Scrapbook + Photography + Life

Peek-a-boo

2012-01-31T16:28:00.000+02:00

It's been way to long since I popped in to say "Hi"!!!

all I can say is it's been a crazy 3 months of blog absenteeism for me and the only excuse I have is life has gotten in the way. In short this is what's gone down:

we have moved pretty much all of our stuff down to our house in Cape Town for when we move there permanently near the end of he year.
My Brother and his wife had the cutest little baby girl in November last year and I had the honour of flying down for a maternity shoot.
I've been working like a slave at my 9 - 5 job as a project manager.
I've been working on my photography portfolio and it's all in aid of opening up a photography business [for now only weekends].
We spent a glorious month in Cape Town over December and it was amazing!
We are busy building on to the house in Johannesburg so that we have a little flat to stay in when we do fly up to visit once re-located to Cape Town.

Hoping to spend a little more time hanging out here as well as visiting good friends who's feeds I have not forgotten [sorry if I haven't stopped in to say "Hi" as often as I should - promise I still steal a few days away each day to catch up! And because no post is complete without a pretty picture I thought I would leave you with this pretty I found on Pinterest the other day:

Right now..

2011-10-10T18:49:00.002+02:00

This is a little photo of where I am right now... Going for a walk on the beach after work, reminds me of how lucky we are to live in this beautiful country!

{posted from my phone!}

Sassafrass Lass

2011-10-08T09:33:00.001+02:00

My favourite colours when I was in primary school were pink and blue. In fact I remember my favourite pencils were the Colleen double sided pencils {now there is a blast from the past - wonder if you still get them?} and the baby pink and baby blue always came together on the same pencil.... that pencil was my favourite and that pencil was always used up way before all of the other colours!

I think my love for this colour combination is still stuck somewhere in my subconscious because when I saw this line from Sass last year I just had to buy a few sheets to play with!

Hope you are having a super scrappy day today!!! ♥

Old Kits...

2011-10-07T09:33:00.001+02:00

Sometimes I sit and look at my scrapbook stash and wonder if I will ever get around to using all of it. I mean how many pages can you actually create in a lifetime.... then I wonder if I enjoy scrapbooking for the actual action of creating pretty pages or if it’s more that I have a slightly obsessive compulsive addiction to shopping for products..... then I have a sudden attack of guilt for all the hoarding I do.

After that I slap myself over the head, remember that girls are allowed to hoard a bit as long as they share with those in need and shopping for “stuff” whether it be scrapbooking, clothing or [insert other girly stuff that woman shop for here] is normal girl behaviour {big sigh of relief}. I actually hauled out a kit I got from Cocoa Daisy from Feb 2010 and played a bit and came up with the layouts below.

PS: do you have any old kit’s or item’s from your last shopping expedition that sit in your cupboard and bother you that you haven’t’ used yet? Go ahead and haul them out and use them – seize the day {you will feel better for it!}

Photography Workshop

2011-10-05T17:58:00.000+02:00

Talk about blog silence and now I'm posting twice a day - amazing turnaround hey!?!! Just thought I would share that I'm super excited to be attending a workshop with the fabulous Christine Meintjies next week and she posted a little sneak peek on her blog today {photo below}. I also thought that if there is someone out there that would like the chance to attend her workshop "for free" in exchange for taking photo's of the actual events on the day then I suggest you head on over and leave a comment on her site, trust me if you win this even I'm going to be green with envy!!

Quick hurry up and enter!!

A - Z of Me

2011-10-05T10:36:00.000+02:00

I got this idea from Lynette's blog and it's a fun way to get to know people better {thanks L!} so here is the A- Z of me:

A. Age: 32
B. Bed size: Queen (which isn’t enough when you are sharing with 3 cats and a husband!)
C. Chore that you hate: taking bottles in for recycling
D. Dogs: love ‘em and have to mini schnauzers
E. Essential start to your day: a cup of tea and time with my pets and my iPad
F. Favourite colour: Pink
G: Gold or silver: silver
H: Height: 1,71 m
I: Instruments you play: none at the moment...
J: Job title: Technical Project manager/business analyst
K: Kids: only the 4 legged variety at the moment
L: Live: in Johannesburg for now but soon Cape Town
M: Mother's name: Renee
N: Nick Name: Mands or at work Amanzimtoti (don’t ask)
O: Overnight hospital stays: not to many in my lifetime
P: Pet peeves: Telemarketers and bullies
Q: Quote from a movie: “Remember you wouldn’t serve me before? Big mistake... HUGE” Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman
R: Right or left handed: Right
S: Siblings: my brother Conrad
T: Tea or coffee: Coffee or "rooibos" tea.
U: Underwear: yeah I wear it – not that fond of frilly stuff though
V: Vegetables you hate: I can’t think of any at the moment
W: What makes you run late: work!
X: X Rays: had a few
Y: Yummy food that you make: Anything from my Nigella books.
Z: Zoo Animal: Tigers or anything from the feline family

Instax: Don't forget to check the expiry date!

2011-10-05T09:35:00.003+02:00

I bought myself a little Instax camera last year and being the planning type of person I am I thought I would be clever and buy a heap of film from friends who were overseas at the time. Well one thing I totally forgot about film: IT EXPIRES!! So most of the film I now have to play with is to old and the photo's are coming out all dark and ugly. Anyway, I did keep the first three pics I ever snapped on my Instax Mini and finally got around to creating a simple artsy type layout with them.

Hope if you have film that you run right now to go and check it to make sure if it's about to expire you run around and snap a few pics of your life and loves right now!!

A Little More Time

2011-10-04T13:05:00.000+02:00

I do so wish I had a few more hours in the day to play with paper and glue. It seems in the last few months as if time is passing by so quickly that I struggle to find time to nurture my creative self. I have been trying to challenge myself when I do have time though, and I've taken to attempting a few A4 layouts. The two below were actually created a few weeks ago and I've finally found time to share.

For those of you that enjoy checking out some online inspiration the fall edition of Scrapbook and Cards is out for you to download as well as the new Live Pink October edition.

Old Friends

2011-09-22T07:51:00.000+02:00

I have been sick for what feels the longest of time, but this week I felt I was heading for recovery. I even dragged myself out of bed at 5am this morning to go to bootcamp for the first time in 4 months! It didn't actually go that well and I had to quit half way, but I'm staying positive that at least I'm making an effort to get back into the habit of exercise again after my winter hibernation.
Staying on the positive vibe I got the best news last night: my dear friend who has had a difficult time during the recession has just found permanent employment - I think her excitement, and my excitement in her feeling more positive, is what motivated me to get back into the swing of things this morning! It's actually a slightly chilly spring day in Jozi today but I'm starting to feel the positive vibe that the warmer months in South Africa bring {sigh} thinking happy thoughts today!!

And just because no post is complete without a picture: this layout I did a few months back at one of the scrap circles I'm with and haven't' shared yet...

Happy Thursday thoughts to you friends!!

The Colour Lilac

2011-09-11T17:41:00.000+02:00

This past Saturday hubby took the dogs in for a spring cut, poor things were getting all hot and bothered with all this unusually warm weather we are experiencing in Jozi at the moment. They always get some sort of scarf to wear when they come home and this time they both came home with lilac polka-dots. I was outside snapping a few pics of them showing off their new style and was inspired by the fact that there are actually a few lilacs in our garden at the moment so I snapped a few pics with lilac in mind and these are my top picks:

The pic of the brats isn't to sharp: I was having trouble focusing on the brats with my 50mm in the light so I need to get a few more this week while they still look all neat.

What's inspiring you at the moment?

A Proud Sister

2011-09-07T17:00:00.000+02:00

I'm not sure I've posted to much about how proud I am of my brother before...

I guess we have a strange kind of relationship given that we are "parentless" so we kinda look out for one another, and in some small way we do the things for each other that our parents would have done for us.... like brag about our achievements for instance! We were both not that sport orientated in school and as a result I think we picked up many bad heath habits. My brother however bucked this trend and took up downhill cycling a few years ago and he has just gone from strength to strength, winning a few races this year in his class an being at least within the top 3 in the rest. I may not say it often enough bro but well done on all you have achieved this year - you are inspirational to me!

Spring fever!

2011-09-06T09:33:00.000+02:00

Happy belated spring day to you!!!!
This past weekend was a great breakaway from the hustle and bustle of Jozi, but as always it went by way to fast! As I may have mentioned Brett's gran of 92 years old went down with us to see the beautiful wildflower splendor that graces the cape region each year at springtime.
She enjoyed herself so much and chatted the whole day about how much fun she was having, what life was like growing up in the northern cape and I even found out a few interesting facts about what Brett was like as a kid (LOL: I've been sworn to secrecy on what they are).

