Just Horsing Around

LOL, I couldn't think of a post title today. But after I drew my little rocking horse I did a unicorn and I'm in the process of doing a pegasus and I'll probably do a carousel horse and a normal horse after that.

I don't have much news at the moment, so I'll get straight on to some eye candy and today's freebie.

On Sunday I blogged about Beth's new kit and promised to show a LO, so here it is. Her new kit Fall Splendor is just so pretty and warm.

I've decided to keep to the DSO Color Challenge colours for the whole of January. That way you can build up a huge kit that will be both Valentine's Day and little girl friendly for all your LO's. Today I give you the finished product of the unicorn.

You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/80453265/e66f7c2f/CC_Unicorn.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Thanks for stopping by and looking.

Hugs

Renée

What's New

Well apart from it being a new year and a new day, I had to get a NEW WARDROBE. After eating like crazy over the festive period, I literally didn't have anything that fit properly.

Yesterday I went off to the shops to go and get a few things that doesn't cut off my circulation or makes me look like an over stuffed sausage. I decided to get the minimal amount of stuff otherwise I'd just get comfortable with this weight and never lose it. I took Katia with me and she was disgusted. I decided to get neat stuff, but not very flattering, so that every day when I get dressed I can look at myself and have incentive to lose weight. I'm also not drinking any fizzy drinks (even if they say diet), but sticking to mineral water and the MOST DISGUSTING Chinese detox tea I have ever tasted in my life.

My mom is back from my cousin and she brought me some goodies that my cousin embroidered with her embroidery machine and my next goal is to buy one of these machines. I'll have to save like mad and be very disciplined because I still want my Sony camera and do some photography lessons as well. I'm just going to have to shut my eyes and ears if there are any mototcycling bargains that come my way. I might even sell the one bike, but just thinking about it breaks my heart.

Has my little teaser of Kim B's January Grab Bag gotten you in the mood to scrap and design yet? Remember, it's only on special for a few days and then the bag gets broken up and loaded at regular price.

Jazzy also has some gorgeous sets of new WA in her store, you can go and have a looksee here. Jazzy has this uncanny knack of creating WA that is so appropriate. I usually find just the right phrase in one of her collections to really give meaning to my LO's.

And Beth will be releasing a new kit in the next few days that is very earthy and warm. Be sure to swing by Beth's blog to pick up a QP freebie that is absolutely DIVINE. She's definitely the QP Queen. And if you check back tomorrow, I'll even have some LO's just to whet your apetite for her new kit.

And as my gift to you today, I have completed the DSO Color Challenge. I started off in one direction and when I looked again I had made a complete u-turn and ended up with something totally different. Some of the elements match my last freebie and can be used for Valentine's Day LO's. But the kit was really inspired by a little girl named Colleen that I knew when I was a kid. While working on this the colors reminded me of a birthday party Colleen had and I remember her in a dress of similar colors. I also made my first brushes for this kit and I'm quite proud of it.

You can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/80076717/9764a86b/Colleen.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Just a little note - I still have all my kits and freebies up since I started blogging, so if you go through my archives, don't worry, the links are still active.

Have a great day.

Hugs

Renée

9 Days Gone

WOW, how has this year gotten off to such a Bang??? We better not blink too often or it will be Christmas again.

Our New Year was great. We went up to our local pub to accommodate all the friends and only 1 friend remembered her camera, so I'm waiting for a disc with all the photos and then I'll share. It rained which I was very happy about. It's tradition in Johannesburg to let of fireworks and I'm anti as it traumatizes the dogs. We usually have a lot of lost dogs in the area on New Years day and this time we had none.

And then on the 2nd I got some wierd bug. Whereever there was pressure on a muscle, the muscle would swell and hurt like crazy. Even the doctor was stumped and could only think that I may have Lyme's Disease. He tested me and luckily those tests came back negative and just like it started it went away. I personally think my body was just acting out because I had to start work again on Monday.

It's actually great being back at work and seeing all your work friend after a 3 week break. Well apart from being back at work I have no other personal news.

Now on to digi news. My dear friend Kim B has got the most amazing grab bag up for January. It's worth $40, but as usual Kim cannot resist giving out bargains and it's $8 for a limited time only. There's in excess of 35 items in the bag and that's the type of bargain I like. So hurry here and get yours.

I made this little mini mini freebie using a few of the items

And you can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/79809785/e2006b5a/Jan_Grab_Bag.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Now I really have to get cracking and finish my DSO Colour Challenge.

Hugs

Renée

The Countdown Has Begun

Can you believe there's 3 days left of this year. And the saddest part, I only have 1 week left of my holidays.

I have managed to rest a lot and stayed away from the computer a bit. The rush before Christmas really tired me out this year.

Last Monday I took Rainer to the airport and he flew from Johannesburg to Dubai, Dubai to Birmingham and then they drove from Birmingham to Derbyshire by car. Shame the poor kid was in transit for 24 hours. Coming from a heatwave, he is stressing with the cold, but he is so glad to see his dad whom he saw last on the 28th November 2007. He phoned me on Christmas morning and my house feels so empty without him.

