Living life creatively...

Beach and Baking :)

2012-01-27T11:02:00.000+02:00

Hi there!
Wednesday morning I went for an exhilarating walk on the beach. I say "exhilarating" as the wind was quite boisterous and pushed hard against me as I strode determinedly forward. Needless to say, it gave a good work out!

I just loved the mass of barnacles that clung to this structure, with a bit of moss.

I took my camera with and a plastic packet, hoping to find some drift wood, but only found a few nice shells.

Baked a lot too...was in a extraordinary baking mood for some odd reason and so had to get the bug out of my system. First I took a deep breath and started the long, boring process of making croissants. It was my first time to make them. Let's just say that it took two days and I love how my BREAD STICKS came out! ha ha...I will not be defeated but shall try again...another time when I have loads of energy and am prepared to take 8 hours before I can actually eat the things! (lots of refrigeration involved people!) Now I know why they are quite costly...

Moving on...I made a delicious beer and beef pie for supper. The strange thing is the beer gives it a lovely sweet taste, I guess once all that yeast has boiled away, you are just left with the flavor! It would make a lovely stew as well. So at least one thing was a success.

I also made wholewheat rolls. This is an incredibly easy recipe. Especially if you have a bread machine, as you literally chuck the ingredients in the bread machine and let it make the dough for you and all you do once the dough is done (an hour and a half later) is take it out, roll into a few balls and put them on a baking tray and bake for 12 minutes! You can take them straight out the oven and we love to put butter on almost immediately, while they are still hot. Their is something to homely and intensely satisfyingly comforting about fluffy, homemade, fresh rolls! A bit of mayonnaise, mustard, peppered ham, cheese and tomato and voila! Ce 'est Bon!

And so marks the start of the weekend.
Have a good one! See you Monday! xx

I miss the The little things...

2012-01-26T10:00:00.002+02:00

I miss the school holidays...for the following reasons...

*sleeping in late (definition of late would be about 8am, seeing as though on a school day the alarm goes off at 6!)
*lying in bed in the early morning before the kiddies have woken up-enjoying looking outside at the trees and hearing the birds

*drinking that first cup of coffee in bed while reading a magazine/book(ultimate bliss and something I NEVER get time to do besides school hols!)
*while loving my quiet time I equally love it when the kids burst into the room in the mornings and climb under the covers for a snuggle! The fact my 10 year old boy still loves this makes my heart warm, because I know one day that time will be gone...
*Treasuring the sound of their early morning, quiet chattering and playing, the giggling, the sound of pretend play...
*seeing the toys scattered around the house, letting them have their fun and letting my routine become a lot more relaxed!
*Loving the fact I don't have to go racing off to get them to school or fetch them or have a time-constraint.
*Lot's of movie-watching and pop-corn eating
*teaching the kids how to bake. (my son made these crunchies from start to finish all on his own and they were delicious!)

*finding time to enjoy sunsets
*lot's of games like Uno, snakes and ladders and cards.
*tickling fights

sigh....wishing for the next school holidays already!xx

Ernie Els Wine Estate

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000+02:00

Hello again Friends
Another visit to yet another wine Estate...this was one of the few estates we actually did some wine tasting! I had never been here before (*blush* and have lived here for 16 years!) And really it is only about a 15-20 minute drive from me (*another deep crimson blush*).

Why do we always do this: we rave about other places, normally overseas from where we are, and dream of exotic holidays, perhaps snorkeling in the Maldives or cycling through vineyards in Tuscany or sitting on a cobbled street in Paris, drinking an expensive cafe when, right in our own "backyards"-the backyard of our own little towns or country's -we have exquisite beauty to admire and enjoy! This holiday really made me appreciate all the natural beauty that is right here in my own country and town!

This wine estate is Owned by Ernie Els, as I am sure you all know as the famous South African Golfer.

Then a drive to Hidden Valley Wine Estate

And a stop at Waterford Wine Estate
You must look at their beautiful gallery here

This wine estate is exquisite!

Funny I noticed a few things that keep showing up in these wine estate photographs: Agapanthus flowers! (the big blue ones and sometimes in white!)Just a useless observation!

x

Delaire Graff Estate

2012-01-24T15:44:00.002+02:00

Hi again.
Maybe I am boring everyone with these holiday photo's? But I really love photography of scenery, and I personally love seeing photos of other places..anyway...here are some more of the outskirts of Franschhoek....

Beautiful Lavender fields...

a little thatch roof and some flare.

A lovely Cape Dutch Gable...

A stop at Delaire Graff Estate for a glass of wine just as the sun was setting...gorgeous views from our table...

Franschhoek: A visit

2012-01-23T19:18:00.004+02:00

A visit to Franschhoek when guests are here is a must. I love this little town, not as much as I love Stellenbosch, but almost. Franschhoek is a lot more laid back, a sleepy little town nestled at the foot of the Franschhoek Pass. Enveloped by soft undulating hills, vineyards and a mix of French and Tuscan Styled houses dotting the landscape.

It literally means "Corner of France" and has the French charm that seeps through into the cobbled streets, the amazing wine, gourmet food and decadent chocolate.

Here are some of the photo's I took of the little town, little pieces that caught my attention.

Enjoy! xx

Another Baby shower

2012-01-20T08:25:00.003+02:00

Hello!
It is sweltering here! We have had degrees of over 40 (celcious) some days. Our pool turned green and has a leak in it, so we had to let out all the water and we will have to patch it and restart. So it's been a yuck week with no pool and lot's of cold showers! Apparently the weather for the weekend is forecast to be a bit cooler, I certainly hope so!

I just wanted to share the decorations I did for the second baby shower I gave last Saturday.

The lady who I gave it for loves to be creative, like me. She knits and crochets and does baking and icing as a part time job. So I wanted to go along with that sort of creative theme.

From the paper chains...

To the left-over crochet squares from previous projects of mine as a garland. (she took this home with her)

The thank you favors were simple little brown envelopes I filled with chocolate covered peanuts and wrapped chocolates.

Some paper pinwheels as decorations.

The quiche I made

Tissue paper pompoms and tissue paper garlands

Have a great weekend!!

Stellenbosch : Toy museaum and Botanical gardens

2012-01-19T12:59:00.002+02:00

Stellenbosch is always a favorite place of mine to visit. I just love this quaint little town.
It has such a unique charm about it, a quiet serenity and a bit of French Sophistication!

The strange thing is that even though I visit there quite often, I always find something I haven't seen before, be it a store, a garden, a restaurant- there is always something to explore!

My son went on a day trip with his class last year and they explored the Miniature Toy Museum and the 4 Historic Houses of Stellenbosch. So we decided to do this as well. First we went to the Toy Museum.

This is the size of an average egg and look at all the detail in it!

This is one of the models of the town.

Some of the many hundreds of collectable and original cars.

The Toy Museum from the outside.

I just love Agapanthus!

The next lot of flower were taken at the Botanical Gardens in Stellenbosch.

These flowers are called "the Hold Lotus" flowers.

Inside of them!

pond

water lillies

Around Stellenbosch, some of the Cape Dutch Architecture.

bunting!

I will show you some more photos of Stellenbosch as we went again to do the historic houses tour!

Cherry Picking and Bains Kloof Pass

2012-01-18T14:00:00.001+02:00

We went cherry picking again this year. (2 Jan)
You might recall this post.

I had my sister in law and niece with too which was really nice to share that with them.

We picked a huge amount. {made cherry ice-cream and cherry crumble with it-more on that in another post!) and froze a huge amount too.

The lovely orchards

Cherries in their multitude

Trees laden with them!

dandelions...

BainsKloof Pass

Spectacular rock pools way below.

sunflowers

then we took "the road less traveled" down to a vineyard. {hubby was in his 4x4!}

Gorgeous burst of color from these cannes.

The scene below I think encapsulates all what the Cape is...the mountains, vineyards, Cape Dutch style houses and bougainvillaea. I love this picture!

So that was our day cherry picking and an amazing scenic route home!

Cederberg

2012-01-17T16:19:00.004+02:00

The Cederberg is an amazing part of South Africa, up until December, I had not been to.
It is a place of (mostly) untouched beauty, striking rock formations, fynbos of nearly every color, and spectacular rivers and rock pools. Some might call it stark, but I loved this natural craggy wonderland we spent a week at in December.

Here are some of the photos I took while on holiday.
The river we swam in and kayaked down.

The river bed and surrounding mountain

some fynbos for the caravan

gorgeous flowers.

beautiful view.

This is where we jumped off into this lovely cold rock pool. A 25 min hike to get there and so worth it! {that is hubby and I in the water!}

Another view of the river, we sat a lot on that sandy bank!

The bridge going over the river to the campsite.

The long and windy and very, very bad gravel road to get to the campsite! (grueling and horrible!)

Well that is it of the Cederberg photos! I hope you enjoyed them!

First post of 2012!

2012-01-13T06:37:00.002+02:00

Hello lovely Friends
It's been a while hasn't it?

Last year December and this month have been pretty hectic. The schools broke for a 4 week holiday on the 9th December. I had a very busy week cleaning our caravan, packing for holiday, shopping and in between of all that trying to enjoy the first week of holiday with the kids.

On the 17th December we flew up to Johannesburg just for the weekend and stayed with friends of ours we hadn't seen in a few years. The kids were soooooo excited although they had both been on an airplane before, but being just little tots, they didn't remember. So It was such fun, from waking them up really early (never seen them get out of bed so quick!) The whole check-in thing seemed to be very exciting too and my daughter hung onto her boarding pass like it was part of her!

We had breakfast at the airport and a famous DJ (Gareth Cliff) came and sat right opposite us! I was so tempted to whip out my phone and ask if I could take a photo. Hubby thought I was "star struck" but I wasn't really. It is just that it's not often I get to see a famous South African celebrity! This DJ also stars as a Judge on the South African version of Idols. Anyway he was not impressed with the slow service (I heard him count down from 5 to 1) and then told his girl friend or whoever was with him that they needed to go and so it was all very quick!

We got taken to the plane by a shuttle bus which you would swear was the most exciting part of the whole ordeal! So cute!

My son sat next to the window for take off and he told me his heart was beating so fast! He was so excited and held onto the arms rests until his knuckles were white! The whole affair was really too sweet! Of course there was a lot "exploring"-the little table came down and got folded away I don't know how many times, the well-worn magazine in the front pocket got flipped through, the knobs above us got turned and pressed, the window blind raised and pulled down...

The flight home was also a lot of fun for them, this time at night.

On the 19th we left to go camping. We went to a place in the Cederberg. A very rocky, mountainous area that has it's own beauty. The place we went to was tucked away, far from civilization, tar roads, and the lure of busy shopping malls. In fact, so far into the rocky crags was this place, that there was not even cell phone signal! (perfect)!

