Crafty Nadz

Our brave girl

2011-10-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Recently our dog Ayla was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer on her left hind leg. There is no cure but we have been able to take away her painful tumor and give her a little bit longer to live a happy life. Unfortunately this meant she had to have her leg amputated. The day after surgery Ayla was up and walking (hopping) around! Now just 6 weeks latter she is running around, playing with her toys, raiding the rubbish bin and playing with her doggie friends.

The cone of shame. Less than one week after surgery! .

Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and support during all the drama.

JAI Fussy cutting

2011-05-29T13:59:00.001-07:00

The Just add Ink challenge for this week is fussy cutting. So what is that? It's cutting out intricate pieces of paper. Adding to the challenge my friend Kim makes wonderful cards so I to come up with something special for her birthday. Quite a while ago I recalled seeing flowers on a dressing table card so I thought I would have a go. This is what I came up with.

Making the mirror image took me a while to figure out it's not often we want to show the back of flowers. I also had to think about where the light was theoretically coming from. I also made the mirror image a lighter shade.

The Royal Wedding

2011-05-01T01:59:00.000-07:00

Like most women I love a good wedding, so there was no better reason for a champagne breakfast than the Royal wedding. A few of the girls from work came over on Saturday morning to watch the wedding I had recorded the night before. Many of us resisting a sneak peek before hand.

I decorated the house in red, white and blue.

With the Queen, princesses, and ladies in attendance a good security guard was in attendance.

We all pitched in for a yummy breakfast.

Here comes the bride!

Stephanie made us a great cake! Yummy peanut butter frosting is the best!

The Queen cut the cake.

Here we are giving a royal wave!

I made some bride and groom gift boxes with home made fudge and cocoanut ice.

As you can see I expanded on Chantells box idea fro our colour challenge.

A great time was had by all!

February colour challenge

2011-04-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

Better late than never I thought it was time I blogged the colour challenge Kim and Chantell and I had in February. We had to use Stampin' ups in colours.

I decided to use my brayer and the Inspired by nature stampset. Taking three different ideas from others I mixed them all together.

Kim

Kim gave us a little treat as well as a card. She has used the Sweet treat cups with a sliding door on the back so we could get our sweet treats out.

Chantell

Chantell used all the in colours to make us this wonderful set of cards all stacked in a laced up bodice. Pretty cool ay!

Birthday cards.

2011-03-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

It was my birthday in January and I have been meaning to post two wonderful cards given to me. While I'm at it I thought I would show you the card I made for my friend Taylor who had his first day at school last week!

I saw this card on splitcoast and thought it was perfect for Taylor. I'm sorry I can't find who to credit it to.

This sweet little fellow was made by my friend Kim. Isn't it amazing what you can do with the bird punch.

My sisterChantell made this folder for me.

There was a surprise inside.

Using the Stampin' up mini square envelopes.

I was so excited to receive the Beautiful wings Embosslits Die. Thanks Chantell I'm going to have fun with this!

Thanks Ming

2011-02-09T11:17:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know for the past year I have been training at the Gym. Something I never thought I would ever do. I have been so pleased with the results dropping 2 dress sizes! I feel so much better. Any way I wanted to give my Personal Trainer Ming a card to say thank you for all his hard work.

I love the All in the family set. In side I wrote thanks for helping me stand tall.

Like my muscles? lol

Aus-NZ One Colour Challenge

2011-02-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

This year my sister Chantell in Australia, our friend Kim (who lives down the road from me) and I decided to join in a card swap each month. This months challenge is to use one colour with white or vanilla. So here is what we came up with.

CHANTELL

Chantell used her big shot to some embossing. I love how she threaded the buttons!

KIM

Kim also used embossing but she pressed the butterfly into the card to make this great seamless effect.

NADINE

Just as I was about to make this card a birthday present arrived from Chantell. The Beautiful Wings Big Shot die. I used the French Filgree and Baroque Motifs stamp sets for a romantic feel.

February challenge is a In Colour challenge! Check it out soon!

Christmas in Palmerston North.

2011-01-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

For our second Christmas and actual Christmas day we went to Robs family in Palmerston North. The weather was hot and sunny most of the time and with the usual breeze that blows through the boys (Rob and Kris) had a great time flying their kites.

While Katie enjoys a trolly ride with Dad

We went down to the river for a swim. Katie wasn't so sure about putting her feet in the water but she soon got used to it and had a great time.

Sita and Kris

Katie loves to splash!

Tom Sawyer, don't cha think?

Rob and Ayla enjoyed the water too.

My girl and me.

Ayla's always happy to join in on a good howl!

Thanks Trevor, Sita, Kris and Katie for having us all at Christmas!

Christmas at Mums

2011-01-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We were lucky enough to have two Christmases. The first one was at mums.

A few years ago Mum made this Christmas tree with old trinkets and things that sparkle. There are all sorts of things special to Mum and our family like the tree trunk that is made from an old calendar from the year my grandmother was born.

Marsh loved the wrapping paper.

Ahh what better than a post Christmas dinner nap!

Giant snow globe

2010-12-17T17:58:00.001-08:00

I love snow globes! So I was excited toget the chance to be inside a giant snow globe this Christmas. My Friend Anne invited me to come along with her and her boys to have some fun.

