Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! I know that I am late but we kind of made a pact where we wouldnt go on the computers over the break! I was spoilt and I hope that everyone had a great time with their families or like us with there friends!
We also had a couple of days in Coral Bay which was absolutely beautiful - we havent been theere before but plan on going back more often...so relaxing and great to unwind!
Talk to you all again soon!
Rach

2 Challenges In 1

I have decided to participate in two challenges this week but decided to combine them into one card! Firstly we have the Embellish Snowflakes Colour Challenge and the wonderful Makeesha's Sketch Challenge which is up to Number 17! The colours were Yellow, Kraft, Brown and Light Blue which was another good challenge in itself and of course you need to include snowflakes! The sketch also looks great and I think that I will definitely be using that one again! Please select the links to access the blogs and also have a look at all the other wonderful creations that they have over there - maybe even inspire you to make some yourself if you haven't already!

And here is my card for you:

Yes I know another Christmas Card but this time using non traditional colours and yes that wonderful snowflake stamp that I love so much - but this time it is not embossed - I am so proud of myself...haha!

Ingredient List:
Stampin Up: Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow and Very Vanilla CS. The Snowflake Spot, Snow Flurries and Happy Christmas Mate Stamp Sets, Tempting Turquoise, YoYo Yellow and Chocolate Chip Ink. Tempting Turquoise Brads.
Kraft CS is Bazzill.

Thanks for stopping by!

One More for the Christmas Card Lovers out there!

Hi everyone! So I have given it some time and I will now show the next installment of Christmas Cards. I can't believe that Christmas is not that far away! I still have presents to post...didnt I tell you that I would have to use Express Post....haha! Our parcels are coming in though from around the country though so I am very happy about that! Our tree finally has some things under it too and I have found a place to hang all our cards!!

The first card is in Riding Hood Red CS and Ski Slope DSP, Baja Breeze CS and Wispher White CS. It uses the Gifts of Joy stamp set.
This one is Whisper White, Real Red and Chocolate Chip CS, Ski Slope DSP and the stamp set is Happy Christmas Mate which I LOVE!

Using the Merry Christmas Mate stamp set again.

I hope that you like all of the cards I have showed you over the 3 installments!

2nd Installment of Christmas Cards!

Hello all - I couldn't wait - I had to put up another two of my Christmas Cards! And yes I am also procrastinating but what better way that posting on my blog!

The first card is on the blue CS from last years In Colours that I really can not remember the name of and the good ol catalogue is still in storage boxes! All the snow flakes are silver embossed and the large one is from The Snowflake Spot and the small ones are from Snow Flurries. The JOY is also from The Snowflake Spot and ink is StazOn Black.

The second card surprise surprise uses some of the Ski Slope DSP (and believe it or not I still have heaps left!). The base is Whisper White, Real Red used and the Gifts of Joy set stamped in Ruby Red and Old Olive also on Whisper White CS. The greeting is using my gold Uni-Ball Signo pen and my own handwriting. The strip in the middle is actually raised with dimensionals.

That is all for today...now to get back to a collage that I am doing for a present!

Christmas Card Countdown

Hi all, I am guessing that everyone is either busily trying to get everything done for Christmas or are really organised and laughing at all of us that leave everything until the last minute...I'm generally one of those last minute people and unfortunately living where I do I really can't afford to be! It looks like Australia Post will be getting some extra money from me this year with sending all my pressies Express Post to make sure it gets there before Christmas! So what have I been up to of late...making Christmas Cards and doing some presents but those I can't show you until after Christmas otherwise there will be no surprises Christmas Day! The cards though I can share so I have a few to show you now and I will put some up over the coming week so you are not too inundated!

This year we are not heading home for Christmas as we have to work between the holidays! But as there are others like us up here we are joining forces with friends of ours and having a big

Orphans Christmas as we like to call it! So that way we can celebrate together...bringing all our traditions together too which will be so much fun! Enough of my rambling and on to the cards haha!

