{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!

digital elements used on this blog...

i use lots of digital images all over this site, and sometimes it is difficult to link the credits with every element. also, i often download elements, and then i cannot remember where they came from.

so, i wanted to create a post that has links in it, that you can follow. it is so much easier when it is all in one place. i will add to it when i download new stuff. and when i use something specific, i will create a link to this post.

the digital stuff i use come mainly from the following sites:

scrapgirls - you can also subscribe to their free newsletter for lots of tips, tutorials and freebies

twolittlepixels - i bought frames here

shabby princess - you can even buy blog banners and blogwear. see some downloads here

jessica sprague - for this grunge mask, and the tutorial

allie hoopes - for this grunge mask, and the tutorial

summertime designs - free stuff like this

shutterfly - also some downloads here and this awesome collection here

two peas in a bucket also has digital elements

cute frames from junosplace and scrapshana

'weekend' word art by ali edwards

dream trip castle dreams mini kit by seebee

thanks to all these sites, for all the wonderful stuff to play with!

and, if you are the creator of anything on this site, and you don't like how i have used it, or you want me to credit you personally, please let me know, i will gladly make changes. i admire your skill, and resolve to be better with the credit in the future.

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

wedding

on saturday evening there was a wedding in the terrace restaurant upstairs in the northvilla terrace centre, where my shop is.

i made a guest book for the couple. i used a little 7 gypsies 6"x6" file.

they wanted understated. if she is a scrapbooker, she can add pages for her photos between the pages with the guest's comments.

i used the fruit of the Spirit as a theme, as mentioned in the Bible here:

Galatians 5:22:
^"22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,"

instead of table numbers, i put these little cards on the tables. the main table was 'love'.

at the entrance of the restaurant was an easel, with these cards on, with the guest list.

down the isle in the wine cellar - where the ceremony was held, and on the dance floor in the restaurant, i scattered 250 black, white and red butterflies.

congratulations, john and trish. may your life together be blessed!

 

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

precious memories

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

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

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

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

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

 

this layout was made in a class by wilpro.

 

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



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

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

 

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

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

scrapbooking tutorial - how to ink/distress the edges of your paper

this is my 99th post!

today i'm posting my first mini-tutorial. people who come to workshops in my shop, know how to do this, but there are many people who read this blog, who don't have access to workshops. so, this one is for you!

you can use any ink. we like to use fluid chalk, from colorbox, but it really doesn't matter. ink stays wetter for longer than fluid chalk, so if you are going to emboss, or do some technique, then maybe you should use ink. but for the purposes of inking the edges of paper as shown today, it doesn't matter which you use.

i like to hold the paper still, and move the ink pad. to create a narrow, more subtle, sharper edge, you hold the ink pad almost up straight against the edge of the paper, as shown. we use this when we want a subtle effect, or if there is a large contrast between the colour of the ink and the paper, or if you are new at this and a little nervous. you can see on the photo what the result is.

if you want the inking/distressing to be more visible, you change the angle of the ink pad, so that it is flatter against the paper. you make smudges that go deeper into the paper, as shown.

you can also rub the ink pad over the surface of the paper, to distress it. this makes it look older and rougher.

 
the whole idea is to experiment with it. take a scrap of paper, and play around. if you want to buy just one ink to start off with, i suggest you get a brown one, as this goes with any colour scheme. you can also use the little ink pads on your stamps, by rubbing the ink over the stamp pad to cover it with the ink.

why do we ink the edges? it creates interest, it creates contrast, it softens the edges, it hides rough or less that straight edges, it gives it an aged look. most of us who ink, ink the edges of almost everything. just take a look at the layouts i have posted in the past, and you will see.

you could also scrunch the paper up in a ball, and pat the paper all over with the ink pad. open up and scrunch again, and ink again. repeat until you get the desired effect. then flatten the paper out, and use. you could iron it first, to get it flatter, if you wish.
 
remember that you should store your all your inks and chalks upside-down, as gravity draws the ink to the surface of the pad, where you need it to be. if you have lots of inks in your kit, you could wet your finger with the ink, and 'stamp' the bottom of the ink pad with it. then you can see the colours at a glance, without having to turn them all over. maybe the ink manufacturers should redesign the packaging so that they are stored upside down automatically?

tell me if you ink, and if you use ink in interesting ways. also tell me if you learned something, or if you would like me to show you anything else.

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

love, jacki

jacki janse van rensburg - SCRAPPIN TIMES

this post was linked to by: scrapscene, scraprio

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

7 gypsies

have to tell you something amusing:

the fun ladies from 7 gypsies (my favourite products) were in south africa last year for a range of classes.

in december, when i stocked up on some 7 gypsies stuff, i bought some paper. when i got to the shop and started to load it on the system, i saw that there was paper called 'bokburg' (i think they mean boksburg), and 'benoni'.

the orange dotty paper is 'bokburg', and the stripey paper at the top is 'benoni'! how cool is that?

love, jacki

SCRAPPIN TIMES

Christmas stuff!

I went shopping for stock yesterday. Lately I have been getting mostly usual stock, and a little Christmassy stuff every time. But the the Christmas feeling hit me! The stuff is sooo beautiful! To celebrate I bought some fairy lights, and filled a whole stand with Christmas cheer. I suppose I need to start playing the Bony M CD now..

New Stock, 7Gypsies

We have new stock and paper, especially 7Gypsies stuff. Above are all the new colours and styles of Gaffertape.

We also have new 7Gypsies stickers, rubons, paper and brads. You can visit Seven Gypsies to get lots of inspiration.

Also, if you know Chantal Slabbert, or if you attended one of the 7Gypsies classes in July, you can check out the photos at their blog.

Paper

We have just got in the new range of paper from Queen Of Hearts, called "The Romance Collection". This paper is for wedding photos, but will work well with any romantic page layout.