Thursday 31 January 2013

'I am Blessed' Layout {Purple Pumpkin/Berry71Bleu}





I actually did my January assignment for Berry71Bleu before I left
for my holiday last year, and as well as being up on their blog HERE
you can see it at Purple Pumpkin too HERE.  It hasn't had it's own 
post on my blog yet so here it is!  I loved Marivic's challenge, which
you can read about HERE{the January challenge, which is still open!}


I've used crocheted doilies from Purple Pumpkin, as well as a Cameo, 
resin embellishment & rose & a couple of fabric covered buttons.


I love how easy it is to incorporate Purple Pumpkin embellishments
into almost every layout that I create these days, the variety is huge!


Can you see that I tucked a couple of buttons under my tag here?
This is a good way of lifting an embellishment up off of the page
& adding a bit of dimension, as the tag is now slightly raised.


Doilies are another really 'easy' embellishment to add as they
are flat yet textural so are great for all types of scrappers!
I hope you enjoyed looking at my page & it has inspired
you to dig out your Purple Pumpkin stash & get creating!!

If you're looking for a reflective challenge why not play
along with Berry71Bleu this month too?  This 'All About Me'
challenge is great to get you scrapping about yourself for a change!
Of course there are lots of wonderful prizes on offer there too!!





Tuesday 29 January 2013

'Bruvvies' Layout - Purple Pumpkin - Manor House Flowers





Hello Scrappy Folk!  Hope you are well!!  I am still playing catch up
 from when I went away overseas for a month and was offline most
 of that time (thanks to ridiculously prohibitive mobile phone connection
rates).  I'm working through everything I prepared in advance & that 
got posted on the blogs I work for, making sure I don't forget to get it 
up here too!  Here is one that went up at Purple Pumpkin recently HERE.


I created this layout with my son's recent bullying incident in mind.
He rose to the occasion when his younger brother was being victimised
and that is what led to his downfall at his previous school.  I was so
proud of him standing up for his brother, as well as for what is right!
It just shows that, despite their love/hate relationship, when it comes
down to the wire, he knows where his loyalties lie & how to behave.


I used some Purple Pumpkin doilies, which I inked with dark brown ink to
 grunge them up a bit.  I also used 4 fabric buttons & a 
'round' flower that I mounted onto a Purple Pumpkin doily
 die-cut circle, to create my own unique embellishment. 


I painted the central area of my layout with gesso before I began
 placing my elements -  I love the vignette effect that it created. 
 I used an old credit card instead of a paint brush.  Cheaper, less 
clean up & more effective.  I clustered the fabric buttons & doilies 
together with some metal findings, flowers and die-cuts, pushing 
the buttons under some of the items to create different, interesting
 partial circle shapes too.  


See the punched strip across the bottom of the photo?  That is 
actually ALSO from Purple Pumpkin - It's a film strip die-cut that
 I cut up and used as a punched strip instead.  I added some
 Burnt Sienna and Dark Brown ink to it for a more 3D look. 

Supplies List for 'Bruvvies' Layout

Paper - 7 Dots Wonderland - Wonderland & Follow the Rabbit
Gesso - Pro Art
Circle Die - Spellbinders Shapeabilities no. 6
Leaf Die - Cheery Lynn Olive Vine
Chipboard - C'est Magnifique
Paints - Decoart
Coarse Glitter - Twinklets Diamond Dust
Velvet Ribbon - Chatterbox
Flowers - Manor House Creations
Embellishments (Fabric Buttons, Flower Round, Doilies
 & film strip border) - all Purple Pumpkin
Gauze - stash
Alphas - Webster's Pages
Numerals - Glitz Design
Inks - Burnt Sienna, Dark Brown & Ocean - Color Box



Sunday 27 January 2013

#merightnow





***See my January Giveaway HERE - {CLICK!}
closing on Sunday 3rd February at midnight EST - 
winners will be announced next week***

Swooning Over - One of Glitz Design's new CHA releases - 




Planning - An ongoing studio sort through for the rest of 2013,
a major home extension project & a business venture.

Eating - Tonnes of fruit - mangoes, pineapple, oranges & grapefruit.

Discovering - That, no matter where we are in the world, we often
share the very same problems and concerns.

Looking at - My computer and despairing that it is 'out of order' 
yet again, so I am back on my 'old and yucky' laptop.

