There is a new challenge at Digistamps4Joy

Good morning folks. Excuse me while I do a little happy dance. All my marking is done! Yay!!! all marks have been entered, classroom cleaned ou, filing done, prep for first week of next year done! I am feeling very accomplished right now!

That means I have time to play - Finally! And what better way to play than to colour? I love these new snowmen at Digistamps4Joy The challenge is anything goes as usual, but with an added make it sparkle. Why don't you head on over to the blog and join in the fun?

 

I coloured this little darling with my beloved Copic markers and added some Stickles for sparkle. The papers are freebies that came with a magazine and some glitter paper. The lace and ribbon came from my stash!

I hope you are all going to join this month, I can't wait to see your creations.

Digistamps4Joy new release - I had so much fun!

When was the last time you played with paper dolls? The new release over at Digistamps4Joy include the wonderful Paperdoll Penny and some awesome outfits for her. I planned to colour just one outfit, because I was supposed to mark exam papers, but I had so much fun, I just could not stop!

The first one is the teen outfit.

 Then there is the wonderful Cheerleader outfit. I coached a cheerleader team in my youth and coloured the outfit in the Sunward Park colours.

 Being this time of the year, we just had to do a Christmas outfit, didn't we? I added some Flowersoft to the trim for added dimension. Don't you just love those killer boots?!

 Last but not least, there is an Eastern inspired outfit. Some gold stickles were added to give some sparkle. Don't you just adore that flower in the hair?

She was coloured with my beloved Copic markers.
My granddaughter has already claimed her as her own and requested some more outfits.
Don't forget to visit the Digistamps4Joy blog to see some more awesome examples by the DT. There are some really cute snowmen in the new release too.

Digistamps4Joy - Amazing new release!

Good morning all. It is super hot here in South Africa, we are in the midst of a terrible drought and the political climate is enough to scare anybody, so we really need something to cheer us up. Jen has succeede with this week's new release. These images are so gorgeous and happy there is no room for doom and gloom while colouring them.

The first one is called 'Sweet 16'. I just love that dress.She was coloured with my beloved Copics as usual. The paper is from Prima (My last piece that I had of this gorgeous paper, so I used both sides for today's cards) The trim was bought for my daughters wedding next year, but was so perfect, and its such a small piece, I didn't think she would mind. :)

Here is a closer view of her. That dress! Those eyes! Need I say more?

The next card uses the 'My lilies'image. I decided to stay with the pinks, because I wanted to try my hand at some pink Tiger Lilies . I love how she turned out. She was coloured with Copics and the paper is reverse of the Prima paper I used in the first card.

 A close up for you to see the lilies a little better.

Plesase hop on over to the Digistamps4Joy shop to have a look at the new release stamps and all the other beauties! Remember to visit the Blog to get some more inspiration from our amazing DT.

New release at Digistamps4Joy

Good morning all. I am so excited about the new release over at Digistamps4Joy this week. Jen really outdid herself.. The one I used is called 'Better late than never'' and can be found in the shop here.

 I couloured her with my beloved Copic markers as usual. and then added some 3D flowers.  The papers are from freebies from a magazine. All papers were distressed and inkes.

I stuck some tiny flatback pearls in the centre of the flowers and coloured them with a Copic marker, because i did not have any yellow pearls.
I hope you all have a great weekend, the weather has warmed up so nicely over here, we are planning to do some gardening this morning.

WOYWW - Post op disasters.

Good morning all. I missed last week because I was in hospital. I had to have some growths removed. Thankfully all went well and all tests came back negative. I am actually feeling better than I have in years, with the result that I slightly over estimated my own strength and had a total melt down yesterday.

All's well today and after sleeping for about 14 hours I really feel great.

So I give you my desk this morning. Still relatively tidy after my big clean a couple of weeks ago. A pile of scrapbooking kits waiting patiently for me to finish my DT work and start playing. First, there is a meeting I have to go to and then its back to playing in my happy place

This image was coloured a very long time ago, but only made her way onto a card yesterday. I just love how it turned out. She was coloured with my beloved Copics, some stickles on the wings, some free papers from a magazine andsome lace and trim from my stash.

Have a wonderful week and make sure to pop in with Julia to visit all the other wonderfully talented WOYWWers out there in blogland.

WOYWW - It took 7 days!!!