As I have to post mine I needed to keep them simple and relatively flat. This is Baja Breeze cardstock as the base, Choc Chip CS with some of the Ski Slope DSP. The greeting is from Sincere Salutations in Choc Chip.

This one is Riding Hood Red CS as base stamped with the the present stamp from Sleigh Full of Toys in Versamark. There is Kiwi Kiss CS then Whisper White CS with a strip of the Ski Slope DSP. The main stamp is also from Sleigh Full of Toys with Versamark followed by Black Embossing then it is coloured in with my pencils! All the bows though are with my Gold Gel Pen but doesn't show up well in the photo.

Last one for today is Whisper White CS base and then the SkiSlope DSP (I love this...can you tell...haha). I have then stamped with Versamark and then embossed in silver the Sincere Salutations stamp and snow flurries.

I hope that you like the first three cards, I will be back with more soon!

Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge #19

Hi all
This is a quick post this morning as I am off to enjoy celebrating 5 years with my Damo! But I did do a card for him that I hope isn't too late to put in for the challenge on Dawn's blog. The coluours were fantastic to use together even if there were so many. I could have put this up earlier since it has been done since earlier in the week - but didn't want to just in case "someone" decided to have a look!
Here are the colours

And here is my creation!

Sorry about the lighting with the card but it was taken at 6.30am this morning because I didnt think of actually taking the photo earlier in the week when I had much better light to work with!! I must say a big Thankyou to Dawn because I had not known about The Pioneer Woman and have since fallen in love with her website!

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up: Cardstock - Pink Passion, Chocolate Chip, Orchid Opulance, Bashful Blue, Mellow Moss and Whisper White. Ink - Pink Passion, Bashful Blue and Mellow Moss. Stamp Set - Always

Makeesha's Inspiration Challenge #15

Hello everyone, I am back with another of Makeesha's challenges and this time it is an inspiration one! I had quite a few things come to mind when I saw this one but of course I couldn't get past the silver embossing on black..pity I don't have glitter..haha!!

As always here is the picture first:

And here is my creation

Nice and simple yet effective! Be sure to have a look over at the other entries as they are all great!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up: Whisper White Cardstock, Snowflake Spot and Snow Flurries stamp set in Versamark then silver embossing powder, silver brads.

Black paper from my stash (non SU).

Makeesha's Colour Challenge #15

Hello everyone, today I finally have got around to doing Makeesha's Colour Challenge #15 and I must say that this one is definitely out of my comfort zone and that is the point in doing challenges isn't it! So what are the colours you say...here they are:

There are some wonderful creations so be sure to check them all out! In the meantime though here is mine:

I also actually have a great idea for a scrapbook page with these colours because now that I think about it they would go fantastically with my photos of Karajini National Park! I will have to work on that one!

As we know time is flying by and it is time for Christmas creations to begin (should actually be thinking of finishing but at least I have started). I will post a couple of my cards shortly!

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla and Really Rust Cardstock. Eastern Blooms stamp set in Chocolate Chip and Really Rust ink (used markers), Symbols of Solicitude stamp set in Chocolate Chip ink (marker) and Close to Cocoa ink around the edges of the Very Vanilla.

Birthday Card Time

It is one of my best friends birthdays on Thursday and I have made a card for her...as usual though it will arrive late but at least I have sent it prior to the birthday this time! I decided to base it on a card I saw on K Werner's blog a while ago.

I just added white gel pen around the cut out pieces as I laid them flat not using dimensionals. It is a great way to have simplicity but also using left over pieces effectively!

Now next on my ever growing list is the Christmas cards....and thinking of pressies too!

Ingredient List:
Stampin Up: Sincere Salutations stamp set - tempting turquoise ink, Berry Bliss DSP for two squares. Non SU - Bazzil Kraft CS, remaining squares other patterned paper in my stash!

Hello November...but where did October go?

Hi everyone, well it's November and also Melbourne Cup Day so good luck to those of you that have backed "a winner"! It is bad though when I think what happened to October...what did I achieve ...definitly not much in the craft department...haha!

