HAPPY SPRINGDAY!!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY SPRINGDAY!!

LOVE TANIA

Spring Cleaning Weekend!!

First of all, SOMETHING FOR YOU!!

What a weekend!! It was nice, but we worked hard, feel like I had a gym workout, the pumping irons thing, every muscle in my body is stiff!!

Andre had the weekend off, so it started with him going along with us to Brits, about 70km's from us, where Megan had to participate in the Regional finals of the Cross-country, she made it!! She was suppose to run by 11, but only took of at 12, so guess what? We missed the rugby,so we decided that we are already halfway to Pretoria and we are going to miss the game, we might as well just go through and do our monthly shopping. When we got home, we were all too tired to unpack, so we left it all for the next day. . .

Andre got up at 4 on Sunday morning, I heard him going strong in the kitchen, shuffling the drawers and just going crazy, he was busy re-organizing all the drawers, so when I got up at 6 we watched the replay of the Springboks and then I joined him in his campaign "Spring cleaning"

I started off THE CUPBOARD, does ANYBODY have one like mine? A deep drawer, called the PLASTIC DRAWER, where there are about 150 lunchboxes, mixing bowels, small bowles for when the 3 year old's come to visit and then only about 50 LIDS? do you get the picture, total chaos. So I started by unpacking that and to fit each and every single one's lid, took stock, got a few lunchboxes missing, but the rest, ok.

Did the pots and pans cupboard too, and the groceries one, AGAIN!! Some members of my little family like putting the spices and tomato sauce in between the syrup and canned fruit,ah, I hate that, for being a person that is actually quite scattered, I hate that!! So, Andre started with the fridge, finished that, I moved around a few things in the kitchen,that is in PERFECT condition now.

Megan got up and joined the "TEAM" and started doing her ROOM, which is also in total chaos, she through out a whole rubbish bag of things, my ,my, we had a laugh, all the things that came out of there, sticker books, she made in gr3 and 4, the funniest hair things, all those GREAT MacDonald's and Wimpy toys, I know, I should have taken pictures, but I was really dirty and did not want to fiddle with my camera in between all the mess.

I brought all the washing up to date, man I can fall behind and in the end I am cross with everybody when I must do the whole mountain of washing, so that is done now. Washed the doggies blankets and even Lizzy got a bath.

Then the final mission: You see, we live right next to my mom and dad, it is 2 housed, but we took off the wall, and put in a swimming pool and lapa, so that is our only border, which is really nice at times, because at this stage they are visiting my mom's brother in Newcastle, we can keep a eye on their garden and birds, without driving,ha, ha. So, in my mom's house is this piece of furniture, which is actually mine, so yesterday I decided to reposes it, called her first of course! It is one of those cupboards where you store your sewing machines in, really heavy, so I unpacked it and Andre helped me carry it over to our place, but we had to stop and put down a few times, shaw!!

So now, I have 2 empty spots in my scrap room, machines are put away, maybe now, I will do some sewing again. . .don't know, I have been using my machine for scrapping only, lately.

I finished up by washing the floors, EVERYTHING is PERFECT!!! Finished the day off, by taking Megan to church at 6. Yes, I was bad, to work so hard on the Sunday, but I NEVER get to these things and then I have nobody to help me, but I am sure that I am not the only one.

NOW, Megan and me must just obey the rule of: DON'T PUT DOWN. . .PUT AWAY!!

Andre is still off today, the mines are on strike:(

So we will do some gardening today, plant some nice and colourful pansies and what, what.

SPRING is almost here, ONE DAY TO GO!!

Tania

Some real old layouts to share

These are really old layouts, I have done in the past.
I was looking through my albums yesterday and was trying to see whether I actually do have a specific style, hmm, no, not really.
At some stage it was all about the new and lovely products, you will also notice,that I did not do much journaling, at the beginning I was actually "scared" to put feelings to paper, almost felt as though I was writing a last letter. . .
But I started doing that eventually.

