Sharon's Kardz Korner

Google Followers (Non-Blogging Sites)

2012-02-13T09:24:00.003+02:00

Thanks to Bev for this little bit of news, which she saw on Fleur's blog. So.... just in case Google decides to remove their Followers widget, I have installed one from Linky.

Please would my existing followers join my blog via the Linky Followers widget too, as I would dearly like to keep in touch in case the Google one goes. Any newbies, please follow both at this stage... Thanks.

As a precaution you may want to install the Linky Followers widget yourself. Here is the link http://www.linkyfollowers.com/

hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Colour Combination

2012-02-12T07:00:00.000+02:00

Happy Sunday friends and welcome to another challenge at the Simply Magnolia blog..... It's the fun place where all Maggie stamp lovers meet. If you're visiting for the first time, we'd love for you to play along, as we have some awesome companies sponsoring our challenges.

We have a colour combination this fortnight... It's Red and/or Pink and White. What a stunning combination. Please pop along to the challenge blog as our DT sisters have created some stunning projects for your inspiration.

I couldn't resist using Cupid Tilda... she is adorable and just perfect for a Valentine's card. You can purchase her from our wonderful sponsor this fortnight, Tilda's Town.

Here's another view of my card, so that you can get a glimpse of the inside. The beautiful spotted pink and heart paper was a gift from my friend Sandra. I just knew it would come in handy for one of my DT projects. Thanks so much Sandra.

Tilda has been coloured with my trusty ol' Copics and I am so pleased with the pleats of her dress this time. Just seemed to have worked for a change.

I love this view as it gives such a clear picture of the dimension glaze I've used on those red hearts at the tip of Cupid Tilda's arrows and also of the bow itself. The sentiment is a ticket-shaped one from Kaiser Kraft.

Welcome to some new faces in my Followers list. I am so pleased you found something of interest here at Sharon's Kardz Korner. Thanks to the regulars and newbies for popping by. I would be delighted if you'd leave a comment, as I have great pleasure in reading them.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

Hugs and blessings, Sharon xx

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Lurve

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000+02:00

Welcome to another Saturday challenge at Totally Gorjuss. Have we got a lovely one for you this week.... With Valentine's Day only a few days away, we'd like you to show some Lurve when making your card.

I've gone for the clean and simple look this week... thought I would give the Magnolia's and Copics a rest. Please see what gorgeous creations our DT sisters have created for your inspiration.

I found some kraft cardstock in my drawer and thought I would use that as the background for a change. Love the MS heart border punch, which I use far too seldom. Nothing fancy, a heart nestie, ticket sentiment and that's all you need.

Our sponsor this week is Crafter's Companion... Do visit them for all your crafty needs.

Happy crafting and have a super weekend.

hugs Sharon x

Thinking of You today, Daddy

2012-02-08T15:41:00.000+02:00

Thinking of you today Daddy, as it would have been your 77th birthday. Thank you so much for the wonderful memories you've left behind. We love and miss you terribly, but know that you are in a better place. I bet they're having a huge party for you in Heaven right now!

Forever in our hearts. Love Sharon, Kendall and Mom xoxox

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A Sketch

2012-02-04T06:49:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone

It's Saturday and that means we have another super challenge for you at Totally Gorjuss. Net has provided us with a fabulous sketch to work with...

Isn't it a lovely one? The Gorjusettes have come up with some wonderful creations for your inspiration, so do play along with us this week...

The gorgeous image is Tilda With Wrapped Heart. She arrived all the way from the USA this past week and I just LOVE her! Ain't she a cutie pie? I think it's the hairstyle and that bow. I coloured her with Copics and am trying my best to get some folds in that dress. The gorgeous leaf was sent to me by Sandra... thanks so much honey. And the little pink buttons were a gift from Marika. Thanks so much.

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Joanna Sheen... do visit her website for all your crafty needs.... Remember her P&P is FREE!

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, it would really make my day!

Happy crafting and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Hearts and Love

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000+02:00

Aahhhh, we are nearing that time of the year when all the lovebirds throughout the world go gagga! Yep, I'm talking about Valentine's Day... To get you in the mood, at Simply Magnolia we have a wonderful challenge for you... Make whatever you like. as long as it is made with Love and has Hearts on it.

Our DT have come up with some stunning creations for your inspiration, so do pay the blog a visit and show some L-O-V-E, will you?

I decided to alter a little box which I've kept from Christmas... a Christmas cake was in it and I just knew the box would come in handy for this kind of project. OK... enough waffling, here's my altered box. I have used Valentino from Magnolia's Sweet Crazy Love 2012 Collection to decorate.

And here's a close up of Valentino. I used gorgeous white satin ribbon, some decorative pins, pearls, flowers, cut out some hearts and covered with glitter to decorate the lid of the box. The red nestie is one of the Marianne's Designs. The sentiment is from a reel of ticket-type Valentine sentiments that I have in my stash.

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is The Ribbon Girl. Do pay them a visit. They have a stunning collection of products for your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by, wishing you a lovely Sunday. Good luck!

hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Keep it Simple!

2012-01-28T07:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends and welcome to another challenge at the Totally Gorjuss blog. I love the challenge this week. It's Keep It Simple and boy have I done just that.... I had SUCH fun making this little card that I plan to make some more for my own stash...

Now, you can't get it simpler than that.... but wait, I did manage to decorate the inside, have a look here

and here

and finally here...

And here I thought I sucked at making clean and simple cards... LOL It was such fun. The card is smaller than my usual ones being just 110x110cm in size. Used very simple techniques by just stamping with Momento's Black Ink using a nice swirl stamp that I have and of course that sentiment is soooo special! White heart for the front and a tiny black one inside so that they compliment each other.

Please visit our challenge blog to view the rest of the TG DT's cards... there are some awesome one's for your inspiration. You will not be disappointed! Our wonderful sponsor this week is Lili of the Valley... woohooo!

Thanks for popping by. Wishing you a stunning weekend.

hugs Sharon x

Thank You Lovely Blog Friends

2012-01-26T22:46:00.000+02:00

Greetings everyone

I received 2 notices these past 2 weeks from the PO and said to Kendall that I was sure I hadn't ordered anything and wondered what it could be... Well was I in for a lovely surprise ?? Lookie here...

First was this lovely gift from my lovely DT sister and friend Hazel. Hazel has already been thanked, but I'd like to do so again. Psst, she's in this magazine, so if you have it, go take a look. She makes the most beautiful cards with awesome tutorials. Thank you honey, this gift parcel sure made my day, week and year - mwah! xx

Next was this gift from a new blogfriend in SA, Marika. Marika sent me this token of appreciation for encouraging her to start her own blog... Well, it's always a pleasure introducing someone to this wonderful cyberworld of ours. How sweet was that ? She has also been thanked, but I'll do so now again... thanks so much Marika. So pleased you're having such FUN. Much appreciated xx

Watch this space for new challenges at Totally Gorjuss on Saturday and at Simply Magnolia on Sunday.

Tons of hugs and happy crafting, Sharon x

A Rare Treat

2012-01-24T16:21:00.000+02:00

Hello friends

This post is directed more at my overseas blogging friends than the local ones, but I am sure my upcountry blogging friends will enjoy this as well.

I follow Living Life Creatively, which is a blog created by a lady by the name of Bonnie. I do not know her personally, but came across her blog perchance in blogland. I paid her blog a visit today and was astounded at the beautiful photographs she has captured of one of our local villages, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch and thought I would direct you there, so that you can see more of my beautiful country. These 2 villages are based in the Western Cape near where I live. As my regulars will know, my daughter Kendall attended University in Stellenbosch, so it is very special to us and is about a 45 minute drive from where I live. A beautiful drive which has stunning vineyards for one to admire on either side of the long road.

Funny how when viewing pictures of villages in other countries, one thinks "oh, if only I could go there or live there". This was a real wake-up call for me... After viewing Bonnie's pics, I will no more have those thoughts, as I have the same beauty right on my doorstep. Methinks it's time for a Sunday afternoon drive again, to take in the beauty of my own country.

Enjoy!

hugs Sharon x

Smash Booking

2012-01-23T13:19:00.003+02:00

Hello my dear blogging friends

I subscribe to Suzanne Dean's blog, Scrap Bitz and read her latest post with great excitement. I've been wanting to find something else to do besides just making cards and think I have found something which would appeal to me. It's quick, easy and helluva fun... it's called Smash Booking. Thanks to Suzanne for sharing.

For those of you, who like myself, don't have time to sit and scrapbook 12x12 pages one after the other, I am sure this hobby will suit us perfectly. View this video to see what it's all about.

Looks like FUN huh! I am going to get myself some ring binder books from my local store and will start Smashin' and Journalin' as soon as I can. So watch this space!

Suzanne has a Smash Bookin', Scrappin', Journalin' group over at the Colour Me Creative Classroom. Go check it out... I've just joined.

7 Kids College Fund has a whole range of Smash Folios and Smash Booking Accessories too. I am sure you can find something similar at your local Scrapbook shop though.

Take care, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Welcome

2012-01-21T07:00:00.000+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss and a very warm welcome to some new followers. I am thrilled that you found something of interest to make you join. Always a pleasure.

As my regulars will know, I started work on Monday after being on leave for a month and boy, did I hit the road running... hard!!! As you can see, there have been no posts since last Saturday, sorry about that but I've just been too exhausted to sit at my craft table. Funny how one gets used to having those little 60 minute snoozies when you're on leave huh!!! I tell you, by the time I'd eaten and bathed at night this week, my eyes were ready to close by 8pm.

Enough yakking and complaining, let's get down to business, shall we? We have a wonderful challenge for you this week... We want you to wish someone a warm Welcome i.e. a new baby into the family, new neighbours to the neighbourhood, etc. I've made a card for the latter. Hope you like it!

As mentioned in previous posts, I plan to start using some of those unused stamps that are just collecting dust in the cupboard and this is one of them. Bought it, didn't like it when I got home, still don't like it, but it sure came in handy for this challenge (smile). It's in my "to get rid of" box. I'll be tossing it back in there after this.

No great shakes with this one, but then we're all entitled to have our "off" days or what? Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Anything BUT a Card

2012-01-15T07:00:00.000+02:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to another challenge at the Simply Magnolia challenge blog. This is where all Maggie stamp lovers meet, so do pop around and make some new friends and re-acquaint yourself with some old ones.

Our challenge this fortnight is to make Anything, BUT a Card... Well, this challenge sure had me stepping out of my comfort zone again. What will I make? I rummaged through some printed tutorials I have stashed away and decided to try this cute little Mini Pizza Box by Jen del Muro. All you need to make this is:

* One 6" x 11" piece of cardstock
* Scor-Pal™ or other scoring tool
* Scissors
* Adhesive
* Additional cardstock and embellishments to decorate your box

Click here for the tutorial. This was so...so easy to make.

Looks like a card, right? No, it isn't... lookie here....

and here...

and finally... last one...

Cardstock: A biscuit coloured Bazzill cardstock. The gingham paper is from Queen of Hearts.
Stamp: Water can Tilda. You can purchase her from the Magnolia-licious store.
Punch: Martha Stewart's Arch Lattice.
Embellishments: Ribbon, pearls and flowers from my stash. The leaves were kindly punched for me by my friend Sandra.

I really had fun making this mini pizza box. Our wonderful sponsor this fortnight is from the lovely Tracey's store... Scrapbooking Allsorts. Please pay her a visit for all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to comment on my project, I would be delighted.

hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Be A Star!

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000+02:00

A warm welcome to all our old and new Totally Gorjuss friends... We have a lovely challenge for you this week... Be A Star! All you need do is have a star somewhere on your project.

As mentioned previously on my blog, I've made a promise to myself to start using some of my non-Magnolia stamps or else this blog may as well be called Sharon's Magnolia Korner...hehehe I was delighted to find George from the Molly Bloom range of stamps. I think he was a freeby with the Papercraft Magazine, which was kindly sent to me by my friend Sandra. Isn't he delightful?

The nestie is new, just arrived in time for this challenge. It's Docrafts XCut, which Paola got me from Joan's shop. They are MUCH cheaper than the Spellbinder dies, so if any of the local girls are interested, ask Paola if she can get them for you. The little piece of star paper also came in handy for this challenge. Never throw your cut-offs away, you may just need a little piece, which can make such a difference to one's card. The sentiment (C1047) is a favourite one by a local company, Great Impressions. Their link is on the left hand side of my blog.

I thought I would try that thingy-ma-gig again for the eyelets. My lovely friend Charmain recommended that I get it from Niki Zipp. When she demonstrated it to me, it looked so easy to use, but I really struggle with it. It's one of those springy-ma-gings and when trying to get the back of the eyelet flattened, mine always flattens skew...boohooo and then I stuggle to find the hole to get my string through! I suppose it's just a case of practice makes perfect huh!

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is Crafter's Companion. The have a SALE on at the moment, so do visit them for all your crafty needs as they have fabulous products in stock.

By the way, just thought I would mention that I have decided to step down from the Anything Goes DT, so you won't be seeing anymore AGDT cards on my blog from now on. I hope to find time to take part in a few of their challenges now. It was awesome being part of the Team, thanks so much for having me girls!

Okay, that's enough jabbering from me. We look forward to seeing you at the Totally Gorjuss challenge. Please visit the rest of my DT sisters and give them some love when you do! You can find them on the left hand side of my blog.

hugs Sharon x

The Holidays Are Over...

