WOYWW - Happy Birthday DH

Good morning all. What a wonderful Christmas we had. Most of the kids were here and we spent a fantastic day in the sun with kids and grandkids. Ate too much (what else is new?) Talked for hours, went to church with the two youngest kids. Lots of sad memories this year, missing all our parents and our dear friend Anton, but also lots of fantastic things happening.

 My workdesk was transformed to a bedroom last night. DD 3 and her boyfriend and friends left for Jeffreys Bay at 1 this morning. Of course I had to wake them up at half past 12, which means I am really tired this morning.

 This is my workroom this morning. A very sad picture, but fear not, all has been picked up and put in its proper place already. Thought I would show you the last thing created just before my room was  taken over. I made some calenders for all the grandies to put in their rooms. The image is a La La Land one and the papers came free with a magazine.

 And here you see my newest grandie, Monty. He came for a visit with his dad, the cutest kitten ever. I am on permanent anti allergy meds, because I am very allergis to cats, but he is sooo cute, I don't even mins.

Today is my DH's birthday and traditionally it turns into one mega party, so spare a thought for me. So many parties on top of each other is not good for the diet. LOL

HappyWOYWW to all and may you have a fantastic New Year.

WOYWW - Some great news

Good morning to all the people all over the world that are still snooping desks, (go here to join us) while the rest of us are in freak out mode because we are so not going to finish everything before Christmas. My desk is looking a little better than last week. Some crafting is happening, but now its just for pleasure and playing with my grandies.

 My granddaughter, Hannah, her brother and sister are spending the days with us while their mom still has to work. Nothing gives her more pleasure than playing in ouma's scrap room. At 8 she is becoming quite good and let me tell you, I never tell her what to do, she learns everything through obervation.

Here she is, proudly displaying her latest work of art. I did help with the embossing, but she did everythinbg else all by herself. Quite a talented cardmaker don't you think?

Just had to share this photo with all of you too. They say you are never richer than when your grandchildren fight over your lap. I think that makes my DH the richest man in the world.

I Told you I had some good news. Well, apart from little Tiani responding very well to treatment, I have some personal good news too. My eldest DD has finally agreed to marry her partner of 7 years and they will be tying the knot on the 3rd of January. His brother is in South Africa and they decidedc yesterday to do it before Gary leaves. Can you hear the panic in my voice? I was told by DD yesterday that I will have to arrange everything because they are only coming back from holiday on the 2nd!!!! Yikes!

My second DD told me yesterday that she is expecting her 4th child next year. Looks like 2013 is going to be a busy b lessed year!

Have a very merry Christmas and may all of you and your families be incredibly blessed too.

WOYWW! What a wonderful day!

Good morning everybody! And what a wonderful morning it is. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I am on holiday! I am slowly starting to unwind after a very hectic year. DH is on holiday too, so not much time to craft, but I am stealing a few minutes here and there. We don't often get time to spend together and I am enjoying having him around.

 If you are one of the few people on the planet that still does not know why I post pictures of my very embarrasing workdesk, go here where all will be revealed by the lovely Julia, keeper of all desks. My space this morning is embarrasing in the extreme, but in my defense, I have to steal time to play whenever I can, so I am not wasting that time cleaning. AND... My DD asked to use one of my tables for her little one's birthday party, so I actually have half the space I normally have.

 For those very observant ones around, I did get new tablecloths, the orange ones were getting a bit faded and did not fit the new and improved calm space. So, the orange curtains had to go too and just look at that beautiful floor. The old, grubby 25yo carpets made way for wooden floors. The are old wine crates, with the printing on. LOVE it!

 I recieved some ATC's from a swap and decided to display them on my birdcage, loving the look and some awesome ATC's there.

Had to show you at least one thing I made on that messy desk. Just got these images and coloured them with my beloved Copics. Is he not just too adorable? Papers are from a freebie in a magazine and the ribbon is from my GinaK kit.

Tiani is safely in America and should be starting treatment this week. They picked up a spot on her brain with the MRI, but gratefully it is only scar tissue and not the tumour starting to grow again. The drs seem very positive that she will be well after the treatment. Thank you for all your positive thoughts and prayers.

Have a great week everybody, I promise to steal some time to visit this week.

