Due to popular demand....

...well Lauren asked and she's pretty popular...here's a picture of Madonna and I, taken by the supremely talented Thomas, aged 4. I'm the freckly one on the left, Mad is the gorgeous one on the right. Hard to believe we're really sisters, isn't it? There's this weird genetic glitch in our family...there are five of us and Mad, our sister Anna and our brother Scott are all very similar - dark hair, olive skin, hazel/green eyes. Mad's twin brother Shaun and I are very alike...I have had complete strangers ask me if I'm his sister...LOL. We both have fairer colouring and brown eyes...and freckles! However, I'm the only one with super fine straight hair.....so not fair God (if you're listening...or blog hopping) and as you can see in this pic, I'm badly in need of a haircut. My excuse is that I'm an "academic" and we are so busy thinking about the "important" things that we are allowed to forget about stuff like haircuts...and buying groceries....reminder to self - must go shopping tomorrow!!!!
So there you go fellow bloggers....this is what I look like...sans make-up and all (academic remember...we disdain such trivial matters LOL). It's actually a little scary putting this out there....with no picture on my profile I maintain some measure of anonymity, but now.....complete strangers might come up to me in the shops and say..."Oh you're that crazy chick I saw on the internet"...well you never know do you?

If I haven't scarred you for life, come back tomorrow and I'll get back to what this blog is really about...craft!! I still haven't finished the green ribbon box and I am going to post a pic and get some suggestions as to what it's lacking/in need of from the talented and generous people who deign to visit my humble innerwebz abode.

Have a great day,

Kristie

Michael Buble was.....

...completely amazing, awesome, hilarious, gorgeous, and worth every cent of the $100 ticket price! I was a bit sceptical that anyone was worth paying that much to go see...but I'd do it again in a second. My face is sore from laughing, my hands hurt from clapping so hard, and I have NO VOICE from screaming and singing! If you ever get the chance to go see him....do it!
Did I mention he is gorgeous....
If you've heard his stuff on CD or the radio you know he sounds very smooth and polished, but when he performs live he is more relaxed and improvises alot...a real old fashioned entertainer. Oh, and by the way Lauren....he did the best version of 'That's Life' that I have ever heard...it was completely mind blowing! I got a souvenir program and he says that if he had only one album to take to a desert island it would be FRANK....'Sinatra Live at the Sands'...gotta love that!

I can't wait for him to come back so I can go again! Another interesting thing was the audience...everyone from teenage girls to grandparents....he just appeals to all ages. And he is soooooo funny! He had the audience in stitches laughing. Ahhhhh, I've waited so long for this, had the ticket since February and now it's all over I'm sad... I'll just have to drive my housemates crazy playing the CD's over and over and over....

Right, enough about Michael, this is supposed to be a blog about crafty stuff....gotta go do a few chores and I'll be back later to show you some of Mama's creations.

See you then
Kristie

Off on HOLIDAYS

Good Morning! (or perhaps afternoon...or evening...or whatever time of day you're actually reading this) This morning I'm heading off to the airport to fly to Queensland and spend almost two weeks with my lovely family! I had hoped to have something cool to show you before I left, but I think I may have packed my Mojo up in my suitcase, because I sure couldn't find it yesterday!!!!

I did make a card for my best friend's son who turned 11 yesterday (Happy Birthday Jack), but I couldn't get a good pic of it before I had to stick it in an envelope to post....so nothing to show there! Last night I also made a cool luggage tag for my suitcase...I had intended to take a pic of it to show you as well, but it is gloomy and overcast and I can't get a nice picture to save my life....sorry! But I did make it with an SU chipboard tag, some Orchid Opulence CS, stamped my initials on it, prettied it up with some butterflies and flowers and some hot purple Kindyglintz. I added a heap of purple ribbon and viola...a luggage tag that no one but me would actually want and if anyone did try and run off with my luggage I'd spot em a mile away!!!

So, I probably won't get a chance to post while I'm away....Mum only has DIAL-UP!!!!! I know, I know....I am going to do my best to convince her of the joy of broadband while I'm there, but I don't know if she'll go for it. And knowing how long it takes blogger to load up pics I can only imagine that with dial-up it may just take all day!!

Anyway, have a fabulous time while I'm gone. I'll be doing lots of creating in Mum's craft room, not to mention Madonna's (which is WAAAY better than mine and has about 10 times the stuff!!!)...once I figure out where I packed that naughty Mojo that is...and hopefully will I have lots of creations to show you when I get back.....just in time to go see Michael Buble....front row seat and all!!!!!

Have a great couple of weeks and I'll see you all on the 19th,
Kristie

It's ALL Lauren's fault.....

that I am now addicted to "I can has cheezburger?"

It's too funny!

This one's my favourite:

Or maybe this one.....

Ahh too many to choose from!!!

Check 'em out...



