Saturday 29 November 2008
Photo Diary - A week in Review...
We all ate burgers & the like...
Cami ate popcorn, sweets & 7 UP!
She was in junk food heaven...
Daisy Bucket is settling in...
Already sleeping with the Boss!
Photomania! - Gateway Theatre of Shopping
Pretty flashy huh? Me thinks so anyway...
Love the red Christmas ducks, all in a row. Pretty cute huh? They're available at my fave Home Store, cleverly named @Home. I bought a beautiful all-white Christmas wreath there.
Some of my fave shops all in one cool mosaic, pretty flashy technique, I'm just sayin...
Aldo, Accessorize, Converse, Musica, Young Designers Emporium, a visual delight & great inspiration stations ...colours, prints, it's all the same when it comes to fashion, it spills over from one field to the next, textiles into paper prints, etc so you can take your inspiration from all over!
Friday 28 November 2008
Journal Your Christmas Online Class
So the ball is now rolling...I have registered & downloaded her "Getting Ready" pdf. Obviously it's unethical to copy & paste everything onto my blog & I would never do that anyway... everybody's got to make a living...but I have got my weekend work cut out for me as I've been instructed to GET PREPARED! I need to gather my supplies together into a dedicated space & prepare my album. I can choose any format I like so I think I'll stick with a 12x12" album as mini-albums are difficult to find here & I have left it too late to order an online one by Monday. I'm gonna buy an album tomorrow, put in all the plastic sleeves & expanders & extenders so I am ready-to-roll with my first page on Monday.
I went to Scrap4Africa today (I heard they had some lovely new Christmas stock in) to buy some bits & pieces, & will go to Reminisce/Imagine That tomorrow to finish off. Well, I paid nearly R15 per sheet SINGLE SIDED My Mind's Eye printed paper & R16 per sheet for DOUBLE SIDED Little Yellow Bicycle printed paper, from the Sharon Ann Christmas Magic Collection. ( R10 - 1 US$) or (R15 - I UK pound) & (R7 - Aus$) to give you an idea of pricing. With the Rand devaluing almost 50% during the course of the year Scrapbooking has now become more of a luxury here in South Africa than the luxury it surely already is anywhere in the world!
My next instruction from Shimelle is to tell someone...so "check" to that one now! Lastly, I'm meant to "have fun" doing this & I fully intend to! I can't wait to go off & do the balance of my stash shopping tomorrow, although it's going to be a tight squeeze as I have to sneak out of a very important cricket match (Jack's last match for his school as he's off to High School next year) & sneak back in unnoticed, as Reminisce closes at 1p.m I think. I have to say (although I'm sure you've already guessed!) I am totally flipped about winning this class!!!
Just the other day I was thinking over what I had achieved this year. I was prompted to do this after reading Beryldene's Blog where she wrote an excellent post this week, about how we're all ever-so-quick to make endless "To Do" lists but how many of us ever stop to write an "I've Done" List? Well, not me! Don't think I've ever done it...so I thought...about what I had on my "To Do" List this year & whether I had achieved everything I set out to do. I made (another!) list...
1. Early on in the year I wanted to convert our storeroom into my Scrap Space so I had a dedicated work zone. Check!
2. I wanted to acheive a certain amount of "catch-up" pages. Check!
3. I wanted to learn how to store & edit my photos within my pc & print my own photos. Check!
4. I wanted to learn how to shop online for scrap stash & find EVERY online Scrapbooking Store in SA & check out their sites. Check!
5. I wanted to enter (& win) our SA Talent Search in September. I came 2nd. So I'm gonna accept that I did the best I could & give it a Check!
6. After receiving ABSOLUTELY NO RECOGNITION FOR MY EFFORTS (L.O.N.G. story & worthy of it's own post...) I decided I needed a new strategy & that setting up my own Blog would be a good starting point. Check!
7. The last thing I wanted to achieve in relation to my Scrapbooking life was to do an Online Class. I was umming & aahing over the cost when BANG! I won a seat in Shimelle's Class. Check!
Which means I'm off the hook guys...I've achieved everything I've set out to do in 2008...so if I do no other layouts this year (bar Shimelle's Class, which requires A PAGE A DAY) then I'm on schedule & I AM ENOUGH. That's a huge relief for me & something that I wasn't even consciously aware of, so Thank You Beryldene for making me aware! Thanks too to Wilna who inspires me daily with her outstanding work & infectious enthusiasm. The day I received my prize her scripture for the day was Psalm 36: 5-6
"God's love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks."
