Where's my creativity?

Two days in

2015-05-26T18:13:00.000+01:00

Hi all! Thought I'd take advantage to give an update to our move to New Zealand as I'm wide awake at 4.15am - yes, still adjusting to the time zone here in New Zealand! Fell asleep at 8pm yesterday, dribbling into my top (gorgeous) whilst trying to stay awake to look for somewhere to live. But I'm getting there and hope to have acclimatised by the weekend.

So we've been living for two days now in a service apartment at the Barclay Suites, which basically means it's got a kitchen, washing facilities, etc. This place is slap bang in the middle of Auckland Central and has amazing views from our apartment on the 22nd floor.

View North towards the ferry terminal. My office is the white building behind the ANZ building nearest to the water.

The famous Sky Tower - the tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

Our first sunset in Auckland.

We're here for two weeks so we're now on a hunt to find somewhere to rent a.s.a.p., but we're a bit limited because we need a dog friendly place and they are few and far between.

Speaking of our dog, we're picking up our Lulu on 6 June. The poor thing has been stuck in a crate, on a 30 hour flight without any food. She should have landed by now in Auckland and residing in a kennel for a 10 day quarantine. I really want to go and see my baby but we're not allowed to touch her so I think it may be more distressing for her to see us but then watch us walk away. I miss her so much and feel sooooooo guilty putting her through this. Now I need a hug after writing that.

The weather has been really mixed - pouring with rain one moment and then glorious sunshine the next. Typical NZ weather. We're just about to enter into Winter (yes, very bad timing for our move!) which means average day time temperatures of 14-18 degs. Not too bad. Better than the UK with winter average in the South East of 3-5 degs. One of the main reasons of moving here. I've had many people asking why we want to move to the other side of the world, away from our family and friends. Believe me, it's not because I'm trying to get away from them, lol! It's beautifully captured here Why I Love New Zealand by kimipom so feel free to take a look.

It's all feeling very surreal to me being here. It feels like being on holiday and it's not sunk in that this is now our home. I really do miss my family and friends though. I saw a lady today in a shopping mall who looked a bit like my mum and I started crying. I wish you could all move over here and be with me!

Other initial observations since arriving:

The city has really developed due to hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup. It's much more cosmopolitan with designer shops and good looking restaurants. Having two harbours there is plenty of waterside views
When we were here eight years ago we were surprised by how many Chinese and Asians there were. This time round, there are a lot more Indian. A very multi-cultural city just like London, but the people here are still really friendly, unlike in London!

Okay, switching off now. Will write again once we've moved into our rental. See you soon!

New Zealand - here we come!!!

2015-05-18T22:22:00.003+01:00

Hi everybody! I won't be posting anything crafty for the next few months while my crafty stuff makes it slow and merry way to the other side of the world. I've been asked by many of you to keep you abreast of my new adventure to emigrate to New Zealand so feel free to either get a cuppa and read on, or move on to some one else's blog with crafty inspiration!

Our work visas to New Zealand eventually turned up last week - and what a relief that was as we had so many things "pencilled in" but wasn't able to confirm until we got them. On a practical level, we have been so busy confirming and coordinating everything - like sorting out all of our belongings, buying and shipping over my new car, booking our air tickets, having numerous leaving lunches and do's, handing over my workload, going through my work performance appraisal, organising our accommodation in NZ, decorating and selling our house....the list goes on and on!

You know, all of this practice stuff is easy for me - scope it out, plan it and implement it. It's the project manager in me that can sort this all out and take it in my stride. What's hard is the emotional stuff. Let me give you an example. I had to hand in my work laptop and iPhone on my last day in the office last Thursday. Now I don't care much for them, but I had handed over 19 years of my work life and I suddenly became overwhelmed. I stood there in the middle of Hays Galleria at London Bridge blubbering. Not sophisticated! I soon got over it and managed to have a fantastic leaving lunch with my besties. But I admit that since then I've had a few waves of that feeling of being overwhelmed with the thoughts of leaving behind all that is known to me and jumping into an unfamiliar world that is New Zealand.

I will miss my UK family most of all - mum, dad, my bro, my sister-in-law, my niece, Hollie, and my nephew, Michael. I love them all so much and feel so lucky that I have such great relationships with each of them. But at least I will be that bit nearer to my other bro, his wife and my other nephew, William, who live in Hong Kong. Silver linings, huh? I'm going to encourage them all to move to NZ too!

