My Gorgeous Banner

For the open day at the neighbourhood centre on the weekend, my friend Susie made this gorgeous banner.

Banner by Susie Coates

The picture really doesn't do it justice.  We got so many comments about it on the day.

How lucky am I?   She hand cut all the pieces, and all the little flowers and decorations are fussy-cut too.  The paper is Cottage Wall - one of my favourites, and all the trimmings are done in Rich Razzleberry including the polka dot ribbon (another favourite). 

So now wherever I go, I'll be able to put my custom-made banner on my stall. 

Thanks Susie!  You're so talented!!

Cheers
Karen

Thank You from East Timor

They just keep coming!
******************************************8

Karen,




On behalf of 12 Alpha I would like to thank-you for the Christmas cards that you sent to us, It was a nice surprise, and they are being put to good use.

Thank-you again

Cpl OK Bambrick
12 Alpha
East Timor

************************************************

And another......

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UNCLASSIFIED


Dear Ma'am,

I want to thank you for making such beautiful cards and sending over to us.

I work in the orderly room where members come to send out their mail, it is appreciated that there are cards to send out to our family and that someone has thought of us.

I thank you again, and for your support to our troops overseas.

Have a Merry Christmas and a great 2011.

Kind regards,

Kylie Walters
CPL
TLAG 14 CLK
OP ASTUTE - APOD
***********************************************
 
Cheers!
Karen

Here's another Thank You

I think it might be time to put all the thank yous onto the cards for the troops page.  It's so lovely to receive them and it would be even lovelier for blog visitors to find them all in one area.  What do you think?

Here's the one I received yesterday from Afghanistan:
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UNCLASSIFIED

Good Afternoon Karen the Paper Lady,

This is just a quick note to thankyou for sending Christmas cards for the troops it was a lovely gesture - thankyou.

Unfortunately, I will be home for Christmas so I want be using any of your wonderfully decorated cards, but others that will be remaining here over Christmas will definitely use them. I am just not sure that some of the guys will thank you, so I thought that I would on behalf of them all.

My "tour of duty" ends in a few weeks, and I will be heading back home to be with my husband and two children, just in time for Christmas.

Hope you and your family have a fantastic Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Thankyou again for the wonderful Christmas cards

Regards

Julie

J. DOOLAN
WO2
**************************************************

I replied to Julie because she didn't say where she was deployed and I really want to share the locations that our cards went to with you:

" Thanks Julie. You are very kind to send a thankyou. I have actually received a number of emails already. Not sure where you are stationed, so perhaps you can let me know as I will post your email on my blog. That way all the ladies who contributed this year will know that their cards were well received.


Best wishes to you and your family. It must be wonderful to know you will be coming home soon.
Cheers

Karen
PaperLady
******************************************

UNCLASSIFIED


Hi Karen, I am currently stationed in Afghanistan, and please thank all the ladies who contributed. Its wonderful to know that there are people back in Australia thinking of us over here.

Thanks again

Regards

Julie

J. DOOLAN

WO2  
*************************************************
 
Isn't that a lovely thankyou?  How sweet that Julie should send it, and make it on behalf of the guys too!!!
 
Hope you are enjoying this lovely summery weather.  Have a great weekend.
 
Karen

Thank You from Sudan 2

These messages really brighten my day.  When I first started this last year, I didn't know the positive impact it would have.  Yes, I wanted to do something nice for the men and women far from home during the festive season, but the way these cards are being received is just so lovely, and I guess our small gesture of kindness is coming back to us a hundred fold.  Take a bow ladies!

*************************************************

Hello Karen,

My name is Glyn Llanwarne and I am the commander of the Australian Defence Force contingent deployed to Sudan.

Recently we received a package of cards that you made especially for ADF personnel to use and send to our families for Christmas. I know exactly the effort that you went to when making these cards as my wife Anna has the same high level of talent that you do and makes similar cards.