Well I certainly didn't...thanks to His good grace I have somehow managed to achieve it all...Wow!!! I gotta go get me an Amplified Bible...nothing says it quite like it!
Thursday 27 November 2008
Thursday's thoughts...
1) I need to get some serious scrapping done...I feel like I'm getting behind now...I'm seriously into this blogging thing & lovin' it but gotta remember why I started my blog in the first place!
2) My eldest daughter, Chelsea, is just growing up so fast now & is just so lanky like her dad (she is taller than me now & I really never thought that would happen...) & so good...keep waiting for the serious jolling (socializing) fever to start but she's still so sweet & naive (me thinks so anyway...)
3) I could really leave Africa & not miss the weather as much as all other Africans tell me I will...would definitely miss Mercy though, she is on semi-leave at the moment & working 3 days a week instead of 5...& we are ALL missing her! (bear in mind we have had this luxury all our lives & don't really know how to live without it...worrying..!)
4) My baby girl is really NOT a baby anymore!!! She is also going the way of all lankiness & it's only of late that I struggle now to pick her up...she has been on my hip for the last 8 years! Skinny as she may be, she is just getting TOO tall. I know I must come to terms with it but I just feel such loss...no-one needs me THAT MUCH anymore! :-(
5) I have to get my head around Christmas & start enjoying it more. I really am trying this year round & hopefully Shimelle's class will also get me going!
6) Good discipline can never be underestimated...hard as it is there is NO substitute. My 13 (going on 30) year old son has just completed a 2 week grounding & has come out the other side SO much nicer! Amen!!!
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Daisy Bucket is Growing Up!
Chelsea learns to Edit!
Jack's Car
This post's really for the family, to see what our wee ones get up to...Poor Jack (& Shane I might add...) worked really had on this one. Tech mark was in the 70's so it was worth it at least. Note the Zim numberplate!
The photos don't do it justice...It was difficult to make & fully functional (okay, maybe not fully, but it DID move) & we dropped it by mistake so add ROBUST to that people!
Tuesday's Blog News
Before I get to bed (past 1a.m. here)...thought I'd give you a quick update on what I'm up to on Da Blog...
I am going to be updating my sidebar during the course of this week, re:- My Blog List.
I am doing allotta reshuffling & categorizing so that it will be a lot more USER-FRIENDLY for any of you visiting, ie:-
1) Blog Buddies
2) Inspirational Blogs
3) Celeb Blogs
4) UK Scrap Blogs
5) Sketch Blogs
6) Defunct Blogs (ones I'm hoping will fire-up again soon!)
7) Trade Blogs
8) Art Blogs
9)Scrap/Lifestyle Blogs...
(Phew, I can now chuck away the scrotty bit of paper I jotted all that down on LOL!) so need to spend some time deciding who goes where...
Then, when you pay me a visit you can also do some blog-hopping straight from my launching pad.
Just doin' my bit to make Blogland a better place to visit :-)
Monday 24 November 2008
GOOD NEWS!
Late on Friday night...(Saturday morning actually) I was blog-hopping & ended up at Donna Downey's.
I took her class at the Johannesburg Annual Scrapbooking Convention last year (2007) & just LOVED her.
She was absolutely full of fun & I loved her artsy & relaxed approach to Scrapbooking.
To be honest I had kinda forgotten about her...then I got onto Cathy's blog & pinched her little emblem to add onto my sidebar (by the way, thanks to Mel for teaching me the right terminology) & wanted to create a link directly to the originator of said pretty little thing, only to find out it was Donna!
Thought I would check out her blog & saw that she was GIVING AWAY 4 PLACES in Shimelle Laine's Online Christmas Art Journalling Class (2 sets of 2 tickets) & all I had to do was leave a comment to stand a chance of winning. Said my bit then left...never thought about it again...'til I got a comment from Cathy today, congratulating me!
Ever the cynic, I went over there to check it out & sure enough I WON!
I am the person that wins NOTHING, despite pretty consistent effort...so I was doing cartwheels (okay, not really, that would be like, impossible...) There is some EXTRA SIGNIFICANCE to this as SHIMELLE LAINE is definitely my fave SCRAPPER OF THE MOMENT. Her creations are really different & I love the way she embellishes. She really pays attention to detail & I am just dog-gone crazy about her work...
