HaPpY NeW YeAr!!

May 2012 wash away all the bad memories of 2011 and may your year be filled with love, joy, peace and HAPPINESS!!!

Happy New Year!! (and many happy scrappy hours:)

We wish you a Merry Christmas.......

.......................and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!

A Groovie December

The Groovie Cover for December is a variety of titles - covering all the different short stories by John Steinbeck.

I've used different titles as if they were Chapters in the Book of my Life - if I were to ever write an autobiography, that is:)

Strips of paper with the printed titles and a few embellishments to create the look:). Strips of antique book pages creates a paper ribbon border strip that ties in with the book "theme" of the page. Using the same book pages with embellishments also unifies the theme of the LO.

Hope you are inspired to play and create in this busy festive season:)

Happy Scrappin'

Advent or otherwise....

Thought I'd better post something scrappy again:). I just love this little advent calender from Karen Foster Design. My little princess is really into her earrings and instead of creating an advent calendar I turned it into handy storage for little earrings. You can imagine sorting through 50 pairs of earrings the size of a pea to find matching pairs! This way it can be colour co-ordinated or sorted by shape or size:)

I chose printed paper that will hold it's appeal for a few years - the hip lipstick and high heel design will be more attractive in 5 year's time than pastels and teddy bears!

The boxes are about 4x4cm and perfect for storing all the little itty bitty things! You can even use it as an advent calender and turn it into a storage system after Christmas (mmmm .... especially if you use the teal and brown BoBunny Xmas range - gorgeous:)).

Hope you are inspired to create some Christmas goodies:)

Happy scrappin'

To me ... From me:)

This year for my birthday I signed my leave for the day before my bday (one of the advantages of having your own business - you sign your own leave:0 - disadvantage is there is never time for leave as time is money:).

My whole house was filled with the smells of baking and chocolate - a VERY good smell to start your bday;)

This is my gift to me from me - created from scratch........by myself! I was so proud I thought I'll take photies to share with you:) - know you won't mind drooling a bit on your keyboard:)

The cake itself was red velvet ...mmmmmmmmmmmm..... with a cream cheese icing and chocolate all round:)

I even baked and decorated my cupcakes:) . These ones were doubly chocolaty..........

.......and these ones were melted toffee centres with sugared rose petals and handmade (you guessed it - by myself:) double dip chocolate hearts..

It was the best pre-bday day ever!!! I have the extra bits and pieces on my body to proof they were really good:) - now all I need is the perfect paper to scrap these yummy photos!!

Any ideas.........................?

Happy scrappin (and stop droolin' :))

Xmas wishes cards,

At last! As promised the cards made from the add-on pack to the Merry Xmas layout. I made a little add-on kit in addition to the LO kit - since it was only a single page there were loads of stunning off-cuts to beautiful to go to waste!!

A few extras made these cards elegant and a real time saver! A little ribbon.....


....a blossom and paper ribbon strip............

.....some sanding and a few pearls.........................
..................blocks and bows........................... ....and even two cute tags!

Hope you are inspired to dive into those Christmas goodies!!

Happy scrappin'

Early Xmas wishes!

We had such an awesome day with The Scraphouse in Wellington on Saturday! I designed a single page for the event with the Teresa Collins Noel range. (still can't believe we are already thinking about Christmas:)

Using different techniques to create a cluster corner we had hours of fun creating! The day started of with a travel box with two albums with Ria and we ended the day with my LO! I love teaching and this was such a stunning venue to teach.

There are still some kits available from Ria with instructions to create ribbon roses, layered flowers, covering a matching button (and no, you don't have to crochet the tree:).

Also in the kit is a add-on pack to create four Christmas cards and two tags with the cut-offs from the kit! (will post the cards next week - you can't have it all at once:))

...............................and before I forget.......................

............Happy Birthday to me:)



Happt scrappin'

Drrrrrrrrrrumrollllllllllll please:)

Whoohooo-whoop-dee-doo:)

It is official, I am one of the runner-up winners in the Scrapbook Convention's Charity Challenge. Hop over here and have a look at the other fantastic winners!

It is such a privilege to take part in an awesome event and to know that by doing what you love you are also helping someone else less fortunate than yourself!

Thanks for the sponsors and organisers and I will see you at Scrapbook Convention 2012 (with a HUGE smile on my face:)!!