2012-01-13T11:40:00.002+02:00

I can't believe that the holidays went by so quickly... boohoooo, today is my last day of leave and I go back to the old grindstone on Monday B-)

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year, this being our first one without my Dad. We thought and spoke of him often, as we have such fond memories of him. Missed you Daddy!

Furthermore, it was lovely seeing members of the family over this festive period, that we don't get to see that often. So the days were spent eating (naturally), chatting and catching up on news. The waistline definitely increased over the hols, but steps are in place to reduce it as soon as possible...hehehe If you have the same problem, put your hand up please... hahaha

I accomplished such a lot these holidays that I had planned to do. We had an interview at the Retirement Home where my Mom has finally decided she'd like to go to. Here's a pic of the Main Manor House, which houses the adminstrative offices, library, drawing room where they can watch DVD's, have craft sessions, play carpet bowls, etc. We now wait patiently for a room to become available for her in one of the houses on the estate. All prayers for this to happen soon, will be most welcome. Thanks so much.

Mom enjoying the sun on her front patio whilst we watered the garden one day this week. Shew, but we are experiencing hot, humid, summer weather. You just water the garden and in a few minutes it looks dry again.... would love some rain in the Western Cape.

I just had to share this pic, which my Sister sent me, of her lovable furry friend. His name is Jack and she calls him Jack Daniels... Isn't he adorable? He's waiting on the front car seat as they were on their way to the beach for their daily walk. Needless to say Jack is a very spoilt doggie...B-) My Sister says he's her best friend and she loves him to bits!!

OK, enought chit chat from me, as I've got to dash. Just a reminder that there is a new challenge on the Totally Gorjuss challenge blog tomorrow, so pop around if you'd like to see my DT card.

Take care, have a super weekend, hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - Anything Goes

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at the Anything Goes challenge blog. We're kicking off with an easy one for you.... it's ANYTHING GOES!

I've made a mental note to start using some of my non-Magnolia stamps and decided to go with 2 of Elisabeth Bell's this time. Both are available or were available from Whiff of Joy. This is Willow with Flower Basket. I'd forgotten just how adorable and delicate she is. I've masked her with this gorgeous background and they worked well together. Unfortunately a bit large, so I didn't have a nestie for it and had to just cut it into a square which took up most of the space on my card...urgh!

The sentiment is from Whimsy Stamps. First time I'm using this one I think. Funny how we forget what stamps we have, that's why I decided to catalogue mine so that I can just flip through my book to see what I have.

The background paper is from the Prima Marketing Sparkling Spring Collection called "Rosebud". I bought this from Paola and will have to make a note to ask her for some more.

Once again we'd like to encourage you to shop at the Craft Den where there are so many goodies for you to buy.

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment, that would be GREAT!

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A Sketch

2012-01-07T06:49:00.000+02:00

Hello friends

Welcome to another challenge on the Totally Gorjuss blog. Net has given us a fabulous sketch to work with.

And here is my little take on the sketch... Apologies for using another Magnolia image. They are just so darn irresistable and cute to colour. I've had this one for a while now, but have only just inked her for the first time. She's a real cutie and I love her ponytails. My New Year's resolution is (was) to start using some of my other rubber stamps which have been collecting dust for a while now... uhhh, I'll start next week okay!

I have been eyeing this Magnolia Doohickey Lovely Fence die for more than a year now. I've been waiting for the price to come DOWN, but as Murphy would have it, the price never came down, so I decided to go ahead and buy it for myself as a Christmas gift. I am so pleased that I did, just love it!

I hope you'll find time to play along with us this week, as we so enjoy viewing your creations. Good luck with the challenge. Our wonderful sponsor this week is the fabulous Joanna Sheen. Remember, she ships FREE worldwide. Please pay her online store a visit, as she has some fabulous items in stock. I have made some purchases from her store and the service is excellent!

If you have the time, I'd love for you to leave a comment, as I so enjoy reading them. A very warm welcome to my new Followers, always nice seeing a new face.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - It's A Celebration!

2012-01-01T06:49:00.000+02:00

Good morning and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! We're kicking off the New Year with a Celebration at the Simply Magnolia challenge blog. It can be a Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary or just Happy New Year.... So, if you're been hibernating over this festive season, it's time to get out your (new) crafty toys and join us in this first challenge for 2012.

Our sponsor is MAGNOLIA-LICIOUS. Isn't that wonderful? This should be incentive enough for you to take part.

My card for this challenge is a Birthday Card, which is a wonderful celebration, don't you agree! Happy Birthday to all the New Year babies today! I've used Tilda Loves Flowers from Magnolia's new Sweet Crazy Love Collection. If you don't have her yet, pop on over to the Magnolia-licious store where Diana has an amazing 17% discount on this stamp.

She is an adorable stamp to colour. I am so pleased I have her. My plain coloured cardstock is American Craft purchased from the Scrapbook Shop in Bellville. The beautiful floral design paper is from the Annalee paper pad range by Prima Marketing. Sentiment is from LOTV, I think!

I added some dimension glaze to Miss Tilda's flowers, if you click on the pic I think you can get a better view.

That's it! Please view the rest of our Design Team's creations, they will definitely inspire you to take part. Happy crafting!

hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A "Happy" Theme

2011-12-31T06:52:00.001+02:00

Hello friends.... welcome to the final challenge for 2011 at Totally Gorjuss. We've had enormous fun this year and have so enjoyed viewing your beautiful creations. Let's go out with a bang today and next Saturday we'll start a whole brand new series of challenges for 2012.... woohooo!

I've decided to go for a Birthday Card for my Happy theme and decided to make a bright and cheery one for this challenge (something different to all the pinks I love using). I hope this little number will inspire you to take part in our challenge this week.

Don't you just love this double-sided paper from Bazzill Basics Paper, called Divinely Sweet/Jumbo Red Dot. For the local girls, I purchased this from the Scrapbook shop in Bellville. The sentiment is one of LOTV's, our sponsor for this week. Please visit them for all your crafty needs. For this card, I've used Magnolia's Ribbon Tilda.

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, that would be appreciated.

hugs Sharon x

Just sharing...

2011-12-30T17:32:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... Just sharing some new stash that arrived in the post today. I've generally been very happy with my orders but am somehow so disappointed with the Magnolia Merry Christmas sentiment stamp. I didn't realise how flippin' HUGE it was - 11cm x 4cm in size.... that takes up a whole flippin' card. I suppose the positive is that if you want to make one of those Clean and Simple Christmas cards, then you only need to use this sentiment stamp and NOTHING ELSE!!!! :( Had to share this pic so that you can see what I mean!!!

Here's some more new stamps that I have catalogued in my Magnolia Stamp Catalogue book.

The Hello Tilda stamp was what I won from Simple Simon Stamp and will be nice to use for some Easter cards and Tilda with Striped Apron and the Rolling Pin are 2 older Magnolia's from the Yummy collection. They'll be nice to use if I want to make some recipe cards in the new year.

I have not been idle mind you.... I've been stamping and colouring in and have 4 new coloured images just waiting to go onto some cards.

Don't forget to pop around tomorrow (31 Dec), where I'll be sharing the last DT card for Totally Gorjuss for 2011. And on Monday (1 Jan) I'll be sharing a new DT card for 2012 on the Simply Magnolia challenge blog. Hope you'll find time to play along with us.

Wishing all my friends and followers a wonderful New Year's Eve tomorrow. May your 2012 be filled with lots of love, laughter and good health!

hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - The Colour BLUE

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000+02:00

Hi Everyone

I am sure you all had a wonderful Christmas, now we have the New Year to welcome in.

Our challenge at the Anything Goes challenge blog is for you to use the colour BLUE on your card/project. I've used Tilda Wants a Hug, she is such a cutie, isn't she? I hope she'll inspire you to take part in our challenge.

Please visit the Craft Den for all your crafty needs. Lynn has some wonderful products in her store.

Happy crafting! hugs Sharon x

Merry Christmas to You

2011-12-23T07:36:00.001+02:00

I know a lot of my blogfriends have probably posted their last post just before Christmas, so if there are any of you, like myself, still lurking through blogland, then this card is for YOU!

I've teamed up Winter Tilda from the Sweet Christmas Dreams collection, with a little Reindeer Scottish Terrier. He was a freebie stamp with the Cardmaking magazine and they look so cute together, don't you think ?

Challenge: Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Winter

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited my blog regularly (and not so regularly ;) ) during 2011. I have so enjoyed reading each and every comment. It really makes blogging all the more worthwhile. Thanks so much for your wonderful support and friendship. I've made so many new friends this year and am so pleased that my little blog has inspired some to start blogs of their own.

Wishing you all a very Blessed Christmas on Sunday and may you all experience good health, love and laughter throughout 2012.

hugs Sharon x

Sweet Apples

2011-12-22T07:22:00.002+02:00

Hello friends

Only 2 days to go before Christmas. I'll be venturing out to the shops in an hour or so to get the last minute groceries and gifts... wish me luck... the shops are a nightmare and I am NOT looking forward to going out!!!! I hate long queues and crowds!!!

Made this little card the other evening. The image is Sweet Apples, an Elisabeth Bell creation, which is unfortunately out of stock now at the Belles 'n Whistles store. It's been a while since I used an EB image and I so enjoyed colouring in this one.

The floral design paper was a purchase from Paola's shop. The image is coloured with Copics and matched the paper beautifully. The centre rose was a gift from Paola with my purchases.

The Postage Stamp in the centre is a newby from Kaisercraft, I just love it and used it inside my card as well, which you can see below. A purchase from The Scrapbook shop in Bellville. Not often that I make a side-view card, but it shows the inside perfectly.

One final view, which I hope will pick up the dimension glaze I used on those apples and flowers.

Right... now I must dash, lots to do today. Thanks for popping by and if you have time to leave a comment, that would be great!

hugs Sharon x

Get Well Card

2011-12-20T14:56:00.001+02:00

Now that my dear DT sister, Hazel, from TG has received her Get Well card, I can display it on my blog. I just loved making this one and hope you like it too.

I just adore this image from LOTV... it is such a cute one, don't you agree? The image was coloured in with my Pebbles Pearlescent Pastel Chalks again, except for our cute Nurse's hair and skin, which was coloured with Copics.

The pink DP with the daisies on it was the last piece from a sheet that I had. (Correction: I've just found a few more pieces the same size...woohooo!) Am actually sorry it's the last piece, as it makes such a pretty picture. The Get Well Soon stamp is from a local supplier, Great Impressions, purchased from Merrypak.

As I said, I just loved making this one, it just came together so nicely and from the peek you can see I went all out to decorate the inside too.

Only 4 more days until Christmas... we're very relaxed here in SA. Everything is just about done, just to get some fresh veggies on Friday morning. Friday afternoon I'll take Mom to our hairdresser for a "tune up" and then we'll start our cooking on Saturday. Hope you're just as relaxed wherever you are and looking forward to Christmas on Sunday.

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment that would be great!

hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - For Someone Special

2011-12-17T07:00:00.000+02:00

Good morning my lovely friends and fellow bloggers.... have we got a super challenge for you at Totally Gorjuss this week. We'd like you to make a card for Someone Special. This was such an easy one for me, as my dear Mom is having a birthday next week, so I made her a birthday card.

She loves green and red, so I stuck with the Christmas colours for this card and am sure she will love it. This Tilda was kindly stamped for me by a friend, she's an older one, but such a sweetie! I added some dimension glaze to that pie she's holding and lots of stickles on her wings. If you enlarge the image you may just make out those clouds in the backgroud. The stamp I've used for the ground is a local one from Great Impressions C036, purchased from Merrypak. The ribbon, flowers and flat-backed pearls from my stash. The leaves were kindly punched for me by another friend.

Here's a side-view so that you can get a peek of the inside. I just stamped a few stars down the sides and in the centre matted white card onto red cardstock, which I'll use to write my message. Added a red metallic star in the corners. Pity I didn't take a pic, but my pics always turn out blurry when I try to take them of the inside of a card... makes me so mad!

Our fabulous sponsor this week is Simon Says Stamp. Please pay them a visit for all your crafty needs. They have some awesome products in store.

As we'll only be back on 31 December with our next Challenge, I'd like to wish all our Totally Gorjuss friends a

hugs
Sharon x

Simply Magnolia Challenge Blog

2011-12-15T12:43:00.003+02:00

Hello friends

It is my last day in office today and then I am on leave for a month... wooohoo I will hopefully be crafting up a storm, hauling out those long forgotten and neglected stamps of mine and just having some FUN!!!

For those of you who love your Magnolia stamps as much as I do, please visit the Simply Magnolia Challenge blog and come play along with us at our challenges. Tracy, the owner of our blog, has done some awesome work revamping it and I think it looks absolutely STUNNING! Thanks so much Tracy for all your hard work, you are a star! We also have some new Sponsors on board, so there are awesome prizes for you to win! Sound appealing ? Then hurry on over to the brand new look Simply Magnolia Challenge blog and come play along with us.

We are still looking for some new Sponsors, so if you are interested in sponsoring us, please email Tracy directly.

It is cold and damp in Cape Town today... where is Summer? Wishing you all a fabulous weekend ahead.

hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes Challenge (DT) - Anything but a Card

2011-12-13T07:08:00.001+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Anything Goes Challenge blog. It seems like ages since we had one, doesn't it! Wow, your creations for the last challenge was absolutely amazing. Congratulations to those who made the Top 5! woohoooo

This fortnight we'd like you to make Anything but a Card and I can't wait to see what you come up with. I decided to mask this gorgeous Tilda onto a candy cane stamp I had and then I placed her on a Tag.... Hope you like her?

Please visit the Craft Den for all your crafty needs...

