A Little Bit of Bee

From the Heart Challenge ....

2011-08-15T08:03:00.000+01:00

The next challenge I participated in is From the Heart Challenge . Here we had to create a layout with I Love.... or I heart in the title..

I used my Studio Calico kit Boardwalk here.

Starting Point Challenge

2011-08-15T07:49:00.000+01:00

This weekend Shimelle ran an Online Scrapbooking Weekend , the challenges are all open till next weekend so go an have a look.

This is my entry for the Starting Point Challenge. I used my Studio Calico Kit Mind the Gap for this one.
Here we had to create a layout starting from the design using a large box of paper in the background, a wide vertical strip, plus a narrow stripe and a horizontal block.

Latest ....

2011-08-13T10:25:00.000+01:00

I have been starting to think that I will never scrapbook again, because I have done nothing for months now! Each month my Studio Calico Kit arrives, I get excited, open the box, and then pack it away. Sad I know , but what does a girl do when you working long days, leaving at 7 am in the morning and getting home at 8.30 pm in the evening.

Crazy ideas have even crossed my mind, like selling my stuff, because its only just accumulating dust in my garage. But I know, this makes me happy! Paper, photo's inks make me happy, I do enjoy it so much, just wish I had more time, oh and of course I wish I had my own space so I don't have to pack up all the time.

I have been on leave this week, its been WONDERFUL, just being able to breathe for a bit, not being rushed off my feet, not having to think about work, not having to commute into LONDON. Being able to lie on my bed and read a book, its been fabulous.

I scrapped a bit too....

I did this page for the Sunday Sketch over at Studio Calico

This page just depicts Aidan so well ! He is getting so big, but at 12, he is still my little boy that loves life, loves playing.

I also did the sketch over at The Scrappiest, I do love this sketch site and really need to participate more !

Here is the sketch :

This is my take on it :

Once again this is a page done of Aidan , he is so at that stage where I cannot get him to look at the lens of a camera. This one resulted in me having to bribe him, and still he did not SMILE :)

Snapshot in time..

2011-05-18T06:51:00.001+01:00

When I look at these photo's taken at my friends house 4 years ago, just a day or so before we left South Africa for the United Kingdom, I smile. This is a snapshot of a period in our lives, that I often reflect on, and think how we managed to sell up everything and move countries in less than 2 months from the time I got the job offer.

These photos where taken at my friend Valerie's where we were staying as we no longer had a home, it was all packed up, in a box , a container no bigger that 20 feet long destined for far away shores. We had no idea what awaited us, we were leaving family, friends, our animals and everything we were used to behind. People wished us well but were very sceptical and told us it would be difficult to integrate and live in the UK coming from a beautiful sunny climate, big houses and open spaces. I think towards the end I was operating on just pure adrenaline , I didn't think , I didn't want to think, all I knew was that this was an opportunity that didn't come around often and we had to make the best of it because there was no going back.

These photo's remind me of just how small the kids were, and that makes me smile too, they were so brave, they even spent a night at Johannesburg Intl airport when our plane had mechanical problems, we couldn't go home at 1 am in the morning, we hand no home, so we slept at the airport.

4 years on, here we are, the UK our home now, and photo's just memories of a time, a place in our lives.

Sketch # 118

2011-05-15T22:23:00.000+01:00

I am a bit late in posting my take on the sketch over at the Scrappiest . I tend to scrap my kids more than any subject and thought a change would be good so I did a page of my late father in law. TFL

This week my son started at the Local secondary school in the area. The 3 year wait is finally over. Can you believe it, its been 3 years that we have been on the waiting list for this school and out of the blue I got a call 3 weeks ago to say they have a place for him. Its going to be quiet an adjustment for him going back into uniform because the school he was at was very casual. I think he looks really smart :) ! He was not impressed that I stood taking photo's before he left for school.

Sketches.. Inspiration... What can I say

2011-04-30T11:04:00.001+01:00

If your Mojo is floundering there is nothing better than to kick start it by doing a sketch or two.
For some reason I woke up at the crack of dawn today, so I decided to haul all my scrapbooking stuff out and be a little creative for a change.
When I am not scrapping, which is most days lately, I blog hop, normally with a cup of coffee in the hands. So this morning , during my usual routine of trying to find some inspiration, I came across this lovely blog with a sketch and a chance to win some stash.
Here is the sketch

Here is my take on it... I used my studio calico kit Singing in the Rain, I used Stampin Up 'En Francais' stamp to stamp script on the right side of the page.I do like the way it turned out even though I found the paper a little busy.

wanna be .... scrapbooker

2011-03-27T10:25:00.000+01:00

The last couple of months, I have felt like a 'wanna be' scrapbooker, because I have been blog hopping, looking, admiring, and have pretty much done nothing.

The only time I have been scrapping is at our monthly crop, and sometimes that didn't even help, because all I did was talk and eat Gill’s scrumptious cake!

I do need to find the balance between work, which takes up most of my time because I allow it; the house work, which has been neglected; and crafting , which is my only outlet because I am able to switch off from the work bit.....

I really want to do Project Life, inspired and created by Becky Higgins. It’s a wonderful way to document your day to day life, without spending too much time on the project. I will have to improvise with my own stash though because the kit, which is awesome, costs a small fortune in postage to the UK. Maybe I will still get it because it makes sense to use it because of time it saves; no measuring, cutting, everything is already done for you.

So here is the only stuff I have done since Oct 10 till now! All products from Studio Calico's various kits . See how bad I have been, only 5 layouts in how many months ? :(

True Stories

2010-10-29T21:38:00.000+01:00

I am busy doing an Shimelle's online class called True Stories. I have been trying to keep up this week with the prompts and the goings on in the forum, given that I have been at home on leave. Next week when I am back at work, I will just do my journal/writing on the train into work and back, given I have 2 hours each way of commuting.
.
Today I managed to scrap a page, using yesterdays ideas from our prompt.
Here I tried to capture my feelings about these photo's and wrote a letter to my son.

The journalling reads :

To My Darling Son

Why is it that you don’t want to give me that gorgeous smile, when I try and take photo’s of you? You always give me this serious, I am so irritated look!

Yeah, I know you think I am crazy at times, but all I am is a mommy that wants a nice picture of the two of us together!

I know you thinking, this is only for you to scrapbook, why not? It’s not to make you feel silly, or so that I can show your girl friends one day. It’s just for me, for you, so that one day you will have something to remember me by.

Anyway, I think I achieved half a smile here, well I think that’s better than nothing right?
Love you lots

Mom

Pencil Lines 4th Birthday ....

2010-10-16T21:23:00.000+01:00

Pencil lines is celebrating their 4th birthday tomorrow.... there will be challenges and RAK posted every hour on the hour. I think I need a day of scrapping !

Pretty Girl

2010-09-17T22:37:00.001+01:00

Here is a quick LO of my darling daughter inspired by Color Combos... I love scrapping her
I seriously need to find my mojo for scrapping. I am hoping that by joining Studio Calico Kits, I will find it soon .

To keep the creative 'juices' flowing I have been doing some cards lately, I forgot how much I enjoy making cards.
I am itching to start with my Christmas cards soon.

If you love stamping....

2010-08-26T09:44:00.000+01:00

If you love inks, paper, stamps you will love this blog !!!! Have a look, she is offering some gorgeous blog candy too !!! http://theartisticstampercreativeteam.blogspot.com/2010/08/roll-up-roll-up.html

Pencil Lines Sketch ...... Number 199

2010-08-15T22:39:00.000+01:00

This is my take on this weeks Pencil Lines Sketch. ....
I just love that site, there is always great inspiration, and it so helps me find mine.