Winter wonder land

Anne and Asher. Unfortunately Asher found the noise of the fan a little scary.

But Taylor had a blast throwing snow at me.

He loved the falling snow.

What great fun!

Christmas card class number 1

2010-12-11T17:09:00.001-08:00

As promised here are the cards we made at my first Christmas card class. We had so much fun.

This card is one from a few years ago too that I just love and so did the ladies that came to the class.

This card was inspired by one I was given from Janice klass.

Christmas card class

2010-12-11T14:57:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun at the first card class that we had to have another one. We will be having more classes next year I'll keep you posted. I was about to post the cards when I realized I haven't down loaded them off the camera but will do soon. Any way we made this card that I actually designed about 3 years ago.

I used Pear Pizzazz one of my new favorite colours.

I Love this card. Unfortunately you can't see the glitter on the santa sacks.

I made these treat bags for the ladies. i had so much fun making them.

Christmas cards

2010-12-11T14:41:00.001-08:00

I just got this wonderful card from my friend Kim. Isn't he a cheeky little elf! I think he has something naughty behind his back.

This is the card I gave Kim. I know she loves boggly eyes so i couldn't resist.
I love punch art. This is another card using SU's Two-Step Bird punch.

Marsh update

2010-12-11T12:29:00.001-08:00

Unlike a lot of my friends we don't have children. We are however great animal lovers and would have a zoo if we didn't live in the city. Our little kitten Marsh is now 6 months old and is no longer little. At 4 kg's he can only sit on my knee if a leg hangs off. Like most birmans he can be quite a naughty little boy. He is so playful and is always up for a game.

Marsh jumped out our second story window to explore. Then he couldn't work out how to get back inside (or didn't want to). Before I could get upstairs and wanting to get to his sister Ayla (our dog) he scared the heck out of me by jumping!

Two best friends Ayla and Marsh are together all the time. They love to sleep and play together. Marsh even hops in Ayla's kennel to sleep with her.

When I'm around the house marsh is often my shadow. He was helping me out in the garden the other day.

Poor Marsh! Off to the vet he went to have his little boy parts removed. I just had to post this photo of him. When we got home he sat on the cool floor for about 1/2 an hour. His poor little face seemed to say "What have they done to me mummy"!

Even though I'm not allowed on the bench I had to hop in mum's shopping bag.

Fun run

2010-11-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

As some of you may be aware at the beginning of this year I decided to get off the couch and get fit. Part of my goal was to be able to run the 5 km fun run held during the Auckland marathon. When I first started running in march my PT (personal trainer) Ming asked me to run for 15 min. Well after 6 minutes I couldn't breath and had to lie down!

So here I am less than 1 km to go and feeling comfortable and relaxed.

Yes I did it!

I was so surprised at how easy it was. I finished 2nd in my age group and 25th out of 195 women! So now I have a new goal to run a little further. I must mention my friend Catherine who ran the whole marathon again this year! She's amazing.

The wonderful Owl punch.

2010-10-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've just received my two step owl punch so thought I would have some fun. I came across two wonderful cards created by Darlene. Being Labour weekend I have extra time to sit and card so might see what else I can do with this little owl.

I love how these cards have a little surprise inside.

Aren't they just too cute!

Marsh settles in.

2010-09-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone my name is Marsh. My humans Rob and Nadine are providing me with my every need. They don't do to bad a job I must say.

I can surf the net when ever I like.

I love to explore. When ever a human opens a door I have to have a look inside.

I love playing in my new cardboard box.

I love the new Stampin' up catalogue, here I am keeping it safe for my human.

And I guard the bourbon too.

Then it's time for some R'n'R.

My big sister and I are great mates.

Midwifery Conference Rotorua

2010-09-07T00:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend some friends and I attended the New Zealand College of Midwives conference in Rotorua.

Here we all are from front Niki, Clare, Suzie, Linda and Me.

We had a traditional Maori welcome.

The men's Haka was very powerful.

Early one morning Suzie and I went for a walk along Lake Tarawera.

So quiet and peaceful.

After a day of information overload Tina Turner helped us unwind.

Saturday nights dinner at the Blue bathes. Everything looked so beautiful.

Before dinner we had some fun synchronized swimmers.

We had a great time

On our way home we took time to take in the beauty.

Then it was time for a little fun and relaxation at the Polynesian Spa

A great conference and a great time.

Happy fathers day!

2010-09-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

Man cards are sometimes hard to make but this fathers day I had no trouble deciding what to do. My wonderful dad has an avocado orchid and has just brought a bright orange tractor he's very proud of. So what better than to make a card of his tractor!

Here I am having a ride on the new tractor.

Just add ink - challenge #32

2010-08-31T01:51:00.000-07:00

JUST ADD MATERIAL

This weeks Just Add Ink challenge was to add material to your project. I was inspired to use my favorite Melon Mambo ribbon. There's nothing like opening a new roll of ribbon and I've been wanting a reason to use my Old Olive ribbon.

I also decided to have a go at embossing with white embossing powder and try some spongeing techniques.

I rippled my ribbon and stuck it down with tacky tape.

I don't know why I hadn't tried this before! I sponged using a post it note on the right hand side to get the criss cross pattern. Oooh I love old olive.

For this one I cut wavy patterns out of paper then sponged in different layers.

