2014 Calendars

Oh my yes! It is that time of the year again!
I need to get cracking on these. I'm making them at 4x6 size. Easy to print, easy to mail and the recipients can slip them into one of those magnetic photo sleeves for display on the fridge, and when the month is over slip it into a standard photo album.
Fortunately Kimberly Stewart came to my rescue just in time with her calendar brushes this year. You can see them HERE. She has several different styles as well as printable calendars all ready for next year. Take a look at her store HERE

The kit I used is by Marci Parmeley, called "Can't Stop Falling"  I confess it is all the flowers and the punchy colours that got my attention....

And now I've made a start, just need to keep the momentum going!

How many days to Christmas? Let me not even think about it! Yikes!



Template Challenge

...and a free template by Mel from M&M Designs. You can find the info and the template over at Gingerscraps.

Here is my LO for the challenge : I used 'Junk Hound' by Gypsy Couture for the LO.

Snickerdoodle Designs Freebie

I made a freebie for Karen over at Snickerdoodle Designs that she will be giving away with her newsletter this coming weekend. So head on over and sign up for the newsletter to snag this freebie:

I have found the tutorials included in Karen’s newsletter particularly interesting. Do check them out!
You can find Karen’s designs at her Snickerdoodle store as well as at Digital Scrapbooking Studio. She also has Commercial Use items in both stores.

Back Home...and catching up!

Ahhhh it feels good to be home again. No denying that! I still seem to move from disaster are to disaster area as I move from room to room, but every day it looks a bit move civilized. I shall conquer the boxes yet!

It's been so good to catch up with friends we have not seen for 2 years, so naturally we're taking time out of moving in to visit! Yay!

And I've got my work area mostly set up too, so that I can get back to scrapping this week. Before I have more pages to post here, I'd better catch up with the ones already out there in cyber world, such as February 2013 for both pages I used templates from M&M Designs September Blues V6

and the right hand page...

and so far I have one for March done.

I used a template from M&M Designs Journaling card fun the bundle
The other page is almost completed. I was looking for a couple pictures I specifically wanted to use...and then moving happened... ;-)

I'm liking the look Mel's templates are giving the Yearbook so far. Very different from the look my other books have, but I still manage to incorporate lots of pictures and all the journaling I want.

I'm ready to get cracking on more pages. Yeah!
....and I'm also thinking that maybe a wintery look for the blog is in order too.

Yearbook 2013

I did my Yearbook for 2012, but was not happy with the way it turned out. I was going for something different....blah.

This year I started again....and just could not decide what to do. Again I did not like what I saw.
But I really wanted to try something else!

So when M&M Designs posted a guest CT call, I applied...and got accepted! Mel designs templates and multi picture templates...right up my street and right for catching up on these last 2 years worth of  pages!

Here's January 2013.

I used  M&M Designs' Crisp Autumn Templates v6 and Kimberly  Stewart's - Garden Angel Mini

And page 2 for January

I used another template from M&M Designs' Crisp Autumn Templates v6 and Kimberly Stewart's 'Little Snow Angels' Kit.

It is a pity that I had to blur some faces, but that cannot be helped!

 I don't expect to get too much more done until late in October. We're moving...we're moving HOME.

That sounds so good! The last two years in California have been good though. Very good.

'Home' will also mean that I will be able to do more scrapping and freebies again. At least that is my every intention!

 Ahhhhhhhh



She Lived to be a Hundred

My Great Grandma did.

I took this picture of her out of my Mom's photo album in May. I did have to fix a few small things in Photoshop, but on the whole the picture is in very good shape. I think my Great Grandma was 90 when this was taken.
What is really neat, is that there is a relative of mine who is currently writing a series of books on some of my ancestors, all called 'Sophia Charlotte' The first book is already available (I read it on the plane coming home) and more are in various stages of production. I'm looking forward to the second one, which will hopefully be available by the end of the year! Right now the books are only available in Afrikaans. If you know Dutch or Flemish you'll be able to understand it too and the blog 'The Sophia Charlotte Story' is mostly Afrikaans too. One day the books should be available in English too. There is a link to buy the first boek here.
Long story short, the lady in this LO was also a Sophia Charlotte. I wanted to honour her here on my blog. She was quite the woman...and her legacy lives on.

