Scrapbooking Class tonight.

Hello!   After an unbelievable downpour that lasted about half an hour this morning, the afternoon looks like it might almost be sunny!  YAY!  I can handle the rain, but HATE the wind & HATE being cold.  I love Summer & Spring, but Winter really is a bit tough for me.  Never mind – it only lasts for 3 months.   3 LOOOOONG COLD WINDY MONTHS…. Right.  Luck for me that in the last month of Winter, I’m escaping with Cherie to THE SHERATON, NOOSA – YIPPEE!   All expenses paid by Stampin’ Up!  YIPPEE!   How’s that to get you out of the Winter blues??     OK, so back to New Zealand…  here’s my double page layout that I’ve created for our class tonight.   Once again, these photos are some of my very favourite, taken right here at a local beach, on one of those spur-of-the-moment days when we decided to take the dogs down to the beach for a quick swim.  I took my new camera, and the pictures were just gorgeous.   That was in Summer.  When it was warm enough to go to the beach after 3pm and swim without getting hypothermia.  Ahhhhh.  

  

Only yesterday I was complaining about one pack of DSP that I haven’t been able to “get into”, and one of the in-colours that I NEVER use.   Today, I’ve created two pages using these, and just love them.  Funny!     Don’t forget, we have our Scrapbooking Madness the last Friday of the month from 6pm-midnight, or anything in-between, and you can come along for just $10 if you wish to just do the open crop, where you use all of our inks, stamps, punches etc but bring all of your own perishable stuff, OR you can do the four 12x12 pages that we have prepared for you AND stay for the open crop for $20.   It’s BYO adhesive & a little snack to share, then chill and have fun with all of us working together to create some gorgeous pages!

Have a wonderful weekend – I’m off to Auckland in the morning, so you won’t be hearing from me ‘til Monday. 

Take care!

Michelle

Oh yeah… I forgot – did you see the blinkie??  ALL will be revealed on 1st July, but this is going to be FABULOUS!   Prizes, challenges, give-aways and of course… loads of FUN!

Oh BOY!

So this morning when I didn’t want to get out of bed… I should have taken that as a divine sign that I should STAY in bed!  Last night it all started when my darling son dropped his fathers WHOLE plate of spaghetti bolognase on the floor.  SPLAT.   Not a good look, when it splatters all up the cupboards (that are white!) and right across the floor.   Don’t tell my DH, as I can no longer find the plate that we shoved it all back into, and have a funny feeling that he may have eaten the dropped food when he got home last night…   oops!   That was ok.   This morning, I found a dead hedgehog on our driveway when I was walking the dog home from school.  Disgusting!  So, I got it into a box, and put it out of the way, along with the other evidence we have that we have a dog running around on our property… Nice!   Then I looked at the dog and remembered that she had a dirty brown mark on her neck last night.  You guessed it – she rolled in above mammal, and the smell was.. was you can just imagine!   SOOOO, in the absence of my DH who would usually do the real dirty work, I washed the dog, ignoring the stench coming from her as I washed, and reminding myself that I was yet to have a lovely hot shower and the smell would be gone soon enough.   So, then I was on a roll, and washed the windows, and the car – woohoo!   That’s amazing for me, and it was only 10.00, and the surprises were not over for the morning.   I went to be organised and get the meat out for dinner, to discover that our freezer door had been left open a little, and had frosted over…  fortunately, the chicken that I was about to have for dinner was the only thing apart from the bread that was a little defrosted, but now I had to clean out the old freezer that we use for a beer fridge, then put the meat out of the big freezer into there  - squishing everything into very small spaces… then start to defrost the big freezer so I could clean that out and get the stuff back in.   Charming!  The morning continued, with me discovering that my darling child (the same one who had spilt the plate of food last night) had indeed cleaned up his bedroom – right into the laundry basket.   Apart from one item, everything else looked very very familiar – that would be because I had only washed and folded it all yesterday, and the little imp decided that it was easier to throw back into the wash rather than put away!  BOYS!!!!   So, I now have a huge washing basket full of his clothes to fold up himself and put away tonight.  That should discourage him from a repeat of this little idea for a while at least!!   So, needless to say, I’m onto my third coffee, and second gin this morning~!!   (Just kidding about the gin!)  OK, so I’ve got that off my chest, and now I have some more calendar pages to show you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of Cherie’s pages – gorgeous colours, and a page easily done for male or female.   Thanks Cherie – this is just great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this page was done by Toni – my favourite stamp set at the moment, so means that of course, I LOVE this page as well!   The words from this set are so good!   Thanks Toni – you’ve done such a fabulous job with this page!

 

Oh, and the date…   1st JULY!   You will want to be checking back here on the 1st of July to see what it is that has kept me from blogging so often recently – I’ve been so busy working on my project, and have been slightly delayed in telling you all about it.. but I promise – it will be worth the wait!    Without giving away too much more today… keep your eyes open!

