Inspiration Time - A Mind Movie

This is not craft related but very inspiring all the same. I absolutely love youtube there are so many inspirational videos to watch. I just had to share this one. This is a Mind Movie, kind of like a vision board but made in a movie. The idea is to fill it with everything you want to accomplish. If you go to youtube there are heaps to see and watch already premade, just like this one.

Enjoy! Anna

A True Love - Limited Edition Valentines Day Card Kit

A huge burst of creative energy and voila we have a new card kit just in time for Valentines Day or any other romantic occasion. This card kit has a vintage style, inspired by Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine range of papers. Grab yourself a kit today, card uses are not limited to Valentines Day, perfect for Weddings, Engagements, Anniversaries. These cards will truly make a romantic statement.

A True Love

Limited Edition - Valentines Day Card Making Kit

Designed by Anna Pontikis

To get a closer look and purchase you will find it here.

By the way I hope you have a nice and relaxing Australia Day with family and friends!

Anna

A Valentines Card

I finally found some time to begin my Valentine Samples. Here is a stunning and easy card made with all the supplies on site. I have taken several photos so you can see all angles and details up close. Materials used to make this card are listed at the bottom of all these images.

Supplies used to make this card are:

Papers from Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine Range

E.K. Success Butterfly punch to cut the butterflies out

Marvy Scalloped Heart Punch for the Heart shape

Punch Bunch Scalloped oval punch for the oval shape on the heart

Pearl strip from Kaisercraft

Cream/White ribbon from Vandoros

Ink and Sponge Daubers to ink around the edge Tim Holtz distress ink.

All of these supplies can be found in there respective departments on site. Sometimes it is worthwhile to buy a few good tools and you will save money in the long run creating your own fun embellishements rather than purchasing premade ones that are often more expensive. Punches can be used over and over again to create lots of different styles. One premade embellishment can only be used once

Hope you have enjoyed my little creation, back with more soon. Here is the link to the store page if you wish to purchase these supplies. Any queries or questions or need help finding supplies feel free to email me at pontikis@netspace.net.au.

Happy Sunday Evening

Anna xx

A Challenging Week!!

Wow I am more than happy to say goodbye to this past week. What do you get when you have a really sick husband and kids on holidays (to be specific) kids in the last 2 weeks of their very looooong summer school holidays and a mum who is so over it all. Yes you guessed it, to be nice here a very challenging week!!. I have many words to call it but I will try and see the positive side of it all and not say anything bad on this blog.

So I had so many plans to get some gorgeous valentines samples done and the begining of a new card kit, but there has just been no time, only time for bare essentials like getting orders out and popping new stock on the website. The rest of the time has been taken up playing nurse and entertaining and chauffering kids everywhere as well as dealing with the never ending array of bickering amongst siblings that can often begin at 8am. What can they possibly have to fight about at that time?? So I have to say to be perfectly honest, bring on school. I can't wait, I am absolutely going to be counting down the next 10 sleeps to freedom and routine. I know I am not alone here as I took the kids to the pools today and happen to see several school mums and in our little chats it was interesting to know that we are all feeling the same way. That's the importance of communicating with other mums so you don't get the mother guilts thinking that you are the worst mum because you have had enough of your kids, we don't have to try and be perfect and say the school holidays are wonderful, when in fact towards the end of it we are all over it and just want the kids back at school. It is okay to be human and honest and not feel like you have let the team down. So if you are feeling the same way, just take a big deeeeeep breath and know that its okay to feel this way and that this too shall pass and soon enough they will all be back at school.

So now that I have had my little vent and to explain my lack of posts, I am hoping for a brighter week ahead. Husband is finally recovering and hopefully the kids will be happy to just be in their final week of school holidays and not need to be taken out every day.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Anna

Fancy Pants Vintage Valentine Collection Now in Store

Happy Monday to all on this third week of January. The holidays do seem to be flying by and there is not much working going on around here apart from listing items and getting orders out. I am determined however, that when I am finished this post I want to sit down and have a play with the new collection featured above.

I recieved a large parcel of supplies this morning mainly a top of punches and the new range from Fancy Pants - Vintage Valentine just so sweet and romantic. You still have plenty of time to make some gorgeous cards and mini albums or even a nice wall hanging. Above is a sneak of some of the papers, you can see the whole lot over here on site.

Just a reminder that all orders placed this month go into a draw to win a $25 gift voucher. You need to spend a minimum of $25 to get one entry into the draw, every $25 thereafter is another entry and so on. Draw ends on the 31st January.

That's all for now and don't forget to become a fan on my facebook page, details in post below.

Anna xx

Koko Vanilla Designs Fan Page on Facebook

Hey everyone,

I have finally made a fan page on Facebook. Come along and join up and become a fan of Koko Vanilla Designs. Click here to take you straight there. Invite all your friends to join up also.

Anna

Love Notes....

Can you guess what my post is about........ you got it. It's looming, yes you know what I'm talking about Valentines' Day. Now don't cringe I know this is a controversial day for some and well around here it sort of goes unnoticed, my hubbie doesn't really buy into to all that, and I'm okay with it. However it doesn't mean that I don't love all the cuteness and romance surrounding the day. It can even be a day of appreciation, to anyone your kids, hubbie, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, partner, mother, sister, friend, anyone who you are close to. It's a great day to show gratitude to those you care about. What better way than with a personalised hand made card, or mini album.

Love Notes

Free Mini Kit with every $50 purchase before postage

In store there are some gorgeous products already available and more due to arrive in the next week. However to start you off, a new free mini kit is now available, pictured above free with any $50 purchase.

Also available are these gorgeous papers from Bo Bunny. Perfect for making a little mini valentinealbum.

