Have you seen????

Has anyone noticed that Cills been busy of late?? She's been busy posting products onto the website HERE - they aren't always the latest in, it's just that we estimated that half of the shop ISN'T on the web - so that's her job for the moment!! Rebecca has been busy making die cuts as we've been totally wiped out at the store, and me, I've been busy with the Family Tree crop box and loving it! I found a whole box of family photos that I found POST house removal - infact, we only emptied the cottage last weekend, and I want to get them into my album... Christine is about to start on ALL of her photographs on her recent trip to the UK, and we're awaiting a delivery from the states that seems to have been as elusive as LORD LUCAN......It's supposed to be in the shop tomorrow - a day which seems to have gained momentum faster than an avalanche. Speaking of which, our trip to the snow took a major turn last week when a friends 6 year old child that was with us {forgot} to jump off his sled and crashed into an icebank with his helmetless head at 30kms per hour at Whakapapa - she asked me to take photos for his scrapbook - HOWEVER we had BOTH planned to use the JULY CROP BOX - but the emergency reds of the paramedics carrying him down the hillside on a backboard with neckbrace don't work well with the simple blue & whites!! I'm not being blaze about it, but now that we know that he's OK (he was back on the slopes that afternoon) we can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

So keep an eye out on what's new - whether it's new to the site OR new into the shop, and get planning your projects for the next FAMILY TREE CROP BOX....

Don't forget the Pet/Animal layout competition!!

Be in to win an American Traditional Designs 12x12 Pet Album!!
Simply by loading your pets and animal layouts onto the gallery and be in with 1 chance per entry. All entries will go "into a hat" and be drawn on August 11th 2006.

You can see in the slide show above some of the fantastic entries we already have in the gallery!

The above layouts were done by the following members: ChristineS, Chris, Countryslave, jmuir, Kluffy, Memories by Manda, rosaliejb and Sejie. (not in any particular order - you will have to check them out in the gallery to see who did what layout!!) (Rebecca has just imformed me that if you don't have broadband you might not see the slide show above - sorry about that! - but you can still check them out in the gallery!)

Remember it dosen't have to be your pet - it could be a friends pet or a zoo animal. We realise some people don't have pets (Like Priscilla whose pets all either run away or die........)

So far we are having a fairly quiet week at the shop (I think Annie needs one after her exciting time at the snow on the weekend when a friends son sled into an ice wall and knocked himself out and split his head open - scarey stuff!)

- But we did have lots of cool new stuff arrive yesterday!!! Its always exciting when a box of new product arrives at the shop - a bit like Christmas. This week the new stuff included:

(click on the names to be taken to them in our online store)

Basic Grey Wholy Cow Birthday Rub-Ons

7 Gypsies Rubbings A La Card Birthday

7 Gypsies Rubbings A La Card Thank You

Creative Imaginations Ribbon Rub-Ons Loved Ones

Creative Imaginations Rub-Ons Endearments

Creative Imaginations Rub-Ons Travel Designs

Creative Imaginations Rub-Ons Loved One

Creative Imaginations Sports Extreme SK8er epoxy stickers

Creative Imaginations Sports Extreme SK8er stickers

K & co BW Maison Travel Transfer

Creative Imaginations Lush 2 Alpha

Creative Imaginations Sonnets Safari Stickers

and those are just some of the new products!!

(I would have put pictures here for you but blogger isn't co-operating with me today!)

GOT BOYS??

If so we've got a range for you!! Just in is the new Rugged Range from Creative Imaginations, which is specially designed for boys!! Click on each image to be taken to it in our store.

Well, we are now over half way through the school holidays - if you have school age children we hope you are still keeping somewhat sane........we are, but only just!! The kids classes are going well at the shop - so far the kids have made some awesome cards - Even Wilma was impressed - and thats saying alot!

New stuff....

The new stuff in this week has seen Cill hyperventerlating.....New Creative Imaginations papers and stickers, yet more and more K-ology and Sweet Pea from K & Co, Sticker Studio awesome home renovation stickers, embellishments and transfers & stickers galore. The Crop Boxes have been good to work with this month and I suppose that I'm biased as icy blues are one of my favourites.... We've had a chance to make some "quick cards" and they are online here in the gallery. Don't forget to check out the Pet cometition in the gallery too. We've had lots of new faces in at the shop this week with some oldies too - sorry Z, I didn't mean that you were old - just that you're a regular - and beware Tokoroa, Wilama's on her way down there tomorrow. Just a reminder, we will have kids classes running in the holidays, keep an eye out on this weeks Friday Gin & Tonic. Now home to light the fire, so until next time.....