Anyhoooo.... Thought I would share the 2 pages I created with the ScrapbookEx competition kit from last year. The first is a remake of the original page I make for the competition (I made a new one because the original I donated to them) and then the second page is a pic that Candice Greenway snapped of me at the show receiving my special mention. Just love Keizer Craft goodies and this kit was super fun to work with!

Hope you are having a good week so far!

Spring is in the air...

2011-08-31T09:07:00.000+02:00

Spring is officially in the air in South Africa at the moment.... the trees and flowers in Jozi are starting to flower and bud {and the amount of sneezing I'm doing currently tells me that any day now the temperatures will be up in the 30's}. Tonight I'm getting together with the scrapbook gals to catch up and scrap together. I decided that given it's officially spring tomorrow I'd arrange a little something extra special around a pink theme: Pink cupcakes, Pink drinks, butterflies, pretty food and a friend is going to come and show us her new skincare and perfume range.... Can't wait!!!

Tomorrow we are off to the Cape again with Brett's gran to go and see the wildflowers - can't think of a better way to start of spring than being surrounded by God's beauty ♥♥♥

Some Lilly Bee Fun

2011-08-27T09:30:00.000+02:00

Just in case you were wondering why so many posts so close together after such a long leave from the "usual programming": I'm catching up on all the layout's I've completed in the last few months but haven't posted! The two layouts below are made up from the Nook June kit + a few extra goodies from Imaginisce.

This first layout is of my God Child: Miss Hannah Rose - she is such a cute little kiddo who is growing up so fast I can hardly believe my eyes each time I see her. I took this photo the December before last with my newly acquired 50mm lens and just love the soft features it produces.

My good friends {and Imaginisce queens} Sophia and Tracy gave me some Imaginisce stash a few months ago and I've been itching to try them out. The layout below makes use of the pop up posies + the super cool petal roller tool {Thanks Gals!!!}.

I'm not one for really bulky albums so unfortunately I had to squish the pop up posies down quite a bit so that the album I filed this layout in wasn't to "fat". I still then they are way to cute and even if you feel the need to "squish stuff" to get your albums flat {LOL}.

Happy Scrapping!

Getting some "housework" done

2011-08-26T18:42:00.000+02:00

Well, well, well.... two blog posts in one day! I decided it was time to do some "housework" for my online photo store and I've moved all my "stuff" over to Flickr. I wanted to rearrange a whole bunch of photo's into albums and to do this in Picasa web albums just seemed like it was going to be to much of a mission, so Flickr is it! While I was going through all my layouts I found a few favorites from the last three years I thought I would share again {skip the rest of this post if you don't want to experience dejavu}.

Hope you have a super weekend and if you can: find some time for yourself and scrapbook!!!

Pink-a-lishous....

2011-08-26T15:44:00.000+02:00

For those of you that know me well [and for those of you that don't: here is the heads up] I L.O.V.E pink! I love pink so much I own 3 pink water bottles [and really, you only need one] and when I came home with number 3 my DH said "let me guess..... the only reason you bought that bottle was because its pink right?" {he knows me to well!!LOL}. Anyways... the latest addition to the my pink stash is my new pink iPad. Seriously people I have no idea why it took me so long to get one of these babies - it's been like an extension of my arm since I picked it up last week!

Apple products are all about accessories so I "Blinged" mine up with:

1. A cute cover from Anna Griffin:

2. An iPad2 magnetic cover:

3. And I've downloaded enough digital scrapbook stash from Zinio and Kindle to last a lifetime!

I didn't just get it to read books and magazines on though, I am in the process of setting it up so that I can download photo's onto it easily and blog [so I don't have to open my laptop all the time and get sidetracked by doing work over weekends when what I really want to do is write a little blog post to keep in touch with you all!]. So, hopefully I will get it all right soon and get the chance to catch up a whole lot more often!

A Serendipitous Find

2011-08-18T11:00:00.000+02:00

Hey Peeps!

Happy Thursday to you ♥

I stumbled on this really cool site where my namesake Amanda has collected a bunch of links to free downloadable prints like the one below. Go and Check it out and show her some love by leaving a comment for all the great work she is doing.

Virtual Crop Time

2011-08-10T06:52:00.000+02:00

I just love hanging out at VC's and absorbing all that creativity so I'll be hanging out at the Nook next weekend... come join me!

Today I.....

2011-08-05T09:24:00.000+02:00

This idea comes from a friend Sophia's blog: I decided to write up a few things that I actually did yesterday so that I could describe a whole day beginning to end [it's a bit early today to finish off the answers to this just yet for the day].

Today I went to work, the shops and home.

Today I hoped that things will settle down at work soon and that it all works out in the end.
Today I dreamed of a simpler life.

Today I forgot to think before I speak and make sure my words are sweet.
Today I heard that a friend had shot himself.

Today I read my Google Reader, Facebook updates and a million CV's for work

Today I watched re-runs of "How I met your mother" with hubs on the couch.

Today I said I'm blessed in more ways than I can imagine and I need to remember that!

Today I believed I will come out of this rut that I'm in.

Today I felt positive about the fact that I'm making changes and working toward a balanced life.

Today I wondered what this weekend will hold in store for me - hope it's relaxing.

Today I bought nearly bought an iPad... I'm on the waiting list!

Today I cleaned up after dinner and made sure everything was clean - our maid is on leave for 2 weeks so gotta keep up with the housework.

Today I was me.

So what did you get to do today?

Stopping by...

2011-08-03T07:47:00.000+02:00

It really feels like all I'm doing lately is stopping by to say a quick hello, I never really get a chance to chat or scrap or do all the fun things that make life worth living. hopefully things will slow down a little soon, and I will get a chance to indulge more in my hobbies and play a little more online with my scrappy friends! Before I scoot off to work, here are a few fun things I have to share: the August Nook kit is here - for those girlies who subscribe with me... maybe you will have it in your hot little hands this evening [wink-wink], and maybe not... will leave it as a surprise either way!

And then for those who love to dabble in a little competition or two my bloggy friend [and I met her in person this past weekend by pure chance!!! {she is just as fab in real life}] Kim is running a little competition to win a Studio Calico kit over at her blog... head on over and enter!!

Time Flies

2011-07-19T20:59:00.000+02:00

Can you believe it's been a year already since the last big ideas festival?? I really enjoyed last years festival and I'm really looking forward to what this year has in store for us!! Head on over and register - its FREE!

Eye Candy...

2011-07-18T09:25:00.000+02:00

I thought I would share my round up of yummyness I have seen so far to be released in the upcoming summer CHA. The manufactures have really outdone themselves again: in a word {Swoon....}

American Crafts:

Hambley:

Crate:

Nothing like some eye candy to start the week with ♥ ♥ ♥

Troll Mayhem

2011-07-06T20:41:00.000+02:00

One of the things I have been trying to do for the past few months is finish off a few scrapbooking projects from past classes. My thinking is: I really need to work on some of the projects I paid the earth for, and never finished, before I move onto using some of my new stash. Well... I have completed quite a few some of which I have posted, and others it’s just not worth posting because I’m just to lazy {and busy} to photograph them. One project that was very near completion was the October Afternoon one taught by Debbie Schuh last year and lo and behold... mid project... this is what I came home to one evening.... the trolls {read dogs} had jumped onto my desk and pulled of a heap of stuff to chew on including my project!!

Despite the dogs spoiling a few of my efforts I am making some headway. They luckily haven't been sent off to the SPCA for adoption {I cant stay angry at those to faces for too long!!}.

My Favourite Outtake

2011-07-04T21:13:00.000+02:00

I forgot to mention that my favourite photo from the June photo challenge is the one below depicting time. This pocket watch was an heirloom from my grandpa and the hands holding it belong to Brett's gran.

The End of June in Photos Challenge

2011-07-04T21:07:00.000+02:00

Friday was officially the 1st of July 2011 which means that time ran out to try and catch up on and photo taking that may have happened to try and complete the June photo challenge. I think having to move "holiday house stuff" down to Cape Town in the middle of the month distracted me from the challenge, as well as work being a little busy at this time of year! Anyways.... below are all the photo's I managed to snap [may of which were not on the day they were supposed to be snapped, but it's the thought that counts right?!?!!]

So here is the breakdown in order from top right and running across: 1. Self Portrait 2. My favorite shoes in winter 3. Love: Andre and his new fiance 4. Coffee For Breakfast ~yum!! 5. What I'm reading right now 6. High Angle shot of my babies 7. Fresh fruit for a mid-morning snack 8. Brett's prize pet 9. Clouds on a sunny morning 10. A shot of a vintage car at a friends house 11. Holding a heart in my hand 12. Someone I love: Brett 13. Tree Aloe's 14. Kit-Kat Chocolates remind me of my childhood 15. Sun Flare through the pear tree 16. Black & White depicting "Time" 17. Overlooking the water in Kalk Bay 18. A Silhouette of love.

I'm glad I took part in the challenge even if I didn't finish it. I learned a few new things about my camera and how it works and I would very much like to keep the momentum going with this so I may scout around for another similar challenge to take part in.