The road to get there was long, dusty, and very, very bumpy!
By the time we arrived it was dark and we discovered our microwave in the caravan had been jiggled so much, the screws holding it down had all popped out and the only thinking holding it in place, was the power cord!
The fridge and a few cupboards has also lost a few screws!
A bottle of Iron brew had been punctured by the know broken coffee plunger and had leaked over most of the caravan floor.
The fridge had opened a few times too and there was feta cheese juice on the floor.

We unpacked as much as we needed just to get to the beds that night and wiped the floor and went to sleep that night with the caravan still hitched to the car! (we had to move campsites the very next morning).

The next day we were able to set up camp properly and clean the sticky floor.
The holiday was lovely. We arrived the Monday night and left the Monday afternoon (26th)

I will show you some photo's of the place soon.

In the meantime I wanted to show you my cozy little caravan, the kids and I had a tea party in it two days before we left. Just for fun.

These two seats fold down and this whole area becomes a double bed on which the kids share.

our bed on the opposite side.

yum!

I will be back soon to show you more pictures!
I still have family staying with us till Monday and today I am preparing for yet another baby shower I am hosting tomorrow! (will show pics of that too sometime!)

Have a lovely weekend!

2011- A year in Collage

2011-12-09T10:30:00.001+02:00

I really and honestly cannot believe 2011 is almost over!
I got a big lump in my throat when I realized my son will be going to grade 5 and my daughter to grade 3...just the other day I can remember both of them starting grade 1! They are growing far too fast for my liking!

I thought I would share the year in collages.
Enjoy as I take my trip back through 2011!

January

February

March

Paris Trip in March

April

May

June/July

August

September

October

November/December

wrapping...

2011-12-08T10:02:00.000+02:00

Friendship gifts, Thank you Teacher gifts, Baby shower gifts...

Wrapping.

I love brown paper and string, tags, ribbon and lace...

Wrapping is one of my all-time favorite past-times. I would give gifts all the time just to enjoy the wrapping process if I could!

Baby Shower Decorations

2011-12-07T09:17:00.002+02:00

Hello!
So I am finally sharing the Baby shower decorations.
I won't share the photos from the actual baby shower, I am sure there are those who wouldn't be happy about appearing on my blog! So I will just share the decorations and baking I did.

These were the decorations above the food table. (except the chandelier, that normally hangs there! :)

Cheap and easy decorations : paper pinwheels made from catalogs, tissue paper pompoms, paper chains, and doily garlands (the doily's I painted, waited to dry, glued and then folded in half over the string.)

Here is a close-up.

My friend liked them all so much that she took them ALL home to use as decoration in her baby's room-some she was going to hang above the cot. I was so touched to know all my hard work was so appreciated and will continue to bring joy!

Here is a picture of the food table. You can't see it clearly, but in front of the table I hung a material bunting which I also gave to her. The idea was to make a few things the guest of honor could take home after I had finished the party.

The cake. It had 4 layers. I am hopeless at ice-decorating and icing, but anyway...I tried!
I made a vanilla sponge cake, the top layer I colored green! (looked a bit strange!) Green icing and some little blue roses to go on top and finally a little bunting made from paper to top it off. (which i made too)

Here you can see the top of the cake a bit better.

And a slice of cake....

My cupcakes. Light blue icing. And the little flags I made to go on top.

I wasn't completely satisfied with my poor attempt to ice them...but anyway!

Some pinwheels and paper flowers for decorations.

I made some craft paper mustaches and lips just for fun! We had a lot of fun with these, everyone was quite game and I got some hilarious shots.

I took one of me so you can see how funny they look! This one is a beard.

And that is it! I am giving another baby shower in January. So looking forward to that.

By the way, the Baby shower bingo game worked really well and everyone really enjoyed it! I printed out some sheets and gave everyone a pencil. Then I gave everyone a chance to fill out their sheets with gifts they thought she would get. Once everyone had done that, I called out random words from a list such as this one.
When the first person to have all 5 words in a row-horizontally, vertically or diagonally called out "Bingo!", the game was over and they won a prize.

Next time I will get everyone to cross off their sheet as she opens the gifts though.

Everybody liked their thank you gift and over all it was a success!

Thanks for stopping by!

Second baby blanket {crochet}

2011-12-06T10:37:00.004+02:00

Hi there...
December? Really? When did that happen?

The baby shower was a great success! It was my first time to host one and I must say, I really enjoyed it. I think, having children myself and knowing how much they cost a person, really just makes me so happy for her , knowing, in a small way whatever she got will be a good start to the huge expenses soon to follow!

I will share some decorations etc in a day or two, but for now I wanted to share the blanket I crocheted for her baby. This was really a trial-and-error blanket and next time I know what NOT to do!

Firstly I started making the summer burst granny blocks like I did for this blanket.
I guess I got bored (guilty as charged) and thought I would go with my own ideas! *big mistake*
So then I made some large squares and joined all the blocks together using this technique from Lucy, which I must say I rather like!

I like the fact the blanket seems more compact this way. So after having done that I decided to be "clever" and started on a border going around and around until I had reached the desired size. Mistake number two: I was merrily crocheting along, and had done about 8 rows before I realized the blanket just wasn't sitting right! It seemed to be rather bulky in the center and wasn't hanging nicely when I held it up. I then did some "googling" and realized I had been forgetting to increase the stitches at each corner to make a "corner" just you do in a granny block. (silly, silly me!!)

After plenty of sighing and kicking myself on the butt, I decided NOT to unpick all 8 rows and just hope and prayer that If I now proceeded with the right pattern, it would magically come right. So I did another 5 rows of double crochet using the correct pattern. I then steam-ironed the blanket and stretched it a bit whilst ironing it and it came out okay. Not brilliant, not perfect, not 100% straight, but okay. It has character!

I am glad she liked it! I cannot wait to give my second baby shower and the first baby blanket I made to the other friend of mine in January.

And for now my little hook must rest...

Pin It

Filling the paper cones

2011-12-02T10:30:00.001+02:00

Hello there!
Remember this tutorial here....

I thought I would show you what I filled them with and the result after they are sewn shut!

The goodies....

First in went the chocolate peanuts and then the candy coated peanuts...

The finished,sewn cone...

And there you go! The scent of those chocolate covered peanuts is wafting around in my study driving me insane, making me want to rip open the bags and devour them!!!

{Tutorial} Easy Cupcake Toppers

2011-12-01T17:06:00.003+02:00

Hi there!
It's been a while since I posted...been frantically making decorations for the baby shower for Saturday.

I thought I would share this very easy little tutorial. If you are anything like me, you love to have an excuse to make every last decoration rather than buy it. Not only does it save money but it's fun too!

So Instead of buying pre made icing decorations to go on the cupcakes I'll be baking, I made these little flag toppers.

what you need:
toothpicks
double sided tape
craft knife
ruler
scissors
punch

step one

I used a sheet of 15cmx15cm card stock paper. (like for scrap booking). I then cut the sheet into strips of about half an inch.

step two:

Then cut each strip in half.
Fold each strip so that the sides you want to show are at the front and back.
I do this with all the paper first. Making a pile of strips.

step three:

Now with your craft knife, cut a little V-shape into each strip at the open side.
Do this with all your folded strips.

step four:

now place a piece of double sided tape on the inside of each folded strip.

step five:

Now remove the double sided tape and place your toothpick in the middle of the fold, making sure the top of the toothpick is not sticking up at the top.

step six:

punch out your mini butterfly (or punch of your choice) and attach with a small piece of double sided tape in the center. Fold up the sides of the butterfly.

Your mini cupcake topper is finished!

I will be sure to show you the finished cupcakes next week!
I hope you enjoyed this easy tutorial.
The little toothpick flags can also be used on scrap booking pages and cards.

Music Sheet Favor cones {Tutorial}

2011-11-21T12:05:00.004+02:00

Hi there!

First I have to tell some exciting news!! I got a spot on the Ruche blog!! My Paris travel photos
made it on there...
So exciting! You can read how to become part of the Ruche family (with super benefits) here.

As promised here is the tutorial for these super-quick and easy (but pretty) favor cones.

All you need for this tutorial is:
*scissors
*double sided tape
*stapler
*newspaper or music sheets (I used pages from a vintage book)
*doileys
*a clear acrylic stamp and acrylic block
*ink pad

okay let's get started...

step 1:

The sheet of paper you use should be a rectangle shape. So along the length, fold the paper towards you, making sure you get the pointy shape in the corner. Don't press the fold, sort of roll it towards to, you only need to press it down in the corner. Roll it towards you over again about 3 times.

step 2:
Once you have the cone shape, you can know staple the bottom.

Step 3:
Place a piece of double sided tape along the edge to secure the edge to the cone.

Here you can see it all secured.

step 4:
Next take you acrylic stamp and attach it to your block, ink it and stamp your small doily. If you are making large quantities, it's a a good idea to get a little assembly line going. I first do all the sheets, then I stamp all the doilys etc.

step 5:

Next I attach a piece of double sided tape in the middle of the doily at the back.

step 6:

And then finally attach the doily to the cone. I like to attach it along the "seam" of the cone, to help hide it.

All you need to do now is fill it with your favor treats. I like to fill mine with candy-coated peanuts. Make sure to leave about 2cm space at the top so that you can fold the "flap" down and secure it in place. I like to sew my flap with the machine and you can even embellish it further with a bit of ruffled crepe paper or a ribbon.

I made close to 4o of these for a baby shower.

Weekend activities

2011-11-21T10:30:00.000+02:00

I trust you had a lovely weekend!

Weather wise, ours was quite strange.
Saturday we had a boiling hot day of over 30 degrees 'C.
Sunday was cooler and it rained.
Chalk and cheese.

One minute summer is here and the next it's not and I am wondering if it's ever going to come and just stay!

Saturday my daughter and I made cupcakes.
I am hosting my first baby shower next Saturday and another one in January!

A lot of planning, list-making, crafting and organizing going on around here!

So I was trying out cupcake recipes and different icing decorations. I still need more work in the icing department, I can't say I am any good at it or have much experience icing anything, never mind cupcakes! But with close to 40 guests I can't afford to have professional ones made, so everything must be home-made as far as possible, from the food right down to the decorations.
I enjoy it though, the invites have gone out (forgot to take photos of them! ) and the decorations have started!

With a million and one ideas running through my head, I am trying to reign them in otherwise I might end up over doing it!

The only thing I am struggling with is baby shower games. I don't want anything that's embarrassing, anything that is gross (like guess the what the baby ate by the poo in the nappy- yes, I read there really is a game like that!)or crude. Just decent, enjoyable games for everyone. I will have ladies ranging from 20 to 80 there, so it has to be things they can all enjoy.

Any ideas?

