not our ostrich.

this layout is based on sketch 235 over at scrapbook challenges. i loved how it turned out with some of my favourite patterned papers and colours used lately. the photos are of the dogs chasing an ostrich up and down our electric fence on the farm. it was the funniest thing when this ostrich appeared out of nowhere one day and stayed for almost an entire week much to the dogs' amusement.
the journaling sits on a distressed tag.

stamping and rub-ons combined.

7gypsies stickers are always a winner to add some finishing touches.

i wish you an amazingly creative and happy week.
and remember life is just too short...

scrap and stamp saturday.

the challenge over at scrap and stamp Saturday this week is using black and white plus one colour. i added some gold/yellow to my b&w combo...by chance. the papers left on my table sort of picked themselves for this layout - but i love how it turned out. the black and white circles are stamped using a hampton set in black versafine. the patterned paper circles are 7gypsies and graphic45.
loving how versatile these circle stamps are!

some stunning 7gypsies rub-ons.

and some fun gold liquid pearls to create a dimensional border!

why not play along and share your black and white creations with us over at

oil spil....or not.

this could potentially be a disaster area....but instead i think it is creative genius at play! with some help of some chemicals of course yes. this is what my kitchen counter currently looks like. this is after we applied a second coat of rust over the original "bark" colour we decided on (which by the way did nothing)!
Jayson had so much fun... he really is a creative genius when it comes to pleasing me...as in keeping me happy. but he does have a slight problem...he never knows when to call it a day...

instead he is always willing to push the boundaries a bit further until he achieves what he sets out to! like adding some salt to the cement surface to create some reaction...creating more interest and more effect - and i LOVE it!

we have really been blessed with this process!..after purchasing this cement stain for the bargain price of R165.00 a bottle...just to discover the price has gone down to R79.00 a bottle! we now have a credit in store that enables us to buy the sealant - which really is the expensive part of the process! i mean seriously...have you ever heard of the price going DOWN instead of up AND the store actually willing to give you money back or a discount!! and all of this after we decided not to go for the original option of a product called cretecoat that would have cost R4000.00! i am just not prepared to spend that much on a kitchen thank you very much, even if i had the money! besides i think this option is really more me - creative, experimental and totally unpredictable! the hardest part is waiting the 24 hours for it to complete the reaction...and then this weekend we can seal it all and hopefully move back into the kitchen with all the stuff... so all thanks to Midas Earthcote for a stunning totally spontaneous product and for having the price go down! i am sure God had His hand in all of this! hope you have a blessed week!

cuttlebug creativity.

join us for a fun filled Cuttlebug class at sweet scrappins on 5th March. we've been having so much fun with this class that we are on part 4 of the series. for anyone wanting to use their little green (or pink) bug just a bit more, this class is for you! come join us for a morning
of creative thinking and playing...and some stunning retail therapy as well!

follow the link to book your spot for this class!

sketch 242.

where has the weeks gone? well its Monday again and time for sketch 242 over at scrapbook challenges. this weeks sketch is so versatile and just to prove it you can head over here to see what the design team has come up with! i love how everyone can do the same and yet they are so different. why don't you play along? then head over to www.scrapbookchallenges.ning.com
and here's what i did. it's a bit plain and simple even for me but i love how the background paper matches my photo so perfectly!

the title is a combination of rub-ons and chipboard letters.

and you gotta love the little umbrellas cut from patterned paper.


hope you have a fabulous week filled with lots of creativity!

inspired by...

its been a while since i made this project inspired by tim holtz. somehow it is not speaking to me to add more stuff - you know the feeling when you desperately think and feel that a project needs more...but actually it already says what it needs to say, and in fact it really is complete. so i decided to share it here anyways...the project consists out of recycled masonry boards decorated with patterned paper and canvas. it also features a couple of vintage things...like the pencil i found when cleaning out some of my brother's toolboxes, as well as the little rusted paper clip. i love things like that!

this glass decoupage plate i found at one of my favorite shops to browse...and it says
"things are looking up" - and they really are!

i used the pencil as i found it...i really do think my brother used it as it is....all 1.5 inches of it!

i loved how the painted canvas turned out...a combination of chocolate brown and
naples yellow!

and the other half of my rusted tin used on another projects elsewhere. the little angel i pulled off a piece of ribbon. and since i collect angels and love them this one had to find a place on my project with special meaning!

i have all these things or rather projects that i want to display on a single wall together - but i hardly have an inch of open wall space inside. so...i am hoping that my new studio will be done by the middle of this year so i can decorate and play on the walls to my heart's content! but for now...i am waiting for some kind of solution painted onto the cement counters in the kitchen to react with the lime....and its NOT! the effect is really beautiful if only it would work!
oh well...plan B...

