WOYWW - Hanging my head in shame.

Good morning all the beautiful people out there. It is Wednesday today isn't it? Things go by in such a blur lately, I am never sure what day of the week it is. I have been sick at home with Bronchial Pneomonia (again!, so frustrating!!!), but that meant that I had lots of time to play, so that is my excuse for the absolute embarassing mess you see on my desk this week. Even the floor looks terrible! On the floor you will see the new paper that I bought yesterday - I know, I really need more paper don't I? On the right, under the box of ink pads and on top of my back up cutter, you will see the bag with coloured images that I found when moving my room. I am determined not to stop making cards untill all are gone. Made a good dent too - current card count is 12!
Here is the first one I am showing you today. I recieved this stamped image as part of a RAK about 3 years ago (could be longer), loved it and coloured immediately. It just never made it onto a card. Papers are all from my scrapbox. Cardstock is Bazzil and lace and bling trim are from my stash.

I found these images too and remembered I had a lot of Fabscraps paper left over from a class I taught years ago, so out came the paper and the fun began. I made a total of 9 cards and decided to make a gift box for 6. Dp is Fabscraps, Cardstock is Bazzil, Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts (LOVE that store!!!) and some from my stash. Sentiment stamp is from WOJ.

The cards all follow the same sketch. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the butterfly border and added some bling to the bodies. Ribbon is from my stash. Images were coloured (ages ago) with my beloved Copics.

I made matching envelopes too. (told you I am on a roll!) Used the same MS punch and some of the butterflies from the cards to decorate them. Quite pleased with myself this week for getting so much done.

Please remember Cindy in your prayers. She has lost all her hair and is now sporting the most wonderful wig. Still being the lady she has always been and fighting the good fight with courage and dignity.

Have a great week and don't forget to visit the rest of the WOYWWers at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com

WOYWW 121 - Slowly going South

My desk has remained clean for 4 weeks, that must be some kind of record, don't you think? Does that mean that I can be forgiven for the little mess today? Its not too bad. Just going South very slowly, getting worse daily, little by little. The leftovers from previous projects. My heatgun from embossing, the embossing powder, the embossing pad, some papers, some tools and some UFO's.
I have not done a whole lot in terms of crafting, but really love this card. The image is from Michelle Perket. Coloured her with my Copics and glitterified her dress and wings. Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the local Chinese shop.

I recieved my Tag! It is beautiful in real life! Hanging on my craftroom wall and everybody comments on it. Thank you so much!

For some reason Blogger is not allowing me to Publish these next photo's the right way up! I finally got my cardreader to transfer the pics of the tag I made for Frankie's swap to my computer, so if you turn your head, you will see it the right way up.
Used lots of embossing and stamping and the ATC I made for a previous swap. Hope Jane recieves it soon and likes it.

Did not like the boring white envelope, so stamped some birdcages on there too - I had the birdcage stamps on my table, so I had to use them.

I am typing this in class, while my girls are preparing a debate on the death penalty. Young people never cease to amaze me with their wisdom. I am listening to their talk and thinking that I would never have been able to come up with such arguments at 17 and that in a second language!

Please spare a prayer for a fellow teacher who has lost her husband this week. She is in dire financial straights. She had to sell her house to cover her hubby's medical costs and is now forced to live in a low cost shell of a house. No inner walls and no ceiling.

One of my pupils also just told me that they discovered a huge growth in mom's uterus and that she is having tests done today to find out what is wrong.

Makes one grateful for the troubles in your own life.

Have a great day everybody and don't forget to visit Julia at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com

WOYWW 116 = More new stash!

Very good morning to all. I am pleased to anounce that my desk is still relatively clean. Two weeks in a row now, must be some kind of a record! LOL! You will see some really yummy new stamps on my desk today. The mini Maggies that I ordered at CHA and my Whiff of Joy Stampclub! They arrived yesterday and I have already stamped all of them, they are so gorgeous! The biggest problem was which one to colour first. There are some finished cards and I am sorry to say, the same photo's from last week (month? since Christmas?) waiting to be scrapped - mr. Mojo is not feeling the scrapbooking thing right now.
Here are some of the mini Maggies I used. The first one is an oval card cut with my Nesties. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the bling from my stash.

