A Tip

DON'T stick your finger in your eye, it burns. BWAHAHAHA, well that's what I always say when asked for a tip. Gratuity is earned.

But the tip I wanted to share has actually got to do with scrapping. Have you ever wanted to just cut out a bit of an element so that the bottom layer sticks out and you have the teeniest gap between the two? Well here's an easy way to overcome that problem. Especially for those that have to use a mouse and don't have as fine control as with a pen and tablet.

Place your element in the top layer, the item that you want to show through in the middle layer and a copy of your top layer in the 3rd and bottom layer. Whatever you "over" crop won't show as your bottom layer will be intact. Hope you found this tip helpfull.

Today I have 2 more flowers to match my orchids from a few posts ago. There are no drop shadows on the actual elements and the paper is not included. Here's the preview

You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/account/file/57144099/c51d5340/Hibiscus.html. The usual yakity yak applies. Personal use only.

Have a great day.

When things work out Perfect

I just love it when things work well.

First I had a terrible weekend. NO INTERNET. Gosh don't do that to me, I feel as if I'm cut off from the world. But we ha a cable fault and it took until yesterday to be fixed.

Then last night my female African Grey just fell off her perch and died. I sobbed so. She was my good kid. I'm waiting for the autopsy results and we're hoping it's not anything contagious like bird flu as I have a young male as well. Keep your fingers crossed.

Now to the part that worked out well. Every year I do my Christmas tree in one colour only. I go through all my ornaments and decide which of the neutral ornaments I'm going to keep and box the rest and do a beautiful tree for the local orphanage. My neighbour's 4 year old often just pops round for a visit and she usually just comes to "help" me do STUFF. While we were boxing up the ornaments she expressed the wish for an angel doll, but not one of those in the box because they're for the babies without mommies or dolls. The child is so cute, so I made an angel with a scrunchie, a table tennis ball and some feathers. I swear no battery operated doll that could pee and poo would have been so well received.

BUT that got me thinking and I wanted angel doll elements for LO's. Well with KIM's great CU stuff I was able to create the base, but soon had t send her an SOS for the frame for the head.

I think these are rather cute. I have included 2 pastel elements with 2 matching papers and 2 Xmas elements with matching papers. Here's a preview of the pastels only with a blowup of how they're used.

You can grab them here http://www.4shared.com/account/file/57019849/8f76f8bd/Ribbon_Angels.html

Blame it on the Double D Wenches

BWAHAHAH, I'm so late with today's post because I got sidetracked with e-mails. Been at it for over 3 hours and I was intending a long post as it is. So get your sundowner/cocktail/coffee/Dr Pepper/Diet Coke or whatever and get comfy.

You're probably wondering what bra sizes have to do with wenches? Well it's not such a great mystery. It's the Dork Dancing Wenches of the ever so delightful Kristine's creative team. We mail each other constantly and half the time we carry on like a bunch of crackheads with much laughter. Well one of the hubbies calls us the Double D's.

Andrea (Double D One - alphabetically speaking) has the greatest deal in store at the moment. Some $1 Impulse Buys. Get more Boyer for a Buck as Mojo would say. In these cash strapped times, they come just at the right moment.

If you popped by Kristine's blog yesterday you would have seen that she introduced pages of each of us with our favourite LO of ourselves and a little bio. In my bio she mentioned THE PARTY BUS and I just have to tell you all about this bus. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER.

It's called The Part Bus Company and what they did was buy these double decker buses and converted them with a bar and nice wide aisles. What you do is hire the bus and you party like mad without ever having to worry about drunk driving. Because I'm in advertising and promotions I got invited to the launch of the service and WHAT A PARTY. We really carried on. Did you know that the upright in a bus makes for great pole dancing. Uh YES, that kind of party. LOL, we had so much fun until we were surrounded by cop cars with sirens wailing and we got escorted to the nearest police station. Some of us sobered up pretty quickly. Once at the police station we were asked to get off the bus. Well I had no problem with that as I wasn't driving the damn thing intoxicated. I traipse off the bus and there at the bottom of the stairs is the MOST DEVINE young policeman. Well without batting an eyelid but with much fluttering of eyelashes I walk up to him, undo his top button and tell him in my sexiest voice "I just love a man out of uniform."