From left to right, I will explain some of my layouts.
The red GIRL one, I bought the making memories flowers, metal embellishments and the wire, loved using it and took the pictures especially for it. Same with the Megan one, Daisy D's paper, alphabet sheet, flowers the works. Then the next one with the sunset, pictures of my husband when we went on the Sodwana fishing camp, the paper, not my choice, bought it as a kit, meaning it was the end of range, and the shop owner just combined all type of goodies, it was actually a challenge kit, so I tried it out.
The handbag one, oh my!! Does it really look like handbag?? I struggled and the stickers was Megan's, at some stage she got hooked on BRATS!! The Love Notes layout, I just made a simple layout, but popped-up my photos.
And then. . .the next one. . . that is me , and yes, that is a real woolen dress.

Hmm, then, just tried out some stitching with Pippie Langkous.
Drome word Waar, these were real special pictures to me, had it taken at a studio
and on this particular day Megan was really feeling down and I have actually put pen to paper!!
A single page layout of my husband's oldest daughter, it was one of those "handmade"kits and the next single is once again ME, with much longer hair, curls the lot, the paper was from a magazine, only added Bazzill.

Then a Christmas Layout of Megan and last but not least, my husband's youngest, when she was a baby, very odd pictures, i had to cut a lot and actually added a lot of embellishments, but I like this one.

So, these are a few oldies.
Hope you have a great weekend, filled with scrapping and REMEMBER the RUGBY!!

Love
Tania

Helen's Quiz

So, it is very early, 3:55, to be exact, so i thought I should do this one. . .



Your current obsession: Following blogs and finding new ones.



Weirdest obsession: Weird, am I? Probably that I NEED to go to spinning at least twice a day!!



What are wearing: PJ's, pants has got little owls on.



What was for dinner: Sunday's leftover leg of lamb with salad.



Favourite book: Any book from Francine Rivers, got the collection.



Last thing you bought: Hmm, on Monday morning, a sachet of bioplus,really needed it!



What can you hear right now: Lizzy is snoring, she sleeps next to my bedside.



Favourite ice-cream: don't really like ice-cream, but if i must, Strawberry JIVE



Where in the world would u go if I gave you a plane ticket: Not far, Cape Town,ooh,love that place.



Which language would you like to learn: French, we had to learn a bit, when Megan went there, like it:)



Who would you like to meet right now: All scrapping friends on the net, imagine a scrap convention for blogging friends!!



Your favourite colours: Hmm, that changes a lot in clothes, but in scrapping i love bazzill's
parakeet green, it goes with everything,yes even blue!!


Favourite items of clothing: Cargo pants, any flat shoes, can't do the heels anymore!!



What size shoe are you: 6



You have 100p(can't get that pound thingie) to spend, what would you buy: I will go to Mangwanani Day spa, they are currently running a special, the friend I am taking along, will have to pay the R500 difference!!



Favourite time of day: Early mornings.



Who's style do you admire: I like to wear clothes that I feel comfortable in, but I like a sporty style, i love tracksuits and tackies, that is my style in winter anyways. Scrapbooking, there are so many these days, I like Laura, Polkadotchicks, love what they do only with plain card stock!!

I am currently following a online course of shimelle, also like that,in Afrikaans they would say I am a "draadsitter" for not really wanting to choose:)



What is my style? Hmm I also want to know, don't really have one, but i Like a LOT, as long as my layout looks neat and easy for the eye to follow and not like a school project, if you know what I mean?



What are you doing next? Waking up Megan for school and doing my first session of my weird addiction(spinning)



Favourite Film: Old ones, Pretty Woman and when a man loves a woman, new ones,7Pounds and Slum dog millionare.



Favourite fruit: Watermelon, can eat it up by myself, yes a whole one, sliced up in pieces;)



What inspires you? Other people's organization skills, I really wish I can be more organized, it is really starting to irritate me!!



What is your favourite music of the week? Kings of Leon, they are great!! But,Blackeyed Peas are also good,very good,want that new songs for spinning.



Do you have a dream job? I would love to own my own little scrapbookshop,which stocks everything we see in magazines and we can only drool about it.



What is stopping you? Money, honey.



What would you change in the world? shaw, there is a lot,I would not have the time, just things that really ticks me off!!!



Favourite animal: Dogs, but i also love my parrot:) he talks to me when I am all by myself at home.



Favourite tools: Yah, not really,hmm in the kitchen, my kenwood, very handy,scrapping it used to be my craftknife and I am ready to go, but I discoverd that the wheel they use for cutting their quilting material is a excellent cutter!!