Good morning all. Its so good to be back. I give you my craft desk after 7 days of cleaning my play room! Yip, you heard me correctly... SEVEN DAYS!!!!! I have thrown away at least 10 refuse bags of junk, I have gifted at least half that much to my grandchildren and at last... i can breathe again. 

My room is sorted. Everything is in its designated place and I am surrounded by stash, all beautifully organised into pretty rainbows.

Last night I rewarded myself with some colouring pleasure. I started the August Create and Learn class from Kit and Clowder. Love how it turned out. I am even attempting the pencil class image with my Copic markers.

I am hoping to visit all my friends from WOYWW this week. Next week might be a little tricky because I am going in for surgery on Tuesday and don't know if I will feel up to it by Wednesday. Hopefully my quality of life will dramatically improve after the op. So waiting for 6 weeks for complete healing to take place, is going to be worth the effort and pain.

DS4J -New release.

Good morning everybody. It is a glorious winters day over here in South Africa and I enjoyed the sunshine so much, I completely forgot to post this morning. Margie has decided to do some re releases of older images that were removed from the shop and I must say, I am overjoyed - they are amazing, I just loved working with them.

I have decided to play with two of Jen's images. The first one is called 'Shelby's slick hair'. She reminds me of my granddaughter who always seems to have some hair over her eyes, hiding from the world a little, but still always looking just gorgeous. She was coloured with my beloved Copic markers and the papers are from a pack of free papers that came with one of my magazines. The doily and ribbon are from my stash.

 The next image is called 'Aloe'. It is such a common plant over here in South Africa that we often overlook the beauty of it. My mother used to have awhole Aloe garden when I was growing up and I remember getting into so much trouble once because I cut the flowers off to put in a vase! They are supposed to remain on the plant and be enjoyed was my mom's verdict. i have never forgotten that.

 On Friday we had the induction of the new prefects at our school and I made gift bags for the outgoing head girl and her deputies. The image was ideal to use on the gift tags. They absolutely loved it. Again it was coloured with Copics and then cut out with Spellbinders tag dies and inked. I must say, I just adore the way it came out..

There are some great other images on the blog, so remember to go and check them out and to go and have a look at the gorgeous creations by the other DT members.
Have a great Sunday, see you all soon.

WOYWW! - So much to do, so little time!

My desk looks like an episode from hoarders! Everything is just piled up and nothing seems to be getting done. I have been so sick from Sunday that I really could not even manage the simplest of tasks. The result is that everything is just piling up and I am getting more stressed, which is not good for my health to start with. 

On my desk you will see a box full of candles that need to be personalised asap. It is for the new prefects at our school. Somewhere there you will also see a pile of certificates that need to be written in calligraphy and some other works in progress that are patiently waiting for me to finish them.

 Here is a close up of the last bits of craftiness before my breathing got really bad. The coloured image for a new release over at Digistamps4Joy that should be on a card before Sunday and some new stamps I was playing with.

Hopefully I will be well enough soon to start, in the meantime, I am sitting in bed checking everybody's blogs that I havent had time to do either. Join us at the world's largest blog hop with the queen Julia. I am so happy to see that she is back at the helm today after her recent op. Still praying for a full and swift recovery.

Digistamps4Joy - New release

I am so late this morning! Sorry girls. In my defense, I only got home after two last night. Our Drummies took part in Nationals this week and were crowned Champion of Champions for 2016 last night and we just had to celebrate! I am so proud of these girls, you would swear they were my own kids.

Well, on to the fabulous new release over at Digistamps4Joy. This little beauty by Jen Leeflang is called Pixie Pip and isn't he just absolutely gorgeous? 

Of course he was coloured with my beloved Copics as usual. I decided to add another mushroom that I gave some extra dimension with glitter and glaze. The papers are from mt stash and the cute felt mushroom is from my local habby store. ( I bought it ages ago because it was so cute and just knew that I would use it some day!)

Why don't you hop on over to the rest of the DT to see all there wonderful creations with this weeks release?

Digistamps4Joy - Blog hop!