YAY ME!!!
Well hello Mr. Yummy...
ALEX PETTYFER a.k.a. Freddie from "Wild Child", also starring Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts Neice (interestingly similar, especially the giant mouth!)
I've always gone for the "pretty boy" look...this boy is just too cute...Monday's "What actually happened"...(over the weekend!)
Well, how was your weekend? Mine was good thanks. I took 3 of my kids to see "Wild Child" on Friday evening & then went to see it AGAIN on Sunday, with my husband & my son that missed it first-time round. What a lovely movie...I really only went to see it first-time-round as a "labour of love" for my 10 year old, who was dying to watch it. Well, I loved it & couldn't wait to take dh & Jack with me on Sunday. Don't want to give too much away but it is more of a teen movie with all the usual ingredients but also with a good moral & just cute...
The "hunk"of the movie is one Alex Pettyfer, who is J.U.S.T. 2 .G.A.W.J.U.S...Okay, he is playing a 16/17 year old boy (& IRL is still a schoolboy...) so it must be wrong of me to fancy the pants off him, but the fact is he is just too dreamy...I googled him today (on behalf of my 15 year old daughter of course...?!) & saved some scrummy photos for her to print for her wall. Will upload them with my next post (just to make sure you keep coming back for more!).
I had a good Saturday afternoon shopping spree at Gateway (local B.I.G. mall) & bought some white patent/floral wedge sandals for summer & got my Scraproom bookshelf. Fortunately for me, it was the last one in the shop, ie:- the sales sample, so was already 'made-up' as opposed to being flat-packed, so yipee!...no D.I.Y. I have a BIG car so managed to fit it in on the backseats, all screwed together already. Rushed home & got straight to work digging out all my Scrapping magazines from their various baskets, boxes, etc & giving them all PRIDE OF PLACE on their new shelf. Very proud...
Austen Powers party was okay. I'm not a great one for socialising, just anti-social at heart, always have been! My thinking is...life is so busy, when we have a few precious hours to spare over the weekend (& it IS only a few as the kids are involved in lotsa sports & our 2 teenagers are VERY social & needing lifts there & back, day & night) I would, quite honestly, rather spend my time scrapping, blogging, or reading magazines, ie:- doing the things I REALLY enjoy.
At last we are being invited to a few social functions (it takes 2 years in this town to crack the nod to anthing...) so, for that I'm truly grateful. I go for Jack's sake, 'cos all the people who attend are parents from his group of friends, so we get to have a chat, but invariably it is about our boys...truth is we don't really know anything about each other, bar this common thread! Just as we start getting beyond the formalities of social chit-chat the music starts BLARING & that's the end of the convos! Oh well, that's life...dh enjoys it, kids have fun, I don't mind it & have nothing against any of them & it doesn't happen often, so I accept it as part of my life. I just can't get over enthusiastic about it...
On Sunday Chelsea went to the Country Club for lunch (posh 16th birthday party!) so the rest of us went out for lunch while she was away. I took my camera along & got some okay shots. Am not enjoying my new acquisition, Panasonic Lumix (top of their range) - my latest gift, from Shane's recent visit to China. I haven't spent hours getting to grips with it, but can see I'm gonna have to. For 10 megapix I have to say, I'm disappointed. Took it with me to Gateway again in the evening and good thing too. Ster Kinekor's website has a lot to answer for. Wild Child was advertised for 5 o'clock, but the site failed to mention that this show doesn't take place on Saturdays & Sundays, & is at 7.30 instead!
With 2.5 hours to kill Jack & I had fun trying to make the most of our photo op! Finally I have some photos INSIDE Gateway...something I've had on my TO DO list for the last 2 years...It wasn't easy as the place was PACKED...late night shopping has ALREADY started here & shops are open 'til 9 every night. Totally unneccessary & I just feel sorry for the staff, who all have to work late then get public transport back to places like Phoenix & Inanda, just provides more opportunities for criminal activity is you ask me! Be prepared to be bombarded with photos in my next few posts!
Saturday 22 November 2008
What I really think about YOUR blog...
Well, I have been bloghopping for 5 hours now...gotta stop! Gotta go to bed... At least I've visited (most of) my friends...
BUT...before I do get to bed (yes, I DO know that I'm an insomniac!) I just wanted to give you an overview of my findings...
