Jeaunes

BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY AT SHOESTRING SCRAPBOOKING

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Over on the Shoestring Scrapbooking blog, Canica is having an awesome giveaway with some blog candy :-)

Here is the prize that she is giving away........................

This blog candy will be running over October and November, is that not AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will be entered into the draw to win the following:

1 of each chip Halloween embellishment
1 of each chip Christmas embellishment
1 Christmas wreath
12x12 blank clock kit

All of the products can be found at www.shoestringscrapbooking.co.za

Now the most important information - HOW TO ENTER:

Become of follower of Shoestring Scrapbooking's blog
Leave a comment on the post about the blog candy - Oct/Nov Blog Candy

Then there are also ways for you to earn extra entries into the draw:

Post about this giveaway on your blog linking it back to the blog candy post
Like their FACEBOOK PAGE
Join their FACEBOOK Group
Share this on FACEBOOK
Sign up to our newsletter @www.shoestringscrapbooking.co.za

Remember for each extra thing you do your name will go into the draw. So if you do all 5 your name will go into the draw an extra 5 times, but you will need to leave a comment telling Canica what you have done in order for your extra entries to go into the draw.

The winner will be announced on 1 December 2011.

Please note:

- Well will only do the draw for the blog candy if we have 30 or more entries. This does not include the extra entries.

- The winner will need to claim their prize by 10 December 2011 or they will forfeit the prize.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Morning Ladies
It is that time again, the current Let's Scrap Design Team term is coming to an end and it is time for a new DT.

If you love being on the computer, encouraging others AND making layouts off of sketches then this could be your chance to join the Let's Scrap Team!!!

This call is open to scrappers around the globe! We welcome digital scrappers!

Please email your take on the sketch to letsscrap2011@gmail.com by November 15, 2011. We will be announcing our team by November 20th.

Please include the following in your email:

Your name and email address;
Your layout from this sketch (one or both sides);
A link to other examples of your work (or attache some examples);
Tell us about yourself and why you would be a great choice for our team;
Let us know if you feel you are able to fill the requirements listed below and if you are on other Design Teams.

Here are the DT requirements so you know what you are expected to do during your term. The sketches will be posted at least a month ahead of time so you will have plenty of time to work on them. We understand that things will always come up and are very understanding as they do, but this is what you are signing up for:

The DT term is for 4 months. It is important that you are active in the group.
You will be expected to upload a layout each week based off of the sketch.
Create and post one challenge during your term.
Post one question of the week during your term.
Pick one inspiration of the week during your term.
Posting daily on the site (including welcoming new members, wishing members Happy Birthday, leaving some "love" on members layouts, etc).
Help get weekly sponsors.
Have lots of fun connecting with your team (well you don't have to but we always do and seem to form some amazing friendships here!).

Good luck and Happy Scrappin!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Good morning ladies, I am thrilled to announce my FIRST SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last month Liz Gardner from My Memories contacted me and wanted to know if I was interested in doing a sponsored giveaway on my blog! I immediately said yes and have been very excited ever since :-)

I can right away tell you that I was impressed and I wondered why a digital or hybrid scrapper could live without this software.

The product that I am going to give away is My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software. I was able to try it out prior to this giveaway and let me tell you: YOU WANT TO WIN THIS!!!! And even if you don't win:
I have a coupon code that will give you an instant discount of $10 when you purchase the software and another $10 discount when you buy some of their other products. That is a amazing total of $20. So I guess you are all winners in the end! I'll give you more specific details later on in this post.

Here's a little about the software:

Create in minutes

Fast, and easy to use. Simple enough for beginners, yet powerful for serious scrapbookers.

Not just looks

Take your scrapbooks beyond traditional photo albums with interactive features.

Speaks for itself

With video and narration features you can experience your memories all over again.

Go ahead, show off!

Countless ways to share your creation with friends & family again and again... and again.

My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece.

