MORE Discounts on the Last Chance List!

Last Updated on Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:46 Written by Ju Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:46

With only DAYS left to get your hands on Stampin’ Up! Product that will not be seen in the NEW Stampin’ Up! catalogue, Stampin’ Up! is giving you MORE discounts on a select group of Last Chance Products. Remember, these are only available until August 31st or until stocks last!

Remember too, any orders placed with me for the remainder of August, I am going to donate 100% of my Stampin’ Up! income from these orders to Miss Lara May’s Chair Fund.

Get your orders in soon, before these products are gone forever!

*CO=Carryover Flyer     
*AW=Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue

(Australian residents only thanks)

She is Little Miss Lara May

Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 02:23 Written by Ju Wednesday, 11 August 2010 02:23

Madonna is a gorgeous creative woman who I’ve had the bestest fun connecting with via Stampin’ Up! and our creative blogs. I look forward to meeting her in real life one day!! Madonna has an adorable little princess Lara who now needs help from us big kids.   In the photo below you’ll see beautiful Little Miss Lara May in a chair that is currently only on loan to the family. They need to raise funds to get their own and as you can imagine, these chairs aren’t cheap. I’ve copied and pasted a letter from Madonna under the photo so you can read Miss Lara May’s full story.

While there are other fundraising ideas in the pipeline *stay tuned*, you’ll notice a “DONATE” PayPal Button on the right-hand side of my blog as well as the end of this blog post. If you can spare a dollar or two, this is a safe way for you to donate money towards Lara May’s chair. Any amount would be greatly appreciated *hugs*

But while things are in the pipeline, I am itching to do more! So, from the moment this post goes live, until August 31, I want to donate my FULL Stampin’ Up! Income from ANY Stampin’ Up! orders placed through me. Please, I do not want to pilfer customers off of any of my fellow demo’s ~ that’s very not cool ~  so if you have a regular demonstrator please order through them ~ but! You can still help Little Miss Lara May by donating through my PayPal button on the right or at the end of this post. Thank you for your generosity *hugs*

Little Miss Lara May in her much needed chair

Here’s Lara’s Story:

Lara May Dunn, my fourth child, was born on the 5^th of November 2008.  The first sign that something was not right were Lara’s feet which were twisted and turned.  At 6 weeks she was back in hospital for failing to thrive.  A gamut of testing was started to try to find out what was going on…blood tests, x-rays and even an MRI.  Her head hadn’t grown – Microcephaly was diagnosed.  Nothing could be detected.  There were no answers to be found in the genetic testing.

At 5 months Lara was back in hospital.  This time the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane for laser surgery on her floppy voice box.  Another gamut of tests and a diagnosis of severe reflux and Cerebral Palsy.  This time they put a nasal gastric tube in and all her feeds were directed through there.  By October of 2009 the NG tube had been replaced with a “button”, which is a direct line into her tummy for feeds.  She will never eat a meal with our family conventionally or “normally”.

Over the last {almost} two years, Lara has been in and out of hospital with many different complex medical issues.  She is so fragile and yet has a core of steel and is such a fighter!!  She has grown so much!

With her growth has come a need for more specialised equipment.  One of which is a Leckey Hi Low chair.  A specialised seating system that can be adjusted to fit Lara perfectly.  It’s on a wheel base which means she can be more a part of our family.  She is able to be moved to where we are.  She is not limited to where we can take her in and around our house.  She can be exactly where the action is at any given time!

We are trying to fundraise the money to purchase one of these wonderful chairs – how much money??  They are upwards of $6000.  We are trying to get funding for some of it but I am working with other stampers and dear friends to find ways to get the rest.

I don’t want to limit where Lara is able to go in our house. She will never walk or run or play with her siblings in any conventional way and yet she can still be present as they do those things.  Your help in our efforts is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Madonna Dunn

Never buy a gift bag again!

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 01:17 Written by Ju Wednesday, 5 August 2009 09:50

I am so excited as I have discovered craft in 3D!! Now not only will my husband question me if I ever buy another card again, but now!! He will also be raising his eyebrows if I ever buy a gift bag again! *yoiks!* Unless, of course, it is his widescreen plasma TV……….. that will need a very big gift bag!