For me, it seems that the blogs I keep returning to are those with some CHARACTER, a bit of HEART...a place where you feel that there is more than just a commercial goal...
I hate to say NEVER but it would be a SAD day if I had to advertise on my blog...Seriously, it is COLOUR CO-ORDINATED...Very important people!
While I may not be a veteran on these things, I am an enthusiast & I must say that PROFILES are important. The less you put, the less you care...harsh but true...not that I'm saying you need to waffle on & on, but some of you don't even have a profile...About Me...nothing...nothing to say about yourself?...While we really want to get to know you, you're not making it easy...
I know it may be none of my business, but if your blog is public, I can only assume that you're happy for everyone to share it, the more the merrier, right? Sometimes I wonder what people's aims are...I suppose for some it's nothing more than an interactive web page, that keeps people informed of their latest scrapping victories, honourable, yes, but also lifeless...
Which brings me to e-mialing...I have only had e mail for 6 weeks...yes, you read that correctly...L.O.N.G. story & totally irrelevant here...& I was SOOOO excited to be able to communicate with all my friends, all welcoming me to Cyberspace & telling me how hooked I'd be getting...Hooked on what I ask you? Clicking FORWARD...?give me blogging anyday! I am SICK and TIRED of receiving forwarded e mails that have gone to all & sundry (gee, I feel special!) & never ANOTHER word. Now, don't get me wrong, some dear friends do click forward occassionally, as do I, and it's fun, I enjoy it...good for a laugh! But others ONLY click forward. Nothing else...nothing...not a word...how is that communicating??!! Am I meant to feel "thought about" 'cos truthfully, I just feel insulted. Sorry, but I have just had enough of it. Blogging wins hands down! I love the interactive element & the personal communication aspect. Just brilliant.
The final straw came about a week ago when I sent on (yes, I clicked "forward"!) a quiz that Jacqui had sent me...I had to backspace over her answers, fill in my own, then send my completed quiz back to her (so she could learn more about me) & onto 5 other friends. Well, I got 1 reply. Okay, laugh, I would if it wasn't me...but I was bleak, really bleak...& I have only got bleaker as the week has progressed...so bleak in fact, that I have deleted them from my address book, should I ever be tempted to contact them again...I figure if they value our friendship they will send me something again (no doubt...by just clicking forward!) then they'll be back in the address book (mine saves automatically...) Silly-maybe, immature-definitely, upset? You bet...
Friday 21 November 2008
I'm Back! (My week in review...)
I sure have missed you all...no, really...
Truthfully, I have been really sick for 2 days, vomiting & diarrhoea (yes, I did just look that up in the dictionary...) so it has been a very unpleasant coupla days for me & mine...
What's been going on in my mind:- I want to try & set a typical 'routine' up for my blog...maybe I will, maybe I won't...but I thought it could work...you know, if I had the same theme for the same day every week, ie:- My week in Review every Friday. Could be boring so maybe I won't keep it up, but at least then you could get to know which 'articles' you enjoy & go straight to them. Reason for this thinking? I have had a magazine week at last...I have read 3 magazines cover-to-cover! OK, NOW & Creating Keepsakes, & it struck me that they all have a format, and that I always turn to exactly where I want to go first, rather than just starting at the beginning. In fact, I often start at the last page, as it is almost always an interview, and I love those...
So let me know what you think if you can be bothered...otherwise I'll just give it a go anyway...
My highlights have been...(not that many come to think of it...lol)...more introspective than anything tangible, although I did get my hair done (cut & coloured) & that was worthwhile. Chelsea is finally finished her exams so we have got to hang out quite a bit this week & I have enjoyed it. We tidied her room, pretty darn thoroughly, & she did NOT enjoy that, tho' I was in my element! Uurgh, why are teenagers such pigs???!!! It was really gross...Needless to say a fair bit ended up in the bin, or recycled, or given to our house-helper (ever appreciative) & things are now much improved (in my opinion) tho' she claims she actually LIKED living like that...?!
So, back to the hair...we both had the hair-do's & looked pretty flashy for a day (I need some GHD's!). We usually have a photo-shoot straight after (the supermodel look doesn't last long...lol!) but I had started the day feeling pretty queasy & , by the time we were finished, I was looking (& feeling) rather grey...So we never took the photos, soz!
