More love coming your way!

I played and played and played to my hearts desire today - well allmost! I've finished a couple of more elements and frames and journaling blocks to complete the Love Lace set. I didn't have time to do a layout with this set yet - will look for a special photo and do one tomorrow. Can't wait to see what all of you who downloaded the set so far has done with it - so - please let me know if you've made something and link me to it!

This package contains the following elements:

4 x buttons (2 colours - with and without thread)

3 x epoxy stickers

1 x red heart paper frame

1 x hearts paper strip

1 x glittered journaling heart

1 x shaped journaling block

1 x acrylic heart

Here's a close up look - I love the textures!
You can click here or on the image to take you to the download link. (link expired)

Enjoy! :)

Michelle

Feels like Valentines Day!

My head is full of ideas and they're all in the shape of a heart! Only wish I had more time to design. Today I have heart patterned paper as well as red and pink scalloped heart shaped textured papers. I still plan to make more elements, journaling blocks and frames so come back again later this week to complete the set. Here's a closer look at today's papers:
You can click on the image or here (link expired) to take you to the download link. And by the way - I received messages from a whole lot of girls who can't open my .rar files. Good news - you don't have to buy WinRAR. You can download Zipeg for free! Just click on the link in my sidebar that says Soft82. With this cute little piece of software you will be able to unzip not only .zip files but also .rar files and if you can believe them - a whole lot of other archival files too!
Now I'm off to spend a little bit of cuddle time with my boys! :)

I {heart} these hearts!

I made a couple of hearts to match the lace paper. I made chipboard, cardboard, painted edge plastic and distressed edge hearts in red and pink. Hope you like 'em!


Here's a closer look:
You can click here (link expired) or on the picture to take you to the download link.

Enjoy! :)

I promised you a freebie ...

... so here it is. Another set of lace papers. This time it's hearts all over! When I thought about a name for these papers the name "Lovelace" sprang to mind - you remember Lovelace from Happy Feet? Well - it made me smile so I decided to call them Love Lace - get it? :)I made pink and red papers then I distressed them - in this set are both the plain and the distressed papers in both colours. I plan to make more papers and elements to match these so watch out later this week for some more freebies. Hope you like them and if you do use them - please, please show what you made with it. :)Here are some close-up views of the paper.You can click on the image or here (link expired) to go to the download link.

Enjoy!
Michelle :)

That's why I love scrapbooking challenges ...

It get's you going when your mojo goes AWOL! Thanks Kim for your latest challenge. We had to use this sketch by Becky Fleck:
Here is my LO for the challenge: Now I think it's time for another freebie - I haven't done one in what - 2 weeks - I think! I'm busy working on it and all I'm gonna say for now is that it's something that I promised I would do when I posted my second freebie. You'll just have to come back again later to see! ;o)

A bit of soul searching ....

I've been quiet this past week - I know. I find it more and more difficult to cope with the clash between the demands at work and my yearning to do something creative. It's like a constant war inside me! The harsh corporate rules and procedures and worst of all - POLITICS - drain my energy and I feel like a limp sucked out orange by the time I get home with no energy left to do anything creative. It feels like I'm giving "them" the best of me while my kids and I have to be satisfied with whatever is left over. I just can't carry on doing it! I'm 100% sure that's not what Gods plan is for my life! I really try to stay positive and find a balance somewhere in between but it's hard. I live for weekends. It's so wonderful to be surrounded by the people I love all day long and do the things we love - either together or on our own.

This weekend is our "no-kids" weekend. Yesterday Leon and I went to the "Bundu" Expo in Pretoria. He was in heaven amongst all the hunting, fishing and nature conservation exhibits. Bought a lot of books and DVD's and I got a pair of "proper" Wolverine hiking boots just like these:

Can't wait to try them out somewhere in the great outdoors! :)

I will try to make the best of the time that I have today and do as much creative things as humanly possible. So watch this space - I'll be back!!!!!! :D

Etsy finds

Nothing really exiting happening in my life right now - just the same old "get up, go to work, go to gym, prepare supper, sleep, get up ...." routine. I'm fiddling with a couple of new PS designs when I get a bit of time in the evenings. Hope to bring you another freebie soon. Have to say that I'm really exited about a couple of new PS tricks (well - new for me anyway) that I've learnt - I just love that software!

