We're all going on a Summer Holiday

Yay the day has arrived!!! I am so totally and utterly exhausted. The past few days I have been working non stop. Yesterday I got up at 6am and worked through until 4.30 in the morning the next day, with a few hours break here and there. LOTS of coffees too. Then up again today at 7am, no rest for the wicked! It's now 10am and I only have one job left to do! YAY!!! Then time to pack (ummm yes, haven't packed anything yet) and we're off on a holiday (or as my US friends call it, a vacation!).

So just a few things to share today. Firstly thank you to everyone again for the lovely comments about the prom. People have also emailed me about it, customers in particular who are not bloggers, which is a real spin-out! Glad everyone had fun even if I did make a nut of myself! Sorry to everyone for being a bad blogger, not visiting like I usually do, but like I said I've been flat out (as hubby would say "Like a lizard drinking" - Holly hadn't heard that one before when I said it the other day, so I'm guessing it's an Aussie phrase!)

So apparently this is the view we will have from our room on the 18th floor right on the beach, how great is that!!!

And this is Sea World where we intend to spend quite a few days, I know I loved it the couple of times I went and this time Leroy will have a ball I am sure! Greg has never been so it's something new for him too!!!

Maybe this time tomorrow I'll be riding on this thing...????

And this weekend Kathy and her family are coming along to stay for the weekend at the same place we are at. Oh and on Sunday morning we're having breakfast with Mel! Should be so much fun!!!

SOME UPDATES!

The cupcakes have moved very fast!!! I did make heaps and heaps but I have sold heaps from the pics on my blog. The ones above I made three sets of but they have all gone. Look out for more of them in the new year.

My latest colour, which I just adore, and has proven to be really popular already, is this aqua blue, has sold out quickly too. Afraid there aren't any blue left in the larger or the smaller sizes. I am taking orders for new year delivery on these so email me if you want to put your order in and I'll get back to you when I return with details.

Before I go I have actually updated the shop!!! Lots of cupcakes and decorations etc. Take a peek. You can still shop with me but I can't ship your goodies until December 8th. Still leaves time to get to you before Christmas even if you are not in Australia. Airmail generally only takes a week to get to most places.

I created a new set of Christmas cards for 2007, with pink candy canes! I almost was going to run out of time, and I would have liked to have re-done my range of last year's Christmas paintings of a snowman, balls, trees and stocking but time just didn't allow for it.... will have to start in April next year for 2008!!!

As well as the orders I've had and the icky paperwork for the tax office, I've done some swap creating. I wish I had more time to spend on them so I hope Kari likes hers and Karla too. (I forgot to photograph Karla's, oops!).

So here's some teaser pics of the tree topper I made for Kari. Hope it's hard to work out the photos!

Ok back to it for me! One last thing to make then holiday mode..... I can almost feel it, if I weren't so tired!!!

Farewell, ciao, adieu - I'll be computerless and also banning myself from entering any cyber cafes, for a change! I really need this break though it has come at such a busy time! I'm going to be sure to enjoy it and get into holiday mode shortly, after I finish stressing about packing!!!

See you all when I get back

Thanks, Happiness and WInners

To my friends in the US, Happy Thanksgiving today! I am thankful for having a wonderful family, dear friends and for the very fortunate life I lead. Thanks to YOU for reading my blog and giving me smiles!

Now, phew, I don't think I could ever have anticipated what fun the Virtual Vintage Prom would be!!! Thank you to everyone who participated, everyone who commented and stopped by for a giggle and a dance! I've drawn and chosen some winners.... so here goes..... drum roll please....

For the random winner from all the participants and people who advertised the prom beforehand (who also got an extra entry into the draw), the winner of a surprise gift is....

I'll email you Constance for your postal details and I'll find out some of your likes/dislikes and send you something I have made! (Constance has a beautiful blog and is super talented, you can visit her here)

Now there's a matter of selecting a PROM QUEEN....

Well I can tell you this was extremely difficult. I had to narrow it down to three blogs that I remembered distinctly where the ladies went to a huge effort. Then to try to choose between them.... was near impossible. So I came up with this.

Two ladies whose blogs made my chin drop with the amount of effort they went to will get a prize from me! These two ladies, we'll call them Prom Princesses, are.... drum roll please....

AND

Rachael took us through many blog posts over two days, from her pampering pre-prom all the way through to the hangover the next day! You can find her blog at The Rose Room.

Bethany involved her family in the prom too! She got all dressed up, hair and make-up, her boy was the director, she danced with her hubby and she even prepared a punch table! No kidding! Her blog is at Love From My Studio.

Rachael and Bethany I will send you a little surprise, email me your postal addresses when you can!

And now that leaves one more.... the Prom Queen!!!

Can you guess who it is? Lots of people emailed me about this gorgeous Georgia Belle of the Ball....