Its the first time ever, that I have used Glimmer Mists, and wow, I just love the effect...I can see I will be getting some more colours, and playing alot more with this. I have had the Heidi Swapp butterfly masks for about 4 years now, and today I found the perfect opportunitiy to use them !

Its been a while .....

2010-08-08T21:48:00.001+01:00

It’s been a while since I posted let alone scrapped. The last couple of months have been hectic at work, somewhere along the line I lost my creative MOJO. I guess it’s because I have been so very tired.

The only creative energy I have had lately has been to continue spending, yesterday I took a drive to L.B Crafts, for the first time. Yup, been in Milton Keynes, 2 1/2 years, I have been going to Olney for our monthly crop for 2 years, and not once, have I ventured into the shop.....

WOW, so much inspiration. The owner Lin is so talented too. There were just too many wonderful things, inks, and paints, and metal, and stamps and... its not going to be good for my budget though!!!!

Today we had our crop, and instead of dabbling with cards like I have been doing lately, I did a LO!!!! Noting better to get those creative juices flowing than a Pencil Lines Sketch

and another

Volcano.... Erruption... Ash Cloud .....stuck .

2010-04-21T19:35:00.000+01:00

So what do you do when an act of Nature, like an erupting Volcano disrupts nearly the whole of Europe’s Air traffic... well you sit tight.

I was one of those that got stuck in Athens for the weekend; I was due to fly back home on Friday when on Thursday the UK closed its airspace, and shortly after that Europe followed pursuit.

I was actually quiet happy to spend the weekend in Athens because I got to see some sights, I have been back and forwards to Athens for 6 months and have not had a chance to see anything besides the inside of my hotel room and my office.

So here are some pics

Weekend Break .....

2010-04-09T07:17:00.000+01:00

We took the kids to Ironbridge, Telford. Started out on Friday, went on a 40 mile detour , thanks to my husband who had the google map directions. Slept over the friday at a B&B and then started out early on Saturday at the Victorian Village.
There was just too much too see in one day, so we will definately be going back some time.

Here are some pics
Awesome rainbow, just couldnt find the pot of gold :(

Hectic..........

2010-03-29T10:06:00.000+01:00

I have had a 6 weeks of travelling to Athens on a Monday and then coming home on weekends, it has been mahem, and I have been so tired. One would think that 2 hours time difference shouldn't effect you much , but let me tell you it does.
I am happy to be home for a bit, working from home is fantastic, being able to take my daughter to school and fetch her in the afternoon is lovely.
There has just been no time to be creative at all. The last time I scrapped was at our Janurary crop, sad isn't it. I did try last week and the week before to take some stash with me, all I managed was a card, but had to contend with heavier luggage ! You won't believe how heavy stamps, paper and a couple of punches are ! I really do need to get organised because not scrapping hasnt stopped me from buying, and I have some new stash that I REALLY need to play with soon.
I thouhgt I would share these LO's with you.

Reflections.... resolutions....

2010-01-03T14:39:00.004Z

I cannot believe that 2010 is here already, I seriously wonder what happened to the last decade, I can clearly remember the running up to 2000, I was in IT at the time, so it was mayhem, trying to prepare for what they called the millennium bug

In a way I am glad its all over, it was a sad time for our family with great loss. Mommy, Mike, Dad, Great Gran, Aunty Peggy, Aunty June, Aunty Maureen, Uncle Gus, you will always be with us in our hearts!

There were also loads of good times too. Loads of life changing moments.

I am truly blessed to have a wonderful hubby, beautiful kids. And fantastic friends!!!

This year I resolve to just enjoy life, enjoy the moments. I am not going to be negative, I am going to make the best of my job and what it brings because that is a blessing too.

I resolve to craft more too, and not worry about house work as much as I do. I resolve to keep in contact with all my special friends.

I resolve to not be so hard on myself all the time.

I will enjoy, and I will scrap these thoughts too, because it’s important.

Well on the crafting side, what can I say, I have been published, yeah, now I can say I have done that too. I was asked two months ago to do the Budget Challenge for the December issue of the Scrapbook Magazine.
This is what I came up with, the one thing I did realise is scrapping on a budget is possible however not easy because the cost of a layout adds up very quickly.

Pencil Lines 161

2009-11-22T23:15:00.000Z

I decided to do a pencil lines sketch to get my mojo going. My life has been a little topsy turvy at the moment, and I am not getting around to doing much at all.
My favourite paper line at the moment has to be October Afternoon, their papers are yummy and I cant seem to get enough of them at the moment.
This is Emma on her first day of BIG school !! Boy and is she loving it. TFL

Doesn't this face make you smile ?

2009-10-13T22:07:00.001+01:00

Just a very simple LO that I did a while ago. This was one of those layouts that lay incomplete because I had to do the final bits ( the kites). Thanks to my ‘scrappy friend’ Gill; I finally made them after she told me I should fold the paper like I would do a baby’s nappy. Note : Folding nappies was one thing I did for maybe 2 months 13 years ago before I decided to do disposables, so I was a little bit rusty, and would never have thought of it. Thanks Gill !!!

Back on track ....

2009-10-11T09:43:00.001+01:00

Phew......where has the time gone? I can't believe that it has been 2 months since I posted on my blog. I HAVE been scrapping, but feel like I have done nothing, because my mojo and inspiration went walk-a-byes and the outcome has been, plain simple pages with no more than the photos and some journaling, if you know me, that is not me, so I am not going to share those with you just yet.
Anyways, I need to get back on track !!!! so here is a little something I did at our local crop's retreat last weekend! Today, I am going to try and do something. maybe I will do a sketch or two, as the weather outside today is really scrapping weather, overcast, and grey.

MME Blog Challenge

2009-08-20T08:22:00.004+01:00

I did this LO for My Minds Eye Blog challenge. I loved doing a double page LO for a change! The challenge was to the Page Map sketch and the LO had to be 80 % MME product.

I used the following MME products : 29th Street Market, a bit of their Out and About Range, and Bohemia embossed chipboard.

Here is the sketch

RAK ..... Goes to ....Tertia ....

2009-08-15T20:43:00.000+01:00

Tertia ... please email me your address honey !!!

RAK .... Your Favourite Quotes in return for some RAK

2009-08-11T22:35:00.000+01:00

Seeing as though I have had my blog for a year now, I thought it would be a good time to give a little RAK away in celebration of this !!! All you need to do is post one of your favourite quotes here (One which you don't mind me or anyone else using on a Layout), and link this post you your blog....

I will draw the RAK winner at the end of next week (15 Aug 2009) Thanks for playing along.

I received a Blog Award... Yippee Yay

2009-08-11T21:47:00.003+01:00

My dear scrapping buddy, Tertia has left me a blog award.

I am supposed to name 5 things that I would like to do. Only 5? You have got to be kidding me, there is so much I want to do. how do I limit it to 5? I'll try:

1. I want to be a stay at home mommy for a little while, while the children are still little.
2. I want my own studio, my own space, out side of my lounge !
3. I would love to be part of a design team, a manufacturer's design team will do !!( Hey I need to aim high !!)
4. I want to take art lessons and learn how to draw properly.
5. I want to see the Northern Lights

Now for 5 people I want to pass this award on to.
1. Kim
2. Gill
3. Lee
4. Sam
5. Sue

First Canvas

2009-08-07T16:44:00.004+01:00

I have finally got around to doing my first canvas... I had so much fun messing around with this. Started off , inking, then painting and then stamping with paint. I finished it off with Glossy Gel Medium.

OLW # 57 - Sweet

2009-08-03T19:13:00.002+01:00

I have not played along with OLW for ages, there is just never enough time to everything now is there !! I love the inspiration on this site. This weeks word is SWEET over at OLW, this is my take on it.