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, that would be much appreciated. hugs Sharon x

Thank you Bev and Simon Says Stamps

2011-12-12T11:01:00.000+02:00

What a start to the week.... As most of you know Bev Rochester has some wonderful sponsors who kindly donate a stamp for her to give away over the weekend.... Hello Tilda was the prize...

and Simon Says Stamp the sponsor...

and little ol' ME (out of 370+ entrants) was the lucky Winner...woohooooo... I've always loved this little stamp and she'll come in handy for some Easter cards.

Thank you Bev and Steph at Simon Says Stamp. You've made my day and my week!

hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Christmas

2011-12-11T09:00:00.001+02:00

Happy Sunday and welcome to another challenge at the Simply Magnolia blog. So nice to have you with us again... Like most of the other challenge blogs out there, we're also having a Christmas theme, so this is your opportunity to make that one last Christmas card, if you haven't done so already.

Our wonderful sponsor is Jacobi and if this doesn't whet the appetite, then I don't know what will... Please pay them a visit for all your crafty needs.

I received this gorgeous little Sweet Christmas Tilda in the post, my first order from the Magnolia-licious Online Store and guess what, the sweet Diana Crick put in a mini Holding Tilda as a gift. Now ain't that sweet? Thanks so much Diana. My parcel arrived safely in SA!

Do you like the DP I've used.... guess what? It's my first piece of Magnolia Design Paper (Mini Sweet Christmas Dreams paper pack), also a purchase from the Magnolia-licious Online Store. I tell you, I was so nervous to use it as it's so pretty, I just want to hang onto it for ever! My American friends must realise that it's travelled a faaaar way to get to me, so I'm not that keen to part with it just yet! But, as I have no other Christmas paper, I just had to give in. So pleased that I did. Love it!

Thanks for popping by. Hope your Sunday is a blessed and relaxed one. I have 1 more week and then I am officially on leave (are you tired of hearing this??? hehe). hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Let It Snow

2011-12-10T06:34:00.000+02:00

Oh my gosh, we're getting closer and closer to Christmas aren't we? 14 days to go! Hope all your shopping is done or nearly done. It's a nightmare on the roads now with all the holidaymakers from upcountry flocking to the coast where I live. We love them as it's a boost for our tourist industry, but the queues at the ATM is so much longer this time of the year and at the tills too, which is not so nice for us locals! Oh well, it's only for a month ;)

We have a wonderful challenge for you this week at Totally Gorjuss... Let It Snow! Get those little snowmen images out of the drawers and let's see what you've got. I've gone for a gorgeous LOTV image this week.... Only realised when I was colouring her in, how adorable a stamp this actually is.

Now ain't she a cutie pie? Once again I have used my chalks for colouring and I cannot tell you how much I enjoy using them. I am able to create those "white" patches so perfectly, which I really struggle to do with the Copics. I have used Copics though to colour her skin.

Here's the rest of the card...

I created some snow around her by using some acrylic paint and then going over it with some glitter to give it loads of sparkle.

Our wonderful sponsors for this challenge are Crafter's Companion. Do visit them for all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment that would be AWESOME!

Take care, hugs Sharon x

Year End Lunch @ Tobago's

2011-12-09T09:15:00.002+02:00

Well, we had our last office function for the year yesterday afternoon at Tobago's Restaurant at the Radisson Blue Hotel at the Waterfront. It was our Year-end Luncheon. Just thought I would share some pics with you, so that you can see a part of our beautiful city.

It was a beautiful, but coolish day in Cape Town. Here's a close-up view of Table Mountain. The building on the right is the Radisson Blu Hotel and I am standing on the Terrace where we would have had our tables set up, but because it was so cold, we sat inside.

Here's a pic of the terrace where we would have sat. If it were a hot day, it would have been awesome. The Hotels rooms are in the background. They overlook the cold Atlantic ocean - awesome view. Not a place we locals can afford to stay in, but for overseas visitors it would probably be seen as cheap accommodation.

As our group consists of 23 people, we had to sit at 2 long tables.

As you can see a very cold wind was blowing. The Restaurant provided us with some warm fleecy blankies to keep us warm. This was taken way after lunch. These are a few of my colleagues.

A close up view of the Waterfront Yacht basin. That is Table Mountain in the background.

Now what is an office party without gifts ! Makes for a FUN afternoon! The tag on each gift read "Did You Know".... you had to write something about yourself, which no-one knows. On receipt of a gift, you opened it, read the Tag and then you had to guess who that person is. If you guessed correctly, then you got to keep the gift. If you didn't, then it went into the pot so to speak and you got to try again later.

And what would an office party be like without cocktails... this was my Pina Colade... hmmmm yummy!

A wonderful afternoon was spent with my friends and colleagues. We're like a small family... Love them all ! Thanks for popping by and sharing my pics with me, hugs Sharon x

Christmas Cards to Share...

2011-12-04T08:00:00.002+02:00

Good morning....Like a lot of you out there, I too have left my Christmas cardmaking until the last minute... shew, we're already in December and I feel as if I still have loads more to do.

I just thought I would share some cards which I made last night. This gorgeous stamp, Christmas Tree In Words, which I ordered from Whimsy Stamps arrived in the post on Friday and I couldn't wait to ink it up. I just knew that it would make the most wonderful simple Christmas cards and hope you agree.

I love shopping at Whimsy Stamps, as their stamps arrive within 2-3 weeks. They also put in an extra stamp or two which is nice! As you can see, in the background I have Tilda sitting on a candy cane, she's waiting to be placed on a card... So much to do and so little time...

Gotta go. Have a blessed Sunday. hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A Sketch

2011-12-03T14:04:00.000+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at the Totally Gorjuss bog. This week Net has given us a lovely sketch to work with, so hurry on over and join in the FUN!

Here's my little number. I've used a cute little Tilda from the new Christmas Collection, which was stamped for me by a friend... I wanted to purchase her, but she was an out of stock item...drat!!

I just love that border die and use it far too seldom... will have to rectify that soon! Tilda has been coloured with copics. Flowers, ribbon and pearls from my stash.

Our wonderful sponsor this week Joanne Sheen... do pay her online shop for all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment that would be wonderful! Take care, Sharon x

Sharing A Proud Mommy Moment

2011-12-02T22:26:00.003+02:00

Hello friends... I experienced another 'proud Mommy moment' today and thought I would share it with you all, seeing that I also have family overseas who would like to hear about this too.

As my regulars will know Kendall was admitted as an Attorney in February 2010 and today she was admitted as a Conveyancer in the Cape Town High Court.

A very proud, yet emotional moment for us as a family. My father as you know passed away in May this year and he was so incredibly proud of Kendall and her academic achievements. He was sorely missed today, as he would have loved to hear about the day's proceedings. But we believe he is with us in Spirit and is swelling up with pride. Miss you so much Daddy and Oupie (for my overseas friends, Oupie is our endearing name for Grandpa in my second language, Afrikaans).

Here's a pic I took (without anyone seeing...shhhhh) of the Cape Town High Court before it started to fill up. Please excuse quality of pics. They were taken with my Blackberry, as no cameras are allowed in Court... yeah right, I wasn't going to let that stop me! When I sent these pics to my sister, she sms'd me back saying "you're damn lucky they didn't "cuff" you".... hahahaha

Kendall and her friend/colleague, Olivia (they work at the same Law Firm) waiting for the Advocate who represented them to the Judge, to conclude his business, before they could leave the Court. At this stage the Court was just about empty and I thought I'd try taking a sneaky pic... Oh my word ...I didn't realise quite how quiet it was in there, you could distinctly hear the CLICK. Kendall told me afterwards when she heard it she thought "Oh my gosh, that can only be my Mother"... She looked up as if to say "I HEARD THAT MOM", but her face just broke into a smile...shew! Excuse quality of pic, but I was sitting way up in the Gallery.

Finally.... Once outside, the girls had to pose for friends and family and I quickly took this one as well...

Kendall (left) and Olivia (right)

Right, after the proceedings we then headed off to Cape Town's famous Charly's Bakery for some sweetness and here's a pic of Kendall's favourite treat, petit fours.

Thanks to a select few who knew about today's proceedings beforehand. Your sms's, emails and cards are much appreciated. Special thanks to Kendall's colleagues, Letitia and Michelle, who specially took a day's leave to attend the ceremony. Kendall's boss popped in too and was there when the Judge admitted them and congratulated them.

Apologies for the lengthy post, but just had to share this day with you all! Thanks for popping by, hugs Sharon x

Dress Blogs Up For Christmas

2011-11-30T22:42:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... welcome to my new follower, always nice seeing a new face. Thanks so much for joining! As most of my regulars will know, I love dressing up my blog for Christmas and I found the perfect background for this year. Hope you like it! If you haven't dressed your Blog up for Christmas yet, why not get into the spirit of the Season.

I haven't been idle this evening. I made a card for a friend, but I cannot share it with you yet, as I still need to post it to her. Once she's received it, I'll post it on my blog. It's a LOTV stamp that I haven't used for a while, but which is so appropriate for her right now.

Thanks for popping by. hugs Sharon

Anything Goes (DT) - Cutting Corners

2011-11-29T08:00:00.040+02:00

Hi Everyone and welcome to another challenge at the Anything Goes Challenge blog. It seems like ages since we had a challenge when in fact it's only been 2 weeks ago... Wow, were we blown away by all the entries? Gosh you girls have been busy! Stunning, stunning creations.

This fortnight our challenge is Cutting Corners... you can alter and/or decorate your corners. We'd love to see what you come up with. Please visit our challenge blog where our DT have created stunning projects for your inspiration.

As you can see I've really cut corners here by using some snowflakes for mine. Just adds to the overall christmas look of this card. The stamp was stamped for me by a friend and I just love this little one. She's one of Dawn's Stamps. I've also given you a peek of the inside of the card, where I have stamped a snowflake in each corner and left enough space to write my christmas message.

Just had to include this pic too so that you could see all that lovely Star Dust stickles that I've used on her clothing and the stars. The Christmas Tree charm was a purchase from my RSA blogging friend, Debbie Harris of DKH Designs.

Please visit our sponsor, the Craft Den, for all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by. We look forward to seeing what you're going to come up with for this challenge. hugs Sharon x

Another Altered Notebook

2011-11-28T10:00:00.042+02:00

It is Saturday evening and I have just completed altering a notebook Linda gave me. She uses it for taking notes at classes she attends at church. Seeing that she loved the notebook that I had altered for her daughter, she clearly wanted her plain, black notebook covered as well. This post is scheduled to be posted only after she's seen it.

I thought I'd leave a nice thin black border around the book as it creates a lovely frame and definition. I was really going to go for turquoise and brown, but somehow the pink and red caught my eye again. I really hope she likes it. (Edited 28 Nov - Linda LOVES her book... one very happy client... yay!)

The background paper was a gift from my friend Sandra and I've been keeping it for something special. The rest just followed from there. This is my newest Tilda which arrived on Friday. She is Ribbon Tilda and was purchased from 7 Kids College Fund.

Here's a pic of the front and the back. As you can see the black book creates a nice border around it.

I added some Star Dust stickles to those little hearts and around the oval nestie for a bit of glitz and glam. Tilda has been coloured with Copics... I am really trying to get those folds right, so be kind... After reading the interview they had with Zoe, the Queen of Colouring in the new Magnolia magazine, I'm encouraged to follow her advice... practice.. practice.. practice and don't compare yourself to anyone else !

Altering a notebook is such a lovely gift to give someone, especially now at Christmastime, don't you think? So... why not give it a go yourself.

Can you believe it, 26 days to go until Christmas!.... I will definitely be burning the midnight oil this week to get some more Christmas cards made for my own stash, as these will need to be posted soon. If you've seen any Quick and Simple ones in blogland, send me the link for inspiration please.

Thanks so much for popping by. Always a pleasure reading your comments and a very warm welcome to a new follower. It's always nice seeing a new face, as it makes blogging so worthwhile.

Happy crafting to you all, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - A Sketch

2011-11-27T08:00:00.042+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia. Tracy has given us a wonderful sketch to work with. I'll be sure to use this one again soon.

Seeing that I am way behind making Christmas cards, I've decided to make one using this sketch. Hope you like it.

I am not sure of this Tilda's name. She was a very welcome gift which I received last Friday from Inge. Ain't she a cutie pie? I've added some snowflakes around her. I guess she is holding Christmas Flowers.

I added some Star Dust glitter on the flourish and dimension glaze on the flowers.

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is Scrapbooking Allsorts. Do visit them for all your crafty needs.

Please join in the fun, as you can see, after visiting the Scrapbooking Allsorts Online Store, there are some wonderful goodies to win.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Sparkle

2011-11-26T06:24:00.000+02:00

Hello again and welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. What beautiful creations for our last challenge. Congratulations to the winner.

This week we want you to **SPARKLE** up those cards. Our wonderful sponsor this week is Wee Stamps and the stunning digi image I've used is Angie, by artist Sylvia Zet. Sylvia's images are very popular in Blogland, so do pay her Store a visit.

As the theme is **SPARKLE**, I just had to take another pic from a different angle so that you could see the Star Dust stickles I've used on the stars, clouds, her wings and around the sentiment.

Just peeking our beneath the nestie is my new Divine Bakers Twine which I collected from the PO this past week. I purchased a few other goodies which I'll share on my blog soon. The nice thing is that I received a Sew Sweet business card and a few felt snowflakes as a small gift with my purchase. Now isn't that a sweet (excuse the pun) thought? Makes one want to shop there again....soon!