Although it is approaching Christmas, we see very little of this here as we are living in a Muslim country. Being able to access some acknowledgment of our own traditions is very comforting to my contingent. Your very generous gift provides a tangible link back to Australia and our families. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you and thank you on behalf of the ADF contingent to the United Nations Mission in Sudan.

Yours in service,

Lieutenant Colonel Glyn Llanwarne

Commander Australian Contingent 12

Khartoum Sudan
*****************************************************
 
Happy Friday!  
 
Karen

Thank You from Sudan

I have received another thank you email, this time from Sudan.   This one almost made me cry because it comes with such sincerity and it's particularly touching to get an insight into the amazing work our armed forces are involved in.

****************************************************
Dear Karen,


I am an Australian Army officer deployed to Sudan in Africa with the United Nations.

The Australians here have just received your beautiful Christmas Cards for us to send to our families and friends back home. I have selected a lovely card to send to my wife in Adelaide. I know she will be very pleased to receive it especially when I tell her that it was provided by someone back home who is thinking about all of the deployed men and women away at Christmas and wanted to make it more enjoyable.

I am based in Khartoum (the capital) with the United Nations (there are about 15 Aussies here). We are working with the UN to bring peace to Sudan and to conduct a referendum in January to see if the country will split into two countries (one Christian and one Muslim) or if it will remain one nation. Sudan has had about 20 years of civil war with about 2 million people killed. Currently there are 6 million refugees in Sudan, so the country has many problems.

This is my second Christmas in the last 4 Christmas when I have been deployed overseas (the other was in Iraq) and away from my family. Your very nice card and thoughts will make my Christmas a happier one. I have not seen my wife (and my dog Heidi and cat Cassie) in 2 months and I will probably not see them for another 3 months (for 12 days leave). I will eventually be home in May or June next year.
very kindest regards and thank you

I wish you a very Merry Christmas

David Neal
Major


****************************************************
Count your blessings every day.

Karen

Open Day

Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre are holding an Open Day on Sunday 28 November between 10 am-3 pm.   They have recently undergone a clean up, and they are really raising their community profile with all sorts of great classes, activities and events going on throughout the year.  This is a great time to come by and see what they do - and what YOU might like to do too.  There's fitness, drama, craft, dance, school holiday activities, community services etc etc etc.   I will be there with a stall showcasing my classes, and also selling some of the things I've made.

Copyright 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!

PaperLady will have the following specials:

 Hand made cards and gifts for sale


 Patterned Paper, cardstock & pre loved stamp sets at great prices

 Free make n take item - get some hands on crafting experience!
 VERY Special Offer on the Sizzix Big Shot
 Christmas gift certificates available.


New Customers:

 Book a class* and get a FREE pack of cardstock (value $13.95)

 Book 2 classes* and get a FREE pack of cardstock PLUS a FREE ink pad (value $11.95)

 Book 3 classes* and get a FREE pack of cardstock, a FREE ink pad PLUS a FREE a la carte stamp

*conditions apply
Host a workshop and get free product plus an additional $20 gift certificate for qualifying sales.  Great with Christmas coming up.

These offers are only available through PaperLady and not via Stampin’ Up! or any other demonstrator.  AND, you must attend on the day as I won't be offering these deals at any other time.

Bring the family, there's something for everyone. 
Hope you can make it.

Happy stamping
Karen

Our First Thank You

Well, the Christmas Cards for the Troops have arrived in East Timor!   Boy that was quick.   I received an email thanking us this afternoon.   And here it is......

*************************************************
\UNCLASSIFIED



Dear Karen,

I wish to write and thank you for your support to our deployed soliders. I have distributed your kind gift of christmas cards out to my soldiers, which will allow them to write home during the festive season. I too have taken a couple and look forward to sending christmas cards to my wife and family.