The removal team were in today - bar from three months worth of clothes, everything is packed and ready to go tomorrow onto the container. We won't see them for 3 months. I will miss my extra large ironing board and super duper steam iron and - most of all - my craft stuff!! I was feeling sad to think that we won't see this stuff for ages and then we got a phone call at lunchtime from our estate agents telling us our house buyers had pulled out. Bummer. And then a few hours later we got another call from them telling us that we had another two offers for the house for the same price. Brilliant. I am sure you can tell that we've been on one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride today!

There are lots of other little details that have kept us on our toes and tested my relationship with my [OCD/anal] husband over the past few months, but I won't bore you with them. Let me just say that you need the patience of an angel and a lot of resilience to stop yourself from SCREAMING!!! Deep breath...lol!

I don't know when I'll be able to write again here, but it will probably be when we've landed in Auckland, New Zealand some time next week. I hope you are all well - and certainly less stressed than me right now!

SugarPea Designs new May release now available!

2015-05-15T10:00:00.000+01:00

Today is the last day of the showcases for the SugarPea Designs new release for May, which means they are going to also be released in the store today! Today the team have created some gorgeous projects using three new sets - the Teddybear Picnic and Bee My Honey (this month's freebie fromthe Sweet Incentive Program if you spend $60 or more in the store!) stamp sets and the SugarCuts Thanks die. Here is my DT make using the SugarCuts Thanks die...

I also used the hearts die cuts from the SugarCuts Notched Heart Journal Card die for the shaker along with some teeny tiny beeds.

(already available in store here!)

We would love to hear your thoughts on the products introduced today!! Please leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Teddybear Picnic stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our May Product Release will be announced on Monday, May 18th. Our entire May Release will be available in the SugarPea Designs Store at 6:00 PM EST TODAY!! Please click here to shop – and if you are lucky enough to win a set you’ve already purchased, you may choose another stamp set of the same value!

InLinkz.com

I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of the SugarPea Designs sweet peeks this week. I certainly enjoyed creating with them!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Not sure if I'll be around much as I have so much to do to prepare for our move to New Zealand but I will pop round to see your blogs if I can find some time!

Day 4 of the SugarPea Designs May sweet peeks!

2015-05-14T10:00:00.000+01:00

We are show casing more of the SugarPea Designs May release! I really love today's newbies - let me introduce you to the Welcome Baby stamp set and the SugarCuts Welcome Baby Accents die set. Here's my two DT makes using them...

I totally love the stamp set and dies and they are perfect too for both CAS and vintage styles!

I also used the new die set Baby Diaper Pin die set and SugarCuts Heart Border die (already available in store!).

Would you like to win the Welcome Baby set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Welcome Baby stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our May Product Release will be announced on Monday 18 May!

InLinkz.com

See you tomorrow with the last of the sweet peeks!

Day 3 of the SugarPea Designs May sweet peeks!

2015-05-13T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's day three of the SugarPea Designs new release for May! So here we are today to show case two new stamp sets called I Like Big Books and Read Between the Lines and a new SugarCuts die set called Brainy Bookmarks. Here's my DT make using them...

I think this is be perfect for one of my male colleagues - he loves his books but he's a bit stressed out at the moment so I know he'll appreciate this! I used the Read Between the Lines stamp set and SugarCuts Brainy Bookmarks dies.

Would you like to win the I Like Big Books set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the I Like Big Books stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our May Product Release will be announced on Monday 18 May!

InLinkz.com

See you tomorrow with more sweet peeks!

HUGE news!

2015-05-13T00:00:00.003+01:00

Okay, just a quickie - we have just had confirmation that we have our visas to New Zealand - woo bl**dy hoo!!!! OMG, this is really happening guys!!!!!

Day 2 of the SugarPea Designs May sweet peeks!

2015-05-12T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's day two of the SugarPea Designs new release for May and today we are showing you a brilliant stamp set, perfect for those men in your life, called Tee-rific! You gotta love the name to this set! Here is my DT make using it...

InLinkz.com

Remember our entire May Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, May 15th at 6:00 PM EST! See you tomorrow with more sweet peeks!

Day 1 of the SugarPea Designs May sweet peeks!

2015-05-11T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's time for SugarPea Designs new release for May and this one is totally SWEET! We have four days of sweet peeks then on the fifth day all of the new release will be available in store! So without further ado, today we are showcasing the super duper cute Bundle of Joy stamp set along with the super duper cute SugarCuts Baby Diaper Pin die set.

Here are my sweet sneaks using them...

I just love the dies and the stork with the baby peeking out is the CUTEST!

Would you like to win the stamp set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN this stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our MayProduct Release will be announced on Monday, May 18th.

InLinkz.com

Our entire March Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, May 15th at 6:00 PM EST!

Okay, I gotta go now, but I'll be back tomorrow with day two of the sweet peeks!

