My Beautiful Friend Kyles

You know how some people are just gorgeous inside and out? Well, my friend Kylie is one of those people. She made these for me last week, and I wanted to share them with you too. She should be getting her own blog up and running soon...

She has used Very Vanilla, Taken with Teal and Purely Pomegrenate card/envelopes, and Purely Pomegranate ink. The funky bag was inspired by a blog she visits (can't remember which one sorry, but I've been told it has also featured on SCS) and was created using an envelope and the Tag punch. She's also used the Petals wheel, Boho Backgrounds and Garden Whimsy stamp sets, scallop, circle and tag punches and finished it with 5/8" Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon and an antique brass brad. The card also features Boho Backgrounds and the scallop and circle punches, and was finished with a rhinestone brad from the Pretties Kit.

This was such a lovely gesture, and gorgeous work. Thanks for being such a wonderful friend Kylie.

And a big hello to all my other friends - especially those I don't get to see as often as we'd like. You know who you are!

T xxx

Farewell to a friend

As some of you may already know, we lost a friend last week in tragic circumstances, and today was the day to say goodbye. He was a former work colleague of mine, and I still work with his partner, and he was always good for a drink when we ran into him while we were out. He is going to be deeply missed by so many of the Katherine community, and further afield.

This card was one of the hardest I've had to make so far, but I wanted to do this for his partner and little boy. I think the result was ok... It really is the toughest occasion to create for.

I used Blue Bayou and River Rock card, with Blue Bayou ink. The stamps are from Baroque Motifs and the swirls were stamped in Versamark, then clear embossed.

You're going to be missed so much. Have a drink with Matt for us!!

Happy Birthday Mum

Today is my Mum's birthday. The rest of the family were able to get together for dinner, but travelling 2700km this year was a bit much (we did it 2 years ago - pre Luana!), and we had a funeral too. Anyway, I made this card a little while ago, and just knew it had to be for Mum. Any guesses on the colour?!? Green of course!
Here's the card:
and the bits inside:

I'm really happy with it. The inspiration came from a SCS challenge about a month ago (Double Pocket card; the direct tutorial came from Joy in a JAR (http://www.jarfullofjoy.blogspot.com/). She has some awesome things on her blog - including great cards, amazing photos of her garden and scrummy recipes!).

I used (now discontinued) Au Chocolate DSP, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Certainly Celery card, with Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip ink and ribbons. The stamped images come from the retired set Delight in Life, which was actually one of the very first sets I ordered!!

Happy Birthday Mum!

Oh, and Dad really liked his card too!

Can you help?

Just for this post, I'm going to take off my creative hat, and put on another - my AFS volunteer one.

As you may have realised from my tagged blog, I was an exchange student to Paraguay, which was one of the best experiences of my life. So, now to help other students have an awesome experience too, I am a volunteer with AFS Intercultural Student Exchanges.

In August, we will be welcoming a new group of students to Australia, and we are looking for 2 families in the NT to welcome them into their homes and make them feel like part of the family (if you don't live in the NT, but are interested in hosting, we are looking for families in other states too). It's experiencing another culture without leaving home!

We have 2 young men who we are looking to place - a 16 year old boy from Italy and a boy from Brazil. I have more information available upon request.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer host family, please let me know at natashamurray12@gmail.com ASAP. If you live outside the NT, I will pass your details onto the appropriate people.

If you would like to find out more information about hosting, or if someone in your family is interested in becoming an exchange student, or you would like to become a volunteer, please feel free to contact me, or check our the AFS website www.afs.org.au

Thanks!!

Demo Night

My sister demonstrator and friend Mel organised a demo night for us last night - thanks Mel!! We had a great time discussing tips and hints and made a couple of funky cards - once again, thanks Mel! As part of the night, we participated in a swap; conditions were - faux tiling technique and at least one In Colour. I was a bit cheeky (once again) and also had to make a card for my Dad's birthday, so decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Plus, I know how hard I find it making male cards, so thought I lend a bit of inspiration to the other participants.

I used the So Saffron Palette O' Prints DSP - if you like this, please let me know as stocks are running out FAST (see my previous post today) - as well as Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi, Real Red and Whisper White card. The great star and argyle print are from Classic Backgrounds and the greeting is from the very groovy Eat Cake. I used More Mustard (also edged the 'tiles' with it), Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou ink, as well as antique brass brads. I like it, but I'm not sure if it's quite 'right' for a 50+ year old man; I'm sure Dad will like it no matter what.

Now I just need to get thinking about a card for my brother in July....

Palette O' Prints Update

Just a quick note for those of you who are still waiting to place your orders for the fabulous Palette O' Prints promotion.
This promotion has been so successful, that stocks will run out before the end of the month. If you haven't ordered your sample pad (for a bargain $12.95) yet, e-mail me at natashamurray12@gmail.com ASAP with your $35 order and I'll get it in for you.
Once they're gone, they're gone!

