{scraps of jacki's life}

liza scraps with harmonie products..

recently, i got an email from a company called harmonie, based in canada. they make scrapbooking and stamping products. they asked if they could send me a sample scrapbooking kit to use.

what a question! i said yes! it was quite exciting, getting a mystery package in the mail! when the kit came, it was quite tropical. as i had no 'island holiday' photos, i gave the pack to liza, who had just come from her holiday in mozambique.

the pack contained a number of patterned papers, a die-cut sheet of paper, some ribbon, a pack of colourful buttons, an alphabet, some chipboard elements, a pack of travel-related stamps and a perspex embellishment.

 

liza enjoyed working with these products, and they do her photos justice!

thanks harmonie!

 

edited to add: you can see liza's layout featured in their gallery here. if you look carefully, you will see sophia allison's layout there too!

shitty day..

liza is a colleague and a friend, and i have blogged about her many times before. her mother-in-law, dirk's mother, died on monday evening. you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.

i got this email from someone close to me* today. names have been changed to protect the innocent. and the guilty..

Thursday 28 July……

 My day has been pretty SHIT thanks.

T* woke up grumpy and nothing would go well for him. Eventually I got angry and shouted at him.

C* woke up miserable and cried/tantrumed and nothing would go well for her. Eventually I got angry and shouted at her.

A* was as good as gold as always, helped with the other 2 etc.

Then they went to the car so long, while I finished getting myself and the house ready to leave…….

Then A* CRASHED THE CAR INTO THE GARAGE!!!!!!

She is 7………

All she tried to do was turn the key so that the heater would go on to warm up the car while they wait…. My stupid instruction, but I thought she could handle it: she is The Responsible One.

Of course she turned the key too far – and started the car, which was in reverse gear, so it “jumped”, …into the garage wall and door.

It is/WAS a brand new – 3 month old Tucson, 6000km only. First time I’ve EVER had a new car. (why didn’t she crash all the previous old cars I had?)

And now it has a huge ding on the back!

And I keep imagining what could have happened if T* or C* had been standing behind the boot at the time – they would have been pinned (CSI-style) between the car and the wall!

As any good mother would do, I:

1. Thanked the Lord that no-one was hurt. (3 seconds)
2. Said to myself it was only an accident and she meant no harm, wasn’t being naughty. (2 seconds)
3. Let rip – into T* and C* for being so impossible the whole morning. Surely it was their fault? (7 minutes)
4. Cried (30 minutes)
5. Felt guilty for shouting – it is my fault after all (rest of the day/rest of my life)
6. Cried some more as shock kicked in/wore off/whatever
7. Phoned Husband*, went to assessor etc

 all of this was before 8am.

So, how was your morning???

well, here is some more misery:

our very good worker, isaac, has been trying to get an ID book for a very long time, without success. on monday he spent a small fortune to go to pretoria in a taxi, to see if he could sort anything out.

while he was there, he was mugged in the toilet. they stole all his money. he tried to phone my man for help, but he has a useless cellphone, and the battery went flat. so he had to WALK home. from pretoria to benoni. a distance that takes me almost an hour by car. on the highway. it took him 2 DAYS! 2 days with no food, water, money, shelter or any means of contacting anybody. the man tried to phone him a few times, and even his family did not know where he was.

*edited to add: someone asked me why he did not go to the police for help. in the past he was held for 2 days in cells for being an illegal immigrant. he is not, he is south african. when he was eventually released, he asked where his bicycle and cellphone were, that he had when he was detained. they claimed that they knew nothing. the police had stolen his phone and his bicycle. this is not his only bad experience with the police. so, he does not trust them, and will never go to them for help.*

this is a man who is gentle and shy and quiet and dependable. he cannot afford this, and certainly does not deserve it! my heart breaks!

on tuesday at around 6pm, the local supermarket where i pop in for groceries 2 or so times a week, and where almost everyone i know pops in regularly too, was robbed at gunpoint by 22 odd armed robbers. it seems that many shots were fired, and some were injured, and lots of cash was stolen.

i have been reading and hearing of a lot of people for who this was a very difficult week. people dying, people crying. people who's kids are causing them great heartache and worry. people who's finances and marriages are dangerously close to collapse.

and i realise how blessed i am, and how much i have to be grateful for...