I scrapped the page with items made from my stash of CU and 'customizable' (actions/styles etc) goodies.

One of my favourite designes, Gypsy Couture (Lisa Hankins) is returning to designing. I'm soooo happy about that and look forward to catching up with my Project Life/365/52!
Doing the happy dance. ;)

Two More Books To Go...

...at least in this 'series' And then I will have covered the basics for my family in the 'early years' That means I'm currently working on my brother and my books. Both fun, and both very different from each other. For me I'm going for girly girl stuff, which I do enjoy looking at as long as I don't need to look girly girl myself...and then a boy book for the man my dear brother is now. I might be biased, saying that he is the bestest brother. He is also my only brother. Which is a good thing as no other brother could compete. Having said that I do have an amazing brother-in-law too.

Ha! Doubly blessed. That's me!

This last week I knuckled down a bit and did this LO of myself with a favourite toy. I wonder how many pages I've made with that kind of red background paper? Love that colour!

I used Kimmi Stewart's Raggedy Doll Mini.

 

 

Then for my brother's book I did this one. The picture was taken in a town (and spa resort) called Goudini in South Africa. And way before I was even a twinkle in my parents' eyes...

 

 

 

 

 

Kimmi came to my rescue with a 'boy' kit for this LO with her 'Fish On!' kit

 

 

 

 

 

 And I even had the chance to save the overlay and wrap it up for you. Strike while the iron is hot, one never knows when I'll have time for such fun things again!

 

 

 

 

Download the Freebie Overlay HERE

 

Have a great week!

 

 



Holiday Feeling...

I'm not sure why I have a holiday feeling. I mean we did have Canada Day and Independance Day this week, but for us here it was full out work all week.
Maybe it was the muse, that came upon me last night, so that I changed things around on the blog a bit?

It could be that I have so much to do today, that it is easier to do something that was not on the list at all.
That is probably closer to the truth. Ha!

Whichever way, seven long months between freebies is simply too long, but here it is. A little overlay for you to break my 'bad habit' of freebie and posting neglect.

 

You can download the overlay freebie HERE

 

I used Hillbilly Bears Springtime Mini 3 by Kimberly Stewart for the overlay. It is available individualy or in a combo pack with 2 other Hillbilly kits

 

 

These are still on sale this weekend.

 

And now I really need to go clean my desk. How can I hope to get anything done if my desk is covered in 'under construction' bits and pieces?

 

Quick Page Helping Hand

Just before we left for South Africa, I realised that this would be the perfect opportunity to hand deliver photo books to my two sisters. One book I had done earlier, but the other I squeezed in in the nick of time. It arrived here shortly before we flew out.
My sisters loved their books andI had great fun making them. I did use a number of Quick Pages to help me out. Some from albums, but most ones I had made at some point in time.

This one was my contribution to an album that is for sale : Kimberley Stewart's  Honey Bumbles Quick Pages,

made with Kimberly's Honey Bumbles - the Kit

 

There is also a BragBook Album available

 

 

 

Kimmi has a couple of neat kits coming to her Scrapbook-Elements Store this Sunday.

I for one have plans for those kits...

 

Have a scrapping weekend...mine looks like it's going to be a bit busy, pity as I was hoping to get some pages done...



 

Ain’t She Sweet…?

I see her walking down the street….”
That’s about all I know of the lyrics of that song, but that is what this picture of my Mom reminded me of She seems totally unaware of the camera! I’m not absolutely sure of the date, but it is pretty close!
Pretoria 1948

 

Right now, with the kind of temperatures we’re having in California, the only place to be is under a fan in a place with AC. Chances are excellent I’ll melt if ‘stored’ anywhere else….phew! I hope it is a wee bit cooler where you are…

Visiting South Africa

A whole lot has happenend in my life since the last time I posted here! All good, just very busy.
We recently visited South Africa and I brought back a whack load of pictures, both from the trip and some more oldies (yay!) so I hope to get some serious scrapping done between now and next year.
I did do a lot of work shortly before leaving in May. Enough to print two photobooks, BUT I was way too busy to show you those LO's at the time. I shall try to post some here on occasion!

For now, here is the first holiday one....

The font is one I had made. It's kinda strange to see your own handwriting on the screen ;)