Jenn looked absolutely ravishing in her blue vintage gown, she even did the hand jive, wore lovely gloves and feathered flower wrist corsage.... You know, she even put streamers on her bathroom doorway! Jenn, the crown/comb is yours! You can see the Prom Queen's blog post here.

Thanks everyone, this was such a blast!

Oh now people have been emailing me about my new faux cupcake designs I showed in a post recently. Some of them have sold out already so here are some pics of ones that will be available on my website soon. If you want them email me for info at enquiries@natashaburns.com as I'm happy to sell them beforehand of course!! Some of these I made a couple of sets but mostly it is one set of each colour. There are some more too not shown here...

Now that my stocking has arrived at its swap destination with Shelly, I can share pics of it. I decided that one fabric option wasn't enough so I made it reversible. The pink side shown here is the neat side and the green side has a raggy ruffled edge.

The goodies inside the stocking... most of them I hand made, except a few little gifts for Shelly like candy canes and nice soap
Made this rosette out of vintage flocked tulle, I quite like these!!!
Some glittered wooden pieces
Oh and another thing to be happy about today.... it's our 9 year Wedding Anniversary! Happy Anniversary Greg!!! We were married quite young compared to most people and it was by choice, lol, not a shotgun wedding! We had a beautiful day and we've had 9 wonderful years of marriage now (and 12 years together), and have a beautiful boy and enjoy the lives we lead. My hubby is caring and loving and does everything humanly possible (and then some) to make our lives easier. And what a day for me to be grateful, our Anniversary falling on Thanksgiving...What more could you ask for?

Thanks for sticking around to read!

Next week we're off on a family holiday/vacation. Probably won't blog much between now and when I go away as I have a ton of work to get through first. And need to organise a dog sitter/house sitter etc as well as tax paperwork (yuk!). So forgive me if I am a less frequent visitor than usual!!!

Oh and thanks Katrina for the instructions on the signature! I've used it a little in this post already! I swear it looks just like my handwriting!!!

Bye for now,

Welcome to Natasha's Virtual Vintage Prom 2007

WELCOME!!!

Turn up your speakers, listen and dance to the great fun songs on the playlist of songs that I asked Jacqui (who just had her last exam today! congrats Jacqui!) to put together for me (thanks Miss Jacqui!), and enjoy the prom!!! I'll take you through getting ready to the end of the prom and a prize....

(photo courtesy of Mary Sheer on flickr)

Well we have to put on make-up don't we! Complete with that torturous device, the eyelash curler. I turned the house upside down looking for my false eyelashes but couldn't find them! Have to hurry up because my date is coming to pick me up and I have to get ready!!!

Ah now that is better, eyes are done....

Think I'll wear this watch, it's got bling so it doubles as jewellery too.

Hmmmm not sure about this necklace.... it's pretty but it might be a bit much with the dress. I'll decide once I get my dress on in a minute...

My favourite perfume is a MUST! I want to smell lovely!

I sooooo wish I could afford this corsage but at over AU$400 it's a bit out of my price range. My handmade one below will have to suffice!

My toenails are painted and ready! I love these strappy heels with a bit of bling!!!

Just pop on my rhinestone earrings and dress and I'm ready to go!

Oh, knock at the door! Here's my date, Tony! Isn't he dreamy!!!
(image source)

And here's my ride, it's so cool!

Oh and here's Mary arriving at the prom! Doesn't she look lovely!

(photo from Mary Sheer on flickr)

Tonight we're going to be entertained by the one and only Frankie G and the G Men!!!

(note, this is actually a photo of my Dad and his band from the late 1950s/early 60s! Taken in Victoria Street West Melbourne in front of the terrace where they lived!)

And when Frankie G and his G Men are having a break, we'll dance to the music selection on this jukebox!

(image source)

Would you like some punch?

(image source)

Or maybe some of this punch? (image source) But be careful, I saw that sly cat Johnny spiking it with some liquor.... I think he's hoping for a bit of back seat fun tonight, so girls, watch out for that guy!!!! He is in the pic below, in the white jacket...

(Photo courtesy of Mary Sheer on Flickr)

Oh even Lucy made it to the prom tonight!

(image source)

And look, there's Sandy and Danny!!! They're such a cute couple!

(image source)

Oh Grace Kelly is here too!!!! Grace, don't be a wallflower, I'm sure Tony or Danny will dance with you! Just be careful of that Johnny though!

(image source)

Well if Grace Kelly is a wallflower then I don't feel so bad being one! I'll just wait here until some nice young man asks me to dance! Tony has disappeared out the back, I think he is sneaking some cigarettes and liquor!

Oh, YOU'LL dance with me??? Thank you!!!

Weeeeeeeeeeeee this is fun!!!

