being frugal.

i am so grateful for my gran on my mom's side. a women who gave her whole life to God. she laid down everything and lived for Him. sometimes even going without food to provide for the hungry, young and old, black and white, good and bad - she cared for them all. she was the one spent her life helping others and giving 'our' stuff away to those others. with my recent love affair with the vintage, i realize what she gave away - the wonderful furniture were amongst the things i would now so appreciate. but what she didn't give away to others (OK let's just go with that for a moment) but gave to me was her 'frugality'. she taught me how to save and re-use and re-purpose. so that is where my love affair with postage stamps started - she taught me how to lovingly soak them in water and remove them from envelopes to be re-used again on whatever. even at a young age i started collecting stamps and even belonged to the philatelist society.
so just where am i going with all of this...
well my family doesn't really have an understanding of who i am and what i do. but they try. so when my mother arrived at my doorstep the other day with a plastic bag filled to the brim with old stamps i was in heaven - stamp heaven. and i even for a moment thought that she got me - really got me. so for the past 2 days i have been soaking and lovingly removing stamps from envelopes and i haven't even made a dent in the pile! i am in heaven! so i will keep them in a box and use them in my layouts and cards and splash out on other projects and still i will have enough stamps to use for the rest of my life. ah the simple things in life. it's the little things in life that end up being the BIG things.
my grandmother: Joey Brink
hope you have a fabulous and creative week. i am heading to the kitchen to soak more stamps!

the moral dilemma.

i found this on the net today...sorry i didn't get a credit - but whoever did this please know that it is amazing! Please let me know if you come across this so i can credit the right person - so yes its not my words, not my design, not mine! so in lieu of this ...i also found a layout copied from my book on someone's blog....yeah you guessed it - no credit there either. no apology either for not crediting. let me know your thoughts on this moral dilemma - to credit or not to credit!

play.

so the lovely Natalie from Punky Scraps designed one of the layouts for Scrapbook Challenges' Sizzling summer of sketches. we basically created sketches for an entire month and hosted the challenges for members to play along. Natalie is eccentric OK! she is a breath of fresh air and her layouts must come so naturally - like a fresh spring breeze. so for her SS11 challenge this is what i came up with! i love it - i really do feel more comfortable with throwing paint at a canvas - and i don't do it enough - it's not really socially acceptable you know. just as my life i am a rebel by nature and when everyone goes left i will go right - it's what i do you see. so forgive me for stepping on toes. but life really is too short not to have fun in this comedy we call life. head on over to scrapbook challenges and look for Natalie's challenge...and play along - you'll love it.
i used mostly stuff i had on my table. i always seem to do that - maybe because my table is always full of stuff. it's actually funny at times - but i guess it means i am keeping busy which is a good thing.
the green circle is a little something i am working on for an American publication - so watch this space. maybe i will share it once it has been published - or force you to buy the book.
supplies
patterned paper - basic grey for hero arts *out of print* (too die for)
card stock - bazzill basics
stamps - stampington, stampers anonymous, paperbag studios
black paint - ranger paint dabbers
distress stains - ranger industries
journaling strips by karen foster
buttons, thread, diamante

where women create.

today was a goodish day for me. things have been hard lately - really hard. the kind of hard you can share some days and then other days you know you can't. the kind of hard where you know a miracle needs to be close by or else. today was a goodish day. you see we got to play at my amazingly talented friends art studio! it's the most beautiful french art studio in all of South Africa. Kath converted her stables with flair like only she could. it is homely, warm and filled with a creative soul. we worked, we were busy and that was good today! we ate delicious cake that Sons made (ok i had a second piece - yes its that good) and we had lunch and we were just there together - being creative. and that was good! it was what i needed for today. we created beautiful canvas girls that Kath designed - so we painted and collaged and gelled and it was good. it was a art therapy day - and no-one knew. but they were there.
Kath and Sonia whom i so appreciate in my life! you girls rock.
and the queenie of all our hearts! (who's getting a new house)
and chandeliers to drool over and delight in, and the perfect concentration...
and Colleen and i were there - being creative! not much to day! love days like this!
and so that is where...we...women....created...today! love you all madly!

liquid colour - a class.

liquid colour - a class in using distress stains. come and join us for a fun filled class using this awesome new product and create beautiful cards. We will be using some of the absolutely amazing new papers by Basic Grey in collaboration with Hero Arts *gasp*
Sweet Scrappins
Pretoria
saturday 23 July
as of 12 noon today this class is fully booked - thanks a bunch!

just call it love.

a while ago i did this layout for a class - it featured loads of techniques using mists, alcohol inks, paints, distress stains, glue, distress inks and stamping. I love layouts like these - filled to the brim with stuff - random old stuff but still focusing on the photos and the important stuff.hope you like! enjoy this week and make it a creative one. thanks for popping by and to all those who follow my creative and life's journey. thanks for those who stick by me through thick and thin, good and bad. those are true followers and friends! you are appreciated more than you will ever know!

scrapbookchallenges.

