{scraps of jacki's life}

memories...

this post is for lorianne, who says she gets irritated if she opens my blog and there is no new post.

i came across this pic last year. i scanned it and reprinted it for my siblings, and gave it to them last year as part of their christmas gifts.

ah man! so many memories!

we had this family tradition, where on the first day of school, all us kids had to line up next to the car for a photo. this must have been andre's first day of grade one, that's him second from the left. i am the stunner on the right. if it was andre's first day, then he must have been 6, paula 8, and then i must have been 10. carla was about 3, almost 4. it was probably 1976, or so.

what do you mean you can tell it was the 70's?...

now a days we would not take a photo in front of the car, it does not make the best background. but looking at the photo, it adds to the context, the memories. it is a 'do you remember that car!" moment. funny how the 'awful background' now adds to the story...

we have quite a few of those kind of pics, each from a different year. the school uniforms and the cars differ, but the uncertainty on our faces remains the same.

what are your family's first day of school traditions?

 

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

safe and sound...

i am happy to say that after almost 22 hours on the road, my family is home safe and sound. exhausted, but with some extra cash in their pockets.

and i'm feeling just a little sheepish for my panic...

and thank you jacqui, toni, cathy, sophia, linda and jennilee for your supporting messages and emails and comments on facebook.

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

my worst fear...

today i'm facing my worst fear.

some time ago i wrote a post called it happened to me, where i wrote about how, after losing my first husband ronnie in an aeroplane crash, i have this issue. ok, i have lots of issues, but today we will just focus on this one, ok?

you see, when something bad happens to you, you also lose your built-in 'it cannot happen to me' shield. since that dreadful day, almost 7 years ago, i have had to deal with my constant fear of it happening again. generally i am an optimist, and i don't tend to worry about what-ifs. except this one: i worry that someone close to me may die. i especially worry that the man, francois and sean may die. i know people die. heck, i know people die! but i also know how terribly bad that is. and i also know that it can happen to me.

this morning, very early, the man, francois and my mother, left with a bunch of other people in 2 mini-buses, to go to port shepstone from benoni. a trip of about 7/8 hours. on the highway. in holiday season. on a public holiday. in the early morning hours, when drivers are tired. i stayed behind, because i had to work today. 3 of my closest loved ones, together in one vehicle.

as i write this, the man has already let me know they have arrived safely. so one half done. before i heard this, i could not even write about it, my stress levels were too high. after they got to port shepstone, they each get behind the wheel of a little chana truck, and started the long drive back. lots of those little trucks need to be driven to gauteng, so they are paying people to drive them back. the man was one of the drivers down in the bus, so he will be driving a total of 15/16 hours today. the rest will drive only one direction. alone in a truck. including francois, my 22 year old son, who has never driven more than 2 hours in one go. they will only be home late tonight.

from the moment that it was all arranged and confirmed last night, i have had this internal battle. i have been constantly praying. i have had the thin, cold snake of fear slithering inside my stomach, so bad that i woke up with a stomach ache. and i feel like i cannot really breathe. extreme stress. in fact, i'm finding it very difficult to write this...

but, i have been working on it. i have been trying to breathe, and to relax. i have been placing my fear in HIS hands. ok, i have been taking it back all the time too, but i know that HE is in control. 

today i'm facing my worst fear. and i'm not doing too well. what is yours?

 

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

happy birthday, theo!

this is what i got you for your birthday, but since you are away on holiday, i cannot give it to you...

ek hoop jy het 'n wonderlike dag, ou swaer!

and today is a public holiday in south africa. it is day of reconciliation.

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

happy birthday, paula!

it is my sister paula's birthday today.

she is used to having a sister in her fourties by now, but it is a first for me...

i hope you have a wonderful day sis, and remember what mom always says: you are only young once, but you can be immature forever...

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

bloggers are boring, self obsessed narcissists?

“The bottom line is that blogging is like sex. You can’t fake it. You can’t fake passion. You can’t fake wanting to engage with the public. If you do, it will ultimately be an unsatisfying experience for both the blogger and their readers.” (Kevin Anderson)

huh? blogging is like sex? maybe i'm not doing it right...

the blogging, i mean.

“People have often described me as a blogger. I generally shy away from the term because, to me, bloggers are boring, self obsessed narcissists who use their website mainly as a means to discuss the inconsequential minutiae of their day to day lives.” (Anonymous)

that's what makes it so interesting to me! i love inconsequential minutae.

sjeesh. never though i would ever use that phrase in a sentence.

inconsequential minutae.

inconsequential.
minutae.

“As I have repeatedly written in one form or other, blogging is not about writing posts. Heck, that’s the least of your challenges. No, blogging is about cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with an ever-growing online readership, and that’s hard work.” (Alister Cameron)

jip! hard work indeed. 'cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with an ever-growing online readership', by writing about 'inconsequential minutae'.

i just love these quotes.

i think blogging is much like having pen-friends. you know, a generation ago people used to have friends who lived across the world, who they had never met, but who knew all about each other's lives. now we have blogs.

did you know you can buy blog banners? you can go to the shabby shoppe, and choose a package you like. if you are quick, you can get them on sale too. i have never tried them myself, so let me know how it works out if you do.

go to tim holtz's blog, and see his '12 tags' series of posts. even if you never make the tags, you will still pick up some cool ideas. that guy is just so creative!

if you don't know who pioneer woman is, best you check her out NOW! you are missing something if you have never visited her blog. she also has pioneerwoman cooks and pioneerwoman photography, and a garden section and a homeschooling section. visit her today, you will love her.

go to scrapgirls, and sign up for their newsletter. it comes to your inbox daily. and it is full of inspiration, ideas, tips, and a freebie in each newsletter. and, if you have broadband, you can download this digital scrapkit free from there too. it is a big one!

if you have not yet discovered the ease of blog reading through google reader, then go back and read this post i did on it, and get it. it must be the most time-saving and efficient things i have done recently. it takes me less time to keep up with the 69 blogs i have in there, and i never miss a post!

this is the gift i'm giving my dad for christmas:

 

it is a photo he has been nagging me for. it was taken almost 23 years ago, when ronnie and i got married. we were married 16 years when he died, 6.5 years ago.

you can read the funniest childbirthing story ever (and we all know how funny childbirthing can be) here. one tip, don't drink coffee while you are reading it, because you will have it coming out your nose. i know.

because i had nothing interesting to say today, i have included lots of links to people who do have things to say. their inconsequential minutae are so much more fascinating than mine...

 

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

praying mantis

on sunday sean got a new little friend.

"hey, little friend. nice to meet you!"

"let's see you up close"...

 

"oooh, you are tickling me!"

 

"let's pray together, my friend".

and to prove that i actually do some work around here...

what do you mean scrapbooking isn't work? it is for me - i have a scrapbooking shop.

it was another tough day at the office...

 

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

pappa and mamma

i did a photo shoot of my mom and dad last week.

they came to the shop. we hung a tablecloth as a background. they wanted some 'formal' shots.

i think they came out great.

now i have christmas gifts for my siblings - a cd of all the pics and prints of the above ones, and plenty of good photos to scrap.

 

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

how to remove red eyes with photoshop - it's easy!

this is a little tutorial for beginners, and people who have never got round to mastering the red-eye tool.

i use photoshop elements 6, but it will work the same in other versions.

open the photo you are going to be working on. marni and anika look a little possessed.

 

look for the tool in your left-hand toolbox that looks like this. click on it.

your cursor becomes a little cross. hold the cross over the middle of the red part of the eye, and click. see the red disappear. it's magic! repeat for all eyes, and you will have this:

ok, not exactly this. it would be weird if you had a photo of my nieces. but you get the idea.

you can see my other tutorials here.

