DIY: Flower techniques for Spring

Happy Spring to all my crafty friends living in the Northern Hemisphere. We are enjoying Fall weather here in Cape Town, which is bitter sweet for us all. It means shorter days & chilly nights with the bonus of less wind...so  I suppose there is an upside to having summer hijacked :D

In honor of Spring, I have a page of our DD to share using a few handmade flower techniques you might find inspiring. This happy color palette, teamed with fresh, candid photos of Cassidy, make for a lovely addition to her teen scrapbook album. 

Your Life by Kim Watson

Supplies: Cardstock: +Bazzill Basics Paper ; Patterned paper: +Heidi Swapp , My Minds Eye; Frame, Brag Card, Stickers: +Fancy Pants Designs  ; Die Cuts Accents, Chipboard: Simple Stories; Ink: Heidi Swapp; Adhesives: +TombowUSA , +Thermoweb, +Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ; Metal Dies: +primamarketinginc . , +Little B  ; Manual Die-cutting machine: +Spellbinders Paper Arts  ; Other: Sewing machine

For the layout, I clustered handmade flowers around the photo arrangement, creating drama, as well as drawing the eye towards the title, then up to the photos & around to the journaling.

Torn paper & stitching flower: 

Pipe Cleaner & Button flower:

Layered die-cut flower & Leaves:

Stitched leaves & Flowers:

Bought Flower:

Here are a few details about each flower:

1. Rough rose made with torn paper strips & machine sewing.
2. Pipe cleaner daisy.
3. Layered patterned paper flower with felt & button center.
4. Peony created with metal dies.
5. Real paper bloom from Prima for a splash of yellow.

NOTE: All leaves are created with metal dies.

To further support my idea of a flower garden, I machine stitched leaves & swirls onto my background page, adding subtle texture & interest. 

I am so glad you stopped bay!
Have a wonderful weekend!

The Big Reveal...SCT Spring 2015 issue.

Yay! it is finally here...the BIG reveal....

The Spring 2015 issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today!

I am so thrilled to be a part of the 2015 spring issue which goes live today in stores, with subscribers around the world and on the SCT website for free download or subscription!  I wanted to share in the excitement by sharing the  links to this issue with you...because it is one not to be missed!

Here are some sneaks of my page included in the magazine:

You'll be needing these important links:

• shop sct
• like SCT on facebook
• follow SCT on twitter
• follow their pinterest boards
• watch their YouTube videos
• follow SCT on Intagram @sctmagazine
• join SCT at a Crop & Create event (so much fun!)

There's a spring in my step+ layouts

Happy Spring to all my friends in the Northern Hemisphere.

Here we are sliding into Autumn which means Winter is around the corner...yuck!!! Not my favorite season. Really cold but not enough to snow & have central heating....sigh!

So I thought I'd tag onto your season, & live vicariously though you for a couple of weeks, enjoying some 'extended' Spring.

To me Spring conjures up images of:

• bright floral posies
• baby critters
• pound cake
• pale blue skies filled with white clouds
• rain boots
• snuggles 

 Little Critters come out to Play by Kim Watson

(As seen in the 2011 Seasons issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Posted with prior permission from the Creative Crafts Group. )

Citrus pound cake...yum!!

  
You love the Rain by Kim Watson

I am going to post a tutorial on how to make these cute rain clouds...so watch this space :D

If I could Bottle your Love by Kim Watson

And as we approach one of the most special celebrations of the year, Easter.
Be reminded of something important. That God thinks....

Have a Happy Thursday!
Thanks!

In the sun!

Hello friends......it is good to be able to post again. I have been in the dark so to speak for the last 4 days, having no internet. FRUSTRATING a capital 'F'! but I am please to report that the technicians have been in and out for days....digging up cables and climbing in the roof. It seems as though it is finally sorted out! I feel like I can breathe again....sad that connectivity to cyberspace has an effect on how well I breath or not LOL! My saving grace is that I know I am not the only one suffering with this ailment.