I so enjoyed making these cards. It just goes to show how you can have different looks with the same supplies.

Just a little stamping

2010-08-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a little bit of stamping this week so thought I would post some of the results.

I love the two step bird punch. Here I used the cut out from the punch and sponging to make the shadow.

Last week I visited my friend Jill who breeds finches. Her sweet little birds inspired me to make this pair of Cordon Bleu finches.

I made this card for my friend Vanessa. Happy Birthday Vanessa!

I now have a card making helper. Marsh loves to play with the little bits of scrap paper.

Here he is giving me some colour advice.

Our new baby

2010-07-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today was a very exciting day for me. After many weeks of waiting our new kitten is old enough to come home. Marsh (for marshmallow) Lewis (after Lewis Hamilton my favorite F1 driver) is a 10 week old Birman.

I made this card for Rachel who bred Marsh and took wonderful care of him.

As you can see he is pretty relaxed.

Marsh loves to play and play. Check out his big feet!

Marsh loves Rob

Here we are together. Once he has had enough of playing he fell straight to sleep!

Happy Birthday Rob

2010-07-06T17:32:00.001-07:00

Last week was my partner Rob's birthday. I always find it hard to make cards for men and especially for Rob. This time I was inspired by another card maker Helen who had a great entry in the Just Add Ink challenge #21. I loved the layout she used so I did something similar.

Here I am with our dog Ayla in a hot air balloon!

Happy Birthday Rob!

Just add ink - patterned paper challenge #23

2010-06-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

This weeks Just Add Ink challenge is to use patterned paper on your project. I used some stampin up patterned paper to make these two cards. I made the dress then thought a girl can't go out without a hand bag to match! The bag is easy to make with the square and circle punches. I can't tell you how many skirts I made until I got the pleats just right.

I Loved doing a girly card. I used an accessories stamp set I've had for a few years for the background.

Just add ink - colour challenge #22

2010-06-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

This weeks Just Add Ink challenge was to use this fantastic colour combination.

I don't have any Rich razzleberry so once again I called on my friend Kim for her stamp pad. While surfing You Tube I found this great tutorial to make pansies with the butterfly punch. They used water but I decided to use the ink and alcohol technique, you can find this tutorial on Chantell's blog. Because I didn't have any rich razzleberry I mixed Elegant eggplant, Rose red and regal rose re inkers to get as close to rich razzleberry as I could.

I used my new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set for the background and words. Any way I hope you like it.

Party clowns

2010-06-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

6 years ago I delivered a friends baby girl. For Sarah's birthday party her mum asked if I could do something with the children that she could then put some sweets in.

So this is what we made fun clown boxes.

Here are the boxes they all made.

Wedding bells

2010-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend of ours married. A great reason to make a pretty card!

Congratulations Tarsh and Kenton.

I used the flower from baroque motifs stamp set. I also used Crystal Effects and glitter in the centre of each flower for a little sparkle.

A tribute to an old friend

2010-06-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

16 years ago I rescued a fluffy little kitten and named her Puke (pronounced Pookee). She was very frightened of people but not of our dog, and they became best friends. Soon she got used to us and turned out to be quite a character. She loved playing with water, was a great hunter and chased torch lights literally up the wall.

Puke became a cat for the whole family living with Rob and I and my sister Chantell and her family.

18 months age Puke started to look very thin and after a trip to the vet we were told she had only 2 weeks to live. We took her home knowing she was on borrowed time. The next thing we know she's proudly bring us the fruits of her hunting and continued to live happily.

Sadly last month puke passed away peacefully at home. Classy to the end.

A tribute to Puke

Chantell made this wonderful album for me. It has pull out photos with space on the back of each one for us to write about the cool things Puke did. Thanks so much Chantell I love it!

Puke loved to lounge around and show off her fluffy tummy.

She had a pink and white toy mouse she loved to play with. Here she is with my niece Sarah.

Just chillin'

I always loved her big whiskers.

Just add - Stitching

2010-06-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just add ink challenge.

This weeks Just add ink challenge is to add stitching to your project. I used my Mat Pack to make faux stitching.

I also pulled an old stamp out of the archives using the Paisley stamp for the background.

Colour challenge

2010-05-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

This weeks Just Add Ink challenge is to use this great colour combo!

Melon Mambo is one of the new in colours. This is such a pretty colour. Don't you just love opening new colours to see how they stamp and what they work with.

Once again I've used the Two-step bird punch.

Just add ink - sketch challenge

2010-05-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

This week I decided to have a go at the JUST ADD INK sketch challenge #18. I've never done a challenge like this, it's a lot of fun! I also used Chantell's tutorial from the blog hop to colour my card using the ink and alcohol technique.

I have been enjoying the Fox and Friends stamp set from the Autumn- winter mimi catalogue.

Unconvention

2010-05-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Stampin' up convention is under way in Sydney. Just because some of us can't make it doesn't mean we can't have fun. The Extra Special Australalasian group specially for SU Demonstrators decided to make the weekend exciting with regular challenges and other fun events.

Christine Healey's 3D project

This is my version of her card holder.

I used Tea party DSP the flight of the butterfly stamp set and punch.

Michelle Frost-Stevenson's colour challenge

Michelle's challenge was to use 4 colours, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry.

