{scraps of jacki's life}

i don't know how it happened...

but it did.

somehow, time flew by. and before i knew it, it is thursday. again. and it has been almost a week since my last blogpost.

how did that happen? does time fly by in your life too?

anyway, in south africa we are at the start of long-weekend season. this was a 4 day week, so will next week, because of the easter weekend. the week after we have our national elections, so there is a holiday. on a wednesday. the week after that has 3 days, as monday 27 april is 'freedom day' and friday 1 may is 'workersday'.

unfortunately, as i am a retailer, i should be open on public holidays. they are prime shopping days! and as nobody wants to work on a holiday, it is i, business owner and sucker, who is working on those days.

so, if you are on the area, and you are off on those days, please come and spend lots of money in my shop. so it is worth my while? thanks.

also coming up is that fun time of the year for me, that time i call 'ronnie-week'. i can already feel the dread building up in me. 14 april is his birthday, and 19 april is the day he died. 7 years ago. you would think it would get easier...

on the 25th march i wrote a blogpost, and said i would draw a winner from the comments. and the winner is sophia! sophs, drop me an email, and tell me if you want a photo-edit, or a blinkie.

and remember that tim holtz is coming to visit south africa. the johannesburg convention on 1 may is sold out, but there is still space available in cape town on 25 april, and durban on 3 may. you can get more info here. and for a glimpse of what makes this guy so great, you can look here and here.

i want to wish you all a happy easter. and do remember that it is all about Christ's great gift to us. and hot cross buns and lindt easter bunnies....

and here is another photo taken by amelia at the photoshoot last week.

these are my friends. we have shared each other's lives for almost 20 years! this older photo of us was taken many years ago.

2 of the girls in the older pic have moved away. and one new one has since joined our group. and no less than 5 of the 9 girls in the older photo have lost their husbands since that photo was taken. we could almost call ourselves the 'black widows' club..

you can see what i wrote about these girls here and here. and you can see the individual photos taken on that day here and here.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

tim holtz is coming to south africa!

did you see who is coming to south africa? the amazing tim holtz!

go to the convention's website for more info and to book. you can read more about tim here and on his blog.

you can see here and here how i have been inspired by him in the past.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

ron...

i used the photo i edited and used as part of my creative cropping photoshop tutorial on this layout:

it is ron, the man's dad. do you recognise the paper strips, and the letters that spell 'ron'? they are leftovers from jenni bowlin's layout that we made at the scrapbooking convention, as shown here.

i did zig-zag stitching around the outer edges of the layout in black cotton. the tape that says '3 metre' i found somewhere in the man's workshop. a whole roll...

i'm going to the scrappink event on saturday. are you also going?

i think there is a big storm coming, so i'm rushing off to get home before i get soaked.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

internationally known...

after my puppy snowy was featured on this internationally known blogger's blog in this post and here and here, she has been thanking me by bringing me breakfast in bed.

because she is still small, she gets small-doggie chunks twice a day, that i soften with warm water. but during the day she loves to steal the bigger chunks from the big dogs. then she runs into the house, jumps on my bed, and starts digging. she 'buries' the big dog chunks in my bed. between the blankets, under the pillows, anywhere.

after that post, i have had a few people scoffing at my claim to be an 'internationally known' blogger and photographer. so, here is my defence:

my sister carla lives in melbourne, australia. my friend elsa lives in dharhan, saudia arabia. i mentioned them last time.

i have a client of the shop, janine, who lives in seattle, USA. and another client, cheryl, is in ghana. also, annette scholz has met me, and she lives in perth, australia now.

i met wilna furstenburg from canada, rachael scholz from melbourne, donna downey from the usa, celine navarro from france, and others, at the south african scrapbook convention. they may want to deny it, but i have photographic evidence.

i have far-off family and friends of the family in holland, who would admit to knowing me. if i forced them.

all these international people know me, and would gladly tell you that i am not nearly as attractive and interesting in real life as my photoshopped photo on facebook and on my blog would lead you to believe.

so: internationally known! undisputable!

if a few of you would please leave some evidence in the comments, i would appreciate it... thanks!

i opened my google reader this morning, and i had 262 unread posts! and i have to read them all, heaven forbid i miss a thing. stacy julian and stefanie semple had 9 posts each, and cathy had 12! slow down girls. give me a chance to catch up! i got tagged a couple of times, i'll get to that soon.

i'm off to do some speed reading...