We have been spending alot of time on our house and especially our pool area since that is where we will be spending the majority of the time from now on! We have hit the 40+ degree weather now but Kimani our Aussie Bulldog doesn't mind all that much because that means she gets to spend the afternoons inside in the air conditioning!

I have been working on a few things though and one is our trip north and I have done a scrapbook page on our stop over in Exmouth. Exmouth is a beautiful place on the coast of Western Australia - beautiful marine life with the Ningaloo Reef which is famous for the Whale Sharks. Now we were there at the end of January which is actually their off season. The town was pretty much deserted and therefore limiting in terms of where to stay, eat etc. This however did prove also to be an advantage because we had an entire beach to ourselves as you can see in the photos and Kimani had so much fun in the water. BUT this night was also the worst of the trip because in our whole trip this is the one place that didn't allow us to have a cabin because we had Kimani (even with her staying outside) so we had to tent it in 40+ degree weather and 30 degree's overnight...no sleep was had and we left as soon as we could the next morning! But I do want to go back because it is great there and not overly far from where we are living now. We will be going in peak time though which is winter so we can go swimming with the whale sharks !!

I love the centre photo as it reminds me of one of those photos you see in tropical oasis tourism shots and you think the water could never be so blue or clear or so calm (or so deserted) but it actually can...haha! And to add to how special the day was...this is a dog that doesnt normally like the water!

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up: Seaside & Eastern Blooms stamp set, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion and Real Red ink, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White Cardstock. The yellow paper is from a bulk pack and non stampin up.

Makeesha's Sketch Challenge 14

Well now that I posted last week's challenge (better late than never) I thought I would now post this week's challenge which is a sketch challenge and there are some great creations over there so be sure to have a look. Firstly here is the sketch:
As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted to do one of the rosette's that I had seen here as the focus point. Now I had a few problems with getting a good photo of this one so I am putting two on here and I made some more mistakes but that is part of it and they aren't huge ones...I will call it adding character...haha! So here is my card:

I'm really happy with the Rossete and think I will try some more out later on! Excellent use of scraps too!

Ingredient List:
Stampin Up: The blue CS from last years In Colour's that I can not for the life of me remember the name of, So Saffron Ink and Ribbon, Certainly Celery Ink, Live Your Dreams stamp set. Designer Brad in centre of rosette.

The remaining paper including paper for rosette is from an old paperpack (Grant Archival - Flavia is the name I think). Sticker is also from my pack that I don't have details on...haha...can't tell you much on this one can I!

Long Time No Post...and a very late challenge!

Well what a few weeks it has been....busy busy over in this part of the world so I have neglected my blog a little! But back to it now!

Firstly I would like to show a card that I made for Makeesha's last challenge (that closed last Thursday...haha) but since I did it I might as well show it to you all! The challenge was an Inspiration Challenge and here is the photo:

So I had to go with an invite because it just made me think of a long lazy afternoon party that I feel we will have a few of coming up to this time of year! So here is my creation for the challenge:

Things are a little off centre or not lined up correctly but hey these things happen and I'm still happy with it.

Ingreadient List:
Stampin Up - Whisper White CS, Certainly Celery CS, Real Red Ribbon and Ink, Certainly Celery Ribbon and Ink, Sincere Salutations stamp set, Always stamp set.
The punch is Fiskars and red paper is just old paper in my collection.

Back To Work & Birthdays

Yes my long weekend is over and do I feel all refreshed and ready to return to work....NO! I feel the need for more than an extra day as lovely and relaxing as it was...I think I need at least a week! Last night I was trying to get a birthday card done for a friend of ours and do you think I could come up with something...no inspiration whatsoever so at 6am this morning I had to get up and make something in time before Damo went to work so he could take it with him! No pressure or anything! My creative thinking at least was back after a good nights sleep and here is the card below:

The card has not really come out as nice in the photo but that's because I am trying to take the photo at 7am - sun isn't really high enough just yet! I have the butterflies inside the card too! I was after something cheerful and I am happy with how it turned out considering when I started out this morning this is not exactly what I had in mind! The chipboard buttons that have a shadow on them have foam adhesive and the others are just normal!

