Chocolate muffin and roses

My little artist, Kendra drew me some red roses and a chocolate muffin. She had a little help from me with the muffin, but the roses she did all by herself. She is such a creative little girl - note the mixed medium she used: felt tip pens and wax crayons! We've spent a lot of time in the holidays colouring and drawing. She loves to write her name as well! Here's to creativity!

A painted card

Here's a card I made for my AAM (All about me) friend, Ehrin. It was fun painting on a card for a change rather than doing the usual scrappy thing. It was inspired by Basic Grey paper from the BLUSH collection. Fun, cool, happy. love it!

Deck the halls with bells of holly...

Can't believe it's time to put up the Christmas tree. We all had fun getting the lights working, looking at the decorations and wondering if the leftover angel chocolates i bought in Germany last year, would still be ok to eat! We found them in the box of decorations packed away from last year!

It seems that the field mice in the veld next door to us decided that the Christmas tree and its box were a nice nesting place. We now have some nibbled Christmas tree branches looking very bare!

We put on some Christmas CD's and before you knew it the tree was up and the lights were working and we were in the Christmas mood. Roll on December 25th!

Bits n pieces

Ok, so get a cuppa tea and read all the bits n pieces I have been up to!
I had a delightful birthday on Sunday with breakfast in bed, loads of pressies (novels, jewelery, lingerie, clothes, scrapping stuff, etc etc), calls from family in Australia and a huge family lunch at Kai Thai. If you haven't been, you should (to Kai Thai)- and you should order the crispy duck!! I got some beautiful handmade cards from my AAM (All about Me) gals. Thanks ladies!
So here's my latest acrylic on canvas. This was so much fun to paint. Thanks to Donna Downey for the inspiration who got her inspiration from Kelly Rae Roberts whose work was in the nov/dec cloth paper scissors magazine. I "art-lifted"! (As apposed to scraplifting).

I loved using the bold colours and some stamping. I also used some embossing powder on the wings to give it a bit of a glimmer. I used my new easel. It's so much easier than trying to prop up the canvas against something! Now onto paint brushes. My mom bought me a fairly decent brush while she was here and what a difference to the cheaper brushes. The strokes are smooth and easy. Gotta invest in some more of those! So now I am hunting for my next bit if inspiration for another painting. The Frangipani's will happen soon and I was hoping to give Fi her long promised paintings at the AAM (All about Me) Christmas lunch.
But with trying to get the AAM handmade gifts done and finishing the AAM recipe books for the same Christmas lunch, time she's a running out! Oh, there's also the mini album of Larni's first few days as a prem baby which has to be ready by tomorrow to go with Grant's folks who are flying to Australia. They will be delivering the album to my sister in Cairns! The Christmas cards I had planned on making and sending with them to Australia, have not happened, and so I am going to have to rely on the SA postal service to get them there. There is hope though as my birthday card from Lara only took three days to get to me. Pretty impressive for local delivery through our postal system.

Here's my blue Baobab in watercolour pencils. I sprayed it with water using a water spray bottle which sprays a very fine mist of water. I'm very happy with the outcome!

That's all for now.

Birthday WISH List

Just in case anyone from my family actually reads my blog, here is my very enormous birthday wish list!! Ah, well it's good to dream BIG.

Thanks mum for my brand spanking new easel, your early birthday gift to me. Can't wait to get a canvas started on it!

Hey, two posts in one weekend - that's a record!

oh what fun....

More inspiration from Kal - this time with oil pastels. It was such fun using them. They are soft and just glide on the paper and the colours mix so nicely together. They were so, hmmm....yummy to use! I really enjoyed playing with them. I sat and played, drawing this blue strawberry and apple while I was away in the Northern Free State at a place called Wynford Holiday Farm - a peaceful, relaxing family place with beautiful scenery. Took a 20 minute trip to Clarens from there on one of the days and gosh, the artwork in that little town is wonderful. I was desperate to photograph some of the pieces but alas all the little galleries had "no photograph" signs up! Loads of crafty little shops too. My mom and I were in our element browsing and wondering through all the unique shops.

Inspired by Kal

Kal Barteski - you inspire me!

After my first visit to Kal's blog, I was blown away. What a talented woman - a Life Artist. Not only does she draw, paint, and write, she takes the most natural photographs of people! Anyway she inspired me to get to Herbert Evans pronto and buy my first pack of water colour pencils since primary school! I'm loving their fun, free, colourful use, particularly with my new found favourite gadget. It's sort of looks like plastic fountain pen but you fill the bottom of it with water. The top is a lovely soft brush. I've been using it to wash over some of my watercolour sketches/doodles or whatever they are.

I'm getting ready to start my next acrylic canvas - and guess what - I'm gonna paint a flower! Yup, a frangipani I think. My mom is here visiting from Australia and is ooh so creative and talented, so want to get her input.

Flower in my garden

I took this photo on Sunday. It was such a beautiful afternoon and the sun looked lovely on the stralitzia. Good opportunity to practice my photography skills.

