New kid on the block.

I got a message from Melanie the other day, asking me to please contact her. Didn't know what it was about, but you know me, too nosey to ignore it - well, I NEEDED to know what it was about, didn't I? Am I glad that I responded? She is opening up a new digi shop ( http://www.digistamps4joy.com/ ) and she wanted me to have a look and to try out some of the images. She has some great images and I immediately coloured some of them. There are two more waiting to go onto cards, so watch this space.
Its Ankie's birthday tomorrow and I needed a card for her. The Gwendoline image was perfect!

I used my Copics to colour her. All Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from Teresa Collins. The flower is from Prima and the Sentiment was a freebie from TLC - you have to visit Paulette, she must be the most generous person in the business - she offers freebies every day (yes, you read it right, freebieS EVERY day) ( http://createwithtlc-createwithtlc.blogspot.com)
This is the inside of the card. I made a pocket, because she just wanted money for her birthday this year. Of course that is not all she is getting, you have to have an actual present, don't you?

I am planning on surprising her tomorrow morning very early. You can't wake up on your birthday all alone. I took the morning off from school and I am driving through to her flat at 5 o'clock. Taking her for breakfast and then going back to school.

Have a great rest of the week everybody and remember to check out Melanie's new store and give Paulette a visit too.

Random cards and thoughts.

Those of you that visit regularly will know that I am totally addicted to Mo Manning's images.Her images are just so life like and they are a pleasure to colour too! I have spent most of the little free time I had this weekend colouring her new Christmas images - cards will follow soon (I hope! LOL)
The next card was made with Bazzil cardstock and the dp is from Upikit, a local company. The pearls are from Paola. Ribbon, feather and bling from my stash. The sentiment is from a freebie set I picked up somewhere and true to form, I have lost the link. Sorry!

The next card is another freebie that I got from Mo's. Isn't she just too gorgeous for words. She reminds me of Tertia-Lee's friend Danielle. That hair is just too much - Tertia-Lee wanted to know from her mom whether she would grow hair like Danielle's if she ate more vegies. LOL Mom told her she didn't think so, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Taught my girls well don't you think?
The card uses paper from Fabscraps, another local company. Bazzil cardstock,punched with a Martha Stewart punch, Prima flowers and the image was coloured with my Copics and given a generous helping of Stickles.Two decorative pins and another one of the freebie ticket set and thats it.

Now for my random thoughts. A lot has happened in our lives recently and I am still trying to make some sense of it. Ankie has started her teaching prac and is loving every minute of teaching. So grateful to all at the school where she is for making her feel so welcome and helping her so much.

My son has been working very long days , sometimes having to be at work at 2 in the morning, trying to meet deadlines, only to be dissapointed by others who don't understand the importance of a deadline. He is fighting off a cold, which I think has more to do with a lack of sleep than anything else.

Both my older girls are pregnant and it was confirmed last week that Daniela is having a little boy. Can't wait to meet little Liam and to find out who his cousin is going to be. Karin found a job - thank you God for providing a job.

One of my best friends' father died on Friday. I am very sad and can't imagine a world without Oom Daan. Still see him walking around the neighbourhood in shorts and a T-shirt in the middle of winter. he was a very special man and will be missed.

I am in the middle of marking exams and think I might just give up on teaching all together! The girls did not open a book to study during the holidays. Either that, or I am the world's worst teacher - How do you get 14% for an exam?

Lots more happening, but they are things I am not yet comfortable talking about, so when I have thought about it some more, I will share, thats if my ramblings don't bore you to death.

Kenny K and 2Sketches for you Challenges

I think mr. Blogger has caught the African bug! He is on slow strike today. Took me 4 tries to upload my photo's. I have been very productive these last few days since school started. Had 8 cards to photograph today. Do you think it could have something to do with the fact that the girls are writing exams and I should be marking papers? Amazing how I just HAVE to craft when I should actually be working.

