fathers'day scrapbook classes.

So we are celebrating all things boy and men next month with fathers' day. We kick off with a class at Scrapbook Den in Edenvale with a beautiful layout featuring Webster's pages, Sandylion, Echo Park and loads of other patterned papers thrown into the mix.the layout is a busy one for my standards - you know i love my white space, somewhere the eye can rest and breathe - LOL. But i aim to please so the girls are getting busy. included in the class is a quick fathers' day card for dad and loads of techniques using inks and stuff.
how are you spoiling your dad this fathers' day?

graphic 45 - dressing up older paper ranges and making them new.

We all love a pretty piece of patterned paper right? Yes! So you bought a couple of extra sheets and before you know it there were a dozen or so more new ranges on the market that you just had to have – so you bought them too. And now you are left with some pretty papers in your stash but you have no idea what to use them for because they seem to be outdated – wrong. I have always found the Graphic 45 papers so beautiful – but when it comes to working with them I shy away – that’s until I changed my mind set about it. I have never been anywhere close to the East that is Japan or China, so for me to even want to work with the ‘Bird Song’ range by Graphic 45 made no sense at all. But since I don’t scrap my photos to match my paper, but rather use the products I like, I felt quite comfortable to go right ahead and use the beautiful paper with birds on it. 
With love layout 
For my layout I used photos of a friend who celebrated her 9th birthday recently. I teamed the photos with the older Bird Song range of papers and threw in a new paper from Basic Grey’s Bow ties range. By using a newer paper alongside an older paper you can easily update the look or change it to something else. To further update the look of my paper I added some stamped images using the Artiste Markers and some themed stamps. I used Crystalina glitter glue to highlight some of the elements on the papers and lastly updated the look with some funky washi tape giving my layout the funky edge I wanted. The washi tape was used selectively for its pop of colour giving my layout an accent colour of bright pink and adding loads of unexpected interest. The elements used throughout focus on a feminine theme with birds and flowers – and the Eastern theme are no longer my main priority on this project.
cut out elements dressed up using glitter glue Crystalina
 Here are some more easy tips and tricks of how you can revive 
some of those older paper collections in your stash 
1. Pair them with a new sheet of paper and you won’t even know the difference between old and new 2. Heat emboss a simple design on patterned paper and then cover the rest with ink for a beautiful new look. The embossed image resist the ink and leaves only a small hint of the original patterned paper 
3. Add a layer of gesso (white acrylic paint) to camouflage some of the pattern you don’t like, then add collage stamped images onto the white areas to create a whole new look 
4. Cut them up and use small pieces on a project. Work on a white background to give the paper a fresh new look 
5. Use them on an altered project and camouflage the design with flowers and other embellishments 6. Throw paint and ink to the surface and cover up the old design or colour 
7. Blind emboss the paper using your Cuttlebug and embossing folders and add ink or thermal embossing to it to totally change the look 
8. Ignore the theme of the paper and use it anyway because you like it – don’t be limited because you think the papers has to match your photos 
9. Pick a technique and use it to alter your paper like die-cutting elements out of the papers and using them on cards or gift tags 
10. Add some new products into the mix – I added some modern Washi tape to my projects giving the older paper range a new funky twist and a nice element of surprise Don’t be afraid to alter and change the look of your paper stash – you will get so much more out of your purchases by adding some clever alterations to them.
To see how i altered some more of the beautiful Bird Song papers on a gift tag, head on over here
Products used 
Artiste Dual Tip Brush Markers (12 Pack) – Brights [DDOA851100]
Bird Song Double Sided Paper - Bird Song [GF 4500569] 
Bird Song Double Sided Paper - Endless Spring [GF 4500574] 
Bird Song Double Sided Paper – Tranquility [GF 4500573] 
Bird Song Double Sided Paper - Cherry Blossom [GF 4500575] 
Bird Song Double Sided Paper - Shanghai Girls [GF 4500579] 
Couture Creations Glitzin Glamour – Crystalina [ADCO 721971] 
Therm-O-Web Zots 3D 200 [TW 3786] 
VersaMark Watermark Ink Pad [TVM-001]

documenting my life with simple stories.

