Just another day in Paradise.....

So on to Day 3... and this time I actually have some cards to show you. (Scroll down to see the swaps)

After a leisurely breakfast:




(Actually that was Vanessa's breakfast, but it looked so good I had to take a photo)


....we then headed off to the conference room for a couple of hours of swapping and papercrafting. (The boys headed off to do whatever they felt like... golf, fishing, water skiing etc etc Greg met up with a friend for brunch.)

The swaps were just fantastic! As you can see in the following picture, we have a very talented group of girls!








This is Teresa B, Cheryl and Marelle, between swaps.





And this was our table for the Make and Take session. Back row is Shelli, Vicki, Alisa, Stephanie, and Jacque, and at the front we have Cheryl, Nicki and myself. We were so lucky... when we arrived in the room there was a Groovy Guava bag waiting for each of us, with a brand new (never before seen) stamp set (which will be in our upcoming Summer Mini Catalogue, due out in December) as well as some inks for us to use on the projects that we made.

Here's the bag:




So what's inside?





I just love presents!


A group of us headed out to lunch. I was lucky to have a gorgeous girlfriend who lives up there meet me for coffee so I had a lovely time catching up with her. And then we headed back to our room to be greeted by our latest gift:








These bathrobes are sooooooooo soft. Love it, love it, love it.


In the afternoon Greg and I had a massage booked in at the spa. It was such a treat. Note to self: dont leave it so long between massages. One every 10 years or so is not enough. For dinner we had a great seafood feast at a cute outdoor restaurant with Craig and Cheryl, and were later joined by Simon and Ness. I can highly recommend the Flirtini cocktails. :-) Great food and great conversation... what a fantastic day. We wandered back to the resort as we had an early start the next morning.

Hard to say what the highlight of the day was... I really loved the swapping and making session in the morning though, so I'll vote for that.

Palm Cove Day 2

After a very relaxing night's sleep (with no little people clambering over us at 6am) I decided to get up and go for a walk on the beach. My brand new Hoodie was perfect for a beach stroll. I got some cool pictures too:









This is the Angsana resort's Far Horizons restaurant - where we had breakfast on Day 2... I LOVE buffet style breakfasts at ritzy hotels!


And then on to the Scenic Rail trip to Kuranda:








The train trip was awesome (that's me and Ness sipping our complimentary OJs and chatting up a storm). The train takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to get to the beautiful little town of Kuranda. Here's Greg and me just after we got there:





In Kuranda we just wandered around the village and shopped and ate etc etc. The pub where we had lunch did a fantastic guinness pot pie which I can recommend.


We caught the skyrail back to the coast which was absolutely spectacular. We stopped off along the way to see the sights, and it was loads of fun.






We arrived back at the resort late afternoon and decided to make the most of the Jacuzzi... here we are:







You can see Craig and CHeryl, Naomi, Ness and Simon and Tim and Sarah. It was great. We followed it up by all going out together for Thai as we didnt have anything officially scheduled ... and the food was so good that I forgot to take a photo.. silly me. But it was a great night out. We were all worn out after that and headed off to bed.

I have to say that one of the best things about this holiday was not having to organize anything much at all... it was all done for us.

Ooooh, almost forgot to say.... when we got home from the day out there was another package awaiting us... this time it was a DVD full of Workshop WOWs. In other words it has lots of new ideas and techniques for us to try. I cant wait to try some of them... and those of you in my team will get to see some of them at team training too. :-) It was such a thoughtful gift... we are so lucky to have access to such great resources.


I'll post day 3 soon guys.

I cant find the words...

....to adequately describe the last five days we just spent on the Incentive Trip. For those of you who didnt know it, I travelled up to Palm Cove (just north of Cairns in Far North Queensland) last Wednesday - with 25 other fantastic demonstrators and their partners/guests. The Incentive trip is held once a year - each time at a luxurious location, and it's sole purpose is to reward and spoil those demonstrators that have achieved great results in their Stampin'Up business during the year. I can honestly say that it wasn't all that hard to achieve. But you do need to set your goals and go for it.. and that means keeping your eye on the prize, and being consistent. So yes, it takes hard work, but I love doing this business so much that the "hard work" didnt seem all that hard. IYKWIM.

So I thought that over the next few days I would try to post some photos of the trip and give you an idea of what we got up to each day. There's no way I'll be able to cover everything, but I'll post the highlights as much as possible. Starting with...

Day 1

We got up nice and early to catch a 6am taxi to the train station. Arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and caught up with the other girls over a coffee before the flight. Shelli and Sterling as well as Aaron and Karen (SU Australia GM) were also on the same flight. I was lucky to be seated next to Marelle and it was a smooth flight, and we arrived in Cairns to a somewhat overcast but warm day. We travelled by coach to the Angsana Resort in Palm Cove and were welcomed to Palm Cove by Janiel and Krista in the lobby lounge area (which was specially set up just for us with Card Displays and a Prize wheel). Janiel and Krista work in the States for SU and are the most efficient and professional event planners you could possibly come across. Every detail was planned to perfection. We got to talk to them a lot over the next few days - they are just amazing!