WOYWW - I survived

Good morning to all of you. I am happy to report that I survived the school year and have three more admin days before I am officially on holiday. I survived the Christmas market and made quite a bit of money too (thanks for bullying me into it Audrey)

 My workdesk is still a disaster zone, not much different from last week, so I thought I would show you my table at the market. I LOVE my lttle twig tree, made by an African tradesman and bought on the side of the road for a ridiculous amount of money.

This is what my dining room looked like the morning of the market, with everything packed and ready to go. How I fitted all of that in the car remains a mystery The flowers on the table was a gift from DH for our 34th wedding anniversary. Aren't they just wonderful?

On a more personal front, I am happy to report that little Tiani has made it to Bloomington safely and recieved her first treatments yesterday. Now we hope and pray that the treatment works and she comes back to South Africa in 2 months time cancer free!

I am still struggling to get my head around our friend's suicide, somehow it is haunting me terribly. I read a page from Jonathan Jansen's book, 'Letters to my children' where he said: 'Never judge somebody who commits suicide, for they might just be the most honest of us all' . If you can get hold of that book, do - it is a collection of 365 tweets that he addressed to his children after reading Maya Angelo's book. He is one of my personal South African heroes, a man with vision and not afraid to speak his mind.

Happy WOYWW, have a great day everybody! I am taking the leaders of the school to a local amusement park for the day, but hope to visit way more of you when I get back.

 Gppd morning all the wonderful people out there from WOYWW and others who still visit, even though I have had NO time for any return visit, I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind comments after last week. It has been and still is, a very difficult time for my family.
On to more pleasant things (not so sure about the 'pleasant'). my desk. I have been bullied by a friend (yip, thats you Audrey!) to take part in our svhool's forst ever Christmas market and I am frantically making things. No time for cleaning in between. So you will see I have been using the tried and tested push to the side method to get some work space.

 The fruits of all the mess can be seen here, some small boxes of wrapped chocolates, some tags and some mini cards. Do you think they will sell?

 Then there is also the tried and tested snowman, gingerbread and reindeer poop.

I just had to share this photo with you all. Our dear friend that committed suicide's son, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (remember that name folks - you will be hearing it a lot in the near future) Last weekend was one of the biggest cycle races in South Africa. He is a pro rider, and told us that he was dedicating this race to his late father. I can not tell you what was going through my mind when he went over the finish line in first place, pointing straight up and mouthing 'pa' (dad), My DH and I were crying like babies, felt like it was my own son. What an amazing young man he is. So humble in victory.
Have a great week everybody, hopefully I will be finished with all the dreaded exam papers by next week and normal visits will resume.

WOYWW - Happy dance

 Good morning to all the people out there in blogland. I think everybody from WOYWW must think I have left for good. Not so, just had possibly the worst three weeks of my life. More about that later, for now I want to show you what is on my desk. The reason for my happy dance. We had a devastating hail storm last week that caused our local Post Office's roof to collapse and all computers are still out of order. I kept going to ask if all was back working, becaiuse I was waiting for some goodies I ordered. When I walked in yesterday, the lady behind the counter said, no computers yet, but there are 2 parcels for you. This is what was in one of them. My blog candy from Jo all the way from England. Some really great things there. Those rub ons and stamps I have never seen in South Africa, the papers are to die for, those teeny canvasses are so great (what to do?, where to start?)Thanks Jo! You made my bad day very, very good. You will be proud to know that I waited till I got home before I did the happy dance, no public humiliation for me.

Look at these beauries, made by Jo. Isn't it just too fantstic? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!! She is such a talented lady/ Apart from this, there is not much going on on my desk.
The last three weeks have been just terrible. It is exam time at school (we started yesterday, so I had to set exams) Two weeks ago we had a function to raise funds for ittle Tiani. I offered (I know, I am crazy) to organise the whole thing. I had just over a week to organise a function that normally takes 6 months to do. Proud to say that with the help of some FANTASTIC people, we pulled it off and raised almost R180000 on 1 night.
Then, a week ago, my DH's best friend (since junior school!) commited suicide. Needles to say, we are still reeling with shock and sadness. It is all so hard to understand. My DH is completely floored. He doesn't say much, but I can tell. He just told me that he is so very angry at A for killing his best friend.
The day of the funeral we were hit by a very bad hail storm. The local shopping centre's roof collapsed. We were lucky and had no structural damage to our house, but my garden is completely destroyed. I was thinking about my friends that had to live through a hurricane, and think I have a better understanding of just how terrifying it can be.
Have a great week everybody. Here's to an uneventful week in my life.

