Our very clever M&M's team...

OK, so yesterday we had our monthly M&M's meeting, with swaps and everything.  Our swap challenge was to use the colours Bordering Blue, Only Orange, Rose Red & Whisper White.  Yes, I KNOW - all on the same card!!!   YUCK!  I'm afraid that I just couldn't get past the colour combination, and hated my card, even my 2nd and 3rd attempts were not good, BUT - my very clever team came up with amazing cards - all of them were fabulous!!  I simply couldn't believe it.  I just have to show you - they are all very different, and each one is just so cool!

   

 

 

Aren't they awesome!!  Well done girls - you really outdid yourselves!

Enjoy your day!  See some of you tonight at Inglewood High School at 7pm.

Michelle

Embrace Life Textured

Good afternoon!  Just a quick one today - Embrace Life has fast become one of the sets I reach for all the time!  Love it!  I've used textured chocolate cardstock for this card, which is just awesome.  LOVE the textured cardstock!   The other colours are of course Groovy Guava, River Rock, and Glossy White.  I embossed the flowers onto both the glossy white, and onto the chocolate, then coloured the flowers.  This just adds to the whole textured feel of the card.

Hope you are having a fabulous day!  Thanks for stopping by.

Michelle

March Calendar page & my own ONE DAY sale...

What an appropriate page for today - this photo was taken of me and my (now) DH at my best friend's wedding where I was bridesmaid, which was 18 years ago today!  Happy Anniversary James & Janice!    Boy - don't we look YOUNG there...  this was 6 months before we got engaged ourselves, and I remember thinking that ours might be the next wedding we will be going to.  Think I was possibly right as well!  This page is a copy of one done by Angela Corbett recently.   Thanks Angela for all your pages - they are amazing!  Go and check out Angela's blog.   Of course, this uses the Live Your Dream stamp set and Afternoon Tea DSP.  

I also had a play with some kinda digital scrapbooking, where I put in a digital photo on top of the layout I had created.  That was interesting - I could really get into that!

I'm just planning my BIG ONE DAY SALE that is coming up on Friday, so if you are not already on my email list, if if you are, and don't get an email later today, then make sure you send me an email o2bstampin@hotmail.com, because you don't want to miss out on this one.  

Enjoy your day, whatever you are doing.  I'm hoping to get in a bit of stamping for me personally, as I have two birthday's coming up this week.  Riley turns 7 on Friday (hence the big celebration sale), and my BIL, Harry is a leap year baby, so should be having a birthday on Sunday, but isn't, as it isn't a leap year... so do I give him a card???  LOL - of course!!

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! 

I LOVE this photo - look at how the reflection of the gorgeous house opposite shows up.  Stunning! 

 

Michelle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Angels

Hi there everyone!   Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  I thought I'd finally finish my Christmas Page.  All I had to do was print off the title,but I kept putting it off, so now it's done, and I love the page!  The little girls are my most gorgeous nieces (and another one was just born this morning - YAY!) and of course Mason - who secretly loved being dressed up I think!

 

Now I'd better get on with making a baby card!

Enjoy your day - it's Sunday, and you should all know what that means.... GREY'S ANATOMY is on tonight.  So don't bother phoning me between 8.30pm & 9.30pm (HARRY!)

Michelle

KWerner Colour Inspiration #42

Just a quick colour challenge today, as I have an unexpected free hour!  YAY!  The only thing that scares me about this challenge is the reminder that officially Autumn is only 9 days away from starting here in NZ.  Scary!

Cardstock : Old Olive, More Mustard & Watercolour paper.  DSP Fall Flowers.  Accessories : Watercolour crayons, Aqua Painter, Pretties kit, ribbon originals (Theater), 1/2" circle punch, mat pack, white gel pen.

Enjoy your day!

