another Monday means another challenge over at scrapbook challenges. my layout is based on some of the most memorable moments during 2010. i love doing review layouts like these to end off albums. how about you? what do you do to capture a year at a glance?

and here's my take on the sketch...i had some fun with Glitz girls rub-ons and paper and that oh so divine pink clock paper by Teresa Collins. i threw in a orangy-yellow Halloween spot from making memories.

some close-up details...lettering by Basic Grey from way back when!

a Kaisercraft rub-on directly onto patterned paper.

and my journaling tucked in behind one of my photos for a quick review on happenings during the year.

we hope you will play along if you have some quiet time during the holidays! head on over to scrapbook challenges for the dingle page version of this layout and check out all the other challenges and to win some awesome goodies.

this is the last challenge for 2010 over at scrap and stamp Saturday! how time as flown by! this week the challenge is Christmas! lucky for me we had our Christmas dinner last month and had some gorgeous photos to work with. the layout below was designed by my friend Barbs but i changes mine up a bit as i didn't have all the punches she used.

the images above the flags are a combination of rub-ons and stamps. I have an adorable set of miniature birthday stamps - you know the type you buy when you first start stamping because they are so versatile - oh yes you do! anyhow, they worked perfectly...

the trees and stars were die-cut and some of them even cut freehand like the little flags. i love how you can use odd rub-ons, like the ones between the little tag photos, to fill in some gaps. the silver strips across the top and bottom are double sided tape with glitter on them! still love that technique! hope you will play along with us this week and stand the chance to win some awesome goodies just in time for Christmas! we will be back the 1st January 2011 with a new challenge! happy Holidays everyone!

a fun layout featuring some of my current favourite products as well as my favourite colours to work with at the moment, yes i know they do change quite often! on this layout i used some of Tim's patterned papers along with distress inks on the hearts and his die-cut butterfly, mask and grungeboard letters. the layout is based on sketch 228 from scrapbook challenges.

my chipboard hearts were first covered in old dictionary paper and then inked using distress ink. i layered and popped some of the hearts and also glazed them to create a play on texture.

added some interest on the background patterned papers by masking directly onto them.

and created a banner for my subtitle which was stamped with one of my favourite stamps reading "my heart has wings".

hope you are having i creative holiday! today i kept myself busy mounting some new stamps from Darkroom Door onto easy mount and then stamped a couple of them and just played with whatever was on my desk and within arms reach. i have loads of new class ideas and playing with some techniques as well...quite brain quite!

this is exciting times! this baby below has landed in South Africa and is now
on sale
it is my latest book on scrapbooking techniques using products you have in and around the home already. On the cover is a layout about my niece featuring paper doilies and recycled postage stamps. I also used a lot of my favorite products on the layouts and give some handy tips and alternative ideas on how you can utilize your scrapping supplies. There is definitely a bit of everything for anyone in the book with a lot of different scrapping styles. Some talented friends also helped me on my journey in putting the layouts together and I am so thankful for them - Melani de Groot, Barbs du Plessis and Cariena Basson.

to get hold of the book for your shop or for personal use you can contact
Lapa Books directly or visit their website www.lapa.co.za
it is also available through Leisure Books and soon in your favorite book shop and craft store.
it will also make a great Christmas gift for someone just starting scrapbooking and even for the seasoned scrappers in your group. Let us know if you have trouble finding the book and we will make a plan for you!

another Monday...well a day late...means another sketch over at scrapbook challenges. Pamela did a super job of this one and i love the possibilities it offers. to see the single page version and some samples of the other design team members head over here and then load your page into the gallery section over here to win some fabulous goodies. don't forget you can also become a member and be a part of this awesome community of creative souls...and here's the double page sketch

and my take on it...

closer details of my crackle paint butterfly filled with distress stickles afterwards...

and a fun grouping of favorite things ...

i hope you will play along as we would love to see what you have done with your sketch this week. we have had a lot of rain over the past three days and the world is looking a lot happier right now. so here's to a creative week filled with paper and glue!

a new challenge is up over at scrap and stamp Saturday...and this time it is some kind of winter tradition. while we here in South Africa are dealing with heat waves in the midst of summer and praying for rain....i did some of my sledding photos from my trip to Germany. i absolutely love snow and could move to the coldest place on the planet in the blink of an eye - i just don't like Africa and its hot weather! anyhow...i combined some stamping onto my photo to fill the empty spot as well as some of my many snow flake stamps in shades of blue distress ink.

the sleigh is from Making Memories and was originally a gold shiny metal colour. i added some alcohol inks to get the brown shades and love the look.

so head on over to scrap and stamp Saturday and play along!

i love patterned paper...sigh! and this layout proves it. 8 patterned papers layout i am totally in love with this layout, and it was my first time using some of Prima's totally beautiful pearl and bling swirls. i have always loved them but never quite knew where to use them - and then there was this layout. perfect!

the sketch is by Pamela and can be found here. she really is a whiz at creating sketches and this is one of the best among the best I have seen! below is a close-up using one of my other favourite...vintage stamps and a stamped image onto a brown paper bag.

let me know what you think and head on over to scrapbook challenges to see some more awesome sketches and loads of inspiration!

it's been a long wait, but here it is! my name on the cover of Stampington's Take Ten magazine as guest artist. i have been a fan for ever and a day and this is such a great honor to be picked and be featured in their awesome publications. i am yet to receive my copy and see which cards are featured but am so excited! thanks for letting me share my awesome news with you all - and for those loyal supporters and followers you girls rock!

pinch...pinch...

another Monday means another sketch over at scrapbook challenges, and i simply love this sketch from Pamela!! it is right up my alley and i may just do a couple of versions for different albums...just because i can. i did the 2 page version for this challenge and used some of my current favorite patterned papers including glitz girls, Parisian anthology, Teresa Collins and Tim holtz.

and here's what i did...using some old favourite photos for my album. i am totally OK with scrapping my favourite photos several times...afterall i have double the albums to complete since jayson insists on having his own albums too - what a guy! :-)

and used some kaisercraft rub-ons directly onto my photo in the background.

the stamps are by Hampton art and one of my new favorites! i see plenty of layouts and cards in the new future and even a possible class on using circles, so watch this space.
to see some more samples of what the design team came up with using the single page sketch, head on over here and then load your take on it into the gallery area here for a chance to win some awesome goodies!

this week at scrap and stamp Saturday we have a wonderful sketch challenge for you. to see the sketch head on over to scrap and stamp where you can also see some of the other stunning layouts the design team has come up with. i can hardly believe the year as come to an end so quickly...but luckily you still have some time to play along today and for a few more Saturdays! remember to use at least one stamp on your layout and then submit it to stand a chance of winning some fun prizes.
and here's what i did with my sketch....

and a close-up of my stamped image. i cut a piece off to run off the page, inked it with distress inks and then added a bling border.

the stunning patterned papers are by House of Three with its beautiful resist print. I inked it using 2 different colours of distress ink. my title consists out of rub-ons and chipboard letters.

for the bottom edge of my layout i used a strip of tags coloured using a brown mist. i simply love tags and the colours worked perfectly with the red and yellow Teresa Collins' patterned paper. my journaling block, decorative tag and photo were slightly tilted to match the sketch. hope you like it. i hope you have a fabulous and creative saturday! i am off to clean my work table and then maybe do a couple of tim's christmas tags!