Makeesha Byl

Well it is such a lovely pleasure to recieve a blog award!!! Whilst I chug along at my own creativity, and sometimes waffle on here, it is nice to know someone out there either likes what they see, or manages a chuckle or two!

 Really whilst I feel funny to put these up here…….as if I am blowing my own trumpet, I am still grateful for the lovely ladies who have nominated me for these awards, and so I thank you!!!

 I have recieved the following award from:

Kim Evans, who has become my special friend from West Virginia * winking at you Kim!* Oh and enjoy those days in Florida!!! Check out her beautiful work at, http://www.kimevans.typepad.com/stamping_with_kim/

Nicole Stalker who is another Aussie demo, who does beautiful work….AND another mum to 4!! We are on the same wave length I think

Lynne from Michigan USA, of LWdesigns, http://lwdesigns.blogspot.com/2008/08/two-quick-cards.html

Isabelle from :  agathe2502.canalblog.com

Krista from : http://krista-kris.blogspot.com/2008/07/award.html

Marilyn from: http://www.stampwithmarilyn.typepad.com/

And from the very talented Samantha Post,  at  http://ryemilan.blogspot.com/  who I regularly visit….blog that is!

 I recieved this Arte y Pico award…now I have no idea what that actually means….the word that is, so if you do know, please enlighten me!

So how spoilt was I!!! Thanks again, and let’s just hope I can keep inspiring yoo allll outa dere!

Hi again,

 I just wanted to let you all know that I have finalized all the Stamp a thon efforts, and have worked out all the figures etc….

Thanks to those that bought the left over projects!!! Actually I had such a good reponse to them, that I made extras to sell to help with raising more funds! It was a rather big task, but with the help of my bestie Lee I got them all cut yesterday, but I still needed to stamp them up. SO last night I was saying to hubby how I just can’t wait to have them all finalized, and he offered to help!

Yep, I was rather suprised that he would put hand to stamp etc….. but hey did!!! And I got proof too……….

Here he is with the Tart and Tangy stamp set in his hands and the Pumpkin pie stamp pad…LOL!

I have to tell you though, that I don’t think he got addicted…….he was singing. ….. “One Powerball, and I’m outa here!”

That is an Aussie joke for everyone that has no idea what I am talkin about

Well thanks to his help, I have all the packs out at the Post office today, and could spend time tallying the funds.

I am really excited to tell you that we have raised $2,083 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation!!! WOO HOO! Even better than last year which is really exciting.

Thanks again to everyone that donated money, to Stampin’Up for their kind contribution of products, and to everyone who attended the day and made it so much fun!

Till next year hey……

Hello everyone,

Do you ever get those thoughts…..where has the week gone?

Well I just can’t believe how fast time is going, and that “to do” list never seems to become smaller because there is just new things added everyday! Well if I could add a few extra hours each day that would be the remedy to my losing hours in each day problem! hehehe

 Well I have recently showed you the last challenges, and then yesterday being Thursday it was time for the coming weeks new Challenges…….

Okay so for the first one, I picked a Scrapbook page sketch. I can’t remember where I have seen it, I just saved it for a rainy day, so it is not my own sketch but if anyway comes across it, let me know so that I can credit the creator!

Well it thought this was a fun one. Here is the sketch :

And here is what I did with it….

Okay here I have used the Brocade Basics stamp set. The base is textured Sage cardstock which I have stamped with Chocolate ink. I also added some half pearls to bling it up.

The next Challenge is to make something Monochromatic. Now I don’t ever recal making something like this, so it is a great challenge for me personally. I didn’t have much time at all, but managed to throw two cards together. They are really simple, but hopefully if I get a little more time, I will do something a little more elaborate with this challenge.

Here is my first card. It is using the Close as a Memory stamp set, I have used More Mustard and So Saffron together. The DS paper is So saffron, and then I mounted it onto Mustard cardstock. Lastly adding the mustard grosgrain ribbon, and Mustard brads.

