I've been tagged!!!!

Deborah from Living in a desert has tagged me:

A - Available or Single: Married for 12 (nearly 13 eeek!) years.

B - Best Friend: Have a fair number of people I call friend – and a couple of besties (you guys know who you are ;))

C - Cake or Pie: Ummmm, do I have to answer this one – I’d say cheese LOL

D - Drink of Choice: Water, coffee, .......oh OK and pretty much anything alcoholic *blush*

E - Essential item you use everyday: Deodorant

F - Favorite Color: SU! – Pumpkin Pie, other – purples, oh and oranges, and pinks and browns, and ooooh – do I have to choose just one!

H - Hometown: Born in Sydney Australia

I - Indulgence: Stamping.

J - January or February: February (my birthday!)

K - Kids & Names: Patrick (9), and Eliza (2)

L - Life is incomplete without?: My children and husband, friends and stamps (not necessarily in that order LOL!)

M - Marriage Date: April 9th, 1994

N - Number of Siblings: One

O - Oranges or Apples: Apples

P - Phobias or Fears: If I told you I'd then have to kill you!

Q - Fave Quote: "We must be the change we want to see in the world” Ghandi…. Oh and I also like “Well behaved women rarely make history” Mae West I think

R - Reason to Smile: my children’s smiles is enough for me

S - Season: Autumn

T - Tag 3 or 4 People: Princess-Tamara, Jenni Oliver, Lavenda, Alisa

U - Unknown fact about me: not sure if I want to share that! LOL (see P!)

V - Vegetable you don't like: Parsnips - ewwwwww

W - Worst Habit: Stressing big time over the little things

X - X-rays: Wrist, cervical spine (neck),ultrasounds, and MRI

Y - Your Fav Food: Chips *blush*

Z - Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Hope I’ve done this right – its my first time tagged!

So now I tag – PT, JenniO, Lavs and Alisa

Oh boy!

I've just realised that I haven't posted all year yet - I wish I could say I've been busy but that really isn't true. Truth is, even though it's only January, it's already been a huge year of change for us, with lots more to come.

I'm battling my own personal demons at the moment - I wish that 'black dog' would just up and go away, but he seems to have decided that my mind and body are a good cozy home for the moment. I'm trying, but it's a very big hole that I've let myself get into - so I think it's going to take some time to get out of there. I have read some fabulous accounts of this written by people much more eloquent than me - and when I find the links I will post them here for those that are interested.

Also, and this is a positive thing, I am now on 3 months long service leave from my dead end job! This is my time to try and fix myself, my family, and work on my slowly growing Stampin' Up! business. Hopefully so that I don't have to actually go back again! If that happens it will be PARTY TIME.....

Anyway, if you've got this far - congratulations! I can't believe that you've wanted to read all this drivel LOL! I will be posting again very soon - have started to write out goals and hopes and dreams to try and work my way towards them - once something is written down it becomes much more concrete and achievable (in my mind anyway).

So my apologies to anyone waiting on a swap or 3 from me, I am starting to work on all these now.

To my lovely gorgeous Stampin' Up! customers, friends, downlines and sidelines, and online buddies - thank you for all that you have done for me this past year, that really has been one light in my life - to have found all these people through my passion for papercrafting and to have made so many gorgeous friends.

Bye for now (not for long ;))

FREE STAMPS!!!

Woo hoo!!!

Now I totally have your attention...... SellABration is starting with Stampin' Up!




What's this?

Well for every $100 order you place you get to pick one of our 4 exclusive SellABration sets for FREE. You can view these online here, or ask me for a full colour copy of the brochure.

These will only be available for the SellABration period of Jan 1 to Feb 26....so get your order in before these little beauties are gone forever. These sets will never be offered again, either in a mini catalogue or a future Idea Book & Catalogue.

Also, there are bonuses for signing up as a demonstrator during this period (a FREE set of your choice from any of the current catalogues - up to $79.95 value), as well as extra hostess benefits during this time!!!

A great deal all round I reckon :D

So contact me for more information and the chance to earn stamps TOTALLY FREE!!!!

I created a Slide Show! Check it out!

Now to work out how to move it! LOL!

Just a quickie

Just a quick little card that I made this afternoon - I think it looks very sweet...and I might just HAVE to make some more *grin*


Stamp sets used are Mostly Flowers, Floral Background stamp (love that sucker!)and the "many thanks" is from All Year CheerI
Card used is Apricot Appeal
Ink used is Pumpkin Pie (of course - this would have to be my absolute favourite Stampin' Up! colour at the moment) and Black Stazon.
I've used the slit punch to make the little semi circle closure thingo, and popped an orange eyelet into it with some gold cord.

Thanks for looking - will hopefully have more to share very shortly!