Monthly Crop

2009-08-02T23:21:00.007+01:00

It seems that the only time I get to post on my blog is after our monthly crop. This is so bad, normally I fit in loads of creative time during the month too, but lately I have been a little OCD on house work and Ironing that I have not done anything for me...
I am still on leave this week so I intend doing loads more.

I took these photo's of Aidan and Chips. There is always a special bond between Aidan and his pets, that's the way it has been for 10 years and that's the way it will be for ever and a day. Chips is very special, she is our first pet here in the UK, it has been nearly 2 years since we left South Africa, the trauma of having to find homes for our animals we had there has not gone away with Aidan. There is not a week that goes by the he has not asked after his other cat Teddy. So Chips is special to him, and him to her.....

Yay, got some me time in today ....

2009-07-05T22:24:00.007+01:00

This week has just been manic... work has been hectic with 2 colleges on holiday; and then on Wednesday night, who knows what I was thinking but I managed to get off the train without my laptop.... Only realised once I was home. It all ended well with me 'trekking' all the way to Birmingham to fetch it. Some wonderful soul handed it in!

Yesterday, me and my house cleaning chores took the whole day.... I made Sean take the kids out so I could get everything done quickly... hopefully the exercise from cleaning the house will stand me in good stead this week when I face the scales.

Today was crop day... , I love crop day, me, friends and my stash, WHAT a wonderful combination. Oh and you can't forget the CAKE, that is why I said, 'I HOPE the exercise from cleaning.......................................'
I tried some 8.5 x 11 LO's, I actually enjoyed working with this size today, decided I am going to stop faffing and get my photo's done. I have so much stuff, that I shouldn't worry about the perfect LO anymore, just record the story !!

This LO has Luke and Emma sharing special moments.

Hectic

2009-06-21T07:38:00.004+01:00

This week has just been so hectic.... I had Carole stay with us on route to Glasgow. It was wonderful having her here for a couple of days. Work has been hectic too, no time to read blogs and update mine like I normally do during the course of the day.
The boys have had really BAD hey fever, arg shame, they are battling, it is only Emma and me that have been immune to it.
I managed this LO last weekend. My Niece Kennedy when she was 6 months old. We called her buzz because she sounded like a buzz bike when she cried or moaned. Miss you Kennedy !!!
I want to scrap a little today, so maybe there will be a post a bit latter.

Product of monthly crop...

2009-06-10T07:17:00.003+01:00

This is what I accomplished on Sunday at our crop... Yip One WHOLE layout. I actually think it is quiet amusing, crops are supposed to be where you get a chance to spend a whole day scrapping.. and what happens actually is you spend a whole day chatting instead. I think it is great !
Here I used some of my new Cosmo, Early Bird paper, this paper range is so Yummy.

Where did it go ?

2009-05-29T19:34:00.009+01:00

This month has flown by. I am starting to get nervous with how quickly time is going. I haven't touched sides this month with work and house chores. I sometimes feel all I do is work :(. I have n't even updated my blog, mind you, I haven't spent much time on the PC at all.
I have had a fab week at home with the kids, I was due to go to Dohar tomorrow, but landed up cancelling my flights as the client I was going to see did not come to the party with my Visa.
I am actually quiet relieved I am not going because then I get to spend a fab weekend with my lovely family, instead of sweating my butt off in 40 deg plus.

Got together with my scrap buddies on Wednesday night, it was wonderful, I don't think any of us got much done at all, there was way too much chatting, laughing and cake eating. Rach is a fab baker, and as for her Mum, Gill, well, what can I say, like mother like daughter, and we all look forward to what is on offer :) I am so grateful for this hobby, it has given me an opportunity to meet some wonderful people and there are great friendships in the making.
This is what I started on Wednesday night, I actually did most of it at home, landed up shuffling paper for ages.

I did these two LO's about 2 weeks ago, when my Yummy Studio Calico kit arrived.

This LO is in memory of my Housekeeper Mavis, I got very sad news from South Africa the other day, saying that Mavis had passed away. She was part of our family for so many years and I don't want my children to forget her.

OLW - Second LO

2009-05-14T20:58:00.002+01:00

This is my 2nd LO for this weeks challenge at OLW. My Studio Calico kit arrived on Tuesday and I just had to use some of the paper. As you can see I am hooked on paper flowers.

OLW - TWO

2009-05-11T20:33:00.002+01:00

OLW turned 2 so the challenge is to scrap using the word two/2 etc and this time 2 LO's. So I am officially a 'Wordster', as this is my first time submitting on this challenge blog. I love challenges, it keeps me focused and going !!!

Paint .....I love paint...

2009-05-04T20:17:00.004+01:00

Today I decided to haul out my Making Memories Foam stamps (yip the ones that I am sure we all have but have been in their storage cupboard for ages ) I wanted to mess a bit with some paint, so this is what I created.

Pencil Lines - Nr 130

2009-04-18T15:28:00.002+01:00

Here is my take on this weeks Pencil Line sketch. I coloured the acetate and clear element with alcohol ink....I also used my new Stampit Up 'Organic Grace' stamp set.

Colour Combination Challenge #117

2009-04-13T19:24:00.004+01:00

This is my attempt at the colour combo challenge this week. We had to use this comibination of colours.

This is my attempt.

Blog Candy ...

2009-04-13T09:09:00.001+01:00

You want a chance of getting some Blog Candy, have a looky here http://craftycoo.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-monday-candy.html. Quick now you have less than 24 hours to leave a comment

Honnest Opinion needed here please ....

2009-04-11T09:38:00.003+01:00

I am really trying do do loads of layering and putting lots of stuff on... what do you think? Is it too overpowering ?

Pencil Lines Sketch ...... Number 129

2009-04-11T09:32:00.003+01:00

Here is my take on this weeks pencil line sketch. I have used American Craft Character Range paper, and Creative imaginations card stock.

Just 2 ...

2009-04-09T07:19:00.004+01:00

The crop on Sunday only produced two LO's , now for 6 hours that is not good going considering my snow day LO only took a half an hour to do. This may have something to do with the amount of talking that happens !!! Anyway it is cool, it is me time, and friends time.

This 'Snow Day' LO is inspired by Pencil Lines Sketch

This LO of Liam is inspired by one of my favourite designers over at Scrapbook.com. I want to do more LO with loads of layering, just love this style at the moment.

Finally Finished ....

2009-03-25T21:27:00.010Z

I have been working on this mini album for 2 weeks now. Today I got stuck in and bound it , with my Bind-it-all that as been sitting in the draw gathering dust...The pages are all different sizes. I really enjoyed doing it, just wish they didn't take so long to do.

I used BG Scarlett's Letter papers that I found in a box which I had forgotten about.

Pencil Lines Sketch ...... Number 125

2009-03-24T13:59:00.003Z

Being at home on leave is great !! I have plenty of me time to scrap, Emma just sits and plays with paper, scissors and glue when we together.

I get loads of inspiration from my email buddies, some of the stuff that comes through, I save because it is meaningful, inspiring or just beautiful. This is one quote I saved and decided to scrap it because it pretty much sums up how I have been feeling lately and this quote uplifted me. Makes you think about what life should be all about... ..
The quote says :

There are two eternities that can really break you down.

Yesterday and Tomorrow

One is gone and the other doesn't exist.

So Live Today

My lastest ....

2009-03-17T15:13:00.004Z

It is just wonderful being at home on leave !! I have managed to get some scrapping in alright... Here are the LO's I have done.

I went to Sue's last night, I used her Cricut, first time I have every seen how it works, and I am hooked. I just HAVE to have one !!! If I get myself a Cricut, I vow not to spend another cent for the next 6 months on stash ! How does that sound ? Convinced ?

