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.