What would your job have been in the Victorian days? Well, I enjoy bookshops a lot, can browse around for hours(husband must be at home of course) so, probably a bookshop assistant, or maybe in a library?who knows?

Almost a hour later. . .ok girlies, speak to you later!!

Husband's layout

So, here he is, my husband and his layout.
These are very old photos, but I wanted to use it for a while now, it was actually sorted together with the paper in a little pile. . .
I usually sort my photos together with the paper and ribbon and everything, like a "kit", but like I said always something new that attracts my mind and then for a while I forget about the older "kits"

It is getting colder here again. . .and shame Megan is running again this afternoon, she is not really up to it, she has been a bit sick and could not go to practice, but she wants to go, because the team are currently
in first place, they need the last points.

have a wonderful day!!
Tania
x

Everybody is complaining about. . .

I went through a few blogs yesterday and it was so funny how many of our ladies are complaining about WEIGHT!!! To tell the truth, I am also one of them, but I try to exercise hard, so that I can also indulge in the nice thingies and treats:) But then again, when we complain about a few pounds, we should actually let it go, be happy with ourselves and just see that we are healthy?? How about that?? Sounds to quirky??Ha ha, no I really love to eat and i have a very sweettooth. . .like sweets, not choclates, toffees, mini jelly eggs are my favourite, yum yum. . . and then of course our ultimate treat on a Friday morning after spinning is RED LATe, with. . .

Bacon and Mushroom Quiche, that is lovely and over weekends I like to bake pudding, yummie.

Ok, enough about that.

Yesterday Helen made me feel so guilty. . Why?? We never or hardly ever scrap our hubbies, so what about we go off and go make a nice little layout of the ones we so often forget about.

Ok ladies, off you go!!!

My addictions. . .and thingies i have never used

Hallo Everybody!!

Hope you had a very nice weekend, I was a bit ill, but are on the go again:)
These, are my addictions, scrapbook flowers, blooms, blossoms, whatever you want to call them, but I am crazy about flowers, can't stop buying them, I have jars filled with them, that container on top is filled with them. Then I have a addiction on magazines, any mag is a bargain, until about a month ago. . . .
I quit, yes I quit buying magazines,not all of them, just some of them, because I just don't have the space to store them anymore, I have little heaps allover, next to my bed, next to my chair, on the dining room table, everywhere, so I started sorting them, all of them except for my scrapping magazines, how can one throw those ones away???
But what I have done is to subscribe to a few e-zines, you get your monthly magazine by internet, you can browse whenever you want, print, whatever you want and you don't have books allover, and the price is good too:)

Then. . . .I bought this tool set a while ago, actually a VERY long time ago, this grommet tool, with plenty of grommets to go along with it, BUT, I have NEVER used it!!
This might sound stupid, but I don't really know how to use it, any MAKING MEMORIES fans out there?? So, what are your addictions???
Let me know!!!

Have a nice day!!
Tania
xx

Mini Book/Guest Book and Recipe

I made this mini book for a girl who is turning 21, she will be using it for her guest book on the night of her party.
Actually, i made quite a few of these books before, it is quick and very cheap, because we all have card stock and printed paper, that is all you need and a 12x 12 sheet of foamy. You can use this as a mini book, add a sticker sheet, bit of ribbon and of course you photos!!

Here is the recipe:

1. Choose your paper
2. Cut 2x card stock pages in half( album inners)
3. Score and half the 4 halves in half to form the inner pages.
4. Cut foamy in half.
5. Use the cut foamy, measure 16cm in length and cut.(to form book cover) you will be left with 2 off-cuts.
6. Use craft off cut as the spine measure 2cm gap in the middle of the craft.
7. Adhere book covers to the spine using double sided tape on scored lines.
8. Using a piercer make 5 holes, equally spaced, on the folds, through all inners.
9. Draw two lines, equally spaced on the inside of the spine.
10. On each line, place stack and pierce holes through spine.
11. Use floss or embroidery thread to "stitch" your inners to the spine and tie your knot on the outside of the spine.
12. You can also cut in a window on the front cover, in there you can put a embellishment.(i did not do it on this one)
13. Use the printed paper to cover the front cover. The paper will be too short to cover the back as well, so only half of the back will be covered.
14. Cover the left over back with a piece of card stock, overlapping the printed paper...

