I feel inspired....

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!!!

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.
.
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 .....

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 ..

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 !!!

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 ....

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 ...

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 :)