Tuesday 29 November 2011

Wrapping up November


Well we are officially into the last month before Christmas and the count down is on. I have been busy making Christmas cards and enjoying our last few Christmas card classes. Also tomorrow (30th November) is the last day to order selected Big Shot Dies and Embossing folders at the special price as well as the Big Shot Bundle on sale too. Click here to see them.

Coming up in the next few weeks I have the very last Christmas Stamp-A-Stacks for the year, as well as the Mini Launches for our Brand New Summer Mini Catalogue. There are some beautiful new products I cant wait to show you. And of course we are coming into the SAB (Sale-a-Bration) promotion that starts in the last week of January. The offerings this year are FABULOUS! And as always, for every $100 you spend between January 24th and the end of March, you will receive a free SAB item. For the first time in Australia this year's freebies are not just stamp sets! And the they are beautiful!

And if all that wasn't enough, we have December Frenzy about to start! Watch my blog in the next few days to see what's on sale. Or you can also check the Stampin'Up website after the 1st December to see the new specials. Just email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com to order your products ahead of Christmas, or to book into any of my classes.

If you are wondering what the pictured project is all about, I promised that I would pop up a couple of sneak-peeks of some of the projects from my Christmas Gift Class to held in December.. so here is the first one for you. Although I do have a different colour scheme in mind, I wanted to show you the concept anyway. This one is a great little desk-calendar. It was quick and fun to make. Unfortunately I am completely full for this particular class, but I still have spaces in the Stamp-A-Stacks and mini launches at this point.

I've had a great November.. so thanks to everyone who has helped it to be a really successful month!

Linda xx

Sunday 27 November 2011



Ok.. so its not my usual card. But then it hasn't been a very usual week this week either. Last Saturday, so just over a week ago, I was at the beach with my kids and managed to break my foot. So I have spent quite a lot of time sitting around this week, in between running classes (thank goodness for a job where I can mostly work from home!) and coming up with unusual ideas.

This one is certainly unusual.. but I think you can see where I drew my inspiration from for this Get Well soon card. :-) It's completely top-heavy, totally impractical and a bit unbalanced... just like me. Hoping I wont get to use the card anytime soon though... unless I send it to myself. Although I do know a couple of people who have recently injured their feet and/or ankles....

So this week I head back to the hospital to visit the Fracture Clinic and they will tell me what happens next and how long I need to be off it for. Hoping to have it off in time for Christmas... but I guess I will find out. Life is never a dull moment around here.

Friday 25 November 2011

Upcoming December Events




Hello everyone!

How cute is this card? Simple cards are always my favourite... but this one is simple AND fun. I came up with it after browsing through a grocery magazine. There was a little box in the mag... and I thought... ooooh... that would make a cute card. So I made it, and cant wait to share it with you at the next Christmas Stamp-A-Stack. I have two SAS dates left for 2011.. they are Tuesday 6th December @ 11am, and Friday the 9th December @ 7.30pm. Cost to attend the class is $15, and you will make 6 cards to add to your Christmas card stash (3 each of 2 different designs). Light refreshments and all materials are supplied. Just come along for a lovely couple of hours escaping the madness of our busy lives while you get to exercise those creative muscles. :-)

If you would like to join us then please just email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com

I do also have places left at the Mini Catalogue launches. The dates are Tuesday 13th December @ 7.30, and Wednesday 14th December @ 11am. Cant wait to show you what's coming in our lovely new catalogue. Lots of fun stuff, great Christmas gifts and also some gorgeous masculine style stuff. You're really going to enjoy these new goodies.

One last thing.. the Christmas Gift class is now completely full! Thank you to all those who have booked. Where possible I would love to receive pre-payment for this class (it helps with budgeting for all the products I need to pre-purchase), but I will not see many of you beforehand, so I do understand. I'm looking forward to sharing some great gifts with you. :-)

Because classes do fill quickly, please email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com if you would like to come along. Please dont reply to the feedblitz email that appears in your inbox.. I wont receive it. Just email me directly instead.

Looking forward to showing you lots of exciting stuff in the next few weeks.

Linda xx

Tuesday 22 November 2011

Last month's ribbon Share



I still have a couple of Ribbon shares left over from last month's share if anyone would like to take advantage of this deal. There are two ribbons on offer... a quarter roll share of the seam binding ribbon (7 colours, approx 2.3m of each colour) for a cost of $24, and the other deal is a quarter roll share of the Ruffled ribbons (5 colours, approx 2.3m of each colour) for a cost of $25. Or buy both shares for $45.

They are both lovely, but the Seam Binding ribbons are my new favourites.... the photo above shows them all together. They are soft so lend themselves to lots of different techniques - but most importantly they are easy to tie into great bows.

Email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com if you would like to take one of these last shares.

Linda

Thursday 17 November 2011

Ribbon Technques... a few spots left for this class next week.




Next week I am running my Ribbon Techniques class again.... I ran this one as a night class last week, and the girls that came told me that it was a great class. So this time I am running the same program, but as a daytime class. You will make 3 projects, for a cost of $15, and I am showing you different ways to ruffle ribbons, how to use ribbons with your Big Shot, and how to tie the perfect bow.