Scrapbookers support breast cancer awareness

Just spent two full days at the SA Scrapbooking Convention at Sandton Convention Centre. I hooked up with Scraptifity and Eric and Julie Comstock from Cosmo Cricket and sold my Pink live.laugh.scrap t-shirts to raise funds and awareness of PinkLink, Breast Cancer Advocacy group. Gosh, scrappers are pretty generous! The t-shirts sold really well and I also sold raffle tickets for a pink Nokia cell phone, sponsored by Nokia ofcourse! Winner to be announced soon. Samantha from PinkLink spoke at the Gala evening and was so inspirational even though I have heard her talk many times.

So wanna buy a pink live.laugh.scrap t-shirt? Get yourself to Scraptifity, we have a limited number left and are selling them in the shop.

Thanks to all the scrappers for their support.

Eric and Julie are great. You have got to visit their website. There is so much fun stuff on it!

Now I am 5!

My sweet little baby Kendra is 5! Doesn't time just fly and don't kids grow soooo quickly. Kendy wanted a ballerina party, so we had a very pink, girly cake with little ballerina on it! All the little girls at the party had sooo much fun with pin the tutu on the ballerina, ballerina musical statues and ballerina relays! What a fun and successful party with the jumping castle, yummy goodies to eat and all the games. Here are some photies - Kendy on her new pink bike, Kendy with Kayla, her very best friend from school. The cake.

Working weekend

Well Cape Town was cold and wet but still a lovely weekend even though I was working. I got to enjoy a little bit of pampering on Saturday afternoon with a manicure and neck, shoulder and head massage. Pure bliss! I enjoyed the setting where we set up a pink and white room with candles, roses and soft music to help with relaxation during the pampering!

And guess who entertained us - Heinz Winkler himself. What an entertainer he is. He engages the audience and comes across very relaxed and down to earth. I enjoy his music and got a photo op too!

Scraptivating

I'm just loving teaching at Scraptifity. Wish I could add some more classes to the teaching schedule. It's so great to meet new people and see the amazing creativity and talent out there. It's so, um...Scraptivating! How's that for a new word!!Here's a couple of pics from my July class. Thanks Retha (that's her in the photo with the sun making her glow!), for making Scraptifity so scraptivating! Gotta dash and pack as I'm off to Cape Town tomorrow for a conference over the weekend. Be happy!

Precious Niece

I just had to show you the latest picture of prem little Larni. She has grown so much and is doing extremely well. I think she looks a lot like her dad, Leigh but can see my sister's features in her too. I am so thankful that she has grown from strength to strength and is home doing her baby thing! Love ya Larni, precious little niece.

Miss Potter

Last night I watched such a lovely DVD - Miss Potter. We watched it as a family and so enjoyed learning about the life of Beatrix Potter and how she became a famous author and artist through her little story books of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck. I was so inspired by her drawings and paintings of these little creatures we all know and love. And to think they are still so popular now in the 2000's! Her little animals came to life on paper as her friends - so cute! This picture is her story letter, of Peter Rabbit. This was the first time it was told (1893).
Anyway, it inspired me to finish Fi's paintings I promised her almost a year ago! So today I am going to get them out and do the final touches and hope that they actually aren't a disaster. Thanks Miss Potter for the inspiration!

My two moms

I really enjoyed doing this layout which I used on Saturday for the first class I taught at Scraptifity. 1. Because my mom and mom-in-law are very special to me; 2. I love buttons!
The class was great and I hope all the ladies enjoyed it as much as I did. Can't wait to teach my next class in July.
My mom is coming over from Australia again in September and I thought I had better get this layout done before she gets here. After all, the photos were taken 2 years ago!

Foto Friday (Saturday)

Yesterday was Friday and I didn't get to post any Foto Friday photos, so I'm doing Foto Saturday!

I am so very excited about these photos as they are the outcome of my final assignment from my photography course. Last week Sunday the whole class met at the Botanical Gardens at 6.30am( yes very early for a Sunday morning). We were all rugged up in beanies, jackets and scarves as it was freezing cold!

Our assignment was to take 36 photos, interesting close ups. It was fun and I am so chuffed with the outcome. When we went through the whole classes best photos I was so surprised that these photos were mine! I actually sort of know what I am doing now and can control my camera according to the natural light! This course was definitely worthwhile. Money well spent! Now it's just practice, practice and more practice!

Scrapwhatting? Yes, Scrapbooking...

So I'm going to be teaching one scrapbooking class a month at Scraptifity and I got all excited because I haven't taught a scrapping class in maybe 4 years! Then I started doing some surfing on the net, you know to get some creative inspiration, and oh my gosh, I got a little despondent. There are soooo many amazing scrappers out there and here's little ol me coming along to teach a class all of a sudden. For that you need creativity, inspiration and, time. I came to the conclusion that my style is just that - MINE. I'm just gonna be me and do what I can with the time I've got to enjoy my love of scrapbooking. I love the simple stuff. Anyhoo, better get planning for the class: HIP HABERDASHERY - this month it's beautiful buttons. Got some fun ideas!
Come and scrap with me on 23rd June at Scraptifity, 2 - 5pm, please? someone? It's my first class since forever and I'd love some company!