6x6 Calendar Page

Good morning!   I've just completed another (yes, just the one!) 6x6 page for my Nana's calendar.  These pages are so quick - once you decide what to do!   A little confession - this is actually the February page.  You see, it seems my Nana lost the calendar somehow during January, and when I talked to my Aunty who lives nearby, and asked her to stick the next page on for February, she told me that she didn't think the calendar was there.  Hmmm.  What to do...  So, I asked her to have a hunt for it, otherwise I wouldn't send more pages for the calendar.  It wasn't 'til part way through February that the calendar was found, and of course that was just my busiest week, so here it is - 9 days to go for February, and I've just completed the page.  I'll send up Feb & March together so at least she can enjoy two new photos at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have used Ruby Red, Brilliant Blue & Sahara Sand cardstock, with the Urban West Rub-ons.  Of course, the photo of my lovely little Riley is another of my favourites - taken at the Kindy Trike-A-Thon in 2005.  Do you think I'm just a LITTLE behind on my scrapbooking??

Enjoy your day!

Michelle

Stamp Camp

Hello!  What a GORGEOUS day here in Taranaki.  We've spent some time this afternoon at a friend's with the kids swimming, and the adults enjoying (or hiding) from the lovely sun!  I thought I'd show you a full picture of my project from Stamp Camp on Saturday, just so you can see what you missed out on!  No really - we are going to be doing another one day Stamp Camp so if you missed out on this one, get ready to book an early registration for our next one...

Oops - sorry, messed the colour enhancing up on this one!

 

Boy - I've been on a steep, steep learning curve this week!   I've learnt how to do a PDF file myself, and my dear sister taught me in an impromptu lession how to create my own templates in word.  They look sooo professional, even I'M impressed.  When I get them right.  Sometimes, like today, I miss out one or two important measurements, but I think I'll get there!   This morning I had our first WITT class, and I still have space left if you would like to join us for the next 7 weeks.  We made the very cute magazine card holder plus 3 cards from the post earlier this month.   

Inglewood High School starts on Thursday at 7.00pm, and I have space left in that class as well.  Just $35 for 8 weeks, plus $4 per night expenses.  Phone or email me to register for either course.

 

STAMP CAMP APRIL 2009

Here are the details for our brand new one day Stamp Camp.

Date : Saturday 25th April

Time : Come at 9.45am for coffee, and we will start at 10.00am, finishing at 4.00pm

Cost : $50 per person

We will be having another 3 fabulous projects, plus giveaways, demonstrations & spot prizes, and of course, you can get to play with some of the new products from the brand new catalogue, released on April 1st! 

If you register by 1st April then you will receive a free pack of cardstock!   Phone or email me if you would like more details, but whatever you do - don't miss out this time!!

Have a wonderful night!

Michelle

Card Organiser pictures

Hello!   Boy - what a CRAZY few days I've had.  Absolutely flat out getting my UStamp Project completed, photographed & sent in AND getting ready for Stamp Camp.  I had a great day yesterday, and I'm pretty sure that the other women also enjoyed themselves!   A day full of eating, drinking coffee, and creating three cool projects kept us all pretty busy during the day, then we went out for dinner together (Yes, I KNOW - Valentines Day, and I go out with 5 other WOMEN!) to finish off a great day.  Thanks ladies for making my part in this very enjoyable!   Now, I thought I'd better finally post the pictures from the card organisers that my Stamp Club made last week.  Enjoy the inspiration!

Raewyn

 

 

 

 

 

Sheryl

 

Helen

Dawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Debbie

 

Me

Aren't they all FABULOUS!   There was one more that hadn't quite been completed, so I don't have that picture.  Well done ladies!

Have a great night, and thanks for stopping by!  BTW - Don't phone me tonight - Grey's Anatomy starts a new season at 8.30pm tonight, so I WON'T be answering the phone.   No - I'm not kidding either!  Hopefully you're all addicts as well!

Michelle

Australia Bushfire Appeal

Join with Stampin' Up! and Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around Australia and New Zealand in helping the victims of the Bushfire tragedy.You can help by purchasing select stamp sets from 12 February through 31 March 2009, and Stampin' Up! will donate 50 percent of the sales of these sets to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

Here is a list of the Bushfire Appeal sets:

 

Stamp Set	Page Number	Retail Price
Priceless	105	$57.95
Seeing Spots	89	$35.95
Baroque Motifs	98	$46.95
Live Your Dream**	(Mini) 3	$66.95
Looks Like Spring*	76	$68.95
The Snowflake Spot*	27	$46.95
Bodacious Bouquet*	80	$68.95
Polka Dots & Paisley*	46	$42.95
G'day Mate*	115	$42.95
Be Happy*	51	$46.95

* These sets will appear on the upcoming list of retiring products, so they'll only be available while supplies last.
** From the Summer Mini Catalogue

For those ladies who have just placed orders that included one or more of these sets - 50% of the Retail Price WILL be donated.