Another mini Maggie. How cute is she? Papers are from my scrapbox and a paperpack that came free with a magazine. Ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment from the Magnolia Spring Club from last year. Her wings were glitterified with Stickles once again.

The last card for today is the first one from the WOJ Club. How beautiful are those princesses from Elizabeth Bell? Paper is from the scrapbox once again, ribbon from the local habby store and so is the butterfly. All images were coloured with my beloved Copics.

My 4 scrapgirls are coming for a playdate tthis morning. They were here last week and as always I loved having them. It is very exhausting to work with 5 girls between the ages of 4 and 14, but very rewarding! Kids are so creative and not afraid to try a new technique at all. This afternoon a friend is coming to look at the samples I made for her son's wedding invitations.

All in all a great day ahead for me.

My thoughts and prayers are with my friends in America that were affected by the earthquake, I hear there is a hurricane heading their way too, so I really pray you all are safe.

Happy WOYWW everybody and don't forget to visit Julia at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ to find out what I am talking about if you still don't know!

WOYWW - You got me!

OK, I admit, I was ashamed last week, very ashamed. More so because I got the messy award. It took me three days (yes, I am hanging my head here!) but... Behold! Its a work of art! My desk is clean. I put everything in its rightful place, which theoretically means that I should be able to find it again without too much bother. I managed to visit and leave a comment for everybody lasy week, so I do have some reason to feel good about myself!
Today is going to be a crazy day. I am babysitting my 8mo granddaughter, Gemma, for the day and my other granddaughter phoned her oupa to pick her up too. Tertia-Lee is almost 5, so not too much work, as long as I let her into my craftroom (EEEKK!!!), she is happy.
I am having my regular scrapbooking class too - 4 sisters between 4 and 13! Should be fun, it always is, but I don't know if I will still be able to walk after all of that. LOL I just remembered - my beautiful room!

I have been playing with some more La La Land Crafts stamps from CHA (I think I am slightly obsessed) and loving each one more and more.

All of them were coloured with my Copics and all cardstock is Bazzil. This one has little teeny pearls in her hair and her dress was glitterified with Stickles. The Dp is from a DCW paperstack that I got at CHA. Ribbon and trim is from Realy Reasonable Ribbon.

This one uses some freebie papers from a magazine. She had to get some real pearls of course and the shoes just 'had' to get the Stickle treatment. The die is another new one from CHA and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and my stash. The ribbon is from the local habby man.

How cute are these swimming stamps? This one was so bright that I did not need any more than one sheet of Kaisercraft paper. Even the 'ribbon' is from the same sheet of paper!

Here is the boy version. Don't you just love the goggles and feet? Papers are from a paperstack(DCW I think) the ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon and the charm from my local bead shop.

I have made 18 (yes 18!) La La Land cards this week, so I will show the rest during the next week or so.

Remember to pop over to Julia's blog ( http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com ) to join in the fun!

Well, I better get my hair dried before all those girls arrive at my house, have a great day everybody.

Mo's free image = how cute is she?

I hope I am not too late posting this. Mo Manning posted this freebie paper doll on Facebook and of course, if its one of Mo's I have to have it (even if its not a freebie, but shhh... don't tell my DH)
She was printed and coloured as soon as I downloaded her, but you know how it goes. One of my grandchildren got the Adeno Virus (nasty stomach bug!) and I had to take him for a day to give DD some rest, I wanted to play with him too, so it was actually for me and not DD that I offered. Then there is CHA that I need to pack for, and do some last minute shopping! Did I happen to mention that I was going on my blog before? Maybe once or twice? More like I am wearing you guys out by now, LOL.
Friday night we spent with old friends and only got home in the early hours of the morning - nothing like old friend and good memories hey?
Yesterday we took the three eldest grandies to the Pretoria zoo. Great day, lots of fun, but no crafting or blogging time for me. This morning my DS came to visit and we had a braai (barbeque for those of you that don't braai) One ray of sunshine in mid winter and we braai, so South African!
OK, now I have run out of excuses as to why I didn't finish my card, so here she is - al done and looking really gorgeous I think.

Here's a close up, hoping you can see the bling on her dress, shoes and bow. Paper are Bazzil and 3 bugs in a rug. She was coloured with my beloved Copic markers. Flowers are from Wild Orchid crafts and the bling and ribbon from my local Chinese market.
In case you missed it, let me remind you - only 4 more sleeps till I leave for Chicago!!!!