Catch you later – I’m off for a squash game to get rid of some of my frustration (see above for source of frustration!)

Michelle

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #23

OK, so I know it’s not Sunday, but at least I’ll be on time for a challenge, right??!

Stamp Set : Trendy Trees.   Cardstock/Ink : Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Baja Breeze.  DSP – Urban Garden.  Accessories : Striped Ribbon, Hodge Podge (retired), Word Window Punch, Square Punches, Twine.

If you want to have a go, then go over to Karen's blog and check out the details & other entries.

I’m just zipping out the door, so I’ll be back with some more details, and a DATE for you all to watch out for!

Catch you later!

Michelle

A calendar class starting next month.

Hello!    Somehow my whole day seemed to slip away today – spending a large portion of it having coffee with friends, which was just lovely, considering how cold it was outside!  Here are another couple of calendar pages from our M&M’s swap : This amazing page was done by Kim Richards, and it is simply stunning!   You can’t see the sparkles over the trees and dove, but this really is just a gorgeous page.  I can’t wait ‘til Christmas now so I can have this on my bench throughout December!  Thanks Kim – very cool!

And this page was done by Helen – another delightful page that I just love.  Fabulous work Helen!!

I am starting an ongoing Calendar Class, beginning next month.  Each month we will complete three pages for our calendar.  The cost is just $30.00 for your first session, which includes the 6x6 Days-To-Remember Calendar ($22.95) AND three completed calendar pages, then just $5 per month after that.    These calendars make fabulous gifts, and will be completed by the end of September, so you have plenty of time to get these posted for overseas Christmas gifts if you wish.   This will begin on Wednesday 22nd July at 10.00am OR 7.30pm.

Enjoy your night.

Michelle

Calendar Pages

Good evening!   I know…. bad blogger…. but, well Life just happens, y’know??  But I think I’m back on a more regular basis now – our busy squash weekends have now gone for the moment, and I’m left nursing sore muscles and lots of laughs from a great weekend away in Palmerston North for the doubles tournament.  I’m proud to say that I managed to partner my DH for three of our six doubles matches and we are still speaking to each other!! YIPPEE… in fact, in one game I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t even hit the ball – NOT good when you’re playing, but very entertaining for everyone involved!   It really was great to get away for a weekend without the children (HUGE thanks to my lovely Mum & Dad, and Sharlene & Harry for having our boys for the weekend!), but so good to be home again.  SO.  Back to some stamping.    On Friday morning we had our monthly M&M’s meeting and handed over our swaps that we’ve been planning for a while.  We are all doing a calendar, and each one of us made two calendar pages for everyone.  It was a big task, but everyone rose to the occasion, and I’m left absolutely speechless – they are AMAZING..   I’ll show you one of mine now, and photograph the others tomorrow.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used my corner rounder to scallop the large gray circle, then used my coluzzle to cut out the other two circles, although you could easily trace around a cup or saucer for the right size circle. 

Stamp Sets : En Francais, Dreams du Jour, Daisy Dash Wheel.  Cardstock/Ink : Basic Gray, Going Gray, Rose Red, Whisper White, Versamark.  Accessories : Corner Rounder, Coluzzle, Pastels, Daubers.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some more fabulous pages!

Goodnight,

Michelle

Floating Watercolouring (aka watercolouring for idiots!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep – that’s what it’s known as… watercolouring for idiots, or fool-proof watercolouring.  I can tell you that everyone can make this watercolouring look amazing!   It’s really fun to do, and the outcome is stunning.  This was another of the cards we made at our recent technique class.  It was inspired by a card done by Marelle Taylor using this same technique. 

Stamp Sets : Fifth Avenue Floral, A Rose is a Rose.  Cardstock/Ink : Basic Gray, (hmmm… that reminds me… tomorrow is Gray’s Anatomy – YAY!), Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive.  Accessories : White EP, Versamark, Taffeta Ribbon, Hodge Podge, Eyelet Border Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Sponges, Aqua Painter, Re-inkers (Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Riding Hood Red).

 

Whew – that seems a lot of stuff just for one card – but it sure was fun!   Well, we have survived our busy day, with one game of hockey cancelled which made it easier.  Just one more game of squash tomorrow, then I can rest my weary body.  Hope that the girl I played today is feeling just a little tired as well!

Have a wonderful night.

Michelle

Sliding Stationery Boxes – Class or Kit

Good evening!   Finally… some decent light to take some reasonable photos of the sliding stationery boxes we made on Monday night.  These are FABULOUS gifts, and are easy for you to remake at home once you learn how!   We are having two classes on Wednesday 1st July – one at 9.30am-12noon, and the other from 7.00pm-9.30pm.  If you have a small group of friends who would like to get together at some other time and make these, then let me know – I’m happy to fit in with you!  The cost for the class is $25 per person, or $15 if you make a $50+ order on the day.  The cost for the kit is $20, or $10 with a $50+ order.  The PDF is $5.00.  These will be ready to post on Monday, so order yours over the next couple of days if you wish to get yours soon!