Pencil Lines Sketch ...... Number 124

2009-03-17T15:03:00.002Z

This is my take on sketch number 124. I love the inspiration from this site... I just wish I dont have to play catch up all the time !!

I am sure you saying, that these photo's are familiar, sorry, I just had to scrap the 'Warm' Hat

Scrap Like you Mean it .... Week 10

2009-03-16T07:14:00.004Z

The challenge was to scrap a funny face, well here is my take on it. This smile of Aidan's looks natural but it is a put on. This is his camera face. It is so funny because I have so many photos like this.

I have taken 2 days holiday, so I am ecstatic to be at home today and tomorrow. I am planning to do loads of scrapping , this morning I am meeting my friend Gabby for breakfast and then tonight I am off to Sue's for a crop. Yesterday I took Emma to play with Lynsey's girls, and to crop of course. I will post the LO I did yesterday a bit later.

Warm Hat - Photo Shoot

2009-03-09T09:31:00.005Z

I don't have anything creative to share with you this week, but thought I would share some photo's I took of Emma in her WARM hat that my friend Val send her all the way from the WARM shores of South Africa.

This WARM hat was posted on FACEBOOK too, with Valerie trying to wear it LOL !!! Anyway Val being a scrap booker too and a fab photographer insisted I try a photo shoot. She is always on about me taking MORE photos. So Val this post is for you my friend. Hugs xxxx Oh and do you see I did the hot chocolate bit too !!!

Latest ...

2009-03-01T21:39:00.004Z

Today was crop day, and as usual I talk to much and get nothing done. 6 Hours and only 2 layouts is just funny. But hey, at least I get to be with a bunch of fab girls !!!
The LO below started as a 8.5 x 11, the first one I did ever, I must be honest, I liked it but then thought it to be impractical because I don't have an album to put them in. I was thinking today, I need to change the way I scrap, I need to tell more of a story, so I really tried here, these LO's are not pretty , but at least they tell a story. I am also getting a bit tired of just 12 x 12, I need to do more mini books. Something different. Maybe some altered stuff.
Okay so the story behind the LO of Liam is that, he is forever wearing his South African T shirt, he loves and he loves being South African. We have been in the UK now for over a year, and he wants to remember his roots, he wants to learn Afrikaans. I do believe we owe that to him....

LO below is Emma and her affiliation to her brothers DS's. She has asked often for a PINK one, there is just no way that at 4 years that she will ever own one. Sorry Baby !!! You too young.

Adorable....

2009-02-16T00:22:00.002Z

My mojo returned this afternoon after my Sunday afternoon sleep !!! At the moment I am scrapping black and white photo's because I have run out of ink again !!!

Tried my hand a bit at Hybrid scrapping if that is what you call it if you use a digi element for my title.

UK Scrappers Cyber Crop

2009-02-08T00:40:00.006Z

Class - Cat Among the Pigeons
My sister in law is very special friend. I loved this photo of her. Did this LO for a class called 'Cat among the Pigeons' by Rachel for the UKS Cyber Crop.
Used loads of chipboard, painted with bubble wrap and used my flourish stamps.
Challenge - Hill Stree Blues

I Dreamt the whole night about waking up and making these flowers. Always wanted to do them, this challenge got me into action. I am already thinking about the layout I am going to use them on.

Challenge - Nancy Drew by Shimelle

Here we had to use a kit and do as many LO's or cards as we could. I ran out of time because I only started this , this morning ..

Here is the kit I put togeteher

Here is LO

Here is a Card

Here is a Book Mark

Challenge - Miss Marple

Yay, I finally used my Autumn Leaves 'Build-a-flower' Stamp set. I used those flowers I made earlier on.

My little sunshine...

2009-01-25T23:02:00.003Z

Finished off this LO tonight, inspired by Pencil Line sketch no 113.... okay , so you must be asking, what is it with this woman, scrapping spring colours, not intentional I promise ! But hey, spring must come soon !! This will be our second winter in the UK, and this year I have felt it. Last year it was all new, no time to think, just get settled. Forget about the sunshine and blue sky's in South Africa and embrace the UK weather. Which I did with open arms, now, well, it is starting to get boring. Grey, rain, a little bit of blue and then grey again. But then you have to love the UK, it wouldn't be the same without the weather.

Today I am actually a wee bit sad. I am really missing my family and my friend Valerie. I was so excited when she came online just now and told me some fabulous news. I also spent nearly an hour and a half tonight talking to my sister in South Africa, my nephew starts university and is getting ready this weekend and is soooo excited. I must be honest I felt a little old, I can still remember the day he was born, 18 years ago, now he is a big, handsome young man, and a beautiful child. Anyway enough rambling... Need to get to bed and ready for work tomorrow.

Pencil Lines Sketch - No 118

2009-01-24T22:33:00.004Z

Here is my take on this weeks Pencil Lines Sketch.
At the moment I am scrapping 'oldish' photo's'. I am so fed up with printers at the moment, they just never seem to work when you need them grrrrrrrrrrr..... replaced the yellow ink the other day, and for some or other reason, the cartridge is damaged so it wont allow me to print anything, not even black and white. Maybe I should go back to the good old days where we print our photo's at a lab..... um, oh yes that was a crafty resolution LOL....

UKS 2009 - Scrap like you mean it.... Week 3

2009-01-20T21:50:00.003Z

This week our challenge was to use some chipboard.... an easy challenge for those who are like me and have hoarded the stuff since the scrapbooking market first launched the product, too scared to use it, saving it for a special layout. Gone are those days, I have finally realised after 5 years of scrapbooking that if you hoard, one day , is one day that the stash wont appeal to you anymore.... So girls , there is not time like the present. Use it , and use as much as you like.

The chipboard I used was from Fancy Pants.... I have also been trying very hard to use my old stash, so the papers here are maybe 3 years old, some maybe even older. I have been making a concerted effort lately to use as much of my old paper as I can, because I am REALLY REALLY REALLY itching to get some new in .

Talking about New , have you seen the new Making Memories Love Notes range, just been launched for Valentines day... oh my gosh... I love it, I now understand why I have waited 15 years to do my Wedding Album.

Shimelle's Free Mini Class......

2009-01-18T12:21:00.005Z

Go and have a look at Shimelle Free online mini class here. I have done a couple of Shimelle's classes and I just love them. All her classes are VERY inspirational.

Ooooh, an there are also some super cool prizes to win as a kick off to the class....

Seriously Cute

2009-01-14T21:30:00.003Z

My little girl is such a clown sometimes. She loves the camera which is a good thing for me , not sure how long it is going to last though. Here she was acting with her new guitar, I laughed so much because she got the poses all right, just the way the rock stars do.

2009 Crafting Resolutions

2009-01-13T21:33:00.005Z

I don't normally set new years resolutions, except for this year I have decided to set myself some crafting ones.... LOL

So here they are :

100 layouts in 2009
Participate in a Photo a day, I am going to change this a bit and do a journal entry where I have not been able to take photo's. I know I should be able to take a photo each day, but sometimes it is difficult because of the time that I leave in the morning and the time I get home at night.
Participate in Scrap like you Mean it 2009.
Make cards and give them as gifts.
Stash diet for 6 month , only purchases that will be allowed will be tools and alpha stickers.
Do my Wedding Album.
Do page calls for magazines.
Update my blog with inspirational quotes.
Print my photo's or at least 10% of them.
More mini albums

This should keep me busy !!

Here is one of the layouts I did this weekend at our crop !!!

UKS 2009 - Scrap Like you Mean it...