Thanks for popping by. I'd love you to leave a comment if you have the time and do visit the Totally Gorjuss blog to view the other Gorjusettes creations. You're going to be so inspired to join us again this week.

Happy crafting! hugs Sharon xx

An Altered Notebook

2011-11-22T22:20:00.002+02:00

Good Evening or Morning to you, whichever part of the world you're from... It is late Tuesday evening in South Africa and I have just completed altering a notebook for a colleague who asked me to make one for her daughter. As usual there is always a time limit and she needs this by Friday, so inbetween DT commitments and other orders, I managed to put this together. Hope Mom and Daughter like it!

The brief was that I use pink and red. We aim to please and I was fortunate to find this last piece of pink designer paper with cherries on them...shew! The rest just followed. It's the first time I'm using King Tilda... she's actually adorable, thanks so much to my dear friend for stamping her for me! Not quite sure what the notebook is going to be used for i.e. Notes or a Diary, hence the stamped sentiments. I quite like using the little wooden stamps, lends a little bit of grunginess to the whole shabby look... even if you smudge it a bit or the letters are not quite straight, it just adds to the uniqueness of the handmade project.

Tilda has been coloured with Copics and her crown was coloured in with Pebbles Pearlescent Chalks. They have a beautiful shimmer to them. I used a glittery gold gel pen to ink around the crown just to add some definition.

I had some beautiful red stars in a small jar and these came in quite handy. Love the Martha Stewart Garden Trellis border punch, which I use far too seldom.

That's it for me. Must hit the sack to catch a few zzzzzzzz's before work tomorrow. Thanks so much for popping by, your visits and comments really make my day ;)..... hugs Sharon x

Bookmark for Sir

2011-11-21T06:23:00.000+02:00

Good morning friends... wow, it's slightly cooler today, but still incredibly humid. Going to be another stinker!

I was commissioned to make another bookmark and this one is for the Guidance Teacher. Hope Sir likes it.

Inbetween making the bookmarks I have been busy with DT work and most of them will probably be Christmas themed, seeing that I've left my Christmas card making until the last minute, so I'm panicking a bit here!

Enjoy your Monday, hope the week turns out to be a good one for you. We have Board meetings the whole week and our product partner year-end function to arrange for next week, so it's busy busy busy on the work-front! ...roll on holidays ;)

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Swirly Wirly

2011-11-19T06:11:00.001+02:00

Oh happy days.... It is going to be a scorcher today, with some cooler weather on Sunday, I believe. Spare a thought for me please. Summer is not my favourite month as I get older...

Well, weather issues aside.... Welcome to another challenge at the Totally Gorjuss blog. We have a super one for you this week... It's Swirly Wirly time. The Gorjusettes have created some stunning creations for your inspiration, so do pop around to view them.

Here's my little effort... hope you like it...

I have never regretted purchasing this gorgeous Marianne Die. It is just so beautiful. The swirl and snowflake are additional dies with the large one. The paper is from my favourite W&M range of papers purchased from Merrypak, a local store. The pearlised flat backed pearls were purchased from Paola.

And here's another peek from a different angle which I hope will have picked up the Star Dust glitter on Tilda's wings. She has been coloured in with Copics.

I haven't entered a challenge in a while, so let's try a few...
    Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Christmas challenge
    Magnolia-licious - Colour challenge
    7 Kids College Fund - A photo inspiration (Edit: Woohooooo, this card made the Top 3!)

Our wonderful sponsors this week are Simon Says Stamp. Please visit them for all your crafty needs.

Enjoy your weekend, happy crafting! hugs Sharon x

2 Bookmarks to Share

2011-11-16T22:24:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... it's midweek...yay!!!! In just over a month, I go on leave...woohoooo! I've been doing some shop..ping and am anxiously awaiting my purchases from overseas. Nice Christmas prezzies from Me to Me... ;)

OK, so here we go with another 2 bookmarks I was asked to make and this evening before leaving the office, I was asked to make another one for a friend.... Can you please make me one, she asked, the holidays are almost here and I plan to read a lot you know !! hahaha Now how can one say No to that !

I am really not complaining as it keeps me out of mischief and I'm doing something I love to do... It's giving me the opportunity to try new styles, so I really hope the people who ordered these (and YOU my lovely bloggy friends) are happy with the new designs.

Just loved using Willow writing Recipies again. Haven't used her in while! She really is a beautiful stamp by Elisabeth Bell. You can purchase her from Whiff of Joy.

And here's another Elisabeth Bell image, called Flower Power. You can purchase her from Susanna's Custom Art and Design. Another one that hasn't seen the light of day for quite some time. These EB girlies are very popular with my small circle of bookmark addicts! (smile)

OK and now for a final pic of the back of each bookmark.

The plain white is for a message which still needs to be written and the other one was just covered with nice designer paper to match the front.

Thanks so much for popping by my blog today. As always, I'd love for you to leave a comment as it really makes this blogging all the more worthwhile. Just knowing that someone took the time to pop by is so very special.

Before I go, I must just share this cute little story... It just goes to show that if you're not a crafter, you really have no idea how much work is involved in putting these cards/bookmarks/projects, which we love to do, together. A colleague bought one of my cards for her Granny and when she returned the box of cards which she'd chosen hers from, she said "Your cards are so beautiful, do you print those pictures from the internet? " Uhhh, helloooo....that stopped me in my tracks a bit. My initial reaction was "Hell NO!", but then I realised, how the heck is she supposed to know when she's not a crafter. To her it's just a pretty card with a nicely coloured picture. Then I went on to explain that the images are stamps which you ink and stamp, then colour with VERY EXPENSIVE copic pens. Everything is imported from overseas... blah blah blah, you know the drill. Then the eyes widened as I heard the penny drop and I could see a hint of respect shine through her beautiful eyes. It must be hard work then, she said... bless her! hahaha, now isn't that a lovely story! I am sure you have plenty of your own, feel free to share.

Now I really have taken up enough of your time... I am going to bed... sleep tight. Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - A Real Sweetie

2011-11-15T08:00:00.033+02:00

Welcome to another challenge on the Anything Goes challenge blog. Do we have a sweet one for you... We'd love for you to create a card/project with the theme A Real Sweetie - think cupcakes, christmas pies, etc. Let your imagination run wild!

As most of my regular followers will know I just love my Molly Blooms, designed by Clare Rowlands. Sadly I have not used them much, but I intend rectifying that asap. Here's Molly the Chef. She's adorable, don't you think ? I thought she'd fit this challenge perfectly.

Just love the paper I used. Not much left over though, which saddens me. I've tucked a recipe card behind Molly and wrote out the ingredients for a Cupcake recipe thereon. Just sponged it a bit (too much) to give it a vintagey look.

You can place anything in Molly's hand. I decided to stamp a little cupcake. Gave it a good dose of dimension glaze to make it look yummy and using double sided spongy tape placed it in Molly's hand.

Please join in the fun at Anything Goes this fortnight. We love viewing your stunning creations. As always please visit the Craft Den for all your crafty needs.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Winner of my little Bookmark

2011-11-14T05:59:00.000+02:00

Good Morning Friends.... what a stunning morning it is in Cape Town. It's just gone 5.30am and the sun is sitting high already, although it's still a bit coolish, but it looks as if we're going to have a fabulous day.

Thanks to those who entered my little 'competition'. It was so sweet of you to take part. I had a little bookmark of mine on offer as a giveaway and the winner is....... ta-raaaaa

Ursula Uphof from My Crafty Corner

I'll be sending this little bookmark to you shortly Ursula. Wishing you all a super week ahead... hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Anything Goes

2011-11-13T07:00:00.044+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia... we are sure you're going to enjoy this one. It's Anything Goes, so let your creativity flow.

But before we begin, a very warm welcome to our new DT sister at Simply Magnolia, Lins. I've known Lins for a few years now and am thrilled that we'll be working together again. She is super talented. I am sure you will love her creations. Please pop over to her blog, Crealin, and shower her with some love! Welkom Lins, ek is so bly ons het die geleentheid om weer saam te werk. Ek is seker dat ons kykers sommer baie van jou kreatiewe werk gaan hou ;)

I've decided to go very simple this time and have made my first magnetic bookmark, using one of our gorgeous Miss Tilda's of course. Hope you like it.

And here is a peek at the inside, so you can see the magnetic strip.

Our wonderful sponsors this fortnight is De Egel. Please visit them for all your crafting needs. Isn't this paper pad just too gorgeous? Wow!

Thanks for popping by. Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Christmas Traditions

2011-11-12T07:00:00.030+02:00

What a wonderful challenge we have for you this week at the Totally Gorjuss challenge blog. With Christmas just a few short weeks away, we'd love to see your Christmas Traditions... My DT sisters and I have hopefully come up with a few ideas which will inspire you to take part... so do pop along to the challenge blog after you've visited me.

I've made a Gift Tag which is traditionally adhered to every gift, but mine is a wee bit different... Here's the front...

I've used the gorgeous Vintage Tilda with her Christmas bauble for this Tag. Ain't she a honey, check those little freckles... sweeeeet! The papers are from last year. Ribbons, flower and sentiment from my stash.

Now when you turn it around... you can see that this Gift Tag serves as a Gift Tag Holder too... You just undo the ribbons on the side and the back flops open to reveal some...money!!! You can also place a Gift Card inside as well.

Hope you don't mind me sharing another view of this Gift Tag with you... I added some dimensional glaze to that lovely Christmas bauble.

These are such lovely, rich, Christmassy colours. Can't wait to see your creations. Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment that would be fabulous, as I so enjoy reading them.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Little Bookmark up for Grabs...

2011-11-10T22:46:00.004+02:00

Howdy friends... If you've been watching the cricket between South Africa and Australia today, do NOT be fooled by the clear skies and sunshine... it was flippin' cold!!! Whilst the rest of our country is sweltering in the heat (it's our Spring), we poor folk in the Western Cape were freezing today. There was a biting cold and my sandalled toes were turning blue... Couldn't wait to get home for a nice warm bath!

Enough chit chat! I made this cute little bookmark this evening just for fun and if you'd like it, I'll be happy to post it to you. When leaving a comment, just put a number next to your name and I'll put all the numbers in a hat and will get Kendall.org to select one. (Edit - OK, just realised that this'll be difficult seering that all comments need to be approved first, so just enter your email addy if you want to take part). If your email address is not on your blog, please leave it next to your name so that I can contact you if your number has been drawn. I'll keep this offer open until this Sunday evening. The only requirement is that you must be a Follower of this Blog.

They are really very popular right now. I've been asked to make some For Sale, so guess what I'll be doing this weekend coming. Thank goodness all my DT commitments are up to date for now, so that I can concentrate on making a few to place on my blog.

And now for a view of the back of the bookmark...

Thanks so much for popping by. Your visits and comments really make my day... hugs Sharon x

[Updated 14 November ~ Thanks to all who entered... the winner has already been chosen].

Willow Dancing

2011-11-09T23:26:00.000+02:00

It is ages since I've used Elisabeth Bell's gorgeous Willow Dancing... Alicia chose this image for the bookmark I was asked to make for Demi's Dance Teacher. Hope she likes it ! She wanted nice bright colours and I thought Willow would look stunning in red...

And it fits so snugly over the corner of the page. I am so enjoying making these... quick and easy. They are turning out to be such practical gifts!

Thanks for popping by and thanks to everyone who has been leaving such lovely, sweet comments. I appreciate each and every one.

Earlier this evening I made my DT project for the Totally Gorjuss challenge on Saturday, so please pop around to see it. I had such FUN making it and can't wait to share it with you all !

hugs Sharon x

Margeaux is Painting...

2011-11-08T22:02:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... It's been ages since I've used Sarah Kay's Margeaux is Painting. She's a real sweetie. Once again, I've been commissioned to make 2 more bookmarks, but have only completed one this evening, which I thought I'd share with you all. Demi liked her Clowning Around one so much, that she's asked me to make 2 for her teachers. This one I believe is for the Art Teacher.

Here's a side view pic so that you can see the opening, which fits perfectly over the page of a book.

The designs are my own, as I don't have time to look for any on the internet. Wendy, if you're visiting, I promise to post a brief tutorial soon.

And this is what it looks like when fitted over the corner of the page. As you can see it fits snugly and will not fall off.

Hope these bookmarks aren't boring you, but they are such fun to make and it fills the page of my blog.

Take care, hugs Sharon x

Get Well Card

2011-11-06T09:22:00.001+02:00

Good morning friends... here's wishing you all a blessed Sunday! It is a glorious day in Cape Town this morning. The sun is shining through the clouds and it's a wee bit coolish, but perfect weather for me!

I did some retail therapy yesterday and purchased a lovely book titled Simply Cards by Sally Traidman from Bargain Books. It was marked down from R150 to R99 - a whole R50 saving!

I'm forever looking and purchasing Stamping/Papercraft books (when they're on a special) as there is ALWAYS something new to learn. Thought I'd share this with you - it may be "old hat" to some of the more seasoned crafters out there, but for me it's a new technique I've just learnt and oh sooooo simple.

Right... I took out some of my little inkpads and very lightly stamped them onto white cardstock to create a lovely row of coloured blocks... Then I inked my Get Well Soon sentiment stamp in black and stamped it over the coloured blocks. Another Tip for the Day: Let the coloured block dry first before to stamp the sentiment over it !

How pretty does that look, don't you agree? And here is the card I made as requested by Kendall for her Granny Keanly (my ex-mom-in-law) who is not feeling too well.

I've kept this very clean and simple. Doesn't that sentiment just look fabulous ?