The weekend past was a 3 day break....{what the extra day was all about, I have no idea} but we enjoyed the time together as a family anyhow. Being spring, the weather is so intermittent {a bit like my internet}, so when a sunny day is predicted we head out to do something ....FAST>>>> On Monday we decided to get have a leisurely breakfast first before getting all physical. Much to our surprise we found this to be quite challenging' in that most of the restaurants were closed for the public holiday {strange business practice....most of the population are not working, but they are closed.....go figure???} We found a little coffee shop in Kommetjie and had delicious French toast with bacon breakfast & endless cups of AWSOME coffee. Maxi was so well behaved, {we got a hint of what life was like before having him} and he alternated between sitting with us like a big boy and exploring the tiny garden we were sitting in. "Looking for moles Mama!" was his reasoning that and hidden "Pirate treasure!" {his new thing...pirates}. After soaking in the sunshine we headed down to the beach. Every year we like to come here @ Spring time, to document the BEAUTIFUL wild flowers that grow along the coastline. They weren't as thick as last year's flowers but we weren't disappointed, they were amazing! and I took about 400 photographs....no jokes. I love digital!!!!

Below is a picture "story" of our visit.....

{I tried to do a collage but couldn't get the size right for blogger, it keeps making the pic super tiny... LOL!}




We had such a fun time! With the prospect of moving to Canada getting closer & closer every day, we have made a point of trying to enjoy each and every moment we have in the beautiful Cape. Hopefully the amazing weather will hold out for a few more weeks while it is windless. For those who don't know the Cape......as soon as summer reappears so do the gale force south easter winds.....they are boringly monotonous making outings out REALLY uncomfortable!

Anyhow guys I will have to try and chat later....Maxi has just gotten home from a play date, so I am "it" until bedtime.
XXX

Spring....ha!

Apparently Spring has sprung!!! ......and the weary Mama & Dad sigh in horror!! How do they know it is spring, I ask? Yes, the days are slightly longer but not that the kids would know, surely????? Are the birdies singing earlier or are there more of them singing??? I dunno....but the rug-rats have decided that 6.30am {on weekends too}, is now the time to surface and start the day. 6.30 you might be wondering is not so bad???? but for the parents who's usual bedtime is around 11-11.30pm....6.30am is REAL early and OK our usual wake-up time is 7.15am, so what's the big deal about 45minutes ???? A lot I'll have you know, it makes the difference between border- line GRUMPY to fully-blown GRUMPY!!!!!!!! {hahahahaha}

Anyway the pictures say it all~ Bearing in mind it is 6.45am in the morning.....please note the gross lack of enthusiasm from the father.....those drag lines on the tarmac are for real......from the tread on his slippers. The mama is MIA in spirit but in body the index finger was still able to depress the shutter button and take {albeit BAD!} photographic evidence of the mornings proceedings.



The above right hand picture, was the family's gross fascination with a squished leopard toad. What is it with those damn toads? The are almost extinct but they insist on crawling onto the road, in front of moving vehicles?? With the amount of carcasses on the roads around our neighborhood, they won't last until this time next year?

The highlight of the excursion was the kitty friends the kids found along the way.......this one was Chloe. She was a hunni and stuck around for ages, until the mini terrorist decided to step up the pace of the games a bit and added a leafy branch to the mix. The cat didn't stick around for very long after that.....I think it was the mistaken WACKS in the face from an over enthusiastic pre-schooler that finally did it.





This ginger one was a bit wiser. He knew exactly what he was dealing with from the second he laid eyes on Max. He kept one step ahead of Max the whole time and of course Max loved this and thought it was all part of the game. If only he knew....hhahahaha! the cat was actually thinking up creative ways to out manoeuvre the yellow haired kid! And he did, Maxi didn't even get to stroke him.



Puddle jumping was a huge hit, until the filthy road water soaked through the shoes, socks and x2 pair of pants.

**Big sister to the rescue.

This was after Maxi matter-of-factly asked Cas: "I need help Cas, there is water in my shoes. They must come off!!!". Cass then replied: "Maxi you can't take your shoes off, it is still a long way to walk home". Max promptly replied saying: "No silly, I only want to take the water out, then I will put the shoes back on again".

The logic of a three year old boggles the mind!!!!!

Well folks as you can see fun was definitely had by all the under 9's in the outfit. The over 35's on the other hand are having trouble adjusting to the early starting times....hopefully the renewed love of early mornings will kick in soon.......'cos it is SPRING after all and thats a good thing isn't it!!!!

C ya
XX