National Premature Birth Awareness Week

24-30 November is National Premature Birth Awareness Week. The aim of this week is to celebrate babies that have been born early & more importantly to increase awareness of the signs & symptoms that may lead to premature birth. If you are considering having a baby, are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant please read on. If the following info can prevent one family from having to go through the premature birth of their child, I will be happy.
Please see your doctor if you experience any of the following:



B - Backache or pelvic pressure
O - Oedema swelling of hands or face
R - Regular contractions
N - Nausea, vomiting. diarrhoea or other flu-like symptoms

E - Eye or vision disturbances
A - Abdominal pain or cramps
R - Reductionin foetal movements
L - Leaking fluid from vagina
Y - You are worried, concerned or just don't feel 'right'



Please click on any of the following links for more information regarding Premature Babies:

http://www.bornearly.org.au/

http://www.austprem.org.au/



I would also like to add that if you are not happy with what your doctor is telling you - SEEK A SECOND OPINION.



This is a scrapbook page I created for our son Sam.
Sam was born 10 weeks early with very underdeveloped lungs. Doctors did not expect him to survive, but he proved everyone wrong, Sam is now a very active 6 yr old with no major complications from his prematurity. We are so blessed to have him & I thank God everyday.

Don't miss out.....

The fabulous Spring Mini catalogue will soon be finished, so if there is something in there you love, be sure to order before 30th November. I will miss nearly everything, but especially Scribble This & the double sided papers. The following two cards were made using another really cute stamp set - Polka Dots & Paisley. I particularly like the 2 wording stamps in this set.I have also used the Round Tab Punch from the mini to make the brakets on the card on the left & the tab for the card on the right, but I'll let you in on a little secret - this punch along with the spiral punch are in the new mini that will run from December 07- March 08, so you will have a little longer if you want to purchase either of these punches.

The little girls were made using the All in the Family stamp set that is also on special this month. If you haven't already heard about Dave Abbott & how Stampin' Up! are so generously helping his young grieving family please click here. Thankyou to everyone who has already purchased this set from me, as of 19th Nov Stampin' Up! demonstrators worldwide had sold 3100 sets! 100% of the proceeds of this set will go a fund set up for Dave's family, but only during November, so if you want to purchase a really fun & versatile set at 20% off & also contribute to a worthy cause email me now - alana@ceinternet.com.au.

FIND JOY IN THE LITTLE THINGS!

Sydney Regionals.....

Last weekend I travelled to Sydney for Stampin' Up! regional training. I had such a great day - met some lovely ladies, got some great card swaps, learnt some new techniques, made some cute projects & even got a free stamp set! We got to make 3 cards & a 6x6 scrapbook page using our new stamp set - Simply Said

The colours are Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard & Real Red, which are not really colours I normally use, so it was great to get abit of variety. I know there are only 2 cards in the pic - I gave the other one to our lovely friends who were nice enough to put us up for the weekend - thanks Andrew & Leanne.

This pic is some of the fantastic card swaps I received. I forgot to take a picture of mine, so will have to post it another day. You may not recognice some of the stamps as they are from the new mini that will be available in December. I will be posting some more sneek peeks soon!

On a non-stamping note, check out what was waiting for us when we got home! I had a feeling our mare was going to foal while we were away, so luckily had Mum go out & check on things. Josie calls her 'baby foalda', which I think is going to stick, isn't she a little beauty?

Co-ordination made easy.................

One of the things I love the most about Stampin' Up! is how everything matches so beautifully. I used to dread having to match up my ink colours with my cardstock & then again with the patterned papers, but with SU all the hard work is done for you. This first card uses the Spring Showers Designer Series Paper, I have used Mellow Moss for the base card & also coloured the family in with Mellow Moss, So Saffron & Cameo Coral markers, I have also stamped the words from Greetings Galore in Mellow Moss. As SU papers are designed to match with our cardstock, I know exactly what colours to use - if you purchase papers from me I am more than happy to provide you with a list, then you will know too!

The stamp set I have used is All In The Family, & it is such a versatile & fun set. I love how you can make the people do so many different things - I saw the Dad & Mum holding the baby on SCS & thought it was so cute. I have also seen people holding flowers, presents, balloons, bats & balls so will be trying some of these out soon. If you haven't already heard about this months special on this set & why it is so special please click here.