Oooops, by the way, our local Woolies had some awesome clear toolboxes in for $19.99 which are great to alter or hold your supplies....

Freezing Brass Monkeys...

Lordy, I've just been up the street to do some simple postage and HOW COLD IS IT!!!!! Marjories colthes shop has gone from having a display of sexy expensive undies to flanelette and wyncyette nighties within the space of a few days!! mmm Nice. Well as you can tell, i'm back at the shop for a wee while and Christine has gone off to the UK for a few weeks with requests of jaffa cakes (is it a cake or a biscuit?) and MFI catalogues upon her return. Some people are easily pleased!

Don't forget to check out the G & T this week for details of our next swap, and you can also view the last swap up on the slides above and on our gallery here.

A mad mad week this week! First days back in quite some time and the kids have something on every night after school. Why does it always work out this way. I'm trying to get through my boxes of unpacking and I'm finally down to the office stuff which was all mixed up in the move and is an absolute nightmare PROCRASTINATION is no longer the name of the game, but pulling hens teeth comes to mind....

Until next time, STAY WARM!!!!!!!!!!!!

whew!! Busy week.

Annie is all moved in to her new house (still unpacking though!) She had a great house warming party which was alot of fun - we got to witness Christine's husband singing along to sing star- he's not bad either!

We were a bit slack last week due to the moving and the party and the short week........lol, and we didn't get our lesson on line posted in the online shop - but its up today and its a goodie!! Rebecca has designed and made this really cute folding album which would be perfect for a gift for someone.

This comes in a kit with all the supplies (except adhesive) and all the instructions, you can purchase it here.

Also I discovered something while I was adding all the new products to the online shop - and I'll share it with you! If you go to the shop front page here - and scroll down in the menu on the left there is a box just like the one pictured below (but maybe with a different product picture - it changes) - see the little white arrow next to the words 'whats new' - well click on that and it will show you all the most recent additions to the shop - great for if you are just wanting to see the newest stuff!!

Have fun drooling over all the new products!! Lots of great new American Traditions Ranges and the new K&Co. stuff!!

May this week end....

I have no computer, boxes of "STUFF" lying around and no matter how many get unpacked, there seem to be even more left to do. Our neighbour shifted his cows via our loading ramps yesterday, a whole herd came in and a whole herd went out. Between boxes, cows and stock trucks, I don't know if I'm Arthur or Martha!! Sky have stuffed up the account - the joys of having families with the same names, and all I want to do is to get into my scrapbooking room! Not just to scrap but to actually be able to GET INTO the room! I'm back in at the shop next Tuesday, and I seem to still have 10 boxes per day still to open, the old house to clean and THE DREADED LOFT still to empty - big burnups ahead!! At least there is tranquility ahead - when I come back to work!!

Emotional Scarring (lol)

I have just sneaked into the shop with the spare keys.... My hubby thinks i'm dropping off the boys at school and doing a few jobs...well I am - I've had the weekend that you'd rather forget. We shift next weekend - only next door, which happens to be across a few paddocks but in my infinate wisdom, we're moving to a bigger house but I am eliminating clutter!!!!!!!!!! You can't open the door to my new craft room, AND whilst in the loft at weekend, I found a box of photos and i mean PACKING BOX of photos (AAAAGH!!) They've been up there since we moved from the UK. I also found every single schoolbook of the boys, my dh had a heart attack and thought that by the time they leave college, we'd have to be leasing a lock up unit just to house their schoolwork, so I decided to just keep their home sample books (with a few extras) and their best artwork.. These books that I'd kept go right back to daycare and kindy, first shoes, balankies and first soccer shoes have gone in their too.... Now what did I say about eliminating clutter!! Well i'd better go before I get caught out! I'm just wondering, how many of you are reading this knowing EXACTLY where i'm coming from..................................

Happy Birthday Wilma!!!

If you've been into the shop - you will probably have seen Wilma - she almost lives there (she would if we didn't lock the doors at night!!) Anyway we wanted to wish her a very happy birthday today!! The photo you see above is of her reading our card last year.........um, yes, it was a bit of a shocker..........teehee!!

My Sons Project......