With this card I have used the Lovely as a tree stamp set, stamping the trees and adding a little glitter for highlight. The colours are Always Artichoke, andMellow moss. The DS paper is from the Holiday Harmony pack, and I also used some Moss Taffeta ribbon.

NOW FOR THE BEAUTY!!!

I recieved this beautiful card in the post yesterday from Jenny Cain who is a SU demonstrator! It was such a lovely suprise, and after I had taken photos of my other cards, I looked at this, and thought…..Hey this is Monochromatic too! So I just had to show it off to you. Thanks a million Jenny for your thoughtfulness!

Well that is the Challenges. Remember if you want to play along you are welcome. All you need to do, is make your creation, and upload it to your blog, and then add it as a link in the comments block after this post.

Well back to that “to do” list, which I think I will attack my craft room, and master bedroom as they are a complete shambles!!!

Take care, and I will be back soon!

Well I know that sounds like a stupid title, but hey that is what I am about to show you

The Challenges for last week, I told you what they were, but hadn’t made any of the projects yet….(too busy with Stamp a thon) but promised to get them done and show you. And I have this weeks (runs till Thursday) done for you too…what fun!

Okay so last weeks one was to follow a sketch from Taylor VanBruggen at www.tayloredexpression@blogspot.com  and this is it here…..

I thought this was rather funky, but to be honest when I went to go put it to work, I found it harder than I thought I would!

Here is my first attempt, using the Fishy Friends stamp set, and the Spring Break DS paper pack. The base is Blue Bayou cardstock which I also stamped with the little circle stamp from the Priceless stamp set.

I have watercoloured the fish with my Aquapainter, and stamp pads on Watercolour paper.

With this card, I have used the Polka dots & Paisley stamp set. The pumpkin DS paper is from the Spring break DS paper. I have also used the Spiral punch and the colours are Chocolate chip, Pixie pink, and Pumpkin pie.

And last of all, I have used the Always stamp set, with Regal rose, Taken with Teal, and Close to cocoa cardstock and DS paper. Finishing it off with some Hodgepodge hardware and ribbon.

Okay so that was for the sketch, and the next Challenge was to show how you have used rub-on’s on your projects. Stampin’Up has released some BEAUTIFUL rub-on’s this year, and even in the new Spring mini.

Here is what I have used them with

On this little square card. I have used the large flower rub-on which is the white one, onto Elegant Eggplant cardstock and then cut it out. The base is Pretty in pink, and i have also added a strip of Soft sky cardstock along the bottom which I have rolled. Lastly adding the scallops and some white Taffeta ribbon and a pink button in the centre of the card.

This little card I have used Real red, and More mustard cardstock, with a strip of Old olive ribbon. The rub-on’s are the flowers on the top, along the ribbon, and the greeting at the bottom. I also added some staples, and mustard brads.

And then I have added them to this cute little bucket. I have this on my desk full of pens and scissors, and this is amazing how easy it is to add rub-on’s different items, like glass, wood, metal etc…… SOOOOO easy to bling up plain items up.

This weeks Challenges!

Okay for this weeks Challenges I set a colour challenge…….these are so much fun!!!

This weeks colours are Purely Pomegranite, River rock, and Very vanilla

With this card I used River rock for the base which I stamped with the Fine Lace background stamp. Then adding a strip of Holiday Harmony DS paper. Then using the very yummy pomegranite satin ribbon. Then I stamped the little bird with River rock ink. Then adding the little greeting which I stamped and punched out with my two circle punches and two copper brads.

This square card, I have used the new Holiday Harmony DS paper to make the base, then adding the strip of satin ribbon, which I overlapped with the large oval Hodgepodge Hardware, the greeting is from the Carte Postale stamp set. I have used the Fabulous stamp set for the big flower, and I have used the emerging colour technique onto some of the DS paper. I have lastly added a half pearl in the centre, and along the bottom.

I made this little Love Note, with the Sweet sampler stamp set. The stamped image, I also covered with Crystal Effects, and placed a half pearl in the centre.

