{scraps of jacki's life}

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

bye bye butterflies...

see these butterflies? they are getting ready to fly far, far away, across the atlantic ocean, all the way to the USA.

beth saw these butterflies in this post, and asked me to send her some. it took a while, because they had to first come out of their little eggs. but, they are ready, and will be leaving shortly. because they are young butterflies, and their wings are made of paper, they will be flying by airmail...

*edited to add: i mailed them this morning (sat), beth. they should board the plane on tuesday or wednesday, provided their passports are in order.i don't know when they will get to your house, they might take the scenic route. i hope they don't gat airsick on the way...*

i could not log on to the internet this morning, so i closed microsoft explorer, and gave firefox a try. my son francois has been nagging me for ages. so far, so good. which one do you use?

unfortunately, i will not be going to the scrappink event after all, as there was no space for me! ha! they are gonna miss me! *sigh*! i was so looking forward to sitting down and scrapping. oh well, next time maybe..

i have been designing a business card for myself, using my still new digital scrapbooking skills. i love how it came out!

now i have to find someone who will print them for me.

 

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

how much is that doggy?...

visit this cute doggy, type in a command under her, and see what happens. tell her to sit, roll over, down, stand, sing, dance, shake, fetch, play dead, beg, etc. you can also type in 'kiss', but do it last. it's like having your own puppy, without dealing with the fleas...

when i formatted my computer, i also lost all the fonts i had collected over the years. so today i went in search of new ones. i found this website that had wonderful fonts, all free, and no pop-ups. i downloaded tons of great ones!

and great news for all typepad bloggers: i'm on typepad's beta team, which means i get to test all the improvements and upgrades before they are rolled out to you. and coming soon to a computer near you is an auto-save feature. that means no typing and editing and uploading just to lose it all. that is so great! if i think of all the swearwords i have uttered this last year or so...

did i hear you say yaaaay!?

  

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

christmas book...

yesterday i went to a class with melani. we did a christmas book. it was really a lovely morning, thanks melani. you can see what she said about it here.

melani is a wonderful person, and one of the most talented scrappers i have ever met! i love attending her workshops, as her style is so artistic and informal and different. shabby chic.

she sometimes needs my help on her blog, and i am so relieved, because at least there is something that i'm better at. in almost everything else she is just amazingly awesome...

thanks melani, for letting me learn from you a little sometimes!

after i left melani i had to run lots of errands, and my car's airconditioner is out of order. i nearly died in this intense heat! i was not feeling well when i got home last night, i think i had a mild case of heatstroke.

over the weekend, freak winds during a storm, blew a large shack that is temporarily stored on our property, quite a few meters in the air, before dumping it it on it's roof.

 

the right arrow shows where it stood. the mess you see around it, is actually where the man stores scrap metal, and building materials. not quite a tornado, but freaky for us.

and the night before, someone came through out electric fence, and stole 4 of our sheep.

interesting times...

 

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

just one of those days...

i'm tired today. it has been one of those weeks, where it feels like i have been working very hard, and accomplishing nothing. you know?

so, today i thought i would chill a little. catch up on those blogposts that i got so behind on. and not much else. the theory is that if i'm kind to myself today, i will feel energetic and revived again tomorrow. or not.

my sister-in-law told me that the other day she heard someone saying 'that's the girl from the blog'. they were referring to her daughter marni, who stars here and here and here and especially here. how cool is that? maybe not so much for her, but uber-cool for me!

if you are a south african blogger, why don't you participate in this survey here? you could even win a prize.

i'm off to do some photo editing. and to spend some quality time on facebook.

 

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

i'm back...

just popping in to say i have successfully formatted my computer, and i'm busy reloading and updating software, and downloading upgrades and drivers. it takes a while. i have restarted this computer dozens of times in the past few days.

i have got my internet working, and downloaded and upgrade for my modem. now my internet is faster than ever, i even have HSDPA at times, that i never had before! i also got photoshop installed. those are the important things. the minor details like the point of sale software and the bookkeeping program i'll deal with later. do you agree with my priorities?

if you have a vodacom modem, email me, and i'll send you the link where you can upgrade your modem software.

i should be back up to speed early next week, then i can get back to all that deeply philosophical and intellectual blogging you have become accustomed to...