Dorian & Jody's Website also gave me that warm & fuzzy feeling...check it out...Dorian is my brother-in-law (my husband's brother...duh!) & him & his wife are finally moving (back) to Zambia, from America (Jody is American & Dorian has been studying for an Environmental degree there for the last few years, since they've been married...BTW...they met in Zambia while Dorian was working as a guide at a camp there, and Jody was working there for the Peace Corps). This is their dream...& it is quite inspiring to read, so give them some support & check them out, the scenery is awesome! Jody arrives from U.S.A. on 6 December to join Dorian, who has been there for a few weeks now, setting up camp. Jody plans on keeping their website up-to-date although I'm not sure how as I can't imagine an ADSL line anywhere close-by...
Ali Edwards inspired me AGAIN...I don't have a chance to blog-hop nearly as much as I would like but finally checked out her blog for the first time in ages & came across this treasure - a quote - by...
Marilyn Thomsen : "And while it takes courage to achieve greatness, it takes more courage to find fulfillment in being ordinary. For the joys that last have little relationship to achievement, to standing one step higher on the victory platform. What is the adventure in being ordinary? It is daring to love just for the pleasure of giving it away. It is venturing to give new life and to nurture it to maturity. It is working hard for the pure joy of being tired at the end of the day. It is caring and sharing and giving and loving… "
Wow...that has had me thinking ALL week...Gotta add it to my Layout. Look for it down the right-hand side of my blog. That's just too good to get 'lost' in my archives. I could waffle on about it but it'll mean something to all of you so no need.
Mel also inspired me to get more REAL with my blog (hence the e mail, now removed...sorry Mel, just couldn't go THAT far...) & Joanne gave me my weekly dose of laughter...that girl...These 2 are just inspirational. Their blogs are so real, open & honest. Thank you! I really am enjoying what you have to share. I have also been having good chats with Heidi, all the way across the seas in New Zealand. We have been comparing notes on lifestyles...VERY different...but VERY similar...weird...
So, looking back on that just SHOWS me how important blogging has become in my life!
I spent a couple of mornings scrapping with my Scrapbuddy, Jax, & need to photograph & post some more of the layouts I have done recently, up onto da blog! Will try & do that tomorrow, but have plans for some D.I.Y (the scraproom shelving, remember?!) & need to find & buy a li'l bookshelf for my ever-growing collection of Scrap Mags...so the photos may have to wait a while. Also going to an Austen Powers Party soon so need to organise a "Groovy, baby!" outfit too...
Have had some Lowlights too, but will keep them for my next post! For now, goodnight! I've got places to go...people to meet...I'm off blog-hopping!
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Welcomed to South Africa! (An e- mail forwarded to me today).
Basically, it entailed life in South Africa, & how to live it around the terrible crime situation here. Not keen to turn this into a political blog as I have SO MUCH TO SAY on the matter that it would take over the blog! Also, well, I'll rather not say anymore about it in retrospect...! So back to the business of blogging my life, minus the (really) nasty bits...
I'm a Blog Evangelist!
FINALLY got to my fave l'il shop around here...Reminisce to visit my friend & be inspired by all her hard work (she owns & runs a fab Scrapbooking Shop in KZN & has recently relocated into a beautifully renovated house, complete with La Maison Coffee Shop & Spa Treatment Centre)...SO lush...If you haven't been YOU"RE MISSING OUT...travel if neccessary...or, only if you have a GOOD excuse...ie, you live on the other side of the world...visit her website...just click on the links I have created above...Oh yes, I'm not too shabby at this blogging thing anymore people!
We got chatting (as one does...) & she always gets me excited...firstly, we always have a little "reminisce" about our weekend together at the Convention in Johannesburg this year, which was full of hilarity-you can imagine-African Style-the hotel bookings were stuffed up good & proper & it took us hours just to check in...blah blah blah...the list goes on. The START of the trip we were all hooking up at Jan Smuts (oops, I mean Oliver Tambo now people) - that's Johannesburg International Airport for anyone who didn't know that - after our respective flights, only dear France was nowhere to be found...Poor girl was at the clinic getting a fair amount of stitches in her LEG!!! She had sliced it open with her craft knife that had jostled it's way to the side of her CABIN luggage...unbelievable but she has the scar to prove it & is now most revered for her dedication to scrapbooking, in sickness & in health...aaah...OK...enough reminiscing!