 

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

photoshoot saturday...

they came to the shop on saturday. each in their appointed time. all groomed and painted and gorgeous. some alone, and some with reluctant family members.

they all spent their few minutes in front of amelia and rika's cameras. they smiled and posed, and their images were captured on many camera cards, to be saved on disks. this day, this look, this time frozen for ever...

ineke

cathy and aaron

you can see what cathy said about the photoshoot here.

prieur

dirk

christina

cheryl

rene

laetitia and wilhelm

of course, these people were there too:

these are just a fraction of the many gigs' worth of photos taken on the day. dontcha think i have beautiful clients?

thanks amelia, we had lots of fun!

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

photoshoot friday...

on friday my friend amelia came, and we had a photoshoot here at the shop.

amelia is a photographer. she came with a ton of props.

we had so much fun, and it shows in the photos..

here are just a fraction of the photos she took.

i'll post some more tomorrow.

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

valentine's day 09...

we recently celebrated valentine's day in the shop:

thanks to carol, ineke, cheryl, donna, laetitia, tessa and liza, for your contribution to a great day!

and thanks to ineke for taking the photos, donna for the lasagne, and liza for all your hard work in making a fun mini-album project.

and on another note, i'm learning how to make blinkies:

cool huh?

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

valentine's day...

the theme for this month in the shop is of course valentine's day, and to celebrate we encourage our clients to scrap photos of themselves with their 'significant other'.
 

this layout was done by liza, to celebrate the love that she and her husband dirk share.

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

i know it is a little early, but i wanted to pop in to say:

i'm starting the day off tomorrow with henk's funeral. after that i will be joining the girls in the shop, for a little valentine's day fun. i did a little decorating in the shop, and we are having a lunch with our class.

liza is teaching a little book, and the theme is 'i love...' you know, i love him, i love her, i love family, i love scrapbooking, i love travel, i love shopping, i love reading, etc.

whether you celebrate valentine's day or not (you should, it's fun!), i hope you have a love-filled day!

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

tea tray...

liza presented her workshop last week, where the girls made the tea trays i showed here and here.

 

each one painted her tray a different colour. ineke and i had fun photographing each other photographing the trays.

here is jeanette's tray.

this one was made by laetitia for a friend.

 

chantelle made this one.

 

marianne did one of her son's baby pic.

 

and ineke made this one with a beautiful photo she took of a bird.

 

here is the photo ineke took of me photographing her...

this was one of those workshops where everybody's project was beautiful. thanks liza!

 

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

tea tray...

as i mentioned in the previous post, liza scrapped this tea tray for a class next week. 

it has glass over it, but i took it out as the glare off it made it difficult to take good photos. a standard 12x12 layout fits inside it, so it makes a great 'frame'. as the glass just pops out, you can display your latest layout every week.

if you wanted to make it more 'permanent', you could put a little silicone between the glass and the wood, so it is more spill-proof.

 

the trays are made for me by a local supplier, the same guy who makes the layout frames. they are made of plywood, that stuff that they make the goods from that you decoupage. liza limewashed it with blue and white paint, and then distressed it. finally she varnished it.

they make great gifts. we might repeat the class before mothers-day.

 

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

this post got a mention on scrapscene here

and the winner is...

tada...!

tracy, stefanie and carla each win either 20 butterflies OR an edit of 3 photos, after commenting on this post.

and toni wins butterflies AND a photo edit!

please email me and tell me which you choose, and i'll tell you what i need.

boy, i'm going to be editing a LOT in the next few days....

thanks for playing!

this layout was designed by the very talented rose, and adapted by liza, to teach this week:

each page has 2 flaps, and under each flap are lots more photos, notes, receipts, etc.

rose and liza both did a month in review, but it could be used for an overseas trip, a holiday, a birthday party, or anything that has a lot of photos. we even thought it might be nice for a wedding count-down, where you can show your hair-trials, dress fitting, choosing the flowers, etc. everything leading up to the big day.

it is also a great page for using your left-overs, letters, paper scraps, and single embellishments.

thanks rose and liza for an interesting layout!

