted them for my new desk in my new room. BUT I loved them so much I wanted to share them all with the girls in my Stamp Club so then I had to come up with an idea on how to package them. Enter the Scallop Circle Bigz Die. I cut the back circle out of Cherry Cobbler card and the front is cut from the Jolly Holiday DSP. Stamp sets used are Sparkly and Bright, Delightful Decorations and Perfect Punches. I have used the Ornament and Round Tab extra large punches and the tag on the front is from Lots of Tags Sizzlets. Inks are Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Basic Black and ribbon is 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain.

Enjoy

MY DAD'S 80TH

My Dad, Leslie Michael Grehan was born on the 27th October 1930 so this year we celebrated his 80th birthday.

Dad grew up on a farm in the country town of Ravensbourne just outside of Toowoomba west of Brisbane the second last of ten children. His dad was killed when he was 11 so everyone, had to pitch in and help with the farm from that day on. He reminisces about his youth constantly. All the fun they riding to school on a horse (3 of them), stealing fruit from the other farmers orchards at night, his boarding school days, country dances, moving to the big smoke to go to Uni and then work.

My Dad eventually ended up working for Woolworths and we lived all over the place. Our childhood was never boring but I vowed that when I married and had kids, we would live in one place while they were growing up and we have; several houses but always in the same town so they could go to the same school and make life long friends. This was something that I missed out on, but I will always be grateful to Mum and Dad though and the opportunities they gave us.

My Dad is now not the tough business man he used to be. He loves spending time with his grandchildren and is now also a great grandfather. He loves his garden and loves to potter about it and my boys are off over there tomorrow to help him dig out a few tree stumps so he can plant something new. When they were little they loved to go the small hobby farm that Mum and Dad had. They loved to help him with the vegie patch, ride the horse and swim in the pool. School holidays spent with Nan and Pop were the best. He has taught them both a lot of skills, that we couldn't teach them. It's nice to see them now all grown up and still loving to go over and help them out.

Here they all are together at Dad's Birthday lunch. We went to a little boutique winery in the Gold Coast Hinterland and then back to our house for coffee and cake, speeches and pressies. That's Paul on the left, then Dad, my nephew Nicholas and my other son Jay.

 Now here is the card that I made for him.

 

The card was in sepia tones but not quite as yellow as it looks here, but it gives it that old country feel I think.

Trish

DECEMBER FRENZY PLUS A NEW MINI

Hello Everyone

All the shops are having sales in the lead up to Christmas and Stampin' Up! have decided to jump on the band wagon and join in the fun with their December Frenzy Sale.

They are offering a selection of products with a discount of up to 50%. Click RIGHT HERE to see what's on offer. There are some great bargains and I will definitely be investing in the Circle Scissors and Teeny Tiny Sentiments is on offer at 50% off. This is a fabulous greeting set and the sayings fit perfectly into the Word Window Punch which layers beautifully onto the Modern Label Punch!

But wait ... there's more!!!!!

Yes it's a new mini as well

 

Everything is happening at once today it seems. Christmas is definitely on the way. 

Now if you want to order anything to arrive in time for Christmas, I will be putting in an order on the 8th December and I have a little Christmas gift for everyone who places any order .. FREE SHIPPING.  Contact me to take advantage of this offer. 

ANNUAL CALENDAR CLASS

I have been busy the last few weeks getting ready for my calendar class with a little sideline trip to hospital, but am on the mend now.

I ran two classes as per usual and I think it has been the nicest calendar that I have done so far ... blowing my own trumpet here. Here are a few photos.

All calendars were made using the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper Pattern Stacks in Bold Brights. Colours in card and ink were Whisper White, Basic Black and Grey, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Temptin Turquiose and Pumpkin Pie. I used the Ornament Punch for the petals. You can't see but I sprayed them with  Champagne Mist mixed with Isocol and then spritzed them with matching coloured Stampin' Write Markers. The drawer knobs are from Antique Brads.

I used the Just Believe stamp set to create the 3x3 cards to go in the drawers. The embossed backgrounds were created with the Square Lattice and Elegant Bouquet folders. Punches used were Fancy Flower, 1.3/8" and 1.3/4" Circle and Word Window. Finally the little butterfly is from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die.

I would like to give credit to France, the lady who created the beautiful flower above and you can find her tutorial for the Rose Flower right here.

All of the above calendars went to good homes. I have given them away as Secret Santa Pressies and I also made a gorgeous Melon Mambo one for my desk because it would look so good in my new pink craft room.