Thanks to my friend Kim who gave me the Rich Razzleberry.

Amy Water's challenge - limited supplies

Ok so this is how it works we were only allowed 2 SU colours, 1 stampset and white or vanilla card stock. That means no dimensionals, no sponging no ribbon. This just goes to show you don't need a lot to make a great card. Once we made our card we had to take a photo then jazz the card up.

This is what I came up with.

And all jazzed up.

Here is another one.

With a bit more.

I must say a special thanks to all the wonderful ladies who have been working hard to make Unconvention so much fun!

Brayering- Blog Hop

2010-05-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

My sister Chantell is a member of the design team for JUST ADD INK. This week they have had a blog hop which showed different techniques. I've just brought a brayer so had a go. This is what I came up with.

The JUST ADD INK is a cool blog full of challenges and ideas. Check it out!

I brayer on Summer sun card stock with Pumpkin pie, Real red and Basic black ink.

Holidays are for stamping!

2010-05-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm having a few weeks off work so I've had a bit of time to use my new stamp sets and punches.

Fox and friends. I followed the easy tutorial on Michelle Zindorf's blog, tutorial #316 Foxy Reflection.

This little fox is so adorable.

Who would think black butterflies would work but they do.

This is the first card I've made with the Extra-Large Two-Step Bird punch.

All in the family

2010-05-17T22:50:00.000-07:00

I have got so much use out of the All in the family stamp set. I love how you can personalize cards.

My friend Kathy just brought a new house. Here she is with her daughter Grace.

I like to decorate the inside of cards too. So here we all are.

One of the girls I work with is moving on to new exciting pastures.

We work with babies so I just had to add these sweeties.

Friends of ours are about to have a baby. Now I'm just waiting to find out if it's the pink or the blue! I love the Tea Party Designer Series Paper.

Formula 1 Melbourne 2010! A great holiday!

2010-04-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Rob and I went to Melbourne to the F1. Great fans of F1 we had a fabulous time getting to see all the things we normally have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to watch on TV.

Posters of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button (my favorite drivers) were plastered all over the city.

We were so keen to get our first look at an F1 car we stood outside the track to watch Jenson Button and Jamie Whincup (Champion V8 driver) swap cars for a fun drive. We got our first taste of the noise an F1 car makes.

Me and the boys it's a pity they're just cardboard. He he

Here's an F1 steering wheel.

Hamiltons helmet.

My man hamilton.

The Pits

We were lucky to get a pit walk. It was fantastic to get up close to where a lot of the action takes place on race day.

Here's Buttons car. See how it shines!

Outside the Mercedes Pit (Schumacher and Rosberg).

Rob enjoyed taking cool shots of it all.

Looking down pit lane.

There were many displays around the track. Steve liked this little rocket!

Heres a Mclaren during practice.

With our Gold Pass we were welcome at the pit straight bar. Here boys enjoyed a beer.

The view of pit straight from the bar.

And the winner is.....Jenson Button!!! Yeh what a race.

The commentators.

We had a fantastic time with thrills and spills. The noise was intense!

Our trip to Melbourne

2010-03-31T00:11:00.000-07:00

Melbourne at night is full of life. Steve and Andrea took us out for a walk around.

We stopped in south bank for some yummy Ice cream.

Rob and Steve enjoying the city lights.

Street art.

The trams in the central city area are a fantastic way to get around.

We spent a little bit of time in Victoria markets.

Rob stands by an Italian Deli with pasta galore. I had never seen so many different types of pasta.

A meat Deli, yes you to can eat Kangaroo!

We went to a camera museum where Rob found a camera just like the first one he owned.

The old architecture in Melbourne is beautiful.

Streets can be very busy.

This is monkee Steve and Andrea's cool cat.

Andrea took me to South Melbourne Markets. The deli's were amazing.

Andrea in a cheese cool store.

Birthday cards for boys and girls

2010-03-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

My little friend Taylor turned 4 recently. I made this fun wiper card for him. I love this pop up design.

I work with Opal who's granddaughter also had a birthday. To celebrate they had a great trip to the zoo. opal asked me to make a scrap book page and a card to celebrate the day.

Don't you just love All in the family stamp set.

Opal loved it so much she framed it!

Rob rides at Hampton Down raceway

2010-03-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

March the 12 was California Super Bike School day. Rob spent the day at Hampton Downs raceway (south of Auckland) learning and perfecting the techniques for cornering. This is the first of four lessons. He had a great day and is looking forward to the next one.

Just some of the bikes. Rob's bike is #10.

Perfecting his cornering.

Coming in to the pits.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-20T19:46:00.001-08:00

Because I was spending Valentines day with a wonderful bunch of Women from work I decided to make them all a valentines treat.

This Idea came from Sarah Klass (in Perth) who did something similar last year.

Mini Mentos sweets are just the right size to decorate.

NWH Midwifery Conference

2010-02-20T18:33:00.000-08:00

With the weather still hot and sunny a group of NWH Labour and Birthing Midwives spent a weekend at Algies Bay, 1 hour north of Auckland.

Wow what a view.

Clare enjoying the view.

Yola spies a huge ship going towards Auckland.

Tracey and Clare check out the wares at the Matakana Markets.

Kayaking in Algies bay, Yola, Kayleigh and me.

Yola the speedy.