For this next card I have used some DSP from the Holiday Thyme pack that is also on special this month. Once again I didn't have to think about what colours matched - it was already done for me! I used Buckaroo Blue & Old Olive, however could have also used True Thyme or Bashful Blue. I am finding that Buckaroo Blue & Brocade Blue are very similar - so have stamped the Happy Birthday from Warmest Regards in Brocade Blue ink & also coloured the boys in using Brocade Blue & Old Olive markers.

I have just realised I have a fettish for ribbon - can you tell? both these cards have it tied at the bottom!. For the top card I have used a scrap piece I found & the bottom card uses SU White Grosgrain. I didn't have any blue ribbon so have coloured in the white using a Brocade Blue marker - I love doing this as I only need the one roll of ribbon & can use my markers to make it any colour I like.

I hope you like my All In The Family cards - I have been having so much fun with it, so will have some more projects using it to show you soon.

Masculine card

It was my Dad's birthday on the weekend & we all put in to buy him a new BBQ, so on Sat night we had a bit of a party to break it in! There was heaps of yummy food, I think they are still eating left overs, & we all had a great time - especially the kids. My 2 looked so cute, they both thought they were so cool with thier sunnys on
Josie looked too cute in her new matching outfit my Mum bought her - check out the matching thongs & sunnys!! She even has a little hat that matches too!
Unfortunately she didn't stay that way, as not even 5 mins after taking this pic she upended 1/2 a bottle of baby oil all over herslf & the floor - grrrrr the little terror. Luckily she has way more clothes than 1 little girl needs & it wasn't too hard to find another outfit in hurry. Kids - they are here to try us!!


Anyway, now for the real reason you are here - my card! I've felt as though I have been doing way too much CASEing lately so thought I'd try & be original. I am quite happy with how it turned out & think Dad liked it too - I had to give him a run down on exactly how it was made - lol!
Stamps - Be Happy, Warmest Regards. Cardstock - Close to Cocoa, Buckaroo Blue, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla. Ink - Chocolate Chip. Accessories - Twill Tape,Hemp Twine, Hodgepodge Hardware & a couple of staples.

Abit of scrapping.....

I have been working with the Elite team on a special project to create albums for each of Dave Abbott's children. Dave was the General Manager of Stampin' Up! who sadly passed away last month. You can help his family too, by simply purchasing the All in the Family stamp set during November - all proceeds from sales of this set will be donated to Daves wife & 3 children.

Obviously I sent off my scrap pages blank, so the children can add their own pictures, but liked them so much I made a second copy & added pics of my kids. Now I just need to add some journalling to finish them off.

Stamps: Looks like spring. Colours: Cool Caribbean, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron. Accessonries: Little Reminders, White grosgrain ribbon (I dyed it using Pretty In Pink & Certainly Celery Markers)

Stamps: Holiday Spirit. Colours: Buckaroo Blue, Versamark. Accessories: Eyelets, Hemp Twine, Cranberry Crisp stitched grograin ribbon, Simply Scrappin' At Home Kit.

All products used are from Stampin' Up! & are available to puchase through me. Let me know if you would like any further information on how these pages were made or if you would like to hold a scrapbooking demonstration to get some 'hands on' learning send me an email - alana@ceinternet.com.au

Thyme for another special..

Hope so, as Stampin' Up! have released some fabulous double sided paper, just in Thyme for Christmas. As usual it coordinates perfectly with the range of SU cardstock, but is only available until 15th Dec, so make sure you don't miss out. Check out the patterns below -

As an added bonus if you are a member of my Stampin' Club you can receive a further $2 discount (only available through me). If you would like to purchase these exclusive papers or need some more information about my stamp club send me an email - alana@ceinternet.com.au

Dave Abbott Family Fund

Last month the Australian General Manager for Stampin' Up!, Dave Abbott, passed away from a rare blood disease. This is made particularly sad by the fact that Dave leaves behind a wife & 3 young children (you can see thier picture in the scrap page below)

Because Stampin' Up! is such a caring company & want to not only honour Daves memory, but also help his family, they have pre-released a special All In The Family stamp set. During November Stampin' Up! are donating 100% of the sales worldwide to a fund set up for Daves family. Click here for more details.

This 28 piece set will retail for $73.95, but during Nov I will be passing my demonstrator discount on to you, so it will only cost $59.16 plus postage. Please support this worthwhile cause, you will not only receive a fantastic stamp set, but be helping a grieving young family. If you would like to help, but don't wish to purchase the stamp set , you can contribute directly to the fund - email me for details alana@ceinternet.com.au.