WOYWW - The world is spinning!

Good morning to all the wonderful people out there. Thank you for still reading my blog and leaving such wonderful comments, even when my world is spinning completely out of control. A warm welcome to all the WOYWW friends. Hope you all had a great, fantabulistic time at the crop. (Insert really green and sad face here)

 I have been MIA for quite some time, but all will be revealed later. I did, however, do something crafty. I had to make invitations for grandie nr 2's birthday party. She is so different from grandie nr. 3. No flashy party with LOTS of people, for her its just 5 friends (her brother and cousins are included in the 6)

 She wants to take them to Wild Waters, a local waterpark. So she wanted invitations that looked like a waterslide. What do you think? I made double slider cards and used a LaLa Land stamp that was coloured with my beloved Copics. Papers are Bazzil and Uppikit.
Now on to my spinning world. I have been incredibly busy at school with the usual 'silly season' stuff. Prizegiving for our year 12's, Their Valedictory, helping the prefects with all their functions, helping the new teachers organise next years Matric Dance, and trying to teach (which is my actual job!!) Then the news came.. little Tiani, the 19 month old girl with the brain tumour, got devastating news. Even though they removed 95% of the tumour (it was 6x7cm big!!), she still had to have chemo, but... the chemo is actually only preventing the tumour from growing and killing her little body in the process, not killing the tumour. Her only hope is very specialised proton treatment which is not available in South Africa. She has to go to the USA to be treated.

Her parents are both teachers and the medical aid does not pay for any international treatment. Now, you must realise she is the same age as my grandies nr 4 and 5, so every time I look at them, my heart breaks. We teach at a Catholic school and the school and community have rallied around and are trying every way we can to help this family save Tiani. In just over a week we have raised more than R300 000 of the R1.8 needed. This came from some of our parents to a little grade 1 that handed in an envelope with R25 declaring 'Its my pocket money and I would like to give it to Tiani'. The staff decided to do something really big. We are organising a social for the kids on the 2nd of November where we hope to raise more than R250 00. What did I do? I volunteered to co-ordinate the social with one of my dear friends (I know, I know, I don't have time, but how can I NOT do it?) We have 9DJ's playing for free and the most amazing raffle prizes are streaming in, but dear friends, I have NO time to even breathe. Please read Tiani's story on Fb at the 'Hope for Tiani' page. Like the page and spread the word. I would really love it if you all can become part of Tiani's Army and be prayer warriors while we try our best to save this little girl.
Have a great week, hoping to surface soon and to came visiting.

WOYWW 17something - Not much and everything I own.

Good morning to all the wonderful people from all over the world that come to visit me from WOYWW every week. Before I start I have to give one and all a huge apology. Thank you so very much for all your kind comments last week, I did not manage to visit many of you (hanging head in shame here), but in my defence, its silly season at school again and not even my DH gets to see me very often.

 The result of all that is this desk you see over here. A girl has to do some crafting now, even if she is crazy busy, doesn't she? I have become a master at the 'shove to the side, front, floor, anywhere there is space' method of cleaning my desks. You will see a little of everything there. Including the paper I am using to make cupcake wrappers for my DD. She has a huge order for a wedding and the bride wants a design on the wrapper that is not available in South Africa - thank goodness for scrapbook paper and my Cricut.

There is also a basket with all the pieces for a little boy's birthday invitations. He is turning 6 and they are going to a flight simulator for the birthday - talk about  over the top! You can see the prototype in progress. It will be a double slider card. I had strict instructions to use Brittish Airways colours. What do you think? is it looking OK?
Thats all folks, gotta run, I have to teach, mark some tests, go to grandie nr 3's birthday ring at the Pre-School, watch a waterpolo game this afternoon and attend the Birthday Girl's supper tonight. So, if I do not get to you again this week, I promise it won't be for lack of trying.
Happy WOYWW to one and all.