If you have any questions, please drop me a line.

NOT QUITE NAVY ORNAMENT CARD

At our last pINK Ladies meeting, we did a shoe box swap. Each of the ladies had to bring a christmas themed swap using current Stampin' Up! products. Here's the card that I made for the girls to create:

Cardstock was Not Quite Navy, Whisper White and Marina Mist. Ink was also Not Quite Navy and Marina Mist. I've used the Scrallop Trim Border Punch, the 1" Circl Punch and the Ornament Punch. Stamp sets were Delightful Decorations, Baroque Motifs and Christmas Greetings. The pearl is from the very beautiful Basic Pearls Jewels and the ribbon is 5/8" Marina Mist Grosgrain.

Don't forget the current promotion .. purchase the Delightful Decorations Bundle and choose a role of selected ribbon on offer for free. See the Dress Up Christmas Post below.

HOLLY & JOLLY RUBON-ONS TAKE TWO

This is just a short post today.

I was away at a retreat on the weekend and Francie was busy creating Christmas pressies using the "C" Clear Block from Stampin' Up! She made a slight change to my original design in my Christmas Surprise Class (it can be seen in the post below) and I really liked it. So I came home and got out my Stazon Cleaner and removed the original snowfakes and restamped them using the dots from the retired set Itty Bitty Backgrounds. Here's the result:

I think it looks cuter with the little dots instead of the large snowflakes. Thanks for the idea Francie!

I spent the weekend making thank you cards, stamp club gifts and my sample for the upcoming Annual Calendar Class. If you are interested in coming along please email me to book your place.

I HAVE A NEW STAMPING ROOM

For my birthday, I asked Greg if I could revamp my stamping room/study and he said YES. So it was out with the OLD...

Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the shelves before I emptied all my stamps etc so this picture is the shelf stuck in the corner of the lounge room for the time being. You can see the new  shelf that replaced it below. Then we went off to Ikea a couple of times and we won't go there again for a while as my darling hubby is not the most patient of men and I think half of Brisbane was shopping in Ikea the day we went there. But he did a good job putting everything together with a little help from Moi and Paul, Jay and Chelsea.

Then it was in with the NEW...... first a lick of paint .. new colour is called Impatiens

Then here it is all finished. I'm usually very conservative with my house colours but I thought what the heck, I want to do something for me for a change and I do like PINK .. voila!

 

Can you also tell that I do like Paris and especially the Eiffel Tower .. spent my 52nd birthday atop the Tower. Check out the cushion on the futon as well. Oh and I love pink roses as well, so it all came together in my new room.

I just love being in here now and feel more inspired to come in and play more often .. pity about the rest of the house! Thank you to my hubby, Jay and Chelsea and also to Paul and Kristii for the gorgeous pink and black chair.

HOLLY & JOLLY RUB ONS CLASS

I've been busy the last few weeks working on my samples for the Christmas Surprise class that I had on Saturday and again yesterday. So now it's time to share them with you. All that you see in the photos were made from a half pack of Stampin' Up! Holly & Jolly Rub Ons (that was two sheets)

The kit made 15 Tags, 7 gift cards, 2 Gift Boxes, one large card and the following decorated Clear Blocks. I had one little rub on left and one went in the bin ... made a booboo!

The block in the middle (C size) was the block we decorated in the class.

 

Now we also made a little gift box for the block to go in.

How cute is this??? I got the idea from a gift that I bought for a friend. It was a dangly thing that hangs in your cupboard to scare away moths. I made a template then had to adjust it to fit the block, I was very happy with the result.

Finally here's a close up of the finished Hand Sanitisers. I was in Officeworks one day and the lady at the register if I would like a bottle of Sanitiser for 40c and I said no. Then I asked how much again and she said 40c and I said yes please but I'll have 15 .... shocked the pants off her :)

 

All images are copyright Stampin' Up! 2010

(I did put this on the photos originally, but it disappeared!!!)

Card stock used was Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Old Olive. Ribbon was 1/4 Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Real Red grosgrain (wish it came in Cherry Cobbler), 1/8" Old Olive Taffeta, and Riding Hood Red 1.1/4" Striped Grosgrain and ink was White Stazon. I also used pretty much ALL of Stampin' Up's! punches :) :) :)

Okay that's it for my post, but before I go a special thanks to my friend Kim for a couple of ideas for the cards.