Kristie

For Nikki

Well, it's still raining/overcast here and I still haven't been able to take any decent pics. So I decided to take some inspiration from Nikki at http://militarywifestampinspot.blogspot.com/. She has lots of pictures of the amazing birds that she spots in her yard. Now, she says that she's a bit of a nerd for getting excited about birds but.... if that's true then so am I!! When I first moved to Sydney I was so excited that the suburb I live in is very green and leafy and there are heaps of amazing birds. Sulphur-crested cockatoos in the hundreds, rosellas, mountain parrots, magpies and more that I don't know the names of (yet). So Nikki, I thought you might like to see a few pics that I took a while back of the bird life in my street. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This is a couple of cockatoos in the tree across the street.

This is one of the many rosellas that are always flying around and chatting to one another early in the mornings.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed looking at some of our unique Aussie birds Nikki. Keep posting your bird pics, cause I really enjoy them!!!

Kristie

Things I have learned...

This past few days I have learned some very important things:

* I am not a great photographer!


* As I am making cards I really, really, really should write down what I've used!


* My memory is not as good as I thought it was!





I finally got a few minutes of semi-sunny weather this morning and took some photos of the cards I've made over the past few days. Please believe me when I say that they really do look much nicer in real life :)






The first card is for my Gran. It's in the mail on the way to her now. It's pretty safe to post it here because I'm fairly certain she doesn't even know what a blog is, let alone reads this one! The words come from Wonderful Favourites and the flower and butterfly are from Time Well Spent. I know I used Purely Pomegranate, Ballet Blue and Basic Black. I think the Green is Certainly Celery and the pink is probably Regal Rose but I'm not completely sure. The pearls are from my delicious Pretties kit - if you don't have this yet, you should order it for sure.



This card however, I am sure I used Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink. The ric-rak is from the Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' kit and the stamps are Symbols of Solicitude embossed in Silver. It's very simple and I'm not entirely sure if it needs something else on the top or not...what do you think?? I kinda like it plain, just the way it is but......

Anyway, I can't post the other pics here because they are a pressie for my bestie, Helene, and I know she knows how to find my blog...LOL. I'll post them after she's got her package.

Thanks for looking,

Kristie

Will it ever stop raining??

Hi there everyone, well I have had a very busy weekend and have made a ton of cards (about 15 actually), however I have no pics to post here because I don't like the way they look scanned and we have hardly had more than two minutes of sunshine here in Sydney for days and days and days.....

I hope that tomorrow I can take some pictures and put them up here for you all to see. I've been making a pack of assorted cards as a present for my friend Helene (see her lovely picture below). My gorgeous upline (and sister) made some for our Gran and she loved them so much. It's a really practical gift to give someone, cause it's always good to have birthday cards on hand for when you need them, and of course handmade ones are sooooo much nicer than anything you can get in the shops (well at least I hope so in the case of my work!).

My next project is Mother's Day cards. I have a few to make because although I am not a mother myself, I really admire all my friends and family who do such a great job raising their kids - it looks like REALLY hard work to me...LOL. So, after I hand in my nasty translation assignment tomorrow I'm going to get started. If anyone has any great ideas for Mother's Day cards or gifts, please leave a comment here....all help is much appreciated.

Happy News

I just checked my order status and my Starter Kit is 'shipped'! I am so excited because I live in the same city and it should arrive on my doorstep tomorrow. I am REALLY looking forward to getting it and getting started making stuff with all the yummy goodies inside. I will take some pics and upload them here so that you can all drool over how nice the stamps and things are. In addition to the Starter Kit I also ordered the Stampin' Memories add on - so I'll have an alphabet, some 12 x 12 card stock and the most delicious Simply Scrappin' kit - 'Crew Kids Girl'. I'm not particularly looking forward to mounting the alpha though - it's 'Short Order', a massive 56 pieces, but as I'm not a scrapbooker (is that the right term?) and I wanted it mainly for cards and paper craft projects, I thought it was the best one..... clearly wasn't thinking about having to mount it.

I am soooooo excited, I can't wait to get started!

My Best Friend

My best friend graduated as a teacher on Friday. Her name is Helene and I am so proud to be her friend - she is amazing! I just wanted to put a pic up here before I sent her the blog address - I'll probably be in trouble, but I want everyone to see how great she looked.

First Post

Hi and welcome to my brand new blog.

I've just joined Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator and thought that I should get myself a blog so I'd have somewhere to post all the fabulous cards and things I'm going to be making..... when my starter kit arrives!

I have been so tempted to get online and order a whole bunch of stuff from the catalogue, which I've had for 2 weeks thanks to my sister... But I have refrained so far....anyone who's seen the amazing stamps, papers, markers etc, would know just how hard that's been!

My sister is the main reason I signed up in the first place. I spent the weekend with her in Brisbane and got to play in her "toy room" (that's what I call it 'cause it's full of fun stuff!) and now I'm totally addicted!!!! I am studying full time for my PhD and in desperate need of some fun R&R and stamping certainly is that!

Anyway, I hope that I'll have something to show you all soon.

Kristie