Our bags were sent ahead of us to our rooms and after drinks in the lounge we headed up to our rooms. I have stayed in lots of different kinds of accommodation over the years.. but this was up there with the best, and definitely the roomiest place I have ever stayed in. Here's a few pics:




















(This was the view from our Bedroom window)





Then we spent the afternoon wandering along the beachfront shops and cafes, and actually managed a quick nap before getting ready for our dinner. (All the meals were either provided for us or we could use the very generous meal allowance money that we had been given to cover those meals that we did on our own.) But the first night's dinner was everyone in together at the hotel. It was fantastic, and the food was great too. The company was great too... I got to meet some of the other girls, and Shelli and Sterling were on our table too.









Dinner over, and it was time to board our coach for.... wait for it.... the Bowling Club at Trinity Beach! Why you ask? For barefoot lawn bowling of course! We were all put into teams named after SU colours (Greg and I were in the Basic Black team, along with Makeesha and Rod, and Kelly and Paul) Who knew lawn bowls could be so much fun? We were probably a lot more vocal than the average bowling crowd, but it was lots of fun. Mmmm, notice our fetching bowling shirts?? (They'd been waiting for us in our rooms, all wrapped in green ribbons, when we arrived.)








That's Makeesha and her hubby Rod enjoying the moment!



Not much past 9pm and we were heading home... some of the girls had started their days at 3am (especially the NZ girls) so most of us were happy for an early-ish night. I did say MOST. Not all.


We got back to our rooms to be greeted by another present... this time a lovely white box tied up in green ribbons:





And inside was....




The cutest hoodie you've ever seen, with the trip logo embroidered on it. I was suprised at how nicely it fitted... and then I remembered that we'd been asked to give our measurements on our forms some weeks before. See, I told you that they dont miss details. :)

That was it for Day 1.. I'll be back with more pics of the next couple of days soon.
(I've actually got to go do some actual work....)

See you all soon.

Class schedule updates

Hello everyone,

Most of you would know that I list my classes over on the right-hand sidebar of this blog, and you'll be happy to know that I have updated it today. I offer classes in my home, so I can give you the address when you book in. I am finally starting to reduce the hours of my other training business, so I am starting to be able to offer a few more papercraft classes. Hooray to that!

I've listed the classes here again for you here. If you would like to book in to any of the classes, please email me at higgiz@bigpond.com to reserve your place. I have room for 7 people in each class and they do book out quite quickly. In particular, if anyone is interested in attending the Christmas Stamp-A-Stack on the 26th August, I currently have one space left.

Also, if anyone has a request for a particular type of class you would like me to run, please let me know, and if it is possible to accommodate your request I will do so. Im always open to suggestions.


Here are the classes I currently have scheduled.



Christmas Stamp A Stack
Tuesday 26th August, 7.30pm
Narara, Central Coast, NSW

Come along and make 6 Christmas card (3 each of two different designs) for $15. All materials supplied. Numbers are limited so you will need to book in to reserve your place.

Light refreshments provided




Bling Workshop<span style="font-weight:bold;">
Monday 8th September, 7.30pm
Narara, Central Coast, NSW

We'll be making several projects that will light up the room! Learn how to use glitter and Heat & Stick powder to add bling to your cards and projects. Great ideas for Christmas too. Cost is $15 per person. All materials supplied.





Christmas Stamp-A-Stack
Monday 15th September, 7.30pm
Narara, Central Coast, NSW

Come along and add to your Christmas card stash with 6 cards (3 each of 2 different designs) for a cost of $15. All materials and light refreshments provided.





Beginners Scrapbooking Class
Wednesday 24th September, 10.30am
Narara, Central Coast, NSW

Not sure where to start with Scrapbooking? Come along and get some great ideas. We'll be using the Simply Scrappin' kits and you'll get some great ideas for using different types of papers and stamping in your scrapbooking. Bring a photo or two, preferably black and white, and I will help you to design a 12x12 page (or another size if you choose) to suit your photos.



World Card Making Day event
First week of October - details coming soon.

Carte Postale workshop card

Just a quick card tonight... this is actually a card I did for a workshop last month. I have a few cards that I've never got around to posting.. better late than never right?

Such an easy card to do (I try to keep all my workshop cards very simple.. quite often I have people who are new to papercrafting at workshops, and I dont want those people to feel overwhelmed. Most of my more involved cards I save for experienced groups or my classes). I've used the Carte Postale set to create a background on the Purely Pomegranate cardstock, then I used my paper crimper to create a textured piece across the card. The centre motif is also from the Carte Postale set, and I used my Crop-A-Dile to pop an eyelet in the centre. I think the group that I did this with managed to complete the card in record time.