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday... I'm off to do some more retail therapy... saw something yesterday, that I "uhhm'd and ahhh'd" about and now I just gotta go buy it ! (Stop giggling Sandra)

hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A Sketch

2011-11-05T07:00:00.037+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. We have a super Sketch for you this week.

Thanks for the wonderful sketch Net. Here's my interpretation friends... I decided it was time to ink up some unused stamps and this one is from Kraftin' Kimmie called Bench Friends... Now ain't they sweet?

Here's a little Tip for the Day: I chose the lovely spotted paper for my card and then I struggled to find a contrasting paper for the side panel... I searched and search until finally... "ping" pops the idea into my head to stamp sentiments instead. The words matched my little image perfectly. Saved me having to start all over again... shew! So next time you're in a bind, there's no rule that says you have to use contrasting designer paper, stamp a few sentiments onto white card instead. I quite like it!

Our wonderful sponsor is Joanna Sheen. Do visit her Online shop for all your crafty needs. Remember, she offers FREE postage and packaging worldwide! I've purchased from Joanna and the service is excellent!

Hope to see you in the challenge... my DT sisters have made some wonderful creations for your inspiration, so do pop around and show them some love!

Hugs Sharon x

Clowning Around....

2011-11-03T21:55:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I gave you a sneak peak of another bookmark which I was commissioned to do... It's for Alicia's daughter, Demi, who is writing Matric exams this year. For my international friends, Matric is our final year of schooling. After passing, our kids decide what career path they'd like to follow and then go on to a College or University to further their studies in that particular field. We really have excellent Universities in our country.

So, without any further delay, here is the bookmark for Demi, I really hope she likes it! Her Mom says she loves clowns and bold, bright colours. Elisabeth Bell's clown was thus the perfect choice for her bookmark!

I've gone for the straight cut again and added a border with MS's Zig Zag border punch. The ribbon is new, purchased today.

Here is a view from the back. I was asked to stamp Matric 2011 somewhere on the bookmark, as well as Good Luck Demi, which I've placed on the front.

Doesn't it amaze you how time flies when you're having fun ? As you know, I stamped and coloured the image yesterday and made the bookmark this evening... It's taken me 2 hours to do, but it's so enjoyable. I'm sure my crafty friends will agree.

Tomorrow's Friday and the weekend is in sight. Hope you've got something exciting planned for the weekend! hugs Sharon x

Another Bookmark to share...

2011-11-02T22:18:00.001+02:00

Hi friends... My bookmarks are proving so popular that I thought I'd better try my hand at designing another style and this is what I came up with. This one was commissioned by one of the lovely ladies that I work with... Her order was very specific: pinks, purples and must have Happy Birthday to her dear Sister.... Ok, so we're sitting with a small bookmark here, but hey.... we gotta make a plan to accommodate, right ? Riiiiight!!!!

But firstly, I thought I'd share a pic of the stamped image not quite completely coloured and blended... and then the completed coloured pic next to it, so that my non-crafty friends at work and in blogland can get an idea of how this 'colouring an image process' works.... They say a picture paints a thousand words...

And here is the bookmark, which I hope is exactly what Alicia was hoping for... She chose the image herself. It's one of Elisabeth Bell's.

And to accommodate the wording, here's a view of the back of the bookmark... It also gives you an idea of how the bookmark is made to fit snugly over the corner of the page.

And... I have another one in the making, which I will be showcasing later... here's a sneak-peak... Hope you'll be back to see the completed one... ;) It's another image of Elisabeth Bell's.

That's it from me... gotta hit the sack now, it's late! Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - Stitching (Real or Faux)

2011-11-01T08:00:00.032+02:00

Hello friends... welcome to another challenge at the Anything Goes challenge blog. Wow... your entries for our last challenge were absolutely stunning... thanks so much for joining us. We really hope this next challenge will inspire you to take part again.

I've gone for Faux stitching, as I don't have space to display my sewing machine. Don't look too closely now as it may not be quite as straight as I would have liked it to be. But then, these are handmade cards after all !

I haven't used a Penny Black stamp for absolute ages. This one is called T.L.C (Tender Loving Care). Aren't those 2 hedgehogs just too cute for words!

I followed through on the stitching for the inside too, as you can see from the peek of the inside of my card and then to make those hearts "pop"...

... I added some Royal Coat dimensional glaze to them and to the watering can and pots as well. They needed a little bit of a lift I think.

Once again, please visit the Craft Den for all your crafting needs... Lynn has some stunning products for you to view and purchase.

Thanks for popping by. Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Buttons & Lace

2011-10-30T08:00:00.002+02:00

Happy Sunday friends... gosh, it seems absolute ages since I posted a DT card for Simply Magnolia... Thanks to those who took part in our challenge and a hearty congrats to the winner...woohooo!

This fortnight we have a stunning challenge for you... a nice girlie one... Buttons & Lace. My DT sisters have made some stunning creations for your inspiration, so please do visit the Simply Magnolia Challenge blog, we'd love to see your entries.

I've decided to start using some of the Tilda's that have been lying in one of my boxes for what seems ages. This one is an older Tilda, but still a cutie. She's Tilda in Cherry Dress, I think. Some of the copics I own are starting to run dry, so I need to get refills at some stage.... can't shade properly without the right tools, so her dress is a bit dark for my liking ;)!?!?!?! Sorry!

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is Scrapbooking All Sorts. Do visit their Online shop for all your crafting needs.

Thanks for popping by and we hope to visit you in the challenge.... hugs Sharon xx

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - I Remember...

2011-10-29T08:00:00.041+02:00

Welcome friends to another challenge with the Totally Gorjuss team... we have a fabulous one for you this week... It's I Remember.... Create a card or project that brings back memories for you. Now how easy is that ?

My purchases from Funky Kits arrived in the post a few weeks ago and this delightful stamp was amongst my new stock. It's a Sugar Nellie one, called Cute and Cuddly. I just had to ink and colour it straightaway. These toys took me back a few years when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter Kendall. I recall purchasing just about every fluffy toy I could find. Remember the Care Bears, weren't they adorable? I almost had every colour. Her cot was adorned with all the Care Bears inside, just waiting to welcome her home. Hmmmm... lovely warm, fuzzy memories. I am sure you have loads tucked away. The Gorjussettes and I would love you to share your memories with us.

Our wonderful sponsor this week is Fantastic Ribbon. Do pay them a visit, they have a stunning range of ribbons for your every need.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon xx

Dare I say it.... another Bookmark to share

2011-10-27T21:54:00.001+02:00

Oh WELL, alrighty then... why not share another Bookmark with you all ? They are proving to be quite popular and they may just inspire you to make some of your own for those lovely bookworm friends and family of yours. This time I have used the lovely Tilda with Rubber Boots, which has been collecting dust in her CD case.... I'm sure she's happy to grace the pages of my blog once more, after such a long absence... hehe

I've used Martha Stewart's Pop Up Butterflies border punch, which sadly has also not been used for a while and I quite like the effect of this little scene.

I just placed an order for 2 little Magnolia stamps from the new Christmas Collection (sadly that is all my budget allows at this time, as the shipping fees are so costly to our country), but I really wanted the new Magnolia Christmas Magazine too, so I forfeited purchasing another stamp in favour of the Mag... Can't wait for it to arrive!

It may look as if I've only been making Bookmarks, but I assure you I've also been catching up on my DT commitments, which you'll be seeing in the next few days. Look out for my card on Saturday on the Totally Gorjuss blog. I've used a Penny Black stamp which was so covered in dust from misuse, that I hardly recognised it (hehe... you know I'm only joking right?) Seriously though... sometimes I think 'oh darn, wish I could get rid of these old stamps', but it was really nice using it again after such a long time.

Well enough chit-chat from me... don't want to bore you. Hope you're having fun whatever you're doing. Tomorrow is Friday... YAY!!!! hugs Sharon x

Another Bookmark to share

2011-10-23T17:22:00.000+02:00

What a lovely Sunday it is... hope you're enjoying yours ? My bookmarks are proving to be quite popular and I was asked to make another one. The recipient apparently loves cats and bright colours. Thank goodness I remembered that I had this old stamp hidden away somewhere. Hope she likes it.

Here's a view from the back

Someone asked if there was a tutorial for these bookmarks. These are my own creations and I've written down a brief instruction how I go about making them, should you wish to try them yourself.

Click on pic to enlarge

Thanks so much for popping by. Enjoy what's last of the weekend. hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Pastel Christmas

2011-10-22T07:54:00.001+02:00

Happy Saturday and welcome to another challenge with the lovely Gorjusettes from the Totally Gorjuss team. Please visit the challenge blog to see who the winner of our BINGO challenge was last week... wow, so many stunning entries, thanks so much!

This week however we have a wonderful challenge for you.... so many Christmas cards popping up all over the place in blogland, but we'd like you to come up with a Pastel coloured Christmas card or creation. As always, we hope you'll be greatly inspired by the DT's creations.

Our lovely sponsors this week are Lili of the Valley stamps and I've used one of their fairies for my Christmas card... ain't she adorable ? Coloured her with pastel chalks. For the darker bits I used Copics. She's on her way to deliver a Christmas prezzie to someone special. If you enter our challenge, YOU could be the winner of a Lili of the Valley stamp.

I added lots of Star Dust glitter on her wings, the ends of her dress, shoes, prezzie, etc. That's the nice thing about making Christmas cards, you can use lots of bling and glitter.

Thanks for popping by. Happy crafting, we can't wait to see what you'll be creating for us to view this week.

hugs Sharon x

Sharing another amazing talent - Annette from Devon

2011-10-21T10:46:00.000+02:00

It's seems like it's my day for sharing some amazing talents with you all that I've come across in Blogland. Another artist which I value greatly is Annette from Netty's Cards. She designs the most awesome Sentiments and I recall approaching her a while ago to design some birthday age sentiments. These are proving to be extremely popular, she even got to make a 100 aged birthday sentiment... wow!

Please respect Annette's conditions when grabbing a freebie. It's only right that she receives the credit.

Become a follower, then you'll see new freebies as they become available, and
Please don't share my digis directly with others, but I'd be delighted if you send people here to collect them themselves.

After visiting Annette at Netty's Cards, I hope you'll become a follower and enjoy using her many awesome Sentiments on your own creations.

Thanks for popping by, hugs Sharon x

Sharing - Colleen Shaan's Video's on Colouring Folds

2011-10-21T10:26:00.000+02:00

Happy Friday friends and family.... it's almost weekend... for us working girls, this is the highlight of the week. In just a few hours we get to go home to relax and just chill out !!! Can't wait !

I belong to the Magnolia-licious Yahoo group and have found these ladies to be so kind and supportive. Thanks to each and everyone of them who regularly visit my blog and leave comments.

This group also has the most talented crafters and Colleen Shaan is one of them. I've just visited her blog for the first time. She has 2 video's where she is demonstrating how to colour those "folds" in Tilda's dress. Now I can't wait to get to my craft table to practice this technique ! If you wish to master this technique, visit Colleen's blog, Distinctive Touches now! She makes it look so easy ;)

If you've come across an amazing talent that you wish you could share with everyone, why not post it on your blog, so that we can all learn from each other. I am definitely going to be searching for more of Colleen's video's on You Tube. Check out her speed colouring of a Mushroom House.... amazing!

Take care, hugs Sharon x

Another Bookmark to share... for Alicia

2011-10-20T21:32:00.001+02:00

Well, the bookmark for Ayiesha was so popular, that Alicia wanted one too. She's a Blue girl and loves sunflowers, but as I do not own a sunflower stamp, I thought I'd make her one with daisies and added a few butterflies for good measure. Hope she likes it !

Here's another pic from a different angle

And another view to show you how I've popped those butterflies

Thanks for popping by and leaving such lovely comments. It really makes blogging all the more worthwhile. The weekend is just around the corner... and my annual leave is drawing closer (only in December)...yay!

Once again, so disappointed in our postal service... I posted an envelope to a new friend about a week or so ago and she has still not received it. My friend in the UK ordered new stamps from LOTV and within a day or 2 it was in her hands... Geez, now that's service! hugs Sharon x

A Bookmark for Ayiesha

2011-10-19T21:25:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... I have a new friend at work who just loves my cards and when she requested a Bookmark today, I thought I'd make her one as a "gift". She's a pink girl, like me... woohooo, so that made the job so much easier !

I've used the gorgeous Tilda with Hawaii Flower from Magnolia's Butterfly Dreams collection and hope she likes it. As you know, we can't add too many popped up embellies, as we don't want to ruin the pages of the book when it closes, so this is very flat, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I am sure it'll do the job!

Here's another view, just for good measure ;)

The ribbon was a gift from my blogfriend Lynn in Texas. I've just used a small piece this time, but I've plenty more... I decided to add the ribbon so that Ayiesha can pull on it to remove the bookmark from the page. Makes it a lot easier don't you think ?

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, that would be great. Hugs to all my crafting friends, Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - To The Letter

2011-10-18T08:00:00.049+02:00

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to another challenge at the Anything Goes challenge blog. Wow, so many entries for our last challenge... we are really blown away by all the gorgeous designs we see !

This fortnight it's To The Letter and let me tell you... this one had me stumped! But, that's what challenges are all about, isn't it ? I hope you like my project, as I really had fun making it, once I'd decided what I was going to do !

I decided to break away from my normal cards and do something different for this challenge. I altered the lid of one of the many boxes that I keep in my cupboard (just in case I need it, UKWIM!) I also have a few chipboard frames in my drawers and had fun altering this one too. I thought it was also time to use some of those wooden stamps that are collecting dust in my cupboard, so no girlies this time.