The ATC above is one of our projects.

If you find yourself with a spare day next Tuesday (22nd) please contact me at lindastamps@bigpond.com Classes are held on the Central Coast, and I can give you the address when you book.

Hope you can join us!

Linda :-)

Monday 14 November 2011

Card No. 2 for this week's Christmas card class



OK... so its late and you'll have to excuse my clumsy night photography... but I wanted to post this photo of one of the cards we are making at this week's Christmas Stamp-A-Stacks. If you've been following my blog you will remember that I put up the other card a few days ago (click HERE to see it) so now you know what they both look like. :-)

You get to make 3 cards in each of these 2 designs for a cost of $15, so that you go home with a total of 6 lovely Christmas cards. I always run these classes as both a night class and a day class so that as many of you can attend as possible. At this point I do still have spaces in both tomorrow night's class (the 15th November at 7.30pm) or Wednesday's class (the 16th November at 11am). Light refreshments and all materials are supplied. To grab yourself a spot, simply email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com.

Dont forget if there is anything you wish to order, you dont need to wait for a workshop. Just email me your order anytime and I will see that it gets to you. I place orders at least once a week, so the turn-around time is very fast.

I hope you enjoy the card... I only just got my hands on the "Merry and Type" stamp set, and so its been getting a workout. :-) I also used the "Petals-A-Plenty" embossing folder on this card.. it works really well for Christmas cards, because the flowers resemble Poinsettias. And dont forget that this embossing folder and various other Big Shot folders and dies are on special this month. To see whats on special, click HERE.

Friday 11 November 2011

Christmas Stamp-a-Stacks next week - November 2011



Just a quick post today to remind people that I still have a few spots left at the two Christmas Stamp-a-Stacks I will be running next week. At Stamp-a-Stacks you get to create 6 cards (3 each of 2 different designs) and of course this means that you have 6 more cards to add to your Christmas card stash. Which is becoming a pretty good idea now that its only 6 weeks to Christmas! Aaaaargh! I really need to get my act together and get organized! (Every year I say that!)

Ok.. so here are the details if you would like to join us for a creative session:


When: Tuesday 15th November @ 7.30pm OR Wednesday 16th November @ 11am

Where: My place @ Narara on the Central Coast - address supplied when booking.

Cost: $15

All materials and light refreshments provided.

I've posted one of the cards we will be making. We'll be breaking out the Gold Embossing powder for this one :-) Hope you like it!


Saturday 5 November 2011

Fiji Incentive Trip - Days 4 and 5



I still have two more days of our Fiji trip to share with you. (Sorry its taken me a couple of weeks.. Im almost there now!)

The final day of the trip dawned bright and clear again. The Saturday of the trip is always ours to spend how we like, although the Farewell dinner is held on that last evening. Some of the girls and their guests lazed by the pool, and some went on various daytrips. When Denielle and I went down to a leisurely breakfast we ended up chatting to Shelli and Sage who had just returned from an early morning Hot Air Ballooning adventure... they raved about it! For me, I was just happy to have a day to chill out and do very little!

Our breakfast spot right by the lilypads:



But right AFTER breakfast, Shelli said they were planning to go Sky Diving! Talk about packing in lots of adventure into one day! Me? I had a booking at the Hotel Spa for a pedicure. Well actually they called it a "Foot Ritual"... it was an hour of foot massage and pampering, and was soooo relaxing. I love being able to treat myself to the occasional pampering session!

Here is the spa:




Holiday feet:




Then we had a beautiful lunch with Mango Cocktails at Salt Restaurant.. and ended up sharing a table with Shelli and Sage again!

Here is the table at Salt:




Denielle and myself:




Then the four of us went for ice creams (really really good icecreams by the pool!) before wandering up to the Hospitality suite for some more American "candy" and a wheel spin. I forgot to mention the wheel spins in my earlier posts. I think this year's prizes were even better than previous years. My favourite prize was a gorgeous Baja Breeze cardi, with the SU logo on the sleeve. Just lovely... it's getting lots of wear! Each year I have really enjoyed catching up with the girls in the hospitality suite... lots of chit-chat and lounging around. It's so lovely to be around people whose company you enjoy in such a relaxing atmosphere.


Teresa, myself and Denielle on the balcony overlooking the pool:



In the afternoon, Denielle and I did a bit of souvenir shopping in the local Port village. The Australian dollar works out very well right now in Fiji, so its a good time to be buying a few bits and pieces to take home. I bought some gifts for the kids, and also a couple of souvenirs for me too. Each year I try to bring back something for the house so that I can have reminders around me of the various trips I have been able to take.