Then last of all I put together this Scrapbook page, once again using the Holiday Harmony DS paper, Satin ribbon, Hodgepodge, and Vanilla Half pearls. The hearts are from the Always stamp set.

This photo is of my In-laws on their wedding day…….Now you can see where hubby gets his good looks from……..hehehe!!!

Okay the second Challenge is to make Baby cards.

Now baby cards are something I don’t make very often, and I don’t find them easy??? WHY??? I really don’t know, but I am never happy with what I make. So really this was a great challenge for me!

I worked at it, but in the end I am happy with the results. I have made one male, one female, and a birth announcement.

Here I have used Pretty in pink, Close to cocoa, Regal rose, and Chocolate chip cardstock. I have stamped the pram from the Fun & Fast notes stamp set. I stamped the pram also on DS paper and cut out the basket. Then I added some pretty in pink taffeta ribbon and the row of buttons.

This male baby card, I used Chocolate chip, Pumpkin pie, and Bashful blue carstock and ribbon. I have also used the Bundle of joy, and circle of Friendship stamp set. I coloured the giraffe with my blender pens, and stamp pads. I have used ribbon, brads, and the spiral punch for bling.

Then last of all I made the birth announcement which is a tri-fold with a belly band around the centre. I have used my corner rounder to create the scalloped edge and then added the ribbon. The teddy bear I stamped and watercoloured on watercolour paper.

Then you remove the belly band off and the card opens like this

Then this is the centre of the card. I used the announcement stamp from the same stamp set, and then added it to the centre……I think if I had a baby I would use this design…..it is too cute!

Okay well that is it for the Challenges……only 2 days till the next one (each Thursday) so I better get my thinking cap on as to what to put up for the coming week!

Take care,

Hey Everyone,

 Well we have just had ourselves a very busy weekend……..that is why you haven’t heard from me

We had friends for dinner on Friday night, then Family for dinner Saturday night, and Rod’s brothers birthday on Sunday, so fairly jam packed.

So earlier today, it was back into the chores to catch up, not to mention washing etc…. etc….. etc…..

Anyway I am back with this weeks Make it Monday……nubmer 5 ALREADY!!! WOW the time flies hey.

This week it is a tutorial for Lolly bags which are super cute for birthday parties, or little gifts,

Materials Required:

Paper Trimmer

Cardstock

Stamps

Stamp pads

Lollies

Ribbon

Scissors

Hole punch

Clear plastic bag

Stapler

 Step 1:

Cut your A4 sheet of cardstock in half Vertically

Step 2:

Score your cardstock accross the narrow side first at 5 cm’s, then 9cm’s, then 4cm’s, then 9.5cm’s, and then 1.5cm’s. Each distance is from the last score line you just scored.

It should look like this:

Step 3:

Fold your carstock at all the scored lines

Step 4:

Cut a 9 x 10cm square of DS paper and place it on the end with the little strip next to it

Step 5:

Stamp the tab at the other end of the one with DS paper

Step 6:

Punch two holes at either end of the narrow strip

Step 7:

Add ribbon that you have fed through the holes and knotted on the inside of your narrow strip

Step 8:

Load a clear plastic bag with lollies of your choice and fold the top down a few times

Step 9:

Staple the bag into place on the narrow strip in between the knotted ribbon

Step 10:

Fold your bag over to wrap around the bag of lollies

Step 11:

Corner Round the from tab that you stamped

Step 12:

Add a velcro dot onto the tab and the DS paper so that you can close the bag

Step13:

Decorate the front and add a greeting if you wish to.

Side View:

Cute Hey?!

Other Samples:

Tart and Tangy with Summer Picnic DS papers….

Wanted Stamp set, with the Outlaw DS Papers.

So there you have the cute little Lolly bags. I got this template for these bags from the gorgeous Suzanne Barnard, who I met at the ‘07 convention, and she is from Brisbane. I don’t know where she got it , or whether she designed it herself etc…..but thanks to her I have made heaps of these!