Foto Friday

I've decided that I need a lot of practice with my photography if I am ever going to be any good with taking photos on the manual setting, so I have declared Friday as "Foto Friday". What does this mean? It means that I will have to take photos regularly so that I have at least one photo to post on my blog every Friday! Don't expect any great photos just yet though! These two were taken to practice light meter readings and shutter and aperture settings.

Things I miss...

Been missing Australia a lot recently. Probably because I know that my parents are visiting both my sisters and their respective families in Cairns at the moment, plus there is all the excitement of little Larni coming into the world too. I must have spent quite a bit on phone-calls lately. I call from my cell phone while I'm in the traffic driving to work! They are 8 hours ahead, so it's perfect timing! Alan who is a pilot and living in Dubai at the moment just said to me today that he loves Australia, and wonders why I ever left! Hm, a little Aussie homesickness creeping in me thinks.
What I miss about Australia...
*Vegemite on my toast
*Daylight savings in summer
*24 hour supermarkets
*The beach only 20 mins drive from home
*My two sisters
*My best friends Renee, Jodie and Claire
*Kellogs Sustain cereal!
*My parents
*Bakeries
and, and, and...

Little Miracle

oooh, I forgot to share a photo of my new little niece in Australia, Larni Ella Johns, she was born prem at 30 weeks and weighed 1.3kg. Her name means 'Heaven sent'. Both Larni and my sister Anna are doing well. Little Larni is is obviously still in hospital and will be for some time but she is gaining weight and the doctors are happy with her progress. These 2 pics are of her at 3 days old. Check the dummy out - and it's a prem dummy too!

Wanna be photographer

So I'm about to go to my 3rd photography class tomorrow at the National School of Photography and can't wait. I have already learned to much about my camera and shutter speed, fstops etc. Exactly what I wanted. Our first real assignment is due. I'm handing in 24 photos of timed exposure shots using artificial light. It was so much fun to do. Here's one I like, but I think it's a Little out of focus. No doubt they will be critiqued and have plenty wrong with them, but that's what the course is all about. I had to buy a tripod and spent R350 (the cheapest of the range). Now I know why you can spend up to R3000 for a good tripod, for R350 you get what you pay for. I can't get my camera straight so have to have one leg longer on the tripod than the other two to get a straight shot! Hm, on second thought maybe it's just the tripod operator that's the problem.

Scrapping news - I'm scheduled to teach at Scraptifity on 23rd June. Want to join me?

Wedding by the sea

Just got back from a week in sunny Umhlanga. What a wonderful rest, mostly just did the beach and pool thing, but the highlight was my friend Jennifer's wedding at Zimbali Lodge. Talk about a real friend. She booked us an amazing ground floor self catering (fully serviced) time share unit at Cabana Beach - out of her time share - no cost to us, except for our food of course. This was our first proper family holiday since 2004 and we thought we were in heaven! Thanks Jenn, you are a truly amazing and giving friend. Jenn looked stunning on her wedding day, even though it was the coldest, windiest day of the century of the North coast in 100 years! One of my big picture moments of this trip was that giving is the best gift of all. Jenn gives and gives to all her friends and she receives abundantly in all areas of her life. Just when I thought a friend couldn't give me any more, she gave me a thank you gift for being one of her bridesmaids!! Like the Cabana Beach wasn't enough! I love to give gifts - wrapping them is the best! How about you?
Well I got to use my camera a whole lot and got some tips from Jenn's wedding photographer (here's some of my photos) - my photography course starts next week, so here's to some bigger [photo]graphy pictures! Gonna start on a scrapbook for Jenn of all the memories of the lead up to the wedding. Maybe I'll share that with you sometime.

Believe

I was so excited to see that I had some special people read my blog - thanks for your comments. The next paintings are in progress and almost complete, but these are commissioned pieces for Fi. Promise that I will reveal them soon - to Fi first of course!
That brings me to my bigger picture for today - a thought! Believing in oneself. It's hard to do sometimes, don't you think? I'm working on that area in myself right now and with that brings thoughts of self esteem, confidence and often re-discovering who you are as a person.
But for today and the days to come while I'm on holiday in Umhlanga, I'll be focusing on believing in myself and believing in those around me to help me see the bigger pictures in life. Right now my coffee mug says it all and it's also such a pretty mug that I feel inspired to be creative when I see it.!

The bigger picture

Lately I've been driving my self crazy with all my big ideas, concepts and ways of using my creativity (to earn some extra money). It's been driving my husband silly too. So I decided it's time just to get blogging. Perhaps I'll get a little peace and quiet in my brain that way. Even if no one reads or comments on my blog. My friend Lara has once again inspired me (probably without realising it) to let my creativty show. So here goes...
For the past 2 years I had this big picture in my head of a rose on canvas that I wanted to paint, and so last year while recovering from back surgery, the rose blossomed. I spent some weeks painting with acrylics and found it to be the most amazing therapy and self-finding project I have embarked on in years. Here's the final result. Now I remind myself to never lose sight of the bigger pictures in my mind.