Scrapbooking : mini travel album

During the December holidays, I've been slowly uncluttering my craft room.  I become very unproductive when there is a lot of 'stuff' lying around, and I found that I was avoiding my craft room, because it was so cluttered.  I've been scrapbooking since 1998, so I have a lot of craft supplies, quite a lot of which I will simply never use.   I also have a fair bit of supplies and paper that is simply out of date. I've been brave and put everything that I don't love into a 'donate' pile for my niece's nursery school.  My 'previously loved' supplies can now go and bless the children at the nursery school.  I still have a long way to go in the quest to unclutter, but my craft room is already feeling lighter, organised and more inviting.  The big challenge for me will be to organize my embellishments - it feels like I have lots of little bits everywhere!

 

Here is a mini travel album that I finally finished; it was part of the Ali Edwards 'on the road' class when I visited Italy in 2011.  I put  a lot of personal observations and thoughts into this little album, things that wouldn't normally end up on a traditional scrapbooking layout.  I also included several photos which I wouldn't normally put onto a scrap page, like photos of me taking photos!  I decorated the album covers with maps from our trip, and then covered the outside of the album with clear plastic.

 

 

 

Natural instincts

If you're squeamish, look away now.  Ruby shouts a lot at the wild birds in my garden, but she never catches them.  But lizards are a challenge, and Ruby has endless patience, so she does eventually catch the occasional lazy lizard.  She doesn't eat them, she just plays with them until I rescue them and put them out of her reach.

 

 

 

Scrapbooking Retreat

The Scrap Addicts group spent our annual Christmas Retreat at Good Shepherd in December.  Lynn decorated the convent scrap room beautifully, and we all wore the compulsory Christmas hats.  Each person designed a scrapbook kit, so we each got 4 new layouts to work on.  As usual, we got so much done over the weekend, and we loved our time together at this beautiful place.

 

SO happy to be here with some of my favourite people in the world!!

 Lynette and I

with Linda 

Linda's page design  (...ahem, page actually designed by Lynn)

Lynette's page design 

Leonie's page design

Lynn shares her page with us

and this is the page that I designed (thanks Pinterest!)

these monster east African snails were everywhere! We've been coming to the convent for years, and have never seen them before.  They must be terribly destructive to the gardens

you can just see that these ladies are up to no good!

  

 

Hooked on crochet

My late paternal grandmother, Mary, was an awesome handcrafter.  She loved to knit, crochet and bake for the family, and all the grandchildren wore hand made jerseys.  I was unfortunately too young to be interested in crocheting while my granny was alive.  During 2013, I've become addicted to 'hooky', and I'm delighted to discover that I can read crochet patterns quite easily. 

 

I started off by buying the weekly crochet series "the art of crochet" from CNA - making a sampler blanket of different squares, but after 30 magazines (there are 200 in the series!), it's becoming expensive and the wool is poor quality.  I'm now striking out on my own, using the book '200 blocks' as my roadmap.  

 

When I meet up with my granny in heaven, we're going to sit under a beautiful old tree, drink tea and crochet.  Love you gran!

 

 

 My crochet supplies live in this canvas bag, but it may be too small...

 

Some of my squares; I have now completed 40 squares! 

 

My friend, Tanya, has started a handcrafting group that meets about every 6 weeks at her home in Pretoria.  Some of the ladies knit, some crochet and Leonie is doing beading.  We drink lots of coffee, eat delicious cupcakes made by Tanya (check out her facebook page - Blooming Beautiful Bakes) , and indulge in handcrafting, so there is always help available if I get stuck.

 

Lynn is knitting a baby blanket for her niece in America

Leonie is beading a handtowel

 Tanya is making a beautiful shawl

Tanya's sister Adele is knitting baby bootees

I'm still scrapbooking and doing art journaling; crocheting is just another branch of my creative personality. 

 

One little word 2014

My one little word for 2014 is 'explore', and it's still unfolding in my mind, but right now, it's all about...

• explore new ways of being healthy, a bit fitter and more flexible
• explore new places
• explore the power of good habits and rituals in my life
• explore my artistic abilities even more
• explore Johannesburg and get to know a few new places in my own town
• explore new foods, especially fruits and vegetables, and the possibility of giving up sugar
• stepping outside of what's comfortable and familiar, and exploring my world
• explore the possibility of living with less, and perhaps downsizing and simplifying things...a lot

Happy 2014 everyone!