New Scrapbook & Cards and a Catch-Up

2011-06-29T09:57:00.000+02:00

Today is a quick share: the latest copy of Scrapbook & Cards is out and its FREE - download it!!!!

This past weekend I managed to fit in a bit of "me time" and got some scrapbooking done.... as soon as I get a chance I will photograph my projects and share.
I've been very busy at work lately and there is hardly a spare moment to surf blogs, check out all the latest happenings and read all the blogs in Google Reader so if I'm not stopping by to say "Hi" as often as I used to then don't think I've dropped off the radar.
Winter on the highveld is so chilly that DH and I have gone into some sort of hibernation pattern - we hardly want to leave the house so I've been cooking up all sorts of wonderful winter recipes: learned how to make lamb stew the other day {I never realized it was so easy!!} I've made every kind of soup under the sun and generally I'm just eating way to much. {me thinks some gym and healthy eating needs to be on my agenda for the next few weeks!!}

How are you keeping?

The Reverse Vortrekker Move

2011-06-23T23:06:00.000+02:00

I've been a little scarce on the blog front I know, but with good reason. We moved our stuff down to [what for now] is our little holiday home in the Cape. Yes I've been going on about it for ages but all the stress is now out of the way and I plan to pop down and visit as often as possible! Here are a few little pics to tell the story: unpacking all our goodies {I highly recommend Pickfords if you are moving long distance - they had wonderful service and were very pleasant and helpful}!

Our garage was flooded when the french drain in front of it packed up with icy hail on our first night [not the best start to the move but it got better]

Pizza from a friends pizza place in Kalk Bay called Satori's as our first meal in the house {so much for healthy eating!! LOL}

Sunrise from our balcony... so pretty

Moseying around Kalk Bay after breakfast

On Saturday we did a mini wine tasting tour: Brett had two of his friends from work with us to share in the adventure. We managed four farms before we gave up and went home to get an early nights sleep!

I hope to catch up on a few of my photo's from the June photo challenge as well as get some serious scrapbooking done now... so keep 'em peeled for further posts!

June 7: High Angle

2011-06-08T13:06:00.000+02:00

One nifty little trick I learned today was how to get "the kids" to look up into the camera when I want to take a photo: dangle a piece of biltong over your lens - works perfectly every time!!

June 6: Books

2011-06-08T13:04:00.000+02:00

I'm sure by now you are tired of hearing me waffle on about our new house but this does occupy quite a bit of my creative mind at the moment.... fueled by Pinterest and a huge stash of home decor magazines!!

June 5: Breakfast Today

2011-06-08T13:01:00.000+02:00

After the day I had yesterday I needed lot's of coffee so we popped into Country Living before heading out to friend for lunch. I just love that shop - seriously - one day when my ship comes in I'm going to decorate my whole house in goodies from them!

Day 4: Clouds

2011-06-08T12:56:00.000+02:00

Ok so you may have picked up from previous posts that we are in mid-winter here in South Africa which on the Highveld means that most day's have absolutely no clouds due to the fact that we are a summer rainfall region. Day 4 also fell on my Saturday so I was hectically busy with movers and in the afternoon I went to share in our friends engagement party.... so no clouds but here is a pic of the happy couple:

Day 2: My Favorite Shoes

2011-06-08T12:52:00.001+02:00

Winter means that I basically wear boots all the time - I think they keep me warmer than any other shoe and quite frankly it's also becuase I'm to lazy to put on stockings and fancy shoes for work! The one drawback though of leather is that you need to polish them all the time to make them last!

Day 1: Self portrait

2011-06-08T12:48:00.001+02:00

I was reminded today by my dear friend that I haven't posted any of the photos of my June challenge yet... thanks Sue-tjie :-) I don't know about you, but it's far easier to take photo's than to do all the "post-processing" required to get them up onto your blog, hence the delay. I definitely won't be able to post daily because right now life is pretty hectic with work and moving and all the time I I feel obliged to snuggle in front of our TV watching old series's and sipping Horlicks! Enough blabbing here is day 1:

Camera Usage

2011-06-01T08:44:00.000+02:00

It's really no secret that since I bought my new camera {besides the 10 days I was on holiday} I've hardly had time to use the thing!!! very very very sad indeed!!! So my dear friend Sophia posted this fun challenge for June and I think I'm gonna give it my best shot - maybe you can join in the fun?

Given today is the 1st I had better get cracking... thinking I'm going to shoot the whole month on the 5D with my 50mm f1.4 {it's going to make the macro shot a bit tricky but hey - that's what Photoshop is for right!!}.

The Transfer...

2011-05-25T18:18:00.000+02:00

So yesterday, 24 May 2011, we finally got confirmation that the transfer of our new home in the Cape went through!!! Today however, we logged onto internet banking and there she was, our new home loan {the not so fun part of buying a house}. As with everything in life you gotta take the good with the bad but right now I'm still pretty stoked that I own a house with my handsome hubby in Cape Town..... we have been planning, dreaming and occasionally arguing about making this decision but glad that yesterday it was finally set in stone - we bought a house together that we will one day call our home.

I've also been scouring Pinterest and about a zillion other DIY home decor sites for ideas for my new studio..... think I'm a bit overwhelmed actually that I get to play in my own space again and create and leave a mess all over the place, then close the door and nobody can see it - or paint the whole room pink!!! Here are a few ideas I have on my home inspiration boards...

{for photo credits on these photo's please visit Pinterest and brows my boards}

Happy National Pickle Day!

2011-05-17T11:58:00.000+02:00

LOL - yes yesterday was National Pickle day in the US so for all of you crazies out there who love their pickles - happy, happy to you!! Here are a few layouts I created for the Nook Crop over at My Scrapbook Nook this past weekend:

This one isn't actually finished - I still need to add some journaling but I totally ran out of time on Sunday evening:

I also managed to win a RAK from Lady Grace Belarmino as well as a free May Kit!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!

Weekend Chill

2011-05-13T08:24:00.014+02:00

I am so glad that the weekend is here.... seriously, I have had a pretty hectic week from a work perspective and all I want to do is chill out and do my own thing! I'm looking forward to the two crops I mentioned in this post so I hope that I will get some quality scrapping time in this weekend {I do hope that I will see a few of you there to!}. Here are a few layouts I finally got to photograph this week: the first I created at a crop with my scrapbook girlfriends up in Jozi and the second I did just before I went away on leave over the Easter season.

More Sassafrass Scrapping

2011-05-11T17:14:00.000+02:00

Just to show how much you can create out of one kit: I used every little scrap (except for some alpha that was left) to create with over the weekend. I just loved the little waterfall book that Tracie had as an extra class page from ScrapbookEx last year - so cute - so of course I had to make it!! I think this is a brilliant idea to give as a little gift to someone with special pictures that are meaningful to them.

Sassafrass Scrapping...

2011-05-11T17:13:00.001+02:00

So as promised here are the layouts that I was working on for NSD {national scrapooking day} on Saturday. The top two are from the class wee did with Tracie Hudson last year at ScrapbookEx and the bottom two layouts and the card are my own work all using the kit we got from Sassafrass Lass.

Tracie had an example similar to this but she had it done in 8.5 x 11 inches and I really felt like stretching the layout to be 12 x 12:

Happy Thoughts....

2011-05-10T09:01:00.000+02:00

Just love this illustration from Katie Daisy. I stumbled on her website this morning and love the fact that her illustration transports me to my happy place ♥

Too Busy Scrapbooking....

2011-05-09T13:33:00.000+02:00

I was so busy scrapbooking up a storm on Saturday evening that I didn't get a chance to wish all you scrapbookers out there a very happy National Scrapbooking Day!!! {not sure if you do wish people for that kinda stuff, but doing it anyway!}. I was checking in over at 2Peas and over at BPS to see what "went down" on the forums etc, but instead of playing along, I decided to complete a few long outstanding projects that have been cluttering my desk. I haven't had time to photograph any of them because yesterday was kinda busy but I will post a few pics later in the week.

If all the fun and excitement of NSD {national scrapbooking day} wasn't enough for you then don't fret.... there are 2 big crops on this weekend!! Here is the schedule for the crop over at Cocoa Daisy:

And if you head on over to the forums at My Scrapbook Nook you will find the details of their crop this weekend + they just released the pics of their May kit which is super cute:

Happy Scrapping!!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T08:18:00.009+02:00

To all my bloggy friends who celebrate mothers day... here is wishing you the most special of day's today!!