It transpired that our last bit of party was to be at the police canteen and then each lady got a policeman to escort her home safely. So if you're ever in South Africa, come party on my bus.

I was GOBSMACKED this morning. I usually quickly go and read the comments left on 4 shared and was I amazed. There were more comments than downloads!!! Some people forgot to download. I hope you realized your mistake and came back LOL.

I've really suffered from attention deficit this month. Usually I do Kim's colour challenge at DSO early in the month, but this month I was battling with a name for my mini kit and then held back so that I could add a little something made with items from her new CU Grab Bag. This item is not shown in my preview.

You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/56539299/bb35ca41/After_8.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. And there's still a few days left before the challenge closes for you to do your LO or design a mini kit and get rewarded with a beautiful posting bonus.

Just an all round sad week

Emotionally this has not been a good week and today has been one of my worst.


It's the 4th anniversary of my darling Big Brother Glyn's passing. Glyn was affectionately known as Max, after the character in the Mad Max movies as he was a crazy kind of person. The things that boy and I could get up to. I was 12 years older than him, but from the day he was born it never mattered. We were the best of friends and always together.


We were in the same bike club and on this day 4 years ago I had gone to have my hair done in the afternoon. I coloured it black with pink streaks. I was on barduty at our clubhouse and just before we closed he left to go to a friend's pub where we were all to meet. He stood on the step, looked round and said "Sister Person you're beautiful and I love you madly." I replied that I loved him tooooooo much. Little did I know that within 15 minutes I was just going to lose 5 weeks of my life, but one of the most important parts of my being.

On his way a drunk driver ignored a red traffic light and hit Max (on his bike) at more than 140km/h. We took a slightly different route to the destination and when I got there I heard that he had been in an accident. From there I lost all sense of time and reality.

Max was a practical joker and used to put stones in my coffee, leaves in my drink and he used to love licking me in the face and over my specs when I wore them. Last night I was shutting my computer down, when Corné (the man in my life) came up to me and licked me. Before I could shout at him for being stupid he said "Max told me to do it." This morning I woke up and on reflection remembered that at that given time 4 years ago, Max and I had our last conversation. Well that just set me off for the rest of the day. I have been sobbing on and off the entire day. I still miss him so much.


But I remember all our silliness and how much trouble we used to get into with fond memories. This is a LO I did of Max last year when KIM brought out her Forgotten Not kit. The pic with him sucking the pacifier was when we held a baby shower for him just before my nephew Justin was born. It was one of those whacked crazy days as not many men have a babyshower, but he took to it like a duck to water and had us in stitches.

Darling Max, your favourite thing you always said to me was "I'm watching you." and after last night I know you still do. Ride the skyways until we meet again.


Now on to some FUN stuff. Kim has once again come up with the MOST STUPENDOUS CU Grab Bag. It is so full of wonderful stuff you won't know where to start playing first. Well I centainly was at a loss to begin with. Here's a LO I did with some of the goodies in the bag.



You can get it here and at $8 for $40's worth of goodies for 1 week only, it's the bargain of a lifetime.


I've been playing with some new design toys and came up with this orchid flower cluster as your freebie today.



You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/56413120/fd7a75d6/Orchid.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Enjoy.

Have a great day.

Kim says it best

I'm still finding it difficult to express myself, but Kim has found just the right words. What a wonderful outpouring of love throughout the digi community for our sweet Jazzy. How wonderful it is to see how everyone took up Jazzy's plight and did their bit for her. I'm sure that every single person will receive an extra special blessing.