WOYWW 101 - I tried, I don't know if I conquersd.

Its all your fault WOYWWers, I saw all those incredibly beautiful Journals and I just had to try my hand at it. So today you will find my attempt on my desk. It doesn't really look like it did in my head, but I guess its a start,
In the background you will see a folder containing part of my scrapping from the Mega Crop I attended on Saturday. I am determined to finish it before I forget about it. Here is a close up of my journal. Love that texture paste! Will have to do some more work shading that tree, it looks a bit flat to me. What is the verdict girls? Carry on with this, or stick to what I know?

Thought I would share some of my cards. I recently got some more Mo Manning images and they were just too cute - I had to use them immediately. The papers for the first one are from a paperpack that came free with a magazine. The border is a MS punch and the ribbon and charm from my stash.

The next one is a lot more colourful. I used papers from my scrapbox. The cardstock is Bazzil, the ribbon and cherry charm are from my stash and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The last is another one of Mo's images (I just adore her images!) Its called 'Newly hatched" The papers are all from my scrapbox and I sewed them onto the background. Cardstock is Bazzil and the ribbon and the flower are from my stash.

All of these images were coloured with my beloved Copics of course.

Hope you all have a great week.

Before I forget, did I tell you I am going to Chicago in July? My VISA was approved, so now its just waiting for July thats killing me.

Looks BAD!!! WOYWW

Well, good morning to all you WOYWWers out there. It looks like a warzone in my craftroom at the moment. After last week's cardmaking frenzy to have enough stock for the art expo at school, I just did not have the energy to actually clean up too, because I got a few orders to do from the expo. and tried to get them out. My DD finally moved into her first little place and we helped with the move over the weekend, so you see, not lazy, just busy (thats my story and I am sticking to it) On my desk you will find a little bit of everything I own I think. Lost my glasses somewhere there, so if you happen to see them, let me know. Visit Julia at ( http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ ) to find out why I would show you my mess. Here are a few of those cards. The first one uses a Mo Manning image, I love Mo's images, they are so easy to colour. It was coloured with my Copics, cut out with Nesties and given a little Stickle treatment. Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from Kaisercraft. The next image has been lying in my 'coloured images box' for about a year. I coloured her without looking for dp first and then discovered I had no dp to match so in the box she went. Found this Dp last week but in my haste to finish the card I cut off the info strip and threw it away before I made a note, sorry. The hearts are from some ribbon I got from Really Reasonable Ribbon. Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and my stash. I would like to enter this card in the Crafts and Me challenge that calls for YELLOW this time. You can find them here ( http://craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com/ ) This card was a special order. It had to be a tennis player! Have you ever tried to find a stamp like that? Finally tracked down a free childrens colouring page that I resized! Papers are from my scrapbox, cardstock is Bazzil and the Flowers are from Prima (the big rose) and Wild Orchid Crafts. Ribbon is from my stash. The inside of the card has a pocket with cards in the shape of tennis balls for everybody to sign, Really hope she likes it.

I am off to the dr. and to try to get my passport sorted out! Just my luck, they announced last week that passports will be double the price from 1 April, so now every African alive (including me LOL) is trying to get one - wish me luck!

My baby girl left home today and some cards

I have just stumbled back into my house after helping my baby girl (23) moving into her own place. She has been living on her 'own' for the last three years while studying, but that was not really leaving home yet, because she still came home most weekends. Now that she is teaching, she needs to stay closer to her school and found the loveliest place. Its on a smallholding where the owner built six apartments. Lots of security. I am sad to see her leave home for good, but also very proud that she is spreading her wings and flying like a pro!
Here are some of the cards that I made for the art exhibition at school. I apologise for the bad pictures, but I was so busy that I clean forgot to take pictures untill I was at the exhibition and the lighting was not ideal for photo's.
The first one is a Bugaboo image that I have had coloured for a very long time. She was coloured with my Copics and the heart and collar got some Flowersoft treatment. The flowers and seam binding are my new delivery from Wild Orchid Crafts, aren't they just gorgeous? The lace border was cut with a Nellie Snellen Die, Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is from Paper Explosions.

The next three cards all use images fom Mo Manning. I just LOVE her images. All cardstock is from Bazzil and all images were coloured with my Copics. Dp is from Paper Explosions.
The green dp in this card is Melissa Francis. I used my MS punch for the heart border and the seam binding and flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

This one got some Stickles on the star and the ribbon is from my stash.

