{Me}

The Last Chance List is quickly coming to an end. Stampin' Up! have announced this morning that to make room for new product they are offering a final discount on some products. Here's their announcement:

"Before we welcome many exciting new stamps and accessories, we need to make room in our warehouse by clearing out some high-inventory last-chance items. For the first (and probably last) time ever, we’ve added a select number of additional discounted last-chance items for the final days of the promotion. The Last Chance promotion ends 31 August, 2010. All items are only available while supplies last, and with these discounts, they won’t last long! Get your orders in soon, before these products are gone forever!"

These items are only available whilst stocks last. Contact me today to place your order before it's too late.

Last weekend I headed off by train for a craft weekend with friends. As I was travelling my train I was limited to what I could take. At the last minute I threw in a couple of packets of rub ons that I hadn't used up.

With just the rub ons and cardstock I was able to quickly assemble these notecards.

It's nice to have a little stash of cards ready to send.

The coloured rub ons are the Bright Delights set from the main catalogue (p139). The greetings are from a set that was available earlier in the year but could easily be replaced with stamped images from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments set in the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue (p26).

Throughout the month of June, Stampin' Up! are bringing you a new deal every week! With the Deals of the Week, you'll get up to 50 percent off a selection of products from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue!
This week's deal is big discounts on 5 of our accessories.

109113 p149 Square Ice Rhinestone Brads were $19.95 now $11.97

109111 p149 Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads were $19.95 now $11.97

109112 p149 Square Fire Rhinestone Brads were $19.95 now $11.97

111848 p150 Bashful Blue 1" Double Stitched ribbon were $19.95 now $10.97

109050 p151 Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon were $14.95 now $8.97

Contact me today to place your order.

On Thursday at 8pm (Sydney time) The INKlings are having their first ever Team Blog Hop. If you're new to blogging, a blog hop is a series of links between bloggers to showcase lots of fantastic ideas and creations.

There's a theme to the hop and it's based on probably what I'm asked for inspiration for the most! Can you guess what the theme is?

There will be 20 team members joining in and blog candy to give away. So make sure you drop by tomorrow evening for our first ever blog hop.

Over the last few days I've had many customers and fellow demonstrators ask me if I've made the 2010 Stampin' Up! Incentive Trip this year. The answer is not yet - but I'm working on it!

The year end finishes at the end of this month - March 31st - so that gives me just over 3 weeks to make it. At this point there are two ways I can achieve it, either through my team members promoting further or through aiming for the next level of sales this month.

Those of you who know me personally, know I'm a big believer in positive thinking and looking for the opportunities in every situation. So I have decided that to achieve the trip I'm going to think positively and be proactive so that I have an amazing March in terms of sales.

I have been very humbled by the wonderful hostesses who responded to an earlier email I sent that have offered to host a workshop before the end of the month to try and get me over the line. To my friends, fellow demonstrators and wonderful customers who are cheering me on I am so grateful.

4 years ago I never dreamt that I'd make one Incentive Trip let alone be so close to achieving my 4th. When I look at just the conversations I've had today with people that have come into my life because of Stampin' Up! there's no shortage of supportive, generous and uplifting people - with all that positive thinking I can already see myself getting excited about achieving the trip! Thanks everyone. I'll keep you all updated on my Incentive Trip Scramble!

I was lucky enough to receive lots of Christmas cards this year. This amazing pile are all the handmade Christmas cards. The walls they were hanging on look so bare now.

Whilst I haven't been posting here I've still been very busy. We had my husband's parents here for a month, we went away for a few days and we've been busy doing family things.

I got my sewing machine out a few weeks ago to make some sleep sheets for sleeping bags and it hasn't been away since - the boys love making things! So far they've made sleeping bags for teddies and we've stocked up on felt and they're making soft toys! I'll have to photograph them and share with you all.

The other reason I haven't posted as much is that on February 1st we're starting renovations to our home. We're adding a family room and rebuilding our bedroom and along with a few internal changes all but the boys' bedrooms and bathroom will be affected! So we've been out spending lots of time trying to agree on fixtures and fittings!

I won't be running classes from home until the building is finished but will find another location. When it is all finished I'll have a fantastic sized room to run events in.

This is nothing SU! related but as soon as I saw it on someone's blog (and I can't remember whose!) I wanted to make one.

They're really easy to make. Take a thin wire coathanger and bend into a circle. Unwind the hook so you can thread baubles on. Thread on lots of baubles. If the bauble tops come off easily you'll need to hot glue them on before starting to thread. These baubles were tightly fastened on so once I'd unhooked the wire it was a 15 minute job.

I grabbed my baubles from one of the cheap $2 style shops.

Twist the hook back together add some tinsel or ribbon and it's ready to hang.

Here's the same card in a different colour scheme. This time using the new Kaleidoscope Designer Series Papers from the Summer Mini. I've made a smaller box this time, the no adhesive triangle box and filled it with Lindt chocolates.

I love to match gift wrapping to cards. This gift was a thinking of you gift for a lovely friend. It's a book binding cover (thanks Teneale for this great idea), scored and folded to make a box. I've then stamped on it before filling it with chocolate. I've wrapped it in matching papers and ribbon and added a co-ordinating tag.

Here are the two together.

This is the box I used for Challenge #2 on the Girls' Night In but it was actually made a while ago and submitted for publication. This set didn't make it as it was felt that they may be too stark for styling purposes.

I'm never too disappointed when something isn't accepted. I don't often sit down and think to myself that I'm going to make something for a magazine. More times than not I've made one card, had some left overs so made a second and then when I've looked at them together I realise that if I made one or two more and I could have a set!