What a fabulous cause to be supporting - good on you Stampin' Up!

Whew ~ I made it!

Sorry that I've been a little quiet on the blogging front - I've been CRAZY busy with things that have absolutely sucked up my time until the wee hours every night this week.   In two days I went to the dentist, the physio & the hairdresser (for 3 hours...!) so feel like a new person.  Tired, but new!  It's a great feeling, being so busy, but loving what you are doing.  Our first stamp club this morning was just wonderful.  We completed our card organisers (I've got photos, but am just to tired to upload them all right now) and they all looked amazing!  Well done to all of you, and WELCOME to Sheryl - you did a fabulous job of your box!  $2 cards tonight was lots of fun with some very entertaining ladies  (Hi JJ!).  Here are two of the cards we made.

This card was inspired by a card that Helen made, and kindly showed me this morning.  Hers was made in Purely Pomegranate, but it was a very cool card, so I decided to case her - THANKS!

And this card was cased from Alisa Tilsner - a very talented Aussie Demo.  I LOVE this card - it's super cute, and quick - so just PERFECT for me to keep on hand for those boys birthdays. 

Sorry - I know I haven't got my watermark on these - I have done all that, but do you think I can get the lovely things to upload tonight - NO, I can't.  Of course!  So here are the unedited versions.  I'll be back tomorrow with the pictures from the card boxes.

Have a great night

Michelle

U Stamp Class Kits Are HERE!

Hello!   I'm so excited to be able to offer you the special U Stamp Class Kits.   This kit features some of my favourite  products at extra special prices.    YOU DO NOT NEED TO JOIN UP WITH U STAMP TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE THESE AMAZING KITS, and these will be delivered to your door (not rural delivery), anywhere in New Zealand!    One lucky person who purchases either of these kits through me this month will also receive a FREE U Stamp registration (valued at US$25).   Keep reading to the bottom for all the little EXTRA GOODIES I'm offering...

Here are your options for the U Stamp Class Kits :

OPTION ONE : Deluxe "I NEED IT ALL" Package

A 1/4 share of Flower Fusion Felt Flowers (more than 30 pieces per share)*

A 1/4 share of Hodge Podge Hardware - Styled Silver (25 pieces per share, plus brads)*

Your choice of double sided Designer Paper

Your choice of 12x12 assorted cardstock (24 sheets, not textured)

A pack of neutrals assorted cardstock (A4 - 4 each of 6 colours)*

5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (6.5m) in your choice of colour*

Embrace Life Stamp Set*

PLUS One Sale-A-Bration Set of your choice AND a free LEVEL 1 Hostess Set (first FIVE orders only)

For this fabulous kit, you would usually pay $184.90 (incl shipping) but seeing as this is my very first U Stamp kit, I'm offering it for a amazing price of $150.00 (incl shipping)

 

OPTION TWO : "JUST GET ME STARTED PLEASE!"  Package

Your choice of double sided Designer Paper

Your choice of 12x12 assorted cardstock (24 sheets, not textured)

A pack of neutrals assorted cardstock (A4 - 4 each of 6 colours)*

2 Classic Ink pads of your choice

Embrace Life Stamp Set*

PLUS One Sale-A-Bration Set of your choice

This kit normally sells for $135.60 (incl shipping) but this month, I'm offering it for just $109.00 (incl shipping)

*Products may be substituted for another colour or item of the same value.

