Hi there, well my new blog style didn't get me posting did it!! Things have been a bit hectic and we have been away for a lovely snow skiing holiday so I haven't done a great deal of crafting - which is just plain criminal considering all the lovely new Caty product that I have in my house! Hoping for some more crafting time and a return of my mojo soon...in the meantime here are some pics of old projects for you. This first lot are some CD folders and pens that I sent to my downlines and friends from Convention.

This next one is a layout I put together for a class using the Sunny Day simply scrappin kit. You may also notice the decorated jar we made and some little acetate pillow boxes there as well.

Do you like my ribbon rack in the background? Rick made it for me and it's awesome. One day I'll take some photos and give you a proper look.

My New Look

Wow! How cool is my new look blog!! I love it. I purchased it from the talented Michelle Laycock - there's a link on the side bar if you want to check out her work.

No projects today - I just wanted to try out the new look and say thank you so much to those who have left me lovely comments - every time I get one it makes my day!

I also need to say a big thanks to Leah for awarding me the "Cherry on Top" award:

The rules are:
1. Thank the person who gave you this award.

2. Copy the award onto your blog.

3. List three things you love about yourself.

4. Post a picture you love.

5. Tag 5 people you wish to pass this award on to.

So...three things I love about me...that's hard but I guess I would say... Firstly, that I am lucky enough to have a wonderful beautiful, healthy Daughter; Secondly, that I have had a good education; and lastly, that I have had a lot of experiences in my life - I've been to many places and done lots of things.

OK, now I have HEAPS of photos that I love, but for some reason the first one that came into my head was this one of Breanna and I in Fiji in 2006, I don't know exactly what it is about the photo - I think maybe because it shows a connection between Bre and I - but anyway I love it:

And finally the 5 lovely people I have tagged are:

Cassie

Mel

Natasha

Kylie

Nerine

Testing the siggy

Write your post here!

Convention Swaps

Kind of old news now, but here are the cards I made as swaps for Convention 2010 back in May. The first 3 are the same basic layout I just varied the colours, feature and sentiment:

I only made 10 of these last ones - basically just to use up some die cuts!! I really didn't like them and nearly didn't take them at all but surprisingly they were quite popular:

I received some awesome cards in exchange for mine, so if I swapped with you, thanks so much!!
My highlight was swapping with two stampers I really admire - Kirsty Brown & Teneale Williams - their cards have pride of place in my scrap room!

A Couple of Layouts

Hi, Hope you've all had a fab weekend! I've been trolling back through photos of projects I didn't get around to putting on here and found these two layouts. This first one I did to show a class how you could make the same layout look entirely different by changing the weighting of colours and the photo. You may recognise the layout from the original one featured here. For this version I made So Saffron the main colour and added a sunset photo I took on Hamilton Island...

Love this photo of B but I'm not sure about this lo though...lots of fussy cutting but didn't really get the look I was after...

Drop by again soon, a new look is on the way...Karen xx

It's been a while...

Wow...its been 6 months since I last posted...it doesn't seem like that long! I needed a bit of a break from blogging but I didn't intend to be missing in action for months. Anyway, sorry to any of you who have been checking in and seeing no progress, especially since I promised at Convention I would be back blogging as soon as I got home!!

So what's news your wondering...well I'm still a demo, I'm still doing the odd workshop and classes every so often. I did consider giving up SU! because of my day job and other commitments, but the fact is I just love it too much to give it away. I love the personal sense of satisfaction I get from creating something, and I love it when I can share that feeling with someone else by teaching them how to make it too!!

My family are all well, although we did have a horrid time a while back when Breanna got Scarlet Fever - an illness I thought was long gone from the modern world. Breanna turned 5 in April - OMG time flies, she's off to 'Big School' next year and cant wait.

On the creative front I have done a fair bit of scrapbooking and card making though I haven't taken photos of many of them. Here is a couple of projects from a while back... I may have cased the cards but it was so long agao I have no idea where from...the first is a card and cash wallet were for a friends wedding, the next is a sympathy card, and lastly a Twilight inspired journal which was a thank you gift for a friends teenage daughter who helped me out with tracking down something I needed for Breanna for Christmas...

As for the future of my blog, I'm giving it a bit of a make over and will be doing my best to post more regularly, I will be aiming for at least one post every couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to trying out some of the challenges that are out there as well. Until next time...K

Claire's Cupcake & Muffin Box Templates

In my Christmas gift making spree I made this gorgeous packaging using templates generously provided by one of the very talented SU! Demonstrators of the Year - Claire Daly. You can get the templates here. They were great fun to make and can be tailored to suit any theme - I can see myself making a few of these. Thanks again Claire.