Wearing - Jeans, pink floral slops & a lightweight knit top.

Cooking - Gnochi with basil pesto, tomato paste & grated cheese.

Wondering - If things will go my way this year - not feeling in control.

Trying Out - A new way of life that is going well so far.

I'd love to hear about what is happening in your life too!
Share here in the comments section or create your own
post & link up here so we can compare notes :)



My January Giveaway! {Local AND International!!}





Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to comment
and leave such encouraging words on my last post!  It really
 does mean so much to me to know that so many people
 understand and support me - THANK YOU!  It got me 
thinking about a giveaway, but I don't have time right now 
to sort through my stash.  

However I do have an extra copy of THIS yummy
publication from PRIMA to give away to one LOCAL reader.
I will post this ANYWHERE IN AFRICA so - if you are a resident 
of any country in Africa, and read my blog, just leave a comment here,
telling me how long you have been following my blog, that's all you
need to do to be in the running for this prize, by random draw!
(and be a public follower of my blog of course).

I haven't forgotten about my international readers, from whom I 
get the bulk of my support, so for you I can offer a
 $10 gift certificate to Cést Magnifique Store 
 (one of my prizes won last year) that I am happy to give away
to anyone willing to pay their own postage costs.   I will
supply the winner with my voucher code so that you can
shop at Cést Magnifique, which has an awesome selection of
 shabby-style products & they ship anywhere in the world.

To be in with a chance to win you need to leave a comment
& be or become a public follower of my blog. That's it for 
January - nothing fancy this but I will make up for it next
month when I've had a chance to sort through my studio!

 I will be back next week with some scrappy shares.
Happy Weekend Scrapsters!!




Thursday 24 January 2013

My One Little Word {and how it has changed my course for 2013}






Hi there scrappy peeps!  Hope you are all well!!  You may have
noticed that I haven't been around as much lately as in 2012.
As you know I went away on a month's holiday but what you don't 
know yet is that I've had to return to full-time paid employment.


Towards the end of last year we had a nasty incident at my sons'
school and were forced to remove him.  Our only alternative here
 is a very expensive private school.  The good news is he loves it
there!  The bad news is it's costing us more than 10 times what we
 were previously paying!!  Ideally we'd like to move our other 2
younger kids too so that means earning a salary & not spending
 it on scrappy supplies!


The implications of this mean I won't be around as much but 
of course I will still visit all my bloggy friends as much as I can
 & post here as and when I can too.  I'm hoping I may be able 
to settle into a routine when things are less frenetic.  While
the accolades are great it's the friendships I've made & the
relationships that have been built that mean the most to me!


With all this on my mind while we were away on holiday, knowing
 that difficult decisions had to be made, I had no idea what word
 to choose for 2013, then of course WISDOM came to mind!


For the past couple of years there has been relative stability in 
my life, more so than in a long time, so I took advantage of it.  
We were settled into our own home at last, after 4 long years 
of moving around & renting here (after emigrating from Zimbabwe) 
& I was unable to officially work for these years, while waiting
for my residence permit.  I immersed myself in scrapbooking, hoping
 there may be a way to eventually turn my passion into my living 
but sadly it didn't bring about any viable 'real life' opportunities.


 Online I applied for everything that appealed & have learnt 
so much from the opportunities I have been given.  Sadly they 
don't pay the bills though so I have had to resign from half of
 my design teams in order to allow me the time to earn a living 
some other way.  I wish things were different but it is what it is.


I've said goodbye to Berry71Bleu, Les Papiers de Pandore & 
Scrap Friends and am still with Purple Pumpkin, Scrapmatts & My
Creative Scrapbook Kit Club.  My selections were based on timing
 and product I still have  to utilize. I ♥ all my teams, past &
 present! So I've cut my obligations in half & will still be
 around, working to excel more than to compete :)


By the end of last year I was exhausted. While I loved our holiday
it did little to revive me as we spent 10 days out of 31 travelling,
which, lugging 30kgs of luggage on and off trains & ferries, was
absolutely awful!  In Bali I found a serenity that I haven't felt 
in a long time though and I'm doing my best to make sure I 
hang onto it, which means 'being present in the moment'.


I wish there were more hours in the day to pursue all that we
love to the fullest as I do have a little local "scrapbooking
 venture" in mind, that may work out & if  I get that
 going I will share more}.