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

photographing a puppy...

i'm posting early today, because i'm going to try and fix my computer, to save it from the worm/virus. so who knows, you might never hear from me again....

first: i need one or 2 volunteers. i want to write another photoshop tutorial, but i need someone who is prepared to let me use her 'before' pics on my blog. if i use them, i will email you the 'after' photos. you can see here and here the kind of things i do. send me an email or a comment to tell me you want in, and we will see from there.

just to prove that my tutorial skills are amazing, i thought i would do a tutorial on how to photograph a puppy.

you take a fiesty, sassy, active puppy, called snowy. you add a brilliant, internationally known photographer.

ok, so the photographer was on strike. or something. so that left me.

 

what does 'an internationally known photographer' mean anyway? i'm a photographer. my sister carla lives in melbourne, australia, and she knows me. so does my friend elsa in dharhan, saudi arabia. does that make me an internationally known photographer? i think so...

 

anyway, this is my domain, and i may call myself internationally known, if i want. internationally known. internationally known, internationally known...

what do you mean you hope the computer worm eats this blog? the international readers will miss this high-quality, intellectually stimulating stuff!

 

stand still puppy! smile! you are going on an internationally known blogger's blog.

 

did you just say you don't give a rat's ass bum? that's not nice! and we don't use langauge like that here on this blog! that word slipped out, but i managed to bleep it just in time, so nobody noticed. you almost made this blog PG10!

 

now we get to the point of this tutorial: persistance. if you keep snapping away, you may eventually get a good photo of the very cute little puppy. don't say i never teach you anything!

*edited to add: my therapist just called. she is adding 'delusions of grandeur' to her diagnosis...*

 

internationally known 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

new cards

i have been making some more cards. i used sketch #85 from card positioning systems as inspiration:

i like to use scraps from my layouts so my cards 'match' my layouts, and these cards go with the butterfly layout i showed before. so, i scrapped the butterflies, then blogged about the butterflies, then scrapped the blogpost, then blogged about scrapping the blogpost. then i also made cards that 'match' the layout, and then blogged about the cards...

sorry. this just amuses me no end. just skip to the next bit while i sit and giggle here...

i would have used butterflies on the cards, but my cuttlebug butterfly template is worn out! it is so blunt, it won't cut through anymore. look, it did cut way over 1000 butterflies in 6 weeks, so i suppose it is ready to retire. i'll have to get a new one soon.

that is real sewing you see. i 'quilted' little blocks of scrap paper. i have even been so inspired by this sketch, that i'm using the 'quilting' effect on a layout too. it is not finished, but here is a sneak peek:

i also made some christmas cards using that sketch, but that is another post for another time.

 

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

goodbye linda...

today we say goodbye to linda.

we have been collegues and friends for about 3.5 years now. she and i worked together at the scrapyard, another scrapbook shop where i was the workshop teacher and she ran the shop. then they closed down, and she got a job at SCRAPPIN TIMES. she was the one who told me the shop was for sale. when i bought the shop, i got linda as part of the bargain, as though she was shop equipment. and in that spirit, i 'sold' her to one of my clients, last week.

so, from monday, linda is working elsewhere. diana, you will find linda to be positive, enthusiastic, cheerful, loyal and dependable. you have got yourself a gem. look after her.

linda, thank you for your contribution to this shop. you have reached a crossroads in your life, and you have chosen the difficult route. i pray that your new journey will take you to places that help you grow. we will miss you!

you can read more about the frame linda scrapped of herself here.

 

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

butterfly fever...

 

remember the fun little butterfly post i did recently? well, it was unexpectedly popular, so i printed the photos and the text, and scrapped the blogpost.

 

i put some of the butterflies i made that day on the layout. i just had fun with it.

so, i scrapped the butterflies, then i blogged about the butterflies, and then i scrapped the blogpost about the butterflies, and now i'm blogging about the scrapping of the blogging of the butterflies. (en die groen gras groei daar om) do you know what i mean? because i have confused myself! this circle could go on forever...

aren't you just so relieved that i managed to sort out my blogging issues? 'cause now i can write insightful blogposts like this for another year...

 

and more butterflies here.