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE...  If you purchase either of these kits, then I will give you 20% discount off any other products you add to your order - some suggestions that you may like are : (discount & prices listed are exclusive of shipping)

Scallop Circle Punch RRP $35.95 - Save 20%, now $28.75

Rhinestone Brads RRP $23.50 - Save 20%, now $18.80

Designer Paper RRP $13.95 - Save 20%, now $11.15

A4 cardstock - 36 sheets assorted RRP $17.25 - Save 20%, now $13.80

Very Vanilla Cardstock (40 Sheets) RRP $16.25 - Save 20%, now $13.00

Live Your Dream Stamp Set RRP $66.95 - Save 20%, now $53.55

Heat Tool RRP $58.95 - Save 20%, now $47.15

I have already posted a few pictures on UStamp of my projects using Embrace Life, and Polka Dot Punches, so you will have plenty of ideas from the start, and I will be posting more using these stamp sets in the near future. 

The fine print :

PAYMENT : Payment is required at the time of ordering, by direct credit, cheque, cash or Visa (Via PayPal).   DEADLINE FOR ORDERING : 28th February is the last day to order these kits and any of the add-ons at 20% discount. 

Remember - this is a super super special to celebrate my start with U Stamp.  These special deals will not be repeated.  As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Michelle

Makeesha Byl Colour Challenge #4

Just a real quick post before I rush off to a game of squash - I KNOW!!  I need my head read.  It's probably the hottest day this year, and I'm confined on a small glass court chasing a bouncy little black ball around!!  All good fun - when you're finished!!   Here's my entry for Makeesha's Colour challenge.

Regal Rose & Rose Red were two of my most used colours - until Purely Pomegranate came out!!  Great colours Keesh!  I used embossing resist with this card - Stamp Se: Live Your Dream & Short & Sweet.

Enjoy your day!

Michelle

Valentines Heart Box

I finished it tonight. Just. OK, so it wasn't actually what I was supposed to be making, but my computer was going sooo slow, and I really got a little sick of it, so went off on a tangent, and ended up finding this very cool box HERE on Lyn Put's blog. Very cute! I changed the measurements to centimetres, just to make it easier, and created the scalloped strip for the handle with the scallop edge punch. I also threaded my ribbon through the holes in the side of the hearts I used the Polka Dot Punches FREE Sale-A-Brations set, and gold embossed them. I'll be handing out copies of the template for this at our Stamp Camp NEXT SATURDAY (you just have one day left to register).

This is what my flattened template looked like. I traced the heart shapes onto the base to make it stronger, then stamped, embossed & cut out four more hearts and glued them over the red heart bases. Seemed to work well.

Well - it's been a great day, but all 3 boys are back home now. We had a little boy phone home at 8pm to say he wanted to come home. That was fine, but we had another little boy phone home at 10pm to say he also wanted to come home. They were staying at their Nanny's house, and usually LOVE it, but got a touch of home sickness I'd say. Late night, and a full-on day in the sun wouldn't have helped. The only stink part was it's a 30 minute drive each way to Nanny's house! Anyway - all boys asleep, and we made the most of a childless 24 hours, which was just wonderful. The movie today seemed a little bizzare to start, but I must admit I was crying by the end, and had to work hard to get some control when the lights came back on. A good movie - makes you think. It was called Seven Pounds, with Will Smith.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Michelle

Awards - THANK YOU!

I have been very slack about posting the two awards that I was given a week or two ago. So sorry Trudi & Sharlene - please don't think I don't appreciate it. Just incredibly slack about getting around to publishing them.  

This award was from TRUDI, and it's a really good one.  Thank you Trudi.  This is just so sweet!

"These blogs believe and invest in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!  These blogs are exceedingly charming.  These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends.  They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement.  Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.  Please give more attention to these writers!  Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their awards."

The second award was a Marie Antoinette Award from SHARLENE.  Sorry, but I've no idea what-so-ever what this award means, but it's still nice to receive one huh!   I have decided that I just can't choose all the people who I believe deserve to be recognised, so I won't choose any.  To all you who make my morning very enjoyable by having such fabulous blogs (and you'll know who you are, as I tend to comment on your blogs!)  THANK YOU!  

Have a great evening - I'm still working on a project that I hope to be able to post later tonight... hopefully not TOO much later!

See you later!

Michelle

KWerner Colour Inspiration #40

Once again I have to thank Nancy for the inspiration for the layout of this card.  You can check out Nancy Riley's card yourself.