Be sure to pop in tomorrow for a easy-peesy favor tutorial

Crochet bag and shoes.

2011-11-11T17:40:00.003+02:00

Hello there! It's done!
I finished the bag I was working on! Did you guess that's what it was? I know one of you did!

The pattern I got from Lucy at Attic24.
It seemed quite complicated but I think it turned out well. Next time, though, I will use a double knit or a chunky yarn. The bag turned out more "floppy" than I anticipated. But I am still happy with it. It will make a nice beach bag! (and won't collect sand!)

And I had to show you the lovely shoes I got. So summery and "beachy"....nice with dresses and Jeans.

Baked some blueberry muffins yesterday, so yum!!!

And on that note, I bid you a farewell and a happy weekend!!

Baby blanket no1 {crochet}

2011-11-08T21:30:00.004+02:00

Hello friends!
It seems I haven't popped into my own blog in ages!
The kids and I went to the reserve again last week, (twice in one week!). I really wanted to show them the beautiful flowers I saw on my own visit. We took a different path this time and so enjoyed our little walk up the mountain.

The air was crisp,with a slight chill but we saw a lot of flowers and butterflies.

Other than that, I finished my first baby boy blanket. It is for a friend who is due in February. Actually I have two friends due (both with boys) in February and I am also giving their baby showers! One next month and one in January, so I have a lot to plan for! I quite like how it turned out, even though, at first, I wasn't 100% convinced about adding the red, but really, without the red, I think it wouldn't "pop" like it does.

The other project is still a "work-in-progress" and is NOT a blanket, and I almost finished it, so I will reveal soon! Let's just say it will come in "handy"....

I am so enjoying my crochet at the moment.

I don't know what happened to Spring, it appeared briefly for about a week the beginning of September and then for a few days the middle of September and possibly a few days in October, otherwise we have had overcast, cloud and rain here and there. Most odd for this time of year! This week is another cool week with rain here and there (like today). So it's good weather to crochet!

The next project is another baby boy blanket, the color scheme of which is quite yummy and I am so excited to begin work on it! (will share the colors soon!)

Enjoying the fruits of my garden too...

What's the weather like in your corner of the world?

New crochet project :granny square baby blanket

2011-10-28T13:53:00.003+02:00

I haven't crocheted in ages. A few rows here and there on my stripey blanket (a work in progress, which is about 130cm wide so far) but otherwise nothing really.

A friend of mine is having a baby boy and I wanted to surprise her with a handmade crochet blanket. So I started this project this past Saturday. I am well over half way with constructing the granny squares. So I reckon another week and I should be ready to start putting them altogether. {and she doesn't have a pc, so she won't read my blog! hee hee}

I learned to weave in the threads and cut them off after each square which I reckon will save me a lot of time later on! (that's my little tip!)

Well that's it from me, it's cold here, has been all week, it really it like winter all over again the last two weeks! Back to Jeans, socks and long tops! Strange weather.

So I guess it makes crocheting a bit easier too! Always easy to crochet when it's cold!

Question: Do you think white for the in-between bits and border or do you have another color suggestion?

Hope you have a great weekend.

Photo adventure

2011-10-26T12:32:00.007+02:00

Hello there!
Yesterday I went on a little photo adventure all by myself. I like to do this every now and then.
Why? Because:
1) It's good to get away from the normal routine of cleaning, gym, shopping and housework.
2) Everyone needs some "food for the soul"
3) I love to take photo's
4) I love being in nature.

So I went on over to my favorite place and spent a good two hours walking. (boy are my legs sore today!) I gasped at how lovely the reserve is! If you remember, a few months ago I went and found, much to my dismay, the fire had devastated this beautiful place.

It is unbelievable how green and lush it is now. The new growth is amazing and so beautiful!
There are so many flowers and ferns and birds and new life!

Here are some of the photo's I took (I ended up taking over 300! after editing, these are my favorite).
Enjoy!

This is the view from the hill. I had to walk up quite a distance. The hillside is laded with these pink watsonia's. They are so gorgeous.

There was a little butterfly that fluttered along the path and every time I got close he flew off and landed a bit further along the path. This happened at least 6 times before I could get a decent photo!

I saw these flowers in the distance - whole field of them and had to get a photo! As I walked nearer, I was accosted by flies and I shooed them away. When I got to the field and I was kneeling down amongst the flowers, I realized the "flies" were in fact bees!! There were bees everywhere! I must say, It was a bit scary!

"Fynbos" -I LOVE this photo, it has to be my favorite and it my new desktop background!

I was so happy to get this little fellow...

You might also notice I am doing some alterations to my blog...so please bear with me! I want to have a larger middle section so that my photos can be bigger. (for your viewing pleasure! hee hee) but it's all a matter of playing around and seeing what works best.

PS I am working on a new crochet blanket! will share soon!

October 2011

2011-10-21T19:57:00.006+02:00

Hello!
I can't believe this month is almost over!

Today I ...
*bought some wool
It's been a while since I picked up my crochet hook so today I went and bought some wool, a project is calling...

I love the colors I chose, pastel and soft...

*I treated my home to an arrangement of snap dragons, so pretty and country-like, I smile every time I look at them.
*mowed the lawn, weeded the garden a bit and enjoyed a cup of coffee and a quick flick through one of my favorite local magazines.

*took some photos' of my summer flowers in my garden

Love this deep velvety purple sweet pea!

And this week Tiffany gave me the rest of my pics! yay! So gorgeous! I just love the way she presented the disc in a little black box tied with a ribbon and popped that into a black gift bag. It reminds of "Tiffanys" the jewelry!
Love the cover she chose!
I made a photo book out of the photo's and I can't wait to get it! It actually turned out a whole lot cheaper doing the photo book than printing the individual photos!

Have a lovely weekend!

The rest of the photos!

2011-10-16T06:05:00.003+02:00

Hi there.
Just a quick post this morning.
Tiffany has put up some more of our photos for the shoot she did of us, and you can view
them all HERE -would love to hear what you think , but if you could drop her line too if you pop around to her blog!

Here a few of my favorite from the many she has on her blog and more I haven't seen on the CD she will be giving me with them all on!! (cannot wait!)

she did an AMAZING job and I guess I know who I will ALWAYS use in the future for our shoots-cos I plan to have more and a family shoot too!

Thanks again amazing Tiffs!! You are da-bomb! (hee hee)

Paris Revisited

2011-10-12T15:15:00.009+02:00

Today I felt like visiting Paris again.
Our trip to Paris earlier this year, in Spring, feels like a lifetime ago already. Sadly.
But the good news is that we get to experience spring twice in one year as it is Spring here now!

I felt like walking down the streets of Paris, crossing the broad bridges, maybe stopping on one and gazing out over the Seine River, whilst sipping a hot {but tiny and expensive}tasse de café. Then I would walk over to the Patisserie and going against my own instincts, buy a pain au chocolat.{and pay for it later as I cannot eat wheat!}

I would go and sit on a bench in Pont Neuf and watch the couples lying on the grass, the old man reading his newspaper, wearing his beret. And I would take my husbands hand and give it a squeeze and maybe even lean in for a quick kiss!

I would watch that amazing light dancing among the bright green leaves of the trees and the pink petals float gently to the earth. I would hear the soft tinkling of laughter and the busy sounds of nearby traffic. I would take a deep inhale and smell the freshly baked baguettes and le pain.

Sigh..I would go back in a heartbeat...

White Orchards

2011-10-11T19:23:00.004+02:00

Thank you dear readers for your lovely comments on my anniversary. They made me smile.
And if you did comment, I left a comment for each of you in this post. And thanks to all who stopped by Tiffany and left some love there!

I wanted to share with you a few photos a dear friend of mine took of me.
The idea with these photos actually happened before I decided to go ahead with a couple shoot as a surprise for hubby. She, {who wants to remain anonymous} did a beautiful job and I LOVE how they came out. The photos were a present for my hubby, with the intention of having some framed for him, for home and for his desk at his office.

We spent one overcast Thursday morning on a little secret adventure. We came across a gorgeous orchard on the way to our venue to go and take the photographs and my friend asked the owner if we could use her orchard to take some photos. To which she said yes.

I wore the netting from my wedding under a summer dress :)

I edited the ones I liked the best.
Here are a few from the 488 she took!

I would totally recommend doing something like this to anyone. A photo shoot is fun and a great way to capture a space in time. Wether it's a family shoot or a portraiture or a couple shoot for an engagement or anniversary, it is so worth it. And if you have a friend who is takes wonderful photos that you don't have to pay for, all the more bonus!

Hope you are having a wonderful week.:)

♥Wedding Anniversary♥

2011-10-09T20:12:00.008+02:00

Tomorrow, the 10th Of October marks our 13th Wedding anniversary.

Each year I am blown away firstly, by how fast time seems to fly by. And secondly by, how much, each year I love my hubby a little more. No kidding. I seriously love this man more now than I did when we first got married. Time + Love♥ is a funny thing.

13 years ago I was 19 and he was 21. We were just two kids who fell in love and got married.
We Looked like kids! I often get incredulous stares to this day when I mention how long we have been married or the fact we have two kids aged 10 and 8. Seriously-can people not see what I see? Can they not see the laugh lines around my eyes and the grey hairs sprouting in my hair line?
oh don't get me wrong, I hope they don't!! I love it when we get told we don't look old enough to have 13 years of marriage behind us, never mind two children! I used to dislike it when I was newly married and just wanted to be treated like a woman and an adult, not a little girl trying to play house. Now, I embrace it. I'm 32 with the 33 year mark closely on it's heels and hubby is 34. And now more than ever I appreciate what we have.

I look back and see the huge milestones we have crossed together, the ups and downs, the loved ones we have lost and grieved over, the friendships lost and gained, the two most amazing children we have been blessed to have and the many, many happy memories and moments we have shared and treasure and I would never ever, swap it or change it for anything in the world.

I am a better person because of this man, who accepts me, flaws and all and loves me anyway.
Who gives me so much in every way, for me, for our family.
And as cheesy as it sounds, I mean it when I say, "he completes me".
Without him,I am really only half a person, and that is not even the better half.

So, yes, this is soppy post, but I am allowed to have one soppy post this special day, because this time, every year, I am swamped by memories of our wedding, and everything that brought us together and everything after.

♥♥♥
For this year I wanted to do something fun and different as a surprise gift for him, for us. We didn't have a professional photographer at our wedding, We couldn't afford one and so
we got a friend to take photos and I love how they came out. But now, 13 years later, I thought it would be great if we could have that extra special touch to celebrate how far we have come, and just how much our marriage means to us. It is about our love for each other and all we have been through. To have something to look back on and say when we have been married for 26 years "look at us then, so young and so in love!"

