Simon Says & Quixotic Challenges

Hi everyone. Hope your weekend has been good so far. Mine has been lovely and quiet!! So I got up early this morning and put together a card that qualifies for the weekly challenge over at Simon Says. The theme for the week is a Mother's Day or Girly card. I made this card to send to my 2 nieces, Kayla and Amy. I haven't seen them for ages and miss them so much. Jamie talks about them all the time! As it so happens my card also qualifies for the challenge over at Quixotic Challenges. The challenge was to use leaves on your card. I cut out a leaf using one of my Cuttlebug Leaf Dies, and cut it in half and stuck it under my flower.

I used a Magnolia image and so enjoyed coloring in this gorgeous little girl, I haven't done much coloring lately, and have been bitten by the Copics bug again! I have placed an order with Paola for some new colors which I hope to receive next week. The sentiment I used is from a set called "I can fly" by Annabelle Stamps. This same set is up for grabs in the Annabelle Stamps fortnightly challenge. Check out the link in my sidebar. The lovely bling I used are pink Sprinkles, also available from Annabelle Stamps. I added some glitter to her little fairy wings.



Thanks for dropping by my blog, would love to know what you think of my card!

Say it with ... CAKE

We have decided to mix it up a little over at Annabelle Stamps. We are doing our Sketch challenge every 2 weeks, and in between we will be doing a theme card. Remember you have one week left to take part in our sketch challenge, cause you really want to win the adorable stamp set "I can fly". Click on the link in my sidebar!!

So as my title would indicate, our theme for the week is CAKE, and all of the DT girls have created a card using an Annabelle cake stamp. The stamp I used if from the "Helen's Party" set, and the sentiment is also from the same set. The dotted swirl I stamped on either side of the cake image is a stamp from the "Build-a-bling" set, and of course I used lots of yummy Sprinkles on my card. All these items are available from the Annabelle Stamps shop, there is a link in my side-bar.

So here is my card:


Please stop by the other DT girl's blogs to see the lovely CAKE cards they have created. Have an awesome weekend!

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 58

I have had the urge to make some cards recently, which is great. I seem to go in stages with all my different hobbies. I came across Karen Giron's blog, and liked the sketch for the week so decided to take part in her challenge.

So here is the sketch we had to follow:


And here is my card from a couple of angles. I am really disappointed with the way the photos came out, believe me, the card actually looks a lot better in real life! The stamps I used on this card are by Hero Arts, and the sentiment is from a set called "Jasmine's Cupcake" by Annabelle Stamps. I coloured the images in with my Copics and used the following colours: E31, E33, B60, B63, RV10, R20.




Thanks for dropping by my blog. Wednesday already, half way through the work week!!

Project Life ~ 22 February - 28 February

Thanks for joining me again this week. I really appreciate every comment that is left for me, and enjoying reading each one. So how has your past week been??

Here are my photos to show you what we got up to last week.

Monday:
22 February:I thought I would take a photo of our supper as our P.O.T.D. Spaghetti bolognaise is something I often cook on a Monday night because it's quick and easy. We all really enjoy it, though Ray is not a huge fan! It's especially nice with some freshly grated cheese on top!


Tuesday:
23 February:Today was a huge day for us!! After months of soul searching we decided to move the boys back to Uelzen. The academic pressure that was placed on the kids at Ichthus was ridiculous, and the boys (especially Caide!) were just not able to maintain a balance between academics, sport & play. I am 200% sure we have made the correct decision, it just feels right!


Wednesday:
24 February:It feels wonderful that the boys are able to play again in the afternoons. Since the boys went back to Uelzen yesterday the atmosphere in our home has changed. The pressure is off and it feels wonderful! My kids can be kids again, the way it should be. I am happy!!


Thursday:
25 February:My boys are still playing! Caide pulled out his Carrera car track (which they haven't played with ages!!) and have played with it solidly for the last 2 days. Constructive play, I love it!


Friday:
26 February:I got to wear my Xmas shoes & knitted socks to work today, so nice that the weather was cooler. It was hot in the office though! It was a hectic, stressful & busy morning. It was month end and financial year end so I had loads to do!! Yay, yay it's Friday!


Saturday:
27 February:Occasionally on the weekends we get the boys to help with the dishes. I think it's important for them to help around the house sometimes. Some days they help with a good grace, and on others, not so much. Can you guess how the mood was today??


Sunday:
28 February:
This morning was quite an emotional one for me. We had to say good-bye to friends of ours that are leaving for Canada. Dane & Debra have been our friends for the last 9 years, and Debra has been one of my closest and most true friends. We have been through a lot, and I am going to miss her terribly!! When we got home I decided to try a smoked chicken salad for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to have lunch outside under the lapa.


Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you have a good week ahead of you!! I would really like for you fellow Project Lifers to become a Follower of my blog, it would mean a lot to me, it will only take a minute. Thanks!!

Annabelle Bling Challenge time again.

Morning everyone! Wow, it's been another hectic, stressful & emotional week. I am really pleased it's Friday!! What has your week been like?

I somehow managed to get my mojo back to make my card for this week, and I really enjoyed the process, even when I was doing it at like 4:30am!!

This week is prize week and up for grabs is the stamp set 'I Can Fly'. We are making a few changes :) and the first and most important is that our sketch challenges will be going to fortnightly, which means you will have a bit more time to join in the fun! Secondly is that each fortnightly challenge will have a prize! So all the more reason to start joining in! More news soon!

So here is the sketch we got to work with this week. It's a good one!


I decided to mix it up a bit and make a long card instead, I haven't made one this size for ages. The image I used is one from the "Helen's Party" set, and the sentiment is from the "Flowers with Love" set. I also added some lovely Olive Sprinkles to my card for some bling. Both of these sets and the Sprinkles are available from the Annabelle Shop, there is a link to the shop in my sidebar. So here is my card from a few different angles.




We would really love for you to take part in our challenge. Remember you have 2 weeks to create your card, and there is a stamp set up for offer. So click on the Annabelle Bling Challenge blinkie in my sidebar to take part. Come on South African girls, lets show them what we can do!!

Project Life ~ 15 Feb - 21 Feb

Hello everyone. Thanks for stopping by to look at my photos again this week!



Monday 15-2 :- Today I wanted to take a photo of the lovely goodies I received from Cariena. As you can see it’s lots of lovely things. The border strips and flower patch glitter stickers by Making Memories are going to be used to maker lovely Easter lo’s this year!


Tuesday 16-2 :- Jamie and I were playing in the lounge today with one of his fav toys, his camera! First he would take a photo of me, and then me of him. Then he was only too happy for me to take a photo of him with my “real” camera. I hope he develops his Mom’s love of photography.


Wednesday 17-2:- This morning I had to take a photo of the beautiful day lilies in our garden. It had rained the night before, and there were rain drops settled on the lovely rich red petals. They certainly add gorgeous colour to the garden.


Thursday 18-2:- Wow, today was a full day!! It was Ray’s birthday, as well as the boys gala. We had work and swimming lessons in the morning, and then the gala in the afternoon. The gala was fun and also very intense. Both boys did really well. Caide was lucky enough (after some very stiff competition) to win the Junior Victor Ludorum again this year. It was rather a roller-coaster day, and unfortunately Ray’s birthday fell by the wayside somewhat. Sorry babe!


Friday 19-2:- Because Thursday was such a hectic day we didn’t get a chance to have cake and to sing “Happy Birthday” to Ray. So… we did it today instead. Hope the year ahead is a good one for you Babe. You deserve all the good things that life has to offer. We love you!


Saturday 20-2:- I love this photo of all the boys! They had been riding their bikes at the newly constructed “track”, and when they got back were all hot and sweaty. A dip in the pool did the trick to cool them all down!


Sunday 21-2:- I love our Sunday night tradition of watching American Idols. We don’t usually get to watch the American version so this is real treat for us. We buy a box of “fancy” cereal and have cereal for supper. We are a funny bunch I know! There are a lot of very talented people who have gotten through to the Top 24!


Hope the week ahead is a good one for you all!

ABSC015 - Bling Sketch Challenge Time!!

Wow, last week was SSOOOOO busy and full!! Pretty glad it's over. Yesterday was hubby's birthday, as well as the boys school swimming gala. Caide did so well, and under very intense pressure was able to scoop the Junior Victor Ludorum trophy. I was so proud I felt like my chest was going to burst. I will have a photo to show next week.

So down to business. I missed the Annabelle Bling Challenge last week, but I am back this week. It was rather a challenging sketch for me to work with this week, and add that to a bit of missing mojo, this certainly wasn't the easiest card I have ever put together! Anyway... here is the sketch:



Here is my card. I was hoping to try and create a bit of an Easter feel to this card. I used the lovely flowers from the "Floral Stems" stamp set. It is available here.


We would really love for you to take part in our Bling Sketch Challenge. All you need to do is follow the sketch and add some bling to your card. Click on the Bling Sketch Blinkie in my sidebar to find the place to link your card.

Hope you all have a fab weekend, we are going to get some serious R & R in!

Project Life - Week 6

Thanks for stopping by again this week. It's been a rather bumpy one for me and hubby, but I guess you have those! Here are my photos for the week!

While I was outside early this morning I noticed the sun peeping through the trees. What a gorgeous start to the day! Of course my sidekick had to be in the photo!


I got some good news this morning! I have won a prize for a scrapbook page that I entered into a competition over the weekend. I am so chuffed! Apparently the prize is worth about R450.00 so I can’t wait to receive it!