Down and Up Lines

I must say a big congratulations to 2 of my team members, Kylie and Prue, who were recently promoted to Senior Associate. Well done girls!! I was so excited for them, I made this creation for them.Once again, another simple card (do you see a pattern emerging at the moment....?). Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla card with Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip ink. The fabulous background is courtesy of Baroque and the flower is from Baroque Motifs. And a little bit of 5/8" Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon is the finishing touch.

I must also say a huge thank you to my wonderful friend and upline Karen for her gorgeous card for my promotion to Supervisor and my lovely gifts from convention - check out her blog at http://www.karenmrobinson.blogspot.com/ She's amazing!

One last little bit. I had a team get together at the start of this month with my 4 girls. We had a great morning sharing our latest and greatest creations and news. If you would like to join us as a demonstrator, just let me know! We're a pretty cruisy bunch!

We made this cute little make and take for our displays:

It's based on the card I made for Mum for Mother's Day, using the Certainly Celery papers from the Palette O' Prints promotion (see the earlier post for details), as well as Regal Rose and Whisper White card. I used Regal Rose ink, stamped off for the base of the flower from Bud Basics, and finished the flower with a green Ice Circle Rhinestone brad. I wasn't sure initially about the colour combo (off the Colour Coach), but put together it looks quite sweet.

Birthdays are Time Well Spent

Apologies for the long time between postings. I have just spent a few days in Darwin for a workshop, and Mum was able to fly up to look after Luana, so it was fabulous spending time with her. As usual the Mindil Beach markets were great and the sunsets just gorgeous!

My offering tonight is a card I made for an 'old' friend of mines 30th - we've been buddies since first year Uni. I'm surprised I actually passed Chemistry sitting next to Suze in lectures ;-) We were invited to celebrate with her, but couldn't make it - we'll be celebrating next visit to Adelaide though!

The photo really doesn't do this card justice - sorry. Although I am probably a bit biased as it contains 2 of my favourite elements - butterflies and purple! I used Basic Black, Whisper White and Lovely Lilac card, and Lovely Lilac ink and Stamp 'n Write Marker (from Bold Brights). The stamps are from the gorgeous Level 3 Hostess set Time Well Spent and the butterfly flight was added using the white gel pen. Very simple, but I really like it, and so did Suze!

Happy Mother's Day

It's hard to believe it's this time of year again. This is my second mother's day, and I'm really looking forward to spending the day with my little family, but I really do miss spending it with my Mum and grandmother too. I'll be seeing Mum next week though, so it's not so bad.
I spent last weekend making cards for the Mum's in my life, so here they are:

This card was created for my grandmother. She really likes earth tones, but I had to brighten it up a tad...

I used the Paisley background stamp to create the abridged fake tearing background. The greeting comes from the fabulous Wonderful Favourites set and the flower is from Looks Like Spring (I've finally used it Karen!!). I used the new In Colour River Rock, Rose Red and Whisper White card, and Bashful Blue, Rose Red and Chocolate Chip ink, and the brilliant Spring Flower Bouquet Punch so I didn't have to cut out the little flower by hand. Quite simple but I'm pretty sure Mamma will like it.

For the cards for our Mums, I used the two way open template from Split Coast Stampers. A really easy way to make tricky looking cards! Of course, Mum's had to be green.Closed

One way open

Two way open

I used Petals & Paisleys DSP (again, but I needed green!), Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock. Once again Wonderful Favourites was used for the words and Buds Basics and Polka Dots and Paisley provided the flowers. I used Rose Red and Tempting Turquoise inks, and the flower on the front was finished with a Kaiserscrapbook rhinestone (because I didn't have my Fire Circle Rhinestone brads). I was really happy with how this turned out. So happy, that I made Paul's Mum's in a similar vein.

For this one though, I used retired Au Chocolat DSP with Chocolate Chip, Almost Amethyst and Very Vanilla card. Chocolate Chip and Almost Amethyst (to ink the edges of the Very Vanilla) ink and the greeting is from the retired set All Year Cheer II. I also stamped the flower bouquet from Carte Postal on the inside, but I think this post has too many photos already, so I'm not going to add it!

I would like to wish all the mothers in my life a wonderful day on Sunday, and an extra special wish for Mum and Mamma. Love you and miss you both xxx.

Palette O' Prints

Now that the excitement surrounding the new catalogue has started to die down (for some), Stampin' Up! have brought out a fantastic offer for May. With every $35 purchase, you can also purchase an exclusive 48 pg pad of 6"x6" double sided Prints Designer Series Paper for $12.95. Even more exciting is that the papers are in Certainly Celery and Rose Red (available as 12"x12" as well!) AND So Saffron and Almost Amethyst (exclusive to this promotion). I have just received mine today and they are gorgeous - I can't wait to sit down tonight and work with them.
Check out http://www3.stampinup.com/au/ena/default.asp if you would like to see the colours.
If you would like to take advantage of this great offer (and there's not limit to how many you can order, as long as you spend the appropriate $35), just e-mail me at natashamurray12@gmail.com and I'll organise it for you. If you don't have a local demonstrator, I can send orders directly to you anywhere in Australia.