A Special Gift

Every year I struggle with getting something for my parents for Christmas. The same old story really.. nothing they need and they get a little upset about us buying them something. They prefer to leave Christmas for the kids.

I had a chance to play around with some of my Helmar goodies again and created up a storm.

Here's a close up of some of the embellishments.

Must say I am very happy with the end result and I know that my parents will love this little homemade gift better than a bought gift.

Best of all it was made with a little help from my friends...

All my Helmar goodies!

If you want to see the whole canvas , head over to the Helmar Design Team Blog and check it out.

Hope that your having an amazing Christmas. Best wishes to everyone and hope that you all have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Happy Holidays!

M xx

Just Because...

Just a quick share before I start winding things up here for Christmas and our big trip to Tasmania.

Bit hard to believe that firstly Christmas is upon us and that my ticker on the side here keeps telling me our trip is almost here.

I have been madly packing, baking and organising things for while we are away. But in between I have been reflecting on the past year and the year to come.

There has been many changes happening in our family this year. And I know that next year will bring many more changes. I have managed to stay on top of things MOST of the times I am pleased to say.. no matter what or who has brought me down. I shared some amazing times with fellow scrapbooker, friends and family that I wouldn't trade for the world.

This is what has happened this year with the kids so far..

Jhane has bloomed into a beautiful teenager. Despite the way she drives up up the wall at time, like any teenager, she has achieved so much. With excelling in Japanese at school, making it into the Premier Readers Challenge Hall of Fame, Working towards her Scout Medallion, Winning in the drawing and Scouts photography sections at the Royal Adelaide Show,to making it into the High School volleyball team for next year, to name changes, standing up for what she believes in and working on making so many new friends. She has also made me so proud at her graduation that I came close to tears many times. No matter what she has gone through in her life she has always held her head high and battled on. I am very proud to say that she is my daughter.


Nate is always the show pony. He continues to make us laugh and keep us thinking with his wild and wonderful stories at the dinner table (we often wonder if they will ever end!). He has done so well at school this year. He managed to improve so well with his reading that he is now reading very well on his own.. but not just reading it but understanding what he is reading. Che also managed to get a bronze medal for his Premier Readers Challenge. What I love most about Nate is regardless of whether he is playing Brats dolls with the girls, building Lego well beyond his 7 years, wearing make up happily which the girls plastered all over him, or building 4wd tracks in the sand pit, he is always just being himself.


Kiah will always been the quieter on I think. She is more reserved than the others. She has had quite a few changes this year. With making some amazing friends at playgroup (MWAHxx), grown more confident around other children, started at Occasional Care where she will be attending Preschool next year, started Calisthenics, and gotten glasses. I am glad that we finally have gotten her eye problem sorted.. though follow up in February will see if they are fixing the problem. It has been a learning curve for us realizing what she really hadn't been able to see. She has been rediscovering everything and now seems so much happier since she got them. She has mastered the art of riding her two wheeler bike with trainer like a dream, and doesn't blink and eyelid walking the two kms to school with the older kids. She talks away so much now and really can be such a gentle soul. It is hard to believe that she starts preschool next year. Time seems to have flown that's for sure.


Tarryn or Miss Trouble, Bower Bird, Taddazz, Moppy, or just TROUBLE !!! as she is known by. She is a little like Nate. Very out there. A bit bossy and generally very cheeky. She is such a tiny little thing.. almost 2 and still in size 0 clothes.. weighs just 10 kilos and eats like a horse. She has almost all her teeth.. currently cutting her four eye teeth at once that have been sitting there so soooo long. She talks like anything and I don't mean babble. She is very good with her pronunciation. she is forever hiding the car keys on us, walking around with her dolly and any bag she can use as a handbag, wearing anyone elses shoes but her own, and bullying everyone as she walks around with real attitude.

With changes happening in the new year such as me starting studying, Kiah staring Preschool, Nate starting primary by himself for the first time without Jhane, and Jhane starting high school. We are all in for a few changes in this house hold as we adjust.