 

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

graduation....

i took the photos from francois' graduation, and used them on the paper i 'quilted' as i showed here.

 

the left side of the layout shows francois' dad, ronnie, at his graduation in 1985. he got a B COM (Accounting) degree. and the next year a B COM (Hons). he was a chartered accountant.

the right side of the layout shows francois where he got his BA (Politics and Economics) degree. he is almost finished with his BA (Hons) in Economics, so we will get more pics to scrap soon.

so, father and son graduated at the same university. and they are the same age in these pics. me? well, i still look the same, just different hair...

 

you see how scrapbooking lets you tell a story?

do you also see that once again i used no 'graduation' themed paper or embellishments? and no flowers or butterflies. i used great restraint.

 

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

welcome to the naughty fourties, simon!

simon is my sister carla's guy. they live in melbourne, australia. i blogged about him, and her, here.

i hope you have a great day!

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking 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

circle of love

i was tagged by sophia, cathy and lara, to tell you 7 random facts about me. i think those of you who read my blog regularly already know more about me than so many people i see every day. why would you want to know more? can i not keep any secrets?

ok, you asked for it. here goes:

i can read, write and speak dutch. in fact, my parents and siblings and i still jabber away in dutch whenever we see each other. we even sms each other in dutch. but we were all born in africa... i also speak afrikaans and english.

the man and i are not married. we have lived in sin for more than 5 years now. we never meant to not get married, there just has never been enough time, money, energy. i know.

ronnie died 6.5 years ago, and his estate still has not been wound up. it's a process... ok, so this fact is not really about me, so it does not count.

i was married at 19, a mother a 20, and a widow at 35. i'm in a hurry. it was meant to be graduated at 19, millionaire at 20 and nobel prize at 35. somewhere someone got the order wrong.

i am a computer and internet junkie. and i can fix a lot on my computer myself. i even formatted my computer myself last week. it is a pleasure to work on now.

today is my birthday. i'm 42.

i love ice-cream and pasta. i don't like litchies and mangos. i drink almost no alcohol - it is not good for me.

i still have a grandmother. she is 92. she came to visit me today.

Here are the rules:
Link to your Tagger and list these rules on your blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post and link their blogs.
Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

as usual, i'm last to do this, so everyone i know has been tagged already. so, i have to go wider:

eilandkind

lori

hayley

rachael

annette

nicky

rose

these are some of my wedding photos.

 

i used some of the buttons and flowers we got from making memories at the convention, as used on this layout here. and the stamped circles i also learned at the convention, it was done by rachael scholz, as you can see here.

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking 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

christmas is coming...

 

i edited this photo of marni over the weekend. i'm not sure what i did, i just played. i really like it.

last week i played a little with making christmas cards, but i didn't get far, as i cannot feel the christmas spirit yet. then yesterday i went to a teacher's class (yes, we teachers go to classes too. we also need an inspirational kick in the butt), and we did a christmas layout. there is no more denying it, christmas is coming..

 

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

camping

going on holiday is not an option right now, so sean has been camping in his tent in the garden.

 

you see that door just to the right of his tent? that is our bedroom. he is closer to us in his tent, than when he is when he is sleeping in his own room.

 

a twelve-year-old's version of independance...

edited to add: he has slept there a few nights, cathy. and yes, kota, my 22 year-old lives in a flat on my property too, and he is only a little further away from us. during the week he lives on campus, though.

 

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

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

carla

i was going to blog some more about the convention, and i have a post half-done, but i am at home this morning, and my convention photos are on my computer at the shop. so, here is something different for today.

last week i did this LO. is was inspired by antoinette's class. i was feeling a little uninspired in the last few weeks, so it was either scraplifting or not scrapping at all.

 

i really enjoyed doing this page. and i'm happy with how it came out. see, more butterflies... carla is my baby sis, the one who lives in melbourne, australia.

it has taken days, but i'm finally getting a little caught up. first i read lots of the 153 unread blogposts in my google reader. then it took 2 days to wade through my inbox. it still needs more trimming, but at least i'm no longer too afraid to check my email. unfortunately, 2 days of springcleaning email meant my google reader got filled again... the shop's admin is also getting a little more up to date.

i managed to do a little scrapping on monday, and i'm hoping to do some more before the week is over. normally i'm a late-night scrapper/blogger, but after this hectic week iv'e been to tired at night to do anything, collapsing in bed much sooner than normal.

am i complaining? NO! i'm loving it! the convention is always a highlight for me, and being busy is so productive.

sophia, ineke and tracy, are you having fun with your cuttlebugs?

love, jacki

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

lessons...

last week was the anniversary of my cousin's and my grandfather's deaths.

on 31 august 2002, 6 years ago, my cousin michael had a heart attack at age 35, and died in his home, leaving his wife and 3 kids, the youngest was only 6 weeks old! he died on his mother's birthday. i think i would never want to celebrate my birthday again...

on 28 august 2001, 7 years ago, my grandfather died. he was well on his way to his 91st birthday. many years before, some months after my grandmother had died, he had gone to holland to visit friends and to travel. there he met with a woman who, along with her husband, had been friends with my grandparents when they were young. there is even a photograph of the two couples together. both she and my grandfather had lost their partners. they fell in love, and got married. she was 57 and he was 75. their marriage lasted 18 years, 2 years longer than mine, and i was 19 when i got married.

after their marriage, they lived in holland for 6 months every year, in her house, driving her car, celebrating her birthday, and seeing her children. and the other 6 months of each year they lived here, living in his house, driving his car, celebrating his birthday and seeing his children. year-round summer. an ideal situation...

after his 90th birthday, they left for holland again, but while they were there, he got ill. they flew back, and he spent some weeks here, weak but lucid, until he died peacefully in his own bed, his wife by his side.

my mom phoned me to tell me he had died. she told me he was in his bed, and peaceful, and that i could come to see him. i went to fetch francois (who was 15 at the time) from school, and went to his house. i told francois to wait in the lounge, but he followed me to the room.

when i saw my grandfather lying there, less than an hour after his death, i could immediately see that it was no longer him. i could see that it was just his earthly vessel, and that his body in the bed was just that, his body. that that was 'him' was no longer there.

for as long as i can remember, i was terrified of finding a dead body. i had a phobia about it. i had nightmares about it. if we walked somewhere in the bush, i would have that fear in the back of my mind, much like people who are afraid of snakes feel. so, seeing my grandfather there, was very good for me. it showed me that a dead body was nothing to fear.

it was also GOD's way of preparing me for what was to come. 6 months later, my husband ronnie died in an aeroplane crash. my experience with my grandfather, made dealing with some of the aspects of ronnie's death easier. ronnie had died in a horrible crash, and the aeroplane had burned. what was left of his body was burned and mutilated. they had to use dental records to identify him and his 2 colleagues/friends who were in the plane with him.

we know that ronnie and his 2 friends died upon impact. the slamming of the plane on the ground was what killed them instantly. what happened after, did not happen to him. it happened to his earthly vessel. he was no longer there. that what made him him, did not feel the pain.

and in the days after, when his body lay in the mortuary, i never felt that 'he' was there. one often hears of people who say that their loved ones are cold, or uncomfortable, or unhappy. but i never felt that. i knew that 'he' was no longer there. my grandfather had shown me that in his death.

GOD works in wonderful ways. HE uses so many things to teach us for the future. things happen to us, that sometimes years later mean something. we may not see the significance now, we may not ever. but, out of today's happenings may come tomorrow's comfort. the hardship of now may be the preparation for the future.

my grandfather meant a lot to me in his life. he taught me so much. and even in his death, he taught me something that would probably be the most important lesson for me ever.

and to prove that every winter is always followed by spring...