One in a minion

2015-04-24T08:00:00.000+01:00

I'm here today to share my DT inspiration for Alicia Bel this week and I chose Minion Girl...

I actually made this for my niece - she loves Despicable Me almost as much as me! Alicia's take on it is so cool - I love her little outfit with a touch of sexy! I used Doodlebug polka dot paper, a Paper Smooches border die and Memory Box and My Favorite Things alpha dies.

You can see more gorgeous inspiration over at the blog here. That is it from me today - see you again soon!

A modern anniversary card

2015-04-23T07:00:00.000+01:00

Okay, I got my *rse into gear and made this modern anniversary card for a very modern couple I know using those gorgeous SugarPea Designs goodies! Here it is...

The best thing was that this CAS card only took 20 minutes to put together. I simply used the SugarCuts Notched Heart Journal Card die, a sentiment from the Special Delivery stamp set and finished it off with a couple of the heart dies from the SugarCuts Heart Journal Card die set.

Don't forget (like I did!) that the new SugarPea Designs challenge with the theme of anything goes started yesterday.

I'm off now but I will see you again on Friday - ta ta for now!

I'm such a doughnut!

2015-04-22T10:00:00.000+01:00

Hi all! Today is the start of a new SugarPea Designs theme challenge and I completely forgot to make my project for it! But I have a good excuse - been so manic decorating and tidying up the house to put it on the market and we had food poisoning so wasted days in bed!!

Anyway, the theme this week is anything goes - easy peasy! I hope you get a chance to play along!

Be sure to click through our designer’s blogs listed below for even more crafty inspiration then come back and link up your creation for a chance to win a Gift Certificate to the SugarPea Designs Boutique!

I'll be back soon - take care until then!

Polaroid love!

2015-04-13T10:00:00.000+01:00

It's time for a new SugarPea Designs sketch challenge and I really loved using this one. Here's my take on it...

I used to love my old polaroid - what fun we had as teenagers taking photos at parties! For my card I used the SugarCuts Polaroid dies, a couple of hearts from the SugarCuts Heart Journal Card and added the smile stamp from the Wanderlust stamp set.

Check out the rest of the DT sketch inspiration over at the blog here. I hope you're inspired to join in - you don't have to use SPD goodies either but if you do you could win a $15 Gift Certificate to the store and if you don't you could win one worth $10!

Yappy birthday

2015-04-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

No, it's not a spelling mistake, but a cute sentiment from the SugarPea Designs Hot Diggity Dog stamp set that I made for my DT make for this month's Sweet2Repeat where our SugarPea Designers have put together new projects that will inspire you with even more creative possibilities featuring the newest SugarPea Designs stamp sets and SugarCut dies!

Ooops, I just saw from the photo that I didn't cut that stripy paper straight! Oh well, I'm not tearing it apart to fix it! I used Echo Park papers and stamped that cute sentiment onto a die cut from the SugarCuts Layered Treat Label set.

Would you like to win a $20 gift certificate to spend on some SugarPea Designs goodies of your own? Please visit with each of our design team members listed below and leave a comment for your chance to win!

InLinkz.com

Check out the blog here to see all the deets on how to win a gift certificate!

#hb2u

2015-04-01T08:00:00.000+01:00

Just sharing a birthday card I made for a male friend at work.

Cool stamps, huh? I used this month's free Sweet Incentive stamp set if you spend over $60 in the store called Hastag Hipster. I also used the smile stamp from the Wanderlust set to create the background and added a bit of interest using the Build-A-Background Basics border stamp.

There's a new SugarSketch challenge - check out the blog to see how you can join in for a chance to win a Gift Certificate to the store. I'm off now but I'll be back soon-ish!

Love lives here

2015-03-29T08:28:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around to visit - there is so much to do for our move to New Zealand. Apart from all of the paperwork to be completed, we are also frantically tidying up and decorating the house to get it on the market. I'm sooooo tired!

I did find some time last night to make a few cards and here is the first using some of those gorgeous SugarPea Designs goodies. Not sure if this will be a new home or welcome home occasion but think it will fit the bill for both.

I just love the new dies from the last release! The sweet background SugarCuts Homescape with those little trees and dog house and the detail in the Home die with the heart detail are so gorgeous. I framed them using the SugarCuts Polaroid Journal Card. I also love the Sweet Sentiments Home stamp set - love the font and variety in it. The sweet heart is from the SugarCuts Notched Heart Journal Card die.

Well I had better be off to go and paint something, clean something or organise something! Byeeee!