Share Your Creativity

Once you have made your scrapbook album, you want to share your creation with others, right? My Memories Suite can help you show off your scrapbook in so many different ways-and as many times as you want. Print your pages and share them as a traditional scrapbook-or use the one-click share option to turn your album into professionally-printed and hardbound book. And not just one book either; you can make 3 or 4, or even a hundred published books from your one album. Turn your scrapbooks into treasured keepsakes by giving copies to family and friends.

You're not out of options yet...Take advantage of a full suite of sharing options and turn your scrapbook into a movie to watch on a DVD-or view on an iPod. My Memories Suite allows you to share an interactive album on a disc (DVD or CD) that will automatically play on a computer (PC or Mac). Viewers can interact with your scrapbook by clicking on video, playing narration or navigating through your scrapbook like a website. You can even place in web links for them to visit or embed hidden files like Grandma's secret cookie recipe.

With My Memories Suite you can even create and share professionally printed and bound calendars, make posters or trading cards for your son's soccer team, post a movie of your scrapbook on your Facebook page-all with the click of a button. If you are serious about creating the ultimate scrapbook that preserves and shares your memories with a serious amount of "wow" factor, then My Memories Suite is the one-stop solution for you.

What can Your Software Do?

My Memories Suite will help you build beautiful pages from scratch or to make a page using one of the many professionally-designed scrapbook templates provided within the scrapbook software. A large collection of papers and embellishments are available at your fingertips to help you make each page uniquely your own. Drop in your in pictures in seconds-then crop, edit, retouch and rotate them right on the page. If this were any other scrapbooking software, you might be finished. But with My Memories Suite, the real power-and fun-of this software is just beginning.

You can make a beautiful scrapbook an interactive memory experience for anyone who sees it. Use simple one-click options to enhance your scrapbooks, with music, narration, video, and even the Internet. Go beyond pictures by showing off video of the birthday party, or record a narration to capture the memories that pictures alone cannot. With My Memories Suite you simply don't look at a scrapbook-you experience it!

To make a little more exciting you can earn more than one chance to win this great software.

Become a follower of my blog
Share this post on Facebook
Blog about this giveaway and share the link in your comment
Visit My Memories blog and tell me what your favorite product is
Follow My Memories on Facebook

Please leave a comment for each entry. So if you do it right you can have 6 draws!

As a special for all of my readers, I am giving you my very own share the Memories code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value! Please use the following code during checkout: STMMMS89536

I WILL BE PICKING A WINNER USING THE RANDOM NUMBER GENERATOR ON FRIDAY THE 25th OF NOVEMBER

Geeh, I hope I covered it all and got everything covered. Please feel free to ask questions of you have any.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck in the draw!

FABSCRAPS GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!

Hi there ladies
Here in South Africa, we have this awesome scrapbooking company called FABSCRAPS!!!!!! They have recently ventured overseas and attended the CHA this year, so they are now also available overseas :-)
They have decided to do this awesome giveaway

FABSCRAPS HANDBAG ALBUM

All you have to do, is to like their Facebook page

FABSCRAPS ON FACEBOOK

Then post/comment/shout my name and the country you are from on their wall.

Is that not awesome, and so easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have two prizes to give away. One to a South African scrapbooker and one to an international scrapbooker!

You can also go and have a look at the video link

FABSCRAPS FABFRIDAY - 4 NOV 2011

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

As you all know it is that time of the year - the Christmas decorations are up since the beginning of the month; you hear Christmas carrols playing in the stores; the scrapbook stores have unpacked all the Christmas paper and embellishments and the classes have started on Christmas layouts and projects.

I attended a class at the beginning of the month where we did a Christmas layout. The layout was designed by Belinda de Nobrega from Scrapachinos.

All the paper and embellishments we used are from one of Fancy Pants' stunning ranges, called Saint Nick.

Here are some close-ups of the layout:

Hope you enjoyed that and happy scrapping!