I browsed around in Etsy too and stumbled upon a couple of nice things that I would like to share:

How cute are these little buggies from the Dream a Little shop!

I also love these prints by Carambatack DesignThat's all for now - off to bed for me. Nighty night! :)

Today I ...

* searched for missing keys for almost an hour!
* took a fun drive about with Leon and the kids in the beautiful beautiful area surrounding Parys! We had a picnic at a spot with an awesome view!
* took photos until my memory card was all filled up
* heard the breathtaking call of a fish eagle+
* gave a loaf of bread and all the left overs from our picnic to a homeless man
* hugged my kids at least a dozen times
* said goodbye to Leon who is away for 3 days (again!) - this time for work.

Here's a pic of the kids today - resting a while (they were always on the run!) and enjoying the view. I haven't done an entry in my gratuity journal for some time and today I want to say thank you for only one thing. This time it's a big thing - a really, really big thing. Thank you Lord for the wonderful privilege that I have to live in a country as beautiful as South Africa! Thank you for blessing me with not only one but FIVE senses to enjoy Your beautiful Creation! :) :) :) :)

I won a tagged award! :)

I was blessed with this award by Annette – thanks Annette! BUT there’s a catch! Together with the award goes a tag – so now I’m tagged and I have to answer the following questions – then pass it on.

The rules as I understand them are...I answer the questions below and tag 5/6 folk by visiting their blogs and inviting them to visit my blog so they can see what needs to be done. Here we go...

Ten Years ago: That would be 1998 – Marco was born in January that year, which means that I was on maternity leave for half of that year. I’m sure most of you will know what a mother does in the first year of her new baby’s life and on top of that I had another two and a half year old boy demanding attention. I was BUSY alright – VERY busy!

Five things in today's "to do" list:
Yay – it’s Sunday so my to-do list (actually I don’t have one) is filled with nice things1) Make breakfast for the family. Tick2) Go for a fun drive to a nearby nature reserve3) Take lots of photos4) Do grocery shopping for the week.5) Watch the Sunday night premier movie on TV.
Snacks I enjoy: Cheese of any kind! My favourite at to moment is Camembert cheese with macadamia and Cashew nuts and fig preserve – yum!

Things I would do if I was a millionaire:
I would travel the world and take photos as I go along
I would have all the scrapping time I want and all the supplies to match
I would give generously to the poor – even now I feel so guilty for enjoying all my wonderful blessings while others can’t even fulfill their basic needs

Places I have lived:
Only South Africa – in the following towns:
A farm near Klerksdorp in the Northwest Province
Klerksdorp, Northwest Province
Potchefstroom, Northwest Province
Vereeniging, Gauteng
Sasolburg, Freestate
Now – part time Parys, Freestate

Now, I think I am supposed to tag 5 more people so I choose...

Michelle McGee; Mel; Belinda; Trudi and Bee

Why I love Saturdays

I just love Saturdays! When I wake up and the first rational thought that cross my mind is that it's Saturday, I'm instantaneously in a good mood! Today was no exception. We woke up to a cold and crispy winters day. The boys slept late and Celine jumped into bed with us - not for long though. She love to draw pictures on the windows when it's all fogged up on a cold winters morning - she always draws her favourite animal - horses! This morning while she was busy I grabbed my camera and took a couple of snaps.

Later, when the boys woke up, they all played together (still in their PJ's). It's such a beautiful sound to hear the three of them playing and laughing together. Even Michael still doesn't think he's too old to play with the horses and other farm animals on their make believe farm in Celine's room. I just had to take a couple of snaps of these precious memories too! :)

This afternoon, we all went to the movies. We watched Wall-e. What a sweet, sweet movie! It's got a special message about caring for our beautiful earth too. Not sure if the kids really gets it, but I tried to explain it to them afterwards.