 

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

thankful thursdays: liza

liza gave me this photo to edit:

that is her and her husband, dirk. it is a beautiful photo to start off with, so it almost didn't need any editing. not that that has ever stopped me...

she should know by now, if you stand still long enough near me, you will be edited and blogged...

liza works here in the shop on monday mornings. she does the books.

and she sells people stuff they didn't know they needed.

 

she also teaches scrapbooking workshops on wednesdays and saturdays. 

beautiful, and brains too! and creative! and nice!

 

she is a star! she is worth so much to me in the shop, and especially as a friend. i love you liza! thanks for being such an amazing person. i would not want to have this shop without you...

today i'm thankful for a wonderful colleague and friend. what are you thankful for?

 

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

dear diary...

liza scrapped her diary last year:

not every page, but where it was someone's birthday, or a special occasion, she scrapped something.

it made the diary very interesting!

this year, she will remove all the scrapped items from last year's diary and stick them into this year's diary, and she will scrap some new items for 2009.

this way, in a few years time, almost every page will have something scrapped on it.

nice idea, isn't it?

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

i'm having computer problems at the shop. it's either a worm/virus, or my hard drive is packing up. i'm not sure which to hope for...

for the last few days i've had all sorts of problems, then it's one thing, then it's another. on saturday i could not get my internet connection to work. francois tweaked and fiddled, and now the internet works, but is is very slow.

late yesterday afternoon we did a sales transaction as usual on the point of sale software, and a few minutes later we could not get in to cash up, and i have not been able to get in since. uggg! i can scream in frustration!

so, now i'm using a pen, invoice book and calculator point of sale system. slow, but fail-proof. the only virus that can affect it is when i sneeze on it...

i did do backups about 10 days ago, and i can backup almost everything again now, but i'm afraid to plug in my external hard drive, in case i infect that. it seems to me, in my expert opinion, as though a worm is making it's way through my system, slowly corrupting files. my anti-virus software did a scan last week, and picked up malicious software, and quarantined the files. that was it's last heroic deed, because now it won't work anymore either...

*sigh!* i am a hair's breadth away from formatting the whole damn thing!

recently liza presented a workshop with paper piecing. here is what laetitia did:

 

and here is ineke's version of the same thing:

 

here is a close-up of ineke's owl. isn't he a gorgeous fella?...

 

he is handmade from scraps of paper.

in my shop, we pride ourselves on the fact that we adapt each layout according to the client's style, taste and photos. no 2 layouts are the same. it is more work for the teacher, but it is also more creative, and more rewarding to see lots of different versions, and lots of happy clients.

anyway, i'm off to fiddle more on my computer. pray i don't crash the entire system...

 

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

loren, and trouble in blog-land...

christina, this post is especially for you...

this layout was done by one of my clients, loren, in a workshop i presented recently. this layout was originally designed by liza. her version and mine can be seen here.

 

the couple in the photo are loren's grandparents. this layout is hauntingly beautiful, simple and soft and romantic. as usual, the photo does not do it justice.

i have to thank you for your sweet comments on my post yesterday. it's so nice to have you all popping in, and to know that if something were to happen to me, someone would notice. even if it took a whole week before anybody missed me... :-) thanks ineke, tracy, stefanie, cathy, loraine, jacqui, hayley and sophia. you are so sweet!

from end august i have been trying repeatedly, constantly, to pay my blog subscription fee. there was a problem with it, and my card details would not go through. it was the same account i used last year, just a new card with a new expiry date and security code. my bank told me that they saw the transaction, and approved it, they even gave me an authorization code so typepad could try to put it through manually. during a 6 week long constant conversation with them about it in my help ticket, typepad admitted that the problem was on their side, and they promised that they would not suspend my blog. but on tuesday they did. my blog was suspended as though i was a tardy payer!

eventually, in desperation and frustration, i borrowed someone's credit card, and paid using that. so, now my blog is re-instated. my happy relationship with typepad has not been re-instated though, i'm still soooo annoyed and grumpy!

if my payment had gone through the first time i tried, it would have cost me about R100 less, as the rand has weakened considerably in the last 2 months against the dollar. so, all in all, this experience has cost me a lot of money, even more time and aggravation, and has tainted my blogging experience. uggg!

enough ranting. i spent time investigating blogger and moving my blog to them, so i know more about that. and i used all this extra time to do lots of scrapping, and i made cool cards. i have photographed them, and have lots of material for new posts to come.

love, jacki

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

heritage..

more butterflies...

 
this time liza made this layout with them. she used heritage photos. she inked the edges of the butterflies. you can also ink the raised/embossed areas of the butterfly, to make it more pronounced. the butterflies are made and embossed with a cuttlebug.