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

and even more convention..

remember when jodi won the RAK that i had on the post about my first blog-birthday?  you can see what i did with her photos here.

i got cathy's photos from the RAK she won, and will have some fun with hers too in the next few days.

here are some photos of the convention that were a little more about ME. the others were all about the teachers, and the classes, and the projects. it was so great to meet lots of my blog-friends, most of them for the first time. it felt like i had known them for ages! now when i read their blogs, it means so much more, because i know who these girls are.

this is stefanie, one of my bloggy-friends. she blogs here, and on journalingjunkie.

 

and this is sophia allison, blog-mate from durban.

 

here is rachael scholz, my new australian cyber-friend.

 

cathy and i. she was a fellow volunteer.

these are some of the girls from my shop who went:

 

ineke, rachael scholz, diana, rose, and behind deneile and cheryl.

 

one totally exhausted volunteer leaning on her friend and roommate diana.

i made my little mini-book from kelly white's class yesterday.

the great thing about the shop is that although i am open on public holidays (yesterday was heritage day in south africa), i have to 'work' very hard by scrapping all day with friends...

i know that all the posts on my blog are always very serious, but i am working on a very deep one for later this week. i'm hoping it will land me a recipe book deal.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

convention layouts: margie romney-aslett

margie represented making memories, and she presented 3 single page layouts that i converted into 2 double layouts.

the paper on the outside looks a lot pinker than it is.

i am not one of those people who feels that a layout of a boy/man may not have any flowers on it whatsoever. the flowers i used are blue and green. how do you feel about using flowers, ribbon and a little pink on 'guy' layouts?

 

the journaling says:

hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

hundreds of bees in the purple clover, hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

but only one MOTHER the wide world over.

george connor, found on quotegarden.

i see that quite a few of my bloggy friends are posting their finished layouts. stefanie, sophia, and others.

 

you can download a free school digital scrapkit here. thanks annette for the heads-up.

are you as confused as i am about all the drama in south africa's politics? you can find out a little more about kgalema motlanthe, who is apparently our new president, here.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPINTIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

more convention...

here are some more moments from the south african scrapbook convention.

jennifer straus from around the block in action.

 

it's hard to tell, but that is stacy julian doing her thing.

 

stacy in action. we had problems with the computer and the audio/visual display in our class all weekend, and ours was her first class. you can read what she writes about it here. sorry, stacy!

 

kyle and rob, kah-mei's husband, try to get the computer going, without much success. 

 

for some it all just got a little too much!

 

kah-mei smith demonstrates some technical points. 

 

stacy julian, celine navarro, jennifer straus, mallory, cyndee, margie romney-aslett, kelly white, kah-mei smith, jenni bowlin and rachael scholz.

 

getting messy in celine's class.

  

celine navarro demonstrating something.

 

margie romney-aslett tried to convince us to like making memories...

some of the participants in the dress-up competition.

 

some more dressed-up girls.

i have one more convention post coming up. i'll do that in a few days. you can also see more with cathy, sophia, jacqui, stefanie, stacy julian, margie romney-aslett. and i'm sure more will blog on the convention as the days go by.

what will i blog about when the convention is done? bookkeeping? laundry? any suggestions?

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

convention layouts..

so, it turns out, being (sort of) up to date is no fun at all. last night there was a workshop in my shop, and the girls were scrapping. antoinette is the teacher, and i just (wo)man the till. and i had no blogposts to read. and no emails to catch up with. sure, there is always work to do, but this is thursday evening, for goodness sake! so, iv'e changed my mind. please post? lots of posts! and please comment?

the man's father was in america on holiday, visiting his step-daughter, when he had a stroke, probably sunday/monday. he was flown back, and landed on wednesday afternoon, and taken straight to hospital. yesterday evening they operated on his brain, to stop the bleeding. it was a tough time for him, his family, and for us all. he is in ICU now, and stable. just before the weekend i made this gift for his wife, for her birthday. i used the photo i made for my creative cropping tutorial:

   

hey ron, you have to stick around a little longer, we still need you!

on a lighter note, here are the layouts i have made so far from the south african scrapbooking convention:

 

this is from jenni bowlin's class.

the next 2 are single pages, from rachael scholz's class.

 

journaling: no matter how old you get, you will always be my baby.

 

journaling: once upon a time there was a beautiful princess called anika.

thanks rach, i really enjoyed your layouts! i'll be scraplifting them again soon!

i made a photo-album with all my convention photos in it on my blog, in the left column, here.

look what i got! the magazine launched by celine navarro. it is in french, but i can look at the pictures. i love it! the layouts are more artistic, different.

 

for those of you who have been watching it, i will definitely be hitting the 10 000 visitors mark today. wow! 10 000 visitors? wow!  so, time for another RAK! the last one worked well, so i am going to do it again. if you leave a comment on this post, between now and sunday, you will go into the draw to win a photo-makeover, like the one you see here. i edited jodi's photos yesterday, she won the last RAK. she hasn't responded yet, so i don't know if she is happy...