2009-01-12T23:17:00.007Z

I am REALLY going to try and keep this challenge going. All it will entail is 1 layout a week which should be achievable. Here is my layout for week 2, here we had to scrap with hearts or stars or both. I chose a heart and did this quickly. I used some of my 'old' stash too which is also one of my crafting resolutions for 2009.

I am getting somewhere .....

2009-01-04T12:38:00.003Z

I am just so not with it at the moment. At the start of December I thought it was a going to be easy to keep up with everything I intended to do. Like my Christmas Journal, well that was short lived, because I went back to work, Sean started working in the evenings temporary and I just had to face reality that there was no time. But I did record my feelings so I could complete my Christmas journal later.

Today is the first day in 3 weeks that I have sat down in the study and being a little creative.... I managed a couple of entries for JYC and printed a load of Photo's . I am now going to do a layout :)

I would like to also wish all my friends, and all those wonderful fellow bloggers that stop by to read my blog and leave comments , a Very Happy New Year !!!! May 2009 be filled with happiness, love and loads of creativity ...

Here are a couple of the pages I did today for JYC...

Love and Hugs

Counting Down.....

2008-12-06T10:09:00.008Z

My kids are counting down the days for sure until Christmas. Every morning my little girl Emma ensures that the Christmas lights are switched on. I just smile because it is so sweet. The boys are constantly jabbering about there wish lists. I love the excitement of Christmas, it is really special.

I am only getting my entry for day five of JYC up now, yesterday we had a bit of fun and went to watch Madagascar 2 at the Movies. The kids loved it, I smiled because of the hidden humour that they sneak in to get the parents in the movies too.

Today, I am going to do some 'reality' stuff like ironing, cleaning and shopping. So there wont be much time for creative stuff today until a little latter.

JYC - 3rd of December

2008-12-04T19:51:00.003Z

When it comes to Christmas Cards , I am BAD... I always buy , even though I do make cards... most years I have only done cards for family and friends I see over Christmas and for my colleagues. This year it will be a bit different now that my family and friends are miles away. The challenge I have in the next couple of days is to get postal addresses. I have email addresses yeah, but no postal addresses. It shows you how things have changed with technology now, doesn't it.
Here is my page for yesterday's post....
I made a card with my journal ling inside. I was so happy to be able to use some of my 7 Gypsies postal rub-ons that have been in my stash for ages. As well as postage stamp stickers that I have had for at least 5 years.

Must be honest , I am really enjoying this project. I journaled a bit about my childhood memories here too.

Scrappy Challenge # 15

2008-12-03T12:37:00.003Z

I managed to complete a layout this morning for Kim Watson's blog challenge. I am still going to try and fit in 'normal' scrapping together with JYC projects. I really hope I am not being to optimistic.
I still have to do today's JYC prompt, I will get to that maybe tomorrow because this afternoon I am off to watch Rugby at Wembley. It is the London Olympic Centenary match between the Barbarians and Australia.... The Barbarian side is made up of various countries players, and guess what, there are at least 8 South African players on the Barbarian side and their coach is the ex Springbok coach, Jake White. So we going to be in for a good match.

Till tomorrow

xxxxx

The Weather today was ....

2008-12-02T20:54:00.004Z

The weather was cold today, overcast and wet.... but hey, that is what you have to love about the UK. I do believe it is the weather that gives the British Isles its character....

I am not one for hot, humid weather, maybe that is why I have settled in here so quickly. I prefer the rain, and the cold. It is fresh and crisp.

Today on Shimelle's journal your Christmas, the prompt was to journal about the Weather, how it makes us feel, what we like, what we want Christmas to be like. Well you can guess what I want, I want a White Christmas, just like all the white Christmases I have seen on TV, and on Christmas Cards LOL.... Maybe we will get just that...

So far I have managed to keep up to date with the class, okay, well, it is only two days so far, I have been lucky, because I am at home having a little break from work and doing what I love the most, scrapping, blogging and blopping... Not sure what is going to happen when I go back to work next week. I will just have to play catch up over the weekends.

I went clothes shopping for me today, it took 3 hours, only for me to return with 4 items. Mind you , I nearly came home empty handed. I hate shopping for clothes, it depresses me and I always look frumpy in the mirror. In a space of a half an hour I finally decided to bite the bullet and walk into Anne Harvey ( it is a shop for the fuller, larger than life girls her in the UK ), her line of clothes are a little bit on the expensive side, but the fit is flattering and perfect for our curvy bodies.

Guess how I justified my spend, with Scrapbooking !!!! I kid you not, all the way through the store I was thinking, Brenda, stop been so stupid, why is it that you do not even flinch when you shop for 'stash' and you spend oodles on paper, yet you too scared to pay for a couple of items of clothes ! When I started adding up what I have spent on scrap stuff over the last 3 months, I flinched ...

SO, I am officially on a stash diet, and have made a resolution to spend what I spend on my stash on me, on clothes instead.. Well, I will let you know how long it lasts okay...

Now back to business....

This is my entry for Day One of JYC. My manifesto is folded up and in the pre-made pocket that I did for my day one page.

My Day Two page is made out of acetate, first time ever I have used acetate as a page, still a little perturbed about the mess on the back, so I will figure that out too.

Day 1 - JYC

2008-12-01T12:36:00.006Z

JYC has officially started. Yay, this is so cool ! and what makes it even better is the fact that I am at home on a weeks leave ! Leave means scrapping time, which intern means that for the first 7 days of this class I should keep up, if I don't there is no excuse !

I am yet to do my manifesto, but will do so VERY soon. This morning I finished off my journal. I have decided not to bind it just yet because I am worried that I am not going to have enough space. I want the flexibility of adding more pages because I have settled on 6"x9" book.

Initially I was going to use book rings for binding but have decided to use my BIA instead, I thought well hey Bee, you bought the BIA for this purpose. Plus I didn't want to have to stash shop just for books rings. You know how it goes, I always land up spending way to much on stuff I REALLY don't need.

My Journal cover

Some of the inner pages..

Journal your Christmas 2008

2008-11-26T12:00:00.005Z

Yip, it is that time of the year, Christmas !!! This year will be our second Christmas in the United Kingdom. Last year we had just arrived from South Africa, and Christmas was a little different because we were not in our own home, we were not in familiar surroundings and we were all coming to terms with the move and catching our breath.

Now that we are all settled, I want to record my Christmas memories, past and present and Shimelle's class Journal your Christmas, is going to prompt me to do just that, otherwise, life takes over and we don't think about what is important and why...

My preparation, for my album is done, all I need is a wee bit more embellishments and book rings.
Come and join in the fun, I am sure it is going to be fantastic...

Kim's Scrappy Challenge

2008-11-23T16:40:00.002Z

My scrap buddy Kim, from South Africa hosts blog challenges, blog challenges = RAK, and loads of inspiration too... Kim is a fab scrapper, and photographer go and have a look.
Here is my take on this weeks scrappy challenge. All we had to do was layer , use a butterfly and not have a straight title. Okay, I didn't layer too much but had an unbalanced title and a butterfly. Butterfly is thanks to Dan, and the template is available here.

Daisy Diner Scrap-Off - Week 1

2008-11-23T16:12:00.003Z

Thought I would give this a shot. Here is my week 1 entry to the Cocoa Daisy Scrap Off....
The winner after the 4 Weeks scrap-off will be a guest designer for Cocoa Daisy, and will get a free kit !!! Go give it a bash, you still have some time !!

At last .. something to share...

2008-11-08T15:51:00.002Z

I have done absolutely nothing creative for 2 weeks. So much for doing loads on Sunday at our crop, that didn't happen because I woke up feeling really crappy, and crabby so I stayed at home feeling sorry for myself.

Today I managed this quick LO, this was inspired by Donna Downey, thanks to Donna's inspiration I have found a new way of using eyelets ! I just love her style !!