Why don't you scrap your Life's Recipe to your loved ones??

Happy scrappin'

Groovie November

It's time to get creative at Groovie Covers with the November Cover!! This one really made me think and I just LOVE playing with ideas that's a little out of the box:)

This is the stunning November cover:....................

..................and this is my take:)

I used different keys to mimic scraplift the cover idea and I hung them with wax string from heart pins to tie in with the title! (one of these days I will get my hands on some bakers twine!!!!!)

Hope you feel inspired - hop over and join in the challenge - you don't need a blog/facebook or twitter!! Just follow the Groovie Cover link and mail the photo of your LO!

Happy scrappin'

A chocoholic's dream come true!!

For as long as I can remember I dreamed of working with chocolate - melting it and playing with it - creating with it................and my dream came true - I did a STUNNING chocolate class and these are my creations! I even made the roses from scratch:)

My favourite is the square cake (one serving size)

Then off course the gorgeous cupcake!!

......and this is the amazing full size cake! Even with chocolate flames and leaves and the beautiful roses!

As if that is not enough I made some chocolate brownies today - they were the BEST ever and the melted chocolate with white chocolate streaks on top was the perfect ending to a scrumptious bake session!!

...........................only problem is I have to get up EVERY morning at 6 to try and get rid of all the extra chocolate on my hips - that is where they tend to end up:)

Now to scrap these photos - maybe I'll just grab one more brownie for inspiration:))

Happy scrappin'

Have a giggle.....

Just thought I'd make you smile:)

A BoBunny Thank You

Using the stunning Gabrielle (again:)) was perfect for this Thank You card. The beautiful edge on the semi-circle is from the die-cut circle page in the range. How often do we use half of a circle on our LO and the other half just floats about in our stash?? This is the perfect way to use it on a card....

Trim 4" x 6" print and adhere to card front. Trim die-cut circle into quarters (into half if you only have half a piece left!!:) and adhere to print on card front. Adhere other elements and sentiment to card. I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities die to create the framed sentiment - the sentiment is stamped on antique book paper to add interest.

Don't forget ....................next week is another challenge at Groovie Covers - very interesting cover to inspire you!!!

Grab your stash (especially those old semi-circles!!!) and start creating!!

Happy scrappin'

Bo Bunny Butterfly Magic

I just loved working with the Bo Bunny Gabrielle range - every paper blew my mind and it was so difficult cutting up the gorgeous designs to design cards!!

This is a very effective technique - really easy but looks like it took ages of pewter work! The strip is metal tape (used in plumbing - I think - buy it on a roll from the hardware store PLUS it is self adhesive! Stick a strip to cardstock - run through the cuttlebug (it can be embossed or cut!) and smear some paint over the top! Voila!

The butterfly is stamped on music paper and again on transparency with stayz-on. Cut both out and adhere only on the body of the butterfly for a 3D effect.

At the top of the card I used my Zutter binder to create some texture!

Hope you have a stunning day and feel inspired to run off to the hardware store:)

Happy scrappin'

Life's Recipe

Once again we had an awesome Charity Challenge at Scrapbook Convention this year. AS promised the LO I created for the challenge:)

Keep in mind you are only allowed to use what is in your packet and you only have one hour from start to finish!! The only thing you know beforehand is the theme - not even the paper range you'll be using!!!

I used a curling technique on my page edge (have never seen it used anywhere before and thought it might be very effective:) and created a bit of a 3D cherry with circles.
The recipe I wrote for my daughter:

Life's Recipe

Heaps of unconditional love
Handful of exuberance
Ton of self-confidence
Smidgen of modesty
Whisk in sweetness and spice
Fold in dreams
Pinch of hope
Mix together with praise and encouragement
Sprinkle with God's grace and blessings
Mould with care and bake for life!!

Happy scrappin'

Life's Recipe

Whoo-hooo...........just heard the news my LO is one of the finalists in the Scrapbook Convention Challenge!!

Hop over here and take a look - the winner will be announced end October - keep your fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed:). I will post the LO and journaling next week - just had to share the good news;)

Happy scrappin'

Fabscraps USA - here I am!

At last I'm loaded (no, not the way you think - can't borrow yet:)! I've been designing cards for Fabscraps, with the two new ranges being launched in the USA. The first range is the Shabby Chic and you can hop over here and have a look at the four cards under the projects heading! The cards also have instructions if you want to "cardlift" the idea.