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

after the convention...

i'm back from the convention. it was exhausting, and so much fun! i have tons of photos to edit, emails to answer, and 153 unread blogposts in my google reader. so, i am here, and working, even if i seem quiet. and i am reading all your blogs, but there is no time for comments. i will catch up, i promise!

yesterday i was exhaused, and over-stimulated, and had pain all over. so i spent the day scrapping. i finished jenni bowlin's LO, and 1,5 of rach's. it was wonderful!

i was one of the volunteers, who work very hard at the convention. we are the people who pack the packs, carry all the boxes, help you at registration, and make sure everything in your class goes smoothly.

i have lots of photos and stories. i will post them over the next few days.

here are some of the volunteers:

 

 

friday night meeting the teachers. on this photo you can see jenni bowlin, celine navarro and rachael scholz.

 

here are celine, glenda and stacy.

 

and kah-mei, jenni, kelly and margie.

 

 

i see that quite a few people have already posted about the convention, also some of the teachers.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, south africa

scrapscene guest post..

i did a guest post for scrapscene about the convention. you can check it out here.

makeover...

she will probably kill me for this, because i didn't ask her permission. but since she posted the 'before' pic on her blog herself, and since she is probably shopping up a storm in dubai as this very moment, i thought she would never find out. so all of you, please shhh.... 

this is rachael scholz. she is one of the teachers for the convention this weekend. i used this photo of her (top, left) that she had on her blog, to show you what the 'makeover' looks like that you can win by leaving a comment in the post labelled 'blogging' before monday.

   

 

 

is this 'makeover' something you would like me to do for you? would you pay me for it? if so, how much do you think it's worth? i'm asking, because i am thinking of offering this service. the beauty of it is that you could be anywhere in the world, with email and a paypal account, it can all be done. tell me what you think. i will also use the photos of one volunteer, and make a tutorial that you could follow for free, if you have photoshop. please tell me your thoughts on the subject. also tell me if you agree/disagree with photoshopping photos.

one of my clients said that if i could make her look like a 21 year old again, she would pay me thousands...

it is very hot here in johannesburg at the moment. we are having a heatwave, and temperatures are over 31' C. not unusual in january, but it is still spring!

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, gauteng, south africa

Celine Navarro

are you going to the south african scrapbook convention in sandton? these 2 days are all about scrapping, and having fun!

it is held on saturday 13 and sunday 14 september 2008 at the sandton convention centre, johannesburg. the cost is R2250,00. this includes everything.

the teachers this year are:

stacy julian, kah-mei smith, margie romney-aslett, guinevere wessell, jenni bowlin, celine navarro, rachael scholz and kelly white.

they are all international teachers. they will be teaching 8 classes over 2 days.

one of the teachers, celine navarro, comes from france. here is a message to you from her:

Hello fellow Scrapbook Artists!

Céline Navarro here! I'm counting the days til I meet you at the SA Scrapbook Convention in Johannesburg, I know it is going to be one of the most amazing experience I've ever had! Be ready to get inspired, to meet new friends, to enjoy yourself and to CREATE!

I want you to know that I've prepared a class for you that will get your hands a little bit dirty :) but don't be scared : this class is all about YOUR OWN CREATIVITY.
I'm so looking forward to visiting your amazing country, it has been a dream of mine for so long, and I am PROUD and HONORED to be able to get to meet you :)

See you REAL soon!

Céline Navarro

Things have been crazy here in France : we released our very own Scrapbook magazine two days ago! :)

thanks celine!

i don't know about you, but i'm really looking forward to meeting her. her style is different and interesting and creative. you can see a little of what she does on her blog. pop over there to have a look, and to say 'hi' to her. tell her i sent ya!

there is still space available at the convention, if you are interested. they will be taking bookings till the very last moment, so if you find yourself available for that weekend, you will still be welcome.

celine wrote a post in reply on her blog.

you can read about rachael scholz, one of the other teachers here.

