Hey peeps,

How is your week going so far? Zooming by quickly? I feel like the weeks just disappear before my very eyes! Ah well it just gets us closer to that big trip quickly I suppose!

I have a little bit of stamping to share with you. I made these two cards a couple of weeks ago. They are very simple, but they used just plain old stamping. This is what I used to do all the time before I started colouring images and what not. Actually I did both of these creations following some of the Splitcoaststampers challenges a few weeks back. I like how they turned out, even if they are super simple…….sometimes simple is good right?

This card was for a colour challenges, and the colours were, Vanilla, Blush blossom, Ruby red, and Cameo coral. Quite a mix, but I like how they looked together. Here I have pulled out the Upsy Daisy stamp set, one that I love but don’t use all that often. I topped the daisy’s off with some glitter. The greeting is from the same stamp set.

Next up was a sketch challenge. This is also an SU stamp set that I loved the minute I saw it. I have inked up the stamp with my SU markers so that I could get the different colours shown in the image.

Two very simple creations…..

Have a wonderful day. I have LOTS to do today, but I will be back a little later to share something else with you all

Have a goodie!

Hey there,

Well I am completely in awe of all you wonderful blog readers out there! I have been absolutely BLOWN away by your beautiful, kind, and special words you have all showered me with after my post yesterday about resigning from Stampin’Up. Here I was so petrified that i was going to get criticised for this decision, but you have all embraced it, as well as encouraged me to follow my heart. It is times like these that i really love the world of blogging! So a very BIG THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, and rest assured I will be blogging as much as I can and sharing all sorts of tid-bits of my life

I again just want to re-iterate that I still Love Stampin’Up and intend to still use lots of their product…..boy I own way too much not to use it! LOL! I hope this blog is still a place you can come and be inspired and play along with a challenge or two! Talking of challenges, I am getting super excited about the new changes we will be introducing to the weekly Inkspirations Challenges, but you are going to have to wait till Friday to hear that news!

Okay not tricking you with the title of this post……But as the title suggests there is definitely another man I love and here is a wee picture of him:

This is my darling brother Bryn (my only sibling). As you know Bryn and Kate came and visited recently, and what a wonderful time we all had together! It was very hard to say goodbye, but I am getting better at these farewells. I managed to keep the eyes dry and stay composed at the airport. I am beginning to have a love/hate relationship with the airport…….LOVE to pick people up………HATE to drop them off again!

I have been going through my photos and editing them and thought i would share some photos of the special time we had with them recently whilst touring around Cairns and visiting Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation.

On our way up to Cap Tribulation we stopped in at Mossman Gorge, and had a photo together.

A nice shot of Bryn and Kate….

When we got to Cape Tribulation and went for a walk along the beach I snagged this shot of them from behind….. I love how this turned out.

The happy couple once more….(same place)

This is a sign at the beach that shows you can’t swim because of the lethal stingers in the water…..oh and that isn’t even mentioning the crocodiles either!

We also saw this Lace Monitor at the picnic tables….. I put this one up just for you Cindy Major. I know these creatures freak you out…..LOL!

On the way home from Port Douglas we stopped at the lookout to check out this view……Beautiful isn’t it?!

Kate and Bryn at the lookout…..

Bryn and Kate were really easy guests to have too…….we saw Bryn doing lots of this….

The dishes! I must have taught him well……hehe

And Kate did……

Baking….. those biscuits were YUMMO!

On their last night here we all went out for a farewell dinner to Hogs Breath Cafe….the kids love it there!

Rod and I….

Then the three of us together…..

Oh it was so wonderful to have them here! Kate and Bryn will be heading to the US (Baltimore) to live soon, and so it will be even harder knowing that they are sooooo far away! When we visit the US in a few weeks time we hope to go to Baltimore to visit Kate and her family. Bryn unfortunately won’t be there yet, but I will hopefully get to see him again in August when i visit Perth.

And the last thing to share is a scrap page I did a few weeks back of a photo of Bryn and I at his Engagement party back in January. I now have it nicely displayed on the top of my cabinet….nice memories!

A wonderful Brother he is indeed and I feel very blessed to have him in my life!

So there you have a few pics of Cairns, and what I have been up to recently. I better go and care for the kids. Tiarne and Elijah have unfortunately now come down with gastro and they are really quite unwell. Good thing I have just had it so I can give them lots of cuddles to make them feel a little bit better!

Have a great night everyone!

Hello again,

On the weekend we celebrated my friend Marcelle’s special Birthday (50!) and so her being a Demonstrator and a dear friend, I wanted to make her something special to put her birthday gift in. So I made her a gift bag made with Rich Razzleberry cardstock. As I made it from my own measurements and what not, i took photos so that I could share it with you all as a Tutorial. So here goes……

Oh first up here is a picture of the Gift Bag:

The final product….

The GIFT BAG instructions……

Step 1:

Cut two matching pieces of cardstock measuring 6″ by 8.5″. You will then want to score along the short side in at 2″ from the bottom.

Step 2:

Cut another two pieces of cardstock, at 3″ by 7″. Next you will want to score these pieces of cardstock 1cm in on each side of the cardstock along the long side. Then score the panel in the centre which will be 1.5″ from either side of the cardstock (long side). Next score the two panels 1cm in from the end on the short side (only do this on one end of the cardstock)

Step 3:

Cut the end score line as shown in the image:

Fold the cardstock along the lines so that they look like the photo, or like a ravine or a W.

Step 4:

Decorate the front of the two larger pieces of cardstock you have cut, they will be the outsides of the Gift bag.

Step 5:

Adhere the side panels to the larger sheets of cardstock, by using tape on the side panels, and then only adhering it at 1cm in (where the scored lines are) * see image…..