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

peace is restored in blog-land

i explained in the previous post what my blogging problem was. i could not get my payment through. if my payment had gone through in august, when i started trying, it would have cost me about R100 less than it cost me when it did eventually went through, as our Rand had gone into a bit of a free-fall against the US$. in august it was about R7,50 for a dollar, and now it is about R9,20! uggg! this added to my annoyance, as R100 extra is quite a lot of money.

i never expected any credits or financial compensation, but i yesterday i got an email telling me that typepad would give me a $25 credit towards my next payment. do appreciate it! the $25 more than covers the increase in fees due to the exchange rate. thank you so much!

i am in the service industry myself, and this has just proved to me once again that there will always be complaints and unhappy customers. but, the way you deal with them makes the difference in how they perceive you. often a previously unhappy customer treated well, will be a more loyal customer in the future. at least a complaining customer gives you the opportunity to do something about the problem, a customer that just goes away unhappy is one lost forever...

thanks to typepad for your support! i am happy again!

i also have to mention that when i started blogging, i tried blogger. i actually had a blogger blog, and had it running for about 2 weeks. and i could not get it to work. i had all sorts of problems, on my shop's computer, and at home. and i asked them for help quite a few times, but never got any response. so, i moved to typepad, and have been happy ever since, bar this issue. whenever i have asked for any help on any issue, typepad has responded, mostly on the same day, and they have always tried to resolve my problems, even with the billing issue.

so, i'm all paid up for another year, and oil has been poured on stormy waters. besides, moving a blog is almost impossible. so, back to full-steam blogging! it will take more than this issue to get me to shut up...

 

i made this watch more than 2 years ago, from instructions in the creative reflections magazine. i still love it, but i don't wear it as all the ribbons get scratchy. so it hangs in the shop.

 

i'm off to conquer my inbox, and hopefully do some scrapping.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbooking 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

free online class with jessica sprague

this looks great! i'm in...

 

you can find more info here.

love, jacki

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

only one post in more than a week...

did anyone miss me?

did anyone notice i was gone?

did anyone file a missing persons report?

does anybody care?

hellooooo.... is anybody out there?......

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

photoshop trick

i found a little tutorial on allie hoops' blog today. you can download a grungy clipping mask, and use it on a photo. i used it here:

 

because i'm one of those people who believes that if it worked well once, it will work double as well twice, i then put jessica sprague's grunge mask over it:

 

i wish there was a mask we could use to soften the edges of real life. then i would not be so sad today over my dear friend anne's devastating news.

rinse and repeat until you are rougher around the edges than amy winehouse:

 

ok, enough of that. i could keep doing it all morning, but i think you get it...

 

thanks allie!

 

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

5 minute chocolate cake

here we are. the post that is going to get me a recipe book deal....

or not.

this is a recipe for a 5-minute chocolate cake. i found it some time ago on dizzy dee's blog. i have made it a few times when the sweet cravings struck in the middle of the night. while i'm scrapping.

it is not the best chocolate cake in the world. it is not the most nutritional chocolate cake in the world. but is is quick, it uses ingredients that you have in your cupboard, and it is easy, and fast, and makes a big single serving or two smallish servings. it is great for those sweet cravings that hit at the most inconvenient times.

so: if you want organic, balanced, low GI, featherlight, go find jamie oliver. if you want quick and nasty, easy and convenient, then hey, you are in the right place! welcome friend!

and, these photos are not professional (it's hard to tell, i know). the food was not glazed with olive oil, and sprayed with hairspray, and backlit, and airbrushed. in fact, the photos are out of focus, as the photographer's camera batteries were flat. and she was tired. and in a huge hurry to get to the chocolate cake. she has been fired. she was not worth the money she was paid for the photoshoot.

the point of this long and rambling disclaimer is this: i don't want to be bombarded with critical comments. you get what you pay for. and you are paying nothing.

1 tablespoon=15ml. i don't know what that is in american.

take a large coffee mug. in it measure 4 tablespoons cake flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons cocoa (not hot chocolate powder).

add 1 egg, and mix with a spoon.

 

here is the oil i used. sunflower oil.

i see a lot of you shudder. what you put in yours is up to you.

 

add 3 tablespoons milk and 3 tablespoons oil.

 

mix well. oh, these photos are just brilliant...

 

put the mug in the microwave. i put it on a plate, because as soon as i turn my back, everything always boils over in my microwave. i'm sure yours is better behaved. i used a mug that says 'coffee'. i don't have one that says 'chocolate cake'. maybe i should look for one that says 'hot chocolate'.