So I set about finding a photographer. I didn't want just "anyone". I wanted someone I felt I could connect to on a personal level, who could interpret my needs and the feeling I wanted to be portrayed in our photos. I looked for ages. I found a lot of local people but they were either too costly or not "my style". Then I stumbled upon Tiffany. and I fell in Love. Not with Tiffany! ha ha, but with her work, her amazing photography style and the way her words flowed on her blog. I could sense the warmth and ease and maturity coming from this young woman.

I eyed her gorgeous work for a long time, (and if you are reading this Tiffany, now you know! I stalked you for a while!!) I started looking at photo shoots online, wedding photography, engagement photography and couple shoots and I was convinced that Tiffany would do a fabulous job. I just loved her style and I could sense her love of vintage things, of REAL things, like me. No pretenses, just real and open and honest and to me that showed through and through in her blog and her work.

From the moment I got in touch with Tiffany we seemed to "hit it off" over email, we shared ideas and suggestions and she got where I was coming from with my ideas and what I wanted from the shoot.

So yesterday was the big day. It was all a surprise for hubby, I had told him to keep Saturday open and to bring with suspenders and his hat and a change of shirt!
*The suspenders are explained in a bit* {I don't want to know what he thought!}

So we took our kids to a friends house and at 3:30pm I drove him to our local reserve. I parked and opened the boot and there was a picnic basket and the scrabble game...I could sense the disappointment...so I said that in about 20 minutes we were both going to meet someone whom we had never met and she was going to give us something we could look back on for years to come and then the puzzle pieces fell into place and he knew! He was very happy about it of which I am relieved!

So we sat on the grass on that beautiful day, a hot, sunny day with not a breath of wind and enjoyed a glass of wine and some strawberries....

{If you are still with me Tiff, {may I call you Tiff? hee hee} we saw you and Ross walking up the road, I said to J "That must be her, she has a huge camera slung around her neck and she looks like the pretty dark haired girl I saw on her blog" So we watched the two of you walk up the road and then I thought, maybe it wasn't you and that seeing it was 10 before 4pm, I better let you know we were there. So I texted you and soon after that, we were walking towards each other and I saw I had been right!}

There is something amazing about meeting a person for the first time that you got a "sense" of just from email or correspondence. And Tiffany was just as she had come across to me...warm, genuine, sincere. Her hubby Ross came with to help her carry things, and lift her onto his shoulders for some of the shots! The gentle banter between the two of them and their chattiness towards us, just relaxed us and put us at ease. Ross being quite a comedian too!

Here are some of the sneak peek's Tiffany had on her blog, with editing to do still, I should have the rest of the pictures in about a week and a half's time. {they look better on her blog, cos they are bigger, otherwise just right click on the photos and view in a new tab}And if you can, look at her other photos! just Gorgeous!}

The shoot was fun, and a memory in itself! Thank you Tiffany {and Ross} for everything and helping to make our anniversary a memorable one!

*oops nearly forgot to explain the suspender bit! We showed up in casual clothes and Tiffany did shots of us and then I got changed into a red polka dot dress, fake pearls and heels and for hubby I brought with a dressy white Shirt, the suspenders he was told to organize and his hat. The idea was to do a "The notebook" themed photos-1940's vintage themed after the movie I LOVE.
I found this amazing dress that was perfect and the suspenders had a bit of red in too which fitted perfectly! I saw the idea on this photo shoot*

And to my hubby....

♥Happy Anniversary♥

Books and Lavender

2011-10-07T22:36:00.008+02:00

Hello lovely readers!
It's been rather busy here with school holidays and then some of our best friends came from England to stay for 4 days, so it was a whirlwind of activity. We even got our very first beach visit in for the start of the season!

Things are almost back to "routine". Enjoying the last few days of family time...

Monday marks our 13th Wedding anniversary and tomorrow I have a surprise for my hubby!
I will share with you at a later stage...

Oh and I won a ruche competition! So happy!

In the meantime I wish you a lovely weekend and leave you with these photos I took of my lovely lavender and some of my favorite books.

Tutorial: Textured photos.

2011-09-27T09:13:00.011+02:00

Today I thought I would share a tutorial on how to do textured photos.

Textures are a great way to enhance the feel/mood of the photo. They are great if you just want to try something different for a change!

So first of all you need to find yourself some great textures. There are millions you can buy and also lot's of free ones available. {just remember to check the license on the free ones as some can only be used for personal use, whereas others allow you to use them for personal and commercial use.}
A great place for awesome vintage textures is playing with brushes on flickr.

For this tutorial I used Adobe Photoshop CS3

I am going to show you how to get this effect:
Step 1: So open your editing program.
And then the photo and texture. I used two different textures in this case.

Step 2:
Place your first texture over your photo. Just drag and drop and resize it with the controls on the corner of the image. Then go to your little drop down menu under layers in the tool box on the right {where it says normal} scroll down to "soft light". This is also called Blend modes. I left mine at 100%.

Step 3: Now highlight your second texture and then in the file menu up top, go to "image" then "adjustments" and then "hue/saturation".
Step 4: a box pops up once you have done step 3 . tick the colorize box. Play around with the hue and saturation to get a color of you choice. I went with a pink color.

step 5: Now drag this layer onto your photo layer. So now you should have one image with 3 layers. Your bottom layer is your photo, the second a texture (with soft light) and the 3rd another texture with a color added. (repeat step 2 at this stage-first highlight the top layer you just added)step 6: Now merge all visible layers and save as a JPEG.
And there you go! A lovely soft, texture feel to your original photo!

There are a lot of different effects you can get using textures so why not play around by changing the opacity, and blending mode. Here are some more examples!
Enjoy!

This little piggy ran all the way home....

2011-09-26T11:39:00.011+02:00

{The gorgeous orchards in bloom there at the moment!}

Hello friends.
Yesterday was market day...
It was a beautiful sunny day, not a breath of wind and we had gorgeous surroundings in which to set up our stall. I am sorry I did not get a chance to take more photo's of the market and surrounds as it really is beautiful setting. The venue is set on a farm with a river running through. Willows weep into the bubbling stream. The azaleas were bright in all their abundant bursting of color-hot pink, purple, red...
The oak trees full with their brand new, bright green spring leaves.
We had a table under the trees in the shade for which I am grateful as it was quite warm in the sun.

A nearby rooster crowed a rather pitiful crow that sounded like it was choking on it's own spit! It was impossible not to laugh each time!

I was up at 6 and out the house by 7:30. Fortunately the farm is only a 4 minute drive from my place. I met my friend, Sam there and we began to arrange and set up. I am so glad we did a trial run of the table at home as we only just finished at 9am! It was nice to know where everything was going to go and not have to stress in that respect!

The early morning "run" was busy and we had our few sales between 9:30 and 11am. I say "few" yes, because sadly we did not do well. I am grateful for having sold something though!
We had a lot of interest, a lot of praise but not enough sales. So purely from a sales perspective the day was a disaster.

However, being the ever-optimist that I am, I had a fun time! It was something new, it was a beautiful day. We got to meet a lot of fellow traders, and people. We got a mailing list going and some inquiries about bulk orders. I sold a total of 10 things (3 sales in total for me).

I believe in my products and I believe that I just need to pick myself up and try again. Perhaps a different venue, a different time of month, who knows. I do realize people in general are tight for money and the recession has hit a lot of people, even here. I also realize that the market might not be right for my goods. And perhaps the fact that it was the end of the month, before pay day might have factored into things. Also maybe even the fact that a lot of people don't carry a lot of cash anymore. This might be something to consider for next time.

I met a lady who was selling items along the same theme as me, but very unique and different to my own. Beautiful things. She was so sweet and helpful, {considering, as she said, she is the competition!}
I feel that if you do not view your own products as unique and special and if they do not portray your own style and personality, then you shouldn't be out there. And I do, I do view them as an extension of me, they reflect who I am. Just like her wonderful goodies reflected who she is and so I feel having said that, there should be enough "room" in the market for crafter's of the same craft, as we are all unique. I don't want to view others as "competition" or be competitive or greedy. It is just not me. I am not out there to make fortunes or to step on anybody's toes or take over. And I certainly hope nobody would view me that way.

Anyway enough waffling! let me show you some photos!

These lovely hair clips are made by my friend Sam. They can be a hair clip or a brooch.

She makes these gorgeous little stuffed hearts. {some of these pictures I put a textured overlay on -just by the way!}

My crocheted jars and her stuffed hearts...
Sam and I.
Me smiling a stupid smile..oh well...
My journals...

I did not take photo's of any of the other stalls as firstly I really did not have time, I took these photos just before the market opened and secondly I didn't want to step on anybody's toes and cause issues, so I thought it best to stick to my own stall. Being a trader with fellow traders you have to be careful of these kind of things-the last thing I want to be accused of is taking photos of someone Else's stall to "copy" their work. I certainly would not want to do that to anybody else.

I think people who do not do this kind of thing themselves, people who are not crafty or busy with their hands per say with a craft, do not understand the time and work that goes into each product produced. Which is why hand crafted items are more expensive than a commercially mass-produced item.
I have to calculate the cost of my materials used, the labor involved and other expenses such as fuel, electricity, printing costs, packaging costs. And still put enough mark up on to make sure I cover all of that and earn a bit of profit.

Sam's crocheted/knitted cushions
Her adorable baby headbands. Totally adjustable and just so sweet!
Her cute owl hats,-forgot to take more detailed pictures of them, they are adorable.
And my Aprons hanging on the barrel.

And her crocheted heart bunting and the cute sewing books she makes. (for needles, scissors and a pin cushion on the front)
Well that is it!
I tell you standing for 6 hours is no joke! My back is killing me today and I feel 100 years old!
Time for a cup of tea!

See you tomorrow!

PS if you were there and visited my stall..please drop a line to say what you liked, didn't like, thought was too expensive-whatever you fancy, feedback of any kind is always appreciated and even cc is appreciated as long as it's not too harsh ! I am a softie!

Market Day tomorrow!

2011-09-24T15:16:00.011+02:00

Hello friends.
I hope you are having a good weekend so far.

Well tomorrow is the long-awaited, much anticipated Market day!
My nerves are shot, but I am excited to go and hopefully sell one or two things! :)

I can't believe that it's nearly here, after months of hard work and creating!

I will share with you all the photo's of our table next week, but for now I thought I would show you some of the goodies I will be selling tomorrow. I say "our" because together my friend and I are running the table together, although we each have our own goodies. Together we call ourselves "The Rosy Nest".

Wrap Aprons.