I found some great quotes to help express how I feel about 2013.
 Feel free to snag them if they strike a cord with you too. 


I still have some creative goals I intend pursuing in 2013,
so look out for a RESOLUTIONS post coming soon!!



Monday 21 January 2013

Guest Designer at 13 Arts!





If you're wondering how I managed to pull this one off I prepared it
 in December before we left on our one month vacation!   Designing 
with Aida's beautiful papers was great & these layouts came together
 easily!  I've already blogged the first and the last layout, using the
Purple Pumpkin sketch - and the second one is my DT work for
 Berry71Bleu for January, which you can view on their blog HERE.

You can see my post up on the 13 Arts blog HERE.


SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 2013

Out third guest this weekend 
is amazing person and such a talented artist ...

Please welcome ...
HELEN TILBURY
(South Africa)

"Hi everyone! My name is Helen Tilbury & I live in Durban, South Africa, with my hubs, 4 kids & 3 cats! I've been scrapbooking for 9 years now but only got really 'serious' about it 4 years ago when I discovered the online scrapbooking community of bloggers! Since then I've racked up over 1 500 blog posts over at http://helentilbury.blogspot.com {do not worry you do not have to read them all!} I I've worked for various companies & challenge sites since I Began my online journey & I've been published in numerous print & online magazines. Currently I am designing for My Creative Scrapbook Kit Club, Les Papiers de Pandora in France, Berry71Bleu on Etsy & Purple Pumpkin in Australia. I like layered up pages with texture & dimension combined with  clean lines & bright, saturated color or rich neutrals. Modern Shabby is what I call my style. I love too & mixed media canvases & dabble in off the page projects a bit more often than I used to now. 

 Thanks to Aida for having me as a Guest Designer for 13 Arts! I love this collection! "
----
Here are Helens stunning layouts with "Frosted Life" papers




















This is a very original approach to our papers and I love it! Thank you Helen!


Friday 18 January 2013

Sweet Singapore!





I know 'Sunny Singapore' may have sounded better but, having been
 there myself now (and yes, it IS very sunny!) sweet is actually
 a better description.  Singapore is a tiny island.  Smaller than
 the  suburb I live in.  It is full of buildings - beautiful
modern ones - clean and SAFE.  Kind of like where Noddy
 and Big Ears used to live - Toyland!!


Travelling is exhausting.  Unless you remain in one place, or travel
First Class, and catch taxis everywhere, it's really tiring!  We
arrived home a couple of days ago and we are still unpacking...
 We had to dive straight back into school and work, and then
there's the jetlag!!


Chinatown.
With 4 000 + photos to edit, it's difficult to know where to begin :)


We walked and walked and walked - in 30 - 40 degree heat -
plus humidity!  It was like boot camp - I sweated off 3kgs!!


Cami was happy to be out of her thermals and back into her shorts!


The sun was seriously bright!  Travelling from West to East
I saw the difference through my photography, immediately.


Thank goodness for my Black Rapid Strap - lugging a DSLR around
 is HEAVY!  I didn't appreciate it's value until I travelled with it!


The Flyer is a must-do.
  It's higher than the London Eye and very high-tech!


Of course the views were amazing!


The new Gardens by the Bay.


Takes your breath away right?!


Impressive!


Don't ask me how she always looked that good...


All that gorgeous hair had to be shorn off by moi the moment
we arrived back home as school started the next day :(


We traveled everywhere on foot and using the MRT
{Mass Rapid Transport} - underground trains like the tubes
 in the UK - only far superior. Wider, cleaner and
air-conditioned.  Luxury transport for the masses.


This is where we stayed.  Very pretty area with restuarants
lining the river and cobblestone walk ways.


We ate a lot of delicious food!!  More food pics to follow...


These two provided us with around-the-clock entertainment...


And proof that I do exist and am not merely
a figment of your imagination!

I still have loads more photos to edit of our trip to Singapore,
 meeting up with my scrappy, blog friends, going to the zoo
and our entire Bali visit too.  I have lots of layouts to share
that have been published elsewhere & not yet gone up
here but right now I am inundated with 'everything new to do
 with school' as Cami and Jack have both started at new schools
this year & the beginning of the academic year is
always a hectic time for all!