Shoes & Chocolate - Heaven!

How cute are these little shoes, filled with chocolate. These are little thank you gifts that I made for this weekend. My lovely upline Venessa gave me a template which I downsized to make these little cuties.

I have absolutely NO will power when it comes to chocolate so the only way I can get enough chocolate to put into these little shoes is to put mint chocolates in - I don't like mint. How sad am I?

Brayer Brilliance

My in home class last month was "Brayer Brilliance" and the lovely ladies made the following 5 cards using different brayering techniques. I love my brayer and just don't get it out often enough.


This card was made using Almost Amethyst, Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant Inks on Glossy White cardstock. Cased from a card by Jane Mercer.






Using the same technique as in the last card but masking the snow and the moon to create a lovely effect. Colours used here are Bordering Blue and Night of Navy.





This card was made by stamping with Versamark before brayering over the top with So Saffron and then stamping with Really Rust.





This card was made by brayering the base colour Mellow Moss over the glossy white card stock then sticking small post it notes down and brayering Old Olive all over and then sticking down larger post it notes and brayering Always Artichoke over the whole thing. Then remove the post it notes and voila! White emboss flowers over the top.





And finally the last card we made uses the Emerging Colour technique. Love this card and as soon as I saw it On Vanessa Webb's blog just knew I had to make one. Needless to say the girls all loved it too.

Arty-Oz Collaborative Book 2008

Thirty one amazingly talented girls (myself included....lol) on the Yahoo group Arty-Oz have contributed to this unbelievably beautiful book.


Teresa Abajo was the hostess who took on the mammoth task and with a band of helpers bound our pages into the wonderful volume you see here. The theme for the book was Women and there are some absolute masterpieces amongst the pages.

For my page I used Basic Grey paper and stamps from the Little Dreams collection by the wonderful Rachel Greig at Darkroom Door.

St Andrews Lutheran College Year 12 Formal

Last Saturday my son Blake attended the Year 12 formal for St Andrews Lutheran College, Tallebudgera. Everyone looked amazing, and they all had a great time.






Blake with Clare his partner for the evening.













Proud parents........lol











The Kokoda Challenge team looking very smart.

Purely Pomegranate Christmas

Here are the cards we made in the Christmas Joy class last month. Everyone got to make 2 of each card. We used the Purely Pomegranate and Whisper White cardstock and the Season of Joy stamp set from the Mini Catalogue.


For his card we also used the Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon which I love and will miss terribly when the Mini Catalogue finishes at the end of next month.









On this card we added some razzle dazzle with the Heat & Stick Powder and the Dazzling Diamonds on the tree. The flower on the front of the base also had a bit of bling with a little rhinestone added in the centre.









The final card we made was this beautiful tag punch star card (CASED from Donna Moore on SCS) which is much easier to make than it looks although a little time consuming. Punching out all the tag frames takes a while........lol But the effect is well worth it. We also used the Polka Dot background stamp to get the spots on the vellum and the card front.

Christmas Special!

To enable you to get a head start on your Christmas cards this year I have put together a very special package of fabulous goodies especially for you.

In the package we have:

"Season of Joy" stamp set (from Mini Catalogue)
6 x Sheets Designer Paper "Holiday Harmony" (MC)
4 x Sheets Accents & Elements "Hand Selected" (MC)
6m x Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon (MC)
10 x A4 Sheets Always Artichoke
10 x A4 Sheets Purely Pomegranate
10 x A4 Sheets River Rock
10 x A4 Sheets Whisper White
20 x Whisper White envelopes
1 x Always Artichoke Ink Pad
1 x Purely Pomegranate Ink Pad
1 x River Rock Ink Pad
1 x Sheet 100 Stampin' Dimensionals
Selection of punched shapes
Instructions for 6 different cards

Special Price $125.00

Please note - this package is not a Stampin' Up! promotion
and is only available from me. To get your pack now email me at

janenorrish@optusnet.com.au

Jingle Bell

Thought I'd better introduce you to the Princess in the house "Cobalt Jingle Bell Rock" my blue-roan cocker spaniel, so called because she was born on Christmas Day (and is NOT allowed on the furniture but looked so cute I ran to get the camera before I shooed her off).

Kokoda Challenge 2008

In July this year my son Blake, (3rd from the left) 3 of his class mates, Kurt, Dougal and Nick and their teacher, Ryan Martin from St Andrews Lutheran College on the Gold Coast attempted the Kokoda Challenge for the second year running.

Last year this team completed the challenge in just under 22 hours, starting at 7:00am on the Saturday morning and finishing at 5:00am on the Sunday morning. This was an exceptional time for a team of year 11 students and won them the Stan Bissett Cup for first complete school team home.

This year as more mature Year 12 students their aim was to complete the course again but hopefully with a faster time. This they managed to do in an amazing time of 19hrs 35mins, even having to support one of their team for the last few kilometers, retaining the Stan Bissett Cup for a second year.

The Kokoda Challenge is a cross-country bushwalking team event where teams of 4 people trek a 96km course through the Gold Coast Hinterland within a 39 hour time limit.