Anyway...then we inspire each other...she shows me some tantalising, mouth-watering goodies from her "special" shelf...& I fill her in on the latest happenings in MY Scrap World. Well, my good excuse for my sudden monthly drop in layout production (LOL) I attributed to STARTING MY OWN BLOG (never fails to impress..!) which had her instantly excited & rearing to go. Like so many of us (here anyway?!), it's something we have all heard about, & she is just dying to make it happen, but not at all sure how to go about it..well, guess what?!...I could advise her! I know that is hilarious, coming from me of all people, but it made me realise (as I was reminiscing again on our meeting, last night) I've actually made a blog, single-handedly, & it's a pretty fine one now too... Not only does it look good, it functions as it should & it is interactive. I'm proud of myself...better stop boasting before something bad happens & my blog deletes itself (my new worst fear!)...you know what God says about pride coming before a fall...
I got the Blinkies!
For any other Bloggers wanting to "steal" my Blinkies...please GO AHEAD...you have my blessing! Haven't tested it yet, but it should work. If not just google them as I did, THEN right click on the one you want & copy ALL the URL (HTML text) you see in the "description" then PASTE it into your Blogger Gadget (choose the one that says "Add a picture") & remember to delete the http:// before you paste it as you will already have that, otherwise it will say INVALID URL & you will get frustrated, like I did, until I worked out what I was doing wrong!!! Then, using your keyboard arrows, use the LEFT one and keep pressing it till you get to the beginning of the address, ie http://. Once you get to the beginning it will start processing almost immediately & you will soon see your Blinkie appear. REMEMBER TO CLICK SAVE amidst all your excitement!!!
BTW I 'spose they are called BLINKIES 'cos they are animated so they kinda BLINK at you! (Took me a while to work that out...DAH!) And for anyone REALLY adventurous, you will also come across (on page 1 of your search) a tutorial for "How to make your own Blinkie" which sounds fascinating...I would LOVE to try it & know I will manage one day, but I'm a realist & I reckon I've done pretty well with my little blinkie selection, so am calling it a day for now.
Monday 17 November 2008
A week in Review (Jack's highlights/Daisy comes home)
Last week Jack was awarded the "Sportsman of the Year" award for the Under 13 age group at his local Football Club, for the 2nd year running! Jack top scored with 17 goals this season, in 13 games. Not bad my boy! He is Manchester United obsessed & Ryan Giggs is his personal hero.
The following night we went to the Scholarship Awards at one of our local High Schools, where Jack was one of 50 boys to receive a Scholarship for a school with approximately 1000 learners.
Our first photo of Daisy Bucket, whilst we were still at the vet. Held by her "mum", Chelsea...
Introducing Daisy Bucket!
Daisy spends a lot of her day asleep, like any new baby, but is "full of beans" when she is awake
Aaw, isn't she just an adorable fur baby! She loves being carried around like this by all of us!
Sunday 16 November 2008
Phew! That's a lot of posts for ONE layout!
Anyway, as you can imagine, I am exhausted after ALL THAT POSTING & am definitely let off for the next few days...
For those of you who are following my progress as a Blogger, and my efforts to become TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED (as opposed to "challenged") I uploaded my photos last night directly from Picasa, as opposed to "My Pictures" and it took exactly one eighth of the time, ie 3 minutes for 4 pictures, as opposed to 6 minutes for one (not too shabby at the maths hey?!) so this was a vast improvement for me. Limitation seems to be that one can only upload 4 photos per post as, if you select any more, they just don't arrive...ever!
Have noticed that my pc is definitely slower tho', since Picasa's arrival...? Have my IT man coming this week to see if we can speed things up again.
Have had a strange weekend...blinked & missed it. Don't seem to have done much. Have been enjoying the new fur-baby. Still need to upload those photos I know! Will try to do that soon. Had a nice drive yesterday, all the way to Shane's work place, pretty far from home, & my plan was to take photos all along the way, to give you peeps an idea of our surroundings here. Dear daughter had nicked my camera out my bag & not replaced it, so I was livid & now you get no photos...sorry! Dear hubby didn't help the situation either...when we arrived at the factory gate he realised that he had left his gate remote at home so we couldn't get in!! We were supposed to be collecting a surplus desk for Chelsea to use in her bedroom, now that she has a bit of space since we have relocated the pc.