 

Kristina gave us some tough colours today, but seeing as Taken with Teal is my least favourite colour, I knew I HAD to do it!  Seeing as I didn't get around to stamping at all today, due to unexpectedly having ALL of our boys go away at lunch time for the night (or 2), we found lots of other things to do.  Like cleaning out the garage.  Playing Ping Pong.  Washing the dog.  Playing Ping Pong.  Going to the park to hear some guy singing about Seven Spanish Angels!  And of course getting yummy gourmet burgers for tea.  The joy of being childless - just for a night!  Tomorrow we are planning to go to the movies.  Might as well make the most of it, right!  BTW - I do sometimes beat DH at ping pong.  It's our new fav thing to do, as we're both really competitive, and I love to win.  I usually only win when I fire the ball as hard as I can at DH's bare chest (he gets hot when he plays!) so he's ouching around, then quickly get the spare ball, and serve it while he's still hopping around!   Poor guy - he doesn't have a chance, does he?!

AND - something exciting for you to check out - Jacqui, one of my lovely customers & friends, has started her own blog!  Jacqui is super talented, and is always bringing in some amazing creations that she has come up with, so I'm so excited that she is finally sharing these with the blogging world!  Check out Jacqui's BLOG and give her a warm welcome! 

Hope you've had a wonderful day!

Goodnight.

Stamp Club starts next week.

Good morning everyone! I hope you're all enjoying a lovely lazy start to a long weekend. Just letting you all know that my Stamp Club is starting next week. This month we are having the evening Stamp Club on Tuesday at 7.30pm, and my daytime club starts at 9.30am on Wednesday. We are going to start the year out right (after my shocking discovery that I missed Trudi's birthday!) by making a Card Organiser to store all your cards in that we make during the year. If you would like to join either stamp club, then give me a call or email to have a chat. Remember - the classes are all FREE - you just make the commitment to purchase a minimum of $35.00 each month at stamp club of products of your choice from the catalogue. There are just 5 months in our first Stamp Club.

3D Class - Saturday 14 March 2.00pm-4.00pm. This GORGEOUS little Magazine Box Holder is one of my March classes, along with another 3D project. Details on my classes for next month will be out in an email this weekend. If you don't receive an email, and would like to, just phone me 06 7533736, or email o2bstampin@hotmail.com.

I'm just going to finish off a couple of things, and post them later, after I've finished my delicious breakfast. Special K. On the box it says "Take the Summer Challenge. Eat Special K, and in 2 weeks you will feel the difference". I LOVE Special K - with peaches. And Cream. Yep - it's the only way to eat it, so I KNOW what difference I'll be feeling in 2 weeks if I continue with this practice. My pants will be tighter for one! LOL. Enjoy your day!

Michelle

Thank You!

You are just so lovely - thank you for your comments.  It's so nice to get something more than junk into my inbox today!  Go ahead and make someone else's day by leaving a comment on their blog - someone who you haven't commented on before.  We're all guilty of blurfing without commenting - I've done it, but really try to pop in a quick comment most of the time.  It's what blogging is all about for me - sharing yourself with others, and the nice part about it is it's such an easy way to encourage people as well.   Some days we all need a kind word - how difficult is it to give one?  Anyway - I've had a great morning  stamping with Helen, and I just wanted to show you one card we came up with.  I saw this idea made by Nancy Riley, who case'd hers from JEN!!  Anyway, here's our take on the card.  Another really quick one, but I love the layout.  Thanks Nancy & Jen for your inspiration!

And... do you notice anything different???  My Watermark!  THANK YOU to TRUDI (and Bella) for not one, but TWO housecalls to get this done and teach me how to use it.  Thank you for your patience, and for not asking me if I'd like it done, but just doin' it!  That was just so cool!   See - nice people just do nice things!   AND, OH MY GOODNESS - I've just discovered that it was Trudi's birthday.  YESTERDAY!!!  And she came to my house, and had coffee with me.  And I didn't even remember.  I'm such a stink friend - Trudi, SORRY!   You're tooo sweet - you should have biffed me one, and told me it's your birthday!  I'll owe you lunch for this one!