There you go, your book is assembled, you can add-on metal corners on the corners of your book, for added detail, I could not find any.
Like I said, you can add so many things, tabs, flowers, ribbon, just dig into your stash!!
Nice and very cost-effective gift, ALL HANDMADE.

Enjoy!!
Tania

GOOD MORNING FRIENDS

Hope you all have a fabulous day and relaxed weekend.

Love Tania
xx

Can somebody PLEAAAASSSSE Help me!!!

I am struggling once again, I am trying to save some dingbats on my computer from a wesite called www.dafont.com. Once I have saved it and try to open it, the most mysterious letters are infront of me, what am I doing wrong??
And then something on another note. . . . I have a extra cricut machine(for sale), anybody interested?

How cool is this??

We made another visit to the Pilanesberg together with our friends Thania and Mario and what a fruitful day it was!!
We got so close to this giraffe, we had to turn around as it was blocking the road, busy chewing on some branches. Then we got these lions!! Just look how lazy they are, four of them, 2 guys and 2 girls!! And i think all the girls came out because of WOMANS DAY, Happy to all you beautiful ladies!! We saw this cheetah, awesome, she was a few metres away, but i got a reasonable picture, although the cars in front of us came so close, but they did not give the other people a chance to get a better view, how selfish!! Anyway, got a few elephants also and this baby, how cute:) Also zebras a few bucks, I really think summer is on the way, because the past 3 times that we went there we saw very few game.

Today is cleaning again, still busy with some invitations, got a mini book to make, goodie, hectic.

Enjoy your day ladies!!

Tania

Wild and Wacky Wednesday

This layout I made for a competition, this was also the first introduction to sketches, they give you the sketch and you must do the layout according to that, it was a single page and i also struggle with that, I like the doubles, but here it is and no I did not win;) I will have to keep trying, nice prices up for graps at the scrapbookfactory in cape town, ooh I love Cape town, just the thought of that place makes me dreaming. . . .

Today is hectic, cleaning, ironing( i hate the ironing part:( )
Megan is running again this afternoon, must get her things together make sure I have lunch ready and then off we go to a neighbouring school, just a few blocks away, I wish her all the best. . . Go MEGAN!!!!

Had a spinning class this morning, lot of ladies turned up and we gave it our all!! Keep it up girls, summer is around the corner;)

anyways, off I go, see later;)

tania

Friends in a JIFFY

Good morning everybody, made these layouts last night, went to bed very late, wanting to finish it.

The past few weeks i had a rediscovery about scrap booking. I started following a few blogs a while back, but never left any comments, because I thought i do not know these people, love what they are doing though. Recently i started to leave some comments, started my own blog too and guess what? I am starting to make new friends all over the world, I still speak to myself on my blog, but now I know it will get better.

I hardly ever attend classes, for different reasons, money wise it is sometimes not worth it, other times, I don't like the specific style of the teacher and then I do not always have the time, so I scrap by myself most of the times.

So, I discovered this blog, called SCRAP ADDICT, hi Helen, I am so glad I met this lady, also did not know her, but in a blink she made me part of what she enjoys doing and that is scrap booking. She shares what she does and knows with everybody!! Also, she designs for a shop in Durban. Thank You Helen.

Then there is another lady, she actually inspired me to really take control of organizing. . . her name is Laura Vegas, from California, designer for Making Memories, published in many magazines, does very pretty layouts,thanks Laura:)

What involves my scrap booking is that I used to wreck my brain to get a layout together, took me forever, I don't like things to look the same every time, that is also something of the past, I NEVER made use of sketches and what a blessing, I can do 2-3 layouts a day now and actually feel unstoppable, just want to carry on and on., just by following a few drawings on paper and my mind can't stop thinking now, so i think I really had a scrapper's block, and a few things and people changed that for me in a very short time.

I also signed up for a online class, through the blog of Helen, looks great over at Two Peas in a Bucket:)

On another note, it is still very cold here, had rain over the weekend and they say another cold front is coming our way this weekend, but it is RUGBY again!! So I will snuggle up in front of the TV with a few snacks to stay warm. But I will talk to you before that. . .

Have a nice Day!!
Tania