Anywhos, like I mentioned in a previous post, my lovely friend Jules and I were invited to take part in a fundraiser/mini expo for the Gawler Soccer Club (*waves* hello again Sheryl!) Not only did we get to meet a lovely bunch of ladies all expo-ing their own wares and home businesses, Jules & I had the opportunity to display our own craft (some of which were for sale on the night) PLUS we were able to talk craft pretty much non-stop for the evening……every now and then sipping coffee from our Stampin’ Up! coffee mugs (of course!) *happy sigh*

Gawler may be growing, yes, but really it will always be a cute country town to me! It was so great to see that there are ladies/mums/grandmas….even grand-daughters in Gawler and the surrounds making business work for them!

Soooo, getting back to gift bags……known as “Box in a Bag”, these are the ones I created for that night. Credit needs to go to Diana Gibbs for this absolutely gorgeous idea!

Stamped images ©1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

I must admit that I am quite partial to ‘production line’ creations – making multiple of one project. And yep, a bit of retired product there too but I just don’t like to see gorgeous papers/stamps go to waste! The other simply marrrrvelous fact in creating multiple at a time……you always have a cute little gift bag on hand……which was rather handy in the week following.

Quick digress…..my mother-in-law is the absolute best and has done SO SO SOOOO much for my little family and supports me SO MUCH in my stampin’ business that once the night was over, I packaged up a few things including a card kit that I had on display (which I had actually made with my ‘second’ mum in mind ) and I gave them to her as a massive thank you. Even Jules popped in one of her creations *hugs* I think mum liked her gifty …….plus she had to as I sweetened the deal by putting a large quanitity of Fruchocs in a cellophane bag and then putting them in one of the bags, hahahahaha! Ah Fruchocs……another wonderful South Australian creation!!

Although I liked all the bags, here are a few of my favourite “Box in Bag” creations…..

Stamped images ©1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

The bag above was the one I used for mum.

Stamped images ©1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

Stamped images ©1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

This ‘bag’ also came in handy for my sister-in-laws birthday. It’s a great size for Twinings Tea Bags These bags are fun and simple to do and so great for parties and gifts for any occasion you can think of!

For the current products (ones not listed below as retired) that you have seen and fallen in love with from this post all you need to do is   contact me here to order your very own delicious morsels!!

Would you like to see more gorgeous Stampin’ Up! Product?

Just click on the catalogue images in the right hand column of my blog to view the entire Idea Book & Catalogue

as well as the Spring Mini Catalogue available now!

Supplies

Stamps

Best Yet (Hostess Set Level 1)
Priceless (116402)
Wishing you the Best (retired)
Snowflake Spot (retired)
Bundle of Joy (retired)

Papers

Holiday Treasures DSP (112469)
Baja Breeze (116207)
Pink Pirouette (116203)
Kiwi Kiss (116204)
Riding Hood Red (116205)
Whisper White (106549)
Certainly Celery (108619)
Blush Blossom (108617)
Pretty In Pink (106568)
Barely Banana (106563)
Old Olive (106576)
Spring Fling DSP (retired)
Petals & Paisleys (retired)
Dashing (retired)

Inks

Baja Breeze (111833)
Pink Pirouette (111838)
Riding Hood Red (111836)
Tempting Turquoise (100814)
Certainly Celery (105217)
Pretty In Pink (101301)
Barely Banana (101170)
Chocolate Chip (100908)
Close to Cocoa (103139)
Old Olive (102277)
White Gel Pen (105021)
Chocolate Chip Marker (100071)

Accessories

Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon (111879)
1/4″ Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon (109025)
1/4″ Pretty In Pink Grosgrain Ribbon (109032)
5/8″ Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon (109055)
5/8″ Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon (109052)
5/8″ Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon (109051)
2 Way Glue Pen (100425)
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023)
Mat Pack (105826)
Sponges (101610)
1-3/8″ Circle Punch (104401)
Scallop Circle Punch (109043)
Scallop Edge Punch (112091)
Round Tab Punch (108340)
Crop-O-Dile™ (108362)

Adhesives

Snail (104332)
Sticky Strip (104294)
Dimensionals (104430)