 

 

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

we all need a helping hand sometimes...

on sunday morning our worker came to tell us that there was a problem. when we went to look, we found this:

she had gone into labor during the night, and in the morning when the sheep were let out, she made it this far.

do i hear you saying eeeww? you shouldn't. it's a miracle of nature.

see? not eewww. a tiny little lamb. we thought it was dead. it was very still, and it's tongue was hanging out.

the man started pulling it out. then, suddenly the lamb shuddered. it wasn't dead! that meant that he had to pull more carefully, because now he didn't want to hurt it.

see those hands? those are the hands that hold my hand. no more hand-holding until those hands are washed...

he soon realized why the lamb was stuck. it's one little knee was catching inside. the man had to reach inside to straighten the leg. believe me, this wasn't pleasant for the poor mama.

after quite a long struggle, it just slid out. the poor lamb and the mama were exhausted! our one worker was moved to tears. he said it made him sad to see the mama suffering like that. when he said that with a catch in his throat, it moved me to tears too.

hello little lamb. welcome to the world. i hope nothing will ever be this difficult for you again.

the mother sheep licks the baby clean, and eats all the afterbirth. this is to replace all the blood and minerals she lost in the birth. now, this is eeww..

come on baby! you can do it! i know you can! you see? a miracle!

sometimes we spend so much time looking for a miracle, that we do not even notice the 'every day miracles' that happen around us.

after this, our cup of morning coffee outside in the spring sunshine seemed to taste so much sweeter!

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

verjaarsdag...

the afrikaans word 'verjaarsdag' means 'birthday'.

here is a layout i scrapped on friday. the photos are of francois's 11^th birthday, in 1997:

i haven't made cards in quite a while, so i thought i would use the scraps and make some. i used card positioning systems sketch #78:

see the sewing? it's my current addiction.

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

these cards were featured on card positioning systems

tutorial - creative cropping

playing and experimenting with photoshop has really made me feel more adventurous. and there is one thing i have realised - sometimes being unconventional and creative makes for a so much better photo.

{some of you who read this blog regularly will have seen some of these photos before. }

i want to show you some examples of how interesting creative cropping can be. you do not need photoshop for this, any photo editing software can so most of these things.

 

i am just a girl from benoni. i am not a photoshop expert. if you are prepared to figure it all out with me, then you are welcome. if you want a degree in photoshop, then you are at the wrong place...

word art: shabby princess, ronna penner, remember this, part of the express yourself kit

frame: michelle coleman floral frame, part of the 'wonderful' kit

ugh! looking at photos of myself makes me realize 3 things: i HATE photos of myself, age is unmerciful, and i love, love, really love photoshop!

frame: shabby princess scalloped border, part of the 'fesitval' kit.

by doing some really close cropping, you can get rid of that distracting background.

frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 inked border

you can also put the focus an the subject's eyes.

frame: jessica sprague grunge frame

the way i cropped this photo of my mom and my sister, creates an intimacy, a closeness. it also highlights how much they look alike.

this is marni. she is my brother andre's daughter. i want to use this photo of her to show you a magic trick in photoshop.

open your photo. create a new layer. do your basic edits. then, click on 'image' in the overhead menu. on the drop-down menu, choose 'crop'. a highlighted block will appear on your photo, with handles that you can make the block bigger or smaller. but first, under the word 'file' on the overhead menu, find the words 'aspect ratio', as shown by the pink arrow on the photo below. on the drop-down menu, you can choose one of many options. i like to use 'use photo ratio', as this makes the photo easier to print.

when you move your mouse on the handles of the cropping block, you will see that the arrow suddenly changes to a curved arrow. this means that if you click there and hold your mouse button in, you can move the angle of the cropping box, as shown by the green arrow in the above photo. when you are happy with it, you can click on the green arrow to accept it. if you are not happy, you click on the red circle, and try again.

the whole idea is to experiment, to play. crop dramatically. click to accept. look. like it? keep it. don't like it? go to 'edit' in the overhead menu, and click on 'undo crop'. photoshop is so much better than real life, you can do wild, brave, irresponsible, silly things, and just 'undo' afterward. not like real life, where you are stuck with the hangover/baby/crashed car/credit card bill.

frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 inked border

and this one i'm particularly proud of. this is ron, the man's father. i took this photo of him on christmas day 2006.

frame: shabby princess shabby borders1 shabby lines

go on, give it a try. remember, it is all about playing, experimenting, having fun. if you don't like it, you don't save it!

you can find my other photoshop tutorials here.

 

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

this post was featured on paxton prints and photoshop-pack and scrapscene and scrapdiary

domestic bliss...

this is a typical winter's evening in our house. see the roaring fire in the background? ok, not so typical. usually we are out of wood. the men lying around, and the dirty dishes and the general messiness, now that is typical. the only thing missing, is a few cats and dogs. usually, the man has a cat lying on his chest. we have 4 cats, 3 dogs, 9 sheep, and a large assortment of ducks, guinea fowl, turkeys, and other birds. ah yes, domestic bliss...

on wilna's blog she has a link to this awesome layout. i think is is fabulous too. so i thought i would share it with you. also, i am linking it here, so that i can find it myself if i want to look at it again...

did you see how sexy donna downey is? she lost weight, and looks great. no more skinny poses for her...

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

best friends forever...

i have quite a few friends. friends for a reason - such as my scrapbooking friends, and my blogging friends. friends for a season -  those friends that you have for a while, and then outgrow them. and then i have these friends:

we have been friends for a very long time. i think more than 15 years. the group has changed a little. some members have moved away, like marlene and annemarie, who are still sorely missed. some have joined us later. a few years ago, we decided we were going to have a photoshoot. we planned every detail. we got dressed up. we assembled props, and we hired a photographer. and we have not regretted it, ever. the memories we have of this day, and of each other, are priceless!

as a group we have been through so much. there are 9 girls on this photo. but we have been through 3 divorces, and some close calls, 3 deaths of husbands, and a few serious illnesses, 2 re-marriages, and one who is living in sin. a few bankruptcies and some close-calls. our kids have been through problems at school, therapies, troubled teens, depression, weddings, rehab, moving overseas. some of the girls in these photos are grannies already, and some could have been a long time ago. soon, we will sit together in the sitting room of the old-age home, and laugh and share 'remember when's.

for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, we have been together. these are the girls i would phone in the middle of the night in a crisis. these are the girls who stood by me when ronnie died. these are the girls who would still love me, no matter what i looked like, and no matter what i did. these are the girls who forgive tactlessness and hurtful remarks. these are best friends forever.

to theunise, anne, charlotte, hettie, antoinette, annemarie, marlene and una i want to say thank you for being such wonderful friends! thank you for the fun, and the laughs, and for sharing the tears. thank you for caring and for being there. thank you for being you, and for the contribution you make to my life. thank you for letting me be a member of your wonderful little group. the day we took these photos is still one of the highlights of my life...

and to annemarie, it was so nice to see you again. it was like you were never gone.

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

photoshop tutorial - how to make eyes 'pop'

i have lots of admin to do, so i thought it would be the perfect time to write another tutorial... anything to avoid 'work'.

this time i will show you how to make eyes 'pop' in photoshop. it makes eyes look bright and beautiful and lively. it puts a twinkle in your eyes, if you will... i use photoshop elements 6, but this will work in any photoshop. this follows directly on the tutorial on how to create a softened or dreamy-looking photo. i started using this extra step after i wrote that tutorial, but it is really great if you use it in conjunction with those steps. you can use it on it's own too.

the warning label was a digital freebie by valerie randall at scrapgirls.

first this disclaimer: all tricks seen on this page are done by trained professionals. please do not try this at home...  not! i am NOT a trained professional, i am not even a untrained professional. or a trained unprofessional. i am no expert, i just love playing with photoshop, and i am always looking for new ways to make my photos look better. ok? and you are welcome to try this at home. or at work. or in a coffee shop. or wherever. that is the whole point...

lets start where we ended with the first tutorial:

the festival vintage frame is from shabby princess.

they look identical at first glance, but look again at the eyes. see how the eyes 'pop' in the right hand photo? i will show you how to do this.

open your photo in photoshop, and do basic edits. you can follow the steps as described in the tutorial on how to create a softened photo, but this is optional. i did. now, right-click on the little thumb-nail of your photo on the right side of your screen, and 'create duplicate layer'. when it asks you for a name, call it 'eyes' or something that will make it easier for you to know what you did where.

with the 'eyes' layer selected, use your lasso tool, as shown by the pink arrow, and draw a shape around the whole eye. don't worry too much about how precise it is. when you have the 'marching ants' around the eye area, it is automatically selected.