WOYWW - I can not believe its been 13 years!

 

Good morning to all you wonderful people out there. I just love WOYWW and would not miss it for anything. (If you still don't know what I am talking about, then just follow the link and all will be revealed by the lovely Julia) As you can see, I am currently making use of the 'shove to the side' method to make some space on my workdesk. I have had a cardmaking frenzy during the weekend and while mr. Mojo was being kind, didn't want to waste any time cleaning.

 This is my actual workdesk today, filled with what I am actually supposed to be doing, marking essays! Must admit, some of them are very interesting. We had a whole discussion about different cultures and how they celebrate certain things. Living in a country known as the Rainbow Nation, that was a very interesting discussion. So I set them an essay to explain one day in their own culture. Very interesting indeed.

 This is the result of my recent visit from mr. Mojo - I told you there was no time to clean! LOL My DH always says that you can tell under how much pressure I am at work by the amount of cards I make. Apparently, the more relaxed I am, the less cards I make. Weird, don't you think? I would think it would be the other way around.

Yip, I did, I made some C cards! In September! The horror, the shock, its unbelievable. I must make a confession though, the image was coloured last year (hanging head in shame here) All papers and embellishments came from my stash.
You can stop reading here if you are from WOYWW, because the rest of this post is going to be personal and possibly boring.
The 23rd of September is a public holiday over here in South Africa, it is Heritage Day, the day where we celebrate our different cultures. Thirteen years ago, this was also one of the most horrible days I have ever lived through.
My DH has a friend that has been his best friend since grade 3. The two of them have been friends for all these years and luckily for them, the wives became firm friends too. Their two kids and our middle two kids were born a month apart and we often joked that they were confused as to which house and which family they all belonged to, because they were so close.
I realised with shock this weekend that it has been 13 years since that horrible day when Bernard and Ann's daughter Tanya was killed in a car crash. I will never forget that day. We got a phone call in the middle of the night from Bernard's brother to tell us what had happened. They went camping for the weekend and Tanya, her friend Natalie and the friend's BF were only leaving later that day after the BF finished work. They never arrived and did not answer phones. Bernard and his brother started searching for them and was told that there had been a horrific accident near Witbank. When they got to the police station, they discovered that both Tanya and Natalie were killed and the BF was fighting for his life..
Bernard's brother told us that they were on their way home, by now it was about 2 in the morning. We were looking after their dogs and had a key for their house. I was in total shock, but just knew that there was NO WAY that those two people would come home in the middle of the night to a dark house. We got up and went to their house to switch lights on for them.
The first thing I saw when I walked in, was Tanya's motorcycle helmet, felt like a punch in the stomach. I picked it up to put it in her room and when I walked in, her Matric Dance dress was hanging on the pelmet in front of me.
I can not remember much of the days that followed, just the pain and the numbness. My dear, dear friend had to endure and the helpless feeling of not knowing what to say or do. I remember that I told her that I had no words, but that I would give her a hug every day for as long as she needed it and it was almost 2 years before the day came that she told me she was OK and did not need a hug that day. She still comes for that hug sometimes. Bernard and my DH used to walk the streets in our suburb. Often returning after hours with red eyes, but never talking about what was said during those walks,
The happiest days in my life will always have some sadnes to it. When my DD got married, when she had her babies and when she graduated from school - all such happy days, but all a reminder that our dear friends would never have that with their daughter. This weekend my DH and I were talking about that day (as we always seem to do at this time of the year) and realised it has been 13 years. It feels like yesterday in some respects and I know that my friend's pain will always be there, no matter how many years pass. All I can do is give her a hug and pray that God will give them the strength to get through another year without their child.
To dearest Tanya, you may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.

WOYWW - Back to school is no joke!

 A very good morning to all who come to visit me, epexially the wonderful people fromWOYWW I apologise for not getting to very many desks last week, but school started again and between trying to teach, helping the new leaders get used to all their duties and attending more functions than I care to remember, there  simply was no time for my weekly fix. I will try to do better this week. My desk, as you can see, is back to its normal chaotic state. I was getting a bit worried about the fact that it stayed clean for so kong. LOL You will see the aftermath of a cardmaking frenze (I got my Stamp TV lit and could not stop playing)
There is also the beginnings of a card I promised a friend and then all sorts of lovely goodies.

