fall traditions at Scrap and Stamp Saturday........

hello all! it is Saturday again and time for the challenge at Scrap and Stamp Saturday! this week we are celebrating Fall Traditions - i am sure most people in the Northern Hemisphere have these!! we don't really have fall where i live - it is as green in winter as it is in summer (maybe a shade lighter) so it was quite a challenge!! then i remembered that i had about 2000 photos from my year in the USA and i KNEW that there had to be some fall photos! i found some of them - not exactly the ones i THOUGHT i had (i know i have them............somewhere) so i quickly did this layout!

i call it a $2 layout! i only used one sheet of cardstock, some leftover cardstock in various fall colors, some rubon alphas and my slice to do the title.

i stamped several leaves with Versamark ink and clear embossed them. i then used Black Soot distress ink and a piece of cut and dry foam, working the ink into the cracks and around the leaves. i then cut them all out and placed them on various spots on the page. the journaling spot is just an index card that i distressed with Vintage Photo Distress ink and then stamped a little row of twirls at the bottom.

i then stamped the "top ten" stamp to fill the space and used my Making Memories Slice Machine to cut the letters to spell "FALL". i used Heidi Swapp alpha rubons for the word traditions, added 3 rhinestones for good emasure to the title, and there you have it! i must say, i thoroughly enjoyed this layout! i LOVE being part of the design team...........it really forces me to do things out of my comfort zone. i NEVER thought i would stamp, emboss and cut out almost 20 leaves -, but there you go!

please visit the blog - you can win a GREAT prize this week - all prizes will also be shipped internationally, so you have to enter! someone has to win the prize!!

Happy thanksgiving.............

to all my American fellow bloggers, blogreaders, followers and all the Americans in general! i spent a year there in 1991, and i have to be honest (for alot of reasons, not the least being that I was only 19) it was the best year of my life!! i loved the boldness of the country and it's people - the way they would not stop speaking when you climbed into an elevator with them (we all shut up here in South Africa) the way they all celebrate their patriotism regardless of individual opinions on the 4th of July, the way they just go big or not at all, and how many of them really LIVE their dreams...... i know that there are negatives too, but i will always remember that year as the TRUEST and BEST year until now in my life! (i still have over 1000 photo's to scrap of that year!!!)

i have a layout we started with the GLITZ GIRLS at the Scrapbook Convention 2009. i only finished it on Saturday while i was cleaning (remember me cleaning........) the colors are really not my first choice, and as you know, i am not an instant girl, but this was not too bad. the purple was also a bit overwhelming, but, as with my dogs who wear pink crowns after being GLITZED, my husband is now being adored in purple!! (you know what they say about purple............could be true..............) so, this is it. there really was nothing to the layout - we just slapped a few elements together - i understand their concept, it is for people who are too busy to make everything and who wants co-ordinating goodies. i did like the fact that they used Tim\s paint dabbers around ALL the edges!! that made me feel better!!

watch this space on Saturday for a great challenge link..............and a layout that used NO patterned paper and almost NO embellishments!! i call it my $2 layout!! enjoy the last night before the weekend (all the non- USA citizens) and you AMERICANS must watch the carbs!! make sure there's no "transfat" in that Turkey!! just kidding - life's too short. eat, be thankful and HAVE FUN!!!!

organising.........

well, i promised i would share my wonderfully messy workspace with you, and TADA!!! here goes.............i would like to dedicated this post to my VERY, SUPER ORGANISED PA- DESIREE. maybe now you will understand.....
this is what it looked like until last night when i decided that i HAD to clean up...........remember that project i have to finish before X'mas for Hester..........so, i tackled it.

of course i could not clean without using the scraps on the table and the FINDINGS!!! i love finding things under the clutter - something i stamped and threw to the side, a left over piece of ribbon, a playing card, dismantled projects etc etc.

the 7 of hearts ATC was made because the playing card was lying there, and i had been looking at it for almost 6 months - i knew i wanted to do something, but WHAT???? i then decided to sand it a bit, blended with distress tool - some Vintage Photo and Tea Dye and added some glossy accents to the hearts. the ribbons are leftovers i found while cleaning and the stamp is my itti bitty syaings from HOTP.


the "Great Job" panel was made when i found a leftover background from the chunky book pages i finished last week that was hiding underneath something on the table. i had received my new Paperbag Studio Stamps from Niki this week, so i was stamping all the images randomly.

my eye then caught the background and some leftover paper. so i thought i would use it all to make SOMETHING. i am still not sure what it is good for, but it is an artful thing!! Like Wendy Vecchi says - MAKE ART!!