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, south africa

sean's school photos, and a linky-day keeps work-blues at bay... what?...

i made this layout last week, after being inspired by a layout by the amazing, the talented, the nicest melani. i used those boring school photos. i love the way the 2 pattern papers (queen of hearts and 7 gypsies) go together! this is the kind of layout that the shop-owner in me does not approve of. it has very little 'product' on it. only paper, mainly. not a big sales booster. also, notice that although it is a school layout, it has no school embellishments/paper etc. but i am enjoying it, it makes my eyes happy.. edited to add: i taught this layout in our workshop today (saturday), and although everyone's layout was different, they were all beautiful!  that is what makes scrapbooking so rewarding!

blogging in bed again. thought i'd have a linky day, to keep you from your work, and so avoiding those work-day blues. it sure beats solitaire... remember to open an excel spreadsheet in another window, so you can switch to it quickly when the boss walks by... just my contribution to the productivity in your office. remember when tetris came out? it seems like a million years ago. at the time, it was said that it was invented in russia, to decrease productivity in the west. i think it worked, too...

i have found 2 new blogs that i would like to kick of my 'blog of the moment' feature with. i enjoyed visiting them: my marrakesh is about a woman who is living in morocco. also, i enjoyed 37 days, that asks the question, what if you had 37 days left to live? the third blog that i'd like to highlight, is one i have been visiting often, for quite a few months, and is in my blogroll. yet, christine middlekamp is always worth a visit. there is so much scrapbooking inspiration there, and real life, too. tell me what you think of these blogs, i'd love to know!

next, go to jessica sprague. she is an awesome source of photoshop-inspiration. see her tutorial for making your photos 'pop'. also, i found a link on her blog to a photography article on 5 ways to hold your veiwer's attention. in fact, the website that the article is on, beyond megapixels, is a good site to visit if you are a photography fan.

then, if you have taken the digital photo, and photoshopped it, then you can digitally scrap it by using the free digital scrapbook kit you can find on that great site shutterfly.

if you have not done so, visit the south african scrapbook convention's website, and book. on the booking form, where they say 'group' tell glenda you are with scrappin times, and she will put you in our group. it really is a great event. and glenda is great too...

tomorrow is madiba - nelson mandela's  90th birthday.

i have not forgotton about the brillante weblog award. i will pass it on soon, i promise! in the meantime, please nominate any blog you read and love. i would like to make it democratic.

if you follow any of these links, leave a comment to tell me what you liked. also, on those blogs, leave a comment and tell them jacki sent you. comments are good. comments are what bloggers blog for. bloggers loooove comments. i know i do. don't know how to comment? just look directly below this post. there you will find the word 'comment'. just click on the word, and it will take you to a comment form. easy! even blondes from benoni can do it...

anyway, i'd better get out of bed, and get ready to go to work. i finished another scrapbook layout last night. seems i got my mojo back!

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook shop, benoni, south africa

south african scrapbook convention

here is more info on the south african scrapbook convention:

it is held on saturday 13 and sunday 14 september 2008 at the sandton convention centre, johannesburg. the cost is R2250,00. this includes everything.

EIGHT INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITY TEACHERS:

• Stacy Julian • Kah-Mei Smith • Margie Romney-Aslett • Guinevere Wessell

• Jenni Bowlin• Céline Navarro • Rachael Scholz • Kelly White   if you want to go, you can book online, or pop into the shop for your booking form. if you do go, please mention that you are part of the SCRAPPIN TIMES group on your booking form, then they will put us all in one group together, and you will know lots of friends.   in the meantime, do visit all the celebrity teacher's websites and blogs, this will help you get in the spirit of things...   jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop, benoni, south africa

outrageous party, scrapbooking convention 1 may 2008

in the beginning of every year, i sit with the old and the new diaries, and transfer birthday and anniversary dates. in 2002 it was no different. i sat with the old diary, and started to copy all the important info into the new diary. but, for some reason - i cannot remember why, i was interrupted, and did not finish this task.

the last entry in my diary for 2002 read 'saskia'. saskia is my cousin. i had written down her birthday on the 19th of april. from the 20th of april there were no further entries. ronnie died on 19 april. how wierd is that? my life as i knew it changed on 19 april, and the pages of the diary of my life were suddenly blank...

 

usually during this 'ronnie-week', i scrap a page or 2 with photos of him. so yesterday i scrapped this page of ronnie and i, and tito and desire going to an 'outrageous' party in 1998. i used a becky sketch i found in the april issue of creating keepsakes magazine.

i have been wanting to scrap with 'white space' for quite a while now, but before i know it, i have filled the whole page. so, i used this sketch to 'force' me to leave some areas open. i really enjoyed this page, and i think i will use this sketch again soon.

i got this email from the scrapbooking convention:
We are so excited! We have just received the Heidi Swapp kits ... you are going to blown away with the projects they have lined up for you. Heidi will be debuting her mirror album which is packed with chandeliers, mirrors, ribbon and loads of bits and pieces. Janet's class is a 12x12 album and you will complete 4 pages and decorate the outside of the album with the world traveler line. Log onto the website, www.scrapbookex.co.za for more information and class requirements.
This is a day of spoiling, pampering and enjoyment!
See you at either Summer Place on 1 May or at Spier on 3 May!

