Blogging break

I haven't done a "Blog your heart" post for months and don't even know where to start;-)

• My life is SUPER HECTIC at work.  Our office lady and our center manager left at the beginning of April, since then I have been buried under paper work and having to implement new systems, close loopholes etc.
• Needless to say I cannot face a computer or the internet when I get home...all I want to do is crash and retreat into my "nothing box" or cuddle with my little grandson.  
• The sad thing is that this means that I don't have time to go blog hopping and catching up with what is going on in my favorite bloggers' lives.  I cannot see this changing in the near future.
• I also signed up for two online courses this year and haven't been able to start with The Art of wild abandon.  I took part in the first two months of Scrapbook Life Journal and then life happened:-(
• We had a fundraiser at the Mission this past weekend to raise funds for Education.  Our junior and senior girls took part in a fashion show and a Jr and Sr Miss Vistarus was chosen.  The girls loved it.
• Things are going well in our family, little Stefan is two months today, B will be back at work from Monday (which will hopefully solve some of my admin woe's)
• My next little grandson will be born within the next three weeks and our life just become fuller with little ones to love and cuddle.
• I was sad to hear that Sketch Support will be taking a break for a while, but I now realize that it is a blessing in disguise and I will be relieved of some of the pressure where my scrapping commitments is concerned.
• I will still be posting my commitments for Scrap Africa twice a month and I will do the odd photo post.
• When I eventually get back to sharing my heart here I hope that I will be refreshed and inspired.

xx

Sketch Support May one page sketch

It is time for the May one page sketch over on Sketch Support.  I did two layouts this week.  This is my first take on the sketch.

Supply list:  Cardstock:  Bazzill; Printed papers: Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon; Stickers: October Afternoon:  Chipboard buttons: October Afternoon; Buttons: Basic Grey; Flowers: Prima; Brads: My Minds Eye.

Variation#1:  I diecut the Bazzill and pasted it over the dotty paper.

Variation#2:  I made the banner from chipboard buttons.

Variation #3: I substituted the butterflies for flowers.

Variation #4:  I made the flags the title.

Variation #5:  I used two 4x4 photos.

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For the Nikki Sivils product challenge I made this layout based on the sketch

Supply list:  Cardstock:  Bazzill; Printed papers and embellishments : Nikki Sivils Messages; Punches:  Martha Stewart; Letter Stickers: American Craft thickers; Other: twine and buttons from my stash.

Variation #1:  I diecut the background ledger paper and pasted it onto Bazzill.

Variation #2:  I diecut all my strips to form layers.

Variation #3:  I added buttons to my flags.

Variation #4:  I punched hearts for the banner.


Here is the sketch that we used for this week:

You can download and print this sketch by clicking on the one-page sketches link found under the "printable sketches" tab on the right sidebar of the Sketch Support blog. 

Keep Calm....

Hello friends, it is time for the new Scrap Africa challenge

We are very excited to bring you a new challenge today.

We must say that it was a lot of fun and surely it was challenging even for us to create our projects for this reveal.

So, here it is. First of all, please keep calm :-)) 

Off course all of you are familiar with this type of posters:

(the image is taken from Pinterest)

You will need to create any scrap project (a layout, a card or an altered object) with a phrase on it "Keep Calm and..." - the end of the phrase is up to you. Be funny, be creative, be thoughtful - whatever the mood you are in, as long as you spread the calmness around :-)))

If you will decide to create a poster featuring a phrase, make sure you think of something innovative and interesting: 

Go and check out what the design team created on Scrap Africa.  Here is the layout I created:

Supplies used:  Cardstock: Dotted bazzill; Printed papers: My Minds Eye Stella and Rose; Letter Stickers:  Basic Grey and Scenic Route; Diecut: Quickutz stars; Sketch:  Allison Davis.

I never thought I would scrap these photos of my darling son.  The title was however perfect for this.  Some of you will remember these photos that was taken during our rollercoaster ride in 2010 when our youngest son was so sick.  These photos were taken during a period of 3 months in which my son was diagnosed with a malformation in his brain which is inoperable and after two brain haemorrhages, he was totally blind in one eye and partially blind in the other.  The Lord restored his sight over a period of months, something the doctors believed was impossible.

Our newborn grandson (photopost)

We loved you from the very start,

You stole our breath, embraced our hearts 

Our life together has just begun
you're part of us, our little one.

From the day we first knew,

our minds were filled with thoughts of you.

We'd daydream of the things we'd share,
Like late night bottels and teddy bears.

Like first steps and skinned knees,
Like bedtime stories and ABC's

We thought of things you'd want to know,
Like how birds fly and flowers grow.

We thought of lessons we'd need to share,
Like standing tall and playing fair.

Each nap time we lay you down to sleep,
and gently kiss your head and cheek.

We count your little fingers and toes,
We memorise your eyes and nose.