Digistamps4Joy bloghop - Join in the fun!
From today we are holding a Blog Hop running from 7 to 14 July at Digistamps4Joy. It would be great fun if you could join in and have a look at all the great cards the Design Team have made. 
We all made 'easel' cards embellished with either glitter or sequins. One follower of this main Digistamps4Joy challenge blog will win a digistamp, so make sure you are a follower here! If you visit each of the links of the DT blog participants, and leave a comment on each blog, you may be the lucky person to win a Digistamps4Joy digistamp from each one! 
By leaving a comment on each of the participating blogs, you can earn an extra digi here on the main blog. The digi you can win is the one that the DT used on her card. So anyone who leaves a comment on the participating blogs AND 'follows' this challenge blogDigistamps4Joy can win a digi from any of the Design Team blogs. So, you can earn a total of 5 digi’s! Isn’t that a cool prize? 
You should have come to me from Sammi Williams and when you leave here, go back to the Main blog

I have chosen the wonderful Country singer because she reminds me of my granddaughter who is a gifted musician. She was coloured with my beloved Copics and the rose and guitar strings were glitterified (Is that even a word?) with a pen bought from GinaK a long time ago. Try as I may, I just could not get that to show up in the photo!

Here is the finished card. The dp is a freebie from a magazine and the lace, ribbon and charm came from my local habby store I just love how this turned out.

If you get lost alonfg the way just go back to the main blog and start from there again.

Thank You for visiting, Don't forget to leave a comment to stand a chance to win this beautiful image.

WOYWW - It looks better, I promise!

Good morning all you lovely people from WOYWW. I was hanging my head in utter shame when I walked into my playroom this morning and decided to quickly take a bath and get warm before I take a picture for you. While I was in the bath, my trusty helper decided that it was time to clean and wash the table cloths. That is why it looks like this today. It looked a lot worse before she started, i promise! She just made piles of stuff and put it on every flat surface she could find! The result is, I can not find anything, so ... message recieved, i will clean this mess before I start on a new project. LOL

 See what i mean? Piles of stash on every flat surface!

 This is what I decided. I only have a few days of school holidays left, so ... I will clean later, right now, I need to play and make some more mess.

Thank you to all of you who have left such wonderful encouraging messages last time. My problem at school is not really resolved, but I am confident that if I continue loving my girls, it will resolve itself somehow. In the end, love conquers all!

Digistamps4Joy - Its new release Sunday!

Good morning all. It is freezing cold here. I am sitting here typing away and shivering like a leaf. Even the parrot was just saying "Brrrr, dis koud!" (Brrrr,, its cold!) I had to smile, because if even the parrot feels the cold, it has to be very cold. The dogs are all snuggling in their kennels. When I went out, they just opened one eye and wagged their tails, no running up to me to greet this morning.

To warm our hearts, there is a fantastic new release over at Digistamps4Joy. Some very beautiful new digis from Jen and Margie. Some great Fathers day images too. Hop on over and have a look. 

The one I have used this time is called Cindi and friend. I just love that little mouse.

I coloured her with my beloved Copics as usual. The Dp is from a local company, some small left over pieces I have been hoarding for years. See, those hoarded pieces do get used eventually! The ribbon is from my stash and that gorgeous lace is from Penny Picks.
If you would like to be blown away by some very talented ladies' take on the new release, why don't you go to the blog and see just how amazing these new digi's are?
Stay warm. I am off to make myself some hot chocolate. See you all soon.

WOYWW - Some random thoughts.

Good afternoon everybody from WOYWW and everybody else that comes to visit. I have been MIA again for a few weeks. School seems to be taking over and swallowing up my whole life lately.

I decided to join in the fun this week because I really need a little distraction and inspiration. And WOYWW is my go to place when I want to be inspired

As you can see, my desk is sporting very little other than the mid afternoon sun.

 I did manage some colouring. I made some good luck bookmarks for the girls in my mentor group. Exams started yesterday and they will be writing my subject tomorrow, so after tomorrow I will be buried under exam papers.

I also tried my hand at some crocheting. Not bad for a first attempt I think. I might even wear it this winter.

Personal ramblings to follow, no need to carry on reading if you just came for a snoop at the desk.