Happy New Year!!

Wow how time flies - I can't believe its been so long between posts!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & and wish you all the best for the New Year.

So much has happened since my last post I don't know where to start...there has been highs and lows, a few adventures and a lot of creating. Sadly I lost my best bud for the last 14 years "Bear". We all miss him heaps but he was very old for a Staffordshire and unfortunately they cant live forever.

On the creative front ...I made quite a few Chrissie pressies this year, I decorated this ribbon box for my Mum...

Breanna had 5 Preschool teachers last year so I made each of them a covered notebook:

We packaged the notebooks and a small bag of chocs shown below (cased from the mega talented Karen Thomas) into these gift bags. They were all a hit with the teachers.

Oh yeah and on the 1 December we got a great new Summer Mini Caty - its awesome - check out the online copy on the right or email me if you would like one posted to you. Just a couple of the highlights are the Butterfly punch and the Circle Scissors - both featured on the notebooks above.

I had planned for this to be a much longer post but blogger is driving me insane (wont let me move the photos around) so I'll be back with another post shortly.

How Cute...

I am one proud Mum!! Breanna had her first dance concert on the weekend and she did a fabulous job! I was terrified she would freeze or run off the stage, but she was wonderful and oh so cute...Here's a couple of pics - pretty crappy photography but you get the general idea.

Their item was called Rainbows and Friends...here she is

and here with some of her mini movers group (I've pixelated the other girls faces for privacy reasons)

Isn't that just gorgeous!

Now for some other exciting news...I'm off to Sydney for a four day weekend - YAY!!!! That's great in itself, but how good is this....Day 1 -we are going to see New Moon in the Gold Class Cinema in George St, Day 2 a whole day of Stampin' Up! fun at the Sydney regional (Woo Hoo), Day 3 Pearl Jam concert and day 4 Australian Museum to see the dinosaur exhibits!!! And all this while based in a 5 star apartment in Darling Harbour with Rick, Bre and my Mum coming along as our live in babysitter. I am so lucky, and very very grateful. Cant wait!! I'll be back with pics and details sometime next week (when I have gotten over all that excitement!)

More Tree Trimmings...

My absolute favorite set from the current Spring Mini Catalogue would have to be Tree Trimmings. Its a fantastic set for making quick & easy Christmas cards. Here's a couple of cards to demonstrate...As you can see I'm also a fan of the wide striped ribbon too...

If you'd like details on any of these cards please email me or leave a comment.
The Spring mini finishes at the end of this month so times running out to contact me if you'd like to place an order.

Just a super quick post ...we have Breanna's first dance concert today! and as if that wasn't enough we are also off to see Kate Miller Heidke in concert tonight!!! So off I go to get everyone ready! I'll be back soon with photos...

Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

As promised here are a couple of pics of some of the Christmas items I've made lately...The first one is a Christmas Stocking made using Lauren Meaders template using Ski Slope DSP - very cute:

Next is a coffee jar decorated with Ski Slope DSP and filled with Christmas Choccies:

This Bag-a-lope features Holiday treasures DSP and the Soft Holly wheel:

This acetate box also features the Holiday treasures DSP:

Please email me if you'd like more info on any of these projects. I'll be back soon with the Christmas cards...Have a great weekend everyone!

Tree Trimmings

I couple of weeks back I did another workshop for the Crafty Sisters (waving!) These are the projects we made. The first is a cute little matchbox...

Wouldn't you just love to get something nice and shiny in that for Chrissy! I'm thinking diamond earrings but some of girls thought they'd be ideal for Pandora beads! We used the holiday treasures DSP, Old Olive and Ruby Red cardstock, and the sentiment is from the Best Yet Hostess SS. Thanks very much to the extremely talented Karen Thomas for the poinsettia idea - I've been using them heaps - they are so effective!

The next project was a card using the very popular Tree Trimmings SS. This one is in the Spring Mini caty - so if you don't have this set yet you've only got until the end of November to get it.

The Holiday treasures DSP was used for the background, the card base is Sahara Sand and there is also some brushed gold on there. The holy was done using the Soft Holly wheel in Old Olive then going over the berries with a Ruby Red marker. Seasons greetings is from the Snow Swirled SS and has been gold embossed.

I've done dozens of Christmas cards and gifts lately so I'll be making an effort to get on here more frequently to show you all. Hope you like my first Christmas offering for 09!