Mother’s Day Bouquet by Chelsea Fuss of {Frolic!}

Snapshots of Morgan Bay

2011-05-06T15:50:00.000+02:00

As promised here are a few of my favourite photo's from a recent trip to Morgan Bay. We were away for just long enough to chill out and spend some quality time with friends. Normally I come back from our holidays feeling like I need another holiday {LOL} so this one was a nice change!!
We went down with friends of ours and their girls, and Brett's sister and her two girls so there was plenty of action all day long. Waking up the first morning we were back at home was actually really strange because it was eerily silent ~ no kiddies playing or puppies running amuck.
We cooked wonderful food together every evening, went on long beach expeditions with all the kids finding shells and sea urchins left in the tidal pools, took the dogs for walks on the beach everyday and got them used to the water, ate way to many chocolates and played copious games of Uno.

The next trip we make will be to move all of the excess furniture we have down to our home in the Cape. I have mixed emotions about that: I’m glad that we are finally making the move {well it’s a holiday home for now} but I’m really not looking forward to moving. Once we are there though I’m sure it will all seem worth it so can’t wait!!

Cupcake Heaven....

2011-05-04T08:48:00.000+02:00

If like me you are getting chilly and feeling the urge to eat comfort food 24/7 then maybe this cute cupcake site is for you.... Check ou what Ming is making and be inspired!!

Pictured: Eaton's Mess Cupcakes, Sis's Chocolate cupcakes, Mango Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting

Creative Crop

2011-05-03T16:21:00.000+02:00

If you haven't done so already head on over to BPC and sign up for this weekends Creative Crop in honour of National Scrapbooking day!! {see you there}

A new addition to the family...

2011-05-02T18:09:00.003+02:00

I am very fortunate to be working for a company who have blessed me with the means afford some of the finer things in life!! I was able to purchase my dream camera 2 weeks ago... the Canon 5D mark 2!! I have been away for the last 10 days in the Morgan bay, near Kei Mouth in the Eastern Cape, {more to come on this later} and just before I set off for our holiday I took delivery of the new baby ♥ ♥ ♥

I really didn’t have time to play and learn before I left but I did manage to snap the first few frames on her: the first one was of course of my other new babies... {awww how cute are they snoozing in their beds next to my desk while I work at home}

And the second of the random stuff on my desk to check out what a full frame sensor can do for a gal {happy dance... I can now get a true 24mm on my 24mm - 70mm lens, whoop whoop, and that clear crisp clarity.. swoon}:

And for good measure here is the Rollip version {still loving that ♥ vintage ♥ feel}:

Ok, ok so maybe you are not as excited as me on this one but I am seriously stoked and can’t wait to learn how the new baby works, promise I will share all if I find anything new and exciting!!

So... what all have you been up to for the past 10 days?????

PS: I almost forgot... my good friends over at LeShabby have cooked up some serious magic with this month's kit ~ head on over to see what they are up to!!

An Event not to miss...

2011-04-18T11:40:00.000+02:00

Although this event is a little far away for me to attend this event I thought I would mention it mostly because I just love this years design of the site! How gorgeous is the Spark 3 website... I mean seriously... swoon!!! I have made a promise to myself that if we are ever lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to the States that I will definitely be trying to plan a trip to Utah {and with a bit of luck to attend one of the cool events I am always finding in the state like Spark!!}.

It's not "Vintage" it's "Indie"

2011-04-16T08:25:00.003+02:00

Ok people, I stand corrected on this one: the old world style I have been spotting recently is not referred to as "vintage" but rather "indie". There are so many descriptions of what indie is and you can apply this to any area of your life... seemingly it's a "lifestyle choice".

Either way I am just loving all of the indie type stuff all over the web at the moment and thought that I would share a video tutorial on how to dress indie, as well as a few sites that just shout indie that I'm soaking up at the moment! First how to dress indie:

Second a few places to drool, buy and find and be inspired by indie:
Mod Cloth ~ an assortment of cool stuff
Ruche ~ Clothing mostly
Cupcake Couture ~ a Durbs gal who's rocking it
Glossary ~ some great SA style
A Beautiful Mess ~ A few Scrapbookers my recognize this gal!
Pugly Pixel ~ for all your indie digi goodness + lot's is free!!

Editing to get that "Vintage Look"

2011-04-15T08:11:00.002+02:00

So many people think that all the photo's they see are taken directly from the camera and printed or uploaded for all to see {photographers refer to images straight off the camera as SOOC ~ straight out of camera}. Many times this is very far from the truth as images are totally revamped before they go to print or to the general public to see. Every photographer aims to get perfect images SOOC but for most of us the reality is that there will always be a certain amount of editing {post-processing} that needs to take place before we are happy that the rest of the world can see our work.

One of the trends in photography nowadays is that of the "vintage" effect or look and feel of photos. I totally love this look and feel in photo's and I've been wanting to play around a bit to see if I can achieve something similar with my editing. Two SA photography teams I ♥ areWe Take Creative Pictures & We Love Pictures... {SWOON}. One day I would love to have their eye for composition {Lot's of practice needed} but in the interim I am working on trying to get some Photoshop work done so achieve the vintage look that I see so much in their amazing work. For those of us who are not lucky enough to own a CS version of Photoshop we have to make do with Photoshop Elements.

All is not lost though there is help at hand: there is actually a free set of Elements actions available from The Pioneer Woman which you can download HERE. There are a heap of actions to install and play with to get that look you are after. Here are the before and after shots of the drinks "glasses" from my birthday this year. The before photo is SOOC and the after photo has a few actions applied {you can apply more than one action to a photo i.e. layer actions to get cool effects}.

Actions applied: Slight Light, Colourized, Edge burn & Sharpen THIS!

If you are reading this and thinking Photoshop is like "way to much hard work" for you, but you really would like to play a bit with editing your photos then check out Rollip there are plenty of free photo effects to try out! Happy Editing.....

Edited after posting:
Here is another example of what I mean about vintage type photo's.... I just can't get enough of what Elizabeth Kartchner gets up to and her latest venture Make Something Splendid is no exception!! Loving they way the photo's for her new site are edited!!! [off to go play some more to get that light airy feel going...]

Bootcamp Explained....

2011-04-13T12:23:00.004+02:00

There are a couple of people who have asked what the heck bootcamp is since my last post on what I'm currently doing to get into the habit or exercising regularly. Shape Magazine currently has a columnist attending a bootcamp down in the Cape but sadly the Sports Science Institute only operates classes in the Cape. It really seems as if the whole Bootcamp vibe has taken off in a big way as there are a lot of options available to you if you would like to sign-up. I work through Adventure Bootcamp which is a woman's only bootcamp and my DH has signed up with Bootcamp SA.

If you are thinking of signing up then I think you need to review your options carefully: if you want a military style workout where you come come coverd in mud and scratches then Bootcamp SA is for you. If you would like to get fit and strong and work with qualified personal trainers to do a less army style workout then I would suggest Adventure Bootcamp. I have attached a short clip from the Shape website that will give you some idea of what happens in our Adventure Bootcamp class... so you have an idea of what I get up to between the hours of 5:45 and 6:45 Monday - Friday :-)

A Blue & Red Birthday Bash

2011-04-11T17:24:00.002+02:00

Every year I say I won't do it, I won't organize anything for my birthday because something will always go wrong.... for the past two years we have been rained out which totally messes up my ability to get great photos! {ok that's enough moaning from me for now ~ this is supposed to be a happy birthday post!!} This year I decided on a blue and red theme for my birthday and thought I would make it a kids party but for adults. I figured the kids would have fun with all the sweets and playing dress up, and if the adults played along it would make for a fun afternoon... I think it worked out well in the end {despite the rain and having to move everything inside in a huge rush when the thunder clouds hit}. I have long admired Amy Atlas and her famous dessert tables so that was the focal point of the event. I had great fun collecting ideas from all over the web and putting it all together! Believe it or not it's kida difficult to find enough blue sweets to put the table together but in the end I made it work.

Baby Dylan just loved the milk and cookies...

I setup a photo booth in the garden with a red sheet hung as a backdrop. I set out a bunch of fun dress-up items and let everyone play with the camera setup in front on remote shutter:

I did have fun an I'm glad that the few pics I snapped before the rain came worked out alright. Next year.....

I'm taking a leave of absense and booking into a spa for the day!! {LOL}

A Proud Mom

2011-04-08T11:29:00.002+02:00

I would just like to take this oppourtunity to say I think our little brats are soooooooooooooo darn cute with their new cuts!!! I took them in on Wednesday morning for their first ever visit to the pet spa a.k.a the doggie parlor. They went in messy little puppies, and came out minature schnauzers... I actually couldn't stop giggling at them the whole way home! It's so strange having their new "look" almost gives them a different personality in a way, but they are still my little babies either way.

PS: trying to get Baloo to it still for a pic is proving to be very difficult at the moment so I will have to save a pic of him for another time

My, how time flies!!

2011-04-04T12:30:00.000+02:00

Three years ago today I walked down the aisle to marry a man is my partner, my friend, my lover and my all round big squeeze... we have overcome so many hurdles in the past three years and today as I write this, I can honestly say, that I am looking forward to spending the next 100 years together with him at my side.