Anyway, no problem, he collected it with her today & we decided yesterday that we would pop in to the new Westwood Mall here in Westville, rather than waste our journey, and we enjoyed that. It was lovely to walk around like a couple, with no children in tow for a change & the bonus was I found some lovely colourful pencil cases at CNA so bought one per colour/print way - 3 in total, & am going to add them to my travelling Scrapbooking bag, for adhesives, etc, as my poor tote is overflowing...
We have been enjoying some delicious meals in this house lately, courtesy of My Chef (see previous posts) ready-prepared food that comes with the recipe attached, and, interestingly, our grocery bill has not increased. We are now all enjoying the foods we each like (my family is VERY fussy & each person has different tastes) so everyone is happy & there is less wastage so mum's happy too...hate to waste!
Went to Mica for the shelves today (for my Scraproom makeover). Had to travel further afield than I had hoped, as the local branch does not have a big DIY section. Bought 2 white melamine shelves plus brackets & screws to match. Just gotta drill them up sometime soon. Not looking forward to it to be honest...terrified of DIY...need to get over my fear I know, it can't be that hard & it sure does save money!
Layout Time Again! Layout No. 4 - "Egg Hunt"
Above is the LEFT-hand side of the layout. I changed mine from the original sketch, quite a bit as I wanted/needed to pack in more photographs. I inked the gross pink paper flowers (by paper I DO mean post-it quality, not bazzill!) with my Dark Brown cats eye & added some delectable treats from my all-time fave...Making Memories. Nyummy big, glossy brads, plus some nice felt ones too...can't remember what manufacturer, soz...& some lovely little crochet flowers that are available here from "Imagine How Expensive That Is!" - our local rip-off joint! Keep threatening to buy my own crochet needle...
Above here is the RIGHT-hand side of the layout, along with hand-journalling that I will show you a close-up of in my next post. I did think Jennifer was a lovely lady & I did learn a bit. I enjoyed the idea of tearing the bracket-shape then "distressing" it with our finger-nails...cool...saves digging about in my Tote (contains essentials only...hehe...must photograph it to show you all how to use yours to capacity!) Just adored these photos...shows you the pro's are right about taking them at the right time of day, early enough for the sun not to be directly overhead. Also enjoyed the black fineliner "doodlingy" disjointed lines around the edges, although the doodling trend has been around for quite some time already...
Layout 4 - Egg Hunt - Inside the Match Book
Never one to throw anything away if I can help it (let me off guys, I'm Zimbabwean!) I decided to use some of the larger flower cut-outs as journalling "spots". Couldn't bear to do it with the pukey pink ones but this butter yellow was rather mellow...It's not clear in the photos but I also inked the edges of the mini-book with the inkpad we were given-an olive green one. Not a colour I use a lot but wasn't bad on this particular layout.
A sweet montage of photographs of my son Reilly. a.k.a Bing. He was so enthusiastic that I ended up making another layout, entitled "King of the Hunt" especially for his own personal album. I don't have ONE memory of hunting for Easter eggs...think we may have just been given one egg each on Easter morning. That's what I love about scrapbooking. I know I can rewrite history for my children. I try not to miss a moment...
Well there it is. One way to get through ALOTTA photos all on one layout! What to learn? Keep a black & a brown fineliner in your tote at all times. Learn to love hand-journalling. Hunt out a good white 'milky' for writing on darker-coloured papers. (Not easy to find in this part of the world). My Secret? I am pen crazy! I keep a slim-line plastic container in my tote FULL of black, brown & white pens of various thicknesses. These are my 'staples'.
More close ups on Layout 4 - Egg Hunt
Below is a close up of the stamping. Very cute fonts & we were provided with pretty coloured inkpads to use. Stamping's not perfect but I don't care...I like it...I'm not after perfection...I wholeheartedly embrace Alli Edward's philosophy that "It is Okay" and it is..
Ooh, this is a goodie - the shot below shows how nicely the bazzill distresses. Just mark your shape outline lightly with a pencil, tear, (not as easy as it sounds...you need to always tear towards you to get the core showing, and if you are following a specific shape like this then you can only tear little by little, being careful not to bend & mark the lovely shape that will end up gracing your layout.)
This is my own personal font! It just kinda developed as I did more & more hand-journalling. Funny thing really, 'cos it ain't my hand-writing, but I have taught myself how to journal like this on almost all my layouts. I like it. It's a good one for not having to be straight & perfect all the time & I reckon it always looks cool. I'd even go so far as to offer this as a free computer font, if only I knew how to go about it...