Handmade Journals

Journals are made with high quality card stock and/or scrap booking paper, machine stitched.
They measure 8" x8" or 15cm x 15cm.
Each page is individually pre-embellished with tags, pockets,tickets, journal stubs/notes, ribbon, paper button flowers, and lot's more. They can be used as journals, as photo albums and as a notebook. Each journal comes with a little glassine envelope filled with little embellishments and journal cards.

some have a theme like this one "home". For photos of your family and home or maybe some thoughts of your home!
Travel Journals. Perfect for taking with you on a short journey as they are lightweight and small.

Paper garlands
{butterflies and flowers}

Mini Chalkboards.
These I made from coasters.
Each comes with a piece of chalk.

Headbands.
Felt ones, fabric, organza.

tags

crocheted jar covers

Other things I will be selling: scrap booking embellishments, brooch's, handmade notebooks, scrap booking kits, cards, gift packaging sets, postcards and lot's more!

My very talented friend, Sam, will be selling the cutest newborn hats (knitted), lovely shopping bags, crocheted cushions, crocheted heart garlands, brooch's, crocheted headbands (the cutest ones for babies!) tag's and other things too.

So if you are in the area tomorrow-Somerset West, Hathersage, Gordon Road from 9-2am please come pop around to say hi! Would love to meet you!

I am Woman! I make Fire!

2011-09-17T18:54:00.011+02:00

Today was one of those truly unique days that I think I will remember when I Am old and gray. {well I mean when I am old, cos the gray has already started!!}

My daughter and I spent the day together at home, just her and I.
I had this intense craving for braaied (South African word for "BBQ) chicken wings. I LOVE chicken wings. They are so yummy. All they need is a bit of lemon and garlic seasoning and they are good to go.

I decided I would make a fire and a braai on my own!
so I bought the bag of wood, seasoned the chicken, got the fire started and began!
{excuse the bad photos, taken with my phone!}

The fire went out a few times, I cooked my own hand a bit, but I did it!!

*at one stage I almost fell into the burning furnace and bbq'd myself!!* ha ha.

The finished product.
It took me 3 hours from beginning to end but I did it! And let me tell you, they were scrumdiddlyupsious!!! I was so proud, so chuffed, so surprised! I had to enjoy a glass of wine with them!

We also had some very sad news and that is that my daughter's teacher died yesterday. She was suffering from cancer for a while, but I didn't realize how quickly it went...

Lessons learned from today:
*Just enjoy the moment.
*Just BE.
*Forget the washing, the unmade beds, the dishwasher that needs to be unpacked,
and just enjoy being with those you love.
*Spend time with them, just doing nothing, just doing silly things and laughing.
*Realize you can do anything you put your mind to
*Realize you are stronger than you think
*Don't be afraid to take risks and have the courage to face them!

A Spring Garden

2011-09-15T10:30:00.000+02:00

Hmmm...I can smell the wine stock I poured over the beef to slow cook in the oven, whiffing through the house...

I thought I would share some spring flowers growing in my garden at the moment.
Enjoy!

It's so nice to see some color in my garden again and to potter around in it. I love gardening.

My birch trees are sprouting new leaves too...My mother in law kindly gave me a whole little "glade" of birch trees! I have my very own teeny tiny little glade!! *sigh*

Just the other day...

2011-09-14T10:30:00.000+02:00

My little girl is growing up....
What is it with little girls and their determination to assert their freedom of choice? (more on this...read on)

My little girl is now 8. First of all that in itself boggles my mind as just the other day she was handed to me in hospital and I gazed into her tiny half-slit eyes and wondered if I had ever seen anything more beautiful and perfect than as at that moment...
Just the other day I held her tiny body in my arms while she curled her pink fingers around my thumb...
Just the other day I was changing nappies, sterilizing bottles, dragging my zombie-like body out of bed for the 2am feed...
Just the other day I was clapping excitedly as she gave her first smile, said her first word, took her first step...
Just the other day I cried like a baby on her first day of play school...
Just the other day I cried again when she graduated Grade R ...
Again when she started grade 1...
Again when she started grade 2...
And now is she is 8 and all the glorious, fantastic little hundreds and thousands of memories are tucked away in my heart forever as I continue to watch her grow...

And now she is insisting on wearing skirts and tops. She suddenly "hates" wearing dresses. I digress as she has a whole cupboard of beautiful dresses she once "loved"... She comes out her room wearing the strangest ensemble of clothes...

I want her to wear the dresses. I NEED her to wear the dresses as this change is all too much for me. I am not ready for her to become a little lady just yet.

She is still "my baby"....

*****

I have Been making paper garlands for the market...

Paper garlands

And little crocheted flower garlands.

Ruffles and Roses {and winner of giveaway}

2011-09-13T20:25:00.004+02:00

Hi all.
Thanks for taking my survey, if you want to take it, you can still take it here.

I completely forgot about announcing the winner yesterday!

The winner is......

Nicole Austin said...: wow, what a fabulous giveaway. you are so talented! what i love best about spring is the warmer weather, the smell of blossoms, the beautiful colors and the promise of summer! (funny, we are getting ready for fall right now!) enjoy the beautiful spring weather to come! :)

Congrats Nicole!!
Please email me with your postal address!

I love Spring...so far we have only had a handful of nice spring days, and the in between ones make it hard to find suitable things to wear. Too warm for boots, too cold for sandals and T's.

I am loving the "look" for Spring this season...Ruffles! I am not one to follow fashion trends or brands, I wear what I like and what feels and looks right on me. I don't have the money or inclination or energy to keep up with fashion! As Heidi Klum says anyway: "one day you're in and the next day you're out" same with fashion-so why bother!
But I am happy as I normally have lots of ruffles in my closed anyway, so this season fits perfectly in with MY style *wink*.

What's your favorite "look" this season? {whatever season you may be in!}

Springtime flowers.

2011-09-08T10:23:00.019+02:00

Hello there friends!
Today is a miserable day! Cold, windy, and drizzly! Yesterday was hot, sunny gorgeous! It's hard to believe!
We went to the local nature reserve and enjoyed our afternoon in the sun, lying on a blanket,

gazing up at the light flickering through the fresh burst of green leaves.

The kids made little rafts out of reeds and wood and floated them downstream.

We gazed at the assortment of wild flowers and even though we really wanted to, we didn't pick any!

Please take a moment to take my teeny-tiny survey, only 10 questions. thanks so much!!!!!

Click here to take survey

And don't forget to enter the giveaway in this post!

Cornbread

2011-09-05T10:28:00.000+02:00

Yum...
Best fresh out of the oven and let the butter melt into it!

Enjoy with a cup of tea!

Spring! {Giveaway!!}

2011-09-02T18:25:00.007+02:00

I so badly wanted to post on the actual official day of SPRING, but never got around to it!
So here I am, the 2nd...not too bad!

We had a long, cold, wet winter and I am glad to be seeing the back of it.
Although the warmer weather hasn't really started yet...

But the signs are there...
My sweet peas are blooming again...
The orchards are popping out blossoms like white popcorn...
The trees lining our roads are fresh and bright green

I cannot wait for this season! I lOVE spring, it's my favorite season of the year.
The weather is JUST right. Not too hot or too cold.
Everything is new, fresh and full of promise and hope.

It's such a re-invigorating season, energetic and ALIVE.
I think why I love it so much too, is that I get to spend more time out doors and I am definitely an outdoor kind of gal. I love nature, forests, parks and just breathing in the fresh air and of course taking photographs!!

I have 3 weeks until my market day *panic*
And have started the awful task of pricing and stock inventory! ARGGGG.

I made a test head piece and I like it so much I am making more for market day!!

And I will be giving away one for ONE winner!!!

These blooms will also be sold at market day as brooch's.

And some as head bands.

And just cos I want to, I am hosting a little giveaway.
You will win a surprise package, among which will be a unique headpiece (comes as a band), a felt flower brooch, some gift tags and other bits and pieces I will be selling at market day!

All you have to do to enter is follow these steps:

1) leave a comment in THIS post. {comments must be in this post to qualify}
2) answer this easy-peasy question : What do you love about SPRING?
3) leave me your email address or blog address so i can contact you. {If I can't contact you via either, you won't be entered into the giveaway.}
4)For an extra entry tweet about this giveaway and leave another comment here.
Follow me on twitter while you are there!
5)for an extra, extra entry, blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and leave another comment here

Winner announced the 12th September!!
Here is a little button you can post on your blog or use in your blog post.

Have a great weekend!!

Mini Notecards gift

2011-08-31T10:30:00.000+02:00

Just sharing a little gift I put together for a sweet older lady I know whom I know loves birds just as much as I do.

These are so basic to do.

I used some plain Kraft blank cards and envelopes.

Printed out a page of bird images from Karen of the Graphics Fairy.
Cut them to size and with a white marker did some simple little markings on the borders and envelopes and stamped the pictures and envelopes with various postage stamps or birds.

Put them in a little cellophane wrapper and wrapped them up with vintage music paper, a paper doily and ribbon.

Voila!
Cost: nothing except a little bit of time and ink.

Reveal: Crochet blanket

2011-08-30T10:30:00.001+02:00

Remember this blanket I started for my son?

Well I finished it, I say "finished" it, but I actually got tired of it and I knew he would like it just the way it is! *shhh*

The idea behind it is to add a couple of rows when I feel like it, eventually making it the size of his bed.

He was very happy and LOVES it and I must say, it feels so good to have made something special, unique and something that can be passed on...like the blanket in the photo under the one I made him, which my Gran made and is now over 40 years old!

note to self: Complete one crochet project at a time!

8x8 scrap kits in action

2011-08-29T12:16:00.005+02:00

I thought I would share a few pages of a 8x8 album I did last week.
I used the papers I sell in my shop. (although these particular papers are not the ones in the kit, but they are ones I have designed and printed). I wanted to show what they look like with all the ribbon, lace and tags in the kits.

I kept the pages very simple, just a few embellishments like washi tape, buttons and lace.
I told you I would find a way to use those organza flowers I made!
A little glassine bag with a tag in it and a bird in a nest on 3d foam. More washi tape (am in love with it!)
One of the tags in the kit, machine stitched with a little pocket for a tag.

And all the pages in my album. Just need to put it together now!

I hope you had a good weekend, what did you get up to?

Anniversary Gift and Free Printable tickets for you

2011-08-25T18:21:00.012+02:00

It's friends of ours anniversary coming up on Saturday and I made some little tickets to go with a jar of goodies I put together for them.

So here is the card

Then I recovered two little matchbox's with paper. I used a alphabet for each of their First names.

Then printed out the tickets I designed and cut them up, tied a ribbon around them and put them into the box's.

Each box gets the same tickets. The idea is that, at any given time, one of them can "redeem" their tickets with each other, for whatever the tickets says on it.

Download the FREE printable by clicking opening the image below in a new window.

Also in the Jar are 9 Tags,
Felt brooch I made for her
and the matchbox's .
I then Decoupaged a jar lid,

Popped everything into the bottle,

put some ribbon around the jar, a paper doily and an organza flower I made.