scrapbooking can take on many forms - and i love all of them! but....
I am giddy with excitement! Although I have played around with SN@P Life in the smaller 6x8 format, it is only until I completed the 12x12 layouts that I really felt my heart missing a beat or two. Yes I know what you are going to say – can it really be real scrapbooking! And yes my answer is – it C@N! But luckily for me scrapbooking is a personal thing and creativity in any way incorporating photos, memories and design is scrapbooking.
Scrapbooking in this format is liberating and fun! It’s quick and easy with loads of creativity – and using the SN@P Life system makes this type of scrapbooking really enjoyable. What I really liked about working with Simple Stories is that even though the Life range with its bright and bold colours was my main focus I could so easily include the new Vintage Bliss range with it – the colours blended and worked perfectly and gave me the vintage look I wanted.
I worked in some page protectors that are divided in 4x4 squares and 6x4 landscape pockets. It was easy to fill them and create little groupings of elements that worked or applied to my photos. I like how I can use small bits and pieces that would otherwise not find a home on my traditional layouts but get lost in a box of odds. I wanted to photograph the layouts inside the pockets for obvious reasons, and ended up with some glare – but that’s OK – and I will continue to work on photographing them perfectly. In the meantime I would like to encourage you to give the SN@P life project a go – play a little and forget about the rules of scrapbooking. Instead you can apply all the rules of being creative and having fun while capturing your everyday life beautifully and creatively
i love that i can use different products combined into the pockets - quick and easy
To showcase my new found easy scrapbooking and capturing of everyday life, I chose the beautiful Printblocks 12x12 Ring Binder in Pink – I love these albums because you can fill it to the brim with loads of layouts and memories and they look really great – good value for good memories.
SN@P Life has my vote for making memories easy and economical, even if you think you are not creative enough – you can still scrapbook your story. And remember “you seemingly unimportant story, is important to somebody”. Tell it creatively.
stickers, washi tape, and recycled packaging
buttons find a place to add dimension, making me very happy

Products used
Sn@p! Life Double Sided Paper – Stripe [SS 280]
SN@P! Life Double Sided Paper – Bubbles [SS 280]
SN@P! Life Double Sided Paper – Poloroids [SS 2805]
SN@P! Life Double Sided Paper - Red Ledger [SS 2817]
SN@P! Colour Vibe Double Sided Paper - Grey Cheveron [SS 2839]
SN@P! Stickers 4x6 - Labels (8 Sheets) [SS 4019]
SN@P! Stickers 4x6 - Typeset (8 Sheets) [SS 4021]
SN@P! Cards 3x4 - Snappy Sayings (24 Units) [SS 4006]

scrap africa chipboard challenge.

this week's challenge over at scrap Africa is all about chipboard. Our sponsor this time around is 
Design Worx and we got to play with their beautiful product. I had a nice Afrikaans word to work with and since i hardly scrap in Afrikaans i did a gift tag. For my background i used a combination of inks to colour my tag and then misted it using mister Huey sparkle to add a nice shine to it. i coloured the chipboard using Versafine Vintage Sepia and then glazed it. to finish it off i added some gold microbeads and punched flowers with diamante - quick and easy.
i tied a beautiful may arts ribbon at the top of my tag for a quick and easy way 
to add it to a gift parcel

head on over to scrap africa to see what the other design team members came up with - and remember you can also win some awesome chipboard goodies just by playing along. 
here's wishing you have a creative week

telling my story with SN@P by Simple Stories.

I love scrapbooking and can’t imagine my life without it in any way or form. I love doing double page layouts with texture and interesting details but sometimes there are things that I want to document that just won’t have the same appeal on a double page spread. Sometimes these memories, those everyday life ticket stubs and till slips just need a spot for themselves to shine, somewhere where they will feel comfortable without being judged.
Simple Stories’ version of project life is so simple and easy to use. It consists out of albums and pockets that fit perfectly inside. Then there are these beautiful papers, tags, stickers, lettering and other elements that you can use to fill in the pockets alongside your photos. It’s easy to use and you simply slip everything into an allocated space. Of course you can dress the elements up as you please or leave them uncomplicated. The choice is yours.
Simple Stories has changed the everyday for me. With the new SN@P! Studio I can scrapbook on a smaller scale that allows me more time for what I really want to do (double page layouts) and I can keep all my everyday memories in a place where my family and the not so perfect photos and memories can have a life of their own too. I can experiment with my stamping and inks and just make a mess and it will fit right into this real life scrapbooking system of Simple Stories. It will never replace my traditional scrapbooking but it certainly has a place, an extension of what I am already doing kind of thing but quicker.