I was sitting here last night thinking how there must be a hole in Jazzy's heart and I started doing this "LO" leaving the bit in the heart blank deliberately. I used Kim's Forgotten Not kit and WA by Jazzy from her Sweet Baby collection that describes perfectly why her and Andrew were together. I asked Kim if it would be morbid to post as a LO or should I give it out as a freebie QP. Kim said QP.

So here's my interpretation of how I think Jazzy must feel.

You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/56165532/cae09f18/RIP_Andrew_QP.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. I hope it fills the hole in your heart too.

Have a great day.

Rest in Peace Andrew

Ever since I got the e-mail from Kim yesterday, the bottom is out of my day.

Our darling Jazzy had to say a final physical farewell to her beloved and special grandson Andrew. Please swing by her blog to read a bit more about Andrew and what Jazzy had to go through to keep him with her.

Jazzy my friend, words fail me at the moment. I'd so love to be right where you are, so that I can just hold your hand and let some of your pain flow into me. Andrew was your light, but although he is no longer there, he will shine even brighter in your heart. You are in my thoughts through this very trying time and the Digital Community will take you up and help where they can.

Bunny and some of the other designers over at DSO have decided to have a 1 day sale to help Jazzy with all the ramifications this additional setback has brought into her life. Please, if you're at all in the position to make a purchase, I ask with genuine tears in my eyes that you do so in "Honor of Andrew".

Here's the info

Please also leave a little word over at Jazzy's blog. It will mean the world to her in time to come.

Andrew, soar on Angel Wings, straight into the arms of your Mama. Look down on Grandma with delight and Rest in Everlasting Peace. You were and always will be Much Loved.

Pranked

Oh my living, my family pranked me good and solid this morning. I'm a terrible dawdler especially early in the mornings and usually have to do the kilowatt kwela (kilowatt - electrifyingly fast and kwela - a dance) to get out the house by 07:00 to get to work in time for 08:00. Well last night my family waited for me to go to bed and changed all the clocks including my cell phone an hour early. I did my usual this morning and thought the traffic was exceptionally kind only to arrive at work at 06:50. At first I was not amused, but later saw the funny side of it LOL. Now I'm contemplating setting the clocks an hour later, but knowing me, I'd forget and arrive at work in time for lunch. LOL

I'm also very lazy to journal on my LO's. I think it comes from years of typesetting annual financials and therefore I'm always looking for GREAT Word Art. Jazzy our CT Leader - her of the slave driving with a wet noodle (LOVE YA JAZZY) - has just started selling her own stuff over at DSO and she is the QUEEN OF WORD ART. Jazzy finds just the right quotes and presents them all so beautifully. I wish you great success my friend.

Today I found some beautiful quotes about cats and dogs and decided to try my hand at WA too. Well I did have a whole hour to play LOL. So my freebie to you today is some pet related WA. I'm quite happy with them, but I'm nowhere near as good as our QUEEN.

Here's a preview

And you can collect it here http://www.4shared.com/file/55144269/d69e8ac8/Fur_Critter_WA.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. If you like it, leave a note, I love to hear from you all.

Keep safe and lots of HUGS

The Sun is Shining

HEEEEHAAAAA!!!! I'm such a Vitamin D junkie. We haven't had sun since Thursday and today it's OUT!!! Oh wow, I feel human again.


I was making the balance of the pet elements this morning and Rainer was watching me run some styles and commented that these pieces reminded him of the wooden Fischer Price puzzles he had as a child. He went off to the garage and next thing he comes back with a HUGE box. All his old toys that for some reason we could never give to goodwill. He was rummaging in there and man was this a trip down memory lane. Well we found the puzzles (minus a few pieces of course) and would you believe it, parts of the pictures were torn off the edges. Just like these elements. I would just like to know why he kept the little red car with only 1 wheel.