Wrapped it up in brown paper and tied it up with ribbons and tags and now, it's ready!

Piles of softness....

2011-08-24T17:40:00.006+02:00

It's been a little while since I last wrote...

*This blog post is coming from the depths of my very messy and unruly craft room*

I have been busy making tulle and organza flowers.
I love making these.
They make me smile.
Even though I burn my fingers quite often.
Which is not that fun.

But once I started I found I couldn't stop...
Hours whizzed by {while the kids and hubby slept!}
Countless cups of coffee were consumed...
40 Flowers later...

Until I had exhausted my organza and tulle supply....

And myself!

and so some will grow up to become hair clips like this one I sported today...

Some will become brooches...

And others yet hair bands.

And so *SIGH* I will have to part with them, but not all of them...
Some will become all mine!

I have a month left before my first market where I will be selling.
The nerves are starting to set in...
But I am excited!
The stock pile is accumulating and soon I will show all the goodies I have been making for the market.

hope you are having a great week!

Etsy shop: NEW 8x8 scrapbooking kits

2011-08-19T15:46:00.005+02:00

I love putting together kits for people to use, to preserve their precious memories.

I am in love especially with a more vintage, romantic style for these kits I put together.
I am inspired by Paris, Spring, roses and love.

I have put together two unique scrap booking kits.
Paris in Spring
Consists of:
*10 papers 8x8" (20cmx20cm) printed on high quality card stock

* a pack of trim 1/2 yard each (approx 50cm)

*3 card and fabric sewn tags with lovely seam binding. The fabric on the tags I stamped with various Parisian stamps.

*6 little paper flowers with buttons sewn in the middle. (2 have butterflies I cut from a newspaper I got in Paris!)
* a packet of assorted buttons, a buckle and 2 half pearls.

*3 handmade flowers. 1 large one about 8cm -hand stamped fabric, white tulle and a lovely pearl button. 2 smaller fabric rose flowers with buttons sewn in the middle. You could use the big one as a brooch too, just add a safety pin to the felt at the back!

*2 pieces of A4 size netting in orange and pink

*3 dainty doilies
Everything is sealed and wrapped.
(Click on image for larger view)

Everything you get is not your run-of-the-mill commercial supplies, but a unique, vintage inspired set for your scrap booking projects or card making needs.
Purchase HERE

Kit 2
A Garden in Paris

20x20cm (8" x 8"). 9 papers in total.
Embellishments all handmade by me too and include:
* a pack of 4x trim 1 yard each (approx 100cm)
*3 card and fabric sewn tags with lovely seam binding. The fabric on the tags I stamped with various stamps.
*4 little paper flowers with buttons sewn in the middle.

* a packet of assorted buttons(10)
*4 handmade flowers. 1 large one about 8cm - fabric, orange tulle and a lovely pearl button. 3 smaller fabric yoyo flowers with buttons sewn in the middle. These can be made into a brooch too!

*2 doilies.

Purchase HERE

I have ONE special 10% discount voucher hidden somewhere in this post! You may use it only for purchase of one of these kits (or both of them and other goodies in my shop).Sorry only
one available!

Crochet hat or shower cap?

2011-08-17T10:14:00.000+02:00

Hello!
Hope you are doing well...here it is still cold but the days are slowly getting warmer...but I say
S.. L.. O.. W.. L ..Y...

I crocheted this little hat for my daughter. No pattern used, just started with a basic circle and then after a few rows, started with a htcr stitch and then onto dcr stitch.
And finished it off with a little ruffle edging. I kept calling her, much to her irritation, to try it on as I worked so I could get the fitting right.

I think it's cute, but kind of looks like a crocheted shower cap! Anyway she loves it!

Come on...tell me honestly hat or shower cap?

DIY T-Shirt Scarf {tutorial}

2011-08-16T09:06:00.003+02:00

hello!
Easy peasy little tutorial to get a funky fringe scarf from an old T-shirt.

Step one
Take an old T you don't wear anymore. I didn't wear this one anymore cos it had misshaped in the wash.
Step Two
Cut the shirt just below the arm holes.
For my one, it had a hole in the middle, so I had to cut about 5cm below the arm holes.
Step three
Along the bottom cut slits through both front and back pieces of fabric about 8-10cm, all the way across. Spacing as evenly as you can.
Step four:
Repeat step 3 on the other side.

Step five
Simply open it up and put the loop of fabric over your head and voila! You have a new fringe scarf that didn't cost a cent! {when I wore this, someone asked where I got my 'shirt' from, cos it was the same color as the shirt I was wearing, it looked like a cool fringe detail on the shirt!}

Rosette Shirt tutorial

2011-08-05T14:07:00.007+02:00

Hello!
It's Friday again!
The weeks fly by!

I thought I would share with you a little tutorial.

I love to alter bought shirts, give them the "Bonnie" touch. Make it feel my own.
It's nice to know nobody has the same shirt as you!

Here is what you need for this quick and easy tutorial:

a plain shirt in the color of your choice. (go for the really cheap ones, I picked this one up for R30 or $4.32)

scissors
needle and thread
sewing machine (not necessary, but ideal)
contrasting fabric
little bead pearls (not necessary but a nice touch).

1. The first thing you are going to do is cut strips of your fabric about 2"(5cm) wide and about 30cm in length (11.8"). Cut as many as you are making the rosettes.

2. next fold the fabric in half and then tie a small knot as close to the end as possible.

3. Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end. Sew through the knotted fabric part from the outside in and again from the inside out. You want to almost each time you do this, go in and out right next to the same hole, so that you are not seeing any thread each time.

Now you are going to start twisting the fabric and as you twist you are going to wrap it around the knotted part and sew a stitch to hold it in place. One twist, one stitch and keep going round and round in this manner.

You can see it starting to take shape.

Once it is finished, end off with a knot and cut the thread.
Now arrange all the rosettes on your shirt and see how you want it to look and simply sew on. I just sew in a circle or a square shape with the same color thread.
And here is the finished result!

And here is one I did in turquoise.

I like this one, remind me of sugar coated cookies!

And I finished this one in a trim made from the same fabric I used for the rosettes.

Well I hope you enjoyed that and have a fabulous weekend!

Mish mash pish posh

2011-08-02T11:48:00.008+02:00

{some roses from my garden)

I don't know why I wrote that heading, but it caught your attention hey? :)

Today is Tuesday, the 2nd August....where has the year gone? I can't believe that winter is almost over...September marks the beginning of Spring...

I've been in pain the last couple of days, a pinched nerve I think. I went for treatment today. So we will see how that works. It is a kind of pressure point technique (cannot remember the technical name now) but basically she presses you in various points of your body (normally the neck and spine) and it is supposed to "unblock" you. The results normally happen after the session. Some of it was painful, but otherwise not too bad.

So I thought I would share the "mish mash"of pish posh I have been up to lately...

First of all I found this gorgeous set at a antique shop. But me thinks it's not antique, it looked brand-spanking new if you ask me! It now sits proudly on my kitchen window sill.

next up a while ago I made some totally reversable bags for shopping. Cos I like to feel the "posh" part when I shop. It doesn't matter that in the bag is a mixture of cat food, washing powder, toilet paper....I like people to think just by looking at her bags "mmm, I wonder what she bought? a bottle of wine, home decor magazine and some tender steak cuts" (heee hee")

Just kidding!

Yesterday I embraced the last bit of winter we have left and made myself a mini-cowl. I totally love it! It is amazing how such a small piece of crocheted goodness can keep my neck so warm and cozy!

My mission is to aim bigger next winter and make a cuddly one like this:

{she does gorgeous ones here}

Then we had some very sad news about my daughter's teacher. She is resigning due to illness (cancer) and so I made this card for her on the weekend.

And now I have to go do dreaded grocery shopping, toodle-loo!!!

Roses and postcards

2011-07-29T14:05:00.009+02:00

Congrats! you found the code! {AUGUSTNEWSLETTER2011}

***********************************************************
It is so cold here I am battling to bend my fingers to type on the keyboard!!

The lovely weather we had is gone, and winter is back with a vengeance!

However, my children have gone to play at friends, so I have been able to get a bit of creating in today. *always puts a smile on my dial*

I am still creating like mad for the up coming market...

I made some postcards from some digital kits of mine...

*available here in Etsy*

Some new tags too.

Also little sets of tickets all designed and printed by me. (7 in a set)
set 1

They come in a little glassine bag like the one below.

set 2

set 3

Some little date stamps (designed by me) 6 in a set

HINT: There is a coupon code for 10% off anything in my Etsy store (excluding shipping) somewhere hidden in this post!!! If you can find it, you can use it! Only one available! so be quick!

wishing you a good weekend!!

Travel mini Album kit -NEW

2011-07-26T16:05:00.001+02:00

NEW!

Just been somewhere? Need to scrap your memories?
Or are you planning a trip in the near future?

This little mini journal is the perfect accompaniment to your trip. Take it along with you and write down your day's events and thoughts and feelings as you travel. It's small enough to slip into your bag!

When I go on vacation I always take with a travel journal. You capture the mood and feeling and memories of your holiday so much better, than waiting until you get home to document your trip!

This album is a ready-to-assemble yourself kit.
It comes complete with the following:

-2 pieces of covered chipboard measuring 10cm x 15.5cm (3.9" x 6.1")
-2 ring binders
-2 pieces of bright ribbon/lace
-2 small brown envelopes
-1 glassine envelope
-10 record cards (to use as the actual pages of your mini album)
-4 felt travel quote bubbles
-4 little travel phrases
-8 paper flowers with a stitched button
-5 metal travel words (brads)
-10 assorted buttons
-2 stitched felt embellishments
-4 airplane rounds
-4 round "remember this date" journal spots (Designed and printed by me)
-21 tickets designed and printed by me. (various travel words on them)

All neatly wrapped in a cellophane envelope and finished off with my shop topper.

All you need are your photos!

*see example of finished product and other close-up photos
*Only two unique kits like this!

$13.45 plus shipping
Get it here

Paris in Spring-NEW Digital Paper kit!!!

2011-07-22T11:39:00.002+02:00

It's been a busy few weeks, now that the kids have gone back to school, it hasn't ended.

I am furiously making and preparing for my up coming craft show end of September.
I have been re-decorating our guest room
And I had an urge to create a digital kit, something I haven't done in ages.
I also did my first 3 layouts for 2011 (digital that is!)

My new kit "Paris in Spring" is available for sale HERE.

Here are some layouts I have done with it.

And I did some more decoupage frames for my "gallery"

A walk in nature.

2011-07-18T16:37:00.005+02:00

Hello friends!
Well today the kids went back to school. Can't say I enjoyed getting up before the crack of dawn!
We enjoyed our small 3 week vacation and spent the last day of it on Friday walking around a pretty estate.
Here are some photos from it.