Izzy, Clare and Yola fix some supper.

Happy hour- Clare, Izzy, Helen, Clare, Kayleigh.

Yola enjoys her fresh fruit salad.

Kayleigh shows off her purchase from the markets.

Happy hour or should I say happy Hours.

A relaxed morning, Izzy, Clare, Helen.

Izzy, Clare, Tracey, Yola, Helen, Me

Tracey took us down to meet some sweet donkeys.

Izzy gives one a pat with Tracey.

Yola having a little chat.

Yola, Helen and Clare.

We had a fantastic weekend. Thank you Tracey for opening your home and all your hard work as Camp Mother.

We look forward to the next conference very soon!!

Wingspan Birds of Prey trust

2010-01-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

Last week was my birthday so to celebrate mum and I went to Rotorua for lunch and then on to Wingspan Birds of Prey trust. Wingspan care for sick, injured and orphaned raptors. These beautiful birds need our help to ensure there survival. We got to meet two beautiful falcons.

This is beautiful Ozzy.

Ozzy is trained to chase and hold on to prey using this lure. He wont let it go until he has eaten all the meat attached to it.

I was lucky enough to hold Ruby.

This is the latest edition to Wingspan. An 8 day old falcon. He weighed just 22g when he emerged from the nest.

Being weighed now 150g!!

Yummy! Boy can this little guy eat!

A beautiful Australian barn own he has been given a home after losing a wing.

A little morepork owl. We often hear these owls call at night so it was great to see one up close.

Christmas gift tags

2010-01-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

This Christmas I was asked to make gift tags for the staff gift at work. With only a short time to make them I called on the help of the best stamper I know. My sister Chantell. She got busy and sent some gift tags to me from Perth Australia!!! Via my friend Wendy (thanks for your courier service Wendy).

Don't they look great!!

Then I got busy too and made some as well.

I think everyone loved their Christmas infused olive oil. Here they are all lined up.

THANKS JANICE

2009-12-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

SECRET SISTER

My secret sister is......Janice Klass. Janice has really spoilt me this year with some wonderful cards, gifts and scrapbook pages. Janice you are very talented!

Look how amazing little buttons can be.

This scrapbook page has heaps of dimension.

I just love this card. The flowers are stamped on tissue. Janice I love the way your have coloured the flowers.

I received this box of goodies. I'm so lucky!! It was so exciting opening it.

Such beautiful Christmas cards. I'm defiantly going to have a go at this.

These trees are so sweet.

I love the way Janice puts dimension into her cards, something I always struggle with.

A yummy box of chocolates. (empty now).

Stamping on to cellophane bags adds style.

Decorate a shopping list. This one has a magnet on the back to stick on the fridge.

A special page layout for our dog (and child).

I love soap. This is a great idea for a gift.

Thank you so much Janice!

VANESSA & AARONS WEDDING

2009-10-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Vanessa and Aaron.

We had a great time at Vanessa and Aaron's wedding. Although the weather was to be very wet the clouds parted and the rain stopped just in time.

Sophie was a stunning bridesmaid.

Here comes the bride. Doesn't she look beautiful.

Mr and Mrs Hunter

The three of us having a great time.

The boys get down with a little air guitar.

Rob and I at nights end.

Here's the card I made.

Our first Stampin Up stamps!

2009-10-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Chantell and I decided to do a card swap using the very first SU stamp set have owned. I was given Canine Capers (now retired) as a gift.

Having a dog running around the house I often get muddy paw prints on the floor (not to mention cat paws). So I thought I would put muddy prints on a trendy trees card with the cheeky culprit peeking around the corner. Hope you like it.

I mixed up a few ideas from chantell to make this birthday card.

Chantell stamped on one sheet of card then cut it up to make several cards. Don't they look awesome!

Thanks Chantell!!

KIDS HOLIDAY CLASS

2009-10-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wet weather during the school holidays can be such a bore but it's the perfect weather for card making! We had a wonderful time with another kids class.

Here they are with their first finished card.

The kids all put their personality into their frogs. Each with a yummy chocolate inside.

They looked so good you just wanted to lick one!

MINI CATALOG CARD SWAP

2009-09-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

Last months card swap with my sister had to use stamps out of the Mini catalog. With so many lovely stamp sets it was hard to chose which ones to use.

Here are Chantell's cards.

This one is using the Great friend set and the Scallop oval punch. She has used heaps of glitter to make it sparkle. (I love glitter!)

The Just Beachy is a fun set. The background is done with the Lazy Days jumbo wheel, a great combination! Thanks Chantell

My cards

I used soft summer for my cards. This pretty set is a two step stampin set. To make the grit I first drew the grid in very light pencil with my ruler, then stamped my image. I then used a fine black pen to draw in the grid lines around the image free hand. Then colour! Very easy and very effective.
I really enjoyed using the In Colours for this card. It's great to see how one stamp can be rotated to make this pretty design.

MIDWINTER CHRISTMAS PARTY

2009-09-07T00:54:00.000-07:00

We had a midwinter christmas get together at work, so I made an envelope with a chocolate in for everyone. We had a great night too.

SILLY DOG

2009-09-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

Recently our dog Ayla went to play with her doggie friend Astro at his house. Maybe she wanted to get inside the house or followed the cat who knows but when I picked her up she had the cat door stuck on her head! As it took two of us to get it off I had to take her home to get Rob to help remove it.