It will be a very exciting new year that's for sure. I know that it will take a bit to work out the new routine but I am confident we will get there.

I want to also take a minute to reflect on my friends and family. This year has taught me a few harsh challenges. I have learnt who I can rely on, who I no longer want in my life, and who has been there for us no matter how hard things got. I have made many new friends that have certainly made my life much brighter. I have also learnt that no matter how bleak things can seem at times that there is always someone worse off than yourself. But most of all that people will not get me down. I am better than that and stronger than most of you believe. No matter what you do to me I will always get back up and keep going.

I especially want to thank my Mum for everything that she has done for us this year. From the support she has given us when things got tough, to the home cook meals she brings us ever week, the little holidays the kids have with them so I can get a break, to the love and care she gives my Dad no matter how hard it get looking after him. I know that she has a very challenging role now looking after my Dad for the past few years and that things are only getting worse. I know that now matter how bad things get and how hard it is for her that I can always depend on her. I am glad that she is finally getting some respite help with dad to take the pressure off herself.

Okay so if you have made it to the end of this extremely long post.. well done...

I will leave you with a little picture of Snoopy at Christmas. It reminds me of my Dad and all the good times that we have had together. He has been my inspiration this year. He has been through so much over the past few years and no matter what still makes me laugh when things get bad. He is forever thinking about others and how his conditions affect them rather than wallowing. He is the one that has taught me to be strong and believe in yourself. Thank you.

Here's hoping that my 2011 is just as exciting and challenging as this year or I may get bored.. you know me.. never idle...lol...

Cheers M x

Season's Greetings

Just wanted to wish all my blog followers and fellow scrapbookers a very Merry Christmas.

Hoping that the festive seasons finds you all well. Sending you all many happy wishes for Christmas and the New Year.

Don't forget the details for the crops next year..

If you wish to book in please let me know by email.
Remember also that cancellations MUST be made two weeks in advance
or you will be charged for the kit regardless of whether you are able to attend or not.

All kits come with full instructions and all that is needed to complete what we are making on the day. (except adhesives and ink if doing it at home).
Each kits contains either 1 Off The Page item or 3 Layouts and four cards.

Places are limited and book out fast, so you need to book early to avoid disappointment.

The details are:

Dates: February 26th
April 9th
June 25th
August 27th
September 24th
November 5th

Venue: Sheidow Park
Time : 10:30 - 4pm

Cake, Biscuits, Tea, and Coffee provided.

Please bring a small plate of food to share for lunch (can heat food if needed).

Reminders and emails detailing tool lists for the day will be emailed out one week prior to each crop.

Wallace Paper Art Designs
0414 271 083

Looking forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Cheers and good wishes, M xxx

A Fynmark Christmas with a little help from Fiskars

I finally recovered from a busy weekend craft at Spotlight Noarlunga here in Adelaide this Saturday just gone.

Remember the sneak peek I gave you earlier this week..This one below..


Here's the 6 x 6 layout we made at the Fynmark demo...


Wow.. what a day it was. I had people waiting for me when I arrived so it was a super quick set up and then we got straight into it.







The full 12 x 12 layout I did using the 6x6 layout I had on display at the demo.

And a closeup..


Every time the table clear from one lot of people the next group sat down. I didn't get a change to check my clock until one minute to three we were that busy.




And the Bella Candy cane paper range was a HUGE hit. I sold the whole lot of paper we had on display at the table in the first hour and a half. The rest of the embellishments and chipboard walked away at some amazing prices too.

Must say I am a little upset I wasn't quicker as I had the other Bella Christmas range on display too... but before I could pop some away for myself for later they were all snuffled up... **insert sad face here"...lol.. such great value for money and quality.

Thanks again to the great staff at Spotlight for all the wonderful work that you did on the day to promote my workshop. It was a pleasure to work with you all.

Thanks also to all those that popped in to have a play with the Bella paper range and Fiskars tools.