Anyway, hope you guys are all having a lovely weekend, and I'll be back again soon with something new.

Linda H
0412 375 552

One more day to go....

Having talked to lots of you this month, I know that there were quite a few people considering joining Stampin'Up as a demonstrator. If you were one of those people, and you haven't yet done it yet, you have until the close of business tomorrow to send your signed forms off to take advantage of the $25 off special. For those of you who have sent your forms already... CONGRATULATIONS and welcome! SU is the most amazing company to be with... they look after us so well. It great to do something that you love and actually get paid for it! When I began I really just wanted the profits to cover my papercraft habit - and that would have been worth it in itself. But it's become so much more than that. I love the friendships that I have made with both my wonderful customers, and with other amazing demonstrators. It's a blast!

Speaking of blasts... some of us are off to Palm Cove next week with SU, and I've now begun to count down the sleeps. Only 6 to go! I plan on putting up lots of photos of what we get up to, so if you are interested, they will be there for all to see. At the moment I know what some of our activities will be - including a day trip to Kuranda and the Scenic Rail, massages, dinner out at an unusual location, and of course some stamping time. I cant wait!

I'm even looking forward to the plane trip with some of the other girls and their partners. Cant wait to see them all.

And here's a card using the "Season of Joy" stamp set, which is one of my most favourite sets at the moment. It's so easy to use.

Linda H
0412 375 552
higgiz@bigpond.com

New Mini Launch a Big Success!

As you would know if you've been following along, we had our new Catalogue launch on Friday night. Above you can see some of the projects that I made for the night. And it was, as always, a fabulous night. Once again, thank you to those girls who came along and helped to make the night super-special.

One of the absolute best things about this job is the friendships and connections that I have made... not just with my customers, but with other demonstrators. I now have a team that I am so proud of, and watching these girls do the most amazing projects with their customers, and seeing how much fun was had by everyone... well, it just makes me feel so lucky to know these girls! And part of the buzz for me is that some of these girls didnt believe that they had the skills when they started... and now look at them!

Particularly I want to thank Cheryl and Mel for their part in the preparation... you guys did an awesome job! But thanks to all demonstrators involved - I am stunned by the wonderful job that you all do.

I thought you would like to see a close look at one of the projects that my table made on the night... this "Bag in a Box" that I found first on Jayne Mercer's blog. I followed the tutorial on Paula Goff's blog. Isnt it cute?

This week's Challenge

Here's the latest challenge from Kristina:



I think I would have found these colours a challenge this week, except that I took the easy road and simply recreated a card I made last week... but in the required colours. In the interests of time (I'm supposed to be working on tonight's launch after being up nearly all night with my 2 year old who had some gastro bug thing. Yuk!) I've kept it really simple, but I like it anyway. The lighting isnt great though as it's raining here today. So here's my card.. hope you like it too.

Just a card

Due to my having absolutely no time to post anything and the fact that I should be doing lots of other things... Im just posting a card with no chit chat. But you can tell me if you like it. :-)

Linda H

PS Hopefully I will see lots of you at the launch tomorrow night... come and say hello if you are not on my table. If you havent booked in yet I still have one spot left!

Last chance - Mini Launch night this Friday - ONE SPOT LEFT

Just to let you know that due to one of my customers having to pull out this Friday night (much to her dismay!) I now have ONE SPOT LEFT. If you haven't been to one of these nights before, they are a heap of fun. For $10 you will get to make 3 great projects (A card, and a couple of surprise projects) with a table of other girls who love Papercrafting too, and there will also be prizes, and a light supper provided. I don't usually have a space left this late in the piece, so if you have some time on Friday evening please contact me at higgiz@bigpond.com or call me on my mobile and come join us for a fun night out!

It will be first in-best dressed!

And in case you are wondering, I've used one of the Mini sets, "Season of Joy" to make the above Christmas card... it's my new favourite Christmas set, so you'll be seeing lots of things made with this one over the next few months!

Linda H
0412 375 552

New Mini Catalogue now available

It's now August, and Stampin'Up Australia have released their new Spring Mini Catalogue. There's so much new stuff to love, and I cant wait to show it to you. I will be sending out a lot of catalogues to those girls on my mailing list, but if you would like to make sure that you get one sent to you, please email me at higgiz@bigpond.com

Just a quick card tonight... I'll get back into posting some gorgeous new Mini Catalogue cards over the next few days. This is a card that I made recently for a Demonstrator swap. It uses the Merry Merry stamp set and some of my favourite greens and Pomegranite together. There's Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the hanging decorations, but it's a bit hard to see that in the photo. Enjoy!