I'm so slack ;)

Hi all

Yes I have been a very slack blogger lately...we've had a few issues happening here, will fill you in on them a little later.

I just wanted to share a *gasp* scrapbook layout that I did, and am very proud of. It was created for Cath at LSBS, and since I'm not a scapper it won me the 'encouragment award' for the Cybercrop - YIPPEE!



The flowers in the circle are from the Looks Like Spring stamp set featured in the Spring Mini Catalogue , and the smaller ones have been punched out using the Spring Bouquet Flower Punch. Both of these items are from the mini catalogue and this means they are limited time only - so if you're loving the look of them don't forget that these are only available until the end of January, let me know if you'd like to order them. The ink colours that I've used are So Saffron, Certainly Celery and Pixie Pink for both the title and the small flowers, and the large flowers have been done in Pixie Pink and the edges "rock and rolled" in Rose Red.

The "O" in the title is a chipboard one that has been coated using Opals, an ultra thick embossing powder made in Australia by PipeDreamInk. The doodles around the edge are actually stamps that I purchased from LSBS, they're the clear Autumn Leaves ones by Rhona Farrer, extremely versatile!

So there you go - a scrapping layout from me! Forgot to mention that this was a sketch challenge on the night, and what a fanastic sketch it was. I'm loving the flowers in a circle, and this is the first wedding photo that I've scrapped... and I really enjoyed it!

Melbourne Cup

Now I'm not into horse racing...if truth be known I'm not into horses at all, was never one of those girlies that went horsie ga-ga...but Jenni at TSS had one of her fabulous cyberstamps last Friday night (and all weekend) and one of the challenges was create a Melbourne cup quinella...to be inspired by the whole extravaganza that is The Melbourne Cup in Oz. I was quite chuffed with what I made so thought I'd share it with you.

Had to Share

I just have to share with you what my little girl got up to yesterday...she's not quite 2, and has been known to 'munch on' my rubber stamps in the past - so I was quite happy to turn around and see this!




Looking at these really brings home to me that she's not a 'baby' anymore *sob* - where does the time go? She's certainly growing up very quickly these days.

November Stampin' Up! promo

Fantastic promotion this month from Stampin' Up! Just in time for all those Christmas wish lists


So buy one of the designated stamp sets, and an ink cartridge for the Stampin' Around ® system, and get the co-ordinating wheel FREE - an $11.95 value!

Also, don't forget my "buy $50 for $50" promotion is still ongoing for this month - get one entry for every $50 that you spend with me!
As an extra bonus, if you spend over $100 on one order this month (November) and include one of the specials listed above, I'll throw in a Stampin' Around handle for you!

Some Christmas cards

Hi all - just a quick post before cricket game this morning..... these are some really quick and simple Christmas cards that I made on Thurs night....



These are also a bit of a 'sneak peek' at part of the November special that Stampin' Up! are offering....more details to follow.....

Christmas is coming!

Was playing around yesterday getting some cards ready for some StampAStacks I would like to run, and as these are Christmas cards it really got me thinking - Christmas is SO close already...it's not November yet, but we're already starting to feel that. I think it may be because the shops start plugging the Christmas decorations so early now, we see it for so many months more now.

Anyway this is one of the cards I've come up with...
Stamp sets used: Holiday Spirit, and On The Spot
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla
Inks: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red
Accessories: Ruby Red marker, red gingham ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals®

Images © Stampin Up 1990-2006

I coloured some of the circles on the background stamp with the Ruby Red marker, and also inked the small baubles individually with the marker so I could place them inside the backgroud circles.

FREE Stampin' Up!® stuff

FREE stuff...... who doesn't love free stuff!

I just want to let people know of a promotion that I'm running between now and the end of Nov. Spend $50 with me and go into the draw to win $50 worth of free merchandise of your choice. That's it! Easy as! And for each $50 you spend, you get another entry into the draw.

The catalogues are online here and this offer applies to ALL Stampin' Up!® goodies purchased through me.
So drop me an email if you want to place an order, or have any questions about Stampin' Up!® either as a customer or as a business opportunity. Don't forget about the fanastic October promotion that Stampin' Up!® are offering for new demonstrators too - a FREE stamp set of your choice! Contact me now!

Life decisions

Oh my goodness - its been nearly a week already, and I haven't done a post. Time for a quick catch up before I race off to finish the mundane chores so that I can get stuck into some stamping.

Life decisions...we all wrestle with them at some stage or another, this has certainly been a week of introspection for me. I have decided that I cannot live my working life on 'maybes' and 'promises' anymore, it's about time that I stood up for me and my family. Where I have been working has been making me physically ill each day that I have to go in (from the stress of being there), and then by the time I get home I'm so tired and cranky that the kids and my long suffering DH just cop it all - all the stress and frustrations that build up during the day. This is so not fair to be doing this to the people that I love - decisions HAD to be made. So I have made the decision to leave there, not sure exactly when at this stage - but it will be no longer than 3 more months. Phew. Big sigh of relief.