Seasons Greetings to all, Michelle x

Couple of Quick Cards

With Christmas almost here time gets very busy for everyone.

Looking for a few quick ideas of how to make up a couple of quick cards using Helmar goodies?

Well here's a sneak peek of what I made.


To see the two cards head over to the Helmar Design Team blog today.

Cheers M x

Spreading the Fynmark love around at Spotlight

Want to see how you can turn a 6x6 Layout into a 12x12 Layout ??

Looking for some new ideas to showcase this year Christmas photos ??

Well I can give you a sneak peek of what I have made...

But just a sneak peek..


If you want to see more then head down to Spotlight at Noarlunga THIS Saturday from 12 till 3pm.

I will be down there with my Fiskars Tools for Fynmark with the Bella Christmas Range "Candy Cane". Such a fun festive product to play with this season.

Why not pop in and say "Hello".

Seasons Greetings, M :)

A weekend filled with Fiskars!

Boy was Saturday a hot one here in Adelaide. It was the perfect weather however, to hibernate inside and hide from the heat in my opinion.

I was luck enough to be able to keep cool at Spotlight Noarlunga for the afternoon showcasing some of Fiskars tools. As usual everyone was excited to be able to create up a storm. The little note cards were a treat.





Thanks also to this special lady who came all the way from Aldinga Beach by bus to visit me for the demo. It was a pleasure to see her smiling face and have a chat about the Fiskars tools she loves.




Looking forward to heading back there this weekend coming for more crafting fun with Fiskars and Fynmark.

TFL, M x

Christmas Comes Early Here...

Welcome to the



Hope that you enjoyed the Christmas inspiration from Guest Designer, Marion Smith's Blog that you just hopped over her from.

Have you stopped stopped by lately ??

Make sure you "like" the for your chance to win some Helmar goodies.

Now it is time to start getting a head start with the Christmas gift goodies here.

Here's what I would like to share with you.

Every year my two eldest children like to give each student in their class a small gift. We started the tradition a few years ago and it has been a huge hit.

I like the children to make part of the gift to make it a little more personal.
This year we have decided to once again make gingerbread and shortbread for the whole class on a platter. Then to give individual goodie boxes to their special friends only. This meant we only had to make up 16 goodie boxes.

(Time was escaping us with graduation happenings and we really didn't feel up to creating over 60 individual gifts this year!)

For this years goodie bags, I have found some really cute little take away boxes for us to decorate.


This year gifts however it was much easier with the help of Helmar products.

Firstly because the boxes had a glossy surface we mixed a littleHelmar Acid Free Glue along with our acrylic paint to help it adhere to the surface. We then gave the boxes a crackle paint effect using Helmar 2 step Crackle Medium. This does wonder for rough painting!

(Especially with a 13 year old and 7 year old helping)

Next I got them to seal the boxes. We mixed a little water to our Helmar Acid Free Glue along and a little iridescent glitter together to make up our own sparkly sealer.

Using the Helmar Glue Spreader made the job a lot quicker for the kids too.It also meant the glue was distributed evenly and it wasn't as messier a job!

And what box is complete without a little "blinged" up stamped acetate tree using some Helmar Gemstone Glue. Because the Helmar Gemstone Glue dries clear it meant that the "little mishaps" (thanks to an little unsteady hand of a 7 yr old) we had while adhering them, weren't able to be seen.



That's it...

Something simple created by the kids with a little help from Helmar.

All filled up with lots of chocolate goodies and they are all ready to go ahead of time.

Thanks for hopping by and seeing some of my favorite Helmar products. I hope you like the little boxes that we shared just as much as we enjoyed making them

Make sure to visit your next hop stop for more quick holiday ideas.

Hop on over to, Nicole Pomeroy's blog my fellow Helmar Design Team Member, blog and check out what she has created for you.

Make sure to leave a comment here too for a chance to win some Helmar goodies !

I'm off to create some more holiday fun!