Happy Friday

2011-04-01T10:53:00.000+02:00

Hello gorgeous blog readers... hope you are having a mighty fine Friday thus far!! I am having a super day and because tomorrow is my birthday I get to take a half day off and pop off to a spa for the afternoon... what bliss! I stumbled on this cute little print today on Pinterest and thought you may appreciate the humour in it...

From ParadaCreations

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - anything exciting happening in your world?

Long Overdue Pics and a Post

2011-03-24T17:20:00.000+02:00

I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to post about these to little trolls but it's better late than never right! On the 1st of Jan this year we drove all the way to Ermelo to go and collect our new little babies: 2 miniature schnauzers named Tallulah [female] and Baloo [male].
As my friend Sue rightly said: they were our “New Years Babies” [only they didn’t get a special announcement in the newspaper]. They were so small and scared of the world when they arrived and spent most of their day being molly coddled by some poor unsuspecting person. In the 3 months they have been with us since, they have grown into active, slightly overbearing at times and overly cute little pups who seem fearless [especially when dealing with large cats that could probably take their eye out!].

These are a few photos of then I snapped on January 1st – that’s Tallulah on the left and Baloo on the right:

This next set shows just how much Miss Tallulah has grown in 3 months both napped by my DH [thanks babes] the one marked "March" was taken last night :

A Recipe Binder

2011-03-24T16:44:00.001+02:00

I found a little time over the long weekend that just past to play a little and create this cute mixed media recipe binder. I have been collecting recipe cards from our local grocer for ages now and I really needed somewhere to store all of them. I didn't have to much time [or bandwidth left] to watch the lessons for my She Art class so I opted to create the mini album covers and viola recipe folder made:

Our New Chapter Begins

2011-03-23T09:42:00.000+02:00

Things are moving so fast at the moment it's hard to believe that two weekends ago DH and I flew down to Cape Town to check out a new home we were thinking of buying. Well the thought turned into reality as we signed the papers today at the transferring attorneys i.e. we are now almost the new owners of a little house in Fish Hoek.
We have been looking at buying a property down in the Cape since our engagement nearly 3 years back and to be honest there has been so much back and forth of weather we could/should/would move or not that I honestly thought it would never happen.

But it's real, it's happening and we will soon be standing in the doorway to our new home, key's dangling in hand, new mortgage payments looming, wondering why the heck it took so long to finally make the move and buy a home together that we can all "ours".

Here are a few pics I "stole" of the estate agent's website: it's by no means perfect but it's ours and I am looking forward to making new happy memories in it....

listening – general office chatter
eating – had lunch with DH at Woolworths today
drinking – water
wearing – black pants and a pink sparkly top
feeling – a bit tired and stiff from bootcamp this morning
weather – sunny afternoon temp 27 degrees
wanting – to go home soon
needing – to get going with eating healthy
thinking – about all the stuff to arrange for our new home
enjoying – Planning my birthday in a few weeks
wondering – ?

A Few Pages...

2011-03-17T13:59:00.000+02:00

I haven't had a chance to photograph layouts for ages now and played catch-up last night after work... here are a few from Feb. The first one uses lots of old tags from clothing I bought and I just loved them so much I couldn't throw them away, so used them on a layout!

And here is my second A4 layout ever [note to self: how about trying this more often... they are so quick and easy especially when you are a. low on time OR b. only have one photo.

listening – random office chatter
eating – wine gums
drinking – cold coffee from this morning [I always drink it cold]
wearing – black pants, grey top and pearls
feeling – pretty good after my "therapy" last night
weather – sunny outside today
wanting – to go to a small business expo today but don't think I will be able to escape the office
needing – to spend more time with my girlfriends
thinking – I wish I could be in Cape Town so I could to go to the beach this evening for a walk
enjoying – the time in my day when I can just chill and be me
wondering – if I will get time to do something creative this evening

My First "She Art" Girl...

2011-03-16T16:20:00.001+02:00

I am so proud of me... I started this workshop a few weeks ago and I have actually made the time to participate - whoop whoop for me!!! [LOL]. Here are a few "work-in-progress" snapshots of my girl + a final detail shot of how she turned out. I have to silence my inner critic in this post and just say I am happy with the way she turned out, and looking forward to a bit more exploration...

listening – to the rain outside
eating – Sushi for lunch
drinking – Water
wearing – White pants and a baby blue top
feeling – like I need to take control again
weather – raining and slightly chilly
wanting – to snuggle with someone on the couch and hibernate
needing – to work hard lately!
thinking – I can’t wait till my hairdresser opens her new shop – missed her scissors!
enjoying – the fact I have wonderful friends who I’m going to scrap with tonight
wondering – why the heck the electric gate motor outside isn’t fixed yet!!

How To: Make Your Own Pin Board

2011-03-15T10:36:00.001+02:00

I made these cool little pin boards for my cupboard door a few weeks back and thought I would share how I put it together. I have an old pine cupboard [that needs painting but that's for another day's post] that I was sticking letters, notes and pictures onto with prestik which was starting to mess up the wood over time.

I wanted to fit the pin boards to use to display my little trinkets instead of just sticking them on with Prestik so I decided to try and fit them into the recess in the wood of the doors. Buying the pin boards was out of the question because trying to find boards that fitted perfectly would have been nearly impossible.

Hence the little craft project that follows was born:

Pin Board How To:

Gather the following to make up each board:

1. Soft board cut to your desired size [most wood merchants & hardware stores can help you with this]

2. Suitable fabric to cover your board [I used Burlap for mine]

3. +- 5m of ribbon to make the criss-cross pattern

4. 7 buttons that suite the style of fabric and ribbon for your project

5. Staple Gun + Staples

6. Glue Gun + Glue Sticks

Optional: some crochet thread to thread through the buttons

Putting it all together:

1. Lay the soft board down on the fabric and cut the fabric so that there is enough to fold around the back of the board and fold to staple down.

2. Using your staple gun fold the fabric over on itself and create a neat 'hem' to stable down on the back of the board [see pic one below].

3. Stable down two of the opposite sides of fabric to the board leaving every alternate length of the shape un-stapled.

4. Using a pair of scissors create cut away a corner as shown in the middle pick below so that you can easily fold up the fabric and staple it down [similar to how you would fold the paper when covering a book].

5. To create the criss-cross ribbon on the front measure out the ribbon and arrange on the board as per the left picture below.

6. Once you are happy with how the ribbon sits stable it down starting by stapling at each point where the ribbon intercepts and then carefully turning the board over to staple the ribbon down to the back of the board.

7. If you are using crochet thread to thread through the buttons then cut lengths off to thread through the button and tie a knot in the front of each button to secure the thread to the button.

8. To attach the buttons to the board use your glue gun and put a small glob of glue behind each button and press onto the board in the desired position to secure.

I attached the boards to my cupboard using picture hooks and hooked in a few cute cards and inspirational articles to the board to finish off my super cool new project.... Et Voila!!

This Moment

2011-03-15T08:52:00.001+02:00

I loved this idea of a quick share of what you are up to from Tracie's blog... I hope she doesn't mind: I thought I would share this moment in time from my life:

listening – the sound of people working in the office
eating – Toast with a Poached Egg for breakfast
drinking – Filter Coffee
wearing – Black pants and a long grey jersey top
feeling – Ready to tackle a very busy day
weather – overcast in Jozi – 19 Degrees
wanting – To be at home tinkering with something crafty
needing - to visit post office
thinking – of how to decorate a new space
enjoying – Sleeping in this morning
wondering – if I’ll get to gym this week as many times as I would like

Nurture 2011: Nurturing a healthy lifestyle

2011-03-14T19:26:00.001+02:00

Just in case you need a catch-up my word for 2011 is Nurture. There are so many things I need to nurture in my life, first on my list being to do a little self nurturing. One of the key areas I wanted to nurture was getting into the habit of exercise regularly again and feeling good about the fact that I am doing my bit to not become a couch potato. I decided that trying to get to gym in the morning just wasn't working, I do better having a bunch of people to exercise with to keep me motivated and for some reason I didn't really find that bunch of people at the gym.

I had to do a fitness assessment late last year for my medical aid and the Biokineticist that I visited suggested bootcamp. I didn't like the place that she suggested: it was a bit to "military style" for my liking but I found a woman's only bootcamp called Adventure Bootcamp and decided to sign up. 4 weeks of 5 days a week exercise was tough to start but now I'm really enjoying the whole experience. I actually completed my second 4 week bootcamp last Friday and I am happy to report that men's push-ups are no longer a big "no-no" in my vocabulary.

Looking at these pics I see a woman who is on track to getting herself back into shape. She's gone from pretty nervous that she wouldn't succeed to knowing that she can do whatever she puts her mind to.
I've signed up for the next 2 bootcamp's coming up and can't wait to get going so next step now on that "healthy lifestyle" challenge is getting the right nourishment for my body... will keep you posted on my progress.