I also love the way she distresses the sides of her pages, I achieved my look by using a the Making Memories blade in the distress kit that I have had for ages. I was also happy to have used my tag maker that has been sitting idle since I bought it 2 years ago.

Just some photo's

2008-10-31T09:32:00.007Z

Nothing creative to blog this week, but I am sure I will have loads on Sunday after our Crop.
This is what happens when I am at work, and kids and hubby are at home on mid-term break. My hubby kept me posted yesterday with photo's via email.

I then got an email showing me what was for desert when I got home. This is what was attached.

I was actually quiet impressed with Hubby, because normally he takes awful photo's, but yesterday he got the focus right. Oh and I was so impressed with his attempt at baking !!

Scrappy Challenge # 11

2008-10-22T20:49:00.002+01:00

So here is my take on this weeks blog challenge by Kim. The challenge here was to use a sketch by
Ronda using the word 'Today'. The scan unfortunately did not come out to good so for those that can't see the title it is called 'Celebrate Today' .
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I do believe it is important to take a bit of time out to think about what we should be grateful for. That we should celebrate the little blessings we have. Sometimes I find that when I am down, I think about the things that I am blessed with and I thank the Lord for this it makes whatever burden I am carrying a little lighter.
So on this note, here are some of the things I am blessed with :

Three beautiful children and a fantastic husband that I have been married to for 15 years.
I have been blessed in my career and job and I love doing what I do.
I am blessed to have been offered an opportunity to live and work in the UK, with this comes a whole host of other blessings.
I am blessed to have fantastic friends, friends that I have made through this fabulous hobby, scrapbooking.
I am blessed with my my health.

Color Combo Challenge # 93

2008-10-21T22:07:00.002+01:00

I had a fantastic scrappy day today ! I took the day off from work because I had an appointment for Aidan for his eyes. The appointment was cancelled first thing this morning because the doctor had called in sick so I decided to spend the day scrapping and it felt so good !!!
Here is my take on this weeks Color Combo Challenge. I created the purple background with my new Stampin Around Spot On stamp from Stampin Up. I stamped on the Fancy Pants clear flowers with black staz on ink so that they would stand out a bit. (not sure if you can see this clearly though.) The BG Off Beat papers I used from my package I received this morning.
I finished another layout too for another challenge due at the end of the week, which I will share with you soon. Just a bit tired tonight and going to bed after posting.

Just a quick LO

2008-10-12T21:12:00.003+01:00

I did this layout quickly, in between me sorting out supper, and bathing Emma. While I was putting it together I was thinking to myself that I must not 'faff'. I tend to 'faff' allot with my pages with then results in a time consuming LO. Presently, at my pace of scrapping, I am never going to make a dent in my stash, and that is scary.
So my action plan to make space for more stash is the following:
1. Do quick simple LO's
2. Have photo's on hand, because this is one thing I am never organised with. When ever I go to a crop I land up rushing around just before leaving trying to print photo's, which then lands up being a disaster and normally don't accomplish much and I then resort to faffing.
3. Plan LO's, by keeping a journal of inspiration.
4. Make presents for family and friends.
5. Offer RAK on my blog to my readers, (now I am not sure how others do this, and for what occasions, then again do we need an occasion ?) I know that one of my scrappy buddies offer RAK for challenges. I have seen another crafty blogger do it at a certain number of visitors. So if you would be so kind comment here so I can see your thoughts on RAK and when one should offer it.
6. Do mini albums.

Pencil Line Sketch #105

2008-10-12T11:57:00.003+01:00

I just managed to finish this now this morning , just before the next Pencil Line Sketch is loaded today. Really great inspiration here on their site. Thanks girls.

Scrappy Challenge {10}

2008-10-11T16:15:00.011+01:00

I did this layout for a Kim's blog challenge. The challenge here was to use 5 different stamps on a layout, including stamping the back ground. I loved doing this simply because it was a challenge to put together a boys layout, this is mainly because I have plenty of flower stamps that I use often, so I tried something different.
I stamped the background with a Hero Arts Background stamp and did other bits with various acrylic stamps.
One thing I do have is tons of stamps, acrylic as well as block mounted which I hardly ever use, but I will definitely be using them more often now because I really like the effect.
The colour combination is not something I would normally use but got my inspiration from Colour Combos Galore
Thanks for the inspiration Kim, it was great doing my first Scrappy Challenge !!

Here is a picture of the products and some of the tools I used to create this.
{Stamps : Autumn Leaves, Fancy Pants, Wildflower, Imaginisce, Hero Arts Background Stamp}

And here is a bit of scrappy mess. I love creative mess and it feels so good now that I don't have to pack up everything each time I scrap. Before I was confined to the dinning room table, and packed up at each meal time, it eventually became such an issue for me that I didn't scrap much. Now I have a little bit of space in the spare room and loving it.

Pencil Line Sketch #104

2008-10-05T20:56:00.004+01:00

Here is my take on this weeks Pencil Line sketch #104 , by Dawn Inskip. I love this site, the inspiration and talent is just amazing. I must be honest though this is my first one, simply because I don't scrap as much as I would like to. Hopefully now that I have converted the spare bedroom into a scrap area for me, this will now change :)

I feel inspired....

2008-09-22T21:39:00.005+01:00

I managed 3 layouts this week, which is good going for me. Even though I haven't scrapped in a while I have been blog hopping quiet a bit when I have a moment at work, or on the train in to work. There is just so much inspiration and creativity out there it is unbelievable. I have realised that I am normal when it comes to this hobby. What I mean by normal is that too much is never enough... We all have the same addiction and love for our family, photo's and stash..
The first layout I did this week to get the mojo going was a design from Becky Fleck's Page Map site, I can't copy the 'map' here but it was from the September 2008 archives.

These photo's where taken in April this year, my father had just arrived from South Africa for a visit and it snowed. Please don't laugh at our snowman, at least we tried and had a good time collecting as much snow as we could before it all melted.

Here are the other two layouts I did yesterday.

I was happy to use some of my 7Gypsies stash on this layout of Aidan. I love 7 Gypsies, it is my favourite product but I find it sometimes hard to use.

My dad flew back to South Africa on Saturday, he submitted his visa application to join us here, so please hold thumbs and pray that his Visa is granted as we missing him already. The one thing that was very tough last year was leaving him behind in South Africa with my sister as he has been living with us since 2001 and has become such a integral part of our family's life. Especially the kids. We hoping to hear the outcome of his visa application at the end of the week....
Until then ...
xxxxBxxxx

Now I can print my own photos again!!!

2008-09-14T11:16:00.005+01:00

I finally went and bought myself a new printer !!!! My existing one is in perfectly working order and practically brand new , but I cannot get the ink cartridges here in the UK, thanks to the manufacturer, they decided to do different number ink cartridges per region. I spent hours on the phone the other day with the help desk to re-regionalise my printer but it didn't work. I was actually cross and disappointed and for the last 4 months have been pondering the idea of a new printer. My friend Val even offered to send me ink from South Africa, but it is just not worth the cost in postage.
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It is amazing how lost you feel as a scrapbooker when you cannot print you own size photo's and being stuck to 10 X 15 cm.

Uplifting a community .....

2008-09-11T09:37:00.010+01:00

My sister who is staying in the Eastern Cape in South Africa has been working with ' The Poverty Alleviation Fund' to uplift her local community in the rural areas. She has been teaching these ladies how to knit, bead, and make various crafty items from general everyday stuff.

By doing so she is hoping that they will be able to use their crafty skills to make items that they would be able to sell and generate some income. Her dream is to eventually teach these ladies how to set up their own little business, teach them business skills so that they could get something going.