Since making this decision the world has seemed clearer. There is an end in sight. Now, the sun shines again. The birds are chirping. I'm loving sitting down and spending time with my children. I'm talking to DH nicely again (well, he still frustrates me sometimes, but for the most part he's a darling). I'm feeling that life CAN be fun. Even finding out that a 'friend' has been quite ruthless and ...well, lets just say "fluid" with the truth.... while its hurt, I'm getting over it.

Perspective can be a marvellous thing can't it?

Stampin' Up! October Special

Thought I'd better let you all know about the amazing special that Stampin' Up! are offering this month.

If you've been considering joining up as a demonstrator, either to get your stamps and accessories at a discount, or to hold workshops or teach classes, then October is a great month to join!

Stampin' Up! are offering a FREE stamp set, of YOUR CHOICE, up to the value of $79.95, when you order the Starter Kit this month - and you can choose your set from the 2006-2007 Idea Book and Catalogue, or the Mini Catalogue.... you pay only $324 for up to $670 worth of Stampin' Up! product (that's a saving of $346!).......so what are you waiting for???? Send me an email for more information on this great opportunity (and to find out what my personal incentive might be for you).

What's Up?

Thought I'd better try and post here semi regularly....

OK - its school holidays here so have DS home at the moment - and DH.....am typing this while listening to them yelling at each other - oh boy, bring on term time again! At least DS is disappearing for most of the day today - he has a tennis coaching clinic today and tomorrow, so that might help with some of the testosterone that seems to be floating around here at the moment!

So after getting him off to a lovely day of tennis, it is going to be a day of doing a few bits and pieces around here..... including some stamping of course :) I started making some swaps for the Stampin' Up! training that I'm heading to over the weekend in Canberra last night - but got a bit too weary after my day at work (more on THAT place later) so had to stop.... finishing touches today need to be made, and then they're DONE! Oh my goodness that's surprising, I really didn't expect to get them done - now a competition entry is a whole other matter, really can't see myself getting that done (and I've already seen the entry from Jayne Mercer, and its awesome!)

Anyway must go and give DD some brekkie/attention/whatever it is that she's after...... will be back later

Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue

Finally, the first Australian mini catalogue is here

We've waited for this hotly anticipated event for 6 months now, and let me just say - the products in there are gorgeous... I'm afraid I went a little nuts, even though I was trying so hard to be restrained.... and I still have more items on my wish list!

This little beauty is chockas full of new stamp sets, scrapbooking papers (that are truly divine), brads to co-ordinate with Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colour range (as do the double-sided scrapbooking papers), and more new accessories.

If you want a copy of this catalogue, please send me an email auntytraci@hotmail.com. If you already have a copy, and NEED to order, simply email me also :) And remember, that the products in this catalogue are ONLY available for a limited time - you have until the 31st January to order from this, and then the goodies within will disappear forever!

I have to say that I had a lovely little play today with one of the sets in the catalogue Looks Like Spring and the co-ordinating punch. This is such a beautiful and versatile set I can see myself getting many years of use from this one.


Images Copyright 1990-2006 Stampin’ Up!

Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White Ink: Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White
Stamp sets: Looks Like Spring, Print Pattern, Much Appreciated
Other: Spring Bouquet Flower Punch, White Gel Pen

Hi all

Well time for my first lamo post - haven't been quite able to figure out this whole blogger thing - but will try and have a play this weekend.

Not much happening here family wise - all recovering from massive bouts of gastro at the moment, so that's been real noice as you can imagine.

An intro, I guess, would be a good idea hey?! I'm Tracey Eaton, AKA auntytraci, AKA AT. I'm a mother to 2 kids - sometimes the bane of my existence, but mostly gorgeous, delightful and high spirited children, Patrick (age 9) and Eliza (almost 2) with my DH Andrew. Eliza is also know as the 'rubba muncha' at times due to her penchant for stealing my rubber stamps and EATING them... yep, I'm not joking - she rips those little suckers right off their wood mounts and has a lovely old time chewing down on them.... some of my alphabets will never be the same again! I'm a stamper (proud to say published now!), papercrafter, sorta scrapbooker....I've never really gotten the hang of this scrapping thing but I keep giving it a try, and most importantly, as of May this year (2006) I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. Loving this I have to say! I also have a part time job working in Anatomical Pathology, but I think my days of being there are numbered.

OK - I'd best be off to try and work this thing out - need to fiddle with some settings and work out how to post pics etc......

Will be back later