For the first card I used the challenge sketch over at the Kenny K Challenge blog (http://kennykkraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.com/) I loved working with the sketch, but I think it is the rebel in me that made me do a boy card. When I saw those flowers on the sketch, I just HAD TO replace them with buttons. The image was the first freebie I got from Kenny and I just love him. Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from a local company Art at heart. I coloured the image with my Copics and cut it out with a Nestie. The edges of the cardstock was punched with my Martha Stewart punch and the buttons are from my stash. The sentiment is also a freebie but I can't find the link right now, if you know who created it, PLEASE leave me a message so that I can give credit where it is due.For the next card I used the sketch at the 2s4u blog ( http://2sketches4you.blogspot.com) I am in the process of making a whole set of cards using this mini Tilda from the Spring club kit. Isn't she adorable? A lot of work to colour, glitterify and put on pop dots, but worth it I think. The cardstock is Bazzil (are you surprised?) The images were coloured with my Copics and the wings were given a generous helping of Stickles. I punched the circles and cut the scalloped circles with my Cricut Expression. Clean and simple card, but I like it very much. This is definately a sketch that I will be using again.

A close up of the Tildas. Hoping you can see the stickles on their wings.

Have a great day everybody. I am leaving you to set next weeks exams, so wish me luck, or no, maybe you should wish my girls some luck. LOL

Magnolia-licious free standing pop-up card

I seem to be trying all sorts of new things lately. This is my first free standing pop-up card. It was actually a lot easier to do than it looks. I made it for the Magnolia-licious challenge. The challenge was set by the lovely and talented Suzanne Dean. (http://magnolia-licioushighlites.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-2010-dt-sketch-project.html)

I used the Tilda stamp that I won in her candy for this card. The cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is Making Memories. I used my Martha Stewart punch to punch around the image. The image was coloured with my Copics and the ribbon and flowers are from my stash. I have a feeling I will be making a lot more of these cards. My granddaughters are crazy about them!

The next card was made for the Birthday club at school. The stamp is from Flowersoft. I just love that bicycle, it reminds me of one my mom had. (Hers was red though and she only rode it once! Very funny story, will tell you some day) The Cardstock is Bazzil again and the dp is My minds Eye. I just love those papers, its got glitter. Used Flowersoft for the flowers in the baskets and the ribbons are from my stash. Very simple card, but I like it.

A close up of the image, so that you can see the Flowersoft.

I am having trouble breathing the last few days, thats why I haven't been around much lately. School has also started so I am very busy too. Feeling a lot better today and hoping that the breathing will improve soon.

Have a great week everybody.

Kenny K's first challenge.

The first time I saw these Kenny K images popping up on blogs, I fell in love with them.They remind me so much of the kids I teach. So much attitude!(http://kennykkraftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.com/ )

The challenge calls for using pastels. I coloured my image with Copics. Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from EPC and Art from the heart. I cut the image out with a Nestie. The flower is by Prima and the ribbons are from my stash.

A closer view of the image. Tell me you don't just LOVE her! And Kenny's images are so easy to colour! What are you waiting for? Go and get some now.

Have a great weekend everybody. Lets hope the Springboks play a LOT better tomorrow and we don't have to hang our heads in shame again!

I am so tired!

I woke up early this morning with a mission. To clean my craft room. What a job! It took me more than 8 hours and I am only now starting to see the difference. How did I allow it to get into such a mess? I always clean up after every project, but it is just a superficial tidying. Today everything was unpacked, sorted and repacked. It was one of those jobs that seemed like a good idea when you start, but then turns into a really bad idea when you are halfway because you can't stop and you don't want to go on. LOL I am so glad I perservered because now everything is super clean and I know where everything is. My back is aching, but my soul is rejoicing.
Although I didn't actually make anything today I still have two more cards to show you.

They are both Sugar Nellie stamps coloured with my Copics. The Cardstock for both is Bazzil. Dp for the first card is Basic Grey and a piece from my scrapbox. Ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are Prima. I cut the image out with a Nestie and matted it. I added some stickles to the snowflakes and some Flowersoft to the little girl's coat.

Hope you can see the Flowersoft and Stickles on the close up photo.

The second card is a very simple card. The dp is from a paperstack by DCWV and Making Memories. The ribbon is from my stash.