We linger at the nursery door,

Awed each day we love you more.

Through misty eyes, we dim the light,
we whisper, "We love you" every night.

We loved you from the very start,
You stole our breath, embraced our hearts.

As grandparents and grandchild our journey's begun

Our hearts yours forever, little one.

xx

Sketch Support May Two page sketch

Before I share the layouts I made for Sketch Support May two page sketch.  I want to share this beautiful photo I took of Bianca last weekend.

...and a photo of Lache taken at the baby shower held for her.  Nearly there and then we will have our sixth grandchild.

Beautiful girls:-)

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Two-page Sketch #28

You can download and print this sketch by clicking on the two-page sketches link found under the "printable sketches" tab on the right sidebar of the Sketch Support blog. Here is my layout based on this sketch.

Supply list - Cardstock: Bazzill Dots; Paper: Websters (Yacht club); Trim:Websters(Yacht club); Rub-ons: Kaiser Scrapbook; Letter stickers: Scenic Route and Websters 

Variation #1: I punched a border for the top of the striped strip and a narrow red strip for between the striped strips and the blocks.

Variation #2: I replaced the stars with pennants.

Variation #3: Instead of stitching I added a strip of trim above the pennants.

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My layout for the Nikki Sivils product challenge.  

Supply list - Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed paper: Nikki Sivils (Messages); Letter Stickers:American craft, Doodlebug; Other: Felt cut with Die cutter and gold stars 

Variation #1: I used 3- 4x6 and 1-3x3 photo instead of the smaller photos.

Variation #2: I replaced the star border with flags.

Variation #3: I added a narrow strip of red stitched paper above the flags.

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Dewan's 3rd Birthday (photo post)

This sweetie pie turned 3 recently.

...and the party was on!

All my attempts to get these three to look at the camera at the same time failed:-)

This is one of my favourite  snaps!

Oh my goodness...Ouma and the camera AGAIN!

Lukas caught while not in constant motion.

Just look at that little face.

All the cousins around the cake.

Needless to say the three of them played non stop...ignoring the other little guests.

My handsome hunks.

Getting on the other side of the camera;-)

B and Stefan was inside.

Awwww....I love this little face.

Dewan getting on top of the gift to open it.

Stefan and his aunty Lache.

I am enjoying this little man.  He already recognizes his Ouma's voice and is always ready with a smile.

Today I am taking a breather from work.  I have been crazy busy at work since our office lady and Center manager resigned.  The admin just never stops!  I seldom get home before 5:30 and then I just crash.  This morning I lay in bed with my laptop and caught up on many blogs and edited my photos.  Maybe I will even have time to scrap a bit this afternoon.

Will be back soon with Stefan's new born photo shoot.

xx

Hello there Handsome *Scrap Africa*

It is time for the reveal of sketch no 5 over on Scrap Africa.  Here is the layout I made using the sketch.  I used two photographs of my son and his children. 

Supply list:  All products used is from the My Minds Eye Dilly Dally range.  I love working with MME papers because they come with such cool embellishments.

Here is the sketch that is being used for the May challenge. You have until 31 May 2012 to upload your layout using this sketch to the Scrap Africa Blog.  Head on over to go and check out the work that the rest of the design team did.

But it is not all. We have something else for you that you will certainly enjoy!
Our sponsor for this month is.... Kaisercraft!

This time we have two prizes for you. To stand a chance of winning one of two prize packs you need to take a part in one or two of our challenges 
(sketch # 5 and the up-coming in 2 weeks time challenge # 5).
Each prize includes:
35 sheets of paper, 3 paper pads, 3 packs of rub-ons, 3 packs of stamps, 1 pack of ribbons, 
1 pack of collectables, 1 acetate sheet , 5 sticker sheets (30 x 30).
These prize packs include materials from the brand new collections Magnolia Grove and Rock Pool, as well  as other 4 new collections that will be released in June and July. How cool is that? You don't want to miss this great opportunity!


xx

On the creative side of life

I am going to squeeze a creative post in between all the photo posts I have lately done.  I am going to upload the Pregnancy shoot and Stefan's new born baby shoot photo as well as photos of Dewan's 3rd birthday party later this week.  I am always behind with everything lately and now need to upload the cards and layouts I made for the Sketch Support card week last week.  We are doing a product challenge for Nikki Sivils during the month of May and it is such fun to pop in every Friday on Sketch Support and see all the different variations on the same sketch.  The DT is rocking it.

My first take on the sketch is this card:

Supply list - Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed paper: Melissa Francis; Sentiment: Melissa Francis; Pearls: Melissa Francis; Flower: Prima; Other: Lace and Quickutz circles

Variation #1: I cut a background paper slightly smaller than the card base.

Variation #2: I stitched lace to the edges of the vertical strip.

Variation #3: I used a Prima bloom.