 This card was made from the Stamp TV kit and the image coloured with my beloved Copics. I really like how it turned out.

 This is what started the cardmaking frenzie. I watched one of Gina's videos and wanted to give the technique a try. Loved the embossed and inked background and wanted to try some more colours... the rest, as they say, is history! I have a whole lot of cards and I think it would make a super gift. Now for making a box that matches.

Thats me folks. Its 5 in the morning and I have to get ready for school. I will be back later to try and visit as many of you as I can
Have an awesome week.

WOYWW - Not very much.

 Good morning to all the wonderful people from WOYWW and all other visitors. I am afraid there really is absolutely nothing on m y desk this morning. School started yesterday for the last term of the year and I cleaned my desk after my last little bit of holiday crafting. So no desk this morning, but I am showing you the fruits of my labour. There they all are, sewing completed. Even though I was complaining about having to sew these costumes (can you tell they are doing the Jailhouse Rock?) I am actually quite proud of myself now that they are done. I am sure the professionals out there will be able to point out some mistakes, but did you see the stripes actually match? Very impressive, don't you think?

 I finally used my new Tilda stamp too. The dress form is from a local company Fab Scraps. Lace is from my mothers stash, flowers and ribbon from my stash and she was coloured with my beloved Copics, of course.

 I went to Hobby ex this last week and although I was a bit disappointed, I did manage to buy a new stamp and embossing combo from Sizzix. AND..... I blame it on all of you, I broke down and bought some distress inks! The jury is still out on that one. I prefer the one I coloured with my Copics, but it was quite fun to do.

Well, thats all folks. Gotta run, school starts soon and I have to pick up the grandies and do the school run. Have a great day and a fantastic week.

WOYWW 170 - Sewing!

 I am sewing! I HATE sewing! Remember those concert costumes my wonderful grandie1 volunteered me for? Well, I could no longer ignore the huge pile of fabric, they have dress rehearsal next week and my school starts next Tuesday (where did that months holiday go?), so yesterday I spent most of the day cutting and todat is the day those jumpsuits are going to be made. I will finish them, even if it kills me, but today is the day.
Some random family ramblings to follow, so if you are from WOYWW, this is where you can stop reading if you wish.

 I rarely post about my personal life or my family, but this weekend I was reminded of just how very lucky I am. My dear dad's side of the family started to have a family reunion 27 years ago. Every first weekend in September the whole family gets together for a weekend. He was one of 9 children, so every 9th year we (my brother, my sister and I) have to arrange the weekend. When my parents passed, I missed a few, not because I didn't want to go, but because I was just too sad to be there without them. This weekend was arranged by the two middle cousins on the photo. Susan and Hennie. Then there's me on the right and my all time favourite cousin, Susan. There were over a 100 people there! All related to us.

 On this photo are my dads surviving sisters, The oldest is the little old lady in the front, Tannie Bella, she is 86. They are fondly known as the 'oermense' (the ancients) We always have some sort of competition on the weekend and this weekend we had to do a Spring table. The whole family helped. DD1, Karin, could not be there because she had 8 cakes to deliver, so she sent the centre piece, a flowerpot cake and enough cupcakes for the whole family. DD3, Ankie, and grandie2, Hannah, helped set ihe tyable. We won 3rd prize.

 Why third, you ask? well the judges, the ancients (who are ruthlessLOL) felt that we were trying to bribe them with the cupcakes, they said that it was wastefull to mess paint on a tablecloth (I handpainted the tablecloth years ago) and that it was just plain wrong to stab perfectly healthy fruit (we made mini fruit sosaties!) So you see, its all rigged and we each get a turn to win, but it is great fun.
At one stage during the weekend I was sitting there, watching my two youngest play volley ball with the children, My grandies were off with some of the other cousins' grandies playing all over and the new babies were all laughing and shrieking with joy and suddenly my eyes were leaking (like my grandie would say) I felt so grateful, so humbled to be able to be part of this wonderful group of people that love me unconditionally, that know all my shortcomings and still love me. I am so grateful that my grandies get to experience this and be aware that they are part of so much more than just us and their parents and their immediate cousins.
Have a great week and I will try my level best to visit all of you for the 4th week in a row!