Here's a closer look. Don't you just love those flowers? The top left was made for me by my SA blogfriend Moz. Thanks so much Moz, just loved using this one.

Once again, please visit the Crafty Den, Lynn has some stunning things for your every need.

Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment if you feel so inclined. Happy crafting! hugs Sharon x

A 60th Birthday Card to share

2011-10-17T21:48:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... I was asked to make a 60th Birthday card for a colleagues' Mom. Usually one is asked to make a card in certain colours, but I had free reign with this one. I hope it's not too bright!

Just love this daisy stamp which was one of the very first wooden stamps I purchased when I started this hobby. I've used it time and time again. Also, I just loved this design paper.... lovely pink, white, lilac, yellow and orange (my last piece boohooo!). This is what I managed to create and I thought I'd share it with you all...

I've used MS Cherish Hearts (Dies to Die For) to create a border for the front, so that it wasn't too clean and simple a look. The stunning sentiment is a freebie from the lovely Netty's blog... You want it, she's got it and if she doesn't have it, she'll create it for you. How sweet is she? Thanks so much Netty! Just click on the Freebies tab when you visit her blog... she has a whole range of sentiments just for you and me.

Thanks for popping by and looking at some different to the usual girlie cards you find on my blog. Hope you like this one. Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Congratulations card to share

2011-10-16T21:01:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... I was asked to make an engagement card and I don't really have any engagement kind of images. I know I had some champagne glasses somewhere, but when I cleared out my craftroom, I put it in a "safe" place... so safe that I can't find it when I need it! Has that ever happened to you?

So... there I was digging through all the stamped images I have and my eye fell on this gorgeous couple. I thought it would be perfect for the occasion and hope you'll agree. I also don't have Happily Engaged or whatever sentiment, but I do have a Congratulations one, so it'll have to do for now.

Don't they look so cute ? Once again I chose my paper and then coloured my image. It worked quite well this time. I'll have to visit the LOTV shop to buy this stamp, as this is the one and only image I had of this couple.

Thanks for popping by. Hope you're having fun. Would love it if you left a comment. hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Halloween

2011-10-16T08:00:00.008+02:00

Hello friends and a warm welcome to my new followers, Peggy and Wendy. Thanks so much for joining, I'll be popping around to visit you soon

It's Sunday and it's another challenge at Simply Magnolia... wow... 2 autumnal colours in a row for me, hope you don't mind ?

This was another challenge for me, on 2 fronts, as I don't own any Halloween stamps, let alone any Halloween Tilda's, and we do not celebrate Halloween in SA. A friend kindly sent me this Tilda in the post, so that I could at least produce something Halloweeny.

Thank goodness for the Internet as well... the Pumpkins for Sale clipart was downloaded and printed from the internet. I gave it a dash of ink around the edges and used some dimension glaze on those leaves too. Found a Magnolia fence which I coloured in and popped our Halloween Tilda in front of it. She's selling Pumpkins for Halloween!!!

Added some sunflowers and hand-stamped the sentiment. The DP looked a bit plain (remember in my last challenge I mentioned that I have no autumn papers), so I quickly stamped a few leaves all over the DP. Quite like the effect.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Jacobi. Please visit them for all your crafting needs. There are some stunning items to be bought.

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, that would be great! hugs and blessings Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - It's BINGO!!!!

2011-10-15T07:26:00.002+02:00

Another Saturday and another challenge for you with the lovely Gorjusettes from the Totally Gorjuss challenge blog. We have 3 new Guest Gorjusettes, so do pop along and show them some love.

Are we going to have fun this week? Yes, we are... it's BINGO time!!!

You know how to play this, select 3 in a row - horizontally, vertically or diagonally. If you're really adventurous, as Net says, why not select all 4 corners... and away you go!

I chose the first row : LACE - RIBBONS - BOWS

As I was paging through my Stamp Catalogue, I found this Gorjuss Girl called Just a Girl and thought it was time to bring her out to play. Hope you like her... I had such fun colouring her. The background is one from Whiff of Joy, which has also been collecting dust.

For the first time in a long time, I chose my paper first (my friend Paola will be so proud of me!) and then selected my colours. I also decided to make an easel card which I haven't made for a long time. The beautiful lace was my last piece in this particular style - will have to get some more!

The inside compliments the outside. The design paper is the other side of the one I used for the front. Both are equally beautiful! Hope you like it.

Our wonderful sponsor is Simon Says Stamp. Please visit them for all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by. I really enjoy your visits and would love you to leave a comment. hugs Sharon x

My Mad Hatter's Cake card

2011-10-11T22:54:00.004+02:00

Good evening friends... boy, did I have fun this evening... I popped around to the wonderful network group I belong to, The Outlawz, and met some new friends. We were chatting away for quite a while... I was just going to pop in to say Hi to my old DT friends, when the conversation just started. That's the wonderful thing about belonging to this group, there is always someone to chat to. I'll be sure to pop around more often from now on.

Anyways.... I was telling Cindy and Lee that I had to make a 40th birthday card to take to work tomorrow. The birthday cake has been ordered from Charly's Bakery in Cape Town and as I just love their Topsy Turvy cakes (think, the Mad Hatter's cake in Alice in Wonderland), I thought I'd make a card with a similar cake. Now, as I don't have a topsy turvy cake stamp, I drew one and cut out the different layers from left over cardstock and this is what it looks like ...

Now that I've experimented with this one, I plan to sketch a few more using brighter, bolder colours for the different tiers. Should be fun, don't you think ?

Here's a pic of the inside, sorry it is all blurrish!

And here's a very simple sketch version of the cake, which I drew before making the card... Think I'll sit down and make a few template variations later.

Here's Charly's Bakery

If you're popping by, I'd love to know what you think. Hope you're having fun crafting, hugs Sharon x

Showcasing my Friends Talents

2011-10-10T21:36:00.001+02:00

Hi everyone... from time to time I love showcasing gifts I receive from my crafty friends. I received some beautiful handmade flowers over the weekend from the wonderfully talented Moz (All Things Moz). Aren't they just too beautiful ? I'll be using them on some projects in the not too distant future... So many beautiful colours and textures... can't wait ! Once again, thanks so much Moz.

And then today I received a beautiful Thank You card from another talented craft friend Madeline, who doesn't have a blog just yet. Her card is so gorgeous that I just had to share it with you all. Don't you think it's beautiful? Thanks so much honey. What a wonderful surprise this was.

If you happen to pass by, I'd appreciate you showing these friends some love, as I am sure they'll be popping by as well.

Thanks for visiting. hugs Sharon x

Say Hello to Rocking Tilda

2011-10-09T19:44:00.000+02:00

Hi there friends and family... well, I think Spring has well and truly hidden itself away or is it that Summer has been so rude to push herself in front of the row ?!?!?!?! It has been a scorching 32.5 degrees celsius in Cape Town today and my regular bloggy friends will know that Sharon is not a happy bunny right now... If this is a taste of what Summer is going to be like, I'm looking for a hiding place until the end of March... preferably a cool place... Any offers?

Whilst skype-ing with a friend last night, I managed to colour and create this little Rocking Tilda. Shows you what can be accomplished when you're having fun... uh, we finally said "goodnight" at 2 this morning... Now that's really late for me, but then I'd had a little snooze earlier in the afternoon.

OK, enough jabbering from my side, not sure if anyone really reads the posts (I know I do!)... here's my sweet little Rocking Tilda... ain't she a cutie ?

It's taking me forever to type up this post. I started around 5.45pm and then Kendall called me to watch a bit of the X-Factor on telly... Wow, those contestants are better than the kids that try out for Idols. I read on the internet that ol' Lee DeWyze's recording company cancelled his contract... The poor SA kids that win are hardly ever heard of again... they just keep repeating their winning song over and over again, that it starts working on your nerves! Where's Jason Hartman today and the girlie that was supposed to have won with him, can't even remember her name... just shows! Enough chit chat... don't want to bore you all now ! ;)

Here's another angle of the same card.

Welcome to some new followers, always nice seeing new faces. Am so pleased that you found something worthwhile on my blog to make you join... thank you kindly!

Well, that's it from me. Happy crafting and thanks for popping by, I really appreciate your visits and most of all, your comments. Hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Oooh la la

2011-10-08T07:06:00.002+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. It is our DT sister Marianne's birthday today, so Happy Birthday Marianne, hope it's a good one!

Right... our challenge this week is OOOH LA LA. Interpret that how you wish and let's see what fabulous creations you're going to come up with ! Our DT have come up with some very ooh-la-la-ish creations for your inspiration... please pay them a visit and give some love!

This cutie is Dress Up Maggie from an older Sugar Nellie range. I've used her now for the second time. She is so adorable though isn't she? Just gotta love that hat and pursed lips...hehe

Another angle, hope you can see the dimension glaze that I used on her handbag and hatband. The lovely summer paper was a freebie pack that came with a magazine I purchased. A bit bright I know, but so summery looking... which is what we're looking forward to after the winter.

Our wonderful sponsors are Crafter's Companion. Visit them for all your crafting needs.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend, hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes (DT) - Die Cuts/Punches

2011-10-04T08:00:00.025+02:00

It's Tuesday and that means it's another challenge at Anything Goes... wow, we had an AMAZING number of entries. We'd love you to join us again... get out those die cuts and punches and show us how creative you can be!

Here's my little card which I hope will inspire you... I'm showcasing Sugar Nellie's RAVEN for the first time. She arrived in the post over the weekend and I couldn't wait to ink and colour her. I've been wanting her for ages...

I've used MS Garden Trellis punch and my sentiment is a die cut. I punched 2 circles for the numbers and of course nesties are die cuts too which I've used for my image.

Once again, please visit the Craft Den for all your crafting needs.

Thanks so much for popping by. Enjoy the rest of your week, hugs Sharon

Dress Up Maggie

2011-10-03T22:16:00.001+02:00

Hello friends... I wasn't planning on making a card this evening... I was just going to colour in a few of the new images which arrived in the post over the weekend from Funky Kits.

I bought 4 new Sugar Nellie stamps and here's Dress Up Maggie... what can I say... you've just got to remember having played dress up in your Mom's old shoes, clothing, make up and jewellery when you were a little girl! Well, time just passes by when you're busy chatting and skype-ing and before I could wipe my eyes, I'd not only coloured this image but made a delightful card. I hope you enjoy viewing it, as much as I enjoyed making it. I've used colours that are not my usual colour combination...

...but I received some gorgeous paper from a friend in the UK and thought it would match perfectly with this bright pink ribbon! Dress Up Maggie (M0701) is from the 2007 Sugar Nellie Collection and I think she's on a sale now at Funky Kits.

I added some dimension glaze to her hat and handbag to make it pop and coloured her necklace with a metallic silver pen. The sentiment was also a gift. Nice to have these quick pop-out ones on hand.

Thanks for taking the time to pay me a visit. As you know I so enjoy hearing from you, so if you feel like leaving a comment, that would make my day !

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Autumn Colours

2011-10-02T08:00:00.027+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia. Congratulations to our last winners. Your cards were absolutely stunning.

This fortnight our challenge is Autumn Colours. Yvonne gave us this lovely pic to work from.

I really struggled with this one. I realised when I started working on this card that I don't have ANY autumn shaded paper... nope, can you believe it! I managed to find some tiny piece resembling autumn, as I usually work with pinks, blues, greens, ok I do use browns as well, but that's it! With my limited supplies, here's what I managed to create...

I am showcasing Tilda Gone Fishing for the first time. Ain't she a cutie pie?

Ribbon, flowers, sentiment from my stash. Tilda coloured in with Copics, stamped her with Momento's Rich Cocoa. Love stamping with Rich Cocoa, haven't used Black for ages. Gives the images a softer look somehow - that's my opinion anyway!

Our sponsor is Duymelot, please visit them for all your crafting needs.

Thanks for popping by, hope to see you at the challenge, hugs Sharon

Baby Boy cards to share

2011-10-01T18:42:00.000+02:00

Hello friends, are you having a fab Saturday ? Hope so. Earlier this afternoon I attended a baby shower this some friends... and thought I would share the 2 cards I made, one from myself and the other for my friend Deidre.. hope you like them. It's not often that I get to make Baby cards, especially Boy cards, so I really had to put my thinking cap on here.

The image above was stamped for me by a friend, sorry I can't remember who, but I'm pleased I kept it as it came in very handy when I needed it !

The lovely Me To You teddy bear stamp was given to me by a friend. I stamped it with Momento's London Fog ink, so it looks like the original printed ones you get on those shop bought cards. Really happy I got that Ink.

Thanks for popping by today. I'll be relaxing this evening, no card making for a change. hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - A Sketch and our 100th Challenge

2011-10-01T07:00:00.003+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. It's a special one this week, it's our 100th Challenge... woohooo! Net is the most fabulous 'boss' and my DT sisters are amazing girls. I really love being a part of this team.

Our challenge for you this week is a Sketch and our wonderful sponsor is Joanna Sheen. I received some stunning items from the JS Online store about a week ago and am so happy with the service... a huge PLUS for us that live so far away... postage and packaging is FREE!

After all the elaborate cards and cubes I've made lately, I thought it was time to do another clean and simple card. The gorgeous paper and sentiment was a gift from a dear blogfriend Sandra. Thanks honey!

I haven't used any embellishments except for the ribbon. Sometimes too much embellies detracts from the paper.

We look forward to you joining our challenge this week. There's a special prize for our commenters, so don't forget to leave one when you visit the Totally Gorjuss blog.