It was very kind, on your behalf, to spare these cards and true good will gesture to send them to deployed servicemen and women of the Australian Defence Force. I would like to wish you a merry christmas and again thank you for your support to my soldiers.

kindest regards,


David Barton
Captain
Officer Commanding
Combat Service Support Team
OP ASTUTE
***********************************************

Well done ladies! 
Karen

Swaps from Regionals

I finally got around to downloading the pictures of the swaps that I got at Regionals last weekend.  There are so many lovely ideas.  It never ceases to amaze me how talented people are.   The ornament punch and corresponding sets were really popular this year as was the Big Shot dies, and particularly the various Impressions folders.   I think dry embossing would have to be one of the easiest ways to add dimension, texture and interest to a project for a minimum of cost because you can use them over and over again.

Ok, so here's my swap:   

 And here's some I got in return:

Purse by Nerida Carter, bag by Pauline Bennetts

Earrings by Denielle Bernauer

Clockwise from Left:  Tennille Koelma, Venie Hooper, Catherine Lloyd, Christie Wallace

Unfortunately I can't upload anymore because photoshop just crashed.  Anyway, as you can see, there's some very talented ladies out there.

Thanks for swapping everyone.   

Hope you found something you like - actually, I'm sure you did!

Karen

Mojo Monday 166

Another week, another Mojo.  

This sketch lends itself to the set we got at Regionals, and since I'm really falling for the watercolouring technique, I thought I'd like to continue with it.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set:  Every Moment
Cardstock:  Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Watercolour paper
Paper:  DSP Kaleidoscope (R)
Ink:  Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie for beak and feet
Ribbon:  Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain (R)
Jewels:  Basic Pearls
Aqua painter, Sponge dauber, Snail, Dimensionals, Wide Oval Punch

If you'd like to learn watercolouring the easy way, call me to book a workshop.  All it takes is you and a few friends!
I also hold watercolouring classes a couple of times a year.

Stamp happy all day long.
Karen

Regionals 2010

On Saturday I attended my second Regional event in Sydney.  This was the first year that it was held at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel.  Great location.  So easy to get to and very spacious and comfortable.  I was also really lucky to have Tracy come along with me.  We had such a good time and it was really nice to share it with someone this time around.  The last time I "went with someone" was when I was in San Diego and my upline Veronica took me along to the Anaheim Convention Centre.  Sydney isn't as big of course, but the creativity and ideas were flowing all the same.

The day started early with us arriving at about 8.30am to register and get our pack of make n take goodies.  The stamp set was "Every Moment" and we also had a pack of prepared cardstock, ribbon, and bits and pieces for each project - 4 in total.    We then started to exchange our swaps with other demonstrators.  I was really proud of Tracy who made lovely swaps (I still don't have one Trace so please save me one), and happily exchanged hers for some innovative ideas by other demonstrators and guests.  I will take some pics and post them for you later in the week.   Once settled in the conference room with around 200 other people the training got underway and it was full on till lunch time.   After lunch, there was more training and some great info from SU training facilitator Sophie about the new Smooch Spritz and ways to mix our inks for even more colour choices than you see in the IB&C.  Watch this space!  I think we'll do a class!

So without further ado, here's some pics:

Make n Take Projects

Watercolouring was the main technique of the day

Every Moment Stamp Set has these gorgeous daisies

And how cute is the little bird in the bull rushes?!

Tracy and me with Donna from the U.S. home office in Utah

Yummy lunch

Even yummier dessert

If you like what you see and want to go with me next year, put your hand up!    I'll post some swap pics tomorrow.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Karen

Where do you find your inspiration?

Inspiration to make something comes from all sorts of places - I have a long list of "inspiration sites" on my google reader.  Maybe that makes google an inspiration, or at least a tool for inspiration.

Yesterday I made my Mojo Monday sketch.  I try to do this every week because it inspires me to create something that's actually mine.   In crafting circles, and particularly in SU we have a CASE philosophy - Copy And Share Everything - but this can sometimes stifle your own ideas because your head is crowded with wonderful things you've seen and would like to recreate yourself.

That said, yesterday I looked at the Mojo Monday sketch WITHOUT scrolling down for the creators samples.  They usually post 6 or so sample ideas by different crafters, and then if you are actually on the website you can scroll further down for the samples that people have uploaded to the site - remember that its a US site so by the time we get it here (if you're on email notification), they've already had a few hours to get started.    I didn't want to influence my design in any way so I just jumped in.   