Thank goodness we got it off without having to cut it. Then we humbly went back and return it to it's rightful place, the house.

SECRET SISTER

2009-08-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

My sister Chantell an SU demonstrator in Australia started a secret sister with New Zealand demonstrators. It's so exciting getting card swaps. This is what my secret sister has sent me, aren't they beautiful.

This is made with an envelope, it opens up with a pocket inside.

I just love butterflies, and I love this Good Friend set.

THANKS SECRET SISTER

SKIING HOLIDAY

2009-08-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Rob and I have just spent a week in Tongariro National Park skiing on Mt Ruapehu.

This is sitting on the Whakapapa ski field looking over to Mt Ngauruhoe. You can see the cloud we're above. It was very beautiful. We could also see the mountain on the west coast Mt Egmont.
Here I am celebrating getting down the hill without falling over. I'm not a very good skier in poor visibility which unfortunately most of the time during our holiday. This day was quite nice. By the end of most days I hurt everywhere and the stairs up to our room seemed 10 times higher. Thank goodness for the hot spa!
Rob's a great skier, he went up to some of the scary slopes for a little bit of fun.

Our last day was just awesome. We managed to get to some new snow up the top of the mountain.

GOOD FRIENDS CLASS

2009-08-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

The Good Friends stamp set is very versatile. We enjoyed making two different cards in this class.

I always love to add a little glitter.

I'm a Stampin' Up demonstrator!

2009-08-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to be a new Stampin' Up Demonstrator. I'm now giving classes once a fortnight and all are welcome. For more details on classes, workshops and SU products contact me at nadinep@xtra.co.nz. Lets get together and have fun doing what we love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANTELL

2009-08-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

My sister Chantell turned 40 this year. While she was in New Zealand we organized a party for her.

This is the card I made her.

The party wasn't a total surprise but she didn't know quite what was going to happen. We had a lovely lunch with friends and family.

Anne, Asher and Chantell

About to start launch.

Roy and Isabel Chantell's old neighbors.

Kim and Chantell

Rob and Kim's husband Sean.

Sarah my niece with her little friends.

Me Anne and Taylor

Robbie @ Fiat Club Waikato Autocross

2009-07-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the boys (Blair, Lee & Rob) did a Fiat Club Waikato TENGS TOOLS Tarmac Series event, the Autocross, in Hamilton.

This is Rob's 3rd run. He was the fastest Fiat on the day, and 12th overall in a field of 66.

Rob has a new baby

2009-07-20T03:41:00.000-07:00

In a bid to beat the extortionist cost of parking and Auckland traffic Rob decided to get back on a bike. First thinking of getting a scooter he soon started looking at bigger and bigger bikes until he was looking a sport bikes, deciding scooters were too dangerous in the traffic.

This is his HONDA CBR 600RR

Rob loves his new baby and even in the crappy winter weather has ridden it to work almost every day. He often takes the long way round some days just for fun!

Yes I have been for a ride!

For Amy

2009-03-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

I know my friend Amy loves posting sun sets so these are for you.

Taken from the front of my sisters house in Perth

Watch the sun go down.

Other fun stuff with Sarah

2009-03-07T03:37:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I spent a lot of time together. Keeping up with a 2 year old is hard work!

Sarah loves painting, or drawing. Most of it ends up on her or you if your not careful!

Fun in the sun

She likes to put on my bra.

Every night we had story time in bed.

Sarah thought using the water sculpture in the garden would be a great way of watering the plants. However spitting the water onto the plants wasn't quite what her mother had in mind.

Groovy kid

We also had fun at bath time. Sometimes I got a bit wet too.

Why open the door when you can crawl through the one at the bottom.

A great day at the beach.

2009-03-07T02:09:00.000-08:00

As most of you know Perth has some great beaches, so what better way to spend the day than in the sun having fun.

Chantell and I Sarah is hiding under the towel.

The water was so warm. Sarah loves to swim. The water had great visibility and we could see little fish swimming around us.

We made sand castles.
Sarah likes to pat it down with her foot. Now that's multi tasking.

What a great swim we had.
There was always some activity on or around the water to keep us entertained.
Yes again another great day out!

Wow a gift every day!!

2009-03-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

Wow I couldn't believe it, every day I was on holiday at Chantell's she gave me a gift (thats 14 days!!).It was so exciting wondering what it was I was going to get. Almost all the gifts were stamping up product or something made with Stamping up. Look at all my stash. Thank you so much Chantell your awesome!

Chantell is so talented she has a real eye for colour!

We spent a great deal of time stamping, I realy miss her help with ideas.

I Survived a shark encounter!

2009-03-03T18:18:00.001-08:00

Chantell took me to AQWA, Aquarium of Western Australia, where we discovered the incredible and unique marine life of Western Australia.

Chantell inside the tunnel, look at the huge stingray. Everything looks 1/3 smaller through the glass!

They had shallow rock pools to look at. See the big fish looking back at Chantell?

Being a fish lover (looking not eating) it was great to see some of the local aquatic life.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to dive with sharks and turtles so I took the plunge!

I was a little nervous the night before but it wasn't until I saw the shark and all it's teeth that I was beginning to wonder what I was doing.