We were sitting there looking at this assortment and decided that we're going to build a huge collage of his toys for his 21st in September. I unfortunately have very few photographs of them growing up as we had a burglary and the burglars stole my wooden box with all my photos in it. They must have throught it was a jewellery box and I can tell you if it was jewellery I'd have been a lot less upset. Their first locks of hair and first "real" shoes were in the box as well. Things that can never be replaced.


So on to the rest of my "Fischer Price" freebie. These are birds and fish and I call it Cages and Tanks. The pinkish paper reminded me of the sandpaper you put in the bottom of birdcages.


Here's a preview





And you can collect it here http://www.4shared.com/file/54991548/138a7303/Cages__Tanks.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939.


Now I'm off to go and enjoy the sun. Have a peacefull Sunday.

Flealess Cats

Have you been over to the Dork Dancing Wench's blog lately? Well not only has she got an amazing revamped look and STUNNING Colab freebie up, but she has found the reason for her flea woes.

Well I just adore that crazy Queen of Wenches to bits and started looking for a remedy for her problem. Izzy, one of my friends is a herbalist and she says common household salt is just great for fleas. Kills them buggers deader than dead. You just sprinkle salt on your carpets, furniture and pet bedding - leave it overnight and vacuum it up the next morning. Something that is human and pet friendly and you don't have to go to specialist shops to find it. Izzy also reckons you must introduce garlic and brewer's yeast to your pet's diet. Fleas apparently don't have any tollerance for garlic. So Kristine, plant some garlic in that mulch heap LOL.

So my pet related designs are continueing and you should be able to collect a decent sized kit when I'm done. Today I have a flealess cat mini for those that don't have he patience to battle with fleas and hairballs LOL.

Here's a looksee

And of course you can pick it up here http://www.4shared.com/file/54886794/c7fd57a7/Catterwaulin.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Remember it's for personal use and leave us a bit of love.

As usual, keep safe and remember to THINK BIKE.

So Far So Good

It's Friday evening here and I've been able to keep my promise to myself that there will be no socializing this weekend. There's rugby tomorrow morning, BUT I'll be watching it from the comfort of my couch. We are experiencing the coldest days of our winter at the moment and I'm not a lover of the cold. I'm dressed like an Eskimo and only go outside to take out the garbage.


-5 Deg C is definitely not for me. I know it's mild compared to some parts of the world, but my blood only likes hot weather.


I'm crazy for motorcycling and I'm a member of an awareness campaign called Think Bike. Basically what we're trying to achieve is awareness by car drivers of bikes that are so much smaller and faster than cars to elliminate senseless accidents. So when you drive, always check in your mirrors for that single headlight before you turn or change lanes. Because of this I'm also on our biker assist list and got called out to an accident at 05:00 this morning. Thank goodness both the rider and driver were OK and the rider only sustained minor injuries, but his bike is trashed, This was a case of the driver having worked the night and not being as aware as he should have been and he drifted in front of the bike. Luckily the young man was on his way to work and very alert and he could avoid having a far more serious accident. But it was exceptionally cold and since then I haven't been able to warm up.


Well that's enough of my complaints about the cold and I'll get straight onto the freebie. Anne_Ominous left a note that she'd like something with American Cocker Spaniels. I love "cockeyed" spaniels LOL. I have a miniature of my own called Venus and as soon as I can get her to sit still long enough, I'll post a photo of her. I love her to bits, she has the heart of a Rottweiler. I hope you like this little mini Anne_Ominous. It's 7 chipboard dog elements and 3 matching papers.


Here's a little preview



You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/54792932/9dbb3b20/Dogs_Life.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. And I'd like to thank everyone that downloads my goodies, but especially those that leave a comment. It makes a designer's heart feel good when we read the comments.


Have a great weekend and remember to THINK BIKE.

Did I hear someone....

.... say SALE???

DSO has been revamped and prettified too beautifully and to celebrate, they're having a huge sale of everything in the store over $1. So if you have anything on your wishlist, now is the time to get over there and indulge.