Well I also won’t tell you how many Fantales I had to sample whilst making this bag……just had to make sure they were fresh before I gave them away!!!

Be back soon,

Well it has been a few weeks since we got to play along to one of these, but understandably so, with the busyness of the US Convention, ….didn’t that look amazing? Hmmmm Don’t know if I would cope waiting in line 3 hours in Momento Mall though!!!

Okay well Kristina picked some funky colours this time and I had fun with them. Now one thing I did learn though was that you should read the instructions!!! LOL!!! I just looked at the picture, then made my first card, then came back to look at the inspiration photo again, only to realize on the first card I made it with pink passion rather than Rose red!!! Ah well I like how it turned out, and then I behaved myself for the rest of the projects!

Here is the colour inspiration:

And here is my naughty card first……

I have covered the letters in Crystal effects so that they are all glossy, but here is a close up…..

Next I made a pocket card that I wrote that tutorial for last week….

I have used the Priceless stamp set, with my Scallop, 2 circles, and round tab punches. And the paper is Pumpkin pie, prints DS paper.

Then I made this fun Scrapbook page of cheeky Janaya…..this is what she does when you try to get a snapshot of her!

I used one of the Die-cut flowers from the new mini catty, and I also used the Be Happy stamp set…..had to blow the dust off frist though….haven’t used this one for AGES!

And last of all I made a little Love Note. I have used the Pumpkin DS prints paper again, adn the Natural Beauty stamp set, which I coloured the butterfly in with my blender pens and stamp pads. Lastly adding some glitter and brads for bling!

Well hopefully I have made the cut off so better go and load this to Kristina’s website….better dash!

Well it has been a good week as far as the mailbox goes! Monday I received my SU order, and all my tickets for the Incentive trip,  and the Christmas card swaps that Claire organized….which I just loved! But on Tuesday, I received the most special parcel in the post!!!

 It was a nice stamped box addressed to me, and that already had me thinking……hmmmm what could this be????

 Well I really wasn’t ready for what was inside……….

It was this beautiful Concentina box,  with matching card with complete instructions from a beautiful lady in Brisbane named Linda! Isn’t it just stunning!!!!!

And this is how it opens and you can see the inside of the box.

 Linda wrote me the most beautiful card, with lovely words of appreciation and encourgement for my blog…Now I am just happy that someone out there reads it, but to learn that it is inspirational really touched my heart.

 Thanks again Linda for your wonderful, and most treasured gift. Steph is SUPER lucky to have you in her team!!!

Hi again,

I hope you enjoyed those photos of the Stamp a thon day! Now I promised you the photos of the triplicates I made and here they are…….now because we made 8 projects, and I made triplicates of each projects…….that ummmm means there are now 24 to show you…..did I get that right? Yep back to grade 3,…8 times three is twenty four!

Alright, now that we have ascertained that, I still know a little bit of maths, you can be sure to realize that this will be a long post with 24 projects to show you. Now to save you a big load of boredom reading all the materials, and in what order I made things, I will just show you the projects and if you have any questions……just email me and I will more than happy to try to remember what, how, and why I made it that way….LOL!

Okay let’s begin………

Remember that pocket card…..how cute / fun are these! This is with the new Tart & Tangy stamp set

Going for a formal look now, with the Carte Postale stamp set, and the Spring Silouette DS papers

Another fun one…..Here I have used the In the Spotlight stamp set with Pink passion, Pumpkin pie, and Certainly celery

Now for the little Love Note boxes. Here I used the Fun and Fast notes stamp set,

with the colours, Blue Bayou, Groovy guava, and Soft sky.

Isn’t this frog so adorable! It took me awhile to warm to this stamp set, but now I LOVE it.

This is pink passion, pixie pink, and Old olive together

And now for the natural tones. This set is using the Seaside stamps set, with Chocolate chip, River rock, and Blue Bayou.

