Blossom Designs

Baby Shower

Today is officially last day of winter!  I can't say that it has been a cold winter but the past few weeks we have had some outstanding weather - 28 degrees one day last week!  Bring on Summer!  Thankfully, I won't be pregnant during the Australian summer!

Just a few shots from my baby shower!  I didn't have one with Oliver while living in the UK so my friends decided I HAD to have one this time!  LOL. 

 

Not the greatest photo - sorry!  I was opening up the gifts from my friends.  We played a few games, ate lots of food and chatted a lot!!  LOL.  Vanessa had some gifts for the games we played.  One of them was like 'The Price Is Right' where we had to guess how much the items on the table were.  My group got 7 out of 9 right!!  Woo hoo.

This is my friend Lin Mei.  Vanessa, who organised everything is just out of the photo.  Her mum put together the sandwiches (yummy)!!  I had a great afternoon anyway!  :-)

Oh yes, there was always going to be a photo taken with me feeding my face!!  LOL.  My mum made some lovely slices and I am eating the caramel slice.  Look at THAT belly!!  I think I look big but then other's say I'm small.

I have been resting at home and feel better.  I also think the baby has moved 'down' in readiness.  I will ask on Thursday at my hospital appointment and hopefully they will say she is engaged.

Happy Stamping,

.

Hospital Stay

I may not post too often at the moment.....I am very breathless and was admitted to hospital on Thursday morning because of it.  I cannot even talk without having to take a deep breath every few words.  They were thinking that my MVP (mitral valve prolapse) might have been the cause but after seeing the cardiologist on the 2nd day in hospital, he did an ultrasound and eco and couldn't see any deterioration so the MVP was no worse than the last scan (good news), but it didn't explain why I am breathless all the time.  Everything baby wise is perfectly fine, she is head down and still very active.

Anyway, I was discharged at 8:30pm last night and loved sleeping in my own bed with my pillow!  LOL.  Poor little Oliver was upset (at least to my face!) but on Thursday night he slept with his daddy on my side of the bed.  He put his hands behind his head as he lay on my pillow and said "No mummy, peace and quiet!"  ROFLOL.  Then yesterday when they came to visit me - thinking I would also be going home, Rob told Oliver to turn the television off and he said "No, I'm watching cartoons, mummy can catch the bus".  All this from a 4 year old!!

It seemed funny walking into the maternity ward with my belly and also leaving with my belly in tact and no baby to show for it!  LOL.  Oh well, I got to see the lady in the bed next to me leave for the delivery room and come back the following morning with her baby boy (Harry)!  He sooooo reminded me of Oliver as he was quiet except for those little noises.  Oliver was so quiet too, you hardly knew he was there!  Harry finally had a good cry while I was waiting to be discharged.  Then he settled back down again.

Today hubby put the washing on for me and I've repacked my hospital bag.  All ready to go again!  LOL.  I told the maternity ward, I'll see then in a few weeks again - hopefully!

I didn't get to take my laptop with me but will next time.  So, you now know if things go quiet there is more than likely a good reason for it!

Happy Stamping,

.

Merry Christmas

Still more cards from the "INKlings" team weekend away.  This great card is designed by Sharon Boyd.  How cute is the penguin poking out from the DSP!

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Punch Pals.
Ink: Riding Hodd Red, Whisper White.
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope DSP, Whisper White, .
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Silver Brad, 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon.

Sorry Again

Tomorrow, I will only have 4 weeks until baby arrives and boy am I feeling it.

I haven't had a good week this week, hence the no posting!  I have been working on Oliver for a little while now to move out of his night time nappy and into wearing his underpants.  So, this week he asked to sleep in his underpants!  Luckily my friend Nicky had given me a mattress protector a few weeks before so I quickly whipped this on his bed.  His first night was going fine - we got him up twice before we went to bed and put him on the toilet.  He was half asleep but he did what he needed to do and went straight back to sleep.  The next morning, he came into us just a little wet.  I was prepared being his first night and had a change of pj's and nappy but he had under his arm a fresh pair of underpants.  Bless him.  He climbed into bed with us but he was wide awake and this was before 7am!!!  The next 2 nights, he didn't have any accidents at all.  So, my wake up call all week has been way tooo early for me and as a result, I have been so tired this week.  I hoovered on Monday and had to sit down to catch my breath on Monday.  I am breathless just getting up from the chair!  This kid is really doing a number on my lungs.  LOL

While Rob has fixed our wireless problems and my netbook works beautifully now, my poor desktop in my studio needs rebuilding and is running very slow.  When Rob get's a free moment, he will get onto that but he is very busy trying to get a lot of work done in a short space of time in case the baby comes early (I hope she does!).  Poor thing, he worked until 2:30am the other day.