The Kokoda Challenge staged on the Gold Coast for the last 4 years was designed to reflect the key elements of the Spirit of Kokoda - with 96km representing the actual distance of the Kokoda Track and the 39 hours symbolizing the 39th Militia who were the first of our Australian troops to arrive at Kokoda on 15th July 1942.

The four person teams are required to advance through 14 checkpoints to the finish line. At designated checkpoints teams are able to take a break and regroup with the help of their support crew.

The route is full of rugged terrain and climbs totalling 5000 metres. There is no doubt that those who take up the Kokoda Challenge will need to call on the spirit of ANZAC that was born in Gallipoli and held fast in Kokoda - ENDURANCE, SACRIFICE, COURAGE and MATESHIP.




The first main check point for the team where the support crew could meet up with them was Polly's Kitchen.








Coming in to the finish at 2:30 am on Sunday morning - very cold!





After the presentation of the dog tags, which are presented to everyone who finishes the course, the boys are pictured here with two of the real heroes who battled the horrors of the Kokoda track.

The proceeds of funds raised through the Kokoda Challenge finance the cost of the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program, which includes training and bush camps for the Kokoda Kids and travel and equipment for the trip to Papua New Guinea to walk the Kokoda Track. For more information please click on this link to the Kokoda Challenge web site.

In case you all thought I'd died....................

Thought I'd better post some pictures of the cards I made at Stamp Camp (a few weeks ago now). For once I spent a lot less time chatting and actually got heaps done. Thanks Venessa, Liz and Lisa for sharing your room, your chocolate and lots of laughs with me. There was a picture of us at the pyjama party but I don't think that needs to be posted here - bit frightening!



So here are the cards I made.......

We were given a bag of papers, ribbons and other embellishments which we could make cards with. I ended up making two.....

This one which uses some of the DS paper we were given which I made a little pin wheel flower out of.








And this one where I used the Fishy Friends stamps. It was a challenge to me to use these bright colours as I usually use more muted colours.











Then I had some cards to make for an online swap and got 10 of these made up. Using the River Rock Cardstock, Le Jardin double sided papers, a piece of the River Rock ribbon and my paper piercer to make the holes for some faux stitching. Then I used the Carte Postale stamp set to stamp on the patterned papers and the sentiment which I mounted up using the oval punch.








Then we made some bags from the brown paper packing which is used for the Stampin' Up! orders. I think this was demoed at the Stampin' Up! convention but being as I didn't go, some of the girls that did go were kind enough to show us how to make them up - very easy. I decorated mine using the En Francais background stamp with the flower from Heartfelt Thanks.








And finally, for this post anyway, I made a set of cards using the wax crayon technique with the Palette of Prints papers and Life Definitions stamp set. One of the girls at camp had written up the measurements for the card folder so I had to try it out - didn't I? Used the Petal Prints stamps for this set.

Pennant of Friends

I spent a lovely day a couple of weeks ago with Bethel, Jean and Louise catching up, drinking tea, eating fabulous food and making this beautiful pennant. I am not great at needlecrafts by any stretch of the imagination and I thought this was going to be a bit of a challenge when I first saw it, but Bethel had everything so organised and I had such fun making this little memento of our day, with the photo of the four of us on it. We each made one and I know Bethel's is up on her blog and I'm sure Jean will have hers up very soon. Is there no end to our talents?

I am a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!

That's my excuse for not posting sooner!

I have been so excited about joining Stampin' Up! and playing with their fantastic products that my blog has been sadly neglected. I joined up in January and have been so busy ever since, making sample cards and organising demos and workshops it has been great. I have met some lovely new people, (Hi to the Venessa and the Brissy Demos) both online and in person which has also been fun. Stampin' Up! are having their annual convention here in Brisbane next month which I sadly won't be going to as I think I am maybe too new at this at this stage to get enough out of it, but I plan to be there next year - wherever it is.

It has been a great time to join Stampin' Up! The old catalogue is finishing at the end of this month, as is the Summer Mini Catalogue and the new catalogue which I already have in my grubby little hands is just fabulous. There are so many great new stamp sets, punches, rub-ons, loads of bling...... I could go on for hours. My initial wish list is so long I would have to add it on to the mortgage if I bought all those goodies, so I will have to cull it to a more reasonable quantity and be patient. Everything comes to those who wait (what nutbag said that).

The picture above is of a card I demoed at a recent stamp camp, it is my version of a beautiful card originally made by Trish Myers, thanks Trish. Sadly the stamps used in this card are retiring at the end of March which is devastating for me as they were my favourites. Never mind I'll have to buy some new favourites.....lol

Christmas Charms

I also experimented with some leadlight bevels and Crafty Individuals transparencies and came up with these little ornaments that can be hung on your tree. I stuck the transparencies onto the back of the bevels with Glossy Accents and then wrapped the bevels with copper tape and soldered rings to the top and bottom to attach the chains and beads.

Louise's Birthday Canvas

My friend Louise is one of the most talented stampers I know, so coming up with something different for her birthday was a bit of a challenge. I decided not to make a card but a canvas using the Basic Grey Periphery paper, Collections chipboard bird and letters and also my new grungeboard and crackle paints. The colours were very different for me but hey - we all have to venture out of our safety zone sometimes.