Hope you all enjoyed the closing ceremony of the World Cup. Makes me proud to be a South African! I am rooting for Holland tonight, so lets hope they can actually pull it off. Enjoy the game and have a great week!

Secret crafter Saturday Challenge.

Lots of firsts today. First time I am taking part in the Secret crafter Saturday Challenge (http://thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com), first time ever I made an apperture card and the first time I am using one of KennyK's images (don't you just love those images? I think I might just have to buy them all! LOL) Almost forgot - its the first time I flipped a digi image on the computer. ( don't laugh, for somebody my age and with my level of computer skills, its quite an achievement!)
Here is my card. Must say, I am quite pleased with myself with this one. The image is a Kenny K digi that I coloured with my Copics. Cardstock is Bazzil and the Dp is the Bo Bunny Peacock Lane series of papers. I cut the appertures with my Making Memories circle cutter (I just knew I would use it one day!) Ribbon is from my stash and the flower is a prima rose.

Here is a view from the inside. Not a very good photo, but you get the idea. I flipped the image, coloured both and stuck them back to back so that you don't see the back of the image when you open the card,

Have a great weekend everybody, I have decided that I would much rather watch South Africa play Soccer than Rugby - at least Bafana do not embarrass us as much as the Bokke did this morning. What happened? 32 - 12 loss against the All Blacks!! No, not cool at all!

I will be rooting for Holland tomorrow! Hope they win, but then again, if Spain wins, it will not destroy me. Hoping Germany beats the cheating Urugay team tonight. Then there is still the Tour de France to watch too - I think there is going to be very little crafting today!

I seem to be stuck on Mo and Sugar Nellie.

Boy cards are not really my forte, but I love these boy images from Mo. They remind me of most teenagers I know.
I am busy with an online Copic colouring class and my homework was to colour with a green combo and to colour something black. What do you think? Making progress I'd say, but still a long way from perfect.
Image was coloured with my Copics. His skateboard was enhanced with Dimensional Magic.Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is Basic Grey and a scrap piece from my scrapbox. Image was cut out with a Nestie and chalked around the edges. Velvet ribbon and buttons are from my stash

I fell in love with these Gorjuss girls the first time I saw them online and I was so happy to FINALLY find them locally. Did the practise black hair (not sure I like it).
Cardstock is Bazzil and dp is from a Basic Grey paperstack. The flowers are Prima and from my stash. The heart pins are white ones that I coloured with a copic.

Have a great Thursday.

Another one of Mo's Fairies.

I seem to be stuck on Mo's fairies lately, but they are just so beautiful!

The cardstock is Bazzil and the beautiful Dp is from a local South African company, Fab Scraps. The image was coloured with Copics and the wings were glitterified as usual. The ribbon is from my stash and the roses are Prima. Even though the big rose already had glitter on its petals, I added some more stickles and covered it in aqua glitter to go with the dp. I used another new Martha Stewart punch for the border.

I have had the grandchildren over for a sleepover on Friday last week and Luke has steadfastly refused to go home since. Nice to know that you are wanted!

Happy Spidermouse Birthday and I don't know, what do you think?

Good morning everybody. The last week of the holidays is just flying past at the speed of white light. There is so much I still wanted to do, but it doesn't look like it is going to get done. Leaving just now to teach an extra lesson (What was I thinking? It sounded like a good idea when I agreed to give the lesson, but now I am not so sure. Giving up 6 hours of my holiday for free? Just because I love my girls and want them to do well in the exam? Gotta be crazy!)
I wanted to show you the party favours I made for my daughter's friend's little boy who turned 2 on Saturday. He loves Spiderman, but because Spiderman is not the latest craze, mom could not find anything in the stores. My children have this faith that their mother can do anything, so I got the call and she told me that she promised her friend that I would make something for the party and that I was on holiday anyway, so I definately wouldn't mind. How could I refuse? Only problem was - I do not own any Spiderman stamps. Then I remembered the Whiff of Joy Freebie digi of Henry Spidermouse and I knew that he would be perfect for a 2yo.

