Monday 10 September 2012

My favorite things

"When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
and then I don't feel so bad."


 And what better time than the promise of new beginnings and the colours of spring to remind me of my favorite things!

The promise of spring, yet another promise from God that there will always be the a new beginning, filled with the promise of colour, joy and fruitfulness after a dead, grey cold winter!

Spring is most certainly one of my favorite things.  I love the colours of spring - it inspires me to be creative, to look for new challenges.  I love the weather that is clean, fresh and bright.  I love dining el fresco with the aroma of freshly cut grass in the air and the sounds of crickets as they sing their songs of joy after a sunny day.

I love pink, pink champagne, pink and mauve sunsets, pink cup cakes, pink spring blossoms.  I love bright blue skies, and lime green leaves, and white fluffy clouds, and I love how it all inspires me to be creative, inspired by the colours of nature to capture precious moments caught on camera and I love the fact that I am able to reach for my tools and start to create something that will tell the story of me when I am no longer here. 

Hopefully this week ahead will be filled with favorite things, re-births and new beginnings and lots and lots of pink moments!

Thursday 23 August 2012

Scented Breeze

"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."

I am trying to find the significance in this quote....  It rings true in many ways, but I wonder how many people have the strength of character to be able to stand up and create a "finest moment" when life has been dealing them a dud hand over and over again.

How does one stand up, when it becomes easier to just stay down, and out of harms way?  What is the deciding moment to step up out of a rut, dust yourself off and embark on fulfilling your finest moment?

Interesting thoughts have been provoked and I am curious to see what my finest moment will be.  When it will be and what will bring it about.

Could it be the re-birth of a new career at the age of 45?  Could it be a new business venture, one so successful one might forget that there was a stage in your life when you were worried and felt useless and lonely and living without a purpose.

All I know is that nature is awakening outside in my garden.  The breeze carries the aroma of pink blossoms and in my heart I can feel the awakening of enthusiasm and hope and I know that soon I will be soaring again!

Hope there is a beautiful reason to live, a scented breeze or a warm comforting fireplace to hold you comfortable and propel you to live your best possible present life!
 

Thursday 16 August 2012

Soo little time and so much to do, or soo little to do with soo much time.

The problem I am currently facing is multi faceted. 

I am in a rut.  I am in a rut because.... I am feeling lost.  I am lost because my life's purpose has turned 18 yesterday and at the age of 45 I just can't find any other purpose beyond being a MOM.  My husband I support with my love and cooking :)

But somehow being a Mom is the only thing in life that had tangible rewards.  Don't get me wrong.  My marriage is a reward, I share my life with a wonderful, loving man, and it's a partnership for life.  Being a Mom made me feel as though I contributed to something bigger, the moulding of another human being and soon that won't be my doing any longer... perhaps it hasn't been for a while already :)

Is this a mid life crisis?  Could it be an "empty nest syndrome"?.  Could it be that I am facing a few storms in my life and feel helpless as it's too big for me to be able to make any difference?

All I know is that I wake up every morning with the best intentions to declutter my home, and as all the self help TV shows, Oprah, and books tell you, your life will soon be sparkling clear... But I don't get that far, so I don't know if it would be true...

I also have every intention to finish the money earning project I embarked on 6 weeks ago, but somehow just can't find the time for that in my very empty days.

I keep promising myself that I will soon start my scrap booking again... but I just walk past my desk and..... turn away.

I have a few books that have been sitting in my bed side table, eagerly waiting to tell me their stories... but somehow it's easier to crawl into bed after an uneventful day and fall asleep with the mindless droning of the TV in the background....

At least I have accomplished one thing today.... I have finally updated my blog :)

Monday 23 April 2012

Not feeling well... but never too ill to do some scrapbooking

Today I am slowly starting to feel better after a horrible experience with Pancreatitis. 

It's something I managed to damage in late 2009 when I tried to loose a few kilograms and used a new slimming tablet.....

But enough of tales of woe...

So back to this morning.  I was listlessly sorting through my scrap booking goodies when I thought to browse through one of my favorite web sites - Scrapbooking Challenges -  I was also reminded that I still have to complete a task that I started last year already, called the ABC of me...

Sooo with time, tasks and enthusiasm on my side, I managed to complete a page.  The first one for myself in a long time.  It's titled "I am Ticklish"  The photo was taken last year with my son and husband, and the two of them tickled me while the photograph was taken.  I am fond of this photograph as it immediately transforms me to a happy place.

And leaving you with the wise words of Charlie Chaplin.....  "A day without laughter is a day wasted"

Monday 16 April 2012

Autumn in Johannesburg

The brush of Autumn has been busy, changing my landscape from bright greens, lush pinks and purples, to the crisp, crinkly colours of burnt orange, golden yellow and shades of brown.  The morning breeze is fresh and stings my cheeks, and at nigh the warmth of the day quickly disappears into the chilly early dark evenings, making snuggling deep under the covers a must!

