Health Issues.

I'm just dropping in to let you know that I have been in hospital for nine days, with a serious infection and kidney issue.  I am now back home. I've lost 6 kg which is way too  much. It happened over a few weeks, and I am very weak and have trouble standing up and/or walking. I have to keep sitting down. I was seriously dehydrated and ended up with my kidneys not working too well. I get tired quickly and spend a lot of time resting. I don't think I will be creating anything for awhile. It's a long story. 

Some good news though, Ebay have fully refunded me for the stamps/dies and missing embossing folder, so that's great. Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

A New Card, and a Missing Item Update!

Apologies for all these updates. I have received a reply from the seller on Ebay USA. Sadly she is not really interested and didn't seem concerned the item was missing. I have not been able to leave her feedback because I cannot find how to do it. I went into my history and found my orders, and found her feedback, but there's nowhere to leave feedback for her. I won't be buying anything more from ebay after this experience. I've been ripped off big time and it has cost me a lot of money. On top of paying for the bundle I have also had to pay for the new bundle which will arrive next week sometime. I am still waiting to hear back from NZ Couriers, they actually delivered the package to me, and have asked for the stamps and dies, and package they came in, and are looking into things. With a lot of luck, they might refund me, or maybe "find" the missing embossing folder. Seriously though, who ever stole it needs to have a die cutting machine to be able to use it. NZ Couriers will contact me once they've looked into it. I love on hope! I'm just annoyed that someone would steal something that is not theirs. And I am disappointed with the seller, her attitude stinks, and I will never buy from her again. And I will let people know about it. Ok, that's it, I will stop my venting, and let The Universe sort it all out! 

I have managed to contact the seller about the missing embossing folder, and am waiting to hear back from her. It may take a day or so due to the time difference.

Breaking News!!! My amazing SU Demonstrator, Jacque Williams (Gold Elite) here in NZ, has located a new Bundle for me!! IT will arrive next week. I had tried for some time to find the bundle here, before ordering from Ebay, but to no avail. Ok, just wanted to update you guys with the good news! 

I created this card with a retired Stampin' Up! set. (Leaves and orange images) I die cut the leaves and other foliage using various Tim Holtz die sets. A month ago I had seen these cards on the internet and wanted to create some Christmas cards using it. It's actually a Bundle, it has the stamps, dies and hybrid embossing folder. I wasn't able to find the bundle here in NZ, so I purchased it from Ebay. I was excited about receiving it and it finally arrived 2 days ago. Unfortunately the package had obviously been opened before I got it and the Hybrid embossing folder is missing. It hadn't opened by Customs, as they always stamp it saying it had been opened by them, and they re-seal the package with tape that says it's been opened by Customs. The seller had enclosed all 3 items when it was sent to me. I was not happy. I have been in contact with NZ Courier who delivered it to me, and am waiting to hear from them. E post Global were the first courier who sent it from USA, and then once it got to NZ, NZ Couriers handled it. You can see the side of the package has been cut open and re-sealed with tape. I opened it from the right hand side, looking at the photo). Someone is responsible for opening the package and taking the embossing folder, and I am trying to sort it out and get compensated for the theft. E Post Global are not interested in my complaint and have closed my enquiry. I paid a lot of money for the bundle and I am entitled (by law) to be financially compensated. The Hybrid embossing folder is part of the set, and it's missing. NZ Couriers have collected the stamp and dies set, and the packaging and I am waiting to hear from them. To be honest I don't hold out much hope as it is going to be hard to prove who cut the parcel open and took the embossing folder. The Bundle is three items - I only have two of them. I was really looking forward to using this set, and did make the one card before sending the stamp and dies to NZ Couriers. So yeah, I am not happy and feeling a bit annoyed. Why do (some) people feel they have the right to steal from others? I don't get it.

The photo above is the   stamps and die's I got, the photo after that are of the package, and you can see it had been previously opened. Bottom of photo.

