WOYWW - I am on holiday!!!!

Good morning all of you out there. When I say GOOD morning, I mean it in every sense of the word! It is 6h15 in my house, DH has left for work, DD is fast asleep and all is quiet. I have nowhere to go today, well, nowhere I don't want to go!! Marking? Done! Marks? Submitted. Reports? Done and dusted! School year is officially over for me. Can you all say: YAY!!!
This is the only space I could find to actually do some crafting last week. But, the good news is, I found a little flat surface not covered in DD's junk and if I climb over and sqeeze behind all her furniture, I can actually get to most of my stuff! I made this card for a dear friend and a fellow teacher who had a Matectomy on Monday. They discovered the cancer when she went for her yearly check up! She is one of the most amazing women I know, so strong and so dignified. I think I would be freaking out. I saw a card like this one a while ago on Becca Freeken's blog and knew I had to make one for Cindy. Hope Becca doesn't mind. ( http://amazingpapergrace.com )

Please say a prayer for Cindy for a full and speedy recovery.

I have been telling you that mr. Mojo has been back, but I had no time to share. So here goes, some of the Christmas cards that I made. First one is an image from Mo Manning called Sugarplum Fairy. I just love her! All papers and embellishments are from my scrapbox and from whatever I could get to. Cardstock is Bazzil and all images were coloured with my beloved Copic markers.

The next one is a Magnolia image that was sent to me as part of a RAK about 2 years ago. I just never got round to colouring her. Isn't this little Tilda adorable? She got a liberal Stickle treatment to her wings, halo and stars.

Lastly the wonderful La La Land stamp by Irena Blount. I fell in love with her Marci and Luca stamps at CHA and had to have most of them. LOL This one is so wonderful, because it is so hard to find summery images for Christmas! My son keeps having a hissy fit when I use snowmen or Reindeer on my cards. I get the whole 'for goodness sake mom, we live in Africa, it is 35 degrees out there!' thing from him every year, so finding the Summery Marci and Luca was such a bonus!

Have a great week everybody! I am going clothes shopping with the grandies today. We are leaving for Jeffrey's Bay on the 15th and the all need new costumes ans of course ouma has to take them (because I will buy what their mothers won't AND we always go for lunch afterwards!LOL)
Remember to pop over to Julia at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com for your weekly WOYWW fix.

WOYWW 120 - you guys made me!

I am writing this post in my bed. The breathing problems from last week has just progressively gotten worse, and I finally gave in to my DH's plea to go to the dr. It turns out I have a bad case of Bronchitus, bordering on Pneumonia. Dr sent me home with strict instructions not to leave my bed for two days (threatened to put me in hospital if I didn't listen LOL), so here I am, in bed, feeling very sorry for myself and terribly guilty for not being at school.
The card reader decided it would upload my pictures today, so here you have it, my desk is still quite tidy with just a little bit of leftover stash from recent projects. You can see two cards I made with my new La La Land stamps and the black plastic sheet that I use when I am using my glue gun.
The glue gun was used extensively this last week. My granddaughter ordered cup cakes for her Birthday party invitations. They had to look real, be big and pink - those were the requirements. This is what I came up with - Had to make a lot of them and my DD's only comment after she saw them? What are 'we' doing next year mom? Told her I think we just tear some old newspaper and stick it onto toiletrolls. Tie a pink ribbon around it, stick a blom (flower) on and thats that. LOL She was NOT amused.

Here is a close up for you. I was a little bit worried, because Tertia-Lee just stared at them and nodded her head when I asked if she liked them. Thought she did not like them and did not want to hurt my feelings, but she was just overwhelmed I think. She told her dad they are 'Extremely beautiful!" Makes all the hard work worthwhile.

And then, I though I would show you what you MADE me do!

Yes, I did, and it is all your fault, ladies who come and peek at my desk every week! (If you have no clue what I am talking about, go here: http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ ) I gave in and made the first Christmas cards for this year!

I fell in love with these elves from Mo Manning and just could not resist them. There are 4 of them and I bought all of them. I could not quite bring myself to do the whole red and green thing yet, so thats why they are not in traditional Christmas colours. I used only cardstock (Bazzil), my Cuttlebug and some bling. Both images were coloured with my beloved Copics.