{on the top menu bar, click on 'select', as shown by the green arrow. on the drop-down menu select 'modify', as shown by the red arrow, and then 'expand' as shown by the yellow arrow. in the menu box, fill in 'expand by 2 pixels'. this makes your selected area a little bigger.} this whole step is optional, if you are happy with how you selected the area.

now click on 'enhance' in the top menu bar, and then on 'auto sharpen'. only the selected area will sharpen, in this case the eye. you could click on 'auto sharpen' more than once, if you want, you can decide when the result is what you want. the point is that it is subtle and natural, you don't want your loved one to look high or feverish... if you sharpened too many times, you can click on 'edit' and the 'undo adjust sharpness', and it will undo that step. just play around until you are happy. remember to do the other eye as well (duh). just repeat the steps.

if, at any stage you want to start over, click on 'edit' and 'revert', and it will take you back to your original photo, or 'delete layer' to delete whatever you did on this layer.

this is anika. my sister paula's daughter. here she is in a pensive mood...

the frame is a floral frame by michelle coleman that you can download here.

and here is carla, my 'baby' sis:

and after the eyes trick:

the frame is the festival scalloped frame from shabby princess.

you see, subtle. yet interesting. please let me know if you like this?

you can see my other photoshop, scrapbooking and papercrafting tutorials here.

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

this post got linked to: paxton prints, photoshop-pack (on 8 november 08 this post has had 1211 hits from here alone!), image insider, 2x del.ico.us, bild och foto, scrapscene, capturedinthemomentphotography

opa arie

by the way, the tape measure accross the page is not stuck skew, i cropped the photo skew.

this is a layout i made with the photos of my paternal grandfather, arie bakker. he married 'tante janny' after my grandmother died. he died in 2001, just before his 91st birthday. she moved back to holland after he died, and i have not seen her since. i was very fond of her. if you look closely, you can see i did some sewing, on the darker paper, and accross the flowers. i meant to do a title, but could not find an alphabet that did it for me, and did not think of anything to say. maybe i will add it later. or maybe you could suggest a title in the comments?

lately, i have been wanting to scrap simply, understated, white space. not good for a shop owner, i should be 'advertising' stock. and i have been wanting to journal more.

i once read that if people page through your album, and still ask questions, you have not journaled enough. someone somewhere (i read a lot, and widely, so i often cannot remember where i read things) said recently that she threw an old photo album away because although it had nice photos, and it must have meant a lot to someone once, and although the people in the photos were probably family, it meant nothing to her personally, as she had no clue as to who the people were. . you see, it is not about the photos alone. it is about the stories. about the histories. as you page through your album, ask yourself if it will mean anything to a future generation. or will someone just throw it away some day, because she has no clue who the people in your album are?

love, jacki

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

tannie muis - time and about magazine issue 8

i have just spent the entire morning reading blogs. i have tons of work to do, which makes reading blogs soooo much more fun. i wish i could make blogging my full-time job. then i could call this morning 'research'. mind you, if blogging was my job, i would probably spend the entire morning filing and doing admin, since anything is always better than working... having said that, i made scrapbooking my full-time job, and look how much scrapbooking i am doing lately.

i want to introduce a feature here, a kind of a blog of the week. except, i don't want to commit myself to a weekly thing. so i will call it a blog of the moment. it can be any blog. anything you like. tell me who you read. and i will tell you who i find. ok?

i have a new baby in the house. sean got a little jack russell puppy for his birthday. it is sooo cute! and demands attention all the time. it has spent the morning lying on my lap, sleeping in my blanket.

a while ago, time and about magazine asked me to participate in their 'inspiration' challenge. it appears in the current magazine, issue #8. it follows on the previous time i had a layout published. does being published twice entitle me to say i have been published a couple of times?... :) here is what it is about:

when francois was little, he used to refer to the 'tannie muis', instead of the 'tande muis'. this is afrikaans for the tooth fairy.

i made a shakerbox containing his baby teeth! i have wanted to do that for ages. it seemed to me to be a logical place to store them. so much better than in a used plastic pill container in my panty drawer...

you can find a tutorial on how to make a shakerbox here.

 

on the journaling tag i wrote this (translated from afrikaans):

"you always talked about 'tannie muis' (aunty mouse) instead of 'tande muis' (tooth fairy). when you were about 7 or 8, you declared one day that you no longer believed in the tooth fairy. yet, you spent the entire afternoon putting the tooth in a jungle oats box, on cotton wool, with a note. and then you created a trail from the front door to your room, with letters and arrows, in case the tooth fairy could not find the way. you were too afraid to not believe.

it is a pity that i did not scrap then. because then i would still have all the notes and lots of photos. fortunately, i did keep all your teeth, so now i can at least scrap the only 2 'toothless' photos, and the teeth, and the story." 

along with the layout, we also had to create something else. i made these three cards. i used my revolutionary, world-famous, ground-breaking (not!) method of cutting 3 cards from one sheet of cardstock.

here is the magazine, in case you want to rush out and buy it, mom...

and here is what we got as the source of inspiration. see if you could do anything better with it...

every time i get to this point in my post, the whole typepad screen crashes, and i have to open typepad again, get to this post and try to go on. and then it happens again. when will i learn to save continuously? fortunately, i have an amazing command of HTML. i can insert <br>. that's it. that's all i know. but it has helped a million times. maybe soon i could do a tutorial on this...

in the meantime, however, i am sooo late to fetch sean from school. so i have to rush!

love, jackie

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

carla and simon

i used jessica sprague's grunge frame, and rhonna farrer's travel heart overlay from 2peas.

carla, my baby sis, is a gypsy. she travels the world, never staying anywhere for long. she lives in a hammock on the beach in india, works in youth hostels, journeys by bus through nepal, teaches children in sri lanka. whenever we ask her when she is going to settle down, she says she is not yet ready. she lives out of a backpack, and owns little more than she can carry with her. in fact, when francois was going to university, we bought him crockery, cutlery, kitchen utensels, towels, bedding, a fridge and a microwave, and he remarked that he at 18 owned more stuff than his aunt, carla.

then she went to australia, to travel there. and she met someone. simon. and the rolling stone seems to have come to a stop. suddenly, she seems to be settling down. my parents went to visit here there a few weeks ago, and they came back with stories and photos about her life there. and on the photos i can see she has stuff. she has a little home. none of us had met simon before, but my parents like him. they are happy with the life she seems to be making there.

so there is this new guy in the family. we don't know him. but, if he is good enough for carla, he is fine by me. i just wish they weren't so far away. i wish they were here for family birthays, and for family get togethers. i wish theo and mike could have a beer with him. i wish he could play with the kids, and gripe about the in-laws. we know nothing about him. i don't even know how old he is. it is quite sad that this man who is so important to carla, is a stranger to us. we don't know him, but we miss him, as we miss her all the time.

carla and simon, please come to visit. we would like to meet this guy, and we would like to get to know him...

