I imagine many of you have been wondering where I have been hiding recently, and thought it was time that I shared.  I am once again at a turning point in my life, another difficult time in a decidedly difficult year.
My husband and I have split, and I have decided that it is time for me to make a fresh start with my life, so I am moving from Canberra to the lovely city of Adelaide, and taking my gorgeous son, Jamie, with me.
We are both excited about the new adventure and all the possibilities.
But I just ask all of you to be patient, as it is going to take some time for me to move and get unpacked at the other end.  Hopefully I will be able to get straight back into the stamping once I am there and organised.  At this stage my initial move will take place in the first week of December, but not everything is going then, so it could be after Christmas before I am back on track.
So, that being the case, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year, and I look forward to sharing more stamping and my new life with you in the new year.

Chris

In line with the Cancer Council’s Pink Ribbon Day fundraising events, this week’s challenge from Just Add Ink is to make something that is pink, with bling!
Last weekend I was able to enjoy some stamping time with my friend and fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, Deb Fearns.  Deb brought over some of her new stamp sets out of the catalogue so that I could use some of hers, while she used some of mine!  Which is always a great idea, except that now my “wish list” has grown rapidly to include quite a few more stamp sets than it had on it before last weekend.
Anyway, this card uses one of Deb’s sets, called “Apple Blossoms”, a Level 2 Hostess Set, and also uses the very cute Hello Again Stamp Set.

The colours I have used in this card are Regal Rose for the card base, layered with Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz (which is fast becoming my favourite green!) and Whisper White. The flower is done in two layers, the first layer stamped straight onto the white cardstock, the second one cut out and layered over the top of the first.  It might not be obvious in the photo, but the butterfly has had some Crystal Effects put over it after I have stamped it in Regal Rose, and then I have sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds over the top before the Crystal Effects dried.  It gives a nice raised effect to the butterflies wings, as well as some bling, of course.  I have done the same with a tiny drop in the centre of the flower.
I would also like to make mention of a special fundraising event, which is being put on by another Demonstrator, the very talented Jayne Mercer.  I would just ask all of you to please help raise funds for the cancer council by visiting Jayne’s fundraising page here, and donating something, every dollar helps, so if that’s all you can donate, then it will be helping someone.
Happy Stamping
Chris

July is “Two Step Stampin'” month, and Stampin’ Up! is offering another fabulous deal, with two step stamps sets at 20% off.  Using two step stamps is a great way to make your cards and scrapbook pages look a little more creative, without much extra work.  There is no limit to the number of discounted set that you can purchase, but this promotion is for July only.  Here are the sets that have been discounted.

Contact me by email: dotdotstamping@myacn.net.au to place your order with your payment details.
If you are not sure how to use two step stamps and would like to book a workshop featuring one of these stamp sets, also contact me asap to book a time.
Happy stamping,
Chris

A very quick post today, just to let you know about the final Deal of the Week.  Again it will only be available until next Tuesday (29th June), so please contact me with your payment details asap to make the most of it. 

This week’s Deal of the Week from Stampin’ Up! is a fantastic one, which I am sure you will all love, five hugely discounted stamp sets, 50% off! What more could a girl want? 🙂  Here they are:

Make the most of this deal, (I will be 🙂 )and contact me with your order and payment no later than 5pm next Monday 21st June, as I will not be able to take any orders on Tuesday.
Happy Stamping
Chris

Wow, look at this box full of Stampin’ Up! goodies that arrived on my doorstep last week.  This box is full to overflowing with product which was donated by Stampin’ Up! for my fundraising night.  What an incredible, and very generous company.

How can you get your hands on some of these goodies? 
You could come along to my Cancer Council fundraising night which will be held on Friday 7th May at 7.30pm.  Each person will pay a $10 entry fee which will go straight to the cancer council, and for your $10 you will get to make some cards to take home, and also get a bag of goodies to take with you.  There will also be prizes, raffles, auctions, tea, coffee and nibblies, and lots of stamping fun!   If you have never stamped before, you are still most welcome, you can have a go and I will be there to help everyone out.

And for those of you interstate or who can’t make it on the night, all you need to do is to make a donation online, and I will send you a thank you pack in the mail! 
But please start putting your donations through, otherwise I am going to have a huge amount of work all at once! 🙂

And on that note, I have decided that I need to take a little more time out.  The past five years have been full of incredibly stressful events for us, with both of my parents diagnosed with cancer at around the same time, my Mum spent 5 months in hospital, my Dad was having Chemo and then radiation during this time.  A few months later, Jamie was born, and then five months after that my Dad passed away from the lung cancer that was a very aggresssive form.  Following that my Mum had a fall and a hip replacement, then she moved house, we moved house twice, and then of course in the last six months or so, I have been caring for Mum through another bought of cancer which took her life. 
So through all of this I have had little, if any, time for me, and my health both physically and mentally, as well as many other parts of our personal lives, are in great need of some TLC!
So I have decided that all classes will be on hold until the start of June.  This will give me a chance to recharge the batteries and get some inspiration back.
I will continue to try to post some of my new creations, and will also bring you news and new ideas from the Stampin’ Up! convention which is happening at the end of May. 
I will be taking bookings for workshops now for the start of June and into the rest of the year, so get in quick if you are interested in earning FREE Stampin’ Up! products, workshops are heaps of fun, and always very popular, and I will be limiting the number of workshops I do each month.  Just contact me if you want to know more, or check out the Host a Workshop page.
I will also be taking orders during this time, so if you need to place orders just give me a call or email.
So, happy stamping for the time being,
Chris

A very quick reminder, that today is your last chance to order from the Summer Mini catalogue.  Please contact me, with your credit card details, if you would like to place an order.

This cute little Easter bunny is just one of the items that will no longer be available after today 😦 

Happy stamping,
Chris

**Thank you to all of you have left such wonderful messages and emails of love and support, your thoughts are very much appreciated.**

I just wanted to let you all know that I won’t be blogging for a little while, as my beautiful and beloved Mum passed away at 4am this morning, only 8 days before her 80th birthday.
She will be sorely missed.
This photo of Mum with Jamie was taken on Christmas Day.  It is a bit hard to believe that was only three months ago.  How quickly things can change.
So if you are lucky enough to still have a Mum, make sure you call her and tell her just how much she means to you. 

I will resume classes again in a few weeks time, but in the meantime, happy stamping!

Chris