Tomorrow is also my baby shower.  I didn't have one with Oliver (I'm not sure it is a big thing in the UK) so because of this, my friends wanted me to have one this time.  Vanessa is organising it all (bless her!) and has told me to just be there and to put my feet up!  I will have my camera on hand to take lots of pictures as there will be games to play and lovely food to eat.

Thank you to the 5 lovely ladies who came to my Christmas SAS on Tuesday night.  I had a great time and a good laugh.  Hope to see you all again next month.

Thanks to all my readers who have been patiently waiting for updates.  I have one scheduled for tomorrow and then I will have to schedule some more cards from the INKlings team weekend away.

I've waffled on for far toooo long now don't you think?!

Happy stamping,

.

Choo Choo Christmas

Oops......I thought I had this post scheduled to go, but obviously NOT!!  LOL.  Sorry people.

This fun and lovely card is designed by Beth Stewart.  Another swap/card-in-a-box from the team weekend.  I have the adorable Choo Choo stamp set and made THIS card.  Beth has used the Ski Slope DSP in the Spring Mini and they are gorgeous!  Not my favourite papers when I first saw them but after seeing them in person, they really are nice.  I have yet to cut mine up!

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Choo Choo.
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Old Olive.
Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope DSP, Whisper White, .
Accessories: Circle Punch, Silver Brad.

Thinking Of You

Here is another card from the weekend away.

This beautiful card is designed by Christie Wallace.

I have this stamp set and LOVE it.  I think it is a beautiful set.  I actually made this card before I lost my motivation.  LOL.  So what you see is from my little hands!  I also love this colour combination.  I have used this combination many times before.

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers, En Francais.
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip.
Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Whisper White.
Accessories: 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Eyelet Border Punch.

Swap/Card-in-a-Box Cards

I am having internet issues at the moment which hubby is trying to fix so while I am online, I am trying to get as many posts prepared as I can.  I have a few lined up for this coming week so you will have something to look at on my blog!  LOL

I have a tonne of cards to show you over the next few weeks.  As I said in a previous post, some of these cards are swaps and some are the 'card-in-a-box' I took part in.  I have written on the back of each card who made what so I wouldn't get confused or forget (courtesy of my baby brain!!).

The first one I will show you is from Amy Anderson.

Isn't this card just gorgeous!  I love the way Amy has stamped the grass to make the butterfly's look like they are emerging from the grass.

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Best Friend, Inspired by Nature.
Ink: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Night of Navy.
Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Night of Navy.
Accessories: 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Eyelet Border Punch.

Happy 70th Birthday Dad!

I must apologise or the quality of this picture - it is really awful.

My dad turned 70 a couple of weeks ago and this is the card I made for him.  As I don't own a stamp set with numbers in it, I had to improvise and what I came up with was brilliant (well, it was for me!!  LOL).  I used the letter 'z' from my Big Deal set and only inked up part of the letter to make it look like the number '7'.

I've also made it look like the presents are falling off the back of the truck.

The family went out for dinner on dad's birthday to 'Ribs and Rumps' and Oliver loved watching the kitchen area (which was glassed off but everyone could watch them cook) when the flames rose high above the grill area!  He kept saying 'Wow, look at the fire!'.  Rob was working and couldn't make it so I might have to take him there one night.  He will think he is in heaven!!  LOL

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Loads of Love, Loads of Accessories.
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Earth Elements Wonder Crayons.
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White.
Accessories: Crimper, Orange Fine Supernova Glitter.

Cards I Made!

While away last weekend, I actually got to make a couple of cards - extra to the 'card-in-a-box' that I was apart of.  Here is one of them.  I cased this card from Nicky but added 'my own' touch to it with the faux stitching.

I will make another one but in a different colour - one for my dad and one for my hubby.

I also got a few things done that I had been putting off but as I was really tired, I lost my motivation on Saturday - I even had a nana nap which was much needed!  LOL.  I'm afraid toooo many late nights in a row really aren't good with 7 weeks to go before baby arrives.

I called home on Saturday to hear a very excited 4 year old tell me that his daddy took him to see Ice Age 3 in 3D at the cinema!!  ROFLOL  Apparently, he had the 3D glasses on for about half the movie and the other half would have been blurry!!  LOL  Bless him.

Happy Stamping,

.

Christmas SAS For August

Would you like to join me this month for my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack class?

When: 18th August
Where: My house
Time: 7pm for 7:30pm start
Cost: $20 (includes envelopes)

RSVP: 11th August.

Contact me to reserve your spot.  Looking forward to seeing you there.

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies - Season Of Joy Card
Stamps: Season of Joy.
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, White.
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White.
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch.