This image was cut with a Nellie Snellen die. The pillow got some flowersoft and the bunny some fluff. The trim is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and I added some blue pearls.

There are a whole lot more where these came from. If I have time tomorrow (have to go back to DD's new place with the last bits and pieces and hang her pics and her lounge curtains) I will post some more.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Hanging my head in shame (Lynette, moenie hier lees nie)

I am really hanging my head in shame today. There is a huge difference between creative chaos and a 'hot mess' and what we have in my craftroom today, is a 'hot mess'. That is why I am only showing you a very small portion of my workdesk. To my shame, I have not yet put away the flower containers that have been on my desk since last week, in fact, they have been joined by even more flower containers and... and... and, so I am not showing that today. You will see some red embellishments that I bought to finish Lynette's birthday present. I adore the wire hearts that I found at Creative Talents. For fear of incriminating myself, I am not saying another thing about my desk. If you would like to know what I am talking about, check out Julia's blog here: ( http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ )

I thought I would show you what caused the 'hot mess'. I made a birthday present for my dear blogging friend Lynette. Hope she likes it. I think you are bored with the new Sugar Nellie stamps, but I can't help myself. Before I know it I am busy colouring another one! I made a set of cards for her and then needed a box to send them in. Found a cheap box that really needed to be altered, so here is the finished box. Papers are Making Memories, Cardstock is Bazzil. The image was coloured with my Copics. The flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts (how beautiful are those tulips?) and from my stash. The butterfly is from Creative Talents and so is the wire heart.

Here is a close up of those flowers. They were all given a liberal Stickle coating.

Inside the box I put some cards and some flowers for her.

And here are the cards. All Sugar Nellie digi stamps. You can buy them from Funky Kits. I think the embossed paper is by Doodlebug, but I am not entirely sure. The ribbon is from my stash and the beads from the local Chinese shop. I do apologise for the bad photo's but it has been raining here all day, so the light is really bad.

This one uses ribbon found at Habby and Lace. I just love that I didn't have to gather it myself.

The next one I used paper from my scrapbox. yeah me! The ribbon is from my stash and the lace from my late mother's sewing box.

So what do you think? Will she like it? I really hope so.

I am off to read the blogs that the girls at school started as a creative writing exercise. I hope they like it as much as we all do and that some of them will carry on blogging long after the project finishes.

Sugar Nellie's awesome new stamps! and some other challenges.

When I first saw these new stamps from Sugar Nellie, I knew that I had to have them, not just some of them, ALL of them. Thank goodness they are available as digi's, I think I would have burst if I had to wait for weeks for them to make their way to South Africa.
The new challenge on the Sugar Bowl blog is a fab sketch and an optional extra of embossing. (http://sugarbowlblog.blogspot.com/ ) There are so many entries, but I had to play with my new stamps, so here she is, Verity is her name. Cardstock is Bazzil, dp is from a local company, Upikit, its double sided and I used both sides. The striped side has been glitterified and is absolutely beautiful! The image was coloured with my Copics and cut out with Nesties. The pearls were white before I attacked them with my Copics.
The next two cards both use the same sketch from the Totally Gorjuss challenge blog (http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.com/ ) The first one is Faith. I coloured her with my Copics and cut her out with my Nesties. The dp is from another local company, Fab Scraps, cardstock is Bazzil and the flowers are from my stash. The yellow cardstock border was cut with an EK border punch.

The next one is Joy, I think if I had to have a favourite, she would be it. The dp is Prima and ribbon and lace is from my stash. Flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and from my stash.

Here is a close up of her. Isn't she just gorgeous? Almost forgot, I found the butterfly at my local Chinese market.

All of these cards also fit the challenge over at Stamp Somethimg. (http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com )

School starts tomorrow for us and on Wednesday for the children, so there will be a lot less playing happening here. I do have a few more cards that I made with the new Sugar Nellie's that I will show you tomorrow.

I am so upset. I went to school today for a couple of hours, just to sort out my classroom and for grade 8 orientation. When I unlocked my classroom, I found that somebody stole my computer, key board, mouse and DVD player from my classroom during the holidays! So frustrating. All my class notes were on there, so now I have to start all over again!

Have a great week everybody.