Closing a Chapter

2011-03-13T09:40:00.000+02:00

I have been so busy since the start of this year at work that I just haven't had the time to blog about some of the "goings on" in my world, I have a backlog of photos and a list as long as my arm of things I want to share and this is the first of a few posts with me playing catch-up!

At the end of 2010 I sold my home, the home I owned before I got married, the last "thing" that I was hanging onto that was all mine, and at the time it was with a sad heart that I said goodbye. The final transfer of the property took place at the beginning of Feb 2011 and I waved goodbye for the last time.

My very dear friend was living in it with her kiddos when I sold it, keeping safe and sound for me, and I think it was also sad for her to say goodbye, but she reminded me that with every door that closes a new one opens and we need to be open to the opportunity that that brings, and embrace it with both arms.

Goodbye little house, you held good memories of friends, laughter, love, tears, happiness, sunshine, successes, failures, gardening disasters [and successes] and it's sad to see you go, but I know you will bring many hours of happiness to your new owner... treat him well!!

Crafty Inspiration:Book Review

2011-03-02T08:48:00.002+02:00

So if you are anything like me you pick up inspiration from a heap of different places. I spent lots of time trawling the web {probably a bit to much!} magazines, books, shops and general observation of the world around me to see what tickles my fancy, and triggers that "oh... now that would be a cool project" thought in my head!

I recently popped into my favourite party shop called In Good Company and picked up this little gem of a book. I know you are looking at the tile and thinking why on earth I bought a book on handmade weddings when I'm already married, but really this book has great ideas for any party you are planning. It's packed with amazing eye candy and cute ideas... like the handmade cupcake stand or how about some beautiful handmade invitations!

Watch this space.... hopingI will get around to creating something cute from these pages!

She Art Workshop

2011-02-27T08:23:00.001+02:00

Dear blog, I have neglected you again for the last little while and for this I do apologise.

I have been distracted, off on my own new path of life and creativity. A few weeks ago I sort of hit a wall of self doubt and my critical self got the better of me. Sometimes in one's creative life we get lost in a maze of negative thoughts, critical ones, that tell us we can't do this, we will never succeed, we'll never be good enough, we should rather not follow our hearts but follow the path better worn.

I have "taken a break" in this time and shifted focus to creative outlets other than scrapbooking, and you know what? It's been awesome!

I have been playing with my camera again & catching up on craft projects that have been sitting on my desk for ages!! have been painting, and decorating and gluing [I have a glue gun wound to prove this] and overall I feel the winds of change for good have been gently blowing through my art and life.

One of the areas that I have been wanting to get more experience in is mixed media art. I signed up for a free course over at Willowing & Friends last year but I didn't really get a chance to play along. I bought all the goodies and just never found the time to sit down and learn something new. At the beginning of 2011 I saw this course by Christy Tomlinson on offer and thought "oh, no point in spending that money, signing up and not doing anything again!" {that negative voice was at it then already!} but with the "break" I am taking from scrapbooking I have decided to sign up and play along. I have heaps of old Scarlet Lime kits that are begging to be used on a few canvases or in art journals!

So friends, wish me luck. I really hope now that I have made this financial investment I'll be motivated to finally break out and learn something new, tell that negative inner voice to "SHUT UP" and spend some time nurturing my creative self again...

I Believe

2011-02-16T12:14:00.001+02:00

Valentines 2011 Re-Cap

2011-02-15T11:08:00.001+02:00

I'm not really user what caught hold of me but this year I saw so many handmade craft projects I was totally inspired to create some of them to make our valentines day a little more festive. I created the velvet heart lollies below to decorate my desk {even my kitty helped me with them - see pics below} and I also put together a valentines day "movie and sushi kit" which in effect was a cute little bag filled with all sorts of valentine goodies including: cutlery for the sushi, tickets for the movie and a love note for my hubby.

The last pics are of a valentines heart cupcake I bought filled with little heart jelly beans - how cute is this - I love the good people at Woolworths for putting it together!

Credits:
Felt heart project ~ Elle's studio
Movie and Popcorn invite ~ Eat Drink Chick
Valentines Printable bag ~ Twig and Thistle
Heart Ceramic Container ~ Woolworths

My Funny Valentine...

2011-02-13T12:49:00.000+02:00

My hubby and I don't generally buy into the commercial hype of Valentine's day but I do buy into the notion of taking a little time to spoil the loved ones in your live and tell them how much you care. We are avid movie watchers and popcorn eaters so when I saw this cute little craft project over at Eat Drink Chick I thought it would be the perfect little gift to give my other half tomorrow {shhhhhhh}..... now off to go and play!

What are you getting up to on Feb 14?

A Day In My Life: Cape Town Edition

2011-02-04T10:50:00.003+02:00

Hey Peeps! So I've been thinking of late I really need to get my camera back into my hands and use it more! Life unfortunately gets in the way and I can't always carry my DSLR around with me because it's a bit bulky, so I decided to document my life yesterday using my phone instead. I generally hate photos from my phone because they aren't perfect, have lot's of digital noise etc. But I decided to put my judgmental self out of the way and just focus on getting out there and taking a few pics... so here goes:

4am: wake up and get ready to get to the airport on time for the early flight [I didn't get any photos here... it was way to early for my brain!]
6am: take off for Cape Town
8am: Land at Cape Town International [view out the window] {shew it's still way to early for me!!}

8:15am: First stop: Woolworths in the airport to get some water

8:30am: Pick up my ride for the day [thank heavens it has aircon it's expected to be 33degrees today!!]

8:30am: ok and I am off to meet these two brats for breakfast at our office in Stellenbosch. [Note to self: Melissa's Eggs Benedict is awesome!!]

How cool was the design inside the umbrellas there... so pretty:

9:30am: Head on up to our new little office there to check mail and chat to the team [we don't have enough desks in there yet hence my desk was my lap] [thanks for the pic Eben]

10:05: Oh heck!! I'm cutting it fine leaving at this time but made it on time for my meeting in Woodstock [signs in this pick may give away who I saw {wink-wink}]

10:55am: Just before we head in catch a glimpse of Lions Head [that peak of a mountain] reminds me that this city really is "watched over" by the Table Mountain range.

2:00pm WOW,our meeting finished an hour early but it was productive. Next stop Old Biscuit Mill to do some investigation..

2:10pm Found what I was looking for and checked out Plush Props [anyone in SA with Jan edition of Ideas Magazine would know what this spot is... ]

2:30pm Skoot on back to the airport so I can actually do some real work for the day [those e-mails don't stop coming just because I am in another city for the day]
3:00pm Car dropped off and heading into the airport [Cape Town Internationals buildings are designed to pick up elements of flight and the aeroplanes - see those wings...]

3:30pm How cool is this: made it into the S.L.O.W lounge at the airport so I can relax for a change while I work [I love business class lounges - all those free muffins and drinks]

6:00pm Taking off half an hour late and heading back to Lanseria Airport. Read a few chapters of Eat Pray Love which I haven't had time to do for ages!

9:00pm finally walked through my front door and stumbled through some dinner and then off to bed... was to exhausted to take pics!

That was kinda fun, and enjoying the fact that the pics aren't perfect - lot's of blur etc but you know what - that's ok. Photography isn't about being perfect all the time, sometimes the imperfect is perfect, and the best camera to use to document your life is the one you have with you!
Think I may have to do a Jozi edition so you know what a "normal" day looks like for me LOL - don't fly off to Cape Town everyday!

February Nook Kit on it's way...

2011-02-01T12:00:00.000+02:00

A little sneak of what's to come in the February kit from The Nook:

Photography Friday: Great Resource

2011-01-28T16:18:00.009+02:00

I haven’t had a photography Friday post in ages!! Hope you like this one... I stumbled on a free quarterly magazine from a site called Clickin Moms that has some great free advice for photographers. From the newbie with a point and shoot to the serious armature with all the bells and whistles. HERE is the link, hope you will pop on over and check it out... who knows you may just learn something new.

Butterflies All Over... I'm loving them!

2011-01-26T12:31:00.002+02:00

A few more sneaks that I am totally in love with from CHA....
Gabrielle collection from Bo Bunny:

Butterfly Garden from Pink Paislee:

Be still my beating heart ♥ ♥ ♥

Cosmo Girl

2011-01-25T16:18:00.000+02:00

No, I'm not really a Cosmo girl I'm a Cosmo Cricket gal [tee-hee]!!! I had a little fun last week creating this project with a few funny I photo's I snapped of moi from my attempt at Project 365 last year. finally got to photograph it last night and upload to share with you...

I Hope you are all having a super Tuesday!!