Here is another one, done in blues.

Don't you think they are just too precious?

Hope you are all well. I am off to visit some desks.

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.

WOYWW - I didn't want to, but I was forced to!.

Horror of all horrors, I cleaned my scraproom! I really didn't want to, but my scrapping group is coming over tonight for the first play date of the year and there was NO space for them at the table, so I had to clean. ('the table' is actually two tables pushed together to form one)
Whats left on my workdesk? Some happy mail. I won some blog candy from Tilly McLeod in Nieu Zeeland and that arrived yesterday. She gave away her extra copy of a magazine she was published in (beautiful cards!) and added some gems - some fantastic ribbon, some flowers and gems and some wonderful charms, even a stamp with my initial, Thank you so much Tilly.
You will also see a coloured Mo manning digi. Can you believe that I have 11 shades of green cardstock (I kid you not!) and none of them is the right shade of green!! I had to go and buy some today. If you think I am joking, cast your eyes to the left of 'the table' and you will see my collection of cardstock and my ribbons too.

If you have no idea why I am showing you my workdesk, hop over to Julia's blog and all will become clear. ( http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ ) I made it through the whole list again last week. Could not leave comments for two of you because mr. Blogger was being rude. Will try again this week, but I am not making any promises.

Don't you just love this little fairy, I found her at Funky kits. She is coloured with my Copics and cut out with a Nestie. Cardstock is Bazzil and dp is from Basic Grey. Ribbon and flowers are from my stash.

The next fairy is a freebie I found somewhere in the early days of blogging before I knew to remember who designed them, so if you recognise her, please let me know so that I can give credit. I think she is absolutely gorgeous Cardstock is Bazzil again and the dp from a DCW glitterstack. Flowers and ribbon are from my stash.

I covered her wings in Stickles, hope you can see in the close up. If you spotted it, yes, I forgot to colour her pencil and only noticed now.

Have a great day everybody, I am off to stalk all the other WOYWWers.

Welcome back Mr. Mojo - I think....

I think Mr. Mojo might have snuck into the house while I was sleeping last night. Not sure that he is working at full pace yet, but it is such a relief to have him back, I am not complaining at all.
This is a birthday card for a friend. The stamp is from Crafty Individuals. I stamped it on very old book pages that was inked with my Colorbox cats eye inks. The butterflies were glitterified with Stickles. I stamped it a second time on acetate and cut the butterflies out for dimention. Made the bodies with gems and added some Stckles to the back of the wings.
The dp is Basic Grey and some left over pieces from my scrapbox. All cardstock is Bazzil. Don't really know if I like this one, what do you think?

The next two cards are exactly the same, just different colours. I have to make a start with my Christmas cards. It is one of Mo's images coloured with Copics. The dp is from Fab Scraps ( a local company) and the cardstock is Bazzil.

The lace I found in the local habby store and fell in love with, you will see a lot of it on future cards I am sure.

Here is a close up of the image. I am hoping you can see the Dimentional Glaze on the Bauble. It looks very good IRL.

Hope mr. Mojo stays now and I will see you soon.

Yet another box!

WARNING: Lots of photo's!
Three posts in one day - that must be some kind of a record for me! LOL What can I say, I am feeling so much better and I am on a roll, why stop now? I am really getting into this whole box thing, its addictive. I find myself looking at the most random thins and thinking, hmmm... could I make a box for that? This one is a gift for a friend. It was her birthday last week and she absolutely loves giving cards, so I thought this would be the perfect gift.
I have had this idea in my head ever since I first saw this image by Mo, I wanted to make a box and make it l;ook like he was actually inside the box. Not sure of the outcome, what do you think?
Here is a picture I took of the box and all the cards that are going into it.

You have seen this angel before. I even used the same Basic Grey dp, but it is a lot smaller than the original card I made. Thats why I love digi stamps, you can resize them to fit your card and you don't have to resize your card to fit the image. All cardstock is Bazzil and all images are coloured with my Copic markers. The ribbon is from my stash. All images were cut out with Nesties.