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

it happened to me..

human beings were designed with this 'it cannot happen to me' shield. you know, when you hear of other's misfortune, you sympathize deeply, but somewhere deep inside your subconscious you believe that 'it cannot happen to me'.

we need this feeling. it is our built-in shield. without it, we would go mad. can you imagine what our lives would be like if we did not have this mechanism. it is what keeps us sane. (well, kinda).

when something does happen to us, me, however, then i lose that feeling. that is why a relatively small break-in or a robbery or an accident can be so traumatic. it is not the physical stuff that i lose. it is that shield, that comfort that i lose. now, i will never be able to tell myself that 'it cannot happen to me', because it did! this leaves me vulnerable, raw and exposed to the worry that constantly nags, that little voice that keeps whispering 'it can happen to me. it did happen to me. now, what if it happens again...'

i am not a worrier by nature. i do not live in fear as many south africans do. i am careful and responsible, but i do not constantly fret about an attack, or robbery or hijack. i am surprised every time people ask me if i am not afraid alone in my shop. and believe me, i get asked this almost every day. people ask me if i am not afraid driving home at night after dark, especially on a thursday evening when we leave the shop after a workshop at after 11pm. i suppose that if i asked those people, it would come out that they have experienced a robbery or hijack themselves.

ronnie's mother is terrified of snakes. i know a lot of people are, but she is worse. she would never walk in nature or relax in a game park or on a farm, as she is constantly worries about snakes. she talks about it all the time. but, she was bitten by a snake as a child, and almost died as a result.

i was reading a novel by jonathan kellerman a week or so ago, and in it he described it so well. i cannot find the passage to quote it verbatim, but it talked about the thin, cold snake of fear that had been slithering inside his stomach for a while. and then, in the story, the thin snake suddenly rears it's head and bares it's fangs and hisses in his face. what a chillingly accurate description! do you know what he means? have you felt that thin, cold snake in your belly too? tell me, i'd like to know.

it happened to me that my husband died. in a plane crash. one normal, sunny friday morning in april 2002. just like that, it happened to me. and on that day i didn't just lose a husband, but i also lost my shield.

if the man is just a little later in coming home than expected, then the reasonable, unruffled, non-worrier in me becomes frantic. suddenly, i am filled with fear. the voices inside me start whispering. they say 'it can happen to me. it did happen to me. what if it happens to me again...'.

last week the man was in hospital for a few hours for some tests. and we had to wait a few days for the results. in this time, no matter how hard i tried to ignore it, that thin, cold snake slithered around in my belly. those voices whispered 'it can happen to me. it has happened to me. what if it happens to me again...'normally i refuse to worry about the worst, as i reason that if the worst happens there is plenty of time to worry then, and if the worst doesn't happen, i have wasted a lot of time and energy worrying unnecessarily. but this last week, i constantly felt that snake. and every time i did, i prayed to GOD to let this cup pass the man, and me, and to take those awful thoughts away.

thankfully i can say that HE has been true, and that the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, although uncomfortable, is treatable and not too serious. this time i beat that snake. and i thank GOD for this. and next time i feel him slithering in my belly, i will tell him again how powerful my GOD is. and if the worst were to come to pass, than i know that GOD will be there for me, as HE always is. and while i know my psycologial shield will probably always fail me, GOD will shield me, better than i ever can.

 

francois sometimes takes my camera, and snaps away, and when he is finished he puts my camera back. then, when i download my photos i find lots of surprise photos. he took these photos on his birthday of my siblings' kids.

the two guys in this photo are eduard - my brother andre's son, and tian - my sister paula's son. how's this for cooperation...

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

happy birthday sean!

this is sean. he is 12 years old today. he is a sunshine in my life. he is chatty and cheerful. i am proud of him too. happy birthday sean. i hope you have a great day. he is visiting his mom for the holidays.

happy birthday francois!

 

this is francois. he is 22 years old today. he is my pride and joy. happy birthday, son! i hope you have a great day, and a blessed year.

that ashtray stinks!

the man smokes. and although he is generally a very kind, caring and considerate person in almost every aspect of life, he is rather a selfish smoker.

he smokes in the car. i don't care what he does in his car, but he smokes in my car too, and when the car stands closed in the sun for a few hours, the smoke smell gives me a headache. we have to eat in smoking sections of restaurants. i am an adult, and make an informed choice, but when 11-year old sean goes along, i have to agree to go to mike's kitchen, the man's favourite but not really mine, because the smoking area is well ventilated, and sean spends almost all the time in the kid's play area anyway. he refuses to go to the movies, because he can't smoke, and he hates going out to supper with family or friends, because then we have to sit in the non-smoking section. he also smokes in our bed at night.

sunday morning, he got up earlier because he had to work on the electric fencing of our property, he was doing some maintenance and upgrading. he left me in bed to lie in. when he was gone, i smelt the stink coming from all the stubs in the ashtray.

for a moment i was annoyed. but then i remembered, that if heaven forbid something were to happen to him, and i were to be lying alone in the bed, crying the heartbroken primal sobs that tear painfully from the core of my being, it is the smells that i would miss the most. i know this from experience. you don't miss the title, or the posistion, or the car, or the salary (ok, maybe you do miss the car and the salary), but while you sob your heart out, you know that you would give anything, everything, just to smell the smoke again. just to smell the scent of him again. i would put up with all the smoke, just to have him here again.

so, while i would be very happy if he were to give up smoking, i snuggled down under the duvet, and smiled while i snoozed contentedly, because i knew that that stink of the ashtray was a reminder that he was still very much around, and that is all i need.

i am writing this from the hospital, where the man is in for a few tests. he is back in the ward, and awake, and feeling fine. we are waiting to hear from the doctor. and he cannot stop moaning, because he cannot go out for a smoke. he is stuck in bed because of the drip.

edited to add: the man wasn't in hospital as such, he was just in for a few hours for tests. he is back at work, and will see the doctor next week.

edited to add: the doctor says he has ulcerative colitis, an inflammation of the intestine. we are thankful to GOD that it is a treatable condition, and not something more serious.

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

the man

i found a great tutorial on jessica spraugue's website. it is about how to make the grungy frame i used, and includes the free frame/mask. you can find it here.

the man has been cranky, and difficult to live with lately. does your man get like this too? i decided to make this softened photo of him. moody and scratchy around the edges. 'cause that's a good description of him at the moment...

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

wedding photos

wedding photos are such fun to play with. somehow, they just lend themselves to being edited.

this is monique. she is the daughter of dear old friends of mine, desire and tito. she got married on 7 june. {the swirly frame is the decoframe in the renewal range from michelle coleman at shutterfly. all the other frames are from shabby princess.}

and, of course, here are some of my wedding photos. be kind, they are 22 years old...

 

check out the eighties style dress, and the blue eyeshadow, and ronnie's shiny suit...

ahh, young love...