Lastly the X'mas card. found the leftover piece of textured acetate. wondered what would happen if i stamped with Stazon and coloured with my Copics. well, the Copics don't really love acetate, so i just added stickles, stapled it with my mini attacher to white leftover cs lying on the table, matted it on black (had to pull that from stash) and used the dismantled flocked paper from a project i hated by MM that i also found while cleaning. quick card.

there you have it!! my desk looks like THIS now - i hope for at least an hour or two while i go to church, and then i can MESS IT UP AGAIN!!!

Alcohol Ink X'Mas ATC

jeepers, two posts in one day.....

i made this ATC for Desiree - the two of us had our own swap - she had never made an ATC before, so i challenged her. make a X'Mas ATC in NON-traditional Christmas colours. she did really well - she had an operation so she is not blogging at the moment, but i know she will be showing hers off soon.

i used my alcohol inks to make the background first. i then put the whole ATC through my Cuttlebug with the Holly folder. i then sanded the ATC to get some of the colour off. i then stamped the sentiment on white shrink plastic with black Staz-On, and shrunk it. oh, i punched the tag with a punch first and made a hole with my crop-o-dile for the string to go through before i shrunk it. i then added some wax cord and glued it onto the ATC. i added some lavender Stickles onto some of the berries on the holly leaves, and Bob's your uncle! this was a really fun ATC to make. i loved the way the alcohol inks discolored the paper when i sanded it off. hope you like it too!!!!!

Unity Stamp Challenge at Scrap and Stamp Saturday

hello everyone!!

well, the big news is that i have been chosen for my first design team!! i am so excited! Regina at Scrap and Stamp Saturday contacted me the beginning of this week!! yippeee!! I REALLY need to be challenged sometimes - otherwise i just faff.....

Pamela gave us a stunning sketch this week, and you can also enter the challenge and win a stunning prize here.

my layout is very simple - but first a bit of background...... we have a very small farming community in my area, called LOERIE. they farm with citrus, dairy cows and vegetables mostly. every year they have a festival they call "Naartjiefees" or translated, Tangerine Festival. it is actually a glorified church fête. no alcohol is allowed, there are lots of stalls selling various home made and Chinese goods, lots of food and snacks some live entertainment and of course tangerines!! i have lived in this are for over 10 years, and i have never been there! this year my husband and i decided that we were going to go. what an experience!! very dusty and hot, BUT, the people................ all these people were watching the performers and my husband and i were parellel to the stage, so we had an excellent view. the people's faces........and the various different kinds of people! WOW.............it really represented our society in all it's flavours!!

here is a close up of the letters. plain chipboard that i painted dark brown with acrylic paint and then added glossy accents.
here is a close up of where i used my faux stitching stamps - i do not own a sewing machine, but i adore the effect! i made my own journaling tag - plain white cardstock, held a ruler and just dotted the spots. i then distressed it with tea dye and a slight bit of pine needles with my blending tool
i stamped some swirls on the two corners and added some flowers with a button and some bling to the edges of the stamped swirls.

and there you have it! a really quick layout! please leave a comment and also visit the Scrap and Stamp Saturday blog to enter the challenge! someone has to win the prize!!!

Croppinsville Saving.........

hello everyone! Allie is having a great discount at her shop! please support her - she does so much for us in the line of gathering information and consolidating on her blog. let's support each other!

very exciting news............

i have some news that i can't wait to share - but i HAVE TO WAIT until tomorrow.................

i hate waiting...................................

Benzilla Scrapping Give Away

Donna Downey is having a wonderful give away sponsored by Benzilla Scrapping. Click here to enter!!

sewing card......

i got this set of stamps from Amanda and actually made this card the day i got the stamps - which was about 3 weeks ago! i am cleaning my desk so that the next HUGE project can begin ( a woman who is divorcing her husband wants to make a whole album of his life as a X'mas present - they are parting very amicably) and i don't think i will have time for ANYTHING else when that starts...........

the card developed like most of my cards - i was just stamping each image randomly to see what they look like when i got the set, and it just happened! i LOVE the stitch stamp in the set, and my fiskars postage scissors were the perfect finishing touch! very quick and easy - the thank you tag is a bit crumpled ( i was so excited when i blended with the distress inks) and i will replace that SOMETIME..........

i am a bit scarce - my right hand lady at work had an operation and i have been flying solo for almost 5 days now - i am tired and i realise now how much i rely on her. DESIREE, I MISS YOU!!!!! hopefully i will be able to get back to normal soon, and i will post some of the project - it is going to be a MAMMOTH task!!

i will post about it a bit later and all input is really welcome!

simply me candy...

bluemoon has sponsored this wonderful kit as a give away on Donna's blog