This card is the same layout as the Christmas card that they all made. Here I used the Fishy friends stamp set, with Blue bayou, Old olive, and whisper white.

Now for the feminine look. I have used the Blossoms Abound, and Fine lace stamps with

Perfect plum, Pretty in pink, and Certainly celery

And some Artfully Asian. These colours are Close to cocoa, Blue bayou, and Soft sky, amazing how well they mix hey! Oh and it has the new very yummy chocolate satin ribbon too

Okay here are the little box bags…..think that is what you call em??!!

This is the Prints designer paper in Rose red which  I complemented with Soft sky.

Here is a bright version, which I think would be great for an older boys birthday or something. I used the Jersey shore DS papers, with pumpkin pie.

And this is with Close to Cocoa prints paper, with Pomegranite the complementing colour……and Boho backgrounds stamp set which of course matches the paper perfectly….SU think of everything don’t they!!!

Now for some cards. These are the same layout as the rustic true friend card that we made. Here I have used the Priceless stamp set, with the new Holiday harmony DS papers. The Colours are Always artichoke, River rock, and Purely pomegranite

Love this fun set….Big bold birthday! Here I used Basic grey, Pumpkin pie, and Bashful blue. The paper at the bottom is from the  Summer Picnic DS paper pack.

And another one with the Season of Joy stamp set. I used Real red, River rock, and Old olive for colours.

This card is copying the sketch of the Tart and tangy card and it is soooo easy, but effective. Here I used the Boho backgrounds stamp set, combining with the Berry bliss papers.

And here is some OUTLAW….paper! I have also used the Wanted stamp set….. with the famous Boho West style watch colours.

You still with me…….I’m not boring you to death yet???

And for this one, I used the Jersey shore DS paper with Pumpkin pie, Bashful blue, and Wasabi.

Now remember at the beginning of the post I mentioned that I still wasn’t too bad as maths? Well….. I oops whilst making this card….yep I made four, not realizing that I had done 3 already!

So here is the fourth for this sketch

I haven’t stamped this card at all, it is just Apple Cider DS paper that I have cut and punched to get the center design. Cool hey! Oh and the colours are Wild wasabi, Really rust, River rock, and Chocolate chip.

Okay now onto the post it note holders….I was sure you knew what the inside would look like, so have only taken pictures of the front, outside cover

This one is using the LeJardin DS papers, also using the Carte Postale stamp set

 and the colours are Blue Bayou, and So Saffron

Ooooh once again that fav colour combo of mine! This is the Priceless stamp set and the Cocoa DS papers. The cardstock is Chocolate chip and Regal rose

And lastly I made this one with the Spring breaks DS papers, the colours are Pumpkin pie, Blue bayou, and Soft sky.

And here are some Scrapbooking pages that are the same too.

Here I used Regal rose, Certainly celery, and Apricot appeal, and also using the Garden whimsy stamp set.

This page is a combination of Berry bliss papers, and the new One of a Kind stamp set. The colours are Chocolate chip, Pretty in pink, and Purely pomegranite.

And last of all, I have used the Seaside Stamp set, and watercoloured the shells. I used Blue Bayou, Chocolate chip, Bashful blue and Close to cocoa for the colours.

Now if there are any of you that survived that and are still sitting on your seat, and haven’t fallen asleep, you will see how easy it is to take a sketch and make it work for any occasion, gift, etc etc…… Really I made all these for inspiration for the Stamp a thon guests to see how easy it is to duplicate!

I hope they have inspired you too!…… So go get out that samples box, and work with it, You will be suprised!

Thanks everyone…..till next time….I promise it won’t be 25 projects!!! LOL!

Hey everyone,

 Well thanks to Monnie Moo, (which is my dear friend Monique….but we all call her that) I have some fun photos of the acutal Stamp a thon day. I know you have heard that it was heaps of fun, I think you will see from the pictures that I am not telling porkie’s (lies if you are not Australian, and have NO IDEA of what I am talking about)

Okay where do I begin…..hmm

This is the sign that I had at the road, so people knew where to come. As you can see it was a wet, and miserable day, but it did fine up later on.