When I had my boys, I vowed to my hubbie that we'd raise them to be independent thinkers only to have it slapped into my face this week...... My eldest (9 year old) had a project to do on FIJI, so this being my domain, I offered him help. We sat down, planned it downloaded everything worked out what was going where then got everything together. Mum he said, this will look fantastic, so I "offered" him ideas of how to improve on it - Mum he said, I'm a boy and I'm 9 years old, I don't want to use chalk, ink or fibres (I hadn't asked him if he did), and your always telling people they should trust their writing, so I will, that computer font's great but my writings OK and that's how I'd like to do my project thanks...With my tail between my legs and licking my wounds, the hardest thing that i've ever done is to leave that project alone and let him do it for himself - I suppose i packed a bit of a sad to my hubbie later because he did it and did it very very very well, and what do you think my dh said - well, you have your wish - he listened, politely stated his wishes, and did it - isn't that an independent thinker........
Yep it is, and the fact that I STILL think that it would have looked better with ink or chalk was only my view!! So just keep this in mind when you're "helping" your children!!!!

What a weekend

Phew, what a weekend! We had the crop this weekend and we're soooo worn out today! Annie had to get woken up by Christine on Sunday morning!! How bad is that? Who's seen the fantastic images being loaded onto the gallery - AND HAVE YOU GOT YOUR WOMENS RFUGE RAFFLE TICKET!! Priscilla is off having a wisdom tooth dug out today, so she tells us that she'll be back in in the morning - WHATEVER!! We think she'll be doing computer work from home for the rest of the week!!!! Annie isn't in this week, so we can play - (oops) catch up!
DONT FORGET YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS! and keep watching this space........

Check out the slide show above!!!!

How cool is that!!! I just flew through the gallery and grabbed a few recent uploads that caught my eye - great work people!!! If you want to see more awesome work for inspiration click on the link in the righthand side bar that says scrapbookin annie online gallery and it will take you there.
In case you are interested the above work was done by the gallery members as follows:
Happy Birthday card - CLeong
Special Occasion - Godzoned
Always - Zeetra
Hair - Dee
Christmas 2004 - queen b
Japan bag - ronJ
Dirks Disaster - The Fabries
Sarah's theme song - wantok
70th Birthday card - Arjay

(not necessarily in the correct order - hey its Monday, way too soon in the week to expect any kind of order!!)

Keep an eye on the blog - every so often I will update the slide show to show some of our gallery members other wonderful work!

School hols are here.....

Who can tell that the school hols are here... First day back from the beach and my eldest was on the farm tracks with his bike, fell off and has half a face plain, half a face scratched cut & bruised. At 9 years old, he's refusing to get out of the car incase somebody sees him - Way uncool. The 7 year old was sat in the car singing the new James Blunt song and thought that it was Goodbye My Liver - is this a sign of things to come - been having fun this week with the new K & Co takeout tags (1800 in a box for under$20) and pretending that the house isn't a madhouse.....we're half packed for the shift and had to find all of my scans last week - tried for an hour and gave up - WHATEVER....then found tham this week-whilst looking for something else!! We have half the house up at the new house and half the house with us as we use it - we thought that a gradual shift would work better - we asked for everyone to revisit their Journal Blok Challenge this week on the Gin & Tonic with:

The Journal Block - REVISITED
This really is week 26 to mark 1/2 a year
Go back to week
Week 6
and
Week 14

What have you done from your lists...........

Does it make you think................

Whats on for the weekend??????

Well, after out Telecom incident, we're finally ready for the weekend, apart from the fact that all of the streets telephones have gone on the blink and everyone who tries to contact us gets the answerphone - sorry.

Does anyone feel like coming over and taking my 9 and 7 year old boys grocery shopping?? Whoo whoo, this girl knows how to live at weekend!!!!! If you don't want to do that, you're welcome to come round to pack up my house ready for the shift on the 1st June..... Well if you don't want to do any of that, you could always spend the day scrapping and invite me round instead to get out of the other "tasks" that I need to do..........We finally got the gin & tonic back out again yesterday, and we're getting ready for the crop at the beginning of May, but what I'm really looking forward to is this Wednesday is going to be Whacky Wednesday at our local college. It's been a shocking start to the year for them with suicides and deaths, so the teachers are organising a day for the kids to get pampered and have loads of creative things to do. I'm going to go down and make bling bling, whatever and girlfriend cards and can't wait, they are a creative bunch and definately in need of something different at the moment. Keep an eye out on the gallery to see what gets made.... So on that note, I'm of to buy some cheap gem stones in Hamilton at Spotlight, do my groceries and make a desert for a dinner party tonight - BUT - if I go to Spotlight, I'll have to go past the cheesecake shop to get home easy desert - suddenly the shopping seems far more appealing, and as for packing the house, theres always tomorrow........and the fact that tomorrow never comes is even more appealing....