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I can never resist doing a layout with a cardsketch:-)  This is what I came up with:

Supplies used - Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed paper: Fancy Pants (Be You); Rub Ons: Fancy Pants (Be You); Clear cuts: Fancy Pants(Be You); Flower: Petaloo; Punches: EK Success border punch; Quickutz Circle die; Martha Stewart butterfly punch

Variation #1: I used the basic idea of the strip and circles and cut the vertical strip 4" enclosed by 1/4" black strips and 0.4 inch stripe strips.

Variation #2: My photo is 5x7 and framed with black punched strips.

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I chose the Nikki Sivils "Messages" collection to work with for the product challenge.  Here is my card using Nikki Sivils products:

 

Supply list - Cardstock: Bazzill; Printed papers and embellishments: Nikki Sivils (Messages); Other: We'R Memory Keepers twine

Variation #1: I glued twine to the edges of the vertical strip.

Variation #2: I raised the circle with foam squares.

Variation #3: I punched tiny hearts and added it to the sentiment and the bottom half circle.

Thank you for looking.

xx

This and that

 (Photo taken from the Lookout Restaurant)

I haven't written a blog in two weeks!  We got back from our week in paradise (Plettenberg Bay) and got so caught up with work and life that time just flew by.  So in this post I am going to kick off with a little MEME I found on Gill's blog.  I will also be sharing a few (lots) of photos from our time away.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness? The ability to live in the moment.
2. What is your greatest fear? That something bad happens to my children or grandchildren
3. Which historical figure do you most identify with? I have a lot of respect and admiration for various people who have made a difference in the world, for instance Mother Theresa and her love for the unlovable people of India and Nelson Mandela for his ability to forgive. I could never identify with them though:-)
4. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Procrastination
5. What is the trait you most deplore in others?  Arrogance and judgmentalism
6. What is your greatest extravagance? Buying too much scrapbooking and art material.
7. What is your favorite journey? The road that leads to Plettenberg Bay:-)
8. What do you dislike most about your appearance? I think once you hit the grand ol' age of 50 you make peace with your "not so nice" bits.  After a holiday I feel my bum is too big and I hate the way my hair curls when it is wet or humid.
9. What words or phrases do you most overuse? I haven't noticed...maybe I should ask my loved ones that one:-)
10. What is your greatest regret? Over the years I have come to realize that everything happens for a reason and even the mistakes I made taught me valuable lessons for life...so there can't be regrets.
11. Who or what is the greatest love(s) of your life? My darling husband of 33 years...followed closely by my three children and five (six soon) grandchildren.  I never knew that the capacity to love can be stretched to such magnificent lengths.
12. When or where were you happiest? My happy place is in Plettenberg Bay and I need my husband to be there to truly make it happy.  I guess in the end he is my happy place and I will be happy where ever I am with him.
13. What talent would you most like to have? To be able to paint and create works of art.
14. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Those would be the things that will remain after I am gone...so it will be my family and it will also be the Mission that my DH and I started in 1998 and that have touched the lives of so many broken and lost people.
15. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? I don't want to come back, I live to one day be with my Father in heaven.
16. What is your most treasured possession? That would be the things that cannot be replaced, so I would say that it is my photo albums...the first things I will try to save if my house started burning.
17. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?  Being separated from God.
18. Where would you like to live? Right here, right now.
19. What is your favorite occupation?  Spending time with my family, taking too many photos and scrapbooking.
20. What is your most marked characteristic? Honesty
21. What is the quality you most like in a man? Integrity
22. What do you most value in your friends? Their unconditional love.
23. Who are your favorite writers? I have many:  Linda La Plante, Lisa Gardner, Jodi Picoult, Khaled Hosseini.  I love crime novels and stories with a historical background.
24. Who is your favorite hero in fiction? Don’t have one.
25. Who are your heroes in real life? People who overcome tremendous obstacles and succeed against all odds.
26. What are your favorite names? No idea.
27. What is it that you most dislike? cruelty and injustice
28. How would you like to die? I would like to be raptured;-)  If that isn't possible I would prefer to die in my sleep.
29. What is your motto? Be the change you want to see in the world.    

Feel free to copy this MEME and link back to me, I would love to read your answers to the questions.  At the end of our week in Plett our children Kobus and Lache and their little ones joined us for the last two days.

Enjoying the warm weather in Plett.

Leane, making the trolley her carriage;-)

My little beach babe.

Gorgeous little Dewan.

Relaxing in the Sea Lounge.

The grandbabies on their usual perch on top of Oupa.

Noticing the Mamarazzi;-)

Always ready to strike a pose.

 It is never to cold to swim.

Shhh....don't tell anybody but they fed the seagulls whole rusks from the 5th floor window.

 My pretty DIL with her little ones.

My handsome son with my gorgeous grandson;-)

I hope to be back again soon.

xx