Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop

Hi ladies. Welcome to Scrapbook Challenges Blog Hop. We are so happy that you have decided to join us and take part in this fun event!! If you have just stopped by here, the hop starts with Pamela. She is the founder of Scrapbook Challenges, and is a talented and hugely inspirational lady! Her blog is: Pamela's World of Scrap. Head off there, and then follow the links until you land back here!!

For those that are visiting for the first time, my name is Rene’ and I am one of the new DT members at Scrapbook Challenges. I am overjoyed to be a part of this awesome team. I only joined this group fairly recently, but have been truly inspired since joining, and have been scrapping like a crazy woman since!! I have been scrapping since 2005, and am constantly inspired by this amazing hobby. I have recently purchased a new camera and am so enjoying improving my photography skills. I am the mother of 3 gorgeous and active boys. They keep me busy and on my toes, and are of course the main reason I scrap. I have been married to my very supportive and loving husband Ray for 12 years now.

So let’s get this show on the road! There are some awesome prizes up for grabs. I wish I could be in the running for some of these goodies!!!! So let me explain the various ways you can take part:

There are 4 different RAKS involved in this blog hop:

· Everyone who leaves a comment on ALL blogs, gets entered into a drawing for the April Scarlet Lime kit.
· Everyone who does a layout based on the sketch this weekend and posts it in the Hop On section will get entered into a drawing for the "My Family" line from Fancy Pants Designs.
· There will be a Prima RAK up for joining Scrapbook Challenges.
· Another Prima RAK for inviting someone to Scrapbook Challenges.

Do want to have a look at these awesome giveaways?? O.K… feast your eyes!!!!





So here is the sketch that you will need to base your layout on. It’s a fun sketch to work with!!



Here is my layout, and a few close-up photos of the detail on the page.




Please stop by Scrapbook Challenges. If you are not already a member we would love for you to become one. It is a wonderful community of creative ladies.

*****Next stop on our Blog Hop is the talented and sweet Sarah. Go and see what she has been up too!!*****

Thanks for spending some time at my Blog. While you are here I would love for you to become a Follower, and don’t forget, in order to stand a chance to win the Scarlet Lime kit, you need to leave me a comment. Have fun and good luck!!

Say it with....Pearls

Morning all. Another bright and early post for me. 5am South African time. It's Friday, so that means it's time for a new challenge over at Annabelle Stamps. The theme for the week is "Say it with...Pearls", and I must confess I LOVE pearls. I use them on my cards and scrapbook pages!!

I also set myself a bit of a personal challenge with this card, to try and use some of the flower stamps, it seems I use the more cutesy images more often than not!! And I must say I was super happy with the way my card turned out! Here it is:




I don't often use yellow, I think I may use it more now in the future!! The pattern paper I used is from Basic Grey and is from a 6 x 6 pad - Offbeat. I love these Basic Grey pads and have ordered another 2 with co-ordinating chipboard sticker packs for Mother's Day!! I used my EK Success border punch (I LOVE this punch and use it all the time!!)The flower stamps are from the "Floral Stems" set and the sentiment is from the "Flowers wit Love" set, both by Annabelle Stamps. The pearls are also from Annabelle, and I coloured the flowers in with my Copics.

So....we would love for you to take part in this challenge. I don't know a cardmaker who doesn't have some pearls in their stash!! Would really love for some RSA girls to take part!! ALSO, remeber you have until the evening of the 6th of May to take part in our Sketch Challenge. There is a lovely prize up for grabs!! Check it out in my side-bar.

Remember to come back later today!!! More things happening this afternoon at about 3pm South African time(9:00am MST). See you then.

More exciting news on it's way!!

Hi all.

Just thought I would give you a head's up. Friday is going to be a big day here on my blog!! In the early morning (S.A time) I will be showing you my latest Annabelle card. It's Friday so there will be a new challenge posted. I am super happy with the way my card turned out. Love it when that happens!!

In the afternoon at about 3pm (9am US time), there is going to be an exciting announcement here. Lots of fun events and prizes are going to be up for grabs too!! So.....I would really love for you to come and visit again tomorrow.

Just to stop this post from being a bit visually boring I am going to post a layout I did for Sketch 196 over at Scrapbook Challenges. This is a fab sketch and I can see myself using it again in the future.

Here is the sketch:


And here is my layout and 2 close-up photos.




I used my Slice and Spring Design card to cut out all the cute little Easter elements! The little Easter scene in the right hand corner was inspired by a layout by one of my scrap booking hero's Suzy!

REMEMBER!!!! Come back tomorrow! x

Some Exciting News!

Hi all. Just wanted to share some exciting news.

I have been asked to join the Teddy Stampers Design Team. So excited!! I mean who doesn't like Teddy Bears, so making cards with these little guys is going to be a pleasure!!

