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Friday 3 January 2014

Starting off the year with a big thank you!

Hello everyone! Yes, I am back!  We had a fantastic time in Australia, travelling from Sydney to Brisbane through December.  As I had hoped, we had a BBQ of steaks and huge prawns on the beach in the warm (31 degs!) sun - it was the most stress-free Christmas ever!  We've been back for five days now but still struggling with the jet lag - wide awake at 3am and nodding off at 3pm!

If you haven't been before, you really should visit Australia.  The people are so friendly, welcoming and respectful.  The scenery is amazing and so easy to drive around with such little traffic!  Steve was also very pleased that his fear of getting bitten, eaten or poisoned by the native animals didn't come true, lol!

Anyhoo, here is my first card of 2014 and it's a thank you card for my in-laws for all of our lovely Christmas pressies.  As this week the theme was anything goes for Bellarific Friday, I used Stamping Bella Lulu's Morning Fix...

This is so perfect for my MIL - it's just like her first thing in the morning on a Sunday - a cup of tea in one hand, sitting in her morning gown and doing the weekly phone calls to the family members!

The next Bellarific Friday theme is to be inspired by this photo...



Send your creations to Em by next Thursday to get showcased next week on Bloggabella and a chance to win some Bella Bucks!

I'll be back tomorrow with my Lili of the Valley post and I'll be back to doing my usual blog rounds to visit you all too.  ttfn!

22 comments:

Craftin Suzie (Susan Wykes) said...

Glad you have had a wonderful time Mary, it certainly has flown! Beautiful card I am sure your MIL will adore it! Susan x

JanR said...

Nice to see you back, Mary! Glad you had a great time...yes, visiting Australia is definitely on my bucket list...I'm just not sure if I could survive the day long flight time!

Love the colours of your card. So bright and cheery!

Tina said...

beautiful card, happy to see you back, your trip sounds like you had an an amazing time

Rebecca Bradshaw said...

Gorgeous card! Love the image and colours.
Rebecca.

Sammy said...

So glad you had a good holiday! This is me pretending I'm not at all jealous... ;-)

Fab card too! Bet your MIL loves it! x

Lisa Minckler said...

Happy New Year Mary :D You never stopped dropping my jaw in 2013 and I'm certain I'm in for surprises this year. So happy you had a wonderful time Australia.
Hugs to you and your card is beautiful. That's so sweet it represents your MIL :)
Lisa xx

Hanneke said...

Great creation Mary! I love the image and colors. Great to hear you had a wonderful time! Hugs, Hanneke

Anonymous said...

Your trip sounds amazing!!! I'm so happy you had a stress free holiday!! Bonus points for that!!!!

Your card is so nostalgic for me, too!!!
My grandmother & mom both look like this every Saturday & Sunday making calls on the phone long before the Internet. Love this card & it brings back happy memories to me!!!
❤☺❤☺

Thanks, honey!!


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Sue said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful time! I wish you a Happy New Year too.
Your card is stunning. I love the image, amazing colouring and fabulous layout.
Sue xx

Merry said...

What a terrific card…love the colours and as always fantastic layout. So lovely to hear wonderful comments about my country like that. Glad you enjoyed your stay. Happy New Year.

Joey said...

Lovely bright card Mary, fabulous image. Joey xx

Wishcraft said...

Glad you've had a lovely holiday Mary! Love your card, fab image and colours... I've got some scraps of these papers somewhere :o) Hugs, Lisa x

Kathleen said...

Welcome back Mary, glad you had a great time, haven't done Brisbane but we did Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania.
Love the card, very rarely that I don't.
Thrilled to find out that my Daughter is coming home in a few weeks for a visit.
Happy New Year.

Kath x

Tracy said...

So glad your trip turned out wonderfully Mary. :-) The burst of colors on your card just make me smile. Hugs!

Shelby said...

Welcome back and glad you had a marvelous trip! Too cute of a card and love how you've colored her dress.

Shelby

Unknown said...

So pleased that you enjoyed your trip down here, you have to visit the west coast next time tho : ) I love all of your cards and I am looking forward to your creations in 2014.

Bajalizzy said...

Like the trim along the dress - cute card. I love having my Aunt's pavlova at Xmas when I go - my fav Aussie treat.

heidy said...

So glad you enjoyed your trip MaryJ!!
as always your card is gorgeous!!
XXX Heidy

Anonymous said...

Happy new year Mary, glad you had such a fab time! Loving your gorgeous card, fabulous papers and a great image!
Helen x

Christine L said...

Thia is gorgeous hon...love the bright colours!

So glad to have you back...we missed you!

Hugs
Christine x

Kat W said...

So good to hear that you had a lovely break and the BBQ on the beach sounds amazing and sooo chilled out!
I love the gorgeous bright colours of your card and on the dress especially - such awesome colouring :-)
Hugs, Kat x

coops said...

so stunning mary.i love the image and your bold colours are fantastic ;D

xx coops xx

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