So many of us have been affected by the tragic bushfires that hit Victoria this past week. We live in the middle of a state forest in Victoria, so bushfires are never far from our thoughts, but this is beyond anything that we could possibly imagine. 

We were incredibly lucky last weekend that our district was safe, but so many other small towns and communities – so similar to ours – weren’t as fortunate.

As a community of craft lovers, stampers and scrappers we can do something to help those who are trying to pick up the pieces by supporting Stampin’ Up! and the Red Cross in their generous fundraising efforts.  

Here are the details:

From now until 31 March 2009, Stampin’ Up! will donate 50 percent of the retail value of all sales from a select group of 10 stamp sets to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.  I will also donate my commission, adding another 20 percent to the donation.  

This means that 70% of the purchase price (not just the profit) of the stamp sets listed below will go directly to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

Here is a list of the Bushfire Appeal sets:
 

*The sets in blue will appear on the upcoming list of retiring products, so they will only be available for the Bushfire Appeal while supplies last. These are expected to be very popular.

As a heartfelt thank you for supporting this appeal, I am looking forward to giving you a handmade gift along with your order.

Email me for more details or to place your order.

I’ll be back tomorrow to share some of the projects I’ve been working on lately.

Happy stamping,

Hello again and happy new year to my visitors! It’s great to be back and crafting again after a wonderful but hectic Christmas and New Year time.

We had a great Christmas. Hope you enjoyed yours! The kids were so excited to open their presents – hearing their squeals of delight was priceless (although 5.50am might have been a *little* early for squeals).

We went to Mum and Dad’s on Christmas morning, and spent the day there with family. Mum put on an amazing feast for us all – she’s truly amazing. Highlights for me were watching the kids opening their family presents outside in the beautiful sunshine, spending time with my sister and her gorgeous boys, and the walk we all went on after lunch.

Our stamp club for January was held on Friday. It was so lovely to see all the ladies again and to spend a bit of time stamping together. We did the Emerging Colour technique (above), using inks, the All In The Stars stamp set, clear embossing powder and the brayer. To finish up they all stamped a 2009 calendar bookmark.

Now a new month and a new Year brings lots of new treats from Stampin’ Up!

January marks the start of one of the highlights on the Stampin’ Up! calendar: Sale-a-bration.  Yes, free stamps! It’s the perfect time to book that workshop you’ve been planning to have 😉 

Do you have a copy of the Sale-a-bration brochure? Shoot me an email and I’ll get one in the post to you.

Happy stamping,

This post is not stamping related

Yes back to reality after being on the most amazing holiday… we just spent over a week onboard the superliner Pacific Dawn. It was the perfect holiday!

Let me indulge for a minute as I share some happy snaps. My next post will be back to the usual programming as I get all inky again 😉

Our home-away-from-home

Family photo in front of the Pacific Dawn

Me sipping cocktails on deck

A warm welcome on the islands

View of the ship from the island of Ouvea

Good to be back,