Wow look at Sandy and Danny go! They are such great dancers aren't they!!! I think they're going to win the dancing contest for sure!!!

(image source)

C'mon let's twist!!! Are you twisting with me?

Maybe we can do the swim now???!!

Now let's do the monkey!!! What fun!!!

A curtsy for you! What a lovely dance partner you have been! Thank you!

Phew, all this dancing is making me thirsty!!!

Oh boy I am tired, pooped!!! My feet are sore now....

So let's get all the ladies to line up....

(photos courtesy of Mary Sheer on flickr)

And we'll present the prom queen with her crown!!!

Well that's the end of the night! Thank you for joining me, what a fun night it has been!!!! And for those of you who are participating, I am going to choose a Prom Queen at the end of the prom, in a few days, for the best dressed girl! You will receive this gorgeous tiara comb, hand made and hand beaded by me, shown in these photos below.

AND everyone who participates will be entered into the draw for a prize yet to be announced, also hand made by me. Those of you who have posted about this prom in the past week or two or have added the logo to your sidebars have also been entered into that draw a second time!!!

And to finish up, some funny pics from my school formal, back in 1993 (we don't have proms here in Australia sadly!). Gosh I even had a vintage style green dress back then! LOL! Check out the BIG and very RED hair I had!!! Boy it was very warm having hair like that....

I'll be updating this post as we go along for the next couple of days, with links to the proms going on all over the world!!! Make sure you leave me a comment to let me know you've got your blog post up and I'll add a link below. Be sure to check back here!!! Bye for now and a huge thank you!!!

(PS. Thanks Katrina for the signature instructions! This actually looks like my own writing!!!!!)

• Maria had her dream prom last week! You can check it out by clicking here.

• Kimberly Ryan chose her lovely dress, click here to see it!

• Kathy in Queensland has a beautiful outfit and accessories ready~ click here!

• Rachael in New Zealand has been getting prepared, pampered and a little punch drunk too! She has many fun posts on her preparations, keep checking back at her blog here!

• Karla in Kansas shares some of her own prom pics from a while ago! Check her out here!

• Adla in Perth has chosen her gown and shows us her lovely accessories, how was she able to choose from all those beautiful dresses?? Check her out here!

• Karla in Connecticut has selected the most divine lemon gown and shows us a pic of her at one of the three proms she attended! See her here!

• Tricia at Vintage Bliss has lots of eye candy gowns to drool over and a cute prom date too! Check out her original prom pic, find her here!

• Kerryanne in Victoria has gone all-out and had the full pampering before leaving for the prom with her gorgeous hunk of a date! Click here to find out who she took!

• Heather at Jeweled Elegance is having a beautiful prom, you must go see her divine dress & jewels, and her dapper date! Click here!

• Melissa at The Inspired Room has a real knockout dress and shoe ensemble, go check them out here!

• Diane in Arkansas has chosen some beautiful shoes, keep checking back at her blog here for more!

• Mandy in Queensland is having some pre-Prom drinks and has made a beautiful wrist corsage! She will be adding to her blog post so keep checking back here!

• Gracie in Queensland has put together a divine outfit that I would almost kill for (almost!) and shares some pics from her year 12 formal!!! Check her out here!

• Karen in Ontario, Canada has been incredibly imainitive and invented her own prom story since she never went to one! It's a fantastic read and she made a wonderful collage to go with it. Go see it for yourself here!

• Laura in California shares pics and stories from her prom in 1988. Her boyfriend broke up with her that night!!!! What a rotten thing to do! Lucky she went to three proms! AND she is having a giveaway of some of her lovely gown notecards!!! Go check her out in her pink lame here!

• A fellow Melbournian Linda has such a fun and creative prom story, a "Dear Diary" with beautiful pictures!!! You've just got to see it, find it here!

• Betty at She's Sew Pretty is having trouble deciding what to wear! Go check out her options and help her decide here!

• Brittany in North Carolina is wearing a very pretty frothy dress and has brought a really hunky date! She won't show us close-ups : ( and she said something about fat rolls - yeah right, where???????? Go check her out here ! Make sure the speakers are on, she's got a fantastic lot of songs on there!

• Constance Muller of Rochambeau is such a hilarious lady! Her prom involves Barbies and Kens, girdle and disco ball! What more could you want! Check out her fun post here!

• Denise is having a lovely time with some beautiful gowns and accessories! She even remembered to bring the gloves! Check her out here!!!

• Anastasia in Sydney shares what it's like to go to an Australian formal, and gives us her jewellery picks. Best of all, she has created a beautiful drawing just for the occasion!!! Go see her post here!

• Ginny in England has a beautiful dress and crown and a hunky date! Oh and be sure to check out her shoulder pads!!! See her here!