These next two photos are of the leaves and foliage I die cut while I was waiting for the package to arrive. Ther's a lot of work in those leaves etc! I coloured and cut plenty so I could create a few cards.

Thankfully I have a Big Shot Switch machine, so the die cutting was much quicker. It was still a big job though, and I have to admit, I did have a few 'lunch' breaks in between! I know I've been 'missing' for about a month, but I've been dealing with some health issues, and have had a sore throat for almost 2 weeks. I think I'm almost over it now. Thankfully I did not end up in hospital, although it was close a couple of times. Our weather is warming up as we head into Spring in a few days! My Spring bulbs have been flowering and make me smile every time I see them! Spring can bring some sneaky rain showers, so I have my fingers crossed that we don't get too much rain. We've had plenty during Winter!

Thanks for dropping by, have a SUNSHINE day! Always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

 

Another Snowman!

I used an Inky Antics stamp set to create the card above. (113905c Snowman Maker). Its a clear stamp set and the hat, 3 faces, words and scarf are separate stamps. I stamped the hat, face and words directly onto a piece of card, I then stamped the scarf onto a scrap of card and cut it out. Once I had coloured everything, I glued the scarf into place. It was a bit long, so I cut it down a bit. I didn't define his face, as I like it how it is. I glued on the tiny swirl things, which are plastic. I layered it onto red then white card to finish it. He was fairly quick and easy to create! Not that I am in any hurry for Christmas to arrive! But I have a thing for snowmen, lol!

I stamped this hat on to a piece of special card stock...keep reading! It was some I got from Temu.

And look what happened to it when I painted it with some water colour paint! It puffs up and explodes! Below is the card I made. I used a stamp set is from AALL & Create #1034. (Purrfect Paws) It has a cat, a hat and a couple of sentiment stamps. Once the hat was completely dry I glued it to some white card, then on to the pink dotty card. There are about 8 small (3x4 inch) pieces of card. It was advertised as 'card' but to me it looks and feels very much like a kitchen sponge, once it is dry. It goes very hard and solid and is very light in weight. I was fascinated by it at first, but having put it on a card, now I am not too sure if I like it or not! I think I will have another play with it before I say yes I like it. It looks ok in the photo here, but irl the white card has buckled a bit and isn't 'flat'. Maybe I stuck the hat to the white card before the hat was properly dry. Anyway, I thought I would post it. Lets just say it was 'interesting', and something definitely 'different'!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and ever day!

 

My Lavinia Stamps Have Landed!

 My new stamps arrived, and here they are! This is the Twilight Tea range. 

Ooops, I forgot to take a photo of the other Sunflower stamp! 

Below are two of the new Rice Paper packs. They are much nicer than this photo shows.

Two new ink pads, and a white pen, plus another pen that is for masking. It writes like a pen and gives much finer lines than a paint brush does. I found it easy to use.

Below is a card I created using some of the new stamps. First of all I cut and glued a piece of the Rice papers onto a piece of LS cardstock. Once it was dry, I used various stamps to create a scene. I used a stencil brush to brush on some colours of Elements ink, just to give it a bit more colour. The Rice paper takes the inks really well and doesn't bleed. It feels very soft kind like suede! So that's my new stamps! As I create cards etc I will post them here. I hope you enjoyed seeing the new stamps!

Thank you for dropping in! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

"Frosty" The Snowman!"

 