LET'S SCRAP SKETCH 10-12-11

When I received the sketch layouts for the month of October from Cheri over at Let's Scrap, I did some planning.................. I picked pictures from my recent trip to the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, South Africa, matched them to the sketches and printed them. I then started.................... well sort of.........

This sketch was the second sketch for October, designed by Cheri O'Neill.

I had all the pictures printed and I did the layout, but I just could NOT decide on a title or what to do on the LHS of the layout. So needless to say, I did not upload my layout that week :-( But I finally sat down this weekend and decided, this is it, I AM GOING TO FINISH YOU KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And this is what the final product looked like.

I used a farely old range from Fabscraps for this layout. The main focus of the layout was the pictures. What was nice about the sketch was that there was space for TONS of pictures, so I did not use a lot of embellishments, no I barely used any embellishments :-)

The pictures on the layout is about the Royal Hotel in Pilgrim's Rest, along with a newspaper clipping that I found in one of the shops. Here is a bit more about the Royal Hotel:

The Royal Hotel, situated in Pilgrim's Rest, was impeccably restored, to reflect true late Victorian style.

It is perhaps one of South Africa's best-known hotels. This national monument is famous for its atmosphere and world-class service and facilities.

Composed of ten authentic buildings dating back to the latter part of the nineteenth century, the hotel offers charming en-suite bedrooms.

Declared a goldfield in 1873, Pilgrim's Rest became a cosmopolitan centre of activity in South Africa. Today it stands as a legacy to these pioneers. The town was proclaimed a National Monument in 1986.

Trapped in a time warp, the lounge reflects an epoch of time honoured hospitality and elegance so typical of the late Victorian era. Upon entering the Royal Hotel, visitors are immediately taken on a nostalgia filled trip into the past.

The reception walls are lined with the most interesting photographs and artefacts providing vivid glimpses of Pilgrim's Rest's history. This theme is carried forward into the lounge as well as the very famous public bar.

The restaurant is informal and serves hearty old-fashioned meals in a historical atmosphere in keeping with the rest of the Hotel. Enjoying a meal outside while taking in the scenery, is an experience worthwhile.

The Royal Hotel is the centre attraction of Pilgrim's Rest. From here visitors can plan all daily excursions and then come home to a relaxing evening of Victorian comfort.

LET'S SCRAP SKETCH 11-2-11

Oh my word, it is November already! I cannot believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year has really flown by...............

It's Wednesday, which means, a new sketch over at Let's Scrap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is this week's sketch, designed once again by the talented Cheri O'Neill.

Here is my take on the sketch.

All the paper and embellishments I used were from Kaisercraft's Seaside range. I battled to get the right paper and at first I did not want to look at this range, as it is a beach range, and the pictures are definitely NOT beach pictures :-) But in the end I decided to use it. I used some of the embellishments, like the tickets, journalling diecuts and brackets, but kept it to a minimum as to not take the focus off the pictures.

Recently I was on a conference in the Kruger National Park. On one of our sightseeing trips we headed to Pilgrim's Rest (a small little town in the area). The pictures in this layout were taken outside the Pilgrim's Rest General Store and Photographic Studio in the downtown area. Here is a little history about this awesome town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HISTORY OF PILGRIM'S REST

Mining in this region of Mpumalanga dates back many centuries, when unknown miners worked quartz reef in the area for gold. Proof of these digging can still be found in this area.

The history of this small delightful village dates back to 1873 when a miner, Alex Patterson, discovered alluvial gold on the farm named Ponieskrantz. He had left the Mac-Mac area to search for a place that was less congested.

Though the discovery was kept as a secret, the inevitable happened when a second prospector, William Trafford also discovered gold close by. What they had found in this beautiful valley drew optimistic gold panners and prospectors from all over the country and the world.