 

i'm sure jamie oliver's mug would have matched the saucer. microwave for 3 minutes at full power. (1000 watt. whatever that means).

 

mine came out still a little moist on the top, as you can see from this high-quality photo. that's fine. 'a little moist' is almost always better than 'a little dry'. doncha think?

 

turn it out on a plate.

 

i like to cover it in whipped cream. the texture is a little less 'cake' and a little more 'pudding'. eat it straight away, hot and fresh.

 

you see how dedicated i am to this blog? i ate the whole thing. just to test it properly for you...

the other advantage of this recipe is that there is no evidence left afterwards. no baking pans. no mixers. and no empty cake-tin. nobody can prove that i am a greedy piggy. i can pick at my salad leaves in public, and declare that i have no idea why i'm not losing weight. nobody will ever know. it will remain our secret.

 

here is the note i scribbled the recipe on. it will be worth millions some day.

in my dreams.

ps. for a 'real', serious recipe, see these brownies on cathy's blog.

 

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

cards

 

the 'shiny' butterflies are made from transparency, and embossed.

i wanted to make some cards today, as examples for a kids card-making class that i want to do next week, while the schools are on holiday. so, as always when i need card-making inspiration, i went to card positioning systems.

the sketch for this week looks like this:

 

for 3 of the 6 cards i made, i used this sketch, for 2 of them i flipped it over. it is hard to see, but i used the cuttlebug to do embossing. on the photo above, the left of the white card and the top of the black card have embossed flowers. i used little pearls as the hearts of the flowers. everything is embossed, a border on each card, all the paper squares, and all the butterflies.

 

the red card on the right, the bottom butterfly on the left, is made from transparency.

i could have done so much more to these cards, but i wanted to keep them low-budget, so the kids could do more cards for their money. besides, kids really want to do their own thing, they don't need me to give them any more that just a start.

i used 3 sheets of cardstock that mix-and-match. i cut them across 20cm (8') down, so i had 2 pieces, one 20x30cm (8'x12'), and one 10x30cm (4'x12'). then i cut them both in half, so i had 2x 20x15cm (8'x6') and 2x 10x15cm (4'x6'). the bigger pieces i folded in half, to make 2 cards, 6 in total, and the smaller pieces i used for the decorations of the cards.

to make 6 cards i used: 3x sheets of cardstock, 30x pearls, 2x flowers, 2x scraps of pattern paper, 1x A4 sheet of transparency. i used the cuttlebug to emboss everywhere.

you can read more about making those butterflies here.

 

these cards were featured on card positioning systems.

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

guest post on scrapscene

i did a guest post on scrapscene about the convention. you can see it here.

fishes

you can feed the little fishes by clicking anywhere in the tank.

cute? i found them here. eilandkind had them on her b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. blog.

and even more convention..

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

cathy and i. she was a fellow volunteer.

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

is it time to panic yet?

not only was our president thabo mbeki fired/recalled/resigned on saturday, but now 11 !! 11 of our cabinet minsters and deputies have resigned, amongst others our minister of finance. and inflation figures show that the economy is still struggling.

these are scary times...

we can only pray for our country!

love, jacki

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

single pages...

for the RAK i announced on this post, my random number generator picked number 5, so that means comment no 5 wins. that is cathy!

cathy, email me 3-5 nice, close-up photos of you, preferably alone.

edited to add: to see what cathy said about this, look here. and to see what i did with her photos, see here.

we don't scrap single pages often, but we need them for the front and back of our albums. i did a total scraplift of this layout, and nicky and cheryl were inspired by mine. (when i am back in the shop, i will edit this post, and credit the person i scraplifted from.)

please note that the bottom left corner was left open for journaling. that is why it looks a little unbalanced.

here is cheryl's page. this is a photo of her. what a babe!..

the one below was made by nicky, as a front page of an album of her son.

 

and this one is mine. the journaling says: i finished school in 1984. this photo was taken in january 1985, just before i went to university. i was 18 years old and standing on the edge of my life...

 

as i was scrapping this page, i kept wondering what i would tell this young girl. (would she even listen?) that may be a nice theme for a LO one day - a letter of advice to the 'young' me. what would you say to the young you?

love, jacki

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

more convention...