 

she also used little pearls that are flat on the one side.

september is heritage month in south africa, with 24 september being heritage day, a public holiday.

 

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

window on the world...

i have shown this layout before, but it is always so great to see what others do with it. we used chipboard products made by wilpro, a local company.

this layout was made by laetitia. she scrapped photos of her trip to greece.

 

she was a scrapper before she went on her trip, so she took photos of the pebbles on the beach, and brought home some of the pebbles, to make a shakerbox. you can find a tutorial on how to make a shakerbox here.

we all agreed that this was the best shakerbox we had ever seen. she even covered the sides of the shakerbox with strips of the photo of the pebbles.

here is liza's take on it:

see how she used the same elements, yet it has a totally different feel. and here is another peek at mine:

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

motherhood by liza, and my version of it

i'm coming to you today from a very cold south africa! it is rather dark, and there is an icy wind blowing. ideal scrapping weather...

this is a layout created by liza.

here is my take on it:

it was fun to do. each block can be decorated differently.

the journaling says: "i have so much fun playing with photoshop. it gives me the opportunity to turn an ordinary photo into something special".

man, it felt good to be scrapping again! thanks liza, for the inspiration!

for a nice tutorial on making paper flowers, visit kim here.

i found this site, that has maps, and this one shows scrapbook shops. i am proud to say that i am their first scrapbooking shop in africa! maybe they think i am the only scrapbooking shop in africa..

well, i'm off to make some hot chololate...

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

this post was linked to by kim watson

friendship - liza, and happy birthday elsa!

last week i was a good blogger. but this week i have been scrapping, and that has not happened so much lately. so i'm playing while i'm all inspired...

the above layout was done by liza. i will be showing mine later in the week. now that i have some...

my dear friend elsa, who visits this blog often from dhahran, saudi arabia, celebrated her birthday yesterday. elsa, i thought of you all day, but i did not go online at all yesterday. i did not even plug in my modem! so, here is a late HAPPY BIRTHDAY! i hope you had a special day, and i hope you have a blessed year. and thanks for being such a supporter. i have friends in benoni that i hear from less often than i hear from you...

i have an inspiration. francois would say "it came to me in a series of dreams". i have a scrapping-related idea. it has to bubble a little bit. it is not my idea originally, i saw something in a magazine that created a spark. of course, i do not have all the stuff i need, or i would not be blogging, i would be scrapping. it feels like my head is going to burst with this idea, i am so excited...

i'm off to photograph my recent layouts!

 

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

my mom - by liza

this layout was made by liza, who is one of the teachers in my shop. the theme for this month is 'mother' - quite a surprise, ain't it..., and she made this layout to celebrate that. the tags she used for a few journaling lines, and the book at the bottom on the right hand page, opens up for more space for that letter to mom.

i got another mention on scrapscene, thanks angie! it is always so exciting to get hits from there, the visitors to this blog come from such diverse and interesting places! we are truly becoming a global village.

thanks for all your positive comments on the blogpost with the photoshop tutorial. i sometimes feel intimidated by some websites and their tutorials, and i tried to make mine as user-friendly as possible. i am a photoshop beginner, and i hope that we can learn this together. it is only through trial and error that we master a new skill, and i really hope to inspire all of you who have told me you have had photoshop for months/years and don't know where to start, to not just read the tutorial, but to actually do it! please let me know how it turned out, and if you manage to do it, send me the link to your blogpost, or email me your result. i would love some feedback.

you know what gets me? my 21 year old watches 3 video photoshop tutorials, plays with the software for 3 hours, and already he knows so much more than me. doncha just hate it when that happens? all i can hope to achieve is to stay ahead of my 11 year old.

glenda gave me a gift of the kit of the heidi swapp mirror album that heidi presented at the scrapbooking convention on 1 may. quite a few of the girls from my shop attended this convention. i started working on it straight away, and i loved it. it is meant to be a journal about 'me', and i decided to make it an inspiration journal, a place where i write all the bible texts and quotes from people that inspire me. so, when the day seems a little dark, i can page through that and i can be reminded of all my blessings, including the blessing of heidi swapp's inspiring talent, and glenda's thoughtfulness, and of course of GOD's eternal grace. i will show photos of it soon.

now, before i can go to sleep, i have to watch the final double episode of desperate housewives. i'm halfway through, and won't be able to sleep if i don't see the end...