DRESS UP CHRISTMAS

With Christmas just around the corner, what better way to dress up your cards, scrapbook pages and presents with gorgeous ribbons in traditional Christmas Colours.

 From 16 October-30 November, there are two ways to get FREE ribbon ***:

•Get an exclusive package of ribbon for FREE when you purchase a Christmas gift-giving bundle!
•Get an exclusive package of ribbon for FREE when you host a $550 workshop!

Choose from these bundles:

Description	Wood-Mount Item/Price	Clear-Mount Item/Price
Gifted Bundle Gifted Set and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper	124041; $66.90	124042; $56.90
Welcome Christmas Bundle Welcome Christmas Set and Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper	124045; $69.90	124046; $59.90
Season of Joy Bundle Season of Joy Set and So Swirly Stampin’ Around Wheel	124043; $67.90	—
Delightful Decorations Bundle Delightful Decorations Set and Ornament Punch	124044; $72.90	—

Choose from the following limited-time ribbons when you purchase a Christmas gift-giving bundle or host a qualifying workshop:

Item	Description	Retail Value	Cost with qualifying purchase/workshop
116792	Mistletoe Ribbon Originals	$21.95	FREE
116795	Sleigh Bells Ribbon	$15.95	FREE
113099	Riding Hood Red 1-1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon	$19.95	FREE
115608	Real Red 3/4″ Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon	$19.95	FREE

***Bundles and ribbons are only available while supplies last.

Click HERE  to view the ribbons.

Email me to place your orders.

GUESS WHO'S TURNING !!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ???

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ??? 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR TRISH :) :) :) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Whoops where the heck did that year go and NO I will not divulge how old I am turning today :)

Every year in my birthday month I offer a little incentive to those of you who place an order and this year is no different!

• Place an order with me this month and you will go into the drawer to win a new release stamp set from the current 2010 – 2011 Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue. There will be a couple of minor prizes as well. Winners are chosen via Random Integer Generator.
• Also .. anyone who places an order TODAY .. October 3rd ... will get an extra chance in the drawer!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone, we are off to a boutique winery in the Upper Coomera area behind Queensland's beautiful Gold Coast .... although it will most likely be raining, but we won't let that dampen our day out.

Also to everyone else out there in cyber world who's birthday it is today ..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS

The month of October is full of birthdays in my little corner of the world.

Tomorrow is my friend Jan's birthday. Jan lost her husband almost a year ago. It's been a hard 12 months for her but she is moving on with her life. Her favourtite colour is PINK ... the same as me, so here is a card that I have made her.

I love the colours in this card and I can't remember the brand of the paper. All card stock used is Stampin' Up! as is the ribbon. The stamp is from Perfect Punches, also Stampin' Up!

Then on Sunday it is my friend Lynn's Birthday and it is also MY birthday :) But I didn't make myself a card, I might buy myself a pressie though!

 Don't you just love the daisy on this card. It is from the Don Juan Cricut cartridge which I have just purchased on EBAY. The daisy background was created using the mini Daisy Cluster 6x6 template from Crafter's Workshop. The greeting is from Hero Arts.

Check back sometime soon and you might see what I get for my birthday this year and also for my special annual Birthday Offer!

JOIN MY RIBBON CLUBS!

Do you love Stampin" Up! Ribbon .. would you like to have some in each colour but don't want to buy a full roll, then how about joining in a ribbon share! A ribbon share is a great way of owning a little of all the colours available.

I'm not going to offer all the ribbons at once as it would cost you over $200.00, I will offer one style of ribbon per month as this will be more affordable for ev eryone. By the way, there is no commitment to join every ribbon share, just choose which ranges appeal to you the most and join in those.

For the month of September, I am offering shares in the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon. With every share you will receive a quarter of a roll. This month's share works out to 2.25 metres of each of the 13 colours available in the 1/8" Taffeta (that's 29.25 metres of ribbon) and will cost $40.75, which includes shipping costs to me. If you would like your shares posted, this will incur an extra postage cost to you of $3.00. Payment must be either in cash or by Direct Deposit. Please register your interest for this month by 20th September. 

Here's what the ribbons look like:

RIBBON WHEEL

1/8" TAFFETA

5/8" GROSGRAIN

IN COLOUR

5/8" SATIN

3/8" TAFFETA

1/4" GROSGRAIN

1.1/4" STRIPED GROSGRAIN

THE RIBBON SAMPLER

If you are interested in this month's share, please email me.