Happy crafting! hugs Sharon

A Thank You

2011-09-27T06:04:00.000+02:00

Morning friends... it really feels as if Spring has finally arrived in Cape Town... we had hellishly hot days over the weekend and although it's gone slightly cooler, there is definitely a "spring" in the air!

Now that my dear blogfriend Lynn has received her card, she lives in Texas, I can finally showcase it on my blog. I admired a piece of ribbon Lynn had used on one of her cards and then she popped me an email and offered to get me some. Not only 1 but 3 reels of it. Wow... don't we just have the most amazing blogfriends ever ! Don't you just love receiving mail from overseas ? I do !

Here's another neglected Elisabeth Bell stamp which I haven't used in quite a while. Just love Danii. Added the ribbon in the pic too, ain't it pretty ? Thanks ever so much Lynn.

Happy crafting everyone. Now I must dash to get ready for work, hugs Sharon x

My Altered Maggie Cube

2011-09-24T23:13:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... we had a public holiday in South Africa today, Heritage Day and the day was supposed to be spent with family and/or friends braaing, in other words, ...barbequeing... It was a real scorcher in Cape Town and if this is a taste of what we can expect for Summer, then I'm afraid it's going to be a real hot one!

Well, what's a girl to to on a public holiday, but shopping as well... I visited one of my favourite local scrapbooking shops, The Scrapbook in Durbanville. Whilst browsing I met another blogfriend, Charmaine, who was giving a class. Whilst the ladies were busy, we had a nice catch-up session! Nice seeing you again Charmaine... I hope you're reading this, as I'd like you to see what I've done with the cube I bought this morning....

OK, without further ado... excuse the long post, but I've just got to showcase each and every side of this cube which I've altered on instruction from my daughter Kendall. She's been wanting one for ages and I never thought I'd complete it in 1 day... It's taken a couple of hours, but oh how I loved doing it!!! As I've mentioned before, I love working with a blank canvas and seeing what I'm going to come up with and I must say, I'm very happy with the way this Maggie Cube came out !

I painted the cube in a distressy sort of way, seeing that we were going with a shabby chic/vintagey theme here! I then took my Colour Box cats eye ink and inked around the edges of the box.

Had some glossy pebbles in my drawer which I just glued to the bottom of the box, to give it some height! I then spent the rest of the afternoon colouring and making 5 different 'pages' as it were to adhere to every side of the box and the top... here we go, hope you like these little Maggies!

Kendall chose the stamp for the top and the colour scheme.

Here's Tilda with Many Hearts

Just wanted to show you what it looks like from this angle

Here's Hello Little Butterfly. As you can see I'm loving my clouds right now.

Next we have the adorable Tilda with Heart

The butterflies are MM's Paper Reverie Butterflies (No. 36019). Loved using them.

And here comes Beautiful Tilda

As you can see Kendall is a Blue girl, whereas I love my Pink.

Thought I'd end with a close up on the top of the box again

Shew, thanks so much for staying until the end of this post. I really hope you've enjoyed viewing my altered Maggie Box, as much as I enjoyed making it and would love for you to leave a comment if you liked it.

Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Birds of a Feather

2011-09-24T07:29:00.001+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at the Totally Gorjuss blog.

It's Birds of a Feather this week. You can use anything birdy or feathers or both on your creations this week. I don't really own any birdy stamps, but managed to find this gorgeous postbox with 2 birdies perched on top of it, amongst my stamps. It's from Great Impressions, a local stamp company, purchased from Merrypak.

My image has been coloured in with Copics and I hope you can see the CLOUDS that I've made...woohooo! I am so thrilled with the result that I want to add clouds to all my stamped images...hahaha!!! Just love this gorgeous wide satin ribbon too, which I think I'm using for the first time since I purchased it!

Added some Dimensional Magic glaze to some flowers, leaves, butterflies and the birdies to make them pop !

Our wonderful sponsor this week is Lily of the Valley, so I'd like to encourage all my stamping friends from South Africa and overseas to join in the FUN !

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment, that would be appreciated. hugs Sharon x

One for Fun...

2011-09-22T21:22:00.001+02:00

TGIF... the weekend is only a few hours away, I can just taste it! woohoooo.... such a lot to do in the 2 days, just ain't fair is it ? Weekends should be 3 days long, don't you agree ?

Our very sweet Financial Accountant at the office will be exchanging his wonderful, free, single life (hehehe) for the ball and chainess of married life (just joking okay?? hehe) next weekend, so I was asked to make him a card from the team and this is what I came up with.

As the invitations were silver and lilac, I was asked to stick with the same sort of colours.... Hope the 'soon-to-be-newlyweds' will like this one...

The image is from Great Impressions (H1154), purchased from Merrypak. I just had to buy it when I saw it! The DP is from a paper pad by Wild Rose Studio, Lilac Rose. Flowers and ribbon from my current stash.

I received a surprise email this evening from a loyal follower of my blog. She had a question to ask. It was wonderful hearing from her and I hope by mentioning this, it will inspire many other followers to do the same. I really am very easy to 'talk' to. If you have any questions about any of the products I use, etc. just pop me an email. I will respond.

That's it for me. My bed beckons... zzzzzz Take care, hugs Sharon x

Help please... Deleted my Guestbook and need the link

2011-09-20T19:16:00.001+02:00

Hello friends... I changed the layout of my Blog and accidentally deleted my Guestbook, now I have no idea where to find the link. So if you have a Guestbook on your blog, please respond so that I can visit you. Perhaps if I click on the link, I can somehow find out where to find mine. Oh boy!!!! Thanks Sharon

Edited (21 Sept): All sorted thanks. I managed to find the link myself.

Anything Goes (DT) - It's Anything Goes at Anything Goes Challenges

2011-09-20T09:00:00.013+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Anything Goes Challenges. This time YOU get to decide whatever you want to create as it's Anything Goes at the Anything Goes challenge blog.... Gosh, what a wonderful turnout at our last challenge. So many beautiful entries. Congratulations to the winners!

I am usually a creature of habit, but now and again I like to challenge myself by doing something different and as I've been using a lot of my Magnolia stamps, which I love and adore, I thought I'd try this little one which was kindly stamped for me by a blogfriend. I just love these 2 little friends...

The flowers are available at The Craft Den. Please pay them a visit for all your crafting shopping.

Thanks for popping by and we hope to see you at the challenge. Thanks to everyone who entered our last one, your creations were absolutely stunning.

I'd love for you to leave a comment. Enjoy the rest of your week, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Shabby Chic

2011-09-18T07:00:00.051+02:00

Happy Sunday folks and welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia. Thanks to everyone who entered our last challenge and congratulations to the Top 3.

This fortnight it's SHABBY CHIC and have our SMDT sisters come up with some gorgeous creations for your inspiration ? Please do pay the Simply Magnolia blog a visit. The sponsor is our very own DT sister Tracy's Scrapbooking All Sorts online shop, which you can find Down Under (Australia).

Look what she's giving away to the lucky winner...

Magnolia Stamp ~ Tilda Spreads Love

6x6 My Minds Eye paper pad

Magnolia Pink Tulips

Kaisercraft Rhinestone strips

I decided to try something different to a card this time. I've altered a simple Notebook which I will use for myself. I've been wanting a book to jot down all my craftiness and now I have one. What fun am I going to have using it!

This cute Tilda was stamped for me by a friend. She's called Sweetie Tilda and is such a versatile little honey, you can use her for just about anything. The gorgeous leaves are also a gift from a friend, love them! I stamped the words myself. For a bit of shabby chicness I distressed the edges of my paper and also inked over the words to give them a bit of a grungy shabby look!

Thanks for popping by. If you'd like to leave a comment, that would be nice,so as I enjoy reading them. Enjoy the weekend and happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (DT) - Nothing Square About Me

2011-09-17T06:40:00.001+02:00

What a wonderful Saturday it is... As my regular followers will know, I have been a Guest Gorjusette for a short while now and when the very kind Net asked if I'd like to become a fully classified Gorjusette of course I said YES!!!!

Right! So, as you can gather I'm a very happy bunny indeed... Now if you pop along to the Totally Gorjuss challenge blog, we have a wonderful challenge for you - Nothing Square About Me... let your imaginations run WILD!!!! I received a brand new set of nesties in the post this week and the largest nestie was big enough to use as a card, so here it is... hope you like it?

Shew, last week's challenge was a real challenge for me... you know I just love my girlie cards. Well, I've given the sweet Maggies the weekend off as little Daisy was just dying to come out to play. Ain't she a honey? She's one of Elisabeth Bell's designs. The nesties are spellbinders Label 17. I am so impressed with this design that I am sure I'll be using it often. As the card is rather small, I've kep my embellishments to the bare minimum - just added a gorgeous organza ribbon, popped a rhinestone in the centre and 3 pearls. Sweet and simple it is! (btw this card was sold within a second of showing it to a friend!)

A huge thanks to our wonderful sponsor: Simon Says Stamps. Do pay them a visit for all your crafting needs. Thanks to everyone who enters our challenges, we love visiting you!

Can't wait to see what you come up with. Happy crafting, hugs Sharon x

Little Winged Friends - My Garden

2011-09-15T22:18:00.000+02:00

Hello friends... yep, I am still here and it is still very much Winter in Cape Town... cold and rainy weather but I'm not complaining.

Just had to share this sweet little Bildmalarna stamp, called Little Winged Friends - My Garden, which arrived all the way from the USA this week. I was getting worried that it would not turn up at all... took about 8 weeks to get here... so don't you dare complain if your parcels arrive later than a week or 2... hehehe My dear friend Sandra was shocked when I told her I was waiting so long and commented that the parcel had probably taken the scenic route to South Africa! hahaha

I just had to ink, stamp and colour her in. Tried some different flicking strokes, hope it shows... The stamp is what I purchased with the gift certificate another dear blogfriend Lins sent me from one of my favourite online stores... so, if you're reading this Lins, thanks again so very much!

I just love her to bits and have another cute Mimosa lying in one of my CD cases that I need to dust off and use again. Seeing this little stamp just made me realise how cute they are.

Thanks for popping by and if you'd like to leave a comment, that would be great! 2 DT cards coming up this weekend and 1 next Tuesday, so keep watching this space... We'd love you to take part in our challenges.

A very warm welcome to some new blogfriends that have decided to join my blog. Thanks so much.

Happy crafting! hugs Sharon x

Would you like to come play with the Gorjusettes ?

2011-09-13T22:09:00.000+02:00

Greetings friends... hope you're all having a wonderful crafting week. Work is keeping me busy and the evenings are busy doing some DT work, so I'm not sitting idle.

Would you like to come and play with the Gorjusettes ? Totally Gorjuss are having a Guest Gorjusette Call out. So, if you fancy a FUN 6 month slot, just email the lovely Net at totallygorjuss@gmail.com telling her a little bit about yourself and details of your blog.

Totally Gorjuss (GDT) - It's a Manly one this week

2011-09-10T07:00:00.030+02:00

Hi everyone, thanks for popping by once again and welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss. Well, as you all know, I loves me girlie cards so to make a Manly one was a HUGE challenge for me.

Must admit, I love this stamp. It's a local one from Great Impressions (J653), which I purchased at Merrypak. The pirate's map stamp is a Fokus stamp purchased from one or other local crafty store... this stamp has come in handy on more than one occasion, so I'm not sorry I purchased it. Kept it plain and simple.

Our sponsor this week is Crafter's Companion... do pay them a visit as they have stash to suit all your crafty needs.

Thanks for popping by, hugs Sharon x

Happy Secretaries' Day

2011-09-07T07:00:00.034+02:00

Hello friends... It is Secretaries' Day in South Africa. Last night Kendall asked if I could make her a card for her boss's secretary and I thought I would share it with you today.

I started my career out as a Secretary, so I have a lot of empathy and respect for all secretaries. They are at times very under-valued and it is nice that we have this special day to honour them for all the hard work that they do. So, here's wishing all secretaries out there a wonderful Secretaries Day ! May you be spoilt with lots of flowers and choccies !

[Note Wendy, no pink !] Thought I'd go for red, white and black this time. A completely different colour scheme to my usual pink... hehe The image is a Bella one I think, not sure of the name though. Kindly stamped for me ages ago by Meahni, a fellow SA stamper. She's been missing in blogland for a while now and I miss her cards as she's an excellent colourist ! The doilie is a gift from another SA stamping friend, Debbie.

I made a bit of effort and decorated the inside of this card as well. I used a lovely Great Impressions floral stamp (C036) to create a little border where the message is to be written. You can just see a little peek of it in the pic above.

That's it for today. Wishing you all a super one and thanks so much for popping by! hugs Sharon x

Anything Goes Challenge #49 (DT) - Shabby Chic/Vintage

2011-09-06T09:00:00.040+02:00

Welcome to a new challenge on the Anything Goes Challenge Blog. This is my first DT card. I hope you'll find some inspiration, so that you can join in the fun this fortnight. Our challenge is Shabby Chic/Vintage, so let those creative juices flow. The Top 3 get a lovely badge to display on their blogs. How cool is that?

This stamp was kindly stamped for me by a friend and I think it's the first time I am using her on my blog. She's called Tilda with Spring Bundle. Wish I could own most of the Maggies I like...hehehe

The printed paper I've used is from the stunning 6x6 paper stack Lilac Mist by Wild Rose Studio. You can find them at The Craft Den. The darker purple is from a 6x6 paper pack from W&M, purchased from Merrypak. I stamped Whimsy Stamps vintage postcard and popped it behind our gorgeous Tilda. The fence was a gift from a friend and this is the last bit that's over. The beautiful leaves were also punched for me by another friend. The rest of the embellishments are from my stash.