Take care,
The SA Scrapbook Convention Team

 
ps. if you are very observant, you might have noticed some subtle changes to the look of my blog. typepad is planning lots of improvements. i'm part of their beta-team, which means i have been testing the improvements for a week or 2. there are a few glitches, which is why people like me test it first, but it is going to be great! also, if you are on facebook, and are a blogger, look out for the 'blog-it' feature which is just being launched. i'm sure you will love it!

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

antoinette, and blogging

behind the scenes on blogs, or on the blog itself, as you see in my left column, toward the bottom, you have a place where you can check the 'stats' of the blog. this tells us how many people visited this blog, and where they came from. what i mean is that it tells me the 'referring address'. so, if you typed in www.scrappintimes.typepad.com, you came from there, and if you found me by clicking a link on another website or blog that has a link to me, it gives me that website's address. don't worry, it doesn't tell me who you are... so, quite often, it tells me the hit came from 'google'. if i click on where it says 'google', it takes me to that screen, and shows me what that person 'googled'. this can be very interesting.

of the 6 hits i got from google in the past 24 hours, there was 'scrappin times', 'artist trading cards', 'allie hoopes own handwriting', and here is the weirdest for today: 'modge podge'. i checked, my blog was the 121st mention, on page 13! wow, what are the odds of that person finding me? once, i got a hit from 'post-christmas blues'. as i am quite a 'googler' myself, i find this info fascinating. it was very important that you know this. why? sommer. cause it's interesting to me, that's why!

the layout below was done by antoinette. she is one of the workshop teachers in the shop. i apologize for the quality of the photo.

i have told you about the following people before, but today i want to remind you to visit the following websites and blogs:

wilna furstenburg, especially read about 'a card for lois'.

jody ferlaak is inspiring and easy to read.

clean your screen. trust me, you need this! i hope you can get this link to work, because when i checked it now, it doesn't work. it worked before, i promise!

if you are a south african scrapper, read about the south african scrapbook convention.

if you are, or want to be a card maker, visit card positioning systems.

the march sketch is out on page maps.

and, last but certainly not least for today, you just have to visit the incredibly entertaining pioneer woman. oh, i wish i could write like her!

how are you today? please tell me.

Journaling

So often in my shop do I hear how my clients don't like journaling. And they hate their own handwriting.

More than 5 years ago, my husband died in an aeroplane crash. Now I cherish stiffy disks (remember those?) that say 'windows 98 recovery disk', and business cards that say 'Piet 08**etc', because they are almost the only samples of his handwriting that I have. And his handwriting was really awful! At least my family will have notes and journaling in my handwriting to cherish. Think of the special people in your life that have passed on. What have you saved with their handwriting on? Do you want to do that to your loved ones? Or would you prefer they have personal notes from you?

At the convention Wilna and Donna really emphasized this. Wilna suggested that if you don't know what to write, you start with 'dear ...' and write it as a note to them. She also told us that living far away from her mom, nothing beats the joy of getting a handwritten letter (remember those too?) in the mail from her. Think of journaling as a handwritten letter to your children.

I just finished doing Wilna's page last night. The tags all have notes on them to that person. I really enjoyed that. Thank you Wilna, for creating such a special layout.

I once read somewhere that if someone looks through your album and still asks questions, then you haven't done enough journaling.

My clients are also very bad at scrapping themselves. I also battle with this. I hate to be reminded of what I look like. I am, after all, somewhat large.. Yet, if my scrapbooks are the story of my life, then surely the main character - ME, should feature sometimes. Someone once told me that when her husband plays with the kids, it's such a special occasion, that she gets out the camera and takes pics, and scraps them. One day her kids will think that he played with them all the time, and she seldom did. While it actually was the other way around.

Come on, overcome that negativity, and scrap yourself at least sometimes! With my digital camera I work on the theory that if I take 100 photos, at least one of them will come out ok. The rest I delete. And since I am the boss of the camera, I have control of what is deleted, and what stays. And what gets scrapped. So give the camera to your hubby or you kids, and let them photograph you. Or contact Annette and book a photoshoot. AND SCRAP YOURSELF!!

I am busy (have been for weeks, it's somewhat torturous) with a layout using all those crappy photos of myself through the years. Those that survived being torn up. A few days ago, Donna also showed us her bad birthday pics on her blog, and promised she was going to scrap them. You don't have to go that far, though.

I hope I have given you something to think about. Leave me a comment and tell me how you have applied this.

And now I'm getting off my soapbox.

love, Jacki