We had to post the G & T here!!!!

SORRY EVERYONE, WE BLEW THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE COMPUTER, SO WE HAD TO POST OUR G & T HERE AFTER TRYING TO SEND IT FOR 4 DAYS!!!!!!


HI EVERYONE
AND WELCOME TO THE
GIN AND TONIC

FOR FRIDAY 31ST MARCH

WELL, FOR ONCE IT'S STOPPED RAINING, ALTHOUGH
IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN TOO BAD TODAY.
HAS ANYONE NOTICED THE NEW HOMEPAGE???
IT'S BEEN LURKING AROUND UNDER THE SITE FOR A WHILE,
AND B GOT THE FORUM AND CHANGES FINALISED TODAY!!!
IF YOU LOOK ON THE TOP TOOLBAR, YOU'LL SEE THE LINK
TO THE FORUM - OR YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT
THERE AND GET POSTING!!!!
WE REACHED A MILLION CLICKS ON THE WEBSITE
THE OTHER WEEK SO WHY NOT HAVE A CHANGE???

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WEEKS CLASS IN A PACK -
IT'S " LAUGH " BY ANNIE
AND THE PACK CAN BE PURCHASED HERE.
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE LAYOUT
HAS BEEN EXPLAINED ON THE BLOG,
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR PHOTOS
GETTING UPLOADED NEXT WEEK -
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO SCRAP THEM IF YOU DON'T WANT TO.......

JOURNAL BLOCK CHALLENGE
Week 24
- next to last week!!
If you were to dedicate
your journal block challenge to anyone,
who would it be,
why,
and what message would you give....

DON'T FORGET THAT IF YOU'VE MISSED SOME OF THE CHALLENGE, YOU CAN VIEW IT ON THE BLOG HERE


NAMING AND SHAMING!!!

NOW THEN JAN & DENISE
LAST SATURDAY, YOU WERE ALL EXCITED AT GETTING
BACK YOUR CAMERA - AND YOU SAID
THAT YOU'D BE BACK POSTING LIKE MAD

WHATEVER!!!!
WE'VE BEEN WAITING ALL WEEK!!!!

AND SUE WELLINGTON-
DON'T THINK THAT YOU'VE GOT AWAY WITH
(ALMOST) FORGETTING TO PICK SOMEONE UP
BECAUSE YOU GOT CARRIED AWAY AT THE SHOP@!!

JUST FOR YOUR INFO
CAUSE EVERYONES ASKED
WHO'S BEEN IN (OR DUE IN!)
THE SHOP IS STAYING OPEN AND STAYING HERE UNTIL SOLD
ALL CUSTOMERS WHO KNOW US WELL
BE ASSURED THAT YOU WILL BE INVITED TO
HER LADYSHIP BEING PUBLICLY SHAMED
BEFORE SHE LEAVES - ILLNESS OR NOT
(SHE IS SOOOOO GOING TO GET IT!)

JUST IN THIS WEEK
ALL NEW CHATTERBOX, TRANSPARENCY ALPHABETS,
TRANSPARENCY QUOTES,
PAPERS, CARDSTOCKS- 40 NEW DESIGNS, RIBBON.
EYELET OUTLET BRADS
JUST LEFT LA (WE HOPE)
3 NEW RANGES FROM AMERICAN TRADITIONAL
INCLUDING THE EMBELLISHMENT & STICKER & CHIPBOARD LINES
NEW & RE-STOCKS BASIC GREY
ALL NEW PRISM PAPERS

WELL, WE'LL LEAVE IT HERE FOR THIS WEEK
JUST A QUICKIE
TO GET YOU USING THE NEW FORUM@!#

THE BLOG HAS GIVEN YOU YET
ANOTHER CHALLENGE THIS WEEK

AND REMEMBER

LAUGH

REBECCA, PRISCILLA, CHRISTINE, BELINDA,
JENNY AND ANNIE

Not So April Fools!!

Aaaagh! The April Fool bug has struck and we can't get the G & T out!! Had every computer technician over this morning - and it all worked - then they left AND IT DIDN'T - so it will have to be a Monday morning thing - IN THE MEANTIME -
WHY NOT TRY POSTING ONTO THE NEW FORUM....................................