Bo Bunny Persuasion Collection

How gorgeous are these papers. The first one is ready to be cut up and all the sections can be used as prompts. The only thing about this paper is that both side are just so good, so I advise you purchase two of them.

Well I think I am officially melting now as it is soooooooo HOT in Melb at the moment and I have no aircon in my craft/computer room. So I am signing off for now to sit where the air con is. Keep cool!!!

Anna

Snippets of my week

How I love the beach. If I could have my ideal world I would have the beach at the end of my street but still live here. I know its a big ask. I just love the best of both worlds. I couldn't live that far out from the city on a permaneant basis but I just love the bay.

We spent our week up in Rosebud, and we were on the beach each day whether it was for a jog, walk or swim or just sitting and enjoying being there.

From our funny glasses that were won at Top Fun (amuzement place), it never ceases to amaze me how for the privlege of spending approx $60 divided by 3 kids on a whole lot of little one minute games only to accumulate lots of tokens to then choose prizes which totaled all of $10 worth that we could have purchased at the $2 shop for $10 in the first place without spending the other $50 to play the games to get the tokens. In fact we could have gone out to dinner with the other $50. But its like gambling really for kiddies. Ohhhh please please please can we just have a few more goes, this time I know I am going to win the jackpot! Ah I don't think so lets go.... But the glasses make Michael look like louey the fly, don't you think... priceless....

to this special little visitor who graced us with his presence at the Rye Pier. Wandered in and then had a nice long afternoon nap up on the rocks.

How Cute!!!

to a couple of hours out on the boat. Not really my cup of tea I only lasted about 40min, then hubbie took me and my younger two back and just him and Danielle stayed out for a couple of hours. Lets just say I prefer land.

in case you were wondering its not our boat, we just hired the boat for a couple of hours.

Of course some sandcastle building, of which I forgot to take photos of the finished products. Even I got on my hands and knees and helped to dig a huge hole with Michael and Danielle. Not very lady like I guess and I was the only mum playing with my kids and digging. But hey how can you go to the beach and not play with the sand. Oh and that's right I am not in any photos becuase I am always usually the one behind the camera.

Who can forget to mention this gorgeous stuff the sea, I have my own little human fish in the family, it didn't matter how cold or how windy, Miss Mel is always up for a swim, a girl after my own heart, as they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

So that's a tiny recap of our little break. Back home now and still a few more weeks to go until school starts.

But on a business note I am back and raring to go this year. Lots of great ideas swirling and new products are on their way. More about that in my next post.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Anna

MY WORD FOR TWENTY TEN - HEALING

Well it's been a long time coming and much deliberating. Lots of reading and pondering and I have finally settled on a word for 2010

Healing

Body, Mind, Soul, Relationships, Self

This word is open ended and covers all facets of the things I really want to focus on this year. If you are still struggling with a word take a look here for some inspiration. You just have to love Ali Edwards commitment to her one little word. She has put together all the comments of peoples words some great ones in there. Really I could have had a few but I will stick with this one because I know this is the main area I need to work on. Lots of areas that I feel I would love to heal as I have listed a few areas above. Not just physical healing but other areas. I feel as life hasn't gotten more hectic through the years and I am not my calm, serene self as I once was and I really would like to focus on bringing that back. Once that is in balance everything else flows.

Here's to a year of healing!

Back with more tomorrow

Anna

My Word

Still Pondering my word.

I am really stuck this year. Some I am thinking about are simplify, clarity, peace, trust.

Spending time at the beach watching the waves roll in and out, taking long walks around the bay and thinking and just allowing the thoughts to come and go. Feeling the soft sand in my toes, listening to birds tweeting and kids laughing, giggling and happily playing. Spending time with family and finally taking a step back from all the pressures of daily life. Letting go of that responsibility I carry all year long, or well trying to anyway. Bliss, is that what they call it! Maybe that should be my word.

I hope you are all experiencing this on some level.

Enjoy
Anna

Happy 2010!!!

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes." -Andrew Carnegie

Happy New Year to you all!!

We finished the year on a high with a party at our house of 19 people, of which there were 12 kids the rest were adults. What started out as "come over for some drinks and nibbles and we'll just see in the new year together," ended up being a full on party with music and kids running around and lots of noise. It was fun and and the kids just loved it. I hope your NYE was lovely also whether you went out or stayed in. I personally don't mind doing either whether its home just the 5 of us or getting together with family and friends it's all fine either way with me. I guess the kids just love the whole celebration thing.

Now onto the One little word. If you refer to my previous post about choosing a word, I still haven't chosen it but I have been thinking. I actually got to have 1 whole day and 2 half days on my own without hubby and kids last week as my husband took the kids camping it was a dad and kids thing with lots of other dads and kids. They had so much fun and well I got to spend time on my own, which I do during the day anyway but when its a whole day and you eat on your own and sleep on your own its a little different. I actually have to say I enjoyed the peace and quiet and just kept busy, cleaning, shopping, updating the website, organising and just relaxing. So really I should have chosen a word but the thing is, I know what I want to achieve this year but its finding the word to encompass it all. Maybe its time to get the Thesauras out!! I know that's a bit extreme. Maybe I will head over to Ally's blog because I know lots of blog readers over the last 3 years that she has done one little word, post their words in the comments so I might get some inspiration that way.

I hope you have a brilliant first day of the year. Remember to leave all that has happened behind you and focus on the now, bring your energy into the present. Its a new year and time for a fresh start, create new beliefs and patterns, especially if the ones you had before did not serve you. Do whatever it takes, to live your best life. There is no reason why you cannot have joy, happiness and fulfillment in this moment, its only a thought away.

Make 2010 your best year yet, affirm it and live it!!

Anna xx