Bush Fire Fundraiser

Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 01:02 Written by Ju Thursday, 16 April 2009 01:48

The Victorian bushfires really got to me. I couldn’t watch any news article without crying my eyes out. My husband had been with the CFS for around 13 years and I had witnessed him come home from devastating jobs and see the effect that it had on him. So when I heard and saw these sad events unfold, like countless Australians, I needed to do something! I ended up with a major bee in my bonnett and began sorting through clothing, toys etc. (I think my little ones were a tad worried and sometimes as fast as toys went in the donation bag, they came out! Lol! They were so good about it when I tried my best to explain why mummy was going nuts )

Barossa girls doing craft as only Barossians can

I also have some beautiful friends who have been in the CFS themselves as well as them now being married to CFS volunteers. We got to talking about this major and sad chain of events that had and still were taking place. I still shake my head at how that one conversation turned into a group of girls working together to hold the “Magical Stampers Bushfire Fundraiser”. We were honoured that the Australian Red Cross allowed us to do this with their blessing. I had never done anything like this before in my life but oh my goodness it was such a buzz!!

While Kim held the evening together with her smooth MC skills, Kelly, Maria & myself demonstrated the same card to 5 different groups throughout the evening. Guests then had the chance for a major creative soaking session when they landed at table 4! Jules (my amazing friend and simply gorgeous Stampin’ upline) demonstrated 5 more indepth techniques which included different styles of embossing as well as Faux Silk and Black Magic (chalkboard technique).

Then if that wasn’t enough, we made sure that brains were overflowing with ideas by having sample boards showing the teams various work that guests were encouraged to grab inspiration from and take photos of.

Of course no crafter can go that long without sustenance! *wink*

"Cake!" by Liz Harris created these heavenly morsels

Armed with their tea, coffee & heavenly morsels, the guests also had the opportunity to take part in many raffles and silent auctions (over $1000 worth of products were raffled and auctioned off). Stampin’ Up! were absolutely amazing in supplying us with so much retired product to raffle and auction off so as a team we decided to also donate some items. On top of that we decided to purchase and donate all of the product necessary for the guests to create all their projects for the night.

I absolutely love what we as the “Magical Stampers Team” were able to achieve together! We are all wives and mothers so it was great to have those purely creative moments where we simply understood each other! (not to mention the coffee, wine and biscuits! Hehehe)

On a personal level, Stampin’ Up! has introduced me to 4 amazing women!!

My long time and gorgeous friend Jules!

Beautiful Kelly (punches queen on the night)

Gorgeous Kim....who was soooo happy I took this photo *hehe*

'Bling Bling' Maria!

Some have that extra creative flair, while some naturally shine in organizing. Others just laugh and seem to talk a mile a minute (scarily though everyone always understood!) and then there are those that know how to calm us all down and keep us level!

Through this, friendships that already existed have been strengthened and new friendships created. I absolutely love these girls and have no issues with snorting from raucous laughter infront of them!

A perfect mix of magic

But I haven’t forgotten the most important aspect of this whole experience…..and that is the endless love, encouragement and rock that is my own little family. Mummy would be dashing in and out, wifey would be kissing husband on the fly…..even if they don’t understand how I could possibly get so excited over rubber stuck to a wooden block, I love that they have let me! (Happy wife, happy life?? Hahahahaha!)

Us girls were amazed and touched by the fact that a total of $1616.40 was raised for the “Magical Stampers Bushfire Fundraiser”!! Thank you to EVERYONE who came along for such a great cause!

Before I sign off here, I’d love to thank the following local businesses who supported and donated to make our night possible:

Ahern’s Tours and Charters, Adelaide Heating and Cooling, Lyndi’s Dine In/Take Away Deli, Lyndoch, “Cake!” by Liz Harris, The Corner Bakery, Williamstown & Langmeil Winery, Tanunda. Also to the Williamstown Hall committee for letting us use their hall for free on the night.

Oh and on another personal note, to my gorgeous husband who allowed me to print up a storm!!! So to Fluid Vision Productions, thank you!! Hehe

Here’s a few more pics from “The Magical Stampers” Bushfire Fundraiser……

Gallery Created By Fluid Vision