With autumn all around me, I was inspired by the autumn colours for my next layout for Monica's travel album.  The layout is one of Jowilna Nolte's -  I managed to attend one of her classes a month ago, and love the simplicity of the layout, which gives scrappers like me a good foundation to build a new layout on, exploring my creativity with the selection of papers and patterns and other finishes I used to complete this layout.

Monica was lucky enough to be in Monaco - July 2011 - while the city was preparing the city for the wedding of Prince Albert and our other famous Benoni girl, Charlene.  It's quite fantastic to see the South African flag dancing on the soft breeze alongside the flags of Monaco.

This page captures Monica sipping strawberry daiquiris with Natasha in front of the Casino Royale, while the rich and famous play all around them in their Italian sports cars. 


I made flowers, cut from my Cricut machine to embellish the lower left hand corner..


...and the rest of the layout I used a few pearls and buttons to compliment the layout.  The paper in this layout was my inspiration and hero..  
A clean crisp layout... lets see what I get up to next.

Take care and remember to get all the winter woolies ready, Winter is not far off.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Monica's scrapbooking album

I have promised my friend, Monica, that I will capture all her wonderful memories of her trip to the South of France. 

The first part of this task was to make an album for her travelling companion, Natasha, which was finished and delivered to her 3 weeks ago.

My next task was interrupted by life, but I am happy to report that the introduction page is done.  A bit busy, as I am battling to get into the scrappy groove.

But here it is, and may it be the start of a lovely keepsake for Monica.
I made all the flowers and butterflies, cut with my Cricut machine and embellished with bits and bops of bling....
And some touches were added with rub-ons and charms tied to the mounting card with ribbon....


This layout was based on a sketch challenge from Scrapbook Challenges, a fabulous on line scrapping community that I belong to.  Inspiration and praise on tap and I am glad that I am finally back in the saddle again.

Monday 6 February 2012

Scrapping in the African bush

This past weekend we spent with friends at Zebula Country Lodge, outside a region called Bela-Bela, approximately 2 hours drive from our home. 

My husband, Dan and 3 of his friends form part of a regular golf four-ball who play golf every Saturday, come rain or shine. The past two weeks, 2 of the golf buddies celebrated their birthdays and what better excuse was there than to pack up the families and spend the weekend playing golf and enjoying the African bush while celebrating a birthday or two?

The men left Johannesburg at 6 AM Friday morning and my friend Jeanette and I, followed mid morning with a car loaded with food and our scrapbooking goodies.  Our mission to make sure everything was ready for the arrival of the rest of the party and to do some scrapbooking on the patio of the bush house, while we wait for everyone to arrive.

Soon we were rewarded for our foresight and brilliance, when a Kudu bull walked up to our patio and had a good look at what we were doing.   He stood patiently while Jeanette distracted him while I took photographs.


The setting was glorious, the weather very hot, and the scrapbooking FABULOUS! 

My soul has been re-charged and I am thankful for the Blessings of living in this beautiful country, for being priveledged enough to enjoy God's beautiful creatures up close and the beauty of the mountains quietly guarding the valley in which we stayed!

Thursday 26 January 2012

Being behind my scrapbooking goals for this week

It is Thursday and I am feeling a bit exasperated that I have not managed to do any scrapbooking this week.

I have managed to apply the finishing touches to the album that I was making for a friend of mine, and am happy to report that it was handed to her this morning after gym.

The weather has also not played it's part, as the skylight in my scrapbooking nook, makes it unbearably hot to work between 12H30 and 14H00 as that is when the sun shines directly onto my main desk and I had a giggle to see how destructive the sun can be if you leave a piece of paper on top of coloured cardstock....  For obvious reasons, the aircon and a fan have both also been banished.

Here are a few glimpses of small elements of Natasha's travel album.  These embellies are on the front page of the album...


Contrasting buttons' adding a bit of colour...
 Flowers cut with my Cricut machine.... layered and inked....
 And a few charms added with a paper clip

Hope that I can start on my next project tomorrow, till then;
Happy scrapping everyone
x

Friday 20 January 2012

Friday 20 January 2012 - New slate

Breathe in... breathe out..

The start of 2012 has been a busy one for me on a domestic front, and I have tried my best to get a bit of scrapping done, but only managed to add the finishing touches to an album I am making for a friend.

In between the washing machine, the dishwasher and creating meals for my family, I managed a few "tea breaks" in front of the computer, and in my quest, searching for inspiration for my scrapbooking, I have managed to create information overload...

I have joined "lets scrap" and now also "Scrapping for Africa" and am inspired by everything and everybody involved in these online communities.

I think it is safe to say, that when my domestic worker returns on Monday, I will be found in my scrapbooking den, creating, croping, texturising and having fun!