my valentine card.

and i love this card too! using some of my favourite products like distress ink, smooch, perfect pearls, stamping...aaah what more can a girl want? i haven't quite finished the instructions but will post them tomorrow with another version of a card. the woven heart is actually two tags put together to form a heart - clever, quick and easy with spectacular effects!
for the details i added some beautiful glitz design rub-ons over each other to form the picture and then cut around them with a thin white border. i used some of my favourite silk ribbon for a bow and finished it off with a little pink button.


the tags consist of left - a piece of junk mail card stock inked with distress ink and then splattered and sprayed with water and perfect pearls mists. the right hand piece is another favourite by house of three, a piece of their embossed paper inked with fired brick distress ink, water splattered. the whole thing was stamped with my new Lille 7gypsies stamp set and then some gold splats of perfect pearls added later. i also added sewing with my sewing machine and around the edges of the heart i added some small white opal drops for dimension and texture.

hope you are having a creative day!
lots of love always!

charming and adorable layout.

to date this must be one of my favourite layouts i have done ever! you know the day when everything just works out perfectly...and quickly! when things just all come together. well this was the day. i love the mixture of patterned papers, tags, bling, button brads and sewing. let me know what you think...I hope everyone is done with their valentines surprises. I am hoping to post a valentine tutorial later today for a stunning little number i made - even if i have to say so myself! have a super Sunday everyone!


supplies: patterned papers by MME, GCD, Webster's pages, Glits design, Graphic 45, Making Memories, Jenni Bowlin. Tags by Kaisercraft. Button brads by Karen Foster. Rub-on by 7Gypsies. Lettering by Webster's pages. Other bling and embroidery thread.

valentine card template.

here's a quick heart card or booklet idea. trace the template below and enlarge or reduce as you please to the size you want. trace onto patterned paper and cut out. score on the relevant lines and create mountain and valley folds so that your heart folds into a single heart. write your message inside and there you have a personalised and funky valentines card.



**PS this is an old card i made a couple of years ago...but the idea is still very cool and now you have the template too! i will be sharing another quick and easy heart* idea tomorrow, so pop back and get creative! lots of love....

sketch 240.

its Monday...again! i can hardly believe how time is flying. well its time for another sketch and this time Design team member Natalie made this stunning and versatile sketch! love it Nats! find her blog link in the sidebar and pay her a visit or simply go to scrapbook challenges and play along this week.
and here's what i did. our little 'blackie' dog has become a keen fisher(man)dog. he spends his days next to the pond trying to catch them as they teasingly swim right past his little mouth. he even fetches jayson to come and feed the fish each morning and again like clockwork in ther afternoon. he is just too cute! the photos are of him just staring into the pond on a hot afternoon...longing for a little fishy snack.

the golden splats are perfect pearls mixed with water and splattered onto my background - so easy and so fun and effective both as a pattern and as colour
!
and some cool 7gypsies rub-ons. see the paper in the background - yeah some drool worthy Lille 7gypsies paper.

and patterned paper circles cut from scraps left over from an album i just completed.
you will in there 7gypsies lille, girl's paperie and graphic 45.

head on over to scrapbook challenges and play along with us this week!
and remember you can win some awesome goodies just for scrapping a layout and posting it into the relevant challenge sections!

blog award.


i got this blog award from shamela! she is a real honey with the most awesome handwriting that secrectly (um) covet! she is also a terrific stamper, card maker and sells stuff!

the idea is to get people to go to some of those terrific bloggers out there who are not as well known as they would like to be...

1. create a post with the blinkie
2. link back to the person who gave you the award - shamela
3. award 3 more people

so here goes
i am awarding the following girls
....please pop into the following blogs of these awesome girls
www.jolandascrapsels.blogspot.com
www.sweetscrappins.blogspot.com
www.betweencupcakesandtea.blogspot.com

thanks again shamela!

dear lizzy layout.

a bit of a different layout for me with some of my own touch added just so i could stomach it LOL. the floral paper and butterfly die-cut paper are from the dear lizzy range by American crafts. and although i really love it, it is not quite my style. but after i added a stunning mustard yellow pattern by graphic 45, some grey from kaisercraft and a green dot by the glitz girls....i really loved it.
a couple of oldish rub-ons by heidi swapp (making memories) for fun...

some flags and the background spritzed with my new perfect pearl mists...

some brad buttons and a rub-on by Jenni Bowlin. i cut the butterflies apart from the rest of the sheet and added some bling detail. for the larger butterfly set i flipped them over over and inked them in a dark grey to match the grey strip along the bottom edge.

thanks for looking!

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