Today, I revisited the email notification and looked at the samples - to my amazement, there was a card by Sarah Bigelow (very talented lady) that I did a double take on, because I chose the same colour scheme and DSP, although mine was a different pattern.  

Ok, so maybe it's not that amazing, but I'm quite fascinated by the way our creative ideas take shape.  Are they all simply the result of a huge volume of stuff/experiences we've had?   How much of it is truly original?   None of it really matters, as long as you enjoy your crafting experience.  But I'm interested to hear your thoughts........

Where does your inspiration come from?   How did you arrive at your latest project?  

Have a thoughtful day!

Karen 

Mojo Monday 165

I first started doing Mojo Monday way before I ever posted anything on my blog - confidence I think!  Anyway, I'm really pleased to say that the more I do, the easier I'm finding it and I can jump in and create a whole lot quicker.  I used to spend hours wondering about colours, stamps, occasions etc etc etc.   But this morning I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I saw the sketch:


And here's my card:

Supplies used:
Stamp Set - Gifted
Card Stock - Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Soft Suede & Real Read
Paper - DSP Christmas Cocoa Specialty - LIMITED TIME BUNDLE OFFER
Tools - 1 3/4" circle punch, Curly Label punch, Big Shot with Bigz Two Tags Die (sorry, bought while in the US.)
Rhinestone Brads (the big one), Jewels - Rhinestones & Mistletoe Ribbon (Gojus!)

The tag opens up so it's perfect to pop a little cash into for that gift for the person who has everything.  It's a little small for a gift card though, but you could also use it to stamp a message inside.
Thanks for looking!

Karen

Passing on the Thanks

I have received an email from Julee at the DOD for the CCFTT and thought I'd share it with you here:

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Good Morning Karen


Thank you for the kind donation of cards to be sent to the troops for them to send to their families.

These cards have been distributed to all our troops, in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Solomon Islands, Bahrain, Sudan, Egypt, Israel and Jerusalem.

I send media care packs (newspapers, magazines, football games) to all troops each week and these will be sent on Wednesday 17 November 2010 and should take approximately 5 days to get to their overseas locations. The troops have access to send these cards back as soon as they can via the Armed Forces Post Office.

Your cards have been sent to all services, ARMY, RAAF and NAVY.

Regards

Julee

IMPORTANT: This email remains the property of the Department of Defence and is subject to the jurisdiction of section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914. If you have received this email in error, you are requested to contact the sender and delete the email.

*************************************************************
Happy Friday!   Enjoy your weekend

Karen

Completing the circle

I'm just back from spending time helping Julee at the Randwick barracks with the preparation of our Christmas cards to be sent to the deployed troops.  Basically, each pack of cards (varying amounts in each) that all you lovely cardmakers sent me or made at my event were put in large envelopes, labelled with their purpose & sorted into piles for the various Aust bases around the world.  This is a Tri-service unit so cards will go to Army, Navy & RAAF.

I say "labelled with their purpose" because the military personnel receive lots of greetings cards at this time of year wishing them a safe Christmas.  Since our cards are for them to write to their families back home, they need to be told this otherwise they may think we've forgotten to write them, stick them up on a wall at their base somewhere, which is all very nice, but it's not what we meant to happen. 

Julee works at the Personnel Services Battalion and prepares all sorts of media care packs to ensure our troops are connected to home.   This is especially important in remote locations and also because some bases only have a very small number of personnel.  

Here I am, with the stack of goodies that will be sent next week, and our cards being popped into the yellow envelopes - Julee says they'll be on the top of the boxes when they're opened!!

Now I should also point out that this is the Australian office that sends care packs through the official channels ensuring that everything reaches its intended destination.  And all the security rules apply with customs checks and so on.   But this is great for us as cardmakers because it means we know that our lovingly made creations are being cared for correctly. 