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

photoshop elements tutorial - how to create a softened or dreamy photo

this tutorial will show you how to create a softer look for a photo. it is especially nice for a portrait, but can be used for any photo. i work in elements 6, but it will be similar in CS.

this little guy is eduard. he is my brother andre's son. he is almost 8 years old, and he is quite a serious little man, a deep thinker and philosopher.

open photoshop in editor mode, and open a portrait photo of your choice. i chose little eduard. do any cropping and basic edits you need to do.

now: first you need to create a duplicate layer to work on. there are a few ways to do this, i click on CTRL-J. you can call this layer 'soften' (by clicking on the name and typing the new one), so you know which one i'm referring to. make sure this layer is selected.

in the top menu, click 'FILTER' then 'BLUR' then 'GAUSSIAN BLUR'.

enter a value for the blur radius. i chose about 9, but you can experiment with what works here. when you click ok, you will see the photo becomes very blurry. this is fine, we will fix this. you can see how blurred mine is below.

those of you who saw my previous photoshop tutorial - did you see i figured out how to show you a screen shot? i really did find a tutorial on the internet about it...  you can find information about everything on the www!

go to 'layers' on the layers palette. see there to the left of my arrow? did you also see that i figured out how to make arrows? so cool! man, i'm lovin' this... there where it says 'normal', click on that and a drop-down menu appears. click on 'screen'. with the 'soften' layer still selected, change the opacity by using the slider, to a level that makes you happy. i used about 80%. better? better!

now, find the little picture of a circle that has is dark and half light.  a menu will appear.

click on 'brightness/contrast'. on the little screen that appears, experiment with the slider till you are happy. i made my 'brightness' about 12 and the 'contrast' about 26, but once again, see what works for you.

change the order of the layers by clicking your mouse over the little photo, and dragging it below the 'adjustment layer', so it is in the order shown. then, on the top menu, click on 'layer', 'group with previous layer'. this means that the edits you do are only linked to that layer, and not all layers.

when you are happy with the way your photo looks, you can flatten the layers by right-clicking on one of the layers and selecting 'flatten image' from the menu. at this stage i like to add a frame, but this is up to you.

the rough edge around the photo is a frame from the festival range from shabbyprincess, called vintage frame.  and the frame around my gran's photo is from there too, called swirlyframe.

this is my gran, jaco sparrius. i'm hoping that when i'm 92, my granddaughter will use windows vista '58, and photoshop elements 29, to soften my photos that she took with her 98gigapixel camera that enhances all blemishes and scars...

of course, i'm also hoping that by then the makers of viagra will have a pill that keeps your skin firm for 24-48 hours, and that loreal will have a age re-perfect contour firming collagen and protein cream that has jane fonda still looking 60 at the age of 180, and the instant-slim-and-sexy-without-diet-or-excercise-pill has finally come on the market.

 

the frame is from scrapgirls, called old photo frames.

for both my and my gran's photos i chose a slightly higher blur radius, about 10 or so. i thought we needed a little more blurring to soften the effects of aging on our skins. either that, or more age-reperfect cream... at the 'brightness/contrast' step when editing my grandmother's photo, i actually decreased the brightness to a negative level, as it was way too bright. you need to experiment with your levels, as each photo is different.

you know, it is no wonder we have poor self-image. if this is what i can do on my home computer with a entrylevel photo editing software package, can you think what they do with the photos they take for magazine adverts. and we think those looks are the norm? they are edited to the max, creating perfection that is impossible to live up to!

please tell me if this tutorial worked for you, and if you got a glitch, please tell me, so i can fix it? thank you!

there is a photoshop tutorial that follows on this one: how to make eyes 'pop'.

you can also read my other photoshop tutorial: how to download and use a decorative frame on your photos.

you can find other photoshop, papercraft and scrapbooking tutorials here.

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

this post was linked to by: scrapscene, photoshop pack, paxton prints

precious memories

i have been a little quiet, haven't i? did anybody miss me?

i have been busy making a photoshop tutorial that i will post tomorrow or so, about creating a softer look for your photos. this is for people like me, who need a lot of softening to look good...

my sister, carla, lives in australia, and my parents have gone to visit her for the first time. my brother, andre, and his wife, cornelia, are in france. andre just completed some simulator training there. he is a pilot. so, with more than half my family out of the country, i'm feeling pretty left behind. only paula and i are left here.

as i am writing this, i am listening to the news. oy, it's bad... xenophobic violence, record high fuel prices that are going to rise further, and interest rates that are also rising. tough times ahead! staying positive has become quite a challenge in this beautiful country.

i have had this layout ready to post for a while, but the pictures do little justice to it.

 

this layout was made in a class by wilpro.

 

i know it is difficult to see, but on the chipboard heart is a stack of chipboard puzzle pieces. some are glittered, some have dimensional glaze on them, and some are plain.



i have ordered stock of this, and will be teaching this layout in a few weeks time.

how are you doing? tell me, i really want to know!

 

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

generations

i did some more digital scrapbooking yesterday. every time i try, i learn a little more. about digital scrapbooking, and about photoshop.

my mother and my son are actually the best of friends, and they love to go out together. they go to movies, art movies, museums and the theater.  francois is very mature for his age, and my mom is very young for her age, so they don't seem to be from different generations at all.

most of what i used was from the 'dinner party' range, a freebie from shabby princess. the frame around the photos is also from them, from the 'festival' range. the tag is from shutterfly, from michelle coleman's 'renewal' range. the font is my own handwriting that was made into a computer font by allie hoopes. you can read all about it here.

all the digital scrapbooking kits i have at this time are freebies. i am still new at this, and didn't want to rush out and spend money on stuff i might not use, so it is nice to be able to use the freebies. i do have my eye on some things i have to buy, but even those are under $8.

a lot of people have been asking what the point is with digital scrapbooking, especially someone tactile like me, who is really only happy when there is glue under my nails, and ink on my fingers. but i find it difficult to scrap in the shop, as there are too many distractions and interruptions. so, playing around on my computer is easier. and, i am learning lots about photoshop at the same time. also, by printing frames on my photos, or embellishments that i cannot find elsewhere, i can add to my paper scrapping. then, i could use it for those photos i might put on my blog, but never actually scrap. and finally, it gives so many design options. i could make really cool business cards and pamphlets and invitations and blog pages, etc, with the elements and skills i got with digital scrapping. besides, i was not really doing anything productive between 9pm and midnight, so i have all this time for yet another addiction...

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

digital scrapbooking - my new addiction...

i had sooo much fun this morning. i did my first real digital scrapbooking! i downloaded a few free digital kits this week, and now i got to play with them:

the couple are mariska and ian. mariska is my cousin. all the digital goodies are from shabby princess, the promise collection, except the frame around the photo, that is from shutterfly, michelle coleman, renewal. did you see there are even staples in there?

i must say, my eye does miss the inking around the edges of the paper, and the sanding of the edges of the photo. and i miss having ink under my fingernails. but i did have fun. i do need to ask, if i don't have a blog, what do i do with this now?

as i mentioned before, i am part of typepad's beta team. we have been testing all sorts of new features for a few weeks, to iron out the bugs. so, if you are a blogger with typepad, you will be getting these features within the next few days. there are a few improvements, and they are quite easy to use. enjoy them!

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop

photoshop elements tutorial: how to download and use a frame on your photos

i use photoshop elements 6, but i'm sure it is very similar in CS2 and 3.

let me say this from the start: i'm by no means an expert. i have had photoshop for a few weeks only, and i'm still very much a beginner. there are lots of amazing free tutorials on how to edit your photos on the web, so i would much rather point you that way for advice way better than mine. but i did not find any tips on putting a cute frame around my photos, and that is one of the things that i was really wanting to do when i decided to buy photoshop. so let's learn this together:

lets start with the cast of characters:

one is wonderful and gorgeous and cute, and the other is carli... carli is the daughter of my sister, paula. i did some editing on the photo of carli, softening some of the background a little. make sure that your photo is cropped and edited the way you like it. that is for cleverer people than i to explain. head on over to digiscrap 101, if you want to know more about that. the frame is part of a digital scrapbooking kit that was free.

i always open the tutorial i'm using in one window, and photoshop in another. then i can switch between windows, and try the steps myself, till i have got it. so, we will all wait a few minutes while you go off, make that quick cup of coffee, close the office door, and open photoshop. remember to open a spreadsheet in a third window, so if the boss comes by, you can switch to that...

back yet? comfortable? ready? ok, here we go:

on your desktop, you open a new folder, and call it 'downloads'. i always have that, and download everything in there, so it is easier to find afterward. we are all going to visit a website called shutterfly. it's like a little field trip. let's all synchronize our watches, and meet back here in, say, 15 minutes time. but wait! before you go, let me tell you what to do when you get there.