I'm going to be in there soon!

After signing a waver ( if the shark eats you it's not your fault) the dive master took us out the back to explain it was a good idea not to aggravate the sharks.

Here I come.

Let me out! Let me out!

I just saw a shark.

Here he comes.

Woh that stingray is huge.

A baby turtle looks just like the one on finding nemo. So cute.

Brian the dive master.

AQWA had a wonderful selection of exhibits.

One of the fun exhibits was the touch and feel tank. The fish, little stingray, starfish are able to be patted. They even come up to the surface to let you touch them.

A Lion fish or grumpy rock as we call it.

No it's not a plant it's a sea dragon.

Moray eel.

Clown fish

What a great day!

ARMADALE REPTILE CENTRE

2009-03-02T03:03:00.000-08:00

When Chantell asked me what I wanted to do while I was in Australia I immediately said "hold a snake"! So Chantell, Sarah and I went to Armdale Reptile Centre.
The centre is full of snakes but also has an array of lizards, turtles, birds, frogs and other animals.

This is Sarah and I looking at a South American Boa Constrictor. He is 14 years old and weighs around 25kg, twice as heavy as Sarah (3 years).

I was able to help put him in his cage. It took 4 of us, he was so strong. I was pleased to get the tail end.

Sarah was very happy to pat his tail.

The South American Boa Constrictor.

I really love the little frogs

This one was stuck to the glass.

Sarah loved the crocodile. Chantell had to keep lifting her up to look in it's enclosure.

I really loved the centres collection of native birds.

A Tawny Frogmouth.

I was also able to hold this Carpet Python a common snake to the area. Sarah was very gentle patting him. I was amazed at how soft he felt!

We had a great day!

Arrived in Perth

2009-03-01T03:50:00.000-08:00

After a great flight I arrived in Perth. The heat hit me like a ton of bricked as I left the Airport.

The next day Chantell and Neil took me up to John Forrest National Park for lunch.

I had a taste of Aussie wild life with Kangaroos sunning themselves right next to our table.

A few locals flew in for lunch too!

Neil feeding the birds.

AUNTY NOO NOO

I'm enjoying spending time with my niece Sarah. Here we are drawing pictures together.

Sarah and her baby at the supermarket.

CRAFTING AROUND

One recurrent theme of this holiday seems to be making cards.

Here is Chantell in her craft room. I call it the black hole cos every free second she has she seems to have been sucked into her room to card.

Chantell giving a card class at her home.

Carding around with some of Chantell's friends.

Me, Sarah, Jazz and Tracey

Rob's day out racing

2008-12-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Fiat racing club closed Sainsbury Road in Pirongia for the day. A perfect road for a hill climb with straights many twisty turns!

My Friend Christine even had a go with Blair at the wheel! She loved it.

Rob in his Fiat Tipo.

Christine and I Cheered the boys on!

Blair and his Fiat Uno.

Coming back down the hill after the racing.
One poor driver didn't quite make it and was saved a nasty roll down the bank by a piece of good old number 8 wire.

The old and the New

2008-12-27T14:00:00.001-08:00

One of the challenges Chantell and I had recently was to use our oldest and newest stamps to make 3 cards and this is what we came up with.

Chantell rotated a corner stamp to make this cool design. The photo doesn't do it justice as it sparkled with glitter too.

I wanted to use a card design I hadn't tried before. This extendable insert was fun to make.

I Brought this thank you stamp about 15 years ago and was one of the first I purchased.

Summer is here!

2008-12-27T13:49:00.001-08:00

So Now that summer is here we get to enjoy all the fresh fruit! I love strawberries and got a big surprise when I opened a punnet recently to find the biggest strawberry I think I have ever seen. It was sweet and juicy too!

Flowers are out so I've planted some pretty flowers to grow at the end of the drive.

Here is Ayla and I with my beautiful lilies.(Almost taken out by ravenous snails!)

Card swap with Chantell

2008-11-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

COLOUR CHALLENGE

This was the first colour challenge I had ever done. Chantell and I threw around a few colour ideas and came up with this. We used colours from the SU range of corse.

Real red (my favorite)

Night of navy

Handsome hunter

Bashful blue

This one of Chantell's had a pop up centre as well. I love the red brads!
Chantell always amazes me with her creativity!
I wanted to do something really different to what I had done before. That is why I did this patch work card. I like quilting although I don't do as much of it as I should.

I loved these colours and would never have thought to put them all together.

NAMC Race weekend 2008

2008-09-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

NORTH ALASKAN MALAMUTE CLUB Race weekend Rotorua

A bunch of us got together to race dogs for the weekend. Rob, Ayla (our dog) and I went to lend a hand. It was great to get out of the city into the great outdoors, and get together with friends. Rob and I had a great time and I think the dogs did too.

Here are some photos of the weekend sorry some of them are a bit small.

I lend a hand with two very keen dogs at the start line.

A late night poker game!

There is a bit of time for some relaxation so Rob, Matt, Becky and I went to the Polynesian pools for a hot swim.

Matt and Astro

Mat, Astro and Roxy at the finish line

Our girl Ayla watches on as the dogs come home.

Becky finds a comfortable seat while she waits.

The time keepers Rob, Sonja and Becky.

Two best friends relax.