Funny, have been to this place often and never read this plaques, until today...
Quite interesting! In connection with the tree below.

My son took this one...

Been busy cleaning, making cushions and revamping some old curtains for our guest bedroom. Still lot's to do. Decided to go country-cottage- shabby-chic kind for a kind of feel in there, with lot's of floral, and pastel shades.

Anyway just a short post for today, got to go and bring the washing in now!

Snow adventure

2011-07-14T21:02:00.003+02:00

Thanks for all the nice comments on my vacation pics. Always good to hear from you!

On Saturday we took the opportunity to go up the mountain to see the snow. The trail is quite a hectic one only accessible by 4 x4 with low range. (which hubby has). We have only done this once before, two years ago when we took our kids to see the snow for the first time. Actually it was my hubby's first time in the snow too!

I was just as freaked out going up the mountain. I don't like heights! But the view from the top and the fun is totally worth it.
It took us just over to drive their from our campsite and another hour to get up the trail only to spend less than an hour at the top of the mountain! But it is still worth it. It was a lot colder this time so we didn't stay as long.

Armed ourselves...

And threw a few snowballs at each other...

And of course built snowmen
Unfortunately school holidays are finished. School starts again on Monday. Not looking forward to the early-rising when it's cold and dark still. It's so boring. I love having my kids at home, I love being able to sleep in, and I love knowing we don't "have to" be anywhere or rush off somewhere. It's been a busy holiday but a nice one. I am looking forward to some "me-time" though as I haven't been able to do much in the way of creating pretty much anything.

One thing I did finish is my son's blanket. I decided to just end it, after all, I wanted him to still get the blanket during his childhood!! It is a rather large lap blanket but the nice thing is that I think as he grows, each year, I will add a few more rounds to it. I kinda like that idea...

*will reveal soon*

The stripey blanket is STILL in progress...as I said, I haven't had any time to work on my projects. I was hoping to have it finished by now but I haven't been very good in sticking to one project. Since starting the stripey blanket I started a few other projects and finished a few but did not stick to just working on the blanket. Was hoping to have it done by this winter, but alas....it will only be ready I think for next winter. ..

Hope you're having a fab day!

Caravan weekend

2011-07-12T19:43:00.009+02:00

Hello friends
It's been a while since I posted I know.
I contemplated it often...but in somehow in between catching the only bit of warm rays, entertaining the kids, cleaning and packing to go away and then going away for 4 days...I just never got around to it!

So I am back!

I had a busy week last week with shopping, packing and cleaning and sorting out the caravan.
We left Thursday afternoon. We went away to a place only an hour and a bit away from us...but so different from where we live! Even the weather was vastly cooler with SNOW! (well only on the mountains!) A place called "Slanghoek" which is Afrikaans for "snake corner".

{yes I wondered about the name but didn't care too much to find out why it was called that!}
Here is our caravan with tent all set up.
Just about to make eggs and bacon for breakfast!
Below is the stream that runs through the campsite.
With a lovely swing bring over it! {there is our site right across from the bridge}

Each campsite has it's own "abultions" a little wendy house complete with shower, loo and basin. And hot water! Inside the little bathroom {the usual daddy-long-legs spiders in the corners but other than that, quite clean as far as campsite toilets go!}

On the outside a sink for washing dishes and hot water! {yay!}
Here I am on the bridge.On the resort they have a putt-putt course which is really cool as it starts at the bottom of the mountain and slowly winds it's way to the top where you are greeted by this amazing view that makes all the bad holes worth it!

And here is the view from the top!
In the distance by the trees is the campsite.

There are a lot more photos and more of SNOW. But I will show you some more tomorrow!
Thanks for popping by and I love to read your comments!

To Market, to market.....

2011-06-25T13:21:00.003+02:00

Hello fair maidens...
I just couldn't resist holding back this bit of exciting news that I have known for a while now, but up until yesterday was not 100% sure if we had the thumbs up....so time to share...

From September I am going to selling at a local goods market here in my town!!

*eek. squeal*

I am terribly excited and nervous and anxious. "what if nobody buys my stuff?" Is the biggest question going through my head right now...

A dear friend of mine is going to be my partner for the craft market and together we have called our little "enterprise" -The Rosey Nest.
I will be selling all my homemade goodies-journals, tags, gift packing set, aprons, embellishments etc etc and she makes gorgeous knitted hats with cute owl faces on them and lovely shopping bags and a host of other things.

This is where we are going to be selling: Hathersage Farm

YAY!!! So I have two months to get my stock up and it's going to be work, work, work!! (but my kind of work is also play,play, play!!! hee hee, I get the best of both worlds, cos I love it!)

Have a fantabulous weekend! What you up to?

Surfer's Corner

2011-06-22T14:54:00.010+02:00

It's been a busy week so far. The spiffying-up has continued, it seems, without letup.
When I embarked on this schmaintenance thing, I did not perceive that it would continue to haunt me, forcing me to re-examine every corner of my home with scrutinizing eyes...

*let this be a warning for all who "just want to spruce up a little something" in their home-once the bug bites, it digs its teeth in and refuses to let go!*

After much ado, and trying splashes of varying shades of teal on my wall and not quite deciding which I liked, or even if I did like it.

Just when I thought I would have to decide between "transcendant" or "rain forest", my mother-in-law came to the rescue *waving her magic paintbrush* , a paint so fabulous, so chic, so glamorous, so wild and free, I thought it too good to be true.

Meet "surfers Corner". A gorgeous paint color that is Environment friendly. (From Midas here in SA).
It has a zero-VOC (volatile organic compound). This I found interesting, *but if a bit of factual information on the environment and how paint affects it bores you, by all means skip this part!*
VOC reacts under the influence of sunlight and in the presence of nitrogen oxides to convert oxygen into ozone.
This paint uses Glycol-free colorants which helps to reduce the health hazards of paint and therefore is a "green" paint.

So there you have it~! Not only do I get a beautiful color paint, but I am helping the environment and my family's health by not using toxic paint. And let me tell you, it is wonderful to use-no fumes, no headaches! It covers amazingly and stretches far! I'm sold!

Moving on...
A few years ago while grazing chips and watching TV, our dining room light fixture came crashing to the floor, shattering into a million pieces and nearly caused me to go into cardiac arrest! Did I mention the "a few years ago" part? So finally...I got a new light fixture to match the oh-so-chic newly painted walls and skirtings and dado rails... It stood proudly on my dining room table while I oohed and aahed over it for two days (didn't have the right fitting to put it up!) and clicked away happily at the sunlight catching on the fake crystal pendants...

I got home today to find it hanging in all it's miniature splendor and grandeur (my sweet hubby had come home from work to hang it for me!)

ooohhh.....

aaa

Like I said...it's been a busy week so far...I also have been making some decoupaged frames and trying to achieve some type of picture "gallery" on a wall in my lounge. So far, so good but want to put up a lot more frames still.

A mix and match (or not matched!) kind of idea, with different frames and sizes. I wasn't planning on the whole "step" look that I accidentally achieved, but somewhere it is nice, although It won't stay like that when I add more frames.
Close up of the decoupaged frames.

These frames were really cheap, I got them on a sale for R9 each ($1.33 or 0.82£)
So if you can get frames really cheap, this is a great way to add some interest to plain frames. (and make them unique!)

And lastly, I managed to squeeze in some crochet and make a bunting with a pattern out of the June British Country Homes & Interiors

Hope you are having a good week so far. Drop in and tell me what you've been up to!

Ideas

2011-06-17T15:05:00.004+02:00

It seems the maintenace shmaintenance thing rubbed off in other areas too and I decided to my blog needed a bit of sprucing up, a face-lift. So I have a new blog header, a new footer (scroll all the way to the end of the blog!) Made these two myself *ahem*
The cute little blog buttons I got for free from shabbyblogs. *thank you kindly*

So my little blog is looking rather gleaming too...

I know I have some readers who are not South African and I wanted to share with you one of my favorite local South African magazines. It is called Ideas. I buy this magazine every month without fail and have been doing so for many years. It always has something of interest in it every month.

Crafts, hobbies, sewing, knitting, crochet, gardening, business and financial advice, recipes and lots more. What is great about this magazine is that it stays clear of your trashy run-of-the-mill magazines that think sex is the only thing that sells. It is a real magazine, grounded, fresh and solid.
I think you would enjoy it .

*by the way I do not get any type of payment for saying this nor am I in any way affiliated with Ideas mag, it's just my opinion! *

You can download a digital version for cheap here.
Payable by credit card from any country. There is also a sneak peek at the mag!

Have a good weekend!

Craft and coffee

2011-06-16T15:47:00.004+02:00

{Got this lovely idea from my friend Emma, a little fabric covered card-book with felt inside for storing your safety pins and sewing needles.}

It's been that kind of week...
At first Mr Sun was very becoming and graced our little corner of the world with his charm, warmth and comfort. He gladly shone for us, infusing into us some much needed Vitamin D and warming our ice-cold bones. But then after a few days, I think he got bored as we woke up yesterday morning to a sulky, sullen Mr Rain pounding on our windows and making great big sploshy noises.

This week I got stuck into some much needed home maintenance. The doors in the house where screaming for a face-lift, moaning that they hadn't had a botox injection for ages, years actually. Sadly, I had neglected their beauty routine.

So I spiffed them up with a new coat of white paint and thought "what the heck, since I am painting I might as well carry on" and painted all our dado rails and skirtings too.
Now they are all spiffy, white and gleaming with pride!

Of course you know how it is...once you start such things, other things get jealous and start to feel second best and you hear whispers like "HmfP! She did the doors, what about us walls?!"
And then you start to look around, through new eyes and see all kinds of things that need spiffy-upping and maintenance type things done to them....

So the walls are next...they need a new coat of paint too..

In the meantime between consuming large amounts of caffeince by way of coffee, I have been up to some crochet and making some Jar covers...*cos you know, they get cold too*.

The sweet little heart garland is from a friend of mine who came to visit today, bearing gifts...
Flowers, chocolate, crocheted goodness, jewelry...what more could a girl ask for?

Today I dabbled in my much neglected Photoshop and made a little blog header for anyone that wants it. You can right click on it and save to your PC. (it is much bigger than what it shows here!)

If you put it on your blog, please save my little blog button too and link back to my blog.
That's all I ask for. Thanks!
Have a spiffy kind of day!!

Re-draw of Blogaverssary prize no 1! {winner}

2011-06-10T13:09:00.003+02:00

Well the lady who actually won this prize:
Did not respond and I gave her until yesterday to respond.
So I did a redraw of the entrants and congrats to...

pamdux

I have sent you an email!!