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking shop

great-grandmother

 

isn't this beautiful?

liza made this single page. the photo is of her great-grandmother. she used colormates cardstock, rose-petal vellum from worldwin papers, a strip of paper for the swirl from creative imaginations, scallop circle paper from making memories' animal crackers range, and the background paper is from my mind's eye. the flowers we sell loose, and are from different companies. she put the page together in about an hour, and she used a plate from the kitchen for the circle of vellum. inking around the edges when you hand-cut a circle, softens the edges, so you don't see if it is a little uneven.

there is nothing difficult about this page, it is just the combination of colours and papers that make it so striking. you cannot see this on this photo, but she wrote by hand on the red cardstock the name of the beautiful woman from days gone by. what a nice tribute!

just out of interest, i did some photoshopping on the photo of this layout. the original photo as i got it from the camera looks like this:

















photoshop is my friend....

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

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

scrapbooking tutorial - how to make a shakerbox

  
stephanie, one of our clients, attended a class by liza recently, and she made the round shakerbox we use in these photos.

you can put anything in a shakerbox, but, as you can tell from the name, it will move around inside the 'box'. so, use beads, small embellishments, sand, coins, keys. i even used my son's baby teeth!

  

a shakerbox can have any shape. stephanie made a round one. you need a base - it will be visible so use something that goes with your theme, a piece of transparency, and something for the top 'frame'. also, you need some foamcore or foamtape to raise the top part. ink, paint and distress as you want. you can tie a ribbon around the top frame.

cut the foamcore, if you are using this, in the desired shape. this lifts the 2 layers, creating a 'pocket' between them. ink too, if desired.

 
turn the top 'frame' upside down. place the transparency down over it. stick it down properly. remember when sticking a shakerbox together, do not leave any gaps at all, as the contents of the box can slip through the gap. if you are making a box to contain fine beads and sand, be extra careful to stick every little millimetre down.

using the foam tape or foamcore, stick this to the upside down frame, hiding it behind the frame so you cannot see it from above through the transparency. trim till neat. remember, the transparency comes between the frame and the foam.

place the base down, arrange the contents on top, and place the raised frame over it. don't stick yet. check that it is raised enough for the contents to move around freely inside. if it is too low, add more foam, if it fits, ink the sides of the foam to make it blend into your colour scheme, and stick it down properly, once again checking that there are no gaps.

pick up the box, and shake it about, checking that nothing slips out. then use it where you want it.

remember, you are making the whole shakerbox seperately first, before you stick it onto your layout. if something goes wrong, you can re-do it, until you are happy. so relax and experiment!

 
the 'scrappin times' shakerbox was made by liza. she used a sizzex machine to cut out the letters from cardstock, and then used the negative to make the shakerbox.

if you are unsure of anything, contact me, and i will gladly help you.

you can find another example of a shakerbox here. and here.

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

 
jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

this post was linked to by: scrapscene

family, liza, diana, champagne roadshow

this little book was made by liza for her classes. it is really beautiful! she used a chipboard 'bookworm' made by enmarc, a south african scrapbook product manufacturer. inside she has tags and photos.

diana is one of my clients. she made this layout:

it is so colorful. not the colours she usually scraps in. she did this layout in a class by antoinette.

i have been suffering from 'scrapper's block'. i have done almost no scrapbooking in the last few weeks.i scrap in the evenings and early morning hours, and i have been too tired lately. but, i have a challenge to do for time & about magazine, so i suppose i need to get out of this slump.