On 22 September 1873 Pilgrim's Rest was officially proclaimed a gold field and the scatter of tents and rudimentary shacks soon grew into a flourishing little village complete with sturdy brick houses, church, shops, canteens, a newspaper and the well-known Royal Hotel (a layout and some more history on this later). The diggers called it Pilgrim's rest because here, at last, after so many false trails and faded dreams they had truly found their home.

In due course the alluvial deposits were depleted and the locals turned to forestry, but their village, whose residents still number in the huundreds, has been painstakingly preserved as a "living museum" and major South African tourist venue.

You can read more about Pilgrim's Rest at http://www.pilgrimsrest.org.za/index.htm or http://www.pilgrims-rest.co.za/

Ok, enough of the history and facts, back to scrapbooking :-)

This week's sponsor is

Here is a little about them:

LE SHABBY CAFE

Our addiction to Scrapbooking led us to this wonderful venture, where we take the guesswork out of matching pattern paper, cardstock and array of beautiful embellishments for each month. Our niche is sourcing directly from the US, therefore having the latest products in our kits that sometime has not even reached South Africa. So why not try one of our beautiful packed kits.

Here is the wonderful prize they are giving away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed the post! Have a great day!

Friday, October 28, 2011

What an awesome way to end of the first day of the Scrapbook Convention with non other than

NIC HOWARD & BASIC GREY

A scrapbooker for 11 years, NIC HOWARD loves in New Zealand with her husband Paul, and their three children. Although residing in the total opposite end of the world, Nic finds herself involved in the scrapbooking scene in the USA, her most notable achievements include tutoring alonside the amazing staff at Big Picture Classes and working closely with several manufacturers including Prima Marketing, Tattered Angels and BASIC GREY.

Nic finds joy in the small everyday things and she has her camera ready to photograph them. When not scrapbooking, you can find Nic socializing with friends, hanging out with family or hiding at one of the beautiful beaches NZ has to offer.

Nic's work can be found in numerous international books and magazines as well as in advertising and galleries of the manufacturers she works for. To date Nic's largest and most fulfilling accomplishment is the completion of a sole authored book, "THAT'S LIFE, FINDING SCRAPBOOKING INSPIRATION IN THE EVERYDAY". It was through writing this book she learnt to appreciate the little things that make her an enthusiastic scrapbooker - and she learnt to create pages about them.

Nic's style can be described as detailed and layered. She loves cutting, crafting and altering paper to create truly dimensional layouts. As an experienced teacher, Nic looks forward to bringing amazing classes with fabulous sponsors to SOuth Africa. You can find out more about Nic on her blog http://nichoward.typepad.com or her website www.nichoward.co.nz

This was my second time to meet Nic, as last year she also came out the South Africa for the convention, but then she did a layout with Prima.

We made another BEAUTIFUL layout this year with Basic Grey. And the best part of Nic's classes and what I love about her, even though there is a lot of layering and detail, you get to finish her layouts in class. There is no going home and finishing them or not finish them and they then just lie in a drawer. Here is the finished layout!

And some detail :-)

I would really like to take this opportunity to thank Basic Grey! Instead of giving Nic some goodies to give away in the lucky draw, they decided to give each of the delegates one of their kits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Basic Grey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TIME FOR SOME KAISERCRAFT :-)

Our second class on Sunday, 10 September 2011, was probably the class I was looking forward to the most and the one I was most excited about...................... Can you guess who it was...............................

MELISSA KENNEDY from KAISERCRAFT

MELISSA KENNEDY is a fun loving mum of three little girls who has bee scrapbooking for over 10 years now. She graduated from Kindergarten and is now "cutting and pasting" for a living.

She currently works for KAISERCRAFT as their Creative Director and heads up the Design Team there. Whether traditional scrapbooking or beyond the page projects - she is in love with it all and loves getting her hands dirty and having fun. In her classes she encourages other to do the same.