I love the range and the new double sided paper is stunning to work with. With every range there is also a heap of embellishments that compliments it and that make life a little easier (and the choices much more difficult 'cause now you "need" the whole range:).

They also launched the new on-line catalogue with the ranges and matching additions - go have a look here - all the cards in the catalogue were designed and created by me (well, I have to brag a little - sure you understand;)

Hope you are inspired by the new ranges - I will post the link for the Timeless Travel cards once they are uploaded!

Happy Scrappin'

I'm a Cover Girl - and a Groovie one at that!

YEEEAAAHHHH, I'm a Cover Girl - a Groovie Cover Girl! (now, now...enough of the giggling I hear in the background:). I will be designing for Groovie Covers as from right now - isn't it awesome! I feel blessed to be part of the team and we hope to bring you heaps of inspiration and ideas. Hop on over to Groovie Covers - the announcement is now official!

Groovie Covers gets inspiration from book covers and every month there is a lovely RAK prize for one of the entries. Hop on over and play with us - I'm sure we can get this blog filled with inspiration and stunning LO's!

This is the inspirational cover for October - simply stunning!

This is my take on the cover!

Let your imagination loose - grab your scrapping stash and................

Happy scrappin'

Groovie Covers

You just have to hop over to Groovie Covers and play with. This is such a lovely and inspiring idea. Each month a book cover is loaded onto the blog as inspiration for your LO's!! The Month of September is inspired by this awesomely interesting cover.
This is my take on the book cover:)

I loved playing with the paint effect and added some antique gold glimmer mist to run right to the edge of the page. The butterfly is punched into the white space on the photo. The paper ribbon and butterfly punch just brings the colours together. My LO felt a little heavy at the bottom and the two see-through flowers at the top corner did the trick to balance it out!

Grab those paints, hop on over, play along and keep your eyes peeled on this site for an October reveal............................................................

Happy scrappin'

Punchy punch punch!

I absolutely LOOOOVE playing with the Martha Punches - especially the around the page punches! This teeny tiny flower punch is one of my favourites and it looks really nice on a card as well!

I used 3D squares to lift the middle blocked printed paper and added a lace border behind to add a little texture to the page. The flower design is a fussy cut from the print and a little dimensional pearl added to accentuate the leaves and flowers!

The journaling reads (in my favourite letter stickers - off course:) : "Princess, may every wish you make come true" ................and that is also my wish for you!

Happy scrappin'

isiBhalo Ezingcwele

My right hand helper at home asked me to cover her Bible to last a bit longer and to make the plain black cover a bit more interesting. In her words she knows I can do this as I have all the pretty scrapbooking goodies in my scrap space! I've many times seen her looking at my newest creations and she always comments on how lovely they are (I often think she must think I'm insane buying all this paper:).

This was a challenge as the book had a shiny plastic "shrinkwrapped" onto the cover and no glue would stick to it!! In the end I removed the first three layers of the cover and had a blank piece to work with. The Bible also travels in her handbag so I couldn't add any bulky embellishments!!

This is the end result - the photo isn't to great as it was raining and she wanted to take it home and not wait for me to photograph it properly:). I covered it with sticky plastic all way round as she goes to church three times a week - it'll just last a little longer!

I created a bookmark with the left-overs and she was absolutely thrilled!! She says the little children crawl between the church benches to play with the beads hanging from the bible when she uses the bookmark:)

I'll post some of the goodies we scrapped at Spier in the next few weeks - just have to get them finished first:)

Happy scrappin'

Just a little note....

The Burlesque range from Fabscraps is stunning to work with. It has a booklet with flowers pre-cut!!! Simply press out and roll for stunning matching flowers!! The flowers on these notepads are from the flower booklet - same design spiral flower - just folded differently!

Creating notepads is a fun way to create a little gift and by adding matching paper to the inside of a transparent pen you co-ordinate the gift into something special!

All my cards I created for the Fabscraps Burlesque range are also featured on the Fabscraps website for the USA launch of their paper ranges. Hop over here and have a look! I've designed some more goodies for them but shhhhhhhhhhhh - that is still a secret;)

I'm off to Spier for the Scrapbook Convention this weekend - will most likely need a week holiday to recuperate:)

Happy scrappin'

Crepe Creations

Crepe seems to be the next hot item! This card design is very effective and yet easy to accomplish. It is one I designed for my Burlesque class we had on Woman's Day.