Look at some of the items they have created, I think they fab.

These boxes were made, out of a rusk box.

Gift bottles made from a 2 L coldrink bottle. These could be used as table decorations, or even little pot plant holders.

Hand made gift boxes and little frames.

Look what they did here with the Tin.

Looking back ..

2008-09-02T10:04:00.004+01:00

How often do you look at your layouts and think.. Oooh I have come a long way, or did I really do that? Or,I want to redo this using the latest products ect..
I must be honest there are some layouts I really like because of the message or memory that I have captured, and there some that I don't like at all. But that really doesn't matter because one day, my children and theirs will appreciate what we leave behind. (I hope...)
Here are two of my earlier Digi Layouts that are my favourite.

Credits here go to :
Dipsy Doodle Stamp Set - Rene Bross
Grudgy Colors - Yvette Keohuloa
Arrows Stamp Set 1 - Suzzane Walker

Credits here go to :
Credits: Paper - Gina Cabrera Basic Stamped Alpha - Meryl Bartho
Arrows Stamp Set 1 - Suzanne Walker
Brads - Daniela Peuss
Fonts - Digs my Heart

Back from a fab weekend !!!

2008-08-26T09:18:00.006+01:00

We took a trip up to Blackpool and then on to the Lake District.. Oh my, the country side is beautiful. The lake district reminds me of the Natal Midlands in South Africa.

The kids took a run on the beach but not for long, it was way to cold and windy, and mother dear forgot to pack coats, can you believe it. I was so cross with myself.

All in all, great weekend, great time with my lovely family.

Digital Scrapbooking ....

2008-08-21T08:57:00.004+01:00

I have not done any digital layouts for more than a year now. My friend Michelle has started designing her own elements so I thought it would be good to use one of her freebies. Oh and boy is she good at designing, her work is stunning. You can visit her site here.
I need to get the hang of PS again, so this layout is very basic, I literally just dragged and dropped the layers, I also battled a bit with getting the size of my background right. For some or other reason, PSE 6 does not work the same as PSE3. So I guess it is me and tutorials again!

Credits go to:
Pretty In Pink by Michelle Van DeVenter, Flower Fix by Anne Langpap, Basic Basic Stamped Alpha by Meryl Bartha.

Useless ...

2008-08-18T15:00:00.007+01:00

I am a useless and rubbish blogger of late...life has just run away with me lately. I am currently battling with my commute to work. I get home at 7.30 pm. By the time we finish with dinner, it is bed time for the kids and then my second job in the form of house maid starts. Ironing needs to be done and dishes washed.
At the moment I just cannot justify sitting at the PC. Scrap time is also non existent at the moment. What I do intend doing though is some digi scrapping on the train on my way to work in the morning and on my way home, all I need to do is find my photoshop disk so I can load the software onto my laptop.

I did manage these though last month :)

Time to slow down...

2008-07-11T20:54:00.002+01:00

I can't believe it is weekend already !!! Where does the time go? Well I suppose that then answers Shimelle's blog prompt for the "My Freedom" class I am busy with.
I want the pace to slow down. Right now, my week consists of work, work and more work. I leave at 7.30 am in the morning and return at 7.30 pm. That leave me 3 hours to spend a little time with my kids, husband, and me. It is just not fair!!
I had all the intentions of keeping up to date with this project, I am not stressing though because I have to be realistic about how much time I actually have available too me.

Thanks to this gorgeous rainy weather, which I call scrapping weather I will get down to being a little creative so watch this space.
xxx

a New Look ...

2008-07-10T06:27:00.002+01:00

I gave my blog a little make over. Now that I know what to do with the title, I will design something more elegant !!! Last night I moved all my digi scrap stash and photo's onto an external hard drive, something that I have been meaning to do for ages now.
For 'My Freedom' the blog prompt was "What is in your suitcase", it was fun reading all my fellow class mates blogs, besides all the normal stuff like clothes and underwear ect... I always ensure I have my hairdryer with me, nothing worse than having fizzy hair on holiday.

Time and Travel ......

2008-07-08T20:43:00.004+01:00

Today for Shimelle's 'My Freedom' class, the blog prompt is about what would we do and where would we go if we could travel in time for just one day.
This got me thinking because I would like to do so much. Firstly I would like to travel forward in time, I am not to sure how far forward, just far enough I suppose until space travel is available to us common people. This is want I want to see and where I want to see it :

Then I would like to travel back in time so that I could spend just one more day with my mother, there is so much I want to tell her still and find out about, mind you a day would not be enough. I miss you Mom !!!
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I really love these two topics that Shimelle has given us to ponder about, I have done loads of thinking, now all I have to do is make a note of what I thought about.
Today while traveling into work, I had the time to just sit and think about my earliest clear memory, this has brought back many memories that were stored and filed away. I must be honest, I have always envied my sister because she has always had such vivid clear memories of our childhood, now I know how she retrieves this information; the same way as what I did today by just sitting and thinking about it all.
I can already see that this class is going to be amazing! All I have to do now is remain focused and make the time.

Can you believe it is already July...

2008-07-07T12:25:00.004+01:00

I cannot believe that it is July already !! We have been in the UK now going on 8 months, it feels like just the other day we were packing up our lives in South Africa and getting ready to move. The last couple of months have actually been a blur, I think it may have something to do with the fact that it took 6 weeks from the time I got the signed job offer to us getting on a plane headed for Heathrow. When I look back now, it was amazing how Sean and I actually coped with everything. Things are settling down for us now as a family and we just loving every moment being here and making this our home.

I thought I would share two of my LO's that I have done recently. I have made a commitment to myself to do more meaningful layouts, even if they are simple. I really want to capture my thoughts and feelings versus doing just pretty LO's all the time.

Emma is such a little miss, she loves the camera and loves posing for me. She thinks it is a game to see the photo I have just taken immediately on the LCD screen of the camera. Yesterday when I showed her this LO I had done of her she said ' Wow ! Mummy that is beautiful !! '

The LO above is my eldest son Liam, this is the type of LO I want to do all the time when it comes to the journaling, this is what I call meaningful journaling. The journalling portray's my feelings and thoughts.

I joined Shimelle's 'My Freedom' online class today. I can't wait to get going on this, and yes I am going to commit to doing it now and not leaving it for later! I have decided that because I am on a stash diet I am going to make my album from my own stash too.

Crop Night

2008-06-25T11:27:00.009+01:00

I went to my first MK Scrappers crop last night. All the ladies just made me feel like I had been part of the group since inception. I think all scrappers are wonderful, there is just something that makes us all gel together. I wonder what it could be ?
Even though I was late (horribly late !! thanks to the train being delayed, my TomTom getting stuck just before I was about to go, the PC running virus scan whilst I am frantically trying to get the address of the crop, note the address was originally saved on the Tom Tom ) I sill managed to get there and finish a quick LO !!! Had lots of laughs.

This is what I achieved last night :

I have started a little creative note book, where I make notes about what the kids say, what I want to scrap about, stuff that inspires me, the source of my inspiration can be from emails I get from my friends, something I see in a magazine or on the internet, can you believe I even went as far as drawing some sketches that I liked.
I have had the intentions to do this for a while now and wish I had started it sooner.

Today is the 25th and it is "Scrap your day". So far I have only managed to put my book together. I have got some photos for April and May but I don't think I have enough because on both days I forgot it was the 25th and what needed to be done. I think I will start my book from this month and work forward from here onwards. Or I could just scrap various photo's from April and May and not just a specific day.
I am happy to be at home today, I am supposed to be working from home, but have no connection into the office so I guess today I am on leave then. On leave means Scrapping!!!!

Here is my LO that I did for the UKS challenge last week, don't you just love my little man?