What I love about SN@P!
  • It takes the thinking process out of being creative
  • It is such an economical way to scrap and preserve the everyday
  • The elements all co-ordinate with each other
  • I can incorporate lots of other bits and pieces with this range because it features so many colours in its core
  • I can use up all my scraps of papers together with the easy to use stickers and labels – yes even the pieces I am afraid to throw out just in case (yes you know the pieces I am talking about)
  • The letters and wording sheets make totally sense for capturing real life
Why I use the SN@P! as part of my life’s project
  • It really is not intimidating at all
  • I can incorporate all the not so perfect photos
  • It helps me focus on the little things in life that are really important and things that I want to remember i.e how we still have a little family of jackal on the farm and they come out late afternoon for us to catch a glimpse
  • It showcases who I really am – real and imperfect
  • Its bold, colourful, quirky and pretty all in one
  • It makes scrapbooking simple and affordable for everyone even the younger generation
  • I can adapt the system and keep true to my style of scrapbooking and memory keeping – I don’t have to change a thing about what I am already doing
  • I can experiment and use it in my double page layouts
I did week 16 and 17 in my album although there are weeks to catch up on and week 17 is not even over yet and that’s OK with me. For week 16 I captured the essential things that happened. I kept the SN@P! Studio elements pretty simple but did dress them up a bit to suit my style. I added wording and sewing with some punched stars to the ‘snapshots’ insert. I punched the small stars from the SN@P! Stickers 4×6 – Typeset sheet – I Love all those letters and words and that I could even punch small shapes on the border of the sheet. This way I could repeat the colour throughout the entire 2 page spread in different pockets.
i can still add my details even though they are in smaller in scale - they still offer the same texture and details as when they are applied to a double page
 Week 17 was fun and even though it still has a few days left I started the journey already. I love how I could capture the jackal on the farm right by our back door just before the dogs started chasing it again inside the electric fence of course so they can’t harm them but love the chase none the less.
I included a photo of my last road trip to Bloemfontein that I am repeating this Thursday -but that’s OKk because I will take some more photos then. The circle was punched from the packaging and perfect to house the number of week 17 on it. I used a denim needle in my sewing machine to sewn right through the chipboard numbers quite easily.
I couldn’t help myself and had to add the beautiful Prima chipboard element and paper scrap – I love how it just picks up the turquoise colour and gives the SN@P! range a vintage touch. The labels from new cargo pants for Jayson also made it into the pockets – I just love the design and wording on it.
 
Products Used

oh hello.

i almost forgot i had a blog...but only just for a minute - so if you hung around thank you. I am still not well and after 3 months of being sick - i am officially sick of being sick. having been back from Bloemfontein and a teaching trip i struggle getting back into routine partly because i still feel yukky - things seem to change so fast and some things for no good reason at all. it was straight back into teaching and events and getting ready for more events, birthday parties and invitations and general life - it's all good. God is good! We are blessed! so all the other stuff really means nothing in the end!
some good things also came my way - like all the new releases from Simple Stories and Prima - distributed by The Wholesaler. I have been known to get sick of pink, but for some reason this range is so amazing. the colours are just beautiful and the design lovely!
so this week I played with the Vintage Bliss range and love the end result. i did have some fun with inks too and some gold microbeads and die-cuts and my favourite littly flowers from Olba.
i have some mother's day cards to share but need to photograph them - yes they are on the to do pile which is growing bigger - yes i am blessed. so check back tomorrow, i promise to post the cards then. and in the meantime i hope you have a creative week filled with stamps, and inks and paper.

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