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

jennifer straus from around the block in action.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

for some it all just got a little too much!

 

kah-mei smith demonstrates some technical points. 

 

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

 

getting messy in celine's class.

  

celine navarro demonstrating something.

 

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

some of the participants in the dress-up competition.

 

some more dressed-up girls.

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

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

 

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

convention layouts..

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

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

   

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

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

 

this is from jenni bowlin's class.

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

just for fun...

Your Blog Should Be Yellow

You're a cheerful, upbeat blogger who tends to make everyone laugh. You are a great storyteller, and the first to post the latest funny link. You're also friendly and welcoming to everyone who comments on your blog.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

i found this link on cathy's blog. do you agree?

i got my google reader to 0 unread posts. Probably for the first time since i started using it! it just shows you how dedicated i am.... now, if i could just be as dedicated in other areas of life. like work.

i'm so excited, i'm even posting a 2nd time today, something i almost never do. just to clutter up your google reader. ha!

i also have my inbox down to 38 emails, 6 unread. wow! now, if all of you would stop emailing me, commenting on my blog, or posting blogposts of your own, so i can sit back and look at the neatness, and maybe get some scrapping done...

no? well, it was worth a try! i'm going to lie down. i'm exhausted.

 

jacki janse van rensburg, and all that...

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

after the convention...

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

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

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

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

here are some of the volunteers:

 

 

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

 

here are celine, glenda and stacy.

 

and kah-mei, jenni, kelly and margie.

 

 

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

 

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

we have a winner!

i'm back from the convention, and exhaused, over-stimulated, and way behind with work. it was great!

but first things first: thanks for all your great comments on my blog-birthday. and the winner of the RAK, as detemined by random.org...

 

....is jodi dolbel!

Hi Jacki
How exciting that your blog in one year old!!! And so totally agree about the just as much work but stink less than a baby!! Too funny!!
My friend Brenda Schmitt recommend i visit you and enjoy your writing!!
You ahve a wonderful way with words.. I shall pop you into my blog now and read you more often... Expecially considering that all these people are "noticing" you now, unbrushed teeth, spiky legs and all!!!
Id love a photoshoped photo of me too.. gotta say, thats a damn brilliant idea for a RAK!!!
Jodi

Posted by: Jodi Dolbel | Wednesday, 10 September 2008 at 02:38 AM

thanks jodi. if you email me 3/5 photos of yourself, head and shoulders shots, without sunglasses, i will do some editing for you.

and to the rest of you, thanks for your comments.

 

edited to add: jodi is very excited! you can see what she wrote on her blog about it here.

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

scrapscene guest post..

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

makeover...

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

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

   

 

 

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

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

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

 

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

blogging..

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

when she wrote her first blogpost on 14 september 2007, she was excited and nervous at the same time. wow, now she was a 'blogger'. to the long list of titles behind her name, like cleaner, nagger, moaner, spender, she could now also add blogger.

nobody took any notice.

at first, she had to drag each reader to the blog individually. she had to grab unsuspecting family members and clients, sit them down in front of the computer, and only give them coffee after they read the blog. if they would leave a comment, they could have a biscuit.

nobody took any notice.

she told herself: *sniff* fine! if nobody reads this blog, it's their loss... *sniff*.... and i don't need any comments... *sniff*...

nobody took any notice.

she kept at it. she kept reading blogs, and commenting, and blogging herself. one day she saw that someone had commented! it was wilna furstenburg, no less! she almost fainted from hyperventilating...

nobody took any notice.

but slowly the hits came. she was excited when 10 people read her blog on one day. she was thrilled when she got 1000 hits in total, even though it took a whole 6 months to get there. she blogged about the six-month mark. she was happy when people she knew would say to her "i read your blog". she was in awe when she got 17 comments on one post. she was elated when she was typepad's featured blog. she was shocked that one of her photoshop tutorials got 575 hits from photoshop-pack alone.

someone was noticing...

and now this blog is celebrating it's first birthday. and she cannot believe how it has grown. her mind still boggles to think that so many people pop in on a daily basis, to see what she is doing. she really isn't that interesting, after all.. she doesn't have a life... she loves that every one of her posts gets comments now. she loves that people that she admires, and who's blogs and work and writing she loves, also pop in, and leave comments. she is surprised when strangers tell her they read her blog. i mean, where do they come from? she is happy that she has made so many good new friends from all over the world, who visit her, even if she blogs in bed with unbrushed teeth and unshaved legs..

she knows that this blog is still a tiny little baby, and demands more time and attention than a 'real' baby - but stinks less. but she hopes that it will grow. she knows that her readers hope it will mature, but she doubts it. she knows that her son hopes that she will start using capital letters, but she doubts it.

someone was noticing.

and she was oh, so very grateful!

