with 2012 heading to a close it can be soon enough. it's been a great year on so many levels and it's also been the crappiest ('scuse my french). crap mostly because it involved people. now i have nothing against people in general but they seem to be the common denominator in all things bad. yes and on a confession level i guess it includes me too. what i really dislike about people is that they seem to think of themselves as gods and if you don't worship them the way others do, but rather see them for what they really are they turn evil - literally. which brings me to my word for 2013. LISTEN.

to listen to that little voice, to God's prompting, to my own intuition, to experience, to what i know. to listen more to God's word and His sweet whisper in my ear, be it how soft, to listen and trust my instincts and never give in to the loud and disturbing and distrusting voices of those who mean me harm. to simply listen....

here's to listening to my own voice and not let it be drowned by those who speak so loudly and want to silence God's word and will for our lives. here's to a wonderful new year of listening!

this year is heading to a close fast - can hardly believe another one bites the dust. but i am not sad to see this one go for many reasons. and with the close of 2012 comes more scrapping time in 2013. we heading out to Scrapbook Studios' event in February and here is the first of a few sneaks peeks of the projects. for this layout we will be working with Prima and Crate papers mainly. then there's a few specially designed stamps for the event and some other custom made goodies. so if you still haven't booked (only because Cariena opened a few more spots) then hurry up or miss out. we will be doing some funky new techniques showing you how to make your own papers and elements.

here's wishing you a few more days of lazing around and reflecting on the next 365 days.

keep your eyes open for more sneak peeks of the other projects and hop on over here to book your spot http://www.scrapbookstudio.co.za/2013-retreat.html

remember those chines lantern style lights that were so popular way back when...well i think they are making a come back - even if only in the crafting world. i decorated this light using a range of flowers and some elements mad using the beautiful Pretty in pink range by Glitz. I so love this range. i had 2 curved rows going down the front and back of the light using a selection of the pretties collected.

i used a four piece die set from Cuttlebug to cut the leaves. I sewed 2 leaves together folding the top one upwards for dimension. I did the same with some of the butterflies.

to alternate the butterflies i hand sewed some pearls to the centers of the butterflies. with the paper scraps left over i punched some smaller flowers and added diamante or pearls to the centers.

vintage pearls....

after sewing i left long strands of thread hanging from the leaves and butterflies - i loved the messy look they bring to this project.

i am still trying to get the actual light hanging with a bulb inside LOL - and will then post a pic.

every year i want to do something different with my Christmas cards. So this year i decided to make some fun postcard style cards - they had to be quick and easy but also feature real postage stamps, some stamping with ink and some texture. what better way to achieve all three than to grab for my cuttlebug and some of my other favourite goodies from The Wholesaler. this little postcard project is featured in the new scrapping & kie magazine.

i used some Teresa Collins Christmas patterned papers for my base as well as for the embossed baubles. i love how a large embossed image can be trimmed down into an accent.

to add texture to my photograph i used a Christmas tree embossing folder turned on it's side to represent a swirl at the top of my photo. i lightly sanded the raised surface so that the texture would be more visible.

some of my favourite rubber stamps...

and more rubber stamped images on top of real postage stamps...

the cuttlebug is truly a versatile machine. and if you don't own one by now...you still have time to add it to your wish list for Santa to deliver.

photograph credit: 

Barbs du Plessis and Alistair du Plessis

there's a new challenge up over at Scrap Africa today. This challenge is hosted by the talented Elizna and it's a good one - film strips! They come in many shapes and sizes as well as die-cuts and pre-made. so it's time to get creative!i cheated a little bit with my film strip and printed my photos onto a digital film strip. remember that you can play along with us and stand a chance to become a guest designer or win some awesome goodies - but you have to swing by the Scrap Africa blog.

punched circles surrounded by diamante on top of the custom made background

embossing and inks combined together to create a visual feast of colour and texture

and some punched circles adhered to the background creating an interesting effect

just for playing along you can win some awesome goodies like these custom designed buttons - wouldn't mind some of these myself.

hope you are having a creative weekend! thanks for stopping by....