I hope that you like it and I hope that my friend does too - which I will no doubt find out soon enough! And now I should really start on the "work" part of my day!

Ingredient List:
Stampin Up - Very Vanilla CS, Certainly Celery ribbon, Stems are from Heartfelt Thanks stamp set - ink Certainly Celery, Butterfly from Live Your Dream set - ink Pretty in Pink and Pale Plum, Sentiment from Sincere Salutations set - ink Regal Rose. Chipboard Glitter Buttons by crea8tiv

Makeesha's Colour Challenge #13

Hi everyone - I hope that you have all had a great weekend so far! For me it is a long weekend so I have an extra day off tomorrow ...YAY! We have been doing work on our pool area making it a little more pretty...we are still in need of some more plants and rocks but that will have to wait until next weekend - for now I am going to spend some time relaxing and doing some challenges like Makeesha's latest Colour Challenge #13. Here are the colours:

I instantly thought of my new Seaside set from StampinUp when I saw the colours - I have been waiting a while to get this set and it was SO worth the wait! Here is my design:

Oh you can't really see properly in the photo but the centre piece is lifted by thick double sided tape.

Don't forget to have a look at the others submissions because they are excellent and offer some different takes on the colours and how to use them!

Ingredient List:
Stampin Up
Not Quite Navy CS for base, Only Olive for the strip, Chocolate Chip border
Seaside and Heartfelt Thanks stamped in Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla CS
Chocolate Chip Ribbon

Damo & His Mum!

Damo and his family are very close - and I am also lucky enough to be a part of such a wonderful family! Before moving to WA we lived in the same town as them for 3 years so it was quite an adjustment going from dinner once a week to being 5000kms away! In May this year his parents and grandparents came to visit us and a 2 week stay turned into a month....we tried to make them stay longer! The photo used is of Damo and his mum - we were up the top of a hill to have some nibbles, drinks and watch the sunset which I always say is the best time of day in NorthWest WA as the colours really come out and its just beautiful! Sunrise also ins't that bad!

So this layout is actually for Damo - I gave it too him this morning and he loves it (thats a relief...haha)!

I have taken inspiration for the layout from Makeesha's Sketch Challenge #13 (I love that sketch) but I have turned it around and the squares are not overlapped by the photo. The sash part is also not going down the photo but across it so I could do some journaling. Very similar in concept and if my photo was 5"x7" it would have been just right! The idea to put the sketch into a layout was taken from the very talented Chantelle and you can see that here. I have actually never done an 8"x8" page so this is also a first for me!

There will also be lots more photos from their stay as I (eventually) get around to scrapping them. We went to some beautiful places together like Karajini National Park but I will leave that for another time!

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up:

Night of Navy CS for Base, Pumpkin Pie around photo and squares, Very Vanilla for squares, Wild Wasabi for the journal strip

Boho Background Stamp coloured in Not Quite Navy, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie and Ruby Red - the middle square does have this stamped but very faint.

Journalling written in Old Olive marker - names and date in Not Quite Navy

Silver Brads on each corner

Other:

D & M stickers (unknown)

A Thankyou and Some News

Apart from my two parcels that I received yesterday I also got an envelope all the way from Morocco - my gift had arrived (beautiful postcard set) and I was so happy to also receive a card from Tina - also know as Travelingmama http://travelingmama.net/! So a big thankyou Tina - you absolutley made my day! Sending you hugs from Australia!

Now speaking of Travelingmama - you may also recall my previous post about her family helping schools and children in Morocco - it now has a name He{art} for Morocco and after having a look this morning over at her blog she has announced that Digiments has come on board to help by donating 50% of sales - you can read all about it here - http://digiments.blogspot.com/2009/09/release-week-begins-stamping-for-cause_21.html

They also have a challenge going on for those of you that love challenges!

Hope that you all have a great day!

New Goodies to Play With!