RECIPE : Stamp Sets: Define Your Life, Short & Sweet.  Cardstock/Ink: Old Olive, Whisper White.  Accessories: Brocade Background DSP, Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Square Scallop Punch.

Have a fabulous weekend - it's a long weekend for us in NZ - Waitangi Day tomorrow, so that's a bonus!

Thanks for stopping by.

Michelle

I have been stamping, BUT...

LEAVE A COMMENT!!!   Yes You!   It's so lovely to see that people are visiting my blog, but, if you like my projects, then LEAVE A COMMENT!!   I've had no comments for some time now, and you kinda wonder if everyone hates what you've made.... so go ahead - "Make My Day"!   Now that I've got that off my chest...

Good morning everyone!   Just to let you all know that I HAVE been stamping - flat out in fact - but nothing that I can show you right now.  I've been making projects for U Stamp (a very very cool wine charm box, plus a magazine card holder) that you really would LOVE.  If you want to join up, then it's not to late.  Just click HERE to go through to the U Stamp blogsite, and click on "buy now".  It's super simple, and there are already a whole heap of projects to get you stamping right away.  By the end of the week I'll have my U Stamp bundle out, so even if you haven't joined up to U Stamp (and I don't know WHY you wouldn't!) then you can purchase the bundle at a great price, so check that out later in the week.  Also, I've been tweaking my Stamp Camp project.   Here's a peep for you of the projects we are making.  They're super-cool, and I'm really looking forward to a day of stamping without interruptions!   Give me a call if you are still debating coming along - we've got a couple of spaces still available, but we need to know by Sunday at the latest.

    

I am having some "play time" this morning, stamping just for fun, so I'll have some things to show you later!

Enjoy your day!

Michelle

Woohooo! I SURVIVED!

  Yep - another year of school started today, and I SURVIVED THE HOLIDAYS!!  YAY!   Really, I mostly enjoyed them, with the odd day that I wished I could be a working Mum (only during the holidays though!).  The boys were all very excited about going back to school, with Blake starting a new school. 

Doesn't he look so adorable in his uniform!  

 

AND, I have proof that our garden is actually growing EDIBLE things in it - Strawberries!   We picked three strawberries last night, and I was lucky enough to be able to have one of them.  It was the BEST strawberry I've ever tasted.  Pretty expensive, if we only get 3 from about 5 plants, but hey - there's still the satisfaction that we have grown something, and it was GOOD!

 

 

Now that we've done our Valentines Swap, I thought I'd show you the card I made. 

   

 

 

I'm just not convinced about the black heart - it does look much better IRL, but it just seems a little... black!  I might redo it in White I think.  Sometime soon! 

RECIPE : Stamp Sets: A Happy Heart, So Swirly Wheel.  Cardstock/Ink: Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black.  Accessories: Versamark, Clear EP, Black EP, Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, Word Window punch, Scallop Edge Punch

Enjoy your day - I sure will be!

Michelle

A peep for Stamp Camp - 14 February

Good evening!   My big task to complete today was my sample project for our Stamp Camp.  There were a few decision to make, so took a little longer than I hope it will take everyone on the 14th, but I'm just sooo  excited now.  Just 13 more days 'til it's on, and it's going to be fabulous!   If you haven't yet registered, it's not to late.  Phone me and I'll give you the details, but you'll need to do it this week.   I thought I'd just give you a little "peep" at my project, just to tease you a little.  Don't FREAK if you don't like these colours/DSP - there will be two choices of colours for my project. But I really can't understand why anyone would NOT like these colours!  If you have registered for Stamp Camp already, then you'll be getting an email in the next day or two confirming times, location, what to bring etc. 

   

Ooooh!  I CAN'T WAIT!   I also completed my Valentines card that I'm doing for a swap.  NOT entirely happy at all with it, but my stack of "NOT GOOD" cards grew and grew last night as I started on a mission, and ran into dead ends each time.  Don't you hate it when that happens...  Anyway - I did one, so it'll have to do.  I'll show you it another day though.  In fact, I think we'll be making it at $2 cards this month - 11th February.   Let me know if you are intending to come along.

Have a wonderful night!

Michelle