On Tuesday I took my mom to my aunt and my cousin fetched them for a visit close to Thabazimbi. She lives in a game reserve and my mom says it's too beautiful with all the game coming right to the fence around the property. A baboon managed to come into the house and not only did he admire himself in the bathroom mirror, but he also stole a whole tin of biscuits. After the fact they found it quite funny, but they can be quite distructive and viscious so it was a bit scary while he was in the house.

Christmas day we had a very quiet day at Corné's mom. She is a polio survivor and is in a wheelchair, so the day was quite special. And like everyone we ate absolutely too much.

Saturday I went to see the Bjorn Again show at one of our local theatres. It's an Abba show put on by 4 Australians and it was absolutely brilliant. They have been doing the show for 10 years and have even perfected the Swedish accent. At the end of the show the blonde girl was singing "Thank You For The Music" and as she got to the end of the first bit without music, a little kiddie in the audience just started singing. It was really funny and she was laughing so much that they had to keep playing the musical intro to the song. If they ever come out your way, and you're an Abba fan, make a point of seeing the show.

Seeing as I haven't been near the pc much, I fixed up my very first complete drawing I did with the tablet and pen and offer you a little Commercial Use Pierot plus a sample of what can be done.

Here's the preview

And you can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/78074558/20f530d0/Pierot.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. I'm hoping to stop by before the end of the year, but if I don't get a chance, here's to a great 2009, with many blessings and may all your wishes come true.

All my love

Renée

Finally

Gosh, I've finally had a day to myself. Between taking my mom and the kids shopping, I'm going to go demented. By the time I get home from shops with long queus and the heat, I'm so tired I cannot think straight. At the rate we're going I'm going to be more tired than when I went on leave. My mom is leaving for my cousin's on Tuesday and Rainer is leaving for the UK on Monday evening and I've warned the rest of the family that as of Tuesday afternoon I'll be vegetating.

Enough moaning, I've wanted to tell you a little story about glue. LOL. For those of you that don't follow Bunny's blog, she does cards and mini albums that are absolutely stunning. I passed a comment that I can't do any of that as I must stay away from glue. Kim then said if Bunny can do it, so can I. Heck NO!!! Here's my tale of woe with glue.

When my brother passed away, I had trouble sleeping and after many kinds of sleeping tablets that didn't work, my doctor decided to bring out the big guns. Well that first night I took a tablet and decided that while I waited for it not to work, I'll fix my nail. So here I am in bed, nail kit the works. I roughened my nail, put glue under the tip, stuck that puppy on my nail and applied pressure. Next thing I wake up the next morning, one finger of the one hand glued to the other finger of the other hand. It was hysterical. We eventually had to soak the nail off to get my finger released. Can you just imagine what I'd stick together if I tried to make cards? LOL.

Talking of Kim, have you been to her site to see her gorgeous new kit for New Year. Boy I love that kit. She has already put 2 of my LO's on her blog, so I'm not going to put them up here, but here's another one that I did. I used a template by Scrap Saya for this LO.

Now on to my freebie for today. I have been playing a lot with the tablet and pen and I'm so imppressed with the focal point of this little mini I have for you. It's a hand drawn rocking horse that I then had fun with adding texture and elements. The colours are from Kim's DSO December colour challenge. Here are a couple of close ups of the rocking horse and the preview of the mini.

And you can get it here http://www.4shared.com/file/76976419/ef654d6b/Rock-A-Pony.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. Have a peacuful Sunday.

Hugs

Renée

Hoarders

It has always driven me crazy that my darling mother is a hoarder, but after this weekend I'm so happy that she is. I've got a bit of a summer cold and stayed home this weekend so that I can get better. Well boredom drove me to go and scratch in my mom's stash. Boy did I find some stunning ribbons and laces!!! Things that she has kept from when I was a kid. Well I've been scanning and photographing like crazy. Now I have to clean it all up LOL.

I think I hate hoarding because my ex had this thing about buying houses, renovating them while we were living in them and then selling them. We used to move at least every 2 years. I never got fond of my kitchens or any special rooms and I learnt that excess stuff just made moving extra difficult. I've now been in this house for 8 years and I definitely don't intend ever moving again. LOL.

Well today my freebie is some blingy ribbons from my mom's stash. I kept them in similar colours as the fireworks. Here's the preview.

And you can get them here http://www.4shared.com/file/75350315/2c442282/Ribbons.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. And I'd like to thank everyone that leaves a comment. You don't realise how much I appreciate the little comments and thanks. It makes sitting here at the pc worthwhile.

Have a great day and before I forget WHOOOOHOOO, 2 more working days.

Hugs

Renée

4 more days

I have 4 more days of work left before I go on my annual summer holidays. It's a bit hectic at work as I have to get everything up to date by Friday, but I'm starting to get that holiday feeling. From next week I'll definitely be devoting a lot more time to my little blog.

And as I'm in a holiday mood I decided to make some fireworks elements for all those new year's LO's. They're blingy and I'm quite proud of them as it's my first elements that I've created using the pen and tablet.

Here's a preview

And you can get them here http://www.4shared.com/file/75044887/2b4bdb4f/Fireworks.html?dirPwdVerified=1524a939. And while the muses are still with me, let me go and do some more designing. Have a great day.

Hugs

Renée