Well I have finally received two of my parcels yesterday afternoon and just like a little kid I was ripping them open to see what was inside. I was meant to be getting ready to go out for dinner with Damo but instead he was forced to see everything that I got....haha...not to worry we did get to dinner!

Thought I would put a picture together of some of my new goodies - there is a bit of a mixture but that is just me all over! New paper, embelishments and stamps that I can't wait to play with!

Makeesha's Sketch Challenge #13

Ok so I didn't get to do Makeesha's last Inkspiration Challenge - see other post - I just could not get past the pacific blue that is coming my way! haha!

But I did manage to do this weeks sketch challenge http://www.makeeshabyl.com.au/index.php/2009/09/18/inkspirations-sketch-challenge-13/ and to tell you the truth I am thinking of re-doing this with Chocolate Chip as the base - not because I don't like it this way but because I just had that thought in my head and I put them roughly together and it didn't look too bad! Just a thought anyways - I will tell you of the outcome later on - good or bad!!

First here is the sketch:

And here is my creation:

Ingredient List:

Stampin Up
Regal Rose base
Stamped Live Your Dream on Very Vanilla in Garden Green, Cameo Coral and Ruby Red
Stamped Happiness in Lavender Lace on Very Vanilla and then cut it into 3 squares
Sincere Salutations stamped in Garden Green on Wild Wasabi cardstock
Pretty in Pink and Elegant Eggplant Ribbon with Pretty in Pink brad

Hope that you enjoy and that you give the challenge a try also!!

*** An Update: I have also just done a LO based on the sketch too!***

Waiting Not So Patiently...

Last week I did some spending and I love the thrill of selecting "complete order" and getting my little notification email to say - Thankyou for making your purchase and your order is complete and being delievered....from the moment I get that email I get butterflies in anticipation for I am not one that purchases on a whim but carefully looks around and then thinks about it (often too much). So generally when I have made that purchase I have already been looking and wanting the particular item(s) for a few weeks! And just to add to my impatience I live in good old North WA which means 2 weeks to receive the goods from the other side of the country!! Although one is coming from Perth so that should be here faster!

So it has been one week so far...and even though I know they would not have arrived yet I still check my box every day waiting for the slip that says "you have a parcel to pick up"! And I see all these challenges and I think of how much the new items will go great with that - so much that I struggle to think of other ways to do them with the multitude of goodies I already own! haha! But nevertheless I will try so stay tuned!

Daddy's Girl

I have been having thoughts about how to dothis LO for some time now and believe me it has changed over and over in my head...I love these photos of Damo and Kimani...it captures their relationship so well. She is part of the family and acts so human like wanting to sit up on a chair near you when you are talking and even watches back and forth as people are talking as if she is part of the conversation. So many stories to share like her first camping trip, how she acts around other dogs....ahhh the memories and so many that havent been scrapped yet....yes I am very slack! Damo is not exactly fond of photos of him being displayed for all to see - prefers to be the one taking the photos but surely as fiancée I get an exception!

The quote states "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worth of such devotion". I love this quote...so true!

She is not just a Daddy's girl she is also a Granddads girl -Damo's dad loves her ...we always joke that if how much he spoils her is any indication then we can't wait to see what he is like once grandchildren come along!

Sorry about the bend in the page but as soon as I decided to take it outside to take a photo the wind decided to pick up and then decided to not go away!

Ingredient List:

Bakground is coloured paper in my pile! Stampin Up Brocade Background DSP, Quote Sticker - Dog embellishment value pack - ATD, Journalling in Stampin Up marker in Garden Green

Home Is...

Damo and I have both called different places home...I thought it would be fitting to have a frame cater for all of these places and I have it at the entrance to our current home. The photos are of Newcastle, The Pilbara and The Murray River. I got quite a few of these frames as they are so versitile around the home and for presents.

Newcastle is on the East Coast of Australia, The Murray River is the longest river and is the border for New South Wales and Victoria and finishes up in South Australia. The Pilbara is North West Australia outback...dont you love the red dirt...you do not wear white there unless you plan on wearing it only once....haha!

Each of these places are as special to us as they are different!