Goodbye to our Poppy

2015-03-22T08:19:00.003+00:00

I mentioned in my last post that we had a personal tragedy recently. I did a short post about it on FB after it happened and I've been meaning to post it here but it's been hard to write about it without crying. We lost our precious Yellow Labrador, Poppy, on 11 March and she was only 7 years old.

She hadn't been herself since before last Christmas and the vet thought she had a stomach bug. We always thought she'd eventually get over it as she just seemed a bit poorly and it didn't stop her from doing all of the normal things.

We became really concerned when we picked her up from the kennels when we returned from our Thailand trip in February and she had lost over 3.5 kilos during her stay there. We managed to get her weight back up a bit, but then she started to become a fussy eater and would barely move. I won't go into the rest of the gory details of her bodily functions, but she was definitely not right. The vet still thought it was a stomach infection, but we insisted she was referred to the Royal Veterinary College.

It was there that the oncologist, Stephanie, found Poppy had pancreatic cancer that had slowly spread over the months to her stomach and lungs. She only had a 13% chance of recovery after months of treatment and then, if successful, would only prolong her life for 4 or 5 months. We decided to put her to sleep and it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life.

As our first dog, I read up on how to look after the Labrador breed and even dog psychiatry books so we could be the best parents for her. Steve chose Poppy from a litter of boisterous puppies. She was the one who was very floppy and couldn't even stand properly! She was so cute and when we chose her the breeder put a dab of Tippex on her ear to mark her as ours.

She had two hip replacements before she was even three years old and wasn't very happy when we brought her new "sister", Lulu, home! Poppy loved her walks, being with her "grandparents", going swimming, fetching things thrown to her in the sea, sniffing out old tennis balls, being allowed on the sofa and, most of all, eating as much as she could. A typical Labrador.

I can't write any more, the tears are free flowing again! To end on a happy note, here are few photos of her to remind me of the happy memories she has left us.

First snow adventure

A typical sitting pose

Being tolerant of Lulu!

A rare sisterly moment, allowing Lulu to groom her!

Cool dog at Birling Gap, one of our very many happy trips there

Steve and I with our baby

Goodbye Poppy, we will always remember and love you.

Hope your birthday's picture perfect

2015-03-19T08:46:00.006+00:00

Hi all. I'm sorry I haven't been around for a while nor even visiting you, but we had a personal tragedy which has left us reeling somewhat. I'll do a separate post on that as I didn't want to make this post a downer! I managed to make a card last night to distract myself and came up with this using some of the new SugarPea Designs goodies...

I love this stamp set called Picture Perfect - she is a beautiful gal! I also used the SugarCuts Polaroid dies and added the smile stamp from the Wanderlust stamp set.

There's also an offer going on over at the store today - free postage for you lucky USA guys!

Thank you too all of my visitors, especially my regular ones. I promise I will be back soon!

Soppy mum card!

2015-03-15T09:00:00.000+00:00

I don't know about yours, but my mum is not at all soppy, but I think she would still like this card I made using some beautiful Docrafts goodies...

Here's a list of the Docrafts goodies I used:

Simply Floral 6 x 6 paper pack

Damask Pattern embossing folder

Xcut Heart Nesting die

Simply Floral Die-cut Notelets set

Xcut Floral Frame die set

The sentiment is from the Sentiment Collection which is a free download that you can get here along with lots of other free downloads here. Here's also a list of Docrafts stockists.

Okay, that's it from me today - thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments/feedback you leave me!

SugarPea Designs new March release now available!

2015-03-13T10:00:00.000+00:00

Yay, today is the last day of the showcases for the SugarPea Designs new release for March! Today the team have created some gorgeous projects using the Sweet Sentiments - Home stamp set and SugarCuts Home Sweet Home die. Here's a card I made using them..

Grrrr, I couldn't get a good photograph of this one! Still, I think it looks really good in real life! I kept it pretty simple as that gorgeous die and the lovely font of the sentiment didn't need much else. I did add though the extremely pretty SugarCuts Heart Border die from the last release- love this!

Do you love these newbies?! Do you want to win this stamp set AND die?! Sure you do! Just leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN them from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our March Product Release will be announced on Sunday, March 15th. Our entire March Release will be available in the SugarPea Designs Store at 6:00 PM EST TODAY!! Please click here to shop – and if you are lucky enough to win a set you’ve already purchased, you may choose another stamp set of the same value!

InLinkz.com

I hope you enjoyed seeing the team's gorgeous creations using the new release - I certainly enjoyed creating with it!

I hope you have a fantastic weekend lined up - mine will be filled with decorating and sorting out our move to New Zealand - so much to do in so little time! See you again soon!

Day 4 of sneak peeks of the SugarPea Designs March release!