GOD sent me a blessing yesterday in the form of melani. thanks doll for the surprise! i loved it! a also found the email address of an old friend, and gave her the address of this blog, so annemarie, if you are reading this - haai my ou maaki! ek dink so dikwels aan jou. and nicky's friend, louise i think, hello. i hear you read here often. please introduce yourself in the comments.

i have heard lots and lots of praise for the champagne roadshow. ineke, cheryl, liza, nicky, louise, gail and chantelle had a wonderful time. congrats to all who arranged it! i hear that south african scrapbooking events are of incredibly high standards, and all the international teachers are always very impressed. leah fung and aubrey harns, the girls loved it! thank you! liza, gail, ineke and cheryl spent saturday afternoon in the shop, working on their 'homework'. here are some photos that i got from ineke:

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

home sweet home

Home is not where you live but where they understand you.  ~Christian Morgenstern

the above layout was created by liza. it is called 'home sweet home'. one of her regular workshop clients, sandra, saw something similar in a magazine, and asked her to make something for the workshop. liza came up with this. for the number 4 she photographed the number on a tile by her front door. to create this was a bit of a battle for liza. and now she doesn't really like this layout. yet, when it is displayed in the shop, almost all the clients remark on it. it seems to be one of her most popular workshops.

i also find that when a layout was a bit of a battle, and did not come easily, i don't seem to like the layout much. even when others compliment on it. do you also feel this way?

i have finished a layout and some cards. i should be able to upload them tomorrow.

also, i have been working on wilna's valentines project. it is going to be awesome!i am always quite able to express my feelings in writing. yet, when it comes to expressing feelings of love in writing, i simply can't find the words. so, doing these valentine's projects are quite a challenge for me in this regard. but i'm working on it.

love, jacki

SCRAPPIN TIMES

2008 calendar

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.  ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

we have been making these calendars as gifts. they stand on your desk, and if you are in an office and your desk faces the door, then the nice side faces you as you come in, and the functional side is towards you when you work. if you wish, you could take the calendar part off and replace it with a 2009 calendar next year.

the above examples were made by ineke, liza and laetitia. the kits are from wilpro, and we cannot keep up with the stock, they sell as fast as i can get them! next year i'll have to get lots more!

love, jacki

SCRAPPIN TIMES

liza's christmas tree

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.  ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

liza made this tree, which acts as a decoration. as it is double sided, it can hang against a window. this was a very popular class, as it gave everyone the opportunity to be as creative as she wanted. also, it is a good way to use up all your scraps.

Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.  ~Author Unknown

love, jacki

SCRAPPIN TIMES

Advent Calendar

To scrap or not to scrap, what a silly question!

hi

last week linda hattingh, linda koen and liza all made advent calendars. so amazing how similar they are, and yet they are all completely different.

the layout on the left is liza's advent calendar. she used a green chipboard frame. each number was cut on 3 sides so they flap open. under the little flaps she put photos of her son, and little bible verses. when she is finished teaching her class, she will take it home and add some little gifts and clues for her son.

layout 2 is by linda koen. she used the same pattern paper as liza, but she cut the little blocks out and spread them over 2 sheets of green treasures paper. she made little bags from felt to put little gifts in.  behind the other numbers she will put clues for her son to follow to other gifts. as he opens each day's flap, she will take a photo of him, which she will stick behind the flap. so after christmas, she can place the double page in her album as a layout. she put a ribbon through each page so she could hang them on the wall while they act as an advent calendar.

layout 3 is done by linda hattingh. she used different paper, and put the calendar in a blue chipboard frame. behind the flaps that can open, she put little silver chocolate coins.

this is a good example of how each one worked with the same idea, and almost the same products, and came up with something completely different! all three these girls are awesome and inventive scrappers.

hope you are making time to scrap. remember to post a comment, and to join our group on facebook.

love, jacki

Memories

This is a lovely page layout by Liza. She is one of the great girls who teach the workshops at SCRAPPIN TIMES. In the middle are pockets in which you can put tags, tickets, notes, etc.

She used many features that we were reminded of at the convention. She used handwritten journaling - see Donna Downey and Wilna Furstenburg! She used dimensional glaze over the stamped word "Memories". And she used lots of rub-ons and flowers, our favourites.

Liza has helped many of our clients to make their own version of this versatile layout, and each one is beautiful and unique.