 

Chipboard word: gift, Ronna Penner, Refresh kit, ScrapGirls

i wanted to do a RAK (random act of kindness) to celebrate the blog's first birthday, but postage is so very, very expensive. so, i came up with something different. from now until monday 15 september, if you leave a comment on this post, i will enter you in a draw. the winner will be able to email me 3/5 photos of herself, and i will do some photoshopping. i will do one subtle photo, so you look rested but still you, one seriously edited photo, to use on facebook to make all the old boyfriends and classmates jealous because you will have no wrinkles, scars or blemishes, and one 'artistic' one, for fun.

obviously, if you are naturally gorgeous, or can photoshop yourself, you may still comment, but you could tell me you don't need the prize.

also, if you are very brave, you can still email me some pics of yourself. i need some to use on my blog for a tutorial. but, remember, lots of people will be seeing your 'before' photos. (and don't send me photos of your husband's ex...)

 

you can read more about this blog's highlights and statistics here.

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

cuttlebug

if you live in south africa, and are wanting to buy a cuttlebug, just email me, and i'll give you a quote.

butterflies

 

as you can see, my current obsession with butterflies has not yet abated... i made this box according to the instructions i posted here. and just fixed the butterflies on using those brads. you will be seeing more of those butterflies in days to come, as we are all scrapping them. i am even scrapping my blog-post about the butterflies! (blogging about scrapping and then scrapping about blogging, i could keep myself busy forever...)

and more butterflies here.

 

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES scrapbook 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

wilna furstenburg

 

wilna furstenburg is hosting an online class. i have joined her class before, and i assure you that she is very creative, she is an attentive and helpful teacher, and she gives brilliant value for money. you can find more info here, and on her blog.

if you are in need of inspiration, don't hesitate to join her! 

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

potential..

or - name that photo...

last week i asked you to name this photo. you can go to this post, and have a giggle at the suggestions. thanks for the smiles you gave me. and also have a look at the very funny comments on the butterfly post.

i also got 2 more blog awards. thanks cathy. you can read about this reward here. the other one i will get to some other time.

i got a little behind with my emails and my blog reading. i'm trying to catch up. bear with me. i am reading all your blogs, just commenting a little less than normal. i had a medical problem - the man had a dislocated shoulder, and spent an evening in the emergency room before being admitted in hospital, and being 'fixed' in theatre the next morning. and i'm having home computer problems. it seems that my little laptop is reaching the end of it's life, and a new one is not really an option...

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

spring fever...

something really weird happened in the shop today.

a whole swarm of paper butterflies just flew in the door.

and just in time for spring too.

they settled everywhere.

*get a room, butterflies...* you'll have to excuse some of those butterflies, but it is spring, after all...

 

some even flew out the door with toothpicks in their ass under their wings, and settled into the potted plants of all the other tenants in the center.

bizarre...

nobody knew where they came from...

it was a beautiful sight!

the butterflies were cut and embossed with the butterfly cuttlebug template

see some cards with these butterflies here, a layout with them here and here and here, and a gift box with them here. then i scrapped this blogpost, and blogged about scrapping the blogpost... whew!

and more butterflies here.

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

this post was featured on scrapscene and on scrapbookeronline and scrappertalk and gingerblue on 7 november 08. a mention of this post on two peas' messageboard caused a huge and unexpected spike in traffic. thanks!

rachael scholz

rachael scholz is another one of the teachers who is coming to the south african scrapbooking convention.

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

the teachers this year are:

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

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

here is a note from rachael:

Dear Delegates

The lovely Jacki has given me the opportunity to send you all a message through her blog – what a lovely woman she is. I cannot believe how quickly this trip has come around. Originally when I was first asked to teach it seemed a million years away but now it’s almost two weeks until I fly out!!! I am bringing my lovely friend Kim along with me, she is a very talented scrapper from here in Melbourne and she cannot wait to meet you all! Kim is a little anxious, this is her first overseas trip, although I have flown many times before I haven’t been without my daughter for so long since she was born; that bothers me a little bit, but I’ll be fine once I’m there!