2015-03-12T10:00:00.000+00:00

Not long now until the SugarPea Designs new release for March will be available in the store! Today we are showing the very sweet stamp set called Going Places and SugarCuts America The Beautiful die. This is my card using them...

Such a sweet little girl! And I love going to America - I really need to organise more trips there! I also used a heart from the SugarCuts Heart Journal die and I stamped the sentiment on a die cut from the SugarCuts Gift Tag set.

Would you like to win this set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Going Places stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our March Product Release will be announced on Sunday, March 15th.

InLinkz.com

Our entire March Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 PM EST - that's tomorrow!! See you then with more gorgeous projects!

Day 3 of sneak peeks of the SugarPea Designs March release!

2015-03-11T10:00:00.000+00:00

Okay, we are into day three of the SugarPea Designs new release for March and today we are showing the new stamp set called Hot Diggity Dog and SugarCuts Homescape die. Here's what I created with them...

Adorable little dog, huh?! And the other dogs in this set are adorable too! And I really love the SugarCuts Homescape die - so many uses for this! I stamped the sentiment on the fish tail flag die from the SugarCuts Gift Tag die set. I think this could be used for a congratulations or new home card - such a versatile stamp set!

Would you like to win this set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Hot Diggity Dog stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our March Product Release will be announced on Sunday, March 15th.

InLinkz.com

Our entire March Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 PM EST!

Okay, I am off now but I'll be back tomorrow for day four of the sweet peeks!

Day 2 of sneak peeks of the SugarPea Designs March release!

2015-03-10T10:00:00.000+00:00

It's day two of the SugarPea Designs new release for March and today we are showing two new stamp set called Picture Perfect and Hashtag Hipster. Here's what I created with the Hashtag Hipster set...

This was such a fun stamp set to use! I have plenty of friends this would suit - either for an engagement or anniversary card. And the great thing is that this set is this month's Sweet Incentive stamp set - get it for free if you spend $60 or more! I also used the Build-A-Background Basics border stamp - love those dinky sweet lickle hearts!

Would you like to win this set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Picture Perfect stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our March Product Release will be announced on Sunday, March 15th.

InLinkz.com

Our entire March Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 PM EST!

I'll be back tomorrow with day three of the sneak peeks!

Day 1 of sweet peeks of the SugarPea Designs March release!

2015-03-09T10:00:00.000+00:00

It's time for SugarPea Designs new release for March and you're gonna love it. I know that because I do! Today we are showing new SugarCuts Die set called Polaroid Journal Card and a new stamp set called Wanderlust. Here's what I created with them...

Cool sets, huh?! I knew I had to make a retro card with the goodies and I loved how it turned out.

Would you like to win this set? Well just join the hop and leave a comment on this post and on each of the talented SugarPea Designers shown below and you could WIN! We will chose one lucky person to WIN the Wanderlust stamp set from the comments left here and on the DT Blogs! All winners during our March Product Release will be announced on Sunday, March 15th.

InLinkz.com

Our entire March Product Release will be available for purchase in the SugarPea Designs Store on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 PM EST!

Okay, I gotta go now, but I'll be back tomorrow with....guess what...day two of the sweet peeks!

Doughnutty delicious!

2015-03-08T08:00:00.000+00:00

Happy weekend all! I haven't managed to do much crafting this week what with sorting out our move to New Zealand! We've been so busy getting estate agents round, doing some decorating, finding out about exporting cars, what we need to do for Visa...whew! But I did manage to make a card last night using some gorgeous SugarPea Designs goodies!

So I thought I would make a thank you card - I'm going to need plenty of these to hand out before we leave as we have had so many offers to help us with our move.

I love doughnuts! But I haven't had one for years - I get fat just looking at them! These are from the Classroom Cupids stamp set (love that font style!) and the tag is made using the Sugar Cuts Gift Tag.

Okay, I am off again to do some more work on our move! But I will see you all later as I'm going to do a blog round as I miss seeing all of your creations!

You're sweet!

2015-03-06T08:00:00.000+00:00

There's a new challenge over at the Alicia Bel blog today and the theme is Candy Treats. Perfect to get those Easter cards done for next month, but I actually went for a birthday card instead using the very cute Gretel...

Ack! She is so so adorable! I love her little pigtails! I matched her up with NitWit Collection papers called One Birdie Lane and the border and speech bubble borders are Lawn Fawn. And do you like the sentiment? Great font, I think - it's from the SugarPea Designs Classroom Cupids stamp set.

You can get more Candy Treat inspiration over at the Alicia Bel blog. Thanks for visiting and I'll see you again soon - ta ta for now!