My girls and me

2008-07-10T01:11:00.001-07:00

The moot is somewhat aloof generally and often doesn't even particularly like being petted. For her to jump on the bed and have a snuggle is almost unheard of, so a photo of the occasion was necessary!! Of course, the cat just couldn't handle being left out, and jumped up to join the party!

Card swap with Chantell

2008-07-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

Each month my sister Chantell (living in perth)and I swap cards. We choose a theme for each card swap and see what we come up with. This Junes theme was suspension cards. This is where an image is suspended with dental floss and is able to be rotated. Our cards were very different so quite exciting to see. Chantell must have been feeling patriotic when she was thinking up her ideas , with this cool Kiwi card.

stamphappy class 2008

2008-06-11T21:35:00.001-07:00

A surprise pull up card. I did this card years ago so it was

nice to try something new with an old idea. Once again we

used my favorite stamp set unfrogetable.

I love the contrast of the pale and the bright. It gives this

card punch! Thanks again Jaque for a great night.

Cinderella goes to the ball

2008-04-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

Me in my new white dress.

Ok I may not be Cinderella but I did go to the ball. The enjoyment of Scottish Country Dancing was rekindled for me this year after hearing an add on the radio for the Knox Scottish Country Dance Club. I was pleased to find the basic dancing skill were still there.

Mum helped me sew a white dress, (traditional formal dress for women) and I ordered a sash of the family tartan from Scotland.

Off to the ball I went!

I had a wonderful time and danced almost non stop for four hours! For those of you who know nothing about this type of dancing it's like a gym workout with a personal trainer. To prove that, for the next few days my legs were protesting every time I had to walk down stairs .

Goodbye to a fluffy friend

2008-04-13T22:54:00.001-07:00

Tinker

Sadly Tinker (Tinkies) my cat was sent quietly to cat heaven. I will miss my fluffy friend. Her last day was spent just how it should be basking in the warm sunshine.

Stamphappy class 17th March 2008

2008-04-13T22:30:00.001-07:00

Postale

We enjoyed making two very different cards with the same stamp set. I love the colours we used.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Card class

I really enjoyed these easter projects. The bunny card was my favorite technique using versamark, glitter and embossing powder.
This is a great gift for kids who love to cook.

Easter fun with friends!

Over Easter my friends Doug and Janine and their children (my God Children) came to visit. We had a wonderful time and spent the whole day at M.O.T.A.T. The kids are growing up so fast so it was great to spend some time with them.

Here we are looking in one of the old trams. We enjoyed a tram rid too.

Remember these police cars! Flash ay.

Nicolas drives the big steam engine while Jared (sitting) Matthew Me and Tegan look on.

Animals are so helpful

2008-03-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Ayla

Ayla helped me trim a tree by stopping all the clippings from being blown away (even though there was no wind). It was a hot day and the clippings were nice and cool.

Puke

Puke fancies herself as a dress maker and was making it very clear that this was not the piece of pattern I should use. (Why do cats always have to sit on the piece of paper your reading?)

A visit from Scotland

2008-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

Having lunch at sky tower

My friend Carol came from Scotland for a holiday and I was lucky enough to spend the day with her. Wanting to show her Auckland as well as gas bag, lunch up the sky tower seemed like the perfect treat. We had a wonderful day, it didn't feel like 9 years since we had seen each other. Wow how time flies! Carol was then off to Hamilton and to continue with friends on a tour of the south island.

Happy birthday Taylor

2008-02-24T00:05:00.001-08:00

Taylor turned two today!!

Mum made him a great cake and the family gathered around to watch him blow out his candles.

Stamphappy class 20th February 2008

2008-02-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

MILK CARTON

Once again a fun project using great use of colour and accessories. I would have never thought of using little pegs like this. In fact I just threw a heap out the other day when I had a big clean our of all my stamping stuff!!

Stamphappy class 13th February 2008

2008-02-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

ALTERED HEART BOX

This is my heart box I made at Jacki's class. Using the lovely papers she supplied we all had

different looks to our boxes. It was great to have Kim come along and join us.

2008-02-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

EXTRAVAGANZA!

We all had a wonderful day at extravaganza. I've never known a room with so many women in could be so quiet. We had 5 unique projects to complete. All were well thought out and organized. Thanks to the wonderful ladies who put a lot of time and effort into making this a great day.

This hidden panel card made great use of one of the Sale-A-Bration sets" Merci"

I loved using this crayon resist technique. Also my favorite

colours too.

This gift box was not only lovely at the front but at the back also.

I was one of the lucky few to win a door prize!

2008-02-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

A day at the zoo

Sarah and I went to the zoo with Ann and Taylor.

Ann and I had a wonderful day looking at all the animals and chasing after fast little people.

The sun kept shinning so we had to make sure we slip, slop, slapped. Unfortunately I couldn't get Sarah to keep her hat on. We all managed to get close to big cats and sea lions.

Taylor thought the best thing at the zoo was playing with the drinking fountain. Smart cookie on a hot sunny day.

Very first post

2008-01-19T23:49:00.000-08:00

Chantell and I are setting up this blog together so we can keep in touch with our comings and goings while she is in Perth. Also so I can share with friends what new things I have been making. Yesterday I received new stamping up products so hope that I'll have some new creations to post soon.