I wanted to take a photo of the new sun hats that the school provided for the kids. The boys look so cute wearing them! I took 4 photos and Bryce blinked in every one! This is the best of the bunch. My funny boys!


Today is a very happy day for me, my Project Life kit arrived safe & sound! I had been extremely worried about it, because I had bought it from New Zealand, and the postage cost as much as the kit, and it didn’t even have a tracking number! The product is awesome and I am so glad I bought it!


I’m back! Back at work that is!! It really has been a stressful week. At the beginning of the week we discovered the lady in the office had been “borrowing” money, which she was failing to pay back!


This morning I got up at the ridiculous time of 3:55am to cast on for the Ravelympics! It was loads of fun. I found a live audio broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and chatted online with a whole bunch of ladies from all over the world. Very cool!


We had a lovely quiet Valentines Day. Ray went to so much effort using the self-timer to take a photo of him and the boys. He didn’t even know how to use my camera, how to download the photos or use my printer programme! We also went out to lunch at the Golf Club, just the 2 of us, which was such a treat!


I received so many lovely comments last week, and I appreciate every single one of them!!! It is so awesome to be able to connect with women from all over the world!

Project Life - Week 5

Hi all. I am here with my Week 5 photos, and this time I have a bit of journaling to go with them. I made a bit of a mistake last week, and loaded 8 photos instead of 7, so this week you will have a couple of repeats, sorry about that!!

Mon 1-2: I love to pick hydrangeas from the garden. They look so pretty when I put them in a vase in the lounge. Unfortunately this is the last bunch of the season.


Tues 2-2: The love the photo for today! Jamie found this dandelion in our bathroom and was so fascinated by it. Every time he tried to catch it, it floated away!


Wed 3-2: While I was making sandwiches this morning I was pondering was my POTD was going to be, and then I thought, why not take a photo of me making sandwiches!! For some reason this is one of my least favourite chores!!



Thurs 4-2: We woke up to a snail crawling up my knitting room door. Of course I had to get it down for Jamie. He was intrigued by it, and played with it for an age. Luckily he didn’t destroy it!


Frid 5-2: On a Friday the boys like to ride their bikes to school. We are blessed to have their school just down the road, and that our neighbourhood is safe enough for them to do so.


Sat 6-2: Today I was down and out with a tummy bug. I don’t ever remember spending the whole day sleeping! I felt awful all day. Luckily Ray was home to look after me!


Sun 7-2: The boys trying to cool down in the pool. It has been a scorching week, and today is no exception – 34 ºC! Summer certainly is in full swing!


In other news I heard this morning that I have won a prize with the scrapbook layout from my previous post. What a wonderful way to start my day!! I want to thank Cariena, the wonderful lady who was sponsoring the prize, and urge you to pop on over to her blog my life in stamps..., she does awesome work.

Thanks for popping by my blog!

Blog Hop at Scrap & Stamp

Two posts in one weekend, wow!! I was down and out with a tummy bug yesterday, it was awful, I slept nearly the whole day. And anyone who knows me, will know that I don't lie in bed during the day!! Anyway, so when I woke up this morning I felt much better, and I did my usual, a bit of blog surfing. I checked out Scrap & Stamp, and participated in their blog hop (what fun!). I thought I had to make a layout so that I could stand a chance to win some of the wonderful prizes on offer.

Here is the sketch that I based my layout on:


And here is my layout from various angles. I used Versamark and some lovely flower stamps from my Annabelle Stamps collection. I used the "Floral Stems" set, and some lovely Olive Green Sprinkles as the centres of the purple flowers.





Thanks for looking. Would love to know what you think...

It's Friday & that means Annabelle Sketch Time!!

Hi all, Friday already!! Each week seems to pass a little quicker than the one before!! Hope you have had a good one, it's been scorching hot all week here in South Africa.

I must confess, the sketch that Andrea gave us to work with this week was quite a challenge for me. It certainly forced me to think outside my box! Here it is:


Being so close to Valentines Day, it was nice to create a more romantic type card. I have already decided this is going to be sent to my Gran. My Poppy passed away in 2002, so I think it's been awhile since she received a Valentine's card. I think she will love this! Here is my card:




I had to take some side-on shots to show off the lovely Sprinkles. Are they not too stunning!! I used the "Elephant Valentine" set for my sentiment, and the "Build-a-bling" set for stamping the swirls where I placed my Sprinkles. These lovely sets are availabele from the Annabelle Stamps shop. The blinkie is in my sidebar.

We would love for you to take part in our challenge this week. Now is the perfect time to get some Valentines cards done for all those special people in your life! To enter our challenge just click on the Annabelle Bling Challenge Blinkie in my sidebar.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. See you next week!