The next image is also by Mo. I love her in the red coat don't you? The dp is from Making Memories. The fur in the stocking has some polar white Flowersoft on it and her headband was glitterified.

The next image is the same one as the one on the box lid. Papers by Making Memories. The fur on the hat has Polar White Flowersoft.

Another one of Mo's adorable angels. The trim on her dress and her wings were glitterified with Stickles. The dp is from Basic Grey.

Lastly there is this Christmas Fairy. Love her! The paper is by Bo Bunny and her wings got a liberal Stickle treatment for shine. Did you notice that I made matching envelopes for each card? I hope my friend likes her gift.

Thats me for today - I think - its only 2 o'clock and a lot can happen during the rest of the day.

See you all soon.

Bad day.

OK, so I don't normally complain or whine about things, but I wish the devil would find another house to visit sometimes! First my helper has the flue, which means that I have to clean the house myself (I know, I know millions of women the world over does it every day of their lives - so I am spoilt) and I had a scrapbooking class for 5 girls ranging in ages from 6 to 13 this morning.I LOVE having them - they are so creative and willing to try anything I throw at them, but they are very demanding and I don't get to sit doen or slow down when they are here. A class that should take 2 hrs normally ends up taking 4-5 hrs.
Before they even got here my DD phoned in a state. Somebody had driven into the back of her brand new car! DH is furious! Claiming that its all her fault and that she did it on purpose just to annoy him and cost him money that he doesn't have. I understand his frustrations ( Seeing that I run the finances in the house, I know only too well that we can't afford the cost of fixing a car right now). Me being the mom means that I am stuck between DH's fury and DD hurt. Not a good place to be, let me tell you.
BUT....... I also know that God has never ever before let us down and that He is not about to start, so, tomorrow I will feel better and laugh about all of this. I will propably be singing while cleaning the house and the insurance will pay, thats why we pay them a fortune each month.
See, I feel better already, all whined out.
I don't think I ever posted this card. I finished it before I got sick and forgot all about it. It is another one of Mo's images that I absolutely adore. She reminds me so much of my granddaughter Hannah. Hannah is such an animal lover and animals seem to respond to her, she has a wild lizard that comes out to greet her when she comes home from school and I have never seen any animal not falling under her spell.

The image was coloured with my Copics, cut out with a Nestie and mounted on foam squares. The Cardstock is Bazzil and the dp is Basic Grey. Other than that there is only a bit of ribbon from my stash.

Here's a close up of the image, hope you can see the glitter on her wings.

Have a lovely day everybody, I'll be back soon with more cards.

Lazy Sunday.

Summer seems to have arrived. Finally! I am so sick of the miserable weather. Only worry is that we have not really had any of our usual August winds and its those winds that are supposed to bring us rain, so here's hoping the winds are just a little late and we will get some much needed rain soon!
This has been such a rslaxing weekend. I have been busy crafting, (making some more boxes! I kid you not) I will show you as soon as I have taken pics. We had my SIL and her hubby over for the rugby yesterday. What a game!! I actually felt like I played after that, it was SOOOOO Scary! At least we beat the Ausies and regained some pride after our recent spate of losses.
Here are two more cards I finished last week. The first one uses a sheet of velum map paper that I found in a gift shop and I thought it would be perfect for the Magnolia Spring club Maggie. I have a lot left over, so I am contemplating making a whole set of cards.

The Maggie was coloured with my Copics and cut out with a Nestie. Other than that the only decoration is a piece of string and a button from my stash.
The next card is another Mo Manning image. The paper is from a local company, Upikit. Cardstock is Bazzil and the centre strip was cut with a Martha Stewart punch. The ribbon, flowers and leave is from my stash.

I am not entirely sure about this image. Its one I coloured in hospital and there is quite a lot of bleeding around the edges - must have been the meds that affected my eyesight (thats my story and I am sticking to it! LOL)

Have a great rest of Sunday everybody. I have some more cards to show you tomorrow

Oh yes, I almost forgot, I have the most wonderful husband in the world. He was helping a friend out, building some cabinets for his garage when he spotted an old chocolate stand lying outside in the rain and wind. He asked his friend who it belonged to and if he could buy it from him. The friend said he was planning to dump it, so my DH was welcome to take it. He came home as pleased a anything, because he said that he thought it would be perfect for my craftroom. He was right! Its absolutely perfect. I spent most of the weekend sorting through my stash and reorganising my room. Will take a picture of the stand for you. It says 'Cadbury's' all over, but I love chocolate, so it doesn't matter.