Happy Holiday Scrapping, Michelle xx

Helmar Christmas Hopping...

... don't forget to check in and see what we are all up to.

TFL, M x

Upcoming Fiskars Instore Demos

Not long until the next lot of Fiskars and Fynmark Craft Clinics in Spotlight Stores around Australia.....

this weekend that is...that's

THIS

Saturday December 4th.

Here's what we will be creating at Noarlunga, South Australia.


Here is the list of stores by State and the Fiskars Craft Demonstrators involved:

Western Australia
- Spotlight Rockingham - Kim Geling
- Spotlight Innaloo - Amanda Baker ***Fynmark***
South Australia
- Spotlight Noarlunga - Michelle Wallace (thats Me!)

New South Wales
- Spotlight Newcastle - Lorraine Lee Tynerman
- Spotlight Lismore - Tanyah Payne

Queensland
- Spotlight Ashmore - Lu Benson ***Fynmark***
Victoria
- Spotlight Watergardens - Dawn Stan
- Spotlight South Morang - Leanne Hartshorne
- Spotlight Bairnsdale - Lyn Dwyer ***Fynmark***

All Craft Clinics start at 12 and finish at 3pm..............so why not pop on in and have a play if you live near one of these stores.....

Look forward to seeing everyone there.

Cheers Mx

Crops dates for 2011

Hello Fellow Scrapbookers and Cardmarkers

Okay.. Bookings are NOW OPEN for our 2011 Crops.

Lots of fun filled scrapping days are planned..
with lots of exciting tools to play with
and projects to make.

I am providing you with the dates in advance again due to requests and to help with bookings.

If you wish to book in please let me know by email at mlwallace@internode.on.net

All kits come with full instructions and all that is needed to complete what we are making on the day. (except adhesives and ink if doing it at home).
Each kits contains either 1 Off The Page item or 3 Layouts and four cards.

Places are limited and book out fast, so you need to book early to avoid disappointment.

The details are:

Dates: February 26th
April 9th
June 25th
August 27th
September 24th
November 5th

Venue: Sheidow Park
Time : 10:30 - 4pm

Cake, Biscuits, Tea, and Coffee provided.

Please bring a small plate of food to share for lunch (can heat food if needed).

Reminders and emails detailing tool lists for the day will be emailed out one week prior to each crop.

Looking forward to seeing you there !

Michelle Wallace

Wallace Paper Art Designs
0414 271 083

Some Birthday Creating

Well for the past few weeks my mojo has been running hot.. I have been busy here in my craft room creating up a storm with all my Helmar goodies. The hardest part has been working out which products to play with.

Here's what I created this time.



I created a card this time from some scraps of a layout I will show you in a few weeks. I just couldn't bear to throw away the scrap.

My sisters birthday is coming up in a few weeks so it was a perfect opportunity to get organise and have it ready to pop into the mail for her.

This time I played around with some Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots, and some Zapdots to create some dimension on my flowers. I even added a little Helmar Acid Free Glue.

A little tip for you too... I mixed some Helmar Acid Free Glue to a little acrylic paint to make a stamping medium for my clear stamps... it helped the paint adhere to the glossy card base along with making the paint work better on stamps rather than just beading.

Back to the grind stone and get the card in the mail.

Don't Forget to check out the Helmar Design Team blog for some other amazing work by the Design Team.

Happy Creating with Helmar.

Cheers Michelle :)

New Glasses...

Just for those of you that have been asking... here is Miss Kiah with her new glasses...


She looks kinda cute and is having such a fun time rediscovering everything now that she can see.

Very little grizzles about wearing the new glasses too. Such a little trooper.

Big, Big thank you to the lab and the amazing staff at Health Partners Optical for the amazing job they did with her glasses. So glad that she doesn't look like she has Coke bottle glasses. They did such a great job getting the lens as fine as they could.

TFL, M x

Helmar Holiday Hop !!!!

The holiday season is upon us and we are all working to get those gifts, cards and home decor items ready. We had so much fun with the last Halloween Hop, that we are doing it again!!!