I have added a link to the Teddy Stampers site in my side-bar. Go and check it out, we would love for you to take part. There are only 2 challenges per month, so you have 13 days to make your card. Plenty of time!!

Anyway, just wanted to share!!

Project Life ~ 19 April - 25 April

Wow, once again can't believe how quickly Tuesday comes around every week!! Wish things would slow down a bit!!

So again, I would like to say thanks to everyone who checks out my Project Life photos. I LOVE reading all the comments I get, and it is awesome the "friendships" I have created with ladies from all over the world!! So...here are my latest photos, it was quite a full week!

Monday:
19 April:
We had a huge storm today, it hit while I was out, so I tried to get home quite rapidly. I love storms and rain, when it gets all dark and gloomy. Luckily here we don't get hurricanes or tornadoes, so a good storm is just wonderful. And just look at the wonderful sight that greeted us after the storm. A double rainbow!! It was stunning, unfortunately my camera didn't capture it quite as well as I would have liked!


Tuesday:
20 April:
The boys were due to have quite a full day today, school and then Bryce was going to have hockey and bulletjies rugby, so I made sure they had lots of food in their lunch-boxes to keep them going throughout the day!


Wednesday:
21 April:
I LOVE this photo of my gorgeous boys in the bath. My heart just wants to burst with the love I have for you!! What's extra cute about this photo is the way Jamie is trying to hide his privates!!


Thursday:
22 April:
I did my good deed for the day this morning when I rescued this shrew from our swimming pool. It was just too cute. The boys were fascinated!! Bryce was brave enough to touch it, but they all got a huge fright when it squeaked it's disapproval at being touched!!


Friday:
23 April:
Today Ray had to go into our local Provincial hospital to have some repairs done to his vasectomy which he had done nearly 2 years ago. It really was a doozy of a day, and I was exhausted by the end of it. I nearly got a fine for not stopping completely at the stop sign and not wearing my seat belt, thankfully the kind traffic cop let me off with a warning. I was SO relieved!! I developed an awful tummy bug, and had to rush home from the hospital to go to the loo, later on in the day I found out Caide and Bryce had had it at school too. And then there was of course poor Ray. Turned out there was a LOT of scar tissue the doctors had to work through so the procedure took a bit longer than they anticipated! He seemed to come out of the anesthetic o.k though (so grateful for this, I was a bit worried about this aspect!). The doctors and nurses were all great, but the actual conditions in the hospital were not, (as you can see from the photo!), so we got out of there as soon as possible. When at home I was able to get Ray comfortable in his own bed. What a day!!!


Saturday:
24 April:
Today we went out to Debbie's farm for a family gathering. It was a freezing cold day so we all had to wrap up nice and warmly. It is a wonderful farm, very picturesque, so I was in my element taking photos of the boys. They had a blast on the old go-cart, Jamie loved being pushed around!! I can't wait to print out the photos and do some nice scrapbook pages!


Sunday:
25 April:
I LOVE this photo of Caide and his huge Lego house. He tipped out the whole box of Lego on his bed and played for ages. I am so happy about the fact that he is not too big or cool to play constructively like this. So happy to capture his pride in his creation in this photo!


Thanks for visiting me again. Hope you have a great week ahead.
p.s. If you want to see a bigger version of the photo just click on it! (that's for you Mom x)

A very special layout

Hi everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. We are having a rather chilly one in Dundee. It would appear Winter is upon us! I just wanted to remind you about all the wonderful activities that are taking place over at Scrapbook Challenges this coming weekend. It is all timed to be over the period of NATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY! There is going to be a blog hop (with loads of awesome prizes!!), as well as a Crop taking place at Scrapbook Challenges. It is going to be a blast, would love it if there were lots of South African ladies taking part!!

Moving on. Just wanted to share a layout that I did for another sketch challenge at Scrapbook Challenges. It was based on this sketch: Sketch 195. New sketches are posted every Monday!


Here is my layout from a few different angles.





The photo I used on this page is a VERY special one to me. It was the nicest shot we got of my Poppy and my oldest son together. We discovered Poppy had cancer when I was pregnant with Caide, and I can't believe how well he still looked here. Caide was his first great-grandson, and was the the apple of his eye. We miss you every day my Pops. xx

Make a date to remember to come and take part in the fun at Scrapbook Challenges next weekend!!

Sketch ABSC020 at Annabelle Bling Challenge

Hi All. It's Friday already, so this means it's time for another Bling Challenge over at Annabelle Stamps!! Yahoo, I love Fridays, for many reasons of course, this being a big part of my Friday. Today's sketch is by fellow design team member Jerusha, and I had so much fun working with it!!