As this PaperLady initiative is now closed for 2010 all crafters can take a break - actually, you're probably making your own Christmas cards now!!   But for 2011, you can start whenever you like and I'll be happy to do it all again next year.

And how fitting, that it's Remembrance Day today.   I really do feel like I've seen the process from piece of cardstock & stamp set, right through to pack and send!   Now, if you're reading this and you receive a card this Christmas from a loved one stationed overseas, made by one of the ladies here, be sure to let me know.

Cheers
Karen

Mojo Monday 164

Do you ever get a new stamp set and then put it away and not use it for a long time?   I know I do.   Sometimes it's more about "having" the stamps than actually using them.  

Cue Mojo Monday!  I received some new products yesterday and decided that I'd just jump in there and use the set on this weeks MM challenge.   That's another good reason to use a Mojo sketch.  It helps you actually "use" everything you have at the same time as generating new creative ideas!
Here's the sketch:


Here's my card.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Welcome Christmas (currently available as a bundle with some EXCLUSIVE & LIMITED TIME ONLY Designer Series Paper PLUS you get a free roll of ribbon!)
Cardstock - Very Vanilla & Cherry Cobbler
Paper - DSP Jolly Holiday
Ribbon - Wide striped in Riding Hood Red (one of the free roll choices - there's 4 altogether)
Linen Thread
Rhinestone brads & the new Jewel Rhinestones
Beads - Red Glass, no longer available with SU.

Leave a comment if you like what you see!
Karen

I'm so excited!

This is a really quick post because I've now got to squeeze a bit extra into my day today...bet you know what that's like, right?!
Anyway, Julee from the DOD just collected the cards for the troops (from now on, they'll be called CCFTT - Christmas Cards for the Troops) and I'm going to help her get them ready to despatch tomorrow!!!

I know, you probably think I've gone a little crazy but it will be very special for me to see the cards that so much love and attention went into actually be made ready to send.  

I'll  be back tomorrow with pics and info!!

Happy Wednesday.  If I pull my finger out, you might see a Mojo Monday from me later on.....

Let it Snow!

With the crazy weather in Sydney right now, it is actually possible that we could get snow!   Only joking, but we are having very stormy weather - normal for November - but I think we're all over the rain and changeable conditions.

That said, I dusted off an old wheel & Bigz die yesterday and whipped up a few more Christmas Cards for the troops.  I thought I'd share them here because they're in blues, silver & vanilla and I kind of liked the change from all the reds & greens I've been using.

All the designs are really simple - sometimes knowing when to stop is a good thing right?!  I love the christmas ornament from the Contempo Christmas set and it looks lovely with the shimmery paper I bought last week in Spotlight (on special for $1, so even I couldn't resist that!).   Then there's the tree from Snow Swirled which always looks amazing when stamped with metallic ink.  This one uses the Encore Ultimate Metallic in Silver (available from me!).  I didn't emboss it because I wanted to make so many cards, so I just stamped all the trees and greetings at the same time and set them with the heat tool. The little clear raised spots on the snowflake cards are Crystal Effects (available from me!)

Now I'm off to unpack a huge box of SU products that I will be using in my upcoming classes.  I hope you've booked.  There's limited space available, especially for the Stamp a Stacks next week which must be prepaid to reserve your seat.

Ciao stampers!
Karen

Cake

Ok, so this is totally off the card making and papercraft track but I wanted to share the cake that I made for Lana's birthday party.

After much deliberation - she had gone through 2 large cake books and put post-it notes onto every third page or so - she decided on the skateboard.   Actually, much to my relief  because it only meant baking one large cake and cutting it to shape!!  When I think back to the cakes I've done in the past, it was really simple.  But having said that, it's been a few years since I did this kind of cake because we used to buy them ready done while in the U.S.....tsk tsk, but there's so much choice & they were super cheap!