Here is the table set up with everyone’s goodie bags and name badges. We also had a decorated donation tin, and some pink ribbons from the National Breast Cancer Foundation, that everyone could purchase.

Everyone also recieved one of these gift bags, which had note cards, Buttons, Sponges, Dimensionals, and ribbons in them.

They received these as a special bonus for coming on the day.

This is how that tables were all set up.

These are the silent Auction items that were kindly donated by Stampin’Up and myself. There were 3 different sizes parcels, and a Mystery prize too! Everyone had fun guessing that one,….which ended up being a whole box of Stampin’Write markers!

Here is Margaret, who was the lucky bidder to win the largest parcel.

And here are all the guests having a blast making all their projects!

And here is the display board with loads of stamped projects for everyone to see, and take photos of.

And here are some Door Prize winners…….Monnie Moo herself, and Louise who was my roomie at Convention!

Here is one table perusing the catalogue…..hmmm “what to order???!!!”

After Lunch we did a quiz all about Stampin’Up….oh I had some doozy questions in there, but some of them did really well!!! Goes to show there are some very big Addicts out there….hehehe!

Here is Charmaine, who is so proud of her creation……I just have to mention that Charmaine was up till 2 :30am the morning before the Stamp a thon, because she couldn’t sleep from too much excitment about the Stamp a thon!!! I met Char at last years Stamp a thon, she loved it so much she just had to sign up as a demo!!!

Sarah and Her sister…..Monnie Moo

Another bunch of stamping addicts…

And a gorgeous picture of Leanne, Doesn’t she look so happy!

Michelle one of my wonderful Downline made, and brought this cake along as a suprise for afternoon tea!!!!

She even wrote Stamp a thon on there……how cool was that!!! Thanks so much Michelle for your thoughtfullness, and it tasted great too!!!

I love these little cupcakes on the top with the NBCF emblem! Super Cute!

Here is Charmaine and her ladies that she brought along, apart from my bestie Lee who is the one on the far left hand side….

This table with Pat, Odette, Trinette, and Marleen, I think had the most fun on the day. There was always giggles coming from their mouths, and they all sported BIG smiles!

And here is a great picture of Lousie and Vicki.

Last year, Louise was re-dianosed with Breast Cancer, which many of you know was very upsetting for all us SU demonstrators in the Stamparoos team. This is how the whole Stamp a thon venture started. One year on, after surgery, Chemo, and Radiation Lou, as you can see is looking FABULOUS!!! And with that gorgous smile that has never left her face during all of it. She still amazes me with her positive outlook, and calmness, and she is such an inspiration to me! It was soooooo good to have her their on the day!

And look what we found when we were cleaning up…….LOL!!!

So there you have the photos. It was such a fun day, and again I want to thank all the ladies that came along, and to my downline who helped make this day a success……..how successful??? Well so far we have raised $1483!!! Which is great!

 I have a few of the project packs that I am still selling, so that will raise the total some more too. If you want one, please let me know. Also Marie Ferguson,….if you read this, I have replied to your email a couple of times but it keeps bouncing back, so can you give me a call and I will get your pack organized for you. thanks,

Okay have to fly out the door for swimming lessons with the kids, but I have all the triplicates edited and ready to show you, so will get them up this afternoon.

Ciao,

I am so excited that I just have to share with you what has come in the mail!!!!

I receive all the tickets, and tags, and agenda for the Incentive Trip to Palm Cove!!! WOO HOO! talk about getting excited now. I really am still pinching myself that I am going on this trip with lots of talented ladies, who many I call friends, AND get to spend time with Shelli herself which will be really special as well.

It really is a special trip as during the time it will be our 10 year wedding anniversary and my birthday, so how cool is that! We will be staying on for some extra days in Port Douglas by ourselves which will be real treat too.

I just had to tell someone how excited I was!!!

Okay I will calm down now….