We have a regular at our local scrapbook shop here in Melbourne who is South African, Sharon Martindale, she has been to many Convention’s and has been giving me all the details and even teaching me a little of the Africaan language. The more I think about it, the more excited I get!

I’m looking forward to meeting you all, experiencing your culture and exploring your beautiful country.

See you very soon!

Rach xx

Here is what you can read about rachael on the convention website:

My name is Rachael Scholz, just plain Rach to most that know me. I'm 26 and my partner Warrick and I have one little girl, Bella. I live in Melbourne and work full time as an Office Manager. In my "spare" time LOL, I love to scrap!
I started scrapping just before Bella's first birthday in October 2005. I love scrapping to death and I love the online community even more! I have met some awesome chicks through scrapping and I am grateful for having a common passion to share with them. I joined the Scraptacular Design Team in 2006 and am a current Scrapbooking Memories Master. In mid 2007 I was a finalist in Scrapbook Creations Colour Expert Comp. I love working with Scraptacular and Scrapbooking Memories and look forward to the opportunities this craft throws my way in 2007.

rachael isn't the most active blogger, but you can still get an idea of what to expect by taking a look at her blog.

you can read where she posted about me here.

you can also read celine navarro's message, and more about the convention.

you can still book here, if you haven't yet.

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

thank you so very much!

i got this award from both tracy and michelle:

tracy said:
thanks for your inspiration and honest blogging ... and also: Then to Jacki JVR - I always find something to giggle about on your blog and I love that you are so open and honest, thanks ...

my problem is that they nominated some of my favorite blogs! now, who do i chose? i would have loved to award it to all those blogs i regularly read, but most of them have already got one...

the scrapbooking girls who's blogs i read, especially the south african ones, are so generous and friendly. they are not afraid to share and to comment and to praise. they challenge, and take part in challenges. it is an honor to be a part of such a wonderful group. and, i'm finding new south african blogger-scrappers every week. i will update my blogroll with my new friends soon.

so, what do i do now? i thought i would look a little wider. and i thought i would nominate some blogs that are new to me. some of them are new, and some are established, but i have just found them.

so i nominate:

eilandkind, for a beautiful, yummy, afrikaans blog

brenda, for a delightful scrapbooking blog from australia

melani, who is so amazingly creative, and for whom scrapbooking is easy and blogging is a challenge

sam ellis, who is rather new at blogging but not new at scrapbooking, and she takes interesting photos

nicky, who is really is a new blogger and a great friend

hayley, who lives in cape town, but is from benoni, although she never mentions it on her blog

simply-mel, who keeps it real, and who writes about her everyday life

francois, who will scoff at this award, and probably die before he mentions it on his blog, but who writes so incredibly well (he takes after his brilliant mother...)

and last, but not least, kwebbel, who's posts i don't always understand as she writes mainly in german, but the photos of her projects are understandable and inspiring, and who nominated me for a blog award a few months ago

The rules are simple:

1 Make a blog post where you pass the award on to seven blogs you like and

2 Post a comment at their blog to tell them about the award!

 

phew, it's done! i still feel guilty daily because i never passed on the brillante weblog award, and i hope this makes up for it.

 

i was very nervous when i posted the photos of the sheep in my last post. it is so special for me to experience the birth of all the animals on our property. i realize that there are people who go their entire lives without ever experiencing anything like it, and so i wanted to share it. thanks for the overwhelmingly positive response.

 

 

 

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

What to do when visiting South Africa

this is specially for celine, rachael, and anyone else coming here for the convention, or for any other reason...

my friend elsa lives in saudi arabia. she wrote this for the south africa day they are having later in the year:

1 Visit Cape Town where you can see the Castle of Good Hope built by the VOC between 1666 and 1679 and the oldest building in South-Africa. Go to Cape Agulhas, the southern most tip where the Atlantic ocean meet the Indian ocean or take a scenic drive down Chapman's peak. Visit the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront ( V & A waterfront) and the Two Oceans Aquarium. Take a cable car or hike up Table Mountain for breathtaking views. Frequent the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch. Book a boat trip at the V & A Waterfront to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 17 of his 27 years of imprisonment after being convicted of treason.
 