Please visit The Craft Den for all your crafting needs.

Thanks for popping by. I'd love for you to leave a message, as I so enjoy reading them, hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia (DT) - Anything Goes

2011-09-04T07:00:00.017+02:00

Woopee doo... happy Sunday everyone and welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia, where all Maggie stamp lovers meet. This fortnight's challenge is ANYTHING GOES, so let your imagination run away with you.

I've tried something different, not sure if I did it right, but hey... we all have to learn something new sometime or other hey! I received some white acrylic medium which I bought from Paola and thought I would brush some on my floral paper and leaves... and this is the look I've achieved.

This gorgeous little Maggie is a newby, also a purchase from Paola, she's called Sitting Angel. Ain't she another cutie? The designer paper is also a purchase from Paola, love them! The flower is from Prima, I think. The Postcard stamp is from Whimsy stamps and both images were stamped with Momento's Rich Cocoa. Tilda is coloured with Copics. I then added a few card candies in the corners. Wanted to use buttons, but they somehow didn't look right! Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Thanks so much for popping by and we hope that you'll be inspired to join our challenge. Our wonderful sponsors are De Egel. As a prize they are giving away 80 sheets of this beautiful ColourCore 15x15cm paper.

It's such a fun way to make new friends and to see what stunning creations there are out there. We'd love to leave a comment next to your creation.

Tons of Maggie hugs to you all, Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (GDT) - A Sketch

2011-09-03T07:00:00.033+02:00

It's Saturday... welcome to another challenge at Totally Gorjuss... gosh, I am totally a-m-a-z-e-d at the amount of entries we had this past week.... you girls have been so busy! What stunning creations, thanks so much for the support, we love visiting you!

It's a Sketch this week. As I mentioned to my fellow DT sisters, thank goodness for sketches, as my mojo seems to be on a walkabout again. Here's the sketch for the week and our wonderful sponsor is Joanna Sheen...

I hope my little card will inspire you to take part in this challenge...

This little beauty, called Sweet Tilda, arrived in the post on Tuesday evening and I just had to ink and colour her in. Ain't she a sweetie indeed? Papers are from my favourite range of Wilson and McLaghan purchased from Merrypak. The punch is MS's Cherish Hearts, a purchase from Tracy Kendall's shop, Dies to Die For. The rest of the embellishments are from my stash. Tilda coloured in with Copics and stamped with Momento Rich Cocoa. The leaves were a gift from a friend.

Thanks so much for popping by. I'd love for you to leave a comment if you have the time.

hugs Sharon x

Wonderful News to Share... I'm on a new DT !

2011-08-31T19:35:00.000+02:00

Hello friends, I hope you are all well and crafting up a storm!! I have some news to share with you all this evening....

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join the Design Team over at the Anything Goes Challenge Blog. I am so looking forward to getting to know my new DT sisters.

Challenges at the Anything Goes Challenge Blog run every fortnight on Tuesdays. My first card as a DT member will be showcased for the challenge on 6th September, so I hope to see you there !

We also support the Craft Den Online Shop, so do pay them a visit... there are loads of goodies to tempt the eye... Here's a short list to whet the appetite...

Magnolia
Paperartsy
Wild Rose
Bo Bunny
Crafters Companion
Forever Friends
Sugar Nellie
MS Punches

The list goes on and on.... Please pay the Craft Den a visit for all your crafting needs !

Thanks so much for popping by and sharing this news with me. I hope you'll join in the challenges, as they are going to be loads of fun.

Tons of hugs from a very excited ME !! xx

Water for Elephants - Review

2011-08-29T09:28:00.000+02:00

Kendall and I watched the DVD Water for Elephants last night and I just had to share it with you all. With all the rubbish they show on television in SA, I haven't watched a movie for quite some time now and so I took time off crafting to enjoy this movie with her and I was pleasantly surprised.

The Storyline
After his parents' death, Jacob Jankoski is left penniless and homeless. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss August whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be cautious around him, including his beautiful and quiet wife Marlena, whom August is very possessive of and who Jacob finds himself soon falling in love with. Written by mel47

We had a good giggle afterwards.... it was nice seeing Robert Pattinson in the "pink" so to speak, as we've only seen him as the pale-faced Edward in the Twilight series.

Wishing you all a fabulous crafting week.

hugs Sharon x

Simply Magnolia - Love is in the Air

2011-08-28T07:00:00.028+02:00

Welcome to another challenge at Simply Magnolia, where all Maggie stamp lovers meet. Our theme this fortnight is Love is in the Air. Our wonderful sponsor is Duymelot.

For this challenge I used Pink Tilda with Striped Tights. She's adorable and an old favourite. I've placed her on a gorgeous chair which is a local stamp, given to me as a gift from my friend Madeline. I was thrilled to receive this in the post this week and just HAD to use it! As you can see I have paper pieced it and for the first time ever (I'm slow I know hehe), I've paper pieced Tilda's dress too!

The gorgeous leaves in the top left hand corner was also a gift from my friend Sandra. This is really a beautiful punch and I was happy to receive a whole lot of punched leaves. I've decided to use some brads on this card for a change, as they just collecting dust...hehe As you all know, I luv my pearls and tend to ignore the other embellies I have !

Please visit the Simply Magnolia blog to view the rest of my teamies cards. We hope to inspire you to take part in this challenge.

Happy crafting and thanks for popping by, hugs Sharon x

Totally Gorjuss (GDT) - As you like it!

2011-08-27T02:17:00.002+02:00

Happy Saturday and welcome to another challenge at the Totally Gorjuss blog. Our DT sisters have produced some stunning creations for your inspiration and our kind sponsor this week is Kenny K. You can find Kenny's gorgeous images here.

As I served on Kenny K's first DT squad a while back, I have quite a few of his images in my Kenny K folder and I had no hesitation is deciding which Kenny K image to use. This is Troublemaker, my all-time favourite. She's from the Glam Gang series, which I still feel is Kenny's best (we all have our own opinions, right?) Ain't she a doll! Look at those eyes!!! Yikes!

Thanks to my friend Amelia for punching me the lovely fence. It just finishes this card off ! If you haven't viewed Amelia's creations, please pop around to her blog. She makes the most awesome cards.

Well, I hope you'll be inspired to take part in this challenge. Kenny's images are hugely popular and YOU could be the winner this week! hugs Sharon x

Pink Tilda Ice/Ballet Princess

2011-08-24T21:48:00.001+02:00

Oh how nice just to chill with no pressures... I've been commissioned to make a card by a friend in Port Elizabeth, one of the coastal cities on our East Coast. I can't quite recall if it's a Good Luck card (for Ballet Exams or a Ballet Show), so I have let it sentiment-free. I need to give it to her boss who is visiting us at the moment, but is returning on Friday... so here goes.... Hope she likes it!

The card is devoid of flowers and other embellishments, to keep it nice and flat! Also, keeping in theme with the C&S look. I just added my new stunning organza glitter pink ribbon and fastened a ballet shoe charm which seemed fitting for the occasion.

I haven't coloured an image for quite some time now and really struggled with this one... felt like a novice colourist... shew, better start colouring in some more before I forget completely how to do it! hehehe This little beauty is Pink Tilda Ice/Ballet Pincess, which I purchased from 7 Kids College Fund.

Thanks to the faithful friends that still pop around to visit and leave a comment. I really appreciate it and will be popping by to visit you too. Hugs Sharon x

Get Well Card No. 1

2011-08-23T21:10:00.000+02:00

Hi friends... just heard yesterday that an ex-colleague of mine, whom I've known for many years, went in for an open-heart operation yesterday. She is doing well and the pipes were removed today and she managed a smile. Although we haven't seen each other for a few years, it is times like this that I feel it's nice to be remembered by people you once spent lots of time with in the workplace. I therefore made this Get Well card for Anita, sticking with the clean and simple look I'm so enjoying doing right now. Hope you like it.

The sentiment stamp was purchased from a local supplier, Merrypak, but there is no mention of the company that produced it.

All Anita's current and ex-colleagues have been invited to make a card or tag with a small gift, so I decided to make a card, as I can then write a nice lengthy message therein. I'm sending it with some nice smelly goodies and of course something sweet to make her feel better !

Here's a peek at the inside. It kinda looks a bit bare, but keep in mind that I'll be filling the white space with a message.

I made an envelope over the weekend and it will suit this card perfectly.

Right, that's Get Well card No. 1 completed and now I need to start on Get Well card No. 2, which will be for a colleague whom I currently work with. She has been hospitalised with pneumonia and we wish her all the very best. I'll showcase her card once it's completed.

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. Happy crafting! hugs Sharon x

It's raining pancakes...

2011-08-22T07:00:00.003+02:00

Morning friends... I was hoping the title of this post would catch your attention...hehehe It was cold and wet in Cape Town yesterday. Just the perfect weather for staying indoors and catching up on some crafting... My favourite kind of day.

I made some of my lovely Vegetable and Bacon soup, which Kendall loves so much and we had that for lunch. For supper, she whipped up some pancakes and brought it to my craft-table whilst I was busy skyping and crafting with a friend...

Now doesn't that look yummy.... no wonder I can't lose any weight!!! Only joking, it's not like this is a daily or weekly occurrence!

Inbetween eating, crafting and chatting I managed to come up with some more Clean and Simple cards, which I thought I would share with you all. Hope you like them. Thanks so much for those who visit and leave such sweet and encouraging comments, I really appreciate them all!

The polka dot paper is a very old favourite which I purchased from Paola ages ago and I think it is the last or second last piece that I have. I've teamed it up with the stunning ribbon I received from Gail for my birthday. Underneath that I've added some paper lace, using one of Martha Stewart's punches. Added a flower and stamp and Bob's your Uncle! The stamp is a local product from Great Impressions, purchased at Merrypak. I thought I could use this a lot!

I have had this piece piece of butterfly designer paper what seems like for EVER! As it is much too pretty to cover with all sorts of embellishments, I thought it would make a perfect C&S card. Just used a simple polka dot ribbon to run beneath the classic sentiment and voila! Love it!

Hope you have a wonderful day... I'll be catching up with you all later. Take care, hugs Sharon x

Stock-taking and other things to share...

2011-08-21T11:09:00.001+02:00

Hi friends, so sorry that I've been absent for a short while, but as I mentioned in one of my last posts, it is a very busy period at work right now and I've been so busy that I haven't had time to sit and play..., but that doesn't mean I've been idle.... as you can see from the pics below. Warning: There are quite a few, so if you want to opt out now, please feel free to do so, but I'm hoping you'll stay as I have some interesting things to share... (smile)

Right, let's get started shall we ?

Clean and Simple Cards
I completed the orders for some Clean and Simple cards and Birthday Tags and guess what ???... I completely forgot to take some pics of all the cards, but I can tell you they were really stunning and the recipients loved them. Hopefully more orders to come. As I enjoyed making these cards, I thought I'd continue with this theme and make a few to keep on hand should I, or anyone else need them, so here are 3 I made last night...

The orange heart designed paper was given to me as a birthday gift and I just love it. Thanks so much Sandra.

This card was made with some new papers I received from Paola yesterday. They are Kaisercraft and are absolutely gorgeous. As they are double sided, I thought I'd place a strip of the back of the floral sheet down the side for you to see.

This is a birthday card for a special young lady at work, who is about the same age as my daughter. It's her birthday today and this card will go with the gift I bought her!

Stock-taking
About a week ago I bought some lovely blank paged spiral A5 books to keep as an Inventory of all the stamps I have. So, I set about stamping all my Magnolia's and I was amazed at the amount I have. Here's a pic to share...

I have placed the name of the stamp next to the image and have numbered it. The number refers to the CD box I have placed it in. To save on space, I usually place 2 stamps in a CD case. I am doing this with ALL my stamps now, so it is very much a work in progress and will take a while to complete, but at the end of the day, it'll help if I can just page through my books when I'm looking for a particular stamp to combine with another one.

Here's a pic of the box I keep my Magnolia stamps in...

And a peek at the inside...

As you can see, there are 2 Maggies in the CD case, which are stamped so easy to see on the eye. I have titled them and each CD case has it's own number.

Shopping

Kendall and I took a drive through to the beautiful town of Somerset West, which was named after Lord Charles Somerset in 1819. They have a beautiful Mall with one of the biggest PnA's that I've ever seen, so I browsed and browsed and bought some of this ribbon... it is absolutely gorgeous! The stunning glass beads were a gift from Paola, thanks so much!

Here's a pic of the Kaisercraft paper I purchased from Paola. It's from the Miss Nelly collection.

And then I just had to get some more blank cards (pic below) and envelopes from the UK. I received this as a gift from my friend Sandra and they are working so well for me, that I asked if she could get me some more. We don't get these sized (135mm x 135mm) square cards in SA with the envelopes, so I have to import them. If any of our local crafters have found a shop in SA who stock these, please let me know. They really cut down on crafting time. Before I was introduced to these cards, I used to order paper and cut my own.

Showcasing cards

And finally, as you know, I love showcasing cards I receive from my crafting friends and this is a very special one I received from my friend Sandra... isn't it beautiful? Sandra has the most stunning collection of punches as is evidenced from her gorgeous flowers and leaves. Love that stamp Sandra, thanks so much!

Thank You

I KNOW this has been a long post and if you've stayed with me until the end, well done...! I hope you found something of interest.

Thanks for popping by and here's wishing you all a beautiful Sunday with your loved ones. May you enjoy a super crafting week. If you'd like to leave a comment, I'd love to read them. hugs Sharon x