On December 5th, the new Helmar Design team will be having a HUGE Holiday Helmar Hop. Filled with classes from our educators, projects from both our Aussie team and our USA team, as well as 3 amazing preferred vendors and 2 exceptionally talented guest blog hoppers.We know it says surprise, but we just can't keep these wonderful surprises to ourselves, so read on. It's going to be bigger than Santa's toy bag!!!

We are going to get those sleigh bell ringing, those snowflakes flying and that Holiday Mojo revving. So mark your calendars and play along with us on the 5th of December. We will be having a bunch of giveaways on our facebook fan page, so make sure you hop on over and "Like" Helmar.

We'll also be featuring a few of our educators with classes during the day, so keep your eyes open for times and places. Tips and Tricks on how to use your Helmar products that you'll just have to see

Unity Stamp Co, Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker and Elle's Studio will all be playing along with us and giving away prizes along with Free Class giveaways from Big Pictures Classes! Did we mention the fabulous Guest Designers; Marion Smith AND Tammy Tutterow! These fabulous companies and artists are our Santa wish come true.

So grab the blinkie here and post it proudly on your blogs, facebook pages, anywhere you can. Spread some Holiday Helmar Cheer and let everyone you know, know about the event. You won't want to miss it!!!(psssst, some lucky Helmar fans that have this blinkie on their blogs, might just win some Holiday Helmar goodies...just sayin')

First layout for Helmar

Okay.. so here is my first layout made as part of the Helmar Design Team.



Hope that you like it Marigold.. thanks again for letting me use photos of your kidlets.. MWAH xxx

Don't forget to check into the Helmar Blog to see the latest work from the Design Team.

TFL, M x

Are you a Helmar Fan?

Check this out !!!!

Well it is time to stand up and let everyone know by posting a fun blinkie on your blog/website




html code found here, or copy and save the image above

or this non flash image






Why not pop over to the Helmar Facebook group to check out what we are up to with some amazing products.

Cheers M x

Check it out!

My first post on the Helmar blog is up...


Had heaps of fun creating with lots of yummy Helmar goodies...

So many ideas going around in my head for all the rest of the Helmar things that came it my box.


Why not head over to the Helmar blog to check it out.

Still can't believe this..

Have been editing photos of Jhane for her memory album for school. Been fun looking back from when she arrived in the world till now. All the things she has achieved, how much she makes us smile, and how utterly insane she can drive us some times!
Ah the joys of now having a teenager... Yes! that is still hard to believe!
That she has transformed from this:

to this:

Time flies that for sure.

TFL, M x

Party Party Party....

The second to last weekend certainly was full on with birthdays here with two of my children having birthdays a few days apart.

this year however we decided to go with a small get together (my parents, my in laws, and us) for Nate's birthday. We also celebrated Jhane's birthday with them also on the same day as her party was for her friends.

So my little man in my life, Nate, turned 7!

Kind of hard to believe that he is already 7 !!! where did it all go???


And with true birthday tradition the day wouldn't be complete without Nate hurting himself in some shape or form. I swear this boy is a klutz or something !!! It seems that for the past four years every birthday Nate gets hurt.. most times it is just before we are about to do the cake and have to take photos. Luckily this time is wasn't too bad and was after photos. We iced it up straight away.. but we were worried at first that he had opened his chin up again where he had to have stitches a few months ago. Luckily not it was just a bad egg and graze.

And guess what he got from us for his birthday ....

MORE LEGO !!!! This boy has so much of it we have had to buy a new shelving system to house it all...lol... I had to help him put this baby together too... The camper and 4WD go inside it and the front and back of the ferry open up in a really cool way. Plus he got more Lego and Lego from my parents, and enough money to buy everything he needed to build a huge house on a 18 x 18 size mat from Nana and Grandad and Nana and Pops.

Happy Birthday to my little man.. love you to bits my little show pony! Keep Smiling!

M x