2 Visit the Cape wine lands with its unrivalled scenic beauty to sample some of South-Africa's top wines.
 
3 Take a trip along the Garden route - over 9000 species of plants occur in this area of which 6200 are endemic i.e. do not occur anywhere else in the world. Indulge in whale watching in Hermanus (July-December). Or get up close and personal with a Great White shark from behind a cage in Mossel Bay where you are also able to see a replica of the caravel Bartholomeu Dias used in 1488 to sail around South-Africa and visit the Post office tree. Board south-Africa's last operational steam train, the Choo-tjoe that runs between George and Knysna. At the Knysna Elephant Park guests have the opportunity to touch, feed and photograph the gentle giants. Or have a look at the coelacanth in Knysna. Bungee at 216 m at Bloukrans Bridge  - the highest commercial bungee jump according to the Guiness Book of world records. The Tsitsikamma Nature Reserve is not only well known for its beauty, but also hosts a variety of activities for the adventurous. Ride an ostrich or visit the Cango Caves in Oudshoorn.
 
4 Board the Blue train to glide in the only 5 star hotel on wheels in the world through the fertile wine lands before you turn inland to the sweeping landscapes of the Great Karoo.
 
5 Visit Namaqualand in early spring (August) when for a short period of time a normally arid area becomes covered with a kaleidoscope of colour during the flowering season.
 
6 Visit Johannesburg to book a tour to Soweto to visit the Apartheid's museum, the Hector Peterson Museum and drive down the only street in the world where two Noble Prize winners lived next to each other to visit the Nelson Mandela Museum in his former home. 25 km from Johannesburg is the Cradle of Humankind a world heritage site and home of Mrs Ples - a skull estimated to be between 2,6 and 2,8 million years old. Excavations continue to this day and Sterkfontein is the richest site in the world for hominids. Visit the Voortrekker Museum in Pretoria as well as the Jan Smuts Museum in Irene, close to Pretoria. {Visit Benoni, where world famous J blogger and scrapper, jacki janse van rensburg has her shop – tee hee}.
 
7 Sun City is more than a casino complex and entertainment centre. Stay in the magnificent Palace of the Lost City and play golf where the annual $2 million Nedbank Golf Challenge is played. Take a car, elephant or hot air balloon trip to observe animals in the Pilansberg National Park adjacent to Sun City.
 
8 Drive through the beautiful Mpumalanga to enjoy the spectacular 10 mile Blyde River Canyon. Enjoy sweeping views from God's window, gushing waterfalls and the Burke's Luck potholes ( an amazing system of cavities sculptured by erosion). Visit Pilgrim's Rest  - replica of a mining town during the late 19th century gold rush period.
 
9 Enjoy the beautiful beaches of KwaZulu Natal and visit the Venyane cultural village. The Drakensberg mountain range is a must if you enjoy hiking/mountaineering or rock climbing. Also visit the battle grounds of Isalwandla  - the best preserved battle ground in the world where  the Zulu's inflicted  one of the most humiliating defeats on the British army. Close by is Rorke's Drift: the successfull defence of this outpost is held as one of history's finest defences and 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded to the British defenders, the most ever awarded in a single battle by one British regiment.
 
10 Visit the Kruger National Park where there are more species of mammals (147) than in any other African game reserve! Not only will you see the big five but also the following record breakers:

    
     Girraffe: the tallest animal on earth
     Cheetah: the fastest landbased mammal in the world
     Eland: the biggest antelope in the world
     Ostrich: the biggest bird in the world
     Cori Bustard: the heaviest flying bird in the world
     African elephant: the biggest land based mammal on earth
     Shrew: the world's smallest mammal ( the size of a human fingertip)
 
If you can't go to the Kruger Park, enjoy the wild life at any of the multitude of game parks, national parks or game lodges.

 

this all will keep you busy for a few weeks. and you'll love it!

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Celine Navarro

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

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

the teachers this year are:

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

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

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

Hello fellow Scrapbook Artists!

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

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

See you REAL soon!

Céline Navarro

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

thanks celine!

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

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

celine wrote a post in reply on her blog.

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

love, jacki

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