So Deliciously Swirly

You will never guess what I have done with my favourite Stampin' Around Wheel! Although, the above picture is a bit of a giveaway! Simply roll out your favourite 'plastic icing', be it Orchard or a more professional mix. Whilst it is rolled out flat on the benchtop, run your 'So Swirly' wheel firmly over the icing. I then used a champagne flute to cut circles, which I secured to the top of minature chocolate cakes with sugar syrup. To secure the pink cachous, I created an impression with the end of a wooden kebab stick dipped in sugar syrup. I just love the beautiful cachous, which I bought from 'Wheel & Barrow' in Fortitude Valley. My friend Loren, who made the beautiful 'Genie Bottle' in my last post, took me to James Street and showed me the most adorable little shops, including 'Wheel & Barrow' - I think I can feel a coloured cachous collection coming on! Which brings me to another idea I have for storing these gorgeous little decorations - but more about that on another post! If you would like to ask me any further information about the cake decorating, please email me on liz@nb.com.au

Fabulous Stampin' Up! Rub Ons

How blessed am I to have made such lovely friends in both my customers and fellow demonstrators. One lovely and very talented demonstrator from our 'Paper Angels' Group is Loren Rennie and look at the gift I received yesterday. A really beautiful 'Genie' Style Bottle, beautifully decorated with Stampin' Up's Rub Ons, 'Priceless' Stamp Set, Pretties Kit and Hodgepodge Hardware. Loren has a great eye for colour and arrangement, and using a bottle that she bought from the Reject Shop, she has created a true masterpiece. Imagine creating beautiful bottles for your friends for Christmas and filling them with personalised treats! This is just one of many samples we will have on display at our Annual Charity Christams Card Workshops, which this year are at Victoria Point, Carina, Paddington, Macleay Island, Pine Rivers and Cleveland. I shall be entrusted to deliver and display our demonstrator group's beautiful samples to each venue for you to look at, photograph etc. There are still limited places available, so please contact me urgently, either by email or telephone.

liz@nb.com.au 07 3348 9456

Final Evening at Palm Cove

Our last evening at Palm Cove was spent at a Safari Style Park in Kuranda, where we experienced 'Dinner on the Edge'. This was a fabulous affair and definitely a unique experience. After a coach trip, we arrived at the park and were treated to some delicious appetisers and drinks. Following this we were taken on a short walk, where a fire eater welcomed us with a performance before we entered the 'Lion's Den'.

Our experience also included a night tour of the park, where we saw this spectacular tiger. Let's just say he was not as sleepy as he looks as one of my friend's husbands will testify. After taking a few really close up pictures right up against the night cage, Vern turned his back resulting in the tiger launching itself against the cage, stretching to full hight on it's back legs. I nearly had a heart attack 2 meters back, whilst Vern (quote/unquote) classed it as the most awesome experience of his life! I now know all about how tigers attack when you turn your back.

'Dinner on the Edge' was a wonderful farewell dinner at the end of our Incentive Trip. We dined on a fabulous BBQ within a metre (sometimes less!) of a pride of lions. Naturally they were encouraged to position themselves in our area by being fed - thankfully not us! We were separated by a fence and hot wire, although the large holes enabled us to position our camera lenses so as to avoid the wire.

Swaps | Make & Takes at Palm Cove

The morning of our second last day at Palm Cove, was spent swapping with other achieving demonstrators, followed by a fabulous make & take session. My friend Robyn, who is an Ipswich Demonstrator, is happily displaying her stash of paper craft creations made by the Demonstrators especially for the Incentive Trip.

Pictured here are Aaron Scott, our Australian Business Development Manager, with Kim Gavarra. Yes, our Australian Manager put his creative skills to the test and came up with a terrific card.

Here are my swaps, which were very much a group effort. I had been planning to make 'cake slice boxes' decorated with stamps, but learnt they had featured on Split Coast, so decided to seek new inspiration. My friend and fellow demonstrator, Loren encouraged me to do the shoes which were created using a Coluzzle Template. To be honest the featured photo on the template packaging was not my style at all. Loren encoraged me that it would look good if I put my own style and creativity into it and voila, it did work out well. I created 3 different colours of shoes, beacuse we all like choices in shoes! Stampin' Up's Priceless Stamp Set and So Swirly Wheel enabled me to add the style! I then hunted for varieties of chocoolates that would not break the bank, settling on Ferrero Rocher avaiable from Big W in large packs. Again, help to complete so many swaps was given by Ursula and Robyn, so I was lucky to have all this assistance. Shelli Gardner (Stampin' Up's Co Founder and CEO), liked them so much she put them on her blog - check out links.

We were given some really cute little Stampin' Up! bags with a new Summer Mini Catalogue Stamp Set in it, along with 3 ink pads and all the materials and instructions to complete 3 lovely projects.

Finally, it was terrific to meet some fellow demonstrators. We became really good at smiling for photos - I have never had my photo taken so much, making up for all the time I happily spend on the other side of the lens! Pictured above are Jayne Mercer, myself and Kim Gavarra.