KIM B also has the most gorgeous new kit available and yes, it's at 50% off too. How generous can you get. I love how soft and gentle this kit is. OOOOOHHHHH and you have to pop past her blog for the most amazing gift.

Here's a LO I did

Well I have a lot of blogs to go and visit and I'll have a little something up for you again tomorrow.

Tried Something

KIM blogged about a cat that she will let out the bag tomorrow and I left a comment about being allergic to them. I think they're such beautiful animals, but I can't breathe around them and get nose bleeds and the only cats I can keep are of the glass variety LOL.

That got me thinking (which is always a dangerous passtime) and I tried something without using a tutorial. Sort of just let my mouse do some clicking and I came up with these glass-like freebie cat elements. The number of downloads will tell me if they're successful or not, but I think they could be fun and you can play with adding some goodies like the collar I added on my sample.

Here's a preview:

And you can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/54516255/ab0a9b79/Glass_Cats.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939.

Have a great day.

What a Week

Can someone please top the merry-go-round, I want to get off LOL. My social life has taken off on a skyrocket. Usually we spend a lot of time at home during winter because it's just too damn cold to go out, but the past 2 weeks we haven't stopped.

Between friends opening pubs, the rugby, weddings, meeting friends for a quick bite and just dropping off stuff, I haven't had a chance to take a breather, let alone blog or create. I have laid down the law that we're not going ANYWHERE this weekend. But those could be famous last words.

My friend Matt (affectionately known as Snake) has had the life long dream of opening his own pub and last Friday his dream came true. He opened a very cosy pub in one of our busy shopping centres and I wish him every success in the future. It's because of this that I suffered profusely the past few days.

I literally only got chance tonight to come up with a quick freebie inspired by Kim's colour challenge for July over at the revamped and stunning DSO. It's 3 ribbon cluster roses and a paper.

Here's a preview

You can collect it here http://www.4shared.com/account/file/54380712/a9ebd785/Rose_Clusters.html. Please remember they're for personal use only and leave a little bit of love.

Hugs

Sugar & Spice

And all things nice. Well that's how I feel about the Digi Community at the moment. There's a bunch of ladies out there that just ROCK!!!!

First off there's Benevolent Boutique that does some kits that get sold in aid of charity each month. As you know my BEAUTIFUL South African friend Kim donates to their charity kits and she mentioned in an e-mail that Crystal is looking for some guest CT's to do some LO's with this month's kits Whimsy and Wishes. Well as charity is close to my heart, I jumped at the opportunity and put my name forward. Thank you Crystal for allowing me to play with these ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS kits. I didn't know where to start as all the goodies are absolutely STUNNING.

Stop by the site and read all about this month's charity - Reece's Rainbow. I still have shivers up and down my spine. Reece you are a Sunshine Child and have a special place in my heart.

Here's a LO I did of Montana's foot and the sentiment in the Word Art is just PERFECT.

And Andrea my fellow CT member over at Kim's and Kristine (leader of the Dork Dancing Wenches) has had all the designers that she is a CT for create a special kit for her. Not because she asked, but she's not been well and Murphy's law, when 1 thing goes wrong a GAZILLION others will too. I hope this is just the pick me up you need Andrea!!!

The kit is called Let's Connect (and that is such an important thing in our lives, to stay connected to those we love and care for) and you can get it at Nicole/Sugarplum Papiere.

This photo is of Fabio again and it was just the right kit for him. As I mentioned before, they've emigrated to the UK and he let me have his e-mail address on Monday. Of course it's mom I'm really talking to, but it's so wonderful knowing I can just drop him a line at any time.

This kit is HUGE and FUN!!!! Which I suppose is just the right type of kit for someone that scraps her baby in a bath of spaghetti. Andrea, that is still my favourite page of yours!!!

Tomorrow I'll have a little something for you, as I've been a bit hectic.

Hugs from me to you.