That night the dress code was "Smart Casual" and we firstly enjoyed mocktails and nibblies out on the verandah, before being asked to make our way down to the beach for a spectacular "Firedancing" display. My photos of this came out very poorly I'm afraid. Then we headed back to the main hotel to into a beautifully decorated room for dinner. Each table place had an Oyster shell with our name card (the shells were from Broome to encourage us to earn next year's Incentive Trip!). Dinner was of course a wonderful meal, and we were just about to start dessert when a choir of schoolchildren from one of the local schools entered the room to sing to us. They were mesmerizing! I don't think there were many dry eyes in the room by the time the children had finished singing. The last item that they performed was the traditional Fijian "Goodbye Song" and even though I didn't of course understand the words, the emotion in the song is unmistakable. It was completely beautiful, and such an honour. Shelli of course spoke to us all, and each time I listen to her, I am very sure of the message that she has... that as demonstrators we are so valued, and that they are very interested in us, and in how are businesses and growing here in Australia and New Zealand. I find her very inspiring!

Here is dessert:



The funny thing is that I was so enthralled with the children singing that I actually forgot to eat my dessert! When I came back to the table it was gone! Never mind... I had enough food in Fiji to last me a lifetime!(Note that I didn't forget to take a photo of it though!)


Here is Shelli, myself, Denielle and Sage at dinner:




Our final night pillow gift was a wooden Kava bowl and even a packet of "Kava mix"... I haven't actually made it up, but I looooove the bowl:


So ended another wonderful day.

The final morning we needed to be up bright and early to head back to the airport. Our breakfast was served in the hotel lobby and we selected our pastries and fruit to fill our take away boxes with. Coffee was also supplied.. yay for that! We were at the airport in plenty of time, and did some last minute duty-free shopping before boarding our plane. We were seated all quite close to each other so we were able to chat a little about our wonderful trip, and I have to say the trip passed quite quickly for me.

Before we knew it, we were back in Sydney and collecting our bags. There were some sad goodbyes and hugs, and then back to reality!

I have enjoyed each and every Incentive Trip that I have been honoured to earn in my career with Stampin' Up!.. but as unbelievable as it sounds, this was my favourite one so far! Fiji is just a magical place, and I would love to go back again... and I would really love to take the kids because they would just love it. So I just might have to start saving my pennies!

I can't thank SU enough for the way they spoil us and make us feel valued. It makes it all worthwhile, and I feel so very lucky! Thank you for reading about my adventures... I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing about it.

Linda xx

Wednesday 2 November 2011

My little November Special




November is such a busy month.. everybody is starting to think about shopping for Christmas gifts, so why not do some of your gift shopping with me? Not only do we have lots of wonderful gifts for crafty people, I also do gift vouchers for any amount so that your giftee can choose their own gifts. This is especially great for the guys... if they just dont know what to buy, put them in touch with me and we can organize a gift voucher so that you can get what you REALLY want for Christmas!!

I also have a couple of extra classes this month... with Christmas around the corner I have a couple more Christmas Stamp A Stacks.

As my little November special, if you attend any class this month and spend $50 or more at the class, you will get your class at 50% off.

Stay tuned for details of my next project class, and the Christmas gift class which will also be announced shortly.

Enjoy this beautiful Spring weather... I treated myself to a coffee and a browse through the windows in East Gosford this morning. I love these kind of days!

Tuesday 1 November 2011

A sale to Die For!!!



Welcome everyone! We have a great special for you this month... if you are a Big Shot owner.. (or other die cutting machine)... or maybe you were thinking about buying yourself a Big Shot for Christmas? Well now is the time!

During November, get 10 percent off select Big Shot dies. Use these exclusive dies to create fabulous shapes, embossing, and more!

Here are the dies on special for you:

10% Off the Price of these:

Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die (rrp $21.95) now $19.75
Flower Burst Embosslits Die (rrp $21.95) now $19.75
Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (rrp $14.95) now $13.45
Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (rrp $14.95) now $13.45
Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (rrp $14.95) now $13.45
Buttons #5 Sizzlits Die (rrp $9.95) now $8.95
Pillow Box Bigz Die (rrp $36.95) now $33.25
Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (rrp $39.95) now $35.95
Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die (rrp $39.95) now $35.95
Mover & Shapers Punch Windows (rrp $54.95) now $49.45
Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die (rrp $69.95) now $62.95
Petal Cone Bigz L Die (rrp $59.95)now $53.95

Don't have a Big Shot? Get 10 percent off the exclusive Big Shot Bundle! The Big Shot Bundle (item 128944) includes the following:

Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine
Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die
Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

For this bundle of items you would normally pay $186.85, but for the month of November pay only $168.16.


I will be making sure that I am demoing lots of Big Shot stuff all month so you can play with all these items (I have most of them, and I guess its safe to say I will have them all myself by the end of the month because we get our Demonstrator discount ON TOP of the other discount!). And the Big Shot demonstrations will kick off this weekend as I am heading out to the Penrith Papercraft Festival. The festival runs from the 4th to 6th November, so if you are looking for a fun day out please come along, and dont forget to visit us at the Stampin'Up! stand. You can even sit and make a card with us. :-)

To order products, including this month's great specials, please just email me at lindastamps@bigpond.com. Or if you wish to attend any classes or events, please also contact me via email. I am on the Central Coast, NSW, and very happy to assist you will all your papercraft questions and product needs. Products can be shipped to anywhere in Australia for a small postage charge.

Enjoy the specials!