Mo's images - finally becomes a card.

Hold on folks, this might become a flood! I finally had time to start making cards from all those images that I coloured in hospital. I am running around like a crazy person looking for the right paper in the right colour for every image (Yes, I know Paola, if I choose the paper first, I wouldn't have this problem! Where is the fun in that though - I like the hunt)

These twins are one of my favourite images from Mo (Actually, its impossible to choose a favourite LOL) They were coloured with Copics and given a very liberal Stickle treatment on their tu-tu's and wands. Other than that there is Bazzil cardstock. Basic Grey dp, a little antique lace found in my my mom's sewing box and a whole lot of flowers. Almost forgot, there is a tiny little purple butterfly too.

My blogging friend Paola decided to come over to the East for a visit yesterday. We had so much fun. I don't think I have talked and laughed this much in ages! Spent a couple of hours in my craft room and playing with our Copics. Its so much fun to look at your own supplies through somebody else's eyes. She is right, I am a very spoilt and very lucky lady to have such a wonderful space to call my own.

Hopefully we will be able to do this more regularly from now on and just maybe some of you that live close by can join in the fun!

I did finish another card last night, so as soon as the sun is up, I will take pics and try to post. You guys might regret all those coloured images waiting for me - I might just flood your in-boxes. LOL

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.

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!

Mo's dream team sketch

Mr. Blogger doesn't like me today. I have been trying for hours to upload my card. Lets just hope it works now.
I absolutely love this image by Mo Manning. Remember her? She's the one that my grandson says looks like me. LOL. If only I could fly like her and look so happy too, then I would not mind looking like her and then I am not even talking about having the courage to show so much flesh.
The aqua and purple combination seems to jump out of my Copic storage whenever I colour her. I figure if that is what she wants, that is what she will get. I decided to use the sketch on the Dreamteam blog ( http://mosdt.blogspot.com/ ). I do not own a circle nestie, so I used a label instead. All papers are by Kaisercraft, Cardstock is Bazzil. The flower is by Prima and the ribbon is from my stash. The sentiment is a freebie that I got with one of my magazines and I think it is perfect for the image.
This card will be winding its way to England soon. One of my friends begged me to part with it to send to her best friend that lives in England. It is quite weird to think that one of my cards are going to end up on the other side of the world. Hope she likes it.
Have a great day.

Yes, I am still alive - barely!

I have not dropped off the edge of the world, I have just been crazy busy. I had an order to make 120 invitations for one of my girls' 16th birthday. Only problem was she wanted them within a week and I worked almost every spare minute I had, going to bed at 2 some days, just trying to finish them.(Don't think I would ever have finished if my DD did not come and help all day yesterday! Thank you Karin - love you!)
This is what they looked like. Every little gem had to be stuck on individually after the crown was stamped and embossed. Thank goodness for my Cricut! I think I would have passed out if I had to cut those circles by hand or punch them individually. The white paper was embossed with my Cuttlebug. All papers are Bazzil and the ribbons and gems are from our local habby store.
Next time remind me to use just one piece of ribbon when I have to cut and tie 120!
LOL. So glad they are finished, now I can enjoy Mothers Day with my children.
The next card is one that I coloured a very long time ago. I just had to make something else before I go mad. Very simple - just the image (a freebie) cut with Nestabilities, some Doodlebug paper and paper roses with some Stickle dots.

And then, last but not least, one of Mo manning's darling images. I was asked to make a birthday card for two year old twins. Aren't they just too cute for words? The dp is Making Memories and Doodlebug. I used my new Martha Stewart border punch. The ribbon is from my stash and so are the pins and beads.

I am busy working on a Bugaboo image and hope to show it to you soon. Hopefully I will have some more time for my blog and to visit some of your blogs this week.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you celebrating it today.