• Jenn & Jacqui in Melbourne Australia have finally got their internet connection back and they have left prom duties to Olive Claire and Olivia Rose. Both so beautiful, you can check out their gorgeous gowns and accessories here!

• Sherry in Toronto Canada has chosen her delightful outfit after a soak in the tub! The shoes are so cute and her bag idea is really sweet. You can go see it here!

• Lili in the Netherlands shares with us some fun stories and wow those 'needle pointed heels' look like they could do some damage! Read about it here!

• Lori at Pink Faded Roses takes us on a fairytale prom with a dreamy prom date, you're sure to be entertained!!! Go check out her fun time here!

• Kitty in Pennsylvania shares some gorgeous vintage gowns from her own collection! Oh and you must see the beautiful shoes, they're amazing! See them here!

• Beth in Kansas has a hard time getting her sweet prom dress to fit her mannequin, goodness it is so small!!! You'll find it here!

• Jeanne in Illinois shares with us her actual prom pics fom a little while back, and some fun stories! There's Greek dancing involved too! Check it out here!

• Polly in the Midwest shares her mother's beautiful vintage gowns with us and there's a sweet Gilmore Girls moment in there! Check it out here!

• Michelle in Texas has some beautiful bling and gowns to show us in all colours! You can imagine I am swooning over the 2nd green one.... check it out here!

• Donna in Oklahoma shares her hilarious prom experiences, and by the sound of it, she was the belle of the ball!!! A must-read, click here!

• Karin in San Deigo has some fun pictures of her real prom, complete with huge hair and her prom date has a MATCHING shirt!!! AND she's having a 1 year 'blogiversary' giveaway! Go see her here!

• Jessi in Nebraska has a fun and vibrant prom with Barbie! It's so cute, go see it here!

• BJ in Texas is waiting for her date Hugh to arrive! Lovely eye candy on this post, click here to visit!

• Michelle in Utah looks as sweet as pie in her real prom phtotos! She hasn't aged a single day! Go check her out here!

• Heather in Pennsylvania has dressed up her Lily in a divine creation, check out the beautiful bling and there's even a photo of her prom from 1991~ love the dress!!! See her here!

• Becca shares some beautiful photos from her prom a while ago, her date is really cute and was very nervous around her father! Go see her fun pics here!

• Heidi has a gorgeous pink dress, and a sweet new grand-daughter to show us all!! Visit her here!

• Britt in Washington has some gorgeous dresses and some of her handmade necklaces to share with us! Visit her here!

• Dara in Indiana has gone back to the 40s and dressed up in her own prom dress!!! It still fits her and she looks so glam! Check her out here!

• Marina in Argentina has a lovely outfit designed by her daughter Delores! Her other daughter Josefina has also joined in! They're all having fun! Go see here here!

• Erin in Oregon has some fun prom pics and her favourite vintage prom pic! The music there is just perfect! Go see her here!

• Ange at Scrappy Moments has put together some very vintage pics and has even made a collage! Check it out here!

• Michelle in the Midwest has some gorgeous photos and a pink lacy dress to die for!!! Go take a look here!

• Alice in New York prepares for the big prom date with her cutie and there is a surprise wedding at the end!!!! Well, not such a surprise now... Visit her here!

• Jenn in Georgia is looking incredible in her vintage gown, wow what a beauty this one is! She's even dancing for us, you must see this one! Go visit her here!

• Bethany at Love From My Studio has gone all out with her Black and White Hollywood themed prom, from getting ready, to setting up a punch table, and dancing! You won't believe this until you see it!!!! Go visit her here!!

• Lisa at A Thing For Roses shares her real prom pics, and she still has her very pretty dress! You can find Lisa here!

• Holly in Oklahoma has one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen and I want to steal it! Check it out along with her gorgeous accessories and fond memories of the late 80s! Holly is here!

• Teri AKA Princess Tomato is gorgeous as ever in her prom photos, go visit quickly because she wants to take the photos away!!! You have to love her partner's mullet! See her blog here!

• Wendy in Queensland shares some lovely photos from times gone by with her hubby. Visit Wendy here!

• Sandy has a lovely blue dress and accessories, and her date is a real cutie!!! See Sandy's blog here!

• Jenna has a gorgeous outfit put together, I just adore those shoes!! And a pic from her real prom! See Jenna's blog here!

• Laura at Whimsy Pink has some lovely glitzy pink items, very sweet! Check it out here!

• Saucy in Canada has her lovely daughter in grandma's prom dress from 1959!!! So adorable, with beautiful accessories to match! See her here!

• Cielo at The House In The Roses has brought food to the party!!! Thank you!!! She's all dressed up and ready to go and her "evil twin" is there too! Check them out here!

• Lori has more adventures in Paris on her second day with John Travolta! Go see her fun times here!