Now it's blissfull Saturday evening and we're all busy with things we love :)

Mid week babble

It's been a pretty uneventful week so far. Kids went back to school after their winter school break on Tuesday and everything is sort of back to normal.

I started exercising again on Monday and this time I really hope I can keep it up. So far so good - I went every afternoon after work this week. I go to Curves not far from my house and I must say - their approach to fitness really suit me - 30 minutes 3 times a week is not unattainable - even for me.
I try to give my eyes some rest from the computer screen, so unfortunately I haven't been playing with my favourite toy - Photoshop - for days. Instead I've been reading a bit. I know that also puts strain on my eyes but not as much as PS and there's no way that I can just do nothing! I'm busy reading Spud. I love this book! It's so entertaining! Can't wait to finish it so I can start reading the sequel - "The Madness Continues". Wish I had more time for reading!
Great news is that Leon passed his PH (Professional Hunter) course - with flying colours I have to add! Congratulations my love - I'm so proud of you! XO

Best news of all - he's coming home tomorrow! Yay!!!!

One last thing - have you seen this - Postcrossing:
I think it's a cool idea to send and receive real postcards to and from all over the world. You subscribe - request an address - look at the profile of the person - then write and send a postcard to that person. For each postcard that you send you will get one in return. Cool hey! I just love getting "real" post in the mail and if it can be pretty postcards with pretty stamps on it from countries that I didn't even know existed - so much better! My problem now is to find pretty postcards to send off - can you believe that in my boring old town I can't find one postcard that has a picture on it - not a single one. I'm sure I will find some in Parys or else I'll have to print my own.

All for now - I'm off to bed now.

I love these kids!

I finished my LO for Kim's challenge #5 - at last!

She called for:

1. Arrows - I created mine from a heart and a strip of flowers

2. B & W photo - mine is a combination

3. Journal block

4. Stamped title - isn't digital actions the best! It looks so real doesn't it?

5. Frame - Love this frame made by Katie PertietCredit:

Carolinna Rom - BG paper

Kitty Chen - Elements (modified)

Atomic Cupcake - actions

Katie Pertiet - vintage frame

Fonts - Black Jack, Clingy

A bright, pink freebie for a cold, grey day!

I know that the Northern Hemisphere is in the middle of Summer and there's no sign of greyness but here in my world it is cold and grey today. The sun only showed it's pretty face for a wee bit this afternoon but now it's grey again ... and cold ... bitterly cold. Definitely the coldest day so far this winter.

It's Saturday so I don't really mind the cold. I can stay indoors and play with pixels all day long! Photoshop is so amazing and I can colour my world any way I want!. I decided that pink would be perfect to give colour to my grey day. Here is the LO that I made. I just love this photo of Celine!
You're welcome to join in the pink happiness and download my Pretty in Pink set here (link expired) for free .
Enjoy! :)

Thanks Kim!

I opened my mailbox this morning before work and guess what I got in there? The RAK that Kim sent me for participating in her challenge #2. Just look how she dolled up the envelope - nothing plain for our Kim hey! And then all the beeeoootiful goodies inside! To top it all she included such a sweet sweet card. Just wish I had time to play with it all!

Thanks Kim! :) :) :) :)

Those little irritations in life!

We all have them - at least I hope I'm not the only one who have these little things that threaten to steal the joy out of my day. Well - in the early hours of this morning when I couldn't sleep anymore - I thought about some of those things and then all of a sudden, just as I was starting to feel depressed about it all, a light went on inside my head and I realised once again that behind each and every one of those irritations was a blessing!