These last few weeks have truly been some of the hardest in my entire teaching career of 35+ years. My integrity has been questioned, my entire career has been hanging by a thread because of some really nasty and unfounded accusations. This led me to start questioning myself, started me doubting that what I have done over the years had any value what so ever.
I have thought about it long and hard, I have prayed about it even longer and harder and I have now come to the conclusion that I am a teacher to the core of my being, I LOVE my job and I love my girls. I have NEVER intentionally hurt any child that has been in my class. I WILL NOT BE BULLIED!!!!
I will no longer question my own integrity. Whoever this person or group of people are, I will not be bullied into doing anything for the wrong reason. I will continue to love my girls - ALL of my girls, even if it means that I am loving my worst enemy. Because I believe that love is never wasted and I believe that the sad reality of our country is that adults are teaching our children that they have the right to destroy anything and anybody that does no bow down to their needs and their wants. I will continue to tell them that their rights come with responsibility and that it is in their power to turn our weeping, beloved country around and make it the wonderful country that it could and should be.

OK Rant over.
On the way to school this morning, I suddenly thought of our wonderful leader, Julia who has had major surgery. I am praying for a swift and full recovery and will remain forever grateful that I found her and this wonderful group.

Lat but not least. This afternoon I received a phone call from my 5 year old grandson, Liam, asking me if I would be his Angel in Heaven when I die. LOL Of course I said that it would be my pleasure! After my conversation with him, his mom explained that he insisted in calling me and when he put the phone down, he wanted to know from her how long she thought he would have to wait for me to be his Angel? When she said she thought and hoped that it would still be a long time, he wanted to know if it would at least be before his birthday!? (At the end of November!) He really would like to have an Angel in Heaven before then. You just have to love the innocence of children! Hopefully I get to be his Angel an earth for many many more birthdays!

Have a great day everybody.

Digitalstamps4joy DT - New release

Good morning everybody. It is a somber, rainy day over here. I hate winter rains. We are supposed to be living in a summer rainfall area, but NOOOO.... first no rain the whole summer and now that it is starting to become cold, the rains start!  OK Whine over. 

At least there is some sunshine in this gloomy day, there is a new release over at Digistamps4joy and there are some real beauties today! The one I have used is called Daisy frame I loved it so much that I decided to do a boxed set of cards. 

 The image was coloured with my beloved Copics and then I added some flat back pearls. It took foe ever, but it looks so good it was worth the effort! The dp is from my stash and so was the cardstock and ribbon.

 This is the box. You will see that I used two different sized pearls.

 The sentiment stamp is from GinaK and was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black.

The box fits six cards with envelopes. A great gift for an amazing friens.

Digistamps4joy new release!

Good morning all! Its Sunday and that means a new release from the wonderful Digistams4joy. I just LOVE this week's new stamps, there really is something for everyone. Please pop over and have a look. My fellow DT members have outdone themselves with this new release.

I have used the new Fairy kisses by the talented Jen Leeflang. She was such a joy to colour. I have ised my beloved Copics. The papers are some glittery dotty paper from my stash and the flowers are all from my stash as well. Most of then from Wild Orchid crafts.

Hope to see some wonderful creations with this weeks release from all of you. Have a wonderful two weeks, I will be back in two weeks with the next release.
There is also a new challenge starting todat, so pop on over to the blog to have a look. The theme this month is 'Anything goes" with the added twist of making an ATC and adding some ribbon.

WOYWW - A lot of almost nothing.

Good morning all! Welcome to my desk and I really hope you will join us over at WOYWW where our fearless leader, Julia is leading the worlds biggest blog hop every week.

On my desk today you will see a lot, but sadly not a lot is happening on there. DH has been on leave, so I spent most of my holiday entertaining him. You might spot two books I am busy reading. One called 'Somewhere there is fairy dust flying around" (that is the rough translation of the Afrikaans title), the other one is 'The leader with no title' - a very interesting read. There is also two round canvasses that I bought to play and some digi stamps for the new release over at Digistamps 4 Joy that needs to be coloured and put on a card before Sunday.

Here is my 'other' workdesk. I sit with DH in front of the TV. He watches the telly, I colour. A win win combination, don't you think? I am busy working my way through the new technique class 'Elements of Nature' over at Kit and Clowder. Loving every minute.

This is one of many images coloured in front of the tellie. My wonderful son merged the two images for me in less than 2 minutes! I really need to learn how to do that!

Have a fantastic week everybody. Hopefully I will get round to everybody before next Wednesday.