you just have to click on the red word 'shutterfly', and it will magically open a window, and you can follow the breadcrumbs. spend a few minutes looking around. then click on the place in the sidebar that says 'digital scrapbooking freebies'. you scroll down to a place that says 'Thank you Michelle Coleman : What an Inspiration! (or, you can just click on this link, and it will take you straight there. it's a shortcut...). 

see  'download 1.zip' etc? you can download all three, but the frame is in download1, i think. right click on that, and choose 'save target as'. choose to download it in your 'downloads' file. when it is finished, you have to unzip it. because you have to give credit to the designer when you use the product, and rightly so, i always rename the file, and mention the name of the website, designer and product, so it is easy for me to remember later who to credit. in this case my file is now called 'shutterfly, michelle coleman, renewal 3'.

when you have done all this, click on the 'downloads' folder, and check if it is all there, and what the filename of the frame is. (MCO DecoFrame). then go do some work for a few hours, to keep the boss happy.

open photoshop. just so we are all on the same page (get it? the same page? ok, sorry...), go to organiser mode. find a nice photo. you will not have a photo of carli. at least, i hope not, unless you are paula. and even paula will not have this photo of carli, as i took it. i digress...

with the photo open, click on 'fix' and then 'full edit'. while i'm doing this, my anti-virus software is running it's weekly full scan, so the computer is sooo slooow. you'll just have to be patient. like me. patient is my middle name. the editor mode will open with your photo, like this: 

 well now, that photo is just awful! please excuse me for a few hours while i go look for a tutorial on doing tutorials...

it will just have to do. you can't just leave a bunch of people sitting in front of their computers, reading this, and go off to figure it out. it's my homework for next time.

now, where was i? oh yes, in editor mode. where it says 'layers', you should see a small photo, and it should say 'background' and be locked. right click on the little photo, and click on 'duplicate layer', to create a new layer. make sure the new layer is highlighted, because this is where you are going to work. if you get this far, then you have full marks for part one. yaay! there is an amazing description of the concept of layers at pioneerwoman's blog. go read it some time. i cannot describe it better than this and this!

click on 'file', 'open'. in the top menu bar, find your downloads folder. and look for the frame. MCO DecoFrame, remember? double click on it. it will open in the editor, above your photo. use your mouse, and move the whole frame block to the right, so you can see the photo and the frame at the same time. use your mouse, click in the middle of the frame, hold the button in, and drag the frame over the photo. let go. it should be sitting there, on the photo, although the size and position may be wrong. we'll fix that. it's amazing what we can fix. close the box with the frame in it.

in the 'layers' box, you will see that there is a new layer, one with the frame in it. make sure this layer is selected. now you will be able to move and resize the frame. while you were moving your mouse around there, did you notice that the little arrow somtines get curved, or rounded? when it does that, you can click there, hold your mouse button down, and rotate the frame, turning the frame upside down. move it around until you are happy. when you are, you can click on the green tick.

with the frame layer still highlighted, you can click where it says 'opacity'. a little slider will appear. slide it till it is as light or as dark as you want it to be. i chose 60%, so it is a little softer. this is what you would have, if you used a photo of carli:

 

oh dear, these photos are downright embarrassing. i blush. so sorry!

actually, i did it on purpose, to show you that i am no expert in photoshop. no self-respecting photoshop expert would EVER let photos like this appear anywhere. only blonds would ever try...

now, i want to show you how to change the color of the frame. but i don't know how to do it myself yet. so, you do some work again, while i go see if i can figure it out...

{she leaves, and fiddles on computer...}

ok, i managed to change the color, but i am convinced that i did it the hard way, so i am not even going to tell you. but, if you want to try, right click on the small picture of the frame in 'layers', and duplicate the layer. then you can experiment with the frame, and if you don't like it, right click on the small photo again, and 'delete layer'.

when you are happy with what you did, right click on the small photo in 'layers', and 'flatten layers'. this will combine all the layers, giving you one. then, you can either close the editor without saving anything, thus losing all your work (some experimental work deserves to be lost...), or click on 'file', 'save as' and make a title that you will be able to find. and voila!  

 

so i just spent half a day writing this tutorial. and, i get to call it 'work'. ha ha! did you like it? i tried to make it as detailed as possible, so that even if you have never worked in photoshop before, you should be able to follow this. please tell me if it works, or if you battled. did i inspire you to try? or did i put you off for ever? should i shut up, and call it a day? yes, i should...

you can also read my other photoshop tutorials: how to create a softened photo and how to make eyes 'pop'.

you can find other photoshop, papercraft and scrapbooking tutorials here.

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop

this post was linked to by: scrapscene and photoshop pack, paxton prints

photoshopping carli...

you know when you go to a big church? i mean a catholic church, like the big ones in europe. all marble and wood. it is huge and cool, and empty, and hollow, and just a little creepy and lonely. when you talk, it bounces around the walls and echos, and makes it seem even emptier..

well, this is what this blog has been feeling like. not catholic, but a little hollow and empty. thanks cheryl and ineke, for your hellos. please keep those comments coming! lets make this place seem a little less empty..

i know it has just been photoshop, photoshop, photoshop around here lately, and today is no different. i have been spending every available hour on playing with it. and i feel like i'm starting to get somewhere! i want to teach photoshop and digital scrapping beginners classes in the shop soon, so i'm learning as much as possible. lots of nights i have been taking my laptop to bed, and while the man lies snoring next to me, i spend hours working on it.

today's example is this photo of carli, my sister paula's daughter. during this process i will probably photoshop every member of the family, so your turn might be coming soon.

 

i can now go and print my photo like this, and put it on my page. the frame is in a free kit i downloaded from shutterfly by michelle coleman, called 'renewal'.
this is soooo cool! you like?

maybe i should do a little tutorial on this, seeing i'm the expert and all..

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop

swim star

 

i did this layout a week or 2 ago. it is of ronnie and francois in a swimming pool. on the middle photo on the left, you can also see my brother, andre, and sister, carla. the baby in the photo is francois, who is almost 22 years old now...

there is really nothing difficult about this layout, the colours and fun patterned paper are really what make it. i used chipboard stars and the chipboard alphas are from wilpro. the cardstock is from colormates and treasures, the rub-ons are from urban lily. the patterned paper is stuck down so well, that i cannot see who it is from.


 

this is for cornelia, who had a bit of a scare last week, and is still traumatised after her first mammogram. thankfully, it all turned out well!

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop

photoshopping mom

so, as promised, i photoshopped my mom. as i am new at this software, i used mothers day as an incentive to practice photoshop, using a photo of my mom.

as you see, my mom is beautiful anyway. she certainly does not need any editing. but, since learning is all about practice, here is what i did:

first, i cropped the photo, to place more emphasis on my mother, and to get rid of some of the distracting background.

then i sharpened the color of the photo. the 'improved' photo looks brighter than the original, that one looks a little faded or washed out. the improved colour also brightened her eyes.

then i brightened her teeth. i also used the blurring tool so soften her wrinkles a little. not too much, they add character after all. you can see the effect most on her eye on the left, and on the forehead.
 
the background really bugged me. i used the paintbrush tool to remove part of the burglar bars growing out of her head. the part on the left has blinds behind it, and i was not sure how to remove the bars without making the blinds look funny, so i just darkened the colour of the bars using the paintbrush tool. now it is less distracting.

i'm sure there is a lot i could still do, and a lot i did in the wrong way. some of it happened by accident, so i'm not sure if i could repeat it. but i had fun, and i'm learning and i'm getting more confident. now, if i could just figure out how to use the blurring tool on my face every morning...

what do you think? do you have photoshop? do you use it? does it terrify you? tell me. i love hearing from you!

happy mothersday, mom!