Her work has been featured in both Australian and US publications and has taught at many conventions and expos both in Australia and overseas. Melissa taught at the SA Scrapbook Convention back in 2009 where she had an "experience of a lifetime and one that will never be forgotten" never dreaming of being offered the opportunity again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can ready some more about Melissa Kennedy on the Kaisercraft website or on her blog, LIVE OUT LOUD

Melissa is this bubbly person that NEVER sits still, she is ALWAYS on the move. So when she came around to our table, I quickly pulled her aside and took a quick snapshot of the two of us.

I could not wait to open our goodie bag from Kaisercraft. And was I amazed when I opened it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When got the most awesome stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melissa used the Kaisercraft Bonjour line which was not yet released by the time of the Convention, but only released during October (so you could just imagine the excitement). With this range of paper she created a double page layout with an accordian mini book, included on the layout. There was lots of layers and little fussy cutting and we were showed how to make the most of the papers in the collection. She also showed us how to use the journal tags as accents instead of just as journal tags. Here are some pictures of the layout as we progressed through the class.

There was SOOOO much to do and SOOOO much detail, that I did not finish the layout during class. I did however go home and finished it. Even if it was about a month after the convention :-) Here is my version of the finished layout!

I did some changes to the detail on my layout. So in the end it looked a bit different to Melissa's. Here are some pictures of the detail.

And finally some pictures of the accordian mini book, included on the layout.

I really enjoyed this class, it was definitely one of my favourite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoyed the post!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Over at Let's Scrap it is time for a new sketch!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is this week's sketch, designed by Cheri O'Neil. They post a double page sketch each Wednesday, except on the 3rd Wedensday of the month, they give us a card sketch. You are welcome to do one or both sides, flip it, rotate it, interchange them for cards or layouts. You will have until 11.59 pm (main page time) to upload your creation to be entered into the draw.

Here is my take on this week's sketch.

I started with the sketch, but once I finished the layout and compared it with the sketch, I saw that it was a bit different.................... But then again, as Cheri told me, the sketch it ONLY the beginning!!!!!!!!!!!

I used pictures that were taken of my darling husband and I at the recent CBR black tie event in August, this year. The paper I used and some of the embellishments were from Glitz Design. I attended a class on Women's Day last year where we used this paper, but I did not have the right pictures at the time of the class, and I therefore never finished the layout. So when I was looking for paper to use with these pictures I pulled out the different parts of that unfinished layout, and did some "recycling". Here are some close-ups of the detail.

One of the pages had this chair in which was cut out, distressed and then popped on the LHS of the layout.

One of the techniques we learned at the class last year, was to use the cuttlebug with foil. All you have to do is cover a piece of paper/cardstock with foil and run it through your cuttelbug. In order to make the embossed image stand out more, we covered it with some acrylic paint.

Hope you enjoyed the layout!

Now a little bit about this week's sponsor.

HEATHER HUNT

CLOSE TO MY HEART CONSULTANT

Here is a little about them:

I'm Heather, a mom of 2 children (4 years and 18 months) and wife to my funny husband for 8 years. We live in Eastern Ontario and I've been scrapping for about 10 years. I started to get more into cardmaking when I joined Close to my Heart 3 years ago. My day job is an Early Childhood Educator, so I love to get crafty after the kids go to bed to help relax.

My favourite Close to my Heart product is their Acrylic stamps. I never enjoyed stamping before I used them because I couldn't see what i was doing and my image was ALWAYS tilted. And now my favourite Close to my Heart product is their new Art Philosophy Cartridge. I love offering card classes to my customers and always make sure that those out of town can participate too.

Be sure to check out the website, blog or facebook page for upcoming workshops and specials. Here are her contact details:

Heather Hunt
Close to my Heart Consultant
Scentsy Consultant
613-304-6453
heathercm@gmail.com
www.heatherhunt.myctmh.com
www.heatherhunt.scentsy.ca
www.creativecoconut08.blogspot.com

HERE IS THE WONDERFUL PRIZE THEY ARE GIVING AWAY!!!!!!!!!!