I've been scrappin'!!!

I had a wonderful weekend this one just past, the weather was very conducive to staying indoors, and for once we had no plans... so I took advantage and got some stamping and scrapping done. I've made quite a few Christmas projects but I'll save those for next time, and i completed three layouts:

This first one is of the native Australian marsupial Rufous Bettong (more commonly known as the Rat Kangaroo) they are smallest of all the kangaroos - so there's your nature lesson for today! I captured this cute photo when we were on Hamilton Island earlier this year and just had to scrap it:

This is an all SU! Layout. The papers are from the Urban Oasis DSP pack, the colours are Basic Grey and Kiwi Kiss, I've used some Kiwi Kiss ribbon, a basic grey corduroy brad and some chipboard from the On Board So Tweet set. The title is stamped using the Big Deal Alphabet and both the title and chipboard have been coated in Chrystal Effects for dimension. Its a very basic layout but it works I think.

Here's a couple of non-SU! layouts I did as well. These two photos are also from our Hamilton Island holiday. I absolutely love this first shot of Breanna:

Meet The Commander

As promised here's a pic of my new big black boy... the awesome Jeep Commander...

He's so cool I'm absolutely in heaven driving this baby! He has everything that opens & shuts and can just about drive himself! Woo Hoo!!

Its a Jeep thing...You wouldn't understand! (You would Bettina. What do you think? Rick cant wait to show it off at the next Cherokee Club outing!)

On a stamping note I haven't done anything for ages but the creative bug is biting again which is a good sign! I'm going to get stuck into making some Christmas projects real soon and I have a couple of workshops coming up - nothing like a workshop to get me motivated! So check back soon and hopefully I'll have something other than my new car to show you!

Forest Friends

How cute are the animals in the Forest Friends set!! I love them, and couldn't resist using them for the Spring Mini swap that my gorgeous friend Mel Hanlon organised. Here's my swap:

I love receiving swap cards in the mail, they were all gorgeous - I may take a photo and show you them all...later.

I haven't been doing much creating lately - my mojo has been on holidays...too much other "stuff" happening at the moment. But I do have some exciting news (for me anyway) I've bought a new car- brand spanking new (a Jeep of course for those that know me!) I pick it up in a couple of weeks - so I'll show you a photo of my new baby when I get him...he's big and black...

My AMM Vituri Handbag

For some time now I have been admiring the AMM Vituri Handbags...well a few months back I bit the bullet and decided to spoil myself...here is my cool personalised handbag...

Now the trim and lining is a very nice pale pink - extremely close to our beautiful SU! in-colour Pink Pirouette! See...


So that inspired me to make a co-ordinating notebook to keep in my bag...I used some papers and die-cut stickers from the Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' Kit...and of course personalised it with a beautiful picture of my darling girl....here it is:

I also stamped the inside pages using the priceless stamp set and Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette inks:

And of course I couldn't get the handbag without the wallet - so here is a picture of the complete set:

What do you think? If you'd like more info on the AMM Handbags ~ I got mine from www.craftainers.com.au (look under totes and bags - not sure if they have stock right now but they are very helpful so just drop them email).

I wish I got a dollar for every time someone asked me about the bag! We have been away for a short break in Sydney and I had to write the details of where I got it down for a couple of random strangers!! Its a great talking piece!!

Returning from Sydney and finally getting through my emails I got a nice surprise to find that the extremely talented and lovely Cassie (of the circle flowers fame -see previous posts!) has started her own blog - YAY!!! Do yourself a favour and check out her work here - you'll want to add her to your favorites!! I've also added a link to Cassie's blog from my Team members section on the right.

Until next time, Happy Stampin'!, Kaz xx

Shield Your Eyes - This One's Bright!!

You'll need your sunnies for this one - OMG - I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever used Summer Sun! Not being a yellow fan and all, but despite all the brightness and being totally out of my colour comfort zone, I am totally STOKED with this page - I loooove it!!! So much so I have framed it and put up in Bre's room! (she loves it too!)

So the page came together last night when I was instantly inspired by the Pink Flamingo DSP - I was supposed to be preparing for a workshop I'm doing this afternoon - but I just had to make this page! Lucky it was a quick one! In case you cant read the journaling it's the lyrics of "You are My Sunshine" which I just started singing when I saw the paper!!

All the products are SU! apart from the turquoise felt flower (which was a gift from Dannie who is now in Kuwait - miss you heaps!!). If you would like product details please let me know.