To create the strip add double sided tape to your card where you would like the crepe strip. Ruffle and stick the crepe down as you go. (You can also sew in the centre of the crepe strip and wrinkle it together at one end). For the "flower" effect fold crepe paper in half and on folded side cut strips. Add double sided tape to back of paper (I've used the pink cut-out) and stick crepe paper round and round - almost like making a rosette!

The pink strip is one of the beautiful strip border punches from EK Success - love the swirly bits!

Add some bling and VOILA!

Happy scrappin'

Happy Birthday Fairy Princess!

My little one is turning 6 (SIX!!!!!!) on Friday - totally unbelievable and even a little bit sad:) Where did the time go??

I created this spinner card for her bday - when you move the card from side to side the cupcake spins round and round - very funky!! (my apologies for photo quality - at 2am it was a bit dark outside for photographs and I had to do it in secret!)

I think the butterflies are just to gorgeous - I've seen it done in brown paper with multicolor butterflies (for adult gifts) and it looked awesome! I thought it a nice effect for her and I'm sure the butterflies will fascinate her.

Isn't this the most gorgeous die-cut tag?? All I had to add was a tink picture and some bling and I know she'll love it! (she can even use it to scrap her pages about her bday:).

As we have grandparents and friends the rest of the week (not to mention the 45 cupcakes I'm baking tomorrow!) my next post will only be next week - sjoe, I can't wait! - it's soooo much fun turning 6:)

Happy scrappin'

Lost and Found

I absolutely just fell in love with the MME Lost and Found ranges (one and two!!). I literally JUST finished this LO - as a matter of fact the glue is still wet:), but I just had to post it!
The little bits of glitter on the page is just so awesome (not so bright on the photo thought:) and adds that luxurious feel to the page. I matted the LO on brown and Racy Raspberry (always sounds so delish!!) to create a frame. The Prima ribbon with the bling I just had to have and I like the dimension it adds to the LO. The quote is a Kaisercraft rub-on I cut into strips to fit in my title box - works like a charm;). The Prima ribbon packaging was the perfect colour match to the LO and I added the edged strip to the photo on the right - really "green" on the recycling front:)

The layered flowers are my own creation (funky isn't it:) - use different sizes scallop punches to create a layered flower. I used two of each size and 5 nestable punches. Punch the scallops from antique book pages (literally old second hand antique books!), distress and ink each scallop shape and layer. I used my Big Bite to punch two holes in the centre but a piercer will also do the trick. Spritz with Glimmer Mist and add a button to the centre with some twine. Group with some other flowers and leaves to create a cluster corner on the page!

Hope you love the colours and textures as much as I did:)

Happy scrappin'

Band Hero

Ooooh, what fun times!! My hubby got Band Hero for his Bday and I have calluses on places I didn't even know I had places:). We play for ages (as if we have to play games!!) - only problem is we play when all else is done and dusted which means for a whole week we went to bed around 2am and got up at 6am again for work!! Totally wasted!!

This is hubby, friend and little princess in the GROOVE!! Just had to post the photos - will do the LO later!

Although she is only 5 she is our drummer girl!! Dad is on the guitar, mom has the microphone (and no, I cannot really sing!!) and she is on the drums...........and she hits EVERY beat! It is amazing, she does it on easy and even hits the colours on the correct beat! (on beginner it is just a bar and you can hit any drum! - no, not her - easy mode!!). Even caught her singing "do you really want to hurt me" and "pretty woman" for a few days afterwards:)

I havn't had this much fun in years!!!!!!!! If you're up for a gig - drop in, I promise you'll have an awesome time!!

Happy scrappin'

Circle Fun

Don't you just love playing with new techniques? These quirky circles adds such a lovely dimensional effect to your projects!

Punch three circles from different designs (mine are 1 1/4") and fold in half. Adhere together and add to page as desired. Add Thank You stamp to stamped banner and some faux stitching to frame the card. The 3D circles creates a lovely border on a page as well and you can use any design that is symmetrical - even butterflies ................mmmmmmmmmmmm................ gives me an idea ...........................I'm off - will post LO later:)

Happy scrappin'