Forgetful

2011-01-25T08:48:00.000+02:00

I'm getting a little forgetful lately - especially on days when I an really busy!! I've actually had to start making lists for myself so I don't forget, which is exactly what I did for yesterday and then proceeded to to forget the list at home!! Note to self: at the top of each new to-do list from now on put "don't forget the list"!! LOL
Anyway here is what I forgot to post to the Nook online crop for Challenge 3: using up your old stash. This is an ancient paper I got on sale when I first started scrapbooking. It's from 3 Bugs in a Rug... anyone remember this line? {probably not I'm sure its a bit old!}

Oh and before I forget: Thanks for stopping by :-)

Nook Virtual Crop Challenge

2011-01-24T16:24:00.000+02:00

I have had a super fun time over at the Nook playing along with this months challenge! There were a total of 18 [yes 18!!] challenges up on the board for everyone to play along with. I didn't land up having as much time as I had hoped to play along but I did manage to create entries for 3 of the challenges:

Challenge 1: create a layout using a GROUP PHOTO from a reunion (family, friends, colleagues or classmates) and as a twist, make the year when the photo was taken as your title or part of the title.

Challenge 12: Create a name tag that is fun, unique and shows your personality!!

Challenge 14: Create a project that features your family monogram! Use all initials or just one!

Cheers for now...

Creative Space

2011-01-22T08:36:00.001+02:00

I am in the process of revamping my little creative corner of the world a.k.a my desk. In my previous home I had a room dedicated to all things artzy and craftzy but when I got married 3 years ago I had to downsize to a corner space in our lounge. This has it's advantages though: I get to watch whatever is on TV while I scrapbook and sort of feel like I am still part of whats going on. One day I will have a space to call my own again and hopefully its soon... but in the meantime I will keep daydreaming of colours and decor and crazy storage ideas...

Thanks for stopping by!

LeShabby Cafe Launches!

2011-01-20T09:03:00.002+02:00

Remember a few months back I was saying I had something really exciting that I was working on but I couldn’t tell you about till it was done? Well that exciting “thing” was the lunch of a new kit club that is the brainchild of my two very best scrappy gals on the web: Sophia and Tracy!!!
They approached me to assist them in designing the site, and then as an added surprise asked me to be their first guest designer!! That was two firsts for me in one go: my first blog design for someone else and my first kit club guest design team position! Please head on over the official opening day of LeShabby Cafe and say “Hi” and check out their February kit.

Here are a few of the layouts I did working with their kit, there is loads of product in there and I think they have priced it reasonably so sign up {I have it on good authority that they upcoming kits are gonna rock to so it’ll be so worth your while}.

Cosmo Cricket CHA Sneak & Vote

2011-01-19T14:44:00.001+02:00

Hi Everyone - Happy Wednesday!!
I have been taking in a few more CHA sneaks in the last few days and check out this yumminess from Cosmo Cricket I found...:

Me thinks I must get my hands on some of this goodness!! They are actually running a cool competition right now and anyone who gets their friends and family to vote for them by Commenting with a vote on this post will stand in line to be a Cosmo design team member for a term - How cool is that!!! Why do I mention this you ask? I would very much like to be that lucky gal to be picked as a DT member for Cosmo for one whole term and I need your [yes you] help to get me in the running. Please hop on over here and check out what they have coming out in their next release, comment on the blog, and don't forget that by doing this you also go into a draw to win one of these amazing kits for your very own self! For an extra chance to win you can become a Facebook fan of theirs and viola - you have a second entry into the draw!

PS: Click HERE and cast your vote for me + get into the draw! [don't forget to mention my name and blog address: http://scrapbookphotographyetc.blogspot.com/ in your vote ♥]

Creative Scrappers #139

2011-01-17T11:36:00.000+02:00

I am super excited to share a layout I created with sketch #139 over at Creative Scrappers this week!!! Kristine asked if I would like to be a guest designer for January and of course I jumped at the opportunity!!! Thanks Kristine and all the gals over at Creative Scrappers - totally stoked to be working with such talented scrapbooking gals! Head on over and check out what everyone’s take on the sketch is an perhaps play along for the week....

CHA Sneak Time

2011-01-14T08:53:00.000+02:00

Is anyone else checking out some of the sneaks of new lines coming in the fall CHA this year? loving some of the new designs, how cute is this one from Websters called Trend.setter [you can see more over HERE]:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! the weather man is forecasting heavy rain and flash floods in Johannesburg this weekend, so hoping to get a bit of scrapping done while we are cooped up inside!
{also hoping we won't get washed away but I think we are fine where we are...}

Keeping those scrapbook resolutions

2011-01-12T09:23:00.000+02:00

I know for many of us our new years resolutions have already gone out the window, all those promises we made to ourselves in a daze of champagne and oysters on new years eve have been swept under the carpet. As a scrapbooker I always vow that this year I will create more often, the layouts I create will all be stellar and I will start using up more of my supplies and stop buying new ones [ok the last one I only really promise half hearted - how can a gal stop shopping!!].

Well if showing up to a class helps get you motivated and stay on track then how about signing up for a few online - they needn't cost the earth!! In fact there are many FREE resources online to help you along your journey. Two Peas In a Bucket have a year of 4 free classes you can sign up for with 1 lesson every month for each class! That's 4 layouts you could create each month in class... I already checked the first two out for this month and they look fab... come play along for some inspiration.

My Happy Place

2011-01-11T12:53:00.000+02:00

Wow, I have been running a bit behind with photographing layouts for the last little while, mostly just because of having to many projects on the go all at once! I did find a few minutes this morning to catch up on photos before I ran out of the house to get to work and thought I would share them with you.
The first one is a little layout about my "happy place" a.k.a my scrap space.
Note to self: Spend Lot's more time there this year as part of your creative nurturing.

My word for 2011:

What my goals are for the year ahead, plain and simple...

How about a FREE Nook kit?

2011-01-07T14:47:00.001+02:00

How would you like to win a free My Scrapbook Nook kit??? Head on over to Leah's Blog and check out the competition she is running to win one of the awsome January kits!!!

My Word

2011-01-01T08:42:00.011+02:00

I think my word for 2011 came to me a few months ago, in fact it’s been calling me for a while now. The word I would like to inspire and motivate me and make my own is NURTURE.

For 2010 my word was ACHIEVE. I had so many resolutions, plans and goals mapped out of things that I wanted to do and achieve and acquire. Most of these things were not really what my heart spoke to me about, they were what my head told me I needed to do: start a business, create art with more time than I can afford etc etc. I didn’t make it on most of the items on my list but the year was not a waste, I learned many valuable lessons:

I learned that there are only 8 hours in a day and its ok if you don’t finish everything on your to-do list. There is always enough time for the most important things and the rest is optional and that’s ok. Cutting yourself some slack is nurturing personal growth.
I learned that in trying to be the world’s #1 overachiever I have neglected my heart, my soul and in the process I feel a little disconnected. The habit I would like to grow is self nurturing – looking after my heart and making the space to let it heal when the need arises. Looking after my health and that of my family’s ensuring that the very basic requirements of good nutrition and exercise are a part of everyday life in our house is at the very core a self nurturing attitude to life.
I have learned that relationships with Our Maker and with the people that we love need the most scarce resource to grow: time. Nurturing relationships is probably the area I struggle with most and it’s the area I am taking giant leap of faith with when I hope to apply the word nurture to them in the coming year.

I realized a while back that what I needed most in the past few months, was to change my focus from that of being the achiever to being the nurturer, my head has rationalized this as being an achiever with a softer side but my heart says it’s time to put more heart into everyday life and stop only reaching for the end goal all the time and start living, enjoying and experiencing the time in-between called life.

If you read this post and you are wondering why I chose a word for 2011 then head on over to Ali’s blog and check out where I got the idea from. I actually read back on previous posts on her blog and found that she to chose Nurture as a word a few years back [great minds think alike]. I see that she is running a class next year over at Big Picture Scrapbooking around your word for the year and it sounds pretty cool – I am toying with the idea of playing along but right now I don’t think I will have enough time and you know what: that’s ok

Leaving you with a thought from Ali about what to do with your word for 2011 if you choose one. Looking forward to lot’s of bloggy fun in 2011 and sharing it all with you.

PS: if you click through today you can see my new blog design for 2011 ♥

Moody Hue

2010-12-30T22:31:00.002+02:00

Dusty pink, turquoise and sunset splendour, these are all the things that I would like my blog design to conjure for 2011. Family, friends, Travel and fun are what I hope my year will bring. Along with spending hours with all those most important to me, I hope to nurture my creative, spiritual, loving self, and from that gain the strength to share a new found peace and strength with others.

These are the thoughts I want my blog design to show: the crazy mix match of thoughts, dreams and ideas that go on inside me each day.

In dreaming up a new look and feel I have researched, and gathered to find the little things, the symbols, that represent who I am now, and what I am looking forward to learning in the new year.

When designing something new a good tool to use is a mood board, where you put up all the things that tickle your fancy, the clippings you page past so often and spark something creative deep inside, the images that remind you of a place you would rather be.... Here is a selection of what sparked the new blog design that will shortly be adoring this space:

Thinking of a word...