And here is my card with some detailed shots:




I used the "I can fly" set for the image and sentiment. As I am sure you can tell this is my favourite set!! I added some yummy pink Sprinkles and Pearls, as well as a pink petal which I cut in half. All of these elements are available at Annabelle Stamps!! We have a wonderful prize on offer again for this challenge. It is a White Petals Kit. You can see an image of what is included in this kit in my sidebar!! As I mentioned in a previous post, those white petals are just stunning because it is so easy to alter their color with your Copics.

So now all you need to do is to hit your desks and create a card to play along. You have until the 6th of May to enter. Click on the Annabelle Bling Challenge blinkie in my sidebar to link your card. Remember, your card MUST include some bling!

Hope you can play along, and that you have a wonderful weekend. We are having a nice long weekend here in SA, so I am looking forward to getting a lot of crafting time in!!

Easter layout

Hi All. I just posted this layout over at Scrapbook Challenges. This is a layout of our boys enjoying Easter 2010. It is for our family album. I still have to do a layout for each of the 3 boys individual albums. By the way, as you can see from the picture in my side-bar, Scrapbook Challenges are having a huge blog hop starting on the 30th of April. It is going to be a blast, there will be lots of prizes up for grabs. Hope that some of you will join us!!

So here is my page:





Thanks for stopping by!!

Project Life ~ 12 April - 18 April

Welcome back to my blog today. It's Tuesday which means it's time to post my past weeks Project Life photos. Still not missed a day!!

Monday:
12 April:
My 2 bigger boys had a ball pushing Jamie around in the little wheel barrow. Jamie of course thought it was the best thing since sliced bread!! I love how they play with him even though they are so much older than him. I am very grateful for that.


Tuesday:
13 April:
On any given evening this is what you can find on my bedside table. I love to have some quiet time sitting on my bed, knitting and watching some t.v. Of course I have to have a cup of tea! I put hand cream on just before I go to sleep, and I must have my magazines there too. 25 Beautiful Homes and Country Homes and Interiors are 2 of my favourites.


Wednesday:
14 April:
The garden looked gorgeous this morning. It was all hazy and misty, and looked just like a picture from a book. We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful house, and to have such a big garden for the kids to play in.


Thursday:
15 April:
I have a confession to make. I have a thing for baby shoes!! They are just too cute for words. I have to force myself from the kiddies shoe section in Woolworths, because I could quite happily buy pair after pair. I couldn't resist buying Jamie a new pair of Crocs though. His last pair he wore until they nearly fell apart. When I bought these home he was so excited. So cute on his little feet don't you think?!?


Friday:
16 April:
This afternoon Ray set off to Mighty Men, a conference held for Christian men. They were expecting 400,000 men to descend on Greytown to attend this life changing event. This is the third time Ray is attending. When he attended his first Mighty Men it changed his life in such a positive way, and I am so grateful for that!


Saturday:
17 April:
Today Nadia came and spent the day with us. She is such a delightful little girl, and reminds me a lot of myself as a little girl. Competitive, sporty and a bit of a tomboy. She is brimming over with confidence. I helped her to put a scrapbook page together with this photo, and according to her Mom she had a wonderful day, and couldn't stop talking about her time with us!


Sunday:
18 April:
This morning before Ray came home the 4 of us played "hide and seek". It was so much fun. I especially like looking for Jamie when he hides away. He just doesn't know how to be quiet, and of course the cutest thing is... he thinks if he covers his eyes I won't be able to see him!!


Thanks for visiting me again. Hope you are still enjoying taking your Project Life photos, I know I am!!

A new layout - Sketch 193 at Scrapbook Challenges

Hi all. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My hubby was away at Mighty Men this weekend, a conference for Christian men, so it was a bit of a different weekend for me. He doesn't go away very often!! It turned out to be a really nice relaxing and quiet weekend, the boys were on their best behaviour, and I got in lots of scrapping time!! Today I thought I would post a layout I did last week based on Sketch 193 over at Scrapbook Challenges. This is the most awesome site for scrapbookers, go on over and have a look. It has the most fantastic sketches which are posted every Monday, and it certainly has sparked my scrapping creativity back into action!!

Here is my layout:





Thanks for dropping by today!! I will be back tomorrow with my Project Life photos. Have a greet week!~

Say it in .... pink & brown

Morning all. Very bright and early here in South African this morning. 4:30am to be precise!! Unfortunately if I wake fairly close to the time I am due to wake up my mind gets active and then I can't go back to sleep. I really need to work on this issue. LOL!!

So today we at Annabelle Stamps are creating cards with a pink & brown colour scheme. This is such a pretty combination!! My card is slightly different to others I have made in the past, but I am fairly happy with it. I based it on this week's sketch over at Mojo Monday.

Here it is from a few different views:




I used the "Flowers with Love" set to stamp the flowers and sentiment on my card. The ribbon, flowers and bling are all available at Annabelle Stamps. Please stop by the other DT girls blogs (their links are in my sidebar) to have a look at their fabulous pink & brown creations.
Hope you are all crafting like mad! I have been!!