Changes

Hi all, I hope everybody had a very happy Christmas and is looking forward to the new year! We've been away to Germany for Christmas with my family, and it was a minor miracle that we even got there! Our flight was at 6.35am on 23 December, and it started snowing about 5.45am... Boarding was started only to be interrupted again and then we spent the next 7 hours waiting for the snow to stop long enough that the runways could be cleared, planes de-iced and prepared for take-off. We finally left at about 1pm - phew! The kids did great, behaved themselves really very well for all those hours with very little entertainment. There was only a little snow left in Germany and it all melted while we were there. We had a lovely time, with lots of visits to and from friends and relatives, playing games and enjoying the odd glass of wine ;-) We came back yesterday, during one of the few snow-less intervals, which again was very lucky. It's still a winter wonderland here, we haven't had anything like this for years (the last deep, lasting snow I remember was in Feb 2001, our first winter outside Edinburgh), everywhere is just covered in white with about a foot of snow on the ground!

Well, the main reason for this post is to let you know about a change to my blogs. I'm no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (various personal reasons), so all SU! related things in the sidebar are gone, and I've also merged my SU! blog with this blog, so there are a number of extra posts on here now. I'll be tidying up over the next wee while and then hope to resume business as usual - well, actually, a bit better than usual, I hope to be crafting lots!!! I know, I say this regularly, but I do mean it! :) My SU! blog will eventually be deleted.

Wish I could leave you with an image of some sort, but haven't got anything handy just now and really need to get off this PC to finish tidying and cleaning - just in case we have a first-foot tonight ;-)

Happy Hogmanay/New Year's Eve and all the best for 2010! See you soon!

Birthday Cards

Youngest daughter had a number of birthday parties to attend, and I was a good mummy and made birthday cards for all her little friends. I must admit I'm not particularly good at putting names and ages on cards, but I try to make them cute and kiddie-friendly. Here's the lot:

Maggie with Flowers from Sugar Nellie

Henry Mouse from Whiff of Joy, retired Stampin' Up! DSP

Magnolia image, pp unknown, Stampin' Up! flower punches

Hope you enjoy this little selection, I certainly enjoyed the change from making Christmas cards. However, I will try and post some more seasonal creations soon. Thanks for looking!

Fun Stuff

I did a workshop last Saturday, and because it was a fairly small group, I didn't just make a hostess gift, I made a wee thing for the guests, too:

It started with the party blowers - Paula had handed out some at a Stampin' Up! field training day in June, and I'd been intending to make them ever since. And then I was on a roll, bought Skittles (because they matched the blowers so nicely), put them into little cello bags and added tags tied on with ribbon. Colours are Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow and Real Red, stamps are from the hostess set Darling Dots which has got a great variety of cute little images.
Well, both gifts went down a treat and there was a lot of tooting to be heard when we first started :)

Hoping to have some Christmas cards to show soon - thanks for stopping by!

Oh Boy!

This is not good. I last blogged a month ago. Must do better. Here's a card for a change:

Youngest daughter went to a birthday party last Saturday: the wee boy next door turned 6 and he's football mad. So a football-themed card in the appropriate colours was in order. I've used a Magnolia image, Stampin' Up! Glorious Green cardstock, Papertrey sentiment and unknown brads.

Hopefully, once Christmas card production is cranked up a gear (or five), I'll have more to show on here. Feeling rather bah-humbug about the holidays this year, cannot get into the spirit of things. Maybe it's because it's still November, although the shops would like you to believe otherwise. And there is a number of oh-so-organised people I know who have already completed all their Christmas shopping which unfortunately only adds to my feelings of bah-humbug. I shall let you know when I start to feel more festive. Till then, thanks for looking!

Back from Convention 2009!

Hi all, I'm back from the first ever European Stampin' Up! Convention, which was held in Bad Homburg, near Frankfurt, Germany! :) And what a great time we had! I'm still feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, because it was just such a lovely atmosphere, meeting people, making new friends, sharing ideas (the swaps were GREAT!), partying, laughing, dancing - so much fun! I'm going to have to start saving my pennies very soon, so I can go to next year's convention, which is going to be held in London!
Now the plan was to upload a few photos that I took, but alas, the computer has other ideas, so this will have to come later.
On the plus side for me, I can get off the computer now and start crafting, because I've got all these ideas from convention going round in my head - hugely inspirational! - and I just want to get started :) Bye for now and fingers crossed hubby will get the PC to play ball again soon.

Become a Demonstrator...

... and get 10% off the starter kit! In conjunction with our participation in the Hobbycrafts shows, Stampin' Up! are offering new demonstrators 10 percent off the cost of the Starter Kit from 22 October-13 November! That’s over £240 worth of stamping and business supplies for only £125 - 10 percent off the regular price of £139.

The Starter Kit contains:

Four complete stamp sets
Stampin’ Around jumbo wheel, ink cartridge, and handle
Ribbon
Card stock
Love Notes and envelopes
Five Classic Stampin’ Pads
Stampin’ Pastels
Craft & Rubber Scissors
Stampin’ Scrub and Mist
VersaMark Pad
Blender pens
Adhesives
Business supplies

Contact me if you'd like to join, and don't delay, because this is a limited-time offer!

Still here!

You'd think I've got all this free time now with youngest daughter at school all day, but don't ask me how - the day just disappears and I've still not got very much to show for my efforts. I suppose school life was busy, and I've had a few Stampin' Up! events to prepare for, but really, I should have something to blog about by now! Well, no cards I'm afraid. I've started on a few, coloured some images, tried to gather ideas, but got no further. So instead, I'm going to show you a few photos from our trip on Saturday to the Trossachs. It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day, absolutely perfect! A good time was had by all, and the girls didn't start complaining about sore legs until the very end! :)

All taken along Loch Voil, near Balquihidder, where Rob Roy is buried. If you get a chance, go! It's a lovely corner of the world :)