2010-12-30T14:55:00.000+02:00

I have been daydreaming in the past few days... mostly because I have had to work and sitting in this huge office with very few people around makes it difficult not to drift off into space. I have been pondering a word for 2011, thinking what I could possibly use as a word to describe what I hope to achieve, what I hope the year will bring and what my heart desires... here is a little hint [in photos] of what word I am thinking of:

1. Brought to You by the Letter R, 2. University Club Entryway Pilaster Letter N (New York, NY), 3. A big thank you, 4. Untitled, 5. Windy afternoon, 6. Pink & Teal, 7. C'mon hop hop!!!, 8. Embellished sky, 9. Untitled, 10. Vamos Argentina!!!, 11. Olivia & Leo are friends, 12. I wonder where it is now, 13. Pink, red and orange, 14. Untitled, 15. "Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.", 16. Slin-key, 17. Pink Cruiser, 18. natalia, 19. before last summer, 20. j, 21. Untitled, 22. Lend Me Your Eyes I Can Change What You See, 23. We Were Drawn From the Weeds, (Explored), 24. Day 363/365, 25. The letter U

Wishing you and yours a very...

2010-12-25T08:00:00.001+02:00

Thank you and Merry Christmas to my blog readers ~ you are all so very special to me and I am so blessed an honoured to be able to share my life, art and story with you!!

December 2010: Part 6 ~ Putting It all Together

2010-12-23T11:14:00.000+02:00

Ok so I wasn't baking and icing over 150 cookies without a plan of what to do with them [although I did eat quite a few myself - naughty me!]. All those cookies were being packaged into the cute little jars below to be given to family for Christmas. I figured that this year there are just so many people to buy pressies for that instead of shopping I would give the gift of time to make edible treats to fill hungry Christmas tummies.

for the packaging I took Consol Glass jars [you know the ones you use to put preserves in] and spray painted their lids with blackboard chalk spray paint [that stuff is so cool, I think I will be creating many more blackboard projects shortly with it!!].

I then filled each jar with cookies and tied some festive ribbon around the jar to complete the cute [but re-usable] jar packaging. You could actually create a bunch of these and use them to store ingredients in your pantry - just write the jar contents on top with chalk and viola!

December 23rd... two more sleeps till Christmas!

2010-12-23T10:15:00.001+02:00

I have really not had enough time to create Christmas cards for everyone this year - time has just been such a scarce commodity! I am sure you may also be feeling a little overwhelmed by all the goings on and maybe you also need a few cards that you can send to colleagues, friends and family far away and I have the answer to your troubles: queue e-Christmas-cards!!!

Head on over to Fossil to personalize one of the many cute cards as seen below and send it off to someone special this festive season!

Being that the festive season is upon us I thought I would also share the January Nook kits: how cute is all the gorgeous Fancy Pants fun! I found a few gals in our crop circle who are keen on signing up for this kit and having it shipped together from next year to save on postage: so looking forward to playing together at our next crop with them!

December 2010: Part 5 ~ Chocolate Spice Cookies

2010-12-21T08:08:00.000+02:00

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
125g butter
125g brown sugar
1 small egg beaten
2 tsp mixed spice
pinch salt
1 slab best dark chocolate you can afford for coating
Method:
1. Turn on oven to 190c and grease 2 baking trays
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the egg a bit at a time
3. Sift in the flour, salt and spice. Mix everything well to make a ball of firm dough
4. Sprinkle some flour on a table and a rolling pin, then roll the dough out until it about 1/2 cm thick
5.Cut the dough into shapes. Gather up any dough left over, roll it out again and cut out more shapes.
6. Put the biscuits on the trays. Bake them on a high shelf in the over for about 15 minutes, until light brown.
7. Put biscuits on a wire rack to cool
8. melt the chocolate on top of a double boiler and coat the biscuits [or half the biscuits as I did] with the melted chocolate
9. Enjoy!

December 2010: Part 4 ~ Ginger Cookies

2010-12-20T11:39:00.002+02:00

These cookies are really easy to make and look super cute as part of a festive gift for your loved ones. You could also bake a batch and using a kebab stick create holes in the biscuits to string ribbon through and hang on your tree. If you prefer a more ginger zing to your ginger biscuits then by all means add more ginger to the recipe! Happy Baking!

Ingredients:
125g Margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup
2 1/2 cups flower
2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Icing:
1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
2 Tbs of water

Method:
1. Cream the margarine and sugar in a bowl with an electric beater until light and creamy.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to form a smooth dough.
3. Refrigerate for 10min
4. Roll out the dough to about 4mm thick
5. Cut out shapes with festive cookie cutters
6. Bake on a lined backing tray for 8 min in a 190C oven
7. Cool on a rack
8. Mix together icing ingredients and decorate the biscuits.
TIP: if you want to get the "piped" icing look of my cookies load the icing into a squeezy sauce bottle with a nozzle and use that to pipe with - it saves you the hassle of having to load it into a piping bag!

December 2010: Part 3 ~ Christmas Retail Therapy

2010-12-19T08:43:00.001+02:00

I'm not to sure if it's the age old cheezy Christmas tunes they pump through shopping centres at this time of year [heck I think they started early November over here!!] or the smooth slippery sloosh sound of credit cards as they wizz through tills, but I always enjoy the festive mood in these crazy places at this time of year! I snapped these pics on Thursday at our local mall and even though my DSLR is in the hospital for repairs they came out ok on my point and shoot, and you can share in the Christmas finery of the day.

December 2010: Part 2 ~ Trimming the Tree

2010-12-18T08:17:00.001+02:00

I know most people think that Christmas trees are only really required when you're a kid but I love putting up the tree each year - probably because it always makes me very nostalgic: thinking of all the good [and sometimes bad {but mostly good}] childhood memories of Christmas time. So I guess I am still just one big kid waiting to express myself and Brett, myself and the cats had great fun finding our Christmas stash of goodies and decorating the house: it really started to feel a bit like Christmas once all the sparkles were up!

December 2010: Part 1 ~ Christmas Cards

2010-12-17T11:54:00.001+02:00

Every year I say I am going to post Christmas cards to my family and friends far away, and without fail, every year I seem not to find the time. [queue angelic choir] Except for 2010: this year I got my act together and created a few simply cards that are on their way to the post office as I sit typing this post! The idea for these cards actually came from THESE cute downloads from the In Good Company site {head on over and visit they have some super cute stuff over there!!!}.

I used the sweet jar label download and re sized to fit on my envelopes along with a doily [loving these at the moment] and then created a printed inner [mail me if you want a printable copy of this] which I adhered onto some old kraft card stock.

The list of stuff I still need to do before we leave to the Eastern Cape to spend Christmas with family down there is growing daily, but yesterday I was reminded to take it easy and remember that I can only fit so many things into one day and as long as they are the things that count then I'm doing ok ;-)

Winter Scrapbook & Cards is out...

2010-12-06T09:31:00.000+02:00

Hey peeps! the latest edition of Scrapbook & Cards is out and it's yours for free to download [just click HERE for the download].

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

2010-12-02T08:41:00.000+02:00

This month's kit from the Nook is packed with Christmas goodies! I so wish I didn't live so far away from the US and this kit got here faster - would love to play with it before Christmas!

I have also been trying to edit a few of the pics from our holiday to Italy... if you want to see more about that head on over to my photography blog and take a look.

Fabulous Friday

2010-11-12T13:19:00.005+02:00

Are my post headings getting bizarre or what! [teee-heee]
Anyway... thought I would catch you up on a few layouts I created before I left for Italy in October. I tried my hand at a few design team entries and couldn't share my layouts until entries closed. The first one was really a labour of love as I really did piece all that Cosmo Cricket paper together and then machine stitch around each one - it took forever but I think it was worth it.

Then the one below was really all about practicing using my printer to print on journaling tags - it really is easier than you think and given that my handwriting isn’t the best I quite enjoy doing this!

So looking forward to the weekend - what have you got planned?

Wordless Thursday....

2010-11-11T13:19:00.000+02:00

Thought I would do a "less talk more scrap" post today ♥ ♥ ♥

Cocoa Daisy Crop this weekend....

2010-11-10T08:51:00.003+02:00

Hey Peeps, The fall crop itinerary is up and looks like it's going to be great fun! hope you come along and play ;-)

Inspiration Everywhere....

2010-11-08T10:42:00.001+02:00

I've signed up for this years free class with Jessica Sprague called "Inspiration Everywhere"

hop on over and sign up with me - who knows the worst that could happen is you might have fun and learn something new ;-)

Oh and don't forget this weekend is the Cocoa Daisy Fall Crop called "There's no place like home". Hop on over sign up on the forum if you haven't already and play along. It runs from November 12 - 14th and best of all it's free so come and play!