Digistamps4Joy - New release

Good morning everybody. This is so exciting, my first DT post for Digistamps4Joy. Its a new release and there are some amazing new images on offer. Hop on over and have a look. The one I got to play with is by the super talented Jen Leeflang and she is called Tatoo Cutie. 

She was coloured with my beloved Copics. I decided to use a circle die to cut her out, but the biggest one I had was too small, so I had to make a plan. I cut around the scroll at the bottom of the image and lifted it over the die before I cut it.

After she was cut out, I embossed the edge and used my chalks to soften the background. The sentiment was stamped with Tuxedo Black Mimento ink and is a freebie that came with a magazine.

 I cut the shaped card with my Silhouette. All the edges were inked and the scroll dies were glitterified. I love me some glitter on a card. I popped a doily behind the image and used some pop dots to lift the image. The flowers are all from my stash. Some came all the way from Wild Orchid Crafts and others are courtesy my local Chinese craft warehouse. The lace has been in my stash for years and the little piece I had left was just enough to fit on the card.

I love the end result. She is going to a very special group of girls to thank them for a very special gift of love.
When you read this I will be in Cape Town having a long weekend with hubby and friends. We are off to see Chris de Burgh. I will be back on Monday to check if I have scheduled this right. If not, I blame it on old age and technology that does not always play well together. If it worked, well, then I am just brilliant, aren't I?

WOYWW - Exciting news

Good afternoon all the lovely people out there in blogland. I have been MIA again, but it is finally school holidays over here, so I might just get some well deserved play time to join all of you at Julia's for the weekly WOYWW hop, the biggest blog hop I know of.

As you can see, my desk is very clean. Only because it was my Birthday this weekend and I needed the tables for the party, so I had no other option, but to clean. There are the remnants of a card I was making for the new release over on Digistamps4Joy. I have joined the DT Yay!!

There is a month long challenge over on the Digistamps4Joy  blog. The theme is Anything goes and add a butterfly. I chose to colour this beauty by Jenlee. She is coloured with my beloved Copics and the papers and embellies are all from my stash.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I really hope to have time to visit you all this week

WOYWW - Crazy busy, but having fun.

Good afternoon all the lovely people from WOYWW. I have been crazy busy at school as usual. We are nearing the end of first term and I am away on leadership camp with the grade 11 girls next week, which means that all my marking and submitting of marks have to be done by tomorrow!!! Yikes! How did that happen so fast> My desk looks very dark, it is an overcast day. You will see some seeds that need planting so that my winter garden can have some colour. There is also some transfer tape for the vinyl signs I am making to decorate the staff restroom at school and some other random 'stuff' from recent quick trips into my craftroom for some creative relief.

 Here are two of the four signs I am working on. Upcycling of some very outdated and kitch ones that were there, but we felt we could not look at for one more day.

 I thought I would also show you my latest colouring. Done with my beloved Copics. It is the February Create and Learn image over at Kit and Clowder. Love how it turned out.

Have a great week everybody. I am off to listen to a string ensemble with my grandie. Filling up the soul with beautiful music, almost as good as making art!

WOYWW - Has it really been THREE months?!

Good evening all you wonderful people at WOYWW. I can not believe it has been three whole months since the last time I blogged. It feels like it was last week, except when I remember everything that has happened in those three months. A lifetime of drama and busy, busy, busy at school (even more than usual! Never thought that was possible, but it was!!)

On my desk today dear fellow deskers you will see a lot. A lot of not much happening and neglect of my poor little craft room. Some seeds, ready to be planted, so that I can have some colour in my life during winter. some half finished projects waiting patiently to be finished and a half done, huge notice board that has to go up outside DD's Sports center. To help her keep track of everything that is going on at school on the sports fields. Quite the task when you are the Head of Sport at a school that offers 11 different Sports in two different schools (Primary and High School). 

I have managed to do something creative to feed my soul. I found an adult colouring book with fairies inside, Two of my favourite things! colouring and fairies!! She was coloured with my beloved Copic markers and all that glitter on the wings?  Well ... it is hiding a big mistake, LOL (Sorry, it was planned like that)

Our beloved leader Julia is going through some health issues at the moment, so please pop around and leave her some good wishes and positive vibes. It is one of the great gifts in my life to be part of this group and to be teaching at a Catholic School. The prayers of children carry very special healing powers and I have added Julia to our daily prayers and believe that all will be well.