BELLA BLEU SLIDING STATIONERY BOX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside of Stationery Box

These are the Bella Bleu cards I made.

 

 

 

 

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RASPBERRY TART SLIDING STATIONERY BOX

 

 

 

 

Hope you’re having a great week – nearly the weekend!  This weekend we’re having a real busy one – trying to fit in three games of hockey and six games of competition squash between our family… will make for an interesting one!

 

Michelle

The brayer is BACK!

Good morning!   I’ve been busy stampin’ my heart out for classes and stamp club this week, which means I have had little time to blog.  I’ve also been finishing my new version of the Sliding Stationery Box which will be available for you by Friday.  We are also having another class for the Stationery Box because I know lots of you have been drooling over it when you see it!   The class will be Wednesday 1st July eithet 7pm or 9.30am, and will be $25 (or $15 if you make a $50+ order on the night). There are two choices of design – Bella Bleu or Raspberry Tart.  Limited number of each kit, so register early to get your first choice. 

I thought I’d quickly post a card that we made at Technique class last week for you before I race the kids to school before my Stamp Club arrive at 9.30.

This card was based on a similar one done by Roz Blignaught which I received at convention for a swap.   If you would like to make some of these cards with a group of your friends then let me know – ANYONE can make cards such as these with a little guidance.

Stamp Set : Upsy Daisy.  Cardstock/Ink : Brilliant Blue, Lovely Lilac, Pink Passion, Black Staz-On, Versamark. Accessories : Grosgrain Ribbon, Glossy cardstock, Brayer, Scallop Edge Punch.

 

Have a fabulous day!

Michelle

It’s THIS cold!

OK, when the wildlife come inside to sit by the fire, you KNOW it’s REAL cold!   Cute huh??   Last night we had a great time with some ladies who came to make a Scrapbook in a Box.   The boxes were all so different, and really really cool.  Awesome colours & decorating – good on you ladies.  Hope you all are now looking for photos to put in them… Ailie…!

Here’s my one, without photos as yet, but I’m sure I’ll get them done sometime soon! 

 

   

Stamp Sets : A Beautiful Thing, Three Little Words.  Cardstock/Ink : Raspberry Tart DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette.  Accessories : Heaps of punches… brads, ribbon.

 

I’m just finishing my sample for the Sliding Stationery  Kit for next Monday’s class (7.00pm) – if you would like to come, there’s still space.   The cost is $25, or $15 with an order of $50+ on the night.

Have a fabulous day!

Michelle

The new improved version!

Hi there!  Hope you day is as gorgeous as ours is here in Taranaki!   A beautiful sunny, crisp day, and the mountain just looks AMAZING!   Must take my camera and get a photo to post.   Here’s the new improved version of the bleaching card I mentioned yesterday.  Cool huh??!  

Stamp set : Inspired by Nature.   Cardstock/Ink : Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Old Olive.  Accessories : Bleach, Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain ribbon, cutter kit.

 

Michelle

Living with PASSION!

Good evening!   I’ve had a fabulous few days, with some classes that have been very cool.  Thanks mainly to the lovely ladies who have come along I must admit!   Tonight I had my second technique class for the week, and thanks to JACQUI'S wonderful idea, have come up with a slightly amended version of one of the cards.

This was the card I created to teach the bleaching technique – very simple, yet a great way to use your stamps with something most of us have in our laundry.  No special equipment needed, just make sure you clean your stamps well straight after using bleach on them.     I’ve just taken a photo of the “after” card, but the lighting is just shocking, so I’ll have to do that tomorrow for you!

Have a go – just pour a little regular household bleach into a shallow container with a folded handi-towel on the bottom.  Make sure the handi-towel is soaked through but not drenched.  You don’t want puddles of bleach on the bottom.  Then stamp your desired stamp into the handi-towel as you would a stamp pad.   Check no drips are going to fall off on your card… (see above for what it looks like if you DON’T check!) and stamp directly onto your card.   Hey Presto – how easy is that!    First up - I must say my dentist is an absolute darling, and I highly recommend her, but today was just a one of THOSE days where not much went right to start with.   A word of advice… bleach is not so much fun to play with if you have it squirted into your mouth (diluted of course) just as you are inhaling.  My second trip to the dentist today resulted in a little drama with bleach choking me when I inhaled at the wrong time… NOT a pleasant visit today I’m afraid.  Bleach, pain AND a numb tongue that stopped me from enjoying my muffin at lunchtime.  NOT good at all!   Guess it can only get better from here huh?   Until I get the bill at the end that is.   Ho hum.  The fun things we get to spend our money on.   Just imagine how many pairs of shoes I could buy for the same price as a root canal… imagine!   NO,  I’m not even going there.  I won’t sleep tonight otherwise.  Shoes are over-rated.  Right??  

Thanks for hanging around!

Have a fabulous night.

Michelle