Step 6:

Add the other large panel to the base 2″ panel. This will create the base of your gift bag, and will make the base sturdy.

Step 7:

Add the other side panel to the other front piece. That way you bag is now together. Here is a view of how the side panels look on the gift bag

Step 8:

Punch holes in the both the front and back panels and add the ribbon to create some handles.

Step 9:

The finished product again!

Add your tissue paper and gift and VOILA, you have a pretty hand made gift bag!

See how easy that was??!! You will be able to whip these out in no time, or even show the at a workshop. Okay peeps, if you do happen to make one of these wee gorgeous gift bags, I would LOVE to see a piccie of it, and i will put it up on my blog for all to see. That way people will get to see all the different ideas, and so do I! So email your pics to me at rmbyl@optusnet.com.au

Alrighty well I hope you enjoyed that tutorial as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Have a great night and i will be back tomorrow!

Take care!

Hey Peeps,

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend! I am sure all of those that packed their bags and headed off to Convention this past weekend, are all exhausted but have wonderful happy memories of their time away! I look forward to reading all the different blogs about the fun times!

I had hoped to blog this weekend, but unfortunately ended up with a bout of Gastro! You know me and my stomach, I end up with Gastro at least 4 times a year, but I have to say to get to the end of May and only having my first is pretty good! Kids had it a little while ago though, and i missed it and now Little Mali has it too, and didn’t quite make it out the car yesterday without being sick. Poor hubby had to clean it all up because I was not good either! Ah well hopefully the rest of then don’t get it this week. Feeling much better now though which is good.

Okay so here we go onto a much more personal topic. If you hate personal things on blogs feel free to skip the post, but i have just felt that now was the time to share my news.

A few weeks ago (just before my computer crashed) I made the very BIG decision to resign from Stampin’Up! (i hope you are still sitting on your chair!). It certainly was not a decision that I have taken lightly at all. I prayed long and hard, and thought deeply about this decision! I have loved being a Demonstrator for the past 4 years, and am really happy with all the achievements I made etc. The best being all the wonderful friends I have made through my time with SU as well.

There are several reasons why I left. As you know we have just made the mammoth move from one side of the country to the other. Something I am really happy about, but i admit it comes with its difficulties too. One major part of that is that I have now left all my team and customers back in Perth. It is very difficult and daunting to pretty much lose your whole business you just spent 4 years building. And then there is the fact that you know nobody! I wouldn’t even know who to ask to host a workshop!

Another reason is that I have gone back to work. Rod and I are both Building Surveyors, and have set up a business here called Code Blue Certifiers Pty Ltd. We actually do the same job, (he is a Building Surveyor too) and more qualified than me. So we have taken a big step in going ahead with the set up and I am there to help whichever way I can. I am really looking forward to being back in the workforce even if it is for two days a week after being at home for so long with the kids!

We are also building a new home this year. We have bought a lovely block in Brinsmead that has lovely views and is close to the kids school. Building is a huge job, and we are doing it ourselves, so that takes up a lot of time. Whilst it is a huge job, it will be wonderful to have a place to call home again.

Next up is the fact that I love all sorts of product and want to be able to use it freely. I love Stampin’Up, their product, colours, the whole kit and caboodle really, but as you could probably tell by my blog that I have really begun to enjoy using other papers, stamps and those addictive things called Copic markers as well. With the new IDA Stampin’Up released, I have felt really restricted and at often time had people complaining to Head office each time i would use different product. Please don’t view this as a complaint, it is good to be vigilant, but I just need the opportunity to just do what I love and with what I love.

Sometimes recently i found myself stressing about how I am going to start up a new business here in this new state. After my big incident last year of breaking my ankle, I have been given a whole new perspective on life, family, and quality time. You may recall that I stopped doing workshops so that I could spend more time with my family etc,….. Well that is something I am still very much focused on. With all the changes the kids are enduring, I want to continue to be there for them as they settle into this new environment, rather than being so busy trying to set up a whole new business from scratch.

So in the end I decided to remove that stress, and begin to just enjoy stamping for myself. Being creative and having the enjoyment of sharing what I love through my blog is something I really treasure, so I intend to do as much of that as time allows.

Whilst I can understand many of you would be completely baffled as to why I would resign from such a fabulous company, I just feel in my heart that that journey for me is over. You never know it might be something I do when I know a few more people here, or have more time and the desire to get back in there etc…. but till then I will enjoy that time with my family etc……

Please don’t be upset with me, I have actually been procrastinating putting this post up because of fear of criticism, but in the end I have to do what is true to my heart, and best for me and my family.

So does that mean I won’t use, buy, or love Stampin’Up product? Absolutely not! I love everything about Stampin’Up and will continue to be one of their biggest fans, just now on the customer side of things

Okay so whilst that was all a bit mushy and personal, I really feel better it is now out in the open. I am definitely planning to keep in touch with all my SU friends and even hope to attend Convention next year as a guest. It was so hard not being there this year!

Anyway that was enough BIG news for one day, I still have lots to share with you all, and hope to even post a tutorial tonight, so stay tuned!

Be back soon!

Hello again!

I hope you have had a great week so far! I can hardly believe it is Friday already! Time goes so fast.

Anyway I just wanted to pop in to say that this week’s Inkspirations Challenge is having a weeks break. Half the team are away at Convention and so are most of it’s players. So take the week off peeps and we will be back with some fun exciting announcements next Friday! Yep, the DT and I have put our heads together to come up with some fun and fresh changes to the challenges, which i think (or make that hope) you will like. I can’t wait to share all the news, but you will have to wait till next Friday!

Have a wonderful week and I will be back with some new photos for you tomorrow!

Take care!