Vintage inspired scrapbook kits

2011-06-09T10:46:00.007+02:00

It's been a cold, wet week so far, with nothing much to do but stay indoors.
Which leads to a busy bee creating all kinds of things.
Normally this entails a messy craft room, with things strewn about all over the place, resembling nothing short of a mini tornado having been in here.
Lot's of coffee, an over-active brain, cutting and sewing.

I am still waiting for the words "step away from the scissors"...

New stuff just uploaded into my Etsy shop.

My very own scrapbooking kits!
These are totally unique as almost everything in the kit is digitally designed by me using Photoshop and then printed out.

1) Bird set.
Available here

The Bird set contains:
9 papers which have printed onto high quality card and measure 20x20cm (8" x 8").
2 little cards,
4 journal cards,
5 tickets,
and 5 transparent cards
9 Birds are various vintage images printed onto card and hand cut.

2.) Rose set
available here

The rose set contains:
8 papers which have printed onto high quality card and measure 20x20cm (8" x 8").
7 labels,
4 journal cards,
7 tickets,
6 yoyo's and fabric flowers
4 little transparent cards

And some fun little sets, transparent envelope pockets.
With wording.
Some without wording.

And some with journal cards included.

Anyway I have a sick little girl at home too :( so it's back to playing Doctor!

Weekend activities.

2011-06-06T09:30:00.003+02:00

{the beautiful orchid my hubby bought me!}

You know the weekend has been good when you can check off "things-have-been-meaning to-do-but-haven't-gotten-around-to-doing" list.

So this is what I accomplished:

*glued in the mountain of recipes to my book that was threatening to take over the kitchen
*Glued in all the pictures I have cut out of magazines into my inspiration book
*started the "I've-been-meaning-to" book for my daughter. It's a book full of 'How-to ' things and advice that I will give to her one day when she leaves home. (oh gosh, that just formed a lump in my throat!)
*did some more crochet for the surprise I am making my son.

*sat in the first bit of sun I have seen all week, crocheting, drinking tea and watching my daughter play. (bliss) and the cat soaking up the sun.
*took off all the bedding to wash and hung up (only to have it all dripping wet from the rain today!)
*made us all pancakes and we played scrabble. (I won! hee hee)
*uploaded a new product to my Etsy store-embellished pink paper bags.

Limited time only: all packergy gift sets 15% off.
Use code: PACKERGY6 upon checkout!

Hope you had a good weekend!

Inspire me Monday- Blogs

2011-06-05T20:42:00.010+02:00

From time to time I stumble upon a real find in the blogging world.
A blog I want to spend all day viewing, reading and absorbing.
It might be for the brilliant way it's written, or for it's beautiful photographs, it might just be because I enjoy the content.

So let me share with you my recent finds....

Michelle Alynn Clement -
A fun blog about all craft things.

JmpGirl- Jamie {on Today}.
I love her ideas, she creates beautiful things and also like me, loves vintage things.

Trisha Brink
Love her soft, vintage photography

I still have some more Vintage postcards to share from my trip to Paris....here is another one for you! Enjoy!

PS I am aware that my label cloud has expanded to gigantic proportions! I am trying to fix it :)

Creative things

2011-06-03T09:30:00.003+02:00

Hey, Hey, It's Friday! *whew*.
So this is how I am dressed today...Sort of a mustard girl today, all knitted out and cozy.

I am off to see a good friend of mine, to drink coffee, catch up on things and admire her new stylish craft room. I go bearing gifts for her *cos that's how I roll*.

Some crochet bunting for her new studio aka craft room...

Three bunting pieces which is adding to some she and her mom have made....

I have to just mention that my dear sweet hubby came home with a gift I have been hinting at for ages!! He bought me a white Orchid!!! A real one!! I LOVE them....It has two beautiful blooms on and two more waiting to open! I was so happy! I will have to post a photo of it soon!

Have a GREAT weekend, whatever you do, do it with heart and soul and find time to do something creative, it's good for the soul!!!

Another Vintage image for you...(see previous posts for more).

{right click and save as, for personal use}

Etsy shop update: packery set for Friendship

2011-06-02T14:46:00.007+02:00

Last night I stayed up waaaaay longer than I should have, but I got so engrossed with a Gift I am busy with for a friend of mine, that I decided to make some goodies based on what I was doing for my Etsy shop.

It is a Friendship set. The idea is that you have all the packagery (that SHOULD be a word!) you would need to make a little gift for a friend. There is fabric, paper, vintage music paper(one of the best finds!) tags, brown paper bags, trim etc etc. You could make a card, another tag and some pretty fabric embellishments to give to her. Or you could just use all the supplies as the pretty packaging you wrap her gift in. Either way....

One of the already made ideas is a little brown paper bag with a paper doily and butterfly negative sewn onto it, with a ticket stamped with "to and From" slotted into the negative. The sides of the envelope then stitched by machine.
another already done thing are two sweet, tiny tags with butterflies stitched on.
And an already made friendship tag complete with stamped "Cherished Friend", fabric ribbon, and stringed button.

Another idea is simply to use it for card making or scrap booking. There really are a lot of possibilities.

Here I made a tag from the goodies in the set and pasted it onto a card.

The paper is made from the 6x6 paper included in the set, and ribbon trim. I used the fabric to made a little embellishment and paper flower with a button center.By the way did you see my new easy-to-locate pages at the top of my blog? This is to make things a bit easier when searching for my digital kits, craft and tutorials which I will be continuously adding to. Is there a particular stand-alone page you would like to see listed at the top?

Anyhooo....here are two more vintage postcards from you.
You can see more of them here and here.
Isn't this baby so sweet??

Please check back tomorrow and next week, I still have about 9 postcards.

It's Here!!! Winners of Giveaways announced!!

2011-06-01T08:57:00.009+02:00

It's the big Ta-Da moment!

The announcement of the giveaways!
This was no easy task people!! I had to get the names of my 94 Followers, plus the 155 subscribers to my newsletter plus all the enterants on the blog. Then it was duplicating the followers and subscribers for each giveaway (cos they each got one free givaway entry without having to do anything!) And then it was putting them into two groups. One group for giveaway 1 and one group for giveaway 2. And then duplicating the blog enteries accordingly, and sorting out of those that only wanted to enter EITHER giveaway one or two....

So plus/minus 270 entrants for EACH giveaway...and lots of cutting later....we have our winners!!

Giveaway One-the hamper pack of luscious embellies (hee hee) goes to.....

sticking all the itty-bitty printed out names in a tin. (blurred it a bit cos there are some email addy's on them and don't want to publicize them!)

The hand goes in...
The hand picks one...

*drum roll*

Congrats to you, if your email address starts with "ttimes33" !!!! (sorry don't know your name!) I will email you to get your postal address!
This person is a newsletter subscriber!
(PS For any reason, should the chosen winner not want the prize, I have chosen a back up for each giveaway!)

Giveaway 2....

Again...cutting out the printed entrants...

mixing it up...
And the winner of Giveaway two goes to.....

*Big drum roll*

*wait for it*.....

Congrats to Terry!! Terry entered on the blog. I will email you Terry!!

Thanks again to everyone that entered!! It was fun!

Before I go, I wanted to show you these lovely vintage finds I found...
A beautiful little side plate...It was a bit worn and faded but I just LOVED the color (matches my kitchen!) and the pretty little edging detail. And some crocheted dollies!! (****squeal!!!!****)
Sigh...so pretty...the rose pattern in the center must of been beautiful "back in its day" when it shone in all its glory!

And of course....now I MUST go and eat a muffin as all that cutting and then trying to take photographs with one hand while mixing papers and trying to focus on such a tiny piece of paper, has made me hungry...

I will leave you with some more of the lovely Vintage postcards I picked up at a flea market in Paris...right click and save as to use in your personal art projects. The first installment in this set is in this post!

Now Excuse me while I go and eat my blueberry muffin!

Vintage Postcards from Paris

2011-05-31T11:00:00.000+02:00

When I went to Paris in March I went to the flea market and picked up some lovely vintage postcards. What a find!

I am sharing them with you here. Unfortunately my scanner is broken, so I had to photograph them as straight as I could, but I hope you will be able to use them in your personal projects.
Right click and save as to your PC.

Enjoy!Will be back with more throughout the week.

*Today is the LAST day to enter my giveaway! Winner announced on the 1st June!*

Birds on my wall

2011-05-30T11:00:00.005+02:00

{congrats! you found the code: welldone45}

When a creative idea hits you, just go with it. Don't stop to think about it, don't wonder if you can do it, don't think "what if it looks terrible", Just do it.
This is how I am when I create. I can be inspired by a word, a photo, a phrase, a quote, a sound...and an idea will wash over me and in that moment I can already see the final result before it's even created.
And it's these moments that normally bring me the best results.

So when I had an idea this weekend for my blocks...I just went with it. Inspired by birds as always*I love birds* and remembering beautiful spring days that hubby and I shared in March while in Paris...I created these 6 watercolors to go onto the blocks that are on my wall.

(the photos were taken a bit skew, but on the wall they are straight!)

*I had forgotten to mention when I asked for suggestions that the blocks are not removable*

So I cut out 6 of my favorite birds from vintage images supplied by Karen of the Graphics Fairy.
Firstly, I prepared my card, by painting each in a background watercolor and setting them aside to dry. Then pasted on my cut out birds and did the watercolors around them. I wanted something fresh, inspired of nature and spring. I did some stamping too.

I finished them all and hung them up over the blocks and left a slight "border" of the block on each one to make it look like they are framed.

I think me likes...
What thinks you?

*Oh yes, don't forget my little giveaway ends 31st March!!Enter HERE*

The last of the cushions

2011-05-27T11:00:00.000+02:00

So I finished up the last of the cushions for my lounge...

And that completes my sewing for the lounge for now!

Next project: Dining Room wall
I have 6 of 25x25cm wooden blocks screaming at me to "embellish" them somehow.

A friend of mine made them for me and I don't want to take them down, I like the idea but after close to 5 years now, I need a change...
The following ideas have popped into my head...

-a scrap page on each
-a photo on each
-cover with pretty contrast fabrics.

Then I go blank...

Can you offer any suggestions?

Scrapbook page:mini crochet bunting

2011-05-26T11:00:00.000+02:00

I had this urgent desire to make some crochet mini bunting for a scrap page. So here is the result.
I must admit, I LOVE this...I can see future scrap pages having mini crochet bunting on!! It's so quick and easy to and a lovely homemade embellishment to a page!

I simply sewed on the bunting with my machine (you could do it by hand too) and did a bit of layering under the photo(all sewed by machine first), left the loose ends cos I like it like that!

And then I added some tags into the "pockets" made from the bunting where I didn't sew it down.*Enter my GIVEAWAY here ends 31 May 2011*