Supplies - Merry Christmas Card
Stamps: Season of Joy.
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze.
Paper: Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kraft.
Accessories: White Gel Pen, Scallop Edge Punch.

Team Weekend Swap Card

Some of us at the team weekend joined in the 'card in a box' - actually there were 24 of us so, as there were so many of us, we decided to swap 12 cards and then make up the other cards.  We were kept busy putting together the remaining cards - well I was and I  even made a couple of my own.

I was in a bit of pink mood, wasn't I?  LOL  Actually, it was all dependant on what card stock I had enough of! My roomie from Convention, Nicky, came over the Tuesday before and we sat at the table and designed, cut out and made up 12 cards.  It was a very productive day!

If you would like to attend next year's weekend away in August, all you need to do is join my team to be apart of the INKlings.

Oh, I also made a sultana slice and it was a hit with everyone!  I made double the amount and it was all gone by Sunday morning!  It was a recipe my mum had (not sure where she got it from) and she has been making it for years.

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Crazy For Cupcakes, Polka Dots.
Ink: Versamark, Black Stazon. Markers - regal rose, cameo coral, pretty in pink, rose red, real red, going gray, basic gray.
Paper: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink, Raspberry Tart DSP.
Accessories: White Gel Pen, Eyelet Border Punch.

Team Weekend Away

I am sorry about the lack of posts in the past few weeks.  We had visitors for 1 week and I didn't get on the pc while they were here, plus I had my Christmas SAS (stamp-a-stack) so I was busy preparing for that.  I also had to prep for my upline's team weekend away.

So, I was a little busy but last weekend the INKlings met up and spent Friday night, all day Saturday and most of Sunday stamping to our hearts content!  Ah, bliss.  What a great weekend we all had - I think there was 27 that attended.

Jayne made some lovely welcoming gifts for each person attending.  How cute are these?!

(picture is courtesy of Jayne Mercer's blog)

Jayne spent a lot of time putting these gift's together.  Thank You Jayne!

I haven't taken the photos off my camera yet and I have a lot of swap cards to photograph so as soon as I get myself into gear, you will see all the wonderful cards that were made.  I even managed to do an activity while there - archery!  I also have the bruise to prove it!  LOL.  I have never done archery before and my fingers definitely felt it but it was fun.  I even won a prize for my part in archery.......well, it was for making everyone laugh.  Our instructor asked why one of the feathers on the arrow was red......I was obviously in one of those stupid moods and said 'because red goes faster'.  It made the girls laugh and memorable for Jayne!  LOL

We will be back again for next year's team weekend away and I'm looking forward to it.

I must say a special thanks to my much needed and appreciated navigator - Lin Mei.  I borrowed my friends sat nav and it died on us - just as we were setting out on Friday night.  There was a problem with the charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter.  So, the only map we had was one I had printed off (luckily) from the centre we were going to.  It had very limited instructions and after a few wrong turns and a lot of laughing about it, we made it to a cafe where we met up with Fiona for dinner on Friday night. Thanks to Nicky too for her great company over the weekend and for carrying my basket full of cardstock!

I got to meet some of the new faces which I have spoken to on Jayne's forum.  Still, there were others that couldn't make it because they live interstate so I hope that next year, those girls will be able to attend.

Happy Stamping,

.

Thank You

I have a very lovely customer that has bought a number of my old stamp sets that I have for sale.  She has recently placed an order with me so I wanted to send her a 'thank you' card.  This is it.

I have used the 'Oval All' stamp set from the Spring Mini (page 7) and also the new 'Scallop Oval Punch'.

Before I became a demonstrator, I bought the stampin' spotsinks in all the colour families so I had each colour to hand.  I knew I wouldn't be able to buy the large ink pads all at once (well, not without getting a loan!  LOL), so the spots werethe next best thing.  At the top of the card is where I have used my stampin' spot in close to cocoa using the direct to paper technique.  Turn your ink pad upside down so it is facing the cardstock and lightly tap it on the card.  Easy as!  If you don't have any background stamps, use this technique if you don't want your card to look plain or you just want to jazz it up.  It is also good on the dreaded 'male' cards.  LOL.

Happy Stamping,

.

Supplies
Stamps: Oval Al.
Ink: Close to Cocoa.
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Candy Lane DSP.
Accessories: Scallop Oval Punch, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat.

Spring Mini Catalogue

It is that time again..........the new Spring Mini is here!

(click on picture to see catalogue online)

Oh my!!!  What a great mini this is too.  Lucky for me (as a demonstrator), I've already had a play with some of the stamps as we were able to pre-order from the mini in July.

Grab yourself a cuppa, put your feet up while you read/drool over the catalogue.  LOL

Contact me if you would like a catalogue sent to you.

Happy Stamping,

.