over at scrapbook challenges we are having a whole month of sketch challenges. the sizzling summer of sketches brings you a new sketch each and every day so you don't get bored during your summer break - although hardly summer here in South Africa, it gives you something to do in front of the heater. so head on over and check out the awesome sketches and samples. this sketch was done by the talented Jolanda and i simply loved working with it...
i did some cut out parts from the MME bingo paper and filled in the back with an assortment of patterns. inking and sewing around the edges adds some interest
the sun was made using the beautiful October afternoon papers and some diamante
so head on over for some serious scrappy inspiration here

altered canvas trio.

a while ago i made this set of 3 mixed media canvasses. i loved how they turned out...i guess no one else did but that's another story. but i thought i would share them here as we are about to set out on another mixed media canvas journey. a couple of really awesome friends and i are getting together to play. there's so much enthusiasm amongst them and i can just see the gorgeous art works that will come from a morning of play. this is a picture of the 3 grouped together -not sure i have space on my walls for them though.
blue - is covered in dressmaking pattern sheet and then layers of blues and gold from Ranger's paint dabber group. the multi functional empty bird-cage by tim holtz takes centre stage. and don't you just love that stamp...my heart has wings!
purple - so not my favourite colour but nice. a tim holtz grungeboard bird negative becomes the perfect stencil to be gold leafed. the bird sits above a strip of sheet music covered in bee's wax and nails. yes life is filled with people who sing beautiful tunes in front of you but given half a chance they bring out the nails...i have learned that the human tongue is a terribly hurtful thing.

i found a whole jar filled with these rusty old nails in our shed on the farm - i love their rusty vulnerability
pink - oh so pretty. covered in pink and gold paint with a bee's wax envelope that carries my hopes, dreams, fears and sadness in life itself.
the wax envelopes consists of several layers of patterned papers and then dipped into wax for that stunning glassy see through look.
i hope you like what you see. here's to creative play and being free!

le shabby cafe guest designer.

i am thrilled to bring you the projects done for Le Shabby Cafe scrapbook kits this month. as i have said the kits are amazing and packed with amazing and an abundance of products. i had so much fun designing and playing with the beautiful papers. and so here are some of the layouts...
i love how the patterned papers and colours could work with old and new photos. in an attempt to clear out stuff i am on a mission to use my old and original photos. *Gasp* and no, by the time i am dead no-one will really care about those old photos anyway so i might as well use them and get them in some albums.
hope you stay warm today and have a scrappy week ahead. i have loads to do and finish and the cold fingers just don't wanna work ... back to my sunny spot while it's still there!

le shabby cafe.

so the fabulous girls from Le Shabby Cafe Kit Club asked me to play along in July. Let me tell you not only was i honoured but i was in awe of this generous and totally stunning kit they put together! it is packed to the brim with the stunning Fancy Pants 'it's the little things' range. I've only seen bits and piece of it in South Africa and then they go and bring in the entire *yeah* the entire range in kit form! whoo-hoo for Sophia and Tracy - i applaud you girls! so... the projects have been sent and they should be up here soon for you to view. i will post them on my blog soon...so please if you are a local girl in sunny South Africa go and buy one of their kits! support those who are truly passionate about this fabulous hobby and lets play with the good stuff.
PS it's freezing in SA and i love it!! bring on the snow....

blog hop.

welcome to the scrapbook challenges seasons of change bloghop! If you have joined me here from Nanette then you are in the right place - if not go the Brynn's blog and start there to join us and qualify for some awesome give-aways.
I am so please to be a part of this wonderful creative family spread all over the world! I am jowilna and a returning design team member of scrapbook challenges. I love paper or am rather addicted to it, love photography and being creative. I share my passion here on my blog and spend my days teaching scrapbooking and card making. in my spare time when i am not organizing my workspace i write craft books. I hope you will join us and spend a creative weekend with all of us. We look forward to seeing you around the scrapbook challenges site.

this time around i opted for a card using the fabulous design by Brynn Marie. after having completed a layout i thought it a bit too personal and then made this card - BUT only after i received an awesome parcel from some special people in Durban (more about them later)with those gorgeous postage stamps on them. being such a stamp recycling freak i set about getting them off the packaging immediately to use on this card.
the sketch is so versatile and perfect for a quick card. The orange sprayed card stock is a left-over piece from a class we did last Saturday - see i recycle everything! the rest are scraps from my table and the colours just worked beautifully together.
give-aways
remember by just being a part of this bloghop you can win some awesome goodies!
1 person leaving a comment on all the blogs will receive a pack of Cosmo Cricket paper (Salt air collection - oh yummy!)
1 person will receive a $20 gift certificate from Scrapbook.com if you make a layout based on the sketch in the hop on section
and then there are some Ranger goodies up for grabs too - my favourite!
so please play along 'cause someone has to win all these goodies!
some close-ups of my card just for fun...
it's now time for you to HOP ON to Emilia to see what she has in store for you inspiration wise!
hope you have a fabulous weekend hopping around the web with us. remember to pop into scrapbook challenges and become a member for tons of inspiration.

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