1. My neighbours have an Alsatian dog. I'm sure if you have neighbours with an Alsatian dog I don't have to tell you that those dogs have the most irritating bark in the whole world. Don't get me wrong - I really, really, really love animals and I'm crazy about dogs - even Alsatians. I am however not so crazy about their non-stop barking, for no reason on earth, from 2 am to 6 am when I try to get my last bit of much needed sleep before I have to get up for work. As I lied in my bed getting more and more irritated by the minute I realised that the only reason why I have to listen to the barking is because I'm blessed with the wonderful gift of hearing! How dull life would be without it - no music, no sound of my kids laughter, no birds singing? I'd rather endure the dogs barking and enjoy all those other sounds than live in a silent world without barking dogs!

2. My house is a constant source of frustration. If it's not the geyser that doesn't want to heat up, it's the light fitting that falls out of the ceiling because the people who fixed the geyser stepped on it while they fixed the geyser. If it's not that it's the hinges on a closet door that breaks off and I don't have a clue how to fix it so the door stands on one side - always in the way and the closet is a gaping hole full of the kids' clothes sticking out of it. I have to get an electrician and a carpenter to come and fix these things - all in one week! Just 2 weeks ago it was a blocked drain ... and so it goes on and on! But you know what - I only have these "household" irritations because I'm blessed to have a beautiful home where I can live with my kids. A small price to pay for such a huge blessing!

3. My alarm clock - I just hate that thing! I seriously think that some day I'm going to throw it against the wall into a million pieces - I felt like doing so at least a million times. That's until I realise that hearing the alarm clock go off means that God has given me the gift of yet another day in which I can live, love, laugh. It also means that I'm blessed to have a job and kids to take care of and that's why I have to get up at 6 o'clock. It's a blessing to have a purpose in life!

4. My kids are at a stage where they are almost constantly fighting. They can get into each others hair about the silliest things! It's so frustrating and irritating for me to witness this constant fighting and yakking! The only thing that keeps me sane is the realisation that this is normal. They are normal! I would definitely not prefer them to be quiet, scared or sick kids who never fight. I know that they love each other dearly and that they're actually best friends. Thank you Lord for my healthy, normal forever bickering boys! :)

I won!

I very rarely win anything. Last week I got a sms from Woollies asking me to reply with my e-mail address which I did just because even the remote possibility of winning a spa pampering treatment sounded so nice. Next day I got an e-mail saying I won a treatment.

So - today was the day I had to go. I could choose between a pedi, mani or facial - I chose the facial. What a nice treat it was! Thanks Woollies! :)

We Love Sushi!

Yay! I've got another day off from work to play! Play wiht my kids, play with photoshop and just do the things that I love! Freedom!

I made a page about our love for sushi. Yes - we all love it - including the kids!
I made the textured japanese paper myself and just because I'm in a giving mood you can have it if you want! You can download the full 12 x 12 paper as well as the bracket cut paper here. (link expired)


Enjoy!

M

Happy Birthday Tanya!

Happy b-day to my best friend Tanya ! We've been friends since 1983 - a full 25 years! I hope you had a lovely day my friend and that all your wildest dreams may be fullfilled in the year that come!

M

xo

I love this girls art!

I stumbled upon this girls Etsy shop a couple of days ago and guess what? Yesterday I ordered these two prints. My very first Etsy purchase!.

I can't wait to get the prints and get it framed. I can already imagine what it will look like up on my wall! Not sure where I want to put it but I'll surely find a special place for it somewhere in my new home.

I took the day off!

This being the last week of the kids' school holidays, I decided to take 2 days leave to spend with them. We slept late (7 o'clock is regarded as late in our house alright) ate breakfast and went to watch movies at a new shopping mall in another town just for the kicks! They say change is as good as a holiday and as we don't have enough time for a proper holiday we opt for the change part and went to watch movies at a new shopping mall in Potchefstroom - a town that's about 80km's from our house.