I need to confess that I broke my stash diet, see what on ! My very first purchase of Stamp n Up products, and I am sure not the last!!

Something different, a card or two!!

2008-06-22T23:50:00.007+01:00

I promised myself that I was going to try something different and do a card or two. Well if you are anything like me you land up buying "stuff" with the intention of doing something with it. But sometimes, more often than not the "stuff" gets added to your other "stuff" otherwise know as "stash" and maybe if you lucky you might just use it sometime in the near future. Well that is the intention anyway !!
I have got such an addiction for paper, ink and scrapbooking stash it is not funny. I bought a 'Ranger Clear Resist Pad " ages ago ! Possibly a year ago if not longer, at the time I had no idea what to do with it but the name sounded cool and I had to have it ! Well today was the day I pulled it out and played a bit and this is the results. I first stamped the mask images with clear resist ink on glossy paper, dried it with my heat gun and then coloured in the background with Distress Inks. I must be honest I really really really like the effect !!

Fathers Day !!

2008-06-15T23:16:00.004+01:00

I hope all the daddy's out there had a fabulous day !!!

I managed one LO today for the UKS weekly challenge. What I love about these challenges is it makes you think out the box. I would never have scrapped this photo of me if it wasn't for this challenge, it is possibly the only one I have of me as a teenager and would have sat in an old fashioned album for the rest of its days. Have you often thought as you get older that no matter how many birthdays have pasted that you still the same person ,with the same thoughts, dreams and aspirations as you were years ago. Well I know I am, maybe the only difference is is that I am wiser because of life experiences. Other than that I cannot think that I feel any different today to the way I felt 20 years ago. Maybe one day I will get to a stage where I can say I feel old. At them moment I can't.

I do make cards too

2008-06-14T10:12:00.006+01:00

Card making and stamping was what I started with. I used to go to a little shop in Parkhurst ( JHB South Africa ) literally every weekend for classes and inspiration. This then lead on to greater things as in scrapbooking. I definitely do have an addictive nature because I have so many stamps and card making supplies over and above my scrapbooking stash !!! I was thinking this morning while blog reading that I really do need to make some cards again. Here is one of the cards I did for the UKS Cybercrop Card SWAP. I used Tim Holtz Distress inks to make the back ground before stamping and embossing the image of the Buffalo.

BIA Project

2008-06-11T06:26:00.005+01:00

A BIA book that I made for a UKS SWAP... Really enjoyed this one as the challenge was to use 3 or more hinges. I hope my Swappee likes it !!!

Printers Tray

2008-06-10T22:23:00.011+01:00

It feels good to finish a project that you have been intending to do for ages.
I attended this class at Paper Crazy last year, did the original for dad and then bought another kit for myself. I finally had the guts to un pack it last week when I was on leave and finish it. It took 2 days to complete which really got to me in the end because I was tired of the mess on my dinning room table.
I am really happy with the way it turned out :)

Scrapbooking Style

2008-05-11T09:59:00.003+01:00

I unpacked my albums on Friday night ( this task has taken me 6 months to achieve lol ) because I had to find place for them... Let alone the other 50 boxes in the garage that still need doing !!!! I also decided to sort out all the photo's, got halfway and still have two piles to put in the normal albums.. I don't want my photo's in boxes anymore !!!!!
Whilest looking through the albums I realised that alot of my LO are just pretty pages and do not tell a story, this is something I am going to change.. Maybe dedicate a whole album just about the story of our lives and then have the pretty page albums to use up the stash.

Trivia .....

2008-05-07T21:58:00.004+01:00

I have climatised to the UK weather !!!! You must be asking why is she saying that, well today we had the most beautiful day, the temp was 24 degrees and I was hot!!! Come on I am used to much hotter weather than this back in South Africa, so I reckon, my blood has got thicker and have climatised to the cold !!!
You don't get anything for free here, you even have to pay 20 pence for air for your tyres!!!
Nothing much on the creative side besides thinking about the weekly UKS challenge and what I am going to do :). Oh and then there is the Bind it All SWAP that I need to think about !!!

This is what I did today..

2008-05-03T22:15:00.005+01:00

I managed 2 LO !!!! both were challenges, one for UKS weekly challenge where I scrapped a heritage photo modern style. The Silly Photo LO was for Scrapagogo April stetch challenge. I tried here to create a shabby fun LO. Not sure whether I am exstatic about it though. We have decided to go out tomorrow, do some sight seeing. We planning to go to Oxford!! Dad goes back in September which is not too far away with the way time is flying at the moment so I would like to get out and see as much as we can. Before he goes back to SA I plan to do a an album for him to take back with him!!!

Be prepared to be inspired....

2008-05-03T09:04:00.002+01:00

Do you spend time on other creative blogs, I do... It has something to do with finding my mojo!!! My challenge this month is to scrap differently to what I normally do.. I want my LO's to be more free style, collagy and arty. My BF Val says I have a style which I can't recognise but she can. When I showed her Willow's LO that inspired me she said, well that is you, your style just more free style and shabby.. So I guess I am going to try and attempt. It is going to be a little tough because freestyle is hard for me.

Inspiring

2008-05-02T11:53:00.003+01:00

This LO inspired me today. LO is done by Willow her blog is here if you want to get loads more inspiration. I love the free style and the various mediums she uses. This is what I would call art.

Itching to Scrap

2008-04-29T23:15:00.005+01:00

I joined the Scrapagogo Monthly kit club, my first kit was delivered today !! Oh my it is absolutely divine and I cannot wait to get going with it. Tonight there was no time to be creative because I helped DH update his CV so hopefully I will be posting some LO's soon. I fininshed reading the 'Kite Runner' absolutely brilliant book.

Weekend Ramblings

2008-04-27T19:14:00.006+01:00

UK Scrappers had their Cyber Crop this weekend, I had full intention of spending the weekend scrapping but unfortunately it didn't turn out that way because I had a house full of people today for Aidan's birthday. I managed two classes, one of which I did not finish in time to claim points. This is one of my favourite pictures of Liam. My child is getting so big so quickly and what a stunner he is. I hope he doesn't break too many hearts one day.

I think Aidan had a fab birthday, the poor little might had to wake me up, he then went back to bed so we could bring him his presents in bed. (What a bad mom I am ) Aidan got a Nintendo DS and some cash from his Aunty Jean. We had a 'braai' o.n.o a barbeque for lunch with some boerewors and Pap that we got from a South African shop here in MK.

Don't you just Love Scenic Route

2008-04-20T18:12:00.005+01:00

I love Scenic Route's Cape Town collection papers, I did this LO for a challenge on UKS. I like the way it came out. I am trying my utmost lately to use more on my pages, I reckon I have got way too much stuff so the more I use the sooner I can replace. The problem is I am replacing all the time and will never in 100 years used what I currently have.

Some more Random Stuff

2008-03-26T00:19:00.003Z

I think I now have this blog up and running :), I am still trying to arrange photo's so I can link them here. As you can see I am up late tonight, did a whole host of filing for a change. Work was not to bad today because my boss was off due to problems with the trains. I will tell you something, you have one problem on your line and everything comes to a stand still. The other day I got to the station,, only to find out that all the trains were delayed because someone decided to jump in front of one. Makes you think why someone would take their life like that hey? I must say though if they intended to cause an impact on 1000's of commuters they do.

White Easter

2008-03-24T10:18:00.002Z

Instead of a white christmas; we had a white Easter!! It snowed just enough for the kids to have a snow ball fight. Unfortunately for Sean he got the brunt of it. The boys enjoyed throwing snowballs at their dad, and Emma just ran around screeching with delight. By two o'clock the sun was out and the snow was gone. The UK is country where u could have 4 different seasons in one day !!!