Here's another rock I made and painted. It taken me awhile to paint it because our weather here is so wet and dark, and the paint takes ages to dry. I had to wait several days for each coat of paint to dry before I could do the next coat. It was very time consuming, plus I ended up back in hospital for two days this week. Anyway, the rock is made from quick dry cement and is four inches round. It was one I made a couple of weeks ago and never got around to painting it. I sketched the snowman and lights etc, then went over the top with a Posca pen, or an acrylic marker. I guess I will put him under the Christmas tree! We've had four solid days of very heavy rain, today being the 4th day. I am SO over it. 😠 The rain is really heavy and loud, and drowns out the radio or the tv. Yep, it's time it's stopped! The good thing is, as wet as it is, it isn't very cold! It's been a warmer Winter than usual. It's been so dark I have to have lights on otherwise I can't see. I bought a five cheap sets of acrylic paint pens from K. Mart last week. There are some metallic markers as well as bright ones and some more pastel ones. They are just as good as the Posca but much cheaper. When I got an email notification that they had been sent, it said they were each being sent separately. I thought that was dd and rather wasteful to send each pack on it's own. Why not chuck them all into one post bag and send them altogether?? Anyhow, when they arrived, they were all in one postal bag, but each pack of markers were in separate bags. Wasteful! There was a ton of plastic to throw out. In a world where we are trying to reduce our plastic waste, this is not good. I was tempted to pack it up and send it back to K. Mart telling them not to be so wasteful, and stop filling our rubbish tips with so much plastic. It wasn't necessary to use that amount of plastic. I had enough bubble wrap to build a Bouncy Castle for the cats!

So that's my art work for now, I have other rocks I can paint, but with this dark and oh-so-wet weather I'm hesitant to pain them. We'll see! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

A Fluffy Pink and Violet Sunrise!

I took this shot early one morning. I love the combination of the pink and violet colours! Since taking this photo the neighbours have cut some of their tree's down, so I will get a better view of the sunrise. 

I don't have any artwork to share at the moment, but Lavinia have just released a new range of stamps! Of course I ordered them, lol! 

I spent two days in hospital this week after becoming unwell. My Potassium levels were way too low, so I spent two days back in hospital while they gave me some medication to bring my levels back up to a normal range. I got home just in time to order the new LS stamps! I think the range is called The Twilight Tea stamps. I've been watching their videos as LS is having their annual Summer Fairy Festival. They have it each year, and of course everyone dresses up for it. It's great to see all their live demoe's, and see what everyone is wearing. There's lot's of gorgeous sunflowers on their costumes. While they're having a stinking hot Summer, I'm down here in the Southern Hemisphere experiencing a very mil/warm Winter! Yes, we've had some icy cold days, but the weather has been really warm/humid. I am not complaining! 

It's a beautiful sunny day today, even the wild birds sound like they are celebrating this unusually warm weather.  We have had rain, some very heavy rain, but it's definitely a much warmer Winter than usual. Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and let you all know I am still here! I've been tired and haven't had much energy to create anything arty farty! But while I wait for my new stamps to arrive, I've been watching lot's of videos using the new stamps. One thing I like about LS stamps is, you can mix older tamps with new stamps and they all mix and match. Tracey is super talented and she always comes up with such amazing artwork for her stamps. The details on the stamps is incredible. Such fine delicate lines, and they all stamp beautifully.

Well that about wraps it up for today, I will be back! 

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

I Made These For Lunch!

 

I don't (usually) post stuff about recipes or cooking, but I just made these for lunch and thought I'd share some photo's!  I cooked them in my Air Fryer, and it was so quick and easy. (And tasty!) Here's the "recipe"...1egg, milk, chopped Bok Choy (or any greens you like), small tin of drained tuna, (Romeo got the tuna juice!) sweet chilly sauce to taste, salt, and grated cheese. (Whatever flavour you like) I mixed the ingredients, then filled 3 small tin foil containers. I popped them into the Air Fryer for around 8 minutes at 180C. If they aren't quite ready, just pop them back for another couple of minutes. They are HOT when cooked, so be careful removing them from the Air Fryer. I let them sit for a few minutes before taking it out of the tinfoil.

I added a couple of slices of cold tomato to them before I ate them. Yumm!

This last photo shows a close up of what they look like when cut open. I used what ingredients I had in the fridge, and you can use all kind of different foods. My appetite is still not the best at the moment, but it will get better over the next few days. I didn't have an exact 'recipe', so I can't give exact amounts I used. But it's not rocket science and is a very adaptable 'recipe. I'm sure I will make these again some time!

Ok so who's coming to wash and dry the dishes...?!  Oops, that would be me, lol!

Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!