What a great day we had! The kids couldn't agree on which movie they wanted to watch, so we went to see different movies in the end! Van you believe that I allowed my baby to sit in the movie theatre all by himself. Michael and I went to see Hancock (what a great movie!)
while Marco went to see Kung Fu Panda.
Afterwards we went for lunch at the Wimpy and highlight of the day - Mozart ice cream for desert - yum

Afterwards I took the kids to one of the museums in Potchefstroom. Marco actually nagged me to take them and we all enjoyed it so much!

Wish I could spend more days like this with my kids!

Tonight we'll sleep over in Parys at Leon's house (did I mention that I miss him terribly!) Tomorrow we'll go home and hopefully feel like we've had a little teeny weeny holiday! :)

Another Freebie!

When I first saw Lace Paper I was soooo thrilled! What a great idea to have diecut paper in all sorts of beautiful shapes and colours! I've used real paper Lace Paper on a couple of LO's already and always wondered if I'll be able to recreate it digitally. I just had to give it a go. For my first attempt was I used numbers and I love how it turned out. Can't wait to do the same with flowers and hearts and stars and ... well ... whatever tickles my mojo! :) Here's a LO that I made with the very first digi lace paper that I made.

Numbers are always usefull, so I hope you'll enjoy using it as much as I did creating it.

Click on the picture or here to go to the download link where you can download all 4 papers at once.

The file is rather big so if you prefer, you can download each paper individually:

(sorry - all link have expired)

Orange Number Lace Paper

Pink-Red Number Lace Paper

Plum Number Lace Paper

Turkois Number Lace Paper

All I ask in return is that you share your lo's with me once you've used it - pretty please!



Love

Michelle

My Mom

I love my mom! She's 78 years old and despite all the hardship, disappointments and losses she had to endure in her lifetime - she is still one of the most positive people I know. She has taught me that if you hand over your problems too the Lord, you never have to worry - no matter what.

She lives in a retirement home and yesterday the home had a craft market where they could sell handmade stuff. Ever since they started organising this market day in March this year she was so excited about it and started knitting toys - dolls, teddys, etc. - to sell on the market. She also sewed real vintage aprons. I hoped and prayed that her stuff would actually sell on the day and she won't be disappointed. Me, my kids and my sister went to support her there yesterday and we had loads of fun. I tried to buy something from each one of the old ladies, so now I have a bunch of beaded jewelry, an embroidered tea net, second hand books, home made hand cream, gift bags and lots of other stuff I can't even think of right now. Great news is that my mom sold almost all her goodies! I praise the Good Lord for that cause there wasn't a whole lot of customers and most of them were from a very poor community.

Here's a photo of my mom with some of her goodies.

Marco adores his granny.

I'm so grateful to still have my mom and for the wonderful upbringing that I got from her. I know that a lot of blessings that I enjoy are because of her never ending prayers for her children.

I love you mom!

xo

It's real life # 3

Yay! My Internet Explorer is in a good mood today! It allows me to log onto blogger and I can even post - from home!

This time I took the photos for Jessica's It's Real Life challenge at my own house and of my own bedroom. It's really feminine to say the least - all pink and frilly and full of teddys and handbags and girly stuff. I guess all that will change soon but as long as it lasts - I love my bedroom just as it is!

Here is one that I took this morning before I made the bed - I guess that's what this challenge is all about - show it like it is.
This is the view from my bedroom window - my front yard. Nothing closely resembling the beautiful view that Jessica has but I lot of good memories have been made under that tree! That's the place where we have braais (barbecue) and spend a lot of time in summer just chatting to friends while the kids play in the garden.
OK - now my bed is all made up - looks a bit better hey? I love stuffed animals - told you I'm just a little girl at heart. This is my dresser - full of "stuff" - too much I know but I just can't get rid of any of it. Even my mothers day gift and card are still on there!
This is an arrangement of some pretty pictures on my wall. The long stem roses is a cross stitch that I made myself. This is the guardian angel above my bed. These are my pj's - I love them - so comfy and cozy! This one is my favourite - I adore that little owl. Think I'm gonna try to recreate this cute little owl in Photoshop.
That's it for now. On my way to go take a peek into the other bedrooms ...