Saturday 15 November 2008
More on Layout 4 : Easter Hunt
Isn't white bazzill just the business?! Like the idea of the bracket shape a LOT - see the 'point' of it in the photo below. Makes for a nice change from the usual tearing/straight/wavy line scenario! Okay, in these pics I can actually see that the light isn't great on the photos...too harsh & overhead...but we are great ones for staying up too late & sleeping in in the mornings over weekends! Jack's in none of the group photos 'cos he's such a joller he was sleeping over at a friend's house so only came home late Sunday afternoon.
The torn effect coupled with the fingernail distressing is a good look...The background colour of the printed cardstock actually matches perfectly with these pictures, which was all down to luck really...I did make sure tho' that the kids dressed nicely colour-co-ordinated with one another, in gentle "Easter" shades. Not kidding! Do make my family think a bit about what they wear on special occasions, to make my life easier when it comes to selecting paper to match. It's either that or printing all these types of days in black & white, which can be a bit drab.
Some of the delicious goodies I used to embellish. Very Shimelle Laine don't you think? That girl's pages are positively edible! Love the felt cut-out flower, which is actually self-adhesive. Must try & remember the manufacturer! Also layered-up the flowers, with different colours & textures but all falling under the same "nyum-nyum" theme...Also liked the pretty pink print we were supplied with. Think we were each only given half a sheet though, which I thought rather stingy...
Friday 14 November 2008
I'm on a Blinkie Hunt!
Here are a coupla pics I took from my car window this week when I parked at the Mall. Couldn't set up the shots & haven't edited or anything, but this brazen pair were right next door to me & happy to have their photos taken!
Wednesday 12 November 2008
I got me a Fur Baby!
Am hoping that the discovery of Picasa 3 will revolutionise my photo-organisation & maybe speed up my uploading process. Sure looks like it so far! I have already created 13 different albums & am busy moving all my photos into the right ones. Have done a stack already but still have a few thousand images to sort! Thanks so much to Cathy, Sophia & Vicki, who were all kind enough to answer my distress call & come to my rescue!! Click on their names as I have created a link directly to their blogspots...not too shabby huh?! Am learning how to "blog" at last...
Tuesday 11 November 2008
Layout 3 - It's all in the Pose!
Anyway, back to the notice board...It is no longer triple-layered full of by-gone events (dating back to July I might add...) so we can all actually see what's currently 'going-on' at long-last, so I 'spose I should actually say "thank-you" Blogger...seriously tho', I wanna upload photos with every post so please let me know if what I am experiencing is normal. I went to visit Blogger Help and found some gobbledeegook about Picasa Web Albums (used for our images?) only having 1 GIG storage space & there being an option of purchasing more 'storage'. Have any of you done that? I would have no idea of what's the best deal for me at this stage & prices go up to USD 500 per year, which in African language is a trillion gazillion South African Rands (I won't even bother giving you the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent!!!)so I need to get it right...HELP!!!???
Don't understand why blogs are free anyway...maybe this Storage thing is where Google makes a bit of cash to recover all their research costs. After all Blogger is a wonderful resource centre if you ask me & I would whole-heartedly recommend anyone reading this post that does NOT have a blog to create one NOW. Just follow the links at the top of any Blogger Blog for step-by-step setup. You'll not regret it as it's a place to jot down all your thoughts & ideas even if no-one else ever reads it...To me the funnest part of blogging is the interactive aspect of it & I just love receiving comments, no matter how short, so if you haven't left one yet PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT, you'll make my day :D
Here are some photos of a recent layout I did called "It's all in the Pose", about my two teenagers. If you scroll down to the bottom you'll see what it looks like finished, then scroll back up to see how I got there...
The photo above shows the right-hand page of the double layout, featuring a nice big 5X7 close-up in Black & White. I used plain white Bazzill as my backing cardstock and inked it HEAVILY with lime-green to FUNK IT UP. I used a Making Memories Scalloped paper print above the line of regular-sized prints (4x6"jumbos) & doodled around it with a black koki-pen. The pen is quite thick so I did a little trick...I went over it all with a white fineliner pen in the centre of the thicker black line. Have done this a coupla times before now & I dig it, very Aboriginal!