WOYWW 169 - I had a play date!

 Good morning to all the wonderful people from WOYWW and the rest of the world. I am very proud to report that I had my first play date in my playroom last night. My friend Audrey came over to scrap and we had such fun. I actually scrapped a double LO too, I can not believe it, its the first LO of grandie nr.4, Liam, and he is almost 2 already! Even prouder to report that I actually cleaned up after myself before I went to bed. So the only things you will see on my desk this morning is the completed LO waiting to be filed and some cards I needed to take photo's of to show you.

 The first two cards are digi stamps from Whimsy, Are they not just adorable? The cardstock for all the cards are Bazzil, the dp for this one has no name on and I can't remember where I got it. I used a Martha Stewart punch, the flowers are mostly from Wild Orchid crafts and of course all the images were coloured with my beloved Copics.

 This paper (another no name brand) was so beautiful, I did not want to cover it with embellishments, so I just lifted some designs on the paper and added tiny little roses/

The next photo does not show up for me, so I hope you can see it. It is a Magnolia image, dp is from Upikit, a local company, and the lace and flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.
Have an absolutely amazing week and I hope to visit all of you again (I am very proud that I managed to visit everybody again last week!!)

I finished the whole lot!

 I was telling you all on Wednesday that I was busy making invitations for grandie nr3, Tertia-Lee's, birthday. A whole 40 of them! They are done, finish en klaar, like we say over here in South Africa. I am so happy with them It makes me happy just looking at them all lined up on my craft table.

 This is what it looks like closed and packaged, ready for delivery.

And this is what it looks like when you open them.  All the cardstock is Bazzil, the patterned paper I can not remember (sorry, will add later) The stamp is of course one of my favourite Magnolias coloured with my beloved Copic markers.
I used: For the jumpsuit: All the Cool greys, from Coo, C03,05,07 and 09
           The reds: R17,27 and 43
           Skin colour: E000, 00,11 and R20
           Hair: Y000, 11 and 21
The flowers and ribbon are from my stash and the little ladybirds were found at a local craft store. I used a punch for the leaf and white oval, a Nestie for the scalloped oval and a freebie stamp for the the ladybirds on the ovals. The ladybirds were also glitterified with my red Spica.
I am entering this in the Copic Oz winter challenge, because I think Tilda looks as snug as a bug in that outfit.
Now its onto the next major project. My grandson, grandie nr1, volunteered me to make some costumes for his school concert. Do not smirk! I am dieing here, I haven't sewn in years and the pattern that came home is definately not complete, just random pieces of newspaper, I have to make jumpsuits, 7 of them!!!! I could do with some help over here, and I am willing to feed you well.

WOYWW - Behold, a thing of beauty!

 Just looking at the picture, makes me smile. It took two whole days, from 6 till late and a little more on the third day, . I thought my back was going to break, I had muscle pains in places I did not even know I had places, but it was all worth the effort, Just look at my beautiful craftroom. Everything in its place and colour co-ordinated too! I love, love, love just going in there and looking at everything, and working is such a pleasure!

 Another view of my beautiful room and here you can also see the reason for the post, the wonderful WOYWW blog hop. My desk where I am busy making invitations for grandie no.3, Tertia-Lee's birthday party in October. I know its very early, but when school starts, there just is no time to do anything. Everything is cut, stuck on glue dots, ready to go and has double sided tape on. All that still needs to be done is the scoring for the bases.

 I had strict instructions about these invites. It had to be a ladybird, and it had to open and have flapping wings!!! I could not think how to do that, so I had to come up with something that she would approve of. Made a protorype (Thank goodness for this Magnolia stamp!) and took it to her for approval. She loved it, so now I am making 40 of them.

 Yes, you heard right, 40!!! What was I thinking?? I do love them though and she is my granddaughter, so...
excuse me please, I have some invitations to make before I leave to go to grandie no 2's school to hear her recite a poem during their morning assembly.

This is what the invitation looks like when it is closed. I am thinking of putting the name on the red piece, what do you think?
Thank you so much to all of you for your kind comments on my blog last week. I am happy to report that I managed to visit every single one on the list and leave a comment! Lets see what happens this week.