Here it is:

"stickers" made from piped chocolate

The colours for they day were black and white - mainly because she liked the chequered flag plates and cups.  We didn't have a theme until I realised that everything was based around lollies so I guess you could say the theme was sugar!     We played good old fashioned party games like pass the parcel and musical chairs.  Bashed the heck out of a "record" shaped pinata and yes, that's a sausage and cheese hedgehog in the picture.

Now it's onto the planning for Hayley's birthday.   It's that time of year!

Karen

Winner Week 4 - My Mojo Sketch Challenge

And the final winner is......

SUSIE!

Well done Susie.  You have scored a nice little paper prize with some sheets of DSP from the Urban Garden Range and some Kiwi Kiss cardstock.

Thanks to everyone for playing during October, for voting, and for having some crafting fun.   I hope you enjoyed finding your Mojo!

Here's Susies card:

Have a great week
Karen

Colour Combos

Choosing colour combinations for your projects can be quite challenging.  It sometimes takes ages to decide and it's especially difficult when there's so much choice.   I always find it easier when I'm making something for someone who has a favourite colour, as at least I have a starting point.   SU has a great colour coach which will have even the most stumped crafter find a solution that's pleasing to the eye.   I've just ordered mine!  

Today I played with Marina Mist and Daffodil Delight.  I love yellow, but find it hard to use in my projects and in fact before the colour renovation I hardly ever used Yoyo Yellow which was in the Bright's collection.  It was retired and Daffodil Delight introduced.  I really like the way it works with the softness of Marina Mist and the crisp smooth Whisper White.  I also like the fact that it's available in Designer Series Paper (as are all our colours this time around), and the 1/8" ribbon is just gorgeous.  Thanks Shelli!

So here's a couple of things I did with these colours.   I've used the emboss resist technique on both cards and we'll be doing this in class this month so if you get a chance to come along, you won't be sorry.

Happy Friday!

Karen

Mojo Entries Week 4

This is the final week of our mojo sketch challenge and here are the entries:

Michelles Card week 4

Avrils card week 4

Susies Card

Please vote for your favourite by sending me an email.   Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 7 November.  Anyone can vote!

Thanks to everyone for playing this month.

Karen

Chocolate Orange

After preparing for this weeks classes I decided to play some more with the Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Pie colours.  Haiku was one of my all time favourite Designer Series Papers and it's colours are Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Old Olive & So Saffron, and it works really well with Choc Chip...what doesn't ?!   And come to think of it, Chocolate Orange is one of the most yummy chocolate treats you can have.....coincidence?  Hmmmm.

So while I left out any Haiku paper with Old Olive, I did use quite a bit of the other papers in these projects.  I won't list all the supplies but if you'd like to know anything I'll be happy to answer your questions by email or phone.  I will also have these projects displayed at my classes this week.

Thanks for looking.

Karen

Mojo 163

Ok, so how do you get a rectangle with a scalloped edge all the way around when you only have a scallop border punch?   I almost went mad with this.   I tried every way I could to line up the scallops but while it was close, it just wasn't quite there.  So....I gave up...LOL.   Hence my card has a scalloped border in Choc Chip on either side, but not the top or bottom.

Mojo 163 Sketch



Mojo 163 My card


I've used the new flower brads neutrals collection for the first time.  I like them, but they are big on the back so I think next time I'd use a bit of sticky strip rather than just snail adhesive.
Other supplies for this card:
Stamp Set:  Fresh Cuts
Cardstock:  Very Vanilla & Choc Chip
Paper:  Haiku DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Versamark
I've embossed the main stamped image - first I stamped it in Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock, then using a Stamp-a-majig I stamped over the top in Versamark so I could heat emboss it.  The greeting is stamped in Versamark on Choc Chip & embossed then punched out with the small oval punch. 

I'm off to make something else. 

Happy stamping.

Karen

Winner Week 3

Congratulations......

Tracy!

You've won a gorgeous pack of ribbon for your lovely mojo sketch challenge.

Here's Tracys card if you missed it.

And don't forget to get your entries in this week (by Thursday) to win some gorgeous cardstock and paper.

Happy Mou-vember. 

Karen