We drank the G & T

Who's been into their inbox looking for the G & T this week??? We drank the lot and it made us laugh!! We had a new "mail washer" installed this week and it's definately female - it's washing our outgoing too and took all of the colour out!! It should leave by lunchtime today (Saturday). I stayed till almost 8pm last night to try to get it to go, and then re-read the blog - laughed in a rather hysterical manner and systematically "left the building". I've planned our mad weekend and told my dear hubbie about it all - THEN this morning, I couldn't sleep too well and he woke up to go milking...
Imagine the conversation:
Can you not sleep
No
Are You In Pain
No
Is your head Aching
No
Are you sure your not lying to me
No
Right then you can get the cows in..

He disappears to make a cup of tea, comes back in the room and says


LAUGH

Well the new Chatterbox images have arrived, and we want to get them online!!

Until next time.....

This week we have been mostly.........

The reason behind the theme for this weeks class in a pack is incredibly sad, but gets you to think! The blog title comes from the Fast Show, a UK comedy where an old guy would appear from behind a door and say - this week i have been mostly (eating chipolatas and so on), I have yet to understand why we would laugh histerically at his statements (may be is being a mad english girl) or maybe it was youth... We had another youth death in the town this week - John, a 13 year old boy who was a victim of a tragic accident at home, and this folows Alex's suicide at 12 years old a few weeks ago and town has this incredible sadness around it. Probably because it is a small town, it seems to affect everyone and then you see photos of your own kids and realise with odd statements they make how serious young life has become. Tom - my 7 year old had school ring me in the week to came and get him - he was devastated as he had split his pants and told me it was the most humiliating day of his life!!! The story gave the adults a great laugh, and I finally got him to see the funny side - I had to, with the thought of how many years he has left, that's a whole lot of humiliation - so this weekend, make the theme of your time be LAUGHTER and record it.....Get together with friends, have a good time, rent a funny movie, do something silly with -or to- your kids - or to yourself. We've laughed at the shop this week with things that we used to do as kids - WHY NOT DO ONE THING THAT'S FOOLISH THIS WEEKEND!!! Yet another bad scan/hospital visit this week made me completely pack a sad,( or throw my toys out of the cot and take my skipping rope home as my beloved husband said) - i would have far preferred spoilt brat, it's far more girly- BUT all said and done, it gave us a darned good laugh after - I blew off steam and why oh why oh why is it sooooo much funnier after the event!!! Mental note - Take a funny photo, and load it onto the gallery into the good photos section - go on we dare you - remember - you could give someone else a good laugh who needs it! PUSH THOSE BUTTONS!!!!!!!

If you're going to be able to look back on something

and laugh about it,

you might as well laugh about it now. Marie Osmond

How true is that!

Until the morning.....

LAUGHTER REALLY IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Have You Ever.....

Have you ever had one of those weeks when you get to the end and can't remember it starting?

Here is this weeks Class In A Pack made by Priscilla - and for those of you who have boys, I'm at the helm next week with a 12 x 12 layout. This is certainly the week that was - with hectic scedules & appointments and both boys on seperate camps - roll on Saturday afternoon!!

This weeks co-ordinates baby packs - available with or without an album, we made them to go online the other week, but they sold out before we got the chance to photograph them so here they are....

The years crop boxes have been arranged and are online, and I'm hoping to get Cills tins online from lastweek seeing that she did nothing with the images that I emailed her (ooooooooooh!).

April's crop boxes caught us by surprise and we sold out weeks ago, even though we made more (oops sorry) and I miscounted ant thought that we were 3 short which gave everyone a heart attack - nothing like keeping them all on their toes....

We have a great album special running from Monday which we'll announce on Monday, so make sure you don't miss out!!

Journal Block Challenge:
Week 23 - 2 weeks to go.....
What shoes do you have in your collection and is there
any that have a particular history................
don't forget to add photos!!!

Keep an eye our for:

New Forum
The new FORUM is sat in hiding under the site
awaiting a few glitches to be ironed out -
IT SHOULD BE ON BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK.........

Our next SWAP is here...
We're going to swap ARTIST TRADING CARDS (ATC)

Contact the shop for details....

And until next week:

CHILL OUT THIS WEEKEND....

'womanbug!!!'

Teehee, we just thought we'd share this little gem that Carole sent us!

Also Priscilla has been busy and found that we didn't have some of our Daisy D's frames and diecuts online - these are going out at only .70c each!! So check them out here: Daisy D's frames and diecuts.

If you are in store check out our newest ribbons - some awesome tiny ginghams in lots of bright fun colours and a lovely rose ribbon perfect for wedding pages or invitations. (Sorry internet people - we do hope to get all our ribbons online - we just haven't found the time to do it yet!!)