I made the party favours, using the same template I found on the WOJ tutorial blog and made a birthday card too while I was at it. The little ones loved Henry, in fact the birthday boy has asked for a mouse as a pet.

The card and boxes used Bazzil cardstock and the dp is Fab Scraps, a local company. Henry was coloured with my Copics and cut out with a Nestie, his eyes were given the dimentional glaze treatment. The ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment was hand written. Very simple, but I love the outcome.

Here is a photo of some of the boxes I made.( I know the ribbons look terrible, but the boxes still had to be filled and then tied for the last time - I did tie them neatly and cut the ends, I promise) I could not fit them all on the photo.

Now on to the next card and the 'I don't know" bit. This card uses an image by Mo Manning. I just love her fairies. My helper asked me to make her granddaughter a catd for her birthday. The instruction was that it had to be a fairy dressed in yellow and it had to be an African Fairy. Now I have never actually coloured ethnic skin, so I really battled with this one. I think there must have been about five or six that never made it onto a card but ended up in the bin. My helper loved it, but I still don't know if I like her. What do you think? Stay away from darker skin tone, or keep trying? Have you got any advice on which colours to use?

The image is Mo Manning, as I said. She was coloured with Copics and her wings were glitterified. The Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from a K&co paperstack. The flower, brad and ribbon is from my stash.

Have a great Tuesday and think of me. teaching in the holidays!

Just Magnolia Criss Cross card.

This is the first time I have made a Criss Cross card, but I am pretty sure it will not be the last time. The challenge over at Just Magnolia (http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com) is to make one of these. I used my Tilda that I recieved as part of the blog candy that I won.
The Cardstock is all Bazzil and the Dp is from Queen of Hearts, a local company. I used my Copics to colour the image . The ribbon and heart pins are from my stash. I cut the tab with a Nestie and the heart trim was cut with my new Martha Stewart punch.

The back of the insert was left plain to write a message.

This is what the card looks like without the Tilda insert.

A closer look at the flower corner. Flowers are Prima and the big rose was pulled off an old card. The buds were bought locally. The feathers are from my stash.

We have just come back from a lovely Sunday lunch. Hope your Sunday is as pleasant as mine, just a little warmer. Happy 4th of July to all American friends and a very happy birthday to my cousin, Luna.

Well done to all whose teams have made it to the semi-finals of the Soccer World Cup. Looks like its going to be a Germany - Netherlands final!

My first Sugar Nellie stamp.

Happy Friday to you all! I had a lovely week and a fantastic day. I spent the morning with my daughter and grandchildren at the craft expo at Emperors Palace. Spent way too much money, but had fun anyway. Now we are waiting for the Soccer to begin. Brazil vs Netherland this afternoon (go Netherland!) and Ghana vs Uruguay(or Chile? I forgot, but go Ghana anyway!)
A few days ago I headed off to our local PNA and while I was driving there, I happened to spot a new craft shop advertising 'imported stamps'. Imagine my delight when I went in and found some lovely Sugar Nellies hanging there! I could not just leave them hanging there in this cold now, could I?

The challenge on the Sugar Bowl Challenge blog is a sketch this week. (http://sugarbowlblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/challenge-38-judys-sketch.html ) I used my Copics to colour the image. All Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is Making Memories. I really like how this card turned out.

Hang in there

Hallo there. Yes, I am still here and still on holiday, but between the Soccer and having fun there hasn't been a lot of time to craft. I spent the whole day yesterday with friends, scrapping. Finished (well, almost) two double pages which I will show you as soon as the sun is up and there is enough light for a decent photograph. The card I made uses a freebie image from Whimsy Doodles. I just love that little bear hanging on for dear life, don't you? Cardstock is Bazzil, dp is from my scrap box and ribbon, flowers and beetle are all from my stash. A very simple card, but it makes me smile.
The next card is a Sarah Kay image. The image is so beautiful it really didn't need a lot more. The dp is from my scrap box again and the cardstock is Bazzil. Lace is from my stash (left over from the days my girls were little and I still did a lot of sewing) Both images were coloured with my Copics.

Hope you enjoyed my cards as much as I enjoyed making them.

Have a great Thursday.