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

family times

 

i scrapped this page this week. it was inspired by a page by my amazingly talented and inspiring friend melani at paper crazy. those photos are of my family, and were taken more than 30 years ago.



with the rainy, cold and cloudy weather we have been having, i have to take the photos of the layouts with the flash, so sorry for the reflection. here are some close ups:

 

the flap that says 'eternity... etc' opens up. there are tags behind it.



the little booklets with the striped paper also open up.

as usual, the photos do not do justice to the real thing...

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

how i met the man...

my first husband, ronnie, died in a plane crash 6 years ago. he left on a friday morning, and went to pretoria's wonderboom airport, and got on a small plane with 2 of his colleagues. his one colleague, hendrik, was the pilot. they were going to tzaneen on business. they crashed on takeoff. it happened at about 07h20. i only heard about it at between 10 and 11am.

in the time after he died and i heard about it, i was making some phone calls at home. amongst others, i called this guy who's pamphlet had been on my friend lucia's notice board for months. he did garden refuse removal. i had arranged with him that he would drop off the drum early the next morning. of course, after i heard the devestating news, i forgot. the next morning, when i was a widow for 24,5 hours, the doorbell rang, and i met the man. his first words to me were 'what's wrong?'. i must have looked terrible...

the first few months i hardly even noticed him. sometimes for weeks i did not even see him. i certainly did not look at him. ok, maybe a teeny little peep...

at the time i had this fancy sprinkler system in my garden. it was automatic, with these pop-up nozzles. it was giving me problems. these thingies were popping up, but not turning, and just spraying their water in one direction. some did not even pop up, the water just sort of bubbled out of the ground. i had phoned some companies to come and service them, but nobody was interested.

one morning, as the sprayers were working, and some of the water was running down the road, my doorbell rang. it was the man, offering to fix my sprinklers. and the rest is, as they say, history...

of course, if i had wanted to have sprinklers fixed today, i would probably have to pay someone else to do it...

stay tuned for the next riveting episode of : 'how i met the man'.

or maybe not.

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

dear visitor, reader and friend

this week is the six year anniversary of the death of my first husband, ronnie. so, for the past and coming few days, i will be writing quite a lot about this.

i love this blog, and have worked very hard at it. i spend way too many hours on writing, editing and growing my little corner of the world wide web, and it is starting to show results. please know that i take what you think of this little blog very seriously. but, this week, what i write is not for you. it is for me. it is my therapy. it is my way of working through feelings that bubble up every year at this time. it is my way of recording happenings and emotions and stories that are important to me.

so, this is a cautionary notice. if you are not interested in reading all these tales, then please bear with me, and come back after 26 april. then i will be back, writing about scrapbooking, cardmaking and the riviting minutae of my fascinating daily life. but, you are very welcome to stay, and share these stories with me. they are real, warts and all, politically incorrect, painful, and not for sensitive readers. they are from the heart. and i promise to throw in the odd layout, card, and if you ask nicely, a tutorial.

every year, these things go through my mind. but i cannot talk about them too much, because:

• everybody i know has heard at least some of these stories, probably more than once
• a lot of people i know are themselves still dealing with their own feelings of loss for ronnie
• i don't want people to think i'm still emotional and conflicted about these events
• i don't want to admit that i'm still emotional and conflicted about these events

but, not talking about them does not make them go away. so, i have found a way of thinking these things through. i will do so here. it will probably bore you to death. but it will pass. and before you know it, things around here will be back to normal. whatever that means...


 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

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

surviving ronnie-week, and what i did for twelve-of-twelve

it started yesterday morning as a crankiness, and a distracted feeling. there was a tightening in the solar plexus. a little later the crankiness became irritation, the distraction became a full blown inability to concentrate, and the tightening became a stomach ache. it felt as though nothing was going right, and everything was a battle. a headache started to form. the neck muscles started to bunch, and the jaw began to tighten. the breathing became shallower, and the heartbeat quicker. at about 2pm, when i went to fetch sean from school, i was in the middle of an anxiety attack. i had to go to the bank, and wait in the queue, and while i was standing there i realized what was happening and tried to calm myself. when i got home, i took a painkiller with a muscle relaxant, and relaxed a little.

i am now officially in what i call ronnie-week. it starts on the 14th, on his birthday. it continues past the 19th, the anniversary of his death, and only ends on the 26th, the date of the funeral. actually more than a week then... and it always hits me harder than i expect. that's not quite true. these days i have learned to expect that it hits me harder that i expect. so i expect it. but, even if you expect it to be difficult, it is still difficult.

thanks to all of you who sent me messages, emails, and comments of support. i appreciate it. i am ok, i really am. i'm not writing about all this because i'm overwhelmed, but, as i have said before, because it is my way of processing, of thinking it through. and, as wonderful as the manis, and while i can really talk to him about anything, this is something that he doesn't really want to share with me. he gives me space, and i spare him the details.

so, on a lighter note, i thought i would share my photos i took on saturday, for the twelve-of-twelve thing i wrote about on friday.

here are 12 photos taken on saturday 12 april 2008. they tell the story of my day. they are not 'pretty' or well shot, or of some memorable moments, just an ordinary day in my life. that is the point.

 

i got up at 07h12. a little later than i should.

 

it was dark outside, and raining hard.

 

the chickens and ducks and turkeys were making a noise, as they do every morning, as they were waiting for their breakfast. it is so special to hear them every morning! they live right outside the bedroom window.

 

the man pulled the pillow over his head, and swore loudly when he saw me pointing the camera at him. this is not so special to hear in the morning...

 

sean was lying in his bed, reading his harry potter book. he is not a big reader, so i love this!

 

in the shop, liza had a class.

 

as i left the shop in the afternoon, i looked back to take a photo of the centre. it was sunny then.

 

i put the finishing touches to the tin i made for tian, for his birthday.

 

and finished his card too.

 

we had frozen pizzas for supper, that we add extra toppings to before we pop them in the oven.

 

the man fell asleep on the couch, as usual.

 

i HATE photos of myself, and this one is no exception. but, the rules of twelve-of-twelve say that you have to include a photo of yourself. it is about MY day, after all..

i went to bed earlyish, about 10pm. and i didn't see francois at all until after i was in bed.

so you see, an ordinary day. an ordinarily happy day. but in light of the fact that i am this week remembering the day my husband died, i have learned that an ordinary day is great!

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

ronnie janse van rensburg

 
today would have been ronnie's 45th birthday, if he had not died 6 years ago.

that year his birthday was on a sunday. he insisted that morning that we go cycling together, francois, myself and he. he took us on a long and difficult route, and i really suffered. i didn't enjoy it much, but he did.

when we came home, he insisted we invite a bunch of people over for a braai (bbq) later that afternoon. i was annoyed, as we were not planning on having a big do, just his and my parents over in the evening for coffee. i thought we would do something big for his 40th birthday the next year. i had not planned anything, and he didn't leave me much time to buy all the food, and prepare everything. he often expected me to entertain crowds at almost no notice, he was very spontaneous like that. while i was out shopping, he proceeded to invite almost everybody he knew. our parents, our siblings and a group of our friends. it was quite a big turnout for such short notice, and people had a good time that sunday evening.

funny how things happen that way. for most of those people, it was the last time they ever saw him. he died 5 days later, in a plane crash. so many people expressed later how they appreciated the memories of that day, his 39th birthday.

i have to say that i am grateful for the 16 years we spent together, more better than worse. he had so much more to give, so much potential still. but few people could have packed so much living in 39 years as he had, and i was fortunate to have shared that living with him. he is still missed, by me, by francois, by his parents and mine, and by his brother and sister, and many of his friends. it was good to have known him.

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES